Dynamite
Date: August 16, 2023
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s another special show with Fight For The Fallen, with proceeds going towards a Hawaii food bank helping with the fallout from the wildfires. There’s not a thing wrong with that and it’s great that AEW is doing something. Other than that, we are eleven days away from All In and we might get some more announcements for the show tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Wheeler Yuta

Cassidy is defending against his former student. Feeling out process to start and they slug it out with neither getting very far. They trade belly to back suplexes and then kick each other down. Cassidy is sent to the floor and gets taken down with a dive but he reverses a suplex into one of his own. Yuta piledrives him on the ram and Cassidy rolls back towards the ring. Back in and a quick Beach Break gives Cassidy two as we take a break.

We come back with Yuta working on the hand but he has to catch Cassidy on top. The top rope superplex sends Cassidy crashing back down and a top rope splash gives Yuta two more. Cassidy is back up with a Michinoku Driver into a PK but here is the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club to offer a distraction. A fake out lets Cassidy hit his own double arm Paradigm Shift, setting up the Orange Punch. Cassidy can’t cover so Yuta gets the Seatbelt for two, only to have Cassidy roll him up for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: C+. This was in fact an Orange Cassidy match, and that has been the case for a long time now. Cassidy is all banged up and injured but manages to do all of his stuff and win in the end. Yuta wasn’t feeling like much of a threat to the title in the first place, but it then went with as “we’ve seen this already” ending it could have had.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Best Friends, and then the Lucha Bros, make the save. The Club grab chairs but Eddie Kingston is back to go after Claudio Castagnoli. That’s enough for the Club to run off, leaving Kingston to issue a challenge for Wembley Stadium in a Stadium Stampede match.

We get a sitdown interview with Jim Ross talking to Kenny Omega. It turns out that Don Callis was friends with Omega’s uncle and helped him get whatever he wanted…and here is Callis for a distraction. Bullet Club Gold and Konosuke Takeshita jump Omega from behind and the big beatdown is on. That should set up another pay per view match, though hopefully JR can get some sleep before then. He looked incredibly rough here.

Omega was taken to a hospital, where Hangman Page was waiting. Page wants to finish this at All In, though here is a security guard to tell Page he can’t drink a beer here. That’s fine with Page, who downs it.

Here is Don Callis, with another painting under a blanket, to get Chris Jericho’s answer. Cue Jericho to give his answer, and while he’s the one who starts factions…..he’ll join the Don Callis family! Callis is stunned and happy so let’s go celebrate. Jericho wants to see the picture though, with Callis getting nervous. The blanket comes off, and it’s a painting of Callis holding Jericho’s decapitated head.

Callis backpedals really fast and tries to talk his way out of it but Jericho says just tell him the truth. It’s true that Callis didn’t expect Jericho to say yes….because of his massive ego. Callis goes on a rant about how Jericho has the biggest ego ever but Jericho says Callis is a nobody who wasn’t in wrestling a few years ago. Callis slaps him and here is Konosuke Takeshita to go after Jericho. Cue Will Ospreay to jump Jericho as well and the big beatdown is on, with Jericho being busted open. The painting is broken over Jericho’s head but here is Sammy Guevara with a baseball bad for the save.

Jack Perry is going to retire the FTW Title next week.

Gates Of Agony vs. Darby Allin/Nick Wayne

The Gates jump them from behind to start fast and the beatdown is on outside. We take an early break and come back with Allin getting the hot tag to roll Kaun up for two as the Mogul Embassy is watching from the ramp. Everything breaks down and Wayne takes Kaun down before diving onto Toa at ringside. Allin adds the Coffin Drop to finish Kaun at 6:26.

Rating: C. So after the Gates start winning some matches, they go right back down here to Allin and Wayne, who aren’t the most experienced team. Allin winning a match is fine enough but it’s another match that runs about six minutes and has a break in the middle. I’m sure it’s a television deal, but my goodness it gets old fast.

Post match Sting pops up on screen to say we’re coming up on the biggest show in AEW history. It seems that he has kidnapped Prince Nana and says it’s showtime as the Embassy goes to the back. Sting screams at Nana and he runs off. This was wacky Sting and that’s a great thing.

Adam Cole and MJF go to Outback Steakhouse to plan for Aussie Open. After eating, MJF knows they’re done because that was the best food he’s ever had so how can they beat an Aussie team? Later, at the arena, Cole has a DVD of Crocodile Dundee 1 and 2. MJF has a better idea: kangaroo fighting style! Cole isn’t convinced, so they put on Australian hats (and accents, ala Steve Irwin) and double clothesline a guy holding an inflatable crocodile.

Then Tony Khan summons them into his office (Thunder Rosa not included) and yells about hitting double clotheslines backstage. Leave it to the ring. The team leaves and MJF says Khan will regret that come contract time. Khan comes out and yells some more, but MJF is suddenly cool with him. Was that TK “responding” to people who say he doesn’t have a backbone after the Punk ordeals? Either way, this whole thing was hilarious. Again. They absolutely have something great with these two and I want to see a lot more.

MJF and Cole arrive in MJF’s car and head inside, leaving Roderick Strong to limp up and kick the tire, hurting himself in the process of course.

Here are MJF and Cole for a chat. They’re ready for All In but first they have to win the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles. MJF: “WITH THE KANGAROO KICK!” Cole talks about how important the World Title match will be, because it’s all about solidifying his legacy here in AEW. Not just by being in it, but by winning it. MJF doesn’t buy it and has a story of his own.

When he first got into the wrestling world, he was told to write down his dream opponents. He wrote down Cody Rhodes and Adam Cole. Then he had been working so hard to get ahead on the independent circuit, when he heard about a special show called All In. He messaged Cody Rhodes and somehow got a spot in the opening match, despite having no business being on.

It was enough to get him a contract with AEW, so without All In, there wouldn’t be an MJF. He has worked his way to the top and now he is going to be facing his best friend in the biggest show ever. Now all that matters is the World Title, because he has given everything to earn it. He’ll win because no one is on his level, so Cole says may the best man win. MJF says he will, because he’s better than Cole, even if Cole disagrees.

Cue Aussie Open to jump them from being before quickly being dispatched. Cole teases a superkick to MJF but then stands up…with MJF having seen him crouched. They hug anyway. This was a really good segment and did a lot to make the title match feel a heck of a lot more important.

Chris Jericho is getting cleaned up before saying this match with Will Ospreay (which is apparently happening) has been ready since 2021 and would have happened without the pandemic. Ospreay doesn’t know what he’s getting into because the Ocho is coming for him. So the British fans are supposed to book the incredibly athletic British wrestler in front of the biggest crowd in British wrestling history. Got it.

Jeff Hardy vs. Jeff Jarrett

Texas Chainsaw Massacre Death Match (tie-in with a video game release) and you can only win by pinfall. Hardy goes through the crowd and into the back to start, where Satnam Jarrett and Satnam Singh (I believe dressed like someone from the movie) jumps him. Ethan Page, Brother Zay and Matt Hardy make the save and pour something on Jarrett (Jeff and Karen). The two of them stagger through a dimly lit hallway as we take a break.

Back with the fight still going on in the back with Jeff Hardy diving onto the Jarretts and company. They fight into the arena (with about ten people involved) and Jeff Hardy Swantons him through a table for two with Jay Lethal making the save. The guitar is taken away from Jarrett and cracked over his head but cue Leatherface with a chainsaw. Singh can’t chokebomb Jeff Hardy but Lethal is back in with a hammer to Jeff Hardy’s head. The chokeslam lets Jarrett get the pin at 9:56.

Rating: D+. I don’t even begin to know where to go on this, but at the end of the day, I can accept that AEW was given a big check to do something with the game and this is the best they could do. Fair enough and the match was certainly memorable, even if it was for the bad reasons. That being said, Jarrett winning here is uh, a bit strange I would say.

And yes, Jarrett does get a special belt for winning.

Women’s Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Britt Baker vs. The Bunny

The winner is in the Women’s Title match at All In. Baker grabs a rollup to start but it’s too early for the Lockjaw. Instead Baker misses a stomp, allowing Bunny to miss Down The Rabbit Hole. Bunny sends her into the Corner and we take a break. Back with Baker hitting a Sling Blade and getting two off a rollup. That’s enough for Baker, who hits the Stomp for the pin at 7:36.

Rating: C-. Baker is getting weaker and weaker week to week and there isn’t much of a way to hide it anymore. It didn’t help that there was almost no reason to believe Bunny had a chance in this, especially after just coming back from an injury. Not a good match here, but at least they went with the only logical option.

All In rundown.

Acclaimed vs. ???/???

Hold on though as the lights go out before the bell and come up to reveal the House Of Black. The big beatdown is on and Caster is left busted open. The House walks off with Billy Gunn’s boots. No match.

The Gunns vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks jump them during the entrance and the fight heads down to the ring for the opening bell. A double dropkick sends the Gunns to the floor for the dives but the Gunns take over on Matt. Back in and a knee lift into a lariat gives Austin two and we take a break. We come back Matt getting hit with a dropkick for two but managing to roll over both of them for the hot tag.

Nick hits the slingshot X Factor and the apron moonsault. An assisted standing Sliced Bread drops Austin but the BTE Trigger is broken up. 3:10 To Yuma connects but Nick dives in with a top rope double stomp for the save. The Gunns try an assisted rollup but the Bucks break it up and use one of their own to pin Colten at 9:25.

Rating: C+. The Bucks did their high flying and get a win to give them some momentum on the way to the FTR match. That’s all you really need for them to do here but at least the Gunns are starting to figure out their thing. They’re a midcard heel team and work well together, which is a valuable role to fill.

Post match Bullet Club Gold runs in to help with the beatdown on the Bucks but FTR make the save. FTR teases taking out the Bucks but don’t do it to end the show (worked better when Cole and MJF did it earlier tonight).

Overall Rating: B-. This was a weird show for AEW as the wrestling was decent to mostly not that good for the most part. Instead, this was FAR more about the storyline stuff and building up the matches for All In and beyond. That is something AEW needed and the parts that worked here were very, very good. There were some weak parts to go with it though, and that dragged some of the positives back down. Overall, All In got a heck of a build here and while not all of it was great, it’s what the show was needing.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Wheeler Yuta – Rollup
Darby Allin/Nick Wayne b. Gates of Agony – Coffin Drop to Kaun
Jeff Jarrett b. Jeff Hardy – Chokeslam from Satnam Singh
Britt Baker b. The Bunny – Stomp
Young Bucks b. The Gunns – Assisted rollup to Colten

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

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AND

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Collision
Date: August 12, 2023
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, Coliseum
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are about two weeks away from All In and the card has mostly started to come together. There are a lot of things that still need to be set up, so this week could be a mixture of new stuff plus building up what is already announced. On top of that, we also have the Trios Titles on the line with CM Punk/FTR challenging the House of Black. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Acclaimed, Christian Cage and Luchasaurus, FTR and CM Punk are all ready.

Opening sequence.

Tony Schiavone brings out Ricky Starks for a chat. Last week, Starks whipped Ricky Steamboat with a belt (which he has with him, because he’s a thief too) and as a result, he has been suspended from wrestling for thirty days. Starks doesn’t care because it had to be done. Steamboat did something wrong and had to be punished, so no it isn’t his fault. Instead, he has a manager’s license for the next thirty days because this is his house. CM Punk got the win last week but he isn’t bulletproof. Next week, the war begins.

Video on FTR vs. the Young Bucks.

Acclaimed vs. Iron Savages

Max does his rap but Bowens doesn’t have a daddy to scissor. The Savages on the other hand have Jacked Jameson with them. Bronson powers out of Bowens’ headlock so Bowens fires off some right hands in the corner. Caster comes in to hammer on Bronson before it’s off to Bounder. For some reason Caster tries a fireman’s carry, which goes rather badly. Bowens comes back in and kicks away but gets picked up, with Caster being pulled out of the air at the same time. The double drop sends us to an early break.

Back with Caster missing the top rope splash so Bowens can come back in to clean house. Boulder launches Bowens up for a faceplant though and a double spinebuster gets two. The electric chair splash is loaded up but Caster makes the save with a missile dropkick. Caster AA’s Boulder and Jameson gets Scissor Me Timbers. Stereo Fameassers finish for the Acclaimed at 8:47.

Rating: C+. The Savages are an intimidating looking power team and they made for some good opponents for the Acclaimed. With Billy Gunn gone, it would be nice to see Acclaimed getting back into the Tag Team Title hunt as it isn’t like they have anything else going on at the moment. Now can they please stop acting like Billy Gunn is dead?

Post match the Acclaimed say they’re back to being a two man team and they’ll be wrestling again on Dynamite. Gunn gets a tribute as well.

Bullet Club Gold says they’re on fire this week and the Gunns are ready to beat up the Young Bucks on Dynamite. Don’t bring superkicks to a gun fight.

Video on Adam Cole and/vs. MJF.

Mercedes Martinez/Diamante vs. Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander

Statlander gets distracted by Martinez to start but manages to kick Diamante in the head anyway. Diamante snaps off a headscissors but it’s Nightingale coming in for a quick splash. The Pounds is blocked though and we get the Paradise Lock, allowing the villains to pose before hitting the double dropkick.

We take a break and come back with Nightingale fighting her way out of trouble. A spinebuster is enough to bring Statlander back in to clean house, including dropkicks all around. Nightingale comes back in but the villains get knocked outside. With Nightingale and Statlander outside, Martinez Razor’s Edge tosses Diamante onto them (and she almost left it short).

Back in and Nightingale Pounces Martinez but gets Sliced Breaded by Diamante. Statlander hits a fisherman’s driver on Diamante but gets decked by Martinez. Nightingale sits down on a sunset flip but Martinez turns her over and gets the pin (with an assist from Diamante) at 8:45.

Rating: C+. I get why it needed to be done but it’s annoying to see Nightingale take another pin. You don’t have Statlander lose in a tag match but hopefully this sets up Martinez as a challenger. She would be someone who can give Statlander a heck of a fight and that’s exactly what she needs.

Toni Storm is glad to have Saraya in the Women’s Title match at All In because they can keep things straight. Now if the interviewer will stop messing with Storm when she’s in a vulnerable state, things will be great. Storm promises to have her escorted out and throws a shoe.

Samoa Joe vs. Andrew Everett

Joe’s ROH TV Title isn’t on the line and he hammers Everett down in the corner. There’s the enziguri but Everett tries to flip around. That doesn’t work for Joe, who chokes him out at 1:17.

Post match Joe calls out CM Punk again, this time referring to him as a coward. Joe even gave Punk the courtesy of telling him what would happen but now it is time to convince him.

All In rundown.

Here are Christian Cage and Luchasaurus for a chat. Cage calls this the biggest family reunion he has ever been a part of, as everyone in North Carolina is related. North Carolina has its fair share of second bests, like Michael Jordan compared to LeBron James and Ric Flair compared to himself. No one respects him, but the one who disrespects him the most is Darby Allin.

Now Allin already says that he is half dead inside, but if he keeps coming after Cage’s TNT Title, he’ll make up the other half. Cue Arn Anderson with his son Brock (Arn: “This is Greensboro, North Carolina, they know us around here.”) and Arn reminds Cage that Luchasaurus is the REAL champion. Cage tells him to come in here right now but Arn says if this was twenty years ago, he’d hit the spinebuster and win the title. For now though, we’ll do this instead.

TNT Title: Luchasaurus vs. Brock Anderson

Luchasaurus is defending and he wastes no time in knocking Brock to the floor. A belly to back drop puts Brock down again and we take a break. Back with Luchasaurus hitting a chokeslam and a clothesline to the back of the head for the pin at 5:22. Not enough shown to rate but it was a squash.

Post match Darby Allin runs in for the save with the skateboard. Allin threatens to do something rather painful with the skateboard and then challenges Christian for a match next week. Cage is in, so Allin promises to beat them both.

Here is Powerhouse Hobbs for a chat. Last week, an opportunity presented itself for All Out. Hobbs has not found any peace for the last few months, so he went back home and found the one thing that means something to him: The Book Of Hobbs (which he has in his hands). The next chapter is called Redemption, so he wants the Redeemer here right now. Cue Miro, but QTV jumps him on the way. Hobbs doesn’t seem to have expected them, but Miro beats them down anyway. That leaves Hobbs to hit the spinebuster on Miro and leave him laying, complete with book (at least he has something to read).

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Jim Ross comes out to call the main event.

Trios Titles: CM Punk/FTR vs. House Of Black

The House, with Julia Hart, is defending. Punk and Matthews start things off and yes the fans are split again. A headlock doesn’t get Punk very far so it’s off to Cash for a headlock takeover. That’s broken up and they get to stare at each other for a bit. Some arm cranking works a bit better so it’s off to Harwood for the snap suplex. A legdrop gets two and it’s off to King for the power.

Harwood chops away at him and adds a basement dropkick. Punk goes up top but dives over King to clothesline Murphy. It’s back to Punk vs. black and they sit down to look at each other but everything breaks down. The three way slugout takes us to a break and we come back with Black knocking Harwood down and grabbing the chinlock. Harwood fights up but it’s back to King to take care of that.

Black misses the big spinning kick to the head and the DDT plants him. Punk gets the hot tag to pick up the pace as JR gives his usual lament about the DDT not finishing anyone. Matthews slips out of the GTS so Punk drops him again, but a Hart distraction lets Black get in the crotching. King hits a heck of a Cannonball to Punk in the corner and we take another break. Back again with Punk still in trouble as Matthews grabs the chinlock. Punk fights up and hits a quick GTS, allowing the tag off to Wheeler to pick up the pace.

Everything breaks down and the House is knocked outside, leaving Wheeler to hit a big dive. Back in and King suplexes FTR down but they manage to superplex King instead. Punk’s top rope elbow gets two and we need a breather. Harwood brainbusters Matthews and black and Punk kick each other in the head to leave everyone down. A top rope headbutt hits King….but here is Samoa Joe to choke Punk out. That and a Hart distraction lets King hit a lariat to retain the titles at 26:55.

Rating: B. They didn’t have much of another option for the finish as they don’t want to change the titles and you don’t want Punk taking a fall. Joe more or less said he was going to mess with Punk and this is as good of a way as you’re going to get to cover both of those things. The action was good as well and it made for the big fight feel, so this worked as a main event.

Overall Rating: B. Rather solid show up and down here, with matches that worked, both long and short. They pushed some things towards All In and All Out and that’s exactly what they needed to do. There was nothing on here that was an instant classic or anything close to it, but this was a very nice way to spend two hours on a Saturday night.

Results
Acclaimed b. Iron Savages – Fameasser to Bronson
Diamante/Mercedes Martinez b. Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander – Assisted sunset flip to Nightingale
Samoa Joe b. Andrew Everett – Koquina Clutch
Luchasaurus b. Brock Anderson – Clothesline to the back of the head
House Of Black b. CM Punk/FTR – Lariat to Harwood

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

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AND

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Collision
Date: August 5, 2023
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another big title night as FTR defends the Tag Team Titles against Big Bill/Brian Cage and Ricky Starks challenges CM Punk for….whatever we’re calling Punk’s title. Ricky Steamboat will be the guest referee, which sounds like a way to boost things up for the local crowd. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

CM Punk, Ricky Stark, Brian Cage, Big Bill, Prince Nana and FTR are all ready for tonight.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Big Bill/Brian Cage vs. FTR

Bill and Cage, with Prince Nana, are challenging and Cash Wheeler’s mother is here for a bonus. Wheeler and Cage start things off with Cage being a bit too strong. Harwood comes in and gets clotheslined but reverses a gorilla press into a crossbody for two. Cage runs him over though and it’s Bill coming in (to quite the response) for a double shoulder. It’s already back to Wheeler, who is promptly slammed and elbowed for two.

Everything breaks down though and it’s a double clothesline to send Cage outside, but Bill blocks the Shatter Machine. Instead, Bill chokeslams Wheeler onto Harwood and then presses him out onto Harwood on the floor as we take a break. Back with Bill hammering on Wheeler in front of his mom, who is completely unfazed and even slaps Bill in the face. Cage plants Wheeler for two back inside but Wheeler slips out of Bill’s torture rack. That doesn’t work for Bill, who blasts him with a clothesline to cut off any comeback.

Bill misses a splash in the corner though and a German suplex drops Cage, allowing the big tag to Harwood. Right hands abound and Cage gets caught in a Steiner Bulldog for a rather near fall. Back up and Cage gets Harwood in a fireman’s carry before catching Wheeler in the air (geez) and dropping both of them.

A Jackhammer gives Cage two (as Bill chokeslams Harwood) and Bill sends both champs outside. Cage busts out his big no hands flip dive (because that’s something he can do), setting up a big boot to give Bill two on Wheeler. Back up and Wheeler sends Cage into Bill, who gets caught with a quick Shatter Machine to retain the titles at 15:03.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match and Bill/Cage are a much better team than I was expecting. They did the power stuff well and looked impressive doing it while making FTR work to retain the titles here. I was getting into this one and it was a rather awesome match, especially given how new of a team the challengers are.

Post match FTR grabs the mic and says they’ve done a lot, but there is one more thing they need to do…..so how about they finish things with the Young Bucks at All In?

Video on CM Punk vs. Ricky Starks over the REAL World Title.

Juice Robinson, with Jay White cardboard cutout, says when you’re hot you’re hot. Cue the real White to chop the cutout (a distraught Robinson takes it away) and introduce the Gunns (now the TOP Gunns) to mock commentary in a bit of a weird bit.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander vs. Mercedes Martinez

Statlander is defending and they start fast, with Martinez slipping out of a suplex attempt. A running boot to the head misses for Martinez but Statlander misses a flipping splash. Martinez sends her into the corner and elbows her way out of another suplex as Statlander isn’t off to the best start. A chokebomb drops Statlander for two more and a hard forearm puts her down in the corner as we take a break.

Back with Statlander making a comeback and knocking Martinez to the floor. Statlander misses a crossbody off the apron but manages a backbreaker to slow Martinez down again. Martinez cages her on top though and a rather nasty looking release German superplex drops Statlander hard. A running knee gives Martinez two and a quick fisherman’s driver gives Martinez the same. Martinez drops her again but a running forearm to the back of the head is countered into a rollup to retain the title at 10:15 (Martinez’s shoulders looked to be up).

Rating: C+. This got better near the end but Martinez was dominating most of the match until the quick ending. Statlander working with a veteran like Martinez is a good thing and hopefully she got something out of it. Martinez is someone who has not gotten a ton of TV time in recent months and it would be nice for that to change.

Post match Martinez says her shoulders were up and jumps Statlander. Cue Diamante to help Martinez beat her down until Willow Nightingale makes the save.

Here’s the problem with that post match angle:

1. Diamante has not wrestled a match on AEW TV since last September (A loss to Jade Cargill which ran about two and a half minutes. Her most recent TV match before then was in 2020.).

2. This week on ROH TV, ROH Women’s Champion Athena told Diamante to find what she was missing and fix it.

3. The only thing mentioned about Diamante’s time on this week’s ROH TV was that she lost to Athena. No mention whatsoever of Athena’s comments to her.

Again: Tony Khan really needs to stop assuming that everyone is watching every show, because otherwise this was an unprovoked turn from someone who has had one match in AEW in about two and a half year. Show us a clip, tell us what happened or give us some reason why this is taking place.

Toni Storm seems to be on the verge of snapping over losing the Women’s Title last week. She goes into a rant about how she deserves better because she’s that good.

Samoa Joe vs. Serpentico

Non-title and the Koquina Clutch finishes Serpentico at 16 seconds (more than a fourth of which was spent in a staredown).

Post match Samoa Joe says we are coming up on All In and he has no one to face. He has had to deal with things over the years, while a certain REAL World Champion got to travel the world. Joe knows that man is nowhere near his level, but that REAL World Champion took something from him in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament. A rollup is not good enough for their legacy, so Joe wants to be given what he wants. One more time at Wembley Stadium. If Joe has to wait until next week, he’s coming for Punk (the only time Joe said the name).

Andrade El Idolo seems happy with getting his mask back last week over Buddy Matthews.

We get a sitdown interview with the Acclaimed, who have Billy Gunn’s boots. They have talked to him and he is confirming that he is retiring. Gunn was the only one who believed in them and helped them become champions. For now though, they are going to bring Gunn’s boots to the ring with him. Well that’s morbid.

Trios Titles: House Of Black vs. Action Andretti/Lee Johnson/Darius Martin

The House, with Julia Hart, is defending. Actually hold on as the House Rules are back and the Dealer’s Choice rule is Hart being banned from ringside. King runs Martin over with a shoulder to start but Martin knees him in the face, only to have his high crossbody bounce off. Black comes in to strike away at Andretti, who knocks him outside but gets kicked in the face.

Matthews jumps off the top to stomp on Andretti’s arm before tossing him ribs first onto the top rope for a good looking visual. Andretti is knocked into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Johnson hitting a moonsault into something resembling a double reverse DDT. Black kicks him into the corner though and everything breaks down. Andretti dives onto Black and Murphy before Martin’s top rope splash to King’s back gets two. Matthews and Black knee Martin out of the air though and the titles are retained at 9:10.

Rating: C+. This is one of those matches where the ending wasn’t in doubt but you got some cool moments before the inevitable. There was no way a thrown together team was going to win the titles here, even with the return of the not quite necessary House Rules. It’s a perfectly nice title defense though and they let the guys have some fun.

Next week: CM Punk and FTR get a Trios Titles match. Ok.

QTV throw out Tony Schiavone to talk to Will Hobbs. They offer him a gold chain and suggest that Hobbs get in the ring at All Out. Hobbs doesn’t want or need their help, but he’ll take the chain.

Christian Cage, with his daughter, and Luchasaurus are here with Christian talking about how he wants to be a good father to everyone. She asks to hold his title, but Christian says she didn’t win it so go find your mom and get out of here. Christian: “Security, she’s not credentialed. Have her removed from the building.” Well that was awesome.

Metalik vs. Jay White

The Gunns and Juice Robinson, with the cardboard Jay White (Cardblade) and the former join commentary. White knees Metalik in the ribs to start but gets a headscissors into the corner. A springboard doesn’t work so well for Metalik but he gets knocked back to the apron. White snaps him throat first across the top but misses a baseball slide, allowing Metalik to springboard moonsault onto him. White has had it with this though and grabs a cobra clutch suplex, setting up the Blade Runner for the pin at 5:10.

Rating: C. It was a nice way to get White in the ring and keep him hot as the Bullet Club gets to do their wacky antics. It wasn’t meant to be some competitive back and forth match and while Metalik got in some offense, he isn’t anywhere close to White’s level and everyone knows that. They stuck to the point here and that is nice to see.

Video on Anna Jay vs. Hikaru Shida.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Jim Ross is back for the main event.

Real World Title: Ricky Starks vs. CM Punk

Punk is defending and Ricky Steamboat is the outside referee. They start fast with Punk knocking him out to the floor but pausing to let him back in. Punk runs him over with a shoulder and steals Starks’ pose a few times for a cute spot. Starks is right back with the armdrag (you knew that was coming) to send Punk outside and there’s the mocking the go to sleep motion. Back in and Starks hammers away in the corner, setting up a Cactus Clothesline.

We take a break and come back with thinking picking way up, including Starks unloading with right hands in the corner. Punk strikes away as well (nowhere near as fast but he was trying) until Starks is sent outside. Back in and Starks manages to knock him outside for a change, followed by an elbow to the face back inside. The Steamboat style chop to the head lets Starks glare at Steamboat before grabbing a waistlock. Punk fights up and hits a spinning middle rope crossbody but can’t get a sunset flip (Starks grabbing the rope didn’t help).

We take another break and come back again with Punk hitting a top rope superplex. Some right hands into a swinging neckbreaker keeps Starks in trouble and there’s the running knee into the bulldog for two. Starks rolls through a high crossbody (not exactly smoothly) for two before countering another running knee in the corner with a powerbomb.

The GTS is broken up but Starks misses a charge into the corner and hits the buckle. Punk kicks him in the head for two but Starks’ Alabama Slam gets the same. The ref gets bumped (of course) so Starks goes to yell, allowing Punk to roll him up, with Steamboat (very eventually) counting the pin to retain Punk’s title at 22:20.

Rating: B. They took some time to get warmed up here but it was rolling once they got into the rhythm of things. Punk continues to be able to shift from good to bad in the blink of an eye and he was full on fan favorite this week. Starks continues to be someone who feels like a star, though the loss after that long of a wait on the count didn’t help him. Steamboat looks to be about twenty years younger than he is (if not for the hair color, you wouldn’t think he aged) but he didn’t get to do much here.

Post match Punk pays homage to Steamboat but Starks shoves Steamboat into him. Starks whips out a belt and whips the heck out of Steamboat (he can still sell) until Punk (also very eventually) makes the save. Punk glares at Starks and then chases him off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. As tends to be the case with a lot of shows, the opener and main event were the best parts, with the stuff in the middle being mostly ok. What mattered here was setting things up for the future, as Punk vs. Starks isn’t done but Punk also has the House of Black and Samoa Joe to deal with coming up. Collision has really started to figure out what it wants to be and is turning into one of the best shows of the week as a result.

Results
FTR b. Big Bill/Brian Cage – Shatter Machine to Cage
Kris Statlander b. Mercedes Martinez – Rollup
Samoa Joe b. Serpentico – Koquina Clutch
House of Black b. Lee Johnson/Action Andretti/Darius Martin – Double knees to Martin
Jay White b. Metalik – Blade Runner
CM Punk b. Ricky Starks – Rollup

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

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Collision
Date: July 22, 2023
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back to what I guess passes for normal around here after last week’s huge show. That could make for some interesting changes, as this week’s show features a Trios Titles match. Other than that I’m sure CM Punk is going to want some revenge on Ricky Starks after last week’s screwy finish so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn, Action Andretti and Darius Martin, Bullet Club Gold and Ricky Starks are ready for tonight.

Opening sequence.

Tony Schiavone brings out Ricky Starks, with the Owen Hart belt and a bag, for a chat. The fans tell him he deserves it and he certainly seems to agree. As for the bag…..there’s nothing in it but he wanted to show off what he treated himself to after he won last week. As for the controversial ending, it isn’t about how he won but how many he won, and anyone in his (Prada) shoes would do the same thing. It’s by any means necessary so talk to him about how stylish he is. He doesn’t want to be a pillar because he stands by himself and those Pillars haven’t won any Owens.

Cue CM Punk (no music) to say this is Starks’ celebration and he is only mad at himself. He’s cheated some people before and so has everyone else. Maybe if the New Jersey Devils did it before, they could have made it out of the first round. Punk says he can live with the loss, but isn’t sure if Starks can live with the win. He goes to leave, but Starks says the bag Punk has been carrying is empty, which brings Punk back.

Punk says he is the real world’s champion…but here are Christian Cage and Luchasaurus to interrupt. They are contractually obligated to be here as champion but this is taking too long. Christian says that he, er, we, are the faces of TNT but here is Darby Allin to interrupt. Allin promises to become the new face of TNT at All Out, though that’s a ways off. For tonight, let’s have a tag match (Allin: “Christian you don’t wrestle anymore so give me the TNT Champion.”) This was the most WWE opening since the last time WWE opened a show in their signature “talking leads to a main event” style.

Andrade El Idolo was not allowed in the building due to his actions last week.

Action Andretti/Darius Martin vs. Bullet Club Gold

The Gunns are here too. Martin takes over on Robinson to start and hands it to Andretti for the twisting crossbody. Andretti’s multiple springboard wristdrag sends Robinson down again but he’s right back with a kick to the face. A hanging neckbreaker on the floor drops Andretti and he’s sent hard into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Andretti hitting an enziguri and diving over for the tag to Martin. Some right hands and a high crossbody get two on White, followed by Andretti’s Asai moonsault to the floor. Back in and a dropkick into a German suplex (which didn’t look great) gets two on Robinson. Andretti gets dropped though and Robinson hits the big left. The forward DDT into the Blade Runner finishes Andretti at 10:18.

Rating: C+. This was one of those matches that wasn’t about drama but rather Bullet Club Gold having to work a bit to get their momentum back after last week’s classic. There’s nothing wrong with a match like that and it worked well here without lasting too long. Andretti and Martin are fine as the young high fliers and everything worked out there.

We look at Willow Nightingale winning the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament last week and then losing to Athena last night at Death Before Dishonor because Ring Of Honor isn’t about having fun.

Miro vs. Nick Comorato

Comorato jumps him from behind on the stage and sends him into the steps to start fast. Some shoulders in the corner have Miro in trouble as the match officially starts. Miro avoids a charge though and hits the jumping superkick, setting up Game Over to finish Comorato at 1:26.

Video on FTR.

Trios Titles: House Of Black vs. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn

The House of Black is defending and break up Caster’s rap to start fast. Caster gets caught in the wrong corner and Black hits him in the face for two. King drops the backsplash for two and Matthews drives Caster into the corner. Caster manages to send Matthews outside and then kicks him away, allowing the tag off to Gunn. House is cleaned but King blasts him with a clothesline, setting up Black Mass to retain the titles at 4:30.

Rating: C. This was pretty much a squash as Acclaimed and Gunn never got anything going. It was little more than destruction and that isn’t what you expect to see from them. Also, unless I missed it, there was no mention of the House Rules deal so maybe that has already been dropped.

Post match the House seems to show respect to Gunn. The House leaves and Gunn takes off his boots, leaving them in the ring to show his retirement. The Acclaimed tries to stop him but he walks off anyway.

Here is FTR for a chat about their Tag Team Title defense next week against Adam Cole and MJF. They have unfinished business with a bunch of teams but first they have to deal with these two. Wheeler gets that the fans like MJF and Cole at the moment, but he has first hand experience dealing with MJF’s lies. Harwood talks about having to get a job when he was about 14 and some of the rich kids made fun of him for having to work. He always wanted to punch them in the face but it brings him here, where people like MJF take wrestling as a joke.

We pause for a DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE chants before Harwood talks about how he doesn’t like how much of a joke MJF and Cole make wrestling. Next week, Harwood is giving them the beating he should have given those other kids. Nice job here of keeping composure when the fans were on the other side.

Video on Blood & Guts.

Skye Blue vs. Taya Valkyrie

Taya goes with the power to start and takes Blue down, allowing some kicks to the ribs. Back up and Blue gets in an armdrag but is knocked hard off the apron. Blue gets back inside and gets Blue Thunder Bombed for two as we take a break. We come back with Blue kicking away but getting caught in the ropes for the sliding German suplex. Taya hits a hard clothesline and a curb stomp finishes Blue at 8:54.

Rating: C. That was quite the surprise as Taya more or less ran through her here without much trouble. It’s a bit weird that Taya seems to be getting reheated, though I’m not sure how far that is going to take over. Blue seemed ready to move up the ladder and then she just gets beaten clean like this. Weird but ok then.

Post match Taya calls out Britt Baker for Dynamite.

Video on AR Fox.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Ricky Starks/Christian Cage vs. CM Punk/Darby Allin

Luchasaurus is here too. Starks has to start with Punk and is so hesitant to get in that the referee gets to a nine count with Starks on the apron. Once inside, Starks gets rolled up twice in a row and has to get away from the GTS. Christian comes in and gets caught in an armbar, allowing Allin to come in and stay on said arm. It’s already back to Punk, with Christian having to convince Starks to come back in. Punk and Allin clean house, setting up the double dives and we take a break.

Back with Punk in trouble as Scorpio Sky is watching from the sky box. Punk gets away and brings Allin back in for the house cleaning, including a Code Red for two on Starks. Allin’s suicide dive is knocked out of the air by Luchasaurus and Cage sends him head first through the bottom of the announcers’ table. Back with Allin still in trouble but Christian misses a top rope headbutt. Starks pulls Punk off the apron though and there is no one for a diving Allin to tag.

Allin kicks christian away and it’s back to Punk to clean house, including body slams and cartwheels. A clothesline gets two on Christian and the top rope elbow gets the same. Starks blocks the GTS and hits a headbutt to really rock Punk. He’s fine enough to get over to Allin off the tag but a quick Roshambo gives Starks two. Starks takes him up top but a superplex is reversed into a super reversed DDT. Christian saves but gets pulled outside into a GTS on the floor. Luchasaurus breaks up the Coffin Drop though and Starks grabs a rollup, with rope, for the pin at 25:07.

Rating: B. Another long main event here and Starks continues his rise after last week’s big win. The interesting thing here is that he cheated again after saying it didn’t matter earlier, as he is leaning into his turn a bit more. That could be quite the thorn in Punk’s side going forward and I’m curious to see where it goes. Allin vs. Cage/Luchasaurus is already set, so the other side worked well on its own. Good match here, with the time well spent.

Overall Rating: B-. Maybe it was how much Tony Khan produced wrestling I’ve seen in the last few days but this show felt long and didn’t have nearly the same pop to it that the previous episodes have had. There was no big moment for this one and it was hurt a bit as a result. That being said, there was good wrestling throughout and it advanced enough stuff to make it worth a look. Certainly not a bad show, but the first few episodes gave it a pretty high bar.

Results
Bullet Club Gold b. Action Andretti/Darius Martin – Blade Runner to Andretti
Miro b. Nick Comorato – Game Over
House Of Black b. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn – Black Mass to Gunn
Taya Valkyrie b. Skye Blue – Stomp
Ricky Starks/Christian Cage b. CM Punk/Darby Allin – Rollup to Allin while holding rope

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

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Collision
Date: June 24, 2023
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

It’s the go home show for Forbidden Door and the big attraction this week is again CM Punk and again he is in a multi-man tag. Other than that though, we have Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Swerve Strickland in a match that should be great. Other than that, Sting and Darby Allin need a mystery partner for tomorrow night and get to announce him tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Ricky Starks, FTR and CM Punk are ready for their eight man tag tonight.

Bullet Club Gold and the Gunns are ready for their eight man tag tonight.

Opening sequence.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring to find out who is Sting and Darby Allin’s partner but Chris Jericho and Minoru Suzuki cut him off. Jericho doesn’t know who Sting and Allin could find who is tougher or sexier than them, so they’re done waiting. What matters is that Schiavone knows the partner, so TELL US WHO IT IS.

Cue Sting and Darby Allin, with the latter asking where Sammy Guevara is this week. Maybe he finally thought better of it, because if he shows up at Forbidden Door, Darby will beat his a**. Just like the partner did to Jericho at the Tokyo Dome. Cue Tetsuya Naito to stare Jericho down and send him running outside. Not the biggest surprise, but a good choice.

Miro is sick of his god being a coward and bows before no man. He renounces his god and wife because he is ready to hurt people.

Swerve Strickland vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Feeling out process to start with Tanahashi taking him into the corner and firing off some air guitar. Strickland isn’t having that and guitars him right back before sending it to the floor. A kick to the ropes serves as a low blow on the way back in and Strickland gets to choke away. Tanahashi is sent over the ropes but skins the cat for a headscissors to put Swerve outside.

Strickland ties him up in the ropes though and hammers away as we take a break. Back with Tanahashi hitting something close to the Sling Blade and striking away. The running Downward Spiral gives Strickland two but a much better Sling Blade plants Strickland again. The High Fly Flow hits raised knees but the Swerve Stomp only hits the mat. Tanahashi shoves him off the top and now the High Fly Flow can finish Strickland at 10:45.

Rating: B-. This was a match that gave me some very high hopes when I first saw it advertised and it wound up being pretty good. Tanahashi is getting up there in years and is nowhere near what he once was, but he is still capable of having a perfectly good match. Strickland losing to a legend isn’t going to hurt him, but he does need to start moving up the ladder already.

Post match MJF pops up on screen to say he’s getting out of Canada as fast as possible. He holds the most important title in the world and doesn’t want to watch a bunch of indy geeks from Japan wrestle. MJF promises to do painful things to Tanahashi with his air guitar to wrap it up.

Brody King vs. Andrade El Idolo

Andrade kicks King’s leg out to start and gets up a raised boot in the corner. A headscissors out of the corner drops King again so he sends Andrade into the ropes, where we get the Tranquilo pose. King is sent outside and there’s the big moonsault from the top to take him down again. Back up and King knocks him down hard to the floor with a chop and we take a break.

We come back with King working on the taped up shoulder until Andrade makes it to the apron. The dragon screw legwhip over the rope takes King down and a high crossbody puts him down again. The running knees in the corner give Andrade two but King Death Valley Drivers him into the corner. Andrade is right back with another shot to the leg though and the Figure Four is loaded up. Cue Julia Hart with Andrade’s mask but the distraction doesn’t work. Instead, Andrade elbows King down and the Figure Eight goes on, only to have Buddy Matthews run in for the DQ at 12:56.

Rating: B-. Another solid match from Andrade, who is working extra hard since his return. While there is a very good chance that is to get a certain other company to notice him, I’ll certainly take what I can get while it’s available. Andrade finding some friends to go after the Trios Titles isn’t a bad idea and if it means King getting to maul people, I’m all for it.

Post match the House beats Andrade down. Malakai Black pops up on screen as Hart holds up the mask. The lights go out…and that’s it.

Here are Christian Cage (holding the TNT Title) and Luchasaurus (the TNT Champion) for a chat. Christian is back home in Toronto and now he knows that it breeds losers. He mocks the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors, including former Raptors star Kawhi Leonard, who left a few years ago. Now for a couple of housekeeping items: there will be no more open challenges and you will have to earn a title shot, like HE did. Christian is ready to take the title to the next level. Luchasaurus was barely mentioned and said nothing, but he does get to carry Christian around on his shoulders.

Various people talk about what it would mean to win the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. The interesting point here: Jim Neidhart trained Roderick Strong? That’s a new one on me.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Willow Nightingale vs. Nyla Rose

Non-title and Marina Shafir is here with Rose. Nightingale ducks a clothesline in the corner to start and takes her down, setting up the big chops. Rose is knocked outside, where a Shafir distraction lets her post Nightingale as we take a break. Back with Nightingale sending her into the corner and hitting a middle rope missile dropkick for two. Rose muscles her over with a suplex though and then drops her with a gordbuster for two of her own. Nightingale slips out of a powerbomb and hits the Pounce to drop Rose again. The Babe With The Powerbomb finishes Rose at 8:54.

Rating: C. Nightingale is in a weird spot at the moment as she doesn’t seem likely to win the TBS or AEW/ROH Women’s Titles, so this might be her high point for the time being. She can make a run in the tournament and still be the NJPW Strong champion, but, much like several others, she needs to win something from around here for a change. Maybe the tournament is it, but anything involving more Nightingale is a good thing.

Post match the Outcasts surround Nightingale but Skye Blue makes the save with a chair.

Scorpio Sky talks about how he struggled to get here. Then his success controlled him but no more. He is one half of the first Tag Team Champions, the first Face of the Revolution and a two time TNT Champion. Now you’ll find out who he really is.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Jeremy Prophet

Hobbs knocks him into the corner to start and doesn’t seem pleased when Prophet tries a rollup. Some clotheslines drop Prophet and the spinebuster finishes him at 1:37.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

CM Punk/FTR/Ricky Starks vs. Bullet Club Gold/The Gunns

It’s a VERY mixed reaction for Punk here, which almost had to be expected. While bails from the threat of facing Punk to start and hands it off to Robinson instead. A shoulder drops Robinson so it’s Harwood coming in for a headlock of his own. Said headlock is ground away a bit before it’s off to Starks for the hip gyrating Old School on Colten. White comes in for the save and NOW he wants Punk. That’s fine with Punk, who gives him a hip gyration of his own and then wins a chop off.

The GTS and Blade Runner are both broken up and White sends him outside. The big staredown is on and we take a break. Back with Robinson getting caught in FTR’s Doomsday Device, with White having to make a save. Something like a Demolition Decapitator gets two on Austin (the fans are NOT pleased with Punk) but it’s off to White for a dragon screw legwhip.

White starts working on the leg but brings Colten in for a chop off. Punk gets taken down again though and we take another break. Back again with White yelling that Punk doesn’t belong in this ring anymore and getting planted or his efforts. The running knee in the corner rocks White but the Gunns break up the tag attempt. Robinson’s GTS attempt is blocked and Punk kicks him in the head. The Gunns are kicked away and the diving tag brings in Starks to clean house.

Roshambo is broken up and we settle down to White rolling Starks up (with trunks) for two. Blade Runner is broken up and the Gunns are back in to beat up Harwood. Wheeler takes both of them out and hits a big dive to the floor. Not to be outdone, Punk dives at White but gets caught in a swinging Rock Bottom. Starks gets one of his own for two and the spear hits White. The Gunns are cleared out but Robinson gets in the big left, setting up Blade Runner for the pin on Starks at 23:43.

Rating: B. Another long and good match, but it didn’t feel as long this week. It’s almost strange seeing Punk’s team lose so early and while I could have gone for someone other than Starks taking a fall, it does open some doors for the future. As for Punk, what mattered here was he had a much longer stint in the ring this time and didn’t look horrible. He has a long way to go, but Sunday’s Forbidden Door match should tell us some more about what he is doing. Solid main event, and I can go or something like this once a week.

The winners celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I’m not sure it was quite as good as last week but what matters is having the solid action while also building up Forbidden Door. This show featured some guest stars and we’ll have to wait for next week to see how the norm might feel around here. I liked it again and the wrestling was good to rather good, though it’s still strange to have it be so different from Dynamite. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s certainly rather jarring in a lot of ways.

Results
Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Swerve Strickland – High Fly Flow
Andrade El Idolo b. Brody King via DQ when Buddy Matthews interfered
Willow Nightingale b. Nyla Rose – The Babe With The Powerbomb
Powerhouse Hobbs b. Jeremy Prophet – Spinebuster
Bullet Club Gold/The Gunns b. CM Punk/FTR/Ricky Starks – Blade Runner to Starks

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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Double Or Nothing 2023
Date: May 28, 2023
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Taz

We’re back to viewing on a pay per basis and that normally means some very good things from AEW. This show has an unofficial double main event, with the Four Pillars World Title match, plus Anarchy in the Arena. That should make things all the more interesting and the rest of the card is rather stacked. Let’s get to it.

Commentary is ringside here for a change. If that isn’t a first time for AEW, it’s only one of a handful of times ever.

Buy-In: Hardys/Hook vs. Ethan Page/The Gunns

If the Hardys/Hook win, Matt Hardy owns Page’s contract and Brother Zay is with the Hardys/Hook. JR: “Now is he Isiah Kassidy or is he Brother Zay?” Excalibur: “Well right now he’s injured!” Hook works on Austin’s wrist to start and wrestles him down before it’s off to Matt to stay on the arm.

Everything breaks down and the villains are cleared out, only to be throw back in. Colten starts in on Hook back inside and sends him into the corner. Hook manages a quick El Camino though and the hot tag brings in Matt to clean house. The Gunns are sent outside so they go after the injured Zay, leaving Matt to make the save. That takes too long though and it’s a double teaming to take Matt down for a change.

Matt avoids some charges to sent the Gunns outside but Hook and Jeff are pulled off the apron in a smart move. Colten misses a splash in the corner though and it’s Jeff coming in to take over. The middle rope splash looks to set up a Twist of Fate but Jeff tweaks his knee. The Whisper in the Wind is loaded up but Jeff slips and falls down in a crash.

Hook comes back in for a clothesline to Colten, allowing Matt to come in for Poetry In Motion (as Jeff’s knee seems ok). The 3:10 to Yuma cuts Matt off but Jeff Swantons in for the save. Everything breaks down again and Redrum is broken up. Stereo Twists of Fate take the Gunns down and it’s a Twisting Stunner into the Twist of Fate into Redrum to finish Page at 15:43.

Rating: C+. This was a long Kickoff Show match but it did well enough. The Hardys are going to get a strong reaction no matter what they do and that was the case here. Jeff has been gone for a long time now and it will be nice to have him around again, though pushing him in a big role would be more than risky. For now though, he did ok enough in a limited role.

The opening video looks at the majority of the card, including a special look at the main event.

International Title: Blackjack Battle Royal

Orange Cassidy, Bandido, Chuck Taylor, Trent, Lee Moriarty, Big Bill, Tony Nese, Ari Daivari, Komander, Butcher, Blade, Kip Sabian, Jay White, Juice Robinson, Dustin Rhodes, Keith Lee, Ricky Starks, Rey Fenix, Penta El Zero Miedo, Swerve Strickland, Brian Cage

Cassidy is defending and Sabian tries to get rid of him early on. A bunch of people brawl on the floor to start (as they were all on the floor before the bell and haven’t been inside yet) and Komander does a big rope walk dive to take everyone down. The four luchadors take over the middle of the ring so Bandido can get in a very delayed suplex on Nese. As I try to figure out why anyone but the Varsity Athletes would want to break that up, Nese is tossed out for the first elimination.

Daivari and Penta fight on the apron until Fenix walks the ropes to kick Daivari out for the elimination. Cage finally comes in and gets to clean house, including holding up Bandido and Komander at the same time. The Bros kick Cage down but White and Robinson jump them from behind. White knocks Komander out and it’s a Shield Bomb from the Best Friends/Cassidy to Sabian.

With Sabian out, Big Bill is back up to toss Chuck (with what seemed to be an accidental low bridge from Cassidy). Lee tosses Blade and slugs it out with Cage as Swerve gets in for the first time. Swerve and Lee slug it out (without having a match of course, because that’s just loony) and the Lucha Bros kick Butcher out. Moriarty kicks Bandido out (that’s an upset) but Trent suplexes Moriarty on the apron for the elimination.

Trent takes a big boot meant for Cassidy and gets eliminated in the process as the ring is clearing out a good bit. Cage tosses Lee but Rhodes cuts him off with Cross Rhodes. Fenix is sent to the apron and Penta accidentally knocks him out. Starks tosses Robinson and it’s White vs. Penta for a weird showdown. A springboard is cut out with a Blade Runner but Starks spears White and tosses him out.

Robinson pulls Starks outside (not eliminated) and beats him down, including a whip into the steps. Back in and Bill kicks Stars out (eliminated this time) before Dustin Canadian Destroys Cage on the apron for an elimination. Swerve knocks Rhodes out and we’re down to Swerve, Bill, Penta and Cassidy. Penta fires off a bunch of superkicks and adds a Backstabber to Cassidy.

Bill kicks Penta in the face though and clotheslines him out, followed by a swinging Boss Man Slam to Cassidy. Swerve surprises Bill and tosses him out, leaving us with Swerve vs. Cassidy. They tease tossing each other out until Cassidy hits the Stundog Millionaire. A dropkick to the back stops Cassidy though and they’re both down. The Swerve Stomp connects but Swerve mocks Cassidy instead of throwing him out. Fans: “YOU F***** UP!”

Cassidy catches him with back to back tornado DDTs and the Orange Punch sends Swerve to the apron. Swerve pulls Cassidy out to the apron, where a Prince Nana distraction slows Cassidy down. The Swerve Stomp only hits raised boots and Cassidy knocks him out to retain at 22:25.

Rating: B-. The ending was good, but there were only so many people who were going to be viable options to win, making the battle royal a bit unnecessary. Cassidy winning makes sense, but at some point someone is going to have to crush him good and hard to take the title. Perhaps Powerhouse Hobbs this week on Dynamite.

We recap Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho in an unsanctioned match. Jericho handcuffed Cole to the ropes while Saraya beat up Cole’s girlfriend Britt Baker, meaning Cole wants revenge. Due to reasons, he brought in Sabu. Yes Sabu.

Chris Jericho vs. Adam Cole

Unsanctioned and Sabu is the guest enforcer, with the rest of the Jericho Appreciation Society and Roderick Strong here too. We start with a chair duel between Jericho and Sabu until Sabu chairs him down. Sabu goes up top and dives (meaning falls) onto what looked like Matt Menard to drive him through a table. That’s enough for everyone else and they all head to the back to even things up.

Back in and Cole takes Jericho down and wraps his leg around the post to take over. Jericho is fine enough to catch him with a suplex off the apron to the floor for a big crash. They get back inside and Jericho hits a clothesline but Cole sends him face first into a chair wedged in the corner. Cole superkicks him down but the Panama Sunrise is countered into the Walls. Making it to the ropes means nothing so Cole grabs a fire extinguisher to blast Jericho and break things up.

The blinded Jericho takes Cole down for two and sprays him with the extinguisher to make it worse. The kendo stick is loaded up but here is Britt Baker with a stick of her own to beat Jericho down. Saraya comes in and gets caned down again, with the women heading to the back. A table is set up but Jericho chairs Cole in the face, knocking him through said table. Jericho whips out a chain…with handcuffs on the ends.

That takes took long though and Cole DDTs him onto the chain for two. Cole chains himself to Jericho and hits the Panama Sunrise for two. The Boom misses and Jericho whips him with the chain. Cole manages a quick Boom but Cole doesn’t cover. Instead he wraps the chain around the knee and hits another Boom. Some right hands with the chain knock Jericho out for the referee stoppage at 19:01.

Rating: C-. And that’s being a bit generous. The match was by no means bad, but it was long, never got exciting, and felt like they were going off a Greatest Street Fight Hits list. I didn’t feel like Cole was out for blood or anything like than and the ending was the only part that felt remotely violent. Add in Sabu with the most pointless cameo in AEW history and this was REALLY disappointing.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. FTR and Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett are both claiming Mark Briscoe as a friend, so naturally he’s the guest referee.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett

FTR is defending, Satnam Singh, Karen Jarrett and Sonjay Dutt are here too and Mark Briscoe is guest referee. Harwood takes Lethal down to start and frustration is setting in early. Back up and Lethal is taken into the corner for some hard chops, which has Lethal even more annoyed. Jarrett and Lethal need a breather on the floor and even try the clap behind the referee’s back for the fake tag.

With that not working, FTR hits a double backdrop and everyone heads outside, with Jarrett sending Wheeler into the barricade. Back in and Jeff takes over with a legsweep and some choking on the ropes, allowing Karen to get in a cheap shot. JR yells at Dutt a lot as the beating continues, only to have Wheeler get over for the hot tag to Harwood. House is cleaned and Harwood rolls some German suplexes on Lethal. Another suplex is blocked though and Lethal drops Harwood for a double knockdown.

Everything breaks down and Harwood crotches Lethal on top, setting up a top rope superplex. Harwood isn’t done though and Wheeler goes up for a powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination. Dutt gets involved for a distraction and that’s enough for the dramatic ejection from Briscoe.

Karen whips out a guitar and blasts Briscoe so here is Aubrey Edwards….who she guitar downs as well. Lethal hits a double Lethal Injection on FTR but there is no one to count. Harwood is back up with a piledriver to Lethal but Jarrett gets in a belt shot. The Stroke connects and Briscoe comes in to count two. Jeff slaps Mark, who slaps him back, and right into the Shatter Machine to retain the titles at 19:47.

Rating: B-. It was a fun, entertaining match that went all in on the insanity, as it should have. Cut it down by about five minutes and it’s even better, but there was little reason to believe that Jarrett and Lethal were going to be a major threat in the first place. Thankfully they didn’t do something stupid like having Briscoe turn, so this went pretty well all things considered.

Juice Robinson and Jay White jump Ricky Starks but FTR make the save.

Chris Jericho and Saraya are mad and want a tag match against Britt Baker and Adam Cole on Dynamite. Jericho throws a fireball at a production worker, because that’s a thing again.

TNT Title: Christian Cage vs. Wardlow

Cage is challenging in a ladder match. They take their time to start until Christian fires off some rights. Wardlow isn’t having that and runs him over but has to block the Killswitch. It’s time for the ladder, but Christian dropkicks it into Wardlow. Cage’s dive is blocked with a ladder in a hard crash and now it’s time for the tables, because of course it is.

That takes too long though and Cage knocks him onto the ladder in a hard crotching. Cage hits him with the ladder and puts it up in the ring, only to have Wardlow get back up and run him over. With Cage knocked down, cue Luchasaurus to throw him back in so Wardlow can be cut off. The reverse DDT off the ladder plants Wardlow again and Cage goes up. For some reason Wardlow goes up and dives at the ladder, which breaks as he lands on it.

Wardlow tries to climb the broken ladder, allowing Luchasaurus to hit a pair of chokeslams. Cue Arn Anderson to bite Luchasaurus’ thumb, which starts gushing blood. That lets Wardlow put Luchasaurus on a pair of tables for a CRAZY Swanton off the ladder and they’re both down. Cage pops up and tries for the title but Anderson offers a distraction. Wardlow hits a powerbomb on Christian and retains at 17:06.

Rating: C+. I have no idea why this needed to be a ladder match other than it involved Christian. Wardlow gets a win, albeit with help from Arn Anderson (who might need to see Britt Baker to look at those teeth). It was a violent enough ladder match and some of the spots were good (that Swanton was nuts), but this felt like they threw a ladder match out there so they could have one, not because the match needed one.

We recap Jamie Hayter defending her Women’s Title against Toni Storm. This is part of the Outcasts vs. the other women feud and Hayter is coming in with a bad shoulder, thanks to the Outcasts. Therefore, it’s about the title and revenge.

Women’s Title: Jamie Hayter vs. Toni Storm

Hayter is defending….and gets jumped backstage and falls down the ramp. The Outcasts send her into various things but Hayter says she can go, so ring the bell. Storm goes right for the near fall but the referee gets bumped on an interfering Soho. Hayter sends her into an exposed buckle but some spray paint to the face sets up the hip attack for two. Cue Hikaru Shida to go after Soho as Storm is sent into the buckle. Hayterade gets two but Storm sends her into the buckle again. Storm Zero gives Storm the title back at 2:55. This wasn’t good, but I’m thinking that can be blamed on Hayter’s injury.

Trios Titles: House Of Black vs. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn

The House is defending against mystery opponents, despite the Acclaimed and Gunn all but saying they were challenging on Rampage. Caster’s rap mentions the House of Black being Caucasian and referencing Dominik Mysterio (as Rhea Ripley is Buddy Matthews’ real life girlfriend). Black takes over on Bowens to start, allowing Black to sit down to mess with Bowens’ head.

Bowens tells him to bring it so it’s Matthews coming in to stomp on Bowens’ arm. Caster comes in and gets taken down as well as the one sidedness continues. It’s back to Bowens, who is taken down into a kneebar and then taken down into a kneebar to mix it up a bit. Matthews adds a top rope Meteora as we’re firmly in the slow beating process. Some cannonballs down onto the leg keep Bowens in trouble as we get a WHO’S YOUR MAMI chant.

Bowens tries to fight up again but gets knocked down hard into the corner again. King’s Cannonball crushes him but Dante’s Inferno is broken up. Bowens is almost over to Gunn but King pulls him down just in time. Back up and the hot tag FINALLY brings in Gunn to clean house, including a Fameasser each to King and Matthews. Black is right back up to kick Gunn in the head and retain at 15:39.

Rating: B-. Nice enough match here for something with more or less no build, though I’m still not sure who the House is supposed to be feuding with next. Gunn and the Acclaimed were one of the biggest trios left and now the House is likely back to feuding with a random pairing. For now though, this was a by the book but well done match with Bowens getting beaten down and Gunn coming in to take the fall (as he should have). Perfectly acceptable way to get the titles on the show.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill vs. Taya Valkyrie

Cargill, with Mark Sterling and Leila Grey, is defending and comes to the ring with a rapper and her dancing sorority sisters. Road To Valhalla and Jaded are both blocked early so Jade is sent outside. That lets Taya hit a dive onto Sterling and then hits the sliding German for a big crash.

Back in and Jade manages a spinning spinebuster for two before beating on her outside again. Jade pulls on both arms at the same time but Taya fights back up and hits a Blue Thunder Bomb. Back up and Jade tries a springboard but gets kneed out of the air. Taya hits a Curb Stomp for two, followed by Road To Valhalla for the same. Jade is right back with Jaded to retain at 8:48.

Rating: C. It was nice to see Jade do something different and her athleticism continues to be insane, but this was just kind of there for the most part, with Jade getting to do a move and then waiting for the next one. I’ll certainly take it over what she does most of the time though, as she finally had someone who actually tested her.

Post match Mark Sterling says there is no one let to face Jade….and Kris Statlander is back. And let’s ring the bell!

TBS Title: Kris Statlander vs. Jade Cargill

Statlander is challenging and elbows her in the face. A Jackhammer is broken up and it’s a pump kick into a failed Jaded attempt. Statlander is right back with Sunday Night Fever to finish Jade for the pin and the title at 46 seconds. Well, it’s nice to have Jade finally lose, and for someone who showed up in a surprise and pinned her after a rough match, Statlander could have been worse.

We recap the World Title match between the Four Pillars. Everyone wants a shot at MJF’s title and after a mini tournament, Sammy Guevara agreeing to lay down and then changing his mind and the match being announced, we’re ready to go.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Jungle Boy vs. Darby Allin

MJF is defending and Sammy has Tay Melo with him. They’re here with cue cards….and Melo is going to have a baby! Even Jungle Boy has to clap for that one. Allin’s intro is a mini movie where he interrupts a wedding officiated by Elvis and with the groom being a dummy with an MJF mask on.

Allin comes in and beats him up, then has Elvis help him hide the body. Then he comes into the arena in an Elvis jumpsuit, making me think that he killed Elvis and left his body somewhere. Then MJF appears in his devil mask and sitting on a throne. Oh and there are masked women trying to reach for him on the way to the ring, leaving Jungle Boy looking rather plain.

Everyone goes after MJF to start and he gets chopped out to the floor. Everyone gets the chance to flip over each other until MJF is back in to drop Allin. That means the strut is on but Allin knocks him to the floor. The parade of dives is on and Sammy shooting stars onto everyone else. Back in and Jungle Boy gets caught in the Tree of Woe but manages to sit up, causing Guevara to superplex Allin into MJF for a big crash.

Back up and Guevara and Jungle Boy are sent outside, setting up the headlock takeover to give Allin two on MJF. Allin tries a dive but gets cuttered down by Guevara. The frog splash gives Guevara two on MJF, who is right back with a pumphandle driver to Allin. MJF: “I DON’T LIKE YOU DARBY!” He goes into why but that’s as good of an example as anything.

Jungle Boy is back in but gets dropkicked by Allin, leaving everyone down. Allin hits a Scorpion Death Drop, Jungle Boy hits a Killswitch and MJF hits a Cross Rhodes on Jungle Boy for two, leaving us with a stunned face after a cute sequence. Hold on though as MJF grabs a mic (Tony: “Just text it to us.”) and says Sammy is having a baby and needs the money, so lay down already. Sammy says he’ll do it and the ensuing small package gets two on MJF.

The GTH is countered but so is MJF’s Salt Of The Earth. Instead Guevara grabs a Boston crab on MJF and Allin gets the Scorpion Deathlock on Jungle Boy. Neither gives up so they’re both broken up, leaving Allin to Figure Four Guevara….who ankle locks MJF….who chinlocks Allin for a circle submission. With that broken up, Allin hits a Canadian Destroyer on MJF but Jungle Boy hits one of his own, leaving everyone down again. Another Canadian Destroyer (off MJF and Allin’s backs) hits Guevara for two and it’s time to go outside.

Allin gets a running start and knocks MJF and Jungle Boy over the barricade in a nasty crash. Back in and Guevara hits a top rope Spanish Fly to drive MJF onto the other two, leaving all of them down. They get inside and slug it out until MJF fires off the eye pokes. A triple superkick drops MJF and Guevara hits a Cody Cutter on MJF into Allin’s Code Red into Jungle Boy’s sliding forearm to the back of the head.

We get a pinfall reversal sequence (for a round of applause from the crowd) until Allin Code Reds Guevara for two. MJF breaks up the Coffin Drop though and superbombs Allin, seemingly hurting his wrist in the process. Guevara and Jungle Boy go up top to chop it out until Jungle Boy crashes down. Allin skateboards MJF in the head and hits the Coffin Drop but grabs a headlock takeover instead.

Jungle Boy makes the save and hits Allin for a double knockdown. MJF brings in the title but Jungle Boy takes it away…and throws it to the ring instead of hitting Allin. That earns him a Last Supper for two and it’s Guevara back in to fire off knees. The GTH hits and Sammy goes up but Sammy shoves him down. Allin loads up the Coffin Drop, only to have MJF put the title on Jungle Boy. Allin crashes and the headlock takeover retains MJF’s title at 27:49.

Rating: A-. This was a heck of a match and they tied a bunch of stuff in to make it better. It’s also a great example of a build not exactly working out perfectly but the match made up for it very well. They didn’t have it be two in the ring and two on the floor, as there were several sequences with everyone involved at once. I got way into this one and the action worked throughout, even if MJF winning wasn’t that much of a shock.

We recap the Elite vs. the Blackpool Combat Club. They hate each other and it’s time for Anarchy In The Arena.

Elite vs. Blackpool Combat Club

Anything goes, falls count anywhere. A band plays Wild Thing live and keeps going through the start of the match and the brawling is on in the crowd. Nick hits a big flip dive off the barricade as Don Callis joins commentary. Moxley dives off of the announcers’ table onto Omega and then drops him onto said table. A Figure Four on the floor has Omega in trouble as the referee is somehow bleeding.

Back in and Page rips off the eyepatch to reveal….a completely fine eye. Page pulls out the screwdriver but gets beaten down by the Club. The rest of the Elite comes in to beat the Club down and clear the ring with superkicks. The Elite hit stereo dives, leaving the Bucks to finally superkick the band to cut off the music. Omega hits Moxley with a piece of the announcers’ table as the Bucks dive off the stage.

Page comes back in to help beat on Moxley until Danielson makes the save. Omega gets suplexed onto the ramp as Danielson chokes Page inside. A bunch of people head to the concourse as Moxley busts out a barbed wire poker chip. Omega gets suplexed onto said chip before Moxley drives a fork into his head. We go split screen (thank goodness) as Castagnoli swings Matt Jackson near the concession stand. Back in the ring and Yuta chairs Page before Moxley knees Omega in the head.

We see Castagnoli piledriving Matt into a truck and that should leave him down for a bit. More people start getting back to ringside as the Elite continues to get beaten down. Page gets dropped onto a leaf blower (because there’s a leaf blower) but comes back with a Deadeye to Moxley on the apron. Omega, in Captain America tights, puts a trashcan lid on his arm ala Captain America and starts cleaning house. Castagnoli breaks that up but the Bucks are back in for the save.

Moxley hits the King Kong lariat into a Gotch style piledriver or two on Nick, setting up a crossface/Boston crab combination. Cue Matt and an exploding…something to the head (just go with it) clears Moxley out. A bunch of superkicks into the Buckshot Lariat gets two on Yuta and it’s Castagnoli punting…I believe Matt’s shoe. Moxley whips out the tacks (of course) and Matt goes bare foot into them, setting up a Death Rider for two.

Nick Swantons in to break up Danielson’s heel hook, with Nick’s face hitting the tacks. Castagnoli breaks up Omega’s V Trigger so Omega hits him with it instead. Danielson knees Omega down and then does it to Page as well. Moxley pours tacks in Matt’s mouth for Castagnoli’s uppercut, setting up a German suplex from Yuta.

It’s Page making the save and Omega gets up with him, as they’re family again. Danielson is back up and it’s the Deadeye into the One Winged Angel for two as Yuta makes the save. Callis offers a distraction though and slips Yuta a screwdriver. That takes Page down so Omega goes after Callis…..and it’s Konosuke Takeshita to knee Omega down. Yuta screwdrivers Omega in the head and grabs the seat belt for the pin at 27:02.

Rating: B+. This was really good as well, but just like the previous version or Stadium Stampede, it’s not really a match that you can call step by step in the traditional sense. Instead it was a bunch of fights that were all over the place, which is exactly what its name says it was supposed to be. The ending sends things into a bit of a different direction, though anytime someone wants to get Callis off the screen for the better part of ever, I’d be happy. Hard hitting, violent match here and that’s exactly what it needed to be after all the hatred to get us here.

Post match Callis chokes Omega with a belt to knock him even more out. The Club celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show took its time to get going and did have some rocky points, but it got that much better by the end, with the last two matches being awesome. There were some rather violent matches here and some of them felt like a definitive end to a story, but it did go a bit overboard with the insanity. This show had a battle royal, a ladder match, an unsanctioned match, a four way and Anarchy in the Arena. It would have been nice to slow things down a bit and have some more regular matches, but the last two matches carried it pretty high. Not a bad show at all, but pretty low on the AEW PPV chart.

Results
Hardys/Hook b. Ethan Page/Gunns – Redrum to Page
Orange Cassidy won the Blackjack Battle Royal last eliminating Swerve Strickland
Adam Cole b. Chris Jericho via referee stoppage
FTR b. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal – Shatter Machine to Jarrett
Wardlow b. Christian Cage – Wardlow pulled down the title
Toni Storm b. Jamie Hayter – Storm Zero
House Of Black b. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn – Spinning kick to Gunn
Jade Cargill b. Taya Valkyrie – Jaded
Kris Statlander b. Jade Cargill – Sunday Night Fever
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Jungle Boy, Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara – Headlock takeover to Allin
Blackpool Combat Club b. Elite – Seat belt to Omega

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We’re back on pay per view for AEW and that should make for a good night. The best thing about AEW’s pay per views is you can almost guarantee that these things will work more often than not. At the moment, the card has ten matches announced, which should at least let things breathe a little bit. Now just keep it that way until we’re ready to go. Let’s get to it.

Buy In: Ethan Page/The Gunns vs. Hardys/Hook

This is part of the somehow still going Ethan Page vs. Matt Hardy feud but this time Matt can reverse everything by getting Page’s contract. While I have absolutely no reason to be interested in this story, which was only so good in the first place, keep going in the opposite direction, there is almost no way the Hardys are losing here in Jeff’s big return match after the hiatus.

So yeah, there’s no reason to hide the idea that this is going to be in doubt. With Hook added in, this shouldn’t be anything more than a quick destruction by the heroes (Jeff being a hero is a stretch in the first place but work with me here). Let the fans cheer for the Hardys again and let Page get humiliated so we can keep going with the contract stuff, because that’s what you think of with the Hardys. As in the team who wins here.

Women’s Title: Jamie Hayter(c) vs. Toni Storm

Here we have the latest match in the Outcasts vs. whatever the non-Outcasts are called, but there is a big red flag with the whole thing. In this case, Hayter’s storyline shoulder injury is legitimate (or at least some sort of injury she is dealing with is) and that makes me wonder if she is going to have to drop the title as a result. That opens up a big door, and now we get to see where it goes.

I’ll take Storm to win here, on a mixture of the injury and the Outcasts needing to actually win something makes the title change more likely. While it might not be the most thrilling story, the Outcasts seem to be sticking around and as good as she is, Hayter is fairly cold as champion at the moment. Storm doesn’t have to be the next big, long term champion, but her team needs the win here.

Trios Titles: House Of Black(c) vs. ???/???/???

So we’ll get the easy part out of the way here: barring a big surprise, there is no reason to believe that this will be anyone but Billy Gunn and the Acclaimed challenging for the titles. That might not be the most thrilling title match, but it isn’t like there are very many legitimate challengers to come after the belts right now. The Acclaimed and Gunn make sense and at least they have something to do here.

In theory though, that something to do would involve losing, as I can’t imagine the House losing the titles so soon. They are an established trio and they have their big House Rules deal going on. While I don’t know how long that is going to go, it would be weird to have them lose here. At the same time, AEW has shown that they have no issues with having Acclaimed and Gunn lose, so I think that’s what happens here too.

Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho

This is an unsanctioned match, which of course had a contract signing this week on Dynamite. It also had Sabu on Dynamite, because he’ll be there as the enforcer. I’ll leave the various questions I have about that situation for now and just hope that Cole can have his first big match back with Jericho. That should work out well for the two of them, as it is at least coming in off a hot angle with Britt Baker a few weeks back.

I’ll go with Cole winning here, as there is no real reason for Jericho to win here. Cole is fresh off his return from injury and has a personal issue to deal with, while Jericho is just kind of doing his thing at the moment. Above all else, what this needs to be is a one off match, as there is no reason for this to be dragged out for any longer than this week. Just let Cole get his win and move on, because that is what makes sense here.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill(c) vs. Taya Valkyrie

Ok so now we have something interesting here, as for one of the only times in far too long, Cargill feels like she might be in danger. Valkyrie is someone who can match up with her physically and now that the Road To Valhalla is legal, there is a chance that Valkyrie takes the title here. I’m not sure that she will, but the fact that there is even some actual drama here is a great sign.

Now do they actually change the title here? I….egads I’m not sure but I don’t think they’re going to pull the trigger on Cargill losing just yet. Instead, hopefully this is the kind of match that gives Cargill a test and makes her work a lot harder than usual to retain the title. While Cargill needs to lose already so she can move on, this should give her enough credibility to do the same stuff she has been doing for a few months now. Cargill wins, even though I wish she wouldn’t.

International Title: Blackjack Battle Royal

When I think of this match, the first thing I think of is the most obvious thing: AJ Lee skipping around with the Divas Title in her Chuck Taylor’s. Back in 2014, she won a 14 Divas match at Wrestlemania XXX and retained her title, only to lose the title the next night to the debuting Paige. While I don’t think the details are going to be about the same with Orange Cassidy, I do think it is going to be similar.

In other words, I think Cassidy wins here and then moves on to Dynamite where he gets crushed by someone like Powerhouse Hobbs to end the plucky champion story for good. As tends to be the case in a battle royal, there are only about five people here who are viable winners for the match, but AEW has to battle royal somewhere in there. For now though, Cassidy wins, but doesn’t hold the title much longer.

Tag Team Titles: FTR(c) vs. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal

So now we have this, as Mark Briscoe is stuck in the middle of his friends as the guest referee. Since AEW’s tag division (and Trios division) has fallen into the abyss in recent months, seeing Jarrett and Lethal as the challengers again isn’t the big of a surprise. They’re a talented team in the ring, but they aren’t exactly someone I’m going to rush out to see. Therefore the drama is from Briscoe, and that’s about all there is here.

For the life of me I can’t imaging Jarrett actually winning a title in AEW so I’ll say FTR retains here. They’re freshly back and even though there aren’t many teams for them to face at the moment. For now, it’s pretty much going to be stuff like this and while the farm segment was funny, it’s not exactly enough to get my interest going. FTR retains here, and hopefully finds a good team to face in the future.

TNT Title: Wardlow(c) vs. Christian Cage

Say it with me: it’s a ladder match, because that’s what Cage did twenty years ago so that’s what he’s going to be doing now. I’m not sure why this needs to be a ladder match other than Cage is involved and it lets us have a ladder match on the show (because we need to have one every so often), but here we are anyway. Cage is still possibly the best heel in the company but Wardlow losing the title again would be an absolutely idiotic idea right now.

I’ll go with Wardlow here, as there is almost no reason to have him lose AGAIN after getting the title back just a few weeks ago. Wardlow has lost the title in short order far too often and doing it again would put him right back on the treadmill. Let him do his thing here and beat up Cage, who hopefully doesn’t try to do anything too stupid here. If nothing else, Luchasaurus can be Wardlow’s next opponent, as he should retain the title in this case.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman(c) vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Jungle Boy vs. Darby Allin

This is the match that has been built up for about six weeks now and it just isn’t working. At the end of the day, the Four Pillars idea feels like something that they came up with years ago, forgot about, and picked up again for the sake of a title match. Friedman destroyed Guevara by pointing out that he has been Jericho’s lackey for two years now and Jungle Boy just isn’t a World Title contender at the moment. In other words, it should be a singles match but here we are anyway.

I don’t see any viable option here other than going with Friedman retaining and hopefully getting on to someone else who might feel like a challenge. Friedman has been trying as hard as he can here, but ultimately there just isn’t much to work with here as the Pillars concept isn’t working. It certainly isn’t a bad idea for a match, but having it be anything but a TV main event or a midcard match doesn’t feel right. The champ retains here, almost out of necessity.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Elite

Like it or not, this is the top story in AEW at the moment and this is the match that needs to headline the show. It’s Anarchy in the Arena, which means it is going to be a huge fiasco and hard to keep track of anything, but that is kind of what AEW loves to do in these things. It certainly won’t be dull, but it is going to be all over the place in what I guess qualifies as a good way.

The winner here almost doesn’t matter as it is going to wind up being even more drama between the groups, but I’ll take the Club as they don’t need to be losing a big match. If nothing else, there is always the chance that Don Callis is going to do something here to cost the Elite. I’m not sure how easy it is going to be to keep track of, but in the end, the Club wins to end the night.

Overall Thoughts

The first thing I see when I look at this card is that it doesn’t feel overly crammed full of stuff. A nine match pay per view card with a one match Kickoff Show is not going too far and that is nice to see. Hopefully the show can live up to AEW’s pay per view reputation, which is quite the standard to reach. If the show is as solid as it looks on paper, we should be in for a rather nice night, as tends to be the case around here.

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Dynamite
Date: May 10, 2023
Location: Little Caesar’s Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s a stacked night as we have quite the card, featuring Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley in a cage. This has been hyped up as a pay per view on TBS and with the card they have out there, it might not be too far from the truth. We are also less than three weeks away from Double Or Nothing and the card could use some attention. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Rey Fenix

This is a Double Jeopardy match, where the winner gets a shot at the other’s title (as in Claudio’s Ring Of Honor World Title and Fenix’s Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles), though this is non-title. Feeling out process to start with neither getting very far until Claudio powers him into the corner to take over. Fenix is right back with a springboard hurricanrana to the floor, followed by some hard suicide dives.

A third dive is cut out of the air though and Fenix is dropped HARD onto the barricade. Claudio loads up a suplex and tries to walk up the steps but can’t quite do it, allowing Fenix to walk the barricade for a heck of a hurricanrana. Back in and Castagnoli loads up a middle rope gorilla press but Fenix reverses into a rather springboardy hurricanrana.

They head outside again with Fenix being tossed hard over the barricade as we take a break. We come back with Castagnoli hitting a gutwrench superplex but Fenix kicks him in the face. The rolling cutter (that always looks good) plants Castagnoli for two but something like an Angle Slam drops Fenix. The Riccola Bomb finishes Fenix off at 14:20.

Rating: B. I like the stipulation here as it opens up some doors and gives Castagnoli, the favorite, incentive to win. Odds are that sets up a big Ring Of Honor match later (probably not on Ring Of Honor TV but take what you can get) with Castagnoli picking Yuta as his partner, but it should be good either way. Now just get Fenix on TV more and everyone can be happy.

MIRO of all people returns and walks into Tony Khan’s office. That’s his first appearance since September of last year.

MJF talks about the Four Pills concept and how all four of them were great stars with unlimited potential. The difference though? MJF has actually done something.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley, who have fought for years and are in a cage tonight.

Here is FTR for a chat. They want Mark Briscoe out here for an apology but get Sonjay Dutt and company instead. Dutt gets to the point and asks about the challenge for a Tag Team Title match at Double Or Nothing. Harwood is in, with one condition: Dutt and company have to admit that they used Mark Briscoe to get to them.

Cue Briscoe with a thermos and a bunch of cups. Briscoe understands that these people have trouble holding their emotions, but he has an announcement: FTR vs. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal at Double Or Nothing, with Briscoe as guest referee. Briscoe offers a toast but Dutt throws alcohol into FTR’s eyes, causing the blinded Dax to piledrive Briscoe. Another story where it could be solved by watching the tape back, but I’ll take what intrigue I can get for the match.

Chris Jericho is upset at Adam Cole for attacking him on commentary because this is an unsafe working environment. Jericho now has a court order saying that Cole is banned from any building he is in. Roderick Strong comes in and the falls count anywhere match is set for next week. Anywhere as in….outside? Where the court order wouldn’t count? Strong has his own legal order: the Jericho Appreciation Society is banned from the building next week. I want to see the credentials of a judge who would sign off on that under these circumstances.

Renee Paquette is trying to get an update on Miro when Thunder Rosa pops up to walk into Tony Khan’s office as well.

Video on Sammy Guevara.

Tony Khan promises a huge announcement next week, with hints of a new show. That sounds Collisiony.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia is challenging and we start with some grappling. Cassidy armdrags him into an armbar before casually escaping a drop toehold attempt. Garcia isn’t pleased and sends him outside for some drops onto the apron/barricade as we take a break. Back with Garcia hitting a curb stomp but posing instead of covering. A top rope superplex connects on Cassidy, who tries to reverse a suplex into the Stundog Millionaire, only getting part of it.

Garcia stays on him but gets caught in a quick Beach Break for two. The Orange Punch is broken up with a dropkick to the knee and Garcia is rather cocky. Cassidy’s hands in the pockets is broken up with a kick to the face and a piledriver gets two. The Dragon Slayer is countered into a small package for two and another Beach Break gets two more. Garcia is right back with the Dragon Slayer, which he switches into a triangle choke and then a crossface. That’s reversed into a rollup to give Cassidy the pin at 13:24.

Rating: B. What matters here is keeping Cassidy strong and this was one of the better matches during his title run. I could go with this version of Cassidy, but at the same time he is still around a bit too often for my taste. Other than that, these two had a heck of a back and forth match with Garcia doing his thing as well as he can, plus Cassidy hanging in there until he could escape at the end.

The Outcasts are ready to hurt Hikaru Shida next week.

Here are Christian Cage and Luchasaurus for a chat. Christian rips on Detroit and then brings up Wardlow’s father, who wasn’t famous and no one cared about him. Wardlow found Arn Anderson, whose son is wresting here in AEW. Then Arn saw Wardlow and jumped over to him for all of the success.

Christian mocks Anderson for being a legend, but maybe being the other guy in a team with Tully Blanchard or being Ric Flair’s lapdog is enough to make you a legend. Wardlow will never be a legend like Christian, and Christian is going to prove it. Fans: “EDGE IS BETTER!” This was some GREAT heel stuff from Christian, who is a heat magnet right now. Granted it was almost terrifying when I thought he was going to bring up Anderson’s recently deceased son but thankfully it didn’t go there.

Darby Allin is back home with his dad and talks about everything he has done to become a wrestler. Now he is willing to take any chance to become the World Champion.

Anna Jay vs. Julia Hart

Anything goes and Anna chairs her down from behind before the bell. They go to ringside where Hart gets in some kendo stick shots, followed by some rams into the barricade. We take a break and come back with Hart getting planted on some chairs on the floor. The chairs are brought inside but Hart superplexes her down. Hartless makes Anna tap at 9:17.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t a bad match but I was having trouble getting into this one. The feud hasn’t exactly been interesting in the first place and having them go into this big hardcore match (a good chunk of which was in the break) just felt like a quick escalation. Hart winning was a surprise too, and it was probably the biggest win of his career.

The Best Friends and Bandido don’t quite understand the House Of Black’s Open House rules. Orange Cassidy is tired though.

Trios Titles: House Of Black vs. Best Friends/Bandido

The House is defending and we have 20 counts/no DQ, with Julia Hart banned from ringside (as per the challengers’ choice). The lights are also turned down for a rather cool look. Black strikes away at Bandido in the corner to start and goes after the knee. Bandido goes to the ropes but has to crawl to the floor for the break and a needed breather.

Back in and Black gets caught in the wrong corner so the good guys can take over. We take a break and come back with Trent having to Stomp Matthews out of the corner, allowing the diving tag back to Bandido. Everything breaks down and Chuck comes in, only to get caught with Dante’s Inferno to retain the titles at 8:20.

Rating: C+. The lighting looked good and the action was good enough, but the rules might need some tweaking. The idea of having the first set of challengers being confused by what was going on isn’t a great sign, but it isn’t like the titles have anything else going on. Just get some more teams together to come after the titles, which is probably going to take some time.

Video on Jungle Boy, who has worked hard to get here, including his feud with Christian Cage.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Ricky Starks wants Jay White next week.

Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley

Bryan Danielson is on commentary, Don Callis is with Omega and this is in a cage. They start fighting in the aisle before the bell though and the fans seem to approve. Cue the Blackpool Combat Club and the Young Bucks for the double interferences. The Bucks go after Danielson but security breaks everything up as Omega is finally in the cage.

Moxley gets in as well and the bell rings, with Omega knocking him down fast. Omega hits the middle rope moonsault and whips out a chair wrapped in barbed wire. Moxley is quickly hit in the head and busted open, though Omega hurts his hand with the swing. The chair is put on Moxley’s back and stomped down to rip him open even more but Moxley gets creative by sending Omega face first into the TV camera. Omega is right back with a bulldog onto the chair but gets caught up top. Moxley superplexes him onto the chair and we take a break.

Back with the top rope having been broken up so Moxley can choke away. It’s time to bring out the broken glass but Omega grabs a fireman’s carry backbreaker. The One Winged Angel is countered into a choke but Omega flips him onto said glass. Moxley grabs a choke, which is reversed into a V Trigger and the dragon suplex. Another V Trigger sends Moxley through the cage wall and out to the floor, though Omega wrenches his knee. Moxley whips out the screwdriver but Callis takes it away. The V Trigger into the One Winged Angel gets two…..as Callis turns on Omega with the screwdriver. Moxley gets the pin at 14:29.

Rating: B. Your mileage may vary here as I’m not big on the weapons being used in a CAGE match. The big spot with the knee through the cage was awesome enough though and the big angle at the end, while still centered around Don Callis, was an important deal. It felt like a major match and I’m wondering what is going to come next at Double Or Nothing, so they’re doing something right.

Post match Callis loads up the screwdriver but throws Omega down instead. The villains leave to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The show felt big and they lived up to a lot of the hype that they made for themselves. That’s a hard trick to pull off but AEW made it work with a stacked show. The announcement next week sounds important enough and having Miro and Rosa return made this week feel like something of a turning point. Now follow up on it and things can start to cook.

Results
Claudio Castagnoli b. Rey Fenix – Riccola Bomb
Orange Cassidy b. Daniel Garcia – Rollup
Julia Hart b. Anna Jay – Hartless
House Of Black b. Bandido/Best Friends – Dante’s Inferno to Taylor
Jon Moxley b. Kenny Omega – Screwdriver to the head

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

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Dynamite
Date: April 5, 2023
Location: UBS Arena, Long Island, New York
Commentators: Taz, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re back in Long Island and this should be a heck of a show as the card is stacked. We have more than a few interesting things in the lineup this week, including MJF Day, FTR vs. the Gunns in a career vs. Tag Team Title match and Tony Khan making his latest huge announcement. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ricky Starks vs. Juice Robinson

And never mind as Robinson comes in from behind, with Jay White coming in through the entrance to jump Starks. The beating is on and Starks is left laying. No match.

We look back at Adam Cole returning to the ring last week and Chris Jericho coming out for the quick stare post match.

Jericho talks about Cole being back and getting the win….and here is Keith Lee to interrupt. Lee talks about facing Cole before and not liking Jericho’s disrespect. A challenge is laid out for next week. Lee doing something other than feuding with Swerve Strickland is a nice change of pace.

Trios Titles: House Of Black vs. Orange Cassidy/Best Friends

The House, with Julia Hart, is defending. Trent strikes away at Black to start before handing it off to Chuck for an enziguri to King. Cassidy and Buddy come in to complete the three sets of pairings. The sunglasses are thrown at Matthews and everything breaks down. Cassidy clears the ring but Trent is launched into King, who knocks him out of the air as we take a break.

Back with King accidentally suicide diving onto his partners, allowing Cassidy to be tossed onto all three champions. A triple powerbomb plants Matthews and Cassidy gives Black the lazy kicks. Cassidy Orange Punches King into Trent’s piledriver for two. Chuck rolls Matthews up for two more but gets Stomped by Matthews for the pin to retain at 11:34.

Rating: C+. This was what you would expect from a Trios Title match as the House gets another win. It’s a little strange to have one of the other popular teams fall to the champs again, as they’re running through challengers fairly quickly. There are some more challengers out there, but the big ones are going away in a hurry. For not though, Chuck taking a fall to the champs is a fine way to go and builds the House up a bit more.

Christian Cage is back….and so is Luchasaurus, though they don’t say anything.

Women’s Title: Jamie Hayter vs. Riho

Hayter, with Britt Baker, is defending. Riho snaps off a hurricanrana to start and they go to the pinfall reversal sequence for two each. Hayter is sent outside for a big dive to the floor but Hayter pulls another one out of the air back inside. They fight to the apron with Riho’s suplex being countered into a Rock Bottom as we take a break.

Back with Riho hitting a 619 and snapping off a dragon suplex for two. The hard sliding lariat gives Hayter two of her own but Riho counters a suplex into a DDT. Riho knocks her off the top and hits the running knees in the corner for two as Hayter has to put her foot on the rope. Hayter plants her down for two more and the Hayterade retains the title at 12:12.

Rating: B-. Hayter is back (after visa issues kept her out so the absence isn’t on AEW) and gets a win over someone with some status so the champ gets a nice boost. It’s better than dealing with the Outcasts again, but that’s probably coming sooner rather than later as it’s the biggest deal in the women’s division at the moment. For now though, Hayter looking strong is what matters.

The Outcasts mock Hayter retaining and want the title, even though there are three of them.

Here is the Jericho Appreciation Society to get the Acclaimed’s response. Cue the Acclaimed, with the rap not being the most positive towards the Society. Before we can get the response though, Angelo Parker announces that the four of them will be having an eight man tag on Rampage. Scissoring, without the Society, ensues. So that’s two advertised things they’ve punted on tonight.

We see MJF getting the key to the city of his hometown on Long Island. That’s pretty awesome.

A swing band play MJF, in a white tuxedo jacket, to start the MJF Show. MJF sings (about sunshine and ravioli) and seems rather happy to be here before dancing down to the ring. We have a CONGRATS MJF podium, a stand for the title, and a rather large key to Long Island on its own stand.

MJF introduces the Town Supervisor of Oyster Bay, who talks about how great MJF really is. MJF takes the podium and insults Jungle Boy before talking about how he has ADD. There was a teacher who would get on him over and over and laugh at him for not knowing an answer. On the last day of school, she asked where his brain went every day. That would be to professional wrestling, because he wants to be World Champion. She didn’t see it happening but her math seems to be a bit off.

If you’re a Long Island kid, and he’s only talking to them, just know that if you work hard, you can be anything you want….except MJF, because he’s better than you. MJF heads up the ramp and asks if we want an encore….but Jungle Boy has taken over the cymbals and the fight is on. Security breaks it up so here is Sammy Guevara (for his scheduled match) to hold up the World Title. This was one of the most bizarre things I’ve seen in wrestling in years and it worked….I think?

Komander vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara sends him outside fast and hits the top rope moonsault. Back in and Komander superkicks him out of the air, setting up a rope walk shooting star press. Guevara goes outside so Komander walks the ropes again, only to get kicked out of the air as we take a break. Back with Komander having to bail out of another rope walk shooting star press before flipping onto raised knees. The GTH is countered into a small package but Guevara kicks him into the corner. Cue Darby Allin to watch as Komander walks the ropes again, only to get pulled out of the air with a cutter. The GTH finishes Komander at 8:13.

Rating: B-. Komander is obviously very talented, but walking the ropes so many times in a match kind of takes away the ooh/ahh factor. Guevara gets another win over an impressive opponent (that’s the theme of the night so far) and should be in line for the Double Or Nothing title shot. They still have some work to get there, but you can see the path they’re taking.

Post match Guevara says that’s something a World Champion doesn’t do: wrestle. Guevara talks about how MJF hasn’t beaten him, because it took Shawn Spears and a chair to beat him. We hear about all the people MJF has used to get here, as he has been people’s friends and parts of different groups. Guevara isn’t using this place to get anywhere, because he met his wife here and has won championships. So screw the other pillars, because he’s Sammy Guevara. If that was supposed to make the fans in attendance dislike MJF, it didn’t work.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Ethan Page

Hook is defending and Matt Hardy/Isiah Kassidy are in Page’s corner. Hook suplexes him to start and they head outside, with Page sending him into the steps. Page tries a Twist of Fate but Hook hits his own. Kassidy offers a distraction so Hardy hits Page with the belt, setting up Redrum to retain the title at 1:59.

We go to Nigel McGuinness (debuted at Ring Of Honor Supercard of Honor, announced as All Elite earlier today), who introduces Tony Khan. Five years ago, All In took the wrestling world by storm and now they’re doing it again, with AEW All In on August 27 in London. Adam Cole comes in to announce that the event will be in Wembley Stadium. That’s certainly an announcement, and they’ll have by far the biggest crowd they’ve ever had.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. ???/???/???

Bryan Danielson is here with the Club as the other three aren’t even introduced. The destruction is on, including a spike piledriver on the floor. Back in and Yuta grabs something like a crossface to win at 1:07.

Post match Danielson talks about how he was at home with his family, who he loves very much. He also loves the members of the team and professional wrestling. Danielson only sees a few professionals around here and they just beat up these people. Cue Hangman Page to get beaten down, with Danielson calling him an amateur against some professionals. Danielson whips out a screwdriver and says it’s time to fix things up from all of these amateurs (which he says over and over). Then he gouges the screwdriver into Page’s face and screaming ensues. Danielson continues to be great as a villain.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Gunns

The Gunns are defending and it’s titles vs. careers. Colten runs Wheeler over to start and they head to the floor. Wheeler takes over but an Austin distraction lets Colten hit a dropkick to take over. Some right hands don’t get Wheeler very far and it’s a full nelson slam for two as we take a break.

Back with Harwood coming in off the hot tag to clean house, including a double DDT to Austin. The spike piledriver gives Harwood two and the Shatter Machine gets the same as the referee is pulled out. That’s not a DQ because the referee is smarter than that, so Wheeler is posted to put him down. Harwood and Austin trade rollups for two each until Austin hits him low, right in front of the referee.

The DQ is loaded up but Wheeler begs him to not do it. 3:10 To Yuma connects but Harwood makes the save. A title is slid in behind the referee’s back and Harwood’s diving headbutt hits the belt for two. Harwood spits at both of them but another 3:10 To Yuma is broken up. Wheeler comes in off the top with a super sunset flip for the pin and the titles at 13:58.

Rating: B. This started kind of slowly (which was strange as they didn’t have the amount of time you would expect from a match like this) but they went with the right ending. FTR winning with wrestling after all of the shenanigans fit perfectly and it made for the feel good moment to close the show. The title win was long (long, long) overdue and seeing FTR get the titles back feels right.

Streamers and Mark Briscoe are here to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. They hit the high points here and had some good matches to go with them. This show was about setting things up for the future, plus getting in a cool moment at the end of the night. I had a good time with this one and now they can start getting ready for Double Or Nothing, which is already starting to take shape. Nice feel good show here, which is great after the debacle that was Raw and the downer ending of Wrestlemania.

Results
House Of Black b. Best Friends/Orange Cassidy – Stomp to Chuck
Jamie Hayter b. Riho – Hayterade
Sammy Guevara b. Komander – GTH
Hook b. Ethan Page – Redrum
Blackpool Combat Club b. ???/???/??? – Hammerlock Crossface
FTR b. Gunns – Double pin

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 31, 2023
Location: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Chris Jericho

It’s time for the show that is stuck in the middle of the biggest weekend of the wrestling year. In this case, it’s going to be hard to find something that gets a lot of attention and there is a very real chance that AEW might punt here and wait for more eyes to be on them. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara has Tay Melo with him. Guevara gets on commentary’s nerves to start but Takeshita knocks him back a bit. Takeshita takes the leg out to put Guevara down and even strikes his pose as we see Darby Allin watching in the back. Guevara drops Takeshita over the top rope and hits a big top rope flip dive to take him down again.

Back in and Takeshita kicks him to the floor instead, setting up the big no hands flip dive. They both go up top with Guevara biting his way out of a German superplex. There’s a running stomp to bring Takeshita out of the Tree of Woe and we take a break. Back with Takeshita reversing a brainbuster into one of his own and grabbing a German suplex.

Guevara flips out of another one though and catches Takeshita in a standing Spanish Fly for two. Takeshita pulls him out of the air for a Blue Thunder Bomb for two and goes up top. That’s cut off by Guevara but Takeshita knocks him off the top. A hard clothesline connects but Melo grabs Takeshita’s ankle, allowing Guevara to hit the GTH for the pin at 9:41.

Rating: C+. This was about Guevara getting his win to match the rest of the Four Pillars, meaning that he might be on the way to Double Or Nothing for a World Title match as well. For now though, what matters is that Guevara keeps his momentum, but Takeshita taking another loss isn’t the best thing to see. Just let him beat someone important, please?

And now, QTV (JR: Really?”), with a discussion of who should be the next challenger for Powerhouse Hobbs. That doesn’t last long so QT Marshall talks about debuting the Dirt Sheet Driver, which he stole from Japan, so “the marks already love it”. Maybe he could hit it four times in a row and call it the Dirt Sheet Symphony. This is still rather bad.

Matt Hardy has drawn up Ethan Page’s contract for his match with Hook on Dynamite. Page doesn’t know what’s in it but signs (as Hook has already done). Hardy even winks at the camera as Page signs.

Best Friends vs. House Of Black

Trent hits a standing Meteora on Black to start and drives him into the corner. Chuck comes in but Trent gets knocked off the apron, leaving Chuck on his own against both monsters. King lariats Chuck down for two and sends Trent outside to keep up the beating. We take a break and come back with Trent getting the hot tag to clean house.

Trent hits the big running flip dive to drop King on the floor, followed by a missile dropkick to Black for two. The half and half Soul Food combination drops Black again but King is back in to…get low bridged to the floor actually. Everyone heads outside and King powerbombs Chuck through the table. Trent hits King with a chair and it’s a double DQ at 9:24.

Rating: C. The match was only so logical as I’m not sure why the House Of Black was needing this long to take out the Best Friends. The House Of Black has a bad tendency to not fight like monsters and they only did so much of it here. It’s not like the Best Friends should be squashed, but this was more even than it should have been.

Post match the beatdown stays on so Orange Cassidy comes out for the save….and gets laid out on the stage by Buddy Matthews.

Video on Keith Lee vs. Swerve Strickland. Note that the team split in November and they haven’t had a singles match yet.

Marina Shafir vs. Taya Valkyrie

Cue Jade Cargill and company to watch as Shafir goes with the grappling to start. Taya powers up and knocks Shafir away, setting up a quick Road To Valhalla for the pin at 2:37. More of the same from Taya.

Post match Mark Sterling sends the process server (Tootie) to the ring to sue Taya, who gives her Road To Valhalla as well.

Anna Jay is ticked off at Julia Hart for mocking her broken ribs. Jay: “I have a fat a** and a bad attitude.” She promises to choke Hart out. Jay is a lot of things, but a good talker isn’t one of them.

Juice Robinson is ready to beat up Action Andretti on his way to facing Ricky Starks.

Here’s what’s coming on future shows.

Action Andretti vs. Juice Robinson

Andretti starts fast by climbing the corner for a springboard armdrag. Robinson takes him into the corner and chops away while shouting about Ricky Starks. A headscissors drops Robinson though and we take a break. Back with Robinson hitting a gutbuster and driving a knee into the ribs. Robinson whips him into the corner as Excalibur talks about how Robinson has been using his power to keep control (point for telling the story). Andretti manages to send him outside for an Asai moonsault, setting up a springboard clothesline back inside. Robinson kicks him in the face though and hits the forward DDT for the pin at 9:02.

Rating: C+. We’ve pretty much reached the point now where Andretti is little more than a jobber to the stars, which is about all you could have expected from him. He wasn’t going to become the next bit thing off of one upset win so just being around is about all he could have expected. As for Robinson…he’s just kind of there as well and seems to be someone that Ricky Starks happens to be dealing with at the moment. Maybe that gets better, but for now he’s just ok.

Post match Ricky Starks runs in to chase Robinson off to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty ho hum show here with some decent action. There’s only so much you’re going to be able to get with Guevara as the top singles star in action on the show, but at least they did seem to set up something with the Best Friends and Orange Cassidy vs. the House of Black. Other than that, a watchable yet not exactly must see show, which is pretty much Rampage to the letter.

Results
Sammy Guevara b. Konosuke Takeshita – GTH
Best Friends vs. House Of Black went to a double DQ
Taya Valkyrie b. Marina Shafir – Road To Valhalla
Juice Robinson b. Action Andretti – Forward DDT

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

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AND

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