Collision
Date: October 14, 2023
Location: Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

Dynamite was a big deal this week and now we get to see what they have planned as a follow up. That could mean a wide range of things as Collision has been a bit all over the place in its short history but things tend to lean positive. The card does look good tonight, including Christian Cage defending the TNT Title against Bryan Danielson, so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Adam Copeland to get things going. Copeland talks about how it’s wet and rainy outside but we can get it hot in here. This week on Dynamite, Christian Cage said some nutty things and Cage must believe them. Cue Cage, with Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne, to interrupt, though he hides behind security. Cage says the security is here for Copeland’s protection and tells him to get out so Cage can get ready for his main event. He also mentions that the Blackpool Combat Club has been removed from the building so his match with Bryan Danielson can be even.

Cue Danielson to say he wants a fair fight too, so Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne are banned from ringside too! Cue Ricky Starks and Big Bill, with the former mocking everyone in the ring for being old. Starks hasn’t forgotten about Danielson but Copeland mocks him for his silk pants.

Copeland calls Starks a vanilla midget version of the Rock and says talk to Danielson. Starks: “That really set me over the edge.” Copeland: “Aw dude.” Cue FTR to say they’re coming for the titles and the champs’ necks. Harwood likes the idea of fighting so Danielson tells Cage we should do it right now. The fight is on with the good guys clearing the ring and beating up security.

MJF was at an event about rejecting antisemitism. Nothing wrong with that.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Willie Mack

Joe is defending and backs him up against the ropes to start. Mack gets knocked into the corner and pounded down with right hands. Back up and Mack scores with a running kick to the face to send Joe outside, setting up the big slingshot dive. We take a break and come back with Mack hitting a Cannonball for two but Joe powerslams him down for the same. Joe cuts him off though and hits the MuscleBuster to retain at 9:17.

Rating: B-. There is something to be said about two big guys beating each other up and that’s more or less what we got here. Mack wasn’t likely to take the title from Joe here as that title reign seems destined to set the all time record, but I can go with this as a one off. Just maybe have Joe on the ROH show once or twice?

CJ Perry is here to help people and make stars so if you need guidance, come find the woman who makes made men. Action Andretti comes in to say he could benefit from her talents. She doesn’t say no and is waiting on a call.

Danhausen is back soon.

Juice Robinson vs. Christopher Daniels

The rest of Bullet Club Gold is here with Robinson, who gets chased to the floor to start and thinks Daniels needs to calm down. Back in and Daniels takes him down by the arm for some cranking, meaning Robinson wants the referee to “yell at him for cheating”. Daniels is sent outside for a beating from the Club and we take a break. Back with Robinson hitting a backsplash for two but Daniels grabs an STO. A Death Valley Driver gives Daniels two but the Club offers a distraction. Robinson hits the left hand into a Cannonball and hits the forward DDT for the pin at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Completely fine match, which is more or less a guarantee for Daniels at this point in his career. Robinson gets a win over someone with some status and that’s a good way to use someone like Daniels. At the same time, Robinson is one of the most entertaining people on the roster as he has that charisma to make you look at him and it was on full display here.

Post match Jay White gives Robinson a ring to knock Daniels out. Robinson says anyone can wear a ring and he bought his for $25. He’s been knocking people out for years and now he’s got a ring! White promises to take the ring and then the title from MJF.

Dustin Rhodes is back to win the ring and then the World Title.

Nick Wayne and his mom will have a sitdown interview on Dynamite. Wayne isn’t happy.

Kyle Fletcher vs. Boulder

Boulder stomps around a lot and Fletcher isn’t sure what to do with him. A running shoulder bounces off of Boulder but Fletcher manages to send him outside. There’s the big dive but Boulder knocks him back inside. Boulder goes up but gets powerbombed down, setting up a dragon sleeper to give Fletcher the win at 2:46.

Billy Gunn and Anthony Bowens talk to Max Caster about his aggressive relationship with MJF. They try to get him to be nicer when talking to Renee Paquette, so he asks about Oral Sessions. Renee: “You’re an idiot!” The former Jericho Appreciation Society comes in and gets a Trios Title shot.

TBS Title: Skye Blue vs. Kris Statlander

Statlander is defending. Feeling out process to start with neither getting very far until Blue hits her in the face. Statlander isn’t pleased so she slams Blue down but she’s back up with a running hurricanrana. We take a break and come back with Blue hitting a jawbreaker and kicking her in the head.

Statlander misses a clothesline and gets caught with a tornado DDT for two. One heck of a powerbomb out of the corner looks to set up a high crossbody but Statlander pulls her out of the air. A powerslam plants Blue and they’re both down for a bit. Blue gets two off a sunset flip and she superkicks Statlander but she’s right back with Saturday Night Fever for the pin at 9:10.

Rating: B. That might be high but I was expecting very little here and they got things rolling in the last few minutes. It was probably Blue’s best match ever as Statlander has turned into a star in the division. She’s having one good match after another and this time it felt like she elevated Blue to a level she’s never had in her before.

Post match Statlander goes to help her up but Willow Nightingale breaks it up. That was kind of weird.

Kyle Fletcher calls out Kenny Omega.

Rush and La Faccion Ingobernable are back and promise violence.

Keith Lee vs. Turbo Floyd

Floyd kicks him in the ribs to start and gets Pounced to start. The Spirit Bomb finishes Floyd at 1:11.

Miro talks about how CJ Perry will be surrounded by everything she loves but he’s going to kill it off in advance. Then he wrecks Action Andretti.

Video on Rocky Romero vs. Mistico next week on Rampage.

TNT Title: Christian Cage vs. Bryan Danielson

Cage is defending. Feeling out process to start with Danielson taking him down without much effort. Back up and Cage grabs a headlock but Danielson knocks him outside and we take a break. We come back with Danielson putting on a surfboard but Cage slips out and they go to the floor. Danielson strikes him against the barricade and we hit a bow and arrow back inside.

With that broken up, Danielson goes up for the headbutt but bangs up his arm instead. Cage starts cranking away but Danielson manages to get him to the apron and tries a German suplex. Back in and a hammerlock slam has Danielson’s arm in more trouble as we take a break.

We come back again with Cage sending him to the floor, where the arm goes into the announcers’ table. Cage takes him up top but Danielson knocks him down and hits the Swan Dive. Some headbutts have busted Cage open and there’s the running clothesline. Danielson knocks him outside for the suicide dive but the arm gets banged up again. Back in and Cage scores with a frog splash for two but his spear is cut off.

Danielson’s big kick to the head gets two and stomps away but Cage hits the spear. The Killswitch gets two, only for Cage to miss a charge into the corner. The running knee gives Danielson two and the LeBell Lock goes on, but Danielson’s bar arm means he can’t get the full thing. Cue Big Bill for a distraction and Ricky Starks comes in with a belt shot to knock Danielson silly, allowing Cage to retain at 25:11.

Rating: B+. Yeah of course it was awesome as Danielson can have a good match against a broken broom and Cage has shown he can hang with anyone, especially in longer matches. I wasn’t wild on the ending, but man alive were they doing some great stuff before then. I wasn’t sure who was leaving with the title here and that’s a pretty sure sign that they’re doing something right.

Post match the beatdown is on so here is FTR for the save, only to get beaten down as well. Adam Copeland makes the real save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Danielson and Cage stole the night here and Blue s. Statlander was almost shockingly good. That being said, the rest of the show felt like a lot of filler, as I could have gone without Fletcher or another long Bullet Club Gold promo or the ROH TV Title match. As usual, the wrestling isn’t the problem and it fixes a lot of the issues, but there is just so much AEW content these days and it’s starting to get exhausting. Another good show tonight with Danielson and Cage being awesome, but they can only rely on one great match saving the show for so long.

Results
Samoa Joe b. Willie Mack – MuscleBuster
Juice Robinson b. Christopher Daniels – Forward DDT
Kyle Fletcher b. Boulder – Dragon sleeper
Kris Statlander b. Skye Blue – Saturday Night Fever
Keith Lee b. Turbo Floyd – Spirit Bomb
Christian Cage b. Bryan Danielson – Belt shot

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

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Collision
Date: October 7, 2023
Location: Maverik Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Commentators: Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a special show as we’re on an hour earlier this week, which is due to the Major League Baseball playoffs, though I’m sure AEW is happy to get an hour unopposed by WWE Fastlane. The big match this week is FTR defending the Tag Team Titles against Ricky Starks and Big Bill so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We get a narrated opening, talking about some of the bigger matches tonight.

Bryan Danielson, Kyle Fletcher, Big Bill, Ricky Starks, Eddie Kingston and FTR are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Ricky Starks/Big Bill

Starks and Bill are challenging and Wheeler gets knocked off the apron for a crash to start. With Wheeler holding his ribs, Starks and Bill start going after Harwood and his injured shoulder. Bill knocks Harwood to the floor and chokeslams Wheeler through the announcers’ table for the huge crash. Back in and Harwood avoids Bill’s running splash in the corner, then does it again for a bonus. A Sharpshooter attempt is banged up and Harwood’s arm is taken out again. Bill hits a chokeslam and, at Starks’ orders, two more, plus Starks’ spear gives us new champions at 4:33.

Rating: C. This was almost more of a storyline than a match as FTR barely got in any offense and were so banged up that they couldn’t do much. I’d be curious to know if they were genuinely injured, as they were more or less squashed. That being said, Starks and Bill getting the titles is a nice way to go, as they have been on a roll lately and giving them the titles makes them feel that much more important.

We look at the Don Callis’ Family’s (very long) beatdown on Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho on Dynamite.

FTR has to be helped to the back.

Bryan Danielson vs. Kyle Fletcher

They fight over a lockup to start with Fletcher shoving him down in a surprise power display. Back up and Fletcher loses a test of strength, allowing Danielson to knock him down without much effort. Danielson scores with some kicks and grabs the surfboard but Fletcher gets out. Fletcher fights up and knocks him to the floor, setting up the big dive as we take a break.

Back with Danielson hitting a running clothesline and the YES Kicks connect for two. Danielson snaps off a super hurricanrana and hits some running kicks in the corner. Fletcher shrugs one of them off and hits one of his own, followed by a brainbuster for two. A missed kick in the corner leaves Fletcher down so Danielson goes with an ankle lock.

They trade German suplexes to leave both of them down but Fletcher is back up with a Michinoku Driver. A nasty dragon sleeper has Danielson getting over to the ropes so Fletcher takes him up top. The reverse superplex connects but Danielson rolls through into a European Clutch for the pin at 15:55.

Rating: B. Danielson is more or less a guaranteed good match at this point and all he has to do is pick someone to face. Fletcher is a good enough star to work with anyone and he’s out there on his own while Mark Davis’ bad wrist heals up. That’s not a bad idea, and now we get to see what he can do on his own, which worked well enough the first time he did it this year.

Big Bill and Ricky Starks brag about their title win because they look, talk, walk and act like stars. Starks dubs them the new faces of Collision.

Angelico/Gravity/Metalik vs. Bullet Club Gold

Serpentico and Jay White are here too. Austin and Gravity start things off for a slow motion exchange. Finally a right hand drops Gravity but he’s right back up with a wristlock. Robinson and Metalik come in for a shove off. Metalik kicks him in the ribs and hits the reverse Sling Blade for two but it’s off to Colten for a quick dropkick.

We take a break and come back with Gravity still in trouble as Robinson yells at the referee. The Gunns take turns beating on Gravity until he grabs a small package for two. The diving tag brings in Angelico to clean house, including tying up Austin’s legs and Colten’s arm. Since that leaves him defenseless though, Robinson breaks it up with the left hand. Everything breaks down and Metalik hits a springboard double crossbody. Robinson breaks it up though and hits the forward DDT for the pin at 9:33.

Rating: C. This was an extended match for the Club but it wasn’t all that interesting. It felt like a match that they should have won in a few minutes but instead it kept going until Robinson wrapped it up. The Club getting to fight their own matches as White gets closer to his World Title shot is a good thing.

Post match Jay White gets in the ring and, after being joined by Card Blade, holds up the AEW World Title. White says he told us we needed an elite World Champion and here he is. Where is MJF for that matter? White brings up Hangman Page wanting a shot at him on Dynamite, but since Page hasn’t done anything, it’s going to be non-title. Guns up.

Nick Wayne talks about how he saw Darby Allin when he was growing up and then Allin left. He waited for Allin to come back but he never did, so now Wayne knew how to get back at him.

We look at the Adam Copeland/Christian Cage issue from Dynamite.

Trios Titles: Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson vs. Billy Gunn/Acclaimed

Gunn and the Acclaimed are defending. Jameson and Billy have a pose off until Jameson cheap shots him to take over in the corner. Bronson comes in to drop down onto Gunn’s back but a right hand gets him out of trouble. It’s off to Bowens for the scissoring double elbow but Bowens gets taken down. A backsplash connects for Bronson and we take a break.

Back with Bowens getting cut off before the tag, allowing Boulder to plant him down. Boulder mocks Gunn’s pose for some reason, only to miss the Vader Bomb. Caster gets the tag and cleans house, including an AA to Boulder. A high crossbody gives Caster two on Jameson but a double spinebuster cuts Caster off just as fast. Gunn makes the save and it’s Scissor Me Timbers to Bronson. The Arrival into the Mic Drop finishes Jameson at 9:33.

Rating: C. Much like the previous match, it felt like a match where the champs should have been able to win a lot faster than they did. In other words, it came off like a way to fill in some of the time on the show, which doesn’t make for the most interesting match. At the same time, the champs just keep running through opponents until someone new rises up to be a serious threat. That could take awhile though, and now we’re getting matches like this, one after another.

Toni Storm is still timeless.

Video on Shane Taylor vs. Keith Lee, with the latter saying Taylor is trying to make a name off of him.

Toni Storm vs. Kiera Hogan

Hold on though as Storm gives her a script, which Hogan rips up. Storm: “HOW DARE!” And a clothesline drops Hogan so the beating can be on fast. Hogan is back with a running hip attack and a kick to the head for two. Storm manages to send her into the corner but misses a hip attack, allowing Hogan to get in a double spank. Back in and the second hip attack works for Storm, allowing her to send us to a break.

We come back with Hogan kicking Storm into the corner but walking into a Sky High for two. Hogan comes back with a step up Fameasser for two but Storm…..bites the back of Hogan’s trunks. Storm is ready for her closeup, meaning another hip attack. Storm Zero finishes Hogan at 8:32.

Rating: C. There was a bit of a weird obsession with the hip attacks (and associated biting) here but what mattered here was having Storm out there doing anything. She is as entertaining as anything in AEW right now and is absolutely smashing everything she is doing. It’s a great example of making something new and my goodness is it working.

Ruby Soho is mad about losing her #1 contenders match and she has been banned from ringside for the Women’s Title match on Dynamite. It’s cool though because Saraya doesn’t need her.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Komander vs. Eddie Kingston

Kingston is defending. Feeling out process to start with Komander snapping off an armdrag. Back up and we get a standoff before Kingston gets taken down again. This time Kingston bails out to the floor, only to get caught in something like an Octopus hold back inside. Back up and Kingston snaps off an exploder suplex as we take a break.

We come back with Kingston chopping the heck out of him but Komander tells him to bring it. Komander knocks him outside and hits the big flip dive off the apron to drop him again. A 450 gives Komander two but Kingston catches him on top with a heck of a chop. Komander reverses a superplex into a crossbody for two, followed by a tornado DDT for the same. That’s enough for Kingston, who snaps off a spinning backfist for the pin at 10:01.

Rating: C+. This was an interesting dynamic with Komander trying to keep the pace up and Kingston trying to go with the power and strikes. It made for a good match, even if it was set up less than twenty four hours ago with no personal issue. On top of that, it still doesn’t have anything to do with the regular Ring Of Honor series, but that is the norm around here most of the time.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

Here is Adam Copeland for a chat. First of all, he thanks JR for giving him his first contract in wrestling, which allowed him to pay off his college debts. As for Copeland himself, things didn’t go as planned with Christian Cage. We need to back up a bit though, as there was a time when he was told that if he got dropped on his head again, he could die.

Cage wasn’t allowed to wrestle for six years either, but then Copeland doesn’t know what happened. Over time, Cage changed a bit as he stopped answering so many calls, which isn’t surprising as Cage is kind of a d***. Cage is going through his Bond villain with the turtleneck and the monster, so he guesses Nick Wayne is the little Persian cat that Cage rubs. Copeland would like Cage to be out here for some answers but cue Cage on the video screen.

Cage says Copeland doesn’t call the shots, so the answers will come on Dynamite. If Copeland makes it that is, because here are Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne to interrupt. Copeland takes Wayne down without much trouble but walks into a chokeslam from Luchasaurus. The Conchairto is loaded up but Darby Allin makes the save with a chair. Wayne begs off but Luchasaurus comes back up, allowing Wayne to drop Allin. The villains Conchairto Allin’s arm to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This really wasn’t a bad show with mostly good matches and Copeland having the rather hilarious Persian cat line. The title change aside though, this felt like a show where most of the message was “come back for Dynamite”. That has been the case with almost all of AEW’s shows and it makes for some long Saturdays. We had some good wrestling and a big enough deal at the end, but as has been the case for most of its history, Collision feels like it would be better served as only an hour a week.

Results
Ricky Starks/Big Bill b. FTR – Spear to Harwood
Bryan Danielson b. Kyle Fletcher – European Clutch
Bullet Club Gold b. Angelico/Gravity/Metalik – Forward DDT to Metalik,
Toni Storm b. Kiera Hogan – Storm Zero
Eddie Kingston b. Komander – Spinning backfist

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

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AND

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WrestleDream 2023
Date: October 1, 2023
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness, Jim Ross

We’re back with the third pay per view in six weeks and this has a bit of a theme to it. The idea of this show is paying tribute to Japanese legend Antonio Inoki, who passed away a year ago to the day. As a result, there are some New Japan stars involved in the show, which does have a strong card. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long video tribute to Antonio Inoki, with wrestlers talking about what he meant to wrestling.

Tony Khan is in the ring with some other people, all with the Inoki scarves around their necks. Khan introduces the men as Rocky Romero, Katsuyori Shibata and Hiroto/Naroto Inoki, Antonio’s grandsons. We get Inoki’s signature phrase to wrap it up.

Zero Hour: Shane Taylor/Lee Moriarty/Diamante/Mercedes Martinez vs. Keith Lee/Satoshi Kojima/Athena/Billie Starkz

Fans: “WE WANT BREAD!” Excalibur: “Of course Satoshi Kojima the leader of Bread Club.” JR: “You might want to explain that.” Diamante and Starkz start but it’s quickly off to Athena for a suplex. JR wants Athena to go on a tear, apparently not realizing that she’s been on one for the better part of the last year. Taylor comes in to punch Keith in the face and manages to knock him down.

It’s off to Moriarty, who gets dropped rather quickly so Kojima can come in to run Moriarty over. A DDT gets two with Diamante making the save, earning her a beating from Starkz. Everything breaks down and Athena hits an O Face on Moriarty, with JR calling it illegal. The ring is cleared, leaving Kojima to lariat Moriarty for the pin at 5:38.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do much here as they had eight people with less than six minutes. Kojima is a star from New Japan and still does well despite having been around forever, while Keith is rarely in the ring anymore for whatever reasons. It wasn’t a great match or anything close to one, but it was a way to get a lot of people in the ring.

Zero Hour: Josh Barnett vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Jon Moxley is on commentary and talks about training with Barnett. They grapple to start with Barnett powering him down but Castagnoli manages to take over on the mat. Castagnoli gets in some elbows (Moxley: “ELBOW HIS D*** HEAD OFF CLAUDIO!”) but Barnett reverses into a dragon screw legwhip.

That’s broken up as well but Castagnoli can’t get the Swing. Back up and they slug it out until Barnett gets a quickly broken abdominal stretch. Castagnoli gets in the swing, setting up some kind of leglock. Barnett makes the rope and grabs a suplex before they strike it out. The Neutralizer is blocked so Castagnoli pulls him into an Octopus Hold on the mat. That and a rollup is enough to pin Barnett at 8:20.

Rating: B-. This was a different kind of match as it was more of a grappling exchange between two guys who know what they’re doing in that style. Barnett is someone who is a lot better known in mixed martial arts than in wrestling but he’s good enough to hang with someone like Castagnoli. Good stuff here and probably something different than anything else you’ll see on the show.

Post match Barnett shows respect and says Inoki would be a fan of Castagnoli. Barnett says Castagnoli owes him more time though so keep training. Sounds good to Castagnoli.

Zero Hour: Nick Wayne vs. Luchasaurus

Nigel says this is going to be like Luke Skywalker being dropped into the pin with the Rancor. Wayne fires off a dropkick to start but gets tossed with a nasty release German suplex. Luchasaurus pounds away but Wayne is back up with some kicks. A chokeslam sends Wayne to the floor….where he crawls to his mom in the front row. That earns him a face first swing into the barricade but Wayne scores with some kicks back inside. Wayne’s World is easily blocked and the forearm to the back of the head finishes for Luchasaurs at 4:51.

Rating: C. That went about as it should have, as Luchasaurus is a total monster and Wayne is someone who hasn’t proven himself to be on Luchasaurus’ level. There is something to be said about a smaller guy striking away with everything he has but not being able to overcome. The part with his mom was a nice bonus, making this go according to the logical plan.

Zero Hour: Trios Titles: TMDK vs. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn

TMDK (Shane Haste/Mikey Nichols/Bad Dude Tito) is challenging. Tito powers Caster down to start and hands it off to Haste. Caster punches his way out of the corner though and it’s Gunn coming in to quite the reaction. A running shoulder drops Haste and Gunn loads up Scissor Me Timbers, which connects for quite the reaction.

We settle down with Bowens getting caught in the wrong corner and Tito adding a slingshot hilo. Bowens fights out of a chinlock but gets knocked back again to keep up the beating. An attempt to get over to the corner is cut off as Gunn and Caster are knocked to the floor in a smart move. Bowens manages to duck around and get over to Gunn though and house is cleaned. Tito plants Gunn rather quickly and Caster has to make a save. A step up Cannonball hits Caster in the corner but Gunn is back in with the Fameasser. The Arrival into the Mic Drop retains the titles at 9:18.

Rating: C. That was your Rampage opener of the show and not much more. They had some time to do a bit more here than usual and that helped, but it’s another group of guest stars getting a title shot. That is only going to get you so far and they hit most of that limit here. Not a bad match by any means, but there wasn’t much in the way of drama.

And now, the show proper.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Righteous

MJF is defending on his own, but before the match, he accuses someone of stealing his devil mask and attacking Jay White. As for the Righteous, MJF promises a BODY SLAM. Dutch starts for the team and MJF asks who wants to see that body slam. Instead we get the handshake of sportsmanship before MJF pokes Dutch in the eye. MJF gets in a hip swivel and pulls Vincent in, only to get clotheslined by Dutch.

The chinlock doesn’t last long as MJF fights up….but realizes he doesn’t have a partner. Dutch powerbombs him down so Vincent can hit a Swanton for two. The Boss Man Slam gets two more and Autumn Sunshine gets the same, leaving the Righteous stunned. Vincent goes for a chair but MJF grabs him low to cut it off.

Back up and Vincent kicks him in the face but misses a second Swanton. Everything breaks down and Dutch is rammed into the corner over and over. The body slam connects and the fans are thrilled. With Dutch sent into the corner, MJF sends Vincent face first into the back of Dutch’s tights. The Kangaroo Kick sends the Righteous outside and the Heatseeker finishes Dutch (with feet on the ropes) at 9:35.

Rating: C+. Watching MJF do his goofy, almost parody of wrestling is hilarious and it’s great to see him having fun like this. At the same time, the Righteous being out of the title picture for the time being is nice to see. It still feels like the Kingdom will be the ones to win the titles, but at least we’re having a good time on the way there.

We recap Katsuyori Shibata vs. Eddie Kingston, with Kingston defending his two titles but Shibata not defending his.

Ring Of Honor World Title/New Japan Strong Openweight Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Only Shibata is challenging and he goes to the mat to start. With that not working, they trade strikes until Shibata pulls him down into an ankle lock. The rope is reached so Shibata grabs a Figure Four to stay on the leg. That’s broken up as well so Shibata puts on a bow and arrow. Kingston fights up and fires off the chops in the corner but Shibata kicks him in the face. The running basement dropkick in the corner and the fans are behind Shibata.

Kingston is back with a t-bone suplex but Shibata grabs an STO, with Taz being at his best by explaining the leverage and science. The Octopus Hold on the mat has Kingston in trouble but he makes it over to the rope. Kingston knocks him away again but Shibata comes back with the running kick to the chest. They strike it out until Kingston’s spinning backfist gets one. The northern lights bomb gets the same, followed by another backfist and the powerbomb to retain the titles at 10:58.

Rating: B-. This was Kingston striking away and gritting through someone more polished and skilled. It made for a nice story to the match and served as Kingston’s latest fantasy match come to life. Kingston needs some wins to establish himself as a star and wins like this one are going to get him a long way.

Post match Shibata gets the big show of respect.

We recap Julia Hart challenging Kris Statlander for the TBS Title. Hart is on a roll but Statlander was the last person to beat her. Now the title is on the line.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander vs. Julia Hart

Hart, with Brody King, is challenging. Statlander powers her into the corner to start and hits some shoulders to the ribs. The running knee misses but she runs Hart over again without much trouble. Hart manages a hurricanrana but Statlander muscles her over with a suplex for two. They go outside, where Statlander grabs her in a fireman’s carry and carries her back up the steps. It’s right back to the floor, with Hart sending her into the barricade this time.

A backsplash gives Hart two back inside and we hit the quickly broken abdominal stretch. Now Statlander’s running knee in the corner sets up the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Statlander trips so King yells at her, allowing Hart to load up the mist. That takes too long though and Statlander grabs a fisherman’s driver for two more. Hart pulls her off the top and goes up, meaning it’s the moonsault for a rather close two. Hartless goes on but Statlander muscles her up into a Tombstone, followed by Sunday Night Fever to retain at 8:54.

Rating: B-. I was a bit surprised by the result as it stops Hart’s run cold, but Statlander has been on a roll since getting the title. Having her get another pay per view win is not a bad thing whatsoever, but she needs to start fighting some of the bigger names. The division has the depth to have some stronger challengers come after her, though Hart did rather well here in her biggest match ever.

We recap the four way tag match for the #1 contendership to the Tag Team Titles. There are four teams and they’re fighting for a title shot, end of story.

The Gunns vs. Hook/Orange Cassidy vs. Lucha Bros vs. Young Bucks

One fall to a finish for a future AEW Tag Team Title shot. Fenix and Nick strike away at each other before popping up for a staredown. Cassidy tags himself in but the Gunns pull Fenix outside for a ram into the barricade. Back in and Austin dropkicks Cassidy into the corner before trying to cover Colten. The referee isn’t having that and it’s the Bucks’ turn to clean house.

Hook comes in and gets to clear the ring as well, leaving Cassidy to hit a dive onto both Bucks. Apparently Fenix is down so Penta comes in to kick at the Bucks. We settle down to Colten punching Hook down for two but Penta is back in. Made In Japan gets two on Austin as everything breaks down again. Matt hits a superkick and Nick adds the slingshot X Factor to Austin.

Penta’s big running flip dive connects though Hook tags himself in. Redrum is blocked so Cassidy Orange Punches Austin into Redrum to put him in trouble. Nick tags himself in though and hits a 450 for two with Cassidy making a save. The Bucks double superkick Hook but Penta superkicks the Bucks. Not that it matters as the BTE Trigger finishes Penta at 12:10 to give the Bucks the title shot.

Rating: B-. The Bucks are 2/3 of the Six Man Tag Team Champions, #1 contender to the Tag Team Titles and Nick is getting an International Title shot this week. I know it’s All ELITE Wrestling but this might be taking things a bit too literally. Anyway, this was your usual insane display of people jumping and flipping all over the place, though Fenix being down isn’t a good sign. I’m not sure if they’re going to run FTR vs. the Bucks again, but it would certainly be a big deal if they did. I’m just not sure how big.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland. Page can’t break through to be a star and Swerve wants to prove what he really is. Then Page stabbed him in the hand with a pen.

Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland

The Mogul Embassy, complete with dancing Prince Nana, is here with Strickland (the home area boy). Feeling out process to start until Page knocks him into the corner for a loud chop. The fans are WAY behind Swerve here, even as Page knocks him down into the corner. Swerve is right back with a kick to the face and the middle rope elbow to the back lets him dance a bit.

Page manages a quick suplex and they’re both down again. With Swerve on the floor, Page hits a big moonsault to take him down on the floor. The dive drops Swerve again but they go back inside where he grabs a rolling Downward Spiral. The Brainbuster gives Swerve two but Page catches him on top. That’s fine with Swerve, who knocks him backwards for the Swerve Stomp (the fans approve again).

Swerve’s House Call gets two more and they head to the apron. The Deadeye on the apron is blocked so Page hits it on the steps instead. Page doesn’t cover, instead sending him inside and kicking away, only to get caught in the ropes. They slap it out until the Buckshot Lariat is countered into a rather nasty arm crank. We pause for the doctor to check on Page but Swerve hits a Swerve Stomp onto the apron.

A 450 onto the arm gives Swerve two and he grabs the armbar. Page makes the rope and scores with a left arm lariat. Swerve’s armbar is broken up and Page hammers on the bad hand. Swerve gets in a suplex but misses another Stomp. The Buckshot Lariat connects for a rather delayed two, as Prince Nana puts the foot on the rope. Page chases Nana off, allowing Swerve to hit him in the face with Nana’s crown for two. Back to back House Calls set up the JML Driver for the pin on Page at 20:06.

Rating: B+. That’s the Swerve match that the fans have been waiting to see and it worked very well throughout. These guys beat the fire out of each other and it felt like a big slugout. If Swerve becomes a breakout star around here, there is a good chance that this is what starts it off for him. Awesome match here and the best thing on the card so far.

We recap Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta. Starks wasn’t happy with losing to Bryan Danielson back to back so he’ll fight Danielson’s teammate instead.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Ricky Starks

Jon Moxley is back on commentary. They go with the grappling to start before opting to punch each other in the face instead. Starks gets the better of things and knocks Yuta up against the ropes, allowing him to stare at the crowd a bit. Yuta slips out of a fireman’s carry and rolls him up for two, only to have Starks get in another shot. Moxley thinks Starks is talented but runs his mouth too much, meaning he isn’t sure if he should fight Starks or take him on a date. Yuta is back with something like a Samoan drop and an armbar goes on.

Cue Big Bill as Starks makes the rope and spikes Yuta for two. Starks hits his own hammer and anvil elbows, which just make Yuta mad. That’s fine with Starks, who takes Yuta’s head off but gets shoved off the rope for a crash onto Bill. Yuta posts Bill to get rid of him and fires off the real hammer and anvil elbows. The Seatbelt gives Yuta two but Starks is back up with the spear. The Roshambo finishes Yuta at 9:54.

Rating: C+. The match wasn’t bad, but I’m not sure if it needed to be on the pay per view. This felt like a Rampage main event or a big match on Collision rather than needing to be on here. What matters here though is that Starks got his big win and regains some momentum so things should be getting a bit better for him going forward. Odds are it sets up Moxley vs. Starks as well and that’s not a bad thing.

We recap Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. and….yeah I think that’s all you need to know here.

Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre’s New Japan TV Title isn’t on the line. Feeling out process to start as they both seem nervous about going too far. Danielson suplexes him down and Sabre pauses for a standoff. Sabre pulls him into the abdominal stretch but Danielson pulls him into a leglock. That’s broken up and they stay on the mat with neither being able to get control. Instead Danielson pulls him into the surfboard but Sabre slips out again.

Sabre starts going after the arm and gives it a shoulder before adding a nasty stomp. The arm gets twisted around and Sabre is starting to get cocky. Sabre stays on the arm but he takes too long going up, allowing Danielson to cut him off. The arm is snapped over Sabre’s shoulder though and the armbar goes on up top. Danielson headbutts his way out of trouble and a top rope butterfly superplex lets him…not get the LeBell Lock.

Instead Danielson goes with a half crab but Sabre is right over to the ropes. The YES Kicks rock Sabre and Danielson stomps him in the head. The running knee is countered and Sabre pulls him into the European Clutch for two. Moxley (on commentary) is on his feet as they both need a breather. Cattle Mutilation goes on but Sabre rolls out, only to get caught with the elbows to the face.

Danielson gets a leglock but Sabre reverses into one of his own. That earns him a spit in the face and they strike it out, with Danielson getting the better of things. Back up and Sabre goes for the arm while Danielson kicks at the leg. Sabre gets the better of things this time and pulls Danielson into the double arm crank. Nigel: “THINK ABOUT YOUR KIDS! THINK ABOUT YOUR WIFE! RETIRE NOW!”

Danielson makes the rope (Nigel: “You coward!”) so they trade kicks, with Danielson nailing a big one to the head. The stomp to the head misses so Sabre pulls him into the cross armbreaker. That’s reverses into a leg trap belly to back suplex into the running knee for the very near fall. Another running knee finishes Sabre at 23:13.

Rating: A-. Like I said before the match, this was going to work because of the talent involved and then they were allowed to have all the time they needed to tear the house down. You could see two masters in there trying to take the other apart and it worked about as well as expected. Awesome stuff here and as usual, it felt like a clinic from two of the best ever with this style.

Post match respect is offered but Sabre turns it down. Naturally Nigel says that wasn’t technical wrestling so Danielson is NOT the best in the world.

We recap Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi vs. the Don Callis Family. All three hate Callis so they’re fighting his team.

Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi vs. Don Callis Family

Omega and Will Ospreay start things off but it’s quickly off to Sammy Guevara, who lounges on the top rope. They start running the ropes until Sammy flips over him and scores with a dropkick. Ospreay comes back in to get suplexed by Jericho as Sammy shouts at commentary. Jericho punches Ospreay and we get the big standoff. The good guys clear the house, pay tribute to Inoki (oh yeah that’s a thing with this show) and hit stereo dives.

Back in and Omega slugs away at Takeshita, who rakes the eyes to cut him off. Takeshita hits a clothesline but Ibushi comes in for a save. Ospreay puts on an abdominal stretch, with the rest of the Family adding leverage like villains should. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Omega but he gets over for the tag back to Omega. That means an abdominal stretch to Sammy, with the rest of Omega’s partners pulling as well.

Ibushi comes in with a double back elbow and we get an Ibushi/Jericho Sex Gods pose. Omega and Jericho hit stereo moonsaults to the floor, leaving Jericho to hit the Lionsault for two on Sammy. Takeshita breaks up the Walls and drops Omega on his head with a release German suplex. Jericho has to fight Ospreay and Takeshita at the same time but Takeshita knees Ospreay by mistake.

Omega is back up with the big running flip dive to take out Takeshita and Ospreay. Back in and Sammy Spanish Flies Jericho for two, followed by the shooting star to the floor. Omega and Ospreay slug it out back inside but Takeshita is back in with a running knee to put Omega down.

Sammy Codebreakers Jericho for one so Jericho fights up, only to get beaten down again. Ibushi is back up to strike away but Ospreay saves Takeshita from the big boot. The Golden Trigger is cut off by Sammy’s high crossbody. Jericho is back up with the Judas Effect to Ospreay but Sammy superkicks Jericho in the face. Jericho tries to pull him into the Walls but Callis comes in with a baseball bat shot to give Sammy the pin at 22:17.

Rating: B+. This was the match I was expecting to be the best on the card and it came pretty close. The match started with the regular wrestling but then broke down into the wild fight that it was destined to be. The Callis Family stuff isn’t exactly thrilling but the matches have worked so well and that’s what matters most.

We recap Aussie Open challenging FTR for the Tag Team Titles. FTR beat them for the New Japan Tag Team Titles a year ago and now the Aussies want to even things up.

AEW Tag Team Titles: Aussie Open vs. FTR

FTR is defending. Harwood and Fletcher lock up to start with neither being able to get very far. Wheeler comes in and this time Fletcher bails to the floor. Harwood sends him back in, where Wheeler hits a backdrop to take over. It’s off to Davis for a chop off with Harwood, who gets slammed down. Davis hits a backsplash so it’s back to Fletcher, who gets caught with a snap suplex.

Everything breaks down and FTR is rammed into each other on the floor. Back in and Fletcher forearms away at Wheeler before Davis grabs a chinlock. Wheeler fights up and catches Fletcher on top, meaning it’s a belly to back superplex for a big crash. Fletcher is able to grab a brainbuster but Wheeler is up again, this time getting over to Harwood. Rolling German suplexes drop Fletcher as Wheeler and Davis fight on the floor.

Harwood gets two off a Liger Bomb but Davis is back in to break up the PowerPlex. A Doomsday kick to the face gets two on Wheeler but Harwood is back in for the save. Now the PowerPlex can connect, leaving Fletcher to high crossbody Harwood into the cover to break it up.

Wheeler rolls Davis (who appears to have hurt his wrist) up for two, only to walk into a Shatter Machine from the Aussies. The Coriolis gets two with Harwood making the save this time. They head outside again and it’s a spike piledriver on the floor to drop Davis. Back in and a super Shatter Machine finishes Fletcher to retain the titles at 20:23.

Rating: B. It was a good match but this might have been better if they had cut out about four minutes. The problem here came down to the fact that this went long in the semi-main event spot on a show that is going to run over four and a half hours. The Aussies winning felt like a long shot in the first place and while the match was good, it wasn’t able to completely overcome those circumstances.

We recap Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage for the latter’s TBS Title. Allin wants to prove he belongs in the main event in his hometown and the title is on the line.

TBS Title: Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage

Allin is challenging (and bleeding before the match for some reason) and this is 2/3 falls. Feeling out process to start with Cage bailing into the corner and spitting into Allin’s face. Allin is calm enough to pull him into an armbar, followed by a headlock to keep him down. Back up and Christian chops him against the ropes, meaning we get the double bicep pose. It’s too early for the Unprettier though as Allin pulls the turtleneck over Christian’s face and rolls him up for the first fall at 4:55.

We pause for a bit as Cage stops to look at Nick Wayne’s mom in the front row before taking Allin down again. Cage pounds away at the back and cranks on his neck to keep things slow. Allin gets back up for some rapid fire rollups but gets sent outside in a crash. Cage whips him into the barricade but goes after Wayne’s mom again, allowing Allin to hit a suicide dive. Back in and the Coffin Drop hits raised knees, allowing Cage to send him into the announcers’ table. Something like a powerslam off the apron hits sends Allin back first into the steps. That’s enough for a countout to tie it up at 15:18 total.

A stretcher is brought out as Cage is doing something with the ring skirt. He peels the entire mat back and exposes the wood….before hitting a frog splash onto Allin on the stretcher. That’s good for two back inside and Cage grabs a Scorpion Deathlock. Allin makes the rope (the fans approve) and it’s a Scorpion Death Drop for two, followed by the Coffin Drop for the same.

Cage loads up a superplex onto the steps on the floor but gets reversed into a sunset bomb. The spear hits the referee though, leaving Cage to hit Allin low. The title is brought in but Nick Wayne runs in to take it away. Then Wayne hits Allin with the title (his mom is NOT happy) and Cage retains at 25:13.

Rating: B+. This was a smartly worked match as Christian didn’t have to go insane but rather set things up for Allin to go nuts instead. It made for some very good drama and action, with Allin getting the first fall to save some face. I liked the match rather well, though having it as the main event (yes they had to with the ring deal) might have been a stretch.

Post match Cage hugs Wayne, who destroys Allin while yelling about family. Sting comes in for the save but Luchasaurus is here to beat him down as well. The Conchairto is loaded up….and the lights go out. A video of someone driving a car to the arena plays and the lights come up. And yeah EDGE debuts (complete with Metalingus theme), with the villains handing him the chair. He cracks Wayne with it instead and spears Luchasaurus to clear out the villains. Edge and Sting shake hands to end the show. That’s the big deal of the show and while we’ll have to see where it goes, the moment was there.

Overall Rating: B+. As tends to be the case with AEW shows, they wind up being good in the end through the hard work and effort put in from the wrestlers. That was the case again here, with a few awesome matches being more than enough to keep me interested. The show got better as it went on and thankfully they didn’t have some of the lesser matches eat up too much time.

That being said, this was they could be that much more enjoyable with some time trimmed off. There is just SO MUCH STUFF on here and some of it could easily be dropped (like the bonus Rampage described as Zero Hour) and probably Starks vs. Yuta. At some point the energy is going to go away and that isn’t good for the main event matches. That being said, the show was still quite the blast to watch and if they can keep it up, they’re not going to change anything.

Results
Satoshi Kojima/Keith Lee/Athena/Billie Starkz b. Shane Taylor/Diamante/Lee Moriarty/Mercedes Martinez – Lariat to Moriarty
Claudio Castagnoli b. Josh Barnett – Rollup
Luchasaurus b. Nick Wayne – Forearm to the back of the head
Billy Gunn/Acclaimed b. TMDK – Mic Drop to Haste
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. The Righteous – Rollup with feet on the ropes to Dutch
Eddie Kingston b. Katsuyori Shibata – Powerbomb
Kris Statlander b. Julia Hart – Sunday Night Fever
Young Bucks b. Lucha Bros, Gunns and Orange Cassidy/Hook – BTE Trigger to Penta
Swerve Strickland b. Hangman Page – JML Driver
Ricky Starkz b. Wheeler Yuta – Roshambo
Bryan Danielson b. Zack Sabre Jr. – Running knee
Don Callis Family b. Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi – Baseball bat shot to Jericho
FTR b. Aussie Open – Super Shatter Machine to Fletcher
Christian Cage b. Darby Allin 2-1

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So here we have WrestleDream, which is a show designed to honor the passing of Antonio Inoki one year ago. Therefore it’s another AEW show with New Japan guest stars, though New Japan is running a big show of its own on the same day so the visiting stars are limited. There is some good stuff on the card though and hopefully that’s enough to carry it. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Nick Wayne vs. Luchasaurus

This is a side story from Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage as both have interfered in the other feud. It’s a speed vs. power match and that is something that can work under almost any circumstances. AEW really seems interested in pushing Wayne every chance they can these days but at some point he is going to need to win something. I’m just not sure he gets to do it here.

I’ll go with Luchasaurus to win here as he’s coming off the TNT Title reign and isn’t likely to lose to someone with so little experience on this level. I’m sure Wayne will get a bunch of stuff in and get to showcase himself again but that doesn’t mean he’s going to win. Hopefully Wayne gets to throw everything he has at Luchasaurus, but he’ll fall short in the end.

Zero Hour: Trios Titles: Acclaimed/Billy Gunn(c) vs. TMDK

This is the first New Japan match on the show and in this case it was built up as “whoever wins the title match on Rampage defends against TMDK tomorrow night”. That’s not exactly a thrilling story but it’s a way to get the titles on the show. Thankfully in this case it’s just on Zero Hour, meaning it won’t extend the show with a match that has very little in the way of drama.

Of course the champions retain here, as a group of guest stars aren’t going to be the ones to end the reign that is bringing the Acclaimed and the Gunns back to prominence. The (arguably) good thing about these titles is you can throw any three challenges out there and have a title match. That’s more or less what they’ve done here, though at least it’s a regular team from New Japan.

Zero Hour: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Josh Barnett

So this was added the night before the show as the result of a Castagnoli open challenge. Barnett has never wrestled for AEW before but does have experience in Japan so here we are. That makes for a tricky preview because there isn’t any kind of a story going into the match, and Barnett being a complete stranger around here makes it even more complicated.

Since Barnett is not likely to stick around, I’ll go with Castagnoli to win as there isn’t much of a reason to do anything else. Castagnoli needs a big win coming off his loss to Eddie Kingston and while this won’t be some kind of a game changer for him, it should be enough to give him a boost. I’m not sure why this match needed to be added, though more Castagnoli is often a good thing.

Zero Hour: Shane Taylor/Lee Moriarty/Diamante/Mercedes Martinez vs. Satoshi Kojima/Keith Lee/Athena/Billie Starkz

This is another match added during the Collision because MORE MEANS GOOD. There are a few people with some history here but a good chunk of it has been in Ring Of Honor. Taylor seems to be one of the new flavors of the month for AEW and it makes sense that they would want to get him out there in front of people as often as possible. Throw in Lee and this could be a lot worse.

Give me Lee and company to win, as Moriarty being thrown half a mile by Lee would be a good way to get the show going. Other than that, there is always the chance of Athena beating Martinez or Diamante. Either way, there are going to be a bunch of people in this match and there is a good chance that a lot of them are not going to be able to get in that much ring time.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander(c) vs. Julia Hart

Statlander has been a mostly dominant champion in her still relatively short title reign, but Hart has caught fire in recent weeks and suddenly feels like she could be a major threat to the title. The good thing here is that you are seeing two mostly fresh women in the title scene, which is what AEW has been needing for a very long time now. In other words, there isn’t a bad option for a winner here.

I think I’ll actually take hart to win the title, as it would be very deflating for her to lose after the big push that she has gotten in the last few weeks. Granted that might have been just to make her feel like a threat, but the House of Black needs to get something back after losing the Trios Titles, so this would be a nice fit to help get them on track. I’m not sure what is next for Statlander, but I’m thinking she should lose here.

Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta

This was thrown onto the card earlier in the week as Yuta doesn’t like how Starks has been going after Bryan Danielson. Starks has been on a roll as of late without winning much of anything, which leaves him in a weird place. Granted that is kind of why you put someone like Yuta in this spot as he could go a long way with making Starks look like a bigger deal after his losses.

I’ll go with Starks to win here, as there is little reason for Yuta to win. His role in the Blackpool Combat Club is to put up a good fight in defeat and that is what he’ll be doing here. Starks is red hot and for someone who keeps losing so giving him a win here would be the right way to go. They’ll have a good match, but at the end of the day, Starks needs this way more than Yuta.

Young Bucks vs. The Gunns vs. Lucha Bros vs. Orange Cassidy/Hook

For a future AEW Tag Team Title shot, which sounds a bit like a Money In The Bank deal. We’ll start with getting rid of Cassidy and Hook, who are a fun team, but I can’t imagine they actually get put into the title picture so soon. That leaves a few options, and I could picture any of the three getting the shot. It’s nice to have options here, and unfortunately none of them really stand out.

While the Bucks would be the interesting way to go, I’ll take the Gunns getting the win here. FTR vs. the Lucha Bros doesn’t sound like it would be the most engaging match and the Bucks vs. FTR has been done so many times now. Go with FTR vs. the Gunns, which does have a history but hasn’t been hammered into the ground. This is going to be the “everyone flies all over the place” match and it should be entertaining enough. Just don’t do the Money In The Bank deal, please.

AEW Tag Team Titles: FTR(c) vs. Aussie Open

This one is a little more interesting as I could see the titles changing hands. Aussie Open has come a long way and established themselves as one of the better teams in AEW at the moment. That means they can be put into this spot for a shot at the best team around without much trouble. The teams have even traded some promos to hype things up even more and so far, they’ve done their jobs.

With that being said, for the life of me I can’t imagine FTR losing the belts They can have good to great matches with just about any team and it would feel like a waste to take away that option, especially with them frequenting Collision. The Aussies will give them one heck of a run for their money, but FTR comes out on top of this by retaining the titles, and that’s the right choice.

Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi vs. Konosuke Takeshita/Sammy Guevara/Will Ospreay

This is the Don Callis Family match, which has seen two feuds combined into one for the sake of taking away some of Callis’ television time. Ignoring that aspect though, we should be in for a heck of a match here, especially if Ibushi is able to wrestle more like his old self than the version we have seen in AEW so far. Everything else should work well and I’m wanting to see how this goes.

After dominating for a good while, this should be the match where Callis and company can drop a match to the conquering heroes. Guevara taking a fall from Omega or even Jericho won’t ruin him as they can get set up for another singles showdown in the future. Either way, this has the potential to steal the show and if they can get to that higher level, it very well may be the best thing on the show.

Ring Of Honor World Title/New Japan Strong Openweight Title: Eddie Kingston(c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata

It’s a double title match with Shibata’s ROH Pure Title not on the line, meaning commentary has said that Shibata can become a triple crown champion. At least Shibata is someone who has wrestled in Ring Of Honor more than once, as there is far too much of a tendency for random people to get title shots (like earlier in the show or example). Shibata is also someone Kingston is going to respect so there is a real chance he’ll bring the work here.

As for a winner, much like the Trios Titles, there isn’t much of a reason to believe the title is going to change hands, especially so soon after Kingston won the ROH title in the first place. Kingston needs to rack up some wins to make him feel like a bigger deal and this would be a nice addition. It should be a hard hitting match as well and that should take them far enough, but yeah Kingston retains.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Maxwell Jacob Friedman(c) vs. Righteous

So this was supposed to be a tag match with Adam Cole included but he’s basically destroyed his ankle, leaving us with a handicap match instead. That puts them in a tough spot and again I’m not sure where this is going to go. On one hand, MJF doesn’t need to have the titles anymore if Cole is injured, but the titles changing hands would involve the Righteous beating the AEW World Champion.

As little sense as it might make, I’ll go with MJF retaining, as I can’t imagine either Vincent or Dutch pinning him or making him give up. There is always the chance of some kind of screwy finish and that is probably coming later, but it is still hard to fathom that anyone but the Kingdom is taking the titles from Cole and MJF. Or is it just MJF these days? Either way, the Righteous don’t win here.

Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland

This is the match that has felt the most interesting throughout the build to the show and the contract signing this week kept that interest high. Both guys need a big win and they have me wanting to see them fight, which is a great sign for one of them. Hopefully the loser isn’t going to be hurt that badly but there is a good chance that this is going to continue beyond this match.

Give me Swerve here, as a Page win would seem to wrap things up between them with a tighter bow. As much as Page could use a win, he’s had success before and is a much more accomplished star in AEW. Let Swerve get his win and move up the card a bit, as a win over a former World Champion is going to do a lot of good no matter what. Page should be fine, but either way, this match should rock.

Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

What we have here is the kind of match that sells itself on name value alone. The idea of Danielson vs. Sabre Jr. is going to get hardcore fans interested and there is a very real chance that they could live up to or even exceed their expectations. That might be a very hard task to pull off, but these are the kind of stars who might be able to pull that kind of a miracle off.

As has been a trend here, there isn’t much of a reason for the star who is going to be going away after this show winning, so I’ll take Danielson to win here. Yes he did it in a pay per view main event against a guest star this year and that should cover him for well over a year, but I can’t imagine Sabre winning here. Danielson has things to do in AEW and downgrading him (as much as that can be done) with a loss to a one off guest star doesn’t make sense.

TNT Title: Christian Cage(c) vs. Darby Allin

This is the rumored main event for the show and with Allin as the hometown boy in a 2/3 falls match, that is not the worst idea. These two had a rather nice match a month or so ago on Collision and if they do that again with more time and on a bigger stage, we should be in for a pretty solid main event. That leaves a pair of questions though and I think I have the answer to at least one.

Of course I’ll take Allin winning here, as otherwise it would run a real threat of killing Seattle for AEW. Allin winning is the perfect way to go and it would be a great moment to end things on. Then again, there is also the chance that we get an Edge debut here to do something with Cage, though hopefully that doesn’t include giving him an assist to keep the title. Allin wins here, as he should.

Overall Thoughts

That’s a lot of matches. Once I get to the end of the card, I’ve already forgot a good few of the matches involved as there are too many for the show’s own good. Then again that is the case with almost every AEW show, which makes it all the more frustrating. The action will be rather good as it almost always is, but the way the show is presented is such a self imposed roadblock. It still feels like a B show, but now it feels like a rather bloated B show.

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

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AND

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Collision
Date: September 9, 2023
Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

It’s tournament night again as we have the semifinals of the #1 contenders tournament, which should give the show enough of a focus. Other than that, we might have a better idea of how things will be going in the post-CM Punk era. That new direction is very important so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Samoa Joe, Penta El Zero Miedo, Roderick Strong and Darby Allin are all ready for the tournament.

Opening sequence.

International Title: Jon Moxley vs. Action Andretti

Moxley is defending and chokes him into the corner to start, with Andretti bailing to the floor for a breather. Back in and Moxley knocks him outside again but Andretti is right back inside. A handspring kick to the head rocks Moxley to set up a suicide dive but Moxley headbutts him down. Andretti takes the leg out though and Moxley is sent into the barricade as we take a break.

We come back with Moxley hitting a suicide dive but banging up his knee again. They get back inside where Andretti’s Phenomenal Forearm is cuttered out of the air for two. Andretti tries to get up but is sent hard into the corner. Moxley’s charge hits post though and Andretti tries a springboard corkscrew crossbody, which doesn’t make a ton of contact. Andretti stomps away but Moxley pulls him into the rear naked choke to retain the title at 11:07.

Rating: B-. Andretti got in some offense here but this was about getting Moxley out there for the showcase. The Ohio fans loved him so this was more of the old Moxley than anything else. It’s ok to get Moxley on the show for a moment like this as it isn’t like Andretti was the most serious challenger.

We get a video from Roderick Strong (flanked by the Kingdom) on his history with Adam Cole. We see a bunch of photos of them over the years, plus clips of their time in Ring Of Honor. Strong says he’s still here for Cole, but Cole is the one who changed. He’s going to win the tournament and the World Title, but that’s not enough.

Quick look at Samoa Joe and MJF brawling on Dynamite.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander vs. Robyn Renegade

Statlander is defending and they fight over arm control to start. Robyn misses an enziguri and gets suplexed for her efforts. Robyn’s sister Charlette offers a distraction though and a faceplant gets two on Statlander. Charlette chokes some more and the chinlock goes on. Statlander is back up with a Blue Thunder Bomb as Charlette makes a distraction save. Back up and Robyn misses a charge into the corner, allowing Statlander to hit an electric chair faceplant. An O’Connor roll with a bridge retains the title at 4:14.

Rating: C. That’s another open challenge and it wasn’t exactly enthralling stuff. Statlander getting on TV is a good thing and going over in something close to a handicap match worked, but these title matches for the sake of having a title match only have so much interest. Statlander needs someone other than the Outcasts to fight sooner than later.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jade Cargill returns for the save. Then she beats Statlander down as well. Well that would be sooner.

Ruby Soho isn’t happy to hear that Toni Storm has forgotten how she cost Soho the TBS Title. Saraya tries to calm things down and promises to retain the title at Grand Slam.

We get a sitdown interview with Eddie Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli. Kingston says this is over Castagnoli not doing business when he was leaving the independents, which Castagnoli seems to laugh off. The solution appears to be a New Japan Strong Openweight Title match at Grand Slam, but if Kingston loses, he also has to shake Castagnoli’s hand and say he respects him. It’s nice to see them fighting again, but this isn’t ending until Kingston wins the ROH Title or the feud is just dropped so odds are this isn’t ending anytime soon.

Bullet Club Gold vs. Gravity/Aerostar/Dios del Inframundo

No Jay White here but Cardblade is on commentary. Inframundo is better known as Drago from AAA. Austin and Gravity start things off with Austin getting the better of things. Inframundo comes in, despite being in the ring when he gets tagged (the referee doesn’t like it but lets it go because of course he does).

Robinson comes in for the snap jabs but Gravity and Aerostar kick away to take him down. Colten gets in a double clothesline from behind though and we take a break. Back with Gravity fighting out of a chinlock and bringing Aerostar in to pick up the pace with a bunch of dropkicks. The Quickdraw puts Inframundo down though and Robinson hits the leg lariat. The reverse layout DDT finishes Inframundo at 6:50.

Rating: C+. This was your “here are three luchadors doing dives” match with the Club getting a bit of a showcase win. That’s all it needed to be and they were in and out quickly, as they should have been for something like this. The Club are focal points of Collision and it’s good to see them doing their thing, even though it wasn’t quite the same with Jay White not being around.

CJ Perry (who I don’t think has officially been named) talks about how Miro changed when he won the TNT Title. Now she returned and wants to try to help him get the title back but he walked away from her. She’s ready to become the coldest manager in wrestling again.

The Dark Order wants you to join.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn announce their World Tour, complete with a map. Next stop: Grand Slam.

Rey Fenix vs. Angelico

Before the match, Fenix swears revenge on Jon Moxley and the Blackpool Combat Club. Fenix knocks him outside fast and hits a big dive. The spinning kick to the head from the apron connects but Angelico manages a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker back inside. Fenix takes him down again and hits a double stomp for two. There’s the rolling cutter for two more, followed by the Black Fire Driver to give Fenix the pin at 4:54.

Rating: C+. It’s good to have Fenix back after he wasn’t able to go to All In due to international travel issues. Fenix is another of those guys who has a charisma to him that makes you want to see him in the ring no matter what and that is very valuable. Now find something for him, either with or without his brother to do and capitalize on that charisma.

FTR announces an open challenge for the Tag Team Titles starting next week. This week had two open challenges for titles and next week has a third. That’s getting into tournament and battle royal levels.

Grand Slam #1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Roderick Strong vs. Darby Allin

The Kingdom is here with Strong, who is officially NECK Strong. Hold on though as Christian Cage and Luchasaurus jump Allin in the back and beat the fire out of him. Allin, with Nick Wayne, comes out anyway though and, after falling a few times, is ready to go. Strong jumps him as soon as he gets in the ring and chops away a few times.

Allin reverses a backbreaker into a sunset flip for two before Strong misses a charge to the floor. The suicide dive hits Strong and we take a break. Back with Strong stomping away but Allin gets a crucifix and Code Red for two each. Allin goes up top and rakes Strong’s back but gets crotched down. Strong gives him a Rock Bottom onto the turnbuckle, with Allin falling down onto the apron and out to the floor for a nasty crash.

We take another break and come back with Allin hitting a flipping Stunner on the apron to send Strong outside. A Coffin Drop onto a standing Strong puts them both down on the floor. Cue AR Fox to try and make them stop but Wayne doesn’t want him here. Back in and Strong kicks him in the head but Allin grabs a Scorpion Death Drop. Fox and Wayne get in a fight with the Kingdom but Fox accidentally takes Wayne out. The Coffin Drop hits raised knees and End Of Heartache finishes Allin at 14:50.

Rating: B. They were telling a good story here as Allin was fighting from behind and trying to survive against crazy odds. As usual, Allin is able to pull people in and make you care about what he’s doing, which is very difficult to do. I’m a bit surprised at Allin losing, but Strong going forward does have some interesting aspects. Good stuff here, and it’s nice to have Strong showing what he can still do.

Powerhouse Hobbs talks about how he came at Miro and lost. Now he is looking to the Book Of Hobbs and everyone will fall.

Keith Lee is here on his own and advises people to run.

Video on the Righteous.

Here is Bryan Danielson for a chat. Danielson has been asked about what is next for him and that might be the start of the end of his career. Time is running out on him (the fans are not happy) but he is not going gently into that good night. He is Odysseus heading home from the Trojan War and we hear some Odyssey references. If this is his last year, it will be the most epic year of his career. He’s calling his shots, including at WrestleDream, where he wants to face Zack Sabre Jr.

Cue Ricky Starks and Big Bill, with the former saying he had to come out here. He received bread crumbs when hew wanted a full meal. Now he is going to take and take, but Danielson says he wasn’t done yet. Danielson seems ready to challenge him for a rematch but Big Bill jumps Danielson instead. Starks pulls him off….and jumps Danielson too. Jon Moxley runs in for the save but Bill kicks him down and hammers away. Starks chokes Danielson out with a shirt and gets to celebrate as he leaves.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Big Bill is ready to win the International Title on Dynamite. Rey Fenix interrupts and says he’s the next champion, but Bill tells him to go to the back of the line. Bill vs. Moxley has already been set for Dynamite.

Grand Slam #1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Samoa Joe

Joe’s ROH TV Title isn’t on the line. Penta strikes away to start but gets run over with a shoulder. They head outside with Penta hitting a Sling Blade, earning him a lecture from JR about how you can’t win on the outside. We’ll ignore JR’s knowledge about countouts as Joe chops away and sends Penta into the barricade. Penta does the same to him and loads up a table (because tables) as we take a break.

Back with Penta kicking away at Joe but missing a double stomp. Joe knocks him down and grabs a neck crank, followed by a face first drop onto the turnbuckle. The double arm crank with a knee in Penta’s back goes on, followed by an elbow drop for two. Joe hits the enziguri in the corner but Penta is back up with a superkick. That just earns him a snap powerslam for two but Penta kicks him in the face for two more. Joe’s big boot gets the same, only to be sent to the floor for a flip dive. Penta’s big flip dive only hits table though and the Koquina Clutch finishes him at 14:58.

Rating: C+. I wasn’t feeling this one nearly as much as the earlier tournament match as this felt like they were trying to fill in time rather than going for a win. Those chinlocks and various cranks from Joe felt like they were taking way too long and I never bought Penta as a threat to win. Not a bad match, but it needed to be a bit shorter.

Overall Rating: B-. The tournament stuff helped here, but I’m not overly invested if this is the new direction for Collision. There was a lot of what felt like thrown out there matches with the two open challenges for titles making the first part feeling like a Battle Of The Belts. The biggest problem was most of this didn’t feel overly important, but rather that it was just building for more important stuff down the line. There is a very good chance that it’s just a transitional thing as they move on from the Punk stuff, but this wasn’t the most exciting show.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Action Andretti – Rear naked choke
Kris Statlander b. Robyn Renegade – Bridging O’Connor Roll
Bullet Club Gold b. Gravity/Aerostar/Dios del Inframundo – Reverse layout DDT to Inframundo
Rey Fenix b. Angelico – Black Fire Driver
Roderick Strong b. Darby Allin – End Of Heartache
Samoa Joe b. Penta El Zero Miedo – Koquina Clutch

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

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Collision
Date: August 26, 2023
Location: Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Caprice Coleman

It’s the final go home show for All In and that means it could go either way. We are going to get a final push to the show but the question is how much new stuff might be added. At the same time, All Out is in eight days and there isn’t much set for the show. While All In will have a lot to do with the card, we could get something or it here as well. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Here is Jack Perry, along with some people carrying the FTW Title, to open things up. The ring is set up for a funeral and Perry says it was a good title, which was just misunderstood at times. Instead of being sad at its demise, we should remember the good times. We see Perry with the title in various places, including bed, the bathtub, by the pool, in the shower etc.

It’s time to send the title to a better place though, and that means it’s time for a sledgehammer. Cue Hook on the video screen to say this wasn’t a good idea and now here he is in the ring. The beatdown is on and Perry gets suplexed through a table. Hook: “Wembley, Sunday.”

Orange Cassidy/Penta El Cero Miedo/Eddie Kingston vs. Butcher and the Blade/Kip Sabian

Penta loads up the glove on Sabian but Penelope Ford shoves Alex Abrahantes on the floor. Everything breaks down fast and it’s Penta superkicking his way out of trouble in the corner. Sabian crotches Penta against the post but Cassidy makes the save and comes in to pick up the pace. Cassidy gets sent to the floor and it’s a double team neckbreaker to give Sabian two back inside.

Blade’s swinging neckbreaker drops Cassidy again and we take a break. Back with Cassidy dropping Sabian hard and handing it back to Penta. House is quickly cleaned, including an assisted Canadian Destroyer on Sabian. Butcher knocks Penta into the tag to Kingston and it’s hoss fight time. Kingston gets the better of things before sending Sabian and Blade into the corner for the rapid fire chops. Cassidy hits Butcher with the Orange Punch and there’s an exploder to Sabian. Made In Japan hits Sabian and Kingston gets the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C+. The good guys here felt like a bunch of people who had nothing else to do so here they are. Cassidy is going to get a reaction no matter what he’s doing so it’s smart to have him on a show like this. Butcher and the Blade continue to be a team who feel like they could do more but they are forever tied to Sabian for some reason.

Post break the Best Friends are in the ring with Cassidy and company to call out the Blackpool Combat Club and Santana/Ortiz. Those people BROKE TRENT’S MOM’S VAN so they’re coming or revenge. The Club pops up on screen to say it shouldn’t be a surprise that they picked Santana and Ortiz. Kingston starts heading to the back but the other four stay back as Castagnoli says Kingston and company will be out of friends again soon. We cut to the back where Kingston has a chair but can’t find anyone. Kingston promises to hut Moxley. They had me until the part about the van.

Video on FTR vs. the Young Bucks, with both of them talking about how important this match is.

Dark Order vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin

Silver and Andretti start things off with Silver taking over, allowing Reynolds to come in for an elbow to the face. The powerbomb onto Silver’s knees gets two and a double elbow puts him down again. We take a break and come back with Andretti bringing Martin in to pick up the pace. A double DDT plants the Order and Andretti comes in with a springboard 450, meaning Silver has to make the save. Andretti is sent outside and it’s the jawbreaker into the German suplex into the flipping cradle for the pin at 8:37.

Rating: C. So the Dark Order is becoming a thing again and these two getting the focus is the best possible combination. Evil Uno being left out of the whole thing helps it so much as Silver and Reynolds have never been the issue. It was a watchable match, but again it does feel like these guys were out there to fill in time. Not their fault, but it was noticeable.

On Wednesday, AR Fox apologized to Nick Wayne and Darby Allin for everything that happened. Fox offered a handshake to Wayne, who walked away. Allin shook Fox’s hand though.

We get a new Acclaimed music video on how Billy Gunn is back and they’re coming for the House Of Black.

Video on the Women’s Title match.

Big Bill vs. Vary Morales

Ricky Starks is here with Bill, who gets tossed down hard to start. A swing around by the hair (ouch) sets up the chokeslam to finish Morales at 1:35.

Post match Starks whips Morales and promises a bigger strap next week.

Ruby Soho challenges Kris Statlander for the TBS Title at All Out. Soho calls Statlander more than a woman but less than an Outcast.

Willow Nightingale vs. Robyn Renegade

Robyn’s sister Charlette is here too. Robyn knocks her into the corner to start but Nightingale drops her with a shoulder. The basement crossbody gives Nightingale two and she manages a pair of Amigos into a fisherman’s suplex for two. Charlette offers a distraction though and Robyn takes over as we take a break. Back with Nightingale hitting a spinebuster for two but Robyn scores with a missile dropkick for the same. They head outside with Nightingale hitting a double suplex on both Renegades. Back in and the Babe With The Powerbomb finishes Robyn at 8:27.

Rating: C. Nightingale did her Nightingale style stuff and of course it worked because she’s the most adorable wrestler in recent memory. At the same time, she really needs to win something that matters around here sooner than later because otherwise she’s going to turn into the lovable jobber. On the other hand you have the Renegades, who have always felt like they could be something, but have lost all over the place in recent weeks. There is a lot of talent here, but none of them are really doing much and that’s a shame.

We see some quick clips of AEW stars in London.

Video on Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs.

Kris Statlander is sick of being stepped on by people like Ruby Soho so they’re on for All Out.

Keith Lee vs. Zicky Dice

Dice hammers away a few times and gets Pounced for his efforts. The Supernova finishes for Lee at 1:35.

We go back to Mexico, where La Faccion Ingobernable has been kidnapped and beaten up. Then they fought back and beat up their attackers, only to be knocked down again as someone we can’t see walks in.

Here is Samoa Joe to rant about how he wants to get his hands on CM Punk but has been told to wait until All In. Therefore tonight he’ll be on commentary for the main event and be a professional, but the beating is coming on Sunday.

We run down the All In card, complete with Hook vs. Jack Perry for the FTW Title confirmed for Zero Hour.

Video on CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe.

All Out rundown.

Hook/Darby Allin/Sting/CM Punk vs. Jay White/Luchasaurus/Brian Cage/Swerve Strickland

The Gunns, Juice Robinson and Christian Cage are on ringside. Punk headlocks Swerve to start but a hammerlock gets him backed into the corner. An anklescissors takes Punk down though and Swerve mocks his weird wrist thing. It’s too early for the GTS though so here’s White instead. They stare each other down a bit, but White wants Sting.

Punk goes to bring in Sting but gets jumped from behind (rare mental screwup there from Punk) before White goes after the leg. Punk suplexes his way out of trouble and it’s off to Hook to go after White in the corner. Allin comes in to stay on the arm and the tease of a tag to Sting sends White bailing back to Luchasaurus. Sting and Allin take turns crashing into Luchasaurus in the corner but Punk tries one too many.

Punk kicks his way out of trouble though and a big boot to the face cuts him off. We take a break and come back with Punk still in trouble and Swerve putting on a chinlock. An elbow cuts Punk off again and there’s a snap suplex to make it worse. Punk rolls away though and it’s back to Hook to pick up the pace. Hook gets knocked outside in a hurry though and some tosses into the barricade have him in trouble.

We take another break and come back with Hook fighting his way out of trouble and suplexing Cage for a needed breather. The hot tag brings in Punk to clean house, including a bulldog/running clothesline combination to White and Swerve. Punk goes up top but pauses for a good while, only to hit the elbow anyway. Swerve takes Punk down but Hook makes the save, meaning it’s time for the parade of knockdowns. Punk finally hits the GTS on Cage (with a heck of a stare at Joe) before grabbing the Koquina Clutch for the tap at 21:06.

Rating: B. This wasn’t as long as most of the main events around here but it worked well enough with everyone involved. The match was about getting in as much of a hard push towards All In as possible in one match, with Allin vs. Luchasaurus at All Out getting a bit of time of its own. Not a classic or anything, but they covered as much as they could in a limited time and that works.

Post match Joe says the match is officially over so the big brawl is on, with Jack Perry coming out to join in. The fights break off and a bunch of weapons are brought in, with Perry and Hook fighting up the steps. Joe belts Punk in the face and leaves to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show felt like it was designed or one purpose and one purpose only: fill in two hours and don’t screw up anything before London. They did that about as well as they could, if you ignore that the first hour and a half might as well have been an extended Rampage. You absolutely did not need to see this show, but there were some interesting pairings in the main event. The show is absolutely not going to matter this time tomorrow though and I think they knew that coming in.

Results
Orange Cassidy/Eddie Kingston/Penta El Cero Miedo b. Butcher and the Blade/Kip Sabian – Made In Japan to Sabian
Dark Order b. Action Andretti/Darius Martin – Flipping rollup to Andretti
Big Bill b. Vary Morales – Chokeslam
Willow Nightingale b. Robyn Renegade – Babe With The Powerbomb
Keith Lee b. Zicky Dice – Supernova
CM Punk/Sting/Hook/Darby Allin b. Jay White/Luchasaurus/Brian Cage/Swerve Strickland – Koquina Clutch to Cage

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

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Rampage
Date: August 4, 2023
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Chris Jericho

Rampage is in a weird place as it has become something of a short bridge between Dynamite and Collision. There is usually one important match on the show though and in this case it is going to be a fight that takes place in a parking lot. I’m not sure what else that is going to leave but hopefully it works. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Hardys/Keith Lee vs. Kip Sabian/Butcher and the Blade

This is fallout from Royal Rampage. Ethan Page/Brother Zay are here with the Hardys/Lee while the Bunny is with the villains. Sabian shoulders Jeff down to start but Jeff is right back in to work on the arm. Matt comes in for a splash in the corner but gets dragged into the wrong corner so Blade can chop away. A Side Effect gets Matt out of trouble and he does his ten buckle rams in the corner. Jeff comes back in but gets pulled outside for a double teaming from the weird team of Blade and Sabian.

We take a break and come back with Jeff getting beaten up even more, but a jawbreaker gets him out of trouble. The big tag brings in Lee to clean house, including throwing everyone around at the same time. Sabian is thrown at his partners to take both of them out before everything breaks down. Lee’s big spinebuster plants Sabian and Jeff adds the Swanton for the pin at 8:53.

Rating: C+. Perfectly fine six man tag here and it worked out well. Lee getting to be the battering ram that gets the tag at the end worked well, though I’m not sure I want to see him getting to stand next to the Hardys every week. For a one off match though, it could have been a lot worse. Just a nix six man with the good guys beating up some villains and that is a pretty much guaranteed win.

The Kingdom talks about their history with Dam Cole, who did all kinds of things with them, but then just vanished when he moved on. Roderick Strong should be worried about this.

The Young Bucks want back in the tag division. The Hardys come in and the match is made for Dynamite.

Anna Jay vs. Skye Blue

Matt Menard and Angelo Parker are here with Jay. They go technical to start with Blue’s headlock not getting her very far. Jay is send outside before coming back in so Blue can fire off forearms. A basement superkick hits Jay again, allowing Blue to take a quick bow (as she has done more than once now). Jay sends her to the apron and hits a running spinning kick as we take a break.

We take a break and come back with Blue fighting up and hitting a high crossbody. A running knee against the ropes gives Blue two but Skyfall is broken up. Jay grabs a Downward Spiral for two but Blue is right back up with Skyfall. Parker and Menard offer distractions though and Jay pulls her into the Queenslayer for the tap at 9:13.

Rating: C. Jay was showing some fire here but it’s almost weird to see her beating Blue at this point. Blue has steadily been falling back down the card and I don’t remember the last time Jay won a big time match. Not a bad match, and maybe Jay is getting a push out of nowhere from here?

Kris Statlander, while doing squats with Renee Young (as in Young is on Statlander’s shoulders) says it pickles her egg when someone hits her with her own belt. As for tomorrow night, Mercedes Martinez better “clean out the gutter, wash the card and caulk the tub” because Mama’s coming home on Collision. Uh….well it was different.

Tony Schiavone and Paul Wight are in the parking lot and announce that Pac is injured and unable to wrestle, but the Lucha Bros are still going to fight the winners of the Parking Lot Fight on Dynamite.

Mogul Embassy vs. Logan Cruz/Tyshaun Perez

Prince Nana is here with the Embassy. Fox wastes no time in hitting a missile dropkick to both of them at once, setting up the big running flip dive to the floor as Swerve stands there and watches. Back in and Swerve hits a top rope elbow to the back, followed by an assisted sitout powerbomb to Perez. Fox hits an Iconoclasm into a cutter and Swerve’s brainbuster sets up a 450 to finish Cruz at 2:18. That was a slick squash with the Embassy looking very good.

QTV isn’t happy with losing to the Acclaimed and Johnny TV is missing in protest. We see a clip of Johnny TV issuing an open challenge to anyone who has been on television. He also did the splits and slid backwards down a red carpet.

Big Bill and Brian Cage are ready for FTR and the Tag Team Titles.

We recap the Blackpool Combat Club vs. the Best Friends in the Parking Lot Brawl.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Best Friends

Parking Lot Brawl. Before the match, the Club checks through the trunks of cars for Orange Cassidy. The fight is on fast with Taylor sending Castagnoli into a side mirror while Moxley uses a fork to bust Trent open. Castagnoli suplexes Taylor onto the hood of a car and Trent dives off a car onto Moxley, who gets carved up with a fork. Some shots with a broken spoiler put the Friends down but they flapjack him onto the trunk of a van (as it is opening).

The spoiler goes over the Club’s backs and Castagnoli gets crushed by a car hod. Moxley is back up and Trent gets crushed under the hood, with Chuck being dropped onto it. A trash can to the head rocks Trent again but he fights back up with some forearms. Chuck is back up with a street sign and some forking of his own.

We take a break and come back with Castagnoli being dropped onto a piece of barricade and crushed with a backsplash off a car. Moxley makes the save but Trent is back with a Dudebuster to Castagnoli on top of a car. Trent and Moxley slug it out on top of a car until Moxley Death Riders him onto a windshield. Then Chuck grabs a barbed wire 2×4 and lights it on fire, only to have Wheeler Yuta pop out of a car.

That lets Moxley hit Trent in the ribs with the 2×4 so Yuta can screwdriver him in the head. Cue Sue in the minivan, with Orange Cassidy on top. The chain is pulled out but the Club beats Cassidy down without much trouble. The Club opens the door and tells Sue to leave before Castagnoli ribs the door off the minivan. Chuck is dropped onto the door and Trent is stomped onto a windshield for the pin at 18:01.

Rating: B-. it was a hard hitting violent brawl with a lot of blood, but the whole thing only worked so well. Not only did it feel like it just kept going, but it came off like they just wanted to recreate the first one with one spot or idea after another. You knew the Sue stuff was coming and while it’s funny once, having it be this big saving grace moment feels so out of line with the violence they have been focusing on for a long time. Throw in Moxley and his stupid fork and there were several moments here that held down the stuff that did work.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event was the focal point and it is going to be well received for the violence. Other than that though, this wasn’t the strongest episode from top to bottom. It continues to be a show where you don’t feel like you missed much if you skip a good chunk of it and that isn’t the best feeling. Thankfully it’s just an hour long and far from bad, but this show rarely feels important and that is going to catch up to them at some point.

Results
Hardys/Keith Lee b. Kip Sabian/Butcher and the Blade
Anna Jay b. Skye Blue – Queenslayer
Mogul Embassy b. Logan Cruz/Tyshaun Perez – 450 to Cruz
Blackpool Combat Club b. Best Friends – Stomp onto a windshield

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

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Rampage
Date: July 14, 2023
Location: SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Tony Schiavone

We have to be about done with this Canadian tour as the thing just keeps going. This week we’ll get to find out the other finalist in the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament, plus whatever else Excalibur went through oh so quickly earlier this week on Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Keith Lee/Dustin Rhodes vs. Angelo Parker/Matt Menard

Lee slams both of them around to start and then slams Dustin onto them for a bonus. Dustin grabs an armbar on Menard before hitting the drop down uppercut. Menard manages to send him outside for a ram into the corner as the villains manage to take over. A clothesline gives Menard two as we take a break.

Back with Dustin hitting a backdrop but Lee has been knocked to the floor so there’s no tag. The snap powerslam allows that tag a few seconds later though and it’s Lee coming in to clean house. Lee throws Rhodes at the two of them but gets caught with a double DDT for two. Dustin is back in to clean house and the Supernova finishes Parker at 9:50.

Rating: C. This went on for a bit but Lee has been looking a lot more like his old self in recent weeks. If nothing else, shaving the beard is that much of an improvement. Dustin is right there to look good at just about everything as well and they got to beat up a couple of goons. Nice opener here, even if it’s hard to imagine Lee and Rhodes going anywhere.

It’s QTV time, with Harley Cameron being proud of the success of her rap video. We cut to Johnny TV, who challenges the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn to a six man tag.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Izzy McQueen

Taya spears her down to start and hits a curb stomp for the pin at 24 seconds. The first eight seconds were slow and the last eight seconds were a bit better, but the middle eight seconds were as good as you were ever going to get. Right up there with Thesz vs. O’Connor.

Post match here are the Outcasts, with Toni Storm calling Taya a loser. And it’s because she’s a Canadian! Storm says she’s beaten everyone, but Taya says they’ve never fought. The challenge is on for Battle of the Belts, with Storm eventually being pushed into accepting.

Hook is having lunch and accepts Jungle Boy’s challenge for a title match next week. He’s tired of chasing Jungle Boy around.

Trent Beretta vs. Lance Archer

Chuck Taylor and Jake Roberts are here too. Archer chokes on the rope to start but Trent knocks him to the floor for a dive. Back up and Archer nails a clothesline as we take a break. We come back with Trent hitting a running knee and a piledriver for two. Archer crossbodies him down but the chokeslam is countered into a rollup for two. Beretta hits another running knee but Archer knees him on top. The Blackout and a hard lariat finish Beretta at 8:55.

Rating: C+. They were hitting each other rather hard here, but what I liked about this match was Archer was up against some bigger competition for a change. You can only beat so many jobbers before it stops mattering so switching him up to someone like Trent, who is at least a name, is a good idea.

Post match Archer beats up Taylor as well but here is Orange Cassidy comes out for the save. Well, kind of save as Archer chokes him down, with Roberts taking the backpack with the International Title. Cassidy can come get it (in the already announced title match) at Battle Of The Belts.

Video on Jeff Jarrett and company, plus Matt Hardy and Ethan Page, who will be in the Royal Rampage.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mentallo

Don Callis is here too and gets in the ring to introduce Mentallo as the childhood friend of Kenny Omega. Callis tells Takeshita to kill him (in Japanese of course) and the beating is on. A running shot in the corner rocks Mentallo but he strikes away at the chest. Takeshita isn’t having that and hammers away but a running knee is countered into a dragon screw legwhip. A suplex drops Mentallo, though Takeshita’s knee is screwed up. It’s fine enough for a leg trap Tombstone and a top rope backsplash finishes Mentallo at 4:06.

Rating: C. It was a little strange to see Mentallo get in that much offense but at least Takeshita ran him over in the end. There was a nice little story added in with the whole Omega’s training partner thing and it boosted it above a regular squash. Takeshita vs. Omega in London wouldn’t stun me, and they’re taking some steps to get there.

The Dark Order is still mad at Hangman Page for abandoning them. Last week was their resurrection and the question is if you are Dark Order or not.

Video on Athena vs. Willow Nightingale.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament Semifinals: Athena vs. Willow Nightingale

Athena’s Ring Of Honor Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Willow powers her down without much trouble to start, followed by a running forearm in the corner. Back up and Athena catches her in the ropes and DDTs the leg to take over. The beating continues until we take a break, but come back with Willow hitting a Pounce.

The spinebuster gets two but the Babe With The Powerbomb is broken up. Athena hits a gordbuster and an elbow is good for two. A backsplash misses for Willow and Athena his a standing moonsault for two more. Willow snaps off a Death Valley Driver for two more, only to get her knee taken out. Athena misses the spinning knee to the face and gets rolled up for the upset pin at 10:39.

Rating: B-. So that’s Athena’s big loss after the winning streak and likely sets up the rubber match at Death Before Dishonor. If that’s the case, why not have the tournament be for a title shot and take Athena out? Either way, having Nightingale be the big winner or a change is cool to see, though I really could have gone without Athena losing here, as it feels like something of a waste.

Overall Rating: B-. This wasn’t a show you needed to watch as the action was good enough, but it was more about setting things up for later. We got the traditional last minute build towards Battle of the Belts and a surprise result in the main event, but it’s not like anything was must see. Good enough show, but there are better options for your wrestling viewing.

Results
Dustin Rhodes/Keith Lee b. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker – Supernova to Parker
Taya Valkyrie b. Izzy Mcqueen – Curb stomp
Lance Archer b. Trent Beretta – Lariat
Konosuke Takeshita b. Mentallo – Top rope backsplash
Willow Nightingale b. Athena – Rollup

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

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Dynamite
Date: July 5, 2023
Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re into the second half of the year here and the slow build towards All In continues. Before we get to that though, Blood & Guts is in two weeks, with the BCC vs. the Elite. That could be a bit tricky for both as the Elite will need an extra hand if Eddie Kingston is still in Japan and Bryan Danielson is still hurt. Maybe we find out something for that this week so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Darby Allin tells Keith Lee to do something to make himself dominant again. Allin: “Pull your head out of your a** and take this seriously or you can just sit on the apron and cry about it.”

Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament First Round: Orange Cassidy/Darby Allin vs. Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland

Lee LAUNCHES Allin to start so it’s off to Cassidy for the lazy kicks instead. The Grizzly Magnum puts Cassidy in the corner, where he puts his hands in his pockets and gets chopped down again. Strickland comes in and kicks Allin down as this is one sided so far. We take a break and come back with Lee Tower of Dooming Strickland and Allin out of the corner. Cassidy comes back in and gets caught in a bearhug as Strickland buries Allin underneath the steps.

They go outside with Cassidy trying a sleeper….but Lee walks up the steps, with Allin still underneath them (egads man). Back in and a Stundog Millionaire to Lee sets up a Canadian Destroyer from Allin. Strickland makes the save with a 450, which hits Lee by mistake (Strickland doesn’t mind). Cassidy DDT’s Strickland and hits a diving DDT to Lee on the floor, leaving Allin to grab the Last Supper to pin Strickland at 11:12.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match with Lee looking like his old self. Cassidy and Allin as a dark horse team could go on rather well though I’m not sure I can see them getting the title shot. For now, I can go with Lee being happy with running people over and then seeing Strickland lose in the end. Heck of an opener here, at least partially due to Lee throwing people around.

Video on Nick Wayne, an 18 year old prodigy who has signed to AEW. Darby Allin knew Wayne when he was a kid and helped get him signed.

We look at Hook chasing Jungle Boy off last week.

Jungle Boy wants an FTW Title match against Hook, who runs up and jumps Jungle Boy instead. Another daring escape in a waiting car ensues.

Video on Adam Cole and MJF’s history together.

MJF and Cole worked out together. Cole doesn’t pay attention spotting MJF, who then makes fun of a large man working out nearby. Then MJF doesn’t spot Cole bench pressing, and it doesn’t go very well.

Acclaimed/Billy Gunn vs. Blade/Bollywood Boyz

After soaking in some cheers, Gunn grabs a headlock on Blade and punches him hard in the face. Harv comes in and gets caught in Scissor Me Timbers, meaning we have a three way scissoring. We take a break and come back with Bowens cleaning house and handing it off to Gunn to drop Gurv. The Mic Drop finishes for Castor at 6:42.

Rating: C. This has been your weekly “why did this match need a break” match as the Acclaimed and Gunn should have run them over a good bit faster than they did. At least they’re getting back to what made the team worked, though giving them something that matters would be nice. As in not QTV.

Post match Harley Cameron (of course) pops up on screen to say she’ll prove her talents with a video next week. Gunn tells her to suck it.

Eddie Kingston won the Strong Openweight Title in Japan earlier today.

Jon Moxley talks about how he and Kingston have known each other for a long time and they have gotten more out of wrestling than they could have hoped. Now though, Kingston needs to answer his phone.

Matt Hardy draws Jeff in the tag tournament. Jarrett that is.

Wheeler Yuta is ready to hurt Kenny Omega.

Here is Chris Jericho for a chat. Jericho thanks the fans for their cheers but he has a lot of big losses over the last few months. Maybe it is time for him to make some changes, and there is no better place to do it than right here. We hear about Jericho’s career starting around here and now it is time to be the best Jericho he can be.

Cue Don Callis to interrupt and talk about how he set up the Jericho vs. Omega match at Wrestle Kingdom. Jericho can’t hear him over the booing and they take credit for each other’s current success. Callis recaps his issues with Kenny Omega and offers Jericho a spot in his new family. Jericho says maybe and leaves. Callis gets some amazing reactions but my goodness he is as uninteresting as it gets.

Video on CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.

Video on Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Ricky Starks in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.

Samoa Joe laid out Roderick Strong on Collision and hurt his neck.

Strong is banged up and wearing a neck brace. Adam Cole comes in to check on him but gets a text from MJF about using a double clothesline tonight.

Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament First Round: MJF/Adam Cole vs. Butcher/Matt Menard

Cole and MJF get stomped down in the corner to start. We settle down to MJF telling Menard to wait and then hitting him in the face. The abdominal stretch goes on and MJF starts a DO IT chant to get Cole to cheat. Cole won’t do it so MJF what his deal is. Then Cole cheats and MJF is WAY too happy. Menard gets out and sends MJF into the corner, allowing Butcher to take over as we take a break. Back with MJF poking Menard in the eye and bringing Cole back in to clean house. MJF calls for the double clothesline but Cole just Booms Menard for the pin at 8:43 instead.

Rating: C+. This match was all about the will they/won’t they deal and that made for an entertaining match. You could go in a bunch of different ways here and that makes for an interesting story as I want to know which path they take. If nothing else, MJF begging for the double clothesline and getting to hit it one day should be fun. Butcher and Menard were little more than two warm bodies who weren’t going to be hurt by a loss and that is a good role for them here.

Post match MJF tries to put over Cole, who isn’t overly impressed. They’ll team together one more time, but first of all, MJF wants to wish Cole a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Some backstage workers bring out a small cake and party hats. MJF sings a rather nice rendition of Happy Birthday as Cole looks on in utter confusion. Cole finally says that MJF has done more than enough but MJF wants him to make a wish. MJF teases sending Cole’s face into the cake but gets sent into it instead (Schiavone: “It never fails.”). Cole tries some cake and thanks MJF for doing all this. He even calls MJF his friend and leaves without incident. That’s interesting.

Britt Baker doesn’t like Ruby Soho saying she’s taken everything Baker cares about. Soho hasn’t taken her pride and Baker is ready to beat her.

Daniel Garcia and Sammy Guevara want an explanation from Chris Jericho but are told that they’re in the tag tournament together. Jericho is happy and tells them to go win without him, because he can’t be with them forever.

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

The rest of the Outcasts are here with Soho, who is sent outside to start. Back in and Baker can’t get Lockjaw but can hit a Sling Blade. What looked to be a suplex doesn’t go so well and winds up being something of a DDT to Soho. An Outcasts distraction lets Soho pull Baker to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Baker hitting a fisherman’s neckbreaker for two but not being able to add the Stomp. Instead she kicks Soho in the head but gets tripped by Toni Storm. Baker is fine enough to try the Lockjaw but a distraction lets Soho send her into a title belt. No Future connects for two so Soho puts on her own Lockjaw. With that not working, it’s something closer to the Bank Statement, sending Baker to the ropes. Baker’s Lockjaw goes on but Saraya pulls Soho to the floor. Baker beats the Outcasts up but gets rolled up for the assisted pin at 10:24.

Rating: C-. Two things about this match stick out to me. First of all: they really, really, really need to introduce a prize for the winner of the Owen tournaments. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of matches for the sake of matches and then after about a week, any momentum gained is pretty much gone. It really shouldn’t be asking too much to put something up for grabs.

Second, there was WAY too much interference here. How many distractions or interference spots were there here? About four in a ten minute match? That’s pounding something into the ground and it really dulls things down a lot. You really shouldn’t need that many interferences and distractions to get through a ten minute match and it was just annoying by the end.

Post match Skye Blue comes out for the staredown with Soho.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Kenny Omega

Yuta jumps him to start but Omega says bring it and unloads in the corner. Omega knocks him down and stomps away but You Can’t Escape hurts Omega’s own neck. Yuta hits a missile dropkick for two and the suicide dive sends Omega into the barricade. Omega gets dropped again and we take a break with Yuta in firm control.

Back with Omega fighting out of a chinlock and getting his knees up to block a backsplash. A running clothesline drops Yuta as Excalibur lists off a bunch of upcoming matches. The V Trigger misses though and Yuta goes with a suplex for two. Yuta goes up top and gets superplexed right back down in a huge crash.

A poke to the eye slows Omega down and some rolling German suplexes give Yuta two. Omega is back with the snapdragon and then he does it again for a bonus. There’s the V Trigger but the shoulder gives out on the One Winged Angel. Yuta Seatbelts him for two but Omega runs him over again. Cue Don Callis for a distraction so Konosuke Takeshita can Blue Thunder Bomb Omega. Yuta’s splash gets two but Omega catches him on top and hits the One Winged Angel for the pin at 15:32.

Rating: B-. Another good match to close out the show as Yuta was in over his head but hung in there rather well with a top star. There’s nothing wrong with having Omega working a bit until he got the win, despite the screwiness. Good stuff here, as Yuta is starting to feel more natural when he is in there with bigger names.

Post match Claudio Castagnoli comes in for the beatdown. The Young Bucks can’t make the save so here is Hangman Page with a chair…but the Dark Order comes in to take it away to end the show. Because of course the Dark Order had to be involved.

Overall Rating: B. This was a show where the good stuff was rather good and the weaker stuff wasn’t that bad, making for a rather strong effort. The MJF/Cole parts were great and the opener was a lot of fun, which combined to be enough to carry a lot of the show. They were focusing more on the storytelling and moving things forward here, which makes sense as Blood & Guts is coming up soon. Very entertaining show here and I had a good time getting through an easy two hours.

Results
Darby Allin/Orange Cassidy b. Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee – Last Supper to Strickland
Billy Gunn/Acclaimed b. Blade/Bollywood Boyz – Mic Drop to Gurv
MJF/Adam Cole b. Butcher/Matt Menard – Boom to Menard,
Ruby Soho b. Britt Baker – Rollup
Kenny Omega b. Wheeler Yuta – One Winged Angel

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

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

AND

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Dynamite
Date: June 28, 2023
Location: Firstontario Center, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with Forbidden Door and that means it is time to get back to mostly just AEW stars after spending the last few weeks on the New Japan guest stars. That could open up a variety of options as we are about two months away from All In. We’re also just over two weeks away from All Out, which takes place the following week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Forbidden Door if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Tomohiro Ishii

The rest of the Blackpool Combat Club is here with Moxley. Ishii comes right at him and they chop it out. With that not working, they switch to the forearms until Ishii shoulders him down. Back up and Ishii bites Moxley’s face but Moxley hits a shoulder. With Ishii down on the floor, there’s a suicide dive to put him down again. Cue Eddie Kingston to grab a chair and chase off the Club as we take a break.

Back with another exchange of forearms until Moxley punches him down. A Gotch style piledriver sets up the elbows to Ishii’s face so Ishii flips him off. Back up and they trade lariats as Kingston hasn’t stopped staring at Castagnoli. Moxley is up first with the Paradigm Shift for two but Ishii hits a double arm DDT. A lariat sets up the sliding lariat for two on Moxley, who comes right back with the Death Rider for two. Moxley hits a stomp into another Death Rider for the pin at 15:10.

Rating: B-. This was the “we’re going to hit each other until one of us can’t get up any longer” match and it was good enough. Ishii still looks like one of the most intimidating stars in the world and Moxley…well you know you don’t have to ask him to do something like this twice. It was also another step towards Kingston vs. Castagnoli II and that should be a huge title changing moment. That’s a little ways off but at least they did something with it here.

Post match Kingston yells at Moxley, who comes back down the ramp….and then leaves.

Adam Cole arrives and is greeted by Renee Paquette when MJF comes in to be friendly with Cole. The tag tournament is a great chance for Cole to get somewhere because he can’t beat MJF for the World Title. MJF even has matching tag merch: Better Than You Bay-bay shirts! Cole: “Good God man.” And he leaves, with MJF seeming rather happy.

Post break Renee Paquette isn’t happy with what Jon Moxley has been doing but here is Eddie Kingston to interrupt. Kingston and Moxley yell (the former about Castagnoli and the latter asking “who cares about some Chikara BS”) and Paquette yelling at both of them. She tells Kingston to fix this.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay from Forbidden Door.

Orange Cassidy/El Hijo del Vikingo/Keith Lee vs. Jericho Appreciation Society

This is the result of the Society being annoyed at Cassidy and ranting about him at the same time. Cassidy found his partners in the locker room and they don’t seem to have anything better to do. Lee has dyed his hair and beard and looks about 12 years younger. Cassidy hands his sunglasses to a big fan at ringside who loses her mind over it. I’m not big on Cassidy but seeing a wrestler make a fan that happy is my favorite thing in wrestling and I will never get tired of seeing it happen.

With all of that out of the way, Vikingo takes Menard down to start before it’s off to Cassidy vs. Parker. We pause for Parker to pull out his new comb, which Cassidy takes away before sending him outside. Garcia comes in and gets pulled into Vikingo’s double stomp but Vikingo is sent outside. A cheap shot takes Vikingo down and a belly to back suplex does it again back inside. We take a break and come back with Menard powerbombing Vikingo.

That doesn’t last long though as it’s back to Lee to clean house, but Garcia manages to dance on Lee’s back. That’s fine with Lee, who pops up and keeps Garcia on his back as he beats up the other two. Vikingo comes back in and tries a flip dive, which hits Lee by mistake (looked like Lee was supposed to catch him but couldn’t).

That’s fine with Lee, who picks Vikingo up and swings him into various humans. Vikingo hits a huge moonsault to the floor, leaving Cassidy to have the Orange Punch pulled into a failed Dragon Tamer attempt. Garcia piledrives him for two and the Dragon Tamer goes on. Vikingo breaks that up and Menard’s clotheslines only have limited effect on Lee. The Supernova finishes Menard at 13:12.

Rating: C. There were quite a few botches in this and they took away a good bit of the enjoyment here. I’ve seen Vikingo get in there and be perfectly smooth so I think we can write it off as a bad night. It’s nice to see Lee in there doing something different, though until he’s actually in a story that matters, I’m not sure how much it’s going to matter.

The Elite have issued a challenge for a six man tag when the Dark Order interrupts to say they’ll take it. The Order yells at Hangman Page for not talking to them anymore so tonight it’s a fight.

Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara are ready to face Sting and Darby Allin, because Jericho and Sting aren’t done with each other. Oh wait: it’s the Painmaker rather than Jericho.

Dark Order vs. Elite

Reynolds can’t get anywhere with Matt to start so Matt takes him down without much trouble. Silver comes in and gets to air some grievances to Page, who grabs a headlock. Page takes over without much trouble so Uno comes in to yell at him as well. Even with Page in control, he can’t bring himself to really go after the Order.

Matt comes in and we take a break, coming back with Uno cleaning house. Uno goes after Page once too often and gets beaten up, only to have the Order come back their finishing sequence for two on Page. The Bucks come back in to clean house and hit dives, but Page takes too long with the Buckshot Lariat. Instead Silver gets two off a rollup but the Bucks are back in with the BTE Trigger. Now the Buckshot can finish Silver at 13:47.

Rating: C+. Somehow this Dark Order/Page story is still going and I’m really not sure why. It was only so interesting in the first place and it keeps coming back. This time around it might finally be the breaking point but it is still a lot to buy the Dark Order hanging with the Elite. At least there wasn’t another shrugged off spike piledriver on the floor.

Post match the Blackpool Combat Club runs in for the beatdown as the Dark Order watches. Jon Moxley even busts out the screwdriver for some gouging as Page watches the Order leaving. Moxley issues the challenge for Blood and Guts on July 19.

Video on the men’s Owen Hart tournament.

Adam Cole and Roderick Strong meet up in the back when MJF comes up (MJF: “Hey partner, hey generic white guy.”) and says they should leave. Cole actually leaves with him, albeit after wishing Strong luck.

Here is Jungle Boy, who says cut his music. He hates the song and most of the people here, but he’s still banging “the hottest b**** in this place.” So did he turn on Hook or did everyone turn on him? He has been cost two World Champions and has to see Hook with his unrecognized title. Hook is a fraud and when Jungle Boy gets his hands on Hook….and here is Hook to chase him off.

Post break, Jungle Boy runs through the parking lot with Hook chasing him and dives head first into the back of a car (cool visual), leaving Hook to beat up a trashcan.

Ruby Soho vs. Alexia Nicole

This was supposed to be Soho vs. Britt Baker but Baker is out with illness. Soho STOs her down to start and mocks Baker’s DMD taunt. Stomping keeps Nicole down and Lockjaw finishes for Soho at 2:01.

Nicole gets spray painted for a bonus. Soho complains about Baker not being here this week and blames those Canadian germs. The fight can be on next week and Soho is ready to hurt her again. Soho has never been better but Baker is a shell of her former self. Next week, violence is promised.

Johnny TV is ready to help take out Matt Hardy and Brother Zay on Rampage.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Sammy Guevara/Chris Jericho vs. Sting/Darby Allin

Texas Tornado match and Jericho is the Painmaker. Allin dropkicks Sammy go start so Jericho can hit Sting in the arm with the bat. Sting gets his own bat for a duel and has Jericho in the corner, only for Jericho to take it outside for a whip into the barricade. Sammy gets the ladder out before flipping Sammy over the steps and into the crowd.

We take a break and come back with Allin diving off the middle rope to take Guevara down. Tables are set up at ringside and Sting climbs a ladder for the dive onto Guevara….and only one of the breaks, with Sting kind of crashing into the side of the other. Back in and Allin hits Jericho with a skateboard off the top. Allin sends him face first into the ladder in the corner but the standing Coffin Drop hits skateboard.

The Judas Effect hits Allin to send him outside but Sting is back in (thank goodness). The Walls have Sting in trouble until a bat shot breaks it up. A Stinger Splash connects but a Codebreaker gives Jericho two. Sting gets two more off the Death Drop before countering another Codebreaker into the Scorpion Deathlock to make Jericho tap at 12:56.

Rating: C+. That Sting landing was TERRIBLE but at least he got back up and finished everything. I’m not sure where Sting vs. Jericho goes here, as Sting has already beaten him in the ring. There will always be an audience for a singles match but this felt a lot like a blowoff, which does make sense after two matches in four days.

Overall Rating: C+. This was an off show as it didn’t feel like anything overly important happened. A lot of the show was built around the middle of the card stories and those are only so interesting. It certainly wasn’t a bad show, but it did feel like a show that was designed as a breather after the pay per view. Nothing wrong with that and they earned it, but just a bit of a weird Dynamite.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Tomohiro Ishii – Death Rider
Orange Cassidy/Keith Lee/El Hijo del Vikingo b. Jericho Appreciation Society – Supernova to Menard
Elite b. Dark Order – Buckshot Lariat to Silver
Ruby Soho b. Alexia Nicole – Lockjaw
Sting/Darby Allin b. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara – Scorpion Deathlock to Guevara

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

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

AND

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