Dynamite
Date: April 20, 2022
Location: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

Battle Of The Belts has come and gone and now we should be on the way to Double Or Nothing in May. That means it should be time to start getting ready for the bigger pushes as the card hasn’t been set up so far. CM Punk gets to face Dustin Rhodes tonight so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dustin Rhodes vs. CM Punk

They shake hands to start and it’s a feeling out process to get things going. The fans are split as they go technical, with a headlock not getting either of them very far. Punk takes him to the mat and cranks on the leg a bit but Dustin is right back up with a wristlock. Some armdrags into an armbar slow Punk down but he sends Rhodes outside, where the knee is banged up. Back in and Punk stays on the leg with some elbows and kicks as we take a break.

We come back with Rhodes sending him outside and hitting some clotheslines. Nine right hands in the corner set up a double middle finger and the tenth punch, but Rhodes’ knee gives out as he comes back down. Punk misses the running knee in the corner though and Rhodes hits a Code Red for two. Back up and Punk goes to the knee again, setting up a Figure Four.

Some slaps get Rhodes out of trouble though and he turns the hold over to send Punk to the ropes for the break. Punk’s springboard clothesline is punched out of the air and the Cross Rhodes drops Punk again. A piledriver gives Rhodes two and they’re both down again. Back up and Rhodes hits some Flip, Flop and Fly but Punk kicks him in the head. The GTS is loaded up but Punk can’t lift him off the shoulders, instead going with a cradle for the pin at 17:24.

Rating: B. You could hear JR’s interest in a wrestling match here and that is a good thing. This didn’t have anything over the top or gimmicky and that is something that will always work. I don’t think there was any serious drama about Punk losing, but they told a story and had a perfectly enjoyable match as a result. Solid stuff here, which shouldn’t be a surprise. I don’t care about Dustin that much, but you have to respect what he is doing almost 34 years after debuting.

Post match Punk goes to leave as Hangman Page arrives, meaning a staredown ensues.

Wardlow arrived earlier today when Mark Sterling and some security met him at the door. Said security is going to escort him to the closet, the ring, and then back to the closet. Oh and he has to be handcuffed until his match start. Finally, MJF has left a message for him, calling him a pig. Wardlow: “Oink oink b****.”

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Brock Anderson/Dante Martin/Lee Moriarty

William Regal does some singing on commentary as Wheeler stomps away to start. We settle down to Martin getting up onto the top to avoid Danielson’s running knee in the corner. Some dropkicks stagger the Club and Anderson comes in with a clothesline to Moxley. A half and half suplex drops Anderson though and we take a break.

Back with Danielson and Moriarty exchanging chops until a quick suplex gives Moriarty two. The Border City Stretch has Danielson in trouble but he slips out and brings Martin back in to start the house cleaning. The Nose Dive takes a second too long due to a slip and Moxley pulls him into a choke. Moriarty kicks Moxley in the back for…well nothing actually, as Moxley says kick him again. The Club all strike away at the same time (cool visual) until the Paradigm Shift finishes Martin at 8:07.

Rating: C+. The Club dominated here and that is a fine way to go, as it isn’t like their opponents had much to lose. The visual of the Club beating on the other three at the same time was great and it showed you just how good they are at the same time. Other than that, this was your old school Saturday Night/Worldwide main event, with some bigger names beating up some people who are just a step above being squashed.

The Undisputed Elite talk about their recent losses and want to right the ship. Adam Cole likes the idea so next week it’s an open challenge ten man tag. Cole has to go take care of something though and leaves the other four there.

Video on Samoa Joe vs. Jay Lethal/Sonjay Dutt/Satnam Singh. Joe is promising violence.

Tony Khan is here to announce the big announcement. He brings out the New Japan Pro Wrestling President but Adam Cole pops up on screen to announce that Forbidden Door, a New Japan/AEW supershow, will take place in Chicago on June 26. This Friday you’ll get a special preview with Cole vs. Tomohiro Ishii, but for now, Cole’s friend has something to say. Cue Jay White to say that the last time New Japan did something like this, he single handedly sold out Madison Square Garden. This is about the Undisputed Elite and Bullet Club because it’s still their era.

Jade Cargill and some of her Baddies (with popcorn) aren’t impressed by Marina Shafir, as Cargill is ready to be the Problem Solver to the Problem.

Butcher vs. Wardlow

Before the match, MJF and Shawn Spears (also eating popcorn, which he throws to the crowd) are in a sky box to insult the crowd and bring out Wardlow (still cuffed), sans music or pyro. The cuffs come off and they collide in the middle before trading shots to the face. Butcher bites his head and they head outside, where Wardlow won’t let him grab a chair. Instead Wardlow gets his back driven into the apron and they head back inside where Butcher hits his own powerbomb for one. That fires Wardlow up though and a four movement Powerbomb Symphony finishes Butcher at 4:14.

Rating: C+. That’s how it should have gone, as Wardlow hung in there and took everything a monster threw at him before winning in the end. It is another step towards Wardlow getting his hands on MJF as another hurdle is cleared, likely on the way to Double Or Nothing. Pretty good hoss fight here, but this was about having two bulls beat each other up and they did it like they should have.

Post match Wardlow is cuffed again and taken out.

Eddie Kingston wants to face Daniel Garcia with all of their friends out of the building. Everything he is going to do to Garcia is going to happen to Chris Jericho too, so be ready.

Owen Hart Foundation Qualifying Match: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jungle Boy

They go technical to start and head to the mat with O’Reilly holding him down by the hands. Back up and a springboard wristdrag takes Jungle Boy down into the corner but he comes back with some strikes to the face. O’Reilly knees him in the face and rolls his butterfly suplexes into a swinging faceplant.

We take a break and come back with Jungle Boy kicking his way out of the corner. Some running forearms are cut off with a kick to the leg but Jungle Boy hits a springboard tornado DDT. A front chancery goes on but O’Reilly hits a suplex, only to get clotheslined down hard. O’Reilly’s charge into the corner is countered into an overhead belly to belly suplex and Jungle Boy unloads with right hands in the corner.

Some stomping in the Tree of Woe has O’Reilly down even more and there’s a sliding basement dropkick. They miss some kicks to the chest until Jungle Boy rolls him up for two. The kickout lets O’Reilly grab an ankle lock but Jungle Boy reverses into the Snare Trap, with O’Reilly having to crawl to the rope. O’Reilly is good enough to catch Jungle Boy on top and it’s a superplex into a brainbuster to plant Jungle Boy again. The top rope knee to the back gives O’Reilly the pin at 12:53.

Rating: B-. This went longer than I expected and the ending was a bit of a surprise. I would have bet on the Undisputed Elite continuing its slide but Jungle Boy got beat clean. It’s not a terrible thing to have a tag team wrestler lose to someone with a lot more singles success, but I’m curious to see where this goes. Good action here though, as they allowed talented wrestlers to take their time and do something.

Post match a somewhat disappointed Christian Cage comes out to walk Jungle Boy to the back.

MJF doesn’t want to hear about Butcher losing because he has another plan. He hands Jake Roberts an envelope full of money as he seems to have rented Lance Archer. Roberts goes into a weird rant about how Wardlow needs to lie like he did when he was a kid, but Archer just wants to beat up Wardlow.

Hook vs. Anthony Henry

The fans like Hook, who starts fast with the release northern lights suplex. A running clothesline to the back of the head sets up some crossface shots but here is Danhausen to curse Hook again. It matters not as Hook Redrums Henry for the tap at 1:19. Simple and to the point again.

Post match Danhausen gets in the ring because he has had it with Hook embarrassing him. If Hook doesn’t want to be cursed by Danhausen, Hook will FIGHT DANHAUSEN! A poke to the chest annoys Hook, who walks past Danhausen without hurting him.

Frankie Kazarian wants to challenge Sammy Guevara but Scorpio Sky comes in. Sky thanks Kazarian for helping him get this far and now he needs one more favor: let Sky face Guevara first. Kazarian says he has always had Sky’s back and he always will, so the deal seems to be made. Sky coming in to surprise Kazarian would have been more impactful if Excalibur hadn’t said we were going to the back to Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky.

Thunder Rosa wants the most experienced and best challengers she can find. Now it is time to go double or nothing.

Here are Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti for a chat. Sammy thanks the fans for their support but not the ones who turned their backs on them in the first. Are they mad because his girlfriend is hotter than theirs? Those fans’ only option is to, said together, BE MAD. Cue the Men of the Year, with Ethan Page going on a rant about how Dan Lambert isn’t allowing the two of them to come to the ring and beat him into a bloody pulp.

Lambert talks about how youth is wasted on the young like Guevara. Now give Sky the rematch he wants or Page and Sky will come to the ring and give Sammy the pounding Conti dreams about. Guevara agrees to the match if they can have the mixed tag match they want (opponents not specified). Sky vs. Guevara is on next week….and it’s a ladder match, because we have gone a few weeks since the last one.

The House of Black says people have flown too close to the sun so next week, the sun dies.

Owen Hart Foundation Qualifying Match: Danielle Kamela vs. Britt Baker

Baker comes out with some Pittsburgh Steelers to make JR happy and Kamela is better known as Vanessa Borne from NXT. Baker takes her to the mat to start and seems rather pleased as we take an early break. Back with Kamela waving the Terrible Towel, which doesn’t sit well with Baker. Kamela gets hammered down and it’s a Stomp into the Lockjaw, complete with a Pittsburgh Steelers glove, to give Baker the win at 6:13.

Rating: C. This was about getting Baker out there in front of the Pittsburgh crowd, who loved every single thing she did. They didn’t bother trying to make her anything resembling a villain as there wouldn’t have been a point. What we got was a squash (which didn’t need the break) and Baker looking like a killer on her way into a likely deep run in the tournament.

Post match Baker grabs the mic and runs down the rest of the women’s division, especially Toni Storm and Jade Cargill. As for the Baddies, sit down because she is the baddest b**** on the block and will be winning this tournament. Baker had the crowd in her hand and she knew it.

Video on Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb, which will be taking place in a street fight next week.

Excalibur shows amazing lung capacity by running down upcoming matches, including FTR exploding in an Owen Hart Foundation qualifying match.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Darby Allin

Coffin match and the AFO is here with Andrade. The numbers game doesn’t take long to stat as Allin gets stomped down but he manages some skateboard shots. Andrade hits him in the back with the skateboard though and they fight into the crowd. Marq Quen rips up a Sting sign….which is held by a disguised Sting, who helps beat up the rest of the AFO. Good thing they came into that part of the crowd and Quen went after him, or Allin would have been kind of screwed.

They go into the balcony where Sting gets chaired in the back, only to pop up and dive off the balcony onto a pile of people. We take a break and come back with Allin getting suplexed on the floor before being knocked into the open casket. That means we get to see the thumbtacks under the lid (because of course) with Allin sacrificing his own arm to avoid being closed in.

Andrade powers him up with a suplex onto the ramp and looks down at a metal grate. That means a toss suplex onto the grate and Andrade takes him back to the ring, where the referee tells them 90 seconds. Allin manages a flipping Stunner to send Andrade throat first onto the top, setting up a suicide elbow to drive them both into the coffin. The tacked lid is slammed onto Andrade but here is Jose to stop the lid from being closed. Jose gets backdropped onto the lid and another slam of said lid onto Andrade is enough to give Allin the win at 12:17.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on here and some of it probably could have been cut out to let things flow a bit better. That being said, I’ll take Allin winning the feud, hopefully once and for all, as this has gone on long enough. Allin needed a win after not doing much in recent weeks, though I have no idea where he goes from here. Maybe the Owen Hart Tournament, but is that all that interesting for him?

Sting comes out to celebrate and the Hardys appear to do the DELETE pose on the stage to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Solid enough show here and they’re making me wonder where some of these things are going. Teasing Hangman vs. Punk instantly makes things more interesting, though I’m going to need a lot from Hangman to make me buy into the whole thing. Other than that, you had had some good action here, even if this felt more like the show that sets up the bigger shows. You need those every now and then though and it worked well this week.

Results
CM Punk b. Dustin Rhodes – Rollup
Blackpool Combat Club b. Lee Moriarty/Dante Martin/Brock Anderson – Paradigm Shift to Martin
Wardlow b. Butcher – Powerbomb Symphony
Kyle O’Reilly b. Jungle Boy – Top rope knee to the back
Hook b. Anthony Henry – Redrum
Britt Baker b. Danielle Kamela – Lockjaw
Darby Allin b. Andrade El Idolo – Allin shut El Idolo in the coffin

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: April 1, 2022
Location: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Ricky Starks, Taz, Chris Jericho

Wrestlemania weekend caused me to miss this one so now it’s time to catch up. I’m kind of curious to see how this show works without the timing issues and watching it as a stand alone event. The big draw this week is Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Keith Lee, which certainly sounds good on paper. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Young Bucks vs. Top Flight

Nick shoulders Dante down to start so Dante nips up. They head to the floor and hit stereo dropkicks, setting up a staredown. Matt comes in and gets sent into the corner, setting up a slingshot hilo. A double dropkick takes the illegal Nick down and Darius pulls Matt into something like the Rings of Saturn.

That’s broken up so Nick comes back in, only to have his springboard countered into an atomic drop. Back to back dives take the Bucks down but a Cutler distraction lets Matt hit a superkick to drop Darius on the floor. A Cannonball/running kick in the corner has Darius in more trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Dante coming in off the hot tag to clean house, including a superkick to Nick. There’s a missile dropkick to Matt and Darius gets to stare at the crowd a bit. A slingshot Flatliner sets up the Broken Arrow (that jumping over your partner to land on someone’s back for two on Nick. Darius gets knocked off the top and down into the barricade though and it’s Nick vs. Darius in a slugout. Matt comes back in for the save though and it’s the BTE Trigger for the pin at 10:48.

Rating: B-. It was the entertaining spectacle style match and that is all it needed to do. You have the Bucks against Top Flight in there to do their big choreographed routine and it did exactly what it needed to do. I’m not probably not going to remember it because I’ve seen the Bucks do this a dozen times, but while it’s still in the short term memory, they were doing it pretty well here.

Video on the OTHER SIDE of Kris Statlander, meaning the paint on her face changes side.

Here are the Men of the Year to complain about Tay Conti and Sammy Guevara. Above all else, they don’t like the photo shoot with the TNT Title, but they also want to know who was behind the camera. After some jokes about Orange Cassidy, Dan Lambert makes it clear that they will never give Guevara the match. Guevara pops up on screen from the parking lot, where he and Conti destroy Lambert’s car with sledgehammers. This company REALLY likes wrecking cars.

Hook is ready for an interview when Danhausen comes in to curse him. Again, Hook just walks away, leaving Danhausen to panic.

House of Black vs. Dark Order/Fuego del Sol

Matthews shoulders Grayson down but he’s back up with a running forearm. The Order is sent outside, leaving Fuego to get lawn darted into the middle buckle. King tosses Fuego onto the Order on the floor and we take a break. Back with Fuego kicking Buddy away and making the hot tag off to Grayson to clean house.

Everything breaks down and a toss powerbomb gives Uno two. The Order is sent outside for a running flip dive from King, leaving Black vs. Fuego inside. The rest of the House gets back in but the Order makes the save. Fuego manages a poisonrana on Black, who Black Masses Fuego out of the air for the pin at 7:14.

Rating: C. This was a bit longer than it needed to be for the House, as they should have smashed people like the Order and Fuego. It wasn’t exactly a competitive match but the House has stalled a bit in recent weeks, as we are seemingly STILL waiting on their showdown with Death Triangle. I’m sure the match will be great when it happens, but has Death Triangle ever been together in the first place?

The Young Bucks brag about themselves and are ready for FTR on Dynamite.

Owen Hart Foundation Qualifying Match: Skye Blue vs. Jamie Hayter

Hayter powers her up against the ropes to start and then hits an elbow in the face. Blue grabs am armdrag into an armbar and Hayter looks more surprised than anything else. A suplex sends Blue into the corner though and Hayter does it again for a bonus. Blue is back up with some rollups for two each, only to walk into a backbreaker to cut her off. A spinning kick to the head drops Hayter for two but she grabs a backdrop driver. Hayter charges into a superkick but is fine enough to hit a superplex. There’s a brainbuster to drop Blue again and a ripcord lariat finishes for Hayter at 5:36.

Rating: C-. This tournament feels like it is going to take a long time to set up as we are still waiting to see all of the qualifying matches. Hayter is someone who could be a nice monster to slay in the field without being a favorite and that’s a good enough idea. They didn’t waste a lot of time here on a match that isn’t going to matter so I’ll take that as a quick match.

Penta Obscuro and Alex Abrahantes warn the House of Black to be worried about Death Triangle.

Powerhouse Hobbs and Keith Lee are ready to wreck each other, albeit while using a reading/book motif. Well, as much wrecking as Lee can do in his odd way of speaking.

Keith Lee vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

The fans are behind Lee as he takes his vest off and they stare each other down a bit. The big lockup doesn’t go anywhere as they shake the other off. Hobbs hits some running shoulders to no avail but Lee’s running shoulder puts Hobbs out on the floor. We take a break and come back with Lee in trouble, allowing Hobbs to hit a running clothesline for two. Back up and a beal is blocked and Hobbs knows he’s in trouble.

A hard clothesline gives Lee two but Hobbs backdrops his way out of a Spirit Bomb attempt. Lee hits a running splash in the corner and there’s the Uncle Phil Beal. Cue Ricky Starks with a chair but Lee punches it away. Swerve Strickland runs in and takes out Starks, leaving Hobbs to hit a spinebuster. There’s no count because of the distracted referee though, allowing Lee to hit the Big Bang Catastrophe for the pin at 10:45.

Rating: C+. There is something fun about a hoss battle, but this hit a certain level and never got past it. They were big men hitting each other with power moves for about ten minutes and then Lee won. It was a fun showdown, but when you have people who wrestle a similar style, there is only so much that you can get out of the thing.

Starks beats down Strickland and puts him through the table at ringside. Hobbs chairs Lee in the back and another table is set up in the corner. Lee goes through said table to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: C+. Rampage continues to be a weird show as you have a bunch of matches but they rarely feel like they matter. You’re not going to get much of anything significant on this show but it is still fun to watch for about an hour a week. That was certainly the case this week, as I had a good time with the show but it didn’t exactly blow the doors off.

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Rampage
Date: March 25, 2022
Location: HEB Center, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Taz, Chris Jericho, Excalibur

We are back on Friday and that means we should be in for the heavy wrestling show. There is also a title match this week as Shane Strickland gets to challenge Ricky Starks for the FTW Title. Other than that, hometown boy Dustin Rhodes is facing Lance Archer in a bid for revenge from months ago. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Lance Archer vs. Dustin Rhodes

Archer drags one of Rhodes’ students to the ring but here is Dustin for the save. Hold on though as Dustin has to beat up Dan Lambert (who is still managing Archer, despite them not being together much lately) but Archer makes the save. They head inside with Archer knocking him around and hitting him in the head. Dustin fights back up and knocks him outside, only to miss the flip dive off the apron.

Back in and Dustin is bleeding from the ear, with the blood on Archer’s hands for a good visual. A twisting middle rope splash gives Archer two and we take a break. Back with Jericho pointing out that Archer’s hoot is unlaced before Archer bites Dustin’s finger. Dustin fights up anyway and hits some clotheslines but the snap powerslam is countered into a belly to belly.

The bulldog gets Dustin out of trouble and the Cross Rhodes connects for two. Archer is back up with a chokeslam for the same but the Black Out is escaped as Dustin…well just collapses. Back up and Archer tries to send him into the corner but gets sent face first into the exposed buckle (which apparently was exposed earlier), allowing Dustin to grab a jackknife rollup for the pin at 9:32.

Rating: C. Ok they got me with the surprise here, though Dustin winning a match over anyone with value is a bit of an odd choice. I’m not sure why Archer needed to lose here, but at least Rhodes didn’t lose in his hometown. Granted he could have lost at any other time and it would have been fine, but it did come after a decent enough match. Rather surprising ending though.

Post match Archer hits Rhodes with the steps to bust him open before beating up Dustin’s students for daring to try a save. The chokeslam through the table leaves Rhodes laying.

Jay Lethal starts laughing about his loss last week and says he can’t get past the two blemishes on his record. He took Adam Cole and Ricky Starks to the limit and they both had to cheat to beat him. That should make his proud, but all he sees are the losses and them getting opportunities. He needs a better way and is off to find it.

Fuego del Sol is here to talk about how close he has gotten to a bunch of big wins. He made these people chant his name because they believed in him. That makes him want the House of Black, so the lights go off and the entire House is in the ring with Fuego. The beatdown doesn’t take long but here is the Dark Order to stare down the House of Black. Tensions seem to be boiling.

The Men of the Year say the TNT/Co-TNT Titles are no longer subject to open challenges. Therefore, if you want a title shot, you better bring a good resume. If you want a shot, get it the hard way, because the open door is closed.

ReDRagon vs. Dark Order

5 and 10 for the Order here with O’Reilly kicking 5’s leg out to start. Angels slips out of a double suplex and sends Fish outside, setting up the rolling tag to 10. A lifting wristlock takes O’Reilly down and a double middle rope shoulder drops ReDRagon. We take a break and come back with 10 hitting a clothesline out of the corner and making it over for the tag (even as O’Reilly chokes him). The hot tag brings in 5 to clean house but O’Reilly reverses a northern lights suplex into a guillotine. 10 spinebusters Fish onto the two of them for the save, earning himself stereo kicks to the face. Chasing the Dragon finishes 5 at 6:59.

Rating: C. This was close to a squash for ReDRagon and that’s what it needed to be. The Dark Order may be a fun team but they aren’t at ReDRagon’s level in any important way. Odds are ReDRagon is going after the titles again soon so they need to win matches like this to build them up after their Revolution loss.

Post match the beatdown stays on but the Jurassic Express makes the save. Cue Adam Cole to steal the Tag Team Titles.

Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero say they interrupted Thunder Rosa on Dynamite because they wanted to disrespect Thunder Rosa. Now Rose is going to show how dominant she can be.

Thunder Rosa has plans for Rose and Guerrero.

Nyla Rose vs. Madi Wrenkowski

A backsplash into the Beast Bomb finishes Madi at 42 seconds. Of note: Madi is a Thunder Rosa student, so Rose is making it personal.

Here are QT Marshall and Aaron Solow to present Hook with the Certificate of Accomplishment. Cue Hook, with Marshall saying that he isn’t the kind of trainer to feel jealous when the student surpasses him. We see the award, with Hook sending Solow face first into it. Hook goes to leave but Danhausen pops up to curse him. That does nothing for Hook, who keeps walking to leave Danhausen confused.

Ricky Starks says the last time Shane Strickland had a house, he got ejected from it. Strickland laughs it off and says this is the same Starks he has always heard. Tonight, Strickland is going to take the FTW Title. Mark Henry doesn’t like this getting a bit too personal so he goes to the catchphrase.

FTW Title: Ricky Starks vs. Shane Strickland

Starks, with Powerhouse Hobbs, is challenging. Feeling out process to start but Starks takes him down and poses in the corner. Back up and Strickland drops to the mat to avoid a clothesline, nips up, and hits a headscissors into a great dropkick to cap off an awesome sequence. Starks is back up to send him into the corner though and we take a break. We come back with Starks hitting a tornado DDT for two and grabbing a seated abdominal stretch.

Strickland is back to his feet for a jumping knee to the face, setting up the middle rope uppercut to the back. Strickland goes up top but jams his knee coming back down, meaning he has to block the Roshambo attempt. Starks is knocked outside and Strickland follows him out with a running shooting star off the apron. Back in and the Swerve Stomp gets two but the half nelson driver is broken up. A rollup is countered and the kickout sends Strickland to the floor, allowing Hobbs to take him out. Now the Roshambo can retain the title at 11:21.

Rating: B-. I know it is his reputation, but my goodness it can be fun to swatch Strickland. He is so smooth in the ring and he makes this look like an art. You don’t see someone who can do that very often and it was fun to see again here. Strickland got cheated out of the win, though I really could have gone for him not being pinned here. Starks is a promising star too and it is nice to see him getting back to some longer matches after his injury.

Post match Starks’ entourage pull up a Starks banner but Keith Lee pops up behind it and comes in to help Strickland go after Team Taz to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was an entertaining enough show and some of that was due to the pace slowing down just a hair. There were entrances for the opener and I got more of a feeling that things were given a chance to breathe. Good enough show here, though it didn’t have any kind of a standout match this week.

Results
Dustin Rhodes b. Lance Archer – Jackknife rollup
ReDRagon b. Dark Order – Chasing The Dragon to 5
Nyla Rose b. Madi Wrenkowski – Beast Bomb
Ricky Starks b. Shane Strickland – Roshambo

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: March 18, 2022
Location: Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks

We’re on late this week due to the NCAA Tournament so I’m not sure what kind of an audience this show is going to have. The good thing is Rampage is rarely the show that features a lot of important developments, but it does offer some good action more often than not. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Butcher vs. Darby Allin

Sting is in Allin’s corner. Allin charges right at him to start but gets sent into the corner and out to the floor. Back up on the apron and Allin slaps him in the face. They change places though and Allin hits a hard suicide dive into the barricade. Back in and Allin starts working on the hand but Butcher knocks him down again as Jericho talks about how a hand injury could hurt Butcher’s music career. A hard clothesline drops Allin and they head outside, with Butcher glaring at Sting.

We take a break and come back with Butcher putting on a Texas cloverleaf but Allin makes the ropes. Butcher picks him up on the floor and swings him into the barricade/steps. Allin fights up and knocks him down for a change, setting up the Coffin Drop from the top to the floor, which is actually good for a countout win at 10:41.

Rating: C+. I can go with a curve in the end as it spiced things up a bit here. Butcher looked like a good monster and that is something that will always have a place in a wrestling company. Allin needs something a little bigger than a feud with Andrade and company though, like perhaps just a feud with Andrade for a change.

Post match the AFO comes in for the beatdown but the Hardys run in for the save. Matt issues the challenge for an eight man Texas Tornado match next week, with the answer coming later.

Dan Lambert and company brag about winning the TNT Title and beating up Tay Conti, though they’re worried that signing Paige VanZant’s contract on her gave the contract an STD.

Leyla Hirsch vs. Red Velvet

The fight starts on the ramp and Velvet hits a suplex to take Hirsch down. They get inside for the opening bell with Velvet hammering away as much as she can. Hirsch knocks her into the ropes and starts choking away as we take a break. Back with Velvet firing off some kicks but a bit one is countered into a suplex. A German suplex sets up a cross armbreaker but Velvet makes it to the ropes. Hirsch goes for her turnbuckle connector but here is Kris Statlander to take it away. The distraction lets Velvet hit a spinning kick to the face for the pin at 8:00.

Rating: C. Velvet is someone who needs a good opponent to rein her in and Hirsch did well enough here, even if this was much more about the Statlander/Hirsch stuff. I don’t see Velvet going very far but she is a name that has been at least somewhat established around here. Not exactly a thrilling match but they have both done worse.

QT Marshall talks about his mom being so upset over what Hook did to him that she even called him. Apparently he went to the same high school as Bruce Springsteen and offers to give Hook the QT Marshall Certificate Of Accomplishment next week.

House Of Black vs. Fuego del Sol/Bear Country

Malakai Black sweeps Bear Bronson’s leg to start so it’s off to Fuego. Black kicks him down and knees Bear Boulder in the face. Buddy Matthews comes in for a few shots before Brody King gets to come in and wreck everyone. Bounder looks to stare the House down but it’s a series of strikes to set up King’s big lariat. Fuego comes in and goes after all three, including an enziguri to Black. King misses the big lariat but Matthews runs Fuego over. Black and King take out Bear Country, leaving Matthews to hit the former Murphy’s Law to pin Fuego at 3:19.

Rating: C. It was nice to see this be the squash that it should have been as I was half expecting it to go a lot longer than it needed to. The House of Black is a dominant enough faction and they looked good here, with Matthews and King getting the change to shine over the leader. I’m sure they’ll have to have their big showdown with Death Triangle whenever they’re all together, but I’d like to see where they go from there.

Penta Obscuro wants to destroy the House of Black.

Max Caster is ready to take out Keith Lee, with Bowens saying Lee sounds like King Henry VIII. Lee tells them to be prepared for pain because they are his stepping stone.

Keith Lee vs. Max Caster

Caster’s rap makes various Texas references, including saying people will remember Lee like the Alamo. Caster goes for the knee to start but Lee grabs him by the arm for some driving shoulders. Lee knocks him down again but Powerhouse Hobbs comes to the stage as we take a break. Back with Bowens choking Lee from the floor so Caster can get in some crossface shots. Lee fights up and Pounces Caster, setting up the Big Bang Catastrophe for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: C-. Lee is little more than signature moves at this point and while they still look good, this wasn’t a match I’ll ever need to see again. Caster isn’t exactly great in the ring in the first place and Lee can’t move very well anymore. It was longer than it needed to be and not very good either, making this a pretty weak main event.

Post match Hobbs and Starks go after Lee but Shane Strickland makes the save.

Overall Rating: C. Maybe it was the show being on so late but I wasn’t feeling this one as much as usual. Granted there is a good chance that they took things more slowly tonight because they knew no one was going to be watching and if so, fair enough. The wrestling was ok at best and the best thing about it was that it was only an hour, so this wasn’t one of the better Rampages.

Results
Darby Allin b. Butcher via countout
Red Velvet b. Leyla Hirsch – Spinning kick to the head
House Of Black b. Bear Country/Fuego del Sol – Spinning Samoan drop to del Sol
Keith Lee b. Max Caster – Big Bang Catastrophe

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Rampage
Date: March 11, 2022
Location: Hertz Arena, Fort Myers, Florida
Commentators: Ricky Starks, Taz, Excalibur

We’re back to the Friday show this time around and we are still in the fallout from Revolution. The big story on Dynamite was the debut of Jeff Hardy to reunite with his brother, which should make for a major story going forward. This week’s main event will feature the debut of Shane Strickland, which should work out rather well. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Marq Quen vs. Darby Allin

Sting and Isiah Kassidy are here too, but we don’t have time to intro them because we need to go straight to the ring thirty seconds into the show. As we go to a split screen of Jeff Hardy debuting, Allin takes over with a headlock but Quen fights up and sends him into the corner to take over. Some stomping has Allin in trouble and Quen hits a shoulder to the ribs in the corner. Allin hits a hiptoss for a breather but Quen goes to the apron and pulls Allin down onto it with him as we take a break.

Back with Allin hitting a superplex for two but Quen knocks him down and hits a backflip stomp/knees to the stomach for two. A flipping Downward Spiral gives Quen two, only to have Allin come back with a reverse DDT. The Coffin Drop is loaded up but Kassidy offers a distraction, which draws over Sting for the save. Quen knocks Allin off the top and hits a 450 to the floor before taking it back inside. Quen’s shooting star press misses though and Allin grabs a Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 11:49.

Rating: C+. Allin continues to be worth a watch every time and that is a great thing. He knows how to excite the fans and get them into whatever he is doing and not a lot of wrestlers can say that. You also have Quen, who can do some amazing high flying, but using a 450 to the floor 40 seconds before you lose is a bit much.

Post match the AHFO comes out to go after Allin and Sting but the Hardys make the save.

Dan Lambert talks about Larry Zbyszko and Bruno Sammartino to set up Wardlow vs. Scorpio Sky for the TNT Title on Dynamite. Sky promises to retain the title and his streak.

The House of Black loves violence and seems to threaten Death Triangle.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Jamie Hayter

Britt Baker and Rebel are here too. Hayter takes her down with a headlock to start, with Martinez reversing into a headscissors for a standoff. Back up and Hayter takes her into the corner before an exchange of shoulders lets them stare at each other again. Hayter stomps her down in the corner to take over again though and we take a break. We come back with Martinez rolling a few butterfly suplexes for two. Hayter is back with an Irish Curse for two and a shot to the head rocks Martinez. Hayter heads up but gets German suplexed HARD back down. Baker offers a distraction though and Hayter hits a clothesline for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one as Martinez has lost all of her interest in recent weeks and Hayter is little more than Baker’s muscle. It didn’t help that the first half of the match was pretty dull stuff and Hayter only needed a clothesline to win. Not their best stuff, but it felt like a bit of a clash as both of them have done far better before.

Post match the beatdown is on but Thunder Rosa runs in with a chair for the save.

Hikaru Shida is back and hopes Serena Deeb missed her. She promises to cut Deeb’s head off.

Keith Lee vs. QT Marshall

Lee powers him up by the arm to start but Marshall gets in a poke to the eye. Marshall mocks the BASK IN HIS GLORY, earning himself the Grizzly Magnum chop. The Uncle Phil Biel sends Marshall flying but he gets in a Stunner over the top rope. A missile dropkick puts Lee down but he’s back up with a clothesline. The Big Bang Catastrophe is blocked so Marshall hits an enziguri. The cutter is countered and Lee runs through him with a shoulder. Now the Big Bang Catastrophe can finish Marshall at 3:48.

Rating: C. They had me worried about this one as Marshall was getting in a bit too much offense here for a bit. The good thing is that Lee won with his big move at the end. There is something cool about watching Lee run through people and throw them around, but dang that man is rather large. He might need to slim down a bit, just for the sake of looking a bit better.

Post match Aaron Solo and Nick Comoroto come in for the failed beatdown attempts. Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks come in as well though and Hobbs hits a good spinebuster to drop Lee.

Tony Nese and Shane Strickland have their face to face showdown.

Tony Nese vs. Shane Strickland

Strickland takes him down by the wrist but Nese is back up without much trouble. A missed charge into the corner sets up an anklescissors takes Nese down and a basement dropkick makes it worse. Nese gets sent outside, where Strickland kicks him in the chest from the apron. A cheap shot gives Nese a breather though and we take a break.

Back with Nese blocking an uppercut and hitting a neck snap across the top. Nese misses the moonsault though and it’s a tilt-a-whirl powerslam, with Strickland rolling into a suplex for two. Strickland goes up top but gets pulled into a gutbuster. A good looking 450 gives Nese two but Strickland sends him to the apron for a running double stomp. Back in and a rolling Downward Spiral gets two and the Swerve Stomp (top rope double stomp) finishes at 13:01.

Rating: B-. Good match and Strickland looked awesome in his debut, but this was a perfect example of a match that could have been trimmed down. It’s ok to have Nese get in a few moves and then lose in about six minutes instead of going more than double that. Leave the fans wanting to see more of Strickland rather than running him through so much in his first match.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a downgrade over the usual Rampages, but it was by no means a bad show. Strickland looked good and they did some nice enough stuff in the other matches, but it is still such an oddly paced show. It feels like they have to rush through everything so they can fit in their longer matches, even when they could be done just as well with a few minutes cut off from each. The show comes off like something that was entertaining on paper but it isn’t exactly great when it airs.

Results
Darby Allin b. Marq Quen – Fujiwara armbar
Jamie Hayter b. Mercedes Martinez – Clothesline
Keith Lee b. QT Marshall – Big Bang Catastrophe
Shane Strickland b. Tony Nese – Swerve Stomp

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Revolution 2022
Date: March 6, 2022
Location: Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re back on pay per view and that is usually a pretty good thing for AEW. This is an absolutely packed show with a twelve match (counting the Buy In) card, featuring a double main event of Hangman Page defending the World Title against Adam Cole and a dog collar match between CM Punk and MJF. Let’s get to it.

Buy-In: Leyla Hirsch vs. Kris Statlander

Grudge match. Leyla wastes no time in hammering away and taking Statlander down. They head outside, with Hirsch tying the arm up in the steps and crushing it hard for a nasty visual. Back in and Statlander gets in a shot of her own, only to get tied in the Tree of Woe. The arm is tied in the ropes again and there’s a running dropkick to said arm, knocking Statlander back to the mat.

Statlander avoids a shot though and it’s a bodyscissors to keep Hirsch down. That’s broken up and they slug it out until Statlander grabs a backbreaker for a breather. Hirsch gets sent into the corner for a running kick to the face and it’s time to head to the apron. A running hurricanrana sends Statlander crashing to the floor, though Hirsch’s back is banged up too. Back in and the cross armbreaker has Statlander in trouble until she gets a leg on the rope.

Hirsch changes plans by trying a rollup out of the corner, only to get caught in an electric chair faceplant. Something like a Michinoku Driver gives Statlander two so Hirsch rolls outside. That lets her pull out a spare turnbuckle, which goes upside Statlander’s head, because the referee isn’t very good at his job. The moonsault gives Hirsch the pin at 9:51.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why this needed to be on the card tonight as it felt more like something you put on Dynamite. Hirsch continues to impress as there is always a place for a wrestler/grappler like her. Statlander even got cheated out of the match so they can go to a rematch if they want, which is not the worst idea.

Buy-In: Hook vs. QT Marshall

Hook starts fast and throws him down, setting up something like an STF to send Marshall out to the floor. Marshall tries to get in a few shots but gets sent outside for a suplex (Taz: “POP THOSE HIPS!”) on the floor. Back in and Marshall manages to send him face first into the buckle, setting up a jumping elbow for two. Marshall goes up top but gets suplexed back down for a big crash. Another suplex sets up Redrum to finish Marshall at 5:01.

Rating: C. I believe that is Hook’s longest match to date and he continues to do his thing very well. He doesn’t have the most impressive look but there is something to be said for the idea of having someone with a unique presentation who is a killer once the bell rings. At some point he will have to move up to better competition, but for now, things are working well for him in these short bursts. Plus, who doesn’t love to see Marshall get beaten up?

Buy-In: House of Black vs. Penta Obscuro/Erick Redbeard/Pac

Matthews and Obscuro start things off and stare at each other for a long time. Penta does the CERO MIEDO and gets his fingers bent backwards. Matthews gets taken down but neither can hit a low superkick. A rollup gives Penta two and they both flip up to their feet. King and Redbeard come in to exchange a bunch of shoulders, setting up the slugout. Everything breaks down with the other four brawling on the floor, leaving Redbeard to dropkick King to the floor.

Redbeard follows to take out the rest of the House, including a running crossbody to King. Back in and Black hits a Cannonball in the corner for tow on Penta as we settle down again. Penta gets over for the tag to Pac, who fires off some kicks. Matthews catches him with a hanging DDT though and now it’s Pac being caught in the corner for the rotating beatdown. Black grabs a headscissors to keep Pac in trouble, with Matthews distraction the referee so he doesn’t see Pac make the rope.

The beating continues but Pac finally gets in a shot of his own, allowing the hot tag to Penta. That means house can really be cleaned, including a catapult sending Penta into a Canadian Destroyer to Matthews. A low superkick rocks King and we slow down a bit with Matthews mostly done. Redbeard manages a slingshot hilo to crush Matthews but Black comes in off a blind tag.

Some kicks rock Redbeard but he muscles Black up for the suplex into the corner. Pac comes back in with a springboard missile dropkick and the poisonrana to drop Black on his head. Everything breaks down and it’s Redbeard vs. King in the big forearm slugout. Redbeard kicks him in the face but gets picked up for Death Valley Driver. Redbeard and King head outside, leaving the other four to pull themselves to their feet for the slugout.

The House gets taken down, including a snap German suplex to Black and a big running flip dive to Matthews. Penta can’t hit Made In Japan on the apron as Black slips out and hits his own kick. That earns Penta kicks Black right back, setting up the Fear Factor on the apron. Back in and Matthews stomps Pac and Black kicks Pac in the face (What Fear Factor?), only to have Redbeard come back in for the staredown.

Redbeard grabs Matthews by the throat but Black kicks him in the face. That doesn’t bother Redbeard, who grabs Black by the throat for the chokeslam, only to get misted in the face. A running knee from Matthews sets up the over the shoulder piledriver to give King the pin at 17:22.

Rating: B. This felt like it belonged on a fairly big show, or as a really featured Rampage main event. Redbeard did feel like he was there to take the pin until Fenix gets back for the real showdown and that isn’t a bad idea. This feud has some legs, even if Black’s creepy/evil stuff might start getting a little tiresome. Adding in Matthews helps keep thing fresh too, and the quality of the match makes up for most of the issues from the buildup.

A video from Draft Kings tells us how to gamble on the show and we’re ready to go.

Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston

They’re starting big and Eddie goes right to it with a half and half to rock Jericho early. A neckbreaker gives Kingston two and we’re off to the early chinlock. Jericho breaks that up and takes him to the floor for a rake to the eye to take over. Back in and an enziguri staggers Eddie but he pops up to chop it out. Kingston goes with the Kenta Kobashi chops and then bites Jericho’s head in the corner.

Jericho slips out and hits some corner clotheslines, setting up the top rope hurricanrana for two. With that not working, Jericho unhooks a turnbuckle pad but doesn’t seem to like his decision. They fight to the apron with Jericho suplexing him down to the floor in a big crash. Back in and Jericho hits a German suplex and gives us a big evil grin. The Lionsault (with Eddie having to slide over) sets up a Lionsault without too much spring to Kingston’s face for two. Kingston gets in a desperation lariat but Jericho pulls him into the Walls.

The rope is eventually reached and it’s Kingston coming back with a Saito suplex. The spinning backfist gives Kingston two and he can’t believe the kickout. Kingston’s northern lights bomb is countered into a Codebreaker for two and now Jericho cant believe it. Kingston gets up and gets caught with another suplex, only to pop up. Jericho cuts him off with another Codebreaker but the Judas Effect misses. A pair of spinning backfists drop Jericho and the Stretch Plum makes Jericho tap at 12:19.

Rating: B. This is a good example of how to put someone over and it was long overdue. Kingston has been knocking at the door of success for a long time now and Jericho is the kind of person to put him over. They beat each other up well and Kingston got the win that he has been needing for a very long time now. Hard hitting opener with the feel good ending.

Eddie looking shocked that he won and even checking with the referee is a great touch. Jericho won’t shake hands, even after he promised to do so.

Here’s the card you already paid to see.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. ReDRagon vs. Jurassic Express

The Express is defending and this is one fall to a finish. Jungle Boy gets taken into the Bucks’ corner to start as Bobby Fish will not stop running his mouth. A double slam of some kind is escaped and it’s Luchasaurus coming in to chop away at Matt Jackson. ReDRagon gets chopped down too but all four challengers bail before Luchasaurus can dive. They don’t get away from Jungle Boy’s dive though and the champs are in control early.

Back in and some double teaming puts Luchasaurus down on the floor, meaning the big group beatdown is on. Back in and a running neckbreaker onto a knee puts Jungle Boy down for two, with Fish making a save to annoy Matt. ReDRagon’s double belly to back suplex is escaped and Nick tags himself in. Jungle Boy gets sent outside but blocks Nick’s apron kick, leaving ReDRagon and the Bucks to argue some more.

That’s enough to allow the hot tag to Luchasaurus so house can be cleaned, including some kicks to the Bucks. A moonsault off the apron takes out ReDRagon but the Bucks are back up to kick Luchasaurus down. Luchasaurus is fine enough to plant Matt for two, leaving Matt holding his back. Matt winds up on Luchasaurus’ shoulders, allowing Jungle Boy to run the corner and hit a top rope clothesline for two.

Luchasaurus gets kicked down but O’Reilly is back in to kick away at Matt. Jungle Boy goes to the apron to kick Matt in the back but ReDRagon grabs a DDT, which is kicked into a wheelbarrow suplex for two. O’Reilly hits the top rope knee to Jungle Boy’s leg and the kneebar goes on. That’s broken up as well and Luchasaurus chokeslams Nick off the top. O’Reilly comes in with a front chancery to Luchasaurus but Jungle Boy comes off the top with a shooting star to the two of them for the break.

ReDRagon goes high/low on Jungle Boy for two but it’s Matt coming back in to go after Jungle Boy this time. O’Reilly has to make a save of his own and Matt is annoyed, only to miss More Bang For Your Buck. A hurricanrana into a German suplex takes the Bucks down and it’s Luchasaurus hitting his big dive to the floor. Back in and the Throwassic Express finishes Matt to retain the titles at 18:36.

Rating: B+. This was the wild spotfest that it needed to be, as you know what you are getting with the Bucks in a three way match. The Express needed to win here to give them a fall over the Bucks to establish themselves as more of a dominant team, but it won’t matter if the focus shifts to the Bucks’ issues with ReDRagon. Hopefully that isn’t the case, but there is a bit of a precedent of things going in that direction.

Video on the Face of the Revolution ladder match.

Keith Lee vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Wardlow vs. Ricky Starks vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Christian Cage

Ladder match for a future TNT Title shot. The three monsters clear the ring to start so Cassidy comes back in for the lazy kicks. Cassidy tries to climb up the people to get to the brass ring, only to be sent outside. The others come back in and it’s Starks getting up and climbing the ladder. Cassidy breaks that up and tries the very slow climb, allowing Christian to make the save.

With Cassidy sent outside, Christian puts a ladder in the corner but Lee does his rise up spot and crossbodies Christian and Starks at the same time. Cassidy’s attempt at a hurricanrana is blocked so Lee can swing him into the others. Lee goes for the ladder but Wardlow is here for the staredown. That lets Hobbs run the two of them over with the ladder but here is Starks for the Team Taz double run up the ladder. Cassidy makes the save this time and puts the ladder around his head for the helicopter.

Hobbs and Lee grab the ladder though (giving us a great “uh oh” face from Cassidy) and Cassidy is in trouble. They lift it into the air….so Cassidy skins the cat to land on the raised ladder and stands up to get a hand on the ring, only to get crotched back down (that was one of the most creative ladder match spots I’ve seen in a long time). The ladder is laid in the corner and Hobbs superplexes Cassidy back down for the huge crash.

Christian is back in now but Starks pulls the ladder away and dives through it with a spar to cut Christian down. Wardlow and Hobbs go up the ladder, with Starks and Cassidy climbing on Wardlow’s back…but not being able to stop them. Everyone winds up on the pair of ladders until Christian and Cassidy crash down. Starks and Lee go down too so it’s Hobbs and Wardlow fighting on top until the both fall too, leaving everyone down. The three monsters are back up and Lee Uncle Phil Biels Cassidy to the floor in a nasty crash. Everyone else winds up on the floor too so Wardlow and Hobbs go after a ladder on the stage.

They actually rip it in two with Hobbs knocking him down, as JR suggests they GO BACK TO THE RING. Lee and Hobbs wind up by the announcers’ desk, with Wardlow coming in to shove them both off the stage and through a table. Back in and Starks takes Christian down but it’s Danhausen to curse Starks, allowing Christian to make the save. Christian goes up but Starks makes another save, leaving Wardlow to powerbomb Christian hard. Wardlow powerbombs Starks off the ladder onto a bridged ladder and pulls down the ring for the win at 17:08.

Rating: B. It’s another spot fest with one big crash after another. Sometimes you need a car crash match like this one and the hosses getting to throw people around was a change of pace. Wardlow winning makes sense and we should be in for a good match when he faces (likely) Sammy Guevara. That Cassidy spot was a great bonus and I had another good time here.

Tony Schiavone brings out Shane Strickland to officially sign his AEW contract. Swerve is happy to be here and could tell us about the titles he is going to win, but first he needs to ask: who’s house? The fans say Swerve’s house and he loves them too. This was expected and is still an awesome sight.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill vs. Tay Conti

Cargill, with Mark Sterling, is defending and gets played to the ring. Conti tries to take it the mat to start but Cargill powers her way out. That means it’s time to mock Conti’s martial arts again so Conti sends her into the corner for some running shots to the face. A swinging DDT connects but Cargill’s feet are under the rope. Cargill heads outside so Conti goes up for a big flip dive, which takes Sterling out.

That lets Cargill kick Conti in the face to take over but Conti kicks her down back inside. Jaded and the DDTay are broken up so Cargill grabs a rollup, only to be kicked off into a chair as held up by an appearing Anna Jay. A DDT gives Conti two but Cargill is back with the Eye of the Storm for two of her own. Jade hits a frog splash of all things for two more so Conti comes back with a piledriver for the save. Cargill kicks her off and Conti might hit a camera in the corner. That’s enough to set up Jaded to retain the title at 6:50.

Rating: C+. Cargill continues to wrestle beyond her experience and Conti was a good challenger here. There might not have been the most drama as Conti felt like the challenger of the week, but she got in some good stuff of her own here. Cargill is going to need a big challenger coming up, but Conti did rather well for a spot like this.

Video on CM Punk vs. MJF. They started off with a war of words but MJF keeps getting the better of him, meaning it is time to get bloody and violent in a dog collar match.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. CM Punk

MJF wears a robe to the ring but Punk comes out to Misaria Cantare, his old Ring of Honor theme. They pull each other closer by the chain with Punk missing a big swing. Punk chokes in the ropes before raining down rights and lefts. A big chain shot is broken up and MJF gets two off a Cheeky Nandos kick. Punk is back up with a running knee in the corner but the bulldog is countered with a pull of the chain. Punk’s back already has chain marks across it and there’s a chain shot to the head.

That leaves Punk VERY busted open so MJF asks for a censored mic. He tells Punk to quit on the people like Punk quick on him but Punk tell him what he can eat. Punk uses the chain to pull MJF off the middle rope and there’s a Russian legsweep with the chain. MJF is back up with a sleeper using the chain but Punk slips out, only to get caught in the Salt of the Earth. That’s broken up as well and Punk grabs the Anaconda Vice, which is escaped as well.

MJF sends him to the apron but the Heatseeker is countered to leave them both down again. A chained knee shot to MJF’s face busts him open too and it’s time to wrap the chain around said bleeding face. They head outside with Punk pounding away against the barricade. A crash into the steps bangs up Punk’s leg though and they’re both down. Back in and Punk loads up the GTS but the leg gives out to give MJF a breather.

MJF hits the knee with a chained fist and they go to the apron, where Punk hits a Tombstone piledriver to knock MJF silly. Punk’s knee is further banged up though and they’re both down again. MJF gets in another shot of his own and it’s time to bring in the thumbtacks. The running knee in the corner hits Punk this time but he bites the hand to get out of the bulldog.

Punk’s suplex onto the tacks is blocked and the Pepsi Plunge is as well so MJF superplexes him near the tacks (fair enough as they’re on the other side of the ring) for two. MJF has come unhooked from the chain so he calls Wardlow in as the chain is linked up again. Wardlow comes down but can’t find the ring, allowing Punk to hit the GTS, with MJF falling into the tacks. Punk looks at Wardlow, who puts the ring (which was in the other pocket) down on the apron and walks off. Punk pulls MJF up so MJF spits at him, earning a ring shot to the face for the pin at 26:22.

Rating: A-. In the words of Stu Nahan from Rocky, “they look like they’ve been in a war, these two.” That’s the feeling I got from Punk as he was sitting there after the win and that is how it was supposed to feel. I don’t know if they are going to have another match out of this as it felt like a blowoff, but one more time could be rather great. Above all else, this felt like two people out to hut each other and Punk survived in the end, which is all you could ask for. Awesome match and almost as great as it was hyped up as being.

Punk motions he wants the title.

We recap Thunder Rosa vs. Britt Baker for the Women’s Title. Baker says she is the women’s division and Rosa says she wants to be champion.

Women’s Title: Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa

Baker, with Jamie Hayter and Rebel, is defending. They fight over a lockup to start and go to the mat before fighting into the corner. Baker grabs a hammerlock but Rosa fights up, only to be driven up against the ropes. A neckbreaker drops Rosa and Jamie/Rebel mock her from the floor.

Rosa fights up again but Baker hammers her down into a rather appropriate hammerlock. Back up and Rosa hits a running kick into a northern lights suplex for two as the fans are trying to get into this. Rosa fights up with some elbows in the corner but gets butterfly suplexed for two. A superplex drops Baker again but Rosa holds on and lifts her up into a fireman’s carry swung into a faceplant.

The sliding lariat gets two on Baker but she’s back with a knockdown of her own. Lockjaw doesn’t work though and Baker goes to the corner, where a super Air Raid Crash gets two more. Rosa is back up with a Tombstone but Rebel has the referee to prevent a count. That means a choke to make Baker tap, but Rebel has the referee again. This time Rosa spears Rebel through the ropes, allowing Baker to hit the Stomp on the way back in for the pin to retain at 17:19.

Rating: C+. These two were in a terrible spot as there was no way to follow that dog collar match. It also doesn’t help that this was a pretty straight match as the followup to their all time brawl last year. It’s a weirdly built feud and this felt like a big time TV match instead of some major pay per view war. Not bad, but the fans weren’t into it and the ending was flat.

We recap Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson. Moxley is back after rehab and Danielson wants the two of them to join forces and raise up the next generation. That’s a possibility, but Moxley can’t stand next to someone until he bleeds with them.

Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson

Danielson wrestles him down to start so Moxley gets up for a breather. Then it’s Moxley driving him to the ropes so Danielson goes to the apron for a breather of his own. Moxley wins a slugout and drops Danielson with an elbow before firing off some YES Kicks. Danielson reverses one of them into a dragon screw legwhip though and now it’s time for the REAL YES Kicks.

More kicks have Moxley bailing to the floor before he comes back in and gets kicked in the corner. A shot to the ribs slows Moxley down and the running kick in the corner makes it worse. Danielson: “HOW’S THAT MOX?” We hit the guillotine but Moxley gets out and sends him outside for the suicide dive. Danielson is ready though and goes back inside, leaving Moxley to stick the landing.

That means Danielson can try a dive but Moxley blocks that too, setting up the slugout on the floor. The exchange of elbows busts Moxley open hard and Danielson starts striking away at the body. Moxley fights up and gets in a shot of his own though to put them both down. Danielson takes him to the corner and rakes the back, setting up a big superplex for two. Moxley is back up with a sleeper but Danielson backflips into a dragon sleeper, which is reversed into some elbows to the head.

A cross armbreaker has Danielson in trouble but he reverses into an armbar of his own, sending Moxley to the ropes. Danielson’s stomps are loaded up but Moxley ties up the legs so they can kick each other in the face. Moxley gets the better of it and puts on the bulldog choke, only to have Danielson roll out for a change.

The running knee gives Danielson two so he stomps on Moxley’s head. Now it’s a triangle choke to Moxley, complete with elbows to the head. Moxley gets creative by grabbing the beard but Danielson punches him in the face over and over. Somehow Moxley manages to flip over into a cradle though and Danielson is pinned at 21:02.

Rating: B. This was another bloody, violent fight with those shots to Moxley’s eyes being a nearly scary visual. What mattered here was letting both guys beat on each other until Moxley stole the win, as this was almost all about Danielson. Heck of a fight, but it was the secondary bloody war of the night.

Post match the fight stays on so referees come out. William Regal of all people debuts and gets in between them, but Moxley goes after Danielson again. Regal headbutts Moxley and slaps Danielson, which is enough to get them to shake hands. Well yeah that certainly worked.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

Darby Allin/Sting/Sammy Guevara vs. Andrade El Idolo/Isiah Kassidy/Matt Hardy

Texas Tornado match in Florida. Allin gets in another mini movie, showing the AHFO’s funeral and asking if he is crazy. It’s a brawl to start with Sting and Allin putting Andrade’s manager Jose in a trashcan so Allin can take him out with a suicide dive. Andrade makes the save though and hits a running suplex drop to send Sammy ribs first onto the barricade.

House is cleaned and Andrade rolls Allin up before tossing him into the corner in a kind of one armed buckle bomb. Sting and Hardy fight on the floor and Andrade misses a charge into the barricade. Cue Marq Quen to uneven the odds, setting up Silly String to plant Sammy on the floor. The fight heads into the crowd with Sting sending Hardy into the barricade. Butcher and Blade run in to jump Sting as Sammy fights Private Party on the stage.

Sammy goes onto a piece of the set with Kassidy, setting up a super Spanish Fly onto a pair of tables (with only one breaking). Butcher and Blade set up a bunch of tables but Sting fights up and hammers on the two of them. Sting takes Andrade back to the tables and hits a splash off the balcony to drive Andrade through all four of them in the HE’S 62 YEARS OLD spot of the match. Back in and Matt beats on Allin with a chair, only to have Sting make the save with a Scorpion Death Drop. Allin goes up and misses the Coffin Drop but gets the pin anyway at 13:12.

Rating: C+. I’m not big on the wild brawls and that was the case again here. Sting can still do all of those big dives, though I cringe a bit more every time he does one. Throw in Sammy and Kassidy’s scary landing on the stage and this felt like hoping no one was injured rather than an entertaining match, which is not a good sign. The action was fun and it was a crazy fight, but I could have done without it.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole for the World Title. Page is champion, Cole wants to be World Champion. They came up in wrestling together and now Cole wants to be where Page is.

AEW World Title: Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole

Cole is challenging and comes out in Halo themed gear, though JR one ups him by not recognizing the AEW World Title (JR: “Is that a new title belt?”). Fans: “LET’S GO ADAM/ADAM SUCKS!” Ok that’s a great one. Page chops him up against the ropes as the fans want Adam to f*** him up. More chops in the corner set up a short arm lariat to put Cole down and Page adds a running boot to the head from the floor.

Cole manages to send him into the steps a few times though and it’s time to start on Page’s arm. Back in and we hit the arm crank before Cole starts talking about how Page will never be him. Page slaps him in the face and blocks a Panama Sunrise to put them both down. Cole gets sent to the apron so Page clotheslines him down, only to hurt the arm again. An apron powerbomb sets up a moonsault to the floor but the Buckshot doesn’t work for Page.

Instead Cole hits a Liger Bomb (with JR testing Excalibur about the difference between a powerbomb and a Liger Bomb and sounding defeated when Excalibur got it right) and goes up, only to get shoved back. Cole superkicks him out of the air but Page is back with the Deadeye for two. Fans: “THIS IS ADAM!” That’s somehow even better than the first. Back up and they trade shots to the face until Cole pulls him into a crossface. Page is right there for the rope so Cole slams him arm first onto the apron.

Back in and a Tombstone gets two (and JR is NOT happy with the kickout) but Page is back up with some shots to the face. Cole reverses a suplex into the brainbuster onto the knee for two and is frustrated at the kickout. Fans: “FIGHT FOR ADAM!” The go up top again with Page hitting a backflip World’s Strongest Slam for two more but here is ReDRagon to break up the Buckshot. Cole superkicks Page to the floor and it’s a Panama Sunrise on the floor, drawing what sounded like a HOLY ADAM chant.

Back in and Cole can’t believe another kickout so ReDRagon offers a distraction, allowing Cole to kick Page low. Another Panama Sunrise sets up the Boom for two but Page is back up again. The Buckshot is countered with a superkick but Page drops down to avoid another Boom. ReDRagon puts a table at ringside, only to have Page hit the Deadeye off the apron to put Cole through it instead.

Cue the Dark Order to check on Page and brawl off with ReDRagon, leaving Page to hit the Buckshot for two, as Cole gets his hand on the ropes. With nothing else working, Page uses his belt to tie Cole to the rope and fires off some superkicks (with Cole losing a tooth). Cole gets loose but Page knocks him down again, setting up his own Boom. Another Buckshot retains the title at 25:41.

Rating: B-. This was a pay per view main event, but it was a pay per view main event at the end of a VERY long show. The crowd chants were great and it certainly wasn’t bad, but this wasn’t exactly going out on a high note. Page does get a good win though and moves on to something bigger, though I wasn’t jazzed with this match coming in and they didn’t do anything to make it better here.

Page shows respect and celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Another excellent AEW show, but the crowd was starting to get worn down in the middle. I can absolutely sympathize with them on that as counting the Buy-In, this was about five hours with very few chances to breathe in the middle. AEW really could use a lesson in less is more, as there was a lot that could have been cut, or at least trimmed, on here to get done at least half an hour earlier.

Now that being said, this was another great AEW pay per view, with no bad matches, an instant classic in the dog collar match and an awesome moment with Regal debuting. AEW knows how to put together the action on these big shows, but they do need to learn how to present them a bit better. Fix some of those problems and this is a masterpiece, but for now I’ll settle for just a classic.

Results
Leyla Hirsch b. Kris Statlander – Moonsault
Hook b. QT Marshall – Redrum
House Of Black b. Erick Redbeard/Penta Obscuro/Pac – Over the shoulder piledriver to Redbeard
Eddie Kingston b. Chris Jericho – Stretch Plum
Jurassic Express b. Young Bucks and ReDRagon – Throwassic Express to Matt Jackson
Wardlow won the Face of the Revolution ladder match
Jade Cargill b. Tay Conti – Jaded
CM Punk b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Punch with the Dynamite Diamond Ring
Britt Baker b. Thunder Rosa – Curb stomp
Jon Moxley b Bryan Danielson – Rollup
Sting/Darby Allin/Sammy Guevara b. Matt Hardy/Isiah Kassidy/Andrade El Idolo – Coffin Drop to Hardy
Hangman Page b. Adam Cole – Buckshot Lariat

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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It’s back to the pay per view schedule for AEW and that is a great thing to hear. AEW has a pretty awesome track record for pay per views and there is a good chance that it will do the same here. This time is a bit different though as there is a staggering twelve match card with three matches taking place on the Buy In. The positive thing is that the matches look good, but dang that is a lot. Let’s get to it.

Buy-In: QT Marshall vs. Hook

We’ll start off with one of the fun ones here as Hook has taken AEW by storm in his still short career. What seemed to start off as little more than a big joke has turned into a pretty great run from Hook, who has smashed a variety of people without overstaying his welcome once. I believe this will be his first live match though and that could make for a new challenge.

I mean, I say challenge as seriously as it can be meant as it’s Marshall across the ring from him, meaning Hook wins this in a walk. There is no reason to expect this match to go longer than about four minutes, with Hook grabbing Redrum for the win. Marshall should be good for helping Hook get to an ok match, but that’s about the extent of his usefulness in this spot.

Buy-In: Leyla Hirsch vs. Kris Statlander

This one is already more interesting as you have two such different styles. Statlander has taken the gloves off to insult her former friend while Hirsch continues to look ready to maul various humans at any given time. That should make for a showdown, though I’m not entirely sure how well these two are going to work together. Statlander can do well, but there are also times where she doesn’t quite click.

I’ll take Hirsch here, as she is rather perfect in her role as the tiny killing machine who could pull Statlander into a variety of knots. Statlander has promised a new version of herself, but that does not necessarily mean she is going to win. Neither would seem likely for a future title shot, but a Hirsch push sounds like the better option of the two. Either way I would expect at least one rematch, but Hirsch takes the first one.

Buy-In: House of Black vs. Pac/Penta Obscuro/Erick Redbeard

I’m not sure why this match is on the Buy-in, as it feels like it could headline either a Dynamite or Rampage and get more attention. Redbeard is substituting for the injured Rey Fenix, so while I can understand wanting to keep the feud warm until Fenix is back, it would seem that there are some better options than going this way. Still though, it should be a heck of a fight.

There is no reason for the newly expanded House of Black to lose here so we’ll say they make up for their loss in the recent tag match. If nothing else, Redbeard can be there to take a fall while keeping Pac and Obscuro strong on the way to Fenix’s return. This should be a wild brawl if they stick to what works best for them, but hopefully it gets the time that it needs and deserves.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill(c) vs. Tay Conti

The Cargill express continues as she mows down one challenger after another. That is going to make for a special moment when someone finally dethrones her and the question becomes who gets be the giant slayer. Conti is certainly a popular star and needs to win something big at some point, but I’m not sure if this is the spot where she finally breaks through.

I’ll take Cargill to retain here, as that is the more logical result. While I could see Conti being the one, Cargill seems more destined to eventually win the Women’s Title. I don’t know if she drops this title first, but she needs to be kept strong on the way there. At this point that means defeating Conti, who continues to be able to stay crazy popular despite rarely wining anything important.

Face Of The Revolution Ladder Match

Well of course it’s a ladder match and this time the winner gets a shot at the TNT Title. The appeal here is the amount of hosses involved in the thing, which should serve for some interesting options. For once I don’t think there are any names who can be immediately eliminated, which makes this all the more interesting. It’s the sign of a well put together match and AEW has set this up well.

I think I’ll take…Christian Cage to win here actually, as he really needs something to do. Keith Lee is a viable option as well as he came in with such fanfare, but he hasn’t exactly done much since his big debut toss of Isiah Kassidy. Neither of the Team Taz members make the most sense and Wardlow already has a story with MJF. Orange Cassidy….please no, so that leaves Cage in a prediction that is likely to go wrong.

AHFO vs. Sting/Darby Allin/Sammy Guevara

There is something very telling about this match. Earlier tonight I watched Andrade El Idolo, Sammy Guevara and Darby Allin tear the house down in an amazing triple threat that served as the main final push towards this match. That was great, but the idea of Matt Hardy being involved drags the rest of it down. His recent Jeff Hardy teases make it even worse and I’m not exactly interested in seeing the match.

The good thing is that it shouldn’t be a hard pick as I’ll take Sting and company for the win. You don’t have someone like Kassidy involved here to have his team win, so I’ll go with Allin pinning Kassidy so Sting can celebrate his first match in Orlando in however many years it is since he left Impact. This is another match that feels like it could be on Dynamite though and that isn’t a good sign for the show.

Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson

This was all but set for Full Gear last year when Moxley had to step away for rehab. That was far more important, but I still want to see what these two can do. Moxley may be a brawler most of the time, but he knows how to make a match feel big. They have done that here, as there is almost a will they or won’t they vibe to the whole thing. The question is can Danielson get Moxley to join up with him, and we probably find that out here.

I think they do get to that point eventually, so we’ll go with Danielson winning here, likely through cheating. I’m not sure if they are going to be able to come up with a way to get the fans to boo Moxley, but it might work out if he gets to cut the right kind of promo. As much as I don’t want some new heel power alliance, it might be the best thing for everyone with Danielson having already run through his World Title shots and Moxley needing something to do.

Women’s Title: Britt Baker(c) vs. Thunder Rosa

We’ve been waiting for this one for about a year now, as these two went to war against each other back at St. Patrick’s Slam. Rosa won there, which should mean that she is able to do it again and get the title that she never picked up before. This is the match that has been set up for so long now that it has kind of hurt Baker’s reign, as you knew the rematch with Rosa was hanging over everything.

Despite an instinct to say otherwise, I’ll go with Rosa winning the title here. It’s kind of interesting that the match feels like it is coming in cold despite the history, as Rosa hasn’t done much lately. Other than pinning Baker this week on Dynamite, I can’t think of any major win that she has had in recent weeks. Then again I’ve never quite gotten how the rankings work, but Rosa’s 4-0 is better than Hirsch’s and Deeb’s because…well because she’s Rosa and is winning the title here.

Tag Team Titles: Jurassic Express(c) vs. Young Bucks vs. ReDRagon

I’m not sure what to think of this one but the Bucks getting another title shot is one of those things that shouldn’t be a big surprise. At the same time, it doesn’t feel like it is soon enough to put the titles back on them, making them more of a possible spoiler or road block than anything else. That leaves you with two potential winners, either of whom could leave with the titles.

I think I’m going to go with Jurassic Express retaining here, as they just haven’t held the titles for very long yet. If they lost here, they would have the shortest reign in the history of the titles to date and that is not something you want to see. ReDRagon will probably get the championships one day, but for now I think Jurassic Express retains. They can even do so with the Bucks costing ReDRagon the fall to continue the Bucks’ emotional issues that are oh so interesting.

Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston

Here we have another grudge match for Jericho, who thankfully has turned heel after so many weeks of seemingly being ready to make the jump. That should make for an interesting showdown, as Kingston can bring it on the mic and does well enough in the ring to back it up. At some point he has to win something though, and that seems to be the point we are reaching now.

I’ll go out on a limb here and say they give Kingston the win here, as it is LONG overdue to give him a big victory, which has even been the story of the feud. At the end of the day, Jericho does not need to win another match in his career and will not lose a step, so have him put Kingston over and give him his big win merit badge. It needs to happen and this is as good of a time as any.

World Title: Hangman Page(c) vs. Adam Cole

I know the tradition is that the World Title headlines the show, but come on in this case. There are only so many ways you can present Page vs. Cole as the biggest match on the card and it seems to be the case. This just does not feel like a main event match, as Cole has felt like just the next challenger instead of some big moment. Maybe it was having him lose to Orange Cassidy and then moving into the title feud?

Page retains here and I don’t think there is all that much drama. There is almost no reason to believe that Cole is taking the title here as Page gets to retain the title on pay per view. The match is probably going to be a good one, assuming they don’t go all the way with one of Cole’s ridiculous long matches. I really hope this doesn’t headline, because there is something that is just flat out better.

CM Punk vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Like this could have been anything else. This has been one of the best feuds AEW has presented yet (if not its best in history) and I want to see these two get so violence that they cannot go much further. Some of the angles that have taken place have been nothing short of amazing and now they need to stick the landing (or at least this part of the landing) to set up the big blowoff match. That means this needs to have a winner and I’m not sure where to go.

I’ll flip a coin here and go with Punk, as his win sets up the big blowoff, unless they have some other way for MJF to cheat and steal another win. What matters here is the violence and blood that need to come with a dog collar match and we should be in for a great one. Every important step in this feud has been pure gold and if they can find that again on the big stage, we are in for a treat.

Overall Thoughts

There is a lot of potential on this card, but it might be a hair too long. AEW has a tendency to try and cram in too much and that might be the case again here. That being said, the top part of this show is looking pretty awesome and there are several matches that could be nothing short of great. The dog collar match seems to be the big feature attraction, and if that works out, this show is going to be the latest on AEW’s incredible list.

Rampage
Date: March 4, 2022
Location: Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Ricky Starks, Taz

It’s a rare live edition this week as it is also the go home show for this weekend’s Revolution pay per view. That could make things a bit more interesting, as we also have a title match. Sammy Guevara will be defending the TNT Title against Darby Allin and Andrade El Idolo, which should be a good one. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

TNT Title: Andrade El Idolo vs. Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara is defending. Andrade bails out to the floor to start before being chased back inside. Allin hits a high angle springboard armdrag to take Andrade down but Sammy takes Allin down as well. Sammy loads up a superplex but Andrade turns it into a Tower of Doom, albeit after walking forward while holding both of them up at once (geez).

We take a break and come back with Andrade suplexing Sammy into the corner and a moonsault press connects to give Andrade two. Allin gets back up and helps double team Andrade, meaning it’s a superkick to send Andrade into the corner. Sammy charges at Allin but gets sent into the corner, leaving Andrade to knee Allin in the back.

Andrade gets crotched on top and Allin whips him with a belt, setting up Sammy’s Coast to Coast (over Allin in the process) to nail Andrade hard. Allin and Sammy trade rollups for two each until Andrade comes back in to kick Andrade in the face. A lifting powerbomb gets two on Guevara with Allin diving in to make a save. Guevara gives Andrade the GTH but Allin sends Guevara to the floor. The Coffin Drop connects but Sammy Swantons in for the save and pins Andrade to retain at 12:05.

Rating: B+. Aside from Allin looking a bit dumb by not going for the cover off the GTH, this was an outstanding match with three guys going nuts throughout and hitting one big spot after another. Guevara continues to remind me of the good parts of Jeff Hardy and that is some rather high praise. Allin has long since proven what he can do, and Andrade is always so much more interesting when Matt Hardy is nowhere to be seen. Awesome match here, as they packed in some amazing stuff.

Pac and Penta Obscura are in the ring with Alex Abrahantes as the Dark Priest. They want to face the House of Black on Sunday for revenge, so here is the House of Black to pop up on screen and say they are ready to fight. The House of Black pops up on the apron and seems ready, but Abrahantes says that they may be down one Lucha Bro, but they have someone else. Cue Erick Redbeard (Rowan) and the big brawl is on, with security failing to make the save. Penta breaks a security guard’s arm to prove his point. The match is official for Revolution.

Dan Lambert has gotten Scorpio Sky a TNT Title shot next week on Dynamite in exchange for bringing Paige VanZant to Revolution to sign her AEW contract.

Keith Lee vs. JD Drake

They trade chops to start with Drake getting knocked into the corner. Drake jumps over him out of the corner so Lee blasts him with the Pounce as we take a break. Back with Drake hitting a Cannonball and adding a moonsault for one. Lee runs him over again and muscles him up into the Big Bang Catastrophe for the pin at 6:48.

Rating: C+. The match didn’t get much time, but there is something to be said about watching people of this size throw each other around. Lee getting to show off that power of his is something else and it was a heck of a spectacle. It wasn’t exactly great, but dang it’s fun to watch Lee do scary impressive things.

Post match the rest of the Wingmen come in but get beaten down by Lee in short order. Team Taz comes to the ramp to stare at Lee, with Orange Cassidy showing up to stare at everyone.

After the attack on Dynamite, a bloody CM Punk applauds MJF, saying that this kind of blood makes certain people feel alive. MJF is going to learn that Punk is the master and Punk knows who the **** he is. Punk knows that MJF isn’t ready and he’s going to beat MJF until his mother doesn’t recognize him. On March 6, he is becoming a monster to fight the monsters of the world. He is CM Punk (wink) and he is better than you. This match should rock.

Jade Cargill is ready for Revolution, with Mark Sterling saying there could be no contact between Tay Conti and Cargill until 48 hours before the match. Anna Jay pops up for a distraction and Conti jumps Cargill from behind. Sterling brought that on himself.

Serena Deeb vs. Leila Grey

Grey bails to the floor to start but gets caught with a neckbreaker over the ropes. The front chancery finishes Grey at 55 seconds.

Post match the Serenity Lock goes on but Hikaru Shida returns to club Deeb with a kendo stick for the save.

Eddie Kingston has a promo (because Chris Jericho has to use insider terms, but Eddie says kayfabe may be dead but we don’t have to desecrate its grave) for Chris Jericho, who he’s ready to fight. As for now, they have that Reese’s peanut butter pie at catering so he and Tony Schiavone have somewhere to go.

Ethan Page is ready for the main event, with Christian Cage promising to make Scorpio Sky a transitional champion next week.

Face of the Revolution Ladder Match Qualifying Match: Christian Cage vs. Ethan Page

They start fast with an exchange of shots in the corner until Christian tosses him over the top. The dropkick through the ropes connects with Page and we take a break. Back with Christian throwing him back inside and raining down the right hands in the corner. Page gets in an elbow to the face but Christian’s reverse DDT gets two.

A cutter gives Page two but Christian snaps the back of his neck across the top rope. The top rope headbutt gives Christian two more, only to miss a charge into the corner. Ego’s Edge is countered and Christian hits the spear for two. Back up and Christian is sent shoulder first into the post but he’s still able to counter Ego’s Edge. The Killswitch is good for the pin on Page at 8:55.

Rating: C. There wasn’t much to this one as Page didn’t get in a ton of offense before losing in the end. Cage moving on to the ladder match makes sense for the sake of his history in such matches, but it isn’t like he has done much of anything on his own in the last few months. This felt like “we need someone else so here’s Christian”, which may be efficient but isn’t that exciting.

Post match the Jurassic Express come out to celebrate with Christian but here are ReDRagon and the Young Bucks to steal a title each. Luchasaurus takes them back and Jungle Boy adds a running flip dive to take the four of them out to end the show (with Jericho getting in one last threat to Eddie Kingston).

Overall Rating: B. That opener alone was going to carry the show and sometimes that is all you need. The rest of the show was good enough, though Shida and Redbeard returning were both nice moments. I’m looking forward to Revolution and this was the big push to get us over the edge to the show. Throw in the rather fired up Punk promo and this was a pretty great last hour before the pay per view. I can’t get over that opener though, which was so good that it deserves an extra egads.

Results
Sammy Guevara b. Darby Allin and Andrade El Idolo – Swanton to Andrade
Keith Lee b. JD Drake – Big Bang Catastrophe
Serena Deeb b. Leila Grey – Front chancery
Christian Cage b. Ethan Page – Killswitch

AEW, 2022, Rampage, Sammy Guevara, Darby Allin, Andrade El Idolo, Keith Lee, JD Drake, Orange Cassidy, Team Taz, CM Punk, Serena Deeb. Leila Grey, House of Black, Penta Obscura, Alex Abrahantes, Pac, Christian Cage, Ethan Page, Jurassic Express, Eddie Kingston, ReDRagon, Young Bucks, Jade Cargill, Scorpio Sky, Dan Lambert, Jade Cargill, Anna Jay, Tay Conti,

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: March 2, 2022
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

This is an interesting show as we have both the go home show for Revolution but Tony Khan himself is also making a major announcement. That could go a lot of different ways and I’m curious to see what he has next. Other than that, we need the final push towards Sunday and we should be in for something good. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring with Tony Khan for the big announcement. Khan talks about how far AEW has come in three years and how proud he is of everyone, including the fans. He has also been a fan of another company that started twenty years ago called Ring of Honor. That’s why he is proud to announce that as of today, he is officially the owner of Ring of Honor Wrestling. Two of the men in the first Ring of Honor main event are here in AEW and that’s our opening match.

That is a heck of a headline and I’m curious to see where it goes. That is the problem though, as I’m not sure exactly what is going on here. I would assume that Ring of Honor is the new developmental territory and that is not a bad idea. Use the name brand that you already have instead of making it another edition of Dark for a change. I’ll wait and see where this goes, but I’m cautiously optimistic, especially about that tape library.

Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels

Danielson takes him down to start but lets him up for some jumping jacks. Back up Daniels takes Danielson down for a change, meaning it’s Daniels doing his own jumping jacks. Daniels sends him outside for the Arabian moonsault and Danielson is rocked. They head back inside with Danielson hitting some kicks and tying up Daniels’ legs. Daniels fights out and gets to his feet, only to get German suplexed.

The cross armbreaker is broken up but Danielson reverses la majistral into a cradle of his own. They trade near falls until Daniels punches him in the face, making Danielson shake his head. They slug it out until Daniels gets dropped, though he is fine enough to catch Danielson on top. The Iconoclasm is broken up so Daniels loads up a hurricanrana, which is shoved off without too much effort. Daniels hits a release Rock Bottom and goes up for the BME, which is pulled into the triangle choke to give Danielson the win at 11:10.

Rating: C+. This was more of a nod to the big announcement than anything else but it was still a good way to start. Danielson wasn’t in any serious danger from Daniels, who still looks awesome at 51 years old. Sometimes you need a match against a still talented star who is going to make you work but not much beyond that and Danielson got such a match here.

Post match Danielson shakes the still out of it Daniels’ hand….but this isn’t Ring of Honor. He’s in AEW, and it’s time to kick someone’s head in. Danielson stomps away at Daniels until Jon Moxley comes out to break things up. Moxley talks about how he is on two different paths, one of which ends with him getting his head kicked in. The other path ends with him fighting in blood and he’s ready to start right now. The jacket comes off but Danielson bails.

Sting and Darby Allin are ready for Revolution and Rampage.

Casino Tag Team Battle Royal

There are fifteen teams but this seems to be a regular Royal Rumble format with ninety second intervals and both members needing to be eliminated. The winners join the Young Bucks and ReDRagon in a triple threat Tag Team Title match at Revolution. FTR and the returning Top Flight start things off with Top Flight flying around (oddly enough) early on. The Acclaimed is in at #3 and Caster’s rap eats up most of his time, talking about sending FTR to ROH and making things less popular than Glenn Jacobs’ tweets.

Since they don’t have much time, it’s the Dark Order (10/Alan Angels) in at #4 and get to clean house for a bit as the clock seems to be speeding up. Butcher and Blade are in at #5 to add in some power, meaning house is cleaned even more. Angels is tossed out and it’s the Varsity Blonds in at #6 as we take a break. Back with Bear Country having entered at #7 and Santana and Ortiz in at #8.

Santana and Ortiz go right after Bear Country and toss them without much trouble for the first team elimination. Caster is knocked out and it’s the Best Friends in at #9. Garrison is tossed and apparently Pillman was eliminated during the break, so the Blonds are gone too. More Dark Order (Evil Uno/Stu Grayson) are in at #10 as Blade gets kicked out. Three members of the Dark Order get rid of Butcher to eliminate another team. The Big Rig hits Grayson and it’s the Young Bucks in at #11 for the showdown with FTR.

That’s broken up by everyone else though and we take another break. Back again with the Wingmen in at #12 and the Gunn Club coming in at #13. The means a double Big Rig and the Bucks team up with FTR to get rid of the Club. Brock Anderson and Lee Johnson are in at #14 and get caught in the melee. Bowens goes after 10’s mask and tosses him out to get rid of the team. Chuck Taylor is tossed and the Wingmen go after them. There goes Grayson for a nasty crash and it’s 2.0 to complete the field at #15.

Anderson and Lee are tossed and Top Flight knocks Bowens out to get rid of the Acclaimed. Uno and Trent wind up on the apron, with Uno poking him in the eye and trying a piledriver, only to have Danhausen pop out from underneath the ring. The curse to Uno allows Trent to suplex Uno out, with Trent thanking Danhausen. Santana, Ortiz and 2.0 all wind up on the same apron for a fight with 2.0 being eliminated, followed by FTR getting rid of Santana and Ortiz.

Matt Jackson sends Trent into the corner ala Ric Flair and then clotheslines him off the apron ala Hulk Hogan. That leaves us with the Bucks, Top Flight and FTR as the final six so the slugout is on. Dante misses the Nosedive but grabs a hurricanrana on Cash, which eliminates both of them. Harwood tries a slingshot powerbomb on Matt but gets countered with another hurricanrana. Cue ReDRagon for a distraction, allowing the Bucks to superkick Harwood out.

That leaves the Bucks vs. Darius Martin, the latter of whom knocks Matt down. Darius hits a handspring elbow to Nick and a Spanish Fly to Matt but Brandon Cutler saves Nick. The Meltzer Driver is broken up though and now Nick is tossed. Darius throws Matt to the apron but not out, meaning Matt can backdrop him to the apron. Matt gets pulled to the apron as well, where he kicks Darius low and then superkicks him out for the win at 26:54.

Rating: B. The best thing about this match was that they kept things moving and didn’t let the match get bogged down. I like the Royal Rumble format better than the Casino style, though it makes me wonder why they bothered with the Casino name here. Anyway, it was a good showing for multiple teams, including Top Flight, but the Bucks winning was the only real choice.

Post match the Bucks and ReDRagon are pleased with each other but here is the Jurassic Express for the staredown.

Chris Jericho is ready to beat Eddie Kingston and, after explaining what a promo means, says he knows Eddie is going to fail again because he is scared of success. After Revolution, he is going to tell Eddie to GFY. Santana and Ortiz come in and fist bump Jericho, but won’t say if they’re good with him or not.

Here is a serious looking CM Punk for a chat. He has spent the last week asking himself if he is the bad guy, but he can’t be sure that MJF isn’t gaslighting him. Punk believes that those things happened to MJF, but he isn’t sure if he cares. There is a photo of a young Punk on the internet meeting Steve Austin, though Punk wasn’t hut when Austin took his ball and went home.

Punk has seen MJF do horrible things to people like Dean Malenko and insult the memory of Brian Pillman. When Punk arrived, MJF offered him a handshake but Punk didn’t accept it. Does that make him Dr. Frankenstein and MJF the Monster? Punk wants the MJF from last week to come out here for a conversation, so here is MJF, sans music. Punk talks about the horrible things he has done over the years, from pouring alcohol down an alcoholic’s throat, poured ashes from an urn onto another person, and insulted an addict until they lost their job.

This right here though is bigger than the two of them because it is about that eleven year old kid at home. This morning, Punk asked himself if he was the good guy and he said he sure was trying. Punk extends his hand but MJF isn’t sure about that. Instead MJF hugs him, which Punk eventually accepts. MJF kicks him low though and then takes off the jacket, revealing a shirt with the photo of MJF meeting Punk as a kid.

The beating is on, including the Dynamite Diamond to the face. Wardlow and Shawn Spears come out with the dog collar as Punk is busted open. Punk is hung with the collar and chain and is COVERED in blood. MJF says Punk is a stupid old man and calls himself the devil himself. Spears hangs Punk over the top rope until Darby Allin, Sting and Sammy Guevara run out for the save. That was a heck of an angle, with Punk being COVERED in blood. Vengeance should be sweet on Sunday and that is what they were going for here.

Keith Lee is interrupted by Team Taz and isn’t happy about it. They’ll see each other at Revolution.

Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter vs. Thunder Rosa/Mercedes Martinez

Rebel is here with Baker/Hayter. Baker gets double teamed into the corner to start but she comes back with a Sling Blade to Martinez. Hayter comes in and gets shouldered down but Rebel offers a distraction. That means a superkick can drop Martinez and we take a break. Back with Martinez taking Hayter down for two but Baker comes back in to forearm Martinez in the face.

A superkick puts Martinez down but she is able to get over to Rosa for the Baker showdown. They slug it out until Rosa scores with a Death Valley Driver for two. Everything breaks down though and Martinez takes out Hayter and Rebel, leaving Rosa to hit an Emerald Flosion for the pin on Baker (Tony: “NO! NO! NO!”) at 8:20.

Rating: C+. Rosa had to get a pin here to set up the big title showdown and make it feel a lot more dramatic. That is going to be the match where it feels like Baker could lose and making it feel more likely here is a good idea. Martinez and Hayter were fine in their roles as well so this was a good step forward to the bigger match.

Jade Cargill isn’t interested in hearing about Tay Conti’s martial arts so Anna Jay has to hold her back.

Kris Statlander doesn’t think much of Leyla Hirsch calling herself a real athlete but Hirsch doesn’t think enough of her to respond. Statlander promises to show a new side of herself that no one has ever seen before.

Wardlow vs. Cezar Bononi

Bononi tries a powerbomb to start and gets powerbombed for the first time. The Powerbomb Symphony finishes for Wardlow at 49 seconds. Longer than I was expecting.

Post match Wardlow breaks up Shawn Spears’ chair shot to Bononi and they stare each other down. Spears thinks better of things.

Here’s the rundown of upcoming shows.

The House of Black takes credit for turning Pentagon into something so evil. Just remember that the house always wins.

MJF comes in to see Wardlow and says that if he wins the ladder match, he can even keep the TNT Title. MJF: “It’s not like you’re going to win it anyway.” Wardlow says he’s too busy making sure MJF is always winning so MJF slaps him in the face. MJF reminds Wardlow that he isn’t a professional wrestler but rather the bodyguard. That means he needs to stay in line or his family is going to be in trouble.

Hangman Page/Dark Order vs. Adam Cole/ReDRagon

Page backs Cole into the corner to start so it’s off to Fish instead. That’s fine with Page, who stomps Fish down into the corner so O’Reilly comes in for a change. Silver strikes him down and it’s the Dark Order flipping O’Reilly over for a crash, followed by a dropkick from Reynolds. O’Reilly manages to pull him into an abdominal stretch but Reynolds is out in a hurry. Page comes back in but gets taken down by a cheap shot.

Cole’s Panama Sunrise is countered into a cradle so they hit the pinfall reversal sequence. The Deadeye is broken up and Cole superkicks him in the leg. Page gets over to the apron but the threat of the Buckshot sends Cole bailing to the floor as we take a break. Back with Silver in trouble but managing to kick his way to freedom. Granted it isn’t a freedom that doesn’t last long though, as O’Reilly pulls him down into a kneebar.

That’s broken up as well and the hot tag brings in Page for the staredown. Cole gets suckered in as well and the slugout is on, with the other four joining in as well. Everything breaks down and Cole hits the brainbuster onto the knee to drop Silver. Page decks Cole, who is right back with an enziguri. Reynolds hits a pop up knee to Cole, who superkicks him twice. The Boom finishes Reynolds off at 12:42.

Rating: B-. Pretty nice main event here and much like the women’s tag, it helped advance the bigger title match at the pay per view. This worked out well and Cole gets to look stronger on the way to Revolution. At the same time, Cole vs. Page isn’t exactly feeling like a major pay per view showdown. Maybe that is because Punk vs. MJF is that awesome, but Cole vs. Page needed all the help it could get.

Post match Page goes after Cole again but gets duct taped to the ropes. That leaves the Dark Order to get beaten down. Cole superkicks Page and drapes the title onto his shoulder to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was quite the weird show, as it had the big announcement to start and then a nearly thirty minute match eating up about a fourth of the show. That put a lot of focus on two things when the rest of Revolution needed a good bit more focus. Rosa vs. Baker needed some more focus over the last few weeks and the main event still doesn’t feel hue. That being said, the Ring of Honor announcement was interesting and the action was all good to very good. Kind of a weird show, but it was more solid stuff, as usual.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Christopher Daniels – Triangle choke
Young Bucks won a casino battle royal last eliminating Top Flight
Thunder Rosa/Mercedes Martinez b. Jamie Hayter/Britt Baker – Emerald Flosion to Baker
Wardlow b. Cezar Bononi – Powerbomb Symphony
Adam Cole/ReDRagon b. Hangman Page/Dark Order – Boom to Reynolds

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