Battle Of The Belts XII
Date: October 19, 2024
Location: Adventist Health Arena, Stockton, California
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It seems to be the final edition of this show and really, I’m not expecting much of a loss. As usual, the card was thrown together at the last minute and in this case we have one title match, which was set up less than a day ago. Other than that, we have a match to see if someone gets a future title shot, because that’s what this show has become. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

We open with the Blackpool Combat Club beating down Top Flight and Action Andretti after successfully defending the Trios Titles against them on Collision. Cue the Dark Order with chairs for the save, so Jon Moxley tells the Order to get in the ring and get a shot at the titles right now.

Trios Titles: Dark Order vs. Blackpool Combat Club

The Club is defending. Castagnoli stomps Silver down in the corner to start and it’s off to Yuta who keeps up the hammering. Silver’s chops just annoy Castagnoli and it’s the Fastball Special for two, with Uno making the save. Silver punches his way out of trouble and hands it off to Reynolds, with his rather taped up ribs. Castagnoli shrugs off the comeback and puts on a Sharpshooter, with a stomp from Pac being enough to make Reynolds give up at 5:08.

Rating: C-. Cool, now we can move on to anyone else but the Order or Top Flight/Action Andretti yes? The Club has smashed through both of them and there is nothing left for them to do with these challengers so find something else. It wasn’t a thrilling idea to have these guys come after the Club in the first place and there is no reason for it to continue, even though there is a good chance it keeps going on Dynamite.

Post match the beating continues with Top Flight, Action Andretti, Private Party and Daniel Garcia making the save. Orange Cassidy comes out as well but doesn’t go very far.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Okada is defending. They go to the mat to start with Okada working on a headlock. Back up and Okada hits him in the face. O’Reilly takes him down into an ankle lock but Okada quickly escapes as we take an early break. Back with Okada cutting off a comeback with a single uppercut and mockingly kicking away.

O’Reilly strikes away again and takes him down with a DDT on the arm. We switch up the limbs with a dragon screw legwhip over the ropes before O’Reilly grabs a kneebar. Okada strikes his way to freedom and comes back with an Air Raid Crash onto the knee and we take another break.

Back again with both of them pulling themselves up at the fifteen (out of twenty) minute call. O’Reilly reverses a Tombstone attempt into the ankle lock, with Okada bailing over to the ropes. Okada misses the Rainmaker but hits the dropkick, only to get pulled into the guillotine. That’s broken up as well and the Rainmaker retains the title at 18:22.

Rating: B. This was the only advertised title match and while Okada was in the “yeah I don’t care” mode, O’Reilly was putting in the effort and trying to make something out of it. What matters the most is that it felt like someone was actually challenging for a title rather than being little more than a nuisance, putting it ahead of the opener by a mile or so.

Video on Mariah May vs. Anna Jay.

La Faccion Ingobernable attacks Hologram, with Rush promising that if you mess with the bull, you get the hearns.

Don Callis Family vs. Jack Cartwheel/Jon Cruz

Brian Cage/Lance Archer for the Family as we now have a non-title squash match on the show. Cage knocks Cartwheel into the corner to start but Cruz isn’t about to tag in. That doesn’t work for Cage, who makes Cartwheel tag him, allowing Archer to come in with a snap suplex. A powerbomb/chokeslam combination plants Cartwheel and a Blackout/powerbomb combination finishes Cruz at 2:37. Total dominance with Cage forcing the tag as a funny moment.

The Undisputed Kingdom isn’t happy with the changes the Beast Mortos has made, including wearing a polo shirt. They’re not sad, but just disappointed.

Anna Jay vs. Mariah May

Non-title. They trade wrist control to start before May’s headlocks are countered with headscissors. Back up and Jay fires off some knees to the ribs but May sends her throat first into the middle rope. Some hair tosses have Jay down again and a very spinning side slam gives May two as we take a break.

Back with May working on the arm but Jay fights up with a Sling Blade. A German suplex gives Jay two and the Queenslayer goes on, with May biting the arm for the escape. May’s hanging DDT gets two but she has to escape the Gory Bomb. Instead, Jay pulls her into a cradle for the pin at 12:07.

Rating: B-. Well Jay wins something after her return from Japan, but dang it feels like a big stretch to have May take a clean loss. Unless Jay is getting the title, this is going to be another case of Jay being on a rollercoaster around here, as she’ll go from winning to losing without getting anything of value. At the same time, May loses in a match where she has little to gain, making this a not exactly logical way to go. This would have been a good place for the ROH Proving Ground rules, where Jay would have only had to last the time limit rather than pinning May.

Overall Rating: B-. This certainly was a Battle Of The Belts, as there was very little built up, the action was just ok, and it does not feel like you missed much of anything (MAYBE the main event result and that’s about it) if you missed the show. The series comes off like the last reincarnation of Saturday Night’s Main Event: there might be some good action, but the promotion doesn’t care and doesn’t act like it matters in the slightest. I’m not going to miss this series when it’s gone and I’m not sure if AEW is going to remember that it was ever there in the first place.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club b. Dark Order – Sharpshooter to Reynolds
Kazuchika Okada b. Kyle O’Reilly – Rainmaker
Don Callis Family b. Jack Cartwheel/Jon Cruz – Blackout/powerbomb combination to Cruz
Anna Jay b. Mariah May – Cradle

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WrestleDream 2024
Date: October 12, 2024
Location: Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back on pay per view and that should make for a solid show. The card has only looked so good during the build, but that does not always translate to what you see in action. The main event is Jon Moxley challenging Bryan Danielson for the World Title so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Ring Of Honor TV Title: Brian Cage vs. Atlantis Jr.

Atlantis is defending and has a bad neck coming in. Cage strikes away to start and hits a spinebuster to put him down again. After some posing, a hard whip into the corner has Atlantis in more trouble. Cage is confident enough that he gets to lounge on the ropes for a bit as commentary talks about Taz. The slow beating continues with Cage shouting at the crowd and cutting off Atlantis’ comeback attempt.

Atlantis scores with a crossbody to send him outside, setting up the suicide dive. Back in and Atlantis gets two, only to be planted with a pumphandle slam for two more. Atlantis superkicks him down and hits a frog splash for another near fall. Cage is right back with a discus lariat into the Drill Claw for the pin and the title at 10:55.

Rating: C+. Well, Cage did win something and it gets the title off of Atlantis, who was doing a grand total of nothing with it, but it’s still one of the lower titles on the minor league show. The match had nothing significant built up about it and the title just changes hands. It’s going in the right direction, but dang this isn’t overly interesting, or exactly a great way to fire up the crowd.

Zero Hour: Anna Jay vs. Harley Cameron

Cameron takes her down without much trouble to start and Jay is looking moderately annoyed. A shot to Jay’s back just fires her up and she hits a hip shot to the face. Jay hammers away in the corner and sends her to the apron for a choke. With that broken up, a running dropkick sends Cameron outside, where she gets in some choking and rams Jay onto the floor.

Back in and some knees to the ribs set up a Russian legsweep for two on Cameron but Jay hits a running spinwheel kick in the corner. A running flipping neckbreaker gives Jay two but she gets taken into the wrong corner. Jay kicks her leg out though and hits a nasty Gory Bomb for the pin at 8:18.

Rating: C. So the idea is what Anna Jay is back from Japan and all tough and such. Well then maybe it’s not the best idea to have her take eight minutes to beat a comedy star. Cameron has improved in the ring in recent months but she still isn’t someone who should be treated as a serious threat. If Jay has undergone this big improvement and learned a bunch of new stuff, she didn’t get to show much of it here.

Zero Hour: MxM Collection vs. Acclaimed

The Collection brings out Rico (yes THAT Rico) of all people to counteract Billy Gunn. Mansoor kicks Bowens down to start, earning himself a flip onto his face. Mason comes in and sends Caster to the apron but the posing lets Caster hit a quick shoulder block. The slow beating continues with Caster getting chopped in the corner, setting up an old Smoking Gunns’ Sidewinder for two.

Caster fights up and hands it off to Bowens to clean house. That’s broken up as well and a belly to back suplex/chokeslam combination puts Bowens down. Caster makes the save but has to break up the Collection’s Scissor Me Timbers. Bowens hits a big dive to take out Mason on the floor, which brings Rico in for an attempted save. Billy Gunn cuts that off and gives him a Fameasser to a big reaction, leaving the Arrival into the Mic Drop to pin Mansoor at 11:24.

Rating: C. I liked the Rico stuff a lot here as he’s kind of the perfect choice for such a spot. Between the fashion deal and his history with Gunn, it was about as perfect of a choice as you could have had. I can’t imagine he’s a full time addition to the team, but for a one off bit of nostalgia and a great choice for the spot, it couldn’t have been much better. The match was…well it was exactly what you would expect from these teams.

Mercedes Mone and Kamille complain about things not being ready for them when Queen Aminata comes in. She’s not impressed, but Mercedes doesn’t have time for them.

Here is Tony Khan to bring out Antonio Inoki’s family for the big tribute. Khan wants the fans to do the Inoki chant…..and the fans sit there in silence, with Tony Schiavone having to tell the fans the words. That was hysterical.

Zero Hour: Conglomeration/Outrunners vs. Dark Order/Premiere Athletes

Nese kicks Magnum in the head to start and grabs a headlock before it’s off to O’Reilly vs. Reynolds. O’Reilly easily chokes him down so Cassidy can add some falling headbutts. Reynolds gets sent into the corner for some right hands from various opponents. Cassidy is knocked out to the floor to cut that off though and the big stomping ensues.

Back in and Silver hammers on Cassidy before stopping to pose, allowing Cassidy to get in a backdrop. The tornado DDT is enough for the tag to Magnum as commentary is cracking up. Nese kicks Magnum down and Daivari hammers away, but it’s time to Hulk Up, which has the fans all over this. Cassidy is back in with the Orange Punch but Mark Sterling makes the save. Cassidy’s top rope trust fall takes out the Dark Order and Total Recall finishes Daivari at 11:30.

Rating: C+. This is where AEW tends to lose me a bit. What did the Conglomeration add here? They had a tag match last night on Rampage, so why did they need to be in action again here when the Outrunners are one of the hottest acts in the company? Let them have their own match rather than running the Conglomeration out there and cut down on some of the people clogging up the show.

And now, the show proper, with no opening video but some pyro.

Hangman Page vs. Jay White

Juice Robinson is here with White, who slugs away to start. Page hammers him down in the corner without much trouble but misses a charge into the corner. White starts in on the leg before sending White throat first into the ropes. Back up and White charges into a boot in the corner so Page can fire off some right hands.

A fall away slam into the corner gives Page two but his sleeper is quickly broken up. It’s too early for the Buckshot Lariat though and White gets in a knockdown of his own. White grabs a DDT for two and a bridging German suplex gets the same. Page is sat on top and chopped down, with his leg getting tied in the ropes for some extra pain. Said leg is fine enough for Page to grab a Death Valley Driver onto the apron and a powerbomb onto the steps keeps White in trouble.

Page stops to argue with the referee though, allowing White to drop Page knee first onto the ramp for a nasty crash. Back in and they slug it out until White manages a swinging Rock Bottom for two. The Bladerunner is countered into the Deadeye though and Page heads to the apron. The Buckshot Lariat is loaded up but the knee gives out, allowing White to grab the Bladerunner for the pin at 16:25.

Rating: B. Well it was a good opener, though that’s certainly a surprising result. White getting a win is a nice thing to see, but Page losing clean just after he went all evil and over the top to beat Swerve Strickland is not what I was expecting. We’ll have to see where it goes, but dang that result was a shock.

Women’s Title: Willow Nightingale vs. Mariah May

Nightingale is challenging after winning a four way on Dynamite. May’s early slap in the corner is blocked so she jumps over Nightingale and takes her down. That just earns her a heck of a Pounce but May knocks her back into the corner to keep up the stomping. Nightingale powers out of a chinlock and strikes away, including a superkick for a big knockdown.

A spinebuster gives Nightingale two but May is right back with a release German suplex. Nightingale shrugs that off and grabs something like an Indian Deathlock before ramming May’s face into the knee for a bonus. May’s leg is fine enough to hit a quick dropkick into May Day for two and the shock is rather strong.

The Babe With The Powerbomb is blocked so they trade rollups until Nightingale can kick her in the face. The Death Valley Driver into the corner gives Nightingale two so she takes May up top. May is right back with a super hurricanrana for a great counter though, setting up the running knee and Storm Zero to retain at 10:48.

Rating: B. Back to back strong matches to start here as May felt like she earned the win rather than stealing it. May needed a win like this as she hasn’t looked like the strongest champion at times. On the other hand you have Nightingale, who loses another title match and leaves fans wanting to see her win again. That needs to happen at some point, and this time maybe it could be for her rather than to give Mercedes Mone a big moment.

We recap Jack Perry vs. Katsuyori Shibata for Perry’s TNT Title. Perry attacked Shibata’s friend Minoru Suzuki and gave Shibata a title shot when he was mad.

TNT Title: Jack Perry vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Perry is defending and bails to the floor when Shibata tries too much wrestling. Back in and the threat of a cross armbreaker has Perry on the floor again. Perry comes back inside and fires off the kicks, followed by the driving shoulders in the corner. Shibata easily wins a battle of the chops though, with the fans seemingly pleased with Perry being in pain. A suplex puts Perry down but Shibata sits down or the free kicks to the back.

Perry’s kicks just seem to annoy Shibata, who takes him outside for a suplex against the apron. Back in and another suplex gives Shibata two but Perry pulls him into the Snare Trap. A hanging DDT onto the floor knocks Shibata silly again for two but he’s fine enough to counter the running knee into a Death Valley Driver. Shibata gets the sleeper and drops back, only for Perry to stack him up for the pin to retain at 9:20.

Rating: C+. Well points for a surprise finish if nothing else, as Perry outsmarted Shibata to get the pin. This match was completely fine, but it was dealing with the issue of having very little in the way of drama. Shibata was pretty clearly not winning the title as Perry is probably going to hold it for a long time, but they did have a good ending and that helped a lot.

Post match Perry loads up a belt shot but Daniel Garcia comes in for the save. The staredown is on but here is MJF to interrupt. The distraction lets Perry drop Garcia and MJF brags about his movie career before hammering on Garcia again. MJF mocks the idea of a bidding war over Perry and, after forgetting that we’re in Tacoma instead of Seattle, pulls out the Dynamite Diamond Ring again. That’s loaded up but Adam Cole makes his return and MJF gets to panic a bit. Cole chases him off without much trouble and helps Garcia up.

We recap Will Ospreay defending the International Title against Ricochet and Konosuke Takeshita. Ricochet was getting a title shot when Takeshita interfered (on Don Callis’ behalf), setting up the three way.

International Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay is defending and Don Callis is on commentary. Takeshita gets kicked down to start before the other two can do their flip into the double pose. Back up and Takeshita takes Ospreay outside for a DDT and it’s already time for a table. Said table is sat up on the floor but Ricochet kicks Takeshita down. A Sasuke Special is pulled out of the air so Takeshita can hold him up, only for Ospreay to Sasuke Special down onto both of them (that was sweet).

Back in and more double teaming has Takeshita staggered until Ricochet drops Ospreay for two. Ricochet can’t Blue Thunder Bomb Takeshita so Ospreay kicks both of them down at the same time. All three head to the apron, where Ricochet has to block an Oscutter. Instead it’s a Death Valley Driver to Takeshita, setting up Ricochet’s middle rope Meteora. Takeshita is laid on the table but Ospreay catches Ricochet with a running Spanish Fly for two back inside.

Ricochet hits a backslide bomb but misses a 450, allowing Osprey to hit a Styles Clash with Takeshita making the save. Ricochet’s handspring is countered into the Blue Thunder Bomb for two and everyone is down again. Takeshita shrugs off shots from both of them and puts them down with a single shot each. Some double teaming puts Takeshita down for a second but he BLASTS THEM with a forearm each to take over again. Ospreay is back up with a springboard forearm to Takeshita, only for Ricochet to come off the top with a 450 for two in a great sequence.

An exchange of poisonranas lets Takeshita German suplex both of them at once, with Callis (and the fans) being rather appreciative. With the other two on the floor, Takeshita hits a big flip dive for two on Ricochet back inside. Ospreay is back in with a hurricanrana to send Ricochet flying into Takeshita before stealing the near fall himself. Ricochet hits a quick shooting star press on Ospreay but Takeshita makes the save and gets two of his own.

Takeshita and Ricochet head to the apron, where Takeshita hits a kneeling Tombstone through the table to a BIG reaction. Back in and the Hidden Blade connects but Callis pulls the referee like a good heel manager should. Ospreay loads up the Stormbreaker on Callis but Kyle Fletcher runs in to deck Ospreay for the save. Takeshita’s running knee finishes Ospreay for the pin and the title at 20:42.

Rating: A-. They got a little too much weight the Fletcher turn (which really wasn’t that shocking) but this was ALL action and Takeshita absolutely had to win the title after that kind of a performance. As great as Ospreay is, he was out shined on this one as Takeshita was in a class by himself and deserved the win. Awesome match which lived up to the hype it had coming in.

Post match Fletcher gives Ospreay the Tiger Driver 91. Geez what a dastardly villain. That might cause Ospreay some mild discomfort for a week or two!

Jerry Lynn talks to Orange Cassidy and says he’s never seen anyone like him. If Cassidy were to try, he could be something special. Hook comes in and seems to agree.

Here is Prince Nana, who plugs his coffee company and brings out Swerve Strickland for a chat. Swerve is happy to be back and thanks the fans for the hometown reception. His neck is still tingling a bit but he is medically cleared. Swerve is here to talk about his future but here are MVP and Shelton Benjamin to interrupt. MVP wants to talk about Swerve’s future as well but he hasn’t heard back from Swerve at all.

The reality is MVP was the one who saw greatness in Swerve years ago and YES this is Swerve’s house. MVP brags about his own resume and wants to talk business. Swerve talks about a match they had in Defy Wrestling (MVP and the fans both approve) and yeah MVP has done some great things for a lot of people. It’s true that things have been going badly for Swerve under Nana’s leadership, but he wouldn’t have had it in the first place without Nana.

Swerve has been hearing things about Nana selling weed to high school students in parking lots, but the reality is Nana is family. That’s something Swerve won’t turn his back on, and MVP can forget his business card. Benjamin doesn’t accept that and takes his jacket off but referees break it up. This really didn’t need to be a long PPV segment as it could have easily been on Dynamite without missing a beat.

Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos

2/3 falls and Hologram’s PPV debut. They trade mostly ineffective springboards to start until Hologram is flipped into a pose. Hologram is up with some superkicks and a backdrop to the floor, setting up a big suicide dive. Back in and Mortos hits a quick bulldog, followed by a pop up Samoan drop for two. The super gorilla press is reversed though and Hologram hits a high crossbody into a crucifix for the first fall at 3:44.

Back up and Mortos runs him over with a Pounce to the floor, setting up a heck of a dive. A running gorilla press plants Hologram onto the ramp and they head back inside, where Hologram is tied in the Tree of Woe. That means a running spear to cut Hologram in half, but he pops up to the top rope for a dive to drop Mortos again. Back in and a heck of a poisonrana plants Mortos but he grabs a backbreaker to cut Hologram off again. A powerbomb backbreaker and a discus lariat ties things up at 8:49 total.

Mortos is smart enough to wait for Hologram to get up before running him over. They go up top, where Hologram spins out of a backbreaker and grabs a headscissors for a needed breather. Mortos rolls outside and that means a big rope walk flip dive to take him out again. Back in and a top rope double stomp hits Mortos but a 450 hits raised knees.

Now the super gorilla press can plant Hologram for two, followed by another powerbomb backbreaker and discus lariat for a rather near fall. Hologram is back up with a rope rope crucifix bomb for two of his own, setting up the torture rack helicopter bomb to finish Mortos at 16:42.

Rating: B. Another rather entertaining match with Hologram looking good, though it’s another case where he’s just kind of put in a spot to entertain the crowd and little more. He needs to have an actual feud or story, and that’s not what we got here. Instead we got a bunch of enjoyable spots with Mortos being a great monster against Hologram’s superhero. Nice stuff here, even if it felt like a Collision main event.

We recap Brody King vs. Darby Allin, which is the result of King, an old rival of Allin, accepting an open challenge. Then Allin hit him in the face with a rock, like any good hero would do.

Darby Allin vs. Brody King

Allin gets a special skateboard themed entrance, complete with video of him, uh skateboarding. King misses a charge into the corner but throws Allin outside without much effort. After picking Allin up with one hand, King loads up the steps and chops the heck out of Allin. A dive over the steps doesn’t work for Allin, only for King to knock him out of the air. King puts the steps onto Allin and climbs onto them, followed by one heck of a chop back inside.

A Cannonball misses though and Allin hits some hard dives. The Coffin Drop to the floor has King rocked and a Code Red gives Allin two. A sleeper goes on but King drops him down onto the apron for the break. King snaps off a German suplex, followed by a release German superplex, because Allin is kind of dumb. It works so well that King does it AGAIN, only to load up another superplex to the floor. This time Allin shoves him onto the steps, setting up a top rope Coffin Drop onto King onto the steps to leave them both down again. Back in and another Coffin Drop finishes King off at 12:25.

Rating: B. Your taste in this match is going to depend on how much you enjoy Allin doing stupid things and taking very painful bumps. As usual, he’s an incredible pinball and can take a great beating, it feels like the same kind of thing he’s done over and over. They were hyping up the idea that Allin had never beaten King so points for tying up a loose end that a handful of people might have remembered coming in.

We recap Private Party challenging the Young Bucks for the Tag Team Titles. Private Party beat then five years ago and, having done pretty much nothing important since, are getting a title shot here.

Tag Team Titles: Private Party vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending and Private Party gets a mini training video before their entrance. Hold on though as the Bucks point out that Private Party beat them five years ago and then beat up Kassidy on the stage. Quen climbs the set and dives onto everyone else before they go inside to officially start. Private Party double teams Matt on the floor for two, with Nick making a save back inside.

The Bucks superkick Kassidy down but the posing takes too long, allowing Kassidy to fight back. The slingshot X Factor is blocked and Kassidy kicks Nick in the head for two. Silly String is broken up though and Nick hits a big step up flip dive to the floor. A poisonrana, Canadian Destroyer and 450 on the floor leave everyone down for a breather. Back in and Kassidy takes Nick up, where Nick grabs a super cutter for a near fall.

The TK Driver is broken up and everyone is taken down again. McGuinness thinks the Bucks are trying to expunge their loss from five years ago. You can’t buy this kind of in-depth analysis people. More Bang For Your Buck is broken up and Gin & Juice gets two on Nick. Private Party hits their own More Bang For Your Buck for two with Matt having to make a save. The EVP Trigger gets two but the second hits knees, allowing Kassidy to get two off a small package. Back up and a quick TK Driver finishes Quen to retain the titles at 15:49.

Rating: B-. This is a fine example of a match where the wrestlers were trying but they were running uphill with an anchor. Private Party were not pay per view level challengers and there was no way around it. The Bucks were getting their win back from five years ago and get to hold onto the titles which lose more and more value every single day. There was no reason to believe Private Party was getting the belts here and they weren’t getting around that reality. This did not need to be on pay per view.

Private Party are left in the ring for the big ovation and get some polite applause.

We recap Chris Jericho challenging Mark Briscoe for the Ring Of Honor World Title. Jericho beat him in a tag match and has made it personal by mentioning Mark’s brother Jay. Those are major fighting words.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho, with Big Bill, is challenging. Briscoe stomps away in the corner to start and knocks him outside for some more shots to the face. The elbow off the apron connects and Briscoe loads up the chair, only to hit a big running flip dive to take out Jericho and Bill. There’s the Blockbuster off the apron to take Jericho down again but Bill tries to get involved.

Cue Orange Cassidy to fight Bill to the back, leaving it one on one. A Death Valley Driver has Jericho rolling out to the apron, where he knocks Briscoe out to the floor. Back in and Jericho takes him up top but gets sent crashing back down, allowing Briscoe to strike away. A fisherman’s buster gives Briscoe two but Jericho is right back with the Walls.

That’s broken up so here is Bryan Keith, with Rocky Romero running out to fight him to the back. Back up and Briscoe sends him outside for the big step up flip dive through a well placed table. The Jay Driller is countered and Jericho hits a Judas Effect, setting up his own Jay Driller for two. They slug it out from their knees, which fires Briscoe up as he knocks Jericho down again. The Froggy Bow sets up the Jay Driller to retain the title at 15:19.

Rating: B-. Again, a perfectly good match which did have some drama to it as there is always the chance that Jericho will get a big win. Other than that, it’s probably the biggest singles win of Briscoe’s career and he had a nice moment by avenging his brother’s memory. At the same time though, it’s just another Jericho match and that’s kind of hard to get fired up about again.

We recap Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley for the former’s World Title. Danielson has said he’s done the next time he loses, but Moxley has gone all evil and talking about how he has to do this to Danielson, suggesting some kind of a higher power. Danielson is fighting for himself and the company.

AEW World Title: Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley

Danielson is defending and Marina Shafir is here with Moxley. They start the fight on the floor with Danielson hitting a running dropkick but getting choked with a camera cable. Shafir’s cheating is enough for Moxley to hit a clothesline and they go inside for the opening bell and the YES chants are on. Danielson suplexes his way out of a choke and hits the running knee for an early two. Moxley is sent outside for a big dive but he’s right back with a piledriver onto the announcers’ table.

More choking ensues and Moxley yells at the referee, because he’s all tough and mean and such. Shafir gets in a few shots of her own so Moxley can get two, followed by various strikes around the ropes. Moxley stomps away and snaps the fingers before Shafir peels back the floor mats. A piledriver onto the exposed concrete is countered with a backdrop but Moxley is able to catch Danielson on top. They take turns raking each others’ skin until Danielson ties him in the Tree of Woe.

A spider German superplex plants Moxley but the Swan Dive misses, allowing Moxley to hit his own Stomp. The bulldog choke goes on but Danielson rolls out and grabs a piledriver. They slowly pull themselves up and slug it out (BOO/YES) until Danielson hits a running clothesline. Shafir breaks up the running knee so Moxley can hit a cutter, but that’s enough for an ejection.

Now the running knee can connect to give Danielson two and the LeBell Lock goes on. The rope is reached for the break and Moxley heads outside, where he counters a suicide dive into a Death Rider on the exposed concrete. Back in and Moxley grabs a choke, with Danielson climbing the corner and crashing down for the break. Another running knee gets another two but Moxley hits some lariats. The Death Rider gives Moxley one so Moxley piledrivers him into another choke and Danielson is out at 26:52.

Rating: B. Yeah the big bad Moxley wins after kicking out of a bunch of finishers. That’s what you have to expect with Moxley because his whole deal is “I’m really tough and awesome and don’t care and violence and blood and such”. That doesn’t make for the most compelling character, but it’s likely going to be the focal point of the company for another good while.

The bigger story here is Danielson’s in-ring career (at least the full time version) coming to an end and…are you really surprised he went out with someone beating him in what passes for clean in a main event match around here? He’ll be back at some point, but that’s the kind of loss that should put him on the shelf for a long time to come.

Post match Moxley’s crew comes out and whip out the plastic bag but here is Darby Allin to make the save. Wheeler Yuta runs in and takes Allin out (shocking I know) before putting the bag over Danielson’s face. Private Party and Jeff Jarrett run in but get fended off as well, with Castagnoli Pillmanizing Danielson’s neck. A bunch of guys finally run in for the save. Everyone gets all somber and Excalibur is crying as Danielson does a stretcher job to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. So that’s another pay per view and it’s rather dark times for AEW. Right now, all eleven (yes eleven) champions are heels, leaving a grand total of nothing happy at the moment, at least when it comes to gold. It feels like we’re going to be seeing Moxley and company on top for a bit, and unless the Elite turns good (oh geez), it could be a dark time for a long while.

As for the show, it was your usual AEW fare, with nothing bad, one very good match, and a bunch of solid enough material filling in the gaps. At the same time, as usual, I’m exhausted after watching this show and could use a break from AEW, which is how it feels every time they have one of these four hour pay per views with an hour plus Kickoff Show out in front. The show was good and I did enjoy most of it, but there were times where I needed a breather because there is so much on here. You could have easily cut out an hour and a half of this show and made it an easier sit, but that’s not how AEW works.

Overall, it’s a good but not great show, which needs some things cut out. I’m not overly thrilled with AEW at the moment and as usual, the good in-ring action is all that’s carrying it. Hopefully they find something that can be a bit more fun for a change, because seeing the villains dominate and the two big heel groups and Jericho on almost every show is a bit much to take week in and week out. Just find something for me to get happy over and it’s a lot better. That really shouldn’t be such a rare thing.

Results
Brian Cage b. Atlantis Jr. – Drill Claw
Anna Jay b. Harley Cameron – Gory Bomb
Acclaimed b. MxM Collection – Mic Drop to Mansoor
Conglomeration/Outrunners b. Dark Order/Premiere Athletes – Total Recall to Daivari
Jay White b. Hangman Page – Bladerunner
Mariah May b. Willow Nightingale – Storm Zero
Jack Perry b. Katsuyori Shibata – Rollup
Konosuke Takeshita b. Will Ospreay and Ricochet – Running knee to Ospreay
Hologram b. The Beast Mortos 2-1
Darby Allin b. Brody King – Coffin Drop
Young Bucks b. Private Party – TK Driver to Quen
Mark Briscoe b. Chris Jericho – Jay Driller
Jon Moxley b. Bryan Danielson – Choke

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We’re back on pay per view and that could make for a good show, as AEW has a pretty good record on these things. At the same time though, this show hasn’t exactly looked the strongest on paper and that isn’t instilling me with hope. It would be nice to see this show exceed expectations, but there are only a few matches on the top that are feeling important. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Ring Of Honor TV Title: Atlantis Jr.(c) vs. Brian Cage

This was announced a few weeks ago on ROH’s weekly show and it has been barely been mentioned since, with Cage throwing in a quick promo this week and that’s about it. In this case we have Atlantis Jr. having been champion for a few months now and not exactly feeling important. That still puts him ahead of Cage, who hasn’t done anything significant in the better part of ever.

I’ll go with Atlantis Jr. retaining here, as there is just no reason to believe that Cage is going to win anything on his own. I’m not sure why Atlantis Jr. is still holding the title, but for some reason he’s coming up on four months as champion without doing anything important. This should be a fine enough way to warm things up, even if it is the least hyped title match I’ve seen since last week’s Ring Of Honor.

Zero Hour: MxM Collection vs. The Acclaimed

Here we at least have something from the regular AEW TV shows and in that case we could be seeing something interesting as the Collection has said they are going to have someone in their corner. That could go in a variety of ways as they are going to be counteracting Billy Gunn, which is no easy task. Or it could be a complete disappointment, ala the whole Max Caster jacket reveal.

I’ll go with the Collection winning thanks to the person they have in their corner, as they need a win far more than the Acclaimed, who have nothing going on at the moment. This is pretty much entirely built around who might be in the Collection’s corner, as there is just nothing else going on that would make this match work. It would be nice to keep it short and to the point, which is where the Zero Hour show detail gives me some hope.

Zero Hour: Anna Jay vs. Harley Cameron

So Jay is back after her sojourn in Japan and is supposed to be all extra skilled and deadly now. While she has done a few different things, she hasn’t shown herself to be anything that much better than her previous time in the company. She needs to be consistently pushed if AEW wants to turn her into something serious, and facing Cameron is not going to help that in any way.

Of course I’ll take Jay here, as Cameron is just there for the sake of making her look good. That should work well, but it’s not likely to be the match that takes Jay up to the next level. It’s nice to see her getting a win on a bigger show, but Jay is firmly in a place where she needs to be pushed harder or it is going to wind up being in the exact same problem she has had for years.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Mark Briscoe(c) vs. Chris Jericho

Yes Jericho is still getting another title shot and no you should not be surprised by that in the slightest. This is what happens with Jericho over and over and he is doing it again here, with a title he already won a few years ago. Jericho has invoked the name of Mark’s brother Jay to really make this serious and thankfully Mark has been able to carry things a bit further from here.

While Briscoe has done absolutely nothing in his six months as champion, there is no reason to put the title on Jericho. If nothing else, AEW needs to get away from Jericho, who has been around and near titles so frequently that it is little more than a running joke. That being said, yeah I think he’ll win it here, because it’s just kind of what Jericho does. Even if he doesn’t win, it’s hard to believe he’ll take a step back, so just go with Jericho winning here as it cuts out all of the middle nonsense.

Darby Allin vs. Brody King

This is the third match in a feud that has been going on for over a year and while it is kind of good, it feels like a major step down for Allin. After he was stupid enough to put his completely earned World Title match on the line, he then loses to Jon Moxley and is left facing one third of a trio rather than in some kind of a big match. Sure he’ll get a big reaction because he’s Allin and he’s near his hometown, but there is still something missing.

I’ll take Allin to win here, as there is absolutely no reason for King to win. This should be Allin throwing himself around like a pinball against the monster King and that should work out rather well. After this though, Allin needs to do something significant, as otherwise he is running the risk of dropping way too far down the ladder. Beating King won’t fix things, but it will at least give him a win.

TNT Title: Jack Perry(c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata

We’ll get this one out of the way as it might be the most obvious result on the entire show. AEW has made it clear that they are going to do whatever they need to do to make Perry into the most amazing, toughest star in wrestling today and beating Shibata is the next way to go. Shibata feels like someone who is thrown out there to make Perry look better and that is what we’re looking at here.

Naturally I’ll take Perry to win here, as he is clearly the next big project for AEW and he is going to get another win here over someone of Shibata’s status. Perry can win here and move on to his next victim before we hopefully get to someone to take the title off of him. That isn’t going to be Shibata, who is only there to make Perry look like a star, because that is what AEW wants to do.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks(c) vs. Private Party

Ok so when I said the TNT Title match might be the most obvious result, I had completely forgotten about this one. This is a match that is being built around the memory of Private Party beating the Bucks in a total fluke FIVE YEARS AGO. The fact that Private Party has done absolutely nothing important since then should tell you everything that you need to know about this match.

Of course it’s going to be the Bucks winning here, giving the fans the most obvious result imaginable. There has never been a reason to believe Private Party was going to win here and while they’ll likely put in a hard fight, the Bucks aren’t going to lose their big, epic reign here. I’m not sure who is going to the titles from the Bucks, but it isn’t going to be a team who has been as nothing as Private Party for so long.

International Title: Will Ospreay(c) vs. Ricochet vs. Konosuke Takeshita

NOW we’re getting somewhere as this could go in all three different directions. Ospreay has issues with both challengers, Ricochet is brand new and could use the win and Takeshita is LONG overdue to win something. When you factor in that Ospreay has lost more than a few times, there is a real chance that he loses here again. That makes things a lot more intriguing and I’m not sure who to pick.

I guess I’ll take Ospreay to win, but my goodness I could go for Takeshita getting the title here. The best thing here is that any of the three are viable options to win the whole thing and that is not something you often see. There is a very good chance that this match steals the show and I’m rather looking forward to what is going to happen. That isn’t something that is going to happen very often on this show and I like what’s going on with this one.

Women’s Title: Mariah May(c) vs. Willow Nightingale

So here we have the latest attempt to have Nightingale win a title (and keep it for any significant time). Nightingale is one of the most lovable stars in all of wrestling and there is almost nothing to dislike about her. At the same time though, it is hard to imagine May losing to anyone not named Toni Storm, or at least not losing until Storm is back. Nightingale is a star, but I’m not sure she’s ready for this spot.

As much as I’d love to see Nightingale pull this off, it is hard to fathom that she gets the title here, which is why I’ll take May. That isn’t the worst idea, but dang Nightingale getting so close and having her one title reign be used to make Mercedes Mone a champion was rough. May wins here and gets to keep her title reign going while hope continues to spring eternal for Nightingale.

Hangman Page vs. Jay White

So White made his return recently and wanted revenge on Page, but that might not be enough here. Page is coming off winning a pay per view main event match over a former World Champion. While White is a former World Champion in his own right, he’s not feeling anywhere near Page’s level at the moment. That should make for a pretty clear result and that is what I think we’ll be seeing.

I’ll go with Page here, as while I like White, there is no reason to believe he has any kind of a chance against Page. Ultimately, Page very well could be the next big thing in the main event scene, though facing White after last month’s war against Swerve Strickland does feel like a downgrade. For now though, Page will be getting another win over a name and that should tide him over until Full Gear.

Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos

This is 2/3 falls, in theory so that Hologram can get credit for two wins or some other such nonsense. Hologram is yet another project for AEW and while he has won a bunch of matches, he hasn’t really done anything significant, it does make sense to put him on pay per view. It doesn’t make sense to have him face someone like Mortos, who was put into a bigger story on Dynamite with Jake Roberts coming on board.

Roberts or no Roberts though, there is no way that Hologram is going to lose his first match in this spot. I’m not even sure I can imagine him losing a fall, at least by pin or submission. This should go to Hologram, but after this, can we please move him on to something a bit more interesting? He has enough wins under his feet to move on but he has to beat Mortos first, which he will here.

AEW World Title: Bryan Danielson(c) vs. Jon Moxley

Believe it or not, Moxley is back in the World Title scene and is talking about how awesome and tough and violent he really is. It’s something we’ve seen time after time and there is nothing that makes this one stand out, to the point where he already has a lot of the same backup this time around. Apparently he has a secret leader this time though, and it wouldn’t shock me to see the big reveal here.

As annoying as it is, I’ll go with Moxley to win here, as it feels like the biggest story in AEW at the moment. Give us the big reveal, let Moxley have his title reign (again) and do whatever he’s talking about this time. Danielson will likely come back later on in some way, but for now, Moxley seems to be the big focal point and we’ll get to hear him talk about how tough and intense he is for months to come.

Overall Thoughts

There are matches on this show that have me interested, but it would be so much better as a seven or eight match card rather than almost twice that long. There is stuff on here which just does not belong on pay per view and matches like that are going to make for a very long show when this thing is pushing four hours. I’m interested in some matches on this show, but it isn’t the strongest pay per view card, which is something I’m saying more and more regularly on the things.

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Dynamite
Date: October 8, 2024
Location: Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jeff Jarrett

It’s Title Tuesday, this year featuring a grand total of one title match. Other than that, it’s also the last Dynamite before this weekend’s WrestleDream, which isn’t exactly looking great. The show could use a nice boost this week and the likely tag team main event will aim to do just that. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Jon Moxley talks about how no one wants to take Bryan Danielson out, so Moxley will have to do it himself. You have all of these people playing with their toys and living in a fantasy world. In the real world, Danielson being backed into a corner is a terrifying thing. With his world closing in around him, Danielson will accept his inner darkness but Moxley isn’t scared of anything. He hopes Danielson understands one day but for right now, the stakes are too high.

Danielson says tonight isn’t his last match on Dynamite and tonight he’s going to kick Claudio Castagnoli’s head in.

Here is Darby Allin for a chat and he wastes no time in calling out Brody King. Cue King, with Allin saying King could have accepted the challenge a bit more nicely. Allin goes on about how he got King a job here and King has done a lot of the same things he has done. They’ve both bought houses and let their fathers retire, but Allin is the face of the company. King snaps and rants about how Allin is too risky so Allin tells him to finish him off. The fight is on and Allin hits him in the face with a rock (yes a rock) and King is busted open before they’re separated.

Jake Roberts (hey he still works here) is in the back with Lance Archer when Don Callis comes in. Callis says he and Roberts have complete a talent exchange, with Archer now being part of the Don Callis Family. This seems to be cool with Archer, though Roberts won’t say who he got in exchange.

Daniel Garcia is back and will give us an update on his future in the ring.

Hologram vs. Komander

They fight over wrist control to start and trade armdrags and then come up to a standoff. Hologram sends him outside and hits a heck of a suicide dive for a drive into the barricade. Back in and Hologram kicks him down for two as commentary talks about Taz undergoing knee replacement surgery. A Muta lock is broken up and Hologram gets two off a snap suplex as we take a break.

Back with Komander hitting a rather springboardy hurricanrana, setting up a big running step up flip dive to the floor. They get back in with Hologram hitting a middle rope reverse Spanish Fly to leave them both down again. Hologram’s 450 hits knees so Komander tries the rope walk but has to reverse a hurricanrana into a powerbomb (that didn’t look great but they did a nice job with the save). Back up and Hologram grabs a poisonrana, followed by the torture rack helicopter bomb for the pin at 11:57.

Rating: B. This is pretty much what you get from Hologram most of the time but moving him over to Dynamite is a change of pace. It was an entertaining match and he has been undefeated for a few months now, but it is time for some kind of a feud to start up. You can only get so much out of this kind of match and he is pretty much at the end of the rope for what he has been doing.

Post match Jake Roberts is on the stage as Rush, Dralistico and The Beast Mortos come in to beat down Komander and Hologram. The trio raise a fist and Roberts does the same. So that’s the trade and…yeah Roberts got the much better end of the deal.

Mark Briscoe, being much more serious than usual, says Chris Jericho has gone too far. It’s not about the title at WrestleDream, because Briscoe is going to hurt him.

Here is Daniel Garcia for his big announcement. Garcia thanks Tony Khan for giving him the chance and now he is going to be sticking around on a new contract. This is the start of a new Garcia, which starts with him picking up some gold.

Video on Swerve Strickland, with MVP and Prince Nana fighting over getting to be his manager. Swerve will be back at WrestleDream, with MVP and Shelton Benjamin shown watching in the back.

Mercedes Mone and Kamille aren’t worried about Emi Sakura tonight.

Daniel Garcia celebrates with some people, including Katsuyori Shibata, who seems interested in giving Garcia a title shot after he wins the TNT Title.

Willow Nightingale vs. Saraya vs. Nyla Rose vs. Jamie Hayter

For a Women’s Title shot against Mariah May, on commentary, at WrestleDream, Harley Cameron is here with Saraya and Rose is replacing an ill Britt Baker. Saraya gets chased out to the floor to start, leaving Hayter to take out the other two inside. Rose is back up to wreck them for a bit, only to have Cameron and Saraya come back in to clear the ring. Rose goes up and dives onto everyone for the big crash as we take a break.

Back with Hayter hitting a backbreaker on Rose but Saraya breaks it up. It’s Hayter up first to slug away and suplexes the non-Sarayas at the same time. Saraya grabs a chair but Hayter takes it away and unloads on her. Cue the returning Penelope Ford to take the chair away as well and lure Hayter to the back (May: “Aww shucks.”). Rose goes up but Cameron shoves her down and it’s table time. Saraya Nightcaps Nightingale for two but Nightingale Death Valley Drivers her through a table for the pin at 11:25.

Rating: C+. It was going to be Nightingale or Baker in the first place so this is a logical way to go. That being said, there was WAY too much going on here with interference and a table and all that jazz and it hurt things a bit. At the same time, I was disappointed with May, who was sounding bored on commentary here. Compare it to her awesome time calling a match on Collision a week or so ago and it’s a night and day difference.

Post match May headbutts Nightingale down and beats on her with the belt.

The Learning Tree talks to Rocky Romero and suggest that he is just a lackey to the Conglomeration.

Jay White vs. Cody Chhun

Juice Robinson is here with White, who shoulders Chhun down but walks into a dropkick. A DDT gives Chhun two but White is back up with a hard clothesline. White suplexes him into the corner and hits a swinging Rock Bottom, followed by the Bladerunner for the fast pin at 2:52.

Post match White says Hangman Page is the first of two wrongs he needs to correct. After that, it’s time for the World Title, but he wants Page at WrestleDream.

Hook wants to know who attacked his father and runs into the Patriarchy. Christian Cage says they’re both family men and while Cage has lost Luchasaurus to a medical condition, he feels sorry for Hook losing his father.

Willow Nightingale jumps Mariah May and promises to win the Women’s Title on Saturday.

TBS Title/NJPW Women’s Strong Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Emi Sakura

Mone is defending and has Kamille in her corner. Mone takes her down to start and does her dance but gets thrown into the corner. Sakura gets sent into the corner as well but fires back with some rapid fire chops. A quick knockdown to the floor lets Mone hit some knees off the apron though and we take a break.

Back with Mone’s Backstabber connecting for two, followed by the running knees in the corner. Another Meteora off the apron misses though and Sakura hits a running splash against the barricade. Sakura crossbodies Mone and Kamille against the barricade, followed by a butterfly backbreaker back inside but Mone rolls to the apron. That’s enough for Kamille to get in a cheap shot, setting up the Statement Maker (as in the Bank Statement, which is FAR better than the Mone Maker) for the tap at 10:12.

Rating: C+. I’m well aware that Sakura is a legend (commentary made sure to tell us that over and over) but she’s never meant much of anything in AEW. She hasn’t wrestled a match here in almost six months and hasn’t won anything televised in about a year and a half. If you want her to be in this match and for her to feel like a serious challenger, you might try something more than “she won a match in Japan a week or so ago to get this shot”.

Post match the beatdown is on but Kris Statlander runs in for the save.

Stokely Hathaway offers his services to Private Party, who turn him down because they are on their own for the first time in five years. They’re ready for the Young Bucks too.

Tony Schiavone brings in Will Ospreay for a chat. Ospreay thinks Don Callis was behind Konosuke Takeshita interrupting his title match last week and wants a chat (his words). Cue Callis for a hug but Ospreay isn’t having that. Callis says last week was difficult for him emotionally and brings up some of their history together. Ospreay doesn’t want to hear that and point blank asks if Callis sent Takeshita to attack him. Callis: “You don’t need to know that!”

Eventually Callis admits that he sent Ospreay out to learn who is really in charge of the Family. Ospreay talks about how Callis keeps messing things up because he won’t leave people alone. Maybe Callis needs to throw Ospreay out of the Family (Wasn’t he out of the Family months ago?).

Ospreay says they’re done and goes after Callis but Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher run in for the save. Fletcher tries to talk Ospreay down and Takeshita grabs a suplex on Ospreay. Callis pulls out the screwdriver but Fletcher won’t do it. Instead Takeshita drops Ospreay again but here is Ricochet for the save. It’s good to make Callis a clear cut heel again, though I’m still not sure how you can throw someone off a team twice.

Top Flight is ticked off at not getting the Tag Team Title shot but Action Andretti yells at them for not being fired up enough. Leila Grey yells at Andretti, who says they don’t get it and walks away.

Jack Perry wants Katsuyori to be violent, so bring it at WrestleDream.

Bryan Danielson/Wheeler Yuta vs. Claudio Castagnoli/Pac

Danielson starts with Pac but kicks Castagnoli off the apron. Everything breaks down and the good guys hit stereo dives to the floor. Back in and Danielson holds Pac in place for a running dropkick from Yuta. Pac sends Danielson into the corner though and Castagnoli comes in to stomp away. That’s broken up and Danielson flips away, allowing Yuta to come in for a German suplex to Pac. Cattle Mutilation is broken up and the villains take over as we take a break.

Back with Yuta superkicking Pac out of the air to leave both of them down. Castagnoli cuts Yuta off and tries to yell at him, only to get his finger bitten as a result. Danielson comes in and strikes away in the corner before snapping off a super hurricanrana. Pac comes back in and gets taken down as well, with Danielson stomping away. A big kick to the head drops Castagnoli but cue Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir for a distraction. Castagnoli hits Swiss Death to set up Pac’s 450 for two. Yuta takes a hammer from Pac, allowing Danielson to pull him into the LeBell Lock for the tap at 15:19.

Rating: B. Other than Danielson looking a bit superheroish near the end, this was a solid main event tag match and Danielson gets a boost on the way to the title match. I’m not sure what this means for the Trios Titles, but points for not going with what felt like an obvious Yuta turn. As for Yuta, he still feels in over his head, but he does at least tie into this story.

Post match Moxley and Danielson fight to the back as the other three beat down Yuta. Castagnoli hits Yuta in the ribs with the hammer until Danielson beats Moxley into the ring. Danielson saves Yuta and poses to end the show. So Danielson just beat up Pac, Castagnoli and (a fresh) Moxley singlehandedly but he’s supposed to be in any kind of danger on Saturday?

Overall Rating: B. Lack of a focus on titles on a show called TITLE TUESDAY aside (there has been one Dynamite since the beginning of September with no title matches so it’s not even that special of a concept), this show did a nice job of boosting up WrestleDream. I’m still not wild on a lot of what they’re offering on Saturday, but they did focus on that show here, even adding some more stuff to the card. That’s a good way to go for this Dynamite and it was a pretty easy watch throughout. It’s not a show that you needed to watch, but it’s a show that WrestleDream needed and that’s more important.

Results
Hologram b. Komander – Torture rack helicopter bomb
Willow Nightingale b. Saraya, Nyla Rose and Jamie Hayter – Death Valley Driver to Saraya through a table
Jay White b. Cody Chhun – Bladerunner
Mercedes Mone b. Emi Sakura – Statement Maker
Bryan Danielson/Wheeler Yuta b. Pac/Claudio Castagnoli – LeBell Lock to Pac

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

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AND

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Collision
Date: October 5, 2024
Location: Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re a week away from WrestleDream and this week’s show will determine the Tag Team Title match at the pay per view. In this case we have three teams vying for the show, with one of them being the team who has been feuding with the champions in recent weeks. Othe than that, you ever know what you might see here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Darby Allin vs. Johnny TV

Feeling out process to start until they fight over arm control. Allin grabs a headlock takeover but TV ties him in the ropes and hits the sliding German suplex for two. A hard whip sends Allin into the corner but he’s right back with a top rope superplex for a breather. TV is fine enough to legsweep him on the apron but misses a splash.

The Coffin Drop to the floor looks to set up the usual version back inside, only for TV to break it up. Starship Pain is blocked as well so TV hits a Razor’s Edge into a faceplant (that was cool) for two. Back up and Starship Pain misses again, allowing Allin to hit a Code Red for two. The Coffin Drop finishes TV at 7:40.

Rating: C+. This was what you would expect from TV these days, as he was out there to make someone else look good and did a nice enough job at that. Allin was out there throwing himself around and getting the fans to care or him, which is where he tends to shine. Nice, to the point match here.

Post match Allin brings up his WrestleDream open challenge, saying he wants an answer tonight. Anyone who wants to make their name off of him can step up right now, but no one comes out. Allin goes to leave…and gets jumped by Brody King. The beatdown is on and King powerbombs him onto the apron before saying “I ACCEPT”.

We get another 80s style video, with the Outrunners and FTR training together.

Outrunners vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Magnum and Drake start things off with the former snapping off an armdrag into a double bicep pose. Gibson comes in and gets chopped in the corner before it’s back to Drake. The Veterans are cleared out and the fans are rather pleased as well as we go to the a break. Back with Gibson working on Floyd’s knee before handing it off to Drake. Some diving tag attempts don’t work until Floyd rolls over for the tag to Magnum. A string of slams set up the double elbow as the fans are rather invested again. Drake makes a save and what looks like a Doomsday Device is loaded up but Magnum reverses into a victory roll for he pin at 9:58.

Rating: C+. Good, now do something with them. The Outrunners are a fun act and the ans are into them. They don’t seem like they are going to have an incredibly long shelf life so do something with them and capitalize on this. At the same time, the Veterans felt like they were going to be something and…no.

Video on Britt Baker, who wants the Women’s Title.

Willow Nightingale wants the title as well. The rest of the Conglomeration is ready to beat up the Premiere Athletes, because the word of the day is diversification, because they are a diverse team.

Willow Nightingale vs. Trish Adora

Mariah May is at ringside. Nightingale runs her over for two to start and they trade suplexes for two each. Adora’s double arm crank into a rollup gets two more but Nightingale fights up, leaving May looking….confused? We take a break and come back with Adora hitting something like an Air Raid Crash onto the knee for two. Nightingale pops back up with a middle rope dropkick for two of her own but Adora hits a running crossbody. One heck of a bridging German suplex gives Adora two, only for Nightingale to hit a quick Babe With The Powerbomb for the pin at 8:01.

Rating: C+. Adora was trying some different things and that is what usually makes her stand out most of the time. The bridging German suplex looked great and while there wasn’t a ton of drama over the winner, at least they kept it interesting. Nightingale seems to be getting into the title picture and that is always worth a look.

Post match Nightingale gets in a brawl with May.

Wheeler Yuta is interrupted by Pac and Claudio Castagnoli, who throw the interviewer out. Yuta rants about what he has done for Castagnoli and now he’s just supposed to trust him after everything? Castagnoli says he’ll always have Yuta’s back.

Mariah May is sick of everyone coming for the title. Christopher Daniels comes in to make Willow Nightingale vs. Britt Baker in a #1 contenders match for the WrestleDream title shot.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Beef

Anthony Henry is here with Beef. Yuta unloads on him in the corner but Beef is back with some right hands. A discus punch and something like an Angle Slam put Beef down and Yuta stomps away in the corner. The elbows to the face set up Cattle Mutilation to finish Beef at 2:15.

Hook calls out whomever attacked Taz for Dynamite.

Video on Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay, with Konosuke Takeshita interfering for the DQ. Triple threat title match at WrestleDream.

Conglomeration vs. Premiere Athletes

The Athletes, with Josh Woods and Mark Sterling, jump them to start but Cassidy snaps off a double hurricanrana. Back to back dives put the Conglomeration down on the floor though and Daivari stomps away as we take a break. We come back with Cassidy driving Daivari into the corner for the tag to O’Reilly, who cranks on a leglock.

Nese comes in for the save but Cassidy is back in with a high crossbody to Daivari. Nese’s pumphandle is countered into a DDT from Cassidy and Rocky Romero gets in a fight with Woods. Sterling helps Woods with the beatdown so here is Mark Briscoe to fight Woods to the back. Cassidy drops Sterling and hits the Beach Break on Nese for the win at 10:20.

Rating: B-. It feels like the Premiere Athletes have gotten beaten up by every team in AEW for months now and it’s kind of hard to get interested in seeing it happen again. The match was perfectly fine, but there was no question about how it was going to end, with Sterling getting taken out as he often does. Perfectly fine, but not exciting.

Lance Archer is beating up people in the back, as is his custom. Don Callis pops in to ask if Archer is still represented by Jake Roberts. Archer: “Yeah.”

Mercedes Mone does her usual bragging when Kris Statlander interrupts. Kamille isn’t having this and glaring ensues.

Hologram vs. Nick Wayne vs. Action Andretti vs. Komander

Hologram and Komander hit running hurricanranas to start before being sent outside. Andretti hits a dropkick on Wayne for two but gets sent to the apron. Komander runs the ropes and bounces onto another rope to…land on the apron. Hologram clears the ring but gets pulled out to the floor, leaving Andretti to hit a rolling flipping splash off the apron to Komander.

We take a break and come back with Hologram hitting a reverse suplex to Wayne and a DDT to Andretti at the same time, followed by a 450 for two on Wayne. Komander is back in with the very springboardy hurricanranas but charges into a Spanish Fly to give Andretti two. Something like a Canadian Destroyer plants Hologram though and everyone is down. Komander’s Cielito Lindo hits Hologram but he’s back up with a helicopter bomb to pin Andretti at 10:47.

Rating: B. You’ve probably seen a match like this many times before but that doesn’t make it any less fun. This was four guys going out there and doing a bunch of stuff until one of them got a pin. It was rather entertaining and the live fans were into it, as Hologram’s rise to…I’m sure it’ll go somewhere at some point, continues.

The Undisputed Kingdom asks The Beast Mortos where his allegiances lie so he grunts a lot.

Kris Statlander vs. Zoey Lynn

A gorilla press slam and Staturday Night Fever finishes Lynn at 40 seconds.

Post match Mercedes Mone and Kamille come out, with the former saying Statlander isn’t showing her up. Kamille gets in the ring for the brawl and lays Statlander out in short order. Well that didn’t last long.

Darby Allin is ready for Brody King at WrestleDream. He got King hired and King is going to have to fight to take everything from him.

Emi Sakura won a match in Japan and gets a TBS Title shot as a result. Of course she does. Hasn’t won a match in AEW since last April, but gets one win and has a title shot.

House Of Black vs. Private Party vs. Top Flight

For the Tag Team Title shot at WrestleDream. Dante and Quen trade near falls to start before Private Party sends Top Flight outside. Everything breaks down and the House catches some dives to take out Private Party without much trouble. We take a break and come back with Dante tagging himself back in to pick up the pace. A frog splash to Quen gets two and they’re both down again.

Darius comes back in but gets caught with a springboard Stunner and Silly String. That doesn’t work for the House, who comes in to wreck Top Flight without much trouble. Private Party is back in but can’t hit Gin & Juice on Matthews. Instead Matthews hits a Jackhammer into a top rope double stomp for two on Kassidy, with the kickout leaving Matthews stunned. Cue Action Andretti for a distraction though, with Dante hitting a dive to take out the House. Kassidy hits his own dive and Gin & Juice finishes Dante at 11:48.

Rating: B-. While Private Party seemed to be the likely choices for the title shot as they’ve been feuding with the Young Bucks in recent weeks, it’s almost hard to believe that this is the best option for the shot. Private Party is mainly riding on the result of a match from five years ago, followed by a long string of nothing, and then a few wins (minus the time the Blackpool Combat Club mauled them) to get this shot. That’s not exactly inspiring stuff for a pay per view title shot but the tag division is so decimated that we’re going there anyway.

Overall Rating: C+. Maybe it’s due to the show being up against WWE Bad Blood, but this did not feel important or really worthy of watching. There was good action and some stuff was set up for WrestleDream, but look at what was set up. Private Party gets a title shot? Darby Allin vs. Brody King? WrestleDream is looking like a rather weak card and this didn’t make things any better, which isn’t the most encouraging sign. The wrestling here was solid enough, but dang it doesn’t have me interested in anything coming up.

Results
Darby Allin b. Johnny TV – Coffin Drop
Outrunners b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Victory roll to Gibson
Willow Nightingale b. Trish Adora – Babe With The Powerbomb
Wheeler Yuta b. Beef – Cattle Mutilation
Conglomeration b. Premiere Athletes – Beach Break to Nese
Hologram b. Kip Sabian, Action Andretti and Komander – Helicopter bomb to Andretti
Kris Statlander b. Zoey Lynn – Staturday Night Fever
Private Party b. House Of Black and Top Flight – Gin & Juice to Dante

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

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AND

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Collision
Date: September 28, 2024
Location: Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York City, New York
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Ian Riccaboni, Matt Menard

It’s the second show in the tennis stadium and that means we are in for a big card. In this case it means we have a lumberjack strap match between Hangman Page and Jeff Jarrett, an open challenge for the TNT Title and Saraya’s Rules between Saraya and Jamie Hayter. That should be enough so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Saraya vs. Jamie Hayter

This is under Saraya’s Rules, which basically means Saraya can do whatever she wants and Hayter can do nothing. Harley Cameron is here with Saraya and says there is one more rule: the match does not begin until Saraya “slaps the slag”. Saraya does get in the slap and Hayter drops both of them in short order. Cameron grabs the leg though and Saraya gets in a VCR shot before beating on Hayter with a computer keyboard.

Cameron gets in some more shots on the floor (Menard smiles because he likes a good crazy woman). Hayter fights up and German suplexes Saraya on the floor before sending Cameron hard into the steps. Saraya hits her in the back with a pipe before pouring a bunch of toy cars onto a table. That takes too long though and Hayter sends her into the barricade as well.

Cameron offers a distraction but Hayter still catches a diving Saraya with a powerslam. They go up, with Saraya hitting Hayter with a chair, knocking her through a table and Cameron onto another (with Hayter’s head coming dangerously close to slamming into the still standing table). That’s enough to give Saraya two on the floor…and now she’s willing to try for a countout. Back in and Hayter drives her through a table in the corner for a breather and hits a tombstone, followed by Hayterade for the pin at 8:10.

Rating: B-. I feel like I’ve seen so many of these matches lately that there’s just nothing to get excited about anymore. They hit each other with weapons, they put each other through tables, they do something that makes fans think “oh I’ve stepped on one of those and that hurts” and then they had the finish. On the positive side, it was a good, hard fought win for Hayter, who can move on from these two and get into something more serious.

We get more of a sitdown interview with Ricochet and Will Ospreay, with Ricochet talking about how he showed up and everyone was on him. Ospreay says the best in the world is on him too. More on this on YouTube.

Conglomeration vs. Learning Tree

Tornado Tag. It’s a big brawl to start, as it kind of has to do. Cassidy hits Jericho in the face with a backpack for two, revealing a brick inside. Keith comes back in and gets caught with the Stundog Millionaire. Bill is back in but gets sent outside, with Briscoe loading up the chair. That takes too long though and Jericho hits an AA to send Briscoe into the chair.

We take a break and come back with Bill cleaning house until a three on one beating in the corner cuts him off. Briscoe starts cleaning house with the chair but Jericho cuts him off with a Codebreaker. Jericho is sat in the chair for some alternating kicks but Bill makes another save. O’Reilly takes out Bill’s leg though and Briscoe hits Jericho with the chair. The Jay Driller hits Jericho but Briscoe would rather put him on a table. Bill chokeslams Briscoe through said table and Jericho gets the pin at 9:02.

Rating: C+. I’m not surprised that Jericho pinned a champion and is probably getting a title shot and you shouldn’t be either. That’s the kind of thing that Jericho does and I’m sure Briscoe will be stuck with him for months. As for the match, it was another wild brawl after the previous match was similar enough (though this one didn’t feature as many weapons), but this one had Jericho likely going into another title program so it’s a lot more frustrating.

Post match Jericho motions that he wants the title. I for one am shocked.

Brody King vs. Action Andretti

Andretti goes for the leg to start and hits the running shooting star press for an early two. King runs him over though and punches Andretti out of the air, setting up the Cannonball for the pin at 1:41. That worked.

Post match the Righteous runs in to brawl with Andretti, Top Flight and Lio Rush.

Jack Perry drives his stupid bus/van to the show.

TNT Title: Jack Perry vs. ???

Perry is defending against…Minoru Suzuki. We get the staredown to start and they trade forearms, with Suzuki getting the better of things. Suzuki takes him down and stomps on the arm as we take an early break. Back with Perry getting two off a neckbreaker as Schiavone seems to forget where we are for a second. Suzuki shrugs off some knees to the head and grabs the sleeper before switching to a failed Gotch Style piledriver attempt. They go outside with Perry being sent into the barricade. Perry comes back with a knee to the face and a DDT, followed by another running knee for the countout at 7:23.

Rating: C-. Yeah sure. I know Perry had to be on the show because he’s still a thing for whatever reason and this was probably supposed to be some big moment. Suzuki showing up for his regular exchange of forearms and funny looks isn’t exactly exciting either and that made for quite a lackluster match here. At least the break cut things up a bit.

Post match Perry beats on Suzuki even more until Katsuyori Shibata makes the save.

Trios Titles: Claudio Castagnoli/Pac/Wheeler Yuta vs. Private Party/Komander

Castagnoli/Pac/Yuta are defending but Yuta comes out behind them and really does not seem happy. Quen hammers on Pac in the corner to start but Castagnoli gets in a cheap shot from the apron so Pac can take over. Yuta won’t accept a tag in so Castagnoli slams Quen down and hits a double stomp. Something like an Irish Curse gives Castagnoli two and Pac chokes some more.

Quen fights out of the corner again though and it’s off to Kassidy for some fresh punching. Everything breaks down and Castagnoli Swings Kassidy but Yuta won’t do the dropkick. Komander sends Castagnoli outside so Yuta Angle Slams Kassidy (Yuta doesn’t look thrilled) for two. Kassidy slaps Yuta in the face though and that’s enough for Yuta to snap, with the elbows to the face and Cattle Mutilation (Pac approves) to retain at 7:23.

Rating: C+. This was almost a squash but it’s also one of the more interesting things in AEW. Having Yuta not wanting to be on the same side of the villains and only fighting because he got hit in the face has my interest and I’m curious to see where it goes. Yuta is doing the best he can with it, though it might be rather different when there is some tougher competition.

Post match Yuta snaps back to reality and storms away from his partners.

We get an Outrunners video, featuring them at an amusement park.

Hologram vs. Dralistico vs. The Beast Mortos

Mortos runs the other two over with a clothesline to start but they’re back up for a three way exchange of hurricanranas. Dralistico kicks Hologram down before sending Mortos outside, with Hologram hitting a dive onto both of them. We take a break and come back with Hologram being suplexed into the corner before kicking him in the head. Mortos gets headscissored down as well as commentary talks about how the current luchadors compare to the WCW days.

Holorgram’s big flip dive takes out Mortos on the floor but Mortos is back in to take out Dralistico. Hologram poisonranas Mortos into a crucifix bomb from Dralistico. That doesn’t keep him down long though as Mortos is back up with a double clothesline. A discus lariat drops Hologram and Dralistico grabs the cover for two. Dralistico is back up with a springboard Canadian Destroyer but Hologram grabs a crucifix to pin Dralistico at 10:08.

Rating: B. This was the popcorn match of the show and that’s all it needed to be. Hologram got to showcase himself but as usual, Mortos felt like a big star and seems to be someone who could be something special. As usual it’s more about Hologram though, which is starting to work, though he could use more of a feud.

Post match Rush comes in to pose with the losers, setting up a three way beatdown on Hologram. That’s not what I was hoping for from Mortos, as Los Ingobernables haven’t meant anything in months.

Kris Statlander is back and picking her spots, as she either takes people out or makes them better.

Here is the MxM Collection to present Max Caster’s improved jacket. They mock the idea of Caster being the best wrestler in the world and bring out some models, holding up cutouts of the Collection over their faces. Then they reveal a large man (named Hans, behind a mask) in Caster’s jacket, with a heard cut out from the chest. They want the rather large and muscular Hans on the team…but it’s really Billy Gunn, which brings out the Acclaimed to clear the ring. Caster gets his jacket back. This was really, really bad.

Hangman Page vs. Jeff Jarrett

Lumberjack strap match, with lumberjacks carrying straps (as the name implies). They slug it out until Jarrett sends him to the apron but Page avoids the whipping. Jarrett gets sent to the apron as well but saves himself too. Back up and Page sends him outside, but his friends won’t whip him. Another trip to the floor doesn’t go as well, with Jarrett taking a beating. Page suplexes him down and we take a break.

Well we’re supposed to though as commentary throws it to picture in picture but we’re still full screen. Page hammers away in the corner but misses a charge, only to knock Jarrett outside again for another whipping. We see to come back from break but the feed starts messing up (a graphic tells us it’s #2436 and we’re in part 4, with seg 7-10). Now we go picture in picture, with the video rewound to what we saw on full screen. Back with Jarrett hitting a Russian legsweep (same thing that happened before the glitching) but Page sends him outside, again in front of Jarrett’s friends.

A whip from Juice Robinson (dressed as a lumberjack) breaks up the Buckshot Lariat though and Jarrett hits a dive. The Stroke is broken up though and Page gets one of the straps to whip Jarrett. Karen Jarrett comes in to protect her husband, which is enough for Jeff to get his own strap and whip Page outside. Everyone, including Karen, gets in some whips, but a low blow cuts Jeff off. The Deadeye finishes for Page at 13:25 (from bell to bell, including the glitching and repeat footage).

Rating: B-. I’m not sure what to make of this one but I had a good time with it. Page survived what everyone threw at him and then beat a game Jeff. It didn’t need to do anything with drama or the like and they didn’t bother trying. Jeff got in a few shots before losing to the bigger star, which is all this should have been.

Post match Page beats up a variety of people but the Gunns chase him off.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Sammy Guevara

Non-title. They fight over wrist control to start until Okada takes him up against the ropes. Okada hits a sliding kick to the head but Guevara sends him outside and strikes a pose. With Okada on the floor, Guevara gets a running start and dives off the steps with a cutter. Okada puts him back down though and we take a break.

Back with Guevara grabbing a headscissor driver and hitting a running clothesline to the floor. A moonsault out to the floor drops Okada again but he backdrops Guevara hard onto the steps. Back in and a top rope elbow hits Guevara but the Rainmaker is countered into a Spanish fly for two. The GTH sends Okada into the corner, where he comes out with the Rainmaker for the pin at 12:28.

Rating: B-. This is a match that would have been a lot better a few years ago, as Guevara is not exactly the star he used to be. Okada was doing his usual stuff here and it was only so good, with the Rainmaker wrecking Guevara in the end. It didn’t feel like much of a main event, but Okada in the ring is a nice treat most of the time.

Overall Rating: B-. Other than the name, there was nothing here that made this show feel important or big in any way. Hayter and Page got wins, the Learning Tree beat up the popular team, the two title matches were just there, and the main event felt like it could have been on any given show. Not a bad night at all, but not exactly worth your time.

Results
Jamie Hayter b. Saraya – Hayterade
Learning Tree b. Conglomeration – Chokeslam through a table to Briscoe
Brody King b. Action Andretti – Cannonball
Jack Perry b. Minoru Suzuki via countout
Claudio Castagnoli/Pac/Wheeler Yuta b. Private Party/Komander – Cattle Mutilation to Kassidy
Hologram b. Dralistico and The Beast Mortos – Crucifix to Dralistico
Hangman Page b. Jeff Jarrett – Deadeye
Kazuchika Okada b. Sammy Guevara – Rainmaker

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

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AND

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Collision
Date: September 21, 2024
Location: MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the last show before Grand Slam and that means it is time to start the final push towards the show. There is still a chance that we find out whether or not Bryan Danielson will be appearing at Grand Slam, along with anything else that might be added. Other than that, we have the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles on the line, as AEW shows continue to host a lot of the other promotion’s title matches. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Sammy Guevara/Dustin Rhodes vs. Kingdom

The Kingdom is challenging in a Bunkhouse Brawl. Rhodes and Guevara come out in local hockey jerseys to make them even more popular. It’s a brawl on the stage to start as commentary points out that the Kingdom is from around here. The champs fight back inside as we talk about Dusty Rhodes giving Dustin the belt buckle he is wearing.

Bennett is already busted open and Guevara whips out a kendo stick to clean some house. A hard shot to the face sends Guevara outside though and something like a diving Doomsday Device on the floor makes it worse. Dustin goes after them but gets superkicked down, only to bulldog Taven off the stage and through some tables. Guevara is back up with a bulldog off the apron and through a table at ringside as we take a break. Back with Guevara being shoved off a ladder and through a table but Dustin grabs a double testicular claw to save himself.

A cowbell to the head puts Bennett down and Taven gets the same as the comeback is on. Dustin powerslams Taven onto a chair and then suplexes him through it for a nasty crash. Two chairs are set up and Dustin charges into a Death Valley Driver onto said chairs. Guevara is back in and gets Bennett in the corner, setting up Dustin’s Shattered Dreams and the Final Reckoning. Guevara’s Swanton off the ladder pins Bennett to retain at 13:19.

Rating: B. It was a good brawl, which is enough to get around the fact that the champions are still not that interesting. Guevara and Rhodes are just two guys who were put together because the show was in Texas for a few months. They don’t have anything special in the way of chemistry and yet Rhodes is a double champion for whatever reason.

The Conglomeration and Hologram are interrupted by the Premiere Athletes, who want no shenanigans. Mark Briscoe looks at these four scalawags and sees one shenanigator in the form of Mark Sterling. Kyle O’Reilly asks if shenanigator is the word of the day. Briscoe: “Close Kyle, but you’re way off.” The word of the day is AZUCAR, because Rocky Romero is here to even things out. As usual, Briscoe is as delightful of a thing as you will find in AEW.

The Dark Order is ready to face Darby Allin later tonight. Allin comes in to say there is a war coming with Jon Moxley and coming. He wants Evil Uno to remind him what he can do tonight.

Conglomeration/Hologram vs. Premiere Athletes

Rocky Romero is here with the good guys to even out the Athletes’ Mark Sterling. O’Reilly and Woods start things off with Woods having to bail to the ropes to escape the ankle lock. Hologram comes in to dropkick Nese, followed by another dropkick for another two. Sterling offers a distraction though and Woods gets in a cheap shot to take over as we go to a break.

Back with O’Reilly not being able to get over for the tag but then tagging in Hologram seconds later. Daivari gets in a knee from the apron though and Hologram has to hand it off to Briscoe for Redneck Kung Fu. The Death Valley Driver hits Woods and Hologram dives onto Sterling, leaving Briscoe to hit the Jay Driller for the pin on Woods at 8:59.

Rating: B-. More of the same as Hologram is put in there with any star AEW can find, but I’m not sure how much good it’s doing him. It’s not hurting him or anything, but it’s a lot of the same stuff that we’ve seen for a few months now. Hologram needs something of his own and while it’s not too late (or even close), I’m not sure what that is going to be.

The MxM Collection say last week (it was last night on Rampage) they promised to give Max Caster’s jacket a makeover. You’ll see what they’ve done…next week.

Mariah May vs. Lady Frost

Non-title. May blows Nigel McGuinness a kiss and he almost falls out of his chair. The distraction lets Frost grab a rollup for two but May rams her into the buckle a few times. May grabs a Stratusphere but charges into some boots in the corner. A middle rope crossbody gives Frost two but May snaps off a German suplex. May’s knee to the face into Storm Zero finishes at 3:29.

Rating: C. May stacks up another win, though she is still looking for that first big challenger. Yuka Sakazaki doesn’t count as such but it would not surprise me to see Toni Storm show up again after the title match at Grand Slam. For now though, giving May another victory is perfectly logical and about all that can be done.

Video on May vs. Sakazaki.

Willow Nightingale will be watching Grand Slam but Deonna Purrazzo and Taya Valkyrie show up, saying Nightingale isn’t a good friend. Purrazzo offers Yuka Sakazaki protection and we get Nightingale vs. Valkyrie for Rampage.

Acclaimed and Billy Gunn don’t like the MxM Collection, with Max Caster actually rapping again for once.

Video on Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley with Wheeler Yuta not sure if he should stick with Moxley and company.

Darby Allin vs. Evil Uno

Uno drives him into the corner to start and hammers away, with Alex Reynolds distracting the referee. That lets Uno whip Allin with a belt but Allin fights up and knocks Uno outside. Reynolds offers a distraction though and Allin gets sent into the steps to put him back in trouble. Back in and Allin grabs the Captain’s Hook (bulldog choke) before ripping at Uno’s mask in the corner. Uno is back with a Downward Spiral and Reynolds offers another distraction, earning him a whipping with the belt. Allin Coffin Drops onto the two of them on the floor, setting up the regular version to pin Uno back inside at 5:11.

Rating: C. Just a quick win to give Allin some momentum heading into his match with Jon Moxley at Grand Slam. Heating up Uno for one night didn’t exactly work but being out there for five minutes isn’t going to hurt things. Allin fought through some adversity and won, which is where he tends to shine.

We look at Hangman Page and Jeff Jarrett on Dynamite.

Jarrett promises to fight Page at Grand Slam, even if his wife Karen doesn’t. He proposes a lumberjack strap match because that’s how he was raised.

Queen Aminata vs. Serena Deeb

They start slowly until Deeb takes her down by the wrist. Aminata gets in a quick knockdown for two but Deeb sends her hard into the corner as we take a break. Back with both of them down until Aminata is up with a running boot in the corner. Some suplexes give Aminata two and a release German suplex sends Deeb flying.

The running knee in the ropes gives Aminata two more but Deeb is back with a hammerlock lariat for the same. Deebtox is broken up though and they trade rollups for two each. The big headbutt sends Deb outside but she’s fine enough to grab a dragon screw legwhip over the ropes. Now Deebtox can connect to finish Aminata at 10:25.

Rating: C+. Deeb getting a win is almost weird to see but at least she has some momentum for a change. On the other hand you have Aminata, who felt like she was going to be the next big thing but then she just stopped moving forward. They had a nice match here though, and Deeb can hopefully move on to something bigger.

We look at Saraya challenging Jamie Hayter to a Saraya’s Rules match.

Saraya and Harley Cameron explain the rules: Saraya can do anything and Hayter can’t do anything. Then Cameron eats the rules because she’s odd that way.

Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara are happy to retain their titles but Guevara wants another title. So he’ll face Kazuchika Okada for an eliminator match. Dustin believes in him.

Grizzled Young Veterans/Roderick Strong/Rush/The Beast Mortos vs. Outrunners/FTR/Hook

Drake headlocks Wheeler to start and then runs him over a few times. Back up and Wheeler grabs an armdrag into an armbar. Everything breaks down and Strong gets caught in the big circle of punches as we take a break. Back with Mortos and Harwood striking it out until Mortos knocks him into the corner for the cannonball. Rush comes in for the cocky boot to the face in the corner before it’s Gibson coming in.

That works better for Harwood, who grabs a snap suplex for two. Hook comes in to headlock Gibson but Drake comes in for a shot to the face. Strong chops Hook into the corner as Nigel complains about Schiavone’s lack of professionalism. Hook fights up and cleans house on his own but Mortos gets in a cheap shot so Strong can take over. We take another break and come back with Hook fighting out of a chinlock and escaping a suplex, allowing Floyd to come in.

Everything breaks down and the Paisan Elbow sets up the Shatter Machine (from the Outrunners) for two on Drake. Everything breaks down again and Gibson chokes away on Magnum in the ropes. Strong hits an Irish Curse for two and it’s back to Rush for the running clothesline. Strong grabs the chinlock as commentary talks about Bryan Danielson. Magnum fights up and a double clothesline gives him a needed breather.

The tag is cut off again though and we take another break. Back again with Harwood coming in to fire off the rights and lefts to put various villains down. Triple stereo German suplexes give us a triple near fall before Rush and Harwood chop it out. Mortos breaks up a Shatter Machine and hits a dive, leaving Harwood to get double teamed in the corner. The Bull’s Horns finishes Harwood at 24:17.

Rating: B. The result is a surprise as I was expecting the Outrunners to take the fall here but instead they were out there so the fans can have a good time with one of the most popular teams in the company. Rush continues to get a renewed focus and seeing him get a pin in a TV main event is a big spot.

Serena Deeb wants Britt Baker next week.

Nigel McGuinness is disgusted by the World Champion being a coward. The reality is Bryan Fears Nigel (which is what Nigel’s shirt says) but maybe Bryan should do it for the fans. The fans identify with him but Tony Schiavone interrupts, saying he has had enough of McGuinness. Danielson is not afraid of McGuinness and is only missing because he is not medially cleared.

Schiavone praises Danielson, earning a big threat from Nigel. He doesn’t care how Danielson does it but he wants Danielson in the ring to prove that he is just as good. Danielson knows who the better man is and knows what happens if he shows up at Grand Slam. The ball is in Danielson’s court and Nigel wants him there next week. Nigel is growing more and more unhinged here, which could make for a very interesting showdown.

Overall Rating: B-. The opener and main event were both good but this show was in a tough spot. Grand Slam is all that matters and this show was much more about setting things up for next week. This show was good enough, but everything is going to matter next week and this was little more than a preview/prep show.

Results
Sammy Guevara/Dustin Rhodes b. Kingdom – Swanton off a ladder to Bennett
Conglomeration/Hologram b. Premiere Athletes – Jay Driller to Woods
Mariah May b. Lady Frost – Storm Zero
Darby Allin b. Evil Uno – Coffin Drop
Serena Deeb b. Queen Aminata – Deebtox
Grizzled Young Veterans/Rush/Roderick Strong/The Beast Mortos b. FTR/Hook/Outrunners – Bull’s Horns to Harwood

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Collision
Date: September 14, 2024
Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re getting closer and closer to Grand Slam and this is another taped show after the kind of weird taping schedule following All In. Dynamite was not the strongest show in the world so hopefully they can bounce back a bit here. That could be easily done as Collision can have some strong shows when given the chance. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

TNT Title: Jack Perry vs. Christopher Daniels

Daniels is challenging and strikes away in the corner to start. A clothesline gives Perry a quick two and he does that cross pose in the corner. Perry gets two off a running clothesline and a neckbreaker, followed by a more basic kick to the head for one. A missile dropkick gives Perry two more, with Nigel saying Bryan Danielson stole that from Perry. Daniels manages a quick STO and the Death Valley Driver for two. The Angel’s Wings is countered and they trade rollups for two each. Perry puts him down again though and the running knee (with middle fingers, because Perry is tough like that) retains at 5:07.

Rating: C. If you must have Perry in the ring so often, this is the kind of win that is going to help boost him up. Daniels is still a name and even though he is miles past his prime, it’s still a nice win for Perry and didn’t take that long. Perry is going to need a bigger challenger coming up though, and I’m not sure who can deal with someone as interesting/tough/amazing as him.

Perry leaves, getting in the Scapegoatmobile, while saying the people who hate him can’t handle the truth.

We kind of look at what happened to Bryan Danielson.

Wheeler Yuta is very upset about what happened and hasn’t talked to the rest of the team. He has a match tonight but you can tell his mind is everywhere else. Yuta sold this rather well.

Conglomeration/Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos/Premiere Athletes

Mark Sterling is here with the Athletes and says he paid Mortos off to team with them tonight. O’Reilly works on Nese’s arm to start and it’s off to Briscoe to stay on the arm. Nese takes him into the corner and Daivari comes in, with Nigel talking about how rich Daivari certainly is. Briscoe isn’t having that and staggers Daivari so O’Reilly can come in with a boot to the face.

O’Reilly stays on Daivari’s arm (he likes that) so Mortos comes in and knocks Hologram out of the air. A rather springboardy armdrag takes Mortos down though and an armdrag gets two on Nese. Everything breaks down and, after a weird wide shot, Josh Woods offers a distraction so O’Reilly can be taken out. We take a break and come back with Briscoe coming in to clean house, including a suplex for two on Nese.

Mortos breaks up the Jay Driller but gets knocked out to the floor. Hologram takes Nese off the top for two with Daivari making the save. Nese dives onto O’Reilly but gets taken out by Hologram’s running flip dive. Mortos hits an even bigger dive, only for Sterling to cut off Briscoe’s dive. That doesn’t work for Briscoe, who hits his own big dive over Sterling to take a bunch of people out. Back in and Hologram hits a tornado DDT into a crucifix to pin Nese at 10:37.

Rating: B. Take Hologram To Your Match Day continues with the Conglomeration getting a turn. It’s not the worst idea and Hologram is getting to rub elbows with some big names, though I’m not sure I know anything about him yet other than he flips a lot. Either way, it was another fun match, with the stars getting to showcase themselves a good bit.

Post match Mortos spears Hologram down, with the Conglomeration making the save.

We look at Orange Cassidy winning at CMLL’s Anniversary show and taking out Chris Jericho to end the show.

The Learning Tree jump Orange Cassidy and put the backpack over his head so Chris Jericho can smash the picture from Dynamite over his head. Well over the bag over his head.

Someone who looks like Stokely Hathaway (we never saw his face) watches a DVD of the Briscoes vs. FTR III.

Mariah May isn’t having her championship celebration this week and still wants Mina Shirakawa back. She can’t have her celebration without her. Yuka Sakazaki comes in to say she wants a title shot. May says she can get in line so May can rip her head off. Sakazaki: “OK! BYE!”

Wheeler Yuta vs. Anthony Henry

Yuta is not into this and Henry has Beef with him. Henry headlocks him down to start and Yuta doesn’t seem to care. A takedown lets Henry kick him in the back but Yuta comes back with a slam, only to miss a backsplash. Henry sends him outside for a suplex into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Henry getting two off an Air Raid Crash but Yuta spins through the ropes and grabs a German suplex for two. Yuta is sent outside again and into the barricade, setting up a top rope double stomp for two. Henry dares to mention Danielson though and Yuta snaps, hammering away in the corner to knock Henry outside for a change. There’s the big suicide dive and Yuta kicks Beef in the face for a bonus. Back in and a missile dropkick into the elbows to the neck into Cattle Mutilation finish Henry at 9:01.

Rating: C+. This is an interesting one as it’s just ok as a match, but it told a story of Yuta, who is usually dull and rather lackluster when it comes to intensity, snapping over his mentor’s name. It’s certainly something, and while it wasn’t a great match, it made me more interested in seeing where this is going, which is a good sign. If nothing else, I’ll take this over Yuta’s Pure Rules stuff, which has turned into one of the dullest things around here.

Post match Yuta almost goes after the referee but calms himself down and leaves in peace.

Serena Deeb wants Queen Aminata to watch her match later, but she doesn’t think Aminata is ready. Aminata doesn’t have time for this, but Deeb will show her how it’s done.

Anna Jay is back from Japan and talks about how much she has grown in Japan. Now she wants a title. If she can actually maintain some momentum, it would mean more than anything she learned elsewhere.

Private Party/Komander vs. Ren Jones/Lord Crewe/Jon Cruz

I wonder if these are the same guys Private Party and Komander were going to face on Dynamite. Kassidy flips over Jones to start but has to throw Crewe over the top. Komander takes Crewe down with a flip dive and Cielito Lindo hits Cruz. Gin and Juice finishes Jones at 1:06. That worked.

Nigel McGuinness explains that while he doesn’t know if Bryan Danielson can go at Grand Slam, he’ll be ready just in case. Tony Khan booked the match almost as a stop gap, with Darby Allin putting his title shot on the line against Jon Moxley because Danielson might not be able to go.

That’s one heck of a way to go to get around a bait and switch and….yeah I’m not quite buying that Allin was told “Danielson is indisposed” and Tony Khan was TOTALLY FINE with changing a match that might still be able to happen (as well as GIVING THE MAN WHO TRIED TO KILL THE WORLD CHAMPION a #1 CONTENDERS MATCH) all in the span of about ten minutes.

McGuinness shows us a video on his history with Bryan Danielson and knows Danielson is still scared of him. If Danielson shows up, Nigel is going to end his career.

Serena Deeb vs. Yuka Sakazaki

The bell rings and Mariah May comes out to join commentary. Then the bell rings again and May tells Sakazaki, who is returning after a broken leg, to break a leg. Deeb ties Sakazaki up in the Paradise Lock as May says Sakazaki is a child so May can’t beat her up. Sakazaki fights up but gets neckbreakered over the rope as we take a break. Back with Sakazaki hitting a missile dropkick as May says she wants to put Sakazaki over her knee and spank her (with a certain look at Nigel).

Deeb hits a hammerlock lariat for two but Deebtox is countered into a sliding lariat for two. Back up and Deeb powerbombs her into a Brock Lock, with Sakazaki crawling over to the ropes. They trade standing clotheslines with Deeb getting the better of things, only for Sakazaki to hit a scoop brainbuster. The Magical Girl Splash finishes Deeb at 10:39.

Rating: C+. I guess it’s time for Sakazaki to be a thing again, as May apparently knows her from her time in Japan and isn’t a fan. Sakazaki is coming back from an injury that kept her out of action for a long time and…well apparently she’s just jumping right into the title picture, despite never being anything significant around here in the first place. That being said, May was an absolute star here, with a great mixture of anger, humor and flirting, plus some outstanding facial expressions. Do more of this everywhere else.

Post match May goes after Sakazaki, who kicks May in the face and picks up the Women’s Title.

Video on the Outrunners, and yes they are training in less than pristine quality video, because….well would you expect anything else?

Top Flight and company had a nice dinner but Action Andretti is ticked off at their losses this week. Why aren’t they winning bigger matches? Andretti says he wants the House Of Black and leaves.

Bang Bang Gang vs. Cage Of Agony

Toa powers Robinson into the corner, where Robinson gives him a quick spank as he slips out. Kaun comes in to chop away at Colten but it’s Austin coming in to trip Kaun down. It’s off to Cage to drop Austin though and we take a break. Back with Austin diving at his partners, who have been knocked to the floor, only for Colten to come back up for the tag a second later.

Colten snaps off some suplexes until Kaun Pounces the heck out of him. The toss sitout powerbomb gets two with Austin making the save. Toa misses a charge and it’s back to Robinson to pick up the pace. Cage blasts him with a discus lariat and powerbombs Austin but Robinson makes the save. The big left into the 3:10 To Yuma into the forward DDT finishes Cage at 10:30.

Rating: C+. The trios division continues to just not be very interesting. So often it feels like a team is either thrown together and wins the titles (like now) or comes out of nowhere to win them. At the same time, you can all but guarantee that the Cage Of Agony will be around, as they are just kind of there no matter what.

Queen Aminata mocks Serena Deeb’s loss.

Queen Aminata vs. Robyn Renegade

Aminata takes her down with a bodyscissors without much trouble and grabs an early crossface. That’s broken up so Renegade snaps her down again, only to get dropkicked into a DDT for two. Aminata is back with a swinging neckbreaker and the headbutt for the pin at 3:04.

Rating: C. It’s amazing how much easier it is to watch Aminata now that she isn’t being featured time after time. There was a stretch there where she was wrestling 2-3 times on TV every week and it was getting old fast. This was a dominant enough performance and she should have a match with Deeb coming. That might not be the most thrilling, but I do like having a feud over something other than a title for a change.

Post match Deeb runs in and takes Aminata out.

The House Of Black knows a bunch of people are coming for them so bring them on.

FTR vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Harwood and Gibson start things off but it’s a four way stand off in short order. Drake comes in and gets shouldered down before it’s off to a test of strength. Wheeler comes in to chop away but it’s back to Gibson to strike away on Harwood. The Veterans clear the ring but Harwood is back in for two off a sunset flip. A belly to back superplex drops Drake hard and we take a break.

Back with Drake cutting off a tag to Wheeler but getting clotheslined down. Harwood makes it over to Wheeler…but the referee doesn’t see it, only to see it a few seconds later. Some rollups give Wheeler two, at least until Gibson comes in to grab him so Drake can score with an enziguri. Wheeler drops Gibson with a clothesline but the spike piledriver is broken up. What looked like a Doomsday Device is broken up as well and Harwood Sharpshooters Drake for the tap at 11:05.

Rating: B. This was just getting going when it came to an end and…the Veterans just lose. One of the biggest problems with AEW’s tag division is how the same teams have been at the top for so long and the Veterans being some fresh blood could have helped. Instead, they lose their first big match in about eleven minutes to FTR, who have been around for the better part of ever. Such is life in the tag division.

Post match the Veterans jump FTR again but the Outrunners make the save to a big reaction. The big handshake and a lot of posing (Harwood is so impressed that he faints)

Overall Rating: C+. There was good stuff in here and it wasn’t a bad show by any means, but it is the textbook definition of a show that feels like it should have been an hour long but was stretched out to two. There was a fair amount of stuff that felt like it was added in to fill time, which is not the best way to go. That being said, it was a totally watchable show with nothing too bad. I can go with bored for a bit over getting annoyed for large segments, so call this a decent enough show.

Results
Jack Perry b. Christopher Daniels – Running knee
Conglomeration/Hologram b. Premiere Athletes/The Beast Mortos – Crucifix to Nese
Wheeler Yuta b. Anthony Henry – Cattle Mutilation
Private Party/Komander b. Ren Jones/Lord Crewe/Jon Cruz – Gin and Juice to Jones
Yuka Sakazaki b. Serena Deeb – Magical Girl Splash
Bang Bang Gang b. Cage Of Agony – Forward DDT to Cage
Queen Aminata b. Robyn Renegade – Headbutt
FTR b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Sharpshooter to Drake

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

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All Out 2024
Date: September 7, 2024
Location: NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the second pay per view in two weeks and we certainly have a big main event tonight. After Hangman Page burned Swerve Strickland’s house down on Dynamite, it’s time to lock them in a cage. Other than that, Jack Perry is challenging Bryan Danielson for the World Title because Jack Perry. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Iron Savages vs. Acclaimed

Bowens chops Bronson in the corner to start and it’s off to Caster, who gets crushed in the corner with a running splash. Caster is whipped hard into the corner again but can’t quite make a Flair Flip work. Instead Boulder hits a middle rope moonsault for two but a top rope elbow misses, allowing the tag to Bowens. Everything breaks down and Billy Gunn drops Jacked Jameson, leaving Caster to plant Bronson. The Arrival into the Mic Drop finishes for Caster at 8:51.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why this match was added as the Savages are about as low on the totem pole as you can get in the tag division. It was a nice little win for the Acclaimed, but this is something that could have easily been left on Rampage rather than here. The Acclaimed didn’t even rap!

Zero Hour: Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Hologram vs. Premiere Athletes

Guevara flips over Nese to start but gets caught in the wrong corner for the stomping. A quick shot knocks Daivari down though and it’s off to Hologram to take out all three Athletes at the same time. The numbers game catches up with Hologram and Daivari takes over before Woods throws him outside. Mark Sterling gets in some stomping but Hologram manages a tornado DDT and hands it off to Rhodes for his usual comeback. Guevara hits a big flip dive over the top and it’s time for a parade of superkicks back inside. Some Cross Rhodes put the Athletes down and another hits Sterling. The Final Reckoning finishes Woods at 10:00.

Rating: C. Remember last night when Rhodes and Guevara and Hologram won a six man match? Well they did it again here. There was nothing to see here other than Hologram doing the same stuff he usually does. Rhodes is a double champion including a Six Man Champion, but now he’s in another three man team, giving him three stories going on at once, while how many wrestlers have almost nothing to do?

Zero Hour: Bang Bang Gang vs. Dark Order

It’s a brawl to start with the Gunns being sent outside, allowing the Order to do their pose on Robinson’s back. Robinson fights back and knocks them into the corner, setting up the Cannonball. Austin comes in but walks into Something Evil to give Silver two. Austin fights up again and gets kicked in the face, only to get caught in the Quick Draw. Everything breaks down again and Robinson hits his forward DDT to pin Uno at 7:34.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what there is to say about these matches. They don’t have a story and they’re just put out there to get people on the card and fill in time on the pre-show. The Gang gets a bit of a win but how much value is there in beating the Order? It’s another match that could have, and likely should have, been on Rampage, or just a dark match.

Skye Blue comes out for a surprise and asks if we could have had All Out without her. I’m thinking we could, but Mariah May interrupts. She isn’t going to have her championship celebration in Chicago and insults Blue. They get rather catty with each other with some vague references to being promiscuous until May kicks Blue’s crutch out. Queen Aminata makes the save.

Zero Hour: Beast Mortos/Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Undisputed Kingdom vs. Top Flight/Action Andretti

Taylor punches Bennett down before the bell and officially starts with Dante. It’s quickly off to Darius to slug it out with Moriarty before Mortos comes in to wreck a variety of people. Dante comes in and gets taken down into the corner, with Taylor hitting a splash to crush him rather hard. Dante absorbs some right hands from Taylor and knocks him down, allowing the tag back to Darius.

Everything breaks down and Top Flight teases a double dive, only to have Strong break it up. Taven kicks Dante in the head and hits the Flight Of The Conqueror to take out a Taylor, Bennett and Moriarty. Mortos hits his own twisting dive and it’s back inside for the parade of strikes to the face. Andretti DDTs Mortos but gets release Rock Bottomed by Taylor. Mortos adds a powerbomb to Andretti but Strong steals the pin at 10:57.

Rating: C+. This at least felt a bit more interesting than anything else on the pre-show but it didn’t feel like anything better than a Rampage main event. There was no title shot or prize on the line here and that didn’t do the match any favors. Maybe the Kingdom gets a title shot as a result, but those things are kind of few and far between.

The opening video looks at the show’s major matches.

We recap Daniel Garcia vs. MJF. Garcia is back after MJF laid him out and wants revenge, promising to break his neck.

Daniel Garcia vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Garcia runs in from behind and jumps MJF from behind to start fast. The bell rings and MJF shrugs it off and takes over with a shot to Garcia’s neck. Some choking in the ropes and a belly to back suplex have Garcia down and we hit the cravate as the neck work continues. A brainbuster doesn’t work as Garcia knees him in the head and the crash out to the floor in a nasty landing. Back in and Garcia rolls some neckbreakers but has to block a piledriver attempt.

Instead MJF counters a leapfrog into a powerbomb for two before going after a cut on the forehead. The blood is flowing so MJF loads up the super Tombstone, which Garcia escapes to avoid a bad case of pain. Garcia fights up and fires off a bunch of elbows, only to get poked in the eyes. MJF calls for a brainbuster but gets rolled up for two instead. Back up and MJF hits a heck of a right hand to leave them both down.

Garcia fights up again and they trade German suplexes, followed by a big clothesline to put MJF down. MJF is back up with the Boston crab before switching over to a crossface. Garcia reverses into his variation of the Sharpshooter but MJF reverses into the Salt Of The Earth. MJF ties up both arms and a leg but Garcia uses the free let to make the ropes for the break.

Garcia’s jackknife rollup gets two and he strikes away before grabbing a front chancery. The arm starts to drop but Garcia blocks it because he wants to do more damage. The piledriver only gets two so Garcia loads up the super piledriver, only to get hit low. MJF uses Garcia’s jackknife rollup for the pin at 23:22.

Rating: B. This was a bit better than I was expecting with the right result. I get the idea of wanting to push Garcia, but MJF losing another pay per view match wouldn’t have been the right move. Garcia got something out of just being here, but there was no way you can put him over MJF in a spot this big. Not yet anyway.

Post match MJF offers a handshake but gets kicked low. Garcia hits the super piledriver and leaves through the crowd as commentary feels bad for MJF.

We recap the Young Bucks defending the Tag Team Titles against the Blackpool Combat Club, which is another part of the AEW vs. the Bucks feud over the summer.

Tag Team Titles: Blackpool Combat Club vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending. Matt and Yuta start things off with Matt’s wristlock being broken up and Yuta taking him down for a backsplash. Castagnoli comes in for a double shoulder and a double wishbone has the champs in trouble. Back up and Matt knocks Yuta down, setting up the kicks to the back to take over. The running flipping neckbreaker onto the knee sets up a chinlock, followed by a slingshot legdrop for two.

Yuta fights up and gets over to Castagnoli to fire off the uppercuts in the corner. A high crossbody gets two on Matt but he catches Castagnoli in the ropes. Yuta breaks up the hanging 450 and throws Matt’s kick into Nick’s head. Cattle Mutilation goes on but Nick makes the save with a Swanton.

Castagnoli comes back in and gets caught with the EVP Trigger, with Yuta making a save of his own. The Bucks pump up the shoes but Castagnoli blocks another EVP Trigger. Castagnoli Swings Matt for two but the Fastball Special is broken up. Back up and they try it again, only for Yuta’s splash to hit raised knees, allowing Matt to get a small package for the pin at 15:43.

Rating: B. It was good while it lasted, but there was almost no reason to believe that the titles were changing hands here. If nothing else, the Club already have some titles and the Bucks are not going to have their “epic” title reign come to an end in a thrown together tag match. The action worked, but this felt like a token title defense more than anything else.

We recap Will Ospreay defending the International Title against Pac. They’ve known each other for years and Pac won the title shot before Ospreay won the title. Pac is here to win and be all mean, as is his custom.

International Title: Pac vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay is defending and the fans are WAY into this one at the opening bell. We get the big staredown and Pac rolls outside for the early stall. Back in and a headlock takeover puts Ospreay down for a second. That’s broken up and they both flip over the other for a standoff. Pac knocks him outside and hits a big corkscrew dive to take him down again. Ospreay is right back up and hits his own corkscrew dive, followed by a double knockdown back inside.

They slap each other from the mat until Pac chokes in the corner. It’s already back to the floor with Ospreay being whipped into the barricade a few times. A brainbuster gives Pac two back inside and the headlock stays on Ospreay’s banged up neck. Ospreay fights up again and elbows him to the floor, setting up a Sasuke Special. Back in and a handspring spinning kick to the head drops Pac again.

The Cheeky Nandos Kick is broken up though and Pac hits a DDT into a Liger Bomb for two. Ospreay manages a standing Spanish Fly and the Oscutter for a delayed two to leave them both down again. Pac gets back up so Ospreay kicks him back down before they head to the apron. Another Oscutter is countered into a nasty German suplex, followed by a poisonrana to set up the Brutalizer. With that broken up, the Black Arrow hits raised knees to give Ospreay two more.

The Hidden Blade is countered and Pac hits a rebound German suplex for another near fall. Ospreay kicks him down and the fans are standing. Another poisonrana gives Pac another two and the Brutalizer goes on again. Ospreay powers up and hits his own poisonrana to rock Pac and a running elbow gets two. Pac crotches him on top but Ospreay slips out of a super poisonrana and hits another running elbow for another near fall. The Oscutter loads up the Stormbreaker, which is reversed into a hurricanrana to give Pac two. Ospreay has had it and hits the Hidden Blade to retain at 20:20.

Rating: A-. Yeah you knew this was going to be awesome coming in and they more than delivered. It was one big spot after another until Ospreay knocked him silly to retain. That’s all it needed to be and Pac can more than hang with just about anyone going today. Excellent match here, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

We recap Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander. They used to be friends but Statlander turned on her, likely at the influence of Stokely Hathaway. Nightingale got to pick the stipulation so we’re having a street fight.

Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale

Street fight and Stokely Hathaway is here with Statlander. A chair is brought in to start but Nightingale knocks it out of her hands and hits an early cannonball for two. They go to the apron with Statlander slipping out of a Death Valley Driver attempt and hitting her in the back with a chair. A powerbomb sends Nightingale through the announcers’ table and Statlander puts her on a regular table.

The Swanton from the top only hits table, though Statlander’s legs to hit the moving Nightingale. One heck of a Pounce sends Statlander through the barricade and they go up the ramp. Statlander gets in a suplex and orders Hathaway to bring her a trashcan full of weapons. That works for Nightingale, who grabs a light tube and breaks it over Statlander’s head. Not to be outdone, Statlander gets up and spears her off the stage and through some tables.

They go back to the ring to trade strikes and slams before heading right back to the floor. Statlander grabs a bag of tacks so Nightingale bites the cut on her head. The tacks are poured out and Statlander is slammed onto them, landing in the splits. The Death Valley Driver gives Nightingale two and they go up top, where Statlander grabs a super Spanish Fly.

A discus lariat, with a chain wrapped around the arm, gives Statlander two and Nightingale rolls outside. Statlander whips out a chain and ties them together but Nightingale plants her with a spinebuster. They slug it out again and Statlander hits Staturday Night Fever before choking her out with the chain for the win at 15:02.

Rating: B. It was a street fight with the same stuff you often see in these things. You had the table, the chair, the tacks and a light tube thrown in for the big spot. They beat the heck out of each other and it felt like a war between two people who wanted to hurt each other, but you know a lot of what you’re going to get in this and they didn’t change it up much here.

Will Ospreay is happy to have retained the International Title and knows Ricochet is watching. Cue Ricochet, who gets in Ospreay’s face and says he’ll see him soon.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Mark Briscoe

Okada is defending and the challengers all won qualifying matches last night on Collision. It’s a brawl to start with Briscoe being knocked outside, leaving Cassidy to DDT Okada for two. Back in and Briscoe shoulders Okada down before trading clotheslines with Takeshita in the corner. Briscoe knocks him into the corner but Cassidy comes in to send Takeshita outside. Cassidy and Briscoe connect with stereo dives but Okada is back up with a suplex to Cassidy inside.

The Stundog Millionaire staggers Takeshita but Okada dropkicks Cassidy off the top. Briscoe gets the chair for the big flip dive to the floor and goes back inside to chop it out with Cassidy. Okada and Takeshita come back in to suplex both of them down and the fans are rather happy with the villains slugging it out. Okada hits the dropkick but gets caught with the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Takeshita takes Cassidy up for a superplex but Briscoe is there with the Froggy Bow for two of his own.

Briscoe counters the Rainmaker and hits a hard clothesline of his own to put Okada down. Takeshita blocks both the spinning DDT and the Stundog Millionaire before running Cassidy over with the knee. Briscoe is back in with the Jay Driller but Okada makes the save. The Froggy Boy hits raised knees so Takeshita’s running knee gets two on Briscoe. Okada is back in to clean house until Cassidy rolls him up for two. The Rainmaker to Cassidy retains the title at 14:59.

Rating: B. This was pretty much all action and that’s what it needed to be. Okada was working well here but Takeshita felt like the star, as he was all over the place and hitting one big move after another. Cassidy taking the fall is fine enough as he tends to react well to adversity. I’m not sure who takes the title from Okada, but he could be holding it for a long time. Now just get Takeshita something of note already as it is long overdue.

We recap Mercedes Mone defending the TBS Title vs. Hikaru Shida. There isn’t much of a story here, especially as Mone has recently beaten Shida.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Hikaru Shida

Shida is challenging. Mone charges at her to start and hammers away but Shida is back up with some running dropkicks. A Brock Lock has Mone in trouble until she gets over to the ropes. Shida’s running knee gets two but Mone is right back with a Meteora for the same. We hit the early chinlock for a bit, followed by the double knees in the corner to put Shida down again. Back up and Shida manages to send her hard into the corner, setting up a middle rope dropkick for two.

The right hands in the corner have Mone in more trouble but she pulls Shida down into the Bank Statement. Shida fights up and they knock each othe down until Shida comes back up with a knee to the head. Mone is fine enough to hit a sunset bomb into the corner for two as things are picking up. The Three Amigos connect but the frog splash hits raised knees. Shida rolls three straight Falcon Arrows for two of her own but the Katana is countered into a dragon screw legwhip.

Shida is back with a German suplex and a running knee for two but her own knee is banged up. That means the Katana doesn’t quite work so she hits it two more times, with Mone rolling out to the floor. They fight over the kendo stick with Mone being pulled into the post but Shida throws the stick down. Instead Shida tries a Meteora but bangs her knee up again, allowing Mone to hit the Mone Maker (which is somehow getting worse) for the pin to retain at 16:29.

Rating: B-. This was getting good near the end but the stuff with the stick felt kind of out of nowhere. The Mone Maker didn’t look like something that would have finished Shida off but Mone insists on sticking with it for whatever reason. Shida couldn’t have felt like much more of a lame duck challenger coming in after Mone beat her last month, so this was only going to have so much drama.

We recap Jack Perry challenging Bryan Danielson for the World Title. Danielson won the title at All In and has said he’s done when he loses. Perry is the first challenger.

AEW World Title: Jack Perry vs. Bryan Danielson

Perry, who rode to the back in his weird car and met with the Young Bucks, is challenging (and his TNT Title isn’t on the line). They fight over a lockup to start with Perry throwing him down and then slipping away from Danielson on the mat. Back up and Danielson charges into an armdrag but Perry goes outside for a breather. Perry gets back in so Danielson starts in on the arm before hitting a powerslam of all things.

The surfboard has Perry in more trouble but he gets outside before Danielson can stomp his head. A dive takes Perry down again instead but he superkicks Danielson out of the air. The fans are all over Perry as he whips Danielson into the barricade. Back in and Perry fires off some hard chops, setting up a neckbreaker for two. Perry goes up but gets caught in a nasty belly to back superplex. Danielson fires off the kicks and spins him into the LeBell Lock until Perry gets a foot on the ropes.

The moonsault over Perry looks to set up the running clothesline but Perry pulls him into what used to be known as the Snare Trap. Perry switches over to Cattle Mutilation, with Danielson slipping out, allowing Perry to hit a German suplex. They head to the apron where Danielson escapes a snapdragon suplex and they strike it out. Danielson suplexes him to the floor and it’s time for the YES Kicks back inside.

Perry pulls him back into the Snare Trap though, with Danielson making the ropes this time. Danielson kicks him in the head but a running dropkick hits the referee by mistake. Cue the Young Bucks to jump Danielson, including the TK Driver. The Blackpool Combat Club runs in to chase the Bucks off, leaving Perry to hit a running knee for two.

Perry stomps away but Danielson gets up and hits a running knee of his own to leave both of them down. They slug it out again until Perry’s slap just fires Danielson up. Danielson strikes him down and hits the running knee for two so Danielson stomps him in the head. Perry gets to his knees and holds his arms out, allowing Danielson to hit another running knee to retain at 27:02.

Rating: B. It was a good match but it was Perry challenging and it’s going to take more to beat Danielson than Perry’s big move of “DO YOU KNOW WHO MY FRIENDS ARE”. In theory this was just because of the short turnaround between All In and All Out, but Perry never felt like a real threat to the title. At least he got to do his pose at the end though, because he’s just that interesting.

Post match Killswitch comes in to lay out Danielson and here is Christian Cage with the Patriarchy. Jon Moxley gets in the way of the cash-in though and the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club (including Pac) has the Patriarchy turning away. Moxley gets in the ring to hug Danielson and the team poses…until Claudio Castagnoli decks Danielson. Moxley whips out a plastic bag to suffocate Danielson as Pac holds Wheeler Yuta (the only one trying to help Danielson) back. Marina Shafir is here to cut off a referee as the fans chant THIS IS MURDER. Moxley lets go and the team leaves as the bag is ripped off and Danielson is given oxygen.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland. Page has become obsessed with Strickland after losing to him over and over. They are set for a cage match, but this week Page burned down Strickland’s childhood home to take this to quite a higher level.

Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland

Unsanctioned lights out and you can only win via pinfall, submission or knockout. Prince Nana is here with Swerve but the dancing is a bit subdued in a nice touch. The brawl is on as the cage lowers and Nana whips out a table. A bunch of other weapons are sent in as the cage is lowered and the bell rings. Swerve hammers away but neither can sent the other into the cage. Page gets knocked down and kicked in the head but Strickland takes too long looking at the weapons and gets caught with a German suplex.

With Strickland down, Page grabs a staple gun, which Strickland takes away and staples Page in the back. Strickland staples a picture of his family to Page’s chest and then his face for a bonus. Page tries to go up, earning himself a chair shot to the face. Something like a Death Valley Driver into the cage has Page in more trouble and Strickland chokes away. They both go up top, with Page dropping down to crotch Strickland on the rope. There’s a ram into the cage to rock Strickland again and Page wraps some barbed wire around the cage wall.

Strickland is sent head first into the wire and is busted open as well. The cut is raked over the wire and Page kicks him in the face. Some chair shots have Strickland down again and the referee tries to step in, only for Strickland to flip over him for a Buckshot Lariat to Page. Strickland chairs Page down in the corner and then launches him head first into the chair for a scary crash.

It’s time to bring out a cinder block (oh dear) and Strickland Vertebreakers him onto said block (or at least pretty close to it) for two. The table is set up and a top rope Swerve Stomp drives Page through it in a huge crash. Page pops right back up and hits a Deadeye for two before whipping out a piece of the burned house. Strickland takes that away too and stabs Page in the head but cries as he looks at it. The distraction lets Page powerbomb him onto the cinder block for two and Page slugs away. That takes too long and Strickland is back up with a toss powerbomb into the cage.

The House Call against the cage and a running knee give Strickland two so he goes to the top of the cage. Well he starts to at least as Page is there to powerbomb him back down. Another Deadeye gets two and Page hits him in the head with a chair. Strickland starts laughing at him but falls down again. Page whips out a syringe and drives it through Strickland’s cheek before hitting a TERRIFYING chair shot to the head (with the camera cutting away) for the knockout at 31:21.

Rating: A-. I’m not sure what to say on this one, but I was feeling Page’s utter hatred of Strickland and wanting to destroy him, which is what he did in the end. Strickland was violent as well, but him laughing at Page in the end didn’t quite feel right after the whole arson thing. Page pretty much had to win here so he can finally beat Strickland, but I’m not sure where things can go from here. For now though, an incredibly violent match, albeit with the syringe being a bit weird.

Post match Page leaves, teases coming back, and then screams a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah this was pretty awesome with nothing close to a bad match and the two big matches more than delivering. At the same time, it was kind of an odd show as there was very little in the way of title changes, but quite a bit in the way of moves such as the Club’s turn and Page getting his big win. It was a great show once I got into it and beyond the rather worthless Zero Hour. Now just give us some time before the next pay per view because this two week turnaround was annoying. Other than that, check this show out as it’s worth a look.

Results
Acclaimed b. Iron Savages – Mic Drop to Bronson
Hologram/Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara b. Premiere Athletes – Final Reckoning to Woods
Bang Bang Gang b. Dark Order – Forward DDT to Uno
Undisputed Kingdom b. Shane Taylor Promotions/The Beast Mortos and Action Andretti/Top Flight – Powerbomb to Andretti
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Daniel Garcia – Jackknife rollup
Young Bucks b. Blackpool Combat Club – Small package to Yuta
Will Ospreay b. Pac – Hidden Blade
Kris Statlander b. Willow Nightingale – Choke with a chain
Kazuchika Okada b. Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe and Konosuke Takeshita – Rainmaker to Cassidy
Mercedes Mone b. Hikaru Shida – Mone Maker
Bryan Danielson b. Jack Perry – Running knee
Hangman Page b. Swerve Strickland via knockout

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

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Rampage
Date: September 6, 2024
Location: NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Matt Menard

It’s the night before All Out as well as the third hour of a block of AEW, with Collision airing just before this. As usual with Rampage, things are not likely to be as big as Collision or Dynamite, but the lack of pressure often makes for a more entertaining show. That might be what we are getting here so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

The first 12 or so minutes of the show are the end of the Collision eight man main event, which ran over and saw the Blackpool Combat Club/Pac defeat the Elite.

The Outrunners and Erica Leigh are celebrating their first ever win in AEW (on Collision) when they get jumped by Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir. This is what Moxley is talking about.

Queen Aminata vs. Missa Kate

Aminata takes her down to start and the camera cuts to…a ceiling in the back. Well that was a wrong button. The headbutt finishes for Aminata at 1:05.

Video on MJF vs. Daniel Garcia.

Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Hologram vs. Dark Order

Hologram takes Uno down to start and it’s off to Reynolds, who Hologram plants with a DDT. The good guys pose together and we take a break. Back with Guevara diving over for the tag to Rhodes so house can be cleaned. The snap powerslams have the Order down but they’re back up with triple right hands. That’s broken up so Guevara and Hologram hit moonsaults to the floor. A Canadian Destroyer into Guevara’s middle rope cutter into Hologram’s 450 finishes Reynolds at 7:31.

Rating: C+. The efforts to get Hologram over continues and while he might not be the biggest breakout star ever, he’s certainly not doing badly. His high flying stuff is quite good, but treating him like some kind of special attraction is something of a stretch. For now though, having him get the pin with some popular stars is not a bad thing, especially over lovable losers like the Order.

The Bang Bang Gang want the Trios Titles but get cut off by the Gates Of Agony. A match seems imminent.

Top Flight/Action Andretti, Shane Taylor Promotions/The Beast Mortos and the Undisputed Kingdom are ready to win the three way trios tag on Zero Hour.

House Of Black vs. MxM Collection

This is a Friday Night Fashion Fight. Matthews and Mansoor start things off with Mansoor slipping out of a waistlock and striking a pose. Matthews poses as well and some judges (because there are judges) give him a low score. Mason comes in and gets his wish of facing King. Actually it’s right back to Mansoor, whose chop gets unanimous ten’s. The House gives themselves some ten’s and take out the Collection as we take a break.

Back with Matthews kneeing Mansoor down, allowing the double tags to bring in King and Mason. Mansoor’s superkick doesn’t do anything to King, who blasts him with a clothesline. King’s cannonball hits Mason for two but Mansoor makes a save, allowing Mason to grab a chokeslam for two. Matthews is back in to fire off knees before low bridging Mason out to the floor. A superplex into Dante’s Inferno finishes Mansoor at 11:43.

Rating: B-. They were going for a mixture of fun and serious here, with the judges being a bit of a weird addition. The Collection continues to be as entertaining of a thing as there is in AEW at the moment and it would be nice to see them getting to do something more important. There are the makings of a good tag division in AEW but that isn’t going to matter as long as the Young Bucks hold the titles.

Will Ospreay is ready for Pac and talks about their history in the British backyard wrestling
and the independents. Ospreay was told that he was good but he wasn’t Pac, and now he can never forget about Pac.

One more All Out rundown ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show definitely takes a hit when it’s coming after two hours of Collision, which is treated as far more important. This week’s show was even more different as it was clipped down due to the Collision match eating up time. It’s certainly not bad and the main event was pretty good, but it’s not a show you need to watch if you saw Collision.

Results
Queen Aminata b. Missa Kate – Headbutt
Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Hologram b. Dark Order – 450 to Reynolds
House Of Black b. MxM Collection – Dante’s Inferno to Mansoor

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

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AND

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