We’re back to one of the main four pay per views but things are only going so well for AEW right now. The promotion is focused on the Death Riders and various people trying to rise up against them, with Orange Cassidy getting the shot against Jon Moxley this week. Other than that, there are some grudge and title matches filling out the card, though it’s only looking so interesting. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Big Boom AJ vs. QT Marshall

This is the Costco Guys match as AEW gets what I guess passes for a celebrity these days. I have a grand total of no idea who these people are and from their limited appearances, I have no reason to believe I’m going to be interested, but I’m also the definition of not the audience for something like this. That being said, this is also a great example of something that should be harmless.

Of course AJ wins here as there is no reason for him not to. Marshall is little more than a comedy goof and he’ll get beaten up by the kids here so AJ can win. I’m sure AEW will hype up the appearances from the social media celebrities and it’ll have a limited impact, but that is the kind of thing that has been done in wrestling for years. The match will be little more than a detail and that’s all it needs to be.

Zero Hour: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Anna Jay

This was added at the last minute, which is pretty normal around AEW, though in this case the two of them have had some issues lately. Jay turned down Purrazzo and the Vendetta’s offer to help her against Mariah May and now Purrazzo is ready to get some revenge. She’s also the home area star so there should be quite the crowd reaction, which is a bit of an odd choice for a villain.

I’ll go with Purrazzo to win here, as she is not only the hometown star but she also has Taya Valkyrie to help her out. The Vendetta hasn’t really done anything so giving the team a win here should make sense. While it would make sense for Jay to win here, as she’s lost lately and given her up and down win/loss record throughout her entire time in AEW, it should be Purrazzo going over.

Zero Hour: Beast Mortos vs. Komander vs. Dante Martin vs. Buddy Matthews

Ah there it is, as we have the match with no particular need to be on the show added at the last minute. It feels like little more than a Rampage main event and something similar probably has been more than once. If nothing else, it has been at least a week since we’ve seen Komander and that is just far too infrequently for someone who seemingly has to be around so often.

I’ll take Matthews to win here, as he’s the only one of the four who hasn’t been beaten into the ground. Mortos needs a win to boost himself back up a bit but that isn’t something you often see around here. Komander and Martin are pretty firmly stuck in their spots and not going anywhere, so there is pretty much no reason to believe that either of them has a chance. Matthews should win here, though he should have won multiple times before and rarely does so it’s fairly up in the air.

Jay White vs. Hangman Page

This is a match that should be one sided on paper, but the more I think about it, the less sure I am. White has come back and hit the ground running, doing some of his best singles work since coming to AEW. That being said, Page feels like he is taking quite the downgrade in this feud, as he went from headlining a pay per view to trading wins with White. It’s not terrible, but it feels like Page should be doing something better.

I’ll go with Page winning here to end the feud, as he could easily be moved into the main event scene again. While there is a chance that White wins here and Page teams up with Swerve Strickland to fight off the Bang Bang Gang, Page needs the win here more. If nothing else he needs to it move him on to something bigger, and in theory that is what happens here.

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher

For the life of me I do not get why Ospreay is still stuck with the Don Callis Family feud, yet here we are in what should be the blowoff to the whole thing. AEW has tried as hard as they can to make Fletcher into a bigger thing and while it has certainly not been a failure, Ospreay still feels like a far bigger star and should win here to allow him to move on to anything else.

For the sake of my sanity, I’ll go with Ospreay winning here, even if the Family interfering to extend the feud would not surprise me in the slightest. Ospreay is someone who should be coming after Jon Moxley and the World Title, but first he has to get through this. It feels like that has been the case for most of his AEW run and it would be nice to see him get out of that cycle for once.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone(c) vs. Kris Statlander

This story has been more about Mone treating Kamille like a loser and in theory that could lead to the two splitting in the near future. That could set up Kamille taking the title away from Mone down the line, which would mean that Mone needs to retain it here. That’s not the most thrilling story and certainly isn’t doing Kamille any favors at the moment, but it should make things easier to predict here.

For now, I can’t imagine Mone losing the title as it seems like AEW wants her to have some kind of an epic reign. At some point she is going to lose the title and it might be to Kamille down the line, but for now she is going to beat Statlander to retain. Statlander needs a win of some kind, but for now it looks like she is going to lose as Mone continues to not be anywhere near as special as AEW seems to see her.

TNT Title: Jack Perry(c) vs. Daniel Garcia

For the first time in a good while, I actually have some hope about Perry losing the title. Garcia is another name AEW seems interested in pushing as a big deal and at some point that means he is going to have to win something. I’m not sure if it is going to be the TNT Title, but it would not shock me to see AEW go in that direction. If nothing else, a break from Perry as champion could be quite the benefit.

Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s where AEW is going to go as I’ll take Perry to retain the title. AEW seems to think he’s some kind of great character and a huge deal, so for some reason that is what we are going to see or the time being. The match should be good and Garcia should win, but ultimately this feels like another case of Perry being the unstoppable force who leaves with the title. Again.

International Title: Konosuke Takeshita(c) vs. Ricochet

And now we have the video game match of the show which has all of the potential to be incredibly fun. These two could absolutely tear the house down and I could go for seeing what they have the chance to do. Takeshita finally won a title and is now getting the chance to show what he can do on top. Ricochet is someone who can have a heck of a match with anyone and there is a chance to do something great here.

I’ll go with Takeshita to retain here, as there is almost no reason to have him lose the title so soon. Ricochet probably shouldn’t be losing another high profile match so quickly into his time in AEW, but losing to Takeshita is hardly a bad thing. At the end o the day, Takeshita is someone that AEW should be getting behind and it would be nice to see him getting a win on the big stage here, especially over a talent like Ricochet.

Tag Team Titles: Private Party(c) vs. House Of Black vs. Outrunners vs. Acclaimed

This has the potential to be the big wild party match with everyone going nuts and getting in all of their usual stuff. That should make for a rather fun showcase, even though the match is rather light on villains. The question here is what the twist might be, as there is little reason to believe that things are going to go off without a hitch. Well and who leaves with the titles of course.

Despite Private Party not exactly feeling like a great team before they won the tiles, I’ll take them to retain here, likely with FTR turning on the Outrunners to cost them the titles. It should make for a good match either way, and the kind of entertaining match that the show needs. I could see the House winning the titles, but this feels like Private Party getting a pay per view win rather than the usual on television.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Roderick Strong

I have no idea why this match is taking place. The Adam Cole vs. MJF feud is long since dead but for some reason we are now going to see MJF vs. Cole’s most of the time friend. Strong’s backstory involving his parents was dropped into this feud at the last minute and it didn’t exactly feel right. I’m not sure how well the match is going to go, but the story definitely needs a boost.

There is no reason for MJF to lose here as he still has the showdown with Cole coming, so I’ll go with MJF getting the win. At the end of the day, MJF has been gone for a long time now and he is going to need a win to boost him up before the likely match at World’s End, as AEW would love to do that whole “it’s been a year since the stunning betrayal” deal. That doesn’t make for a good story, but it’s likely the story we’re getting.

Swerve Strickland vs. Bobby Lashley

I saved one of the best for near the end as this has been the match that interests me the most. Lashley is the new monster but Strickland has been stepping his game up to fight him. This included a heck of a segment this week on Dynamite with Strickland taking Lashley and the rest of the Hurt Syndicate out to stand tall. That made him look like a star, but that might be it.

I just can’t imagine Lashley losing his first big match so we’ll go with the logical choice of him taking Strickland out here. There is a good chance that the feud continues with Strickland getting some help, possibly in the form of Hangman Page, to make things that much more nutty. For now though, Lashley needs to win, with Strickland giving it his all in defeat.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Orange Cassidy

And then there’s this, which just does not feel special. The Death Riders have been dominating the promotion for the last few months and it does not feel like we are anywhere close to that story being over. Cassidy is the first challenger to the title and while he is someone who could be a threat to Moxley, there is a heck of a gap between that and actually winning the title.

There is almost no chance that Cassidy wins here, as Moxley gets to claim another victim and move on to something else, possibly Darby Allin, down the line. The Death Riders are going to be the big focus of the company for a good while to come, and that includes them winning here. Hopefully something big happens in the match, as otherwise it just isn’t feeling that important.

Overall Thoughts

This show isn’t terrible, but it also isn’t jumping off the page. There are a few matches that I want to see, but I’m having a hard time getting interested in where things go after. That has been the case with AEW for a good while and unfortunately I’m not sure I can see it changing. A lot of this show feels like it is designed to set up things for later, and that doesn’t make for the most interesting show from here. Odds are it will be good as most AEW pay per views are, but the whole promotion needs something fresh and soon.

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Collision
Date: November 9, 2024
Location: Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, Rhode Island
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re closing in on Full Gear and this week will see a Trios Titles match as the Death Riders defend against the Conglomeration. That should be enough to carry the end of the show, but there is going to need to be more. We could be seeing that coming in a few different ways, some of which should work. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

House Of Black vs. Jacked Jameson/Iron Savages

King knocks Bronson around without much trouble to start and the House gets in some running shots in the corner. Jameson comes in for some quick shots on Matthews, which go about as well as you would expect. King hits a dive to the floor to take out all three of them, followed by a Jackhammer to Boulder. The triple strike in the corner finishes Jameson at 3:27.

Rating: C. If the House is being turned good, this was a nice way to go about making it happen. They smashed their way through some annoying villains and the match was never in any real doubt. That’s what something like this should have been and the ending looked rather devastating.

Post match FTR interrupts the House and say they want the Tag Team Titles back. They want one more match with the House, so Black and King step up.

Lio Rush says there is a shift happening around here and that’s why he has one of MVP’s business cards. He’s been on a roll lately and wants to feel alive again, so he wants Swerve Strickland.

Outrunners vs. Top Flight

For one of the three spots in the Tag Team Title match at Full Gear so Private Party is out to watch. Magnum and Darius start things off with Darius hitting a flying shoulder to put Magnum down early. Floyd and Dante come in as everything breaks down, with an atomic drop staggering Darius.

We take a break and come back with Dante elbowing Magnum for two and sending him outside. Darius doesn’t like Magnum getting too close to Leila Grey so he hits a dive, which Dante doesn’t like for some reason. Back in and Top Flight gets dropped, with Floyd slamming Magnum onto Dante. Darius makes the save and breaks up a double suplex, with the Outrunners being knocked outside. Magnum is back in to Hulk Up, meaning it’s Total Recall to finish Dante at 10:18.

Rating: C+. The Outrunners getting a chance is a good thing to see as they’re one of the most popular teams going today, but sweet goodness it’s hard to believe it’s ever going to happen for Top Flight. They seem like they should be ready to move up to the title scene but here they are losing clean again. I’m not sure why they can’t get that kind of a push, though it doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon.

The Acclaimed are ready to take out La Faccion Ingobernable but here is the Hurt Syndicate to say Max Caster should be more serious. Anthony Bowens tells them to drop it and leaves, but MVP knows Caster still has his business card.

Roderick Strong vs. The Beast Mortos

Mortos looks confused to start so he hits Strong in the face but Mortos knocks him down. A powerslam gives Mortos one but he continues to be conflicted over what to do. Strong gets planted with a crucifix slam and we take a break with Mortos in control. Back with Strong firing off some running forearms and the Sick Kick gets two. Mortos is back with a backbreaker into a discus lariat for two of his own but Mortos is conflicted again. The distraction lets Strong hit a jumping knee for the pin at 9:41.

Rating: C+. The idea here seems to be that Mortos is having issues deciding which side he wants to be on, which is fine. What isn’t fine is having him lose so often, as it’s hard to get interested in someone who can’t win a big match to save his life. There’s a story here, but wins and losses have a big impact on these people.

Post match Brian Cage and Lance Archer run in to take out Strong.

Mariah May used to love women’s wrestling but now that she is the Women’s Champion, she realizes she hates everything about it. She’s going to kill women’s wrestling because no one can touch her.

Anna Jay promises to choke May out and wants a third match, No DQ.

We look back at Will Ospreay returning on Dynamite.

Kris Statlander vs. Ashley Vox

Staturday Night Fever finishes Vox at 44 seconds.

Post match Mercedes Mone runs in to choke Statlander out.

La Faccion Ingobernable yells at The Beast Mortos and Jake Roberts is ready to take out the Acclaimed.

TNT Title: Jack Perry vs. Action Andretti

Perry is defending in an open challenge. They trade wrist control to start until Perry takes him outside for a whip into the steps. We take an early break and come back with Andretti getting two off a rollup. A Falcon Arrow gives Andretti two and they head to the apron for a slugout. Andretti hits a Death Valley Driver onto said apron and a top rope splash gets two more. Perry comes back with a superkick into a buckle bomb into a brainbuster for two but a running knee is countered. The second and third attempts both connect to finish Andretti at 9:49.

Rating: C+. This was the latest Perry win as he gets to do his thing, which went as well as most of his matches. Stealing the running knee from Danielson isn’t making Perry feel special, much like everything else he does. Perry needs better competition, though that’s only going to go so far as he’s not connecting, and there isn’t much of a way around that.

Post match Daniel Garcia comes out to call Perry a multi millionaire nepo baby while Garcia fights for everyone in the back. The challenge is on for Full Gear, with Perry accepting but saying Garcia isn’t ready.

We see Julia Hart as a cheerleader but she sees her evil version in the empty stands. Said evil version shoots the cheerleader version in the heart with an arrow.

Video on the Outrunners.

Matt Menard gives Daniel Garcia a pep talk.

AR Fox vs. Nick Wayne

Wayne says this is the anniversary of Fox’s dad’s death and a prodigy never forgets (referencing Fox attacking Wayne at his home over a year ago). Fox wastes no time in hitting a big dive but gets crotched on the barricade as we take an early break. Back with Fox hitting another big dive, setting up a Swanton for two.

A rolling cutter is countered into a dragon suplex to give Wayne two but Fox powerbombs him for the same. Lo Mein Pain looks to set up the 450 but Fox has to deal with Kip Sabian, meaning the 450 misses. Wayne dragon suplexes him into the double underhook Canadian Destroyer for the pin at 8:59.

Rating: C+. So this match was set up on Ring Of Honor as the two of them had a match each, plus a post match brawl. It wound up being about twenty minutes to set up this eight minute match, which seems to be tied to an angle that took place over a year ago when these two were rather different people. That seems like quite the setup for this match, which really didn’t need it in the first place. For now though, at least it should be over, even though neither of them have anything going on.

Post match Wayne staples a picture of Fox’s father to his head.

The MxM Collection has slid into Jonathan Television’s DM’s and they will get to be in his corner next week. They do TV’s pose and leave, as a cart wheels them out.

Trios Titles: Death Riders vs. Conglomeration

The Conglomeration is challenging. O’Reilly and Yuta go to the mat to start with O’Reilly striking away to take over. Briscoe comes in for some chops in the corner before handing it off to Ishii, who isn’t having any of Yuta hitting him in the face. It’s already back to Briscoe, who gets taken into the corner for some uppercuts from Castagnoli.

Everything breaks down and the villains are sent outside, with Briscoe hitting the step up flip dive off a chair. Back in and Yuta gets caught against the ropes but Pac comes in to take over on O’Reilly. We take a break and come back with a backbreaker/middle rope double stomp combination hitting O’Reilly for two. A Tombstone gets the same with Briscoe having to make a save.

O’Reilly is able to get up and bring in Ishii for the big house cleaning. Briscoe comes in with a fisherman’s buster for two on Castagnoli but the Jay Driller is blocked. A running flip dive takes out Castagnoli and the Froggy Bow gets two on Yuta with Pac making the save. Everyone is down so cue Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir. That brings out Orange Cassidy, with O’Reilly ankle locking Yuta. With that broken up, Shafir gets in a briefcase shot to O’Reilly, setting up the running knee to give Yuta the pin at 19:09.

Rating: B. Now this is more like it with the Death Riders. They spent their first few weeks running through people like the Dark Order and Top Flight/Action Andretti. That wasn’t going to get them anywhere and while the Conglomeration weren’t going to win here, they were a vast improvement over what we had been seeing. The Conglomeration at last feels like a team who could give the champs some trouble and that’s what the story has been needing.

Post match Cassidy Orange Punches Yuta and goes after Moxley and the big fight is on. Moxley bails so Cassidy dives onto the pile. Moxley looks worried to end the show. Cassidy has a grand total of no chance at Full Gear, but having Moxley show some fear is the right way to go. He has to have some kind of vulnerability or this isn’t going to go anywhere.

Overall Rating: C+. Not a great show here, but good enough with a nice main event and a better post match brawl. The rest of the show featured some bolstering of the midcard feuds, which they did need. As usual it feels nowhere near as important as Dynamite, but it did feel more important than what we usually get around here. Good show this week, and hopefully a new trend in how the show is going.

Results
House Of Black b. Jacked Jameson/Iron Savages – Triple strike to Jameson
Outrunners b. Top Flight – Total Recall to Dante
Roderick Strong b. The Beast Mortos – Jumping knee
Kris Statlander b. Ashley Vox – Staturday Night Fever
Jack Perry b. Action Andretti – Running knee
Nick Wayne b. AR Fox – Double underhook Canadian Destroyer
Death Riders b. Conglomeration – Running knee to O’Reilly

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Collision
Date: October 19, 2024
Location: Adventist Health Arena, Stockton, California
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s another double shot weekend as we have Collision followed by Battle Of The Belts. As usual, that will likely mean that the end of Collision is the start of Battle Of The Belts, which can make for some slightly odd main events. The big story continues to be Jon Moxley and company wrecking a bunch of people and we will probably hear more about it this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley and company are in the back, with Moxley saying that winning the World Title doesn’t change anything. No one has ever owned that belt, including him. It’s a symbol of everything he has been fighting against in wrestling for years. Tonight, the team is ready to crush Top Flight and Action Andretti in a public execution. They will win this war.

Ricochet vs. AR Fox

They start with the rolling, including Ricochet’s sunset flip getting two. Fox’s headlock doesn’t last long so he kicks Ricochet away and we have an early standoff. A dropkick sends Fox outside for the suicide dive, followed by a springboard clothesline back inside. The running shooting star press gives Ricochet but Fox rolls through into a spinning suplex (that was nice) and hits his own dropkick to the floor. Back in and Fox hits a running elbow in the corner as we take an early break.

We come back with Ricochet grabbing a super swinging neckbreaker for the double down. Fox kicks him down again but Ricochet hits a kick to the head and backflips into a bridging German suplex to plant Fox for two. Back up and Fox hits Lo Mein Pain into a 450 for two but Ricochet knees hi in the face. The ax kick and Vertigo put Fox away at 12:17.

Rating: B-. You know what you’re going to get in a match from these two and that is what they delivered. They had their big spots and their great athleticism until one of them hit a big move for the pin. It’s not exactly a classic but it did its job of giving Ricochet a win after losing at the pay per view. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.

Post match Ricochet says he’s here because this is where the best wrestle and he has yet to be pinned or submitted (to be fair, he’s been here like a month). Konosuke Takeshita keeps sticking his nose in his business but Ricochet is going to do whatever it takes to get him in the ring and take the International Title.

Daniel Garcia and Private Party don’t like Jon Moxley and company taking the company over. They’re ready to fight and have business tonight.

Kris Statlander vs. Harley Cameron

Cameron can’t hit Soul Food to start so she rolls Statlander up for two instead. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker plants Cameron and a delayed vertical suplex does it again. Statlander misses a charge into the corner though and Cameron hits a nice tornado DDT. Back up and Cameron strikes away but Statlander grabs a spinning Falcon Arrow. Staturday Night Fever finishes Cameron at 4:00.

Rating: C. Cameron is starting to get better in the ring and if she can manage to match the abilities she has with a microphone, she could be something. If nothing else she’s already outshining Saraya, which isn’t that difficult these days. I could go for more of Cameron in the coming weeks, and at least she is getting some attention.

Post match Statlander says wants to challenge herself so she wants to face Kamille, with Mercedes Mone in a front row seat.

Daniel Garcia/Private Party vs. Premiere Athletes

Quen and Nese start things off with Nese powering him straight into the corner. It’s quickly off to Kassidy, who runs the corner into a springboard headscissors. Poetry In Motion hits Nese but here is Stokely Hathaway for a distraction. The Athletes beat Kassidy down on the floor and we take a break. Back with Kassidy kicking his way out of trouble and handing it off to Garcia for the rapid fire German suplexes. A swinging neckbreaker gets two on Woods as everything breaks down. Silly String hits Nese and Private Party hit stereo dives. Gin & Juice finishes Woods at 9:45.

Rating: B-. Good, fast paced match here with Garcia and Private Party getting their chance against AEW’s resident goofs. There’s no reason to believe that Private Party is getting the Tag Team Titles anytime soon and Garcia seems to be getting involved in the Moxley stuff. That doesn’t bode well for them, but they had a fast paced win here.

Video on La Faccion Ingobernable, with Jake Roberts being ready to have them crush the Outrunners.

Orange Cassidy vs. Bronson

The rest of the Iron Savages are here with Bronson. Orange Punch and Beach Break finish Bronson at 25 seconds.

Jamie Hayter vs. Brooke Havok

Hayter knocks her down to start and then does it again before stomping in the corner. Another knockdown sets up Hayterade for the pin at 1:58. Total squash.

Post match Penelope Ford pops up on the screen to say she and Hayter were partners but Hayter was nowhere to be seen while Ford was out for two years. Hayter isn’t impressed.

Daniel Garcia asks Orange Cassidy to step up to face Jon Moxley and company but Cassidy says he’s not that guy.

Atlantis Jr. vs. Kyle Fletcher

Don Callis is on commentary and Fletcher jumps Atlantis before the bell to start fast. They head outside with Fletcher sending him into the barricade. Atlantis is back with a neckbreaker, setting up a big running flip dive to the floor. Fletcher kicks him in the chest from the apron though and we take an early break.

Back with Atlantis hitting a clothesline to the floor as the fans are rather pleased. A missile dropkick gets two on Fletcher, who is right back with a half and half snapdragon suplex. Fletcher grabs a hanging DDT and a brainbuster onto the apron, followed by a regular brainbuster for two. Neither of them can hit a brainbuster so Fletcher takes him to the top for a brainbuster onto the turnbuckle for the pin at 11:47.

Rating: B-. Not exactly a great first match for Fletcher after his big heel turn but at least he had a bit of a history with Atlantis (who beat him for the ROH TV Title earlier this year). Fletcher vs. Will Ospreay is likely going to be a match at Full Gear so Fletcher is going to need to be built up rather quickly. This didn’t get him very far but he did have a good finisher so that’s a nice step.

Post match Fletcher says he’s ready to talk…next week on Dynamite.

Video on Darby Allin beating Brody King at WrestleDream.

House Of Black vs. Alpha Zo/Chris Nastyy/Olumide

King chops Chris down to start without any effort and it’s off to Black to strike all of them. Olumide is left alone and it’s a superplex into a top rope double stomp. Matthews hits a Meteora and the Cannonball/running dropkicks in the corner combination finishes Olumide at 2:49. Complete squash.

Thunder Rosa is talking about what she has been doing when Harley Cameron interrupts. Rosa decks her, with Cameron promising to make Rosa feel her wrath while writhing in pain. Cameron continues to be hilarious.

La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Outrunners

Dralistico is here with La Faccion. Magnum chops away at Mortos to start but gets run over for his efforts. Rush comes in for a slugout with Floyd until a running elbow to the face puts Rush down. Dralistico offers a distraction though and Rush takes over again in the corner. We take a break and come back with Rush hitting the tranquilo pose before Mortos adds a twisting Swanton for two. Magnum gets up and manages to flip over Mortos for the big tag to Floyd though and the comeback is on. Dralistico breaks up Total Recall though and sweeps Floyd’s leg so Rush can fall on top of him for the pin at 9:57.

Rating: C+. Well of course the Outrunners lose to La Faccion, who is only being reheated for what, the seventeenth or so time? Oh but this time they have Jake Roberts as their mostly invisible manager so it’s totally fine. Having La Faccion get a win is fine but there was zero need for it to be over the crowd favorites like this. Put Komander and some random partner out there with nothing to lose instead, as otherwise it’s just taking away more that the fans care about.

Post match the beatdown is on but FTR makes the save.

Sammy Guevara has requested and a match with Shelton Benjamin on Dynamite.

Trios Titles: Blackpool Combat Club vs. Action Andretti/Top Flight

The Club is defending. Pac wrestles Andretti down to start but Andretti is back up with a springboard wristdrag. Yuta comes in to take Andretti into the corner and it’s Castagnoli with a hard clothesline to Darius. Everything breaks down and Andretti hits an Asai moonsault to Yuta, only for Castagnoli to hit a hard clothesline as we take a break. Back with Darius striking away at Yuta, followed by a dropkick/German suplex combination for two on Pac. Dante’s dive from the top is broken up and a series of corner clotheslines into a Tombstone finishes Andretti at 9:17.

Rating: C+. The result was rather obvious here as not only is the Club not losing anytime soon but Andretti and Top Flight are notorious for losing any big time match they have. That was on full display here with pretty much nothing out of the ordinary here. The Club is going to need some bigger opponents and Top Flight/Andretti were little than the appetizer.

Post match Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir come in for the beatdown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There wasn’t much to see on this one, with the big story being the Club’s first defense since their big moment at WrestleDream. Other than that, Harley Cameron came off as an absolute star, the House Of Black was dominant and the Premiere Athletes/the Iron Savages continue to make me look for my remote to see if anything else is on. Not a great show, but fine enough despite little of importance happening.

Results
Ricochet b. AR Fox – Vertigo
Kris Statlander b. Harley Cameron – Staturday Night Fever
Daniel Garcia/Private Party b. Premiere Athletes – Gin & Juice to Woods
Orange Cassidy b. Bronson – Beach Break
Jamie Hayter b. Brooke Havok – Hayterade
Kyle Fletcher b. Atlantis Jr. – Brainbuster onto the turnbuckle
House Of Black b. Alpha Zo/Chris Nastyy/Olumide – Cannonball/running corner dropkicks combination to Olumide
La Faccion Ingobernable b. Outrunners – Splash to Floyd
Blackpool Combat Club b. Action Andretti/Top Flight – Tombstone to Andretti

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

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Collision
Date: October 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

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Rampage
Date: September 28, 2024
Location: MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

We’re going way out of order here as this show was taped before this week’s Dynamite. It’s a bit strange to go from the big stadium in New York to this arena and back to the stadium again tomorrow for Collision but a little change of pace shouldn’t hurt anything. If the show follows Rampage’s normal trend, things should go well enough. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

House Of Black vs. Lio Rush/Action Andretti

Brody King, Top Flight and Leila Grey are here too. Black and Rush start things off with Rush taking him down but charging into a kick to the face. Andretti tags himself in and yells at Black, who turns around hand hands it off to Matthews. More taunting has Andretti so annoyed that Rush comes in…and gets kneed out to the floor. Back up and Rush hits a quick dive, allowing Andretti to come back in and strike away. Rush front facelocks Black as the Righteous are watching in the back.

We take a break and come back with Andretti fighting out of a chinlock, setting up stereo crossbodies for a double knockdown. Rush comes in and picks up the pace on Matthews, including a poisonrana. The Final Hour is loaded up but Andretti tags himself in, only to be kicked into Rush on the top. The End finishes Andretti at 9:04.

Rating: B-. The House is getting back on track and have a bunch of people coming for them, which should keep them busy for awhile. Rush and Andretti having issues is fine, but could we do something else with Top Flight other than just having them stand around? For the life of me I do not get why they are stuck in such a rut but it’s been going on for a very long time now.

Post match Andretti yells at Brody King, who crushes him with a corner splash.

Anna Jay is back and says she isn’t sure where she fits in around here but she’s ready to find out starting tonight.

Anna Jay vs. Robyn Renegade

Renegade powers her into the corner to start and yells a lot on the otherwise clean break. Jay runs her over with a shoulder and chops away in the corner, setting up a basement dropkick. Back up and Renegade gets in a knockdown of her own but Jay hits a running forearm. A neckbreaker into a Gory Bomb finishes for Jay at 2:38. Jay looked like she had some new stuff, but none of that is going to matter if she isn’t actually pushed for a change.

We get a sitdown interview with Will Ospreay and Ricochet, who argue over their previous matches. The full thing is on YouTube.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Angelico

Angelico grabs an early rollup for two to start and then kicks Takeshita out to the floor. The dance keeps Takeshita on the floor before hitting a running clothesline back inside. We take a break and come back with Angelico hitting some clotheslines. Some kicks to the head set up a small package for two before Angelico cranks on Takeshita’s arm. Something like an STF has Takeshita bailing to the ropes and going up, where Angelico backdrops him down. That’s shrugged off though and Takeshita hits the Blue Thunder Bomb into the Raging Fire for the pin at 9:08.

Rating: C+. This is a good example of what I don’t get about AEW. Takeshita is hot right now and looks to be on his way to a title match with Kazuchika Okada. That’s going to be one of the biggest matches of his career to date, so why in the world is he taking almost ten minutes to beat half of a low level tag team? Angelico doesn’t have any status to lose so why isn’t Takeshita out there mauling him in about four minutes?

We look at Bryan Danielson beating Nigel McGuinness on Dynamite and then attacking Jon Moxley later in the night.

Acclaimed vs. Fancy Clancy/TJ Crawford

Caster kicks at Clancy to start but walks into a dropkick. Crawford comes in and strikes away at Bowens, who wastes no time in hitting the Arrival. The Mic Drop connects as well before an assisted flipping slam finishes Clancy at 2:05.

Post match Caster says the Acclaimed is crashing the MxM’s party on Collision. The Collection pops up on screen to say the Acclaimed is not invited.

Willow Nightingale vs. Taya Valkyrie

Taya knocks her down into the corner to start and stomps away. Back up and Nightingale cartwheels away and kicks her in the head before hitting a crossbody for two. Nightingale’s middle rope dropkick sends her outside and the cannonball off the apron sends us to a break.

Back with Nightingale hitting a hard clothesline to leave both of them down. Nightingale kicks her in the face and hits the spinebuster for another near fall. Another missile dropkick misses though and Valkyrie plants her down for two of her own. Valkyrie has to slip out of a powerbomb attempt and hits a superkick but Nightingale is back with a superplex. Back up and Nightingale Pounces her into the Babe With The Powerbomb for the pin at 10:53.

Rating: B-. This was a good power fight, but wasn’t Taya just put with Deonna Purrazzo last week? Isn’t that a big soon to have her lose? That being said, hopefully Nightingale is put back into the title picture sooner than later. They were teasing something between her and Mariah May on Dynamite and that would work well, assuming Nightingale actually gets to win (and then keep) a title for a change.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty nice show here which felt like it had some more story advancement for a change. That made for a better week and I was more engaged here than usual. Collision and Dynamite are going to dwarf this show even more than usual, which is kind of a shame as this was better than the norm for Rampage.

Results
House Of Black b. Action Andretti/Lio Rush – The End to Andretti
Anna Jay b. Robyn Renegade – Gory Bomb
Konosuke Takeshita b. Angelico – Raging Fire
Acclaimed b. Fancy Clancy/TJ Crawford – Assisted flipping slam to Clancy
Willow Nightingale b. Taya Valkyrie – Babe With The Powerbomb

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

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Collision
Date: 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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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

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All In 2024
Date: August 25, 2024
Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinnness, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the biggest show of the year and they’re in London for the second time in a row. That alone should make the show feel important but in this case the card is mostly living up to the hype. The main event will see Bryan Danielson challenging Swerve Strickland for the World Title in a title vs. career match, which has all of the makings. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Private Party/Ariya Daivari/Dark Order/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh/Anthony Ogogo vs. Kyle Fletcher/Rocky Romero/Kip Sabian/Tommy Billington/Lio Rush/Action Andretti/Top Flight

Don Callis is on commentary as Billington and Lethal strike it out to start. Sabian and Ogogo come in for a lockup until Sabian hits a dropkick to kick him down. Everything breaks down and we’re left with Singh and Rush for the visual. Rush’s chops to the stomach don’t work so he grabs Singh’s leg, with Singh walking around anyway. Singh isn’t having that and launches Rush over the top and down onto the pile.

Back in and Silver slams Andretti down and chokes on the ropes, allowing Evil Uno (one of the many extras on the floor) throwing the papers ala Brodie Lee. Private Party hit slingshot hilos and Daivari chops him down for two. Andretti handspring elbows his way out of trouble though and it’s back to Sabian to pick up the pace.

Fletcher comes in with a middle rope cutter to Lethal before knocking Singh off the apron. A brainbuster gets two on Reynolds and everything breaks down, meaning it’s time for the dives. Silly String hits Sabian and Gin and Juice makes it worse. Ogogo gets to punch at various people but Darius is back in with a double DDT onto the Order. Dante drops Daivari and hits a frog splash for the pin at 11:36.

Rating: C+. It was an entertaining match but it was such a mess with that many people in there that no one really got to stand out (save for maybe Fletcher). This was the definition of “get a bunch of people on the show”, but it was also the definition of “most of these people don’t mean much and they’re out there in front of a half empty stadium because the show doesn’t start for over an hour”. That’s not exactly a great start and the wide shot of all the empty seats at the start made me feel more sad for them than excited for the show.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Willow Nightingale

The winning team picks the stipulation for Statlander vs. Nightingale next month at All Out. Hathaway is brought to the stage on a sedan, because of course he is. Ishii starts with Hathaway, who isn’t having this and bails out, meaning it’s Nightingale vs. Statlander. Nightingale gets sent into the corner for some shots to the face but comes back with a spinebuster for two.

We pause for some yelling at Hathaway, allowing Statlander to get in some cheap shots to take over. Back up and Nightingale makes the clothesline comeback, only to walk into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Nightingale slips out of a Death Valley Driver and drops a backsplash for two of her own. The double tag brings in the men and for some reason, Hathaway fires off some chops.

This goes as well as you would expect and Ishii runs him over. Statlander comes back in to forearm away at Ishii, allowing Hathaway to actually hit a spinebuster. The fans are rather happy as Ishii pops back up, with Hathaway hammering away in the corner. That doesn’t last long as Nightingale Pounces Statlander, leaving Ishii to hit the sliding lariat for the pin on Hathaway at 8:15.

Rating: C+. This was all about Hathaway and of course he made it work in his limited chances. The bigger story is going to be the stipulation for Nightingale vs. Statlander, which almost has to be either a hardcore match or Nightingale fighting both of them at once. Perfectly fine match here and it would have fit in on any given Rampage.

Zero Hour: Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Von Erichs vs. Kingdom/Cage Of Agony

Kevin Von Erich is here with the good guys and it’s a big brawl in the aisle before the bell. We get a quadruple Shattered Dreams to the villains and, with the referee ok with all of that, it’s the opening bell with Guevara and Kaun starting things off. Guevara quickly clears the ring and stares it down with Cage, who gets dropped with a top rope cutter. Kaun pulls Guevara outside for a whip into the barricade and they head back inside with Guevara caught in the wrong corner.

A backbreaker/springboard elbow drop combination gets two but Taven misses a frog splash. Rhodes comes in to take over and the snap powerslam puts Taven down. We hit the parade of knockdowns as Excalibur can barely keep track of everyone. Taven is back up with the Flight Of The Conqueror so Rhodes teases a dive but dances into a pose instead. Cage tries a running flip dive but mostly misses, leaving Guevara to shooting star onto the pile.

Back in and Cage gets the worst of a Tower Of Doom, leaving Rhodes to hit Cross Rhodes for two on Taven with the Gates making the save. Rhodes gets tossed into a powerbomb for two but Guevara hurricanranas his way out of the same thing. Shibata’s running dropkick hits Bennett in the corner and Marshall’s top rope moonsault gets the same. Rhodes hits Taven with the Final Reckoning and Guevara adds the Swanton so Rhodes can get the pin at 11:03.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what Rhodes has on AEW but he has been the most active guy in the company (and in Ring Of Honor, because that’s a thing as well) for the last few weeks. That being said, Texas Takes England wasn’t the most thrilling story, especially when it came after a tag match with even more people. This was another bunch of people doing stuff until someone got the pin. The Texas guys don’t do anything for me because I’ve seen them more than I could possibly want to recently, but at least it didn’t go that long.

Post match the villains jump them but Kevin Von Erich makes the save, meaning it’s a group claw to get rid of the bad guys.

Here are the Outcasts, with Saraya’s entire family, for her big moment. Harley Cameron says Saraya is mad, with Saraya going into a rant about not being on the show despite being the best British woman ever in wrestling. And cue the returning Jamie Hayter (now with red hair) to march her way to Saraya, with Sweet Saraya (Saraya’s mother) getting in a cheap shot. The younger Saraya escapes, allowing Hayter to take out Cameron and stand tall.

The last nine minutes of the pre-show are spent on the entrances to the opener so the main show can start fast.

Trios Titles: Patriarchy vs. Pac/Blackpool Combat Club vs. House Of Black vs. Bang Bang Gang

The Patriarchy is defending in a ladder match. The bell rings and Cage runs away to start, leaving everyone else to brawl on the floor. That means a table is already set up on the floor but Austin has to cut Matthews down from a climb attempt. A bunch of people go up but get pulled down, with King dropping Pac with a clothesline. Robinson hits a running flip dive off the apron to take out Castagnoli, leaving Matthews to hit a big flip dive over the top.

Pac dives onto all of them but gets caught with What’s Up from the Gunns. King hits the big suicide dive…and here is Cage again. Cage goes up but gets pulled down by King, who takes Cage outside to be surrounded by a mob. That leaves Mother Wayne to go up, with the Gunns cutting her off and talking some sense into her. Killswitch comes in with chokeslams abounding, including one onto a ladder.

Wayne’s World through a table drops King so Luchasaurus goes up, only for Cage to go up at the same time for the sake of getting the glory. That’s broken up as well so it’s Castagnoli getting to wreck the Gunns. There’s the Swing to Robinson but the Gunns make the save, meaning it’s time for the tables. A bunch of people go up and crash through said tables, leaving Robinson to pull Black off the ladder. Wayne goes up and gets knocked hard through another table so let’s bring in the really big ladder, which is grazing against the bottom of the titles.

Pac goes up but gets pulled back down as Mother Wayne passes something off to Cage. That would be a spray of some kind, which goes into Yuta’s eyes to bring him off the ladder. Cage puts a ladder onto him and unloads with a chair but Robinson blocks Mother Wayne’s spray and sprays her instead. Luchasaurus knocks Robinson through a table, leaving Cage and Matthews to go up a pair of ladders. Cage spears him down through a table but might have hurt his own head in the process. Luchasaurus picks Cage up and climbs but Pac goes up as well and kicks Cage down. Pac gets the titles at 19:10.

Rating: B. Well that was a ladder match with a bunch of weapons and even more people involved. It’s something that has been done time after time and while it can be fun, it’s not something I’m going to get excited to see. This would also be the case with a thrown together team winning the titles. I’m sure it’s to get a British champion on there, but there are going to be more than a few on here without doing this title change.

We recap Mariah May challenging Toni Storm for the Women’s Title. May was Storm’s understudy but then won the Owen Hart Tournament to earn the shot and violently attacked Storm. Now Storm is being serious for the first time in a good while and wants revenge.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Mariah May

Storm is defending and has Luther with her. They glare at each other and argue to start before slugging it out. May Day and Storm Zero are both broken up so May dropkicks her into the corner. They chop it out until Storm grabs a DDT, with the fans approving. Storm misses a running hip attack in the ropes and gets powerbombed out onto the floor for a nasty landing.

Back in and May hits a running dropkick, followed by Stratusphere for two. Storm fights up from a slap and hammers away, only to get suplexed back down. May even goes outside and dropkicks Luther, which is just not that nice. To make it even worse, May slaps HER OWN MOTHER (in the crowd) but the delay lets Storm hit Storm Zero onto the steps. Storm goes over to hug May’s mother and now May is busted open.

Back in (because the champ’s piledriver onto the steps barely keeps May down for a minute) and Storm throws her around, including a chokebomb for two. May kicks her in the head and hits a bunch of hip attacks but the big one takes too long. Storm is back up and hits her own hip attack, setting up Storm Zero for two.

May goes after the fingers and kicks Storm low before stereo headbutts leave them both down. Back up and May Day gets two so it’s time to grab the title, with Luther pulling it away. Instead May grabs the bloody shoe but Storm takes it away..and can’t bring herself to hit May, who rolls her up for two. May knees her in the face, kisses Storm on the head, and hits Storm Zero for the pin and the title at 15:11.

Rating: B. That was the only result that made sense as Storm’s time as champion had come and gone. It was a hard hitting fight with Storm wanting revenge but coming up short, which is how it should have gone. It wouldn’t shock me to see Storm go a bit more back to normal now, as she can only go so much nuttier. Good stuff here, which overcame a bit of a weak build.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Hook for the FTW Title. Jericho has already beaten Hook but has had to jump through hoops to get another shot at him.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is defending and gets played to the ring by Fozzy. It’s FTW Rules so the Learning Tree gets in and beats Hook down to start. The Codebreaker connects for one but Hook is back up with a German suplex. Jericho drops him again and hits the Lionsault for two, meaning it’s weapons time. That takes too long so Hook grabs another suplex and pulls out a cricket bat. Hook even grabs some cricket balls and hits them at Jericho but Keith comes in with a trashcan lid.

The Walls are broken up so Hook grabs his own version, only to have Bill make the save. They go outside with Keith setting up a barbed wire board on another table. Hook slips out of a chokeslam but Jericho goes after the good eye to blind him again. One heck of a trashcan shot puts Hook down but the Judas Effect is countered into a t-bone suplex, allowing Hook to reveal that his patched eye has healed and he could really see (Remember when Jericho blinded Jon Moxley and Moxley wore an eyepatch but then Moxley revealed he could really see during their match? Just a random thought.).

Redrum goes on with Bill making the save, only to have Jericho accidentally knock him into the barbed wire board. Keith gets up for a cheap shot, which FINALLY draws Taz off commentary to Tazmission Keith down. Redrum makes Jericho tap and gives Hook the title back at 10:11.

Rating: C+. And that should be it for these two. Hook gets his (latest) win over Jericho and Jericho gets to…well probably move on to a bigger feud because he has to be involved in something important every week. For now though, it’s a feel good moment and that’s all it needed to be.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. The Acclaimed and FTR both want the Young Bucks’ titles but since the Bucks almost never defend them, we have both of them getting a shot at once.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. FTR vs. Acclaimed

The Bucks are defending and Caster rushes through his rap, possibly due to nerves. Harwood works on the arm to start but FTR and the Acclaimed get in a shoving match, all while the Bucks approve. The Bucks do come in but are quickly dispatched, leaving Wheeler to get caught in a Scissor Me Timbers attempt. That takes too long though and Nick makes the save, setting up an assisted standing Sliced Bread to Wheeler. Matt grabs a chinlock for a bit before Wheeler fights up and hands it off to Bowens to pick up the pace.

Now Scissor Me Timbers can hit Nick and we pause for some scissoring. Harwood is back in with the German suplexes, including one to both Bucks at once. The PowerPlex only hits raised knees but so does Nick’s 450. The Tony Khan Driver is broken up as well though with Nick being shoved into a moonsault onto the Acclaimed. Matt walks into the Shatter Machine but Nick pulls the referee out.

Back up and Matt hits a tornado DDT to plant Bowens on the floor, leaving Matt and Caster to hit a VIP Trigger to Harwood. Wheeler makes a save but gets sent outside, leaving the Acclaimed to load up Nick. Matt makes the save with a low blow and it’s time for the superkicks. That’s not enough for Matt, who grabs a title, earning himself a Fameasser from Billy Gunn. The Arrival connects but Nick makes the save. Harwood rolls Nick up for two but gets belt shotted for two. The EVP Trigger to Harwood is enough for the pin to retain the titles at 13:21.

Rating: B-. It was a good match but not top level stuff. The Bucks getting their win back in Wembley wasn’t exactly shocking and now we get to find out who they’ll defend against, maybe by Halloween or so. The story coming in wasn’t overly exciting and it dragged things down a bit, though I do appreciate them not going crazy long, which just wasn’t needed.

Post match the Grizzled Young Veterans come in for a staredown with the Young Bucks, who leave instead. Heaven forbid we get that match here of course, because we needed to repeat the previous combinations instead.

Casino Gauntlet Match

This is a 21 person gauntlet match with staggered entrances, but the fall can happen at any time, even if it is only the first two entrants. The winner gets a World Title shot at any time (basically MITB). Orange Cassidy is in at #1 and Kazuchika Okada is in at #2. Okada doesn’t seem worried so Cassidy dropkicks him down into the nip up. NIGEL MCGUINNESS is in at #3 and the fans go coconuts, especially as he and Okada go with the grappling. Nigel takes Okada down and it’s Kyle O’Reilly in at #4.

O’Reilly ties up Okada’s arm but gets caught in an armbar from Nigel at the same time. Cassidy is back in with a Stundog Millionaire and Zack Sabre Jr. is in at #5. We get the Nigel vs. Sabre showdown and the fans are VERY pleased. They go with the grappling before trading rollups for two each until Okada takes Nigel’s place. Sabre gets in a weird neck crank but Okada slips out and hits the top rope elbow. Back up and Sabre goes for the leg but Roderick Strong is in at #6.

Strong’s entrance takes so long that Mark Briscoe is in at #7 by the time he gets to do anything. House is quickly cleaned and it’s Hangman Page in at #8. Clotheslines abound and it’s Jeff Jarrett in at #9. We get the strut before Jarrett gets to hammer on Page in the corner. Page breaks that up and powerbombs Jarrett onto a pile as Ricochet makes his debut at #10. Ricochet starts firing off the kicks and goes to the floor to hammer on Page. Christian Cage limps in at #11 but Ricochet cuts him off.

Okada dropkicks Page, who fights back and loads up the Buckshot Lariat. That’s broken up with a guitar shot, leaving Okada to Rainmaker Jarrett. Cassidy is back up to clean house until he walks into End Of Heartache. Briscoe is in to wreck everyone until he accidentally helps Nigel hit the Tower of London (hanging Stunner) on Sabre. Cage drops Nigel though and it’s Luchasaurus in at #12. He starts firing off the chokeslams, including one to O’Reilly, with Cage stealing the pin at 25:50.

Rating: B. They were rocking here for a bit before a kind of downer ending. Cage being added to the match and stealing it in the end felt like something out of Unforgiven 2008 with a banged up Chris Jericho winning the World Title. That being said, the good stuff here more than outweighed the bad, with Nigel being a crazy great surprise and Ricochet being a cool moment. I liked this, but make it an annual PPV event, as this is the third time we’ve sen it this year.

We recap MJF defending the American Title against Will Ospreay. MJF beat Ospreay in a match that went about an hour via some cheating and now Ospreay wants the title back.

American Title: Will Ospreay vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending and comes out dressed as Uncle Sam, while Ospreay gets an Assassin’s Creed entrance. Just to make it worse, MJF has a big American flag come down from the rafters, which Taz calls “heat”. They slug it out to start with Ospreay getting the better of things to send him outside. That means a Sasuke Special to drop MJF, who is right back with a running boot against the barricade. Back in and Ospreay can’t hit the Oscutter so they trade rollups for two each.

MJF powerbombs him onto the knee and adds a Kangaroo Kick. That means we get a hip swivel but Ospreay is back up with an enziguri for two. A skytwister press gets two and MJF heads outside, where he catches Ospreay’s dive in a Tombstone on the floor. Ospreay is back on his feet 51 seconds later and catches MJF’s Moonsault in a Spanish Fly. Back in and MJF is draped over the top for a shooting star to the back for two more.

Stormbreaker is countered into Cross Rhodes for two, only for Ospreay to come back with the Oscutter for the same. MJF hits a quick piledriver for two more but has to counter Stormbreaker into a discus forearm. He takes too long to follow up though and walks into the Stormbreaker for two. The Hidden Blade is loaded up but MJF rolls out to the apron instead. The Oscutter misses as Ospreay only hits mat in a nasty crash. A Canadian Destroyer on the apron knocks Ospreay even sillier, to the point where he collapses before MJF can try a Hidden Blade.

The Heatseeker is blocked and NOW the Oscutter on the apron connects. The crash takes out a production crew member though and Ospreay goes to check on him, allowing MJF to grab the title. Ospreay superkicks MJF and goes after him again, only to bump the referee. MJF hits him low and loads up another shot but a man in black jumps up to cut him off. It’s Daniel Garcia, with MJF threatening him as he leaves. The running forearm drops MJF and the Tiger Driver 91 gives Ospreay the title back at 25:36.

Rating: B. This got going and turned into a showdown, with Garcia being a fine way to go. It was either going to be him or Adam Cole and while I’m not a Garcia fan, I’d rather they go with him over reheating Cole vs. MJF. The match was the kind of hard hitting special that works well for Ospreay, though MJF better be out of action for the better part of ever after all the hype the Tiger Driver 91 received. I know he won’t be, but that’s how he should be after the story they were telling.

Post match Christopher Daniels presents Ospreay with the International Title as the America’s Title goes away.

We recap Britt Baker challenging Mercedes Mone for the TBS Title. Mone is the dominant champion but Baker is back to get into the title hunt again.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Britt Baker

Mone, with Kamille, is defending and comes to the ring in a carriage with her corgis. They run the ropes to start until Mone hits a dropkick but Baker is back up to knock her to the floor. Kamille catches her though and Mone poses with the title as a villain should. Back in and it’s too early for the Lockjaw so Baker settles for a superkick. Kamille offers a distraction though and Mone grabs a backbreaker onto the turnbuckle for two.

Another backbreaker keeps Baker in trouble but she fights up. A kick to the back cuts her off and Banks grabs Three Amigos. Baker fights up again and takes Mone up, only to get slammed down from the middle rope for a nasty crash. Back up and Baker tries a stomp but gets countered into a powerbomb. A quick cutter drops Mone but she goes to the back again for some near falls. Mone loads up…something, only to be reversed into the Air Raid Crash for two.

They go up top and Mone tries another slam, which is reversed into a wicked super powerslam to give Baker two more. Mone tries a belt shot but gets caught, allowing Kamille to tease one, only for Baker to drop down, Eddie Guerrero style. Kamille is ejected and the Panama Sunrise hits Mone for two. Lockjaw goes on but Mone bites the fingers and grabs the Mone Maker to retain at retain the title at 17:20.

Rating: C+. This went long and it hurt things a lot, as they could have wrapped it up about five minutes earlier. As usual, Mone is much more about the sizzle and setup than the match itself, though she was doing well here. Just find a finisher that doesn’t look terrible all the time and she’ll be in a much better place. I’m not sure what is next for Baker, but she could use a win in a good feud. Maybe Deonna Purrazzo?

We recap Darby Allin challenging Jack Perry for the TNT Title. Allin doesn’t like how Perry was handed the title and since Perry is the Most Interesting Wrestler Ever, he wants it to be a Coffin Match.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Jack Perry

Allin is challenging in a Coffin Match and goes after Perry with a chair to start. They go to the floor with Perry being sat in the chair for a dive, meaning it’s time for the coffin. Perry cuts off a dive though and it’s already time for a bag of broken glass. The fans sing CRY ME A RIVER so Perry swears at them, only for Allin to drive a skateboard into his back, sending him into the glass.

They go outside with Allin hitting a dive, only to get rammed into the coffin. Now it’s time to go up the ramp and Allin gets thrown off the stage and through a table. Perry throws him into a bodybag and carries him back to the ring….where Allin is thrown into the coffin. A running knee is enough to knock Allin out and retain the title at 10:35.

Rating: C+. Well, there’s your Jack Perry win over someone who is more interesting and better than him. It’s not exactly a shock and Allin is on the way to bigger things with the World Title shot at Grand Slam, but as usual, this felt more about Perry and….yeah it’s still the same guy. The tough guy thing isn’t working for him and they had to get the glass spot in, which might not be the most lucrative call back.

Post match the Young Bucks come out to light the casket on fire…..but STING returns for the save. Perry chairs him in the back for no effect so Perry runs off, leaving Sting to lay the Bucks out. Then Allin is helped out of the coffin to pose, which doesn’t exactly make Perry look like a killer. Granted that might be minor to having a 62 year old retired legend take out the top heel stable on his own.

We recap the AEW World Title match with Swerve Strickland defending against Bryan Danielson. That’s not big enough so Danielson, whose neck is held together by paper clips and a dream, is putting his career on the line.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Bryan Danielson

Swerve is defending and gets rapped to the ring. After the Big Match Intros, Danielson chops away to start but gets taken down by the arm, allowing Swerve to glare at Danielson’s family in the crowd. Back up and Danielson goes to the arm but it’s too early for the LeBell Lock attempt. Swerve misses a dive so Danielson is up with a springboard flip dive to take him down on the floor.

Back in and Danielson starts in on the arm, which is fine enough for Swerve to grab a suplex. The confidence starts to pick up as Swerve knocks him into the corner. Swerve heads outside but gets caught in a triangle choke over the ropes. Back up and Swerve tries a Death Valley Driver, with the referee getting knocked down. That lets Prince Nana slide in the title, with the Driver onto the belt knocking Danielson silly and busting him open in the process.

Swerve asks why we have to do this when Danielson’s family is watching, though he’s fine enough to hit a middle rope elbow to the back. They head back outside where Swerve stomps at the bloody Danielson and then yells at Danielson’s family. The Swerve Stomp misses though and Danielson pulls him into an STF.

That’s broken up but Danielson is right back with a clothesline for the double knockdown. The Cattle Mutilation is broken up so Danielson settles for the YES Kicks. A tiger superplex drops Swerve again and we hit the Cattle Mutilation again. This time Swerve powers out and hits a Vertebreaker for the big, scary crash. That’s enough to pause for the medical team to come in and check on Danielson but deem him ok to continue.

The Swerve Stomp gets two so Swerve hits back to back House Calls…for two more. Swerve is stunned as Danielson gets up and strikes away, setting up a triangle choke. After we cut to Danielson’s daughter not watching the match, Danielson suplexes Swerve down and hits the running knee…which Swerve brushes off. Another House call drops Danielson and the JML Driver gets two.

Swerve loads up his own running knee but cue Hangman Page for a distraction. That’s enough for Danielson to hit the running knee for two, with Nana almost diving in for the save. They slug it out until Swerve tries a roll but gets kneed down. Another running knee to the back sets up the LeBell Lock but Swerve powers out, only to get pulled into a Rings of Saturn variant for the tap at 25:45.

Rating: A-. They did a good job here of making me wonder how it was going to end and that’s a nice feeling. When in doubt, going for a feel good Danielson win is as safe of a moment as you can have and it worked here. It felt like the last hurrah of a legendary career and while he probably won’t hold the title for very long, he had one last great one (so far). Strickland can move back into the Page feud, and thankfully the interference didn’t lead directly to the ending. Heck of a main event and it felt important, which is how a match of this magnitude should go.

Danielson’s family gets in the ring to celebrate, with the Blackpool Combat Club (and Pac) joining them to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The matches that needed to deliver did so and they nailed the big happy ending. There were some weaker parts, such as the Coffin Match, Baker vs. Mone and Hook vs. Jericho, plus having SO MANY PEOPLE on the show, but the good stuff was more than enough to make this work. It’s absolutely AEW’s biggest event of the year and they worked out some of the kinks from last time, with a show that not only felt big but was better. Rather solid stuff here, and if they can leave some of the people alone next time, it could be even stronger. Heck of a show, with the big feeling taking it higher.

Results
Private Party/Ariya Daivari/Dark Order/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh/Anthony Ogogo b. Kyle Fletcher/Rocky Romero/Kip Sabian/Tommy Billington/Lio Rush/Action Andretti/Top Flight – Frog splash to Daivari
Willow Nightingale/Tomohiro Ishii b. Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway – Sliding lariat to Hathaway
Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Von Erichs/Katsuyori Shibata b. Cage Of Agony/Kingdom – Swanton to Taven
Pac/Blackpool Combat Club b. Patriarchy, House Of Black and Bang Bang Gang – Pac pulled down the titles
Mariah May b. Toni Storm – Storm Zero
Hook b. Chris Jericho – Redrum
Young Bucks b. FTR and Acclaimed – EVP Trigger to Harwood
Christian Cage won the Casino Gauntlet – Chokeslam to O’Reilly
Will Ospreay b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Tiger Driver 91
Mercedes Mone b. Britt Baker – Mone Maker
Jack Perry b. Darby Allin – Perry put Allin in the coffin
Bryan Danielson b. Swerve Strickland – LeBell Lock

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This is the biggest AEW show of the year, if nothing due to the outstanding atmosphere. Last year’s edition looked like a Wrestlemania level event and that is a hard trick to pull off. The crowd is going to be a bit smaller this time, but the card is feeling a bit bigger. It’s not exactly perfect, but I’m curious enough to see what we’ll be getting on this size of a stage. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway vs. Willow Nightingale/Tomohiro Ishii

This is part of the long running Statlander vs. Nightingale feud and the winning team gets to name the stipulation for their match next month at All Out. That could make things interesting here as it could go either way. You could have Nightingale pick a match where she can get revenge, or you could have Statlander pick a match where she is a heavy favorite. Either way it likely winds up being some kind of a hardcore match, but how do we get there?

I’ll go with Statlander and Hathaway winning here, as Ishii can torment Hathaway without getting the win. This feels like a way for Hathaway to steal a pin on Nightingale for some humiliation before she comes back and gets revenge on both of them next time. The Hathaway stuff should be funny, but he and Statlander win to stack the beck against Nightingale in the blowoff.

Zero Hour: Dustin Rhodes/Von Erichs/Katsuyori Shibata/Sammy Guevara vs. Kingdom/Cage Of Agony

And here is your “we’re just throwing stuff out there” match, as Dustin Rhodes and the Von Erichs apparently must be on EVERY POSSIBLE SHOW. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m not a fan of how much they’ve been around, just because I’m tired of seeing them over and over. The match will be the Ring Of Honor showcase, which just has to happen because reasons, even if I’m not sure how much interest Ring Of Honor could possibly have.

There is zero reason to believe that the villains will win here as Texas gets to annex England once and for all. The cage Of Agony could not be treated as bigger loses and I can’t imagine the Kingdom gets a win on a stage like this. It feels like another big thank you to Rhodes, because apparently being a double champion in his late 50s while having him appear more than he has in years just isn’t enough. But yeah, the good guys win.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks(c) vs. FTR vs. Acclaimed

This is the closest thing to a rematch that we have from last year, as the Bucks manage to have their second title defense in four months as champions. It doesn’t help that FTR doesn’t have much of a claim to a title match and the Bucks could not be more ice cold if they moved into a freezer. On top of that, the Acclaimed isn’t exactly on fire either, and that leaves one option.

I’ll take the Bucks to win here as they get their win back after putting FTR over last year. It’s not a result that needs to happen, but for some reason AEW seems to think that there is something to the Bucks as some o the top heels in the company. This isn’t something I’m looking forward to, making it rather similar to most of what the Bucks have been doing during their title reign.

Trios Titles: Patriarchy(c) vs. Bang Bang Gang vs. House Of Black vs. Pac/Blackpool Combat Club

This is a ladder match, marking the third ladder match on pay per view out of five shows this year. As usual, I would wonder what would happen if any other gimmick was used that much, but that’s another problem. The other issue here is THAT’S A LOT OF PEOPLE in one match, especially when Pac and the Club are pretty clearly there because they have nothing else going on.

That being said, I’ll go with the Patriarchy to retain here, as there is little reason for it to go another way. Christian Cage has been great in his role and it would be a shame for them to lose the titles so soon. The Gang and the House have both held the titles recently enough, leaving either the champs to retain or the makeshift team to win. Either is possible, but I’ll hope for some sanity with the Patriarchy holding the belts.

FTW Title: Chris Jericho(c) vs. Hook

Remember when Ricky Starks beat Jericho and then had to jump through a bunch of hoops to get his rematch so he could do it again? That’s exactly what we have again here and somehow it’s even less interesting. I know Jericho has some defenders (mainly himself) but it’s really not working for me so far. There is a really good chance that this wraps up the feud and we move on to Jericho doing something even bigger, because that’s just kind of how Jericho rolls in AEW.

I’ll go with Hook getting the big win here, which he certainly needs more than Jericho. At the same time, I don’t expect Jericho to be downgraded whatsoever after the match while Hook continues to do the same stuff he’s been doing for months. This whole feud has felt like such a waste of time but I guess the idea is Jericho puts Hook over on the big stage in the end. It doesn’t make up for everything, but it’s better than nothing.

TNT Title: Jack Perry(c) vs. Darby Allin

Why does Perry want this to be a Coffin Match? Other than trying to be the cool heel that he SO CLEARLY ALREADY IS (because Perry is obviously the most amazing heel ever), why would he want that stipulation? On top of that, the bigger question is whether or not Perry will make a glass reference, because that is the kind of thing that can’t be let go no matter what happens.

Normally I would go Allin here but he seems to have bigger fish to fry with the World Title match in about a month at Grand Slam. Allin can lose via some shenanigans here, or perhaps by doing something really stupid to cost him the match, but odds are Perry wins. For reasons I still can’t fathom, AEW sees something special in him and odds are here gets a big win here.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Mariah May

This is one of the more personal feuds on the show but unfortunately it reached its peak about a month ago and now they are limping to the finish. Storm has held the title for what feels like forever and May seems ready to move into the spotlight, but other than that big attack, they haven’t really done much that makes me want to see them fight. It should be intense, especially if Storm is playing it more straight, but I’m not sure how much they can do.

This is May’s to win as there is no reason to keep the title on Storm after everything she has already done as champion. May has a good bit of star power and deserves the win, while Storm can move on to….I have no idea actually, but she’ll probably be gone for a bit before she gets there. I can’t imagine May losing here as there is no reason for her to, so we’ll say the title changes hands.

Casino Gauntlet

I’m not sure what to do here as I don’t know most of the people in the match. The one thing I do know is that the rules have apparently been changed to make this more or less Money In The Bank, because THAT is something AEW needs. We only know a handful of the people involved, but there is one name that stands out above the rest and seems to be a likely candidate.

In short, this has to be Hangman Page right? He is the bigger singles star (in AEW) of the Elite/their associates and it wouldn’t shock me to see him winning here to have a chance at stealing the World Title from Swerve Strickland. While there is a chance that he does it to end the show, I’ll assume he saves it for later, meaning he has to win it first, which is what we’ll go with here.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone(c) vs. Britt Baker

This has been an interesting feud in the last few weeks, even if the match itself might not have the most drama. Mone is still treated as one of the biggest stars in the company and certainly in the women’s division but Baker is one of the most successful women AEW has ever seen. That makes for a more interesting match and it certainly feels big, which is exactly what this needs to be.

That being said, there is almost no way that Mone is going to lose the title so far. Mone hasn’t exactly hit the ground running so far in AEW and needs a major win. That is exactly what she can do here, perhaps with an assist from Kamille. What matters the most here though is that she gets the win over Baker, who can move on to something else after the loss. Money on the other hand gets to keep telling us how big of a star she is while actually having a win to back it up so….progress?

American Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Will Ospreay

On paper, this should be one of the easiest matches on the card, but the fact that I’m not sure about the result has me wondering. While Ospreay winning the title seems like the obvious way to go, he’s in there against someone who is on another level in MJF. There is a chance that MJF does retain through some shenanigans, but it is almost hard to fathom Ospreay losing another major pay per view match.

I’ll go with the safe pick here and say Ospreay gets the title back here in front of his home country crowd, as it makes a lot more sense. At the end of the day, this one could go either way but one of the ways fits a lot better than the other. Ospreay is near the top of the popularity charts in AEW and a big win could move him up to an even higher level, which would be quite the accomplishment.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland(c) vs. Bryan Danielson

Now we have what is starting to feel like a big main event as it’s title vs. career, even if Strickland has gone from a pretty likable face over the summer into a full on villain again seemingly overnight. While it would seem that Danielson winning for the big feel good moment would be the way to go, his neck and overall health is just enough to make me wonder if things are going in another way. That’s a good trick to pull off and AEW has managed to do it.

That being said, I don’t think I can go with the idea of Danielson losing again, so we’ll say he gets the World Title in the big moment. There is almost no chance he keeps it long (I’ve got Nigel McGuinness costing him the title at Grand Slam, setting up Danielson’s retirement match with McGuinness at WrestleDream) but that has never stopped a great moment before. Danielson wins the title here, as he absolutely should.

Overall Thoughts

The more I think about this show, the more I’m talking myself into being excited about it. There are some problems with the card (WAY too many people being one of them), but the idea of Danielson having one more major World Title win is a good way to go. This week’s Dynamite did a lot of good for the show and if they can live up to the hype, we could be in for something strong, but more importantly, special.

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Collision
Date: August 24, 2024
Location: Utilita Arena, Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the European debut for the show and that means we should be in for some good stuff. At the same time, it’s the day before All In and even though most of the card is set, there is still a spot to be filled in the four team ladder match for the Trios Titles. Throw in the final push towards the show and we could be in for a good one here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Conglomeration vs. Undisputed Kingdom

Tomohiro Ishii is on commentary. Briscoe and Bennett start things off by trading chops before it’s off to O’Reilly for a kick to the face. O’Reilly and Strong strike it out with O’Reilly getting the better of it again, meaning it’s off to Taven so O’Reilly can beat up two people at once. Cassidy comes in for the lazy kicks and a double hurricanrana to the Kingdom, followed by a toss into a tornado DDT to Bennett.

Back up and Bennett’s Hail Mary is blocked but Cassidy gets sent into the corner to put him in trouble for a change. That doesn’t last long as Cassidy escapes a sunset flip and hands it off to Briscoe as everything breaks down. Cassidy dives onto Strong but Taven dives onto both of them. Bennett moves the chair to prevent Briscoe’s dive but puts it back so Strong can slam Briscoe onto it. We take a break and come back with Briscoe in trouble and Strong mocking the hands in the pockets, which draws in an irate (well as irate as he gets) Cassidy.

Not that it matters as Briscoe gets over for the tag off to O’Reilly, who gets to wreck the whole team at once again. Bennett’s leg gets dragon screwed over the ropes and it’s the Froggy Boy into the lazy elbow for two with Taven making the save. Everything breaks down again and Bennett Death Valley Drivers O’Reilly for two.

A Rock Bottom backbreaker gives Strong two on O’Reilly but the Conglomeration all grab stereo holds. Those are broken up at the same time and everyone is down in a heap. Strong backbreaker O’Reilly but gets caught with Cassidy’s top rope DDT. NOW Briscoe can get the chair and there’s the big step up dive onto the pile at ringside. O’Reilly guillotines Taven for the win at 15:23.

Rating: B+. This was a blast with everyone doing a bunch of stuff, but O’Reilly was the absolute star. He wrecked the villains multiple times and felt almost unstoppable, which is quite the performance. I’m not sure how much of a preview this was for the Casino Gauntlet, but I had a really good time with this as they got a lot into and out of the opener. This doesn’t include Ishii, who didn’t say a word as far as I could tell. He did however sneer a lot, as is his custom.

Video on the Trios Title situation, which naturally set up a four team ladder match for the titles, even though the story had been about three teams and one more is being added for the sole purpose of putting more people in the match.

Willow Nightingale vs. Harley Cameron

Ishii is still on commentary as Cameron chokes (and screams) in the corner to start. Nightingale fights out of that and hits a running shoulder in the corner, followed by some rapid fire clotheslines. A Russian legsweep gives Cameron two and an elbow to the face is good for the same. Eat Defeat and a running knee give Cameron two more and she drives some elbows into the neck. Nightingale gets fired up and hits a quick Babe With The Powerbomb for the pin (it’s as sudden as it sounds) for the pin at 4:11.

Rating: C+. Cameron got to do some stuff here but this was about getting Nightingale ready for her tag match tomorrow. There’s nothing wrong with giving her a nice boost like this and the match didn’t overstay its welcome. I could see Cameron eventually evolving into a bigger deal, but she’s not there yet.

Private Party are the official emcees for All In. I have no idea why that is necessary.

Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara issue an open challenge for All In. They’re also bringing the Von Erichs and Katsuyori Shibata. I have no idea why that is necessary.

Jay Lethal vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Both of their usual friends are here too. They fight over arm control to start and Lethal has to go to the ropes for the early clean break. Back up and Shibata goes right back to the arm, only to get taken down for the basement dropkick. Lethal starts going for the leg but the Figure Four is broken up, allowing Shibata to go right back to the arm.

We take a break and come back with Lethal putting on a Figure Four, sending Shibata to the ropes this time. The Lethal Combination drops Shibata again but Hail To The King is countered into a quickly broken cross armbreaker. Back up and Shibata suplexes him for two and it’s time to strike it out. Shibata grabs the claw (as taught to him by the Von Erichs) and pulls him into the cross armbreaker for the win at 9:49.

Rating: B-. This is one of those matches was going to work because of who was involved and that is a nice thing to see. Lethal is someone else who can be put out there with anyone for at least a passable match. If you put someone as good as Shibata in there with him, it wound up being all the better for a nice TV match.

Post match everyone else gets in and Shibata offers Lethal a handshake, which he eventually accepts.

Video on Will Osprey vs. MJF.

We go to Create A Pro Wrestling Academy where Kris Statlander trains Stokely Hathaway, who does surprisingly well.

Stokely Hathaway/Kris Statlander vs. Nina Samuels/Kid Lykos 2

Statlander runs them both over to start and gives Lykos a Babe With The Powerbomb. Hathaway gets dropped onto Lykos for the pin at 58 seconds.

Post match Hathaway calls that a preview for tomorrow at All In.

Ben Mankiewicz narrates a video on Toni Storm vs. Mariah May, explaining May being something of an understudy who was never quite accepted. Then May won the Owen Hart Tournament and attacked Storm, setting up the personal title match.

Hook vs. Big Bill

Chris Jericho and Bryan Keith here with Bill and the fans don’t seem overly thrilled with Hook. Jericho even joins commentary as Bill throws him out on the corner to take over fast. Hook gets beaten down into the corner and Bill goes after the bandaged eye. A big boot sends Hook to the floor and we take a break. Back with the fans going a bit nuts over Bill, who grabs a bearhug.

With that broken up, Bill hammers away and the fans start slapping the barricade so loudly that I thought it was someone’s music in a run-in. Hook fights up and low bridges him to the floor before hammering away in the corner. A northern lights suplex drops Bill but he grabs a Hook by the throat (to a MONSTER reaction). That’s broken up but Hook slaps on Redrum out of the corner for the tap at 10:47.

Rating: C+. The match itself was just kind of there, but this was ALL about the absolutely incredible reaction to Bill. It must be one of those things where a wrestler can be over in a certain place and it would suggest that Bill should move to Wales as soon as possible. That was one of the most ridiculously positive receptions I’ve ever seen and it was a sight to behold.

Video on Jack Perry vs. Darby Allin for the TNT Title.

We look at the Bryan Danielson/Swerve Strickland showdown from Dynamite, with Danielson dropping Strickland to end the show.

Ariya Daivari vs. Jeff Jarrett

Karen Jarrett is here with Jeff. The fans sing for Jeff to get things even more hyped up, meaning the pose off is rather one sided. Daivari knocks him down and does the Fargo Strut before hitting a running shoulder. Back up and a hiptoss lets Daivari strut for the third time but Jarrett sends him hard into the buckle. Jarrett knocks him to the floor and teases a strut of his own (BIG pop) and we take a break.

We come back with the fight on the floor and Jarrett sending him into various hard objects. They do Jarrett’s signature sleeper exchange sequence until Jarrett rams him into the corner to break it up. A Russian legsweep gives Jarrett two and an enziguri sets up the running crotch attack against the ropes. NOW we get the real strut, with the fans coming to their feet in a cool moment. The Figure Four is blocked but Jarrett hits the Stroke for the pin at 9:54.

Rating: C+. This was similar to the previous match as the wrestling was just ok, but the fans carried this to a much more entertaining level. The fans were absolutely insane for Jarrett here and the reaction to the Stroke was great. I’m not a big Jarrett fan but he clearly loved this, as he did his basic stuff but the fans were way into it, mainly due to him being an actual legend. This was a lot of fun.

Video on Hologram.

All In rundown, with the Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara challenge now a ten man tag, because of course it is.

Lio Rush/Top Flight vs. Pac/Blackpool Combat Club

For the final spot in the four way ladder match for the Trios Titles at All In. Darius grabs a cravate on Yuta to start but gets pulled into a quickly broken bow and arrow. Back up and a dropkick staggers Yuta and it’s off to Pac, who misses a charge at Dante. Pac gets in his own flips as well so it’s off to Rush vs. Castagnoli. Rush tries his own Swing, which is broken up just as quickly and Castagnoli gets triple teamed down into the corner.

We take a break and come back with Yuta in control on Darius and knocking Top Flight off the apron. Darius fights up and hands it back to Dante to pick up the pace, including some kicks to the head. Rush adds a bottom rope Asai moonsault to Pac for two back inside as commentary just kind of stops for a few seconds. Yuta grabs a nasty German suplex on Dante and Rush kicks Castagnoli in the head. Pac is back up with an overhead German suplex to Rush but a series of splashes hit Pac for two. Dante hits a dive but Castagnoli cuts off one from Rush, setting up the Black Arrow to give Pac the pin at 12:58.

Rating: B. This was another action packed match and that’s all it needed to be. While I could go for a regular team being in the ladder match (or the ladder match not having four teams, or ladders for that matter), I do like getting some of these people on the show. At least they got there after very fast paced match as well.

Post match here is Christian Cage, with Mother Wayne, to mock the Welsh fans’ accents. The distraction lets the Patriarchy come in with chairs for the beatdown, only for the Bang Bang Gang to come in and whip out some tables. Then the lights go out and the House Of Black come in, leaving all nine of the challengers to brawl while the Patriarchy leaves. Sweet goodness that is a lot of people for one ladder match.

Overall Rating: B. The opener and main event were both pretty great, with the rest of the matches being forgettable….at least on their own. What mattered here was a white hot crowd, as they were carrying everything up more than a few levels. They drew me way into this show and I was more interesting than I would have been based on what I was getting from what AEW was doing. Not a great show, but one that was a really good time to watch.

Results
Conglomeration b. Undisputed Kingdom – Guillotine choke to Taven
Willow Nightingale b. Harley Cameron – Babe With The Powerbomb
Katsuyori Shibata b. Jay Lethal – Cross armbreaker
Stokely Hathaway/Kris Statlander b. Nina Samuels/Kid Lykos 2 – Splash to Lykos
Hook b. Big Bill – Redrum
Jeff Jarrett b. Ariya Daivari – Stroke
Pac/Blackpool Combat Club b. Lio Rush/Top Flight – Black Arrow to Rush

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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