Dynamite
Date: January 28, 2026
Location: H-E-B Center At Cedar Park, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We’re continuing the march towards Revolution and the question is who will be challenging MJF for the World Title. Kenny Omega has thrown his hat into the ring and that means it is time to start getting him ready for his chance. It might take some time to get there, but there is still more than a month remaining before the show. Let’s get to it.

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Kenny Omega vs. Rocky Romero

They’re starting fast and this is described as “massive”. Rocky Romero is not in a massive match. There is no way around this. Romero jumps him to start fast but gets elbowed in the corner right back. A slingshot dive to the floor drops Romero again as we’re told that Samoa Joe has suffered an injury during training.

Omega hits the Kitaro Crusher but it’s too early for the V Trigger, with Romero bailing out to the floor. Back in and a running Sliced Bread drops Omega, who kicks Romero in the face. Romero stops to dance and is promptly kneed in the back of the head for a great comeback. The V Trigger into the One Winged Angel finishes Romero at 3:48.

Rating: C. This worked and it worked well, with Omega just running through Romero, including that awesome running knee to the head. It’s also nice to see a match just come and go without stretching out too long. That was the situation here and it went exactly as it should have. Nice job, and Romero getting beaten up was a nice bonus.

Post match Tony Schiavone (in neon yellow shoes) comes in to announce that Omega one of the four top contenders to the World Title. Omega says he hasn’t felt this good in years and he’ll beat anyone in his way to get there. Cue Hangman Page to say he’d rather be fighting beside Omega rather than against him, but he made the mistake of looking ahead.

Page is going to be the next champion, which brings out Swerve Strickland to say he’s here for the World Title. He hasn’t been pinned since he came back and it doesn’t matter who he has to beat to get the title back. Omega says it sounds like Swerve is looking for a fight, which Swerve says is truer than Omega knows. Cue Don Callis, who says Swerve’s undefeated streak ends tonight against Andrade El Idolo. Then Andrade is coming for Omega, because the Don Callis Family runs this show. Omega says Callis is the one who should worry and the chase is on.

Video on Thekla vs. Kris Statlander.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Jon Moxley vs. Ace Austin

Non-title. Moxley jumps him to start and hammers away in the corner before glaring at the referee. Austin takes it to the mat for a rather spinning rollup, followed by a springboard (from the bottom rope) armdrag. Moxley is sent outside and we take an early break. We come back with Moxley getting out of a headscissors on the mat and taking him to the top for a back rake.

A superplex brings Austin down with a crash but he’s back with a Russian legsweep. That doesn’t work for Moxley, who blasts him with a clothesline and they go to the pinfall reversal sequence. One heck of a spinning kick to the head gives Austin two and a springboard spinning kick to the head gets the same. Moxley isn’t having this as it’s a cutter into the Death Rider for the sudden pin at 10:05.

Rating: B. Austin was trying his best here and some of those kicks looked rather good. Losing to Moxley is one thing but hopefully they don’t do the same thing of “here’s someone new, watch them lose over and over” for a few weeks. It was a nice start for Austin though as Moxley seems set for an eventual showdown with Konosuke Takeshita.

Post match here is Konosuke Takeshita for a staredown with Moxley. Davis And Doyle run in from behind and Moxley gets taken out. No Death Riders make the save for some reason.

TNT Title: El Clon vs. Mark Briscoe

Briscoe is defending and Don Callis is on commentary because this has been his show thus far. Clon actually knocks Briscoe down to start but Briscoe Red Neck Kung Fus his way out of trouble. With Clon sent outside, Briscoe loads up the chair but Clon starts flipping around. That just earns him a clothesline, followed by the dive off the apron. Clon manages to tie him up in the ring skirt though and a running dropkick sends us to a break.

We come back with Briscoe knocking him outside for the running flip dive. The snap jabs have Clon in trouble but he gets in a kick to the head. A brainbuster drops Clon again and the Froggy Bow connects for two. The Jay Driller is loaded up but Clon bounces out of it (I’m not sure if that was a no sell or a counter but it looked cool. Illogical but cool.) and knocks him outside. Back in and Briscoe rolls him up to retain at 11:18.

Rating: B-. Clon is fun to watch with his flips and such, but it feels like we’re just waiting around for Hologram to come back for their one big match. Otherwise, Clon feels like just another warm body for the Don Callis Family. That’s not exactly a great place to be, but at least he got to do something here.

Post match Briscoe says it’s an Open Challenge for Collision, but he’s tired of the Don Callis Family so no one from them. The lights go out and a beating heart is on screen. And it’s Tommaso Ciampa making his debut to quite the reception. We get the big staredown and the match is apparently set for Collision. Ciampa even kisses him on the cheek.

Kyle Fletcher and Kazuchika Okada have a meeting in the back, with Okada saying he wasn’t thinking when he took the screwdriver at World’s End. It was just about winning and he wasn’t trying to hurt Fletcher. That’s acceptable to Fletcher and they shake hands in peace.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Here is MJF for a chat. After asking Taz why they’re working in a dump like this, MJF gets cut off by Brody King. For some reason MJF calls him dumb and stupid before saying King needs to win something to get the title shot. MJF accuses King of following people around, such as Malachi Black with their spooky light tricks. Or Buddy Matthews with his scary name and his bad ankle.

Maybe King should follow MJF, who can use a big scary man, even if MJF has, quote, “never in my life have I met a liberal man who looks more like a nazi”, unquote. The reality is that to be World Champion, you need to be a leader rather than a follower, but he needs to beat someone. King agrees, which is why he has gotten an eliminator match against MJF for next week. If he wins, he gets a title shot in Australia.

Video on the Young Bucks’ issues and their rise back up, with their return next week. They were gone?

Women’s Title: Thekla vs. Kris Statlander

Thekla is challenging and slaps her in the face to start. That earns her a glare out to the floor and some chops back inside. Thekla hangs in the ropes to avoid a charge but Statlander knocks her outside without much trouble. A delayed vertical suplex drops Thekla on the floor and a catapult sends her into the steps. Statlander takes too long getting up though and is knocked outside, followed by a double stomp to the back as we take a break.

We come back with Thekla grabbing the headscissors choke in the ropes, which is countered with a reverse Alabama slam. A Falcon Arrow gives Statlander two and a running clothesline knocks Thekla silly again. The 450 is broken up and a spider suplex (Taz: “Black Widow Jones.”) sends Statlander crashing down.

She heads outside so Thekla can hit her with a big dive, only for Statlander to come back with a spear. Thekla spits in her face and pulls her into a Black Widow, which is broken up just as fast. A Stomp give Thekla two but she charges into a superkick. Thekla’s quick rollup gets two but Statlander gives her a gutwrench powerbomb and Staturday Night Fever to retain at 11:45.

Rating: B. This was an interesting case of the powerhouse having to figure Thekla out and get the win to retain. It worked well with Thekla being weird enough to offer Statlander a challenge but not being able to trip her up. I’m not sure who is next for the title but there should be a solid group of challengers available.

Post match the Babes Of Wrath come out to celebrate but Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford are there for the staredown.

Don Callis wants the Family to bring him some gold. However, he does want Konosuke Takeshita to apologize to Kazuchika Okada. With Callis gone, Takeshita is not pleased with Fletcher forgiving Okada and walks away, leaving Fletcher worried.

Video on Jack Perry vs. Ricochet.

Earlier today, the Demand beat Perry up, with Ricochet trying to interview Perry at the same time.

Tag Team Titles: Davis And Doyle vs. FTR

FTR, with Stokely Hathaway, is defending. Doyle shoves Wheeler into the corner to start and then runs him over with some shoulders. Wheeler is able to send Davis into the corner for some clubberin but he’s right back with some chops. Davis and Doyle are sent outside, where Wheeler’s dive is easily cut off and we take a break.

We come back with Harwood and Davis chopping each other out until everything breaks down. FTR gets splashed in the corner until Doyle gets DDTed onto the apron. That leaves Davis to get belly to back superplexed into a top rope splash to give Wheeler two. Wheeler is knocked outside and Davis grabs a sleeper…but here are the Death Riders to clock Davis with a belt. The Shatter Machine retains the titles at 9:28.

Rating: B-. I’m worried about Doyle, who just disappeared after that DDT on the apron. Hopefully he’s not injured. Either way, this was another nice defense from FTR as they turned back a different kind of challengers. Again I’m not sure who is next for the titles, but in this case there aren’t as many ready to go challengers.

Orange Cassidy talks about dealing with Wheeler Yuta for five years now and even mocks Yuta’s beard. Yuta, with Marina Shafir, comes in to get in Cassidy’s face but Toni Storm evens things out. A mixed tag seems ready, with Cassidy and Storm tangoing away.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Swerve Strickland vs. Andrade El Idolo

Don Callis (of course) is on commentary (of course) and the winner faces Kenny Omega next week. Andrade grabs a headlock, which doesn’t last long, as Swerve is up for the forearm off. They both trade flips away from headscissors and the fans approve. Swerve takes him down and Andrade begs him to come off the ropes, with Swerve sending him outside instead.

Back up and Swerve gets whipped into the steps and we pause for Andrade to hit on….well it’s supposed to be a fan but that would be independent wrestler Jazmin Allure. We take a break and come back with Andrade cutting off a comeback, followed by the double moonsault for two. Swerve pulls him off the top though and it’s a Death Valley Driver onto the apron. They fight onto the barricade, with Swerve getting backdropped hard onto the edge, which has the fans feeling his pain.

Both of them dive back in at nine and Andrade fires off some forearms but the DM is blocked. The spinning back elbow drops Swerve (Callis: “We worked on that one all week.” Schiavone: “Oh for crying out loud.”) but the double knees are countered with the House Call for a rather near fall. A super poisonrana sends Swerve into the corner for the running knees, followed by the hammerlock DDT for two. Big Pressure is countered so Swerve hits the House Call, only to get pulled into the DM to give Andrade the pin at 14:51.

Rating: B. Giving Swerve’s first pinfall loss since his return to Andrade is certainly a way to go, though egads it means having to hear from Callis even more. Swerve will be around the World Title picture sooner than later as he pretty much has to be, though he might have to work to get back there for awhile. I’m assuming Omega beats Andrade next week, as the idea of putting any kind of long term faith in Andrade sounds a bit misguided.

MJF is ready for Brody King next week but Kenny Omega comes up to say it’s one more win and then they’ll see each other at Revolution. MJF walks off and runs into Andrade, who wants the title. That’s enough to send MJF outside, where Hangman Page is waiting on him. MJF gets in his car and has the driver speed off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. I liked the show and they did a nice job of not making this feel like a skippable show on the way to the bigger shows. Having so many people come after the World Title is a good way to go, assuming it doesn’t set up some multiman match. There are some openings for the title pictures and that’s a nice place to be on the way to the next pay per view. Good show here, and hopefully they keep it up for the next few weeks.

Results
Kenny Omega b. Rocky Romero – One Winged Angel
Jon Moxley b. Ace Austin – Death Rider
Mark Briscoe b. El Clon – Rollup
Kris Statlander b. Thekla – Staturday Night Fever
FTR b. Davis And Doyle – Shatter Machine to Davis
Andrade El Idolo b. Swerve Strickland – DM

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

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

Collision
Date: January 24, 2026
Location: Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Paul Wight, Excalibur

This is kind of a weird one as the show was originally going to air live but the weather forced a double taping after Dynamite. That could mean a bit of a rushed show but hopefully the talent can make it work out. The big main event this time is for the CMLL World Title as Claudio Castagnoli defends against Roderick Strong. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Hangman Page vs. Katsuyori Shibata

They go straight to the slugging to start and head outside, with Shibata being sent into the announcers’ table. Shibata misses a running big boot and gets booted over the barricade, meaning it’s time to brawl in the timekeeper’s area. Page keeps hammering away and takes him inside for a fall away slam. The triangle clothesline is cut off with an elbow to the face though and Shibata starts in on the leg. An early Figure Four is reversed, with Page making it to the rope.

We take a break and come back with Page cutting off the kicks the chest so they can chop it out. Shibata hits a running boot in the corner and they trade release German suplexes. They knock each other down for a double breather and the fans approve, as usual. The referee misses Shibata’s low blow and they head to the apron, where Page hits the Deadeye (that low blow didn’t exactly do a lot of damage). The moonsault to the floor hits Shibata but he’s right back with some kind of a neck crank. That’s broken up and Page hits a clothesline into the Buckshot Lariat for the pin at 13:23.

Rating: B-. It was a hard hitting fight as Page and JetSpeed continue their battle against the Opps. Odds are we’ll see a big showdown as a Dynamite main event in the near future, though the Trios Titles still don’t feel overly important. At least Page is getting some nice wins, as he feels like one of the biggest stars in the company and is coming off like one, which is something he has been needing.

Earlier this week, Don Callis and Ricochet were on a golf course and seem to be on the same page. Davis and Doyle beating people up in the background was funny.

Isla Dawn vs. Kris Statlander

Non-title and the Grizzled Young Veterans are here with Dawn. Statlander forearms away in the corner to start and a catapult sends Dawn into the corner. Dawn avoids a charge though and forearms away, followed by a Saito suplex for two. Statlander is right back with a Falcon Arrow into Staturday Night Fever for the fast pin at 2:49.

Post match Thekla pops up on screen wearing a Statlander shirt, which she takes off, spits on, and makes a Star Trek reference.

Jack Perry, holding his knife, says he wants Ricochet’s National Championship. Ricochet took Perry’s friend from him and now he’s taking the title, but it won’t be enough. Nice promo here.

We actually talk about Ace Austin winning on Ring Of Honor but he can’t be here due to travel issues (I’m guessing due to not being there for Dynamite, which is fine), so we have a replacement.

Don Callis Family vs. Billy Gunn/Austin Gunn

Don Callis is on commentary. Fletcher backs Austin up against the ropes to start and then throws him down without much trouble. Austin is back up with a running neckbreaker and it’s off to Billy, who is starting to look his age. Billy tells Fletcher to suck it so it’s off to Takeshita instead. Takeshita powers him into the corner and then out to the floor, where Callis offers a distraction. That means a cheap shot to put Billy down and we take a break.

We come back with Fletcher avoiding the Fameasser, only to get caught with the second attempt. The 3:10 To Yuma drops Fletcher, with Takeshita having to make the save. The Quick Draw is blocked though and Fletcher hits a dragon sleeper to put Austin down. Takeshita comes in with the Blue Thunder Bomb and Billy has to make the save. The running knee misses so Fletcher kicks Austin in the corner, setting up Raging Fire for the pin at 10:20.

Rating: C+. This was little more than a nice moment with Billy teaming with his son under bad circumstances. There wasn’t much else they could have done so this was about as good as it could have gone. Fletcher and Takeshita weren’t going to lose a match to the regular Bang Bang Gang lineup so this was actually a slight upgrade.

Post match Takeshita and Fletcher seem to be ok but here is Kazuchika Okada. Fletcher has to hold Takeshita back, which can’t be good.

Ricochet says Jack Perry will get his National Title shot in Las Vegas, which is the only place with enough luck for a Jack to have a chance against a King.

The Grizzled Young Veterans are still mad at Eddie Kingston and Ortiz and weapons are teased. Why in the world would this feud continue? The Veterans have lost every time. Why?

Alec Price/Jordan Oliver vs. Davis and Doyle

Doyle runs both of them over without much trouble to start and Davis comes in for a German suplex. Price and Oliver are tossed at each other in a nice idea and we settle down to Davis dropping Oliver. The kickout just annoys Davis so it’s off to Price for a running boot in the corner. Oliver and Price are thrown at each other again and a piledriver/swinging Boss Man Slam get the double pin at 3:53.

Rating: C. I can go with an entertaining squash as Davis and Doyle got to run through these two, with the toss spots being rather fun. Davis and Doyle are a good example of what happens when you do what should be obvious, as they’re big guys who look alike. Don’t make this more complicated than it should be and you’ll be fine. Unlike Price and Oliver, who are losing so much that they’re reaching levels of pitiful.

Post match Callis talks about having a vision of destroying FTR and owning the Tag Team Titles.

FTR and Stokely Hathaway pop up on screen, with Hathaway saying Callis lies a lot so FTR is keeping the titles.

Darby Allin goes to see Bam Margera and they skateboard a lot.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale is defending and they start with some running, followed by blocking the other’s hiptoss attempt. Hart bounces off of her, which doesn’t seem to be a great idea. A fisherman’s suplex gives Nightingale two so Hart strikes away to some more success. An Old School hurricanrana drops Nightingale, who pops right back up.

Cue Skye Blue for a distraction so here is Harley Cameron to cut her off. Nightingale’s Cannonball misses though and Hart grabs a neckbreaker for two. We take a break and come back with Hart hitting some running corner clotheslines. Nightingale hits a much harder clothesline (Wight: “She started swinging in Florida and stopped in Nebraska.”) but Hart superkicks her off the corner.

They head outside, where Nightingale pulls her off the barricade for a suplex and the Cannonball gets two back inside. Hart is right back with something like a Black Widow, which is broken up just as quickly. The Babe With The Powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana for two, only for the second attempt to retain Nightingale’s title at 10:43.

Rating: B-. Hart continues to look smooth in the ring and she’s good at this kind of a match, where there is only so much drama about a title change but it’s an entertaining match anyway. Nightingale getting to beat someone is a good thing to see and the fans still love her. That’s a fine use of time on this show and I was never bored so call it a success.

The Rascalz are eating and talking about the nice couch they have. They’re ready to fight the Cru and Myron Reed is eventually out after losing some Rock Paper Scissors. This wasn’t as funny as the team usually is but they’re still new.

Magnus vs. Andrade El Idolo

Andrade chops him up against the ropes to start and a backdrop puts Magnus down again. A very loud chop connects for Andrade but Magnus knocks him outside. The dive is cut off, allowing Andrade to seemingly give a woman his number. We take a break and come back with…Andrade having lost his pants. Dang it that’s never good.

Andrade hits Three Amigos into an Eddie Dance but pulls Magnus up at two. The double arm crank goes on and Andrade gets to start untying the mask, which isn’t overly nice. Magnus fights back and hits a dive into the announcers’ table, followed by a Swanton for two back inside. Andrade sends him hard into the corner though and the running knees set up the DM for the pin at 11:08.

Rating: C+. This was about what you would expect from Andrade, as he had a fine match that didn’t exactly offer much in the way of interest. It was just Andrade doing his stuff and getting a win over someone who doesn’t mean much around here. Magnus got in a bit of offense but at least he only dragged this a bit beyond a squash.

Post break Andrade says he wants the World Title and is coming for Swerve Strickland on Dynamite.

CMLL World Title: Roderick Strong vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Castagnoli, with Wheeler Yuta, is defending, Jon Moxley is on commentary and Strong has Orange Cassidy with him. Castagnoli jumps him during the entrances but Strong chops back and tells Castagnoli to hit him harder. A headlock works a bit better for Castagnoli but Strong is back up with some right hands in the corner. They go outside with Strong striking away, only to get dropped hard onto the barricade.

Back in and Castagnoli starts in on the leg with some cranking, plus a slam to send the leg into the rope. A neckbreaker doesn’t work for Castagnoli as Strong sends him outside, only for Castagnoli to ram the leg into the barricade. We take a break and come back with Castagnoli staying on the leg but Strong kicks him to the floor. A dropkick through the ropes connects and Strong is back in with the belly to back faceplant for two.

Castagnoli goes right back onto the leg but the Neutralizer is blocked. Instead Castagnoli goes with an uppercut for two and kicks away at the leg in the corner. They go up top where Strong manages a super Angle Slam for two, setting up the Stronghold. The rope is grabbed (Moxley: “Oh boy.”) and Castagnoli Swings him into the half crab.

Strong gets out so the knee is wrapped around the post, with Yuta getting in a cheap shot. Cassidy Orange Punches him, only for Castagnoli to drop Cassidy right back. They head back inside, with Strong hitting a knee to the face but Castagnoli goes back to the leg. A one legged Swing sets up the Neutralizer to retain the title at 18:20.

Rating: B. This was a solid main event with Castagnoli getting to avenge his loss to Strong in the Continental Classic. That’s a good way to set up the main event of Collision and while the title doesn’t mean much around here, it’s at least something with a bit of a connection to AEW. The leg stuff worked well too, with that swinging single leg crab looking awesome. Nice job here.

Overall Rating: B. Maybe they should tape the show after Dynamite more often. This was a rather entertaining show and while it felt like it was another case of setting up Dynamite, it did so well enough. That’s mostly what Collision tends to be and while it didn’t have anything you really needed to see, it did a nice job of making me more interested in Dynamite. Throw in a good main event and I’ll take that week to week.

Results
Hangman Page b. Katsuyori Shibata – Buckshot Lariat
Kris Statlander b. Isla Dawn – Staturday Night Fever
Don Callis Family b. Billy Gunn/Austin Gunn – Raging Fire to Austin
Davis and Doyle b. Jordan Oliver/Alec Price – Double pin
Willow Nightingale b. Julia Hart – Babe With The Powerbomb
Andrade El Idolo b. Magnus – DM
Claudio Castagnoli b. Roderick Strong – Neutralizer

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

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

Wrestle Kingdom XX
Date: January 4, 2026
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 46,913
Commentators: Walker Stewart, Chris Charlton

It’s that time of year again as we have the biggest non-American event of the year. This show has quite the draw, as it features Hiroshi Tanahashi’s final match, as he is facing longtime rival Kazuchika Okada one last time in the show’s main event. If that isn’t enough, Yota Tsuji is challenging Konosuke Takeshita for the IWGP World Title. Let’s get to it.

Note that I do not follow New Japan very closely. While I do know most of the bigger names, I apologize in advance for any character or storyline points that I miss.

Kickoff Show: Katsuya Murashima/Masatora Yasuda vs. Shoma Kato/Tatsuya Matsumoto

Young Lions match. Murashima and Matsumoto go to the mat to start and neither can get very far. It’s off to Yasuda, who backs Kato into the ropes for a rather hard chop. They strike it out and go to the mat for another standoff as this is rather basic so far (in traditional Young Lion style). Yasuda grabs some suplexes to take over and it’s off to Murashima to take over. That doesn’t last long as it’s off to Kato to clean house before Matsumoto (the strong one) snaps off some slams. Murishima powerslams Matsumoto into a Boston crab and when a save fails, Matsumoto taps at 6:20.

Rating: C. It was a very basic match but that’s the point. This is the kind of match you put out there for the sake of having some action while the fans are coming in and it isn’t supposed to be anything more than a chance for the young stars to get their feet wet. No one really stood out but it didn’t last long and the action was fine.

Kickoff Show: TV Title: Chris Brookes vs. El Phantasmo

Phantasmo, with Jado and company, is defending. Brookes takes him to the mat rather quickly to start and trade some clotheslines. A running hurricanrana sends Brookes outside, where he decks Jado. One of Brookes’ lackeys ties a ribbon to Phantasmo’s neck for a rather long (as in about thirty feet) crank. With that out of the way, Phantasmo escapes a chinlock but gets backsplashed for two. Phantasmo knocks him back down and hits a middle rope elbow, setting up the air guitar.

The lackeys offer a distraction on the floor, allowing Phantasmo to hit a torture rack neckbreaker for two. Brookes superplexes him down though and a running dropkick in the corner gets two more. Phantasmo is up with a super hurricanrana but Phantasmo’s top rope splash hits knees. They trade kicks to the face to no avail so Brookes grabs a Jay Driller for two. Phantasmo is back with something like a Neutralizer for two of his own, followed by the Thunder Kiss 86 splash for the pin to retain at 11:50.

Rating: B-. This got a bit better and I was digging it by the end. I’ve seen both of these two before and they’re rather good so I’m not surprised they had a fine match here. It improved once they got away from the people at ringside too, as they were little more than pests who weren’t helping anything.

As usual, the opening video looks at the matches in order, which does give you a nice idea of where everyone stands.

Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles: New Japan Ranbo

So this is kind of a weird one, as the titles are being defended in basically a team Royal Rumble. Each team (eight, for twenty four total entrants) sends in all three members at a time in one minute intervals. When one entrant is eliminated (pinfall, submission, over the top), the team is eliminated, last team standing wins the belts.

RoughStorm (Shota Umino/Yuya Uemura)/Kaisei Takechi are in at #1 and the House Of Torture (Ren Narita/Sanada/Yoshinobu Kanemaru) are in at #2, with the former being played to the ring by a pop band. The House jumps them to start and send RoughStorm outside but the two of them are back inside for some dropkicks. Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors/Oskar/Yuto-Ice) are in at #3 and start cleaning house with Connors grabbing a big wheel for some destruction.

TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr./Ryohei Oiwa/Hartley Jackson) are in at #4 and the War Dogs are waiting on them, with the other six on the floor but not out. Connors hits a spear and it’s Tiger Mask/Togi Makabe/Ryusuke Taguchi in at #5. They take their sweet time getting to the ring, allowing Ice to almost be eliminated. Oskar is tossed though, meaning the War Dogs are gone.

Bishamon (Hirooki Goto/Yoshi-Hashi)/Boltin Oleg are in at #6 and get inside for some brawling as Taguchi uses the jumping hip attacks. Most of the people are on the floor as Team 150 (Tomohiro Ishii/Taichi/Satoshi Kojima) are in at #7. During their entrances, Mask is pinned by Oleg to clear the ring out a bit. Ishii slugs it out with Oleg and plants him with a suplex as we somehow only have two people standing in the ring out of fifteen in the match.

Toru Yano and SpiritTech (Master Wato/Yoh), the defending champions, complete the field at #8 with Yoh dressed as Yano. Taichi and Takechi get into something of a sumo match and a hurricanrana sends both of them out for the double elimination. The House cheat (their thing) to send Yoh over the top but his partners make the catch and throw him back inside.

Yoh hits Sanada low to even the score but Yoh is low bridged and pulled to the floor for the elimination. Sanada falls out as well though and we’re down to TMDK vs. Bishamon/Oleg. Sabre gets caught in the wrong corner for some running splashes and Oleg is choked. That’s broken up and Oleg throws Oiwa, only for Sabre to get the European clutch for the pin and the titles at 20:46.

Rating: C-. This didn’t work, as it was WAY too chaotic with far too much going on and almost no way to keep track of who was doing what. It featured one of the biggest annoyances in wrestling, with a battle royal style match with people on the floor for a long stretch, making it hard to keep track of who was involved. Just do a gauntlet match or something like that, as it makes it so much easier to understand.

IWGP Women’s Title/Strong Women’s Title: Syuri vs. Saya Kamitani

Winner take all. They go with the grappling to start and Syuri works on the arm before they both miss kicks. Saya takes her down for two and cranks on the arm, followed by some kicks to the back for two more. The referee gets in the way though, allowing Saya to hit a dropkick. Syuri is sent outside for a big springboard dive and they come back in to trade forearms.

Syuri’s jumping knee drops Saya but she’s able to catch Syuri on top. Saya goes up but gets pulled down by the arm, setting up a double armbar. The ropes get Saya out of trouble so Syuri drops her on her head for two more. A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Saya two of her own, followed by the Star Crusher for another near fall. Back up and Syuri’s running knee gets two and something like a powerslam gets the same. A poisonrana gives Saya two and a running hurricanrana gets the same. Syuri’s Buzzsaw kick gets two and something like an AA gives her the pin and both titles at 12:06.

Rating: B. This is a good example of what happens when you tell a good story with the action to back it up. They were playing up the good vs. evil story here (including the white vs. black attire) and I got it despite knowing almost nothing about either of these two. The action made it even better as they were both working hard. Good stuff here, as they told a story.

Unaffiliated/Bullet Club War Dogs vs. United Empire

Unaffiliated: Shingo Takagai/Hiromu Takahashi, Bullet Club War Dogs: David Finlay/Gabe Kidd/Drilla Maloney
United Empire: Andrade El Idolo, Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, Henare, Jake Lee

Lee appears to be a surprise partner and has seemingly betrayed the War Dogs to join the Empire. It’s a brawl to start (of course) with Idolo doing his tranquilo pose in the ropes to sucker Kidd in. Idolo’s high crossbody gets two on Kidd, who clotheslines him out to the floor. Back in and Idolo drops Kidd with the spinning back elbow and it’s off to Henare vs. Takagi.

A strike off goes to Takagi and he grabs a neckbreaker for two. Khan comes in to toss Takagi into a sitout powerbomb but Takagi is back with a slam to Henare. A top rope back elbow gets two and Maloney’s spear drops Henare for the same. Henare headbutts his way out of trouble and it’s off to Newman vs. Finlay. A big running boot drops Finlay, who is right back with a backbreaker to cut Newman off.

Newman gives him a running dropkick and it’s off to Lee to slam Finlay for one. Finlay stuns his way out of a chokeslam and it’s off to Tanahashi to make the comeback. Kidd is back in and gets kicked in the face before Maloney gives Newman a spinning piledriver. Takagi Cactus Clotheslines Henare out to the floor and Finlay powerbombs Takahashi over the top and onto the ringside pile. A superplex hits the pile as well, leaving Lee to Helluva Kick Takahashi for the pin at 14:26.

Rating: B-. It was another match with too much going on and that hurt things a lot, but what matters the most is that they were able to explain the bigger stories. The main idea here was Lee returning to screw over the War Dogs, which worked fine. It was another match with a lot going on, but they did a nice enough job of letting you know what was going on, which helps so much.

Post match Francesco Akira returns and joins the Empire, even getting in on a beatdown.

El Desperado vs. Kosei Fujita vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. Sho

For a future shot at IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Douki, who is at ringside. Fujita dives onto the floor to start fast and it’s Sho getting caught by the other three. The ring is cleared until Sho is back in to strike it out with Fujita. A triple submission has Sho in more trouble and it’s down to a three way for the time being. Ishimori and Desperado strike it out with Ishimori hitting a quick faceplant.

Sho slams Fujita onto the referee for the save and Douki is in with a pipe for the beatdown. Robbie Eagles and Robbie X run in for the save, because this show needed another match with a bunch of people flying around. Sho drops Fujita with a shot to the head and a package piledriver gives Sho two on Fujita, with Desperado making the save. Desperado gives Sho a quick Angel’s Wings for the pin at 7:38.

Rating: C+. It was fun while it lasted and they told the story of Sho being a pest that everyone wanted to stop, but there is only so much you can do with four people (plus interference) in less than eight minutes. That’s been a theme of this show, as there have been too many people involved in almost every match. If this has to be a four way, just let it be a four way without all of the other people getting involved.

We hear about various upcoming shows.

We recap Aaron Wolf challenging Evil for the Never Openweight Title. Wolf is a former Olympic gold medalist in judo and making his professional debut.

Never Openweight Title: Aaron Wolf vs. Evil

Evil, with the House Of Torture, is defending and jumps him to start fast. They slug it out with Wolf hitting a running shoulder. A suplex and running elbow give Wolf two and Evil is already getting a breather on the floor. Back in and Wolf is knocked outside so the House can jump him to little avail. A chair is wrapped around Wolf neck for another chair shot and they head back inside. Wolf gets sent hard into the corner for two but he fights back, only for the House to get involved.

Some powder to the face cuts Wolf off and Evil grabs a Sharpshooter. Wolf makes the rope for the save and grabs a powerslam for two. An Angle Slam gives Wolf two and a top rope splash gets the same with the House pulling the referee. The House comes in for the beatdown, with some other wrestlers, including Toru Yano, not being able to make a save. A table is set up and Bad Luck Fale splashes Wolfe through for the big crash. Evil’s big clothesline gets two but Everything Is Evil is countered into a triangle choke to give Wolf the title at 12:54.

Rating: B. This is a case where “all things considered” needs to be brought up. For Wolf’s debut, he did remarkably well, as he was keeping things basic, but those basics looked polished. I’ll absolutely take someone doing simple things well over trying to do too much and looking sloppy. At the same time, JUST LET US HAVE A ONE ON ONE MATCH ALREADY! My goodness this was the seventh match of the night and ONE has gone without some kind of interference. It really shouldn’t be asking that much to avoid it a bit more often.

We recap Yota Tsuji challenging Konosuke Takeshita for the IWGP World Title (while also defending his own Global Title). The idea seems to be that Takeshita is all about wrestling everywhere and Tsuji is fighting for the company’s honor.

IWGP World Title/Global Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yota Tsuji

Winner take all and commentary explains the idea of their issues: Takeshita wrestles the big matches but not the smaller ones and Tsuji wants him to do more. When they throw in that Takeshita has wrestled the second most time in singles matches all year, it kind of makes Tsuji sound whiny. Tsuji takes him down by the arm and then gets in a slap against the ropes. A running hurricanrana sends Takeshita outside but he comes back in to win a battle of shoulders.

The chinlock holds Tsuji down and he actually has to use a foot on the ropes for the escape (that’s quite a chinlock). Tsuji knocks him down for two but Takeshita gives him a suplex to cut off the comeback attempt. We pause for Tsuji to have a neck issue so Takeshita kicks him out to the floor. A running boot to the face sends Tsuji over the barricade but Takeshita sends him back inside for a middle rope backsplash.

The chinlock goes on again but the referee breaks it up, only for Takeshita’s running knee in the corner to miss. Takeshita is right back in with a running hurricanrana to send Tsuji outside for the big dive. Back in and Tsuji hits a kind of faceplant before armdragging him out to the floor. The big Fosbury Flop takes Takeshita down again, followed by a top rope double stomp to give Tsuji two.

They trade hard knees to the face with Tsuji getting two and a kneeling Tombstone connects. Takeshita shrugs it off and hits a spear to leave both of them down. Back up and they trade the big forearms with Tsuji winning the slugout but his neck gives out. Tsuji is able to hit a Canadian Destroyer and a spear sends Takeshita into the corner to leave both of them down.

The spear is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb though and Raging Fire gives Takeshita two. Takeshita drops him with another forearm but the big knee is blocked. An Alley Oop drops Takeshita and they go up top, where Tsuji hits a reverse superplex for two. The spear misses for Tsuji though and Takeshita grabs a poisonrana. A super Blue Thunder Bomb (that was awesome) gets two more, as does the running knee. Another running knee is cut off with the spear though and a Boston crab makes Takeshita tap at 29:20.

Rating: B+. This was rather good and it felt like a big time title match. Takeshita can do just about anything in the ring and it’s awesome to see him getting his chance on the big stage. At the same time, I haven’t gotten much out of Tsuji in the few times I’ve seen him and that was the case again here. He’s fine in the ring, but I don’t get the appeal and while this felt like a big deal, it didn’t feel special, which isn’t a great sign.

Post match Tsuji talks about meeting a rival that he knew he couldn’t lose to and he thanks the fans for believing in him. Jake Lee runs in from behind and beats him down as Tsuji seems to have his first challenger.

We recap Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada, which is Tanahashi’s retirement match. Tanahashi has been the ace, and face, of the company for a LONG time now but it’s time for him to step away. It’s treated as a huge and important moment, which it certainly is, as the fans and company have to say goodbye. Okada, one of Tanahashi’s greatest rivals, is back to face him one more time.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

We get the Big Match Intros and Tanahashi’s does indeed feel special. Tanahashi takes him to the mat by the arm to start and you can see a thank you message (in English) on Tanahashi’s knee pad. Back up and Okada takes him into the rope for a kick to the ribs but Tanahashi gets in a middle rope spinning crossbody. Tanahashi takes too long going up top though and a dropkick knocks him back down.

A running boot knocks him over the barricade and they get back inside, with Okada grabbing a neckbreaker for two. The chinlock has Tanahashi in more trouble but he fights up to drop Okada for a change. A middle rope flipping splash gives Tanahashi two and there’s the dragon screw legwhip. Tanahashi dropkicks the knee out and there’s the high crossbody to the floor. Back in and the Sling Blade is cut off with a flapjack from Okada, followed by the Air Raid Crash on the knee.

The top rope elbow lets Okada flip off the crowd but Tanahashi is back with the Twist And Shout. Okada Tombstones him down and they head outside, with Okada hitting another Tombstone on the ramp. Tanahashi barely beats the count so Okada Tombstones him again, only to pull it up at two. The Rainmaker connects and Okada pulls him up again, which is quite the evil move. Another Rainmaker connects but Tanahashi reverses a third into one of his own for a needed breather.

Okada hits another Rainmaker for another two and it’s off to a Boston crab. Tanahashi makes the ropes so Okada hits the great dropkick but Tanahashi is back with a Sling Bade. The sleeper sets up a PK (ala Katsuyori Shibata), followed by the running knee (ala Shinsuke Nakamura) into the High Fly Flow (ala Hiroshi Tanahashi). Okada fights out of a full nelson but gets Sling Bladed back down.

A High Fly Flow hits Okada’s back but another hits his raised knees, leaving them both down for a breather. They forearm it out from their knees and pull each other up until Okada hits the great dropkick. A fight over a Tombstone results in Okada hitting something like a Destino, followed by a Rainmaker for two. Okada drops the top rope elbow, does the full Rainmaker pose, and finishes Tanahashi’s career with the Rainmaker at 33:05.

Rating: A-. This was old school Tanahashi vs. Okada, as Tanahashi had one more great one in him. There were some outstanding moments in there with Tanahashi surviving and trying to turn the clock all the way back but just not being able to get there in the end. It’s certainly a fitting final match for an all time legend and I was getting emotional watching a legend go away. Great stuff here and worthy of the spot.

Post match Tanahashi is still down but Okada thanks him and leaves. Tanahashi gets up and is presented with some flowers and poses with (I’m assuming) some executives for photos. Cue Jay White (he’s been gone for a bit and does not have the best history with Tanahashi) to present Tanahashi with flowers and bow to him in a show of respect.

Then Will Ospreay joins us (he looks weird in a suit) for the same, followed by Kenny Omega and (a limping) Kota Ibushi. Katsuyori Shibata comes out too (this is too much for Tanahashi, who seems to need a minute to compose himself) and they even lock up and trade some chops. After a big hug, Keiji Mutoh gets in, followed by Tatsumi Fujinami (Tanahashi is just DONE).

Everyone gets together for a big group photo….and Tetsuya Naito is here too. Well in theory at least, as he takes his sweet time coming out, with Tanahashi pointing at his watch and motioning to get on with it already for a funny bit. Naito talks about what Tanahashi means to his career and even though he has left New Japan, Tanahashi is the reason he came back one more time.

They pose together and Naito leaves, finally allowing Tanahashi the chance to talk. He thanks the fans for coming out and he thanks the wrestlers for fighting so hard. Tanahashi goes to leave but is told to go back inside….for one last air guitar. Ok a few last air guitars. He asks the fans to do the Wave around the arena because it’s bad for the circulation to stay seated so long. Of course the fans are right there with him and we get a ten bell salute. Tanahashi waves to the fans and then goes out to high five a bunch of them.

He goes to leave…but walks (ok limps) over to the other side of the stage and gets in a cart used for video shots for a ride around the arena. This goes on for well over ten minutes, with commentary signing off as he’s still going around. Tanahashi finally gets back on the stage and he says he is so happy he fell in love with wrestling. He thanks the fans and pyro goes off, leaving him to walk into the smoke to end the show. The post match stuff goes around an hour and while it’s long, you can’t argue about it being deserved.

A Tanahashi highlight reel plays n the big screen to wrap us up, though even that goes on for a long time as well. Eh it’s a one time thing.

Overall Rating: B. The last two matches more than carried the show but there were some weak parts before then. There were so many matches that were either multi-person matches or had interference and they both made things feel too messy. That being said, this was ALL about Tanahashi and that stuff was a mixture of great wrestling and some pulling of the heartstrings. It was one of the best goodbyes you’ll ever seen and it felt like he deserved every second of the time.

The World Title match was great and Wolf’s debut was rather good to make the show much more good than bad, but dang it could have used some adjustments on the undercard. I would normally say one match can’t carry everything, but when you have that match and the post match stuff taking up about an hour and a half, yeah it kind of can. Rather good show, but an all time farewell.

Results
Katsuya Murashima/Masatora Yasuda b. Shoma Kato/Tatsuya Matsumoto – Boston crab to Matsumoto
El Phantasmo b. Chris Brookes – Thunder Kiss 86
TMDK won the New Japan Ranbo last eliminating Bishamon/Boltin Oleg
Syuri b. Saya Kamitani – Spinning fireman’s carry slam
United Empire b. Unaffiliated/Bullet Club War Dogs – Running boot in the corner to Takahashi
El Desperado b. Kosei Fujita, Taiji Ishimori and Sho – Double underhook lifting faceplant to Sho
Aaron Wolf b. Evil – Triangle choke
Yota Tsuji b. Konosuke Takeshita – Boston crab
Konosuke Takeshita b. Hiroshi Tanahashi – Rainmaker

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

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So we wrap up the AEW year with this one, which is more or less the end of the Continental Classic, the World Title match, and a bunch of other stuff that happens to be taking place on the show. The tournament has taken over the company (as it always does) and while it has gone well (as it always does), it has made quite a bit around here feel a lot less important. For now though, we should be in for some solid action so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Zack Gibson vs. Eddie Kingston

This was added on this week’s Ring Of Honor as the Grizzled Young Veterans attacked Kingston. I’m not sure how much of a build this match really needs, but at least it’s something that gets Kingston in the ring. The fans are going to respond to him rather well and it helps him get back into the groove of things, which he has been needing since his return from injury.

There’s no reason to believe that Kingston is going to lose here so I’ll take the obvious with Kingston getting the win. He’s fighting half of a low level tag team in a match that shouldn’t go much longer than about five minutes. In this case, AEW might even stick to the time frame, as Kingston has mainly been wrestling shorter matches. He’ll get another win here, as he should.

Zero Hour: Sisters Of Sin vs. Hyan/Maya World

Here we have another match where it doesn’t feel like there is much to doubt as the Zero Hour continues to feel like a glorified episode of Rampage. I’m still not sure why we need to have the Sisters get a featured match here, but maybe they’re next in line to come after the Women’s Tag Team Titles. If nothing else, they’re already an established team so there are far worse ideas out there.

Of course I’ll take the Sisters to win, as while the division needs some fresh blood, there is no reason to think that the Sisters should lose here. They’re a fairly featured team and it would make sense for them to get a win here, especially if they might be coming for the titles soon. Hyan and Worlds continue to get time in the ring and I’ve heard worse ideas, even if there is a chance that it’s just to spite Miranda Alize and Nixon Newell.

Death Riders vs. Conglomeration/Roderick Strong/Toni Storm

So this is a thing and yes it is indeed called the Mixed Nuts Mayhem match, because if there’s one thing that you need for a Death Riders match, it’s a funny moniker. It’s likely going to be a wild brawl with some interesting bits, though I’m still completely good with not seeing Daniel Garcia and/or Wheeler Yuta for a long time. Throw in Claudio Castagnoli going from a dark horse to win the Continental Classic to this and it’s a bit of a downgrade.

I’ll take the heroes to win here, just for the sake of not having Storm lose again. Mark Briscoe could use a win of his own and the fans will always respond to Orange Cassidy, so it makes a bit of sense to get them on the card. Hopefully the match winds up being more goofy fun than anything else, as that’s probably the best way to feature most of them. Either that or Yuta and/or Garcia being beaten up rather badly.

Darby Allin vs. Gabe Kidd

This is kind of a weird story, as Allin was gone for most of the tournament but he’s able to be back to face Kidd in this match. I’m not sure how much I need to see Allin get beaten up again, but it’s pretty much his standard operating procedure. That’s probably what we’re going to be seeing in this one, though it’s a bit weird as Kidd just showed up again after being gone for months and is facing Allin again.

I’m not sure where to go here, though I’ll take Allin, as he could use a win after quite a long stretch of nothing good. Granted it also depends on if Kidd is sticking around, as he could use a nice victory of his own. Given what we know at the moment though, I’ll take Allin to get the come from behind win, as it’s easy to get behind him fighting a bully and that’s what we’re getting here.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Babes Of Wrath(c) vs. Athena/Mercedes Mone

This one has me intrigued, as the Babes are the new team and the inaugural champions, though it’s almost hard to imagine Mone or Athena losing again. Mone is already on a losing streak but there isn’t much value in beating her without a title on the line. At the same time you have Athena, who hasn’t done much in Ring Of Honor as of late but doesn’t have the best history in AEW.

I’ll go with the champions to retain here, as it would be something of a stretch to have them lose the titles so soon after they started. Hopefully it winds up being a good match, as the Babes have gone from newly formed to a rather nice team in short order. They need some time to establish themselves a bit better before dropping the titles though and that can be done when they win here.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Tag Team Titles: FTR(c) vs. Bang Bang Gang

It’s a street fight and a rematch from a few weeks ago when FTR beat the Gang to retain the titles. That doesn’t make for the best reason to do the match again, but it isn’t like FTR has anything else to do at the moment. With so many people involved in the tournament, there are some tag teams who are more than a bit busy. Hopefully that changes shortly after the tournament, but this is what we have for now.

Much like when they fought a few weeks ago, I see no reason to believe that FTR is going to lose to the leftovers of the Bang Bang Gang so we’ll go with FTR retaining. I like the Gang for the most part, but they’re only going to get so far with one of the Gunns and Juice Robinson going for the titles. FTR wins here, in what should at least be an entertaining match.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Women’s Title: Kris Statlander(c) vs. Jamie Hayter

The title is on the line here, but it only feels so important. The Women’s Title hasn’t felt overly important in a good while, which is at least partially due to how much else is going on in the women’s division. Statlander is still going well, but she needs to do something that makes her stand out a bit more. I’m just not sure that’s what we’re going to be seeing here.

While I’m not sure it’s going to work out, I’ll take Statlander to retain here. As much as she doesn’t seem to be doing much at the moment, Hayter is hardly doing that much better. Either of them could be fine as champion, but they’re going to need to step up it up. The tag division, plus whatever Toni Storm is doing, both feel more important and that needs to change. For now though, I’ll take Statlander in a coin flip.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Continental Classic Semifinals: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada

I’m not even going to begin to try to make sense of the title situation here, if nothing else due to how ridiculous it’s been. This has been built up as a big time match for a good while now and that should make things all the more interesting. It’s nice to have a match that feels like it’s taking place more due to people having issues rather than a schedule saying they’re fighting. Or at least it’s close enough.

I’ll take….geez I guess Okada here, as all of the hype about him being the GREATEST TOURNAMENT WRESTLER OF ALL TIME all but guarantees him a spot in the finals. At the same time, it’s hard to fathom the IWGP World Champion being allowed to lose, especially around a week before Wrestle Kingdom. I’ll go with Okada winning here, though it doesn’t feel like anything close to a lock.

Continental Classic Semifinals: Jon Moxley vs. Kyle Fletcher

This is the kind of thing that could go either way, but it feels more like a way to get Moxley back on track. He’s been having all kinds of issues as of late and it would be nice to see him at least get to the finals. At the same time, Fletcher is in a place where it wouldn’t be insane to see him beat Moxley. That’s quite the accomplishment, and it’s nice to have a match which could go either way.

I think I’ll go with Moxley winning here, as his attempts to get back on track feel like a better story at the moment. At the same time, it’s a bit hard to fathom an all Don Callis Family final, as it would feel fairly cold outside of Okada vs. Takeshita. Moxley wins here and sets up a pretty big final, though we’ll get to that later, as it should probably headline the show.

AEW World Title: Samoa Joe(c) vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

I’m not sure what it means that I keep forgetting Joe is the World Champion but that has happened multiple times in a fairly short reign. Joe is already a two time World Champion and he still feels like something of a forgotten part of the match. Maybe it’s due to being part of the Trios Champions or facing a two man team of heroes or maybe it’s MJF feeling like such a big deal, but it might be time to get the title off of Joe.

At the end of the day, it’s almost hard to fathom anyone but MJF leaving as champion here. He returned a few weeks ago and immediately stood out and it would make sense to put the title back on him (assuming he’s sticking around full time). MJF hasn’t been champion in a good while now and he’s already feeling like one of the top names in AEW. Give him the title back and see what he can do with it.

Continental Classic Finals: Jon Moxley vs. Kazuchika Okada

Again, I’m not even going to try to figure out how the title situation works (and for the love of all things good and holy, please don’t explain it to me), but it seems that Okada leaves with a title one way or another. That gives him quite the out in possibly losing here and it’s not like him losing the Continental Title is going to hurt in any meaningful way. He’s been champion pretty much forever so it’s time to get it off of him.

As you can probably guess, I’m going with Moxley winning here, as it splits up some titles and hopefully clarifies things a bit. If nothing else, I could go for getting rid of the whole Unified Title or whatever happens here, as there are FAR too many titles in AEW already. Moxley needs the win anyway and it could be a big step in what feels like the start of a face turn for him anyway, because that’s what the world is waiting to see.

Overall Thoughts

It’s pretty clear that the Continental Classic has been carrying the show for the last month or so, if nothing else due to the amount of talent involved. At the same time, it hasn’t exactly done much good for everything else in the company. The top of the card feels big enough, but they’re going to need someone to step up to bolster the undercard. Thankfully that’s where AEW tends to thrive so I’m cautiously optimistic about this one.

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

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Collision
Date: December 25, 2025
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s the last night of the Continental Classic, or at least the league stage, and that means we should be in for something interesting. There is a six way tie in the Gold League so something is going to have to give as we move on to Saturday. We also have an extended show this week, because AEW loves content. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

The opening video looks at the Continental Classic, as you probably expected.

Continental Classic Gold League: Kyle Fletcher (6 points) vs. Jack Perry (6 points)

They circle each other a bit to start with Fletcher avoiding a dropkick but not being able to get anywhere with a grab of the (previously injured) leg. Instead Fletcher stomps on the leg and grabs a half crab. That’s broken up and Perry avoids a charge in the corner to send Fletcher outside. Fletcher cuts off a hurricanrana and powerbombs him onto the apron before slamming Perry into the corner.

With Perry down, Fletcher starts taking off Perry’s boot. Referee: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Fletcher: “I’M TAKING HIS BOOT OFF!” A big stomp onto the apron onto the step has Perry in more trouble as we take a break. We come back with Perry hitting a dropkick but hurting his ankle again. Perry knocks him outside and hits a sitout bulldog on the floor. Fletcher is able to hit a brainbuster on the floor, followed by a Michinoku Driver for two. Perry fights out of trouble on top and hits a super sunset bomb.

The running knee is countered into another half crab, but Perry reverses that into the Snare Trap, leaving Fletcher panicking. One finger on the rope gets Fletcher out of trouble and he knocks Perry back again. The sitout powerbomb is countered into a Code Red, setting up a piledriver for two. Perry knocks him off the top but gets caught with a running boot to the face. The brainbuster finishes Perry at 19:20.

Rating: B+. Heck of a match here with Perry trying to fight from underneath with the leg injury. It made Fletcher look like that much more of a killer as he was going after the damaged Perry, who managed to make it more than interesting. I liked this more than I was expecting as Fletcher likely moves on to the next round.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Mike Bailey – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Kevin Knight – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Pac – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Jack Perry – 6 points (0 matches remaining)

Kyle O’Reilly tries to tell Roderick Strong to lean on the Conglomeration and to never give up. Strong seems encouraged.

Continental Classic Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita (10 points) vs. Mascara Dorada (6 points)

Dorada works on the arm to start before grabbing a rollup for two. Takeshita stomps him down in the corner and knees him in the face but Dorada is back with a springboard wristdrag. The big dive to the floor only hits barricade though and we’re back with Dorada grabbing a rather spinning headscissors.

Another springboard is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb to give Takeshita two. Dorada’s charge is cut off with a clothesline but he’s able to grab a super hurricanrana. They trade rollups for two each before Dorada’s running shooting star press gets two more. Takeshita is back with a running knee and the Raging Fire finishes Dorada off at 11:39.

Rating: B-. It was hard to imagine Dorada being a major threat to Takeshita here, which is kind of a shame as Dorada has been showcasing himself rather well in recent months. He’s someone who could be quite the star if he’s given a chance, but Takeshita is going to be a favorite to win the whole tournament. Let him look strong going into the semifinals this weekend.

Blue League Standings

Konosuke Takeshita – 13 points (0 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 7 points (1 match remaining)
Jon Moxley – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Mascara Dorada – 6 points (0 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 0 points (1 match remaining)

Continental Classic Blue League: Claudio Castagnoli (7 points) vs. Roderick Strong (0 points)

Castagnoli hits a running uppercut for an early two and Strong rolls him up for the same. Another uppercut sends Strong outside and Castagnoli dumps him over the barricade. Back in and Strong grabs an Angle Slam, followed by some jumping knees for the VERY quick pin at 3:22.

Rating: B-. Well ok. During this match I was thinking that I really didn’t need to see a long match between two people who have no realistic chance to win the tournament and they didn’t give me one. Well done on throwing in a curve ball there, as you do not see short matches like this in the tournament at all.

Blue League Standings

Konosuke Takeshita – 13 points (0 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Mascara Dorada – 6 points (0 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 3 points (0 matches remaining)

Post match the Death Riders run in to beat down Strong but Mark Briscoe runs in for the save. Toni Storm comes in to go after Marina Shafir and gets a kiss on the hand from Briscoe, leaving Storm with the vapors.

The Bang Bang Gang wants a rematch from FTR, with Stokley Hathaway accepting for Worlds End.

Worlds End rundown.

Video on Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter.

Continental Classic Gold League: Kevin Knight (6 points) vs. Pac (6 points)

Pac takes him up against the ropes to start so Knight grabs a wristlock. A running shoulder puts Knight down but he sends Pac outside for a breather. Back in and they chop it out until Knight sends him outside again. Knight hurricanranas him on the floor, setting up a springboard clothesline. A sliding forearm gives Knight two and we take a break.

We come back with Fletcher charging into an overhead belly to belly suplex to send him crashing over the top for a scary landing. An overhead belly to belly superplex gives Pac two but Knight is back up with a missile dropkick. Pac German suplexes him on the floor though and, after flipping off the crowd, wants the countout.

Knight beats the count back inside and jumps to the top for a top rope superplex. They forearm it out and Knight dropkicks him down, setting up the Coast To Coast. Knight’s UFO Splash hits raised knees though and Pac rolls him up. The Black Arrow hits raised knees and Knight rolls him up a few times, only to get pulled into the Brutalizer…as time expires for the draw at 20:00.

Rating: B. They have something with Knight who is athletic, has some size, and has momentum right now. That is worth a look, and hopefully it happens rather than seeing more with Mike Bailey. Pac getting aggressive (ok more aggressive) as time ran out was great, but Knight survived in a cool moment,. Nice job here.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Pac – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Mike Bailey – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Jack Perry – 6 points (0 matches remaining)

Here is Gabe Kidd, who talks about hearing Darby Allin’s body bouncing down the steps. He said Allin isn’t indestructible and now Allin is in the ICU. Cue Allin (of course) with a baseball bat to chase Kidd off. The match is set for Worlds End.

Video on Mercedes Mone/Athena challenging the Babes Of Wrath for the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Babes Of Wrath vs. Maya World/Hyan

Non-title. Hyan gets elbowed and side slammed for two to start. Nightingale drops Cameron onto Hyan for two more and everything breaks down. The running flip dive off the apron drops Hyan and World as we take a break. We come back with Nightingale suplexing both of them down and giving World a backbreaker. Everything breaks down and Soul Food into a swinging neckbreaker finishes Hyan at 7:01.

Rating: C. This was just a long squash and odds are that was the case due to the extended run time this week. Thankfully the Babes didn’t have any trouble here, which is a good way to go before they have their big title defense on Saturday. The team is still relatively new and they need some more reps so this wasn’t a bad idea.

Post match the Babes talk about being in New York, including going to Eddie Kingston’s mother’s house. They met Santa Claus and talked about wanting peace, except for in Chicago, because they’re going to hurt Mercedes Mone and Athena.

Continental Classic Blue League: Orange Cassidy (6 points) vs. Jon Moxley (6 points)

They fight over a piledriver/Beach Break to start before crashing out to the floor. Moxley wins a slugout but gets hammered in the corner back inside. Cassidy gets knocked outside and his elbow is banged into the barricade. Moxley is right on him with a whip into the steps but a Stundog Millionaire gives Cassidy a breather back inside. A top rope DDT drops Moxley back inside and we take a break.

We come back with Cassidy actually winning an exchange of forearms, setting up the Orange Punch. Moxley is sent outside for a suicide dive and they go onto the barricade, where Cassidy DDTs him through a table. They barely beat the count and Cassidy nails an Orange Punch. Moxley grabs the Gotch style piledriver for two but he comes up favoring his leg. Cassidy grabs a half crab but Moxley is quickly out, only to get caught with a running DDT. The Beach Break gets two and Cassidy goes for the leg, which is reversed into a small package to give Moxley the pin at 17:06.

Rating: B. These two do have chemistry together and it feels like something of an accomplishment for Moxley to beat Cassidy in a bigger match. At the same time, it’s interesting to see Cassidy just kind of floating around lately. He hasn’t had much to do in recent months and I’m not sure what changes that.

Blue League Standings

Konosuke Takeshita – 13 points (0 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 6 points (0 matches remaining)
Mascara Dorada – 6 points (0 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 3 points (0 matches remaining)

Video on the World Title match at Worlds End.

Continental Classic Gold League: Kazuchika Okada (6 points) vs. Mike Bailey (6 points)

They take turns backing each other up against the ropes and Okada has to avoid a tornado kick. Bailey sends him to the floor and hits a triangle moonsault, only to charge into a flapjack back inside. Instead a missile dropkick connects for Bailey, who walks into the neckbreaker onto the knee. Okada’s top rope elbow connects and he flips off the fans and they strike it out until we take a break.

We come back with Bailey winning a strike off (doesn’t seem too bright for Okada) but getting sunset flipped for two. The moonsault knees miss for Bailey but he avoids a charge and hits a springboard corkscrew moonsault to the floor. They go to the ramp where Bailey hits the moonsault knees to the chest and a kick to the face gets two back inside.

The Ultimate Weapon connects but Okada rolls outside before the cover. Back in and Okada hits a Rainmaker but another is cut off with a superkick. The Ultimate Weapon gets two so Bailey loads up the Flamingo Driver. That’s reversed as well but Okada misses the Rainmaker, only to grab the rollup for the pin at 16:08.

Rating: B. They had another good match here with Bailey feeling like a long shot at best to win the thing. Okada gets to move on to the next stage, because he is THE BEST TOURNAMENT WRESTLER EVER and since that is apparently a thing, he can survive to fight another day. It wraps up a pretty awesome group stage of the tournament and it worked well with a good match.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Pac – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 6 points (0 match remaining)
Jack Perry – 6 points (0 matches remaining)

Konosuke Takeshita comes out to stare Okada (his opponent at Worlds End) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a rather good show with a bunch of solid wrestling and a bit of drama as there were a few options for who might advance. This show was almost all about the Continental Classic, which makes sense as it has dominated the last month or so. They were focusing on the wrestling here and that is one of the best things AEW can do, though I’m almost scared of what comes next for them.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. Jack Perry – Brainbuster
Konosuke Takeshita b. Mascara Dorada – Raging Fire
Roderick Strong b. Claudio Castagnoli – Jumping knee
Kevin Knight vs. Pac went to a time limit draw
Babes Of Wrath b. Hyan/Maya World – Swinging neckbreaker to Hyan
Jon Moxley b. Orange Cassidy – Small package
Kazuchika Okada b. Mike Bailey – Rollup

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

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Collision
Date: December 20, 2025
Location: Co-op Live, Manchester, England
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Excalibur

So due to a mixture of the holidays and probably the weird travel schedule, here we have the second half of this week’s Collision. As usual, it’s going to have some more from the Continental Classic, which should be enough to carry the show. That’s been a great thing for the last few weeks so let’s get to it.

Here is the previous show if you need a recap.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jack Perry (0 points) vs. Mike Bailey (6 points)

Bailey flips over him to start and they trade some near falls into a standoff. A rollup gives Bailey two but Perry seems to be favoring his ankle. Perry sends him outside but misses a baseball slide, allowing Bailey to catch him with the top rope Asai moonsault. Bailey gets dropped onto the steps though and we take a break.

We come back with Bailey striking away and hitting a running shooting star press. The standing moonsault doesn’t work though and Perry hits the running Canadian Destroyer on the apron. Back in and the top rope double stomp misses for Perry and the ankle is banged up again. Perry charge into a superkick but reverses the Flamingo Driver into a rollup for two. The Snare Trap goes on but Bailey rolls him up for two and the escape. The Ultimate Weapon misses so Bailey tries a superkick, only for Perry to bite his toes. A teardrop suplex of all things finishes Bailey at 10:35.

Rating: B-. That’s quite the surprise but I do like seeing Perry win a match. Yes he’s a substitute in the tournament, but he’s also someone who has had success in AEW. It’s far from a stretch to see him win a match like this and it slows Bailey down a bit. That’s a nice opener and the match wasn’t bad at all, as it was nice to have it be a bit shorter for a change.

Gold League Standings

Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Pac – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Kyle Fletcher – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Jack Perry – 3 points (2 matches remaining)

Post match Luchaclaus comes out with a present for Bailey and everything is ok.

Eddie Kingston vs. Nathan Cruz

The Grizzled Young Veterans jump Kingston before the match, allowing Cruz to grab a slingshot belly to back suplex. Kingston is back with the rapid fire chops and a neckbreaker, followed by the DDT for the fast pin at 1:40.

We look at this week’s Continental Classic matches.

Rev Pro Women’s Title: Mercedes Mone vs. ???

Mone is defending against…Alex Windsor, who has Mone worried. Windsor fires off some clotheslines to start and a Sharpshooter sends Mone straight over to the ropes. That’s fine with Windsor, who grabs the hold again on the apron. Mone escapes and tries a hurricanrana to the floor, which is broken up as well. A kick to the head works a bit better for Mone and we take a break.

We come back with Mone sending her into the corner but Windsor seems to headbutt her out of the air for a double down. Another Sharpshooter attempt is broken up and Mone gets the crossface. Windsor tries to get up and gets crucifixed bombed for two instead. They go up top, where Windsor manages a super Blue Thunder Bomb for two. The Statement Maker is countered so Mone tries the Mone Maker, which is reversed into a cradle to give Windsor the title at 10:45.

Rating: B-. That’s a good choice for the title change as Mone’s decline continues. Windsor is someone who has been established around here and the UK fans seem rather pleased with the title change. I’m glad we’re finally moving on from Mone being the biggest thing in the world as it was losing the limited charm it had. Now she’s putting a bunch of people over and that’s helping quite a bit, especially in the case of Windsor, who feels like she has a lot of potential.

Post match Mone is devastated and Windsor’s son comes in for a hug in a nice moment.

Continental Classic Gold League: Kevin Knight (6 points) vs. Kazuchika Okada (6 points)

Don Callis is here too. Okada starts in on the arm before they trade armdrags and miss dropkicks for a standoff. Back up and Okada takes him up against the ropes for the chest pat before being sent outside. They trade forearms on the floor, then go inside to do the same thing there. The forearms send both of them to the apron, where they agree to stereo springboards. Okada headfakes him and laughs, only to get dropkicked out to the floor. A springboard clothesline hits Okada and we take a break.

We come back with Knight fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a middle rope crossbody. The spinning splash gives Knight two more but Okada breaks up a springboard attempt. The Air Raid Crash onto the knee gives Okada two of his own but he walks into a Sky High. Knight tries the UFO Splash, which lands on raised knees. Now Okada can hit his dropkick but the Rainmaker is cut off. Instead it’s a jumping DDT into a springboard clothesline to give Knight two but Okada dropkicks him out of the air. Another Rainmaker attempt is reversed into a small package to give Knight the huge upset pin at 13:55.

Rating: B. Knight is getting a heck of a rub out of this tournament and that is part of the point. I don’t know if that’s going to last once the tournament is over, but he pinned Okada clean in the middle of the ring and that’s a good thing. AEW needs to push some fresh talent and if that’s Knight, it’s certainly something that could work.

Gold League Standings

Pac – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Mike Bailey – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Kyle Fletcher – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Kevin Knight – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Jack Perry – 3 points (2 matches remaining)

Don Callis and Okada are stunned to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. It was just an hour long, but they had some nice stuff on this show. That’s good to see and it’s a break to have them in and out so quickly. The tournament continues to go quite well and now we get to see what happens with some of the stories they’ve set up. I’m not sure how many people are going to see the next steps as they’re on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but those shows are only going to mean so much with World’s End in a week. Solid show here.

Results
Jack Perry b. Mike Bailey – Teardrop suplex
Eddie Kingston b. Nathan Cruz – DDT
Alex Windsor b. Mercedes Mone – Cradle
Kevin Knight b. Kazuchika Okada – Small package

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

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Dynamite
Date: December 10, 2025
Location: Gateway Center Arena At College Park, College Park, Georgia
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Bryan Danielson

It’s Winter Is Coming and we have a few title matches. First of all, the inaugural Women’s Tag Team Titles will be decided as the Babes Of Wrath face the Timeless Love Bombs. Other than that, Samoa Joe is defending the World Title against Eddie Kingston in a match where the talking might be the best part. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Timeless Love Bombs vs. Babes Of Wrath

For the inaugural titles. Shirakawa takes her down to start and does her dance, only for Cameron to shove Shirakawa’s face into her chest. Nightingale comes in to shoulder Storm down, setting up the exchange of forearms. Everything breaks down and Cameron kicks the Bombs out to the floor for a crash. Back in and Cameron gets dropped onto Storm for two and it’s off to Shirakawa.

Cameron belly to back suplexes her as well and hands it off to Nightingale for the rapid forearms. Storm gets Pounced out to the floor and we take a break. We come back with Shirakawa DDTing Nightingale and handing it back to Storm for the Mongolian chops. Shirakawa comes back in to wrench Cameron’s knee and DDT Nightingale at the same time. Nightingale takes Storm down for a leglock of her own while Shirakawa grabs a Figure Four on Cameron.

Both of those are broken up and they strike it out for a double down. Shirakawa’s top rope Sling Blade to Cameron sets up Storm Zero for two but Nightingale makes the save. Nightingale suplexes Storm on the floor but Cameron reverses the Glamorous Driver into That’s Her Finisher. The Babe With The Powerbomb finishes Shirakawa for the titles at 13:55.

Rating: B. I like the result as Cameron and Nightingale are the popular team and have good chemistry together. It felt like a bit of a surprise result but not an all time shocker, which fits that much better. Cameron has come so, so far in her still relatively short career and it’s great to see her pick up some gold.

Post match the Babes are so proud of each other and the Bombs get up for some respect.

Samoa Joe, with the Opps, is ready to take out Eddie Kingston tonight.

Jon Moxley knows his back is against the wall in the Continental Classic but he’s ready to do anything to win. Daniel Garcia knows that they’re willing to fight harder than anyone else, which is why they’re great.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jack Perry (3 points) vs. Kazuchika Okada (3 points)

Perry is taking Darby Allin’s place due to injury and inherits his standing, including the points, in the tournament. Perry charges at him to start and fires off some shoulders in the corner. They fight around ringside and Perry takes him inside for an elbow. Some right hands in the corner have Okada in more trouble but he shoves Perry off the top for a crash onto a camera man. Perry is sent over the barricade and a hanging DDT drops him onto the floor as we take a break.

We come back with the exchange of forearms until Perry hits a rebound clothesline. Perry flips over him in the corner (didn’t quite stick the landing) and grabs a German suplex for two. Okada knocks him down again though and hits the top rope elbow, followed by the perfect dropkick.

Perry’s poisonrana into a running knee gets two but Okada bites the hand to escape the Snare Trap. Okada loads up a tombstone…and Perry bites his crotch to pull him into the Snare Trap. That’s escaped, with Okada bailing to the floor to deal with the aftermath of the bite. Back in and Okada avoids another running knee, setting up the Rainmaker for the pin at 12:11.

Rating: B. Another hard hitting match here with Okada getting the win, which makes the most sense. Perry being thrown into the tournament as an injury replacement doesn’t mean he’s suddenly on Okada’s level so having Perry as a near guaranteed win for a few opponents is about all you should expect from him. At least it came after a good match.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Pac – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Jack Perry – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Post match the Don Callis Family comes out and Perry gets up. Don Callis himself offers Perry a spot on the team and a signing bonus, as paid out of the Young Bucks’ money. Callis threatens him with violence but Perry says for the second time tonight, he’s biting off more than he can chew. Perry goes after him but Luchasaurus and the Young Bucks run in for the save. Callis hands the Bucks the money and runs, leaving the money behind as the Bucks superkick various Family members.

The Conglomeration celebrates the Babes Of Wrath’s title win, though Roderick Strong looks miserable.

We look at Mercedes Mone’s losing streak.

Eddie Kingston is nervous watching and realizes it’s the anniversary of Terry Funk winning the World Title. He knows Funk, and his own parents, are watching and he doesn’t want to get emotional. He’ll bring the fight to Samoa Joe.

Here is Mark Briscoe for a chat. Briscoe talks about how there are people who didn’t think he could win the big one and they can kiss his big white a**. It’s one thing to win a title but it’s another to defend the title, which he’ll be doing on Collision. Cue Wheeler Yuta and the Death Riders in the crowd to say Briscoe has more children than teeth. Daniel Garcia (challenging Briscoe on Saturday) to say he’s going to win the title and break Briscoe’s leg. The fight is nearly on but Garcia is held back by the rest of the team.

The Triangle Of Madness jumps various women but Kris Statlander makes the save.

Hangman Page/Swerve Strickland vs. Opps

Tornado tag. Page and Swerve come through the crowd with a chain and staple gun to beat up the Opps Dojo. The regular Opps come up into the crowd for the fight and they head into the concourse before the opening bell. Page puts Hobbs through a table and stops for a beer as Shibata kicks Swerve in the face.

We take a break before the match has officially started and come back with Page bringing a chair in for the opening bell. The referee takes the chair away and Shibata drops Page with a suplex. Shibata’s running dropkick connects in the corner and Hobbs adds a powerslam as Swerve is still down in the crowd. Hobbs goes after Prince Nana but Swerve is back to make a save.

Swerve hits a middle rope elbow to Shibata’s back but he avoids the Buckshot Lariat. A low blow drops Page, only for Shibata’s armbar to be broken up by Swerve’s top rope double stomp. Hobbs runs Shibata over by mistake and the 450 crushes him as well. A double powerbomb sends Hobbs through a table at ringside and the Buckshot Lariat into the House Call finishes Shibata at 7:16.

Rating: B-. I’m not sure why this needed to be a tornado tag but that’s a minor issue. This was all about Swerve and Page teaming together and it gives them a chance to do it again on a bigger stage. Beating the Opps makes sense for them and now we get to move on to whatever is next for both of them, which could be either together or on their own.

Don Callis wants the Young Bucks to find a partner and fight them next week for the million dollars.

FTR doesn’t like the Bang Bang Gang having delusions of grandeur because they’re addicted to the camera. They can have their Tag Team Title match and then after the loss, it’s time to go to the back of the line.

Continental Classic Gold League: Mike Bailey (0 points) vs. Kyle Fletcher (6 points)

They trade knockdowns and rollups for two each to start and Fletcher bails outside, with the fans approving. Back in and Fletcher stomps him down but Bailey snaps up with a heck of a springboard hurricanrana. That sends Fletcher outside so Bailey gives him another hurricanrana but Fletcher is back in with a spinning backbreaker.

Bailey dropkicks him down and hits a springboard corkscrew dive to the floor. That doesn’t work for Fletcher, who hits a heck of a superkick and slams him hard onto barricade. We take a break and come back with Bailey dropping him on the apron and snapping off the moonsault knees. Back in and the Flamingo Driver is broken up and the shooting star press hits raised feet.

Fletcher’s sitout Last Ride gets two but Bailey manages a running Spanish Fly. A quick hurricanrana gives Bailey two and he kicks Fletcher in the head for two more. The tornado kick gives Bailey a rather near fall and the Ultimate Weapon gets two more. Bailey misses the knees to the floor though and an apron powerbomb sets up the brainbuster….for two. They strike it out until Bailey traps the arms and grabs a sunset flip for the pin at 19:10.

Rating: A-. This was an awesomely entertaining match, which is what you need to see in this kind of a tournament. Bailey is someone who is the definition of junk food wrestling, as it might not be good but it can certainly be exciting. At the same time, I’m not sure if I would have Fletcher lose like this, but DANG this was a blast and that’s what they were shooting for here.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Pac – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Jack Perry – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Hangman Page wants the World Title back and is coming for it at World’s End.

The Young Bucks ask Luchasaurus to be their partner but he’s not interested. Instead they go to Kenny Omega and he’ll do it for free.

AEW World Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Samoa Joe

Joe, with Hook, is defending. They circle each other to start until Hook grabs a foot, which is enough to get an early ejection. Joe takes him down and starts striking away but some knees to the face wake Kingston up. Kingston grabs a running bulldog and we take a break. We come back with Kingston kicking away and asking Joe to do the same. Joe strikes him down and hits the enziguri in the corner, which might break Kingston’s nose.

Kingston gets up to exchange strikes until Joe’s scoop powerslam gets two. Joe knees away so Kingston fires off the chops and grabs an exploder for two of his own. Another knockdown lets Joe grab an STF, only for Kingston to bite the finger. The DDT drops Joe, who rolls to the floor, followed by a cutter back inside. The spinning backfist misses though and Joe Koquina Clutches him for the tap at 12:18.

Rating: B. This was the definition of “as advertised”, as these two beat the fire out of each other. Joe and Kingston are bigger guys who can hit each other rather hard, which is exactly what we got here. Kingston losing isn’t a surprise, though seeing him actually tap is a bit out of left field. Good match here though, with Joe getting Kingston out of the way before moving on to his next big opponent.

Overall Rating: A. Well dang that was great. You had nothing but solid to great matches all night and the title win at the beginning was awesome as well. This show flew by and never came close to dipping, which is about as much as I can ask for in a television show. Outstanding show here and something that felt like it would have fit back in the older days of AEW.

Results
Babes Of Wrath b. Timeless Love Bombs – Babe With The Powerbomb to Shirakawa
Kazuchika Okada b. Jack Perry – Rainmaker
Hangman Page/Swerve Strickland b. Opps – House Call to Shibata
Mike Bailey b. Kyle Fletcher – Sunset flip
Samoa Joe b. Eddie Kingston – Koquina Clutch

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

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Dynamite
Date: December 3, 2025
Location: Fishers Events Center, Fishers, Indiana
Commentators: Excalibur, Bryan Danielson, Tony Schiavone

We’re getting closer to Worlds End and that means it’s time to continue the Continental Classic. While I won’t even bother trying to get my head around the title situation, I can certainly enjoy the matches that come with the tournament. Hopefully it lives up to the hype so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring to start and brings out World Champion Samoa Joe and next week’s challenger, Eddie Kingston. Joe tells Schiavone to get out and then insults the crowd, saying he’s not looking nice out here because….well because it’s Indianapolis. With that out of the way, he explains that Hook is where he is because he has had the right training. Joe wanted Hook to see what it was like to be around the low level stars and that’s why he picked Kingston.

Next week, Kingston will fight for everything he has but just like every other time, he won’t cross the finish line. Kingston talks about how Hook learned to never quit and yeah he yells a lot, but he gets stuff done. He accuses Joe of being the kinds of people who got in heads and messed with people. That’s who Joe used to hate but now he’s one of them. It better be old school Joe, or Kingston will eat him alive on the tenth (imagine that: saying the date of a big match!). Kingston was bringing the intensity here and that’s been missing since he came back.

The Opps are ready to fight tonight and they’re going to beat up….the Dark Order. Of course.

Continental Classic Gold League: Pac (3 points) vs. Kazuchika Okada (0 points)

Okada works on the arm to start and they forearm it out with Pac getting the better of things. Pac hits a nice missile dropkick and Okada needs a breather on the floor. Okada gets the better of things outside but Pac kicks him down back inside. We take a break and come back with Pac missing a dropkick, allowing Okada to hit a dropkick of his own. A DDT gives Okada two and the top rope elbow lets Okada flip off the crowd.

The Rainmaker is blocked though and Pac grabs a slingshot cutter. Okada shrugs that off and hits the dropkick but the Rainmaker is cut off again. The German suplex out of the corner drops Okada and a bridging version gives Pac two. Okada is back up with a Tombstone and goes to the top, where Pac superplexes him down. The Brutalizer is loaded up but Okada reverses into a cradle for the pin at 13:30.

Rating: B. They were laying it in out there and that made for a good opener, with Okada getting on the board in the tournament. Pac is someone who can be put out there and feel like a threat no matter who he’s facing. That’s a good combination and it made for a solid match here, which could have gone on even longer.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Pac – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Darby Allin – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Mark Briscoe is ready to face Daniel Garcia again for the TNT Title. He doesn’t think as much of Garcia this time, but he knows the talent is there.

Earlier today, Ricochet, with the Gates Of Agony, promised to beat Dalton Castle at Final Battle and he’ll even have another title defense on Collision.

Mark Briscoe is ready for Orange Cassidy vs. Roderick Strong in the Continental Classic, but Strong insists he is NOT in the Conglomeration and promises to break Cassidy’s back.

Darby Allin is injured and cannot travel, let alone wrestle. Well that’s not promising.

Continental Classic Gold League: Kyle Fletcher vs. Kevin Knight

Knight backs him up against the ropes to start and gives Fletcher a pat on the chest. They go to the mat with Fletcher throwing him down and getting in a kick to the face. Back up and Knight snaps off some armdrags and the threat of a dropkick sends Fletcher bailing to the floor. Fletcher manages to kick him out to the floor but Knight hits a springboard lariat (that looked good) as we take a break.

We take a break and come back with Knight hitting a great dropkick for two. Fletcher sends him into the ropes but Knight scores with another springboard clothesline for two more. A running DDT plants Fletcher on the apron but Knight gets crotched on top. Knight is able to tie him in the Tree Of Woe for the Coast To Coast but the UFO Splash hits raised knees. A sitout powerbomb gives Fletcher two more and he cuts Knight off with a superkick. The Helluva Kick into the brainbuster finishes Knight at 13:09.

Rating: B+. Maybe it’s being a sucker for a top rope clothesline but I had a good time with this and Knight came off looking like a serious threat to someone like Fletcher. The good thing is that a loss only does so much damage to Knight and he was always going to be an underdog here anyway. Solid stuff here as Knight is becoming more and more of a star every time.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Pac – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Darby Allin – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Post match Don Callis gets in the ring for a chat and here are Josh Alexander and Hechicero, each carrying a bag of money. After a break, Callis calls out the Young Bucks for doing the unforgivable by signing with Kenny Omega. Callis tells the Bucks to come get their money so here they come, only to get beaten down. The Jurassic Express comes in but so do more members of the Family, with the villains taking over. Kenny Omega makes the real save and the Family escapes with the money.

Video on the Babes Of Wrath.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Megan Bayne/Marina Shafir vs. Timeless Love Bombs

Death match so it’s a brawl to start fast, with the Bombs actually taking over. The Bombs bust out some hard candy canes (Schiavone thinks it might be different than usual candy canes) to take over and Shirakawa is dropped onto Bayne. Shafir is back up with a headscissor driver to send Storm into the apron and Shirakawa is thrown onto Storm as we take a break.

We come back with the villains still in control and unloading with various weapons. Shirakawa dropkicks a chair into Bayne’s face though and Storm Zero sends Bayne from the apron through a table. Mother’s Milk is broken up and Shirakawa knocks Shafir outside, setting up the big dive.

A top rope sling blade onto a chair gives Shirakawa two, with Bayne driving Storm into the cover to break it up. Bayne spears Shirakawa HARD into a table in the corner but Storm Zero sends Bayne’s head into Shafir’s ribs. Cue Santa Claus with a present for Shafir…and it’s Luther, with a middle finger in the present. Storm gets in a shoe to Shafir’s head for the pin at 11:07.

Rating: B-. Good fight here, but certainly nothing that we haven’t seen done a bunch of times before. The stuff with Luther at the end felt stupid as Storm should be able to beat Shafir without help, but I guess they wanted to protect the villains a bit more. Either way, Storm and Shirakawa are a nice choice for the finals and the match certainly wasn’t dull.

The Triangle Of Madness are sick of Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter. The latter want a tag match…and Hayter wants to talk about the Women’s Title after.

The Dark Order is excited about being in action but tell Hangman Page not to ruin this. Page says he won’t, but he’ll be there as soon as the match is over.

Mercedes Mone doesn’t want to hear about Full Gear and brags about her various successes. She’s ready to beat Red Velvet again and she’ll even be on this week’s Ring Of Honor. How nice of her.

We look at FTR getting challenged by the Bang Bang Gang.

Stokely Hathaway finds it pathetic that the Bang Bang Gang wants the titles for their injured friends. FTR mocks every member and dare the Gang to touch their titles again.

Opps vs. Dark Order

Non-title. The Opps jump them from behind before the bell and keep up the beating as we officially start. Reynolds is dropped onto the apron and we take an early break. We come back with Uno fighting back, including a double DDT. Hobbs is back in though and the World’s Strongest Slam gets two. The spinebuster finishes Uno at 6:10. Not enough shown to rate but it was basically a squash, as it should have been.

Post match Hangman Page comes in and manages to clean house, but security cuts off the Buckshot Lariat to Hobbs.

Don Callis thinks the Family will win the Continental Classic. He tries to explain the Unified Title but he’s not putting the other legs of the title up because it would be stupid.

Hangman Page calls out the Opps for next week and says he won’t be coming alone.

Continental Classic Blue League: Jon Moxley vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Marina Shafir goes for a test of strength as Castagnoli wins a test of strength to start (shocking I know). Moxley goes for the fingers but gets taken down with a backbreaker as we take a break. We come back with Moxley busted open (ah, an old classic) and Castagnoli grabbing the Swing. The Sharpshooter has Moxley in more trouble and Castagnoli switches it into a crossface.

That’s broken up and they slug it out with Moxley knocking him outside. Moxley’s suicide dive sends Castagnoli into the announcers’ table but Castagnoli blasts him with a clothesline back inside. Moxley hits a heck of a clothesline of his own and a Stomp gets two. Castagnoli powers him out to the floor and hits a running double stomp as Moxley is sitting in a chair. Back in and a powerbomb gives Castagnoli two but Moxley grabs a Paradigm Shift. They pull themselves up and Castagnoli hits a running uppercut for the clean pin at 15:05.

Rating: B. The fall of Moxley continues, though sweet goodness they’re taking their time getting there. I do like Castagnoli getting a run in the tournament, though it’s hard to imagine he actually wins the thing or really comes close. At least Moxley is losing for a change and not looking like the most awesome toughest guy ever and it does give Castagnoli a big win of his own.

Blue League Standings

Claudio Castagnoli – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Konosuke Takeshita – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Mascara Dorada – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Overall Rating: B+. As usual, the Continental Classic shows offer some of the most consistent in-ring action that AEW can offer. They might not be much in the way of storyline advancement, but they are quite entertaining while they last. I liked the show again, which isn’t a big surprise, and now we get to see where things go for a bunch of people, including the Death Riders, who are having a rough time.

Results
Kazuchika Okada b. Pac – Cradle
Kyle Fletcher b. Kevin Knight – Brainbuster
Timeless Love Bombs b. Megan Bayne/Marina Shafir – Shoe to the head
Opps b. Dark Order – Spinebuster to Uno
Claudio Castagnoli b. Jon Moxley – Running uppercut

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

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Dynamite
Date: November 26, 2025
Location: The Pinnacle, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Bryan Danielson

We’re done with Full Gear and that means it is time to start the Continental Classic. This has become one of AEW’s signature events and will take place over the next few weeks on the way to World’s End. That’s in addition to Samoa Joe regaining the World Title from Hangman Page, plus the return of Swerve Strickland. Let’s get to it.

Here is Full Gear if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

We look at the Don Callis Family’s issues at Full Gear, which was a rough night for the team.

Continental Classic Gold League: Kyle Fletcher vs. Kazuchika Okada

Don Callis is on commentary. Okada’s Unified Title, which is no longer unified because Okada has surrendered the Continental Title for the tournament, isn’t on the line but he can lose the Unified Title if he doesn’t make the finals. Got that? Eh you probably don’t need to as whatever unification they do won’t last anyway.

We get a handshake to start but Fletcher tries to jump him early on. They trade headlock takeovers and go face to face before Okada starts in on the arm. Okada takes him up against the ropes for some chest slapping but Fletcher runs him over without much trouble. An elbow gives Fletcher two but Okada kicks the referee into the ropes to crotch Fletcher, setting up a dropkick out to the floor. Somehow this isn’t a DQ and we take a break.

We come back with Fletcher kicking the referee into the ropes to crotch Okada, setting up a nice superplex. Okada manages to hit the White Noise onto the knee, followed by the top rope elbow. The Rainmaker is countered into a half and half suplex but Okada hits the dropkick. The Tombstone connects but Okada’s Rainmaker is countered into a Michinoku Driver for the double down. They forearm it out from their knees until Fletcher lawn darts him into the corner, setting up a sitout Last Ride for two. The referee almost gets bumped and Okada tries the Rainmaker, which is reversed into a cradle for the pin at 16:48.

Rating: B+. Well, at least Okada took a fall here, and that’s a big deal. Fletcher is pretty clearly one of the stars of the future around here and beating Okada is still an important moment. They had a rather good match here and I was surprised that they actually pulled the trigger with one of them losing.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Pac – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Darby Allin – 0 points (4 matches remaining
Kazuchika Okada – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Post match we do get a handshake, even with Okada teasing the middle finger.

We recap the Elite’s reunion at Full Gear.

Kenny Omega says this is complicated. He hasn’t been a model friend, but maybe the Young Bucks deserve a second chance. The Bucks leave Omega’s locker room.

After winning the TNT Title, the bloody Mark Briscoe talks about how he wasn’t sure if he wanted to keep wrestling after losing his brother. Then it was loss after loss but the Conglomeration became his road family. The title is for his road family and for his real family.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Sisters Of Sin vs. Babes Of Wrath

Cameron catches Hart’s kick to the ribs to start and Nightingale comes in for a double belly to back suplex. Blue makes the save and Nightingale fires off some corner clotheslines. An assisted splash misses though and it’s Hart coming back in to take over on Cameron. Everything breaks down and Cameron hits Blue with a Sling Blade. Black fights back to take over on Cameron and we take a break.

We come back with Cameron still in trouble but she manages a belly to back suplex to escape. Nightingale comes back in to clean house but a double kick to the chest cuts her down. Cameron gets dropped as well so Hart tries her moonsault…and overshoots it, instead having to jump forward for a kind of splash. With Nightingale on the floor, Cameron fights back and everything breaks down. The Babe With The Powerbomb finishes Hart at 11:38.

Rating: B-. This was a good enough choice, as the Babes feel like a real threat to win the whole thing. The fans like them and they work well enough together so pushing them all the way to the finals is a smart way to go. Other than that, it’s not like the Sisters are hurt that badly by a single loss so this made the most sense.

Here are the Opps (minus Hook) for a chat. Before Samoa Joe can get very far though, Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page, each carrying a chain, arrive in the back. Joe sends Katsuyori Shibata after them and talks about how brilliant he really is. We see a package on how Hook swerved everyone the entire time, which still doesn’t feel like that big of a shock. Cue Hook to brag about how smart he is but Page and Strickland are here to wreck the Opps’ lackeys. The Opps leave and Page and Strickland use their chains for some hangings.

After his loss at Full Gear, Jon Moxley said he was feeling fine after his match and is ready to keep going. The rest of the Death Riders are….I have no idea, as you can never tell who is making them mad.

Continental Classic Blue League: Jon Moxley vs. Mascara Dorada

Moxley takes him down by the arm to start but Dorada flips up without much trouble, much to Moxley’s annoyance. Dorada sends him outside but misses a dive, allowing Moxley to send him into the barricade. Back up and Moxley gets knocked down again, though he’s fine enough to knock a dive off the ramp out of the air.

We take a break and come back with Dorada snapping off a hurricanrana on the floor, followed by a running cutter over the barricade. Back in and a Code Red gives Dorada two and hits electric chair flipping slam gets the same. Moxley fights out of a cross armbreaker but can’t hit a Death Rider. On the other hand, Dorada can hit a superkick and a 450 for two, leaving them both needing a breather. Moxley gets his knees up to block a shooting star press and a choke finishes Dorada at 12:56.

Rating: B-. Good enough match here, though it felt similar to Fletcher’s match earlier, as he gets a win to make up for his loss at Full Gear. That’s fine in theory, but when Moxley is right back and winning clean a few days after the loss, it takes away from what Kyle O’Reilly managed to do on Saturday. Just give us a little breather from Moxley? Maybe?

Blue League Standings

Jon Moxley – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Konosuke Takeshita – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 0 points (4 matches remaining
Mascara Dorada – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Post match Marina Shafir comes into the ring with Moxley but here is Toni Storm to interrupt. Storm praises Moxley but she’s operates in love rather than hatred. As for Shafir, it’s time to start thinking of the right kind of match. She woke up next to Mina Shirakawa this morning and realized she hadn’t gotten Shirakawa anything for Christmas. Therefore, next week it’s an anything goes death match.

Kris Statlander is ready to face someone else and she knows where she’s going. Who’s coming with her?

Continental Classic Gold League: Darby Allin vs. Kevin Knight

Knight backs him into the corner to start but Allin is back with an armdrag into an armbar. Back up and Knight kicks him in the face, setting up a monkey flip to bang up Allin’s knee. They go outside and Knight avoids a charge into the barricade and hits a moonsault to put Allin down again. A belly to back superplex drops Allin again and we take a break.

We come back with Knight sending him outside again but getting dropped onto the ramp. A running dropkick off the ramp sends Knight into the barricade and a rollup gets two back inside. The Scorpion Death Drop is broken up so they both hit clotheslines (and kind of do the inside out flips on the landing for quite the visual).

Knight is back up with a DDT on the ramp and a heck of a diving clothesline over the top rope connects. Back in and a Code Red gives Allin two but Knight ties him in the Tree Of Woe. The Coast To Coast connects and the UFO Splash gives Knight the completely clean pin at 11:57.

Rating: B. I’m surprised by the ending and while it doesn’t mean that Knight is going to win, he certainly picks up the biggest win of his career. It’s something I wasn’t expecting and came after a good match. Yes Allin was banged up and is now on quite the losing streak, but at least Knight got the kind of win he can hang his hat on going forward. Good stuff here.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 0 points (3 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Pac – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Darby Allin – 0 points (3 matches remaining
Kazuchika Okada – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Schiavone declares this Knight’s biggest win ever in the tournament. Since it’s his first match ever in the tournament, that’s not clearing much of a bar.

We look at FTR winning the Tag Team Titles at Full Gear.

Eddie Kingston doesn’t want to talk about Hook but he heard Samoa Joe mention his name. He’s not in line for a title shot, but maybe he would be if he beats Katsuyori Shibata on Collision. The match is made.

Continental Classic Blue League: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Orange Cassidy

Cassidy gets some early near falls off some rollups, including one off a reversed powerbomb attempt. Castagnoli’s running uppercut connects in the corner but Cassidy gives him the lazy kicks. They go outside, with Cassidy hitting him with a hard clothesline to take over. A nasty Swing into the barricade drops Cassidy again and we take a break.

We come back with Castagnoli missing a charge into the post and falling out to the floor. Cassidy hits a diving tornado DDT but Castagnoli is able to uppercut him out of the air for two. The elbows to the head have Cassidy in trouble but he manages another DDT. The Orange Punch and Beach Break get two as does a hurricanrana to counter the Neutralized. Castagnoli has had it with this though and nails Swiss Death for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: B. Cassidy fighting against a giant is a good way to go and the match went well, with Castagnoli getting to run him over. Castagnoli is someone who can ignite Beast Mode and plow through people and it always works. That’s what we got here, with Castagnoli getting off to a nice start, while Cassidy can still catch up.

Blue League Standings

Jon Moxley – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Konosuke Takeshita – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 0 points (3 matches remaining
Mascara Dorada – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Post match the Death Riders come in for the beatdown but most of the people in the tournament come in for a big brawl. Dorada moonsaults onto a pile on the floor as Kazuchika Okada looks on. The Death Riders are cleared out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a themed show, with the focus being almost entirely on the in-ring side of things. That’s where AEW tends to shine and it certainly did here, with four matches kicking off the Continental Classic. The title situation is a huge mess and WAY more complicated than it needs to be, but I can more than settle for some rather awesome wrestling up and down the show.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. Kazuchika Okada – Rollup
Babes Of Wrath b. Sisters Of Sin – Babe With The Powerbomb to Hart
Jon Moxley b. Mascara Dorada – Choke
Kevin Knight b. Darby Allin – UFO Splash
Claudio Castagnoli b. Orange Cassidy – Swiss Death

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

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Collision
Date: November 19, 2025
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Bryan Danielson, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s the second half of the latest double taping and in this case that means the final push towards this weekend’s Full Gear. That could go in a few different directions, though hopefully we get some more personal issues this time around. The biggest story is likely Mercedes Mone trying to become the official Ring Of Honor Women’s TV Champion because the interim version just doesn’t mean enough. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We open with Hangman Page and Katsuyori Shibata in the ring following Page’s victory in Dynamite’s main event. Page glares down at Samoa Joe (who was on commentary) and says that Joe is now alone and that isn’t going to go well when they’re in a cage. Just remember what happened the last time Page was in a cage with another man. We also see Page kicking Shibata low, which apparently took place between shows.

FTR is ready to take out Bandido and Brody King at Full Gear because they want to win the Tag Team Titles again.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Megan Bayne/Marina Sharif vs. Anna Jay/Tay Melo

Penelope Ford is here with the villains. Melo and Shafir trade takedowns to start until Melo hits her in the face a few times. Jay comes in and everyone is quickly on the floor for the double brawls. Jay and Melo hit stereo dives off the barricade but Shafir plants Jay back inside. We take a break and come back with Melo coming in to clean house as everything breaks down.

A bunch of running kicks in the corner have Bayne and Shafir in trouble but stereo guillotines are broken up with suplexes. Bayne gets Downward Spiraled into a running necksnap for two and Jay gets the Queenslayer. Shafir breaks that up and grabs a quick Mother’s Milk to make Jay give up at 8:49.

Rating: C+. Even though Jay and Melo are a regular team, there was no reason to believe they were going to lose to a pair of monsters like these two. That’s the kind of team that should be there to be slayed by the winners of the tournament, assuming Shafir and Bayne don’t win them themselves. Not much here, but the fans like Melo and Jay.

Post match the Timeless Love Bombs pop up on the screen to promise to win the four way at Full Gear. That means they can pick the stipulation for their semifinal match, which could be a chicken coop match, apartment wrestling or a Taipei Death Match.

Video on Kris Statlander.

The Bang Bang Gang is VERY interested in winning $200,000 at Full Gear.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Mascara Dorada

This is a double jeopardy match, meaning the winner gets a future title shot at the other’s title. Okada backs him up against the ropes to start and gives him some applause, which is a bit of a surprise. Dorada starts flipping around and knocks Okada to the floor. That means it’s time to do the “roll inside to break the count a few times” deal, allowing commentary to point out that Okada has the longest title reign in AEW history.

Okada gets back inside and taken down with a springboard armdrag right back to the floor. Naturally that means a dive but Okada is right back in with his dropkick and we take a break. We come back with Dorada falling off the top for a DDT onto the apron (that could have been a lot worse). They get back inside for a springboard hurricanrana to send Okada outside, setting up the big dive. Dorada grabs a running cutter over the barricade and a hurricanrana but the 450 misses back inside.

The top rope elbow connects for Okada but the Rainmaker is cut off. Instead Okada hits the dropkick and goes up, where Dorada catches him for a quick slam. Now the 450 connects for two and they both go up top, with Dorada getting almost no rotation on a super hurricanrana (thankfully not breaking his neck). He’s fine enough to counter the Rainmaker into a small package for two so Okada gives him Takeshita’s Raging Fire. Now the Rainmaker can finish Dorada at 12:09.

Rating: B. I’m not sure what was with Dorada here as he’s usually much more sure footed than that. Hopefully it’s just an off night (happens to everyone) as those botches could have been far worse. This sets up the Family for a CMLL Trios Titles match and that means Okada and Takeshita can argue some more.

Post match Callis is rather pleased to announce that the Trios Titles match will take place at the Full Gear Kickoff Show. And yes, Takeshita will be in the match. And yes, Okada is less than pleased.

The Sisters Of Sin are ready to get creative when they win the four way at Full Gear.

Ring Of Honor Women’s TV Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Red Velvet

Kris Statlander is on commentary. Mone is the Interim Champion but this is to unify the titles. It’s also Velvet’s first title defense since April and commentary points out that she’s the longest reigning champion in the title’s history. True, though they neglect to point out that she’s the second champion ever. Velvet rolls her up for two to start before they both miss dropkicks.

Mone avoids a charge into the ropes and dropkicks her out to the floor for the big crash. There’s the Meteora off the apron and Mone poses with some titles, only to get kicked into Statlander. Back in and of course it’s an Eddie Guerrero tribute, with Velvet pretending to get hit with a belt and dropping down into a rollup for two as we take a break.

We come back with Velvet grabbing a wheelbarrow bulldog and hitting a running crotch attack on the ropes. Mone pulls her into the Statement Maker, which is reversed into a reverse cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well and Velvet grabs a German suplex into the Black Widow. Mone reverses into a Backstabber but gets caught with a super victory roll for two. They go up again and this time it’s a super Codebreaker to give Mone another title at 12:25.

Rating: B-. Welp, Mone sure did beat that longstanding champion who hadn’t defended the title in about seven months so this had all of the impact that you would think. I get that it’s not the point, but waiting for three hours to see Mone get to celebrate in her hometown isn’t exactly a thrilling way to wrap up a night. I’m not sold on the idea of her beating Statlander and this changed pretty much a grand total of nothing. The one thing it did confirm: interim titles are stupid and one of the concepts that AEW needs to drop.

Post match Mone throws some titles at Statlander and gives her a Meteora off the announcers’ table. Mone grabs a Statement Maker to make Statlander tap until the referees break it up. Statlander then….leaves with Velvet as Mone takes Statlander’s title and dances on the table. What a hero.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked it a bit better than Dynamite, though that might be due to focusing on some more interesting stories. That being said, Full Gear is not feeling like an important show and AEW needs to break out of that rut. Maybe it’s the focus on the Death Riders and Don Callis Family and stuff like “the winner of this four way gets to pick the stipulations for one semifinal” (good grief) and the fact that we’re coming up on the third tournament taking place at the same time starting next week, but dang it’s hard to get interested in a lot of this stuff.

Hopefully they have something new in mind, because they could use the change after the last few months. As usual, the wrestling isn’t the problem but rather doing something that has me wanting to see what happens next. Wondering if the Young Bucks or one of the four teams on the Kickoff Show will get one of the two big cash prizes or if Kenny Omega or Jon Moxley is facing someone with a better ankle lock isn’t exactly thrilling, but it might be a sign that this company is in need of some fresh ideas.

Results
Marina Shafir/Megan Bayne b. Anna Jay/Tay Melo – Mother’s Milk to Jay
Kazuchika Okada b. Mascara Dorada – Rainmaker
Mercedes Mone b. Red Velvet – Super Codebreaker

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

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