Double Or Nothing 2021
Date: May 30, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

We return to pay per view and that is a nice feeling to have. The card is absolutely stacked and one of the biggest that AEW has had in recent or even long term memory. Possibly the most important story here is the fact that the fans are back in full capacity, meaning it will be even more energized than usual. Let’s get to it.

Buy-In Show: NWA Women’s Title: Riho vs. Serena Deeb

Deeb is defending and cranks on a headlock to start. That doesn’t last long as Riho bridges up and offers a handshake. Deeb slaps her in the face instead so Riho knocks her into the corner, setting up a high crossbody. Back up and the Serenity Lock is blocked so Deeb dragon screw legwhips her into the corner. The leg cranking begins before Deeb is sent out to the apron.

Riho charges into a choke, setting up an inverted Gory Special for a pretty cool visual. With that broken up, Riho knocks her off the top to set up a top rope double stomp. The leg is too banged up to cover so Riho grabs a headscissors into a 619 for two. Riho drapes her over the middle rope but the top rope stomp only hits apron.

Deeb is right back with a powerbomb for two but the Deebtox is countered with a backdrop. Riho snaps off a dragon suplex and hits another double stomp for two. A half crab has Riho in more trouble but she makes the rope. That’s enough for Deeb, who snaps off another dragon screw legwhip and grabs the Serenity Lock for the tap to retain at 14:03.

Rating: B. This was a very high energy opener and, in case they weren’t fired up enough already, got the crowd even more into things. Deeb felt like she was tested here and that’s how a hot title defense should feel. Riho losing isn’t going to hurt her and it does a lot for Riho, so well done all around with a heck of a warm up match.

Jim Ross gets his big introduction.

Hangman Page vs. Brian Cage

Taz is on commentary and Cage has I believe Terminator inspired gear. Page charges right at him to start hammering away but gets shoved off with raw power. What looked like a powerbomb is broken up and Page slugs away again, with Cage bailing to the floor. This time Page is right there with a big dive but Cage powerbombs him into the post.

Back in and a jumping knee rocks Page again and there’s a hard whip into the corner. A crucifix bomb gets two on Page but he ducks a clothesline. Page Cactus Clotheslines him out to the floor and pops back up for a middle rope moonsault to hit Cage again. Back in and Page snaps off a top rope hurricanrana for two but a superbomb is blocked.

A discus forearm gets two on Cage but Deadeye is countered as well. Cage puts him in a fireman’s carry and flips him into a hot shot (with one arm, because of course), setting up a superplex onto the apron. Back in and Cage tries his own Buckshot Lariat but slips a bit, allowing Page to hit an F5. The real Buckshot is countered into a German suplex and a discus lariat blasts Page again. A helicopter bomb gives Cage two and here is Team Taz. Hook distracts the referee so Ricky Starks can slide in the FTW Title. Cage tosses it right back and the Buckshot Lariat finishes Cage at 12:07.

Rating: B. This was a white hot opener as you had two guys in there giving it everything they had for a long time. Page is starting to have his head back on straight and if they keep going with this version for him, he’ll be the kind of challenger who could give Kenny Omega a lot of trouble. Cage having issues with Team Taz is interesting too, as a face Cage looks like a total monster. The crowd helped elevate this one too and it was an outstanding way to open things up.

Post match an annoyed Cage walks away from Team Taz.

We run down the rest of the card.

We recap the Young Bucks vs. Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston. The Bucks have sided with Kenny Omega so Kingston and Moxley have come after them. This includes breaking a bunch of the Bucks’ stuff and stealing their shoes so it’s time for a title match.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston

Kingston/Moxley are challenging and we get the full Major League Wild Thing intro through the crowd. Don Callis is here with the champs and joins commentary as is his custom. Believe it or not, it’s a brawl to start and they fight into the crowd with the Bucks being sent into a variety of hard objects. Cue Brandon Cutler with the cold spray to Nick, earning himself a clothesline/German suplex combination.

Nick comes back in to jump Kingston and the opening bell rings. Kingston backdrops Nick and a double clothesline puts him down again. Moxley comes in so Matt yells, allowing Moxley to do the fake tag to another big reaction. Kingston STO’s Nick for two but a Matt distraction allows a poke to the eye. Matt dropkicks Moxley through the ropes and it’s a Cannonball/enziguri combination to Kingston. A double back elbow lets Nick do the Macho Man finger point but Kingston catches him in a hot shot.

Matt sends Moxley into the barricade and some running clotheslines have Kingston knocked into the corner. Ten right hands go down but Kingston is back with an exploder suplex. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Moxley and house is cleaned, including a piledriver for two on Nick. Nick has to break up a bulldog choke as everything breaks down again. Cue the Good Brothers but Kingston takes down Doc Gallows and Frankie Kazarian jumps Karl Anderson.

Matt uses the distraction to take down Moxley with a can of cold spray to the head for two. Moxley is busted open and an Indytaker on the ramp knocks him silly again. Back in and Moxley gets kicked down as JR wants to know where the doctor is to look at the cut. The Bucks go Ax and Smash to demolish Moxley, who counters an attempt at a Shield powerbomb. Moxley hammers away and the hot tag brings in Kingston to clean house. Nick’s right hands to Kingston just make him glare back and knock him down without much trouble.

A shot to the knee works a bit better on Kingston and an assisted Sliced Bread gets two. Kingston fights over and makes the hot tag to Moxley, who is immediately superkicked down. A 450 gets two but Kingston is back in with one of the Bucks’ expensive shoes. The referee yells at Matt and it’s a Doomsday Device to Nick. The Paradigm Shift to Matt is countered into a Sharpshooter but that’s broken up as well.

Now the Paradigm Shift can connect with Nick making another diving save. Another double superkick to Moxley sends him into the ropes but he comes back with the double clothesline. The double superkick connects for two and a pair of superkicks (one to the knee and one to the face) drops Kingston. Back to back to back to back BTE Triggers drop Moxley to retain the titles at 21:09.

Rating: B. The energy stayed high here and the Young Bucks got to do their video game/all of the other wrestlers’ spots. That does work well now that they are full on heels, as you do want to see them get their heads knocked off. I’m not sure if I should be surprised by the result, but this very well might mean every champion on the roster is a villain, which is a little weird to see. Anyway, another awesome match to keep up the trend tonight.

Commentary goes over some substitutes in the Casino Battle Royal (QT Marshall/Blade out, Aaron Solow/Serpentico in) due to injuries.

Paul Wight comes out for commentary.

Casino Battle Royal

There are 21 entrants with four groups of five (designated by suits). One group enters every three minutes and then the Joker completes the field, with the winner getting a future World Title match. First up are the Clubs, with Christian Cage, Matt Sydal, Powerhouse Hobbs, Dustin Rhodes and Max Caster (who raps about some of the Clubs, including saying Cage hasn’t been cool since he had an edge).

The eliminations are teased to start with Caster saving himself. Sydal is tossed and Caster follows him out until the Diamonds come in. That would be Isaiah Kassidy, Matt Hardy, 10, Nick Commorado and Serpentico, with Kassidy and Hardy failing to jump 10 during his entrance. 10 comes in and starts wrecking people, including tossing Serpentico. Commorado runs 10 over but can only get him to the apron, allowing Dustin to toss both of them at once.

Hold on though as Commorado hits Dustin with the cowbell so Hobbs can get the elimination. Christian hits the Killswitch on Hobbs and we get the Christian vs. Hardy showdown. Here are the Hearts (Brian Pillman Jr., Griff Garrison, Colt Cabana, Anthony Bowens and Penta El Zero Miedo) are in with the Varsity Blondes getting to go nuts for a bit to a nice reaction.

Penta gets to clean house and Kassidy gets rid of Cabana. The Blondes toss Bowens and Hardy punches Garrison out as well. Commentary tries to figure out if Hobbs is still in (he seems to be) as it’s kind of hard to keep track of where everyone is given that some of them are on the floor. Pillman gets a rather strong response until the Spades (Jungle Boy, Marq Quen, Aaron Solow, Evil Uno and Lee Johnson) with Boy getting the big musical entrance….and Penta takes him down in a hurry.

Private Party gets rid of Pillman (in a rather lame exit after the reaction) and Johnson eliminates Solow, only to get taken out by Hardy. Penta kicks Uno out but gets taken out by Boy as Hobbs and Christian get back in. Hobbs misses a charge at Christian in the corner and gets tossed for a big elimination. Matt and Private Party stare down Boy and Christian and start the beatdown until…..Lio Rush is the Joker. That gives us a final grouping of Lio Rush, Matt Hardy, Isaiah Kassidy, Marq Quen, Christian Cage and Jungle Boy.

Rush gets to clean house but the springboard Stunner doesn’t quite work on Hardy. Everyone but Rush is knocked down so he goes after Private Party, who fight off an elimination with the Silly String. Rush tries to break that up but gets eliminated by Hardy in the process. Boy and Christian get back up to eliminate Quen and Kassidy, leaving us with the two of them and Hardy.

Matt tries to team up with Christian and gets eliminated as well, meaning we’re down to two. Boy manages to get underneath Christian but can’t quite get him out. Instead Boy is sent to the apron but pulls Christian out with him. A pendulum kick rocks Christian but he shoves Boy into the post….which Boy swings around and gets back in to kick Christian out for the win at 22:32.

Rating: C. I didn’t see this one coming but well done on the surprise winner. Boy is someone who has seemed ready to break through for a good while so it was great to see him doing something like this. They pulled the trigger here and while I’m not exactly buying Boy’s chances in the title match, it was a smart move here. Not much in the way of a battle royal leading up to it as the grouped entrances are still a little weird, but the ending worked.

Post match the rest of Jurassic Express comes out to celebrate with Boy and Christian shows respect.

Some soldiers who train dogs for former soldiers are here for a nice presentation.

We get a rather over the top video on the wonders of America, including quotes from generals and Presidents about how great of a country it is.

Anthony Ogogo vs. Cody Rhodes

QT Marshall and Arn Anderson are here too. Cody has new gear and hands his American weightlifting belt to a fan. Ogogo doesn’t waste time in hitting the body shot and grabs an Olympic Slam for two. Cody is right back with the powerslam but the ribs give out on the landing. Some knees to Ogogo’s also injured ribs and Cody goes American (Dragon) with Cattle Mutilation.

That’s broken up and Ogogo snaps off a German suplex for two. A running uppercut gets the same and Marshall adds a cheap shot for another near fall. Ogogo misses a running elbow but is fine enough to nail a spinebuster. Cody gets in a kick to the face though and Ogogo’s eye is busted open.

The Cody Cutter connects but Ogogo punches him off the top for the crash. Ogogo hits a frog splash for a delayed two but Cody is right back with a dropkick. The Figure Four goes on so Ogogo punches him in the face for two (while still in the hold). Cross Rhodes is broken up and a pair of right hands knock Cody down, though his hand is under the rope. The pop up right hand is countered though and Cody hits a Vertebreaker for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: C. Ogogo over performed but Cody winning was about the only possible outcome. They weren’t going to build him up as the American Dream for one night only and then have him lose the showdown. The American vs. England deal was pretty ridiculous and while Ogogo winning would have been too far, he shouldn’t have lost either. At least Cody’s all American gear was so over the top that it was goofy fun.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Lance Archer

Archer is challenging and there is no Jake Roberts thanks to Miro taking him out earlier this weekend. Rather than waiting around, Archer dives onto Miro on the ramp and the beating is on in a hurry. Old School gets two on Miro and they head outside with Archer spinebustering him through a table. Miro is back up and suplexes him over the barricade onto some fans.

Another toss sends Archer back to ringside and they head back inside. A crossbody runs Miro over but he nails a spinwheel kick. Miro kicks him in the chest but Archer is back up to plant him down for two. Archer misses the moonsault though and Miro kicks him in the head for another near fall.

Cue Jake Roberts with the snake bag but Miro kicks him down as well…..and throws the snake bag out to the floor. Archer cuts off a superkick to Jake with a chokeslam for two but Everybody Dies is broken up. Miro gets Pounced to the floor, only to get in a kick to the ropes for the low blow on the way back in. The jumping superkick sets up Game Over to retain the title at 10:46.

Rating: B-. It was a hoss fight, but I was expecting a bit more from these two. They beat each other up rather well and while the result wasn’t quite in doubt, it was a fun match. Maybe it was a bit too much waiting between spots or the Roberts stuff, but it was just a bit lacking given the hype they had set up.

All Out is in Chicago on September 5.

Women’s Title: Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida

Baker, with Rebel, is challenging. A very early Lockjaw attempt doesn’t work but neither does Shida’s knee to the face. They go to the mat with Shida grabbing a bodyscissors but Baker is back up with a hammerlock. Shida sends her into the corner to take it outside, setting up a high crossbody to take out Baker and Rebel. Back in and the running knee is countered with a kick to the face an Shida is in trouble for a change.

Lockjaw is blocked again so Baker grabs a suplex for two. Shida is right back with a bunch of strikes, including three straight running knees in the corner. A suplex of her own gives Shida two and an enziguri rocks Baker again. Baker is right back with a fisherman’s neckbreaker for two but Shida grabs a Stretch Muffler to send her to the ropes. Back up and Baker hits a Sling Blade into an Air Raid Crash for two.

Lockjaw is loaded up again but Baker kicks herself off the rope, allowing Shida to escape. A German suplex drops Baker and Shida takes her up top for a fireman’s carry but Baker slips off in a weird looking landing. Instead, Shida hits a superplex for two and the Stretch Muffler goes on again.

Rebel jumps up to the apron for a distraction but accidentally hits Baker to give Shida two. The Falcon Arrow gives Shida two so Rebel gets on the apron again, this time allowing Baker to hit a superkick. A Stomp onto the belt gets a very close two but Shida is back with the jumping knee. The running knee gets two but Baker crucifixes her into Lockjaw for the tap and the title at 16:22.

Rating: B. They did something impressive here by making me believe that Shida might sneak away with the title despite there being no reason to think that would be the case. Baker’s win is long, long overdue and it is great to see her finally get the championship. The fans LOVED her here and it makes all the sense in the world to do the title change. There is a good chance she is going to be turned by crowd reaction alone, though I don’t know how beneficial that would be. Still though, heck of a back and forth match with the only possible ending.

Tony Schiavone leaves commentary to hug Baker in a great moment.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. Ethan Page/Scorpio Sky

Sting and Allin get a special entrance video featuring them driving through the desert. Sting: “It’s showtime.” It’s a brawl to start before the match with Sky and Sting fighting up to the stage. Sky plants Sting down but Sting pops back up to send Sky down to ringside. That means Sting can hit the big dive onto both villains (because of course he can do that) and they head inside for the bell.

Allin starts in on Sky’s arm but Page breaks up a springboard to put Allin in trouble for the first time. Sky hits a backbreaker so Allin cranks on the wrist, only to get knocked right back down. Allin manages to flip out of a belly to back suplex and makes the hot tag to Sting…but the referee doesn’t see it. With Allin still banged up, Page LAUNCHES him from the ring over the barricade and onto Allin’s family in the big crash. Somehow Allin dives in to beat the count at nine and a choke has Page in trouble. Page drives him into the corner for the break so Allin is right back with the flipping Stunner.

NOW the hot tag brings Sting back in and it’s back to back Stinger Splashes. Something like a Code Red out of the corner gets two on Page so it’s back to Allin, who gets crotched on top. Page slams Allin down onto Sting but Sting sweeps the legs and puts on the Scorpion. That doesn’t count because Sting isn’t legal so Allin adds the Fujiwara armbar. Sky grabs a heel hook on Allin, so he and Page slap it out while both are in holds.

With that broken up, the double tag brings in Sting and Sky, with JR pointing out the similar motifs. Sting gets fired up but misses the Stinger Splash (with Sky having already made it to the apron before he even jumped). Not that it matters as Sting counters the slingshot cutter into the Death Drop finishes Sky at 14:05.

Rating: C. I love Sting but this is the second match in a row where he has beaten a team with some potential. I’m not sure when Sting is going to take a loss, but having Sky and Page lose here didn’t feel right. The match wasn’t exactly great either, though Sting did look a heck of a lot better than he did in any of his WWE matches. It’s still amazing to see how much they botched Sting, but he had a much better outing here.

We recap the World Title match with Kenny Omega defending the World Title against Pac and Orange Cassidy. After Excalibur explains the winning multiple World Titles in wrestling is like winning Olympic medals in multiple sports, we look at Pac and Cassidy going to a draw to become co-#1 contenders. Omega has tried to get Cassidy out of the match but the triple threat is on.

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Pac vs. Orange Cassidy

Omega is defending and Don Callis is on commentary again. Pac starts fast and Cassidy is knocked outside. A kick to the head staggers Omega but they collide for a double knockdown. Cassidy comes back in for a pair of lazy near falls and a double hurricanrana sends Pac outside. There’s the suicide dive to knock Pac into the barricade, setting up the springboard DDT for two on Omega.

The Orange Punch is broken up but Pac is back up to take Omega down. Pac shotgun dropkicks Cassidy into the corner and there’s another one to Omega. With Pac flipping back up, Omega catches him with the Regal Roll and knocks Cassidy off the corner as well. Omega sends Pac outside and hits a backbreaker for two on Cassidy. Pac starts fighting back but gets pulled to the floor, leaving Omega to baseball slide both of them.

A running flip dive puts Pac and Cassidy down again but Cassidy is back with the Stundog Millionaire. Cassidy and Omega go to a pinfall reversal sequence until Pac comes in with a 450 to break things up. Back to back snapdragons put the challengers down and it’s time for the V Triggers. Pac blocks another snapdragon so Omega hits a hard clothesline to cut him off again. Cassidy has to fight his way out of a super snapdragon and puts his hands in his pockets to save himself.

Pac is up for a German superplex to Omega but falls out to the floor. Omega hits a Tiger Driver 98 for two on Cassidy, followed by a German suplex for two on Pac. Some knees to the face rock Cassidy, who puts his hands in his pockets….and then falls down. Back up and Cassidy hits a Michinoku Driver on Omega but walks into a brainbuster to give Pac two. Omega catches Pac on top but gets countered into a sunset bomb. Pac’s superplex drops Omega again with Cassidy running in for the near fall.

Cassidy starts the slow motion kicks on Pac, who kicks him low. There’s the big dive onto Omega and the Black Arrow connects on Pac, with Omega having to dive in for a save (Callis going silent save for sighs of relief is a great addition). Another Black Arrow misses Omega but the One Winged Angle is countered into the Brutalizer. The Orange Punch hits Pac for the save and the Beach Break gets two on Omega.

Cassidy hits an Orange Punch each (Callis: “S***!”) and there’s a second to Pac, but Callis pulls the referee at two. Pac gets the Brutalizer on Cassidy but Omega knocks the referee down, setting up a pair of belt shots (with a different belt each). There’s a third belt shot but Omega wants the AEW World Title to knock Pac out again. Cassidy runs back in with the Orange Punch to Omega for two with a different referee counting…but Omega reverses into a crucifix to pin Cassidy and retain at 27:10.

Rating: B. They managed to make me believe in a title change that wasn’t going to happen here (that Black Arrow had me thinking something might happen). That is rather impressive given how one sided this should have been, though the match did go longer than it needed to go. They probably could have cut 5-10 minutes out and had a tighter match, but this was much more entertaining than I was expecting.

Full Gear is November 6 in St. Louis.

Tony Schiavone brings out the newest AEW analyst for Rampage: Mark Henry! That’s quite the surprise, though we won’t be hearing from him until Friday.

Inner Circle vs. Pinnacle

Stadium Stampede (no fans), Inner Circle has to split up if they lose and Pinnacle (or at leas MJF) arriving via stretch limousine. MJF rants about Inner Circle not being here due to fear…..and they repel down the video screen (you can almost see MJF gulp). The chase is on with MJF hiding in the limo as the rest of the Pinnacle arrives in FTR’s truck to start the fight. Sammy Guevara and Shawn Spears fight into the ring, with Sammy hitting a springboard cutter. After kicking Wardlow down, Sammy misses a shooting star press.

MJF finally gets out of the limo but Chris Jericho is waiting on him. The slugout it on but MJF sprays him with a well hidden fire extinguisher before running off the field. Jericho follows him to keep up the beating, including putting a trashcan on MJF’s head. MJF throws coffee into his eyes and hits him with a phone but Jericho screams at him with a bullhorn. Said bullhorn is tossed at MJF and hits him in the back of the head, which thankfully doesn’t do a lot of damage.

They fight into an office….where Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer and assistant coach Charlie Strong are working on plays. Jericho throws some footballs at MJF and then throws him out, with Meyer saying “holy s***”. MJF FINALLY gets smart by going after the really big brace on Jericho’s arm, including flipping a white board into it.

We actually cut to someone else, as Wardlow powers Jake Hager around but can’t lock him in a freezer. They fight into it instead (with a cut up pig hanging from the ceiling) and Wardlow grabs an icicle. That doesn’t last long and they head back into what looks like a storage area, with Hager being sent into a rolling steel cabinet. Hager flips him off so Wardlow spears him through a wall and into a kitchen.

We cut to Sammy Guevara searching for Shawn Spears and finding him sitting in a chair (with hundreds of chairs in storage around him). The chair duel is on before heading back into a hallway. Sammy runs up a wall and backflips to his feet, setting up a kick to Spears’ head. Spears launches Guevara into a steel door though and grabs a chair. That takes way too long though and Sammy hits a running knee.

Spears sends him into a scissor lift and grabs a cable, only to get choked by Sammy’s cable. Sammy climbs up onto some scaffolding but has to drop back down, allowing Spears to hit him in the face with a ladder. With Sammy down, Spears handcuffs him to the structure and says Sammy is done.

Sammy sees some bolt cutters but we cut to a bar where Santana/Ortiz find FTR/Tully Blanchard. Some drinks are shared but DJ Konnan plays some music to start the fighting. Konnan hands Santana something to hit FTR with and we actually get a near fall on Dax Harwood. Cash Wheeler throws beer bottles at Ortiz but Santana comes back up and they fight into an elevator.

With the door closed, we cut back to Wardlow almost dropping a wooden pallet onto Hager. They fight on top of a golf cart and Hager chokeslams him through something made of wood. It’s back to MJF vs. Jericho, with MJF accidentally punching a cutout of Shad Khan (Tony’s dad). Jericho says he is in so much trouble and then hits him with the cutout. After rubbing off cardboard Khan’s head it’s time to go into a conference room, where Jericho staples a Jaguars paper to MJF’s head.

Then he rips it off and throws MJF over the conference table, where MJF hits him in the face. A piledriver onto the table gets two and MJF grabs a hammer. Jericho hits him with a trashcan though….and finds a well placed Floyd the Baseball Bat. After some choking, Jericho sends him face first through a glass window. MJF is busted open (Tony: “Good!”) and we cut to Spears looking for Tully Blanchard. Instead he finds the Inner Circle motorcycle club, who chase him down a hall.

Back to Jericho dragging MJF into Daily’s Place, with MJF getting crotched on a handrail. Jericho powerbombs him through a table (Tony: “DO IT AGAIN!”) and we cut to Spears running outside….where Sammy chases him down with a golf cart. The cart drives Spears into the arena and they head into the ring. Spears chairs him out of the air to break up a springboard and a hard chair shot gets two. The chair is wedged into the corner but Guevara comes back with the GTH. Sammy kicks Spears head first into a chair and it’s the 630 to give Sammy the pin at 32:26.

Rating: B+. They completely got me with the result as I would not have bet on Inner Circle winning whatsoever. Sammy getting the win was absolutely the right call as you can do Jericho vs. MJF in a singles match at some point in the future. Guevara is one of the true bright stars waiting to break out and it makes all the sense in the world to give him the big moment.

That being said, I liked last year’s version a good bit more, as this felt like a series of segments rather than one match going on. It was like a bunch of stuff loosely tied together under the same title, with some people just disappearing for 10+ minutes at a time (Santana/Ortiz/FTR were only involved for about five minutes total). They really needed to organize this better and it would have been a much more entertaining deal.

The biggest thing I can give this though is that it is creative. One of the places where AEW really shines is thinking outside of the box and that is what they did here. Stuff like the cameos were great for surprise moments and it felt like they used the atmosphere to their advantage. It isn’t as good as the original, but this felt big and the ending actually shocked me so they did a lot right.

The Inner Circle celebrates for a long time to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This felt like an AEW pay per view as there is nothing close to bad on the whole show and some stuff on here is very good. The atmosphere helped it a lot, though you could feel some of the energy going away as the night went on (fair enough). It’s another great show and while they could have trimmed a bit here or there, it is probably the show of the year so far. AEW continues to be nearly perfect at these things and it more than lived up to my expectations.

Results

Hangman Page b. Brian Cage – Buckshot Lariat

Young Bucks b. Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston – BTE Trigger to Moxley

Jungle Boy won the Casino Battle Royal last eliminating Christian Cage

Cody Rhodes b. Anthony Ogogo – Vertebreaker

Miro b. Lance Archer – Game Over

Britt Baker b. Hikaru Shida – Lockjaw

Sting/Darby Allin b. Ethan Page/Scorpio Sky – Death Drop to Sky

Kenny Omega b. Orange Cassidy and Pac – Crucifix to Cassidy

Inner Circle b. Pinnacle – 630 to Spears

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I always get a bit excited for an AEW pay per view because they have earned the reputation of putting on good shows. Aside from their misfire with the exploding ring fiasco at Full Gear, AEW has not had a truly bad pay per view or even that many bad pay per view moments in their history. They are getting another chance to keep that record strong and hopefully they can pull it off. Let’s get to it.

Buy-In: NWA Women’s Title: Serena Deeb(c) vs. Riho

There is a bit of history here as Riho beat Deeb in the #1 contenders tournament a few months back. The title has been kind of a weird addition to AEW as it only pops in every so often and there are rarely any interesting stories involved. Riho has not been around so often lately, but she is always presented as one of the bigger stars in the company. Deeb is awesome at what she does though and now gets the chance to showcase herself.

I’ll take Deeb to retain here as it is almost hard to fathom the NWA title changing hands on an AEW show. This feels like a match being added for the sake of adding something in and that is a fine enough excuse for a pre-show. The action will be good and that is about all you can ask for from a match like this. Deeb retains, though I’m not entirely sure where that leaves Riho.

Hangman Page vs. Brian Cage

This one has my interest up a bit and that is because of Page. For months now, the theory has been that Page is the one to take the AEW World Title off of Kenny Omega, but there has been nothing to suggest that is actually going to happen. Page has been toiling with the Dark Order for a good while now and doing little more than comedy stuff. This week’s Dynamite saw him get a lot more serious and that is a good sign for his future.

I think it’s a good sign for him in this match too as he’ll beat Cage. As much of a monster as Cage is, there is no reason for him to win here. Page is possibly being primed to go after the World Title so a win over someone of Cage’s stature should help. Throw in that Cage is having issues with the rest of Team Taz and it is hard to imagine him having much of a chance here.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks(c) vs. Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston

I usually save the bigger matches for later but let’s have some fun. This is the match that interests me the most on the card as I really could see it going either way. The main catch here is that, assuming another title match goes a certain way, we very well could be looking at all heel champions in AEW. Someone would have to break through that wall and balance things out a bit and that might be Moxley and Kingston.

That being said, I don’t think the titles change hands here. It seems more likely that the Bucks and Omega get to hold their three titles at once because that is what AEW finds interesting. I very well may be wrong on this and the title change would not shock me in the least, but I think the Bucks hold on here, likely through some sort of overthought shenanigans.

Cody Rhodes vs. Anthony Ogogo

Then we have this one and it might be the most discussed match on the entire show. Rhodes is becoming the American Dream for one night only and is fighting one of those evil foreign….uh….British guys. The patriotism aspect has felt rather forced in this story as it seems to come out of the 1980s rather than a modern wrestling company. Ogogo doesn’t have much experience either, but here he is anyway.

I’ll go on a limb here and pick Ogogo, which is where this story should head if they want to make a bigger star for a change. Ogogo has only wrestled a handful of matches and it would be a huge deal to beat Rhodes. I’m not completely sold on the idea that Ogogo wins as Rhodes has a tendency to get some questionable victories, but I’ll take Ogogo here and hold AEW rolls the dice.

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Pac vs. Orange Cassidy

Omega has been mentioned enough so far that we might as well just knock his match out. This match does not grab my interest very well and I can’t believe that I’m alone in that. It came out of nowhere as suddenly these two were top contenders and the match was set as a result. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to buy Omega as being in danger here but that is what AEW is asking.

Of course I’ll take Omega to retain here as I can’t imagine either Pac or Cassidy getting the title. This match feels like a token title defense for Omega as I can’t fathom him losing the title anytime soon. Cassidy feels way over his head here and while Pac is great, I don’t think he’s going to get the title. Omega retains here in a match that has as much drama as a screwball comedy.

AEW Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida(c) vs. Britt Baker

This would be the one title match standing in the way of likely total heel dominance and I’m not sure how much you would bet on the good guys. Of all of the matches on the card, this one might have the least drama to the whole thing and I’m not sure if there is even a point in suggesting otherwise. I think you know where this is going and that is what is best for all of us.

In a moment that is a very long time coming, Baker finally breaks through the glass ceiling and wins the title here. Shida has held the thing for over a year now and is pretty far past the point of being ready to lose. Baker is one of the best things going in AEW and has been for a long time now. It is time that she claims her destiny and holds the title for a long time, so go with the only logical option here.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. Ethan Page/Scorpio Sky

AEW has made a big deal out of this being Sting’s first regular match in five years and that is not exactly drawing me in. Sting and Allin make a fine mentor/student pairing, but I really don’t have any interest in seeing Sting wrestle again. It doesn’t help that the villains have been pretty tacked on, to the point where they feel like bad guys of the month for Sting to beat without breaking a sweat.

That being said, I’ll go with Sky and Page to win here as there is no need for Sting and Allin to beat them. If AEW wants Sky and Page to mean anything, it would be fairly ridiculous to have them beat someone who isn’t going to his status no matter what. Allin should not be taking the fall, but his team should be taking the loss so the two new villains can have something to brag about for a bit.

Casino Battle Royal

Man alive this company loves these gambling themes. I never know what to do with a match like this because there are so many options out there. You could probably bet on one of the favorites but with at least one spot being open, it really could go in multiple directions. The announced lineup looks pretty deep, but that TBA spot has my interest up a little higher.

Based on who is currently announced for the match, I’ll take Christian Cage to win. The rest of the field is mainly a bunch of midcarders, with Cage as the only one I could see (outside of maybe Dustin Rhodes) having a real chance. That being said, I do think there is a possibility of Andrade winning here and there is little reason to have someone of his stature debut if he wasn’t winning the match. So Cage if no Andrade, but Andrade if Andrade.

TNT Title: Miro(c) vs. Lance Archer

Sidenote: just make it the TV Title already. Dynamite is moving over to TBS later this year so just go with the logical move. With that out of the way, this should be a heck of a hoss fight and that is all they have advertised it as being. Miro has come a very long way in a short amount of time as getting rid of Kip Sabian and all of the gaming stuff has worked wonders for him, which should not surprise anyone.

Based on that alone, Miro retains here, as Archer seems to be heading for a split with Jake Roberts. At this point that is the right idea too, as Archer can cover anything Roberts can do for him. Miro is looking like he could be the breakout star around here and that is why he was brought in in the first place. Go with what makes sense here and have Miro retain after a heck of a battle.

Stadium Stampede

This almost has to end the show due to the magnitude and the stakes, as the Inner Circle has to split up if the Pinnacle can beat them. The original version was complete insanity and very memorable, which is what I’m expecting this time around too. The Inner Circle is coming in banged up after Dynamite so the writing is starting to look like it is on the wall here.

I’m going with what should make sense and say Pinnacle wins, though I can’t shake the idea of a fast one being pulled. The Inner Circle has had a great run, but there isn’t much left for them to do. Spitting them up does not mean we can’t see MJF vs. Chris Jericho, so maybe that is where we go for All Out. Either way, the match should be good and insane, which is all you could want from this.

Overall Thoughts

This is a heck of a stacked card and has me more interesting in a show than I have been in a long time. The top of the card is loaded and the rest is not bad at all, meaning we could be in for a pretty awesome night. AEW knows how to set things up but more importantly they know how to deliver on them, which is what I’m counting on here. The show looks great and that excited feeling is always nice to have.

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: May 28, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We have a special Friday show this week due to the NBA Playoffs, which is some bad timing as this is also the go home show for Double Or Nothing. That means it is time for the final push towards the show, with the celebration of the Inner Circle, plus the weigh-in for Anthony Ogogo vs. Cody Rhodes. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The arena is structured differently, with the ramp at the upper right hand corner of the ring instead of opposite the hard camera.

Darby Allin vs. Cezar Bononi

Allin has Sting with him and has badly banged up ribs. Bononi starts fast by sending Allin into the corner and working on the ribs, because he’s smart enough to figure out what a lot of tape means. Some hiptosses into the corner have Allin in more trouble but he comes back with a sleeper to slow Bononi down. Allin takes him into the corner for the flipping Stunner and the Coffin Drop finishes Bononi at 4:20.

Rating: C. Bononi wrestled a smart match here and that’s the way this should have gone. Allin fighting through an injury and beating a big man fits him perfectly and that is what they should have done in this one. They know exactly how to book Allin and it worked again here, so well done on a quick opener.

Post match Allin and Sting want Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky but the two of them come out to say not without the big payday. Page and Sky leave but Bononi and his goons jump Sting and Allin from behind. Page and Sky come in and load up a chair on Sting’s leg, meaning it’s the Dark Order running in for the save. I’m not sure how, but they had about 15 people involved in the first ten minutes of the show.

Here is Paul Wight to host the weigh-in for Anthony Ogogo and Cody Rhodes. Wight brings out Ogogo, with the Factory coming out with him. After QT Marshall gets in some insults about the Jacksonville Jaguars, Wight threatens violence for being looked at the wrong way. Now it’s Cody Rhodes, with about 25 people (because they all need to be there), coming out as well and he weighs in at 218lbs (which took Wight forever to figure out).

As a bunch of fireworks (not from AEW) go off outside the building, Ogogo gets on the scale and weighs 219lbs. Marshall says that means Ogogo will win but the fans aren’t convinced. Everyone leaves and Cody thanks Wight for hosting. Shirts are thrown to the crowd. This was long and having that many people involved just made it look silly.

Video on Stadium Stampede from last year. It may not have been for everyone, but it was about as unique as you can get.

Powerhouse Hobbs and Christian have a fight in the back until referees break it up.

Hangman Page vs. Joey Janela

Janela has Sonny Kiss with him and Page couldn’t find the tunnel. Page chops away to start and snaps off a suplex for two. They head outside with Page hitting a fall away slam for two but Janela sends him into the corner as we take a break. Back with Page hitting a springboard clothesline to put Janela down on the floor.

They head back in where the Buckshot lariat is broken up, so Page goes with a spinebuster for two. Janela sends him hard into the corner though and the top rope elbow gets two more. A forearm rocks Janela though and a pop up powerbomb puts him down again. Page, with his head busted open, hits the Buckshot Lariat for the pin at 9:52.

Rating: C-. Janela continues to drag people down to his level as he just isn’t very good. I know he’s a big deal on the independent scene but that is a far cry from live on national television. The good thing is that Page showed a bit more fire here, which hasn’t been present in recent months. If he is supposed to be the big threat to Omega, he needs to do more of this than of everything else.

Post match Taz calls out Page, so here is Brian Cage to jump him. Before that can happen, Page says he’s expecting the team to go after him but no one moves. Page calls out Cage for not doing anything, so he wants Cage to face him one on one at Double Or Nothing, assuming something hasn’t shrunk too badly. That’s too far for Cage, who says they’re on for Sunday.

Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston are burying the Young Bucks’ shoes….and we go to a commercial mid-sentence.

Post break, we get the full segment, with Moxley talking about how he would go to war with Kingston. He loves championships and the AEW Tag Team Titles are the most important in the business. They’re ready for war on Sunday, with Kingston suggesting that Moxley could become an Executive Vice President. Moxley: “Nah.”

Tony Schiavone calls out Orange Cassidy for a chat but gets Pac instead. Pac promises to win the title on Sunday because all of Kenny Omega’s dodging is pathetic. Don Callis pops up on screen to mock Pac so here’s Omega for the cheap shot. Pac is ready for him and takes him out but the Good Brothers run in for the save.

The Lucha Bros make the save, leaving Omega and Pac alone. Omega loads up the One Winged Angel but here are Cassidy and the Good Brothers. Cassidy hands Omega an envelope, which contains the shredded contract that Omega offered him to get out of the match. The Orange Punch lays Omega out so Pac goes after Cassidy, only to get taken out as well.

Jade Cargill is interrupted by Matt Hardy, who offers his managerial services again. Mark Sterling comes in and apparently has signed her up, sending Matt into a fit.

Jade Cargill vs. Kilynn King

Mark Sterling is here with King. They go to a test of strength to start and it’s off to a rather early break. Back with King being sent hard over the top to the floor, where Sterling offers his card. Back in and Jaded finishes King at 5:28. Not enough shown to rate, but they really needed a break in a five minute match?

Lance Archer cuts off Jake Roberts to say he’s ready for Miro.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Dante Martin

Miro is defending and doesn’t look too worried. Martin is sent into the corner and gets kicked in the back, with the fans wanting to see it one more time. Miro stops to listen and then blows the fans off, with Martin snapping off a jawbreaker. A springboard dropkick gives Martin two but Miro knocks him to the apron. The jumping superkick and Game Over retain the title at 3:05.

Rating: C-. Now this is more of the Miro that we should have been seeing for a long time. There is no worthless pairing with Kip Sabian and no “this is who I really am” jazz. It’s Miro beating people up like the monster he can be and it is miles better. This was a nearly complete squash and that is how you heat Miro up before a monster fight on pay per view.

Post match here is Jake Roberts to mock Bulgarian before sending Lance Archer out for the fight. Archer boots Miro to the floor as referees break things up.

Here is Hikaru Shida for a celebration of her Women’s Title reign. Tony Schiavone presents her with a new (and bigger) belt, which he takes a long time to put on. Cue Britt Baker to talk about how she’s taking the title on Sunday. She came after an era dominated by 3:16, but this era is going to be dominated by the DMD.

Scorpio Sky/Ethan Page vs. Dark Order

Evil Uno starts in on Sky’s arm so it’s off to Page, who gets taken down in a hurry. Grayson sends him to the apron for a slingshot Swanton but Sky gets in a shot of his own as we take a break. Back with Sky’s TKO being countered into a release Rock Bottom, setting up the hot tag off to Uno. Everything breaks down and the stereo Cannonball/450 gets rid of Sky and gets two on Page. Back up and Grayson gets caught in a heel hook, with Page adding the Ego’s Edge to Uno for the pin at 8:35.

Rating: C. Another short match thanks to the break but this is what Sky and Page have been needing. They haven’t done much on Dynamite in actual matches and need a boost before going into a big match against Sting and Allin. Beating the Dark Order might not have been the big game changer, but it’s a lot better than what they had been doing.

Post match Sky and Page call out Sting and Allin, so here is Allin with….about six Stings. The brawl is on with the real Sting cleaning house.

Here is Eric Bischoff to emcee the celebration of the Inner Circle. Bischoff mentions that Scott Hall debuted on Nitro twenty five years ago yesterday on this network. That was the start of one of the greatest factions of all time and this might be another one of them. The Inner Circle comes out and, after a long time of the fans singing Jericho’s song, Jericho thanks Bischoff for everything he has done over the years.

We see a long package on the history of the Inner Circle and Ortiz says they have done some cool s***. They’re glad to be back and if this Sunday is their last dance, he wouldn’t want it to be with anyone else. Jake Hager says that was beautiful and he has always believed that it is about the journey instead of the destination. Show him the hard times when his brothers were there with him. Sammy Guevara talks about being in the greatest faction of all time and how it has all been worth it.

Finally, Chris Jericho says if they go down, it is going to be in a blaze of glory and he loves all of them. The big hug is on but the Pinnacle pops up on screen. They are in the stadium and have Dean Malenko down next to the goal post. The Inner Circle runs in for the save but get beaten down, including a quintuple piledriver, with Santana and Ortiz being drive off a balcony and through a pair of tables. The Pinnacle poses to end the show. I’ll be stunned if the Inner Circle wins, but it has been a heck of a ride and that was a very nice video on the team.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a good example of s show that wasn’t about the wrestling. Tonight was ALL about setting up the pay per view and what we got worked very well. They made me want to see Double Or Nothing a lot more than I did coming into the show and that is why you have a night like this one. There were some issues (the weigh-in segment was pretty ridiculous) and there was no must see match, but that wasn’t the point tonight. It was a strong go home show and that’s what it needed to be.

Results
Darby Allin b. Cesar Bononi – Coffin Drop
Hangman Page b. Joey Janela – Buckshot lariat
Jade Cargill b. Kilynn King – Jaded
Miro b. Dante Martin – Game Over
Scorpio Sky/Ethan Page b. Dark Order – Ego’s Edge to Uno

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: May 19, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We have two shows left before Double Or Nothing and that means it is time to start hammering home the card. This time around we have a Tag Team Title match with the Varsity Blonds challenging the Young Bucks. Other than that, we are likely getting some more matches set for the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Christian Cage vs. Matt Sydal

Taz is on commentary and it’s a feeling out process to start, with Sydal’s grab of a leg being reversed into a headlock. Sydal slips out for a standoff but gets sent outside for a crash. Back in and a backbreaker sets up a top rope elbow to the face for two on Sydal. There’s a headbutt to the back and a stomp to make it worse, as Christian is wrestling a bit more villainish here.

Another backbreaker is countered with a headscissors though and Sydal’s jumping spinning kick to the face gives him a breather. The Meteora gives Sydal two and there’s a clothesline for the same. Christian misses a charge and gets taken down with a spinwheel kick to the face, followed by a running knee in the corner. Christian’s spear is countered into a sunset flip for two and he misses a high crossbody as well. Now the spear can connect for two but Sydal pulls the knee out. A backsplash hits knees though and the Killswitch finishes Sydal at 9:15.

Rating: C+. I’m not a big Sydal fan but he was making it work here with Christian looking better than he has so far in AEW. I’m curious to see him being more aggressive, as it certainly seemed to suit him better. Christian still isn’t the star he was before, but he can still do things like this well enough.

Post match Taz yells at Christian but here is Ricky Starks to interrupt. Starks is his own man and he is right here. He isn’t going to be on the sidelines like these flunkies, so he and Christian have some business to handle. Cue Team Taz to jump Christian and Sydal for the beatdown. Hangman Page comes in to go after Cage, but Hook gets in a chop block. Cage powerbombs Page down hard.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

The Varsity Blonds talk about Brian Pillman, who was not Brian Pillman Jr.’s inspiration to get into the business. All he knew was the dark side of the ring, but then he was inspired by the Young Bucks. Griff Garrison talks about running the Young Bucks’ merchandise table at an independent show, but the Bucks of today are not the Bucks of those days.

Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston aren’t sure about what they’re facing with the Acclaimed (Kingston: “One’s a rapper, the other is the rapper’s friend.”). They also don’t get why they’re going to a superkick party when neither of them throw superkicks. Oh well. They’ll just beat up the Acclaimed.

The Acclaimed promises to stomp Moxley and Kingston’s a**** and that is a mic drop.

Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston vs. Acclaimed

Moxley and Kingston come out to the Major League version of Wild Thing, because AEW thinks Cleveland and Cincinnati are close enough. Caster says that Kingston looks like a pack of Newports and Moxley’s wife is trying to get him for an oral session (Caster: “What? She just wants me to be on the podcast!”). Moxley knocks Caster silly with a right hand and we start with a double shoulder to put Caster down again.

Kingston plants with an STO but gets caught with a super dragon screw legwhip as we take a break. Back with Kingston getting over for the hot tag to Moxley to clean house, but he gets caught in a suplex/high crossbody combination. Kingston makes the save and sends Bowens into the barricade but Moxley gets sent outside as well. Caster throws Bowens the chain for a distraction so he can bring in the boom box. Moxley breaks that up though and hits Caster with the boom box instead, setting up a wheelbarrow into a Paradigm Shift for the pin at 10:25.

Rating: C. This was a way to get Moxley and Kingston a win over a name team before they get their title shot. There is nothing wrong with building a team up, even if the Acclaimed is better known for their talking. Moxley and Kingston are turning into a pretty good team in the ring and their showdown with the Bucks very well could steal Double Or Nothing.

Chris Jericho and Dean Malenko reminisce about the number of holds they know.

Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page are in the ring to talk about Sting. Sky always wanted to be like Sting, but then he grew up and is now a grown man. Sting isn’t the man he used to be and now Sky is his own man. Page talks about Darby Allin loses and promises to be the nail in his coffin. Cue Sting and Allin to clean house, including Allin with some skateboard shots. The Scorpion Deathlock goes on but Page gets away, only to have the Dark Order cut off….well some of their exits at least.

The Pinnacle is at a nice dinner with MJF talking about how unfunny Chris Jericho is. Dax Wilder goes on a rant about how they have to deal with Jericho even after thirty years. Last year’s Stadium Stampede was a dog and pony show but this year it’s going to be serious. Shawn Spears attacks a waiter for making a mistake and smashes a bottle, so Tully Blanchard throws him some money. MJF says if the Inner Circle agrees to Stadium Stampede, it will be their last match, because when you’re in the Pinnacle, you’re always on top.

Hikaru Shida vs. Rebel

Non-title and Britt Baker is here as well. Rebel fakes an early injury but then snaps off some jumping jacks. Shida doesn’t take kindly to her dancing and puts on her own glove before trying the Lockjaw. Baker grabs the Women’s Title, allowing Rebel to hit Shida in the back with a crutch. A toss suplex gets two on Shida but she is right back with a knee breaker. The Stretch Muffler makes Rebel tap at 2:01.

Post match Baker comes in and drops Shida onto the belt.

Last week, Kenny Omega and Don Callis came in to see Orange Cassidy in the trainer’s room after he got dropped on his head. They need Cassidy to be the AEW mascot instead of challenging him for the title, so they have a contract for him to sign, saying that he can have his match later when he is a little healthier. Cassidy doesn’t even look at it and rips it up (rather slowly). Omega talks about how bad it could be if Cassidy takes the One Winged Angel and they offer him another copy of the same deal, which he can think about.

Here is the Inner Circle to respond to the Pinnacle. work with just about anyone.

Pac is glad to have his title shot because there is nothing Don Callis or Kenny Omega can do about it. Who is betting against him now?

Anthony Ogogo vs. Austin Gunn

A bunch of people, including an American flag clad Cody Rhodes, is here. Gunn dropkicks him down at the bell and Ogogo is starting to protect his bad eye. A gut shot puts Austin down and he is in big trouble. Back up and Ogogo does it again, meaning Gunn has to stop the referee from calling for the bell. Gunn is bleeding from the mouth and a pop up right hand knocks him silly for the knockout at 2:15. More baby steps for Ogogo and that’s a wise way to go.

Post match Ogogo grabs Cody’s American flag and throws it away, which is too far for Cody.

Christopher Daniels won’t say anything about SCU splitting up last week. Daniels whispers something to Kazarian and walks away. Kazarian says he can’t explain what Daniels means to him, but Kazarian knows what is next. Last week, he lost something very important to him and he blames the Elite for what happened. He is hunting them down and he is a bomb you cannot defuse and a gun you cannot unload. Kazarian as a singles star is an intriguing way to go.

Here is Miro for a chat. He thanks Jesus Christ for giving him the talent to hurt people, like he did to Darby Allin last week. Miro took what Allin said could not be taken and now everyone knows that it doesn’t matter who you are. If you have what he wants, it’s done. The fans want Allin, so Miro holds up the title and says here he is. Next week, he’ll be defending the title against someone and will destroy him on his way to Double Or Nothing.

Cue Lance Archer, who says he has been the beast of AEW since Miro was trying to get a day to himself. Last year he lost in the first ever TNT Title match, so nothing is stopping him from winning at Double Or Nothing. Miro is going to be his Bulgarian b****, which Miro says he has never heard before. As Archer has said, everyone dies, but Miro is going to make sure Archer dies first. Miro was showing the fire here like he has yet to do in AEW.

Here’s what’s coming next week, with Dante Martin getting the TNT Title shot. We are also getting a celebration of the Inner Circle’s greatest moments, plus Jade Cargill’s open challenge (Since EVERY SHOW NEEDS AN OPEN CHALLENGE THESE DAYS!).

At Double Or Nothing: Sting/Darby Allin vs. Ethan Page/Scorpio Sky.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Varsity Blonds

The Bucks are defending, Julia Hart is here with the Blonds and Don Callis is on commentary. Garrison and Nick run the ropes until a boot to the face drops Nick in a hurry. Matt comes in and gets one of his own, allowing Pillman to come in for some stereo dropkicks to the champs. We settle back down to Pillman armdragging Nick and working on the arm but Nick gets over for the hot tag to Matt.

That means Pillman gets sent outside for a crash onto the ramp, leaving Nick to walk the ropes and jump down onto him. A neck snap across the top rope has Pillman down again and we take a break. Back with Pillman hitting a crossbody and getting over for the hot tag to Garrison. House is cleaned in a hurry and Garrison hits a slingshot crossbody onto both champs. It’s back to Pillman, who gets suplexed down so Nick can dive onto Garrison.

Some kicks to the back keep Pillman in trouble but he sends Nick’s kick into Matt and hits a superkick of his own. Matt is right back with the Sharpshooter and Nick adds the cold spray to the eyes. Garrison makes the save but Nick hits a couple of superkicks. Matt gets another can of spray but Hart calls him out for it. That’s fine with Matt, who has a third can to spray her as well. The Sharpshooter goes on and Nick adds the slingshot X Factor to knock Pillman silly. Pillman taps at 11:55.

Rating: B-. I like the Blonds more each time I see them but there was never a bit of drama here. As usual, this was the Young Bucks Show as they are smarter than anyone they face, which goes along with being more athletic because we need to be reminded of how great they are every chance we have.

Post match here are Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston to choke out the Bucks and steal their expensive shoes. And the socks too!

We run down the Double Or Nothing card, with Tony making it clear that Sting/Allin vs. Page/Sky will NOT be a cinematic match. Also, Moxley/Kingston are now the #1 contenders and get their title shot.

Overall Rating: B. This was a promo heavy show and that’s what mattered most here. Since this is the last regularly scheduled Dynamite before the pay per view, they had to rush the build this week and get things ready for Double Or Nothing. That worked out rather well as I’m a good bit more interested in seeing the show than I was coming in. The wrestling here was good to quite good, but this was all about the talking and they were feeling it this week.

Results

Christian Cage b. Matt Sydal – Killswitch

Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston b. The Acclaimed – Wheelbarrow Paradigm Shift to Caster

Hikaru Shida b. Rebel – Stretch Muffler

Serena Deeb b. Red Velvet – Serenity Lock

Anthony Ogogo b. Austin Gunn via referee stoppage

Young Bucks b. Varsity Blonds – Sharpshooter to Pillman

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

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

Dynamite
Date: May 5, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We are less than three weeks away from Double Or Nothing and the card is pretty much non-existent so far. You can probably guess where things are going, but it would be nice to start setting things up. Now, forget about all of that because it’s BLOOD & GUTS, which is going to be one of the biggest matches in Dynamite history, as we get an old fashioned WarGames match with the Pinnacle vs. the Inner Circle. Let’s get to it.

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

We even have a parental advisory on this one. Oh yeah this is going to be big.

Michael Nakazawa/Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston

Hold on though as Don Callis says Kenny Omega isn’t here tonight so Nakazawa (in his work clothes with the headset, because apparently he is too stupid to know he has a match) can wrestle it alone. Commentary says they saw Omega here earlier today as Moxley and Kingston make their entrances….and get jumped from behind by Omega. Nakazawa hammers on Moxley to start and Omega comes in to send him into the corner.

That’s too much for Moxley, who comes in to knock Nakazawa down as well. An Omega distraction lets Nakazawa hit Kingston low ans the double teaming in the corner is on again. The Kitaro Crusher gives Omega two but Kingston comes back with the chops out of the corner. An enziguri puts Kingston back down but he comes back with a clothesline.

That’s enough for the hot tag to Moxley and house is cleaned in a hurry. A German suplex into a piledriver gets two on Nakazawa with Omega making the save. Moxley chokes Nakazawa as Kingston holds Omega off, but Omega walks out instead of coming in. A half nelson suplex/running clothesline combination finishes Nakazawa at 8:04.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure what you were expecting from this match as Kingston and Moxley are top level stars and they were in a glorified handicap match. I’m still not sure why Moxley and Kingston wanted this match instead of a title match of some kind but logic can be iffy in wrestling at best. It went as you probably would have expected though, and thankfully they didn’t go in some weird direction.

Post match here are the Young Bucks (looking like they raided a Hawaiian shirt store) for a distraction, allowing the Good Brothers to come in for the beatdown. Kenny Omega and Brandon Cutler come in as well, with Omega giving Kingston the One Winged Angel.

Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall

Arn Anderson and the Nightmare Factory are here too. Cody starts fast and hammers away, including the drop down uppercut. It’s time for the belt but the referee takes it away, allowing Marshall to pull out his own belt and get in a whipping. Cody fights back and heads up top, only to have Marshall run the corner for a superplex back down. A German suplex drops Cody again so Marshall sends him outside.

For some reason Marshall thinks it is a good idea to go after Anderson, who sends him into the post and crushes Marshall’s head against the steel. That’s good fro an ejection and we take a break. Back with Cody chopping away until stereo crossbodies put them both down. Marshall kicks him down but Cody pulls his trunks for a little blurring, followed by a DDT to plant Marshall again.

The Cody Cutter is countered into the Cross Rhodes to give Marshall two Marshall calls for a Diamond Cutter but Cody fights out, only to get buckle bombed. Cody reverses a Tombstone but Marshall reverses a Tombstone but Cody reverses a Tombstone into one of his own for two more. Cross Rhodes gets two more on Marshall so Cody, with his eye bleeding, puts on the Figure Four for the tap at 12:08 (which Cody promised he wouldn’t do to Marshall when this started).

Rating: B. And that should be it for Marshall, as he was built up for one match and then lost. That is probably for the best as there is very little that is going to make me care about Marshall as anything more than a low level midcarder who is a good hand in the ring. In other words, it’s a similar situation to Cody vs. Shawn Spears from a little over a year ago.

Post match, Anthony Ogogo comes in to drop Cody.

We look back at Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page jumping Sting and Darby Allin last week.

Sky says that Steve’s time is over and SHOWTIME is done. Page talks about his history with Allin, but admits no one has seen their matches. The face paint is there to cover a dent he left in Allin’s face and the metal in his elbow is from Page as well. Cue Allin to jump both of them, including climbing a ladder to hit a Coffin Drop on Page. Sky hits Allin with a trashcan though and they send Allin HARD down a flight of stairs for a scary looking crash. The medic comes in to check on Allin, who is holding his arm.

Britt Baker vs. Julia Hart

Baker starts fast with a Sling Blade and an Air Raid Crash. Lockjaw finishes Hart at 1:28. As effective as you would need it to be.

We get a new Technique With Taz, breaking down and criticizing Christian’s bad leg strength and footwork. Christian will be in trouble against Brian Cage.

Jurassic Express vs. Varsity Blonds vs. SCU vs. Acclaimed

The winners get a future Tag Team Title shot, even though SCU seemed to secure one last week. Caster’s rap says the Varsity Blonds are going to be on Dark Side of the Ring in ten years. Kazarian takes Jingle Boy down to start but he comes back up with a headlock. That goes as long as the average headlock is going to go so Boy grabs a backslide for two instead. Caster and Pillman tag themselves in as everything breaks down to send us to a break. Back with Caster getting two on Daniels and Bowens coming in for a belly to back suplex.

Daniels fights out of the corner though and grabs a running STO but Luchasaurus tags himself in to clean house. Pillman gets chokeslammed and Garrison is chokeslammed onto him but Kazarian comes in to chop away. Everything breaks down again and Boy plants Pillman but gets caught on top. Daniels dives off the apron for a Downward Spiral to take Luchasaurus down to the floor, leaving Kazarian to clothesline Boy down. Pillman rolls Kazarian up for two but Daniels is back in for the BME to finish Pillman for the pin and the title shot at 9:10.

Rating: C+. I’m never sure what to make of these things as you can only get so much out of eight people out there flying around and doing their thing. SCU winning was the obvious ending and the only right way to go, though I really can’t imagine them getting the titles back next week. Still though, fun match with the energy you would have expected.

Video on Jon Moxley vs. Yuji Nagata. Moxley is ready to fight him and respects no one. Uh, yay New Japan (I’m aware that Nagata is a legend).

Kenny Omega, with Nakazawa holding his belts, comes out to hype up Blood & Guts but he isn’t overly interested. He would rather find out who he is facing at Double Or Nothing, so Tony Schiavone announced a #1 contenders match between Orange Cassidy and Pac for next week.

Omega laughs off the idea of Cassidy being in the match but here is Cassidy to interrupt. That sends Omega into a less than serious speech about how Cassidy is a joke who ripped off Omega’s sunglasses look. Omega takes the sunglasses and gives them to Nakazawa, because they look better on him anyway. Cassidy can come see him when he grows up in about ten years. I’m curious about Pac vs. Omega. Cassidy vs. Omega headlining a pay per view though….egads.

Here’s Miro to say that he is facing Darby Allin for the TNT Title next week, no matter how injured Allin is. Miro is going to make him even more injured.

Pinnacle vs. Inner Circle

Blood & Guts, meaning WarGames with the same rules: each team sends in one man for five minutes. After the time is up, the team with the advantage (Pinnacle) sends in its second man for a two minute advantage). The teams alternate until everyone is in and then it’s first submission wins. Sammy Guevara starts for the Circle and walks into Dax Harwood’s spinebuster for….well a cover but no count as Harwood’s instincts took over for a bit there.

Sammy hits a springboard kick to the face and they head outside of the ring (with a bit of space between the ring and the cage) to send Harwood into the cage over and over. The beating continues (with Sammy’s arm cut) until Shawn Spears comes in with a chair to give the Pinnacle an advantage. A Sky High plants Sammy and the VERY bloody Harwood is up to chair Sammy in the head. The beating continues until Ortiz is in to even things up. House is cleaned and Sammy is back up on the top (as in the middle of the rope).

Harwood winds up on the other rope and Ortiz tosses a chair at his back, sending Harwood into the super Spanish Fly. Things slow down a bit until Cash Wheeler gives the Pinnacle the advantage again. An assisted brainbuster plants Ortiz and Sammy gets sent into the cage. Spears puts Sammy in a Sharpshooter and Ortiz gets Gory Bombed into the cage. That’s enough to have him fall down between the cage and the mat to send him to the floor.

Santana comes in to start cleaning house, including a swinging Rock Bottom on Wheeler. We take a break and come back with Wardlow in as well (and Ortiz back in the ring) to clean house. Jake Hager evens things up again and starts wrecking everyone, including making Spears tap to the ankle lock. We get the big Hager vs. Wardlow showdown with Hager being sent over the ropes and then into the cage.

They keep fighting by the steel and it’s MJF coming in to complete the Pinnacle. Hager gets taken out at the knee as Wheeler is bleeding from the face as well. Chris Jericho comes in to complete the entire field and now it’s the big staredown on opposite sides of the rings. They charge at each other and the fight is on with Jericho choking Spears in the corner.

We take another break and come back with the ring mat having been pulled up and a double spike piledriver planting FTR. Sammy goes Coast To Coast with a dropkick into a chair to knocks Spears even sillier. Jericho hits MJF with a turnbuckle ala WarGames 1992 and there’s a fork into MJF’s bloody head. Jericho decks MJF in the forehead but Wardlow is back up to clean some house.

Chair shots and a clothesline take him down so the Inner Circle can pose….as we take a third break. Back with MJF on the roof and Jericho putting on the Walls, only to get caught with a low blow. MJF grabs the Salt Of The Earth until Jericho escapes, only to put it back on again. With that broken up, MJF loads up the Dynamite Diamond to knock Jericho silly. MJF shouts that he is going to throw Jericho off the top unless the Inner Circle surrenders, so Sammy gives it up at 34:19.

Rating: B. It was violent, it was bloody, and above all else, it felt like a WarGames match rather than what we get in NXT (which I also like a lot, despite it not being WarGames). The problem here was the length, as this went on FAR longer than it needed to, making it feel like they were stalling for time. Something to remember: the two (arguably) best received WarGames (1991/1992) both clocked in at less than twenty four minutes. Both this and the NXT versions went on about ten or more minutes longer than they needed to. Go with quality, not quantity.

Now that being said, I had a great time with most of this and was excited coming in. They got the essence of the match a lot better than NXT does and it felt like you were watching a modern WarGames match. If that is what they were going for, then it was certainly a hit and probably the best version in nearly thirty years. For a free TV main event, this was an absolute success, though it did need some adjustments to get to the next level.

Post match, MJF shoves Jericho off the cage and through the steel (completely real steel of course) set. I actually laughed at how weak of a landing that was. They might as well have had a big sign with an arrow pointing to the crash pad. Everyone panics about Jericho as MJF stands on the cage and shouts THANK YOU to Jericho to end the show. If they can’t make those big spots look better, they really need to stop trying them.

Overall Rating: A-. This show was built around one match and that match delivered for about the last 40 minutes of the show. On top of that you had the four way tag and some stuff set up for both the coming weeks and Double Or Nothing. I had a very good time with this show and it felt like something special, which is the point of a show like this. Now it’s time to get ready for Double Or Nothing, but dang they did a nice job of making this feel like an event on its own.

Results

Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston b. Michael Nakazawa/Kenny Omega – Half and half suplex/running clothesline combination to Nakazawa

Cody Rhodes b. QT Marshall – Figure Four

Britt Baker b. Julia Hart – Lockjaw

SCU b. Acclaimed, Varsity Blonds and Jurassic Express – BME to Pillman

Pinnacle b. Inner Circle when Sammy Guevara submitted

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 21, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We are about five weeks away from Double Or Nothing and that means it is time to start setting up the show. The good thing is you can probably guess a good chunk of the card from here so it isn’t like they need to do a ton of work on the way there. We also have Blood & Guts coming up in two weeks and it needs one more push. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Commentary runs down the card.

Ricky Starks vs. Hangman Page

Starks has Hook with him and promises to take care of Page, who has poor interview etiquette. Taz joins in on commentary as they trade headlock takeovers to start. Page counters a leapfrog into a slam and stomps Starks down into the corner. A springboard clothesline puts Starks on the floor and there’s a slingshot dive to drop him again. Back in and Starks sends him throat first into the middle rope to take over. Some choking ensues but Starks has to stick the landing on a belly to back flip suplex.

Starks’ springboard is clotheslined out of the air to give Page two and a brainbuster gets the same. An Alabama Slam out of the corner is countered though and Starks’ sitout powerbomb gets two. The fall away slam sets up a running clothesline for two more on Starks but the Buckshot Lariat misses. Starks spears him down for his own near fall and escapes the Deadeye. Instead, Page pulls him down into a bulldog choke and pulls back on the leg to make Starks tap at 8:56.

Rating: B-. These are the guys that give you hope for the future in AEW as they are both young and talented, but above all else they feel like stars. Page seems like a main eventer ready to break out and Starks seems like someone with all of the potential in the world. Throw in the fact that they can have a good match and this was a very nice way to get things going.

Post match Taz tells Page to watch his back and Hook takes him down with a chop block. Page tries to fight them off but Brian Cage comes in to keep up the beatdown. The Dark Order runs in for the save.

Trent vs. Penta El Cero Miedo

Trent has the question mark behind his name again and commentary isn’t sure why it’s there. I’m guessing it is something that he put together on the indies and for some reason did not stop using it despite not being in the indies anymore. Trent starts fast by taking Penta down for a running Meteora and then knocks him outside for the big flip dive (thankfully not injuring his leg when it crashes into the barricade).

Back in and Penta hits a quick Sling Blade into the Canadian Destroyer and we take a break. Of note: during the break, an ad for Rich Swann vs. Kenny Omega at Impact’s Rebellion on Sunday aired. Aside from a throw away line here or there, that might be the first mention of the match on AEW TV.

We come back with Penta hitting a Backstabber for two and the Pentagon Driver is good for the same. They head to the apron and Trent drops Penta to the floor, but Penta’s translator says that Penta has a message for him: Trent sucks, but not as much as Trent’s mom! Trent grabs a chair to go after him but walks into a microphone shot into the package piledriver to give Penta the pin at 10:37.

Rating: C. I like Penta a lot but I’m not sure how much success a feud built around a YOUR MOM insult is going to have. Death Triangle vs. the Best Friends is a little weird in the first place but maybe they can make it work in the ring. I would hope that they drop the stuff about the mom though because that is just kind of lame.

Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down with the Pinnacle for a chat. MJF talks about having his scarf for years, but Tully Blanchard has sent him a gift: a new scarf! Wardlow brings up JR calling Chris Jericho’s recent statements the immortal promo. Jericho cut a great promo (not as great as MJF’s of course) but he stumbled a bit on Wardlow.

That’s because he knew he was doing something wrong, because you don’t mess with Wardlow. MJF accuses Jericho of standing around a bunch of B’s so you look like an A and wrestling a bunch of B’s so you don’t look like an A. Jericho has tried to latch on to a bunch of popular stars like Jon Moxley and Orange Cassidy, which worked well until he got to MJF. Jericho likes to say that MJF is great for 25 but that is BULL S***!

MJF is great for any age and he finds it interesting when Jericho says go beat some low level people. See, he remembers beating Jericho, which means that MJF is better than him and Jericho knows it. The one thing Jericho got right was saying that MJF is a mark, but it is for Jericho’s spot. At Blood and Guts, MJF is taking it. This was mostly great, with MJF selling everything and Wardlow getting some time as well. I’m not big on them saying promo, but that ship has kind of already gone for a sail, come back and been chopped up for firewood.

Video on Hikaru Shida vs. Tay Conti for Shida’s Women’s Title. Shida respects her, but it is time to fight.

Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Tay Conti

Conti is challenging and the Dark Order goes to the back to let her do this on her own. A hard forearm doesn’t do much to Shida to start and it’s time for the slugout. Conti judo throws her over and grabs a chickenwing with a bodyscissors. Shida gets to the ropes for the break and heads to the floor for a needed breather. Conti tries to follow but gets tripped down, setting up a running knee to the face.

An enziguri catches Conti again and a suplex drops her hard. Back in and the surfboard goes on but Shida switches into a reverse chinlock to keep Conti in trouble. We take a break and come back with Shida hitting a superplex but Conti pops up to kick her in the face. A German suplex drops Shida again and some running kicks to the face in the corner put her down again.

Shida is laid across the top rope and Conti adds a top rope backsplash for a near fall. The DDTay is broken up and Shida hits a running knee to the face. The Falcon Arrow gets two and Shida drops her hard to the floor. Back in and Conti nails another pump kick, setting up the TayKO for two. They strike it out again until Shida drops her with a slap. A fireman’s carry into a backbreaker sets up the Katana to retain the title at 12:18.

Rating: B. I liked the match but egads Shida has lost all sense of interest with this never ending title reign. While you can all but pencil in Britt Baker to take the title at Double Or Nothing, it has been far too long coming. Tonight was another good match and Shida can be fun to watch in the ring, but something to make me care about her would help a lot. Conti has been on a tear as of late and I really hope she isn’t dropped as a result.

Post match here’s Britt Baker, who shows us the updated rankings….with her at the top.

Miro is sick of Kip Sabian not being here and he is ready to beat people up.

Here is the Inner Circle for a chat. After we reaffirm Jericho’s rock star status with the fans singing Judas back to him, Jericho talks about how Mike Tyson knocked Shawn Spears’ teeth out. Jake Hager has straws for 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 7, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

Believe it or not we have a big six man tag here with the Young Bucks and Jon Moxley teaming up to face Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers. That certainly has potential, as does the next step in the Inner Circle vs. the Pinnacle. Throw in the explanation from QT Marshall about his new group and….you’ll realize that this place has a lot of stables. Oh and Mike Tyson is here again. Let’s get to it.

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

The Inner Circle arrived in some very expensive cars.

Opening sequence.

Max Caster vs. Hangman Page

Page doesn’t seem to like the rap and sends Caster into the buckle over and over. Caster gets in some right hands of his own but Page takes him down and hits a backsplash for two. They head outside where Page sends him into the barricade but stops to yell at Anthony Bowens. Back in and Page sends Caster outside again, this time setting up a slingshot dive. Caster is sat on the barricade for a clothesline, followed by a stare to get Bowens to put the boom box down.

The distraction lets Caster start in on the arm with some knee drops and a hammerlock with a crossface. That doesn’t last long as Page is back up with a spinebuster into an exploder suplex for two. They head to the apron for a slugout until Caster charges into a belly to back drop. Page goes up again but Bowens offers another distraction, allowing Caster to grab a superplex.

Zack Gibson’s Shankly Gates has Page in trouble but he’s out in a hurry and clotheslines Caster out of the air. The boom box comes in again for a distraction, allowing Bowens to slide Caster the chain. One heck of a right hand gives Caster two but the Mic Drop misses. Bowens breaks up the Buckshot so Page takes him out, followed by the Buckshot Lariat to finish Caster at 10:04.

Rating: C. That’s kind of a long time to beat a tag guy (who was somehow #3 in the rankings). Page is the #1 contender for whenever he gets the title shot and at least he had to take care of both of the Acclaimed here. The match was fine enough, though it didn’t exactly make Page look like the guy who is ready to take on Omega.

Tony Schiavone brings in the Death Triangle for a chat. Before they can say anything, here are the Best Friends (now complete with Kris Stadtlander), with Orange Cassidy showing us a clip from May when the Triangle took them out. The Triangle laughs them off but Pac is willing to give them another beating. Trent says the boys are back in town and now they have an alien with them. I’ll consider that a Toy Story reference as we wrap things up, basically with an announcement of what is next for both group.

Urban Meyer, coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, talked with Mike Tyson earlier.

Here’s the Inner Circle for a chat. After a break, Chris Jericho says they’re back in black after a beatdown from the Pineapple. He apologizes for the bad things they did but that was because of MJF (My Jerkoff Friend). Jericho talks about being bad in chemistry, to the point where his high school teacher asked him if he was on dope. No one is smart at chemistry, but Jericho is smart at people. He didn’t let MJF into the Inner Circle to help him up, but rather to keep him under Jericho’s thumb.

Then MJF outsmarted them, but then Jericho put his face in a toilet. Jericho knows that MJF is going to be the great one one day but he wants to be the great one now. Instead, be better than Peter Avalon, be better than Michael Nakazawa and be better than that scarf, because it is old and is sucks. Jericho was doing the scarf thing five years ago so why is MJF stealing his s***?

MJF is the one who ran to the back to ask how he did, which is called being a mark. Actually, from now on we’re going to call that being a Max. Then there is the Pinnacle, which is quite the lineup. You have Tully Blanchard, who is nothing more than the third string member of the Four Horsemen, right between Ole Anderson and Paul Roma (OUCH). Then there is FTR, who he can’t tell apart. They’re like the Jonas Brothers, in that they’re talented but no one can remember who is which.

Then you have Shawn Spears, and the only thing Jericho knows about him is the phone call Jericho got from him when WWE fired him ten years ago. Finally there is Wardlow with a million dollar brain and a thirteen cent body (yes that is what Jericho said) and is so stupid he has to strip to count to 21. Jericho: “I’ve seen him do it.” They are going to turn the Pinnacle into a human centipede and on May 5, it’s Pinnacle vs. Inner Circle in a Blood & Guts match. Jericho was showing the fire here and his face turn should breathe some new life into him.

Christian Cage talks about bringing Kazarian up to another level last week. Taz comes in and offers him a spot on Team Taz but leaves pretty quickly, telling Christian to sleep on it.

Bear Country vs. Jurassic Express

Bear Country is sent outside to start, where they catch Boy’s dive. They can’t catch Luchasaurus though and it’s time to head back inside. Boy’s top rope hurricanrana is cut off so Luchasaurus dives at them and….bounces off of them, making Bronson and Boy stagger around a bit.

We take a break and come back with Boy taking a backdrop and being powered into the corner. A few elbows get him out of trouble and a few slides between the legs are enough for the hot tag to Luchasaurus. The hot tag brings in Luchasaurus to clean house with strikes but Bronson catches him on top with a superplex. Boy breaks up the cover and mostly hits a slingshot tornado DDT.

Luchasaurus covers Boulder but Bronson picks up Boy and drives him into the cover (while not looking great in the process) for a save of his own. A double Cannonball in the corner crushes Luchasaurus but he sits up to avoid some kind of electric chair splash. Boulder gets kicked in the face and sent to the floor, leaving Bronson to take a chokeslam. Luchasaurus’ standing moonsault is good for the pin at 8:58.

Rating: C-. This was rather messy with not much of a flow or anything, plus some ugly looking sequences and spots. They were kind of lumbering around and trying to go a little bit faster than they should have. Throw in the moves they were doing not quite working and it wasn’t the best thing in the world. At least Jurassic Express won, even if they aren’t getting close to the titles anytime soon.

QT Marshall talks about how sick he is of Cody Rhodes, who was stuck behind Ted Jr. in WWE. That’s why Cody went to the indies and surrounded himself with small guys so he could stand out for once. Marshall has surrounded himself with men, like Aaron Solow who will never be someone’s boyfriend (Bayley’s ex), Commarado, who will never be just a body guy, and Ogogo, who is a household name in the UK. This is Marshall’s factory now. Nice promo, but it’s still QT Marshall leading a stable.

Sting comes out for a chat but here’s Jake Roberts to cut him off before Sting can say a word. Jake says Sting is insane if he keeps trying the same thing and expecting something else. Cue Lance Archer to say how awesome he is and how sick he is of Sting getting the mic time. Sting takes the mic and says he’s tired of Archer being left out too. So why isn’t Jake telling him how to do it? Sting tells Archer to make it showtime and leaves.

Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky are watching from the rafters.

Taz cuts off Ricky Starks and Brian Page because they need to focus on Christian.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. JD Drake

Allin is defending and has Sting in his corner. Drake knocks him to the floor with a single chop, where Ryan Nemeth goes after Allin. That earns him a stalking to the back from Sting and we take a break with Allin still in trouble. Back with Allin rolling outside but Drake tosses him into the ropes (from the floor) and nails a hard clothesline. Drake’s Cannonball against the barricade only hits barricade so Allin takes out Cezar Bononi (because Drake has multiple friends too).

Back in and Drake gets him in the Tree of Woe, meaning the Cannonball can connect this time for two. Drake misses a moonsault that wouldn’t have connected even if Allin had stayed in the same place so Allin goes up top. That brings Drake up with him so Allin bites his finger for the break. The super Code Red sets up the Coffin Drop to retain at 9:13.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and it’s nice to see Allin having an actual title defense. Drake is someone with potential, though I’m not sure where he (and his friends) fit in other than being new jobbers. This was fine for a one off match and that’s all it needed to be, though I’m curious as to what Allin’s next actual feud will be.

Post match the Hardy Family Office runs in for the beatdown but Sting and the Dark Order makes the save. Tay Conti comes in for the brawl with the Bunny.

Video on Kenny Omega’s issues with the Young Bucks, who used to be friends, then they weren’t friends, then they were friends, then they weren’t friends, then Don Callis talked to them a lot, and now it’s complicated.

The Pinnacle jumps Chris Jericho and bring him into the ring for the beatdown. The spike piledriver plants him as we see the Inner Circle locked in their dressing room. They break through the door and we come back to the arena where MIKE TYSON saves Jericho and beats up Shawn Spears in the corner. The rest of the Inner Circle comes in for the real save and Jericho poses with Tyson (who is in pretty good shape here).

Britt Baker and Rebel think that Baker deserves a Women’s Title shot because the rankings are nonsense. She is going to be getting her wins up because rankings aren’t based on things that matter like merchandise sales and star power.

The Bunny vs. Tay Conti

The Hardy Family Office, the Dark Order and Hikaru Shida are all at ringside. The brawl is on in a hurry with Bunny hammering away and yelling a lot. Conti is back up with a capture suplex, allowing Excalibur to compare her to Akira Maeda. Bunny is fine enough to send her into the apron and then nail a running dropkick against the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Conti hitting a spinning backbreaker but missing a running knee in the corner. Down The Rabbit Hole is broken up and a failed Matt Hardy distraction lets Tay hit the TayKO for….two. Bunny gets in a neck snap over the top and knocks down Shida to take away her kendo stick. Shida takes it back though, allowing Conti to hit a superplex. The DDTay finishes Bunny at 7:43.

Rating: C+. Conti is on a roll as of late and Bunny got in enough to carry her half. It seems that Conti is the next challenger for Shida, though I have no idea if she would wind up taking the title because Shida seems likely to be the champion for the rest of time. Maybe Conti is the one, but it’s not like there is a reason to believe it at this point. She has been awesome as of late though and this was more good stuff.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Video on Jade Cargill vs. Red Velvet.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Young Bucks/Jon Moxley

Don Callis is on commentary. Matt and Anderson start things off as JR calls it a six man tag instead of a trios match. Actually we’ll make it Omega vs. Matt instead, meaning a lot of trash is talked. The lockup doesn’t go anywhere so it’s off to Nick to crank on Omega’s arm. A hurricanrana puts Omega on the floor so it’s Anderson coming in. Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s the triple dives to take down Omega and the Brothers.

Back from a break with Matt making the hot tag to Moxley so house can be cleaned, including snapping off some German suplexes. Anderson manages to take Moxley into the corner for two, setting up a big boot to drop him again. Moxley manages to come back up with a neckbreaker and the hot tag brings in Nick to face Anderson. Nick sends Omega to the floor and cleans house on the Brothers until Anderson snaps off a spinebuster. Matt comes in to hiptoss Omega a few times, setting up a DDT to plant him.

Matt can’t bring himself to superkick Omega though, instead asking if he is ok. That earns him a slap from Omega so Matt takes Omega down and hammers away. The rung is cleared out again and Omega grabs the snapdragon on Matt. There’s another snapdragon but Moxley breaks up the V Trigger. Matt piledrives Omega but stops to check on him, only to go with More Bang For Your Buck for two.

Anderson makes the save so the Bucks clear the ring again. The BTE Trigger is loaded up on Omega but can’t do it. Moxley comes in instead for the Paradigm Shift into the rear naked choke….but the Bucks superkick Moxley. Eddie Kingston runs in for the attempted save but gets laid out by the Brothers. A Magic Killer to Moxley is enough for Omega to get the pin at 16:25.

Rating: B-. You knew it was coming and now we’re finally here. The big Bullet Club reunion that….well I guess someone must find it fascinating. It’s the big heel stable again and odds are they are going to hold the titles for a long time to come against a variety of challengers. The story makes sense but it’s not exactly thrilling stuff. At least we’re finally here now after months of “well maybe the Bucks are going to do something” and that’s an improvement. I guess.

Post match the Bucks hit a double superkick on Moxley and the big hug ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The big angle at the end wasn’t exactly inspiring but the rest of the show was pretty good for the most part. They need to find something to do other than big group beatdowns though, because there were quite a few on this show alone. AEW has a bad tendency to repeat things in their angles and post match segments (which happen in almost every match) and it would be nice if they could mix it up a bit. It’s starting to get tiring and that is never a good feeling. It’s still a very energetic show, but it needs to have something fresh in there for a change.

Results

Hangman Page b. Max Caster – Buckshot Lariat

Jurassic Express b. Bear Country – Standing moonsault to Bronson

Darby Allin b. JD Drake – Coffin Drop

Tay Conti b. The Bunny – DDTay

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Jon Moxley/Young Bucks – Magic Killer to Moxley

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: March 31, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

I’m not sure what to expect here, as we are on the rather long road towards Double Or Nothing and it is still too early to set things up for the show. Christian might be the next title match for Kenny Omega, but I’m not sure if that is the most interesting match to headline a pay per view. Maybe they have something else in mind though. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Christian Cage vs. Frankie Kazarian

Feeling out process to start with Christian taking over on the arm as the fans tell him that he still has it. Christian gets sent hard over the top and crashes down onto the ramp for some shaking of the head. Back in and Kazarian knocks him off the top to the floor for another breather. Christian’s slide through the legs is broken up and we hit the neck crank.

After Christian fights up, Kazarian takes him back down with a flipping neckbreaker for two. Back up again and Kazarian hammers away but Christian grabs a tornado DDT out of the corner. Some shots to the face have Kazarian in trouble and Christian stands on his back for the choking on the ropes. Christian rains down right hands in the corner and scores with the reverse DDT for two.

The top rope splash only hits mat though and Kazarian hammers away again. He talks a bit too much trash though and gets small packaged for two, which is a bit too much from Christian. The springboard spinning legdrop gets two on Christian but he grabs the top rope to block a superplex attempt.

A headbutt cuts Christian off on top though and the Flux Capacitor connects for two. Christian gets caught in the ropes but manages to snap Kazarian’s neck across the top. Now the frog splash connects for two but Christian has to flip out of the crossface chickening. Kazarian goes shoulder first into the post and now the Killswitch can connect for the pin at 16:33.

Rating: C. That’s being as generous as I can as these guys looked rather old for the most part. They still moved around well enough, but there was about ninety years of age in the ring. Christian as a main eventer is not the most appealing idea in the world for more than a few reasons and this didn’t do him any favors. Not bad, but it was far from inspiring.

Sting and Darby Allin didn’t like what Matt Hardy did to Allin last week. Allin says that Matt’s money doesn’t mean anything to him.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Jade Cargill knows she is special and there is nothing Red Velvet can do to stop her.

Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall

Unsanctioned exhibition with Arn Anderson refereeing and all kinds of Nightmare Family members at ringside. Feeling out process to start with Cody armdragging him into an armbar. Marshall gets a bit more aggressive to take him down by the wristlock but Cody nips up to his feet.

Another takedown puts Marshall on the mat but Cody won’t stomp him. Instead Cody stays on the arm and we take a break. Back with Cody hitting a slam but not being willing to put on the Figure Four. Marshall misses a crossbody and crashes out to the floor, so Cody holds the ropes open for him. Back in and Marshall decks Arn for the no contest at 7:35.

Rating: C-. Kind of slow and dull, but that was the point of the match. Marshall decking Arn was a surprise, but then two seconds pass and you realize that it’s QT Marshall and the interest goes away. At least they had a bit of a clever way out of the match, even if the angle doesn’t quite have my interest.

Post match Marshall looks distraught at what he did but Aaron Solow, Anthony Ogogo and Nick Conorado (of Marshall’s Nightmare Factory wrestling school) come in and beat down the Nightmare Family. Lee Johnson is powerbombed over the ropes and onto the ramp and Dustin Rhodes is piledriven onto the steps. Ogogo, the Olympic boxer, punches Cody down and Marshall loads up a Conchairto on the steps. Red Velvet runs in for the save and screams a lot. Did we really need another heel group?

Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky are ready to take over.

Post break Red Velvet says she had to protect her partner….and gets taken out by Jade Cagrill.

Jon Moxley can’t get the sound of Eddie Kingston’s ankle being snapped by the Good Brothers. Then you have the Young Bucks, who can’t decided if they want to fight or not. He has the barbed wire scars which make him all itchy and all of this stuff ticks him off. Tonight he has Cesar Bononi, who has a lot of talent and could make some money, but not if Moxley kills him first.

Cesar Bononi vs. Jon Moxley

Bononi runs him over to start but Moxley is right back to work on the leg. Moxley cranks the leg back but Bononi pops up with a suplex for two. We take a break (In THIS match?) and come back with Bononi hitting a running knee in the corner, only to have a knee hit the turnbuckle. Moxley snaps off a German suplex and there’s a superplex to take him down again. Bononi’s partner JD Drake offers a distraction and breaks up the Paradigm Shift, but Moxley grabs the rear naked choke for the tap at 8:00.

Rating: C-. This is where AEW could do with learning how to shorten matches. I know they can do it, but it would be nice to see it happen a bit more often. Bononi is a big guy who hasn’t done anything in AEW, so why is he going eight minutes with a former World Champion? The match wasn’t terrible, but it was longer than it needed to be.

Team Taz has another meeting where Ricky Starks talks about having a great time on Dark. They are a team, but Brian Cage doesn’t seem convinced.

MJF has brought in an interior designer to decorate the Pinnacle’s room….but the Inner Circle is in the bathroom. The big brawl is on, with Sammy Guevara slamming a door on Shawn Spears’ head. Wardlow gets Rock Bottomed through the massage table and Dax Harwood is busted open. Jericho puts MJF’s head into a toilet and then through a Pepsi refrigerator. Jericho declares this their dressing room and puts the Inner Circle’s sign back up. The Inner Circle popping up behind the door was great.

Don Callis comes up to the Young Bucks. Nick doesn’t want to hear it and leaves, so Callis talks to Matt about everything Kenny Omega sacrificed for AEW. Callis wants Matt to get fired up and finally mentions the Bucks’ dad. A slap to the face wakes Matt up but he lets Callis go, with Callis calling him pathetic.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Lucha Bros/Laredo Kid

The Lucha Bros say they want the Tag Team Titles and Don Callis is on commentary. They starts fast with a triple superkick getting two on Omega and the big triple dive over the top to the floor. We settle down to Kid striking away on Omega but he gets in a shot of his own and hands it off to Gallows.

The rights and lefts in the corner rock Kid and the triple teaming is on. We take a break and come back with Kid getting over for the tag to Penta so house can be cleaned. A middle rope moonsault into a top rope double stomp into a Swanton crushes Anderson and some running shots in the corner make it worse.

Everything breaks down again and Anderson hits a spinebuster for two on Fenix with Kid having to make the save. The V Trigger gives Omega two on Kid but he escapes the One Winged Angel. An enziguri into a Michinoku Driver gets two on Omega but he’s back with another V Trigger. The One Winged Angel finishes Kid at 14:20.

Rating: B-. Not bad while it lasted, with more of the same dives and flips that you might have expected. Omega might not be the most interesting promo, but he can certain wrestle the fast paced style once the match actually starts. I’m still not wild on the Good Brothers, but dang the Lucha Bros know how to do this style as well as anyone going right now.

Post match here is Jon Moxley, followed by the Young Bucks, for the big staredown.

Britt Baker and Rebel laugh about Thunder Rosa not getting credit for the big win because the match was unsanctioned.

Nyla Rose/Bunny vs. Tay Conti/Hikaru Shida

Matt Hardy and Vickie Guerrero are here with Nyla and Bunny. Before the match, Matt promises Bunny won’t be left out of the title scene any longer. Oh and starting tomorrow, he gets ALL of his money again. Shida runs Bunny over to start, only to get sent outside. That means Rose can squash Shida on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Shida avoiding a charge in the corner and handing it off to Conti for a series of judo throws to Bunny. A running knee in the corner sets up a running knee in the corner, sending Bunny outside. Everything breaks down with the Dark Order getting into it with Matt and company on the floor. That leaves Bunny to take the TayKO for two with Rose making the save. Vickie offers a distraction and Bunny hits Tay with a kendo stick, setting up Down The Rabbit Hole for the pin at 7:01.

Rating: C. Kind of a mess here, but also kind of a fun mess and I’ll certainly take that. I’m really trying to wrap my head around Conti and the Bunny being the next challengers for the Women’s Title, though anything is better than Shida vs. Rose again. Bunny picking up a win should do her some good, but I’m not sure if she is going to be seen as a viable threat to many people.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Jurassic Express vs. Bear Country in a match sponsored by Kong vs. Godzilla.

Jurassic Express are ready to show Bear Country who is on top of the food chain, but Marko Stunt has a Kong tattoo.

Chuck Taylor/Orange Cassidy vs. Kip Sabian/Miro

This is Arcade Anarchy, meaning there are video games all around the ring. They start fast with Cassidy sending Kip into Whack A Mole. Miro slams Cassidy on the floor and sends him into the same thing, including a shot with the mallet. A barricade is moved around but Miro fights out of a double suplex through said barricade. Instead, Taylor is suplexed onto the steel instead and Miro grabs a chair from the prize table (cost of 20,000 tickets) to unload on Cassidy.

Taylor makes the save and it’s time for more prizes, in the form of a trashcan lid and kendo stick. The beatdown puts Miro in trouble and a barricade shot makes it worse. More prizes are turned on top of Miro and now let’s throw Whack A Mole in there for two, with Sabian making a save. Back in and Taylor busts out a teddy bear full of Legos, but Sabian reverses a superplex into a sitout powerbomb for two.

Cassidy makes the save and hits a DDT into Beach Break for two. The Orange Punch connects but Penelope Ford pulls the referee out. There’s a low blow for Cassidy and Ford loads up a belt….but Kris Stadtlander (oh dang I had forgotten about her) pops out of the alien claw machine. Kris beats the fire out of her and hits a Falcon Arrow off of the apron and through an air hockey table.

Miro is back up with a chair to Taylor but here is Trent’s mom Sue in the van….and Trent is back as well. Miro beats up all three Best Friends and goes after Sue but Trent makes the save. Trent spears Miro through a table and Chuck hits  the powerslam off the stage through the set for the pin at 14:30.

Rating: C+. I know this is going to sound bizarre coming from me, but I wanted MORE carnage and insanity with the games here. It’s like they kept wanting to do something with them and kept pulling back from going too far. That’s kind of a shame as they had a lot of ways to go with them, but the Stadtlander return was a very nice surprise. Now can we please, please get Miro away from this story and onto ANYTHING else?

Post match the big hug, complete with Stadtlander, ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m not sure what it was but I couldn’t get into the show this week. There was nothing overly bad here but there was nothing on here which got me overly excited. There are still too many stables and too many heels, but at least they had a fun main event and a few moments that have me interested in where things are going in the future.

Results

Christian Cage b. Frankie Kazarian – Killswitch

Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall went to a no contest when Marshall punched Arn Anderson

Jon Moxley b. Cesar Bononi – Rear naked choke

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Laredo Kid/Lucha Bros – One Winged Angel to Kid

Nyla Rose/Bunny b. Hikaru Shida/Tay Conti – Down The Rabbit Hole to Conti

Chuck Taylor/Orange Cassidy b. Miro/Kip Sabian – Powerslam through the set to Sabian

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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Dynamite
Date: March 10, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re done with Revolution and now the question becomes how they handle the bad ending. The logical solution would be to laugh it off and move on but I have a bad feeling they are going to try to turn it into a storyline. What they tried didn’t work and it seems like it would be a better idea to just accept it and move on, but that doesn’t seem like the AEW way. Let’s get to it.

Here is Revolution if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Matt Jackson vs. Rey Fenix

Nick Jackson is here with Matt. They trade the arm work to start as the fans are split early on. Matt takes him down but gets flipped away into a standoff. Fenix gets in a toss to the floor for the dive, followed by a springboard armdrag to take Matt down again. That means the big running flip dive to the floor and then it’s a chinlock with a bodyscissors to Matt back inside. That’s broken up and Matt throws him outside in a crash for a change.

Back in and the reverse chinlock with a knee in Fenix’s back doesn’t last long as he is back up with the chops. A faceplant gives Matt two and he rolls over into the Sharpshooter. That sends Fenix over to the rope for the break and he hits the steps up kick to the head in the corner. There’s the missile dropkick to take Matt down again and a rolling cutter makes it even worse.

Fenix grabs his modified spinning torture rack ‘before dropping Matt down. Back up and Matt hits a running kick to send Fenix outside, where Pac appears to give him some encouragement. Matt’s top rope elbow gets two and the Sharpshooter goes on for a bit longer this time.

Fenix grabs the rope again though and misses a running kick, knocking Nick down instead. Matt goes outside to superkick Pac away from Nick, flips out of a belly to back suplex, and hits two superkicks. That earns Matt a kick from Fenix and they’re both down again. They pull each other up and Fenix wins the slugout to set up the Black Fire Driver for the pin at 12:04.

Rating: B-. It’s always weird watching the Bucks having a singles match but it worked out rather well here. You can probably pencil in Nick vs. Pac for later as they continue building towards the Tag Team Title match, which should be a heck of a showdown. Good stuff here, with the flips looking pretty nice.

Here’s what’s coming later tonight.

Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley are having some drinks with some fire in front of them. Eddie talks about covering his friend when he had this much anxiety and it reminded him of being in jail. Everything went black then and it happened again on Sunday. They talk about how much of a mess the bomb was and think it was from ACME. Impact Wrestling must have paid for the thing. Moxley had an exploding ring match and all he got was this shirt. Yeah it’s a cool shirt but he also got a drinking buddy back. Moxley says if Omega is going to flash a weapon, he better use it. Now please let that be the end of the explanations.

Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Gargis

Before the match, Cody gives his weight belt to a fan in a wheelchair (that’s great). Cody shrugs off Gargis and finishes with the Figure Four in 48 seconds.

Post match Tony Schiavone gets in the ring to interview Cody but Penta El Zero M interrupts, saying (through a translator) that he’s a thousand times better than Cody. If Cody is the Price of Pro Wrestling, then Penta is the Lord of Lucha Libre. Penta says Cody Cody should be lucky that his arm isn’t hurt so badly he can’t pick up his newborn girl. That’s enough to get Cody out into the crowd for the brawl but it’s broken up in a hurry.

Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy are at an arcade and say that they have been at this with Miro and Kip Sabian far too long (yep). But they want one more match to end it all. If they lose, Taylor will be Miro’s butler forever. We’ll make it interesting though, and put a bunch of video games around ringside.

Here’s Sting to praise Darby Allin for their win on Sunday, but Lance Archer and Jake Roberts interrupt. Archer talks about how he was going to be the face of the revolution without getting in a ladder match. If AEW doesn’t give him the time, he’ll take something much worse. The two of them leave and Sting is done in a hurry.

QT Marshall got a little too emotional on Sunday but tonight is about Lee Johnson. Their mics are cut off before the end of their promo (there have been some audio issues throughout the show).

Ethan Page vs. Lee Johnson

Page gets an inset promo and (rather quietly) talks about wanting the spotlight. Feeling out process to start with Page taking him down with ease as some other audio (sounds like a basketball game) keeps coming through and drowning out commentary. Page drops him again and we take a break.

Back with Page working on the ribs as the basketball audio is leaking through even worse than before. Johnson hits a Blue Thunder Bomb for two but gets taken down off the top as we hear Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. Johnson comes up favoring his knee so Page kicks him in the face. That’s enough to send Johnson to the floor so Page throws him back inside for the Ego’s Edge (toss Razor’s Edge) for the pin at 7:48.

Rating: C. The bad week for AEW production continues, even though this is a TNT problem. Page’s win was completely overshadowed here and that’s a shame because he looked fine enough. Page isn’t going to be a top star but he’s a good hand, which is always going to have a place in wrestling.

Post match the beating stays on with QT Marshall not helping Johnson. Dustin Rhodes comes in for the save and the audio is fixed.

Hangman Page has bought a new saddle, Dwight Yoakam on vinyl, donated a bunch of money to the Jacksonville Public Education fund, and bought a big lawnmower. The Dark Order gets on to get ice cream, but 10 has to wait because of the weight limit.

Tony Schiavone is ready to introduce Christian Cage but gets interrupted by Kenny Omega, Don Callis and the Good Brothers. Things have been going great for Omega, who is now the King of the Deathmatch. There was that little thing on Sunday but they will neither confirm nor deny any influence on the explosion. What Callis and company will take credit for is taking away Jon Moxley’s win from Tony Khan.

Either way, it was a win win situation, because either the ring blew up and they left with the title or they left with the title anyway. Cue Eddie Kingston, with Callis saying he has seen Kingston’s talent for a long time now. That’s why he had Kingston in Impact Wrestling, but as usual he screwed it up again. Callis gives him ten seconds to get out of the ring so we get a countdown, with Callis and Omega freaking out about the clock. Omega: “I HAD FLASHBACKS TO THE TIME I HAD DETENTION IN GRADE SCHOOL!”

Omega tells Kingston to take his shot and see what happens, so Eddie decks him with a right hand. The beatdown is on so it’s Jon Moxley and then Christian Cage for the save, though Christian comes out after Omega is left alone in the ring. They go toe to toe and Omega swings, meaning Callis has to save him from the Unprettier. Christian picks up the World Title and Omega panics while leaving. I’m not sure how good of an idea it is to charge fans $50 to see something, have it screw up, and then laugh at people for thinking they would see it. AEW doesn’t have that reputation and it isn’t one they want to develop.

Britt Baker/Hikaru Shida/Nyla Rose vs. Maki Itoh/Thunder Rosa/Ryo Mizunami

Itoh does her song, even as everyone gets in a fight before the bell. She sings anyway and then hits Shida in the head with the microphone to get going. They get inside with Itoh missing a headbutt so Shida can hammer away, meaning it’s off to Ryo for more chopping. Rosa comes in to hammer on Rose but a Rebel distraction lets Rose take over.

We come back from a break with Shida suplexing Ryo into Baker in the corner for two. With everyone else on the floor, Rosa hits a big dive off the top for the huge knockdown. Back in and Itoh’s tornado DDT gets two on Rosa but Rebel’s crutch shot is broken up. Instead Rosa spikes Itoh on her head for the pin at 7:55.

Rating: C. This was a wild match though it was more silly than anything else at times. That isn’t the worst idea and the fans do seem to like Itoh’s deal so fair enough. I’m not sure where the division is going from here but at least they are bringing in someone who is going to get your attention one way or another.

Post match Rosa gets beaten down, including the Lockjaw and a crutch to the head.

Matt Hardy is upset over losing his first quarter money but he has some new signings: Butcher, Blade and Bunny. They’ll be teaming with Private Party this Monday on Dark: Elevation.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Scorpio Sky

Sky is challenging after winning the ladder match at Revolution. They fight over a wristlock to start until Allin takes him down for some rollups. Sky has to bail into the corner and looks a little surprised by what just happened. Both of them try waistlocks to little avail and we take a break.

Back with Allin fighting out of an abdominal stretch and grabbing a Code Red for two. Sky rolls some German suplexes, including one to send Allin hard into the corner. Sky is sent outside so Allin tries a suicide dive, only to have Sky counter it into a cutter. Back in and the Coffin Drop is countered into a powerbomb but the TKO is countered into a small package to retain Allin’s title at 13:16.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match and that should not be surprising in the slightest. Both of them are great at what they do and while I’m not wild on Sky losing his title shot so quickly but there is no reason to take the title off of Allin at this point either. Good match here, and that shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Post match Allin goes to help Sky up but gets pulled into a heel hook. Referees break it up but Sky is very pleased.

Here’s what’s coming next week on St. Patrick’s Slam.

Here’s the Inner Circle for their War Council. Chris Jericho talks about how many problems the team has been having lately and it is time to start changing things a little bit. Maybe that even means adding a new member. MJF doesn’t think that’s the best idea but here is Sammy Guevara to interrupt. Sammy needs Jericho to see something and we see him set up a hidden camera, which films MJF talking to the rest of the team about getting rid of Jericho. Back in the arena, MJF says get him. Santana, Ortiz and Jake Hager turn to face Jericho….and then they all turn at MJF.

Jericho says they all knew this was coming because they talk to each other every day. MJF is shoved down and Jericho fires him before threatening a beatdown. He swears he wasn’t taking over Jericho’s Inner Circle….because he was too busy building his own. The lights go out and it’s Wardlow….with FTR, Shawn Spears and Tully Blanchard.

The beatdown is on, including spike piledrivers and handcuffs. MJF busts Jericho open with the Dynamite Diamond and some shots with Floyd the baseball bat leave him laying. Wardlow powerbombs Jericho off the stage and onto a crash pad to end the show. I like the end results, but another stable? They really needed one more?

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling mainly carries this one but the more important part is how many new things got started tonight. In addition to the big ending segment, you also have Cage vs. Omega, Sting vs. Archer/Roberts and Cody vs. Penta. I could go for a lot of that, but more importantly, I hope I can go for the end of the explanations of the ending of Revolution. Either way, good stuff here and I like their momentum coming out of Revolution.

Results
Rey Fenix b. Matt Jackson – Black Fire Driver
Cody Rhodes b. Seth Gargis – Figure Four
Ethan Page b. Lee Johnson – Ego’s Edge
Thunder Rosa/Hikaru Shida/Ryo Mizunami b. Britt Baker/Maki Itoh/Nyla Rose – Reverse Air Raid Crash to Itoh
Darby Allin b. Scorpio Sky – Small package

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: March 3, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

It’s an extra big night around here as it’s time for the Shaquille O’Neal match. That could go in a variety of directions but the quality of the match means absolutely nothing. The idea here is that the match needs to be anything resembling passable and everything will be fine. I’m not sure what else is on the card and I don’t think it really matters. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Quick recap of the mixed tag, still without a reason for the whole thing to start.

Cody Rhodes/Red Velvet vs. Shaquille O’Neal/Jade Cargill

Cargill has never wrestled before and O’Neal has only been in a battle royal. Cody and Shaq start and O’Neal just dwarfs him. A wristlock is shoved away and Cody takes him into a corner for some chops. That’s broken up and Shaq hits his own chop, which has Cody down on his knee. Another chop has Cody rocked and it’s off to the women, with Jade throwing her into the corner.

Velvet fires off some kicks, one of which seemed to miss and had to be covered with a camera cut. Cargill throws her down again and mocks the stirring the pot deal, but Velvet hits a high crossbody. That’s countered into a fall away slam for two, with Cody running over to knee Shaq off the apron. Billy Gunn’s kids and QT Marshall try to interfere but get beaten down by Shaq.

Velvet moonsaults down onto Arn Anderson, Cody and Jade, none of whom seemed to be expecting her. Back in and Cargill puts on the figure four (making sure to throw in a mocking wave) with Velvet breaking that up in a hurry. It’s table time, with everyone seemingly confused by Jade pulling one out. Velvet breaks that up and throws Cargill back inside before setting up her own table next to it. An enziguri rocks Jade again so it’s back to the men, with Shaq wanting a test of strength.

Cody’s kick to the leg doesn’t do much good as Shaq grabs a powerbomb for two. Back up and Cody hits a slam, which isn’t treated as quite the big idea. It’s back to the women to slug it out and Cargill manages a spinebuster (but doesn’t look at Arn) for two, drawing Cody in again. This time it’s a poke to Shaq’s eye and a running crossbody drives him through the tables. Cargill is stunned and walks into…..well commentary says a spear but the camera cut to the floor, making me wonder how bad it was. Jade hits a Glam Slam for the pin at 12:03.

Rating: B-. This could have been far, far worse and that’s all it needed to be. The best thing to say here is that they didn’t have any terrible botches and while there were a ton of camera cuts, they managed to hide all of the problems well enough. This was a perfectly fine celebrity match and the table spot/powerbomb both looked good. Cargill looks very green in the ring but she has the charisma and mannerisms down, which is a good sign for her future. All in all, not too bad here.

Post break, Shaq is loaded into an ambulance. Tony Schiavone goes to ask someone a question but Shaq has disappeared.

Rey Fenix/Pac vs. John Skyler/D3

Skyler gets kicked in the head a lot to start and D3 is kicked out to the floor. Pac nails the running flip dive and it’s a 450 to crush Skyler. The over the shoulder piledriver finishes Skyler at 1:08. Now THAT was a good looking squash.

Here is the Inner Circle for Chris Jericho/MJF’s press conference. We can’t hear the first question, but Jericho clarifies that it was about what the Tag Team Titles mean to the two of them. Jericho lost the World Title a year ago but then he has won seven Tag Team Titles in his career. He has teamed with Dwayne Johnson and Paul Wight, but none of them compare to MJF. Next up is Conrad Thompson (how in the world did it take him so long to get on this show) who asks if Sammy Guevara can be back in the team.

MJF and Jericho refuse to answer and throw Thompson out so we can get on to the next question. They don’t want to hear about Papa Buck either because he got blood on MJF’s custom suit. He doesn’t shop at Target (cue the TARGET chant) and if you thought what he did to Papa Buck was bad, wait until he gets skinny Matt and balding Nick on Sunday. Santana tells the Bucks to do better….and now Eric Bischoff is up to ask a question.

Bischoff asks if they know anything about Papa Buck’s condition and wants to know how smart it is to motivate the Young Bucks like that. Jericho tells him to shut up but here are the Young Bucks to interrupt. They talk about how great of a father they have and everything he taught them over the years. He did everything that MJF and Jericho’s fathers failed at, like building them a wrestling ring when he couldn’t send them to college. That’s the kind of work ethic that made the two of them and this company.

If not for them, MJF would be living at home and waiting for the Rosie O’Donnell Show to call and Jericho would be jerking the curtain at the Performance Center. Some superkicks put the Inner Circle down and Brandon Cutler comes out to help with the fight. Cue the Good Brothers with a table on the stage with Nick splashing Ortiz while Matt dives onto Santana on a table at ringside. Some of the verbal jabs were awesome (the Performance Center one made my mouth pop open) but the Bucks trying to be intimidating or serious is still really not their forte.

Video on the exploding barbed wire deathmatch, with various people talking about it, capped off by Atsushi Onita making a cameo to talk about how great it is. JR explains the idea and we see Kenny Omega hammering on the Moxley Extermination Chamber. Thankfully Excalibur does explain who Onita is after the video is over.

FTR/Tully Blanchard vs. Jurassic Express

JJ Dillon is here with FTR/Tully (all wearing old NWA title belts). A bit of shoving sets up a six way staredown before Jungle Boy comes in to dropkick FTR. Tully (in what looks like a bowler’s attire) teases coming in but thinks better of it, leaving Sax to get pulled into the Snare Trap. That’s broken up in a hurry so Boy grabs it on Cash on the floor. Cash taps but the distraction lets Dillon slip Dax the shoe (!) to knock Boy silly for two. Tully comes in and teases a dive but stops to strut instead.

We take a break and come back with Cash breaking up Boy’s hot tag attempt but a Vader Bomb hits raised boots. The hot tag brings in Luchasaurus to clean house on FTR so Tully comes in….and goes right back out. Marko gets tossed into Blanchard to knock him down but FTR kicks Luchasaurus down. Luchasaurus suplexes both of them at once and Boy hurricanranas Dax into a powerslam from Luchasaurus.

A heck of a tornado DDT takes Luchasaurus down on the floor and it’s a PowerPlex for two on Boy. Cash hits a German suplex for the same but it’s Tully with the slingshot suplex to Stunt. Luchasaurus Tail Whips Tully down and Boy loads up a dive but a masked man in a hoodie breaks it up. Whoever it is nails Luchasaurus with something and the spike piledriver is enough for Tully to get the pin at 11:24.

Rating: B-. This could have been a heck of a lot worse and Tully still knows how to play to a crowd like the old school master that he is. Seeing the slingshot suplex was great too and while they had a few too many things going on here, it was nice to have a bit of a Horsemen reunion without going too far with it. Nice enough here and seeing Stunt get beaten up is always fun.

Post match….it’s Shawn Spears under the mask. Everyone poses together and here’s Arn Anderson to give them the Horsemen sign, with Dillon and Tully returning it.

Schiavone brings out Paul Wight for his official Dynamite debut. Wight says raise your hand if you saw this coming. He’s glad to be here and is glad to come back to TNT after all this time. Wight puts over Elevation and talks about how much he’s ready to watch some amazing talent. With an arm on Schiavone’s shoulders, Wight promises that AEW is signing a Hall of Fame worthy talent this Sunday. Tune in to find out who it is.

Women’s Eliminator Tournament Final: Nyla Rose vs. Ryo Mizunami

Vickie Guerrero is here with Nyla and the winner gets Hikaru Shida, also at ringside, for the title at Revolution. Rose drives her into the ropes to start but gets forearmed in the head. Some more forearms rock Rose, who is back with a hard shoulder to take her down. A backdrop breaks up the Beast Bomb and it’s time for some pantomime, followed by a running elbow getting two on Rose.

Rose is back with a running flip dive for her own two and a powerslam is good for the same. Back from a break with Mizunami avoiding a Swanton which would have barely grazed her if she hadn’t moved an inch. A running shoulder to the ribs knocks Rose off the apron and the guillotine legdrop on the apron crushes her again. Rose dives back in at nine so Mizunami hits a quick middle rope legdrop.

Back up and Rose forearms her in the head and nails a Death Valley Driver for two. Mizunami gets draped over the top rope and a knee to the head gets two more. An exploder suplex gives Mizunami two but Rose catches her on top with a superplex. It’s Mizunami up first with a spear and the guillotine legdrop finishes Rose at 12:48.

Rating: B-. Not a bad power match with Mizunami getting the win, thereby giving us one thing that we know about her. The tournament was quite the way to set up a #1 contender for a champion who has held the title WAY too long, but I’ll take someone new over Riho or Rose again. Now just change the title already, as it is long overdue.

Post match Shida comes in for a handshake but they wind up slugging it out, with Shida getting the better of things.

Tony Schiavone brings out Sting for a chat. Sting talks about how the powerbomb from Brian Cage didn’t tickle but it shook the rust off. Now he’s ready for a street fight but here’s Ricky Starks to interrupt. Starks respects him and then slaps him, meaning it’s time for Sting to hammer away. The Stinger Splash into the Scorpion Deathlock is on but here are Hook and Powerhouse Hobbs to jump Sting.

That’s broken up but Brian Cage comes down and loads up another powerbomb, only to have Darby Allin make the save (why Cage stopped to load up the powerbomb when Allin’s music hit isn’t clear). House is cleaned (with Cage making sure to look over his shoulder for the Stinger Splash) with Sting and Allin standing tall.

Face Of The Revolution Qualifying Match: 10 vs. Max Caster

Scorpio Sky is on commentary and Caster raps his way to the ring. 10 grabs a headlock to start and hits a crossbody for two. The right hands in the corner set up a running clothesline to the floor but Caster manages to post him for a breather. We take a break and come back with 10 hammering away, including a spinebuster. The slingshot spear gives 10 two more but Caster is back with a quick brainbuster. A top rope elbow misses for Caster but here’s Jack Evans with a boom box to the head to give Caster the pin at 8:47.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t exactly thrilling stuff as it felt like a quick way to get someone into the ladder match. The Acclaimed haven’t done much for me but maybe having Caster in there can be his big breakout moment. I’m not sure who is going to win the thing but at least there are some interesting options.

Post match here’s Matt Hardy to give Evans $4,200 for taking out part of the Dark Order.

Miro says Chuck Taylor has made him do this and on Sunday, it’s GAME OVER.

We run down the Revolution card.

Matt Hardy/Marq Quen vs. John Silver/Hangman Page

Page thinks we need to go to Adampagewrestling.com, which takes you to two hours of relaxing guitar music and shots of horses. Silver headlocks Matt to start but it’s quickly off to Page, who sends Hardy running. We take a break and come back with Hardy getting two on Silver and grabbing a chinlock. That’s broken up and Page gets the hot tag, sending Hardy bailing to the floor.

This time Page gets his hands on him so Hardy uses Quen as the sacrificial lamb. Back in and Quen dropkicks Page’s knee out, allowing Matt to come in with a neckbreaker. Page isn’t having that and brings Silver back in to clean house in a hurry. A spear sets up Page’s Buckshot Lariat to finish Quen at 11:03.

Rating: C. Well that happened. It’s pretty weird for AEW to have such a lame main event as this felt like it should have been somewhere in the middle of the show. It wasn’t a bad match or anything but it’s the kind of match that really didn’t feel like it belonged in the main event slot. Matt Hardy continues to be one of those guys that makes me sigh when he is in a match. I know whey he is on TV so much but that doesn’t make it much better.

Post match Hardy jumps Page with the microphone and promises to win. Cue the Dark Order, plus all of the other teams in the battle royal. Death Triangle comes out to join the fray to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This is a show where the total absolutely does not equal the sum of its parts. The first hour or so of this was one of the most energized things I’ve seen in wrestling in a long time as it just felt important. Starting with the Shaq match was an interesting way to go and following it up with the hot squash kept my attention. I liked this show quite a bit and while the second hour wasn’t as strong, it certainly wasn’t terrible. Very good show here with some especially great energy.

Results
Jade Cargill/Shaquille O’Neal b. Cody Rhodes/Red Velvet – Glam Slam to Velvet
Rey Fenix/Pac b. D3/John Skyler – Over the shoulder piledriver to Skyler
FTR/Tully Blanchard b. Jurassic Express – Spike piledriver to Luchasaurus
Ryo Mizunami b. Nyla Rose – Guillotine legdrop
Max Caster b. 10 – Boom box to the head
Hangman Page/John Silver b. Matt Hardy/Marq Quen – Buckshot lariat to Quen

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