IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: October 2, 2019
Location: Capitol One Arena, Washington DC
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re finally here. It almost feels weird to imagine that it’s actually happening but here we are. This is the debut episode of the much ballyhooed weekly series from AEW and the hype seems to be real. The show is going head to head live with NXT as the Wednesday Night Wars begin. I’m actually excited for this so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

The announcers welcome us to the show.

We get some clips from last night’s Countdown show to hype up Cody vs. Sammy Guevara, which will be the first match in the history of the show.

Cody vs. Sammy Guevara

Brandi is here with Cody and that is a lot of pyro. Feeling out process to start with Sammy’s speed giving Cody some issues. A trip to the floor lets Cody have a breather and it’s back in for an armbar from Sammy. That’s broken up as Cody powerslams him down and slaps on the Figure Four so we can hit the WOOing. Sammy makes the rope so Cody kicks him down again and does some pushups, setting up a springboard cutter/Stunner for two. Sammy is right back with a slingshot cutter for two of his own.

Cody sends him outside as well though and nails a suicide dive….which hits both Brandi and Sammy. Thankfully Brandi isn’t knocked cold and gets in a shoe to Sammy’s head, setting up Cody’s Disaster Kick for two. To mix it up a bit, Cody takes it to the top rope for a reverse superplex for two more. They head up again with Sammy hitting a super Spanish Fly, only to have a shooting star hit raised knees so Cody can small package him for the pin at 11:52.

Rating: C+. They were clearly jazzed to be on a big show and you knew Cody was winning here to set up his World Title shot at the next pay per view. The spots were good here and Sammy was fine for a villain here. They didn’t need to do anything more than get through a fast paced match here and that’s what they did. Nice first match with Cody playing the face role well.

Post match Cody has something to say but Sammy stops him for a tense handshake. Cue Jericho to jump him from behind and hit a Codebreaker as we take a break, albeit going split screen with Jericho beating him up even more during the commercial. Back with Jericho powerbombing him through some open chairs to really bang up the spine. Jericho declares himself the champion before leaving.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Brandon Cutler

Friedman has a mic on the way to the ring and insults the poor looking crowd, along with Cutler, who looks like a Dungeons and Dragon fan who got lost and needs to be back in his seat. We hear about Cutler being a big Dungeons and Dragons fan, with JR cutting the other two off as Cutler slaps Friedman in the face.

A shot to the throat gets Friedman out of trouble and he works on the arm while demanding Cutler tell his family that he’s a bum. Cutler gets fired up and sends him outside for a suicide dive but comes up favoring his knee. Back in and the knee doesn’t seem to be working so Friedman grabs his Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 2:45. That felt like a very sudden ending so maybe the injury was legit.

Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes (as Jay and Silent Bob) are here to hype up their new movie, featuring Chris Jericho. Cue Angelico and Jack Evans to yell, so Jay makes fun of them for not being able to win a match. Private Party shows up with drinks for some laughter.

SCU is in Washington DC to announce that they will be in the tournament, with Scorpio Sky impersonating Barack Obama.

In the arena, SCU announces that it will be Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian representing the team in the tournament. Cue the Lucha Bros to say they’re the best team in the world, with Pentagon spitting water in Daniels’ face. The fight is on but security quickly breaks it up.

Pac vs. Adam Page

Make up match after Pac’s contractual issues over the summer. Joined in progress with JR promising a picture in picture commercial break next time. Pac slides back in and forearms away but a discus lariat turns him inside out. They head outside with Pac being sent into the barricade, followed by a fall away slam into a running shooting star press back inside. Pac is fine enough to knock him back to the floor for an Asai moonsault and Page’s head bangs off the ramp.

Page is a bit rocked as Pac puts him on top, only to elbow Pac in the face. A super fall away slam sets up a slam into a reverse flapjack (that’s a new one) for two. Pac whips him shoulder first into the post though and we take a break. Back with Page in trouble and Pac shouting a lot before walking into a spinebuster. Page gets two off a powerbomb but Pac kicks him low. The Red Arrow hits Page in the back and the Brutalizer is good for the knockout win at 13:00.

Rating: B-. I’m a little surprised by the result here as Page seems to have had the plug pulled out from underneath him. Pac is certainly a star and someone who could be a huge deal around here, though I didn’t think it would be at the expense of Page. It wasn’t clean though and a rematch wouldn’t shock me, nor would it annoy me in the slightest.

Women’s Title: Nyla Rose vs. Riho

For the inaugural title and Britt Baker is on commentary. After the Big Match Intros, Riho starts with some dropkicks but gets shouldered down without much impact. Riho knocks her down again and tries a double stomp to the back but Rose just sits up for the block. The STF goes on for a bit until Riho makes the rope to save herself. A running knee sends Rose outside but she’s fine enough to send Riho into the barricade.

The ref takes a chair away so Rose sends her into the barricade again and pulls out a bunch of chairs. She puts Riho on those chairs but the middle rope dive only hits the steel, allowing Riho to hit a double stomp off the apron. Another double stomp sets up a Bank Statement inside and we take a break.

Back with Riho in trouble and making the mistake of trying a backdrop. Some forearms are cut off by a kick to the face but Riho slips out of a powerbomb. A rollup gets a very close two and the fans aren’t pleased by the kickout. Rose’s Death Valley Driver gets two more and she goes up top, only to get caught with even more forearms. A northern lights superplex gives Riho two so she knees Riho in the face for the pin and the title at 13:27.

Rating: C+. Yeah I can’t say I’m surprised. The tiny newcomer beats the seemingly unstoppable monster in your metaphor of the night. The problem with Riho continues to be that her whole character is that she’s small. Rose continues to lose far more often than she should and that was the case here as well. The crowd got into it though and those near falls were quite good at times. Fine match, but it’s going to take some time to get into Riho.

Post match Michael Nakazawa comes in for the interview in Japanese but Rose comes in to jump them both and powerbomb Nakazawa. A Death Valley Driver on the apron is broken up but Kenny Omega makes the save.

Elite vs. Chris Jericho/Santana/Ortiz

Omega runs back to the stage for his entrance despite the lack of a commercial. Jericho starts against Omega but tags out to Santana before anything happens in an old but classic move. Omega kicks Santana’s knee out and tries his running Fameasser but has to settle for a bulldog as he overshoots it a bit. Jericho comes in for the chops and the Bucks have to break up the Walls with some superkicks.

Nick hits a big dive over the top onto Santana and Ortiz…and here’s Jon Moxley to jump Omega. They fight into the crowd with the referee seeing the whole thing and we’re just going to keep going. Kenny finds a mop and cleans a bit to a big reaction as we head to the VIP area as the match has seemingly just stopped in the ring. An elevated Paradigm Shift through a glass table knocks Omega silly and we take a break.

Back with the Bucks in trouble and Santana/Ortiz hitting their assortment of splashes. Jericho misses the Lionsault to Nick but Ortiz breaks up the hot tag attempt. A cutter out of the corner sets up some rolling northern lights suplexes and the hot tag brings in Nick to clean house. Everything breaks down and it’s Matt taking a springboard Cannonball in the corner. The Judas Effect gives Jericho the pin at 13:20.

Rating: C. The Omega deal took things down a bit here and it felt like it just came and went. It was a good choice for a first main event as it showcased Santana and Ortiz and it’s not like losing to the World Champion is a bad thing. What we got here was good enough and it gave us a fine enough main event, even if the big angle came a bit early.

Post match the big brawl is on with Cody coming in for the save. Sammy Guevara comes in to kick him low so Dustin Rhodes is out for the save. Cue the debuting Jake Hager (Jack Swagger) to wreck Cody, Dustin and the Bucks. That means a WE THE PEOPLE chant as the villains stand tall together. A table is brought in and Dustin gets powerbombed onto (not through) it for the big OOH from the crowd. The Judas Effect leaves Cody laying to end the show. They did get the timing right to wrap it up this time around.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling wasn’t what mattered here. The point of this was everything working well enough and the presentation feeling big overall. Everything looked great here and it felt like a WWE level show. There are a lot of things to work on still, but what we got was rather good. I want to see where things are going in the future and that’s a great sign for a first night.

That’s what matters the most here: it was the first night and the show worked well. Nothing was bad and they had a big moment with the title change. Nothing blew me away, which is actually a silver lining in a way. If you start with your biggest, best show ever, where can you go from there? They have room to improve, but what matters most is to keep things going. Very good start, now keep doing it and make it better.

Results

Cody b. Sammy Guevara – Small package

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Brandon Cutler – Fujiwara armbar

Pac b. Adam Page – Brutalizer

Riho b. Nyla Rose – Running knee to the face

Chris Jericho/Santana/Ortiz b. Kenny Omega/Young Bucks

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: All Elite Wrestling

All Out
Date: August 31, 2019
Location: Sears Center, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Alex Mendez

It’s time for the fourth AEW show and the final one before we get to the weekly TNT show. This show might not mean as much as the other shows as it is all leading up to October, but the World Title will be decided for the first time. We should be in for a good show, but they have a hard one to follow after Takeover this afternoon. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Casino Battle Royal

So it’s twenty one women in four groups of five with each group named after a card suit. Then there is a twenty first entrant with the Joker. The winner is in the Women’s Title match at the first TNT show. The Clubs (Nyla Rose, Faby Apache, Leva Bates, Shalanda Royal, Priscilla Kelly) start things off and it’s Rose cleaning house. Peter Avalon (Bates’ fellow librarian) offers Bates some books to stand on but Rose tosses everyone with almost no effort, plus Peter for a bonus.

The Diamonds (Britt Baker, Penelope Ford, Sadie Gibbs, Shazza McKenzie, Big Swoll) come in next with Ford hitting a handspring elbow on Rose as the ganging up….is broken up in just a few seconds. Baker pulls Shazza out for an elimination, leaving Rose to chokeslam Baker and Gibbs at the same time, leaving Swoll for a showdown. Rose isn’t having any of this and puts Swoll on the apron, setting up a Rock Bottom onto the apron for the elimination. A hard German suplex drops Ford as the countdown clock ends and….no one is here at the moment.

Ford is out as the Spades (Tenille Dashwood, Ivelisse, Bea Priestly, Brandi Rhodes and Awesome Kong) come out. Baker jumps Priestly in the aisle and it’s Ivelisse hurricanranaing Gibbs down. Dashwood butterfly suplexes Ivelisse into Gibbs in the corner, setting up Taste of Tenille to both of them. Brandi orders Kong to start cleaning house but Rose gets back in as a group of people go after Kong. Brandi’s Stunner takes Rose down as Kong picks up Ivelisse to use as a weapon.

Dashwood and Ivelisse are out and here are the Hearts (Allie, Nicole Savoy, Teal Piper, ODB and the bald Jazz). Allie goes straight after Brandi and it’s Savoy squaring off with Kong, who whips her into the ropes so Savoy can hit a big suicide dive. Piper pokes ODB in the eyes and grabs the sleeper but Kong breaks it up. Rose dumps Savoy and Kong tosses Piper through the ropes (no elimination), setting up the big monster showdown.

Jazz breaks that up and ODB joins them for the four way brawl. Kong and Jazz are eliminated as Mercedes Martinez is the Joker and the final entrant. Martinez starts suplexing everyone in sight and it’s a curb stomp to Priestly. Allie gets up and starts cleaning house but Rose knocks her out. It seems that we’re down to Rose, Gibbs, Martinez, Priestly and Baker, plus anyone on the floor. Gibbs gorilla presses Priestly but gets tossed a second later and we’re down to four.

A Sling Blade lets Baker put Martinez down and it’s time to double team Rose. Priestly tries to dump both of them but saves Rose in the process. Baker superkicks Martinez out but Rose survives a double toss attempt. Rose manages a cartwheel kick on the apron so Baker hits a Canadian Destroyer on Priestly. One heck of a forearm gets rid of Priestly and Rose dumps Baker (with an assist from Priestly) for the win at 20:41.

Rating: D. I really don’t care for this concept as it’s either the groups not coming out when the buzzer sounds or trying to keep track of who all is in there. At least they didn’t do the stupid “OH LOOK SOMEONE IS SNEAKING BACK IN!” but it’s still not a great concept. If you want to do a battle royal then do a battle royal, but the casino/gambling thing only really works in Las Vegas.

Pre-Show: Private Party vs. Jack Evans/Angelico

Isaiah Kassidy starts things off with Angelico and they waste no time in flipping around. Kassidy takes him down and starts dancing so it’s off to Marq Quen vs. Evans, with the former taking over in a hurry. Evans gets in a shot to the face on Quen though and the villains (or the closest things we have to villains in this match) take over. A guillotine choke has Quen reaching for the ropes as we already get the five minute announcement.

That’s broken up so it’s Kassidy coming back in to clean house, including the big dive onto Angelico. Back in and a slingshot splash gets two on Evans. A camel clutch into a leap frog double stomp to the back of the head plants Evans, followed by Kassidy flipping over a standing Quen and then flipping back into a tornado DDT on Angelico. An assisted Sliced Bread hits Evans and Kassidy nails a bit running flip dive to the floor.

Quen hits a great looking shooting star press but Evans is back in to suplex Kassidy off the top. A kick to the face and an assisted 450 gets two on Kassidy as we hit five minutes left. Everything breaks down and it’s a series of hurricanranas to Evans and Angelico, setting up another hurricanrana into a cutter to finish Evans at 11:14.

Rating: C+. Yeah it was a moves match but Private Party continues to look great. That’s the kind of thing that AEW needs: some teams (or acts in general) who can come in and be more original stars. Private Party has been around the indies for a good while but now they’re getting their first national exposure and they look like hidden gems.

Post match Evans and Angelico jump Private Party and wreck Quen’s knee as the fans are not pleased.

Some kids from a charity sing the Star Spangled Banner.

The opening video looks at just about every match on the show tonight in a well produced package.

The announcers preview the card again.

SoCal Uncensored vs. A Small Boy/A Boy And His Dinosaur

SCU does their usual stuff before the match with Daniels talking about how they were All In last year and now it’s a new deck and a new dealer. Jungle Boy and Kazarian start things off with neither being able to get anywhere, meaning they flip to a standoff. Daniels comes in for an STO to put Jungle Boy down but he’s right back up with a springboard armdrag. Luchasaurus comes in and it’s a series of kicks to take Daniels down, with the fans being WAY into the dinosaur.

It’s off to Stunt for a running dropkick and the required Floss Dance, setting up the even more required suicide dive. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus hit their own dives and we settle down to Jungle Boy chopping and headlocking Daniels. A blind tag brings in Kazarian for a dropkick before it’s back to Daniels for a dance of his own. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Jungle Boy fights up and brings in Luchasaurus to kick away.

The chokeslam into a standing moonsault gets two on Kazarian and the fans are rather pleased. Stunt gets tossed into a tornado DDT on Kazarian but Celebrity Rehab gets SCU out of trouble. A slingshot hurricanrana takes out Jungle Boy and Stunt, followed by Sky’s big flip dive onto Luchasaurus. The Best Meltzer Ever finishes Stunt at 11:58.

Rating: C. The Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy stuff is awesome as they work perfectly well together but Stunt….yeah it’s too much. Even Rey Mysterio is bigger than he is and that’s as much of a stretch as you can get. It’s like forcing a comedy act in there but they don’t really treat it as comedy. Sometimes its ok to not try for every smile possible and just have a good match without something like that. A Boy and His Dinosaur are awesome on their own so don’t mess with it any more.

Kenny Omega vs. Pac

They circle each other to start and the fans seem to be more behind Omega. Pac drops down and Kenny walks over his back for a bit of taunting. They take turns shoving each other in the face and the 205 chants begin. Omega sends him outside and tries the dive but Pac is waiting on him with a kick to the ribs. A whip into the barricade staggers Pac but he’s fine enough to drive Omega back first into the barricade as well.

The choking against the barricade continues, followed by a great looking dropkick to put Omega down again. Omega fights out of a chinlock in a hurry before sending him outside. That means a suicide dive to take Pack out but Omega comes up holding his ankle. As long as it’s not the V Trigger knee, he still has 89% of his offense. Back in and the ankle is fine enough for a missile dropkick to the back of the head and a fisherman’s buster gets two.

The Regal Roll connects but Pac rolls away before the middle rope moonsault can connect. Pac spikes him with a DDT for two but it’s too early for the Black Arrow. Instead Pac moonsaults to the floor, with his leg crashing into the barricade. Back in and a 450 gives Pac two, followed by Omega’s spinebuster for the same. Something like a fisherman’s buster onto the knee sets up the first V Trigger. The One Winged Angel is broken up so Omega settles for a bridging German suplex instead.

Pac is back up with a slingshot cutter and a snap German suplex of his own. The Snapdragon sets up Omega’s second V Trigger for two, followed by the third to stagger Pac some more. Pac hits something like a reverse hurricanrana but gets caught in a fireman’s carry. Before Omega can throw him anywhere though, Pac reverses into the Brutalizer (standing Rings of Saturn) to knock Omega out for the win at 23:14.

Rating: B-. Almost every Omega criticism is right here: longer than it needed to be, little building to anything and even less selling. It’s a bunch of spots and shots to the head with both of them popping right back up. I’m sure Omega will go on a winning streak and win the title eventually and that’s acceptable, but it’s the kind of thing that you know is coming at the end of the day. The idea here was that Omega isn’t what he’s capable of being and his “heart isn’t in AEW” yet so I’m sure he’s going to get a big featured story.

Darby Allin vs. Joey Janela vs. Jimmy Havoc

This is the Cracker Barrel Clash as we have a sponsored match. They go straight for the weapons and it’s time for the staple gun. Jimmy uses it on himself and it’s time to head outside with Jimmy getting taped into a chair. Joey puts thumbtacks in Jimmy’s mouth and tapes it shut as well, leaving Joey vs. Darby inside. A flipping Stunner takes Joey down but Darby would rather flip dive onto Jimmy, who begs him to do it.

The fight heads outside with Joey busting out weapons of his own, including a tennis racket, which he throws away (hilarious you see). Jimmy chops Joey down and gives him the paper cuts between the fingers. A monkey flip sends Joey flying but he lands in the chair, only to get a paper cut in the mouth. Joey brainbusters Jimmy through a chair and hits a running Canadian Destroyer to send Darby through a table in a nasty crash. Back up and Jimmy goes for a moonsault to the floor….with absolutely no one there to catch him.

Jimmy was down a few feet away but that looked Joey was trying to hurt himself. Since Joey has been crushed, Jimmy throws a plate of biscuits at him and then brings some barrels to the ring. Darby is back in with a skateboard covered in tacks, which he double stomps onto Joey’s back.

Darby throws Havoc at the steps and puts him on them….before grabbing a barrel. The Coffin Drop, with a barrel on Darby’s back, only hits steps as JR declares this insanity. Back in and Joey drops a top rope elbow for two on Jimmy. Another barrel is brought in and Havoc superplexes Joey….well his foot went through it at least. The Acid Rainmaker through the barrel finishes Janela to give Havoc the pin at 14:40.

Rating: D+. I didn’t hate this, mainly because they kept this in one match by itself instead of putting it in some big match that means something. Some of the stuff involved here was so ridiculous that it’s almost impossible to not smile a bit. There’s nothing more than freak show appeal here and some of it was so goofy that it was entertaining. Not the worst, with the biscuits being amusing and Cornette’s response to the tennis racket thing will be worth it alone.

Dark Order vs. Best Friends

The winners get a first round bye in the Tag Team Title tournament. Chuck can’t do much with Stu to start so everything breaks down in a hurry with the Friends cleaning house for the hug. We get a SPOOKY PERVERTS chant (JR: “That’s another t-shirt!”) after what the Best Friends have dubbed the Dark Order.

We settle down to the Order taking over on Trent with a side slam/knee drop combination for two. Grayson hits some knees to the ribs to keep Trent in trouble and it’s a slingshot hilo to the apron as Uno comes back in. A running clothesline isn’t enough for Trent to get over for the tag though as Uno brings him back to the wrong corner. Grayson pulls Chuck off the apron to break up a tag in another classic move. The beating continues, including something like Chasing the Dragon.

Trent gets in a tornado DDT and there’s the hot tag to Chuck so house can be cleaned. The Friends are right back into it Sliced Bread from Chuck, followed by a toss 3D for two on Grayson. That’s not cool with Uno, who comes right back in to toss Trent to the floor. A top rope backsplash gets two on Trent, as does Grayson’s 450. Chuck is back in though and house is cleaned, including Soul Food into a half and half suplex on Grayson. The Awful Waffle hits Uno but the Creepers (Order’s minions) beat up Chuck. The Fatality finishes Trent at 14:43.

Rating: C-. Yeah next please. I don’t like either of these teams and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. They’re not very interesting with the Best Friends coming off like they’re just goofing off and the Dark Order looking like cosplay evil wrestlers. Not a bad match, but a match I was wanting to wrap up in a hurry.

Post match the Creepers go after Trent but Orange Cassidy comes in for the save without ever taking his hands out of his pockets, as is his custom.

Hikaru Shida vs. Riho

The winner gets Nyla Rose for the Women’s Title on the first TNT show. The much smaller Riho slugs away to start but gets cut off by a knee lift. Shida knees her again and grabs a half crab with Riho being bent way too far back. Somehow that doesn’t break Riho in half so Shida sticks with the power by throwing Riho around some more.

A superplex is broken up though with Shida being sent down to the apron for a top rope double stomp. Back up and Shida goes for a Stretch Muffler but Riho makes the rope. With JR demanding separation, Shida pulls her away from the rope and bends the knee around some more. Riho escapes and hits a double stomp but can’t follow up. Shida’s running knee to the arms over Riho’s face gets two and frustration is setting in.

Riho grabs the leg to slow Shida down and it’s a northern lights suplex to drop Shida. A missed kick in the corner sets up the Alberto double stomp on Shida, followed by running knees for two. Shida is right back up with a fireman’s carry backbreaker for two and Shida is ready for a rollup. The second attempt works for Riho and puts Shida away at 13:14.

Rating: C. Again: next please. I know there is a reason for these things but it’s not clicking and seeing Riho vs. Rose is about the least most interesting combination they could go with for the first title match. There are so many interesting names on the roster and they pick these two for the best options? I get why with both of them, but it’s really not worth seeing.

We recap Cody vs. Shawn Spears. Cody brought Spears in and said he was a good hand who could become a player/coach. Spears didn’t like that and hit Cody with a chair to bust him open, plus got Tully Blanchard as a manager. This one is personal.

Cody vs. Shawn Spears

Shawn has Tully Blanchard in his corner but Cody counters with Pharaoh (who does not look happy about appearing), Brandi, Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Diamond Dallas Page in Star Trek gear. Only MJF stays and I think you know where this is going. Cody dives onto Spears before the bell and the fight heads into the crowd early on. They head back inside for the opening bell and go right back to the floor with Tully grabbing Cody’s arm so Spears can get in a low blow.

Back in and Cody shrugs off some chops but a suicide dive is knocked away because Spears saw it coming on the screen. That’s a nice touch that you don’t see very often. Back in and Spears hammers away with left hands to the head. Cody gets in the Dustin uppercut but misses a charge into the post. A hanging DDT onto the apron rocks Cody and it’s time for the weight belt.

Earl Hebner isn’t letting that happen though and yells, but the distraction lets Tully slip in a regular belt to beat on Cody again. Cody no sells a belt shot to the head and the beatdown is on. A springboard cutter into an Alabama Slam makes it even worse for Spears and it’s time for the leg. The Figure Four is applied but Spears turns it over, with an assist from Tully. They head outside with Cody getting dropped on the ramp, only to have MJF drag Cody back towards the ring.

Back in and Cross Rhodes hits Spears but Tully has the referee for a distraction. MJF tries to come in though, allowing Tully to get Spears a breather. Hang on though as Tully and MJF get in a choke off, allowing Spears to kick MJF in the face. The fight heads to the floor…and here’s Arn Anderson of all people with a spinebuster to Spears, which draws Tully up the ramp after Arn. Cody grabs a chair and hits the Disaster Kick to send it into Spears’ head, setting up Cross Rhodes for the pin at 17:28.

Rating: C+. This was a bit better than I was expecting but as tends to be the case in a Cody match, it was too much stuff going on and the show was hurt as a result. Spears was good enough as a heel, though it feels like MJF is the real big bad for Cody later on. It was fine, though the show is starting to run long and it’s hurting things a bit.

Post match MJF teases a chair shot to Cody but hugs him instead.

We recap the ladder match. The Young Bucks and the Lucha Bros have fought a bunch of times and now they’re fighting in a ladder match for the final win.

AAA Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. Young Bucks

The Bros are defending in a ladder match and the Bucks are in deer masks (bucks you see) Thankfully they come off after the bell as I have enough trouble remembering which is which in the first place. Pentagon breaks up a very early Meltzer Driver attempt and the Bucks are sent outside early on. A ladder shot breaks up a Bros dive and the Bucks start the kicking. Fenix is right back up with a springboard flip dive over a ladder to take everyone down.

Back in and Nick and Fenix springboard onto the ladder but get taken down with rolling cutters. Since we’re doing the “we know each other so well” sequences, it’s a pair of spears to put Nick and Fenix through tables at ringside. That leaves Pentagon to kick Matt in the leg but Matt sends him outside for a flip dive. Back in and Nick rolls some northern lights suplexes on Pentagon but Fenix is back up with a springboard hurricanrana to send Nick into a ladder.

The Bros springboard off the ropes and then off the ladder to take out both Bucks. Another ladder is brought in but Nick gorilla presses Fenix and spears Pentagon down. Nick springboards onto the ladder, which is nowhere near the belts, but gets it turned over. That’s fine with Nick, who springboards off the top to take Pentagon down outside. Fenix’s springboard moonsaults takes Nick down so it’s Pentagon and Matt fighting on top of the ladder.

A super Sling Blade brings Matt off the ladder and it’s Pentagon going outside. That means a suicide dive from Nick, leaving Fenix to hit a Canadian Destroyer on Matt. A table is brought in as JR talks about barbecue sauce. Just because we need one, Pentagon hits a Canadian Destroyer off the ladder to drive Matt through the table and everyone is pretty much dead.

With the other two down, Nick and Fenix put them on tables and climb ladders at opposite sides of the ring. They shout at each other and there are the big dives through their brothers so everyone is down again. Nick and Fenix fight over another ladder until Nick dives over it for a tornado DDT. Two tables are set up at ringside but Nick has to superkick Fenix to prevent a climb. Since back to back huge moves don’t keep you down long, Matt is back in with a Crossface on Pentagon but lets go to cut Fenix off again.

Nick is alone on top so he teases a dive, allowing Pentagon to superkick Matt and then shove the ladder over, sending Nick through the tables. Matt and Pentagon go up with Matt taking off the mask, but Fenix kicks the ladder out for the bigger crash. Pentagon has the mask back on and it’s a spike Fear Factor onto the bridged ladder to kill Matt dead. The Bros FINALLY get the titles for the win at 24:06.

Rating: B. It was a complete stunt show spot fest and that’s all it was trying to be. There was no storytelling and nothing in the way of psychology as everything was one spot after another. Now in this case, that’s what it was supposed to be and in that sense it worked well. Now at the same time, it went on longer than it should have this late in a show and there were way too many instances of the teams having a chance to go up and then doing a spot instead.

Post match some masked men come in and beat down the Lucha Bros. The Bucks get laid out as well and it’s Santana and Ortiz, formerly known as LAX. Their matches with the Bros in Impact were awesome so I’m more than good with that.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Adam Page. Jericho beat Kenny Omega and Page won a battle royal to earn their spots here, then Jericho busted him open to make things personal. Tonight it’s for the inaugural title.

AEW World Title: Adam Page vs. Chris Jericho

The title is vacant coming in and Page rides in on a horse. We get Big Match Intros and an introduction from the referee to stretch things out even more. Page drives him into the corner to start and it’s an early clean break. A fall away slam and a clothesline put Jericho on the floor but he’s right back in with a middle rope dropkick.

The Liontamer attempt is broken up so Page sends him outside for a suicide dive. A top rope clothesline gives Page two and he ducks the triangle dropkick. The shooting star off the apron is blocked though and Page is down on the floor. Jericho knocks him off the barricade for a big crash with Page’s elbow banging into the barricade. Back in and Jericho bends the arm around the rope, followed by a backsplash for two.

Page fights back up with some strikes and a sliding lariat. The middle rope Russian legsweep gets two but a piledriver attempt is countered into the Walls to put Page in real trouble. That’s broken up and a discus punch busts Jericho open. Page slowly throws him back in, yells at the referee, and then punches Jericho down.

As JR asks if Jericho has enough soldiers in his tank, Page hits a super swinging neckbreaker, followed by the Buckshot Lariat. The Deadeye is countered into the Walls again but Page gets out one more time. Jericho is sent outside and Page’s top rope moonsault….somewhat connects.

Another Buckshot Lariat is countered into the Codebreaker (cool) for two and they’re both down again. Page gets back up but the running shooting star hits knees. The Deadeye is countered into a sunset flip but another attempt plants Jericho….for two. Another Buckshot Lariat misses and the Judas Effect gives Jericho the pin and the title at 26:23.

Rating: C+. It was a perfectly watchable match but it went on too long and the fans were just done by the end. Jericho winning was pretty clear about halfway through (at the latest) and while it makes sense to have the World Title (especially the first one) go longer than anything else, it came after a very long show. Jericho isn’t likely to hold the title for a long time but he’s the right call for the first champion.

Page is crushed as Jericho poses with the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. These shows have got to be shortened a bit as the length is their biggest problem. Eventually you’re two and a half hours in and looking at the clock because the show just keeps going with one long match after another. What we got was mostly good and it set up some stuff for later but my goodness it felt every bit of those five hours.

They need to shorten a few matches (it’s ok to have something go seven or eight minutes) and do something in between them every now and then, just for the sake of a breather. Having it be two hours a week will help, but these pay per views have got to pick up the pace a bit. This didn’t change a lot and I wouldn’t say it built up any real momentum for them, but I’m really not as interested in the promotion as I used to be. I hope TV helps them with that, because their spark isn’t going to last forever with these five hour shows that aren’t exactly burning the house down.

Results

SoCal Uncensored b. A Small Boy/A Boy And His Dinosaur – Best Meltzer Ever to Stunt

Pac b. Kenny Omega – Brutalizer

Jimmy Havoc b. Joey Janela and Darby Allin – Acid Rainmaker through a barrel to Janela

Dark Order b. Best Friends – Fatality to Barreta

Riho b. Hikaru Shida – Rollup

Cody b. Shawn Spears – Cross Rhodes

Lucha Bros b. Young Bucks – Bros pulled down the titles

Chris Jericho b. Adam Page – Judas Effect

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

Fight For The Fallen
Date: July 13, 2019
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Alex Marvez, Jim Ross, Excalibur

The shows are starting to pick up the pace around here and that could be a good thing. What matters here is figuring out what works and what doesn’t work before the big TV launch in October, so hopefully they can get closer to that here. I’m not sure what to expect with what we’re getting but if the show is anything like the previous two, we should be good to go. Let’s get to it.

This is an outdoor show in an amphitheater, meaning it looks more like a play, albeit with some seats behind the ring as well. It’s a really cool setup actually.

Pre-Show: Peter Avalon vs. Sonny Kiss

Avalon is one of the Librarians and says that since this is a library….here’s Kiss to break it up. His entrance is a little more energetic, with some Jacksonville Jaguars cheerleaders and the Jaguars’ mascot for a lot of dancing. Kiss dances around a lot and headscissors Avalon down, meaning more dancing. A suplex gives Kiss two as the announcers talk about Avalon having some romantic interest in fellow librarian Leva Bates. That’s more of a backstory than we’ve gotten on them in two shows. Kiss gets sent outside with Bates slowly sending him back in. Excalibur: “That’s odd.”

Kiss gets in a kick to the head and an exploder suplex, followed by the twerksault (just go with it) for two. Hang on though as Bates offers a distraction so Avalon can roll him up for two. Fans: “READING SUCKS!” Just not the book that Cody put out this week right? Avalon misses a moonsault though and Kiss’s split legged crotch drop finishes Avalon at 5:08.

Rating: D+. You can get the idea of the gimmicks a bit better here, but the match just wasn’t very good. Kiss’ dancing and stuff will get the fans energized to start things off so that’s fine, but the Librarians deal….I’m still not sure what that is supposed to be. Reading is now a heel action? Seriously? Not a good match either, but it got the fans going a bit more.

Pre-Show: Britt Baker/Riho vs. Bea Priestly/Shoko Nakajima

Riho and Priestly (Will Ospreay’s girlfriend) are the Tokyo Joshi Pro and Stardom champions respectively. Baker takes Shoko to the mat to start but gets flipped back into a quickly broken leg hold. Shoko’s crawl between the legs is cut off by the tail so it’s a not great looking running dropkick to take Baker down. Priestly comes in to quite the reaction but Baker rolls her up for a fast one.

We get some miscommunication with Britt trying to tag Shoko before going over to tag Riho instead. Priestly slams the much smaller Riho down and there’s a Shayna Baszler style arm stomp. The Fujiwara armbar sends sends Riho’s feet onto the ropes as the announcers talk about common languages and laugh about it far too much. The arm work continues for a bit until Riho finally slips over and brings in Baker.

That’s fine with Shoko, who hits a DDT and missile dropkick, sending her right back into the corner. Riho is already back in and picks up the pace, setting up a weird looking 619 from Shoko (the side of one foot hit Riho in the face). Riho tries her own 619 but Priestly kicks her in the face. Baker comes in to take Priestly down and gets faceplanted for her efforts. Shoko and Riho slug it out until Priestly and Baker break it up. They drag their partners to the corner for a pair of tags and the fans gasp at Priestly vs. Baker, which isn’t quite as epic as they seem to think it is.

Baker sends her into the corner but Priestly runs the corner for a springboard….knee to the face? I think it was supposed to be a clothesline but the placement wasn’t quite right. A butterfly suplex gives Baker two as Shoko gets back in to throw her outside. The double suicide dive connects and Shoko’s top rope backsplash gives Priestly two. Riho’s running knee to the back of Baker’s head gets two but Riho hits a running knee to Shoko’s face. The northern lights suplex gives Riho two but Shoko snaps off a hurricanrana for the pin at 15:37.

Rating: B-. This would have been better off as a four way instead of a tag match as it was much more like singles matches which were going on at the same time (as commentary said). I’m still not feeling the women’s division just yet as it’s been a bunch of random matches and pairings so far. The wrestling has been good, but these matches have been mostly interchangeable.

Post match Baker and Priestly get into it again with their partners breaking it up.

The opening video looks at most of the card and does a great job making the matches feel important. There’s no tie into the name or purpose of the show, but that’s a bit of a serious place to go so early on.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Sammy Guevara/Shawn Spears vs. Jimmy Havoc/Darby Allin/Joey Janela

Allin has bad ribs from the Cody match. Friedman was mad at Spears for the post match chair shot on Cody at Fyter Fest, which the announcers do bring up during the entrances. Friedman starts with Janela and says Spears is about to see greatness. That earns him a hiptoss, which pleases Spears very much. Havoc comes in and bites the finger but gets reversed into a wristlock, much to the fans’ annoyance.

Guevara comes in to ask who the man is before chopping Janela in the corner. A springboard crossbody misses with the fans VERY into Janela. It’s back to Havoc, with Allin not being happy with not getting the tag. Guevara gets in a jumping knee to the face so it’s off to Allin for the very high angle springboard wristdrag (Humberto Carrillo does that as well and it looks great from both of them). Janela comes back in and the announcers reference the fight with Enzo Amore, which they almost have to do.

Spears knocks Janela off the apron and starts stomping away before handing it back to Guevara. The chinlock doesn’t work and it’s almost time for Friedman and Spears to get into a fight. Friedman even gives him the ten pose but switches to a double middle finger. Janela uses the distraction to knock Spears down, allowing Friedman to call Spears an idiot. Everything breaks down with Havoc hitting a top rope superplex to Spears, complete with stepping on his partners’ backs.

Allin comes in with a flip over the back into a Stunner (cool) for two on Guevara, who is right back up to knock Havoc outside. Guevara backflips to the floor and superkicks Janela before going back inside for a standing Spanish Fly for two on Allin. Janela plants Guevara with a Death Valley Driver onto the apron, leaving Allin to hit a springboard spinning crossbody on Friedman. It bangs up the bad ribs though and Spears hits running Death Valley Driver to finish Allin at 13:15.

Rating: B. Yeah this was fun but not just for the action. The most interesting part here was having the partners who didn’t like each other, which made things a lot different than you might have guessed. That’s a nice twist and something you don’t see very often without it being hammered into your head. The match was almost all action but still managed to advance some stories. Well done indeed.

Private Party is sitting at ringside when Alex Jebailey pops in. Security gets rid of him though, because it’s a private party. Eh I chuckled. Just don’t have him wrestle again.

Video on Allie vs. Brandi Rhodes, both of whom seem to have confidence issues but keep going because they will never quit.

Brandi Rhodes vs. Allie

Hold on though as here’s Awesome Kong for a distraction but Allie ducks the cheap shot and takes over to start. Brandi gets sent outside but Allie stops to stare at Kong, allowing Brandi to take over with a shot from behind. A low superkick gets two on Allie and Kong grabs the leg to cut off any comeback attempt. Brandi hits a German suplex for two but Allie is right back with a neckbreaker for the double knockdown. A sliding forearm and a bulldog give Allie two and she puts Brandi on top.

That’s countered into the Wade Barrett swinging superplex into the suplex for two more and they’re both down. Allie is up first with a running Death Valley Driver (same spot from the previous match) with Kong putting Brandi’s foot on the ropes for the save. The distraction doesn’t quite work as Allie grabs a dragon sleeper, so Kong offers another distraction, meaning the referee doesn’t see the tap. Allie lets go and Brandi hits the Bionic Spear (with the announcers mentioning that it’s because she has a plate in her shoulder, thank goodness) for the pin at 10:16.

Rating: C-. Not terrible at all here with Brandi’s pre-match vignette making the Kong factor that much better. Brandi isn’t the most polished wrestler in the world but she isn’t embarrassing herself whatsoever, which is all you can ask for from someone in her position. This was the storyline part of the division and I’m glad they’re keeping that away from the wrestling part on the preshow.

Post match Kong goes after Allie and loads up the Implant Buster, drawing out Aja Kong for the save. Awesome Kong backs away from the staredown and Aja helps Allie up.

The announcers have a rather nice talk about the brothers vs. brothers match.

Dark Order vs. Angelico/Jack Evans vs. Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus

The winners get a shot at a bye at All Out. The Dark Order have the Creepers (JR: “Jeepers!”) but they go to the back before the bell. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus have Marko Stunt with them and you can hear Jim Cornette losing it from here. Grayson drives Evans into the corner to start and snaps off a northern lights suplex to keep Evans in trouble. Angelico comes in and hammers at the jaw but gets dropkicked in the face for his efforts.

It’s Uno coming in to bite Angelico’s ear so Jungle Boy comes in for an Arabian armdrag. A neckbreaker gets Uno out of trouble but he stops to pose, allowing the tag to Luchasaurus for the monster staredown. Uno tags Angelico, who tags Evans from the apron. Evans fires himself up and is chopped right back down, followed by the big toss from Luchasaurus. A nasty wheelbarrow suplex sends Evans flying and Jungle Boy knees him into the Order’s corner.

Grayson comes in and shoves Jungle Boy into the ropes with Uno low bridging him to the floor. Back in and the Order stomp on Jungle Boy in the corner with JR wanting the referee to get involved. Jungle Boy fights back but Grayson is right there to pull Angelico and Evans off the apron. Uno’s top rope backsplash gets two but Jungle Boy is right there with a slingshot spear. The hot tag brings in Luchasaurus to kick away at the Order and chokeslam Evans over the top onto Angelico. Jungle Boy adds a shooting star onto the pile and the Tombstone Age (reverse powerbomb) gets two on Grayson.

Angelico and Evans get back in with a springboard double stomp/belly to back suplex combination for two on Jungle Boy. The assisted 450 gets the same and there’s a Razor’s Edge buckle bomb to make it even worse. Marko breaks up the 630 though and hits a super hurricanrana, with the referee ejecting Marko as a result.

Instead of leaving, Luchasaurus launches Marko onto Angelico in a huge crash. Grayson is flipped into a powerbomb from Jungle Boy (cool finisher) for two with Uno making the save. Jungle Boy gets suplexed into Luchasaurus in the corner and Fatality (Gory Bomb/Diamond Dust combination) gives Uno the pin at 15:13.

Rating: C+. This went a little longer than it needed to and Angelico and Evans could have been cut without losing much. Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy is an oddball team but the big man/small man combination has worked for years and it can work well for them too. If nothing else, the more Luchasaurus I see the happier I am, though the same isn’t the case with the Dark Order, who didn’t really stand out aside from an awesome finisher.

Video on Adam Page, who seems to be the chosen one.

Adam Page vs. Kip Sabian

Feeling out process to start with Page grabbing a headlock and hitting a hard shoulder to put Kip down. Some chops have Sabian in more trouble and a clothesline puts him on the floor. Page seems to have tweaked his leg or knee though, allowing Sabian to springboard enziguri him down to the floor. The dive is blocked with a forearm though and a tabletop suplex gives Page two.

Sabian knocks him outside and gets in an argument with a fan, though Page can’t make a comeback. The springboard missile dropkick gives Sabian two and it’s off to a half nelson. Page fights up and hits an overhead belly to belly with Sabian bouncing on his head. They’re both down until Sabian is back up with a middle rope DDT for two and a knee to the face. The slugout goes to Page though and a discus lariat turns Sabian inside out.

Back up and Sabian misses a stomp, allowing Page to belly to back suplex him onto the apron. Page hits a moonsault out to the floor but there goes the knee, with Page writhing in pain. The knee is fine enough for Page to hit a toss powerbomb to send Sabian over the top and onto the ramp for a heck of a crash.

Sabian slowly rolls back in to beat the count so Page takes him up top for a super swinging neckbreaker and another near fall. The Deadeye is broken up and Sabian bends the knee around the middle rope to put them both down as we have less than two minutes left. We hit the pinfall reversal sequence but Page reverses a sunset flip into the Deadeye for the pin at 19:04.

Rating: B-. Knee selling issues aside, Page looked like a star here as he came back from behind and won in the end with his finisher. Sabian looked great as well and that’s a very nice bonus in a match designed to make Page look like a star. It was good stuff and Page gets another win, so mission accomplished.

Post match a Creeper pops up and jumps Page with Excalibur being smart enough to figure this out in a hurry. The mask comes off to reveal…Mr. Claxton, the flower shop owner! Or maybe it’s Chris Jericho, who hits the Judas Effect to bust Page open.

So Cal Uncensored vs. Lucha Bros

It’s Scorpio Sky/Kazarian for SCU here and we get their usual shtick before the match. Kazarian and Fenix start things off with the partners coming in early on for the big standoff. That means a double tag to Pentagon vs. Sky as the fans are split down the middle again. They stare each other down and pose a lot until Pentagon takes off the glove and throws it to the referee….who drops it. No worries though as she throws it back and tries again, this time for a catch.

The chop means it’s time to head to the floor as everything breaks down again, with Christopher Daniels taking one of the loudest chops I can remember in recent memory. Sky gets one of his own and the cringing is real with this one. Fenix misses a dive onto Daniels and hits his brother by mistake, leaving Daniels to hit an Arabian moonsault onto the floor. Daniels gets ejected (thank you) and it’s Fenix being taken back inside for an assisted wheelbarrow bomb from SCU.

Kazarian’s legdrop gets two and it’s back to Sky as Fenix is in trouble off a front facelock. Fenix manages to fight up and hit a pair of kicks Kazarian’s face, allowing the hot tag off to Pentagon. Sling Blades abound as everything breaks down, including more kicks to SCU’s heads. Kazarian is sat in the corner as Sky is tied in the Tree of Woe, allowing Fenix to flip Pentagon into the two of them at once.

Fenix and Kazarian head outside as Pentagon gets two on Sky. Everyone gets back inside with a top rope double stomp/Unprettier combination getting two on Pentagon. Not to be outdone, an assisted super DDT gets two on Fenix. Back up and Fenix rope walks into a double stomp to Sky’s back, followed by the Canadian Destroyer to give Pentagon two more. The double stomp/Fear Factor finishes Sky at 15:00.

Rating: B. This is the wild kind of tag match that the company seems to focus on. There’s nothing wrong with that either as the tag division has been one of the highlights of the first three shows. The Lucha Bros are one of the best teams around too so giving them their first win makes a lot of sense. I’m sure So Cal Uncensored is going to be fine in short order.

Post match Daniels comes back out but the Bros pull out a ladder to clean house. Pentagon grabs the mic and says they’re the best team in the world. As for the ladder, how about a rematch with the Young Bucks in a ladder match at All Out?

Kenny Omega vs. Cima

Feeling out process to start with an early armbar attempt sending Omega to the ropes. Omega’s sunset flip is broken up and Cima nails a double stomp to keep Omega in trouble early on. Something like a reverse Rings of Saturn has Omega reaching for the ropes again and things reset again. Omega hits a hard chop and a belly to back suplex for two and a hurricanrana puts Cima on the floor.

Cima dives back in and kicks Omega in the face to break up a dive attempt and a Perfect Driver gets two. A knee to the face rocks Cima though and Omega takes him up top. The super Snap Dragon is broken up as Cima climbs into an electric chair but spins down into a super sunset bomb to send Omega crashing. Omega is back up and goes for the leg with a kick to the thigh before stomping on it in the corner. A Regal Roll looks to set up a middle rope moonsault but Cima gets the knees up.

The regular Snap Dragon connects though but the One Winged Angle is broken up. That means a Backstabber to Omega and they’re both down again. It’s Cima up first with a dropkick to put Omega on the floor, where he pulls Cima down by the leg again. Omega goes over to the timekeeper’s table but Cima rams him into it, setting up a Meteora off the balcony to crush Omega.

They get back in as the fans keep booing and cheering as the big screen goes in and out. Back in and a pair of springboard Meteoras give Cima two but his super Codebreaker is countered into a buckle bomb. The V Trigger connects for two and it’s a second V Trigger to set up another failed One Winged Angel attempt. Cima rolls out of a powerbomb into a DDT, followed by another Meteora (and I thought the V Trigger was bad).

They head to the apron with Cima planting him down hard, drawing a YOU KILLED KENNY chant. Yet another Meteora gets yet another two and they strike it out again. Omega hits another V Trigger into the Tiger Driver 98 for two of his own. There’s another V Trigger (JR: “I could have sworn that was a knee to the head.”) and the One Winged Angel finishes Cima at 22:35.

Rating: B. They hit a lot of V Triggers (“But that makes sense for Omega!”) and a lot of Meteoras (“But that makes sense for Cima!”) and it was a hard hitting match, though it felt longer than it needed to be, which is a trend tonight. Omega continues to be the really awesome junk food of wrestling: the matches might not be the best constructed or highest quality, but dang they’re fun to watch.

Here’s Chris Jericho for his open mic promo. Jericho talks about having Page’s blood on his hands and asks if we can see it. He’s still looking for a thank you, but not from the fans here in Jerksonville. Jericho knows that the thank yous from the people here don’t matter so he’s going to get it every night by beating up the fans’ heroes one at a time. All Elite Wrestling is taking place because of him, including the TV show on TNT in October. Jericho watched the battle royal at Double Or Nothing very carefully and counted down the entrants until only Hangman Page was left.

Ever since then, Jericho has been sitting up worrying about facing the Hangman, but he’ll beat him for sure. That’s just another victory for the greatest of all time, but if he loses….it’s the beginning of the end of AEW and of Jericho’s career. Therefore, he has to beat the Hangman. Cue Page for the brawl with referees breaking it up. Page’s eye looks very nasty from earlier.

We recap the Young Bucks vs. Cody/Dustin Rhodes with Tony Schiavone and Jake Roberts of all people talking about how important it is and how the fans want to see it. That’s quite the interesting pair.

Cody/Dustin Rhodes vs. Young Bucks

Cody and Nick start things off with Nick kicking his hand away. Everything teases breaking down before Cody goes with a headlock to bring Nick over to Dustin. Now everything breaks down with Matt being knocked outside off a double clothesline. Back in and the Bucks start their double teaming, including a headscissors to Cody to set up an enziguri. Stereo dives to the floor drop Cody and Dustin and we get a mock hug.

We settle down to Matt working on Dustin’s arm and Nick adding the slingshot X Factor. A boot scrape lets Matt come back in for some shoulders in the corner, followed by a double dropkick. Nick pulls Cody off of the apron and teases taking the tag from Goldust, who does in fact tag him with a shot to the jaw. The distraction lets Goldust go up top for a spinning crossbody to both Bucks and NOW we get the hot tag to Cody.

That means a top rope moonsault of his own to Nick and a dive onto the ramp to take Matt down as well. It’s time for the weightlifting belt to Matt’s back, followed by a missed charge to send Matt shoulder first into the post. Dustin starts in on the arm with an armbar and a whip into the corner as this is dragging a good bit. Another whip sends Matt into the post again and it’s time to go to the floor for a whip into the barricade.

Back in and the Fujiwara armbar goes on but Matt finally fights up and brings in Nick to clean house. The clothesline/bulldog combination takes Cody and Dustin down, followed by a Backstabber out of the corner to Cody. The Bucks go with double sunset flips into a double Sharpshooter, which is broken up for a double Figure Four. That’s broken up with some rope grabs and quadruple lariats give us a four way knockdown. Fans: “THIS IS WRESTLING!” No. This is long and needs to end so JR and Dustin can go to bed.

Dustin gets up for some powerslams and an assisted Cross Rhodes plants Nick. Matt dives in for the save and it’s time for a double slugout. Double powerslams take the Bucks down again and the ref gets bumped at the same time. Stereo Shattered Dreams take the Bucks down for two each with the Bucks rolling outside.

Cody’s springboard dive is superkicked out of the air, leaving Dustin to hit some Flip Flop and Fly. Another superkick drops Dustin but he’s right back up with a Code Red for two. Cody comes back in and it’s a double superkick to the back of the head for two more. More superkicks connect so Nick can hit Cross Rhodes for two on Cody. The Meltzer Driver hits Cody for the pin at 31:34.

Rating: C-. This was a match that is going to be praised for how long it went but that’s all it was. It wasn’t bad, but there were far too many moments where I was looking at the clock and sighing because this just wouldn’t end. You could have easily cut ten or so minutes out of it and still had the same match, including the long arm work in the middle. Dustin and Cody just losing is a bit anticlimactic, but you knew the Bucks were the heavy favorites coming into this one.

Post match everyone hugs and Matt’s arm is still banged up. Matt grabs the mic and praises Cody and Dustin for being one of the best teams they’ve ever been in the ring with…and here’s the locker room with a check to a group supporting gun violence victims in Jacksonville. A bunch of people have chipped in money for a grand total of $150,000. That’s a very cool deal and something they can be proud of doing.

Cody doesn’t know if they’re still on the air but you can’t counter program what AEW is doing. You can counter program some of them but you can’t counter program the love in this company. Kenny talks about how cool it is to make this kind of a donation but there is a bit of a conundrum. His signature line doesn’t seem appropriate right now, partially because it ends with him poking a finger gun in the air. Instead it’s adieu, but since we’re off the air, we’ll change it from BANG to BOING. JR can be heard asking if they’re clear as Kenny thanks the fans for coming out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was good and the energy was high but this went WAY too long and it took away a lot of the positives about the show. That main event and the post match stuff were major hits to the evening and it didn’t do them any favors. It’s still an entertaining show, but for the first time I was thinking about how long it was and that’s not a good sign. These timing issues aren’t going to work on TNT and they need to fix them before we get there. Not a bad show by any means, but they have a lot of tightening up to do.

Results

Shawn Spears/Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Sammy Guevara b. Darby Allin/Jimmy Havoc/Joey Janela – Running Death Valley Driver to Allin

Brandi Rhodes b. Allie – Bionic Spear

Dark Order b. Luchasaurus/Jungle Boy and Angelico/Jack Evans – Fatality to Jungle Boy

Adam Page b. Kip Sabian – Deadeye

Lucha Bros b. So Cal Uncensored – Spike Fear Factor to Sky

Kenny Omega b. Cima – One Winged Angel

Young Bucks b. Cody/Dustin Rhodes – Meltzer Driver to Cody

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Fyter Fest
Date: June 29, 2019
Location: Ocean Center, Daytona Beach, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Alex Marvez

We’re back for round two and things are already being shaken up a bit. This isn’t going to be anything like Double Or Nothing as this is taking place at a gaming festival. That’s going to mean a change in the way the audience reacts but at the moment, getting AEW wrestlers in the ring and in front of people is what matters most. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Best Friends vs. So Cal Uncensored vs. Private Party

The winners get into a match for a bye in the Tag Team Title tournament and it’s Kazarian/Sky for SCU. Trent shoulders Isaiah down to start and Chuck does the same. It’s off to Sky vs. Quen with the former hitting a rather spinning backbreaker. Trent comes in again and gets double teamed by SCU but Quen springboards in with a crossbody to Trent and Sky. That means some house cleaning and dancing, followed by a heck of a tornado DDT onto Chuck.

A big flip dive has the ring cleared as Private Party gets quite the showcase moment. SCU pulls Isaiah to the floor to take over and it’s the Best Friends taking over, including the hug (with the fans going nuts again). Trent’s northern lights suplex gets two on Cassidy and Chuck adds Soul Food. A spinning kick to the face drops Trent but since Quen is down, Cassidy has to dive over and bring in Kazarian instead.

Everything breaks down and Trent gets run over, setting up a gorgeous shooting star press to give Quen two. Chuck is back up with the short piledriver to Quen, setting up Trent’s sliding knee for two more. Quen gets put on top for a belly to back superplex but manages to land on his feet, setting up a super hurricanrana to send Trent into a cutter from Cassidy. Quen hits a big dive over the top onto Sky, leaving Trent to hit a knee to Cassidy’s face. Strong Zero gives the Friends the pin at 15:57.

Rating: B-. The sloppiness was high with this one but that has to be expected in a match built around spot after spot. They needed to trim things down a little bit here and the winners get a chance to get a bye in a tournament? Isn’t that overthinking things a bit? Finally, still no explanation on who these people are, who I’m supposed to cheer for or anything about them really. I know who they are, but what about the people trying this out for the first time? This shouldn’t be this hard. The action was very entertaining, but slow down and get some of the details right first.

Post match the Dark Order (the former Super Smash Bros) appear on screen to say the Best Friends will be their first. A snap of their fingers makes the lights go out. Back up and the minions are around three sides of the ring. Excalibur: “They are completely surrounded!” After establishing that we are apparently in a sitcom, the lights go out again and the minions disappear.

Leva Bates vs. Allie

Bates (formerly known as Blue Pants) is one of the Librarians and gets into a long shush-off with Peter Avalon (the other Librarian). She also rips on the fans for not reading enough but the fans shout that they can’t read. Is there some joke here from the webseries that is sailing over my head here?

Allie takes over to start and knocks Leva outside but Avalon trips Allie up. Back in and a fisherman’s buster gives Bates two, followed by a northern lights one for the same. The fans actually start a HOOKED ON PHONICS chant as Bates grabs the Rings of Saturn, complete with a shush as Allie is in trouble. That’s broken up but Allie gets dropkicked into the corner, setting up some slingshot knees to the chest.

Now it’s a READING RAINBOW chant as Allie makes her comeback with a neckbreaker and a sliding forearm in the corner. Bates gets in a Backstabber out of the corner and a Pedigree (with the camera missing the impact) gets two. Avalon tries to throw Bates a book but Allie intercepts it and hits the BSE for the pin at 8:50.

Rating: D+. This was every indy match you could imagine and the librarian deal got annoying in a hurry. Maybe I just don’t get the joke but it isn’t funny and I need a little better reason to boo someone because they don’t read. It was just a match and not exactly a great way to showcase the women’s division.

Alex Jebailey vs. Michael Nakazawa

Jebailey is the CEO of the gaming convention and not a wrestler. Therefore, this is a hardcore match. Before we get going, Nakazawa talks about an unspecified issue the two of them had last year and tricks Jebailey into telling him about a previous leg injury. Jebailey manages a hiptoss and grabs a waistlock so Nakazawa busts out the baby oil to escape. That makes Jebailey and the referee slip before they head outside, with Jebailey whipping Nakazawa into the barricade.

Back in and a gaming console to the back gives Jebailey two and it’s time to go up to the set. Nakazawa gets choked in a kiddie pool (part of the jokes about Fyre Fest and the “luxurious” accommodations being bad) but comes back with a pool float to the head. They go back to ringside where Nakazawa chokes with a GameCube controller and spears him off the apron through a table. Nakazawa lets him up at two and pulls out a thong, but Jebailey ties his arm into it.

Jebailey comes back with a SCARY German suplex that drops Nakazawa on top of his head. And now, a bag of…..some kind of button toys that I’m not familiar with is poured out on the mat. Nakazawa’s powerbomb is countered into a backdrop onto them but Nakazawa shoves the thong into the referee’s face. There’s no count for Jebailey’s Majistral cradle so it’s another thong shot to the face to give Nakazawa the rollup pin at 8:50.

Rating: F. Look back at what happened here, pick two things, and count those as the reasons for the rating.

Jon Moxley tells us to stay tuned because he’s going to show us who he is.

The opening video looks at how Double or Nothing started an empire and tonight it’s time to raise the game. Tonight it’s time to show us why AEW is here to stay.

The announcers run down part of the card.

Christopher Daniels vs. Cima

The announcers give us a bio on Daniels, because of all the people on this show, they think Daniels needs an explanation. Feeling out process to start until Daniels is sent outside for a baseball slide. Back in and a reverse Rings of Saturn has Daniels in trouble until a foot reaches the rope (with JR explaining why that is a break). A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker is broken up and Cima is sent outside with his back going into the barricade.

Back in and a running STO gets two and the Arabian moonsault sets up a Crossface. Daniels gets driven into the corner though and Cima hits a rolling palm strike. The Iconoclasm gets two but Daniels is right back with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Angel’s Wings gets two but Cima kicks him in the head. A Liger Bomb sets up something like a fisherman’s driver for two more and Cima can’t believe the kickout. White Noise sets up a top rope Meteora to finish Daniels at 9:43.

Rating: C+. This was the highest quality match on the show so far and that isn’t surprising whatsoever. You had two veterans who know what they’re doing and were able to have a solid match with a story included. Cima winning makes sense as we heard about his upcoming match against Kenny Omega, making this a perfectly fine opener.

Yuka Sakazaki vs. Riho vs. Nyla Rose

Rose offers to shake hands to start but then jumps both of them, turning it into a handicap match early on. A double cover is escaped by a double bridge but Rose slams them both to set up a double camel clutch. That’s broken up and Sakazaki knocks them to the floor for a big dive (nearly losing her balance on the way up).

Back in and Sakazaki and Riho strike it out with Riho getting the better of things. Rose is back up so Riho knocks her into the ropes for a 619. Riho’s top rope double stomp keeps Rose down and a jumping version has Sakazaki down. Rose breaks up the cover and chokeslams Sakazaki for two. A suplex sends Sakazaki to the floor and Riho gets draped over the top.

Rose jumps to the top for a jumping knee to the head but misses a Swanton. Back up and Rose catches Riho’s high crossbody….and then catches Sakazaki at the same time for a VERY cool visual. Riho tries a top rope splash but hits knees, allowing Rose to fold her up with a German suplex. With Sakazaki down, Rose hits a Death Valley Driver for a delayed two on Riho. Rose loads up a powerbomb but gets rolled up to give Riho the surprise pin at 13:05.

Rating: B. They do realize that they have a pretty unique monster in Rose right? The match was a good bit better than I was expecting and once they got into their rhythm, it was a good showcase for all three. That’s a good thing too because they still did very little to tell us about the women or who they were. I get that they’re talented, but a few details wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Jungle Boy vs. Adam Page vs. Jimmy Havoc

Kip Sabian is on commentary and gets the winner of this, presumably at Fight For The Fallen. Before the match, Friedman grabs the mic to make fun of the crowd for being nerds who got shoved into lockers a lot. Friedman: “That mother of yours, whose basement you live in? She swallows.” Friedman used to love video games….and then he lost his virginity. Jungle Boy is carried to the ring on Luchasaurus’ shoulders, with the announcers dubbing them A Boy and His Dinosaur and the Jurassic Friends. Friedman and Page feel like they’re on a different planet here and that’s both a good and bad sign.

Havoc and Friedman head outside, leaving Page to kick Jungle Boy in the face. Jungle Boy snaps off a running hurricanrana but gets caught in Havoc’s Michinoku Driver. Friedman comes in to steal a rollup two but bails when Page is back up. A slingshot dive takes Friedman down, followed by Havoc’s running flip dive from the apron. Friedman teases a dive of his own but stops to make a rather rude gesture to the fans.

With everyone on the floor, Jungle Boy hits a very quick moonsault to take all three out. Back in and Jungle Boy powerbombs Friedman for two as everyone gets in again. The Tower of Doom sends Jungle Boy flying into Friedman Havoc’s Acid Rainmaker is broken up so Page hits a pop up powerbomb on Jungle Boy. Friedman and Page slug it out with Friedman taking out Page’s bad knee. A Sharpshooter (with a Bret Hart pose) is broken up and Page puts on his own version.

That’s broken up as well and Friedman hits a hanging piledriver for two. Jungle Boy makes the save but Havoc throws him onto Luchasaurus. Another hanging piledriver is broken up and Havoc gets two off a double stomp. The Acid Rainmaker is blocked with a poke to the eye and Page adds the Buckshot lariat to drop Havoc. Deadeye finishes Havoc at 9:52.

Rating: C. Page feels like the chosen one and while I’d bet on Jericho winning the title at All Out, they have something special with him going forward. Friedman’s promo before the match made him feel like the guy you want to see get destroyed and that’s a very valuable name to have. Jungle Boy and Havoc feel like pure gimmicks and while that’s not terrible, they don’t feel anywhere near as important.

We look at Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes from Double Or Nothing and the great post match promo that set up their tag match against the Young Bucks. Darby Allin respects Cody but promises to give him his first loss.

Cody vs. Darby Allin

Allin is a tortured soul who lost faith in humanity after his uncle was killed in a car wreck when he was five with Allin in the car. He even brings in a body bag with Cody 1-1 painted on it. Allin works on a hammerlock to start and backflips up off the escape. Cody grabs a headlock so Allin walks the ropes for a high angle armdrag to send Cody outside. Back in and Cody sends Allin hard into the corner for a nasty crash to the floor, leaving Cody to do the slow motion pushups.

Back in and Cody starts stomping away before sending Allin outside again. Allin grabs the arm to send it into the post but Cody is right back in control as Allin comes in again. Cody goes with a double underhook to keep Allin down before a release suplex drops Allin again. Another suplex is loaded up but Allin grabs the bad arm as he’s upside down for the escape.

A Fujiwara armbar stays on Cody’s arm so Cody gets outside, meaning it’s a fast suicide dive from Allin. Cody slams him onto the steps and adds his own suicide dive for good measure. Back in and Allin gets two off a Code Red before heading up, only to get pulled down with a reverse superplex. They head to the apron with Allin biting the hand to take Cody down.

Allin heads up top and tries the Coffin Drop (jumping straight backwards), landing square on the apron as Cody moves away. Back in and Cody puts him in the body bag and hits the Disaster Kick for two. The bag comes off and we have a minute left. Cody whips him with the weightlifting belt but Cross Rhodes is broken up. The second attempt connects for two but time runs out at 20:00.

Rating: B. I’m not sure on having Allin survive that long as taking a close loss here wouldn’t have hurt him, but this was the breakout performance that they were shooting for. Allin looked smart and completely capable of holding his own against a top name like Cody. Cut out the body bag part and this is even better. Well done match with the arm playing a major role for a good story. I’m impressed.

Post match Cody and Brandi want five more minutes but here’s Shawn Spears with a gruesome, no hands chair shot to Cody, who is busted open badly. Wrestlers, including Friedman, come out to chase Spears off. Cody very slowly walks to the back with some help. It’s a good moment, but I do not want to ever see a chair shot like that again. Period.

Lucha Bros/Laredo Kid vs. Young Bucks/Kenny Omega

The Bucks are in Street Fighter (I think?) gear and Omega lays out a man who runs up onto the stage for their entrance. I’m not a fighting game guy so I’m missing this one. Ring announcer Justin Roberts gets in a ROUND ONE FIGHT and it’s Nick working on a wristlock to Kid to start. The flips begin and both miss dropkicks to give us a standoff. Kid hits a springboard high crossbody for no cover as Nick gets up and spits in his face.

All six get in for a big standoff and it’s a trio of superkicks to send Kenny and the Bucks to the floor. An Asai moonsault and stereo running flip dives take them out again and the non-luchadors are in trouble. Back in and stereo superkicks to Nick set up a reverse hurricanrana from Kid. We settle down to Matt rolling northern lights suplexes on all three of them, including both Pentagon and Fenix at the same time.

Omega comes in to a big reaction and hits a backbreaker on Kid. The Terminator dive is loaded up but Pentagon cuts it off with CERO MIEDO. They slug it out with Omega hitting (or coming close to it) a sliding dropkick into the leg, followed by the running Fameasser. Matt comes back in for a German suplex on Kid and the series of top rope dives crush him for two. A spear accidentally hits Nick though and it’s off to Pentagon to pick up the pace.

That means a Backstabber to Omega to send him outside, followed by a running hurricanrana. Another spear allows the tag to Omega and it’s the snapdragon on Pentagon. Matt gets sent outside so Pentagon backdrops Fenix over the top and onto him for a huge crash. A super Spanish Fly plants Omega but Nick makes the save, only to take a running Canadian Destroyer from Pentagon. The Superkick Party is on but the luchadors hit superkicks of their own.

Not to be outdone, Omega and the Bucks hit Hadoukens, followed by a triple Liger Bomb for two each. The Bucks start their usual series but Pentagon hits a Sling Blade to take Nick down on the floor. Omega nails Kid with the V Trigger but Fenix cuts him off with a cutter. Matt gives Fenix a cutter of his own and that means a Meltzer Driver on the floor. Since that would kill him though, Fenix dives in to make a save, leaving Omega to hit the Tiger Driver 98 for two on Kid. Another running knee sets up the One Winged Angel to finish Kid at 20:30.

Rating: B. Yeah it was good and athletic, albeit with most of the usual issues from the Bucks and Omega (though only two V Triggers, which is acceptable for once). You knew the Bucks weren’t going to lose because they almost never do, though at least the match was rather entertaining.

Jon Moxley vs. Joey Janela

Anything goes and unsanctioned. They’re on the floor in a hurry and brawl into the crowd for a bit. Back to ringside and Janela posts him before going for the first table. Moxley comes back and grabs a chair, with Janela being slammed onto it. Since long term selling isn’t going to be a thing in this match, Janela is right back up and puts Moxley (with a bloody eyebrow) in the chair for a high crossbody. Moxley gets sent outside and finds a chair wrapped in barbed wire.

The chair is driven into Janela’s chest so the fans dub Moxley “YOU SICK F***!” Moxley takes a bow, which takes a little too long as Janela hurricanranas him onto the barbed wire. A chair shot to the back gets two on Moxley and another table is brought in. Janela doesn’t like that one though so it’s a Russian legsweep off the apron through the table at ringside. Back in and Moxley drives him through a table in the corner for no cover. Instead he loads up two more tables on the floor but Janela flips him off.

Moxley beats him up some more and it’s time for a barbed wire board. Janela is back with a running AA through the barbed wire though the table and let’s get a ladder. With Moxley on the table on the floor, Janela climbs the ladder in the ring and drops the big elbow. And now, it’s another barbed wire board (Goldenboy: “He’s got one too?”), with this one being bridged between the ring and the barricade.

That takes too long though and Moxley grabs a DDT, followed by an AA through the barbed wire board. It’s time for the thumbtacks but Moxley takes off Janela’s boots and socks. Janela saves himself so Moxley hits a release suplex onto the tacks instead. That’s not enough though and Moxley sends him feet first into the tacks to draw some screaming. Janela flips him off again so Moxley pulls out more tacks for the Paradigm Shift (Dirty Deeds) onto said tacks for the pin at 20:00.

Rating: D. Your individual tastes may vary but I’ve never been a fan of this kind of match. It’s violence for the sake of violence and that isn’t the most entertaining thing in the world. Moxley is capable of having a good match without this stuff but I guess he needed to prove something or other. It’s nowhere near as bad as some of the nonsense death match garbage, but it’s still nothing I needed to see.

Post match Omega runs out with a V Trigger to Moxley, who is laid on the pieces of table. A springboard double stomp crushes Moxley and Omega takes him up to the set. Omega uses some of the equipment for the band that never showed up, including a guitar shot to the back. Moxley isn’t going to be helped out so Omega runs back out with a trashcan to take Moxley out again. A Paradigm Shift to the trashcan leaves Moxley laying, but he smiles at Omega to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. There are a few factors here (the kind of show and the price among others) but this was another heck of a show. The action was good up and down the card and they were in and out in less than three hours. I could have gone without the chair shot to Cody (which is just dumb, dangerous and unnecessary) and some more character stuff early on, but I had a good time with this and never got bored. It’s a smart move to not have every event be the big time show as this won’t have near the expectations, making it feel that much better. Very good followup, if you ignore the awful preshow.

Results

Cima b. Christopher Daniels – Top rope Meteora

Riho b. Yuka Sakazaki and Nyla Rose – Rollup to Rose

Adam Page b. Jungle Boy, Jimmy Havoc and Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Deadeye to Havoc

Cody vs. Darby Allin went to a time limit draw

Kenny Omega/Young Bucks b. Laredo Kid/Lucha Bros – One Winged Angel to Laredo Kid

Jon Moxley b. Joey Janela – Paradigm Shift

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Double or Nothing
Date: May 25, 2019
Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Alex Marvez

It took long enough. This is the first show for All Elite Wrestling and the question is….egads there are a lot of them actually. The biggest of them all though is can they live up to the hype. All In certainly did, though that’s not exactly the same thing this time around. I don’t know if the show is going to be good (though it probably will be), but it’s going to be important. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Casino Battle Royal

Sonny Kiss, Brandon Cutler, Ace Romero, Glacier, Brian Pillman Jr., Sunny Daze, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Joey Janela, Dustin Thomas, Billy Gunn, Jimmy Havoc, Michael Nakazawa, Jungle Boy, Isiah Kassidy, Marq Quen, Luchasaurus, Shawn Spears, Orange Cassidy

Those are all the announced entrants. This is a special kind of battle royal with five people starting and five more coming in every three minutes until we get to twenty. The final entrant, number 21 (the Joker, which is better than a Wild Card), gets to enter on his own. Nakazawa, Thomas, Friedman, Daze and Cutler (the clubs) start things off with Friedman stomping on Thomas in the corner. This is a true heel move because Thomas has no legs.

Friedman keeps up the yelling by stomping on Cutler, saying he is just a Young Bucks favor. Nakazawa busts out some baby oil (a trademark) and uses it to slip out of a waistlock from Daze. Cutler gets thrown over the top but isn’t all the way out, allowing him to springboard back in to take Friedman down. There are no eliminations yet and here are the Diamonds: Pillman, Kassidy, Janela, Havoc and Spears (Tye Dillinger) with Janela and Havoc beating Pillman up on the ramp.

Spears is the only one of the group to get in as Kassidy was beaten up on the floor as well. A poke to the eye drops Friedman and Spears hits the TEN pose. The clock speeds WAY up with the Hearts coming in next: Gunn, Jungle Boy, Glacier, Quen and Romero. Pillman, Janela, Kassidy and Havoc still aren’t in the ring. Friedman takes Gunn down and does the Karate Kid pose on Glacier. Daze knocks Glacier through the ropes (not an elimination) and then knocks Nakazawa out for the first elimination.

Janela is in with a cigarette as Glacier uses the mist to freeze Daze and get rid of him. Friedman dumps Glacier as Havoc puts the cigarette on Janela’s head. Pillman gets in to take Janela down and the spades are in: Luchasaurus, Marko Stunt, Sonny Kiss, Tommy Dreamer and….I’m assuming Cassidy, who wasn’t announced here. Dreamer gets knocked off the apron so Romero (weighing about 400lbs) dives onto him and Luchasaurus. Romero and Luchasaurus slug it out as Cassidy is on the floor.

Dreamer brings in the weapons and hits a bunch of people in the head with the trashcan lid. There’s a cutter to Havoc and a double chokeslam from Luchasaurus to Quen and Kassidy (the combined team of Private Party). The Joker is here….and it’s Adam Page, who limps to the ring. The fans are very pleased as he cleans house, including a fall away slam on Jungle Boy. Janela is waiting on him for an All In rematch and the fight is on. The Dead Eye (over the shoulder kneeling piledriver, formerly known as the Rite of Passage) plants Janela but there’s no elimination.

Page tries to pick Romero up but hurts his knee again. That means it’s Jungle Boy and Stunt going after Romero to no avail. Romero Pounces Stunt out onto Private Party for a heck of an elimination. Jungle Boy dropkicks Romero in the back and gets rid of him on his own for a heck of an upset. Thomas comes back up with the 619 to Janela (WHICH THE CAMERA MISSES), followed by a springboard 450. Friedman puts Thomas on top so Thomas can DDT Spears out.

A slingshot DDT is blocked though and Friedman gets rid of Thomas. Cutler dumps Gunn but gets eliminated by Friedman as the ring is starting to empty out. Luchasaurus chokeslams Janela through a well placed table for a great bump that makes Janela’s girlfriend Penelope Ford scream. Kiss does his weird Stink Face variation to Dreamer in the corner and gets tossed for him.

Cassidy comes in (billed as the twenty second man, even though he was announced in advance) for his slow motion kicks so Dreamer punches him down. Cassidy keeps his hands in his pockets and nips up, only to get thrown out anyway. Havoc’s staple gun between the legs gets rid of Dreamer, leaving us with Friedman, Page, Jungle Boy, Havoc and Luchasaurus, assuming there are no more hanging out on the floor.

Havoc sends Jungle Boy over the ropes and bites his fingers for the elimination. Friedman gets caught in the corner and triple stomped to send him through the ropes for a breather. Havoc’s Acid Rainmaker hits Luchasaurus and there’s a Death Valley Driver to Page. Another Acid Rainmaker is blocked and Luchasaurus kicks Havoc out. The fans are split as Luchasaurus shrugs off Page’s strikes to the face and hits the reverse powerbomb. Page low bridges him anyway for the elimination and the bell rings but Friedman comes back in….and takes the Buckshot Lariat to give Page the win at 23:55.

Rating: C+. Page was a bit of a letdown as the Joker but I can understand the idea of bringing in someone bigger for later on in the actual show. What we got here was good and a nice representation of how unique the roster can be. I had fun watching it and the match certainly didn’t feel like twenty four minutes, though the Joker winning was just kind of there after a parade of quick eliminations near the end.

Pre-Show: Kip Sabian vs. Sammy Guevara

Sabian is British and Guevara wears what looks like a panda skin to the ring. Sammy’s headlock doesn’t get very far as Kip takes him down into a headscissors for a nipup escape. Back up and Sammy starts flipping around to set up the dropkick, followed by another nipup. That’s enough for Guevara to take a bow but Sabian sends him to the floor for a kick to the face and a springboard flip dive.

Back in and Sammy hits a kick to the spine, followed by an Andrade double moonsault into a standing shooting star press for two. Sabian nails a springboard dropkick to the back, followed by a penalty kick to the chest for the same. Sammy suplexes him over the top and goes down with him, meaning it’s another suplex on the floor for a cool crash. Sammy drapes him over the barricade for a shooting star to the back and Sabian is in trouble. The 630 hits knees though and the Deathly Hallows (torture rack into a reverse Samoa driver) finishes Sammy at 9:41.

Rating: C. Sammy is a great heel but he didn’t get to showcase a lot of his usual stuff here, which is what makes him that much better. What we got was fine, though this was much better served in the pre-show. It’s the kind of a match that you can see on a bunch of indy shows and it was really nothing that I’ll remember in a few minutes. Still though, it’s probably a good idea to have a regular match instead of just the battle royal to get things going.

Some people from a charity called Kulture City sing the National Anthem.

The opening video looks at the rise of AEW, including the press conferences and media events, which are really all they have to go on at the moment. Well aside from Being The Elite.

So Cal Uncensored vs. Strong Hearts

The Strong Hearts (El Lindaman/T-Hawk/Cima) are from Oriental Wrestling Entertainment, a group out of China. Before the match, SCU does their usual spiel about this being the worst town they’ve ever been in, but it’s their favorite worst town. Of note: wrestlers now have ten seconds to get out of the ring as opposed to five in most promotions. Daniels and Cima start things off with a pair of missed dropkicks as the feeling out process begins. T-Hawk comes in to face Kazarian for a chop off.

Kazarian hits a dropkick of his own to possibly draw a little blood. The rather small Lindaman comes in to throw Sky around but a takedown lets SCU start with the revolving elbows. Excalibur talks about cutting off the ring at the hypotenuse, marking the debut of that word in wrestling. Daniels gets caught in the corner though and Cima drapes him over the ropes for a top rope double knee to the back.

T-Hawk chops Sky off the top as everything breaks down. SCU takes over again and it’s Lindaman getting caught in the wrong corner. Sky comes in for a running double stomp to the back but Lindaman manages a bridging German suplex for two. It’s back to Kazarian for two off a northern lights suplex on T-Hawk, leaving Daniels to suicide dive onto Cima. Back in and Cima plants Daniels but walks into a slingshot cutter from Sky.

Lindaman dropkicks Sky down but walks into Kazarian’s slingshot DDT. Daniels and Cima clothesline each other for a double knockdown. Back up and they slug it out with Daniels hitting Angel’s Wings but Lindaman comes in off a blind tag for a deadlift German suplex. Cima’s Meteora gives Lindaman two more and Kazarian hurricanrana T-Hawk to the floor, setting up Sky’s running flip dive. That leaves Lindaman inside to the Best Meltzer Ever for the pin at 13:08.

Rating: B. Heck of an entertaining match here with everyone moving and looking good. SCU is a heck of a team and they’re the kind of people you can put into a match anytime you need a good performance. Strong Hearts looked great as well and that’s a very bright sign for the future. You need some people you can just throw in there for some interchangeable matches and that might be what they’ve found here.

Allie joins commentary for the dreaded four person booth.

Nyla Rose vs. Kylie Rae vs. Britt Baker

Actually hang on as here’s Brandi Rhodes to make it a four way.

Nyla Rose vs. Kylie Rae vs. Britt Baker vs. Awesome Kong

Well that’s a wild card. Kong and Rose go straight for the staredown but all three go after Kong instead. That’s shrugged off and Kong hits the swinging backfist to send her to the floor. Kong misses the running splash on Baker and Rae though and gets low bridged out to the floor. The very smiley Rae runs Baker over but misses a low superkick, allowing Baker to grab a suplex for two, setting up a smile of her own.

Kong is back up though and Baker dives on her for no logical reason. That means a suicide dive from Rae to take both of them down as Rose is back up. Rose can’t chokeslam Rae, who tries some forearms to the back to no avail. Instead Rose plants her with a spinebuster for two with Britt coming back in for a Sling Blade. A Samoan drop takes Baker down but Rae is right back with a Code Red for two of her own on Rose.

Back up and Rose starts cleaning house before heading up top, which of course means the Tower of Doom from Kong. Kong takes Baker outside for the spinning backfist but Baker fights out of a powerbomb on the apron. Rose spears Kong into the steps, leaving Kylie to hit a low superkick on Baker.

That’s fine with Britt, who comes back with a swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker for a two that is so close that JR isn’t convinced. Rae is right back with a dead lift German suplex for two more and it’s time for Rae to get serious for the first time. Baker hits her in the face though and the Last Shot (Adam Cole’s old finisher) finishes Rae at 11:14.

Rating: C+. This felt like two matches going on at once with Kong and Rose having one match while Baker and Rae had the other. It was entertaining though and that’s the best thing that could happen. Baker and Rae aren’t very well known and having Baker win the match over Kong, who is a known name, is a good sign. Nice match too, though a singles match would have fit better.

Best Friends vs. Jack Evans/Angelico

Evans bounces off Trent to start and a bigger shoulder takes him down. It’s time to load up the big hug but Angelico and Evans break it up in a hurry. Evans starts cleaning house with JR declaring him “like a deadly…..wasp.” Everything breaks down with Evans elbowing Trent in the face.

The Friends get caught in the corner but a kick to the face sets up the Falcon Arrow with Excalibur getting in all of his usual shtick. A double stomp from the apron takes Angelico out so Evans starts his variety of odd kicks, including a backflip kick to Trent’s head. Soul Food sets up the big hug and it’s a reverse Razor’s Edge to send Evans into a cutter from Trent for two.

Angelico comes back in for an assisted Code Red on Trent, followed by an assisted cyclone knee to the head. Trent charges into a knee to the face in the corner and the Fall of the Angels (running crucifix buckle bomb) sets up Evans’ 630 for two with Chuckie breaking it up. Chuckie hits the running flip dive onto Angelico and the spike Strong Zero finishes Evans at 12:16.

Rating: B-. I’m not a big Best Friends fan but they went with the serious stuff here to make it work that much better. Evans and Angelico have a spot going forward as well as the spot fest guys and there’s nothing wrong with that. Best Friends winning makes sense though as the company is looking to be based on tag teams and having a bigger name team is the right call.

Post match they load up a hug….and the lights go out. They come back up with a bald guy and a masked guy in the ring. The lights go out again and it’s…..a bunch of masked men around the ring to pull Angelico, Evans and the Best Friends to the floor for a beating. The fans don’t recognize the bald guy and the masked guy as they destroy the four of them. The team is better known as the Super Smash Bros, though they’re not named here.

All Out is coming to Chicago in August. They do have some decent pay per view names.

Aja Kong/Yuka Sakazaki/Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida/Riho Abe/Ryo Mizunami

Kong is a legendary monster. Shida and Sakazaki start things off for a missed running knee to the face, meaning it’s off to Mizunami vs. Kong. A power battle easily goes to the much larger Kong until some kicks to the head work a bit better. Sakazaki comes back in for a top rope seated senton on Riho and a slam, followed by the tag off to Sakura. The surfboard goes on for a bit before it’s back to Kong for the loud kick to the back.

Kong’s partners hold the other two in the corner as Kong hits a piledriver for two, with a pair of diving saves breaking it up. Riho is mostly dead but a shot to the ribs allows the hot tag off to Ryo. Everything breaks down for the big brawl until it’s Kong vs. Mizunami. The power game goes nowhere so it’s off to Riho as everything breaks down.

Knee strikes abound and it’s Kong suplexing Riho and Ryo (They couldn’t call one of them Earl?). A suicide dive takes both of them down and it’s a brainbuster to Shida. Sakura adds a moonsault for two that is so close that the bell rings and music starts playing. The fans aren’t pleased with the kickout but settle for Shida hitting a running knee to Sakura’s head for the pin at 13:09.

Rating: B-. It was a pretty wild brawl with a lot of physicality, but it was one of those cases where the people involved felt like they were interchangeable outside of Kong. The match was good and that’s all you can ask for and the majority of the match is all about having these people featured. That worked quite well and as long as you get a taste, everything should be fine.

We recap Dustin Rhodes vs. Cody. They’re brothers who don’t get along and it’s a personal feud this time. Dustin is much older and Cody wants to take him out for good. Dustin isn’t ready to be put out to pasture/taken out behind the barn/whatever other Texas saying they can think of.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Cody

Cody has a flashy robe and discount HHH throne, plus Brandi in his corner for a rather nice bonus. In case you didn’t get the idea from the cross and skull throne, Brandi hands him a sledgehammer to destroy the throne. ARE THEY BEING TOO SUBTLE FOR YOU??? Dustin has half of his face painted because, again, he isn’t much without the links to Goldust. Cody’s weight belt says Attitude Killer because we need to get that in there too.

We get a DUSTY chant for a nice touch (Dustin looks near tears) and the fans declare this awesome. Did they see their WWE matches? Cody trips him down and throws in a cartwheel for the early pose. Dustin gets sent outside for a suicide dive and it’s a bit of a botch as Dustin isn’t ready for something like a 619 on the apron. A running flip dive off the apron drops Cody and the bulldog connects back inside.

Ten right hands in the corner set up some snap jabs and Cody bails again. Fans: “NEVER LOST IT!” Cody grabs some water and Brandi gets in a cheap shot so Cody can hit a fireman’s carry gutbuster for two. A powerslam gives Cody two but Dustin hits his kneeling uppercut. Dustin loads up Shattered Dreams but Cody pulls the buckle pad off and throws it at Dustin, who charges anyway. That earns him a drop toehold into the exposed buckle for a trip to the floor.

Brandi adds a spear, with JR wondering what kind of family this is. That earns Brandi an ejection and Diamond Dallas Page makes a cameo to help get rid of her. Dustin is busted WAY open so Cody rubs the blood on his own chest. Cody punches at the cut and Dustin can’t see through the blood. A curb stomp gives Cody two and he adds a top rope ax handle. The scoop powerslam gives Dustin (who is now reaching an all time amount of blood) two but Cody takes him down into the Figure Four.

That’s powered over until Cody lets it go, so it’s time for a whipping with the weightlifting belt. Dustin grabs a Code Red (third time tonight) for two and the fans are on their feet. The top rope superplex is a near crash as Dustin slips off the top but he’s fine enough to hit Cross Rhodes for two. A low blow gets Cody out of trouble and the Disaster Kick sets up the real Cross Rhodes…..for two.

There is blood EVERYWHERE, with Earl and Cody both having it all over them and the mat is covered. Dustin hits another Cross Rhodes for another two and it’s time to trade kneeling uppercuts. Cody grabs something like a Vertebreaker (more like a backbreaker though as Cody was sitting before Dustin’s head started going down) but pulls Dustin up at two. Cross Rhodes finishes Dustin at 22:28.

Rating: B+. I had no expectations for this one and while I’m still not sure exactly why they’re fighting (I get the story but I’m not buying it), this was a heck of a war and far better than most people would have guessed. They beat each other up and had the best match they could have, which was also the best match tonight.

Post match Cody gets back in the ring and says Dustin doesn’t want to do this just yet. Instead, Cody has an upcoming match against the Young Bucks with a partner of his choosing. He doesn’t need a partner or a friend though because he needs his older brother. That gets a big hug in a scene reminiscent of Dusty Rhodes saying something similar to Dustin back in 1994 (that’s not a bad thing).

We look at the battle royal again as things are set up for the title presentation.

Here’s BRET HART of all people to put over the event and talk about how important the title is. He brings out Hangman Page, who will be facing either Kenny Omega or Chris Jericho “Next month…..or in a few months. Sorry it’s been a little while.” Page comes out but here’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman to interrupt. He does his usual…..Friedman: “BRET LOOK OUT! A FAN!”

After Friedman is done laughing, he talks about how he’s going to be the future of this company because a horse like Page certainly can’t be its face. Friedman talks about taking horses out back and shooting them before telling Page to give him the title shot. He demands that the old man look at him because he’s going to be the best there is, was and ever will be. Actually scratch that because that catchphrase sucks.

Page comes after him so Friedman drops to the floor. Friedman: “Easy Seabiscuit, easy.” Cue Jungle Boy to stop Friedman on the ramp and Jimmy Havoc to cut him off again. Page, Jungle Boy and Havoc surround Friedman, who wants to talk about this. The beatdown is on as Bret unveils the title, which is rather large with AEW in the middle. Not bad at all, with a pretty simple design.

We recap the Young Bucks vs. the Lucha Bros. The Bucks showed up in AAA and won the titles from the Brothers, who had won them earlier in the night. This is the only title match all night and it’s an actual dream match….which has happened before.

AAA Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Lucha Bros

The Bucks are defending and come out in Elvis style jumpsuits. Matt and Pentagon start things off with a staredown and Matt breaks up CERO MIEDO. An early Pentagon Driver attempt is broken up so it’s already off to Fenix. Nick comes in off a blind tag but the Bucks get caught in a double wristdrag to the floor. Everyone winds up outside and it’s Fenix and Nick both trying dropkicks at the same time for a standoff.

Back in and it’s a chop off with Fenix getting the better of Nick. The rolling dropkick puts Nick down again and the double superkicks make it even worse. The assisted wheelbarrow splash gives Fenix two but Nick is back up with a springboard wristdrag/headscissor takeover combination. Matt comes in to pick up the pace and it’s a gorilla press to Fenix, followed by a spear to Pentagon. Nick’s top rope double stomp hits Matt’s back by mistake but Nick takes Pentagon down to keep control.

Pentagon is right back with a monkey flip to send Nick into Matt in the corner. Fenix comes in and plants Matt on his head for two. It’s already back to Pentagon, who gets caught in a top rope flipping Stunner (nearly a neckbreaker) from Matt. Rolling northern lights suplexes set up a Sharpshooter but Fenix makes a quick save. Nick comes back in and it’s time for the rapid fire offense, including a kick to Fenix and a slingshot X Factor to Pentagon. Back in and the Bucks grab stereo Sharpshooters but ropes are grabbed in a hurry.

Nick hits the top rope 450 to a draped Fenix with Pentagon making the save. A powerbomb/super Sliced Bread #2 gets two on Fenix and we need a breather. Pentagon comes back in to start firing off the superkicks and everyone is down. Matt and Pentagon head to the floor to trade kicks to the legs. Kicks to the face give us a double knockdown but it’s the Bros up with back to back slingshot Canadian Destroyers for two on Nick.

Fenix’s middle rope flip dive takes out both Bucks, followed by the Fear Factor into the Swanton for two on Nick. It’s back to Matt and the Bucks superkick Fenix out of the air. A Helluva Kick into a brainbuster onto the buckle gives us the Sami Generico special on Fenix. More Bang For Your Buck gets two on Pentagon, followed by a spike package piledriver for two more.

Fenix breaks up the Meltzer Driver though and Pentagon snaps Matt’s arm. The Pentagon Driver gets two on Matt as Nick is down near the top of the ramp. That leaves Fenix to start kicking Matt in the arm but in true Bucks fashion, Matt is suddenly fine and Nick is suddenly back, meaning it’s the Meltzer Driver to retain at 24:59.

Rating: A-. This was the best match of the night, even if it had that rather annoying Bucks tendency to get destroyed and then pop up and win in about two seconds. I liked the idea of the Bucks using moves from their past rivals to to make sure they could beat the Bros, though I’m not sure who is supposed to beat the Bucks now. Either way, it’s a heck of a match, though both teams are capable of doing better.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega. Jericho needs to win the match to avenge his loss in Japan. Omega knows that Jericho might be the best of all time but also that Jericho needs this win.

Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho brings out the List of Jericho, the light up jacket and….finally the hat because he’s Evil Jericho this time around. They trade slaps in the face to start with Jericho hitting a running shoulder. The early V Trigger misses so Omega tries a hurricanrana, which is countered into the Walls. Omega bails to the rope and gets knocked outside where Jericho rings the bell. This time Jericho throws him into the crowd and grabs a camera for some filming (with Excalibur calling him Generico twice in a row).

That earns him a soda to the face and they go back inside for a Regal Roll into the middle rope moonsault from Omega. Jericho is right back with a dropkick and some chops to bust Omega’s chest open. For some reason Jericho stops to flip off a fan and throw in some yelling, allowing Omega (who might have a broken nose) to snap off a hurricanrana. Jericho goes outside and finds a table, which Omega dropkicks into his face. Omega isn’t done though as he hits a big running flip dive to knock the table into Jericho again.

The table is set up on the floor but Omega takes him back inside for the jumping Fameasser for two. Omega hits the first V Trigger to the back of the head, followed by the belly to back superplex for the huge crash. Another V Trigger is broken up but the Lionsault hits knees. Now the second V Trigger can connect and Jericho adds a release German suplex. The second and third Lionsaults connect (the second to Kenny’s head) for two but Omega is right back with another V Trigger.

Jericho backdrops him to the floor through the table though and they’re both down. They slug it out with Omega on the apron so Jericho breaks up a springboard with a dropkick. Omega breaks up a superplex but dives right into the Codebreaker for two. The Walls are broken up again and a tiger driver gives Omega another near fall. Another V Trigger is countered into the Walls with Jericho even turning it into the Liontamer.

Omega slips out again and hits one heck of a V Trigger (that’s about seven total) but the One Winged Angel is countered into the deformed cousin of a DDT. It was so bad that they do the same sequence again so the DDT can work as designed. The Codebreaker drops Omega for no cover and it’s the Judas Effect (a spinning back elbow to the face) to give Jericho the pin at 27:37.

Rating: B+. It’s a strong main event and I completely understand the idea of putting Jericho on top but it never felt epic. It came off like they were just trading big finishers until we got to the ending. Jericho winning is fine as you can either have him as the first champion or have him put Page over for the title, both of which would work. Still though, rather good, just not great.

Post match Jericho rips on the fans, saying he doesn’t care what they think and calling them marks. It’s his time now though and this is his company. This company is all about him and he’s the reason for this building, the logo and the TV deal. With all that done and Omega defeated, it’s time for a thank you.

Instead, he gets Jon Moxley coming through the crowd to hit Dirty Deeds on Jericho and the referee but Omega fights one off and the brawl is on, all but guaranteeing the next main event. They fight into the crowd and onto the poker chip set, with Moxley hitting Dirty Deeds on top of the pile. An AA off the pile of chips plants Omega to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. It was very good and that’s what matters most here. They had some rather good matches (the last three all delivered) and while it felt a little long near the end, I liked just about everything they put on. It wasn’t a blow away show or an instant classic, but what we got was very good and I’m curious to see where they go with the next show.

The important thing to remember is that this is a first step. Most of the matches didn’t have much of a backstory and they didn’t need to. This show was much more about letting these people get in the ring under the AEW banner and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a very good debut and while I liked All In more, this is a good way to go for the first step on a long road.

So what does this mean for their long term future? Not much really, as they’re still several months away from having their weekly show, which is what really matters. They’re not going to have the Rhodes blood bath or the crazy Bucks vs. Bros match or a Jon Moxley coming through the crowd every single time. What matters is getting people to watch when that hype is gone and while this doesn’t show much about that ability (as it’s something completely different), it showed that they can put on a very good and entertaining show.

Another good sign was Jim Ross, who sounded motivated and energized for the first time in a long time. His New Japan run just made me sad as he clearly didn’t care and wasn’t trying, but he can still bring it when he needs to. Let him be a guiding light behind the scenes and things will be great. This show wasn’t quite great, but it was a very strong start and that’s a nice sign.

Results

So Cal Uncensored b. Strong Hearts – Best Meltzer Ever to Lindaman

Britt Baker b. Kylie Rae, Nyla Rose and Awesome Kong – Last Shot to Rae

Best Friends b. Jack Evans/Angelico – Spike Strong Zero to Evans

Hikaru Shida/Riho Abe/Ryo Mizunami b. Aja Kong/Yuka Sakazaki/Emi Sakura – Running knee to Sakura

Cody b. Dustin Rhodes – Cross Rhodes

Young Bucks b. Lucha Bros – Meltzer Driver to Pentagon

Chris Jericho b. Kenny Omega – Judas Effect

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: Fite TV

It’s about time. Nearly nine months have passed since All In and that means it’s time to finally move forward. A lot of fans, myself included, have been wanting to see how Double Or Nothing goes as it could be the start of something that changes the future of wrestling. I’m not sure how things are going to go, but they have their work cut out for them. The talent is there though and that gives me some hope. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Casino Battle Royal

Earlier this week, the announcement came down that the winner of this will be competing for the World Title against the winner of Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega. Now that makes things a lot more interesting as the match suddenly goes from the get everyone on the card to a #1 contenders match. At the moment there are seventeen out of twenty one entrants named, meaning the big one at the end is going to be a major surprise.

I know the money move would be Jon Moxley, but I just don’t think it’s going to be him. He would be the big ace, but wouldn’t it make more sense to have him show up at the end of the show as the big surprise? I’ll go with someone who would serve both as a surprise and as someone with some star power and pick John Hennigan (probably Johnny Elite this time around). He’s a former Impact World Champion and has made a name for himself in recent months. It’s a safe bet and getting him back on the big stage would be a good way to start the show. Most of the rest of the field is immaterial, which is the case in most battle royals.

Pre-Show: Kip Sabian vs. Sammy Guevara

This is the first match where you might not have heard of the wrestlers and hopefully you’re in for a treat. Sabian is a British wrestler (and not to be confused with the one from CZW who occasionally wrestled in TNA as Sabian) who was on World of Sport (not everyone is perfect) and Guevara is one of the most easily hateable wrestlers in the world today. He’s obsessed with pushing his social media channels and will often stop his matches to plug them.

I’ll go with Guevara here as he’s one of the best heels going today and someone who could get over very well in a place like AEW. Let him get out there and annoy the crowd so much that they want to see him get beaten up. The most important thing AEW needs to do is build up some stars and Guevara is the kind of person who could be a nice name for them going forward.

Best Friends vs. Angelico/Jack Evans

You knew the Best Friends would be on here somewhere. I’m not their biggest fan as some of their bits seem to be old jokes that they’ve done before and if you weren’t there at first, you might not get what they’re doing. Their matches are usually pretty good though and they’re crazy popular with that big hug being one of the most over spots around today. It makes sense to have them here, even if I’m not wild on them.

And of course the Best Friends win here, as Evans and Angelico are a nice team but nowhere near as important as the Best Friends could be. With the promotion seemingly putting a priority on tag wrestling, having another team like the Best Friends built up is a smart move. The match should be entertaining too so hopefully this will be more positive than I’m expecting.

So Cal Uncensored vs. Strong Hearts

The Strong Hearts are Cima, T-Hawk and El Lindaman and are part of the Oriental Wrestling Entertainment contingent. These guys seem like the cruiserweights from the early days of Nitro and that’s not a bad group of people to have around. This place needs some talent that fans aren’t familiar with but need to go out of their way to see. If that’s the case with the OWE guys, so be it and maybe it can work.

I’ll go with the Strong Hearts to win here as there is little reason to have them lose. So Cal Uncensored are already a known group (well more known than the OWE group) and there is almost no reason to have them lose. Let them do their shtick and get the crowd going and then lose a hot match. It gets both sides over with the fans and hopefully the masses while showing that they can both go somewhere.

Aja Kong/Yuka Sakazaki/Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida/Riho Abe/Ryo Mizunami

This is another match designed to throw something different on the card, which makes sense as Japanese women’s wrestling is certainly a strong niche product. The stars can become big deals in a hurry, such as Asuka who took both NXT and WWE by storm in a hurry. Much like the OWE stars, this could work very well if done right and there’s a real chance it could happen here.

I’ll go with Kong’s team as Kong is a legend and the kind of star that the promotion would like to push for a one off appearance. This feels like an old vs. new match and at some point the old has to win something. If nothing else it gives us an excuse to see the spinning backfist from Kong, which is always worth a look. It’s going to be a fine showcase though, and that’s what matters most here.

Britt Baker vs. Kylie Rae vs. Nyla Rose

This is an interesting one as Rose is the first ever trans woman to be wrestling for a major company. Baker is best known for being the wrestling dentist and Adam Cole’s girlfriend. Rae on the other hand caught my attention over WrestleMania weekend and is basically the original Bayley combined with Dakota Kai. That can make for an interesting match as the women’s division starts up.

I’ll take Baker to win here but none of them are exactly running away with the thing. Rae is such a gimmicky character and Rose is an unknown, leaving Baker as the talented yet not exactly thrilling best option. It should be a fun match with a good look at some of the female wrestlers, though I’m not expecting to be blown away based on past experiences.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Cody

I know this one is getting some hype as of late and I’m really not sure why. They had a few matches back in WWE and none of them were anything more than ok at best. Maybe this one will be a little bit better as Rhodes doesn’t have the WWE shackles on him anymore, but I’m really not getting my hopes up for this one. It’s not a match that I care to see as the idea of battling brothers feels both cliched and forced.

I’ll go with Cody winning here as he’s the most important guy in the company and is going to be around a lot more than Rhodes going forward. At the end of the day, Rhodes is fifty years old and hasn’t wrestled in a little while due to an injury. Maybe the match will be fine, but Rhodes as himself hasn’t been an interesting thing to see in about twenty five years. I get what they’re going for here, but that’s not exactly something that is guaranteed to work.

AAA Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks(c) vs. Lucha Bros

The Bucks showed up Rey de Reyes and took the titles from the Bros the night the Bros won them. It gives the match something on the line since the AEW Tag Team Titles aren’t around yet, which is as good of an idea as anything else. This is all but guaranteed to be the show stealer as these are two of the best teams in the world, even though the Bucks have only wrestled twice this year and not in over two months.

We’ll flip a coin here and go with the Bros winning, though I could see this being a match that we see again for the AEW Tag Team Titles not that far down the line. These guys are going to tear the house down and that’s the kind of thing the show leaves. I believe I heard something about this headlining the show, which makes sense as it’s the only title match on the card. The place is going to be bananas for the Bucks in the first place and the Lucha Bros will be right there with them. It’s going to be awesome though and that’s what this place is built on.

Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho

So that leaves us with this one and I’m not sure where they’re going here. Omega won the first match between the two and in a normal wrestling promotion, you would go with Jericho winning here to even the score, but AEW doesn’t seem to be a normal wrestling promotion. That being said though, this is for the #1 contendership to the World Title and that makes things more interesting.

I’m going with Jericho, who seems to be the right choice to have in the World Title match. If the company is building towards the future and the masses, having someone beat Jericho for the title is the right way to go. Omega can become the star later on with his show stealing abilities, but until he becomes a bigger name, this should go to Jericho and I believe that it will.

Overall Thoughts

I was more excited for All In but this show is more important (I think). The company needs to get off on the right foot and now it’s going to be interesting to see where things go when they’re on their own. It’s also going to give you an indication of where things are going as the next show is taking place in about a month. They’re starting to do this regularly and the path has to start somewhere. That’s where we are on Saturday and I’m curious to see where things are going. Hopefully it’s in the right direction.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: Chris Jericho’s Rock N Rager At Sea

Chris Jericho’s Rock N Rager At Sea
Date: November 3, 2018
Location: Norwegian Jade Cruise Ship
Commentators: Colt Cabana, Jay Lethal

And now here’s a show on a boat! Late last year Chris Jericho hosted a wrestling cruise (it has to be better than WCW’s nightmare version back in the 1990s), featuring Fozzy concerts, podcasts, and of course live wrestling matches. This includes the Ring of Honor Sea of Honor Tournament plus a few more matches. While they didn’t tape everything, we’ve got most of the tournament plus a few bonus matches. Let’s get to it.

Note that Cabana and Lethal are the main two commentators with others rotating in.

Here are the original brackets for the tournament:

Dalton Castle

Matt Taven

Delirious

Christopher Daniels

Rhett Titus

Marty Scurll

Flip Gordon

Silas Young

Mark Briscoe

Will Ferrara

Adam Page

Frankie Kazarian

Cheeseburger

Beer City Bruiser

Jay Briscoe

Kenny King

We open with some highlights of the first round, which has been cut for the sake of time. Understandable, as that would be another eight matches. The set looks great with a big Ring of Honor ring and a lot of fans all around. You wouldn’t know it was on a boat otherwise, though the sun going down is always a cool touch.

Here are the quarterfinal brackets:

Dalton Castle

Christopher Daniels

Marty Scurll

Flip Gordon

Mark Briscoe

Adam Page

Cheeseburger

Jay Briscoe

Sea of Honor Tournament Quarterfinals: Christopher Daniels vs. Dalton Castle

Actually hang on as Castle has a concussion and can’t wrestle. We have a replacement on hand though.

Sea of Honor Tournament Quarterfinals: Christopher Daniels vs. Ashley Remington

For those of you not familiar with Remington, it’s certainly not Castle in his Chikara gimmick of a sailing enthusiast. After all, Dalton doesn’t wear a snappy sailor’s hat. The hat is spun around Remington’s finger and he throws in some finger guns. Lethal sees no peacock gear or Boys so this CANNOT be Dalton Castle. Daniels is very confused and the THAT’S NOT DALTON chants make it even worse. He even gets a mic and says “Wait…..so you’re NOT Dalton Castle???”

Daniels agrees to wrestle for the sake of the tournament and they take turns driving each other into the corner to start. Remington isn’t pleased with the referee taking issue with his aggression and gets in a Dalton style yell. Daniels sends him into the ropes bu Remington is right back with a finger gun, because he’s that smooth. A pinfall reversal sequence goes nowhere so Daniels gets punched in the ribs a few times to slow things down again. Daniels blocks a Vader Bomb with raised knees and a running knee to the ribs makes things even worse.

It’s off to the waistlock as Lethal suggests that REMINGTON IS DALTON CASTLE!!! I mean, he has a concussion and thinks he’s a sailor named Ashley Remington, but he must be Castle. I’m still not convinced, even as Remington makes a comeback with Castle inspired offense. A running knee in the corner sets up a running bulldog for two but it’s too early for the Bang A Rang. Er I mean the Anchor. Yeah the Anchor. Daniels tries a Blue Thunder Bomb but gets cradled to send Remington to the next round at 7:14.

Rating: C. This was a lot of fun with Remington being the perfect choice for a replacement. The match wasn’t exactly the point here, but how serious can you be with a guy named Smooth Sailing wrestling in a match on a cruise? This tournament seems to get the idea of not taking itself too seriously and that’s a very good thing.

As is his custom, Remington offers Daniels a complimentary fruit basket. That’s good enough to earn a hug so everything is smooth.

Sea Of Honor Tournament Quarterfinals: Flip Gordon vs. Marty Scurll

The fans are behind Marty here and that’s not the most surprising thing in the world. Marty is nice enough to offer a handshake and even wants some silence for the gesture. Instead they hug (Colt: “Code of Honor really, really shown!”) to a very positive reaction. Ever the villain though, Colt pulls him into a Rock Bottom for two at the opening bell. Flip rolls outside so Marty superkicks him from the apron for another near fall.

Back up and Flip starts to flip to avoid a clothesline, followed by a standing moonsault. They chop it out in the corner with Marty managing to crotch him on top and hit some uppercuts. A top rope superplex attempt is broken up with a headbutt but Scurll enziguris him and NOW the superplex connects for two. Marty starts in on the hand before going to some holds to work on the ribs. He’s a versatile villain you see. There’s a backbreaker into an abdominal stretch on the mat.

Gordon finally kicks him into the corner for a breather and the backflip World’s Strongest Slam sets up a running shooting star. A springboard Sling Blade drops Scurll again and the 450 gets two. They chop it out until Marty turns him inside out with a clothesline. They’re both down for a bit until another chop off goes to Scurll. You don’t often see the villain win one of those. Flip snaps off a Falcon Arrow but gets powerbombed. The ensuing cover is reversed into a rollup to give Flip the fast pin at 11:16.

Rating: B. That was a heck of a match with both guys working hard. I know Scurll doesn’t have the best reception at times but he can put on some good stuff at times. He can go in the ring under the right circumstances and Gordon was more than game for this one. Flip has surprised me over the last few months as he’s turned into a character who can work a match instead of just a one note guy. Really fun match.

Flip’s chest is busted up but Marty still won’t hug him.

Sea Of Honor Tournament Quarterfinals: Jay Briscoe vs. Cheeseburger

If this is anything other than Jay beating this guy into oblivion, there’s no justice in the world. Before the match, Jay offers Cheeseburger a chance to walk out instead of take this beating. Cheeseburger flips him off and please make this be quick. Cheeseburger slugs away to start and gets run over for his efforts as I become a bigger Jay fan by the second.

Jay knocks him hard into the corner but misses a charge, allowing Cheeseburger to get in some meaningless shots to the head. A Death Valley Driver gives Jay two and it’s off to a reverse chinlock. Cheeseburger slips out and hits what looked like a low blow, followed by the Shotei palm strike for two. Jay superkicks a springboard out of the air and the Jay Driller finishes Cheeseburger at 6:36.

Rating: D. Nothing match of course but I get a perverse enjoyment out of seeing Cheeseburger get destroyed. That’s all this match needed to be as even the announcers were making it clear that Cheeseburger didn’t have a chance. Jay is the most successful wrestler in ROH history so this was a glorified bye for him.

Sea Of Honor Tournament Quarterfinals: Mark Briscoe vs. Adam Page

They chop it out to start with Page’s chop being so bad that the fans make fun of him. It’s hard to get this crowd to boo a guy like him but that chop was worth the insult. Mark hits a chop of his own and the fans seem rather pleased. An exchange of slams has no effect either so Page grabs a delayed suplex to actually get an advantage. Briscoe slugs away but gets kicked out of the air, which the fans say was weak as well. The tabletop suplex gets two and a THAT WAS STRONG chant from the crowd.

Mark turns him inside out with a clothesline….and we’ve got a bird landing on a fan in the crowd. The fans start chanting for the bird so Mark is smart enough to grab a chinlock until they pay attention again. Page gets two off a German suplex but walks into a fisherman’s buster for the same. A hard powerbomb gives Page two more but the Rite of Passage is broken up. Instead Briscoe sends him to the apron and counters the Buckshot Lariat into a rollup for the pin at 10:29.

Rating: C. Thankfully the bird didn’t mess things up that badly as there’s only so much you can do when the fans get distracted like that. Mark putting the chinlock on to ride it out was the right call and it didn’t last too long. You could have gone either way here as Page is a popular guy but the battle of the Briscoes is hard to pass up.

Here are the updated brackets:

Dalton Castle/Ashley Remington

Flip Gordon

Jay Briscoe

Mark Briscoe

Sea Of Honor Tournament Semifinals: Dalton Castle vs. Flip Gordon

It’s night now and it makes for a very cool visual. Castle is back (after some great concussion protocol) and it’s Mandy Leon and Matt Taven on commentary. Hang on though as Castle, in a shirt, says he has a severe sunburn and asks Flip not to touch his body at all. That earns Castle a shoulder block for the most painful reaction ever.

Castle strikes the Peacock Pose so Flip kicks him in the ribs (Fans: “ALOE VERA!!!”) and sends Castle outside with a single chop. Back in and more chops, followed by a BACK RAKE (through a shirt but still) has the fans booing Gordon for the first time. A springboard frog splash gives Flip two so Castle is right back with a hard clothesline. Hang on though as Castle needs to pause for some ice to the chest.

More shots to Flip’s chest set up a short DDT for two but Flip kicks him in the face. A springboard missile dropkick sends Castle into the corner but he’s right back with a spear. Castle is right back with a running knee in the corner as Cabana thinks Castle is reminiscent of Ashley Remington. There might be a small similarity but they’re rather different. Back up and Castle grabs his arm, allowing Flip to roll him up (kind of a wacky rollup with a wrist clutch) for the pin at 9:36.

Rating: D+. They had an idea with the sunburn thing but it didn’t exactly go anywhere. Castle is still banged up so it makes sense that they didn’t want to do all too much here. It was a comedy match and that’s fine on something like this, though the match wasn’t all that fun in the first place.

Sea Of Honor Tournament Semifinals: Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe

This should be fun. They bump forearms before the bell but Mark isn’t waiting around here and shotgun dropkicks Jay at the bell. Another knockdown sets up the Froggy Bow for a very early two. The fight heads outside with Mark throwing a chair in, only to have Jay pelt it into his head to take over. Jay starts stomping away in the corner and fires off some uppercuts. It’s back to the floor with a big boot to Mark’s jaw just waking him up a bit. Jay comes right back and the fighting turns Mandy on a bit.

Back in and Jay kicks him in the face for two more before wedging the chair into the corner. Of course Jay is the one going face first into it and a crossbody through the chair gives Mark two of his own. The fans are WAY into this one as Mark stomps away in the corner. An exchange of kicks to the face (as in seven or eight each) doesn’t go anywhere so Jay goes with a neckbreaker for two instead.

Jay kicks him again but can’t hit the Jay Driller. Mark knocks him in the jaw again and takes him up top for something like an Iconoclasm for two of his own. A second Froggy Bow misses so Mark dropkicks him in the corner for a second time. The fisherman’s buster gets two more as the fans go into a LET’S GO BRISCOE/BRISCOE SUCKS chant for something clever. Mark takes too long going up and gets chaired down, setting up the Jay Driller for the pin at 10:50.

Rating: B. This was all about two guys beating the fire out of each other and it was very entertaining. They were going for the violent, intense brawl here and it worked as well as it could have. I would have gone with Mark getting to the finals for a little change of pace, but Jay is the bigger star and will give Gordon more of a boost if he wins.

They hug post match because brothers have to fight. Or wrestle.

Sea Of Honor Tournament Finals: Jay Briscoe vs. Flip Gordon

Jay jumps him before the bell because he’s a better heel than a face. The beating sends Flip outside and he kind of looks like a monster as they walk around. You can’t script a look like that and it’s a good way of playing towards Briscoe’s nature. Back in and the stomping begins as Flip can’t do anything yet. Jay switches it up to stomping AND choking in the corner, followed by a running big boot.

Flip finally sends him to the floor for a kick to the head but walks into the neckbreaker. A dropkick sets up some swearing and it’s off to the chinlock. As you might have expected, Flip pops up and hits a springboard crossbody/right hand (cool….I think) to put Jay down again. A Pele sets up the springboard spear for two more but Jay crotches him on top. Jay’s superplex is escaped and Flip scores with a running dropkick to the back.

Flip tries a suplex of his own but gets reversed into a fisherman’s buster to knock him silly. Since no one can keep momentum here, Jay walks into a Falcon Arrow for two more. The Jay Driller (See what I mean about momentum?) gets two and the fans aren’t happy with that not being the ending. Flip kicks him in the head again and a TKO is good for the pin and the tournament at 10:53.

Rating: C. This was fine, though that kickout was too much and I think the fans knew it. After three matches of taking a beating, Flip shouldn’t be kicking out of one of the most protected finishers in the company. I’m cool with Gordon getting the title shot though as it’s always nice to see someone fresh get a chance, even if it’s a one off.

Alpha Club vs. Bullet Club

That would be Chris Jericho and the Young Bucks vs. Kenny Omega/Cody/Marty Scurll, which should be a heck of a match. There’s no Brandi here for some reason, though if you were her would you want to be on a cruise around a bunch of fans? Jericho gets the big introduction, as he certainly deserves. He also comes out dressed as a Buck, complete with bandanna, though it looks a bit like a bad Rockers cosplay. The fans are going NUTS for this, as you had to expect. Fans: “VINCE CAN’T TOUCH THIS!!!”

Cody and Nick start things off but Cody isn’t interested in an early handshake. A dropkick sends Cody into the corner for almost the only action of the first minute. Cody’s drop down uppercut lets him flip the fans off so Nick cranks on the arm. He is known for protecting the fans you see. Jericho comes in (POP/CHANTING) to stay on the arm as the Alphas start taking turns. It’s time for the rapid fire offense and triple dives, though the camera doesn’t catch all of them.

Things settle down and it’s Jericho vs. Omega for the real showdown. They circle each other…just long enough for Cody to tags himself in as the waiting has to continue. A jumping knee to the back sends Matt to the floor and it’s Marty starting in on the knees back inside. Marty stomps on the arm for a bonus before handing it off to to Cody for a delayed vertical suplex. Matt finally sends Cody into Marty’s raised boot in the corner but Marty breaks up the hot tag attempt.

Cody loads up Shattered Dreams but stops to flip off the crowd, which amazingly enough allows Matt to fight out of the corner. The hot tag brings in Jericho to clean house as everything breaks down. A crossface chickenwing attempt is countered into the Walls on Marty, leaving the Bucks to put Cody and Omega into matching Sharpshooters. Those are broken up as is the Walls, so Matt clotheslines Omega and Cody down. The Bucks start speeding things up and it’s a top rope splash/standing moonsault for two on Cody.

More Bang For Your Buck and the Meltzer Driver are broken up and it’s Omega with his running Fameasser to take Nick down. A series of kicks to the face gets two on Nick with Jericho making the save (Scott D’Amore on commentary: “Not on my cruise!” Good line.) and NOW we get the Omega vs. Jericho showdown. Omega knocks him to the floor but the Rise of the Terminator (which took FOREVER to set up) is countered with a double superkick.

A triple superkick sets up the Meltzer Driver into the Walls on Omega, but Jericho has to let go for a Codebreaker on Marty. Omega is fine enough for a series of hurricanranas but Jericho takes him down into the Walls again. Marty’s umbrella to the back makes the save though and Omega gets a good near fall. Another Meltzer Driver is broken up but Omega can’t hit the One Winged Angle. He can hit a V Trigger though (shocking), followed by a second (take a shot) and the One Winged Angle finishes Matt at 23:20.

Rating: B+. This was exactly what the main event should have been with the kind of wrestlers that these fans want having the kind of match that they do best. It was entertaining, it was fast paced and it was fun. Really, what else could you have asked for here? Also, well done on having Jericho take the fall on his cruise. A lot of people wouldn’t have done that.

Post match it’s a big staredown with Omega and Jericho talking to wrap it up.

Jericho thanks the fans for everything to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this a lot more than I thought I would as it was as laid back of a show as you could have asked for. The wrestling was fun (not great the entire time, but fun) and the venue really made things feel special. Not everything needs to be some big show and it’s ok to have a good time every now and then. That’s what we got here and it flew by at less than three hours. Even if it’s just a big advertisement for next year’s cruise, well done indeed.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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: New Japan Pro Wrestling

Wrestle Kingdom XIII
Date: January 4, 2019
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 38,162
Commentators: Don Callis, Chris Charlton, Kevin Kelly

Well this is a big one. It’s the Japanese equivalent of Wrestlemania and the biggest non-WWE show of the year. This year’s card is absolutely stacked (tends to be the case) and while I’m not the biggest New Japan fan, there’s a very strong chance of this show being nothing short of incredible. Let’s get to it.

As always, please note that I don’t watch NJPW regularly. I know the basic stories and looked up a few things beforehand, but I’m going to miss some details and character motivations in some parts.

Gauntlet Match

The winners get a Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Title shot, I believe at tomorrow’s New Year’s Dash show. The Elite (Yujiro Takahashi, Marty Scurll and Hangman Page with Chase Owens in their corner) and Yuji Nagata/David Finlay/Jeff Cobb start things off with Cobb sporting a taped up shoulder. Scurll headscissors Nagata to start and gets smart by kicking the knee out instead of trying a slugout. The finger snap is broken up but so is Nagata’s reverse Figure Four.

Cobb comes in and gets triple teamed to the floor, with Page adding the shooting star from the apron. Back in and Cobb tosses Page in a fall away slam, allowing the tag to Finlay. Everything breaks down and Finlay hits a Rock Bottom backbreaker on Takahashi as everyone else heads to the floor. Owens grabs Finlay’s foot for a save but accidentally gets kicked down by Page. The distraction is enough for Finlay to roll Takahashi up for the pin and the elimination at 4:43.

Next up is Chuckie T/Beretta/Hirooki Goto with Goto and Nagata slugging it out in the middle. Chuckie and Beretta break it up and there’s a big flip dive from Chuckie onto Cobb and Finlay. Beretta adds an Asai moonsault onto both of them, leaving Goto to hit the fireman’s carry backbreaker for two on Nagata. Things settle down with Chuckie and Beretta getting in a huge to set up a double elbow drop.

Nagata scores with an exploder suplex and it’s off to Cobb to clean house. We get the big clotheslines from Cobb and Goto until some double teaming slows Cobb down. That’s fine with him as he suplexes both of them down without much effort. Chuckie’s piledriver gets two on Finlay but he misses the moonsault, allowing Finlay to grab a quick rollup for the pin at 13:40.

Minoru Suzuki and the Killer Elite Squad are in fourth and of course the brawl is on in a hurry. Nagata and Suzuki slug it out (well duh) with the revolving slaps until Nagata gets two off a t-bone suplex. Smith comes in but gets kicked in the leg, allowing the hot tag to Cobb for the hoss battle. The Angle Slam sets up the standing moonsault but Smith gets away as everything breaks down. The Killer Bomb finishes Finlay at 18:34.

Ryusuke Taguchi/Togi Makabe/Toru Yano are the final team so it’s time for COMEDY! The Squad beats the funny out of them in the aisle though and Suzuki goes after commentary due to reasons of evil. We settle down to Smith kicking Taguchi in the face, hitting the Hulk Hogan poses, and dropping a leg for two. Archer comes in for an Undertaker rope walk, though he spices it up a bit with a tag while on the ropes. It’s off to Suzuki, who actually gets knocked down so Makabe can come in for some power.

Suzuki runs him over again but the kicks seem to fire Makabe up. A double clothesline allows the double tag to Yano and Smith so Yano can go straight for the buckle pad. Archer comes in for the Hart Attack, followed by a side slam/middle rope splash combination for a near fall each. Suzuki tries the Gotch piledriver on Makabe but gets taken down by Taguchi’s hip attack. The Squad goes after Makabe but it’s a double low blow from Yano to set up the rollup pin on Smith for the title shot at 27:48.

Rating: C-. This was ok and a good way to get a bunch of people on the show without having a battle royal. I’m really not a fan of Yano (repetitive comedy gets old in a hurry) but the fans love him and that’s enough of a reason to give his team the win here. The length was fine and it’s an acceptable Kickoff Show match, which is exactly the right idea. Nothing great, but fine.

Video on the Best Of 2018, including various attendances for the bigger shows.

Ads for upcoming shows, including one in Dallas at the American Airlines Center on July 6 and a show in England on August 31. Also, next year’s New Year’s Dash will be in the Tokyo Dome as well.

We get the video running down the card, featuring the show order. This is rather stacked, as always.

Never Openweight Title: Will Ospreay vs. Kota Ibushi

Kota is defending and egads what an opener. They start with Ibushi being monkey flipped to the floor, leaving Ospreay to hit the superhero pose. Ibushi dives back in and blocks the Oscutter and we’re now forty five seconds in with a standoff. The kick to the chest misses Ospreay so Ibushi dropkicks him to the floor, only to miss the middle rope moonsault in a big crash as Ospreay somehow gets to the apron and kicks him out of the air.

The Space Flying Tiger Drop has Ibushi in even more trouble and a backbreaker gives Ospreay two. Ibushi is right back up with a hurricanrana to the floor, setting up a top rope corkscrew Asai moonsault (good grief) to drop Ospreay again. Back in and Ibushi nails a rolling German suplex but Ospreay scores with a handspring spinning kick to the head. Ospreay hits a Cheeky Nandos Kick for two more and it’s time to trade forearms. Ibushi gets the better of it but neither can hit a powerbomb.

Instead Osprey kicks him in the chest and grabs a Spanish Fly to put both of them down. Stormbreaker is countered into a hurricanrana for two and there’s the sliding knee to Ospreay’s head. The sitout Last Ride gives Ibushi two more but Ospreay catches him on top with the knee getting caught in the Tree of Woe. They slug it out from there (as in with Ibushi hanging upside down) until Ospreay kicks him in the face to take over.

What looked to be a super Stormbreaker is countered but Ospreay flips out of a German superplex, which seems to be a callback to a recent match. Ibushi’s straitjacket suplex gets two and they trade some heavy shots to the head. Stormbreaker is countered again into an exchange of counters, capped off by Ibushi hitting a kneeling tombstone. Somehow he’s up first and hits a heck of a running back elbow to the back of Ibushi’s head. Ibushi is DONE and the Stormbreaker gives Ospreay the pin and the title at 18:14.

Rating: B+. Well we’re off to a great start. This was an awesome “I hit something big then you hit something bigger” exchange with Ospreay being in his element with that style. Ibushi is still one of the best high fliers ever and looked great here, but Ospreay winning makes sense given how much star potential he has. Excellent opener with some very hard hitting action.

Ibushi is taken out on a stretcher and apparently had a legit concussion.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Roppongi 3K vs. Suzuki-Gun vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

Suzuki-Gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru/El Desperado) are defending and Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh) has Rocky Romero in their corner. Los Ingobernables (Bushi/Shingo Takagi) start the brawl before the bell but get sent to the apron for the running flip dives from 3K. Kanemaru and Desperado break up a second set of dives and it’s Desperado chinlocking Yoh to take over. Back up and a superkick allows the tag to Sho as they’re certainly moving early on. An AJ Styles drop down into a dropkick hits Desperado and Shingo tags himself in and starts in with some hard strikes.

Sho German suplexes Shingo who German suplexes Kanemaru at the same time but Desperado nails a spear. 3K’s double jumping knees put Desperado down and a backbreaker/middle rope knee drop combination makes it even worse. With Desperado in trouble, 3K loads up….uh 3K actually but has to duck a double shot of whiskey and black mist, allowing Shingo to hit Sho with a Gory Bomb. The Big Bomber (hard lariat) gets two on Sho and Bushi dives onto Yoh. Last of the Dragon (a modified Samoan driver) gives Shingo the pin and the titles at 6:49.

Rating: C+. That was certainly short. It was entertaining while it lasted but they didn’t have time to do much. That being said, they crammed in as much as they could with 3K and Shingo looking like stars. This division has finally moved past the Young Bucks and the matches are a lot of fun. It might have been better with the less time here though as it didn’t have time to die down, which seems to be the point of a match like this.

Rev Pro British Heavyweight Title: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Ishii is defending and I saw him take the title from Sabre in New Orleans in an awesome match so this should be fun. Sabre’s manager Taka Michinoku handles the hype efforts before the match. Sabre goes straight for an abdominal stretch attempted but gets hiptossed out. An enziguri misses for Ishii and Sabre takes him down into a cross armbreaker, sending the champ to the ropes after some good cranking.

Sabre’s kicks to the chest are shrugged off so he slaps on another armbar to send Ishii right back to the ropes. Those cocky kicks to the side of Ishii’s head just wake him up (like Flair’s chops to Sting) but Sabre takes him over with a northern lights suplex. They trade ankle locks until Ishii shoulders the heck out of him for a breather. Another suplex takes Sabre down this time and the delayed vertical superplex keeps Sabre in trouble. He holds onto the arm though and stomps on it before crashing to the side because Sabre can do things like that.

An exchange of escapes goes into an Octopus Hold from Sabre, which he switches into a Code Red for two. The Zack (Michinoku) Driver is blocked and Ishii powerbombs the heck out of him for two of his own. Ishii’s hard lariat gets two but Sabre slips out of the brainbuster. Sabre’s bridging pin is only good for two more so it’s off to a guillotine with an armbar. Sabre switches it over to the double arm trap octopus, which is actually called Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than The Last; The Inexorable March Of Progress Will Lead Us All To Happiness (seriously) for the tap submission at 11:37.

Rating: B+. This needed more time to hit their full potential but the monster Ishii vs. the villain submission machine is one of the best combinations I’ve seen in a very long time. Sabre is so crazy smooth in the ring and Ishii is one of the best tough guy wrestlers I’ve seen in a long time. I could watch these two fight for months and this was another great one from both guys.

Sabre is presented with a new title.

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Guerrillas Of Destiny

The Guerrillas are defending with Los Ingobernables (Evil and Sanada here) having won the World Tag League. They then requested that the Bucks be added because they wanted to avenge past losses. The champs also have Bad Luck Fale and Jado in their corner. Tama and Matt start things off with Tama showing off his new “good guy” persona by offering a handshake.

Evil uses the distraction to tag himself in and pull Tama to the floor. Everything breaks down and Matt gets slammed onto the ramp to bring up his annual back injury. Back in and the Guerrillas beat up Evil with Loa hitting a top rope headbutt, only to have Tama’s version broken up. The Bucks get in their shots on Evil as well to continue his bad night. Matt grabs the Sharpshooter as Nick dives onto Sanada. Evil makes the rope and comes back with a running clothesline to Matt.

It’s off to Sanada to clean house on everyone, including the slingshot dive onto the Bucks. That’s enough selling from the Bucks though as they’re right back up with a springboard Blockbuster/Russian legsweep combination on Sanada but the Guerrillas come back in to start wrecking things (again). The Tower of Doom sends Matt back first onto the mat, leaving Nick to hit a 450. Fale and Jado come in and are dispatched by the Bucks just as quickly but Los Ingobernables get up for Everything Is Evil and the Magic Killer. Sanada moonsaults onto Nick for the pin and the titles at 10:16.

Rating: C+. This was similar to the Junior Tag Team Title match with a lot of stuff crammed in. That’s not the worst thing in the world but it’s another quick match in a series of them tonight. Evil and Sanada have been awesome for a long time now though and it makes sense to put the titles back on them. Now just keep the things on them for awhile this time around.

IWGP United States Title: Juice Robinson vs. Cody

Cody, in Jacksonville Jaguars colors for a nice touch, is defending and I think you know where this is going. A pre-bell belt shot misses and Juice starts hammering away until Cody grabs his knee. Juice isn’t buying it and stays on him with a gutbuster. That’s enough for Juice to go up top but Brandi covers Cody up to prevent the dive. Pulp Friction on the apron is broken up with a shove into the post and Juice is holding his shoulder. Back in and Cody busts out some jumping jacks before stopping for a kiss from Brandi.

Speaking of Brandi, she hits a spear with her bionic shoulder but the referee tosses her. Pulp Friction is countered into Cross Rhodes for a close two and Cody is getting frustrated. Another Pulp Friction is reversed into Cross Rhodes on Cody, who of course hits a Pulp Friction of his own for two more. Cody whips him with the weightlifting belt but tells Robinson to get up. That’s just what Juice does before hammering away with left hands. Pulp Friction connects and Robinson adds a second for the pin and the title at 9:05.

Rating: D+. Brandi aside, this was pretty bad with the match flying by and not having any time to do anything. It felt like they skipped the beginning and most of the middle and just went to the finish, which didn’t make for much of a match. Robinson getting the title back is fine, but egads can something other than the opener get fifteen minutes tonight?

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Taiji Ishimori vs. Kushida

Ishimori, of Bullet Club, is challenging here. And here’s a mini Kushida….and Doc Brown comes out to get him. Doc pulls out a remote control and seemingly blows mini Kushida up, turning him into the real thing. Eh I love Back to the Future so I’m good, even if that didn’t make much sense. Kushida starts in on the wristlock before kicking at the arm in a smart move. The cartwheel into the dropkick has Ishimori in even more trouble but it’s too early for the Hoverboard Lock.

Ishimori grabs the LeBell Lock in the middle of the ring and the crawl to the rope takes its time. A springboard seated senton keeps Kushida in trouble and the sliding German suplex, ala John Morrison, keeps Kushida down. Kushida grabs a triangle choke but Ishimori fights up and spins around for a failed Crossface attempt. A Tombstone into a Codebreaker is countered and Kushida kicks him down again. Another Codebreaker gives Ishimori two but Kushida reverses a suplex into the Hoverboard Lock.

That’s rolled through into an AA as Kushida isn’t able to do much with the rather unstoppable Ishimori. Kushida grabs a quick Back to the Future and tries another but Ishimori blocks (I’m not sure that’s how it’s supposed to work) so Kushida blasts him with a right hand. That’s shrugged off as well and the Bloody Cross gives Ishimori the title at 11:16.

Rating: B-. Geez this hasn’t been a good night for the champions so far. The problem for Kushida is there’s nothing left for him to do as a junior heavyweight so what is there left for him to do in the entire promotion? Ishimori looked like a killer here and could be a heck of a champion for a long time. Or until next Wrestle Kingdom when every champion loses again.

We recap Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White. Okada was the king of the company for a few years but manager/adviser Gedo turned on him in favor of White. That sent White onto a great heel run where he wants to prove that he’s the best and now it’s time for him to face the huge challenge. Also, Okada has been shaken up since losing the World Title but is back in form tonight.

Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada

Okada’s trunks have returned, because it’s the old, amazing version again tonight. They don’t go straight at each other to start so Gedo distracts Okada and White stomps away. Okada is right back up with an elbow to the back of the head but White suplexes him out to the floor. Back in and White gets two off a belly to back suplex and we hit the cravate. Okada fights up and gets all ticked off though as the fans start getting into this again.

White gets sat on top for the dropkick to the floor, followed by a running big boot to send him over the barricade. Okada isn’t done and sends Gedo out next to White for a running crossbody to take them both down. Back in and Okada hits the Rainmaker pose but gets caught in a German suplex. A Rock Bottom gives White two but Blade Runner is blocked. It’s time to cheat as Gedo puts a chair in the ring and tries to come in, only to have the chair shot miss.

Okada scores with the dropkick but walks into a suplex onto the back of his head. Another Blade Runner is countered into a Tombstone for two as White’s kicking brings the fans back up to cheer for Okada. Yet another dropkick connects and it’s a series of counters until the Rainmaker connects. Okada isn’t done though and tries it again, only to get countered into the Blade Runner for the completely clean pin at 14:21.

Rating: B. That’s the kind of story to a match that this show has been needing with White beating Okada at his best (which was specified multiple times throughout the night). They made a star here and that’s exactly what they needed to do. It helps that I’ve been a White fan since I saw him debut in ROH so this was really cool to see. They told a story here and it’s the kind of career defining win that someone like White needs. Well done here with a very good story, especially with the usually cool Okada being out for revenge instead of the win because Gedo has gotten into his head. Very good all around here.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito, which is a long running feud after Jericho took Naito’s Intercontinental Title. Jericho has since said that he scared Naito into his shell and gone into his usual Jericho awesomeness, attacking Naito at every chance and saying he’ll end Naito’s career. Naito has basically responded with “eh, it’s cool”, which fits him perfectly.

Intercontinental Title: Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is defending and this is No DQ. Since he’s Chris Jericho, he comes to the ring in a black hat, a spiked leather jacket and wearing Crow inspired face paint. In other words, it somehow suits him perfectly. Naito jumps him before the bell as payback for Jericho doing the same thing in their previous match. The referee rings the bell with them on the floor because he knows they’re not getting inside anytime soon.

Naito piledrives him on the ramp and takes him inside for the removal of a buckle pad. A hurricanrana takes Jericho (with the long hair again) down and a clothesline puts him right back on the floor. Naito’s dive is blocked with a kendo stick shot though and it’s time for the stick shots. The springboard dropkick knocks Naito off the apron and Jericho grabs a camera for some filming of the downed Naito. They head into the announcers’ area with Jericho hitting one of the scariest looking DDT’s I’ve ever seen, with Naito landing on the top of his head with a CRACK.

Jericho rings the bell but the referee won’t stop the match, even though Naito seems a bit dead. A high crossbody gives Jericho two and it’s time for some listening to the crowd, because Jericho knows how to be a huge villain. The Lionsault gets two and there’s the belly to back suplex into the arrogant cover for the same. Naito comes back with some right hands and shrugs off some kicks to the face.

Some spit in Jericho’s face sets up a neckbreaker for two but the Walls put Naito right back in trouble. Naito slips out and kicks Jericho away before hitting something like a pump handle suplex for two. Destino is reversed into the Walls again (Jericho: “ASK HIM!”) until Naito finds the kendo stick for the break. A baseball swing with the stick drops Jericho again but he scores with a Codebreaker for a close two. Some chairs are thrown in and piled up but the powerbomb onto them are countered into a DDT near them.

Naito hits his own Codebreaker for two and a German suplex onto the chairs makes it even worse. Destino is countered again though and Jericho shoves the referee (not really necessary) so a low blow can stop Naito. There’s the Codebreaker for a heck of a near fall so Jericho grabs the belt. That’s countered into a hot shot into the exposed buckle, setting up Destino for another white hot near fall. Naito blasts him with the belt and now Destino gives Naito the pin at 22:34.

Rating: A-. This felt more like the Jericho vs. Omega match as Jericho was the angry veteran who could still hang in there and show how vicious he could be. It was entertaining stuff with Naito showing that he could do it on this stage and win the big one over the veteran. I had a really good time with this and Naito came off like the star they want to make the future center of the promotion, which he pretty much is.

Jericho storms off as Naito is awarded the title.

We recap Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP World Title. Champion Omega is the new breed while Tanahashi is the old dog who is having yet another career resurgence to prove that he’s still got it one more time. He won the G1 Climax tournament to earn the shot and Omega doesn’t seem to be taking him completely seriously while promising to destroy Tanahashi once and for all.

IWGP World Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kenny Omega

Omega is defending and has the Young Bucks with him, plus an NES inspired entrance to make him a bit more awesome. Tanahashi on the other hand has a cool ring jacket with the shape of the title cut out around the waist. There’s no major contact for the first minute and a half so Tanahashi gets in a slap. Omega drives him into the ropes so Tanahashi slaps him again. A very early attempt at the One Winged Angel is countered into an abdominal stretch before Tanahashi starts in on the knee.

They slap it out with Omega’s leg tied up and Omega gets in a shot of his own to take over. He starts hammering on the back as the announcers go over Tanahashi’s main event history, including talking about how bad business was when he took over the top spot. A running kick to the back sets up more slaps to the face and a belly to back sends Tanahashi to the floor. There’s a belly to back suplex onto the apron as Omega is a full on heel here. Tanahashi gets in a dropkick but Omega drives him back first into the apron to take over again.

They head into the Japanese announcers’ area with Omega running over a commentator and raising his hand as an apology. It’s table time with Omega setting one up on the floor before taking the fight back inside for the chop off. A dragon screw legwhip takes Omega down again and the middle rope Swanton gets two. Omega is fine enough to hit the running Fameasser and Tanahashi falls outside. It’s too early for the Rise of the Terminator so Tanahashi breaks it up, only to be thrown outside for the big running flip dive. Omega’s foot hits him in the face but Omega lands hard on the edge of the ramp.

Back in and Omega hits a pair of snapdragons and the first V Trigger (I’ll put the over/under at 15). The One Winged Angel is countered and Omega’s knee gives out. There’s another legwhip, followed by Twist and Shout into the Texas Cloverleaf to stay on the knee. For a flashback, a Styles Clash plants Omega but the High Fly Flow (sounds like a shower setting) hits knees. Another V Trigger hits the buckle though and a third dragon screw, this time over the rope, has Omega in more trouble.

The Sling Blade on the apron puts him down again and Tanahashi puts him on the table. Another High Fly Flow misses Omega though and they’re both near death outside. Back in again and Omega hits a top rope double stomp to the back. Two powerbombs get two each and the sitout version gets the same. The frustrated Omega chokes away so Tanahashi comes back with a Sling Blade and it’s time to slug it out again. Omega has to cover up until some knees to the ribs cut Tanahashi off.

Tanahashi shrugs off a German suplex but gets caught in a Sling Blade to switch things up. Omega drops a High Fly Flow of his own for two and there’s another V Trigger to rock Tanahashi again. A regular knee to the head is called a V Trigger and the reverse hurricanrana connects. The….whatevereth V Trigger connects but the One Winged Angel is countered into a reverse hurricanrana from Tanahashi.

A high crossbody sets up the real High Fly Flow for a crazy close two. Tanahashi goes up again and gets caught with another V Trigger. The super dragon suplex (with Tanahashi flipping over and landing on his face to avoid the whole broken neck thing) sets up another V Trigger but the One Winged Angel is countered into something like a leg lariat. Another Sling Blade sets up another High Fly Flow for the pin and the title in an upset at 39:14.

Rating: A. Very good though not outstanding match here. That might not be the biggest surprise given that Omega seems to be leaving the promotion soon, but it’s still a heck of a performance. Tanahashi getting the title back is a great story with him reclaiming his place at the top of the mountain, but it was still missing a little something that made the previous main events that much better. Still though, great match, as you knew was coming the second the match was announced. Oh and Omega kept the V Triggers to what is considered reasonable by his standards, which is quite the plus.

Post match Omega is carried out and Tanahashi gets the big show closing address. He thanks the fans and wasn’t sure he could get to this level again. Okada helped get him here and he can’t believe it. He thanks the fans one more time and uses everything he has left for some air guitar before collapsing. One final thank you wraps us up.

Overall Rating: A. First and foremost: the show was just over four hours long instead of the usual five and that’s pretty close to the sweet spot. I could have gone for some of the matches being longer, but I’ll take the show going short rather than long every time. The big matches all delivered and while there were a few weak spots (Cody’s match in particular), the great matches are more than enough to make this a classic. It’s the highest rating I’ve given the show in four years and it was also the easiest show to watch in a long time.

Overall this show felt like a changing of the guard/resetting, with every title changing hands. Maybe those titles go right back where they were soon enough, but it certainly seems that things are changing around here. Given the startup of AEW and WWE wanting new talent, we might not be seeing some of these people on this stage again. That makes things very interesting, but more importantly it means they get to go out on a high note. Great show, and the best I’ve seen them do in a long time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/comes-kenny-omega-reportedly-leaving-new-japan/

Now isn’t this interesting.Omega lost the IWGP World Title at Wrestle Kingdom earlier today to Hiroshi Tanahashi and is allegedly wrapping up there.  That means there is a chance he could be coming to WWE (which seems to be the more likely option if he’s leaving) or AEW (which would be a major coup for them, though not the biggest surprise).  I’m firmly in a wait and see mode, but Omega at #29 in the Rumble (because remember, R-Truth has to be #30 because Mixed Match Challenge was important) wouldn’t shock me.

I know it sounds hard to buy, but remember that AJ Styles left around this time three years ago and was #3 in the Rumble that year.  It’s certainly a possibility, though I’ll believe it when I see it.

Where do you want him to go?

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: December 26, 2018
Host: Ian Riccaboni

It’s time for a Best of 2018 show, which is something that I can live with for a change instead of the filler episodes before the next regular TV show. There’s been good stuff over the year and that means we should be getting some good matches and moments on the card. Just don’t focus on the stuff that only ROH seems to find important and we should be fine. Let’s get to it.

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

As usual, I’ll be posting the full versions of the matches, even if they’re clipped on the broadcast.

Opening sequence.

We open with a look at some of the bigger shows and moments of the year with Ian narrating in a nice start.

From Supercard of Honor XII.

Cody vs. Kenny Omega

Cody comes in with Bernard the Business Bear (there better be a good reveal), Brandi Rhodes, and a bunch of cops. The fans lose their minds at the opening bell but hang on because Cody needs a kiss from Brandi. It takes over a minute to lock up….and they immediately cut to the crowd. Cody’s headlock goes nowhere as Kenny kicks him to the floor and runs the ropes until Bernard trips him up.

Omega dives onto Bernard and takes off the head revealing….just a guy, or at least someone not important enough to show. Cody uses the distraction to get in a cheap shot as the bear is ejected. Oh come on now. Hasn’t he suffered enough? Cody loads up Shattered Dreams but stops and flips off the crowd instead. So to clarify: the WWE Hall of Famer who works here is a heel move but Goldust is a face. Got it. I think? The fans sing for Omega and are rewarded by Cody powerbombing him to cut off a comeback attempt.

The American Deathlock goes on but Kenny makes the rope, only to be slapped by Brandi. In a blatant bit of cheating, Cody has a foreign object thrown in but uses the referee distraction to kick Omega low. All Cody so far. The beating continues on the floor with Cody shifting his focus to the back. Omega gets sent face first into a chair but hang on because Cody has to steal a beer and spit it at fans. Of course that gets Cody a chant and it’s time to slap it out.

Omega gets the better of the chopping but his moonsault hits knees. Cody heads outside and takes one heck of a suicide dive, followed by a sitout bulldog for two back inside. Something like Adam Cole’s old Last Shot plants Cody again and there’s the V Trigger for a big reaction. A pair of Snapdragons makes things even worse but Cody breaks up a third attempt and scores with a Disaster Kick for two.

Another V Trigger in the corner looks to set up the One Winged Angel but Cody reverses into a Figure Four instead. Omega is in trouble and rolls around to little avail. A few slaps to the face wake him up enough for the turnover though and the hold is broken. Cody grabs a dragon screw legwhip to send Omega to the apron and it’s table time (Kevin: “Did we have a banquet earlier today?”).

Cross Rhodes through the table is broken up and a piledriver is blocked as well with Omega trying the Snapdragon on the apron. It knocks Cody down, though it would be a little more effective if Cody’s head actually touched the apron. Amazingly enough that’s not enough to finish Cody, who picks Omega up and drops him ribs first on the side of the table for a good looking crash. Instead of, you know, using the table again, Cody throws Omega back in for two off the Alabama Slam (almost no reaction from the crowd) and they’re both down again.

Another V Trigger rocks Cody and the reverse hurricanrana gets almost no rotation and Cody nearly lands on his back. Again, the fans aren’t reacting to most of this stuff and it’s not a good sign when they’re only about twenty minutes in to what’s likely going to be a crazy long match. Brandi sets up a table on the floor and gets on the apron, meaning it’s a missed V Trigger to put her through the table. Kenny is distracted so Cross Rhodes gets a close two, again with VERY little reaction.

Cody doesn’t know that Brandi is down so here’s Flip Gordon to help her out, following up on a Being the Elite angle. I know that’s the case because commentary tells us about it, which is all I need. A superplex brings Omega back down and it’s time for a whipping with the weightlifting belt as we move into the Hollywood Hogan period. Cody misses the moonsault though and one heck of a knee to the face has him in even more trouble.

Two more running knees get two (Remember: when Omega spams moves, he’s awesome. When someone in WWE does it, they’re not real wrestlers.) but the One Winged Angel is reversed into a Vertebreaker for two more. We get the required ref bump (How else are you going to get the Bucks in there?) and a double crossbody puts both guys down. Cue the Bucks (with a Being the Elite camera) to decide whom to superkick. They aim for Cody but hit Omega instead with reality setting in very quickly. Cross Rhodes gives Cody the pin at 36:35.

Rating: B-. Well, it was good and long (you could have cut 10-15 minutes) and it advanced the story. The problem is this felt like a big chapter but not a chapter important enough for 36 minutes of nothing mind blowing. Cody can’t get to that level and it’s showing more and more every time he’s in a major match. They did a very good job of explaining things that set up the match and feud, which was a major issue coming in so well done there. Overall though, this was lacking and nothing that I’m going to remember as really, the big spot was Brandi’s table bump and that was nothing great. Good, but not what they were hyping.

Omega glares at the Bucks as he’s helped to the back.

Video on Punishment Martinez winning the TV Title.

From October 24.

TV Title: Jeff Cobb vs. Punishment Martinez

Martinez is defending. They slug it out at the bell and Cobb shoves him around. The stomp out of the corner is easily blocked and Cobb hits the spinning belly to back suplex instead. A knee to the face has no effect and Martinez isn’t sure what to do. Martinez kicks him in the face to put Cobb down on one knee. The Silencer is shrugged off and Cobb clotheslines him down with ease. The Tour of the Islands gives Cobb the pin and the title at 1:28 as Martinez is off to WWE. This was EXACTLY how this should have gone as Martinez has been a monster but now the bigger monster has devoured him. Very smart booking.

Quick look at the Briscoes vs. the Young Bucks from Best in the World.

Clip of the Kingdom winning the Six Man Tag Team Titles at Survival of the Fittest.

From July 25.

ROH World Title: Cody vs. Matt Taven vs. Jay Lethal vs. Dalton Castle

Castle is defending and it’s one fall to a finish, even though the match is called a Survival Match. I get what they’re going for and it’s not terrible by any means but I’ve never liked that name for a one fall match. Castle is also very banged up but has the Boys with him to counter Cody’s seconds in Brandi and Bernard. Taven and Castle go straight to the floor so Lethal can dropkick Cody back inside.

Back in and Taven misses a missile dropkick but backdrops Letha to the apron for a springboard kick to the head. The Disaster Kick puts Taven on the floor as Castle gets back in for a running clothesline to put Cody on the floor. There’s the Peacock strut but Lethal comes back in to clear things out. Two suicide dives per opponent has Lethal in full control and we actually don’t take a break. Bernard even takes one of his own so Castle gets back inside where Brandi tosses him something.

That’s just a ruse though so a low blow can take Taven down, meaning it’s a showdown with Cody vs. Castle. The American Deathlock works on Castle’s bad knee so Lethal goes up for the save. Taven breaks it up and does the frog splash for a save instead, which fits him perfectly. Back from a break with Lethal hitting a DDT on Cody and a Downward Spiral for two on Castle. The Figure Four goes on Castle with Cody making a save, only to get kicked in the face for his efforts. Lethal goes crazy with chops on Taven, who collapses against the ropes in a heap.

Castle can’t hit the Bang a Rang on Taven, who rolls him up for a VERY delayed two (there’s your conspiracy). With Taven panicking, Cody comes in and hits Cross Rhodes for two and it’s a three way strike off between everyone but Taven. Cody powerslams Lethal and there’s the Disaster Kick to Castle. Taven is back in with a Climax for two on Castle as Cody saves. A double Lethal Injection drops Cody and Taven to the floor and the single version drops Castle. Taven pulls the referee out at two though and we take a break.

Back again with Lethal diving into a chair and Taven hitting his great looking dive onto Cody. It’s table time (completely unnecessary) and a Tower of Doom sends Taven and Cody through the wood with Lethal sliding in to get two. Lethal and Castle slug it out but the Lethal Injection is countered into the Bang a Rang. That’s countered as well and the Lethal Injection ends Castle to give Lethal the title back at 17:44.

Rating: B+. The more I think about this, the more I like it. Castle retaining at Best in the World was just a swerve so they could do something like this and there’s nothing wrong with that. Lethal feels a bit like a transitional champion and the safe choice to take the title off of the injured Castle but there are far worse choices. You’ll get solid to great matches and the fans respect him so it’s as good of an option as there was available. Now ROH can figure out where they want to go and Lethal is a fine placeholder. It came in an entertaining match as well, with everyone working hard and feeling like they could pull it off.

From Best in the World.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoe Brothers vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are challenging and it’s Nick vs. Mark to start. It’s an early standoff until Nick gets in Mark’s face and knocks Jay off the apron. A low bridge sends Nick outside but he’s fine enough to kick Jay in the head. Everything breaks down and the superkicks are blocked (the Briscoes must be psychics), setting up double face to face staredowns. The Briscoes hit the ropes though and NOW the superkicks connect.

Nick dropkicks them both and a double basement dropkick has Jay in trouble. A Razor’s Edge/neckbreaker combination gets two on Matt and we settle down to a more standard formula. The fans are split here (again, well duh) as Mark stomps away and Jay gets in a choke behind the referee’s back. Matt tries to slide to the floor and run around but has to stop for a superkick, allowing Mark to stomp him down again.

Another superkick is enough for the hot tag off to Nick, who wastes no time with the springboard flip dive. Nick knees Jay in the face but Mark pulls him off the ropes into a rear naked choke of all things. Matt gets Blockbustered and it’s the neckbreaker into the Froggy Bow for two on Nick. The super crucifix bomb is broken up by Matt and a double clothesline takes the champs down. An exchange of superkicks actually goes to the Briscoes and the Jay Driller plants Matt with Nick having to make a save.

The Doomsday Device is broken up by a springboard cutter and a victory roll gets a rather close two. With Mark knocked to the floor, the Bucks hit a springboard Doomsday Device for another near fall on Jay but Mark takes out the referee. Mark brings in a chair, which is promptly superkicked right back into his face. The Meltzer Driver gets two on Jay as Mark makes another save.

Another Driver is loaded up but Mark pelts a chair at Nick’s head (that looked BAD, in a painful way) and the Jay Driller on a chair gets two on Matt. An elevated piledriver on a chair can’t get a pin? Now the super Razor’s Edge/neckbreaker combination is enough to put Matt away at 17:00. That last move looked great but they didn’t need to do that and the Jay Driller.

Rating: A-. Yep this was awesome and that’s really not a surprise. The Briscoes are an awesome team and can put on a great match with just about anyone. When you have the Bucks with their heads on straight and they’re being serious, they can carry their end of an excellent match too. This was the best thing on the show so far and that tends to be the case with the tag matches.

Next week: the Women of Honor. Must we?

Overall Rating: A-. Well that was easy. This was a bunch of good matches that I’ve seen before (or at least clips of them with the last match shown in full) so it’s really hard to complain about much on here. They do know how to put together a good show like this and that’s what we got with this one. There isn’t much to say on something like this but it was still rather entertaining, which was the idea.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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