Dynamite
Date: February 17, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

Things were pretty good last week and hopefully that means AEW has some momentum coming into this week. I’m not sure what that is going to mean this time around but we’re rapidly approaching Revolution next month. That show could use a card so maybe we can get some more this time around. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Hangman Page/Matt Hardy vs. Hybrid 2

Matt knocks Evans down to start and Page’s running shooting star press gets two. The BK Bomb puts Hardy in trouble and Evans snaps his throat across the top. Angelico spins over into a rollup for two and he slaps on a front facelock to drag Matt back into the corner. Matt avoids a handspring elbow and the hot tag brings in Page to clean house, including a Ron Simmons spinebuster to Angelico.

Page powerbombs Angelico and the powerbombs a diving Evans out of the air onto Angelico for a scary landing. The Buckshot Lariat is loaded up but Matt tags himself in, meaning it’s a backbreaker/neckbreaker combination for two. A Downward Spiral into a Phoenix splash gets two more but Page Buckshot Lariats both of them at once. The Twist of Fate finishes Angelico at 7:05.

Rating: C. I really cannot bring myself to care about Page and Matt teaming together, mainly because it involves Hardy’s latest character. It comes off more like Hardy’s latest idea, which has been the case so many times now that it is hard to care. Page deserves better than this, and hopefully he isn’t stuck here for more than a few weeks at most.

Post match Matt says he’s glad Page signed with him for 30% of Page’s money. Page breaks the news, saying that Matt should have read the contract. Matt sent it straight tot he lawyer, but here’s the Jacksonville Jaguars’ mascot with a copy of what Matt signed last week. The contract says they’ll be facing each other at Revolution. If Matt loses, Page gets 100% of Matt’s earnings from the first quarter of 2021. Matt: “YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A CARNY! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU BAMBOOZLED ME!”

Matt wants Page’s first quarter earnings up as well and Page shakes on it. The Jaguars’ mascot kicks Page low and it’s Isaiah Kassidy. Matt offers the Hybrid 2 $3,700 to to beat up Matt Hardy so the beatdown is on, but Negative One sends out the Dark Order for the save. Matt has to duck the Buckshot Lariat and runs off. Page gives the Dark Order a thankful look.

So let me make sure I have this straight. Since Kassidy had a copy of the contract, we can assume that Matt was faking his outrage over the different terms. So Page assumed that Matt didn’t know what was going on and felt the need to bring out the Jaguars’ mascot to further humiliate Matt? Who found out about Page’s plans with the mascot and planted Kassidy in the suit after paying/attacking the regular person playing the mascot? That’s quite the wacky plan.

Santana and Ortiz are ready for their first Tag Team Title shot (Really?) because it’s time for the Young Bucks to pay their dues. MJF says of course he wasn’t recording Sammy Guevara last week when there was already a cameraman in the room with the. Chris Jericho doesn’t want to hear it because MJF goaded Sammy into quitting the Inner Circle. The rest of it is Sammy’s fault though and now Sammy has made the dumbest decision of all. Sammy is now dead to him and Jericho never wants to hear that name again. Tonight it’s about bringing gold back to the Inner Circle so let’s go win some championships.

We recap some of the first round of the Japanese half of the #1 contenders tournament for the Women’s Title. That’s quite the effort to set up a title match.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Riho vs. Serena Deeb

Non-title and Deeb has a bad knee coming in. They go the mat to start with Deeb going after the knee in a logical move. That’s broken up and hit the test of strength, with Riho being bridged down and staying up as Deeb lands on her. A shoulder puts Riho down but she’s back up with a cartwheel into a crossbody for two. Riho’s 619 is blocked and a catapult sends her throat first into the bottom rope. We take a break and come back with Riho fighting out of a crossarm choke and snapping off a dragon suplex.

Riho goes up but gets caught coming off the top, allowing Deeb to snap off a dragon screw legwhip out of the corner. A swinging neckbreaker gets two on Riho but she knocks Deeb into the ropes for the 619. Riho’s top rope double stomp to the back gets two but Deeb is right back with a Stretch Muffler. That’s reversed into a rollup for two, followed by a northern lights suplex for two more. The top rope double stomp gets another near fall and they go to a pinfall reversal sequence with Riho rolling her up for the pin at 14:46.

Rating: B. Well you knew Riho wasn’t losing in her first match back. I’m still worried that AEW is going to have her run through everyone again because they see quite a bit in her, though this was quite the match with both of them looking good. I’m not sure why AEW needs two Women’s Champions floating around but this was a heck of a match and Deeb continues to look awesome in almost everything she does.

We look at Jade Cargill and Shaquille O’Neal training for their mixed tag by playing basketball.

Luther vs. Orange Cassidy

Serpentico and Chuck Taylor are at ringside and get in a fight at the bell. Luther hits a pump kick to knock Cassidy to the apron, where Cassidy powerbombs him to the floor. Back in and Chuck Awful Waffles Serpentico (you knew JR is all over that one), leaving Cassidy to hit the Orange Punch for the pin at 1:53.

We recap Team Tazz putting Darby Allin in a body bag and dragging him around the parking lot in a car last week.

Here’s Team Tazz to call out Sting and he’s right there for them. They don’t like the bat so Sting throws it away, meaning the beatdown is on. Brian Cage powerbombs the heck out of him. I cringe every time Sting does something physical these days so hopefully it doesn’t happen too often.

Eddie Kingston wants to get rid of Rey Fenix, but he needs to get rid of Jon Moxley. Pills, drinking and women haven’t done it, so it has to be beating Moxley once and for all, old friend.

JR sends us to a segment from earlier today with “the WWE Champion Kenny Omega.” Kenny, with Don Callis, was at a school earlier today and read the Young Bucks book to a bunch of kids. Kid after looking at the book cover: “Are they in love?” Kenny: “Uh, well they’re brothers so they love each other very much.” Kenny reads a passage about how he boosted business in the Tokyo Dome and they have to leave. They’re rather pleased with the publicity this will get but a kid wants them to stay. Callis says they can’t, but they can play with Michael Nakazawa (thankfully in regular clothes). The kids beat Nakazawa up.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Santana and Ortiz

Santana and Ortiz (with most of the Inner Circle) are challenging and Santana armdrags Nick down to start. Matt comes in and hammers away in the corner, only to get caught in a double team backbreaker. MJF comes up on the apron to go after Matt but the referee catches him and ejects the entire team.

We take a break and come back with Matt hitting a top rope twisting Stunner on Santana. An Iconoclasm into a sitout powerbomb gets two but Ortiz is back with a super Falcon Arrow for the same on Matt. Ortiz gets Nick in a Koji Clutch but Matt makes the save with a top rope elbow. The Bucks send Ortiz outside and the Doomsday Device gets two on Santana.

The buckle bomb into an enziguri sets up the double superkick for two with Ortiz having to make another save. Santana ducks the BTE Trigger though and rolls Ortiz over for a double Stunner on Matt. The Street Sweeper gets two on Nick with Matt having to make a last second save. Santana powerbombs Matt over the barricade into the crowd but Nick grabs a small package for the pin to retain at 13:07.

Rating: B. Another rather good match here, though I didn’t quite get into the near falls as the Bucks had only taken one finisher so they weren’t about to get pinned yet. I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that Santana and Ortiz had never gotten a title shot before, but they did their thing rather well here. Good match, especially for a TV match with rather little build.

Post match the Inner Circle comes back in for the beatdown as Don Callis, Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers watch backstage. Brandon Cutler comes in for the failed save, leaving Jericho and MJF to put their holds on the Bucks for the taps. The Brothers make the very slow motion saves. The Bucks’ parents are in the crowd and the dad shoves Jericho.

Cody and Brandi Rhodes reveal the gender of their baby. It’s a girl. Dang I was hoping for a toaster.

FTR vs. Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal

Cody is on commentary and announces a ladder match for the #1 contendership to the TNT Title. As we see Dory Funk Jr. in the crowd, Mike gets knocked into the corner to start but Matt comes in for some rapid fire shots. Cash takes Mike’s head off for two though and we take a break.

Back with Matt fighting back, only to have a tornado DDT countered into a powerbomb. A dragon suplex gets two on Matt with Mike having to make a save. Matt cleans house, including the top rope Meteora. Mike tries to come in off the top with…..something but he slips a bit (must be a family thing) and crashes onto Dax for two. FTR has had it with these guys and it’s the Big Rig for the pin on Mike at 8:56.

Rating; C-. I couldn’t get into this one as it was more like Matt trying to fight FTR on his own with Mike just kind of being there. FTR beating these guys up was a fine way to go, but the Sydals just aren’t all that interesting. I did get a bit of a chuckle out of Mike slipping up as well, though it was nowhere near as bad as Matt’s debut.

Post match FTR goes for the doctor’s medical bag so they can cut off Mike’s hair. The lights go out and we see a shot of Luchasaurus’ mask. They come back up and it’s Jurassic Express (with Luchasaurus…..well apparently he just got a new mask) to clean house.

Here’s what’s coming next week, in two weeks, and at Revolution.

Jon Moxley keeps hearing about Eddie Kingston’s problems. After everything they have put each other through, Moxley is the only person who still cares about him. Moxley has a lot of things to look forward to, including February 26 when he tries to break Kenta’s neck. Then it’s time for Revolution when he takes the AEW World Title back from Kenny Omega. Kenny can’t run and the time is just about here, because it’s time to pull the trigger.

Jon Moxley/Fenix/Lance Archer vs. Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade

Jake Roberts and the Bunny are here too. It’s a brawl to start with everyone fighting on the floor. Moxley gets caught in the corner for some running splashes but a neckbreaker gets him out of trouble. Archer comes in for some suplexes to Blade but Butcher tries to break up the rope walk. Fenix makes a save of his own and Archer takes Blade down anyway so we can take a break.

Back with Butcher chopping Archer in the corner and Blade bites him in the forehead for a bonus. Moxley gets tired of waiting on the apron and clotheslines Blade out to the floor. Archer crossbodies Butcher and Eddie at the same time and brings Fenix in to pick the pace way up. One heck of a running dive takes out Blade the and the rolling cutter hits Butcher. The Eddie Guerrero dance sets up a frog splash for two but Kingston cuts Fenix off with an exploder suplex.

Everything breaks down and we get the parade of knockdowns until Moxley and Kingston start the slugout. Fenix kicks Kingston in the back of the head and Moxley slaps on the bulldog choke until Blade makes the save. Archer hits a running flip dive to the floor to take out Butcher and Blade, leaving Moxley and Kingston to slug it out again. Kingston hits a spinning backfist but Moxley hits a hard clothesline. The Paradigm Shift finishes Kingston at 11:58.

Rating: B. It’s another good and wild match but they’re starting to wear a bit thin with this style. I know that’s what they do and such, but it would be nice to see them mix it up a bit instead of one wild match after another. That being said, the Moxley vs. Kingston stuff continues to be great because they make you believe everything they’re saying. That’s more than enough to make up for anything else in this match and it’s not like it was bad in the first place.

Post match the Good Brothers come in for the beatdown on Moxley and here are Omega and Moxley. Omega has a contract that gives Moxley a rematch for the title. The rematch is on at Revolution but Omega names the stipulation: an EXPLODING BARBED WIRE DEATHMATCH. Well ok then. Moxley headbutts Omega but gets V Triggered to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. That ending announcement is going to get a lot of differing opinions (as it should, mainly because it’s pretty ridiculous and took away almost every bit of the interest I had in seeing the match) but this was a heck of a show with three pretty awesome matches out of six in total. They also did the rapid fire build to the pay per view, which can work out just fine. I had a pretty awesome time with this show and it did what it needed to do while offering some awesome in-ring work. In other words, it’s AEW.

Results

Hangman Page/Matt Hardy b. Hybrid 2 – Twist of Fate to Angelico

Riho b. Serena Deeb – Rollup

Orange Cassidy b. Luther – Orange Punch

Young Bucks b. Santana and Ortiz – Small package to Santana

FTR b. Mike Sydal/Matt Sydal – Big Rig to Mike

Jon Moxley/Fenix/Lance Archer b. Butcher and the Blade/Eddie Kingston – Paradigm Shift to Kingston

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: February 10, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re still starting to get on the road to Revolution and that means we might find out a few more matches on the way there. The big story from last week was the surprise debut of Kenta, who signals the new relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling. That could certainly lead in a few different directions so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

TNT Title: Joey Janela vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending and we actually hear about a PWG match between the two of them. Feeling out process to start with Darby sending him arm first into the corner. Joey knocks him to the floor for the suicide elbow and laughs a lot. Back in and Joey grabs a bodyscissors with some bonus fishhooks to the jaw. Allin fights up and sends Janela to the apron, only to get caught with a shot to the eye. Back in and Allin nails a shotgun dropkick into the corner and then snaps the arm down onto the top rope.

Janela gets knocked outside for the suicide dive into the barricade for the big crash. They head inside again with Allin grabbing the Fujiwara armbar to send Janela over to the ropes. Allin’s springboard Coffin Drop is countered into a German suplex (that looked good) but Allin flips around to hit a Stunner for two. Janela is right back with a piledriver for two, followed by a trio to the top. Allin cranks on the arm up top and hits a super sunset bomb for another near fall. The Coffin Drop retains the title at 8:49.

Rating: C+. I’m still not big on Janela but they got into a nice groove with the trading big spots by the end. Throw in Allin’s complete lack of worry about hurting himself for the sake of a spot and it works out well enough. The lack of Team Taz hurt a bit as they kept talking about it, but at least it let Allin look better without some kind of shenanigans.

We look back at Kenta’s debut and preview the rest of the show.

Jon Moxley is used to Kenta calling him out and last week Kenta showed up to look like a dork. Kenta and Kenny Omega must have gotten together on some Bullet Club message board and decided to come after him. They’ll meet later this month but tonight it’s unsanctioned with Moxley teaming up with Lance Archer to face the two of them. Tonight, it’s just for fun.

Sammy Guevara comes in to see the Inner Circle and asks to speak to Maxwell Jacob Friedman alone. Everyone leaves but Sammy wants the cameraman to stay. Sammy knows that MJF is trying to take over the Inner Circle but MJF has no idea what’s going on. When MJF first got into the Inner Circle, he thought Sammy was just jealous.

Now though, he understands that Sammy really hates Chris Jericho. Sammy must think that he should be the front man because Sammy wants to take over the Inner Circle. That leaves Sammy so incredulous that he repeats it, which is exactly what MJF, and his phone, wanted to hear. Sammy punches him in the ribs and leaves him laying.

Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson vs. Cezar Bononi/Peter Avalon

Arn Anderson is here with Cody and Johnson, with Arn’s son in the crowd. JR: “His face looks like it belongs on a can of beef stew.” Cody works on Avalon’s arm to start and hands it off to Johnson, who is quickly headlocked. Bononi comes in off a blind tag and gets in a hard shot to drop Johnson. A moonsault lets Lee flip over Avalon and a dropkick scores as well. That’s enough to send Avalon over to Bononi again but a jawbreaker lets Lee make his own tag.

A pumphandle flip slam drops Cody on his face and we take a break. Back with Cody catching Avalon’s springboard in a fireman’s carry gutbuster. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Lee, who drops Avalon with a neckbreaker. One heck of a corkscrew flip dive takes Bononi down and a fisherman’s buster onto the knee gets two on Avalon as Bononi makes the save. Bononi cleans house and drops Lee face first, though he’s fine enough to grab a rollup for the pin at 7:50.

Rating: C+. This was a way to showcase Lee and that worked out well enough. Having Cody interested in teaming with Lee is going to make him look even better so if they can make a new star out of him, well done. It’s not like Avalon and Bononi losing means anything either so no one is hurt here, meaning it’s a nice little success.

Post match the Nightmare Family comes out to celebrate Johnson’s first win in AEW, making him 1-29. The Nightmare Family is his family.

The Young Bucks run into the Good Brothers, who find it funny that the Bucks lost last week’s battle royal. The Bucks were going to pick the Good Brothers if they won but the Brothers are more interested in promoting Impact Wrestling’s No Surrender this weekend. As for around here though, the Brothers think the Bucks should be mad at Santana and Ortiz, so the Bucks agree to give Santana and Ortiz and title shot next week. Nick reluctantly gives a too sweet.

Matt Hardy interrupts Hangman Page and suggests a tag team. For tonight though, Matt has rented out a private bar for the two of them and the tab is on Matt all night long. That works for Page, who runs into the Dark Order. They offer him a spot drinking with them but he mentions Matt and things are cool enough.

Pac vs. Ryan Nemeth

Fenix is here with Pac. They circle each other to start and Pac knocks him down with ease. Some kicks have Nemeth in more trouble and Pac even knocks him to the floor. Back in and Nemeth does his best Dolph Ziggler impression with the jumping DDT. Pac isn’t exactly having that though and drops Nemeth again, setting up the Black Arrow. The Brutalizer makes Nemeth tap at 4:19.

Rating: C-. There’s something special about Pac giving up a bit of offense but just turning it on to win in the end because he knows there is no one that can stop him. Pac has shaken the ring rust off and looks like his old killer self again and that’s a great thing. Nemeth isn’t much in the ring and just makes me think he’s Ziggler’s lame little brother (I mean….).

We look back at last week’s zany wedding, with Miro swearing vengeance on Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor.

Cassidy and Taylor are drinking the champagne with Cassidy asking what they thought was going to happen last week. Taylor: “Obviously Orange Cassidy was going to pop out of a cake.”

MJF, now with taped ribs, comes up to Chris Jericho and says Sammy punched him in the ribs. There might have been some breaking involved! Jericho says it’s ok and they’ll deal with this after their match.

Acclaimed vs. Chris Jericho/MJF

Max Castor knocks MJF out to the floor to start, with the ribs getting banged up even more. Back in and Castor drops Jericho as well, setting up Anthony Bowens’ slingshot elbow. MJF comes back in but gets planted down on the ribs for two. Bowens is eventually taken into the corner though and it’s a double flapjack, allowing Jericho and MJF to step over him for a rather snobby moment.

Back from a break with Castor reversing MJF’s abdominal stretch into one of his own. That’s enough for the tag off to Bowens, who picks up the pace with dropkicks. Bowens grabs a torture rack and spins MJF down for a faceplant before having to knock Santana off the apron. Jericho’s Lionsault is broken up with a boom box shot for two but Jake Hager pushes Castor off the top. The Judas Effect finishes for Jericho at 9:05.

Rating: C. I haven’t been impressed by the Acclaim so far so it was nice to see them have a pretty decent match tonight. It’s even better to see that Jericho seems to be a little bit more motivated (and maybe a tad bit slimmer) as the Inner Circle continues to do something fresh. Good little match though and this worked out well enough.

Post match the Inner Circle celebrates but here’s Sammy Guevara to interrupt. Jericho asks him what’s going on, and Sammy brings up what he said on December 9: if MJF did one more thing, Sammy was out. Well now he’s done, because he quits. And there’s the face turn (or at least part of the face turn) that Sammy has been primed for over the last few months.

Post break, Sammy leaves the building.

Hangman Page and Matt Hardy are drinking at the bar but Hardy isn’t as well versed with some of the choices. Hardy makes his sales pitch as the agent and even has a contract offer. Page actually agrees but, as Matt talks to the camera, switches the papers and signs something else. He has Matt sign as well but Matt is too excited to notice and leaves with whatever Page had him sign.

Tony Schiavone brings out Sting for an interview but Team Taz interrupts, showing that they have Darby Allin in a body bag. Allin, still in the bag, is tied to the car and dragged across the parking lot. Sting gives chase as we take a break.

Earlier today, Alex Marvez tried to talk to Kenny Omega on the golf course but has to wait for the shot. Marvez asks what Omega is doing when he has such a big main event coming up. Omega says he’s already the best wrestler ever so now it’s time to prepare mentally and spiritually her eon the golf course. Don Callis praises Kenny for his alleged eagle (ignore the adjusting of the ball while Omega and Marvez talked) and lets Marvez have the ball as a souvenir. Marvez asks for a ride but gets turned down. Maybe because Callis and Omega are on foot?

Women’s Title Eliminator Tournament First Round: Thunder Rosa vs. Leyla Hirsch

Rosa gets an inset interview talking about her goals of becoming champion. Hirsch takes her down a few times to start but Rosa gets in a slam and scores with a running backsplash. Back up and Hirsch pulls her down into the waistlock, followed by the running up the ropes for an armdrag. A suicide dive drops Rosa again but she’s right back in, where Hirsch pulls her down by the arm. That’s broken up as well and Rosa snaps off a neckbreaker over the middle rope.

We take a break and come back with Rosa hitting some sling shot knees in the corner. The running basement dropkick in the corner gives Rosa two but Hirsch shoves her off the top. A high crossbody gives Hirsch two but her moonsault hits raised knees. Rosa loads up a fire thunder driver, only to have Hirsch pull her down into a triangle choke. That’s countered with a powerbomb though and Rosa’s layout inverted reverse DDT finishes at 9:15.

Rating: C+. Hirsch continues to be someone they see something in and I can’t say I blame them a bit. There is always going to be a place for someone with her amateur skills and she makes things feel different. Then you have Rosa though and the star power is all over her, hence why she is likely going to make a deep run in this thing.

We run down the first round of the Japanese half of the bracket. The matches will air on YouTube this coming Monday.

Jungle Boy talks about his great match with Dax Harwood, where Boy won by submission. No the Jurassic Express didn’t want o have FTR suspended, so as soon as possible, Boy is making Harwood his b****.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Kenta/Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley/Lance Archer

Falls Count Anywhere and Kenta gets in a briefcase (his #1 contendership to Moxley’s US Title) shot to Moxleys’s back to start. Some kicks to Archer’s knee lets Omega hit the Kitaro Crusher but he and Kenta get in an argument. That’s enough for Archer and Moxley to fight back, though they don’t seem to trust one another either. The running clotheslines in the corner have Omega and Kenta in trouble again. Omega and Archer are knocked outside but it’s too early for the GTS to Moxley.

Instead here’s Omega with a trashcan to knock Moxley silly and then put the trashcan on the post. That means the moonsault with the trashcan onto Moxley and it’s time to cringe a bit. It’s time to bring in a ladder but Moxley fights back and hits a suicide dive on Kenta as Archer supelxes Omega into said ladder.

We take a break, coming back with Kenta and Omega fighting near the stage….and here’s Peter Avalon (out of his heart shaped bed) to interrupt and take the GTS it as well. Archer chokeslams Omega onto said bed and Moxley kicks Kenta in the face for two. Moxley knocks Kenta around the arena and then up the steps near the door Moxley uses every week.

Archer leaves Omega laying and goes after them but they have wound up in a kitchen. A DDT puts Moxley onto a metal table and the YES Lock goes on, only to have Archer make the save with a bag of potatoes. Moxley grabs one and hits Omega, getting to say that “he potatoed him”.

We look back at the rest of the match and come back with Omega and Moxley coming back to the arena. Moxley gets in a few kendo stick shots to Omega as they head inside again. Omega V Triggers Moxley out of the air and out to the floor though as the things slow back down. Cue Archer and Kenta to fight on the stage with Archer loading up a powerbomb through the announcers’ table. That’s broken up though and Kenta hits a running double stomp to put Moxley through a ringside table.

Archer sees Omega in the middle of the ring so Omega grabs the kendo stick. That shot is easily blocked so Omega goes after the knee. Archer is fine enough to hit a chokeslam though and the ladder is tossed to the floor. The rope walk moonsault gives Archer two but Omega slips out of the Blackout.

Cue the Good Brothers so Archer knocks them down and shrugs off Kenta’s spinning backfists. The Brothers get in though and Anderson hits Archer with the Gun stun. Jake Roberts gets in so Anderson uppercuts him down but Omega’s V Trigger is broken up. The Brothers low blow Archer to cut him off though and there’s the Magic Killer. The One Winged Angel is enough to finish Archer at 19:53.

Rating: B-. This is going to be a case where your individual tastes may heavily vary but there was too much going on here and it got a little too goofy at times. Stuff like Peter Avalon and the potatoes make for some good gags but they didn’t quite fit with the anger and violence that seemed to be the idea here. Not a bad match at all and it was certainly wild, though just not my thing for this one.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked the show pretty well this week, though we’re still far enough out from Revolution that it’s ok to not set up a lot of the card just yet. You can see the pieces being put together at the moment and, as usual, if this is one of their weaker shows, they’re going to be just fine. This worked out well enough and I’m curious to see where things go, which is more than a lot of companies are accomplishing these days.

Results

Darby Allin b. Joey Janela – Coffin Drop

Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson b. Cezar Bononi/Peter Avalon – Rollup to Avalon

Pac b. Ryan Nemeth – Brutalizer

Chris Jericho/MJF b. Acclaimed – Judas Effect to Castor

Thunder Rosa b. Leyla Hirsch – layout inverted reverse DDT

Kenny Omega/Kenta b. Jon Moxley/Lance Archer – One Winged Angel to Archer

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: February 3, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for another special show because AEW loves itself some special shows. This time around it’s Beach Break, because when you think February, you think of the beach. The big draws this time are a six man tag and a wedding on the beach, one of which feels like a prime location for some wacky shenanigans. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Battle Royal

Jurassic Express, Chris Jericho/MJF, Stu Grayson/Evil Uno, Alex Silver/John Reynolds, Private Party, Acclaimed, Sammy Guevara/Jake Hager, Santana/Ortiz, Young Bucks, Top Flight

Both members have to be eliminated for a change and the winners get the Bucks at Revolution for the titles (though the Bucks can pick their opponents if they win). During the entrances, Sammy Hagar himself predicts Guevara and Hager winning, despite sounding like he has no idea what is going on. FTR isn’t here due to being suspended after last week. The Bucks dive off the stage to take everyone out before the bell. They all get inside with Isaiah Kassidy diving off the top and…..I have no idea as the camera cuts away.

Dante Martin gets put out in a hurry and Hager knocks out Alex Reynolds as we see a replay of Kassidy missing everyone. John Silver manages to eliminate Hager in a big upset and the entire Dark Order celebrates. Matt Jackson and Alex Bowens are tossed out and it’s Luchasaurus getting to clean house. Grayson makes the mistake of trying to get rid of Luchasaurus and is chokeslammed out. Silver and Uno toss Luchasaurus though, only to have Uno get tossed seconds later to get rid of our first full team.

The Silly String is broken up by Darius Martin (JR: “Did you hear that kids? THE SILLY STRING GOT BLOCKED!”) and Marq Quen is out. Silver suplexes Acclaimed down at the same time but they toss him out in a big bump. Nick takes down Jericho and Ortiz with a high crossbody and then knocks out Santana and Ortiz on his own. The Good Brothers are watching from ringside and low bridge Kassidy out to get rid of Private Party. MJF knocks out the distracted Nick and it’s time for a double pose from MJF and Jericho.

We’re down to MJF/Jericho, Guevara, Jungle Boy, Max Castor and Darius Martin. That sets up something like a six man tag with MJF sending Boy to the apron but not out. The rest of the Inner Circle helps on Boy but Martin and Castor make a save. Another attempt is enough to get rid of Boy though and it’s MJF having a staredown with Guevara. Castor breaks that up but Sammy superkicks him down.

Sammy isn’t happy with that, but he’s happy with Castor backdropping MJF out. Martin gets rid of Castor, and we’re down to Martin vs. Jericho vs. Guevara. A double DDT plants Jericho and Guevara so Martin goes after Sammy, with Jericho tossing Sammy out. Jericho sends Martin to the apron though and it’s the Judas Effect for the final elimination at 11:36.

Rating: C+. This worked out better than I would have bet on as they kept it short but also had a nice twist on having the double eliminations deal. I can get that going either way, but it worked out well here and that’s something nice to see in a match that rarely goes all that well given the nature of the thing. If nothing else, having MJF getting more TV time to set things up should be a great thing.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Video on Jade Cargill, or at least her training.

Tony Schiavone brings out Darby Allin and Sting (dig that snow at the beach) for a chat. Hold on though as before they can say anything, Team Taz interrupts from the parking lot. They aren’t happy that Allin is defending the TNT Title against Joey Janela next week. They’re going to be watching and might even get involved. Ricky Starks doesn’t think Sting is an Icon or the Man Called Sting, because Sting will get hurt playing in the jungle. Sting says that’s fine with him, because he’ll be here next week to make sure everything is fair. As for Starks saying he doesn’t see the old Sting anymore, maybe he needs to take a closer look.

Video on Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa, which has been a pretty well built match.

Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa

Rebel is here with Baker. Rosa charges to the ring to start and we’re off in a hurry, with Rosa going after the arm. Some chops in the corner are broken up and Baker takes her down into a crossface chickenwing. A running dropkick in the corner gives Rosa two but she misses a charge into the corner and bangs up the knee. Baker wraps the leg around the rope and pulls the shoulder into the post to keep Rosa in trouble. They fight out to the floor with Rosa sending her into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Rosa hitting a running corner clothesline, followed by some slingshot knees. Baker’s running dropkick gets two and they’re both down for a bit. It’s Rosa up first but her piledriver is countered into an Air Raid Crash for two. We pause for a second for Rosa to tie her top back up but manages to block the Lockjaw. A running stomp into a crucifix has Rosa in trouble but she counters Lockjaw again.

They keep rolling around until Rosa manages a suplex to escape. The Death Valley Driver gets two on Baker and it’s time to crank on the arm, only to have Rebel come in and rip off a turnbuckle pad. The distraction gets Baker out of trouble and it’s the Downward Spiral into the exposed buckle. Rosa is out and Lockjaw is academic to give Baker the win at 13:11.

Rating: B. Rather good stuff here and it’s nice to see Baker getting the big win. I’m still not sure how long it is going to take to get her into the title picture but it seems like something that should have happened months ago. Rosa looked awesome as well and the combination made for one of the better matches the women’s division has seen in the company’s history.

We look at Hangman Page dressing in Matt Hardy’s rather large dressing room but Page says they aren’t a team and have no agreement. Matt proposes a team for tonight and it seems to be on.

Hangman Page/Matt Hardy vs. Chaos Project

Page isn’t having a good week as he lost $400 playing with stocks. Matt hammers Serpentico in the corner to start and it’s off to Page for a running shooting star press for two. Matt’s shirt comes off for the middle rope elbow to Serpentico’s arm. There’s the Side Effect but Luther comes in off a blind tag for a chop in the corner.

Some running shots connect in the corner, including one where Luther hits Serpentico by mistake. Serpentico misses a Swanton though and the hot tag brings in Page to start cleaning house. Luther is sent outside and there’s a discus right hand to Serpentico. The Buckshot Lariat is broken up but Page takes Luther down, setting up the Buckshot Lariat. Hardy tags himself in and steals the pin at 3:55.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure how interesting a Hardy/Page story would be but it’s something for Page to do to bridge the gap to whatever his next big thing is. Hardy has more than a few things going on already so it isn’t like he needs this feud. Page seems to have an issue with teams though and that might be the case again.

We look at the women’s #1 contenders tournament, which will be held in Japan and America. Here are the talent pools (without brackets):

Aja Kong

Yuka Sakazaki

Veny

Emi Sakura

Ryo Mizunami

Mei Suruga

Rin Kadokura

Maki Itoh

Serena Deeb

Riho

Britt Baker

Tay Conti

Thunder Rosa

Nyla Rose

Anna Jay

Leyla Hirsch

Hopefully some of these matches are presented in highlights because fifteen matches in about a month is a lot (assuming it ends at Revolution).

Jericho and MJF have the cooler ready for the celebration with the Inner Circle but they aren’t happy with losing. Jericho leaves and MJF says it’s time for a meeting, with Wardlow closing the door.

Miro, Kip Sabian and Charles Taylor are ready for the wedding.

And now we go to the ring, with Vickie Guerrero escorting Kip Sabian. James Mitchell is the officiant, who commentary doesn’t seem to recognize because….reasons. Jerry Lynn brings out Penelope Ford who is wearing….well not much really. They do their own vows, with Sabian talking about looking at Ford’s chest when she was wearing a one piece with boots and knew she was the one. Penelope says Sabian has the biggest and we’ll just cut her off there.

Taylor hands Miro the ring and Mitchell asks if Sabian takes Ford to have and to group, kayfabing all others for as long as they both shall live. Ford is asked if she takes this dashing rapscallion (that’s a great word) for the same things and she’s in as well. They go to the “speak now” deal but Miro cuts it off because he’s been burned too many times before. Mitchell, as empowered by Tony Khan, says they’re married and Ford can kiss the ball and chain.

It’s time for a toast, with Miro saying he’s been here before and it’s all about love. But what is love? He has no present for them because his knowledge, power and viciousness is their present. Hold on though as there is a big present, which is from Charles Taylor. Miro beats up the box and….there is nothing in it. Even Schiavone doesn’t blame him so Miro goes back to the toast, but the fans sing WHAT IS LOVE in a funny bit.

It’s time for the cake but Taylor decks Sabian as Miro has been shackled to the rope. Ford is sent face first into the cake. Sabian punches Miro by mistake so he beats Taylor down…..and Orange Cassidy is in the cake. Taylor hits Sabian in the head with something and it’s a Beach Break to leave Sabian laying. They had some good tongue in cheek bits here and it worked out rather well. I’m still not sure why the announcers didn’t know who Mitchell was but that’s a minor point at best.

We go to Inside The NBA where Shaquille O’Neal agrees to team with Jade Cargill to face Red Velvet/Cody Rhodes. Shaq demonstrates the Black Tornado, which seems to be the Judas Effect. I was hoping for the Kazam Slam. Anyway the match is on the March 3 Dynamite.

Eddie Kingston vs. Lance Archer

No DQ lumberjack match with Jake Roberts on the floor, but not as a lumberjack. Archer is pulled outside for a beating from Butcher and Blade but the other lumberjacks come over to glare. Then Billy Gunn actually throws Eddie Kingston back in….which doesn’t sit well with Kingston because he wants to fight with the lumberjacks instead. Archer hits the big dive off the apron to take everyone down so we take a break.

Back with Archer going back inside for a full nelson slam and snapping off a suplex. The Bunny comes in for the save but gets loaded up for the Black Out. Kingston makes the save with the spinning backfist to send Archer outside as Roberts takes out Angelico. Back in and Eddie hits an exploder for two so Butcher loads up a table in the corner. That means a brawl between Butcher/Blade and Bear Country, with the table being broken in the corner. Archer catches Kingston on the top for the Black Out and the pin at 9:04.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on here and it distracted from things a bit, but the brawling they had worked out well. Archer needed the win to boost him back up and there is a good chance that we will be seeing them fight again in one more blowoff. I certainly do appreciate them making it clear that it was No DQ as it can be rather annoying to have a match like this get too insane otherwise. Pretty good stuff here.

FTR is livid about being banned from the battle royal over attacking a dinosaur. Tully Blanchard rants about what it takes to get a title shot….and they pull over a handcuffed and gagged Marko Stunt. Can they pay someone to get rid of him? I’m sure a circus could use him as elephant food or something.

Joey Janela talks about his history with Darby Allin. Next week, the stakes have never been higher though and Janela is winning the title. This could have been far worse.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Jon Moxley/Pac/Rey Fenix

Don Callis is on commentary. Anderson shoulders Pac down to start but Pac comes back with a shot of his own. It’s off to Gallows vs. Moxley with Jon slugging away, only to get hit in the face. Moxley takes him down again and drops an elbow for two but Gallows powers him into the corner for the tag off to Anderson. That’s fine with Moxley, who drives Anderson into the corner for the tag to Pac.

A series of standing moonsaults get two on Anderson but Omega catches Pac on top so Gallows can hit a kick to the head. Pac gets slammed off the top and it’s off to Omega, who can’t hit a suplex. Instead Pac hits a snap German suplex so it’s back to Moxley to hit a release suplex on Anderson. Moxley’s slingshot dive to the floor takes out Gallows and a suicide dive (with Moxley hitting the brakes before he goes flying into something hard) drops the Good Brothers.

We take a break and come back with Moxley countering a powerbomb into a quickly broken Figure Four on Gallows. Moxley low bridges Gallows to the floor and avoids an Anderson charge in the corner, allowing the hot tag to Fenix. Omega is waiting on him so Fenix kicks everyone in the face, setting up a springboard high angle spinning headbutt. Pac comes in for a dropkick to Omega and we get stereo moonsaults to the floor with Pac and Fenix taking down the Good Brothers.

Back in and Fenix moonsaults into a rolling cutter on Omega (that was sweet) for two more. Omega crotches Fenix on top though and it’s a hanging snapdragon to drop Fenix on his head. Gallows kicks Fenix’s head off for two but Pac tags himself back in to strike away, including a sliding kick to the side of Gallows’ head for two. Another superkicks drops Pac though and it’s time for the parade of shots in the corner to crush Pac. Omega hits a Liger Bomb for two on Pac and there’s the V Trigger to rock him again.

The One Winged Angel is broken up so it’s Fenix and Moxley coming back in to beat Omega up. Pac’s great looking bridging German suplex gets two and it’s time for the Moxley vs. Omega slugout. That’s broken up by the parade of shots to the face and Omega hits a Paradigm Shift on Moxley. Pac breaks that up with a 450 so it’s back to Anderson, who gets caught with a Gun Stun from Moxley. Fenix’s double springboard moonsault press gets two but Anderson catches him with a spinebuster. The Magic Killer finishes Fenix at 15:28.

Rating: A-. Now this was the kind of match you would have expected and it makes me want to see more of Pac and Fenix. They more than held their own here and I could go for a lot more of everyone involved. These guys had a heck of a mostly non-stop action match and I wanted to see how it was going to end. Awesome main event here and one of the better matches AEW has had in a long time.

Post match Moxley comes back in to go after Omega but the beatdown is on. Cue Lance Archer to go after Omega and the Good Brothers (that’s interesting), leaving Moxley and Omega alone (JR: “We’re looking for a three count here.”). Moxley gets up but someone jumps him from behind…..and it’s Kenta to jump him from behind for the Go To Sleep (which Moxley doesn’t take well). Kenta is the current #1 contender to Moxley’s New Japan United States Title and Omega seems rather pleased to end the show. I’m not big on Kenta but this felt big and it’s FAR better suited than the Impact stuff.

Overall Rating: A-. This show was a great mixture of stuff throughout the whole night with the main event and surprise at the end. AEW is at its best when they are flying around at a hundred miles an hour and they did it rather well here. They had a heck of a show here and they even made a wedding angle with two of the Best Friends involved work. I’m not sure what more you could ask for here, save for less Chaos Project of course.

Results

Chris Jericho/MJF won a tag team battle royal last eliminating Top Flight

Britt Baker b. Thunder Rosa – Lockjaw

Matt Hardy/Hangman Page b. Chaos Project – Buckshot Lariat to Luther

Lance Archer b. Eddie Kingston – Blackout

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Pac/Rey Fenix/Jon Moxley – Magic Killer to Fenix

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

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Hard To Kill 2021
Date: January 16, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matt Striker, D’Lo Brown

We’re back on pay per view with this one and that means it is time to step things up. This time around, the big story is AEW’s Kenny Omega coming in to team with the Good Brothers against Rich Swann/Moose/Chris Sabin (as Alex Shelley is out due to some personal circumstances). The card isn’t looking great but Impact can do some good pay per views. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Josh Alexander vs. Brian Myers

Alexander takes him down by the leg to start and then spins out of a wristlock to put Myers down again. They head outside with Myers being driven back first into the apron but Myers shoves him hard off the top. We take a break and come back with Myers grabbing a quickly broken chinlock. Myers trips him down to cut off the comeback and the chinlock goes on again. That’s broken up as well so Myers hits a Downward Spiral for two, sending us to another break.

Back again with a discus forearm putting Myers on the floor. Alexander can’t get a German suplex but he can get the ankle lock, followed by the German suplex for two. Myers catches him with an enziguri on top, setting up the superplex with Alexander tying the legs up into a small package for two more.

A quick Michinoku Driver gives Myers two so Alexander backslides him for the same (with Striker throwing in a Kerry Von Erich vs. Ric Flair reference because he tries way too hard). The ankle lock goes on and Myers can’t roll out, so instead he pulls the headgear around to blind Alexander. That’s enough for the running clothesline to finish Alexander at 10:54.

Rating: C-. Are they kidding? Who in the world looks at Myers and Alexander (especially including their histories and thinks that Myers, as “The Most Professional Wrestler”, is the more interesting choice? I don’t get this one, but I’m hoping they have a better idea than just pushing him because he used to be in WWE. Baffling decision here, and it came after a just ok match.

The opening video looks at how people had to survive a lot over the year but they are hard to kill. This includes a good bit of AEW footage, plus Alex Shelley announcing that he will not be able to be here tonight. Moose is taking his place, which could be a bit better.

Decay vs. Tenille Dashwood/Kaleb With A K

That would be Rosemary/Crazy Steve. The men start things off with Steve headlocking him down and then tripping the leg. Rosemary comes in to crank on the arm and then hands it back to Steve. Kaleb sends him outside but thinks twice about the dive, instead bringing Dashwood in to elbow Rosemary in the face. Some shots to the back have Rosemary in more trouble and we hit the chinlock, complete with Dashwood rubbing Rosemary’s head.

Kaleb takes too much time going up though and Dashwood gets kicked into him for the crotching. Rosemary kicks Dashwood away again and the hot tag brings in Steve to start cleaning house. A rollup out of the corner brings Dashwood in for the save so Steve glares her out to the floor. Kaleb takes over on Steve’s arm, setting up a Russian legsweep for no cover.

Instead Kaleb stops for a photo, meaning Steve can avoid the moonsault. That’s enough for Rosemary to come in and clean house as everything breaks down. Rosemary hits a spear but walks into Kaleb’s superkick. The green mist hits Dashwood and Kaleb backfists Steve down. More mist blinds Kaleb and Steve hits a tornado DDT for the pin at 8:55.

Rating: C. Kind of a weird choice for an opener as the match wasn’t really a big part of the build (I’m not even sure I remember it being mentioned on TV) and it was just ok anyway. Rosemary and Steve work well together and while it’s nice to see Kaleb take the fall, it’s another miss for Dashwood. Not terrible by any means, but not a great match with a weird placement.

We run down the card. Still makes little sense on a pay per view.

We recap (with the video starting before Striker was done talking) Eric Young and company attacking various people around here. That means it’s time for Tommy Dreamer to defend his latest wrestling home, meaning we have a six man Old School tag.

Violent By Design vs. Tommy Dreamer/Rhino/Cousin Jake

Old School (extreme) rules. That would be the name for Eric Young/Deaner/Joe Doering, because every team needs a name now. Striker: “I don’t think there is anyone who has done what Tommy Dreamer has done over the last thirty years at such a high level.” I think we can write that off as the first stupid Striker line of the night and move on. The ring is mostly cleared to start and it’s Jake vs. Deaner n the big showdown.

They’re out on the floor in a hurry as we go to a triple screen (THANK YOU!) until everyone winds up on the same side at ringside. The wild brawling continues until Dreamer brings in the cookie sheet to knock Young down. Back inside and a cutter drops Young again so it’s time for Rhino, Dreamer and Deaner to chair Doering down. That isn’t enough to keep him down as Doering gets up and bites Dreamer’s head.

Deaner throws Jake off the top onto two open chairs….and exactly thirty seconds later, Jake is back up with a suicide dive onto Doering and Young. That leaves Dreamer to crotch Deaner on top and it’s something like a Tower of Doom, with Dreamer getting kicked in the face in the process. Rhino posts Doering on the floor and it’s time for the thumbtacks. Young is backdropped onto said tacks and there’s the Gore to drop Doering. Jake’s Black Hole Slam gets two on Deaner with Young making the save with the hockey mask. The piledriver finishes Deaner at 9:51.

Rating: D+. They brawled, they did the same violent spots they always do, they tried to make Dreamer some kind of legend and Young was treated as the big evil. This was almost everything I don’t like about Impact rolled into one match and I have a bad feeling that it is going to be continuing for a good while to come. Throw in Doering being the latest monster without much of a reason to care about him other than who he associates with, we could be in for a long run with these guys.

Rich Swann fires up Chris Sabin when Moose comes in. Swann doesn’t trust Moose because Willie Mack would be here if Moose hadn’t taken him out. Moose talks about playing football with people he didn’t like but he would die for them once a game began. Tonight, Omega and the Brothers are getting beaten down all night long.

Video on the Knockouts Tag Team Title Tournament.

Knockouts Tag Team Title Tournament: Fire And Flava vs. Havok/Nevaeh

For the vacant titles and that would be Tasha Steelz/Kiera Hogan, because, again, every team needs a name these days. Steelz and Hogan jump them to start with little avail, meaning it’s Steelz and Nevaeh to officially get things going. Havok comes in so Steelz bails out to Hogan, who is promptly backbreakered. A sliding clothesline gives Nevaeh two and it’s back to Havok to wreck both of them.

Havok misses a legdrop so some kicks to the face put her down for two. More running kicks in the corner give Hogan two but Havok drives Steelz into the corner. Havok tosses both of them down at the same time, allowing the tag off to Nevaeh. Steelz DDTs Hogan by mistake (yep still stupid) but Nevaeh gets caught on top.

That’s fine with Havok, who powerbombs both of them out of the corner (after walking a bit to show off). Hogan is back up with a neckbreaker on Havok and a Stunner rocks her again. Havok gets taken to the floor, leaving Hogan to hit a fisherman’s neckbreaker to Nevaeh for the pin and the titles at 8:48.

Rating: C. They aren’t exactly in the mood to give the wrestlers time tonight. This was a fairly rushed match but it’s nice to have one of the established teams win rather than a makeshift pair becoming the champions. I’m not sure what kind of a future the titles have, but it was an acceptable enough start.

Madison Rayne and Gail Kim come out to present the new titles.

Decay comes up to Taya Valkyrie but she, politely says she has this tonight. The women leave and Acey Romero sneaks into the Knockouts locker room.

Here are the unscheduled Ace Austin and Madman Fulton for a chat. Austin does not like being relegated to the pre-show panel because he won the Super X Cup. That means he should be #1 contender to the X-Division Title. So come on Scott D’Amore. Get out here and make the match. Cue D’Amore who agrees Austin needs a match so here is his opponent.

Ace Austin vs. Matt Cardona

Striker: “This is a mark out moment and I’m marking out bro!” Cardona starts fast with a running faceplant to send Austin to the apron. That means Austin can do his gymnastics on the apron until Cardona trips him face first. As Striker talks about “popping the internet”, a swinging neckbreaker drops Austin onto the floor. Fulton’s distraction lets Austin get in a cheap shot but it’s a flapjack to put him down back inside. The running corner clothesline sets up the Reboot (Broski Boot) but Fulton comes in for the DQ at 2:33.

Post match Cardona clears the ring in a hurry.

We recap the X-Division Title match. TJP couldn’t get another title shot so he put on a mask as Manik and won the title. Rohit Raju and Chris Bey want to unmask him and prove everything so we’re having a triple threat title match.

X-Division Title: Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju vs. Manik

Manik is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Manik dropkicks Bey to the floor to start and runs the ropes with Raju. Bey is back in and that means a three way standoff. Raju gets knocked down again and Bey uses him as a launchpad to dropkick Manik to the floor this time. That doesn’t last long as Manik and Bey switch places, allowing Raju to counter a headscissors into a reverse sitout powerbomb for two on Manik.

Bey comes back in and Raju misses a charge to the floor, allowing Manik to tie up Bey’s legs. Raju rejoins them for a standing armbar on Manik at the same time as Brown and Striker over if that is TJP or not. The double holds are broken up and Manik sends Raju outside, leaving Bey to hit a springboard kick to the head to catch Manik in the ropes. Bey misses a dive and gets apron bombed down for the mistake. Back in and Raju gets Manik’s mask off to reveal…a painted face.

Manik goes up top for a frog splash but dives into a cutter from Bey. A double Art of Finesse lets Bey cover Manik for two and everyone is down for a second. Raju is up first and ties Bey in the Tree of Woe, meaning Manik can come in with a springboard hurricanrana. The Detonation Kick connects with Bey making the save so he and Manik fight over a Tombstone.

Manik finally plants him but walks into a jumping knee from Raju. A kick to the face gives Raju two on Manik and everyone is down again. Raju is sent to the floor, leaving Manik to hit a springboard DDT on Bey. The frog splash hits Bey and Raju slides back in for two in a callback to what set this up. Raju throws Manik off the top but gets kicked in the head by Bey.

They go up top with Bey getting tied in the Tree of Woe again. Raju pulls Manik into a Crossface (which Striker says is a variation on the Regal Stretch, because, again, Striker tries too hard) until Bey makes the save. Manik rolls to the floor so Raju unloads with shots to Bey’s head, only to have Manik roll Raju up to retain at 13:52.

Rating: B. Now this was good as they were doing all of their spots in a hurry while making the match feel like a frenzy. That’s the kind of match you would want for a pay per view X-Division Title match and the show needed it pretty badly. Manik continues to be one of the best in-ring stars on the roster, but the painted face under the mask is a pretty weak way to keep things going.

Post match, Manik taunts Raju with the win.

Eddie Edwards tells Alisha that she can’t be involved in the Barbed Wire Massacre. She can’t be at risk because Eddie doesn’t know what is happening to him. Alisha promises not to go out there.

We recap Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taya Valkyrie. Purrazzo is the amazing champion, Valkyrie used to be the amazing champion, the title match is on.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taya Valkyrie

Purrazzo is defending and has Kimber Lee and Susan with her, while Taya has Decay. Taya knocks her into the corner to start and hammers away against the ropes. Purrazzo is knocked outside where Lee gets in a cheap shot and Susan starts recording Steve. The referee gets knocked down so it’s a big group ejection to leave us one on one. Striker is confused about whether the bell rang or not, because he was probably too busy making some reference to Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1983.

Back in and Purrazzo starts on the arm, including a Russian legsweep and a roll through into a Tequila Sunrise. Now it’s off to a kneebar so Taya has to go to the rope again. A DDT on the knee gets two but Taya is back up with chops and a spear for two. Purrazzo dropkicks the knee out but Taya runs her over again without much effort.

There’s a Curb Stomp into something like an STF, which Striker….actually doesn’t screw up (even a bad announcer finds the right move once a match). Back up and Taya can’t hit a tilt-a-whirl slam as Purrazzo takes her down into the Fujiwara Armbar. That’s switches into Cosa Nostra to retain the title at 11:35.

Rating: B-. I can go for watching these two doing their thing for a good while and that is what we got here. Purrazzo being able to pull someone into whatever painful hold she has at the moment and Taya can make almost anything work. This was exactly what it was supposed to be and I had a good time with it throughout. Above all else, it felt like a match that belonged on pay per view, which hasn’t been the case with everything else on the card so far.

Acey Romero comes up to John E. Bravo, who insists that Larry D. shot him. He calls Acey crazy but Acey found some of Larry’s Ring Rust cologne in a Knockouts bag. Bravo is intrigued. Sweet goodness WHY IS THIS STILL GOING???

We recap the fall of Ethan Page, who has gone rather insane and is feuding with his own alter ego, the Karate Man. Now it’s time for Page to fight himself.

Ethan Page vs. Karate Man

We go cinematic (duh) and they fight in front of a green screen, Mortal Kombat style. Page punches and Karate Man kicks as the background keeps changing. Then Karate Man pulls out Page’s heart to end it at we’ll say 2:30. So Page was REALLY unhappy about this online and if this is what they cobbled together after what seems like a lot of work went into it, I can completely get that. This was a waste of time from what could have been an entertaining idea and Page deserved a better way to go out than a segment which is getting as much time as the Wrestle House fallout.

Don Callis comes up to Moose in the back and reminds him that he has a two year contract. Callis suggests that if Moose hurts Kenny Omega, the contract may be ruined. Moose doesn’t want to hear it and says he’s coming for the Impact World Title. And maybe Omega’s too. Callis: “S***.”

We recap Sami Callihan vs. Eddie Edwards in Barbed Wire Massacre. They have feuded on and off for years now and this is the FINAL match, with Callihan having Ken Shamrock in his back pocket. Eddie has no one, as he has ordered his wife to stay away for her own safety.

Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan

There are various barbed wire instruments around the ring, including one side of a cage with barbed wire on top/wrapped around it and various barbed wire weapons hanging from a wire above the top rope. Eddie avoids being driven into a barbed wire board in the corner, which falls over as they lock up. Sami is sent into the barbed wire in the ropes so Eddie whips out a barbed wire ring to press down onto Sami’s head. The board is on the mat but Sami is smart enough to push it out to the floor before he goes face first.

Eddie’s suicide dive (with a bit of a spin) sends him back first through the barbed wire board and Sami drops the Cactus Jack elbow for a bonus. Sami messes with some more barbed wire on the floor and takes it back inside for the slugout. Eddie gets dropped ribs first onto the wire and Sami whips him with a…..Nintendo 64 controller wrapped in barbed wire? I think I can go with this. Sami goes up but Eddie comes out with a backpack Stunner for the breather.

The Blue Thunder Bomb onto a barbed wire chair gets two on Sami but Eddie’s missed charge hits the cage wall. They hit each other in the head with barbed wire for a double knockdown so it’s time for a barbed wire kendo stick vs. the barbed wire bat. It’s better because they have the other’s signature weapon and it’s Sami dropping him onto the barbed wire board. Another barbed wire board is thrown in and Sami (mostly) bridges it between two chairs.

A super piledriver through the barbed wire board only gets two and there wasn’t even any drama on the kickout. I know it’s just a spot these days but can you at least try to have some drama in there? Sami loads up the bat to the chair on the face but Eddie kicks him away and hits the Boston Knee Party into a chair. The Emerald Flosion onto the barbed wire finishes Sami at 18:53.

Rating: B-. This is one where your individual tastes are certainly going to vary and that isn’t a big surprise. There were some completely ridiculous moments here but it felt like two people who hated each other wanting to hurt each other. The piledriver kickout was pretty ridiculous and I’m not a big fan of this kind of match in the first place, but it could have been a lot worse than what we got.

Rebellion is on April 24.

We recap the main event. Impact executive Don Callis brought in AEW World Champion Kenny Omega as part of some big elaborate plan which isn’t quite as epic as they think it is. Impact World Champion Rich Swann didn’t like it so Kenny hooked up with the Good Brothers against Swann and the Motor City Machine Guns. Alex Shelley is out for the six man though and Moose, Swann’s #1 contender and the man who hurt his best friend, is taking his place.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Rich Swann/Moose/Chris Sabin

Don Callis is here too and handles Omega’s entrance (which Striker says is a moment fans will be telling their children about). Omega has a Bullet Club shirt (the Halloween edition for some reason) on, because we need to know New Japan history to understand the AEW World Champion’s reference in Impact Wrestling. Anderson drives Sabin into the corner to start and a shot to the face has Sabin in some trouble. An armdrag gets him right back out though and we have a standoff.

Moose and Gallows get in for the big man showdown with Moose knocking him around. Omega comes in, with Striker making both a hockey reference and saying that the Bullet Club reunion on Dynamite reminded us why we all love wrestling. It’s off to Anderson vs. Swann in a hurry with the latter snapping off a headscissors. Gallows and Omega are knocked to the floor and it’s a double dropkick to Anderson.

Moose adds a standing moonsault, with Striker saying that Moose now is the sport, a few seconds after talking about how amazing it was that the two World Champions are in a match together. Sabin gets taken into the corner so the villains can take over, including Omega hitting a backbreaker for two. Striker asks Brown if Omega is the best in the world and Brown seems to think so. There is NO MENTION AT ALL of the Impact Wrestling WORLD CHAMPION, who is in this same match, in case you needed an illustration of why Impact’s benefit from this Omega deal is rather limited.

Anderson grabs a chinlock on Sabin but the comeback sets up a double clothesline, allowing the tag to Omega and Swann (thankfully with Striker bringing Swann’s name in for the best wrestler in the world discussion). Everything breaks down and some assisted DDTs send the Brothers outside. Swann dives onto Omega but the frog splash is blocked back inside. Anderson adds a slam (with Sabin flipping him off), allowing Striker to talk about wrestling being a universal language.

The Kitaro Crusher gets two and a triple splash gets two on Swann. Back up and Swann manages a Pele to Omega and the hot tag brings in Moose. House is cleaned and the Omega BANG is mocked, setting up a triple boot to Omega in the corner. The discus lariat gets two on Omega (Striker: “HISTORY MADE TONIGHT!”) and now it’s Sabin in trouble in the corner for a change. Omega hits a Doctor Bomb for two on Sabin, who is right back up with a missile dropkick to Anderson.

Omega is up with the V Trigger to Swann but Moose catches him on top with a super Spanish Fly. Everyone is down again until Omega gets over for the hot tag to Gallows. The Boot of Doom gets two on Sabin with Swann making the save. Swann and Omega get the double tag for the big slugout with Omega getting the better of it. The other four fight outside until Moose pulls Omega off the top and into an electric chair.

Something close to a Doomsday Device gets two on Omega, with Callis teasing the save. Striker: “Some people think Callis has betrayed Impact Wrestling.” I actually had to sigh at how stupid that was so we’ll move on to Omega hitting the V Trigger on Swann. Some kicks put Omega down and the 450 gets two. The Magic Killer plants Swann and Moose has to make the save. Another V Trigger hits Moose and another V Trigger hits Swann, setting up the One Winged Angel for the pin at 20:26.

Rating: B. The wrestling itself was good, as expected, but it’s rather difficult to care about Impact when their World Champion is being presented as someone lucky enough to have Kenny Omega knee him in the face. Commentary here was a big love letter to AEW, which is being treated as the greatest thing ever as it reaches down to the unwashed masses of Impact. That may be true from a business standpoint, but why in the world is IMPACT acting like that is the case? It’s a good match and I think you know where this is heading, but could we act like Swann is close to Omega’s level? For five minutes maybe?

Omega and pals celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show started off rather badly but then it picked up a lot of steam just before the halfway point. The big matches worked rather well and completely saved the show, which is often how a show like this tends to go. They had a nice show, but there were some things that hurt it a bit, aside from the completely lackluster first hour or so.

First and foremost, the Omega worship was out of hand to start and is just getting worse. The main event didn’t make me want to see Swann vs. Omega. It made me think that Omega is treating Swann like a practice dummy, which is completely fitting for Omega. What it ISN’T fitting for is the commentary team, who seem to be in awe of Omega and treat their World Champion like a guy who won a contest. I know Omega is a bigger deal, but can we at least act like he might have trouble against the company’s World Champion?

Then you have Striker himself and…..I can’t believe it but he has gotten more annoying. Between acting like everything you see is the greatest thing that has ever happened, trying to turn every move into some brilliant strategy that ties back into some other move and name dropping EVERY SINGLE WRESTLER HE CAN THINK OF, Striker is one of the most irritating things I have ever seen on a wrestling show. It’s great to have someone who knows history, but there is a world of difference between sounding smart and being a distraction, which he was all night long.

Overall, the show did work well, but I’m worried about where this company is going in the future. They didn’t make some of their biggest stars look good in the main event and Striker is going to be as annoying as I could have ever imagined. There are some good things happening here, but if AEW is going to be a bigger presence, I’m going to be having flashbacks to New Japan coming in to Ring of Honor and leaving it as a near wasteland. They had a good show for the most part, but the future isn’t looking so bright.

Results

Decay b. Tenille Dashwood/Kaleb With A K – Tornado DDT to Kaleb With A K

Violent By Design b. Tommy Dreamer/Cousin Jake/Rhino – Piledriver to Deaner

Fire And Flava b. Havok/Nevaeh – Fisherman’s neckbreaker to Nevaeh

Matt Cardona b. Ace Austin via DQ when Madman Fulton interfered

Manik b. Rohit Raju and Chris Bey – Rollup to Raju

Deonna Purrazzo b. Taya Valkyrie – Cosa Nostra

Karate Man b. Ethan Page – Fatality

Eddie Edwards b. Sami Callihan – Emerald Flosion onto a barbed wire board

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Rich Swann/Chris Sabin/Moose – One Winged Angel to Swann

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We’re back with another Impact pay per view, even though the point seems to be to make another company’s World Champion look good. This time around the focal point is the invading Kenny Omega, will will team with the Good Brothers against Impact World Champion Rich Swann, Chris Sabin and Moose, after Alex Shelley was forced out of the show for unclear reasons. The rest of the card looks ok so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Brian Myers vs. Josh Alexander

This was thrown in this week on Impact since every pay per view needs a pre-show match these days. Myers beat Alexander via DQ and bragged about it so we’re having this for the sake of shutting him up. I’m not sure what Impact sees in Myers but there are far worse places he could be than in the pre-show match. Alexander is going to need a boost soon so we could have something going here.

I’m going to take Alexander here as there is no reason for this to drag on for another match. As much as he has been featured, Myers isn’t being pushed to the moon so they aren’t likely to give him anything here. The match will likely be on about the same level as a regular TV match and that’s all it needs to be given where they are here. It probably didn’t need to be here, but Alexander can get your attention well enough.

Eric Young/Deaner/Joe Doering vs. Tommy Dreamer/Rhino/Cousin Jake

It isn’t a good sign when my first reaction to a match is “at least they’re keeping it all here” but that’s about as good as I can go with this. We have Dreamer being Dreamer, the epic Deaners split, Doering (he was big in Japan, right up there with Jesse and the Rippers) and Young as some kind of mastermind because this company loves him very much. It’s also Old School rules, because they can’t say Extreme and Dreamer can’t do much else.

I’ll go with Young and company as for some reason this seems to be one of the upcoming big things. Young is tolerable enough in some spots, though the love affair with Doering isn’t exactly doing much for me. Adding in the turned Deaner isn’t going to make things better, but if they can keep all of this stuff crammed into one match, it could be a lot worse than what we’re getting.

Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan

This feud MUST continue and this time it’s Barbed Wire Massacre because when you think Edwards, you need something like this thrown in. I know this is viewed as some legendary rivalry but it feels like they are just warming it up because neither has anything to do. Edwards is able to carry almost anything to at least watchable, but as soon as I heard the barbed wire deal, I could hear Josh Matthews with his machine gun delivery taking away any impact it might have.

Give me Callihan to win, likely thanks to Ken Shamrock because we need another evil alliance to triumph. Shamrock and Callihan are somewhat intriguing, but I don’t need a Barbed Wire Massacre to make it work. The match should be good enough and odds are Alisha will get involved, but I’ve been over this feud for a good while now because it ran out of steam years ago.

Ethan Page vs. Karate Man

We continue with the “why is this a thing” section, but in this case Page has so much charisma that he can manage to face himself and make it work. I’m going to assume this is a cinematic match and Page’s way out of the promotion, but you never know with something like this. The Karate Man stuff alone is always worth a look, but I’m almost scared of what to see here.

Since they’re facing each other, I’ll go with Karate Man to win and get rid of Page once and for all, which should make your head spin at least a little bit. There is a chance that we could be in for some good jokes here and under the right circumstances, this could be one of the best things on the entire show. Page is awesome at his goofy stuff, and hopefully he gets to showcase himself well on the way out.

X-Division Title: Manik(c) vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju

This is part of one of those stories that works out well almost every time because it’s a classic. Bey and Raju are convinced that Manik is TJP (because Manik is TJP) but can’t beat him or prove it, meaning their frustration factor has increased about 17 fold. Now it’s a free for all for the title, which opens up a few interesting doors as they could go in a few different directions.

I think they’ll play it safe here and have Manik retain the title because there are more places to go with something like this. Manik is someone who can have a good match with anyone and Bey is one of the better young stars around here. Raju has been rather nice as well lately, so we could be in for something good. This might be the match with the most promise on the whole show and I can’t say I’m surprised.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Nevaeh/Havok vs. Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz

Who would have thought that a tournament for the vacant titles would come down to two of the only regular teams who happened to be feuding for weeks before the tournament started? Hogan and Steelz have done a nice job of being the most annoying heels imaginable, which made Havok and Nevaeh grabbing them by their throats that much better. This was almost a guarantee for the final, so at least they’re doing the logical thing.

I’ll take Havok and Nevaeh to win here as you need some faces to win on this show. It isn’t the most intriguing match on the show but it was the only way to go to get to the tournament finals. I’m not sure how far these titles can go as WWE hasn’t been able to make theirs work for years now. The match will be the same thing that we’ve seen several times between them now but….yay belts?

Rosemary/Crazzy Steve vs. Tenille Dashwood/Kaleb With A K

This seems to have been added near the last minute and I’m still trying to make myself care about Dashwood. The Instagram deal is fine, but it feels like something you would see at a tiny independent promotion because it’s that easy of a story. There is no doubt that the talent is there, but for some reason it isn’t clicking. You can only get so far with something like this though and I think we’ve reached her current limit.

I don’t see a reason for Kaleb With A K and Dashwood to win here, even though they need it a lot more. Rosemary seems to be building up something with Susan, so unless she interferes and costs them the match, I don’t see a reason to have Rosemary and Steve lose here. The match itself should be another TV level match, which is quite the trend for most of this show.

Knockouts Title: Deonna Purrazzo(c) vs. Taya Valkyrie

The Knockouts singles division has done well enough for itself in recent months and Purrazzo is awesome as the technical wizard champion. Valkyrie is almost the old guard in a way, despite her title reign not even feeling all that long ago. While her big reign is over, Valkyrie can go in the ring with anyone and Purrazzo is one of the best things going in the company today.

Purrazzo being one of the best things going today is more than enough to keep the title on her here. Beating Valkyrie is more along the lines of beating a challenger of the month, but she just happens to be a really successful challenger of the month. It means something to beat her though and Purrazzo can continue her reign with another rather nice win added to her list.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Rich Swann/Chris Sabin/Moose

This whole invasion (if that’s what you call Omega and Omega alone showing up from AEW) is making me think of Lando Calrissian saying “this deal is getting worse all the time”. So far, the highlight of the feud for Impact is their World Champion escaping with a pin over their Tag Team Champion. Omega and Don Callis have been treated as stars who are gracing Impact with their presence. I know it gives Impact exposure, but this is feeling more like New Japan coming to Ring of Honor every day (and that’s not a good thing).

Of course Omega and the Good Brothers win here, because why would they lose here? I know this is probably heading towards Omega taking the Impact World Title, as that is the best way to continue making Impact look like they don’t compare to AEW in any way. Yes AEW is more important and Omega is a bigger star, but sweet goodness could Impact look much worse so far?

Overall Thoughts

This show looks pretty dreadful on paper as there is nothing of note to look forward to. I’m sure some of the matches will work as Impact tends to shine when they just go to the ring and focus on the wrestling, but nothing on here really jumps out. Hopefully the show winds up working, because this feels like they have almost no reason to do this show other than they have to. It will likely be good enough, but they need to work on spicing things up.

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Impact Wrestling
Date: January 12, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Madison Rayne

It’s the go home show for Hard To Kill and that means we are going to be seeing the AEW people showing up again. There are a few other things to cover on the way there, but unfortunately that means we are likely to have more of the continuing adventures of Eric Young and Tommy Dreamer. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap, including a look at the end of last week’s AEW Dynamite.

Opening sequence.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Kimber Lee

Rosemary and Deonna Purrazzo are here too. Lee wastes no time in sending her into the corner and chopping away but Taya is back with a double leg takedown. Some chops in the corner have Lee out the floor but she is able to block the suicide dive. Back in and the full nelson with the legs has Taya in more trouble, followed by the chinlock. Lee cuts off a comeback attempt but a Swanton hits raised knees.

Taya makes the clothesline comeback and gets two off a shoulder block. A curb stomp doesn’t have much effect on Lee but the running knees in the corner work a bit better. Deonna puts Lee’s hand on the ropes for the break so Rosemary grabs her by the hair. Cue Susan to beat up Rosemary, with the distraction letting Lee roll Taya up for the pin at 9:13.

Rating: C. Lee is fine as a lackey for Purrazzo though I’m not sure where Susan is going to tie into the whole thing. That has been one of the wackiest things going in Impact for a long time now and as much as I hate to admit it, the thing is growing on me a bit. This worked out fine, though they are telegraphing the ending to the title match pretty hard.

We go to Kenny Omega’s bus where Don Callis tells the team that they need a win tonight. It is time for Karl Anderson to beat Rich Swann and everyone is cool.

Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone have a new paid announcement, with Khan praising Impact for all of its good things in 2020. They had these ads, Kenny Omega and getting to hear about AEW! We run down tomorrow’s Dynamite card but Khan isn’t sure that the Good Brothers are actual brothers.

Sami Callihan wants one more match against Eddie Edwards: Barbed Wire Massacre. Do we really have to do this again?

Hard To Kill rundown.

Chris Bey/Rohit Raju vs. Manik/Suicide

It’s a brawl to start with Suicide being sent to the floor. Manik doesn’t have time for the double teaming as Suicide comes back in with stereo backdrops putting Bey and Raju on the floor. Manik and Suicide both head underneath the ring, come back out from the same side, and hit stereo dropkicks to put the villains on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Manik and Suicide hanging in the ropes but getting knocked outside for their efforts. Things settle down to Suicide in trouble in the corner with Raju elbowing him in the mask for two. A belly to back suplex gives Bey two but Suicide reverses into a crucifix for the same.

Suicide manages to suplex him into the corner and rolls over for the hot tag to Manik (dang I miss crowd pops) to clean house. Suicide gets the Octopus on Bey while Manik stretches Raju’s abdominals. Both holds are broken up in a hurry so Raju goes for Manik’s mask. That doesn’t work out so Bey hits the Art of Finesse for the pin on Suicide at 12:42.

Rating: C+. Nice enough match here and it sets up Bey and Raju as the challengers for Manik’s title on Saturday. The story they’re doing may be a bit dated but it is the kind of thing that is always going to work, especially with the amount of talent from the people involved. They had a nice TV match here and Bey gets a boost on the way to the title match.

Taya Valkyrie yells at Rosemary over Susan, with Rosemary saying they (as in Rosemary and….whatever is in her head) will have this on Saturday. Valkyrie needs to get ready for her title match.

Cody Deaner vs. Tommy Dreamer

Eric Young, Joe Doering, Rhino and Cousin Jake are all here too. Deaner goes for the head to start and unloads in the corner until Dreamer avoids a charge. A slam drops Deaner but Doering…..I think misses a trip but Dreamer goes down anyway. Something misses again, as Dreamer just lays there on his side watching as Deaner gets up and is (very eventually) tripped by Rhino.

It earns the double ejection for Rhino/Doering but someone was REALLY off on the timing there as Dreamer was left sitting for about ten seconds waiting on something to happen. Anyway Deaner unloads in the corner and we hit the quickly broken neck crank. The Bionic Elbow is broken up and so is the Deaner DDT, but Dreamer gets knocked down anyway. Dreamer gets the boot up but Deaner slaps Jack, who jumps him for the DQ at 3:36.

Rating: D-. Between that awkward spot, the idea of putting Young and Dreamer not only in the same segment here but also in a pay per view match and the weird timing deal, this was one of the least interesting segments I’ve seen in a very long time. I know he works backstage, but if they have no one better than Dreamer for this much TV time, they’re in more trouble than I thought.

Video on the Knockouts Tag Team Title tournament.

Scott D’Amore officiates the contract signing between Havok/Neveah and Tasha Steelz/Kiera Hogan. Steelz and Hogan talk trash so Havok and Nevaeh grab them by their throats to shut them up. Well done.

Brian Myers asks Scott D’Amore about his next big match and lists off the people he has defeated. Josh Alexander comes up to say Myers won by DQ so D’Amore makes a No DQ match.

Tenille Dashwood vs. Rosemary

Kaleb With A K handles Dashwood’s entrance. Dashwood offers a handshake, which Josh transitions into a plug for Micro Brawlers. Rosemary doesn’t like the attempted cheap shot and knocks Dashwood down in a hurry. Kaleb offers a distraction and gets grabbed by the head, allowing him to use hairspray on Rosemary’s eyes. Tenille hammers away and hits the running crossbody in the corner for two.

Back up and they collide for the double knockdown, followed by Rosemary’s Sling Blade. The Upside Down has Dashwood in even more trouble but she’s right back with a butterfly suplex of all things for two. Rosemary gets in another shot so Kaleb offers a distraction. Cue Crazzy Steve to chase him off and take him down, leaving Rosemary to hit a spear for the pin at 8:12.

Rating: C-. Is anyone else just bored with Dashwood? She continues to have all of the tools in the world but for some reason nothing ever seems to click with her. This was no exception as she did all of her usual stuff but nothing ever actually came of it. Rosemary has a lot more going for her when it comes to character development, which might improve for Dashwood if she had more than being big on Instagram.

Rich Swann is ready for Karl Anderson because tonight it is one on one with everyone else banned from ringside. Then Karl can go back to the bus and say they’re going to get beaten up on Saturday.

Video on Ethan Page going a bit scooters and winding up setting up a match against Karate Man (himself) at Hard To Kill.

Moose vs. Matthew Palmer

Non-title and no time limit this time. Palmer hits four straight running dropkicks in the corner to start but Moose shrugs them off and drops him with a forearm. A big forearm to the back keeps Palmer down and Josh will not shut up about how Palmer has no chance, the Legend of Zelda, Sami Callihan, Hard To Kill and EVERYTHING else that comes to his mind. Palmer gets in a shot to the ribs and a middle rope knee to the face. A chokeslam plants Palmer and Moose elbows him out at 3:28.

Rating: D. Well that happened and makes last week’s match pretty much worthless. Moose doesn’t actually have a match at Hard To Kill but he did become #1 contender at Genesis, which was barely talked about here. I’m assuming this is it for the quick Palmer run, which was only going to be able to go on for so long.

Video on Kenny Omega being awesome. The other five people in the six man are ok too.

Karl Anderson vs. Rich Swann

Swann is defending and no one is at ringside. We’re joined in progress with Swann armdragging him into an armbar as the other four are seen watching from backstage. Anderson fights up and chokes in the corner, setting up his own armbar. The shoulder goes into the post and we take a break.

Back with Swann’s arm being draped over the top rope again, setting up another armbar. Swann fights up with a clothesline and some snap jabs, followed by a running kick to the back of the head. A missed charge lets Anderson hit a big boot for two but Swann rolls him up for the fast pin at 14:03.

Rating: C. That’s probably going to be Impact’s big win over AEW: the World Champion escaping with a rollup pin after getting beaten up for a good chunk of the match. I did like that the match ended so quickly as Swann steals the pin, though this feud does not exactly make you feel great about Impact’s history. Anderson isn’t going to lose anything by taking a fall though so this was fine enough.

We cut to the bus and see an empty sofa. That means Omega and Gallows can jump the Machine Guns in the back, with Swann and Anderson joining in. The big brawl is on to end the show.

Well almost as we get a quick preview for the pay per view to really end things.

Overall Rating: C+. You can look at this one from a few ways. The point of this show was to set up Hard To Kill and it did that rather well, meaning it did its main job. At the same time though, the wrestling wasn’t anything great for a good chunk of the show and some of the stories are just awful. Impact has a big gap between the top and bottom of the card and this showcased it even more than usual. That being said, the Hard To Kill preview worked well and that’s the point of the show.

Results

Kimber Lee b. Taya Valkyrie – Rollup

Chris Bey/Rohit Raju b. Manik/Suicide – Art of Finesse to Suicide

Cody Deaner b. Tommy Dreamer via DQ when Cousin Jake interfered

Rosemary b. Tenille Dashwood – Spear

Moose b. Matthew Palmer via referee stoppage

Rich Swann b. Karl Anderson – Rollup

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: January 13, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

Things continue to pick up around here as we have the second week of New Year’s Smash. This time around we are going to be seeing the TNT Title on the line as Brian Cage challenges Darby Allin, meaning a Sting appearance is certainly not out of the question. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Quick look at Death Triangle vs. Eddie Kingston/Butcher/Blade.

Pac vs. Eddie Kingston

Pac starts fast by sending Kingston to the floor for the dive. They head back inside with Pac hitting a pump kick, followed by a missile dropkick to put Kingston into the corner. Some knees to the head rock Kingston again but he’s back with a middle rope knee to the back of the head. Allie gets in some eye raking from the floor and Kingston adds a t-bone suplex. Back in and a neckbreaker gets one before Pac’s head is driven into the mat.

Some chops in the corner let Kingston pull on Pac’s ear but he snaps off a German suplex for a breather. Back up and Kingston hits an enziguri into a Saito suplex for two. Pac gets in his own kick to the head that makes Kingston look straight into the camera, setting up the top rope superplex for his own near fall. Another kick drops Kingston and the Black Arrow finishes for Pac at 9:39.

Rating: B-. This was about two guys beating each other up and that’s all it needed to be. They had a good brawl and I could go for watching the two of them talk or fight. I’m not sure how big of a star that Kingston is going to become on his own, but the sky really seems to be the limit for Pac. This is all building towards the big gang brawl though and that should be awesome.

Post match the big brawl is teased but Lance Archer comes in to chase off Kingston and company.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Chuck Taylor vs. Miro

Orange Cassidy and Kip Sabian (with a Trent cutout) are at ringside and if Miro wins, Chuck is his butler until the wedding in three weeks. Miro starts fast and knocks him outside but Chuck gets in a whip into the barricade for a breather. Sabian jumps Cassidy but gets superkicked by Chuck. That’s enough of a distraction for Miro to get in a leg lariat, followed by the jumping superkick. Game Over finishes Chuck at 3:26.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here but they only had a few minutes and the ending was designed to set up the angle going forward instead. Miro wrecking Chuck is the right way to go as he needs a few wins and the butler stuff could be funny. If nothing else, Miro needed the wins after a few months of doing nothing of note so this could be an upgrade.

Matt Hardy speaks for Private Party, who he insists are great. The team isn’t all that thrilled with part of their contracts but Hardy says they should have read them better. He is the only person here who cares about Private Party and the sooner they learn that, the happier they will be. So when he says jump, they say how high. NOW GET OUT OF HERE.

Here’s the Inner Circle and, after the required Judas chorus from the fans, and a break, it’s time to hear about their new year’s resolutions. Jake Hager wants championships, MJF wants to strengthen their bonds and get rid of the fat people and Ortiz wants to learn one of his grandmother’s recipes. Jericho loves all of those ideas and thinks this is the year he and MJF win the Tag Team Titles. That’s not cool with Santana, because he and Ortiz are the Inner Circle’s tag team.

Sammy Guevara sees what is going on here: Jericho is a tag team sl**! Jericho has teamed with Santana, Hager, he and Sammy were Le Sex Gods. Is he going to team with Snoop Dogg next? Jericho: “…..MAYBE!” Jericho thinks we should have Jericho/MJF vs. Santana/Ortiz vs. Sammy/Hager to determine the OFFICIAL tag team of the Inner Circle. Hager: “CHAMPIONSHIPS! YEAH!” Jericho: “Sammy and Hager. That’s funny.” Sammy: “Why is that funny?” The team poses and everything seems cool.

The Dark Order talks about how important the Brodie Lee tribute was for the team. Everything the team does will be in his name, and next week it starts with Hangman Page teaming with the Dark Order. Page, with his glass, staggers in so everyone can show their appreciation. Maybe after the match, he can let them know if he’s going to join! Page agrees and leaves, with the team celebrating his joining in advance. It turns out that Page only took about a step….and we go to a break anyway.

Video on Taz and the construction of Team Taz, setting up the title match against Darby Allin later tonight. Sting joining in to seemingly mentor Allin might even the odds a bit though.

Kenny Omega, Don Callis and the Young Bucks are fired up and have all the titles.

Kenny Omega/Young Bucks vs. Varsity Blonds/Danny Limelight

Callis handles Omega’s entrance. Actually hold on as he also introduces Omega’s real partners for the evening: the Good Brothers, which doesn’t sit well with the Bucks or Tony Khan in the back.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Varsity Blonds/Danny Limelight

It’s a brawl to start with Omega and the Brothers cleaning house. Everything breaks down though and Limelight kicks away at Omega, with the Blonds clotheslining the Brothers outside. The Kitaro Crusher drops Limelight though and it’s Anderson coming in for a hard whip into the corner.

Back from a break with Limelight still in trouble but managing a hurricanrana out of the corner. Omega cuts him off but Limelight gets over for the hot tag to Pillman. Air Pillman hits Anderson and it’s a Blockbuster/spinebuster combination for two. Omega grabs a neckbreaker for two and Anderson hits a big boot for two. Limelight tries to run the corner but gets caught in a spinebuster. The Magic Killer is good for the pin at 9:26.

Rating: C. I’m not sure it needed to be this long for what they were doing, but at least Omega and company didn’t get in that much trouble. Maybe the Bucks vs. Good Brothers deal can set something up in the future, which would be better than paying another tribute to the good old days in New Japan.

Post match here’s Jon Moxley to charge at all three of them, with the numbers game catching up. Cue the Lucha Bros of all people to go after the Good Brothers (that’s interesting) so Moxley can hammer on Omega. The Young Bucks come in to break it up…and are superkicked by the Lucha Bros. The Good Brothers get back in and the brawl is on again, with agents and referees finally breaking it up. That could be a heck of a six man with the Bucks being mixed in somehow.

It’s time for the Waiting Room with Dr. Britt Baker. After a quick intro dance with Rebel, Britt convinces the fans that they have a gift underneath their chairs. Her guest tonight is Cody Rhodes, who needs to pick his best friend already. Just make one good choice, unlike the one on your neck. This brings in Cody, in a green jacket and with some Gillberg sparklers during the entrance (Britt: “All contractual obligations met. We’ve got the pyro.”).

Britt congratulates Cody on his upcoming baby, who will have an action figure before her. Cody can’t talk before Baker cuts him off with a surprise guest. That would be Jade Cargill, who says no one cares about Brandi being pregnant. She and Shaq are tired of waiting though, because Jade needs an opponent. She shoves Cody so here’s Red Velvet to hit a heck of a slap.

Jade gives her one back and the fight is on, with the fans breaking it up. Velvet is taken outside and we cut to a video of Britt and Rebel attacking Thunder Rosa a few weeks back. Rosa pops up to say Britt her has show because she likes to put her big nose in people’s business. Some Spanish ranting sets up the announcement of Baker vs. Rosa on February 3 at Beach Break. Baker yells a lot because Khan said they didn’t have to wrestle. Cody never said a word other than shouting for help to break up the brawl.

Jurassic Express vs. FTR

Marko Stunt/Jungle Boy for the Express here and Luchasaurus and Tully Blanchard are here too. Marko and Cash start things off but it’s off to Dax to drive him into the corner. A slap from Marko earns him a beating in the corner and Wheeler comes back in for the same. Marko’s moonsault out of the corner is countered and a dropkick seems to mostly miss. Boy comes in and everything breaks down with Boy monkey flipping Stunt into a hurricanrana to Harwood.

Stunt’s suicide dive hits FTR and Boy adds his own dive as we take a break. Back with Wheeler hitting a spinebuster for two on Stunt and then grabbing a Gory Stretch. Stunt wiggles his way out for two off a sunset flip before rolling away from Dax for the tag off to Boy. House is cleaned with some clotheslines into a Backstabber for two on Harwood, followed by a super hurricanrana for the same.

There’s a superkick before Boy throws Stunt onto Harwood for two more. Sliced Bread is countered with a toss and a hard lariat drops Stunt again. A low blow gets Stunt out of trouble though and now a Dudley Dog can connect for another near fall. Tully posts Marko though, earning him a glare from Boy. Wheeler sends Boy into the barricade for his efforts though and it’s the Big Rig (Goodnight Express’ new name) for the pin at 12:25.

Rating: C. It was a little much to believe that it took FTR over twelve minutes and Tully’s help to beat Stunt but at least the ending was exactly as it should have gone. The match was pretty boring stuff for the most part, but at least they didn’t do something crazy like have FTR lose here. Just get them back to something important now.

NWA Women’s Title: Tay Conti vs. Serena Deeb

Deeb is defending and Conti has Anna Jay with her. Feeling out process to start with Deeb taking her down for an early rollup. Conti goes for the leg to set up a heel hook, which is reversed into a chinlock. That’s broken up as well so Conti pump kicks her out to the floor. Back from a break with Conti hitting a full nelson spun into a Stunner for two but getting caught in a Stretch Muffler. Deeb switches to take her up top for a Gory Special using the ropes for extra leverage. Conti can’t get a Gory Bomb so Deeb reverses into a pancake (the Deebtox) to retain at 9:07.

Rating: C+. They were flying through this and that held things back a bit. Deeb continues to be great though and Conti is improving as well so this was hardly a rough watch. It wouldn’t hurt to slow things down a bit though, which would be the case in almost any match around here. I’m still not sure why this company needs two Women’s Titles, but at least this one is much more of a featured attraction than anything else.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

TNT Title: Brian Cage vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending, Team Taz is at ringside and Taz is on commentary. Allin goes straight at Cage and knocks him outside, setting up the suicide dive. Another one is pulled out of the air into a suplex on the floor though, followed by Cage LAUNCHING Allin from the ring through a ringside table. Cage picks Allin (now bleeding) up in a suplex, walks him up the steps and throws him inside for another crash. A release German suplex sends Allin flying and Cage unloads with right hands to the busted open head.

We take a break and come back with Cage hitting an F5 for two, followed by a trio of powerbombs. Another powerbomb sends Allin over the top and onto the ramp but Allin says bring it. The apron superplex gets one and Cage is livid. Cage loads up the steps at ringside but an F5 from the apron to the floor is escaped. Instead Allin bites the fingers to knock Cage onto the steps, setting up the Coffin Drop onto Cage onto the steps (Taz: “That’s not good.”).

They get back in with Allin hitting the flipping Stunner and using his belt to tie Cage’s legs together. A Code Red gives Allin two and there’s a middle rope stomp. Hook’s distraction lets Ricky Starks crotch Allin but here’s Sting with the baseball bat shot to Starks’ throat. The super crucifix retains Allin’s title at 12:39.

Rating: B. This took time to get going but I got into the underdog comeback story near the end. They might have gone a step too far with Allin surviving everything but I don’t think it ever went too far into being ridiculous. Allin is one of the best underdogs/survivors around and while the Sting/Team Taz stuff was far from a surprise, they did it as by the numbers (which isn’t a bad thing) as possible here. Good main event with a near Brock Lesnar smashing a mortal style story.

Post match everyone stares to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event was good and there was enough solid stuff in the middle to hold things up but this wasn’t their strongest show. It felt like they were setting up things for later, which is something you have to do, but it doesn’t make for a great evening. What we got worked well though and it seems they’re building to Beach Break in three weeks.

Results

Pac b. Eddie Kingston – Black Arrow

Miro b. Chuck Taylor – Game Over

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Danny Limelight/Varsity Blonds – Magic Killer to Limelight

FTR b. Jurassic Express – Big Rig to Stunt

Serena Deeb b. Tay Conti – Deebtox

Darby Allin b. Brian Cage – Super crucifix

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

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

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 5, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Madison Rayne

It’s time to get back to the regular shows but we are also on the way to both Genesis and Hard To Kill. That means we could be seeing some good stuff around here, though the idea of building towards two shows at once is rarely something that works out all that well. Maybe they can fix that tonight though as Kenny Omega is here. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Kenny Omega and Don Callis joining forces with the Good Brothers against the Motor City Machine Guns and Rich Swann.

Opening sequence.

Ace Austin vs. Blake Christian vs. KC Navarro vs. Crazzy Steve

Madman Fulton is here with Austin and this is a preview of the Super X Cup at Genesis. Austin chills on the floor to start so the other two rub Steve’s chest. That’s a little too much for Austin, who pulls Steve to the floor so Christian and Navarro start going rather fast. Christian kicks Austin in the face but Austin sends him into the corner. Steve ties Navarro in the upside down Figure Four necklock over the ropes but Navarro is right back with a headscissors.

Navarro takes Austin out, only to have Christian shove him off the top to the floor. Christian’s big flip dive to the floor takes Navarro down but Austin cuts Christian off. That lets Navarro get back inside to dive onto Christian for a change, so Austin flips onto both of them at once. Back in and Navarro hits a running neckbreaker for two on Austin and Christian adds a standing Spanish Fly. Christian’s springboard frog splash gets two on Austin with Steve making the save. Steve Death Valley Drives Navarro into the other two in the corner and a middle rope DDT is enough to give Steve the pin on Navarro at 7:06.

Rating: C+. This was your old school X-Division spot fest, meaning there was almost no way to have anyone stand out and someone won in the end. That being said, it’s also a rather entertaining match because it is non-stop action from bell to bell. They kept things moving and didn’t stay out there too long, which is what matters most in something like this. It’s junk food, but it’s good junk food.

Kenny Omega’s bus is here so make sure you watch the whole show to see what he does!

Here’s what’s coming up tonight.

Sami Callihan hacks the feed and talks about how he is ready for Eddie Edwards. Eddie is trying to say that the good guys win in the end but tonight, Sami is proving the bad guys win. Thumbs up, thumbs down.

We get another paid advertisement from Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone. They’re here to help those less fortunate, meaning Impact Wrestling. We hear the Dynamite card and Khan goes into a rant against Don Callis, saying that he does everything for AEW except wrestling. Callis is a parasite but Khan is a patron of wrestling. He’ll be back to buy another ad next week because his grandmother gave him $100 in a Christmas card and he wants to spend it on something fun (Schiavone isn’t even trying to hide his laughter at that one).

The Good Brothers and Don Callis think Kenny Omega’s is so big. His belt that is. They’re ready for Hard To Kill because they’re friends with chemistry, which is more than the Guns and Swann have ever had.

Here are Cousin Jake and Rhino, with Jake wanting Cody Deaner back because they’re family.

Cousin Jake/Rhino vs. Cody Deaner/Joe Doering

Before the match, Eric Young says Deaner answers to him these days because Deaner has seen the truth. Cody hammers on Jake to start and seems far more intense than he has ever been before. Doering comes in as we hear about how awesome is he again, mainly because he was in Japan. We take a break and come back with Jake still in trouble in the corner. Jake manages to backflip out of a belly to back though and brings in Rhino to hammer away. The offense lasts about ten seconds before it’s already back to Jake though and Cody hits him low. The Deaner DDT finishes Jake at 7:31.

Rating: D+. There wasn’t much drama to this as you have a new heel able so they aren’t going to lose on their first match together. Doering is still his usual self but I can go with something that gets rid of one of the redneck Deaners. It’s not like the team was anything of value in the first place so this is an improvement. Not much of one, but an improvement.

Post match Jake and Rhino get beaten down even more….until Tommy Dreamer comes out with the kendo sticks for the same. Dreamer issues the challenge for the Old School rules match at Hard To Kill. Eric Young and Tommy Dreamer in the same angle and match. Happy freaking new year.

Matthew Palmer didn’t drive this far to become a security guard so he is here to face Moose. If he lasts three minutes, people will know who Matthew Palmer is.

Acey Romero comes in to see Johnny Swinger, who has his own office. Romero says Crazzy Steve sent him to see Swinger about John E. Bravo being framed. Swinger says go ask the Knockouts.

Here are Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee for a chat. Deonna doesn’t understand why Taya Valkyrie has a problem with them. Taya is blaming them for all of her problems, but what happens when Purrazzo takes her out? Cue Taya and Rosemary, who says she is the longest reigning Knockouts Champion ever, and she hasn’t lost any focus on that title. Deonna says Taya has already lost everything she has and her husband isn’t even here anymore. When will Rosemary turn on her too? The only thing she has left is the record but Taya knows Purrazzo is scared of what is coming at Hard To Kill. Just a quick push towards the match.

Rohit Raju tells Chris Bey that his New Year’s resolution is to forgive, so he forgives Bey for costing him the X-Division Title. Bey isn’t impressed but Raju thinks they need to get together and take Manik out.

Post break Raju and Bey go find TJP, who hasn’t seen Manik. They want a tag match against Manik and TJP but he isn’t interested.

Tenille Dashwood and Kaleb With A K comes up to Rosemary and understands what it’s like to split with a partner like Rosemary is going to split with Taya soon. Rosemary isn’t interested.

Knockouts Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Jazz/Jordynne Grace vs. Havok/Nevaeh

Nevaeh and Grace start things off with Grace working on a headlock to take Nevaeh down. That’s broken up so Havok comes in for the hoss fight, with Grace being knocked into the corner. Jazz comes in to slap Havok and stomp away in the corner. Havok sends her into the corner and hands it off to Nevaeh for the running splash.

That’s broken up in a hurry so Grace comes back in for a double back elbow to the face. Jazz is in just as fast and leaves Grace hanging on a tag (how rude) but suplexes Nevaeh down. The neck crank doesn’t last long as Nevaeh makes the comeback in a hurry. A double tag brings in Havok to powerbomb Grace for two as everything breaks down. The Tombstone finishes Jazz at 9:49 to send Havok and Nevaeh to Hard to Kill.

Rating: C-. This tournament has been ok at best and it isn’t exactly thrilling when the finals wind up being two of the only regular teams in the whole thing. Granted I’d rather have that than two random teams who have no history fighting for some historic titles. Grace continues to look like a star, but this was the right choice.

Rich Swann and the Motor City Machine Guns aren’t impressed by Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers. This company was founded on people like the three of them (Swann was 11 years old when the company was founded) and they aren’t letting this happen. Swann talks about how the letters on this title doesn’t say AEW because it says Impact Wrestling World Champion. They’re going to show the three of them that pain is temporary but pride is forever. Shelley is ready to go fight right now so they head to the parking lot.

After walking around security (It took them a month to figure that out?), the trio gets jumped from behind by Omega and the Good Brothers, with Callis shouting a lot. Omega says they were easy to kill and gets in a few more stomps before heading back onto the bus. In other words, Omega and company again look like the smart ones while the good guys are presented as complete morons.

Jazz asks Grace what happened but Grace says it was her fault. Everything is ok and Grace praises Jazz for being awesome. They should face each other at Genesis and the match is on. Grace wasn’t exactly great on the talking here.

Deonna Purrazzo and Kimber Lee ask James Mitchell if he has taken care of Su Yung. Cue…..Susan, who wears glasses and a business suit. Our villains aren’t sure what to do.

Moose vs. Matthew Palmer

Non-title with a three minute time limit. Palmer slugs away to start but gets planted with a standing Rock Bottom (as Josh puts it). The slow beating continues as we’re already down to a minute and a half left. Palmer is tossed around but gets in a jumping knee to the face. Moose kicks him in the face and loads up the spear but here’s Willie Mack for a distraction, allowing the clock to run out at 3:00.

Rating: D. You can only get so much out of something like this and they did a fine enough job of advancing Mack vs. Moose by having Moose humiliated. Palmer was any warm body here and that’s all he needed to be. I’m still not sure what the endgame is with Moose as TNA World Champion and the longer it goes, the more I don’t think Impact knows either.

Ethan Page is on a psychiatrist’s couch but the doctor keeps speaking in what sound like motivational poster cliches. Page thinks everyone around here is out to get him and yells at the doctor for not listening. It’s Karate Man, who calls Page a b****. They argue a bit and the match is made for Hard To Kill.

Here’s what’s coming at Genesis, Hard To Kill and next week.

Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan

They start fighting during the entrances with Sami getting in a few chair shots. Eddie is back with some headbutts but chops the post by mistake. Sami steps over him for a low blow and we take a break before the bell. Back with Eddie getting in his own chair shot as the bell still hasn’t rung. Sami grabs the timekeeper’s hammer and knocks the chair into Eddie’s head.

The chair is thrown at Eddie’s head but Eddie headbutts his way out of a suplex through said chair. Eddie charges into a t-bone suplex through the chair though and they finally head inside for the bell. The slugout is on but Eddie shoves the referee down, allowing Sami to get in some more shots. They rake each others’ eyes and the referee is knocked down again, drawing the double DQ at 1:13.

Post match Eddie grabs Sami’s bat and stalks him but Sami pulls out the hacking phone to show Alisha Edwards trapped in a cage. Eddie goes after her but it’s Ken Shamrock jumping him from behind. Sami comes in and they wrap Eddie in barbed wire for a baseball bat shot to the face. Alisha is blamed as the villains leave to end the show. I really could go with this feud being done for good already as it isn’t quite as epic as Impact thinks it is.

Overall Rating: C-. The AEW addition to the show is rapidly dwindling in value as this show is becoming AEW’s playground. It’s starting to feel like when New Japan would come to Ring of Honor and that’s not a good idea. The rest of the show was the usual hit or miss effort, as there isn’t a big story or feud to point to at the moment. The show is just kind of coming and going most weeks as AEW is treated like this divine intervention that only serves the other company. Not a terrible show, but the sooner Omega and pals are gone, the better it is likely to be.

Results

Crazzy Steve b. KC Navarro, Ace Austin and Blake Christian – Middle rope DDT to Navarro

Cody Deaner/Joe Doering b. Cousin Jake/Rhino – Deaner DDT to Jake

Havok/Nevaeh b. Jazz/Jordynne Grace – Tombstone to Jazz

Matthew Palmer b. Moose – Time expired

Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan went to a double DQ when the referee was knocked down

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

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

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Dynamite
Date: January 6, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re back to something close to normal after last week’s incredible tribute show. Now it’s time for the first half of the New Year’s Smash event, featuring Kenny Omega defending the World Title against Rey Fenix. That alone should be worth everything else and hopefully it lives up to the hype. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

SCU/Young Bucks vs. Acclaimed/Hybrid 2

The Acclaimed rap their way to the ring again, saying they’re the John Cena guys and SCU are Jannetty. Daniels and Bowens start things off and everything breaks down in a few seconds. Triple dives take out the villains, leaving Kazarian to flip over Bowens’ back. The Bucks come back in for the pop up dropkick to Jack Evans and Nick Jackson hits the springboard armdrag/headscissors combination to the Hybrid 2.

There’s the big corkscrew dive for a bonus but Bowens breaks up the Arabian Moonsault onto the pile. The Acclaimed starts in with the double teaming on Daniels, including a basement dropkick for two. It’s off to Angelico to work on the arm, setting up a belly to back suplex/springboard double stomp for another near fall. Bowens hits a Blockbuster into Castor’s top rope elbow into Evans’ 450 into a double arm crank from Angelico.

The Blue Thunder Bomb plants Bowens and gets Daniels out of trouble though, allowing the hot tag to Kazarian. Everything breaks down again and Matt gets to clean house with the flips, followed by a spear to take down Angelico on the floor. There’s another dive to take out Angelico and Castor, setting up a top rope splash/standing moonsault combination for two on Bowens.

The Buckle Bomb into a double enziguri sets up a slingshot legdrop for two more as Jericho is losing it on the near falls. Kazarian and Nick combine for the BTE Trigger and another near fall, setting up Angelico’s swinging Downward Spiral. Evans’ 630 hits raised knees so the Bucks superkick everyone. The Meltzer Driver is broken up so Nick dives onto the pile on the floor. The Best Meltzer Ever finishes Castor at 10:00.

Rating: C+. The action was good and they were flying around well, but I really could go for a breather from these multi team tag matches. There are so many people at once and it gets a little more confusing than it needs to be. It was still good enough, but it’s not something that is going to stand out.

Post match Kazarian says he and Daniels have the Bucks’ back, at least until they’re challenging for the titles. Hands are shaken.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Here’s Jon Moxley for his first in-arena appearance since losing the World Title. A lot of people expect him to be out here ranting and raving but he is used to a hard time. That is what he is getting again, but this time he is gritting his teeth, battoning down and getting back into it. Moxley promises to go after Don Callis and Kenny Omega to leave them bloody with a crowbar. As for tonight though, Omega is defending against Rey Fenix, and Moxley isn’t going to interfere with Fenix’s destiny. That isn’t it for Moxley and Omega though, because Moxley has forever.

Chuck Taylor says Trent is going to be out 4-5 months with a torn pectoral muscle. Cue Miro, with Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford, to laugh at him. The time off means that Taylor is out of action for the same 4-5 months, with Miro saying he can be a young boy. Miro has an offer: they can face each other next week and if Miro loses, he’ll leave. If he wins though. Taylor has to be Miro’s young boy until the wedding. Taylor can’t accept fast enough.

Jake Hager vs. Wardlow

Earlier today, Wardlow promised to take care of his family and Hager at the same time. They go to the grappling with Wardlow managing to survive and get back to an armbar. Wardlow takes him down again and it’s time to get serious. Hager takes him into the corner for rights and lefts but Wardlow is out in a hurry. They crash into each other and fall to the floor, meaning we take a break.

Back with Hager being sent into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. A spinebuster plants Hager again and a suplex slam gives Wardlow two. The F10 is broken up and Hager hits a bunch of clotheslines in the corner. Wardlow sends him out to the apron though and then into the barricade. Back in and Wardlow hits the Swanton but Hager rolls into the triangle. Hager choke some more and takes him all the way to the top. That lets Hager grab the head and arm on the top, only to get sent into the turnbuckle. The F10 finishes Hager 10:35.

Rating: B-. These guys beat the heck out of each other and that’s all they needed to do here. Wardlow is going to get a lot more out of the win than Hager would have gotten so they had the right result. I’m not sure if this is going to be it for these two, but Wardlow winning is the best thing possible.

Respect is begrudgingly shown post match.

Private Party can’t get the gin and juice right so here’s Snoop Dogg to give them the drink. Hugs ensue and Matt Hardy pops in to say that he has Private Party’s new contracts. Private Party has to give Matt 30% of everything but they get their Twitch and Cameo and all that good stuff. Works for them, so they sign.

It’s time for the weigh-in between Brian Cage and Darby Allin for next week’s TNT Title (with the new design debuting) match. Cage weighs 272lbs and Allin is 170, so Taz laughs at Allin’s gear weighing him down. Allin says he knows how this ends so let’s get rid of the garbage and get to the good part. Cue Sting for the save so Team Taz leaves, with Taz swearing a new champion next week. Sting and Allin stare at each other a lot.

MJF hears Hager freaking out and has to place peacemaker. Hager calms down and looks a good bit happier.

We look at Marko Stunt meeting -1 on Dark and getting insulted.

Jurassic Express are ready to get the Tag Team Titles back but here’s FTR to provoke Marko. He promises to win next week and has to be held back.

Cody Rhodes vs. Matt Sydal

Snoop Dogg is here with Cody. They run the ropes to start with Sydal kicking him in the leg and snapping off an armdrag. As Snoop does an Arm Anderson imitation (with the play card), the running dropkick in the corner gives Sydal two and Cody is sent out to the ramp. Sydal hits the top rope Meteora for two and they head back inside, where Cody’s skinning the cat is broken up. They’re outside again but this time Cody accidentally hits Serpentico with a right hand before being torn back inside. Sydal hits the high Crossbody but Cody rolls through into a Texas Cloverleaf.

The rope is grabbed though and we take a quick break. Back with Cody hitting a reverse superplex for two but Sydal is back with a jumping knee to the face. The shooting star press hits knees but Sydal spins around, looking to set up the camel clutch. With that broken up, Sydal kicks him in the head, only to have a Cactus Clothesline put them both on the floor. Back in and they try a standing switch until Sydal jumps on his shoulders for a hurricanrana. The Lightning Spiral gives Sydal two but Cody ducks the jumping knee. Back to back Cross Rhodes finish Sydal at 10:02.

Rating: C+. This was one of Sydal’s better matches in AEW and that shouldn’t be the biggest surprise. Cody has a habit of being able to make people look better and while Sydal doesn’t often look back, he isn’t the most interesting. Snoop Dogg was the point here and he got to show off the unique charisma on the floor, which is probably the best thing he could do.

Post match the Chaos Project comes in to jump Cody but Snoop makes the save and hits a top rope splash (or something far, far from one), with Sydal counting the pin.

Women’s Title: Abadon vs. Hikaru Shida

Shida is defending and gets jumped on the ramp. That’s fine with Shida, who cracks her in the head with the kendo stick, but Abadon pops back up. They get inside with Shida hammering away as we get the opening bell. Abadon gets knocked to the apron so Shida kicks at the head and hammers away.

They head outside with Abadon biting the thigh and then dragging Shida underneath the ring. Abadon comes back out first, followed by Shida….whose neck is rather bloody, ala a few weeks back. They head back in, with Abadon slamming her head into the mat. We take a break and come back with Shida pulling Abadon up top for a superplex. Abadon pops back up with a big clothesline but Shida grabs a rollup for two. Shida’s running knee retains the title at 8:27.

Rating: C. Abadon is certainly freaky enough to get your attention, but my goodness Shida is one of the least interesting people going today. She has a weird outfit and hits running knees. Is there anything else to her that I’m missing? I’m not sure where her reign leads but it would be nice to see her moving on to something else in a hurry.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Tay Conti challenging Serena Deeb for the NWA Women’s Title.

Conti promises to win because she’ll have the Dark Order with her.

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix is challenging and Omega has Don Callis in his corner. Omega goes to the hammerlock to start so Fenix snaps off flying mare. That earns him a spike hurricanrana so Fenix is back with a hurricanrana of his own for the escape. Omega is sent outside for another hurricanrana from the apron into the big crash. Back in and Omega counters a tornado DDT before chopping Fenix out of the air to break up a springboard.

They head outside with Omega sending him into the barricade a few times, only to have Fenix hit a kick to the head. The rolling cutter is blocked though and the Snapdragon knocks Metalik silly. Fenix gets planted again, followed by being thrown inside for the Kitaro Crusher. The chop off goes to Omega but Fenix starts kicking away, setting up a double springboard dropkick. Omega falls to the floor and Fenix hits the big running flip dive.

Back in and Fenix hits a moonsault into a German suplex for two, followed by a springboard double stomp to the back of Omega’s neck. We take a break and come back with an exchange of kicks to the head for a double knockdown. Omega hits the V Trigger but Fenix gets out to the ramp.

A Callis distraction lets Omega get in a shot of his own but Fenix is right back with the Fire Thunder Driver for two more. The frog splash hits Omega’s raised knees and Fenix is in trouble again. Fenix gets to the top and kicks Omega away, only to flip dive into a tiger driver. The V Trigger connects for two, followed by the One Winged Angel to retain the title at 17:50.

Rating: B. That catch off the ropes was worth the watch alone and these two had a great match to go with it. Fenix is such an amazing high flier and it’s always worth seeing whatever he is doing. There was no drama about a title change, but just seeing Omega in the ring feels like a big deal so it’s a fine choice for a main event.

Post match Omega and Callis get in the ring and say they have a bonus in mind. They beat Fenix, so now they can end his career. We cut to the back though where Butcher and Eddie Kingston have jumped Pac and Pentagon. Fenix goes after Fenix again but here’s Jon Moxley with the barbed wire baseball bat for the save.

Cue the Good Brothers (Karl Anderson/Doc Gallows), the Impact Wrestling Tag Team Champions, to take Moxley out. The Magic Killer plants Moxley so Omega unloads with the bat. Wrestlers start jumping the barricade for the failed save attempts and chaos reigns. Cue the Young Bucks to grab the bat….and then superkick Garrison and Pillman. Omega and the Good Brothers do the Too Sweet pose and the Bucks eventually join in to end the show. I know it’s going to get a great reaction but I’m not exactly thrilled in seeing the big heel stable again. It should wind up working though, as tends to be the case around here.

Overall Rating: B+. I’m digging where things are going around here for the most part as you can start seeing the pay per view card taking shape if you squint hard enough. The wrestling was rather good for the most part and they’re setting up the stuff when they need to. The ending is going to be a wait and see thing, but seeing a bunch of the bosses and their New Japan buddies on top isn’t quite thrilling. Anyway, pretty great show though, and I liked it a lot.

Results

Young Bucks/SCU b. Hybrid 2/Acclaimed – Best Meltzer Ever to Castor

Wardlow b. Jake Hager – F10

Cody Rhodes b. Matt Sydal – Cross Rhodes

Hikaru Shida b. Abadon – Running kneed

Kenny Omega b. Rey Fenix – One Winged Angel

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

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

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Dynamite
Date: December 23, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the holiday season and for once this show isn’t going head to head with NXT thanks to an NBA game. I’m not sure what to expect from this week’s show but the Young Bucks are defending the Tag Team Titles. Other than that it’s time to build towards the next two weeks of New Year’s Smash. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Chris Jericho/Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Top Flight

The fans sing Judas to make sure you know that Chris Jericho is the coolest thing in the world. Jericho and Darius trade shots to the face to start with Jericho getting the better of things without much effort. Darius gets in a shot of his own though and it’s Dante coming in for a double kick to the chest. It’s off to Friedman, who gets dropkicked to the floor, meaning it’s a double slugout to put the Inner Circle in trouble.

Friedman is knocked outside again but Jericho clotheslines Dante down to take over. Back in and Jericho knees Dante in the ribs and hits a belly to back suplex. There’s the double flapjack to Dante and a quick distraction lets MJF choke away. A catapult sends Dante throat first into the bottom rope and Jericho throws his feet on the ropes for two like a villain should. Jericho’s superplex attempt is broken up though and Dante hits a high crossbody for two.

The hot tag brings in Darius for a standing Spanish Fly on MJF and a suicide dive hits Jericho. Back in and a springboard missile dropkick gets two on MJF, followed by a DDT for the same. Jericho is back up with a spinebuster into the Lionsault for two but the Walls is countered into a rollup for the same. Darius grabs a sunset flip on Jericho and sends Dante flying over the top onto MJF with a dive (sweet) for a near fall at the same time. Jericho drops Dante onto the apron and it’s the Heatseeker to give MJF the pin at 11:40.

Rating: C+. Not too bad here as Top Flight is one of the smoothest teams that I’ve seen in a good while. They could use some polish (as could everyone) but for as young as they are, they’re a heck of a team. Jericho and MJF working well together is interesting and I’m curious to see where the whole Inner Circle deal goes.

Post match Jake Hager gets in the ring and says the team has been doing great in recent weeks, save for Wardlow that is. Wardlow has been gone dealing with his own stuff instead of worrying about Inner Circle business. It’s obvious that Wardlow is an asset but he’s also an a******, so next week it’s Hager vs. Wardlow. MJF tries to talk Hager out of it and Jericho is annoyed.

We get a music video from the Acclaimed talking about the Young Bucks, who suck up to Dave (just Dave) for star ratings and quit Twitter because they got upset.

Here’s what else is coming on the show.

Tony Schiavone brings out Sting for a chat in the ring. Sting knows that he has come full circle by coming back to TNT and he is glad to see that the jungle is still intact. Tony asks about Sting looking at Darby Allin but Sting says that’s kind of a complicated question to answer. Instead, Sting talks about watching the matches through the curtain with Dusty Rhodes, who decided to put some bright colors on his face and tights. Then Sting was going to face Ric Flair and get funky like a monkey.

Now Sting sees Cody Rhodes in the ring and it’s hard to fathom. He goes back to Darby but here’s Team Taz to interrupt. Taz says that the speech would bring a tear to a glass eye and Ricky Starks says this is the jungle. Team Taz comes to the ring so Sting grabs the bat, only to have Allin and the skateboard morph in next to him. That’s fine with Taz, who says they’ll wait until January 6 when Brian Cage can win the TNT Title. This showed me two things. 1. A skateboard is a pretty stupid looking weapon. 2. Allin is a rather small man, as Sting is hardly a giant.

MJF comes up to Santana and Ortiz and brings up Santana losing his stepfather recently. MJF knows what it’s like because he just lost his grandfather to cancer and it was the hardest thing he’s done. He’s here for Santana though, and Santana seems to accept the friendly gesture. They shake hands and Ortiz seems to buy it also, with MJF not even saying anything as they leave.

Dark Order/Colt Cabana vs. Jurassic Express

It’s 5/10 for the Order. Jungle Boy rolls up Five to start as Excalibur explains the numbers to JR. Cabana and Luchasaurus come in with Cabana being kicked out to the floor in a hurry. That means it’s time for 10, with Luchasaurus slamming Stung down onto him a few times. Boy comes back in and gets caught in a German suplex for two.

We take a break and come back with Luchasaurus getting to come in and clean house, including the standing moonsault to 5. Marko dives in off of Luchasaurus’ shoulders to take Cabana down but 5 runs him over. The frog splash gets two on Stunt as everything breaks down. Luchasaurus throws Stung over the top onto Cabana and 10, leaving 5 to be flipped into a sitout powerbomb from Boy for the pin at 10:35.

Rating: C+. I liked this more than the usual Jurassic Express match, which may be due to Stunt not being left on his own for too long (the lack of dancing helped too). Let Luchasaurus come in and wreck stuff while Boy does the bulk of the work. The Dark Order, especially this group of them, can lose over and over again so this was hardly some big waste of talent.

Post match Marko talks about how good it is to be back but Tully Blanchard and FTR cut them off, with Tully saying it’s time to let the trained professionals talk. The teams meet on January 6 and this is personal because FTR wants the titles back. Stunt better be careful too, because Tully might have a flashback to the 80s. Stunt to be held back, which makes me dread the idea of Stunt getting anything over on Tully. Good promo from Blanchard here, now that he is finally getting to talk.

Kenny Omega and Don Callis are arriving at the hotel, where Callis isn’t happy with Pac making Omega vs. Rey Fenix. When did wrestlers get to make matches around here? Omega is ready to destroy Fenix in a few weeks and once he’s done, Konnan can take him back to AAA. Fenix is the kind of guy who gets hurt, while Omega gets titles. This promo style is starting to work for them more and more.

Butcher vs. Pac

Butcher looks like he’s wearing Shinsuke Nakamura’s pants that shrunk in the wash. Eddie Kingston is on commentary and Tony has to shush him for talking while trying to promote a match. Pac slugs away to start and gets sent outside, which doesn’t cause him much trouble. Back in and Pac kicks away at Butcher as Eddie and Tony continue to bicker with some surprising chemistry.

Butcher is right back with some hard shots of his own though, even as Kingston tells Tony to stop putting himself over. Pac gets crushed in the corner a few times as Eddie isn’t happy with the referee. They head outside with Pac getting in a few shots and reversing a whip into the barricade. Butcher kicks him in the face and Eddie demands that commentary “put that over”.

We take a break and come back with Pac kicking away but the Blade’s distraction breaks up the Red Arrow. A big clothesline drops Pac again and a running layout powerbomb gets two on Pac. Butcher goes to do something and Eddie shouts to PICK HIM UP for a good while, only to have Lance Archer come out to go after Kingston. The distraction lets Pac hit a kick to the head and the Black Arrow is good for the pin at 11:53.

Rating: C+. That ending hurt this a bit as Butcher was standing around far too long until we got to the point. Archer going after Kingston is interesting, if nothing else due to how little Archer seems to need Lance Archer. Butcher looked good here and it was nice to see him get to showcase himself. Pac still needs to shake off the ring rust though.

Eddie isn’t happy, but does show respect to JR. Kingston: “Schiavone, up yours.”

Jade Cargill finds it interesting that Brandi got pregnant as soon as she showed up. Shaq wants Cody Rhodes and AEW better find her a better opponent, because she’s tired of this s***. I’m getting rather tired of them having to work s*** into every other promo.

Miro wants Tony Schiavone to get fired up but Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford need to announce their wedding date. They load up the video announcement but here are the Best Friends and Orange Cassidy to interrupt. Well at least their video, as we see Trent being loaded into an ambulance last week to get rid of him. Anyway, the wedding is going to be on the beach on February 3 (happy freaking birthday to me) and it is going to be the defining moment of this company’s history. JR: “This is a train wreck.”

Dustin Rhodes vs. Evil Uno

Lee Johnson and Stu Grayson are here too as Uno jumps Dustin to start. They fight on the floor with Uno hammering away, only to chop the post by mistake. Uno knocks him down again though and it’s a Swanton for two as commentary tells us about how great Dustin is. We take a break and come back with Dustin hitting the Flip Flop and Fly, only to charge into a boot. Not that it matters as Dustin is right back with the bulldog for the pin at 8:28.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and they were putting in some effort, even with the lack of time when you factor in the break. Uno got to showcase himself a bit here but it’s not like taking a loss to Dustin is that big of a problem. Dustin is in a bit of a weird place as he’s a veteran but doesn’t have much in the ways of storylines. Nice enough match though, as Dustin isn’t going to have many bad ones.

Post match Uno offers another chance for Dustin to join but Dustin kicks him away. Grayson comes in with the Knightfall so here’s QT Marshall for the save. Marshall gets taken down as well so Johnson hits a springboard dropkick to take the Order down.

Shawn Spears sits down with Schiavone and talks about how how no matter what company he is in, the glass ceiling is still there. It’s a management problem, and he really doesn’t like Tony suggesting that Spears himself is the problem.

Hikaru Shida’s interview about being attacked by Abadon is interrupted when she is attacked by Abadon.

Hikaru Shida vs. Alex Gracia

Non-title. Shida starts fast with a Falcon Arrow attempt but Alex is having none of it. After a quick trip tot he floor, Gracia gets two off a small package and nails a running boot in the corner for the same. Shida is annoyed at being hit in the face, setting up a delayed vertical suplex. The running kick to the face connects but hold on as here’s Abadon for a distraction. Shida beats her up in a hurry and heads back inside to counter Gracia’s headscissors into a backbreaker. The Falcon Arrow finishes Gracia at 3:32.

Rating: C-. This was more about the Abadon deal than anything else but I’m rather over the whole evil monster characters. AEW does those rather frequently and while Abadon is good at it, there have been so many characters of a similar nature that it loses its impact. Gracia was acceptable in the short bit of time that she had here.

Post match the brawl is on again with Abadon biting Shida’s neck to draw blood.

Here’s what’s coming over the next few weeks, including the return of Jon Moxley next week.

Tag Team Titles: Acclaimed vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending and Max Castor raps his way to the ring again, this time about their winning streak. Matt works on Castor’s arm to start and shrugs off the comeback attempt. A dropkick into an armdrag has Castor in trouble and Nick comes in to stay on said arm. It’s off to Bowens but the Bucks sent them both to the floor to send Bowens into the barricade.

Nick spears Castor down and it’s time to head back inside. Matt gets taken down this time though and Castor gets in a few shows, only to have Nick get the semi hot tag without much effort. House is cleaned until Nick’s Swanton hits Bowens’ raised knees. We take a break and come back with the Bucks starting to fire off the kicks, including Nick hitting Castor with a kick from the apron.

Back in and Matt hits Locomotion into the Sharpshooter on Bowens. Castor strikes away but can’t break it up, allowing Nick to pull Castor outside for a Sharpshooter on the floor. Both are broken up and it’s Nick being shoved off the top. A suplex/high crossbody gets two on Nick with Matt making the save. An errant superkick takes the referee out and the boom box to the head gets two from another referee (that spot still makes no sense and never has). Matt powerbombs Bowens through a table at ringside and the BTE Trigger finishes Castor at 13:47.

Rating: C-. This really didn’t work as it was little more than an extended workout for the Bucks. It certainly didn’t help the Acclaimed, whose big move was hitting them with a boom box. The rapping entrance helps, but that’s all they had here and it showed badly. The Bucks didn’t give them much here, which made for a pretty long 13+ minutes.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t their strongest effort, but again it feels like they’re setting up for the big shows over the next two weeks and that’s ok. I’d much rather step back a bit for a week to let things breathe than burn through stuff on a show that doesn’t matter. As usual: if this is their weak show, they’re in a pretty good place.

Results

Chris Jericho/Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Top Flight – Heatseeker to Dante

Jurassic Express b. Dark Order/Colt Cabana – Sitout powerbomb to 5

Pac b. Butcher – Black Arrow

Dustin Rhodes b. Evil Uno – Bulldog

Hikaru Shida b. Alex Gracia – Falcon Arrow

Young Bucks b. Acclaimed – BTE Trigger to Castor

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

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

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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