Collision – April 17, 2025: They’re On A Roll

Collision
Date: April 17, 2025
Location: MGM Music Hall At Fenway, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a special Thursday edition of the show and hopefully that means AEW uses the chance that they have to crank things up a bit. We still have a long time to go before Double Or Nothing but we are coming off one heck of a Dynamite so this show is going to have its work cut out. Hopefully they can live up to the hype so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence, still with the Saturday Night’s All Right For Fighting theme.

We get a big recap of Dynamite.

Marina Shafir beats up…I guess a production worker and here are the rest of the Death Riders to wreck a bunch of stuff. Jon Moxley says everyone who was celebrating last night, enjoy it while you can. He officially doesn’t like the Young Bucks and threatens their future if they cross his path again. That brings him to Samoa Joe, who Moxley has always respected but Joe has started something that Moxley has to finish. That is why Moxley is challenging Joe for a World Title match and the team leaves.

We run down the card.

Kevin Knight vs. Lance Archer

Don Callis is here with Archer, who unloads on Knight in the corner to start. Knight slips out of a chokeslam and dropkicks him onto the ramp. A dive takes him down again and Knight unloads in the corner, only to get dropped with a single shot. Archer misses a shot to the face and gets knocked down by a heck of a running shoulder. They go outside with Knight being swung into the steps.

We take a break and come back with Knight still in trouble and being dropped with a single right hand. An overhead German suplex sends Knight flying again but the Blackout and a chokeslam are both escaped. Knight avoids a charge in the corner but gets kicked down to cut him off again. A super hurricanrana brings Archer out of the corner and a splash gets two. Archer buckle bombs him into a chokeslam for two but Knight breaks up Old School. Knight hits a diving clothesline to the floor and another one connects for the surprise pin at 11:42.

Rating: B. I dug this, with Knight fighting from beneath the entire way and finally knocking the giant down for the win. Knight is clearly someone AEW sees something in and if they are going to push him as a big deal, he needs to win matches like this one. Good win here, with Archer being someone who can be rebuilt rather quickly.

The Opps are still serious but they’re happy with their Trios Titles win.

Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter respect each other but they’re ready to face off in the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament.

FTR has sent in an apology to Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness, though Schiavone needed to be scared a bit. They didn’t want to hurt Nigel either, as his body and mind are fragile.

We look at Josh Alexander joining the Don Callis Family.

Josh Alexander/Konosuke Takeshita vs. Rocky Romero/Tomohiro Ishii

Takeshita and Ishii slug it out to start until Ishii shrugs off a running shoulder. Takeshita clothesline him down and it’s a double tag to Alexander and Romero. Alexander easily takes over and we go to a break. Back with Romero hitting a super Sliced Bread on Takeshita and handing it back to Ishii to slug away. Everything breaks down and Ishii drops Takeshita with a clothesline.

Alexander’s torture rack bomb plants Ishii for two but Romero is there with a springboard spinning crossbody. A German suplex gives Alexander two on Ishii but he’s back up to save Romero from a powerbomb. Ishii shrugs off a German suplex and a double shot to the face leave Ishii and Alexander down. Romero is knocked down as well, leaving Alexander and Takeshita to hit stereo discus forearms to Ishii. A powerbomb gives Alexander the pin at 10:22.

Rating: B-. Another good, hard hitting match here, even with Romero there as his usual annoying self. This was a way for Alexander to look good and while he probably would have gotten more out of doing this on his own, I’ll take him getting a win where I can. Takeshita gets a win after his loss to Will Ospreay in their classic on Dynamite, so this was a good way to go.

Post match Ishii and Romero have issues and the fight is on. Cue a man in a hoodie to help take Ishii out….and it’s Trent Beretta. They pull out a monkey wrench to lay Ishii out again.

Mercedes Mone is excited to be in Boston but Harley Cameron pops up with the puppet. Mone gets annoyed that she started talking to the puppet and storms off.

Megan Bayne vs. Rebecca Scott/Ashley Vox

Penelope Ford is here with Bayne. A double dropkick doesn’t hurt Bayne, who suplexes both of them at once. Three straight powerbombs have not Bayne in trouble and Fate’s Descent drops Vox onto Scott for the double pin at 1:15. The fans were WAY into Bayne here and it’s no surprise given how awesome she looked.

Video on Anthony Bowens.

TNT Title: Adam Cole vs. ???

Cole is defending in an open challenge against….Claudio Castagnoli. Well that’s a big one. Castagnoli throws stuff on the way to the ring and seems to have banged up Nigel’s knee. Cole gets powered into the corner to start and knocked down but grabs a quickly broken sleeper. Cole’s running knee gets two and Castagnoli is frustrated on the floor.

That’s fine with Cole, who avoids a running uppercut against the barricade, only to get sent flying over said barricade. Since countouts aren’t a thing around here, Cole gets back inside, where Castagnoli grabs a chinlock. Someone is bleeding from somewhere as Cole is sent outside again and we take a break.

Back with Castagnoli charging into a superkick in the corner and we get a double breather. Castagnoli blasts him with a clothesline but gets caught with a Death Valley Driver onto the knee. Back up and the swing has Cole down into a crossface, followed by Swiss Death for two. Castagnoli unloads with uppercuts in the corner and a top rope superplex gets one…and Cole reverses into a crucifix to retain at 15:14.

Rating: B. This was almost a squash until the ending, which came so out of nowhere that it took me by surprise. It’s nice to see the Death Riders losing clean again, even if it came after Castagnoli beat the fire out of Cole. That’s not the worst way to go and I liked how well it went, even if it was Castagnoli getting caught rather than being defeated.

Post match Castagnoli wrecks a bunch of things and Jon Moxley and the Death Riders have to get him away from ringside.

We recap Chris Jericho walking out on the Learning Tree last week.

The Learning Tree is disappointed in Jericho but Bryan Keith tells Big Bill to keep it private. They want to handle it like family, but Bill doesn’t seem happy.

La Faccion Ingobernable vs. KM/Rosario Grillo/LSG

La Faccion jumps them at the bell and the beatdown is on in a hurry. LSG gets taken apart and KM is knocked into the corner. Dralistico hits a big flip dive to the floor and the Bull’s Horns finishes Rush at 1:52. Complete destruction.

Kevin Knight is happy with his win but not so much with the Don Callis Family. Mike Bailey congratulates him but Ricochet interrupts. Ricochet tells him to not mess with the chain of command, though Knight says he respects Ricochet for what he has done. Knight mocks Ricochet’s lack of hair and a fight is teased, with Bailey saying they’ll do this later.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Nick Wayne vs. Komander

Wayne is challenging and gets hammered into the corner to start. Komander cuts him off with a kick to the head but it’s too early for Cielito Lindo. Instead Komander hits a springboard high crossbody, only for Wayne to snap the back of his neck across the top rope. Another springboard is broken up and Komander is sent crashing out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Komander putting him on the top and running the corner for a kick to the head. A running Swanton hits Wayne on the ramp but he rolls Komander up for two. Komander’s poisonrana gets two more so Wayne kicks him in the head. Wayne’s World is broken up and Komander knocks him to the floor for a big dive. Back in and Cielito Lindo hits raised boots and a fisherman’s buster gives Wayne the pin and the title at 11:03.

Rating: B. This got going near the end and I’ll take Wayne getting the title rather than having Komander just being around as champion and not doing much. I could go for Christian Cage coming after the title and not being able to get it, but at least Wayne is doing something. Now if only he could be doing that on Ring Of Honor instead of around here.

Video on Hologram.

Top Flight is ready to fight Cru next week. Cru comes in for some shouting.

Kris Statlander/Julia Hart vs. Mercedes Mone/Harley Cameron

Toni Storm is on commentary. Cameron tries to throw the puppet in to start and it is promptly stomped down. A headscissors sends Statlander down for a bit better success but she muscles Cameron over for a suplex. Hart comes in with Old School and a basement lariat for two but Cameron is back up with an enziguri. Mone comes in but gets sent outside as we take an early break.

Back with Mone grabbing a wristdrag out of the corner, setting up Three Amigos to Statlander. That’s fine with Statlander, who rolls double suplexes to show off. Mone and Cameron wind up on top of each other so Hart moonsaults onto both of them. Everything breaks down and Hart is up first (Storm: “That is one spooky b****.”) for the moonsault to Mone’s raised boots. Statlander muscles Mone up but Cameron tags herself in, allowing Statlander to hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Statlander hits Hayterade to pin Cameron at 11:03.

Rating: C+. The ending was a fine enough way to set up Hayter vs. Statlander and that’s all this match really needed. Cameron taking the fall is a good enough way to go as losing to Statlander isn’t going to hurt her. At the same time, Mone and Cameron could wind up being a fun wacky pair if they go that way, though it could go in a few different directions.

Overall Rating: B. Another pretty awesome show here with some solid action throughout and the Death Riders taking another step towards falling apart. That’s what we have been needing around here for a long time now and while they have a long way to go, this is definitely a step in the right direction. Other than that, the stories were advanced well enough and they still have time to get ready for Double Or Nothing. This show felt like another edition of Dynamite and that’s what it should have been given the situation they were in here.

Results
Kevin Knight b. Lance Archer – Springboard clothesline
Josh Alexander/Konosuke Takeshita b. Rocky Romero/Tomohiro Ishii – Powerbomb to Alexander
Megan Bayne b. Rebecca Scott/Ashley Vox – Double pin
Adam Cole b. Claudio Castagnoli – Crucifix
La Faccion Ingobernable b. KM/Rosario Grillo/LSG – Bull’s Horns to Rush
Nick Wayne b. Komander – Fisherman’s buster
Kris Statlander/Julia Hart b. Harley Cameron/Mercedes Mone – Hayterade to Cameron

 

 

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Dynasty 2025: Sounds Like The Fall

Dynasty 2025
Date: April 6, 2025
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

We’re back on pay per view, though this doesn’t feel like the biggest card. In this case, we have a main event of Jon Moxley defending the AEW World Title against Swerve Strickland. Other than that, we have a variety of title matches, plus three matches in the Owen Hart Tournaments, which get started tonight. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Nick Wayne/Cru vs. Top Flight/AR Fox

Cru bails to the floor to start so it’s Fox taking them out with a big dive. Back in and Cru neckbreakers Darius down for two but Dante sneaks in for a clothesline. Rush gets bulldogged throat first onto the middle rope but Wayne cuts Darius off and poses on the barricade. They get back inside where Rush front facelocks Darius before Andretti kicks him in the ribs.

Rush’s hard kick to the back keeps Darius down and we hit the reverse chinlock. Darius fights up and hits a dropkick, allowing the tag off to Dante. House is cleaned but Rush grabs his chain for a tug of war. Andretti comes in for a double team but Darius makes a save. Dante and Rush knock each other down, allowing the tags off to Fox and Wayne. Fox gets to clean house, including a rolling cutter to Rush, meaning it’s time for the string of running flip dives.

Back in and Fox’s Swanton hits Wayne’s raised knees, leaving Andretti to hit a handspring elbow on Darius. Rush’s springboard Stunner hits Dante but Fox hits Wayne with Lo Mein Pain. Kip Sabian and Leila Grey get in an argument on the floor though, with the distraction letting Mother Wayne shove Fox off the top. Wayne’s World finishes Fox at 11:13.

Rating: B. Totally wild match and that’s all it needed to be. Everyone was flying around and getting their stuff in, which is how you should get a show started. It made for a hot opener and there was enough of a story that the match didn’t feel completely thrown together. Rather nice choice, with the collection of high spots being exactly what this should have been.

Here is Max Caster to do his chant but the fans actually do it with him, earning some less than glowing reviews from Caster. He takes off his jacket to reveal a Ben Simmons (former Philadelphia basketball player) and says they’re just not as good as New York (and now they hate him).

Zero Hour: Max Caster vs. ???

This is another open challenge and it’s….Anthony Bowens, with Billy Gunn. They shove each other to start and Bowens hits a big rolling elbow for the win at 40 seconds.

And now, the show proper.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Will Ospreay vs. Kevin Knight

Knight is replacing the injured Jay White. They shake hands to start and fight over wrist control with Knight throwing in a flip to escape. A basement clothesline gives Knight two but Ospreay sends him outside for a slingshot dive. Back in and a Phenomenal Forearm drops Knight for two and the abdominal stretch keeps him in trouble. That’s broken up and Knight fires off some clotheslines, setting up a spinning splash for two.

The Stundog Millionaire into a spinning kick to the face gives Ospreay two of his own, followed by a running Spanish Fly. They lock hands and Knight pulls himself up for an exchange of strikes, naturally with the two of them holding hands. Knight hits a dropkick (no hands held) into a middle rope hurricanrana. Ospreay is sent outside for a dive but Knight has to counter a Styles Clash into a DDT.

A springboard dive takes Ospreay down again and another DDT gets two back inside. Ospreay kicks him in the face but the Oscutter is dropkicked out of the air in a nice counter. The top rope spinning splash gives Knight two but another springboard is countered into the Oscutter. Now the Styles Clash can connect for two, followed by another Oscutter for the same. The Hidden Blade finishes Knight at 13:47.

Rating: B-. It was a fun enough spectacle, but it didn’t exactly get to a pay per view quality level. It didn’t help that Knight was mainly there for the sake of filling for White, but he did at least have a solid performance. This was a good enough opener for the show and given the circumstances they were under, it could have been far worse.

Respect is shown post match.

We recap the Learning Tree challenging the Hurt Syndicate for the Tag Team Titles. Chris Jericho wants the Learning Tree to prove themselves so they’ve gone on a mini winning streak to get this show.

Tag Team Titles: Learning Tree vs. Hurt Syndicate

The Syndicate, with MVP, is defending. Lashley backs Keith into the corner to start so it’s off to Bill for the hoss off. Bill gets backed into the corner for the tag to Benjamin, only for Bill to clean house and knock the champs to the floor. Back in and Benjamin takes over on Bill but he can’t manage a German suplex. Lashley comes back in for a clothesline on Keith and Benjamin rams him into the barricade to really take over.

Back in again and Lashley does the delayed vertical suplex but misses a charge into the corner. The diving tag brings in Bill to clean house again, as he tends to do. Benjamin knocks him down but Bill Hulks Up (sure) into a swinging Boss Man Slam for two. Everything breaks down again and Bill hits Lashley with a Snake Eyes into a clothesline to the floor. Bill follows him but MJF (in the crowd) gets in a cheap shot so Lashley can hit the spear. The Syndicate doesn’t seem pleased but Lashley hits the spear on Knight so Benjamin can get the pin to retain at 10:29.

Rating: C+. As usual, this was Bill looking great, Keith looking fine, and the Syndicate looking like monsters. The Syndicate didn’t need MJF to retain here but that’s the big story for them going forward. I’m not sure who is next for the Syndicate, but their stuff with MJF is interesting enough for a different way to go. The Learning Tree winning the match here didn’t feel like it was in the cards, though I’ll take the Syndicate getting to beat someone up.

We recap Mercedes Mone vs. Julia Hart in the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament. There isn’t much of a story here, but Mone wants to win the tournament and get another title.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Mercedes Mone vs. Julia Hart

Non-title. Hart starts fast and knocks her into the corner as Harley Cameron (with the puppet) is watching in the back. Mone cuts her off and puts Hart in the Tree of Woe, only to get rolled up for two. A spinning wristdrag takes Hart down but she avoids a charge and hits some running elbows in the corner. Something close to Old School sets up a running elbow to the back to give Hart two and they head outside.

Mone rams her into the barricade, followed by the running Meteora for two back inside. The chinlock goes on to keep Hart in trouble and Mone’s dropkick gets two. Hart gets in a takedown of her own but a standing moonsault hits knees to cut her off again. Mone puts her in the Tree of Woe and does a Malakai Black sitdown. A situp lets Hart avoids a charge though and Hart hits a dive to the floor. Back in and Hart’s DDT gets two but Mone is fine enough to grab another Codebreaker.

A Tarantula sets up an Octopus on Mone, who walks it across the ring for the break, rather than stepping two feet in the other direction. Mone hits a pair of Backstabbers but Hart is back with a crucifix bomb for two. Mone’s Statement Maker is countered into a reverse Rings of Saturn, with the fans rather approving. That’s broken up as well, with the Statement Maker going on again. Somehow Hart escapes and grabs a rollup for two, only for Mone to get her own rollup for the pin at 13:02.

Rating: B-. Another nice match here with only so much drama, as Mone wasn’t likely to lose her first match in the first round of the tournament. Hart has gotten better in the ring and getting away from some of the weird evil stuff has helped her a bit. She’s not on Mone’s level, but she did well enough here to have a good match, which should be a solid sign for her future.

We recap the Trios Titles match. FTR and Cope have been having issues lately but want to show that they can still be a great team. It’s not like there are many other options to go after the Death Riders’ titles anyway.

Trios Titles: Rated FTR vs. Death Riders

The Death Riders are defending, but first we need to have the fans sing Cope’s theme song to him again. Harwood and Pac start things off and they grapple into the corner for a clean break. Pac shoulders him into a rollup for two but it’s way too early for the Brutalizer. Cope comes in and gets his arm cranked before it’s off to to Yuta, who gets booed out of the building.

Yuta gets taken into the corner and everything breaks down, with Castagnoli getting taken up top for a super powerslam. Some clotheslines put Yuta and Pac on the floor but Pac is back in to take over on Cash. Yuta grabs the chinlock but gets caught in a powerslam, only for Pac to be right there to cut off the tag attempt. Not that it matters as Harwood gets the tag a few seconds later but Castagnoli blocks the Sharpshooter attempt.

Instead, Castagnoli and Harwood grab their own Sharpshooter and scream at each other, only to let them go and slug it out. Castagnoli’s swing into Yuta’s dropkick gets two on Harwood as the fans are all over Yuta. Back to back Fastball Specials give the champs two, with Cash having to make the save.

Cope grabs the Impaler for two on Pac before a superplex into a top rope splash into a Swan Dive gets two, with Castagnoli making the save. Yuta missile dropkicks Cope, leaving Pac to Brutalizer Harwood. Cash brings Yuta over for the save and a bunch of people are down. The Shatter Machine and spear hit Yuta with Castagnoli making another save. Cash and Pac crash out to the floor off a suplex and Yuta sends Cope into Harwood. The running knee to Harwood retains the titles at 14:45.

Rating: B. As usual, the Death Riders get to retain the titles as they almost never lose anything. In this case though, that’s not the biggest surprise as Rated FTR have been falling apart more and more every week. Hopefully they move on to something else, which might result in an FTR heel turn. It’s not like they have anything else going on, though they can still work well in a match like this. Good stuff here, even if the Trios Titles aren’t the most thrilling things going on.

Post match the champs leave so Rated FTR pose together. Then Harwood piledrives Cope and grabs some chairs, but Cash won’t do the Conchairto. Instead he shoves Harwood down…and it’s a Shatter Machine to Cope, followed by a spike piledriver on the chair. Now Cash is willing to do the Conchairto, with Cope’s head being crushed. Cash even puts on a neck brace to mock Cope even more. Cope does a stretcher job.

We recap Toni Storm defending the Women’s Title against Megan Bayne. Storm retained the title over Mariah May to end their feud but Bayne came in and laid her out. Bayne also pinned her in a tag match, meaning it’s time for Storm to defend against a monster.

Women’s Title: Megan Bayne vs. Toni Storm

Storm, with Luther, is defending and Penelope Ford is here with Bayne. After Storm’s Rocky style training montage, we’re ready to go (with Storm in a boxing robe to really hammer home the idea). Bayne powers her away without much trouble to start and then does it again for a bonus. Storm comes back with a spinning middle rope crossbody but Bayne kicks her right back down. There’s a fall away slam to drop Storm again but Bayne’s suicide dive hits Luther by mistake.

Back in and Storm hits a high crossbody for two so Ford offers a distraction. That’s enough for Bayne to hit a pump kick as Storm can’t do much to get around the power here. Bayne chokes her on the ropes and Ford gets in some posing, followed by some choking of her own, as a villain should do. Some overhead belly to belly suplexes drop Storm for two more and Ford gets up again, only for Luther to pull her away.

Storm comes back with a tornado DDT and a twisting STF to put Bayne in trouble for a change. Bayne powers out and hits a bottom rope belly to back suplex, only for Storm to catch her with a SCARY belly to back superplex (as Bayne looked to land on her head). They get back up to slug it out, with Storm getting the better of it, setting up a German suplex.

The hip attack is cut off though and Bayne muscles her up with a German suplex of her own. Storm knocks her into the corner for three straight hip attacks, followed by Storm Zero for one. Another Storm Zero is broken up and Bayne hits a sitout powerbomb. Fate’s Descent is loaded up but Storm reverses into the small package to retain at 15:24.

Rating: B-. This got a bit better once Luther and Ford left, as they were making the match a bit too busy. I’m kind of surprised that Storm won clean, but there is a chance that this isn’t going to be it between them. Bayne has felt like a top star for her brief run and there is a case to be made that Storm escaped with the title rather than really beating Bayne. I’m not sure if that is where they need to go, but Bayne is too big and too talented to be left by the wayside.

We recap Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Brisco in the Men’s Owen Hart Tournament. There isn’t much of a story here but Fletcher is coming off a loss to Will Ospreay and Briscoe tends to exist to put people over.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe

Don Callis is here with Fletcher, who dives on Briscoe at the bell to start fast. They get inside where Briscoe counters a suplex into a small package for a quick two. The fight heads outside where Briscoe grabs a quick neckbreaker, followed by a running dropkick through the ropes for two. The Bang Bang Elbow connects and Briscoe throws a bunch of chairs inside. Fletcher is fast enough to dive back inside though and suplexes Briscoe onto an open chair.

Briscoe gets hammered down in the corner and then taken outside for an apron powerbomb. Another powerbomb sends Briscoe into the barricade to hurt his back even worse. Back in and Fletcher hits a Helluva Kick but gets shoved off the top so Briscoe can nail a missile dropkick. A double clothesline gives us a double down and they trade the big forearms. Briscoe grabs a fisherman’s buster for two but a Death Valley Driver is countered into a lawn dart into the corner. Fletcher wins a strike off on the apron and hits a brainbuster (with Briscoe grabbing the rope for a bit of a break).

Another brainbuster gets two back inside and Callis is not happy on the floor. Briscoe is able to catch him on top but the cutthroat driver is broken up. Instead a basement clothesline sets up the Froggy Bow for two and Briscoe can’t believe the kickout. Now the cutthroat driver can connect for two and Fletcher goes outside, only to get caught with another Froggy Bow. Back in and Fletcher hits a running shot in the corner and the turnbuckle brainbuster gives Fletcher the pin at 16:05.

Rating: B+. This started off good and then got better, with Fletcher mostly dominating for a long portion until Briscoe fought back. Briscoe is someone who is easy to get behind and there was always the chance that he could pull off the big upset. It made for the best match of the night so far and I had a good time with it, as Briscoe continues to be able to work well with anyone.

We recap Chris Jericho defending the Ring Of Honor World Title against Bandido in a title vs. mask match. Jericho has beaten him twice but also stole the mask of Bandido’s brother Gravity, scaring their family in the process. Now it’s both about the title and the personal issue to make it bigger.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Bandido

Jericho is defending in a title vs. mask match. The Codebreaker at the bell gives Jericho two and he adds the Lionsault for the same. Bandido avoids a running boot though and sends Jericho outside for the dive. Jericho gets sent into the barricade, allowing Bandido to give his sister a kiss on the head. Back in and Bandido’s INCREDIBLY delayed one armed suplex (he held him up for about a minute) gets two so Jericho rolls to the apron, where Bandido hits a running boot.

Jericho is back up with a powerbomb onto the floor and he gets in his “steal the camera” deal. Back in and they slap it out with Jericho getting the better of things, including a dropkick to put him down. Some yelling at Bandido’s family has the fans less happy with Jericho and his super hurricanrana makes things even worse. Bandido is fine enough to hit a one armed gorilla press into a frog splash for two, only for a corkscrew crossbody to be Codebreakered out of the air in a nice looking counter.

Back up and they set up the ten paces deal but Jericho rolls him up for two instead. Bandido is back up but can’t quite get the 21 Plex, allowing Jericho to get the Walls. The rope is grabbed in a hurry and Bandido kicks him in the head. Cue Bryan Keith so Gravity cuts him off, allowing Jericho to hit Bandido in the head with a baseball bat for a delayed pin at 15:45.

Hold on though as cue Audrey Edwards to bring Bandido’s family over the barricade to say what happened (sure). That’s enough for the original referee to restart the match so Jericho goes after Bandido’s sister. Bandido is back up with the X Knee into the 21 Plex for the pin and the title at 18:01.

Rating: B-. They were rolling here and then they just had to do that stupid baseball bat thing. This felt like it was a way for Jericho to save face while losing the title, possibly even to set up one more match between them. Bandido getting the title back is a good thing, but it would have been nice to see it be a bit less messy. At least Jericho isn’t the champion for the time being though, and that is long, long overdue.

We recap Daniel Garcia defending the TNT Title against Adam Cole. They wrestled before and Cole had him beat when the time limit ran out. Therefore, it’s now no time limit and no interference, with the latter being something that should be understood but that’s not how AEW rolls.

TNT Title: Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia is defending. They shove each other to start until Garcia hits a running boot to the face. Garcia wraps the arms around the ropes and hammers away but gets shoved to the floor. A Panama Sunrise off the apron doesn’t work and Cole seems to be favoring his leg. Back in and the limping Cole gets his leg kicked out as Garcia has a target. A running dropkick to the leg connects in the corner and a stomp to the leg (complete with dancing) has Cole down again.

Garcia gets in some nasty cranks on the leg before snapping off a neckbreaker. Cole manages a quick fireman’s carry neckbreaker onto the bad knee, allowing Garcia to come back with a clothesline. Back up and they trade strikes to the face until Cole’s superkick staggers Garcia, who falls on a collapsing Cole for two in a nice false finish. Garcia counters a superkick into an ankle lock, complete with a grapevine.

Cole makes the rope so they go outside, with Garcia sending him knee first into the steps. They climb onto the steps and Cole…I think suplexes him into the post. A Panama Sunrise off the steps drops Garcia on the floor and he collapses inside before Cole can hit the Boom. Garcia is back up with his own Panama Sunrise into the Boom for two more. With nothing else working, Garcia loads up a super piledriver but Cole shoves him off and hits another Panama Sunrise. Another Panama Sunrise sets up the Boom to make Cole champion at 15:35.

Rating: B-. This got a bit goofy with the Panama Sunrises being spammed to a pretty ridiculous degree but Cole winning isn’t a bad idea. Garcia got a lot out of being champion but Cole needed to win something after being around for so long without really accomplishing much. It wasn’t a classic or anything, but it was an entertaining back and forth match with the right finish. I think.

Respect is shown post match.

We recap the International Title match. Kenny Omega won the title last month and Ricochet and Mike Bailey co-won a tournament to get the shot. That works for Omega, who wants to face the best competition imaginable. This is designed to be three people doing a bunch of crazy spots and that’s not a bad idea.

International Title: Kenny Omega vs. Ricochet vs. Mike Bailey

Omega is defending. Ricochet drops to the floor to start and the other two take a bit of time before locking up. That doesn’t get very far as Ricochet comes back in, only to have to duck a kick from Bailey. Omega is back up with a high crossbody for two on Bailey before grabbing a cross armbreaker on Ricochet. That means a quick rope break so Bailey hits some bouncing kicks to put Omega down.

Bailey’s running hurricanrana through the ropes drops Omega again but the two of them get together to knock Ricochet down. Bailey escapes You Can’t Escape but Ricochet AA’s Bailey onto Omega on the barricade. Back in and Ricochet chokes Bailey on the ropes before putting him down with a side slam. A neckbreaker/snapdragon combination leaves Ricochet as the only one standing so he goes outside to do some commentary.

Bailey cuts that off and comes back in to kick away at Omega, who misses a quick moonsault attempt. They all get back in and trade some triple near falls (those are some new ones) for two each and the fans applaud. We get a three way slugout from their knees until Ricochet is sent outside, leaving Omega to punch Bailey. That’s broken up and Bailey hits a springboard moonsault to the floor to drop Ricochet again.

Omega dives onto both of them before they go back inside, where Ricochet winds up on top of Omega, with Bailey hitting a moonsault knees onto both of them. Bailey slugs Ricochet out to the floor but seems to injure his leg. That lets Ricochet hit a chop block, which takes out both Bailey and the referee. The referee pops back up and they all go up top, with Bailey taking Ricochet down. Omega saves himself though and hits a snapdragon each on both of them. Then he snapdragons both of them at once, just to make sure everything is even.

A bridging German suplex gives Omega two on Ricochet but Bailey is back up so both challengers can roll Omega up for two at the same time. Ricochet gets sent to the floor, leaving Bailey to miss the Ultimate Weapon on Omega. That bangs up Bailey’s knee so Omega grabs a kneebar (makes sense), which is broken up by Ricochet. Omega sends Ricochet outside again but misses a charge, allowing Bailey to kick him in the face.

Ricochet is back in with a shooting star press for two on Omega but Bailey gets the knees up to cut Ricochet off. Bailey’s strikes are cut off by Ricochet going after the knee so Bailey goes Karate Kid with a crane kick. Now the Ultimate Weapon can connect for two, with Omega using a V Trigger to break it up. Ricochet puts Bailey on top but Omega catches Ricochet in a super One Winged Angel (ow) to retain at 30:56.

Rating: A-. It was a bunch of incredibly athletic stuff and that’s what it was advertised as being. While a title change was a long shot so soon after Omega won, it was more about giving him a big showcase after his title win. The match felt incredibly choreographed, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining. Definitely a fun match with some very athletic work, which is what you probably wanted coming into this one.

Post match Kazuchika Okada comes out for the staredown as they keep teasing the All In match. Omega leaves without anything happening.

We recap Swerve Strickland challenging Jon Moxley for the World Title. Strickland won the title shot last month and wants to get back to the top of the company. Moxley said a bunch of stuff about violence, as is his custom.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley, with Marina Shafir, is defending and Strickland, with Prince Nana, is dressed like superhero Static Shock. After the Big Match Intros and some circling, Strickland goes after the leg for a takedown. A Fujiwara armbar has Moxley in trouble but he slips out for an early staredown. Strickland takes him down again but has to go to the ropes to escape a Kimura. Moxley fires off some chops but gets sent to the floor for a running boot from the apron.

Back in and Moxley knocks him off the top, with Shafir getting in a cheap shot on the floor. Strickland gets thrown over the announcers’ table and Moxley loads up the steps. After dropping Strickland on the steps, Moxley goes back inside to yell a bit before hitting a piledriver for two. Moxley rips at Strickland’s bleeding face and grabs a headscissors/leg crank. That’s broken up so they trade forearms until Moxley goes for the arm again. The cross armbreaker is broken up so he grabs a triangle choke, with Strickland powerbombing him to freedom.

Strickland rolls some suplexes for two and hits a backbreaker, only to roll into a cutter. A Vertebreaker doesn’t work for Strickland as Moxley slips out and grabs the bulldog choke. That’s broken up as well and Strickland hits the House Call. Another House Call is cut off with a clothesline but Strickland pops up for another House Call. Shafir comes in with the briefcase so Nana gets in her face…and is promptly shoved out of it.

Moxley cutters Shafir by mistake and Strickland hits his own Death Rider for two. Strickland goes up but gets shoved down….and we have a ladder. They climb said ladder and fight on top, with Strickland hitting a Swerve Stomp to send Moxley crashing through the announcers’ table. Back in and they strike it out until Shafir hands Moxley a chair. Said chair is pelted at the referee’s head, leaving Strickland to hit the Vertebreaker.

Cue Hangman Page to tease a Buckshot Lariat (target unclear) but the Death Riders run in to take Page out. Page fights up and takes out the Riders so here are the Opps to brawl with them to the back. Strickland throws the chair at Moxley and hits the Swerve Stomp but there is still no referee. Instead the lights go out….and the Young Bucks are back for the EVP Trigger to Strickland. Moxley retains the title at 31:29.

Rating: B. It was the usual wild match in the main event but that ending is not going to be well received. The fans felt ready for Swerve to win the match but it didn’t happen, instead for a rather controversial tag team to come back. At the end of the day, Moxley isn’t the most thrilling champion in the world to put it mildly and this was the usual thing from him: a bunch of submissions and violence with him escaping with the title again. It’s been done to death and that ending is going to leave another sour taste in a lot of mouths.

The Bucks leave through the crowd and Strickland and Page are frustrated to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I did like the show as there were quite a few solid matches throughout with nothing bad, but the biggest problem here is that it really didn’t feel overly important. So much of the show was spent on first round tournament matches which weren’t overly dramatic. That was the case with far too many matches on this show, as the matches just kind of came and went as we are on the way to All In. It’s certainly not a bad show, but it felt like something they had to do and they didn’t have enough to warrant a pay per view card.

Results
Nick Wayne/Cru b. Top Flight/AR Fox – Wayne’s World to Fox
Anthony Bowens b. Max Caster – Rolling elbow
Will Ospreay b. Kevin Knight – Hidden Blade
Hurt Syndicate b. Learning Tree – Spear to Keith
Mercedes Mone b. Julia Hart – Rollup
Death Riders b. Rated FTR – Running knee to Harwood
Toni Storm b. Megan Bayne – Small package
Kyle Fletcher b. Mark Briscoe – Brainbuster onto the turnbuckle
Bandido b. Chris Jericho – 21 Plex
Adam Cole b. Daniel Garcia – Boom
Kenny Omega b. Mike Bailey and Ricochet – Super One Winged Angel to Ricochet
Jon Moxley b. Swerve Strickland – EVP Trigger

 

 

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AEW Dynasty 2025 Preview

We’re already back on pay per view and in this case, believe it or not, it’s time to do some tournament stuff. This show features a bunch of stuff in the Owen Hart Tournaments, plus the usual ton of title matches and various other shenanigans. That should make for a fun card, but this isn’t exactly feeling like the biggest show in the world. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Max Caster vs. ???

This is the latest edition of Caster’s open challenge and things have not been going so well for him. I’m not sure what the point is in turning him into the comedy jobber that he has become but that is what we are seeing here over and over. It makes for some funny moments when someone comes out and massacres him, so hopefully this is going to be a shortened version of the normal Kickoff Show matches.

So who is going to be taking him up on the challenge? After weeks of teasing it, this almost has to be Anthony Bowens taking up the challenge and beating the fire out of Caster, likely ending the whole thing once and for all. There is nothing left for them to do after that takes place and in theory it should be wrapping up here, with Bowens getting his revenge to blow it off. I’m not sure what that accomplishes, but it should get a good reaction.

Zero Hour: Cru/Nick Wayne vs. Top Flight/AR Fox

So this is a thing as well and it feels like the kind of match that belongs on the Kickoff Show. Let them get out there and pop the crowd with something of a feud that has been built up. I’m not sure what the appeal of Cru is supposed to be but they have been dealing with Top Flight for months now. Other than that, you have Wayne and Fox who are good for some high spots.

Give me Top Flight and Fox to win here in the Rampage Special of the night. That’s not a bad way to go as Top Flight can do their big flips and dives to pop the crowd, which is why they’re in this spot. While I could certainly go for them being in a bigger spot, I’ve long since given up on the belief that it is going to happen, which is rather frustrating all things considered. But yeah, they should win here.

Trios Titles: Death Riders(c) vs. Rated FTR

Yeah let’s just get this one out of the way. The Trios Titles still do not feel important and this seems like a way to get rid of the alliance between Cope and FTR. That’s what they’ve been teasing recently and honestly, the idea of a heel FTR is not the worst idea right now. Other than that, they’re still the least important titles in AEW and the Death Riders holding them for so long isn’t something that gets my attention.

Naturally I’ll go with the champions to retain here, mainly on the ground of there being no reason for them to lose. The titles don’t add much to the Death Riders deal but it will make for a nice enough moment when someone takes them. That doesn’t seem to be here though, as this feels like a way to set up the next step in the Rated FTR split than anything else.

TNT Title: Daniel Garcia(c) vs. Adam Cole

This is no time limit and everyone is barred from ringside. These two have been feuding for a few weeks now and it still doesn’t feel like the most thrilling story. It comes off more like “well, we need something for them to do” and here we are. Cole winning the title isn’t out of the question, but it feels more like which one of them is going to turn on the other first, which isn’t a bad idea.

I’ll take Garcia to retain here, hopefully by cheating in some way. While Cole needs the win more, Garcia has to be built up in some way and beating Cole, even by something nefarious, is as good of a way to make that happen. This match is likely to get some time, which shouldn’t be the worst idea, but dang I need something else to make me interested in this story.

Women’s Owen Hart Cup First Round: Mercedes Mone vs. Julia Hart

This is where the show starts to feel like it doesn’t need to be on pay per view, as this does not feel like a match that has the most drama. Outside of some interference to screw Mone over, there is no reason to believe that she is going to lose here. Mone has been a force of nature in AEW so far and Hart is someone who was a deal for a bit and then got hurt, which took away everything she had. There is no reason to believe that the upset is taking place here.

And that’s what I’ll go with, as Mone wins here, just like she should. Other than someone coming in to help Hart, I have no reason to believe she’s going to win. I also see no reason why this isn’t on Collision rather than the pay per view, but this isn’t even the only tournament match that feels that way. Mone wins here, and hopefully it isn’t stretched out to a ridiculous length for the sake of being on pay per view.

Men’s Owen Hart Cup First Round: Mark Briscoe vs. Kyle Fletcher

This also feels like a match that belongs on Collision, mainly because it took place on Collision earlier this year. Fletcher has already beaten Briscoe once and that doesn’t exactly make me interested in seeing it take place again. Briscoe still has so much charisma and can make things feel fun no matter what he is doing, but I’m not sure I like his chances against a Fletcher in need of a rehab win.

As was the case with the previous match, there is no reason to believe that the villain is in danger here so I’ll take Fletcher to win again. Briscoe has long since become someone who is there for the sake of making other people look good. That’s what he’ll do with Fletcher here, who very well may be on the way towards another rematch with Will Ospreay in the finals.

Men’s Owen Hart Cup First Round: Will Ospreay vs. Kevin Knight

So in case you’re missing the idea, the result here shouldn’t be in much doubt. Knight is here to take Jay White’s place following an injury and that is pretty much the extent of his resume thus far. There is only so much you can get out of Knight when he hasn’t been around much and thankfully AEW seems to know that. The good thing is Knight has shown that he is capable of having entertaining matches which is where Ospreay tends to thrive.

This might be the biggest layup on the show, as Ospreay is likely getting ready to move into the World Title picture, while Knight is in his second singles match in the company. Ospreay can give him a nice rub here and that is the entire point of the match. Knight isn’t supposed to be here and that is likely going to show in the result, which should not be in any doubt.

Tag Team Titles: Hurt Syndicate(c) vs. Learning Tree

So this is another situation where things were going in one direction and then got changed around for the sake of an injury. Putting the Learning Tree in there is a bit annoying as Bill is doing some great things, but now the team seems to be little more than a next pair of victims for the champs. That doesn’t exactly make for an exciting match here but it’s about all we have.

Again, there isn’t much drama here as we’ll go with the Hurt Syndicate to retain the titles. The only thing that makes me wonder is the chance of MJF interfering and costing the Syndicate the titles, though I can’t imagine them actually going that way. The Syndicate could very well be in for a long title reign and that wouldn’t include having them lose here to replacement challengers.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Chris Jericho(c) vs. Bandido

This is title vs. mask and that is the kind of stipulation that makes things more interesting. Granted it doesn’t help when Jericho has already defeated Bandido, but at least we are in for something bigger and more personal. Jericho has gone after Bandido’s brother Gravity and now Bandido is standing up for his family. It has also led to Jericho being a lot more serious, which has been a great relief in recent weeks. I’m just not sure how well that works here.

Maybe it’s false hope but I’ll go with Bandido winning here. If that isn’t the case, Bandido loses just about everything he has going for him, including his identity. It’s also a case of if not Bandido, then whom, as Jericho doesn’t really have another challenger set up at the moment. Bandido winning the title would not be a crazy thing to see, but it does feel like a stretch to see him taking the title from Jericho. That’s where we’ll go here though in a feel good moment.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Megan Bayne

We’ll continue with the interesting ones here as I’m not sure what to make of this match. Storm is fresh off slaying Mariah May and wrapping up that whole feud but then she runs into this monster in the form of Bayne. That’s the kind of match that could spell some big trouble for her and it very well may, but it’s almost hard to imagine her losing the title so soon after her big moment.

That being said, I’ll actually go with Bayne winning here, which should open Storm up to do something else, like go after Mercedes Mone in a major showdown. Bayne can win and defeat Storm for good here though, as she has become a force in short order, mainly due to her size and power. I’m not sure that’s what they’ll be doing, but it feels like the right choice for the whole thing.

International Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Ricochet vs. Mike Bailey

This is being billed as one of the bigger matches on the card and it really doesn’t feel like one. Maybe that’s due to the mini tournament to set it up or the lack of any personal issues between them, but we don’t have anything here other than a tease of “they can do a bunch of big spots”. The match should be fun, but the build to the whole thing has not exactly been strong.

We’ll go with Omega to win the match and retain here, as things seem likely to be building towards his big showdown with Kazuchika Okada at All In. Bringing Omega back and letting him do the spotfest match is not a bad way to go and it should be fun, but I could go for something else between these people that makes me want to see them fight. Either way, it should at least be entertaining.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Swerve Strickland

Much like the Women’s Title match, the more I think about this match, the more I think that we might be seeing a title change here. I don’t think there is any denying the idea that the Death Riders has not been well received. Moxley has been the champion for the better part of ever now and the fans are not exactly receiving it well, but is Strickland the one to take the title from him? That’s where things get a bit hazy.

Alas, I’ll go with Moxley retaining the title, rather than going with the surprise title win for Strickland. For reasons that are beyond my intellect, AEW has decided that Moxley needs to keep holding the title. Strickland needs the win and very well could be on to one last showdown with Hangman Page. That might happen without the title, as for now I’ll take Moxley retaining. Again.

Overall Thoughts

This show is not exactly getting my attention, but there is a chance that we could be in for something entertaining. The stories have not been the best on the way in, but AEW pay per views has a tendency to overdeliver on the in-ring side. The show does not feel like a top level card though and there is not much of a way around it. What can get them around a lot of it is to have a bunch of awesome matches and that is absolutely a strong possibility.

 

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Dynamite – April 2, 2025: My Grandmother’s Birthday Show

Dynamite
Date: April 2, 2025
Location: Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re less than a week away from Dynasty and that means it’s time for the final push towards the show. That can be a tricky thing to pull off as you’re only going to get so much out of this show with the pay per view so soon. Hopefully the action works here, though that is rarely an issue for AEW. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Jon Moxley/Marina Shafir vs. Willow Nightingale/Swerve Strickland

It’s a brawl on the floor to start, with Shafir hitting a snap suplex. Moxley and Shafir pull out a table and the women fight inside as we get the opening bell. Strickland sends Moxley into the steps before the pairs trade places. A dropkick rocks Moxley and Nightingale is back in with a middle rope version to put him down again.

Strickland’s middle rope elbow to the back connects and he and Nightingale dance a bit. That earns them a beating from the villains again and Shafir chokes Nightingale on the ropes. Back in and Strickland grabs the JML Driver on Shafir and holds her up as Moxley teases the Death Rider to Nightingale. Both women are let go and they shove the men into each other before slugging it out on the apron. Shafir hits a powerbomb off the apron and through a table, which almost went rather wrong.

We take a break and come back with Shafir and Moxley taking turns raking Strickland’s back. Nightingale hits a Tower Of Doom and slugs away, including a Cannonball to Moxley. Nightingale’s spinebuster gets two on Shafir but Moxley gets the choke on Strickland. That’s broken up with a powerbomb to send Shafir onto Moxley and everyone is down. The women brawl to the floor, leaving Moxley and Strickland to slug it out. The rolling Downward Spiral hits Moxley but Strickland’s House Call hits Shafir, who shoved Moxley out of the way. Nightingale hits The Babe With The Powerbomb to finish Shafir at 13:32.

Rating: B-. Nice fight with the two feuds getting to beat each other up for a little while. It’s a little surprising to see Shafir take a fall, as she has been well protected for a good while now. At the same time, it’s nice to have Nightingale get the win, as she has done little more than brawling with Shafir in recent weeks.

Post match Moxley gives Nightingale a Death Rider for the big serious moment.

We look at Wheeler Yuta pinning Dax Harwood on Collision, resulting in Harwood shoving Cash Wheeler after the match.

Harwood pays his $10,000 fine and gives it to the referee. He apologizes to Wheeler as well and says it’s time for them to win the Trios Titles. Harwood goes to hug him but Wheeler says they’ll team together at Dynasty, but then they need to talk.

We see the brackets for the Men’s Owen Hart tournament:

Will Ospreay
Kevin Knight

Brody King
Konosuke Takeshita

Mark Briscoe
Kyle Fletcher

Hangman Page
Wild Card

We look at Kevin Knight almost beating Jay White, who is injured, with Knight replacing him in the tournament.

Here are the Women’s Owen Hart tournament brackets:

Jamie Hayter
Billie Starkz

Thunder Rosa
Kris Statlander

Julia Hart
Mercedes Mone

Harley Cameron
Athena

Toni Storm vs. Penelope Ford

Non-title. Storm knocks her to the floor to start but Ford gets in a boot to the face on the way back in. A quick suplex hits Ford but she avoids the running hip attack in the corner. Ford gets booted down again and we take a break. Back with Ford hitting a handspring elbow in the corner, followed by a Helluva Kick.

Storm fights up and slugs away, setting up a Thesz press. Now the hip attack connects and a DDT gets two on Ford. An STF sends Ford over to the ropes and she knocks Storm outside for an apron moonsault. Back in and a gutbuster gives Ford two and she counters Storm Zero into a backdrop for two. Storm is right back with Storm Zero for the pin at 8:13.

Rating: C+. Nice outing from Ford here, though there was no reason to believe that Storm was in any serious danger. That’s what happens with most of Ford’s matches, as she hasn’t won anything significant in the better part of ever. At least she can still do some nice enough things in the ring before losing to bigger names, which is what happened again here.

Post match Megan Bayne comes out but won’t get in the ring with Storm.

Willow Nightingale is getting checked by the medics. Swerve Strickland isn’t pleased with this and swears vengeance on Jon Moxley tonight.

Here are MVP and Bobby Lashley (minus Shelton Benjamin, who couldn’t make it to the show due to bad weather) for a chat. Before they can say anything though, here is MJF to interrupt. After praising MVP’s fashion choices, MJF introduces himself to Lashley (“Bob”), who he says has been around the block.

This is AEW though, meaning it is the block that MJF built. MJF knows what it takes to set records around here, and he and the Hurt Syndicate could help each other. He puts his hand on Lashley’s shoulder, saying Lashley needs him. Lashley says that out of respect for MVP, he won’t drop MJF where he stands. He doesn’t like or trust MJF and suggests that MJF get out right now, which is what MJF does. I’m curious where this is going, but they could only do so much with Benjamin out for the week.

Learning Tree vs. ???/???

The Learning Tree offer Lashley and MVP a chair in the aisle but they’ll stand instead. Keith’s running knee into the chokeslam finishes at 1:14.

Post match Bill issues the challenge for the Tag Team Title shot at Dynasty and it seems to be on.

Mercedes Mone is ready for Julia Hart at Dynasty. She’s also ready to team up with Harley Cameron….who pops up with the puppet. Mone isn’t interested and storms off, with Cameron saying they could be the Mone Wrath Train. Taz: “I want to buy a puppet.”

Will Ospreay/Kevin Knight vs. Blake Christian/Lee Johnson

Ospreay shoulders Christian down to start so Christian grabs a quickly broken headlock. Back up and Ospreay gets in a strut and a hip swivel before handing it off to Knight for a twisting splash. Everything breaks down and the villains are dropkicked to the floor for stereo running dives. Back up and Christian drops Knight before spearing Ospreay off the apron as we take a break.

We come back with Ospreay coming in off the diving tag and starting to clean house. A springboard is broken up though and Christian hits a 450 stomp (geez). Ospreay is back up with the Stundog Millionaire though and it’s Knight coming back in to take over. Knight makes Johnson poisonrana Christian outside (yep) for a dive from Ospreay and Knight’s springboard clothesline finishes Johnson at 9:15.

Rating: B-. This was the fast paced tag match you probably expected, with Knight getting to showcase himself again. Odds are he doesn’t make it out of the first round of the Owen Hart tournament but he should be able to have an impressive performance. Other than that, Christian continues to do well and his “I’m boring” stuff is kind of amusing.

Post match, Ospreay and Knight are told that their match will take place at Dynasty. Respect is shown.

Samoa Joe says he started the Opps because things are changing around here. They’ll be watching at Dynasty.

Lance Archer vs. Brody King

They fight over a lockup to start as Don Callis joins commentary. They trade shots to the face until Archer clotheslines him to the floor. King sends him into the barricade but Archer is back with a ram into the steps. We take a break and come back with Archer missing a charge into the corner and getting dropped with a German suplex. King wins a strike off and drops a backsplash for two. A swinging Boss Man Slam and chokeslam give Archer the same but King clotheslines him down in the corner. Now the Cannonball connects to give King two and a big clothesline finishes Archer at 10:28.

Rating: C+. Well, at least King didn’t lose again. That’s not exactly glowing praise but at this point, it’s about as good as he’s going to get. The match was another big hoss fight and it went well enough. Also, a few bonus points for having King face a member of the Don Callis Family before facing Konosuke Takeshita in the tournament.

Dynasty rundown.

Cope vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Castagnoli jumps him in the corner to start and they go to the floor, where Cope is sent into the barricade. Back in and Cope kicks away, followed by a running forearm off the apron. Cope forearms him against the barricade and they head back inside to trade clotheslines. The Edge O Matic gets two and a spear through the ropes takes Castagnoli off the apron. Another dive is cut off with an uppercut though and we take a break.

Back with the two of them going up top, with Cope grabbing a super bulldog. Castagnoli hits a quick double stomp into the Swing for two. The Sharpshooter goes on but Castagnoli switches into a Crossface to keep Cope in trouble. Cope reverses that into the Grindhouse, sending Castagnoli over to the ropes. They go to the apron where Castagnoli grabs a powerslam and throws Cope over the barricade.

Castagnoli demands a ten count, as we suddenly have countouts around here. Cope beats the count and boots him down but the spear is countered into Swiss Death for two. Castagnoli grabs some chairs so the referee gets rid of them, allowing Cope to get in a low blow. The spear finishes Castagnoli at 17:48.

Rating: B-. Well that was…lengthy. This was the latest long Cope match where he looked pretty good and then goes over in the end. The match helps set up the title match on Sunday, where we’re likely to see FTR and Cope come close but ultimately lose to the Death Riders. It wasn’t a bad match, but it never went to a higher gear.

Swerve Strickland is still looking for Jon Moxley but runs into Hangman Page. Security immediately runs in as Page shouts about how Swerve broke into his home. Swerve: “YOU BURNED MY HOUSE DOWN!” Page: “YOU DESERVED IT!” Swerve: “I KNOW!” That has Page confused and he storms off, but here are the rest of the Death Riders to jump Swerve. The villains throw him into some glass and then carry him into the arena. A bag of glass is poured out and Castagnoli gives Swerve a Riccola bomb into the glass. Swerve, with glass in his back, sits up and glares at Moxley to end the show.

First of all, Page and Swerve have are likely going to team together one day and it’s been a long, drawn out and well done story with both of them growing a lot. On the other hand, Swerve being slammed onto glass and then popping back up to end the show is a bit insane and not in a good way.

Overall Rating: B-. This show did enough to help boost Dynasty up, though your taste in tournaments may bring this up or down. There wasn’t anything you really needed to see, but it did set up enough things for both Dynasty and beyond, which is a good use of the show. While Dynasty doesn’t seem like the biggest show, this did boost it up a bit, which should help on Sunday.

Results
Willow Nightingale/Swerve Strickland b. Jon Moxley/Marina Sharif – Babe With The Powerbomb to Shafir
Toni Storm b. Penelope Ford – Storm Zero
Learning Tree b. ???/??? – Chokeslam
Brody King b. Lance Archer – Clothesline

 

 

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Collision – March 29, 2025: What An Odd Choice

Collision
Date: March 29, 2025
Location: UW-Milwaukee Panthers Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re just over a week away from Dynasty and in this case, we have a title match preview before the pay per view title match. This week, Wheeler Yuta is facing Dax Harwood, which doesn’t quite feel like the biggest match in the world. Other than that, we’ll likely get some push towards the pay per view so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Toni Storm to get things going. She calls out Megan Bayne, who doesn’t show up. Storm isn’t sure what happened, as Bayne laid Storm on her back like she had just bought Storm a steak dinner. After the match, she went to her hotel, laid down (as she does on the mat here), got up, stubbed her toe, hit her head on the sink….and then got up to remember who she was.

Violence is promised at Dynasty but Penelope Ford comes through the darkness to kick Storm in the face (very nice job there as she came out of nowhere). Storm fights back but Bayne comes in and hits Fate’s Descent. Bayne tells her to bow down and throws the out cold Storm to the mat. At this point, Bayne almost has to win the title as she has dominated Storm throughout their story. If she loses, it’s going to kill her momentum.

The Death Riders aren’t happy with Cope and Claudio Castagnoli wants to take him out on Dynamite. Jon Moxley says he fears three people in his life: his mother, his sister and his wife. Then he met Marina Shafir, who promises to feed Willow Nightingale her own liver. As usual, the less talking from Moxley, the better.

Jay White vs. Kevin Knight

They wrestle around a bit and that’s good for an early standoff. Knight flips out of a wristlock to take White down but White is back up to win a battle of shoulder blocks. A hurricanrana drops White again and Knight fires off the uppercuts. White’s brainbuster gets a quick two and we take a break.

Back with White chopping him out to the floor but Knight makes the clothesline comeback. A running frog splash (that’s a new one) gives Knight two and White’s Rock Bottom is countered into a rollup for two more. White manages a German suplex to get out of trouble and the Blade Runner finishes Knight at 10:38.

Rating: B-. Nice performance from Knight here, who has done some good stuff in various places and is now getting a chance on a bigger stage. White is on his way to the Owen Hart Tournament but got to make Knight look nice enough in a win. That’s not a bad way to go and it made for a fine TV match.

Post match White shows respect and Knight gets a nice ovation. With Knight gone, White talks about how he needs the World Title shot at All In because he is a variety of nicknames. At All In, he gets to show us that it is still the Switchblade Era.

MJF threw out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ home opener. He points out that Bobby Lashley lives in Texas but the Rangers asked for him instead.

Athena was outside of Mercedes Mone’s dressing room earlier. That’s intriguing.

Mercedes Mone vs. Robyn Renegade

Non-title. They grapple to start until Renegade hits a quick dropkick. A running boot in the corner hits Mone and Renegade rolls through a middle rope high crossbody. Mone is back with a Backstabber for two but Renegade kicks her down. The moonsault misses though and Mone hits the Mone Maker into the Bank Statement for the win at 3:10.

Rating: C. Renegade has shown herself to be a reliable jobber to the stars and that was the case again here. She got in a bit of offense on Mone before Mone wrapped things up, which is about how this should have gone. It might not have been a great match or anything, but it was nice to have Mone get in the ring for a quick match for a change.

Post match Mone is happy with her win and her recent success but now she wants in the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament to take the Women’s Title at All In. Tony Schiavone says Billie Starkz is in the tournament as well, but Mone says Starkz’s trainer is terrible. Cue Athena (Starkz’s trainer, or at least mentor), who drops Mone with a Forearm and loads up the O Face (top rope Stunner), which hits Renegade by mistake. I don’t buy that Athena is going to get the push that she deserves in AEW, but it’s nice to have her facing bigger competition for a change.

Queen Aminata is injured and can’t wrestle tonight but Serena Deeb comes in, mocking her for getting injured due to not listening to Deeb. Aminata isn’t going to listen to Deeb, who tells her to use the time off to think about it.

Learning Tree vs. Top Flight

Bill stares Darius down to start so it’s quickly off to Dante vs. Keith. Dante grabs an armdrag and hits a dropkick before Darius comes in to strike away in the corner. Bill comes back in for the far bigger chops to put him on the floor as we take a break. Back with Darius getting over for the tag to Dante, who is immediately dropped by Bill.

A Boss Man Slam puts Darius down but Bill’s Stinger Splash hits Keith by mistake. The string of kicks to the face into a springboard Downward Spiral drops Bill and something like a Shell Shock gets two on Keith. Bill comes back in and splashes Dante in the corner. Keith’s running knee sets up Bill’s huge chokeslam for the pin at 9:38 (with Bill’s bugged out eyes looking rather nutty).

Rating: B-. Another nice match here with Bill continuing to look like an absolute star. He’s turned into something of value as he has the intensity to back up his giant power stuff. I’m not sure I can imagine the Learning Tree getting the Tag Team Titles, but Bill being involved in a higher profile match is a good thing. It seems that Top Flight is right where they’re going to be, making them one of the more disappointing “what if’s” in AEW thus far.

Post match Cru teases coming in for the beatdown but AR Fox runs out to save Top Flight. Anytime this feud wants to end, I’d be fine with it.

Jamie Hayter is glad to be back to face Billie Starkz tonight, in the show’s main event (that’s certainly a choice). Oh and she’ll be in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup too.

Here is Adam Cole, with the Undisputed Kingdom, for a chat with Daniel Garcia, who comes complete with Matt Menard. Cole praises Garcia for their recent matches, saying they were the toughest of Cole’s AEW career. That shouldn’t work for Garcia though, as he should be bothered that he couldn’t beat Cole. They need to finish this fight and Garcia agrees, but Menard asks how many shots Cole is going to get.

Cole couldn’t beat him and Garcia doesn’t have to do this, but Garcia wants to. Garcia issues a challenge for a rematch, but the seconds get in an argument. Garcia cuts it off, saying it’s no time limit, no outside interference. That’s a weird way to go, as Garcia was acting like it was a fresh challenge, but Schiavone mentioned the match before they got out here. That’s either a really badly worded promo or Schiavone jumped the gun.

Athena, with Billie Starkz, is ready to knock Mercedes Mone out again. She’s in the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament too. As for tonight, she’ll be watching Starkz’s match VERY closely, and yes that sounds like a threat.

Dax Harwood vs. Wheeler Yuta

They fight over wrist control to start and go to the mat with Yuta getting the better of things with a headlock. That’s broken up and Yuta has to bail from the threat of a Sharpshooter. A northern lights suplex gives Harwood two and they head outside, where Harwood is sent into the steps. Yuta stomps on the arm, with Nigel using the HE HAS TILL FIVE, which he thinks is a great catchphrase. Harwood is planted with a superplex and we take a break.

Back with Harwood on the other side of the barricade but fighting out with the good arm. They get back inside with Harwood working on the leg, including wrapping it around the post. The Hartbreaker around the post has Yuta in more trouble but he breaks up a traditional Figure Four.

Harwood is right back with a belly to back superplex for two but they both need a breather. Yuta’s Cattle Mutilation sends Harwood to the ropes for a change so Yuta puts it on again. Harwood breaks it up a second time and gets the Sharpshooter but the rope is grabbed again. Back up and Yuta grabs the seatbelt for the clean win at 12:24.

Rating: B. Better match than I was expecting, but egads Yuta is just not interesting. He feels like the most generic wrestler you could have today and nothing he did here made him stand out. Harwood is the guy who can work well with anyone on his own, but seeing him lose time after time has turned these matches into instances of waiting for the inevitable. That’s a weird way with the title match coming next week.

Post match Harwood is annoyed at the loss, claiming that it was only a two count. He grabs the referee so security comes in. Cash Wheeler comes in as well and gets shoved down, though Harwood might not have known who he was. They go face to face but Wheeler walks away.

Cru asks the Patriarchy what is up with AR Fox, but Nick Wayne thinks it’s the team asking him for help. They imply that he’s right, but nothing is confirmed.

Hologram vs. Blake Christian

Lee Johnson is here with Christian. They trade flips to start and both of them try dropkicks to give us a standoff. Christian offers some mocking applaud before slapping Hologram in the mask. They wind up on the floor, where Christian misses a moonsault but is able to send a charging Hologram into the steps.

We take a break and come back with Hologram flipping him into a northern lights suplex for two. Hologram loads up a dive but takes out Johnson by mistake, followed by a hurricanrana to bring Christian off the barricade. Back in and Christian puts him down, setting up a springboard 450 for two. Christian hits a powerslam but misses a Lionsault, allowing Hologram to plant him down again. The very spinning torture rack bomb puts Christian away at 8:47.

Rating: B-. So you know all those matches where Hologram has looked good and commentary talks about how awesome he is but he never seems to move up the ladder or do anything important? Of all of them that I’ve seen so far, this is the latest one. The match was entertaining as usual, but Hologram needs to do something new already.

Thunder Rosa and Kris Statlander are both in the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament and they’re both ready to win, even if it means facing each other.

Jamie Hayter vs. Billie Starkz

Hayter powers her into the corner to start and then runs her over with some shoulders. Starkz gets a sloppy sunset flip for two and a kick to the head out of the corner does a bit better. Hayter takes over again and we take a break, coming back with Starkz having to go to the rope to escape a half crab. A basement superkick sends Hayter outside for a suicide dive and Starkz drops her Swanton for two.

Hayter is back up with a dropkick into the corner and we need a double breather. A brainbuster onto the knee gives Starkz two but Hayter knocks her down for the basement lariat. The Hayterade misses so Hayter kicks her in the face and grabs a German suplex for two. Hayterade is blocked again but this time Hayter goes big with a springboard Hayterade for the pin at 10:00.

Rating: C. What a weird choice for a main event. I’m guessing this was going with the idea of “it’s 10:00pm on a Saturday night and this is against March Madness” so they completely punted on this match. It wasn’t exactly great stuff either, as Hayter needed a win to get back after her absence but Starkz isn’t quite a top level opponent.

Athena comes out to stare down Hayter to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show ran out of steam near the end as it felt like they just stopped putting on important stuff. The first half or so is good and the action worked, but the weird main event and Hologram having the latest in his long list of interchangeable matches didn’t help. This wasn’t their best show as it might have been decent, but it only felt somewhat important throughout, which makes for a bit of a testy two hours.

Results
Jay White b. Kevin Knight – Blade Runner
Mercedes Mone b. Robyn Renegade – Bank Statement
Learning Tree b. Top Flight – Chokeslam to Dante
Wheeler Yuta b. Dax Harwood – Seatbelt
Hologram b. Blake Christian – Spinning torture rack bomb
Jamie Hayter b. Billie Starkz – Springboard Hayterade

 

 

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Dynamite – March 26, 2025: The Thing That Makes Those Segments Work

Dynamite
Date: March 26, 2025
Location: Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We are about a week and a half away from Dynasty and that means it is time to start getting the card officially put together. With Cope out of the way for Jon Moxley, all roads lead to Swerve Strickland, who is getting the pay per view title shot. Other than that, some of the matches are announced but there is still some work to do. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence, featuring clips from the upcoming Minecraft movie.

Kenny Omega vs. Blake Christian

Non-title and Lee Johnson is here with Christian. They go with the grappling to start as Taz is right there to explain the physics and technique, which goes very well, as always. Christian fights back and hits a dropkick to the apron, where a spear sends Omega outside. Back in and Omega decks Johnson before hitting a snapdragon suplex. The V Trigger sets up the One Winged Angel to finish Christian at 4:53.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have time to do much here but that was kind of the point. Christian got in a bit of offense but Omega shrugged it off and hits his signature stuff to win. You don’t see that kind of stuff very often but it works when it’s done in the right way, which was the case with this one.

Post match Omega says he’s glad that he got to make it quick this week. That won’t be the case with Dynasty, as he has to deal with Ricochet and Speedball Mike Bailey. Cue Bailey to interrupt to say Omega is an inspiration to him and Bailey admires him. That doesn’t mean he’s going to hold anything back at Dynasty though because he’s coming for the title.

Cue Ricochet on the screen to say he’s not here in person to slap both of them in the face. He’s dressed up for the best day of his life (looking like his wedding day) until Dynasty, when he leaves with the girl and the gold. Omega says Dynasty isn’t about making friends (Omega: “I have a cat. I don’t need anymore.”) and promises to keep the title. The catchphrase takes us out.

We look at Bandido taking Gravity’s mask back from Chris Jericho on Collision.

Jericho complains about the Learning Tree screwing up and tells them to go prove themselves. With the two of them gone, Jericho says he wants Bandido’s mask, so it can be title vs. mask at Dynasty. Not at the ROH pay per view, but at Dynasty.

Here is MJF, who says Michael Jackson is a bigger star than Prince, before talking about the business card that MVP gave him. He asks MVP to join him for an answer, and gets his wish. MJF gets straight to the point and says that he wants to be in the business of hurting people, but here is the rest of the team to cut him off.

Bobby Lashley wants the card back and threatens MJF with a beating. MVP calls him off though and MJF walks away. Cue the Learning Tree to mock the Syndicate, but MVP isn’t impressed. Big Bill wants the Tag Team Titles back because he never got a rematch for the titles. The challenge is on, but MVP tells them to go win a match first. That’s an interesting way to go with MJF, and hopefully they don’t do anything stupid with the Syndicate.

Toni Storm and Thunder Rosa are ready to team up tonight, with Rosa bringing up their bad history together. Storm brushes it off and dubs the team Thunder T***. Is that swearing? Eh better safe than sorry.

Brody King vs. Kyle Fletcher

Don Callis is here with Fletcher, who jumps King before the bell. That goes badly for him as King is back with a chop and the big forearms in the corner. Fletcher fights up and stomps him down, only to get sent outside as we take a break. Back with Fletcher in control and hammering away, allowing him to pose a bit.

King gets in a knockdown of his own and hits a backdrop to send Fletcher outside. The required dive connects and the fans are rather appreciative. Fletcher manages to post him though and a top rope elbow gets two back inside. Back up and King suplexes him into the corner for a needed breather. A Death Valley Driver on the apron knocks Fletcher silly and we take a break.

We come back with the two of them slugging it out but Fletcher kicks him down and hits a Tombstone for two. King knocks him silly with a clothesline but cue Mark Davis to break up the Cannonball. Fletcher kicks him in the head and hits the brainbuster onto the turnbuckle for the pin at 17:48.

Rating: B. Yes, King loses again. It makes my head spin to see King getting what seemed to be a renewed push but he’s won two matches this year (over Max Caster and a jobber) and a single tag match. If you have him lose over and over again, it stops mattering rather quickly, which is the point they’re reaching. I get that Fletcher shouldn’t lost here, but then maybe don’t have the match.

Post match the double teaming ensues but Powerhouse Hobbs comes in through the crowd for the save. So I guess we’re not going to get any kind of “next step” that was promised for Fletcher? Or was just winning another match the “next step”?

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Mark Davis

They trade clotheslines to start and Hobbs no sells a suplex. Davis knocks him down in the corner but Hobbs is back with a powerslam. The spinebuster finishes Davis at 2:36. Exactly how it should have gone with Hobbs looking dominant.

The Patriarchy, minus Christian Cage, talks about how Nick Wayne is seeing how things are changing and will address Cage face to face. Last week, you saw what happens when things go as they’re supposed to go.

Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page argue in the back.

Earlier today, we had a sitdown interview with Cope and FTR. Dax Harwood apologizes for getting too emotional last week because FTR took four months away from going after the Tag Team Titles and it didn’t work. Cope says he didn’t ask them to step away but Cash Wheeler says he can’t be between the two of them. Wheeler says he owes a lot to both guys, including Cope giving him a place to live at some point. Harwood thinks getting the Tag Team Titles back is a good idea but Wheeler thinks they should go after the Trios Titles. Works for Harwood, and the challenge is issued for Dynasty. Makes sense.

Here is Swerve Strickland for a chat. Swerve wastes no time in calling out Jon Moxley, who comes straight through the crowd. Swerve asks what happened to Moxley, because instead of being what the World Title is all about, he’s hiding behind the Death Riders. Maybe Moxley hides the title in the briefcase because he can’t bear to look at it anymore. Everything Moxley used to describe himself is now what is looking at him face to face.

Cue Claudio Castagnoli behind Prince Nana on the floor (Nana doesn’t seem to notice). Moxley asks what Swerve thinks he is, because Moxley isn’t sure. Swerve has a chance at Dynasty, but how far is he willing to go? What is Swerve going to do when the weight of the world is on his shoulders? The reality is Swerve hasn’t suffered enough. Moxley’s sport has been taken over by billionaires and talent agencies, but Swerve gives him hope for the future.

Cue Marina Shafir with a crowbar but Willow Nightingale is right there with a pipe to cut her off (though they don’t get physical). Swerve says Moxley has bled but Swerve has bled buckets. Moxley has been in Texas death matches while Swerve has won them. He’s going to win the title at Dynasty and Moxley can keep playing himself on TV. The Death Riders leave but Shafir jumps Nightingale and has to be held back. As usual, these segments work better when people stand up to the Death Riders and that was the case here from Swerve.

Samoa Joe asks Hook why he choked out Max Caster. Hook: “He’s fun to choke out.” They run into Caster and Joe chokes him out, then hugs Hook, saying he was right. They also hug Top Flight and AR Fox as it seems Katsuyori Shibata is filming. That was hilarious.

Jay White is in the Owen Hart Tournament. If anyone thinks they’re better than him, come prove it on Collision.

Top Flight vs. Devo Knight/Alex Findley

Darius wrestles Knight to the floor to start as the Learning Tree is watching backstage. Findley comes in and gets sent outside, with Dante hitting a kick to the face and a springboard high crossbody. Darius plants Knight and Dante’s frog splash finishes at 2:56.

The Learning Tree (facing Top Flight on Collision) and Cru (in the crowd) isn’t impressed.

Will Ospreay is back next week.

Mark Briscoe vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Don Callis is here with Takeshita. Briscoe shrugs off a shoulder to start and fires off some Red Neck Kung Fu to take over. Back up and Takeshita knocks him down for some choking on the ropes. A big boot drops Briscoe again and a DDT on the apron sends us to a break. Back with Briscoe slugging away, including some shots to the chest in the corner.

The running flip dive through the ropes connects and the Cactus Elbow hits off the barricade. The Froggy Bow misses though and they slug it out, with the fans being rather engaged. They trade exploders until Takeshita’s running knee gets two. The Jay Driller gets the same as Takeshita puts a foot on the ropes. Takeshita kicks him in the head though and it’s the Raging Fire for the pin at 11:40.

Rating: B-. Takeshita can do just about anything in the ring at the moment and it’s fine to see him beating a name like Briscoe. While I could go for seeing Briscoe having some more success, it makes sense for him to lose here. Takeshita very well could be in the Owen Hart Tournament (if he isn’t yet) and him making a nice run would be a good way to go.

The Death Riders are in to face Cope and FTR for the Trios Titles at Dynasty.

The Hurt Syndicate is still not on the same page about MJF. MVP is the only one who seems to like him, mainly because MJF is reprehensible. If the other two don’t want MJF in, MVP will respect it, but they’re on the same page about the Learning Tree.

Penelope Ford/Megan Bayne vs. Toni Storm/Thunder Rosa

Rosa and Bayne start things off with Rosa shouting the team’s new name. Rosa’s strikes to the chest don’t work very well so it’s off to Storm, who gets taken down by Ford. A running knee is shrugged off though and Storm suplexes her down. We take a break and come back with Bayne clotheslining Rosa, allowing Ford to throw her out of the corner for two. Rosa and Ford hit a double clothesline and it’s off to Storm to take over on Bayne.

A tornado DDT on the floor drops Bayne but Ford grabs a cutter back inside. Bayne is back in with Fate’s Descent to Rosa but Storm throws her into the corner for the hip attack. That’s shrugged off and Storm is terrified that old faithful didn’t work. Bayne pump kicks Ford by mistake though and Storm gets two off a rollup. Fate’s Descent finishes Storm at 9:33.

Rating: C+. That’s something that has been done for years and it still works to this day. The result lets you see that Bayne can beat Storm and it adds more drama to their title shot at Dynasty. It was a perfectly fine match and served a purpose without actually having Ford take the pin for a change.

Overall Rating: B-. This was the show where they gave a lot more focus towards Dynasty, as matches that were already announced were advanced and something new was added. That’s the kind of show that you need to have and it made for a good one here. While there were some moves that I wasn’t feeling, this took some positive steps on the way to Dynasty and that’s what the show needs.

Results
Kenny Omega b. Blake Christian – One Winged Angel
Kyle Fletcher b. Brody King – Brainbuster onto the turnbuckle
Powerhouse Hobbs b. Mark Davis – Spinebuster
Top Flight b. Devo Knight/Alex Findley – Frog splash to Knight
Konosuke Takeshita b. Mark Briscoe – Raging Fire
Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford b. Toni Storm/Thunder Rosa – Fate’s Descent to Storm

 

 

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Collision – March 23, 2025 (Slam Dunk Sunday): It’s Close Enough

Collision
Date: March 23, 2025
Location: Liberty First Credit Union Arena, Omaha, Nebraska
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s the second half of the two night Collision and hopefully it’s able to live up to the first night. The first half of the show was rather good, though as usual, it depends on what we have for an encore. We’re just a few weeks away from Dynasty so we might get something else added to the show here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Saturday night if you need a recap.

Trios Titles: AR Fox/Top Flight vs. Death Riders

The Death Riders are defending. You might be wondering why Fox and Top Flight are getting this shot when they haven’t actually teamed together in over two years (their one win as a trio came in January 2023). Well the idea seems to be they won a Trios Battle Royal in 2022, last eliminating the Blackpool Combat Club, which evolved into the Death Riders. Granted it wasn’t the same three members they’re facing here but what difference do two years and one member really make?

Darius and Yuta go to the mat to start as Nigel quotes Star Wars to mock Bryan Danielson and his teachings. Dante comes in but can’t sunset flip Castagnoli. A big forearm drops Dante again but he manages a middle rope hurricanrana to the floor. Yuta is sent to the floor for a running flip dive (with a stomp to Pac at the same time) but Pac hammers Yuta into the wrong corner. That’s broken up and it’s back to Darius to clean house. Yuta cuts that off with a rake to the face and an Angle Slam sends us to a break.

Back with Darius still in control with Pac getting to choke in the ropes. Darius gets in a pop up dropkick on Castagnoli and the diving tag brings in Dante to pick up the pace. Dante’s triple jump flip dive takes out the champs on the floor and Darius’ Swanton gets two on Yuta. Pac low blows Top Flight on the floor and Fox is surrounded. Fox tries to fight out but is quickly cut down, with a Tombstone into the Fastball Special retaining the titles at 12:11.

Rating: B-. This was good enough, despite the lack of any realistic reason for the challengers to get a shot. The Riders have held the titles almost as long as any team in history and there is no reason to believe they’ll be dropping the belts anytime soon. The issue continues to be that they barely do anything with the titles and I tend to forget they’re even champions. It doesn’t help that there are barely any teams to come after the titles in the first place, hence a team who hasn’t been together in over two years getting a shot.

Post match Cru comes in to jump Top Flight because this feud is still a thing.

We look at Daniel Garcia vs. Adam Cole going to a time limit draw last night.

Cole knows he had Garcia beaten and he knows he can do it again. The rest of the Undisputed Kingdom isn’t happy with FTR’s lack of respect.

Kazuchika Okada brags about his success this year, saying he put the b****** of the Hounds Of Hell to sleep.

Bandido vs. Johnny TV

Bandido tries to start fast but gets taken down for a kick to the face. Back up and Bandido hits some running forearms, setting up the gorilla press to take us to a break. We come back with Bandido cutting off a charge in the corner for a quick two. The X Knee into the 21 Plex finishes TV at 9:21.

Rating: C+. Thankfully we have a Supercard Of Honor coming up as that should be the end of the whole Jericho vs. Bandido stuff. In theory, Bandido takes the title there and gets to move on from everything else. There isn’t much of a reason to keep the story going, but at least Bandido is getting some wins like this one to help build him up.

Post match Bandido calls out Chris Jericho, who comes out with the Learning Tree. Jericho says Bandido should know that you can only take him for granted so long. You can ask Bandido’s family how dangerous Jericho can be and he’s sorry for making Bandido’s mother cry. That’s what you get for messing with Jericho, which is why he took Gravity’s mask. Jericho puts the mask on, triggering a brawl. Bandido is smart enough to get away from the team but steals the mask back from Jericho.

Video on Megan Bayne, who is chosen by the heavens.

Toni Storm isn’t impressed, because Hercules doesn’t have her thighs and she made love with her reflection until the sun came up. See you at Dynasty.

Harley Cameron vs. Aminah Belmont

Cameron knees her down to start and grabs a Russian legsweep. A belly to back suplex lets Cameron shout her catchphrase before Her Finishing Move finishes Belmont at 1:40.

Don Callis isn’t worried about Kyle Fletcher because they have plans for when he gets back. Fletcher comes in and says he’s going to be on Dynamite to show what is next for him. I’m thinking it’s the Owen Hart Cup so he can face Will Ospreay again?

Los Titantes del Aire vs. La Faccion Ingobernable

Harley Cameron is on commentary and has no idea who Harleygram could be. Nigel: “Right up there with Mr. JL.” Hologram rolls Mortos up to start but gets headbutted down without much trouble. Komander comes in to block Dralistico’s hurricanrana attempt and grabs a rather springboardy armdrag. Cameron gets up because she has to make a phone call as Mortos gets to clean house.

We take a break and come back with Dralistico hitting a running boot in the corner as Harleygram is here. Komander gets over to the corner for the tag to Hologram and the pace picks way up. A Canadian Destroyer plants Mortos and Hologram takes him down with a big dive to the floor. Cielito Lindo hits Mortos but Dralistico breaks up the cover. The double tag brings in Komander and Dralistico, with Komander hitting a super poisonrana.

A pop up poisonrana takes out Mortos and everyone is down. Dralistico is back with a springboard spinning poisonrana but Hologram sends him outside for a running dive. Mortos stops to look at Harleygram though, allowing Komander to do his rope walk flip dive. Back in and Hologram hits the spinning torture rack bomb on Dralistico, setting up Cielito Lindo to give Komander the pin at 12:19.

Rating: B. As usual, the match was the great collection of high spots with some drama added in. The Harleygram stuff is completely harmless fun and at least Mortos didn’t take the fall here. It’s nothing that we haven’t seen before, but at least they did their thing here and gave the fans something to like to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Much like last night, this was basically Rampage with a few more storyline advancements than usual. It’s not a show you need to see but you won’t be annoyed if you did watch. Things should be back to normal next week and that’s a good thing to see, as there is a lot to cover before we get to the pay per view.

Results
Death Riders b. Top Flight/AR Fox – Fastball Special to Fox
Bandido b. Johnny TV – 21 Plex
Harley Cameron b. Aminah Belmont – Her Finishing Move
Los Titantes del Aire b. La Faccion Ingobernable – Cielito Lindo to Dralistico

 

 

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AEW Revolution 2025: They’re Keeping It Going

Revolution 2025
Date: March 9, 2025
Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time for another major pay per view and in this case, the card is looking rather stacked. The card is very strong with a bunch of title and grudge matches, which should make for quite the nice show. The main event is likely going to be Cope challenging Jon Moxley for the World Title so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Komander/Hologram vs. Lee Johnson/Blake Christian

It’s not a good sign for EJ Nduka, Johnson’s usual partner, that he isn’t getting this spot. Johnson and Christian jump them before the bell to start fast but Christian accidentally elbows Johnson in the face. Komander hurricanranas Christian to the floor and stereo dives take the villains out. Back in and stereo running strikes get two on Johnson as we settle down a bit. Commentary talks about royalties of Tony Schiavone appearing on Arliss, Komander gets double clotheslined for two and Christian chokes away on the ropes.

Christian’s springboard is dropkicked down and the diving tag brings in Hologram to pick up the pace. Hologram takes Christian up top but gets shoved down, allowing Johnson to hit a dive. Back in and Christian’s middle rope 450 sets up Johnson’s frog splash for two more. They go to the apron and Hologram can’t quite poisonrana Christian (that looked nasty) so it’s a dive onto Komander to leave all four down onto the floor. Back in and a slingshot cutter sets up a Last Chancery with Hologram making the save. Komander’s top rope Canadian Destroyer sets up Hologram’s 450 to pin Christian at 9:54.

Rating: B. This was a good choice for an opener as there is always room for a fast paced match to let the fans get interested to start things off. They didn’t waste time here and just did a bunch of big spots. It doesn’t mean much as far as any kind of storyline as Hologram doesn’t really have any and the other three are mainly in ROH, but this was a fun way to start the night.

Zero Hour: Daniel Garcia/Undisputed Era vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Strong grabs a hammerlock on Bravo to start and it’s quickly off to O’Reilly to go for an armbar. Cole gets in the right hands in the corner as commentary goes into the comedy routines. Garcia comes in with a swinging neckbreaker on Moriarty before a dancing double leg stomp keeps Moriarty down. Taylor has had it with the waiting around and runs people over on the floor as we see the Opps watching.

We settle down to Garcia trying to suplex Taylor but the rest of the Promotions come in for the beatdown. Moriarty stomps away in the corner and let’s look at the Opps again. Taylor adds an apron legdrop but Garcia is back up with the belly to back suplex. That’s enough to bring Cole in to clean house but Garcia tags himself back in, despite Cole loading up the Panama Sunrise. The Dragontamer makes Moriarty tap at 9:37.

Rating: C. On Collision, Moriarty, the Ring Of Honor Pure Champion, was pinned in a singles match. The following night, Moriarty, still champion, tapped out in a match where he had three partners. I know Ring Of Honor doesn’t mean much, but could we stop going out of the way to make it feel worthless and beneath everything else?

Zero Hour: Ring Of Honor World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Gravity

Jericho is defending…or he would be if he didn’t hit Gravity with the baseball bat before the bell. The Learning Tree comes in to beat Gravity down and Bandido’s save attempt is cut off as well. No match. Also no mask as Jericho unmasks Gravity and gives him the Judas Effect. Bandido and Gravity’s family comes in to cover him. So yes, the feud will continue.

Zero Hour: Johnny TV/MxM Collection vs. Big Boom AJ/Conglomeration

The Rizzler, cosplaying as Orange Cassidy, and Big Justice are here with the non-villains, while Taya Valkyrie is here to cancel them out. TV dances away from Cassidy to start so Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets for the dropkick. Briscoe comes in for a double shoulder before hammering away in the corner. AJ does the same so it’s off to Madden, allowing Mansoor to cheap shot Cassidy.

The Collection strikes a pose and Mansoor steals the cookies from the Rizzler and Big Justice. Valkyrie cuts Cassidy off the top and kisses TV, who stretched Cassidy’s abdominals. Cassidy gets out and brings in Briscoe, who is quickly chokeslammed off the top. Briscoe is right back with a missile dropkick to TV and it’s AJ coming in to clean house.

Madden’s chokeslam is countered into a powerslam for two but TV is back in to kick AJ down. More kissing ensues but here is Harley Cameron to cut Valkyrie off. The Powerboom puts TV down, only for Mansoor to superkick AJ. Mansoor hammers on AJ in the corner….and Big Justice powerbombs him down for the save. Justice gets saved and a triple Powerboom finishes Madden at 12:56.

Rating: C+. As was the case last time, AJ being a former wrestler makes this far easier to watch. We’re not sitting around for five minutes to wait on him to do three moves and then let everyone else do their thing. If it draws in some extra eyes to the product and nothing of note is lost (I love the Collection but they don’t exactly mean much), it’s a perfectly fine way to go.

Post match the Murder Machines run in for the beatdown but Powerhouse Hobbs makes the save. Two actors from the Righteous Gemstones come in and help with a chokeslam so posing can ensue.

And now, the main show.

Hangman Page vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

The hype package was on the Kickoff Show, showing the two of them arguing until things got more and more violent. This led to MJF attempting to light Page on fire, as you do in wrestling. MJF teases coming out to Page’s music for some pre-match mind games. They slug it out at the bell and Page hits a running boot in the corner. MJF gets smart by pulling the referee in the way and using the distraction to get in an eye rake.

The chinlock doesn’t last long and MJF has to get out of a sleeper. MJF mocks the cowboy side of Page before catching him with a powerbomb backbreaker for two. The trash talk makes Page hammer away but MJF takes him down and says this is HIS company. Page gets in a knockdown of his own and nips up (which the camera mostly misses) before kicking him off the apron. The moonsault to the floor drops MJF again (it feels like forever since Page busted that out) but he catches Page with an upside down superkick into an Alabama Slam for two.

A lifting hammerlock DDT gives MJF two and they’re both down for a bit. Back up and the Deadeye gets two, followed by the Buckshot Lariat for the same, with MJF putting a foot on the ropes. MJF bails out to the floor and avoids a charge to send Page shoulder first into the steps. The Salt Of The Earth goes on before MJF switches over to a reverse cross armbreaker.

That’s broken up as well and they go outside for a fight over a Tombstone, with MJF hitting a jumping version onto an open chair. Page is on his feet to beat the count 1:26 later and MJF starts crying, shouting WHY NOT ME. The Heatseeker is countered into a Deadeye and the Angel’s Wings drops MJF on his head (GEEZ). The Buckshot Lariat finishes for Page at 19:04.

Rating: B. This was good and hard hitting, but what matters the most is that Page is starting to move up the ranks again. It would not surprise me to see him getting closer to the World Title scene and beating MJF is a good step in that direction. Ignoring the jumping Tombstone onto the chair, it felt like a fight between two people who wanted to beat each other up and it made for a good opener to the main show.

We recap Mercedes Mone defending the TBS Title against Momo Watanabe. Back at Wrestle Dynasty, Watanabe won a #1 contenders match and then showed up again a few weeks ago to announce she was challenging Mone. One decent match against Serena Deeb later and here we are.

TBS Title: Momo Watanabe vs. Mercedes Mone

Mone is defending. They fight over arm control to start until Watanabe takes her down. The threat of a kick to the back has Mone cringing and her armdrag is countered into a crossface chickenwing. They trade rollups for two each before Mone counters a Meteora into a Bank Statement.

Back up and a Meteora connects to Watanabe in the ropes but Mone can’t hit a piledriver on the apron. Instead it’s a powerbomb onto the floor to drop Watanabe hard. Back in and Mone grabs an armbar but Watanabe reverses into something like a Deadeye for two. Both of their Three Amigos are blocked, but Watanabe ties her in the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the ribs. A running dropkick rocks Mone again and Watanabe mocks Mone’s dance.

The crossface chickenwing is cut off and Mone hits a quick Backstabber for a breather. Watanabe kicks away out of the corner and hits a middle rope Meteora to the apron for two more. The Mone Maker is blocked so Mone settles for a powerbomb for two of their own. They go up top where Watanabe belly to belly superplexes her for another near fall, followed by some hard kicks to the face for the same. Mone is back with a high crossbody for two, setting up the Mone Maker into the Bank Statement for the tap at 18:18.

Rating: B. These two beat the heck out of each other and it was another rather good match from Mone, which isn’t a surprise. Her ability in the ring has never been the issue and that was on display again here. When you take away everything outside of the ring from Money, it’s easy to see why she is presented as a star. Just find something a bit better to set up the title matches and maybe have Mone be a bit less hard to watch outside of the ring.

Billie Starkz is watching from the crowd.

We recap Swerve Strickland vs. Ricochet for the #1 contendership. Ricochet has been driving Strickland crazy and has gotten rather violent, including stealing Prince Nana’s robe. Nana wants the old Strickland back and has basically threatened to leave if Strickland doesn’t win.

Swerve Strickland vs. Ricochet

Strickland has Prince Nana with him and gets live drummed to the ring for a bit of a special entrance. They both miss early shots to start until Strickland hits a shoulder to send Ricochet outside. Back in and the flip around a bit more until Strickland hits a backbreaker to take over again. Ricochet is able to send him face first into the middle buckle, only to be sent outside for a beating against the barricade.

For some reason Nana tries to call Strickland off and gets knocked down for some reason. That’s enough for Nana to leave as Ricochet hits a Lionsault for two. A running cutter drops Strickland again but has to stop yelling at actress Leslie Jones at ringside. Strickland fights out of a chinlock and gets two off a brainbuster.

They go to the top and Strickland is knocked down, setting up a West Coast Pop for two. A hurricanrana takes Strickland outside and they go to the announcers’ table. Strickland grabs a Vertebreaker onto the table, which doesn’t break, setting up a Swerve Stomp for two. Ricochet is right back up with a low blow into a brainbuster, followed by the 630 for two more.

Cue Prince Nana again to steal the robe back but Ricochet cuts him off and steals it back again. Strickland’s dive is cut off with a Death Valley Driver onto the floor for the scary crash. Back in and Vertigo gets two but Nana grabs the robe again. Nana gets in and gets crushed in the corner, leaving Ricochet to grab a rollup for two. A pair of House Calls gives Ricochet two and Big Pressure finishes him off at 18:10.

Rating: B-. This was where the near falls went a bit too far, with both guys getting up from things that should have knocked them out a lot faster. What matters the most here is that Swerve won, as he has needed to move back up the ladder for a few months now. Beating Ricochet and (in theory) getting the robe back is a good way to go. Not a bad match at all, but some of the instances of these two getting up was a lot to take.

Post match Strickland gives Nana the robe back in a nice moment.

We recap Brody King challenging Kazuchika Okada for the Continental Title. Okada beat King’s partner Buddy Murphy so now King is getting a title shot of his own.

Continental Title: Brody King vs. Kazuchika Okada

Okada is defending and tries a slam to start for some reason. King sends him outside but gets hammered on the way back inside to slow him down again. A forearm puts Okada on the floor again though and King hammers away, only to miss a charge. Back in and Okada slams him down but the top rope elbow is broken up. A top rope superplex drops Okada and a backdrop does it again.

King hits a suicide dive, setting up the big crash against the barricade. Back in and Okada misses a dropkick but scores with a neckbreaker. Now the top rope elbow can connect but the Rainmaker is countered into a Death Valley Driver into the corner. They go back to the floor where Okada hits a dropkick into the barricade. Back in and Okada grabs something made of metal, which is a distraction so a belt shot can hit King for two. Another Rainmaker is blocked but Okada knocks him back and now the Rainmaker can retain the title at 10:57.

Rating: C+. Yeah this didn’t work nearly as well as anything else on the show so far as it was basically a cold match with no reason to believe that King was going to win the title. Okada was trying well enough here but he wasn’t exactly burning up the mat. It wasn’t a match that needed to be on the pay per view and the fans seemed to realize that.

We recap the Hurt Syndicate defending the Tag Team Titles against the Outrunners. The Syndicate are the dominant champions and the Outrunners earned a title shot. This is looking like a one sided title defense on paper, which might be the point.

Tag Team Titles: Hurt Syndicate vs. Outrunners

The Outrunners are challenging. Benjamin suplexes and slams Magnum to start and it’s quickly off to Floyd. The Outrunners actually clear the ring and MVP needs to fire the champions up a bit. Back in and Benjamin takes over on Magnum in the corner, where Lashley fires off some shoulders to the ribs.

Benjamin snaps off a German suplex and a running powerslam gets two. Magnum manages to get in something of a running bulldog and there’s the tag off to Floyd. The Mega Powers Elbow hits Benjamin and it’s time for Floyd to Hulk Up. A rope walk armdrag seems to annoy Benjamin, who kicks Floyd in the head. Lashley is back in with a spear, followed by another to let Benjamin get the retaining pin at 8:01.

Rating: C. Remember the previous match not feeling like it belonged on the pay per view? This was that same case here but cranked up to about a fifteen out of ten. There was no reason to believe that the Outrunners were going to win the titles here and then they just lost clean. That’s how it should have gone, but it should have been on Collision at best.

We recap Toni Storm vs. Mariah May in the Hollywood Ending match. May beat Storm for the title, then Storm faked amnesia and won the title back in Australia last month. Now it’s time for the big blowoff in a violent fashion.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Mariah May

Storm is defending and anything goes with falls counting anywhere. The brawl starts on the stage with May getting the better of things and planting her down for an early two. May whips out a taser so Luther takes it away, earning himself a low blow. Storm is back up with a chokebomb off the stage and through a table for two on the floor. They go to ringside where May is dropped onto the barricade for a hanging DDT, only for Storm to miss a running hip attack.

Storm Zero onto the steps knocks Storm silly but May grabs a chain instead of covering. Storm, who is rather busted open, is tied in the Tree Of Woe for May’s running hip attack. A quick German suplex gives Storm a breather…and it’s time for both of them to tape broken glass to their hands. May gets punched out to the floor and the broken glass is poured out. May’s head is busted open but she’s fine enough to get in a super hurricanrana onto the glass.

Back up and May Day onto the glass gets two, as does Storm’s Storm Zero. With nothing else working, Storm goes outside and grabs the shoe, which gets a nice gasp from the fans. Storm whips her with the title but gets caught with a May Day onto the stage for two. That’s shrugged off and Storm hits her with the shoe a bunch of times, setting up the Storm Zero through a table (with the Hollywood sign) to retain the title at 12:54.

Rating: B+. Sweet goodness this was wild and it felt like the kind of blowoff to a violent feud that they needed. Yes it was a bit silly with the shoe and overdone drama, but that was kind of the point of the whole thing. It’s a big time blowoff and the way to end the war, though I could also see how it went a bit too far with the blood. I’m not sure what is next for Storm, but dang it’s going to be hard to top this one.

Post match May is DONE and Storm holds her, with both of them covered in blood.

We recap Konosuke Takeshita defending the International Title against Kenny Omega. Takeshita beat him twice in a week at one point and then Omega missed a year due to diverticulitis. Now it’s time for Omega to see if he still has it and can beat an old rival.

International Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kenny Omega

Takeshita, with Don Callis, is defending. They collide to start and trade some forearms, with Takeshita getting the better of things. The fight goes outside with Omega driving Takeshita back first into the apron. Takeshita fights back and they head back inside for a DDT. Callis gets in a few shots on the floor and we hit the chinlock back inside. Takeshita switches up to the recently repaired abdomen with a knee to the ribs, followed by the shoulders to the ribs in the corner.

A table (of course) is loaded up at ringside but Omega is back with some hard chops. You Can’t Escape is broken up as Omega is shoved off the barricade for a ribs first crash to put him down again. We hit the bodyscissors back inside but Omega fights up and hits a spinning middle rope crossbody. Omega strikes away and now You Can’t Escape connects for two. Callis grabs Omega’s leg to cut that off though and a Cactus Clothesline sends them both outside.

Takeshita’s release German suplex drops Omega again and Callis joins commentary because we’re just that lucky. Omega fights up again and turns the table over, only to get dropped ribs first onto the underside of the table. Another drop onto the side of the table sets up a backsplash back inside as the ribs are crushed even more. Takeshita misses a Swanton to give Omega a breather and he grabs a dragon suplex.

The V Trigger into a powerbomb sets up another V Trigger for two on Takeshita and they’re both down. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Takeshita two but Omega catches him on top and hits a springboard sunset bomb. Another V Trigger connects but the ribs give out on a One Winged Angel attempt.

Back to back piledrivers give Takeshita two and a pair of running knees give Takeshita two and one each. Omega is back up with a Texas piledriver for two of his own and they’re both down again. Another V Trigger is blocked so Omega goes with a poisonrana instead. Now the V Trigger connects so Callis tries to intervene, only for Omega to grab a crucifix for the pin and the title at 28:32.

Rating: B+. This is how it should have gone with Omega getting to show that he is still able to do it at the highest level. They told a good story here with Omega’s ribs being banged up and slowing him down but he caught Takeshita with a rollup at the moment. It was a heck of a match and a good sign that Omega is still able to be one of the top stars around here.

Omega gets a bunch of pyro as he slowly pulls himself up to leave.

We recap Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher. They were friends in Japan but Don Callis got in Fletcher’s ear, setting off a months long feud. Fletcher beat him, then Ospreay beat him, so now it’s time to do it in a cage to see the two of them face off one on one.

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher

In a cage with pin/submission only and Don Callis is on commentary. They go straight to the slugout to start with Fletcher getting the better of things. Neither of them can send the other into the cage so Fletcher goes with a hard clothesline. The Stundog Millionaire gives Ospreay a breather but Fletcher sends him into the cage. Ospreay is already busted open and Fletcher licks the blood off the cage, as you do.

Back up and Ospreay sends him into the cage a few times before nailing a standing moonsault for two. Fletcher snaps off a half and half suplex for a needed breather and it’s time to take the turnbuckle pad off. Ospreay gets sent into the buckle for a running kick to the head but is right back with a Cheeky Nandos Kick. They both go up and Fletcher is rammed into the cage a few times, setting up a twisting moonsault for two.

Fletcher is back up with a running boot to the face to send Ospreay into the cage again, setting up a sitout powerbomb for two. Fletcher is busted open as well so a rather pleased Ospreay fires off the Kawada kicks. They trade kicks to the head until Fletcher nails a brainbuster for two. Cue Mark Davis to send in a bag of weapons but Ospreay takes it away and beats on Fletcher with a barbed wire baseball bat.

Fletcher throws up the United Empire hand sign for a distraction, allowing him to hit a low blow. A Hidden Blade into the Stormbreaker gets two as Davis comes in to make the save. Osprey fights up again and knocks Davis outside so the cage door can be locked again. An Oscutter off the cage gives Ospreay two so Fletcher climbs up, where he finds the fabled screwdriver. A stab to the head hits Ospreay, but a second misses, allowing Ospreay to try the Styles Clash (37 seconds after he was STABBED IN THE HEAD with a screwdriver).

That’s broken up as well and Fletcher hits a brainbuster, followed by another onto an open chair for two. Now we get the bag of thumbtacks but Ospreay reverses a suplex (1:23 after the brainbuster onto the steel chair) into a hurricanrana. The Styles Clash onto the tacks gives Ospreay two and they fight to the top of the cage. This time Ospreay stabs Fletcher with the screwdriver and it’s a super Spanish Fly off the cage to drive Fletcher into the tacks. Fletcher is up to yell about how much he hates Ospreay so it’s the Hidden Blade into the Tiger Driver 91 to give Ospreay the pin at 28:59.

Rating: B-. Yeah they lost me here more than a few times and it wasn’t the showdown that it needed to be. Some of the things that they were doing was a bit too much and it should have been cut down by a few minutes. Ospreay winning here is a great sign for him though, and hopefully this wraps up everything he is doing with Callis, because it’s going to be hard to top something like this.

Some of the cast of Queen Of The Ring is here and want you to see the movie.

We recap Cope challenging Jon Moxley for the AEW World Title. Moxley is holding the title hostage and being all evil so Cope is trying to get it away. Cope has been smart enough to take out the Death Riders, though he left Wheeler Yuta standing. That never sounds like a good idea.

AEW World Title: Cope vs. Jon Moxley

Cope is challenging and the fans sing his song in a nice moment. They slug it out to start, both from their feet and then from their knees before going back to their feet. Cope knocks him outside for a dive from the top, setting up the clothesline off the apron. Moxley fights back and sends him into the barricade over and over, setting up a neckbreaker onto the apron for two. Some crossface shots keep Cope in trouble and Moxley knocks him down again…as we see the Opps watching.

Cope gets back up with a quick Impaler for a breather and the clothesline comeback is on. The top rope superplex gives Cope two and the Grindhouse goes on (to SILENCE from the crowd). That’s broken up and Cope spears him through the ropes to the floor, only for Moxley to whip him into the steps. The floor mats are peeled back but the piledriver is cut off. Instead Moxley hits a stomp onto the concrete, followed by a piledriver for two back inside.

The bulldog choke has Cope in more trouble but he eventually makes it over to the rope for the break. The referee has to take the chair away and Cope gets kicked into him, meaning there is no one to count after the Paradigm Shift. Moxley tries a Conchairto but Cope kicks one of the chairs into his face for a breather.

Cue Wheeler Yuta to knee Cope down (of course) so here is Jay White to even things out a bit. White steals the briefcase from Moxley but accidentally knocks Cope out, giving Moxley a rather close two. Back up and the spear gives Cope two so he hits a few more spears….and Christian Cage pulls the referee out. Cage knocks Cope silly with the contract, which he then signs to make this a three way title match.

AEW World Title: Cope vs. Jon Moxley vs. Christian Cage

Moxley is still defending and Cage hits a spear for two on Cope. The Killswitch hits Cope but Moxley is back in to grab the bulldog choke on Cage. That’s enough for Cage to go out and Moxley retains at 26:34.

Rating: C. Oh this didn’t work and the fans were letting them know about it until the cash-in woke them up for a bit. This was about Moxley beating the fire out of Cope and then Cope hitting a bunch of spears to not much success. In other words, Moxley wins again and does so against a fresh Cage because Moxley continues to be the most dominant person ever while everyone else is stupid. Not a good main event, but it wasn’t exactly feeling great in the weeks building up to it either.

Moxley goes to leave the arena but runs into Prince Nana. Swerve Strickland dives out of the crowd to take him down and end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. There were weak points on this show but the stuff that worked did work very well. I had a good time with the show and it felt like the kind of pay per view that built up AEW’s reputation in the first place. Other than maybe the main event, there was pretty much nothing weak with some matches that you might have liked even more. It was a very good show with one solid match after another and that’s what a show like this should be. AEW is on a roll right now and this was another step in that pretty great run.

Results
Komander/Hologram b. Lee Johnson/Blake Christian – 450 to Christian
Daniel Garcia/Undisputed Era b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Dragontamer to Moriarty
Big Boom AJ/Conglomeration b. Johnny TV/MxM Collection – Triple Powerboom to Madden
Hangman Page b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Buckshot Lariat
Mercedes Mone b. Momo Watanabe – Bank Statement
Swerve Strickland b. Ricochet – Big Pressure
Kazuchika Okada b. Brody King – Rainmaker
Hurt Syndicate b. Outrunners – Spear to Magnum
Toni Storm b. Mariah May – Storm Zero through a table
Kenny Omega b. Konosuke Takeshita – Crucifix
Will Ospreay b. Kyle Fletcher – Tiger Driver 91
Jon Moxley b. Christian Cage and Cope – Bulldog choke to Cage

 

 

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Ring Of Honor – March 6, 2025: They’re Taking Over

Ring Of Honor
Date: March 6, 2025
Location: Frontwave Arena, Oceanside, California
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Last week’s show featured a bunch of guest stars from CMLL and it made things a good bit more interesting than we’ve seen around here lately. That isn’t something that should be happening every week, but it was nice for a once off. Now we get to see what else ROH has, which is likely going to be something pretty familiar. Let’s get to it.

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

We start with a clip from backstage at Dynamite, with Chris Jericho getting on the Learning Tree for their recent issues. Jericho isn’t sure what he can do to get through to them because they might not get too many more chances.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. La Catalina

Athena is defending. They take turns striking a pose to start until Catalina hits a dropkick into the corner. Another dropkick puts Athena on the floor, where she cuts off a dive with a kick to the head. Catalina gets knocked to the floor but comes back in, where Athena gets to stand on her face. A superkick into the Death Valley Driver sets up a knee to the face for two on Catalina and Athena hits the bow and arrow.

That’s broken up and Catalina hits a quick running knee, followed by a missile dropkick (she likes those) for two. A leglock sends Athena over to the ropes and she’s back with a quick sitout powerbomb for two of her own. Athena’s crossface is broken up and Catalina is back with a spear into a Pedigree for another near fall. A quick hurricanrana takes Catalina down and the O Face retains the title at 9:08.

Rating: B-. This was the same thing we have seen for a long stretch of Athena’s title reign, as someone was built up out of nowhere and then loses to the champ. That’s a good way to go for a bit but Athena has cleaned out the division for such a long time that there is no one available to come after her at the moment. Hopefully it isn’t Billie Starkz again next, but who else is it supposed to be right now?

Post match Athena teases respect before knocking her down.

The MxM Collection mocks the Sons Of Texas for having one of the Tag Team Title belts. Their loss in Australia doesn’t matter because that isn’t a real country. Therefore, tonight, they’ll crash the Sons’ title match. It’s a bad sign when just talking about the champions is so deflating.

Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh vs. McCallion/Slade

Lethal headlocks McCallion to start and hiptosses him into a basement dropkick. Slade comes in off a blind tag but a double belly to back suplex doesn’t work. Instead it’s off to Singh so house is quickly cleaned. Slade is chokeslammed over and over (with Singh on one knee to make it less painful), followed by a double chokeslam for a double pin at 3:37.

Rating: C. I mean, why not? Lethal is a Ring Of Honor legend and Singh is an attraction and I’ll take that over the same people week in and week out around here. The match was a total squash and that’s all it needed to be, but at least it was something different. That’s what ROH has been needing and while this isn’t the big solution, it’s better than nothing.

Billie Starkz vs. Mylo

Starkz backs her into the corner to start and hits a kick to the face. Mylo tries to fight back but gets sent outside in a heap. A whip into the barricade has Mylo in more trouble, setting up the Swanton to give Starkz the pin at 3:15.

Rating: C-. Pretty much total destruction here with Starkz running through Mylo without much trouble. That’s all it needed to be, though it continues to make me wonder if Starkz is going to get a third shot at Athena and the Women’s Title. That isn’t a thrilling way to go, though again I’m not sure who else it is supposed to be.

Jon Cruz/Olumide vs. Sons Of Texas

Non-title and this is Olumide’s (who is rather tall) debut. Guevara and Olumide start things off with Guevara flipping over him and hitting a dropkick. Rhodes comes in for a few shots of his own but Cruz slips out of Guevara’s suplex attempt. The double teaming doesn’t get very far on Guevara as he flips away and brings in Guevara to clean house. The Swanton gives Guevara the pin on Olumide at 3:50.

Rating: C. This has been the latest Sons Of Texas match and it’s still about the same that the previous ones have been. There is nothing about them that stands out and for some reason we are coming up on seven months as champions. That reason is likely All In, as we need the champions to be on the Kickoff Show. It’s not like they’re bad, but they’re dull, which is often worse.

Post match the MxM Collection come in for a beatdown but the Sons fight them off and get their belt back. So that’s it? I mean it isn’t like the Von Erichs, who came back two weeks ago and haven’t even been seen with Rhodes, their championship partner despite not defending the titles since AUGUST, were going to do anything here so I guess the champions beating up the challengers they have already beaten was the way to go.

The Beast Mortos vs. Sonico

Sonico strikes away to start and hits a superkick before Mortos runs him over without much trouble. A snap powerslam gives Mortos two and we hit the chinlock. Thankfully that doesn’t last long as Mortos hits a pop up Samoan drop into the spinning piledriver for the pin at 2:26.

Thunder Rosa vs. Brittnie Brooks

They trade rollups to start before Brooks grabs an armdrag. Rosa is right back up with a clothesline but Brooks counters a suplex attempt. Brooks scores with some kicks but Rosa blocks a bulldog. The running dropkick puts Brooks down and Rosa hits the running dropkick against the ropes. Brooks comes back with some forearms and a running bulldog gets two. That’s not working for Rosa, who is right back with the Tijuana Bomb for the pin at 5:09.

Rating: C+. Brooks got in a lot of offense here and it was a more competitive match than I was expecting. At the same time, this felt like Rosa’s win to get her momentum back after taking the fall on Dynamite. That’s something AEW and ROH really like to do and it’s not the worst idea, but this is only going to get Rosa so far.

Bandido/Gravity vs. The Infantry

Gravity and Dean get things going with Gravity armdragging him down to create some early frustration. Gravity does his moon walk so Bandido can come in to run Bravo over. It’s already back to Gravity, who gets taken down into the corner so his leg can be wrapped around the post.

Back in and Dean starts working on that leg, including a rather logical half crab. That’s broken up and a rolling tag brings in Bandido to clean house. Everything breaks down and the Infantry is sent outside for stereo dives. A double faceplant drops Bravo back inside but Dean is back in for a middle rope clothesline to Bandido. That doesn’t get them very far though as it’s the X Knee to Bravo, followed by Gravity hitting a 21 Plex to pin Dean at 8:43.

Rating: B-. Probably the best match of the show here, as we needed the latest match where the Infantry loses against anyone with some status. Bandido and Gravity are fine as a team if Bandido isn’t going to be in the World Title scene anymore, though I’m not sure how far they’re going to go. Another perfectly fine match here, and somehow perhaps the most interesting part of the show.

Post match the Learning Tree runs in and lays out Bandido and Gravity.

Diamante interrupts Athena and…says she’s the new #1 minion.

TMDK vs. Gates Of Agony

TMDK jumps the Gates before the bell and get in some chair shots, which of course is fine with the referee, who calls for the bell. Kaun gets run over with a shoulder for two and a double faceplant puts him down again. Cabrera charges into Kaun’s boot in the corner but slams him down without much effort. Tito’s suplex gets two and a double chokeslam gets the same but Kaun escapes a Doomsday Device. A top rope superplex drops Tito as Toa is finally back on the apron. Toa gets the tag to clean house, including a string of clotheslines in the corner. Everything breaks down and Open The Gates finishes Cabrera at 6:46.

Rating: C+. This was a nice come from behind win for the Gates and unfortunately that’s about the extent of the positives. Much like the Infantry, the Gates feel like they have been in about the same spot for the better part of ever. There is no reason to believe that anything is going to change for them anytime soon and it isn’t like their matches are anything overly interesting.

Blue Panther/Blue Panther Jr./Dark Panther vs. Valiente/Gran Guerrero/Euforia

Dark and Blue Jr. are the sons of Blue. Valiente and Jr. start things off and they go to the mat for an early standoff. Back up and they chop it out to no avail as Gran comes in to trade takedowns with Dark. Euforia misses a charge into the post and it’s off to Blue for a double running headbutt. The Panthers clean house as everything breaks down, with commentary pointing out the “relaxed rules”.

Jr. is sent hard out to the floor off a baseball slide and it’s Blue getting caught in the wrong corner. Dark comes back in and is sent into the corner for a series of running shots before Blue gets beaten up again. Jr. finally comes in again as everything breaks down, with the Panthers cleaning house. Blue gets in a spinning crossbody out of the corner and a hurricanrana, followed by another one from the apron. Jr. hits a big dive over the top, leaving Dark to powerbomb Valiente for two. Dark hits a suicide dive and stops to point at Komander (in the crowd), leaving Blue to roll Euforia up for the pin at 9:47.

Rating: B-. Ring Of Honor is rapidly turning into the CMLL Hour Featuring The Ring Of Honor Players. That’s similar to what they did with New Japan back in the day and it’s not the best idea. Yeah the matches are fun, but as has been the case with any promotion guest starring over and over: if I wanted to watch them, I’d watch their own show. The match itself was the usual CMLL fun, but it’s becoming a regular part of the show rather than a special attraction and that isn’t a great move.

Overall Rating: C+. Yeah it was fine. That’s about the extent of interest I can bring myself to have in Ring Of Honor anymore as it is the definition of a show that is just kind of there. So many people have matches that don’t feel like they lead anywhere and the show keeps going without showing much forward progress. In short, I’d like to feel like some of these matches mean something, because they aren’t good enough on their own to matter all that much.

Results
Athena b. La Catalina – O Face
Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh b. McCallion/Slade – Double pin
Billie Starkz b. Mylo – Swanton
Sons Of Texas b. Jon Cruz/Olumide – Swanton to Olumide
The Beast Mortos b. Sonico – Spinning piledriver
Thunder Rosa b. Brittnie Brooks – Tijuana Bomb
Bandido/Gravity b. The Infantry – 21 Plex to Dean
Gates Of Agony b. TMDK – Open The Gates to Cabrera
Blue Panther/Blue Panther Jr./Dark Panther b. Valiente/Gran Guerrero/Euforia – Rollup to Euforia

 

 

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Collision – March 1, 2025: Nice And Balanced

Collision
Date: March 1, 2025
Location: Oakland Arena, Oakland, California
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re a little over a week away from Revolution and the show could use some more matches. There is a good chance we will get some more of those this week, but first we have a TNT Title match as Adam Cole challenges Daniel Garcia. That should be good enough and odds are there will be some more solid wrestling to go with it. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Daniel Garcia, FTR, the Undisputed Kingdom, Julia Hart, Brody King, Kazuchika Okada, Bandido and Powerhouse Hobbs are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

FTR vs. Undisputed Kingdom

Wheeler and Strong go technical to start and that’s good for a standoff. Back up and Strong gets in a hiptoss so it’s off to O’Reilly. Harwood comes in to work on the arm again and they trade shots for back to back knockdowns. Everything breaks down and they wind up on the floor until Wheeler gets beaten up in the corner. Harwood comes back in for some suplexes and a quick piledriver gets the pin at 5:04…but O’Reilly’s foot is on the rope.

The match keeps going so Harwood sends O’Reilly into the post. Wheeler comes back in and strikes away as we take a break. Back with Wheeler missing a charge into the corner, allowing O’Reilly to dive through the legs for a tag. The Angle Slams take FTR down and stereo strikes to the head get two on Harwood. The ankle lock makes Wheeler tap but he’s not legal, so Harwood makes the save.

That earns Harwood a ram into Wheeler before the ankle lock goes on again. That’s broken up and Wheeler gets in a cheap shot, allowing Harwood to roll O’Reilly up with trunks for two. Neither of them can hit a spike piledriver so Wheeler is in with a top rope clothesline for two. Everyone is down for a bit before FTR is up with the PowerPlex for two more on O’Reilly. The Shatter Machine is broken up and a quick High/Low finishes Wheeler at 16:49.

Rating: B. This got rolling by the end and that made for a good match, even with FTR losing again. At this point they might be getting ready for a heel turn, as there isn’t much else that they can do with all of these losses. I don’t mind pushing the Kingdom as they’re good, but they’re just kind of floating around at the moment as it is.

Post match respect is not shown.

Willow Nightingale is happy with getting to take out Marina Shafir on Dynamite.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Willie Mack

Yuta shoulders him in the corner to start and hits a quick backsplash. The half crab sends Mack over to the ropes so Yuta chokes away instead. A release German suplex drops Mack again but he avoids a dive off the top. The Cannonball connects for Mack, only for Yuta to hit a running knee to finish Mack at 4:42.

Rating: C. It wasn’t a squash but Yuta as a featured star just isn’t much to see. He is only so good in the first place and having him as part of the Death Riders isn’t helping things. Mack is another someone who feels like he could have been something if given the chance but it never came. He’s pretty much useless now, which isn’t his fault in the slightest.

Post match here is Jon Moxley, who has to carry his own briefcase, which goes upside Mack’s head. Moxley says this is none of Oakland’s business before giving Yuta the briefcase and telling him to finish the job. Another briefcase shot leaves Mack laying.

We look at Momo Watanabe taking the TBS Title from Mercedes Mone.

Billie Starkz gives Mone the title back and throws tea on her.

Toni Storm is in a bed with a neck brace and says that she will face Mariah May in a Hollywood Ending match at Revolution. The match will be no countout, no DQ, no rope breaks and falls count anywhere.

Swerve Strickland vs. Clark Connors

Connors is from New Japan and hasn’t been around AEW in a few years. Strickland sends him into the corner and hits the middle rope elbow to the back. Connors gets in his own shot and kicks the rope into Strickland’s throat before unloading in the corner. Strickland’s backbreaker lets him snap Connors’ arm and we take a break.

Back with Connors snapping off a powerslam but Strickland kicks him in the head. A belly to back superplex plants Connors for two and the rolling Downward Spiral sets up a missed Swerve Stomp. Connors hits a spear and tries a DDT but Strickland reverses into the House Call for the win at 10:05.

Rating: B-. Connors didn’t get much of a reaction and that shouldn’t be a surprise. He’s a bigger star in New Japan, but he has basically no history here, at least not recently, which isn’t going to help get him a reaction. While he looked good in defeat here, it’s not the best start to his new AEW run. Let him have a few wins and then feed him to Strickland, who will benefit more as well.

On Dynamite, the Outrunners earned a Tag Team Title match and the Hurt Syndicate will give them said shot at Revolution.

Harley Cameron is on commentary and names her new finishing move My Finishing Move.

Johnny TV bumps into the Costco Guys and doesn’t like how they treated the MxM Collection. TV challenges Big Boom AJ to find two partners for a six man at Revolution.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Nick Ruiz/Vinnie Massaro/Dave Dutra

Dutra gets backed into the corner to start and hit in the face. A running double stomp sets up Moriarty’s suplex DDT for the pin at 1:19. I guess it’s time to act like AEW cares about Taylor and company again for a few weeks.

TNT Title: Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia

Cole is challenging and walks through the Promotions on the way to the ring. The early grappling goes nowhere and they trade rollups for two each. They shake hands until Garcia grabs a neckbreaker for two but Cole is back with a Backstabber. Cole’s own neckbreaker gets two and a snap suplex sets up the chinlock.

Back up and Garcia twists the leg around the rope and hits a running dropkick against the barricade as we take a break. We come back with Cole hitting a brainbuster onto his leg, which is a bit banged up. Another brainbuster onto the leg gets two but the Panama Sunrise is blocked. Garcia superplexes him into a piledriver for two but Cole is back with a Panama Sunrise for two of his own.

The leg gives out on a superkick attempt and Garcia gets the ankle lock. That sends Cole crawling over to the ropes for the break so Garcia piledrives him onto the apron. Naturally Cole is on his feet in about thirty seconds and they slug it out. We get the five minute call…and the Infantry runs in for the double DQ at 15:13.

Rating: B-. Yeah of course they did. The Promotions are a great example of an act that has been run into the ground so many times by AEW that they have lost whatever impact they could have. They’ve been treated as losers and cannon fodder for so long and that adds up in fans’ minds. That was what I was thinking as soon as they ran in, as there is almost no reason to believe that this is going to be their big step in the right direction. The match was a good back and forth match with Cole looking better than he has recently, but dang that ending took the lift out of things.

Post match the beatdown is on and Matt Menard tries to make the save, only to be dropped by Shane Taylor. The villains beat up Cole and Garcia to leave them laying.

Video on the Opps.

The Costco Guys have found Orange Cassidy and Mark Briscoe for the match at Revolution. And the word of the day is BOOM. That’s what they brought these two back for?

Julia Hart vs. Queen Aminata

During Aminata’s entrance, Serena Deeb talks about wanting to face Aminata in a Pure Rules match and has a playbook on Hart. Aminata grinds away on a headlock to start but Hart sends her into the corner for a running elbow. The chinlock is broken up and Aminata knocks her down as we take a break. Back with Hart fighting out of a figure four with the legs and hitting a standing moonsault for two. Hart cranks on both arms but misses the moonsault. A big headbutt sends Hart into the ropes for a running boot to give Aminata the clean pin at 9:05.

Rating: C+. Well ok then. Hart is someone who has been getting presented as a bigger deal in recent weeks and then she loses clean here. Aminata has lost more than a few times but she still seems to have a lot of potential. At some point she has to win something to follow up on that potential, though this is certainly a surprising choice for one of those wins.

Post match Brody King comes out to check on Hart but gets decked by Kazuchika Okada (who he bumped into as Okada arrived at the start of the show).

Kenny Omega talks about losing to Konosuke Takeshita twice in one week. The title that Takeshita holds represents being the best and if he can beat Omega a third time, maybe it’s time for Omega to admit he can’t do it anymore. He no longer has the baggage of being an EVP and all he cares about is the gold. Serious promo from Omega here and it worked.

Learning Tree vs. Powerhouse Hobbs/Bandido

Bill and Hobbs start things off but of course we’ll go with Keith instead. Hobbs isn’t about to be whipped into the ropes so he shoulders Keith down. Hobbs picks Keith up and hands him to Bandido in an impressive power display so it’s off to Bill, who can’t quite hit a chokeslam. The ten paces spot is loaded up but Bill’s cheap shot misses.

We take a break and come back with Bill not being able to hit a powerbomb and missing a splash in the corner. The tag brings in Hobbs to clean house with the clotheslines and a middle rope spinning powerslam gets two, with Bill making the save. Bandido comes back in to strike it out with Keith before they hit stereo dropkicks for a double down. Bill and Hobbs strike it out until Bill’s missed charge sends him outside. Bandido moonsaults onto Bill, leaving Hobbs to bust Keith’s spine for the pin at 11:25.

Rating: B-. This was all about giving Hobbs a nice win in his hometown and it went perfectly well. Hobbs continues to be someone who could be a big deal if given the chance and hopefully he takes the Ring Of Honor World Title from Chris Jericho as soon as possible. Bandido would have been a fine choice to do the same but alas here we are instead. Not a great match here, but it did what it needed to.

Overall Rating: B. It’s kind of a shame that this show was going up against WWE’s Elimination Chamber as it means a lot of people probably aren’t going to see a good show. As has been the case in recent months, the less the Death Riders are around, the better the show went and that was the situation here. They moved some stories forward here and Revolution is looking good, even with the Costco Guys back again. Another solid episode here, which has been the case for a few weeks now.

Results
Undisputed Kingdom b. FTR – High/Low to Wheeler
Wheeler Yuta b. Willie Mack – Running knee
Swerve Strickland b. Clark Connors – House Call
Shane Taylor Promotions b. Nick Ruiz/Vinnie Massaro/Dave Dutra – Suplex DDT to Dutra
Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia went to a double DQ when the Infantry interfered
Queen Aminata b. Julia Hart – Running boot in the ropes
Powerhouse Hobbs/Bandido b. Learning Tree – Spinebuster to Keith

 

 

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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