Impact Wrestling
Date: June 22, 2023
Location: Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

Things took a turn last week when #1 contender Nick Aldis laid out World Champion Alex Shelley. This adds quite the wrinkle to their upcoming Slammiversary title match and I’m curious to see how all of that goes. Other than that, Scott D’Amore is ready to get his hands on Bully Ray next month. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

OVE vs. Good Hands/Brian Myers

Before the match, Skyler says OVE stands for Ohio vs. Everything. Well he’ll take everything from tooth decay to an IRS audit over Ohio. Crist kicks Skyler down to start and hands it off to Callihan for a double spinebuster. Fulton comes in for a double chokeslam/World’s Strongest Slam combination (that was cool) to take the villains down.

A Myers distraction takes Crist down though and the Good Hands drop a double elbow for two. Myers comes in with a suplex for one and we hit the chinlock. Crist fights up so Skyler comes back in for a slam to cut it off again. A forearm finally gives Crist a breather and he nips up for the tag off to Callihan. Cue Moose to crotch Crist on top so Callihan and Fulton go after him. The distraction lets Myers hit the Roster Cut for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C+. Rather formula based match here and the ending helps establish Moose and Myers as a team who could be something down the line. OVE feels almost like a blast from the past but they’re good enough for a spot like this. As long as they’re away from the Design, it’s kind of hard to complain that much.

Eddie Edwards comes up to talk to Frankie Kazarian and says Frankie can trust him tonight in their tag match. Kazarian doesn’t quite buy that so Eddie asks what he has to do. Eddie doesn’t need to worry about it but he swears on the grave of Killer Kowalski that he won’t do anything to Kazarian. That’s enough for Frankie, but he doesn’t seem completely convinced.

Sami Callihan is livid when Rich Swann comes up to him in the back. Callihan wants to know where Swann was and Swann says he was busy at Against All Odds. From now on, Swann has his back as his top priority. Callihan approves.

Here is Dirty Dango for a chat. Dango: “Man do I hate professional wrestling.” And that’s it before his match.

Dirty Dango vs. Bhupinder Gujjar

Dango shoulders him over to start and dances a bit, allowing Gujjar to come back up with a shoulder. Some dropkicks put Dango on the floor for a slingshot dive but the Gargoyle spear misses back inside. Dango hits a layout reverse DDT for the pin at 2:00.

Post match Dango grabs a phone and says something we can’t hear. Cue Santino Marella, with Gujjar sending Dango inside for the Cobra.

The Death Dollz run into the returning Nevaeh and aren’t sure if they should trust her. They don’t have much of a choice though, and it’s time to learn the parts of the story they don’t know. Courtney Rush loves an origin story….so the Dollz runs off without her.

Zicky Dice passes his test to become an official referee. The referee giving him his test treats it as a serious deal but Johnny Swinger gets rid of him. Swinger flat out says this is so he can cheat to get his fifty wins.

Mike Bailey/Jonathan Gresham vs. The Design

Gresham comes in off a very early blind tag to dropkick Angels in the back, allowing Bailey to kick him in the face. Kon comes in to wreck both of them though and Angels adds a half and half suplex. We take a break and come back with Gresham getting away to bring Bailey back in for the kicks to Kon. The bouncing kicks set up the kick to the head and a missile dropkick puts Kon down instead.

Kon is fine enough to muscle Bailey up from the mat for a slam though and the Design takes right back over. That doesn’t last long as Gresham comes in for the save, allowing Bailey to armbreaker Angels. With that broken up, Bailey moonsaults onto Kon on the floor. Back in and Bailey gets caught in a super Spanish Fly, but Deaner stops to yell at Angels. The distraction causes Angels to miss his frog splash, allowing Bailey to hit the tornado kick. The Ultimate Weapon finishes Angels at 9:28.

Rating: C+. This match did one important thing and that is getting us closer to the destruction of the Design. The team has LONG outlived its usefulness (which wasn’t much in the first place) and now they finally seem to be going away. Gresham and Bailey were good enough as a team, but I don’t need them becoming the next dream team to go after the titles.

Flashback Moment Of The Week: Magnus (Nick Aldis) beats Jeff Hardy in the Dixieland match to win the World Title on December 18, 2013.

Gisele Shaw and Gail Kim are going to be on the Amazing Race: Canada. We don’t have any clips or anything similar to hype it up, but it’s true.

Trinity isn’t happy with Gisele Shaw getting a Knockouts Title shot on the upcoming Australian tour but she’s fine with the Slammiversary match being a triple threat if it has to be. For now though, she’ll beat up Jai Vidal next week instead.

Nick Aldis has sent in a statement saying he won’t be here tonight due to fear of his own safety. Alex Shelley comes in and doesn’t buy it, saying he wants Aldis here. Aldis will be here next week so Shelley leaves, only to come back with a superkick when interviewer Jimmy Jacobs runs his mouth too much.

Taylor Wilde vs. Killer Kelly

Feeling out process to start and Kelly seems pleased with the thought of violence. A shot to the throat and a pump kick give Kelly two and a running kick to the chest drops Wilde again. King low bridges Kelly to the floor though and Wilde gets to kick away back inside. The surfboard goes on but is broken up just as fast, allowing Kelly to suplex her into the corner. They fight over a rollup for two each until Kelly pulls her into the Killer Klutch. That’s broken up as well so Kelly grabs a rollup for the pin at 5:08.

Rating: C. Nice back and forth match with Kelly getting a win for a change. I could go for her getting a stronger push as she has felt like someone who could go a lot higher rather quickly. For now at least she is getting a win and if she can find a partner, we could have some fresh challengers for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. They certainly could use some new challengers so that’s certainly an idea.

Post match the beatdown is on but Masha Slamovich comes in to save Kelly. The villains bail and Kelly seems to approve.

We recap Scott D’Amore attacking Bully Ray last week, setting up the tag match with PCO and Steve Maclin at Slammiversary.

D’Amore says he is no longer the president so he takes off the fancy stuff before saying he isn’t what he once was. His prime, if he had one, wasn’t as good as Ray or Maclin, but he coached a lot of people over the years and is a five time Canadian Heavyweight Champion. He’ll break any rule or cross any line, and since he brought Ray into this company, it’s time he took him out. The sleeves are rolled up and now he’s ready for war. Good promo here, as D’Amore sounds like a man who has to do something.

Here is Joe Hendry to say….extraterrestrials have made contact with Earth. It makes sense to do it now because he is Digital Media Champion. Those aliens are trying to say the two most important words: WE BELIEVE.

Digital Media Title: Joe Hendry vs. Yuya Uemura

Hendry is defending and here are Kenny King and Sheldon Jean to interrupt. The former sits in on commentary as Hendry works on a headlock. Some armdrags have Hendry down, causing him to bow in respect. We take a break and come back with the camera on King before looking at Uemura fighting out of a chinlock. A belly to back suplex gives Uemura two but Hendry is back up to strike it out. Hendry rolls through a high crossbody and it’s the Standing Ovation to retain the title at 9:07.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to get very far as the break and then the camera sitting on King didn’t do it any favors. King vs. Hendry is fine for a likely title feud and it wouldn’t shock me to see King get the title. At some point he has to win something new and the Digital Media Title would work well. As for Uemura, he continues to be a completely fine hand in the ring, though he needs to actually win a few matches at some point before the impact fades.

Slammiversary and Australian shows rundown.

Bully Ray/Steve Maclin vs. Frankie Kazarian/Eddie Edwards

Alisha Edwards is here with Kazarian/Eddie. Maclin and Eddie start things off with Maclin dropping him off a running elbow. Eddie is fine enough to pull him over for a slingshot legdrop from Kazarian. Maclin sends him into the corner where Ray crotches Kazarian against the post and we take a break.

Back with Kazarian being knocked into the corner again as the slow being is on. A suplex gives Maclin two and we hit the reverse chinlock. With that broken up, Eddie comes back in to chop away and a double suplex drops Ray. Eddie’s suicide dive hits Ray and Kazarian’s slingshot hurricanrana takes Maclin down on the floor. Back in and Maclin knocks Eddie to the floor where Ray grabs a chair. Instead Ray chases Alisha off and it’s Maclin chinlocking Eddie again.

An Irish Curse gives Maclin two and Ray comes back in to punch him down. Eddie gets up and crossbodies Maclin for a double knockdown. The tag brings in Kazarian to pick up the pace as everything breaks down. Kazarian drops Maclin for two as Eddie and Ray come in (sans tags) to rake each others’ eyes. Ray shoves Eddie into Kazarian, who is right back with the chickenwing. Eddie is back up and accidentally superkicks Kazarian, allowing Maclin and Ray to hit a belly to back neckbreaker for the pin at 15:31.

Rating: B-. Nice enough main event here, and I kind of like having the teams who don’t like each other not being able to win their first match against each a team of former World Champions. Eddie vs. Kazarian should be a fun match at Slammiversary assuming that is the way they go. Other than that, we had a back and forth match with the action doing well, though it never quite got to that next level.

The winners are happy and the losers aren’t to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event helped but this show wasn’t quite up to the standards of the usual stuff they do around here. Slammiversary is about three weeks away and you can see a lot of the card from here, though that doesn’t make it the most interesting. The lack of Aldis after last week’s big turn didn’t help either and it wasn’t the most interesting offering as a result. It’s not bad, but more of a skippable show than usual this week.

Results
Brian Myers/Good Hands b. OVE – Roster Cut to Crist
Dirty Dango b. Bhupinder Gujjar – Layout reverse DDT
Jonathan Gresham/Mike Bailey b. The Design – Ultimate Weapon to Angels
Killer Kelly b. Taylor Wilde – Rollup
Joe Hendry b. Yuya Uemura – Standing Ovation
Bully Ray/Steve Maclin b. Frankie Kazarian/Eddie Edwards – Belly to back neckbreaker to Kazarian

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 25, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It’s the go home show for Under Siege and the card is mostly set. There is still some tightening up that could be done for most of the show and that is where this week can come into play. Other than that, it might be time to start setting things up for the next big show after Under Siege so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Chris Sabin vs. Mike Bailey

Sabin blocks the kick to start but Bailey jumps over him, allowing Sabin to elbow him in the back. There’s the apron kick to the chest and Bailey is in trouble early. Back in and Sabin takes him down into a double underhook crank on the mat. That’s broken up and Bailey kicks him in the face to take over. More kicks put Sabin down and there’s the running shooting star press for two.

Sabin kicks the arm out and hits a missile dropkick but Bailey is back with more kicks. The standing moonsault knees to Sabin’s chest look to set up the tornado kick but Sabin kicks him back down. Back up and Bailey kicks him to the floor, setting up a kick to the head and a top rope Asai moonsault to drop Sabin again. Bailey kicks him in the head back inside but the Ultimate Weapon takes too long.

Instead Sabin sends him to the apron for a sunset bomb out to the floor (ouch). Back in and Sabin catches him on top again, this time with a release German superplex to send Bailey face first down. A heck of a clothesline sets up the Cradle Shock but Bailey reverses into a cradle for two. Bailey kicks him down hard for two more and now the tornado kick connects. The Ultimate Weapon doesn’t though and Sabin goes classic with a MuscleBuster. The Cradle Shock finishes Bailey at 12:25.

Rating: B+. This was another rather awesome X-Division opener and Bailey almost had me on that reverse of the Cradle Shock. These guys were trading one big move after another and they had a heck of a match as a result. Sabin can get in there against almost anyone and beating Bailey means a lot around here. This was rather awesome stuff and Bailey didn’t get get that annoying. I’m as shocked as you are, but great opener.

Video on Trinity debuting, feeling the love from the crowd, and accepting a match with Gisele Shaw at Under Siege.

Video on PCO vs. Steve Maclin.

Maclin says he has taken out PCO, so PCO won’t get a title shot at Under Siege. He’ll name his own replacement tonight.

Sheldon Jean/Kenny King vs. Decay

Nick Aldis is on commentary. Steve takes Jean down by the neck to start so Jean hands it off to King. That’s fine with Steve, who brings in the rather terrifying Taurus. We take a break and come back with Taurus knocking Jean down and kicking him in the face out of the corner. The reverse Sling Blade allows the tag back to Steve as everything breaks down. Taurus suplexes Steve onto King and then flip dives onto Jean. With Taurus on the floor, King Royal Flushes Steve for the pin at 10:24.

Rating: C. Perfectly fine match here though it never got into another level. This was about King looking better to get ready for his showdown with Aldis and the win gives him some momentum heading into the match. Other than that, Aldis being all chill on commentary sets a nice tone for him, but he’ll still need to find something to make him more interesting against King.

Post match King talks about Aldis, who says King can’t keep his name out of his mouth. Aldis knows King is trying to make a name for himself at Aldis’ expense, but the reality is that King needs to work his way up from being a little b****. Aldis takes his jacket off but has to deal with Jean, who comes after him on King’s orders. That’s enough to get Aldis in the ring, but King bails while singing his version of Annie’s Tomorrow.

Rosemary’s hourglass is almost out and Jessicka is panicking.

Jessicka vs. Taylor Wilde

KiLynn King is here with Wilde, who starts fast by knocking Jessicka down. A running basement DDT sets up a fisherman’s neckbreaker (the Witch’s Wrath) to finish Jessicka at 39 seconds.

Post match the beatdown is on and we see the hourglass running out. Cue a pair of red Chuck Taylor’s….and Courtney Rush (Rosemary before she was Rosemary) is here. Ruse comes in and cleans house, leaving the Coven to run off. Jessicka is thrilled to have Rush here and hugging ensues.

Post break Jessicka isn’t sure what the deal with Rush is, but Rush says she is kind of Rosemary but not really, as it’s kind of a possession sort of thing. Since she is here though, there is an adventure to go on, with Jessicka being invited along for the ride.

Angels vs. Rich Swann

The rest of the Design and Sami Callihan are here too. Swann bounces out of a wristlock to start and takes Angels down without much trouble. A hard kick drops Angels fast but he sends Swann to the floor, setting up a catapult into the post. Back in and a powerslam cuts Swann off again but he’s right back with some kicks to the face. A neckbreaker drops Angels again and there’s the step over kick to the face to make it worse.

Angels catches him on the middle rope and kicks the legs out to take over again. Swann ducks a kick to the head and scores with a dropkick, only to have a cartwheel moonsault hit raised knees. Angels sends him outside for a dive, followed by a frog splash for two back inside. That’s enough for Swann, who catches him on top and snaps off a hurricanrana. The middle rope 450 finishes for Swann at 6:56.

Rating: C+. Angels is pretty easily the best in-ring star of the Design but that isn’t exactly the hardest field to overcome. The war against Callihan continues, but there is only so much to get out of this story as it somehow keeps going. I’m almost scared to see who is going to team with Callihan and Swann tomorrow, but hopefully it isn’t someone with too much value being sunk into this thing.

Post match the Design comes in so Callihan tries to make the save. The baseball bat shots knock the good guys down.

Deonna Purrazzo isn’t worried about Jordynne Grace but Alisha Edwards comes in. Edwards talks about that Grace is going to show her true colors but Purrazzo isn’t convinced.

Killer Kelly and Masha Slamovich have a big brawl in the back. Slamovich chokes her out.

Alisha Edwards vs. Jordynne Grace

Eddie Edwards is here with Alisha. Grace gets shoved in the face to start and Alisha chops her, earning a laugh. Another slap is countered into Dalton Castle’s Bang A Rang, setting up the Grace Driver (Alisha landed HARD) for the pin at 46 seconds.

We get an explanation from Dirty Dango of why he attacked Santino Marella. Dango explains that he grew up watching the Attitude Era and he doesn’t like people walking around talking about how happy they are to be here. No he doesn’t have to worry about walking on eggshells because he makes money outside of wrestling. When he broke in, it was about talking in the locker room and what you did rather than looking at your phones.

People cared about the crowd reactions rather than their social media. No he isn’t worried about people hitting him in the face, but he might get a tweet. As for attacking Santino, it’s because the Cobra was a big deal in 2010 and Santino is stuck doing the same things over and over. Joe Hendry is just another stooge and it would be ironic and funny if Dango won the toy title. So he’s Jim Cornette’s complaints about modern wrestling?

Video on the six way #1 contenders match at Under Siege.

Chris Bey vs. John Skyler

Ace Austin, Brian Myers and Jason Hotch are ringside. Bey snaps off a hurricanrana to start and hits a double stomp to the back. Skyler is sent outside and ducks the dive, allowing his friends to offer a distraction. One heck of a clothesline takes Bey down and we take a break. Back with Skyler grabbing a chinlock but Bey is up in a hurry. The running elbow hits Skyler in the corner but a middle rope elbow misses for Bey. We get a series of standing switches as Hotch offers a distraction. With that not working, Bey dropkicks Myers down and the Art of Finesse finishes Skyler at 9:17.

Rating: C+. Another nice match between talented guys. The Good Hands have wound up being a perfectly nice team and a cool addition to the division. That being said, the Bullet Club has gone from just another team to maybe the best in the company today (yes including the Guns). I could go for those guys holding the titles for a long time, as this worked rather well, with skilled tag wrestlers getting to show their solo skills for a change.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Here is Steve Maclin to name his replacement World Title challenger for tomorrow night. Maclin declares PCO dead so here is his new opponent: Champagne Singh! Cue Singh, with Shera, to say it’s time he finished his story. He has a list of people to thank and it’s probably hundreds of names long. Instead here is Scott D’Amore to interrupt, with Singh saying we should get a contract out here right now.

D’Amore says nah on the match so Maclin yells about this being unfair. D’Amore says he wants the best wrestler in the world to be the World Champion and that might be Maclin. Then Maclin tries to do something like this and the title is disrespected. D’Amore wants to bury this right now. If Maclin retains at Under Siege, D’Amore will shake his hand and apology, even handing Maclin the title. That doesn’t work for the champ, who tells D’Amore to leave and show him the respect that he deserves.

The title makes Maclin D’Amore’s boss, and he wants D’Amore to strap the title around him if he wins at Under Siege. That works for D’Amore, but Maclin still wants to know the replacement. D’Amore hasn’t named a replacement, because THERE IS NO REPLACEMENT. Actually, he’s here tonight and cue PCO so the fight can be on. Maclin bails as the lackeys are beaten up to end the show. This was a long segment to set up the D’Amore stipulation and nothing else, as otherwise we’re right back where we started coming into this show.

Overall Rating: B-. Under Siege is looking good and this show helped boost it up even more. What mattered here was making me care about the big show a bit more and they accomplished their goal. The opener was good and the segments worked well enough, though the women’s matches not even breaking 90 seconds total was rather strange. As usual, the show knows what it needs to do and then goes out to do it, which is harder than it seems. Good show here, with the more important show hopefully following suit.

Results
Chris Sabin b. Mike Bailey – Cradle Shock
Kenny King/Sheldon Jean b. Decay – Royal Flush to Crazzy Steve
Taylor Wilde b. Jessicka – Witch’s Wrath
Rich Swann b. Alan Angels – Middle rope 450
Jordynne Grace b. Alisha Edwards – Grace Driver
Chris Bey b. John Skyler – Art Of Finesse

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 18, 2023
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re almost up to Under Siege and things have started to get all the more interesting around here. Above all else, Steve Maclin has to defend the World Title against PCO, but might also have Alex Shelley to worry about either before or after. Other than that, Trinity has an open challenge for the show and is going to need an opponent. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Trey Miguel vs. Laredo Kid

Non-title. Kid takes him down without much effort to start but they’re right up with a standoff. Back up and Kid sends him outside for the big running dive as Miguel can’t get much going here. Miguel finally uppercuts his way out of trouble and hits a basement dropkick for two back inside. Some slow kicks to the head seem to wake Kid up, meaning it’s a Michinoku Driver into a not so great looking bottom rope moonsault.

The middle rope moonsault to the back gets two but Miguel kicks him away again. A running flip DDT plants Miguel again though and something like a reverse Koji clutch keeps him down. With that broken up, Miguel flips over him and hits a basement dropkick to the back of the head for two more. A loud enziguri sets up a missed Lightning Spiral, only to have Miguel pull off the mask. That’s enough for a rollup with tights to give Miguel the pin at 8:54.

Rating: B-. This was what you would expect from these two as Miguel is one of the more dependable stars in Impact these days and Kid has always been worth a look. That being said, I really could go without seeing the “HE RIPPED OFF THE MASK” for a very long time. It comes off like the emergency exit for a match involving a masked wrestler these days and just feels uncreative.

Post match Miguel insults the crowd and says it’s time to get some respect on his name. Actually, Miguel wants it so much that he is holding this show hostage until he gets his respect. We take a break and come back with Miguel still in the ring until Chris Sabin, the #1 contender to Miguel’s X-Division Title, interrupts. Sabin talks about how Miguel needs to give respect to get it back, and he didn’t give any respect when he defaced the title.

It was disrespectful to everyone who who has held that title before. Sabin is an eight time X-Division Champion and a former World Champion, so at Under Siege, he is taking the title and giving it the respect that it deserves. Now get out of his ring, which Miguel does. This made the title match feel that might more important and that is a great thing, as the X-Division Title rarely gets this much attention.

Trinity is warming up when Jai Vidal interrupts. Gisele Shaw isn’t happy with her, but Trinity says come do something about it face to face. Shaw is injured but will be back next week, where Trinity will be waiting.

Rich Swann and Sami Callihan talk about their history together. They started at a small independent promotion in Philadelphia and became friends. Sure they fight from time to time, but people as close as they are will always come back together. We see some of their fights over the years and Sami says he’ll still call Swann the best wrestler in the world.

Ace Austin vs. Jason Hotch

Chris Bey is here with Austin and Brian Myers/John Skyler are here with Hotch. Before the match, Myers and Skyler threaten Austin for going after one of the Good Hands. They go technical to start with Hotch working on a headlock before running Austin over. That doesn’t seem to bother Austin, who rolls out and kicks him in the back.

A hip toss and armdrag have Hotch in trouble, setting up a jumping legdrop for two. Austin grabs a headscissors, sending Hotch over to the ropes rather quickly. Back up and Hotch sends him throat first into the rope to take over and we take a break. We come back with Austin hitting a running forearm in the corner, only to get caught with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two.

Austin fights up again and looks to set up the Fold but Myers’ distraction lets Skyler pull him to the floor. Bey takes Skyler down but Hotch catches Austin with a Spanish Fly for two. Back up and Myers gets in a cheap shot from the floor, allowing Hotch to grab a rollup for the pin at 11:32.

Rating: B-. Hotch is someone who you haven’t seen much from around here but he actually does live up to the Good Hand moniker. The Hands should be fine enough for an upcoming title shot as Myers is just enough of a threat to make you think that the titles could change hands. Another good match here, as this show is doing rather well so far.

Steve Maclin thanks Champagne Singh and Shera for taking out Heath last week. He needs them to prove their worth again though and it is time to do it right now. Come with him.

We look back at the Coven retaining the Knockouts Tag Team Titles over Jordynne Grace and Deonna Purrazzo last week.

Grace wants to be the face of this division so she wants no doubt when she beats Purrazzo. Alisha Edwards comes in to say she doesn’t believe anything Grace is saying. Grace took Purrazzo out last week on purpose…but the threat of a right hand sends Edwards bailing.

Trinity vs. KiLynn King

Taylor Wilde is here with King. An early kick to the face staggers King and the threat of the Rear View sends her to the apron. Back in and a kick to the head rocks King, setting up the splits splash for two. King finally fights back and ties her in the ropes, setting up a kick of her own to rock Trinity for a change. A backslide attempt doesn’t work for Trinity and King blasts her with a clothesline for two.

King slowly hammers away and hits a high collar suplex, followed by alternating rope choking. Trinity fights back up but gets crotched n top by Wilde, which is enough for an ejection (not a DQ, but an ejection). A high crossbody hits King and a good looking top rope Blockbuster gives Trinity two more.

King is right back with a powerslam for two of her own but Trinity sends her into the ropes. Something like a jumping hanging Pedigree (minus the double underhook) gives Trinity two but King grabs an AA for the same. Trinity knees her in the face though and pulls King into Star Struck (the reverse Rings of Saturn) for the tap at 10:31.

Rating: B. This was a lot of trading moves but they were rocking by the end and while there was almost no way that Trinity was losing, the near falls had me wondering how this was going to end. They did a great job of pulling me in here and the fans seemed rather invested. If nothing else, it showed that Trinity can still go after such a long time away from the ring, which is exactly how you need to get things started. Very good stuff here and they were working hard throughout,.

Post match Jai Vidal interrupts and says everyone knows who Gisele Shaw is. Shaw has a message for her: she accepts the challenge for Under Siege and Vidal goes to slap her. That’s broken up with a twist of the hand and a kick to the head, with Trinity accepting the acceptance.

Steve Maclin, Champagne Singh and Shera jump PCO and beat him down backstage. They put some cement blocks on his back and crush it with a sledgehammer, leaving PCO screaming.

Jessicka is waiting on Rosemary to get back from the Undead Realm when the Coven interrupts. They offer to open the door to the Realm but Rosemary has said they aren’t powerful enough. King (who looks fine after a hard hitting match that absolutely took place right before this took place) says Rosemary isn’t always right and the Coven seems ready to open the door.

Jody Threat vs. Sierra

Threat kicks her into the corner to start and fires off some clotheslines. The release northern lights suplex drops Sierra again and a top rope seated senton makes it worse. Threat grabs a German suplex and finishes with the F416 finishes Sierra at 2:25. They’re certainly trying with Threat so points for pushing someone new.

Eddie Edwards comes up to see Frankie Kazarian before their six man tag. Edwards says follow his lead tonight, with Kazarian agreeing, though he hopes it goes better than Honor No More.

Dirty Dango clears Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice of attacking Santino Marella because they’re too stupid to figure it out. They accuse Joe Hendry, who pops in, with Dango asking if that’s true. Hendry denies it, but says he’s a champion and therefore moving on from all of this. Dango doesn’t like that and gets his shirt ripped open, revealing MISSING CHEST HAIR! Dango tries to deny it….but yeah he did it. Dango: “Case closed bro.”

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Frankie Kazarian/Moose/Eddie Edwards vs. Yuya Uemura/Jonathan Gresham/Alex Shelley

This is everyone in the Under Siege #1 contenders match. Shelley cranks on Eddie’s arm to start before it’s quickly off to Uemura vs. Moose. Uemura armdrags him into an armbar before it’s off to Kazarian to headlock Gresham. Edwards comes back in to headbutt Gresham, only to have Shelley come in off a blind tag to take out the leg. Everything breaks down and Shelley and company clear the ring as we take a break.

Back with Uemura suplexing Eddie and getting over for the tag to Shelley. Shelley comes in to start taking over on Eddie, who enziguris his way out of trouble. Kazarian hits a leg lariat for two on Shelley and hands it back to Moose, who isn’t happy with this. The slow, alternating beatings continue until Shelley goes after Eddie’s bad knee. The Boston Knee Party gets Eddie out of trouble but Shelley knocks him down again, allowing Uemura to come in and clean house.

A suplex gets two on Eddie but he’s right back with the Blue Thunder Bomb for the same. Moose cuts Uemura off with a Randy Orton backbreaker, followed by a standing powerbomb for two. Uemura kicks his way out of trouble though and brings Gresham back in. Moose’s powerbomb is broken up and Gresham rolls him into a failed ankle lock attempt. Gresham cranks the leg out anyway and victory rolls the now legal Kazarian for two.

Shelley comes back in and gets clotheslined, followed by the running forearm. The slingshot DDT gives Kazarian two but Shelley drops Kazarian and Edwards at the same time. Kazarian Backstabs Uemura but gets suplexed hard by Gresham. Uemura dives onto Moose at ringside and we settle down to Shelley Shell Shocking Edwards for the pin at 20:21.

Rating: B. The solid wrestling show wraps up with a solid six man as Shelley gets some momentum built up for Under Siege. This was a bunch of stuff that kept going until the end with Eddie’s knee injury being the main focal point. Other than that, it was a great way to get a bunch of people some shine at the same time, while being unique enough that it felt worth seeing.

Overall Rating: B+. This is the kind of show that you do not get very often and it was a very special watch. It was two hours of awesome wrestling and storylines being advanced. I had a really good time with this show and there was nothing bad throughout. They even had a lack of Design for a bonus. Rather great show here and one of the best Impacts in a long time.

Results
Trey Miguel b. Laredo Kid – Rollup with tights
Jason Hotch b. Ace Austin – Rollup
Trinity b. KiLynn King – Starstruck
Joey Threat b. Sierra – F416
Yuya Uemura/Jonathan Gresham/Alex Shelley b. Frankie Kazarian/Moose/Eddie Edwards – Shell Shock to Edwards

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Impact Wrestling
Date: April 27, 2023
Location: Rebel Entertainment Complex, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

The end of last week’s show saw a big announcement as PCO will be getting the first shot at Steve Maclin’s World Title. That alone is going to make for a heck of a showdown at Under Siege, but the card is going to need more than just one match. There are a few options available and we will probably find out some of them tonight so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Masha Slamovich vs. Jordynne Grace

Grace shoulders her down to start and then does it again, setting up a wristlock. Slamovich tries an armbar but gets powered into the corner, where Grace hits the running Vader Bomb for two. It’s too early for the Grace Driver as Slamovich sends her into the rope for a shot to the throat. Slamovich gets in a shot to the face and rips at said face for a bonus.

There’s a neck snap across the top rope but Grace catches her in the corner and hits a MuscleBuster for two. Slamovich charges into a Michinoku driver for two more before Grace pulls her into a rear naked choke. That’s reversed into Slamovich’s choke, plus a leg trap belly to back suplex for two. They go into a pinfall reversal sequence for a series of ones until Grace stacks her up for the pin at 11:02.

Rating: B-. These two work well together, but it is kind of astounding to see how far Slamovich has fallen. Maybe it is the Russian aspect, but she has gone from what seemed to be the next big thing in the division to just kind of there. While it could still change, I’m not seeing much of a reason to believe that she is going to go further than she is right now. At least not for the time being.

We get a look back at Nick Aldis’ history in Impact, which led to him leading to see if he could be a star without being Magnus. Then he became the NWA World Champion for over 1,000 days and now it is time to see if he can still do it around here.

Joe Hendry has a broke nose. No word on how long he might be out.

Here is Steve Maclin for a chat. Maclin gets to the point: he doesn’t want to wait for Under Siege, so PCO can come out here right now. Cue Champagne Singh and Shera to jump PCO, who fights them both off. Cue Santino Marella and we have a match right now.

PCO vs. Champagne Singh

There are no seconds as PCO sends him to the floor to start. There’s the running flip dive to drop Singh but he’s back with a dropkick and Codebreaker. PCO isn’t happy with Singh bringing out money though and it’s a Backstabber out of the corner. The middle rope flipping splash connects and there’s the DeAnimator to make it worse. A reverse DDT sets up the PCOsault to finish Singh at 5:30.

Rating: C. This was what it needed to be, as PCO ran through someone who shouldn’t give him a problem. PCO has taken out much bigger stars around here and it isn’t like Singh or Shera has any real credibility. Nothing match, but PCO looked good in a pretty dominant win and that’s what they needed to do here.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Magnus b. Christopher Daniels on Impact, February 14, 2013.

The Design is mad at Sami Callihan.

The Coven uses magic to weaken Deonna Purrazzo before Taylor Wilde faces her tonight. They laugh a lot.

Here is Johnny Swinger, with Zicky Dice, to face a luchador that Dice has paid for personally. There’s a language barrier though, so Dice goes to get him.

Johnny Swinger vs. El Dinerico

I have a feeling you know what is going on here. A drop toehold and la majistral finishes Dinerico at 27 seconds.

Post break Swinger and Dice celebrate their win but Santino Marella comes in to say that doesn’t count. Swinger fires Dice, who is so upset he speaks Spanish.

Kenny King won a match on BTI and yelled at commentary.

After mocking the guy he beat, King talked to Sheldon Jean, who has untapped potential. Jean doesn’t seem interested, but King eventually intrigues him.

Design vs. Bullet Club

Non-title and it’s Angels/Kon with Deaner for the Design. Angels slugs away at Bey as commentary thankfully says that a lot of people were expecting Sami Callihan to turn on the team. Bey takes over on Angels so it’s off to Kon, who is quickly kicked in the head. Kon runs them both over though and throws Bey outside in a (possibly ankle injuring) heap. We see Santino Marella down in the back and come back to Kon putting Austin in a nerve hold.

Austin fights out of the corner and avoids a charge, setting up a kick to the face. Bey comes back in with a Code Red to Angels but Kon grabs him, setting up a springboard Russian legsweep (that was cool). With Kon on the floor, the Club take turns diving at him to limited avail. Cue Callihan to go after Deaner, leaving the Club to finally drop Kon with a double dive. Back in and the 1 2 Sweet finishes Angels at 8:26.

Rating: C+. It says a lot about the Bullet Club that they were able to get something decent out of these schmucks. The Design continues to be one of the most worthless acts in wrestling and having Callihan come out there to hurt their leader was almost cathartic in a way. Just get the feud over with so hopefully they can move on to anything else, because this is somehow getting less interesting by the week.

Santino Marella was attacked and is told he needs to take some time off. Dirty Dango resigns as assistant Director of Authority (with Santino reminding him that he never such a thing in the first place) to become DETECTIVE of Authority. Someone has to solve the mystery of who jumped Santino you see.

The Death Dollz don’t have the power to get back to the Undead Realm without the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. Crazzy Steve comes in and, after being amazed by how excited Jessicka is about meeting him, suggests that they talk to James Mitchell. Rosemary doesn’t like it but agrees.

Jody Threat vs. Seleziya Sparx

Jody drives her into the corner to start and grabs the wristlock to keep things on the mat. Back up and Threat gets sent to the apron, only to come back with a top rope seated senton. Some corner clotheslines set up a release German suplex, followed by the F416 to finish Sparx at 4:21.

Rating: C. I still do not get the appeal of Threat, who has yet to show me much of anything in her time around here. She’s not bad or having terrible matches, but rather just coming and going without making any real impression. Then again, I do like the idea of putting in some fresh names so points for at least trying something.

Killer Kelly really liked Hardcore War and wants more violence.

We get the first in a series of sitdown interviews with Frankie Kazarian. He got his break in Impact in 2003 and became a star in the X-Division. It was the tale end of the wild west of wrestling though and he didn’t want to become one of the good old boys who clutched to their spot. Then he left in 2014 after doing all kinds of things here, but management was such a mess (we get a clip of Dixie Carter clutching to Hulk Hogan’s leg, begging him to stay) that he decided to walk away. More next week after a more interesting first part than I was expecting.

Here’s what’s coming on future shows.

Knockouts Title: Taylor Wilde vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Wilde, with KiLynn King, is challenging. They circle each other for a bit to start before Wilde takes out the leg to put them both on the mat. Purrazzo reverses into an armbar but it gets broken up for an early standoff. An armdrag into an armbar has Wilde in more trouble but King offers a distraction for the break. Wilde gets in a cheap shot from behind but takes too long posing, allowing Purrazzo to try for the Fujiwara armbar. With that not working, Wilde consults her cards and we take a break.

Back with Wilde being sent outside, allowing Purrazzo to deck King. That lets Wilde get in another shot to take over, with King even getting in the neck snap of retribution. Wilde steps on the hair and pulls up like a good villain, only to be knocked into the corner. They collide in the middle for a double knockdown and they get a breather. Wilde grabs a German suplex but gets pulled into the Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 12:56.

Rating: B-. Another nice back and forth match here as Purrazzo dispatches an early challenger for the title. Wilde taking the loss doesn’t hurt her title reign with King and it was a pretty competitive match. You can probably pencil in King for a title shot of her own and I’ve heard worse ideas for everyone involved.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jordynne Grace makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. People who needed to win did so and aside from the Design, there was nothing that felt like a waste of time. In other words, it’s more of the same solid stuff from Impact that we’ve been seeing for months now. What matters is setting up Under Siege and you can see some of those matches coming from here. They still have time to set it up and odds are we’ll be seeing something more next week. For now, it’s a show that did enough good to make me want to see what happens next.

Results
Jordynne Grace b. Masha Slamovich – Rollup
PCO b. Champagne Singh – PCOsault
Johnny Swinger b. El Dinerico – La majistral
Bullet Club b. The Design – 1 2 Sweet to Angels
Jody Threat b. Seleziya Sparx – F416
Deonna Purrazzo b. Taylor Wilde – Fujiwara armbar

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: April 13, 2023
Location: St. Clair College, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

The road to Rebellion end this week and that means it is time to finish off the build towards the show. In this case it means we are going to be seeing more build towards the new World Title match of Kushida vs. Steve Maclin. This week will also see what happens with Mickie James and the Knockouts Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Kenny King vs. Frankie Kazarian

The winner gets the advantage in the Hardcore War at Rebellion and the other teams are at ringside. They fight over a lockup to start until Kazarian snaps off some chops. King cuts him off though and starts hammering away in the corner to take over. A backbreaker gives King two and we hit the one armed camel clutch. Kazarian breaks it up and makes the clothesline comeback, capped off by a running forearm.

The springboard spinning legdrop gives Kazarian two but King is back with a tiger driver for the same. King sends him to the floor but Kazarian comes back in with a slingshot cutter for two. The brawl on the floor finally breaks out as Kazarian gets the chickenwing. Cue Brian Myers for a distraction, allowing Moose to spear Kazarian down for the pin at 8:18.

Rating: B-. These two were having a good match until the screwy ending, which was quite the twist as Myers and Moose haven’t had anything to do with this feud so far. They would be an upgrade over the Good Hands for the match but that might be asking too much. For now though, I’ll settle for talented wrestlers having a good match to open the show, as is the norm around here.

Post match the beatdown is on and Team Dreamer is left laying.

Earlier tonight, Steve Maclin interrupted the Canadian National Anthem. Kushida made the save and cleaned house in a brawl.

Lince Dorado vs. Black Taurus vs. Laredo Kid vs. Rich Swann

Crazzy Steve handles Taurus’ intro. Taurus sends everyone to the floor to start and hits the big dive, only to have a triple superkick send him to the floor. That means the dives can take him out and leave everyone down as we take a break. Back with Taurus launching Dorado onto the top, where he can superplex Kid (while on top of Taurus’ shoulders for a crazy visual).

Back up and Kid hits a springboard armdrag to Swann, followed by a double Golden Rewind from Dorado. Taurus is back in to clean house, including a heck of a pop up Samoan drop to Dorado. That’s not enough as Taurus powerbombs Kid onto Swann at ringside. Taurus cleans house and goes up, only to have Kid catch him with a super Spanish Fly for the pin at 10:44.

Rating: B-. This might not have broken the mold for a match like this but they did their thing well. Kid has felt like he should be the next breakout star in the division almost every time he is around but nothing has ever really clicked. It seems like they’re trying it again and pinning Taurus is certainly a good way to start. Taurus got to show off again here and that power is always worth a look. Fun match, as expected.

Long video on the Bullet Club vs. the Motor City Machine Guns in Ultimate X for the Tag Team Titles.

Jessicka and Rosemary want to go to the Undead Realm to get Taya Valkyrie back but Rosemary says she’s going alone because Jessicka doesn’t know how to do it. She opens the coffin….but it’s just a regular one instead of the portal. The Coven must be behind this!

Jessicka vs. Taylor Wilde

Rosemary and KiLynn King are here too. Hold on as Wilde gives Jessicka a tarot card to start so Jessicka shows it to Rosemary. That lets Wilde jump her from behind so Jessicka says STOP HITTING ME. Jessicka misses a charge and gets choked in the corner before a Backstabber brings Jessicka down again. Back up and some jabs stagger Wilde, setting up a running crossbody for two. Rosemary and King get into it, allowing Wilde to slip out of a Sick Driver and grab a fisherman’s neckbreaker for the pin at 4:28.

Rating: C. The more I see of Wilde, the more amazed I am by the fact that she is the same woman who came back to almost no reaction last year. This is a completely different way to go for her and it is working rather well. The Coven has been a nice breath of air for the division and I could go for them holding the titles that much longer.

Jordynne Grace is ready for the Knockouts Title match at Rebellion but she can’t control what happens with Mickie James. She can control winning though.

Alisha Edwards is glad to have brought Eddie Edwards back to the right path. Now they want to get rid of the monster blocking his path.

Dirty Dango/Joe Hendry vs. Angels/Callihan

Before the match, Hendry confirms our belief in him. The rest of the Design is here too because what would it be like without the rest of them. Callihan suplexes Hendry for a fast two so Angels comes in, only to get suplexed as well. Dango comes in for the Dirtbag Shuffle but Angels takes him down. Callihan is whipped into Angels though and it’s back to Dango to clean house. Kon grabs the leg though and it’s a standing Sliced Bread to drop Hendry. A frog splash gets two, with Hendry making the save. Callihan hits Angels by mistake so Deaner stops to yell, leaving Hendry to hit the Standing Ovation for the pin at 4:39.

Rating: C. Egads I don’t know how much more I can take of this story. It feels like it has been going on forever and the Design somehow gets lamer every single week. Just get to someone turning on someone so they can have their big violent match and we can move on. Dango continues to do fine in his role and it’s nice to see him getting away from the dancing stuff. Hendry continues to be awesome and that’s all he needs to be.

Post match the Design jumps them again, until Santino Marella comes out for the save. This includes the Cobra because….oh my head hurts again.

Video on Steve Maclin vs. Kushida.

PCO promises to bury Eddie Edwards in a Last Rites match at Rebellion.

Bully Ray introduces Moose and Brian Myers as new members of his now seven person army. They’re ready for Rebellion and promise destruction because they’re family. Keep in mind that this is all to destroy TOMMY DREAMER.

Gisele Shaw vs. Tasha Steelz

Jai Vidal and Savannah Evans are here with Shaw. Steelz scares her to the floor to start before Steelz slaps her in the face back inside. That sends Shaw back to the floor and we take a break. Back with Shaw slapping her in the face as the theme continues. Steelz chops away but Shawn knocks her outside, where Evans hits a chokeslam onto the apron.

A snap suplex gives Shaw two more and we hit the reverse chinlock. With that broken up, Shaw hits a double jumping stomp in the corner and we take another break. Back again with Shaw hitting a running jumping uppercut for two more, followed by a swinging suplex for the same.

Steelz fights up and hits an ax handle into an atomic drop into a…completely missed jumping neckbreaker. Shaw’s belly to back toss sets up a running shot to the back of the head for two. The annoyed Shaw stomps away in the corner before they head outside for a slugout. Steelz sends her into the steps but misses a running knee, which only hits said steps. Back in and Steelz kicks the knee out for the pin at 21:23.

Rating: C+. Something tells me we didn’t miss much between those breaks as I have a hard time believing that these two had a pay per view main event length match out of nowhere. It wouldn’t surprise me if this had to be extended due to the Mickie James injury and if that is the case, they did rather well in an area they probably haven’t been in before.

Mickie James tells Santino Marella that the doctor has given her a diagnosis of her rib injury.

The fans leave the arena for Mickie’s announcement. I’m assuming this is to avoid the announcement getting out, but it comes off like some tragedy.

Rebellion rundown. Apparently Brian Myers and Moose are taking the Good Hands’ spots on Team Bully. At least they don’t have to find two more people for Team Dreamer.

Video on Mickie James’ Last Rodeo and path to winning the Knockouts Title again, plus Jordynne Grace and Deonna Purrazzo waiting for their shots.

Here is Mickie for her big announcement. When she started the Last Rodeo, she wanted to show that she still had it and that is what she did. At some point, every champion has to lose and she can handle some of that, but she can’t fight age. There is a difference between her and most of the division, but she feels like she is 20.

The fact that she isn’t makes this even worse and she thanks everyone for this Last Rodeo. She just got off the phone with the doctor though and she isn’t cleared to compete at Rebellion. She is a woman of her word and it is Deonna and Jordynne’s (watching in the back) time now. Mickie leaves the title, and her hat, in the ring and leaves. Grace leaves and Deonna looks on to end the show. This felt a lot like a retirement speech, but retiring over a broken bone feels like quite the stretch. James should be back and probably will, as ending a legendary career over something that will heal in a month or two is nuts.

Overall Rating: B-. The Mickie angle at the end was actually emotional and felt like a huge deal, which should set up the Knockouts Title match that much better. Other than that, the card for Rebellion was already mostly set coming into this show so there only so much that needed to be done. This show did well enough with the little that it had to cover, so nice job on hammering things down on the go home show.

Results
Kenny King b. Frankie Kazarian – Spear from Moose
Laredo Kid b. Black Taurus, Lince Dorado and Rich Swann – Super Spanish Fly to Taurus
Taylor Wilde b. Jessicka – Fisherman’s neckbreaker
Dirty Dango/Joe Hendry b. Callihan/Angels – Standing Ovation to Angels
Tasha Steelz b. Gisele Shaw – Kick to the knee

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

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Bangerz Only
Date: April 2, 2022
Location: Fair Park, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Denise Salcedo, Sam Leterna, Veda Scott

This is from Mission Pro Wrestling, an all women’s promotion owned by AEW Thunder Rosa, from over Wrestlemania weekend. That means we should be in for a fun show which likely includes a fair few guest stars. I have no idea what to expect from this show and that is a nice feeling, as it could be a little bit of anything. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Shazza McKenzie vs. Janai Kai

Kai has been on AEW before. They go with the mat grappling to start as Scott can’t remember if she turned on McKenzie when they were teaming together or not (she did). The grapple off goes to Kai, who takes her to the mat for some kicks to the mat. Back up and McKenzie strikes away as well before kicking her in the face. Kai is right back with some kicks of her own to strike McKenzie down as commentary rapid fires what these two have been doing lately.

Something like a seated dragon sleeper has McKenzie in trouble until she fights up for stereo kicks and a double knockdown. McKenzie hits some running knees to the back and ties her in the ropes for kicks to the chest. Back in and Kai sweeps the leg for two but gets caught in the Shamission (seated crossface chickenwing), only to grab the rope. Kai is right back up with a spinning kick to the face for the pin at 8:42.

Rating: C+. This was a fast paced opener and it seems that they are going to be focusing on a lot of striking and submission stuff, making this in fact a modern independent style show. McKenzie has been around for a good while and I’ve seen some of Kai, so this wasn’t exactly a surprise. Good enough here, though I don’t know if it was quite a BANGER(Z).

Allie Katch vs. JP Harlow

So Harlow, with Ayla Fox (evil manager/agent), is a man and therefore a major heel around here. Katch goes after the arm to start and headlock takeovers him down. Ayla grabs a trip from the floor though and it’s enough for Harlow to kick the rope low to takeover. Corner stomping keeps Katch down but Harlow misses a charge, only to backdrop his way out of trouble.

A Death Valley Driver gets two more and it’s time to stand on Katch’s hair. Ayla gets in some choking from the floor but Katch is fine enough to jawbreak her way to freedom. The running hip attack in the corner sets up a Cannonball for two on Harlow but he’s right back with a DDT out of the corner. Back up and Harlow almost runs into an interfering Ayla, allowing Katch to grab a piledriver for the pin at 8:21.

Rating: C. Katch is someone who has been around this circuit for a long time and she does have the abilities to stay interesting in most of the matches I’ve seen from her. Harlow being around was more than a little weird but it does make for a good heel. Giving the fans something to cheer about is a good way to go as they’re continuing with the nice start.

La Rosa Negra vs. Jody Threat

Rosa is rather bubbly and dances to the ring. They go to the mat to start with Rosa rolling her up for two as we hear about Threat eating Big Macs and working out. Rosa’s headscissors keeps Threat in trouble but she reverses into a cross armbreaker, sending Rosa to the ropes. Rosa is right back with her own cross armbreaker, sending Threat to the ropes for her own break.

Threat is sent to the apron and manages to kick Rosa in the face to take over again. Back up and Rosa has to fight out of the corner before elbowing Threat down. An airplane spin and big kick to the head gives Rosa two, followed by a high crossbody for the same. Rosa knocks her to the floor for a suicide dive, then does it again for a bonus.

Threat elbows her way out of a fireman’s carry and hits a running flip attack off the apron. They both beat the count back in and slug it out until Threat’s neckbreaker gets two. Some kicks to Rosa’s face into a German suplex gives Threat two more but Rosa kicks her down. The frog splash connects but Threat rolls her up for the pin at 16:33.

Rating: C. This got a lot more time than the other matches so far and while it turned into a slugfest, a lot of it felt like two people just doing moves to each other until one of them got a pin. There wasn’t anything resembling a story or a flow to it and commentary’s main contribution was to say “that’s why they call Rosa” something in Spanish without actually saying what that means. Good power brawl, but it needed a lot of work.

The ring announcer thanks the fans for helping the show.

Bougie Reality vs. Bionic Kingdom

That would be Madi Wrenkowski/Rache Chanel vs. Jennacide/KiLynn King, some of whom you might know from AEW. Bionic King get guitared to the ring for a nice touch. King and Madi start things off with an exchange of shoulders going nowhere. The bigger King runs Madi over and it’s off to Chanel for a change. Chanel gets taken into the corner so Jennacide can chop away as everything breaks down.

Reality is whipped into each other and stereo facebusters give King an early two. Back up and Reality manages to get them both into the ropes, meaning laughing/choking can ensue. We settle down to Madi working on King’s leg in the corner and we hit the leglock. King fights up and hits some knees but hurts herself in the process, meaning Reality keeps her down in the corner.

A World’s Strongest Slam gets King out of trouble and there’s the much needed tag to Jennacide. Everything breaks down and something like an F5 gets two on Madi. A backbreaker plants Madi but she rakes the eyes to get out of an electric chair. Back up and a Codebreaker into a scissors kick Stomp (the Reality Check) finishes Jennacide at 11:25.

Rating: B-. I liked this one as you could tell a bit more of a story out of the whole thing. Both teams felt like people who had worked together before and they had a nice match at the same time. King and Chanel have both worked on bigger stages and it is easy to see that they are above a lot of the talent on this show. Good match here and the best part of the show so far.

Lindsay Snow vs. Masha Slamovich

Snow is back after a long absence and Slamovich is a monster. They go right to the slugout to start with Snow screaming as she hits a clothesline. Slamovich is sent outside where she kicks Snow in the back a few times before ramming her ribs first into the apron (which may or may not have been due to not being able to pull off an apron bomb). Back in and Snow grabs a kneebar to take over, which is broken up by a rake of the eyes.

Some heavy forearms keep Snow down but she is back up with a DDT for a double knockdown. Snow hits a running knee for two, followed by Slamovich hitting a German suplex for the same. Slamovich kicks her hard in the head for two more and heads up top, where Snow gets in a kick to the head. A MuscleBuster finishes Slamovich at 6:35.

Rating: C+. This was the slugfest match but it just ended all of a sudden. I’m not sure why they went home out of nowhere like that but it did seem like they were wrapping it up. I can go for that with a more physical match like this one but it was still rather quick. Snow is someone I’ve heard of before but never actually seen and she was good enough that I would take another look.

Renegade Twins/Jazmin Allure vs. The Hex/Laynie Luck

The Hex is Allysin Kay/Marti Belle (NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions) while the Renegades (Charlotte/Robyn) are the Mission Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champions. They talk a lot of trash at each other to start until it’s Kay vs. Robyn to get things going. Kay takes her down into an early chinlock, which is turned into a slugout out the mat. That’s broken up so Kay grabs a rollup for two, with Allure making a save.

Everything breaks down and Luck dives onto the Renegades. Allure comes in and gets Three Amigoed by Belle, setting up some running shots in the corner by the Hex. It’s back to Robyn as everything breaks down again, with Belle getting taken down in the corner for a change. The villains (I think?) take turns stomping away, which sets up a Boston crab/camel clutch/running dropkick combination (didn’t quite get the timing right as the two holds weren’t on at once but it was a cool idea).

Belle gets stomped again but manages to counter a double suplex by sending Robyn’s leg into Charlotte. That’s enough to get over for the hot tag off to Kay to clean house with the expected shots to the face. Kay keeps slugging away despite having Allure on her back before handing it off to Luck. Everything breaks down again as Veda thinks this should just be a tornado tag match. Luck full nelson slams Allure for two and everyone is down. We get a crash off the corner, leaving Allure to faceplant Luck and put her feet on the ropes for the pin at 14:24.

Rating: B-. This was an entertaining match as you can see that the Twins and the Hex both work well together. Allure felt like someone who could be a star down the line so giving her the win was a nice way to go. Throw in some cheating for the finish and I liked what we got here, as everyone was putting in the effort and came off well.

Thunder Rosa vs. Trish Adora

Rosa’s AEW Women’s Title isn’t on the line. They fight over an armbar to start before heading to the mat with neither being able to get anywhere. Adora takes her down with a top wristlock so Rosa bridges off the mat over and over. With that not going anywhere, they’re up for a standoff until Rosa kicks her down for two.

Some elbows to the chest look to set up a Gory Bomb but Adora slips out and chops away. Adora takes her down and cranks on both arms, including some kicks to the back. Rosa is right back up with a Rocking Horse (something like a surfboard but with Rosa standing and swinging Adora back and forth) but since that can’t last long, Adora is back up with a running crossbody.

A Stunner rocks Adora and a sliding dropkick against the ropes gets two. Adora is back with a Samoan drop for two before grabbing Cattle Mutilation of all things. Rosa makes the ropes and grabs a Gory Bomb for two, followed by a DDT for the same. They trade rollups for two each until Rosa grabs….well it looks like the ending of a piledriver with Adora sitting on her head as Rosa cranks on the I think neck to make Adora tap at 16:20.

Rating: B. The ending was weird enough (with commentary saying it was a bit confusing) but they were beating on each other and trading big shots for a long time on the way there. It did feel like a big fight and it was billed as a first time ever showdown so it did live up to the hype, even with the kind of confusing finish.

Mission Pro Wrestling Title: Holidead vs. LuFisto

Holidead is defending and this is No DQ. Holidead starts fast by taking her down and dropping a leg for two. That’s enough for LuFisto to send her to the apron though, setting up a running kick to put the champ on the floor. Some hard kicks drop Holidead and it’s time for the first door to be brought in. Rather than use that though, LuFisto sets up a bunch of chairs on the floor instead.

A suplex onto the chairs doesn’t work as Holidead fights back up and forearms away but misses an apron legdrop. Back in and LuFisto elbows away before loading up the door in the corner. Holidead bites at LuFisto’s head and hits a dive onto…LuFisto and the members of the production crew that had been dragged in.

Back in and a swinging Downward Spiral gives Holidead two, only to be sent into the corner. LuFisto hits a Cannonball into a corner and a suplex through the door for two. Holidead’s Samoan drop onto the chairs for two but she can’t put LuFisto through another door. InHolidead kicks a chair into her head and hits a running spinebuster through the door to retain at 17:36.

Rating: C+. This had me worried about it turning into deathmatch and total garbage stuff but I can live with some chairs and doors. They beat on each other well enough and it turned into a good brawl. I’m not sure if that is enough to warrant it headlining over Rosa vs. Adora, but I get the idea of going with the title match/not the owner. Good enough main event, though I’m not sure why this needed to be No DQ.

Post match Holidead puts over LuFisto and thanks the fans. Mission Pro will continue to put on BANGERS ONLY.

Overall Rating: B. Another good but not blowaway show from the weekend, this time featuring a unique roster. It’s still kind of amazing that women’s wrestling has come far enough to be able to run a full on show like this without having anything that was bad, or really even close to it. There are some solid matches on here and the two hours and twenty plus minutes went by pretty fast. I liked this one and if you’re looking for a women’s promotion, you could certainly find worse.

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Dynamite
Date: August 24, 2022
Location: Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Taz

We’ve got a big one this week as suddenly we have a World Title match between Interim World Champion Jon Moxley and World Champion CM Punk. This comes as we have All Out in about a week and a half and now we need a main event. Odds are we get the main event announced or all but announced by the end of the night. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Chris Jericho to get things going but he gets to the point this time: Daniel Garcia needs to get out here to explain things to him. The fans tell Garcia that he is a wrestler as Jericho says all he wants is an apology. Garcia gets serious and talks about how he had wanted to face Danielson, his hero, for as long as he remembers. People are calling it the best match in Dynamite history (no, they aren’t) and they went thirty minutes (still not quite but closer to reality than best match in Dynamite history). It was the match he always wanted to have and Jericho ruined it.

Jericho wants him to say that he’s a sports entertainer but here is Danielson to interrupt. Danielson was proud of the match too but wants Garcia to be a wrestler. Jericho says Garcia is the best sports entertainer but Garcia says he can’t decide between his mentor and his hero. He gets so emotional that he knocks Jericho down and leaves.

That leaves Jericho to rant about how much he knows more about wrestling than Danielson. That doesn’t compute for Danielson, who asks what Jericho’s mentor, Stu Hart (not exactly), would think of this. The result is a match at All Out, but here is Jake Hager to jump Danielson from behind. Jericho vs. Danielson at All Out isn’t a surprise, but dang I could go for dropping this SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT IS BAD/WRESTLING IS GOOD story. We get it: WWE is awful and AEW rocks. Move on already.

Dax Harwood vs. Jay Lethal

No seconds are here oddly enough. They chop it out to start as JR talks about how old school promoters would love this and Taz explains what makes chops loud. Harwood hammers away in the corner until Lethal slips out and hits a super Russian legsweep as we take a break.

Back with Harwood rolling German suplexes but Lethal is right back with a Figure Four attempt. That’s broken up so Harwood goes for a Sharpshooter, which is broken up as well. Another Figure Four attempt is countered into a small package for two before Lethal kicks him in the leg.

The leg is fine enough to hit a slingshot powerbomb for two and the Sharpshooter goes on. Sonjay Dutt (with pencil) gets on the apron for the break and Lethal grabs a rollup for two. A small package gives Harwood the same and a middle rope spinning crossbody gives him two more. Lethal gets crafty by distracting the referee though and a rollup with trunks is enough to pin Harwood at 12:47.

Rating: B-. Lethal isn’t likely to become the tops tar in AEW or even a champion around here, but you are almost never going to see him do anything close to bad in the ring. That is a fine reason to put him on television and it worked well here, with Harwood going step for step with him before getting cheated in the end. I could go for Harwood winning more of these singles matches, but he is making himself into more and more of a star every time he’s in there.

Post match Sonjay Dutt says we’re still having a six man tag at All Out, but he never said who was in it. Jay Lethal will be teaming with……the Motor City Machine Guns???? Well that’s an upgrade.

Thunder Rosa is in tears and announces that she has to vacate the Women’s Title. Therefore, an Interim (STOP DOING THAT!) Women’s Title will be crowned in a four way match at All Out.

Billy Gunn vs. Colten Gunn

The Acclaimed handles Billy’s entrance, bringing up student loan debt and backstage talent meetings. Billy wastes no time in powering Colten outside and we take an early break. Back with Billy unloading in the corner and stomping away, with the referee having to pull him off. The distraction lets Stokely Hathaway get in a cheap shot with the boom box on the floor. That’s also enough of a distraction so Colten can get in a low blow, setting up the Colt 45 for the pin at 6:16. Most of the match was in the break but that’s the right result.

Post match Hathaway again offers his business cards and this time the Gunns accept. The beatdown is on until Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland make the save.

Death Triangle is ready for Will Ospreay/Aussie Open.

Britt Baker vs. KiLynn King

Baker hammers away in the corner but King reverses and stomps away in said corner. A Downward Spiral into the buckle drops King though and Baker pulls her head into the post. Back in and King hits a German suplex but King gets taken down and Stomped. The Lockjaw finishes for Baker at 3:55.

Rating: C. Just a quick win to give Baker some momentum heading into the All Out title match. Baker isn’t exactly someone who needs such a win but at least they are doing something to build her back up. King continues to look like a good prospect and I could see her going somewhere just due to her unique look and size.

Post match Baker rips on the rest of the challenges for the Women’s Title, including Toni Storm. Jamie Hayter and Rebel jump her from behind but Hikaru Shida makes the save.

Keith lee and Serve Strickland are down to give the Acclaimed a Tag Team Title shot at All Out.

AEW World Title: CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley

Punk’s AEW World Title and Moxley’s Interim World Title are being unified. They fight over a lockup to start and Punk is taken into the corner, where Moxley hammers away. Punk is back with a kick but hurts the previously injured foot and he’s in trouble. The doctor is called over but Moxley hits a King King lariat. Leg cranking ensues, along with hammer and anvil elbows, setting up the Death Rider. Moxley hits it again and wins at 2:59.

I believe a “….whoa” is in order here as that wasn’t exactly what a lot of people were likely expecting. This feels like either Punk was still injured or those backstage issues are bigger than we think, but it is still a good bit too early to know for sure what is going on. What matters here is that Moxley wins and can move on to….I have no idea what actually at All Out, but the Interim Title (at least this one) nonsense is over. People are going to be talking about this one for awhile though and that is a good thing.

Punk is helped to the back.

Christian Cage is rather serious as he accepts Jungle Boy’s challenge for All Out. All he wanted was for two of them to be back together but then Jungle Boy took it to another level. Jungle Boy isn’t in his league but the match is on.

Here is a ticked off Ricky Starks to talk about how Powerhouse Hobbs turned on him. Veterans are telling him that this is show business and you have to get used to this but he thought he was the exception because he had Hobbs behind him. Hobbs was checking on him every day last year when he broke his neck, but then Hobbs got jealous of Starks’ success. Starks remembers Hobbs standing around in the background until they got together, but then Hobbs hit him in the neck. He sees Hobbs as a neck, and where Starks comes from, they step on snakes. The challenge is on for All Out in another match you knew was coming but needed to be officially set.

We look at the title change again.

Jon Moxley is sick of people writing his obituary as soon as Punk arrived. He is the answer to every wrestling problem and his time is right censored now.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

We look at Kenny Omega’s return last week.

Trios Titles Tournament: Death Triangle vs. Will Ospreay/Aussie Open

Don Callis in on commentary. Fenix and Ospreay trade flips to start before everything breaks down. Death Triangle sends them to the floor and hit the stereo flip dives for the big knockdown. Back in and Pac chops away at Ospreay before Fenix kicks him down for two. We take a break and come back with Osprey hitting a Sky Twister onto Pac and Penta, followed by a running boot in the corner to Fenix.

We settle down to a heck of a dropkick to Fenix but he chops away at the Aussies and hits a very springboard double wristdrag for a breather. The hot tag brings in Penta for a double high crossbody and everything breaks down as we take a break. Back with Pac coming in to clean house, but Aussie Open and the Lucha Bros come in for the brawl. Ospreay and Pac hit stereo poisonranas to the teams and it’s time for the big staredown. They slug it out until the Oscutter drops Pac, followed by a hard shot to the face to do it again.

Pac catches him on top though and it’s the big superplex for a double knockdown as we take a break. Back with Ospreay back up and hitting a hurricanrana on Pac but the Stormbreaker is countered into a hurricanrana to give Pac two. Everything breaks down again and Penta hits a step up Canadian Destroyer. Pac goes outside and stops to glare at whoever is in the Kip Sabian box because it clearly isn’t Sabian. It’s….just someone, allowing Sabian to jump Pac from behind. Back in and an assisted Oscutter gives Ospreay the pin on Fenix at 25:18.

Rating: B+. Kip Sabian aside, this is the reason you put a match like this on the card: total and complete insanity with very little resembling a tag match (though there was some in there for a bit of a bonus) and all of the insanity you could ask for in one match. It was a lot of fun and the result surprises me, so well done all around.

Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks come out for the staredown but Callis holds Omega back to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a rather weird show with all kinds of stuff going on, a lot of which had a vibe like it was being cobbled together at the last minute. That’s usually a problem, but they have a huge out this week with the Punk/Moxley situation, which is going to completely dominate the post show chatter. I have no idea what they are going to do with the title at All Out but me being this curious says they seem to be doing something right.

Results
Jay Lethal b. Dax Harwood – Rollup with trunks
Colten Gunn b. Billy Gunn – Colt 45
Jon Moxley b. CM Punk – Death Rider
Britt Baker b. KiLynn King – Lockjaw
Will Ospreay/Aussie Open b. Death Triangle – Elevated Oscutter to Fenix

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

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Dynamite
Date: August 17, 2022
Location: North Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re closing in on All Out and the big story from last week saw AEW World Champion CM Punk return after a two month absence. You can probably pencil in Punk vs. Jon Moxley for the main event of All Out, but that is still a few weeks away and we have something big tonight. In this case, that would be a mystery partner in the Trios Tag Team Titles tournament, which will absolutely be a surprise and not the most obvious reveal in recent memory. Let’s get to it.

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

Since this show is a crossover with HBO’s House Of The Dragon, the opening video is tied together with clips of the series.

Here is CM Punk to get things going. Punk says he’s trying trying to keep his tough guy face on tonight but the fans are making him too happy. For now though, he has something to deal with so he wants Hangman Page out here right now for a rematch. No one comes out so Punk dubs it coward s*** instead of cowboy s***.

Punk talks about how everyone talks a lot until it’s time to do champ s*** so now let’s move on to Jon Moxley. He knows what it means to be in a big match situation and there is always a guy who has someone’s number. Punk is Moxley’s guy and Moxley is the third best guy in his group, which is a reoccurring theme in his career. Moxley talks about breaking bones and drinking blood but in the last six months, the only person to break bones is Punk, and those were his own.

Moxley’s best friend Eddie is the third best Eddie he’s been in the ring with and the second best Kingston he’s ever shared a locker room with. He’s looking forward to beating Moxley in Chicago, but that won’t even be the best John he has beaten in Chicago for a title. Cue Moxley, who says Punk’s mouth is writing checks that his body can’t cash. The title on Punk’s shoulder isn’t worth anything and neither is this one that he’s carrying, at least until he beats Punk.

Moxley says he is the heart and soul of AEW but Punk says he’ll be the dollars and cents. Moxley: “We both know you only came to AEW because you ran out of money.” The fight is teased but Punk would rather wait for the pay per view so Moxley doesn’t bleed all over him. The fight is on and they slug it out until security breaks it up…which takes a few attempts but they finally get them apart. They both had some great lines here and I’m more into the match than I was before.

Powerhouse Hobbs says he doesn’t like Ricky Starks and has something planned for him. The Factory will get theirs too.

Ricky The Dragon Steamboat (as opposed to Ricky The Tupperware Salesman Steamboat) is the guest timekeeper.

Daniel Garcia vs. Bryan Danielson

2/3 falls and Chris Jericho is on commentary. Feeling out process to start with Jericho hyping up what a technical showdown we’ll be seeing. Both of them try for some grappling but neither can get very far. We go to a standoff and take a break. Back with Danielson hitting a running dropkick in the corner and going for a cross armbreaker.

That’s blocked so Danielson switches to something like a Regal Stretch but they get to the ropes for the break. Garcia suplexes him on the floor and brings him back inside, setting up a piledriver to plant Danielson. A dragon sleeper has Danielson knocked out for the first fall at 9:19.

Garcia isn’t done and hits a chop in the corner, does Danielson’s pose, and hits the running corner dropkick as we take a break. Back again with Danielson (bleeding) grabbing a rollup to reverse a hold for the second fall to tie things up at 15:07 (total). Danielson ties him in the Tree of Woe and fires off some kicks, setting up a German superplex to rock Garcia.

The missile dropkick rocks Garcia again and he is sent outside, where they have a tug of war over a posting. That goes badly for Danielson, who gets sent into said post and has to beat the count back in at nine. We take another break and come back again with Danielson winning a slugout but getting taken down for some stomps to the head. Those are broken up and Danielson pulls him into the LeBell Lock for the tap at 25:52.

Rating: B. Heck of a fight here as Danielson gets his win back, but Garcia saves some face by winning the first fall. Garcia is getting a push as of late and losing a 2/3 falls match to one of the best AEW has to offer isn’t going to hurt him. Danielson needed the win and should be set for his All Out match wit Jericho. Rather good stuff here and the time flew by, which is always nice.

Danielson shows respect post match and Garcia accepts it, but Chris Jericho runs in to jump Danielson from behind. Garcia pulls Jericho off and the fans tell him that he’s a wrestler.

Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland are ready for Private Party, who are now ranked #5. They’ll fight on Rampage.

Tony Nese comes out for a match but Jon Moxley jumps him from behind. Moxley calls out CM Punk to fight right now so here is Punk for the first. The brawl is teased but security and the Blackpool Combat Club breaks it up (with Claudio Castagnoli manhandling Moxley).

Chris Jericho isn’t pleased with Daniel Garcia and wants a face to face meeting with him next week to see where he stands. Ricky Steamboat comes in to rehash his issues with Jericho and suggests that Bryan Danielson would be a better mentor to Garcia. Angelo Parker gets in Steamboat’s face and gets chopped.

Gunn Club vs. Varsity Blonds

Colt 45 finishes Garrison at 27 seconds.

Post match Billy Gunn talks about how great that was and how proud he is of his sons. Cue Stokely Hathaway to smile at the Gunns….who turn on Billy. The Acclaimed run in for the save. Scissoring ensues.

Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh are ready for Wardlow and FTR.

Death Triangle is ready for the United Empire next week.

Here is Jungle Boy for a chat. He wore a shirt a few weeks ago and was told to never wear it again (it involved Christian and a bit of a derogatory term), but he is too preoccupied with trying to hit Christian. Over the weeks, he has tried to hit Christian Cage with his fist, a chair and a car but can’t make it work. So how about he hits Christian at All Out?

Cue Christian to say no match but he wants to make this work. He wants everything to be ok with them and make amends. The hug is teased but Jungle Boy takes him down and hammers away. Jungle Boy stomps him on the steps and then rams Christian’s head into them over and over. Security makes the save. Good stuff from Jungle Boy once the action started, but he would be better suited by going with something like Jungle Boy Jack Perry, as Jungle Boy isn’t the most serious name.

FTR and Wardlow are ready for Jay Lethal and company. Dax Harwood will take Jay Lethal next week.

Toni Storm vs. KiLynn King

They go to the mat to start until King drops her over the top rope for a top rope knee to the face. That sends Storm outside, where King has to block a tornado DDT and drives Storm back first into the apron. We take a break and come back with King hitting a powerbomb for two but Storm sends her into the corner. The running hip attack, now dubbed Sweet Cheeks Music (no) sets up a pendulum DDT to finish King at 6:46.

Rating: C. I’ve always liked King so it was nice to see her getting a spot here. Storm seems to have righted the ship a bit and odds are she is going to be getting the title shot at All Out against Thunder Rosa. I’m not sure how well that is going to go, but Storm needs a big win at some point or the potential she has is going to fade in a hurry.

Video on the Trustbusters vs. Best Friends.

Here’s what’s coming on future shows, including Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk….next week on Dynamite. Ok then.

Trios Title Tournament First Round: La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Young Bucks/???

The mystery partner is…..Kenny Omega, who is in very little way a mystery. Nick takes Dragon Lee into the corner to start and hammers away before Matt comes in to for the double team takedown. Omega (in a compression shirt and shoulder brace) comes in to hammer away in the corner, with the fans being rather pleased. Lee gets Omega into the wrong corner though and the triple teaming is on as we take a break.

Back with Matt not being able to hit his rolling suplexes, so both sets of brothers fight over them instead. Andrade comes in to stomp on Matt some more and we take another break. We come back again with the hot tag bringing in Omega to clean house, including on Andrade, who seems to be favoring his shoulder.

Everything breaks down and the Bucks hit the dives to the floor. Omega loads up the Rise of the Terminator but Lee breaks up the dive (which might be a good thing). Jose the Assistant breaks up another dive attempt and Omega gets held up on the barricade for a SCARY dive from Lee. Back in and Andrade hits his double moonsault for two on Omega with Matt shoving Rush into the pile for the save. The V Trigger knocks Lee silly and a not so great One Winged Angel finishes Lee at 20:49.

Rating: B-. This is a weird one to grade as it was all about Omega, and that made it tricky. Omega did look rusty and that is completely fair given how long it has been since he has been in the ring. Completely healthy or not, he hasn’t wrestled a match in front of people in over nine months and that is going to take some time to get back to normal.

Other than that, there was a grand total of no way the Bucks and Omega were losing here, meaning it was a good bit of waiting until the expected finale. It also doesn’t help that Andrade seems to have hurt his shoulder/arm, so things might have been even slower than usual. Not a bad match at all, but they were working with some serious limitations.

Omega and the Bucks celebrate as Andrade and Rush turn on Lee (whose mask comes off) with about five seconds left in the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a rather good show and I liked most of what I saw with the whole thing. What we got here was a few rather strong matches and a big surprise match set up for next week, along with some build to All Out. They did what they needed to do here, but I’m really curious about what is going to headline All Out with Punk vs. Moxley taking place next week. Overall, positive show here as they did what they needed to do.

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

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Dynamite
Date: May 28, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We have a special Friday show this week due to the NBA Playoffs, which is some bad timing as this is also the go home show for Double Or Nothing. That means it is time for the final push towards the show, with the celebration of the Inner Circle, plus the weigh-in for Anthony Ogogo vs. Cody Rhodes. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The arena is structured differently, with the ramp at the upper right hand corner of the ring instead of opposite the hard camera.

Darby Allin vs. Cezar Bononi

Allin has Sting with him and has badly banged up ribs. Bononi starts fast by sending Allin into the corner and working on the ribs, because he’s smart enough to figure out what a lot of tape means. Some hiptosses into the corner have Allin in more trouble but he comes back with a sleeper to slow Bononi down. Allin takes him into the corner for the flipping Stunner and the Coffin Drop finishes Bononi at 4:20.

Rating: C. Bononi wrestled a smart match here and that’s the way this should have gone. Allin fighting through an injury and beating a big man fits him perfectly and that is what they should have done in this one. They know exactly how to book Allin and it worked again here, so well done on a quick opener.

Post match Allin and Sting want Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky but the two of them come out to say not without the big payday. Page and Sky leave but Bononi and his goons jump Sting and Allin from behind. Page and Sky come in and load up a chair on Sting’s leg, meaning it’s the Dark Order running in for the save. I’m not sure how, but they had about 15 people involved in the first ten minutes of the show.

Here is Paul Wight to host the weigh-in for Anthony Ogogo and Cody Rhodes. Wight brings out Ogogo, with the Factory coming out with him. After QT Marshall gets in some insults about the Jacksonville Jaguars, Wight threatens violence for being looked at the wrong way. Now it’s Cody Rhodes, with about 25 people (because they all need to be there), coming out as well and he weighs in at 218lbs (which took Wight forever to figure out).

As a bunch of fireworks (not from AEW) go off outside the building, Ogogo gets on the scale and weighs 219lbs. Marshall says that means Ogogo will win but the fans aren’t convinced. Everyone leaves and Cody thanks Wight for hosting. Shirts are thrown to the crowd. This was long and having that many people involved just made it look silly.

Video on Stadium Stampede from last year. It may not have been for everyone, but it was about as unique as you can get.

Powerhouse Hobbs and Christian have a fight in the back until referees break it up.

Hangman Page vs. Joey Janela

Janela has Sonny Kiss with him and Page couldn’t find the tunnel. Page chops away to start and snaps off a suplex for two. They head outside with Page hitting a fall away slam for two but Janela sends him into the corner as we take a break. Back with Page hitting a springboard clothesline to put Janela down on the floor.

They head back in where the Buckshot lariat is broken up, so Page goes with a spinebuster for two. Janela sends him hard into the corner though and the top rope elbow gets two more. A forearm rocks Janela though and a pop up powerbomb puts him down again. Page, with his head busted open, hits the Buckshot Lariat for the pin at 9:52.

Rating: C-. Janela continues to drag people down to his level as he just isn’t very good. I know he’s a big deal on the independent scene but that is a far cry from live on national television. The good thing is that Page showed a bit more fire here, which hasn’t been present in recent months. If he is supposed to be the big threat to Omega, he needs to do more of this than of everything else.

Post match Taz calls out Page, so here is Brian Cage to jump him. Before that can happen, Page says he’s expecting the team to go after him but no one moves. Page calls out Cage for not doing anything, so he wants Cage to face him one on one at Double Or Nothing, assuming something hasn’t shrunk too badly. That’s too far for Cage, who says they’re on for Sunday.

Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston are burying the Young Bucks’ shoes….and we go to a commercial mid-sentence.

Post break, we get the full segment, with Moxley talking about how he would go to war with Kingston. He loves championships and the AEW Tag Team Titles are the most important in the business. They’re ready for war on Sunday, with Kingston suggesting that Moxley could become an Executive Vice President. Moxley: “Nah.”

Tony Schiavone calls out Orange Cassidy for a chat but gets Pac instead. Pac promises to win the title on Sunday because all of Kenny Omega’s dodging is pathetic. Don Callis pops up on screen to mock Pac so here’s Omega for the cheap shot. Pac is ready for him and takes him out but the Good Brothers run in for the save.

The Lucha Bros make the save, leaving Omega and Pac alone. Omega loads up the One Winged Angel but here are Cassidy and the Good Brothers. Cassidy hands Omega an envelope, which contains the shredded contract that Omega offered him to get out of the match. The Orange Punch lays Omega out so Pac goes after Cassidy, only to get taken out as well.

Jade Cargill is interrupted by Matt Hardy, who offers his managerial services again. Mark Sterling comes in and apparently has signed her up, sending Matt into a fit.

Jade Cargill vs. Kilynn King

Mark Sterling is here with King. They go to a test of strength to start and it’s off to a rather early break. Back with King being sent hard over the top to the floor, where Sterling offers his card. Back in and Jaded finishes King at 5:28. Not enough shown to rate, but they really needed a break in a five minute match?

Lance Archer cuts off Jake Roberts to say he’s ready for Miro.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Dante Martin

Miro is defending and doesn’t look too worried. Martin is sent into the corner and gets kicked in the back, with the fans wanting to see it one more time. Miro stops to listen and then blows the fans off, with Martin snapping off a jawbreaker. A springboard dropkick gives Martin two but Miro knocks him to the apron. The jumping superkick and Game Over retain the title at 3:05.

Rating: C-. Now this is more of the Miro that we should have been seeing for a long time. There is no worthless pairing with Kip Sabian and no “this is who I really am” jazz. It’s Miro beating people up like the monster he can be and it is miles better. This was a nearly complete squash and that is how you heat Miro up before a monster fight on pay per view.

Post match here is Jake Roberts to mock Bulgarian before sending Lance Archer out for the fight. Archer boots Miro to the floor as referees break things up.

Here is Hikaru Shida for a celebration of her Women’s Title reign. Tony Schiavone presents her with a new (and bigger) belt, which he takes a long time to put on. Cue Britt Baker to talk about how she’s taking the title on Sunday. She came after an era dominated by 3:16, but this era is going to be dominated by the DMD.

Scorpio Sky/Ethan Page vs. Dark Order

Evil Uno starts in on Sky’s arm so it’s off to Page, who gets taken down in a hurry. Grayson sends him to the apron for a slingshot Swanton but Sky gets in a shot of his own as we take a break. Back with Sky’s TKO being countered into a release Rock Bottom, setting up the hot tag off to Uno. Everything breaks down and the stereo Cannonball/450 gets rid of Sky and gets two on Page. Back up and Grayson gets caught in a heel hook, with Page adding the Ego’s Edge to Uno for the pin at 8:35.

Rating: C. Another short match thanks to the break but this is what Sky and Page have been needing. They haven’t done much on Dynamite in actual matches and need a boost before going into a big match against Sting and Allin. Beating the Dark Order might not have been the big game changer, but it’s a lot better than what they had been doing.

Post match Sky and Page call out Sting and Allin, so here is Allin with….about six Stings. The brawl is on with the real Sting cleaning house.

Here is Eric Bischoff to emcee the celebration of the Inner Circle. Bischoff mentions that Scott Hall debuted on Nitro twenty five years ago yesterday on this network. That was the start of one of the greatest factions of all time and this might be another one of them. The Inner Circle comes out and, after a long time of the fans singing Jericho’s song, Jericho thanks Bischoff for everything he has done over the years.

We see a long package on the history of the Inner Circle and Ortiz says they have done some cool s***. They’re glad to be back and if this Sunday is their last dance, he wouldn’t want it to be with anyone else. Jake Hager says that was beautiful and he has always believed that it is about the journey instead of the destination. Show him the hard times when his brothers were there with him. Sammy Guevara talks about being in the greatest faction of all time and how it has all been worth it.

Finally, Chris Jericho says if they go down, it is going to be in a blaze of glory and he loves all of them. The big hug is on but the Pinnacle pops up on screen. They are in the stadium and have Dean Malenko down next to the goal post. The Inner Circle runs in for the save but get beaten down, including a quintuple piledriver, with Santana and Ortiz being drive off a balcony and through a pair of tables. The Pinnacle poses to end the show. I’ll be stunned if the Inner Circle wins, but it has been a heck of a ride and that was a very nice video on the team.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a good example of s show that wasn’t about the wrestling. Tonight was ALL about setting up the pay per view and what we got worked very well. They made me want to see Double Or Nothing a lot more than I did coming into the show and that is why you have a night like this one. There were some issues (the weigh-in segment was pretty ridiculous) and there was no must see match, but that wasn’t the point tonight. It was a strong go home show and that’s what it needed to be.

Results
Darby Allin b. Cesar Bononi – Coffin Drop
Hangman Page b. Joey Janela – Buckshot lariat
Jade Cargill b. Kilynn King – Jaded
Miro b. Dante Martin – Game Over
Scorpio Sky/Ethan Page b. Dark Order – Ego’s Edge to Uno

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