It’s that time again as we have the show built around the idea of gust stars from a variety of other promotions. You get to wrestlers from around the world coming in to compete against the stars of AEW, which can make for some rather interesting situations. The buildup to the show is not often the strongest but you can see one heck of a night of action. That should be the case again so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Momo Watanabe vs. Willow Nightingale/Tam Nakano

This, along with the other two Zero Hour matches, were not important enough to be announced on Dynamite but rather a few hours later on Twitter. I’m not sure I get the thinking, but it isn’t exactly making me interested in what we’ll be seeing here. In this case, Statlander vs. Nightingale is the big draw, as they are already set to face off in the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament.

I’ll go with Statlander and Watanabe winning here to give a bit of doubt about Nightingale being able to make it to the finals of the tournament. That should make for a good match here, but Watanabe and Nakano are people who have not been around AEW very much over the years. That doesn’t exactly make for a big time match, but that is kind of the point in having the match on the Zero Hour show.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Mariah May vs. Saraya

It’s a little weird to have May on the show when she already has a major role in another, bigger match on the card. For now though, we could be in for a nice match as either of them going forward could be an interesting way to go. Both of them could make for an a solid choice for the next round, though there is some logic that comes into play here which should determine the winner.

At the end of the day, May being involved in the Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa match is a lot more important and there is pretty much no reason for her to go into that spot as a loser. May going over here makes a lot more sense and while there is something to the idea of Saraya going on towards a title shot in London, it isn’t the best option that they have available here.

Zero Hour: Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Mistico/Lucha Bros

The big draw here is that Mistico and the Bros have never teamed together before. That isn’t the biggest draw in the world but it is certainly a cool enough moment and better than nothing. In other words, this feels like an excuse to get Mistico onto the show and that is not a bad idea. The match itself is only so important here, but that is often the case on Zero Hour.

There is pretty much no reason for Mistico and the Bros to lose here as Mistico can do his stuff and pop the crowd. There are some talented people in Los Ingobernables but it feels like they are here for the sake of making Mistico look that much bigger. It’s not a bad idea either, so hopefully they at least have an entertaining match on the way to the main show proper.

Zero Hour: House Of Black vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gabriel Kidd/Roderick Strong vs. Private Party

Yes there is a fourth match on this show, which was added during this week’s Collision. This feels like little more than a way to get a bunch more people onto the card, which is often not the most thrilling way to go. In this case we do have some big names who probably should have been on the show, but that doesn’t exactly make for the most exciting match possible.

I’ll take the House Of Black here, as they’re the biggest of the two regular teams (at least in AEW) and it makes the most sense to give them the win. This is going to be the insane match with everyone going nuts all over the place and trying to get in as much as they can, which isn’t going to be easy given how many people are involved. Odds are it should be fun though and that’s what you want out of a match like this one.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy

We’ll start the main card here as Sabre wants revenge on Cassidy for beating him at last year’s show in a four way match. The other idea is that Cassidy isn’t good enough to beat Sabre on his own and is going to need some kind of special trick to pull it off. I’m not sure what that is going to be, but then again that’s kinds of the point of watching the match in the first place.

As much as I want to take Sabre here, it feels like a situation where Cassidy is coming in as the huge underdog but manages to pull it off somehow anyway, as tends to be his custom. It might not be the most thrilling way to go but that has never really stopped AEW with Cassidy before. It’s always fun to see whatever Sabre can do to torment someone else so we should be in for a good one here with Cassidy winning.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hechicero

This is a bit early for a match involving someone as big as MJF but it isn’t like AEW has treated it like anything important. For the second year in a row, MJF’s Forbidden Door match feels like it was thrown on for the sake of giving him something to do and I do not get the thinking behind that move. It’s MJF’s first pay per view match since December and he’s more or less an after thought. That’s quite the odd way to go, but at least it’s an easy pick.

Save for some wacky interference, there is no reason for Hechicero to win here so we’ll take MJF in what should be an easy one. MJF will probably get in some trouble here but then wind up winning anyway, because there is pretty much no reason for Hechicero, who is probably not sticking around, to beat one of the biggest stars in the company. I’m still not sure I get the thinking here, but MJF wins.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi

The roller coaster that is the last full time year of Danielson’s career continues and that means we have another match against a hard hitter. That is kind of his trademark at this point and in this case he actually has a better chance to pull it off. It’s quite the way to go for a first round match in a #1 contenders tournament, but Danielson has a tendency to go a bit nuts anyway.

While Danielson might not have the best win/loss record, there is no reason to believe he goes down here. Takagi is another guy who isn’t likely to be around for the long term, which would likely include another match in the tournament. That leaves Danielson to win a heck of a fight, which isn’t something you get to say very often in AEW but it makes all the sense in the world here.

Learning Tree/Jeff Cobb vs. Samoa Joe/Hook/Katsuyori Shibata

Cobb is substituting for an injured Bryan Keith as Jericho’s latest weird character gets a pay per view match. The good thing about Jericho being in the match is that he can’t talk, which would be about as bad as it could get around here. Joe vs. Cobb is the hoss fight fans would want to see while the rest…well they’re all involved as well, no matter how odd it might be.

I’ll take the Learning Tree and Cobb to win here, as it seems like we’re going to be seeing Jericho do his thing for a long time to come, no matter how much of a mess it might be. That doesn’t go well if he loses his big match as part of the team, so odds are Cobb pins Shibata to get the win, giving Jericho something else to talk about. The match itself should be ok, but egads this has been a rough sit for a good while now.

Elite vs. Acclaimed/Hiroshi Tanahashi

Tanahashi is replacing Billy Gunn for the sake of it’s Forbidden Door and therefore Tanahashi has to be on the show. Much like the Learning Tree match, the good thing here is that if the Bucks are in the match, they can’t be talking (in theory at least) and that should make things a bit less annoying. This feels like a match that should be on Dynamite but here we are instead, though at least the addition of Tanahashi makes it feel more special.

It’s hard to imagine the Bucks losing a big match until Blood And Guts at the earliest so we’ll say the Elite wins here and keeps things going. Odds are we get a rematch of this later on with Gunn in there rather than Tanahashi, but for now at least we should be in for something good enough. The Elite go over though, as they’re a bigger deal than another makeshift team.

TNT Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Dante Martin vs. El Phantasmo vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Lio Rush vs. Jack Perry

Here we have a ladder match for the vacant title as Adam Copeland decided that jumping off a cage and landing on his feet was a good idea. The ladder match part makes it all the more eye roll inducing because it’s such a cliché at this point, but it also lets someone potentially steal the title without having to get a pinfall. That opens up some doors, but I think you know where this is going.

As much as I’d love to see someone like Martin, who could actually be made by something like this, get the title, this feels like it’s Perry all day. AEW is obsessed with getting this guy over one way or another and it feels like he’ll do it here as a way to become that much bigger of a deal. The match will be the usual car crash, meaning it’s only going to be so good, but it should be exciting.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Mina Shirakawa

This is both a title match and part of a love triangle, as both of them are trying to woo Mariah May. That has made for quite the unique story but it is something that has been set up well enough that I’m curious to see where it goes. The match quality itself might be up in the air as Shirakawa doesn’t have a long track record in AEW, but that is far from the most interesting part here.

I’ll go with Storm to win of course, as the title isn’t likely changing hands here, though the question becomes what happens with May. It would not surprise me at all to see her side with Storm before eventually winning the Owen Hart Tournament and getting a shot against Storm at Wembley. For now though, all is right in the world as May signs with Storm and moves forward, though it could be quite the path there.

AEW TBS Title/NJPW Women’s Strong Title: Mercedes Mone(c) vs. Stephanie Vaquer(c)

We’re going title for title here and…I have almost no idea what to expect here as all I’ve seen from Vaquer is most of an eight minute match this week on Collision. Other than that it’s been all hype videos and promos from Mone, which isn’t the best way to go. What matters though is that we have what could be a huge match which could go either way, as the title vs. title stipulation shakes things up.

While there is a chance that Vaquer wins, I can’t imagine Mone loses anywhere near this close to her AEW debut. AEW knows that she is a star and isn’t about to have her lose a big match, or any match for that matter, here. They have also hyped up the idea that she needs to win the NJPW belt, even if that means we are going to be seeing another title running around AEW, because we haven’t had that in a bit.

IWGP World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Tetsuya Naito

This is the other World Title match on the show, which is arguably a bigger match than the main event. Thankfully AEW has managed to avoid treating this as such a big deal, as that would be about as bad of a result as you could get for the AEW World Title. Moxley is already one of the biggest stars in AEW, but that brings up the question of whether or not he gets to retain the title here.

This one could go either way, but I’ll take Naito to win here, as I can’t imagine Moxley being the next big thing in AEW. Naito can get back the title that Moxley took fro him and we could be in for a rather good match on the way there. It also gives the other promotions their big win on the show, which very well could otherwise be dominated by AEW. This one could go either way of course, but I’ll take Naito to get the title back.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland(c) vs. Will Ospreay

Here we have the biggest match on the card and thankfully the best built up story. It’s an idea that has been done before, as you have Ospreay as the new ace of the company and Strickland being the “not so fast” champion. Ospreay has pretty much been able to do no wrong so far in AEW and Strickland can work well with anyone. That opens up the door for something great, but there is one thing in the way.

That thing is the Don Callis Family and unfortunately I’m expecting them to be what costs Ospreay the match here. Ospreay getting the World Title at some point seems to be an inevitability, but I would hope that Strickland gets at least one successful defense in the main event spot. Strickland has done incredibly well in this role and this could be another great one, though odds are the Family gets involved to cost Ospreay. It’s predictable, but that’s about all I can expect to happen.

Overall Thoughts

As you can probably tell from here, this is going to be a very long show. Fourteen matches and a show that could go around six hours makes for one heck of a marathon and I’m worried about things getting bogged down by sheer volume. There is a great show in there somewhere but AEW has a tendency to put in way too much on any pay per view. Hopefully they can find a way around it, but they’ve got a big challenge in front of them.

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Dynamite
Date: May 15, 2024
Location: Angel Of The Winds Arena, Everett, Washington
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

We’re a week and a half away from Double Or Nothing and that means we could be in for a show building towards the pay per view. In this case, we have the Blackpool Combat Club vs. the Don Callis Family in what should be quite the fight. Other than that, Swerve Strickland needs some revenge on Brian Cage. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Don Callis Family vs. Blackpool Combat Club

Kyle Fletcher and Jeff Cobb for the Family here, with the latter as a hired gun for the week. The brawl starts on the floor with Danielson’s music still playing and the Club taking over. We settle down for the bell ringing and Danielson striking away at Cobb in the corner. Moxley comes in for a running dropkick to the leg in the corner as the Club starts picking Cobb apart.

Fletcher comes in and fires off some chops, which don’t have much effect on Moxley. A superplex gives Moxley two but Cobb breaks up a cross armbreaker attempt. Fletcher is draped over the top rope so Danielson can hit a top rope knee as we take a break. Back with Moxley staggering out of the corner and snapping off a suplex to Cobb. Danielson comes back in and starts firing off the strikes but Cobb suplexes him out of the air. Moxley and Fletcher trade kicks to the face until Cobb runs Moxley over. What looks to be a Doomsday Device is broken up though and Moxley Death Riders Fletcher for the pin at 12:58.

Rating: B-. Yes the Ring Of Honor TV Champion took the fall again and yes that happens over and over again and yes you are still expected to pay to see the television show (which isn’t on television) he represents. The match was the usual big party fight that you see around here, with Cobb looking like a monster as tends to be the case whenever he’s in AEW. Just find someone other than Fletcher to take the fall next time? Or have him drop the title?

Post match the Family goes after Moxley again but Claudio Castagnoli runs in for the save.

Video on Swerve Strickland vs. Christian Cage.

Here is Adam Copeland for a chat but the House Of Black jumps him from behind. Copeland is knocked out and Malakai Black steals his wedding ring. Kyle O’Reilly tries to make the save but gets beaten down as well.

We look at Eddie Kingston being injured at a New Japan event over the weekend at the hands of the Elite.

The Elite mocks Kingston for getting hurt and think Anarchy In The Arena will be 4-3.

The Young Bucks have their own shoes. Sure.

FTR thinks they have a replacement for Anarchy In The Arena. More on this later.

Young Bucks vs. Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels

Non-title and Jack Perry is on commentary. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll only refer to Sydal as Sydal and Matt Buck as Matt. Sydal rolls Matt up to start and it’s quickly off to Daniels to hammer away in the corner. Nick comes in and cleans house, followed by Matt’s top rope ax handle to Sydal as we take a break. Back with Daniels coming in to beat up the Bucks, including a Downward Spiral/DDT combination. Sydal misses a dive to the floor though and Matt sends him over the barricade, leaving Daniels to get Tony Khan Drivered for the pin at 8:32.

Rating: C+. This was about what it seemed likely to be, with the Bucks getting beaten up for a bit and then winning in the end. Daniels and Sydal weren’t exactly a major threat to them and it lets the Bucks get a win before going into the pay per view. You know, because they haven’t looked strong enough lately.

Post match the Bucks yell at Daniels for talking down to him last week. They’re trying to clean up the toxicity in the locker room so Daniels is fired. Perry pours a drink on Tony Schiavone too.

Toni Storm, while holding Mariah May, threatens Harley Cameron.

Malakai Black looks at Adam Copeland’s wedding ring and accepts his challenge for a barbed wire steel cage match at Double Or Nothing.

Hook vs. Sebastian Wolfe

Redrum in 28 seconds.

Post match Hook calls out Chris Jericho, so here he is, along with Big Bill. Jericho doesn’t want to hurt Hook but offers him a qualifying match to get a title shot. Hook likes the idea and then hits him in the face, only to have Big Bill get involved. Katsuyori Shibata makes the save.

Swerve Strickland is ready for Christian Cage but first he has to take out Brian Cage.

Swerve Strickland vs. Brian Cage

Non-title and Swerve gets the big hometown reaction. Cage slugs away in the corner to start but gets sent outside with Swerve stomping on the arm. The arm is snapped over the top rope but Cage sends him into the corner again. Swerve’s half nelson is broken up and Cage hits a gorilla press slam into the corner as we take a break.

Back with Swerve slipping out of a powerbomb attempt and sending Cage face first into the buckle. A middle rope elbow to the back has Cage in more trouble and Swerve brainbusters him for two. The rolling Downward Spiral is cut off but Swerve escapes Weapon X as well. Swerve ties him in the ropes for a slingshot stomp to the chest, setting up a 450 for two. Cage’s sitout powerbomb gets two more and they trade shots to the face. Another powerbomb is loaded up but Swerve Stomps his way out in a nice counter. The House Call finishes Cage at 14:48.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match that works well for Swerve: have him get in trouble and then fight back to win in the end. He has a history with Cage and it was nice to see him getting a win that means something to him. Rather good match here, which should completely sever Swerve from the Mogul Embassy.

Post match Swerve grabs a chair but the Patriarchy comes in to beat Swerve down. Nick Wayne breaks a photo of Swerve and his family over Swerve’s head. Christian says that’s payback for Swerve attacking Nick last year and asks if Swerve’s daughter is proud of her absentee father. He rubs Swerve’s blood on the photo for a personal touch.

Hook is willing to face anyone to get the shot at Chris Jericho, including Katsuyori Shibata, who wants Jericho as well. Samoa Joe comes in to yell at Hook for not focusing, with Shibata’s translator saying Joe’s flowery shirt doesn’t look good.

Toni Storm vs. Harley Cameron

Non-title. They trade headlocks to start with Storm taking her to the mat. Storm sends her to the apron and adds a running hip attack to take her down again. Cue Serena Deeb for a distraction though as Cameron takes over. We take a break and come back with Storm hitting a Backstabber into a DDT. A fisherman’s buster gets two on Cameron, who is right back with Eat Defeat. Cameron’s running knee gets two but Storm grabs a chokebomb. Storm Zero finishes Cameron at 7:04.

Rating: C. Cameron seems to be trying but it really isn’t working for her in the ring. She feels like someone who hasn’t been in the ring that long, which might be due to her only debuting about two years ago. I’m not sure why that means she should be in the ring on national TV, but it isn’t exactly working.

Will Ospreay and the Undisputed Kingdom have a staredown in the back, with Ospreay saying he won’t go after Roderick Strong because he knows the rest of the team would be on him. Strong has never had any respect for him and Ospreay’s feelings are mutual. Things get heated, wish Strong bringing up Ospreay’s family and saying Ospreay is a child/fraud. Ospreay accuses Strong of burying him to Ring Of Honor people and promises to take the title. This still feels like a huge downgrade for Ospreay.

Here are Mercedes Mone and Willow Nightingale, with Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway, for the contract signing. Willow asks if Mone respects the TBS Title because Willow is the face of TBS. This smiling face comes to the ring every time and says nothing else matters because you can have fun. She isn’t going to let Mone come into AEW and take all of that away.

Willow signs, leaving Mone saying the best part of Willow’s career is beating her, which will be the case after Double Or Nothing. Willow says the last time they wrestled, she walked out a champion but Mone didn’t walk out at all. The fight is on and Mone is put through the table. Mone is going to need to have the match of the century to make up for how useless she’s been since debuting.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Dax Harwood

Harwood is challenging and goes after Okada’s legs to start, sending him outside. Back in and Okada shoulders him down and sends Harwood shoulder first into the post as we take a break. We come back with Harwood being sat on top and dropkicked out to the floor. A running boot against the barricade hits Harwood, followed by a DDT to knock him silly.

Back in and Harwood falls down to avoid the Rainmaker, followed by a German suplex. Harwood hits a dragon suplex as well but Okada kicks off a Sharpshooter attempt. Okada goes up and gets superplexed down for the big crash, leaving them both down for a minute in a needed breather.

The slingshot sitout powerbomb is blocked and they fight over a Tombstone until Harwood plants him for two. The Sharpshooter goes on but is broken up just as quickly. Okada is frustrated and goes to grab the belt, which the referee takes away, allowing Okada to get in a low blow. The Rainmaker retains the title at 16:05.

Rating: B. Well, that certainly was a top singles guy taking a long time to beat one half of a tag team who never wins anything important on his own. They’re continuing with the idea of the Elite looking unstoppable going into Anarchy In The Arena, which isn’t exactly making me want to see the match. At the same time, points for not having the Bucks run in, as seeing less of them is nice.

Post match the Elite comes in for the beatdown so Cash Wheeler and Bryan Danielson run in. Darby Allin, in a purple fur coat, runs in from behind for the real save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was mainly focused on building things up for Double Or Nothing but the show is only looking so good at the moment. The main focus is, again, on the Elite and they aren’t exactly working so far. Allin being back is a good surprise and he’ll help the match, but it feels like the latest way for the Elite to be better than everyone else and that’s not the most thrilling story. Other than that you have Strickland vs. Cage, which is coming off as a rather midcard feud despite being for the World Title. They had a focus here, but the storylines just aren’t doing it for me at the moment.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club b. Don Callis Family – Death Rider to Fletcher
Young Bucks b. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal – Tony Khan Driver to Daniels
Hook b. Sebastian Wolfe – Redrum
Swerve Strickland b. Brian Cage – House Call
Toni Storm b. Harley Cameron – Storm Zero
Kazuchika Okada b. Dax Harwood – Rainmaker

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Supercard Of Honor XVI
Date: March 31, 2023
Location: Galen Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Nigel McGuinness

It’s probably the biggest non-WWE event of the weekend and the show is pretty stacked. Ring Of Honor’s TV relaunch has made for some entertaining television and while it hasn’t exactly set this show up perfectly, we should be in for a heck of a show. The headliner is Claudio Castagnoli defending the World Title against Eddie Kingston so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Tracy Williams vs. Jeff Cobb

This is the first of four Zero Hour matches which were announced a few hours ago because Tony Khan. Cobb gets taken into the corner to start but snaps off the swinging belly to back suplex to send Williams down hard. A delayed running suplex gives Cobb two before he switches over to the leg. Williams strikes him back before getting two off a small package. Cobb isn’t having this and hits the Tour of the Islands for the pin at 5:10.

Rating: C. This was just a step above a squash for Cobb, who shrugged off everything Williams threw at him and hit his big finish to win. Cobb is the definition of a hoss who happens to have some incredible amateur skills. You don’t get things like that very often and Cobb seems to have settled into a rather nice niche.

We have a special surprise as NIGEL MCGUINNESS returns to do commentary for the rest of the show. If for some reason they have to have a three man booth, Nigel is a great choice to have around.

Zero Hour: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Willie Mack

Feeling out process to start with Takeshita going with the strikes. He knocks Mack to the floor but misses the big dive, only to have Mack get in a shot of his own. Back in and Takeshita snaps off a middle rope hurricanrana to send Mack outside again. This time it’s a big flip dive to take him down, only to have Mack get back up for his own dive. We hit the chinlock back inside, followed by a running clothesline to take Takeshita down again. Mack’s running kick to the chest sets up the nip up but his back is hurt. The standing moonsault gets two on Takeshita but Mack can’t quite follow up.

Takeshita blasts him with a lariat for two and has to block the Stunner. Mack hits the Pounce into a Stunner, only to have Takeshita hit a knee into his own Stunner. That’s shrugged off and Mack hits a running knee to leave them both down. The corner cannonball hits Takeshita but the frog splash hits too long. Takeshita grabs the Blue Thunder Bomb and the running knee finishes Mack at 9:40.

Rating: B-. These two working well together is hardly a surprise as they’re both incredibly talented. The good thing is that they were able to get some time and build something up rather than being all rushed. Mack continues to feel like someone who could be a thing if he was given the chance, but the wandering talented star is a nice place to be in as well.

Zero Hour: Miranda Alize vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale powers her down to start with Alize being sent outside. The big dive is cut off with a forearm though and a basement hurricanrana gives Alize two back inside. Nightingale isn’t having any of that and knocks her around again, setting up the running hip attack in the corner. Alize is back with a neckbreaker for two and a shot DDT gets the same. A Death Valley Driver plants Alize for two more, only for her to grab a cutter. Back up and the Drive By misses, allowing Nightingale to hit the POUNCE (Ian/Caprice: “PERIOD!” Nigel: “You’ve said that before haven’t you?”). The Doctor Bomb finishes Alize at 7:01.

Rating: C. It’s nice to see Nightingale win, even if it is in a lower level match like this. She has so much charisma and can do the power stuff rather well. I’m still not sure why she isn’t given a chance to win something that matters, but the fans keep cheering her so maybe she can get by without it.

Zero Hour: Slim J vs. Stu Grayson

Ari Daivari, Mark Sterling and Evil Uno are here too. Slim jumps him to start but Grayson knocks him down to the apron, setting up a slingshot hilo. Daivari offers a distraction though and Slim takes over, setting up a springboard reverse DDT (that was cool) for two. Grayson is back with a clothesline into a springboard twisting moonsault for two of his own.

A sleeper slows Grayson down for a bit but he’s fine enough for a pop up powerslam and another near fall. Slim grabs a twisting Sliced Bread for two and Grayson is ready to fight back. Sterling gets involved and is taken out by Uno, leaving Grayson to hit Knightfall for the pin at 6:55.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why this needed to be the final match on the show or why it needed to be there at all but at least Grayson has been treated as something important in recent weeks. In theory the idea is to get people to cheer for the Dark Order, though this isn’t really a crowd that needs to be warmed up. The match was good enough, but I’m rather tired of seeing Sterling everywhere.

Post match the Righteous (Dutch and Vincent) return to stare at the Dark Order.

Commentary welcomes us to the show proper.

AAA Mega Title: El Hijo de Vikingo vs. Komander

Vikingo is defending and we get the show of sportsmanship to start. The bell rings and that is a ROAR as the fans are way into this. They actually go with the wrist grappling to start until Komander takes him down and ties up the legs. That’s broken up so Vikingo gets him into a surfboard. Komander slips out as well and gets his legs tied up again, allowing them to slap away at each other.

With the legs still tied up, they both wind up on their heads to slap each other in the face. Back up and they both flip into a pose for another standoff. Komander gets sent to the floor where Vikingo dives on him and lands on his feet, only to send Komander back inside. This time Komander sends him outside for the running flip dive and it’s already time for the table.

Instead of putting Vikingo on it though, Komander hits a 450 off the stage. Back in and Komander has to bail out of a rope walk shooting star so Vikingo does his inverted dragon rana (again, the heck). Running knees put Komander on the floor, where he gets his own knees up to block a shooting star press. Back in and Vikingo puts him down, setting up a jump from the post to the top but right into a sitout powerbomb to give Komander two.

Komander goes up this time and gets shoved down in a big crash. Vikingo hits a springboard inverted moonsault to take Komander down again as commentary tries to figure out what to call that. Back in and a springboard corkscrew 450 gets two as the fans are very happy. They go to the apron with Komander hitting a Canadian Destroyer, followed by the rope walk (all the way across) into a VERY high flip dive. Back in and Vikingo finally hits his shooting star for two before going up top.

Komander tries to walk the ropes but gets caught in a top rope Canadian Destroyer. That sends Komander outside and onto the table for the springboard 630, which doesn’t break the table (because of course it doesn’t). Back in and Vikingo misses the 630, setting up the Hidden Ace (twisting Phoenix splash) for two. They both go up top again with Vikingo managing a swinging Rock Bottom to leave them both down. The running double knees hit Komander in the corner and the 630 can retain the title at 16:45.

Rating: A. Yeah what else are you supposed to say here? It’s a total stunt show and they aren’t trying to do anything else. There isn’t supposed to be anything with a big story or something complicated like that. Instead, this was about going out there and doing whatever insane thing they could think of to pop the crowd more and more. That’s what they were going for here and it worked incredibly well with some almost hard to believe stuff.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: The Embassy vs. AR Fox/Metalik/Blake Christian

The Embassy (Brian Cage/Gates of Agony with Prince Nana) is defending and gets knocked to the floor at the bell. Some dropkicks put them down again but we settle down to Cage powering Metalik down. Fox comes in and hits a jumping enziguri as Ian and Caprice talk about their wives. A cutter drops Cage and everything breaks down, with Fox hitting a running flip dive to the floor to take Cage down again.

Back in and Fox’s Blockbuster is pulled out of the air, allowing Cage to hit an F10. Cage takes too long though and it’s off to Christian, who hits the big Fosbury Flop on the champs. Metalik adds a top rope splash to Toa for not even a one, leaving Kaun to hit a backbreaker. Back in and Fox drops Cage but Toa plants Christian. Metalik comes back with a spinning DDT though and everyone is down. Christian hits Cage with a Canadian Destroyer and Metalik adds a sunset flip for two. Cage clotheslines Metalik into the Drill Claw to retain at 8:16.

Rating: C+. The action was there but it’s the Embassy beating a team that was thrown together for the sake of having challengers for the belts. There isn’t a division for these belts and other than giving Cage something shiny to hold, I don’t know how necessary the titles really are. The match was entertaining, but it’s not exactly easy to get invested in these belts.

We recap Athena vs. Yuka Sakazaki for Athena’s Women’s Title. Athena called her out for the title match and here she is, with Sakazaki saving Emi Sakura from a post match attack this week.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Yuka Sakazaki

Athena is defending and stomps on a porcelain doll, as she has been calling Sakazaki recently. The fans are behind Sakazaki as they feel each other out to start. A hurricanrana takes Athena outside and Sakazaki dives through the ropes to take her down. Athena kicks her down and hammers away back inside as commentary thinks Sakazaki got messed up on that dive.

Sakazaki gets taken down in the corner to land on her head again but she’s fine enough to hit a clothesline. Athena cuts her off with a hard powerbomb and pounds away, with another near fall increasing the frustration. A dropkick sends Sakazaki outside and there’s a wheelbarrow suplex to drop her on the floor.

Athena’s running dropkick only hits barricade though and Sakazaki kind of suplex slams her on the floor. Back in and a springboard splash gives Sakazaki two but Athena blasts her with a spinning forearm. Sakazaki is back up with a spinning hammerlock slam for two more. Athena knocks her away though and hits the O Face to retain at 11:36.

Rating: B-. Athena has been on a roll lately with the new heel style and that was the case here. Sakazaki has all kinds of talent and was showing it in the match, with the neck injury slowing her down. I liked this more than I was expecting and the good thing is there are a ton of women who could come after the title.

We recap Samoa Joe defending the TV Title against Mark Briscoe. Joe won the title at last year’s show and Mark has been trying to win it for his entire career. The Briscoes could never beat Joe on their own but now Mark has to do it for himself, his family and his brother.

TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Mark Briscoe

Joe is defending. They circle each other to start until Mark strikes away. A fireman’s carry doesn’t work so they chop it out instead. Mark gets the better of things and manages a Death Valley Driver but Joe rolls away before the Froggy Bow can launch. They head outside with Mark charging into an overhead belly to belly to cut off the momentum. Back in and Joe hits another suplex for two but the right hands seem to wake Mark up.

Mark slugs away but gets knocked outside in a heap. The suicide elbow connects but Joe spends too much time bragging, allowing Mark to hit a dropkick. There’s the step up dive off the chair and Mark pulls out a table. Joe gets in a shot and leans the table up but gets Blockbustered through it for his efforts. Back in and a top rope chop to the head staggers Joe again, setting up a chop off.

Mark’s middle rope forearm puts them both down….and Mark goes over for a tag. Since Jay isn’t there, Joe catches him with the snap powerslam for two. Joe’s Crossface sends Mark to the ropes and Mark is back up with the chops. One heck of a clothesline drops Mark for two and Joe puts him on top. That’s broken up and Mark hits the Froggy Bow….for two. Mark loads up the Cutthroat Driver but Joe reverses into the Koquina Clutch. With Mark getting close to the ropes, a sleeper suplex drops Mark again and Joe chokes him out to retain at 14:16.

Rating: B-. That ending is going to get a lot of people talking and I’m not sure how well it is going to be received. This seemed tailor made to FINALLY give Mark his big win over Joe and get the TV Title that he has chased for years, but instead Joe holds onto it as his reign hits a year. Maybe there is some long term story planned, but it’s hard to believe that it will wind up feeling better than this would have. I really don’t get the thinking here.

Respect is shown post match.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Daniel Garcia

They grapple against the rope to start and no Garcia isn’t going to let him have a clean break. The fight goes to the floor with Tanahashi hammering him around the ring but Garcia gets in a cheap shot to the knee. Garcia then mocks the air guitar and dances, leaving commentary aghast.

Some knee cranking ensues and Tanahashi screams a lot as McGuinness praises Garcia as much as he can. Garcia even mocks Shinsuke Nakamura a bit until Tanahashi fights up. A slam sets up the middle rope flip splash (don’t let Mike Bailey rub off on you man) but Garcia is back with an ax kick.

They trade shots with Garcia going to the knee to take him down. The dragon screw legwhip gives Tanahashi a breather and the high angle Texas Cloverleaf goes on. With that broken up, Tanahashi slips out of a piledriver attempt and hits the Twist and Shout. There’s the Sling Blade for two, followed by the High Fly Flow to finish Garcia at 12:04.

Rating: B-. Good match again but I never bought Tanahashi as being in any real danger. Garcia just isn’t on his level and there is no reason to believe that he will be anytime soon. This was more of a way to get Tanahashi on the show in some way with Garcia as the designated victim, kind of like his match with Adam Cole earlier this week.

We recap the ladder match for the vacant Tag Team Titles. The Briscoes are gone so the titles are on the line in a ladder match. Not much more to it than that.

Tag Team Titles: La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Lucha Bros vs. Kingdom vs. Top Flight vs. Aussie Open

Ladder match for the vacant titles. It’s chaos to start of course with La Faccion and the Kingdom being left alone, only to have the Kingdom jump them. Top Flight comes back in and gets beaten up by La Faccion, including being crushed in the ladder. The Aussies come in and quickly take La Faccion down, leaving them alone in the ring. The Lucha Bros break that up and stack La Faccion in a ladder, setting up their assisted wheelbarrow splash.

It’s too early to climb though as the Bros are sent outside, setting up big dives from La Faccion. Bennett holds up Darius Martin so Taven can hit a dive over the top for a Doomsday Device on the floor (GEEZ). It’s time to bring out the big ladder as the Aussies hit stereo Tombstones on the stage to knock the Kingdom cold.

Back at ringside the Aussies crush Dante Martin with the ladders but the Bros take them down. It’s too early for the Bros to go up though as La Faccion pulls them back down. Taven and Bennett (bleeding) are somehow back with the latter slugging it out with Rush. Dralistico suplexes Taven into a ladder in the corner before going up top with Darius. With that not working, Darius helps Dante go up top for the slugout with Dralistico going down. Dralistico breaks it up and Dante hits a step up dropkick to knock a chair into Rush’s face.

The Aussies clean house, including tossing Penta into a ladder in the corner. One ladder is stood up and another is bridged into it, allowing Taven to pull Darius down. Dante and Bennett fight up top, with Dante hitting a sunset bomb over the ladder. The Aussies are back with Coriolis on Dante and an assisted Alabama Slam drops Darius onto another ladder.

Dralistico plants Davis and hurricanranas Fletcher into (not onto) the announcers’ table, with everything being knocked over. The Kingdom puts Dralistico on the ladder and Bennett splashes him through for a huge crash. Rush suplexes Davis off the apron and onto a ladder, leaving the managers to fight.

Dante and Fenix go up with Fenix being knocked onto the bridged ladder. Penta goes up as well and kicks Dante down (leaving him alone with the titles) before hitting a Canadian Destroyer off the bridged ladder through two tables at ringside (Dante’s foot/leg looked BAD on that landing). Back in and Fenix takes out the Kingdom and gets the titles at 20:11.

Rating: B. That injury sucked the life out of me and the way it was set up (Penta being alone with the titles but going to do the move anyway) made it worse. That’s what will be remembered from the match, which is a shame as it was a bunch of great looking stunts. It did run longer than it needed to, but that injury is far worse than any timing issues.

Post match Mark Briscoe and FTR come out to celebrate with the Lucha Bros in a nice touch.

Looking at some photos, Dante’s foot was completely twisted around. He’s going to be gone for a long, long time.

We recap Wheeler Yuta vs. Katsuyori Shibata for the Pure Title. Yuta bragged about his training and wanted the head of the New Japan LA Dojo, meaning Shibata. Match made.

Pure Rules Title: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Wheeler Yuta

Yuta is defending and Jon Moxley comes out with him (but doesn’t stay). Shibata takes him down without much trouble to start and mounts him MMA style. Back up and Shibata pulls him to the mat again before working on the leg. Shibata grabs a leglock and Yuta goes for the ropes which, after a while, he does reach.

Back up and Yuta goes for the arm for a change, only to have Shibata take him down by the leg again. They get back up and Yuta’s chops have no effect, leaving Shibata to forearm the heck out of him. With nothing else working, Yuta uses the right hand to get the official warning (meaning he’s disqualified if he does it again).

Yuta’s chops still don’t work so Shibata chops him into the corner for a face wash. A running corner dropkick connects with Yuta and we hit the chinlock. Shibata chops away but Yuta spits in his face to anger the crowd. That earns him a sleeper, followed by the Penalty Kick to give Shibata the pin and the title at 12:08.

Rating: C+. I know it’s not the wisest thing to say but I’ve never gotten the appeal of Shibata’s style. It’s strong style and he’s a master of it and all that, but it’s never been something that has really held my interest. In this case though, he pretty much had to win as Yuta has done everything he can as champion and shouldn’t be going over someone as talented as Shibata. Then again, ROH’s history of having New Japan guys go over its stars isn’t a road they want to go down again, but I doubt that’s going to stop anything.

Post match Yuta won’t shake hands.

We recap the main event. Eddie Kingston wants to be World Champion but Claudio Castagnoli calls him a waste of talent. They have known each other for fifteen years and it is time for them to fight over the title.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston

Kingston is challenging and they go right to the fight to start, with Kingston going after the knee. A suplex drops Kingston but he’s right back up with a chop. Castagnoli absorbs the shots and manages to drop him across the top rope for a needed breather. One heck of a European uppercut sends Kingston outside but he comes back in for the slugout. You don’t do that with Castagnoli, who grabs the swing but Kingston goes to the knee to break it up.

Castagnoli gets back up and takes Kingston up top, where he knocks Castagnoli back off. The fans are split as Kingston comes back with chops, setting up a clothesline to send Castagnoli to the floor. There’s the big dive to knock Castagnoli silly, followed by a bulldog for two back inside.

Kingston tries the back suplex but Castagnoli turns onto him and fires off elbows. That’s reversed into the Stretch Plum until Castagnoli falls down to break it up. The backdrop driver gives Kingston two but Castagnoli uppercuts his way out of trouble. The Riccola Bomb is countered and the spinning backfist gets two. They head outside again with Castagnoli slamming the barricade into him over and over.

Another big uppercut gives Castagnoli two back inside but Kingston catches him with another backfist. A third backfist looks to set up what looked to be a brainbuster but it’s broken up. The Neutralizer gets one so Castagnoli uppercuts him down for two more. A bunch of uppercuts, including one to the back of the head sets up the Riccola Bomb but Kingston reverses into a cradle….which is reversed into a sunset flip to retain at 20:08.

Rating: B. Let me guess: long term booking. I’m sure they have some reason to keep the booking going, but having the fan favorite lose his big shot (again) isn’t exactly the best way to keep the interest up. This was the time for Kingston to win the title, even if he lost it back a week or two later. Castagnoli is a bigger deal on AEW TV, but him losing here wouldn’t have killed him. It might have killed Kingston though, as he loses yet another big one.

Post match Wheeler Yuta comes in to surround Kingston but Katsuyori Shibata comes in to even things out and hold up his title to Castagnolie’s. Kingston gets a mic and asks if we’re still on pay per view. Kingston: “One minute? F*** s*** motherf*****, fine me, I don’t care.” He puts over the Japanese stars on the show (not the young guys, not the talent who is here ever week, not the people who risked their health in the ladder match, but just the Japanese guys) and says he’s not done with Castagnoli to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a weird situation as the wrestling was good throughout, but that injury took me out of the rest of the show. It was so gruesome and so horrible looking that it was hard to get into the other matches. This was also a good example of the Zero Hour doing more harm than good, as having four matches thrown in didn’t add much of anything and had me more burned out near the end. It felt like “here’s more stuff, just because we can” and that doesn’t exactly scream best of the best like this show is supposed to be.

Now that being said, this show is definitely worth seeing with as much good stuff as it had. When the weakest match is perfectly watchable, if not good, you know you’re in for something special. The opener is another eye popping stunt show and the other matches are great, but egads there are some weird choices in here. Briscoe and Kingston, the emotional challengers, both losing is hard to get my head around, as only Shibata and the Lucha Bros got feel good wins. You need something more than that to get invested in and I don’t think this had that. Great show, but I’m not sure about a few decisions.

Results
Jeff Cobb b. Tracy Williams – Tour of the Islands
Konosuke Takeshita b. Willie Mack – Running knee
Willow Nightingale b. Miranda Alize – Doctor Bomb
Stu Grayson b. Slim J – Knightfall
El Hijo del Vikingo b. Komander – 630
The Embassy b. Blake Christian/Metalik/AR Fox – Drill Claw to Metalik
Athena b. Yuka Sakazaki – O Face
Samoa Joe b. Mark Briscoe
Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Daniel Garcia – High Fly Flow
Lucha Bros won the Reach For The Sky Ladder Match
Katsuyori Shibata b. Wheeler Yuta – Penalty Kick
Claudio Castagnoli b. Eddie Kingston – Sunset flip

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Dynamite
Date: March 29, 2023
Location: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We are on the way to Double Or Nothing and that means the card needs to start coming together. You can probably guess a few of the matches that are expected, but there is also a big show next week in New York. There is a good chance that we will be finding out some of the matches on this week. Oh and Kenny Omega vs. Jeff Cobb, if we just have to. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jungle Boy vs. Matt Hardy

Ethan Page is here with Hardy, who stares Jungle Boy down to start before working on the arm. That’s reversed into Jungle Boy’s wristlock and a dropkick puts Hardy on the floor early on. They trade places and Matt hits a dive before the brawl can continue. A Side Effect on the apron plants Jungle Boy and we take an early break.

Back with Jungle Boy fighting back but Page pops up on the apron. Cue Hook to even things up and brawl with Page but he accidentally hits Hardy for trying to break it up. Back in and Jungle Boy backslides Hardy for two before nailing a superkick. A running Downward Spiral sets up the running elbow to the back of the head for the pin at 9:57.

Rating: C+. It’s a good idea to have Jungle Boy in the ring with someone like Hardy, who isn’t going to go too nuts and can keep things a bit more grounded. Jungle Boy is talented at what he does but can use some help in the ring from time to time. Hardy is a shell of the shell of himself but he can still wrestle a basic match, just like he did here.

Post match here is MJF, who says he runs the show around here so the fans can shut up. Not that it matters though as next week, they’re back in the best place in the world in Long Island, New York MJF isn’t happy with how Jungle Boy interrupted things two weeks ago and calls his entire AEW run mid. It’s not MJF’s fault that things are falling apart for Jungle Boy and he brings up their match at Double Or Nothing.

For the first time, MJF felt like he had met the man he would be at war with for the rest of his career. That night, MJF shook his hand but now, here they both are. MJF says that people like Marko Stunted Growth and Christian (MJF: “Great call by the way.”) held him down and Hook will do the same.

They could have run this place together but now Jungle Boy only cares what the fans think. Jungle Boy calls him selfish and self centered, which is enough for MJF to keep running his mouth. MJF finally goes too far by saying Anna Jay wasn’t impressed with Jungle Boy’s, uh, yeah, meaning the fight is on. Jungle Boy beats him down in the corner but MJF bails from the running forearm to the back of the head. It still feels like we are going towards that four way and this might have been adding another pillar to the founda….I have no idea how construction works but you get the idea.

Kenny Omega is getting taped up for his match tonight when Don Callis, who tells Omega to not worry about Hangman Page. Callis is off to apologize.

The Jericho Appreciation Society treats the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn to a night on the town, complete with a St. Louis Blues game, ice cream and a rather nice looking dinner. The Acclaimed will make their decision about joining the team next week. When Matt Menard sees the bill for the night, he hopes all of this is worth it. The Acclaimed could have a hotter feud than this in an igloo.

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs Blackpool Combat Club

The Club jumps them to start and Moxley brawls with Castle on the floor. The bell rings and Castagnoli Riccola Bombs Brent for the pin at 49 seconds. Well that was unexpected and exactly what it should have been if Castle wasn’t in the ring.

We look back at Kenny Omega vs. El Hijo Del Vikingo. Tonight, Omega is ready to defend the IWGP United States Title against Jeff Cobb.

Don Callis tries to apologize to Hangman Page, saying he just lost his balance last week and knows Page didn’t do anything. Page isn’t sure but the Blackpool Combat Club comes in to deck him. Callis tries to shake Moxley’s hand but gets beaten down as well, leaving him busted open.

Post break Omega is told about what happened to Callis and Page. He’s shaken but has a match.

IWGP United States Title: Kenny Omega vs. Jeff Cobb

Omega is defending. They stare each other down to start until Omega’s shoulder has no effect. Cobb is sent to the floor though and Omega hits the big flip dive. Back in and Cobb goes after Omega’s banged up ribs to take over, with a hard shot sending Omega outside. We take a break and come back with Omega slipping out of a bearhug and trying a backslide.

With that not working, Omega blasts him with a V Trigger into a pair of snap dragons. Cobb pops right back up though and hits a hard clothesline to leave them both down. They go up top with Cobb hitting a delayed superplex and a V Trigger of his own. Omega is able to counter the Tour of the Islands into a ripcord knee and another V Trigger. The One Winged Angel retains the title at 9:57.

Rating: B. I’m not the biggest Omega guy but he is miles better on the good side than the evil one. Omega’s offense is built to be a hero and it has been on display in the last two weeks, both of which have worked well. Let him be more of the AEW superhero than anything else and he should be a lot easier to watch week in and week out. Cobb continues to be a guy who feels like he could be slotted into any main event spot but he’s never around long enough to do so.

Post match the Blackpool Combat Club comes to the apron surround Omega….and Bryan Danielson returns to get in the ring. Danielson chases them off and says no before offering to help Omega up. Omega accepts but, after going after Wheeler Yuta, gets caught with the running knee and the LeBell Lock, with the rest of the Club stomping away. Security and Brandon Cutler come in and are beaten down too.

Video on FTR vs. the Gunns.

The Gunns are ready for FTR and know they’re just as good as FTR could ever been. They don’t respect FTR though and next week it will be top guys, out.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. The Butcher

Blade is challenging and has Blade with him. Cassidy gets jumped before the bell but says he’s fine enough to go. Butcher beats the fire out of him for a bit before taking it outside. A hard whip into the barricade drops Cassidy again and we take a break. Back with Cassidy rolling through a Texas Cloverleaf and going to the eyes to escape a powerbomb.

The Stundog Millionaire connects and the tornado DDT plants Butcher for two. The diving DDT gives Cassidy the same but Blade comes in with a cheap shot to the back (with some kind of object) to give Butcher two. Cue the Best friends to go after Blade, plus a cheap shot to Butcher, with the same object, so the Orange Punch can connect. The Beach Break finishes Butcher at 7:54.

Rating: C+. Cassidy wins again as I believe that is 17 in a row since winning the title. It’s still working, but I’m not sure how long he can go without some of the charm wearing off. Having him out there week after week is going to start taking away some shine, especially if it’s just a bunch of one off opponents.

Jade Cargill and company think Taya Valkyrie is going too far by stealing Jaded. Vengeance is promised on Rampage.

Juice Robinson is ready for Action Andretti on Rampage before he gets to Ricky Starks.

Willow Nightingale vs. Ruby Soho

The rest of the Outcasts are here too. Soho is chased to the floor to start and we get a meeting with the Outcasts. That’s not cool with Nightingale, who pulls her back in and counters No Future. A side slam into the basement crossbody gives Nightingale two. Hold on though as Soho has something in her eye, allowing Saraya to get in some knees to the face. Choking on the ropes ensues and we take a break.

Back with Nightingale hitting a hip attack in the corner and a powerbomb gets two on Soho. That’s enough to make Soho ask for a truce, only to get caught in a Death Valley Driver for two more. Nightingale goes up but gets distracted by Toni Storm, allowing Soho to hit a pair of No Futures….for two (ok they got me). Destination Unknown is countered into a backslide but Nightingale is back up with a hard Pounce. Storm breaks up the doctor bomb though and Soho grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 9:03.

Rating: C+. It’s kind of sad that AEW has someone as naturally charming as Nightingale but you know she is going to lose as soon as her music starts playing. The Outcasts claim another victim as this story continues to not exactly be great. It’s just another female heel group, which has been done to death in wrestling over the last few years. It isn’t like they’re doing anything interesting and that is starting to show fast.

Post match the Outcasts load up the Pillmanizing on Nightingale’s ankle but Riho and Skye Blue run in. That devastating pair is beaten down but here is Jami Hayter for the real save.

Powerhouse Hobbs is ready to hurt more people. The lack of QT Marshall or QTV made this roughly 485% better than anything he has done in recent weeks.

Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia

Feeling out process to start with Garcia grabbing a headlock. Cole reverses into one of his own before shouldering Garcia down. A headscissors drops Cole though and a piledriver sends him outside as we take a break. Back with Cole hitting a pump kick and the brainbuster onto the knee gets two.

They trade kicks to the face until Cole gets caught in a German suplex. Some elbows to Cole’s head keep him in trouble but he’s back up with a failed Panama Sunrise. The Dragon Tamer has Cole in more trouble until he makes the rope. An arm trap piledriver (that’s a new one) gives Garcia two but he charges into a boot in the corner. The Panama Sunrise sets up the Boom to finish Garcia at 11:05.

Rating: B-. This was all it needed to be (despite further death of the piledriver) as Cole comes back and gets a win over a wrestler with some status. Garcia was there to help Cole get his feet wet again and it was a good match to help him do just that. Cole is still smooth and my goodness I’m glad to see him as a hero for once. His heel stuff is good but I could go for seeing him do something else, which is actually happening for a change.

Post match Britt Baker comes out to celebrate with Cole as a bunch of streamers fly. Cue Chris Jericho to….help Garcia to the back and glare at Cole without doing anything. Cole and Baker celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Between last week’s huge main event and next week’s big show in New York, this was the show between the shows. As a result, AEW rightfully took its foot off the gas a bit, as you don’t want to run through everything you have. Next week should be a heck of a big show and this helped set that up with nothing bad and some good action throughout. I liked the show and it has me more invested in next week so well done here.

Results
Jungle Boy b. Matt Hard – Running forearm to the back of the head
Blackpool Combat Club b. Dalton Castle/The Boys – Riccola Bomb to Brent
Kenny Omega b. Jeff Cobb – One Winged Angel
Orange Cassidy b. Butcher – Beach Break
Ruby Soho b. Willow Nightingale – Rollup with feet on the ropes
Adam Cole b. Daniel Garcia – Boom

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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Final Battle 2022
Date: December 10, 2022
Location: College Park Center, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s the third or so Ring Of Honor event of the year, assuming you don’t count a good chunk of the Rampages from earlier this year. The main event of the show is (probably) Chris Jericho defending the Ring Of Honor World Title against Claudio Castagnoli, with a bonus feature of FTR vs. the Briscoes in a dog collar match for FTR’s Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Mascara Dorada vs. Jeff Cobb

Dorada (better known as Gran Metalik) gets nowhere off a shoulder so a springboard flip is enough to put Cobb on the floor. The dive is pulled out of the air though and Cobb posts him hard to take over. Back in and Cobb stands on his back for a surfing pose, followed by a heck of a shot to the face for two. Cobb misses a charge into the corner though and Dorada sends him outside again, this time for the big flip dive.

Back in again and a rope walk senton gives Dorada two but Cobb knocks him out of the air. A standing moonsault gives Cobb two but Tour of the Islands is countered into a rollup for two on Cobb. Dorada puts him on top for a rope walk bulldog and a near fall of his own, only to get blasted in the back of the head. Tour of the Islands finishes Dorada at 7:04.

Rating: C+. Cobb is a total wrecking ball and he did wrecking ball style things here. They went with the power vs. speed formula and that is something that will work every single time. It’s a fine choice for an opener to get the fans going, though it doesn’t exactly mean much if Cobb isn’t going to be around more than once every few months.

Shinobi Shadow Squad vs. Jericho Appreciation Society

This would be Cheeseburger/Eli Isom vs. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker. Isom and Parker shake hands for a good while to start, trade armdrags, and then shake hands again. Cheeseburger comes in and gets to do the TOO SLOW thing when Parker offers the handshake. Parker insists but then gets his kick to the ribs cut off. It’s off to Menard for a backbreaker with Parker adding a running knee to the head for two as the villains take over.

Parker gets in a Garvin Stomp as the fans want Burger to go. A step up elbow to the back rocks Cheeseburger again but he avoids a charge and brings Isom in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Cheeseburger’s Shotei palm strike doesn’t get the chance to launch. With Cheeseburger outside, a double inverted DDT finishes Isom at 5:54.

Rating: C. Another perfectly watchable match which could have been on any given Rampage. Isom was starting to put something together before Ring Of Honor went on hiatus and it’s a bit sad to see him losing to a pair of comedy goofs. Still though, the Society is far bigger right now and it makes sense for them to get a win like this.

Zero Hour: Willow Nightingale vs. Trish Adora

The fans like Nightingale as she takes Adora down, only to get reversed into a headscissors. That’s reversed into a headscissors from Nightingale, apparently the favorite of both commentators’ wives. Back up and Nightingale sends her into the corner for some running hip attacks, only to have Adora come back with a northern lights suplex.

Adora scores with an enziguri and they both slowly pull themselves up. Nightingale hits some hard chops and a middle rope dropkick gets two on Adora. A powerbomb is loaded up but Adora lifts her up and bends it into a failed submission attempt (that was cool). Back up and Nightingale hits a heck of a Pounce, setting up a Doctor Bomb to finish Adora at 6:15.

Rating: C. I know it’s said a lot but Nightingale is so bubbly and fun to watch every time that it is hard to ignore her anytime she is in the ring. That was the case here, against someone as talented as Adora. Nice enough, hard hitting match here and the fans are always going to be into someone with Nightingale’s charisma.

Zero Hour: The Kingdom vs. Top Flight

Maria Kanellis is here with the Kingdom. Dante sends Bennett into the corner to start and it’s off to Taven rather quickly. That doesn’t exactly go well as Dante gets sent outside, with Bennett hitting a bouncing clothesline to take over again. Back in and Dante drives Bennett into the corner, allowing Darius to hit a kick to the head.

Bennett is fine enough to suplex Darius for two as we slow right back down. A Kimura has Darius in even more trouble but he flips his way out for the escape. Darius slugs away to fire up the crowd, which is cut off with a poke to the eye. A quick Spanish Fly gets Darius out of trouble though and the hot tag brings in Dante to clean house.

Everything breaks down and Bennett Death Valley Drivers Dante, setting up Just The Tip for two. Darius hits a big dive onto Bennett but Taven Flight of the Conquerors both of them down. Dante…slips on his attempt at a dive so Maria yells a lot, earning herself an ejection. Back in and the Hail Mary is broken up, allowing Top Flight to hit a powerbomb/Nose Dive combination for the pin at 11:13.

Rating: B-. Best match of Zero Hour, with Taven’s dives continuing to look good, but not being quite as smooth as Top Flight. Yeah Dante slipped once in there but that’s a bit understandable when you are flying around like a crazy person like that. Good stuff here, and it’s nice to see Top Flight A, winning and B, healthy for once.

On to the show proper.

AR Fox/Blake Christian vs. La Faccion Ingobernable

That would be Rush/Dralistico (his debuting brother). Christian and Dralistico start things off with an exchange of flips before Dralistico punches him down for offering a handshake. Rush comes in to forearm Fox and everything breaks down fast. La Faccion takes it outside and sends them into the barricade over and over for some pain. Back in and La Faccion beats on Christian, even taking turns on him for a change.

Christian finally gets away from a charge and brings Fox in to pick up the pace. That means some running flip dives to take out La Faccion on the floor. Rush is fine enough to send Christian into the barricade, setting up Dralistico’s dive to take them both out. Back in and Lo Mein Pain sets up the middle rope flip DDT to Dralistico. Fox adds a 450 for the pin at 10:32, though everyone seems surprised at the ending.

Rating: C+. That ending didn’t do the match any favors but there is only so much that can be done here. La Faccion losing didn’t feel like the original plan and it doesn’t make the most sense, so maybe we can write some of this one off. It’s cool to see Fox on a show like this though, as he has certainly earned the spot.

Post match La Faccion wrecks Fox and Christian to blow off some steam.

Video on Mercedes Martinez defending the Women’s Title against Athena. Martinez returned from an injury to deal with the bully Athena, meaning it’s time for a title match.

Women’s Title: Mercedes Martinez vs. Athena

Martinez is defending and takes her into the corner for some early forearms to the head. Athena gets fired up and hammers Martinez down, including a backhand to the jaw. Back up and Martinez hits a spinebuster (the fans do not approve) to start the rather early comeback. That doesn’t last long as Athena shoves her off, setting up a basement superkick for two.

Martinez is right back up with some suplexes into a brainbuster for two more. A Prism Trap is broken up though and Athena plants her hard on the apron. They head outside with Athena missing some running knees into the barricade so Martinez can grab a hanging neckbreaker off the barricade. Back in and the Brass City Sleeper is broken up so Athena gets to pull the turnbuckle pad off. A shotgun dropkick sends Martinez into the exposed buckle and the O Face gives Athena the pin and the title at 12:55.

Rating: C. That was the only way to go, as Martinez has been away for a long time but while Athena is in the middle of a rather nice heel turn. Also, Athena had to win something outside of NXT at some point to make her feel more important and this is as good as anything else. Decent match, but the right call is much more important.

Shane Taylor isn’t happy with Keith Lee forgetting him so let’s have a tag team grudge match.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Swerve In Our Glory

That would be Shane Taylor/JD Griffey vs. Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee. Swerve and Griffey grapple into the corner to start with Griffey taking him down for a choke. With that broken up, Lee comes in, earning a serenade from the crowd. Lee shoves Griffey around and the fans want Shane. That is what they get, but Swerve tags himself right back in to cut the fans off again. The villains (I think?) take over on Swerve and Taylor hits a huge apron legdrop to crush him hard.

Swerve is fine enough to get over for the tag to Lee and NOW we get the showdown. They forearm it out with Taylor getting the better of things, only to have Lee pull him out of the air. Taylor is sent outside and Lee hits Griffey in the face, only to have him counter the powerbomb/Swerve Stomp combination. Griffey sends Lee outside but Lee pulls the dive out of the air. Swerve yells at Lee for not crushing him, leaving Taylor to catch Swerve in a hanging Stunner for two.

Back in and Griffey hits a brainbuster onto the knee, setting up a triangle choke. Lee looks at them but goes over to just Taylor instead of making the save. With that taken care of, Lee moonsaults onto Griffey for the save and it’s back to Lee vs. Taylor. Actually make that a double slugout, with Lee accidentally forearming the heck out of Swerve. Taylor muscles Lee up for Welcome To The Land. Lee glares up at Taylor…who Griffey accidentally kicks in the head. A quick Big Bang Catastrophe gives Lee the pin on Griffey at 13:35.

Rating: B-. This had a bigger match feel and the Lee vs. Taylor section came off like a showdown. It also had me wondering why we needed Griffey and Swerve in there, but that is more about this being an AEW story than an ROH story. We can get to that showdown later, but for now it was a good match with kind of a weird ending.

We recap the Six Man Tag Team Titles. Dalton Castle and Boys have the titles and the Embassy want them.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: The Embassy vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys

The Embassy (Brian Cage/Gates of Agony, with Prince Nana) is challenging. Castle and Kaun start things off but hold on as Castle needs to run around ringside for a bit. Back in and the Boys trip Cage up to take over. Toa comes in so Castle sends him outside, where the stereo dives are pulled out of the air.

We settle down to Brandon getting caught in the wrong corner so the villains can start taking turns on him. A big toss sends Brandon flying but he’s able to DDT his way to freedom. Castle comes in and starts cleaning house, including a variety of suplexes. It’s back to Brent, who gets pulled out of the air, allowing Toa to Samoan drop both Boys at once, because that’s a thing.

Brent slugs his way out of trouble though and Cage/Kaun clothesline each other by mistake. Everything breaks down and Cage Drill Claws Brent, only to have Castle make a save. Nana offers a distraction though and Toa drives Brent into Castle. Brent gets tossed into a sitout powerbomb from Cage for the pin and the titles at 10:06.

Rating: C+. This is exactly what it should have been as there is no need for Castle and the Boys to have the titles (which don’t exactly need to exist in the first place). Castle is ready to be a breakout singles star (as he has been for a long time now) and the Embassy needed to win something so they wouldn’t come off as even bigger losers. Good enough match with the absolute right result.

Video on Daniel Garcia defending the Pure Title against Wheeler Yuta. Garcia took the title from Yuta recently and it’s time for the rematch.

Top Flight is ready to go but the Jericho Appreciation Society interrupts, setting up a brawl. The four of them come into the arena with Dante hitting a big flip dive. With Top Flight cleared out, Angelo Parker asks why Ring Of Honor died if it was so great. There were too many flippy guys like Top Flight, so it’s going to take Chris Jericho to save it. Menard asks if we know what makes his nipples hard before pulling out Jake Hager’s hat. They promise a clean sweep but Wheeler Yuta cuts them off.

Pure Title: Wheeler Yuta vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia is defending under Pure Rules. Feeling out process to start before they slug it out with forearms. They’re on the floor fast with Garcia grabbing a suplex. Garcia sends him hard into the post, with commentary making comparisons to Randy Savage crushing Ricky Steamboat’s throat. With Trent Seven watching from the crowd, Yuta is thrown back inside, where he has to use his first (of three) rope break.

A surfboard in the ropes forces Yuta to use another break so Garcia grabs a cravate. Garcia ties up the legs for a curb stomp but Yuta is back up with an enziguri. That’s fine with Garcia, who pulls him into a dragon sleeper, sending Yuta to the ropes for the third time. This time Yuta is up with a top rope forearm to the head but Garcia is right back with the Dragonslayer.

Yuta grabs the head to slam it into the mat for the escape and counters another attempt into a small package for two. They slap it out from their knees until Yuta grabs a German suplex. Garcia is back with a piledriver and Yuta is in more trouble. The Dragonslayer goes on again so Yuta pulls himself into the ropes, which brings Garcia down enough for Yuta to pull him outside for a break. Garcia’s piledriver on the apron is blocked, leaving Yuta to hit his own piledriver for two. Yuta knocks him silly with elbows and the referee stops it to give Yuta the title back at 14:51.

Rating: B. These guys know how to do this stuff very well and that was the case again here. They have figured out the style and know how to work it, even with some slightly odd ref decisions on rope breaks. The title is pretty much just between these two, but if they can keep doing this, I think I can live with it. At the same time, it’s amazing how much more tolerable Garcia is without having him be focused on so often.

Post match Garcia hands the title to Yuta before leaving.

We recap FTR vs. the Briscoes. They’ve fought twice before with FTR winning, so let’s do it again in a dog collar match.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Briscoes

FTR is defending in a double dog collar match. They collar up and we’re ready to go with Harwood and Jay fighting to the floor, leaving the other two to fight on the apron. We go split screen with Cash and Mark fighting on the stage as Harwood and Jay break things in the crowd. We’ve already got blood as Harwood and Jay get back inside, with Harwood snapping off some suplexes.

Mark gets choked on the post but is fine enough to go back inside to slug at Harwood (who might be missing a tooth). Jay wraps the chain around his fist to hammer on Harwood as Cash is down on the floor. The fans are split (like Harwood’s forehead) but Wheeler uses the chair to cut Mark off. Jay gets knocked outside so FTR gets to whip Mark for a bit. Back in and Jay gets caught in a Gory Stretch with the chain until Mark makes the save.

A Froggy Bow with the chain gets two on Wheeler, leaving Mark to set up a table and a pile of chairs on the floor. That takes too long though, allowing Harwood to make a save. Back in and Harwood wraps a chain around his head for the middle rope headbutt to knock Jay silly. Harwood accidentally punches the referee though and even he is busted open this time.

With the new referee in, Mark fights off the table at ringside but the Doomsday Device takes too long. That leaves Wheeler to pull Mark off the top and onto the pile of chairs at ringside (GEEZ). Jay is back up with a Jay Driller onto the chain for a VERY close two to Harwood and we keep going. A hard chair shot to the back rocks Harwood again but he’s back up with a piledriver onto the chair for two of his own.

Harwood chops Jay on top but a super piledriver onto the chairs is broken up (thankfully preventing a nasty case of death). Jay superplexes Harwood down onto the chairs for a rather delayed two. With that not working, Jay wraps the chain around Harwood’s face and chokes him out for the titles at 22:20.

Rating: A. If that isn’t the Match of the Year, it’s pretty close. These teams have some of the best chemistry I’ve ever seen and it feels like they can do no wrong no matter what they’re doing. This was an absolute war and I was cringing at the violent spots, which is entirely the point of something like this one. Outstanding match and a different kind of fight from them, with the Briscoes finally leaving with the titles. Watch this if you’re a fan of violence.

Post match the Briscoes leave, allowing the Gunn Club to run in and beat down FTR. The Gunns promise to kill FTR’s legacies but the Briscoes run in for the save. With Harwood on the mat, he promises vengeance on the Gunns, who aren’t scared. Respect is shown, as it should be.

We recap Samoa Joe defending the TV Title against Juice Robinson. Joe has the title, Robinson popped up to say he wanted it, match made.

TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Juice Robinson

Joe is defending. Feeling out process to start with Joe working on the wrist but getting caught with the snap jabs to the face. They head outside for a chop off, with Joe peeling back the floor mat. Robinson gets caught in the Koquina Clutch, which is broken up with a hard ram into the barricade. Joe is back up with a ram into the barricade of his own and they head back inside, with Joe looking moderately annoyed.

We hit the neck crank for a bit until Robinson fights up, setting off the slugout. Joe kicks him in the chest but Robinson is back up with chops and punches in the corner. That doesn’t last long as Joe powerbombs him into the STF into the Crossface, sending Robinson into the rope. Robinson knocks him back down but gets crotched on top. The MuscleBuster retains the title at 13:01.

Rating: C+. This match was in a rough spot and they made it work anyway. What mattered here was giving the fans a breather after an epic battle and a lot of that was due to Joe’s popularity. Fans know they are getting something special with him and that kept the energy up. Robinson was pretty much a challenger of the week and even then he was quite fine in his spot. Good match here, but making it work after the previous match is more impressive.

We recap Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Jericho for the latter’s World Title. Jericho wants to destroy Ring Of Honor and Castagnoli is fighting for it. I think you can get the rest from here.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Jericho is defending and if he wins, Castagnoli has to join the Jericho Appreciation Society. Castagnoli starts fast and they head to the floor, where commentary is wiped out. Back in and the hammer and anvil elbows have Jericho in trouble but he’s right back up. The Judas Effect misses and the Neutralizer gives Castagnoli two as we’re not even two minutes in. They’re back on the floor with Jericho sending him into some hard objects to take over.

Back in and Jericho makes some rude gestures before suplexing Castagnoli down. Castagnoli goes for some elbows but his back is rather banged up. A whip into the corner and a clothesline have Castagnoli in more trouble before Jericho rains down some right hands. The super hurricanrana is blocked for some forearms to Jericho’s chest (Ocho of them in fact!”) but Jericho pulls him down anyway.

Castagnoli’s back is too banged up for the Swing so they head outside again with Castagnoli being whipped into the steps. Back in and the slug it out until a double clothesline puts both of them down. They slug it out again until another Swing is countered into the Walls. Castagnoli slips out and hits an uppercut but here is the Society for a distraction. Jericho gets in a bat shot for two and the Codebreaker cuts Castagnoli off again. Back up and Castagnoli grabs the Swing, with the fans chanting to OCHO again. The Swing keeps going….and Jericho taps while swinging at 16:53. Well that was clever.

Rating: B. There was only so much drama here as it was a little hard to imagine Jericho winning to end the show built around saving the company. Castagnoli winning kind of gets us right back where we were when the Jericho stuff started, but it was a good main event to wrap things up. Jericho can move on to whatever else and Castagnoli can face challengers in awesome matches, which is better for everyone involved.

Commentary praises Tony Khan for saving the company as Castagnoli gets the big celebration to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a show carried by a few matches but one of them carried it a VERY long way. The Ring of Honor TV material is hardly the most thrilling but as usual, it works a lot better when they are able to get in the ring and do everything else. Granted a lot of that is due to the Briscoes and FTR tearing the house down every time, though the rest of the show was certainly good enough. Not a masterpiece and there were some slow spots, but the top stuff was VERY good and that’s all you needed to make this work

Results
Jeff Cobb b. Mascara Dorada – Tour of the Islands
Jericho Appreciation Society b. Shinobi Shadow Squad – Double inverted DDT to Isom
Willow Nightingale b. Trish Adora – Doctor Bomb
Top Flight b. Kingdom – Powerbomb/Nose Dive combination to Bennett
AR Fox/Blake Christian b. La Faccion Ingobernable – 450 to Dralistico
Athena b. Mercedes Martinez – O Face
Swerve In Our Glory b. Swerve In Our Glory – Big Bang Catastrophe to Griffey
The Embassy b. Dalton Castle/The Boys – Powerbomb to Brent
Wheeler Yuta b. Daniel Garcia via referee stoppage
Briscoes b. FTR – Chain choke to Harwood
Samoa Joe b. Juice Robinson – MuscleBuster
Claudio Castagnoli b. Chris Jericho – Giant Swing

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It’s time to wrap up the Ring Of Honor year with its third event, as Final Battle closes us out. As you might expect, this is mainly going to be about AEW stars as Ring Of Honor is less a promotion than a really big and loosely connected angle on AEW TV at the moment. We have a double main event of FTR defending the Tag Team Titles against the Briscoes in a double dog collar match, plus Claudio Castagnoli challenging Chris Jericho for the Ring Of honor World Title. Yeah that should work. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Shinobi Shadow Squad

This is one of the several added matches to flesh out the card, or in this case the card that happens before the card. The Squad is one of those teams who pops up all the time in Ring Of Honor but rarely gets to do anything important. In other words, they are perfect to face a pair of goofs like Menard and Parker in a match with absolutely nothing at stake in a spot like this.

In what is probably going to be a trend, I’ll take the AEW guys to win here as the Society gets to do their catchphrases and such and win early. It’s a match that means nothing, but the Society feels like the bigger stars because they have been around more than once in the last few months. That is about all you can ask for here in another match that is added onto the card for the sake of content.

Zero Hour: Jeff Cobb vs. Mascara Dorada

Cobb is a much bigger deal in New Japan these days and Dorada is better known as Gran Metalik. This is another match with no story that has been thrown onto the show, but power vs. speed is the easiest wrestling formula in the world. It’s always fun to watch Cobb throw someone around and Dorada is good enough to put up quite the fight against him if they can have a little time.

As good as Dorada can be, there is no reason to have him go over someone like Cobb, so we’ll go with the logical choice of Cobb winning. Cobb is someone who could be a star in AEW if he was given the chance, but for some reason he only makes an odd appearance in either AEW or ROH. Maybe it is the Japan schedule, but he should be fine to win here in one of those appearances.

Zero Hour: Willow Nightingale vs. Trish Adora

This is an interesting one as you have two women who have a good bit of charisma each. They’re both fun to watch and catch your attention every time they are in the ring so we certainly shouldn’t be having a boring match. Adora is someone better known for her independent stuff, though she was part of ROH’s women’s division (whatever that might be worth).

In another case of “well, one of them works for AEW”, Nightingale gets the win here as she is around a lot more often than Adora. Nightingale is someone who feels like she is ready to break through to the other side and steal the show in a big match, but for now she can beat Adora and use that incredible charm to give the fans a good time. That is more than a lot of people can do and it should work fine here.

Zero Hour: The Kingdom vs. Top Flight

Now this one is interesting as I could see it going either way. The Kingdom showed up a few months ago and promptly disappeared again, because that’s how AEW works for a lot of people. Top Flight is a team that can put on one entertaining match after another, but they haven’t had the time to really establish anything because of injuries. I’m not sure where this one is going and that is a nice feeling.

Since they need the win more, I’ll go with the Kingdom, as they haven’t actually done anything in a long time. Top Flight is a team that already has some fan support and can absorb a loss a bit better, but the Kingdom could go pretty far in Ring Of Honor’s tag division. In other words, it should be a good match, but sweet goodness I’m lost over whose momentum means what where as the whole thing is so all over the place.

Swerve In Our Glory vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

This was set up on Dynamite as Shane Taylor made a surprise appearance to confront his old partner Keith Lee. Instead of setting up what should have been a pretty easy single match, we’re treated to this instead, as we tie it into the AEW story. That isn’t a bad idea, but it seems like Lee vs. Taylor would be a more logical way to go, as Taylor’s partner (JD Griffey) isn’t exactly a household name in either promotion.

This seems like a good way to introduce Shane Taylor Promotions rather quickly, even if that means Swerve In Our Glory brings the loss on themselves by not being able to get along. We should be in for a nice match either way as a power and speed team like Lee and Strickland can do well against anyone, even a mostly unknown entity like Griffey. Just get to Taylor vs. Lee eventually though and this should work out.

TV Title: Samoa Joe(c) vs. Juice Robinson

The build for this one is more or less non-existent as Joe has been feuding with Wardlow, even taking the TNT Title from him at Full Gear. Robinson on the other hand just showed up (via pretape) and said he was coming for the title, match made. It’s not the best story and while normally I would say it’s better than nothing, I’m not even sure if there is something to this or not.

Give me Joe to win here, as Robinson shouldn’t be beating someone who has gotten as much focus as Joe in recent weeks. Save for Wardlow interfering and costing Joe the title, this should be Joe beating the talented Robinson after a good match. Joe is building up a list of enemies, but he should at least be able to hold onto both of his titles for a little while longer.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Dalton Castle/The Boys(c) vs. The Embassy

Yes Ring Of Honor has Six Man Tag Team Titles and yes the Embassy is still supposed to be a thing that matters despite them losing so often. Castle has come off like a star every time he has appeared on AEW TV and the Boys are the perfect compliment to him. It makes sense to put him on a show like this, but anyone against Brian Cage and the Gates of Agony is asking for trouble.

You know what? Change the titles here. The Embassy is the most worthless stable in AEW/ROH but at least they’re around on a somewhat regular basis. Castle and the Boys being champions is the most forgotten detail in the entire promotion right now so get the belts off of them and move on to Castle getting to be a solo act with the Boys as his backup. It makes more sense, even if these titles have all the value of an expired coupon for free soup.

Blake Christian/AR Fox vs. La Faccion Ingobernable

This is the match I’ll point to if the show runs long and it just so happens to interfere with NXT. There is no reason for this match to exist, let alone be on the main card, yet here we are as Christian and Fox face Rush and his brother Dralistico (making his debut in either ROH or AEW). Now we’re getting what should be a one sided match, but you never can tell with something like this.

I’ll take La Faccion to win here, as they’re facing Christian and Fox in a match that feels like it belongs on Rampage at best. Rush is someone that has been pushed over and over and maybe this is the spot where he finally starts to click. Other than that you have Fox, who has a lot of talent but needs to actually win something around here. That won’t be the case here, but maybe it can happen somewhere. La Faccion wins here.

Women’s Title: Mercedes Martinez(c) vs. Athena

This match has actually gotten a bit of build, as Athena has turned into quite the bully as of late. Martinez doesn’t seem to like that so now it’s time to fight. Martinez has not been around over the last few months but once she is actually in the ring, things get a lot better rather quickly. The question now is how well that will work with Athena so maybe they have something here.

I’ll go with Athena to win the title, as there is no need to keep the title on Martinez. She is very talented but already has a great reputation. Let Athena win something to establish herself a bit better and then build up a star to take the title from her. That’s the kind of thing that should work well, assuming Athena is actually allowed to win something outside of NXT for a change.

Pure Title: Daniel Garcia(c) vs. Wheeler Yuta

Man Garcia certainly seems to have cooled off a lot in recent weeks, as he was the focal point of multiple shows and now is just kind of there. That being said, if there is ever a way for him to shine, it is by being in a Pure Rules match against someone like Yuta, who can easily hang with him. This should be good if they are given some time, which tends to be the case in a Pure Rules match.

I have long since stopped trying to figure out the thinking behind either of these two so I’ll say Yuta wins, more or less on a coin flip. The Blackpool Combat Club needs a win after everything that happened with William Regal so maybe this is the place where they get something back. Garcia winning wouldn’t surprise me either, but I’ll go with a new champion here.

Tag Team Titles: FTR(c) vs. Briscoes

This is a double dog collar match, as it does seem like the Briscoes vs. FTR is thrown into every major ROH show to pick up the interest. That seems to be the case here and yeah, that’s not a bad idea whatsoever. These teams can do amazing things with each other and have done so throughout all of their matches so far. Now just let them get crazy violent for a change.

I’ll go with FTR winning here, even if the Briscoes need to beat these guys at some point. That being said, the idea of FTR losing one of their titles probably means a big drop off for them as their entire deal is holding all three titles. I’m thinking they’ll keep the titles for now, though a title change wouldn’t surprise me. Either way, this is probably going to be another classic, which isn’t even a surprise here.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Chris Jericho(c) vs. Claudio Castagnoli

So here we go. After two and a half months of Jericho being treated as the greatest thing ever in Ring Of Honor and having him run through one former champion after another, this should be the time where he finally gets what is coming to him. Jericho needs someone to take the title from him and Castagnoli being that man is as good of an option not named Bryan Danielson that they have available.

In case it isn’t clear, Castagnoli wins here, putting things right back where they were before the Jericho reign began. The Ring Of Honor World Title still has some value to it and the Jericho story has been the best thing from the entire ROH universe in AEW. Now give us the big feel good moment to end the show (assuming the dog collar match doesn’t headline) and let everything be done.

Overall Thoughts

This show hasn’t been built well and some of the matches (especially Zero Hour) have been thrown together with little or no story. You kind of have to expect that when there is n TV show, but now they need to execute. Most of the matches, especially the two on top, should go very well, but it’s still a bit hard to get fired up over a bunch of stuff that has been put together either off camera or at the last minute. Either way, we should be in for at least a mostly good show, as tends to be the case with Ring Of Honor.

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Pancakes And Piledrivers II
Date: April 7, 2018
Location: Sugar Mill, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Jake Manning, Marty DeRosa

This is a show from Pro Wrestling Revolver plus some other companies (AAW/Fight Club Pro), with the show being billed as the Indy Summit. The show took place over Wrestlemania XXXIV weekend and I had a ticket to this show but went to WrestleCon instead. Odds are I made a mistake but let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the promotions included for a nice change of pace.

Jeff Cobb vs. Shane Strickland

Yeah this is going to be fun, even with Matt Striker as ring announcer. At the very least, seeing Strickland’s Ain’t Nobody entrance is always awesome. Strickland hurts his arm on an early clothesline attempt so Cobb grabs him by the throat. A charge into the corner takes too long though, allowing Strickland to go up top. That’s fine with Cobb, who pulls him out of the air and hits the swinging belly to back toss. The huge beal out of the corner sends Strickland flying again as commentary mocks the building for being filthy but not allowing the advertised pancakes.

Strickland tries to come back with a chop, allowing Cobb to show him how one is properly thrown. They have the same exchange with forearms but Strickland manages a kick to the head into a German suplex. The running kick to the head gives Strickland two and a hard knee to the head makes it worse. The Swerve Stomp gets two but Cobb sends him into the corner for a running uppercut. A headbutt plants Strickland again and the Tour of the Islands gives Cobb the pin at 7:59.

Rating: C+. Nice opener here as we get one of the things that WrestleCon does well: putting together indy (well then indy) stars and letting them have a fun match. Strickland continues to feel like a star and it is no surprise that he has become a bigger deal. Cobb is a monster who can run over anyone and it is always fun to see him throw people around.

Post match Strickland thanks all three companies for putting the show on.

Colt Cabana/Marty DeRosa vs. Joey Ryan/Session Moth Martina

It’s still weird to hear Ryan being treated as some kind of awesome star. Martina on the other hand goes around the ring drinking with fans, which makes her seem rather popular. Grinding on everyone in the ring makes it even better (Better?) as this is going to be an interesting one. This is DeRosa’s, usually a commentator, debut and he has gear very similar to Cabana’s.

Ryan oils up and gives Cabana some for he and DeRosa to share. The bell rings and Ryan tells Cabana to touch it but, after an apology to the crowd, he declines. Ryan thinks DeRosa might do it instead so Cabana brings him in…and has to hold DeRosa back from touching it. DeRosa and Ryan trade wristlocks to start but Ryan still can’t get him to touch it. If that won’t happen, maybe DeRosa will touch Martina’s….uh, yeah.

Cabana is MORE than willing to try (Martina doesn’t seem to mind) but they’ll wrestle instead. Well maybe not as Martina grinds on Cabana to get out of a waistlock and Ryan tags himself back in. Cabana does his STOP, WHAT’S THAT and slaps Ryan in the face and annoyance begins to grow. DeRosa and Martina come in with DeRosa slapping her in the same way, which is NOT COOL with a lot of people. Ryan knocks DeRosa into the corner for a Bronco Buster (the long form) from Martina.

With DeRosa down, it’s time for the lollipop from Ryan’s trunks. Cabana breaks that up and it’s stereo Bionic Elbows to the….villains? DeRosa busts out a super hurricanrana for two, followed by a Figure Four. Cabana puts Martina in the Billy Goat’s Curse at the same time but Martina crawls on top of DeRosa’s face and bounces for the double break.

Then Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer starts playing (ok that’s a plus) and romance is teased….until DeRosa and Cabana’s hands are put between Ryan and Martina’s respective legs. There’s the double flip (with the referee falling down too) and Ryan pulls out a sucker/Martina pulls out a prophylactic from their tights, which go into Cabana and DeRosa’s mouths. Stereo superkicks are good for stereo pins for Ryan and Martina at 8:12.

Rating: F. This is the definition of a your mileage may vary match and that isn’t the best thing to see. Ryan’s shtick didn’t work for me before everything came out about him and it’s even more uncomfortable not. The match was pure “comedy” and barely a match, but what else were you expecting here? Absolutely not my thing and the kind of stuff I never need to see again.

Peace is made post match as Jim Cornette insults abound.

Eddie Kingston vs. Juice Robinson

Kingston comes out to David Starr’s music as the result of a lost bet. They go technical to start with Kingston working on a hammerlock before switching into a top wristlock. Back up and Robinson hits a spinwheel kick, setting up a Cannonball in the corner. A high crossbody gives Robinson two as commentary talks about Sami Callihan. Kingston isn’t having that and knocks him outside, setting up the big suicide dive.

Robinson’s piledriver attempt is countered into a backdrop on the floor, setting up a big whip into the barricade. Back in and the waistlock goes on to keep Robinson down, followed by the rapid fire (minus rapid fire) chops in the corner. That’s reversed into some chops from Robinson and a layout powerbomb gets two. Kingston runs him over again and NOW it’s time for the big chop off (which you knew was coming). Robinson gets in another shot and grabs Pulp Friction for the pin at 8:29.

Rating: C. That ending came out of nowhere and it wasn’t exactly a great match in the first place. This felt more like the match where someone said “hey they’ve never fought before” and that was the extent of the planning. Granted there is only so much that you can do with a story on this show, but this was just kind of there for the most part.

Fight Club Pro Title: Meiko Satomura vs. Kimber Lee vs. Jessicka Havok

Satomura is defending and this is the top title of the promotion (out of England, owned by Trent Seven) rather than the Women’s Title. Striker, ever the nitwit, insists that it IS the Women’s Title, even though that title doesn’t seem to have ever existed. Havok clotheslines both of them down to start and does it again to Satomura for daring to fight back.

Satomura and Lee get together and start striking away to take Havok down, leaving Lee to forearm away at Satomura for a bit. Some kicks to the head rock Lee but she’s back with a bridging German suplex for two. Havok is back in though and tosses Lee around with no trouble. Three straight running kicks to the face stagger Lee even more but Satomura forearms Havok away. A DDT sends Havok outside and Lee gets Death Valley Drivered for two. Satomura hits Scorpion Rising to retain at 6:06.

Rating: C. That was rather sudden as Havok never came back in after the DDT. Not having a title changed here isn’t exactly shocking and it was cool to see Satomura getting to showcase herself. Lee is someone I never could get into but she is talented. Havok on the other hand is a total monster that you get as soon as you see her. Perfectly fine match here, but I was expecting more.

AAW Title: Trevor Lee vs. ACH

ACH is defending and Lee’s (probably better known as Cameron Grimes) AAW Heritage Title isn’t on the line. Lee bails to the floor to start and grabs the mic, allowing him to complain about this show taking place at “eleven o’clock in the afternoon”. These people here don’t care that he was out late on Bourbon Street but all that matters is that he is going to win the AAW Title. Not some loser like ACH who can’t even get on another show this weekend, but a real champion.

After bragging about the money he is going to make, Lee gets hit in the face, only to have ACH miss the 450 back inside. A shot to the face knocks out ACH’s tooth or gum but he is fine enough to avoid the Cave In. ACH is back with a superkick into a brainbuster for…..the pin at 3:10!

Rating: C+. Sure why not, as Lee’s promo and then getting getting shut up so fast was funny, but the wrestling was barely half of this. Sometimes you need a fun match like this, even if it was probably a way to cut time on a loaded show. ACH really was a talented guy before he went a bit bonkers, while Lee would go on to a rather nice career.

Post match, Lee reminds us that he is STILL the Heritage Champion.

OVE vs. Brian Cage/Joey Janela/AR Fox

Tornado rules. That would be the Crist Brothers/Sami Callihan, who are billed under both of their names (Ohio vs. Everything and Ohio Is For Killers). Jake Crist isn’t waiting on the bell and flip dives onto everyone, setting up an Asai moonsault as we’re just getting started without a bell. Penelope Ford comes out to watch as Dave takes Fox inside for a wind up DDT. Janela high crossbodies Fox but gets clotheslined by Callihan.

Cage is waiting on him so Callihan spits in his face….which earns Callihan a heck of a discus lariat. Jake knocks Cage outside but his suicide dive is caught in a suplex because Cage can do that. Everyone else heads outside, leaving Janela to hit a big top rope flip dive. Dave goes up so Ford catches him and it’s a superplex onto the big pile. That’s too far for Callihan, who powerbombs Ford onto a slightly smaller pile, which has commentary freaking out. Not over what Ford did, which was more dangerous, but just what Callihan did. Hypocrites.

Back in and a bunch of strikes to the face leave everyone down as commentary talks about Ford’s Gizmo themed gear. OVE is back up with stereo superkicks but charge into superkicks. Fox avoids a charge though and hits a Spanish Fly, setting up a 450 for two. Jake is back in with a Death Valley Driver to Fox, setting up the spike Tombstone (Killing Spree) for….one?

Everyone is back up for the big staredown, with Cage hitting an F5 and Fox hitting a Death Valley Driver of his own, setting up a triple cover. OVE breaks up stereo triple superplexes so Fox knocks Dave down instead. Fox loads up a frog splash but Jake dives from the adjacent corner with a super cutter to knock Fox cold for the pin at 8:45.

Rating: B-. Thank goodness they went to the finish after that cutter because nothing was going to top that one. Fox was knocked silly and there was no reason to try anything else. The rest of the match was your usual insanity that comes with such a stipulation and it went rather well, at least partially helped because OVE is a regular team. That finish looked great though and it carried the match a lot higher.

PWR Scramble Title: Matt Palmer vs. Jake Manning vs. Caleb Konley vs. Trey Miguel vs. Clint Margera vs. Jason Cade vs. Ace Romero vs. Curt Stallion vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Myron Reed vs. Connor Braxton vs. Omari

Palmer is defending and this would be your OH COME ON match of the show, as there are TWELVE PEOPLE in this. Everyone but MJF jumps Palmer to start and toss him outside, leaving everyone else to brawl inside. Reed is left alone to dropkick Cade outside so Stallion comes in to dropkick him. Romero hits a dropkick to Stallion but the rather tall Braxton kicks Romero outside.

Palmer and MJF double team Braxton and we seem to have a partnership….until they both poke eyes and kick each other low, which is good for a handshake out of mutual respect. That’s always nice to see. Omari and Margera hit stereo flip dives onto the floor, followed by Miguel’s springboard flip dive. Manning’s top rope trust fall (while still reading his Boy Scout manual, as is his custom) takes everyone down, leaving Romero (nearly 400lbs) to hit his own dive, much to the fans’ delight.

Back in and we get the required Tower Of Doom, albeit with Palmer and MJF teaming together, teasing a split, and then splitting in the span of ten seconds. Braxton and Stallion double team Romero, with the former managing an impressive slam. Manning is back in with a backbreaker into a lifting Downward Spiral to Stallion and we hit the parade of secondary (or maybe primary) finishers. Omari takes Miguel out so MJF tries to steal the pin, only to get rolled up by Palmer (with trunks) to retain at 8:14.

Rating: C. Yeah it was fine and that’s all I can think of to say about it. What in the world are you supposed to do with a dozen people doing spot after spot for about eight minutes? Palmer stealing the pin doesn’t so much prove anything as he just was in the right place at the right time. That is how these matches always go and while they get a lot of people on the show, they almost never do anything for me as no one gets to stand out in the slightest.

Lucha Bros vs. Jack Evans/Teddy Hart

First half of a double main event and it takes a good while for the Bros to get here. As usual, Evans runs his mouth a lot before the match, which will likely continue after the bell. Fenix and Evans start things off and yes Evans is still running his mouth, which is rarely a good idea. They trade their flips until Fenix kicks the leg out for no count before flipping up into a standoff.

Hart and Penta come in and the chop off is on fast before Hart complains about the lack of respect. A Backstabber drops Penta and Evans springboards in to kick Fenix in the head. That leaves Hart to hit a hanging piledriver/DDT at the same time to drop both Bros. Evans does a triple backflip into the corner to poke Fenix in the eye, which he describes as never before seen. The Canadian Destroyer into the moonsault gives Hart two on Fenix but Penta is back in for a change.

The double teaming takes him down as well, only to have the Bros pop up for running corner clotheslines. Penta gives Hart a heck of a superkick into the corner, with Evans being tied in the Tree of Woe to put them on top of each other. Fenix flips Penta onto the pile before Evans is tied up in a surfboard. That’s not enough for Penta though, as Fenix pulls on the arms at the same time.

Since that doesn’t really work nearly as well as the single version would, Evans hangs on until Hart makes the save. Penta Canadian Destroyers Hart for two with Evans making a save of his own. A springboard doesn’t work for Evans as he falls off the top but he’s right back with a middle rope Phoenix splash for two as Fenix makes his own save.

Fenix hits a rolling cutter on Evans as the referee is trying to restore order for whatever reason. One heck of a Project Ciampa drops Fenix and Evans adds the 630 for two more. Penta powerbombs Evans onto his knee for his own near fall, setting up a stereo Pentagon Driver/Black Fire Driver to give the Bros the double pin at 10:34.

Rating: B-. I would call this the “well, what did you expect” special, as you know what you’re going to get when you have a match involving these people. There is nothing else to expect from these four getting into a match and they made it work well. Let them go out there and do their flips and dives to pop the crowd and that’s all you need. Fun stuff of course, despite being total junk food wrestling.

AAW/PWR Tag Team Titles: Besties In The World vs. Aussie Open vs. Rascalz

The Besties (Davey Vega/Mat Fitchett) are defending both sets of titles in a ladder match. The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier/Zachary Wentz) are debuting their name, having been formerly known as Scarlett And Graves (weird name). That leaves Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher/Mark Davis), who have nothing of note but I needed a reason to say their names. And yes, the Besties are the team who do their entrance to Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden and yes it is still amazing.

Hold on though, as Fitchett wants tables and chairs added in to the ladders because they’re hardcore! Vega: “NO WE’RE NOT!” Striker says everything is legal, despite it being a ladder match where everything is legal in the first place. A bunch of weapons are thrown inside as commentary talks about how ridiculous it is to have all of these totally unnecessary things underneath the ring.

Ladders and plywood are placed in the corner and Fitchett and Miguel are knocked into/through them. Vega goes up top and gets caught by a bunch of people who shove him through another plywood board. Aussie Open and the Rascalz slug it out with the bigger Fletcher being the last man standing. Wentz chairs him off the ladder though and goes up, allowing commentary to mock JR’s voice on the famous Jeff Hardy ladder climb.

With that broken up, Wentz hits a big step up dive onto a pile on the floor, followed by Fitchett’s running lip dive. Davis Arabian presses onto a bunch of people, leaving Xavier alone with a ladder in the ring. Instead of going for the belts, he climbs the ladder and shooting stars down onto the pile. Vega has used the delay to put a board over six chairs at ringside and superplex Wentz through it for the next big crash.

Back in and Fitchett kicks Xavier in the face but it’s Aussie Open cleaning house. Davis’ running forearm in the corner rocks Xavier and the Aussies both climb at once (Commentary: “No, no, no.”). Fitchett makes the save and the champs crush Aussie Open with ladders in the corner. The Rascalz are back in to kick the Besties down, including Wentz superkicking a chair into Fitchett’s face. Davis comes back in this time and powerbombs Xavier with one arm (dang) but gets kicked in the face by Wentz as well.

Xavier is back up to kick Fletcher and Fitchett down, leaving everyone on the mat. The Aussies catch Xavier going up and Fletcher dives off the top for a cutter (not quite OVE level but not bad). Wentz chops at the Aussies but gets thrown into a ladder in the corner for his efforts. That’s enough to dent the ladder so Fletcher gets on Davis’ shoulders but the champs turn it into a Doomsday Device. The Besties hit stereo piledrivers on the Rascalz (illegal in Louisiana) and retain the titles at 14:10.

Rating: B. It was a six man indy ladder match and that should tell you everything that you need to know. There were cool spots and a lot of carnage until one of the teams got the titles, which is exactly how something like this was supposed to go. It’s nothing great or memorable but for a big main event on a show like this one, it went well and was probably the best thing on the card.

Post match the Besties say that’s how you win gold together (Fan: “THEY’RE SILVER!”) but they want to call out….DAVID ARQUETTE??? AND HE’S HERE! Arquette pulls out a $100 bill scarf and says the Besties just want his money, before bragging about the big names he has faced. He says he’s a real champion and that WWE ruined WCW. Then he pulls off his jacket and reveals a NEVER BEEN PINNED shirt. Arquette seems to challenge the Besties to a match and leaves through the crowd to end the show on an awkward note.

Overall Rating: B-. I had fun and it only went a little over two hours so it didn’t overstay its welcome. What matters here is getting a bunch of people on a show and popping the crowd over and over. You don’t look for continuity or logic here and what we got here lived up to those requirements. It’s cool to see some of the non-WWE stars out there doing their thing and there is only one match that really didn’t work on the whole card. Fun stuff and I’m kind of regretting not taking it in live.

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

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Rampage
Date: June 24, 2022
Location: UW Panther Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Taz

It’s the go home show for Forbidden Door and I have no idea what that is going to mean here. This week’s Dynamite was a huge push towards the show, including several New Japan stars being added. That could mean more than a few things for this show and I’m curious to see where it going. Now to find out if that is a good thing. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Rey Fenix

After one week of including entrances for the opener, we’re right back to rushing straight to the opening bell. Jose and Alex Abrahantes are here as the seconds. They don’t bother with the feeling out process to start until it’s Fenix hitting a quick springboard hurricanrana to stagger Andrade. A boot in the corner staggers Fenix but he is right back with a kick to the ribs.

Something out of a fireman’s carry is countered into Andrade’s Three Amigos, which Fenix reverses into his own Three Amigos. That’s enough to send Andrade outside so Fenix hits a heck of a flip dive to drop him again (Jericho: “He looked like Wile E. Coyote falling off a cliff!”). Back in and a bridging German suplex gives Fenix two but a springboard something is shoved off the top for a huge crash to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Andrade hitting the Alberto double stomp for two more. Fenix tries a rolling cutter but has to settle for a springboard missile dropkick instead. Now the rolling cutter connects for a slightly delayed two but Fenix’s frog splash hits knees for two. Fenix goes up again and gets kicked off the top, allowing Andrade to take him to the apron. The running knees hit post though and a top rope double stomp to the back crushes Andrade as we take another break.

Back again with Fenix hitting a super reverse Spanish Fly for another delayed two, as Andrade got his foot on the bottom rope. Hold on though as we pause for a look at Fenix’s knee, allowing Andrade to grab the table from Jose. That’s caught so Andrade pokes Fenix in the eye and kicks him in the knee. Fenix knocks him right back to the floor and hits the running suicide flip dive for another double knockdown. As the managers fight in the ring, here is Rush (oh yeah he’s a thing) to kick Fenix low. That’s enough for Andrade to hit El Idolo for the pin at 18:43.

Rating: B. The ending felt a bit flat but they beat the heck out of each other and left it in the ring here. Fenix continues to be able to do one crazy spectacle after another while Andrade can work well with a lot of people. I wasn’t wild on having Rush pop up again but at least it makes sense after what was set up at Double Or Nothing.

Post match Andrade and Rush show of the La Faccion Ingobernable shirts before ripping off Fenix’s mask. Penta Obscuro runs in with a shovel for the save.

Eddie Kingston is ready for Forbidden Door but he also wants to see Chris Jericho bleed at Blood And Guts. Maybe he’ll even have a taste.

Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee are ready for their match with El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemaru at Forbidden Door. Then they can get back to normal, though Lee isn’t sure if they’re ready for that yet.

Mercedes Martinez/Serena Deeb vs. Laynie Luck/Sierra

Deeb puts Sierra in an early abdominal stretch and then chops her down. It’s off to Luck, with Deeb taking her down into an Indian deathlock. A rope is reached so it’s Martinez coming in for a running dropkick in the corner. A double drop across the top rope has Luck in more trouble but Martinez runs into Deeb on the apron. Not that it matters as stereo submissions get the double tap from Sierra and Luck at 3:36.

Rating: C-. Just a squash here with Martinez and Deeb’s issue near the end meaning nothing whatsoever. Deeb vs. Martinez could be interesting down the line, though it will need to be after everything else cleans out a bit more. It should be a good match and that is all you need a lot of the time.

Tully Blanchard brags about his monsters, who I don’t know if we’ve seen since the Ring of Honor show nearly three months ago.

Post break Tully Blanchard interrupts Jonathan Gresham and Lee Moriarty, the latter of whom seems to want a ROH World Title match. Tully Blanchard interferes and says his guys deserve a title shot first. A tag match is made.

Hook vs. DKC

Hook takes him down into a leglock to start but DKC takes him into the corner for some chops. A high crotch suplex drops DKC and the crossface shots set up Redrum to finish at 1:45.

Cash Wheeler is ready for Jeff Cobb tonight and to win the IWGP Tag Team Titles on Sunday. Cobb doesn’t like the lack of respect

Billy Gunn explains to the Gunn Club and Max Caster that they’re on the Forbidden Door Buy-In show. This requires an explanation to his kids that they aren’t going to Tokyo, but rather Chicago.

Jeff Cobb vs. Cash Wheeler

Caprice Coleman is on commentary. They lock up to start and neither can get anywhere, meaning Wheeler grabs a quickly broken headlock. Wheeler bounces off of a shoulder block attempt and there’s the suplex to send him outside. We take a break and come back with Wheeler grabbing a sleeper (not a full nelson Jericho) but getting knocked away again. Cobb blocks a backslide with straight power so Wheeler starts striking away.

That’s enough to knock Cobb outside for a slingshot dive but he runs Wheeler over again. Back in and Cobb’s apron superplex is blocked and Wheeler hits a sunset bomb. The Tour of the Islands is blocked and a doctor bomb is countered into a hurricanrana to give Wheeler two. For some reason Wheeler tries a powerbomb and gets German suplexed for his efforts. The Tour of the Islands gives Cobb the pin at 10;56.

Rating: B-. FTR gets to lose again, which has me wondering what happens to them on Sunday. I would hope that if they lose, at least they don’t take another fall in the process. Both of them can do some great things in the ring, though it starts to mean less if they never win anything to keep them boosted up.

Post match the rest of the United Empire comes in to jump Wheeler but Orange Cassidy, Dax Harwood and Trent make the save. Eddie Kingston runs out and tries to stab Chris Jericho with a pen as the big brawl ends the show (eventually, as the fight goes on for a good while).

Overall Rating: B+. Rather strong show this week, even if it went very heavy with the ROH stuff for a bit of a curve ball. After barely talking about ROH for weeks, waiting another few days to put the focus back on them wouldn’t have been the worst idea. That being said, we had two rather good matches here and they toned down some of the invasion stuff so it wound up being a solid show as a result.

Results
Andrade El Idolo b. Rey Fenix – El Idolo
Mercedes Martinez/Serena Deeb b. Laynie Luck/Sierra – Double submission
Hook b. DKC – Redrum
Jeff Cobb b. Cash Wheeler – Tour of the Islands

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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Wrestle Kingdom XVI Night Two
Date: January 5, 2022
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 6,379
Commentators: Chris Charlton, Kevin Kelly

It’s the second of three nights of this show and this one feels like the biggest. Last night’s main event saw Kazuchika Okada win the IWGP World Title again, which leaves him ready for his first defense against Will Ospreay. The second biggest match on the card is Kenta defending the United States Title against Hiroshi Tanahashi in a No DQ match, which could be a heck of a fight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Night One if you need a recap.

Pre-Show: Togi Makabe/Yuji Nagata/Tomoaki Honma vs. Bullet Club

That would be Bad Luck Fale, Gedo and Jado for the Club. The Club jumps them to start but Jado and Gedo are knocked to the floor to start. Fale is fine enough to run Honma over though and the good guys are in trouble early. Honma is sent outside and Makabe gets taken into the corner with Jado standing on his chest.

Gedo and Fale take Jado’s place but Makabe fights up and brings Nagata in to strike away on Fale. Jado breaks up a Crossface on Fale and it’s Honma coming coming in. Everything breaks down and Fale is clotheslined out to the floor. That leaves Honma to headbutt Jado down, setting up a middle rope headbutt for the pin. Kelly: “Heavens be praised, Honma has won a match!”

Rating: C. This worked out well enough as it was all about warming the fans up and the good guys beating the evil villains is as smart of an idea as there is. Honma seems to be a bit of a cult hero so give him a pin to pop the crowd early on. Perfectly watchable six man here and that’s all they were shooting for.

Pre-Show: Master Wato/Tenkoji vs. Suzuki-Gun

It’s El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kantemaru/Taka Michinoku for Suzuki-Gun. It’s a brawl before the bell again until we settle down to Wato kicking away at Desperado. Wato stomps away in the corner and Tenzan tags himself in and has to back Wato off from the beating. Tenzan headbutts away but Kantemaru gets in a cheap shot from the apron to take him down. The brawl heads outside for a bit with Suzuki-Gun taking over again. Back in and Tenzan manages a mountain bomb but Taka is right there to cut him off.

As tends to be the case, one more shot is enough to get Tenzan over for the tag to Kojima, meaning we get the very rapid fire chops in the corner. A DDT hits Taka and the Koji Cutter drops Kantemaru and it’s a double tag to bring in Wato and Desperado. Wato strikes away but gets caught in a spinebuster, setting up kind of a gutwrench blue thunder bomb. That’s broken up as well and Desperado walks into the Tenkoji Cutter (3D). Everything breaks down again and it’s Wato grabbing something like a reverse Rings of Saturn to make Desperado tap at 9:24.

Rating: C+. They packed a lot into this one and it made for a good match as a result. Wato making Desperado tap should give him a future Junior Heavyweight Title match so they are even going somewhere with the result. The other four did well too, but this was about Wato and they did what they needed to do.

Pre-Show: Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Suzuki-Gun

That would be Shingo Takagi/Bushi/Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taichi/Zack Sabre Jr./Douki. Bushi armdrags Douki to start so it’s off to Takahashi, who wants Sabre. Takahashi has to slip out of a backbreaker and runs Sabre over, only to get pulled into a kneebar. A bridging leglock has Tanahashi in more trouble and it’s Douki coming back in for a double stomp. Various choking and stomping ensue but Takahashi manages a dragon screw legwhip.

The dragon screw legwhip and it’s Takagi coming in to clean house. Sabre tries a guillotine but gets suplexed down in a hurry. Taichi comes in for an exchange of clotheslines but Douki manages to low bridge Takagi to the floor. Everything breaks down and Douki dives off the top to take them out. Back in and Takagi hits a sliding lariat on Douki, followed by a Gory Bomb on Sabre. Takahashi comes back in to beat on Douki, setting up Last of the Dragon to give Takagi the pin at 10:28.

Rating: C+. Nice job here of giving Takagi a quick win to get him back on track after losing the World Title to Okada last night. This was a rather action packed match as they flew around the ring and kept things moving. That being said, Los Ingobernables are a good bit deeper than Suzuki-Gun so this wasn’t exactly in doubt.

The opening video runs down the card.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Mega Coaches vs. Bullet Club’s Cutest Tag Team vs. Flying Tigers

The Tigers (Robbie Eagles/Tiger Mask) are defending against Ryusuke Taguchi/Rocky Romero (Coaches) and Taiji Ishimori/El Phantasmo (Bullet Club). Before the bell, Phantasmo jumps Tiger though and we’re starting 2 vs. 2 vs. 1. The Coaches get to clean house and Romero catapults Phantasmo into the back of Taguchi’s tights. Eagles is back in to take out the Coaches but the Club takes over on Eagles with an assisted back rake.

Phantasmo uses his loaded boot to take over until Eagles is back up with a dive. The Coaches hit dives of their own but it’s Tiger butterfly superplexing Phantasmo. Back to back tilt-a-whirl backbreakers drop the Coaches as everything stays broken down. The Coaches hit a double hip attack on Eagles but the Club is back in with double knees to Romero’s chest.

A top rope knee sets up the UFO on Tiger and a Thunder Kiss 86 gives Ishimori two. Eagles sends Phantasmo’s kick into Ishimori’s face though and it’s time for the other teams to go after Phantasmo. It’s time to unload the boot though, which contains a piece of metal. As a result, the Club is eliminated and we’re down to a regular tag match. An exchange of rollups gets two each and Tiger dives onto Taguchi on the floor. That leaves Eagles to tie Romero up with a leglock for the tap to retain the titles at 12:09.

Rating: B-. This was pure chaos throughout but they did pay off what seemed to be a long running story with the loaded boot. There was nothing resembling a tag match here and that’s what they were trying to do. It can get a little complicated and hard to follow, but some good commentary kept it simple enough to understand for the most part. It’s also nice to see these titles retained, as they seem to change hands most of the time at this show.

Tam Nakano/Saya Kamitani vs. Mayu Iwatani/Starlight Kid

This is a Stardom (women’s promotion) exhibition tag. Each one is from a different faction and they drew straws to determine the participants. Kid headscissors Kamitani down to start and snaps off a basement dropkick to make it worse. Iwatani comes in for a double 619 into a double standing moonsault, meaning it’s time to kick Kamitani in the back. Kamitani comes back with a spinwheel kick but Nakano can’t add a German suplex.

Iwatani kicks Nakano in the head for a breather and there’s a Sling Blade to take her down again. The double tag brings in Kamitani and Kid as everything breaks down. Iwatani dives onto Nakano and Kamitani, setting up Kid’s twisting top rope splash back inside. Kid climbs onto Iwatani’s shoulders (already on the middle rope) for a high crossbody onto Kamitani for two, with Nakano making the save.

That’s fine with Kid, who grabs a Texas Cloverleaf on Kamitani to make it worse. Nakano breaks that up as well and hits a big dive off the top to the floor. Back in and Kamitani’s bridging northern lights suplex gets two on Kid with Iwatani making the save this time. Kid and Kamitani trade rollups for two each but Iwatani is back in with a superkick. Nakano tiger suplexes Iwatani and it’s Kamitani hitting a sitout fisherman’s buster to knock Kid silly. A Phoenix splash is enough to give Kamitani the pin at 9:16.

Rating: B. This was a straight sprint as they didn’t waste time doing anything but getting in as much as they could. What made it work was that most everything looked crisp and they were flying through the whole match. I’ve heard almost nothing but good things about Stardom and it is pretty awesome to see them getting a showcase match on the biggest card in Japan. Heck of a match here and very fun.

King of Pro Wrestling Provisional Title: Cima vs. Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano vs. Chase Owens

This is a weird title, as it isn’t so much about winning the title here, but rather holding it at the end of the year. These four were the final four in a battle royal yesterday to set this up. The other three jump Yano to start, because he has won the trophy two years running. With Yano and Owens sent outside, Suzuki and Cima strike it out until Suzuki is sent to the floor as well.

Cima hits a big dive onto all three of them and everyone heads back inside. Yano takes off a buckle pad as Owens hits Suzuki in the face. Owens immediately apologized and gets beaten up again, leaving Cima to put Yano in an Indian deathlock. Suzuki beats Cima up, which cranks on Yano’s leg over and over. That’s broken up so Suzuki grabs his sleeper on Owens, with Yano hitting a double low blow to break it up. Suzuki isn’t having this so he kicks Yano in the face and hits the piledriver for the pin at 6:09.

Rating: C. They didn’t waste time here either and it was a fast/to the point match. Suzuki shouldn’t have had any trouble with Yano or Owens so once he got the chance, he ran through Yano for the win. That being said, this is just the start of the year’s story, but Suzuki hurting people for trying to go after his title could be rather entertaining.

Post match, Suzuki beats up Yano some more and pulls out some handcuffs. In Yano fashion, he manages to handcuff Suzuki to the rope instead and runs off.

Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles: House of Torture vs. Chaos

That would be Evil/Yujiro Takahashi/Sho, who are defending, vs. Hirooki Goto/Yoshi-Hashi/Yoh. It’s a brawl on the floor before the bell until Goto spinwheel kicks and bulldogs Evil. Sho and Yoh come back in to continue their rivalry, with Yoh dropkicking him outside and hitting a dive. The Torture corner’s turnbuckle pad is ripped off as Sho knees Goto in the ribs back inside.

Takahashi comes in but can’t hit a suplex, instead getting clotheslined down by Goto. Hashi gets the tag to pick up the pace and a running dropkick to the back gets two on Takahashi. A kick to the head rocks Hashi but he’s back up with a running clothesline. It’s back to Yoh vs. Sho for the strike off but Torture catches Yoh in the corner for the series of running shots to the face.

Sho grabs a wrench Yoh can get choked behind the referee’s back until Goto and Hashi make the save. A superkick sets up the fireman’s carry backbreaker on Sho, with Yoh hitting his own superkick. Takahashi offers a distraction though and it’s a low blow from Evil into a wrench shot from Sho for the pin at 9:39.

Rating: C. I was getting into it but then the lame ending brought it right back down. I can understand not wanting to see Yoh pin Sho on back to back nights but they didn’t have anything other than a low blow into a weapon shot? Evil’s match yesterday felt rather out of place and that was the same here, though at least this came after a good enough match.

The teams yell at each other post match and odds are we’ll be seeing a rematch.

Here are a bunch of Pro Wrestling Noah stars, led by Keiji Mutoh (better known as Great Muta) to say that they are ready to face New Japan on Saturday. Cue Shingo Takagi and company to say he knew Noah would say something offensive and it is time to show who is better when they face off. Noah issues the challenge but Takagai and company being down about 20-3 is enough to make New Japan think twice. Noah promises to win and that’s it.

New Japan is back on AXS TV on March 3.

Here are some upcoming shows.

Intermission.

Sanada vs. Great-O-Khan

Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. United Empire. Feeling out process to start with neither getting very far early on. They fight over some armbars until Sanada dropkicks him to the floor. Khan is ready for the dive and takes him out, setting up a half nelson Skull Crushing Finale. A release gordbuster drops Sanada for two but the Mongolian chop is blocked. Sanada armdrags him down and hits a backbreaker to send Khan outside for some pleasant applause.

Back in and Sanada can’t get the Paradise Lock as Khan kicks him right back to the floor. Khan shouts down at Sanada, who stands there as Khan dives on him (with commentary pointing out that there was no reason to believe he would actually jump, meaning Sanada thought he had nothing to fear).and then a rollup gets two back inside. The Sheep Killer (I think? It’s something like an abdominal stretch.) has Sanada in trouble but he fights out hand tries an O’Connor roll.

That’s broken up as well and the Sheep Killer goes on again, but this time Sanada reverses into a tiger suplex for two. Sanada’s top rope splash hits raised knees and they slug it out with Khan getting the better of things. A kick to the face staggers Khan, but he knocks Sanada silly with a straight right hand for two of his own. Khan hits a middle rope moonsault and tries a claw, only to get reversed into a European Clutch for the pin at 13:22.

Rating: B-. This was the first singles match of the night and it was nice to see things change pace like they did here. The idea seemed to be that Sanada needed to prove he could win here and he took Khan down in the process. Khan’s improvement over the last year is still close to remarkable, as he was dreadful last time and put in a pretty good match here.

Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb

More Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. United Empire and this should be good. Cobb lost to Naito on a quick rollup recently and now it is time for revenge. Said revenge starts fast with Cobb unloading on him in the corner to start. Naito gets a boot up in the corner though and dropkicks the knee out to slow Cobb down. Another dropkick to the knee takes Cobb outside and the tease of the Tranquilo pose lets Naito kick him in the face again.

This time Naito follows him outside so Cobb grabs a suplex and drives Naito into the post over and over. Naito takes his time getting inside again, allowing Cobb to drive some knees into his back. There’s a gorilla press toss before Cobb puts him on his shoulder for some rams into the corner. Back up and Naito slugs away with forearms to no avail but a running boot to the face manages to drop Cobb.

Naito goes after the knee with a running dropkick, followed by a basement version in the corner. A version of the Indian Deathlock goes on but Cobb is in the rope before too long. Cobb blocks a shinbreaker and hits an overhead belly to belly, followed by a belly to belly (minus his usual running start) for two.

Tour of the Islands is broken up and Naito hits a DDT for a breather. It’s time to go back to the knee but Destino is countered again. Naito kicks him in the knee to send him into the corner and it’s time to go up. The super hurricanrana is countered into a superbomb but the knee gives out again. Naito slaps on a leglock but Cobb pounds his way to freedom. A German suplex drops Naito, only to have Cobb pop up with a hard clothesline. Tour of the Islands is broken up again and Naito hits a scoop brainbuster. Destino is enough to finish Cobb at 15:36.

Rating: B. These guys beat each other up and it was a much more definitive win than a rollup. Naito picks Cobb’s knee apart and took away a lot of his power, which made him closer to a mortal. This felt like a big win for Naito, who seems ready to move back up to the main event. He’s always good for a solid match and Cobb is still a heck of a monster, with this being the best match on the show so far. Or at least the best singles match so far.

IWGP United States Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kenta

Kenta is defending and it’s No DQ. Tanahashi is all about honor and Kenta is all about the title, but Kenta has pushed Tanahashi too far. That could make Tanahashi extra dangerous. Before the bell, Kenta grabs some kendo sticks and throws one to Tanahashi so we start fast. The battle of the sticks goes to Kenta and a belt shot makes it worse. More stick shots rock Tanahashi and it’s time to bring in a bunch of weapons.

Various shots to the head and back have Tanahashi in more trouble as this is one sided to start. A short ladder is put in the corner but Tanahashi dropkicks Kenta’s knee, sending the champ face first into a trashcan. Tanahashi puts the trashcan over Kenta’s head and beats on it with a chair, meaning it’s time for a guitar. A good shot to the head puts a hole through the guitar (which doesn’t seem to be gimmicked) and let’s bring in a table for a bonus.

Tanahashi dragon screw legwhips Kenta down but a briefcase shot gives Kenta a much needed breather. They both go up top with Tanahashi palm striking his way out of trouble. Let’s throw in several more chairs and it’s a Sling Blade to drive Kenta into said chairs. The High Fly Flow only hits chairs though and Tanahashi is down again. Kenta buries him underneath the chairs in the corner for a running dropkick to crush him again.

Go To Sleep is loaded up but Tanahashi reverses into Twist and Shout onto the chairs. With nothing else working, the table is thrown inside and is decorates with a nice Kenta holding a chair. Tanahashi takes too long going up top though and gets chaired down, setting up a super Falcon Arrow to send Tanahashi mostly through said table.

Another table is thrown in and Kenta finds a big ladder (that thing is huge) for a bonus. Kenta sets up the ladder (and has to screw in the support) and puts Tanahashi on the table. That takes way too long though, as Tanahashi gets up and knocks Kenta down in a SCARY crash. The High Fly Flow through the bloody Kenta gives Tanahashi the pin and the title at 22:16.

Rating: B+. This took some time to get going, but the violence worked because it stood out. New Japan doesn’t seem to do this kind of thing very often and it felt like a physical fight as a result. Tanahashi beats Kenta at his own game because he is the better man and as a result, it was a great way to blow off their feud. That being said, Kenta was very banged up in this match, suffering a dislocated hip, a broke nose, nerve damage in his finger and the lacerations, meaning he’s going to be gone for a little while.

Tanahashi is tended to but walks off on his own.

IWGP World Heavyweight Title: Will Ospreay vs. Kazuchika Okada

Okada is defending but Ospreay has his own belt, as he was stripped of the title due to an injury. They stare at each other for a good while to start before some grappling goes nowhere. Okada takes him down by the leg before switching to an early headlock. Back up and Okada scores with a big boot into a backdrop to keep Ospreay in trouble. A neckbreaker sets up another chinlock as Okada is going after various parts. Ospreay fights up and scores with a Phenomenal Forearm to send Okada outside.

There’s no big dive though, as Ospreay instead opts to go outside and hit Okada in the face. Back in and some chops rock put Okada down, setting up a suplex to bang up Okada’s back as well. The cravate keeps Okada in trouble but he’s right back with a flapjack (Ospreay: “Oh s***!”) for a breather. A DDT and neckbreaker give Okada two each but Ospreay lifts him out to the apron.

That’s fine with Okada, who hits a running dropkick to knock Ospreay out to the floor. Okada whips him into the barricade but Ospreay superkicks him out of the air, sending Okada’s knee into the concrete. Ospreay climbs the lighting rig (as he did at a previous Wrestle Kingdom) and moonsaults down onto Okada for the big crash. Back in and a top rope forearm to the back of the head gives Ospreay two and the confidence is starting to roll. Okada is sent outside and Ospreay tries the Sasuke Special, only to get caught in a tombstone on the floor.

Back in and Okada hits a missile dropkick for two, setting up the Money Clip. Okada lets that go and hits a top rope elbow but Ospreay kicks him in the face. Ospreay’s standing shooting star press hits knees but Ospreay is back up with a Liger Bomb for two. With Okada draped over the top rope, it’s a shooting star to the back for two more. There’s the Oscutter for two more but the Hidden Blade misses. Ospreay doesn’t seem to mind and hits his own tombstone.

Since he didn’t watch last night, Ospreay tries the Rainmaker on Okada, who reverses into his own Stormbreaker (Ospreay’s finisher) for two. Back up and Okada hits his dropkick but the Rainmaker is countered into a C4 for a double knockdown. A super Oscutter gets two on Okada but Stormbreaker is countered into a spinning tombstone.

Okada hits a discus lariat into the Rainmaker for two but Ospreay is back up with his own Rainmaker. They slug it out from their knees and Okada hits another Rainmaker, but he tries again and gets reversed into the Hidden Blade for two. Stormbreaker is countered so Ospreay knees him in the face but another Hidden Blade is countered with a dropkick. The Landslide sets up the Rainmaker to retain Okada’s title at 32:53.

Rating: A-. It’s a really good match and felt like a Wrestle Kingdom main event, but it did have some of the same problems that almost always pop up in an Okada match. The kickouts got ridiculous here as it was at least three tombstones and about 73 Rainmakers to finally put Ospreay away. That being said, these two beat the fire out of each other and it was nice to see them finally have a definitive champion after all the months of screwiness (which wasn’t the company’s fault). Great match, but it could have had some finishers trimmed out.

Post match Okada says he respects Ospreay but now there is no doubt about who is the real World Champion. Cue Tetsuya Naito to praise Okada’s victories but he needs to be the next challenger. Okada thinks that’s a good idea and Naito leaves. Okada thanks the fans for coming out and giving the wrestlers their strength. He wants to wrestle and promises to keep making it rain.

Commentary has their big recap to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was better than the first night and it felt like a Wrestle Kingdom worthy show. The two main events are the best parts of the night, as tends to be the case, but there are also some awesome matches earlier on the card to make it that much better. You could tell that everyone was working hard and wanted to make this the biggest night of the year. I had a rather good time with it and that’s the right feeling to have after a show this big.

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Wrestle Kingdom XV Night Two
Date: January 5, 2021
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 7,801
Commentators: Rocky Romero, Chris Charlton, Kevin Kelly

It’s the second half of the biggest New Japan show of the year and as usual, the card is stacked. The main event will see new IWGP Heavyweight/Intercontinental Champion Kota Ibushi defend against Jay White, along with pretty much everything else that wasn’t featured on Night One. They have a lot to live up to so let’s get to it.

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

Note that there were two Stardom dark matches which were not broadcast due to various rights issues.

The opening video runs down the card, in order.

King Of Pro Wrestling Provisional Title: Toru Yano vs. Chase Owens vs. Bad Luke Fale vs. Bushi

So this is a new thing that started last year, where you have to become the Provisional Champion and then defend it throughout the year, with whoever is the final champion at the end of the year winning a trophy. Then the whole thing starts over. Yano was the first champion and this is one fall to a finish. Bushi and Yano chill on the floor to start so Fale heads outside to hammer on Yano while Owens does the same thing to Bushi inside.

Everyone gets inside with Yano rolling Bushi up for two. Yano isn’t having this wrestling stuff and pulls off the turnbuckle pad to continue his tradition. Owens saves Bushi from getting hit in the face but Bushi rakes him in the eyes for offering an alliance. Fale and Owens start double teaming Yano but Bushi is back in to low bridge Fale to the floor.

A fisherman’s neckbreaker gives Bushi two on Owens as Yano slams Fale in the back of the head. Well he never has seemed like the smartest person. Owens blocks Bushi’s top rope Codebreaker but can’t hit the package piledriver. Fale comes back in to hit the Grenade Launcher on Bushi but Owens won’t let him have the pin. They go after the referee, allowing Yano to come in with the low blow and steal the pin on Bushi for the title at 7:34.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t supposed to be anything serious and was more or less a warmup match for the rest of the show. It was quick, it gave the fans a smile at the end and lets Yano do his thing. There was no reason to believe that this was going to be anything special and they had a perfectly acceptable match.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Suzuki-Gun vs. One of Eight

That would be El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemura (defending) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi/Master Wato after the challengers (with Hiroyoshi Tenzan) have beaten the champs twice. Wato and Desperado start fast with Wato knocking him to the floor for the big dive. It’s off to Taguchi who runs the ropes a lot until Kanemura takes him to the floor for a whip into the barricade. Back in and Kanemura takes advantage of a distracted referee to send Taguchi’s knee into a chair.

We settle down a bit with Desperado dropkicking Taguchi’s knee out and easily avoiding the hip attack. Taguchi gets over for the tag to Wato though and it’s a springboard uppercut to drop Kanemura. The referee is sent into Wato for a distraction, allowing Kanemura to hit an enziguri. Desperado comes back in and gets pulled face first into the back of Taguchi’s tights over and over (that’s his thing you see). The running hip attack puts Desperado down again and Three Amigos do it one more time.

Desperado and Taguchi counter a few things each until Taguchi grabs a cobra clutch suplex. That just earns him a Stretch Muffler but Taguchi reverses into an ankle lock. A double chickenwing gutbuster gets two on Desperado but he and Taguchi trade rollups for two each. With the other two being knocked outside, Desperado hits Angel’s Wings (which had a Spanish name I couldn’t make out) to finish Taguchi and retain the titles at 13:21.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match that seems to come and go most years without having much long term meaning. The Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles offer some fun matches but they don’t exactly seem the most important. It’s nice to see the champs retain to let their reign grow a bit and seeing Taguchi lose always makes me smile just a little bit. Pretty nice match too, but it didn’t hit anything great.

Never Openweight Title: Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb

Shingo is defending and Cobb is part of the Empire. They shove each other around to start and then go to the forearm off, as is the custom for the title. Shingo hits a hiptoss and runs him over with a shoulder but Cobb is right back with a dropkick. That’s enough to send Shingo to the floor for some whips into the barricade, followed by a heck of an overhead belly to belly. Back in and an elbow to the face gives Cobb two and we hit the bearhug. That’s broken up in a hurry so Cobb suplexes him down again.

They slug it out until Shingo suplexes him out to the apron. Shingo joins him and has to slip out of a Razor’s Edge attempt (must fear a bad case of death) before knocking Cobb out to the floor. The big flip dive hits Cobb again and an elbow drop gets two back inside. It’s Cobb’s turn to hurt him, meaning it’s the rolling gutwrench suplexes into a sitout Razor’s Edge powerbomb for a big two. Shingo is right back with a Death Valley Driver as they’re trading bombs here.

A top rope superplex sends Cobb flying again and there’s a German suplex to make it worse. They trade t-bone suplexes and forearm it out until Shingo hits a clothesline but falls to the floor in exhaustion. Shingo dives back in, earning himself a quick piledriver for two more. Tour of the Islands is broken up so Shingo hits Made In Japan for his own near fall.

Cobb snaps off a rebound German suplex into Tour of the Islands but the knee gives out to delay the cover. They’re both down with Cobb’s knee still bothering him but he’s fine enough to hit a backflip fall away slam (Does that mean it’s still an away slam?). Tour of the Islands is blocked again and Shingo hits a kind of fall away suplex. A big lariat turns Cobb inside out and Last of the Dragon (kind of a reverse Samoan driver) retains the title at 21:13.

Rating: A. Oh yeah this was amazing as these two just beat the fire out of each other for twenty one minutes. There was nothing scientific about it and there wasn’t supposed to be. This was all about two big, strong guys hitting each other really hard and Cobb is born for that kind of match. Great stuff here and if you want one of those old school hoss fights with suplexes thrown in, check this one out, because it’s awesome.

Sanada vs. Evil

They’re former partners but Evil (with Dick Togo tonight) turned on him to become Heavyweight Champion. Feeling out process to start with Sanada being thrown outside but he jumps back in as Evil goes to the floor. Back in and Sanada loads up the Paradise Lock for the running kick, sending Evil outside again. This time Evil catches Sanada to drive him into the barricade and some chairs are brought out as well.

Evil and Togo set up a table and Sanada is taken back inside….only to be taken outside again for a whip into the barricade. That’s good for two back inside but Sanada gets in a shot to the knee to put Evil down for a change. A dropkick does it again so Sanada has the chance to dive onto Togo. Back in and Togo trips Sanada but Evil can’t put him through the ringside table. Instead, Sanada misses a springboard, having to settle for a hanging swinging suplex.

A tiger suplex gives Sanada two but Evil drives him hard into the corner. Evil gets him up top for a superplex into the Scorpion Deathlock, with Sanada diving for the rope. Darkness Falls gets two on Sanada but Evil misses a charge into an exposed (When did that happen?) corner. Sanada’s belly to back suplex gets two, only to have Evil swing Sanada’s leg into the referee. Togo comes in to beat on Sanada, who kicks Evil into the ropes to crotch Togo (Togo: “OH S***!”) out to the floor.

Sanada moonsaults over Evil into Skull End (dragon sleeper), which he lets so for a moonsault instead. He tries a second but this time Evil gets his knees up to put them both down. Skull End goes on again so Evil grabs the referee, allowing Togo to choke with a wire from the apron. That’s broken up though and Sanada dropkicks Evil into Togo through the table (There it goes!). Evil panics, kicks out of a rollup, and blasts Sanada with a clothesline for two of his own. Skull End is broken up again so Sanada hits his own Everything Is Evil (Evil’s finisher), setting up a pop up TKO. The moonsault finishes Evil for good at 23:45.

Rating: B+. This is as easy of a story as you can get, with the tag team splitting up and one of them needing to prove that he is the better man. That’s what we got here, with Sanada wrestling the clean match to overcome the villains, including using Evil’s own finisher. Rather good match here, and it’s easy to see why this was one of the featured showdowns.

We recap Hiromu Takahashi (Best of the Super Juniors) vs. Taiji Ishimori (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion) for the title. Takahashi won a #1 contenders match against El Phantasmo last night and now he has his title shot.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori

Ishimori is defending and they run the ropes to start, with Takahashi being sent outside. Ishimori’s dive is broken up on the apron as Takahashi cuts him off and hits a superkick. The sunset bomb is countered as well so Takahashi powerbombs him hard onto the apron. Takahashi goes WAY up the ramp and runs down but his dropkick is countered into a suplex to cut him down.

Ishimori nails a moonsault down to the floor and then sends Takahashi shoulder first into an exposed turnbuckle (Is that the same buckle from the Yano match? They never replaced it???). The shoulder is banged up but the legs are fine enough to snap off a running headscissors to put Ishimori down. A running dropkick off the apron sends Ishimori hard into the barricade for two back inside but he’s back up with the sliding German suplex.

The YES Lock stays on Takahashi’s bad arm until a foot on the rope is good for the break. Takahashi counters a charge into a belly to belly into the corner and they’re both down for a deserved breather. It’s Takahashi up first with a wheelbarrow into a Downward Spiral, followed by the running Death Valley Driver. Ishimori’s handspring is countered into a German suplex but he’s right back up with a Canadian Destroyer for another double knockdown.

They slug it out from their knees and then from their feet until Ishimori sends him shoulder first into the post. A shoulderbreaker sets up the YES Lock with Takahashi needing the ropes to keep him alive. Ishimori tries the YES Lock again but this time gets faceplanted down for a delayed two instead. They both try what looks to be a suplex until Ishimori takes him down into a Gargano Escape. With that almost broken, Ishimori lets it go and tries the YES Lock, only to be reversed into a suplex into a faceplant. That lets Takahashi get back up for the Time Bomb 2 for the pin and the title at 25:31.

Rating: A-. This was another slugout as both of them were barely able to hang in there until the end, with Takahashi’s shoulder nearly doing him in. Takahashi coming back from his injury and winning the title again was a great moment and a great story. Granted it wasn’t as spiffy again as the second time, but Takahashi has turned into a huge star around here and the win felt special and was made even better by an awesome match.

Takahashi takes his time getting the title.

We recap Jay White vs. Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Titles. Ibushi won the titles last night but lost to White a few months ago. White is the most evil man in the company and it’s time to fight him off.

IWGP Heavyweight Title/IWGP Intercontinental Title: Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White

White is challenging and has Gedo with him. White bails to the floor to start but then gets back in for the trash talk. They lock up nearly two minutes after the bell and an early Gedo distraction lets White stomp away. The headlock goes on for a bit but the threat of a big kick to the head sends White bailing to the floor. Gedo offers another distraction on the way back in though, allowing Kota to grab a DDT. A suplex onto the apron bangs up Kota’s back and that means a rather long count on the floor.

Back in and a knee to the ribs gets two and the waistlock goes on. Rib stomping ensues and it’s a tranquilo pose to keep White’s cockiness high. A hard DDT plants Kota again and White yells at the referee as the champ pulls himself up. That’s enough for Kota to get in a shot of his own, followed by the standing moonsault for two. They head to the floor with Ibushi’s ribs going into the barricade to cut him off again.

Back in and Kota’s powerslam looks to set up the middle rope moonsault but White crotches him instead. That means it’s time to start working on the leg, followed by a swinging brainbuster for two. Kota manages to send him outside but the knee gives out on the springboard attempt. White shoves him out to the floor and then suplexes him into the corner for two more. Kota grabs a desperation half nelson suplex and they slug it out again. The kneeling Tombstone gives Kota two and they’re both down.

It’s White up first with a snap belly to back suplex into a Rock Bottom for his own two. Back up and Kota hits his own belly to back for two, followed by a kick to the head. Gedo’s distraction breaks up another moonsault though and it’s time to go up to tease a dragon superplex (geez). Thankfully that’s broken up and White goes after the knee instead. A leglock goes on to put Kota in trouble but he’s in the rope in a hurry. White kicks him in the face a few times and gets a “dude really” look from Kota, who gets back to his feet.

Ibushi strikes him down into the corner and tells White to come on. That’s fine with White, who is knocked right back down. They do the same thing again, with White getting knocked to the floor. Back in and Kota says hit him but White lays down, telling Ibushi to pin him. Instead, Ibushi unloads on him until the referee tries to intervene, allowing White to get in a low blow. They head outside again with Ibushi going ribs and back first into the barricade and apron.

White gets back inside and tells Ibushi to bring it, earning Kota some German suplexes. It’s back to the apron (Kelly: “Oh no.”) with Ibushi gets in a kick to the head to rock White for a change. A super German suplex brings White back in for two for a rather near fall but he grabs a sleeper suplex. White hits another one and a RegalPlex is good for two. Blade Runner is broken up but Kota reverses into the big knee to the face for two and the applause.

The phoenix splash connects but Gedo pulls the referee, sending Kelly into hysterics. Gedo’s brass knuckles shot is countered into a big knee to the face so Kota sends the referee back in. The delay lets White hit the Blade Runner for a very close two (first time anyone has ever kicked out) so he pulls Kota down into what looks like a reverse Figure Four.

Kota is nearly to the rope but White pulls him back into the middle. That’s not going to happen though as Kota makes it back to the rope again. Bloody Sunday looks to set up another Blade Runner but Kota nails a jumping knee to the face. Another jumping knee sets up a hard lariat into a pair of big knees to retain the titles at 48:05 (the longest match in Dome history).

Rating: A. It says a lot that you don’t feel a match running nearly fifty minutes but this felt like nothing close to that. Ibushi had a pair of great performances and it makes him look like an even bigger star. White is the kind of heel you want to see get destroyed and having him get kneed in the face works very well. This was a heck of a match and lived up to the main event spot, with the time being a great addition, especially fast the whole thing felt.

Post match here’s Sanada to issue the (very respectful) challenge for the titles. Kota talks about how he is more powerful than ever and agrees to the match. With Sanada gone, Kota gives his big speech to wrap it up. Commentary applauds him as he leaves.

The long wrapup ends the night.

Overall Rating: A+. This was an interesting one as I wasn’t feeling it as much as the first night but aside from the not exactly serious opener, this was one great match after another with nothing being close to bad and a bunch of classics. It’s the kind of show that you expect from Wrestle Kingdom and that is a very hard reputation to achieve. Absolutely awesome show though and somehow better than the very good Night One, which is hard to pull off. Yeah it’s annoying to have back to back shows this long, but it’s once a year so I can’t get mad, especially when it’s this. Check both nights out, because they’re worth the time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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