Collision
Date: March 7, 2026
Location: Tucson Arena, Tucson, Arizona
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We are eight days away from Revolution and the card has mostly already come together. There are still a few spots to be filled though and some of those might be taken care of this week. Other than that, the Tag Team Titles are on the line here as the Rascalz challenge FTR. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Rascalz

FTR, with Stokely Hathaway, is defending and Myron Reed is here with the Rascalz. Wentz takes Wheeler down to start so it’s off to Harwood for a hiptoss. Harwood takes him into a corner for a slap, only to get slapped out to the floor. Xavier comes in and slugs away but gets elbowed in the face. With Xavier on the floor and fighting off both champions, Wentz is there with a big corkscrew dive to take out FTR.

Back in and Wentz stomps on Harwood’s arm, setting up a quickly broken armbar. Harwood takes Wentz outside and suckers him into a clothesline from Wheeler. We take a break and come back with Wentz kicking FTR down and rolling through the legs for the tag off to Xavier. Harwood isn’t having any of this comeback thing and drops Xavier with a clothesline as everything breaks down.

The Rascalz hit stereo dives and Wentz hits a Swanton for two back inside. Wheeler takes Xavier out on the floor and Harwood’s top rope belly to back superplex gets two on Wentz. Harwood and Wentz strike it out until Wentz gets a small package for two. The Hot Fire Flame (or Flash according to Nigel) hits raised knees and FTR is back with a BTE Trigger to Wentz. The Tony Khan Driver is broken up though and Wentz strikes away, only to walk into the Shatter Machine to retain the titles at 15:06.

Rating: B+. There was no reason to believe that FTR was losing the titles here but I was pulled into the match well enough that I was buying some of the Rascalz’s near falls. That takes quite the effort and they made it work here. FTR gets to show what they can do, which is a nice reminder as they have mainly just been talking on the way to Revolution.

Post match Mark Briscoe comes out to do commentary for the next match and has a tense yet respectful meeting with FTR.

Anthony Bowens tells Hook he can be a killer so Hook says take over the camera from Katsuyori Shibata. Hook then Redrums a random wrestler and has Bowens follow them.

Daniel Garcia vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Mark Briscoe is on commentary. Ciampa wrestles Garcia to the mat to start and Garcia is in the ropes for a trip to the floor. Back in and Ciampa fires off some running chops in the corner, followed by a Garcia style dance on the middle rope. Garcia slips out of a suplex though and dragon screws the leg, which is wrapped around the post.

We take a break and come back with Garcia diving into a jumping knee to the face to leave both of them down. Ciampa knees him outside for some rams into the announcers’ table but Garcia gets in another dragon screw legwhip. The STF is broken up so Garcia dropkicks him into the corner instead. Garcia hammers away, only to be reversed into Project Ciampa for two. Back up and Garcia goes outside to shove Briscoe, with the distraction allowing Ciampa to be shoved into Briscoe. Garcia grabs a rollup to pin Ciampa at 10:18.

Rating: B-. The midcard is starting to develop a bit more and that is nice to see, especially with a title not being directly involved. You need to be able to do something away from championships all the time and this is getting somewhere. It helps that Briscoe and Ciampa are both a blast and Garcia is good enough in the ring to hang in there with them. Nice match here.

Post match Garcia leaves and Ciampa wants nothing of Briscoe’s handshake. Cue FTR and Stokely Hathaway again to go after Ciampa. Briscoe gets in to even things up before any violence breaks out and Ciampa is appreciative. Then Ciampa jumps Briscoe and lays him out with a knee.

Video on Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita, which went to a time limit draw in the Continental Classic.

Swerve Strickland vs. Gravity

Prince Nana is here with Swerve, who kicks Gravity down to start and seems rather confident. Gravity is back with a kick between the shoulder blades, which just seems to annoy Swerve. That earns Gravity a knockdown on the apron and a Swerve Stomp, allowing Swerve to go after the mask. Another Swerve Stomp connects inside and the House Call finishes at 4:00.

Rating: C. It wasn’t quite a squash but this was Swerve coming in and mauling Gravity for the most part. That’s what the match should have been, as Swerve is starting to feel it with his new heel style and this kind of a win makes him look dangerous. Swerve is one of the best things going in AEW today and seeing him back it up in the ring is rather fun to see.

Kris Statlander wants Thekla one more time at Revolution, 2/3 falls.

Post break here is Thekla to say no in a variety of languages. Since when does she have to listen to some b**** from outer space? What even makes Statlander think she can win twice in one night? Thekla sent Thunder Rosa back to the graveyards. Everything Statlander is afraid of is what Thekla is. Great line to end a kind of odd promo, though Thekla’s charisma carries everything.

We get a clip of Renee Paquette’s interview with Jon Moxley, who knows he can beat Konosuke Takeshita at Revolution.

LFI vs. The Swirl vs. Private Party vs. Outrunners

For $200,000 and Dalton Castle is on commentary. Johnson headlocks Magnum to start and it’s off to Dralistico to run Quen over. LFI takes Quen outside for some whips into the barricade, with Kassidy being whipped around as well. Back in and the Swirl/LFI hit some running splashes to Kassidy, followed by a quadruple dropkick. Dralistico is back up with a heck of a springboard hurricanrana to Christian and Rush drops Johnson as we take a break.

We come back with Kassidy backdropping his way out of trouble and handing it back to Floyd. Castle loses his mind as Floyd cleans house, including Christian being superplexed onto a pile at ringside. LFI breaks that up but Kassidy takes them out, only for Dralistico to hurricanrana him off the apron. Back in and Rush’s Bull’s Horns is cut off by Quen but the Swirl is back in with a poisonrana. The top rope Canadian Destroyer drops Quen for two, with Kassidy making the save. Private Party hits their top rope double stomp/neckbreaker combination and a Doomsday Cutter gives Kassidy the pin on Johnson at 11:52.

Rating: B-. This was your weekly “here are a bunch of people going nuts for awhile” match and that’s not a bad way to go. The money prizes don’t exactly feel important, but at least Private Party got to do something for a change. They’re a team who could be given a shot here or there, but this might be the best they can do for the time being.

We look at the Don Callis Family winning the Trios Titles on Dynamite.

Jet Speed will be teaming with Mistico against the Family for the titles at Revolution. That’s a great example of a match that doesn’t need to be on pay per view, or even Zero Hour. Anyway, Swerve Strickland comes in to tell Kevin Knight to be more of a killer.

Megan Bayne and Lena Kross jumped the Babes Of Wrath earlier today.

Megan Bayne/Lena Kross vs. Timeless Love Bombs

Bayne powers Shirakawa (Nigel calls her the former Ring Of Honor Women’s TV Champion when it was actually the INTERIM Women’s Champion. Geez get your totally unnecessary titles right McGuinness.) until Storm comes in for the save. That earns the Bombs stereo fall away slams but Storm gets the tag to come in and clean house. Some hiptosses and a hip attack to the face have Bayne down and Shirakawa hits a big dive to the floor to take out both villains.

Storm is staggered though and Bayne is up with a heck of a dive of her own to put the Bombs down again. We take a break and come back with Storm fighting out of the corner and rolling over for the tag to Shirakawa. A springboard tornado DDT and La Mistica put Bayne down, followed by something like a spinning Big Ending to drop Shirakawa onto her. Bayne is back up to fall away slam both of them, leaving Kross to hit a Tower Of Doom.

We hit the parade of strikes until Storm DDTs Bayne, who gets caught in Shirakawa’s Figure Four. Kross and Storm take turns turning the hold over until Kross actually breaks it up. Cue Marina Shafir to choke Storm under the ring, leaving Kross to Jackhammer Shirakawa for the win at 12:47.

Rating: C+. It’s kind of sad that my first though was “how does Shirakawa get pinned this time?”. One would think that somebody with that kind of talent and charisma would be able to do something other than lose all the time. Instead, she’s basically the designated jobber and that’s a bit sad to see. At the same time, Kross has fit in rather well with Bayne, as a pair of monsters like that will always have a place in a tag division.

Mark Briscoe says he’s known Tommaso Ciampa for a long time but something has felt off. Then tonight Ciampa jumped him and that’s the Ciampa he knows. Now Ciampa is aligned with FTR so Briscoe will just team with Dem Bucks on Dynamite.

The Dogs vs. Cosmo Quarry/Gino Catanari/Kayden Monroe

I’m going off my best guess for the latter’s names as there’s no graphic. Kidd knocks all three of them down and one heck of a powerbomb knocks Monroe silly. An implant DDT, a piledriver and a suplex knee to the face finish Monroe at 1:46. Total decimation and the Dogs looked impressive.

Here is a ticked off Toni Storm who wants to face Marina Shafir at Revolution, seemingly anything goes. Then she wants her title back.

We look at Persephone winning the CMLL Women’s Title from Mercedes Mone last night.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Non-title and Jon Moxley is on commentary. They go to the mat to start with Takeshita working on the leg. Back up and they trade running shots in the corner, with Castagnoli getting to stomp him down. Takeshita hits a leg lariat but gets his arm snapped across the top rope to put him in trouble. A hurricanrana takes Castagnoli down and Takeshita sends him face first into the buckle over and over.

We take a break and come back with Castagnoli taking him down by the arm but not being able to keep a short armscissors. Back up and Takeshita forearms him out of the air before snapping off a suplex. Castagnoli is right back with a Swing into an armbar with the legs tied up.

That doesn’t last long either as Takeshita is up with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Castagnoli fights back again and throws in some chairs, allowing him to grab the CMLL World Title. Hechicero comes in to take it away, allowing Takeshita to hit a running knee for two. Another knee is blocked and they trade the big forearms. The Riccola Bomb is countered though and the running knee into Raging Fire finishes Castagnoli at 14:36.

Rating: B. This was Takeshita’s warmup for the match with Moxley at Revolution and that’s a great spot for Castagnoli. It’s pretty firmly established that Castagnoli isn’t going to be THE guy, but having him as Moxley’s policeman is a good fit for him. Let him play to his strengths and make Takeshita look good, which is exactly what happened here. Sidenote: like him or not, Moxley is actually pretty good at commentary, as he sounds like he is having a great time out there every time.

Post match the Don Callis Family and Death Riders brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Another rather good Collision again, as they don’t have matches or angles that really extend stories but they have solid in-ring action. That was the case again here and I had a good time watching the whole thing. Collision works best when they don’t do much talking and that was what they did again here. Rather fun show and the time flew by for a change (but please don’t make the overruns a thing here too).

Results
FTR b. Rascalz – Shatter Machine to Wentz
Daniel Garcia b. Tommaso Ciampa – Small package
Swerve Strickland b. Gravity – House Call
Private Party b. LFI, The Swirl and Outrunners – Doomsday Cutter to Johnson
Megan Bayne/Lena Kross b. Timeless Love Bombs – Jackhammer to Shirakawa
The Dogs b. Cosmo Quarry/Gino Catanari/Kayden Monroe – Suplex knee to Monroe

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

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

Collision
Date: October 11, 2025
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s Homecoming, meaning we’re back where the show has only been a few times over the years. It’s hard to say what we’re getting here, but with WrestleDream in a week, I would hope that some more of the pay per view card starts to come together. Hopefully the show is a bit more interesting this time around. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Triangle Of Madness, Harley Cameron, Kris Statlander, Toni Storm, Bryan Keith, Big Bill, Anthony Bowens, Max Caster (bickering with Bowens), FTR, Penelope Ford, Jet Speed and Willow Nightingale are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

Kota Ibushi vs. Josh Alexander

Don Callis is here with Alexander. Feeling out process to start with Alexander taking him up against the ropes. They do the same thing with the roles reversed and Alexander bails out to the floor. Back in and Alexander shoulders him down but Ibushi slips out of a fireman’s carry to send Alexander outside. The slingshot dive drops Alexander again but he’s right back with a DDT on the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Ibushi grabbing a powerslam but getting caught on the top. Ibushi slips out of that and grabs a dragon suplex before kicking Alexander in the face. A standing moonsault gives Ibushi two but Alexander rolls through into an ankle lock. That doesn’t last long (it rarely does for Alexander) and he hits a torture rack bomb.

Ibushi shrugs that off and hits a running knee for two more. Alexander is right back with a World’s Strongest Slam onto the apron, followed by a running forearm for another near fall. They go up top and crash down to the floor…Ibushi has broken his leg. Alexander wins via a quick countout at 14:01.

Rating: B-. They were getting going near the end here before the injury and egads there is nothing good about that. I’m not sure how much of a future Ibushi is going to have given his injury issues, but odds are this is going to be another long time away from the ring. That’s going to be a big change of pace for everyone and hopefully AEW has a fresh idea in mind for where to go next.

Post match Callis grabs the mic and says this is what happens when you mess with the Family. Mark Davis returns to go after Ibushi but Kenny Omega runs in for the save. It was a messy angle, but given the circumstances, I’m thinking that can be excused.

Mark Briscoe knows Kyle Fletcher fears him and it’s time for Briscoe to finally win the TNT Title.

Video on Hangman Page vs. Samoa Joe.

Bryan Keith/Big Bill vs. Max Caster/Anthony Bowens

Caster and Keith start things off, mainly due to Caster tagging himself in. Keith takes him down to start but Bowens tags himself in, with Caster kicking some of Bowens’ magazine covers away. A facebuster takes Keith down and it’s off to Bill for a change. Caster and Bowens argue over who has to fight him until Caster gets his eyes raked and back forearmed.

A shot to the face staggers Bill though and Bowens comes in with a running Fameasser. Bowens and Caster stare at each other until Bill pulls Bowens outside. Caster gets double teamed and we take a break. We come back with Keith holding Bowens in a headlock, which is broken up so Caster can springboard in to start the comeback. A Death Valley Driver gets two on Keith but Bowens breaks up a top rope elbow. That’s enough for Bowens and Caster to argue, leaving Bowens to Mollywop Keith for the pin at 10:20.

Rating: C+. Well, it’s better than the five minute challenges and Bowens just floating around with nothing important to do. I’m not sure where this is going, but it seems something like a reunion where they get along in spite of their issues. The team was great in their day and it’s not like either of them was doing anything on their own anyway, so this is at least an upgrade.

The Bang Bang Gang is in the back when Bryan Keith and Big Bill run in for the argument.

Anna Jay/Tay Melo vs. Dream Girl Ellie/Carolina Cruz

Jay backs Cruz into the corner to start and a double hip attack crushes her head. A running faceplant drops Ellie and everything breaks down. Some running kicks in the corner set up a Gory Bomb into a knee from Melo for the pin at 2:11.

The Conglomeration is ok while Mark Briscoe is away. They don’t like that other Kyle and Willow Nightingale does Briscoe’s sendoff. And better than she should be doing.

Video on the Demand vs. Hurt Syndicate, who will fight again at WrestleDream.

We look back at Darby Allin almost lighting a Molotov Cocktail on Dynamite. Because that was a thing. Nigel McGuinness: “They have lost the plot.” Allin and Jon Moxley got in a fight at New York City Comic Con as well.

The Death Riders don’t think much of Allin, with Pac accusing him of using too many weapons and props.

Toni Storm/Kris Statlander/Harley Cameron vs. Triangle Of Madness

Storm jumps Thekla and knocks her into the corner to start, followed by a Thesz press. Cameron comes in and, after escaping Blue’s fireman’s carry, hits a basement dropkick. Statlander drops Cameron onto Blue for two but Blue pulls Statlander into the corner. Hart comes in and takes Cameron down with a DDT and we take a break.

We come back with Cameron fighting out of trouble but Blue knocks Storm off the apron. That doesn’t last long as Storm is back up and gets the tag to come in and clean house. Storm Zero is broken up and Blue’s superkick allows the tag back to Hart. The double suplex is broken up and Storm hands it back to Statlander, who drops Blue onto Hart for two. Everything breaks down and Statlander almost superkicks Storm by mistake so the villains throw them into each other. Thekla spears Cameron for the win at 11:27.

Rating: C+. The Triangle is a good enough team, though I’m almost worried about who is going to join them for Blood & Guts next month. The lineups are still moving around a bit, though Storm and Statlander would make perfect sense. This was a nice way to get the Triangle looking stronger, which has been done fairly well since their debut.

Kenny Omega is sick of Don Callis and is ready to deal with him. Jack Perry comes in and Omega isn’t happy, but Perry is sorry for what happened to Kota Ibushi. Perry has his back and goes to leave but Omega wants to know what is going on. Perry says they have the same enemies, though Omega isn’t convinced. He does not have Perry’s back, but if Perry wants to prove something, he can do it on Dynamite. This was a more serious than usual Omega.

Kris Statlander and Harley Cameron say things are not getting tense between Statlander and Toni Storm. Cameron says she can’t team with Statlander to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles but Statlander gets it, as she has to defend the Women’s Title. Cameron thinks that means she’s a tag team orphan (she manages to make that sound so sad) but Wheeler Yuta interrupts. Storm interrupts the interruption and yells at Statlander before pulling her shirt open.

Here is MxM TV for their casting call. They’re ready to fight, as last week the Don Callis Family failed to defeat them, just like the people here failed to make their parents proud.

MxM TV vs. La Faccion Ingobernable

Dralistico takes over on TV to start and drops him with a spinning kick to the head. Guevara comes in for a dropkick but gets to face Maddin, who chokebombs him down for two. Dralistico and Rush come in for a double basement dropkick to Maddin, only for Taya Valkyrie to hurricanrana Dralistico on the floor. Everything breaks down and Dralistico hits a top rope Codebreaker on Mansoor. The Bull’s Horns and an ugly Swanton finishes Mansoor at 3:47.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have much time here but they crammed in quite a bit with the amount they had. LFI is getting some more attention and television time in the last few weeks, which is only so much of a good idea in a company with multiple big heel stables. TV losing over and over isn’t a bad thing, though it feels a lot like what Max Caster was doing a few months ago.

Eddie Kingston vs. The Beast Mortos

They trade running shoulders to start with Kingston getting the better of things. The threat of the spinning backfist sends Mortos bailing to the floor, with Kingston grabbing a headlock back inside. Mortos knocks him down though and we take a break. We come back with Mortos getting two off a running clothesline but missing a running knee in the corner. A hangman’s neckbreaker gives Kingston two and they take turns biting each other’s hands. Mortos gets two off a spear but he misses a corkscrew moonsault. The spinning backfist finishes for Kingston at 8:00.

Rating: C+. This was the best Kingston has looked since he’s come back, which might be due to the match not running very long. At the same time, Kingston got to brawl a bit more here, which suits him that much better. He’s still finding his footing after such a long break, but there is only so much you can get out of matches like these.

The Triangle Of Madness is jumped by Jamie Hayter and Queen Aminata. Security breaks it up.

Katsuyori Shibata is back and issues a challenger to LFI for a Trios Titles match on Dynamite.

FTR/Megan Bayne vs. Jet Speed/Willow Nightingale

Stokely Hathaway and Penelope Ford are here too. The women start things off and shove each other away a few times, with an exchange of shoulders goes nowhere. Bayne knocks her down but Nightingale is back up with some clotheslines in the corner. Knight and Harwood come in, with Harwood taking over, only for Knight to fire off some dropkicks. Wheeler gets dropkicked off the apron and Knight hits a springboard clothesline on Harwood. Nightingale Cannonballs Harwood to give Knight two but Bayne shoves Harwood out of the way of a dive.

We take a break and come back with Bailey getting the tag to clean house, including Knight dropkicking Harwood into a rollup for two. Everything breaks down and Bayne hits a dive to the floor. Harwood brainbusters Bailey for two but Bailey is back with his bouncing kicks. A tornado DDT drops Wheeler but Bayne comes in to forearm Bailey. He takes her down for a change and hands it off to Nightingale, who beats up FTR (to the fans’ delight).

Knight dives onto Wheeler as Nightingale spinebusters Harwood for two. Ford’s distraction breaks up the Babe With The Powerbomb but the villains get caught in stereo half crabs. Those are broken up so Jet Speed dives onto FTR on the floor. That leaves Bayne to powerbomb Nightingale out of the corner for the pin at 14:41.

Rating: B. This was a fun brawl with Nightingale being strong enough to hang with FTR. That made for some good moments, though Bayne continues to smash through most of the competition. There is a good chance that she’ll wind up in Blood & Guts, though after that she needs to win some singles gold in a hurry.

Post match Bayne and Ford go after Nightingale again but Harley Cameron makes the save with a guitar handle.

Overall Rating: B-. Nice show here, though they are banking a lot on that women’s Blood & Guts match. It’s the dominant story around here and that’s kind of an issue, as we don’t even know a lot of the lineup yet. You can piece enough of it together from here, but dang that’s a bit of a gamble. Other than that, it was the usual midcard content around here, which went well enough, though it was a pretty run of the mill week.

Results
Josh Alexander b. Kota Ibushi via countout
Max Caster/Anthony Bowens b. Bryan Keith/Big Bill – Mollywop to Keith
Anna Jay/Tay Melo b. Dream Girl Ellie/Carolina Cruz – Gory Bomb/knee lift combination to Ellie
Triangle Of Madness b. Toni Storm/Kris Statlander/Harley Cameron – Spear to Cameron
La Faccion Ingobernable b. MxM TV – Swanton Bomb to Mansoor
Eddie Kingston b. The Beast Mortos – Spinning backfist
FTR/Megan Bayne b. Jet Speed/Willow Nightingale – Powerbomb to Nightingale

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: October 9, 2025
Location: RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s another week of Ring Of Honor and that means we’re likely to get about the same things we get here most of the time. That doesn’t make for the most exciting shows but some of them can work pretty well. If nothing else, maybe we can find out an idea of when we’ll see the next first round match in the Women’s Pure Rules Title tournament. Nah I don’t believe it either. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a quick preview of the IWGP Women’s Title match.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

We’re mixing it up a little bit. From Arena Mexico in Mexico City.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Hechicero vs. Bandido

Bandido is defending. They go technical to start with Hechicero taking him down and cranking on the arm. That’s reversed into a bow and arrow but Hechicero reverses into a surfboard. Bandido reverses into one of his own, which is escaped as well so Bandido spins him around into an armbar. They go to a standoff before an exchange of rollups gets two each. That’s enough for Hechicero to bail out to the apron so we can reset a bit.

Back in and Bandido gets two off a sunset flip before a hurricanrana drops Hechicero again. Hechicero is able to send him to the floor, setting up a big dive. Bandido is draped over the barricade for a running knee and they have to run back inside to beat the count. Hechicero starts in on the arm and the shoulder is looking banged up. They go back outside with Bandido being sat on the barricade but Hechicero…I think misses a dropkick but it was close.

Either way, Bandido is fine enough to hit a shooting star off the apron, followed by a frog splash for two back inside. A backbreaker gives Hechicero two of his own but he hurts his knee in the process. Bandido is back with the gorilla press into another frog splash for another near fall. Hechicero goes back to the arm and sends Bandido outside, where the trainer seems to pop the shoulder back into place.

We pause for the shoulder to be taped up, which Bandido rips off. Well that’s just wasteful. They trade some running shots to the face and Hechicero’s knee is banged up, meaning Bandido can grab a poisonrana. Hechicero is smart enough to go back to the arm, followed by the headscissor driver for two. Bandido pops back up with the X Knee but can’t hit the 21 Plex. Instead he settles for a leg trap rollup to retain at 22:03.

Rating: B+. It wasn’t quite as good as their classic at Death Before Dishonor but it was more than enough to keep my interest. The shoulder giving out was a great obstacle for Bandido to overcome and Hechicero tormenting Bandido was worth seeing. Very good match here and a rather nice surprise compared to the usual stuff around here, with the venue making it even better.

We recap Skyflight losing but now they want the Trios Titles.

Shane Taylor vs. Beef

Taylor has the rest of the Promotions with him and fires off the left hands to put Beef into the corner. Beef avoids a charge though and hammers away, only to be sent crashing to the floor. Back in and Taylor fires off some knees but Beef cartwheels away and hits a dropkick. The release Rock Bottom cuts that off though and Taylor’s splash gets two. The really big right hand knocks Beef cold at 4:18.

Rating: C. This was a hoss fight and it worked well enough to make Taylor look good. Beef isn’t going to win anything important anytime soon so he can put Taylor over without losing anything. Well other than the match but that kind of goes without saying. If nothing else, at least Taylor is finally doing something after years of living off that TV Title reign.

Post match the Promotions beat Beef down until the Workhorsemen make the save. LFI run in to drop the Workhorsemen though.

Billie Starkz vs. Viva Van

Starkz has to wrestle her way out of a wristlock as commentary says Starkz might still be in a Pure Rules mode. She’s wrestled two Pure Rules matches ever and the most recent was about a month ago. Sweet goodness this Pure Rules stuff is making everything around here dumber. Van gets in a headbutt, followed by a running hurricanrana. A faceplant drops Van and Starkz hammers away but stops to yell at the referee (and at Van, whose face she hates). Starkz kicks her down but the Swanton hits raised knees. Not that it matters as she punches Van down and hits the Swanton for the win at 6:31.

Rating: C. The match was fine, but just hearing about the Pure Rules Title is getting annoying at this point. We’re coming up on two months since the first tournament match, as well as six months since the tournament was first announced. It means next to nothing in the first place, but we keep having to hear about it week in and week out. Drop the thing or just have the matches already, because this is turning into even more of a joke than it was in the first place.

We go to QTV, who talk about the Costco Guys getting challenged to a tag match at Full Gear. Big Boom AJ comes in and asks if QT Marshall is eating a chocolate cookie. Apparently this is his way of asking Marshall to be his partner.

Last week, Sareee and Alex Windsor won a tag match.

Spanish Announce Project vs. Logan Cruz/Tyshaun Perez

Angelico and Perez trade wristlocks to start and it’s off to Serpentico with a top rope double stomp to the arm. Serpentico gets hiptossed onto Cruz but he’s taken into the corner. Perez’s standing moonsault gets two but a double belly to back suplex is escaped. Angelico comes back in for some kicks to the head, followed by a cloverleaf lock to make Cruz tap at 5:18.

Rating: C. For the life of me I do not understand the thinking with the Project. They’re a fine enough team and yet they never do anything around here. Either put them into the title picture or stop putting them out here, because otherwise they’re just making these shows longer week after week.

The Frat House invaded this week’s Jacksonville Jaguars game.

We actually preview some of next week’s show, including a quick video on Shannon Moore, who debuts next week.

Blake Christian is ready to beat up a has been like Moore.

IWGP Women’s Title: Sareee vs. Alex Windsor

Sareee is defending. They fight over a lockup to start and Sareee goes to the ropes for an early break. An exchange of armdrags means it’s a standoff so Windsor fires off a forearm. Sareee is right back with a running dropkick but Windsor hammers her down. Some shots to the back have Sareee in trouble but she’s right back with the Black Widow. That’s broken up as well so Windsor sends her outside for a flip dive from the apron.

Back in and Sareee knocks her down again for a middle rope double stomp and two. Windsor knocks her right back down and the Sharpshooter goes on. Sareee is out of that again so it’s time to trade forearms. Then they trade slaps until Sareee sends her into the ropes for the hard running dropkick.

A top rope double stomp gets two on Windsor, who plants her down with a powerslam for two more. Another Sharpshooter attempt is broken up so Windsor grabs a twisting superplex for another near fall. Sareee makes the rope and fires off a bunch of headbutts to put Windsor down. A Rock Bottom suplex finishes for Sareee at 13:42.

Rating: B. Good match here, and it’s nice to actually see what Sareee can do instead of just hearing about it. She didn’t get to do much of anything last week so it’s nice to have her mixing it up in the ring this time instead. I could go with commentary not acting like the IWGP Women’s Title is more important than either the AEW or ROH Women’s Title, but at least the match was good.

We get a handshake to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: B. The two feature matches were more than good enough to make up for the not so interesting midcard stuff. Ring Of Honor has its usual issues, which means it’s no surprise that the best parts are either not from around here or taking place elsewhere. I’ll take that for a one off show, but the usual ROH stuff was as uninteresting as ever.

Results
Bandido b. Hechicero – Leg trap rollup
Shane Taylor b. Beef – Right hand
Billie Starkz b. Viva Van – Swanton
Spanish Announce Project b. Logan Cruz/Tyshaun Perez – Cloverleaf lock to Cruz
Sareee b. Alex Windsor – Rock Bottom suplex

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

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Collision
Date: October 4, 2025
Location: RP Funding Center, Lakeland, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re two weeks away from WrestleDream and some of the matches have been put together in recent days. This includes Hangman Page defending the World Title against Samoa Joe, which could make for quite the brawl. Other than that, it’s time to build up some other matches, which might start here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Stokely Hathaway, Kevin Knight, LFI, Eddie Kingston, Anna Jay, Orange Cassidy and the Paragon are ready to fight. Pac comes up to Cassidy and says he has six months of pent up frustrations to get out. The challenge is issued for Dynamite and Cassidy is on, after guaranteeing it’s one on one.

We run down the card.

Death Riders vs. Jay Lethal/Adam Priest/Tommy Billington

Lethal cartwheels into the basement dropkick to Garcia to start but Billington gets backdropped out to the floor. Back in and the Riders take over on Billington in the corner but he dives over to Garcia, who comes in and hammers on Moxley. Castagnoli cuts off the suicide dive though and gorilla presses Priest into the barricade. We take a break and come back with Lethal trying to make a save but getting stomped down for his efforts. Garcia rains down the right hands to Priest in the corner and Castagnoli unloads with uppercuts.

Castagnoli’s charge hits the post though and it’s off to Billington to start the comeback. A missile dropkick hits Garcia and the diving headbutt gives Billington two. Stereo crossbodies leave both of them down and Lethal gets to come in to face Moxley. The Lethal Combination looks to set up Hail To The King, which is countered into a rear naked choke. That’s escaped so Garcia tags himself in, with Moxley hitting a quick cutter. The Dragontamer, with a Stomp from Moxley, finishes Lethal at 11:08.

Rating: C+. The Riders winning is fine, though it’s kind of odd to see Priest and Billington continue to get what amounts to a push for them. They’re good enough at what they do, but they’re a fairly small team and are just getting a lot of TV time out of nowhere. With as many people as there already are on the roster with nothing to do, it’s quite the odd choice.

Post match Matt Menard yells at Daniel Garcia, who asks if Menard can take a hint. Garcia says Menard was like a brother to him but Garcia lost when they were friends, because Menard is a loser too. If he stayed around Menard, he would wind up a parasite like Nigel McGuinness (who doesn’t like those words, though we do cut to a closeup of Moxley who says “d***” in a funny reaction). My goodness can we please just stop with these two? With all the people sitting on the sidelines, we have time for this?

Video on Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley.

Nick Wayne is going to be out another 6-8 weeks. He doesn’t accept this diagnosis and says he’ll go find a real doctor.

Anna Jay vs. Jamie Hayter

Hayter headlock takeovers her down but gets shouldered over without much trouble. Back up and Hayter rams her into the buckle a few times but charges into a Downward Spiral. We take a break and come back with Jay fighting out of a chinlock, followed by some running forearms. The Queenslayer is broken up and Hayter hits a middle rope dropkick. A backdrop driver gives Hayter two but Jay is back with a DDT for the same. Jay’s middle rope Blockbuster gets another near fall but another Queenslayer is countered into Hayterade for the pin at 10:07.

Rating: C+. As usual, Jay can hang with the bigger names before losing in the end. I’m not sure what is going to happen with her in the future, but you can almost guarantee Jay and Tay Conti getting a run in whatever competition we have for the Women’s Tag Team Titles. One might wonder why she’s losing here if that’s the case, but one issue at a time.

Max Caster is happy with having won a match but Bryan Keith and Big Bill come in to mock him. Cue Anthony Bowens, who has a bunch of his own covers and awards. A match is set up, but they are NOT the Acclaimed.

Video on Sareee defending the IWGP Women’s Title against Alex Windsor next week on Ring Of Honor. Hokey smoke they actually acknowledged it.

La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Shayne Stetson/Cha Cha Charlie

The ROH Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line and LFI is Sammy Guevara/Rush with Dralistico. Charlie dances to start so Rush comes in and hits him in the face. Rush beats up Stetson on the floor, followed by the Bull’s Horns to Charlie. Guevara adds a Swanton for the pin at 1:48.

Eddie Kingston vs. Dralistico

Sammy Guevara is on commentary and Hook is here with Kingston. Dralistico grabs a headlock but it gets broken up as Kingston takes the leg out to send Dralistico outside. A running knee has Kingston down and we take a break. We come back with Dralistico working on the knee but Kingston is back with an STO. Dralistico’s springboard Codebreaker sends Kingston outside…and he comes back in with the spinning backfist for the pin at 8:17.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure if he’s just shaking off the rust or what, but Kingston’s return has been rather dull to put it mildly. Granted he hasn’t exactly had much to do thus far, but this was another match where he didn’t do much until the finish. Hopefully he shakes it off, because this is going to get rough if he keeps it up.

We look back at the return of Andrade El Idolo on Dynamite, where he laid out Kenny Omega and joined Don Callis. Hologram’s clone joined the team later in the night.

Here is MxM TV to issue an open challenge.

MxM TV vs. Don Callis Family

Takeshita and TV start things off and everything breaks down in a hurry, with the Family cleaning house. Back in and MxM TV manages a double clothesline but stops to pose, allowing the Family to drop them again. Fletcher hits a big dive onto Madden but TV hits Alexander with the Flying Chuck. Mansoor avoids a Helluva Kick from Fletcher, who pops up to belly to back superplex him down. A C4 Spike into the brainbuster finishes Mansoor at 3:13.

Rating: C+. It was certainly not dull, though the comedy team got in a bit more offense than they should have against one of the big heel teams. At least the right team won, as the Family gets to run through some people. I’m not sure why that needed to be a comedy heel team, but the match could have been much worse.

Dalton Castle and the Outrunners want the Trios Titles. Castle isn’t so sure though, because they have to top their amazing performance from last week. The pressure is crashing down on him, so the Outrunners pick him up and carry him off. Castle thinks he’s in good hands.

The Triangle Of Madness jump Jamie Hayter and Queen Aminata.

Dax Harwood vs. Kevin Knight

Cash Wheeler, Stokely Hathaway, Mike Bailey and Willow Nightingale are here too. Harwood hammers away to start but gets knocked outside, only to come back in and get chopped rather hard. A knee that looked a bit low cuts Knight off but he’s able to send Harwood outside for a slingshot dive. Knight backdrops out of a piledriver on the apron and dives onto Harwood to send him over the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Knight grabbing a rolling DDT for two but his reverse frog splash hits raised knees. Back up and Knight manages a Sky High before they trade headbutts on the mat. Harwood’s slingshot powerbomb is countered into a sunset flip for two. Another attempt connects for two on Knight, who is right back with a springboard clothesline. Wheeler offers a distraction but gets taken out by Nightingale and Bailey, leaving Knight to hit his spinning frog splash for the pin at 13:50.

Rating: B-. Two weeks ago, FTR did what was supposed to be something totally heinous to Beth Copeland. Then her husband just walked out and now they’re losing a singles match to half of Jet Speed. I’m really not sure I get that, but FTR has been booked in some rather bizarre fashions for a long time now.

Post match FTR has to save Hathaway from Nightingale so here is Megan Bayne to take Nightingale out.

Skyflight wants the ROH Six Man Tag Team Titles. Shane Taylor Promotions are in.

Here is Kris Statlander to call out Toni Storm for a chat. Naturally they lay on the mat with their heads next to each other, with Statlander talking about how they have never faced each other. They’re having the match because they’re both fighting champions, but Statlander is going to fight even harder.

Statlander is going to knock her back into black and white. Storm has always been impressed by Statlander and now she gets to see what kind of a woman Statlander is. There is no one she would rather lose to, but there is no one she would rather beat. They can do this right now and the fight is on, with the Triangle Of Madness running in to jump them both. Harley Cameron runs in for the save and the Triangle is cleared out. And yes, the six woman tag is set before the segment even ends.

Video on Hangman Page vs. Samoa Joe.

Don Callis Family vs. Paragon/Orange Cassidy

O’Reilly and Hechicero go to the mat for some grappling, with O’Reilly working on the leg. The grappling continues and Hechicero actually has go to over to the rope. Romero comes in so Strong powers him into the corner, meaning chopping can ensue. That’s broken up by Archer, who clears the ring and we take a break.

We come back with Cassidy coming in for a staredown with Archer, who gets low bridged out to the floor. Romero comes in and gets hit with the lazy forearms but Cassidy starts firing off some more serious shots. The Stundog Millionaire hits Romero and it’s back to O’Reilly to strike away on Hechicero. Archer comes back in and gets triple teamed down, leaving Romero to get caught with a tornado DDT. The cross armbreaker makes Romero tap at 10:54.

Rating: B-. Even with Romero out there, I’m surprised to see Paragon actually win what passes for a big match for them. The team is not likely going to be anything important, but if they’re going to put so many other teams over, they need to win now and then. Not a bad main event at all here, with the ending being a surprise.

The rest of the Don Callis Family comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The wrestling was fine and there aren’t any real complaints about it, save for maybe Kingston. The problem here was how dull the whole thing felt. This was like the show you get when everyone that matters is either gone or not doing anything important. There was pretty much nothing important here (even the storyline developments that took place didn’t feel like they mattered) and it was a heck of a chore to get through this thing. It just felt like a show that didn’t matter in the slightest and that made for a very tedious two hours.

Results
Death Riders b. Jay Lethal/Adam Priest/Tommy Billington – Dragontamer to Lethal
Jamie Hayter b. Anna Jay – Hayterade
La Faccion Ingobernable b. Shayne Stetson/Cha Cha Charlie – Swanton to Charlie
Eddie Kingston b. Dralistico – Spinning backfist
Don Callis Family b. MxM TV – Brainbuster to Mansoor
Kevin Knight b. Dax Harwood – Spinning frog splash
Paragon/Orange Cassidy b. Don Callis Family – Cross armbreaker to Romero

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: October 2, 2025
Location: Marshall Health Network Arena, Huntington, West Virginia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We continue our usual deliberate pace around here, which likely won’t include another match in the Women’s Pure Rules Title tournament. One of those took place last week so we’re probably months away from seeing the next step. Other than that, we need some new challengers for various titles so let’s get to it.

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

MxM TV is ready for a big night but apparently the TSA took away Mansoor’s giant load of Seed. It’s ok though because they’re still ridiculously good looking and ridiculously good wrestlers.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

MxM TV vs. Skyflight

Grey and Valkyrie start things off and shove each other a bit until Valkyrie misses a charge into the corner. A knee to the face staggers Valkyrie and it’s off to Darius vs. Mansoor, with the latter grabbing a headlock. That’s broken up and Darius mocks Mansoor’s pose, allowing Dante to come in, only to get dropped by Madden. A chokebomb gives Madden two and Mansoor’s running backsplash hits Dante.

Valkyrie even gets in a running hurricanrana so Madden can add a running hip attack for two more. Dante gets up and manages a springboard flip dive and it’s back to Darius as everything breaks down. Madden gives Darius a fireman’s carry flipping slam for two but he accidentally crotches Mansoor on top. Top Flight’s double double arm DDT finishes Mansoor at 6:25.

Rating: C+. I know they don’t have a chance to do anything going forward but it’s nice to see Skyflight, or in this case Top Flight, actually winning something. It’s better than nothing, as they’ve been running on a treadmill for so long that it feels like they’ll never get a chance. The villains were their usual funny selves and that’s all they needed to be here.

Workhorsemen vs. Chance Prophet/Rosario Grillo

Grillo works on Henry’s arm to start but Henry gets in a pop up knee to take over. Drake comes in and gets his eyes raked so it’s off to Prophet, who gets slammed down and headbutted. A Downward Spiral/enziguri combination finishes Prophet at 2:32. This was in fact a Workhorsemen match and there was nothing you haven’t seen them do before.

Post match LFI comes out for a staredown with the Workhorsemen. Of all the teams who might get a title shot…the Workhorsemen? That’s the best you have.

Yuka Sakazaki vs. Zoey Lynn

Pure Rules and of course it’s not a tournament match. Sakazaki works on the arm to start and Lynn uses her first rope break less than forty seconds in. A dropkick puts Lynn outside and Sakazaki gives her a clothesline on the floor for two. Lynn gets in a high crossbody for two and a middle rope stomp to the back gets two more. Sakazaki kicks her in the face and grabs a spinning hammerlock slam to finish Lynn at 4:23.

Rating: D+. As a regular match it was fine, but it’s another case where the Pure Rules adds absolutely nothing. It’s adding in a match (and don’t worry because there’s another one tonight) for the sake of having Pure Rules and that’s a waste of time. The whole tournament is but we’ll be seeing it for months on end because this tournament, which was announced in April and started in August with two matches in two months, has to exist.

We go back to the Frat House, with Blue Meanie, as they get yelled at for making too much noise. The complaint comes from GLACIER, in his Coach gear. Then we cut to Glacier, in his Glacier gear, beating up some of the team. With Glacier gone, the team decides to drink anyway. What in the world am I even watching?

Frat House vs. Nick Hammer/Casey King/Corey Sparks

The House jumps them to start fast and beat up the very tall King. Sparks comes in and gets sent into the corner for a double kick to the face. That doesn’t last long either as Hammer comes in and gets to slug away but gets dropped with a discus lariat. The 450 gives Karter the pin at 2:19. If you ignore the team getting taken out by the 61 year old Glacier about five minutes ago, the Frat House can be so dumb that it’s fun. They also had a nice enough squash here.

LFI is willing to give the Workhorsemen a Tag Team Title shot at any time.

Aaron Solo vs. Jay Lethal

Solo knocks him off the top during his entrance but Lethal is right back up with a triangle dropkick. The suicide dive drops Solo again and now we ring the bell. Some kicks to the head stagger Solo but he’s able to reverse the Lethal Injection into a small package for two. Lethal hits a superkick but gets cuttered and they’re both down.

Hail To The King is countered into a rollup for two more and the Figure Four is blocked…so Lethal quickly switches legs and puts the Figure Four on the other leg (that was great). Solo escapes and hits a spinning enziguri for two, followed by a top rope double stomp. Lethal shrugs that off and the Lethal Injection finishes at 4:58.

Rating: C+. The match was the usual back and forth trading of moves with very little standing out, though that quick switch on the Figure Four was rather smart. Lethal continues to be good at just about anything he does, though he’s not going to be doing anything of note anytime soon. At least he had a nice enough match here.

Premiere Athletes vs. Cowpoke Paul/Gen Z/Reese Ramone

Daivari gives Z a rough handshake and gets shoved away to start. Z gets taken into the corner and stomped but it’s off to Paul to…well get dropped just as fast. Denali comes in and Ramone slugs away, which works about as well as you would expect. Paul gets chokeslammed and a spinebuster finishes Ramone at 2:58. Remember last week when the Athletes squashed a team? They did it again here.

Video on Serena Deeb, who wants the Pure Rules Title.

Serena Deeb vs. Katie Arquette

Pure Rules. Deeb easily wins a battle over the arm to start and a neckbreaker over the middle rope drops Arquette. Why that isn’t a rope break isn’t clear but that’s the least of this concept’s problem. A hammerlock lariat cuts Arquette off again and a Black Widow makes her give up at 2:27.

Post match Yuka Sakazaki comes out for a staredown with Deeb.

Diamante/Billie Starkz vs. Alex Windsor/Sareee

Windsor backs Starkz into the corner to start and takes her down with a headlock takeover. Sareee comes in and hits a dropkick, followed by a Mega Powers elbow for two on Starkz. Windsor misses a charge though and gets tripped down by Diamante, who comes in to take over. A double snap suplex gets two on Windsor and Diamante gets to choke her in the corner.

Starkz’s chinlock doesn’t last long as Windsor forearms her way out of trouble and it’s back to Sareee to pick up the pace. A Muta Lock has Diamante in trouble…and Sareee just lets it go. Diamante fights back and makes Windsor Stun Sareee, who pops back up with a suplex. Windsor’s Sharpshooter makes Diamante tap at 8:36.

Rating: C+. This was right back to the same issues that have plagued AEW when it comes to international stars. Rather than let us see what Sareee can do, it’s basically “she’s AWESOME” and then she has a pretty mediocre match. Outside of a pretty nothing run in NXT, Sareee is hardly that well known around here. Show us what she can do rather than tell us.

We get a preview of a sitdown interview with Lee Moriarty.

Beef vs. Dralistico

Dralistico rolls outside at the bell but the rest of LFI offers a distraction so he can take over. A running knee hits Beef on the apron and Dralistico gets to pose on the buckle. Beef comes back with a dropkick and hammers away in the corner, only to get caught with the top rope double stomp. Riccaboni declares that “Beef is ground” and a top rope Codebreaker finishes Beef at 4:03.

Rating: C. So Beef was set up with some kind of a story with Lance Archer, which was mentioned at the start of the match, and then he loses to perennial midcarder Dralistico. Why would I want to see Beef going on after this? Actually why would I want to see Beef in the first place?

Post match the beatdown is on but the Workhorsemen make the save.

Alex Windsor is happy with teaming with Sareee but challenges her for the IWGP Women’s Title for next week.

We take a quick look back at the opening video.

Johnny TV vs. AR Fox

The rest of MxM TV is here too. TV kicks him into the corner to start but Fox is right back with a spinning suplex. Mansoor offers a distraction and Fox is pulled outside, followed by a running shooting star press to give TV two. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Fox is sent outside, where the other villains get in a stomping.

Valkyrie gets in to kiss TV, who gets two off the Flying Chuck. Fox fights out of a chinlock and hits a pendulum DDT, followed by an enziguri. A rolling cutter gets two and Fox takes out the rest of the villains with a flip dive. The Swanton gets two on TV but Valkyrie offers a distraction. That doesn’t exactly work though as Fox reverses a neckbreaker into a rollup for the pin on TV at 6:47.

Rating: C+. I can go with the result, as Fox has not been having much success in recent months but has been putting in all kinds of solid performances. I have no reason to believe he’s going to become a big deal, but I’ll take a win over doing nothing. It’s not much of a main event, though there is something to seeing Fox overcome these odds.

Overall Rating: C-. My goodness I can’t believe what I just watched here. This was one of the least interesting, most useless shows I’ve ever seen. The wrestling was completely adequate, but in an hour and twenty minutes, absolutely nothing interesting happened. It was a bunch of matches from the same people who are here most of the time, naturally including TWO Pure Rules matches because that STILL has to be a thing. I haven’t been so bored during a show in a long time and unfortunately I don’t expect it to get any better anytime soon. Or ever.

Results
Skyflight b. MxM TV – Double double arm DDT to Mansoor
Workhorsemen b. Chance Prophet/Rosario Grillo – Downward Spiral/enziguri to Prophet
Yuka Sakazaki b. Zoey Lynn – Spinning hammerlock slam
Frat House b. Nick Hammer/Casey King/Corey Sparks – 450 to Hammer
Jay Lethal b. Aaron Solo – Lethal Injection
Premiere Athletes b. Cowpoke Paul/Gen Z/Reese Ramone – Spinebuster to Ramone
Serena Deeb b. Katie Arquette – Black Widow
Alex Windsor/Sareee b. Diamante/Billie Starkz – Sharpshooter to Diamante
Dralistico b. Beef – Top rope Codebreaker
AR Fox b. Johnny TV – Rollup

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

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Collision
Date: July 31, 2025
Location: Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re wrapping up the run in the Ballroom and the shows have been good enough while they’ve lasted. This week is going to include quite the title match, as Dustin Rhodes is defending the TNT Title against Kyle Fletcher in a street fight. That is a big enough match and we should be in for a nice show so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We start fast, with the Death Riders jumping a security guard. Jon Moxley talks about how the team attacked Darby Allin a few months ago and wants him out here right now. Cue Allin the crowd and the team goes after him. More on this later it seems.

We look back at Hangman Page retaining the AEW World Title over Jon Moxley last night on Dynamite.

#1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament First Round: Bandido/Brody King vs. Gates Of Agony

Kaun shoulders Bandido down to start, earning himself a nip up right back. Bandido kicks Kaun into the corner and it’s off to Liona vs. King for the power showdown. They trade running shoulders until King hits a running clothesline to the floor. King drops Kaun as well and then slams Bandido onto him for two. Back up and the Gates clear the ring as we take a quick break.

We come back with Bandido still in trouble but he manages to kick Liona down and tag King. House is quickly cleaned before it’s right back to Bandido for stereo dives to the floor. Back in and a frog splash gives Bandido two on Liona with Kaun making a save. Kaun’s superbomb gets two more on Bandido but King hits a Death Valley Driver to plant Liona on the apron. King isn’t done as he superplexes Kaun and flips Bandido into a 450 for the pin at 12:43.

Rating: B-. This got going and I can go with a makeshift team getting to make a nice run in this kind of tournament. I don’t believe that Bandido and King are going to move on after this, but they looked good against a team like the Gates. They were all working and moving out there, which made for a rather nice opener.

Don Callis, with Lance Archer, is ready for Kyle Fletcher to win the TNT Title tonight. That gives them the power and the titles but Shane Taylor comes in to protest (calling Callis “Vigo The Carpathian looking”). Archer and Taylor are about to brawl but Callis seems to have an idea.

We look back at last night’s MJF/Mark Briscoe argument.

The Paragon is upset by the loss of Adam Cole but give the Conglomeration a pep talk.

The Death Riders are looking for Darby Allin, who jumps Jon Moxley and puts a towel over Moxley’s face.

Kris Statlander vs. Lena Kross

Kross is rather tall but Statlander shoulders her down anyway. Back up and Kross grabs a German suplex but gets electric chaired into a faceplant. Statlander pulls her into an armbar with a headscissors for the tap at 1:26. Well Kross was impressive while she lasted. She just didn’t last very long.

Post match Statlander poses and Willow Nightingale comes out for her match, though they pass without issue.

Willow Nightingale vs. Thekla

The rest of the Triangle Of Madness is here with Thekla. Nightingale grabs a waistlock to start and sends her flying into the corner without much trouble. Thekla spiders away from a clothesline and we have a rather odd faceoff. Nightingale cuts off a spin with a backbreaker and nails a big Pounce to send Thekla out to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Thekla grabbing an Upside Down choke, with the rest of the Triangle approving. Nightingale gets back up and hits a middle rope dropkick, followed by a clothesline on the apron. Back in and Thekla catches her on top, setting up a heck of a spider superplex. Thekla hits a nice dive to the floor but Nightingale is right back up. Julia Hart offers a distraction though and Thekla drops Nightingale with a spear. The running stomp finishes for Thekla 11:15.

Rating: C+. This match was designed to keep the feud going for at least another match, with Nightingale getting distracted by the numbers game. That’s going to result in her needing some friends to help fight the Madness and we should be in for something decent as a result. If nothing else, at least Thekla won something, which she has been needing to do more often.

Post match the Triangle beats Nightingale down, with Penelope Ford joining in on the fun. Megan Bayne loads up a powerbomb but Queen Aminata (with a chair) leads Tay Melo and Anna Jay out for the save.

Billy Gunn isn’t sure what happened with Anthony Bowens last week when Bowens interrupts. Bowens says Gunn hasn’t contacted him since last week and yells a lot, with Gunn saying he doesn’t know who Bowens is anymore.

Swerve Strickland is happy with taking everything away from the Young Bucks. The Bucks are still trying to abuse the power they have though and Strickland isn’t going to let that happen. He’s going to be there to stop Kazuchika Okada too.

Don Callis and Okada don’t think much of Strickland, or Prince Nana for that matter. Okada is willing to face Strickland at Forbidden Door and the match is set.

#1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament Semifinals: FTR vs. Bang Bang Gang

Schiavone is impressive, as he has moved from calling this the first of four semifinals earlier in the night to the final semifinal here. Wilder and Robinson start things off before quickly going over for the double tag. Harwood grabs a headlock on Gunn and then shoulders him down for a bonus. Robinson comes back in to send Harwood into the corner but Harwood is fine enough to hit an elbow to Gunn’s face. Everything breaks down and FTR is double clotheslined to the floor and we take a break.

We come back with Wheeler missing a Bronco Buster but Harwood grabs an abdominal stretch on Gunn. That’s broken up and Gunn gets over for the tag, which the referee doesn’t see so the beating continues. A Hart Attack gets two on Gunn and he’s sent outside, where Wheeler misses a dive into the barricade. Back in and it’s off to Robinson to clean house.

Stokely Hathaway tries to help on a rollup but the referee breaks it up, allowing Robinson to get two off a sunset flip. A PowerPlex gets the same on Harwood, with Wheeler making the save. Robinson’s spinning Downward Spiral gets a very close two on Harwood and he knocks Wheeler into the Fameasser. Hathaway distracts Robinson though and Wheeler sends him into the steps. Back in and Wheeler gets a cheap shot, allowing Harwood to roll Gunn up for the pin at 15:23.

Rating: B. It shouldn’t be a surprise that FTR and the Gang had a good match, as they had a great one a year or two ago. They work well together and that was the case again here, even with the roles reversed. FTR has felt destined to make the finals and now they have, which shouldn’t be stunning, but I’m not sure how it’s going to go in the finals. Either way, pretty awesome stuff here, which is no shock at all.

We get a Technique By Taz video on Athena’s O Face. Good stuff, as usual.

Athena brags about pinning Toni Storm last night and now she is ready to sign the contract for Forbidden Door. Works for me.

Here is Max Caster for his latest open challenge, plus an insult at Anthony Bowens (who is apparently a boring, bland b****).

Max Caster vs. Rush

Caster gets smart and runs to the floor, with the chase burning off the first minute. Some laps around the ring take off even more time but Rush goes outside to drop Caster. Rush sends him into the barricade and pounds Caster down, only for Caster to come back with a slingshot dive. Back in and Rush gives him the cocky running boot in the corner as we have less than a minute to go. Another toss sends Caster into the corner and Rush chokes away but spends too long posing as time expires at 5:00.

Rating: C. This was more of an angle than a match and I’m actually digging the idea of Caster turning after all of those losses. He’s almost goofily sympathetic and that could make for a nice run. If nothing else, the pre-match promo should mean we’re on the way to something else with Bowens, and that could be fun.

Post match Rush gives him the Bull’s Horns so the rest of LFI runs in for the beatdown. Jet Speed and AR Fox make the save. Caster is laid out but raises a fist from the mat.

Mercedes Mone has won a women’s title in Poland. She’ll be back next week.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Skyflight

Sky knees away at Taylor to start but gets powered into the corner for his efforts. It’s quickly off to Bravo, who gets elbowed down by Top Flight. Dean trips Darius down though and Taylor drops a leg on the apron as we take a break. We come back with Dante cleaning house, including a high crossbody for two. Dante has to roll away from some double teaming and it’s back to Sky. Things pick up again and a quick TKO finishes Bravo at 6:54.

Rating: C+. I’ve always liked Sky and Top Flight so this is a pleasant surprise. It’s not like there are teams beating the door down to come after the Opps, or possibly even the Sons Of Texas in Ring Of Honor. At the same time, Taylor and company losing again is almost funny, as it’s become a running joke at this point.

Darby Allin tries to dump Jon Moxley out of a fire escape but security does their job to break it up.

TNT Title: Dustin Rhodes vs. Kyle Fletcher

Fletcher is challenging in a street fight. They go outside rather quickly and Rhodes knocks a kendo stick away, only to get DDTed onto the steps. It’s time for a table as Rhodes is already busted open. Fletcher misses a dive and crashes through the table, allowing Rhodes to grab another table. Before we get there though, it’s the cowbell to the head for two but Fletcher sends him through the table at ringside.

We take a break and come back with Fletcher busted open as well and using the cowbell to hammer on Rhodes’ knee. Rhodes fights up and hits Cross Rhodes before unloading with a chair to the back. Fletcher superkicks said chair into Rhodes’ face, setting up a jumping Tombstone onto an open chair for two. A third table is set up but Rhodes catches him on top with a super Canadian Destroyer. It’s time for a glove loaded up with thumbtacks, meaning the Claw can go on.

Fletcher breaks that up and brings in the bag of thumbtacks (of course), only to get powerslammed onto them for two. Rhodes pours the tacks into Fletcher’s trunks for Shattered Dreams but Don Callis slips Fletcher the screwdriver. Fletcher stabs the screwdriver into Rhodes’ knee (it sticks) but the doctor gets it out. A brainbuster is countered into a small package to give Rhodes two, followed by the brainbuster onto the tacks to give Fletcher the title at 16:42.

Rating: B. They beat each other up and it’s rather nice to see Rhodes lose the title so soon. Fletcher winning the title is what should have happened and hopefully this lets them give Rhodes his big moment and start to wrap up his time as a focal point. It made for a big time feel to the main event, and at least Rhodes didn’t hold the title very long.

Post match Fletcher smashes a chair over Rhodes’ knee against the post, leaving Rhodes to be taken out on a stretcher. If this is how they get both ROH titles off of him….honestly I wouldn’t be a bit surprised.

Overall Rating: B. The two rather good matches carried this one and they did at least set up some matches for Forbidden Door. I’m more interested in the pay per view than I was coming in and that’s a sign of a good show. This needs to be the first of more than a few focused on Forbidden Door though, as the show is needing a lot more work.

Results
Bandido/Brody King b. Gates Of Agony – Assisted 450 to Kaun
Kris Statlander b. Lena Kross – Headscissors armbar
Thekla b. Willow Nightingale – Spear
FTR b. Bang Bang Gang – Rollup to Gunn
Skyflight b. Shane Taylor Promotions – TKO to Bravo
Kyle Fletcher b. Dustin Rhodes – Brainbuster onto thumbtacks

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: November 17, 2023
Location: Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly, Tony Schiavone

It’s the night before Full Gear and therefore the schedule is a little wacky, as Collision is taking place before Rampage and in the same building. That is going to make things a bit more interesting, but Collision has been up and down in recent weeks. It would be nice to have a more old school feel to this one….or as old school as a show about five months old can be. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tony Schiavone (in a very green suit) brings out Christian Cage and company to start things off. Cage is ready for the six man tag tomorrow night, plus a TNT Title defense tonight on Rampage. Other than that though, in a town full of phony people, we need some reality. Cage says tomorrow is going to be Sting’s last match because he has been living off his past name and reputation for fifteen years. Darby Allin is going to need a father figure and Cage knows someone who can do that for him.

As for Adam Copeland, Cage knows he is here to steal the spotlight but Cage is a different person than he was back then. Beth Phoenix needs to keep the girls up late because Cage is breaking Copeland’s neck. It doesn’t matter who he is facing tonight, but he can beat any of the four in the qualifying match anyway. Fans: “PROVE IT!” Cage quotes not so popular NBA player James Harden, saying he doesn’t work within the system because he is the system.

Ricky Starks and Big Bill have a new stipulation for their four way Tag Team Title defense: we’ll make it a LADDER match. WELL OF COURSE WE WILL.

Miro vs. Daniel Garcia

Miro throws him down without much trouble to start and then suplexes him out of the corner for a bonus. A gutwrench suplex drops Garcia again so Miro loads up the Garcia dance. You don’t do that though as Garcia strikes away, only to be caught in a swinging release Rock Bottom. We take a break and come back with Miro grabbing a chinlock but Garcia fights up. Some slugging in the corner has Miro in trouble and he can’t swat a dropkick away.

Garcia’s running knee to the face just annoys Miro, who superkicks him down. It’s too early for Game Over though and Garcia slaps away, setting up a belly to back suplex. The dance is loaded up but cue Matt Menard to break it up. Not that it matters as Garcia pulls him into a crossface, which he switches into the Dragontamer. The bending back too far is a bad idea for Garcia though, as Miro slams his head into the mat or the break. Game Over finishes Garcia at 10:14.

Rating: C+. This was what it needed to be, as Miro is mad at Garcia for approaching his wife and wrecked him as a result. That’s all this should have been, as Garcia got in some offense before losing. Miro seems likely for a showdown with Andrade El Idolo sooner or later and this should be a good warmup.

CJ Perry and Andrade El Idolo are happy with their new business relationship, which is why Perry has entered into the Continental Classic. If he wins, he gets extra money.

Kings Of The Black Throne vs. The Boys

Brent goes after Black’s wrist to start and is easily shoved away. King comes in so it’s off to Brandon as everything breaks down. Brandon’s enziguri doesn’t do much to Black as it’s Dante’s Inferno to give King the pin at 2:09. Pretty much a squash.

Julia Hart, Skye Blue and Kris Statlander are ready to win/keep the TBS Title.

Trent Beretta vs. Brian Cage vs. Komander vs. Penta El Zero Miedo

The winner gets a TNT Title shot on Rampage and Prince Nana is here with Cage. The fans aren’t sure who they like here so Penta stops to take his glove off. That earns him a shot to the face before Cage gets triple teamed to the floor. Trent elbows Penta down before a jumping knee sets up a half and half suplex. Back in and Cage apron superplexes Komander onto the other two to send us to a break.

We come back with Penta striking away at Cage, followed by Trent suplexing Komander a few times. Penta gets suplexed as well but Cage blocks one without much trouble. A discus lariat knocks Trent silly and there’s a faceplant for two on Komander with Penta making the save. Penta is back up with a Canadian Destroyer to Komander and a Sling Blade to Cage. The big springboard flip dive hits Cage, leaving Komander’s rope walk shooting star to not quite hit Trent. The Scrunchie finishes Komander at 10:34 to give Trent the title shot.

Rating: B-. This felt like something you would see at a house show to set up a title match later in the night. That isn’t a bad thing either as it at least gives the match some stakes, even if Beretta doesn’t seem like a heavy favorite in the title match. For now though, good all action match and that’s what it needed to be.

Don Callis and Powerhouse Hobbs are proud of getting rid of Paul Wight with a heck of a slam onto a car on Dynamite. Hobbs tells Wight to stay away because anyone can get it.

Wardlow vs. Evan Daniels

Powerbomb, Swanton, Powerbomb for the stoppage at 57 seconds.

Full Gear rundown.

Dax Harwood vs. Rush

Ricky Starks is on commentary (Big Bill is with him but wasn’t introduced for some reason) and the rest of LFI is here. They shove each other around to start until Rush backdrops him out to the floor. Some rams into the barricade have Harwood in even more trouble as Starks does a Harwood impression.

Harwood gets sent shoulder first into the post and Rush unloads in the corner, setting up the single boot. We take a break and come back with Harwood chopping his way off the top. That lasts all of three seconds as Rush is back up with a superplex for two. They strike it out for a double knockdown before getting back up to trade clotheslines.

Rush can’t get a backslide so Harwood is right back with a piledriver for two of his own. The fight heads outside with Rush hitting a jumping knee to the face, setting up a posting. Rush goes after Starks before loading up the Bull’s Horns, only to have Starks come in with the spear to Rush for the DQ at 14:01.

Rating: B-. This was quite the Rush match, as he mostly beat the fire out of Harwood, though at least Harwood got in a bit of offense of his own. That being said, I’ll absolutely take having one of them avoid a pin before a title match, as that has always felt like the biggest waste of time. Rush continues to feel like a star, but he certainly likes being on offense. Maybe a bit too much at that.

Post match the beating is on until the other people in the ladder match run in for the huge brawl. Referees can’t break it up as we take a break. Of note: we’re told Tony Khan says this is a no contest. I know he’s a big wrestling fan, but in my day, someone coming in and attacking a single wrestler was a DQ.

Action Andretti is cut off by Roderick Strong and the Kingdom, the former of which says he has found his next victim.

Buddy Matthews vs. Wheeler Yuta

Matthews works on the arm to start but Yuta flips out to escape and crank away as well. Yuta even offers him a shot to grab the leg before pulling it back. Instead Yuta sends him outside, where a dropkick through the ropes makes it worse. That’s not ok with Matthews, who beats him up around ringside.

They head to the apron for a slugout until Yuta is LAUNCHED onto the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Matthews striking him down until Yuta is back up with a heck of a forearm. Yuta manages to knock him down to one knee but Matthews is back with a shot of his own.

A rollup and German suplex give Yuta two each and there’s a superkick to put Matthews on the floor. They fight on the apron until Matthews drops him ribs first onto the turnbuckle. Yuta kicks his way out of trouble and drapes him over the top for an ax handle. Matthews hits a heck of a powerbomb though and the Stomp finishes Yuta at 13:43.

Rating: B. I can always go for a power vs. speed match and they had a nice one here, with Yuta doing what he could against the far stronger Matthews. That’s a formula that has worked forever in wrestling and they did it here with two potential stars. Matthews has long since felt like he could be moving up the ladder whenever he’s given a chance but there is only so much that can be done with the rest of the House Of Black around. See also Yuta with the Blackpool Combat Club, as he is by far the lowest member of the team but is still a talented star. Anyway, pretty sweet match here and that’s always nice to see.

Post match Matthews grabs a chair but here is Claudio Castagnoli to cut him off. Castagnoli says the House Of Black has his attention so he and Matthews can fight at Full Gear.

Orange Cassidy and Jon Moxley are ready to fight again at Full Gear.

Ruby Soho/Saraya vs. Kris Statlander/Hikaru Shida

Shida and Soho grapple around to start as we hear about Angelo Parker “pitching woo” about Soho. Nigel is of course all over Kelly for that one as Statlander comes in to take over on Saraya. Back up and Statlander shoulders her down for two as Julia Hart is watching in the back. Statlander suplexes both villains down at once and hands it back to Shida as we see Skye Blue watching in the back as well. The villains pull Shida down out of the corner and we take a break.

Back with Parker watching at ringside as Saraya kicks Shida in the ribs. That brings Statlander and Soho back in, with Statlander hitting a Falcon Arrow for two. Statlander has to get Soho back inside, but sees Parker in a Soho shirt. Saraya comes back in and gets to clean some house, setting up a forearm off with Shida. After a double knockdown, Shida is back up with a knee each for Saraya and Soho, which has Parker checking on the latter. Saraya is livid as Statlander clotheslines Parker (seemed to be aiming for Soho). That leaves Shida to Katana Saraya for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: B-. This wound up being more of a focus on the Parker stuff and that might be a bit more interesting than the match. Saraya is already starting to feel forgotten around here and it’s not like her matches are tearing the house down. Maybe she ties in with the Parker story, but she certainly needs something. Shida probably will as well, as it feels almost impossible to imagine her leaving Full Gear with the title. Statlander might be in a safer spot, but Hart winning feels long overdue. They covered a bit here, but it didn’t quite feel like a big time main event.

We get a sitdown interview with MJF, who is defending the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles to keep his promise to Adam Cole. The Gunns are very ugly but he’ll beat them anyway. Other than that, he doesn’t like Jay White stealing his title belt, but he’ll get that back at Full Gear. Schiavone brings up MJF winning the title a year ago, sending MJF into a rant about overcoming the odds over the years. He likes the odds against White, so we’ll see them tomorrow. This was fired up MJF and that is often the best kind.

Overall Rating: B. There was good action throughout and the Yuta vs. Matthews match was quite good, but it did feel like a show that didn’t really need to be here. I was hoping they would have pulled the show from the schedule for the sake of the PPV but we got a decent enough push towards Full Gear. The pay per view still doesn’t exactly feel must see, though this show did a nice job of boosting it up a bit.

Results
Miro b. Daniel Garcia – Game Over
Kings Of The Black Throne b. The Boys – Dante’s Inferno to Brandon
Trent Beretta b. Brian Cage, Komander and Penta El Zero Miedo – Scrunchie to Komander
Wardlow b. Evan Daniels via referee stoppage
Rush b. Dax Harwood via DQ when Ricky Starks interfered
Buddy Matthews b. Wheeler Yuta – Stomp
Hikaru Shida/Kris Statlander b. Saraya/Ruby Soho – Katana to Saraya

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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