Battle Of The Belts V
Date: January 6, 2023
Location: Portland Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

We’re back with another of these shows that doesn’t feel like all that important to AEW. It’s another three match card and all of them have titles on the line. This includes a rematch from Dynamite, where the Acclaimed retained the Tag Team Titles over Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal. This time it’s No DQ though so let’s get to it.

We open with Darby Allin leaving the ring after his Rampage main event.

Tag Team Titles; Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett vs. Acclaimed

The Acclaimed is defending, No Holds Barred, and Satnam Singh/Sonjay Dutt/Billy Gunn are here too. The champs get jumped from behind before the bell and the fight is on fast. Lethal gets a Figure Four on Bowens on the ramp but it gets broken up rather quickly. We settle down to a regular tag match with Bowens grabbing a Blockbuster to take over.

Caster comes in, runs the ropes, drops to the floor and punches Singh in the face (no effect) as everything breaks down again. Jarrett saves Lethal from Scissor My Timbers, setting up a double strut as we take a break. Back with Bowens and Lethal slugging it out until Bowens blasts him with a clothesline. The double tag brings in Caster and Jarrett, with the former cleaning house. An Angle Slam drops Jarrett and, after pulling off the invisible straps, Caster grabs the ankle lock.

With that broken up, Singh takes out Caster, leaving Bowens to hit the running jumping Fameasser. The referee got bumped in there somewhere so it’s a second one sliding in to count the late two. Jarrett grabs the guitar but Gunn makes the save and blasts Singh with the guitar. A Stroke takes Gunn down but Jarrett walks into an AA from Caster.

Singh chokeslams both champs though and then does it to the referee as well. Dutt puts the referee shirt on (Jericho: “It even matches his black trousers!”) and counts two with Aubrey Edwards coming out to break it up. Then she breaks his pencil and shoves Dutt down, leaving Lethal to get caught with the Arrival and the Mic Drop to retain the titles at 10:53.

Rating: C. Well that was a lot. I’ve never quite gotten the concept of starting with rules and then breaking down into no rules but that’s a modern wrestling issue. What got me here was Edwards going after Dutt, as if ANYTHING he did would have mattered in the first place. That came off as a spectacle for the save of involving the referee in a match that was already way overloaded. Gunn’s guitar shot to Singh was good but that was about it for the decent weapons stuff. Total insanity here and I absolutely didn’t need to see these teams fight twice in three days.

Will Hobbs has the Book Of Hobbs with him, which includes everything that has happened to him. Now it’s going to happen to you.

Eddie Kingston and Ortiz aren’t sure what is going on with the House of Black but they’ll fight next week on Rampage.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill vs. Skye Blue

Jade, with Leila Grey, is defending. Blue goes right at her to start and snaps off a crucifix for two. After a quick breather on the floor, Jade comes back in and knocks her to the floor with a rather hard forearm. A chokeslam on the ramp plants Blue again but cue Red Velvet to stare Cargill down from the stage.

We take a break and come back with Blue snapping off a rather spinning headscissors. One heck of a pump kick drops Blue though and it’s Velvet coming down to check on her. Back in and Jaded is countered into a victory roll for two, followed by Code Blue for the same. Blue loads up a springboard hurricanrana but Jade catches her and spins it (after a few movements) into Jaded to retain at 9:13.

Rating: C+. They were working here and that finish was awesome. There is something really impressive about Cargill managing to manipulate a full sized human around like that into Jaded and she made it look easy. Blue was putting in the effort, but as I’ve said multiple times now: until they put Jade in there with some big name, there is little reason to believe the title is in serious jeopardy.

The Firm is ready for Junglehook (yes, combining names is very clever) on Dynamite.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Video on Ruby Soho/Willow Nightingale vs. Ruby Soho/Tay Melo in a street fight next week on Rampage.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Kip Sabian

Sabian, with Penelope Ford, is challenging and Danhausen here is with Cassidy. They start fast with a more ticked off than usual Cassidy getting headlocked. That earns Sabian a bunch of right hands, meaning it’s time for a breather on the floor. Cue the Bunny so Sabian can hide behind the women, which is enough of a distraction for a cheap shot on Cassidy.

Hold on though as Danhausen loads up the curse, only to have Sabian bite his finger. The distraction lets Cassidy hit the suicide dive, followed by the Stundog Millionaire back inside. They head back outside though, with Sabian hitting a hanging neckbreaker to the floor. We take a break and come back with Cassidy still in trouble, though he avoids the reverse Cannonball.

Cassidy knocks him off the top but Bunny grabs the leg. That’s enough for an ejection for both Bunny and Danhausen so here are Butcher and Blade to beat up Danhausen. Cassidy and Sabian slug it out, with Sabian trying his own lazy strikes. That wakes Cassidy up but Sabian knees him in the face for two.

Another hanging neckbreaker gets two on Cassidy so Sabian hits his own Orange Punch. Cassidy fights back up and the Beach Break gets two. The frustration makes Cassidy hammer away in the corner until he accidentally shoves the referee away. Sabian tries to go after him again but back to back Orange Punches finish to retain the title at 16:44.

Rating: B-. So Cassidy wins over Sabian, who isn’t exactly the most enthralling opponent. They did something with Sabian getting underneath Cassidy’s skin but that doesn’t really make up for a lot of Sabian’s flaws. I know he has been around since the beginning but I’ve still yet to have much of a reason to get interested in anything he does. Cassidy continues to own Friday night and that’s a good place for him as the fans still love everything he does.

Overall Rating: C+. That’s the latest Battle Of The Belts and while it was certainly entertaining enough, it still doesn’t feel important. That has been the biggest flaw of this series since it started and nothing about this changed it. AEW might be better off by having an expanded Rampage instead of one of these, as that’s pretty much what you got here. It was good on its own and combined with Rampage, this was a rather nice two hour Friday night show.

Results
Acclaimed b. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal – Mic Drop to Lethal
Jade Cargill b. Skye Blue – Jaded
Orange Cassidy b. Kip Sabian – Orange Punch

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

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Dynamite
Date: December 7, 2022
Location: H-E-B Center, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Taz, Excalibur

It’s the go home show for Final Battle and the Dynamite before next week’s Winter Is Coming so it is time to start hammering home the build for both shows. Believe it or not we have a battle royal this week for a shot at MJF’s….ring, rather than the World Title. That should get a lot of people on the show so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Battle Royal

Ricky Starks, Brian Cage, Jungle Boy, Orange Cassidy, Shawn Dean, Dustin Rhodes, Lee Moriarty, Ethan Page, Matt Hardy, Kip Sabian, Dalton Castle, Butcher, Blade

The winner gets to face MJF for the Dynamite Diamond whenever they decide. It’s a battle royal style brawl to start as I hope I have everyone included here. Sabian and Cassidy take turns ramming each other into the corner until the Butcher breaks it up. Cassidy is sent over the top so he tries to skin the cat, only to have Blade knock him out.

Rhodes (hometown boy) hits a Canadian Destroyer on Sabian and clotheslines him out. Butcher clotheslines Rhodes out and Cage sends Castle to the apron, but his Boys make the save. Then they make the save again but can’t do it a third time and Castle is out. Then Jungle Boy dropkicks Cage to the apron (kind of, as Cage has to try to go over twice) and dropkicks him out as we take a break.

Back with Jungle Boy knocking out Butcher but getting eliminated by W. Morrissey. Ethan Page makes Hardy raise his arm but Hardy does DELETE after, much to Page’s annoyance. Hardy Twist of Fates Dean and eliminates him under Page’s orders. We’re down to Starks, Page and Hardy and Starks sends Hardy out. Page kicks Starks in the head but gets sent out to give Starks the win at 13:05.

Rating: C. That’s an interesting choice for the winner but I do like the idea of having one person and one person only coming after MJF. Maybe Starks even combines the two matches into one, but it wouldn’t shock me to see him win the ring off a countout or something like that. The rest of the battle royal was pretty lame with the bigger names going out too soon, though at least it wasn’t Matt Hardy.

Post match MJF comes out to promise that he’ll beat Starks twice, even though the fans seem to like Starks. These fans treat Starks like a big deal and he is good, but here is the truth….after the SHUT THE F*** UP chants from the crowd that is. MJF says Starks is a rudy poo candy a** compared to him, because Starks is nothing but a dollar store Dwayne. That’s why MJF is going to start calling him the Pebble.

Next week, MJF is going to beat Starks and skip him across the water so he can land back in Billy Corgan’s NWA and wrestle on YouTube where he belongs. Starks dubs MJF Maxipad and calls him a Roddy Piper wannabe. He wants to know how much shtick MJF has to go with his cheap shoes and cheap heat. Starks talks about how MJF doesn’t have what it takes while Starks is the one who is out there every week.

MJF blows off meet and greets because no one likes him. Next week is a big deal because Starks is shutting him up for once and is ready to smack that mole off of MJF’s neck to take that title. Then MJF hits him low and loads up the ring, only to have Starks hit the spear. Starks showed some fire here and while it went on a bit too long, it was one of the best things he has done so far in AEW, with the spear being rather good.

Samoa Joe is ready for Darby Allin.

Jon Moxley is tired of all the talking and wants to beat someone up. Like the Jericho Appreciation Society, to make sure there is no sports entertainment.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is defending. Allin starts fast by dropkicking Joe to the floor but Joe walks away from the running flip dive. Joe peels back the mat on the floor and it’s a powerslam on the exposed concrete to further injure Allin as we take a break. Back with the doctor checking on Allin, who crawls inside anyway. Joe takes him back to the floor but gets sent into the steps, allowing Allin to hit a Coffin Drop to a standing Joe on the outside. Back in and Joe gets knocked down again, allowing Allin to go up for the Coffin Drop, only to land in the Koquina Clutch to retain the title at 10:24.

Rating: B. The action was very good, but my goodness I don’t need to see Allin doing so many insane stunts in a match. Going full on Jeff Hardy is not a good idea and I don’t need to see someone even smaller than Jeff doing it. With that out of the way, Allin throwing everything he had at Joe, only to come up short, was a very good story and I was digging pretty much everything they were doing here, save for the more dangerous stuff.

Post match Joe hits Allin with the skateboard and puts the Clutch on again. Wardlow runs in for the save.

Orange Cassidy offers Kip Sabian an All Atlantic Title shot but Sabian says he’s hurt. Instead, Cassidy offers to let Sabian find someone to face him. Sabian smiles and leaves. Cassidy: “Was that like a yes?”

Video on Chris Jericho vs. Claudio Castagnoli.

Daniel Garcia/Jake Hager vs. Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta

Sammy Guevara and Jon Moxley are here too. Hager puts his hat on but Yuta hands it to Castagnoli, who punts it away. Yuta gets taken into the corner for the beating and now Garcia is willing to come in for the slugout. That’s fine with Yuta, who slams him into a backsplash for one and it’s back to Hager. Yuta knocks him down as well, but Guevara shoves Yuta off the top. The running Vader bomb gives Hager two and it’s back to Garcia for a top rope superplex.

We take a break and come back with Castagnoli coming in for the hot tag to clean house. The running uppercuts knock Hager silly but Garcia breaks up the Swing. That doesn’t last long as Garcia gets knocked off, leaving Castagnoli to get swung anyway. The running clothesline gives Castagnoli two and Moxley cuts Guevara off on the floor. Hager pulls Castagnoli out of the air and ankle locks him as Garcia gets the Dragon Slayer on Yuta. Castagnoli rolls his way out though and saves Yuta, followed by an uppercut to pin Hager at 12:36.

Rating: C+. Good enough match, but it feels like I’ve seen every combination of these two groups imaginable and I don’t need to see them fight ever again. The feud needs to end on Saturday and the lack of Jericho in the last two weeks hasn’t done it much good. The action here was good given who was involved, but it’s hard to get that invested in something I’ve watched for so many months.

Post match Tony Schiavone is in the ring and shows us a clip of himself talking to William Regal before MJF turned on him. They reminisce for a bit before Regal says that if you are seeing this, something bad has happened to him. Regal talks about how the team is there to help build up Yuta. The reason Regal turned on Moxley was to teach him one final lesson: always stay one step ahead because you don’t know what is coming. Regal is Blackpool Combat Club until he dies. Back in the ring, the Club isn’t sure what to think but Moxley promises to end the Jericho Appreciation Society.

So….hang on. Regal screwed Moxley over to teach him a lesson because he loves/cares about Moxley and the team that much? So he knew what MJF was likely to do and put himself in harm’s way to show that the evil one can strike at any time, even if the evil one is the one who was teaching them the lesson? And Tony, who wasn’t happy with Regal at Full Gear, felt no need to mention any of this for two weeks? That’s quite a bit to take, even if this was 100% a way to tie together loose threads with Regal heading back to WWE.

The House of Black is here to punish people for treason. This team seriously needs to stop talking so freaking much.

Jamie Hayter is ready to find out her next #1 contender.

Kiera Hogan/Madison Rayne/Skye Blue vs. Jade Cargill/Baddies

Velvet pulls Blue down by the hair to start as Jade approves from the apron. A running knee in the corner rocks Blue but she kicks Grey’s leg out. Velvet sends Blue into the apron and we take a break. Back with Blue kicking Velvet down and bringing in Hogan, who is planted by Jade. Rayne comes in and enziguris Cargill, only to get Jaded for the pin at 8:04.

Rating: C-. Remember how I said it’s hard to get invested in something I’ve seen for months? That is the case on a much larger scale with Cargill squashing people. She has had almost no serious competition for months and it is long past the point of being interesting. Cargill has the look and every bit of presence you could want, but please find SOMETHING new to do with her, because this is way beyond stale.

Saraya is in the back when Britt Baker interrupts. She has tickets for Saraya to come to the Kia Forum, but not for a rematch. Instead, Saraya can get a partner to face Baker and Jamie Hayter. Saraya tries to get Tony Schiavone, but Baker takes him away.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Acclaimed

Acclaimed, with Billy Gunn, is defending. Caster and Harwood lock up to start and it’s Caster dropkicking him into an armdrag. The armbar doesn’t last long on Harwood so it’s off to Bowens as everything breaks down. The champs grab stereo Sharpshooters in the middle of the ring but both are broken up. With that out of the way, FTR takes them to the floor and sends Caster into the apron as we take a break.

Back with Wheeler putting Caster on top but getting knocked backwards for a high crossbody. As Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett and company watch from the back, Caster backdrops Harwood and brings in Bowens to clean house. A superkick gets two on Harwood, who is right back with some rolling German suplexes. Harwood rolls Bowens up with trunks for two and it’s back to Wheeler for the spike piledriver and a near fall.

Caster saves Bowens and comes in for a wheelbarrow cutter and a rather close two on Harwood. Bowens has to break up the Big Rig but gets sent outside, leaving Caster to be sent into the post. The Big Rig gives Harwood a VERY close two with Bowens making the save. Bowens hits the Arrival on Wheeler but Harwood breaks up the Mic Drop. Wheeler tries a jackknife cover but Caster rolls through into a cradle to retain at 16:48.

Rating: B+. This was a great match with FTR getting to play subtle heels throughout for a change. The Acclaimed getting to pin FTR is a big step in making them feel more legitimate as Tag Team Champions, though doing this at the pay per view and Acclaimed vs. Swerve/Lee on Dynamite would have fit much better. Awesome action here though and they had me biting on the Big Rig near fall.

Post match respectful scissoring ensues, which seems out of character for FTR. The Gunn Club pops up on screen with a Christmas card from the Briscoes (or Dem Boys as the card says)….and dog collars in the stockings. There’s your co-main event.

Overall Rating: B. The main event was more than enough to carry the show, with Joe vs. Allin being very good as well. Other than that, you had some good enough material, but Final battle continues to feel like something we have to get through rather than something worth watching. I’m sure the show will be good and the two main events will rock, but I could really go for getting away from Ring Of Honor for a long time. Solid enough show here, and certainly not boring in the slightest for a bonus positive.

Results
Ricky Starks won a battle royal last eliminating Ethan Page
Samoa Joe b. Darby Allin – Koquina Clutch
Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta b. Daniel Garcia/Jake Hager – Uppercut to Hager
Jade Cargill/Baddies b. Madison Rayne/Kiera Hogan/Skye Blue – Jaded to Rayne
Acclaimed b. FTR – Rollup to Wheeler

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.

Rampage
Date: October 21, 2022
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re live this week and not taped after Dynamite for a change. We’re also back in the old stomping grounds of Jacksonville and the card happens to be stacked with three title matches in an hour. That should be enough to carry the show, though Rampage has a bad tendency to underwhelm. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Acclaimed vs. Varsity Athletes

The Acclaimed is defending and it’s titles vs. the SCISSOR ME trademark. As you might expect, the rap mocks AEW’s heavily hyped World Title match beating NXT. The Athletes tease an early scissoring and get jumped from behind, only to send the champs outside. Back in and the Acclaimed break up some more scissoring and a powerslam plants Woods. Caster gets knocked outside, where Billy Gunn chases Tony Nese around. That’s enough for a Gunn ejection, much to Sterling’s delight.

We take a break and come back with Bowens getting the tag to come in and clean house. Everything breaks down and Woods hits something like a spinning GTS to drop Caster. Woods drops Bowens and the Angle Slam/neckbreaker gets two with Caster having to make the save. Nese kicks Caster in the face and dives onto Bowens on the floor. Back in and Bowens slugs away, setting up the Arrival into the Mic Drop to retain the titles at 8:03.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t a great match but they kept things moving quickly enough that it didn’t get boring. The good thing is that the fans love the Acclaimed so much that it is going to work no matter they do so they’re playing with the house’s money. Thankfully the Sterling scissoring deal didn’t last long, as it was a pretty dead end idea in the first place.

Post match Sterling says that trademarks don’t end like that so the Acclaimed beat him up, stomp him low, hit Scissor Me Timbers and scissor with Billy Gunn. A feel good family moment!

Jade Cargill isn’t happy that Penelope Ford is injured but she is willing to let Leila Grey take her place. Then she gets the TBS Title back from Nyla Rose.

Ortiz/Eddie Kingston and the Lucha Bros are in the back in an attempt to make peace. The Bros want Eddie to keep his temper and avoid losing another job. Pac comes in and seems to mock Kingston, who has to be held back.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Ari Daivari

Hook is defending and turns down Daivari’s offer of cash for the title. That’s not cool with Hook, who suplexes Daivari at the bell and they start fast, with Daivari being sent outside for a ram into the table. Daivari’s butler Jeeves K is here and slaps Hook in the face with some money (must have asked about it). Hook fights out of the corner with rights and lefts to the ribs and an STO. A release fisherman’s suplex drops Daivari, who uses a Jeeves distraction to set up his own suplex for two. The hammerlock lariat is countered though and Redrum retains the title at 2:50. More proper Hook usage.

Matt Hardy is annoyed at the Firm, who have sent Private Party off for a match. For now though, Matt can have a match on Dark: Elevation. I still can’t get my head around Isaiah Kassidy vs. Ethan Page being for Matt’s contract. Why not, I don’t know, Page vs. Matt?

Leila Grey vs. Willow Nightingale

Kiera Hogan is here with Grey. Nightingale wrestles her down without much effort to start before running Grey over with a shoulder. Back up and Nightingale easily slams her but Hogan gets in a cheap shot superkick to take over. We take a break and come back with Nightingale spinebustering Grey for two but getting caught in a Russian legsweep. Grey hits a running knee in the corner but gets belly to back suplexed. A kick to the head rocks Grey and a doctor bomb gives Nightingale the pin at 7:50.

Rating: C. There are some wrestlers who can best be described as fun, which would be the case with Nightingale. She has such a bubbly personality and there is something about her that makes you want to see her do well. Beating Grey on TV is nice, but it would be better to see her win a bigger match down the line.

Post match Nightingale is announced as officially All Elite but here is Jade Cargill to interrupt. Nightingale leaves so Cargill has a seat in a chair and gives Nyla Rose ten seconds to come get the title. Rose and the rest of the Vicious Vixens pop up on screen in a car. Rose drives off with the title….and apparently that’s Cargill’s car. Cargill sits down, saying she isn’t leaving without her belt. Security comes in and gets dropped, which is enough for Cargill to leave. Well that was easy.

Last night, Rush threatened 10 with a beating. Orange Cassidy popped up from behind a bar to offer them beers. Oh and he’ll join their match to make it an All-Atlantic Title triple threat.

Orange Cassidy tries to steal Mark Henry’s job but Henry asks why Cassidy is getting into Rush and 10’s business. Cassidy: “Um, I don’t know.” 10 and Rush want to win the title while dealing with their personal issues too.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. 10 vs. Rush

Cassidy is defending and Rush has Jose the Assistant with him, while Cassidy has Danhausen. 10 and Rush slug it out but Cassidy gets involved with the lazy kicks. Rush sends 10 outside, leaving Cassidy to dropkick Rush. That’s fine with Rush, who sends him into the corner for the running slap into the Tranquilo pose. Rush goes outside to send 10 into the barricade but 10 is back with his own shots. Cassidy dives at both of them but gets caught and chokeslammed onto a table (which doesn’t break).

We take a break and come back with Cassidy having to block 10’s full nelson before hitting a Stundog Millionaire. The spinning DDT plants Rush and there’s the Beach Break for two on 10, as Jose breaks it up (JR: “It’s a mockery of the rules!”). Danhausen comes in and hits Jose low but Rush knocks him down as well.

A suplex sends Cassidy into the corner but 10 is back up with his spinebuster. 10 discus lariats Cassidy for two, with Rush having to dive in for the save. Rush messes with 10’s mask but walks into the Orange Punch. Another Beach Break is countered but Cassidy sits down on 10 to retain at 11:48.

Rating: B-. This is another perfect use of Cassidy, who has to work to retain his title so it doesn’t feel like a joke, even if there is virtually no value to it whatsoever. At the same time, this felt like AEW realizing that Rush vs. 10 isn’t an interesting story and needing to do something to change it. Cassidy can often make that work, so this was as good as it could have been.

Post match 10 and Rush have a staredown but -1 comes out and gets carried to the back by 10.

We get an In Memoriam graphic to Brian Muster, a video engineer who died unexpectedly this week. That’s a very classy thing to do.

Overall Rating: C+. That was about as Rampagey of a Rampage as you could get, as there was little that felt important but it was still in front of a hot crowd. The stuff they did involved either titles or stories with a bit of value, so it didn’t feel like a waste of time. At the same time though, Rampage feels completely like a secondary show, which does make it seem a lot less important. With three hours of TV a week, AEW might want to change that.

Results
Acclaimed b. Varsity Athletes – Mic Drop to Nese
Hook b. Ari Daivari – Redrum
Willow Nightingale b. Leila Grey – Doctor bomb
Orange Cassidy b. 10 and Rush – Rollup to 10

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

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AND

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

Rampage
Date: September 30, 2022
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

Rampage is back to normal this week and that should make for a decent enough show. You never know what you’re going to get around here, though odds are you’ll get at least one important thing. Other than that though, there is a good chance you’ll be seeing some names who aren’t around on Dynamite very often. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Acclaimed vs. Butcher and the Blade vs. Private Party

Acclaimed, with Billy Gunn, is defending. Bowens and Kassidy start things off as Matt Hardy is watching in the back. They trade quick one counts as the fans sing in praise of the Acclaimed. A standoff gives us a handshake before Bowens drives Kassidy into the corner for the tag off to Castor. With Kassidy down, Castor stops for some scissoring with Gunn before Bowens comes in for a neckbreaker onto Castor’s knees.

Quen comes in and gets a middle rope legdrop between the legs. That’s enough for Butcher and the Blade, who come in and run the champs over. Bowens fights back up and is quickly headbutted right back down. We take a break and come back with Bowens powering out of Blade’s chinlock but getting powerslammed instead.

A superkick drops Blade hard but it’s Private Party tagging themselves back in to clean house. Private Party hits the Motor City Machine Guns’ Skull & Bones (with a Swanton instead of a splash) for two on Blade with Castor making the save. Everything breaks down again and Kassidy hits a dive of his own. Castor hits his own dive and sends Blade back inside, where it’s the Arrival into the Mic Drop to retain the titles at 9:58.

Rating: C+. It was a fast paced match and a good way to get the Acclaimed their first win, though I have no idea why they went with a three way match featuring all of a few moments of setup. The Acclaimed are over and if they can deliver in the ring to back it up, their title reign could go on for a rather long time.

Celebratory scissoring ensues post match.

The Firm mock FTR for holding various Tag Team Titles, which they can’t remember anyway. The Gunn Club wants the Tag Team Titles and bring up FTR for being #1 contenders for almost six months. They’ll leapfrog FTR too. I’m not sure if mocking your own rankings is the best idea.

Jade Cargill mocks AEW for giving her no competition but Vickie Guerrero, Marina Shafir and Nyla Rose come in. Cargill says Rose can have a title match but on Jade’s time. It’s as good as anything else at the moment.

Lee Moriarty vs. Fuego del Sol

W. Morrissey and Stokely Hathaway are here with Moriarty. Fuego gets taken to the mat to start and then uppercutted up against the ropes. Some stomps keep Fuego in trouble and a Border City Stretch finishes him off at 1:57.

Post match Morrissey gives Fuego a chokeslam.

Hangman Page is ready for Jon Moxley and the Dark Order will be in their corner. Andrade and Jose the Assistant come in to mock 10. Next week is the anniversary of Brodie Lee’s last match so Andrade has an idea: they have a match next week, with the mask Brodie Lee gave 10 vs. Andrade’s career. That could be interesting. The Firm comes in to mock Andrade and brings up Matt Hardy’s contract tampering with Private Party. Please tell me that this isn’t going to be their take on WWE’s alleged tampering.

Willow Nightingale vs. Jamie Hayter

Rebel and Britt Baker are here with Hayter. Nightingale takes her down and fires off some headbutts until Hayter fights up for an exchange of shoulders. Hayter gets dropped for a basement crossbody and splash for two. Some chops have Hayter in more trouble but she’s right back with a big boot to drop Nightingale hard (and Baker dances).

We take a break and come back with Hayter hitting a backbreaker for two. Nightingale pops up and hits a heck of a Pounce out to the floor to rock Hayter hard. Back in and a Death Valley Driver gives Nightingale two so it’s time to go up top. Baker offers a distraction though and it’s a shortarm clothesline to give Hayter the pin at 8:08.

Rating: C+. This was an interesting one as Nightingale is such a ball of charisma that I’m looking forward to seeing her most weeks, while Hayter is looking like a breakout star. She has very good abilities in the ring and the crowd is reacting to her, but until she breaks away from Baker, none of that is going to matter. For now though, this was a nice meshing of styles, with Nightingale’s power working well for her.

Video on Wardlow and Samoa Joe, because the best use of two of your midcard champions is to have them team together.

Here is Ryan Nemeth to mock various Philadelphia legends until Hook comes out to wreck him. As Hook is going to leave, the Trustbusters come out with an envelope with his name on it, which Hook takes.

Video on Swerve Strickland at a music festival.

Video on Hangman Page vs. Jon Moxley.

John Silver and Rush are ready for the main event.

Here’s what is coming on upcoming shows.

Trent Beretta is ready for Pac and the All Atlantic Title at Battle of the Belts.

John Silver vs. Rush

Alex Reynolds, Andrade and Jose the Assistant are here too. Silver grabs a headlock to start and a running elbow sends Rush outside. The dive is loaded up but Silver flips down into the Tranquilo pose for a nice touch. Rush comes back in and hammers on Silver, even knocking him outside for a whip into the barricade. Back in and the running corner dropkick is loaded up, only to have Rush hit the cocky kick instead.

We take a break and come back with Silver hitting some corner clotheslines, followed by the rolling German suplexes. A sitout powerbomb gives Silver two and it’s time to slap it out. That goes to the bigger/stronger Rush but Silver grabs a brainbuster for two more. Jose tries to interfere so Reynolds pulls him down. The distraction lets Rush hit a running forearm into the corner though, setting up the Bull’s Horns for the pin at 10:55.

Rating: C. Silver is someone who is probably never going to become a major star in AEW but he has found a niche for himself and it is working. He has so much charisma that it is hard to ignore him. On the other side though, I have no idea what we are supposed to get out of Rush, who is a power guy with almost nothing else to him. Why this was a main event eludes me, but Rush did look dominant at the end.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Butcher and the Blade joining in. The rest of the Dark Order and Hangman Page run in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, Rampage is enough of a quality show but so much of if feels unimportant. Rush vs. John Silver? Jamie Hayter getting a win over Willow Nightingale and a Lee Moriarty squash? That’s not exactly must see TV and that is where Rampage falls. It could be something valuable to AEW but instead we get whatever they throw out there that week, I don’t quite get the thinking, but that’s what Rampage is.

Results
Acclaimed b. Butcher and the Blade and Private Party – Mic Drop to Blade
Lee Moriarty b. Fuego del Sol – Border City Stretch
Jamie Hayter b. Willow Nightingale – Shortarm clothesline
Rush b. John Silver – Bull’s Horns

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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Rampage
Date: August 5, 2022
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re a day away from Battle Of The Belts and that is probably not going to mean very much. Other than that, we have a street fight this week between Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland and Josh Woods/Tony Nese, after Woods attacked Lee last week. In addition, Madison Rayne will be making her AEW debut which could be interesting. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Mance Warner

Non-title and William Regal is on commentary. Before the match, we get a video from Warner, who is quite the Tennessee style talker. He promises to fight Moxley (rather than dance with him) because he has heard Moxley talk about how much he loves to bleed. Now Ole Mancer is here to become the man. It’s a brawl in the aisle to start with Warner sending him into the steps before biting Moxley’s head.

They get inside for the bell and are back on the floor literally two seconds later. Moxley gets sent into the barricade and there’s a crotching on the barricade to make it worse. A clothesline knocks Moxley down again and they head inside but he tied Warner’s leg in the ropes. There’s a running dropkick to the ropes to set up a Figure Four but Warner is out without much trouble.

Back up and they trade right hands in the corner before going outside again. Moxley gets whipped hard into the steps but he’s back up with a suplex. They head inside but are right back outside (again) to fight on the steps. Warner hits a DDT onto said steps and we take a break. Back with Warner stomping on the ankle and hitting a not great spinebuster for two. A boot to Moxley’s bloody face gets two and Warner grabs a chair, which is forearmed into Warner’s head.

Now Warner is busted open as well, which offers a good target for Moxley’s suicide dive into the barricade. Back in and a superplex sets up the hammer and elbow elbows, though Moxley’s arm is hurt from forearming the chair. Warner hits him with a clothesline and they’re both down. The cover from Warner is countered into a Kimura before Moxley stomps away at the head. A piledriver sets up more stomping and Moxley chokes him out at 11:37.

Rating: C+. Yes it’s another Moxley brawl with blood and again it doesn’t get to stand out after how many times we have seen it. Warner is a good talker but his stuff between the bells doesn’t exactly stand out. It’s a bunch of whipping people into things and hitting them with weapons, which gets repetitive fast. Having both of them in the same match didn’t exactly hit a high level, though it was a decent brawl.

At Dynamite, Ricky Starks was interrupted by the Factory. QT Marshall offers Starks protection from the team (which now includes Kole Carter) but he isn’t interested in help, either from Marshall or Aaron Solo.

Ryan Nemeth vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Takeshita avoids a charge to start and hits a running boot in the corner as the fans seem rather invested here. Peter Avalon, in Nemeth’s corner, grabs Takeshita’s leg though and Nemeth starts kneeing away. Takeshita is right back up with a Blue Thunder Bomb and the running knee finishes Nemeth at 1:40. Well that’s how you build someone up for tomorrow’s title match.

Post match Avalon goes after Takeshita and gets kneed down for his efforts.

At Dynamite, Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends aren’t thrilled with how they’re doing as of late but think they do their best as a trio. They’re in for the Trios Title tournament, but Dr. Danhausen comes in to make it four. Because he’s a doctor too.

Madison Rayne vs. Leila Grey

Stokely Hathaway is here with Grey. They lock up to start with Grey driving her into the corner for a forearm to the chest. The frustration sets in for Rayne and they go to a series of standing switches. Some rollups gives Rayne some near falls and we hit the armbar to keep Grey in trouble.

Back up and Grey misses a charge into the corner but Hathaway jumps up and down on the steps for a rather obvious distraction. Grey knocks her off the apron and we take a break. Back with Rayne striking away and getting two off a northern lights suplex. Rayne hits a sliding lariat into Cross Raynes (yes Cross Raynes) to finish Grey at 8:29.

Rating: C. Rayne is an interesting veteran to bring in as the fans are going to know who she is and she can wrestle a good enough match. There are multiple women above her though and she is only going to draw so much interest. This was about what I expected and now Rayne can move on to do whatever else, though she might be better suited as a coach than a regular competitor.

Post match Jade Cargill comes out and issues the challenge to Rayne for next week’s Dynamite. Rayne is in and even takes out the invading Kiera Hogan.

Video on the Lucha Bros vs. La Faccion Ingobernable in a tornado tag.

Mark Sterling doesn’t think much of Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland, who are ready to face Tony Nese/Josh Woods in a street fight.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland vs. Tony Nese/Josh Woods

Non-title falls count anywhere and Mark Sterling is here with Nese and Woods. It’s a brawl on the floor to start with Woods driving Strickland into the barricade. They trade off with a drop toehold sending Nese into the barricade, leaving Woods to get forearmed in the face. Nese is back up with some protein powder in Lee’s face but that’s about it for offense, as Strickland grabs a toolbox and launches it, only to hit the steps.

As Lee gets some water for his eyes, Woods forearms Swerve in the face and grabs a twisting suplex to send him into the steps. We take a break and come back with Lee saving Strickland from being powerbombed off the apron and through a table. Lee can’t stop Nese from kicking Strickland in the face but he can break up a cover at two. Everyone gets back in with Lee cleaning house but Nese dropkicks a chair into his face. A double DDT onto a chair gets two as Strickland 450s in for the save.

Now we get a table set up, but Sterling comes in with a wrench (from the toolbox) to knock Strickland silly. Lee is back up with a headbutt to Nese and throws Sterling off the top and through the table. Woods still can’t suplex Lee off the apron and through more tables but Nese adds a suplex and the superplex does indeed drive Lee down hard. Nese brings in a bunch of chairs but gets backdropped onto them instead. The Swerve Stomp onto the chairs is enough to give Strickland the pin at 13:56.

Rating: B-. I’m not sure what to think about something like this, as it’s another weapons based brawl which we seem to have almost every week or so. Lee and Strickland are a rather good team and they did well here, but I could go a little while without seeing Nese, who never seems to win anything. There are so many good teams around here but Lee and Strickland are facing a makeshift team with Mark Sterling. I’m not sure I get that one.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty good show here, but the amount of time spent on hardcore or weapons stuff around here gets annoying at times. Rayne vs. Grey was the only match here to get some time and not have a bunch of weapons stuff involved. There are talented wrestlers around here and they don’t need the stuff going on to make their matches interesting. The show was good enough, but it felt like they were tacking on a bunch of extra stuff that didn’t need to be there, which tends to be a recurring theme for AEW.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Mance Warner – Bulldog choke
Konosuke Takeshita b. Ryan Nemeth – Running knee
Madison Rayne b. Leila Grey – Cross Raynes
Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland b. Tony Nese/Josh Woods – Swerve Stomp onto chairs to Nese

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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Rampage
Date: July 15, 2022
Location: Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia
Commentators: Jim Ross, Taz, Chris Jericho

We’re still in Fyter Fest with the second of four shows in two weeks. I’m not sure what that is going to mean, but we do have a big time Ring Of Honor World Title match as Jonathan Gresham defends against Lee Moriarty. Odds are we’re going to be seeing some kind of a surprise challenger to come out after the match and set up Death Before Dishonor so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Dark Order vs. House Of Black

Black rolls Reynolds to the mat to start but Reynolds is back up with a wristlock. That doesn’t last long as Black knees him in the ribs to set up a chinlock before it’s off to Brody King. The big chop misses though, meaning John Silver wants to try King out of a slight case of insanity. King runs him over with a shoulder but misses a backsplash. Everything breaks down and the Order gets to clean house, including a double dropkick to send King outside. Reynolds’ dive is countered into a chokeslam onto the apron and we take a break with the House in control.

Back with Black kicking King in the face by mistake so Silver can snap off a belly to back suplex. Everything breaks down again and Silver has to save Reynolds from a powerbomb. A series of strikes to the face knock King into a German suplex, with Black diving in off the top for the save (with a camera angle possibly having to hide the landing). Dante’s Inferno finishes Reynolds at 9:17.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of spot that suits the Dark Order well, as they had no chance of winning but were able to hang in there long enough to make a match out of it. That isn’t something everyone is going to be able to do against the House but they made it work well enough here. Pretty fun match too, with the House getting to crush in the end.

Post match Darby Allin runs out to jump King but Sting has to come out and even things up. Sting and Black have the big staredown.

Miro still wants to destroy the House Of Black.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Jonathan Gresham vs. Lee Moriarty

Gresham, with Tully Blanchard, is defending and Matt Sydal is here with Moriarty. They start fast with Gresham being sent outside off a double leg attempt. Back in and Moriarty strikes away to send Gresham outside again, though this time he follows for some forearms. Gresham gets back inside and they strike away again, with Gresham pulling off some wrist tape. The referee takes care of that, allowing Gresham to hit Moriarty low, because he has gone to the evil side. Some headlock takeovers have Moriarty down again and we take a break.

Back with Moriarty striking away and starting to work on the arm. A dropkick cuts Gresham down and a single underhook bridging suplex gets two. Gresham is right back to the arm with a quick snap, followed by a stomp for two. Moriarty rolls him up for two more but gets pulled into the Octopus for the tap at 10:06.

Rating: B-. This felt oddly short but they did pretty well with the time that they had. What mattered here was getting Moriarty to look like he could hang against someone like Gresham before falling to the better wrestler. Gresham is a beast and when you throw in the cheating, things are that much better. Good match, but the bigger story is coming for Gresham.

Post match Blanchard and Gresham get in the ring, with Gresham bragging about how he is the best in the world. Cue Claudio Castagnoli for the staredown and we might have a Death Before Dishonor main event. That would be the bigger story.

Christopher Daniels is tired of Jay Lethal going after Samoa Joe. Lethal will get choked out at Death Before Dishonor, but Daniels seems interested in doing it herself.

Kris Statlander/Athena vs. Renegades

Statlander and Athena jump them before the bell and the beatdown is on in a hurry. Robyn is put on Statlander’s shoulders and tossed into two top roe knees from Athena (not sure if that was supposed to be a Codebreaker). The bell rings and the O Face (Eclipse) finishes Charlotte at 27 seconds.

Post match Leila Grey runs in to offer a distraction, allowing Kiera Hogan and Jade Cargill to come in and clean house without much effort. You know, if you want Athena and Statlander to be threats to Jade, you might want them to do something other than get beaten up most of the time.

Stokely Hathaway offers his services to Lee Moriarty, but Matt Sydal isn’t having any of this. With Stokely gone, Sydal announces that Moriarty is getting to face Dante Martin next week. Cue Martin, who absolutely had to be in Moriarty’s field of vision, to shake Moriarty’s hand.

Here is the Gunn Club to explain why they turned on the Acclaimed. Billy says everyone, including himself, loves the Acclaimed, but there comes a time when Daddy A** has to drop the hammer. Cue the Acclaimed but they don’t even rap on the way to the ring. Billy says hang on and offers scissoring but gets knocked down, allowing the Acclaimed to clear the ring. The challenge is thrown out but that isn’t going to happen. It had to be done somehow and this was as good of a face turn as you could have.

Andrade El Idolo is ready for Private Party to beat up the Lucha Bros, who don’t seem to agree.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Private Party vs. Lucha Bros

There are a bunch of people at ringside too. Penta and Kassidy start things off with the latter being shoved down without much effort. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Bros hit superkicks, only to be sent outside for the big flip dives. Back in and the Bros kick Quen down before scaring Kassidy back to the floor. Silly String hits Penta and a springboard Stunner knocks Penta outside as we take a break.

Back with the hot tag bringing in Fenix to clean house, including some chops to Quen in the corner. Kassidy makes a save though and it’s a Doomsday crossbody for two. Fenix gets stomped down in the corner but he gets away for the hot tag to Penta. This doesn’t quite work as a springboard doesn’t work, with Penta slipping down in a nasty crash. Penta is fine enough to hit a Death Valley Driver to send Quen into Kassidy in the corner. The lackeys get in a fight but here is Rush to deck Penta. This has no effect as Penta is back up with the Canadian Destroyer on Quen. Fenix adds the Black Fire Driver for the pin at 11:23.

Rating: C+. It was the kind of match you would expect from these teams, which is to say there were a lot of spots and they moved through them very fast. It wasn’t exactly crisp but Fenix can be one of the most entertaining guys in the world no matter what he is doing. Fun main event here, though Private Party is the same team they were a few years ago: potential, but not much to show for it.

Overall Rating: C+. This is a good example of a show where it was fine throughout and then pretty much nothing that happened here will stick with me for more than a few hours. It came and went with some good enough action, but AEW has a tendency to fly through these shows and not let much sink in. That was the case here, though the Claudio moment was good for a smile.

Results
House Of Black b. Dark Order – Dante’s Inferno to Reynolds
Jonathan Gresham b. Lee Moriarty – Octopus
Athena/Kris Statlander b. Renegades – O Face to Charlotte
Lucha Bros b. Private Party – Black Fire Driver to Quen

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

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Dynamite
Date: July 6, 2022
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Taz, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re back to the normal show this week and that could mean more than a few things. In this case it means that we are going to be seeing Jon Moxley defend the Interim World Title against Brody King, which should be a heck of a fight. Other than that, it is time to build towards Ring Of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor later this month. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Scorpio Sky

Wardlow is challenging in a street fight. Sky strikes away at the leg to start and gets dropped with a hard shoulder. A low blow cuts off Wardlow but he’s fine enough to toss Sky around a few times. They head outside where an American Top Team distraction lets Sky send Wardlow into the steps.

We take a break and come back with Wardlow knocking him off the top and hitting a Swanton. The Powerbomb Symphony is loaded up but Wardlow clears them out without much effort. The distraction lets Sky get in a belt shot for two and Wardlow is back with the spinebuster. A three movement Powerbomb Symphony gives Wardlow the pin and the title at 8:29.

Rating: C. Not exactly a great match and I’m not sure on the idea of having Sky lose again here, but Wardlow needed to win something already and they pulled that off here. Wardlow shrugged off whatever was thrown at him here and he won the title like a monster should. Good enough match and it did what it needed to do.

Confetti falls and Wardlow gets to celebrate.

Jon Moxley is tired of people trying to make their name off of him and tonight, Brody King is going to do it again. You don’t know what kind of a monster you have with him but Moxley knows what he is facing tonight in King.

Here are Christian Cage and Luchasaurus for a chat. Christian has been asked what is going on for a few weeks now and why Luchasaurus has sided with him. Before he can say anything, here is Matt Hardy to interrupt. Matt says he and Jungle Boy have gotten close in recent weeks and Jungle Boy didn’t deserve what Christian did to him.

Christian: “Matt, you’re starting to make your brother sound like the sober one.” Matt talks about regretting the time he spent manipulating people and maybe the last month has been karma coming to get him. Christian calls Matt out for being delusional and for riding Jeff’s coattails for one more run. The brawl is on with Luchasaurus leaving Matt laying, including a chokeslam through the ringside table. I could have gone without the Jeff references but this was fine enough.

Video on Blood & Guts from last week. The Jericho Appreciation Society promises it is not over.

Jake Hager yells at Claudio Castagnoli for never being a World Champion. Castagnoli talks about respect and promises to earn it next week.

Butcher and the Blade vs. Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee

Bunny is here with the villains. Lee headbutts Butcher down to start so we’ll try Strickland vs. Blade instead. That doesn’t go so well for Strickland to start but he knocks Blade down and hands it back to Lee for a shot of his own. Blade jawbreaks his way to freedom but gets knocked outside. Bunny offers a distraction to cut off the dive though and Butcher gets in a cheap shot to take over as we take a break.

Back with Lee getting to clean house as everything breaks down. A lariat/enziguri combination drops Butcher but Blade pulls Swerve in the way of Lee. Butcher hits Lee with a Stunner and Butcher runs him over, allowing Butcher to toss Lee into Blade’s knee. A running knee gets a VERY close two on Swerve with Lee making a (maybe late) save. Back up and Swerve In Our Glory finishes Blade at 9:38.

Rating: C+. I’m not wild on the continued tease of Swerve and Lee breaking up, especially when they haven’t been around long in the first place, but at least they won the match in the end. Butcher and Blade almost feel like a relic from the past but they are still good enough as a team to make a match like this work. Just either split Swerve and Lee or let them stay together and stop with the teases if it isn’t happening.

Post match Team Taz comes out to yell at Swerve and Lee, with Ricky Starks losing his mind over what sounds like a challenge. Cue the Young Bucks to cut them off, though they don’t have to apologize for anything because they started this company. The Bucks brag about the tag division, including what we saw at Double Or Nothing, which was 4.5 stars. Granted that’s an off night for the Bucks, but they need to keep things going. The solution to that: a triple threat match next week at Fyter Fest. Fans: “FTR!” Nick: “We’re better than them and you know it.” The match seems to be on.

Malakai Black says his House’s violence is by design and Jon Moxley doesn’t know what he is in for.

Here is Eddie Kingston for a chat. He congratulates Wardlow on winning the title and everyone who won Blood & Guts last week. The only person he doesn’t like is Chris Jericho, who made him a liar last week. Kingston didn’t get to taste his blood…but Jericho cuts him off on the screen. Jericho asks if Kingston wants to get nuts and we see the Jericho Appreciation Society slamming Ruby Soho’s hand in a car (granted it wasn’t in the car and they more or less had to tell her to get it slammed in the door, making it look really bad).

Here is the Dark Order, complete with -1, to say that they aren’t going anywhere. They’re here to stay because Dark Order is forever but here is QT Marshall to interrupt. Marshall doesn’t think much of the team and -1 in particular, so threats are made. Cue Hangman Page to send Marshall into the ring and the big beatdown is on. -1 teases beating Marshall but says he’ll wait until he’s 18. This could have, and probably should have, been a post show segment.

Rush vs. Penta Obscuro

Andrade, Jose, Fenix and Alex Abrahantes are here too. They go right at it to start with Rush getting the better of things by running Obscuro over. The fight heads to the floor, where the Alex Abrahantes and Jose get in a fight of their own and we take a break. Back with Rush hitting a powerslam for two but Penta grabs a Backstabber for the same.

They slug it out until Rush knocks him into the corner and hits a top rope dropkick for two. Penta is back up with a kick to the face and the Fear Factor gets two, with Andrade putting Rush’s foot on the rope. The distraction lets Rush get in a low blow and rip off Penta’s mask (of course) for the pin at 11:04.

Rating: C+. Good brawl here, though I am completely over that rip off the mask ending. It has been done so many times with both of the Lucha Bros that it feels like something they have to do instead of something special. These two can work the hard hitting style well and they did here, though Rush is still only so interesting.

Jay Lethal and company are happy with the upcoming ROH TV Title shot at Death Before Dishonor. Lethal isn’t taking Joe lightly, but he is taking Joe’s title. Good line.

Mark Sterling is trying to get the Best Friends to sign a petition to get rid of Swerve Strickland. Orange Cassidy wants his lawyer present and that’s….Danhausen? Sterling wants Tony Nese vs. Cassidy on Rampage so they can make a lot of money. but Cassidy isn’t sure. Danhausen to Cassidy: “How about you vs. his client on Rampage? We’ll make a lot of money.” Cassidy is in. Funny stuff, especially Danhausen shouting various legal terms and no one paying attention to him.

Ruffin It/Fuego del Sol vs. Gunn Club/Acclaimed

The Club cuts off Caster’s rap and tensions are high. Fuego takes Colten down to start but it’s Bear Bronson coming in for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Caster hits the Mic Drop, but Austin tags himself in and steals the pin at 2:14. This story is oddly growing on me.

Post match the Club and Acclaimed get into it but Billy Gunn comes in the ring…and turns on the Acclaimed, leaving both of them laying. So there’s the Acclaimed’s face turn.

Miro is not happy with Malakai Black.

Thunder Rosa/Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir/Nyla Rose

Rosa takes Shafir into the corner to start and it’s a double suplex for two. A hip attack keeps Shafir in trouble as the dominance is on to start. Rose gets in a cheap shot though and a fireman’s carry slam drops Storm as we take a break. Back with Storm fighting out of the corner and handing it back to Rosa to clean house. The running dropkick against the ropes staggers Rosa but she’s back up with a Rock Bottom. Everything breaks down and the hip attack hits Shafir, setting up a spike fire thunder driver to pin Shafir at 9:07.

Rating: C. Calling Rosa and Storm Thunderstorm is a funny way to go, though at first I thought it was AEW’s latest gimmick match. Anyway, this is a fine way to set up what should be Rosa vs. Storm for the title down the line, though the less Shafir we see on TV the better. It isn’t working with her, but she’s here pretty frequently anyway for whatever reason.

Stokely Hathaway recommends Leila Grey as the newest Baddie. Jade Cargill says he better be right.

Daniel Garcia is ready to take the Ring Of Honor Pure Title from Wheeler Yuta at Death Before Dishonor.

FTR wants the Briscoes at Death Before Dishonor, one more time.

Interim AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Brody King

King is challenging and William Regal is on commentary. They shove each other around to start and get in each others’ faces to yell a lot. King knocks him outside and sends Moxley into various things to take over. Back in and Moxley gets in a few shots to the knee to take over but gets dropped again as we take a break.

Back with King missing a Cannonball in the corner so Moxley puts him on top and rakes the back for some pain. King blasts him with a clothesline and hits a piledriver for two before grabbing the sleeper in the corner. With that broken up due to being in the ropes, Moxley grabs a Paradigm Shift. The hammer and anvil elbows keep King in trouble, setting up the bulldog choke to finish him off (ala how Moxley beat Brodie Lee) at 11:14.

Rating: B-. They had a good fight here, even though it was Moxley defending against Moxley’s Designated Victim #1. There was no reason to believe that King was going to take the title here, but in this case that worked out well. Moxley gets a win over someone who looks impressive and King doesn’t lose anything from a loss to the champ. Completely logical choices.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t their strongest effort as everything seemed a bit off. Maybe it was a post-holiday hangover or something but it just didn’t quite click. They have some time before All Out and you can probably guess the top of the card from here, but focusing on it would be nice. Certainly not a bad show, but Dynamite has a pretty high bar and this was beneath their usual.

Results
Wardlow b. Scorpio Sky – Powerbomb Symphony
Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland b. Butcher and Blade – Swerve In Our Glory to Blade
Rush b. Penta Obscuro – Small package
Gunn Club/Acclaimed b. Fuego del Sol/Ruffin It – Mic Drop to Bear Bronson
Thunder Rosa/Toni Storm b. Marina Shafir/Nyla Rose – Spike fire thunder driver to Shafir
Jon Moxley b. Brody King – Bulldog choke

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: June 29, 2022
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

It’s another major show here as we go from Forbidden Door on Sunday to Blood & Guts tonight. That would be AEW’s version of WarGames, albeit with twelve people this time as the match needs to be bigger, but it does look good on paper. Other than that, I’m not sure what else we have as so much has been put into the New Japan stuff for the last few weeks. Let’s get to it.

Here is Forbidden Door if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Dig that double ring setup.

Ethan Page vs. Orange Cassidy

Before the match, Dan Lambert complains about the Best Friends being here because they aren’t official managers and we have regulations in his state. Oh and Cassidy is skinny and has no muscles whatsoever. Page starts fast and knocks him down but Cassidy nips up and grabs an armdrag to the floor. There’s the suicide dive, followed by the high crossbody for one back inside. Page is back up with some shots of his own and Cassidy gets knocked into the corner as we take an early break.

Back with Cassidy escaping a Razor’s Edge and then countering another into a hurricanrana. A powerslam cuts Cassidy off but he grabs a Stundog Millionaire and hits the tornado DDT for two. The Orange Punch is loaded up but Lambert, with orange juice, offers a distraction. Cassidy hits some very soft punches and takes the juice, setting up the Orange Punch. The juice is spat in Lambert’s eyes and another Orange Punch sets up the slam (third try) for the pin on Page at 10:57.

Rating: C+. The slam bit was fun and gave the fans something to cheer about, as Cassidy continues his slight rise back up the card. Page is someone with enough name value but nothing going on at the moment so the loss doesn’t really hurt him. Not exactly a great match but it was fun enough to work with a bit of a house show feeling.

Here is Christian Cage for a chat. He has heard a lot of things about saying Jungle Boy’s father was dead last week. Christian hasn’t apologized for many things, but he’s sorry that Jungle Boy’s entire family isn’t dead. Christian: “Well, except for your mom.” Who should call him. As for tonight, he has requested a match, but he never said it was for him. Cue Luchasaurus, with a rather intense new entrance.

Luchasaurus vs. Serpentico

The Snare Trap with a nerve hold finishes Serpentico at 49 seconds. That worked.

Post match Luchasaurus hits a chokeslam on the floor to leave Serpentico laying.

Wardlow and Scorpio Sky have a staredown in the back with Sky saying he beat Wardlow last time. Wardlow says bring every member of American Top Team and the title match is made for next week. We’ll make it a street fight.

Max Caster/Gunn Club vs. Danhausen/???/???

Caster’s rap makes various Michigan references but he won’t let the Club say the city names. Danhausen comes out and he does have some partners.

Max Caster/Gunn Club vs. Danhausen/FTR

Wheeler takes Austin down to start and hits a slam for a bonus. A spank to Austin brings Harwood in to chop away in the corner. Danhausen comes in and gets blasted by Colten as we take a break. Back with Harwood having to save Danhausen and everything breaks down. FTR rolls some German suplexes on the Club until Austin grabs most of the Quick Draw on Harwood for a breather. Danhausen comes back in and tries a GTS on Austin, but Anthony Bowens pops up to his feet (out of a wheelchair). The crutch shot hits Austin by mistake though and Danhausen steals the pin at 9:31.

Rating: C. Well you knew that was coming one day. The Acclaimed vs. the Gunn Club has the potential to be a rather fun mini feud and that is what we are probably going to be getting here. Danhausen getting the pin is going to work almost every chance he gets, as it isn’t like he did anything to earn it. At the same time though, did Caster do anything at all here?

Post match the Gunns and Acclaimed yell at each other but Billy sides with his not-sons.

Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal still want Samoa Joe to give him a Ring Of Honor TV Title match at Death Before Dishonor.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill vs. Leila Grey

Cargill, with Stokely Hathaway and Kiera Hogan, is defending and throws Grey down with no effort. Leila’s forearms have no effect and it’s Jaded to retain the title at 1:55. Total dominance.

Post match Cargill says she wants better competition. Stokely says this woman got a chance after the open challenge was on last night at 11:40. So Athena and Kris Statlander are just lazy for not being in the ring here. Cue Athena and Kris to go after Jade but Leila makes the save. The villains stand tall but Leila isn’t getting a handshake.

Grand Slam is back in September.

The Young Bucks talks about how all of their friends are hurt and they have no one here. The only thing they have left are the Tag Team Titles but they have no competition. On Friday though, they can keep the Forbidden Door open a bit, with Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi getting a shot at the titles.

Jim Ross comes out for commentary on Blood And Guts.

The cage is lowered.

We recap the Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Eddie Kingston/Blackpool Combat Club. The idea is that Kingston doesn’t trust his partners but he needs to take out Jericho and company.

Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz/Blackpool Combat Club

Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Matt Menard, Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia, Angelo Parker
Eddie Kingston, Santana, Ortiz, Wheeler Yuta, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli

It’s WarGames with the opening period lasting four minutes. Then the Society will get the one man advantage for three minutes before they start alternating entrances. After everyone is in, it’s submission or surrender only. Claudio Castagnoli starts for the Club and throws Sammy Guevara over the ropes into the other ring. The running uppercut rocks Sammy, who tries to climb out and gets in a chase around the side of the cage.

Multiple springboards lets Sammy get away to the other ring before they fight between the rings for a change. Back in and the pop up uppercut is countered into a cutter to drop Castagnoli but we pause for a kiss from Tay Conti. Castagnoli loads up the Swing but Daniel Garcia comes in to make the save as we take an early break. Back with Wheeler Yuta evening things up to give Castagnoli a needed breather. A running uppercut/German suplex combination drops Guevara and the Club sends the two of them into some cages.

Jake Hager comes in to make it 3-2 and cleans some house, setting up the battle of the former Real Americans. The springboard corkscrew elbow drops Hager but Garcia is back up to take Castagnoli down. Yuta is back to make a save of his own but the numbers game takes him down. Jon Moxley is in to even things up again, complete with a chair, to start cleaning house again. What looks to be a fork is driven into Garcia’s head to give us the first blood. A Hart Attack of all things drops Garcia and a gorilla press into a cutter drops Guevara.

The Club set up the stereo hammer and anvil elbows (with Moxley’s elbows to Hager looking particularly terrible). Angelo Parker comes in and knows he’s in trouble so he tries to run away as well as he can. That works for all of ten seconds before the Club catches him and starts the big beatdown. The numbers game gets the Society out of trouble but it’s Ortiz coming in to clean house.

We take another break and come back with Menard coming in with a chair of his own to wreck a bunch of people. During the break, Moxley piledrove someone onto broken glass, because that’s what you do during a break. Things even up a bit and it’s Santana coming in with a table and a barbed wire bat to make things even bigger. The blood starts flowing even more, with Moxley pulling out some skewers to stab Menard in the head. Yuta and Garcia stand between the rings and slap each other a bunch until Jericho comes in with Floyd to clean house.

Jericho takes over until it’s Kingston coming in with the kendo stick to complete the field. Kingston walks through the Society with little trouble until Jericho is all that is left. The beating is on so Kingston pulls out rubbing alcohol, which is broken up for the sake of a lack of extreme pain. Conti slips the rubbing alcohol to Jericho as the table is set up between the rings. Hager goes through the table (JR: “SOMEBODY GET THE TABLES!”) and it’s time for the tacks.

Menard is dropped into the tacks as the mat is being ripped off of the ring. Garcia, COVERED in blood, is somehow hanging from the cage outside of the ring as we take another break. Back again with Jericho dragging Moxley through the tacks and then putting on the Walls. Kingston makes the save and gets to beat on Jericho, who is sent into the cage. Jericho finds a fire extinguisher to spray Kingston as Tay grabs the key from the referee.

Cue Ruby Riott to go after Tay and the brawl is on. The women are gone so Jericho goes up top of the cage, with Kingston following close behind. Regal: “This is the one thing I couldn’t strategize with anyone about. I’ve never even been on the top rope.” Kingston hits the backfist on top but Guevara joins them on top. A low blow cuts Guevara down and Eddie throws him through the well placed announcers’ table at ringside.

We take another break and come back again with Jericho getting Kingston in the Walls on top of the cage as Claudio climbs up as well. The Walls are broken up Claudio Swings Jericho. Menard comes up for the save but it’s the Stretch Plum to Jericho and the Sharpshooter to Menard for the tap and the win at 46:45.

Rating: A-. This might be the best example of “your mileage may vary” that you’ll see for a very long time as Blood & Guts is one of the most unique matches you’ll find. They had the blood and the violence and it didn’t feel too cluttered (the double ring thing gives it SO much more breathing room than NXT), though the ending wasn’t exactly amazing. What mattered here was having the teams beat the heck out of each other with a bunch of blood (Garcia was COVERED) and violence, as Claudio vs. Eddie continues. Heck of a match, though I’m still not sure if we need weapons in a WarGames match. Just seems like overkill.

Post match Kingston is mad at Claudio for being the one to get the tap. Respect is shown, but Kingston keeps running his mouth. The winners (minus Santana, who was apparently hurt during the match) all get on top to celebrate, for a rather good while, to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This is one of the harder shows to rate as it’s pretty much ALL about the main event. Everything else was good enough, but the second half of the show was focused on one match and that worked out pretty well. It’s a bit weird to have it be so sudden after Forbidden Door, but the match had been set up for weeks so it isn’t out of nowhere. Very good show, though as far as what the focus was on, it’s a one match episode.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Ethan Page – Slam
Luchasaurus b. Serpentico – Snare Trap with a nerve hold
Danhausen/FTR b. Max Caster/Gunn Club
Jade Cargill b. Leila Grey – Jaded
Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz/Blackpool Combat Club b. Jericho Appreciation Society – Sharpshooter to Menard

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