AEW Double Or Nothing 2025: Somewhere, It’s Still Going

Double Or Nothing 2025
Date: May 25, 2025
Location: Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for another full fledged pay per view and that means the show is likely going to run long. In this case we have what is mostly a two match show and that could create some issues. The big matches here are Anarchy In The Arena, plus the Men’s Owen Hart Tournament final between Hangman Page and Will Ospreay. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford vs. Anna Jay/Harley Cameron

Bayne powers Cameron into the corner to start and faceplants her down, followed by a hair pull from Ford in the corner. It’s off to Ford for a slap to Cameron before Jay comes in for a running spinning kick in the corner. Cameron then sends Ford’s face into the back of Jay’s tights, which is enough to bring Ford back up for a fireman’s carry gutbuster. Jay is back up with a basement dropkick and a neckbreaker over the middle rope…wakes Ford up for a clothesline.

Bayne sends Jay flying with a t-bone suplex and Ford’s running dropkick to the back gets two. Some stomping and choking in the corner but Jay gets in a kick to the face, allowing a middle rope Blockbuster to connect. Cameron comes in to clean house and Bayne splashes Ford by mistake. A double DDT gives Cameron two but Bayne is back up to double German suplex both of them.

That’s not impressive enough so Bayne tosses Ford onto the two of them at ringside. Back in and a parade of knockdowns leaves everyone on the mat, allowing Bayne to go up top. A double superplex brings her down for a crash and a two but Bayne is back up for a double clothesline. A Doomsday Device is broken up though and Bayne goes outside with Jay, leaving Cameron to hit Her Finishing Move on Ford for the pin at 12:35.

Rating: C+. This was a match which could have been on any given episode of Dynamite and that means it is a great choice for a spot like this one. Sometimes you need to have a fun tag match, which is exactly what you got here. Cameron needed a win after some recent setbacks and Bayne was a monster, which is about as well as it could have gone.

Kickoff Show: Cru/RPG Vice vs. AR Fox/Bandido/Los Titantes del Aire

The villains jump them from behind to start and it’s Bandido getting caught in the corner for some running clotheslines. That’s broken up and we settle down to Romero getting taken into the wrong corner for a running shot to the face. Komander grabs a chinlock for a bit before Bandido comes back in for the delayed vertical suplex. That’s broken up and Cru double teams Bandido down so Los Titantes come in to knock them outside.

A double suplex onto the apron puts Komander in trouble but it’s back to Bandido for a top rope corkscrew crossbody. Fox comes in and cleans house with a cutter and slingshot hilo, setting up a suicide dive to the floor. Beretta drops Fox on the floor though and Rush forearms him down for two back inside. Fox is back up with a double top rope clothesline but a spike Strong Zero plants him for two.

Andretti clotheslines Fox back down but he’s right back up for the tag off to Hologram to clean house. Komander adds a running hurricanrana as everything breaks down again. A quadruple dive takes out the villains on the floor so they’re thrown back inside for a quadruple splash off the top for two. An assisted 21 Plex finishes Andretti at 13:18.

Rating: B-. Take a bunch of people, let them go nuts and do a bunch of high spots. I could have gone for the match being a bit shorter as these things tend to go better in short stretches, but it went well enough. I’m still not sure when Hologram is going to actually do something important, but that hasn’t stopped AEW with him for months now.

And now, the show proper.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament Finals: Mercedes Mone vs. Jamie Hayter

Non-title. They stare each other down to start and lock up, with Hayter powering her into the corner. Mone slips away and fires off some forearms, only to get knocked down for a quick two. Mone’s rollups get two each, sending them into a battle over leg cranks. Hayter finally pulls her into a half crab but Mone rolls out and hits the running knees against the ropes. Another running shot sends Hayter crashing out to the floor and it’s time to crank on some limbs back inside.

A Backstabber sets up a cross arm choke until Hayter powers up and drives her into the corner. The middle rope Meteora hits Hayter but she’s right back up with some right hands in the corner. Mone pulls her crashing down onto the buckle for two more and some running knees to the back make it even worse. Hayter is fine enough to snap off a suplex and a middle rope dropkick sends her into the corner. Some running knees rock Mone but she’s right back with the Three Amigos.

A Backstabber looks to set up the Mone Maker but Hayter superkicks her into a hard clothesline. They go to the floor and Hayter hits a step up clothesline off the steps (with a quick slip) and they’re back inside. Three straight Backstabbers set up the Mone Maker, which is broken up rather quickly. Something like a middle rope seated senton gives Mone two but Hayter pulls her into a rear naked choke.

That’s broken up and Mone pulls her into the Statement Maker. Mone tries to kick herself back to the middle of the ring but Hayter gets up and hits a backbreaker for two. Back up and a Tombstone gives Hayter two more (with a heck of a sell from Mone) and she loads up Hayterade but gets small packaged to give Mone the pin at 21:18.

Rating: B-. I liked it well enough, though it felt like they were getting a bit repetitive in there. Hayter managed to make it feel like she could pull it off once or twice here, which is a lot more than I was expecting off what felt like a layup coming in. Mone vs. Toni Storm (more than likely) is a dream match around here and this gets us ready on the long road to All In.

Commentary wishes Jim Ross good health in a nice moment.

We recap FTR vs. Daniel Garcia/Nigel McGuinness. FTR went full evil by attacking Cope and Tony Schiavone didn’t like it. This sent them after Schiavone, so McGuinness stood up for his broadcast partner. Garcia didn’t like it either so it’s time for a tag match, with McGuinness admitting that he and Garcia are likely in trouble.

FTR vs. Nigel McGuinness/Daniel Garcia

Stokely Hathaway is here with FTR while Matt Menard is with McGuinness/Garcia. Wheeler and Garcia lock it up to start before shoving away out of the corner. Garcia punches him down and Wheeler backs away, meaning it’s off to Harwood vs. McGuinness. Harwood chops and strikes away in the corner and then does it again in another corner to keep things level.

Everything breaks down and FTR is cleared out to the floor for a breather. Back in and McGuinness takes both of them down in the corner but they send him outside. Some rams into the apron and announcers’ table have McGuinness in trouble and they go back inside. Harwood gets a hard whip to send McGuinness into the buckle and lays down to mock him a bit, like most good villains should.

Wheeler goes outside to mock Schiavone and we hit the chinlock back inside. McGuinness fights up and manages a rebound lariat, which is enough for the diving tag to Garcia. Some clotheslines take FTR down and a belly to back suplex gets two on Harwood. Wheeler quickly breaks up the Sharpshooter and Harwood escapes the Tower Of London. Garcia helps McGuinness hit a Tower Of London in the middle of the ring and FTR gets caught in stereo holds. Hathaway offers a distraction to break that up and the fight heads to the floor, where Wheeler gets in a cheap shot.

Back in and Garcia hits his rolling superplexes on Harwood but Wheeler breaks them up. A spinning superplex into Wheeler’s top rope splash gets two, leaving Hathaway frustrated. FTR takes McGuinness outside for a Shatter Machine, which is enough for Schiavone to get up and seemingly beg for mercy. Garcia fights back inside until a piledriver is countered to give Harwood two. A spike piledriver gives Harwood two, followed by a Sharpshooter to keep Garcia in trouble. McGuinness is held back and Garcia passes out at 22:30.

Rating: C+. WAY too long here for a match that probably could have been cut in half without missing match. It didn’t help that it was a fairly random pairing against one of the best teams going today, as the result wasn’t exactly in doubt. I wasn’t feeling this one and the length was the biggest problem, as there was no need for this to break fifteen minutes, let alone twenty two.

We recap Mark Briscoe vs. Ricochet. They don’t like each other, Ricochet uses scissors, stretcher match. Totally logical sequence of steps there.

Mark Briscoe vs. Ricochet

Stretcher match, where you have to be put on n stretcher and into an ambulance, which would usually make it an ambulance match. Ricochet jumps him to start and takes things out to the floor, where Briscoe fires off some chops. Briscoe sends him into the ambulance and so Ricochet jumps out and SPRINTS to the ring in a funny bit.

Back at ringside and Briscoe rams him with the stretcher but it’s too early for a Bang Bang Elbow. Ricochet knocks him onto the stretcher but the shooting star press from the apron only hits stretcher. Now the Bang Bang Elbow can hit Ricochet and a chair to the ribs keeps him in trouble. A table is set up but Ricochet gets whipped into the barricade and it’s time to get….some cleaning products?

Briscoe of course polishes Ricochet’s head (that’s worthy of a chuckle), followed by a bucket to the (well polished) head. A tribute to Sabu takes too long though and Ricochet gets in a shot to the head to take over. Some cleaning products to the eyes cuts Briscoe off again and it’s time to take the padding off the stretcher.

The bloody Briscoe is carried back to the ambulance but he uses a crutch to block the door. A fire extinguisher blast blinds Ricochet and they go back to the ring, where Briscoe hits a Jay Driller. Now the table is set up for the Froggy Bow but Ricochet fights back. The scissors to the head staggers Briscoe but he gets the scissors and swings away. A low blow cuts him off though and Ricochet sends him into the ambulance to win at 16:03.

Rating: B. It was a bloody, violent fight and that made for a change of pace from what we’ve seen so far. I’m still not sure why this needed to be a stretcher match but it had some funny moments and Ricochet won in the end, as he should have. That’s all this needed to accomplish, and they did it with Briscoe bleeding a gusher.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. The Hurt Syndicate are the dominant champions and the Sons Of Texas have been the Ring Of Honor champions for several months due to reasons I have yet to begin to fathom. Now Dustin Rhodes wants a third title and Sammy Guevara is here too.

Tag Team Titles: Sons Of Texas vs. Hurt Syndicate

The Syndicate, with MVP and MJF, is defending (unlike the Sons Of Texas). Rhodes and Lashley start things off with the latter driving him into the corner a few times. Rhodes fights out and gets shouldered down so it’s off to Benjamin. Some right hands stagger Benjamin, who is right back with a German suplex. A running knee lift gets Rhodes over for the tag off to Guevara to clean some house.

Benjamin sends him flying with a German suplex as well and Lashley hits a heck of a spinning spinebuster. Guevara is sent outside for a cheap shot from MJF, which the fans don’t seem to like. Back in and something like a Dominator plants Guevara, who manages a quick cutter for a needed breather. Rhodes comes back in and slugs away, including a powerslam to Lashley.

The Canadian Destroyer drops Lashley and MJF’s accidental distraction lets Rhodes hit Benjamin with Shattered Dreams. Benjamin is back up with a quickly broken ankle lock and Rhodes hits a quick Cross Rhodes for two. Rhodes goes up and gets pulled back down so MJF offers Benjamin the ring. That’s not happening so MJF backs off, leaving Lashley to spear Guevara. Rhodes breaks up the pin so MJF goes after him, with Lashley breaking up a ring spot. A spear sends Rhodes through the barricade and Benjamin cuts off a dive attempt. Benjamin superkicks Guevara for the pin at 12:39.

Rating: C. The Sons Of Texas still aren’t interesting, they’re nothing special in the ring and thank goodness MJF didn’t accidentally (or on purpose) help them win the titles. I didn’t care when they became the #1 contenders and the match wasn’t anything more interesting. Thankfully the Hurt Syndicate beat them here, as I can’t take anymore of Rhodes holding titles for months at a time.

We recap the Continental Title match, which doesn’t have much of a story other than Mike Bailey asking for and receiving the shot.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Mike Bailey

Okada is defending. They stare at each other for a bit before locking up and going to an early standoff. A fight over wrist control lets Okada slap him on the chest and they’re quickly on the floor. Bailey hits a crane kick and goes back inside for the bouncing kicks, only to get taken down with a dragon screw legwhip.

They’re quickly back on the floor for a DDT from Okada but Bailey dives back in to beat the count. Back in and Okada does the taunting kicks, followed by a far more serious running kick to the face. A baseball slide puts Bailey on the floor but he is right back up for his “avoid the dive and hit a moonsault” sequence. Back in and a missile dropkick connects, setting up the running shooting star press for two.

Okada shoves him off the top and hits the Air Raid Crash onto the knee. The falling top rope elbow hits Bailey and Okada gets in a middle finger. Bailey kicks him down and tries the shooting star press, which hits raised knees. They forearm it out until Bailey hits a superkick and goes up, only to get dropkicked out to the floor.

The fight heads to the apron, where Bailey hits the moonsault knees. Back in and the Ultimate Weapon misses and the tornado kick is dropkicked away. Bailey kicks him down again for two and ducks the Rainmaker, followed by another kick to drop Okada. It’s back up top, but this time Okada dropkicks him out of the air. The Rainmaker retains the title at 16:04.

Rating: B-. Bailey is one of those guys where you’re either going to like him a lot of not at all and I’m more in the latter category. He did well here, but I can only get so much out of all those kicks and the stupid little bowing deal. Okada was only a bit better here, but the bigger issue was they have all but said it’s Okada vs. Kenny Omega at All In, so this didn’t have the most drama.

We recap Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa. Storm is on the way to All In but wanted a title defense before she got there. Shirakawa returned and won a #1 contenders match, which had Storm excited.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa

Storm is defending and gets taken down for some early kicks to the leg. That’s reversed and Storm dances a bit before grabbing a headscissors. Shirakawa reverses into a dancing double stomp to the knees but Storm makes the ropes to escape. The leg is kicked out again and wrapped around the post but Storm is fine enough to hit a snap suplex on the floor.

Back in and Storm gets two off a fisherman’s suplex, only for Shirakawa to hit a springboard tornado DDT. A clothesline hits Storm and she bails to the floor, where Shirakawa beats up Luther. Shirakawa isn’t done and uses Luther as a launchpad to tag Storm out again. Back in again and Shirakawa grabs a Figure Four, with Storm turning over for the escape.

They trade strikes to the face and both fall down for a double breather. Storm snaps off some suplexes but the knee won’t let her do the running hip attack. Shirakawa is smart enough to go after the knee again but Storm makes the rope to escape another leglock. A reverse implant DDT gives Shirakawa two and the Figure Four goes on again. That’s broken up with another grab of the ropes and they trade small packages for two each. Then Storm grabs a quick Storm Zero for the pin to retain at 15:54.

Rating: B-. The ending was absolutely out of nowhere, but that kind of fit as Storm was only able to do so much with her bad leg. Much like the previous match, there was only so much drama here, as Shirakawa vs. Mone doesn’t feel like quite the same level of showdown. What we got here was good, which is more impressive as they were in a pretty tight spot.

Post match, respect is shown.

We recap Anarchy In The Arena. The Death Riders and the Young Bucks are the two evil groups so a bunch of good guys (and Willow Nightingale) are fighting back. Therefore, it’s time for anything to go in a wild brawl.

Young Bucks/Death Riders vs. Opps/Swerve Strickland/Kenny Omega/Willow Nightingale

Anarchy In The Arena so anything goes. Swerve has some special gear which might be the Predator, while Omega is Captain America…and there is no Joe. The Death Riders come in from a bunch of different entrances and the Bucks get another big entrance about how great they are because this joke is still a thing. They’re the founding fathers and have their own patriotic sounding music, which plays for a bit as the brawl starts.

Joe pops up in the crowd to brawl with Castagnoli and we go to a quadruple screen for the four brawls. We settle down to a bunch of people in the ring and Omega asks for some new music, which is….I’m So Excited. The villains get pummeled in the corners and we cut to Joe beating up Castagnoli at a merchandise stand. Back in the ring and Omega says that doesn’t fit so we’ll play some Bodies by Drowning Pool, which is a better fit for this kind of thing.

Omega even leads some fans in a singalong as the fight heads into the crowd. Moxley forks Hobbs’ head and Yuta cuts off Omega’s dive from a balcony. Instead Yuta is tossed onto the pile and then Omega follows with a moonsault. Joe uses the Captain America shield trashcan lid to beat on Castagnoli at ringside before Moxley brings Hobbs into the ring. Moxley takes him down in the corner and grabs a table, with Hobbs spearing him through it (you knew that was coming).

Matt is pulled in for You Can’t Escape from Omega as Shafir and Nightingale have brawled outside. Back inside and Shibata puts Yuta in a laundry cart and rams him into a wall. A barbed wire kick has Yuta in more trouble and we cut back to Swerve and Omega beating up the Bucks. Castagnoli uppercuts Swerve out of the air though and swings him into a speaker (cutting off the music).

The women are back now and Shafir hits Nightingale with a frying pan. The Bucks are back up to send Omega through a table at ringside as Nightingale’s ear has been chained to the post. A bunch of people go back towards the entrance and Nick Swantons through Hobbs on a table. Hobbs fights up but gets kneed back down, followed by a chair to the head. Hold on though as here is Swerve on a forklift to Swerve Stomp onto the Bucks and Moxley.

Hobbs snaps off some spinebusters inside as Nightingale is finally unlocked. Joe and Moxley grab a choke each, as do Shibata and Shafir. Swerve and Matt break those up with 450s and Matt grabs a staple gun. Hobbs isn’t having any of that, including one to his head and Swerve has his own staple gun. A low blow cuts Matt off but Shafir hits Swerve low and his tongue gets stapled. Omega fires off some snapdragons, including one to Shafir (who spat on him).

The Bucks are back up with superkicks, including a double to the referee. Nightingale is back up for the Tombstone half of a Meltzer Driver to Matt for two. Joe plants Moxley out of the corner and Hook is back to go after Castagnoli. The MuscleBuster into the Koquina Clutch has Moxley in trouble but Gabe Kidd is here to break it up. Kidd piledrives Omega and Yuta puts thumbtacks into Omega’s mouth for an EVP Trigger.

Joe breaks up a bulldog choke from Moxley and they go up to the entrance, where Mark Briscoe is back to take out Kidd. The Death Riders are put in the ambulance, leaving the Bucks alone with Omega and Swerve. The Bucks are dropped in a hurry and Prince Nana brings in the special shoes, with Omega One Winged Angeling Matt through an exploding table. A Swerve Stomp with tacks on his shoes gives Swerve the pin on Nick at 35:11.

Rating: B+. This is one of the perfect examples of a match where your individual tastes are going to make all of the difference. If you like this kind of stuff, you’ll have a great time but if you don’t like this style, this was a huge waste of time. I had a good time with it, partially because while they had some barbed wire and tacks, it was far from the dominant feature. This was about people beating each other up until the ending and I had a fun time, which is all you can get in this thing.

We recap Paragon vs. the Don Callis Family. Neither had anything to do on the show so they’re having a match.

Paragon vs. Don Callis Family

Lance Archer and Don Callis are here with the Family. Cole and Takeshita trade arm cranking to start with Takeshita backing him into the corner. O’Reilly comes in to work on the arm as well before it’s off to Fletcher, who gets struck in the corner. That’s broken up and Alexander comes in to send Strong to the apron for the running crossbody to the back. Even Callis gets in a shot of his own but Strong is able to Angle Slam Takeshita. Alexander is right back to cut off the tag…for all of a few seconds as Strong dives over to bring Cole in.

House is quickly cleaned and it’s back to O’Reilly to go after Alexander’s arm. That doesn’t work so they clothesline each other for a double down. Takeshita is back in with a superbomb for two on Strong but he’s right back up with a running dropkick off the apron. Back in and we get a rapid string of strikes until O’Reilly’s guillotine is broken up. Fletcher grabs the brainbuster for the pin at 12:48.

Rating: B-. Oh man they were stuck in a rough spot here and it showed badly. There is just no way to follow that previous match and the lack of a big story other than “neither of us have anything else to do” didn’t help. They were all working hard and trying, but a six man tag after that wild thirty five minute war beforehand is not going to be easy.

Post match (because we needed a post match as it’s almost midnight with the main event to go) the Family jumps Paragon again but Brody King, Tomohiro Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi make the save.

We recap the main event. Hangman Page and Will Ospreay both want to be World Champion and they’re in the finals of the Owen Hart Tournament for the All In World Title shot. Ospreay wants to win because he wants to be the best, while Page wants to prove that he can still do it and that his first reign wasn’t a fluke.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament Finals: Hangman Page vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay easily wrestles him to the mat to start so Page grabs a headlock. Back up and Page hits a running shoulder, with Ospreay nipping right back up as he is known to do. Page backs him into the corner and they trade legsweeps for two each, giving us a staredown. The Oscutter is blocked and Page backdrops him before avoiding a quick Hidden Blade attempt. That means another standoff as they definitely seem to have a lot of time here.

A running hurricanrana sets up a corkscrew moonsault to give Ospreay an early two. Page knocks him out of the corner but gets caught with a quick Phenomenal Forearm. Ospreay’s slingshot dive is pulled out of the air though and a fall away slam sends Ospreay into the barricade. Back in and Page hits a corner clothesline into a German suplex for two, with Taz being right there to explain the science behind the throw.

Page’s chinlock doesn’t last long so he kicks Ospreay, which just fires him up. A Stundog Millionaire into a rolling kick sends Page to the floor and now the dive connects. Back in and Ospreay’s spinning torture rack bomb gets two but Page breaks up a dive off the top. Page hits a big moonsault to the floor, followed by a Sharpshooter back inside. The rope gets Ospreay out of trouble and Page’s chops just wake him up.

A kick to the face rocks Page, who hits a clothesline and they’re both down. They go to the corner for a Cheeky Nandos Kick to Page but he’s back with a flipping lariat. Ospreay breaks up the Buckshot Lariat though and hits a knee to the head for two. Page is back up with a Tombstone and Angel’s Wings for two but misses a Best Moonsault Ever. Instead Ospreay is back up with a Hidden Blade and they stagger out to the apron.

Ospreay powerbombs him onto the apron and hits a Styles Clash to the floor. Naturally Page is able to dive back in and beat the count, setting up an Oscutter for two. Another Hidden Blade gets two more and a frustrated Ospreay hammers away. A big boot knocks Page to the floor so Ospreay rams him face first into the announcers’ table. They get onto the table and load up…something that they don’t get to do as the table breaks.

Page gets the better of things and, after a staredown, hits a Buckshot Lariat for two. Ospreay is right back with a Stormbreaker but misses the Hidden Blade to leave them both down. Back up and Ospreay hits a V Trigger and something close to a One Winged Angel gets two. Ospreay can’t hit another Stormbreaker and Page hits a quick clothesline, setting up the Buckshot Lariat to finish Ospreay at 37:02.

Rating: A. This match had one of the best possible things going for it, as I had no idea who was going to win here. You could have gone either way and while I had guessed Ospreay, Page is the hotter hand right now and it makes for a better story. Other than that though, this was an outstanding story with the high flying Ospreay being far more athletic and skilled but Page going with more of his brawling and heart. I wanted to see where this was going and it was excellent stuff throughout as they more than lived up to the huge hype. Check this one out if you get the chance as it’s an instant classic.

Post match Page celebrates but comes back to check on Ospreay. A handshake ends the show.

Overall Rating: B. It’s too long. I know that’s not the most positive way to start a final thought but that was the biggest issue here and I was worried about it coming in. Counting the Kickoff Show (and if there are matches taking place, it sure does count), this ran about six hours. I get the idea of “giving them their money’s worth” and all that jazz, but my goodness man, stop having every match go so long. Garcia/McGuinness vs. FTR going 22 minutes? Everything getting at least 12 minutes? Come on already. I was sick of watching this show about halfway through and then it kept going. Quality aside, that isn’t a good thing.

Now with all of that out of the way, this was a rather good show, with the main event being outstanding and Anarchy In The Arena being a lot of fun (though I can get mileage varying). They covered a lot of stuff here and nothing was bad, but I’m not sure how much some of it needed to be on the card.

For a show that felt at least partially like a preview for All In, this show was more than worth a look. Just trim a good number of the matches down by a few minutes (if not moving them to TV) and it’s that much better. It’s a two match show and those matches were both good to great, which is more than enough to carry a perfectly acceptable undercard. Now it’s off to All In, and thankfully they’re off to a positive start.

Results
Anna Jay/Harley Cameron b. Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford – Her Finishing Move to Ford
Los Titantes del Aire/Bandido/AR Fox b. Cru/RPG Vice – 21 Plex to Andretti
Mercedes Mone b. Jamie Hayter – Small package
FTR b. Daniel Garcia/Nigel McGuinness – Sharpshooter to Garcia
Ricochet b. Mark Briscoe when Ricochet put Briscoe in the ambulance
Hurt Syndicate b. Sons Of Texas – Superkick to Guevara
Kazuchika Okada b. Mike Bailey – Rainmaker
Toni Storm b. Mina Shirakawa – Storm Zero
Kenny Omega/Swerve Strickland/Opps/Willow Nightingale b. Young Bucks/Death Riders – Swerve Stomp to Nick
Don Callis Family b. Paragon – Brainbuster to O’Reilly
Hangman Page b. Will Ospreay – Buckshot Lariat

 

 

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




Ring Of Honor – March 27, 2025: This Feels Familiar

Ring Of Honor
Date: March 27, 2025
Location: The Theater At Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’ve actually got a major show set as Supercard Of Honor will be taking place in early May. That gives us something to look forward to, but in addition we are likely going to have Chris Jericho defending the World Title against Bandido at Dynasty, title vs. mask. We should get some more build towards that this week so let’s get to it.

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

Athena tells Diamante that she isn’t sure about Diamante joining the Minions because she doesn’t let just anyone in. Billie Starkz comes up to tap Athena on the shoulder, with Athena suggesting that it’s time for someone new in the Minions.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Okumura vs. Dark Panther

Okumura clotheslines him down to start and they’re quickly on the floor. Panther gets whipped into the barricade for two back inside but he’s right back up with a running dropkick. A slightly modified 619 gives Panther two but Okumura grabs an Iconoclasm and a running cutter for a breather. Panther’s Fujiwara armbar is cut off and they trade kicks to the back. Okumura is sent outside for a suicide dive into the barricade, followed by another dive to do it again. Back in and Panther misses a dropkick but grabs a small package for the fast pin at 6:10.

Rating: C+. This was the signature AEW/ROH win to get someone back on track after their big loss. Panther is at least becoming more of a regular character on the show, but we still only know so much about him. That’s more than can be said about Okumura, who is apparently “a guy who has been here before”, end of biography.

Post match Okumura won’t shake hands.

We see a clip of a video on Komander from AEW’s Youtube page.

We look at the MxM Collection stealing the Tag Team Title which has since been recovered.

Sons Of Texas/Willie Mack vs. MxM Collection/Johnny TV

Mack and TV start things off and we actually get a handshake. TV picks up the pace a bit and slips through Mack’s legs but gets dropped with a hard shot to the face. Guevara comes in and hits a dropkick but TV forearms him down without much trouble. It’s off to Mansoor, who gets taken down as well with a springboard moonsault. Rhodes comes in and gets dropped with a clothesline from the apron to cut him down.

Madden’s hip attack drops Rhodes and an old Sidewinder gets two. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Rhodes fights up and grabs the snap powerslam, allowing the tag off to Guevara. A big dive takes out TV on the floor and another drops Mansoor as Guevara gets to clean house. Everything breaks down and Mack Stuns Mansoor, leaving Rhodes to hit the Canadian Destroyer. Shattered Dreams hits Mansoor and Guevara drops Madden with a middle rope cutter. The GTH to TV gives Guevara the pin at 8:34.

Rating: C+. Another perfectly fine match, even if the Collection vs. the Sons should have been wrapped up a good while ago. Mack is kind of a random person to team with them but I do like getting to see him do something of note after being little more than a jobber for so long. Sidenote: the fact that this was Rhodes in a six man tag and his Six Man Tag Team Champion partners were never named isn’t a good sign.

Post match the villains beat down the winners and steal one of the titles AGAIN.

Lady Frost and Taya Valkyrie didn’t win the CMLL Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Athena/Diamante vs. Mazzerati/Jordan Blu

Diamante and Mazzerati start things off as commentary tries to figure out why Diamante wants to be a Minion. Mazzerati quickly hands it off to Blu, who is quickly beaten down as well. It’s back to Mazzerati, so Diamante gives her a German suplex. Blu gets knocked to the floor and Athena comes in with the forearm to finish Mazzerati at 2:50. Total squash.

We look at Chris Jericho challenging Bandido to a title vs. mask match at Dynasty.

Premiere Athletes vs. Dark Order

The Frat House is watching from the crowd as the Athletes get in a cheap shot to start fast. It’s a brawl to start but the Order clears the villains out to get things going for good. Reynolds gets caught with a running clothesline to the floor and the Athletes hammer away on him in the corner. A hard whip into the corner drops Reynolds again but he’s able to grab a backdrop.

Uno gets pulled off the apron though and Reynolds is pulled back so Daivari can start in on his leg. Reynolds fights out of that without much trouble and it’s Uno coming in for a double DDT. Nese comes back in to clean house but gets taken down by Reynolds. The Frat House throws a drink on Reynolds and Preston Vance comes in to give him a spinebuster. Daivari’s Magic Carpet Splash is good for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: C. This was a fairly dull six man, with the Frat House stuff not exactly making it that much better. The problem is these teams all feel as low on the ladder as you can get and that doesn’t make for the most thrilling matches. Throw in how many times we’ve probably seen them fight and it somehow gets even worse.

Post match the Athletes and the Frat House pose together.

QT Marshall has annoyed actor Paul Walter Hauser by throwing alcohol on him.

Hauser wants revenge.

Marshall says Hauser is a fan and Marshall tried to make him look good in a recent match. Hauser owes him an apology, but if he wants a match, come ask for one like a man.

Viva Van vs. Queen Aminata

Aminata slips out of a wristlock to start as a few people are cheering for Van. An early cross armbreaker sends Aminata over to the ropes and she’s right back with a running kick to the chest for two. Back up and Van hits a nice spinwheel kick for two before ramming Aminata’s head into the mat. They trade some rather loud chops until Aminata knocks her into the ropes for Off With Her Head and the pin at 4:48.

Rating: C. I’m not sure how many times I can say something to the effect of “cool, now do something” about a match like this. Aminata is another person who gets a mini push every so often and then loses again. It’s hard to get any real momentum going, even if she wins a match like this. Van had some good stuff in there, with that spinwheel kick standing out.

The Premiere Athletes are very happy with their win and they want the Tag Team Titles.

Los Titantes del Aire are happy with how things went in CMLL.

Rugido/Volador Jr./Barbaro Cavernario vs. Atlantis Jr./Titan/Fuego

They start fast and it’s Cavernario vs. Fuego to officially get things going. The rapid fire tags/switches are on, with Atlantis getting to clean house. Titan comes in but gets beaten down with some triple teaming. With Titan being pulled off the top for the crash, Cavernario hits a running basement dropkick before it’s time to go after the mask (as is custom).

Fuego and Atlantis both come in and are both knocked down without much trouble. Cavernario’s powerslam gets two on Fuego and we hit a seated abdominal stretch to slow things down a bit. With that broken up, it’s time to go after Atlantis’ mask before Volador settles for just choking in the corner. Titan comes back in for a springboard double dropkick and Atlantis is back up to fight back.

Everything breaks down again and an exchange of strikes leaves everyone down. Volador and Titan strike it out until Titan hurricanranas him to the floor for a suicide dive. Atlantis and Cavernario get to strike it out this time, with Atlantis’ big boot…causing Cavernario to do the Worm. Cavernario takes way too long setting up some kind of a splash and lands on a raised boot. A Canadian Destroyer into the frog splash gives Atlantis the pin at 12:04.

Rating: B-. Yeah it was fun, but it was fun watching these seemingly random six man tags for the last month and a half or so. They’re just kind of a feature on the shows now and while they’re good, you could swap them in and out for just about any other show with nothing changing. As usual, find something for these people to do. I’m well aware that it’s part of their international deal with CMLL, but that doesn’t mean it makes for interesting viewing week after week.

Overall Rating: C. This almost felt like a rerun, as so many of the things could have been swapped in from previous weeks. You have the CMLL main event, the Collection stealing one of the title belts, and something with Aminata and the Athletes/Order. There isn’t much that is worth seeing here and it wasn’t overly interesting when I’ve seen such similar things for the last few weeks. Supercard Of Honor could help, but dang I’m worried about how random the card might be.

Results
Dark Panther b. Okumura – Small package
Sons Of Texas/Willie Mack b. MxM Collection/Johnny TV – GTH to TV
Athena/Diamante b. Mazzerati/Jordan Blu – Forearm to Mazzerati
Premiere Athletes b. Dark Order – Magic Carpet Splash to Reynolds
Queen Aminata b. Viva Van – Off With Her Head
Atlantis Jr./Titan/Fuego b. Rugido/Volador Jr./Barbaro Cavernario – Frog splash to Cavernario

 

 

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

 




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

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

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

Here is Saturday night if you need a recap.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bandido vs. Johnny TV

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

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

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

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

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

Harley Cameron vs. Aminah Belmont

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

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

Los Titantes del Aire vs. La Faccion Ingobernable

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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