Collision
Date: July 27, 2024
Location: Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re continuing the rather long Tony Khan weekend as the road to All In has another Saturday stop. This is also the first half of a double header with the latest Battle Of The Belts, meaning some people might not be available. We also have the fallout from Blood & Guts to deal with so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Orange Cassidy vs. Johnny TV

Taya Valkyrie is here with TV and this is fallout from an event at Comic Con. Cassidy works on the arm to start so TV chills in the corner (upside down, just because he can). They take turns putting on the sunglasses until Cassidy sends him out to the floor. There’s the suicide dive (with hands in pockets and glasses on) but TV is back in with the Russian legsweep and a knee to the face. The standing moonsault misses but Cassidy is sent outside anyway, with TV pulling off the barricade cover.

Taya and TV stop for some kissing, with the delay allowing Cassidy to send him into the buckle. TV is back up with a Flying Chuck to knock him off the apron though and it’s time to work on the arm. The Stundog Millionaire gets Cassidy out of trouble and the tornado DDT gets two. TV counters the Orange Punch into the flipping neckbreaker, only to miss Starship Pain. The second neckbreaker sets up the connecting Starship Pain but Cassidy is right back with the Beach Break. The Orange Punch finishes TV at 10:32.

Rating: C+. This is one of those matches that was going to work because of who was involved. Cassidy is going to get a strong reaction no matter what he is doing while TV is a veteran who can make someone else look good. That’s what we had here and it made for a perfectly nice opener.

Post match Taya jumps Cassidy but Willow Nightingale (Cassidy’s partner in the Comic Con event) makes the save.

We look at the Patriarchy winning the AEW Trios Titles last week. This is different than the Ring Of Honor Six Man Tag Team Titles, because that is a thing that needs to exist.

The Bang Bang Gang swears vengeance on the Patriarchy, including Mother Wayne.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Brian Cage/Lee Moriarty vs. Top Flight

Cage is replacing an injured Shane Taylor. Moriarty and Yuta start things off with the latter armdragging him into a dropkick. Darius comes in to avoid Yuta’s charge, setting up Dante’s springboard high crossbody for two. Castagnoli comes in as well but is quickly knocked outside as well. Back in and Cage tags himself in to full nelson slam Dante as we take a break.

We come back with Cage hitting a wheelbarrow neckbreaker for two on Dante but Yuta makes the save. Castagnoli comes back in to clean house with the running uppercuts in the corner. The Swing has Moriarty in trouble but Darius makes a blind tag to break up the big lariat. Cage is back in to powerbomb the heck out of Darius but gets in the staredown with Castagnoli. They slug it out until Top Flight superkick them to the floor, setting up the dives. Cage blasts Darius with the discus lariat but Yuta tags himself in, dropkicks Moriarty, and hits something like an Angle Slam into the Seatbelt to pin Darius at 10:41.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of match that AEW knows how to do rather well and they did it again here. In theory Yuta needed to get his win back after losing to Moriarty, but it would have been nice to not have Top Flight taking another loss. The team feels like they could be something but it isn’t going to happen if they keep losing over and over.

The Conglomeration is interrupted by Willow Nightingale, who is ready to fight on Battle Of The Belts. Mark Briscoe is ready too, and even has Kyle O’Reilly hold his title (which is thrown into the air multiple times) so he can introduce the newest member: his newborn son. Well that’s just awesome. Orange Cassidy is tired.

Beast Mortos vs. Hologram

Hologram spins around to start and armdrags Mortos down. The sunset flip is broken up though and we’re off to an early standoff. Mortos snaps off a powerslam for two and hits a heck of a Pounce to send us to a break. Back with Hologram snapping off a rather spinning headscissors but getting caught on top in a super Wing Clipper for one. They wind up on the apron with Hologram kicking him the face and hitting something like a running Canadian Destroyer.

A big rope walk flip dive hits Mortos on the floor, setting up a heck of a suicide dive. Back in and a step up poisonrana plants Mortos for two but he runs Hologram over for the same. They go up top with the super gorilla press being reversed into a headscissors to bring Mortos back down. A rope walk crucifix bomb into a crucifix gives Hologram the pin at 12:04.

Rating: B. Yeah this was a much better showcase for Hologram, who got to showcase some awesome stuff and wasn’t the second great high flier on the show this week. I’m still not sure if the gimmick (assuming he really has one) is working yet but at least the high flying aspects are working. Just do more of this and it should work better.

Thunder Rosa vs. Maya World

They circle each other a bit to start until Rosa grabs a quick armdrag. World gets in a shot of her own and Rosa is not happy, meaning it’s a Thesz press into some hammering. A running corner dropkick sets up a double stomp and a seated cobra clutch finishes World at 3:36.

Rating: C. Just a squash here to get Rosa boosted back up a bit after her repeated losses to Deonna Purrazzo. Rosa being moved back up the card is not a bad thing at all as it allows another established name to be around. I’m not sure where she would fit in, but the talent is there to make it work.

Lance Archer has attacked a bunch of people in the back. He wants Will Ospreay on Dynamite.

Conglomeration vs. Premiere Athletes

The Athletes insult the crowd on the way to the ring and it’s O’Reilly starting with Woods. The technical off goes to Woods who drives him into the corner for some right hands from Nese. O’Reilly brings in Briscoe for a clothesline, followed by the chops from Ishii. For some reason Nese tries to chop Ishii and it goes as well as you would expect. Briscoe grabs a suplex and it’s already back to O’Reilly as the rapid fire tags continue. Briscoe hits a big dive and we take an early break.

Back with O’Reilly suplexing Daivari down and handing it back to Ishii to clean house. Everything breaks down and Briscoe suplexes Nese for two. The Jay Driller is broken up and something like a reverse 3D into a frog splash gives Daivari two. Woods’ backbreaker into a lariat drops Briscoe and it’s time for the parade of strikes to the face. Nese’s big flip dive hits Daivari by mistake but Woods snaps off a series of suplexes. Not that it matters as O’Reilly cross armbreakers Daivari for the win at 1020.

Rating: B. This was a good example of a match where the people involved were allowed to go nuts. It says a lot about the Conglomeration that they were able to make the Athletes, who might be the least interesting villains in AEW today, work this well. Very entertaining match here and they pulled me into it.

Chris Jericho says Minoru Suzuki has broke his finger during his match, making it very hard to say HI GUYS. Revenge is sworn against both Suzuki and Katsuyori Shibata.

Lance Archer vs. ???

Two chokeslams and the Blackout finish for Archer at 1:00. Trash talk to Will Ospreay was included.

FTR vs. MxM Collection

That would be Mason and Mansoor, formerly known as the Maximum Male Models in WWE. Harwood grabs a wristlock to start but Mansoor flips out and strikes an early pose. Mansoor flips over him and dances a bit, earning a hard chop and a slingshot shoulder from Wheeler. Mason comes in and hits a hip attack, setting up a bit of a dance of his own. A double legdrop combination gets two on Wheeler but Harwood punches Mansoor in the face. It’s too early for the Shatter Machine though and we take a break.

Back with Harwood fighting his way out of the corner but Mason’s distraction means a small package gets a delayed one. Another hip attack takes Harwood down for two and the bearhug goes on. That’s broken up with a quick bite to the head but something like a Hart Attack gets two on Harwood. Back up and Harwood makes the tag off to Wheeler to pick up the pace. A Gory Bomb gets two on Mansoor and a sunset flip is good for the same. The spike piledriver is broken up but Mason is sent to the floor, setting up the Shatter Machine to pin Mansoor at 11:26.

Rating: B. This was a change of pace from the Collection’s debut as they were doing a more straight match, which shouldn’t be a surprise when they’re in there against FTR. They still got in enough of their comedy to make it work though and it made for an entertaining match. At the same time, I wouldn’t have the Collection lose so early, but they were far from buried or even heavily damaged.

Respect is shown post match.

The Acclaimed is fired up over winning at Blood & Guts and want their Tag Team Titles back.

Pac vs. Lio Rush

They go technical to start with Rush armdragging him into the corner and striking a bit of a pose. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker puts Rush down for a change but he rolls Pac up for a fast two. Back up and Pac strikes away as we take an early break. We come back with Rush fighting out of the corner but his hurricanrana is countered into a sitout powerbomb. The snap German suplex is blocked though and Rush knocks him down again. Pac is sent outside but a bottom rope Asai moonsault is cut off.

Instead Rush settles for a heck of a suicide dive into the barricade, followed by a Falcon Arrow for two. Rush hits a headbutt but has a springboard reversed into a heck of a German suplex. It’s too early for the Black Arrow though as Rush rolls away and kicks him in the head. The springboard cutter gives Rush two but Pac gets his knees up to block the Final Hour. Back up and Rush strikes away until Pac clotheslines him into the Brutalizer for the pin at 13:12.

Rating: B. I’m not normally a fan of Rush but he was doing his high flying and fast moving rather well here. It made for another entertaining match, especially with Pac there to beat him up. Pac finally caught him in the end for the win which is how it should have gone, though Rush did put up a good fight on the way there.

Overall Rating: A-. You don’t get that kind of a collection of matches on a free show very often and this was a heck of a way to spend two hours. It was one entertaining match after another and as usual, just letting the wrestlers do their thing and showcase their talent worked exceptionally. This was one of the better AEW shows in a bit and that is nice to see after some hit and miss results.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Johnny TV – Orange Punch
Blackpool Combat Club b. Brian Cage/Lee Moriarty and Top Flight – Seatbelt to Darius
Hologram b. Beast Mortos – Crucifix
Thunder Rosa b. Maya World – Seated cobra clutch
Conglomeration b. Premiere Athletes – Cross armbreaker to Daivari
Lance Archer b. ??? – Blackout
FTR b. MxM Collection – Shatter Machine to Mansoor
Pac b. Lio Rush – Brutalizer

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Death Before Dishonor 2024
Date: July 26, 2024
Location: Esports Stadium, Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s the second of three pay per views from Ring Of Honor and the show has quite the variety. First up, the World Title will be on the line as Mark Briscoe defends against Roderick Strong. Other than that we have Athena defending the Women’s Title against Queen Aminata and the Undisputed Kingdom defending the Tag Team Titles against Tomohiro Ishii and Kyle O’Reilly. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: MxM Collection vs. Spanish Announce Project

That would be Mason and Mansoor, formerly known as the Maximum Male Models in WWE. Mansoor shoulders Serpentico down to start and it’s time to strike a pose. A finger tip tag brings Mason in as we keep hearing audio from the production team. Serpentico can’t do much so it’s off to the bigger Angelico, who gets caught in the corner.

A standing legdrop gives Mason two and it’s back to Mansoor for a spinebuster. Mason’s running hip attack sends Angelico outside and more pose striking ensues. Back up and Serpentico takes over on Mansoor’s arm, with Angelico adding a middle rope elbow to the shoulder. Serpentico mocks the posing, allowing Mansoor to bring Mason back in. Mason gets low bridged to the floor but is fine enough to come back in with a spinebuster.

Everything breaks down and Mansoor is dropped back first onto the turnbuckle. Serpentico hits a big suicide dive for two but Mansoor flips back over to Mason for the tag. House is cleaned in a hurry and an assisted double underhook implant DDT (the Centerfold) finishes Serpentico at 9:08.

Rating: C+. This was all about the Collection’s charisma and it was on full display, as it should have been. They were a lot of fun and had the crowd loving what they were doing, which is a great sign for their future. At the same time, the match went longer than it should have and they could have cut out of the heat segments from the Project, as it felt like they just did the same thing twice.

Post match Maria Kanellis comes out to applaud, with the Collection seeming intrigued.

Zero Hour: Angelica Risk vs. Marina Shafir

Mother’s Milk ends Risk at 58 seconds.

Zero Hour: Infantry vs. Griff Garrison/Anthony Henry

Maria is here with Garrison and Henry, the latter of whom is a substitute for Cole Karter. Henry gets knocked into the corner to start and it’s ff to Garrison. Bravo gets sent into the wrong corner so Henry can stomp away, setting up a leg crank. The posing STF goes on for a bit, followed by the running knees in the corner for two.

Garrison chops away so Henry can get in a kick to the back. Bravo gets in a quick knockdown though and the diving tag brings in Dean to clean house. Book Camp is broken up though and a superplex into a double stomp gets two on Dean. The screaming Maria gets on the apron but gets knocked into Garrison’s arm, allowing Boot Camp to finish Henry at 9:08.

Rating: C. The problem here is it felt like a match that we’ve seen before, even if it wasn’t a regular team. The Infantry has been bouncing around the tag division for the better part of ever and never feel like they’re getting anywhere. The match was completely run of the mill as well and could have easily been dropped without adding even more content to the needlessly packed pre-show.

Zero Hour: Top Flight vs. Outrunners

Erica Lee is here with the Outrunners. Darius gets knocked into the corner to start and Floyd gets to pose a bit. Magnum comes in and gets dropkicked down, meaning it’s off to Dante for a headlock. The fans are split as Floyd gets double legtripped down but Erica grabs the foot so the Outrunners can take over.

Alternating beatings have Darius in trouble and a clothesline gets two. The sleeper is broken up though and it’s Dante coming in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Floyd is kneed to the floor, setting up stereo running shots to Magnum in the corner. Dante dives onto Floyd and what looked to be an F5 (the camera missed the setup) finishes Magnum at 8:33.

Rating: C. This was pretty boring for the most part with Top Flight’s comeback being the highlight. The Outrunners work best in short spurts or the joke starts to wear thin in a hurry. That was the case here, as you can only watch so much of the same beatdown before it stops being interesting. At least the right team won.

The opening video takes a pretty standard look at the main matches.

Komander vs. Beast Mortos

Mortos wastes no time in knocking knocking him down but Komander is back up with the kicks to the legs. A dropkick sends Mortos outside but the big running flip dive is pulled out of the air. Komander gets powerbombed into Alex Abrahantes against the barricade and they head back inside. Mortos chops the spit out of him but Komander grabs a quick rollup for two. Back up and Mortos drops him again, meaning it’s time to pull off a turnbuckle cover.

Komander gets in a quick shot for a breather but gets caught on top to cut him off again. A step up hurricanrana off the apron sends Mortos to the floor and a tornado DDT off the apron makes it worse. Komander walks the ropes to set up a big flip dive, followed by a poisonrana for two back inside. A dive hits raised feet though and one heck of a pop up Samoan drop gives Mortos two.

Komander reverses a backbreaker into a crucifix driver and then spins into a Canadian Destroyer. Mortos shrugs that off and hits a spear to leave them both down. They slowly get up and head to the same corner, where Mortos hits the super gorilla press slam. Komander is back with another Destroyer, only to miss the Cielito Lindo. The spinning piledriver gives Mortos the pin at 13:30.

Rating: B-. It was a good speed vs. power match and that made for a nice opener, though it never quite hit that next level. What mattered here was giving the fans something to get them going. Komander is a fun high flier, but there are a lo of them running around and it makes it difficult to really stand out. Mortos on the other hand always stands out, but his lack of success holds him back a bit. That being said, nice job of getting things going here.

The MxM Collection calls out FTR for Collision. These guys are great but that’s probably a loss.

We recap the Tag Team Title match, which is pretty much just an announcement.

Tag Team Titles: Kingdom vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Kyle O’Reilly

Ishii and O’Reilly, in their second match ever as a team, are challenging. Bennett and Ishii start things off and chop it out, with Ishii getting the better of things to take over. O’Reilly comes in to crank on Taven’s arm but Taven is back up with a nice dropkick. Back up and O’Reilly takes over on the arm and Ishii comes in for some cranking of his own. O’Reilly adds the abdominal stretch with the knuckles to the ribs, followed by strikes to both champions.

Bennett manages to knock Ishii into the corner, including a slap. The fans know he screwed up and Ishii fights over to O’Reilly to take over. Everything breaks down and Ishii is sent outside for a suicide dive, only to have O’Reilly hit a running knee off the apron. Back in and Bennett cuts off O’Reilly’s Rebound lariat, allowing Taven to crush him back to the floor. The champs take turns with the beating back inside and Taven adds an elbow for two.

O’Reilly finally kicks his way to freedom and it’s back to Ishii to clean house. A pair of suplexes gets two on Taven but Bennett is back in with the Hail Mary…but Ishii pops back up. Everything breaks down again and Ishii’s brainbuster sets up a top rope knee to Bennett’s back. Taven makes the save and hits the frog splash before all four are knocked down.

They all get up for the slugout with the champs getting the better of the exchange of strikes. O’Reilly is back up with some kicks of his own, setting up Ishii’s super brainbuster. Chasing The Dragon gets two with Taven having to make the save. O’Reilly and Bennett fight over a suplex but here are Kyle Fletcher and Don Callis to interrupt. The distraction lets Bennett hit a low blow to retain the titles at 19:41.

Rating: B. The biggest problem here was the lack of drama, as it was really hard to buy the idea that a new team was going to take the titles here. The Undisputed Kingdom isn’t a great team but they’ve been champions for a long time and it is going to take some time to get the titles off of them. Ishii and O’Reilly did well, but they aren’t a regular team and probably shouldn’t have gotten the shot here, as it made all of the other tag matches coming into the show feel worthless.

We recap Leyla Hirsch vs. Diamante. They hate each other, they’ve had a bunch of matches, tonight it’s a Texas Death Match.

Diamante vs. Leyla Hirsch

Texas Death Match, meaning submission or Last Man Standing rules to win (again, not a Texas Death Match but it’s what Tony Khan calls it). Diamante jumps her on the ramp to start fast and throws her off the stage and through a table for nine. They go to the ring where Diamante sends in a bunch of chairs. Hirsch is tied in the Tree of Woe and one of the chairs is dropkicked into her face.

The bloody Hirsch comes back with a chair shot of her own to take get a breather and the now bleeding Diamante is sent into a chair in the corner as well. The thumbtacks are poured out and a sunset German superplex sends Diamante crashing into them for the nasty landing. Hirsch’s moonsault only hits tacks though (geez), allowing Diamante to grab some duct tape to attach Hirsch to the rope. Diamante whips out a shoe to keep up the beating and then grabs a shoe with tacks embedded.

The tacks go into Hirsch’s head and, since she’s tied up, Diamante can set up a bunch of chairs and a barbed wire board. Diamante has to loosen her up to do anything though, allowing Hirsch to hit a Samoan drop through the board. It’s ladder time and let’s throw in a table as well. That takes WAY too long to set up but Hirsch manages to tape Diamante to the table and go up for a huge moonsault off the top of the ladder through said table for the win at 15:39.

Rating: B-. Maybe it was the fact that we just saw them have a hardcore match a few weeks ago or how long it took to set up a bunch of the spots but I couldn’t get into this one. The bleeding made things more interesting and it was certainly intense, but this missed that high level for some reason. It kind of felt like violence for violence’s sake, and when I just saw the thumbtacks and bleeding in Blood & Guts on Wednesday, this didn’t have the same impact.

We recap the Pure Rules Title match, with Lee Moriarty surviving a Proving Ground match to earn the shot. This is Wheeler Yuta’s first title defense since January.

Pure Rules Title: Wheeler Yuta vs. Lee Moriarty

Yuta is defending and they waste no time in going to the grappling. Moriarty takes him down and cranks on the arm, even throwing in a bicep pose. Yuta reverses into a leglock and Moriarty has to use his first break. A headscissors slows Moriarty down even more and Yuta switches over to a hammerlock. Moriarty reverses into a hold of his own and Yuta uses his own break to even things up.

Yuta backs him into the corner and tries to sneak in a right hand but gets caught, earning his official warning. Moriarty uses the distraction to get in a right hand of his own and since this is a Pure Rules match, it’s absolutely devastating. Yuta is back up with an armbar to make Moriarty use his second break. Back up and they slug it out with Moriarty grabbing a suplex to take over.

Moriarty catches him on top again and grabs a top rope superplex for the big crash and a double down. Back up and Moriarty punches him (official warning) into the Border City Stretch, with Yuta using his second rope break. They fight to the apron and crash out to the floor for another double breather. Back in and Moriarty faceplants him down, with Yuta’s shoulder giving him trouble.

A neck and arm crank makes Yuta use his last rope break. Yuta puts on a quick Cattle Mutilation and Moriarty burns his last break as well. Moriarty muscles him up for a crash down onto the apron and out to the floor, only to have Yuta come back in with a Fujiwara armbar. That’s reverses into a rollup with Moriarty using the ropes (legal, as they were out of rope breaks) to steal the pin and the title at 19:57.

Rating: B. They were going back and forth and it was a technical showcase, but it’s kind of hard to suddenly get interested in a title that hasn’t been defended in almost seven months. It doesn’t help that neither guy is all that interesting in the first place and it added up to a match where I was interested in some of the things that we being done but not the people doing them.

We recap Billie Starkz defending the Women’s TV Title against Red Velvet. Starkz cheated to win the title and Velvet doesn’t like it, so it’s time to come after the belt herself.

Women’s TV Title: Billie Starkz vs. Red Velvet

Starkz is defending. Velvet starts by hammering on the ribs, only to have Starkz grab her by the hair to take over. An electric chair drop onto the top turnbuckle rocks Velvet and Starkz ties her in the Tree Of Woe. After Velvet crashes back down, Starkz chops away in the corner and gets in some choking. A suplex out of the corner gives Velvet two and her belly to back gets two.

Velvet grabs a DDT for two more and there’s a running knee to the back of the head against the ropes. Starkz gets in a quick shot and goes up but a super victory roll gives Velvet two. Another knockdown lets Starkz grab a choke, followed by a brainbuster onto the knee for two more. Starkz: “I’m gonna kill you!” Riccaboni: “You’ll go to jail if you do that.” Velvet slips out and hits the Mix for two.

They go up top and Starkz is knocked to the floor, where she injures her neck again. Commentary doesn’t buy it and since it’s a real, legitimate injury, the medics put her back inside. Starkz is of course fine and hits a knee to the head to drop Velvet again. Velvet pops up and then plays dead, setting up a slam off the middle rope. The flipping faceplant (basically Natural Selection) gives Velvet the pin and the title at 14:53.

Rating: B. Thankfully they didn’t go too far with the faked injury as it would have been terrible to see Velvet fall for the obvious ruse. Velvet winning is a nice moment, though it’s hard to get around the idea of thinking of her as the woman obsessed with cooking. Athena and her Minions had to lose something though and this works as well as anything else.

We recap the Dark Order vs. Dustin Rhodes/the Von Erichs. This is for a spot in the Six Man Tag Team Title match at tomorrow’s Battle Of The Belts, which has so much wrong with it that I don’t know where to start. Other than that, it’s an established team vs. three Texans.

Dark Order vs. Dustin Rhodes/Von Erichs

The Order jumps them to start and the fight heads to the floor, with none of the six in the ring as the opening bell rings. We settle down to Ross Sling Blading Uno and it’s off to Marshall for a slam on Silver. Everything breaks down and Dustin clotheslines Reynolds to the floor. Uno uses the distraction to get in a cowbell shot to Ross and the slow beating begins.

Ross manages to flip out of a double belly to back suplex though and it’s Marshall coming back in to clean house. The villains cut him off and knocks him to the floor though, with Uno’s suplex into a front facelock keeping him in trouble. Rhodes tries to make a save but gets sent into the steps, allowing the Order to mock the cowboy hat. Back in and a piledriver gets two on Marshall but Reynolds misses a moonsault.

Marshall powerslams his way out of trouble and it’s back to Rhodes to clean house. Cross Rhodes gets two on Reynolds with Uno making the save. Everything breaks down and Marshall is sent over the barricade, leaving Dustin to get enziguried into a Stunner into a bridging German suplex for two. Rhodes slips out of a Shattered Dreams attempt and hits a Canadian Destroyer into his own Shattered Dreams. Well the attempt at least as Silver breaks it up, only to get clawed by Marshall. The Claw goes on as Rhodes hits Shattered Dreams into the Final Reckoning to finish Reynolds at 14:22.

Rating: C. Remember how I said it was hard to get interested in a hardcore match when I saw Diamante and Leyla Hirsch have a street fight a few weeks ago? Well it was even harder when I saw the Von Erichs and the Order have a match this week on the regular Ring Of Honor show. It also doesn’t help that the Von Erichs are still not that interesting and that was on full display here.

Post match Katsuyori Shibata comes out to praise the Von Erichs.

We recap the TV Title match, which is a six way elimination match without much in the way of a setup.

TV Title: Atlantis Jr. vs. Johnny TV vs. Lio Rush vs. Shane Taylor vs. Brian Cage vs. Lee Johnson

Atlantis Jr. is defending and this is under elimination rules. Rush knocks Atlantis to the floor to start and hits a big slingshot dive to take him down fast. The villains consider an alliance but it winds up with Cage and Taylor trading clotheslines and neither going down. Atlantis is back in to take over on Cage and send him outside. Rush gets caught in an inverted Gory Special but Rush slips out and hits a Stunner for two.

Johnson is back in with a neckbreaker and kick to the chest for two but TV is in to rake Johnson’s eyes. TV is back in for a superkick to Taylor, who chokebombs him for two. Back in and Rush dodges Taylor until Taylor hits a running shooting star press for two of his own. Atlantis gets back up and hits a suicide dive onto Taylor, setting up Johnson’s big running flip dive. TV adds his own big flip dive and Cage hits one of his own. Taylor’s dive is cut off and everyone goes after him for the big beatdown. Taylor cleans house but gets knocked down, setting up Rush’s frog splash to get rid of Taylor at 9:52.

Johnson avoids another frog splash and grabs the Big Shot Drop for the elimination of Rush at 11:24. TV and Cage stomp Johnson down in the corner and a double suplex gets two, despite the referee’s hand hitting the mat a third time. The beating is on in the corner again until Johnson sends TV out to the floor. Back in and a powerbomb/Flying Chuck combination gets rid of Johnson at 15:01.

TV sends Cage to the floor bu Atlantis is back up with the chops. Cage grabs the apron superplex to plant Atlantis but Taya Valkyrie comes in for a distraction. The low blow staggers Cage, who is right back with the Drill Claw to get rid of TV at 18:24. We’re down to Cage vs. Atlantis for the title and Cage nails a discus lariat. The Drill Claw is loaded up but Atlantis reverses into a cradle to retain at 19:00.

Rating: B. The action was good and there were some cool spots, but I’m still having trouble getting into Atlantis. He’s still just kind of there but happens t have a title. I could still go for Johnson to win the title and finally get somewhere, but that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon. Odds are someone wins it back in Mexico, but for now, just another long match on a long show full of them.

We recap Athena vs. Queen Aminata for the Women’s Title. Athena has been champion for the better part of ever but has been faking a knee injury. Aminata doesn’t like this and is coming for the title.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Queen Aminata

Athena is defending and gets a big intro from Lexi Nair, telling a story about a legendary warrior’s destiny. They go to the mat with Aminata not being able to break Athena’s bridge. Athena sends her outside and hits the running dive and adds a ram into the barricade. The running knees only hit steps but so does Aminata’s running hip attack.

A gordbuster plants Aminata on the floor but she chops away back inside. Aminata strikes her down and hits a running boot in the ropes. A double stomp gets two on Athena, who is back up with the big right hand for two. Aminata is back up with a German suplex into the corner but a springboard spinning…I think stomp misses.

They forearm it out until Athena pulls her into a half crab, which she swaps out for a crossface. That’s broken up too so Athena throws her over the top and onto the steps. Back in and the O Face retains the title at 20:03 as the seemingly never ending reign is going to continue.

Rating: B-. I can go with Athena retaining the title over Aminata but Athena has to lose that thing sooner or later. That being said, Aminata winning the title wouldn’t have been the best fit. She is only starting to get over her pretty lame start in AEW/Ring Of Honor and having her get the huge win would seem weird. Someone is going to have to beat Athena at some point but Aminata didn’t feel like the right choice.

We recap the World Title match, with Roderick Strong winning a #1 contenders match and then attacking Mark Briscoe.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Mark Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong

Briscoe is defending and they take their time to start. Strong takes over on the mat but Briscoe slips out and it’s an early standoff. They head to the floor with Briscoe sending him into the barricade but the Froggy Bow hits raised knees back inside. Back up and Strong strikes away in the corner, only for Briscoe to fire off some chops.

A running big boot staggers Strong again and he goes outside, where Briscoe hits a running dropkick through the ropes. They fight back to the apron where Briscoe is rammed into the steel to give us some blood. Strong grabs a backbreaker into an Angle Slam into anther backbreaker. The Stronghold sends the rather bloody Briscoe over to the ropes. Briscoe makes the clothesline comeback and goes up, only to get super Angle Slammed back down for two more.

We get the required exchange of strikes with Briscoe getting the better of things. The Jay Driller is broken up and cue the Kingdom, with Mike Bennett getting in a belt shot for two. The Sick Kick gives Strong two so here is the Conglomeration to chase the Kingdom off. Briscoe fights up again and they head up top, where Strong gets knocked bard hard. The Froggy Bow retains the title at 19:30.

Rating: B. This felt as big as it could have on such short notice. There was almost no build to the match and that wasn’t going to help anything going in. While Briscoe doesn’t need to be champion and it doesn’t really add anything to him, it wouldn’t have felt right to give Strong the title either. I’m not sure if it was good enough to headline a pay per view, but it was a perfectly fine World Title match, albeit with a ton of blood.

Overall Rating: B. The theme that I kept coming back to here is the same thing that has been a problem with Ring Of Honor since its inception: so many things on here felt thrown together at the last minute. The majority of the matches either had no story or very little story (TV Title, Tag Team Titles, World Title and so on).

As is always the case: the wrestling is good because the wrestlers work hard to make the biggest shows feel important, but if you’ve watched week after week, this show felt like it was from another promotion. I would hope there was a reason to believe that is going to change, but there is nothing to indicate that is going to happen. Solid show, but not exactly the norm week to week around here.

Results
MxM Collection b. Spanish Announce Project – Centerfold to Serpentico
Marina Shafir b. Angelica Risk – Mother’s Milk
Infantry b. Griff Garrison/Anthony Henry – Boot Camp to Henry
Top Flight b. Outrunners – Faceplant to Magnum
Beast Mortos b. Komander – Spinning piledriver
Undisputed Kingdom b. Kyle O’Reilly/Tomohiro Ishii – Low blow to Ishii
Leyla Hirsch b. Diamante – Moonsault through a table
Lee Moriarty b. Wheeler Yuta – Rollup with ropes
Red Velvet b. Billie Starkz – Flipping faceplant
Dustin Rhodes/Von Erichs b. Dark Order- final Reckoning to Reynolds
Atlantis Jr. b. Shane Taylor, Johnny TV, Brian Cage, Lee Johnson and Lio Rush – Rollup to Taylor
Athena b. Queen Aminata – O Face
Mark Briscoe b. Roderick Strong – Froggy Bow

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Ring Of Honor
Date: July 4, 2024
Location: PPL Center, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re rapidly approaching Death Before Dishonor and there are a few matches you can probably guess from here, though nothing has been announced. In this case, there is a good chance that we will see some of them officially set, though some of the titles do not exactly have apparent challengers. Let’s get to it.

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

The Infantry welcomes us to the show, which they will be hosting. After confirming that this isn’t about the Will Smith movie, they send us to the opening sequence.

Opening sequence.

Dark Order vs. Bang Bang Gang

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if the Dark Order wins or survives the time limit, they get a future title shot. Oddly enough, this is the Juice Robinson/Gunns version of the team, meaning they can have a Proving Ground match but not defend the titles. Austin and Uno trade shoulders to start with Austin being taken into the Order corner. Everything breaks down and the Gang misses triple splashes in the corner, allowing the Order to hammer away.

Colten gets caught in a triple pose, with Robinson breaking it up for a distraction. That’s enough for Colten to take over on Reynolds in the corner with a snap suplex getting two. Robinson’s clothesline gets the same and we hit the chinlock. Reynolds fights up and hits a neckbreaker, allowing the tag to Uno to pick up the pace. The Gang all wind up in 619 position and get kicked in the head for two on Robinson. Reynolds kicks Robinson to the floor but walks into 3:10 to Yuma to give the Gang the pin at 7:23.

Rating: C+. That’s about the ceiling for the Dark Order and it isn’t a bad idea. They tested the champions just enough before the loss and that’s all they should have done. The Gang is better than the Dark Order and there was no reason to set up a title match. Perfectly fine stuff here and it didn’t overstay its welcome.

The Infantry talk about the rest of the card.

We look at Atlantis Jr. winning the Ring Of Honor TV Title in Arena Mexico. Fletcher wants a rematch.

Athena and the Minions have recruited Tony Deppen (not named) as their security guard. Queen Aminata and Red Velvet come in to say that Aminata is getting the Women’s Title shot against the still injured Athena at Death Before Dishonor. Billie Starkz will defend the North American Title against Velvet too. Athena wants Tony Khan. Those are the matches you knew were coming.

The Infantry talks about various places in Washington DC and plug Honor Club.

Komander/Metalik vs. Kingdom

Another Proving Ground match. Taven chops Komander to start but misses a splash in the corner. Komander strikes away but Bennett comes in for the double teaming. That’s broken up and Komander hands it off to Metalik for the rope walk dropkick and two on Bennett. Everything breaks down and Metalik hits a dive to take both of them down on the floor. Komander adds a springboard moonsault to drop the champs again as commentary is getting into this.

Back in and Metalik gets catapulted into a kick to the head from Taven as we get the five minute call (which we didn’t get in the first match). A sunset bomb gets Metalik out of trouble and it’s back to Komander to pick up the pace. Komander hits a tornado DDT to plant Taven and Cielito Lindo gets two with Bennett making the save. An assisted moonsaults the same, albeit without the save this time. Back up and Rockstar Supernova out of nowhere gives Taven the pin at 8:05.

Rating: B-. This was about as good as it was going to be as Komander and Metalik might as well have been “and here are our resident luchadors”. That is a team who can do well enough with just about anyone and it worked well enough here. The Kingdom really needs some fresh challengers though and I don’t quite see these two as those challenges.

Mason Madden and Mansoor, the MxM Collection, are coming.

The Infantry go to Mount Rushmore and hype Death Before Dishonor.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Lee Moriarty

Another Proving Ground match under Pure Rules as Ring Of Honor remembers Yuta is a thing around here. Yuta takes him down for an ankle crank to start before hitting a basement dropkick for two. Back up and Yuta cranks on a cravate but Moriarty reverses into an armbar. Moriarty even bridges back onto the arm for a rather nasty looking bend. The cross arm choke has Yuta in more trouble but he reverses into the elbows, with Moriarty needing his first rope break.

Yuta snaps off a German suplex for two but Moriarty pulls him into the Border City Stretch. That means Yuta has to use his first rope with less than three minutes to go. The Stretch goes on again and is quickly reversed into a cradle to leave them both down with under two minutes to go. They trade rollups for two each and keep going with a minute left. The reversals go on for over a minute until they slug it out as time expires at 10:00. Therefore, Moriarty gets a future title shot.

Rating: B-. This is only the second time a challenger has survived a Proving Ground match and that is a great thing to see. The concept is still overused but having it actually set up a title match, likely at the pay per view, is a good thing. At the same time though, the six month hiatus of the title which didn’t really seem to matter is a very bad sign for the whole thing. It just doesn’t feel important and that is something they might want to address. Like say by getting rid of the thing.

Post match Yuta stares Moriarty down but Shane Taylor Promotions scare him off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Well it certainly felt somewhat more important. The show was taking place on the Fourth of July so it wasn’t like it was going to be drawing a huge audience in the first place. They set some things up for Death Before Dishonor, though not having a World Title match with three shows left before the pay per view is not a great look. They felt like they went with the easiest path this week and that makes sense given the circumstances of the holiday, plus what needed to get done.

Results
Bang Bang Gang b. Dark Order – 3:10 to Yuma to Reynolds
Kingdom b. Komander/Metalik – Rockstar Supernova to Komander
Wheeler Yuta vs. Lee Moriarty went to a time limit draw

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Collision
Date: June 15, 2024
Location: Covelli Center, Youngstown, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re closing in on Forbidden Door but we have a holiday weekend to get through first. As a result, we get Christian Cage celebrating Father’s Day, which could go in a variety of directions. Other than that, CMLL Hechicero is here to face Dalton Castle, which could be rather good. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Christian Cage welcomes us to the one year anniversary of Collision. He put this show on the map the first week it was on the air when he won the TNT Title (not quite) and tonight he’s here to celebrate the most important holiday of the year.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Lio Rush/Rocky Romero/TMDK

Rush and Danielson start things off with Rush flipping around to make Danielson miss. Yuta can’t catch Rush either so it’s off to Romero, who gets pummeled into the corner. Castagnoli comes in and gets caught in a hurricanrana, allowing the tag to Mikey Nicholls (part of TMDK, along with Shane Haste). Danielson pulls him into the LeBell Lock but everything breaks down, including the hold. Instead, Danielson fires off the kicks to the chest but gets knocked to the apron as we take a break.

Back with Romero hitting the Forever Clotheslines on Danielson, who grabs a super atomic drop of all things for the break. Castagnoli comes in and gets to clean house, including going to the floor to keep up the beating. Back in and Nicholls has to break up the Swing to Haste so Moxley grabs a quick cutter. A double clothesline puts Moxley an Nicholls down, with Rush adding a frog splash for two on Moxley. Danielson is back in with the running knee to Nicholls but gets knocked outside again. The Swing sends Romero flying and Moxley Death Riders Rush for the pin at 13:23.

Rating: B-. What else were you expecting from an established team against a makeshift team? I get the idea of facing wrestlers from New Japan before Forbidden Door, but it would be nice if more than one of the eight people involved had a match on the show announced. Not a bad match, but it was more waiting around for the Club to win than anything else.

Post match Moxley grabs the mic and says Forbidden Door will be Tetsuya Naito’s final chance at the title. Moxley is coming to end him once and for all.

Video on MJF vs. Rush.

Here are the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn for a chat. Caster talks about how he has been fined $5,000 by the Young Bucks, but that isn’t what the fans want. The fans want to see them do their thing and for the Acclaimed to win the Tag Team Titles on Dynamite. Bowens talks about how they’ll do anything to get the titles back but here is Brandon Cutler to cut off the rap. More fining ensues but here is Christopher Daniels to say Tony Khan has reversed the fines. Daniels drops Cutler and the Acclaimed give him Scissor Me Timbers. We needed a full segment for that announcement? With two authority figures?

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Thunder Rosa

No DQ and Purrazzo jumps her from behind during the entrance. Rosa sends things outside and hits a dive off the ropes to the floor. Back up and Purrazzo slams the arm into the steps and it’s time to bring in the weapons. Rosa’s Death Valley Driver gets two but she takes too long getting a table, which is dropkicked into her face.

We take a break and come back with Rosa kicking a chair into Purrazzo’s face and Samoan dropping her onto an unopened table. Purrazzo catches Rosa on top and ties her in the Tree of Woe for a running shoulder. Rosa is right back up to put a trashcan over Purrazzo’s head and then dives off a table to crush her in the corner. Purrazzo fights back and tries the Venus de Milo but can’t quite get it on. Instead she goes outside and grabs a camera from a photographer, which she uses to knock Rosa silly. A double arm crank in the ropes finishes the unconscious Rosa at 10:26.

Rating: C+. If you’re going to have what seems to be some big blowoff match, or at least what should be a major match in their feud, you might not want to have about a third of it taking place during a break. I like the ending with Purrazzo knocking her senseless but then making sure she won submission anyway as it suits her and should give Purrazzo a nice boost. Rosa has been missing something since her return and it didn’t get much better here.

Video on the first year of Collision.

Dalton Castle vs. Hechicero

Castle even has the Outrunners as some of his Boys while Hechicero has the Gates of Agony. Hechicero takes Castle down to start but has to spin out of a quick Bang A Rang attempt. Back up and Castle grabs a suplex before kicking Hechicero square in the mask. Hechicero is right back with a running knee in the corner and a headscissors driver for the pin at 3:50.

Rating: C. What in the world was that? This was the match that had me the most intrigued and then it just ends like that? I was hoping this would get some time and let Castle showcase himself but we just didn’t get anything close here. For the life of me I don’t get how there isn’t a better use for Castle, even if it isn’t as a featured star. He’s good enough for a bigger spot.

Post match the beatdown is on so the Outrunners come in and…are taken down with ease. Daniel Garcia and Matt Menard run in with chairs for the save.

Dante Martin is ready for a TNT Title qualifying match against Lee Moriarty tonight. Lio Rush comes in to wish him luck and says he’ll see them later. Tony Schiavone is confused.

Here is the Patriarchy to introduce Christian Cage. Christian talks about how this is the anniversary of the death of Buddy Wayne (Nick’s dad), which is the best thing that ever happened to Nick. Speaking of Nick, he has a Father’s Day card for Christian, talking about how he hopes to be as good as Christian.

Killswitch has made a painting of Christian, which he thinks is ok, before raving about the card again. As for Killswitch, why can’t he be more like Nick? Killswitch goes to leave, but Christian calls him back. Cage wants the World Title but he’ll start with winning the Trios Titles. It’s his present to his children, just like Tony Khan’s father gave him the money to start AEW. Well from now on, this is Christian’s company. He is the greatest signing in this company’s history and now he is Tony Khan’s father. Well at least that’s something new for him to do.

The Bang Bang Gang know they have a lot of challengers and the Patriarchy can get in line.

TNT Title Qualifying Match: Dante Martin vs. Lee Moriarty

They trade takedown attempts to start and neither get anywhere. Moriarty takes him down by the leg but misses a charge and crashes out to the floor. There’s a dropkick through the ropes to drop Moriarty again and we take a break. Back with Martin hitting a springboard spinning crossbody for two but Moriarty faceplants him down. The Border City Stretch goes on and Moriarty even stomps the hand, only to have Martin make the rope anyway. Martin comes back with a knee out of the corner and a frog splash for the pin at 8:53.

Rating: C+. This was pretty much exactly what you probably expected it to be, meaning that while the action was good, the result wasn’t quite shocking. Martin has been in those ladder matches before as he’s there for the high flying aspect, while Moriarty is little more than part of a losing team. Perfectly fine use of a match, but not much in the way of drama.

Post match Shane Taylor Promotions comes in for the beatdown but Darius Martin and Action Andretti make the failed save attempt as they’re beaten down as well. Lio Rush comes in to make the real save as Dante seems to have suffered an arm injury.

Hikaru Shida is in the Owen Hart Cup.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Anthony Henry

Roderick Strong, with the Kingdom, is on commentary. They go to the mat to start with O’Reilly backdropping hits way out of an armbar. Henry grabs a Russian legsweep and kicks away, but O’Reilly just gets annoyed. Back up and O’Reilly suplexes him into the cross armbreaker for the win at 2:50.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Bang Bang Gang vs. House Of Black

Non-title, with commentary making it clear that the Bang Bang Gang is NOT using the Freebird Rule. Black runs Robinson over to start and then sits up to freak Robinson out a bit. Austin comes in, hits Black in the face, and then hands it off to Colten, who gets to face King. The Gang is quickly cleared from the ring but run back in to cut off the dive. The brawl goes back to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Robinson snapping off a suplex to Black, followed by a leg lariat for two. Robinson grabs the chinlock (“ASK HIM!”) but spends too much time shouting about a CANNONBALL before he misses one. Matthews comes in and gets to clean house, including a Jackhammer to Austin. The top rope Meteora connects but Matthews hurts his knee on the landing.

We take another break and come back with Matthews having been taken to the back. Robinson’s Cannonball gets two on King, who manages a shot of his own and brings Black back in. A German suplex gets two on Austin but Colten’s running shot to the back gets the same. The 3:10 To Yuma hits King but he isn’t legal. Cue Pac to distract Austin, allowing Black to hit the End for the pin at 18:24.

Rating: B-. Oh that knee did not seem like a good thing and now all we can do is wait and see how it is going. Matthews is one of the more entertaining guys in all of AEW and it would be terrible to see him added to their already long injured list. In theory the House is coming after the Trios Titles again, but now we’ll have to see just how bad things are. In other words, the result might not matter, which is a shame as it was a pretty good match.

Post match the Patriarchy pops up on screen, revealing that they have laid out Matthews with a Conchairto to end the show. That’s a really scary sign for Matthews, but I wonder if they had something similar planned with or without the knee injury.

Overall Rating: C+. That’s how Collision works. It’s a show where it feels like the biggest stars aren’t going to bother, leaving a bunch of things that don’t feel overly important. There are things happening, but what was the big development here? Purrazzo winning? Martin qualifying for a match he isn’t going to win? Between this and Rampage, it’s a lot of time being spent on things that don’t feel overly important, especially with Dynamite so crammed full. As usual, Collision was ok, but it’s not something you need to watch straight through.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club b. Lio Rush/Rocky Romero/TMDK – Death Rider to Rush
Deonna Purrazzo b. Thunder Rosa – Double arm crank in the ropes
Hechicero b. Dalton Castle – Headscissors driver
Dante Martin b. Lee Moriarty – Frog splash
Kyle O’Reilly b. Anthony Henry – Cross armbreaker
House Of Black b. Bang Bang Gang – The End to Austin

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

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Collision
Date: June 8, 2024
Location: Mid-American Center, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We have about three weeks to go before Forbidden Door and there is a chance we’ll see some more build towards it this week. Toni Storm is set to defend her Women’s Title against Mina Shirakawa and has a warmup match against Lady Frost this week, which could see Shirakawa get involved. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. FTR

For the same of simplicity, I’ll only refer to Cash Wheeler as “Wheeler” and Wheeler Yuta as “Yuta”. Wheeler (in long tights for a change, just like Harwood) wrestles Yuta to the mat to start and it’s off to Castagnoli vs. Harwood. They go around the ropes to start until Castagnoli uppercuts him out to the floor. Back in and Harwood hits a hard chop but Castagnoli knocks him right back down.

Yuta comes in to strike away in the corner and a backsplash gets two. A hard shot to the face gets Harwood out of trouble and it’s back to Wheeler to uppercut the heck out of Yuta. FTR catapults Yuta throat first into the bottom rope for two but he’s right back over to Castagnoli for the tag anyway. Wheeler breaks up the Swing on Harwood but we get stereo Sharpshooters from Harwood and Castagnoli. An exchange of slaps break those up and everything breaks down again with the fights heading outside.

We take a break and come back with Castagnoli grabbing a superplex for two on Harwood. Yuta comes in to cut off Wheeler but Harwood is back with a spinebuster for two of his own. Everyone is down for a bit before Wheeler gets Giant Swung into the dropkick from Yuta for two more. Castagnoli uppercuts the heck out of Wheeler for two and everyone is down again.

Wheeler is back up with a Sharpshooter of his own to Castagnoli, who reverses it int the same thing. That’s broken up and Yuta dives onto Harwood. Wheeler’s piledriver gets two on Castagnoli and we have a minute left in the time limit. Castagnoli superplexes Wheeler and rolls through into the Neutralizer for two. A crossface into the Rings of Saturn have Wheeler in trouble but the time limit expires at 20:00.

Rating: A-. I was wondering why one of these teams was going to lose and I’m rather pleased with the outcome we got instead. FTR can still work a good to great match with anyone and they had me wondering who was going to win all the way until the end. This was one of the best TV matches I’ve seen in a while and I had a lot of fun with the whole thing.

Post match Harwood wants five more minutes but Brandon Cutler is here on behalf of the Young Bucks (oh geez) to say no. Castagnoli swings Cutler and FTR adds the Shatter Machine. Ok so the Bucks don’t work Collision, but Tony Khan was here last week to make a ruling. Is Khan not here this week, or is he just not paying attention or doesn’t care here? Either way, assuming this isn’t just a one off, this is now FIVE PEOPLE with authority in this company. With that out of the way, Castagnoli says a handshake is too much of a cliché, but they’ll have a rematch anytime.

Kyle O’Reilly respects Orange Cassidy but the Undisputed Kingdom interrupts. They think someone or something is missing for O’Reilly and the team is cheering for him tonight. O’Reilly doesn’t want to hear it. Strong tells O’Reilly to remember what he said when he came back, but we don’t know what that is.

Kris Statlander vs. Robyn Renegade

Statlander powers her into the corner to start and fires off some shoulders to the ribs. Renegade slips out of a powerbomb out of the corner but the second attempt works just fine. Saturday Night Fever finishes Renegade at 1:33. Statlander looked awesome here.

Post match Stokely Hathaway praises Statlander and as of earlier today, she is officially in the Owen Hart Foundation Cup.

Post break, Willow Nightingale says she’s in the tournament too and hopes to see Statlander there.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Johnny TV

Taya Valkyrie is here with Johnny. Dustin slugs away to start and goes outside to annoy Taya for a bonus. A hard chop against the barricade rocks TV but Taya’s yelling lets him come back with a running flip dive through the ropes. They both step onto Dustin for some kissing on the steps as we take a break.

Back with Dustin fighting back and getting two off the scoop powerslam. The flipping neckbreaker gives TV two but Dustin hits a Destroyer (with TV appearing to give him a lot of help), setting up Shattered Dreams. The Cross Rhodes gives Dustin two, with Taya putting the foot on the rope. That’s enough for an ejection, with TV using the distraction to hit a superkick for two. Some knees to the face set up a missed Starship Pain and Cross Rhodes gives Dustin the pin at 9:33.

Rating: C+. I know it’s impressive that he’s been around for the better part of ever, but Dustin’s matches haven’t done much for me in a good while. It’s cool to see him still be able to have a decent match this late in his career, but odds are this is going to lead to another “I don’t know if I still have it in me but I’m going to give it all I’ve got” speech. That might work a bit better if we hadn’t heard it from him since AEW started.

Post match Dustin says he’s getting old. He’s got two things to talk about tonight, starting with the fans, who have not abandoned him after almost 37 years. Dustin thanks the production crew before moving on to the second thing, which is Jack Perry. AEW missed Perry when he left and they were happy to see him come back, but then Perry attacked the boss.

Perry has been talking about sacrifice despite being born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Dustin has been sacrificing for his family for decades but Perry has been a follower for years. If you’re a follower for that long, the view never changes. Dustin is facing Perry on Dynamite and Dustin promises to destroy his little punk a**. Perry will never forget his name. This was close enough to Dustin’s normal stuff, and that means it was good enough but not exactly exciting.

Zack Sabre Jr. wants Orange Cassidy at Forbidden Door.

Premiere Athletes vs. Trip Gordon/Dante Leon

The Athletes jump them to start and an over the shoulder Tombstone finishes Leon at 48 seconds.

Scorpio Sky offers to be our hero, our voice, and our champion.

Toni Storm vs. Lady Frost

Non-title and Luther and Mariah May are here with Storm. Frost gets taken down to start and Storm dances a bit before they fight over wrist control. Storm is knocked to the floor for an apron moonsault and we take a break. Back with Storm hitting the hip attack in the corner for two but Frost’s Air Raid Crash gets the same. Frostbite misses and Storm Sky Highs her for two more. Storm Zero finishes Frost at 7:57.

Rating: C+. Storm gets a nice win over someone who can work hard in the ring and that’s about all it needed to be. What mattered here was making Storm feel strong again, which should often be the case for a champion on the way into a big title match. Frost has a unique look, but she sems destined to be there to make people look better.

Post match Storm hugs May and says she knows how rough it is for May to see Storm and Mina Shirakawa fighting. As a distraction, Storm demands that May is entered into the Owen Hart Tournament. They’ll get through this together.

Dante Martin and Lee Moriarty argue over an Owen Tournament spot, with their respective partners getting in on it too.

Samoa Joe and Hook, after arguing about lacrosse, jump the Premiere Athletes.

Daniel Garcia vs. Tate Mayfairs

Mayfairs is from Progress Wrestling and this is his AEW debut. Garcia takes him down into a wristlock to start but Mayfairs knocks Garcia into the corner for some posing. Mayfairs hammers away both on the mat and on their feet but Garcia rolls some swinging neckbreakers. The Saito suplex into the shotgun dropkick into the Red Cross finishes for Garcia at 3:19.

Rating: C+. I guess it’s time for the next Garcia push, though I’m not likely to get my hopes up for this one being the time where everything comes together for him. Garcia has been a project for AEW for a long time now but it has never quite clicked. He’s come a long way, but seeing him make it up to the next level does not seem like the most likely result.

Post match, dancing ensues.

Video on Zeuxis, who faces Mercedes Mone on Dynamite.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Orange Cassidy talks about how bad things are going for him and now he has to deal with Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door. He has to go deal with things, including Kyle O’Reilly tonight.

Orange Cassidy vs. Kyle O’Reilly

O’Reilly takes him to the mat to start as the Undisputed Kingdom is watching from the crowd. Cassidy makes it over to the ropes so O’Reilly sits down and tells him to bring it. Instead Cassidy tries a monkey flip but has to get to the ropes to escape an armbar. They trade rollups for two each before a neck crank sends Cassidy to the floor and us to a break. Back with Cassidy grabbing a headlock takeover but O’Reilly reverses into a sleeper.

That’s reversed into a cradle to give Cassidy two but Cassidy has to escape a standing choke. The hands go into the pockets so O’Reilly sweeps the leg without much trouble. O’Reilly starts in on the arm before switching to a dragon screw legwhip over the ropes. They head outside and the Kingdom distracts O’Reilly but he’s fine enough to dragon screw Cassidy into the barricade. It works so well that O’Reilly does it again and there’s a fourth back inside.

We take another break and come back again with Cassidy working on O’Reilly’s arm. Cassidy sends him outside for a dive, followed by the high crossbody back inside. O’Reilly kicks the leg out and snaps off a German suplex, only for Cassidy to do the same, leaving them both down. Back up and they trade lazy kicks until Cassidy’s Stundog Millionaire is countered into a cross armbreaker.

Cassidy slips out of that and hits a Michinoku Driver for two, followed by a hard kick to the face. The Orange Punch is countered into a chickenwing, with O’Reilly putting his own hand into Cassidy’s pocket in a…..I guess you can call it smart touch. Cassidy powers him up for a Beach Break and a standing Orange Punch staggers O’Reilly. The more regular version finishes for Cassidy at 19:37.

Rating: B. Another good back and forth match here with the two of them both working hard. Cassidy needed a win after having some bad luck as of late, though O’Reilly losing again isn’t the best thing to see. Maybe he joins the Undisputed Era after some more losses, but egads I could go for a long, as in permanent, break from that entire team getting together again. Rather good main event here, with the fans still loving Cassidy.

Post match Trent Beretta and Kyle Fletcher come in to jump Cassidy but O’Reilly makes the…well the failed save attempt actually as the villains take over. Kris Statlander comes in as well and shakes hands with Trent. Willow Nightingale runs in to chase Statlander off to end the show

Overall Rating: B+. The opener was outstanding and the main event was rather good, which is enough to make this a heck of a show. They focused on the wrestling here and as usual, it made for a solid AEW offering. It still amazes me how much easier AEW is to watch when they don’t focus on the top storylines, but I can easily take something like this week to week. Check out the opener, as it was rather awesome.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club vs. FTR went to a time limit draw
Kris Statlander b. Robyn Renegade – Saturday Night Fever
Dustin Rhodes b. Johnny TV – Cross Rhodes
Premiere Athletes b. Trip Gordon/Dante Leon – Over the shoulder Tombstone to Leon
Toni Storm b. Lady Frost – Storm Zero
Daniel Garcia b. Tate Mayfairs – Red Cross
Orange Cassidy b. Kyle O’Reilly – Orange Punch

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Rampage
Date: May 18, 2024
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

We continue the double shot on Saturday with what is usually the lesser of the two shows. In this case we have just over a week to go before Double Or Nothing and that means we should be getting some build up towards the show. Hopefully that isn’t swapped out for more build towards Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Darby Allin joining Team AEW, with quite the positive tilt towards the Young Bucks, who are fighting people who don’t agree with them.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Lee Moriarty

Anthony Ogogo is here with Moriarty. O’Reilly wrestles him to the mat to start but Moriarty rolls up as Schiavone rapid fires upcoming shows. Moriarty’s bodyscissors is broken up so O’Reilly hits a knee to the ribs into a slap to the face. A charging O’Reilly is sent into the buckle and we take a break.

Back with O’Reilly striking away, setting up a belly to back suplex into a kneebar. Moriarty grabs the rope and then snaps O’Reilly’s fingers, setting up a running boot in the corner. O’Reilly suplexes him down again and they trade kicks, with both grabbing the other’s legs. They slap it out until both of them go down before fighting over arm control. O’Reilly grabs a guillotine before kicking him in the chest, followed by the cross armbreaker for the tap at 9:59.

Rating: B. Two technical guys got to have a rather nice technical showcase, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise. O’Reilly has a good mixture of the submission skills and the striking, which is what we were seeing here. It helps that Moriarty can hang in there with anyone and he was getting to show off some rather nice skills here as well.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn have noticed that everyone is getting crazy about authority these days. No one wants to face the Acclaimed though so tonight it’s Anthony Bowens vs. Brian Cage, with an affirmation that EVERYONE loves the Acclaimed.

Rush vs. Cody Chhun

Bull’s Horns in 34 seconds.

Post match Rush wrecks him in a beating that lasts a good bit longer than the match.

Bryan Danielson says FTR won’t be at Dynamite but he will be. The Elite can take a shot but be ready for the consequences.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Robyn Renegade

Purrazzo slips out of a wristlock to start before armdragging her into an armbar. Robyn slips out so Purrazzo pulls her into a cross armbreaker as we take a break. Back with Robyn slugging away with forearms and a big clothesline to put Purrazzo down. A dropkick to the back of the head gives Robyn two but the pumphandle slam is countered with an armdrag. Purrazzo DDT’s the arm into the Fujiwara armbar for the win at 7:14.

Rating: C+. Robyn was showing some fire here until she got her arm wrecked so badly. Purrazzo knows how to take someone apart like she did here and that Fujiwara armbar can seem rather deadly. Hopefully she can do well in her big showdown with Thunder Rosa, though I’m not sure I like her odds of winning.

Post match Purrazzo stays on the arm and even turns it into the Venus de Milo, with Thunder Rosa running in for the save. Rosa checks on Robyn, allowing Purrazzo to get in a cheap shot. Purrazzo runs off but gets caught by Rosa, only to bail into the crowd.

Scorpio Sky is coming back and he’s here for us. If he is on his way back, how can he be here for us?

Sonjay Dutt has a deal with the Elite, which is why it’s Bryan Danielson vs. Satnam Singh on Dynamite.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

Brian Cage vs. Anthony Bowens

Max Caster and Billy Gunn are here too. We get a pose off to start before Bowens grabs a float over DDT for two. Cage powers him into the corner for some shots to the ribs until Bowens snaps off a dragon screw legwhip. Bowens sends him outside, where a running kick is countered into a powerbomb to the post.

We take a break and come back with Bowens grabbing a small package for two. Bowens strikes away and hits a running Fameasser for two more. A DDT onto the apron drops Cage again but Cage kicks him in the back, setting up the apron superplex for two more. The Drill Claw is countered and Bowens kicks him in the chest for two, only for the referee to nearly get bumped. Cage kicks him low and hits the Drill Claw for the win at 11:45.

Rating: C+. Pretty nice stuff here, with Bowens doing a solid job as the underdog. They were playing up the idea that Cage is used to singles matches while Bowens didn’t have a partner as usual. It helps boost Cage back up after his loss to Swerve Strickland, though there wasn’t much else to get interested in here.

Overall Rating: B-. The opener was good, but this was another show that you could completely skip and not miss much at all. On its own that makes for a breezy hour, but as the third hour of a block, it’s not the most engaging sit. There’s not much of a reason to watch this show, though you won’t be disappointed if you do.

Results
Kyle O’Reilly b. Lee Moriarty – Cross armbreaker
Rush b. Cody Chhun – Bull’s Horns
Deonna Purrazzo b. Robyn Renegade
Brian Cage b. Anthony Bowens – Drill Claw

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Collision
Date: May 11, 2024
Location: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re still in Canada, where every arena is apparently named Rogers. The big draw this week is Kyle O’Reilly getting a TNT Title shot against Adam Copeland, which is quite the Canadian showdown. Other than that, you can expect your regular assortment from Collision so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Top Flight

Danielson and Darius start things off, with Nigel thinking the fans are most excited about seeing him. Darius fights out of a wristlock but gets shouldered down for his efforts. It’s off to Dante as Danielson is taken into the corner for some chopping as the fast start continues. Castagnoli comes in and gets headscissored down, with Darius adding a slingshot hilo for one.

Castagnoli isn’t having that and drapes Darius over the top rope for a dropkick from Danielson. The surfboard keeps Darius in trouble as the fans already think this is awesome. Darius is knocked hard to the floor and we take a break. Back with Danielson kicking away at Darius in the corner, only to have Darius use the corner for a Pele kick. Dante comes back in to clean house as Tony thinks Castagnoli is Swedish.

Dante’s frog splash gets two on Castagnoli, who is right back with the Swing into the Sharpshooter. That’s broken up with a Downward Spiral as everything breaks down. Darius dives onto Danielson and Dante’s Nose Dive gets two on Castagnoli. Back in and Danielson hits the running knee, leaving Castagnoli to drop Darius with a running uppercut for the pin at 13:48.

Rating: B-. This was a way to get Danielson back in the ring after his loss to Will Ospreay at Dynasty and to help get him ready for Anarchy In The Arena. It helps the Top Flight are a rather nice team who can work well with anyone. I could go for seeing them get a better spot in AEW but that doesn’t seem likely at the moment. Good match to start the show here.

Post match Danielson gets the mic and asks for some respect for Top Flight. Danielson talks about hearing an AEW chant at the start of this match and that is why he is willing to get back into Anarchy In The Arena. He loves this place and the Elite is not what AEW is all about. The Young Bucks aren’t even here tonight and Danielson is wanting to fight because he loves what AEW represents and he will do anything to protect it. Very fired up stuff from Danielson, and the Bucks not being around makes things even better.

Lee Moriarty vs. Will Ospreay

Roderick Strong, with the Undisputed Kingdom, is on commentary and Shane Taylor is here with Moriarty. Ospreay gets caught in a wristlock to start but flips up to a rather positive reaction. They fight over an exchange of flips until Ospreay snaps off the running hurricanrana to the floor. The slingshot dive takes Moriarty down again and we take a break.

Back with Moriarty working on the neck, including grabbing a cravate. Ospreay breaks that up and nips up to start the comeback, with the fans being rather pleased. A Phenomenal Forearm gives Ospreay two but he backs out of the Tiger Driver 91 attempt. Moriarty uses the distraction to plant him for two, only to get caught with the Cheeky Nandos kick. Taylor gets superkicked off the apron but the Oscutter is countered into the Border City Stretch. That’s broken up as well and Stormbreaker finishes for Ospreay at 10:26.

Rating: B-. Ospreay gets another win as he is on his way to the title match with Strong, which brings up the issue: Ospreay feels like he is punching WAY down to Strong and the International Title. Maybe they are trying to boost the title up by having Ospreay fight for it, but when you go from an instant classic with Danielson to this, it feels more than a little bit off. For now though, Ospreay having one awesome match after another is an acceptable way to go.

Post match Strong offers a distraction so Taylor can jump Ospreay from behind.

Mercedes Mone threw out the first pitch at a Rex Sox game. At least she’s actually doing a star thing rather than just saying she’s a star.

Gates Of Agony/Brian Cage vs. Evan Rivers/Voros Twins

Cage suplexes Rivers down to start and the Twins are knocked off the apron. The toss sitout powerbomb gives Cage the pin on one of the Twins (we’ll call him Porkchop) at 1:09.

Post match Tony Schiavone asks Cage why he attacked Swerve Strickland, and apparently it’s due to Swerve being selfish. The team wanted real leadership like the Young Bucks but here is Strickland with a chain for the beatdown. Kaun is chained to the post but Toa runs Swerve over for the save. Toa tries a running charge but Swerve whips out a cinder block to cut him off. A Conchairto on the steps crushes Toa again as Cage escapes. See how cool it is when the World Champion gets to look awesome for once?

Post break Swerve talks about trying to be the company guy as the World Champion and now a bunch of people are after him. Brian Cage is all that’s left of the Mogul Embassy so they can fight on Dynamite. This is the Swerve that felt like a big star.

Daniel Garcia vs. KM

The rather large KM powers him into the corner to start and does his own dance. Garcia fights back and stomps away in the corner before hammering away, meaning some crotch thrusts to the face. A dragon sleeper makes KM tap at 2:07.

We look at the end of Dynamite with Anarchy In The Arena being set up.

Dax Harwood vs. Tommy Billington

That would be Dynamite Kid’s nephew and Cash Wheeler is here Harwood. They fight over a lockup to start and Billington is looking rather surly (it must be a family thing). Harwood grabs a headlock takeover before switching into a hammerlock. Back up and Billington actually runs him over with a shoulder but Harwood hits a heck of an elbow to the face. Billington manages a running crossbody to send them both crashing out to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Billington hitting a big dive to the floor, followed by a missile dropkick back inside. A top rope elbow gets two on Harwood but he catches Billington going up again. The top rope superplex leaves both of them down as the fans find this awesome. They trade rolling German suplexes until Billington tries a rollup, which is reversed into a slingshot sitout powerbomb for the pin at 12:33.

Rating: B. They had a heck of a match and Billington looks like he has the potential to be something if he stays at it. That being said, I’m not quite sure I get the idea of having Harwood go 50/50 with an unproven star for twelve minutes about two weeks before he’s likely headlining a pay per view. With all of the people on the AEW roster, Harwood was the only person who could have this match that has nothing to do with the upcoming pay per view match? Odd decision, though the match was quite good.

After Dynamite, Kazuchika Okada challenges Dax Harwood for Dynamite and Jack Perry brags about his awesomeness. Christopher Daniels comes in and doesn’t like how they talk to him, with a threat ensuing.

Daniels talks about how the Young Bucks have forgotten where they came from. The company is about to turn five years old and Daniels has been there from the beginning. This Wednesday, Daniels is teaming up with Matt Sydal to face the Bucks and someone will be punished, but it won’t be who the Bucks expect. Daniels told the story here and while he and Sydal are going to get wrecked, he put in the energy to make it feel important.

Dax Harwood is ready to face Kazuchika Okada on Dynamite.

Thunder Rosa vs. Robyn Renegade

Rosa takes her down with a headlock to start so Robyn sits Rosa on the top. The trash talk just makes Rosa send her into the ropes and fire off the hard chops. Robyn gets sent to the apron for a kick to the head but rams Rosa into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Robyn’s running stomp getting two as some frustration is setting in. Rosa fights back and hits the running dropkick against the ropes for two more. Robyn is able to kick her down again, only to miss a moonsault. A seated cobra clutch makes Robyn tap at 7:41.

Rating: C+. Robyn got in a lot of offense here and that’s not a bad thing, as she and her sister have looked solid during their Ring Of Honor appearances. At the same time, Rosa got to showcase something a bit different here, with that seated cobra clutch being a new way to go. Solid back and forth match here as Rosa gets a hard fought win.

Taya Valkyrie and Johnny TV are happy to be here, with Johnny issuing a challenge to Pac. That doesn’t sound overly smart.

Hook says Chris Jericho doesn’t know anything about him but he’ll learn soon enough.

Here’s what’s coming on various show.

TNT Title: Adam Copeland vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Copeland is defending and looks rather happy to be here. They shake hands to start and then go to a clean break off a lockup. The fans dub this awesome about a minute in, more than forty seconds of which were spent on staring. They (the wrestlers, not the fans) go to the grappling with O’Reilly headlocking him down.

O’Reilly drives in some knees but Copeland whips him chest first into the buckle to get a breather. Another whip has O’Reilly down again and Copeland gets to go after the back for a change. Copeland knocks him outside and we take a break. Back with O’Reilly’s superplex attempt being blocked but he pulls Copeland out of the air for the cross armbreaker.

That’s reversed into the Grindhouse, with O’Reilly having to go to the rope. A suplex gutbuster sends O’Reilly into the rope but he bounds back with a rebound lariat and they’re both down again. Back up and O’Reilly strikes away, setting up a suplex into a kneebar. Copeland makes the rope so O’Reilly drops a top rope knee to the back for two. The cross armbreaker is broken up and they trade shots to the face again.

The spear misses and O’Reilly rolls him up for two, allowing Copeland to grab a choke. That’s broken up as well so Copeland hits a gutbuster for another double knockdown. They go up top with O’Reilly grabbing a flying armbar for a nasty crash. Another shot to the ribs has O’Reilly back down but he tells the referee he can go. Copeland’s spear is countered into a guillotine choke but that’s reversed into the Impaler (cool). The spear retains the title at 19:36.

Rating: B+. This is pretty much what you know you’re getting from Copeland: a long, pretty high quality match against a random challenger of the week. Copeland is likely going to face Malakai Black at Double Or Nothing for the title and these warmup matches should make that feel bigger. For now though, he and O’Reilly had a hard hitting, back and forth match, which is what you should have expected from them.

Overall Rating: B+. Collision is often at its best when the wrestlers are allowed to go out there and do their thing, which is what happened here. While Dynamite is often the storytelling/talking heavy show, Collision has proven to be the opposite, which makes it a nice change of pace. I liked this show quite a bit, with one good match after another and nothing bad throughout. That momentum won’t likely last until Dynamite, but I can certainly go for a show like this week to week.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club b. Top Flight – Running uppercut to Darius
Will Ospreay b. Lee Moriarty – Stormbreaker
Brian Cage/Gates Of Agony b. Evan Rivers/Voros Twins – Sitout powerbomb
Daniel Garcia b. KM – Dragon sleeper
Dax Harwood b. Tommy Billington – Slingshot sitout powerbomb
Thunder Rosa b. Robyn Renegade – Seated cobra clutch
Adam Copeland b. Kyle O’Reilly – Spear

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Collision
Date: April 13, 2024
Location: Truist Arena, Highland Heights, Kentucky
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

It’s time for the big double shot this wee as Collision is leading into the next Battle Of The Belts. That should make for an important night and hopefully it makes for a more interesting show. We’re also eight days away from Dynasty and now we need to get things ready. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We look at Jon Moxley winning the IWGP World Title last night in Chicago.

The Blackpool Combat Club is proud of Moxley’s win but they’re ready for the Don Callis Family tonight.

House Of Black vs. Dante Martin/Matt Sydal/Action Andretti

Darius Martin is off getting his pilot license so Sydal is taking his place. Andretti has to roll out of a wristlock to start and grabs one of his own. With that broken up, it’s off to Sydal, who takes Black down as well. Dante comes in off the top but Black drills him with a clothesline. King wrecks all three of them, including Black kicking Martin into a heck of a wheelbarrow suplex.

The big dive takes out the good guys again and we settle down to Matthews hitting a running kick to Andretti’s face. Andretti manages to kick his way to freedom though and it’s back to Sydal to clean house. We take a break and come back with Sydal grabbing a poisonrana to send Matthews outside.

The hot tag brings in Martin to pick up the pace, including an enziguri for two on Black. Everything breaks down and Andretti hits a big dive on Matthews, only to get moonsaulted by Black. Back in and the good guys hit a bunch of triple superkicks but the House kicks right back to even things up. Andretti’s 450 gets two on King but Sydal is sent into the corner. The Cannonball/running boots combination finishes for King at 14:22.

Rating: B. This took its time to get going but they got going by the end and it was a heck of a back and forth match. You had the House working together as a unit against the other guys who were fighting for all they had. It got going in the last few minutes with the big spots that Andretti and company know how to do rather well. Rather nice stuff here.

We look at Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa giving Mariah May dueling kisses.

Storm says get used to what you were seeing last week and teases kissing May again but gets distracted by talk of her match with AZM. Storm promises to give AZM a beating so intense that it will be “featured in a fetish periodical.”

Video on Swerve Strickland.

Following his loss on Dynamite, Chris Jericho talked to Taz, who says he’ll try to talk to Hook for Jericho.

Lee Moriarty vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Shane Taylor is re with Moriarty and Anthony Ogogo is on commentary. Moriarty takes him down for a choke but Shibata reverses into a wristlock. Shibata switches to the leg and gets a Figure Four, with Moriarty bailing over to the ropes. They go to the floor where Ogogo gets in a cheap shot to the ribs to give Moriarty two.

We take a break and come back with Shibata getting annoyed at Moriarty for daring to chop him. Shibata strikes away in the corner and hits a running dropkick for two. Moriarty is back up with an abdominal stretch until Shibata suplexes his way to freedom. Shibata kicks him down and hits the running PK for the pin at 10:41.

Rating: C. This was Shibata getting his win back and that’s fine enough, even if it was similar to everything you’ve seen Shibata do in the ring in AEW. Moriarty is probably the last important member of his team and it’s not going to mean much to have him lose to a legend. Maybe not the most interesting match but it was technically sound with Shibata overcoming the odds to win.

Post match Taylor jumps Shibata but Hook comes in for the save.

We look at Athena retaining the ROH Women’s Title over Hikaru Shida at Supercard Of Honor. At the same show, Athena’s minion Billie Starkz won the inaugural ROH Women’s TV Title.

Athena is ready to headline Battle Of The Belts and beat Red Velvet.

Roderick Strong brags about winning on his own and promises to do it again tonight over Rocky Romero.

Daniel Garcia vs. Angelico

Serpentico is here with Garcia. They go with a technical off to start and Garcia takes him down, only to not hit Angelico in the face. Angelico grabs a belly to back suplex but gets pulled into a Figure Four of all things. They trade rolling it over until Garcia starts kicking away at the knee to keep him down. Garcia fires off right hands in the corner and a Saito suplex sets up a kneebar to make Angelico tap at 5:47.

Rating: C+. They had another technical exchange here until Garcia started hitting him in the face over and over. The leg stuff was a good way to go as well as Garcia worked on in until he made Angelico tap with it. That being said, Garcia needs to actually win something at some point or these matches will stop mattering rather quickly.

Pac thanks Kazuchika Okada for accepting his challenge and for hitting him in the head with a big piece of metal. He’s ready for Okada at Dynasty.

Toni Storm vs. AZM

Non-title and Mariah May is here with Storm while Anna Jay is here with AZM. Storm poses a bit to start and shrugs off AZM’s running forearms. AZM gets smart by kicking at the feet and hits a running basement dropkick. Back up and Storm knocks her off the top, setting up a running hip attack to the floor. May and Jay fight to the back, with AZM using the distraction to hit a kick off the apron.

We take a break and come back with the exchange of forearms until AZM kicks her in the head for a double knockdown. A top rope double stomp gets two on Storm, who is right back with a sitout chokebomb for two of her own. Storm snaps off a nasty German suplex and grabs Storm Zero for the pin at 9:40.

Rating: C+. This was another match where it felt like part of a side story on the way to Storm’s title defense at Dynasty. Other than maybe a short mention, her opponent, Thunder Rosa, wasn’t brought up here. Instead it was focused on whatever weird stuff is going on with Storm and May while Storm is fighting someone making their in-ring debut around here. That’s a bit too much going on at once and it didn’t really make more interested in seeing Storm vs. Rosa.

Post match May brings in some champagne (apparently having murdered Jay off screen). Storm licks her face.

Red Velvet is ready to beat Athena.

Mark Briscoe is ready to bring the violence to the House Of Black at Dynasty. Then he seems to bark.

Here is Thunder Rosa, who thanks the fans for having her back throughout her comeback. She doesn’t need help to win the title and she’s talking about Deonna Purrazzo. Rosa graduated college and became an American citizen on her own but something died inside of her when she had to vacate the Women’s Title. Now she has another chance and will carry her friends and family with her. Toni Storm made the mistake of trying to erase the paint on her face so now she is coming for the title and to drag Storm to h***. This might be the best promo of Rosa’s career as she was bringing the fire the whole way.

Deonna Purrazzo is fine with not helping Thunder Rosa but she still wants Toni Storm away from the Women’s Title. If Rosa is dealing with one storm, Purrazzo will deal with the other Storm by breaking Mariah May’s arm next week.

The Young Bucks vs. FTR for the Tag Team Titles at Dynasty is now a ladder match. Well of course it is.

The Don Callis Family says they’re here to hurt Bryan Danielson before he faces Will Ospreay at Dynasty.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Don Callis Family

It’s a brawl to start with the fight heading to the floor at the bell. Danielson hits a running dropkick to Fletcher against the barricade before firing off the kicks. That means it’s a perfect time to thank Tony Khan for making a ladder match at Dynasty, which is interrupted by Danielson kicking Fletcher in the face again. Hobbs and Castagnoli slug it out in the ring as commentary talks about what’s coming next week.

Hobbs gets draped over the top rope for a knee from Danielson, who stomps down on the knees. Castagnoli comes back in and hammers away on Fletcher in the corner. A cheap shot from Hobbs cuts Castagnoli off though and we take a break. Back with Fletcher grabbing a sleeper on Castagnoli but he gutwrenches his way to freedom. It’s back to Danielson to moonsault over Fletcher for the running clothesline. A variety of kicks have the villains down but Hobbs pulls a dive out of the air.

That’s fine with Danielson, who hits a running knee off the apron. That leaves Castagnoli to drop Fletcher onto the barricade and knock Hobbs into the crowd. We take another break and come back with the ring mats being pulled back as the villains take over. Fletcher goes up top but a superplex attempt is broken up. Castagnoli breaks up what looked to be a Doomsday Device, leaving Danielson to hit a belly to back superplex for two.

Hobbs saves Fletcher from the LeBell Lock so Danielson dives over for the tag off to Castagnoli. House is quickly cleaned and there’s the Giant Swing to Hobbs. The Sharpshooter goes on, with Fletcher’s kicks to the chest not being enough to break it up. Instead Castagnoli lets go to hit Fletcher with Swiss Death, only to walk into the spinebuster to give Hobbs two.

Fletcher gets sent outside for a dive from Danielson, leaving Castagnoli to hit a Death Valley Driver for two of his own. Some clotheslines give Castagnoli two more but Fletcher grabs the ankle. The World’s Strongest Slam gives Hobbs two so he grabs a chair. Said chair is taken away so the announcers’ table is cleared off. Danielson isn’t having that and takes out Hobbs, leaving Castagnoli to Neutralize Fletcher for the pin at 25:44.

Rating: B+. To the shock of almost no one, taking four talented stars and giving them a lot of time made for a heck of a match. They know what they’re doing out there and put together a rather exciting match to close things out. At the same time, it would be nice to see the Family not lose every single big match they have. It doesn’t really make a big difference when the one person on the team who wins gets those wins by beating his stablemates. Either way, awesome main event here.

Post match Konosuke Takeshita runs in to help the Family with the beatdown. The fans chant for Moxley (the hometown, or at least close to it, boy) but they have to settle for Castagnoli chasing the villains off instead.

Overall Rating: B. This show illustrated a lot of the issues that AEW has. While the opener and main event, as in the matches with some of the bigger stars, were quite good, the stuff in the middle did not feel very important. A lot of this show felt like “here’s some stuff that we can throw out there to get us to Dynamite”. That’s fine every so often, but it feels like that is the case almost every week with Rampage and a good deal of the time with Collision. It would be nice to feel like something on here makes a big difference on the stories, but that is rarely the case for anything but Dynamite and the pay per views, which needs to be fixed.

Results
House Of Black b. Dante Martin/Matt Sydal/Action Andretti – Cannonball/running boots combination to Sydal
Katsuyori Shibata b. Lee Moriarty – PK
Daniel Garcia b. Angelico – Kneebar
Toni Storm b. AZM – Storm Zero
Blackpool Combat Club b. Don Callis Family – Neutralizer to Fletcher

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

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

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

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Bryan Danielson vs. Katsuyori Shibata

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

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

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

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

Respect is shown post match.

We look at Mercedes Mone’s debut.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Trish Adora

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

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

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

Daniel Garcia vs. Lee Moriarty

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

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

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

Pac vs. Aaron Solo

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

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

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

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

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Lance Archer

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

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

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

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

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

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Bryan Keith

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

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

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

Post match the Undisputed Era come in to celebrate.

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

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

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

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

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

Post match here is Malakai Black to glare.

Video on Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage.

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

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

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

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

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

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

AND

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Collision
Date: March 9, 2024
Location: Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re still near Atlanta for the third show of the week, though this show is going to be a bit of a follow up from Dynamite. In this case we have the first match for the new Elite, as the Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada are now the new big evil trio. Other than that, we have a street fight, because that’s what we do around here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Shane Taylor vs. Bryan Danielson

Lee Moriarty is here with Taylor, who backs Danielson into the corner to start. The test of strength goes to Taylor of course but Danielson kicks away at the chest. That only goes so far so Danielson goes for the leg and uses the ropes to slow Taylor down. Nigel: “He’s using the ropes! That’s illegal!” Tony: “You never used the ropes during your career?” Nigel: “Of course!”

Taylor’s leg is tied up in the ropes so Danielson hits a running dropkick but a right hand sends Danielson outside (and us to a break). Back with Taylor hitting the apron legdrop for two but missing a splash in the corner. Danielson ties the leg around the post and kicks away to put Taylor down back inside.

The big kick to the head gets one and Danielson can’t believe the kickout. The running dropkicks in the corner just wake Taylor up though and it’s a big clothesline for two on Danielson. Taylor’s cannonball misses so he tries a powerslam, only for Danielson to take him down for the kicks to the head. The running knee finishes for Danielson at 14:00.

Rating: B-. Danielson is this generation’s wrestler who can get the best out of any opponent and that is amazing to see. Taylor had a good match here and wrestled like a power monster should, which made for a good showing. You could see Danielson trying to take him apart out there and it worked well in the end. Good opener.

Post match Will Ospreay comes out and says he’s here for a chat. After praising Danielson and Taylor, Ospreay praises…the sandwiches backstage before talking about how so many people are in awe of Danielson. Ospreay then calls him a “cheeky little slag” for interrupting him on Dynamite and wonders if Danielson has a question for him. Danielson praises Ospreay’s match with Konosuke Takeshita, but he’s also heard Ospreay talking about how great he is the best in the world, so the challenge is on for Dynasty. Ospreay is in.

Young Bucks/Kazuchika Okada vs. Jon Cruz/Liam Gray/Adrian Alanis

Nick and Cruz start things off but it’s Okada coming in instead. Okada takes him up against the ropes for a pat on the head to start so the bigger Alanis comes in. The forearms just annoy Okada so he hits the dropkick, followed by the Rainmaker to pin Gray at 2:03. That’s what it should have been.

Post match Eddie Kingston runs in and gets beaten down so here is Penta El Zero Miedo…who gets beaten down as well. Cue Pac to come in and stare up at Okada (Nigel: “TAKE MY MONEY! TAKE MY MONEY! TAKE MY MONEY!”) before striking him out to the floor. Pac says he’s here to look for trouble and a six man is set up for Dynamite.

Video on Darby Allin vs. Jay White on Dynamite.

Mariah May vs. Trish Adora

May works on a wristlock to start as Nigel completely swoons over Mariah’s…well everything. Adora takes her down a few times without much effort but May grabs a running headscissors. A running dropkick puts Adora on the floor and we take a break. Back with Adora hitting a pump kick into a backsplash for two. Adora grabs a German suplex from her knees, only to have May hit a running knee. May Day finishes Adora at 6:13.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why a match that barely breaks six minutes needs a break but unfortunately that’s the AEW women’s division for you. May’s rise continues and having her dressed as rocker Toni Storm could be going in a few different directions. Not much in the way of a match, but what are you supposed to do with so little time and so much of that in a break?

Post match here is Toni Storm to present the first ever Toni Award (Storm: “That’s Toni with an I so we don’t get sued.”). May is the only nominee and she does indeed win. Cue Deonna Purrazzo to go after Storm but May lays her out with a DDT.

Video on Riho vs. Willow Nightingale.

Nick Wayne vs. Adam Priest

The rest of the Patriarchy is here too. Wayne starts fast and hammers away before sending Priest outside. A running boot rocks Priest again but he fires back, only to get a glare from Luchasaurus. Back in and Wayne chokes on the ropes, setting up Wayne’s World for the pin at 3:12.

Rating: C. More or less a squash here for Wayne, who still doesn’t have much in the way of interest. He’s Christian’s secondary lackey but having him beat up a relative unknown for a few minutes is hardly the worst thing. They kept this short and that’s the right way to go for a match like this one.

Post match someone in a mask pulls Cage into the crowd (Tony: “Is this a luchador? Is this someone from CMLL?” That’s a perfectly reasonable reaction and you don’t get many of those in wrestling today.) before diving onto the Patriarchy. It’s Adam Copeland, who gets in the ring and grabs the TNT belt, plus a metal case. Copeland opens it and Cage sees it (we don’t see what’s in there), making him back up. The match seems ready for Dynamite March 20.

Jeff Jarrett says Mark Briscoe can trust him tonight. Mark isn’t sure but they’ll fight together.

Chris Jericho vs. Titan

Jericho wastes no time in pulling him into a surfboard, which is broken up just as fast. Back up and they chop it out until Titan knocks him to the floor. That means a big suicide dive to drop Jericho and a whip sends him into the steps. Back in and they both go up, with Jericho hitting a super faceplant for two as we take a break. We come back with Titan kicking him out to the floor, setting up another dive.

That bangs Titan up a bit though and it’s a butterfly backbreaker to put him down again. The Lionsault misses though and Titan grabs a springboard tornado DDT for two. Titan’s top rope double stomp gets two but his leglock is countered into a failed Walls attempt. The Judas Effect misses as well and Titan grabs a spinning Death Valley Driver for two. Titan tries a springboard hurricanrana but gets pulled into the Walls for the submission at 11:59.

Rating: B. I liked that a good bit more than I thought I would have and Jericho hung in there with the younger high flier well enough. That being said, I’m still waiting on some kind of a point to these CMLL guys being around other than “here they are”. They had the feud with the BCC but that seems to have mostly wrapped up (thanks to the visa situation). Are we just going to have random matches like this with nothing really happening?

Post match the Gates Of Agony run in to beat down Jericho but Hook makes the save.

Here is FTR for a chat. Things didn’t go how they wanted at Revolution but that’s life. They’re officially throwing their names into the hat for the Tag Team Title tournament but they know it’s going to be difficult. Harwood isn’t sure they belong in the tournament but they will give everything they have if they get a chance. Cue the Infantry to interrupt, with a quick introduction. They say the tag division needs a revival and we get some of the old Revival theme song. Harwood: “The revival is dead and if we meet you in the tournament, you will be too.” Well that was efficient.

Mistico vs. Angelico

Serpentico is here with Angelico. They fight over wrist control to start and Angelico gets up for something of a dance. Mistico grabs some armdrags for a standoff and we take a break. Back with Mistico hitting a 619 into a springboard missile dropkick, followed by a slingshot hurricanrana to the floor. A slingshot corkscrew splash gets two on Angelico and a Swanton is good for the same. Angelico grabs la majistral for two and they trade running clotheslines in the corner. Both of them are knocked down but Mistico is back up with a very spinning rollup for two. La Mistica finishes Angelico off at 9:26.

Rating: B-. Again, nice match but it’s kind of hard to get interested in Mistico, as big of a star as he is, facing someone the caliber of Angelico. It’s a match that came and went with some nice high flying, but it doesn’t seem to have any connection to anything else going on. That’s fine once in awhile, but this is the second match on the show with the same stuff. It would be nice to have this tied into something, as otherwise it’s just wrestling for the sake of wrestling.

Respect is shown post match.

House Of Black vs. Mark Briscoe/Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal

Street fight. The brawl starts on the floor with Briscoe and Black slugging away inside. The good guys start in with the dives before it’s time to set up some tables. Lethal sends a charging King into an open chair but King is back up to crush Lethal through a table. Briscoe and Matthews slug it out until Briscoe’s dive off the top completely misses a table, hitting chairs instead.

We take a break and come back with Matthews pouring lighter fluid over a table but Sonjay Dutt offers a distraction. Cue Julia Hart with gasoline, which Matthews pours on Dutt. Karen Jarrett cuts off the whole murder thing so Hart gives her the mist. Lethal and Jarrett hit the Infantry’s Boot Camp (Russian legsweep/running big boot combination) to put King down but he’s back up with the sleeper to Lethal.

Jarrett makes the save with a heck of a guitar shot, only to walk into the End from Black. Hart slips in the spike but Briscoe blocks a stabbing and Jay Drillers Black. Briscoe’s big flip dive is pulled out of the air and the table is set on fire. The powerbomb puts Briscoe through said table and Black gets the pin at 12:47.

Rating: C+. Yeah it was another big brawl and had the spots and carnage but how many of these hardcore matches are we supposed to be interested in? This one had the fire theme but there was so much going on that it was just another big wild fight than anything else. It kept my interest but it feels like we get some kind of big weapons brawl every few weeks. Slow down with them already.

Overall Rating: B-. They were going back and forth from stuff that felt important to stuff that felt like it was just there to fill in time, which makes for a rather long two hours. The show was good enough, but after a pay per view on Sunday and three hours of AEW since then, the two CMLL matches, another brawl and a quick Elite match isn’t quite enough to make this a great show.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Shane Taylor – Running knee
Young Bucks/Kazuchika Okada b. Jon Cruz/Liam Gray/Adrian Alanis – Rainmaker to Gray
Mariah May b. Trish Adora – May Day
Nick Wayne b. Adam Priest – Wayne’s World
Chris Jericho b. Titan – Walls Of Jericho
Mistico b. Angelico – La Mistica
House Of Black b. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Mark Briscoe – Powerbomb through a flaming table to Briscoe

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

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

AND

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