Dynamite
Date: October 21, 2026
Location: Watsco Center, Coral Gables, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We’re done with WrestleDream and Will Ospreay is still the World Champion, having survived Clockwork Carnage. That probably isn’t the biggest surprise but he was pinned a few times in the match and that very well could set up some challengers for him in the coming weeks. Those coming weeks also include Full Gear so let’s get to it.

Here is WrestleDream if you need a recap.

We run down the card.

Young Bucks vs. Don Callis Family

Non-title. The Family jumps the Bucks to start fast and they’re sent outside, with the Bucks being sent into the steps. A powerbomb sends Nick onto the announcers’ table and another puts him through it. Back in and the double standing clothesline hits Matt and three piledrivers knock him cold. Doyle bearhugs Nick out and it’s a double pin on the Bucks at 2:49. The Bucks had no significant offense here whatsoever and it was a total squash.

Long WrestleDream recap.

Adam Copeland/Will Ospreay vs. Don Callis Family

This would be Kyle Fletcher/Kevin Knight for the Family. Copeland and Knight start things off with Copeland hitting an early clothesline. Knight is right back up to choke in the corner, earning himself a swinging neckbreaker. Ospreay comes in to face Fletcher and it’s already time to slug it out. Fletcher gets knocked down for the standing corkscrew moonsault and it’s back to Copeland. Ospreay’s running hurricanrana is blocked though and a standing Doomsday Device dropkick drops Copeland as we take a break.

We come back with Ospreay in trouble and getting kneed in the face. The brainbuster is countered into a Stundog Millionaire but Knight is over to cut off the tag. A Phenomenal Forearm gets Ospreay out of trouble though and it’s back to Copeland to start firing off the clotheslines. Knight gets back up with a springboard clothesline of his own and Fletcher’s Michinoku Driver gets two.

Everything breaks down and Fletcher knocks Ospreay off the apron. Cue Kazuchika Okada to distract Copeland, who is fine enough to give Fletcher a Killswitch. The spear hits Knight but Okada gets in a belt shot to Copeland. That and a brainbuster are enough to give Fletcher the pin at 13:22.

Rating: B-. This was your standard big time tag match and it was a good way to set up a few things. Copeland has quite a few options for singles matches and it seems like Okada is going to be up next. There is definitely something to be done with Copeland going after the World Title but warming up with Okada isn’t a bad idea either.

Okada’s diabolical smile after costing Copeland is great, but he stops to come in and beat on Copeland instead. More of the Family comes in and Ospreay is beaten down as well. Fletcher holds up the World Title and the lights go out. Darby Allin, the returning Steven Borden and a Young Buck run in for the save. Borden: “I’m back. For Blood & Guts.” On one hand, I get the idea, but with the Bucks getting wrecked, Borden having had about five matches, and there only being so much reason for him to hate the Family, this feels like a less than thrilling Blood & Guts team.

Swerve Strickland vs. Tome Filip

Strickland gives him the House Call before the bell and finishes with a Vertebreaker at 22 seconds.

Orange Cassidy/Jay White vs. Death Riders

Garcia grabs a waistlock to start but gets backed into the ropes so White can escape. A chop and suplex give White an early one and Cassidy comes in for a less than strong effort on a double suplex. Yuta comes in to take Cassidy down by the leg before blocking the Stundog Millionaire. Cassidy gets tied up in the ring skirt and pummeled, leaving White to get taken down with a suicide dive as we take a break.

We come back with Cassidy escaping a sunset flip attempt and calmly walking over to bring in White. Some chops and a DDT get two on Yuta but it’s Garcia grabbing the Dragontamer. Cassidy offers the lazy strikes for…I guess we’ll call it a save as everything breaks down. The Fastball Special hits raised knees and it’s a pair of Orange Punches into the Blade Runner to pin Yuta at 10:27.

Rating: B-. This was about what you would have expected, with the makeshift team getting to beat the lower part of the Death Riders. I do love seeing White getting a chance to win as the important thing he’s back and at least he’s getting to have some success. That just needs to stay the case for a long time, which is far from a guarantee.

Hangman Page and Brodido are happy to be the first three time Trios Champions but Swerve Strickland comes in. He and New Level (not here) want a rematch so Page says name the time and the place. That would be Full Gear, but Swerve wants Texas Death. Page says no way as he’s not letting them get dragged down to that level again. The rematch seems to be set though.

Nick Wayne, with a shirt advertising his win over Chris Jericho, arrives and glares at Jericho’s image on a truck.

Here is Mercedes Mone for a chat. She brags about her recent wins and calls her challengers stupid before telling Renee Paquette to get out. Mone is the division and she wants to know who is next…so here is Marina Shafir, who has Mone a bit shaken. Shafir tells her to not be a pu*** and Mone bails.

Roderick Strong vs. Jon Moxley

Non-title. They go with the grappling to start and Moxley gets a hammerlock on the mat. Strong is back up with a quick dropkick for two but Moxley wins a strike off. A running dropkick to the leg has Strong going outside, where he drops Moxley onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Moxley in trouble but grabbing a quick Paradigm Shift.

Strong falls outside so Moxley hits him with a suicide dive before unloading on him in the corner. Some backbreakers have Moxley in more trouble but he’s right back with the big clothesline. A tiger driver lets Strong grab the Stronghold, which Moxley escapes rather quickly. The rear naked choke finishes for Moxley at 11:02.

Rating: B-. Yeah this was what you have to expect from Moxley as he runs through another name. The match is pretty formula based at this point, which makes it a bit pesky when Moxley is on the shows so often. It was a perfectly fine match, but I’ve seen Moxley do something like this so many times that it’s hard to get that interesting.

Post match Moxley rolls out and Strong is left in the ring, when the Dogs run in to jump Strong. Moxley sees it and gets back inside to call them off…so the Dogs jump Moxley from behind. Gabe Kidd runs in to stop them but gets beaten down by the Dogs as well. The Conglomeration and Jay White run in, but White turns on the Conglomeration (ending their partnership after what must have been a good 30 minutes).

The rest of the Bang Bang Gang runs in to jump the Conglomeration, as well as the Death Riders who try to make a save. Claudio Castagnoli tries to fight back but can’t hang with the numbers. So the Dogs are split and most of them have joined the Bang Bang Gang (which now has seven members) but Kidd seems to be full time Death Riders. I still have no idea why the Dogs need to be here but this was a hot angle for sure, and White is FAR better as a heel.

Video on Ilja Dragunov, who is ready to share all of the passion that he has around here.

Megan Bayne, Lena Kross and the Triangle Of Madness jump Kris Statlander, Harley Cameron and the Brawling Birds to leave the latter four laying.

Here is Nick Wayne for a chat. Wayne brags about his TWO wins over Chris Jericho and we get a double shot of pyro. That means Jericho needs to come out here and apologize (which was established before the rematch) and, eventually, he does show up. Wayne keeps cutting him off, saying how excited he’s been to hear this, eventually getting a WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT THE H*** UP!

Jericho praises Wayne for his win and says Wayne has learned a lot. Wayne brings up the win again and more pyro goes off. Jericho: “How do you do that?” Wayne: “I’m a prodigy.” Wayne keeps demanding the apology and Jericho calls him a douchebag. Then again, Jericho was the same when he was 21 and does apologize.

Jericho says this is the turning point of Wayne’s career and he can get to the top of his business, just like Jericho did. He lists off some great names that have helped him over the years and if Wayne listens too, he can become that big of a star. Jericho: “So don’t f*** it up.” Jericho leaves and Wayne looks like he has something to think about. Wayne has been doing very well in this and that continued here.

We look at the first Motor City Machine Guns vs. FTR match from WrestleDream.

Queen Aminata vs. Maya World

For a TBS Title shot against Persephone, who is on commentary with Britt Baker. World flips out of a wristlock to start but gets pulled into Chocolate Kisses. The fisherman’s neckbreaker is broken up and World sends her outside for a middle rope crossbody. We take a break and come back with the exchange of forearms.

Aminata misses a boot in the corner and gets moonsaulted for two. They trade rollups for two each until World’s running knee gets two. Aminata sends her into the ropes but the threat of Off With Her Heads has World bailing to the floor. World is put in a chair for the running shot off the apron and Off With Her Head finishes for Aminata at 10:13.

Rating: C+. World is back and is already losing, though Aminata will be fine as another victory for Persephone. I’m not sure if I get the appeal of Aminata for the most part but AEW certainly sees a lot in her as she has been around rather frequently. She’s far from bad, but I’m not sure I can picture her as a real threat to win the title.

Don Callis announces that the Don Callis Family is in for Blood & Guts.

Samoa Joe, with the Opps (minus Anthony Bowens), wants the World Title back. Jack Perry comes in to say he wants one more match with Joe to get the handshake he didn’t get last time. Sure.

Mike Bailey vs. Ilja Dragunov

They go to the mat to start before Dragunov takes him to the corner for a missed chop. Bailey takes the leg down and we’re off to a chinlock. A headscissors sets up a running kick in the corner but Dragunov is right back with a jumping kick. They head outside where Bailey kicks the apron by mistake, allowing Dragunov to hit a German suplex as we take a break.

We come back with Dragunov unloading with forearms but getting kicked in the head for a double down. Bailey can’t get a cross armbreaker and has to kick his way out of a half crab attempt. Back up and Dragunov wins a strike off before rolling the German suplexes (with Taz doing his always great physics lessons). Dragunov’s top rope backsplash gets two and they go to the apron, where Bailey hits some moonsault knees to put him down.

Dragunov catches him on top and fires off a bunch of headbutts, setting up the superplex. The D Bomb (a running forearm to a downed opponent) misses as Bailey gets two off a small package and a crane kick puts Dragunov down again. The tornado kick connects but Bailey’s Ultimate Weapon is broken up. Instead it’s a D Bomb to the leg and a regular D Bomb for the pin on Bailey at 16:04.

Rating: B. This was certainly a Dragunov match but it was necessary to introduce him to the new audience. Dragunov isn’t the biggest guy in the world but he knows how to beat the fire out of someone. This was a good way to show what they have with him and Dragunov looked good. Bailey was his usual self here and that’s all he needed to be.

Dragunov celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. They were in a weird place here as they only had so much to build from coming out of WrestleDream. What we got worked, though they’re now building towards Blood & Guts as well as Full Gear at the same time. This was a good first step, but they need to find some time to let things breathe a bit. Having so many big shows in a row can wear things out a bit and that’s a danger they’re approaching. That might start clearing up after Full Gear, but at least the build is off to an effective start.

Results
Don Callis Family b. Young Bucks – Double pin
Don Callis Family b. Will Ospreay/Adam Copeland – Brainbuster to Copeland
Swerve Strickland b. Tome Filip – Vertebreaker
Orange Cassidy/Jay White b. Death Riders – Blade Runner to Garcia
Jon Moxley b. Roderick Strong – Rear naked choke
Queen Aminata b. Maya World – Off With Her Head
Ilja Dragunov b. Mike Bailey – D Bomb

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

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

Collision
Date: October 10, 2026
Location: Adidas Arena, Paris, France
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re still in Paris for the second half of Grand Slam, which should be quite the card. Dynamite already worked well enough and the Collision side has a big lineup as well. We have a Clockwork Carnage qualifying match, as well as Chris Jericho vs. Nick Wayne part two. Let’s get to it.

Here are is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Conglomeration vs. Death Riders

Tornado rules and Jon Moxley is on commentary. Yuta jumps Nightingale to start, which doesn’t seem to be quite fair. Yuta and Cassidy are left in the ring to trade rollups and a Stundog Millionaire has Yuta in trouble. Shafir comes in to go after O’Reilly’s leg and they pop up to a standoff. Nightingale is in to shove them together but Shafir gives her a rolling German suplex.

Back up and Nightingale takes Shafir out before getting into a chop off with Castagnoli. Yuta is up with a suicide dive to Nightingale and Castagnoli reverses Cassidy’s dive into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. We take a break and come back with O’Reilly surrounded and triple teaming him down. Yuta hits a big springboard dive to the floor but Castagnoli is sent outside with him. That leaves Nightingale to clothesline Shafir in the corner and then Pounce Yuta to the floor.

Back in and Cassidy Orange Punches Castagnoli and tries his own Swing, which is countered into the real version. Strong is back in with a backbreaker to Garcia but can’t hit one on Shafir. The Dragontamer has Nightingale in trouble but O’Reilly ankle locks Shafir at the same time. The women, both in holds, slap each other until both of them are broken up. Some running elbows in the corner have O’Reilly in trouble and a spike Neutralizer finishes him off at 14:36.

Rating: B. Rather hot opener here and that’s all you could hope for, even with the wacky rules. This was more about getting a bunch of combinations together and letting them have some fun, which is one of those things AEW does rather well. The teams can trade wins forever and it won’t do much damage, plus you had the women in here to mix it up a bit. Nice match.

Chris Jericho is ready to bring Collision to his cruise next month.

Chris Jericho vs. Nick Wayne

Rematch from Jericho beating him a few weeks back. Wayne jumps him from behind to start fast but Jericho (wearing beads around his neck to mock Wayne) fires off some chops. A backdrop puts Jericho on the floor for a dive but Wayne takes his sweet time getting up. That means a triangle dropkick off the apron and there’s the dive to put him down again.

Jericho goes some beads to a fan but gets caught with a Sliced Bread on the floor (McGuinness: “Or would you call that a Sliced Baguette?”). Jericho is right back with an AA onto the announcers’ table and we take a break. We come back with Jericho hammering away on top and snapping off a super hurricanrana.

It works so well that Jericho does it two more times and aw heck, let’s make it four. Jericho loads up the Judas Effect but charges into a running neckbreaker. Back up and Jericho hits a Codebreaker but the Lionsault is broken up. The Walls go on instead so Wayne bites the ankle to escape. A kick to the head and Wayne’s World finish Jericho at 13:19.

Rating: B-. Well, at least Wayne got the win back and that’s what he has been needing. Odds are this sets up a third match between the two of them and there is no reason for Jericho to go over there. The four hurricanranas were a cool moment, but the result is what matters here, as Wayne gets a pretty big win in front of a rather invested crowd.

Wayne is rather stunned by the win.

Kazuchika Okada wants in the Clockwork Carnage match.

Clockwork Carnage Qualifying Match: Lee Moriarty vs. Mike Bailey

Moriarty’s ROH Pure Rules Title isn’t on the line. Moriarty takes him down to start but gets caught with a hurricanrana. Bailey misses something off the top and gets pulled into a headscissors to slow things down. A hot shot and swinging neckbreaker have Bailey down again and we’re off to the crossarm choke. Bailey is back up to send him outside for a triangle moonsault and we take a break.

We come back with both of them being knocked down on the floor. They dive back inside and lock hands to strike it out, setting up an exchange or rollups for two each. Moriarty pulls him into the Border City Stretch, which is broken up just as fast as Schiavone runs through matches as fast as he can. Bailey gets up and kicks him down, setting up the Ultimate Weapon for the pin at 9:42.

Rating: C+. That’s a good example of a match where you didn’t have much in the way drama, as not only is Bailey a bigger star but he’s also an ROH champion, which doesn’t give you the best odds. Bailey was his usual self here, with a bunch of strikes and the cool finish. They had to hurry to get Bailey qualified though and this worked, even with another RO….oh you get the idea by now.

Post match Will Ospreay comes in to celebrate with Bailey.

Ricochet wants in Clockwork Carnage.

Swerve Strickland vs. Carlie Bravo

New Level and Shane Taylor Promotions are here too. Strickland starts fast by kicking him down and a basement dropkick gets an early near fall. An Octopus hold goes on and a string of neckbreakers have Bravo in more trouble. Back up and a quick Zig Zag lets Bravo hammer away, followed by the chinlock.

Strickland is right back up and hits the rolling Downward Spiral. The Promotions offer a distraction and pull Strickland outside, with Taylor himself taking out the New Level. A slingshot cutter gives Bravo two so Strickland kicks him in the face. The Swerve Stomp finishes Bravo at 6:42.

Rating: C+. Bravo got in a lot of offense here and Strickland’s win was delayed by the interference. If nothing else it’s nice to have Strickland win here so we don’t have to continue attempting to make the Promotions feel important. We’ve been there before far too often and there isn’t much of a reason to try it again at the moment.

The Death Riders are ready to work hard and keep going, with Jon Moxley being ready for Mark Davis at WrestleDream. Gabe Kidd wants to fight the Don Callis Family on Dynamite. Marina Shafir says the Death Riders are against the world.

National Title: Andrade El Idolo vs. Michael Oku

Oku, with Amira, is challenging. An early knockdown isn’t enough for Oku to get in his half crab so he knees Andrade down instead. That earns him the tranquilo pose in the rope so Oku knocks him outside. Andrade cuts off a charge with an overhead belly to belly into the barricade.

We pause for the photo, which allows Oku to get another shot and a photo of his own. We take a break and come back with Oku getting the rather enthusiastic half crab, which is broken up rather quickly. Oku hits a frog splash to the back but misses one to the chest. Instead Dia de los Muertos and the DM finish Oku at 8:17.

Rating: C+. Oku is a technically sound star but this was more about getting Andrade in the ring, which isn’t a bad idea. The good thing is that Andrade’s roll continues, though I’m more curious about how he’ll execute the World Title contract. It would be nice to see him do that after losing the title, though that only makes so much sense as you don’t want a #1 contender losing. Good enough match here, even without much time.

Post match Andrade holds up the contract and says he’ll defend the title every week. The catchphrase is loaded up but the lights go out and it’s Tommaso Ciampa interrupting. I’ve heard worse ideas. They shake hands and Ciampa kisses him on the cheek before hitting Willow’s Bell.

Sisters Of Sin vs. Kris Statlander/Harley Cameron vs. Megan Bayne/Lena Kross

For a shot at the Brawling Birds, who are on commentary. Kross, Bayne and Statlander fight to the floor to start and we get the opening bell. Cameron elbows Blue in the corner and Statlander is back in with a slingshot hilo. Hart breaks up Cameron’s half crab but Kross and Bayne are back in to take over. Bayne clears the ring and we take a break.

We come back with Statlander planting Hart for two but the Sisters’ double basement superkick gets two on Cameron. Kross and Bayne hit stereo Towers Of Doom and a dropkick/German suplex combination gets two on Hart. Statlander counters Divine Intervention into a double hurricanrana and Staturday Night Fever finishes Hart at 8:21.

Rating: B-. I do like some fresh blood in the title picture, even if it’s Cameron and Statlander as something of a random team. If nothing else, it’s better than having Bayne and Kross get another shot. The Sisters continue to be in the middle of the pack, as they’ve been for the better part of ever, Stardom titles or not.

Tag Team Titles: The Dogs vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending and get jumped before the bell. That doesn’t last long as the Bucks are back with their high five bulldogs. The Dogs are sent outside for the suicide dives but Finlay crotched Matt on top. Nick is in with a flying clothesline to Finlay and it’s time for the rolling northern lights suplexes. The hanging Swanton connects for the Bucks but Connors is up with a running shoulder on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Matt hitting a dive on the floor but the big tag is cut off. A rolling tag works a bit better as it’s Nick coming back in to clean house. The top rope Swanton and elbow give the Bucks two each and a sunset flip into a German suplex has Finlay in trouble.

We’re off to the stereo Sharpshooters, both of which are broken up. Some superkicks only get the Bucks so far as Finlay clotheslines both of them down. The Meltzer Driver is broken up with a spear and a high/low gets two on Matt. The Full Clip gets two more with Nick having to make the save. A superbomb is broken up with a super hurricanrana and the BTE Trigger retains the titles at 13:28.

Rating: B-. This was in a weird spot as there is only so much you can do with a match that isn’t exactly in doubt. There was no way the Bucks were going to lose here, but at the same time, that’s how the match was set up. The match was more about the Bucks getting on the show and in front of the Paris fans, which was a perfectly fine way to go. Good enough main event here, Dogs aside.

Post match the Don Callis Family runs in to jump the Bucks before their title shot at WrestleDream. The Family stands tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was another good show, even if it didn’t feel as important as the rather awesome Dynamite. They are going to be going into a rapid fire build towards next Saturday’s pay per view and we’ll likely get that on the three hour AEW block next week. For now though, at least they gave the fans what they wanted and it was far from bad, even if it felt a bit more like a house show than anything else.

Results
Death Riders b. Conglomeration – Spike Neutralizer to O’Reilly
Nick Wayne b. Chris Jericho – Wayne’s World
Mike Bailey b. Lee Moriarty – Ultimate Weapon
Swerve Strickland b. Carlie Bravo – Swerve Stomp
Andrade El Idolo b. Michael Oku – DM
Kris Statlander/Harley Cameron b. Megan Bayne/Lena Kross and Sisters Of Sin – Staturday Night Fever to Hart
Young Bucks b. The Dogs – BTE Trigger to Finlay

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

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The House Always Wins
Date: April 9, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Attendance: 1,300
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Eddie Kingston

So this is a show that has been known about for a long time but never shown until now as far as I can remember. The idea here is rather simple, as it’s a rather rare AEW house show but we’re seeing it because it features both the Butcher who passed away earlier this month and Rebel, who is battling ALS. It’s a shame that it took such a bad reason to see it but it’s a rather interesting subject from almost forever ago in AEW. Let’s get to it.

Battle Royal

Stu Grayson, Evil Uno, Alan Angels, 10, Alex Reynolds, Colt Cabana, Butcher, Blade, Colten Gunn, Austin Gunn, Ethan Page, Scorpio Sky, Lance Archer, Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs

For a TNT Title shot against Darby Allin in the main event. I don’t think we had an opening bell so we’ll hope for the best on the time. Colten tries the Shake Rattle and Roll on Archer and actually stays alive, which even has commentary surprised. Grayson almost loses his trunks as he stays inside and it’s time for the Dark Order to face the Gunn Club. It’s not overly interesting but it does in fact happen.

The Gunns actually take over and Austin gets in that still awesome Quick Draw on Grayson. Colten gets thrown out and Angels makes the mistake of trying a springboard earning an elimination of his own. Austin is tossed and Archer gets rid of Reynolds without much trouble. There goes Grayson and Saints goes after Archer, which goes as well as you would expect with Archer eliminating him as well.

Uno is tossed over the top and Page sends him from the apron to the ramp and he’s out as well. Then Uno pulls Page out and Cabana is tossed as well as the ring is rapidly clearing out. 10 gets rid of Sky and there goes Blade, leaving 10, Archer, Hobbs and Butcher. Hobbs eliminates 10 and Hobbs gives Butcher a spinebuster. Butcher bails to the floor without being eliminated as Archer gets rid of Hobbs. The distracted Archer is almost thrown out by Butcher but Bunny offers a distraction, allowing Butcher to really put him out for the win at 8:40.

Rating: C+. The match wasn’t much to see but it was fascinating to look at all the names who have left AEW and gone on to WWE. Having a battle royal for a title shot later in the show has been done for years in wrestling and there is nothing wrong with following a trend that has worked. Butcher getting the win is not exactly something expected, which makes it more fun than doing the norm in something like this.

Post match Matt Hardy (manager of the Hardy Family Office, including Butcher and Blade) says this guarantees a TNT Title win because Butcher will either win the title and give it to him (in exchange for monetary value) or Hardy will beat up a destroyed Allin to win the title. Butcher does not seem pleased.

Pinnacle vs. Christopher Daniels/Luchasaurus/Jungle Boy/Dante Martin

In case you don’t remember, the Pinnacle is MJF, FTR and Shawn Spears, with Wardlow and Tully Blanchard. Before the match, MJF promises to take out the Inner Circle at Blood & Guts on May 5 before insulting the women in the audience. Harwood brags about the team some more so the fans cheer for Chris Jericho, who Harwood insists isn’t here. Daniels and Wheeler start things off with Daniels quickly taking him down, meaning it’s off to the already laughing MJF.

That means Daniels has to escape a wristlock and score with an armdrag, sending a frustrated MJF out to the floor. Jungle Boy comes in and gets to face Spears, who has some taped up ribs. A rather springboardy armdrag takes Spears down and Jungle Boy gets smart by going to the ribs. Martin comes in and goes after the ribs as well so we’ll try Luchasaurus vs…well hang on as Harwood goes to the floor to grab a microphone and tell the fans to STOP CHANTING FOR LUCHASAURUS.

That’s fine with Luchasaurus, who beats up FTR and MJF (must not like letters) but Harwood gives Martin a brainbuster to take over. As Kingston won’t say what he did at 20 years old, the villains take turns beating on Martin in the corner. Martin goes between the legs though and it’s off to Jungle Boy to pick up the pace.

The German suplexes about until Harwood takes Jungle Boy down. That’s broken up and Daniels comes back in for the STO as everything breaks down. Martin hits a heck of a dive onto Spears and Daniels gets Angel’s Wings, with a save having to be made. MJF is right back with the Salt Of The Earth to make Daniels tap at 14:26.

Rating: B-. This worked, with the Pinnacle being out there to get a win against a makeshift team of villains. The Pinnacle was a good team while they lasted, but there were so many evil teams floating around at this point that it was hard to get them to stand out. The talent was certainly there though, with MJF rapidly climbing the ladder to becoming one of the biggest stars around.

Jade Cargill vs. Reke Tehaka

Tehaka busts out the Haka to start and is quickly knocked down. Cargill talks some trash but gets caught by the arm, only to break up Old School. A belly to back suplex drops Tehaka again and Cargill hits a pump kick but stops for some pushups. Tehaka gets in some shots of her own and a middle rope ax handle connects for two. Cargill has had it though and grabs the yet to be named Jaded for the pin at 3:24.

Rating: C. Cargill was showing some inexperience here, but you could see the raw power and athleticism shining through. AEW would have been nuts to not try something with someone who looked like her and they were smart to keep it short. This definitely wasn’t a squash, but Cargill wasn’t about to lose to anyone anytime soon.

Here is Britt Baker for a chat, but first she would like the fans to cheer for her. She’s not happy with the lack of volume but she’s hopeful that this is the last time they have a show in Jacksonville. Title shots should be based on merchandise sales, TV demographic ratings and the length of the meet and greet lines. Tonight, it’s time for the women ranked higher than her to get a taste of the Doctor.

Cody Rhodes vs. Aaron Solo

Street fight and the chase is on at the bell, with Solo trying to get away, which Kingston refers to as “head games”. Back in and Rhodes hammers away, setting up a rather delayed gordbuster. The Cactus Clothesline puts them on the floor again and it’s time to go into the crowd (which is sparse, partially due to Covid), where Solo takes a drink to the face.

A fan gets to hold Solo so Rhodes can punch him and it’s time for the weapons, with Rhodes needing a few attempts to get the trashcan into the ring. Solo is dropped onto the trashcan but cuts off a suicide dive with a trashcan lid. Back in and some chair shots have Rhodes in more trouble, with Solo wedging the chair into the corner.

Believe it or not, Rhodes actually goes into the chair to leave it dented, which doesn’t seem to do much damage. They hit stereo crossbodies and here is QT Marshall with a kendo stick. Billy Gunn runs in to take care of Marshall so Rhodes kicks Solo low. Some kendo stick shots have Solo in more trouble and it’s time for a dog collar on a chain, with fans chanting for Brodie Lee.

Solo gets rocked again and Rhodes his a pair of Cross Rhodes…but stops the count at two. Instead Rhodes busts out a table, but Solo gets in a few kendo stick shots to cut him off. Solo goes up and takes WAY too long, meaning it’s a reverse superplex through the table to give Rhodes the pin at 15:46.

Rating: C+. This went rather long but the idea was just to get Rhodes out there. That’s all it needed to be as it’s not like Solo was a big star here. This was part of the Rhodes vs. the Factory feud and…well there’s a reason that’s not exactly on his highlight reel. When your big star is QT Marshall, how great do you think your stable is going to be?

Post match Anthony Ogogo comes in to drop Rhodes with a single shot to the ribs.

Ricky Starks and Colt Cabana replace Eddie Kingston on commentary.

Orange Cassidy/Chuck Taylor/Trent vs. Max Caster/Hybrid 2

Caster’s rap is about wanting to get Trent’s mom in the back of a fan. Kris Statlander and Anthony Bowens are here too and it’s Trent knocking Caster down to start. Taylor comes in for a double elbow but gets taken into the corner, which doesn’t last long either. Caster accidentally hits Evans so the Hybrid 2 take Caster out. With that out of the way, it’s time for the big six or so man chain submission, with Cassidy breaking it up.

Hold on though as Evans wants a dance off with Cassidy. Before Cassidy can go, Bowens says no one wants to see this so let’s have Caster and Cassidy in a battle rap. Caster raps about Cassidy being rather stoic so Cassidy kicks him in the legs, with the Hybrid 2 jumping Cassidy and taking him into the corner.

Cassidy gets in an exchange of standing switches with Angelico and escapes to get over to Taylor for the tag. Everything breaks down and Evans gets a flipping jackknife rollup for two, followed by a 450 for the same. Cassidy is back in with the falling splash but the referee actually points out that he isn’t legal. Statlander boops Caster and Cassidy fires off the Orange Punches before Strong Zero can finish Evans at 10:45.

Rating: B-. This was the fun match that it needed to be as the fans loved Cassidy and he was still more goofy than anything resembling serious. Evans was one of those people who could get on anyone’s nerves at any time and he was a good choice for a foil here. The fans were into this and that’s why it was put out there, as AEW knew what they had with these guys.

Post match the winners and Statlander all hug.

Eddie Kingston vs. Cezar Bononi

Kingston is coming in with a bad leg/ankle. Kingston grinds away on a headlock to start but gets kicked in the chest. That lets Bononi choke on the rope a bit and get two off a slam as the fans are right behind Kingston. Bononi’s running powerslam gets two and he grabs the chinlock, which has Kingston in even more trouble.

Kingston fights back and tries the exploder but the ankle is too banged up. Instead Bononi gets in a pumphandle suplex and a sitout powerbomb for two but Kingston says bring it. Back up and Bononi tries a torture rack but gets enziguried for his efforts. The Stretch Plumb gives Kingston the win at 9:20.

Rating: C. There wasn’t much to this one as it was mainly Bononi beating Kingston up until the fast comeback at the end. That being said, Kingston has never one to focus on what he was doing in the ring. He was going to get over just by talking and having personal issues with someone and that is the focus of his ankle issue. Kingston being on the card is fine though, as the fans love him.

Post match Kingston talks about how bad things were a year ago but then he ran his mouth at an independent show. That got him a match on Dynamite and he got beat up by Cody Rhodes. He started watching AEW and was so glad to have something back for the wrestlers. This gives them a place to be themselves so please support the young guys and the stars in this company. As usual, Kingston can play the emotions like few others.

Vickie Guerrero cuts off Justin Roberts’ introduction…but then lets him do it.

The Bunny/Rebel/Britt Baker/Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida/Red Velvet/Tay Conti/Ryo Mizumani

Velvet spins out of a wristlock to start but Baker takes her down into a hammerlock. Back up and Velvet faceplants Baker but mostly misses a standing moonsault. Conti (Melo) comes in to fire off the kicks to Bunny but charges into the corner. Shida comes in to go after Rebel, who fakes a knee injury to kick Shida in the head (even Rebel was surprised she pulled that off).

Rose runs Mizumani over but she’s right back with a spear, sending Cabana and Starks into an argument over spearing ability. Mizumani can’t get in a suplex so let’s have the rest of her partners come in for a quadrupleplex instead. Everything breaks down and we get a Shida vs. Rebel kendo stick vs. crutch match. Back in and Bunny knees Velvet to the mat and rubs Velvet’s face into it, allowing Baker to cheap shot Velvet.

A hair faceplant gives Velvet a breather and it’s back to Shida as everything breaks down into a quadruple submission. Those are all broken up and Rose backsplashes Shida for two. Shida reverses Baker’s suplex attempt into a Falcon Arrow for two and Mizumani uses Shida as a launchpad for a legdrop. Conti and Rebel get the double tag with Conti going after the leg and the DDTay finishes at 13:57.

Rating: C+. The early days of the women’s division were a bit messy for AEW but you could see some of the talent starting to come together. If nothing else, it’s kind of fascinating that Velvet has been around this long. Some of the better names were starting to come together and you could see Baker turning into a star right before your eyes. Throw in Shida as her solid self and the base was there.

Death Triangle/Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal vs. Kenny Omega/Konosuke Takeshita/Michael Nakazawa/Young Bucks

Nick and Fenix start things off with Fenix flipping away early. Pac and Matt come in as well so all four can block a superkick. Pac stays in and gets caught in the wrong corner but flips away from Takeshita. It’s off to Matt, who beats on Nakazawa (in his polo and khakis), allowing the Triangle to come in for a triple dropkick. Nakazawa grabs Mike’s nipples and the Bucks come in, only to get kicked to the floor.

That means the Lucha Bros can get in their own dives but Omega (reigning World Champion) gets to take over on Mike. This includes a backbreaker over the knee and Nakamura gets to come in for some offense of his own. Takeshita (who looks very young here) comes in for a chinlock and the Bucks get to send Mike into FOUR boots in the corner. Omega wants EIGHT boots up in the corner, which of course goes badly for him, allowing Matt to get the tag.

Everything breaks down and the Bros get to wheelbarrow splash Omega for two. Fenix gets caught in the wrong corner for the rapid fire clotheslines though, with Takeshita’s being one too many. Instead Fenix is back with a cutter for two but Pac’s Black Arrow is broken up. We hit the parade of strikes to the face and Takeshita’s Blue Thunder Bomb gets two.

Matt is held in the ropes for a Swanton from Nick and a double Meltzer Driver gets two as Penta makes a save. Omega gets to fire off some snapdragons…but tags in Nakazawa. With Omega not there for the save, it’s a suplex into the spike package piledriver and the Brutalizer makes Nakazawa tap at 17:22.

Rating: B-. This was something of a main event level match, with the World Champion and the Bucks involved, though the Sydals and Nakazawa being involved was a bit odd. Then again, that’s the point of having Nakazawa, with those snappy khakis, there to take the fall. Fenix and Penta were awesome out there and Pac looked like he could have beaten up a concrete wall. The match was big and the good guys won so that’s a logical inclusion here.

Post match Pac says the Death Triangle is coming for Omega and the Bucks. Omega teases a brawl here but then run from a fight.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. The Butcher

Butcher is challenging and has the Hardy Family Office with him. Allin starts fast with a dropkick to the floor and a suicide dive. Matt Hardy offers a distraction though and Butcher takes over on the floor, with a snap suplex getting two. Allin’s comeback is cut off with a boot to the face and a powerbomb gives Butcher two more.

For some reason Allin slaps him in the face and is slapped right back down for his efforts. Some slaps actually work for Allin and he dropkicks Butcher into the corner, earning himself a Texas Cloverleaf. That’s broken up and they head outside with Butcher chopping the post by mistake, allowing Allin to send the bad arm into the barricade. Back in and Butcher knocks him into the corner but Allin fights off the top. A Code Red sets up a quick Coffin Drop to retain the title at 8:15.

Rating: C+. This felt like they were running out of time, even though the title was obviously never in anything close to danger. The good thing is that Allin, the popular star, got out there to close the show and send the fans home happy. It’s another tried and true ending to a house show and it’s hard to complain much here, even if the match was just ok.

Post match the Hardy Family Office jumps in to go after Butcher but Colt Cabana, after decking Ricky Starks, leads the Dark Order in for the save. Matt Hardy promises to win the TNT Title and begin the reign of Big Money Matt, which of course didn’t happen. Allin is ready and seems to challenge for a falls count anywhere match. As a bonus, he gives a fan his skateboard, a kid who gets to come up and get it in a nice touch. More celebrating ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Well it’s a house show, featuring the stars of AEW in some perfectly acceptable matches. Is it some kind of hidden gem? Not really no, but it’s a fun look back at a different era of AEW and a nice tribute to the Butcher in a rare moment of him wrestling on his own. The point of this was to give the fans a good time and AEW made that happen. If you’re an AEW fan, you’ll have a good time with this and there are far worse ways to spend an afternoon/evening.

Results
The Butcher won a battle royal last eliminating Lance Archer
The Pinnacle b. Dante Martin/Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus/Christopher Daniels – Salt Of The Earth to Daniels
Jade Cargill b. Reke Tehaka – Jaded
Orange Cassidy/Trent/Chuck Taylor b. Max Caster/Hybrid 2 – Strong Zero to Evans
Eddie Kingston b. Cezar Bononi – Stretch Plumb
Hikaru Shida/Red Velvet/Tay Conti/Ryo Mizumani b. The Bunny/Rebel/Britt Baker/Nyla Rose – DDTay to Rebel
Death Triangle/Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal b. Kenny Omega/Young Bucks/Michael Nakazawa/Konosuke Takeshita – Brutalizer to Nakazawa
Darby Allin b. The Butcher – Coffin Drop

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

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All In 2026
Date: August 30, 2026
Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We have finally arrived at the biggest show of the year and that means we should be in for some major happenings. The show has a special two hour Buy In and the usual huge card, which should make for a pretty awesome night. There are a lot of British wrestlers challenging for titles, including Will Ospreay going after Kenny Omega’s World Title. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: The Opps vs. Lio Rush/The Rascalz

Rush is now in a rainbow poncho and runs around on all fours, as is his custom. The suicide dive connects on the floor but Andretti takes Rush down back inside. A double backbreaker and running shooting star from Andretti gives Bowens two and it’s off to Shibata. That means Rush can get over to Xavier to come in and take over. Everything breaks down and Reed breaks up a double whip, only to get dropkicked into a suplex.

Reed kicks and Stunners his way out of trouble, setting up the running diving cutter to send Andretti out to the floor. Back in and we hit the parade of knockdowns, via a selection of strikes and throws. Bowens gives Xavier the running Fameasser, followed by a wind up hanging DDT. Rush gives Bowens the springboard Stunner into the Final Hour for the pin at 9:06.

Rating: B-. This was basically a way for Rush to get his momentum back after he lost the ROH TV Title last week. It’s a match with a bunch of people flying around and getting in a spot here or there, which is about all you can do in a match like this. Rush continues to be so weird that it’s hard to not pay attention to him so this went well enough.

Zero Hour: Sisters Of Sin vs. Kris Statlander/Harley Cameron

Cameron and Blue shove each other around to start until it’s off to Statlander. That means Cameron can be dropped onto Blue for two but Hart gets in a middle rope hurricanrana. Statlander shrugs that off and Cameron is back in to catch Hart on the apron. Back up and Hart grabs Cameron from the ropes and snaps the arm across the top, allowing Blue to get in a running knee for two.

Statlander is back up and strikes away, with a double cover getting two. Hart gets in a quickly broken Black Widow and it’s back to Cameron, who is taken down with a swinging neckbreaker. A crucifix driver gets Cameron out of trouble and everything breaks down, with all four being knocked down. Back up and Statlander gets in a quick Staturday Night Fever to pin Hart at 9:54.

Rating: C. This match was thrown onto the card last night after an attack on Collision and that didn’t give them much time to really make it work. Cameron can have a weird partner of the week and make it work with anyone as she’s more than charismatic to pull the idea off. It’s another match that belongs on Collision, but if everyone has to get on the show (because reasons), it makes as much sense as anything else.

Zero Hour: Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Boom & Doom/Hurt Syndicate

The rest of the Promotions and Big Justice are here too. Benjamin and Moriarty go face to face to start and it’s Benjamin glaring at Moriarty for daring a chop. Benjamin slams him down and it’s off to Boom & Doom to do the same. That just earns Marshall a trip to the apron for a string of shots to the back.

Moriarty slaps on an assisted Abdominal stretch until the cheating chain falls apart. Marshall flips over for the tag to AJ, who is dropkicked down for two. Dean gets in the Bronco Buster but AJ clotheslines his way out of trouble. That means it’s off to Lashley for the running clotheslines, followed by a spear to Taylor on the floor.

A running powerslam gets two on Dean, with Bravo making a questionable save. Bravo and Dean get in a belly to back neckbreaker combination but Benjamin is back in with an ankle lock. That’s broke up so it’s time to go after Taylor, with an assisted Powerboom planting him hard. The good guys are up with the string of strikes and Justice even gets in for a spear. The Dominator finishes Bravo at 11:24.

Rating: C+. This went about as well as it could have as, again, there were so many people involved in a single match. That’s been a problem for a long time around here and it’s continuing on the Kickoff Show, which already has twenty wrestlers in three matches. There is only so much you can do to get attention in that span and it only kind of worked here, even with the Syndicate getting to dominate.

Post match the Syndicate gets a $50,000 check from the Rizzler, which seems to work for them.

Bryan Danielson joins commentary.

Zero Hour: Maya World vs. Persephone

World is defending as Persephone’s CMLL Women’s Title isn’t on the line. World’s headscissors takes Persephone down to start and a springboard version does it again. Persephone is back with a corner clothesline and some stomping but gets knocked outside. The dive off the apron gives World two back inside but Persephone ties her up with a leglock.

With that broken up, Persephone grabs a Samoan driver for two and a fall away slam sends World flying again. World pops up with a springboard Stunner though and they’re both down. They go up top for a fall away slam and the tabletop suplex gets two on Persephone, who has to grab the rope. Cue a masked woman to shove World off the top though and the Razor’s Edge gives Persephone the pin and the title at 11:09.

Rating: C+. That’s a surprise title change as World didn’t feel like she was ready to drop the thing, but at the same time Persephone does seem to be a project for AEW. I’m curious about the interference as it could be just about anyone (Ted Arcidi is always an option) and that gives World another option of something to do. It wasn’t a great match, but it opens some doors and that’s always nice to see.

Post match the masked person is….back inside to give World the Lockjaw, as it’s Britt Baker. Well dang that’s a big surprise.

Thekla climbs onto the Zero Hour desk and confirms that she is back. She’s here to drink and watch the show closely because she’s coming for Willow Nightingale no matter what.

Persephone is glad to have a good doctor watching her back. Britt Baker comes in to say she’s glad to be back because she has some new perspective. They don’t seem to like Thunder Rosa either.

Trios Titles: Roulette Royal

Hangman Page/Brodido are defending and this is a Royal Rumble, with timed (intervals not listed) entrances and all three members having to be tossed. The Bang Bang Gang (Jay White/Colten Gunn/Austin Gunn) are in at #1 (of seven total teams) and the Dogs (Clark Connors/David Finlay/Gabe Kidd) are in at #2. They start with the exchange of right hands but the Gang spends too much time posing and get punched down. The Gang gets beaten down and the Demand (Ricochet/Bishop Kaun/Toa Liona) are in at #3.

The Dogs and the Demand get in an argument though and the Gang fight back up. Colten is sent to the apron though and a spear gets rid of him for the first elimination. The Conglomeration is in at #4 as the ring is starting to get full. Cassidy of course takes his time to get in as his partners beat various people up, only to get caught by Liona. Austin is launched into a cutter and knocked out, leaving White alone for his team. We slow down a bit and the Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta/Pac) are in at #5.

After the bouncing circle, they get inside with Marina Shafir joining them for a showdown with Roderick Strong, who gives her a backbreaker. Oh he’ll be hearing about that later. The Conglomeration strikes at Pac and it’s Page/Brodido (Brody King/Bandido) in at #6. The three of them get in as Cassidy is holding onto the post to stay out of the way in a smart move. Nine people get stacked up in three corner and the champions fire off cannonballs. A bunch of people get together to toss King but it’s Page getting caught in the corner or running shots from just about everyone else.

O’Reilly and Strong seem to have been tossed at some point in there, leaving Cassidy alone. White is almost thrown out but hangs on and grabs the rope in a smart move. Cassidy is brought back in and splashed but he fights out of the corner. White is still alive with a sleeper suplex as the Cages send Cassidy…well beyond the apron actually but he gets back inside. Kidd bashes his own head into the buckle because reasons and Cassidy is back up with a string of Orange Punches.

Cassidy is the only one standing and falls down as we go off the air with about thirty seconds left in the Zero Hour. We come back to the regular show with Swerve Strickland and….the new Level (Kofi/Austin Creed in a less than stunning yet still cool enough surprise) are in at #7.

The Level and Strickland take over on Yuta but get jumped by the Demand. A springboard Doomsday Device hits Kofi but the Level is back up to strike away at Liona. That means the Gates are knocked out and Cassidy sends Yuta to the apron, where Yuta grabs him with a choke. That’s broken up and another Orange Punch gets rid of Yuta, only for Ricochet to dump Cassidy and clear some of the ring out. Strickland cuts off Bandido’s 21 Plex to Castagnoli and there’s the required Page vs. Strickland showdown.

A Buckshot Lariat off the back of Strickland hits Ricochet but the Dogs spear both of them down. Bandido gets piledriven and tossed, as does Connors. White and Finlay go over the top and to the apron, with White eliminating him but getting pulled out by Finlay to eliminate the Gang. Page gives Castagnoli the Deadeye but gets sent to the apron and is dropkicked out by Ricochet, meaning the champions are gone.

Strickland flips Ricochet out to eliminate the Demand and we’re down to Strickland, Kofi, Creed, Kidd, Castagnoli and Pac. Kofi is sent out but hangs on by his feet, with Prince Nana helping him hand walk back inside. What used to be known as Daybreak hits Kidd and he’s gone and a double clothesline eliminates the Riders to give Strickland and the Level the titles at 40:07.

Rating: B-. You know what you’re getting with a 21 man Royal Rumble and it’s not like Creed/Kofi were big surprises. Once it was confirmed that they would be involved, there was no reason to think anyone else was leaving. It’s not like these titles have any kind of a lasting legacy and losing them pretty quickly is hardly some terrible thing. Fun match, though stretching it out to be on the start of the main show was a bit tedious.

Quick note now that the show has started: it might only be about half full (which is still a ton of people) but the stadium looks great. This feels like a major show on a big stage and that’s what they’re going for by running the venue.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Brawling Birds vs. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne

Kross and Bayne are defending. Bayne shoulders Hayter down to start but a double shoulder drops Bayne as well. Everything breaks down and they go to the floor, with the Birds actually losing the brawl. Back in and Hayter gets caught in the corner, with Bayne standing on her throat.

Kross gets the sliding German suplex for two but Hayter clotheslines her way out of trouble. Windsor chops away at Bayne and Blue Thunder Bombs Kross for two. That earns Windsor some running shots in the corner and Bayne sends her flying with a release German suplex. Everything breaks down again and the Birds grab stereo German suplexes.

They all knock each other down again and it’s Bayne up to German suplex both Birds at once. Hayter gets in a double DDT but it’s a running boot into a German suplex to drop her again. Divine Intervention gets two with Windsor breaking the cover and another German suplex drops Bayne. The Haytebreaker sets up Two Birds One Stone to finish Kross for the titles at 11:40.

Rating: B-. This was the result I had the most confidence in all night as there was no reason to believe that the Birds were losing. Kross and Bayne had held the titles long enough and the Birds winning would be the feel good moment. They didn’t overthink it (save for spamming the German suplexes) and it was pretty much exactly what it should have been.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley vs. Nigel McGuinness

Moxley is defending and this is the finals of a tournament where the champion was involved because that’s a thing we spent most of a month doing. McGuinness is coming in with a bad ankle as well so Moxley already has a target. They go with the wrist battle to start and McGuinness backs him up against the ropes for the break. Moxley gets smart by going for the leg and McGuinness uppercuts him out to the floor.

Back in and McGuinness starts in on the arm, setting up quite the arm stretch. With that broken up, Moxley goes after the leg and McGuinness gets creative by offering his back to protect his own ankle. Moxley works on the leg and hammers away in the corner before unwrapping the tape on McGuinness’ ankle. McGuinness gets smart again by grabbing the tape and wrapping it around Moxley’s face to escape.

A missed charge in the corner lets McGuinness grab the Tower Of London for two but Moxley is right back with the LeBell Lock. That’s reversed into the same thing from McGuinness, with Danielson making sure to compare their grips. Moxley escapes again and stomps on the ankle, which just wakes McGuinness up for the exchange of forearms. A pair of lariats put Moxley down but McGuinness can’t follow up.

Moxley’s rebound lariat is cut off with a lariat from McGuinness, which of course has Moxley popping up for the bulldog choke. McGuinness drives his chin into the arm to escape and the London Dungeon goes on but Moxley rolls out into an ankle lock. McGuinness escapes again so Moxley grabs the same hold, followed by a running Stomp. Another ankle lock makes McGuinness tap at 17:13.

Rating: B. Forgive me for not getting excited about Moxley getting to be the tough submission star, again, and retain his title, again, after we had a tournament for the sake of a wrestler getting to show how awesome Moxley is, again. I know McGuinness winning here was the longest of long shots and they shouldn’t have changed the title, but dang I’m over Moxley. He’s presented as the ultimate fighter in every aspect and it gets more than a bit tiresome. Just do something else with him already. Like send him on vacation.

As for the match itself, this was McGuinness trying to think his way through the injury and survive until he could find an opening but he made the mistake of trying to brawl with Moxley. Throw in the submission game and Moxley was too much for him. Some of the stuff McGuinness was doing out there was brilliant but it just wasn’t enough in the end.

International Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Kyle Fletcher

Fletcher is defending and this is the Don Callis Family match, as Takeshita has been thrown out of the team while the other two are still in but don’t get along a lot of the time. Fletcher knocks Okada outside and Takeshita looks stunned in a funny opening. Okada is back up and pulls both of them outside for a double hanging DDT, followed by the running dive. Back in and Okada knocks Takeshita down and flips off the crowd, only for Fletcher to come in and flip him off from behind.

Fletcher knocks Takeshita down and then Okada gives Fletcher a brainbuster, only to walk into a Rainmaker from Takeshita. Fletcher’s Raging Fire drops Takeshita and all three are down off the stolen finishers. The screwdriver is brought in and Takeshita German suplexes Fletcher while rolling Okada up at the same time. Now Takeshita grabs the screwdriver but can’t commit a bad case of murder.

Instead he knees Fletcher for two with Okada getting up to kick at both of them. Okada gets double teamed to the floor so Takeshita and Fletcher can slug it out, only to get rid of Okada again. Fletcher hits the turnbuckle brainbuster on Takeshita….but gets Rainmakered by Okada for the pin and the title at 13:12.

Rating: B. Good enough here and I liked that it didn’t run as long. They had told their story and Okada stole the pin at the right time. Hopefully this is it for the multiway feud (it won’t be, at least not entirely) as they all need to just find something else to do. It’s a solid match and didn’t overstay its welcome, which is a perfectly acceptable result here.

Post match Fletcher reluctantly raises Okada’s hand.

Casino Gauntlet Match

There are an unknown number of entrants at unspecified intervals with the winner of the first fall getting a future World Title shot. Andrade El Idolo is in at #1 and MJF is in at #2 and since they hate each other, the brawl is on in a hurry. MJF fights up and struts a bit, setting up a crotch to the face. Andrade is back up, takes his pants off, and hits his own thrust to the face. We pause for the photo with the woman and here is Nick Wayne to poisonrana Andrade on the floor as he’s the #3 entrant.

MJF wants an alliance with Wayne but here is Mike Bailey in at #4 to start firing off the kicks. Bailey kicks Wayne down and MJF is sent outside, leaving Bailey and Andrade to hit big dives. They’re all down on the floor and it’s Tommaso Ciampa in at #5…but he takes so long posing that Chris Jericho is in at #6 to jump Ciampa on the way to the ring. Jericho fires off a bunch of right hands to clear the ring so MJF comes in to mock him. That earns him the Walls, with Mark Davis coming in at #7 to break it up.

Davis starts snapping off the piledrivers, including one to MJF, with commentary being surprised at the kickout. Komander (or Mistico according to Justin Roberts) is in at #8 for his rope walk flip dive. NOW Roberts gets the name right and Komander hits the Cielito Lindo for two on Ciampa. Mistico is in at #9 (Roberts: “You guessed it!”) but Daniel Garcia is in at #10 to jump Mistico on the ramp.

Mistico is back up and gets to clean house before staring it down with Komander. A quick La Mistica has Komander in trouble but MJF makes the save. MJF blocks Garcia’s piledriver and Bailey is back in for the save. Ciampa knees Bailey for two and Jack Perry is in at #11. Perry gets to clean house and Snare Traps Ciampa until Wayne makes a save of his own.

Davis is back in and Perry actually gives him a piledriver before Jericho is back in with the Judas Effect to MJF. Wayne’s Phoenix splash lands on Davis’ face so MJF shakes Wayne’s hand…and then kicks him low. The Heatseeker plants Wayne but Andrade is back in with Dia de los Muertos to MJF and pins Wayne at 21:07.

Rating: B. On one hand, it was a lot of the same people you would have expected in this match with pretty much nothing in the way of surprises. At the same time, the right person won and that should make things more interesting for whomever leaves as World Champion. Andrade is on a roll right now and putting him in a title match is a good idea. Just don’t have him have to defend the shot or something as that’s rarely interesting.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Adam Copeland/Christian Cage

Copeland and Cage are defending in what is a battle of the best teams of their generations (that uh, might be up for debate). Cage and Nick start things off and everything breaks down in a hurry, with Nick getting stomped down in the corner. The Bucks are right back up with the running bulldogs, completely with high fives. That means Cage gets caught in the wrong corner with the Bucks starting in on the arm.

That doesn’t last long as it’s already back to Copeland, who is superkicked down just as fast. Copeland is fine enough to piledrive Matt on the apron (Taz: “That’s a game changer.” Not in AEW it isn’t.). Cage neckbreakers Nick for two and chokes on the ropes but misses the right hand. That’s enough for Matt to get in a kick from the apron and Copeland’s spear is sent into the buckle. Matt gives Copeland a jumping stomp to the back and Backstabbers Cage out of the corner, setting up Risky Business for two.

Copeland is right back up with a half crab but Matt gets out and heads to the apron. Another spear is loaded up but Nick flips away and grabs a Stunner on Cage on the floor in a slick counter. Back in and Matt suplexes both of them at once but Nick’s leg gives out on the Meltzer Driver. Cage is back up with a Twist Of Fate to Matt, setting up a 3D for two more. A double superplex drops Matt but Nick 450s onto both of them for the big crash. The Bucks try the BTE Trigger but Copeland spears Cage by mistake for the failed save attempt.

Now the BTE Trigger hits Cage for two, with the kickout freaking Matt out. Another Meltzer Driver is speared out of the air and the Killswitch into a pop up spear gets two more on Nick. Cage: “F***!” The belt is brought in but the referee takes it away, allowing Cage to pull out what looks like a wrench. A shot to the leg keeps Nick in trouble but Matt rolls Cage up for two. The wrist brace to the head knocks Matt silly and another spear retains the titles at 20:07.

Rating: B+. This was another rather great match and I’ll take the Bucks losing another shot at the titles. I’m not sure how much of a dream match this was (though that term is horribly overused) but it did wind up being pay per view worthy with Cage and Copeland still having incredible chemistry. Rather good match here and I’m not sure who is next for the champions. Just not a ladder rematch. Please.

Post match the Motor City Machine Guns come out for the staredown. Yeah that works. Then FTR comes out to join everyone. Yeah that’s not as interesting. Then it’s New Level, because only having a belt each isn’t enough.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight vs. Darby Allin

Knight is defending in a falls count anywhere match after attacking Allin after he lost the World Title and then attempting to murder Allin (a few times). After skateboarding down to the ring, Allin dropkicks Knight into the corner but gets choked back down. Knight takes too long loading up a table (of course) and is knocked down with a suicide dive. Allin has to dive over the steps but gets taken down, allowing Knight to put him on the announcers’ table.

There’s the springboard dive onto Allin onto the table for two and it’s time to throw in some chairs. That takes too long as well though and Allin sunset bombs him onto the chairs for the crash. Cue the Don Callis Family to take Allin out though and load up a ladder. Knight is dropped onto the chairs and let’s tape his hands together. Steven Borden runs in for the save with a good dropkick but gets powerbombed through the table. Allin is back up with a top rope hurricanrana, even with his hands still taped back.

Cage superplexes him though and ties him in the Tree Of Woe…and the lights go out. The fans go nuts as Sting is back for the save and Allin bats Knight into the Scorpion Death Drop. Borden loads up a ladder and climbs at the same time as Sting, with Borden telling his dad that he has this. Borden’s big dive takes the Family out and then brawls to the back, with Sting joining them. Allin and Knight go to the stage and Allin climbs the set for a huge Coffin Drop through Knight and through the floor. Knight is put on a stretcher but gets crushed with another Coffin Drop to give Allin the title at 15:47.

Rating: B-. Ok so this was a weird one, as the people who weren’t involved were the stars. The deal with Borden doing the dive so his father didn’t have to was a great moment and it’s cool to see Sting getting to do that with his son rather than Allin. At the same time, I am so utterly over Allin trying to find another way to do his insane dives or whatever ideas he has that day. He does them so often and it is just not interesting for me anymore but he got his revenge here and can move on to get blown up another day.

We recap Willow Nightingale defending the Women’s Title against Mercedes Mone. Basically Mone seems to blame Nightingale for all of the bad things that have happened in her career so it’s time for her to get revenge and the title.

Women’s Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale, with a broken hand, is defending and Mone comes out with a bunch of ballet dancers. On the other hand, Nightingale has a storybook theme of a knight who kept getting knocked down but kept getting up and smiling. As a bonus, Nightingale has chest cannons (exactly what they sound like) which are likely a Dolly Parton reference. Mone is sat on the top to start and gets slapped out to the floor, with Nightingale taking her out with a dive.

Nightingale is getting a bit confident so Mone goes after the hand, only to be sent crashing into the barricade. Back in and Mone pulls a turnbuckle pad off and sends Nightingale into the steel for two as things slow down. Mone takes her down by the arm and cranks away a bit, setting up a camel clutch. That’s broken up so Mone grabs the Three Amigos, with the third seeing them to go the apron.

Nightingale suplexes her down to the floor for the big crash though and they both have to beat the count. The slugout goes to Nightingale as Mone seems to have a broken nose. A missile dropkick gives Nightingale two and Mone’s Backstabber gets the same. Mone grabs a wristlock to really crank up the pain but Nightingale takes her up top for a super Spanish Fly. The Cannonball misses though and Mone powerbombs her into the corner. The Meteora is broken up as well and Nightingale forearms her down.

A moonsault gives Nightingale two more but she gets caught in the Mone Maker, with Mone driving her into the exposed buckle before slamming her down. Nightingale kicks out again and Mone’s face is just covered in blood. Back up and Nightingale knocks her into the referee so Mone sends the bad wrist into the announcers’ table. Mone takes the glove off and bends the fingers back but stops to pick up the belt.

That’s enough for Nightingale to send her into the steps and get in a belt shot of her own. The Babe With The Powerbomb connects for a rather delayed near fall so Nightingale hits an (exposed) buckle bomb. A superbomb is countered into a hurricanrana but Mone reverses another Babe With The Powerbomb into a Statement Maker, with the arm trapped, for the tap and the title at 21:53.

Rating: B. Yeah of course Mone won. I’m not sure why I thought she was ever in danger because Mone has to win because otherwise we might forget that she is a million times better than everyone else. As usual, Mone is the biggest star in the division and we have to remember it, no matter how popular Nightingale was getting. Thank goodness Mone got another big accomplishment, as she just doesn’t have enough to get the point across.

We recap Will Ospreay challenging Kenny Omega for the World Title. Ospreay is back from a broken neck and wants to win the big one in his home country. The idea was that they were fighting to see who was best but then Omega started messing with Ospreay’s mind by bringing up their past and Ospreay’s family, which sent Ospreay over the edge. Omega went a bit nuts as well and feels like a villain coming into this.

AEW World Title: Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega

Ospreay is challenging with a video narrated by his mother, talking about how far Ospreay has come and never gave up. Ospreay walks through the back and finds Henare, Akira Francesca and Callum Newman, but stops to get the Union Jack from Jon Moxley. On the other hand, Omega has a video about his career, plus the Young Bucks, Brandon Cutler and Michael Nakazawa with him, which goes nicely with the Assassins Creed (or so I’m told) entrance.

They take their time staring at each other before locking up and trading chops against the ropes. Ospreay pops up from a shoulder and grabs a hurricanrana, followed by a running knee out to the floor. The required dive puts Omega down again and the fans rather approve of Ospreay. Back in and a Phenomenal Forearm is countered into a gorilla press slam, allowing Omega to crank on the neck.

Omega chokes in the corner and hits a backbreaker to move on to the other end of the spine. A nasty neckbreaker lets Omega take the pad off of the turnbuckle bar, with the neck being crushed against the steel again. Ospreay is fine enough to hit the Phenomenal Forearm and a pair of enziguris gets two. The standing corkscrew moonsault hits raised knees but Omega is sent outside for a dive. They fight out to ringside and Omega loads up a table, which can’t possibly end well.

Ospreay fights back and shoves the referee down, allowing Omega to get in a monitor shot to the head. The bleeding Ospreay is sitout powerbombed onto the table, which is good for a nine, with Omega smashing him with a V Trigger on the way back inside. A dragon suplex drops Ospreay onto the apron and Omega yells at the camera. Omega knocks him silly again and it’s a missile dropkick to the back of the head back inside.

A V Trigger in the corner looks to set up a super One Winged Angel but Omega has to settle for a German superplex. Omega fires off some hard knees to the head and some snapdragons have Ospreay in more trouble. Another V Trigger is loaded up but Ospreay scores with a much needed Hidden Blade. Back up and Omega starts firing off some boxing style punches, earning himself a hard headbutt. Ospreay hits a heck of a punt to the head and a hard elbow to the back of the head.

Omega has to get up at nine, where a Hidden Blade connects to give Ospreay two more. Back up and Ospreay rolls him into the Styles Clash for another near fall but Omega knees him out of the air. They get up and slug it out until Omega hits a poisonrana, with Ospreay popping back up to his feet. Omega grabs a Tiger Driver 91 and the fans go rather quiet. The One Winged Angel connects….for two in quite the moment. Well at least he didn’t kick out at one.

Omega sits next to him on the ropes and hits another big running knee, only to get Tiger Driver 91’d to leave them both down again. Ospreay can’t stand up so Omega knees him in the head again but a running version is blocked. Ospreay’s own One Winged Angel gets one, as do a Hidden Blade and Stormbreaker. Another Hidden Blade gives Ospreay the pin and the title at 34:47.

Rating: A-. The fans going silent at the Tiger Driver 91 was a great moment and while this took some time to get going, it turned into an awesome back and forth match by the end. I never quite bought Omega having a realistic chance to retain the title but they had enough hard hitting violence that it worked. Heck of a main event here, with AEW doing exactly what they should have in crowning Ospreay on his home soil.

Ospreay celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Yeah it’s a rather good if not great AEW show. Film at 11 and all that. The stadium looked very nice and the crowd was huge, but I’m not sure if it got up to that epic level that some AEW events reach. The main event was great and there were some very good parts throughout, but this didn’t so much feel like an all time major show as much as a really good show taking place in a big stadium. Certainly good, but not in their upper tier of shows.

Results
Lio Rush/The Rascalz b. The Opps – Final Hour to Bowens
Harley Cameron/Kris Statlander b. Sisters Of Sin – Staturday Night Fever to Hart
Hurt Syndicate/Boom & Doom b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Dominator to Bravo
Persephone b. Maya World – Razor’s Edge
Swerve Strickland/New Level won Roulette Royal last eliminating the Death Riders
Brawling Birds b. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne – Two Birds One Stone to Kross
Jon Moxley b. Nigel McGuinness – Ankle lock
Kazuchika Okada b. Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita – Rainmaker to Fletcher
Andrade El Idolo won the Casino Gauntlet match – Heatseeker to Wayne
Adam Copeland/Christian Cage b. Young Bucks – Spear to Matt
Darby Allin b. Kevin Knight – Coffin Drop onto a stretcher
Mercedes Mone b. Willow Nightingale – Arm trap Statement Maker
Will Ospreay b. Kenny Omega – Hidden Blade

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

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We have arrived. This is the biggest AEW show of the year and once again we are over in England at Wembley Stadium where tens of thousands of fans are going to be in the house. As big as the stadium may be and how high the capacity may be, that is absolutely nothing to sneeze at and AEW deserves credit for drawing that many people. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Trios Titles: Royal Roulette

From what I can tell, this is a gauntlet match for the titles, with basically every trio in AEW at the moment, plus a wild card entry. Now I don’t think there’s much of a secret as to who is going to be in the wild card spot, but that has never stopped AEW before. As usual, this would be better off as a one off six man tag, but why do that when you can have another twelve people in a match instead?

I’ll go with the wild card team winning the titles here, in the form of Swerve Strickland and whatever New Day will be called in AEW. Assuming they’re the wild cards, there is almost no reason to not have them win the titles. I’m still not sure why they need to be involved in a trio (it worked so well with Odyssey Jones) but I guess the Bucks have the tag match sewn up so here we are.

Kickoff Show: TBS Title: Maya World(c) vs. Persephone

Champion needs challenger, challenger pins champion in tag match, title match ensues. It’s a story that has worked for the better part of ever in wrestling and it should work fine here. World has done well enough as champion but is feeling a bit like Rocky Maivia in his first reign, in that she is just kind of there with the title and having random matches. This might not help things, but at least she’s on the show.

I don’t see any reason to think that the title reign is already ending so I’ll go with World to retain here. It’s the most logical choice of the two and while Persephone feels like someone AEW wants to feature, she already has the CMLL Women’s Title and I don’t think I can take another double champion at the moment. World retains here and hopefully moves on to something more important.

Kickoff Show: The Opps vs. The Rascalz/Lio Rush

Here we have the first “does this really need to be here” match of the card, as the Opps continue to be a thing that exists for whatever reason. I’m not sure why Tony Khan insists on keeping the team around when Samoa Joe isn’t there to lift them up but how else will Hook fail to get over? This is also fallout from Rush losing the ROH TV Title to Action Andretti thanks to the Opps, because that’s a thing that happened.

I’ll take Rush and company to win here, even if there isn’t much for any of them to do. It’s probably a way to set up Rush’s rematch against Andretti for the title, which doesn’t really need to happen but how else are we getting eight more people on the show? There isn’t much of a need for this to be one of five pre-show matches but how else can Ring Of Honor be included here?

Kickoff Show: Kris Statlander/Harley Cameron vs. Sisters Of Sin

I’ll take more Cameron and Statlander so this is hardly a terrible thing, but it feels like filler on Collision rather than a match that needs to be happening here. Statlander and Cameron aren’t exactly a regular team but Cameron could get fans cheering for her in a coffin and the Sisters are a ready made heel act. It’s not exactly a complicated idea here and it should be fine.

Uh we’ll go with…..eh the Sisters I guess. It’s such a nothing match that it doesn’t really matter which way you go and that’s not the best feeling. Cameron tends to lose more often than win on the big stage but this is about all she can do at the moment. I still don’t see how AEW couldn’t find something better for her to do but that’s a list that we absolutely don’t have time to cover. I’ll take the Sisters here in a “someone has to win” situation.

Kickoff Show: Boom & Doom/Hurt Syndicate vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

And where would we be without the Costco Guys? It feels like these guys were a big deal for about five minutes and that was well over a year ago but here they are again. It’s another case of putting people on the show for the sake of getting them on there and now that we’re having as many matches on the Kickoff Show as we had on this week’s Dynamite, it’s kind of hard to get enthusiastic about another one.

Of course I’ll take the good guys to win, with the Syndicate getting some more momentum before a big showdown with the Promotions. There’s nothing to get excited about with this one, but I’m sure the Rizzler will be there to do his oh so funny face. That really does feel like the only thing this match has going for it and that’s hardly enough to get my interest up. But then again, something something celebrity star power I guess.

Women’s Title: Willow Nightingale(c) vs. Mercedes Mone

I wanted to get this one out of the way first because it has the potential to make me the angriest. I’ve made no secret about the fact that I’m not a fan of Mone. She’s incredibly talented and feels like a star, but she’s often presented as being light years ahead of the rest of the division. Nightingale already put Mone over to end a short title reign and it does not need to happen again.

While I don’t believe that it’s happening, I’ll take Nightingale to retain here. I know she’s injured and Mone is likely winning anyway, but Nightingale has made a connection with the fans and it would be a shame to see her lose again so Mone can get yet another accolade that won’t make her feel any bigger. Nightingale needs to win here and would benefit a lot more and I’ll say she will, though I won’t be surprised if/when Mone gets another big moment.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Lena Kross/Megan Bayne(c) vs. Brawling Birds

So there is going to be a theme to this show as there is a good chance that a lot of British wrestlers will pick up titles. That very well may start here, as the Birds are more than good enough to be the first team to stop Kross and Bayne. The only guaranteed thing here is that it’s going to be a heck of a fight and that is exactly what it should be with the British team involved.

There is no reason to think that the champions will retain here so I’ll go with the Birds taking the titles. Kross and Bayne are the monster champions and that means it is going to take a special team to stop them. A very British team in the most famous stadium in England is about as perfect as it can get. That’s exactly what should happen here and I’ll go with that, as the titles change hands.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight(c) vs. Darby Allin

This is Falls Count Anywhere and Knight has gone the extra mile with Allin, attempting to murder/injure him multiple times in the same segment. I know Allin gets attacked a lot but this was extreme even for him. Therefore we’re doing a match for revenge, and to allow Allin to do some kind of insane thing at the stadium. You know, as he does pretty much every time he’s around.

I’m actually going to go with Knight retaining here, as Allin is as made of a man as you can get in AEW and Knight could get a lot more out of retaining over a former World Champion. It is far from a guarantee as Allin needs to get revenge and such, but he can do that without taking the title. The TNT Title doesn’t mean anything to Allin here so let Knight keep it and get more out of the thing.

Tag Team Titles: Adam Copeland/Christian Cage(c) vs. Young Bucks

This is the dream match of the show and it falls firmly into the “yeah I guess” category that a lot of so called dream matches hit these days. That’s just the way it goes as I’m not sure how many people were clamoring for this in the first place. That being said, it should work out well as the Bucks can be very entertaining and the champs know how to do the old person version of their match.

As sick as I am of the Bucks, there isn’t much of a reason to believe that they’re going to lose here, so I’ll say new champions. Copeland and Cage winning the titles was a big moment but they haven’t exactly done much with the belts. That’s what happens with a lot of these title reigns, and now they can put the Bucks over so the Bucks can continue to be the biggest, most amazing team in AEW history because of course they are.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Nigel McGuinness

So here we have the finals of a tournament, which has taken almost an entire month, and ended up with Moxley defending the title against a British challenger. In short, why have one match to set up a title defense when you can have fourteen of them? That’s where we are now and it leads to an interesting final, which should go one way but will probably go another.

In theory, this should be McGuinness winning the title but that would imply Moxley has to lose, which won’t happen, so I’ll say Moxley wins to retain. He has to you see because he needs to be in the next tournament for this belt later on in the year. I’m still not sure why this tournament, or title for that matter, needs to exist, but at least Moxley can get a big win that he hasn’t had in at least a week.

Casino Gauntlet

Remember when this was the most fun that AEW had? So much of that was due to the surprise entrants that you would see, but lately it has just been the regular midcard group and that’s not the most thrilling. Anyway the winner here gets a World Title shot at some point, but since we don’t know who all is involved, I’m kind of limited in the guesses that I can make.

The one entrant announced who makes the most sense here is MJF so I’ll go with him, though it would be rather hilarious if the match ended while he was on the way to the ring or something like that. Andrade El Idolo is an option, but he needs to continue his rather unnecessary National Title reign. There is always the chance that it’s someone we don’t know yet winning the thing, but I’ll go with MJF of the entrants involved.

International Title: Kyle Fletcher(c) vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita

This is the most Don Callis focused match on the card and thankfully it’s pretty much the only thing they’re doing here. The feud has been going on in some form for the better part of a year now and somehow this still doesn’t feel like the blowoff. The idea is that Fletcher and Okada are both part of the Family and want to keep the title between them but they might not trust each other, which gives Takeshita an opening.

I think I’ll go with Fletcher retaining, as he hasn’t been the champion for very long and while Takeshita thwarting the team’s plans makes more sense, odds are the feud isn’t even close to over with anyway. Fletcher feels like someone AEW wants to make into one of their bigger names and that could go well, though I don’t think he loses here. There is a good chance he does lose, but I’d call that much uncertainty a good sign.

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Will Ospreay

I do these things for every pay per view and occasionally, there are times where I have no idea what is going on with one of the matches. In this case though, I’m getting a little bit of a break. I’m not bothering to try and build up suspense for this match, as, at least in theory, it should be the biggest layup in the history of AEW, as even their screwiness shouldn’t be able to get in the way.

It doesn’t matter if Ospreay loses all of his limbs and nose. His deformed face and torso with the bleeding stumps will be put on top of Omega for the pin and the title to the roar of the British crowd. There is no reason to think that anything else is going to happen here and there is nothing else that should happen here. The match has been built up and Omega has gotten his big title reign to show he’s still go tit. Now make Ospreay champion already.

Overall Thoughts

I’m really not sure what else to say about this show. It’s AEW’s Wrestlemania and there will be tens of thousands of fans in a massive stadium eating up everything thrown at them. AEW has done a great job of turning this into a spectacle and this year they have the card to back it up. If they can make this work, they’re going to be fine and it should be a massive success, as long as Ospreay ends the show holding the title. Now don’t screw it up.

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

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Dynamite
Date: August 19, 2026
Location: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Taz, Excalibur

With less than two weeks to go before All In, it’s time for a pair of six man tags, both involving the Don Callis Family. You can tell it’s a special time of year when you get the same stable twice, but we also have the Continental Challenge Cup advancing into the next round. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

We run down the card.

Will Ospreay/Henare/Francesco Akira vs. Don Callis Family

Ospreay and Cage start things off with Ospreay’s hurricanrana being countered into a powerbomb, which is escaped as well. Henare comes in to yell at Archer before the big exchange of forearms. Archer misses a charge into the corner and Henare hammers away as everything breaks down.

Some triple teaming has Archer down but Romero gets in a cheap shot from the apron. Akira is sent crashing out to the floor and we take a break. We come back with Akira fighting out of trouble to bring Henare back in. Cage strikes away at Henare to limited success but Archer’s Blackout is countered into a German suplex.

Ospreay comes back in to strike away at Romero, with Henare and Akira getting in on said strikes. Archer is back in and gets Samoan dropped, leaving Akira to grab a slingshot cutter on Romero. For some reason Romero does his sliding pose, leaving Ospreay to Hidden Blade him for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: B-. Well there was pretty much no way that Ospreay and company were going to lose to the Don Callis Family B Team. Ospreay gets through another week without having to do a ton, which is a smart way to go on the way to All In. This was about all it needed to be, hopefully with the Family being dispatched from the World Title story as they’re not needed.

Kazuchika Okada says it doesn’t matter who wins the International Title at All In, as long as it stays in the Don Callis Family. So if he wins the title, that’s perfectly fine! If he wins, Kyle Fletcher better raise his hand.

Here is Kyle Fletcher for a chat as this show is rather Don Callis Family heavy thus far. When asked about Okada’s comments, Fletcher isn’t sure why we need to move on from the greatest International Title reign of all time. He’s willing to go along with the plan, but Okada needs to know his role in this. The only thing that matters is that they all hate Konosuke Takeshita because he is a selfish, narcissistic jerk. Cue the returning Takeshita to interrupt and the brawl is on with Takeshita easily laying him out. Okada doesn’t appear for the save.

Earlier today, we had a sitdown interview with Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega. Renee Paquette brings up their time meeting quite a few years ago in PWG, with Ospreay saying Omega was a huge star and how honored he was to face Omega. On the other hand, Omega said that he was trying to keep track of the flavors of the month and while he wasn’t blown away at the time, he knew Ospreay had potential. We flash forward to the two meeting at New Japan Wrestle Kingdom, with Omega saying Ospreay was a totally different wrestler.

The idea was that Omega was coming back to face the new face of New Japan, but it was also a case of Ospreay not being able to sell the tickets without a star like Omega. Ospreay jumps back in, saying that Omega was a success off the backs of other stars and talks about how much he (Ospreay) had to do for New Japan during the pandemic. He had to wrestle in front of silent crowds and sit in hotel rooms alone, which Omega wouldn’t have been able to handle. Omega says they had the same situations here, and would fans have really cheered for Ospreay anyway?

Then it’s on to Forbidden Door 2023, where Ospreay had joined the Don Callis Family. Omega talks about how he was screwed over by Don Callis but Ospreay couldn’t learn from him and had to join up too. Ospreay talks about how all of his success was credited to Callis so beating Omega at Forbidden Door didn’t mean anything. Omega says that makes him feel like he’s beaten Ospreay twice already but Paquette brings up the diverticulitis.

That sends Omega into a bit of a rant as he’s tired of hearing about it as it has made him think more in the ring. What about Ospreay’s neck though? Is he ready for this kind of a match? Ospreay talks about how he kept trying to be nice to Omega but Omega kept leaving for weeks on end.

Omega says Ospreay wanted to face an injured version of Omega because it was easier. That sends Ospreay over the edge because he has to be better than Omega on his own to prove that he is the better man. Omega says Ospreay is going to fail again and brings up Ospreay’s mother, which has Ospreay on his feet. Win, lose, or draw, Omega will respect Ospreay. Omega brings up Ospreay’s son and that’s enough for Ospreay to chase Omega off.

There’s a lot here, as this ran about twelve minutes, but it did sell the story they’re trying to tell. While I could have done with a lot less about PWG and New Japan, as the story could have started with Forbidden Door 2023, they did a very good job of selling the story. That’s all the more impressive when you consider neither of these two are exactly known for their promo skills. It wasn’t an all time exchange, but it did what it needed to do rather well.

TBS Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Kris Statlander vs. Persephone vs. Maya World

Only World is defending (as Persephone’s CMLL Women’s Title isn’t on the line). World goes for an early rollup but gets broken up, leaving Shida to kick Statlander out to the floor. That leaves World to elbow Persephone in the corner but Statlander is back up to cut World off. Persephone takes over on the floor and we take a break.

We come back with Persephone German suplexing Statlander for two but the Tower Of Doom is broken up. Statlander gets World in a fireman’s carry, with Shida missile dropkicking them for the save. Back up and Statlander sends Shida flying with a toss Razor’s Edge but World reverses Staturday Night Fever into a cradle to retain at 9:39.

Rating: C+. This one could have gone either way as World has been a nice story as champion but I wasn’t sure if the reign was going to continue. Going with her is certainly an acceptable choice as she’s doing well with everything she’s doing thus far. Beating Statlander is certainly a big deal, and I’m curious to see who is coming for the belt next.

The Brawling Birds talk about going after Lena Kross/Megan Bayne on Collision and they’re ready to win the titles in front of a bunch of drunken Brits.

Continental Challenge Cup Quarterfinals: Jay White vs. Jon Moxley

They take their time circling each other and it’s an early standoff with Taz talking about both of them going for wrist control and how important that can be. AEW commentary gets a lot of flack, but Taz is excellent with that kind of stuff and always has been. Moxley takes him down with a hammerlock and sends White outside as we take an early break.

We come back with White slugging away and getting in a DDT. White strikes him down in the corner and a middle rope hurricanrana puts Moxley on the floor. Back in and the Blade Runner and Death Rider are both blocked so White suplexes him into the corner. A quick Rings Of Saturn has Moxley rolling over to the ropes and we take another break.

We come back again with Moxley winning a strike off and sending him outside for a suicide dive. Back in and White grabs his own snapdragon, followed by the swinging Rock Bottom for two. A rather hard top rope superplex gives White the same but Moxley is back with the choke. That’s reversed with a flip into a cover, setting up the Blade Runner to send Moxley outside. Back in and Moxley gets the bulldog choke into a Death Rider for a rather near fall. A rear naked choke makes White pass out for the win at 19:20.

Rating: B. Moxley is pretty much guaranteed at least a spot in the finals so this was a bit more about how we got to the result rather than the result itself. Moxley shrugged off a good bit of offense to win in the end, which is pretty much par for his course. It’s nice to see White having a long match like this and it was good overall, despite being longer than it needed to be.

Post match respect is teased but here are the Dogs, with the returning Gabe Kidd, to take White out. The Conglomeration, Hangman Page and Brodido run in for the save. The Demand comes in to say…that Page and Brodido can say whatever they want. Page says anyone who wants a Trios Title shot, come get it at All In.

Willow Nightingale interrupts Maya World, saying she can have a title shot on Collision. Works for World.

Here is Jonathan Cruz, better known as MJF’s Spanish translator. He’s here to explain MJF’s hatred of Andrade El Idolo, who isn’t a real man and not even as guapo as Cruz. If Andrade was here, Cruz would beat him in a match and I think you know where this is going.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Jonathan Cruz

Non-title I’m assuming. Dia de Los Muertos and the DM finish at 9 seconds. Cruz lost in case you’re new at this.

Post match Andrade rants in Spanish and calls out MJF, who answers rather quickly. Well on the Titantron that is, where he is shown in a hot tub in Long Island. MJF wasn’t about to come to a town like Baltimore because he’s going to beat up “Andrew” in London like the true World Champion. Andrade beats up Cruz some more. I’m still not sure how much MJF is getting out of this real World Champion thing but it doesn’t seem to be that helpful.

We get a split screen interview with Willow Nightingale and Mercedes Mone. Nightingale says Mone is jealous of the affection that Nightingale has from the fans. Mone rants about Nightingale doing all kinds of things to her and smiling at her. She’s taking Nightingale’s smile at All In, which is enough for Nightingale to storm off and find Mone for the brawl into the arena. Security can’t break them up until Mone is pulled outside.

Swerve Strickland is intrigued by the Trios Titles being an option for All In.

Continental Challenge Cup Quarterfinals: Nigel McGuinness vs. Hechicero

Hechicero’s CMLL World Title isn’t on the line and McGuinness has a bad ankle coming in (it’s so bad that he put his boot on and then taped it up). McGuinness threatens to go for the mask if Hechicero goes for the ankle, which is exactly what winds up happening. They get back up with Hechicero going for a front facelock before sending McGuinness into the ropes. That has McGuinness coming up holding the leg and a top rope clothesline drops him for two as we take a break.

We come back with McGuinness getting fired up and chopping away, only to get knocked into the corner. The very swinging backbreaker puts McGuinness down again and we’re off to the chinlock. McGuinness breaks out of that and tries the London Dungeon, only for Hechicero to reverse into a leglock. That’s broken up again and McGuinness gets in a knee, followed by a front chancery to actually put Hechicero out at 10:13.

Rating: B-. While I’d like to see the official medical records for McGuinness’ injury, they’ve got something with him trying to make it to Wembley injured but in one last quest for a win. It’s a good story, whether the injury is real or not, and that’s all you need. McGuinness is a likable guy and he’s getting to show what he can do, even with the horrible limping.

Video on Darby Allin vs. Kevin Knight.

Here is Knight for a chat. He’s not in the mood for questions from Tony Schiavone and calls out Allin, only to say cut off the music. Knight wants proof that Allin doesn’t have any weapons (like an exploding backpack) and says we’re not having a match tonight. Then the pyro goes off and Allin is blinded/burned, so it’s a Coast To Coast with a chair to make it even worse. Because blowing him up with pyro wasn’t enough. Allin is taken out on a stretcher.

Post break Allin is taken away on a stretcher when Knight comes in to gloat, with Sting’s son Steven Borden teasing going after him.

Kenny Omega/Young Bucks vs. Don Callis Family

Will Ospreay gets in Omega’s face in the back before the entrances. And as the bell rings 17 minutes into the overrun, Clon and Matt start things off. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Family are cleared out to the floor but they’re right back in. This time the good guys are beaten down so the Family can pose as we take a break.

We come back with Matt managing to fight off Doyle and Davis, allowing Omega to get the tag. Omega beats up Clon and everything breaks down, with Omega and the Bucks hitting stereo dives. A snapdragon and triple superkick drop Doyle again and the One Winged Angel finishes him off at 10:17.

Rating: B-. They kept this one moving and there really wasn’t any reason for the match to go long. Ultimately, this was similar to the opener, with a main event star and tag team against three people who just aren’t on that level. Throw in the match starting so late and this was all it needed to be.

Post match the rest of the Don Callis Family runs in for the beatdown but Adam Copeland runs in for the save. Christian Cage….well he eventually gets there too. The Bucks accidentally superkick Copeland and Cage, allowing the Family to get back up and brawl with the four of them to the back. Omega grabs the mic but here is Will Ospreay to interrupt.

Ospreay says Omega has all the charm of a parking ticket and asks what Omega is going to do after bringing up his seven year old. Omega has security get rid of Ospreay (For what?) but Ospreay sprints in and the brawl is on. Security gets involved again and Omega hits Ospreay with a v Trigger. A One Winged Angel off the apron puts Omega through a table as Omega seems to be full on evil again on the way to All In. If one of them has to be, and they should, that’s the best choice as Ospreay is going to be over like free beer in a frat house over there.

Overall Rating: B. Insane amount of Don Callis Family stuff involved (the first non-Callis involved segment was 45 minutes in), this did some good stuff for All In, with the big focus being on Omega vs. Ospreay. That stuff went well, and while I could go for getting to the finals of the Continental Cup already, it made for some perfectly good, if not better, matches. This was the kind of show that the All In main event needed and that stuff worked.

Results
Will Ospreay/Francesco Akira/Henare b. Don Callis Family – Hidden Blade to Romero
Maya World b. Kris Statlander, Persephone and Hikaru Shida – Rollup to Statlander
Jon Moxley b. Jay White – Rear naked choke
Andrade El Idolo b. Jonathan Cruz – DM
Nigel McGuinness b. Hechicero – Front chancery
Kenny Omega/Young Bucks b. Don Callis Family – One Winged Angel to Doyle

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

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Dynamite
Date: August 12, 2026
Location: The Pearl Theater At The Palms, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Paul Wight

We’re getting closer to All In and the card has been getting a nice boost in the last few weeks. Last week was Grand Slam, with MJF returning and he wants in the Casino Gauntlet Match later this month. Other than that, we have the continuing saga of Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay, which will likely get a lot of focus here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here is Will Ospreay to get things going. He was so glad to be back in Arena Mexico last week because the last time he was there, he found out that his grandfather had passed away. Ospreay wanted him to be there for some great moments of his life but that wasn’t going to happen. What he has learned though is that he has to do some things to be the biggest star in AEW. He is here to set an example and that’s why he was in a street fight last week.

One person was watching at home on his sofa and that was World Champion Kenny Omega. Last week, Omega probably said “oh s*** hes going to pull the trigger” and since Omega is actually here this week, why not grace us with your presence? Instead cue Don Callis, who talks about how he and Omega won the World Title in December 2020. Then Omega decided that he could do this on his own so Callis stabbed him in the head.

The reality is Ospreay owes him everything and the reality is the road to Wembley is paved in Ospreay’s blood. Cue the Don Callis Family for the beatdown but Omega makes the save with a pipe. Omega teases hitting Ospreay with the pipe but stops to say that Ospreay never thinks. Omega warned him about Callis and Jon Moxley and look what happened.

That’s why Ospreay will lose at All In, but that’s not the man Omega wants to face there. Omega helps him up but says that he can’t do this again. From now on, it’s the two of them. Ospreay appreciates the help, though he didn’t ask for it and he won’t need it. Please don’t have Callis be involved in this. It doesn’t seem like he will be, but please just leave him out of the thing.

We recap the Continental Challenge Cup.

We run down the card.

We look at MJF returning last week and attacking Andrade El Idolo.

Nick Wayne vs. MJF vs. Mike Bailey

For the #2 spot in the Casino Gauntlet match and MJF grabs Justin Roberts by the throat, insisting that he be introduced as “the one true champion”. MJF, with his heavily taped leg, drops to the floor to start and rants on commentary a bit before going to ringside. Wayne and Bailey trade missed kicks until Wayne knocks him outside for the big running flip dive. Bailey kicks him off the apron for the triangle moonsault, allowing MJF to run the ropes and flip the fans off.

MJF pulls Bailey off the ropes for a crash onto the turnbuckle but stops to yell at Wayne. That earns him a superkick but Bailey is back up to kick Wayne in the face. Bailey knocks both of them to the floor for a springboard moonsault and we take a break. We come back with Bailey missing the Ultimate Weapon but giving Wayne a Falcon Arrow instead. That means a shooting star press can give Bailey two before he has to save MJF Wayne. Now the Ultimate Weapon can hit Wayne, but MJF runs in to give Wayne the Salt Of The Earth for the tap at 12:02.

Rating: B-. As soon as Wayne, the #1 contender to the Ring Of Honor World Title, was announced for this match, it wasn’t a question of would he take the fall but rather how he would take the fall. This comes after his loss last month in his most recent AEW match and I don’t even know why I bother getting annoyed anymore. MJF winning in this way is right on note for him, with Bailey being there to make it a three way.

Post match MJF brags about his win but here is Andrade El Idolo……’s music, because he’s not here after MJF gave him a beating last week. Andrade is scared of him, just like Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay, who will find out that he is the one true champion.

Lena Kross and Megan Bayne are at the Brawling Birds bar and knock some beers over while making threats. That place is no Friendly Tap.

Mick Foley is with the Bang Bang Gang, with Jay White welcoming him to the team. Anyway, White threatens David Finlay about tonight’s Continental Challenge Cup match. Foley can’t quite get the pose right.

Continental Challenge Cup First Round: David Finlay vs. Jay White

They go outside to start fast with the brawling until Finlay takes over inside. Finlay stomps him down in the corner but gets clotheslined to the floor for the slingshot dive. Back in and Finlay’s neckbreaker gets him out of trouble and we take a break. We come back with White fighting up to chop away in the corner.

The Blade Runner is countered into a rollup for two but White grabs a German suplex…and we pause as White seems a bit shaken up. Finlay is right in with a DDT for two so White gives him a running double underhook facebuster. The Blade Runner is countered again, this time into a brainbuster onto Finlay’s knee for two more. White slips out of a suplex though and the Blade Runner connects for the pin at 13:20.

Rating: B-. This was treated as a big grudge match though I’m still not really caring about a feud that happened in Japan years ago. Since then, the Dogs vs. the Gang hasn’t exactly lit the place on fire and this didn’t make it better. At least White is back in the ring and not injured again, which you never can really bet on with him.

Here are Hangman Page and Brodido for a chat. Brodido get to be happy about their win but here is the returning Swerve Strickland to cut Page off. Prince Nana throws Tony Schiavone out, leaving Strickland to say these three have all had issues with him but now they’re friends. Strickland goes over his issues with Brodido and it all leaves him coming back to Page. Now Page can’t even challenge for the World Title, so he’s here with these two?

Page points out that Strickland has nothing to show for everything he’s done this year but here are the Demand/Lethal Twist to interrupt. Ricochet talks about how this is trio business and mocks Strickland for dropping the Gates Of Agony. Last week, Toa Liona’s shoulders weren’t down so the titles still belong to the Demand, so Strickland needs to get out of here. Strickland goes to leave but does stop to call Ricochet a b****. Ricochet turns down Page’s challenge and that’s it. I really could have gone with more of the Strickland stuff and less of the six people interrupting.

Earlier today, Willow Nightingale was sitting down for an interview but Mercedes Mone jumped her and called her a dumb b****.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight vs. Chris Jericho

Knight is defending and jumps him to start, only to get planted with a brainbuster. A backbreaker gives Jericho two and he sends Knight outside. The dive connects and Jericho stops to sit on Paul Wight’s lap. Knight gets in a knockdown of his own though and we take a break. We come back with Knight’s Lionsault hitting raised knees but being able to backdrop Jericho onto the ramp.

Jericho shrugs off some stomps and grabs an AA of all things before going after Don Callis. A diving Knight misses for a crash to the floor and they go back inside. An exchange of rollups gets two each and they trade rollups with feet on the ropes for the same so Knight gives him a running DDT. Knight’s super hurricanrana is countered into a superbomb and then the Walls in the middle of the ring.

That sounds good for Jericho, but he keeps nodding his head at Callis, who comes into the ring, but runs away as Jericho drags Knight from the middle to near the ropes….so Callis can stab Jericho with the screwdriver. Sweet goodness that was horrible. Knight goes up for a Coast To Coast, which somehow only gets two. Jericho Codebreakers him out of the air so Knight kicks him low, setting up the Crash Landing for the pin at 12:56.

Rating: C. Geez. Between the ridiculous botch from Jericho and Callis (the latter of whom at least tried to make it work by coming inside) and the usual nonsense of AEW not knowing when to end a match (there was zero reason to keep it going after the Coast To Coast), this was just a mess. I don’t know if it’s Jericho not having it any more or trying to do too much, but this didn’t work for the most part. Knight can do some good things in there, but this was a mess.

Claudio Castagnoli is ready for anyone in the Continental Cup Classic. Jon Moxley appears to be the same, with the grappling taking place while Castagnoli was talking apparently firing him up.

Kris Statlander vs. Viva Van

Van actually snaps off a hurricanrana to start and Statlander thinks about it for a second. That just earns her a spinwheel kick, plus a faceplant off the top into a missile dropkick. Statlander is back up with a superkick and discus lariat, setting up Staturday Night Fever for the pin at 3:09.

Rating: C. This was a weird match with Statlander getting beaten up for a good chunk of the thing, with Van getting in some snazzy offense. Van continues to be someone who feels like a potential project but it hasn’t really taken off yet. I’m not sure why Statlander got beaten up that much to start but it was an odd setup.

Post match here is Mick Foley, who announces a four way for the TBS Title, with Statlander, Hikaru Shida and Persephone challenging Maya World. Statlander is ready for some revenge but here are Shida and Persephone for their scheduled match.

Hikaru Shida/Persephone vs. Maya World/Thunder Rosa

World headlocks Persephone to start, sending her outside to escape. Rosa comes in for a running headscissors to Shida, plus a running clothesline. Rosa headscissors and headlocks them both down at once but gets sent throat first into the rope as we take a break. We come back with Rosa still in trouble but reversing a double suplex into a double DDT.

World is back in with a missile dropkick into a fall away slam to send Persephone outside. Shida kicks World outside but gets high crossbodied by Rosa. Shida’s Falcon Arrow gets two more with World making the save and getting jumped by Persephone. Rosa takes Persephone out and it’s the tabletop suplex to give World the pin on Shida at 10:34.

Rating: C+. World getting the pin was the right call here as she is still getting established as a real threat around here. At the same time, having her beat one of her challengers for next week might not have been the best way to get ready for the title match. Persephone is still getting better around here and it’s good to see her getting a chance to show what she can do. On the other hand you have Rosa and I have no idea what she has going on at the moment, but it doesn’t exactly feel like much.

Darby Allin talks about how he has no regrets from the World Title reign because he gambled and lost. Then he was attacked by Kevin Knight, so now Allin wants him in a Falls Count Anywhere match.

Kyle Fletcher wants to defend the International Title at All In. He wants to defend against Konosuke Takeshita but Don Callis suggests adding Kazuchika Okada so the Family keeps the title. Fletcher leaves without saying yes. It feels like these people have been doing this “we don’t like each other but have to work together because we all hate Takeshita” forever. Wrap it up already.

Continental Challenge Cup First Round: Jon Moxley vs. Jack Perry

Moxley wrestles him down to start but Perry gets up for an actual clean break at the rope. Perry knocks him outside but the suicide dive is knocked out of the air. With his eye cut open, Perry tries to fight back but gets sent into the timekeeper’s area as we take a break. We come back with Moxley pounding on the cut and rubbing Perry’s face on the mat to make it worse.

Moxley ties up the leg and neck at the same time, with Perry having to make the rope. Perry finally manages to send him outside for a bunch of dives, including a moonsault out to the floor. Back in and Moxley hits a quick clothesline and piledriver for two, plus another two off another clothesline.

Moxley goes off with shots to the face, to the point where the referee stops him to check on Perry. That’s enough for Perry to get back up for the exchange of forearms (a Moxley signature) until Perry pulls him into the Snare Trap. Moxley rolls out of that and slaps on the bulldog choke for the win at 15:42.

Rating: B-. So Moxley beats him up to start, beats him up some more, shrugs off Perry’s offense, escapes Perry’s submission, and then chokes him out. What a great way to make Perry look like he’s in over his head as Moxley, again, gets to look like the most awesome thing ever. Hopefully he at least doesn’t win the tournament again, though it certainly wouldn’t surprise me.

Post match Moxley shakes Perry’s hand, because that saves some of Perry’s face I guess?

Overall Rating: C+. I really wasn’t feeling this one as much as I do most Dynamites, as it had a lot of stuff that felt like it was setting stuff up for the future rather than doing much here. That’s something you need at times, but between the horrible ending to Jericho vs. Knight and Moxley’s near squash of Perry (which of course took fifteen minutes), this was a long show that had a lot of tournament stuff and Don Callis. That’s not the best night and I wasn’t into this for the most part.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Mike Bailey and Nick Wayne – Salt Of The Earth to Wayne
Jay White b. David Finlay – Blade Runner
Kevin Knight b. Chris Jericho – Crash Landing
Kris Statlander b. Viva Van – Staturday Night Fever
Maya World/Thunder Rosa b. Hikaru Shida/Persephone – Tabletop suplex to Shida
Jon Moxley b. Jack Perry – Bulldog choke

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

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Dynamite
Date: August 5, 2026
Location: Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re in another country and a rather important arena for the latest Grand Slam special. While you make your own Denny’s jokes, I’ll be wondering how the Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis street fight will be going in what should be the show’s main event. They have three and a half weeks to go before All In so it’s time to really get things set. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Adam Copeland/Christian Cage/Young Bucks vs. Death Riders

Cage and Pac start things off and Yuta offers a quick knee from the apron. Everything breaks down and the Riders are cleared out to the floor rather quickly. Cage adds his big dive onto the pile at ringside and we take an early break. We come back with Matt getting caught in the wrong corner for the running clotheslines.

The Dragonslayer goes on, with Nick diving in for the save. Matt is back up to take Yuta and Garcia down with an armdrag/headscissors combination, though he realizes he’s going to the wrong corner. Eventually the tag brings in Copeland to clean house and Cage gets to choke Moxley on the middle rope.

A top rope headbutt and elbow hit Moxley, followed by Cage’s low blow. The triple superkick gets two as the Riders make the save so Copeland gives Moxley the Impaler. Marina Shafir breaks up the spear so Cage pulls her down, earning a slap. Cage kicks her low so it’s a Downward Spiral/running knee combination to put Cage down instead. The Bucks get to clear the ring a bit and Copeland spears Moxley, with the referee being distracted. Copeland runs into Matt by mistake though and Moxley grabs a rollup with tights for the pin on Copeland at 11:33.

Rating: B-. It was another wild match but they didn’t go too long and that helped a good bit here. You don’t need to have these things go on forever and they did something interesting with Copeland vs. Moxley. It’s a smart choice for an opener too and the Tag Team Title match got something out of it too.

Post match Cage/Copeland seem ok enough with the Bucks.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay, with Jon Moxley’s efforts making Omega less than trustworthy of Ospreay.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Komander vs. Andrade El Idolo

Non-title but the winner is the #1 entrant in the Casino Gauntlet match. Ciampa is in American flag gear, which goes as well as you would expect. Komander is sent outside, leaving Andrade to win a brawl but Komander breaks up the running knees in the corner. The big moonsault takes out Ciampa and Andrade but the latter is back up to drop Komander again. We pause for the photo with the woman of the week and take a break.

We come back with all three down until Andrade and Ciampa can get up slug it out. Another pause lets Andrade take off his pants, setting up the Three Amigos to Komander. Ciampa knocks both of them down and beats up Andrade’s pants. Thankfully he stops to give Komander Project Ciampa, allowing Ciampa to go up.

Andrade is right there to catch him but Komander gives Andrade a springboard poisonrana (because that’s a thing). Ciampa plants Komander with a super Air Raid Crash for two more, leaving Ciampa stunned. Andrade gives Ciampa Dia de Los Muertos, with Komander adding Cielito Lindo. That lets Andrade grab the DM to pin Komander at 11:09.

Rating: B. Some of those spots were insane and that’s why you have a match like this one. It was cool to see them all going nuts with spot after spot, including that springboard poisonrana. I’m glad to see the champion win too, as having the champions lose falls in these things is rather frustrating.

Post match Andrade says he wants the World Title so he can bring it back to Mexico. He hits the catchphrase but MJF runs in from behind for the beatdown/recovering of the ring. MJF, with the Triple B, hits Andrade with the ring to bust him open. With Andrade being taken out, MJF says he’s the real World Champion because Will Ospreay let Kenny Omega steal the belt from him. Next week, MJF is entering the Casino Gauntlet qualifying match and moving on to All In to eventually get his title back.

Video on Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale.

Lena Kross/Megan Bayne/Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale/Brawling Birds

Nightingale wants Mone to start but gets Bayne instead. That means a tag off to Windsor, who starts firing off the chops against the ropes. Bayne is back with the hard shoulders in the corner so all three non-villains boot her down. Mone comes in to kick away at Nightingale and start Three Amigos. That’s reversed into a fight over a triple suplex, which goes nowhere. Nightingale and Windsor send Kross and Bayne to the floor, with Hayter adding a dive onto the two of them plus Mone as we take a break.

We come back with the Birds double teaming Kross, who gets dropped with a middle rope dropkick. A four way clothesline leaves Nightingale and Mone to come in off a double tag. That means Nightingale can grab a spinebuster but Mone is back up with a middle rope Meteora. Everything breaks down and the Babe With The Powerbomb and Mone Maker are both blocked, with Nightingale settling for a backslide and the pin at 11:24.

Rating: B-. Take two feuds, put the wrestlers together and let them have a six person tag. It’s worked for years and it worked again here, though I’m worried that this is one of the consolation prizes for Nightingale before Mone wins, again, in London. Nightingale feels like she could be a star but that’s only going to go so far if she keeps having to drop titles to Mone.

International Title: Mike Bailey vs. Kyle Fletcher

Fletcher, with Don Callis, is defending and Bailey takes a mask off, leaving Fletcher to pull out a mask and stomp on it. They trade some quick takedowns for two each until Bailey walks the ropes for a hurricanrana. A dive to the floor is pulled out of the air though and Fletcher hits a NASTY lawn dart into the barricade. Naturally Bailey is right back up with a moonsault to the floor and it’s time for the kicks back inside.

They go up top with Fletcher nailing a super Michinoku driver as we take a break. We come back with Fletcher knocking him to the floor but Bailey is up with the perfectly time springboard moonsault. Back in and Bailey rolls him up for a quick two but Fletcher grabs a hard half and half suplex. With the ring stuff getting dill, they go up to the stage with Bailey hitting a moonsault off the steps, banging himself up in the process.

They get back inside, with Fletcher grabbing a Michinoku driver for two more. Fletcher powerbombs him onto the apron and the brainbuster…gets two. They go up top where Bailey catches him with a super poisonrana. Bailey’s Ultimate Weapon (and he lands on his feet) gets two but Fletcher lawn darts him again. The turnbuckle brainbuster retains the title at 16:41.

Rating: B. This was the match you would have expected, though I was surprised by the result. Bailey getting the win was far from out of the question, though he did have his big moment at Redemption. His important singles win is still likely coming against Kevin Knight anyway, as I guess Jet Speed was that important of a deal.

Don Callis Family vs. Mistico/Chris Jericho/Darby Allin

Allin skateboards to the ring so Knight clotheslines the fire out of him to start fast. Hechicero knees Mistico down and it’s Okada taking over on Jericho (Corazon de Lion here) as we settle down a bit. Jericho fights back on Knight and hands it off to Allin, who gets to take over on Hechicero.

Instead of following up though, the ever focused Allin dives at Knight, with Okada kneeing him out of the air to cut it off. We take a break and come back with Mistico getting a tag for a springboard high crossbody. That immediately earns him a group stomping but Mistico is right back up to clear them all out.

Allin comes in to hammer on Knight and grabs the Scorpion Deathlock, with Jericho getting the Walls as well. Those are broken up so it’s a series of dives to take the Family out again. Knight is back up to tie Allin in the Tree Of Woe, with Jericho hitting a Judas Effect to cut that off. La Mistica and the Walls go on, leaving Allin to Coffin Drop Knight for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: B. There was pretty much no way Mistico was losing in Arena Mexico but it was a big time match with a stacked lineup. Allin and Knight have their issue and Jericho gets to add his own star power. That’s a fine way to use Mistico, as he’s the ultimate attraction around here and the fans went nuts for him, exactly as you probably expected. It’s a good match, and there is a strong chance that the Family won’t be happy about the loss.

We look at Kris Statlander costing Persephone a TBS Title shot last week.

Kris Statlander vs. Persephone

Persephone’s CMLL Women’s Title isn’t on the line. They take turns avoiding strikes to start until Statlander knocks her out to the floor. The dive off the apron takes Persephone down again but she’s back up with the running flip dive to the floor. The chinlock goes on back inside and we take a break. We come back with Persephone missing a Lionsault and getting pulled into a seal belt for two.

Statlander’s 450 misses though and Persephone hits a hard spear for two of her own. Persephone goes after her belt but gets in a tug of war with Thunder Rosa (in the front row). The referee gets knocked down so here is Hikaru Shida to hit Statlander with a belt. That and Persephone’s springboard splash finish Statlander at 10:09.

Rating: C+. Good enough here as Persephone gets built up a bit after a few weeks of losses. It’s clear that AEW sees something in her and she’s already a star in CMLL so this makes sense for both of them. Statlander gets to deal with Shida going forward and that should make for a nice fight.

Video on Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis.

Trios Titles: Hangman Page/Brodido vs. The Demand

Demand is defending and jump them to start fast until Page headscissors Liona down. King comes in for a springboard double wristdrag and everything breaks down, allowing Ricochet to pose on the buckle. Bandido gets backbreakered onto the top turnbuckle and we take a break. We come back with Bandido elbowing his way out of trouble but Kaun isn’t having this stuff. Ricochet comes in and goes up but gets dropkicked out of the air, meaning Page can get the tag.

Everything breaks down and the Demand hit a trio of dives to the floor. That lets Ricochet hit his running shooting star press for two but Page fights up against the Gates. Page and Ricochet knock each other down but Bandido can’t give Ricochet the 21 Plex. They go to the corner and of course Kaun Samoan drops all three of them at once (Oh come on. That’s not fair.). Back up and Kaun is knocked down, leaving Page to Buckshot Liona into a 21 Plex for the titles at 13:37.

Rating: B. I kind of like the idea of these titles changing hands so often, with another makeshift team picking up the belts. At the same time, the Demand losing so quickly is kind of fitting for them, as Ricochet’s big mouth getting shut is always worth seeing. If nothing else, at least Bandido didn’t lose for a change.

And now for the main event, as we’re already in the overrun of a show that got an extra half hour than usual.

Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis

Street fight. Davis brings a chair and takes over to start, with the chair being wedged in the corner. Ospreay fights back and sends him to the floor for the slingshot dive. They go to the floor and Ospreay finds…a tire? With that knocked away, Ospreay gets in a running flip dive to hit Davis and it’s time to go back inside. Davis’ chair is kicked back into his face but he’s fine enough to get in an apron bomb. Another powerbomb sends Ospreay crashing onto a fan and we take a break.

We come back with Ospreay kicking away at Davis, who knocks him down the entrance steps, because that’s a good idea with the top good guy with a bad neck three and a half weeks before the biggest match of his career. Back in and Ospreay is sent face first into the chair in the corner. Naturally it’s time for a fork to Ospreay’s head but Ospreay fights back and stabs Davis right back.

Davis’ over the shoulder piledriver through some chairs knocks Ospreay silly so he throws the chair at Davis’ head. They head to the apron, where Davis rakes some barbed wire over Ospreay’s back. Ospreay responds by grabbing him low and hitting a piledriver on the apron. That’s not enough of course so it’s a Hidden Blade for two, because that’s not enough either of course. Davis’ spinning piledriver gets two more so Ospreay muscles him into a Styles Clash. The Hidden Blade, with barbed wire around Davis’ head, finishes him off at 17:01.

Rating: B, Well, this was the match I was expecting, as Davis felt like the star here as he survived a bunch of stuff from the top hero. The match got silly with the fork, but the point here was about being ridiculous with the violence. Ospreay gets a win, but it could have been done in a better, and much more dominant, fashion.

Overall Rating: A-. It’s another rather good Dynamite, with the action working well and some stories getting advancement towards All In. That’s more than you can ask for from a regular episode of any show and the hot crowd made it even better. Granted I’m not sure why a show that already had an extra half hour needed a 23 minute overrun but that’s AEW for you.

Results
Death Riders b. Adam Copeland/Christian Cage/Young Bucks – Rollup with tights to Copeland
Andrade El Idolo b. Komander and Tommaso Ciampa – DM to Komander
Willow Nightingale/Brawling Birds b. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne/Mercedes Mone – Backslide to Mone
Kyle Fletcher b. Mike Bailey – Turnbuckle brainbuster
Mistico/Chris Jericho/Darby Allin b. Don Callis Family – Coffin Drop to Knight
Bandido/Hangman Page b. The Demand – 21 Plex to Liona
Will Ospreay b. Mark Davis – Hidden Blade with barbed wire

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

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Collision
Date: July 30, 2026
Location: Masonic Temple Theater, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Paul Wight, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the second night in a row for the live AEW events as Collision is wisely stepping to the side as WWE runs Summerslam on Saturday. We are a month away from All In and last night’s show made the Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay main event all that much more interesting. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

And we open big with the hometown Motor City Machine Guns. Yeah you knew they were coming in sooner or later. Chris Sabin asks if you thought they wouldn’t be here. This is where the best wrestle and Alex Shelley says that in more ways than one, they are home. They are officially All Elite. Simple and to the point here, with a good way to start the show off.

Trios Titles: Rascalz vs. The Demand

The Demand is defending. Ricochet and Wentz trade takedowns for an early standoff but Ricochet sends the other two outside for the big running flip dive. Back in and Xavier strikes away at Ricochet with a cutter putting Ricochet down. The series of dives have the champions in trouble and we take an early break.

We come back with Kaun striking away, only for Reed to grab a double cutter to the Gates. They’re right back up to crush Wentz in the corner, with Ricochet’s springboard splash getting two. A double electric chair is broken up and Reed is back up with his big running cutter over the ropes. Back in and Xavier’s Spiral Tap hits Ricochet’s raised knees and Open The Gates retains the titles at 11:26.

Rating: B-. This was the way to have a quick title defense for the champions and it’s nice to have the challengers be a perfectly acceptable group rather than some random names. The Rascalz work very well together so having the Demand cut them off is a good look. There aren’t many ready to go challengers so having one of them ready to go here is a good, albeit risky, start to the title reign.

The Conglomeration isn’t happy with their loss last night but they’re going to do an ALS Ice Bucket Challenge with some special guests from Detroit.

Since it’s been a few weeks since the last two ended, it’s tournament time! We hear about the Continental Cup, which is a sixteen person tournament with brackets randomly drawn every round. The finals, for the title and shockingly a cup, take place at All In. It’s inspired by the English FA Cup so Nigel McGuinness is in.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Nick Comoroto

Comoroto powers him out to the floor to start but Ciampa is right back inside to stomp away. The running knee finishes for Ciampa at 1:16 and he’s looking fired up here.

Hangman Page says he needs something to do but Brody King and Bandido interrupt to thank him for last night. Page thinks they should challenge for the Trios Titles next week in Mexico City. Bandido dubs them the Good, The Bad And The Ugly, with the suggestion being that King is the latter.

Brawling Birds/Hazuki vs. Athena/Diamante/Billie Starkz

Hayter gets taken into the wrong corner to start as McGuinness doesn’t like the idea of British people only getting in brawls in pubs. Hazuki comes in to take over on Starkz and everything breaks down. Athena knocks Hayter down and the other four brawl on (and off) the stage.

We take a break and come back with Hazuki cleaning house until Diamante gives Windsor a Chaos Theory suplex. Diamante gets caught in the wrong corner for the running clotheslines and Hazuki hits a dive off the apron. Athena can’t powerbomb Hazuki, who drops Athena with a pump kick. A German suplex drops Athena and Two Birds, One Stone finishes Diamante off at 11:55.

Rating: B-. This was all it needed to be as the Birds get a win on their way to an all but guaranteed Women’s Tag Team Title match at All In and Hazuki might be challenging Athena for the Ring Of Honor Women’s Title. That’s not a bad way to go with one single match, which makes for a better use than just having the Birds win a regular tag match. The Birds winning the titles in London is a great idea and hopefully they don’t make this any more complicated than it needs to be.

Post match Lena Kross and Megan Bayne run in to go after the Birds.

Ricochet and the Demand, with the Lethal Twist, are down to face Brodido/Hangman Page.

Here is the Conglomeration to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, with the Insane Clown Posse and Rhino coming out to pour the ice. The ice is poured and the fans chant for Rebel. Nothing wrong with a quick bit for charity.

Death Riders vs. Bang Bang Gang

Yuta and Austin trade wristlocks to start as the fans REALLY do not like Yuta very much. Austin comes in to double fireman’s carry Pac and Yuta at the same time (which is all the more impressive given Austin’s stature). The Samoan drop connects but Castagnoli sends Austin into the corner for the running clotheslines as we take a break.

We come back with Austin still in trouble and getting caught with a backbreaker/stomp combination on the floor. Austin fights out of trouble without much effort and it’s off to Colten to clean house. Moxley breaks up the Fameasser though and Yuta’s rollup with tights gets two.

Robinson comes back in with a high crossbody for two and it’s off to the parade of finishers. Austin kicks Moxley from the apron and hits a heck of a running dive to take him down again. Yuta bites Robinson’s head and tries a rollup, only for Robinson to reverse it into one of his own for the pin at 11:18.

Rating: B. Well dang man. That was a genuine surprise as I would have bet on the Gang to lose here but points to AEW for giving them a pretty major win. As usual, Austin felt like he was stealing the show and never stopped moving, which hopefully leads to him having some kind of a big push down the line. For now though, at least he got to be on the winning team here, which I didn’t see coming at all.

Post match the Riders jump Robinson and here are the Dogs to jump the Gang as well. The Motor City Machine Guns run in with chairs for the save.

Tommaso Ciampa wants in the Casino Gauntlet and is facing Andrade El Idolo for the #1 spot. He isn’t interested in the National Title because he wants the big belt.

Kris Statlander vs. Aurora Teves

Statlander throws her into the corner to start and there’s the rather delayed suplex. Staturday Night Fever finishes for Statlander at 1:27. Total squash.

Kyle Fletcher and Mike Bailey are ready for their title match on Dynamite but Fletcher jumps him and they go out into the arena. Fletcher’s belt shot misses and Bailey clears him out. Quick and to the point here and that’s fine.

Kevin Knight, on behalf of Kazuchika Okada and Hechicero, issues a challenge for a six man tag to any former World Champions for Dynamite.

Jay Lethal vs. Komander

Lethal works on a wristlock to start so Komander grabs a quick armdrag. A DDT is countered though and Lethal tries the Figure Four, which is broken up as well. Komander sends him outside but it’s too early for the rope walk dive. Lethal is sent outside though and Komander hits the big dive as we take a break.

We come back with Komander kicking away and getting two off a high crossbody. Komander flips away and gets kicked in the head, similar to last night with Moxley giving him a cutter. Maybe don’t try those flips again. Lethal chases him to the floor and Komander pops up to the top on the way back in for a 450 and a near fall. Cielito Lindo finishes Lethal at 9:01.

Rating: B-. It was fun while it lasted but there was only so much to be seen in the short amount of time they had with the commercial taken out. As usual, Komander can do some incredible high flying stuff and looks awesome. That quick 450 is rather impressive and this one looked better than the one he did to Moxley last night. Good enough match here, with Lethal being someone you bring in to make anyone look like a star.

Schiavone: “Komander shocks the world by beating Jay Lethal!” In case you’re wondering, Lethal’s last singles win on AEW TV was almost three years ago.

Will Ospreay vs. Daniel Garcia

Jon Moxley is on commentary. Ospreay charges at him to start and Garcia bails out to the floor. The chase is on until Garcia gets caught with a head fake and Ospreay takes over on the floor. Back in and Ospreay snaps off a running hurricanrana to the floor and the slingshot dive follows. Ospreay’s dive off of the barricade is countered into a hanging DDT on the floor though and we take a break.

We come back with Garcia working on the leg but Ospreay is back up with a flipping kick to the head. A standing corkscrew moonsault gives Ospreay two, followed by the Phenomenal Forearm for the same. They strike it out until Garcia flips over into a guillotine choke. That and a piledriver give Garcia two so he slaps him in the face, which wakes Ospreay up.

A quick Dragontamer goes on before Garcia rolls him into a bulldog choke (Moxley approves). Ospreay’s escape doesn’t last long as he dives into a rear naked choke so he raises his fist (apparently joining the Nation Of Domination). A backflip gets him out of the hold and the Hidden Blade finishes for Ospreay at 13:21.

Rating: B. Garcia as an obstacle to give a top star like Ospreay a win is a good use of him, as he didn’t get to talk and was more of a pest for Ospreay than a real threat. It was a hard hitting match and Ospreay basically Hulking Up for the win made him look even more like a hero. Perfectly acceptable idea here and they both worked hard to make it work well.

Post match Ospreay goes to leave but gets choked by Mark Davis. The Don Callis Family comes in and beats on Ospreay, including a piledriver on the floor. They take him inside for some chair shots but Ospreay fights out and clears the ring with the chair, a mere 64 seconds after being piledriven on the floor. Ospreay wants his match with Davis to be a street fight and sits down in his chair to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was what I wanted to see out of a Collision in the better time slot as it felt like a bigger than usual edition. They set up some stuff for both Grand Slam and All In, which is a good use of this kind of show. I liked this one quite a bit and it even had a genuine surprise with the Gang winning, along with a bit less of a surprise with the Machine Guns debuting. Good stuff here and hopefully they can follow it up next week.

Results
The Demand b. Rascalz – Open The Gates to Xavier
Tommaso Ciampa b. Nick Comoroto – Running knee
Brawling Birds/Hazuki b. Athena/Diamante/Billie Starkz – Two Birds, One Stone to Diamante
Bang Bang Gang b. Death Riders – Rollup to Yuta
Kris Statlander b. Aurora Teves – Staturday Night Fever
Komander b. Jay Lethal – Cielito Lindo
Will Ospreay b. Daniel Garcia – Hidden Blade

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

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Dynamite
Date: July 29, 2026
Location: Masonic Temple Theater, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We have Redemption out of the way and that means all roads lead to All In in about a month. Kenny Omega is still the World Champion after turning back Kevin Knight, leaving him ready to defend against Will Ospreay. As for Ospreay and Jon Moxley and the rest of the Death Riders….it’s complicated. Let’s get to it.

Here is Redemption if you need a recap.

Commentary runs down the card.

We look back at the Redemption World Title match, with Kenny Omega retaining. After the match, Will Ospreay shook Omega’s hand but Omega laid him out to end the show. Jon Moxley is NOT pleased.

A ticked off Ospreay arrives and runs into the Death Riders. Daniel Garcia goes after him and gets dropped with a single shot to the face. Pac has to be held back and Jon Moxley asks Ospreay if he really wants to do that. Ospreay gives Moxley the Death Riders patch back and they let him walk past.

He doesn’t want to talk to Renee Paquette but runs into Hangman Page, who offers his help in any way Ospreay needs. Ospreay says he can’t trust Kenny Omega so he can’t trust Page so while he appreciates the offer, he’s doing this on his own. Page stops him and says Ospreay is going to be the best at All In. He says Ospreay has this and Ospreay is appreciative before going inside.

National Title: Nick Wayne vs. Jack Perry vs. Andrade El Idolo

Andrade is defending and gets dropped by Perry to start fast. Wayne takes Perry down as well but Andrade is up to suplex both of them. Perry bulldogs Wayne on the floor but gets taken down by a diving Andrade. We pause for a photo with a redhead in the audience so Wayne grabs Sliced Bread off the barricade, only to bang up his knee in the process. Back in and Andrade suplexes Perry into the corner but charges into Wayne’s standing Spanish Fly.

We take a break and come back with Andrade powerbombing Wayne out of the corner. Perry snaps off a heck of a top rope hurricanrana to bring Andrade off the apron, only to get caught by Wayne’s Canadian Destroyer. Back in and Wayne’s Prodigy Plex (fisherman’s buster) gets two on Andrade, who gets up to clothesline both of them. The running Meteora in the corner gives Andrade two so he puts Perry up top.

A charging Wayne is launched up into a super hurricanrana to Perry….who spins into a tornado DDT to drop Andrade (sweet goodness). Perry is back up with a string of dives but Andrade takes Wayne down. The frog splash hits knees though and Wayne’s phoenix splash gets two, with Perry making the save. Perry charges into the Dia de los Muertos (the spinning back elbow) and the DM finishes Wayne to retain the title at 14:21.

Rating: B. That hurricanrana into the tornado DDT alone was awesome and moved the match up another notch on its own. It was a good, fast paced match that you would expect from these people, though I’m not entirely sure how this was set up. The challengers felt kind of out of nowhere, but putting Andrade out there for a successful title defense is a good idea.

Post match Andrade says he’s happy to have screwed over MJF (with the ring) and Don Callis (in general). He’s feeling tranquilo though and is ready for the Casino Gauntlet match at All In. Schiavone asks him about his qualifying match next week in his hometown of “Mexico” and Andrade hits the catchphrase.

The Brawling Birds are ready to beat up some Athena and her Minions on Collision.

Don Callis, with his Family, knows that you take losses on occasion but it’s time to move forward. This seems to include Kyle Fletcher and Kevin Knight teaming up, though Fletcher doesn’t seem impressed. He says the title will always stay in the Family but Kazuchika Okada comes in to agree, with Fletcher not being happy.

Don Callis Family vs. Brodido/Mike Bailey

Fletcher wants to start with King so Bailey gives him what he wants. King runs him over with a clothesline and grabs the arm so Bailey can come back in to stay on said arm. Everything breaks down and Bandido misses an Eddie frog splash, instead settling for a suplex on Fletcher. Cage pulls Bandido outside though and powerbombs him against the post as we take a break.

We come back with Fletcher slamming Bandido, who comes back with the very spinning DDT. Cage can’t get anywhere with a suplex and it’s back to King to knock Cage and Doyle into the corner. The Cannonball connects for two so Bailey comes back in, with Cage immediately giving him a buckle bomb. Everything breaks down again and Fletcher and Bailey trade rollups for two each.

Fletcher lawn darts him but gets kicked in the head to leave them both down. Bandido comes back in to forearm away at Doyle, setting up the frog splash (third Eddie tribute in two matches) but Bandido gets sent outside. Bailey gets kicked in the head but bounces back up with his springboard moonsault to take Fletcher out on the floor. Back up and Bailey gives Doyle the Ultimate Weapon into the arm trap sunset flip for the pin at 13:51.

Rating: B. This got going and it was smart to give Bailey a bit more momentum into the upcoming title shot. It works well every time and they made it work again here. Other than that, Brodido can work well with anyone, even a less than regular team like Doyle and Cage. The match was more about Bailey though, with Bandido outshining him anyway.

We get a sitdown interview with Adam Copeland/Christian Cage and the Young Bucks, who are set for the All In match. The Bucks’ families are coming to England for the match and it couldn’t mean more for them. Copeland says it means that much to them too and they’re glad to see the Bucks and FTR bringing tag wrestling back.

Cage says they’re not here for a greatest hits tour and they’re still the best tag team of this generation. The Bucks talk about being the most accomplished team in AEW history but they had to fight their way back. Copeland doesn’t want this to be a comparison game because they lost a combined seventeen years of their careers and didn’t win a Tag Team Title for twenty five years.

Matt says the Bucks are going to be coming harder, faster and stronger than ever and the champs will be lucky to get on the board. The Bucks are used to being told that they’re too small and don’t do the right stuff. They’ve never had the machine behind them (uh……) so they’re ready for the title match. The champs are ready too. The idea of having the Bucks as these scrappy underdogs who are just trying to get their glory is a bit much to ask.

TBS Title: Persephone vs. Maya World

World is defending (Persephone’s CMLL Women’s Title isn’t on the line). World grabs a headlock to start and then cartwheels away before getting two off a rollup. A running wristdrag takes Persephone down again and she misses a charge out to the floor. Persephone is back up with an electric chair drop onto the apron though and we take a break.

We come back with Persephone grabbing a quickly broken ankle lock so World can get two off a rollup. Persephone fall away slams her out to the floor for the suicide dive but World uses the apron for a tornado DDT. Back in and a hammerlock lariat takes World down and we get a double breather. World is up for a moonsault so here is Hikaru Shida, only for Kris Statlander to cut her off. The tabletop suplex retains the title at 10:00.

Rating: C+. This was a way to get World a first title defense after winning the title just a few days ago. AEW obviously sees something in World (which isn’t shocking) and it’s nice to see her getting an actual chance. We’ll have to see where it goes, but at least they’re off to a good start. Hopefully the rematch with Shida is pretty quick, as there isn’t much of a point to having that go on for a long while.

Mark Davis is mad about his title loss and wants to get back on top by beating Will Ospreay next week.

It’s Shark Week so a dancing shark joins commentary.

Here is Willow Nightingale for her big celebration as champion. We pause for the YOU DESERVE IT chants and Nightingale is moved to tears. She’s not just living her dream but she’s living THE dream. People look at a girl like her and see someone who doesn’t quite fit because she’s quirky or chubby but the fans seem to appreciate her.

After saying the makeup artist worked very hard and it’s being ruined by her tears, she talks about how much she has accomplished this year, but she got hurt. Her mom told her to keep fighting so here she is, having gotten into the Casino Gauntlet and then beaten a toxic champion. She’s ready to go to All In but here is Mercedes Mone, with the contract, to interrupt. They both quickly sign and Nightingale talks about how Mone must be upset that she wasn’t getting attention for five seconds.

Or maybe it’s that Nightingale has the one title that Mone can’t get. Mone is sick of Nightingale always having her name on Mone’s story. The fans do NOT want to hear it but Mone keeps going, saying she made Nightingale. Cue Megan Bayne and Lena Kross and Mone takes out Nightingale’s knee. This brings out the Brawling Birds and the villains run. Mone taking the title would be totally deflating but Nightingale retaining would be a heck of a moment. Please don’t do this the wrong way again.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley vs. Komander

Moxley is defending against another rather random challenger. Komander takes him down by the arm to start and they pop up for a standoff. Moxley gets in a knockdown of his own but a quick small package leaves Moxley frustrated. Back up and a headscissors sends Moxley down and he’s smart enough to roll away from the rope die. That’s fine with Komander, who hits a running dive as we take a break.

We come back with Moxley holding a headscissors and pulling on the legs at the same time. That’s broken up and Komander strikes away, including a superkick to the back. Komander tries some flips and is immediately cuttered back down. Back up and Komander drapes him over the top for a guillotine legdrop to the back of the head. Moxley misses a charge and gets caught with a quick springboard 450 for a rather near fall. Now the rope walk flip dive connects but Moxley avoids Cielito Lindo and scores with a Stomp. The Death Rider into the bulldog choke retains the title at 13:04.

Rating: B. This got better once Komander was able to throw everything he could out there and it made for a good match in the end. The idea here was Moxley finally catching Komander when he was going a bit too hard and it wound up working out. Again, it’s not a match that was about a realistic title defense, but in this case just getting Moxley on the show. As always.

Mick Foley is with the Bang Bang Gang (minus Jay White), who want the Death Riders on Collision. Foley gets in a cheap pop as only he can.

Trios Titles: Conglomeration vs. The Demand

The Demand is challenging and jump them to start fast. That’s broken up and Cassidy drops an elbow (after taking his time getting down) on Liona. We get the bell and Kaun rams his own head into the buckle. Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets so Kaun grabs the hands and lifts him up for quite the visual. Strong comes in to strike away but Kaun picks Cassidy up to cut Strong off.

We take a break and come back with Strong giving Ricochet a half nelson backbreaker, allowing the tag off to O’Reilly. That means an ankle lock to Kaun, with Ricochet making the save. O’Reilly and Ricochet clothesline each other down but Ricochet gets up top, where Cassidy rakes his head.

Kaun gives Strong a top rope superplex before missing a diving headbutt. O’Reilly and Strong strike Kaun down and the High/Low gets two, with Ricochet making the save. Cue the Lethal Twist to offer a distraction, with Christian hitting a springboard belt shot to Cassidy. The Spirit Gun gives Ricochet the pin and the titles at 10:55.

Rating: B-. With all of the title matches they had on this show, they pretty much had to have at least one title change. The good thing is that the Demand is another regular team and it makes sense for them to get the belts. The Conglomeration did their thing long enough and it’s fine to switch the titles, as there are options to come after them.

Post match the double beatdown is on, with Brody King running in for a failed save attempt. Hangman Page comes out with a barbed wire steel chair for the real save.

The Death Riders are ready for Will Ospreay, who always tries to leave when things get hard. Jon Moxley is ready for the Continental Cup. Is that the Continental Classic under the wrong name or something new?

We’re a mere seventeen minutes into the overrun so here is Kenny Omega for a chat. Before he can get more than a few words out though, here is Will Ospreay to interrupt. Omega says what he has to say really doesn’t need to be heard by the people because it’s personal and just for Ospreay. It’s time for show and tell, because at Redemption, Omega showed Ospreay how he felt with the One Winged Angel.

Now it’s time for the tell part, because they had a promise to give it their best. That’s why Omega let Ospreay enter the Owen Hart Cup on his own but then Ospreay started hanging out with the Death Riders. Ospreay talks about coming back from the injury too soon and all he cared about was revenge. So who was he supposed to turn to? The only one was Jon Moxley, because he was the person who could get him to the World Title.

Ospreay liked the feeling of being a Death Rider because it was like being in Japan, but he doesn’t share their philosophy. That’s where it ends with the Death Riders, but Omega talks about how he was ready to be destroyed at Redemption. He got up and saw Ospreay holding the belt and the torn plastic bag. It took Ospreay so long because he was thinking about doing it and Omega slaps him in the face.

Omega says he thought Ospreay was his friend and Ospreay says he was. Omega accuses him of always crumbling under pressure and the fight is on, with Omega bailing from the threat of the Hidden Blade. With Omega gone, Ospreay talks about how this is what he has wanted the whole time and it’s so close that it’s time for the penalties.

If you know anything about England, you know they’re not great at them but he has the entire country on his back. Ospreay is going to pull the trigger and Omega is going to see it coming. They’re doing a nice job of turning this into a personal issue, which is impressive as they kind of had to throw everything together after MJF’s injury. I’m not sure how much sense the whole thing makes, but they’re certainly trying and this worked.

Overall Rating: B-. Well, on one hand, it was an effective show with good action and some rather strong pushes towards All In. You can see most of the card from here and we should be in for a big night in London. At the same time, my goodness they have got to get these shows lengths under control.

This was over two and a half hours long and it’s another case where it could easily be fixed by cutting out a match (Moxley vs. Komander didn’t need to be there). AEW/ROH is in the middle of a stretch where they have shows on six out of seven nights. If they absolutely have to have this many shows (they don’t), at least don’t have them go this long.

This was a good show, but after so much of AEW/ROH in recent days, I could go for a break from them. That’s not a good sign about a month before their biggest show of the year and we’re nowhere near done with this week. Anyway, good followup show to the pay per view and a nice build towards All In, but just trim things down a bit.

Results
Andrade El Idolo b. Nick Wayne and Jack Perry – DM to Wayne
Brodido/Mike Bailey b. Don Callis Family – Arm trap sunset flip to Doyle
Maya World b. Persephone – Tabletop suplex
Jon Moxley b. Komander – Bulldog choke
The Demand b. Conglomeration – Spirit Gun to Cassidy

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

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