Rampage
Date: July 5, 2024
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Don Callis

We’re still in Chicago for the second half of Beach Break, which didn’t exactly mean much on Dynamite. Hopefully the show goes somewhere off of the big ending from Dynamite, but there is a real chance they save that for tomorrow night. We are starting to get ready for All In though and that build might continue here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Rush vs. Komander

Metalik is here with Komander. For some reason Komander tries a handshake to start, earning a shove down. Rush knocks him outside without much trouble and adds a whip into the barricade as Callis talks taking Rush to a baseball game. A chair is sent in, which is enough of a distraction to let Rush whip Komander with a camera cable. Back in and Rush hits a running double stomp but Komander manages a tornado DDT. That doesn’t work for Rush, who takes him outside for a HARD swing into the barricade as we take a break.

We come back with Rush stomping away in the corner and hitting the cocky kick to the mask. Komander is tied in the Tree of Woe for a rather hard kick but the Bull’s Horns misses. The comeback is on with a dropkick to the knee (Callis: “That’s a dirty move.”) to send Rush outside. Komander hits the dive into the Asai moonsault, setting up the shooting star press for two back inside. A headbutt cuts Komander off and an apron superplex gives Rush two. Rush suplexes him off the apron and the Bull’s Horns finishes at 11:56.

Rating: C. This is a good example of a match that went long and really shouldn’t have. If Rush is supposed to be the next big star for Callis, there is pretty much no reason for him to take about twelve minutes to beat Komander. It’s ok to just have Rush go in there and maul someone and that’s what should have happened here.

Post match Rush throws Komander at Callis’ feet.

The Undisputed Kingdom isn’t worried about the Conglomeration, who has Kyle O’Reilly bamboozled. Roderick Strong swears vengeance and are ready to bring O’Reilly back.

Konosuke Takeshita/Kyle Fletcher vs. Private Party

The Family jumps them before the bell and Private Party is in trouble to start. Kassidy armdrags Fletcher down for a breather and it’s off to Quen for a springboard missile dropkick. Takeshita comes in and gets caught with a moonsault but he’s fine enough to suplex Kassidy and Quen at the same time. We take a break and come back with Quen fighting his way to freedom, allowing the tag off to Kassidy. The pace picks up and the Family is sent outside for Kassidy’s big flip dive.

Kassidy throws on a shark hat but the Family fights back and hits stereo brainbusters for two each. A superbomb is reversed into Gin and Juice to Takeshita and Silly String gets two on Fletcher. Takeshita runs both of them over with a clothesline though, leaving Fletcher and Quen to slug it out. Back in and Takeshita takes out Kassidy, leaving Quen to get caught with the piledriver for the pin at 10:10.

Rating: B-. For once, commentary covered part of the issue here, as they hammered in the idea that Takeshita and Fletcher are part of the same stable but not a regular team. That makes the match feel a bit more competitive, as while Private Party isn’t the most successful team, they’re at least a regular team with experience. Takeshita got to look like his usual awesome self and Fletcher was….well Takeshita was great.

We see a clip from earlier this week, with Rush and Don Callis coming to terms.

We look at MJF turning heel and attacking Daniel Garcia on Dynamite.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. GPA

Roderick Strong, with the Kingdom, is on commentary. O’Reilly kicks away to start and shrugs off GPA’s comeback attempt. The cross armbreaker finishes for O’Reilly at 1:48.

Samoa Joe wants to massacre Chris Jericho on Dynamite. Ticked off Joe is always awesome.

Video on Mariah May vs. Hikaru Shida.

Toni Storm does a kind of old school newsreel announcement about her match with Trish Adora on Collision.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament Semifinals: Mariah May vs. Hikaru Shida

Toni Storm and Luther are here with May. The fans are behind Shida to start before the slow forearm exchange gets things going. May takes her down out of the corner and a running kick to the chest gets two. May’s sunset bomb to the floor is countered into a hurricanrana, leaving Storm annoyed as we take a break.

Back with May making the clothesline comeback and hitting a middle rope hurricanrana out of the corner. May goes up but gets caught with a superplex. Back up and May grabs a spinning side slam before they trade German suplexes. Shida’s Falcon Arrow gets two but May sends her into the corner for the hip attack. They trade rollups until Shida tries the Katana, which is reversed into a cradle to give May the pin at 11:37.

Rating: B-. They haven’t exactly been hiding that this is May’s tournament to win, but they’re doing a nice job of making her work to get there. Beating Shida still means a lot as she’s one of the most successful stars the division has ever seen and May gets to beat another former champion. Storm is waiting for her though, and the finals could not feel like more of a formality.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was mostly good but this was a show that you absolutely could have skipped. With the first half being the Don Callis Show and the main event being the only match with any value (and not exactly much in the way of drama), I wasn’t exactly invested in this one. That’s a bit of a step down from recent Rampages, which is a shame as the show was fun for a bit.

Results
Rush b. Komander – Bull’s Horns
Konosuke Takeshita/Kyle Fletcher b. Private Party – Piledriver to Quen
Kyle O’Reilly b. GPA – Cross armbreaker
Mariah May b. Hikaru Shida – Rollup

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Forbidden Door 2024
Date: June 30, 2024
Location: UBS Arena, Elmont, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness, Taz

It’s back to the pay per view schedule with one of the biggest shows AEW presents every year. This is built around the international guest stars, including several stars from New Japan and CMLL. The main event will see Swerve Strickland defending the World Title against Will Ospreay in a pretty big showdown. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kyle Fletcher vs. Serpentico

Bonus match (on a card that already has 14 matches). Fletcher runs him over to start and poses a bit before going after the mask. The comeback is cut off with another kick to the face, followed by a running kick to the back. The piledriver plants Serpentico but Fletcher would rather put him on the ropes. An El Generico brainbuster in the corner finishes for Fletcher at 3:12.

Rating: C-. Total squash as I guess Fletcher gets some heat back after losing the ROH TV Title in Mexico on Friday. The match was nothing to see as Serpentico gets wrecked again, but it also didn’t make me any more interested in Fletcher. He does well enough in the ring, but there is little about him that stands out in any significant way.

Zero Hour: Private Party vs. House Of Black vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gabe Kidd/Roderick Strong

O’Reilly and Black go to the mat to start before trading shots to the ribs. Ishii comes back in to a nice reaction and gets to chop it out with King. Kidd tags himself in and Strong adds a running shot to the face. Quen tags himself in as the rapid fire tags continue, only to be sent outside. Kidd comes back in to chop away (and bark) at O’Reilly, who gets caught in the corner for an exchange of chops from Kidd and Strong.

The team argues over who gets to chop him so it’s off to Ishii for a double clothesline. The House kicks Ishii down before everything breaks down. Quen hits a Trouble In Paradise on Black, who is back with a jumping knee to the face. Kidd brainbusters Ishii but gets chopped by King. Private Party hit stereo running flip dives before Kassidy rolls King up, with tights, for two, only to get Ganso Bombed for the pin at 8:35.

Rating: B-. This was the wild match that you would have been expecting and that’s not a bad thing. There is something to be said about getting a bunch of people in the ring and letting them fly all over the place to go nuts, which is what we got here. Good choice to fire the fans up, as this kind of thing almost always tends to be. The House winning is the right choice too as they’re the bigger of the two regular AEW teams.

Zero Hour: Willow Nightingale/Tam Nakano vs. Momo Watanabe/Kris Statlander

Stokely Hathaway is here with Watanabe and Statlander. Nakano takes Statlander down to start and hits a quick dropkick before it’s off to Nightingale. That means Statlander runs off to Watanabe, who is quickly dropkicked down for two. Watanabe and Nakano slug it out until Nakano hits a heck of a superkick. A Hathaway distraction slows things down though and Statlander gets in a belly to back suplex.

Statlander’s delayed vertical suplex gets two and Watanabe hits a hard shot to the back of the head. Nakano finally manages a quick shot and brings Nightingale back in to beat up Statlander. That lasts for all of ten seconds before the threat of the Pounce means it’s back to Watanabe. A hard spinebuster gives Nightingale two but Statlander offers a distraction, allowing Watanabe to get in a kick to the head.

Nightingale is back up with a dropkick, only for Nakano to miss a high crossbody. Nakano’s German suplex gets two on Statlander and a tiger suplex plants her again. That leaves Nightingale to hit a super Death Valley Driver for two on Watanabe, followed by a heck of a Pounce. Nakano comes back in and grabs a bridging German suplex to pin Watanabe at 10:23.

Rating: B-. Another good one here, though a middle rope Death Valley Driver not being the finish is a bit ridiculous, especially when the finish came a minute later. Either way, this was more about teasing Statlander vs. Nightingale, which does feel like a personal feud and a big rivalry. Throw in the fans loving Nightingale and things are even bigger.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Mariah May vs. Saraya

Toni Storm and Harley Cameron are here too. May sends her into the corner to start and hits some running uppercuts, setting up a rather spinning side slam for two. A Stratusphere plants Saraya again and a missile dropkick gets two more. The hip attack takes too long though and they fight up to the top. May gets sent crashing out to the floor, leaving Saraya to do some jumping jacks until she gets back in.

A double knockdown gives them a breather and they slug it out from their knees. May sends her into the corner for the running hip attack but Storm has to cut off Cameron. Saraya’s superkick into the Rampaige gets two but the Scorpion Crosslock is broken up. Instead Saraya rams her face first into the mat over and over but a suplex is countered into a bridging rollup to give May the pin at 8:28.

Rating: C+. That was the only way this should have gone as May winning the whole tournament to set up a title match against Storm at All In is not the worst idea. At the same time, May gets a nice boost here and beats another former champion in Saraya. Good enough match here, though I’m not sure why it needed to be on this show.

Zero Hour: Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Mistico/Lucha Bros

Fenix and Titan start things off with Fenix knocking him down and springboarding around, setting up a double flip into a standoff. The fans greatly approve as it’s off to Penta vs. Tsuji, with the latter blocking Cero Miedo. Penta isn’t having that and sends him into the corner for the running dropkick, only to be stomped face first onto the mat. Back up and they chop it out before trading shots to the face.

The Fear Factor is broken up so Penta kicks him to the floor instead. It’s off to Mistico to face Takahashi and the fans greatly approve again. An early mask tear attempt is blocked so Mistico sends him outside instead. Tsuji and Titan come in to stomp away but Mistico breaks that up and hits a dive onto Takahashi. Back in and the Bros strike away, setting up Mistico’s Swanton for two on Takahashi. Titan and Tsuji send the Bros outside for dives, followed by a running sunset bomb from Takahashi to send Mistico onto the floor.

Back in and Mistico fights off all three of them at once, allowing the tag back to Penta. Everything breaks down and Fenix’s assisted splash off of Penta’s shoulders gets two on Titan. We hit the parade of big knockdowns until Titan tornado DDT’s Fenix into a superkick for the six way knockdown. Mistico hits the big dive to the floor and the spike Fear Factor hits Takahashi, who rolls out to the floor. Back in and La Mistica finishes Titan at 12:05.

Rating: B. I’m not sure why this wasn’t on the main show, or maybe just make this the only Kickoff Show match. It had the action, but having Mistico, a CMLL star, and the Lucha Bros, best known as AAA guys, on the same show is a big deal that you do not see very often. Almost like it would be….forbidden.

The opening video looks at the major matches and how big this night really is.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hechicero

MJF is of course the big hometown boy and gets a hero’s welcome, even doing a bit of crowd surfing. Hechicero takes him to the mat to start for a quickly broken cross armbreaker. Back up and MJF shakes his hand, which allows for a kick to the ribs and a “yeah of course I did” shrug.

MJF flips (yes flips) away into a double eye poke ala Roddy Piper. They head outside with MJF setting him in a chair and hitting a running boot to the face. Back in and Hechicero snaps the arm across the top rope to take over and we hit the armbar. MJF fights up but the Heatseeker is blocked, allowing Hechicero to plant him down for two. A running knee in the corner connects for Hechicero and the fans are NOT happy.

MJF manages a quick clothesline before spinning around into a piledriver for a needed breather. Hechicero is right back up with a springboard spinning dropkick before grabbing the cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well so MJF tries the Salt Of The Earth, which is reversed into a double arm crank with Hechicero’s legs. The ropes are reached for the break so MJF hammers away in the corner and even bites the mask. A Canadian Destroyer into the brainbuster gives MJF the pin at 9:48.

Rating: B-. The match could have been worse, but it still feels like quite the waste of MJF in a spot where he could have been doing something more important. At the same time, it made Hechicero look great all over again, as he has more than enough talent to be a star anywhere. That kind of thing will always work, though I’m not sure if it was the best idea in this spot.

We get a rather praise-heavy Young Bucks video (with Kenny Omega’s face blurred in a nice touch) which mocks the Acclaimed and Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Elite vs. Acclaimed/Hiroshi Tanahashi

Caster’s rap mocks President Biden at the debate and Okada’s use of the word b****. Okada and Caster start things off but Okada decks Tanahashi off the apron, meaning it’s time for a historic standoff. Instead of doing anything though, it’s off to Matt, who gets taken down with a middle rope crossbody into some air guitar. Bowens comes in to take Matt into the corner, where some running elbows put him in even more trouble. Nick is brought in and it’s a double Scissor Me Timbers for a nasty crash.

Back up and Okada gets in a cheap shot to take over on Caster, with Matt putting on the headphones so Okada can dance. Caster gets caught in a camel clutch so Nick can run the ropes and then kiss his brother on the cheek. The slow beating continues in the corner as we get a few CM PUNK chants. That turns into a HE GOT FIRED chant as Caster knocks Matt off the top and hits a high crossbody.

Okada comes in and gets dropped as well, allowing the tag off to Bowens for the house cleaning. Okada gets dropped with a right hand and a spinning torture rack slam gets two on Matt. Bowens is taken down as well though and it’s a double tag to bring in Okada and Tanahashi. The dragon screw legwhip sets up the Texas Cloverleaf on Okada but the Bucks make the save.

Everything breaks down and the Rainmaker is countered into the Arrival into the Mic Drop. The High Fly Flow is broken up though and the rather delayed version hits raised knees. A superkick puts Tanahashi down again and the Bucks hit stereo slingshot dives to take the Acclaimed down on the floor. Okada hits his top rope elbow but the Rainmaker is countered into a small package for two. Back up and the Rainmaker finishes Tanahashi at 13:02.

Rating: C+. Tanahashi was trying here but those knees are just not holding him up any longer. Other than that, it was about what you would expect with the Bucks and the Acclaimed, which was only going to go so far. We still have the title match to come between the teams and that probably should have been here, but instead we get this feud extended even further.

We recap Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi

McGuinness is already on Danielson, as you knew he would be. Danielson goes after the arm to start before tying up Takagi’s leg. That’s broken up in the ropes so Danielson takes him down again and grabs a surfboard. As usual, that doesn’t last long and it’s Takagi dropping him down hard. A backsplash gives Takagi two as McGuinness compares Danielson to Mozart and Napoleon, both of whom were FAR more successful.

Danielson gets knocked out of the corner but manages to send Takagi outside. The suicide dive doesn’t quite work though and Takagi catches him with a hanging fisherman’s neckbreaker,. Danielson lands on his head, because Danielson, and we pause for the medics to check on him. Thankfully he gets back up and beats the count back in, where Takagi drops a knee to the back of the head. Danielson fights up and they trade shots to the face until Takagi hits a clothesline.

Another kick to the head gives Danielson a breather and he goes up top. Takagi is right there with him, so Danielson grabs a belly to back superplex for the big double knockdown. Danielson’s triangle choke is muscled up into a powerslam and they’re both down again. Back up and Takagi superplexes him into a heck of a sliding lariat for two.

Made In Japan is broken up but Danielson misses a charge into the corner. Now Made In Japan can connect for two more, with McGuinness being left speechless. Danielson can barely get up so Takagi hits a running shot to the side of the head. Another sliding lariat is loaded up but Danielson reverses into a Fujiwara armbar.

That’s switched into the LeBell Lock but Takagi slips out. A reverse fisherman’s suplex puts Takagi down and the running knee gives Danielson two. Danielson stomps away at the head and grabs a triangle choke but Takagi powers up. That doesn’t work though as Danielson pulls him into a Disarm-Her for the referee stoppage at 19:58.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the fire out of each other and it’s another awesome Danielson match. At some point he needs to win a few of these things and this was a goo example of how to make it work. Rather awesome match here and Danielson gets to move on towards what could be a rather deep run in the whole thing.

We recap Toni Storm defending the Women’s Title against Mina Shirakawa. The bigger story though is the battle over Mariah May, as both of them want her too.

Women’s Title: Mina Shirakawa vs. Toni Storm

Storm is defending and Mariah May is in a neutral corner. As you might expect, Storm is dressed as the Statue Of Liberty. May refuses to pick before the match so they circle each other instead. Shirakawa stops to dance and gets a hip attack to the face for her efforts. That just earns her more dancing before Shirakawa drops Storm knees first onto the mat. The Figure Four around the post goes on and McGuinness thinks May needs a hug. Back in and a dropkick to the leg keeps Storm in trouble but she’s back with a fisherman’s suplex for two.

There’s the running hip attack to put Shirakawa on the floor but another one only hits the steps. Shirakawa uses the breather to hit a big dive, only to have Storm catch her with a super chokebomb back inside. Storm misses a charge though and Shirakawa grabs the Figure Four to stay on the bad leg. They sit up and slap it out until Storm manages to escape.

Back up and they slug it out with Shirakawa getting the better of things and going up top. Storm is right there for another forearm off until Shirakawa hits a super DDT for two more. Shirakawa’s Glamorous Driver is broken up and Storm snaps off a release German suplex. Another hip attack gives Storm another two but Shirakawa is right back with the Glamorous Driver for her own near fall. Storm gets in a quick rollup for two, followed by Storm Zero to retain at 11:38.

Rating: B. Storm continues to feel it in these big pay per view matches, but May was more or less just window dressing. That’s normally a good thing, but she’s the entire point of the story in the first place. The match was good, though it was hard to believe that Shirakawa was going to be the one to end Storm’s reign.

Post match Storm and May look at each other and Shirakawa wants a handshake. Respect is shown and we get the big hug and we get the three way kiss. So May’s choice of a side was to not pick a side. Got it.

We recap Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy.  Sabre isn’t over Cassidy pinning him last year and Cassidy is having a rough time but is ready to fight again.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy

They go technical to start with Cassidy not being able to get very far with some arm cranking. Instead Cassidy bails out to the floor for a breather before rolling back inside, with Sabre holding the ropes open. Back in and they fight over a cross arm choke until Cassidy ties him up on the mat.

That’s broken up as well so they trade rollups for two each. Sabre ties him up in a headscissors but Cassidy makes it over to the ropes rather quickly. Sabre does his own slow kicks but Cassidy takes out the knee to put him down for a change. Cassidy twists on the leg outside and again inside, setting up a top rope DDT for a rather near fall.

Sabre is right back with a kick to the arm and some finger snapping to put Cassidy down. The double arm crank goes on but Cassidy escapes and goes back to the leg. The Texas Cloverleaf is broken up so Cassidy hits the Beach Break for two instead. Back up and the Orange Punch is blocked so Sabre pulls him back into the European Clutch for two. Cassidy tries the Mouse Trap but Sabre reverses into a….well he tied up all four of Cassidy’s limbs at the same time with Cassidy having to give up at 16:20.

Rating: B. I’m still not sure I get why Cassidy was so upset coming into this one but he was holding his own out there well enough, only to get tied up by Sabre. It was a good back and forth match, with Sabre being able to do things in there that no one else can make work. Cassidy needs something new though, and I’m not sure what that is going to be coming off this loss.

Post match Sabre actually gives him the sunglasses back.

We recap the Learning Tree vs. Samoa Joe and company. Joe and company are sick of Chris Jericho and want a fight, with Jericho bringing in Jeff Cobb to replace the injured Bryan Keith.

Learning Tree/Jeff Cobb vs. Samoa Joe/Hook/Katsuyori Shibata

Jericho is sure the fans don’t really want him to retire as he starts with Shibata. Before that goes anywhere though, it’s already off to Bill to face Shibata instead (third time tonight we’ve seen the “heel tags out instead of fighting” sequence). Chopping ensues with neither being able to get the better of things so it’s off to Cobb vs. Joe for the hoss showdown.

Cobb takes over by powering Joe into the corner and Jericho comes in to rake the eyes. Cobb comes back in and Joe gets the better of things for a change, allowing the tag off to Hook. Jericho chokes him on the ropes to cut him off and Cobb adds a standing moonsault. Hook manages to fight back and brings Shibata back in, with the good guys taking over on Cobb in the corner.

Jericho comes back in to take over on Shibata as everything breaks down. Shibata gets posted and Hook goes up top for an ax handle to Bill. The referee gets distracted though and Jericho hits Shibata low, setting up the Walls. That’s broken up so Cobb comes back in for the Tour of the Islands, only to have Hook t-bone him. The Codebreaker gives Jericho two on Hook but Hook comes back up with his own Judas Effect for the pin at 13:38.

Rating: C+. Hook gets a nice rub off the ending but this was the least interesting match n the card and the match didn’t make things much better. While the ending would suggest something of a downgrade for Jericho and the Learning Tree, that doesn’t seem to be the most likely outcome. Perfectly fine match, but it could have been on any AEW TV show instead.

TNT Title: Jack Perry vs. Dante Martin vs. El Phantasmo vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Lio Rush vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Ladder match for the vacant title. Takeshita drops Perry to start and everyone else goes after ladders. With that not working, the fight heads outside instead with Briscoe grabbing various toys. Perry goes up a ladder but Rush makes the fast save. A ladder is thrown outside and almost hits Briscoe, leaving Rush to go up the ladder for a change. Phantasmo goes up but Martin makes the save and climbs as well.

That’s broken up but Martin dives onto Phantasm on the way down. Back up and Takeshita brainbusters Martin onto the side of the ladder, only for Briscoe to come in with the ladder around the neck. Briscoe grabs a chair and hits a step up flip dive onto a ladder onto Takeshita on the floor for the big crash. Perry goes up but Phantasmo walks across a bridged ladder to cut him off on top.

Martin gets taken down and bangs up his leg, leaving Perry to set up a table. Briscoe and Takeshita brawl on the floor until Rush dives onto the latter. That leaves Briscoe to go up a ladder for a splash but he lands on his feet, instead hitting a forearm on Perry on the table, which doesn’t break (similar to how Adam Copeland broke his leg).

Back in and Takeshita powerbombs Rush onto a ladder before pulling Phantasmo into a knee to the face. One heck of a Blue Thunder Bomb puts Phantasmo through the tables but Briscoe cuts off the climb attempt. Briscoe plants Takeshita onto the ladder and goes up, only to have Perry breaks up Briscoe’s climb. Perry beats on Briscoe with the chair and then wins the title at 16:48.

Rating: B-. That was a ladder match alright. Looked like it had about six people, some ladders, a chair and some tables too. There really isn’t much else to say about this, as it featured pretty much exactly what you would expect and had the most likely winner getting the title in the end. That’s pretty much exactly what was expected the second the match was announced and while it was ok enough, it was hardly thrilling.

We recap Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer, which is winner take all for the TBS Title and the New Japan Strong Women’s Title respectfully.

TBS Title/NJPW Strong Women’s Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer

Title for title. We get the referee’s instructions and Vaquer headbutts her to start. They trade rollups for two each until Vaquer grabs a wristlock and hits a very springboardy wristdrag. Mone gets in a quick breather and hits a Meteora for two. Vaquer is right back up with a shot of her own but Mone grabs Two Amigos, with Vaquer countering the third. Vaquer starts in on the leg and ties her legs around Mone’s head for some rams into the mat to wake the crowd up.

Mone fights up again and knocks her into the corner for the running knees and a springboard DDT gets two. The Mone Maker is countered into a DDT from Vaquer and she drops a leg for two more. Another shot from Mone leaves them both down so it’s a double nip up for the forearm exchange. Vaquer grabs a crossface but Mone reverses into a Bank Statement. That’s broken up as well, with the fans mostly cheering for Vaquer now.

Some knees to the ribs put Mone down but Vaquer can’t follow up. The fans give us a F*** THE CELTICS (as in Mone’s hometown team) chant as Mone goes up, only to dive into raised boots. Vaquer dragon screws her into the corner as the fans move on to the Red Sox. Mone’s crossface is countered, as is the Mone Maker, only to Mone pull her into the crossface for the tap at 16:47.

Rating: B-. This is where the Forbidden Door concept stops working for me. The action was fine enough, but it was really hard to get interested in a match between Mone, who has only wrestled here a handful of times, and Vaquer, who has had one short match in the promotion. It didn’t feel like a feud or a rivalry, but rather two people who don’t have a history around here having a match. It was good, but I had no attachment to either of them and it kept me from getting into this one.

Post match Mone celebrates….and Britt Baker returns to a hero’s welcome.

We recap Jon Moxley defending the IWGP World Title against Tetsuya Naito. Moxley took the title from him a few months ago and it’s time for the rematch.

Jim Ross is back for the last two matches.

IWGP World Heavyweight Title: Tetsuya Naito vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is defending. They slug it out to start with Moxley going after the knee to take Naito into the corner. Some corner clotheslines have Naito in more trouble and they head outside with Moxley dropping him onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Naito spits in his face so Moxley slaps him down for two. A piledriver gives Moxley two more and he puts Naito on top for a rake to the back.

Naito slips between the legs though and shoves Moxley down to the floor for the big crash. They go outside with Naito grabbing a piece of the barricade to beat on Moxley, sending JR into a hilarious frenzy about that not being tranquilo. Back in and Naito has to fight out of a Figure Four, turning it into a small package for two. Moxley’s Death Rider attempt is countered into a springboard tornado DDT for two more and they’re both down.

Moxley gets up and tries a sleeper, only to be reversed into Destino for…no cover, as Naito tries it again but gets reversed into a Death Rider. They slug it out again until Moxley hits a heck of a lariat into the Death Rider for two. With nothing else working, Moxley grabs a chair, which is quickly taken away by the referee. Destino and the Death Rider are both blocked, only for Destino to to give Naito the pin and the title back at 16:41.

Rating: B-. Much like the previous match, this was a feud that has been taking place elsewhere and the match was only taking place here because it had to. Naito getting the title match is a good thing, if nothing else to get it away from AEW, which doesn’t need another title floating around. The match was good and it feels like a big deal when Moxley loses in AEW, but it wasn’t overly interesting.

We recap the AEW World Title with Swerve Strickland defending against Will Ospreay. Strickland is the reigning champion but Ospreay is the hot new star so it might be time for a changing of the guard.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay is challenging and his International Title isn’t on the line. They fight over a lockup to start before both of them flip out of hurricanrana attempts. Missed kicks to the head leave us with a standoff and the fans are WAY into this. Swerve kicks away but Ospreay chops him into the corner to cut that off. They head outside with Ospreay striking away, only to get caught with the middle rope elbow to the back of the head back inside. Swerve slows things down and chops away as Prince Nana is a bit worried.

They go outside again and Swerve loads up something on the barricade, only to be hurricanranaed back down. Back in and Swerve manages a short armscissors but Ospreay slips out. Swerve hammers away but Ospreay gets up and they forearm it out. The Hidden Blade and House Call both miss, with Ospreay grabbing a Styles Clash for two. The Oscutter is countered into the Swerve Stomp as we cut to Daniel Garcia watching in a sky box.

They go up top again with Strickland grabbing something like a super Angle Slam for the big crash and a near fall. Swerve takes it to the apron, where the Oscutter misses, sending Ospreay crashing onto the apron. The Swerve Stomp is loaded up but Ospreay rolls away before it can launch, leaving Swerve to hit the Stomp onto a standing Ospreay against (not through) the announcers’ table.

A piledriver onto the barricade (geez) rocks Ospreay again and the JML Driver gets two back inside. Another Swerve Stomp takes too long and Swerve gets crotched, setting up a springboard Oscutter for a very near fall. The Hidden Blade is blocked and the Oscutter is as well, leaving Swerve to go after the arm. That’s broken up and now the Oscutter connects, setting up the Storm Breaker for two. Ospreay scores with a headbutt but the Tiger Driver 91 is countered into a cradle to give Swerve two of his own.

The Hidden Blade connects for Swerve but he misses a Swerve Stomp. The referee gets hit by another Hidden Blade, followed by another to Swerve….and Don Callis is here. Nana won’t let Callis use a screwdriver so Ospreay goes after him, only to let him go. Back in and the House Call into the Swerve Stomp gets two more with a second referee. Swerve snaps the arm and another House Call (that looked great) gets a VERY near fall. Another House Call sets up a JML Driver to retain the title at 27:04.

Rating: A-. This was pretty easily the best match on the show and I might even be underrating a bit. They beat the living daylights out of each other but took their time to get there, with Swerve getting to show just how awesome he can be. Swerve needed a big win like this and even Callis being around didn’t bring it down. Awesome stuff here and a heck of a main event.

Medics check on Ospreay and Swerve shows respect to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The main event pulled it up a lot and there is nothing really bad on the show, but this is absolutely not my show and it never has been. The amount of matches and the parade of guest stars isn’t something that draws me in, as it feels more like Tony Khan getting to run loose in a candy store and do a show he finds fun rather than something for everyone else. As usual, the wrestling is more than good enough to hold up, but you could pretty easily chop off almost all of the pre-show and not lose anything.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. Serpentico – Brainbuster onto the turnbuckle
House Of Black b. Tomohiro Ishii/Kyle O’Reilly, Gabe Kidd/Roderick Strong and Private Party – Ganso Bomb to Kassidy
Willow Nightingale/Tam Nakano b. Momo Watanabe/Kris Statlander – Bridging German suplex to Watanabe
Mariah May b. Saraya – Bridging German suplex
Lucha Bros/Mistico b. Los Ingobernables de Japon – La Mistica to Titan
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Hechicero – Brainbuster
Elite b. Acclaimed/Hiroshi Tanahashi – Rainmaker to Tanahashi
Bryan Danielson b. Shingo Takagi via referee stoppage
Toni Storm b. Mina Shirakawa – Storm Zero
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Orange Cassidy – Arm and leg crank
Hook/Samoa Joe/Katsuyori Shibata b. Learning Tree/Jeff Cobb – Judas Effect to Jericho
Jack Perry won the TNT Title Ladder Match
Mercedes Mone b. Stephanie Vaquer – Bank Statement
Tetsuya Naito b. Jon Moxley – Destino
Swerve Strickland b. Will Ospreay – JML Driver

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Ring Of Honor
Date: June 27, 2024
Location: Covelli Center, Youngstown, Ohio
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are less than a month away from Death Before Dishonor and, as usual, there is nothing announced for the card. In theory we should be getting something set up for it rather soon, but in this case we have the World Title on the line in a match that seemed like it was destined for the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

Athena holds a Minions In Training meeting and announces that she will be out 8-12 months. Therefore, she has some extra security around here, with even Lexi Nair fired up to deal with Queen Aminata and Red Velvet.

Alex Reynolds vs. Lee Johnson

Evil Uno is here with Reynolds. Johnson takes him down by the arm to start and the clean break gets some polite applause. Back up and Johnson takes him down again, only to miss a kick to the head and get rolled up for two. They fight over a standing switch until Johnson clotheslines him out to the floor, setting up the quick dive. Uno offers a distraction though and Reynolds gets in a cheap shot to take over.

Johnson is sent hard into the steps for two but he fights up and makes the clothesline comeback. A standing moonsault gets two on Reynolds but the Big Shot Drop is countered with a knee to the face. Some hard forearms to the face give Reynolds two and a tiger driver gets the same. Reynolds rolls out of the Big Shot Drop but gets sent face first into the buckle instead. Uno gets superkicked off the apron and the Big Shot Drop finishes Alexander at 8:49.

Rating: B-. This was Johnson’s rebound win after losing the TV Title match last week. That’s a good way to go, though taking this long to beat someone as low level as Alexander didn’t exactly make him look strong. It also doesn’t help that it’s Johnson having to build himself up again, which has happened multiple times now.

Marina Shafir vs. Erica Leigh

Shafir takes her down with ease and forces a handshake on her on the mat. Some hard forearms have Leigh in trouble but she fights up with some shots of her own. Something like a 619 in the corner sets up Mother’s Milk to finish Leigh at 2:34.

The Kingdom is tired of everyone wasting their time and need more competition. Mike Bennett drops to his knees to pray to Tony Khan to find some good challengers.

Lance Archer/Righteous vs. Duke Davis/Victor Benjamin/Ganon Jones Jr.

Archer pounds the rather large Davis into the corner but actually gets shouldered into another corner. Vincent comes in to hammer on Benjamin, who strikes his way out of trouble. Vincent’s running basement Downward Spiral gets two and they head outside. A ramp into the steps keeps Benjamin down, followed by Dutch’s swinging Boss Man Slam for two back inside. Benjamin stumbles into the corner though and it’s the also big Jones coming in to fight back. Another Boss Man Slam hits Davis and Orange Sunshine finishes Jones at 5:44.

Rating: C. Hey you know how Archer and the Righteous do this seemingly every other week or so and it leads nowhere but the matches are almost always the same? Well this is the most recent edition, as the Righteous and Archer got to beat some people up and odds are it won’t be leading anywhere. I would say maybe that can let them go somewhere, but it doesn’t seem likely.

Post match the beatdown continues.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Trish Adora

Valkyrie chops away to start but Adora gets in her own chops and snapmares her down. The threat of the Lariat Tubman sends Valkyrie bailing to the floor, where she reminds us of how smart she is. Valkyrie gets in a few shots of her own, including a few kicks in the corner. The double arm crank goes on, followed by a quick clothesline to give Valkyrie two. Adora fights back with a snap suplex for two but Valkyrie slips out of an airplane spin. Back to back Shania Pains finish Adora at 6:31.

Rating: C+. This one gives me a bit more hope, as there is the chance that we could actually see Valkyrie getting a title shot somewhere down the line. I won’t quite believe it until I see it, but at least it seems like something that could happen. On the other hand, Adora seems to be locked into jobber to the stars territory, which doesn’t give me much hope for her future.

Leyla Hirsch has beaten Diamante four times, but Diamante comes in and wants one more. They’ll make it a street fight.

Billie Starkz vs. Angelica Risk

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning that if Risk survives the ten minute time limit or wins, she gets a future title shot. Starks grabs a choke to start and then kicks Risk in the face to take over. The running boot in the corner hits Risk again and Starkz stomps away. They head outside with Starkz sending her into the corner, setting up a running knee. Back in and Risk rolls away before the Swanton can launch, leaving Starkz to mock Red Velvet. Risk fights back but Starkz pulls her into the fish hook choke for the win at 4:18.

Rating: C. There is only so much you can get out of Athena, and now Starkz, having this kind of a match over and over. In short, it has been done and there was little reason to believe that Risk was going to get a win, or even put up a fight here. Red Velvet seems to be the next challenger but it’s been set up for such a long time now that it’s kind of hard to care in the slightest.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Mark Briscoe vs. Kyle Fletcher

Only Briscoe is defending and yes we are doing this here rather than on the pay per view. Briscoe sends him into the corner to start and the fans approve, just like they do as we hit the headlock. Back up and Fletcher knocks him hard into the corner for a change, only to get knocked off the top. There’s the dive to the floor to take Fletcher but he’s right back with some shots of his own.

Briscoe’s chops are shrugged off and Fletcher gets to lay out on the steps for a breather. Back in and Briscoe wins a slugout, setting up a fisherman’s buster for two of his own. A Pele kick into a discus forearm connects but Fletcher catches Briscoe on top. Briscoe catches him on top as well though, meaning it’s a fisherman’s superplex (that’s a new one) to bring Fletcher back down.

They head to the apron with Briscoe hitting a few shots, setting up the Bang Bang Elbow. The Froggy Bow hits raised knees back inside though and the piledriver gives Fletcher two. Briscoe Death Valley Drivers him down and now the Froggy Bow connects for two more. Fletcher kicks away but walks into one heck of a clothesline, setting up the Jay Driller to retain the title at 13:11.

Rating: B-. Well, it was the best match of the show, but thank goodness they got rid of what could have headlined Death Before Dishonor this early. Why go with a story that is ready made when you can make something from scratch on short notice? The match itself was what you would expect, but I could go without seeing Fletcher for a rather long time.

Overall Rating: C+. And that was Ring Of Honor, as it had some good to ok matches, little in the way of setting anything up, and a grand total of absolutely nothing set for Death Before Dishonor with four shows left before the pay per view. I’m sure something will happen on AEW TV or elsewhere to set up the top of the card in a hurry but the pay per view builds really do show you how slowly things move around here. Not a bad show, but they need to actually get the pay per view ready.

Results
Lee Johnson b. Alex Reynolds – Big Shot Drop
Marina Shafir b. Erica Leigh – Mother’s Milk
Lance Archer/Righteous b. Duke Davis/Victor Benjamin/Ganon Jones Jr. – Orange Sunshine to Jones
Taya Valkyrie b. Trish Adora – Shania Pain
Billie Starkz b. Angelica Risk – Fish hook choke
Mark Briscoe b. Kyle Fletcher – Jay Driller

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Ring Of Honor
Date: June 20, 2024
Location: Mid-America Center, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time for a double title show this week as the Tag Team and TV Titles are on the line, with the latter in a 2/3 falls match. Other than that, we might want to start getting ready for the Death Before Dishonor card as the show is just over a month away. Then again it isn’t like the show is going to be announced until a week or two out so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Aaron Solo vs. Titan

They shake hands to start before Titan dropkicks him out to the floor. The threat of a dive brings Solo back in though and he strikes away. Titan is back up with a high crossbody to send Solo outside again, this time with a dive connecting. Back in and Solo slowly hammers away but Titan fights up for the chop off. A jumping kick to the head drops Solo but a top rope double stomp misses. Solo hits his own double stomp for two and nails a superkick, only to have Titan kick him in the face out of the corner. Now Titan’s top rope double stomp can finish at 6:20.

Rating: C+. This was just a step above a squash for Titan, as Solo isn’t exactly what I would consider a top star in any major promotion. It felt like another “hey here’s someone you might see at Forbidden Door” match and that works well enough as long as it isn’t overkill. Titan has done nicely in his few appearances and this continued that trend.

Anthony Henry/Griff Garrison/Cole Karter vs. Infantry/Sepentico

Maria and Trish Adora are here too. Henry gets caught in the wrong corner to start and the Infantry starts with the rapid fire double teaming. Karter comes in and takes Serpentico down with a clothesline, setting up and earl chinlock with Henry. A neck twist keep Serpentico down and Henry grabs another chinlock.

Serpentico fights up and grabs a hurricanrana out of the corner, allowing the tag off to Bravo. Everything breaks down and Garrison drops Dean, leaving Serpentico to hit a dive. Serpentico’s Swan Dive gets two and everyone is down. Back up and Serpentico knocks Henry down again, only to get chaired in the back by Garrison. A quick faceplant gives Henry the pin on Serpentico at 9:59.

Rating: C. I don’t know how to be subtle about this so I’ll just go with being blunt: the Garrison/Karter vs. Serpentico/Angelico feud is one of the lamest, least interesting things I have seen in wrestling in a very long time and for some reason IT JUST KEEPS GOING. There is little reason for them to be fighting anymore but here they are again because there is apparently nothing else for them to do but they must be on the show for some reason. This is one of the feuds that is making Ring Of Honor more and more annoying every time they’re on TV and for the life of me I do not get why.

Video on Kyle Fletcher vs. Lee Johnson tonight in a 2/3 falls match for the TV Title.

Here are Athena and Billie Starkz for an emergency meeting….and Athena is on crutches and in a walking boot. She’s looking at being out for 4-6 months due to some torn ligaments and she has decided that it is best or her to keep the title. Cue Queen Aminata and Red Velvet, with Aminata saying she’ll hurt Athena if the injury isn’t real in the first place. Maybe Athena is faking just like Starkz did to win her title. Starkz gets shoved down and lands on Athena, which is enough to clear everyone off. Things may change, but Athena not wrestling for months and retaining the title is not exactly a good idea.

Jacoby Watts vs. Brandon Cutler

Nick Comoroto is here with Watts, who does his usual speech, with Cutler cutting him off. Cutler isn’t sure where we are but knows the fans are stupid. Watts jumps him before the bell and the slugout is on, with Cutler grabbing a cutter. Cutler is back with a suplex but Watts grabs a swinging Downward Spiral. A Stunner finishes for Watts at 2:17. That was certainly a thing that happened.

Marina Shafir vs. Maggie Minerva

Shafir takes her down with a judo throw and cranks on the neck before choking in the corner. Minerva gets in a kick to the face but walks into a powerbomb. Mother’s Milk finishes Minerva at 2:06.

The Kingdom is tired of not being respected enough and is ready to beat 2.0.

Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson vs. Eric Eznite/Isaiah Harris/Jay Marston

Jameson starts with Eznite, who wants to pray to start the match. Jameson agrees and then decks him from behind. It’s off to Bronson, who sends him flying into the corner so Harris can come in. Harris slips off Boulder’s shoulders and hands it off to Marston, allowing Boulder to send multiple people flying. Marston is sent into Boulder’s chest and Bronson’s top rope splash finishes at 4:30.

Rating: D+. I cannot stand this team. I can’t stand their work, I can’t stand their talking, I can’t stand how they do THE EXACT SAME THING EVERY TIME THEY’RE OUT THERE and I can’t stand the fact that they have to be on this show or AEW so often. If “they’re muscular and strong but one guy has a hairy chest” is good comedy, then I would recommend taking up drama. Or just letting the three of them go because sitting through this nonsense over and over is infuriating.

Lance Archer vs. Deonn Rusman

Archer starts fast and knocks him to the floor, setting up a Black Hole Slam….for two. Rusman charges into a boot in the corner but manages a spear. Back up and Archer grabs a chokeslam, followed by the Blackout for the pin at 3:13.

Rating: C. It’s quite the choice to have your monster get speared down by someone the size of Rusman, though at least Archer came back and did his usual dominance for the win. Archer isn’t going to be a big star, but he’s a good choice for a midcard boss on the way to someone getting their chance at the bigger name. Keeping him strong is a fine way to go and that’s what they did here.

Atlantis Jr. wants a TV Title shot in Arena Mexico.

Diamante vs. Leyla Hirsch

Hirsch runs her over with a shoulder to start and then does it again, followed by a suplex. A running basement dropkick connects before Hirsch gets to hammer away in the corner. Diamanate’s gutbuster gets her out of trouble and she grabs an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and Hirsch hits a knee to the ribs into a German suplex. The ribs give out though and Diamante hits a spear for two of her own. Hirsch is back up with a small package for the pin at 6:24.

Rating: C+. This was a good enough way to go and the extra time made it a bit better, though forgive me for not believing that this is going to be the win that gets Hirsch off the hamster wheel and into title contention. That’s one of the biggest problems with the women’s division, as Athena has made everyone else look like a middle of the road star. The TV Title might help, though I’ll believe Hirsch getting a big shot when I see it.

Post match Diamante drops her again.

Tag Team Titles: Kingdom vs. Angelo Parker/Matt Menard

The Kingdom is defending. Bennett headlocks Parker down to start and it’s quickly off to Menard, with his taped up ribs. Menard takes over on Taven’s arm and pulls him down, with Parker dropping a top rope elbow to the back. Parker gets sent outside so Menard goes after the champs outside. Back in and Taven kicks Menard in the face and grabs a suplex for two on Parker.

Just The Tip gets the same and Parker fights up, including a dropkick to put Bennett down. A neckbreaker cuts off the tag attempt but the Hail Mary is broken up. The hot tag brings in Menard to clean house, including a Boston crab to Bennett. Taven’s slaps can’t break it up so Bennett goes to the ropes instead. Double Snake Eyes into a double DDT get two on Bennett so Menard grabs the belt. The referee tries to take it away, allowing Bennett to roll him up and retain at 10:05.

Rating: C+. Well so much for that. They built up Parker trying to win the titles for the sake of his family as a feel good story and then he just loses his shot instead. I’m not saying the titles needed to change, but the Kingdom are little more than Roderick Strong’s lackeys anyway so the loss would hardly be some game changer. Not a bad match, but that finish was incredibly flat.

TV Title: Lee Johnson vs. Kyle Fletcher

Fletcher is defending and it’s 2/3 falls, with Johnson diving over the top onto the floor to take him down. A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Johnson two and Fletcher bails outside, with a big dive taking him out again. Back in and Fletcher manages a Stunner over the top rope to send Johnson to the floor for a breather. Johnson is sent into the barricade and the slow beating continues back inside.

A neckbreaker gives Johnson a quick two but Fletcher is right back with a hammerlock suplex. Johnson is back with a Death Valley Driver into a standing moonsault for two of his own. Fletcher knocks him hard to the floor but Johnson escapes a powerbomb and his a moonsault from the apron. They fight to the apron, with Fletcher hitting a brainbuster into a powerbomb back inside for two more. Back in and they fight over the Big Shot Drop until Fletcher hits another brainbuster for two another two, followed by a brainbuster for the first fall at 11:47.

Johnson says bring it so Fletcher kicks him in the chest. We pause for the doctor to check on Johnson but he’s good to go. The super brainbuster is broken up and Johnson grabs a rollup to even things up at 15:29 total. Back up and they slug it out, with Johnson getting two off a sunset flip. Johnson sends him to the floor for a sunset bomb (ok that was cool) for a nineteen count, with Fletcher diving back inside. Three straight frog splashes give Johnson two but the referee wants to check on Fletcher. The distraction lets Fletcher get in a low blow and another brainbuster to retain at 20:38 total.

Rating: B-. Best match on the show pretty handily, with Johnson continuing to look good against almost anyone. I’m assuming they’re saving the Fletcher loss for a bigger stage, but that impact might not be the same after watching him lose over and over again on AEW TV. This was a good, long match that probably could have been on Death Before Dishonor, but I get why you don’t want to run the same title match on back to back pay per views.

Overall Rating: C-. Now before people say “but the match ratings were good and that doesn’t add up”, (because someone will of course do that), this, again, wasn’t about the wrestling. This was a show that ran about 1:50:00 and A LOT of that could have been cut off for the sake of not dragging things out.

There were so many matches here that felt like they were being put on there to get an appearance out of wrestlers. That’s not a bad idea on paper, but Ring Of Honor has trotted out these same people for months on end with statements of “oh this person is building momentum and it wouldn’t surprise me if they were a champion soon”. This is probably true, save for the fact that titles change hands around here either on one of three nights a year or on AEW TV.

The same people come out there, win matches, and then someone with no experience around here will get the title shots on pay per view because that’s how Ring Of Honor works. I can live with that in smaller doses, but sitting through almost two hours of this for one rather good match is nowhere near good enough. I couldn’t stand a good chunk of this show and for the love of all things good and holy, do not let this be what the show is going to be again going forward.

Results
Titan b. Aaron Solo – Top rope double stomps
Anthony Henry/Griff Garrison/Cole Karter b. Infantry/Serpentico – Spinning faceplant to Serpentico
Jacoby Watts b. Brandon Cutler – Stunner
Marina Shafir b. Maggie Minerva – Mother’s Milk
Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson b. Eric Eznite/Isaiah Harris/Jay Marston – Top rope splash to Marston
Lance Archer b. Deonn Rusman – Blackout
Leyla Hirsch b. Diamante – Small package
Kingdom b. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker – Rollup to Menard
Kyle Fletcher b. Lee Johnson 2-1

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

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Dynamite
Date: June 19, 2024
Location: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Virginia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We are about a week and a half away from Forbidden Door and there is a good chance that we will see some more matches added this week. Other than that, we have a pay per view quality match with Rush facing MJF to open the show. That could open the door for both of them to do something else at the pay per view so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Rush

This is commercial free. Rush slugs away to start and drops down, only to have MJF strut over him. MJF loads up a chop, teases it for a long time, and then pokes him in the eye instead. The referee checks on Rush in the corner, which is enough of a distraction for Rush to headbutt him down. Back up and Rush hits him in the face and then unloads with forearms in the corner, allowing the Tranquilo pose. As you might expect, MJF charges at him and hammers away but Rush knocks him down again.

The Bull’s Horns misses though and MJF gets two off a small package. A lifting DDT (ala Saraya’s Rampaige) gives MJF two and a piledriver gets the same, allowing a quick breather. MJF’s charge is suplexed into the corner and a cross arm piledriver gives Rush two. They go outside for some hard rams into the barricade and MJF is in big trouble.

Rush throws a chair inside, and the distraction allows him to get in some whipping with an electric cable. A missed charge sends Rush into the barricade but he’s fine enough to suplex a charging MJF off the apron. Back in and the Bull’s Horns is cut off with a hard clothesline and MJF grabs a spinebuster. The Heatseeker into a brainbuster finishes for MJF at 14:19.

Rating: B. It was a hard hitting match though thankfully not as dominant as most of Rush’s matches. MJF had to get in his shots where he could and that worked out well, which is about all you can ask for in something like this. MJF should be on his way to something big at Forbidden Door, as he’s going to need something important after his comeback win here.

Post match, the Cage of Agony pops up to announce MJF vs. Hechicero at Forbidden Door. The match is apparently not official so MJF….has nothing to say.

Mark Briscoe and friends are ready for revenge and redemption….but Jack Perry walks by to annoy them. For tonight though, it’s an all-star tag match. Then Orange Cassidy gives Renee Paquette a bracelet.

Here are Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland for a face to face chat. Ospreay brags about his success and calls himself the best in the world, but Swerve says that’s him. They’ve taken different career paths but here they are, coming to Forbidden Door at the same time. Swerve asks if Don Callis is going to be helping Ospreay try (yes try) to win the World Title. Ospreay says he can do this by himself and lists off his wins. Ospreay: “Bruv, while you had a hit row, I had a hit list.”

What if that kill shot from Swerve is just a bit off? It doesn’t matter what Ospreay does to Swerve, because Swerve is going to wake up without that World Title. Swerve says Ospreay can thank him for his firs pay per view main event but what if Swerve breaks Ospreay’s leg? If Ospreay can’t wrestle, who is he? Swerve doesn’t think Ospreay is ready to sacrifice the love of his wife or his son, with the mention of the latter making Ospreay much more serious.

Prince Nana has to break it up, but Swerve asks what if he does make it personal. Send his regards to Ospreay’s wife and son, which has the two of them going face to face but it doesn’t get physical. This was a heck of a segment, with both of them bringing the intensity and Swerve selling the stakes of the match, both with and without the title.

Don Callis tells the Family that it’s all going to be fine.

Mark Briscoe/Kyle O’Reilly/Orange Cassidy/Dante Martin vs. Kyle Fletcher/Roderick Strong/Zack Sabre Jr./Konosuke Takeshita

It’s a brawl to start with Cassidy and Sabre being left in the ring. That’s broken up so Fletcher sends Briscoe outside for a suicide dive. O’Reilly grabs a kneebar on Strong in the ropes, with Sabre putting Cassidy in an octopus next to them. Briscoe nails the step up flip dive onto Fletcher, with Martin adding a springboard flip dive as we take a break.

Back with a tag match breaking out and Sabre flipping Cassidy into a sunset flip for two. Takeshita comes in and drops Cassidy but he gets over to O’Reilly rather easily. Strong drops O’Reilly, who gets back up and slugs his way to freedom. Martin comes in but gets caught with a heck of a powerbomb, with Briscoe making the save.

We take another break and come back with Briscoe coming back in to clean house. Takeshita gets put down and it’s the Froggy Bow into a frog splash into Cassidy’s falling top rope elbow for two with Sabre making the save. Red Neck Kung Fu takes Sabre down but we hit the parade of knockdowns. Martin hits a pair of dives and Briscoe adds the apron Blockbuster to Takeshita. Sabre’s European Clutch gets two on Cassidy but O’Reilly shoves him out of the way to take Strong’s running knee. The Orange Punch finishes Strong at 16:44.

Rating: B+. This is one of the places where AEW tends to shine as it was a bunch of insanity with everyone going nuts and getting in their stuff. The Cassidy vs. Sabre stuff helps build towards their Forbidden Door match while last week had already seemingly set up Briscoe vs. Fletcher. That should be enough but maybe we get another match or two out of here in some combination.

Post match Jack Perry comes in to deck Martin, leaving Cassidy and Sabre to stare each other down.

Mercedes Mone is ready for Stephanie Vaquer.

Don Callis comes in to see Rush.

Young Bucks vs. Acclaimed

Non-title, Billy Gunn isn’t here and Caster’s rap is cut off again, with Kazuchika Okada being shown turning off the microphone. It’s a brawl before the bell, with Matt being caught in a neckbreaker/backbreaker combination. Scissor Me Timbers hits Nick so it’s off to Matt, who walks into a hiptoss. The Bucks take over on Caster though and we take an early break.

Back with Bowens hitting the jumping Fameasser on Matt but his bad leg gives out again. A superkick gives Matt two and the Swanton in the ropes gets the same. Caster is knocked outside but Bowens blocks the EVP Trigger. Stereo superkicks get two with Caster making the save. The EVP Trigger connects but Caster breaks it up again. A powerbomb/Sliced Bread combination gets two on Bowens and the Bucks are stunned. Nick brings in the belt but hits Matt by mistake, setting up the Arrival into the Mic Drop for the pin at 10:17.

Rating: C+. It’s nice to see the Bucks giving a team a win, even if there is a grand total of zero chance the Acclaimed win the titles whenever they get their shot. Bowens kicking out of the powerbomb combination was good, but this felt more like the Acclaimed won when the Bucks screwed up rather than beating them. That doesn’t exactly make me want to see a rematch, but the Bucks are the stars so they’re going to be the focus no matter what anyway.

Samoa Joe and Hook talk about….calzones, before storming the Premiere Athletes’ locker room. They find a note with a challenge for a six man, with Katsuyori Shibata, holding the camera, being in as well.

Here is Mariah May to emcee the contract signing between Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa. After extensive cheek kissing, May says she loves them both but Shirakawa tells her to shut up. Shirakawa says Storm was a big deal in Stardom but she is weak as champion. The fans want Shirakawa, so she’s taking the title and May at Forbidden Door. Shirakawa signs but Storm threatens to slap her chest off if she talks to May again.

Storm signs but Shirakawa says May must choose. Cue the Outcasts to say enough of this, with Anna Jay sneaking in from behind. The beatdown is on but Storm takes her shoe off to clean house. Storm’s hip attack misses though and she goes through the table. I’m not sure I get the backstory, but I get enough of the story of Storm vs. Shirakawa and that’s more than I get for most of the Forbidden Door card.

Video on Claudio Castagnoli vs. Pac.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Kris Statlander vs. Nyla Rose

Stokely Hathaway is here with Statlander, who slugs away to no avail to start. Rose is back up with a crossbody but Statlander sends her outside as we take a break. Back with Rose powering her into the corner and hitting a running clothesline, setting up the Cannonball. The Beast Bomb is countered and Statlander kicks her in the head for two. The 450 misses for Statlander but she crotches Rose up top. Wednesday Night Fever finishes for Statlander at 7:52.

Rating: C+. This was a good enough power match, assuming you could get much out of a match that runs about eight minutes and has a break in the middle. We very well could be heading for a Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale showdown, which has been set up for a few weeks now. It also shows how much it helps when you have a monster like Rose, as beating her makes Statlander look that much more important.

Post match Stokely calls out Willow Nightingale, who pops up on screen to say she’ll see Statlander in the second round.

We look at Private Party beating up the Learning Tree last week.

Private Party is ready for their upcoming match but the Learning Tree comes in, with Chris Jericho warning them to avoid the piledriver. “That doesn’t work for me brother!” More of the usual from Jericho.

Daniel Garcia vs. Rhett Titus

Titus starts fast but gets dropkicked into the corner. Some neckbreakers set up the Red Cross for the pin at 1:00.

Post match the Cage of Agony runs in to beat down Garcia and Matt Menard (who was on commentary). MJF makes the save but gets beaten down, so Will Ospreay makes the real save. The Ospreay vs. MJF staredown gets the fans’ attention.

Post break, Brian Cage and Will Ospreay yell at each other and a match is made for Collision.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Pac vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Bryan Danielson is on commentary. Pac starts fast and knocks him to the floor, only to charge into one heck of a Swiss Death as we take a break. Back with Pac slugging away and avoiding a charge to send Castagnoli into the post. Pac snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor and an Asai moonsault drops Castagnoli again. A springboard elbow hits Castagnoli again and it’s time to slug it out.

Pac’s German suplex just wakes Castagnoli up again so Pac kicks him down, only to miss the Black Arrow. Castagnoli’s uppercut gets two so he sends Pac swinging. The Riccola Bomb is loaded up but Pac reverses into the Brutalizer, which is reversed into the Sharpshooter. With that almost broken up, Castagnoli switches into a crossface, which is escaped as well. They trade rollups for two each until Pac manages to keep him down for the pin at 11:07. Danielson is impressed.

Rating: B. It’s nice to see Pac getting a win here and beating Castagnoli is quite the mountain to conquer. Pac is still an impressive star and it’s nice to have him around for a slightly extended period of time for a change. If nothing else, we could be seeing Danielson vs. Pac later in the tournament and that could be a rather good one.

Post match Castagnoli won’t shake hands, with Danielson trying to calm him down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. As usual, you get a better AEW show when they are mainly focused on the in-ring action rather than anything else. The Young Bucks didn’t get to talk and Chris Jericho only had a quick backstage segment so things were a bit better than usual. At the same time, you had the Forbidden Door build, which was as rapid fire as usual, but there are enough good things on there to make it work. Rather strong show this week.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Rush – Brainbuster
Mark Briscoe/Kyle O’Reilly/Orange Cassidy/Dante Martin b. Kyle Fletcher/Roderick Strong/Zack Sabre Jr./Kazuchika Okada – Orange Punch to Strong
Acclaimed b. Young Bucks – Mic Drop to Matt
Kris Statlander b. Nyla Rose – Wednesday Night Fever
Daniel Garcia b. Rhett Titus – Red Cross
Pac b. Claudio Castagnoli – Rollup

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

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Dynamite
Date: June 12, 2024
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We have less than three weeks to go before Forbidden Door and last week saw some more of the card coming together. In addition to all of that though, Will Ospreay is the #1 contender and will be challenging Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Title. On the New Japan front, Jon Moxley will be defending the IWGP Title against former champion Tetsuya Naito. We have 18 days to get to those matches though so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here is Swerve Strickland, with Prince Nana, for an opening chat. He hypes up the Forbidden Door title match against Will Ospreay and praises Ospreay’s recent successes. Ospreay has been an assassin, but that won’t be the case at Forbidden Door. Strickland is called Killshot because if you don’t pull the trigger, he will. Ospreay is a fighting champion, unlike the Young Bucks….which brings out the Elite to interrupt.

The Bucks brag about how they have cleared out half the roster and that means they want the best of AEW to Blood & Guts at some point in the future. The Elite gets in the ring and offer Swerve a spot on the team as the fifth man. They throw in an offer of their new shoes, but they aren’t Swerve’s size so he throws them into the crowd. The fight is teased but the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn run in for the save. Christopher Daniels pops in to say get out of the ring because we have a match to get going. I’m not sure when Blood & Guts is happening but it very well might be the big blowoff to the whole Elite thing.

TNT Title Qualifying Match: Dustin Rhodes vs. Jack Perry

Perry is in street clothes and they brawl out to the floor to start, with Perry sending him into the steps. A piledriver onto the exposed concrete is countered into a backdrop to put Perry down and we take a break. Back with Rhodes busted open and Perry choking on the rope. Perry takes too long though and gets caught in a snap powerslam for a breather.

They slug it out until Rhodes snaps off a bulldog and hammers away as well. Cross Rhodes is broken up so we get an old Flip Flop And Fly. Now Cross Rhodes can connect for two but Perry sends him into an exposed buckle (apparently the pad was pulled off earlier). Dustin gets dropped onto the exposed concrete but beats the count. Back in and Perry gets in a low blow, only for Dustin to flip him off. The running knee finishes for Perry at 10:06.

Rating: C+. I still do not get the Perry hype and this didn’t change that stance. The match was full of things like low blows and cheap shots and it didn’t make me care about Perry any more or less. He’s still just a guy in the ring whose best attribute seems to be the friends he keeps and that’s not exactly making him feel like a star. Odds are he wins the TNT Title, though maybe sanity will prevail instead.

We look at Kyle O’Reilly and Willow Nightingale saving Orange Cassidy on Collision.

Cassidy is happy to have O’Reilly, Nightingale and Mark Briscoe behind him. Briscoe calls them a conglomeration and goes into a crazed rant about how they are going to hurt the Don Callis Family (O’Reilly’s jaw dropping in awe makes it even better). That was some amazing stuff from Briscoe, who just turned up the insanity and went nuts on his opponents.

Rush vs. Deonn Rusman

Rush knocks him to the floor, beats him up, and hits the Bull’s Horns for the pin at 1:29.

Post match Rush grabs the mic and calls Rusman a typical weak American. Cue MJF and the brawl is on, with MJF and Rush stopping to beat up security. The fight heads into the crowd and then into the back, with Christopher Daniels failing to break it up. The locker room and agents break it up.

We look at Samoa Joe and Hook attacking the Premiere Athletes on Collision.

Mark Briscoe/Orange Cassidy/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Roderick Strong/Kyle Fletcher/Konosuke Takeshita

Don Callis is on commentary and Trent Beretta and the Kingdom are here with the villains. Strong wants to face O’Reilly to start before handing it off to Fletcher instead. Briscoe comes in and strikes away at Takeshita and it’s off to O’Reilly as the rapid fire tags continue. Everything breaks down and Fletcher hits a big dive, followed by one from Cassidy. Trent offers a distraction though and Takeshita drops Cassidy as we take a break.

Back with O’Reilly getting the tag and starting to clean house. Everything breaks down and Red Neck Kung Fu clears the ring. Cassidy’s top rope DDT gets two on Fletcher but Takeshita counters the Jay Driller into a Blue Thunder Bomb. Stundog Millionaire hits Fletcher but Strong distracts Cassidy on top. Fletcher gets dropped with a brainbuster and Briscoe adds the Froggy Bow for two. A cheap shot drops Briscoe and Fletcher hits the piledriver for the pin at 13:05.

Rating: B. They didn’t even try to have a normal tag match here and they shouldn’t have. This was all about getting in as much as they could and it was a blast once they just went full speed ahead. I’m not wild on the Ring Of Honor World Title being made to look less important, but that whole thing has been a wash for a long time now. Really fast paced, entertaining match here.

Post match the villains keep up the beatdown so Willow Nightingale tries to make the save. Kris Statlander cuts that off though and Stokely Hathaway threatens more violence.

Rey Fenix is ready for Will Ospreay.

Shingo Takagi is in the Owen Hart Cup.

Christopher Daniels says Tony Khan is putting the Elite in Eliminator Matches next week, with all seconds barred from ringside.

Hook/Samoa Joe vs. Premiere Athletes

Hook and Joe jump them during their entrance and Katsuyori Shibata is a cameraman. We start with Joe hammering away on Nese before it’s off to Hook, who gets stomped down in the corner. Hook sidesteps Daivari’s dive (Joe approves) and stereo chokes finish the Athletes at 2:30. Now can we please stop presenting the Athletes as a big deal on ROH? Of course not, but this isn’t going to make me care about them any more.

Stephanie Vaquer is ready to face one of the best in Mercedes Mone.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Zeuxis

Zeuxis (Vaquer’s regular partner) is challenging and sends her into the ropes to start. That doesn’t get her very far as Mone gets in her dancing before taking Zeuxis down for two. A spinning kick staggers Mone but she takes the legs out, only for Zeuxis to pop back up. The running dropkick puts Mone on the floor as we take an early break.

Back with Zeuxis hitting a fireman’s carry into a powerbomb for two. Mone’s middle rope sunset flip is countered into a stomp to the ribs for two more. Back up and Mone hits a middle rope Meteora for two of her own. Three Amigos are countered into a Backstabber for two on Mone but she’s right back with the Mone Maker for the pin at 10:07.

Rating: C+. This is a good example of why Forbidden Door season is a problem. We barely know who Stephanie Vaquer is and now we’re supposed to be interested in Mone wrestling Vaquer’s partner. These stories tend to go at about a million miles an hour (as they don’t have time to do anything else) and if you aren’t familiar with the guest stars, it can be really hard to get into these matches. Zeuxis was good enough, but I’m having a real hard time getting into this Mone vs. Vaquer match and this didn’t help things.

Video on Mina Shirakawa and her friendship with Mariah May.

May, cuddled up to Toni Storm, promises to run next week’s contract signing, though Storm isn’t worried.

Big Bill introduces Chris Jericho for TV Time (and yes there is now a Learning Tree set). Jericho tells the local farmers how to grow better corn but thinks Private Party needs to learn. Cue Private Party, with Jericho not thinking much of their fundamentals. He learned from Stu Hart and explains how to go up top like Owen Hart. Then Private Party beats up the villains and clear the ring. Well at least this should be the lone Jericho segment this week.

Video on Jon Moxley vs. Tetsuya Naito at Forbidden Door.

The Bang Bang Gang isn’t impressed by the House Of Black so the challenge is issued for Collision.

Daniel Garcia vs. Nick Comoroto

Jacoby Watts is here with Comoroto (for those of you who don’t watch ROH). With MJF watching in the back, Garcia grabs a guillotine and hits the Red Cross for the win at 1:10.

Will Ospreay is ready for tonight and Forbidden Door.

A ticked off Pac enters the Owen Hart Cup.

International Title: Will Ospreay vs. Rey Fenix

Ospreay is defending and Swerve Strickland is watching in the crowd. They trade missed kicks to the head to start and it’s an early standoff. A pop up hurricanrana sends Ospreay outside and a frog splash gives Fenix two. We take a break and come back with Fenix grabbing a quickly broken Black Widow.

As we’re told that Blood and Guts is on July 24 in Nashville, Ospreay flips out of a super hurricanrana to stick the landing. They trade kicks until Ospreay’s spinning Air Raid Crash gets two, sending us to another break. Back again with Ospreay getting the better of a strike off until Fenix grabs another Black Widow.

A crucifix bomb gives Fenix two and a German suplex gets the same. The Oscutter gives Ospreay two but the Hidden Blade is countered with a jumping hurricanrana. Fenix’s flip is forearmed out of the air and Ospreay (with a stare) hits his own Swerve Stomp. The Hidden Blade retains the title at 15:11.

Rating: B. I don’t think there was any doubt to this one but it was a way to give Ospreay another big win on the way to Forbidden Door. Fenix is someone who can wrestle an exciting match with anyone and of course Ospreay can do that kind of thing rather well too. It was a big spot fest and that’s what it should have been, with the pretty obvious result not being a problem.

Post match Strickland gets in the ring and won’t shake hands. Strickland accuses Ospreay of thinking this is still a game and says he isn’t strong enough to hold this on his shoulders. Ospreay takes the title and puts it on his shoulder so Swerve takes it back. Swerve says he’d kill Ospreay if they weren’t friends and leaves, with Ospreay pointing at the Forbidden Door sign (oh dear) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a show where the wrestling carried it, though they did build up more than a few things for Forbidden Door. While I am having a really hard time caring about what happens there as almost nothing has my attention, they did a nice enough job of making what they have feel more important. I can go with a show that has a goal and makes a good effort to accomplish it, even if it’s not my style. Nice show this week.

Results
Jack Perry b. Dustin Rhodes – Running knee
Rush b. Deonn Rusman – Bull’s Horns
Roderick Strong/Kyle Fletcher/Konosuke Takeshita b. Mark Briscoe/Orange Cassidy/Kyle O’Reilly – Piledriver to Briscoe
Samoa Joe/Hook b. Premiere Athletes – Redrum to Daivari
Mercedes Mone b. Zeuxis – Mone Maker
Daniel Garcia b. Nick Comoroto – Red Cross
Will Ospreay b. Rey Fenix – Hidden Blade

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: May 30, 2024
Location: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

The slow road to Death Before Dishonor continues with about two months left before the show. That isn’t likely to mean much this far out but we might be able to start seeing some inklings of the card. Athena seems ready to defend her Women’s Title against Queen Aminata but that might be a long wait for the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Athena vs. Vita Van

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning that if Van can win or survive the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. Athena backs her into the corner to start and sweeps the leg for an early two. Van grabs an armbar but Athena takes it to the floor and hits a hard powerbomb. Back in and a low superkick lets Athena pose a bit and she throws in a few slaps for a bonus. Van fights up and shoves her to the floor, with Athena coming back in favoring her foot/ankle. A big right hand ends Van at 3:50, the only thing Athena did when she got back in.

Rating: C. This didn’t have a ton of time and the ending is not exactly encouraging. They went home very quickly as soon as Athena seemed to be hurt, though it’s hard to imagine this was going to go much longer. What matters now is getting Athena back in the ring, and thankfully it wouldn’t be a stretch to have her sit out for a bit before her next title defense.

Kingdom vs. Jacoby Watts/Nick Comoroto

Another Proving Ground match. The Kingdom jumps Comoroto to start and superkick him into the corner without much trouble. Comoroto headbutts his way to freedom, only to walk into a dropkick for his efforts. Skinning the cat gives Comoroto a nice reception but Bennett forearms him into the corner. A double clothesline drops the champs though and Comoroto snaps off some slams. Instead of tagging though, Comoroto talks to Watts and walks into a Death Valley Driver into Just The Tip to give Taven the pin at 3:21. Watts never got in the match (or took off his cowboy hat).

Rating: C+. So I’m guessing Watts is going to exploit Comoroto and have him do everything, though that is only going to make so much sense if they lose a bunch. Comoroto looked like a monster out there with his visuals being great, but he needs a bit more than that. I’m not sure if Watts is that thing, but at least they’re trying.

Watts circles around the ring and then yells at Comoroto, asking if he wants to feel like a loser.

Serpentico vs. Brady Roberts

Serpentico strikes away to start and gets two off an early superkick. Roberts actually gets in a takedown and hits a neckbreaker for two as commentary talks about Roberts’ appearances on various TV shows. A front facelock keeps Serpentico down but he’s back up for a running chop in the corner. Serpentico hits a superkick and a reverse Sling Blade, setting up a Swanton. La majistral finishes Roberts at 4:27.

Rating: C. Serpentico is definitely a crowd favorite and he’s completely passable in the ring, but that doesn’t make him the most thrilling watch. I can go for the idea of giving him a quick win on his own, as if nothing else it gets him away from the Griff Garrison/Cole Karter stuff. They kept it short too so there isn’t much bad to be seen here.

Marina Shafir demands to be asked why she is the problem. That would be because she says so, and what happens when you don’t take care of a problem? It gets worse. This was certainly someone talking.

Red Velvet vs. Kel

Kel, who towers over Velvet, mocks not being able to see her and gets kicked in the shin so aww here it goes. Velvet runs her over with a running forearm and the Final Slice finishes Kel in a hurry at 1:48. Needed more Kenan.

Post match Athena’s music plays for a distraction as Billie Starkz runs in to jump Velvet and lay her out.

Zak Knight vs. Sebastian Wolfe

Knight is now very stereotypically British and takes a long time to disrobe. He punches Wolfe down at the bell and Knight is NOT pleased with Wolfe daring to try and chop away. A slightly delayed suplex gives Knight two and a lariat gets the same, with Knight pulling him up both times. The running right hand finishes for Knight at 1:48. As usual, Knight’s intensity carries him far enough.

Lee Johnson vs. Aaron Solo vs. Action Andretti

Solo gives some rather enthusiastic handshakes to start but gets sent outside to start. Andretti and Johnson trade some rollups for two each, with Johnson being sent outside as well. Solo is back in to break up Andretti’s dive and the stomping in the corner is on. Johnson comes back in and gets kicked in the head, leaving Solo’s top rope double stomp to get two on Andretti.

This time it’s Solo being sent outside for a dive from Johnson, who is taken out by a dive from Andretti in a rather quick turnaround. Back in and Andretti hits a double handspring elbow before firing off kicks to the chests. Johnson slips out of the torture rack neckbreaker but the Big Shot Drop is escaped as well. Andretti kicks Johnson down for the split legged moonsault but Solo is there to steal the near fall. Solo drops Andretti again but gets caught in the Big Shot Drop to give Johnson the pin at 6:38.

Rating: B-. Match of the night by far to this point as you had three people out there going nuts for a bit. This could have gone on longer to a greater effect but I’ll take what I can get. Johnson continues to seem like someone who could become a bigger deal if given the chance and if ROH would ever actually pull the trigger on him, we could see how far he could go.

Premiere Athletes vs. Bollywood Boyz

The Boyz are the hometown favorites and come out in Vancouver Canucks jerseys. The Athletes break up the dancing before the match (culture haters) and the beating is on fast. Harv is sent outside to start and Gurv gets slammed down, only for Harv to come back in for the save. The Athletes are sent outside and the Boyz get to pose but the dancing is broken up AGAIN.

Nese comes in to help Daivari hammer Harv down in the corner, setting up a hard running elbow for two. Harv fights out of the corner without much trouble though and it’s Gurv coming in to clean house. Everything breaks down and NOW THEY DANCE! Nese gets in a cheap shot though and the pumphandle driver finishes Gurv at 6:52.

Rating: C+. I’m not bit on the Boyz most of the time but they were absolute heroes here and the fans were all over everything they were doing. I can get why they didn’t win as the Athletes are presented as big deals, but dang the reaction to the Boyz was fun. For now though, I can settle for a one off cool match.

Post match the Athletes beat the Boyz down until the Infantry makes the save.

Video on Dalton Castle vs. Kyle Fletcher for the TV Title next week.

Workhorsemen vs. Top Flight

Henry and Darius fight over arm control to start until Darius gets two each off some rollups. Drake comes in to win the chop off but it’s quickly off to Dante for an anklescissors. Everything breaks down and they head outside, where Drake sends him into the ropes for the big right hand.

Back in and a Codebreaker/double stomp combination has Dante in trouble but he fights out of the chinlock rather quickly. It’s back to Dante as everything breaks down again, this time with Drake hitting a Sick Kick for two. Darius is back in for a double DDT and the hot tag brings in Dante to clean house. Drake gets taken out with a dive and a high crossbody gets two on Henry. Dante’s swinging half nelson slam is enough to pin Henry at 7:41.

Rating: C+. Good, fast paced main event here with the power of Drake and speed of Henry working well enough against a fast paced team like Top Flight. As tends to be the case though, it’s hard to get excited over Top Flight when they never win anything important. It’s just another meaningless win over a team that it feels like they have beaten more than once.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked the show well enough as it moved by quickly, but it suffered from the normal problem of not having in the way of importance. We at least get a big time title match next week (the first time an ROH title has been on the line in over a month). This warmed things up well enough, but don’t go into it expecting it to mean much.

Results
Athena b. Viva Van – Right hand
Kingdom b. Jacoby Watts/Nick Comoroto – Just The Tip to Comoroto
Serpentico b. Brady Roberts – La majistral
Red Velvet b. Kel – Final Slice
Zak Knight b. Sebastian Wolfe – Running right hand
Lee Johnson b. Aaron Solo and Action Andretti – Big Shot Drop to Solo
Premiere Athletes b. Bollywood Boyz – Pumphandle driver to Gurv
Top Flight b. Workhorsemen – Spinning half nelson slam to Henry

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: May 23, 2024
Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are about two months away from Death Before Dishonor and that means we are still too far away to really start setting things up. I’m not sure what that is going to mean for a bit, though it would be nice to have something of an interesting program going on around here. Ring Of Honor is capable of pulling that off but just doesn’t for some reason. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

JD Drake is ready to fight on his own but Anthony Henry comes in to say the Workhorsemen are back.

Here’s what’s coming on the show.

Kyle Fletcher vs. London Lightning

Non-title Proving Ground match meaning if Lightning wins or survives the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Fletcher takes him down with a headlock to start but Lightning slips out and hits a running crossbody. They head outside with Fletcher hitting a brainbuster but Lightning beats the count back in. Lightning strikes away until Fletcher runs him over to cut it off. Fletcher snaps off three slams but Lightning fights up and hits an atomic drop.

A suplex drops Fletcher and a middle rope elbow gets two. Back up and Fletcher knocks him to the floor, setting up a suicide dive. Another brainbuster gets two back inside but Lightning fights up AGAIN and gets two off a hurricanrana. A spinebuster plants Fletcher and Lightning grabs a Sharpshooter. That’s escaped with a rollup so Fletcher hits a superkick into the piledriver for the pin at 9:09.

Rating: C. Ring Of Honor/AEW is mad at Fletcher right? He regularly loses on AEW TV and then has to escape a match like this one. It’s ok to let a champion act like a dominant force every so often, but for some reason that doesn’t seem to apply to Fletcher these days. And also: a brainbuster on the floor should not be something that just happens in the middle of the match. That should have been a countout or a pin, and no I do not care that it happens that way on a regular basis. It’s stupid when that is just another move and it was awful here.

Workhorsemen vs. Spanish Announce Project

Angelico and Drake start things off with Angelico failing to sweep the leg. Henry comes in to trade wrist control with Serpentico before an exchange of headscissors gives us a standoff (and a VERY intrigued crowd). Drake comes back in and dances a bit before hitting a hard chop to Serpentico in the corner.

Serpentico manages a tornado DDT and kicks Henry away, allowing the hot tag to Angelico. Everything breaks down and a dive takes out Drake, leaving Henry to get planted with a lifting Downward Spiral. Cue Griff Garrison and Cole Karter for a distraction, allowing the Workhorsemen to hit a Downward Spiral/enziguri combination to finish Serpentico at 7:44.

Rating: C. The Workhorsemen are back and that’s about all of the interest I can muster about them. They’re a fine team who aren’t going anywhere but will be around more weeks than not. At the same time we have the Project still dealing with Garrison and Karter because that feud must continue for months on end.

Post match Garrison and Kole jump the Project but Serpentico fights back and the villains are dispatched.

Matt Menard is ready for Mike Bennett, even if Angelo Parker isn’t here.

Nyla Rose vs. Riea Van Slasher

Van Slasher has some size to go with her awesome name. She stomps on Rose’s foot to start but gets run over with a hard shoulder. A neckbreaker and the Beast Bomb finish for Rose at 1:32.

Video on Marina Shafir

Satnam Singh vs. Jimmy Jacobs

Singh hits a crossbody for one and a chokeslam for the pin at 46 seconds.

Blake Christian is in the Best Of The Super Juniors.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Artemis Spencer/Jon Cruz

Spencer’s wristlock to Ogogo gets nowhere so it’s already off to Cruz. For some reason Cruz wants Taylor, who drops him with a single left hand. The big right hand and the Marcus Garvey Driver finish Cruz at 1:56.

Mike Bennett vs. Matt Menard

Matt Taven is here with Bennett. Menard, with his taped up ribs, wastes no time in backdropping his way out of a piledriver attempt. Bennett grabs a headlock takeover instead but they head outside where Menard hammers away. Menard sends him shoulder first into the steps, only to be whipped into them as well to put him in trouble. Back in and Bennett hits a nice dropkick and we hit the chinlock.

That’s broken up and they trade rollups until Bennett grabs a Kimura. Menard reaches the rope for the break and blocks the piledriver three more times. The third sees Bennett backdropped out to the floor, with Taven offering some advice. Back in and Menard hammers away before grabbing the Boston crab. Taven’s distraction breaks things up though and Bennett hits a Death Valley Driver. The referee gets distracted so Taven tries powder but hits Bennett by mistake. Menard cutters them both and pins Bennett at 10:35.

Rating: C+. This right here is what I’m wanting more from on this show: a match that felt like it actually mattered. Menard mentioned that a win here might put he and Angelo Parker that much closer to a Tag Team Title match, making it feel somewhat important. It’s an actual story that could go somewhere and that is very needed around here.

Post match the Kingdom jumps Menard and beats him down.

Athena and the Minions are ready for Queen Aminata and Red Velvet.

Griff Garrison/Cole Karter/Premiere Athletes vs. Lee Johnson/Top Flight/Action Andretti

Darius backslides Daivari for two to start but an armbar is driven into the evil corner. That doesn’t last long and it’s off to Andretti, who headscissors Nese into a dropkick. Andretti slips out of Karter’s suplex and hands it off to Johnson to clear the ring. Johnson gets caught in the wrong corner as well, with Daivari grabbing a backbreaker into a chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry and Johnson wins a slugout, setting up an enziguri.

Nese breaks up the tag attempt but gets caught in a Blue Thunder Bomb, allowing the diving tag to Dante (wrestling in a shirt for some reason). Everything breaks down and the villains are sent outside, where they are taken down by four way stereo dives. Andretti tries a springboard back inside but gets knocked down, leaving Garrison to break up Dante’s Nose Dive. A chair is loaded up in the corner but cue Serpentico to take it away for a distraction. Dante’s spinning half nelson slam finishes Garrison at 11:27.

Rating: B-. And here’s your latest multi team match with a bunch of people flying around until one of them got the pin. They tied the ending into a feud, but unfortunately it’s a feud that stopped being interesting months ago but is still going week after week. It’s nice to see Top Flight and Andretti getting a pin, but I have long since stopped believing that they are going to mean anything after seeing them fail in big matches far too often.

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling was ok enough, but at the same time, this show could not feel more worthless if they tried. Throughout this show, a total of two feuds feud got any significant development and one of them is the Spanish Announce Project vs. Garrison/Karter feud. This show keeps coming and going with almost nothing whatsoever that feels important.

Case in point: assuming the there isn’t a last minute title match on either Collision or at Double Or Nothing, none of the Ring Of Honor Title will have been defended in a month, with most of them closing in on two months. We get Proving Ground matches, which have had one successful win in the show’s history, but other than that it’s nothing more than talking about title matches that come around once every few months. That makes for an incredibly tedious show as you’ll spend months waiting around for anything that feels important.

I’ve gone on a similar rant to this several times now but it just keeps happening. What happened on this show? Fletcher won his third straight Proving Ground match over a very low level opponent, the tag feud continued, Rose, Singh and STP won squashes, Menard and Parker (who isn’t here) might be on their way to a title shot and the main event saw the second segment in the same tag feud (which has been going for five plus months now). That is pretty much nothing and that is pretty much what it feels like around here WAY too often. Fix this stupid show already.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. London Lightning – Piledriver
Workhorsemen b. Spanish Announce Project – Downward Spiral/enziguri combination to Serpentico
Nyla Rose b. Riea Van Slasher – Beast Bomb
Satnam Singh b. Jimmy Jacobs – Chokeslam
Shane Taylor Promotions b. Artemis Spencer/Jon Cruz – Marcus Garvey Driver to Cruz
Matt Menard b. Mike Bennett – Cutter
Lee Johnson/Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Griff Garrison/Cole Karter/Premiere Athletes – Spinning half nelson slam to Garrison

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Ring Of Honor
Date: May 16, 2024
Location: Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re up in Canada this week and that means we could be in for something…well as interesting as it gets around here. With more than two months from Death Before Dishonor, it could be a long time before we get to anything important with this show. Maybe we could get some decent action out of it though so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s what’s coming on this show.

Kyle Fletcher vs. Mentallo

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning that if Mentallo wins or lasts the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Fletcher jumps him to start and fires off the chops in the corner. Some stomps set up a delayed suplex but Mentallo is back with a running dropkick to the knee. Fletcher is sent outside for a moonsault, setting up a top rope Fameasser for two back inside. The palm strike in the corner is cut off with a boot to the face and Fletcher hits a brainbuster for two. They trade kicks to the face until Fletcher grabs the piledriver for the pin at 5:56.

Rating: C+. So Fletcher loses over and over on Dynamite to bigger names, then needs to work to beat someone who means nothing around here. I’m not sure why he couldn’t have a dominant win here, but he could use a few of them after a not so great stretch of results. There’s nothing wrong with moving Fletcher up the ladder, but maybe not have your champion take so many losses?

Satnam Singh/Jay Lethal vs. Dark Order

Oh yeah Lethal and company are a thing. Lethal and Uno slug it out to start and neither can get very far. Therefore we’ll go to Singh vs. Silver, the latter of whom barely comes up to his chest. Silver puts his hand up for a test of strength, with said hand only reaching Singh’s shoulder. Singh drops him with a single shot and hands it off to Lethal for a running crotch attack against the ropes into a Fargo strut. Uno knocks Lethal off the top and Silver tries to choke Singh, who chokeslams Uno anyway. Lethal actually has to make the save, setting up the Lethal Injection to finish Uno at 4:46.

Rating: C. As weird as it is to see Singh in ROH (or in a match at this point), it was nice to have something resembling star power around here. Lethal isn’t a top name in AEW, but he’s someone who has nothing else going on so putting him out there for about five minutes in ROH is a good idea. While it wasn’t a particularly good match, I’ll take a match between some midcard names over another squash.

Jacked Jameson and the Iron Savages are tired of being stepping stones and are ready to become road blocks. Shouldn’t they want to be something other than something that stands still?

Anna Jay vs. Tara Zep

Zep powers her into the corner to start but Jay is back with a suplex for a quick two. Jay chokes away on the ropes and hits a Gory Bomb, only to pull Zep up. The Queenslayer finishes Zep at 2:09.

Skye Blue vs. Rachael Ellering

Blue grabs a headlock to start but gets powered away without much trouble. Ellering hits a hard shoulder into a gutwrench suplex but the running backsplash hits raised knees. A handspring elbow is cut off by an Ellering clothesline and a running elbow puts Blue down again. Ellering’s scoop brainbuster gets two and now the backsplash can connect. They trade rollups for two each and Ellering hits a pop up powerbomb for two more. Blue is back up with a quick Code Blue for the pin at 6:32.

Rating: C+. The action was fine but this was the match that became infamous last week due to the horrible person (he’s not a fan) at ringside. Whatever he said was edited out here as he wasn’t noticeable at all, though there were a few odd camera cuts in places. I’d be curious to see how much of the match was trimmed, but the less he has to be heard, the better.

Angelico and Serpentico say they’ve been in a nightmare for months and can’t wake up. They’ve had to deal with Griff Garrison/Cole Karter/Maria Kanellis and it’s about to get uglier. Does it have to? It can’t just be over instead?

Action Andretti/Darius Martin vs. Levi Knight/Jon Cruz

Knight is rather retro and gets kicked in the ribs by Darius to start. Cruz comes in and takes his jacket off but trips on the ropes, with Andretti not being overly impressed. Knight comes back in and gets elbowed out to the floor in a hurry. With commentary making as many Knight/Night music puns as they can manage, Knight gets in a quick shot to take over on Darius.

A backbreaker gives Knight two and Cruz hammers away as well, with Andretti having to make a save. Cruz grabs the chinlock with a knee in the back but Darius hits a Pele Kick out of the corner. That’s enough for Andretti to come back in as everything breaks down. Andretti hits a slingshot dive to the floor and a double superkick drops Knight. Cruz is sent to the floor and a double swinging slam finishes Knight at 7:44.

Rating: C+. This was a fun match with the kind of regular team beating a makeshift team. Knight got your attention by looking a bit odd and sometimes that’s enough to get you through something like this. Any combination of Andretti/Top Flight works, though they need to win something of value at some point.

Kingdom vs. London Lightning/Jason Geiger

Another non-title Proving Ground match and the spotlights during the Kingdom’s entrance show off a lot of fans cosplaying as empty seats. Lightning and Bennett start things off with Lightning moving around rather quickly. Taven comes in and can’t catch Geiger, who grabs a quick spinebuster with Bennett having to make the save.

Taven chokes in the corner and says that’s how your mom stretches, which is kind of a weird insult. It’s back to Bennett for the Death Valley Driver and Just The Tip gives Taven two. Lightning gets over to Geiger as everything breaks down, with Lightning being sent outside. Rockstar Supernova puts Geiger down for the count at 5:05.

Rating: C. If only the Undisputed Kingdom hadn’t been treated as such losers, the Kingdom could be a rather useful team. They work well together and have a history of success, but for some reason they’re stuck with worthless titles and get beaten by any serious competition. Lightning continues to do well when he’s out there so it’s no surprise that he’s one of the resident Canadian jobbers.

Athena vs. Nicole Matthews

Non-title Proving Ground match and Matthews is something of a mainstay of independent wrestling. The fans certainly seem to know Matthews and that is already helping a bit. They go to the mat to start with Matthews working on a hammerlock. Athena reverses into a gator roll but gets sent outside as she can’t do much with Matthews early on. With nothing else working, Athena trips her down and scores with a big right hand as commentary talks about Matthews’ career history.

A running forearm in the corner rocks Matthews again and Athena even throws in a bit of a dance. Matthews escapes a neck crank and gets a few near falls, followed by some clotheslines. A northern lights suplex gives Matthews two but Athena hits her in the face. Matthews gets baseball slided to the floor and the O Face gives Athena the pin at 7:02.

Rating: C+. The name value of Matthews helped a good bit here, as the fans seemed to remember her and wanted to see her have a chance. While I get not having her go over Athena or even make the time limit, it was nice to see something of a tease. Athena seems likely to be facing Queen Aminata next so giving her a nice win helps, with Matthews being able to give her just enough of a challenge.

Post match Athena puts her in the crossface but Queen Aminata makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Ring Of Honor is in such a weird spot, as this is the kind of show that makes for a perfectly watchable show week to week. The problem is that the champions and the bigger names are treated as such losers on AEW shows that it’s hard to get behind them here. I’d want to see more of these people in action, but seeing them lose all the time on AEW TV brings them right back down. Notice that Athena, who never loses anywhere and is almost never on AEW TV, is the biggest star on this show. That’s not a coincidence, but that isn’t stopping AEW from running most of the ROH names into the ground.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. Mentallo – Piledriver
Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh b. Dark Order – Lethal Injection to Uno
Anna Jay b. Tara Zep – Queenslayer
Skye Blue b. Rachael Ellering – Code Blue
Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Levi Knight/Jon Cruz – Double swinging slam to Knight
Kingdom b. London Lightning/Jason Geiger – Rockstar Supernova to Geiger
Athena b. Nicole Matthews – O Face

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Dynamite
Date: April 24, 2024
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

We are done with Dynasty and the show was quite the event. First and foremost, Swerve Strickland is the new World Champion, defeating Samoa Joe for a heck of a special moment. Other than that, Bryan Danielson and Will Ospreay had a match that was the definition of ok. We’re about a month away from Double Or Nothing so it’s time to get ready for the show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynasty if you need a recap.

The Elite arrives and allow Jack Perry to come in, because he’s with them.

Here is Orange Cassidy for a chat but Trent Beretta jumps him from behind and beats him down in the ring. Trent tells Chuck Taylor to come out here for his decision. Cue Chuck, with Trent talking about how he should have beaten up Cassidy a long time ago. Trent says give the people what they want and loads up the hug but Chuck says he’s always known Trent was a piece of s*** and hits him with the microphone. Chuck can’t get cleared for a match but he wants to fight Trent in the parking lot.

Jon Moxley says he is the IWGP Champion but he isn’t underestimating the monster that he is facing tonight. Powerhouse Hobbs has an instinct and it is only going to take one mistake for Moxley’s world to come crashing down. The Don Callis Family put a hit out on his friend so he knows how far they’re willing to go. He wants the biggest and the baddest and tonight he is reminding the world just how bad he is.

Swerve Strickland vs. Kyle Fletcher

Non-title and Don Callis is on commentary. Swerve grabs a hammerlock to start but Fletcher slips out and they both try kicks to the ribs. Fletcher gets pulled out of the corner and knocked down, allowing Swerve to dance a bit. Back up and Fletcher kicks him out to the floor but Swerve gets in a kick from the apron as we take a break. We come back with Fletcher hitting a Michinoku Driver to put them both down. Swerve knocks him to the apron for the stomp but comes up favoring his ankle.

That’s fine with Fletcher, who grabs a logical ankle lock, complete with a grapevine. Swerve makes the ropes and Fletcher kicks away, only to get caught with a rolling Downward Spiral. A brainbuster gives Swerve two and they fight over a Tombstone attempt, with Fletcher hitting a jumping version for two. Callis tells him to get a table but Fletcher goes with a running boot in the corner instead. Swerve knocks him into the Tree of Woe and hits the Swerve Stomp for two. The House Call finishes Fletcher at 14:41.

Rating: C+. This was a weird choice for Swerve’s first match as champion, as Fletcher got in a lot of offense and even kicked out of the Stomp. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t have Swerve go out and win a five or so minute match instead of this but I guess we have to keep the Don Callis Family strong in losses. At the same time, was there no one but the ROH TV Champion who could take this fall?

Thunder Rosa is happy with her effort at Dynasty and isn’t going to make excuses. Deonna Purrazzo comes in and they get in a shoving match.

We look at Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay.

Mina Shirakawa vs. Anna Jay

Mariah May is here with Shirakawa, who kicks Jay down rather quickly to start. A kick to the face gives Shirakawa two and she dances a bit. Jay gets in a neck snap across the top rope for two and we take a break. Back with Shirakawa kicking her down, only to gt caught in a Gory Bomb for two. The shock delay lets Shirakawa hit a missile dropkick for two but Jay is right back with the Queenslayer. May offers a distraction though and Shirakawa grabs a rollup for the pin at 8:55.

Rating: C. This was a way to get Shirakawa a bit more familiar to the TV audience before what is likely to be some kind of a match at Forbidden Door. She and May have a history in Stardom, which is probably something we’ll hear about in the coming weeks. For now though, pretty run of the mill match as Shirakawa beat her up pretty handily.

Post match May comes in to pose with them but Jay jumps them both. The Queenslayer goes on but Toni Storm makes the save. Cue Serena Deeb to pose with the title and say…something that sounds like a challenge to Storm.

Here are Stokely Hathaway and Kris Statlander to sing (or rhyme) Willow Nightingale’s praises to start her championship celebration. Nightingale comes out and says it wasn’t working with Hathaway to start (Hathaway says she was like a fungus) but here is Mercedes Mone to interrupt. Nightingale doesn’t like Mone interrupting her but Mone says she’ll be the TBS Champion at Double Or Nothing. They argue over who attacked Mone before moving on to Nightingale injuring Mone’s ankle. They aren’t sure if it was intentional or not but Nightingale wants Mone at 100% at Double Or Nothing. Mone slaps Nightingale and leaves.

Jack Perry leaves Tony Khan’s locker room but won’t say if he’s reinstated. Kazuchika Okada and the Young Bucks won’t say either. Matt Jackson says things are uncertain but Khan has agreed to meet with Perry live tonight in the ring.

Double Or Nothing Gauntlet Match

For the International Title shot at Double Or Nothing and commentary doesn’t know how many people are involved. Jay White is in at #1 and Dante Martin is in at #2, but apparently there will be more added and it is the first fall wins. Martin kicks him down for two to start and they head outside, where White fires off the chops. White knocks him down again and it’s Penta El Zero Miedo in at #3.

A high crossbody takes White down and Penta hits a Sling Blade each. We take a break and come back with Kyle O’Reilly coming in at #4 and striking away. White gets his ankle locked and Will Osprey is in at #5 to a heck of a reaction. Ospreay wins a strike off with O’Reilly and then stares White down for a New Japan flashback. White gets knocked down and it’s Lance Archer in at #6.

Archer gets to clean house until O’Reilly grabs a guillotine choke. That’s broken up and Archer sends everyone else to the floor as we take a break. Back with Komander coming in at #7 and hurricanranaing Archer off the apron through some tables (because of course tables). Komander hits a rather spinning DDT for two on Ospreay with White making the save. A Ligerbomb gives Ospreay two on White and the Hidden Blade is loaded up. Jay Lethal is in at #8 and gets to clean house until Osprey does the same.

Ospreay and O’Reilly strike it out as commentary says there could be up to 21 entrants. Ospreay’s running elbow gets two so he loads up the Tiger Driver 91 but can’t bring himself to do it. Komander comes in with the Cielito Lindo to O’Reilly…but Ospreay hits the Hidden Blade for the pin and the title shot at 18:37.

Rating: B-. This was a bit of a weird concept and it took me some time to get with it but it wound up being fun. They did a nice job of mixing in the big names with the normal names you would expect here as it made the music playing that much more of a surprise. Ospreay getting the title shot more or less guarantees he’s winning the belt and that should be about it for the Undisputed Kingdom.

Post match the Undisputed Kingdom comes out for a staredown.

Here is Chris Jericho for his big celebration as FTW Champion. The letters now mean FOR THE WORLD because he won it for the people (Taz sounds like he is about to be sick). He talks about Terry Funk wanting him to do this and also wanting to mold Hook into something better. Hook FORCED him to hit him with two Judas Effects and a baseball bat but cue Big Bill to interrupt. Bill says he needs to be part of the Learning Tree and he’ll prove his worth to Jericho, who says he’ll be watching. Jericho gets a heel stable. It’s remarkable.

Don Callis wants to know why Will Ospreay didn’t hit the tiger driver but Ospreay was worried about hurting someone. Callis says Fletcher would have lost anyway (Fletcher isn’t pleased) and says the Family is winning a title tonight.

IWGP World Title: Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is defending and Don Callis is on commentary. Moxley kicks at the legs to start and grabs a German suplex, only to have Hobbs pop back up. A t-bone suplex puts Moxley on the floor, where Moxley sends him into the barricade. They fight into the crowd and brawl for a good while until we take a break in the middle of Schiavone talking. We come back (again in mid-sentence) with Moxley fighting out of a bearhug and hammering away in the corner (as Hobbs seems to be favoring his knee). The Paradigm Shift gets two and Moxley grabs the rear naked choke…and Hobbs is out at 10:50.

Rating: D+. This was really, really rough and probably the worst Moxley match I’ve seen in a long time. Almost half of it was spent brawling on the floor and then Moxley fought back and just won with a choke in a really flat finish. Granted it didn’t help that a grand total of no one believed Hobbs was going to win and that made it a countdown until the finish.

Post match Konosuke Takeshita comes out to signal he wants the next title shot. Moxley seems in as medics check on Hobbs.

Katsuyori Shibata is ready to take the FTW Title from Chris Jericho next week under FTW Rules.

Tony Schiavone brings in Jack Perry, so the fans sing OH CRY ME A RIVER. He talks about the great times he’s had in this place but there is business to be done. Perry requests and received Tony Khan, who he asks for a reinstatement. They shake hands and Perry decks Khan, bringing out the Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada and that means a Tony Khan Driver to Tony Khan. The Bucks thank the fans and everyone leaves (under orders of Aubrey Edwards, the real power around here). Some wrestlers come out to check on Khan with Shad Khan himself making an appearance to end the show.

I have no idea what to make of that but I don’t think it went as they planned. The fans seemed happy that Khan got beaten up and I have no idea where this is supposed to go. Presumably Tony gets some wrestlers to fight for him, but at the end of the day, this was all for Tony, the Bucks and Perry. I’m not sure how much of a bigger audience this is going to have, but it’s happening because they want it to and that’s a very risky hill to go out on.

Overall Rating: C. The show has been over for about ten minutes now and I have no idea what I just watched. This was ALL OVER the place, with the new AEW World Champion being, at best, the fourth biggest story on the show. It felt like they were trying to start the builds for Double Or Nothing and Forbidden Door at the same time while also doing the big angle at the end.

The wrestling was mostly overshadowed by some out there moves and I’m almost scared to know what happens if they don’t have the good in-ring action to lean on. I can’t say it was a terrible show and it CERTAINLY wasn’t boring, but egads this was insanity and I don’t think that is the best thing.

Results
Swerve Strickland b. Kyle Fletcher – House Call
Mina Shirakawa b. Anna Jay – Cradle
Will Ospreay won the Double Or Nothing Gauntlet Match – Hidden Blade to Komander
Jon Moxley b. Powerhouse Hobbs – Rear naked choke

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

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AND

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