Dynamite
Date: June 15, 2022
Location: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

The road to Forbidden Door continues and as has been the case with AEW in recent weeks, things have gotten a little bit screwy. This time around it is Jeff Hardy getting arrested for driving under the influence, meaning that he will not be around for this week’s Tag Team Title match. Hopefully this doesn’t throw the show into chaos so let’s get to it.

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

Chris Jericho vs. Ortiz

Hair vs. hair, the Jericho Appreciation Society and Eddie Kingston are here, and William Regal is on commentary. Ortiz charges in and knocks Jericho to the floor for some biting of the face. Jericho takes over outside and hammers away inside, only to have Ortiz get in some shots of his own. The suicide dive is broken up though and Jericho hits a suplex off the apron to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Ortiz clotheslining his way out of trouble and hitting a quick cutter. Jericho rolls him up and tries the Walls, which is reversed into a rollup for two. Ortiz misses a middle rope corkscrew….something, allowing Jericho to hit the Codebreaker for two more. The Walls go on so Ortiz makes the rope, meaning the fight is on outside. Cue Santana and Wheeler Yuta (JR: “WHERE THE **** HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN???”) to even things up a bit and Ortiz gets inside to knock Jericho silly for two. Ortiz is back up but Fuego del Sol of all people runs in to hit Ortiz in the face with a baseball bat to give Jericho the pin at 11:48.

Rating: C+. You knew the insanity was coming in the end and the Fuego stuff (which is totally not Sammy Guevara) was a surprise because of who did it but not a surprise overall. Jericho having someone to interfere on his behalf is right on point for him and you knew Jericho wasn’t going bald. The question was how we got here, and Ortiz shaving his head might make him stand out a bit more.

Post match Fuego unmasks as Sammy Guevara, because this really is Inner Circle 2.0. Ortiz cuts his own hair and shouts BLOOD AND GUTS.

We get a People’s Court style intro for Wardlow vs. the 20 security guards.

Wardlow vs. Security Guards

There are twenty guards and Wardlow has to beat all of them. The guards get on the apron and Wardlow knocks one apron off, which might count as eliminations. The dog pile doesn’t work and Wardlow powerbombs one guard onto the others. A bunch of powerbombs and chokes wreck more guards and Wardlow eliminates nine guards after about 2:15. More powerbombs leave more guards laying and another guard is pulled out of the air. A big group pin finishes for Wardlow at 4:08.

Rating: C. What do you say about this kind of a match? It was more of a training exercise for Wardlow, who ran through one guard after another like they weren’t even there. It made Wardlow look good and he wrecked everyone involved, so if this is the end of the story, or at least this part of it, we should be fine.

Post match Wardlow goes after Mark Sterling but Dan Lambert, with Scorpio Sky, pops up from a sky box. Lambert sends Matt Hughes and Tyron Woodley (former UFC Champions) into the ring, but Wardlow appeals to their midwestern roots. That’s enough for Hughes and Woodley to send Sterling to Wardlow for the big powerbomb. Posing ensues.

Dax Harwood vs. Will Ospreay

Feeling out process to start with Ospreay taking him into the corner and hitting a chop. Harwood takes him down into a headlock as the fans are split here. Ospreay is back up and kicks Harwood to the apron, with the leg getting caught in the ring skirt. A running dropkick against the steps rocks Harwood and we take a break.

Back with Harwood rolling some German suplexes to knock Ospreay silly. Harwood misses a top rope headbutt though and Ospreay is back with a springboard 450 for two. Ospreay goes up again but Harwood catches him, setting up a belly to back superplex, which is countered into a crossbody. Back up and Harwood counters a hurricanrana into a slingshot powerbomb but Ospreay flips out. A second attempt gives Harwood two, followed by Ospreay hitting a sitout powerbomb of his own. The Oscutter gives Ospreay two more, followed by the Hidden Blade for the pin at 13:45.

Rating: B+. Is there anything Harwood can’t do at this point? He has great tag matches and now gets to hang with a major international star like Ospreay in a heck of a singles match. Ospreay got to showcase himself a bit more this time and it was the kind of match you were expecting from him. A singles star beating a tag team champion is more than acceptable and this was a blast of a match.

Post match the rest of the United Empire comes in for the beatdown with the Best Friends and Cash Wheeler coming in for the save. That doesn’t go so well, but Orange Cassidy comes in for the real save, setting up the Will Ospreay showdown. Well of course that’s what we’re getting.

Video on Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, which has been built up for awhile in New Japan.

It’s time for a face to face showdown between Moxley and Tanahashi. Moxley says he has been chasing him for a long time, across Japan to America. They call Tanahashi the Ace, but that won’t be the case for long. Moxley is the best in the world and at Forbidden Door, Tanahashi will call him the Ace.

Cue Chris Jericho, flanked by Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti, to say Moxley is in his spot. Jericho talks about how he beat Tanahashi in the Tokyo Dome, but Tanahashi tells him to shut up. Cue the Jericho Appreciation Society, but El Desperado and Lance Archer jump Moxley and Tanahashi from behind.

Jericho announces Guevara and Conti as the newest members of the Jericho Appreciation Society. Desperado and Archer are here on loan from Suzuki-Gun so at Forbidden Door, it’s Minoru Suzuki/Guevara/Jericho vs. Wheeler Yuta/Shota Umino/Eddie Kingston. Cue Kingston, Ortiz (head shaved) and Yuta for the save. House is cleaned and the good guys stand tall.

Darby Allin wants Bobby Fish on Rampage.

Toni Storm isn’t impressed by Britt Baker and wants the Women’s Title.

All Atlantic Title Qualifying Match: Miro vs. Ethan Page

Page bails to the floor for a chat with Dan Lambert, who wants Page to focus. Back in and Page bails outside again, with the chase allowing Page to get in some shots. Page starts working on the arm but Miro isn’t having that and kicks Page down. Now it’s Miro slapping away at the arm, which sends Page outside and us to a break.

Back with Miro pounding away at the chest but getting sent into the steps to slow him down. A springboard cutter gives Page two but Miro is done with this getting beaten up. After knocking Lambert off the apron, it’s a superkick to Page and Game Over to send Miro to Forbidden Door at 9:31.

Rating: C+. Nicely done stuff here with Miro getting the win that he should have gotten but without beating the stuffing out of Page. The more I see of Page, the more I like him as there is definitely a lot of talent there, especially when he gets to be more serious. Miro winning here was the only way to go though and he did it in enough of a dominant fashion.

Dante Martin is ready for Jon Moxley on Rampage.

Britt Baker vs. Toni Storm

Rebel and Jamie Hayter are here too. Storm knocks her to the floor to start but Baker is back with a forearm of her own. A posting cuts Storm down and Hayter gets in a cheap shot but here is Thunder Rosa to chase Hayter off. We take a break and come back with Storm hitting a tornado DDT to send Baker outside, where another tornado DDT plants Baker on the floor.

The running hip attack crushes Baker in the corner and she seems a bit rocked. A forearm has Baker crumbled on the mat….but Baker is goldbricking and rolls Storm up for two. Lockjaw is loaded up but Storm German suplexes her down. Storm Zero finishes Baker at 7:31 to give Storm the big win.

Rating: C+. That was some pretty nice goldbricking from Baker and I liked seeing Storm FINALLY get a big win. I have no reason to believe this is going anywhere, but it is nice to see her get something. Baker losing still feels like a big deal and I’m happy with seeing her take a bit of a step back after dominating the division for so long.

Post match Thunder Rosa comes back for the staredown with Storm, making me wonder why Baker needed to win the Owen Hart tournament if this is where they’re going.

Stokely Hathaway announces that Jade Cargill is issuing an open challenge for Rampage. Willow Nightingale comes in to accept, though Hathaway isn’t sure who she is. I could go for more Nightingale.

Here is Hangman Page for a chat. Page challenged Kazuchika Okada for Forbidden Door, but then Okada lost the IWGP World Title over the weekend. He still wants the match though….but here is Adam Cole to interrupt. Cole says if anyone is challenging for the title at Forbidden Door it is him, so Cole brings out the new champion, Jay White.

This means White can come in from behind to Blade Runner Page and shout about how he has beaten Page twice before. That’s why Page isn’t getting a title shot at Forbidden Door….but it won’t be against Cole either. White has the title so he holds the power, meaning he can pick his challenge. Cole isn’t happy.

Tag Team Titles: Jurassic Express vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are challenging in a ladder match. It’s a brawl to start with Nick loading up a ladder but getting taken back down with a springboard hurricanrana. Matt catches Jungle Boy on the ladder but Luchasaurus is back with a double choke. That’s broken up with some kicks to the head so the ladder is loaded up in the corner. Jungle Boy is back to clean house but gets caught in the rolling northern lights suplexes, including one into the ladder.

A running hurricanrana off the apron sends Matt through a table but Nick powerbombs Jungle Boy through another table. Nick isn’t done and hits a springboard Canadian Destroyer on Luchasaurus, followed by the 450 to put Luchasaurus through another table. With the regular Nick Jackson Does A Bunch Of Stuff sequence done, we take a break and come back with Luchasaurus hitting a moonsault off the apron to take both Bucks down. Everyone winds up on a pair of (uneven) ladders with Luchasaurus being the last man standing.

That doesn’t last long as Matt makes a save and hits a top rope elbow to drive him through a table. Jungle Boy catches Matt with a German suplex and goes up with Nick for another slugout. The Bucks take him off the ladder and Nick is busted (might have broken his nose), leaving Luchasaurus to go up. That means one heck of a crash through four tables (ala Bubba Ray Dudley/Matt Hardy at Wrestlemania X7. The BTE Trigger drops Jungle Boy and the Bucks get the titles back at 14:55.

Rating: B. What is there to say here? It’s a ladder match with a bunch of flips and dives and broken stuff, which is about all you can expect from this kind of a match. That isn’t a bad thing, but it also isn’t the kind of match that is going to blow the door off the place most of the time. The Bucks getting the titles back is a bit surprising, as they are the first ever two time champions, but they are still one of the top teams in the company. Jurassic Express had a good reign, though I don’t know if they ever came close to feeling like the top team around and that held them back.

Post match Jungle Boy has to be helped up because of his knee….and Christian Cage turns on him with the Killswitch. The Conchairto leaves Jungle Boy laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. They covered a lot this week with all kinds of stuff being set up for Forbidden Door as well as having a pair of impressive matches this week. What matters is that they have started getting us ready for the pay per view, which they kind of need to do since it is in less than two weeks. Heck of a show here as it felt like a classic Dynamite, which has been lacking lately.

Results
Chris Jericho b. Ortiz – Baseball bat to the face
Wardlow b. Security Guards – Group pin
Will Ospreay b. Dax Harwood – Hidden Blade
Miro b. Ethan Page – Game Over
Toni Storm b. Britt Baker – Storm Zero
Young Bucks b. Jurassic Express – Bucks pulled down the titles

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: June 8, 2022
Location: Cable Dahmer Arena, Independence, Missouri
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s time for things to get all the more interesting again as this week will include the first half of the process to find a new Interim AEW World Champion. That alone should fill in a good bit of the show, as we get a battle royal and then a Jon Moxley match in the show’s main event. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Casino Battle Royal

This is the battle royal with four groups of wrestlers coming in at unspecified intervals before the Joker is the 21st entrant, with the winner facing Jon Moxley later tonight. We’ll start with the first group:

Clubs: Eddie Kingston, Darby Allin, Tony Nese, Daniel Garcia, Lance Archer

It’s a brawl to start with Archer and Allin being left alone early, though no one is eliminated. Archer shrugs off Allin’s skateboard shot and takes him into the corner so the Diamonds can come in:

Diamonds: Ricky Starks, Jake Hager, Rey Fenix, Swerve Strickland, Keith Lee

We settle into more of a battle royal style brawl as commentary bothers to explain why we’re doing this. Lee knocks Nese out and Strickland gives Lee a hug, leaving Lee to have a staredown with Archer. The clock runs out and we see a JOIN THE DARK ORDER graphic but no one comes out. Lee manages to send out Archer and NOW we get the third group:

Hearts: John Silver, Konosuke Takeshita, Max Caster, Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn

Caster does his rap about various Kansas City things, plus Daniel Garcia and breaking CM Punk’s foot. The ring is getting full and we take a break. Back with the Spades coming in:

Spades: Powerhouse Hobbs, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly, Dante Martin, Wheeler Yuta

Allin hits a Coffin Drop onto ReDRagon, which isn’t an elimination either. The Gunn Club and Caster stop for a three way scissoring session but Caster gets tossed, as does the Club at the hands of Lee. As Lee poses, Strickland dumps him out and Lee is stunned for a nice payoff. That means it’s time for the Joker to complete the field.

Joker: Andrade El Idolo

Silver and Kingston are both knocked out, followed by Takeshita. Fenix kicks Starks an it’s Strickland and Allin picking up the pace. Fish is tossed and Strickland kicks Allin out, only to get tossed by Andrade. We’re down to Andrade, Fenix, Hobbs, O’Reilly and Yuta with Andrade and Fenix striking each other a lot. Hobbs goes to toss Fenix but Yuta tosses Hobbs out instead and we’re down to four.

A mini tag match breaks out until Fenix kicks Andrade in the face again. Fenix tries a rolling something but gets low blowed by Andrade, setting up the elimination. O’Reilly tosses out Andrade and it’s time to strike it out with Yuta on the apron. Yuta knocks O’Reilly back inside and a dragon screw legwhip slows Yuta down. A running big boot sends Yuta out and O’Reilly wins at 24:53.

Rating: C. I really do not care for this group entrance thing and AEW would be better served by dropping the whole thing. It changes the match far too hard at the drop of a hat and fills the ring up too fast, which is rarely a good idea in a battle royal with staggered entrances. O’Reilly winning is a very smart move, but it came at the end of a somewhat boring match.

Jon Moxley has been going big game hunting in New Japan and Kyle O’Reilly is in there with the wrong man tonight. After tonight, Moxley is heading to Forbidden Door, where he will take over the wrestling world. Moxley: “Love you mom.”

CM Punk has undergone successful surgery.

AEW is introducing the All Atlantic Championship to represent the international stars. And yes, there will be a tournament, with a four way final at Forbidden Door. Here are the brackets:

Buddy Matthews
Pac

Ethan Page
Miro

Penta Obscuro
Malakai Black

New Japan Wrestler
New Japan Wrestler

For those of you keeping track, after Forbidden Door, and not counting other companies, there will be nine recognized titles. AEW does not need another title right now, and certainly not another singles title.

All Atlantic Title Tournament First Round: Buddy Matthews vs. Pac

Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far on the arm. With that not working, we head to an early standoff before they both go out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Matthews kicking away and uppercutting Pac to cut off a comeback attempt. Matthews misses a running kick so Pac superkicks the heck out of him. They kick each other down until Matthews drops him face first off the middle rope. A sunset flip is rolled through into a sitout powerbomb for two, leaving them both down again. Pac is back up with a poisonrana, setting up the Black Arrow for the pin at 10:42.

Rating: B. These guys beat each other up and I don’t think that is any surprise. If there is one thing Pac knows how to do well it is the hard hitting style, while Matthews is able to hang with just about anyone. Pac winning is the right move as he is a bigger star, but Matthews held up his own end. Just don’t have the teams fight any more and we should be fine.

Post match Death Triangle and the House of Black come out for a staredown, as Malakai Black and Penta are meeting in the tournament.

Eddie Kingston rants about the Jericho Appreciation Society and doesn’t want to be counted down. He wants Jake Hager on Rampage for a fight and NOW the producer can tell the truck to go to a break because he is done.

Here is Trent Beretta, who is sad that he is alone on National Best Friends Day. His friends aren’t here, but he wants to face FTR again because Roppongi Vice wasn’t beaten. Cue FTR, who likes the idea of the match, but they don’t like Will Ospreay’s b**** boys. Cue Will Ospreay himself and the distraction lets Aaron Henare and Aussie Open run in for the beatdown.

William Regal warns Kyle O’Reilly about what is coming for him tonight. Regal suggests O’Reilly think about his friends and family, which O’Reilly says is all he ever thinks about.

Hangman Page vs. David Finlay

Adam Cole is on commentary. Page shoves him into the corner to start and hits a running shoulder, followed by a big boot to take Finlay down. Finlay is sent to the apron and knocked outside, setting up a heck of a suicide dive. Back in and Finlay takes out the knee to send us to a break.

We come back with Page hitting a fall away slam and a delayed nip up (thanks to the bad knee). Page knocks him down again and takes off the knee pad, only to have Finlay counter the Deadeye. A backbreaker gives Finlay two but Page is right back with a lariat. The Buckshot lariat finishes for Page at 10:22.

Rating: B-. That’s the kind of win you need to give Page to let him bounce back a bit. He didn’t have a good night at Double Or Nothing but he had to work to get a win here. That is enough to show that he still has it and that is what you need to do in this spot. Finlay continues to grow on me and with some more seasoning, he could be quite the something.

Post match Page says he isn’t likely to be in the World Title scene for the time being, because he wasn’t in the battle royal and isn’t getting a title shot. However, there is another World Title, so he wants Kazuchika Okada. That’s enough to get Adam Cole off commentary to say that not only could Okada lose the title to Jay White, but Cole won the Owen Hart Tournament while Page lost. That’s why Cole should be getting the shot, and that isn’t cowboy s***. That’s a promise, boom.

Thunder Rosa issued an open challenge earlier today and Marina Shafir showed up to accept.

Here is Wardlow for a chat and he welcomes us to Wardlow’s World. He specifically asked to be left out of the battle royal tonight, because he only wants to beat CM Punk. When Punk comes back, Wardlow will be waiting for him. For now though, there is another title he wants, and that is the TNT Title. Cue Scorpio Sky, but Dan Lambert and Ethan Page run out to say don’t do that, citing Sky’s bad leg. Wardlow says he’s good with waiting for Sky to be 110% ready. Mark Sterling pops up on screen to say Wardlow can either pay up or face twenty security guards at once next week.

The Young Bucks want their Tag Team Title shot but the Hardys interrupt to remind them what happened at Double Or Nothing. Then Jurassic Express came in, with Christian Cage saying earn a title shot. That’s why next week: we need to have a triple threat……LADDER MATCH.

Women’s Title: Thunder Rosa vs. Marina Shafir

Rosa is defending and starts by working on the arm. With that not getting her very far, Shafir fights up and chops away, only to get clotheslined down. Some knees to the chest rock Shafir but she manages to suplex Rosa down as we take a break. Back with Wardlow hitting some running boots to the back, only to have Shafir grab a pumphandle suplex. A Death Valley Driver gives Rosa two more so Shafir lifts her up, only to get victory rolled to retain the title at 8:10.

Rating: B-. Another good match here and it’s nice to see Rosa getting in another match after missing last week. She needs some more attention and that could very well come in the next few weeks, though I don’t know what she is supposed to do for Forbidden Door. Shafir still isn’t great, but this was a heck of a lot better than the Jade Cargill match.

Post match Shafir jumps Rosa and ties up her leg but Toni Storm runs out for the save. Storm hands Rosa the title and stares a lot.

The Baddies are ready for Red Velvet vs. Kris Statlander on Rampage.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows.

Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly

The winner moves on to the Interim Title match at Forbidden Door and William Regal is on commentary. Feeling out process to start until Moxley takes him to the mat for some arm cranking. You don’t go limb grappling with O’Reilly though who pulls himself out, but Moxley stomps him down again. Some more kicks in the corner don’t do much for O’Reilly so he takes the leg out for a breather. O’Reilly ties the leg up in the ropes and hits a top rope knee as we take a break.

Back with Moxley winning a strike off and grabbing a crossface chickenwing. O’Reilly isn’t about to be out done and bites the rope for the break, only to have the rope kicked for a scary shot. Moxley stomps him down but O’Reilly manages a running kick to the chest for a double knockdown.

Back up and Moxley tries a Gotch style piledriver but gets countered into a triangle choke. That’s switched into a kneebar but Moxley elbows his way to freedom. Now the piledriver can plant O’Reilly for two and they’re both needing a breather. They strike it out and trade no sold suplexes until Moxley grabs a bulldog choke. Moxley lets it go and hits a running knee, setting up the Paradigm Shift for the pin at 14:10.

Rating: B+. Oh like this wasn’t going to be good. They beat the fire out of each other until Moxley was the last man standing. This was a fun fight and even though Moxley was all but guaranteed the win, it was a great effort from O’Reilly, who seems to have found his niche here. Maybe now elevate him a bit though? Just to see how it works out.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling was good (as usual), but there were things going on here that have me shaking my head a bit. While the All Atlantic tournament isn’t worth getting annoyed over, they really don’t need another title around here. Throw in the battle royal to earn a spot in the glorified semifinals for an Interim World Title (which might as well be the #1 contendership in its own right) and there were a lot of things here that had me sighing more than cheering. Also, no major mention of MJF all show, which is definitely interesting

Results
Kyle O’Reilly won a Casino Battle Royal last eliminating Wheeler Yuta
Pac b. Buddy Matthews – Black Arrow
Hangman Page b. David Finlay – Buckshot lariat
Thunder Rosa b. Marina Shafir – Victory roll
Jon Moxley b. Kyle O’Reilly – Paradigm Shift

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: June 1, 2022
Location: Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re done with Double Or Nothing and for once that means that we are going to be building towards another show. This time it’s Forbidden Door, which is going to includes a bunch of special matches between AEW and New Japan. Odds are that includes new World Champion CM Punk so let’s get to it.

Here is Double Or Nothing if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

CM Punk/FTR vs. Gunn Club/Max Caster

Caster’s rap promises to make FTR pay like Amber Heard and that FTR is only here because of Punk’s coattails. Then the Club gets the city wrong twice before Bowens gets to do it right. Harwood takes Austin into the corner to start and hands it off to Wheeler. Austin powers him into another corner so Colton can come in, only to get backdropped. Punk comes in and drops a top rope ax handle onto the arm, much to the fans’ delight.

Caster manages to send him into the corner but Harwood is right back with a powerslam. A double elbow gives Austin two on Harwood though and Billy Gunn adds a right hand for the same. Harwood fights over for the tag but Punk and Wheeler get pulled off the apron in a good heel move.

The double flapjack gets two on Harwood and we take a break. Back with Austin trying a Sharpshooter (giving us a hilarious closeup of Punk’s eyes bugging out) but Harwood fights out and brings in Punk to clean house (after slipping on the springboard clothesline). Wheeler gets dropped over the top onto Caster and Colten, leaving Punk to top a top rope elbow on Austin. Billy’s distraction doesn’t work as Punk powerbombs Austin into him. The GTS into the Big Rig finishes Austin at 11:45.

Rating: B-. I don’t remember Punk and FTR teaming together before but I’m not at all surprised that they work well together. They seem to have a similar philosophy about wrestling and that is going to make for some good matches. At the same time, very nice work from the Gunn Club and Caster, who were put in a pretty high level spot and held their own throughout.

Post match Punk says he doesn’t do drugs but this must be what it feels like. After all of those miles, he still has a lot to learn. He has made mistakes but those are learning moments. Now all you can do is call him the champ. Dax Harwood talks about what all of this means to him, because being Ring Of Honor Tag Team Champion is very important. You don’t come out here and attack his best friend, even if you’re from another company. Punk talks about New Japan Pro Wrestling and wants to know who he has at Forbidden Door. Cue Hiroshi Tanahashi and I think we have a main event.

Here is MJF for a chat. Actually make that Max Friedman, who says there are some executives here and the boss wouldn’t want anything bad to happen. The boss has been wanting to sit down with MJF for a long time now but it’s too little too late. When this company started, it was all friends wrestling but he is out there expected to hit grand slam after grand slam. He has to be perfect though, because he is the 26 year old prodigy.

MJF hears clapping and booing, which he finds interesting because they were the same people calling him unprofessional over the weekend. There are people in the back who want his spot and they can have it because he doesn’t want to be here anymore. The fans are the problem because they are a bunch of internet marks.

MJF isn’t going to pretend to watch New Japan or chase star ratings and drop people on their head. He is that great because he makes you feel but people take him for granted. It isn’t just them, but the big man in the back too. Do you know who the second biggest minute for minute draw is?

It’s him, and you can ask Stat Boy Tony about it. Just don’t ask Tony to reach into his pockets to pay him, because he needs to give all his money to every ex-WWE guy he can find. MJF: “Hey boss? Would you treat me better if I was an ex-WWE guy?” The only position Khan should have is behind the guardrail so MJF wants Khan to fire him. After yelling at a director to not count him down, MJF swears a lot and throws the mic down. So there’s your worked shoot, and only MJF could have pulled it off this well.

Johnny Elite vs. ???

It’s an open challenge as answered by….Miro, who says he is healed and ready to destroy everyone on earth and in Heaven. Miro stomps him down into the corner and the beating is on, including a Saito suplex. We take a break and come back with Miro hitting a release Rock Bottom but Elite manages a kick to the head. The standing shooting star press gives Johnny two but Miro is back up with a jumping kick to the face. Game Over finishes Elite at 6:04. Not enough shown due to the break, but this was just a step above a squash.

Video on Anarchy In The Arena.

Here is the Jericho Appreciation Society for a chat. The team brags about everything they did and Chris Jericho lists off the things that happened to him. This includes Eddie Kingston trying to LIGHT HIM ON FIRE and Bryan Danielson wanted to kick his expletive head in. Cue Eddie Kingston to say he wants to fight all of them, but he has William Regal here to say how the match should go. Regal: “BLOOD AND GUTS!” Not quite the same ring to it.

Kingston comes to the ring but gets beaten down, allowing Ortiz to come in from behind and hit Jericho with the Madball. Ortiz cranks it up even more by CUTTING JERICHO’S HAIR, sending Jericho into a rant. Jericho agrees to Blood and Guts, but first Jericho wants a match with Ortiz, hair vs. hair. Ortiz is in, meaning we now have a hair vs. hair match to set up Blood and Guts, which is a rematch from Anarchy in the Arena, which is the spiritual successor to Stadium Stampede.

In the back, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh jump Samoa Joe and injure his arm. This is different than when Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh jumped Samoa Joe and injured his arm in the ring.

Matt Hardy/Darby Allin/Jurassic Express/Christian Cage vs. Young Bucks/ReDRagon/Hikuleo

Adam Cole is on commentary and Jeff Hardy is here too. Fish gets beaten down to start as everyone gets to take a few shots at him. This includes Matt’s middle rope elbow to the head but Fish kicks Matt away. Everything breaks down and the dives are aplenty, but the Bucks superkick Christian and we take a break.

Back with Luchasaurus getting the hot tag and cleaning house, including the standing moonsault for two. Hikuleo comes in for the exchange of throat grabs with Luchasaurus. A double clothesline puts both of them down and it’s a double tag to O’Reilly and Allin. Everything breaks down again and Allin’s dive is pulled out of the air by Hikuleo, setting up Chasing the Dragon on the floor. Matt cleans house and sends people into the buckle ten times each, leaving Christian to spear Hikuleo off the apron. The Bucks clean house with superkicks and the Meltzer Driver finishes Jungle Boy at 11:50.

Rating: C. Another wild ten man tag here, which is similar enough to something we get on almost any AEW show. The ending would suggest that the Bucks are getting back into the title picture, which might not be a thrilling prospect, but it would be nice to get the titles on one of the biggest teams in AEW. The Express is good, but they’re overshadowed by a lot of other teams around here.

Swerve Strickland introduces some people, who have something to do with music and Black Panther. A fashion icon gives him a jacket and Keith Lee wants titles.

Here is Athena for a chat. She wants to break Jade Cargill’s winning streak so here are Cargill and Stokely Hathaway. The staredown and shouting is on, with the Baddies, Anna Jay and Chris Statlander coming out to join in.

JD Drake vs. Wardlow

Wardlow, now with music, hits some shoulders and a two movement Powerbomb Symphony for the pin at 1:04.

Post match Tony Schiavone comes to the ring to talk to Wardlow….but here is Mark Sterling, who sends a lone security guard to the ring (Wardlow: “This guy doesn’t watch the product.”). It’s a lawsuit over Wardlow attacking various security guards and Sterling will see him in court. Wardlow powerbombs the guard and stuffs the papers in his mouth. At least that’s a bit more original.

The Men of the Year are ready to take out Dante Martin on Rampage. Martin comes in to say he’s better than Scorpio Sky and he’ll prove it on Rampage.

Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter vs. Ruby Soho/Toni Storm

Storm has to be held back from Baker to start so Baker heads outside to kiss her Owen Hart belt. Back in and Baker gets beaten down, allowing the tag off to Soho. That doesn’t go well for Soho, who is taken outside as we take a break. Back with Soho managing a Saito suplex on Baker, allowing the hot tag to Storm.

Everything breaks down but it’s Hayter hitting a hanging DDT to drop Storm on the floor. Soho hits a high crossbody to take Hayter down on the floor but Hayter hits an Irish Curse to drop Soho back inside. No Future connects for Soho but Baker tries to pull her into Lockjaw. That’s broken up but Hayter reverses the reversal, meaning Soho has to fight out of it again. A fisherman’s neckbreaker drops Soho but she is back with a knee to the face. Destination Unknown gives Soho the pin on Baker at 9:37.

Rating: C+. Soho gets a bit of her momentum back by beating Baker but it isn’t going to matter until she does it in a big one on one match. I still like Soho, but she has fallen pretty far since her debut. We could be heading for a showdown between the two of them, even though we just did that three days ago. Storm continues to just kind of be there, and I don’t know where she is supposed to go.

Post match Hayter hits Soho with the belt so Baker can stand tall.

Jon Moxley vs. Daniel Garcia

William Regal and Chris Jericho are on commentary. Moxley knocks him into the corner to start but Garcia is back with some chops. Those just annoy Moxley, who takes him down for some kicks to the back. Moxley was busted open somewhere in there and Garcia sends him outside to block the Paradigm Shift. A whip into the steps lets Garcia crush the ankle against the post and we take a break.

Back with Moxley hitting a toss suplex onto the steps for a SCARY landing, as Garcia landed back first on the edge of the steps. Thankfully he can get back in so Moxley can hit a butterfly superplex. The hammer and anvil elbows are countered into the same thing from Garcia, who hits a heck of a piledriver for two. Garcia’s Sharpshooter is countered into a bulldog choke but they head outside, with Moxley dropping him onto the table. Cue Chris Jericho to run to the ring but Eddie Kingston (who stumbles down there) pulls him down. The bulldog choke finishes Garcia at 11:28.

Rating: B+. Scary landing on the steps aside, this turned into a heck of a match after the break as they turned up the energy by about a thousand. Moxley looked like he was in trouble more than once but was able to hang on and win. Awesome stuff here as there were a few minutes that had me completely hooked.

Post match Moxley says Blood and Guts is on.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a heck of a show as they had things happening throughout. The biggest part is the energy that it had throughout, which isn’t something that has been around as much lately. AEW needed a Dynamite like this one and this certainly delivered with one of their best in awhile. Check out the second half of the main event, plus the MJF promo that is going to have people talking for a bit.

Results
CM Punk/FTR b. Max Caster/Gunn Club – Big Rig to Austin
Miro b. Johnny Elite – Game Over
Young Bucks/ReDRagon/Hikuleo b. Matt Hardy/Jurassic Express/Darby Allin/Christian Cage – Meltzer Driver to Jungle Boy
Wardlow b. JD Drake – Powerbomb Symphony
Ruby Soho/Toni Storm b. Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter – Destination Unknown to Baker
Jon Moxley b. Daniel Garcia – Bulldog choke

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.

Double Or Nothing 2022
Date: May 29, 2022
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

AEW is back on pay per view and that should mean good things. The main event will feature CM Punk challenging Hangman Page for the World Title, but the question is around MJF. While he is scheduled to face Wardlow in a match a long time in the making, he has had some issues with AEW and there is a chance he won’t show up. That wouldn’t exactly be great to see so let’s get to it.

Buy In Show: Tony Nese/Mark Sterling vs. Hookhausen

Hook and Nese start things off with Hook taking him down without much trouble. Danhausen comes in and is allowed to grab a headlock before Nese runs him over. The curse is loaded up but Danhausen goes with the middle rope hurricanrana instead. Nese drops Danhausen again and it’s Sterling coming in to stomp away in the corner. Sterling misses a legdrop though and Danhausen suplexes his way to freedom, allowing the tag off to Hook. Suplexes abound and Danhausen gets to come in for the posing pin on Sterling at 5:22.

Rating: C. This is all you needed it to be and I had fun with the thing. Let Danhausen come in and pick up the scraps left by Hook, who gets to dominate over a manager and someone who is somehow in the top five. They didn’t bother trying to do anything out of the ordinary and the fans got to cheer for Danhausen’s wacky antics. It was exactly what you expected and that’s what it should have been.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Wardlow

If Wardlow wins, he is free of MJF but if he loses, he is pretty much done. MJF is indeed here so hopefully things are ok, at least for tonight. Wardlow is led out of a cell in the back where rowdy fans are kept to give this a Goldberg style vibe. The handcuffs (two pairs) are taken off so MJF bails to the floor before the bell. The bell rings and we get a HE SHOWED UP chant.

Wardlow wastes no time in trying the powerbomb so MJF bails to the floor again. Back in and MJF has to bite his way out of a powerbomb attempt before a cradle gets two. Hold on though as MJF is holding his leg and even the commentators are calling him out for making it up. The delay lets MJF load up the ring but the referee catches it this time, leaving MJF to beg off into the corner.

MJF: “I’LL DOUBLE YOUR PAY!” He ups it to quadruple and Wardlow shakes his hand….but doesn’t let go. MJF knows he’s done and the powerbomb connects. That’s part one of a ten movement Powerbomb Symphony, including at least one to each side of the ring and a tease of a cover in the middle, which finishes MJF at 7:25. Of note, during the Symphony was Excalibur: “I think I’ve figured out MJF’s strategy: he’s trying to take it to a time limit draw.”

Rating: B. This is a case where the match wasn’t the point but rather the complete and total destruction of MJF and it worked very well. Wardlow was never in trouble and absolutely demolished MJF, who couldn’t even get the chance to cheat. The fans had been wanting to see this and they got what they wanted, so well done on giving them that catharsis.

Post match MJF gets stretchered out and Wardlow is officially All Elite.

We recap the Hardys vs. the Young Bucks, which is presented as a dream match. The Bucks have gone after the Hardys, who have been accused of being Hardy cosplayers. The best you can hope for here is that the Hardys make it through the match without some kind of terrible injury.

Hardys vs. Young Bucks

Caprice Coleman is on commentary. The Matts start things off but Matt Jackson hands it off to Nick, who gets shouldered down by Jeff. That lets Nick get taken into the corner so Matt Hardy can come back in, meaning Nick bails to the floor. Matt Jackson comes back in and gets caught in a Razor’s Edge out of the corner but Nick breaks it up with a superkick. It’s Jeff coming back in and getting beaten down, with Nick getting to pose a lot.

Jeff finally gets over for the hot tag to Matt Hardy, who sends Nick into the buckle over and over. Brandon Cutler gets knocked off the apron and the hot tag brings in Matt as everything breaks down. They all wind up on the floor, where superkicks and dives drop the Hardys. Back in and Nick pounds on Matt Hardy before a running knee sets up Risky Business for two.

Nick accidentally kicks his brother and then does it to Cutler as well, allowing Jeff to hit a running clothesline off the apron. A Side Effect on the apron drops Matt Jackson and they’re all down on the floor again. Back in and Poetry In Motion hits Matt Jackson but he breaks up the Twist of Fate/Swanton combination. Jeff has to jawbreak his way to freedom on top, even if it means crotching himself.

The Swanton misses though and the Bucks hit their own Twist of Fate into a Swanton for two. A bunch of superkicks drop the Hardys but they’re back up and demanding more kicks. The Bucks oblige for a double two so it’s time to load up the steps. That takes long enough that Matt Hardy can Razor’s Edge bomb Nick, leaving Matt Jackson to be loaded up on the steps, which have been turned on their side. The Swanton connects to Matt Jackson and it’s a Twist of Fate for two on Nick back inside. Another Twist of Fate plants Nick and the Swanton finishes for Jeff at 19:16.

Rating: B-. The Hardys winning here is certainly a choice, as that would suggest the feud is continuing because of reasons. They didn’t have a disaster or even a bad match, but I don’t think this quite lived up to a dream match level. What matters most is that the Hardys didn’t get seriously injured, which might as well be a win for them these days.

Post match, Jeff teases going through the crowd but then comes back to the ring.

The Acclaimed and the Gunn Club promise to tear Las Vegas up. The next day, Billy Gunn finds them all out cold, calls his sons disappointments, and tucks in the Acclaimed.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill vs. Anna Jay

Jay is challenging and comes up through an elevator in the stage, while Cargill has a bunch of showgirls with her. An early Queenslayer attempt doesn’t work for Jay and Cargill throws her down without much effort. A snap suplex and a clothesline lets Cargill go up top but Jay superplexes her back down. Back up and a running forearm staggers Cargill and a running Blockbuster sends her outside. Cargill is sent back inside but Jay has to take out the Baddies with a double DDT. Back in and Cargill kicks her in the face but Jaded is reversed into a cradle for two.

Cue Smart Mark Sterling to throw in the crutch, which Jay grabs for a Russian legsweep and a near fall. Cue John Silver to brainbuster Sterling on the floor, leaving Cargill to hit the Eye of the Storm for two. Jaded is countered into the Queenslayer but Cargill gets up and sends her into the corner. They both go up and here is Stokely Hathaway (fifth person to come out during the match) for a distraction so a super Jaded can finish Jay at 7:23.

Rating: B-. This was a good bit better than I was expecting as Cargill’s matches continue to be structured to fit her strengths rather well. I didn’t buy Jay having a chance whatsoever, but that is the case with just about every Cargill challenger. Hathaway would be an upgrade over Sterling if that is where they are going, and he certainly has the skills to make Cargill feel that much more important. Good stuff here, even if it could have been done on Dynamite.

Post match the beatdown is loaded up but Kris Statlander comes in to go after Red Velvet. The staredown is on but Athena comes in for the debut and the big six way staredown. The Baddies bail and the fans seem rather happy to see Athena.

Forbidden Door is coming on June 26.

House Of Black vs. Death Triangle

Death Triangle has a young boy, who I’m assuming is one of their sons, with them during the entrance. Fenix flips out of Black’s suplex to start but they both miss spinning kicks to the head, meaning it’s time for the cross legged sitdown staredown. Matthews comes in and gets superkicked by Penta so it’s off to the floor, only to have Penta waiting on him with an evil glare.

King comes in and kicks down Fenix’s springboard, setting up the six way staredown. The brawl is on with everyone getting to knock someone else down until Pac poisonranas Matthews to leave everyone down. King is back up with a Boss Man Slam to Pac and Matthews adds a slingshot hilo for two. Matthews misses a charge in the corner though and the hot tag brings in Fenix to clean house. Stereo superkicks clear the ring and there are the double dives from the Bros.

Back in and Fenix hits a step up kick to the head on King but Matthews suplexes him on the floor. That sets up the series of dives until King hits a dive, albeit with a crash onto the apron on the way down. Fenix gets triple teamed inside, including Dante’s Inferno for two, with Pac driving Black into the cover for the save. Triple brainbusters are broken up and Death Triangle gets to kick them in the face in the corner.

A springboard Canadian Destroyer plants Matthews on the floor and a top rope double stomp/hanging DDT combination drops King next to him. That leaves Black to get kicked in the face a lot but he kicks his way out of trouble. Pac kicks Black down and throws Matthews onto King on the floor. An Alex Abrahantes distraction lets Pac kick Black low….and the lights go out again (JR is NOT happy). Cue Julia Hart to mist Pac, allowing Black to kick Pac in the head for the pin at 15:19.

Rating: A-. This was pure insanity for the most part, which also includes a rather nutty ending as Hart wasn’t evil a few weeks ago but she is now. Anyway, the match was the hard hitting, fast paced match that everyone had been hoping. I’m not sure it was worth all of the delays, but House of Black FINALLY getting a big win is good to see. Now just move on from this feud for all time.

We recap Samoa Joe vs. Adam Cole in the Owen Hart Foundation finals, which is more about Owen than either of them.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Final: Samoa Joe vs. Adam Cole

Non-title. Joe powers him into the corner to start but Cole slips out and wants a test of strength. That goes to Joe as well, who sends him into the corner for the jumping enziguri. An elbow sends Cole to the floor, where he manages to post Joe’s bad shoulder to take over. Back in and Cole chokes on the ropes before wrapping the arm around said rope. The Panama Sunrise is blocked though and Joe hits the Rock Bottom out of the corner.

Joe’s powerbomb is countered into a jumping enziguri and Cole grabs a Crossface. Joe cranks on both arms but Cole is in the ropes as well. Cue Bobby Fish to snap Joe’s arm across the top but the Boom misses. Joe grabs the Koquina Clutch, which has to be let go so Joe can take out Fish. Cole kicks him down and fires off more kicks, setting up the Boom for the pin at 13:15.

Rating: B-. Another good match here, though having even more interference had me rolling my eyes. Cole winning isn’t exactly a surprise and it is good to have him win something around here. It’s a fine enough way to go, even if it doesn’t have any kind of a connection to Owen whatsoever.

Forbidden Door is still coming on June 26. Nothing has changed in the last 40 minutes.

We recap the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, which is a rematch from Grand Slam, where Britt Baker beat Ruby Soho.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Finals: Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho

Baker gets played to the ring by Fozzy’s guitarist while Rancid plays Soho to the ring. We’ll call that advantage Soho. Baker takes her down by the arm to start but Soho is back up with a wristlock of her own. Some kicks don’t do much to Soho, who knees Baker out to the floor. Soho’s shotgun dropkick off the apron has Baker rocked but Soho is holding her ribs. Baker is smart enough to pull the ribs into the post before stretching her out back inside.

Some elbows to the ribs give Baker two but she takes too long going up top. A superplex brings her back down as JR talks about Soho owning a farm in Indiana. They forearm it out until it’s another double knockdown. No Future is blocked but Baker misses the Stomp. Soho is back up with a Saito suplex and a top rope backsplash gets two.

Baker is back with the Stomp and the Lockjaw is loaded up but Soho powers away. No Future connects and the Sharpshooter (with Soho dropping to a knee) goes on, with Baker finally making the rope for the save. With that Owen finisher not working, Soho loads up a victory roll, only to have Baker reverse into a cradle for the pin at 14:15.

Rating: C+. So Baker gets to win, meaning it’s a power couple winning both of them. The match itself was fine, as expected, though that Sharpshooter left a lot to be desired. I could have gone with Soho winning here but it would have been a bit weird to have Cole and Soho at the trophy presentation. Baker very well may be on her way to a face turn and that could be a good thing for her, as we have kind of covered everything she can do otherwise.

Respect is shown post match.

Post match Tony Schiavone has the trophy presentation (with Adam Cole coming out to glare at Tony for hugging Britt). Martha Hart gets an entrance, accompanied by Tony Khan, and gets to give a speech about how important this whole thing is. She thanks everyone from Khan to Chris Jericho to Dark Side of the Ring and her legal team. Cole and Baker are congratulated, with Martha even making fun of her own fairly ridiculous looking hat to wrap it up. Both are presented with a special belt and it’s a rather nice moment.

Sammy Guevara/Frankie Kazarian/Tay Conti vs. Men Of The Year/Paige VanZant

If the Men Of The Year/VanZant win, Guevara and Kazarian can never challenge for the TNT Title again. Kazarian and Sky start things off but Guevara tags himself in and gets to face Ethan. The slugout goes to Page so it’s back to Kazarian vs. Sky, with Kazarian taking him into the corner. Guevara comes back in and Conti gets in a rake to Sky’s back from the apron. VanZant is drawn in so Sammy and Conti can hit a double suplex. Kazarian grabs a front facelock on Sky, who fights out and hits a Downward Spiral.

Conti runs in to deck VanZant and then dives onto Sammy for some spinning around. That has Kazarian yelling at them before grabbing the chickenwing but Sammy tags himself in. Tony: “What kind of dumba** strategy is that?” The double tag brings in the women, with JR saying VanZant is going to be green. VanZant grabs a suplex on Conti and a handspring elbow hits Conti in the face.

A TKO is broken up by Sammy, who stops to kiss Conti and gets caught with a tornado DDT. Conti uses the distraction to strike away at VanZant and some pump kicks to the face get two. A spinning belly to back faceplant (JR: “What the h*** was that?”) plants VanZant but we pause for more kissing. The staredown is on but Kazarian is having none of this and walks out….before coming back in with a slingshot DDT to Sky. Kazarian clears the ring but Conti yells at him, only to have Sammy accidentally knock her down. Sky TKO’s Kazarian for the pin at 12:01.

Rating: C+. This was fun with Conti and Guevara totally embracing the hate, but what matters most is that this should mean the end of the feud. It has gone on far longer than it needed to and this really needs to be the blowoff. VanZant was fine enough in her pay per view debut but she clearly has a long way to go to feel natural in the ring. Good enough, but the show is running very long and this is something that could have been moved to another show.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Darby Allin

Allin goes straight for the legs and gets kneed in the face to cut him off. O’Reilly starts working on the arm and cranking away as Allin’s face is busted open from that knee. Back up and Allin gets in a few shots of his own to knock O’Reilly outside, setting up a suicide dive which nearly goes horribly wrong. Thankfully Allin is back up so he tries it again, only to get pulled into a guillotine choke.

Back in and the Last Supper gives Allin two and a small package is good for the same. A brainbuster plants Allin but he is able to fight off a cross armbreaker attempt. The ankle lock goes on but Allin ties up the legs and reverses into a Scorpion (again, not a great one). O’Reilly makes the rope so Allin goes up and hits a Coffin Drop onto O’Reilly in the ropes before crashing out to the floor.

Back in and O’Reilly goes for the arm again but gets stacked up for two more. They strike it out with O’Reilly getting the better of things and wrapping Allin’s chain around his mouth. Excalibur: “The unbreakable chain!” Then it breaks immediately. Some penalty kicks set up the top rope knee to finish Allin at 10:33.

Rating: B. Hard hitting fight here and that is a heck of a big win for O’Reilly as beating Allin clean on pay per view is an impressive feat. It doesn’t say much for Allin to lose in his match for his mentor’s honor, but I can go for O’Reilly getting this kind of a push. Good stuff here, though I hope it gets any kind of memory on a show with so much else.

We recap Thunder Rosa vs. Serena Deeb for the Women’s Title. Both want to be the best so they’re having a title match.

Women’s Title: Serena Deeb vs. Thunder Rosa

Rosa is defending. They fight over a lockup to start and go to the mat with neither being able to get anywhere. Back up and Deeb starts going for the limbs but that isn’t going to work for Rosa. They go back to the mat with Rosa grabbing the pendulum to rock Deeb around a bit. A backslide gives Rosa two but Deeb blocks a second one, allowing Rosa to hit an uppercut.

Rosa knocks her to the floor but misses a baseball slide, allowing Deeb to snap her across the top rope. A neckbreaker over the ropes puts Rosa back on the floor until Deeb takes it back inside. Deeb ties her up in the corner and cranks away, setting up an abdominal stretch to stay on the ribs. Rosa fights out and hits a running corner clothesline, followed by knees in the corner. A northern lights suplex gets two but Deeb catches her in the corner and hits Diamond Dust for two.

Deebtox is broken up though and Rosa slams Deeb’s knee into the mat for a change. Deeb gets in a shot to knock her away but Rosa is back with the Death Valley Driver for two. A chop block cuts Rosa down and we hit the Figure Four, with the two of them slapping each other in the face at the same time. They roll out to the floor but it’s Deeb grabbing a dragon screw legwhip in the ropes back inside.

Deebtox gets two and the Serenity Lock goes on, though Deeb lets it go to hit a powerbomb. The Texas Cloverleaf goes on but Rosa makes the rope, setting up a kick to the head. Deep knocks her down again and goes up, only to get superplexed down. Rosa isn’t done and rolls her up into the Fire Thunder Driver to retain at 16:43.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a fight with the technical master vs. the fighter, but they were in a near death spot this late in a show with a long match. I could go with another look at this in a vacuum as Rosa was bringing it and Deeb was her usual awesome self. It’s a good example of a match where they overcame a really bad build and had a heck of a match. Just in the wrong spot.

We recap Anarchy in the Arena, which is Sports Entertainers vs. Wrestlers.

Justin Roberts: “Ladies and gentlemen…..s***’s about to hit the fan.”

Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Blackpool Combat Club/Santana/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston

Anything goes and the Society is all in white, making them look like a painting crew. It’s a brawl to start with Wild Thing still playing, which seems like it is going to go throughout the match. Everyone brawls around the arena and we keep cutting from fight to fight, including Moxley stabbing someone in the head with a fork. Kingston is already busted open as Jericho and Moxley get on some kind of a cart.

Minard’s face is COVERED in blood as Jericho gets in a shot to Moxley with….something. We actually go to the ring where Santana and Ortiz suplex Hager. Jericho goes over to the sound board and hits Moxley to FINALLY kill the song. Some people fight to the back as Santana and Ortiz Street Sweep Hager through two tables at ringside. Moxley hits Jericho with a boom camera as Minard and Kingston fight over mustard at the concession stand. Garcia piledrives Ortiz on the steps and I think Minard takes Kingston down with a t-shirt stand.

Parker hits Danielson with a ring bell and Jericho suplexes Moxley onto a row of chairs. Back up and Moxley chucks a cooler at Jericho’s head as Tony dubs this as better than Stadium Stampede. Garcia chokes Kingston in the concourse and drags him around the floor as Jericho gets the Walls on Moxley on the announcers’ table….which breaks. Back up and Moxley hits a suicide dive to take Jericho down as a turnbuckle is unhooked.

Some unhooked turnbuckle shots slow Jericho down as I think Kingston and Garcia brawl in a freight elevator. Moxley hits a running knee to knock Jericho out of a chair as Santana and Ortiz set up a ladder over on the other side of the arena. They hit big splashes to drive Minard and Parker through tables as Jericho fire extinguishers Moxley. Jericho and Moxley pull themselves back into the ring, where Hager and Danielson are pulling themselves up. The four of them slug it out with Moxley and Danielson hitting the hammer and anvil elbows.

Stereo holds go on….and here is Kingston with a can of gasoline. Kingston pours gas onto Jericho (which breaks up the LeBell Lock) but Danielson goes after Kingston for general hatred. Moxley is sent onto a barbed wire board at ringside and a turnbuckle shot to the head gives Jericho two on Danielson. A bunch of kicks rock Hager and Jericho, including the YES Kicks to the latter. Danielson promises to kick his f****** head in but Hager makes the save with a baseball bat to the knee. A half crab to Danielson, with Hager choking with a rope (Tony: “HANG IN THERE!”) gives Jericho the win at 22:31.

Rating: B. I have no idea what to say about this and that’s about all you can get out of it. They were all over the place with one crazy spot after another and there was nothing close to a way to keep track of the whole thing. I’m not sure why the Society won, but maybe Jericho used some wizard magic to convince AEW it was a good idea.

We go to Andrade El Idolo, who brings in his new business partner: Rush.

Scorpio Sky/Ethan Page/Dan Lambert are really happy to be done with Sammy Guevara and company. Sky wants a new challenger and here is Dante Martin to issue the challenge. Game on.

Tag Team Titles: Jurassic Express vs. Team Taz vs. Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland

Jurassic Express, with Christian Cage, is defending. It’s a brawl to start and the fight heads to the floor before the Express hits a top rope elbow/side slam combination for two on Starks. We settle down to Hobbs blasting Strickland with a clothesline. Lee comes in and staggers Hobbs with a shoulder, setting up Strickland’s jumping knee. It’s off to Jungle Boy for some suicide dives but Lee pulls the big flip dive out of the air.

Back in and Hobbs hits a suplex slam on Jungle Boy and Starks grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Starks tries to run the corner and walk the ropes but stops to dance, allowing Jungle Boy to crotch him (JR’s disdain at the start followed by happiness in Starks getting hurt is hilarious). Everything breaks down and Starks gets tossed out to the floor for a nasty landing, setting up Strickland’s moonsault (off of Lee’s chest) onto the pile.

Back in and Strickland hits the running kick to the head for two on Hobbs and it’s Luchasaurus coming in to clean house. Hobbs gets kicked into the corner where Lee tags himself in, giving us Luchasaurus vs. Lee. A double chokeslam puts Luchasaurus down, leaving Lee to suplex Hobbs over the top. Lee hits the big no hands flip dive to show off a bit but Luchasaurus is back up with a fireman’s carry slam for two.

Starks is back in to take Jungle Boy down for two but Christian makes the save. The spear gets two more on Jungle Boy and a slingshot Roshambo gets the same. Luchasaurus comes back in but Hobbs cleans house, allowing Starks to grab the FTW Title. Christian breaks that up and it’s the Throwassic Express for the pin at 17:18.

Rating: B. Another good match here with a surprising ending as I would not have bet on the champs retaining here. What matters is that the tag division remains hot, but there is only so much that you can get when your champs are barely in the top five teams in the company. I was hoping for a title change here as Jurassic Express have held the belts for awhile, but it’s not like this is a horrible decision.

We recap Hangman Page vs. CM Punk for the AEW World Title. Punk sees it as a title shot and Page wants to stop Punk from destroying AEW….somehow.

AEW World Title: CM Punk vs. Hangman Page

Page is defending. They start fast with Punk taking him into the corner and giving him a break, albeit with a rake of the eyes. They strike it out with Punk getting the better of things but they go to the mat to exchange some near falls. Back up and Punk starts the string of slams, setting up the high crossbody. Page rolls through though and hits a fall away slam into a nip up. With Punk on the floor, Page hits a slingshot crossbody to take him down again.

Back in and Punk slugs away, only to get elbowed in the face to knock him silly. A running clothesline out of the corner looks to set up the Buckshot but it’s way too early for that, as Punk knocks him to the floor. That’s fine with Page, who gets in a powerbomb onto the apron to drop Punk again. Back in and a top rope clothesline gives Page two and Punk is tossed outside again.

What looks to be the moonsault is broken up and Punk superplexes him back down. They take their time getting back up for the slugout, setting up Punk’s leg lariat. There’s the running knee in the corner into the bulldog into the springboard clothesline and Punk is fired up. Page slips out of the GTS and Punk grabs a neckbreaker for two more. Punk goes up but gets knocked down, setting up the moonsault to the floor. Back in and the Buckshot Lariat is countered into a Sharpshooter, sending Page over to the ropes.

Both guys have to counter their own finisher until Punk is kicked to the apron. Punk kicks him in the head and hits a Buckshot Lariat but the knee gives out on the way. Both guys miss the GTS and Punk’s running knee in the corner is countered into the Last Ride. Page rolls him into the Deadeye for two more before calling for the GTS. Punk kicks him in the head and tries the GTS but Page escapes and hits one of his own.

They slug it out until Page kicks him in the face but they fall out to the floor. Page throws him over the announcers’ table and grabs the belt, which he emphasizes is HIS. Back in and the Buckshot Lariat is loaded up but gets countered into the GTS. Punk swings him around to kick the referee, meaning Page’s escape into the Buckshot Lariat gets no cover. Page looks at the belt and teases the shot but second guesses himself. Another Buckshot Lariat is countered into the GTS to give Punk the pin and the title at 25:58.

Rating: B+. There’s your controversial ending that is going to get people talking. Punk winning is the right call as you can only get so much out of Page as champion when there are so many bigger stars around him. The will he/won’t he was good and while it might lead to a heel turn down the line, it’s the right way to go here. Heck of a match too, which didn’t feel close to the length it went.

Punk celebrates for a good while to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. The action was very good to great, but egads I was done with this show with about an hour left. I’ll spare you the long, drawn out version and say a lot of this could have been left for Dynamite/Rampage and move on to the praise the show deserves. There was some awesome action here and I like a lot of the choices for the winners, though the tournaments still don’t feel important (save for Martha Hart looking so happy out there, which was great). Definitely check this out, but cut it off for a bit in the middle for the sake of a sandwich or something as you’re going to need to refuel.

Results
Wardlow b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Powerbomb Symphony
Hardys b. Young Bucks – Swanton to Nick
Jade Cargill b. Anna Jay – Super Jaded
House Of Black b. Death Triangle – Spinning kick to Fenix
Adam Cole b. Samoa Joe – Boom
Britt Baker b. Ruby Soho – Rollup
Men Of The Year/Paige VanZant b. Sammy Guevara/Frankie Kazarian/Tay Conti – TKO to Guevara
Kyle O’Reilly b. Darby Allin – Top rope knee to the back
Thunder Rosa b. Serena Deeb – Fire Thunder Driver
Jericho Appreciation Society b. Blackpool Combat Club/Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz – Half crab to Danielson
Jurassic Express b. Team Taz and Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee – Throwassic Express to Starks
CM Punk b. Hangman Page – GTS

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.

It’s time for another AEW pay per view and most of the time, that has been some very good news. AEW has a heck of a track record with pay per views, though things have been a bit weaker than usual in recent months. I don’t entirely know what that is going to mean for this show, but the card is absolutely huge with a staggering thirteen matches. Maybe they can make it work though so let’s get to it.

Buy-In Show: Hookhausen vs. Mark Sterling/Tony Nese

They aren’t starting with anything serious here as Hook and Danhausen are the latest comedy guys around here. There is a short form possibility to the two of them working together but I’d like to believe that Hook could mean a lot more than he is being given so far. Danhausen is one of the most unique guys around, and now he and Hook can do their thing here.

That thing here would be winning, as Hookhausen has no reason to lose whatsoever. Hook can be the muscle for Danhausen as he does his wacky deal. That is all you need in something like this as the fans are going to go nuts over anything Hookhausen does. Keep it short, let Danhausen pin the manager, and we get to move on to the important stuff. That’s a good opener and they have the right idea with this on the Buy-In.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals: Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho

This is a match that has some history to it and now the question becomes can Soho finally get a big win around here. Soho is someone with as unique of a look as you can find and the intangibles to back it up, but she hasn’t actually won anything just yet. Beating Baker would even their series up and that is a way they can go. At the same time though, it is hard to buy the idea of Baker losing her second big match in a row.

I’m in a total coin flip here but I’ll go with Baker winning here as Soho loses again for the sake of getting Baker back on track. This could be leading to a heck of a showdown between Baker and Jade Cargill, assuming they don’t do a rubber match with Thunder Rosa. Either way, I don’t see Soho winning here, and I’m really not sure where that leaves her going forward.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals: Adam Cole vs. Samoa Joe

I like this one more than the previous match and we could be in for a heck of a showdown here. Cole is someone who is still waiting for his own big win around here, while Joe has the Ring Of Honor TV Title, meaning that he too is waiting for his first big win in AEW. This is at least an interesting match and that puts it above a lot of what we have been seeing in the tournament so far.

I’ll go with Cole winning again here, as AEW not only likes pushing the heck out of him, but the idea of Cole and Baker as the winners of the tournaments is likely something AEW likes. The match should be a good, pay per view level fight as Joe knows how to make the big fight feel. Cole wins here though, possibly even with some help from Jay Lethal and pals to take out Joe.

Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Blackpool Combat Club/Santana/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston

This is the Anarchy In The Arena match, which seems to be the latest insane brawl that the company loves to run. The problem this time though is the lineups aren’t exactly even, as it’s hard to imagine the Combat Club and Kingston would have trouble against the entire Appreciation Society. Then again there is a good chance that the villains can take out a member to uneven things and make it a bit more even.

That being said, there isn’t much in the way of doubt here, as this should be a one sided victory for Kingston and company. Unfortunately I don’t think that is going to happen, as I could see AEW running with the Jericho Wizard/fireball stuff. Therefore, I’ll take the Appreciation Society winning here, even if that makes so little sense and will just mean more of the not so great act.

Hardys vs. Young Bucks

Now we have the Dream Match, which might have been the case about ten years ago but now, I’m not entirely convinced. To put it mildly, the Hardys are in their mid 40s and wrestle like they’re about ten years older than that each. Jeff looks close to terrible and you know what you’re going to get from Matt. I’m far from a Bucks fan, but they can run circles around the Hardys at the moment and this is going to be a mess as a result.

I’ll take the Bucks winning here, as there is no reason whatsoever to put the Hardys over anyone ever (unless you’re Darby Allin because reasons). I’m not exactly interested in seeing this one but maybe they can pull off something decent. All I know is I don’t need to see the Hardys trying to recreate their glory days again and odds are that is exactly what we are going to be getting here.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Wardlow

This now needs an asterisk as there have been a few issues involving MJF, but we’ll assume that the match is going to take place. This is a story that has been built up for years and is a more physical version of Ted DiBiase vs. Virgil from back in the day. The good thing is that Wardlow is almost on Virgil’s level and might even be able to get something out of this if they do it right.

Of course I’ll go with Wardlow here, as he should powerbomb MJF into oblivion here. Now that being said, MJF should not get squashed and will likely get in some offense off the back of Shawn Spears and some well timed cheating, but at the end of the day, this is Wardlow’s breaking out moment and I could go with seeing him wreck MJF as the fans get more and more into each powerbomb. Assuming the match takes place that is.

Women’s Title: Thunder Rosa(c) vs. Serena Deeb

The more I watch from Rosa, the less I think she is cut out to be champion. There are some people who are more interesting as the challenger rather than the champion and that is what we might have with her. The promo from this week was good, but I really can’t bring myself to get into this match. Granted it doesn’t help that Cargill feels like a much bigger star, but this is the next showdown.

I’ll take Rosa to retain here, as she deserves a longer title reign than a few months after FINALLY getting the belt. We might be up for a rematch with Baker, but at the moment the best thing that they can do is have Rosa keep going as champion to set up a showdown with someone. Rosa is still a star and I could go for seeing more of her with the title, but they need to find a better way to present her.

Tag Team Titles: Jurassic Express(c) vs. Team Taz vs. Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland

One thing that is interesting here is that AEW rarely runs triple threat. The company loves itself some gimmick matches but that isn’t the case with triple threat, which is certainly a nice bonus. Anyway, this has been set up as the two challenging teams have been set up as potential threats to take the titles. Granted it helps that Jurassic Express have been kind of there as champions for a lot of their reigns, so it is kind of somewhere in the middle.

As much as I’d like to see Lee and Strickland get somewhere, I have a feeling Team Taz wins here. At some point you have to give Taz and company some (official) titles and I think they do it here. Ricky Starks has been moving up higher and higher in recent weeks and Powerhouse Hobbs is one of the better potential stars around. They should have a good match here, but it’s time for the title change with the belts going to Team Taz.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Darby Allin

This is a grudge match which was added to the show on Rampage, even if it is one of the first matches that could be moved to Dynamite for the sake of cutting down the pay per view rundown. Allin is mad at O’Reilly for injuring Sting, meaning it is time to fight. Thankfully this seems to be a regular match, which is quite the change for Allin and his obsession with hardcore stuff.

I’ll go with Allin winning here, as he is still shaking off some of his funk, especially after that pretty ridiculous loss to Jeff Hardy a few weeks ago. O’Reilly could use a win too and it wouldn’t shock me if he won here, but Allin needs it more and is someone the fans are already behind. Seeing O’Reilly get a push of his own would be nice, but it’s Allin winning here in a match that should be pretty awesome.

House Of Black vs. Death Triangle

Yes, finally. After what feels like 37 years, this match is FINALLY going to take place, even though I can’t imagine it is going to live up to the hype that has been presented around it. Both teams are actually healthy for once and since it was on the books at some point back in the day, AEW had to get it in instead of cutting their losses and just moving on like anyone sane would do.

It’s one that could go either way, but I’ll take the House Of Black to win here. Death Triangle is a team that has a tendency to not be around very often for one reason or another so the House Of Black seems to be a better option at the moment. Odds are it will be a heck of a fight and Death Triangle will look great in defeat, but the House Of Black wins here to finally give them something.

Men Of The Year/Paige VanZant vs. Frankie Kazarian/Sammy Guevara/Tay Conti

Speaking of feuds that won’t go away, we have this mess that must continue no matter how many people are waiting in line for the TNT Title. This week seemed to show Guevara and company as the good ones, even if that involved invading the American Top Team facility and stealing stuff. I don’t think AEW knows what they are doing with this feud anymore, but even worse I don’t think many people care about it either. Granted, why let that get in the way of what AEW has decided to do?

Since the feud must continue and Guevara/Kazarian get no more shots if they lose, I’ll go with Guevara and company winning to keep their hopes alive. I’m not sure why that is something we need to continue, but this feud is probably heading for one big final blowoff to the whole thing. Maybe we could even get a ladder involved! For now, though Guevara and company win, because it must continue.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill(c) vs. Anna Jay

AEW has a bit of a weird situation on their hands with Cargill. While they have done a great job of building her up, there is no reason to believe that she is going to lose anytime soon. That makes this feel like nothing more than a requirement as she gets to add another win over someone who was thrown into a title match. I don’t particularly care about this match and it would have been fine on Dynamite, but maybe Cargill can get in her catchphrase for the 485th time.

Of course I’ll take Cargill, as Jay gets to be the latest sacrificial lamb. They REALLY need someone who is going to give Cargill a challenge and Jay, who hasn’t wrestled a singles match since March (or a TV match since January, when Cargill beat her) isn’t it. This is a match that probably doesn’t need to be on the pay per view but we are getting it for the sake of Cargill appearing, which does make sense.

AEW World Title: Hangman Page(c) vs. CM Punk

And then there’s this, which has been hit and miss so far. This has not been anywhere close to a disaster, but I’m not sure I buy Page as someone on Punk’s level. Punk had to get to the World Title shot at some point though, which comes after the end of the great Friedman feud. Hopefully they can go beyond the hype, which hasn’t quite hit the levels they seem to have been shooting for with the build.

I’ve been going back and forth on this for weeks now but I think I have Page retaining. If you want to elevate him, beating Punk and Danielson is about as perfect of a way as you can do so. Punk is going to be fine no matter what he does, but in this case it makes more sense to have him lose and give Page the next biggest rub of his career. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Punk win the title, but Page needs this a lot more than Punk. I think. Maybe. Perhaps.

Overall Thoughts

I’m expecting the show to be good, as almost every AEW pay per view tends to be, but my goodness there is way too much on here. There is no need for the show to have every one of these matches but for some reason that is what we’re getting. Hopefully they move something up to the Buy-In show, as having a twelve minute pay per view card is not going to leave them with much breathing room. The show has a lot of potential, but I’m worried about giving the matches the time that they need. Make something fast, or at least shuffle it up a bit, just to make it better. Either way, we should be fine, as is AEW’s custom.

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: April 27, 2022
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re back with another focus on the Owen Hart Foundation tournament as Dax Harwood faces Cash Wheeler. In addition to that, we won’t be see Hangman Page this week as he has come down with the Coronavirus, meaning that we don’t quite get any advancement in his feud with CM Punk. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Owen Hart Foundation Qualifying Match: Dax Harwood vs. Cash Wheeler

CM Punk is on commentary and the guys come out together for a nice touch. They go to the mat to start as Punk talks about how he doesn’t necessarily like these guys but he does respect him. A series of headlocks takeovers are countered with a series of nip ups and we get a standoff with some applause. An armdrag into an armbar has Wheeler in control as commentary cracks some jokes about the wrestlers’ names.

Harwood pokes him in the eye though and Wheeler doesn’t seem happy. Wheeler takes it back to the mat for a quickly broken chinlock as Harwood takes him up top for a heck of a superplex. We take a break and come back with Harwood sending him flying off a suplex. They both hit crossbodies at the same time for a double knockdown before it’s off to an exchange of rollups for two each.

Harwood tries a slingshot powerbomb but gets reversed into a hurricanrana for two and they’re both needing a breather. The second slingshot powerbomb attempt works for Harwood but Wheeler is back with a piledriver. Harwood is able to catch him on top but Wheeler slips through the legs and pushes Harwood down.

The belly to back superplex is countered into a crossbody for two on Wheeler and a running crossbody sends them both to the floor. They both make it back inside at nine but Wheeler has a banged up knee. Harwood can’t bring himself to stay on the leg (Punk: “You gotta sharp that shooter!”), allowing Wheeler to try a small package, which is reversed into another one to give Harwood the pin at 14:26.

Rating: B. This was the kind of match you would expect from these two and Harwood wins with a wrestling move in the end. That’s all you could have asked for from these two and now they can go back to being the best team in the world. They teased just enough tension to make it interesting without going over the line and it was good quality stuff on top of that, just in case you didn’t think this would be pretty awesome.

Official for Double Or Nothing: CM Punk vs. Hangman Page for the World Title.

CM Punk heads to ringside and says he has never been in a locker room with as much talent as this before. Before he came back here, he wasn’t sure if he could still do this again. Now he knows that he can do this again and while he can’t guarantee a win, he can guarantee that he will give 100%. He has never been a gambling man, but you can bet that he will fight until the wheels fall off in Las Vegas.

Scorpio Sky says it is no coincidence that he is here, fighting for the TNT Title again. He didn’t ask Frankie Kazarian to step aside if he was going to win and the fans are here to see him beat up Scorpio Sky. There can only be one face of TNT and you’re looking at him.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. The Factory

Wheeler Yuta gets the hometown reaction and William Regal is on commentary. The Club has nothing to do with this waiting around and jumps them before the bell. Moxley hits the release suplex on Aaron Solow and hits a belly to belly suplex. Regal loves that Solow’s eyes are watering so Moxley can “batter the granny” out of him without him seeing it coming. Yuta comes in with a dropkick for two but doesn’t quite hit the one on Comoroto that well (Regal: “We’ll have to work on that.”).

We take a break and come back with Marshall making the mistake of mocking Danielson, allowing Yuta to snap off a German suplex. Danielson comes in to clean house, including the dive to the floor. There’s the missile dropkick to Solow but Marshall breaks up the LeBell Lock. Moxley takes Marshall down and clotheslines him to the floor, leaving Danielson to kick Solow out of the air. Yuta gets the tag but is thrown around by Comoroto. A pair of chokes doesn’t work on Comoroto so Yuta elbows away and rolls him up (with Moxley and Danielson choking out the other two) for the pin at 8:20.

Rating: C+. I think we’ve firmly established the idea here and now it’s time for these guys to move into an actual feud. The Club is a hard hitting team who feels like they could fight anyone, but they’ve been beating up lower level people for weeks now. They need to move into an actual story rather than a bunch of one offs, as their status is pretty clear. Maybe they can make one more of these things work, but find them some good opponents soon.

Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter and Toni Storm are willing to just talk and avoid physicality but Storm brings in Ruby Soho, who has also qualified for the Owen Hart Foundation tournament. Soho knows the two of them have always had something to say so she wants to fight right now. Baker says no physicality because they’re off to Soho’s home in catering.

Jungle Boy says that he should have beaten Kyle O’Reilly last week but he didn’t get it done. Christian Cage says that Jungle Boy sounds like a loser, even if he isn’t one. Cage says he’s throwing out the challenge to any top five ranked team so here is Team Taz, ranked #3, to accept. Luchasaurus growls.

Lance Archer vs. Wardlow

Before the match, MJF and Shawn Spears are in the luxury box again, with MJF saying Philadelphia women use their personality as birth control. Wardlow comes out to no music and wearing handcuffs, allowing Archer to dive onto him as the handcuffs are removed. The bell rings and Wardlow sends him straight into the corner, setting up a running shoulder to the ribs. The Powerbomb Symphony is broken up, as is Archer’s chokeslam.

They clothesline each other down and it’s Archer up first to hammer away. Archer walks the ropes to set up a moonsault into the chokeslam for two, with the crowd not really reacting. The Blackout gets two but Wardlow knocks him off the top and hits a Swanton of all things for two of his own. A four movement Powerbomb Symphony finishes Archer at 5:26.

Rating: B-. The booking of Wardlow continues to be the high point around here and this was no exception. Wardlow survived a beating against someone with some success and won in the end to slay the monster. That’s all it should have been as he gets one step closer to MJF. Double Or Nothing is coming and I’m curious to see what the stakes will be for their showdown.

Here is the Jericho Appreciation Society for a face to face sitdown with Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz. There will be no physicality so get the three of them out here right now. The chairs are turned over and Jericho talks about how lucky everyone is to be living in his era. Santana flips Jericho off and says that Jericho forgot who got him here.

Trash is talked because Santana and Ortiz can’t hit them and Kingston isn’t happy with this standing around. Kingston talks about what a hit means in his world but Jericho says this place is Kingston’s last chance if he gets kicked out of another company. That’s too far for Kingston, who backs Jericho into a chair and threatens to put him in the ground. Jericho looks terrified as Eddie and company leave. They really need to announce/get to a match between these guys already because they’ve talked a lot.

Sammy Guevara is ready to beat Scorpio Sky again because Sky is so boring.

Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb

Street fight with Shida hammering away to start. The middle rope missile dropkick sends Deeb outside and then rams her into the buckle from the apron. Deeb falls back to the floor but manages to chair a flying Shida out of the air to take over. Back in and a shinbreaker onto the chair makes it worse for Shida as we take a break. We come back with Shida’s knee in big trouble but managing to counter another shinbreaker onto the chair. Deeb is sent outside but comes up with some powder to blind Shida.

That’s broken up as well as Shida comes back with a kendo stick shot, allowing her to wash her eyes out with some water. The Katana is cut off with a chair to the knee though and Deeb wraps the chair around Shida’s leg. That’s broken up as well and Shida hits the super Falcon Arrow for two. Deeb is back with Deebtox onto the chair for the same, setting up some rams of the knee into the chair. The Texas Cloverleaf makes Shida tap at 11:37.

Rating: B-. It was fun enough, though I don’t think it needed the weapons to prove the same point. This feud stopped being interesting more than a few weeks ago and I didn’t exactly need the blowoff but at least the right person won. Deeb gets the win to end the feud and should be on to a run against Thunder Rosa, which should be a good match.

MJF screams at Lexi to get out of his frame and then calls someone, offering him six figures to face Wardlow. He called someone bigger, taller and stronger than Wardlow….and you can’t teach that.

The House Of Black has taken out Fuego del Sol. They tease unmasking him but Alex Abrahantes pops up in the ring to say not so fast. The House goes after him but here is Penta Obscuro, Pac and…..Alex Abrahantes, because it’s Rey Fenix in the Abrahantes costume in the ring. Death Triangle clears the ring and we seem to have a six man tag set. This is another feud that has dragged on for so long now that I can’t quite bring myself to be interested. Also, it’s hard to care that much when I keep expecting Pac or one of the other members to go away for a month and a half after the match.

Swerve Strickland and Darby Allin are ready for their Owen Hart Foundation qualifying match on Rampage. They have fought for years and don’t quite see eye to eye on whose house it is.

Undisputed Elite vs. Varsity Blonds/Brock Anderson/Dante Martin/Lee Johnson

Martin gets punched in the head to start but the Blonds come in for the save. The non-Elite takes turns kicking everyone to the floor and it’s a pair of dives from Johnson and Martin. The good guys rule the ring and we take an early break. Back with Johnson getting double superkicked, setting up a four way BTE Trigger, setting up the Boom for the pin on Johnson at 6:27.

Rating: C. They hyped up this match as something important and then it’s a six minute match with a break in the middle? Kind of a weird way to go with this one but they didn’t bother with much of anything in the way of wasting time. Just have the bigger team take a few shots and then win in the end, as should have been the case. Now maybe we can move on to the most interesting thing in the world: the Bucks having friends.

Post match, the Undisputed Elite all put on matching shirts.

The Jericho Appreciation Society has jumped Santana and Ortiz and throw a fireball at Eddie Kingston. This company has an obsession with angles involving someone being blinded.

Quick video on Trent Beretta vs. Samoa Joe for the Ring Of Honor TV Title.

TNT Title: Sammy Guevara vs. Scorpio Sky

Guevara is defending in a ladder match. They fight on the floor to start with Sky sending him into the barricade but Guevara comes back with a Release German suplex on the ramp. That lets Guevara bust out some angels in the snow, which has JR a bit taken aback. They get inside with Sammy going up (nowhere near the belt) and then diving off….and hitting only the mat, leaving him knocked silly as we take a break.

Back with Sky climbing a ladder so Guevara dives off another, only to get pulled out of the air with a cutter. With nothing else working, it’s time to bring out a barbed wire ladder (because that’s a thing). Guevara fights up and sends Sky into the ladder but Tay Conti and Dan Lambert get in, with Conti kicking him low. Cue Paige VanZant so the big brawl can be on, with Conti kicking him in the face.

The ladder is set up and they both climb, each with a woman on their back. The women are thrown off, leaving Sky to bite Guevara’s finger. Guevara shoves him down anyway and goes up, only to be knocked down onto the barbed wire ladder. Sky goes up and, after knocking the springboarding Guevara down again (because he was back up in 12 seconds), wins the title at 14:02.

Rating: C+. This show ended about 20 minutes ago now and I have no idea what to make of this match. They certainly did some stuff and Sky gets the title back, but that’s about the extent of the logic. I was more or less checked out on the match as soon as the barbed wire ladder was brought into play, as that sounds like something you put in a comedy match rather than something important. Throw in Sammy bouncing back up from landing on it and the rather scary landing before the break and this was much more a WHAT ARE THEY DOING match than anything I would have liked to see.

Overall Rating: B-. Given how ridiculously (and I don’t mean that in a good way) stacked this show was, I was fairly disappointed in what we got. The ten man tag was a squash, the street fight was pretty good and the ladder match…..hey did you see that street fight? They crammed A LOT into this show but most of it only somewhat delivered.

There was some rather good stuff in here though as Wardlow continues to be presented perfectly and Sky winning the title again got a great reaction. I liked Punk’s stuff too and the opener was very good, but the parts that they hyped up the most didn’t work all that well and it brought things down a bit.

Results
Dax Harwood b. Cash Wheeler – Small package
Blackpool Combat Club b. The Factory – Cradle to Comoroto
Wardlow b. Lance Archer – Powerbomb Symphony
Serena Deeb b. Hikaru Shida – Texas Cloverleaf
Undisputed Elite b. Brock Anderson/Dante Martin/Lee Johnson/Varsity Blonds – Boom to Johnson
Scorpio Sky b. Sammy Guevara – Sky pulled down the title

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: April 13, 2022
Location: UNO Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s the start of a big week around here as we are on the third of five shows. There are some important matches set up for this card and there is a good chance that we could be in for a fun one. If nothing else, they are coming in off a white hot main event last week so hopefully they can keep up the momentum. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

CM Punk vs. Penta Obscuro

Alex Abrahantes is here with Penta. Punk isn’t overly intimidated by Obscuro’s entrance and they stare each other down to start. That goes into the big chop off, with the fans getting right into this as soon as they get going. A superkick staggers Punk but he kicks Penta in the ribs to cut him off. Punk strikes away as commentary runs down tonight’s card, including Samoa Joe vs. Minoru Suzuki. The GTS is countered into an ankle lock and Punk gets sent to the floor. Some suicide dives take too long though and Punk takes his place, setting up a dive of his own.

We take a break and come back with both of them going up to the same corner. Punk pulls him down into….something that wasn’t clear as his knee seems to give out. Penta takes him into the corner but Punk comes out with a super hurricanrana, setting up the running knee in the corner. The GTS is countered so Punk tries the Anaconda Vice, sending Penta straight to the rope.

They head to the apron to slug it out but neither can hit a piledriver. Instead Punk hits the running knee in the corner back inside, only to have the GTS blocked. The arm snap is countered into a rollup but that’s countered into another rollup to give Penta two. Another superkick rocks Punk but he’s fine enough to pull Penta out of the air for the GTS and the pin at 13:33.

Rating: B. They worked hard here and the ending was good, though it felt a bit like a match you would see on a big time indy show: no real reason for them to be fighting, but it makes fans go “that sounds AWESOME”. It was good while it lasted though and Punk continues his climb up to the top of the rankings. I’m sure the path will be completely scientific and logical as well.

The Jericho Appreciation Society arrived at the airport earlier but Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz were waiting on them. They beat up 3.0 and took their shoes, as good guys tend to do.

Tag Team Titles: ReDRagon vs. Jurassic Express

Jurassic Express is defending. Jungle Boy gets struck into the corner by Fish, allowing O’Reilly to come in for a headlock. Luchasaurus tags himself in and starts kicking away, only to get caught with some dragon screw legwhips. That’s enough to put Luchasaurus in the corner but he strikes his way out of trouble, allowing the tag off to Jungle Boy.

The suicide dives are on (JR: “It’s Tope Suicida Night folks! And the kids eat free!”), setting up Luchasaurus hitting his own dive. Jungle Boy goes for a dive but Fish isn’t quite ready and has to move over in a hurry (that could have been nasty). Fish twists Jungle Boy off the apron by the arm though and we take a break.

Back with O’Reilly trying a cross armbreaker on Jungle Boy but getting stacked up for two instead. Jungle Boy gets over for the tag off to Luchasaurus to clean house, including the Tail Whip to O’Reilly. There’s the double chokeslam into the standing moonsault for two on O’Reilly. A side slam top rope elbow combination (that looked good) gets two on Fish but ReDRagon is back in for a kick off into a German suplex.

O’Reilly grabs a cross armbreaker (while also trapping the leg) but Jungle Boy makes the rope. Back up and O’Reilly grabs a guillotine on Luchasaurus as Fish jumps over them with a super Falcon Arrow to Jungle Boy. Luchasaurus throws O’Reilly onto the two of them for the break and it’s time to strike it out again. Fish gets Tail Whipped by Luchasaurus and it’s the Throwassic Express for the pin to retain the titles at 13:45.

Rating: B. This was back into the “what’s tagging” formula for the most part and I can with with that after last week’s tag team clinic main event. Jurassic Express getting to add another win to their list is a good idea, but those titles seem destined either for FTR or the Young Bucks to set up the rubber match between the bigger name teams.

Post match O’Reilly chairs the champs down but FTR comes in to scare them off. I think you know where FTR and the Express are going.

The Blackpool Combat Club, now with Wheeler Yuta, are ready to fight the undisputed Gunn Club on Friday. Moxley’s idea: break their faces.

Jamie Hayter and Toni Storm are ready to face each other in the first round of the Owen Hart Foundation tournament. Hayter talks about their history together and how it was a lot like Owen’s rise to prominent. She isn’t going to let Storm slow her down and asks what Storm is going to do about it. Storm smirks and walks away.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Shawn Dean

Shawn Spears is here with MJF. Hold on though as MJF’s scarf gets caught in his jacket, but he jumps Dean from behind anyway. And yes, the scarf is completely fine in case you were wondering. MJF poses but we cut to the back where security has been taken out, with one of them missing a shirt. Back in the arena and MJF takes him to the floor, but Wardlow is behind MJF. The chase is on and security comes out to hold Wardlow back. MJF runs and, despite offering the referee a lot of money, loses by countout at 3:54.

Rating: D. This was a match in name only and that is ok. They are building up towards Wardlow vs. MJF even more and it is nice to see Dean getting some wins, even if they don’t mean anything. MJF begging at the idea of losing makes sense as he is that obsessed with being the best, so they had the logic going strong here. Not a match for the most part but they weren’t trying to make it one.

Post match Wardlow is taken to the back and Spears has to hold MJF back from fighting the referee. We cut to the back where Wardlow beats up security again and says he isn’t going to stop until MJF lets him out of his contract. Then he breaks the camera, which will somehow go on MJF’s bill.

In a video that is a bit more complicated for its message, Darby Allin challenges Andrade El Idolo to a casket match.

Malakai Black talks about how the House of Black is going to destroy Fuego del Sol.

Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz

Jericho flips Santana off to start and then hits him in the face, only to get himself into a chop off. Everything breaks down and Santana gets to beat on Jericho a bit more inside. It’s off to Ortiz, who gets caught in a double flapjack from Jericho and Hager to put him down for a change. Hager drives him into the corner again and it’s Garcia getting to come in for some shots of his own. Jericho gets the arrogant cover for two and we take a break.

Back with Jericho missing the Lionsault and, after getting away from Hager, Ortiz manages the hot tag off to Kingston. House is cleaned without much trouble and Santana comes in with a top rope splash for two on Garcia. Ortiz’s middle rope legdrop gets the same and the Street Sweeper is loaded up. Instead, Santana throws Garcia at Jericho to take him out. Cue 3.0 (still missing shoes) but Ortiz hits a big flip dive to take them down. The distraction lets Jericho get in a bat shot to finish Kingston at 11:45.

Rating: C+. It’s far from a disaster, but I’m really not feeling the Society so far. They feel like a rehash of the Inner Circle but nowhere near as good. It’s more of Jericho getting beaten up and then cheating to win, which is a pretty tired style. The match was good enough, but it feels like we’ve done this before and that isn’t great to see.

Post match the big beatdown is on and no one makes the save.

A very angry MJF talks about how he has money and can do whatever he wants. Also, since he owns Wardlow, he’s going to put Wardlow into the ring against the Butcher.

Marina Shafir vs. Skye Blue

This is Shafir’s Dynamite debut and Mark Sterling/Jade Cargill are watching in the back (Sterling more than Cargill). Shafir takes her down to start as we see Red Velvet as part of the Baddie Section. Blue’s attempt at a choke is countered into a bearhug and a slam down. Shafir pounds away and hits a pumphandle suplex. A palm strike sets up a headscissors choke to make Blue tap at 2:22. Shafir really didn’t look good here and they weren’t exactly mixing well. I don’t know what was wrong, but if this was anything more than an off night, Shafir is in trouble.

Tony Nese and Mark Sterling (third segment in a row after MJF and Cargill) interrupt Hook’s interview. Hook throws a medicine ball over his shoulder, hits an interrupting Danhausen, and leaves. Danhausen continues to be unsure what is going on.

The Men of the Year are ready for Sammy Guevara at Battle of the Belts on Saturday.

Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee vs. Team Taz

The fans are way into Ricky Starks as the hometown boy. Powerhouse Hobbs shoves Strickland around to start and doesn’t seem happy at Swerve trying an armbar. JR uses this time to talk about Mid-South/UWF memories and it’s off to Starks to run the ropes into a rope walk. A top rope shot to the shoulder drops Strickland and Starks hits his pose. It’s off to Lee, who sends Starks into the corner for the big chop, with Strickland holding the arms back to make it worse.

Everything breaks down and Strickland uses Lee’s chest as a springboard for a moonsault down onto Team Taz. We take a break and come back with Lee cleaning house. Swerve takes Hobbs off the apron but springboards into a spear from Starks. A Canadian Destroyer plants Swerve for two but he is right back up to put Starks in a fireman’s carry. Swerve goes up and throws Starks into the Pounce from Lee, who is cut off by Hobbs.

Cue Taz at ringside as Starks can’t Ro Sham Bo Lee. Swerve gets shoved off the top but manages to post Hobbs. Starks’ tornado DDT is blocked so he settles for a middle rope spear. Swerve breaks up the cover with a 450 but gets crushed by a running splash in the corner. Taz trips Lee though and the Last Will And Testament finishes Lee at 11:58.

Rating: C+. You build up Starks as the big star and don’t have him get the pin in the match? Anyway, they weren’t going to be able to get Starks booed here no matter what they tried so they didn’t even bother. That’s the right call here and Lee lost to cheating rather than clean. They did things as they should have here and it was a pretty hot match.

Here’s what’s coming at various upcoming shows.

Thunder Rosa is interrupted by Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero. They have a cake to celebrate her short title reign but there is no writing on it because she isn’t worth they money. Rosa: “Do you think I’m stupid?” Vickie and Nyla: “YES!” The cake goes in Rosa’s face and she’s so blind that she hits Vickie by mistake. Rosa gets sent into some boxes, with Rose shouting that the joke is on Rosa because she loves cake! This was pretty great.

Video on Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole in a Texas Deathmatch this week on Rampage.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Minoru Suzuki

Suzuki is defending and they go straight to the required strike off. This includes chops and forearms for two minutes plus until Suzuki gets knocked to the apron. The armbar over the ropes slows Joe down and we take a break with Joe looking to be more than a bit spent pretty soon into things.

Back with Suzuki fighting out of a Crossface as Joe’s chest is REALLY red. The Gotch Style piledriver is blocked and the chop it out again. Another piledriver attempt is blocked so Suzuki takes him into the corner for some choking. That’s countered into the MuscleBuster to knock Suzuki silly and Joe is champion at 11:34.

Rating: B-. This is going to be the definition of “your mileage may vary” as the chop/strike off stuff loses its charm pretty quickly (the fact that Penta and Punk did the same thing an hour and a half ago didn’t help). They kept this moving and it’s hard to believe that it went as long as it did, but Suzuki was the definition of a transitional champion. That isn’t a bad thing, but this one felt a lot more like something that sounded great on paper fifteen years ago rather than here, with both of them likely near the end of their careers.

Post match here are Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt with a present for Joe. It’s Lethal’s middle finger, but the lights go out. Cue a 7’3 monster (identified by Tony as Satnam Singh, an Indian basketball player who was drafted into the NBA) to take Joe down and crush his head in a Khali style vice grip. Lethal and Dutt seem to have a monster enforcer to end the show. I don’t know how the STUPENDOUS Khali will do but this wasn’t exactly an inspiring debut.

Overall Rating: B-. It was a weird week as they started off great and then fell pretty hard before almost limping across the finish line. The Singh debut didn’t exactly leave on a high note and the show was a bit of a rollercoaster. It doesn’t feel like there is a top story at the moment and the World Title was a complete afterthought this week. Still a perfectly good show, but far from one of their best.

Results
CM Punk b. Penta Obscuro – GTS
Jurassic Express b. ReDRagon – Throwassic Express to Fish
Shawn Dean b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman via countout
Jericho Appreciation Society b. Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz – Baseball bat shot to Kingston
Marina Shafir b. Skye Blue – Headscissors choke
Team Taz b. Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland – Last Will And Testament to Lee
Samoa Joe b. Minoru Suzuki – MuscleBuster

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: April 6, 2022
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

It’s pretty rare to have a lot of things going on when a company hasn’t had a major show, but that is the case this week. Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor event was basically AEW’s Wrestlemania weekend show and included the debut of Samoa Joe. He’ll be here tonight, and that means things could get a lot more interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Adam Cole vs. Christian Cage

They stare at each other for a bit until Christian grabs a headlock to grind away a bit. Cole breaks that up and sends him into the corner to take over. Christian knocks him outside though and it’s a baseball slide out to the floor. That means some chops up against the barricade but Christian’s foot gets caught in the ropes, allowing Cole to take over again. A hard whip into the corner rocks Christian and we take a break.

Back with Christian knocking him to the floor again and diving over the top to….I think it connected but it was more grazing Cole’s hands/arms. Back in and Christian hits the pendulum kick in the corner, setting up the tornado DDT for two. Cole’s Backstabber out of the corner gets two more and the low superkick into the running knee (knee pad still up and to the face instead of the back of the head) is good for the same. The Boom is countered into a rollup for two, followed by Christian hitting a spear for two more. With nothing else working, Cole pokes him in the eye and hits the Boom for the pin at 14:50.

Rating: B-. This is where Christian can help a lot, as he has a reputation that means a win over him still means something and can make anyone look good. Cole gets a nice win and Christian has been a made man for a long time so it isn’t like he is hurt here. Good choice for an opener and the kind of win that gives Cole an actually important win.

Post match ReDDragon comes out for the beatdown but the Jurassic Express makes the save. Christian walks off to the side of the stage as the other four brawl (After rolling outside pretty fast after the pin. Hopefully nothing is wrong.). With everyone else gone, Hangman Page comes down to get in Cole’s face. Page issues the challenge for a Texas Death Match for the title next week on Rampage (not Dynamite), while telling him to get his affairs in order.

We look back at Jay Lethal challenging Jonathan Gresham for the World Title and beating him down, only for Samoa Joe to return and take out Lethal’s associate Sonjay Dutt.

Owen Hart Foundation Qualifying Match: Samoa Joe vs. Max Caster

Anthony Bowens is here with Caster, whose rap talks about how Samoa Joe is an overweight X-Division wrestler who was NXT Champion when Dynamite beat NXT in the ratings. Joe starts fast and hammers away in the corner, even throwing in a dance. Caster gets knocked to the floor for the suicide dive and it’s the MuscleBuster for the pin at 2:53. Total and complete destruction, as it should have been.

Post match Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt pop up on screen to say they aren’t scared of Joe. They had a change of heart last week and now it’s about doing what they want. The might not have needed one had Joe just answered his phone in the last four months. Joe clearly has a phone, but he’ll only answer calls from billionaires. It’s not too late to roll out the red carpet for Joe though, so next week Lethal promises him a present. Next week, Joe is getting a present that he’ll never forget. Dutt is quite the odd addition to this story. I know he and Lethal have history together but there was no one else to pair up with Lethal?

William Regal is happy with the Blackpool Combat Club, as Wheeler Yuta will face Jon Moxley on Friday. Regal feels sorry for Yuta, and Moxley promises violence.

Shawn Spears vs. Shawn Dean

MJF is on commentary as commentary points out that Dean has beaten him. Spears throws Dean over the top for a big crash, only to stop and point at the security posters for Wardlow. Back in and Spears hits a pumphandle driver onto the knee for two, with Spears pulling him up. We cut to the back where security has been taken out and the fans know what’s up. Now we see Wardlow beating up security and coming into the arena, where he beats up even more security. In the melee, Dean rolls Spears up for the pin at 3:48.

Rating: C-. The match was a squash with a fluke ending and that’s fine as a way to keep pushing Wardlow as a major threat to MJF. The destruction is coming and it is going to be awesome once we get there. Dean could have been anyone here but giving him a pair of wins over Dean and MJF is a nice bit of continuity.

Wardlow is very happy as security takes him out of the arena.

The Best Friends aren’t happy with Wheeler Yuta finding new friends. Chuck Taylor even bought him his tights and Yuta lives on his couch. Trent is less forgiving, calling him a scumbag before leaving.

Earlier tonight, Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz beat down the Jericho Appreciation Society in the back. The Society bailed away in a car.

Here are Kingston/Santana/Ortiz in the arena for a chat. Eddie talks about how he’s coming for the Society and threatens to show up at Daniel Garcia’s door. Santana and Ortiz say they’ll be ready when Jericho stops running, say next week for example.

Here are Jade Cargill and Mark Sterling for a chat. Cargill introduces her Baddie Section, which is what she describes as a bunch of beautiful women with power. She’s ready for Marina Shafir to be her 30th victim.

MJF and Shawn Spears aren’t happy with Wardlow but MJF promises more security next week. As for Dean, he can face MJF next week, where he’ll get a Purple Heart for being injured worse than he ever could have been in the military.

Hardys vs. Butcher and the Blade

Tables match. It’s a brawl to start with Blade clotheslining Jeff down inside. Blade misses a charge through a table in the corner, which doesn’t count as it wasn’t an offensive move (as made clear by the pre-match announcement of the rules). Butcher and Matt come in, where Butcher can’t suplex Matt through a table. A double DDT drops Butcher but Blade breaks up what looked to be the Swanton through the table. That leaves Jeff to get suplexed/high crossbodied through a table for the elimination.

We take a break and come back with Matt chairing Butcher, setting up a top rope legdrop through the table for the elimination. That leaves Matt vs. Blade but Matt puts himself through a table off the apron. Butcher sticks around to help double team Matt, who is thrown over the barricade.

A double suplex brings him back over but Jeff has moved the table. What looks to be Poetry In Motion into a clothesline against the barricade doesn’t look great so Jeff makes up for it with the Twisting Stunner to Blade. Matt hits a Twist of Fate on the floor and the Hardys set up two tables underneath a ladder (you knew it was coming). The Swanton off the top drives Blade through the table to give the Hardys the win at 11:55.

Rating: C+. It was pretty good, though I’m trying to get my head around the Hardys being hyped up for their history in tables matches. The Hardys are certainly stars, but it doesn’t feel like they are a big deal at the moment. Maybe that’s FTR being on another level and the Hardys not being anywhere the title picture, but it feels like they’re still waiting to take off. They certainly can do that, though it hasn’t happened yet.

Post match here is Andrade, flanked by the AFO, but here is sting with the baseball bat to beat them down. The AFO didn’t do anything, so maybe Sting just broke up the presentation of a lovely bowling trophy.

Christian Cage is ticked off and walks away from Jurassic Express’ interview. The Express doesn’t think much of ReDDragon’s records but they can have a title shot next week anyway.

Thunder Rosa is ready for Nyla Rose at Championship Fight Night on April 16.

Jamie Hayter isn’t shaking Toni Storm’s hand because she wants to win the Owen Hart tournament.

Owen Hart Foundation Qualifying Match: Hikaru Shida vs. Julia Hart

Hart still has the eye patch and sends the Varsity Blonds to the back. Hart gets in a shot in the corner which has Shida mad as we take an early break. Back with Shida pounding away and hitting a running knee in the corner. Hart rakes the eyes to get off of Shida’s shoulders though and a splits bulldog gets two. What looked to be Twisted Bliss only has Hart’s knees hitting the mat though and Shida elbows her down. Shida hits a spinning knee though and the Falcon Arrow is good for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: D+. Yozwa this didn’t work very well, as they felt like they were on different pages at times. The moves weren’t connecting very well, they didn’t seem to be communicating and it was just awkward throughout. It’s rare to see a match go this badly in AEW but this was a pretty bad showing.

Post match Serena Deeb comes out for a kendo stick/chair showdown with Shida before bailing. This feud MUST CONTINUE you see.

Shane Strickland had a good time at the Grammys but here is Team Taz to jump him. Keith Lee makes the save and drives Powerhouse Hobbs through a wall.

AAA Tag Team Titles/Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are challenging. Harwood headlocks Matt down to start and it’s off to Dax to do the same to Nick. An armdrag into an armbar keeps Nick down but everyone comes in for the big staredown. We settle down to Dax taking Matt down with a headlock, setting up double Sharpshooters from FTR. Nick rakes the Wheeler’s eyes for the break and it’s Matt hitting a middle rope elbow on Wheeler.

The Bret Hart pose sets up the tag off to Nick and we take a break. Back with Wheeler suplexing his way out of trouble but Matt cuts off the tag attempt. Harwood Matt outside though and kicks his way over for the tag off to Harwood. House is cleaned with Harwood chopping away in the corner and getting two off a small package. Matt’s backslide (with Harwood’s shoulder not on the mat) gets two, as does Harwood’s piledriver. The PowerPlex is loaded up but Nick cuts off Wheeler with a super hurricanrana.

A dropkick/bulldog combination connects but Harwood brainbusters Nick on the floor. Wheeler Gory Bombs Matt for two but what looks like a low blow takes Wheeler down. The Big Rig gets two on Wheeler and More Bang For Your Buck connects for the same. Nick gets in a belt shot for two more on Wheeler but Harwood dives in for the save.

There’s a double superkick to Harwood and the BTE Trigger gets….a Dusty Finish, as Wheeler gets his foot on the ropes just before three, meaning the pin is called off. The Meltzer Driver is loaded up but Harwood makes the save, setting up a slingshot powerbomb to Matt. The Tombstone plants Matt and, after the double kiss, the Big Rig retains the titles at 20:00.

Rating: A. This is what you can get when you tone the Bucks down. Two superkicks, one or two flips. It was much, much better than their usual stuff and a high quality match instead of their usual junk food wrestling. The Bucks are very impressive athletes, but there are times where they want to remind you of that a bit too much. Have someone to keep them on more of a leash and you get an instant classic like this.

At the same time, FTR can do absolutely no wrong at the moment. They did this in NXT and they are doing it in AEW. These guys are just great and are becoming must see television. That isn’t something that has been the case in tag wrestling since probably Edge and Christian vs. the Hardys vs. the Dudleyz and that was 20+ years ago. Awesome stuff here and absolutely worth seeing.

Overall Rating: B+. The main event absolutely lifted this show up as, aside from maybe the opener, it wasn’t exactly great. This was the week where they moved things forward for later though and you can see a lot of what they are going for at the next Battle of the Belts. FTR is an amazing team at the moment though and that’s about all you need to remember from this show. Check out that main event for sure.

Results
Adam Cole b. Christian Cage – Boom
Samoa Joe b. Max Caster – MuscleBuster
Shawn Dean b. Shawn Spears – Rollup
Hardys b. Butcher and the Blade – Swanton Bomb through a table to Blade
Hikaru Shida b. Julia Hart – Falcon Arrow
FTR b. Young Bucks – Big Rig to Matt

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: March 30, 2022
Location: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re still on the long road to Double Or Nothing and that means there are some things that need to get ready before then. It seems that we will be seeing Adam Cole vs. Hangman Page II either on the way there or at the show itself, meaning there is a good chance we’ll see more of the build here this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

CM Punk vs. Max Caster

Caster’s rap goes straight to the Will Smith reference and throws in a Hunter Biden line, plus a reference to Punk’s issues with Z-Paks. Anthony Bowens is here with Caster as Punk works on Caster’s taped up shoulder to start. Punk takes him down by the arm but it’s too early for the Anaconda Vice. Back up and Punk’s headlock doesn’t last long so he shoulders Caster down and grabs the armbar again. Caster gets in a shot of his own but Punk flips over the corner and runs the apron to set up a top rope ax handle.

Back up and Caster hits him in the neck, setting up a fisherman’s buster for two. Punk catches him on top though and it’s a super hurricanrana to bring him back down. There’s a running knee into the bulldog out of the corner for two more and they’re both down. Caster drops him ribs first across the top rope but the Mic Drop misses. Punk goes big with the piledriver out of nowhere and the Anaconda Vice finishes Caster at 7:09.

Rating: C+. I for one could go for more of Punk facing off with these tag wrestlers as he is getting them to much higher levels than they would be reaching on their own. Caster had probably his best singles match ever and hung in there for a bit against Punk before getting caught by the bigger star. Good enough match and Punk broke a sweat to make it look like he put in the work. Nice opener.

Post match Tony Schiavone gets in the ring for a chat with Punk, who asks the fans what motioning for the belt means. There is a lot of gray in his beard and there are scars on his head and there will be a lot more of both before he is done around here. He wants to be World Champion and it doesn’t matter who has the gold because he is coming for it.

FTR (in Outsiders inspired vests) and MJF are in the back. Mark Sterling is behind them putting up security photos of Wardlow, because he isn’t allowed around here. MJF talks about how the Pinnacle is still around and they’re going to be picking up some wins. Dash Harwood isn’t sure what is going on with MJF and Wardlow, but MJF says they’re family. Everyone’s hands go in.

Jay Lethal vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is now in a Blackpool Combat Club hoodie to make the team name official. After a handshake to start, Moxley takes him down with a headlock takeover. That’s reversed into a failed Figure Four attempt and Moxley sends him outside. That doesn’t last long so Moxley comes inside and puts his hands behind his back so Lethal can get in some cheap shots. The forearms off goes to Moxley so he loads up the top rope superplex, only to get crotched back down. Lethal scores with the suicide dive into the barricade and we take a break.

Back with a double crossbody putting both of them down for a bit. They strike it out until Moxley blasts him with a clothesline for a delayed two. Lethal grabs the Lethal Combination for two but Lethal is able to try the Paradigm Shift. The knee gives out though and Lethal tries the Lethal Injection, which is reversed into a sleeper. A flip over into a cover gives Lethal two and he’s back with a brainbuster. Hail To The King gives Lethal two but Moxley small packages him for the save. Back up and Moxley manages a quick Paradigm Shift for the pin at 10:59.

Rating: B. They went a bit heavy with the forearms here but this was rolling by the end. Lethal is in that place where him pulling off the upset isn’t the craziest thing in the world and that gave the match some additional drama. I could go for more of Lethal in roles like this as he can have a good match with almost anyone, including a game Moxley. Pretty nice stuff here.

Post match an upset Lethal shakes Moxley’s hand.

Video on Marina Shafir.

FTR vs. Gunn Club

Non-title. Billy Gunn is here with the Club and MJF comes out to do commentary, which FTR doesn’t seem to like. Harwood puts Austin in a top wristlock to start but gets thrown down. Colton comes in instead so the Club can do their gun sound effects. Austin hammers on Wheeler in the corner but gets armdragged down for his efforts. Some chops set up a running elbow drop from Harwood for two. Everyone winds up outside and Billy Gunn gets in a cheap shot on Wheeler so the Club can take over.

We take a break and come back with Wheeler flipping out of a sleeper and hitting a belly to back suplex. Wheeler gets sent into the corner though and it’s a Stinger Splash followed by a dropkick for two. That’s enough for Wheeler, who gets over for the tag off to Harwood to clean house on both Gunns. Austin and Harwood fight over a suplex on the apron until Colton trips the leg.

The Bobby Heenan pin doesn’t work but let’s cut to Wardlow storming into the arena and beating up security. This includes powerbombing a security guard onto (but not through) a table and coming into the arena. Security manages to hold Wardlow back, much to MJF’s relief, and we cut back to the match (Yeah remember that?) where Harwood and Billy get in a staredown. Wheeler jumps over Austin to take Billy down and the Big Rig gives Harwood the pin at 9:08.

Rating: C. This was more about Wardlow vs. MJF and FTR getting sick of the whole thing. That has potential for the future and I’m not sure how much longer FTR is going to put up with him. They’re practically good guys already and the fans are happy with them, but they still need that big moment. You also had the Club, who have come a long way sine I was rolling my eyes at them week after week on Dark.

Post match MJF gets in the ring but FTR really isn’t pleased with him. They eventually let him raise their hands and leave without getting violent though.

Video on Keith Lee vs. Powerhouse Hobbs, with Hobbs saying “you can bask in kissing my a**”.

Chris Jericho, with the Jericho Appreciation Society, says everyone wants to join the Jericho Appreciation Society but there are only five of them so everyone else can GFY. Matt looks for Santana/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston but can’t find them because they’re gone. Hager goes to do the same…..and there they are behind a curtain! The brawl goes out to the arena with the Society getting beaten down until Hager fights back and turns the tide. Kingston gets put in a Sharpshooter and Jericho unloads on him with Floyd the baseball bat. Jericho throws in some leather strap shots so the Society can stand tall.

Mark Sterling has picked Leva Bates as Jade Cargill’s thirtieth opponent but that’s not cool with Cargill. That leaves Sterling to pick Marina Shafir, which works for the unworried Cargill.

Bryan Danielson vs. Wheeler Yuta

William Regal is on commentary. Danielson grabs a suplex to start and cranks on the arm but can’t keep the shoulders on the mat. He can’t break Yuta’s bridge either so it’s off to a cross armbreaker attempt. Yuta makes it over to the rope for the break and that’s enough for a standoff. A dropkick puts Danielson down and Yuta grabs a bridging leglock to send Danielson to the ropes (that’s a rare one).

We take a break and come back with Danielson taking over and kicking him in the back for some cringing. A dragon suplex gives Danielson two so he fires off the hard elbows to the chest. Yuta slips out and does the same though, setting up an arm trap cradle for two. The not frustrated Danielson is right back with the running knee and Yuta is knocked silly. A large spit in the face sets up the hard stomps on Yuta and there’s a Gotch style piledriver. The LeBell Lock finishes the unconscious Yuta at 10:12.

Rating: B-. Yeah this worked and that shouldn’t be a surprise. Yuta was trying to hang in there for as long as he could and even gave Danielson some problems before getting beaten down by the higher level wrestler (see also the Punk match). I could see Yuta becoming a prospect for the Combat Club, and Regal’s reactions seem to be leading in that direction. I’m thinking Regal might be a good choice for this show.

Post match Regal says he is very impressed with Yuta for taking that kind of a beating and keep fighting.

Video on Andrade El Idolo vs. Darby Allin.

Here is the Undisputed Elite with their stolen titles, now featuring their homemade name plates (just like FTR does on their AAA titles). They’re here for a celebration, complete with a PARTY SUPPLIES box. Said box is opened and five balloons fly out, thereby ending the party supplies. Hangman Page and Jurassic Express weren’t invited to the party because these titles look better here.

AEW needs a new crew to run the show and now they have the best pro wrestlers on the planet. Kyle O’Reilly talks about how the haters keep saying that they don’t have enough wins to get the title shot. Actually O’Reilly has had too much champagne so he sits down, leaving Bobby Fish to brag about how bad the three of them are.

Cue Hangman Page, driving into the arena in a Tesla (complete with longhorns) to clear the ring. Cole is pulled away before the Buckshot Lariat can launch but here is Jurassic Express with Christian Cage for the brawl from behind. The real beatdown is on and the champs all get their titles back. They got to the point with getting the titles back but the title matches are probably coming soon.

Here is Thunder Rosa to say she is here to put women’s wrestling back on the map. She has fought and clawed to get here but she doesn’t want to be just the face or pillar of this division. Instead, she wants to be the case of all of women’s wrestling but there are always bullies who want to bring her down. Pillars get knocked down, but foundations remain standing and she doesn’t want to hear from Vickie Guerrero. Instead, she wants to fight the best, like Nyla Rose. Bring it on.

FTR has been told that they take things too seriously and maybe they do. They came here to build a reputation rather than lose one so now it’s time to issue the challenge to the Young Bucks. Let’s see who the best team of all time really is.

Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Qualifying Match: The Bunny vs. Toni Storm

There’s your big surprise debut. Storm starts fast and sends her into the corner for some forearms to the face. Bunny chops her way out of trouble and a basement dropkick gets two. That doesn’t last long though as Storm is back up with some arm cranking. Bunny knees her outside though and there’s a running clothesline to send us to a break.

Back with Bunny kneeing her in the ribs to cut off the comeback bid but getting forearmed in the face. A fisherman’s suplex gets two on Bunny but she’s right back with a Death Valley Driver for the same. Storm isn’t having that and snaps off a German suplex setting up a quick piledriver (now dubbed Storm Zero, the third piledriver of the night) for the pin at 8:40.

Rating: C+. Slight obsession with piledrivers aside, this was a fine way to debut Storm. Most of the fans are going to know her so it isn’t like she needs some big introduction. Putting her into a tournament that is coming up a few weeks from now isn’t a terrible idea and giving her said tournament would be a good start, assuming that is the way they go.

Vickie Guerrero rants about Thunder Rosa, though she isn’t quite talking into the microphone. Nyla Rose is the foundation of this division and if Thunder Rosa has a wish, Rose will be her genie. Rose: “Abracadabra b****.”

Darby Allin vs. Andrade El Idolo

Darby takes too long to skateboard to the ring, allowing Andrade to hit a slingshot dive to the floor. Allin is sent into the barricade and Andrade yells at the camera as we are waiting on the opening bell. Allin avoids a charge into the steps though and there’s a skateboard to the back. They head outside with Andrade picking him up for a suplex, walking him over to the barricade, and then dropping him down. That works so well that Andrade does it again, this time dropping him onto the side of the steps.

Allin gets inside and we have the opening bell, with Andrade sending him hard into the corner. Some running knees in the corner get two, with Allin having to grab the rope. Andrade backdrops him so high that Allin almost lands on his feet and we take a break. Back with Allin hitting a Code Red for two but getting stomped into the corner. They strike it out and lock up (JR: “They did something wrestling!”) until it’s a double knockdown.

Andrade whips off his belt but it gets taken away, allowing Allin to hit the flipping Stunner for two. Another exchange of strikes lets Andrade take him to the top, where Allin manages a super crucifix bomb. Allin puts on the Fujiwara armbar so here is Jose for a distraction, only to have Sting make the save. Butcher and Blade go after Sting so Allin dives onto both of them to save Steve. Back in and Andrade buckle bombs Allin, setting up El Idolo for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: B-. Another hard hitting fight here with Allin trying to hang in there but getting caught by the cheating numbers game again. Allin continues to be kind of floating around at the moment as I don’t remember the last time he got a big win. I can go for Andrade winning as he hasn’t really gotten his push, but he has to fight a bigger name at some point if it is going to mean anything.

Post match Andrade sends the goons after Sting again, with Private Party coming in to make it worse. The Hardys make the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. It might not have had any classic match but it covered a lot of ground and had a bunch of pretty awesome matches. I had fun with almost everything going on tonight, but the show still doesn’t feel like it has a big story going. Cole vs. Page isn’t doing it so far and Jericho N Pals vs. Kingston/Santana/Ortiz isn’t exactly great. Still though, what we’re getting is good and I can go with this as the “weaker” show.

Results
CM Punk b. Max Caster – Anaconda Vice
Jon Moxley b. Jay Lethal – Paradigm Shift
FTR b. Gunn Club – Big Rig to Colton
Bryan Danielson b. Wheeler Yuta – LeBell Lock
Toni Storm b. The Bunny – Storm Zero
Andrade El Idolo b. Darby Allin – El Idolo

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: March 16, 2022
Location: Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for another major show with St. Patrick’s Day Slam and we actually have a rematch from last year’s edition. This week will see Thunder Rosa challenging Britt Baker for the Women’s Title inside a cage following their classic war last year. Other than that, Wardlow gets his TNT Title shot so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jurassic Express/Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole/ReDRagon

Jungle Boy hurricanranas Cole down to start but gets sent into the corner so Fish can come in to crank on the arm. That doesn’t last long as it’s off to Luchasaurus, who sends the villains outside but gets kicked off the apron. Fish posts him to take over and it’s time to work over the leg back inside. O’Reilly twists the knee around but Luchasaurus fights his way out and the hot tag brings in Page to clean house.

A sitout powerbomb gets two on Fish and Jungle Boy hits a big flip dive over Page to take out all three villains. Back in and the good guys go up top and it’s a triple moonsault off the same corner (Luchasaurus from the apron, Page from the top to the floor and Jungle Boy from the top onto Fish) for the big wipe out crash and a near fall. Back in and ReDRagon is back up with the running strikes in the corner to Jungle Boy and we take a break.

We come back with Luchasaurus coming in to clean house with kicks and chokeslams. What looks to be a Doomsday Device is broken up though and O’Reilly gets a kneebar on Luchasaurus. Page is caught in a guillotine but drives it into O’Reilly for the save. It’s off to Page vs. Cole for the strike off until Page hits the Deadeye. Everything breaks down and Jungle Boy hits a double Doomsday Device for two as Fish has to make the save. Back up and Cole hits the Boom on Jungle Boy for the pin at 13:49.

Rating: B. This is the match that you should have been expecting from these guys and it was quite the showcase as a result. Cole getting the pin makes sense and at least it was in a six man instead of in a regular tag match so it doesn’t hurt Jungle Boy as much. I’m not sure why we are setting up Cole vs. Page again but it should make for a good main event on a big Dynamite.

Team Taz mocks Keith Lee and tell him that he’ll get another beating if he shows up on Rampage this week. Lee threatens to punch out Ricky Starks again and says he’ll see them on Friday.

Bryan Danielson/Jon Moxley vs. Chuck Taylor/Wheeler Yuta

William Regal is on commentary. JR: “William Regal, can you control these two?” Regal: “Of course not.” As Regal has Danhausen explained to him, Moxley and Danielson jump the two of them to start fast. Yuta gets kneed in the ribs and Moxley adds a suplex for two. Some choking in the corner keeps Yuta down and Danielson comes back in to stomp on the arm as Regal talks about selling jam.

Yuta manages to get over for the tag to Taylor for some house cleaning, including a single leg crab on Danielson. The tag brings Moxley back in anyway and a kick to the face gets Danielson out of trouble. Danielson comes back in to grab an Indian deathlock on Taylor and a superplex gets two. We take a break and come back with Yuta hitting a dropkick and running forearm on Moxley, who runs him over with a clothesline. A Hart Attack gets two on Yuta but he fights back, only to get suplexed back down. The bulldog choke finishes Yuta at 11:46.

Rating: C+. It was mostly a squash, but it was longer than it needed to be as Moxley and Danielson should be running through people. Yuta got to fight a bit and that is a good thing, though at the same time it didn’t exactly make Danielson and Moxley look dominant. The two of them will be looking for some bigger competition soon though and that is what will matter most.

Post match Regal gets in the ring and Yuta offers to join up, earning a slap in the face. Yuta stares at Regal, who says something to him and Yuta leaves.

FTR seems happy to have fired Tully Blanchard but the Young Bucks come in to say it doesn’t matter who manages FTR because they’re just not that good.

The Acclaimed is ready for Keith Lee but Team Taz cuts them off for a pep talk. Shane Strickland comes in and says he’ll steal Ricky Starks’ spotlight. Strickland leaves and Caster wonders if Strickland was supposed to be a rapper.

Here is the Jericho Appreciation Society, with the fans still singing along with Judas. Matt Lee asks if the fans love singing that song and says that if it were up to him, there would be no song or singing, but Jericho is a better man than him. That is why Jericho deserves to be praised, for his contributions as a human being.

Jericho says the earth has been around for 4.5 billion years and you are lucky enough to be around during his era. We hear about some of the things he has done (including angles and promos (his words)) and how he has helped build companies, just like AEW. Instead of praising him though, people have said some very hurtful things about him on social media. Eddie Kingston was mean to him by making him tap out at Revolution but he isn’t coming out here.

Jericho isn’t a wrestler but rather a sports entertainer. Daniel Garcia grabs the mic and says he is one too. Jericho talks about a car crash on January 6, 2019 when a bunch of wrestlers were in a car crash so he donated thousands of dollars to help them. One of those men was Garcia, who was starting to get better.

As for 2.0, it’s a bad name from bad creative, so they are now using their real names: Angelo Parker and Matt Mirand. His former best friend Kevin asks Jericho to put them on Talk Is Jericho so they could hopefully get a job. Jericho saw the passion in them and helped them get to AEW. Then there is Jake Hager, who is Jericho’s ride or die man. Hager says they beat up pro wrestlers, with Jericho saying this is the start of the era of the Sports Entertainer. This felt more like the Jericho I was hoping to see, but him running another heel stable isn’t the most interesting thing.

Video on Serena Deeb vs. Hikaru Shida.

TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Scorpio Sky

Sky is defending and has Dan Lambert and company with him. Wardlow gets taken into the corner to start but Wardlow powers out and heads outside for a staredown with Paige VanZant. Paige’s husband gets in his face so Wardlow loads up the powerbomb, allowing Sky to hit a basement dropkick as we take a break.

Back with Wardlow in trouble but Sky has to punch his way out of a powerbomb out of the corner. The TKO is countered into a spinebuster and there’s the first powerbomb. Two more powerbombs make it worse but a distraction breaks up the fourth. Sky rolls to the floor but here is Shawn Spears, complete with some chairs, to offer a distraction. The referee yells at Spears, allowing MJF to come in with the Dynamite Diamond to knock Wardlow silly. That’s enough for Sky to retain the title at 9:20.

Rating: C+. I was expecting to see Wardlow win the title here but this is hardly some terrible decision. Wardlow getting to wring MJF’s neck should be fine and it will likely take place after MJF brings in a few hired goons to try to slow Wardlow down. I can also go with Sky getting a longer run with the title, as he is a bit different than most of the champions so far.

Post match Wardlow goes after MJF but gets chaired down by Spears, allowing VanZant’s husband to choke him out. Spears adds a chair to the head and MJF adds the Dynamite Diamond punch.

Jade Cargill and Mark Sterling want someone to step up to be her 30th victim.

Hardys vs. Private Party

Matt cranks on Quen’s wrist to start and it’s off to Jeff (strong reaction) and the Hardys hit their double elbow and Poetry In Motion. The chinlock goes on before it’s back to Matt, who gets taken into the wrong corner. A double elbow takes Matt down and a legdrop/standing shooting star press combination (mocking the Hardys’ sequence) gets two. Matt gets sent outside for a crash and we take a break.

Back with Kassidy hitting a running flip dive tot he floor on Matt, followed by an assisted boot to the face for two. Kassidy mocks Jeff with his own dance and Matt is over for the tag to Jeff a few seconds later. Jeff comes in and cleans house, including the middle rope splash for two on Kassidy. Everything breaks down and the Silly String is broken up, leaving the Hardys to hit stereo Twists of Fate. The Swanton finishes Kassidy at 12:17.

Rating: C+. The Hardys got a big reaction but it was just a Hardys match. I get why the team was put back together for a (or another) nostalgia run, but that’s about all it is. I’ve been watching the Hardys for almost twenty five years now and it isn’t like they haven’t been together in the last ten years or so. It was nice for a bit of a smile, but I’m not likely to get this excited over a team that I’ve seen together so many times.

Post match the AFO comes out to threaten the Hardys but Sting and Darby Allin make the save.

Red Velvet is ready for Leyla Hirsch on Rampage.

Women’s Title: Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa

Rosa, the hometown girl, is challenging in a cage (more like the Cell, as there is room on the floor) and gets played to the ring by a live band. Baker is in Scott Hall style gear and it’s a feeling out process to start. Rosa gets in a kick to the face and a clothesline and rakes Baker’s face into the cage. Some not very great right hands in the corner have Baker busted open and they head outside. Baker manages to send her into the cage for a breather and we take a break.

Back with Baker missing a chair shot so Rosa sends her into the corner for a running dropkick. The referee gets bumped though and it’s the Fire Thunder Driver for no count on Baker. That’s not enough to hold Baker down as she comes back and makes a pile of chairs. A super Air Raid Crash onto the chairs rocks Rosa as another referee runs in to count the delayed two.

With Rosa mostly done, Baker piles up six chairs (two on top of four) but Rosa sends her into the cage, sending her crashing onto the chairs. Baker busts out a superkick and grabs a bag of thumbtacks (in the match’s required call back, though JR wondering why those are there is funny).

Rosa loads up a powerbomb but gets backdropped onto the tacks, meaning she can try Lockjaw. That’s broken up with a bite to the hand before Rosa slams the other hand into the tacks. A powerbomb (with Rosa kind of falling) sends Baker into the tacks but she gets in a chair to the head. Rosa shrugs it off and hits the Fire Thunder Driver onto the tacks to win the title at 17:34.

Rating: B. It was another violent match, but this comes at the end of a story that felt like we were just sitting around waiting on this since last year when Rosa beat her in the first place. That has been the problem with all of Baker’s reign, as it has been a countdown to Rosa beating her again to get the title. As for the match itself, it was a brutal fight, though having so many violent and bloody matches in the last few months takes away some of its impact.

Confetti falls and Dustin Rhodes comes in to celebrate with Rosa to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Another good show, though it was still missing a little something to take it up to the next level. I don’t know if that’s the show focusing on a pair of rematches or something else, but it was only very good instead of great. Still though, I can certainly live with that as this was another awesome show with the opener and main event being more than enough to carry things.

Results
Adam Cole/ReDRagon b. Hangman Page/Jurassic Express – Boom to Jungle Boy
Jon Moxley/Bryan Danielson b. Wheel Yuta/Chuck Taylor – Bulldog choke to Yuta
Scorpio Sky b. Wardlow – Pin after a Dynamite Diamond punch from MJF
Hardys b. Private Party – Swanton Bomb to Kassidy
Thunder Rosa b. Britt Baker – Fire Thunder Driver onto tacks

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com 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.