IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: April 22, 2020
Location: Undisclosed Location
Commentators: Chris Jericho, Tony Schiavone

We’re still on the road to what was supposed to be Double Or Nothing from Las Vegas but it could be interesting to see what they might have to do instead. I’m not sure how things are going to go around here but I liked last week’s show well enough. That doesn’t always mean something going forward though and now we’ll have to see where this goes from here. Let’s get to it.

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

Cody, looking at a bunch of monitors, talks about everyone else in the tournament. He needs to see if he can rise above the midcard and show everything he can do. But can he get by everyone else?

Tony and Chris run down the card.

Sammy Guevara talks about how he has it all and tonight he’s taking a step closer to bringing a title back to the Inner Circle. Why should he be scared of Darby Allin when Darby won’t even show his face?

Darby Allin talks about how Sammy is more of a sinner than he knows and Darby stands on his own two feet. Tonight, he’s killing Sammy’s dream.

TNT Title Tournament First Round: Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin

Sammy jumps him on the floor before the bell before bridging a ladder between the barricade and the apron. Darby is laid over the ladder and a top rope splash crushes him to leave both guys on the floor. Back from a break with Sammy throwing him inside and demanding that the bell ring. Sammy loads up a superplex but Darby breaks it up and unhooks Sammy’s boot of all things. An ankle lock from the top sends Sammy bailing so he used the booed foot for an enziguri.

A springboard cutter gives Sammy two but Allin pulls him back into an ankle lock. That’s broken up with right hands to the face and a big shot to the already busted nose drops Allin again. We take another break and come back with Sammy avoiding a suicide dive to send Allin hard into the barricade. A 630 gives Sammy two but Allin is right back with the flipping Stunner. Darby’s springboard is countered into the Burning GTS but Allin flips out and grabs the Last Supper for the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C+. They were flying around the ring rather nicely and Allin making another comeback win is a good idea for him. I’m not sure what the point was in having Sammy wrestling with a handicap but it was certainly unique enough. Allin advancing is a good sign though and I could go for him vs. Lance Archer at some point in this tournament.

Broken Matt Hardy talks about how the Inner Circle needs to come face him at the Hardy Compound. We hear from the Matt Hardy vessel, who has been friends with or respects the heck out the Elite for years. Jericho is scared to see the pillars of AEW knocked out because they allow him to profit off of everything. Matt is ready to beat up everyone in the Inner Circle until he gets to Jericho.

Taz breaks down some of Kenny Omega’s offense. This is the kind of thing you don’t get very often in wrestling and it’s one of the things that can make AEW feel like a more realistic sports presentation. If nothing else, having someone like Taz, who can talk and knows wrestling quite well, makes it even better. Good idea here and do it again.

Kenny Omega vs. Alan Angels

Jericho cheering for Omega being from Winnipeg and then calling him a pumpkin head is something that only he could get away with. We actually hear about Deep South Wrestling as Angels gets out of the Snapdragon so Kenny chops him instead. Omega stops a splash with raised knees and hits a backbreaker as Jericho brags about being undefeated against Omega in his career.

Angels gets caught in the ring skirt but uses it to knock Omega backwards, setting up a springboard dropkick for two. A spinning kick to the head drops Omega as Jericho tries to figure out what Angels’ tights says, thinking it might be ankles or Engalls. The Snapdragon into the V Trigger gets two, followed by another V Trigger to finish Angels at 6:19.

Rating: C. Angels got a lot in here and that’s something you wouldn’t have expected. Jericho continues to be hilarious with a never ending run of references and jokes, all of which work because it’s Chris Jericho saying them. This was a fine use of time and Omega let him have some shine in there.

We get a video on Scorpio Sky, talking about how much he has always wanted to be a wrestler. He has always wanted to do this more than breathing but back in 2008 he hurt his back. The options were either to have surgery or live with the pain and never wrestle again. Then one day he was fine out of nowhere and he doesn’t know what happened. Then he got back in the ring and gave wrestling one more shot, without knowing if it could work. In 2017, SCU was formed and we’ll pick it up there next time. Good stuff here as Sky is a likable guy.

Dustin Rhodes has announced that he will retire if he doesn’t beat Kip Sabian in the tournament.

Jimmy Havoc vs. Orange Cassidy

Cassidy, from wherever, weighing whatever and with the Best Friends, is too laissez faire for Le Champion. Havoc jumps him from behind to start and chokes Cassidy with his own jacket. Said jacket is thrown over the barricade and Penelope Ford stomps on it. Cassidy loses his shirt too and Havoc sends him into the barricade. Jericho gets in the easiest joke ever, saying that Orange Cassidy is being beaten to a pulp. A chop against the post makes it worse and there’s a poke to the eye, allowing Jericho to make Three Stooges noises.

Back in and Havoc puts Cassidy’s hands in his pockets, which seems to power him up. Cassidy picks up the pace with a dropkick to the floor and a suicide dive, followed by a tornado DDT. The lazy splash gets two more and a Superman punch puts Havoc down again. Ford gets on the apron for a distraction, so Chuck Taylor pulls her down….into the splits of course. Kip Sabian dives onto the Best Friends but Ford misses her hurricanrana to Cassidy. A crucifix pins Havoc at 9:06.

Rating: C. Remember when Cassidy did this same thing against Pac? Well here it is against Jimmy Havoc. I know it might be hard to believe that Cassidy could do the same things over and over without changing anything, but that was the case here. Other than that, the match was fine enough and probably sets up a tag match for later.

We go to MJF’s house where he talks about how horrible it has been for him to not be in the ring. The truth is that he has suffered a horrible injury in the form of a hangnail. However, he promises to his loyal MJFF’s (MJF Fans) that he will be back and become the World Champion, because he’s better than you.

Wardlow vs. Lee Johnson

Wardlow starts fast with a gorilla press powerslam and a release overhead suplex. Johnson slips out of another suplex and forearms away to as much success as you can imagine. A release F5 finishes Johnson at 2:39.

A man sits in the dark as a woman calls to say this isn’t working out. As this goes on, he looks at a website talking about a Heisman Trophy hopeful hurting his knee. With the call over, he goes to the Dark Order’s website and joins, because he needs a new start.

We go to Brodie Lee, who is talking to presumably the person who sent the message. Lee says Uno has told him a lot about the guy. The unseen guy says he is 6’2 and 240lbs and Lee wants to offer him success. The Dark Order are the lions of AEW and they feed on the prey. The man is now part of the team.

Justin Law vs. Brodie Lee

Lee starts fast with the release suplex and this a running elbow in the corner. The discus lariat finishes 1:57. Total and complete squash.

The Best Friends don’t like Sabian and Havoc so the tag match is set.

It’s time for more of the Bubbly Bunch with Sammy saying he’s sad and Jake Hager promising to end Jon Moxley the next change he gets. Jericho doesn’t want to hear about people being sad because they can dance. They can do the Flim Flam! Jericho says whoever does the best Flim Flam gets a bottle of hand sanitizer. Sammy: “Hand sanitizer???? That’s all you had to say Chris!” And then they all dance. Sammy adds a bunch of flips and an annoyed Jericho hangs upon him because Sammy had to show off. Jericho: “ENJOY YOUR HAND SANITIZER!” I’m far too old to have any idea what this means.

Video on Jon Moxley.

Kip Sabian is ready to win because he has an ace in the hole with Ford.

TNT Title Tournament First Round: Kip Sabian vs. Dustin Rhodes

Rhodes will retire if he loses and Penelope Ford/Brandi Rhodes are the seconds. Feeling out process to start with Dustin working on a wristlock but getting taken down for a kick to the head. Sabian takes him into the corner and we go to a break. Back with Sabian avoiding a charge in the corner to band up Dustin’s knee and we hit the leglock.

Some stomps to the leg stay on the knee and then it’s off to an armbar. Back up and Dustin grabs a spinebuster for the double knockdown. An atomic drop sets up the snap powerslam for two but Sabian grabs a tornado DDT. The women get in a fight on the floor though and Brandi comes in to spear Ford. The distraction lets Dustin hit a Canadian Destroyer for the pin at 13:12.

Rating: C. The drama wasn’t exactly high here as there was only so much of a reason to believe that Sabian was going to beat Rhodes in the first round. That would have been a better story for next week against Archer next week, but at least they tried to do something here. A mixed tag would make sense, but at the moment it’s the Best Friends getting Sabian’s attention because they have to do something.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was ok at best without much to get interested in. They focused on the tournament more than anything else, but you can only get so much out of the early rounds when the matches aren’t exactly great. The lack of a crowd is really starting to become an issue here as AEW crowds offering all that energy is a major calling card around here. It was a watchable show, but the lack of energy was notable.

Results

Darby Allin b. Sammy Guevara – Last Supper

Kenny Omega b. Alan Angels – V Trigger

Orange Cassidy b. Jimmy Havoc – Crucifix

Wardlow b. Lee Johnson – Release F5

Brodie Lee b. Justin Law – Discus lariat

Dustin Rhodes b. Kip Sabian – Canadian Destroyer

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Dynamite
Date: April 8, 2020
Location: Undisclosed Location
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

We’re still in wherever the heck we are for the second week of what seems to be a marathon taping session. That’s probably the only way to get through the current situation so this is how things are going to be for a good while. The big story tonight is the start of the TNT Title tournament so let’s get to it.

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

Jake Roberts asks if you would prefer to be staring down a train coming at you or face Lance Archer. Last week, Archer destroyed Marko Stunt, which made Roberts wonder how insane Stunt is. Then there’s Cody, who might be better off losing to Shawn Spears to avoid facing Archer in the second round.

Lance Archer vs. Alan Eagles

Archer shoves Eagles down, choke suplexes him across the ring and finishes with the Blackout at 2:09.

Preview of the rest of the show.

Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida

They shove each other to start until Shida forearms her in the face a few times. Baker avoids a dropkick and bails out to the floor for a breather. Back in and they grab each other by the hair with Baker being taken down in the corner. A Fameasser gives Baker two and she punches away at the face, with Jericho talking about how she’s making her own patients. Britt sends her into the ropes and talks a lot of trash, even going to the floor to talk straight into the camera.

That’s enough for Shida to get up and stalk Baker, only to get sent into the barricade. Shida comes back and puts her over the barricade, where some of the jobbers posing as fans hold Baker in place. A running knee hits Baker and we take a break. Back with Shida hitting a suplex and pulling Baker into a triangle choke until a rope is grabbed. Baker comes back with a Sling Blade into a butterfly suplex for two on Shida.

Shida gets to the rope before Lockjaw can go on and a shot tot he face busts Baker’s nose. A Michinoku Driver gets two on Shida but baker pulls her down into Lockjaw, only to stop to put on a glove. That’s enough for Shida to escape and knee her in the face but Baker hits a low superkick as the blood is all over Baker’s face. Shida gets choked on the rope but they fight to the top with Baker getting dropped hard onto the buckle. Shida’s running knee finally finishes Baker at 17:04.

Rating: B+. Well that came out of nowhere. This might not have been a great match but it was a great fight with the two of them beating the heck out of each other and making me wonder which of them was going to survive. I got sucked up into this one and it was an awesome match which far exceeded expectations.

Kenny Omega and Michael Nakazawa try to figure out a team name for tonight. Nakazawa suggests Best Friends and Omega has to explain things. The real Best Friends and Orange Cassidy come in and complain about the name so they’ll be having a match for the rights to call themselves the real best friends. That made me sigh rather heavily.

Here are the Top Five tag teams:

5. Best Friends

4. Lucha Bros

3. SCU

2. Young Bucks

1. Dark Order

Women’s Top Five

5. Riho

4. Britt Baker

3. Yuka Sakazaki

2. Kris Stadtlander

1. Hikaru Shida

Men’s Top Five

5. Darby Allin

4. Kenny Omega

3. Cody

2. Chris Jericho

1. Jake Hager

Video on Jake Hager vs. Jon Moxley for the World Title next week in a No Holds Barred match. Moxley fights for the love of the sport while Hager fights for prizes and money. Hager’s wife says he has to win or don’t come home. Moxley has come a long way but Hager is a different kind of opponent. Hager’s training partners think he’s ready to destroy Moxley. They’re both ready though and it could go three minutes or thirty minutes. Good video, even if they don’t have a long history together.

Video on Cody vs. Shawn Spears, who have a long history before they face off in the tournament.

Best Friends vs. Kenny Omega/Michael Nakazawa

Nakazawa has his baby oil ready, sending Jericho into a rant about the things you would find on him before a match. That would include a fork and a pencil, with Tony sounding bewildered. Taylor armdrags Omega to start, much to Jericho’s approval. It’s off to Nakazawa to chop Trent against the ropes, earning himself an even harder chop. Therefore, it’s baby oil time so Trent’s chops have no effect. Meaning Nakazawa and Omega can stomp away.

Trent gets crotched against the post with Nakazawa pulling on his legs and marching forward as we take a break. Back with Nakazawa crotching Trent on top and sliding him down the rope as Shawn Spears, in the crowd, can’t understand the oil. Omega comes in for the chinlock but Trent fights up and gets the hot tag to Taylor for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down and the Best Friends hit suicide dives but hang on because Orange Cassidy has to come in for the triple hug.

That’s broken up though, meaning Omega and Nakazawa try their own hug. That one doesn’t work either so Nakazawa can miss a double clothesline on the Best Friends, leaving Jericho almost cracking up on commentary. Cassidy gets back in and Nakazawa takes the sunglasses. Don’t worry though as Cassidy as another pair so he can dive on Omega. Trent’s tornado DDT gets two on Nakazawa but he misses a charge in the corner. Omega misses a charge into the corner though and Trent hits a running knee.

A pop up sitout powerbomb gives Chuck two on Omega and everyone is down. Hold on though as Nakazawa pulls off his underwear for a Claw on Trent, which Jericho says is enough to make him submit. Nakazawa does it to Omega by mistake though and it’s Eat Defeat into a half and half suplex to drop Nakazawa for two more. Omega gets sent into the barricade and it’s Strong Zero for the pin on Nakazawa at 16:32.

Rating: C-. I think you know my thoughts on this kind of comedy by now and watching a sixteen minute version of the whole thing wasn’t exactly my thing. That being said, I can live with it a lot more when it’s all comedy and lighthearted instead of stopping a serious match for the jokes, so this was nowhere near as bad/annoying as some of the others.

Post match, all five of them hug.

Brodie Lee yells at some Creepers for not being in their best looking gear. He’s here to make things better so get it together. They go inside the building because Lee has an idea for them.

Britt Baker isn’t cool with what Hikaru Shida did to her but don’t worry because she can fix it. She’s a dentist.

Video on Hager being dominant in two sports. Moxley talks about how violent it’s going to be next week. Hager keeps talking about how he’s a winner and winners win championships. Moxley doesn’t know if Hager can dig down deep enough for this, but Hager doesn’t care what Moxley has done on the way to the match. All that matters is Hager knows he can win, but Moxley promises to f*** him up.

Matt Hardy talks about the Inner Circle, including Chris Jericho brainwashing Jake Hager. Then Jericho tried to recruit Vanguard1, which isn’t cool with Hardy. He requests Vanguard1 bring him the shirt from last week, but Vanguard1 has lit it on fire. Hardy wants Jericho to come to the Hardy compound for the Elite Deletion.

Brodie Lee vs. Lee Johnson

Lee kicks him in the face twice in a row and hits a slingshot hilo for a bonus. A suplex makes it worse and a discus lariat to the back of the head finishes Johnson at 1:29. As it should be.

Post match, Lee stares down Marko Stunt for reasons I don’t want to understand.

Video on Cody vs. Shawn Spears.

TNT Title First Round: Cody vs. Shawn Spears

Brandi is here with Cody. Spears gets sent to the apron early on as Jericho rants about Aubrey Edwards hassling him all the time. Tony: “Isn’t she just doing her job?” You can guess Jericho’s reaction to that one. Spears’ knees to the ribs don’t do much good so he bails to the floor off the threat of a Figure Four. Cody rolls him up a few times as Jericho tries to figure out what is left for Cody if he loses here.

A pump kick drops Spears again but the moonsault misses, allowing Spears to grab a piledriver for two. We take a break and come back with Jericho talking about how great Canadians are. Jericho: “There’s a guy in Guatemala who is pretty good though.” Spears suplexes him onto a piece of the barricade at ringside and Cody seems to have banged up his heel.

A springboard frog splash hits Cody’s knees though and the comeback is on. The snap powerslam gets two but the Disaster kick misses, allowing Spears to spinebuster him for two. Back from another break with Spears pulling out a table but getting knocked down, allowing Cody to finish putting the table up. They get back in and Cody gets caught on top with a release belly to belly superplex for the double knockdown.

Brandi gets on the apron and her distraction almost gets her knocked through the table. Instead Spears AA’s Cody from the ring through the table for the huge crash. That’s good for a very slow nine count so Cody gets back in for a pair of Cross Rhodes for a near fall. Cody puts on the Figure Four….for the pin at 21:32. That’s a weird one as Spears wasn’t out or anything and was still fighting.

Rating: B. Good enough here and that ending was rather surprising. The AA through the table looked great and I liked the match more than their All Out version. Spears is still little more than a good hand, but this was better than his usual outings. Cody winning was the only logical call and I’m glad to see where they’re going with the whole tournament.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a heck of a show with two rather good matches and a tag match which only kind of got on my nerves. They’re going to be in a different mode for a long time to come and it was nice to see that they know how to make things work in this situation. Solid show here and if this is a preview of things to come, I’ll be rather pleased.

Results

Lance Archer b. Alan Eagles – Blackout

Hikaru Shida b. Britt Baker – Running knee

Best Friends b. Michael Nakazawa/Kenny Omega – Strong Zero to Nakazawa

Cody b. Shawn Spears – Pin in a Figure Four

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: April 1, 2020
Location: Undisclosed Location
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Cody

It’s off to a new location this week as the Daily’s Place parking lot has been taken over by Coronavirus patients. Therefore we’re off to some other place instead, likely for a bunch of taped shows. In theory we’re on the road towards Double Or Nothing but that depends on if the show actually takes place. Let’s get to it.

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

Cody and Tony welcome us to the show and get straight to the second half of the first round of the TNT Title tournament:

Kip Sabian vs. Dustin Rhodes

Lance Archer vs. Colt Cabana

We run down the card.

Kenny Omega vs. Trent

Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor are here as well and the wrestlers are acting as a rather small crowd again. Kenny headlocks him down to start but Trent is back up with some running knees to take Kenny down. Back up and Kenny chokes away in the corner before sending him outside outside for the big flip dive, taking out Cassidy and Taylor as well. A backbreaker plants Trent and another one gets two, followed by a hard whip into the corner to stay on the back.

Trent gets in a shot to the face though and knees away in the corner. We hear about the six star match from Revolution as Trent hammers him down to the floor. Kenny snaps off a German suplex on the floor and hits a brainbuster onto the knee. Trent is right back with a tornado DDT though and Kenny gets tied in the ropes. There’s the sliding German suplex to drop Omega again and we take a break.

Back with Trent hitting a piledriver for two but having another tornado DDT broken up. Kenny hits the snapdragon and a powerbomb sets up a V Trigger to put them both down. Omega heads up top but gets caught in a German superplex with Kenny landing HARD on his head. Thankfully he’s fine enough to hit another V Trigger and the One Winged Angel for the pin at 20:07.

Rating: B-. This was one of those matches that was more long than good, which is understandable with a show where they need to fill in a lot of time. It certainly wasn’t bad by any means but it felt like a lot of doing moves for the sake of doing moves. That landing on the superplex was scary though and I was rather relieved when Omega got up. It looked that bad on the landing.

We look back at last week’s Matt Hardy vs. Chris Jericho showdown.

Hikaru Shida vs. Anna Jayy

Yes Jayy. Shida knees her down to start but misses a dropkick, allowing Jayy to hit her own running knee. Another knee gets Shida out of trouble but she has to glare at Britt Baker, allowing Jayy to get in a slap. A slap to the face annoys Shida, who is back with a forearm (Cody: “DANG!”) to drop her in a hurry. Jayy grabs a running blockbuster and ducks a crucifix, setting up some rollups for two each. Shida is done with this though and grabs a suplex, followed by a Falcon Arrow for the pin at 4:59.

Rating: C. Despite her odd name, Jayy looked good here and got to showcase herself a little bit. It’s a good thing to see some wrestlers getting a chance here as you never know when you might find someone new in a spot like this. Shida continues to be one of the best stars in this division and when we get back to normal, she needs to be getting a title shot sooner or later.

We look at Jake Hager choking Jon Moxley out on Dark.

Hager calls Moxley stupid for thinking he can hang in a fight with him. Moxley says he’s the World Champion but he’s still miserable. Chris Jericho talks about how the Inner Circle is in this for themselves instead of the fans like Moxley talks about. Hager knows Moxley is beneath him because he is the undefeated MMA fighter who can choke Moxley out. Moxley likes the idea of a challenge because he lives for danger. Even Jericho says he wants Hager to win the World Title because it’s another title for the Inner Circle. In two weeks, it’s an empty arena no holds barred match for the title.

Jake Roberts talks about how Lance Archer is ready to destroy everything AEW has put together. After tonight, Jake and Archer want Cody, if his wife will let him face Archer that is.

Marko Stunt vs. Lance Archer

Archer knocks out the tech guys on the way to the ring. A clothesline drops Stunt before the bell but Archer lets Stunt get in some free shots. Those earn him a bit shot to the face and Archer steps on his face for a bonus. A release suplex (cool) sends Stunt flying but he manages to get in a suicide dive. Some running dropkicks stagger Archer but he’s back with a heck of a Pounce. Archer gives him a hard chokeslam and the Blackout (a reverse Razor’s Edge flipped forward into a slam) finishes Stunt at 3:47.

Rating: D+. There is something so cathartic about watching Stunt get beaten up. The guy is fine for a mascot but this is about all he should ever be used for in the ring. He got in a little offense (which he didn’t need) but some of the major destruction was rather nice. Well done enough here.

Post break Archer chokeslams him off the apron and onto some people at ringside.

Brodie Lee is at a board room table talking to the Dark Order. He talks about how he was beaten and downtrodden but now he’s here. One of the masked men is told to stand next to him but he can’t remember what Brodie told him to say, which makes Lee rather mad. Another masked man yawns and Brodie yells at him as well, because it shows weakness. That would be more Vince-style stuff as this really is where we’re going with him.

Natural Nightmares vs. Dark Order

That would be two masked men, who Colt refers to as 8 and 9. Marshall teases putting on the Dark Order mask but hits 8 instead, meaning the beating is on in a hurry. A backsplash gives Marshall two and Dustin’s powerslam gets the same. 9 gets Marshall into the corner for some chops but Marshall suplexes his way to freedom. It’s back to Dustin to clean house with a bulldog and powerslam, followed by a dive to the floor. Marshall hits his own dive, setting up the Dominator/sliding cutter combination for the pin on 8 at 4:09.

Rating: C-. Not a bad little match here as the Nightmares continue to be a perfectly fine team. They’re not likely to ever go that far but they’re a good enough team for a spot like this. Maybe they get a one off title match down the line and that’s a good enough role for them. Marshall is good in the ring and Dustin can still go despite being in his fifth decade as a regular wrestler. That’s not too bad.

Post match here’s Brodie Lee to powerbomb 8 and glare at 9 before walking away.

Chris Jericho is in his hot tub with a little bit of the bubbly, talking about how today is a national holiday. It’s April Fool’s Day, which is held in honor of the Elite. You have Hangman Page hanging around with his horse, Nick Jackson with his new baby, Matt Hardy calling himself Dumba**-cus and the Tiger King himself, Cody.

Jericho hypes up WarGames but here’s Vanguard 1, with Jericho trying to say he’s sorry. Instead, he offers Vanguard 1 a spot in the Inner Circle, complete with what looks like a baby size shirt. Vanguard 1 flies away with the shirt so Jericho says release the hounds. Five dogs run out and give chase but they can’t fly, leaving Jericho to shout “I’M GONNA GET YOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUU!!” It would take everything Jericho has to get over a feud with a drone and….he’s getting close.

Matt Jackson has set up a ring on Nick’s tennis court so Nick can get back in ring shape. Nick is getting ready but he isn’t sure when he’ll be ready to return.

Sammy Guevara/Shawn Spears vs. Darby Allin/Cody

Cody and Spears start things off with Shawn’s headlock working more than the average version. Darby comes in for an ax handle to the arm but hang on as Sammy needs to vlog during the match. He asks for a kiss from Brandi but she takes his camera away, allowing Darby to drive Sammy into the barricade. Cody and Darby tease double dives but Sammy and Shawn move out of the way as we take a break.

Back with Spears knocking Allin to the floor so Guevara can stomp away. The chinlock keeps Darby down but hold on as Sammy bets $50 that Shawn can’t suplex Darby for 10 seconds. Hold on though as Sammy wants to go double or nothing on a 15 second suplex. Sammy gets his money back so Spears has one more bet on a 20 second suplex. This time Darby slips out though, leaving Sammy to collect the money and Darby to collect the tag to Cody.

House is cleaned, including the snap powerslam for two on Sammy. The Cody Cutter gets two on Sammy and it’s a Figure Four to Spears. Sammy makes a fast save so Cody drops him with Cross Rhodes. Cody gets sent over the apron so everyone can get in a few shots (including some from Britt Baker’s shoe). Back from another break with Sammy choking Cody on the rope as Tony gets to plug JR’s new book. Cody fights away and hits a top rope moonsault on Spears, allowing the tag off to Darby.

Everything breaks down in a hurry as Allin cleans house, including a double Coffin Drop and a pair of low bridge; Spears sends a suicide dive into the barricade though and a dropkick to the back has Allin in trouble. Cody gets beaten up well, allowing Darby to climb up the huge pole for a Coffin drop onto both guys (he was WAY up there). Back in and Spears hits a frog splash on Cody but it’s chair time. Darby takes it away, only to get rolled up with tights to give Spears the pin at 21:30.

Rating: C+. That dive at the end was enough to bring this up another notch and that’s where Darby works well. Those dives are dangerous but entertaining, and thankfully Allin can do some more things besides the insanity. They did a fine job of setting up the first round of the tournament as well so it was a nice way to go out with one of the better matches of the night. I’ll even throw in a few bonus points for continuing the funny gambling gag.

Post break Darby lays Cody out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Not one of their best shows but, as usual, even their weaker shows are more than entertaining enough. There was some good wrestling in here and some segments to back it up, while also building towards later. Dynamite has been around for about six months now and as I’ve said before, if this is their low end stuff, they’re going to be fine for a long time to come.

Results

Kenny Omega b. Trent – One Winged Angel

Hikaru Shida b. Alexa Jayy – Falcon Arrow

Lance Archer b. Marko Stunt – Blackout

Natural Nightmares b. Dark Order – Dominator/sliding cutter to 8

Sammy Guevara/Shawn Spears b. Darby Allin/Cody – Rollup with tights to Allin

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: March 25, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Cody, Kenny Omega

We’re still in Jacksonville and hopefully that remains the case going forward. This show was supposed to be Blood & Guts but AEW came to their senses and realized that the match, which probably could have headlined a pay per view, should at least take place in front of an audience. The show had to be rewritten as a result so hopefully their backup plan works. Let’s get to it.

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

The announcers (this could go in several directions) run down tonight’s card.

The gambling is going on in the back this week.

Cody vs. Jimmy Havoc

Havoc works on the arm to start but Cody reverses into a sunset flip out of the corner for two. Cody takes him down again and grabs a Figure Four. Havoc pulls the ear for a failed escape attempt so he goes with the classic poke to the eye to get out. With Havoc bailing for a breather, Havoc hits a quick suicide dive to keep him in trouble. We go split screen to join the gamblers, with Chris Jericho getting in on the action. They fight up the ramp and Havoc throws on a headset, grabs Cody’s tongue (yes tongue) and says he’s going to punch Cody.

After punching Cody, they head back inside with Havoc suplexing him into the corner to knock Cody a bit silly. Cody is back up to drop Havoc ribs first across the top rope and goes into the tunnel for a running clothesline to put Havoc back inside. The Cody Cutter is countered into a cross armbreaker, followed by the Acid Rainmaker (Tony called it a lariat and Omega was too busy talking about Stardom to even reference it) for two. Cody manages to crotch him on top though and hit a reverse superplex. Back to back Cross Rhodes finishes Havoc at 10:41.

Rating: C. This was a bit of a clash of styles but Cody gets the win to keep him on track as he gets ready to face Lance Archer at some point in the future. Havoc is fine as a midcard villain but he’s not likely to get any further than that. The lack of drama when he hit his finisher tells you all you need to know about his status around here.

Post match, Jake Roberts comes on screen to talk about how Lance Archer wants to fight someone. AEW set out to change the world but they never called Jake, who has the best mind wrestling has ever seen. Archer was smart enough to call him and now they want to fight Cody one time. That’s all they need to get done what they want to get done. Trust him. Back in the arena, Cody seems to be thinking about it.

Post break, Cody is back on commentary and seems to say the match with Archer is on for next week.

Video on Darby Allin talking about how he doesn’t see anything superbad about Kip Sabian. He drinks from a bottle labeled “a little bit of the bubbly” and has masks of the Inner Circle. He lights the bottle and the masks on fire.

Darby Allin vs. Kip Sabian

Darby knocks him into the corner to start and that means Penelope Ford needs to give Sabian some advice. The high angle armdrag sends Sabian outside but he whips Allin into the barricade. Back from a break with Sabian charging into an elbow in the corner and shotgun dropkicking Sabian into the corner.

Allin misses a charge though and gets his back bent around the post. Sabian gets knocked outside though and it’s a suicide dive to take him down again. A Ford distraction lets Sabian hit a triangle Disaster kick, followed by a Time Turner (draping suplex) for two. Allin pulls him down by the leg though and ties them up into a cradle (dubbed the Last Supper) for the pin at 10:35.

Rating: C+. The match was good and Allin continues to shine, but Cody was GREAT on commentary here. He was referencing both old and new wrestlers, breaking down what the wrestlers were trying to do and not sounding over the top at any point. The more I hear from him the more I like him and this is something he could do for a LONG time if he ever wants to slow down in the ring (which doesn’t need to be the case for years to come).

Jake Hager vs. Chico Adams

Tony: “What we have here is Chico and the man.” Look it up people. Hager drops him in a hurry and hits the Vader Bomb in the first ten seconds. A Rock Bottom into the head and arm triangle finishes Adams at 1:06.

Post match here’s Jon Moxley to stare Hager down. The fight is on and Moxley hits a quick Paradigm Shift, only to have Hager pull him into the ankle lock. That’s broken up and Moxley grabs the belt to scare Hager off. I could go for these two in a big showdown.

Video on Brodie Lee being unveiled as the Exalted One last week.

The Dark Order is sitting around a table as Lee aggressively has dinner. Lee says the other two don’t get it: this is the new Dark Order and they do what they want. They prey on the weak and Lee gets mad at one of them for considering eating before Lee finishes his own meal. The other one sneezes and Lee throws him out. Oh….tell me this isn’t what I think it is.

Brodie Lee vs. QT Marshall

Lee kicks him in the face before the bell and throws Marshall outside. A slingshot hilo connects back inside and Lee forearms him in the back. Marshall’s comeback is cut off with a swinging Boss Man Slam and a discus lariat gives Lee the pin at 2:59.

Post match, Lee leaves a mask on Marshall. It’s a good squash, but if this is going to be a Vince caricature, this thing is dead where it stands.

Video on Matt Hardy’s debut last week.

Video on the Inner Circle attacking Nick Jackson and putting him out of action.

Vanguard 1 goes to Nick Jackson’s house where he is rated at 61% recovered. Nick sees the drone and goes towards it, meaning the signal is terminated.

AAA Mega Title: Kenny Omega vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara is defending and has caricatures of Jericho and Brandi sitting in seats at ringside. Omega takes him down without much effort to start and Sammy has to pull himself up in the corner. The gamblers are back at it in the back as Sammy grabs a front facelock and sends Omega outside. Back in and Sammy goes to the eyes so it’s right back to the floor for a slugout. Sammy sends him into the barricade but stops to talk to the Brandi caricature. A kiss to the caricature has Brandi annoyed and we take a break.

Back with Sammy being sent knees first into the steps. What looked to be a Tombstone attempt is countered into a cross armbreaker but Omega is in the ropes in a hurry. Sammy’s moonsault hits knees but he’s right back with another armbar. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Omega powers up and we take another break. Back again with Kenny hammering away but favoring the bad hand. Omega ax handles him in the chest for a delayed two as the gamblers are freaking out in the back again.

The running Fameasser gets two more but Sammy counters the snapdragon into a double stomp to the ribs. A frog splash gets two on Omega, who is back up to send Sammy to the apron. That means an enziguri into a springboard cutter to send Omega outside again. Back in and a springboard hurricanrana is countered into a powerbomb, setting up the V Trigger to knock Sammy silly.

Sammy is right back with a Spanish Fly for two, only to miss a shooting star press. Another V Trigger connects but Sammy bites the hand. That earns Sammy another V Trigger but Sammy flips out of the snapdragon. Kenny is back up with another V Trigger into a Jay Driller for two. Another V Trigger sets up the One Winged Angle to retain the title at 23:37.

Rating: B+. Rather good match here, despite some of my usual reservations about Omega’s bigger matches. Sammy got a lot here though and looked like a serious challenger more than once. They had some good stuff going here and it’s clear that Omega’s destiny is to be the bigger singles star once the run with Hangman Page is over. Rather good match here and by far the best thing on the show so far.

Here’s Chris Jericho with a hands free microphone to talk about Matt Hardy’s debut last week. That’s why this week, Jericho is going to give Matt the chance to join the Inner Circle. Instead here’s Vanguard 1, sending Jericho into a rant about how he’s never liked Vanguard 1. He doesn’t like Vanguard’s politics or rantings on social media, but he’s always respected Vanguard 1.

That’s why the Inner Circle wants him, meaning Vanguard 1 can have all the bubbly poured into his gas tank and all the women on his dashboard that he wants. Vanguard flies away so here’s Matt Hardy….who teleports from one part of the arena to the other (ignore Jericho’s head jumping each time Hardy appears somewhere else).

Hardy gets inside and says he knew Jericho would come. Jericho: “Of course I’d come. We booked the segment.” Jericho explains that Hardy wants to join the Inner Circle, so Hardy talks about owing the Bucks of Youth a debt for resurrecting him. AEW represents freedom for Hardy and he cannot allow the Inner Circle to destroy it. Jericho talks about making the Inner Circle and promises to make Matt as well. Matt calls himself Damascus, who is over 3000 years old.

Jericho knows about reinventing himself and offers Matt a chance to reinvent himself. Matt sees Jericho is still a hole of the a** so Jericho talks about Matt living in shadows. That could be of his older brother, the shadow of bad booking or the shadow of Le Champion. Jericho wants to know if Matt is Inner Circle or Elite and it turns into a DELETE vs. ELITE argument. Matt talks about Jericho’s fans singing Judas (Matt: “I knew the real Judas. He betrayed me too.”) and sings the Obsolete song, with Jericho pointing out the lack of fans.

That’s not true though, as Matt knows there are essences all around here. Abraham Lincoln is sitting in 15C and Martin Luther King is right over there. Jericho threatens to slap the essence out of Matt and gets punched down. Jericho: “Abra kadabra”. Cue Sammy to jump Matt but Cody and Omega run down with chairs to make the save. Sammy and Jericho try to leave and Matt controls the flames on the stage to scare them to end the show.

I didn’t dislike this, but it was VERY over the top and different, while showing that it is indeed just Matt Hardy. He’ll be fine in the short term, but once the bell rings, things are going to be a bit different and not in a good way. Jericho was of course hilarious as he can more than hang with any insanity put in front of him.

Overall Rating: B. This was a rather different show than last week and while it was still good, it wasn’t quite up to the same level as what they did before. Just not having the wrestlers in the arena slowed it down a bit, but maybe they got in some trouble for having that many people in the same place at once. The wrestling was good and the big segment at the end was certainly different, but if Brodie Lee is a Vince McMahon character, just cut everything off now because it’s a disaster in the making. Good enough show, but not last week’s.

Results

Cody b. Jimmy Havoc – Cross Rhodes

Darby Allin b. Kip Sabian – Last Supper

Jake Hager b. Chico Adams – Head and arm triangle choke

Brodie Lee b. QT Marshall – Discus lariat

Kenny Omega b. Sammy Guevara – 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

IMG Credit: AEW

Revolution
Date: February 29, 2020
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Jim Ross

We’re back on pay per view for the first time in a good while as AEW is much more of a TV company than a major event company. The top of the card looks stacked this time around too and we could be in for a rather big night. The main event is Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley for the World Title, but there are two other matches that could easily headline. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: SCU vs. Dark Order

It’s Kazarian/Scorpio Sky for SCU, though they have requested that Christopher Daniels stay in the back. The brawl is on before the bell and they fight to the floor, which might not be the best idea given that the Creepers are out there as well. We officially start with Kazarian suplexing Grayson and Sky comes in to kick him in the chest. They head outside again though and Kazarian gets posted, allowing the rest of the Dark Order to beat him down.

Back in and Kazarian can’t quite fight out of the corner as the fans are chanting something about the Creepers. Grayson grabs the chinlock for a bit but Kazarian avoids a charge in the corner. A few flips allow the hot tag to Sky so house can be cleaned. Sky dropkicks Uno into a sunset flip for two and everything breaks down.

Grayson suplexes Sky into Kazarian in the corner for two but Fatality is broken up. Back up and Sky gets creative by monkey flipping Kazarian for a double clothesline to Uno and Grayson. SCULater is broken up with Kazarian getting knocked into the steps and a clothesline to the back of the head finishes Sky at 9:23.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and the Dark Order winning was the only way to go as the Exalted One is arriving soon. I’m not sure who that is going to be but AEW has done a good job of making me wonder. Daniels doesn’t seem to be the most likely candidate as he seems to be more of a red herring. That makes things even better, as there are so many options to pick from.

Post match the beatdown is on but Colt Cabana of all people debuts to make the save. He gets beaten down as well and here’s a guy in a hood. Presumably the Exalted One but it’s actually Daniels, who comes in for the real save. The Dark Order gets beaten down in a hurry.

The opening video looks at all of the matches, which is a nice change of pace from focusing on one or two. Of course the main events get more time but everything is at least mentioned.

National Anthem.

Jake Hager vs. Dustin Rhodes

Or “Swagger” as JR called him on the pre-show. Hager broke Rhodes’ arm several months back and it’s time for revenge. Dustin’s shirt: “I’m here to fight Jericho’s b****.” Before the match, Hager kisses his wife in the front row. It’s a slugout to start with Hager kneeing him in the chest to take over. Rights and lefts in the corner keep Dustin in trouble until he sends Hager over the top.

The fans chant JERICHO’S B**** as Dustin knocks him over the barricade to take the fight into the crowd. It’s back to ringside with Dustin going into the post and getting blasted with a running clothesline. Back in and Hager starts working on the arm, including a double arm crank. That’s broken up and Dustin takes it to the floor again, where Dustin gets in Hager’s wife’s face. Back in and Dustin hits the bulldog and powerslam for two each.

Hager slams him down and hits the Vader Bomb for two. There are some running clotheslines in the corner and Hager licks his neck ala Tyson Fury. Dustin backdrops a charging Hager over the top to send him face first onto the steps. Back in and Dustin kicks him rather questionably low and gets two off a Code Red. Dustin goes with a cross armbreaker for the sake of revenge but gets reversed into an ankle lock. That’s reversed with a roll through but the referee is almost bumped and the distraction lets Hager get in a low blow. The standing arm triangle choke knocks Dustin out at 14:48.

Rating: B-. Good, hard hitting brawl here with Dustin trying as hard as he could but not being able to take out the monster Hager. They can go a good distance with Hager as the crossover athlete who can hurt people for Jericho and he never has to go that far on his own. That didn’t work so well in WWE so a different style, like this one, could work rather well.

Blood and Guts (looks like a one ring WarGames) is coming on March 25.

Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin

Another revenge match after Sammy hit Allin in the throat with Allin’s skateboard. Allin wastes no time in suicide diving onto Sammy and then dropkicking him into the barricade. Sammy gets in his own whip to the barricade but Allin fights right back. A suicide dive misses though and a skateboard shot makes it even worse. It’s already table time and Sammy hits a 630 to drive Allin through it on the floor. They get inside for the opening bell and Sammy hits a running knee for a fast two.

Allin fights up and tries a Gory Special but bites the fingers for a bonus. A Fujiwara armbar into a double armbar makes Sammy get to the rope with his foot and they’re back up. Allin is sent to the apron and a top rope double stomp drives him down for a big crash (and a possible ankle injury for Sammy).

Back up and Sammy can’t get in a skateboard shot, allowing Allin to hit a quick Canadian Destroyer. The Coffin Drop is broken up though and Allin gets sat on top so Sammy can run the ropes, NEARLY fall (with one foot going in the air), and grab a super Spanish Fly for two. Sammy unhooks a buckle pad but gets sent into the exposed steel. A Stunner into the Coffin Drop is good for the pin on Sammy at 5:04.

Rating: B. The length hurt this one but dang they were beating each other up out there. This was the kind of hard hitting star enhancing performance from both of them and something that will get some attention on a stacked show. They’ve got something special in Allin and they know it, which is one of the best things that you can say about such a young promotion.

Post match Hager has to save Guevara from a skateboard shot.

We recap the Young Bucks vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page. Omega and Page won the titles before the Bucks despite Page walking away from the Elite. This is about seeing who the real stars are because the Bucks need to be validated as the best team in the world, though Omega isn’t interested in letting them walk there so easily.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page

Omega and Page are defending. Nick takes Omega (with a taped up shoulder) down with a flying mare to start and there’s a spinning armdrag out of the corner to do it again. Page comes in to a BIG reaction and they go to the mat with neither being able to maintain control. Back up and Page spits in his face so everything breaks down with the Bucks taking over, including a neckbreaker out of the corner to Page.

Things settle down and Page hits Matt in the back to take over, with some knees to the spine making it even worse. Everything breaks down again and Page is ready to send Matt back first into the ring bell, but Omega isn’t letting that happen. They head inside again with Matt getting chopped but coming back with the northern lights suplex. That’s enough for the tag off to Nick as everything breaks down again (with JR wondering why the tags have stopped).

The slingshot X Factor hits Omega and Matt grabs the Sharpshooter on Page, only to have Page making the save off the running Fameasser. The brawling continues until Matt piledrives Omega for two but Omega knocks Nick away and brings Page back in. With the fans chanting for COWBOY S***, Page hits a fall away slam on Nick and knocks Matt to the floor. Both Bucks are tossed over the top and Page hits the top rope moonsault onto the two of them at the same time. Back in and Page shoves Nick into the corner because he wants to fight Matt.

Page gets the better of the slugout and Omega tags himself in, with Page throwing Matt into a German suplex (where he almost landed on top of his head). A Doctor Bomb gives Omega two more but Nick comes back in to make the save. The springboard wristdrag is broken up but Nick backflips onto the ramp and sunset flips Omega back in. The Bucks hit a powerbomb/Sliced Bread combination on Omega but Page is back in for the save. We get a Marty Scurll chickenwing but Matt breaks it up with a 450 for two.

Matt’s back gives out on the More Bang For Your Buck so Omega hits You Can’t Escape. Page gets his own two off a Blockbuster suplex to Nick, followed by a V Trigger for the same. Some Snapdragons rock Nick and the Tiger Driver 98 gets two. Nick is back up with a super reverse hurricanrana (so Omega can get dropped on his head as well) as Matt hits the rolling northern lights suplexes to Page on the ramp.

To make it worse, the Indytaker plants Page on the ramp….and the fans are REALLY unhappy. Back in and the superkicks have Omega in trouble and the Golden Trigger (Kenny and Kota Ibushi’s finisher) gets one as Omega is all fired up. Another one gets two so Matt starts stomping on the shoulder, even taking the tape off. Somehow Page is back up to stop the Meltzer Driver, meaning it’s a powerbomb through the timekeeper’s table.

That leaves Matt to take the Buckshot Lariat/V Trigger combination for two more and Omega is stunned. The V Trigger connects but Page can’t hit the One Winged Angel. Page does it instead with Matt coming in for the save at two. The Buckshot lariat drops both Bucks and Matt is finally done at 30:04.

Rating: A. If there was a rating between an A and an A+, it would fit perfectly here. They beat the heck out of each other here and the storytelling was awesome with the Bucks showing anger and then remorse at beating up their friend in the name of winning the titles. The ending is the right call as the story hits a bit of a wall with the Bucks winning but they did the right thing by having Omega and Page retain. Outstanding stuff.

Post match Page still won’t celebrate with the Elite and seems to tease a Buckshot lariat to Omega, but holds the rope open for him instead.

We recap Nyla Rose vs. Kris Stadtlander. Rose won the title earlier this month and Stadtlander is her first challenger. The idea is that Stadtlander can take away the size and power advantage.

Women’s Title: Kris Stadtlander vs. Nyla Rose

Rose is defending. After the Big Match Intros, Stadtlander slugs away to start but Rose drives her into the corner. A shoulder drops Rose and Stadtlander hits a standing moonsault for two. They head to the ramp with Stadtlander diving back inside, only to miss a dive and crash onto the ramp. Rose crushes her with a slingshot spear and suplexes Stadtlander into the corner.

Back in and more stomping has Stadtlander in trouble again but she manages a superkick. Stadtlander strikes away and an enziguri puts Rose down on the floor. There’s the back to back suicide dives, followed by a dropkick for two back inside. Rose clotheslines her in the back of the head before draping Stadtlander across the rope. That’s fine with Stadtlander, who hand walks away and lays on the mat to blow a kiss to Rose.

An STF puts Stadtlander in trouble again but she blocks a splash with knees. Rose catches her with a pop up Beast Bomb for two and goes up top, only to get pulled down with a nasty looking super brainbuster (Stadtlander almost dropped her). Stadtlander loads up a super hurricanrana but gets caught in a super Beast Bomb (with Rose leaving one leg outside the ropes for a nearly scary crash) to retain at 12:55.

Rating: D+. This was rough and by far the worst thing on the show so far. They were botching stuff left and right and it seemed like they weren’t ready for this stage. The match felt like it just kept going and they would have been a lot better off ending with that first Beast Bomb. Really not good here and it was a bit letdown after everything else.

We recap Cody vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman. MJF turned on Cody to cost him any chance of winning the World Title in the future, but then made it impossible for Cody to get his hands on him. Cody had to jump through hoops, including taking a whipping and beating MJF’s bodyguard Wardlow to get the match but here we are.

Cody vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Brandi Rhodes, Arn Anderson and Wardlow are all here and Cody gets played to the ring live. Cody has a new neck tattoo of an American flag skull so you know he’s serious. MJF runs away like a true coward should and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and the Cody Cutter is blocked so MJF heads outside again. This time MJF bails into the crowd (making sure to flip off the fans) but Anderson won’t let Cody follow him.

Back in and Cody hits the uppercut into the Cody Cutter for one, with MJF rolling to the ramp this time. Cody stomps on the fingers but MJF uses one of the good ones to poke him in the eye. MJF steps on Cody’s broken toe but since it’s just a toe, Cody hits a spinning Alabama Slam. Wardlow pulls MJF to the floor for a breather so Brandi throws a drink in Wardlow’s face. The stalking is on so Cody makes a save with a suicide dive.

Back in and MJF gets in a cheap shot, meaning it’s time to start on the arm. The reverse cross armbreaker keeps Cody down and MJF works on the second arm for a bonus. With his legs too far away, Cody crawls over and bites the rope for the break. MJF takes the boot off so he can stand on the broken toe….and then bite it for a bonus. A running powerbomb out of the corner is broken up and Cody hits the Disaster kick with the unbooted foot. Wardlow offers a distraction so Anderson grabs a chair to chase him off.

Somehow a socked foot to the head has busted MJF open and Cody hammers away in the corner. After a Randy Orton poses, Cody’s hanging DDT is countered into the Heatseeker. Wardlow tries to get involved again but this time Brandi dives off the apron to….not take him down. Cody goes after Wardlow but kicks Anderson by mistake. The medic comes out to check on Arn and MJF hits a low blow for two.

MJF tries a suplex but Cody reverses into one of his own over the top and they have a big crash to the outside. They get back in for the big slugout with Cody getting the better of it but MJF collapses before the Bionic Elbow can connect. That’s some goldbricking though as MJF grabs the Double Cross for two. MJF goes for the weightlifting belt but the referee takes it away, allowing Cody to get in a low blow.

A Vertebreaker gets two (because Cody doesn’t have enough finishers) and it’s time for Cody to get in his own whipping. The belt is thrown out and MJF cowers in the corner before grabbing Cody’s boot and begging off. JR: “I didn’t mean to be a Richard.” Now MJF hugs him, only to spit in his face, setting up Cross Rhodes. That’s not enough for a cover so Cody hits it again, only to have MJF sneak in a shot with the diamond ring for the fluke pin at 25:38.

Rating: A-. I smiled way too hard at MJF winning in the end because it’s such a slimy way for him to escape after taking that kind of a beating. It wasn’t as action packed as some of the other matches but it was the old school emotional fight with MJF stealing the win to keep things going. I loved the ending (though I might not have had it come after back to back Cross Rhodes) and I’m counting the seconds to hear MJF’s victory promo.

We recap Pac vs. Orange Cassidy. This only needs five words: this time he’s gonna try.

Pac vs. Orange Cassidy

The Best Friends are here with Cassidy. Fans: “HE’S GONNA TRY!” Cassidy wristlocks him down and it’s time to put the hands in the pockets. They exchange weak kicks to the legs until Pac shoves him down. Cassidy is back up with a dropkick and a victory roll for two, only to charge into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. They head outside with Pac sending him into the barricade and post. Excalibur: “If I didn’t know any better I’d say he was from a town called Malice.” JR: “I know a girl named Alice once. From Malice. She was mean.”

Pac knocks him down again and we get a NO PULP chant. The top rope superplex connects but Pac pulls him up at two. Cassidy rolls away before the Red Arrow can launch though and then does it again for a bonus. Fans: “HOLY S***!” The rolling continues until Cassidy smiles at him and nips up. There’s the suicide dive to Pac and a high crossbody connects, followed by a tornado DDT for two.

A hard forearm cuts Cassidy off but he puts his hands back in his pockets. They come right back out though for a Superman punch and a Stundog Millionaire drops Pac again. Pac crotches him on top, only to get tornado DDTed down. A super DDT connects but Pac rolls to the apron. Excalibur says Cassidy is pursuing him with the tenacity of a fire ant for your insider reference of the match. A White Noise gives Cassidy two but here are the Lucha Bros to fight with the Best Friends. Pac pulls him down by the arm and the Brutalizer finishes Cassidy at 13:00.

Rating: C. The important thing here was Pac won (which I don’t think was ever in any doubt) and everything leading to that was fine enough. I’m not sure they needed the Lucha Bros interfering instead of being on the card but the match was what it was supposed to be. Pac could have been used for something more important, but they didn’t do anything ridiculous and it could have been a lot worse.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley. Jericho was scared of facing Moxley and tried to get him to join the Inner Circle instead. Moxley broke a bottle over Jericho’s head so Jericho stabbed Moxley in the eye. That sent Moxley over the edge as he’s fighting for revenge and the title, but he’s fighting on his own.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Chris Jericho

Just to show off, Jericho has a gospel choir sing his theme song. Jericho is defending and has Santana/Ortiz with him. They go straight to the brawl to start and it’s already on the floor. Jericho takes it into the crowd and hits Moxley with something made of metal as he’s already trying for a DQ. Jericho does his steal a camera deal and flips Moxley off before hitting him in the face again. It’s back to ringside with Moxley getting the better of things and biting him across the nose, which Jericho had stitched up on Wednesday.

Moxley is bleeding from the head as Jericho powerbombs him through the announcers’ table. Jericho rings the bell and declares himself the winner before heading inside for a change. The fans start a STUPID IDIOT chant so Jericho flips everyone off. The book gets raked across Moxley’s face and it’s time to go back outside so Santana and Ortiz can hammer away.

A whip sends Moxley into the steps as the beating continues. Back in and Jericho gets a bit too cocky, allowing Moxley to slug away. Jericho charges into an elbow and gets pulled into a heel hook. That sends Jericho straight to the ropes and then outside, meaning it’s a suicide dive from Moxley. Santana and Ortiz offer a distraction to break up the Paradigm Shift and the loaded sock puts Moxley down again. The Lionsault gets two but Moxley picks the leg and puts on his own Walls.

Cue Hager for another distraction so Jericho can get the Walls as well. Moxley makes the rope so he gets in an argument with the referee. This time Hager punches Moxley in the face so all three seconds are ejected. Cue Sammy Guevara with a belt shot though and Jericho gets a very delayed two. Back up and Jericho rakes the bad eye so Moxley is totally blind. The Judas Effect misses though and it’s the Paradigm Shift….because the right eye is fine. Moxley points at the eye and hits another Paradigm Shift for the pin and the title at 21:40.

Rating: B. You could have gone either way here and that’s a good situation to be in. Moxley winning is a great moment and the eye patch being a fake was quite the mind game that suits him well. Jericho had held the title for a long time now and they could do a rematch at whatever their next big show is going to be. They almost had to switch the title here after what Moxley had been through and that’s what they did. It helps when either way could have worked fine though and it was a good enough match too.

Post match Moxley thanks the fans and says he wouldn’t be here without them. AEW wanted to bring wrestling back to the world and now it’s time for some beers. His music starts up again and Moxley drops an F bomb. He’ll fight anyone anytime so he can knock them down. For now though, it’s time to knock back some whiskey.

Overall Rating: A-. This was a rather good show with only a few bad matches, both of which were minor compared to the big ones. The main stuff all hit rather well and we got a feel good moment to end the show. They know how to do these big shows very well and it was a heck of a night. It ran about four hours counting the half hour pre-show and that’s fine when they only do a few pay per views a year. Mostly good to very good stuff here and some eventful moments so it’s hard to complain about much. Check out that tag match though as it stole the show by a wide margin.

Results

Jake Hager b. Dustin Rhodes – Standing arm triangle choke

Darby Allin b. Sammy Guevara – Coffin Drop

Kenny Omega/Hangman Page b. Young Bucks – Buckshot lariat to Matt

Nyla Rose b. Kris Stadtlander – Super Beast Bomb

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Cody – Punch with a diamond ring

Pac b. Orange Cassidy – Brutalizer

Jon Moxley b. Chris Jericho – Paradigm Shift

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

IMG Credit: AEW

It’s almost weird to do one of these for this company. AEW has not been around all that long and they don’t do a lot of pay per views. For the most part they are a television company but they do throw out the occasional major show. That’s what we have here with Revolution and the card has been really well built up. Hopefully they can live up to the hype, which they have managed to do almost every time so far. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Dark Order vs. So Cal Uncensored

This is built around a mystery involving the Dark Order’s Exalted One, with the questions being who is he and when is he showing up. The first one is what matters most here though, as Christopher Daniels is kind of perfect for the whole thing. At the same time though, he might be a red herring, as AEW has done a very good job of making you wonder who it is going to be.

As for the match, I’ll take the Dark Order to win. They should be on their game more to impress the Exalted One and it’s not like SCU needs the win. This should be a good enough match, though I wouldn’t let the Dark Order stay in the ring for very long. Daniels isn’t likely the Exalted One, but at least we’re getting an interesting search through the suspects.

Jake Hager vs. Dustin Rhodes

Sometimes you need an old standard for a story and that’s what you have here. Hager was part of the group that attacked Rhodes and put him on the shelf so now Rhodes wants revenge. What else do you need for something like this? AEW has done a nice job of setting up the feuds and then letting the promos do the heavy lifting and that’s what we have here.

Hager should win this one, though Rhodes will put up a heck of a fight and get in his offense. At the end of the day though, Hager is being presented as the Inner Circle’s monster and there is no reason to have him lose his first match with the company. Have him go out fighting as hard as he can but just being outmatched by the big, powerful monster.

Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara

Similar idea to Hager vs. Rhodes, but with a little less cowboy and a little more…whatever Allin is. Allin has caught on with the AEW fans like no one else in the promotion and is one of the names the company can point to and say they have created a star. You don’t get to do that very often and Allin has been a shining example. This is one of his bigger matches to date and he should be fine.

I’ll take Allin to win here as Guevara is talented but he’s not the same as Hager, who is a monster needing to be protected. Allin is someone who wants revenge as well and in this case he should be getting it, preferably with the skateboard involved. He’s grown on me a lot and Guevara has been a favorite since I first saw him in Orlando a few years back. This is Allin’s to win and the place will go nuts for him.

Pac vs. Orange Cassidy

This is the one that is going to get some people talking, but it might not be in the same way that AEW is hoping for. We have a rather serious wrestler in Pac, who just came out of a war with Kenny Omega and Orange Cassidy, who is the comedy guy with a massive following. The thing is this isn’t the same as a comedy guy being elevated to a spot he isn’t ready to be in. Cassidy is a different kind of wrestler (I’m not entirely sure what kind) and that could make this different.

That being said, of course Pac wins here, as AEW knows better than to have Pac lose twice in a row, especially to someone who is going to stay over no matter what they do. Cassidy isn’t someone who ever needs to get in the ring because the fans are going to cheer for him no matter what, which is a good spot to be in. Pac wins here as he should, but the shenanigans are going to be something to see.

Women’s Title: Nyla Rose(c) vs. Kris Stadtlander

This is an annoying one for me as I really like Stadtlander but she might be running into a buzzsaw here. Rose is someone that AEW is pushing hard and with good reason, so I’m not sure if they would pull the trigger on Stadtlander here. Part of the problem is the character, as Stadtlander is a little bit out there with what she does (just listen to JR cut Excalibur off when he tried to explain the alien deal) to be a major featured player in the division. She can challenge for the title, but I’m not sure she can win it.

I have to go with Rose here, as it’s too soon to take the title off of her. AEW has not shown a propensity for changing titles in a hurry and I don’t think that is what they are going to do here. Stadtlander might get a title reign one day, but I don’t think they are going to take the title off of Rose so soon. Maybe down the road, but for now it’s Rose’s to retain, as it should be.

Tag Team Titles: Kenny Omega/Hangman Page vs. Young Bucks

And now we get into the matches where I either A, really want to see them, B, have no idea what to do with them or C, a nice mixture of both. This is a story that could go on for a LONG time as they are four of the people who really matter in this company. Page and Omega are awesome as the champions who are great in the ring together but might not get along so well out of it and the Bucks are the Bucks.

I’ll go with Omega and Page to retain here, as there are a lot more directions to go with the Bucks coming up short here. They can milk this thing for a crazy amount of time and this should be the first of several matches built around this story rather than the big climax. AEW seems smart enough to understand that and hopefully everything will be as good as it seems like it could be.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Cody

Now this is what I want to see. If there wasn’t a big World Title match on the show, this could headline in a heartbeat (as could the Tag Team Titles, which is a good sign). They have built this up incredibly well since the last pay per view and now we are in for Cody to get the chance to FINALLY give Friedman the beating that he has coming to him. That’s where things get complicated and I’m not sure which way to go.

I was ready to say Cody but I think they’ll find a way to let Friedman escape and extend what Cody has to do to get his hands on him for real, but I’m not sure if that’s the right idea. They have set this up perfectly so far and at some point you need to give the fans what they want to see from the story. Cody needs to crush Friedman at some point but I think they’ll try to extend it again, which is something that could work. Maybe.

AEW World Title: Chris Jericho(c) vs. Jon Moxley

And then we have this, which again could go either way. Moxley seems primed and ready to take the title from Jericho but….that would mean taking the title from Jericho. I’m not sure if that’s what they need to do just yet as he is as established as he can get, but at the same time he’s so great as champion that it makes a lot of sense to keep it on him. There’s something special going on here when I’m this unsure as it could be either choice.

I’ll take Moxley to win the title here as they are going to need a big moment if nothing else happens. This really is the kind of match where it could go either way and I love that that’s true. Even if they change the title here, there is no guarantee that Moxley keeps it, but I’m not sure I can imagine Jericho beating him at this point. Then again I could be completely wrong, as I tend to be.

Overall Thoughts

This is a top heavy show and that’s a good thing. The three biggest matches on the card could go either way and I want to see how all of them play out. The rest of the show looks good as well and there is a real chance that they could have an awesome show. That tends to be the case for AEW and it wouldn’t shock me to see them knock it out of the park all over again.

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: February 26, 2020
Location: Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

It’s another big week as we have the go home show for Revolution, but at the same time we also have an Iron Man match between Kenny Omega and Pac. This show has been on a roll lately with one good week after another so hopefully they can keep it going on the way to the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

The announcers preview the show.

Kenny Omega vs. Pac

Thirty minute Iron Man match. The Young Bucks are here with Omega but Hangman Page is nowhere to be seen. Feeling out process to start as it’s Omega grabbing a wristlock a minute in. Pac flips out of a wristdrag attempt and that means a standoff, with Omega’s look saying “so that’s how it’s going to be”. They chop it out until Omega kicks the leg out, only to charge into a hard superkick.

The early One Winged Angel attempt is countered into a Brutalizer but Omega falls into the corner for the break. Pac heads outside and that means a big flip dive, much to the fans’ delight. The running jumping bulldog (it was nowhere near a Fameasser this time) plants Pac for two and Omega strikes away against the ropes. There’s the Snapdragon as we’re five minutes in with both of them down.

They head outside with Pac managing a quick tornado DDT to plant Omega and give them another chance to breathe. Back in and Omega headbutts him off the top, only to have Pac run the ropes for the super brainbuster. Pac scores with a missile dropkick for two and we hit the chinlock. A hard faceplant gives Pac two as we hit ten minutes. The fans call Pac a b****** as he kicks Omega in the back of the head to keep him down.

Back up and they go into the slow motion slugout with Pac hitting a pump kick to the face. Omega doesn’t go down though so it’s a snap German suplex to drop him instead. That doesn’t seem to matter very much as Omega hits some knees to the head, followed by a Tiger Driver 98 for two.

After JR makes fun of the Tiger Driver 98 name, Pac breaks out of the One Winged Angle, only to get German suplexed HARD for two. Omega hits running knees to the back in the corner before loading up….a super One Winged Angel? That’s reversed into a sunset bomb as we hit the halfway point. Pac’s super hurricanrana is countered as well and there’s a Snapdragon into a V Trigger for two more. Pac staggers to the floor and BLASTS Omega in the head for the DQ with 14:06 to go.

Omega – 1

Pac – 0

We take a thirty second rest period but Pac gets in another shot to the head to keep Omega in trouble. A running kick to the head sets up the Black Arrow to tie it up with 13:21 to go.

Omega – 1

Pac – 1

Back from a break with 10:46 to go and the slugout on the apron going to Pac. A Falcon Arrow off the apron drops Omega again and the audio is muted for the sake of swearing fans. They’re both down again and we have less than ten minutes to go. Pac knocks him off the apron and the ref is bumped.

With no one seeing it, Pac pulls out a table and hits a shooting star off the top to send Omega through the table (which pretty much explodes). They both beat the count (I’m not sure on Omega but they give it to him anyway) and Pac can’t believe it. Another Black Arrow hits raised knees with five minutes left and Omega has an opener. A heck of a V Trigger sets up a spinning Rock Bottom for two on Pac, followed by another V Trigger.

Pac is back up with a tornado DDT and the Brutalizer (on the mat this time) has Omega in real trouble. We have two minutes left as Omega finally gets his foot on the rope. Pac is smart enough to go right back to the hold as we hit a minute left. The hold stays on with Omega looking at the clock as time expires at 30:00. Pac blasts the referee but hang on as we’re getting sudden death. Omega hits another V Trigger and then another knee to the head for two. The One Winged Angel finishes Pac at 33:14, counting the breaks between falls.

Omega – 2

Pac – 1

Rating: B+. They beat the heck out of each other here and while they could do another match, this felt like the definitive end of the feud. Omega gets a big singles win for the first time in a good while and Pac hardly looks bad in defeat. What does look bad is the Brutalizer, which was on for the better part of three minutes but then Omega just popped up and dominated overtime to win. I didn’t like it when Shawn Michaels survived that long in the Sharpshooter and I don’t like this either. That being said, heck of a fight and that’s what it needed to be.

Post break Pac doesn’t want to hear about getting what he deserves so here’s Orange Cassidy for a chat. Cassidy takes his glasses off so Pac drops him with a single forearm. Good for him.

Jake Hager isn’t allowing any interviews with Chris Jericho before tonight’s weigh-in.

Inner Circle vs. Jurassic Express

It’s Santana/Ortiz/Sammy Guevara this time around. The Express starts fast with Boy knocking Guevara off the apron and Stunt dropkicking Santana and Ortiz to the floor. Boy hits some suicide dives but Stunt gets pulled out of the air and thrown into Boy, driving him into the barricade. Back in and Luchasaurus gets taken down with a double flapjack, followed by a big toss to Stunt.

We take a break and come back with Santana hitting a big Poetry In Cannonball to crush Stunt in the corner. Stunt is fine enough to escape a German suplex attempt and bring in Luchasaurus to clean house. A chokeslam into a standing moonsault have Ortiz down but Sammy hits Luchasaurus in the back for reasons of overconfidence. Triple kicks in the corner rock Sammy and it’s a kick to the chest/Vertebreaker combination for two with Santana making the save.

A double enziguri puts Boy down and Sammy’s running shooting star press gets two with Stunt making the save. Luchasaurus moonsaults onto Stunt, Santana and Ortiz but Sammy grabs the loaded sock. Cue Darby Allin to steal it away though and Boy hurricanranas Sammy for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B-. It was action packed and aside from my general issues with Stunt, there wasn’t much to complain about here, save for one thing. If you’re going to bust out a big move like a Vertebreaker in a match like this, it should be the finish. I know they had more to do, but if that’s the case, don’t do the move. Save a move that big for a more important spot instead of another near fall in a six man that isn’t going to mean much in the long run.

Video on Cody vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman. They’ve done an awesome job of making me want to see Cody destroy him.

Best Friends vs. Butcher And Blade

Cassidy and Bunny are at ringside. Butcher runs Trent over to start and Blade walks around the ring a lot. Trent gets dropped ribs first across the top rope but he manages a running knee to set up the hot tag to Chuck. House is cleaned and we take a break. Back with Trent’s dive over the top being sent into the barricade but he’s fine enough to spear Blade down.

Hold on though, as it’s time for ORANGE CASSIDY TO DO THE SAME THING HE DOES EVERY WEEK, BUT THIS TIME IT’S SOMEONE DIFFERENT SO HE’S AWESOME! This time Bunny steals his sunglasses so he steals her bunny ears and then dives onto Blade. Strong Zero finishes Butcher at 8:06.

Rating: C-. It was the usual match with the usual Cassidy spot and that isn’t enough to overcome my lack of caring about either team. Butcher and Blade don’t win matches and don’t really hurt anyone so I’m not sure why they’re continuing their roles as enforcers/bounty hunters/whatever they’re called at the moment. It wasn’t a bad match, but after the first two matches, this wasn’t up to the same level.

Post match Tony Schiavone is in the ring with Best Friends and Cassidy to announce Cassidy vs. Pac for Revolution. Chuck: “Pac, the joke’s on you buddy, because this time he’s going to TRY!”

Big Swole vs. Shanna vs. Yuka Sakazaki vs. Hikaru Shida

Everyone gets in a shot or two to start with Shanna hurricanranaing Swole and Shida at the same time. Sakazaki stands on the apron while the other three do a triple test of strength. She comes back in to break it up but Swole kicks her down, setting up the parade of rollups for two each. Back with Shida cleaning house and suplexing Shanna into Sakazaki in the corner.

Swole is back in to clean house and kicks Shanna on the head, setting up a springboard cutter for two. Now it’s Sakazaki getting back up, only to get taken down with a lifting Pedigree to give Shanna two of her own. Dirty Dancing drops Shanna but Shida gives Swole a backbreaker. Sakazaki hits a springboard splash for two but Shida makes the save. A running knee hits Swole to give Shida the pin at 9:12.

Rating: C-. This was just another four way with the wrestlers doing their spots until one of them won. I’m rarely a fan of matches like this one as there is next to no story or psychology to the whole thing and it’s just moves after moves. It feels like there’s a multi person match every week or two and I don’t need to see another one for a good while.

The Dark Order says the Exalted One is coming and they’re beating up SCU at Revolution.

Jim Ross moderates a sitdown interview between the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega/Hangman Page (with a drink in hand). The Bucks couldn’t believe this being the case a year ago because Omega and Page were singles wrestlers. Omega says the Bucks are the best but he and Page were in the right place at the right time. Page looks rather anxious and the Bucks call him out for needing a drink.

They’re worried about him because they’re friends in and out of the ring. Page says he tried to leave the Elite, with the Bucks saying he’s walking away from everything they did for him. He was a jobber in ROH and they made him a star on Being The Elite. Page walks out, despite the Bucks saying they have a match to promote. Not titles to win mind you, but a match to promote.

Revolution rundown.

Lance Archer debuts next week.

It’s time for the official weigh-in between Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho, with Gary Michael Cappetta of all people as master of ceremonies. After hyping up the pay per view, Cappetta brings out the two of them but Jericho calls him a weird little man instead of getting on the scale. Jericho: “It’s no wonder WCW went out of business.” Moxley goes first and weighs 234lbs.

Jericho takes his time getting on the scale because he needs to insult the fans and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He goes after Moxley, who headbutts Jericho down to bust him open. The Inner Circle is on Moxley in a hurry but here’s Dustin Rhodes to go after Jake Hager. They fight to the back (JR: “For the love of God stay away from the Dippin’ Dots!!!”) and yes, Dustin is sent into the Dippin’ Dots cart.

Back in the arena, Darby Allin runs in (as in he doesn’t wait around on the stage for thirty seconds this week) for the save but Sammy takes the skateboard away and breaks it over Darby’s head. Moxley fights up and it’s time for the big slugout with Jericho. Guevara breaks up the Paradigm Shift with a low blow and the Judas Effect hits Moxley. Jericho gives him a Paradigm Shift onto the scale. That was a hot ending and covered three matches at once so well done all around.

Overall Rating: B. The opening hour was rather good and while things slowed down a lot from there, it was still a heck of a show with the ending picking up a lot of the slack. The last two weeks were better but this got me ready for Revolution and they’re still in a groove at the right time. Rather good show this week and if they can fix some of their issues, they’re as good as anything going at the moment, if not a fair bit better.

Results

Kenny Omega b. Pac two falls to one

Jurassic Express b. Inner Circle – Hurricanrana to Sammy Guevara

Best Friends b. Butcher and Blade – Strong Zero to Butcher

Hikaru Shida b. Big Swole, Yuka Sakazaki and Shanna – Running knee to Swole

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: February 12, 2020
Location: HEB Center, Austin, Texas
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re less than three weeks away from Revolution and the card is either set or pretty clear from this point. There is still some work to do, but at the same time there are major matches to get through on television. That would include tonight, as Riho defends the Women’s Title against Nyla Rose and SCU challenges Kenny Omega/Hangman Page for the Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Tag Team Titles: Kenny Omega/Hangman Page vs. SCU

Omega and Page are defending but hang on because the Dark Order pops up on the screen before the match. They make it clear that there are many of them and they may be closer than it seems. That sends Christopher Daniels to the back to check on things, which doesn’t bode well. Omega armdrags Kazarian to start but stops to yell at Sky, allowing Kazarian to break up a dive.

Everything breaks down in a hurry and Page loads up the Buckshot Lariat, only to have Kazarian break it up. Sky hits a big running flip dive, followed by the same thing from Omega. Back in and Omega hits a missile dropkick to Sky’s back, followed by a fisherman’s buster for two. There’s the running Fameasser from Omega but You Can’t Escape hits knees. Page gets shoved off the top and into the barricade with Omega being sent in as well.

Back in and Kazarian’s spinning springboard legdrop gets two as Omega is favoring his ribs. Kazarian charges into a boot though and it’s back to Page to start kicking people in the face. A standing moonsault gets two on Sky and an assisted DDT gets the same on Page. Kazarian hits a Backstabber into a slingshot cutter from Sky, setting up stereo dragon sleepers.

JR accurately points out that the match can’t end here because there are two illegal men in the ring but Omega rams Kazarian into the other two for the save anyway. The Snapdragon ropes Kazarian but the Buckshot misses. Omega V Triggers Kazarian anyway and, with Sky taken out by a dive, it’s the V Trigger/Buckshot combination for the pin at 13:15, with Kazarian grabbing a rope a split second after the bell.

Rating: B. This is a good example of the kind of match that makes AEW work: they’re all action and very exciting, though I can understand why some fans might not be thrilled with them. They have very little in terms of traditional tag team offense and a majority of the match is spent with everyone in the ring at once. What matters though is AEW has made that the norm and the matches are certainly entertaining. This was a lot of fun and while the ending wasn’t a surprise, it made sense on the way there.

Post match the champs leave in their separate ways (as tends to be the case) and here are the Dark Order, the Best Friends, the Hybrid 2, Butcher and Blade and the Young Bucks for the big brawl to preview next week’s tag team battle royal. The Bucks clear the ring and then dive onto everyone else, which would be very stupid in a battle royal. Daniels did not come back out here.

We get a sit down interview with JR and Santana. There was a time when Santana was in a dark place, living in a terrible apartment in the Bronx and he couldn’t take anymore. He called his dad and said every day of his life was terrible. His dad started going blind at 14 and knew that he would be blind at 25. Imagine how that feels. Then last week Jon Moxley attacked his eye. JR think Santana should be mad at Jericho but Santana goes on a rant against Moxley for throwing everything away. Tonight, Moxley learns what it’s like to be in the dark. This was a rather emotional interview and not something you hear from Santana.

Here’s another video from Darby Allin, this time with messages written on pieces of cardboard. It was a mistake to smash his throat with a skateboard and he’ll find them sooner or later. In the meantime though, he’ll face Sammy Guevara at Revolution. The final sign is a picture of Sammy’s face, saying “kissing Jericho’s a** gave me herpes.” These things are different and that’s what makes them work, plus Darby coughing in the background to sell the throat injury.

Sammy Guevara vs. Dustin Rhodes

Guevara has Jake Hager in his corner. Sammy bails to the floor to start so Dustin has to wait to throw him down back inside. A running knee to the face gives Dustin two and it’s time for another breather on the floor. That’s fine with Dustin, who hits a running clothesline off the steps and stares Hager down.

Back from a break with Dustin hitting a Downward Spiral and going up, only to get distracted by Hager. Sammy grabs a torture rack and flips Dustin over into a GTS for two. Dustin shoves him off the top so Sammy runs the ropes, only to get taken down with a release gordbuster. A Panama Sunrise plants Sammy and the Final Reckoning gives Dustin the pin at 6:47.

Rating: C. To clarify, a middle rope Canadian Destroyer isn’t the finish. I know it’s not Dustin’s finisher but egads man, stop overthinking this stuff. The match was fine enough and gets us closer to the match that makes the most sense. Guevara continues to be great as the member of the Inner Circle who takes a beating and keeps annoying everyone and that’s a great place for him.

Post match Dustin calls out Hager (“Jericho’s b****.”) for Revolution. Hager leaves without saying anything but the fans seem to like the idea.

We look back at Britt Baker attacking Yuka Sakazaki after last week’s loss.

Britt Baker talks about following her ethical obligations by taking out Yuka’s decaying tooth for free. We don’t even know if she had health insurance! Tony does though, right Mr. Starbucks? Baker mocks the fans with their Whataburger faces and lists off her resume, including her degrees and being the first woman signed to this company. She is the women’s division and throws in an upside down Hook Em Horns sign. JR: “This is terrible.”

Women’s Title: Nyla Rose vs. Riho

Riho is defending. Rose powers her into the corner to start but Riho rolls her up for two. That just means Rose can run her over for two, with Riho bridging out of the cover. Rose crushes her with a backbreaker and let’s set up a table. JR: “She’s not even from Dudleyville!” Riho uses the distraction to hit a dropkick off the table and we take a break.

Back with Riho getting two off a crucifix bomb and avoiding a sitdown splash. A basement dropkick gives Riho two more but Rose is right back with a Samoan drop for the same. Rose drapes her across the top and hits a top rope knee to the back of the head for a big crash and a near fall.

They go up top with Riho biting her on the nose, only to get taken down with a super Death Valley Driver. That’s only good for to and Riho is back with a pair of Snapdragons. A northern lights suplex gets two but the top rope double stomp gets one. Riho hits two more double stomps but Rose is in the rope. Back up and the spear into the Beast Bomb gives Rose the title at 12:24.

Rating: C+. They had to do it. Riho was fine for a first champion but there comes a point of “she has so much heart” just isn’t enough to carry things anymore. The match was your usual David vs. Goliath fight and Rose winning was the right call. You can only have her lose so many times before she stops mattering so giving her the title was the only call.

Chris Jericho is sick of Jon Moxley so if Moxley can make it past Santana tonight, he can face an assassin next week: Jeff Cobb.

We get a quick highlight video on Cobb. I’m rather glad to see him on the big stage, as Cobb can be rather awesome.

Video on last week’s awesome closing segment with Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Wardlow whipping Cody.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Jungle Boy

They’re both on their own here and Brandi Rhodes is on commentary. MJF trips him down to start and poses a lot, only to have Boy jump up and grab a rollup to annoy MJF quite a bit. They stare each other down and Boy shoves him outside for a breather. Back in and Boy is smart enough to not fall for a handshake as he knocks MJF into the corner.

MJF slugs away and takes it to the floor for a whip into the barricade. We see Arn Anderson watching in the back as MJF slams Boy on the floor. Back from a break with Boy hitting a backdrop and sending MJF outside. That means two straight suicide dives, plus a big flip dive to put MJF down again.

A reverse hurricanrana gets two back inside but Boy’s back gives out on a powerbomb attempt. MJF grabs an inverted Gory Stretch until Boy flips out. Boy gets crotched on top though, allowing MJF to grab his crotch and shout that Brandi can have a real man. A sunset bomb gets Boy out of trouble so here’s Wardlow to give MJF the big ring. MJF knocks him silly and the Double Cross finishes Boy at 11:49.

Rating: C. Boy continues to impress and MJF continues to be the best heel in wrestling today. The match wasn’t anything great but it accomplished everything it was supposed to be. Boy got to show off a little bit and MJF cheated to win to keep his momentum high going into Revolution. It might not have been a classic, but it was efficient and that’s a great sign.

Post match, Wardlow lays out Boy again.

Next week: Cody vs. Wardlow in a cage.

Pac can’t wait for his Iron Man match with Kenny Omega.

Next week: a tag team battle royal.

We look at the Inner Circle attacking Jon Moxley’s eye.

The Inner Circle is in the crowd.

Santana vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley comes in from the concourse and Chris Jericho isn’t happy. Santana jumps Moxley on the floor and the fight is on in a hurry with Moxley sending him into the barricade. They head inside for the opening bell but Moxley sends him right back outside for a top rope ax handle to the floor. Santana tries to send him eye first into the corner of the steps but settles for a baseball slide instead.

We take a break and come back with Moxley hitting a series of clotheslines into a release German suplex to drop Santana. A rolling cutter gives Santana his own two and he plants Moxley with a piledriver for the same. The top rope splash hits raised knees though and Moxley blasts him with another clothesline. Moxley goes up for a change but Ortiz spits booze into the good eye. Santana hits a frog splash for two but Moxley pokes him in the bad eye. The Paradigm Shift finishes Santana at 10:00.

Rating: B-. This was similar to the Rhodes vs. Guevara match in storytelling but a bit higher quality. Moxley has an issue with Santana after last week but it’s a glorified warmup before he gets to the match that he really wants. What we got was good though and Moxley keeps rolling towards Revolution.

Post match the Inner Circle runs in to destroy Moxley, including a 630 from Guevara and a Judas Effect from Jericho. Jeff Cobb comes out and hits the Tour of the Islands to end the show. So….why are they bringing in a power monster with amateur skills when the Inner Circle already has a power monster with amateur skills?

Overall Rating: A-. This was a heck of a show with some very good action and several Revolution matches being advanced. It’s the kind of show that they needed to have and the company is officially on a roll as we head towards Chicago. This was one of their better shows yet and that makes me more interested in where they’re going after the pay per view. Really good stuff this week.

Results

Kenny Omega/Hangman Page b. SCU – Buckshot lariat/V Trigger combination to Kazarian

Dustin Rhodes b. Sammy Guevara – Final Reckoning

Nyla Rose b. Riho – Beast Bomb

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Jungle Boy – Double Cross

Jon Moxley b. Santana – Paradigm Shift

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: February 5, 2020
Location: Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re less than a month away from Revolution and you can see a lot of the card from here. The big story continues to be Jon Moxley challenging Chris Jericho for the World Title and that means he has to go through the Inner Circle. He’ll start with that tonight against Ortiz, but other than that we have Cody dealing with MJF. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Jon Moxley vs. Ortiz

Santana is here and Chris Jericho, flanked by Jake Hager and Sammy Guevara, goes to commentary. A shoulder puts Ortiz on the floor to start so Moxley chases both of them around with a chair. They go outside again with Ortiz getting in some biting and a whip into the steps. Jericho: “He might have knocked his patch right off of his stupid face!” Back in and we hit a camel clutch with Ortiz raking a forearm over Moxley’s eye patch.

Moxley is out in a hurry and takes out the knee to set up a Figure Four. Ortiz is smart enough to poke him in the eye for the break, only to have Moxley send him outside. A suicide dive hits Santana and Ortiz gets sent over the barricade. Back in and a Boss Man Slam gives oxley two but Ortiz sends him right back to the floor. That means a suicide flip dive to put Moxley down as well but he’s back up again. This time he sends Ortiz into Santana and hits a quick Paradigm Shift for the pin at 7:55.

Rating: C. That’s what I was hoping for here as there was no need for this to be an extended match. Moxley is the #1 contender and he’s facing someone who isn’t used to wrestling singles matches. There was no need for this to be a back and forth fifteen minute match. What they did here was the right setup and it’s not like losing to Moxley hurts Ortiz. Well done on the setup, not a bad match.

Post match Moxley gets jumped by Santana but takes him out with another Paradigm Shift. Moxley pulls out the Ford GT key and says “an eye for an eye” before stabbing the key into Santana’s eye. The Inner Circle chases Moxley off.

Best Friends vs. SCU

Orange Cassidy is here but there’s no Christopher Daniels. Kazarian headlocks Trent down to start and JR thinks 2 Cold Scorpio is on the apron. Trent is right back up with the double running knees and a double elbow keeps Kazarian down. Sky spins out of a wristlock but Chuck grabs a headlock. With Sky down, Chuck hits the double bicep but misses a middle rope moonsault. Sky hits a good looking dropkick and everything breaks down for a bit, with Kazarian hitting a slingshot Fameasser to send Trent onto the apron.

Chuck’s standing Sliced Bread connects as Sky is sent into the barricade. A release German suplex drops Trent on the floor but Chuck adds a Blockbuster off the steps to put everyone down. Cassidy gets in his designated comedy spot on the floor by laying down with them as we take a break. Back with things having settled down a bit and the Best Friends taking over. We pause for the Big Hug until Chuck kicks Kazarian into a Code Red from Trent for the fast pin at 9:08.

Rating: C+. The post break part was really short but I’m glad they didn’t make this one go too long either. I still don’t care for the Best Friends and having to pause for Cassidy’s shtick still feels forced every single time. SCU continues to be steady but very good and that’s a valuable asset to have on the show.

Post match the Dark Order runs in for the beatdown so Orange Cassidy gets in to confront them. He’s offered a mask but puts his hands in his pockets, earning himself a beatdown of his own. Christopher Daniels runs in for the save and the Dark Order bails.

Yuka Sakazaki vs. Britt Baker

Sakazaki (the Magical Girl) was at Fyter Fest back in June and has some Arabian Nights style gear. Baker forearms the much smaller Sakazaki and chokes in the corner, setting up a running kick to the face for two. Sakazaki is back up with a top rope flip dive and a springboard plancha to the floor. JR: “Not just a regular splash ladies and gentlemen. The by God Magical Girl splash.” Back in and they slug it out until Baker hits a swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker for two. Lockjaw is broken up though and Sakazaki grabs a crucifix rollup for the pin at 3:12.

Rating: C. Spend two weeks building Baker up, then have her lose to someone else making her debut on the show. The division continues its spiral into nothing as we sit around with the champion barely ever around (save for a mixed tag with Kenny Omega, the only person who seems to get what he’s going for in the whole thing) and a bunch of people trading wins and losses.

Post match Baker hits her in the back with the bell and drives her mouth into the ropes. Sakazaki loses some teeth so Baker puts on Lockjaw to the bloody mouth. Good post match segment, but it might go somewhere if Baker hadn’t just lost clean in about three minutes.

Butcher and Blade/Lucha Bros vs. Young Bucks/Kenny Omega/Hangman Page

JR: “Not even I could misidentify the Bunny.” Graphic for the week: “Hangman is not happy with this music.” Makes sense as to why he power walks to the ring in front of ht eother three. Page chps away at Blade to start and it’s quickly off to Omega for some kicks to the chest and the running jumping Fameasser (more of a bulldog here) gets two. The Bucks come in for a bunch of dropkicks, including a triple dropkick to Butcher with Omega joining in.

Kenny and the Bucks hit stereo dives to the floor as Page doesn’t look impressed. Everything breaks down and Page comes in to help with that, only to be thrown outside. Fenix hits the crazy springboard flip dive and we take a break. Back with Nick taking care of both Lucha Bros on the floor, including a moonsault from the apron to Fenix. The hot tag brings in Matt for the rolling northern lights suplexes to Fenix, plus a bonus one to both Bros at once.

We settle down to Butcher working over Omega in the corner and shoving him back first onto Blade’s knee. The slugout goes to Butcher but Omega comes back with a hurricanrana. The hot tag brings in Page to clean house, including a springboard clothesline and a slingshot dive. An overhead belly to belly suplex puts Pentagon down and there’s a big moonsault to the floor. Everything breaks down and it’s Matt getting caught in the corner for Fenix’s running kick to the head.

The rolling cutter sets up a powerbomb/top rope shoulder combination but Omega is back in for the save. The Bucks clean house but Page misses the Buckshot lariat. Superkicks abound from the Bucks and Bros. Another Buckshot hits Blade and a fall away slam sends Blade flying but Page’s knee is banged up. Page won’t tag either of the Bucks so it’s a Sling Blade from Pentagon. The spike Fear Factor finishes Page at 13:13.

Rating: B. Who in the world watches the Lucha Bros wrestle that way and then thinks that they should be heels? They’re the best high flying team in the world and that rarely makes you heels. Anyway, the good storytelling continues and they have a ton of options available for what should be a heck of a Tag Team Title match against the Young Bucks at Revolution.

The losers argue post match.

Post break, Omega is in the ring for an interview but we cut to Pac, who stalks threatens Riho. Why Riho doesn’t RUN AWAY when Pac has his back turned to her isn’t clear but Omega agrees to the match so Pac will leave her alone. Pac says he wasn’t going to attack Riho, but she will. Cue Nyla Rose to powerbomb Riho onto (not through) a table and issue a challenge for next week. Well at least the champ is here for once.

Darby Allin can’t breathe after last week’s attack….so he shoots a flamethrower at a cardboard cutout of Jericho and Guevara.

Kip Sabian vs. Joey Janela

We wouldn’t want to miss this blowoff. Janela takes him into the corner and hammers away to start but Sabian is right back with some right hands of his own. A suplex gives Janela two and he kicks Sabian in the back. That’s enough for Janela, who tells Sabian to kick him in the back to keep things even. Sabian goes with a chinlock instead, with Janela fighting up in a hurry. Janela sends him to the apron and then face first into the steps, with Ford ramming the back of his head into the steps again.

Back from a break with Sabian hitting a hanging suplex for two but Janela sends him outside. That means a suicide dive but Janela needs to threaten to punch Ford, allowing Sabian to kick him in the face. Janela blocks a flip dive though and hits a German suplex to drop Sabian on the floor. Back in and Janela hits a superkick, followed by his hard Death Valley Driver for two. Ford gets on the apron to kiss Sabian but Janela knocks her to the floor by mistake, allowing Sabian to roll him up with tights for the pin at 11:21.

Rating: D+. This is up there on the list of least interesting things AEW has done so far as Janela is not worth watching and Sabian, while better, isn’t that much better. The whole feud being about Ford isn’t worth this much time as the feud feels like it has been going on for several months. I’d love for this to be it but the ending suggests another rematch down the line.

The Inner Circle isn’t happy with what happened and Santana swears vengeance. He’ll take Moxley on a walk through the park next week and it’s eye for an eye.

The Bucks ask Page what was up with that but Nick thinks it was the booze talking.

Next week: Riho vs. Nyla Rose for the Women’s Title, SCU vs. Page/Omega for the Tag Team Titles and Moxley vs. Santana.

In two weeks: a tag team battle royal for the Revolution title shot, plus Cody vs. Wardlow in a cage.

In three weeks: Omega vs. Pac in a thirty minute Iron Man match.

Dustin Rhodes knows Cody has this because he’s tougher than MJF thinks.

Here are MJF and Wardlow so Cody can take his ten lashes. Hold on though as MJF wants to use Cody’s belt. MJF snaps it behind his head to play some mind games and Cody is rather jumpy. The first lash hits and MJF takes off his coat as a bunch of heels come to the stage to watch. There’s the second lash so Cody gets in his face and MJF demands Cody hit him. The third lash puts Cody onto the ropes and here’s Arn Anderson to the ring. Arn tells him to give up now but Cody takes another lash, putting him on the mat.

The fifth drops Cody to his face so Dustin Rhodes comes out to say he’ll take the other five lashes. That doesn’t work for MJF so Dustin can go watch with everyone else. MJF gives Cody two in a row and he looks near tears. Now it’s the Bucks coming down to beg Cody to stop and he rolls to the floor for a bit while MJF chills on the ropes. Cody gets back in and tells MJF to do it, meaning there’s the eighth. MJF: “STAY DOWN B****!” Cody fights up and says two more but it’s going to be Wardlow with the last pair.

Wardlow drops him with one shot and Cody can’t pull himself up. MJF says that means no match so here’s Brandi Rhodes (sane this week) to encourage him to get up. MJF hits him in the chest for the tenth but he’s furious that Cody didn’t give up. Cody’s back looks terrible as everyone comes in to check on him….and MJF gets in a low blow before running off with Wardlow (with a fan jumping them but being subdued in a hurry) to end the show.

This was GREAT and maybe the best thing that AEW has done to date. Something like this is all about building the drama and that’s what they did here, with Cody selling the heck out of each one and getting MJF angrier and angrier as he couldn’t keep Cody down. Having people come in to try and convince Cody to stay down was a great piece of storytelling and while you knew how it was going to end, they took you on a good journey to get there and I was into it rather soon. Really great way to end the show and an outstanding segment.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling wasn’t the strongest here but they did a good job with the storytelling and laying the show out. That’s what matters more and I would much rather they focus on that rather than trying to get in the long matches every single week. You can do those on occasion, but it’s a lot better to give us some meat rather than just sizzle. Not a great show this week, but check out the ending segment for sure.

Results

Jon Moxley b. Ortiz – Paradigm Shift

Best Friends b. SCU – Code Red to Trent

Yuka Sakazaki b. Britt Baker – Crucifix rollup

Butcher and Blade/Lucha Bros b. Young Bucks/Kenny Omega/Hangman Page – Spike Fear Factor to Page

Kip Sabian b. Joey Janela – Rollup with a handful of tights

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dark
Date: February 4, 2020
Location: Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Excalibur, Tazz
Host: Tony Schiavone

This show has gone in a very different direction over the last few weeks as they have been averaging about half an hour. I’m not sure what that means for the future but it’s been rather nice just getting in and getting out. Granted the show hasn’t been around long enough to exactly have a history or lineage so it could be completely different this time. Let’s get to it.

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

Tony welcomes us to the show and talks about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He’s rather glad that KISS finally got in….six years ago.

Jurassic Express vs. Brandon Cutler/Sonny Kiss

Marko Stunt/Jungle Boy for the Express here. Stunt and Cutler start things off as we hear about Stunt being exactly a foot shorter than Cutler. Not something I’d point out but Stunt is unique or something and that makes it fun. Some rollups give Stunt two and it’s off to Jungle Boy, who ducks underneath a moonsault out of the corner. A multiple springboard armdrag puts Cutler down and it’s off to Kiss for the splits armdrag. Jungle Boy gets laid over the middle rope and Kiss flips forward into a kick to the ribs. This of course means dancing, which is a theme for this match.

Boy beats up both of them at once and launches Stunt onto him in a flipping splash. Cutler is right back to run Stunt over and a swinging slam gives Cutler two. A hurricanrana finally gets Stunt over to the corner though and it’s Boy coming in to clean house. Something like a Last Chancery (with Cutler on his knees instead of on his stomach) has Cutler in trouble but Kiss makes the save. That earns Kiss a trip to the floor and Boy puts Cutler in a Gory Stretch. Stunt comes off the top with a flipping Stunner for the pin at 7:28.

Rating: C-. It was a step above a squash and that’s a good thing, mainly as it didn’t go on too long. Stunt getting a pin is more acceptable in this situation, though it’s still a big stretch to believe that anything he does can do much damage. That being said, Cutler and Kiss are the lowest of low level wrestlers so it’s not like it makes a difference.

We go to therapy with Brandi Rhodes because we need to get her on the show. She knows something isn’t right and has visions of the therapist wearing her own clothes. Brandi needs to let go of the people she hates. I wouldn’t mind if we let go of this story in general but that’s just me.

Mel vs. Hikaru Shida

Awesome Kong and Dr. Luther are here with Mel. Shida gets jumped at the bell and Mel tosses her around with ease. Mel forearms her down into the corner for two and we hit the chinlock. Make that a dragon sleeper as Shida is bent backwards rather hard. Back up and Shida sends her outside for the running knee off the chair…to Luther for some reason.

Back in and Mel hits an enziguri to drop Mel, followed by a snap suplex for two. Mel kicks her down and drops a leg for her own near fall. A few shots to the face are shrugged off and Shida hits a running knee to the face for two more. Luther offers a distraction so Kong can interfere, only to hit Mel with the kendo stick by mistake. Another running knee finishes Mel at 8:16.

Rating: D+. This is another match that just kind of happened, which tends to be the case with the women’s division. The Nightmare Collective is still one of the least interesting groups (out of several of them) in AEW and I don’t need to see them around all that often. Shida is one of the better women in the division, but the thing is such a mess these days that it doesn’t make much of a difference.

Post match Shida leaves so Kong yells at Mel, who fights back. She and Mel double team Kong and send her through the barricade. A legdrop off the steps leaves Kong down. I’m not sure how one of the most dominant female wrestlers ever will deal with an old hardcore “legend” and a loser like Mel.

Here’s where Dynamite is coming.

From the Jericho cruise.

Kip Sabian/Penelope Ford vs. Kenny Omega/Riho

Gotta get Riho in there. She and Omega are in matching pink and white because they’re long term partners. In Japan but that’s just something we’re supposed to know about. As a bonus, there’s no commentary here and it’s shot indy style with a handheld camera. Ford slaps Omega to start and they lock up as the fans chant for AEW while declaring this wrestling. An exchange of headlocks lets Ford take him down, only to have Omega reverse into a headscissors.

Sabian comes in and says he wants Riho, who works on her own wristlock. That earns her a forearm to the back but she hits a running dropkick and armdrag. Sabian slams her a few times but Riho slips out of a third and brings in Omega to clean house. A running powerslam gives Omega two and it’s Riho coming in for a double stomp and half crab. Back up and Sabian sends them into the corner together but Omega comes out with the jumping Fameasser for two.

It’s back to Riho for some chops in the corner but he takes her over to Ford for the standard stomping and choking package. We’re clipped to Sabian dropping Riho into a camel clutch so Omega can come in for the save. Omega stomps away on her so Ford comes back in to punch Riho in the stomach for two. Riho kicks her down and headscissors Sabian, allowing another hot tag to Omega. You Can’t Escape gets two and Riho’s high crossbody is good for the same.

Sabian scores with an enziguri to Omega and Ford is back in for the handspring elbow. We’re clipped again to Ford hitting a Codebreaker and Sabian adding a legdrop to the back of the head to give her two. Omega finally hits a V Trigger on Sabian and the women come in again, this time with Ford hitting a Stunner for another near fall. Riho misses her top rope double stomp and it’s back to Omega for the slugout and Snapdragon on Sabian. Ford hits Omega low though, leaving Riho to Snapdragon Sabian as well. Omega Snapdragons Ford to even it up and the One Winged Angel finishes Sabian at 16:49.

Rating: C-. Ignoring the parts with Sabian and Omega selling for people half their side or the continued push for Riho, this was a lot longer than it needed to be and not something that needed to be broadcast. It’s one thing as a special feature for the live crowd but having the lack of commentary and handheld camera deal made it feel like I was watching a bad indy. The action was good enough but this didn’t need to air and would have been better left on the cruise deck.

Post match Omega talks about how wrestlers like him are told to stay in their place but this was the beauty of pro wrestling. Now they’re running international TV from a cruise ship and we get some applause for everyone involved. Goodnight and goodbye.

There is no update on Awesome Kong.

Best Friends vs. Shawn Spears/???

It’s another mystery partner and this time that would be….Colin Delaney, with Tully Blanchard thinking he looks good on paper. Is there a point to this story other than making Blanchard look stupid and out of touch? Orange Cassidy and Tully are here of course. Spears flips Cassidy off to start but gets hammerlocked by Trent for his efforts. That’s escaped but Spears cuts himself off from the TEN.

Some chops have Spears wincing and Trent knees him in the chest to send him outside. Delaney (who was the loser jobber in ECW about ten years ago) comes in and armdrags Chuck into an armbar. They flip around a bit into a standoff so Spears comes in at the same time, allowing Chuck to beat them both up. The ring is cleared but Delaney and Spears break up the big hug. Delaney wants his own hug but Spears goes to hug Tully instead.

Back in and Spears gets in an argument with the referee over a count before Delaney grabs a chinlock on Chuck. That’s broken up and it’s Trent coming back in to chop away. A hard clothesline drops Delaney and a running flip dive takes him down as well. Things settle back down and Trent slips out of a double suplex and brings Chuck back in. Soul Food into a half and half suplex gets two on Delaney but Spears crotches Trent on top.

Delaney hits a top rope Stunner into Spears’ Death Valley Driver for two with Chuck making the save. Everything breaks down again so let’s get the Cassidy vs. Blanchard showdown. All four hands go into the pockets and Cassidy does the kicks to the legs but Spears jumps him from behind to break that up. Trent sends Delaney into Spears and it’s a running knee to set up the big hug. That’s enough for Tully and Spears who walk out, leaving Delaney to take Strong Zero for the pin at 15:03.

Rating: D+. What exactly was the point of this? To continue the joke of “Spears needs a partner” which is leading….where? Spears has shown that he is little more than just a hand in the ring and Tully is there with him for the sake of they have nothing else for him. If the best you have is having him put his hands in his pockets so Orange Cassidy can do his signature deal, stop bringing Blanchard out there because he’s a lot more valuable than that.

Delaney and the other three have a group hug.

Tony says goodnight.

Overall Rating: D. So to recap, we had what should have been an extended squash, a match that focused entirely on the Nightmare Collective, that weird indy special match and the latest edition of Spears Needs A Partner/Blanchard Isn’t That Bright. We needed nearly an hour and twenty minutes to get through that? This felt like the lower level card getting their shine and showing why they’re the lower part of the card.

Omega and Riho are the only names of value here and they were in a complete throwaway match which had nothing to do with what they’re doing. It was a waste of time tonight and not a good show, which isn’t a good feeling. Stick with the short and sweet stuff or recaps, not these long, drawn out matches which don’t serve much of a purpose other than catering to people already watching your promotion.

Results

Jurassic Express b. Sonny Kiss/Brandon Cutler – Gory Stretch/Flipping Stunner combination to Cutler

Hikaru Shida b. Mel – Running knee

Kenny Omega/Riho b. Kip Sabian/Penelope Ford – One Winged Angel to Sabian

Best Friends b. Colin Delaney/Shawn Spears – Strong Zero to Delaney

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