Rampage
Date: April 27, 2024
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re still in Jacksonville for the second half of tonight’s double shot. In this case, that means we have a live parking lot brawl between Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta as their friendship is over. Other than that, it’s Rampage, and that could go in all kinds of directions. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Chuck Taylor vs. Trent Beretta

They’re in the parking lot for the brawl inside a circle of cars, with Trent starting fast by sending Taylor into a car. Taylor is busted open but is more than capable of sending Trent onto a hood. They climb onto a truck, with Beretta knocking him through a piece of plywood. We take an early break and come back with a TV being thrown and Taylor suplexing him though a door.

Some shovel shots to the back have Trent in trouble but he manages to slam Taylor onto a table of light tubes. Taylor is right back with a toss powerbomb through a windshield for two more. They’re both gushing blood as they climb onto the top of a car for another slugout. A low blow gets Beretta out of trouble and he piledrives Taylor onto the top of the car. That sets up a triangle choke and Taylor is out at 10:08.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of bloody, violent brawl that you do not get to see very often. It’s also something that you will either like or not like and as a result, your mileage may vary in a big way. The good thing is Beretta gets the win over someone who matters in his career and can move on to what is likely a showdown with Orange Cassidy at Double Or Nothing.

Post match Beretta grabs a wrench as Orange Cassidy and Kris Statlander come in. Beretta says this is Cassidy’s fault and crushes Taylor’s ankle with the wrench.

Don Callis watches approvingly.

Kyle O’Reilly is happy to come to his hometown and do what he does best: wrestle.

Thunder Rosa vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Rosa talks trash to start and they fight over a lockup with neither being able to get very far. A chinlock doesn’t last long for Rosa as Purrazzo fights up and goes after the leg. Rosa ties the limbs up in the ropes for a running dropkick, followed by a Liontamer to amp up the pain. Rosa is right next to the ropes for the break and sends Purrazzo outside for the dive.

Purrazzo kicks her in the face for a knockdown of her own and we take a break. Back with Rosa hitting a running kick to the face, followed by a running dropkick against the ropes. Purrazzo comes back but can’t get the Fujiwara armbar, instead settling for a kick to the face. Rosa fights back and goes up, only to dive into the Fujiwara armbar. That’s broken up with a rollup, which is reversed back into the Fujiwara armbar, which is reversed into another rollup to finally give Rosa the pin at 11:05.

Rating: C+. Rosa gets a nice win to boost herself back up after losing at Dynasty. She could be sticking around the title picture for a good while now and that makes sense as she is still one of the bigger names in the division. At the same time you have Purrazzo, who might be a talented star but you only get so far with her when she keeps losing.

Post match Rosa goes to leave but Purrazzo jumps her for a ram into the barricade. The brawl is on and referees have to break it up.

We look at Will Ospreay earning an International Title shot.

The Undisputed Kingdom want Tony Khan to stay neck strong but then move on to Will Ospreay, who will finally fall before the messiah of the Backbreaker.

Big Bill vs. Trevor Blackwell

Bill kicks him in the face to start and shouts about how he’s doing this to show Chris Jericho. More kicks to the face set up a rather delayed chokeslam to give Bill the win at 1:39.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Katsuyori Shibata/Daniel Garcia

Anthony Ogogo is on commentary. It’s a brawl to start and everyone fights to the floor with the Promotions taking over. Taylor sends Shibata inside and it’s off to Moriarty to stomp away in the corner. Shibata is able to get away for the tag to Garcia, meaning suplexes abound. A quick distraction lets Moriarty pull Garcia down with a hanging apron DDT to the floor as the villains take over. Garcia tries to fight out but gets hit in the face, setting up a splash for two.

We take a break and come back with Taylor missing a middle rope splash but Moriarty cuts off the tag. Garcia finally gets smart and sends them together, allowing the tag back to Shibata. Everything breaks down and the Promotions are sent int the corner for stereo right hands to the head.

Running dropkicks have the villains in even more trouble and Garcia dances as Shibata pounds Taylor down. Moriarty is back in to strike away at Shibata in the corner and yeah that’s not the best idea. Shibata kicks Taylor away so Garcia can grab a sleeper, with Shibata doing the same to Moriarty. Garcia suplexes Taylor and Shibata PK’s Moriarty for the pin at 14:55.

Rating: C+. This felt like a way to get Shibata featured on the show, which might have a bit of a bigger impact if he wasn’t around so often all the time. Putting Garcia out there with him should mean a nice rub, even if beating the Promotions again might not mean as much. For now though, it’s a nice enough main event on a rather weak looking show. Just get them to do something like this on Dynamite and their stock could rise nicely

Overall Rating: B-. The opener being a bigger deal helped, but there was only so much that could be done to hide how little this show meant. While it’s better than some of the recent Rampages, it still comes off as a show that has to be done rather than one AEW wants to do. Not every single important thing has to be on Dynamite and as usual, it leaves Rampage feeling kind of weak. Good, but weak.

Results
Trent Beretta b. Chuck Taylor – Triangle choke
Thunder Rosa b. Deonna Purrazzo – Rollup
Big Billy Trevor Blackwell – Chokeslam
Katsuyori Shibata/Daniel Garcia b. Shane Taylor Promotions

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Rampage
Date: April 20, 2024
Location: Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re still in Peoria for the second half of our back to back shows. This one is only half as long as Collision, but it is going to have its work cut out for it to be as good. It’s the last show before Dynasty and the card is set, so odds are this will follow the Rampage tradition of not adding much long term. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Jon Moxley is ready to defend the IWGP World Title against Powerhouse Hobbs and next week, he hopes Hobbs has found the heart he has been needing. Don’t hesitate for one second, because Moxley won’t either.

Rob Van Dam vs. Isiah Kassidy vs. Lee Johnson vs. Komander

Elimination rules and yes Van Dam is only here because of the date. Believe it or not the fans like Van Dam more than a pair of lower card stars and a tag wrestler. Kassidy gets double dropkicked to start as Van Dam is happy with sitting and watching the other guys fight. He finally comes in but gets dropkicked down by Kassidy, who misses his own Rolling Thunder.

Van Dam hits the real thing before Johnson sends Komander and Kassidy outside for the big flip dive. Back in and Kassidy rakes Johnson’s eyes, setting up a rollup with tights for the elimination at 3:53. We take a break and come back with Komander sending Kassidy outside. A big running forearm hits Van Dam in the corner and a springboard Swanton gets two on Kassidy.

Komander tries to walk the ropes but gets crotched by Kassidy, who kicks Van Dam down. Back up and Van Dam drops Kassidy with some kicks but Marq Quen pulls him outside. That’s fine with Komander, who hits Cielito Lindo to get rid of Kassidy at 9:41 total. We’re down to Komander vs. Van Dam and they trade rollups for two each. A northern lights suplex puts Komander down and the Five Star Frog Splash gives Van Dam the win at 12:35.

Rating: C+. For a match that was only there for the sake of a Rob Van Dam joke, this could have been worse. I’ll take the elimination rules over Van Dam scoring a quick rollup win as it looks like he accomplished a bit more. Also, does Komander just have a job for matches like this one? It’s about all he seems to do anymore.

Emi Sakura vs. Yuka Sakazaki

Sakura stomps away in the corner to start and gets two off a rollup. Sakazaki is back with a basement lariat and we hit an early STF. With that broken up, Sakazaki tries to run the ropes but seems to slip and fall out to the floor. Sakura follows and grabs some WOO Energy for some dancing, triggering a chase scene. Sakazaki catches her and grabs a running hurricanrana off the apron. We take a break and come back with Sakura hitting a backbreaker for two. Sakura goes up but takes too long mocking a drinking pose, allowing Sakazaki to grab a German suplex from the ropes for the pin at 9:32.

Rating: C+. Good enough match, but it’s quite the Rampage special: two women who have nothing going on around here having a match to fill in time. There is only so much you can get out of that as it’s a cold match in front of a crowd who might not be overly familiar with the two of them. The ending came a bit out of nowhere, but I wonder if Sakazaki was shaken up by that fall.

We get a Rampage Exclusive, with Angelo Parker saying he tried to fight but lost everything, including the love of his life. He doesn’t have anything left so he’s going to retir….and here is Ruby Soho to say he has something to fight for. That’s because she’s pregnant, with a kiss ensuing. How wholesome and sweet!

Kyle O’Reilly/Matt Menard/Rocky Romero vs. Undisputed Kingdom

O’Reilly wants Strong to start but has to settle for working on Bennett’s arm. We’ll switch that over to Taven, who gets taken down by Menard’s armdrag. Romero comes in but Bennett counters a hurricanrana, meaning Strong is willing to come in this time. A backbreaker puts Romero down and it’s back to Taven as we take a break.

Back with Romero avoiding a charge in the corner and grabbing a double hurricanrana, allowing the tag off to Menard. A Boston crab goes on but Taven makes a fast save. The moonsault gives Taven two but it’s back to O’Reilly to pick up the pace. House is cleaned until it’s off to Strong for the strike off. O’Reilly fires off kicks until a backbreaker cuts him off. Romero makes the save, leaving O’Reilly to clothesline Bennett and grab the cross armbreaker for the win at 12:10.

Rating: B-. Best match of the night so far and the fact that it was designed to help boost up a match on the pay per view helped. It would have been nice if the other four involved had something to do on the show but at least we got a tease of O’Reilly vs. Strong. That match could use some extra juice and this was better than nothing.

Post match O’Reilly says he’s coming for the title.

Dynasty rundown.

Overall Rating: C+. This was quite the Rampagey Rampage, as they more or less flipped an off switch after Collision and just coasted in through the next hour. That doesn’t make for the most entertaining hour but the action was good enough. Van Dam helped pick things up by making it feel special and the main event was solid. Somehow this is more than you get out of the normal Rampage, which says a lot about what this show has become.

Results
Rob Van Dam b. Isiah Kassidy, Lee Johnson and Komander last eliminating Komander
Yuka Sakazaki b. Emi Sakura – German suplex from the ropes
Kyle O’Reilly/Matt Menard/Rocky Romero b. Undisputed Kingdom – Cross armbreaker to Bennett

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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

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Dynasty 2024
Date: April 21, 2024
Location: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re back on pay per view and this time around we have a few big matches. First of all, Samoa Joe is defending the World Title against Swerve Strickland. In the match that might be bigger than that though, Bryan Danielson is facing Will Ospreay in a dream match. Finally, we have FTR vs. the Young Bucks in a ladder match for the vacant Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Trent Beretta vs. Matt Sydal

Trent comes out to the Best Friends theme to really crank up the villainy. Sydal knocks him to the floor to start and drops him again on the floor before going back inside. A standing Sliced Bread and a standing twisting moonsault give Sydal two but Beretta is back up with a brainbuster. Sydal gets sent outside but comes back in with a knockdown, allowing him to strike away.

A leg trap cradle gives Sydal two, only for Beretta to grab a half and half suplex. Sydal takes him down again and hits the top rope Meteora for two of his own. They go to the corner, where Beretta drops him face first onto the buckle to knock him silly. The Gotch Style piledriver gets two on Sydal, setting up the running knee into something like a triangle choke for the win at 8:11.

Rating: C. Total Rampage match here and that’s all it was ever going to be. Beretta is fresh off of his heel turn and is gearing up for a showdown with Orange Cassidy. On the other hand you have Sydal, who is the guy you put out there for the sake of making someone else look good. This was only going to be Beretta winning a not very long match and that’s what we got.

Post match Beretta won’t let go so Matt’s brother Mike and Chuck Taylor make the save. Beretta gives Taylor until Dynamite to make up his mind about where he stands. Orange Cassidy comes out for his match and Beretta bails, mainly due to the threat of violence from Cassidy’s partner.

Zero Hour: Orange Cassidy/Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Anthony Ogogo is on commentary as Moriarty takes Cassidy down by the arm to start. Moriarty cranks on said arm but Cassidy uses the power of the pockets to escape and send Moriarty down. Shibata comes in and wins a wrestle off before knocking Moriarty into the corner. It’s off to Taylor for an exchange of chops and forearms with Shibata getting the better of things.

Cassidy comes in and takes Moriarty outside, where Ogogo comes off commentary for a distraction. Taylor knocks Cassidy silly and the big apron legdrop crushes him to make it worse. Back in and Moriarty grabs an abdominal stretch but Taylor misses a splash in the corner. The tag brings Shibata in to kick away, including the running dropkick to Moriarty.

Taylor breaks up an abdominal stretch so Shibata takes him into the corner so the double striking can ensue. Beach Break is broken up and Moriarty snaps Cassidy’s fingers, only to have Cassidy grab the tornado DDT. Shibata kicks Taylor outside, leaving Cassidy to Orange Punch Moriarty for the pin at 12:44.

Rating: C. Another match that could have been on this week’s TV shows rather than taking up time here. I’m guessing the idea was the showdown between Cassidy and Trent Beretta, plus getting Shibata on the card. It’s not a bad match, but there’s a reason this was only thrown on at the last minute with little story.

Zero Hour: Ring Of Honor Six Man Tag Team Titles/AEW Trios Titles: Bullet Club Gold vs. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn

Winner take all and Caster gets an extended rap for a change. Bowens takes Austin into the corner to start before jumping over him and grabbing a backdrop. Colten comes in and has a seat so it’s off to Billy, which has Colten a little more nervous. Billy gets to clean house but gets taken into the wrong corner, meaning the beating is on. White’s chops just annoy Billy but Austin hitting him in the back makes it even worse.

A right hand drops Austin and it’s back to Caster for an armdrag into an armbar. Bowens neckbreaker Austin into a backbreaker from Caster and there’s Scissor Me Timbers. A cheap shot lets White take Caster outside though and whip him into the barricade. Back in and Colten grabs the chinlock but Caster is right back up for the tag to Bowens. Everything breaks down and Bowens gets dropkicked out to the floor with White throwing him back in.

Austin kicks him down and grabs another chinlock, with Bowens suplexing his way to freedom. That’s enough for the tag off to Billy so house can be cleaned. Billy misses a Fameasser and Austin hits his own for two. 3:10 To Yuma gets two more but the Acclaimed is back in for the save. That’s broken up as well so Billy has to power out of the sleeper suplex. The real Fameasser gets two on White, who is right back with the Blade Runner for the pin at 14:48.

Rating: C+. This was a bit long but what matters the most is they got rid of one see of titles. There has never been a reason for two sets of six man titles and thankfully one of them is going away. Acclaimed and Gunn winning would have made less than zero sense as they are ice cold right now so this was the logical result in both ways.

And now, the show proper.

The opening video looks at the big matches and talks about building a dynasty.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Pac

Pac is challenging and the fans are VERY interested at the opening bell. They start slowly and exchange wrist control until Pac grabs a headlock takeover. Back up and Pac hurricanranas him to the floor, setting up the big running flip dive. Pac whips him into the barricade, with Okada seeming to favor his shoulder. A super brainbuster (geez) gives Pac two so he goes up, only to get dropkicked off for a hard crash onto the apron.

Back in and Okada hits a running kick to the head, followed by the dropkick to put Okada on the floor again. The hanging DDT plants Pac, who barely beats the count back in, and a regular DDT gets two. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Pac fights up and sends him to the floor, setting up the top rope Asai moonsault. Back in and a missile dropkick gives Pac two and he snaps off a German suplex, only to get dropkicked into the corner. Okada grabs the Air Raid Crash onto the knee, setting up the top rope elbow for two more.

Pac is back up and kicks him in the head and muscles him over with a German suplex. A Helluva Kick looks to set up the Black Arrow but Okada gets out just in time. Okada grabs the Tombstone but the Rainmaker is reversed into the Brutalizer. That’s broken up as well and Pac hits a nasty Tombstone of his own, only to have the Black Arrow hit raised knees. The Rainmaker retains the title at 21:52.

Rating: B+. This was a match designed to have two guys beat the fire out of each other for a good while and that’s exactly what happened. It was a heck of a fight with Pac being the perfect choice to go after Okada in his first title defense. There’s a reason Pac has this kind of a reputation and it’s a shame that he has to miss so much time due to various reasons.

Post match Pac gets the big respectful ovation.

We recap the House Of Black vs. Adam Copeland/Eddie Kingston/Mark Briscoe. The House went after Copeland and now he has some friends, who happen to have recently fought over the Ring Of Honor World Title, on his side.

Adam Copeland/Eddie Kingston/Mark Briscoe vs. House Of Black

Taz can’t believe that Copeland is teaming with Kingston and Briscoe, showing he doesn’t watch Collision either. Matthews takes Briscoe up against the ropes to start but it’s quickly off to Copeland to hammer away in the corner. Black comes in, stares at Copeland, and then hands it off to King instead. King misses a clothesline so Kingston comes in for the strike off, which goes rather badly for him.

Kingston fights up and knocks him to his knees, setting up a big chop, followed by the rapid fire chops in the corner. King is back up and knocks Kingston into the other corner, where Matthews takes over for a change. It’s back to Black for the chinlock but Kingston fights up and strikes away (you might notice a theme here). The big tag brings in Briscoe to clean house, including an enziguri to send Matthews to the floor.

There’s the running dropkick through the ropes so Matthews….throws him a chair, allowing Briscoe to hit the step up flip dive to take Matthews down again. King comes over to Death Valley Driver Briscoe into the barricade, meaning the beating is taken into the wrong corner. Black grabs a chinlock but Briscoe fights up again, allowing the tag back to Copeland. King chops him off the top for a nasty crash so Kingston comes in to chop away instead.

Copeland is back up with a top rope superplex to bring King down again and everyone needs a breather. King gets up and hits a discus lariat on Briscoe, only to get spinning backfisted by Kingston. Copeland adds a spear and Briscoe’s Froggy Bow gets two. Black comes back in for the staredown with Copeland but Briscoe cuts it off. The House cleans house but the good guys are back with triple spears for another knockdown. We settle down to Black vs. Copeland…and it’s the mist into the end to give Black the pin at 17:41.

Rating: B. This got some time and the ending was the right way to go, with Black getting the win to likely set himself up as the next challenger to the TNT Title. They teased the heck out of the Copeland vs. Black showdown and then it lasted all of ten seconds, which makes things all the more interesting. Good stuff here, and it even set up something extra down the road.

We recap Julia Hart vs. Willow Nightingale for the TBS Title. Hart has the title, Nightingale wants it, end of recap.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Willow Nightingale

Hart is defending and Nightingale has Kris Statlander with her. Nightingale starts fast and knocks her out of the corner before going up. That takes a bit too long though and Hart knocks him to the floor, with Nightingale being knocked over the announcers’ table. The reverse chinlock goes on until Nightingale powers up and pulls her into a sleeper. Hart slips out so Nightingale plants her with a spinebuster for two. Nightingale charges into some boots in the corner but manages to raise her boots to block the moonsault. The Babe With The Powerbomb gives Nightingale the pin and the title at 6:00.

Rating: C+. That was the way the result needed to go as Nightingale FINALLY wins something important. While this is probably setting up her dropping the title to Mercedes Mone next month, at least she has the title in the first place and that is great to see. Nightingale could be a star due to her high level of likability, but she needed this kind of a win to move her forward.

Post match Nightingale celebrates with Statlander and Stokely Hathaway, only to have Mercedes Mone come out for the staredown. With that out of the way, Nightingale gets to celebrate again.

We recap the International Title, with Roderick Strong defending against Kyle O’Reilly. They used to be friends and now they’re fighting for the title.

International Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Roderick Strong

Strong is defending and they go technical to start with O’Reilly’s ankle lock being broken up. Back up and Strong hits the jumping leg lariat for two but O’Reilly knocks him back again. Strong catches him on top and drops him hard onto the buckle. Another backbreaker cuts O’Reilly off but he comes back with a bunch of strikes to get a breather. Strong comes right back with an Angle Slam into the running forearms against the ropes.

The running boot against the ropes is blocked though and O’Reilly grabs the kneebar. That’s broken up so O’Reilly strikes away, only to get pulled into another backbreaker for another two. A top rope superplex gives Strong two but O’Reilly ties the legs up into a small package for the same.

Another exchange of strikes lets O’Reilly grab a German suplex but Strong knees him in the face for the double knockdown. Cue Wardlow for a distraction so Strong can get two off a small package. Back up and O’Reilly hits a brainbuster, setting up the cross armbreaker to send Strong over to the ropes. Strong is back up with End Of Heartache for the pin to retain at 17:19.

Rating: C+. It was technically sound but this match didn’t feel interesting coming in and they lost my interest rather quickly. Anything with the Undisputed Kingdom is running with an anchor right now and that was the case here. Strong had to keep the title to keep the group going, but could they please find something to do other than another Undisputed Era reunion?

Post match the Undisputed Kingdom, including Adam Cole, comes out to celebrate.

We recap Hook vs. Chris Jericho for the former’s FTW Title.

Hook vs. Chris Jericho

Hook is defending under FTW Rules and they show respect to start. Feeling out process to start until Hook grabs the first suplex. They go to the floor with Hook….I think missing an apron clothesline but it came off like some miscommunication. Jericho loads up a table but Hook is back with the trashcan lid shots. With that broken up, Jericho trashcans him down as well and they go back inside.

Jericho knocks him to the apron, where Hook suplexes him down through a table for a nasty crash and a near fall on the floor. Back in and Jericho hammers away but stops to grab a trashcan, allowing Hook to snap off a German suplex. The trashcan is put over Jericho and Hook grabs the kendo stick for the beating.

Another suplex, with Jericho in the can, lets Hook load up another table in the corner. Jericho grabs a Codebreaker and they’re both down. They slug it out from their knees with Jericho getting the better of things, only to miss a Rockers’ fist drop. Redrum goes on until Jericho drives him through the table for the break.

The Judas Effect is countered into a kneebar but Jericho reverses into the Walls. Hook reverses into a small package for two and grabs Redrum, only to have Jericho kick him low (which the camera misses). Now the Judas Effect (with an “I’m sorry”) can connect for two so Jericho hits it again…for two again. Jericho grabs the baseball bat, says he’s sorry, and knocks Hook cold to win at 16:50.

Rating: D+. When I was writing up my preview for this show, I could not shake the feeling that AEW would give Jericho the win here because it would be the dumbest thing possible. Jericho is just a disaster right now and having him beat Hook, who already beat him once, is a mind blowing concept. The fans are not interested in seeing Jericho right now yet here he is, complete with a new title. He needs to go away for a bit, and I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

We recap Toni Storm defending the Women’s Title against Thunder Rosa. Storm is on a roll as champion but Rosa never lost the title so this is her big rematch.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Thunder Rosa

Storm, with Mariah May, is defending and Rosa isn’t wearing face paint for a change. They fight into the corner with Storm powering her around, only to get hit in the face. Storm kicks her in the ribs for a breather but Rosa knocks Storm out to the floor. There’s the big corkscrew dive but Rosa has to stop and glare at May. The forearms to the chest give Rosa two, only to have Storm come back with a backbreaker for the same.

Some shots to the back let Storm take her to the top, where Rosa powerbombs her down for two more. A Death valley Driver onto the apron plants Storm (Nigel McGuinness: “OH THE HUMANITY!”) for two more. Storm is back with a Backstabber out of the corner, followed by a bottom rope DDT of all things. A fisherman’s suplex gives Storm two but Rosa’s stomp connects for the same.

Storm grabs a chokebomb for two so Rosa slugs away, only to charge into a headbutt. May offers a distraction so here is Deonna Purrazzo to brawl with her to the back. Storm grabs a German suplex to set up the hip attack. Storm Zero gets two so Storm busts out the Texas Cloverleaf. Rosa gets out and grabs a Backstabber into a cobra clutch but Storm escapes as well. A low kick sets up another Storm Zero to retain at 15:05.

Rating: B. This was a nice surprise and better than I was expecting. It was one of the better Storm matches in AEW and Rosa’s best since her return as it felt like a big time fight. Storm is in a weird place as champion though as the only person to come after the title is May, and that is going to need some adjusting to set up. For now though, rather good stuff.

We recap Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay. It’s going to be good. End of story.

Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay

Don Callis is on commentary. Nigel talks about Danielson saying his version of Heaven is bleeding in a ring. Nigel: “My version of Heaven is him dying from bleeding in a ring.” Osprey grabs a front facelock to start but Danielson reverses into a headlock as the feeling out process begins. That’s broken up and the fans hit that BRUV chant. Another exchange goes to another standoff and the fans find this awesome.

Danielson goes with the chops but it’s too early for the LeBell Lock. Ospreay misses the big kicks to the head and the fans are way into this. Ospreay flips over and scores with a dropkick but Danielson strikes away against the ropes. A running boot knocks Danielson outside and there’s the big dive to take him out again. Back in and Danielson gets smart by going after the knee/ribs but Ospreay escapes again.

Danielson is sent into the corner and a running boot connects for two. Ospreay sends him outside for the big corkscrew dive to leave them both down. Back in again and Danielson grabs a tiger suplex for two, followed by the heavy elbows. Cattle Mutilation goes on for a bit until Danielson puts him into the corner for the running dropkick. Ospreay sticks the landing on a super hurricanrana so he goes up top, only to get caught with a tiger superplex for the huge crash.

Danielson’s kicks to the chest wake Ospreay up and one heck of a shot drops Danielson for a change. They go to the apron to slug it out and the Oscutter drops Danielson hard. The referee checks on Danielson so Ospreay gets in a Hidden Blade from the apron as the fans think they aren’t worthy. Danielson beats the count and Ospreay stacks him up for two. Danielson grabs La Mistica of all things into the LeBell Lock and then a double arm crank but Ospreay makes the rope.

The running knee is countered into a powerbomb but Danielson counters into a hurricanrana for two instead. Now the running knee connects for two and Danielson is frustrated. The stomping to the head looks to set up another LeBell Lock but Ospreay slips out and fires off forearms to the face. Danielson pulls him into a triangle choke and even the powerbomb can’t break it.

Instead Ospreay picks him up for a Styles Clash but he can’t follow up. They get to their feet with Danielson slapping the heck out of him and grabbing a suplex, only to have Ospreay pop up with the Hidden Blade. The Oscutter is loaded up but Danielson knees it out of the air for the big double down. Danielson does the YES pose in the corner and Ospreay goes to the other corner, where he takes off the elbow pad. The running knee is cut off with the Hidden Blade into the tiger driver onto the neck. Danielson is all vibrating but Ospreay Hidden Blades him for the pin at 32:19.

Rating: A. Back in the late 1920s, a man was driving his Model T Ford when it stopped running. He wasn’t very good with mechanical stuff and was in a bit of a jam when an older man came driving up. The older man asked if he could take a look and fixed it without much trouble. That older man was Henry Ford. Now what does this have to do with Ospreay vs. Danielson?

Nothing. It was outstanding and there was nothing else to say about it so I didn’t bother trying.

Post match the medics check on Danielson and Ospreay is scared, even as his arm is raised.

We recap FTR vs. the Young Bucks for the vacant Tag Team Titles. It’s the latest in their long running series and this is a ladder match.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. FTR

For the vacant titles in a ladder match. FTR takes over to start and goes for the ladders but the Bucks cut them off. The dives drop FTR and it’s time for the ladder to be brought in. FTR cuts that off for a change so it’s time to put some tables up at ringside. That takes too long as well so Wheeler is laid across the ladder for a dive from Matt. Back in and Harwood is busted open as the Bucks beat him down with chairs.

There’s a whip to send Harwood into the ladder in the corner as the blood is gushing. They go outside again with Harwood being sent into a bridged ladder but Wheeler is back up with a moonsault off of said ladder. The Bucks are right back up to crotch Wheeler on the ladder, setting up the EVP Trigger. Harwood gets knocked down again back inside but Wheeler is back in with a powerslam.

FTR hits a bulldog to plant Matt and a slingshot powerbomb puts him down again. That’s not enough as Matt gets knocked off the apron, sending him hard into the barricade. Nick hurricanranas Harwood off the apron and through a table for another nasty crash. All four are back up and go for the climb, with everyone but Matt crashing down. Harwood pulls Matt’s shoes off before FTR busts out the PowerPlex off the ladder for the big crash.

Nick is back up with a 450 to Wheeler through a table, leaving Harwood to piledrive Matt onto a bridged ladder. Wheeler pulls Nick down from the ladder but his suicide dive only hits table. Matt and Harwood go up, earning a PLEASE BE CAREFUL chant. Harwood knocks him down so here is a masked man for the save. And yeah of course it’s Jack Perry. The Bucks win at 21:47.

Rating: B. This was in fact a ladder match and there was almost no reason to believe that the ending was going to be anything else, even down to the interference. There was no way FTR was going to win here as the Bucks are being treated as a big deal again. This match cranked up the violence and it worked well enough, but the ladder gimmick didn’t make things much better.

We recap Samoa Joe defending the World Title against Swerve Strickland. Joe beat Hangman Page to retain in a triple threat match at Revolution so now it’s the singles match for Swerve’s big shot.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is defending. They take their time to start until Joe hits a knee to the ribs to take over. Joe takes him outside for a toss over the announcers’ table but Swerve gets in a knee to the face. That earns him a hard planting on the floor and they head back inside, with Joe keeping the pace slow.

Joe plants him again and grabs the neck crank as the dominance continues. Swerve tries to fight up and gets elbowed in the face to send him back outside. The floor mats are peeled back but Swerve gets in some shots of his own for a needed breather. Back in and Swerve has to strike his way out of the Koquina Clutch, setting up the rolling Downward Spiral for two. Swerve grabs a headscissors choke but Joe powers him into the corner for the Muscle Buster and another near fall.

Back up and Swerve hits the House Call into a 450 into the Swerve Stomp for two and they need a breather. Joe is right back up with the Koquina Clutch but can’t get the full grip. That lets Swerve get out and hit the House Call for two more. They both go up and Swerve knocks him off again, setting up the Swerve Stomp for the pin and the title at 17:55.

Rating: B. Well, it wasn’t bad and they did the big ending properly, though it didn’t quite get to that top level. The best thing here is that Swerve won the title in what might as well have been his last chance and that is what matters. I’m not sure what is next for either of them right now, but they got the big moment right after a hard hitting match. Well done and a nice way to wrap up the show.

Swerve celebrates for a long time to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Some of the matches in the undercard were a bit weak and some of the decisions (ok so just Jericho) were out there, but that Danielson vs. Ospreay match was outstanding and there were several others that hit or even exceeded their mark. Awesome show here and worth a long long, but you might want to fast forward some parts, as this was another very, very lengthy show. An excellent one, but long.

Results
Trent Beretta b. Matt Sydal – Triangle choke
Orange Cassidy/Katsuyori Shibata b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Orange Punch to Moriarty
Bullet Club Gold b. Billy Gunn/Acclaimed – Blade Runner to Gunn
Kazuchika Okada b. Pac – Rainmaker
House Of Black b. Adam Copeland/Mark Briscoe/Eddie Kingston – The End to Copeland
Willow Nightingale b. Julia Hart – Babe With The Powerbomb
Roderick Strong b. Kyle O’Reilly – End Of Heartache
Chris Jericho b. Hook – Baseball bat shot
Toni Storm b. Thunder Rosa – Storm Zero
Will Ospreay b. Bryan Danielson – Hidden Blade
Young Bucks b. FTR – Bucks pulled down the titles
Swerve Strickland b. Samoa Joe – Swerve Stomp

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This is another of the new pay per view and it is in a bit of a tough spot. While it has an absolutely stacked card, we are just over a month away from Double Or Nothing, which is one of the major shows. That could leave this show in something of a weird place, but the talent is more than capable of carrying it to a solid event. The potential is right there so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Matt Sydal vs. Trent Beretta

This is fallout from Beretta turning on Orange Cassidy a few weeks ago, which was followed by Beretta attacking Sydal for daring to help Cassidy. Beretta is actually something of a hot heel at the moment as the fans did not like him turning on one of their favorites. In other words, as usual, a personal issue is something fans will care about and it could do Beretta a lot of good.

There is a grand total of no reason for Sydal to win here and as a result, this is the biggest layup on the entire card. Beretta needs to win here and should do so in short order as this is little more than a Rampage main event. Sydal is the guy you put out there to make someone else look good and Beretta is pretty much locked in for a big match against Cassidy at Double Or Nothing. Beretta wins here with no doubt whatsoever.

Zero Hour: Orange Cassidy/Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

This feels like a way to get Cassidy and Shibata on the show and the Promotions are the current designated jobbers. You can only get so much out of that kind of a match as, again, it feels like something that belongs on Rampage. I’m not entirely thrilled by the idea of having to see Shibata again as he is the definition of not my style, but here we are again anyway.

While it isn’t as huge of a layup as Sydal vs. Beretta, there is pretty much no reason to believe Cassidy and Shibata are losing here. Barring interference from Beretta, this should be Cassidy and Shibata winning again. The Promotions are nothing more than people there to look intimidating and then lose, which is what they will do here as the fans get to cheer for Cassidy.

Zero Hour: Ring Of Honor Six Man Tag Team Titles/AEW Trios Titles: Bullet Club Gold(c) vs. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn(c)

It took long enough. That is the only thing I can think of here as my goodness there is barely enough of a reason to have one set of six man titles but here we have TWO. While neither of them needs to be there, it will be nice to get this down to one set so we can have less gold floating around. Other than that, it’s a bit of a personal feud with Gunn vs. his kids, but that’s about the extent of the interest.

I’ll go with the Club winning here, as Acclaimed and Gunn are ice cold right now. It makes sense for the Club to win, if nothing else because the star of their team isn’t 60 years old. Let Jay White get his win here and hopefully continue figuring things out, as he hasn’t exactly been a smash hit so far. Also of note: I’ve heard that this is and isn’t on Zero Hour but it would be a nice main event before we can get on to the stuff that matters a lot more.

FTW Title: Hook(c) vs. Chris Jericho

Let’s get one of the weaker ones out of the way. Despite Jericho desperately needing to just go away for a bit, here he is getting a title shot against some young star. I’m not sure how well that is going to go, but the segments setting it up have not been good coming in. As usual, this is going to be a hardcore match because that’s pretty much all Hook does on his own these days.

I’ll go with Hook, just for the sake of maintaining my own sanity. The worst part is I could very easily see Jericho winning the title as some kind of weird deal where Hook has to get it back, even though Hook already beat Jericho (ala Ricky Starks). Hopefully they don’t go nuts and let Hook win here and move on, though the more I think about this, the more worried I get over them doing something stupid. Hook wins, or at least I hope he does.

Adam Copeland/Mark Briscoe/Eddie Kingston vs. House Of Black

This is a weird one as Copeland gets his big win to retain the title yet he’s here in a six man tag. The House has come after Copeland and now he has some friends, who happen to have been fighting over the Ring Of Honor World Title just a few weeks ago. That should make for an interesting story, though it still makes me wonder why we aren’t getting Copeland in a title defense.

I’m not sure why a makeshift team should be able to defeat an established one so we’ll say the House wins here. If nothing else, someone pinning Copeland or Briscoe could set them up for a title match down the line. It’s what makes the most sense and there are different options to choose, though Kingston taking the fall to protect the champions would not surprise me in the slightest. Either way, the House wins here, as they should.

TBS Title: Julia Hart(c) vs. Willow Nightingale

I’ve been saying this for a long time now but e pluribus gads Nightingale needs to win something already. She has been that one star who never really wins anything but manages to lose a bunch of title shots. Winning the title here would help, even if she is going to be sacrificed at the altar of Mercedes Mone next month anyway. While Hart is good, she is just kind of there at the moment and that isn’t a good sign for her title reign.

I’ll go with Nightingale FINALLY winning here, as it is not only long overdue but it makes a lot more sense for Nightingale to win and feud with Mone. That’s what has been teased for weeks now and even if Nightingale loses the title quickly, it’s better than never winning it in the first place. Go with what makes sense here, which is Nightingale powerbombing the heck out of Hart to win the title so Mone can come out for a dancing staredown.

International Title: Roderick Strong(c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Yes believe it or not we are seeing more of the Undisputed Era members fighting again because that’s just what they do. O’Reilly is back after missing quite a bit of time due to health issues and now he’s getting a title shot after winning a handful of matches. As luck would have it, that means we get more from the Undisputed Kingdom, which has one swimmingly thus far. But yeah, this is our pay per view title match.

I’ll take Strong retaining, as the team is more or less worthless if he loses the title. I haven’t been been interested in either of them for a good while and while the match should be good, it hasn’t made for the best build. I’m sure the in-ring action will work though, which is almost always the case with everyone involved. Just come up with something more interesting for them to do? Please?

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. FTR

It’s a tournament final for the vacant titles and naturally it’s a ladder match. I can give them points for trying something new with the feud but egads can we just stop with the ladders? And FTR vs. the Bucks? And the Bucks in general? This is a match where the result has more or less been telegraphed, all the way down to how it happens, which is where this is probably going.

Yes I’ll take the Bucks winning here because they need to beat FTR again and get their big push again, because the fans just love everything about them. Throw in the likely return of Jack Perry to help them and we’ve got all the makings of a heel stable. AEW has been doubling down on the Bucks despite them running fans off in droves and now they seem to be getting some titles to go with it.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada(c) vs. Pac

The fact that I had to think about which of the THREE midcard titles Okada held should tell you there are too many of those things running around. Anyway, this is Okada’s first defense since winning the title from Orange Cassidy and that doesn’t leave a ton of drama about the result. The good thing is that Pac is here for his one big match before leaving for whatever reason and that should make for a heck of a showdown.

Of course Okada wins here, as not only is he friends with the Bucks and needs to be part of their team as they rise up, but there is almost no way that he is going to lose so soon after debuting. The good thing is that the match should be a heck of a showdown and we could be in for two guys beating the living daylights out of each other. What we won’t be in for is a new champion, as Okada retains.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Thunder Rosa

This is a place where we could use a “none of the above” option. Storm is desperately in need of a face turn as she can be her goofy self, but for some reason we’re stuck with her as a villain. On the other hand you have Rosa, who has not felt anywhere near special since her return. That doesn’t make for the strongest set of options, but maybe it’s just a weak feud.

I’ll go with Storm retaining, as she has stuff going on with Mariah May and Mina Shirakawa, so keeping the title on her makes sense. It would help if the May story actually got going for a change, but we could still be a long way off from that happening. For now though, hopefully the match works, but it should end with Storm winning, hopefully before turning good and breathing some life into her.

Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay

I’m not completely certain this isn’t the headliner as it has been the bigger story in recent weeks. The idea here is pretty simple: they’re both really good at wrestling and want to have the best match possible. That might not be the most interesting story, but it’s what we’re getting for at worst the co-headliner of the show. The main question here would seem to be “how good can they be” and that response could be quite high.

For the life of me I can’t imagine a reason for Danielson to win here as Ospreay gets to continue his rise up AEW. He’s been presented as one of the biggest things in AEW and this would be his signature win so far. Hopefully it helps get him away from the Don Callis Family, or at least Callis himself, as Ospreay deserves much more. For now though, we should be in for a classic, but good luck on living up to the hype they have built up.

AEW World Title: Samoa Joe(c) vs. Swerve Strickland

Strickland has to win here and that’s pretty much point blank. He has been built up as this huge star but without winning the World Title, that doesn’t mean much. Joe hasn’t been champion all that long (at least by AEW standards) but right now it is time to move the belt on to Strickland, just for the sake of giving him the big boost that he needs. I’m not sure where things go for him from there, but without the title win, Strickland doesn’t have a chance.

I’ll go with what needs to happen here and say Strickland wins. At the end of the day, Joe has been a made man for a very long time now and it makes sense for him to put Strickland over. Strickland doesn’t even have to be champion long, but what matters is that he gets the big win. Give him his win and then move on to whatever else, but don’t waste someone who has gotten that over without pulling the trigger on him.

Overall Thoughts

That is one heck of a stacked card, if nothing else for the amount of titles that are going to be on the line. AEW has more titles than it knows what to do with most of the time but it can lead to a show like this where you are going to get all kinds of title matches for a change. That is going to be the case this weekend and if the show lives up to its potential, we should be in for a heck of a show.

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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Collision
Date: March 30, 2024
Location: Budweiser Gardens, London, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s tournament time this week as we have two first round matches in the Tag Team Title tournament. Other than that, we have about three weeks to go before Dynasty and it is time to start hammering out the rest of the card. There is a chance we could see some of that tonight so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Here is TNT Champion Adam Copeland for his Cope Open open challenge and he loves the crowd reaction. He’s done with Christian Cage and now it’s time for the title to be on the line.

TNT Title: Adam Copeland vs. ???

Copeland is defending and the open challenge is answered by….the returning Matt Cardona. They trade knockdowns into kickoffs and it’s an early standoff. An exchange of dropkicks give us a standoff as Schiavone runs down the card. Copeland gets him to the floor to take over but the Impaler on the apron is blocked with a rake to the eyes.

We take a break and come back with Cardona holding a chinlock with a knee in Copeland’s back. That’s broken up and stereo big boots leave them both down again. Cardona goes up but gets pulled down by the leg for his efforts. This time Copeland goes up and hits a top rope bulldog for two, followed by an Edge O Matic for the same.

Cardona bails to the floor so Copeland gives chase, only to get kicked low on the way back in. An Impaler gives Cardona two but Radio Silence (Rough Ryder) is countered into a buckle bomb. A sitout powerbomb gives Copeland two but the spear is countered into Radio Silence for two more. Cardona loads up a spear, only to have Copeland hit one of his own to retain at 13:26.

Rating: B-. This was a nice surprise though it’s still weird to me to see the serious Cardona. He deserves amazing credit for reinventing himself like this and turning a spot that cripples a lot of careers into something totally new. They were playing up the “we know each other really well” idea here but Copeland was just that much better. Good opener and Cardona was a bit of a treat as the challenger.

Post match the lights go out and Malakai Black is here, with Buddy Matthews jumping Copeland from behind. Mark Briscoe and Eddie Kingston run in for the save. The House vanishes and commentary hypes up Briscoe vs. Kingston for the Ring Of Honor World Title at Supercard Of Honor next Friday. This marks one more appearance than they’ve had together in Ring Of Honor this year so well done?

FTR isn’t sure if they’re the best team anymore but they want to be the first three time ROH Tag Team Champions. That means going through the Cinderella team of The Infantry tonight and so be it.

Tony Schiavone brings out Billy Gunn and the Acclaimed (rap not included) for a chat. Schiavone gets to the point of Bullet Club Gold invading Billy’s home on Rampage. Billy is ticked off and says White is always bragging about selling out Madison Square Garden. Billy: “I’ve done that so many times I’ve lost count.” Next week on Dynamite it’s vs. Billy, with Max Caster saying the Acclaimed and the Gunns should stay in the back. Bowens can’t blame White for running from Billy’s wife because she would have slapped the hair off his face. They’re ready for the Club.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: FTR vs. The Infantry

Wheeler takes Dean down to start but Dean is back with some armdrags into an armbar. Bravo comes in to face Harwood, who gets dropped by some dropkicks. The Infantry clears the ring so we settle down to Dean chopping away at Wheeler. A jumping elbow gets two but Wheeler powerslams a leaping Bravo out of the air for a nasty crash. Harwood’s top rope superplex drops Bravo and we take a break.

Back with Harwood chopping the soul out of Bravo but Dean is fine enough to hit a hue dive onto all three of them. Back in and Bravo’s high crossbody gets two on Harwood, followed by another high crossbody for another two on Harwood. Wheeler is back in with a powerbomb into a German suplex from Harwood into a rollup for two. Back up and the Infantry superkicks FTR into a neckbreaker for two on Wheeler but Harwood is sent into Dean to knock him outside. FTR collides with each other but Wheeler flips over Harwood to set up the Shatter Machine for the pin at 12:23.

Rating: B. The Infantry brought it here, which makes their near squash by the House Of Black all the more confusing. If you’re willing to let them have a close match against a great team, why not give them some more against the House? Anyway, this was an interesting one as you had FTR having trouble keeping up with the fast young team, only to eventually catch them. You could see Harwood’s face almost saying “gotcha” right before the Shatter Machine and that’s a great story, as the veterans take out the young upstarts by catching them rather than beating them.

Big Bill and Ricky Starks aren’t looking past Top Flight but they’re really not worried. They’ve beaten FTR before so they can do it again and prove just how great they are.

Adam Copeland, Eddie Kingston and Mark Briscoe are ready for the House Of Black at Dynasty. Briscoe is down but wants a dogfight from Kingston at Supercard Of Honor. Kingston is ready to make the House spit up blood and teeth.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. JD Drake

Drake grabs an early cobra clutch before hitting a dropkick for two. A Vader Bomb misses for Drake though and O’Reilly strikes away. O’Reilly kicks him down and grabs the cross armbreaker for the tap at 2:36. It’s nice to see a fast match like that, as this didn’t need to go long and made O’Reilly feel that much more dangerous.

Post match the Undisputed Kingdom comes out to celebrate with O’Reilly, who just kind of goes with it.

We get a preview of Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Will Ospreay on Dynamite.

Tag Team Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Big Bill/Ricky Starks vs. Top Flight

Darius wrestles Starks down into an armbar to start and a snap suplex puts him down again. A slingshot hilo gives Darius two but it’s off to Bill, who has Darius a bit nervous. With the solo efforts not working, Top Flight dropkicks both of them to the floor. Starks offers a distraction though and a big boot drops Dante as we take a break.

Back with Bill missing a charge into the corner, allowing the tag off to Darius to pick up the pace. A Pele kick out of the corner catches Starks and a rollup gets….two, despite Starks not really moving. Darius uses Dante as a launchpad for a tornado DDT to pin Starks at 9:40 (about ten seconds after the weird near fall so someone seems to have gotten screwed up there).

Rating: C+. The ending was a bit odd but they recovered just fine and got the result they needed, which is all that matters. Top Flight moving on despite Bill and Starks’ confidence is a good way to go and FTR should have their hands even fuller with the more established team. Good match here, though Starks and Bill seemingly being finishes so fast is a bit disappointing.

Christopher Daniels wants Malakai Black on Rampage.

Thunder Rosa vs. Lady Frost

They go to the mat for some grappling to start until Rosa shoulders her down. Frost is back up with chops and boots in the corner but Rosa hits a hard clothesline as we take a break. Back with Rosa wining a slugout and hitting another clothesline. Rosa scores with the running dropkick against the ropes for two but Frost scorpion kicks her way out of trouble. Rosa isn’t having that though and hits a Backstabber, setting up the Tijuana Bomb for the pin at 8:50.

Rating: C+. There is nothing wrong with a match between a big star and a lower level opponent where said opponent gets in some offense before coming up short. That’s what we got here and it should move Rosa up a bit more before her likely title match at Dynasty. Frost continues to be someone who might not be moving up the ladder but she’s a solid enough opponent for a spot like this. That’s not a bad place to be and AEW seems to get that.

Post match Rosa shouts at the camera and demands respect from Toni Storm.

We go to the back with Toni Storm being told that next week it’s Thunder Rosa vs. Mariah May for the title shot at Dynasty. Storm turns to May, asks if this is what she has been planning all along….and then kisses her, saying she was a genius. Storm: “I see myself in you and I love me. What do you think about that eh Lightning Daffodil?” Everyone seems confused to wrap it up.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Video on Will Ospreay.

Blackpool Combat Club/Katsuyori Shibata vs. Lance Archer/Righteous

Shibata strikes away at Archer to start and then kicks him down as commentary talks about Bobby Heenan. Dutch comes in and requests/receives Castagnoli, who he runs over with a shoulder. Castagnoli is back up with a rather impressive slam and it’s of to Danielson to strike away. The rapid fire kicks in the corner connect but Dutch runs him over without much trouble.

Danielson slugs away on Vincent (not Dutch, Tony) and hits a suicide dive on Dutch (yes Dutch, Tony). That earns him a whip into the barricade though and the villains take over as we take a break. Back with Danielson not quite being able to pull Dutch into the LeBell Lock. Instead Dutch pounds him down into the corner, only to miss a charge. Archer and Dutch take turns slamming each other onto Danielson for two but he manages t knock Dutch off the top.

A missile dropkick allows Danielson to get over for the tag off to Castagnoli for the showdown with Archer. Everything breaks down and Castagnoli and Shibata double team Archer. The Swing has Archer in more trouble and Castagnoli grabs the Sharpshooter. Orange Sunshine hits Danielson but Shibata makes a fast save. Archer chokeslams Castagnoli so Vincent can hit a Swanton for two. Shibata suplexes Vincent but Dutch breaks up the cross armbreaker. Shibata’s sleeper takes Vincent down and the PK finishes at 16:47.

Rating: B-. This was another showcase match for most of the Club plus Shibata, which only made for the most interesting main event. Archer and the Righteous continue to feel like a team who should be something of a deal but mainly serve to beat up jobbers and lose to bigger teams. That’s not a bad role for them, but it did make for a fairly long match before we got to whichever of the good guys got the win.

Overall Rating: B. This show felt like it was trying to have more in the way of importance, but it still feels like it pales in comparison to Dynamite. AEW could use a bit more of a balance between the two shows, but this was one of the stronger Collisions in a bit. Dynasty still doesn’t feel like the most important show, though Danielson vs. Ospreay will be enough to carry a lot of it. Good show here, with the wrestling overcoming the other issues, as usual.

Results
Adam Copeland b. Matt Cardona – Spear
FTR b. The Infantry – Shatter Machine to Bravo
Kyle O’Reilly b. JD Drake – Cross armbreaker
Top Flight b. Big Bill/Ricky Starks – Tornado DDT to Starks
Thunder Rosa b. Lady Frost – Tijuana Bomb
Blackpool Combat Club/Katsuyori Shibata b. Lance Archer/Righteous – PK to Vincent

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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Collision
Date: March 16, 2024
Location: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

The road to Dynasty continues and in this case that means we have quite the big match. This week will see Bryan Danielson vs. Katsuyori Shibata in a match that was literally announced yesterday. It would be nice to have that big of a match announced further in advance but at least it is happening. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Bryan Danielson vs. Katsuyori Shibata

They aren’t wasting time here. Feeling out process to start until Danielson takes him down by the arm as Nigel talks about his history of beating up Danielson. That’s broken up and they go back to the standoff until Danielson goes back to the arm. Shibata isn’t having that and forearms him down with Nigel saying Danielson keeps coming back like a fungus. Some chops have Danielson taking Shibata back to the mat but Shibata sends him outside as we take a break.

Back with Danielson striking away in the corner until Shibata reverses for strikes of his own. There’s the running dropkick in the corner as Nigel wonders if Danielson is missing a chromosome. They trade ankle locks before knocking each other down for a double breather. Back up and they exchange knees to the chest until Shibata grabs a Death Valley Driver for two. Some elbows to the head rock Danielson but he’s right back with the running knee for two of his own.

Danielson gets the LeBell Lock until Shibata puts a foot on the rope. The kicks to the chest rock Shibata but he wants more. The running kick to the chest brings Shibata back to his feet and he fires off the Kawada Kicks. Now Danielson sits down so Shibata can kick him, leading to a seated slap off. Danielson kicks him in the head for the knockdown but the running knee is blocked. The octopus goes on but Danielson slips out and gets two off a rollup. Danielson’s LeBell Lock attempt is countered into a rollup, which Danielson counters into a rollup for the pin at 19:33.

Rating: B. I get the appeal of this kind of thing and it was a hard hitting, physical match, but this was the latest in the tour of “Danielson wrestles someone in a dream match and then we move on”. There are far worse uses of television time, but it’s a match that comes and goes and really just feels like something that happened because Danielson wanted it to. I’m sure he’ll do something else again and it’ll be good, but it would be nice to have it feel like something other than “here’s a cool pairing you’ve never seen before”.

Respect is shown post match.

We look at Mercedes Mone’s debut.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Trish Adora

Hart is defending and the special rule is….the loser is banned from ringside for the House of Black vs. Infantry match later tonight. Adora takes her to the mat and does the splits on Hart’s back while cranking on the arms. They go to the floor, with Adora blocking a whip and elbowing Hart in the face. Hart sends her hard into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Adora fighting out of a chinlock but getting sent into the corner for some running elbows. Adora’s bridging German suplex gets two so Hart superkicks her down. The moonsault retains the title at 7:43.

Rating: C+. Adora continues to look strong in the ring and can do some rather impressive things. At the same time though, this was about giving Hart another win as her rise continues. She is on the way to a showdown with Willow Nightingale for the title and having her win here is a good way to boost her up even further.

Zak Knight and Harley Cameron are happy with Angelo Parker wanting to fight Knight. Poutine insults ensue…and never mind as Knight says they’ll fight on his terms, meaning not tonight.

Daniel Garcia vs. Lee Moriarty

Shane Taylor is here with Moriarty and Matt Menard is on commentary. They go to the mat to start with Garcia slipping out of a headscissors and hitting a running basement dropkick to send him outside. The Taylor distraction lets Moriarty come back with a suicide dive to take over, allowing him to STEAL GARCIA’S DANCE! Moriarty works on the arm back inside but Garcia is back up to pound him into the corner. Garcia starts in on the leg before a Saito suplex gets two. Garcia’s piledriver attempt is cut off so Moriarty hits a double stomp. Not that it matters as Garcia pulls him into a heel hook for the tap at 5:12.

Rating: C+. It’s nice to see a short match like this one where they got to the point and gave Garcia a pretty definitive win. That’s a good thing to see after he lost at Revolution so there seems to be something of a bright spot for him going forward. Moriarty can work well with just about anyone and he did well here by making Garcia look better.

We look at Bullet Club Gold breaking Darby Allin’s foot on Dynamite.

Pac vs. Aaron Solo

Solo wastes no time by knocking him to the floor to start, setting up the running flip dive. Back in and Pac stomps him down in the corner, followed by some boot choking. Pac kicks him in the head and hits a missile dropkick, setting up the Black Arrow into the Brutalizer for the win at 4:36.

Rating: C+. I was worried that Solo was going to get in a bunch of offense here but instead Pac shrugged it off and squashed Solo as he should have. Pac is one of those people who has a bunch of presence and feels like a star every time he’s out there. The problem continues to be that he can’t stay around, which makes getting behind him that much harder.

Post match Pac says he’s looking for trouble. Either Tony Khan can find it for him or he can find it himself.

Bryan Danielson talks about how he and Katsuyori Shibata were both told that they couldn’t wrestle again but they just did it tonight. Danielson is grateful for that, just like he’s grateful for getting to face Will Ospreay at Dynasty. It’s live or die, but Danielson isn’t ready to die. He doesn’t think Ospreay is ready.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Lance Archer

They shove each other around to start and trade shoulders to see both of them staggered. We’re already on the exchange of forearms until Castagnoli takes over with some clotheslines. A running version puts Archer on the floor, only to have Castagnoli miss a clothesline off the apron. Archer’s running flip dive drops Castagnoli and we take a break.

Back with Archer hitting a swinging Rock Bottom for two but Castagnoli grabs a suplex. Archer hits him in the face and goes up, only to have his Old School broken up. The Swing is broken up as well though and Archer knees him on the top. A chokeslam gives Archer two but the Blackout is countered into a Death Valley Driver to give Castagnoli two. Castagnoli gets creative with a cutter off the middle rope for another near fall, followed by a springboard spinning uppercut. The Swing is on but here is the Righteous to jump Castagnoli fir the DQ at 11:08.

Rating: B-. I could have gone with a better finish than something that is likely setting up a six man with the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club but it was fun to see two monsters beating on each other. That’s all you needed from these two and they had a heck of a brawl. Castagnoli’s power continues to be impressive and him getting to throw someone like Archer around worked well.

Post match the beatdown is on so Bryan Danielson runs in for the save. When that doesn’t work, Katsuyori Shibata runs in with a chair for the real save.

Angelo Parker and Ruby Soho aren’t happy that Zak Knight won’t fight Parker tonight. Parker is ready to go find him, but Soho says that’s what Saraya and company want, so she won’t be with him. That’s enough to get Parker to calm down.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Bryan Keith

Keith grinds away on a headlock to start but O’Reilly slips out for another standoff. O’Reilly is knocked outside but gets right back in for an exchange of strikes. A grapple off doesn’t go well for O’Reilly as Keith kicks him in the face, followed by a DDT for two. We take a break and come back with O’Reilly kneeing him in the ribs.

We pause for a second for the referee to check on Keith, followed by a quick kneebar from O’Reilly. That doesn’t work so O’Reilly goes for a triangle choke to slow Keith down. Keith is fine enough to catch him on top, setting up a hard kick for two. An enziguri staggers O’Reilly again but he’s back with a heck of a lariat. The cross armbreaker makes Keith tap at 11:30.

Rating: B-. Keith was a good choice for O’Reilly’s first opponent back as O’Reilly needed to show he could still hang around here without putting him against too big of a name. Odds are this will be followed by something with the Undisputed Kingdom, and I’m not sure where that is going to go. Nice match back for O’Reilly here, as he has a lot of time to make up for from the last few years.

Post match the Undisputed Era come in to celebrate.

Deonna Purrazzo and Thunder Rosa are ready for Toni Storm and Mariah May.

Tag Team Title Tournament Wildcard Match: House Of Black vs. Infantry

Julia Hart is here with the House, who jump the Infantry from behind before the bell. The beating goes outside with the Infantry being beaten down until the House gets inside. The Infantry wants to go so we ring the bell, allowing King to hit a Cannonball for two. Matthews kicks Dean on the floor and we take an early break.

Back with Bravo grabbing a rollup for two on Matthews and diving over for the tag to Dean. King comes in and runs Dean over with a heck of a clothesline, followed by Dante’s Inferno for two with Bravo making the save. King takes Bravo outside for an AA onto the announcers’ table, setting up a piledriver onto the same table. Julia Hart gets up to argue for some reason and here’s Mark Briscoe with a chair shot to Matthews. Briscoe runs off with King giving chase, allowing Dean to get the upset pin at 7:44.

Rating: C+. This was almost more of an angle than a match, as it was mostly a squash until the end when Briscoe interfered. It’s nice to see Briscoe costing the House the win as it ties together and gives us quite the twist to start the tournament. Odds are this leads to something big between Briscoe and the House, though waiting until Dynasty might be a bit much.

Post match here is Malakai Black to glare.

Video on Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage.

Here is Copeland, still with the box labeled SPIKE. Copeland talks about his history here in Ottawa and, after rolling his eyes a bit at the hatred for Toronto, he sits in a chair in front of the box. He was looking forward to sitting around with Christian Cage when their careers were over but now everything has changed.

Copeland failed at World’s End and took a Conchairto. Now he has talked to someone who helped make him who he is (implying but not saying Mick Foley) and pulls out spike, which is a 2×4 covered in nails (better known as Janice in TNA). He and Spike are going to end Cage and make him say I QUIT in Toronto. Shouting I QUIT before an I quit match might not be the best idea.

Overall Rating: B-. This was quite the show, with nothing that really felt bigger than the rest and a pair of return matches before a big upset in the main event. It was a show with a bunch of things happening and most of it was anywhere from completely decent to solid. Next week’s Dynamite should be a big deal and this show did enough to help set it up, albeit without anything that felt like a main event.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Katsuyori Shibata – Rollup
Julia Hart b. Trish Adora – Moonsault
Daniel Garcia b. Lee Moriarty – Heel hook
Pac b. Aaron Solo – Brutalizer
Claudio Castagnoli b. Lance Archer via DQ when the Righteous interfered
Kyle O’Reilly b. Bryan Keith – Cross armbreaker
Infantry b. House Of Black – Chair shot to Matthews from Mark Briscoe

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Dynamite
Date: March 13, 2024
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

So it’s Big Business and Mercedes Mone is going to debut tonight. That hasn’t been officially announced, but AEW has beaten us over the head with the hints to the point where you can’t be any more obvious. Other than that, Samoa Joe is defending the World Title against Wardlow. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Renee Paquette is in the back when a nice car comes in. The door opens and let’s go to the arena.

We aren’t wasting time this week as here is Mercedes Mone (dubbed the CEO) fr the big debut. Mone talks about how great it is to be here and how much magic we will be seeing. Wrestling has given her hopes and dreams, with people like Eddie Guerrero making it feel so special. Those dreams made her the first woman to main event a pay per view in this building. She dropped out of school at 13 to take care of her brother and went to a place near here called Chaotic Wrestling. Now she is here so let’s get down to business.

She’s looking forward to tearing it up with everyone back there, including the two women in the main event: Willow Nightingale (who injured Mone’s foot/ankle last year and put her out for months) and Riho. For now though, she is All Elite and thanks Tony Khan for the tweet announcing it. Dancing ensues. This wasn’t exactly a bombshell shocker (and it wasn’t supposed to be) but it did what it needed to do and gave Mone a nice start.

Samoa Joe promises to take out Wardlow, whose time has come. He doesn’t lose titles at the Garden.

Adam Cole reads a story about a man named Wardlow, who had to fight for his freedom from an evil man (MJF). He was ready to win more titles and now he is ready to destroy Samoa Joe and win the World Title. The end.

AEW Wold Title: Samoa Joe vs. Wardlow

Wardlow, with the Undisputed Kingdom, is challenging. They start fast and head to the floor, with Joe being whipped into various things. Back in and Wardlow hammers away, only to have Joe chop his way out of the corner. Joe kicks him down but Wardlow heads up top for something like a Whisper In The Wind.

We take a break and come back with Wardlow hitting a middle rope shoulder. Joe is back with a knockdown and backsplash, setting up a slugout. What appeared to be an over the shoulder powerslam is broken up though and Wardlow hits his knee out of the corner for two. The Swanton misses so Joe hammers away in the corner, only to get powerbombed down. The Powerbomb Symphony is loaded up but Joe reverses into the Koquina Clutch to retain at 11:04.

Rating: B-. Well that happened. Wardlow was built up as a serious challenger for a few weeks and was then put away without much trouble. The match was good and felt like a title fight, but it was the latest example of Wardlow losing after being treated like a big deal. Swerve Strickland is the real next challenger for Joe, which makes the Wardlow thing feel like that much more of a waste of time.

Post match a livid Swerve Strickland comes out with his chain but a smirking Joe walks off.

The Elite is not happy with Alex Marvez disrespecting Kazuchika Okada and promise vengeance on Pac/Eddie Kingston/Penta El Zero Miedo. Marvez also has to sing Happy Birthday to Matthew.

Elite vs. Eddie Kingston/Penta El Zero Miedo/Pac

Okada and Kingston start things off but Okada brings in Matt before doing anything. One heck of a chop rocks Matt so it’s Pac coming in for a running shoulder. A hurricanrana into a backbreaker puts Matt down so it’s off to Penta. That means a rolling cutter from Nick, which only makes Penta kick him in the face a few times.

An AA powerslam gives Penta two and something like What’s Up sends Matt rolling outside. Okada comes in to chop it out with Kingston, setting up a dropkick to put Kingston in trouble. A triple strike in the corner puts Kingston down and we take a break. Back with Matt diving into an exploder suplex but Okada and Nick break up the tag attempts. Kingston fights up again and gets the big tag, meaning everything can break down.

Penta and Pac hit stereo dives, setting up a top rope double stomp on Nick. Pac’s springboard 450 gets two with Okada making the save. Okada DDTs Kingston and Matt wheelbarrow faceplants Pac. Penta hits a Canadian Destroyer but Nick takes him down. A low blow into the Rainmaker finishes Kingston at 12:38.

Rating: B. This was the kind of wild match that you would have expected from the people involved and that is a good thing. The ending should set up the title match between Kingston and Okada, which very well could see the title changing hands. Other than that, it was the usual wild AEW six man, as going nuts and ignoring the rules tends to be the norm for these things.

Tony Schiavone brings out Will Ospreay for a chat. Ospreay has spent years trying to be like Bryan Danielson, who is one of the best ever. He has seen Danielson doing things to hurt his body over the years and that has Ospreay wanting to see what happens when they face each other. It’s the best wrestler ever against the best in the world today and Ospreay is ready to show he is on another level. Ospreay can bring some fire in his promos.

Deonna Purrazzo challenges Mariah May and Toni Storm to a tag match next week. Partner to be named.

Jay White vs. Darby Allin

White has Bullet Club Gold with him and Allin is heavily bandaged. White takes it to the mat to start and grinds away but Allin fights back up and sends him outside. The big flip dive connects, followed by a suicide dive to make it worse. A ram sends Allin into the barricade instead and a big whip over the steps has Allin crashing again as we take a break. Back with Allin fighting back and flipping away from White.

The Blade Runner is countered into a flipping Stunner, followed by a sunset flip for two. A springboard Coffin Drop is countered into a German suplex but Allin is back with a Scorpion Death Drop for two more. The Coffin Drop to the apron only hits apron and Allin is in trouble. He dives back in to beat the count and White hits the Blade Runner for the pin at 12:15.

Rating: B-. Maybe it’s the leftovers from the Revolution main event but I’m rather over seeing Allin doing his stunt show out there. It feels like that’s the entire point of his matches, which is annoying as he is capable of doing so much more. The action was good and White winning as Allin is going away for a bit is the right way to go, so call the whole thing a success.

Post match White teases respect but the Club jumps Allin instead. A Pillmanizing is loaded up but the Acclaimed runs in for the save. Then White chairs Billy Gunn down and the Club destroys the Acclaimed. With the Acclaimed down, Allin’s ankle is Pillmanized to send him away. To climb Mt. Everest.

Hook/Chris Jericho vs. Gates Of Agony

Hook and Jericho starts fast with a pair of double suplexes and the ring is quickly cleared. Toa takes over on Jericho in the corner as we settle down. Jericho is sent outside and we take a break. Back with Hook coming in to clean house, including grabbing a northern lights suplex. Jericho comes off the middle rope with a shoulder, leaving Hook to suplex Toa down. Kaun’s fireman’s carry gutbuster gets two but he gets knocked down. Redrum and a Walls combination goes on, with Jericho letting go to take out Toa, leaving Kaun to tap at 8:43.

Rating: C. Much like the earlier tag match, this turned into another wild brawl, but this one was more than a bit sloppy with some of Jericho’s stuff not looking very sharp. It wasn’t exactly must see stuff and having Jericho teaming up with another young star isn’t the most interesting. Odds are they’ll be in the upcoming tournament, which will probably lad into a regular feud before Jericho moves on to some other young star. As he tends to do.

Kyle O’Reilly talks about how banged up he was but now he’s healed up. He’s just wondering if he can hang, which he’ll get to find out this week on Collision against Bryan Keith. The Undisputed Kingdom come in and seem to be cool with him fighting on his own. O’Reilly: “Yeah….on my own.”

Video on Riho vs. Willow Nightingale.

Riho meets Mercedes Mone.

Chris Jericho is happy to have teamed with Hook, then challenges him to a match next week on Dynamite.

Riho vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale blocks an early whip attempt and runs Riho over without much trouble. A dropkick takes Riho down again and we take an early break. Back with Riho hitting a suplex and going up top. That’s broken up and Nightingale hits a heck of a Pounce to send Riho outside. The flip dive off the apron misses though and Riho hits a stomp off the apron. A top rope stomp off the top gets two but Nightingale is right back up. Riho gets planted so Nightingale takes the straps down, setting up the Babe With The Powerbomb to give Nightingale the pin at 9:28.

Rating: B-. Good match here, which is nice to see even if it feels like this is in the main event spot so Mone can do something after the match. Nightingale continues to feel like someone who should be ready for a big push somewhere in the near future, but at some point it has to actually happen. For now though, Nightingale gets a solid win and hopefully that continues. I was expecting this to be Riho getting a win to cut Nightingale off again and it’s nice to see that not being the case.

Post match the lights go out and here is Julia Hart for a distraction. Skye Blue runs in for the cheap shot from behind but Mercedes Mone comes in for the save (Kris Statlander, Nightingale’s friend and partner who was there for her entrance, was apparently off getting a hot pretzel). A lot of dancing ensues to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show started off feeling huge and that first hour and fifteen minutes or so were enough to make up for the rest of the show not being the strongest. Mone coming in here was a big deal and it makes sense to focus on her. I’m curious to see where that goes from here, but it was off to a nice start. Hopefully the audience is up after last week, as the show was good enough to warrant strong viewership.

Results
Samoa Joe b. Wardlow – Koquina Clutch
Elite b. Penta El Zero Miedo/Pac/Eddie Kingston – Rainmaker to Kingston
Jay White b. Darby Allin – Blade Runner
Hook/Chris Jericho b. Gates Of Agony – Redrum to Kaun
Willow Nightingale b. Riho – Babe With The Powerbomb

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Dynamite
Date: March 6, 2024
Location: Gas South Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the Dynamite after Revolution, which was quite the smashing success. Now though comes the hard part in following up on what they did. Samoa Joe is still the World Champion after the triple threat and now we are on the way towards both Big Business next week and Dynasty next month. Let’s get to it.

Here is Revolution if you need a recap.

Opening sequence. We have a new theme song and set/logo. The song works well enough and the set/logo….well they’re a set/logo.

Tony Schiavone brings out Swerve Strickland, with Prince Nana, for a chat. Swerve talks about how he came up short in his house on Sunday. That isn’t cool with him because he remembered signing with AEW about two years to the day at Revolution 2022 in Orlando, Florida. Strickland was going to give it his all but here he stands with no gold. Maybe he is paying for all of the bad things he has done around here and maybe he isn’t supposed to be a champion here.

Maybe instead he is supposed to be a role player, but then he hears the reactions he is receiving and people have even flown in from his home state of Washington to see him. Whether Samoa Joe is still World Champion or not, Swerve is coming for the title because Swerve’s house. Cue Samoa Joe, complete with using the towel to polish up the belt. Joe thinks Swerve is talking funny after that beating at Revolution, because here we are in Swerve’s house, but that house is in Joe’s world. Swerve is ready to go right now but here is the Undisputed Kingdom to interrupt.

Adam Cole talks about how great the team did at Revolution and in a few months, no one is going to remember Swerve’s name. The only person that matters is Wardlow, who is going to win the title and bring it back where it belongs. Swerve calls out Cole going to the back of the line over and over. If he needs extra clients, he has Britt Baker’s phone number in his pocket. Cole doesn’t like that so how about we do Swerve/Joe vs. The Kingdom next week. Swerve says let’s do it right now and Tony Khan agrees.

Kingdom vs. Samoa Joe/Swerve Strickland

Non-title and Joe hammers Bennett down into the corner to start. Taven’s running splash in the corner misses (with Joe just stepping aside as only he can) and his middle rope dropkick hits Bennett (again with the sidestep). The Kingdom finally manages to kick Joe in the face to put him down and we take a break. Back with Swerve getting the tag to clean house, with Joe not being pleased at anything happening. Swerve hits the Swerve Stomp to Bennett and glares over at Joe, who still looks unhappy. The House Call sets up the JML Driver to finish Bennett at 6:54, with Joe still being furious over the whole thing.

Rating: C. That might have been the most WWE opening I’ve ever seen from outside of WWE. We had people interrupting promos, an impromptu match and the champions losing clean. Odds are this won’t have any impact on the titles (and it certainly shouldn’t as those are WAY beneath Joe and Swerve), but it’s yet another unnecessary blow to Ring Of Honor, which does in fact want you to pay for its show in thirty days (no matches announced thus far either).

Post match Wardlow comes out to glare at Swerve, who gets choked out by Joe.

Chris Jericho interrupts Hook and talks about Taz dropping him on his head in his first ECW match. Jericho sees talent in Hook, who isn’t impressed and walks away.

We look at Hangman Page going nuts at Revolution.

The Young Bucks, in a parody of Tony Khan, have two huge announcements, which they’ll make later tonight.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Brian Cage

Hook is defending under FTR Rules. Cage starts fast by snapping off some suplexes before wedging a chair in the corner. Hook comes back with the fire extinguisher blast and some trashcan lid shots to the face. A dive off the steps is powerslammed out of the air though and Hook crashes down hard on the floor. Cage misses a charge through the barricade and crashes out into the crowd as we take a break.

Back with Cage chairing Hook down but Hook DDTs him onto the chair for a breather. A suplex into the barricade in the corner gives Hook two so Cage grabs an F5 onto the chair for two of his own. It’s time for thumbtacks but Hook suplexes him into said tacks, leaving…not that many in Cage’s back. Redrum goes on so Cage drops him back into the tacks, which doesn’t work and Cage is out at 10:06.

Rating: C-. That was a bit much for this kind of a match and that’s not a good thing in this case. I know they’ve had issues, but going from soe tag matches to this in their first singles match is a little bit much to take. They were also sloppy in some spots with a few big moves missing and the whole thing not exactly making Hook look good.

Post match the Gates Of Agony run in to beat Hook down but Chris Jericho makes the save. Oh joy: Jericho teaming with a young guy.

We’re having a tournament to crown new Tag Team Champions.

Orange Cassidy wans a new title and the Best Friends are ready to get the Tag Team Titles…but Chuck is still hurt. Instead, Cassidy and Trent Beretta should win the tournament, and they happen to have their first round match on Rampage.

Killswitch vs. Matt Menard

Menard is fighting for revenge after Revolution and Christian Cage is on commentary. A bunch of right hands in various corners rock Luchasaurs and some clotheslines put him on one knee. That doesn’t last long as Luchasaurus is up with a chokeslam, followd by the running clothesline to finish Menard at 1:56.

Post match Daniel Garcia runs in for the brawl but Nick Wayne runs in to take him out. The villains go to leave but Adam Copeland is back to jump the Patriarchy. Mother Wayne’s low blow is blocked and Copeland chases Cage into the crowd. We follow the chase through the tech area and into the back, with Cage running into the parking lot where he steals someone’s car to escape. Copeland issues the challenge for an I Quit match for the title in two weeks in Toronto. Since two seconds have passed, Tony Khan has made the match official.

Kyle O’Reilly is happy to be back and he is medically cleared.

We look at Sting’s final match at Revolution.

Here are the Young Bucks, who throw Tony Schiavone out for bringing up their loss. They aren’t happy with Sting’s sons, who are 6’8 and 305lbs because THEY CHEATED! The Bucks are going to get their Tag Team Titles back, but first they have to take care of some things. First of all, Hangman Page put his hands on some officials at Revolution and is suspended indefinitely. The other item is Kenny Omega, who has no showed various dates for no good reason (commentary brings up his health issues) so he’s fired from the Elite.

Cue Eddie Kingston, who says you might as well fine him now because he’s got something to say. They try to cool things down but the fight is on, with a low blow cutting Kingston off….and Kazuchika Okada is here. The staredown is on and Okada lays out Kingston with the Rainaker because Okada is Elite. That’s certainly a way to go for Okada, who does work better as a villain. I’m worried about putting him with the Bucks, but the debut could have been a lot worse.

We look at Will Ospreay winning his debut match over Konosuke Takeshita at Revolution.

Kris Statlander vs. Riho

Stokely Hathaway is here with Statlander. Riho gets slammed down to start and tries to pick up the pace, only to get knocked straight back down. Statlander powers her into the corner and slams her down as we take a break. Back with Riho striking away in the corner, despite needing to get ont he bottom rope to be close to Statlander’s size.

Statlander tries a powerbomb but gets hurricanranaed into the 619. Riho’s high crossbody doesn’t work so she grabs a dragon suplex for two. Statlander knocks her down again so Hathaway throws her a chain, which Statlander drops onto the floor. Some hard suplexes rock Riho but she grabs a victory roll for the pin at 9:21.

Rating: C+. It’s time for the Riho push again because…well for some reason AEW insists. Statlander was on fire as TBS Champion and now here she is instead, teaming with Willow Nightingale and having her main issue with a manager. The match itself was a good big vs. Small format and Riho’s offense looked nice as usual, but egads it’s hard to try and make myself care about anything she does.

Toni Storm is happy to retain her Women’s Title and presents Mariah May with her first shirt. Yes Storm is getting a cut.

Willow Nightingale is ready to face Riho next week because she wants to be a champion herself. She’s coming for the TBS Title.

Here is Daby Allin to talk about being happy with Sting’s retirement match. He has Jay White next week and then in three weeks, he’s off to climb Mount Everest. He might not come back alive so next week, he’s going to go out fighting for his life. Allin lays down the Tag Team Title belt and congratulates whoever holds them next but here is Bullet Club Gold to interrupt.

Jay White talks about how Allin has been doing some great things but warns him about what is going to hapen if they get in the ring. Instead of a match, how about Allin comes hang with the Bang Ban Scissor Gang. We can even call him Darby Scissorhands! Allin doesn’t want to hear it and says White should climb Everest too. He’ll see White next week. I’m really not sure why that one off match for next week needed this much hype.

Julia Hart issues an open challenge for Rampage.

The House Of Black is ready to burn Mark Briscoe. Do they need to dig one grave or three?

Mark Briscoe talks about walking through flames and dancing with the devil. He’s ready for a street fight, but Jay Lethal comes in to say it’s time he mans up to help Briscoe. Mark says don’t bring Jeff Jarrett, but Lethal says trust him. Commentary implies Jarrett will be there.

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher

Non-title and Don Callis is on commentary. They trade takedowns to start until a hsoulder doesn’t get Ospreay very far. Back up and Ospreay ducks some shots to the head before snapping off a headscissors. Fletcher hits a heck of a chop to drop Ospreay and we take a break. We come back with Ospreay hitting a dive to the floor but the Oscutter is countered into a hard suplex for two.

They grab hands and chop it out with Ospreay getting the better of things, only to have another Oscutter countered. The powerbomb countered is countered into a DDT to plant Fletcher but he ducks the Hidden Blade. A middle rope Snake Eyes hits Ospreay but he’s back with a cutter on the apron and we take a break (at 9:57). Back with Ospreay planting Fletcher and going up top, where Fletcher crotches him. Ospreay has to flip out of dragon superplex before grabbing a Liger Bomb for two.

Some kicks to the face set up a failed Stormbreaker attempt so Fletcher hits a double underhook slam of his own. Fletcher hits a heck of a sitout powerbomb for two before putting Ospreay on top. That’s broken up for Cheeky Nandos into a super poisonrana, followed by a running back elbow for two. Back up and a Spanish Fly is countered so Fletcher hits a superkick, only to get caught with the Spanish Fly for two. The Oscutter gets two and the Hidden Blade finishes for Ospreay at 19:23.

Rating: B. This was very similar to the Takeshita match from Revolution but there is quite the difference between Taekeshita and Fletcher. Some of the kickouts in here didn’t leave me wanting more like I did on Sunday, but rather wondering why in the world Fletcher was getting to survive this long. Ospreay is a lot of fun, but hopefully they don’t have him doing the same kind of match week in and week out, or the spark is going to be lost quickly.

Post match Bryan Danielson comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I’m not sure what to make of this show. It definitely moved things forward into the next pay per view cycle and the new look/set made things feel fresh, but some of the stuff wasn’t exactly great. Having Ring Of Honor be treated like the whipping boy around here a month before their big show is a choice and having more of Riho and the Young Bucks is not the most intriguing. What matters here is it feels like they know where they want to go and that is a very nice thing to see with a month and a half before their next pay per view.

Results
Samoa Joe/Swerve Strickland b. Kingdom – JML Driver to Bennett
Hook b. Brian Cage – Redrum
Killswitch b. Matt Menard – Running clothesline
Riho b. Kris Statlander – Victory roll
Will Ospreay b. Kyle Fletcher – 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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AND

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Dynamite
Date: June 22, 2022
Location: UW Milwaukee Panther Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

We’re at the final Dynamite step before Forbidden Door on Sunday, which could be quite the rough night. Bryan Danielson is making an announcement about his future and it might not be the best news. Odds are we get some more matches announced for Sunday as well so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Bryan Danielson for the announcement. Tony Schiavone asks about his future but Danielson takes the mic and says he isn’t giving it back. Danielson says this is a great week to be an AEW fan or a professional wrestling fan. This Sunday we have Forbidden Door and then a week later we have Blood and Guts with all of the violence you could want. As for Forbidden Door, Zack Sabre Jr., he wanted to prove he was the best technical wrestler in the world, while Danielson wanted to crush Sabre Jr.’s trachea.

Unfortunately, he isn’t cleared to wrestle at Forbidden Door or Blood and Guts due to what happened at him in Anarchy In The Arena. However, don’t worry about him because he is going to be back. He feels great, he can read 500 words a minute, he can run two miles and not break a sweat and his mind is working at full speed.

As for the near future, he has found the one person to take his place at Forbidden Door and Blood and Guts who can be technical and violent and he will astound you. Who you ask? Well he came out of the bad guy tunnel so he isn’t going to tell you. Tune in on Sunday and you’ll see the greatest technical match of your lives. Sabre Jr. comes out to stare at Danielson but doesn’t say anything.

Jon Moxley is ready for the biggest match of his life on Sunday but he is also ready for the violence next week.

Aussie Open/Will Ospreay vs. Roppongi Vice/Orange Cassidy

Romero can’t get far with Fletcher to start and but he does manage to take him down. Cassidy comes in as everything breaks down, with Romero hitting the forever lariats. Vice and Cassidy do their biceps pose but the triple suicide dives are cut off. Stereo apron bombs have the good guys in trouble as we take a break.

Back with Cassidy hitting the lazy kicks before snapping off a double hurricanrana. A springboard hurricanrana takes Aussie Open down, setting up the triple dives onto Open and Ospreay. Back in Ospreay takes over on Cassidy, who cuts him off with a Stundog Millionaire. Everything breaks down again and it’s the parade of knockdowns until Cassidy hits the Orange Punch to finish Davis at 11:34.

Rating: C+. Cassidy is a very fun guy to watch, but it’s a little hard to get my head around the idea that he is getting to face one of the people who main evented this year’s Wrestle Kingdom. As for Aussie Open, they’re a good example of guys who were added to the mix in recent weeks without much being known about them. They’re the tag team who works with Ospreay and that’s about all I can tell you about them based on how they have been presented, which isn’t a good thing.

Post match the rest of the United Empire comes out for the staredown but FTR (including a Loverboy Dennis Condrey shirt) evens things out to chase the villains off.

Jay Lethal and Satnam Singh want Samoa Joe to vacate the ROH TV Title if he can’t defend it.

Here is Christian Cage for the big explanation. Christian doesn’t think much of Jungle Boy costing him a chance to win the World Title, but then he checked social media and saw what people thought of Jungle Boy. That’s why Christian hitched his wagon to Jungle Boy to try to make a quick buck. He didn’t come here to mentor some new generation but rather to make big money.

Christian offers some free advice: try having a match that people talk about more than two weeks after the fact. Have the match that parents sit their kids down to watch or name a pay per view after. We look at the clip of Christian insulting Jungle Boy’s family last week, which has Christian saying he doesn’t want to be Jungle Boy’s father. Jungle Boy has a father….but he’s dead.

That’s a good thing too, as Jungle Boy’s dad would be sad to see what his son has become. Cue Luchasaurus to choke Christian, who says Luchasaurus is like a son to him. Luchasaurus buys it and they hug, though Luchasaurus might not be entirely convinced. Heck of a promo from Christian here, though I’m not sure on changing things up with Luchasaurus.

We look at Kyle O’Reilly being taken out by Sting and Darby Allin on Rampage.

O’Reilly and the Young Bucks are ready to team up with Hikuleo and El Phantasmo vs. Sting/Allin and cronies.

All Atlantic Title Tournament First Round: Malakai Black vs. Penta Obscuro

Obscuro starts fast and knocks Black outside for a shot tot he face. Back in and Black counters the armbar into a rollup, setting up the Sling Blade for two. Black bails outside where he sends Penta into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Black fighting out of a piledriver on the apron but getting kicked in the head.

They get back inside with Black hitting a jumping knee to the face to send Penta outside, setting up a moonsault. A top rope double stomp gives Black two back inside but Penta catches him with a super Fear Factor. That’s good for a (very) delayed two as Black gets a food on the rope. Penta loads up another Fear Factor but Black escapes and hits Black Mass for the pin at 11:32.

Rating: B-. What else were you expecting here? They hit each other really hard until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. That’s what you should get from a match like this, though I don’t need to see House of Black vs. Death Triangle again for the better part of ever. Good, hard hitting match though, with Black moving on as he should have. I think.

Post match Pac comes in to stare at Black but Miro pops up on screen to promise to redeem all of the pagans and others at Forbidden Door.

Hangman Page vs. Silas Young

Adam Cole is on commentary and this is Young’s AEW debut. Young starts by missing a legsweep but coming back with a few shots. Page knocks him outside and hits the big moonsault as we take a break. Back with both of them getting up until Page knocks him to the floor. A top rope clothesline gives Page two but Young knocks him down again. The springboard moonsault misses in the corner though and Page hits a clothesline. The Buckshot Lariat finishes for Page at 8:43.

Rating: C+. Young can bring it almost every time he’s out there so I’m not surprised to see him do well in his AEW debut. Fans are going to know enough about him to think something of the match but it isn’t like Page beat a hot new star. It was a perfectly fine TV match and I could go for Young getting to do a bit more around here as AEW has far worse options.

Post match Adam Cole says it’s Story Time but Jay White cuts him off. White is looking forward to Forbidden Door, but he won’t be defending against Cole, who lost to Page twice. As for Page….he isn’t getting a title shot either. The fight is on with White getting the better of things, but he turns around to see Cole holding the title. A double team on Page is teased but Kazuchika Okada comes in for the save.

Red Velvet is injured so Stokely Hathaway is looking for a new Baddie.

Kris Statlander and Athena don’t think much of the Baddies because they have Willow Nightingale.

Marina Shafir vs. Toni Storm

Nyla Rose is here with Shafir. They go to the mat to start with Shafir getting the better of things as Storm isn’t quite at that level. Storm gets sent outside where Rose hits a heck of a backsplash as we take a break (with Excalibur being cut off in mid-sentence for about the fourth time tonight). Back with Storm taking it to the floor and hitting a tornado DDT off the steps. Storm sends her into the corner for the running hip attack but Rose offers a distraction. The pumphandle is broken up though and Storm gets a rollup pin at 7:19.

Rating: C. That’s probably Shafir’s best AEW match to date, which isn’t clearing that high of a bar. The best thing that can be said about it is that it felt more natural with Shafir not coming off as so stiff (as in moving better, not hitting hard). Maybe she has shaken off some of the jitters or gotten some pointers, but either way, this was a step up for her and that’s good to see.

Post match Rose jumps Storm and the double teaming is on until Thunder Rosa makes the save.

Darby Allin and Sting are bringing Shingo Takagi and Hiromu Takahashi to even things up at Forbidden Door.

Fenix is ready for Andrade El Idolo on Rampage.

Forbidden Door rundown, with Excalibur tripping over his words.

Lance Archer/Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley/Hiroshi Tanahashi

William Regal is on commentary. It’s a brawl to start with Tanahashi taking over on Jericho’s arm. Moxley comes in to take over but a cheap shot takes Moxley down for a change. Jericho catapults Moxley throat first into the bottom rope and it’s back to Archer to keep up the beating.

We take a break and come back with Tanahashi getting the tag to clean house, including the middle rope flipping splash for two on Jericho. Back up and Jericho can’t grab the Walls but manages to knock Tanahashi down and gets the second attempt. Tanahashi breaks that up and hits the Sling Blade with Moxley coming back in to drop Archer. The High Fly Flow gives Tanahashi the pin at 12:00.

Rating: B-. Pretty nice main event style tag match here with the only possible option to take the fall getting pinned. Tanahashi gets some momentum heading into Sunday, though I could have gone without commentary talking about how Moxley needs to defend AEW from New Japan. That’s a very tacked on idea and it isn’t needed for a match like this one.

Post match Eddie Kingston, the Jericho Appreciation Society and a bunch of New Japan guys, including Minoru Suzuki, come out for the brawl. Tanahashi and Moxley stare each other down in the ring as the brawl goes on for more than a few minutes to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m honestly not sure what to say about this show. We’ll start with the good: there were surprises, most of the wrestling was strong and the ending brawl was really energetic. They added some matches to the Forbidden Door card and gave you more of a reason to watch the pay per view. That’s how a go home show is supposed to go and they did that part pretty well.

Now comes the problem: if you don’t like/know a decent amount about New Japan, this was an absolutely nutty show that probably left you a bit confused. The last month or so has been Tony Khan getting to put his fantasy booking show on national TV (“And then THIS GUY show up but THIS GUY is out as a surprise and it’s a new faction between the two companies and they’re fighting for THIS TITLE but wait here’s THIS GUY and it’s a big fight and there’s an INTENSE STAREDOWN and…..”) and if you’re not into it, you have no need to watch the show.

I get what AEW is going for here and it will sell like gangbusters for their core audience, but I’m not exactly sure how other fans are going to care. This has been one heck of a detour into the inner workings of Tony Khan’s mind and unless you’re completely on board with that, this isn’t going to be your time. Sunday is (probably) going to be a lot of fun but it’s quite a lot of time spent setting that show up.

Results
Orange Cassidy/Roppongi Vice b. Aussie Open/Will Ospreay – Orange Punch to Davis
Malakai Black b. Penta Obscuro – Black Mass
Hangman Page b. Silas Young – Buckshot Lariat
Toni Storm b. Marina Shafir – Rollup
Jon Moxley/Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Lance Archer/Chris Jericho – High Fly Flow to Archer

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.