The Wrld On GCW
Date: January 23, 2022
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Kendall Gill
Hosts: Lenny Leonard, Pollo del Mar

Every now and then a show catches my attention and I’ll add it to the schedule. That is the case here, as GCW has become the hottest indy around at the moment and I’m going to give it a shot. I am absolutely not a fan of the deathmatch stuff, but apparently that kind of wrestling is not allowed in New York so we get a bit of a reprieve here. Let’s get to it.

Note that I barely follow GCW so I am not going to know much in the way of storylines or characters so please bear with me if I miss something.

Kickoff Show: Blue Ribbon Battle Royal

Psycho Clown, Dark Sheik, Cole Radrick, Parrow, Hoodfoot, Ruckus, Charles Mason, KTB, Juicy Finau, Steve Scott, Nate Webb, Big Vin, Brandon Kirk, Janai Kai, Dustin Thomas, Marcus Mathers, Yoya, B-Boy, Lufisto, Thunder Rosa

Clown jumps Parrow before most of the entrances have taken place and we’re starting fast. The huge Parrow fights him off but Sheik hits a pretty awesome looking jump up to his shoulders into a double stomp to the chest (kind of like Cameron Grimes’ Cave In). Sheik isn’t done and hits a top rope spinwheel kick to drop Radrick. Back up and Radrick runs Sheik over as more people come in (Are these entrances timed? That hasn’t been mentioned.), giving us Parrow vs. Ruckus.

Entrants keep coming in one at a time but with maybe fifteen seconds in between, making me wonder why they started so fast. Scott (I think? Commentary is too busy to say who these people are.) is clotheslined out as Big Vin takes his place. Vin grabs Sheik from the apron and backflips in for a World’s Strongest Slam (that’s a new one) before having a big hug with Finau.

The ring (which isn’t very big in the first place) is WAY too full here as Kirk is tossed. Thomas (the wrestler with no legs) comes in and hits a tornado DDT on KTB. Mathers and Yoya are in as Radrick is out in a hurry (and actually gets named). Mason (in a suit) is in next as this is just a free for all of people hitting one move after another with nothing close to coherence.

Now it’s B-Boy coming in as Clown hits a superbomb on Mason. Mathers (I think) is out with Sheik and KTB following him. Lufisto makes a big surprise return and there go Clown and Thomas. Thunder Rosa is the big surprise and final entrant so we look at her beating up Parrow in the corner while everyone else brawls.

Lufisto gets rid of Webb and B-Boy and we’re down to Lufisto, Parrow, Rosa, Mason and Vin. Rosa hurricanranas Parrow out and the women beat up Mason in the corner. Vin gets beaten down in an opposite corner until Rosa and Lufisto slug it out. Mason sneaks up and tosses Rosa but Lufisto suplexes both of them. Vin puts Lufisto on the apron and Mason drives Vin into her for the elimination. A low bridge sends Vin to the apron but he chokeslams Mason out for the win at 16:04.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t a good start to the night as I’m still not sure who all was in the match. Commentary didn’t do a good job of explaining what was going on and the camera work made it even harder to keep track of the whole thing. I’m not quite thrilled with where things are going from here, but hopefully we get something a little easier to follow going forward.

Kickoff Show: Jack Cartwheel vs. Alex Zayne vs. Grim Reefer vs. Shane Mercer vs. Ninja Mack vs. Dante Leon

No tags and one fall to a finish. Zayne is billed as The Sauce and from the nearest Taco Bell. The fact that he is from Lexington makes it even better. Mercer starts fast with a pop up powerslam on Reefer (that looked good) and there’s a big flip dive to drop some people on the floor. Cartwheel and Mack hit their stereo running flip dives to the floor, followed by dives from Zayne and Leon.

Reefer goes up, lights one up, and hits a big springboard flip dive to drop the pile. Back in and Mack punches away at Reefer before hitting the People’s Moonsault. Leon comes in for a cutter on Mack but gets powerslammed by Mercer. A super fireman’s carry flapjack drops Leon but Zayne clears the ring. Cartwheel takes him down for a slingshot hilo but Mercer is back up with a gorilla press drop.

Reefer kicks Mercer down and spins him into a Crossface with Leon making the save. Leon’s big cutter hits Reefer but Mercer plants Mack with a super backflip World’s Strongest Slam. Zayne is held in the ropes for a shooting star press from Cartwheel, driving Zayne into the apron. A chair is brought in but Reefer counters Mercer’s….something into a DDT onto the chair for the pin at 7:58.

Rating: C+. This was slightly easier to follow than the opener but that isn’t saying much. The thing to remember about a match like this is that it is all about getting your stuff in with nothing resembling a story being told. The match may be fun, but this is all about setting things up for the real card. Not exactly good, but a lot of fun and rather exciting, as is kind of the point.

Owner Brett Lauderdale comes out to hype up the crowd and talks about how hard it has been to get here. They were ready to take over the world but then the pandemic hit. He was told that a million GCW’s have come and gone but now they are here with the roster to make it work.

We get the entrances for the opener, which will start when the show goes on the air. This company has some AEW influences.

The opening video, which is rather quiet, shows a bunch of wrestlers in the empty building with their voiceovers talking about how they have no business at this level. Now they’re here to prove that they belong. Right on point here.

AJ Gray vs. PCO vs. Alex Colon vs. G-Raver vs. Tony Deppen vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Jordan Oliver

Ladder match, with the winner getting any title match they want at any time. AJ Gray is a surprise entrant as his scheduled opponent, Eddie Kingston, is out with an injury. They start fast (I’m not sure I heard a bell) with Deppen hitting a springboard dropkick to drive the ladder into Lloyd and Oliver.

Gray buckle bombs Deppen into the ladder in the corner and blasts him with a lariat before going up. His ladder is WAY too short though, meaning G-Raver does him a favor by throwing a ladder at Gray’s ladder for the save. PCO comes in, allowing Colon to lift up G-Raver for a Doomsday Device, albeit with a ladder shot instead of a clothesline to make it even worse. Colon hits PCO in the face with the ladder but Oliver dropkicks the ladder down to break up the double climb.

Oliver kicks Lloyd in the face and hits a dive to the floor. PCO hits his own running flip dive through the ropes. Deppen adds a double springboard flip dive to take out everyone, sending them walking up the aisle. As luck would have it, Gray is ready with his own running flip dive off the stage at the exact same time. PCO chairs Gray down and moonsaults off the top onto the big pile again.

That means PCO can climb, but he’s actually smart enough to drop down and beat up anyone trying to make a save. Deppen brings in a bigger ladder and bites PCO on the face but Jordan Oliver is there to cut him off. Lloyd breaks that up too but gets kicked down by Oliver. PCO chokeslams Oliver off of the ladder though and there’s a package piledriver onto the ladder to make it worse.

G-Raver and Colon break that up, with Raven putting Colon onto two chairs with a ladder over his back. Raver goes up, shoves the ring out of the way, and drops down onto the ladder onto Colon. Well that was dumb. Lloyd gives Raver a running Razor’s Edge over the top and onto a big pile of stuff on the floor. Gray goes up on a ladder on the floor and tries to dive into the ring, only to crash hard onto another ladder (the fact that I’m not sure who he was aiming for is a bad sign). Cue John Wayne Murdoch to take out Colon on the floor, leaving Gray to take the ring down at 15:11.

Rating: C-. The spots were good, but this was a very indy style ladder match, which is not meant as a compliment. There was too much going on between all of the people and it didn’t work so well. At the same time, you had a person shoving the ring out of the way to hurt someone else. That’s about as bad of a level of ladder match logic as you’ll find, making this quite the mess.

Gringo Loco/Demonic Flamita/Arez vs. Bandido/ASF/Laredo Kid

Lucha rules (duh) and it’s Arez starting with Kid. The trade early misses until Kid’s hurricanrana is easily blocked. An armdrag sends Kid outside so it’s Bandido coming in for Three Amigos. That means the Eddie dance as it’s a headscissors to send Arez outside. Loco comes in to hammer on Bandido, who is sent outside so ASF can come in. A wristdrag sends ASF outside for a change and it’s Flamita coming in to take his place.

The 619 in the corner looks to set up something off the top but Flamita flips off the crowd and drops down to flip the fans off instead. ASF is left alone in the corner, with Flamita and Arez hitting stereo moonsaults to the floor (that was sweet). Bandido and Kid get caught in stereo surfboards on the floor for the big running flip dive from Loco. ASF is sent outside as well, only to get launched over the top for the crash back inside (cool).

Flamita follows him back in for two, with ASF climbing Flamita to armdrag Loco. Bandido’s team is back in with stereo superkicks into stereo headscissors to the floor. The not quite stereo dives take out Loco and company but ASF and Kid miss missile dropkicks back inside. Flamita and Bandido are left alone for a big staredown, with Flamita kicking him down and hitting a huge frog splash.

ASF hits a 450 but Arez makes a save of his own. A dropkick breaks up Arez’s cover and a Death Valley Driver gets two on Flamita. It’s Bandido vs. Loco for a strike off until Bandido hits a heck of a tornado DDT. Back up and Bandido and Loco grab double electric chairs (as in Arez is on Flamita’s shoulders on Loco’s shoulders while ASF is on Kid’s shoulders on Bandido’s shoulders), leaving ASF and Arez to slug it out rather high in the air.

ASF snaps off a Canadian Destroyer (egads man) while Loco and Bandido hit powerbombs on the other two. Loco catches a charging Bandido in a Spanish Fly and everyone is down. Back up and Bandido LAUNCHES ASF over the top and into a hurricanrana on Loco. Flamita hits a dive, then Bandido hits a dive, then Kid Spanish Flies Arez off the top onto the pile. ASF and Loco seem to load up a super Canadian Destroyer but can’t get the timing right, leaving Loco to hit a regular piledriver for the pin at 14:10.

Rating: A-. The double electric chair was good enough to make this about as fun as it could have been and the rest was a bunch of insanity that you can only get in a match like this one. This kind of a match is designed to have a bunch of people flying around with one crazy spot after another and they made it work like only they can here. Bandido’s awesomeness has long since been established and it was on full display again with this one. Check this out, which you should always do with something involving these people.

Ian Riccaboni joins commentary.

Ring of Honor World Title: Blake Christian vs. Jonathan Gresham

Christian is challenging…or at least he would be if Gresham was here but we need to make a last second change. Worry not though, because we have a replacement.

Blake Christian vs. Lio Rush

Rush offers a handshake but Christian looks at him instead. They do shake left hands though and it’s an armdrag to take Rush down. Back up and Christian offers a handshake, which allows him to sunset flip Rush for two. Rush bails to the floor for a breather before heading back inside to avoid some charges.

Christian heads outside, only to pull Rush outside for a whip into the barricade. Back in and a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster gives Christian two, setting up a roll into a crucifix hold. That’s broken up and Christian misses a charge into the corner, allowing Rush to hit a spear for two. Christian is fine enough to catch him with a kick to the face on top but Rush kicks him down.

A ripcord Spanish fly drops Rush again though and a springboard 450 gives Christian two. Rush is right back with a twisting DDT and the Final Hour gets two more. They go to the apron where Rush can’t hit a German suplex to the floor. Instead they drop down, with Christian hitting a Tombstone. Back in and a 450 double stomp finishes Rush at 12:39.

Rating: B-. Take two guys and let them do their thing for about twelve minutes, which is all you needed to do here. Christian gets the win to keep him strong until he can get his title shot. Gresham being gone is rough to see but having someone like Rush as the backup worked as well as anything else. Good match, but they weren’t about to follow that six man.

We recap Matt Cardona vs. Joey Janela. Cardona married Chelsea Green but Janela faked some pictures of the two of them by a pool together, sending Cardona over the edge. The interesting thing is that Cardona is the huge heel who is mocking all things indy and trying to turn it into WWE. This has been one of the better things going on the independent scene and Cardona has had one awesome stunt after another.

The IF CARDONA WINS WE RIOT sign is a great touch.

Joey Janela vs. Matt Cardona

Chelsea Green is here with Cardona….who comes out to Enter Sandman entrance (or at least a cover), turning the crowd completely upside down in about three seconds. The “IF CARDONA WINS WE RIOT” shirt is an even greater touch. He also has a red flannel shirt with f*** Mick Foley on the back, while Green (with the Internet Title) is in the Zack Ryder half trunks/half tights. Cardona asks what’s up GCW Universe and takes credit for the sellout. Joey Janela didn’t do it, so tonight he’s ending Janela’s career before Tony Khan can fire him.

Cardona jumps him at the bell for two and flips off the fans. The fans get in a “F*** CARDONA/WOO WOO WOO!” chant so Janela hits a Death Valley Driver through the door. The suicide dive takes out Cardona on the floor and it is time for Janela to chair him down. A top rope flip dive sends Janela crashing through the chair though and Cardona gets to chair him down. Green pulls the chair away though and kicks Cardona low for a big surprise.

Janela goes up, only to get crotched by Green because it was a ruse. Cardona shows off the cup he was wearing but Janela is fine enough to hit a superplex to put them both down. Janela grabs the title, but here is Smart Mark Sterling (of AEW fame) to say that if Janela uses the title, he’s disqualified. Commentary: “But it’s GCW!” He brings out someone who is very influential in Cardona’s career, so here is someone in a Vince McMahon mask. It’s Vincent/Virgil though, and the distraction lets Sterling grab Janela.

The belt shot takes Sterling down by mistake though and a Death Valley Driver sends Cardona into the ring frame. Cue Swoggle to post Janela but here is a huge guy named Sam Stackhouse to take Swoggle out. Now it’s Marko Stunt to throw a chair at Swoggle’s head but Cardona takes him down as well. Janela brings in a pair of doors, with Swoggle and Cardona being put through one each.

Green hits Stunt with the belt and gives him a Canadian Destroyer, leaving Cardona to AA Janela through an open chair for a near fall. Cardona loads up two doors, which really does take too long so Janela takes him out. Green’s latest interference earns herself a piledriver so here is a guy in a motorcycle helmet. That would be Brian Myers, who decks Janela and helps Cardona hit a middle rope Radio Silence through the door for the pin at 19:39.

Rating: B-. It was a bit long, but this was a lot of fun with Cardona playing a perfect troll. Cardona knows how to make these people nuts by doing everything they don’t like and now he gets to take out another one of their heroes. The big flaw here is that the match went too long and you could have cut out a good portion in the middle which was more about several other people other than Janela vs. Cardona. This was all about Cardona putting together something else to get people to care about him though, as he continues to be one of the more creative people in wrestling.

Post match Sean Waltman of all people comes in and takes out Cardona before posing with Janela. I’m sold on getting to hear The Kings again.

Here is the injured Mance Warner for a chat. He talks about how awesome GCW’s locker room and entire crew is and thanks the fans for getting them here. Cue Atticus Cougar (pronounced Co-Gar) to say 44OH are the real outlaws around here. Cougar doesn’t like Warner’s Second Gear Crew so Warner is ready to fight.

44OH comes in for the beatdown, with Matthew Justice (Warner’s partner) coming in for the failed save attempt. The lights go off (BECAUSE WRESTLING!) and it’s Bill Alfonso and Sabu making the save. Chairs to the head put 44OH down and we actually get a pin, with Fonzie counting. Pantera’s Walk plays because ECW.

Video on Allie Katch vs. Ruby Soho. Katch talks about divine destiny, meaning that if something is meant to happen, it will happen no matter what. That seems to be the case with this match, as she runs into SOHO painted on a wall. Katch was billed as a big deal during Brett Lauderdale’s pre-show speech so she means something. I don’t remember her being much more than someone who did cat-esque things as Allie Kat but maybe things have changed.

Allie Katch vs. Ruby Soho

They shake hands to start and Soho armdrags her down early on. The threat of the Riott Kick is blocked early on but so is Katch’s piledriver. That’s fine with Allie, who hits a basement dropkick for an early two. Soho is sent into the corner and it’s a running hip attack into a Cannonball for two more.

They trade kicks to the face with Soho getting rocked, only to be able to come back with a German suplex for the double knockdown. Katch takes too long going up top though and gets armdragged back down for a quick two. The Riott Kick connects for two on Katch but she’s right back with a knee into the piledriver for two of her own. With that not working, Katch loads up a super piledriver, which is countered into a Riott Kick from the middle rope to give Soho the pin at 9:31.

Rating: C. I’d hope that Katch can do more than this as it felt like any other match. This came off like a match where a star was making a guest appearance in the territory with the story of the popular star getting a shot. It wasn’t bad, but there was absolutely nothing special to this and it just came and went.

We recap Jeff Jarrett vs. Effy. Jarrett doesn’t like GCW calling themselves outlaws because he is the Last Outlaw. There has to be a huge stable out there of people who have been THE LAST OUTLAW. There have also been guitar shots to show you how serious this has been.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Effy

Effy pulls $20 out of his trunks, which the referee throws to the floor. They go with the basics to start, with Jarrett powering him into the corner. Effy’s spins to get out of a wristlock don’t work so Effy drops to his knee, which freaks Jeff out for a bit. Some shots to the ribs set up a modified Tarantula but Jarrett is back with a clothesline. They head outside with Jarrett whipping him with the belt (which seems to draw a DADDY LIKES IT chant).

Back in and it’s time for more whipping and choking, which seems to make Effy smile. Jarrett uses the belt to tie Effy in the corner, which doesn’t exactly last long. Effy is back with more rights and lefts, setting up a faceplant for two. Now it’s Effy getting to whip away but he misses a Blockbuster. The guitar takes too long for Jarrett though so Effy pulls off his fishnets for some choking. That’s too much for Jarrett, who hits him with the guitar and grabs the Stroke for the pin at 11:15.

Rating: D+. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Effy and I’m going to assume that a lot of it is due to his promos and character work, because he wasn’t doing much in the ring here. All he had was a bunch of punches and a missed Blockbuster, which isn’t exactly stealing the show. That being said, Jarrett winning is a good bit weird, as he is the second outsider in a row to beat a signature GCW name on their biggest night ever. Not a great match, but you can see how much bigger of a star Jarrett is than most of the roster. If nothing else, seeing someone who seems like he knows how to put a match together is almost a rarity around here.

GCW World Title: Homicide vs. Jon Moxley

Homicide is challenging after winning a Rumble last month. The fans chant F*** BULLY RAY to start, which has to make Moxley smile a bit. They forearm/slap it out to start before going face to face. Homicide sends him outside but the dive is cut off with a shot to the face. The fight heads outside with Homicide biting away, only to get sent shoulder first into the post.

Moxley cranks on the fingers and hits a piledriver for two For some reason Moxley goes up but it’s a super cutter to bring him back down. They trade clotheslines until Moxley grabs the Paradigm Shift for two. Moxley hammers away and Homicide seems to lose a tooth. A chair is wedged in the corner but Homicide cuts him off and strikes away. The chair is on the mat and it’s another Paradigm Shift onto said chair to give Moxley two more. Homicide flips him off and bites Moxley’s face, only to get blasted with a lariat. The lifting Paradigm Shift onto the open chair retains Moxley’s title at 11:32.

Rating: C. That’s it? This was so short that I thought I missed part of the match, as I would have bet on it going a good bit longer than Jarrett vs. Effy. Maybe that is the result of ring rust from Moxley, or just time constraints from the pay per view, but this wasn’t exactly great. It worked while it lasted, but it just didn’t last very long.

Video on the Briscoes, who are issuing an open challenge for the Tag Team Titles. Most signs would suggest that this is going to be FTR, but you never know around here.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes vs. ???/???

The Briscoes are defending against….Nick Gage/Matt Tremont. Well you knew Gage would be on here somehow. Gage puts Nick through the door in the corner to start and it’s time for a duel of the chairs. Mark and Nick trade pieces of door shots to the head but Jay breaks up the pizza cutter. Tremont gets beaten down and the Froggy Bow onto a door gets two on Gage. Back up and Tremont hits a release Rock Bottom to plant Jay and Gage hits a middle rope piledriver on Mark. The chokebreaker gives Gage the pin and the titles at 5:35.

Rating: D. That was a Nick Gage match alright, but this time he had a huge partner to do some really basic stuff too. I know why Gage had to be on the show but it isn’t like his matches are much to see. It’s the feel good moment of the show, though having it come in a five minute match didn’t do the show many favors.

Post match Gage swears a lot and puts over his gang while bragging about how far GCW came. The locker room comes in to celebrate and we’re out.

Overall Rating: D+. One of the shows you are probably going to see this compared to is Barely Legal. While it is nowhere near that important (or good), there is one thing that does stand out. My biggest issue with Barely Legal was the lack of an explanation of why Sabu and Taz hated each other. It was the “Grudge Match of the Century” but we were never told why they were fighting. The ECW fans knew, but Barely Legal wasn’t just a show for the ECW fans.

Now do that for three hours and you have this show. There was barely anything explaining who these people were, what they were doing here, why they were fighting or ANYTHING about them. Cardona vs. Janela had a bit of backstory, but this felt like the game plan was “just keep doing what we’ve been doing (minus the deathmatch stuff, which isn’t their fault)”. It was a show that you either got or didn’t get, with GCW not offering much in the way of guidance.

On top of that, the wrestling was hit and miss at best. Everything felt rushed and very little really stood out. The lucha match was great, but you could get one of those a week on Ring of Honor. Cardona is excellent at riffing on independent wrestling, but then he won, just like Soho over what seems to be the big female star around here. This show didn’t do a thing to make me more interested in GCW and as the big debut on the national stage, it was a pretty hard miss.

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: January 21, 2022
Location: Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington DC
Commentators: Excalibur, Ricky Starks, Chris Jericho, Taz

We’re coming off a not so great Dynamite but we have another special moment this week as Jon Moxley is getting back in the ring. It was a great feeling to see him back on Wednesday and now it’s time to show that he still has it in the ring. From just a wrestling perspective, it’s a relief that he wasn’t gone that long so he shouldn’t have much ring rust. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Ethan Page

Scorpio Sky is here with Page, who shoves Moxley down to start. Moxley kicks him in the ribs and elbows Page in the face to take over, setting up some shots to the face in the corner. Back up and Page knocks him outside, only to be sent hard into the barricade. Page goes intellectual and starts taking out Moxley’s knee, setting up a hanging spinning backbreaker for two back inside. Moxley misses a charge and goes into the post to make it worse as we take a break.

Back with Moxley escaping the Ego’s Edge and hitting some German suplexes. Moxley hits a hard clothesline but Page is right back with a brainbuster. Page goes back to the knee with a half crab, sending Moxley over to the rope. Moxley mixes it up a bit and goes up top, earning himself a super powerslam right back down. A crucifix gives Moxley two so he fires off elbows and knees to the head, setting up a bulldog choke for the knockout at 10:21.

Rating: B-. This was a different kind of Moxley match and it took some getting used to. What matters here though is that he is back and doesn’t seem to have lost much of anything. Moxley also still has that connection to the crowd and they are going to be into everything he does, which is something any promotion can use.

Post match Moxley hits a Paradigm Shift and leaves. On his way out, he runs into Bryan Danielson, who offers some applause.

The Jurassic Express don’t think much of the Gunn Club attacking Christian Cage. When Cage comes back, it is time to stomp the Gunns’ heads in.

Nick Jackson vs. Trent Beretta

Matt Jackson, Brandon Cutler and Orange Cassidy are here too. Beretta kicks him in the ribs to start so Nick evens things up with a springboard corkscrew wristdrag. A necksnap across the top gets two but Trent is right back with a northern lights suplex. The referee checks on Trent for a second before he seems quite ok while hitting a backdrop. Trent’s running crossbody misses though and he crashes into the ropes, allowing Nick to kick him to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Trent hitting a clothesline and a German suplex, setting up a running knee. The backdrop driver sets up a tornado DDT for two on Nick and an exchange of German suplexes put them both down. Back up and Nick is sent to the apron, where he comes back with a slingshot Canadian Destroyer for two.

Trent’s neck seems to be banged up but he manages a half nelson suplex. Nick pops up with a superkick so Trent hits a lariat for a double knockdown. A piledriver gives Trent two so they go to the ramp, where Nick hits another suplex. There’s a Swanton onto the ramp, followed by a 450 back inside for two. Nick hits a low superkick but Trent is right back with the Crunchie for the pin at 13:57.

Rating: C+. A few weeks ago, I saw a description of these matches that made a lot of sense: they aren’t so much wrestling matches as much as real life video game fights where the idea is to deplete your opponent’s energy bar. That was exactly how this match felt as it was one move after another, with limited selling and some rather unnecessary flips. Trent’s neck was a focal point though and the action was good, but it did feel like watching a video game come to life and that’s a weird thing to see.

Video on Thunder Rosa vs. Mercedes Martinez.

Hook vs. Serpentico

Hook jumps him before the streamers can be cleared out and a keylock has Serpentico bailing to the ropes. An overhead belly to belly sends Serpentico flying and Redrum finishes for Hook at 1:12. Again: get Hook in and out in a hurry where he can look good and impress before anything can go wrong.

Post match here is QT Marshall to yell about Hook, earning himself a suplex on the stage.

Jade Cargill isn’t impressed with Anna Jay while Anna is ready to win the TBS Title. Mark Henry hits the catchphrase.

TBS Title: Anna Jay vs. Jade Cargill

Cargill is defending with Mark Sterling in her corner so Anna has John Silver to even things up. Cargill wastes no time in suplexing her down and getting in the nip up. Hold on though as Anna sends her outside, where it’s a pose down with Silver. That lets Anna knock Cargill down and refer to herself as “that B**** Slayer*. The horrendous choice of language makes me worry for the future of America as we take a break.

Back with Cargill escaping the Queen Slayer but getting caught in a Downward Spiral. Sterling offers a distraction so Silver gives him a brainbuster on the floor. Anna gets two off a backslide so Cargill kicks her in the face. Jaded is countered into the Queen Slayer but Cargill fights up and escapes. The running kick in the corner is pulled out of the air and countered into a powerslam to plant Anna again. Now Jaded can retain the title at 8:42.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t great and Jade still looks like she is just going from move to move, but the combined level of inexperience here made this all the more impressive. This was a completely watchable match with Anna trying for her one chance and falling short, as Jade just powered out of the Queen Slayer. They’re turning Jade into a big deal, and that is going to mean something when someone finally beats her.

Overall Rating: B. Four pretty good to good matches made this a solid hour. Rampage is still not a show that you need to watch most of the time but they do some nice things with the time that they have. It’s kind of weird to see Rampage be that much better than Dynamite, but the stripped down formula can do a lot of good at times. Cut out the unnecessary swearing (five total this time around) and it’s an even better show, but what we got was quite solid.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Ethan Page – Bulldog choke
Trent Beretta b. Nick Jackson – Crunchie
Hook b. Serpentico – Redrum
Jade Cargill b. Anna Jay – Jaded

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

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Dynamite
Date: January 19, 2022
Location: Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington DC
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s a big night around here as we have the return of Jon Moxley after a nearly three month absence. Moxley has been out of action due to undergoing alcohol rehabilitation treatment and it is great to have him back. What matters most is that he is healthy and if that is the case, I’m glad he can be around here again. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Jon Moxley to a hero’s welcome to get things going. Moxley gets in the ring and, after telling a fan “Go f*** yourself, get that piece of s*** out of here” (completely uncensored on the broadcast), Moxley talks about having a dream where a demon told him he would never make it. He has more scars on his body than most people and those are the things that tell our story. Those scars are the ones that tell us the story of who we are. Nobody is perfect and no one should be afraid to stand up and bare it all.

Everything that makes you the person you are, scars and all, should make you say THIS IS ME. If you want to write him off, he’ll tell you where to shove all that s***, just like he told that demon. For everyone who has supported him, thank you. He is going on a pilgrimage and do whatever he wants to the world of professional wrestling because he is truly free. No one here can put him through worse than he has been through and these days, all he drinks is blood. Well that was amazing, and one of the most emotional speeches you’ll see in a LONG time.

MJF talks about CM Punk needing to steal a win by using the hair and trunks last week to beat Wardlow (who could have escaped with a bit more experience). As for this week, it is Wardlow’s birthday and MJF offers him a sincere apology for losing it last week. Wardlow seems to appreciate that….but MJF is docking Wardlow’s pay for putting his hands on him. MJF moves on to Shawn Spears, who is going to hand PG Punk his first loss, while teaching Wardlow a lesson. The turn is going to be incredible when we finally get there.

Adam Cole/Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander/Orange Cassidy

The women start but Baker tags out almost immediately. Then Cole tags out, meaning Statlander has to come back in. Hold on though as Cassidy does the lazy kicks, earning himself a stomp to the food. Statlander comes in to slam the posing Baker but it’s too early for the Big Bang Theory. It’s back to the men, meaning Cassidy can hit a tornado DDT to send Cole outside.

Back in and Statlander grabs a delayed vertical suplex on Baker, with Cassidy shoving it over. Cassidy hits a rather low dive on Cole before stopping for a pose, allowing Baker and Cole to superkick them down. A nice kiss sends us to a break and we come back with Cassidy taking Cole down.

The women come back in with Statlander hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb for her own two. A neckbreaker takes Statlander down though and it’s back to Cole for the superkick to Cassidy’s knee. Cole hits an enziguri but Stundog Millionaire gets Cassidy out of trouble. Baker comes in off the blind tag to break up Beach Break and Stomp Cassidy down. Statlander kicks her in the face and hits something like a Falcon Arrow for two.

Area 451 is loaded up but Cole covers Baker….which is fine with Statlander, who splashes both of them. The Beach Break hits Cole for two but he superkicks a dive out of the air. Baker takes Statlander to the ramp for a Canadian Destroyer, leaving Cole to Panama Sunrise Cassidy for two. With nothing else working, Cole loads up a table at ringside (because we need tables), only to have Cassidy accidentally knock Baker through it. Cole is livid and it’s a low blow into the Boom for the pin at 14:22.

Rating: C+. That’s it for the feud right? There is no reason for Cole and Cassidy to feud any longer and hopefully we can move on and let Cole do something more important. The match was your usual AEW match with big kickouts and went on a bit longer than necessary, but it did have the entertaining bits that you would expect.

Chris Jericho tells Eddie Kingston to GFY but Santana and Ortiz don’t like him talking about Kingston that way. Actually, when has Jericho even had their back? Maybe next week, they can prove that they don’t need Jericho. That seems to shake Jericho a bit.

Adam Cole is sick of Orange Cassidy. He has beaten Cassidy every way he can, but now Cassidy is attacking Baker? Next week, it can be No DQ, anything goes, lights out. It might not be a good idea to point out that you have beaten the guy over and over before challenging him to another match. And great, ANOTHER hardcore match.

CM Punk vs. Shawn Spears

MJF is on commentary as the GTS finishes Spears at 12 seconds. Much like last week: that’s how I like my Spears matches.

Post match Punk poses so MJF tries to sneak in, only to have Punk jump in his face. Punk grabs the scarf but MJF bails from the threat of a right hand.

Billy Gunn stops Christian Cage in the back and says his sons have earned a Tag Team Title shot against Cage’s friends, the Jurassic Express. Cage says make a statement and they’ll talk. Cue the Gunn Club to jump Christian and send him head first into the steel door. Billy as a mouthpiece for his kids is a completely acceptable idea and an upgrade over what he has been doing.

Here is Cody Rhodes, with a huge ladder in the ring. Rhodes talks about CM Punk’s pipe bomb, which was the beginning of a revolution. Some of the things Punk were saying were the blueprint for what AEW would do. After pausing for some negative chants, Cody talks about how Punk made the comeback of the decade and we are all living it. Cody starts yelling about how he carried the revolution and since “you ask me why I won’t turn heel”, it’s because they cheered him when he needed it the most.

There are industry journalists who talk about opening the forbidden door…and now let’s talk about how ReDRagon passed hiptoss class. There are wrestlers elsewhere named Gunner McGillcutty or whatever it is but then he was gone for two weeks and there is an Interim TNT Title. Fans have been taught to believe that any title without the word World in it doesn’t matter.

That’s why he wants to face Sammy Guevara in a ladder match at Beach Break for the undisputed title. I got the gist of what Cody was saying here, but this was all over the place with one idea after another thrown out there but he kept moving on before getting to the point. The ladder match (because this company loves ladder matches) is a fine way to unify the titles, but this was a rambling mess of an insider/shoot promo and it was all about Cody, again, without making much sense until the end.

Jade Cargill has issued an open challenge for the TBS Title and Anna Jay is ready to accept it. Jay talks about the hardcore match from a few weeks ago to show she’s ready.

Kings of the Black Throne vs. Varsity Blonds

Brody shoves Garrison around to start and sends him outside, meaning it’s off to Pillman. That doesn’t work though as Pillman won’t try Air Pillman. Instead he drops outside to talk to Garrison, who is driven into the steps. Back in and Black sweeps Pillman’s leg so Garrison can hit a backsplash. Garrison is taken out again and Dante’s Inferno finishes Pillman at 1:48.

Post match Black tells the House of Black to rise but Pac, still blind, pops up on screen to say he is beyond Black’s reach.

Video on Lance Archer vs. Hangman Page, with Jake Roberts returning to say Archer is ready for Page.

Roppongi Vice steals Brandon Cutler to challenge the Young Bucks to a match on Rampage. They beat the Bucks in Japan once so they can do it again. Cutler thinks the Bucks are going to kill him. Romero: “Then turn the camera off bro.”

Lance Archer vs. Frankie Kazarian

Jake Roberts and Dan Lambert are in Archer’s corner. Archer hammers him down before the bell and then stands on Kazarian’s neck. The beating continues with Archer slowly pounding away as Kazarian can’t get anything going. Kazarian gets dropped again and again and we take a break.

We come back with Archer loudly saying “F*** YOU” (seemingly to a fan) and sending Kazarian chest first into the buckle. The Blackout is broken up with Kazarian finally getting in a little something. That doesn’t work for Archer though and he chokeslams Kazarian down as this is going WAY too long. Archer finally finishes with the Blackout at 10:01.

Rating: D. This was a bad miss, as Archer didn’t look like a monster but rather a guy lumbering around and (very) slowly beating Kazarian down. I don’t know if they were told to fill in time or what, but they took what should have been a three minute match and stretched it way further than it needed to be. This doesn’t make me want to see Archer vs. Page, but rather seeing a big audible call.

Post match, Dan Lambert goes on another cowboy rant against Hangman Page, but Archer cuts him off because he’s sick of this s*** (as we have even more swearing, which isn’t as edgy as AEW seems to think it is). Archer loads up a chokeslam off the ramp but here is Hangman Page for the save. Page gets kneed down so he pulls off his cowboy boot to blast Archer in the head. The Buckshot Lariat is blocked so Page forearms him out to the floor. Page stands tall.

Dante Martin is ready for Team Taz, with Lee Moriarty and Matt Sydal having his back until his brother gets back.

Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs are going to prove Martin is all alone because he’ll need someone to watch every side.

Leyla Hirsch breaks up a Red Velvet/Kris Statlander interview to complain about their loss on Friday. Velvet says it was miscommunication and gets her arm barred as a result.

Serena Deeb vs. Skye Blue

Deeb takes her down to start and sends Blue to the apron to keep up the beating. Back in and some uppercuts to the back of the heck set up a fisherman’s neckbreaker. The Serenity Lock finishes Blue at 2:50. I can absolutely go for more of this Deeb.

Ethan Page wants a big match on Rampage and tells Tony Khan to put the franchise player in.

On Rampage: Ethan Page vs. Jon Moxley, plus Roppongi Vice vs. the Young Bucks. We get some New Japan footage of their previous matches.

Video on Hook.

Matt Hardy has signed Andrade El Idolo 51% of the Hardy Family Office but he is still in charge of the board of directors. Andrade will be the president though, and they are now the AHFO. Now, they want Darby Allin. I’ll take them combining some of their more boring acts into one.

Acclaimed vs. Darby Allin/Sting

Caster’s rap promises to make this worse than Starrcade 97 so you know it’s serious. The Acclaimed jump them before the bell as Tony says he still can’t explain Starrcade 1997. A chair is wrapped around Allin’s neck and Caster whips it into the post. Sting is back up as medics check on Allin but he’s willing to fight on his own. Sting takes the Acclaimed down to start but the Stinger Splash hits an exposed buckle, giving Bowens two.

We take a break and come back with Sting putting Caster in the Deathlock. Bowens hits a discus forearm but Sting yells and doesn’t let go. A superkick breaks it up but Allin comes back in to make the save. Allin gets taken down again so the Mic Drop can give Caster two. Sting backdrops Bowens over the top and splashes Caster through a table at ringside. Fans: “YOU STILL GOT IT!” I don’t think YOU STILL GOT IT is a term that applies to something that Sting rarely did, but fair enough. The Coffin Drop finishes Bowens at 9:20.

Rating: C+. Sting matches are all smoke and mirrors, but dang they’re fun smoke and mirrors. They aren’t doing anything too bad and the fans’ reactions alone carry the matches to another level. That being said, Sting and Allin have to be close to being #1 contenders right? They’re undefeated and just beat the #1 contenders, so shouldn’t their title shot be coming soon? That’s not a bad thing, but it should be addressed.

Overall Rating: C-. I’m not sure what happened tonight but this might have been the biggest miss Dynamite has had to date. There were good parts to it (Gunn being moved into a manager role (at least for now), Deeb’s squash, the main event, Spears going short again and King/Black’s debut) but the rest was a bit of a mess. It felt like they didn’t have a plan tonight and it was kind of all over the place.

The biggest standout part was the Cody promo, which started and ended well but took a right turn into lala land in the middle. I still don’t know what he was trying to say with a lot of that and it was one of the bigger head scratchers in recent memory. In addition, you have Cole saying that he has done everything he can to Cassidy, including pinning him tonight, but now we’re going to do it AGAIN, and this time in a hardcore match.

That is where AEW is starting to slip a bit for me, as it feels like they are trying to be a modern day ECW. Between the constant hardcore based matches (I believe Cole vs. Cassidy makes three since December 31), the table spots (two tonight) and ALL THE SWEARING, it feels like they are trying to push the envelope for the sake of pushing the envelope. When you do that kind of thing all the time, the impact goes away very fast and that is what they are doing now. Just pull it back a bit and save that stuff for when it matters, not whenever you can throw it out.

Overall, this show just did not feel like AEW quality. Dynamite has been good to excellent most of the time but they have been missing a bit in recent weeks. I don’t know if that is due to some kind of Covid deal shaking things up backstage or something else, but the shows have not been the best as of late. Maybe they need to change something backstage, because this is starting to trend in a bad direction.

Results
Adam Cole/Britt Baker b. Orange Cassidy/Kris Statlander – Boom to Cassidy
CM Punk b. Shawn Spears – GTS
Kings of the Black Throne b. Varsity Blonds – Dante’s Inferno to Pillman
Lance Archer b. Frankie Kazarian – Blackout
Serena Deeb b. Skye Blue – Serenity Lock
Sting/Darby Allin b. Acclaimed – Coffin Drop to Bowens

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

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Dynamite
Date: October 27, 2021
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re closing out October and that means Full Gear is coming up next month. Most of the card is either already booked or pretty obvious (Tony Khan’s notebook is available if you need some pointers) but we still need to fill in some gaps. As for tonight, it’s CM Punk’s in-ring Dynamite debut against Bobby Fish. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

CM Punk vs. Bobby Fish

It’s Fish’s birthday and Punk’s birthday was yesterday for a bit of trivia. JR says Fish is an 18 year veteran so he won’t be blown out of the water. Always good for a Fish. Feeling out process to start with Fish going after the leg and pulling him down into a chinlock. Punk fights up and fires off knees in the corner, setting up the slow motion slams, which he has somehow turned into a thing.

Fish kicks the leg out again though and scores with a slingshot hilo for two. Punk fights up and sends him outside for the suicide dive. Back up and Fish takes the knee out again though and it’s a running elbow to the jaw back inside. The knee gets spun around a few times and Fish knocks him outside, where Punk fires off some forearms. Fish gets the better of the slugout though and they head back in but Fish’s superplex is broken up.

Punk is back with the (one legged) top rope elbow drop and they’re both down. A swinging neckbreaker rocks Fish and the running knee in the corner makes it even worse. The GTS is countered into a twist of the knee though and Fish hits a running basement clothesline. Fish goes for the leg again but Punk pulls him into a jackknife for two. They slowly bridge up and Punk grabs the GTS with the bad knee. That means a delayed cover for the pin at 13:14 (with Fish kicking out at about 3.01 seconds).

Rating: B. Is it a surprise that this was a good match? You have two people who can work the same style well enough and both guys seem like they want to prove themselves. Fish worked on the knee throughout and the just too late kickout showed how Punk barely won. Solid match with a good story, and that shouldn’t be a surprise.

Malakai Black says that his match with Cody Rhodes wasn’t about a pinfall, because he has divided the Nightmare Family.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Bryce Donovan

Wardlow and Shawn Spears are here with MJF. The beating is on in a hurry and the Heatseeker finishes Donovan at 34 seconds.

Post match MJF, who isn’t even sweating, says Boston is exactly as he remembers it, which isn’t a good thing. You just got to see him do what he does best: pin shoulders to the mats and bang rats, but he’ll skip the second half, because he’d rather deal with a blender than a Boston woman. The accents are disgusting, and speaking of disgusting, we have Darby Allin. After the Allin chants, MJF explains breaking Allin’s spirit, along with knocking out the creepy papi Sting.

It’s the same ring he used to knock out Hangman Page, so with Allin out of the picture, it’s time to fulfill his destiny. Cue the Sting entrance…..but MJF is just messing with us. Then the lights go out, but this one isn’t him. We see a black and white video of a man in an MJF mask and then Darby Allin beats up a man at what seems to be a concert. Cue Sting with a baseball bat to take out Wardlow and Spears, but MJF gets out. Allin is in the crowd as the Invisible Man, so it’s time for the big beatdown on Wardlow and Spears instead. Allin says cut the music and the challenge is on for Full Gear.

Tony Schiavone tells Britt Baker that since she walked out on a match with Abadon on the Chris Jericho Cruise, she has to face Abadon in a Trick Or Treat match on Rampage. The treat is that if Abadon wins, she gets a future title shot and the trick is that it’s No DQ. Baker isn’t happy, but she has some tricks of her own.

TNT Title: Sammy Guevara vs. Ethan Page

Guevara is defending and if he wins, he gets to pick the rest of American Top Team in the big tag match at Full Gear. If he loses though, he loses the title and is out of the Inner Circle. It’s a brawl before the bell and Sammy knees him to the floor, setting up the big flip dive. They head inside for the opening bell with Sammy busting out some more flips into a dropkick to Page. Sammy strikes away and throws Page in the corner for a kick to the back. Page crotches him on top though and Sammy is knocked outside for a crash.

We take a break and come back with Sammy striking away. A springboard cutter into the Spanish Fly gets two on Page, who falls out to the floor. Sammy isn’t about to let him stand out there and hits a shooting star clothesline from the top for the big crash. Back in and Page gets in a shot of his own and heads up top, where he slams Sammy back down (that’s a new one). The super Ego’s Edge is countered into a hurricanrana though and Guevara grabs a jackknife pin to retain at 10:58.

Rating: B-. Guevara is just fun to watch and that is often more than enough to get by. There is something about watching a good high flier flying around rather high and that’s what you get with Guevara. Page is a good opponent as well and they had a nice match with some time, making it a nice title defense.

Post match Page beats Guevara down and Scorpio Sky runs in to help. Cue the Inner Circle (with music and pyro) for the save. After the music plays again, Jericho mocks the Men of the Year and now the ten man tag is going to be a street fight. We’ll pick the American Top Team members next week, but for now, we get some Aerosmith lyrics so Jericho can promise a beating at Full Gear.

Eddie Kingston gets in Bryan Danielson’s face to threaten him for their #1 contenders tournament match. Kingston walks off before Danielson can reply, but Danielson says that’s the Kingston he wants to face. There are so many people who have made it through all of the garbage and keep working hard. Kingston and Jon Moxley are the toughest wrestlers in the world, but on Friday, Danielson is proving that he is the best.

The Lucha Bros accept FTR’s challenge for the Tag Team Title match at Full Gear. Yelling ensues.

TBS Title Tournament First Round: Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb

Rematch from a few weeks ago when Deeb upset Shida, which set up a brawl the next week. Deeb takes her down to start and wraps Shida’s knee around the post. Shida sends her head first into the post though and manages a superplex to bring Deeb back inside for two. We take a break and come back with Shida hammering away to take over. The missile dropkick sets up a delayed vertical suplex for two but Deeb counters a powerbomb. That’s fine with Shida, who snaps off a dragon suplex.

Something like a sitout Dominator gives Shida two and a running knee is good for the same. The Katana is blocked and Deeb is back with a twist of the knee. What looked to be a Figure Four is kicked away to send Deeb outside but she breaks up the springboard off the chair. Since Shida couldn’t possibly do something with a running start but no chair, she uses the steps as a springboard into the missile dropkick instead.

Shida tweaks her own knee though and Deeb puts on something like the Figure Four around the post. Back in and Shida’s knee is fine enough to hit a question mark kick but the running knee is countered into a half crab. An inverted Figure Four sends Shida over to the rope so Deeb grabs the trophy that Shida would have received for her 50th win. Shida kicks it away and picks the trophy up but can’t bring herself to swing. A rake to the eyes lets Deeb roll her up for two but Shida is back with a cradle and the pin at 11:00.

Rating: B. They had me with the drama here as I really wasn’t sure who was going to win. That’s a great sign as Deeb continues to be one of the best wrestlers going today and can work well with just about anyone. I’m not sure if I wouldn’t have gone with Deeb winning here to make her Shida’s Kryptonite, but it’s not like this was a bad call whatsoever.

Post match Deeb snaps and destroys Shida’s knee with the chair, setting up the Serenity Lock.

Since Mike Sydal is injured, Dante Martin will face Matt Sydal instead of the planned tag match. Lio Rush says it just wasn’t the right time so his in-ring debut will be postponed. Rush promises that Matt will learn again at Rampage. Martin continues to look bored.

World Title Eliminator Tournament First Round: Jon Moxley vs. 10

Moxley throws him down to start and hits a running forearm to knock him outside. That’s not enough so Moxley bites at his head and sends 10 into the post for a hard crash. Back in and the bloody 10 manages a pump kick, only to get run over again. The Paradigm Shift finishes 10 at 2:02. That’s what it should have been.

Tully Blanchard and FTR have hit the reset button and they are ready to take out the Lucha Bros again.

Here is Cody Rhodes, with Arn Anderson for a chat. Cody talks about how he has heard the booing and ready about it online (even from retired wrestling managers). Last week, he hit Malakai Black with the Cross Rhodes and then a Tiger Driver 98, but he almost did something else (meaning the piledriver). That would have been the easy way to go but he wasn’t going to take that road. Of course you can boo him because it’s easy to boo the guy who signs the checks.

Just remember that he helped build the bank. Cody takes his shoes off and throws them into the crowd so they can know what it’s like to be in them. He has a wife who is way too hot for him, a brother who is better in this ring than he is, and a father whose legacy he could never match, even if he lived to be 300 years old. Cody: “I will not turn.” Cody talks about how much he loves all of these people, everyone in the Nightmare Family, and Arn Anderson, who gets a handshake.

Cue Andrade El Idolo, who says he doesn’t care about the people. Andrade talks about Cody’s stupid choices, including that tattoo. Then Cody got in Andrade’s business and now he can make Cody his little b****. The showdown is on but the lights go out. Cue Malakai Black for the beatdown, including on Arn, but Pac runs in for the save. The villains bail from the threat of the big dive.

Dark Order vs. Super Elite

It’s Stu Grayson/John Silver/Evil Uno/Colt Cabana vs. Kenny Omega/Young Bucks/Adam Cole and yes, the Order is in Halloween costumes. Not to be outdone, the Super Elite are the Ghostbusters (with a personalized theme), complete with a goon as a walking baby and another as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Silver (Bambi) shoves Cole around to start and hits a headbutt. Cowboy Evil Uno comes in but it’s off to Omega, who is wearing a Proton Pack, to hammer on Uno in the corner.

Uno splashes the pack by mistake though and the baby hits a splash. Matt comes in and gets ridden like a horse, setting up a splash from Grayson (Kratos from God of War) and cold spray from Cabana (Brandon Cutler). A quadruple slam plants the Elite and the Order gets in a group pose as we take a break.

Back with Grayson cleaning house and managing to beat up all of the Elite at once. Cabana comes in and gets to clean house with elbows and Flying Apples but Nick finally superkicks him into the corner. That means the tag off to Silver to clean house again, until more superkicks take him down. A group superkick gets two with Uno making the save and getting to beat up the Elite this time.

We hit the parade of strikes to the face until Matt takes out the referee by mistake. Nightfall is broken up and Grayson gets hit low, setting up a triple low blow to take down the rest of the Order. The Proton Packs go on (JR is not having this) and crash into the Order, setting up the TripleBomb (Is that some weird shot at Roman Reigns?) onto the packs.

Cue a horse (who was in the Order’s entrance but left) and the big beatdown is on. The mask comes off and it’s Brandon Cutler, with his mouth taped up. That means Hangman Page is the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (JR: “Let’s have some cowboy shiznit here in Boston!”) and the Dead Eye plants Omega. The Spin Doctor gives Silver the pin on Matt at 13:00.

Rating: B-. I’m really not sure what to think of this. They did a nice job with the surprise from Page and the team did win, but I rolled my eyes fairly hard at another costume/parody deal (though it is the week of Halloween). Omega has not shown the slightest bit or worry coming up on his match with Page and that is taking me out of the whole thing a good bit. It’s nice to see the Dark Order FINALLY win something over these guys, but dang it would be nice to have something played straight for once.

Overall Rating: A-. This is the kind of show that makes Dynamite shine, as they had one awesome match after another. Two things stood out to me here and both of them had me thinking about the glory days of NXT. First of all, commentary does a good job of focusing on things. While they will talk about things coming up or on sale dates for tickets, the majority of their focus is on what is in front of them and that makes things feel so much more important.

Second, they have started having some shorter matches. There was no reason for Moxley vs. 10 to go on long and they didn’t even pretend it would be anything else. They went with logic instead of stretching things out, which was a problem they have had in the past. Both of those helped make the show that much better, and this was a pretty great week.

Results
CM Punk b. Bobby Fish – GTS
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Bryce Donovan – Heatseeker
Sammy Guevara b. Ethan Page – Jackknife cover
Hikaru Shida b. Serena Deeb – Rollup
Jon Moxley b. 10 – Paradigm Shift
Dark Order b. Super Elite – Spin Doctor to Matt Jackson

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

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Dynamite
Date: October 23, 2021
Location: Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s another tournament focused show as we continue the World Title Eliminator Tournament and begin the TBS Title Tournament. We are also less than a month away from Full Gear and that show is going to need some more attention sooner than later. The card is being set up, but it rarely feels like something that is receiving focus. AEW knows how to pull these things off though so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

World Title Eliminator Tournament First Round: Bryan Danielson vs. Dustin Rhodes

Feeling out process to start with Rhodes seeming to be a bit nervous to go after him. Danielson takes him down by the legs and ties them up in kind of an Indian deathlock. Back up and Rhodes hits the drop down uppercut but gets knocked to the floor, setting up the suicide dive.

Dustin is right back up with a flip dive off the apron and scores with a belly to back suplex for two. Danielson pulls him down by the arm though and it’s a short armscissors, setting up the stomp on the arm. They go up top with a superplex bringing Danielson back down, setting up Dustin’s snap powerslam.

Danielson kicks away in the corner but gets caught with the jumping clothesline. Dustin has to block the LeBell Lock and it’s time for some more kicks. A big one to the chest makes Dustin Hulk Up and it’s a piledriver to plant Danielson for two. Dustin is back up but Danielson slaps on the guillotine to finish at 15:24.

Rating: B. I’m not a big Dustin fan but he was going hard here and the match got a lot better as a result. This was about the old gunslinger taking one more shot but running into the buzzsaw that is Danielson. I don’t know how much reason there was to believe in an upset here, but they absolutely made it interesting on the way there. Very good stuff, with Rhodes pulling his weight and then some.

Kenny Omega and the Elite are ready for the Superkliq to face the Dark Order next week. Omega saw Hangman Page being all tough last week but he knows the man behind the mask. He knows Page’s weaknesses and at Full Gear, it’s going to be COWARD S*** instead of COWBOY S***! The Bucks compliment him on the last line.

FTR brags about winning the AAA Tag Team Titles last week. They have been waiting on the sidelines for over a year now and it is time to complete their return by winning the AEW Tag Team Titles.

Penta El Zero Miedo and Alex Abrahantes swear revenge on FTR for hurting Fenix last week.

FTR says bring it.

Tony Schiavone brings out Sting for an update on Darby Allin. Before he can say anything though, here is MJF to interrupt. After asking Florida to try and have some class, MJF talks about how Sting needs to tell these people that their little hero is a coward. Sting can paint his face, swing a bat, or even have your leftover stash from the 80s rain down on the, but you can’t fool MJF: Sting isn’t a good guy.

MJF talks about how all of Sting’s fans stick by them and then he leaves them, like he left Lex Luger in a wheelchair. The fight is on and here is the Pinnacle to beat Sting down, despite Sting swinging MJF’s jacket at them. MJF picks up Sting’s head and asks if he has broken Darby Allin’s mind this time. Allin can listen to these people all he wants, but this is what is waiting on him, because MJF is just that much better. The Pinnacle gets ready to leave but MJF hits Sting with the Dynamite Diamond.

Britt Baker isn’t happy with Tay Conti sticking her nose in the title picture. If Conti had worked hard to get to the main event, they could have had a nice title match. Now though, since Conti put her hands on something that didn’t belong to her, Baker is going to kick that a** that Conti loves showing everyone (her words) and keep her title. Baker continues to come off like she believes every word she says and that is why she is one of the best talkers in wrestling today.

TBS Title Tournament First Round: Penelope Ford vs. Ruby Soho

Ford takes her into the corner and starts the stomping but a running boot is blocked. They fight to the apron and slug it out but here is the Bunny for a distraction. That’s enough for Ford to get in a kick to the face and we take a break. Back with Soho striking away for two but missing a charge into the corner. Ford catches her with a jumping cutter for a close two so Soho gives her an STO out of the corner. Another kick to the head rocks Soho though and it’s the fireman’s carry gutbuster for two. Bunny tries to throw in the brass knuckles but the referee sees what’s going on, allowing Soho to grab an O’Connor roll for the pin at 8:30.

Rating: C-. Another not very long match here as Soho doesn’t quite impress. She is a weird case where she has all of the tools on the surface and seems to have a mind for wrestling but for some reason it hasn’t exactly clicked in the ring. Maybe that can be changed with just a few tweaks, but it isn’t working out perfectly.

Post match the Bunny goes after Soho but Red Velvet runs in for the save.

MJF says he sent Darby Allin a message this week but Wardlow interrupts. Wardlow wants to know why MJF shoved him in front of Sting last week. MJF says it was just fight or flight and tries to talk his way out of it. He sees that Wardlow has been working hard and that’s too much pressure. Therefore, he is assigning Shawn Spears (here as well) to be his account-abili-buddy. Wardlow and Spears are confused but MJF has to leave for a meeting. That was a little weird.

Bobby Fish vs. Anthony Greene

Green grabs a rollup for an early two but Fish is right back with the kicks to the knee. A hard suplex sets up a big kick to the head to end Green at 1:48.

Post match Fish kicks Greene down again to turn heel. The beating is on but CM Punk runs in for the save. So Fish vs. Punk? Well if it’s all you have.

Lio Rush still tries to tell Dante Martin that they’re going to be a great team. Martin still isn’t sure but Rush has already gotten them a match against the Sydal Brothers next week. Dante does not look happy.

World Title Eliminator Tournament First Round: Eddie Kingston vs. Lance Archer

Kingston jumps him in the aisle to start and the brawl is on outside the ring. Archer gets the better of things and pulls a plant over the barricade to slam onto Kingston. A chokeslam off the apron plants said plant onto Kingston and we head inside for the opening bell. Archer chops away but Kingston slips out of the Black Out. The chinlock goes on to put Archer in trouble and we take a break.

Back with Archer choking away in the corner but missing a running shoulder. Instead he gets a boot up to Kingston’s face so Archer tries a moonsault and lands ON THE TOP OF HIS HEAD. Thing stop pretty soon and Archer rolls outside, only to go back in where Kingston rolls him up for the pin at 8:12.

Rating: C. I’m going with right in the middle because I’m a bit shaken up after that landing. It isn’t often that I get scared watching wrestling but seeing a giant like that landing on the top of his head is one way to make it happen. That looked horrible and the best thing to see is that Archer was walking around. Hopefully he is on his way to the hospital though, because that was a scary situation.

Of note: former WWE star Tony Nese was shown in the crowd just after Archer’s crash.

Here are Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year for a chat. They aren’t impressed by the Inner Circle, because the team has been beaten down time after time. Yeah Jake Hager has an undefeated MMA record but no one has ever seen it. Santana and Ortiz are from the streets, but the Men of the Year treat the streets like a runway. As for Chris Jericho, why is AEW paying him to come to the ring and flirt with Paige Vanzant?

Cue Sammy Guevara to quote Jericho, by asking them to shut the h*** up. Sammy remembers hearing that they had some stipulations so let’s have them. Dan Lambert cuts them off and says that Sammy doesn’t suck on the stick as much as he thought he did. The Inner Circle can have their big team match at Full Gear, but only if Sammy defends the title against Ethan Page next week.

WHEN Sammy loses though, he’s also out of the Inner Circle forever. Sammy says it’s on, but if he wins, he gets to pick the members of American Top Team. That’s a deal, but Scorpio Sky is ready to fight right now. Cue the rest of the Inner Circle to chase the villains off in a hurry.

Jon Moxley knows he is supposed to be talking trash and yelling about how he’s going to take out everyone in the tournament. He’ll be doing that, but right now, all he can think about is his baby daughter. His daughter squeezes his finger (which is a little messed up) for all she’s got and all he can think about is her looking up at him. Winning this tournament will let him do more for her, and it’s time so smash everyone.

The Dark Order is ready for the Superkliq when Hangman Page comes in. Page is sorry for not getting back with them sooner. If they are going back after the Elite, and so close to Halloween, it might be time for some costumes. The Dark Order seems interested, with John Silver mentioning Bambi.

Jungle Boy vs. Brandon Cutler

Jungle sends him outside for an early suicide dive and throws him back in for a backdrop. The Snare Trap finishes Cutler at 1:02.

Post match Jungle Boy says he’s still feeling good and wants another member of the Elite. Since no one comes out, the Snare Trap goes on again so Cole screams for someone to help him. Cue Adam Cole to say we can do this right now but it’s a ruse so the Young Bucks can run in for the beatdown. Jungle gets beaten up the ramp and then throw off the stage through some tables in a huge crash.

Miro wants to know why his God has forsaken him. Now he will hurt everyone in front of him and become the favorite champion again. Therefore he can return to his wife, with blood on his hands, which is on us.

Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes

Black has beaten Rhodes twice before but now Cody is being more serious. Arn Anderson is back with Cody, who charges into the ring and we get the opening bell in a hurry. Cody goes straight for the knee but can’t get the Figure Four. Back up and they strike it out as the fans chant CODY SUCKS. A shot to the knee has Cody in trouble but he knocks Black away for a breather. Cody is right back on the knee and we hit the Figure Four as the fans seem to be paying attention to something else. Black bails to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Black in trouble after Cody hit Cross Rhodes through a table at ringside. Black manages to post Cody and they’re both busted open. The fans want Anderson to GET THE GLOCK as Andrade comes out for a distraction. Anderson cuts off Andrade’s assistant with the spinebuster and here is Pac to take out Andrade. Black mists Anderson but walks into the Cross Rhodes for two (and A LOT of booing).

Back up and Black kicks him down, setting up a bridging German suplex for two. Black Mass connects but Cody falls into the ropes to avoid the cover. Cody is back up and gets backdropped out and onto the apron. Black misses the middle rope moonsault and gets taken down by Cody’s suicide dive. The Cody Cutter drops Black back inside and it’s Cross Rhodes into a double underhook piledriver for the pin at 11:44.

Rating: B-. Is it really a surprise that Cody got his win back here? This whole thing has been a Cody story since the beginning with Black getting in some good shows and moments, but ultimately this was about Cody rediscovering the eye of the tiger. This isn’t the end of Black and this isn’t some horrible moment, but it isn’t something that needed to happen. Black is a potential breakout star and the fans do not seem to like Cody very much. Unless this is leading to something down the road with Cody turning, I’m really not feeling this move.

Overall Rating: B-. This was an interesting one as it certainly didn’t hit the heights that some of their shows did, though there was enough to make it worth watching. What interested me the most here is just how much energy there was to the show and how far it took everything else. The fans were into everything they were seeing here (even if they weren’t happy with Cody at any point) and that is going to make a show so much more fun. AEW might be a lot of things and there are criticisms to be made about it, but they know how to make their fans care about everything they are doing and that is huge.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Dustin Rhodes – Guillotine
Ruby Soho b. Penelope Ford – Rollup
Bobby Fish b. Anthony Greene – Kick to the head
Eddie Kingston b. Lance Archer – Rollup
Jungle Boy b. Brandon Cutler – Snare Trap
Cody Rhodes b. Malakai Black – Tiger Driver 98

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

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Dynamite
Date: October 16, 2021
Location: James L. Knight Center, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, CM Punk

We’re on a rare Saturday night due to the MLB playoffs and they are going to have a hard time topping what they did last night with Rampage. Tonight we see the brackets for the #1 contenders tournament, as Full Gear is less than a month away. Add in a AAA Tag Team Titles match and we should be good to go. Let’s get to it.

Here is Rampage if you need a recap.

Guest commentator CM Punk gets his big entrance.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Malakai Black vs. Dante Martin

Lio Rush is here with Black. Some armdrags put Martin down to start but he sends Black outside. It’s too early for a dive though as Black comes back in and elbows him in the face. A powerbomb sets up a half crab to put Martin in trouble but he slips out in a hurry. That earns Martin and STO and shinbreaker, setting up a kneebar. Martin makes the ropes to escape and goes up top, only to have his springboard blocked. A sunset flip gives Martin two and a poisonrana out of the corner staggers Black.

With Black out on the ramp, Martin hits a springboard flip dive (with a bit of a slip) to drop him again. Back in and a double springboard moonsault misses for Martin, setting up a slugout. Black kicks him down and scores with a top rope double stomp, setting up a kick to the head. There’s a hard German suplex to drop Martin hard so he heads up top. That’s broken up with a super hurricanrana but Black is right back with a half crab. Martin escapes again and tries to go up again, only to get caught with Black Mass (Rush is NOT pleased) for the pin at 9:37.

Rating: B. They pulled me into this one as I wasn’t exactly thinking that it was great at the start. That was all changed by the end as these guys were beating the heck out of each other, with one big spot after another. I didn’t buy Martin as possibly winning, but it would have been too much of a stretch to have that take place anyway. Rather good match here as Black continues to prove that WWE was totally wrong about him every single week.

Post match Black goes to leave but stops to nod at Martin in respect.

The Jurassic Express talks about being banged up but the Elite comes in to beat them down. Kenny Omega manages to powerbomb Luchasaurus through the table to show that he can do it.

Here is the Inner Circle, fresh off their loss last night, to quite the reception. Santana isn’t happy about American Top Team, which brings them out with Dan Lambert to brag about their MMA success. Jericho tells us to welcome the “fat faced dip****” and yes the fans chant the name. Jericho accuses Paige Vanzant of having a thing for him, but he wouldn’t touch her with her husband’s genitalia. Punk: “I don’t believe him. I think he would.”

The challenge is on for the ten man tag but Lambert insults the team, including talking about the size of Jake Hager’s head. Lambert is down if the Inner Circle will accept their challenge, but he’ll give them the terms next week. Scorpio Sky says he has pinned Chris Jericho twice, but the fans think he still sucks. Sammy Guevara is ready to fight right now and he’ll see them next week. Vanzant continues to look like a star every time she’s on camera.

AAA Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. Las Super Ranas

The Ranas (the Super Frogs) are two guys in green suits with masks and challenging. Punk: “I don’t know if the Lucha Bros care, but that’s clearly FTR.” We’ll say #1 starts with Fenix, who spins the arm around to start until #1 takes him down and goes for the mask. A victory roll faceplant takes #1 down and everything breaks down, with the Bros going for the masks. Commentary confirms that it’s FTR, mainly due to the lack of flips. The masks come off and FTR clotheslines the Bros down to take over as we go to a break.

Back with Fenix getting dropped ribs first on top but Penta is back in for the brawl. Fenix gets a running start to springboard onto both of them, setting up the Lucha version of What’s Up. Everything breaks down and FTR tries to bring in the belts, only to get kicked down in a hurry. Cue Tully Blanchard (in matching green) for a distraction though, allowing Harwood to belt Fenix out of the air. A brainbuster gives Harwood the pin and the titles at 8:14.

Rating: C+. The frogs deal was weird but points for a surprise title change. FTR getting some gold is certainly a nice thing to see and I could go for another match between these two. The AAA Tag Team Titles have enough meaning for this to be an important win so nice job in a surprise, even if it doesn’t last long. It was also nice for commentary to sound smart, as they weren’t exactly fooled by the disguises.

Lio Rush says Dante Martin failed because he screwed up but Martin can be successful if he just listens. From this point forward, they’re tag partners, though Martin doesn’t seem convinced.

Andrade and FTR celebrate the win. MJF comes in to celebrate with them and gets paid by Andrade, seemingly to rent FTR for the night. MJF’s horrible Spanish is that much better.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley jumps him to start, puts Yuta down, and finishes with the Paradigm Shift at 1:11. Well that worked, though Orange Cassidy staring down at Moxley as Yuta is checked on by the medics seems to give us a future.

Serena Deeb beat Hikaru Shida last week but she’s not happy with how the division has been since she went on sabbatical. It was time to drag the division back up but here is Shida to jump her from behind.

Dark Order vs. Superkliq

It’s Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds and John Silver for the team here but the Superkliq jump them before the bell. Silver escapes the TripleBomb (because the Elite is the Shield these days) on the ramp with Reynolds coming in to help out. They get back inside for the opening bell and Cole gets triple dropkicked to the floor. We settle down to Silver having to kick all three of them away but a Don Callis distraction lets Matt kick him down.

Cole cuts off Reynolds’ dive with an enziguri and it’s a double superkick into a brainbuster onto the knee on the floor to drop him again. JR: “You might want to bother counting.” More kicks and shots to the face have Silver in trouble and we take a break. Back with Nick losing a shoe as Silver makes the comeback, allowing the tag to Uno. That means a full on Mr. Socko return, because AEW doesn’t like to put together the most unique stuff. Uno runs wild for a bit until a few more shots cut him (and the crowd) off.

Cole gets Uno in a camel clutch and the Bucks load up the double kiss, but the rest of the Order takes their place for the kiss instead. A double backdrop puts Cole on the floor and the Order gets to pose for a change. Something Evil gets two on Cole as everything breaks down again. The Order is sent outside and get take out by dives, leaving Cole to kick Reynolds down. A rollup gives Reynolds two and he knees Cole in the face for a bonus. The Bucks are back in with superkicks and the Panama Sunrise into the BTE Trigger into the Boom finishes for Cole at 10:48.

Rating: C+. I can forgive the Superkliq for not exactly taking the Dark Order seriously but they ultimately had to put in some effort to win. Cole getting the pin works as well as he continues to pad his resume while the Bucks take a bit of a step back from him. Silver continues to look like a star, though I’m not sure how much of a future he has in this 837 member group.

Post match here is Jungle Boy to go after the Superkliq, who run off because he grabs a chair. Brandon Cutler is left alone to try the cold spray, which is blocked by the chair. The Snare Trap has Cutler in trouble, with Boy adding the spray to Cutler’s eyes. Now see how easy it is to make Jungle Boy look good? Get rid of the freak show and he’s a star. It’s not that hard.

Cody Rhodes appears at his wrestling academy, where his fellow coaches (or maybe students) aren’t happy with him. Arn Anderson puts him through a drill where everyone goes after him one at a time. Cody wants to know what this is supposed to teach him so Anderson pulls out a photo of Dusty Rhodes beating him up back in the day. Arn talks about how Cody never wanted to disappoint kids, but would kids have thought Dusty was bad for busting Arn open that night? Of course not, because Arn had it coming. Malakai Black has it coming too.

Here is MJF to say he is stuck in a place that smells like hookers and gasoline. He doesn’t like not being announced for his match, even though there is no match scheduled. Punk: “You know how I can tell? No Wardlow.” MJF doesn’t think Darby Allin is ready to fight him so maybe he did break Allin mentally. After telling a fat guy to shut up, MJF feigns shock over hearing about Allin being attacked last week. MJF: “TONY SCHIAVONE! DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS???”

MJF is going to give us a match with Allin, so Wardlow brings out a referee to count the ten. The count is on….and here’s Sting to answer. A baseball bat shot to the ribs drops Wardlow and MJF runs into the snow. MJF teases running back in but runs despite Sting dropping the bat, much to commentary’s disgust.

Britt Baker interrupts Anna Jay’s interview and talks about how the Superkliq beat the Dark Order. Anna: “They are not losers!” Baker talks more trash and the fight is on with referees breaking it up in a hurry.

Kiera Hogan vs. Penelope Ford

The Bunny is here with Ford. Hogan grabs a headlock to start as Punk wants to know if there is any relation, though commentary isn’t sure which Hogan he could possibly mean. Tony is right there to bring them back to focus on the TBS Title as Ford misses a running boot in the corner, setting up a takedown to give Hogan two. Ford bulldogs her into the corner to take over again though and we go to a break. Back with Hogan hitting a superplex but not being able to follow up. A sliding kick to the face in the corner rocks Ford for two more but Ford hits a running cutter. The Muta Lock finishes Hogan at 7:53.

Rating: D+. Not the best match here, but neither of these two are exactly known as a ring general. They were both trying but ultimately you’re only going to be able to get so much out of them. Hogan is someone who has potential due to her amazing charisma and it’s clear that AEW sees a lot in Ford. Keeping it short was the right call here, and it’s not like this dragged down the show.

Post match here is Ruby Soho to jump Ford in revenge from last night. The beating is on but the Bunny comes out to….do nothing actually.

Miro isn’t sure what happened that caused him to lose the TNT Title. He thinks his God has turned on him because he was given a body of granite and a neck of sand. Miro will either be a champion or an enemy and it is time to destroy. He hasn’t seen his wife since losing the title and he will not again until he is God’s favorite champion again.

Here is Hangman Page for a chat. Tony Schiavone recaps Page’s feud with Kenny Omega, leaving Page to talk about how the Elite left their home in Ring of Honor in 2019. Their world changed and then he lost his big matches on the way. It felt like he started to lose a bit more, including his confidence. The one thing that it felt like he never lost was the fans chanting COWBOY S***, which means we have to pause for a chant.

That meant taking his shot on day one and learning to let the past live in the past and accept new friends in his life. It meant taking his chance to stick his neck out like his friends did so many times. It means having the guts to go back home for the birth of his son, but last week he finally picked up the phone and took a shot.

Page feels the people still believe in him though, and for the first time in his life, he does too. The promise he can make is that he will give us everything at Full Gear, including COWBOY S***! This was a heck of a promo and it was nice to have Page finally say these things instead of having to figure out the big story for ourselves. It wasn’t hard to figure out, but it’s nice to hear it from the source for a change.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes III and tournament matches.

Bryan Danielson vs. Bobby Fish

Feeling out process to start with Fish’s headlock not working, as Danielson kicks him into the corner. Back up and Fish strikes away, only to get knocked outside. Fish gets posted but is fine enough to cut off the running knee from the apron as we take a break. Back with Fish working on the knee and hitting a sliding lariat for two more.

The half crab goes on but Danielson is back up with a suplex to send Fish flying. Danielson evens things up by wrapping the knee around the post but Fish is back in with a backdrop driver. Fish takes him up top for a super Falcon Arrow and starts tying up the knee. They both get kneebars until Danielson kicks him in the head for the break. A heel hook makes Fish tap at 12:28.

Rating: B. Fish got in a lot here, which is the kind of thing that makes AEW work so well. They know how to make someone look good in defeat, albeit in a match they had no business winning. There is nothing wrong with Fish losing to a much bigger star and Danielson gets a win over someone with some name value. AEW has figured out that formula and that is a great thing to see.

With less than a minute to go in the show, here is the bracket for the #1 contenders tournament:

10
Jon Moxley

Orange Cassidy
Powerhouse Hobbs

Dustin Rhodes
Bryan Danielson

Lance Archer
Eddie Kingston

That’s….interesting. I guess?

Overall Rating: B. Not so great brackets aside, this was another good show from AEW, who don’t seem to know how to had a bad one these days. They throw in at least two exciting matches to keep you hooked and the rest is all gravy. The title change was a nice surprise too, though I’m not completely sure why the frog suits were included. Anyway, another good night here, as AEW is on fire (again).

Results
Malakai Black b. Dante Martin – Black Mass
Las Super Ranas b. Lucha Bros – Brainbuster to Fenix
Jon Moxley b. Wheeler Yuta – Paradigm Shift
Superkliq b. Dark Order – Boom to Reynolds
Penelope Ford b. Kiera Hogan – Muta Lock
Bryan Danielson b. Bobby Fish – Heel hook

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: October 6, 2021
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

Believe it or not, there is a big match this week as it’s time for the return of the Casino Ladder Match. That means another Joker entry, which could be a nice surprise. Other than that, we slowly continue on the way to Full Gear, which is going to need some match announcements. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Super Elite vs. Christian Cage/Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus/Bryan Danielson

That would be Kenny Omega/Adam Cole/Young Bucks. Jungle springboard armdrags Nick into a dropkick to start and then hands it off to Cage. Some right hands in the corner have Cole in trouble and it’s back to Jungle for a sliding kick to the face. Cole takes over on Jungle though and hands it back to Omega for a springboard elbow to the back. Jungle manages to crotch Nick on top and holds onto Matt’s arm while bouncing on the top to crotch Nick even more.

Danielson comes in to kick and chop away at Matt’s chest, followed by Luchasaurus getting in kicks of his own. Everything breaks down with Jungle missing a slingshot dive to the floor. Brandon Cutler sprays Cage in the eye though and it’s an Indytaker to Cage outside. That’s going to be it for Cage, who has to be taken out, leaving this as a handicap match. Back in and the Bucks give Cole the double kiss but Jungle gets in a shot to Omega for a breather. Danielson comes in for the big slugout with Omega, with the latter being taken into the corner for the kicks to the chest.

There’s the super hurricanrana for two on Omega with a bunch of saves being made. Everything breaks down and it’s a parade of secondary finishers until Danielson gets Omega in the Cattle Mutilation. Nick breaks that up with a Swanton but it’s Luchasaurus firing off kicks. The series of dives tot he floor is capped off by Omega, with Cole teasing a dive but posing instead. Luchasaurus chokeslams him to set up the standing moonsault but Cole hits Luchasaurus low.

The Elite tries a quadruple powerbomb on Luchasaurus but falls down, leaving everyone to stand around until Jungle hits all of them. A double superkick into the Panama Sunrise gets two, with Danielson making the save (read as Matt throws Danielson into the cover for the save). The Affirmative Kicks rock Omega until Danielson is kicked to the floor. The four man BTE Trigger finishes Jungle at 17:58, with JR complaining about all four being in the ring at the same time.

Rating: B. It was action packed and rather exciting, though there were some spots in there that didn’t exactly look great. That is probably because, as tends to be the case, they tried to pack in too many things. This is a match that could have been a bit better if they hadn’t crammed as much in,

Jon Moxley says no one can pin him or make him submit so now it’s time to put ladders in the ring. He’s used to the crazy though, because he has a three month old at home and she’s nuts too. This is his city and that is his belt so he’s winning tonight.

Here’s CM Punk to a huge reaction for a chat. Punk asks if anyone around here is tired yet and can’t believe he has Michael Jordan shoes. He talks about how he moved to Philadelphia in 2002, wrestled part of the week and trained wrestlers the rest of the week because he loved wrestling. Using the money he made in Philadelphia, he bought an iPod and a laptop because he was rich. He wasn’t rich because of the money but because he was in a wrestling culture.

Now he is back and he isn’t tired of how he is feeling. He wanted to give it back, so you can have your pick: he’ll wrestle tonight or he’ll buy everyone cheese steaks (Punk: “Is it cheese steak or cheesecake?”). The fans pick wrestle so if Daniel Garcia has the fortitude, he can meet Punk on Rampage. Punk goes to leave….and gives his Jordans to a fan dressed as Orange Cassidy. JR: “Don’t worry kid. You’ll grow into them.”

Arn Anderson is outside Cody Rhodes’ house and is burning something in a barrel. Cody comes out and talks about how Arn turned his back on him but Arn cuts him off to say that Cody turned on them. Cody can have his multi million dollar houses and his reality TV shows, but he might as well just paint a star on his face. Arn slaps him in the face to prove his point.

TNT Title: Sammy Guevara vs. Bobby Fish

Fish is challenging in his debut. Some kicks to the chest have Guevara in early trouble but Guevara flips over him and hits his own kick to the face. An enziguri in the corner sets up a springboard, which is broken up as well. Back up and they slug it out with Fish kicking him down as we take a break.

We come back with Guevara hitting a running elbow to the face but Fish kicks him down again. Sammy kicks him off the top but gets crotched down, setting up Fish’s super Falcon Arrow for a delayed two. A suplex into the corner gives Fish two more but Guevara kicks him away and hits the GTH to retain at 9:17.

Rating: C+. Not a classic match here but Fish looked good in his debut and was a smart first title defense for Guevara. I’d rather they bring in someone with some name status who can work well with anyone rather than having a regular star take a loss. Good match here and they didn’t go too long either.

Post match here is American Top Team to surround the ring and beat Sammy down. Fuego del Sold runs in for the save but gets beaten down so here are Chris Jericho and Jake Hager for the real save. Jericho manages to knock Junior Dos Santos (former UFC Heavyweight Champion) to the floor so he and Hager can stand tall.

Dan Lambert says cut the music but has to wait for the fans to finish Judas. Lambert talks about how Jericho has been around for a long time but this isn’t his time. AEW is heading to Miami on October 15, the home of American Top Team and Jorge Mazvidal. So how about a six man tag with the Men of the Year and Junior Dos Santos vs. the Inner Circle? Jericho says he didn’t hear a thing Lambert said….and then Jericho’s mic gives out. Jericho gets another mic and he promises to beat the living s*** out of Lambert and his team. Very nice save there if Lambert couldn’t be heard in the arena.

The Acclaimed raps about their Tag Team Title shot on Rampage.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring for a special announcement. Dynamite is moving to TBS on January 5 and that means we are going to have something special. Tony shows us the new TBS Title, which will be in the Women’s division, starting with a tournament to crown the first champion. As long as the NWA Women’s Title is gone, that should be fine.

Jim Ross sits down with Darby Allin, who talks about how MJF got to him last week. Yes he was there when his uncle drove drunk and got killed and that’s why he paints half of his face. Allin faced death that night but lived to talk about it and MJF isn’t going to break him.

Darby Allin vs. Nick Comoroto

Allin dives on the rest of the Factor to start and strikes away in the corner. We take an early break and come back with….Allin hitting the Coffin Drop for the pin at 4:43. Well that happened.

Post match QT Marshall comes in with a cutter to Sting, who pops up for the Scorpion Death Drop.

The Dark Order is back together, with Evil Uno saying the team can make the decisions. They agree to start voting as a family, with the first vote being about where Alan Angels has to wear a mask again. Anna Jay breaks up another fight and they’re good again.

Here is Dante Martin for a chat. He has proven he can hang with anyone and now he wants to fight anyone willing to get in the ring with him. The lights go out and here is Malakai Black (JR: “He kicks people’s heads off for a living!”) to spray black mist and hit Black Mass. The lights go out again and come back with Martin gone. Black says the House of Black accepts and then leaves.

Here is Ricky Starks to talk about how the FTW Title was defended right here in this very city. He’s more of a champion than the previous champion Brian Cage, who isn’t here tonight. That’s a shame as Starks was going to challenge him to a Philly street fight….and here is Cage to start the brawl. Team Taz pulls Starks to safety.

Various women say they’re winning the TBS Title.

Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb

If Shida wins, she gets a trophy for winning 50 matches. They take turns throwing each other down to start before trading wristlocks. Shida flips away though and it’s a standoff until she kicks Deeb down. The right hands in the corner set up a dropkick in the corner (as in Shida is hammering away on the middle rope and then jumps up for the middle rope dropkick). They head outside with Shida loading up the chair but Deeb throws it underneath the ring. A neckbreaker over the ropes rocks Shida and we take a quick break.

Back with Shida grabbing a front facelock and swinging Deeb around for a painful look. Shida hits a missile dropkick for two but the Octopus is countered. The Deebtox is countered as well and Shida hits a running knee. Shida dives onto the rocked Deeb, who comes back with a running knee of her own. Deeb goes after the leg but misses a chop block, allowing Shida to hit a sitout Dominator for two. A Falcon Arrow gives Shida the same but Deeb is right back with the Deebtox for two of her own. The Serenity Lock finishes Shida at 10:19.

Rating: B-. Good stuff here, as I like the idea of making Shida work for the 50th win. That could take her awhile to accomplish and it could make for something interesting, though I wouldn’t stretch it out that long. It’s great to have Deeb back too, as she really is one of the best around these days.

Post match, Deeb hits Shida in the head with the trophy.

MJF has challenged Darby Allin to a match on Dynamite next week. Allin accepts and looks at a limo, seemingly thinking MJF is inside. Instead a masked man jumps him and another takes the camera. More masked men come in and beat him down, including an F10 onto a bunch of barricades. Another masked man (clearly MJF) gets out of the limo to choke Allin with the skateboard. The Pinnacle (with Schiavone saying that’s who it is) leaves in the limo. Commentary is DISGUSTED by these developments.

Lio Rush talks about how much he likes Dante Martin but he’s also a businessman. Rush thinks Martin needs to rush towards Malakai Black’s challenge and they should talk soon.

Britt Baker likes the idea of the TBS Title tournament (though she was hoping for the Cartoon Network Title) because some of these b****** might leave her alone. Go have your tournament and she’ll be sitting here on top.

Casino Ladder Match

The entrants are coming in intervals and there is another Joker, though you can win at any time, even before all of the entrants are in. First up we have Orange Cassidy at #1 (with the Philadelphia 76ers mascot) and Pac at #2, with Cassidy taking the sunglasses off early. Pac knocks him down to start so Cassidy puts his hands behind his back and crosses his legs. The ladder is brought in but Pac stops to plant him with a brainbuster.

Andrade El Idolo is in at #3 but Pac dropkicks a ladder into him before Andrade can get in. Pac goes up but Andrade jumps up to cut him off, setting up a sunset bomb. Cassidy is back up with the lazy kicks and a headscissors but Matt Hardy is in at #4. The Side Effect drops Cassidy, who is back up to prevent Matt from climbing.

We take a break and come back with Lance Archer in at #5 and splashing Cassidy on a ladder bridged into another one. Archer teases going up but Jon Moxley is in at #6, with Moxley meeting him in the crowd. Moxley pelts a chair at Archer’s head and they fight to ringside, where Archer hits Moxley with the chair as well. Back in and Cassidy Orange Punches Archer to slow him down but Moxley takes Cassidy down.

A running dropkick into the ladder into Archer sends him into the corner and it’s……Hangman Page in at #7 as the Joker. Page goes right at Moxley for the slugout and cleans house until Pac gets in a chair shot. Pac puts Page on a table and goes up the ladder but has to deal with Andrade. A headbutt drops Andrade off the top onto a chair onto a ladder at ringside, allowing Page to go up and slug it out with Pac. The super Deadeye off the ladder drives Pac through a table (that was terrifying) but Page comes up favoring his knee.

Moxley takes Page out with the Paradigm Shift but Cassidy meets him on top of the ladder. Hardy shoves the ladder over to break up the fight and legdrops Cassidy through a table. Archer cleans house again but Page is back up with the Buckshot Lariat (thankfully the knee seems ok). The climb is on until Moxley chairs Page in the back. Moxley goes up with Page but gets knocked down, allowing Page to pull down the poker chip (because it’s a poker chip) to win at 17:08.

Rating: B. They had the high spots and they had the big pop. I’m still not sure if I like the idea of the staggered entrances but it’s certainly different than what everyone else does, which can be a positive. This was the stunt show you were expecting and it’s certainly interesting to see Page get the title shot. I’m not sure how that is going to go, but they couldn’t just leave that unresolved.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a show that felt designed for Philadelphia and that is not a bad thing. They had an action packed card with a bunch of fan favorites and pandering to the crowd, which kept things from possibly getting ugly in a hurry. It was another very fun night and that’s what AEW does best. They need to start building up Full Gear, but at this point that just means announcing what should be a pretty clear card. Another strong night this week, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

Results
Super Elite b. Christian Cage/Bryan Danielson/Luchasaurus/Jungle Boy – BTE Trigger to Jungle Boy
Sammy Guevara b. Bobby Fish – GTH
Darby Allin b. Nick Comoroto – Coffin Drop
Serena Deeb b. Hikaru Shida – Serenity Lock
Hangman Page won the Casino Ladder Match

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Dynamite
Date: September 29, 2021
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, CM Punk

AEW has been on a roll as of late and that means we could be in for something special tonight. I’m not sure what we are going to be seeing here, but it certainly could be a fun night. If nothing else, we’re in Brodie Lee’s hometown and that means we are probably going to be in for some tributes. Let’s get to it.

Here is Rampage if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We open with some BRODIE chants, which are just awesome.

Here’s CM Punk, who will be on commentary tonight but can’t dive into the crowd because of the athletic commission.

Adam Cole vs. Jungle Boy

Feeling out process to start until Boy hits a heck of a chop into a springboard armdrag. A dropkick puts Cole on the floor and let’s take a breather for a bit. Jungle follows him out and Cole kicks him down, setting up a neckbreaker back inside. The chinlock holds Boy in place for a bit but he is right back up with a shot to the face. Jungle hits a brainbuster into a belly to belly into the corner, followed by the rolling German suplexes for two.

Cole rolls his way out of a torture rack for two and hits the brainbuster onto the knee for two of his own. Jungle snaps off a poisonrana into a running forearm to the back of the head, setting up kind of an Angle Slam into a Death Valley Driver for two. Back up and Cole superkicks him out to the floor, leaving Jungle down for a good bit. The Panama Sunrise on the floor is broken up but Jungle’s suicide dive is cut off by an enziguri.

Cole gets back on the apron so Jungle snaps off a running hurricanrana to the floor. Back in and Cole hits another enziguri, setting up the Panama Sunrise…..for two. I’m not sure if someone should be kicking out of that so soon but Cole’s stunned face made it a little better. Jungle pulls him into the Snare Trap but Cole slips out and kicks him outside. Back in and a low blow cuts Jungle down, leaving Cole to hit the Boom for the pin at 13:45.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a back and forth match, which is something that you can always go for around here. It was a lot of dives and flips and kicks to the face, but at least they were putting on an entertaining match. Jungle losing again isn’t my favorite thing, but at least it was to someone like Cole, who is being pushed as a major star.

Post break here is the Elite and after a break, Karl Anderson talks about how great the Elite is, including introducing most of the team. Anderson: “And of course Nak and Cutler.” Cole talks about how he beat Jungle Boy on his own, because Bay Bay is elite and undefeated. The fans chant for Punk, who has not had the nicest things to say about the Elite so far.

Kenny Omega talks about how his social media has been blowing up over his match with Bryan Danielson last week. Last week might have been the greatest match in AEW history and he isn’t surprised. Danielson cashed in on his promise to kick Omega’s head in but he couldn’t make it work when it counted. Since Danielson has no record though, he isn’t getting a rematch and he’ll never see Omega face to face again.

Cue Danielson to refer to the champ as Kenny “NO BALLS” Omega. Punk: “Well that’s a t-shirt.” Danielson issues the challenge to face any member of the Elite on Rampage but gets no takers. Instead, Omega wants to fight right now but Danielson calls out the reinforcements from the back and gets Frankie Kazarian, Christian Cage and Jurassic Express. The Elite bails from the fight of course.

Andrade interrupts the Lucha Bros and says they haven’t defended their AAA Tag Team Titles in a long time. He has some friends if they’re up for a defense, and the Bros seem down.

Matt Sydal/Dante Martin vs. Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson

Cody headlocks Sydal to start and gets nowhere with it. Instead it’s off to Sydal to headlock takeover Johnson, setting up a kick to the back. It’s back to Martin to stare Johnson face to face and we take a break. Back with Cody getting the hot tag to clean house as commentary talks about how the fans aren’t thrilled with Cody these days. Everything breaks down as Johnson and Sydal fight outside.

Martin missile dropkicks Cody for two and a double jump moonsault is good for the same. Johnson tags himself back in and gets kicked in the face by Sydal. That doesn’t seem to matter as Johnson kicks Sydal in the face, only to get rolled up by Martin for two more. Another superkick rocks Martin though and a fisherman’s buster onto the knee finishes for Johnson at 7:45.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving and that was a good thing. Sometimes you don’t need a match to keep going forever and that was the case here. Good little match, with Johnson getting to shine a bit and the fans’ displeasure with Cody being highlighted for a change. That’s interesting, and it’s a smart path to take, even if it takes some time.

Post match Cody calls out Malakai Black but Arn Anderson tells him to shut up. Anderson talks about how Black has destroyed everything they love and Cody is missing the point. Black is an assassin who will take out everyone to win a match. Cody is the kind of person who would give up his car if someone tried to steal it but Anderson would shoot them in the head. He isn’t going to coach a loser, so Johnson can leave with him.

Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston/Darby Allin vs. Bear Country/Anthony Greene

Sting is here with Darby and company and it’s a brawl to start, with Allin and Greene being left alone in the ring. That’s fine with Allin, who gets two off of la majistral. An armdrag sends Greene down and we get a Ricky Steamboat reference. We settle down to Bear Country beating up Moxley but Kingston breaks up the double splash. The spinning backfist sets up a German suplex and the brawl heads to the floor. That leaves Greene alone with Moxley and Kingston, who shrug off a springboard spinning high crossbody attempt. The German suplex/lariat combination finishes Greene at 3:30.

Rating: C-. Mostly a squash here and that’s all it needed to be. Sometimes your best bet is to get people on there on screen and let them do their thing, which is exactly what they did here. It wasn’t a great match or anything, but it can be a good idea to let big stars feel like big stars. Nice job, even if it was hardly a classic.

Post match Sting lays Greene out for a bonus.

Video on Ruby Soho vs. Britt Baker, with Soho promising to take the title.

Dark Order/Orange Cassidy vs. Hardy Family Office

Negative 1 is here with the team because AEW likes making its fans emotional. This is a sixteen man tag to make things a bit complicated and the Dark Order is already fighting among themselves. Alan Angels loses his mask and it’s a suplex/top rope spear combination from Butcher and Blade for two. Private Party comes in to work on on Angels as we get a THANK YOU BRODIE chant.

Everything breaks down though and we take a break. Back with Jack Evans (Flippy McGillicutty according to Punk) coming in to pick up the pace until Evil Uno kicks him in the face. Alex Reynolds gets sent into Uno as the issues continue, so Cassidy comes in for the top rope thumbs up splash. Uno walks out on the match so some more of the Order goes to talk to him.

Evans flips over into a backslide for two on Cassidy as everything breaks down again. Uno keeps walking but cue Negative 1 and Amanda Huber (Brodie’s widow) with 1 throwing the papers and Amanda telling the team to get it together. The Order charges the ring and cleans house, with the parade of secondary finishers. A series of strikes sets up a German suplex and the Fatality is good for the pin at 7:51.

Rating: A. This was all about the emotions and they nailed that on every level. I wasn’t a big Lee fan but I was smiling throughout the entire thing, which is all it needed to be. Outstanding stuff here, with the Dark Order reunion bringing all the feelings. I loved this and they did exactly what they were trying to do.

Post match the Dark Order gets back together and it’s about as cool as you can get.

Lio Rush is All Elite. Rush? Not actually retiring? I’m as stunned as you are.

FTR and Tully Blanchard are ready to show that they’re the best again. Top guys out.

Here are Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year to talk about how Chris Jericho got kneed in the face by UFC’s Jorge Mazvidal last week. The thing is, Jericho saved this promotion from itself and turned it into the hottest promotion anyone has seen in years. Then Jericho came after them and got beaten down like never before, leaving his earning potential the same as everyone here: zero. Now they have cut the head off of AEW and Tony Khan-man will have more trouble selling snake oil.

Scorpio Sky talks about how he was a star around here at the beginning and then he grabbed the giant Sonic ring, but it wasn’t good enough. No one around here was paying attention, but Dan Lambert was watching. Lambert sees him as a main eventer, just like Ethan Page. That sends Page into a rant about how great he is at everything but he can’t get an action figure or a spot in the opening video. He has the best smile around here and now he rolls with champions, because the Men of the Year are the Top Team.

Hikaru Shida is ready to get her 50th win in AEW, but she has to beat Serena Deeb next week on Dynamite’s second anniversary show.

Penelope Ford/The Bunny vs. Tay Conti/Anna Jay

It’s a brawl to start with the villains being sent into the corner. Tay tries to jump to the apron but falls down and comes up holding her knee. Ford kicks Anna into a neck snap from Bunny before dropping a knee. We take a break and come back with Ford and Conti coming in off the double tag. A double suplex gets two on Ford but she Matrixes away from a clothesline and hits a Stunner on Jay. Ford’s fireman’s carry gutbuster gets two but she misses a moonsault. The TayKO knocks Bunny silly on the floor and the Dangerous Jay kick sets up the Queenslayer to finish Ford at 6:31.

Rating: C. This should be the end of the feud and that’s how it should have gone. Conti and Jay are a good team for the young and plucky faces and that’s what they did here. Ford and Bunny were a good obstacle for them to get by and it wound up being a completely watchable match as well.

Post match Negative 1 comes in to celebrate. Punk: “He’s a smart kid.”

Video on Thunder Rosa vs. Nyla Rose vs. Jade Cargill on Rampage.

Here is MJF for a chat. MJF doesn’t think much of upstate New York and wants to talk about the four pillars of AEW. You have Jungle Boy (“Beat him.”), Sammy Guevara (“Beat him.), Darby Allin (“…..yeah whatever.”) and the strongest pillar of them all, which is the man who was in the first match at All In, Maxwell Jacob Friedman himself. He is the past, present and future of AEW and that means he should be the AEW World Champion. Tony: “Earn that in the ring then dude.” MJF teases talking to Bruce Prichard if he doesn’t get a title shot, but here is Allin to interrupt.

MJF: “As much as I love the whole school shooter mime on a skateboard routine”, he’s not happy with the interruption. There is nothing wrong with being a #2 guy, like Mark Messier, Scottie Pippen, or Sting. MJF says he’s the #1 guy, so Allin asks if MJF is done talking and tells him to go if he isn’t happy. See, Allin is AEW for life until death, but he doesn’t understand how MJF can be #1 when Allin is the only one of the two of them to win a title.

MJF appreciates the Batman voice and brings up Allin being straightedge. We hear about Allin getting in a car with his drunk uncle as a kid and they got in an accident. The uncle died, and it’s a travesty because the wrong man died. Allin says MJF isn’t breaking him mentally, which sends MJF leaving. MJF was on fire here, even if he was going really far with some of these things.

Video on Sammy Guevara vs. Miro, which is fallout from Miro beating Fuego del Sol up to take his car. Guevara will buy him a new car if he wins.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara is challenging and they circle each other to start. A knee strike misses for Guevara and Miro takes him down for the stomping. Miro runs him over for two but Guevara is back up with a running crossbody to knock both of them outside. Guevara posts him hard and avoids a charge into the steps but Miro is fine enough to snap off a belly to belly back inside.

We take a break and come back with Guevara jawbreaking his way to freedom from a chinlock but Miro kicks him down again. That earns Miro a Spanish Fly and they’re both down for a bit. There’s a low superkick to rock Miro and a running knee does the same. Miro’s missed charge sends him flying out to the floor so Guevara hits a HUGE flip dive to the floor. Back in and Guevara charges into a swinging release slam for two but Guevara blocks a superplex attempt.

A middle rope cutter can’t keep Miro down and Guevara can’t load up the GTS. The jumping superkick gives Miro two so Guevara rolls outside. That leaves Miro to pull off a turnbuckle pad, which brings out Fuego for a save. Guevara is back in with a jumping knee to send Miro into the exposed buckle. There’s a tornado DDT into the GTH to drop Miro. The 630 gives Guevara the pin and the title at 13:42.

Rating: B. The best way I can describe this match is that it was a ride. I wanted to see if Guevara could pull off the impossible here and win the title and you could feel the release of emotion when he actually pulled it off. It didn’t feel like they rushed the title change either, and it would be fine if Miro gets the title back. If nothing else, they gave Guevara his big win and that’s what matters most here.

A bunch of wrestlers come out to celebrate with Guevara to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. I had a great time with this show as they were focusing on the emotions. This was about having a good time in front of a crowd that wanted to be entertained. Throw in some things being announced for the anniversary show and the big title change at the end and this was a heck of a way to spend two hours. Awesome show and things might be getting better soon.

Results
Adam Cole b. Jungle Boy – Boom
Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson b. Dante Martin/Matt Sydal – Fisherman’s buster onto the knee
Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston/Darby Allin b. Bear Country/Anthony Greene – German suplex/clothesline combination to Greene
Dark Order/Orange Cassidy b. Hardy Family Office – Fatality to Johi
Tay Conti/Anna Jay b. The Bunny/Penelope Ford – Queenslayer to Ford
Sammy Guevara b. Miro – 630

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

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Rampage
Date: September 24, 2021
Location: Arthur Ashe Tennis Stadium, New York City, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks

It’s the second half of AEW’s New York Adventures and that’s not a bad thing. This week’s Dynamite was huge and this is the biggest Rampage to date, clocking in at two hours instead of the usual one. I’m not sure what that is going to mean, but odds are it’s going to be fun. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

CM Punk vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Hook is here with Hobbs. Punk, in trunks for a change, goes after Hobbs to start but a single shot sends him down on the ropes. Hobbs plants him down and we hit the neck crank to keep Punk in trouble. Punk’s comeback includes a knee to the ribs but Hobbs runs him over again and seems to be toying with him so far. A running crotch attack on the ropes hits Punk and we take an early break.

Back with Punk fighting out of a bearhug and striking away, including a running shot to the face to put Hobbs down. The top rope elbow gets two (and has Team Taz freaking out on commentary) but the GTS is countered. Hobbs plants him with a spinebuster for two more and then drops Punk again to cut off a comeback.

The Oakland Stampede gives Hobbs two more but Punk catches him top top. A super hurricanrana gives Punk two off the big crash. Punk’s cross armbreaker is countered into a powerbomb and it’s time to slug it out. Hook gets up for a distraction but Punk sends Hobbs into him, setting up the GTS for the pin at 13:35.

Rating: C+. Hobbs got a lot in this and that’s the reason you put him in there with someone like Punk. They had a good fight here and Punk survived, likely setting up the big match with Ricky Starks down the line. The Team Taz feud gives Punk a chance to shake off some rust and that’s the right idea, without burning through some big matches.

Thunder Rosa isn’t scared of Jade Cargill or Nyla Rose and fights on her own.

Superkliq vs. Christian Cage/Jurassic Express

Don Callis is on commentary and a lot of the Elite is here too. Christian takes Matt down to start as Callis takes shots at the “Stanford Supermax.” Matt comes in and gets taken down as well with Jungle Boy adding the running kick to the face. Cole runs away from Jungle but the Bucks take over on Jungle’s arm. Everything breaks down and the chase is on outside, with Jungle charging into a double superkick. Jungle is brought back inside for a double dropkick and we take a break.

Back with Jungle not being able to get away for the hot tag until he sends the Bucks into each other. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Luchasaurus to clean house, including the big Tail Whip. Matt head fakes Jungle to plant him with a DDT but More Bang For Your Buck is broken up. The Snare Trap has Matt in trouble until a save is made.

A running clothesline drops Matt and everything breaks down again. The brawl heads to the ramp, where Matt hits Christian low and throws him off the stage. That leaves Cole to hit a Shining Wizard on Luchasaurus, followed by the Panama Sunrise. The Bucks are back in for the BTE Trigger into the Boom (Last Shot) for the pin at 14:38.

Rating: B-. This was the all action match that it should have been and Cole getting the pin is the right way to go. As little as I need to see a subset in the Elite, Cole getting pushed is the right idea for now. He has the spark at the moment and it makes sense to go with him. It’s not like the Bucks need to win anything right now anyway.

Men of the Year vs. Chris Jericho/Jake Hager

Dan Lambert is here with the Men of the Year. Jericho and Sky start things off but it’s quickly off to Hager to pummel Page in the corner. Like a good veteran, Jericho gets in some choking in the corner, allowing Hager to get one off a belly to belly. Jericho comes back in but gets taken into the wrong corner as we go to a break.

Back with Hager in trouble for a change but he manages a running shot to the face to get a breather. The hot tag brings in Jericho to face Sky, plus a triangle dropkick to Page. The top rope ax handle drops Sky and the Lionsault is good for two. Everything breaks down and it’s an ankle lock to Page and the Walls to Sky as we take a break…and come back a second later to officially start the second hour. Both holds are broken and Jericho slingshot dives onto Page. Lambert trips Hager though and Sky grabs a small package for the pin at 11:01.

Rating: C+. Another perfectly fine match as Lambert and company get to run their mouths some more. That’s why you have someone like him around and it should work out when someone finally shuts him up. The Men of the Year aren’t the most thrilling team, but at least they’re getting to do something else.

Post match Jericho and Hager go after Lambert but a bunch of MMA guys come out to surround the ring. The big beatdown is on, including Paige VanZandt getting in some shots to Jericho’s ribs. A running knee leaves Jericho laying.

Lucha Bros/Santana/Ortiz vs. Hardy Family Office

Butcher and the Blade/Private Party for the Office here as this company continues to love itself some tag matches. The good guys start fast and send the Office outside for the huge quadruple dive (that was awesome). Back in and it’s another big brawl with the Office taking over for a change. Matt Hardy loads up some scissors but here is Orange Cassidy to cut things off.

Cassidy takes out Jack Evans and we take a break. Back with Fenix handing it off to Ortiz to clean house. Penta hits a torture rack backbreaker onto Quen and kicks Butcher in the leg for a bonus. Back in and Fenix kicks Butcher in the face but Blade kicks him in the face to even things up. Quen misses his shooting star though and Penta hits the Sling Blade. The spike Fear Factor hits Quen and the Street Sweeper is enough for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B-. What we got was fun and there were all kinds of high spots, with that four way dive looking great. You don’t watch a match like this to have people stand out and there is nothing wrong with that. Santana and Ortiz getting the hometown win is a good thing, though the show is running very heavy on tags so far.

Matt Hardy isn’t happy with Orange Cassidy and he’s going to watch Penelope Ford beat Anna Jay to make himself feel better. As for Cassidy though, he’s issuing the challenge for a hair vs. hair match. If Cassidy has the guts, he can put his hair on the line against….Jack Evans. Matt to Evans: “YOU BETTER WIN!”

Sammy Guevara and Fuego del Sol come out for Sammy’s cue card deal but Miro jumps both of them and the beatdown is on. Fuego is tossed HARD off the stage and Game Over leaves Sammy down.

Andrade doesn’t like someone interfering in his matches like Chavo Guerrero did. Now he wants to beat Pac with no interference.

Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford

Jay jumps her on the ramp to start fast and the low bridges Ford outside. Back in and a hook kick drops Ford and sets up a choke but here is the Bunny for a distraction. Ford drapes her over the top and kicks her out to the ramp as the beating begins. We take a break and come back with a slugout but the Bunny throws in the brass knuckles to knock Jay out for the pin at 6:48.

Rating: C-. This was a quick one and it didn’t get to showcase much. Jay continues to feel like a star but this is mainly going to be about Tay Conti at the end of the day. They’re a good team together and have done rather well so far. I could see either of them getting a nice push out of this feud, once they get to the big blowoff tag match.

Post match the beatdown is on so here is Tay Conti for the save, only to get dropped with the knuckles as well. The Hardy Family Office comes out to stand tall but here are Orange Cassidy and Kris Statlander, with the Dark Order joining them, giving us about fifteen people in one segment. The Dark Order clears the ring but Stu Grayson and Evil Uno walk away.

We get the face to face showdown between Lance Archer/Minoru Suzuki and Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston. They want to fight so Mark Henry hits the catchphrase to get us out in a hurry.

Lance Archer/Minoru Suzuki vs. Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston

Lights out, meaning anything goes. Suzuki and Archer jump them to start with Suzuki and Moxley having their chair duel on the ramp. With that broken up, Suzuki and Kingston go inside to chop it out, with Suzuki laughing a lot. Kingston sweeps the leg and grabs a table. That goes badly as Suzuki kicks Kingston through the table in the corner but Moxley is back in to forearm Archer.

That’s broken up and Archer chokeslams Moxley off the apron onto a pile of people outside. It doesn’t last long as Moxley and Suzuki slug it out inside until Archer puts a belt around Moxley’s throat for a hanging. We take a break and come back with Moxley’s hands duct taped behind his back so Archer can get in another whip with the belt. Suzuki grabs a half crab but legs it go for no apparent reason. Archer holds Moxley in place so Suzuki can hit/bite him.

Moxley avoids a charge in the corner though and Kingston, with his left arm hanging, comes in to clean house. A poke to the eye sets up some machine gun chops to stagger Archer in the corner. That’s broken up and some chairs are set back to back. Archer loads up the Blackout but here is Homicide of all people to clean house with a chair. Some spinning backfists and the Paradigm Shift from a freed Moxley put Archer down, but Kingston puts him in a trashcan instead of covering. A bunch of kendo stick shots to the trashcan knock Archer silly for the pin at 15:10.

Rating: C. I couldn’t get into this one as it felt like a long segment at times, especially with the Moxley beating going on for the better part of ever. It also doesn’t exactly make Moxley and Kingston look that great to need someone to come in and save them, but that was more for the live crowd than anything else. Pretty good brawl, but it wasn’t exactly anything that kept my interest.

The long celebration ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There were a crazy amount of people on this show and a lot of tag matches, but it felt like a special show instead of another run of the mill edition. Nothing was bad and the big Punk match felt like it mattered. As long as this is a one off two hour edition, they’re going to be fine, as this was basically Dynamite II for the week. It absolutely does not need to be this long every week, but for a one time special, it worked well enough.

Results
CM Punk b. Powerhouse Hobbs – GTS
Superkliq b. Christian Cage/Jurassic Express – Boom to Luchasaurus
Men of the Year b. Chris Jericho/Jake Hager – Small package to Hager
Santana/Ortiz/Lucha Bros b. Hardy Family Office – Street Sweeper to Marq Quen
Penelope Ford b. Anna Jay – Brass knuckles
Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston b. Minoru Suzuki/Lance Archer – Kendo stick to Archer

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

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Dynamite
Date: September 15, 2021
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, CM Punk

Things have been getting big in a hurry around here and that is going to be the case again this week. This time around we have the in-ring debut of Adam Cole, which should make for quite the moment. Other than that, Grand Slam is on the horizon and that should be an even bigger show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

CM Punk, on commentary tonight, gets a big introduction and dives into the crowd again.

Adam Cole vs. Frankie Kazarian

The fans are behind Cole as Kazarian takes him over a few times. Cole flips out of a headlock and backdrops Kazarian over the top and onto the apron for a nasty crash. Back in and Cole takes some bows but Kazarian hits the slingshot Fameasser over the ropes. That doesn’t seem to do much to Cole, who is back with right hands into the chinlock. That’s broken up as well and Kazarian grabs a leglock while cranking on the arms at the same time.

Cole fights up and hits the fireman’s carry backbreaker for two more. Kazarian is back up as well and grabs a Rolling Chaos Theory out of the corner. The running knees in the corner connect but Cole is right back with a superkick. The Panama Sunrise is countered into an Alabama Slam and the springboard spinning legdrop leaves them both down. They forearm it out from their knees with Kazarian getting the better of things until a brainbuster onto the knee gives Cole two. Kazarian sends him to the apron but misses another Fameasser. The Panama Sunrise into the Last Shot finishes for Cole at 8:04.

Rating: C+. That’s all you could have asked for here as they gave Cole a win over a name after he had to work a bit to get there. I don’t think there was any doubt about the winner here but this was a much better way to debut Cole than having him win a squash match. Good stuff here and Cole was absolutely a star.

Post match, it’s time for Storytime with Adam Cole. He hasn’t been around long but there are three people who have gotten under his nerves. That would be Christian Cage, Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy, so how about next week it’s Cole and the Young Bucks vs. those three at Rampage Grand Slam. I think Cole might have meant Dynamite, but either way, the Superkliq is back.

The Lucha Bros are ready for Butcher and Blade on Rampage.

Fuego del Sol has a new car but he would give it up for the TNT Title. Actually let’s make that a challenge: title vs. car on Rampage.

Here is MJF for a chat. He doesn’t like being in New Jersey because this place is horrible. We hear about how various famous people from New Jersey suck harder than….and we’ll move on. The fans tell him to shut the f*** up but MJF doesn’t care. He is the salt of the earth and a very religious man. Therefore, he is going to have a conversation with the late great Brian Pillman. MJF looks down at the mat and says he and Pillman need to talk.

Next week, he is going to go to the horrible town of Queens and beat up the worst second generation wrestler of all time. The catchphrase is cut off by Brian Pillman Jr.’s music so MJF sends Wardlow to deal with him….and Pillman comes in through the crowd with a chair. Wardlow cuts that off so Pillman slaps him in the face and low bridges him outside. The threat of a chair shot sends MJF and Wardlow running. Good for them for trying to build someone up, because that’s what needs to happen.

Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down with Brian Pillman Jr. and talked about Pillman Sr. calling to say he had a son. Next week, Pillman Jr. has a chance to redeem himself against MJF and that’s what he wants to do to fulfill his father’s legacy. When MJF was being fed with a silver spoon, he was growing up fighting to survive. Next week, MJF is stepping in the ring with a Pillman.

Christian Cage and the Jurassic Express accept the challenge for Rampage (which is also called Grand Slam).

Dante Martin/Matt Sydal vs. FTR

Sydal armdrags Harwood down to start but he drives Martin into the corner without much effort. Martin is sent outside for some hard shots from Wheeler, including quite the posting. Back in and a headbutt rocks Martin and we hit the chinlock. Martin slips out and dives over for the tag to Sydal so the strikes can clear the ring. A double dive takes FTR down on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Sydal flipping out of an abdominal stretch but his crossbody is caught. That’s fine with Martin, who comes in off a blind tag and springboard missile dropkicks everyone down. The pace picks up and Martin hits a running Swanton, setting up a rollup for two. Stereo hurricanranas get two on FTR but Sydal is sent outside. That leaves Martin to walk into the Big Rig for the pin at 8:59.

Rating: C+. I can go for seeing FTR getting a nice win because it just does not happen very often. They had to break a sweat to win but then got the win in the end. That’s all you can ask for and I’m hoping to see a little bit more from them in the future. FTR just doesn’t get to wrestle regular tag matches very often and I don’t get why as they’re really good at it.

Commentary talks about the Suzuki Incident, meaning Minoru Suzuki isn’t happy that his music was cut off early last week.

Lance Archer and Minoru Suzuki (stable mates in New Japan) aren’t happy with Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston so the tag match is on for next week.

Here is Malakai Black for a chat (with commentary being silent to make it that much better). The House of Black has an enemy and we cut to actress Rosario Dawson in a Nightmare Family shirt. Black goes over to glare at her but here is the returning Cody Rhodes (Dawson’s fellow judge on the Go Big Show) as Dawson jumps on Black’s back. That’s broken up and the guys fight into the crowd until we take a break. Good brawl here and Dawson was a nice addition.

The Bunny isn’t happy with Anna Jay being back because Jay can’t just leave her alone.

The Dark Order is ready for Anna’s Rampage debut but here are Alex Reynolds and 10 to argue with Evil Uno. Anna doesn’t want to hear any of this and says if this is what is going on, none of the Dark Order needs to be here for Rampage. She and Tay Conti leave together.

Here is Dan Lambert, with the Men of the Year and others, to complain about AEW fans being small men and large women. These fans will cheer for a wrestler throwing six superkicks, climbing three floors and diving through a bunch of tables onto a lifeless body. Cue Chris Jericho and Jake Hager, with Lambert complaining about the fans singing Judas.

The fans sing it sans music as Excalibur lists off all of the MMA fighters here with Lambert. Jericho calls Lambert a “fat faced dips***” and sings a song of his own about it. Lambert can’t believe Jericho is out here to defend the fans, but he is the master manipulator around this company. He insults Jericho and the Fozzy fans, who use their allowance to buy their records. Jericho: “You guys get an allowance?”

Jericho sees Lambert and American Top Team but wants to know which one is on top. Hager and Jericho aren’t going to be intimidated because Hager is undefeated and Jericho has been fighting with MMA guys backstage for years. Lambert issues the challenge for next week and Jericho and Hager say it’s on, because there will be no escape from New York.

The Gunn Club talks about why they attacked Paul Wight. They are undefeated around here but now wins and losses don’t matter. Respect will be earned one way or another and if anyone has a problem with that, do something about it. Makes sense. Still the Gunn Club.

Jade Cargill vs. Leyla Hirsch

Leyla, billed from New Jersey, sends her outside to start and then dives onto Mark Sterling. Back in and Leyla hits some knees in the corner, setting up a slingshot dropkick. Cargill has to counter a cross armbreaker into a powerbomb and we take a break. Back with Jade fighting out of a choke but getting German suplexed down for two. Cargill bails to the floor and gets taken down again by a dive. A running knee to the face gives Leyla two but Cargill gets in her own shot to the face. Jaded finishes Leyla at 6:07.

Rating: C. Cargill is still a physical marvel but you’re only going to get so much out of her in the ring at this point. Hirsch put her in trouble for the first time though and there was a point where I thought they might go with the big upset. That’s a good sign for the match and while it wasn’t great, it was Jade’s best match by far.

Andrade El Idolo isn’t happy with Chavo Guerrero interfering with his match last week, which is why he took Chavo out. He can beat anyone he wants whenever he wants.

Taz and Hook interrupt commentary to accuse Punk of trying to take Taz’s jobs. It’s a ruse though and Powerhouse Hobbs jumps Punk from behind. Punk tries to fight back but Hook hooks a dragon sleeper. Hobbs slams Punk onto the announcers’ table for the big crash.

Shawn Spears doesn’t like Darby Allin calling him generic and brings up giving Allin his first AEW loss.

Shawn Spears vs. Darby Allin

Spears has Tully Blanchard and his chair while Allin has Sting. Allin sits in the corner to start so Spears hits a running knee to his face. After that far too logical opening, Spears drops him ribs first onto the top to take things outside. A whip sends Allin into the steps but he avoids a running knee to the face against said steps. Back in and Allin’s dive is cut off by Blanchard getting in the way so Sting offers a well timed glare. Spears gets in a cheap shot though and grabs a bottle of water and a towel, which he uses to rub the paint off of Allin’s face.

We take a break and come back with Allin crawling to the ropes to escape the Scorpion Deathlock. Spears takes him up top but Allin catches him in the Tree of Woe and hammers at the bad knee to put Spears in trouble. They head to the apron with Spears trying the C4 onto the steps but getting countered into the flipping Stunner. The big flip dive sends Spears into the steps instead and it’s the Coffin Drop to give Allin the pin at 8:20.

Rating: C. Every time I see Spears, the more I agree with what Allin said about him: he really is generic and it gets to be a bit difficult to find a reason to care about his matches. Spears is far from bad, but egads I could go for something a little more interesting from him. Allin continues to feel like a star and that’s what AEW has been going for with him since the beginning.

Post match here is FTR for the brawl with Sting and Allin. Blanchard’s chair shot to Sting does nothing but the numbers game has Sting down for the beating. Allin gets the same treatment, leaving Sting to take the spike piledriver. Then Blanchard goes huge by wiping off Sting’s face paint (or at least some of it). I’m sure this is going to mean violence and it should after a good angle.

Bryan Danielson thinks the Elite acts like people who are insecure so he is going after Kenny Omega. He is excited to get in the ring and he would love for Omega to be his first match. He’s here and he is game so let’s go. This was the same promo from Rampage.

Tony Schiavone brings out Bryan Danielson for a chat. Danielson is glad to be here but here are Don Callis and Kenny Omega to interrupt. Callis calls Danielson a hippie millionaire who thinks that he is here to jump into the title match. Callis: “And people call me a carny piece of s***”.

Danielson finally cuts him off and says he is here to talk to Omega. This might be about the title one day but for now, let’s give the people what they want. The match is teased but Callis says no way. Danielson talks about how he came here to face the Best Bout Machine but all he sees is someone hiding behind a bunch of goons. Maybe Omega has lost his testicular fortitude, so is it yes or no? Omega says he’s in and the fans approve. This was a formality but something they had to get out of the way.

Miro promises to bash Fuego del Sol’s brains and his car.

Matt Hardy wants to shave Orange Cassidy’s head.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite and Rampage, including Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega on Dynamite.

Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston vs. 2.0

2.0 and Daniel Garcia jump them on the floor before the bell but Moxley takes over inside as we officially get going. 2.0 is sent outside in a hurry and Garcia gets whipped into the barricade. That’s enough of a distraction for Moxley to get beaten down and we take a break. Back with Moxley still in trouble but he fights them off like they/re 2.0 and brings Kingston back in. Everything breaks down and the spinning backfist sets up the DDT. Moxley comes back in for a clothesline/half and half combination for the pin on Lee at 6:38.

Rating: C-. Not much of a main event as this was little more than a glorified workout for Moxley and Kingston. I was wondering what would headline the show and it was kind of a disappointment when I saw what they were doing. I’m sure there will be something after the match ends, but it’s not much of a match for the main event.

Post match here is Minoru Suzuki, who gets the full version of his theme song this time. Cue Lance Archer to pull Kingston to the floor for the brawl into the crowd. Moxley and Suzuki fight at ringside, where Moxley has to save himself from a piledriver through the table. They fight into the crowd as well to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Not so great main event aside, this was a good example of fitting a lot of stuff into two hours. Several stories were covered and they set up all kinds of stuff for next week’s two special shows. This week’s show might not have been great, but it got things ready for the next great show and that is very important in its own right. Good show here, which shouldn’t surprise you.

Results
Adam Cole b. Frankie Kazarian – Last Shot
FTR b. Matt Sydal/Dante Martin – Big Rig to Martin
Jade Cargill b. Leyla Hirsch – Jaded
Darby Allin b. Shawn Spears – Coffin Drop
Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley b. 2.0 – Clothesline/half and half suplex combination to Lee

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

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

AND

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