Dynamite
Date: April 7, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

Believe it or not we have a big six man tag here with the Young Bucks and Jon Moxley teaming up to face Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers. That certainly has potential, as does the next step in the Inner Circle vs. the Pinnacle. Throw in the explanation from QT Marshall about his new group and….you’ll realize that this place has a lot of stables. Oh and Mike Tyson is here again. Let’s get to it.

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

The Inner Circle arrived in some very expensive cars.

Opening sequence.

Max Caster vs. Hangman Page

Page doesn’t seem to like the rap and sends Caster into the buckle over and over. Caster gets in some right hands of his own but Page takes him down and hits a backsplash for two. They head outside where Page sends him into the barricade but stops to yell at Anthony Bowens. Back in and Page sends Caster outside again, this time setting up a slingshot dive. Caster is sat on the barricade for a clothesline, followed by a stare to get Bowens to put the boom box down.

The distraction lets Caster start in on the arm with some knee drops and a hammerlock with a crossface. That doesn’t last long as Page is back up with a spinebuster into an exploder suplex for two. They head to the apron for a slugout until Caster charges into a belly to back drop. Page goes up again but Bowens offers another distraction, allowing Caster to grab a superplex.

Zack Gibson’s Shankly Gates has Page in trouble but he’s out in a hurry and clotheslines Caster out of the air. The boom box comes in again for a distraction, allowing Bowens to slide Caster the chain. One heck of a right hand gives Caster two but the Mic Drop misses. Bowens breaks up the Buckshot so Page takes him out, followed by the Buckshot Lariat to finish Caster at 10:04.

Rating: C. That’s kind of a long time to beat a tag guy (who was somehow #3 in the rankings). Page is the #1 contender for whenever he gets the title shot and at least he had to take care of both of the Acclaimed here. The match was fine enough, though it didn’t exactly make Page look like the guy who is ready to take on Omega.

Tony Schiavone brings in the Death Triangle for a chat. Before they can say anything, here are the Best Friends (now complete with Kris Stadtlander), with Orange Cassidy showing us a clip from May when the Triangle took them out. The Triangle laughs them off but Pac is willing to give them another beating. Trent says the boys are back in town and now they have an alien with them. I’ll consider that a Toy Story reference as we wrap things up, basically with an announcement of what is next for both group.

Urban Meyer, coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, talked with Mike Tyson earlier.

Here’s the Inner Circle for a chat. After a break, Chris Jericho says they’re back in black after a beatdown from the Pineapple. He apologizes for the bad things they did but that was because of MJF (My Jerkoff Friend). Jericho talks about being bad in chemistry, to the point where his high school teacher asked him if he was on dope. No one is smart at chemistry, but Jericho is smart at people. He didn’t let MJF into the Inner Circle to help him up, but rather to keep him under Jericho’s thumb.

Then MJF outsmarted them, but then Jericho put his face in a toilet. Jericho knows that MJF is going to be the great one one day but he wants to be the great one now. Instead, be better than Peter Avalon, be better than Michael Nakazawa and be better than that scarf, because it is old and is sucks. Jericho was doing the scarf thing five years ago so why is MJF stealing his s***?

MJF is the one who ran to the back to ask how he did, which is called being a mark. Actually, from now on we’re going to call that being a Max. Then there is the Pinnacle, which is quite the lineup. You have Tully Blanchard, who is nothing more than the third string member of the Four Horsemen, right between Ole Anderson and Paul Roma (OUCH). Then there is FTR, who he can’t tell apart. They’re like the Jonas Brothers, in that they’re talented but no one can remember who is which.

Then you have Shawn Spears, and the only thing Jericho knows about him is the phone call Jericho got from him when WWE fired him ten years ago. Finally there is Wardlow with a million dollar brain and a thirteen cent body (yes that is what Jericho said) and is so stupid he has to strip to count to 21. Jericho: “I’ve seen him do it.” They are going to turn the Pinnacle into a human centipede and on May 5, it’s Pinnacle vs. Inner Circle in a Blood & Guts match. Jericho was showing the fire here and his face turn should breathe some new life into him.

Christian Cage talks about bringing Kazarian up to another level last week. Taz comes in and offers him a spot on Team Taz but leaves pretty quickly, telling Christian to sleep on it.

Bear Country vs. Jurassic Express

Bear Country is sent outside to start, where they catch Boy’s dive. They can’t catch Luchasaurus though and it’s time to head back inside. Boy’s top rope hurricanrana is cut off so Luchasaurus dives at them and….bounces off of them, making Bronson and Boy stagger around a bit.

We take a break and come back with Boy taking a backdrop and being powered into the corner. A few elbows get him out of trouble and a few slides between the legs are enough for the hot tag to Luchasaurus. The hot tag brings in Luchasaurus to clean house with strikes but Bronson catches him on top with a superplex. Boy breaks up the cover and mostly hits a slingshot tornado DDT.

Luchasaurus covers Boulder but Bronson picks up Boy and drives him into the cover (while not looking great in the process) for a save of his own. A double Cannonball in the corner crushes Luchasaurus but he sits up to avoid some kind of electric chair splash. Boulder gets kicked in the face and sent to the floor, leaving Bronson to take a chokeslam. Luchasaurus’ standing moonsault is good for the pin at 8:58.

Rating: C-. This was rather messy with not much of a flow or anything, plus some ugly looking sequences and spots. They were kind of lumbering around and trying to go a little bit faster than they should have. Throw in the moves they were doing not quite working and it wasn’t the best thing in the world. At least Jurassic Express won, even if they aren’t getting close to the titles anytime soon.

QT Marshall talks about how sick he is of Cody Rhodes, who was stuck behind Ted Jr. in WWE. That’s why Cody went to the indies and surrounded himself with small guys so he could stand out for once. Marshall has surrounded himself with men, like Aaron Solow who will never be someone’s boyfriend (Bayley’s ex), Commarado, who will never be just a body guy, and Ogogo, who is a household name in the UK. This is Marshall’s factory now. Nice promo, but it’s still QT Marshall leading a stable.

Sting comes out for a chat but here’s Jake Roberts to cut him off before Sting can say a word. Jake says Sting is insane if he keeps trying the same thing and expecting something else. Cue Lance Archer to say how awesome he is and how sick he is of Sting getting the mic time. Sting takes the mic and says he’s tired of Archer being left out too. So why isn’t Jake telling him how to do it? Sting tells Archer to make it showtime and leaves.

Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky are watching from the rafters.

Taz cuts off Ricky Starks and Brian Page because they need to focus on Christian.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. JD Drake

Allin is defending and has Sting in his corner. Drake knocks him to the floor with a single chop, where Ryan Nemeth goes after Allin. That earns him a stalking to the back from Sting and we take a break with Allin still in trouble. Back with Allin rolling outside but Drake tosses him into the ropes (from the floor) and nails a hard clothesline. Drake’s Cannonball against the barricade only hits barricade so Allin takes out Cezar Bononi (because Drake has multiple friends too).

Back in and Drake gets him in the Tree of Woe, meaning the Cannonball can connect this time for two. Drake misses a moonsault that wouldn’t have connected even if Allin had stayed in the same place so Allin goes up top. That brings Drake up with him so Allin bites his finger for the break. The super Code Red sets up the Coffin Drop to retain at 9:13.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and it’s nice to see Allin having an actual title defense. Drake is someone with potential, though I’m not sure where he (and his friends) fit in other than being new jobbers. This was fine for a one off match and that’s all it needed to be, though I’m curious as to what Allin’s next actual feud will be.

Post match the Hardy Family Office runs in for the beatdown but Sting and the Dark Order makes the save. Tay Conti comes in for the brawl with the Bunny.

Video on Kenny Omega’s issues with the Young Bucks, who used to be friends, then they weren’t friends, then they were friends, then they weren’t friends, then Don Callis talked to them a lot, and now it’s complicated.

The Pinnacle jumps Chris Jericho and bring him into the ring for the beatdown. The spike piledriver plants him as we see the Inner Circle locked in their dressing room. They break through the door and we come back to the arena where MIKE TYSON saves Jericho and beats up Shawn Spears in the corner. The rest of the Inner Circle comes in for the real save and Jericho poses with Tyson (who is in pretty good shape here).

Britt Baker and Rebel think that Baker deserves a Women’s Title shot because the rankings are nonsense. She is going to be getting her wins up because rankings aren’t based on things that matter like merchandise sales and star power.

The Bunny vs. Tay Conti

The Hardy Family Office, the Dark Order and Hikaru Shida are all at ringside. The brawl is on in a hurry with Bunny hammering away and yelling a lot. Conti is back up with a capture suplex, allowing Excalibur to compare her to Akira Maeda. Bunny is fine enough to send her into the apron and then nail a running dropkick against the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Conti hitting a spinning backbreaker but missing a running knee in the corner. Down The Rabbit Hole is broken up and a failed Matt Hardy distraction lets Tay hit the TayKO for….two. Bunny gets in a neck snap over the top and knocks down Shida to take away her kendo stick. Shida takes it back though, allowing Conti to hit a superplex. The DDTay finishes Bunny at 7:43.

Rating: C+. Conti is on a roll as of late and Bunny got in enough to carry her half. It seems that Conti is the next challenger for Shida, though I have no idea if she would wind up taking the title because Shida seems likely to be the champion for the rest of time. Maybe Conti is the one, but it’s not like there is a reason to believe it at this point. She has been awesome as of late though and this was more good stuff.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Video on Jade Cargill vs. Red Velvet.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Young Bucks/Jon Moxley

Don Callis is on commentary. Matt and Anderson start things off as JR calls it a six man tag instead of a trios match. Actually we’ll make it Omega vs. Matt instead, meaning a lot of trash is talked. The lockup doesn’t go anywhere so it’s off to Nick to crank on Omega’s arm. A hurricanrana puts Omega on the floor so it’s Anderson coming in. Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s the triple dives to take down Omega and the Brothers.

Back from a break with Matt making the hot tag to Moxley so house can be cleaned, including snapping off some German suplexes. Anderson manages to take Moxley into the corner for two, setting up a big boot to drop him again. Moxley manages to come back up with a neckbreaker and the hot tag brings in Nick to face Anderson. Nick sends Omega to the floor and cleans house on the Brothers until Anderson snaps off a spinebuster. Matt comes in to hiptoss Omega a few times, setting up a DDT to plant him.

Matt can’t bring himself to superkick Omega though, instead asking if he is ok. That earns him a slap from Omega so Matt takes Omega down and hammers away. The rung is cleared out again and Omega grabs the snapdragon on Matt. There’s another snapdragon but Moxley breaks up the V Trigger. Matt piledrives Omega but stops to check on him, only to go with More Bang For Your Buck for two.

Anderson makes the save so the Bucks clear the ring again. The BTE Trigger is loaded up on Omega but can’t do it. Moxley comes in instead for the Paradigm Shift into the rear naked choke….but the Bucks superkick Moxley. Eddie Kingston runs in for the attempted save but gets laid out by the Brothers. A Magic Killer to Moxley is enough for Omega to get the pin at 16:25.

Rating: B-. You knew it was coming and now we’re finally here. The big Bullet Club reunion that….well I guess someone must find it fascinating. It’s the big heel stable again and odds are they are going to hold the titles for a long time to come against a variety of challengers. The story makes sense but it’s not exactly thrilling stuff. At least we’re finally here now after months of “well maybe the Bucks are going to do something” and that’s an improvement. I guess.

Post match the Bucks hit a double superkick on Moxley and the big hug ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The big angle at the end wasn’t exactly inspiring but the rest of the show was pretty good for the most part. They need to find something to do other than big group beatdowns though, because there were quite a few on this show alone. AEW has a bad tendency to repeat things in their angles and post match segments (which happen in almost every match) and it would be nice if they could mix it up a bit. It’s starting to get tiring and that is never a good feeling. It’s still a very energetic show, but it needs to have something fresh in there for a change.

Results

Hangman Page b. Max Caster – Buckshot Lariat

Jurassic Express b. Bear Country – Standing moonsault to Bronson

Darby Allin b. JD Drake – Coffin Drop

Tay Conti b. The Bunny – DDTay

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Jon Moxley/Young Bucks – Magic Killer to Moxley

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Revolution 2021
Date: March 7, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Jim Ross

There is something rather pleasing about having another AEW pay per view. The company has such a great track record with these things and it should be awesome to see what they can do again. The main event is an exploding barbed wire deathmatch because….I have no idea why but it is certainly going to get them some attention. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Britt Baker/Rebel vs. Riho/Thunder Rosa

Hold on though as Rebel has been attacked (she’s on crutches so it must be true) so we have a replacement.

Pre-Show: Britt Baker/Maki Itoh vs. Riho/Thunder Rosa

Itoh sings her own entrance song rather loudly. Riho takes Baker down by the arm to start so it’s quickly off to the rope. Some dropkicks rock Baker and there’s a headscissors to put Baker down again. Rosa comes in to armbar Itoh down and it’s switched into a crossface. With that broken up, Rosa wins an exchange of forearms and Itoh starts to cry. A stomp to Rosa’s boot just makes her shoulder Itoh down and she drops Itoh face first onto the turnbuckle.

Riho comes in and gets dropped down onto Itoh for two of her own. Back up and they slug it out until Baker pulls Riho to the floor, where Rebel is suddenly fine enough to send her into the steps. Itoh misses a falling headbutt back inside so it’s back to Baker to stomp away. A missed charge allows the tag off to Rosa so house can be cleaned. The running backsplash gets two on Baker but a Sling Blade drops Rosa.

Now Itoh’s falling headbutt gets two but Rosa is right back with a Stunner. Itoh hits a tornado DDT for two so she goes up top, only to miss the falling headbutt. Riho comes back in and charges into a half crab from Itoh, meaning a rope has to be grabbed. Another headbutt is blocked with a shot to the head and it’s quickly back to Rosa vs. Baker for the exchange of rollups. Baker runs into Rebel by mistake and walks into the Death Valley Driver with Itoh making the save. Rebel gets in a crutch shot to Rosa to give Baker the pin at 14:52.

Rating: C+. It was certainly energetic and fast paced and it was quite nice to see Baker get the win. The Rebel swap was fine as Itoh certainly has a lot of charisma, though I’m not sure how long she is going to be around here. If it is a one off appearance then great, but I’d hope it isn’t someone else in the way of Baker getting her overdue Women’s Title.

The opening video looks at the big matches.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Chris Jericho/MJF

The Bucks are defending and jump Jericho and MJF to start and hammer them out to the floor. Jericho and MJF send them together but stop to brag a bit, allowing the Bucks to take them down with stereo dives. The Bucks grab stereo Sharpshooters until the ropes are grabbed so Nick heads up top. This time Jericho is ready for it and hits the triangle dropkick to send him outside to take over.

Back in and a flapjack lets Jericho and MJF mock the Bucks’ pose. Nick flips over and slides between the legs to make the hot tag to Matt. The house cleaning doesn’t even get past the first room as MJF takes him down and gets in a Fargo Strut. Jericho hits a suplex as JR’s voice sounds like it is about to go out. A double suplex gets two on Matt and we hit the chinlock. Matt fights up but gets sent back into the corner, where he comes out with a double DDT.

It’s back to Nick to pick the pace way up, including the slingshot Canadian Destroyer for two on MJF. Everything breaks down with Matt hammering away at Jericho, who reverses into the Walls. That’s broken up so the Meltzer Driver is loaded up, only to have Jericho reverse into a Tombstone. Now the Walls can go on in full until Jericho stops to drag it back to the middle, allowing Matt to slip out. A missed charge in the corner crotches Jericho so MJF comes back in to counter a hurricanrana into a sitout powerbomb for two.

MJF gets rather cocky so Matt scoops him up for the Meltzer Driver, only to have Jericho hit the Codebreaker on Nick for the save. A Floyd the baseball bat sets up the Heatseeker for two on Matt and MJF is stunned. It’s back to Nick so the Bucks can hit stereo high crossbodies for two each. Jericho’s Judas Effect hits Wardlow by mistake but the Lionsault is superkicked out of the air. The BTE Trigger gets two as MJF makes the save, earning himself a trip to the floor. The Meltzer Driver finishes Jericho at 17:50.

Rating: B-. They did a nice job of making me buy into the drama off the Heatseeker so they had to be doing something right. There wasn’t much of a reason to believe new champions were coming here but they did a nice enough job of changing my mind throughout. Good opener, though it went on a little longer than it should have.

Post match we run down the card, with JR apologizing for how bad his voice sounds (fair enough as he sounds horrible).

Casino Battle Royale

It’s a tag team Royal Rumble with 15 teams announced coming in. There are ninety second intervals and both members have to be eliminated, with the winners becoming #1 contenders. At least they have the casino game to validate the gambling theme this time. The Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes/QT Marshall) are in at #1 and the Dark Order (5/10) are in at #2 and the brawling is on in a hurry. Dustin snaps off the powerslam on 5 but Marshall is caught in a fall away slam/running dropkick combination. A double bulldog takes the Order down and it’s Santana/Ortiz in at #3.

House is cleaned but the Order knocks them both down. Marshall tosses 5 for the first elimination and has to hang on when 10 tries to toss him out as well. The Sydal Brothers are in at #4 and we get everyone brawling again with no one being tossed. The ring is getting a little full and the Dark Order (Evil Uno/Stu Grayson) are in at #5 to make it even more crowded. Everyone in the Dark Order teams up on Santana for a toss powerbomb and 10 adds a spinebuster. Mike Sydal was tossed in there somewhere so things are a little less full. The Gunn Club (Austin/Colton) are in at #6 and get to clean house for a bit.

The Quick Draw takes Santana down and Matt Sydal is out for the first full team elimination. Peter Avalon/Cezar Bononi are in at #7 and get in their own share of house cleaning. With no more eliminations, the Varsity Blonds (Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison) are in at #8. The Gunn Club starts taking over with Peter Avalon being tossed. Bononi is in trouble but Marshall dumps both of them (despite them being part of the Nightmare Family). Dustin yells at him but Marshall eliminates himself and walks out as Bear Country (Bronson/Boulder, who I’ve never actually seen in the ring before) are in at #9.

A big boot to Grayson is enough for the Bears to toss him and Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus) is in at #10. Jungle Boy clotheslines Ortiz out and Luchasaurus does the same to Bononi to get rid of another team. There go Garrison, Santana and Evil Uno all at the Express’ hands and Butcher and the Blade are in at #11. The rest of the Dark Order is out thanks to interference from Jack Evans, leaving us with Dustin, Bear Country, the Jurassic Express and Butcher and Blade. Bunny gets involved and pulls Dustin out to get us down to six at the moment.

Private Party (Marq Quen/Isaiah Kassidy) are in at #12 to make it eight people at once and more brawling ensues. Stunt saves Pillman from being tossed it’s SCU (Christopher Daniels/Kazarian) in at #13. Luchasaurus breaks up their house cleaning but Bear Country tosses him out. Butcher dumps both Bears thanks to a Bunny distraction, only to have the two of them pull Butcher underneath the ropes to beat the heck out of him.

Rey Fenix and Pac are in at #14 to wreck a bunch of people and toss Quen and Blade. The brawling continues until the Dark Order (John Silver/Alex Reynolds are in at #15 to complete the field. Some rapid fire eliminations leave us with Fenix, Pac, Silver and Boy, leaving us with three teams over four entrants. Silver is almost tossed but manages to hang on with one hand and Fenix has to do the same. Pac and Silver slug it out with Silver kicking him up against the ropes but missing a charge into the snap German suplex.

Pac tosses Silver to the apron and Fenix walks the rope to kick him in the head for the elimination. Boy can barely get up but he manages to duck Pac’s kick to the head and low bridge him to the floor. That leaves Fenix vs. Boy in the staredown with Boy being knocked through the ropes to the floor in a hurry. Fenix hits a heck of a flip dive but Boy is right back with a clothesline back inside. There’s the poisonrana but Fenix kicks him in the head and tosses him out for the win at 26:47.

Rating: C+. I’m never sure how to rate these but they kept things moving quickly enough to keep it from being boring. That’s the key to something like this as while the ring got too full more than once, it was cleared out in a hurry near the end, which is what matters most. Fenix and Pac winning is the right call and it’s rather impressive that they are such a good team despite being thrown together. Good enough stuff here and the right team won.

Paul Wight says the big signing is here and gives us a hint: no one can out work him.

Diamond Dallas Page and Al Snow are here.

We recap Ryo Mizunami vs. Hikaru Shida for the Women’s Title. Mizunami was ready to retire until she showed up at Double Or Nothing and it revitalized her career. She won the #1 contenders tournament and is ready to go for the title.

Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami

Shida is defending and gets knocked into the corner early on. The chops have Shida in trouble but she sends Ryo face first into the buckle and hits her own chops. Ryo chops away even more until Shida sends her into the corner for a running knee. Another running knee gets two but Ryo counters the running knee off the chair into a powerbomb over the barricade.

Back in and Ryo hammers away until Shida gets in a kick to the face out of the corner. The missile dropkick gets two on Ryo so Shida takes her to the ramp for a sunset driver. Shida smiles a lot and takes her back inside for two off a suplex. They strike it out until Ryo nails a few clotheslines to take over. Shida hits some running knees to the face but can’t cover. They grab hands and get up for another slugout until Ryo hits a Rock Bottom.

The guillotine legdrop gets two so Shida snaps off a straitjacket suplex, with Ryo popping back up for a screaming clothesline. Another running knee sets up the Falcon Arrow for two on Ryo and a poke to the eye sets up a small package for the same. The running knee connects but Ryo reverses into a rollup for two more. Shida hits an enziguri for two more and she tries another Falcon Arrow…which looked to be countered into a DDT but seemed to be swung into a Rock Bottom to plant Rio instead. Another running knee gets two on Ryo, followed by another knee to retain the title at 15:46.

Rating: C-. I’m so sick of Shida with her 917 running knees offense mixed in with some Falcon Arrows to spice it up a bit. She has been champion for almost ten months now and it feels like she has had the same match throughout her reign. I didn’t get into this for the most part as a good bit of the work was sloppy and the abundance of knees had me begging for the thing to be over. Shida needs to drop the title almost immediately and the sooner it is to Baker, the better.

Post match Nyla Rose, Britt Baker and Rebel run in to jump Shida and Ryo but Thunder Rosa makes the save, likely setting up a six woman on Dynamite.

Miro and Kip Sabian jump Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy in the back but demand the music be played anyway. Taylor is busted open thanks to going into some glass and is dragged to the ring as Miro calls him Charles over and over. Miro offers him the chance to let it stop but Taylor says ring the bell.

Miro/Kip Sabian vs. Chuck Taylor/Orange Cassidy

There is no Cassidy and Taylor is clotheslined down in a hurry. Miro rubs Taylor’s blood on his chest and Sabian is in with a missile dropkick. Chuck is sent into the corner for a boot to the face and another dropkick from Sabian makes it worse. Taylor gets in a shot to the face as Cassidy staggers to the ring. Well part of the way as he falls down on the stage on the way there.

Cassidy pops up to Orange Punch Miro and Taylor knocks Sabian down, allowing Cassidy to get the hot tag. Everything breaks down with Cassidy hitting a dive onto Sabian but getting caught in a fireman’s carry gutbuster. The Deathly Hallows is broken up and Taylor tags himself in for a Beach Break/double stomp combination. A piledriver gets two on Sabian with Miro having to make a save.

Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets for the slow motion kicks to Miro (of course), who kicks him down (as you should). Cassidy is back with the Stundog Millionaire but is driven into Penelope Ford to knock her to the floor. Miro kicks Cassidy in the head and throws Sabian back inside so Miro can make the tag. The jumping kick to the face sets up Game Over to finish Taylor at 7:54.

Rating: D+. Now can we please move them both on to ANYTHING else? Miro getting the win makes sense, but I hope this isn’t setting up some Miro vs. Cassidy showdown. The match needed to be this short after everything else has felt long and thankfully they didn’t do anything stupid here like giving Cassidy a fluke pin. They need to move on though if they want to make Miro into something important as it isn’t happening against Taylor and Cassidy.

MJF and Chris Jericho aren’t happy with their loss so on Wednesday it is the Inner Circle War Council, when changes are coming. MJF seems to suggest that Jericho may be in trouble.

We recap Matt Hardy vs. Hangman Page. Hardy wants to be Page’s manager/agent but Page tricked him into signing a contract where the winner gets the loser’s income for the first three months of the year. I’ve heard far worse ideas.

Matt Hardy vs. Hangman Page

Private Party is here with Hardy. Page ducks a right hand and hammers away in the corner as commentary talks about how Hardy has been wrestling almost as long as Page has been alive. There’s a fall away slam to Matt and they head outside with Page hitting an ax handle off part of the stage. Back in and Matt bails straight to the floor again, where he sends Page’s arm into the post.

The hand is wrapped around the post and sent into the steps with commentary wisely pointing out that it’s the Buckshot Lariat arm. Back in and Hardy bites the finger before bending the fingers back again. Page fights up and uses the right hand without thinking, which makes it even worse. The springboard clothesline puts Hardy down but the bad arm keeps Page down too. Hardy grabs a Twist of Fate on the floor and Page has to beat the count at nine.

Back in and Hardy German suplexes him off the top for two but Page is back up with a shot to the face. A clothesline puts them both on the floor as the fans are VERY into Hardy. Page is up first with a moonsault to take Hardy down again, followed by a sliding clothesline back inside. Deadeye is broken up and Hardy takes him down with a neckbreaker. Hardy catches him on top with a Razor’s Edge powerbomb for two more but the Twist of Fate is countered into the Deadeye.

That draws up Private Party for the distraction with Page having to get rid of both of them. The Buckshot Lariat is countered into the Side Effect (that looked good) and the Twist of Fate gets two (with commentary spoiling the kickout by shouting about how Matt is going to do it). Cue the Dark Order (all six members of them, which is not evening the odds as Excalibur calls it) to take care of Private Party, allowing Page to hit the Buckshot Lariat for the pin at 14:57.

Rating: C+. This was a better match than I would have bet on, though the fans at ringside screaming for Hardy every two seconds were rather pesky. They went with the only result they could have chosen so at least nothing went too far here. Page with the Dark Order intrigues me, but I’d rather they keep it this way instead of him joining in full.

Post match Dark Order and Page celebrate with some beer.

Video on the Face Of The Revolution ladder match for a TNT Title shot on Wednesday and with a mystery entrant.

Max Castor vs. Lance Archer vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Penta El Cero Miedo vs. Scorpio Sky vs. ???

Ladder match and the mystery entrant is…Ethan Page. Eh works for me. It’s a brawl to start with various people being knocked outside. Archer grabs a ladder to hit Cody in the bad shoulder and hit Sky and Castor in the head. Penta kicks Archer down and hits the Sling Blade but gets caught with by Sky’s German suplex. Castor comes in to clear the ring but here is Jack Evans with the boom box, only to have Dark Order’s 10 run out to take care of him (because a six man ladder match needs another story going on).

The ladder is set up and Page kicks Cody down to get rid of him. Castor starts hitting everyone with the boom box, including a few shots to Cody’s bad shoulder. Penta uses the ladder for a ramp to flip dive onto Cody and Castor. Archer dropkicks Penta to the floor but Page is back in to tie Archer up in the ladder. Page can’t hit a tilt-a-whirl side slam on Sky so he settles for Splash Mountain to drop Sky onto the ladder onto Archer.

Said ladder is bridged between the ring and the barricade so let’s bring in another one. Cody has to springboard in with a dropkick to knock Penta off the ladder but Penta is right back up with the Canadian Destroyer to drive Cody into the bridged ladder. That’s enough for Cody to be taken to the back (or at least to the entrance of the tunnel) as Sky pulls Castor off the ladder. Castor and Sky are up at the same time but Archer and Page join them. Everyone gets knocked off with Penta being up first for some kicking.

Sky pulls Penta down for the big crash, leaving Page and Castor to slug it out on the ladders again. Castor hits a huge sunset bomb to bring him down but Sky puts Castor onto the ladder in a crash. The frog splash crushes Castor onto the ladder and everyone is down again. Archer catapults Sky onto the ladder but then has to pull him back down. A jumping knee knocks Sky off the apron and through another ladder at ringside to put him way down.

Penta is back up to clean house but here’s Cody to whip a bunch of people with the belt. Archer suplexes Cody onto the bad arm and Castor adds an elbow drop off of the ladder to keep Cody down. Archer shoves the ladder over to take out Penta and Castor, followed by a string of chokeslams. The Black Out onto the ladder knocks Castor silly but Page powerbombs Archer off of the ladder.

That brings Jake Roberts in for a clothesline to Page but Penta kicks Roberts down. Cody is back up with the Cody….uh, slap to the face this time, to bring Penta off the ladder. Penta is right back up to take Cody off of the ladder but Sky cleans house with a chair. Cody and Sky slug it out on top of the ladder, with Sky being smart enough to pull on the bad arm. Cody gets knocked down and Sky wins at 23:16.

Rating: B. This was the spot fest that it needed to be and I’m rather pleased with Sky winning. Not just because I picked him to win, but also because he is the kind of smooth wrestler who can have a good match against anyone. Now they need to actually do something with him, because it feels like the kind of spot we have been in with him more than once before.

It’s time for the big signing and….yeah it’s Christian Cage. Cool moment as he was just in the Rumble, but dang I wanted to see Edge and Christian vs. the Usos. Christian signs without saying or doing anything else.

We recap Sting/Darby Allin vs. Team Taz. Allin has been getting on Team Taz’s nerves so they beat him up multiple times. Then Sting showed up to even the odds, meaning it’s cinematic match time.

Team Taz vs. Darby Allin/Sting

We go cinematic in a warehouse, with Allin hitching a ride on the back of a truck ala Back to the Future. Sting and Allin have an army of people in face paint to accompany them and we’re actually in a ring. Allin gets thrown over the top so he bounces off of a wall and back into the ring (Tony: “LIKE SPIDER!”) to drop Cage. They’re out of the ring in a hurry with Cage powerbombing one of the masked men against the apron. Cage drags Allin away from the ring as Sting hits the Stinger Splash on Starks.

A big camera zoom takes us across the building to Allin slipping out of a powerbomb attempt. Cage throws him through some doors as another Stinger Splash hits Starks. They leave the ring too with Sting grabbing the bat to chase Starks away. Starks says Sting is nothing without the bat so Sting throws it down and beats on Starks without it. We go back to Cage picking up Allin for a suplex and walking him up a flight of stairs (because he can just do that).

Back to Starks beating up Sting and throwing a barrel at his knees. Cage hits Starks in the head by mistake though and Allin is back with a bottle to Cage’s head. A double chokeslam puts Cage through a table and there’s a Coffin Drop off of a post to take Allin down. Cue Powerhouse Hobbs and Hook to beat Allin down and a big toss sends him through a window. Sting gets kicked in the ribs as JR says so much for this being a tag match.

With Sting in trouble, Allin pops up and throw him a bat (across the building and down a floor), which Sting breaks over Cage’s back. Allin then dives off of a balcony through Cage through part of the floor, leaving Starks and Sting to go back to the ring. The Stinger Splash hits exposed buckle and Starks spears him for two. Back up and Starks misses an elbow, setting up the Scorpion Death Drop to finish Starks at 13:49.

Rating: B. Your taste is going to entirely depend on what you think of cinematic matches so this could be quite the range of ratings. I’m not wild on the idea, but I would absolutely prefer this to a regular match for Sting. Starks taking the fall is frustrating but this is kind of a special circumstance. I know Sting isn’t going to be a regular wrestler and while he didn’t look bad here, he doesn’t need to be doing this very often.

Double Or Nothing is in May.

We run down the Dynamite card.

We recap Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega in an exploding barbed wire deathmatch. Moxley won’t leave Omega alone so he is picking this as a way to get rid of Moxley for good. Atsushi Onita talks about how dangerous the match is and violence is promised.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega

Omega is defending and there is barbed wire everywhere. If you touch the barbed wire ropes something explodes, and if we go thirty minutes EVERYTHING EXPLODES. Don Callis in on commentary and the referee is in something resembling a hazmat suit. Moxley takes a shot of whiskey during the Big Match Intros and we’re ready to go. They take their time going to the lockup and Moxley blocks a drive into a barbed wire board in the corner. They chop it out until Omega grabs a headlock and Moxley can’t even suplex his way out of it.

Neither is able to send the other into the barbed wire board so Moxley sends him outside through the one section with no barbed wire. A Russian legsweep with a barbed wire baseball bat takes Omega down and there’s a kendo stick shot to the back. Back in and Omega throws powder into the eyes, meaning Moxley needs to blindly swing the barbed wire bat. Moxley is sent into the barbed wire for the first explosion for two.

Some kendo stick shots have Moxley in trouble and the Kitaro Crusher through a trashcan gets two. Back up and the rather bloody Moxley is sent into the barbed wire board in the corner, setting up Omega’s middle rope moonsault for two. Schiavone: “We have exactly twenty minutes before this ring explodes.” Moxley sends him into the ropes for an explosion and then dropkicks him into them for another.

Back up and Moxley suplexes Omega through another barbed wire board in the corner but a Paradigm Shift onto a barbed wire chair is blocked. Moxley sends Omega flying with a German suplex and a side slam onto the barbed wire chair has Omega in a lot of pain. The barbed wire is wrapped around Moxley’s arm but the running lariat is countered into a dragon suplex.

The V Trigger gets two and Moxley drives him into the wire, with the explosion going off in Omega’s face. They head to the apron for a slugout until Moxley hits a Paradigm Shift through the barbed wire board for a double explosion. They’re both down for a long time until Moxley pulls the wire off of the board. They get back in and we get a noise signaling that we are ten minutes away from the big explosions.

Omega gets in a low blow and there’s a V Trigger in the corner. Make that two in a row and the One Winged Angel gets two as Moxley puts his foot on the ropes for the explosion (clever). Cue the Good Brothers to beat on Moxley and an exploding barbed wire bat to the face gets two. The One Winged Angel through the chair retains the title at 25:09.

Rating: D+. For a barbed wire street fight, it was pretty good (assuming you don’t find “yeah he used barbed wire, but now he’s going to use MORE barbed wire” to be a rather dumb idea), but for something built around THE RING MIGHT EXPLODE, this was rather disappointing. The match was built around the danger and I was laughing when some sparklers and smoke went off. Throw in how ridiculous the barbed wire stuff was and this was horrible. Make it a regular barbed wire match and it’s FAR better, but the explosions being such a joke killed it.

Post match the beatdown stays on as we’re told the ring is going to explode no matter what because THERE IS NO FAIL SAFE. As I try to figure out why that would be a feature, Omega handcuffs Moxley’s hands behind his back and the big beatdown ensues as we kill off the last of the thirty minutes.

The one minute countdown is on and the handcuffed Moxley is in the ring. Eddie Kingston comes in to try and get him out….and a bit of pyro goes of around the ring. The pyro from the corners was smaller than what would come up during Diesel’s entrance and the stuff at ringside was even weaker. This was pathetic, and Kingston actually selling it makes things even worse. I actually can’t remember the last time I saw something so disappointing and it is going to be a rather black eye for AEW for a good while.

Overall Rating: C. There were some good parts to the show but I’m rather disappointed by the whole thing. It didn’t have anything that was must see, it felt rather long and then the ending was an all time letdown. Christian signing is cool and the cinematic match was good, but this is going to be remembered for one or two things and that’s it. They went too far with the build and now it is going to cause them trouble.

The ending was a good example of one of AEW’s biggest problems: they have to do too much. The main event ended with a One Winged Angel THROUGH A CHAIR. You could put Moxley on the shelf for three months with that and it would have been fine. But no, we need to (allegedly) blow up the ring because a move you could say broke his neck isn’t enough. That’s something they do far too often and it hurts them. I’m really disappointed and I don’t like that feeling with what is usually one of the best products out there.

If you ever needed proof that AEW needs someone to say no sometimes, this is it. One of the things that a lot of people were saying was it was going to be ridiculous and they were hyping it up too much because that’s over the top. Well this is what we wound up with because AN EXPLODING RING is kind of a stupid idea. Tony Khan needed to say no and just let them have the barbed wire match and move on. They’ll be fine in a bit after this, but this was a step back for them and that is a new situation for them to be in.

Results

Young Bucks b. Chris Jericho/MJF – Meltzer Driver to Jericho

Rey Fenix/Pac won the Casino Battle Royale last eliminating Jungle Boy

Hikaru Shida b. Ryo Mizunami – Running knee

Miro/Kip Sabian b. Chuck Taylor/Orange Cassidy – Game Over to Taylor

Hangman Page b. Matt Hardy – Buckshot Lariat

Scorpio Sky won the Face Of The Revolution ladder match

Sting/Darby Allin b. Team Taz – Scorpion Death Drop to Starks

Kenny Omega b. Jon Moxley – One Winged Angel through a chair

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

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Dynamite
Date: February 24, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

AEW had a pretty surprising headline earlier today as they announced the signing of Big Show Paul Wight, which is not something many people had on their Bingo cards. I’m not sure how much of a difference he is going to make around here but he seems a lot more like a signing for the sake of getting some attention than anything else. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Ryan Nemeth

Nemeth says he likes trying for the starring role and gets slapped off his feet in a hurry. Some knees to the ribs have Moxley staggered but he comes right back with a belly to back suplex. Another shot to the face sets up the Paradigm Shift to finish Nemeth at 2:45.

Post match Moxley sits in a chair and says he’ll do anything to be World Champion again. What kind of images come to mind when someone says exploding barbed wire death match (Laughter?)? Maybe it’s blood, carnage, Japanese wrestling magazines? Moxley talks about how he can’t get enough of wrestling and while it’s a trap from Kenny Omega and his boys, he just can’t resist. He talks about how far he is wiling to go to win the title back and promises to give us everything he has (which sounded like he is leaving, perhaps for paternity leave).

Video on Omega vs. Moxley.

Lance Archer and Rey Fenix respect each other but they both want to win the spot in the Revolution ladder match. Then Fenix calls him the worst partner he has ever had though and has to dodge a lot of violence.

We look back at the Inner Circle shoving Papa Buck last week.

The Young Bucks are here with their parents, who seem rather proud.

Varsity Blonds vs. Team Taz

Brian Cage/Ricky Starks for Team Taz here with Taz on commentary. Pillman and Starks run the ropes to start and it’s Pillman tripping him down to the floor. Back in and Pillman grabs a rollup for two but Air Pillman is knocked to the floor. Cage powerbombs him against the post and we take a break.

Back with Cage curling Pillman and tossing him down, allowing Starks to come back in for a running elbow in the corner. A right hand misses though and the hot tag brings in Garrison to pick up the pace. Garrison’s belly to back faceplant gets two on Starks with Cage making the save. Air Pillman breaks up a sitout powerbomb but it’s a spear to Garrison and a discus clothesline to Pillman. The drill Claw gives Cage the pin at 9:09.

Rating: C+. I liked this one a good bit as the Blonds were looking better than they have to date. The action was good and I can always go for a power vs. speed match. These guys had a pretty fun match here and they had Team Taz sweat a bit, which you might not have guessed in this spot.

Post match we get a video of a truck dragging a body bag. Sting is driving and Darby Allin is in the bag (in half Sting face paint). Back in the arena, here’s Sting, with a body bag. Tony thinks Allin might be in the bag and…..it’s actually Taz’s son Hook. Allin ziplines into the ring with the skateboard to clean house. Sting gets in as well for some pretty bad stomping and the Stinger Splash to Cage.

We get a sitdown interview with Miro, Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford. They don’t like what happened with Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy at the wedding. Miro likes Charles though and wants him to come back as the butler rather than following Cassidy. We get a note from Taylor and Cassidy, with the Y/N/Maybe (circle one), hugs and kisses. Miro tells Taylor to be a man and the match seems likely.

Brandon Cutler vs. Jake Hager

Hager suplexes him down a few times to start and hits the Hager Bomb. Back up and Cutler manages to send him outside for the big flip dive, only to get caught in something like a powerslam back inside. One heck of a running clothesline finishes Cutler at 3:12.

Rating: C-. Nearly a total squash here with Hager barely getting touched outside of that one flip dive. Cutler isn’t someone who feels like anything important so having him beaten up to make the Bucks mad isn’t the worst idea. This worked out well enough, even if the match wasn’t exactly competitive.

Post match the Inner Circle is out for the beatdown but the Young Bucks make the real save. The Bucks call out MJF and Chris Jericho, who pop up on the screen. They aren’t wasting time coming to the ring….because they have beaten and bloodied Papa Buck. MJF and Jericho mock the Bucks’ pose and run when the Bucks come in for the save.

We recap Cody Rhodes/Red Velvet vs. Shaquille O’Neal/Jade Cargill. I’m still not 100% sure why Cargill and O’Neal are a team or why they’re going after Cody but I don’t think you’re exactly supposed to. Jim Ross and Excalibur talk about the match, which could be one heck of a mess.

Isaiah Kassidy vs. Hangman Page

Matt Hardy and the Hybrid 2 are here with Kassidy. Page, who has made some new friends lately, slugs away at Kassidy to start and stomps him down in the corner, setting up the fall away slam. A hard clothesline drops Kassidy and Page kicks him out of the air to the floor. There’s the slingshot dive to drop Kassidy again and a clothesline puts him over the barricade.

Hybrid 2 gets on the apron for a distraction and Hardy’s cheating lets Kassidy get in a cheap shot. Cue the Dark Order to stooge on Matt, who is ejected. Kassidy grabs the armbar and we take a break. Back with Kassidy still working on the arm until Page gets in a shot to the face. The Buckshot Lariat is broken up so Page settles for a discus forearm and a near fall. Kassidy is back with an enziguri, only to get caught in a Death Valley Driver.

There’s a brainbuster for two more on Kassidy, who is back with a posionrana for one. A cross armbreaker has Page in trouble and Kassidy snaps the arm over the rope. Back up and Kassidy tries a springboard but Page pulls it out of the air and hits a (one armed) Deadeye for the pin at 13:26.

Rating: C+. This was quite the lengthy match, though the action was good enough to work out. I’m not sure why Kassidy is getting to hang with Page this long but maybe the ring time will do him some good. The idea of Hardy vs. Page still doesn’t interest me, but if it’s a one off match then it should be ok.

Post match Hardy’s voice comes over the speaker to talk about how Page made the wrong choice. Hardy appears with #5 and throws him off the stage.

Kenny Omega is building the Moxley Extermination Chamber, complete with pounding on metal himself. If you want something done, do it yourself.

Long video on the Women’s #1 Contender tournament.

Women’s #1 Contenders Eliminator Tournament Quarterfinals: Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose

Baker gets tossed around to start so it’s time to go to the back for some complaining. Back in and Rose hits the Samoan drop before trying to break the leg in the corner again. That doesn’t work so Rose drops her hard with a gorilla press. They head outside with Baker kicking the arm against the barricade and we take a break. Back with Rose hitting a superplex but Baker manages a suplex of her own. Rose knocks her down again and goes to the corner but has to take Rebel out with a release Rock Bottom onto the apron.

Rose chokeslams Baker but has to knock Rebel into the corner. That sets up the Cannonball but Baker sends Rose into the exposed buckle (exposed during the break and shown when we came back) to set up Lockjaw. That’s countered though and Rose plants her for two, only to have Baker pull her into Lockjaw again. That’s broken up again so it’s Beast Bomb…for two (possibly due to the banged up arm), with Rose being stunned. Another Beast Bomb finishes Baker at 12:41.

Rating: C. This was an awkward one as they tried to do a bit too much with Rebel and it didn’t quite click. At the same time, and it’s too early to actually get annoyed at this yet, but I’m really not all that interested in Rose. We’ve been there far too many times now and hopefully we don’t have to see it again anytime soon.

Video on Jurassic Express vs. FTR/Tully Blanchard. FTR wants to fight them because they are so different, but they don’t know what they are in for with Blanchard returning to the ring.

Here’s what’s coming in the next few weeks, including at Revolution.

Lance Archer vs. Rey Fenix

For a spot in the Revolution latter match and Jake Roberts is here with Lance. Archer stalks him into the corner but Fenix snaps off a hurricanrana. Fenix manages to knock the monster to the floor for the big running flip suicide dive. Jake catches Fenix on top, so he jumps over Roberts and dives onto Archer instead. Archer throws him over the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Archer knocking him hard off the apron to the floor and looking rather pleased about the landing. Fenix gets sent hard into the barricade and then a toss suplex sends him flying inside. A kick to the ribs lets Fenix get up top for a top rope double stomp to the back of the head but Archer snaps off a release German suplex.

There’s the rope walk moonsault for two on Fenix, who is whipped hard into the corner for a running clothesline. Archer charges into a raised boot in the corner though and Fenix’s rope walk kick to the head puts the monster down. The rolling cutter connects and a Spanish Fly somehow connects for two more on Archer. A Pounce drops Fenix and there’s the chokeslam for a rather close two. Archer is frustrated so he takes Fenix up top and plants him with the Black Out for the pin at 17:32.

Rating: B. I was betting on the time limit draw at the end but it was nice to see Archer get the monster win in the end. This was about the beast chasing its next meal and finally catching him in the end, which is a fine story to tell. They both did their thing rather well and it was a heck of a main event, especially with the longer time that they were given. Fenix is a heck of a star and it’s great to see him getting a chance to shine on his own.

A bit of respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This felt like they took their foot off of the gas before the big show next week and there is nothing wrong with that. Next week is the show that matters with the big tag match and then Revolution is later in the same week. There was no need to hammer away with this week’s show and thankfully they didn’t try too hard. What we got was rather good (a few questionable choices aside) and I had a pretty easy time with the show.

Results

Jon Moxley b. Ryan Nemeth – Paradigm Shift

Team Taz b. Varsity Blonds – Drill Claw to Pillman

Jake Hager b. Brandon Cutler – Running clothesline

Hangman Page b. Isaiah Kassidy – Deadeye

Nyla Rose b. Britt Baker – Beast Bomb

Lance Archer b. Rey Fenix – Black Out

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

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Dynamite
Date: February 17, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

Things were pretty good last week and hopefully that means AEW has some momentum coming into this week. I’m not sure what that is going to mean this time around but we’re rapidly approaching Revolution next month. That show could use a card so maybe we can get some more this time around. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Hangman Page/Matt Hardy vs. Hybrid 2

Matt knocks Evans down to start and Page’s running shooting star press gets two. The BK Bomb puts Hardy in trouble and Evans snaps his throat across the top. Angelico spins over into a rollup for two and he slaps on a front facelock to drag Matt back into the corner. Matt avoids a handspring elbow and the hot tag brings in Page to clean house, including a Ron Simmons spinebuster to Angelico.

Page powerbombs Angelico and the powerbombs a diving Evans out of the air onto Angelico for a scary landing. The Buckshot Lariat is loaded up but Matt tags himself in, meaning it’s a backbreaker/neckbreaker combination for two. A Downward Spiral into a Phoenix splash gets two more but Page Buckshot Lariats both of them at once. The Twist of Fate finishes Angelico at 7:05.

Rating: C. I really cannot bring myself to care about Page and Matt teaming together, mainly because it involves Hardy’s latest character. It comes off more like Hardy’s latest idea, which has been the case so many times now that it is hard to care. Page deserves better than this, and hopefully he isn’t stuck here for more than a few weeks at most.

Post match Matt says he’s glad Page signed with him for 30% of Page’s money. Page breaks the news, saying that Matt should have read the contract. Matt sent it straight tot he lawyer, but here’s the Jacksonville Jaguars’ mascot with a copy of what Matt signed last week. The contract says they’ll be facing each other at Revolution. If Matt loses, Page gets 100% of Matt’s earnings from the first quarter of 2021. Matt: “YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A CARNY! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU BAMBOOZLED ME!”

Matt wants Page’s first quarter earnings up as well and Page shakes on it. The Jaguars’ mascot kicks Page low and it’s Isaiah Kassidy. Matt offers the Hybrid 2 $3,700 to to beat up Matt Hardy so the beatdown is on, but Negative One sends out the Dark Order for the save. Matt has to duck the Buckshot Lariat and runs off. Page gives the Dark Order a thankful look.

So let me make sure I have this straight. Since Kassidy had a copy of the contract, we can assume that Matt was faking his outrage over the different terms. So Page assumed that Matt didn’t know what was going on and felt the need to bring out the Jaguars’ mascot to further humiliate Matt? Who found out about Page’s plans with the mascot and planted Kassidy in the suit after paying/attacking the regular person playing the mascot? That’s quite the wacky plan.

Santana and Ortiz are ready for their first Tag Team Title shot (Really?) because it’s time for the Young Bucks to pay their dues. MJF says of course he wasn’t recording Sammy Guevara last week when there was already a cameraman in the room with the. Chris Jericho doesn’t want to hear it because MJF goaded Sammy into quitting the Inner Circle. The rest of it is Sammy’s fault though and now Sammy has made the dumbest decision of all. Sammy is now dead to him and Jericho never wants to hear that name again. Tonight it’s about bringing gold back to the Inner Circle so let’s go win some championships.

We recap some of the first round of the Japanese half of the #1 contenders tournament for the Women’s Title. That’s quite the effort to set up a title match.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Riho vs. Serena Deeb

Non-title and Deeb has a bad knee coming in. They go the mat to start with Deeb going after the knee in a logical move. That’s broken up and hit the test of strength, with Riho being bridged down and staying up as Deeb lands on her. A shoulder puts Riho down but she’s back up with a cartwheel into a crossbody for two. Riho’s 619 is blocked and a catapult sends her throat first into the bottom rope. We take a break and come back with Riho fighting out of a crossarm choke and snapping off a dragon suplex.

Riho goes up but gets caught coming off the top, allowing Deeb to snap off a dragon screw legwhip out of the corner. A swinging neckbreaker gets two on Riho but she knocks Deeb into the ropes for the 619. Riho’s top rope double stomp to the back gets two but Deeb is right back with a Stretch Muffler. That’s reversed into a rollup for two, followed by a northern lights suplex for two more. The top rope double stomp gets another near fall and they go to a pinfall reversal sequence with Riho rolling her up for the pin at 14:46.

Rating: B. Well you knew Riho wasn’t losing in her first match back. I’m still worried that AEW is going to have her run through everyone again because they see quite a bit in her, though this was quite the match with both of them looking good. I’m not sure why AEW needs two Women’s Champions floating around but this was a heck of a match and Deeb continues to look awesome in almost everything she does.

We look at Jade Cargill and Shaquille O’Neal training for their mixed tag by playing basketball.

Luther vs. Orange Cassidy

Serpentico and Chuck Taylor are at ringside and get in a fight at the bell. Luther hits a pump kick to knock Cassidy to the apron, where Cassidy powerbombs him to the floor. Back in and Chuck Awful Waffles Serpentico (you knew JR is all over that one), leaving Cassidy to hit the Orange Punch for the pin at 1:53.

We recap Team Tazz putting Darby Allin in a body bag and dragging him around the parking lot in a car last week.

Here’s Team Tazz to call out Sting and he’s right there for them. They don’t like the bat so Sting throws it away, meaning the beatdown is on. Brian Cage powerbombs the heck out of him. I cringe every time Sting does something physical these days so hopefully it doesn’t happen too often.

Eddie Kingston wants to get rid of Rey Fenix, but he needs to get rid of Jon Moxley. Pills, drinking and women haven’t done it, so it has to be beating Moxley once and for all, old friend.

JR sends us to a segment from earlier today with “the WWE Champion Kenny Omega.” Kenny, with Don Callis, was at a school earlier today and read the Young Bucks book to a bunch of kids. Kid after looking at the book cover: “Are they in love?” Kenny: “Uh, well they’re brothers so they love each other very much.” Kenny reads a passage about how he boosted business in the Tokyo Dome and they have to leave. They’re rather pleased with the publicity this will get but a kid wants them to stay. Callis says they can’t, but they can play with Michael Nakazawa (thankfully in regular clothes). The kids beat Nakazawa up.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Santana and Ortiz

Santana and Ortiz (with most of the Inner Circle) are challenging and Santana armdrags Nick down to start. Matt comes in and hammers away in the corner, only to get caught in a double team backbreaker. MJF comes up on the apron to go after Matt but the referee catches him and ejects the entire team.

We take a break and come back with Matt hitting a top rope twisting Stunner on Santana. An Iconoclasm into a sitout powerbomb gets two but Ortiz is back with a super Falcon Arrow for the same on Matt. Ortiz gets Nick in a Koji Clutch but Matt makes the save with a top rope elbow. The Bucks send Ortiz outside and the Doomsday Device gets two on Santana.

The buckle bomb into an enziguri sets up the double superkick for two with Ortiz having to make another save. Santana ducks the BTE Trigger though and rolls Ortiz over for a double Stunner on Matt. The Street Sweeper gets two on Nick with Matt having to make a last second save. Santana powerbombs Matt over the barricade into the crowd but Nick grabs a small package for the pin to retain at 13:07.

Rating: B. Another rather good match here, though I didn’t quite get into the near falls as the Bucks had only taken one finisher so they weren’t about to get pinned yet. I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that Santana and Ortiz had never gotten a title shot before, but they did their thing rather well here. Good match, especially for a TV match with rather little build.

Post match the Inner Circle comes back in for the beatdown as Don Callis, Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers watch backstage. Brandon Cutler comes in for the failed save, leaving Jericho and MJF to put their holds on the Bucks for the taps. The Brothers make the very slow motion saves. The Bucks’ parents are in the crowd and the dad shoves Jericho.

Cody and Brandi Rhodes reveal the gender of their baby. It’s a girl. Dang I was hoping for a toaster.

FTR vs. Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal

Cody is on commentary and announces a ladder match for the #1 contendership to the TNT Title. As we see Dory Funk Jr. in the crowd, Mike gets knocked into the corner to start but Matt comes in for some rapid fire shots. Cash takes Mike’s head off for two though and we take a break.

Back with Matt fighting back, only to have a tornado DDT countered into a powerbomb. A dragon suplex gets two on Matt with Mike having to make a save. Matt cleans house, including the top rope Meteora. Mike tries to come in off the top with…..something but he slips a bit (must be a family thing) and crashes onto Dax for two. FTR has had it with these guys and it’s the Big Rig for the pin on Mike at 8:56.

Rating; C-. I couldn’t get into this one as it was more like Matt trying to fight FTR on his own with Mike just kind of being there. FTR beating these guys up was a fine way to go, but the Sydals just aren’t all that interesting. I did get a bit of a chuckle out of Mike slipping up as well, though it was nowhere near as bad as Matt’s debut.

Post match FTR goes for the doctor’s medical bag so they can cut off Mike’s hair. The lights go out and we see a shot of Luchasaurus’ mask. They come back up and it’s Jurassic Express (with Luchasaurus…..well apparently he just got a new mask) to clean house.

Here’s what’s coming next week, in two weeks, and at Revolution.

Jon Moxley keeps hearing about Eddie Kingston’s problems. After everything they have put each other through, Moxley is the only person who still cares about him. Moxley has a lot of things to look forward to, including February 26 when he tries to break Kenta’s neck. Then it’s time for Revolution when he takes the AEW World Title back from Kenny Omega. Kenny can’t run and the time is just about here, because it’s time to pull the trigger.

Jon Moxley/Fenix/Lance Archer vs. Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade

Jake Roberts and the Bunny are here too. It’s a brawl to start with everyone fighting on the floor. Moxley gets caught in the corner for some running splashes but a neckbreaker gets him out of trouble. Archer comes in for some suplexes to Blade but Butcher tries to break up the rope walk. Fenix makes a save of his own and Archer takes Blade down anyway so we can take a break.

Back with Butcher chopping Archer in the corner and Blade bites him in the forehead for a bonus. Moxley gets tired of waiting on the apron and clotheslines Blade out to the floor. Archer crossbodies Butcher and Eddie at the same time and brings Fenix in to pick the pace way up. One heck of a running dive takes out Blade the and the rolling cutter hits Butcher. The Eddie Guerrero dance sets up a frog splash for two but Kingston cuts Fenix off with an exploder suplex.

Everything breaks down and we get the parade of knockdowns until Moxley and Kingston start the slugout. Fenix kicks Kingston in the back of the head and Moxley slaps on the bulldog choke until Blade makes the save. Archer hits a running flip dive to the floor to take out Butcher and Blade, leaving Moxley and Kingston to slug it out again. Kingston hits a spinning backfist but Moxley hits a hard clothesline. The Paradigm Shift finishes Kingston at 11:58.

Rating: B. It’s another good and wild match but they’re starting to wear a bit thin with this style. I know that’s what they do and such, but it would be nice to see them mix it up a bit instead of one wild match after another. That being said, the Moxley vs. Kingston stuff continues to be great because they make you believe everything they’re saying. That’s more than enough to make up for anything else in this match and it’s not like it was bad in the first place.

Post match the Good Brothers come in for the beatdown on Moxley and here are Omega and Moxley. Omega has a contract that gives Moxley a rematch for the title. The rematch is on at Revolution but Omega names the stipulation: an EXPLODING BARBED WIRE DEATHMATCH. Well ok then. Moxley headbutts Omega but gets V Triggered to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. That ending announcement is going to get a lot of differing opinions (as it should, mainly because it’s pretty ridiculous and took away almost every bit of the interest I had in seeing the match) but this was a heck of a show with three pretty awesome matches out of six in total. They also did the rapid fire build to the pay per view, which can work out just fine. I had a pretty awesome time with this show and it did what it needed to do while offering some awesome in-ring work. In other words, it’s AEW.

Results

Hangman Page/Matt Hardy b. Hybrid 2 – Twist of Fate to Angelico

Riho b. Serena Deeb – Rollup

Orange Cassidy b. Luther – Orange Punch

Young Bucks b. Santana and Ortiz – Small package to Santana

FTR b. Mike Sydal/Matt Sydal – Big Rig to Mike

Jon Moxley/Fenix/Lance Archer b. Butcher and the Blade/Eddie Kingston – Paradigm Shift to Kingston

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: February 10, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re still starting to get on the road to Revolution and that means we might find out a few more matches on the way there. The big story from last week was the surprise debut of Kenta, who signals the new relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling. That could certainly lead in a few different directions so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

TNT Title: Joey Janela vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending and we actually hear about a PWG match between the two of them. Feeling out process to start with Darby sending him arm first into the corner. Joey knocks him to the floor for the suicide elbow and laughs a lot. Back in and Joey grabs a bodyscissors with some bonus fishhooks to the jaw. Allin fights up and sends Janela to the apron, only to get caught with a shot to the eye. Back in and Allin nails a shotgun dropkick into the corner and then snaps the arm down onto the top rope.

Janela gets knocked outside for the suicide dive into the barricade for the big crash. They head inside again with Allin grabbing the Fujiwara armbar to send Janela over to the ropes. Allin’s springboard Coffin Drop is countered into a German suplex (that looked good) but Allin flips around to hit a Stunner for two. Janela is right back with a piledriver for two, followed by a trio to the top. Allin cranks on the arm up top and hits a super sunset bomb for another near fall. The Coffin Drop retains the title at 8:49.

Rating: C+. I’m still not big on Janela but they got into a nice groove with the trading big spots by the end. Throw in Allin’s complete lack of worry about hurting himself for the sake of a spot and it works out well enough. The lack of Team Taz hurt a bit as they kept talking about it, but at least it let Allin look better without some kind of shenanigans.

We look back at Kenta’s debut and preview the rest of the show.

Jon Moxley is used to Kenta calling him out and last week Kenta showed up to look like a dork. Kenta and Kenny Omega must have gotten together on some Bullet Club message board and decided to come after him. They’ll meet later this month but tonight it’s unsanctioned with Moxley teaming up with Lance Archer to face the two of them. Tonight, it’s just for fun.

Sammy Guevara comes in to see the Inner Circle and asks to speak to Maxwell Jacob Friedman alone. Everyone leaves but Sammy wants the cameraman to stay. Sammy knows that MJF is trying to take over the Inner Circle but MJF has no idea what’s going on. When MJF first got into the Inner Circle, he thought Sammy was just jealous.

Now though, he understands that Sammy really hates Chris Jericho. Sammy must think that he should be the front man because Sammy wants to take over the Inner Circle. That leaves Sammy so incredulous that he repeats it, which is exactly what MJF, and his phone, wanted to hear. Sammy punches him in the ribs and leaves him laying.

Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson vs. Cezar Bononi/Peter Avalon

Arn Anderson is here with Cody and Johnson, with Arn’s son in the crowd. JR: “His face looks like it belongs on a can of beef stew.” Cody works on Avalon’s arm to start and hands it off to Johnson, who is quickly headlocked. Bononi comes in off a blind tag and gets in a hard shot to drop Johnson. A moonsault lets Lee flip over Avalon and a dropkick scores as well. That’s enough to send Avalon over to Bononi again but a jawbreaker lets Lee make his own tag.

A pumphandle flip slam drops Cody on his face and we take a break. Back with Cody catching Avalon’s springboard in a fireman’s carry gutbuster. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Lee, who drops Avalon with a neckbreaker. One heck of a corkscrew flip dive takes Bononi down and a fisherman’s buster onto the knee gets two on Avalon as Bononi makes the save. Bononi cleans house and drops Lee face first, though he’s fine enough to grab a rollup for the pin at 7:50.

Rating: C+. This was a way to showcase Lee and that worked out well enough. Having Cody interested in teaming with Lee is going to make him look even better so if they can make a new star out of him, well done. It’s not like Avalon and Bononi losing means anything either so no one is hurt here, meaning it’s a nice little success.

Post match the Nightmare Family comes out to celebrate Johnson’s first win in AEW, making him 1-29. The Nightmare Family is his family.

The Young Bucks run into the Good Brothers, who find it funny that the Bucks lost last week’s battle royal. The Bucks were going to pick the Good Brothers if they won but the Brothers are more interested in promoting Impact Wrestling’s No Surrender this weekend. As for around here though, the Brothers think the Bucks should be mad at Santana and Ortiz, so the Bucks agree to give Santana and Ortiz and title shot next week. Nick reluctantly gives a too sweet.

Matt Hardy interrupts Hangman Page and suggests a tag team. For tonight though, Matt has rented out a private bar for the two of them and the tab is on Matt all night long. That works for Page, who runs into the Dark Order. They offer him a spot drinking with them but he mentions Matt and things are cool enough.

Pac vs. Ryan Nemeth

Fenix is here with Pac. They circle each other to start and Pac knocks him down with ease. Some kicks have Nemeth in more trouble and Pac even knocks him to the floor. Back in and Nemeth does his best Dolph Ziggler impression with the jumping DDT. Pac isn’t exactly having that though and drops Nemeth again, setting up the Black Arrow. The Brutalizer makes Nemeth tap at 4:19.

Rating: C-. There’s something special about Pac giving up a bit of offense but just turning it on to win in the end because he knows there is no one that can stop him. Pac has shaken the ring rust off and looks like his old killer self again and that’s a great thing. Nemeth isn’t much in the ring and just makes me think he’s Ziggler’s lame little brother (I mean….).

We look back at last week’s zany wedding, with Miro swearing vengeance on Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor.

Cassidy and Taylor are drinking the champagne with Cassidy asking what they thought was going to happen last week. Taylor: “Obviously Orange Cassidy was going to pop out of a cake.”

MJF, now with taped ribs, comes up to Chris Jericho and says Sammy punched him in the ribs. There might have been some breaking involved! Jericho says it’s ok and they’ll deal with this after their match.

Acclaimed vs. Chris Jericho/MJF

Max Castor knocks MJF out to the floor to start, with the ribs getting banged up even more. Back in and Castor drops Jericho as well, setting up Anthony Bowens’ slingshot elbow. MJF comes back in but gets planted down on the ribs for two. Bowens is eventually taken into the corner though and it’s a double flapjack, allowing Jericho and MJF to step over him for a rather snobby moment.

Back from a break with Castor reversing MJF’s abdominal stretch into one of his own. That’s enough for the tag off to Bowens, who picks up the pace with dropkicks. Bowens grabs a torture rack and spins MJF down for a faceplant before having to knock Santana off the apron. Jericho’s Lionsault is broken up with a boom box shot for two but Jake Hager pushes Castor off the top. The Judas Effect finishes for Jericho at 9:05.

Rating: C. I haven’t been impressed by the Acclaim so far so it was nice to see them have a pretty decent match tonight. It’s even better to see that Jericho seems to be a little bit more motivated (and maybe a tad bit slimmer) as the Inner Circle continues to do something fresh. Good little match though and this worked out well enough.

Post match the Inner Circle celebrates but here’s Sammy Guevara to interrupt. Jericho asks him what’s going on, and Sammy brings up what he said on December 9: if MJF did one more thing, Sammy was out. Well now he’s done, because he quits. And there’s the face turn (or at least part of the face turn) that Sammy has been primed for over the last few months.

Post break, Sammy leaves the building.

Hangman Page and Matt Hardy are drinking at the bar but Hardy isn’t as well versed with some of the choices. Hardy makes his sales pitch as the agent and even has a contract offer. Page actually agrees but, as Matt talks to the camera, switches the papers and signs something else. He has Matt sign as well but Matt is too excited to notice and leaves with whatever Page had him sign.

Tony Schiavone brings out Sting for an interview but Team Taz interrupts, showing that they have Darby Allin in a body bag. Allin, still in the bag, is tied to the car and dragged across the parking lot. Sting gives chase as we take a break.

Earlier today, Alex Marvez tried to talk to Kenny Omega on the golf course but has to wait for the shot. Marvez asks what Omega is doing when he has such a big main event coming up. Omega says he’s already the best wrestler ever so now it’s time to prepare mentally and spiritually her eon the golf course. Don Callis praises Kenny for his alleged eagle (ignore the adjusting of the ball while Omega and Marvez talked) and lets Marvez have the ball as a souvenir. Marvez asks for a ride but gets turned down. Maybe because Callis and Omega are on foot?

Women’s Title Eliminator Tournament First Round: Thunder Rosa vs. Leyla Hirsch

Rosa gets an inset interview talking about her goals of becoming champion. Hirsch takes her down a few times to start but Rosa gets in a slam and scores with a running backsplash. Back up and Hirsch pulls her down into the waistlock, followed by the running up the ropes for an armdrag. A suicide dive drops Rosa again but she’s right back in, where Hirsch pulls her down by the arm. That’s broken up as well and Rosa snaps off a neckbreaker over the middle rope.

We take a break and come back with Rosa hitting some sling shot knees in the corner. The running basement dropkick in the corner gives Rosa two but Hirsch shoves her off the top. A high crossbody gives Hirsch two but her moonsault hits raised knees. Rosa loads up a fire thunder driver, only to have Hirsch pull her down into a triangle choke. That’s countered with a powerbomb though and Rosa’s layout inverted reverse DDT finishes at 9:15.

Rating: C+. Hirsch continues to be someone they see something in and I can’t say I blame them a bit. There is always going to be a place for someone with her amateur skills and she makes things feel different. Then you have Rosa though and the star power is all over her, hence why she is likely going to make a deep run in this thing.

We run down the first round of the Japanese half of the bracket. The matches will air on YouTube this coming Monday.

Jungle Boy talks about his great match with Dax Harwood, where Boy won by submission. No the Jurassic Express didn’t want o have FTR suspended, so as soon as possible, Boy is making Harwood his b****.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Kenta/Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley/Lance Archer

Falls Count Anywhere and Kenta gets in a briefcase (his #1 contendership to Moxley’s US Title) shot to Moxleys’s back to start. Some kicks to Archer’s knee lets Omega hit the Kitaro Crusher but he and Kenta get in an argument. That’s enough for Archer and Moxley to fight back, though they don’t seem to trust one another either. The running clotheslines in the corner have Omega and Kenta in trouble again. Omega and Archer are knocked outside but it’s too early for the GTS to Moxley.

Instead here’s Omega with a trashcan to knock Moxley silly and then put the trashcan on the post. That means the moonsault with the trashcan onto Moxley and it’s time to cringe a bit. It’s time to bring in a ladder but Moxley fights back and hits a suicide dive on Kenta as Archer supelxes Omega into said ladder.

We take a break, coming back with Kenta and Omega fighting near the stage….and here’s Peter Avalon (out of his heart shaped bed) to interrupt and take the GTS it as well. Archer chokeslams Omega onto said bed and Moxley kicks Kenta in the face for two. Moxley knocks Kenta around the arena and then up the steps near the door Moxley uses every week.

Archer leaves Omega laying and goes after them but they have wound up in a kitchen. A DDT puts Moxley onto a metal table and the YES Lock goes on, only to have Archer make the save with a bag of potatoes. Moxley grabs one and hits Omega, getting to say that “he potatoed him”.

We look back at the rest of the match and come back with Omega and Moxley coming back to the arena. Moxley gets in a few kendo stick shots to Omega as they head inside again. Omega V Triggers Moxley out of the air and out to the floor though as the things slow back down. Cue Archer and Kenta to fight on the stage with Archer loading up a powerbomb through the announcers’ table. That’s broken up though and Kenta hits a running double stomp to put Moxley through a ringside table.

Archer sees Omega in the middle of the ring so Omega grabs the kendo stick. That shot is easily blocked so Omega goes after the knee. Archer is fine enough to hit a chokeslam though and the ladder is tossed to the floor. The rope walk moonsault gives Archer two but Omega slips out of the Blackout.

Cue the Good Brothers so Archer knocks them down and shrugs off Kenta’s spinning backfists. The Brothers get in though and Anderson hits Archer with the Gun stun. Jake Roberts gets in so Anderson uppercuts him down but Omega’s V Trigger is broken up. The Brothers low blow Archer to cut him off though and there’s the Magic Killer. The One Winged Angel is enough to finish Archer at 19:53.

Rating: B-. This is going to be a case where your individual tastes may heavily vary but there was too much going on here and it got a little too goofy at times. Stuff like Peter Avalon and the potatoes make for some good gags but they didn’t quite fit with the anger and violence that seemed to be the idea here. Not a bad match at all and it was certainly wild, though just not my thing for this one.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked the show pretty well this week, though we’re still far enough out from Revolution that it’s ok to not set up a lot of the card just yet. You can see the pieces being put together at the moment and, as usual, if this is one of their weaker shows, they’re going to be just fine. This worked out well enough and I’m curious to see where things go, which is more than a lot of companies are accomplishing these days.

Results

Darby Allin b. Joey Janela – Coffin Drop

Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson b. Cezar Bononi/Peter Avalon – Rollup to Avalon

Pac b. Ryan Nemeth – Brutalizer

Chris Jericho/MJF b. Acclaimed – Judas Effect to Castor

Thunder Rosa b. Leyla Hirsch – layout inverted reverse DDT

Kenny Omega/Kenta b. Jon Moxley/Lance Archer – One Winged Angel 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.

Dynamite
Date: February 3, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for another special show because AEW loves itself some special shows. This time around it’s Beach Break, because when you think February, you think of the beach. The big draws this time are a six man tag and a wedding on the beach, one of which feels like a prime location for some wacky shenanigans. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Battle Royal

Jurassic Express, Chris Jericho/MJF, Stu Grayson/Evil Uno, Alex Silver/John Reynolds, Private Party, Acclaimed, Sammy Guevara/Jake Hager, Santana/Ortiz, Young Bucks, Top Flight

Both members have to be eliminated for a change and the winners get the Bucks at Revolution for the titles (though the Bucks can pick their opponents if they win). During the entrances, Sammy Hagar himself predicts Guevara and Hager winning, despite sounding like he has no idea what is going on. FTR isn’t here due to being suspended after last week. The Bucks dive off the stage to take everyone out before the bell. They all get inside with Isaiah Kassidy diving off the top and…..I have no idea as the camera cuts away.

Dante Martin gets put out in a hurry and Hager knocks out Alex Reynolds as we see a replay of Kassidy missing everyone. John Silver manages to eliminate Hager in a big upset and the entire Dark Order celebrates. Matt Jackson and Alex Bowens are tossed out and it’s Luchasaurus getting to clean house. Grayson makes the mistake of trying to get rid of Luchasaurus and is chokeslammed out. Silver and Uno toss Luchasaurus though, only to have Uno get tossed seconds later to get rid of our first full team.

The Silly String is broken up by Darius Martin (JR: “Did you hear that kids? THE SILLY STRING GOT BLOCKED!”) and Marq Quen is out. Silver suplexes Acclaimed down at the same time but they toss him out in a big bump. Nick takes down Jericho and Ortiz with a high crossbody and then knocks out Santana and Ortiz on his own. The Good Brothers are watching from ringside and low bridge Kassidy out to get rid of Private Party. MJF knocks out the distracted Nick and it’s time for a double pose from MJF and Jericho.

We’re down to MJF/Jericho, Guevara, Jungle Boy, Max Castor and Darius Martin. That sets up something like a six man tag with MJF sending Boy to the apron but not out. The rest of the Inner Circle helps on Boy but Martin and Castor make a save. Another attempt is enough to get rid of Boy though and it’s MJF having a staredown with Guevara. Castor breaks that up but Sammy superkicks him down.

Sammy isn’t happy with that, but he’s happy with Castor backdropping MJF out. Martin gets rid of Castor, and we’re down to Martin vs. Jericho vs. Guevara. A double DDT plants Jericho and Guevara so Martin goes after Sammy, with Jericho tossing Sammy out. Jericho sends Martin to the apron though and it’s the Judas Effect for the final elimination at 11:36.

Rating: C+. This worked out better than I would have bet on as they kept it short but also had a nice twist on having the double eliminations deal. I can get that going either way, but it worked out well here and that’s something nice to see in a match that rarely goes all that well given the nature of the thing. If nothing else, having MJF getting more TV time to set things up should be a great thing.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Video on Jade Cargill, or at least her training.

Tony Schiavone brings out Darby Allin and Sting (dig that snow at the beach) for a chat. Hold on though as before they can say anything, Team Taz interrupts from the parking lot. They aren’t happy that Allin is defending the TNT Title against Joey Janela next week. They’re going to be watching and might even get involved. Ricky Starks doesn’t think Sting is an Icon or the Man Called Sting, because Sting will get hurt playing in the jungle. Sting says that’s fine with him, because he’ll be here next week to make sure everything is fair. As for Starks saying he doesn’t see the old Sting anymore, maybe he needs to take a closer look.

Video on Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa, which has been a pretty well built match.

Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa

Rebel is here with Baker. Rosa charges to the ring to start and we’re off in a hurry, with Rosa going after the arm. Some chops in the corner are broken up and Baker takes her down into a crossface chickenwing. A running dropkick in the corner gives Rosa two but she misses a charge into the corner and bangs up the knee. Baker wraps the leg around the rope and pulls the shoulder into the post to keep Rosa in trouble. They fight out to the floor with Rosa sending her into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Rosa hitting a running corner clothesline, followed by some slingshot knees. Baker’s running dropkick gets two and they’re both down for a bit. It’s Rosa up first but her piledriver is countered into an Air Raid Crash for two. We pause for a second for Rosa to tie her top back up but manages to block the Lockjaw. A running stomp into a crucifix has Rosa in trouble but she counters Lockjaw again.

They keep rolling around until Rosa manages a suplex to escape. The Death Valley Driver gets two on Baker and it’s time to crank on the arm, only to have Rebel come in and rip off a turnbuckle pad. The distraction gets Baker out of trouble and it’s the Downward Spiral into the exposed buckle. Rosa is out and Lockjaw is academic to give Baker the win at 13:11.

Rating: B. Rather good stuff here and it’s nice to see Baker getting the big win. I’m still not sure how long it is going to take to get her into the title picture but it seems like something that should have happened months ago. Rosa looked awesome as well and the combination made for one of the better matches the women’s division has seen in the company’s history.

We look at Hangman Page dressing in Matt Hardy’s rather large dressing room but Page says they aren’t a team and have no agreement. Matt proposes a team for tonight and it seems to be on.

Hangman Page/Matt Hardy vs. Chaos Project

Page isn’t having a good week as he lost $400 playing with stocks. Matt hammers Serpentico in the corner to start and it’s off to Page for a running shooting star press for two. Matt’s shirt comes off for the middle rope elbow to Serpentico’s arm. There’s the Side Effect but Luther comes in off a blind tag for a chop in the corner.

Some running shots connect in the corner, including one where Luther hits Serpentico by mistake. Serpentico misses a Swanton though and the hot tag brings in Page to start cleaning house. Luther is sent outside and there’s a discus right hand to Serpentico. The Buckshot Lariat is broken up but Page takes Luther down, setting up the Buckshot Lariat. Hardy tags himself in and steals the pin at 3:55.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure how interesting a Hardy/Page story would be but it’s something for Page to do to bridge the gap to whatever his next big thing is. Hardy has more than a few things going on already so it isn’t like he needs this feud. Page seems to have an issue with teams though and that might be the case again.

We look at the women’s #1 contenders tournament, which will be held in Japan and America. Here are the talent pools (without brackets):

Aja Kong

Yuka Sakazaki

Veny

Emi Sakura

Ryo Mizunami

Mei Suruga

Rin Kadokura

Maki Itoh

Serena Deeb

Riho

Britt Baker

Tay Conti

Thunder Rosa

Nyla Rose

Anna Jay

Leyla Hirsch

Hopefully some of these matches are presented in highlights because fifteen matches in about a month is a lot (assuming it ends at Revolution).

Jericho and MJF have the cooler ready for the celebration with the Inner Circle but they aren’t happy with losing. Jericho leaves and MJF says it’s time for a meeting, with Wardlow closing the door.

Miro, Kip Sabian and Charles Taylor are ready for the wedding.

And now we go to the ring, with Vickie Guerrero escorting Kip Sabian. James Mitchell is the officiant, who commentary doesn’t seem to recognize because….reasons. Jerry Lynn brings out Penelope Ford who is wearing….well not much really. They do their own vows, with Sabian talking about looking at Ford’s chest when she was wearing a one piece with boots and knew she was the one. Penelope says Sabian has the biggest and we’ll just cut her off there.

Taylor hands Miro the ring and Mitchell asks if Sabian takes Ford to have and to group, kayfabing all others for as long as they both shall live. Ford is asked if she takes this dashing rapscallion (that’s a great word) for the same things and she’s in as well. They go to the “speak now” deal but Miro cuts it off because he’s been burned too many times before. Mitchell, as empowered by Tony Khan, says they’re married and Ford can kiss the ball and chain.

It’s time for a toast, with Miro saying he’s been here before and it’s all about love. But what is love? He has no present for them because his knowledge, power and viciousness is their present. Hold on though as there is a big present, which is from Charles Taylor. Miro beats up the box and….there is nothing in it. Even Schiavone doesn’t blame him so Miro goes back to the toast, but the fans sing WHAT IS LOVE in a funny bit.

It’s time for the cake but Taylor decks Sabian as Miro has been shackled to the rope. Ford is sent face first into the cake. Sabian punches Miro by mistake so he beats Taylor down…..and Orange Cassidy is in the cake. Taylor hits Sabian in the head with something and it’s a Beach Break to leave Sabian laying. They had some good tongue in cheek bits here and it worked out rather well. I’m still not sure why the announcers didn’t know who Mitchell was but that’s a minor point at best.

We go to Inside The NBA where Shaquille O’Neal agrees to team with Jade Cargill to face Red Velvet/Cody Rhodes. Shaq demonstrates the Black Tornado, which seems to be the Judas Effect. I was hoping for the Kazam Slam. Anyway the match is on the March 3 Dynamite.

Eddie Kingston vs. Lance Archer

No DQ lumberjack match with Jake Roberts on the floor, but not as a lumberjack. Archer is pulled outside for a beating from Butcher and Blade but the other lumberjacks come over to glare. Then Billy Gunn actually throws Eddie Kingston back in….which doesn’t sit well with Kingston because he wants to fight with the lumberjacks instead. Archer hits the big dive off the apron to take everyone down so we take a break.

Back with Archer going back inside for a full nelson slam and snapping off a suplex. The Bunny comes in for the save but gets loaded up for the Black Out. Kingston makes the save with the spinning backfist to send Archer outside as Roberts takes out Angelico. Back in and Eddie hits an exploder for two so Butcher loads up a table in the corner. That means a brawl between Butcher/Blade and Bear Country, with the table being broken in the corner. Archer catches Kingston on the top for the Black Out and the pin at 9:04.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on here and it distracted from things a bit, but the brawling they had worked out well. Archer needed the win to boost him back up and there is a good chance that we will be seeing them fight again in one more blowoff. I certainly do appreciate them making it clear that it was No DQ as it can be rather annoying to have a match like this get too insane otherwise. Pretty good stuff here.

FTR is livid about being banned from the battle royal over attacking a dinosaur. Tully Blanchard rants about what it takes to get a title shot….and they pull over a handcuffed and gagged Marko Stunt. Can they pay someone to get rid of him? I’m sure a circus could use him as elephant food or something.

Joey Janela talks about his history with Darby Allin. Next week, the stakes have never been higher though and Janela is winning the title. This could have been far worse.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Jon Moxley/Pac/Rey Fenix

Don Callis is on commentary. Anderson shoulders Pac down to start but Pac comes back with a shot of his own. It’s off to Gallows vs. Moxley with Jon slugging away, only to get hit in the face. Moxley takes him down again and drops an elbow for two but Gallows powers him into the corner for the tag off to Anderson. That’s fine with Moxley, who drives Anderson into the corner for the tag to Pac.

A series of standing moonsaults get two on Anderson but Omega catches Pac on top so Gallows can hit a kick to the head. Pac gets slammed off the top and it’s off to Omega, who can’t hit a suplex. Instead Pac hits a snap German suplex so it’s back to Moxley to hit a release suplex on Anderson. Moxley’s slingshot dive to the floor takes out Gallows and a suicide dive (with Moxley hitting the brakes before he goes flying into something hard) drops the Good Brothers.

We take a break and come back with Moxley countering a powerbomb into a quickly broken Figure Four on Gallows. Moxley low bridges Gallows to the floor and avoids an Anderson charge in the corner, allowing the hot tag to Fenix. Omega is waiting on him so Fenix kicks everyone in the face, setting up a springboard high angle spinning headbutt. Pac comes in for a dropkick to Omega and we get stereo moonsaults to the floor with Pac and Fenix taking down the Good Brothers.

Back in and Fenix moonsaults into a rolling cutter on Omega (that was sweet) for two more. Omega crotches Fenix on top though and it’s a hanging snapdragon to drop Fenix on his head. Gallows kicks Fenix’s head off for two but Pac tags himself back in to strike away, including a sliding kick to the side of Gallows’ head for two. Another superkicks drops Pac though and it’s time for the parade of shots in the corner to crush Pac. Omega hits a Liger Bomb for two on Pac and there’s the V Trigger to rock him again.

The One Winged Angel is broken up so it’s Fenix and Moxley coming back in to beat Omega up. Pac’s great looking bridging German suplex gets two and it’s time for the Moxley vs. Omega slugout. That’s broken up by the parade of shots to the face and Omega hits a Paradigm Shift on Moxley. Pac breaks that up with a 450 so it’s back to Anderson, who gets caught with a Gun Stun from Moxley. Fenix’s double springboard moonsault press gets two but Anderson catches him with a spinebuster. The Magic Killer finishes Fenix at 15:28.

Rating: A-. Now this was the kind of match you would have expected and it makes me want to see more of Pac and Fenix. They more than held their own here and I could go for a lot more of everyone involved. These guys had a heck of a mostly non-stop action match and I wanted to see how it was going to end. Awesome main event here and one of the better matches AEW has had in a long time.

Post match Moxley comes back in to go after Omega but the beatdown is on. Cue Lance Archer to go after Omega and the Good Brothers (that’s interesting), leaving Moxley and Omega alone (JR: “We’re looking for a three count here.”). Moxley gets up but someone jumps him from behind…..and it’s Kenta to jump him from behind for the Go To Sleep (which Moxley doesn’t take well). Kenta is the current #1 contender to Moxley’s New Japan United States Title and Omega seems rather pleased to end the show. I’m not big on Kenta but this felt big and it’s FAR better suited than the Impact stuff.

Overall Rating: A-. This show was a great mixture of stuff throughout the whole night with the main event and surprise at the end. AEW is at its best when they are flying around at a hundred miles an hour and they did it rather well here. They had a heck of a show here and they even made a wedding angle with two of the Best Friends involved work. I’m not sure what more you could ask for here, save for less Chaos Project of course.

Results

Chris Jericho/MJF won a tag team battle royal last eliminating Top Flight

Britt Baker b. Thunder Rosa – Lockjaw

Matt Hardy/Hangman Page b. Chaos Project – Buckshot Lariat to Luther

Lance Archer b. Eddie Kingston – Blackout

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Pac/Rey Fenix/Jon Moxley – Magic Killer to Fenix

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: January 27, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re a week away from Beach Break and for the first time in a long time, we are coming off of a somewhat weak show last time around. That being said, Dynamite has an incredible track record so I have all the confidence in the world of them being able to set up something better this time around. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Eddie Kingston vs. Lance Archer

Jake Roberts is here with Archer…..who asks him to stay in the back. JR says this could be bowling shoe ugly as Kingston chops away, only to be powered into the corner. A bite works a bit better on Archer and Kingston chops away to limited avail. Archer shows him how to really chop so Kingston chops him even harder. A middle rope shoulder puts Archer on a knee….where he smiles at the down Kingston. Oh this is going to hurt.

Archer is back up with a chokeslam over the top rope and down on the apron (that was good for a heck of a cringe as Kingston landed on his hip). Archer follows him outside and sends Kingston face first into the camera (that’s a new one). Back in and Archer stares into the camera (he has a theme here) but has to block the spinning backfist.

Kingston dropkicks the knee out for two but Archer is right back with a short arm clothesline (ala Jake Roberts of course). The Blackout is escaped so Archer settles for a chokeslam instead. Archer walks the rope into the moonsault….and here are Butcher and the Blade, having attacked Roberts. The distraction lets Bunny slip Kingston some brass knuckles. The spinning backfist knocks Archer cold for the pin at 8:54.

Rating: C+. Like JR said, this wasn’t supposed to be a technical masterpiece. This was designed to be all about two brawlers beating the fire out of each other and that’s what they did here, with Kingston managing to get a big win for a change. I liked this one a good bit because it’s exactly what it should have been, with the short arm clothesline making me smile.

Post match Butcher and Blade take Archer out again before holding him up for the spinning backfist.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Jon Moxley is a little confused by Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers and the Young Bucks teaming up because there are a lot of Tag Team Champions. Then there are the Lucha Bros and the Death Triangle. That’s complicated for Moxley, because he likes his beer cold, his coffee hot and his sex in the morning. He loves a good six man tag though because this is fun and that’s what they’re doing next week.

Sting talks about how Team Taz has thrown out a bunch of false accusations about himself and Darby Allin (next to him). It’s true that Allin is a hoodlum, with Allin saying that when you’re on the streets, it’s all about survival. He sends his skateboard through a window and says he’s just like Sting. That makes Sting break a window with his baseball bat and say he is a hoodlum. They’re ready for the street fight at Revolution. They walk off, with Allin leaving his TNT Title.

Chris Jericho/MJF vs. Varsity Blonds

It says MJF in the chiron so that’s enough of an official change for me. After what seems like an extended Judas from the crowd, we’re ready to go…but MJF has a mic. MJF and Griff Garrison start things off, with MJF wanting to hear how great he is. Garrison hammers him down and pulls him back from the apron, with MJF panicking a bit. MJF is so mad that he grabs a chair but the rest of the Inner Circle holds him back.

It’s off to Jericho, who is taken down and caught with Brian Pillman’s Jr.’s running legdrop to give Garrison two. A cheap shot from the apron puts Garrison down though and we take a break, with Tony screaming at us that the match could end during the break (eh he’s no JR ripping on picture in picture for whatever reason). Back with Garrison getting the hot tag to clean house, including a double spear for two on MJF (Pillman looks near tears for some reason).

The tears are wiped away enough to hit a missile dropkick on Jericho, followed by a superkick for two. Jericho misses a charge and gets sent to the floor but comes right back in with the Judas Effect to Pillman. The Lionsault (with Jericho having the biggest grin, because he likes proving people wrong from last week) finishes at 8:02.

Rating: C+. Pillman and Garrison have gotten built up some momentum over the last few months so it’s fine enough to have them hang in there with Jericho and MJF. It’s good to see the Inner Circle get a win like this to start them on the right foot, and Jericho’s grin off the Lionsault is perfectly him. If nothing else, it’s nice to see that last week was just a slip (it happens to everyone) and he didn’t break his neck.

Pac isn’t impressed with Kenny Omega and his friends walking around like they own the place. Next week, Pac and Rey Fenix are going to show Omega what it means to be brutal. He sold the heck out of this.

Earlier tonight, Shaquille O’Neal called out Cody Rhodes for a match at some point in the future.

Tony Schiavone brings out Cody Rhodes and Arn Anderson for a chat. Cody loves the idea of himself and Brandi against Shaq and Jade Cargill….but Brandi is having a baby. Therefore he is going to defer to Arn, who has chewed him out for a variety of things. For now though, Arn gets to make the decision. Anderson says he is going to contradict himself here and says that Cody has the big head.

Arn brings up the date of June 29, 1985, which doesn’t have any meaning for Cody. On that date, Arn watched Dusty Rhodes face Tully Blanchard in Los Angeles for thirty minutes and then fly across the country to see Cody be born. If Cody chooses to jump onto the Revolution card on March 7, he needs to do it with no regrets. There has been a long time between June 29, 1985 and Revolution.

Shaq dominated his sport for nineteen years and Jade Cargill seems like she dominates any room she is in. In the last two weeks, Arn has seen something and has an idea. Cue Red Velvet, with Arn saying she has the same fire as Cody. Velvet talks about Cargill running her mouth and being full of herself, but everyone knows Cody won’t lay a hand on Jade. Red Velvet will though, and she will stir Cargill’s b**** a** up. Arn: “That’s what I was talking about!”

Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford are excited to be married and invite us to the Beach Break wedding. Miro will be there as the best man and he’s bringing Charles the butler with him.

Hangman Page vs. Ryan Nemeth

Page is accompanied by crippling emotional baggage and Nemeth (complete with trunks that say “Hunk”) is Dolph Ziggler’s brother. An exchange of shoulders goes badly for Nemeth and Page kicks him in the face. Nemeth gets in a few chops in the corner and Page just doesn’t look happy. A shot to the face puts Nemeth down in the corner for the stomping. Page sends him outside for the slingshot dive but gets dropkicked back down inside.

Cue Matt Hardy to watch as Nemeth grabs a handstand hammerlock. Back up and Page runs him over, setting up a spinebuster, much to Hardy’s approval. A Dolph Ziggler jumping DDT gets two on Page but he blasts Nemeth with a discus forearm. There’s a hard lariat and the Buckshot Lariat finishes Nemeth at 5:38.

Rating: C. As usual, an unknown got in a lot of offense on an established star but Nemeth might have a little something with the Hunk/movie star good looks thing (and the family connection helps as well). Page getting a win is a good thing, but hopefully he doesn’t get pulled into whatever Hardy’s latest thing is.

Post match Hardy and Tony Schiavone get in the ring, with Hardy saying Page looks lost. They were on the same team in Stadium Stampede and Page is a good person who deserves to be happy. Page has been dressing by himself in a room next to catering. He is welcome to dress in Hardy’s big dressing room, no strings attached. Tony: “I think you should take him up on that.”

Jungle Boy and Dax Harwood both want to prove they are the better man, especially with everyone else neutralized at ringside.

Dax Harwood vs. Jungle Boy

Luchasaurus is here and handcuffed to Tully Blanchard and Cash Wheeler (Marko Stunt is sent to the back because…..well because he’s Marko Stunt). Harwood grabs a headlock to start but gets knocked down for his efforts. Another headlock works a bit better as Boy is taken to the mat and then knocked down again for good measure. They run the ropes until Boy scores with a dropkick and goes for the legs. That’s broken up and Harwood goes outside, with Luchasaurus not allowing Tully to get in much coaching.

Back in and Harwood uppercuts him into the corner but Boy chops his way to freedom. A kick to the ribs cuts him off but Harwood misses a charge into the post so Boy grabs an armbar. That doesn’t last long either as Harwood punches him in the face for a breather. They head outside with Harwood sending him into the barricade and sending us to a break. Back with Boy fighting out of a chinlock and kicking Harwood in the face.

A top rope belly to back superplex brings Luchasaurus to his feet and gives Harwood two but it injures his shoulder in the process. Boy pops back up and hammers away, only to get his head clotheslined off. A hard slingshot powerbomb gives Harwood two, with Tully being rather pleased.

Boy is back up with some rolling German suplexes until Harwood elbows him hard in the face. That earns Harwood a rebound lariat but Harwood head fakes him into a DDT (ala Arn Anderson) for two. They trade rollups with trunks for two each, followed by victory rolls for the same. Boy’s crucifix gets two, as does Harwood’s counter. Boy pulls him into the Snare Trap (Regal Stretch) and Harwood taps clean at 14:54.

Rating: B+. I don’t remember the last time I got sucked into a match outside of NXT so this was a heck of a treat as they had a great wrestling match. This was Boy’s speed and athleticism against Harwood’s old school style and they meshed so well. This is the kind of thing that I wanted to see out of FTR and it’s great to see Boy hanging in there every step of the way. Awesome match here that blew away some fairly high expectations I had coming in.

Post match, Tully throws powder at Luchasaurus and gets out of the handcuffs. A slingshot suplex puts Boy down and a spike double piledriver (featuring Air Tully) knocks Luchasaurus silly. Luchasaurus is handcuffed to the ropes and FTR cuts the horns off of his mask to make it personal. They go to cut Boy’s hair but Marko Stunt, SCU and Top Flight make the save.

Earlier tonight, Team Taz was outside where Taz talked about being ready to destroy Sting and Darby Allin at Revolution. Hold on though as they find a random merchandise table and beat the workers up for having too much Sting and Darby gear. Taz promises more of this for the two of them.

Britt Baker vs. Shanna

Rebel is here with Baker and Shanna is making her return. Baker works on the wristlock to start but gets reverses into the same thing from Shanna. That’s broken up with Shanna being taken into the corner for a hard forearm. That’s broken up though as Shanna goes for the wristlock, followed by an enziguri. The running dropkick against the ropes misses though as Rebel pulls Baker away, meaning Baker can get in a shot from behind.

The Sling Blade on the floor drops Shanna again and we take a break. Back with Shanna hitting a clothesline for two, followed by Baker’s neckbreaker for two. A Stunner drops Baker again and now the running dropkick against the ropes connects. Rebel realizes trouble is afoot though and offers a distraction so Baker can grab the Lockjaw for the pin at 8:33.

Rating: C+. I know Baker has been doing the same thing for a good while, but that’s a good thing in this case. She’s rather entertaining with what she does and it continues to set up the showdown with Thunder Rosa. Baker is probably the most defined character in all of the division and she plays it to near perfection. Stick with what works instead of changing everything at once, as you can often stick with a good idea instead of trying unnecessary changes.

Post match the beatdown stays on but here’s Thunder Rosa for the save.

MJF comes in to see Sammy Guevara and insists that he didn’t send Wardlow in last week. Sammy doesn’t buy it because he knows what MJF is doing and doesn’t buy his lies. MJF asks if Sammy wants to play it this way but Sammy isn’t playing. Man alive Sammy is a breakout star waiting to happen.

Beach Break rundown.

More on what’s coming later on, with Riho making her return in the #1 contenders tournament at a date to be announced.

The Good Brothers and the Young Bucks are happy with the Bullet Club reunion and are ready to do their thing tonight. Then next week they’re going to do their favorite thing: BEAT UP JON MOXLEY! The Bucks are down with that but don’t want Don Callis involved. Kenny Omega comes in and says they need to talk but here’s Callis, who has a taped up face thanks to the Bucks. Omega has to hold them apart.

Dark Order vs. Young Bucks/Good Brothers

It’s Evil Uno/Stu Grayson/Alex Reynolds/John Silver for the Order. Uno shoulders Anderson to start and gets two off an atomic drop of all things. It’s time to start in on the wristlock and Silver comes in for a bald showdown. Silver wants Gallows and the request is granted after a bit of discussion. Somehow Silver manages to kick him down to a knee but a cheap shot from the apron lets Gallows him him in the face. Matt comes in and gets forearmed by Reynolds but the Bucks start firing off the dropkicks.

Everything breaks down and it’s a dropkick/neckbreaker/belly to back suplex combination to Reynolds. The club poses (JR: “That’s another t-shirt.”) and Anderson trips Reynolds down. JR wants an ejection but Uno trips Matt as well, allowing the hot tag to Grayson. The pace picks way up and it’s a springboard dropkick to put Gallows on the floor. A frog splash gets two on Anderson and we take a break. Back with Grayson hitting a Pele on Nick and diving over for the hot tag to Silver.

That means house can be cleaned again as Silver does the fired up comeback rather well. Silver runs over the club on the floor as well, setting up a brainbuster for two on Nick back inside. Matt comes in and hits the double northern lights suplex on Silver and Reynolds. There’s the double clothesline to take them down as well but Reynolds hits a Stunner into the German suplex on Matt.

The Fatality connects with Anderson having to make the save as everything breaks down again. Nick hits the double springboard flip dive onto most of everyone on the floor and the club hits a bunch of apron powerbombs at the same time. Grayson is left alone in the ring and it’s a quadruple low superkick with Uno making the save. The Magic Killer knocks Uno to the floor and it’s the Meltzer Driver to finish Grayson at 11:45.

Rating: B. This was an entertaining match with the Dark Order hanging in there long enough. I know it has been said but Silver is one of those guys with all of the charisma he could need to be a star. I’m fine with the club winning here as they need to show they can work together, even if a Bucks vs. Brothers match seems like at Revolution. Good main event here though, with the Dark Order working as faces (or close enough to them at least).

Post match the Bucks talk about the Beach Break battle royal with the winners getting a Tag Team Title shot at Revolution. They are in the match as well and if they win, it is champions’ choice for the title shot. The Bucks and the Brothers hit the Too Sweet but here’s Rey Fenix to go after them to avenge Pentagon. This goes as well as you would expect, even though he manages to knock the Bucks to the floor. Cue Jon Moxley to help with the fight and Fenix hits a heck of a dive, even landing on the barricade in the process. Kenny Omega tries to run in with the boot but walks into the Paradigm Shift to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Now that was more like it with a few rather good to great matches carrying the show. There was nothing bad on the show and I’m curious to see where Beach Break goes, even if there isn’t a huge main event. This week’s show was about building for the future but still had some solid stuff of its own. I liked this show a good bit more than last week and hopefully they can do it again at next week’s big show.

Results

Eddie Kingston b. Lance Archer – Spinning backfist with brass knuckles

Chris Jericho/MJF b. Varsity Blonds – Lionsault to Pillman

Hangman Page b. Ryan Nemeth – Buckshot lariat

Jungle Boy b. Dax Harwood – Snare Trap

Britt Baker b. Shanna – Lockjaw

Young Bucks/Good Brothers b. Dark Order – Meltzer Driver to Grayson

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: December 30, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Chris Jericho

This is going to be a complete detour as the show is going to be all about Brodie Lee, who shockingly passed away on Saturday due to some kind of lung issue. The show is going to be a complete tribute to him with all stories postponed until next week. That’s the only way this could have gone and there is nothing wrong with that. Let’s get to it.

We open with a ten bell salute to Brodie Lee, with his family on the stage, including his son in a Dark Order mask.

Jon Moxley talks about Lee being a good person who he knew for years. This has been a soccer kick to the face but it has shown him that wrestling is a community. He is going to appreciate every day and he’ll never forget Brodie.

Matt Hardy/Private Party vs. Young Bucks/Colt Cabana

For the sake of sanity, I’ll only refer to Matt Jackson as Matt. Colt and the Bucks clean house one at a time to start, including a triple dropkick to put Hardy on the floor. Nick adds the running flip dive to take them all down again. Colt hits an Asai moonsault to do the same. We settle down to Hardy hammering on Matt but everything breaks down all over again with Marq Quen hitting a dive to Hardy on the floor.

Back in and Matt is taken down again, including being sent face first into Isaiah Kassidy’s boot in the corner. the triple teaming continues until Hardy makes the mistake of going after Cabana, allowing Matt to get over for the hot tag. Cabana comes in to clean house with the Flip Flop and Fly, followed by the Flying Apple to Kassidy. Hardy breaks up the tag to Nick and the discus lariat is countered into a crucifix for two on Cabana. A crossbody gets the same but Nick comes in sans tag with a hurricanrana.

Nick gets the actual tag a few seconds later and starts taking over, only to be tripped down by Hardy. Back in and Gin and Juice hits Matt, setting up Kassidy’s Swanton and Quen’s shooting star for two with Cabana and Nick making the save (JR: “Let’s hear it for Boom Boom!”). Hardy grabs a chair but gets taken down, leaving Cabana to have to fight out of Gin and Juice. The Chicago Skyline hits Kassidy and the Indytaker into the Superman pin finishes Quen at 13:29.

Rating: B-. The wrestling is going to be quite the minor point here and that’s how a show like this should be. This was a bunch of high flying and diving, with the Bucks doing everything they should be doing. Cabana can do any style and Hardy looked good enough. Private Party didn’t go too insane either, leaving this to be a rather nice and energetic opener.

Post match it’s the Acclaimed coming in to rap about this show but SCU jumps them from behind and Cabana hits the double Bionic Elbow. Cabana throws up the Dark Order sign for perhaps the first time.

Darby Allin, sans face paint, talks about how Lee was the #1 guy he wanted to wrestle because of everything he did behind the scenes. Lee was a great person to talk to and Allin is sad he never got in the ring with him.

Lance Archer/Stu Grayson/Evil Uno vs. Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade

Archer is in Luke Harper gear for a nice touch. Jake Roberts and the Bunny are here as well. Before the match, Kingston says he’s going to show that the Dark Order is nothing without Lee and the brawl is on in a hurry. Archer gets suplexed onto Kingston, who is taken into the corner for some wild eyed shots from Grayson. Bunny grabs Grayson’s leg though, allowing Butcher to clothesline him down.

Blade powerslams Grayson down but Jake grabs his leg to even things up. Grayson is back with a Boss Man Slam (Jericho: “It’s a Brody Slam!”) as we take a break. Back with Kingston and Uno slapping it out until Kingston misses some spinning backfists. A half and half (Brody move) hits Kingston and the hot tag brings in Archer to take over.

Archer starts wrecking people and it’s a rope walk moonsault (cool) to drop Blade. Grayson and Uno come in for an assisted Downward Spiral but Kingston makes the save and hits a DDT (with a glare at Roberts) for two. Kingston saves Blade from the Blackout and Grayson hits a running DDT to the apron to plant Butcher. The Fatality finishes Blade at 10:00.

Rating: B-. Another match where they did what they needed to do and showed off at the same time. I’m still not sure where this version of the Dark Order came from as they were one of the lamest teams around to start and then have a rather nice match like this for a change. Archer’s special gear was perfect too.

Post match Kingston gets beaten down, including a short arm clothesline from Jake.

Dax Harwood, Arn Anderson, Colt Cabana and Bryce Remsburg talk about what a great father and family man Lee was.

Hangman Page/John Silver/Alex Reynolds vs. Santana/Ortiz/Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is in Puerto Rico themed gear and Silver/Reynolds throw papers at Santana/Ortiz (apparently a Brodie thing from Being The Elite). MJF gets sent outside to yell at Brodie’s son, with Jericho saying the kid has been bothering him all day. We settle back down to Santana hitting a neckbreaker on Reynolds, followed by Two Amigos. Ortiz comes in for a double Third Amigo but Reynolds gets over for the tag to Page.

The pace picks way up, including a fall away slam to MJF into a nip up into a dive onto Santana on the floor. Back in and Page gets taken down for two as we go to a break. Back with Silver coming in to clean house and kicking Ortiz off the top. Silver hits a flip dive off the apron onto Santana (JR: “What a white meat babyface this kid is!”). A sitout powerbomb gets two on Ortiz back inside but MJF makes the save.

Silver is sent into the corner but MJF comes back with something like a Code Red, with only his ankles wrapping around MJF’s head to drive it into the mat. The Heat Seeker plants Silver and Ortiz grabs a powerbomb for two with Reynolds making a save of his own. Everything breaks down and Wardlow comes in but ERICK REDBEARD (Rowan) runs in to take him out. MJF goes outside and takes the mask off of Lee’s son, earning himself a kendo stick shot to the head. The fans go nuts and it’s a discus lariat to pin Ortiz 12:38.

Rating: C+. This was the emotional match on the card and you could see everyone being very invested in what they were doing (as everyone has been tonight of course). Silver got so much out of the Dark Order so this is the kind of match that he needs to have on the show. Throw in the incredible Redbeard cameo and the whole thing was near perfect.

Redbeard comes back in to hold up a sign saying “goodbye for now my brother, see you down the road.” Jericho sounds near tears over this one. Well that was about the most emotional thing I’ve seen in years.

Eddie Kingston talks about how much he is going to miss Lee. He talks about Lee’s kids missing their dad, who was a warrior outside of the ring. Lee took care of the two of them and he loved them so much.

Tay Conti/Anna Jay vs. Britt Baker/Penelope Ford

Rebel, Kip Sabian and Miro are all here too. Jay and Baker trade arm cranks to start before it’s off to Conti to kick Penelope down. We hear about Conti’s amateur experience as Sabian offers a distraction, allowing Baker to get in a jumping knee. Conti gets sent to the floor with Baker getting in a stomp and Rebel not quite being able to get in a cheap shot.

We take a break and come back with Conti and Ford kicking each other in the face, allowing the double tag to Baker and Jay. Everything breaks down and Jay stops to point at the 99 on her cheek, allowing Baker to hit a fisherman’s neckbreaker. A Downward Spiral sends Jay into the middle buckle and Ford comes in with a Blockbuster for two. Jay is right back with the Queen Slayer as for the tap from Ford at 9:49 with Conti taking out Baker.

Rating: C. Conti and Jay have come a long way in recent months and it was nice to see them getting a win like this. They didn’t need to do anything fancy here and it’s a good example of doing something more basic at a higher level. Ford taking the fall isn’t going to hurt her as she has the big wedding deal coming up in a few weeks anyway.

Post match Baker says everything was rigged. Conti was rigged, Jay was rigged, the match was rigged. In fact everything was…..a big rig. She winks at the camera but here’s Thunder Rosa to jump her from behind, with referees having to break it up.

Here’s what’s coming over the next two weeks.

Chris Jericho talks about working with Lee 27 times, including in Saudi Arabia. When he was in the hotel room in Saudi Arabia, Jericho saw what he thought was a sticker on the ceiling. Lee came in and said it was the arrow pointing to Mecca, which blew Jericho’s mind because he shouldn’t know that kind of thing.

Jericho helped bring Lee into AEW and it meant a lot that he was able to see Lee be the kind of star that he knew he could be. All the proof you need of how good a person Lee was is the time he came to Jericho’s house and Jericho’s mean dog licked his hand. Jericho promises to take care of Lee’s family. This was great.

Cody Rhodes/Orange Cassidy/10 vs. Team Taz

This was hand picked by Lee’s son and it is billed as his dream match. Cody bounces off of Powerhouse Hobbs to start. With that not working, Cody (reluctantly) brings in 10 to suplex Starks. That’s enough for Starks to head to the floor so it’s back to Hobbs, who wants Cassidy. The hands go into the pockets and a slow motion shoulder doesn’t go well as we take a break.

Back with Cage hitting a rather delayed vertical suplex on Cassidy. It’s off to Starks, who gets caught in a suplex from Cassidy for a change. Cody comes in to pick up the pace and throw his weight belt into the crowd. Starks and Cody hit stereo discus lariats, meaning it’s back to 10 for a Brodie Bomb. A spear cuts 10 down and it’s Cassidy coming back in as everything breaks down.

Hobbs hits a spinebuster on Cassidy but walks into a superkick from Cody. There’s a Downward Spiral from Cage but 10 hits a clothesline to the back of Cage’s head. With everyone down, Arn Anderson and Taz grab chairs, leaving Cassidy to hit the Orange Punch on Starks. Cody adds Cross Rhodes and 10 hits the spinebuster to finish Starks at 11:31.

Rating: C+. This was about elevating 10 and that’s what they did here. He isn’t exactly someone who gets a lot of attention around here and odds are he isn’t going to again, but at least he got a chance here. If nothing else, it was nice to see the Dark Order complete the sweep and it’s not like the results mean much on this show in the first place.

Post match the celebration is on but Team Taz breaks it up in a hurry. Even Hook gets in a suplex on Cassidy (Jericho: “Hook just wants to get his picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone.”). The lights go out and here’s Darby Allin for the save….with Sting following. JR: “I’ve known him since the days of the Blade Runners. Google it kids.”

Post break Cody is in the ring for the final tribute. Cody gives a quote about how you can tell the value of a man based on how he treats someone who has nothing to give him. Over the last few days, we have heard one tribute after another to Lee and it is because he was a beautiful man who left a legacy. That legacy is here tonight, so here is Lee’s family, including his son, Negative One, Brodie Lee Jr.

This brings out Lee’s wife and son, with the son leaving Lee’s boots in the ring. Tony Khan hands Lee Jr. the TNT Title, declaring him the champion for life. Khan thanks the fans and gives us a tribute video to Lee set to the Eagles’ Ol’ 55, complete with quite a bit of old school footage, including some home movies and shots of him with his family. There are even some WWE photos included, with some shots of Big E., John Morrison, Bray Wyatt and more. Find this as it’s one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time.

Overall Rating: A+. The wrestling wasn’t the point of the show and there is nothing wrong with that. Tonight was all about Brodie Lee and that’s all it should have been about, as he was taken away at a ridiculously too young 41 due to something he didn’t cause. The matches were good to rather good, but this was all about saying thank you and goodbye, with the stuff with his family being outstanding. Go find that tribute though as it’s the best thing on the show. This was excellent and they nailed everything about the whole night.

Results

Young Bucks/Colt Cabana b. Matt Hardy/Private Party – Superman pin to Quen

Lance Archer/Stu Grayson/Evil Uno b. Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade – Fatality to Blade

John Silver/Alex Reynolds/Hangman Page b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Santana/Ortiz – Discus lariat to Ortiz

Tay Conti/Anna Jay b. Penelope Ford/Britt Baker – Queen Slayer to Ford

10/Cody Rhodes/Orange Cassidy b. Team Taz – Brodie Bomb to Starks

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Dynamite
Date: December 16, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

The run of big shows continue as we are now on the way to New Year’s Smash in two weeks. The big story continues to be World Champion Kenny Omega, who is going to be headlining the Impact Wrestling Hard To Kill pay per view in January. That could mean an invasion on this week’s show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Hangman Page/Dark Order vs. Matt Hardy/Private Party

Page and Quen start things off with Quen grabbing a headlock. That doesn’t go very long so it’s Hardy coming in for a kick to the ribs in the corner. Private Party both comes in but the Dark Order comes in as well for a triple big boot. The ring is cleared so Silver jumps on Page’s back to celebrate. Kassidy comes in and gets slammed down so Page drops Silver down onto him for two.

Reynolds tags himself in and it’s a double flipping faceplant to put Kassidy down again. Page adds the running shooting star to give Silver two and he knocks Kassidy into the corner. That lets Silver strike a pose, and Page isn’t sure what to think. Kassidy gets in a shot of his own and it’s off to Quen to start picking up the pace. Stereo basement dropkicks get two on Silver and Hardy comes in for a sleeper. That’s countered into a brainbuster from Silver and it’s back to Page to clean house.

The Side Effect cuts Page off but it’s too early for the Twist of Fate. Page nails a hard clothesline and it’s off to Reynolds to start cleaning house again. A neckbreaker drops Quen and Kassidy is sent outside. Page hits a pop up sitout powerbomb and Reynolds gets two off a rollup. Hardy breaks up the cover and hits a hanging Twist of Fate to pull Silver off the apron for a thud. That leaves Reynolds to take Gin and Juice, with Hardy stealing the pin at 10:48.

Rating: C+. Pretty good action and it didn’t go all that long. I was surprised by the ending too, though I could go for Less Hardy being involved in….well almost anything with some kind of a character for that matter. Private Party winning is a nice surprise and Silver continues to look more and more like a star every time he is out there. I’m curious to see where he goes and the further he gets away from the evil Dark Order, the better he’ll be doing.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman is given a plaque from the New York Times for Best Performance of 2020. Chris Jericho mentions that he was involved as well and MJF actually gives him credit. MJF sees the greatest of all time and his best friend when he looks at Jericho, who can only say thank you.

We go to Cody and Brandi Rhodes’ house where they are trimming the tree. Their doorbell rings and there is a box waiting for them. Inside is a Christmas ornament saying…..that they’re expecting a baby. Pharaoh has a collar saying “Baby Security In Training.” That’s great.

Cody Rhodes vs. Angelico

Cody is introduced as The Future Father in a nice moment. Angelico snapmares him down to start and wipes his hair back. Cody is right back with one of his own before they fight over a wristlock. Angelico kicks him away though and we have a standoff. With nothing else working, Cody takes him down so Angelico kicks his feet for protection. Back up and they shoves each other away, setting up a crisscross. Cody drops down into a dropkick for one and we take a break.

Back with Cody knocking him down again and hitting a few clotheslines. The powerslam gets two but Angelico ties him up in some kind of wacky double arm hold using his legs. Cody bites the rope for the escape because sometimes it’s all you can do. The Disaster Kick misses though and Angelico tweaks his knee, allowing Angelico to grab his Navaro Death Roll. That’s broken up as well and Cody is right back up with the Cody Cutter for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and having Cody doing his thing while having to deal with Angelico’s technical/submission stuff worked….in the little amount of time that Angelico did it. That being said, the announcement before the match is going to make a lot of people smile and it’s a lot more important in the first place. Fine enough match, though I could have gone for more from Angelico.

Post match here’s Team Taz to say they don’t get why they didn’t receive their own congratulations for taking out Darby Allin. They’re about to come to the ring to put Cody on paternity leave, but here’s Sting to cut them off. Powerhouse Hobbs has to be held back as Sting stand around with the bat and Darby Allin looks on from the rafters. Sting winks at Cody and leaves so Team Taz goes to the ring and pummels Cody. Well in theory at least, but instead they stand there as we go to a break due to wrestling logic.

Miro has been fined $75,000 for attacking various production workers last week. He says it’s all about the numbers and that is money Orange Cassidy owes him. Next week he’s breaking the internet again when he faces Sonny Kiss and then next week it’s the wedding date announcement. When asked about the people being put in the hospital at Christmas, he says BAH HUMBUG because Christmas is his birthday.

Here’s Eddie Kingston to address his enemies. First up is Pac, who has been injured and left on the shelf. Where is he anyway? Then there is Lance Archer, who rushes the ring to start the fight. Butcher, Blade and Bunny come to the ring for the save but Archer fights them off. The Lucha Bros come in for the save and Pac is back to make it even worse. Death Triangle beats up all four of them with Fenix hitting the big corkscrew dive. Archer grabs Kingston by the throat but Pac kicks Kingston in the face, which Archer doesn’t like. No violence ensues as Kingston and company bail.

Dustin Rhodes says Seven was a bad idea years ago and it was a bad idea last week. Uno said Rhodes was the least important member of the Rhodes Family and that’s just not true. Last week it was Ten and next week it’s Uno going down.

Best Friends/Top Flight/Varsity Blonds vs. Inner Circle

Orange Cassidy sits in on commentary, even though his headset isn’t plugged in and his mic isn’t down. Jericho chops Pillman into the corner to start and poses in the corner while standing on Pillman’s throat. Back up and Pillman nearly slips out of the corner but manages to hit a springboard crossbody to rock Jericho. The triangle dropkick sends Jericho to the floor and a slingshot dive takes Jericho down again.

Back in and it’s off to Garrison for a slam but Jericho drives him into the corner for the tag to Guevara. Dante comes in for a leg lariat to Guevara and Darius comes in for a crucifix (despite what looked to be a bit of confusion). Guevara punches him down with a hard shot and it’s off to Trent vs. Santana for a showdown. Ortiz and Chuck come in as well and the big brawl is on with everyone getting involved. The Inner Circle is cleared out and it’s a six way hug.

Back in and Ortiz suplexes Trent a few times, allowing Santana to come in with a top rope double stomp to the arm. Trent gets sent outside and we take a break. Back with Jericho and Guevara running Trent over and stopping for the double pose (that still works). Sammy misses the shooting star press so Trent nails the running knee. A suplex to Ortiz allows the tag off to Darius to pick up the pace.

The standing Spanish Fly hits Ortiz and Dante hits the big running dive to take out Santana and Ortiz. Pillman adds the springboard shoulder to Ortiz and Hager is low bridged to the floor. Garrison forearms Ortiz but Jericho gets in a baseball bat shot from the floor. Hager is in and hits Wardlow’s F10, allowing MJF to get the pin at 14:09.

Rating: C+. What we got was good enough, but they really could have cut this down to about eight people so there weren’t so many people standing around without much to do. They booked the match well though and the good guys got to showcase themselves rather well before going down. Garrison taking the fall doesn’t hurt him as he got to show off a bit first. Good enough here, and they didn’t get too messy for their own good.

Post match Top Flight clears the ring and we get the big staredown.

Thunder Rosa blames Britt Baker for costing her the NWA Women’s Title and doesn’t like her saying Rosa doesn’t belong here. Rebel comes up for a distraction and it’s Britt Baker jumping Rosa from behind. Baker traps the arm and Rebel pours water on Rosa to mess up the paint. With Rosa out (From what?), Baker looks at the camera to make sure it still works after looking at Rosa’s face.

SCU vs. Acclaimed

Acclaimed raps their way to the ring, including saying that Daniels is an out of date format like a CD and Kazarian’s back must be hurting with the carrying. Kazarian and Daniels rhyme right back, saying the Acclaimed suck. Daniels chops away at Bowens to start but gets backdropped down for his efforts. Castor comes in and hammers away in the corner as commentary talks about Castor’s father’s NFL career. Daniels knocks Castor down for a slingshot lariat to give Kazarian two.

Kazarian grabs an armbar to keep Castor in trouble but he gets sent outside, allowing the beating to be on as we take a break. Back with Kazarian in trouble until he uses the ropes to take Castor down. Bowens gets kicked away and it’s Daniels coming in with some clotheslines to take over. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Bowens and a high crossbody is good for the same. Daniels rolls Bowens up but gets kicked away, allowing Castor to hit him in the face with the boom box. Bowens hits a Rock Bottom slam for the surprise pin at 8:17.

Rating: C+. If there is one thing AEW is good at, it is using its younger talents to put people over. The match worked rather well for the Acclaimed, as the tag division continues to grow by leaps and bounds with all of the additions the make seemingly every month. SCU are a made team so this doesn’t hurt them whatsoever. Good match too.

Post match the Acclaimed rap a challenge to the Young Bucks for next week.

Top Flight challenge Chris Jericho and MJF for next week. They can either accept or run away like b******.

Ivelisse/Diamante vs. Big Swole/Serena Deeb

Swole and Diamante slug away to start and Swole suplexes her down over without much effort. Diamante jumps Deeb on the apron and takes Swole into the corner as we take a break. Back with Deep fighting both of them off at the same time, including an Indian Deathlock to Ivelisse while she suplexes Diamante.

A neckbreaker over the ropes puts Ivelisse down again and a Figure Four goes on. Diamante makes the save and it’s a double slam for two on Deeb. Swole is back in with a headbutt to Diamante and it’s a Clearwater Cloverleaf (with Swole not even stepping over) to make Diamante tap at 9:21.

Rating: C-. Deeb is so far ahead of Swole and Diamante it’s not even funny. Ivelisse can do some things well enough but there’s a polish to Deeb that just isn’t there with her. Diamante and Ivelisse do work well together though and it’s nice to have a team that means a little something. That being said, at least step over to make the Cloverleaf work.

Post match it’s Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero coming in to help beat down Deep and Swole. Red Velvet makes the save with a chair. Can we just not with Rose and Guerrero?

The Best Friends are going to be at the Holiday Bash (next week) when Miro announces the wedding date.

Video on the Jurassic Express. They’ve kind of disappeared in recent weeks.

FTR and Tully Blanchard storm the broadcast booth and complain about not getting any time while a grown up Tarzan and a wannabe dinosaur are featured. This is how Harwood feeds his family and these two men are his family. Top guys out, after a heck of a fired up promo from Harwood.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janela

Non-title and no DQ with Don Callis/Sonny Kiss as the seconds. During Omega’s entrance, Tony says he’s glad that Omega took Impact’s numbers from one to six. Not so much on the second week but it did work the first time. Janela throws a trashcan at Omega to start and Callis goes to commentary to take Tony’s headset. Tony tells him what to kiss as Janela whips Omega into the barricade.

Omega is right back with a Kitaro Crusher onto an open chair. There’s a baseball slide into a running flip dive to send Joey into another chair, allowing Callis to praise Kenny on his mic. Hang on as Omega gets the mic and blasts him with a cookie sheet, making sure to show off the extra sound. Back in and a moonsault with a trashcan crushes Janela for two.

Omega is annoyed at the kickout so he beats on Janela some more, setting up a springboard double stomp onto the trashcan. The One Winged Angle is countered with a reverse hurricanrana, allowing Kiss to whip out a table. The top rope legdrop sends Omega through the table but the moonsault misses back inside. Omega hits some V Triggers and the One Winged Angel finishes Janela at 7:01.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t about the action and that’s the way it should have gone here. There was no reason to believe that Janela was going to be a threat here and Omega dealt with him as such. The trash talk and Callis doing commentary were great heel touches and the kind of thing that fits them perfectly. It wasn’t a good match, but it was perfectly put together.

Post match Callis says all of the loose ends have been tied up and now there is no one left with a complaint. Cue Death Triangle with Pac saying that Fenix never got his shot against Omega in the tournament. Callis offers to teach him a lesson, because Pac has no authority. Wrestlers don’t tell the champ what to do, but Pac has talked to Tony Khan and Fenix is getting his title shot on December 30. Omega is livid to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling wasn’t exactly the point tonight as this was all about setting things up for the next few big shows. There are going to be three straight big weeks coming up and that could be some very good news for AEW. I’m not sure what to expect out of those shows, but dang they are making me want to see what they have coming. Another good show this week, and it has me wanting to see more, which is the more important result.

Results

Private Party/Matt Hardy b. Hangman Page/Dark Order – Gin and Juice to Reynolds

Cody Rhodes b. Angelico – Cody Cutter

Inner Circle b. Top Flight/Varsity Blonds/Best Friends – F10 to Garrison

Acclaimed b. SCU – Rock Bottom slam to Daniels

Serena Deeb/Big Swole b. Ivelisse/Diamante – Clearwater Cloverleaf to Diamante

Kenny Omega b. Joey Janela – One Winged Angel

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

Dynamite
Date: December 9, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

Things are getting a little wacky around here and that makes things all the more interesting. Above all else, Kenny Omega is now the World Champion and last night he appeared on Impact Wrestling to say….well I’m not completely clear but it is definitely going somewhere in the future. Other than that, we get to hear from Sting after last week’s debut. Let’s get to it.

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

Hybrid 2 vs. Young Bucks

Non-title. Before the match, the Bucks say they don’t know what is going on with Kenny Omega and they haven’t talked to him in over a week. They start fast with the Bucks sending them outside to start, meaning it’s time for a big flip dive. Back in and we settle down a bit with the Bucks hitting a double basement dropkick on Evans. Angelico comes in to send Matt outside but Nick is right back up to kick Evans off the apron.

Nick is knocked off the apron as well and it’s the assisted 450 for two on Matt. The superkicks take the Hybrid 2 down though and the hot tag brings Nick back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Nick hits the slingshot X Factor to rock Angelico. Nick powerbombs Evans onto the Acclaimed at ringside and it’s a top rope splash/standing moonsault combination for two on Angelico. Evans is back in with a 450 for two on Nick but he gets powerbombed into the enziguri in the corner.

A springboard Doomsday Device onto the ramp drops Evans again and it’s a double superkick to Angelico for two. More Bang For Your Buck is broken up and Evans hits an inverted hurricanrana on Matt. Angelico wrenches Matt’s knee with a spinning leglock with a name that only Excalibur cares about. Even with his brother’s knee getting cranked, Nick goes up top for a Swanton for the save, even with the leglock still being on. The Bucks hit a slingshot spike Tombstone to put Evans down on the floor and it’s a double superkick into the BTE Trigger to finish Angelico at 11:42.

Rating: B. Well that was a lot. There were all kinds of flips and dives here and that’s exactly why you book a match like this one. The selling wasn’t there and the psychology was non-existent, but there is no reason to look for either of those in a match like this. If you’re not looking for those and treat these things like the junk food wrestling that they are, it’s a fine way to spend some time.

Post match the Acclaimed jump the barricade to go after the Bucks but SCU runs in for the save.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman gets to beat Orange Cassidy tonight and upset a lot of not so smart marks. He’s going to bash Cassidy’s head in because he’s better and Cassidy knows it.

Darby Allin does a word association test with members of Team Taz. He sees Powerhouse Hobbs as a snake in the grass, Brian Cage as a puppet, but he’s also someone waiting for an opportunity, which Allin will give him. Then we see Sting’s face and Allin chuckles.

Here’s Cody for a chat….and hang on because here’s Sting. Arn Anderson steps up to Sting to say he wanted to get a closer look and then walks away. Tony Schiavone says something similar and goes to leave but Sting says come give him a hug. Sting thanks Tony for helping him throughout his career and asks for one more IT’S STING for old times’ sake. Tony gives him what he wants (Never say no to a 61 year old man in face paint holding a baseball bat. Remember that.) and Sting says this is awesome.

With Tony gone, Cody says welcome back and thanks Sting for the assist last week. Cody has been waiting to share a ring with him for a very long time….but Sting isn’t here for him, at least not right now. Sting says there is something really familiar about this place and points to Darby Allin in the rafters.

This ring is the jungle and he’s glad to be back on TNT. Cody again says welcome back but Sting says that the only thing for sure about him is that nothing is for sure. He is here full time and plans to be around for a good while. The way Sting chooses to play is his business and he gives Cody a rather firm pat on the back. Sting: “See you around kid.” Sting sounded more energized and invested here than he ever did in WWE, though I’m scared to see how much of that good look goes away if/when he has a match of any kind. For now though, rather nice start.

Team Taz talks about how Cody needed Sting to come save them. Well now Cody’s former star student, Taz’s son Hook, is training with them and they’re ready to beat someone up.

FTR vs. Varsity Blonds

That would be Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison. Pillman gets taken into the corner to start and the beating is on in a hurry. Back up and Pillman brings Wheeler over for the tag to Garrison. A few rooms of the house are cleaned and it’s a spinning legdrop from Garrison to give Pillman two. Pillman misses the middle rope spinning crossbody though and the chinlock goes on as we take a break.

Back with Pillman getting caught in a Demolition Decapitator and being sent outside for a shot from Tully Blanchard. Pillman manages to get in a quick shot though and Air Pillman allows the hot tag to Garrison. House is cleaned but Harwood slips out of a suplex. Pillman comes back in and is caught with a brainbuster and the Goodnight Express gives Wheeler the pin at 8:08.

Rating: C-. Perfectly watchable match with the Blonds mostly getting squashed to put FTR back on the winning side. FTR is a team who could work with anyone around here and hopefully that is the case going forward. The Blonds are fine for the young pretty boy team and you can never have enough of them.

Post match FTR gets in a staredown with the Jurassic Express on the floor.

Hangman Page is in a six man tag next week against Matt Hardy and Private Party but he doesn’t have any partners. John Silver and Alex Reynolds pop up from behind the bar (Page: “How long have you been there?” Silver: “About seven minutes.”) to offer their services. Page eventually relents, but it’s one match only. Works for the cult guys.

Dustin Rhodes vs. 10

Rhodes shoves him around to start and they’re on the floor in a hurry with Dustin sending him face first into the barricade. 10 drops him onto the apron though and they head inside again with 10 hitting a big spinebuster. Dustin is sent outside again but Aaron Solow grabs 10’s arm, earning himself a pump kick to the face. Back in and Dustin gets in a shot of his own, setting up the bulldog for the pin at 5:51.

Rating: D+. Just a match here with 10 getting in most of the offense until a bit of a surprising choice for interference gave Dustin the chance. 10 looked solid here, but other members of the Dark Order have moved pretty far ahead of him in recent weeks. Then again the team is kind of all over the place at the moment so I’m not sure how much this is going to help him.

Post match here’s the Dark Order, with Evil Uno saying Dustin has a long legacy in wrestling and has been around for a very long time. That comes with a lot of pressure, so he should join the Dark Order as Seven. Tony: “He doesn’t want to be that number.” Dustin extends his hand and then slaps Uno in the face. Uno calls the troops off before they get to Dustin and says he’ll be waiting when Dustin sees the light.

Tony Schiavone has a sitdown interview with Shaquille O’Neal and Brandi Rhodes. Brandi doesn’t like hearing all of Shaq’s accolades but Shaq talks about Jade Cargill injuring Brandi’s arm. Shaq didn’t like what Jade did to her arm and Brandi agrees, though she will get in Cargill’s face again if she does the same. Shaq understands that and says he and Cody were just messing around on Twitter.

He has all the respect in the world for the wrestlers and the Rhodes Family, so Brandi gets up and shakes his hand with a smile. She goes to leave without incident, but Shaq says that while Brandi’s arm is in a sling, she should get some pointers from Jade. That’s too far for Brandi, who says she’s sick of this s***, throws a drink in Shaq’s face, and calls him an overgrown a******. They got the point across, but dang Shaq can be hard to understand with that deep voice.

Here’s the Inner Circle for their summit. They have had a week to figure things out but if this doesn’t work, the team is done. That’s not why Jericho put the team together and it was embarrassing. Now MJF and Sammy don’t like each other, Ortiz hates all of them and Santana was so mad that he didn’t even come to work this week. MJF interrupts and says they are all friends and he wanted to join this team because they are great. Sammy snaps and says he’s tired of MJF, with Ortiz saying that MJF is growing on him like a fungus.

They try to calm Sammy down, with Sammy eventually agreeing to shake his hand. However, if ONE MORE THING happens, he’s quitting this team and taking it out on Jericho. They shake hands and Jericho says things are calm…..but Jake Hager doesn’t like Wardlow staring at him. Jericho tries to calm things down and they agree to stop staring. They’re on the same page and know that they need to dominate AEW as only they can. They have a big main event tonight with MJF promising to end Orange Cassidy. The team all puts their middle fingers in and it’s all cool. I’m sure.

FTR and Tully Blanchard say they’re great together, unlike Jurassic Express, who are a bunch of crazy people. They are the 82 Ford Bronco with Mario Andretti driving and they are ready to win the titles back.

Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade vs. Lance Archer/Lucha Bros

The brawl is on outside before the bell with everyone going at it in a hurry. The bell rings with Pentagon getting dropped hard and having to be taken to the back. Fenix gets caught in the corner as the numbers game is already in trouble. Eddie hammers away on Fenix and then sends him chest first into the corner as Jake Roberts is sitting on the stage. Blade gets to choke away with his leg but Fenix manages a shot to Kingston’s face.

The hot tag brings in Archer to slug it out with Butcher before hitting some running shoulders to both Butcher and Blade in the corner. We take a break and come back with Archer hitting a German suplex on Blade, only to grab at his knee. The hot tag brings in Fenix with the springboard and there’s the big dive to take Kingston down. Back in and the powerbomb/neckbreaker combination finishes Fenix at 9:21.

Rating: C. This was a weird one with the Penta deal being a weird way to go *assuming it wasn’t legit that is). Archer continues to be a heck of a monster and it’s easy to see why he is so dominant all the time. What we got here was fine, but it was a weird way to go with the choices they had.

Post match Archer cleans house without much effort again.

Nyla Rose, Jade Cargill and Vickie Guerrero are beating up Red Velvet. Ivelisse and Diamante come in for the save.

Abadon vs. Tesha Price

Price looks scared to death and being thrown across the ring makes it even worse. Abadon hammers away in the corner and hits the Widow’s Peak for the pin at 1:12.

Post match the beating continues until Hikaru Shida makes the save with a heck of a kendo stick shot to the head. Abadon sits up and Shida and Price bail in a hurry.

The Inner Circle is ready to destroy Orange Cassidy.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring to interview Kenny Omega….who arrives in a helicopter with Don Callis. After the big entrance, Tony talks about how he has never been more disgusted than he was when Don Callis interfered last week (yeah still not that big of a deal). Callis talks about Tony Khan welcomed him into his home and then Callis screwed him over. Callis: “Welcome to the wrestling business kid.”

This might have been a bigger screwjob than Montreal because the AEW Title raises the stakes. Callis gives us a fast version of last night’s Impact promo: he has known Omega since Omega was ten and the plan has been in place for years. Now Callis, as the invisible hand, has pushed Omega to the World Title after helping put together Omega vs. Chris Jericho in the Tokyo Dome, which brought AEW to fruition. Omega talks about how they had this ultimate plan and waited a year to pull it off.

Then last week it was a fine art performance and it was downright inspirational. Everyone fell for it from commentary to Jerry Lynn. What mattered most though was Jon Moxley fell for it and no one kicks out of the One Winged Angel. You haven’t seen anything yet and Omega does goodbye and good night. The delivery was good…..but the big idea behind it is that they needed a plan to get Omega, who has the biggest reputation of anyone here in the company and helps run the whole place, to become World Champion? That’s kind of hard to buy, though Callis’ promo was good.

Dynamite Diamond Ring: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Orange Cassidy

The Inner Circle and the Best Friends are here too. MJF jumps him to start and breaks the sunglasses to really make things serious. A Stundog Millionaire gets Cassidy out of trouble though and they head to the apron, with Cassidy missing a charge into the post. MJF ties Cassidy’s fingers in the turnbuckle to make it worse and it’s a chinlock back inside. Cassidy gets sent outside again and the Inner Circle gets in the group stomping. Sammy posts Cassidy and we take a break.

Back with MJF mocking the hands in the pockets, only to have Cassidy come back with the tornado DDT. MJF hits the top rope stomp to the arm but has to duck the Orange Punch. A double underhook shoulder breaker sets up a tiger driver for two and they’re both down. Cassidy is back up to dive onto the Inner Circle but MJF gets in the Heat Seeker back inside. Jericho sends MJF the bat for the Eddie Guerrero treatment, but Cassidy doesn’t even catch it, puts his hands in his pockets, and falls down.

MJF grabs the bat and gets caught in a nice twist on the usual deal, meaning the referee throws the bat outside. The Beach Break gets two so MJF is back with the Salt of the Earth, but Cassidy rolls out. The Orange Punch, with the bad hand, gets a delayed two and another one connects, but this time Wardlow puts the foot on the rope. Everyone brawls on the floor so here’s Miro to deck Cassidy and put his hands in his pockets as MJF steals the pin at 13:23.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on here and it got a bit messy at times, but dang they had me with some of the drama in the near falls. What matters most here is MJF keeping the ring and keeping the Inner Circle going for the time being, as their breakup is something you should stretch out rather than hot shot. Good match, even with all the chaos going on.

Post match Miro, in his Versace sweater, wrecks the production staff, including throwing one off the stage to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was an up and down show and I’m not sure what to think of the whole thing. The wrestling wasn’t as good this week but after last week’s huge show, it’s understandable that they need a little breather. The main event and the opener both worked and it’s not like the there was anything completely horrible throughout the show.

The important parts here were Sting, Shaq and Omega and…..yeah I’m not sure on them. The Sting stuff was good, as Sting looked and sounded like his old self, but how long does that charm last? I can’t bring myself to care about Shaq, especially when it seems to be more about Brandi than anyone else. That leaves Omega, and while the story of why they needed a plan doesn’t really work, it’s still WAY too early to know where this whole thing is going to pass judgment on it yet. Overall it’s a good show, but they have a lot of things to address going forward.

Results

Young Bucks b. Hybrid 2 – BTE Trigger to Angelico

FTR b. Varsity Blonds – Goodnight Express to Pillman

Dustin Rhodes b. 10 – Bulldog

Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade b. Lucha Bros/Lance Archer – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Fenix

Abadon b. Tesha Price – Widow’s Peak

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Orange Cassidy – Pin after Miro interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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