Double Or Nothing 2023
Date: May 28, 2023
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Taz

We’re back to viewing on a pay per basis and that normally means some very good things from AEW. This show has an unofficial double main event, with the Four Pillars World Title match, plus Anarchy in the Arena. That should make things all the more interesting and the rest of the card is rather stacked. Let’s get to it.

Commentary is ringside here for a change. If that isn’t a first time for AEW, it’s only one of a handful of times ever.

Buy-In: Hardys/Hook vs. Ethan Page/The Gunns

If the Hardys/Hook win, Matt Hardy owns Page’s contract and Brother Zay is with the Hardys/Hook. JR: “Now is he Isiah Kassidy or is he Brother Zay?” Excalibur: “Well right now he’s injured!” Hook works on Austin’s wrist to start and wrestles him down before it’s off to Matt to stay on the arm.

Everything breaks down and the villains are cleared out, only to be throw back in. Colten starts in on Hook back inside and sends him into the corner. Hook manages a quick El Camino though and the hot tag brings in Matt to clean house. The Gunns are sent outside so they go after the injured Zay, leaving Matt to make the save. That takes too long though and it’s a double teaming to take Matt down for a change.

Matt avoids some charges to sent the Gunns outside but Hook and Jeff are pulled off the apron in a smart move. Colten misses a splash in the corner though and it’s Jeff coming in to take over. The middle rope splash looks to set up a Twist of Fate but Jeff tweaks his knee. The Whisper in the Wind is loaded up but Jeff slips and falls down in a crash.

Hook comes back in for a clothesline to Colten, allowing Matt to come in for Poetry In Motion (as Jeff’s knee seems ok). The 3:10 to Yuma cuts Matt off but Jeff Swantons in for the save. Everything breaks down again and Redrum is broken up. Stereo Twists of Fate take the Gunns down and it’s a Twisting Stunner into the Twist of Fate into Redrum to finish Page at 15:43.

Rating: C+. This was a long Kickoff Show match but it did well enough. The Hardys are going to get a strong reaction no matter what they do and that was the case here. Jeff has been gone for a long time now and it will be nice to have him around again, though pushing him in a big role would be more than risky. For now though, he did ok enough in a limited role.

The opening video looks at the majority of the card, including a special look at the main event.

International Title: Blackjack Battle Royal

Orange Cassidy, Bandido, Chuck Taylor, Trent, Lee Moriarty, Big Bill, Tony Nese, Ari Daivari, Komander, Butcher, Blade, Kip Sabian, Jay White, Juice Robinson, Dustin Rhodes, Keith Lee, Ricky Starks, Rey Fenix, Penta El Zero Miedo, Swerve Strickland, Brian Cage

Cassidy is defending and Sabian tries to get rid of him early on. A bunch of people brawl on the floor to start (as they were all on the floor before the bell and haven’t been inside yet) and Komander does a big rope walk dive to take everyone down. The four luchadors take over the middle of the ring so Bandido can get in a very delayed suplex on Nese. As I try to figure out why anyone but the Varsity Athletes would want to break that up, Nese is tossed out for the first elimination.

Daivari and Penta fight on the apron until Fenix walks the ropes to kick Daivari out for the elimination. Cage finally comes in and gets to clean house, including holding up Bandido and Komander at the same time. The Bros kick Cage down but White and Robinson jump them from behind. White knocks Komander out and it’s a Shield Bomb from the Best Friends/Cassidy to Sabian.

With Sabian out, Big Bill is back up to toss Chuck (with what seemed to be an accidental low bridge from Cassidy). Lee tosses Blade and slugs it out with Cage as Swerve gets in for the first time. Swerve and Lee slug it out (without having a match of course, because that’s just loony) and the Lucha Bros kick Butcher out. Moriarty kicks Bandido out (that’s an upset) but Trent suplexes Moriarty on the apron for the elimination.

Trent takes a big boot meant for Cassidy and gets eliminated in the process as the ring is clearing out a good bit. Cage tosses Lee but Rhodes cuts him off with Cross Rhodes. Fenix is sent to the apron and Penta accidentally knocks him out. Starks tosses Robinson and it’s White vs. Penta for a weird showdown. A springboard is cut out with a Blade Runner but Starks spears White and tosses him out.

Robinson pulls Starks outside (not eliminated) and beats him down, including a whip into the steps. Back in and Bill kicks Stars out (eliminated this time) before Dustin Canadian Destroys Cage on the apron for an elimination. Swerve knocks Rhodes out and we’re down to Swerve, Bill, Penta and Cassidy. Penta fires off a bunch of superkicks and adds a Backstabber to Cassidy.

Bill kicks Penta in the face though and clotheslines him out, followed by a swinging Boss Man Slam to Cassidy. Swerve surprises Bill and tosses him out, leaving us with Swerve vs. Cassidy. They tease tossing each other out until Cassidy hits the Stundog Millionaire. A dropkick to the back stops Cassidy though and they’re both down. The Swerve Stomp connects but Swerve mocks Cassidy instead of throwing him out. Fans: “YOU F***** UP!”

Cassidy catches him with back to back tornado DDTs and the Orange Punch sends Swerve to the apron. Swerve pulls Cassidy out to the apron, where a Prince Nana distraction slows Cassidy down. The Swerve Stomp only hits raised boots and Cassidy knocks him out to retain at 22:25.

Rating: B-. The ending was good, but there were only so many people who were going to be viable options to win, making the battle royal a bit unnecessary. Cassidy winning makes sense, but at some point someone is going to have to crush him good and hard to take the title. Perhaps Powerhouse Hobbs this week on Dynamite.

We recap Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho in an unsanctioned match. Jericho handcuffed Cole to the ropes while Saraya beat up Cole’s girlfriend Britt Baker, meaning Cole wants revenge. Due to reasons, he brought in Sabu. Yes Sabu.

Chris Jericho vs. Adam Cole

Unsanctioned and Sabu is the guest enforcer, with the rest of the Jericho Appreciation Society and Roderick Strong here too. We start with a chair duel between Jericho and Sabu until Sabu chairs him down. Sabu goes up top and dives (meaning falls) onto what looked like Matt Menard to drive him through a table. That’s enough for everyone else and they all head to the back to even things up.

Back in and Cole takes Jericho down and wraps his leg around the post to take over. Jericho is fine enough to catch him with a suplex off the apron to the floor for a big crash. They get back inside and Jericho hits a clothesline but Cole sends him face first into a chair wedged in the corner. Cole superkicks him down but the Panama Sunrise is countered into the Walls. Making it to the ropes means nothing so Cole grabs a fire extinguisher to blast Jericho and break things up.

The blinded Jericho takes Cole down for two and sprays him with the extinguisher to make it worse. The kendo stick is loaded up but here is Britt Baker with a stick of her own to beat Jericho down. Saraya comes in and gets caned down again, with the women heading to the back. A table is set up but Jericho chairs Cole in the face, knocking him through said table. Jericho whips out a chain…with handcuffs on the ends.

That takes took long though and Cole DDTs him onto the chain for two. Cole chains himself to Jericho and hits the Panama Sunrise for two. The Boom misses and Jericho whips him with the chain. Cole manages a quick Boom but Cole doesn’t cover. Instead he wraps the chain around the knee and hits another Boom. Some right hands with the chain knock Jericho out for the referee stoppage at 19:01.

Rating: C-. And that’s being a bit generous. The match was by no means bad, but it was long, never got exciting, and felt like they were going off a Greatest Street Fight Hits list. I didn’t feel like Cole was out for blood or anything like than and the ending was the only part that felt remotely violent. Add in Sabu with the most pointless cameo in AEW history and this was REALLY disappointing.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. FTR and Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett are both claiming Mark Briscoe as a friend, so naturally he’s the guest referee.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett

FTR is defending, Satnam Singh, Karen Jarrett and Sonjay Dutt are here too and Mark Briscoe is guest referee. Harwood takes Lethal down to start and frustration is setting in early. Back up and Lethal is taken into the corner for some hard chops, which has Lethal even more annoyed. Jarrett and Lethal need a breather on the floor and even try the clap behind the referee’s back for the fake tag.

With that not working, FTR hits a double backdrop and everyone heads outside, with Jarrett sending Wheeler into the barricade. Back in and Jeff takes over with a legsweep and some choking on the ropes, allowing Karen to get in a cheap shot. JR yells at Dutt a lot as the beating continues, only to have Wheeler get over for the hot tag to Harwood. House is cleaned and Harwood rolls some German suplexes on Lethal. Another suplex is blocked though and Lethal drops Harwood for a double knockdown.

Everything breaks down and Harwood crotches Lethal on top, setting up a top rope superplex. Harwood isn’t done though and Wheeler goes up for a powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination. Dutt gets involved for a distraction and that’s enough for the dramatic ejection from Briscoe.

Karen whips out a guitar and blasts Briscoe so here is Aubrey Edwards….who she guitar downs as well. Lethal hits a double Lethal Injection on FTR but there is no one to count. Harwood is back up with a piledriver to Lethal but Jarrett gets in a belt shot. The Stroke connects and Briscoe comes in to count two. Jeff slaps Mark, who slaps him back, and right into the Shatter Machine to retain the titles at 19:47.

Rating: B-. It was a fun, entertaining match that went all in on the insanity, as it should have. Cut it down by about five minutes and it’s even better, but there was little reason to believe that Jarrett and Lethal were going to be a major threat in the first place. Thankfully they didn’t do something stupid like having Briscoe turn, so this went pretty well all things considered.

Juice Robinson and Jay White jump Ricky Starks but FTR make the save.

Chris Jericho and Saraya are mad and want a tag match against Britt Baker and Adam Cole on Dynamite. Jericho throws a fireball at a production worker, because that’s a thing again.

TNT Title: Christian Cage vs. Wardlow

Cage is challenging in a ladder match. They take their time to start until Christian fires off some rights. Wardlow isn’t having that and runs him over but has to block the Killswitch. It’s time for the ladder, but Christian dropkicks it into Wardlow. Cage’s dive is blocked with a ladder in a hard crash and now it’s time for the tables, because of course it is.

That takes too long though and Cage knocks him onto the ladder in a hard crotching. Cage hits him with the ladder and puts it up in the ring, only to have Wardlow get back up and run him over. With Cage knocked down, cue Luchasaurus to throw him back in so Wardlow can be cut off. The reverse DDT off the ladder plants Wardlow again and Cage goes up. For some reason Wardlow goes up and dives at the ladder, which breaks as he lands on it.

Wardlow tries to climb the broken ladder, allowing Luchasaurus to hit a pair of chokeslams. Cue Arn Anderson to bite Luchasaurus’ thumb, which starts gushing blood. That lets Wardlow put Luchasaurus on a pair of tables for a CRAZY Swanton off the ladder and they’re both down. Cage pops up and tries for the title but Anderson offers a distraction. Wardlow hits a powerbomb on Christian and retains at 17:06.

Rating: C+. I have no idea why this needed to be a ladder match other than it involved Christian. Wardlow gets a win, albeit with help from Arn Anderson (who might need to see Britt Baker to look at those teeth). It was a violent enough ladder match and some of the spots were good (that Swanton was nuts), but this felt like they threw a ladder match out there so they could have one, not because the match needed one.

We recap Jamie Hayter defending her Women’s Title against Toni Storm. This is part of the Outcasts vs. the other women feud and Hayter is coming in with a bad shoulder, thanks to the Outcasts. Therefore, it’s about the title and revenge.

Women’s Title: Jamie Hayter vs. Toni Storm

Hayter is defending….and gets jumped backstage and falls down the ramp. The Outcasts send her into various things but Hayter says she can go, so ring the bell. Storm goes right for the near fall but the referee gets bumped on an interfering Soho. Hayter sends her into an exposed buckle but some spray paint to the face sets up the hip attack for two. Cue Hikaru Shida to go after Soho as Storm is sent into the buckle. Hayterade gets two but Storm sends her into the buckle again. Storm Zero gives Storm the title back at 2:55. This wasn’t good, but I’m thinking that can be blamed on Hayter’s injury.

Trios Titles: House Of Black vs. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn

The House is defending against mystery opponents, despite the Acclaimed and Gunn all but saying they were challenging on Rampage. Caster’s rap mentions the House of Black being Caucasian and referencing Dominik Mysterio (as Rhea Ripley is Buddy Matthews’ real life girlfriend). Black takes over on Bowens to start, allowing Black to sit down to mess with Bowens’ head.

Bowens tells him to bring it so it’s Matthews coming in to stomp on Bowens’ arm. Caster comes in and gets taken down as well as the one sidedness continues. It’s back to Bowens, who is taken down into a kneebar and then taken down into a kneebar to mix it up a bit. Matthews adds a top rope Meteora as we’re firmly in the slow beating process. Some cannonballs down onto the leg keep Bowens in trouble as we get a WHO’S YOUR MAMI chant.

Bowens tries to fight up again but gets knocked down hard into the corner again. King’s Cannonball crushes him but Dante’s Inferno is broken up. Bowens is almost over to Gunn but King pulls him down just in time. Back up and the hot tag FINALLY brings in Gunn to clean house, including a Fameasser each to King and Matthews. Black is right back up to kick Gunn in the head and retain at 15:39.

Rating: B-. Nice enough match here for something with more or less no build, though I’m still not sure who the House is supposed to be feuding with next. Gunn and the Acclaimed were one of the biggest trios left and now the House is likely back to feuding with a random pairing. For now though, this was a by the book but well done match with Bowens getting beaten down and Gunn coming in to take the fall (as he should have). Perfectly acceptable way to get the titles on the show.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill vs. Taya Valkyrie

Cargill, with Mark Sterling and Leila Grey, is defending and comes to the ring with a rapper and her dancing sorority sisters. Road To Valhalla and Jaded are both blocked early so Jade is sent outside. That lets Taya hit a dive onto Sterling and then hits the sliding German for a big crash.

Back in and Jade manages a spinning spinebuster for two before beating on her outside again. Jade pulls on both arms at the same time but Taya fights back up and hits a Blue Thunder Bomb. Back up and Jade tries a springboard but gets kneed out of the air. Taya hits a Curb Stomp for two, followed by Road To Valhalla for the same. Jade is right back with Jaded to retain at 8:48.

Rating: C. It was nice to see Jade do something different and her athleticism continues to be insane, but this was just kind of there for the most part, with Jade getting to do a move and then waiting for the next one. I’ll certainly take it over what she does most of the time though, as she finally had someone who actually tested her.

Post match Mark Sterling says there is no one let to face Jade….and Kris Statlander is back. And let’s ring the bell!

TBS Title: Kris Statlander vs. Jade Cargill

Statlander is challenging and elbows her in the face. A Jackhammer is broken up and it’s a pump kick into a failed Jaded attempt. Statlander is right back with Sunday Night Fever to finish Jade for the pin and the title at 46 seconds. Well, it’s nice to have Jade finally lose, and for someone who showed up in a surprise and pinned her after a rough match, Statlander could have been worse.

We recap the World Title match between the Four Pillars. Everyone wants a shot at MJF’s title and after a mini tournament, Sammy Guevara agreeing to lay down and then changing his mind and the match being announced, we’re ready to go.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Sammy Guevara vs. Jungle Boy vs. Darby Allin

MJF is defending and Sammy has Tay Melo with him. They’re here with cue cards….and Melo is going to have a baby! Even Jungle Boy has to clap for that one. Allin’s intro is a mini movie where he interrupts a wedding officiated by Elvis and with the groom being a dummy with an MJF mask on.

Allin comes in and beats him up, then has Elvis help him hide the body. Then he comes into the arena in an Elvis jumpsuit, making me think that he killed Elvis and left his body somewhere. Then MJF appears in his devil mask and sitting on a throne. Oh and there are masked women trying to reach for him on the way to the ring, leaving Jungle Boy looking rather plain.

Everyone goes after MJF to start and he gets chopped out to the floor. Everyone gets the chance to flip over each other until MJF is back in to drop Allin. That means the strut is on but Allin knocks him to the floor. The parade of dives is on and Sammy shooting stars onto everyone else. Back in and Jungle Boy gets caught in the Tree of Woe but manages to sit up, causing Guevara to superplex Allin into MJF for a big crash.

Back up and Guevara and Jungle Boy are sent outside, setting up the headlock takeover to give Allin two on MJF. Allin tries a dive but gets cuttered down by Guevara. The frog splash gives Guevara two on MJF, who is right back with a pumphandle driver to Allin. MJF: “I DON’T LIKE YOU DARBY!” He goes into why but that’s as good of an example as anything.

Jungle Boy is back in but gets dropkicked by Allin, leaving everyone down. Allin hits a Scorpion Death Drop, Jungle Boy hits a Killswitch and MJF hits a Cross Rhodes on Jungle Boy for two, leaving us with a stunned face after a cute sequence. Hold on though as MJF grabs a mic (Tony: “Just text it to us.”) and says Sammy is having a baby and needs the money, so lay down already. Sammy says he’ll do it and the ensuing small package gets two on MJF.

The GTH is countered but so is MJF’s Salt Of The Earth. Instead Guevara grabs a Boston crab on MJF and Allin gets the Scorpion Deathlock on Jungle Boy. Neither gives up so they’re both broken up, leaving Allin to Figure Four Guevara….who ankle locks MJF….who chinlocks Allin for a circle submission. With that broken up, Allin hits a Canadian Destroyer on MJF but Jungle Boy hits one of his own, leaving everyone down again. Another Canadian Destroyer (off MJF and Allin’s backs) hits Guevara for two and it’s time to go outside.

Allin gets a running start and knocks MJF and Jungle Boy over the barricade in a nasty crash. Back in and Guevara hits a top rope Spanish Fly to drive MJF onto the other two, leaving all of them down. They get inside and slug it out until MJF fires off the eye pokes. A triple superkick drops MJF and Guevara hits a Cody Cutter on MJF into Allin’s Code Red into Jungle Boy’s sliding forearm to the back of the head.

We get a pinfall reversal sequence (for a round of applause from the crowd) until Allin Code Reds Guevara for two. MJF breaks up the Coffin Drop though and superbombs Allin, seemingly hurting his wrist in the process. Guevara and Jungle Boy go up top to chop it out until Jungle Boy crashes down. Allin skateboards MJF in the head and hits the Coffin Drop but grabs a headlock takeover instead.

Jungle Boy makes the save and hits Allin for a double knockdown. MJF brings in the title but Jungle Boy takes it away…and throws it to the ring instead of hitting Allin. That earns him a Last Supper for two and it’s Guevara back in to fire off knees. The GTH hits and Sammy goes up but Sammy shoves him down. Allin loads up the Coffin Drop, only to have MJF put the title on Jungle Boy. Allin crashes and the headlock takeover retains MJF’s title at 27:49.

Rating: A-. This was a heck of a match and they tied a bunch of stuff in to make it better. It’s also a great example of a build not exactly working out perfectly but the match made up for it very well. They didn’t have it be two in the ring and two on the floor, as there were several sequences with everyone involved at once. I got way into this one and the action worked throughout, even if MJF winning wasn’t that much of a shock.

We recap the Elite vs. the Blackpool Combat Club. They hate each other and it’s time for Anarchy In The Arena.

Elite vs. Blackpool Combat Club

Anything goes, falls count anywhere. A band plays Wild Thing live and keeps going through the start of the match and the brawling is on in the crowd. Nick hits a big flip dive off the barricade as Don Callis joins commentary. Moxley dives off of the announcers’ table onto Omega and then drops him onto said table. A Figure Four on the floor has Omega in trouble as the referee is somehow bleeding.

Back in and Page rips off the eyepatch to reveal….a completely fine eye. Page pulls out the screwdriver but gets beaten down by the Club. The rest of the Elite comes in to beat the Club down and clear the ring with superkicks. The Elite hit stereo dives, leaving the Bucks to finally superkick the band to cut off the music. Omega hits Moxley with a piece of the announcers’ table as the Bucks dive off the stage.

Page comes back in to help beat on Moxley until Danielson makes the save. Omega gets suplexed onto the ramp as Danielson chokes Page inside. A bunch of people head to the concourse as Moxley busts out a barbed wire poker chip. Omega gets suplexed onto said chip before Moxley drives a fork into his head. We go split screen (thank goodness) as Castagnoli swings Matt Jackson near the concession stand. Back in the ring and Yuta chairs Page before Moxley knees Omega in the head.

We see Castagnoli piledriving Matt into a truck and that should leave him down for a bit. More people start getting back to ringside as the Elite continues to get beaten down. Page gets dropped onto a leaf blower (because there’s a leaf blower) but comes back with a Deadeye to Moxley on the apron. Omega, in Captain America tights, puts a trashcan lid on his arm ala Captain America and starts cleaning house. Castagnoli breaks that up but the Bucks are back in for the save.

Moxley hits the King Kong lariat into a Gotch style piledriver or two on Nick, setting up a crossface/Boston crab combination. Cue Matt and an exploding…something to the head (just go with it) clears Moxley out. A bunch of superkicks into the Buckshot Lariat gets two on Yuta and it’s Castagnoli punting…I believe Matt’s shoe. Moxley whips out the tacks (of course) and Matt goes bare foot into them, setting up a Death Rider for two.

Nick Swantons in to break up Danielson’s heel hook, with Nick’s face hitting the tacks. Castagnoli breaks up Omega’s V Trigger so Omega hits him with it instead. Danielson knees Omega down and then does it to Page as well. Moxley pours tacks in Matt’s mouth for Castagnoli’s uppercut, setting up a German suplex from Yuta.

It’s Page making the save and Omega gets up with him, as they’re family again. Danielson is back up and it’s the Deadeye into the One Winged Angel for two as Yuta makes the save. Callis offers a distraction though and slips Yuta a screwdriver. That takes Page down so Omega goes after Callis…..and it’s Konosuke Takeshita to knee Omega down. Yuta screwdrivers Omega in the head and grabs the seat belt for the pin at 27:02.

Rating: B+. This was really good as well, but just like the previous version or Stadium Stampede, it’s not really a match that you can call step by step in the traditional sense. Instead it was a bunch of fights that were all over the place, which is exactly what its name says it was supposed to be. The ending sends things into a bit of a different direction, though anytime someone wants to get Callis off the screen for the better part of ever, I’d be happy. Hard hitting, violent match here and that’s exactly what it needed to be after all the hatred to get us here.

Post match Callis chokes Omega with a belt to knock him even more out. The Club celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show took its time to get going and did have some rocky points, but it got that much better by the end, with the last two matches being awesome. There were some rather violent matches here and some of them felt like a definitive end to a story, but it did go a bit overboard with the insanity. This show had a battle royal, a ladder match, an unsanctioned match, a four way and Anarchy in the Arena. It would have been nice to slow things down a bit and have some more regular matches, but the last two matches carried it pretty high. Not a bad show at all, but pretty low on the AEW PPV chart.

Results
Hardys/Hook b. Ethan Page/Gunns – Redrum to Page
Orange Cassidy won the Blackjack Battle Royal last eliminating Swerve Strickland
Adam Cole b. Chris Jericho via referee stoppage
FTR b. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal – Shatter Machine to Jarrett
Wardlow b. Christian Cage – Wardlow pulled down the title
Toni Storm b. Jamie Hayter – Storm Zero
House Of Black b. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn – Spinning kick to Gunn
Jade Cargill b. Taya Valkyrie – Jaded
Kris Statlander b. Jade Cargill – Sunday Night Fever
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Jungle Boy, Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara – Headlock takeover to Allin
Blackpool Combat Club b. Elite – Seat belt to Omega

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Ring Of Honor
Date: May 25, 2023
Location: Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Nigel McGuinness

It’s Double Or Nothing week but Ring Of Honor still doesn’t have a major show of its own to build towards. I would assume that we might be seeing something like that being announced in the next few weeks, but for now we’ll have to settle for this show producing acts like Metalik/AR Fox/Blake Christian to be fed to the House Of Black on Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

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

By the way: this show sets new records at 2:56:30 and 19 matches.

JD Drake vs. Mark Briscoe

Anthony Henry is here with Drake. Briscoe sticks his chest out for the chop so Drake does the same, meaning the chops abound. A boot to the chest rocks Drake and Briscoe sends him outside. That means a dive to take out Henry and Drake at the same time but Drake is back in with more chops. A spinebuster gives Drake two more and a Boss Man Slam is good for the same.

Briscoe knocks him off the top though and a missile dropkick puts Drake down. Drake is willing to let Briscoe chop him, but Briscoe grabs a swinging Rock Bottom for two instead. Henry’s distraction breaks up the Jay Driller and Drake hits his moonsault for two more. For some reason Henry tries his own Jay Driller, which is reversed into a Death valley Driver. The Froggy Bow finishes for Briscoe at 9:24.

Rating: C. Drake continues to move well for a big guy but he was outmatched here against Briscoe. That’s part of the problem with Briscoe at the moment as he doesn’t want to be in a team (fair) but he’s a big enough star that he needs to win something. The TV Title was done at Supercard Of Honor and the World Title is mainly stuck on Proving Ground matches, so instead Briscoe just kind of floats, in this case as a guest referee on the main show.

Respect is shown post match and Briscoe says he wants the TV Title. I could go for a rematch, but Briscoe needs to actually win the thing.

Christopher Daniels wants Matt Sydal to get a TV Title and they’ll start the path tonight.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Serpentico

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning that if Serpentico wins or lasts the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Castagnoli shoves him down to start as commentary talks about what kind of dog these two would be. Serpentico grabs his Castagnoli’s hands for a test of strength but gets sent flying off a suplex. A rollup gives Serpentico two and Castagnoli is sent to the floor for a big flip dive. Castagnoli sends him into the steps and hits about ten straight clotheslines back inside. A big clothesline finishes Serpentico at 3:39.

Rating: C-. Pretty much a squash here as there was no reason to believe that perennial jobber Serpentico was going to be a threat to Castagnoli. We’re currently waiting to see who is next for a title shot and the pickings are fairly slim at the moment. Maybe someone steps up soon, but for now, we might be stuck with little more than this from the champ.

Vertvixen vs. Kiera Hogan

Vertvixen grabs a headlock to start, followed by a running dropkick. Hogan fights up with a kick of her own as Athena comes out to watch. A Downward Spiral into a Koji Clutch has Hogan in trouble but she sends Vertvixen face first into the buckle for two. Vertvixen is back with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two but Hogan grabs a Saito suplex for the pin at 4:59.

Rating: C. Hogan wasn’t a serious threat to Jade Cargill in AEW and she isn’t going to be a threat to Athena anytime soon. Athena has been great in her role but she needs a much stronger challenger than she has been getting recently. Skye Blue worked as she has at least done something, but Hogan beating Vertvixen in about five minutes isn’t going to make her a viable challenger.

Post match Athena shoves Hogan, who trips over Vertvixen, just to make her look even more like a goof.

Kyle Fletcher vs. AR Fox

Fletcher takes him down to start without much trouble and then circles the standing Fox a few times. Some hard shots put Fox down and Fletcher gets to stomp away but Fox blocks a suplex attempt. Instead it’s a suplex to drop Fletcher for a change, setting up the rolling cutter for two.

Another jumping cutter is countered into a dragon suplex but Fox kicks him in the face. Fletcher gets kicked to the floor for a big flip dive from the top, followed by a 450 for two back inside. They both go up top where Fletcher snaps off a super Falcon Arrow. The spinning Tombstone finishes for Fletcher at 10:12.

Rating: B-. I’m kind of amazed that it only took one drop on the head to finish Fox but my goodness that’s a nice change of pace from the usual amount of kickouts you see from similar moves. Fletcher is getting a nice singles run while Mark Davis is hurt but it’s hard to imagine it lasting when the team is ready to go again. Fox can have an exciting match against anyone and thankfully that one ridiculous match a few weeks ago was an anomaly.

Willow Nightingale vs. Hyan

Nightingale runs her over and poses a bit before grabbing something like a reverse Koji Clutch. Hyan gets in a few shots in the corner but Nightingale hits a running shoulder. The middle rope dropkick sets up a cannonball, followed by the Babe With The Powerbomb to finish Hyan at 4:14.

Rating: C. Nightingale could drop a box of puppies into a woodchipper and find a way to make it charming. You don’t see that kind of delightfulness very often and it is infectious every time she is out there. There is no such thing as too much Nightingale and I could go for her moving up the ladder rather soon.

The Kingdom vs. Willie Mack/Ninja Mack

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here with the Kingdom. Willie hiptosses and armdrags Taven to start but Bennett comes in to take over. Taven is right back in with a middle rope dropkick but Willie clotheslines his way to freedom. Ninja comes in and reverses Taven’s suplex attempt to keep the pace up. A superkick rocks Taven but Bennett grabs a suplex to take over.

Taven’s frog splash gives Bennett two, only to have Ninja slip away and make the tag to Willie for the house cleaning. House is quickly cleaned, including the Samoan drop to Taven. The standing moonsault gives Willie two and Ninja hits a double backflip into a moonsault onto both of them at ringside. Back in and something like a 3D hits Taven but Bennett forearms Willie. The Proton Pack finishes Ninja at 7:44.

Rating: C+. Well, there’s your debut of the hot new team, as the Kingdom rightfully beats them. I’m not sure why Mack and Mack needed to lose in their first match together but at least it was a decent one. The Kingdom continues to be a team who could and probably should be higher up on the card, but here they are for the time being.

Dream Girl Ellie vs. Mercedes Martinez

Martinez runs her over to start and hammers away on the mat. A big boot drops Ellie again and some hard knees to the face make it worse. The surfboard dragon sleeper finishes Ellie at 2:59.

Willie Mack and Ninja Mack aren’t done.

Ashley D’Amboise vs. Danielle Kamela

They fight over wrist control to start until Kamela takes her into the corner for the stomping. D’Amboise gets tied in the ropes for some kicks to the back, followed by the chinlock. That’s broken up and D’Amboise hits a running flipping neckbreaker for two. Kamela is back with a faceplant, only to have D’Amboise hit a reverse AA for two more. A Rock Bottom finishes Kamela at 5:08.

Rating: C. Kamela definitely felt polished and it isn’t surprising that she had a stint in NXT before (as Vanessa Borne). If she can go at this pace and improve beyond that, she could absolutely be something in the future. Other than that, D’Amboise feels like someone with potential, and keeping her around makes sense.

Rocky Romero vs. Titus Alexander

Alexander elbows him in the face and hits a sliding dropkick, setting up a quick dance. Back up and Romero hits some Forever Lariats, only to walk into another dropkick. Romero is right back with a springboard tornado DDT before a missed charge sends Alexander outside. A standing Sliced Bread gets two on Alexander back inside but he grabs a brainbuster for two of his own. Romero has had it with him and puts on a cross armbreaker for the tap at 4:17.

Rating: C+. Alexander was bringing it here and did get to showcase some nice cocky heel stuff. Romero can wrestle a smooth match with anyone and got in some stuff to make both of them look good here. If this was a tryout for Alexander, he might have done well enough to stick around for a bit so nice work.

The Righteous/Stu Grayson vs. Marcus Kross/Vary Morales/LSG

Morales has to spin/roll away from Grayson to start before it’s off to Kross. Grayson throws him into the corner and brings Dutch in to power Kross around a bit more. Vincent’s basement Downward Spiral has him rather pleased but LSG comes in for a springboard forearm. Cue the Dark Order to worry about Grayson as Dutch’s swinging Boss Man Slam cuts Morales in half. Knightfall finishes Kross at 4:09.

Rating: C. Well at least they’re doing something with Grayson and the Righteous after so many weeks of just having them stare at each other. Granted we’re still not sure what is going on, but I’ll take this over the Dark Order running around without really doing anything. The Righteous are a decent team and could be in the title hunt if given the chance, but they get to work with the Dark Order instead.

The Dark Order and the Righteous yell at each other as Grayson is left in the ring.

Zack Sabre Jr. and Samoa Joe are ready for their tag match, with Sabre wanting to show that his TV Title is the one that matters most.

Shane Taylor vs. Tracy Williams

Shane Taylor has the Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry/JD Drake) with him while Williams has Rhett Titus. Taylor powers him around to start and unloads in the corner, only to get armbarred over the top. Back in and a side slam plants Williams but he’s right back with a middle rope DDT. A frog splash gives Williams two but Taylor gives him a release Rock Bottom. The big splash gets two and the package piledriver finishes Williams at 5:12.

Rating: C. Taylor continues to be a wrecking ball who runs through everyone in front of him (save for Mark Briscoe) and that could be used in a bigger spot later. Williams is still someone who can wrestle with anyone, but if he keeps losing over and over, I’m not sure how much good that is going to do. For now though, this was another perfectly fine match.

Athena vs. Promise Braxton

Non-title Proving Ground match. Athena takes her down and hits a shoulder, meaning it’s time to dance. Back up and Braxton snaps off an armdrag but Athena kicks her in the face. Athena’s release front suplex gets two more but Braxton gets in a shot of her own. That’s enough for Athena, who forearms the heck out of her and grabs a cobra sleeper for the win at 5:58.

Rating: C-. Of all the times where Athena has beaten up someone with no chance of beating her in a Proving Ground match, this was the most recent. It’s fun to see, but we’ve seen this so many times now that it is starting to lose its charm. She doesn’t need to be around every week, and having Kiera Hogan as the next victim isn’t going to make things much better.

Post match Athena stays on her but Kiera Hogan makes the save.

Dralistico vs. Tony Deppen

Deppen dropkicks him to the floor to start and hits the big flip dive through the ropes. Dralistico whips Deppen into various things, setting up a springboard Swanton back inside. A kick to the face lets Dralistico pose on the top rope but he misses a charge, allowing Deppen to hit a springboard flipping dive to the floor. Back in and Deppen lets Dralistico chop away until they trade knees to the face. A poisonrana plants Deppen but Dralistico can’t follow up. Dralistico cuts off a springboard and hits a springboard hurricanrana. That and a Fujiwara armbar finish Deppen at 6:32.

Rating: C+. Deppen is one of the better jobbers to the stars around here and he made Dralistico look good here. At the same time, Dralistico hasn’t exactly done anything on his own in ROH or AEW. He has talent, but there isn’t much about him that makes him stand out. Granted not being around Rush so often should help him a bit, and he looked good here.

Nick Comoroto, in his sweet hat, is ready to face Blake Christian, who looks like everyone else.

Miranda Alize vs. Skye Blue

Blue snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor and the chase is on, with Alize catching her with a DDT back inside. Alize kicks her in the head in the corner and a double underhook DDT gets two. A kick to the back of the head gives Blue one but Alize pulls her into the Miranda Rights. With that broken up, Alize misses a charge in the corner and gets rolled up for the pin at 3:59.

Rating: C. This was a match where they didn’t have the time to do much, which is a shame given who was involved. These two could have a good match if they are given the chance but not even making it to four minutes isn’t going to let that work. Alize has done well in her time around ROH and Blue has shown her talents multiple times. Just give them more time.

Athena yells a lot and seems to want to hurt Kiera Hogan.

Cole Karter/Zack Clayton vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin

Andretti flips over Clayton to start and sends him into the corner before hitting a nice dropkick. Martin comes in and gets his head taken off with a clothesline. It’s already back to Andretti, who kicks Karter down. Back up and Karter is able to shove Andretti off the ropes and out to the floor in a crash. They get back in and Andretti kicks his way out of trouble, allowing the tag back to Martin. House is cleaned until Clayton grabs a powerslam, setting up a frog splash to give Karter two. Back in and Andretti/Martin hit a double pendulum slam to finish Karter at 4:48.

Rating: C+. Another decent match here as Andretti and Martin continue to look like a nice young, high flying team. Granted it doesn’t matter much until Dante gets back, though commentary might have had a good idea of Top Flight and Andretti as a trio. Until then though, I can settle for them doing something like this a few more times.

Blake Christian vs. Nick Comoroto

Comoroto throws a toothpick at him to start so Christian kicks him in the head. The chase is on around the ring and it works so well that they do it again. Christian manages to get back inside and hit a big flip dive to drop Comoroto for the first time. Back up and Comoroto posts him hard to take over, only to miss a charge into the buckle. Christian knocks him to the floor for the dive, followed by a top rope double stomp to the back on the apron. Comoroto hits a fireman’s carry slam for two so Christian….throws a chair across the ring. As Comoroto goes to get it, Christian rolls him up for the pin at 6:31.

Rating: C+. I still see potential in Comoroto, just due to how different he looks and how he has the power and charisma (the hair helps too). Christian continues to be good, but I don’t know if there is really anything he does that makes him stand out. The skill is there, but he’s going to need something more than that to move up to the next level.

Diamante vs. Trish Adora

Adora goes straight to a Kimura to start but has to deal with a headscissors attempt. A neckbreaker drops Adora and a baseball slide sends her to the floor. Back in and Diamante hits a basement dropkick in the corner but Adora punches her into the corner. Diamante neckbreakers her again and puts on an armbar for the tap at 4:47.

Rating: C. Diamante has always shown a lot of fire in her appearances and it was good to see it again. Adora is someone I’ve seen do some impressive things on the independent circuit but she didn’t have the chance to showcase it here. Both of these two are worth some time, but they are a long way from being big deals around here.

Alex Coughlin wants Katsuyori Shibata for the Pure Title next week.

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Slim J

The Trustbusters are here with Slim J, who breaks up CERO MIEDO to start. Penta superkicks him to the floor but a suicide dive is cut off with a forearm. Back in and we hit the chinlock but Penta pops up for the Sling Blades. The Fear Factor is countered into a swinging cutter, only to have Penta kick him down in the corner. That means the Alberto double stomp but Slim J hits a wheelbarrow Downward Spiral for two. Penta has had it with him though and punches Slim J out of the air, setting up the Fear Factor for the pin at 4:43.

Rating: B-. I could have gone for more of this as Penta can still do his thing well when his brother isn’t around. He is someone who feels like a big deal and that isn’t something you can teach. On the other hand you have Slim J, who is kind of hard to take seriously but he can go in the ring if he is given the chance.

Zack Sabre Jr./Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal

Sabre and Sydal start things off with Sabre taking him down by the arms. Sydal spins up and kicks him into the corner, meaning it’s off to Joe vs. Daniels for a flashback. That doesn’t last long as Sabre comes back in and is quickly double teamed down. Joe comes back in to kick Daniels in the corner as commentary wonders about who gets a TV Title shot if Daniels gets the pin.

The armbar goes on to keep Daniels in trouble before Joe cranks on a wristlock. Sabre tags himself in and doesn’t seem happy with Joe, so it’s right back to Joe for a neck crank. The snap powerslam gives Joe two but Daniels fights up and gets away. The tag brings in Sydal to clean house, at least until a neckbreaker cuts him off. Sabre grabs a single underhook suplex but Sydal pulls him into a crossface.

Daniels gets the Koji Clutch on Joe at the same time, leaving Joe’s eyes rolling back in his head. Sabre makes the rope and saves Joe, who is able to break the Angel’s Wings. Sabre takes Sydal down and twists his neck, only to walk into Angel’s Wings to send him outside. Back up and Daniels charges into a Rock Bottom out of the corner, setting up a Koquina Clutch to give Joe the win at 15:17.

Rating: B. Match of the night here and the extra time, plus the talent involved, would seem to be why. I’m curious to see what is next for these guys, as Joe vs. Sabre would be a showdown, but Daniels vs. Sydal seems like a possibility as well. Either one would work, and this was a good example of a rather nice TV main event.

Joe and Sabre show respect to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. What do you want me to say here? It was nineteen matches over about three hours. There was some good stuff in there but when you’re nine matches in and not even halfway done, it’s a little hard to stay interested. There were a bunch of women’s matches and the division certainly has talent, but most of the matches were four to five minutes long and no one really stood out in a big way. The same is true with the men’s matches, leaving me wondering why this show was put together this way.

That’s what I really don’t get here: how is a show running this long with this much content supposed to be the best possible option. Who was putting this show together, got to twelve matches, and thought they needed seven more? This was long for the sake of being long and it didn’t work out very well, just due to how much was there and very little getting the chance to stand out in any significant way.

Results
Mark Briscoe b. Anthony Henry – Froggy Bow
Claudio Castagnoli b. Serpentico – Clothesline
Kiera Hogan b. Vertvixen – Saito suplex
Kyle Fletcher b. AR Fox – Spinning Tombstone
Willow Nightingale b. Hyan – Babe With The Powerbomb
The Kingdom b. Ninja Mack/Willie Mack – Proton Pack to Ninja
Mercedes Martinez b. Dream Girl Ellie – Surfboard dragon sleeper
Ashley D’Amboise b. Danielle Kamela – Rock Bottom
Rocky Romero b. Titus Alexander – Cross armbreaker
The Righteous/Stu Grayson b. Vary Morales/Marcus Kross/LSG – Knightfall to Kross
Shane Taylor b. Tracy Williams – Package piledriver
Athena b. Promise Braxton – Cobra sleeper
Dralistico b. Tony Deppen – Fujiwara armbar
Skye Blue b. Miranda Alize – Rollup
Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Cole Karter/Zack Clayton – Double slam to Karter
Blake Christian b. Nick Comoroto – Rollup
Diamante b. Trish Adora – Armbar
Penta El Zero Miedo b. Slim J – Fear Factor
Samoa Joe/Zack Sabre Jr. b. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal – Koquina Clutch to Daniels

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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Ring Of Honor
Date: May 11, 2023
Location: Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back in the studio again rather than in front of the fans who paid to see Dynamite, meaning Tony Khan can cram in even more stuff this week. There is at least a big main event this week as Athena defends the Women’s Title against Skye Blue. That should be quite the showdown and Blue has been built up as a challenger. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Shane Taylor vs. Mark Briscoe

Briscoe should get the fans fired up pretty well. Mark knocks him down to start so Shane threatens to beat him worse than he used to beat up Jay. Taylor sends him to the apron and a slingshot is countered into a hanging Stunner to take over. The rapid fire shots to the face put Taylor on the floor though and there’s the running flip dive to drop Taylor again.

Briscoe loads up the chair for the launchpad but Taylor is right there to cut him off again. More trash talk sets up the chops, plus a heck of a forearm to knock Briscoe silly. Back up and Briscoe strikes his way out of the corner, including a running boot to put him down. Taylor misses a running knee and gets Pele’d to the floor, setting up Briscoe’s running shot, including the launchpad chair.

Back in and Briscoe manages a Death Valley Driver, only to miss the Froggy Bow. Troubled Land gives Taylor two of his own but he misses a middle rope splash. Taylor is way too big for the Jay Driller so he runs Briscoe over and hits a splash for two. They slug it out until Briscoe manages to drop him with a running lariat. A not exactly smooth (fair enough) Jay Driller finishes Taylor at 9:46.

Rating: B-. These two beat the heck out of each other and I was getting into it pretty quickly. What mad this more interesting was that while Briscoe was a star, I could picture Taylor scoring an upset. That’s a hard thing to pull off but they made it work here, and it was a heck of a match as a result.

Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta vs. Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus

Yuta and Williams grapple off to start until Williams gets him into a kneebar. That’s broken up by Castagnoli, who comes in to crank away on Williams for a change. An elbow hits the now legal Titus, who is fine enough to clothesline Yuta down. Castagnoli has had it with this and stomps away on Williams in the corner as things get more aggressive.

Williams tries to fight back but gets elbowed in the corner for his efforts. A DDT onto the top turnbuckle drops Yuta though and the hot tag brings in Titus to clean house. Everything breaks down and Castagnoli gets knocked outside, setting up a knee from the apron. Yuta pokes Williams in the eye though and it’s a Rocket Launcher to give Yuta the pin at 8:06.

Rating: C+. This felt like a way to set up Castagnoli and Yuta for a Tag Team Title match against the Lucha Bros as Castagnoli earned on Dynamite. Other than that, Williams and Titus continue to be little more than punching bags around here. You would think there would be a better use for them in a tag division that isn’t exactly strong, yet here they are instead.

Television Title: Samoa Joe vs. Blake Christian

Joe is defending and Christian bails to the floor to start. Back in and Christian gets in a few shots to take over, including going after Joe’s knee. That’s not cool with Joe though, as he takes Christian down and stomps away to take over. The neck crank goes on but Christian slips out of a powerbomb. Joe powerslams him for two instead but Christian jawbreaks his way out of the Koquina Clutch. Not that it matters as Joe finishes with the MuscleBuster at 4:01.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do anything here and Christian’s offense didn’t exactly get him anywhere. This felt like a way to get Joe on the show, which doesn’t have quite the same impact when he was on the show just last week. Joe is a monster, but he needs a serious challenger sooner rather than later.

Mark Sterling and the Trustbusters/Varsity Athletes don’t like the Dark Order and are ready to crush them.

Infantry vs. Righteous

Dean armdrags Vincent down a few times but gets run over with a hard shoulder. Bravo comes in and some rapid fire double teaming has Vincent down as Stu Grayson comes out to watch. Vincent comes back with a running basement Downward Spiral to Dean but it’s right back to Bravo to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and Dutch gets to wreck people, setting up the assisted Autumn Sunshine to finish Bravo at 4:29.

Rating: C. We’re pretty much where we were at the Supercard of Honor pre-show: the Righteous are weird and stalk Grayson for some reason. That being said, it’s nice to have the Righteous getting in there to build themselves up a bit, as they haven’t exactly gotten to do much since they have been back. They could be something if given the chance, but they have to get somewhere with the Grayson stuff first.

Video on the Kingdom vs. Darius Martin/Action Andretti in a Fight Without Honor.

Robyn Renegade vs. Vert Vixen

Charlotte Renegade is here with Robyn. Vixen starts fast but a Charlotte distraction lets Robyn knock her into the corner. A rolling Stunner cuts Robyn off again but something like an Octopus on the mat finishes Vixen out of nowhere at 2:55. I like the Renegades, so giving them a quick win like this helps.

The Mogul Embassy (apparently the new name for the Gates of Agony, as they somehow get a worse name) is ready to face the Boys….but Dalton Castle comes in to accuse them of taking out one such Boy.

Ninja Mack vs. Willie Mack

Willie wrestles him to the mat as we get a Kung Fu Fighting reference to really screw things up. They trade flips and misses until it’s a standoff as we get various pop culture references from commentary. Willie sends him outside for the big flip dive, plus a whip into the steps. Back in and Ninja kicks away, setting up a running uppercut. A twisting splash gets two on Willie, who is right back with the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault for two. They trade more rollups for two each until Willie hits a sitout powerbomb for the pin at 6:12.

Rating: B-. Good action throughout, but it’s a little hard to get excited about another guy who does a bunch of flips after seeing El Hijo del Vikingo and Kommander on a semi regular basis around the various shows in recent weeks. Willie was his usual good self and it was a fun match, as you might have expected it to be.

Mogul Embassy vs. Adam Priest/Lucky Ali/Victor Benjamin

Non-title and Prince Nana is here with the Embassy. Kaun runs Priest over to start before it’s off to Cage to elbow him in the face. Ali comes in with a bunch of hype from Coleman and is promptly superkicked into the corner. It’s off to Toa to run Benjamin over and everything breaks down in a hurry. The Gates’ double clothesline to Priest allows them to drop Benjamin onto him for a double pin at 3:22.

Rating: C-. I continue to be amazed by the idea that someone thinks Ring Of Honor needs six man titles. AEW doesn’t need them either but the minor league promotion gets their own set? There is no division and challengers have to be set up to get mauled by Cage and the most generic power team imaginable. This was every squash the Embassy (who have been officially called three different names on this show: the Embassy, the Mogul Embassy and Brian Cage/the Gates of Agony) you have seen and there is no reason to see another one.

Kyle Fletcher vs. Tony Deppen

This would be the build up for Fletcher before he loses to Orange Cassidy next week and Mark Davis is here with Fletcher. Commentary spends the entrances listing off a bunch of teams Fletcher and Davis have beaten, none of whom work here. They go with the grappling to start and Fletcher gets the better of things on the mat. Back up and Deppen’s shoulder bounces off of him before Fletcher runs him down without much trouble.

Something close to a Codebreaker gives Deppen two and he slaps Fletcher in the corner. Fletcher isn’t having that and strikes him down for two, only to get caught in a slingshot Stunner to the floor. Deppen’s sliding forearm to the back of the head gets two and they forearm it out again. Deppen German suplexes him into the corner and hits a running knee for two. Fletcher is right back up with a Michinoku Driver for the pin at 9:04.

Rating: B-. Well, I think a lot more of Deppen after that match. With Fletcher getting a title shot next week, this should have been a lot more dominant performance from a tag wrestler getting into the singles scene, but instead they went back and forth, leaving me with even less reason to believe Fletcher will beat Cassidy. I’m sure their match will work well, but this was a bad result for helping to build the drama.

Anthony Henry vs. AR Fox

JD Drake is here with Henry. An early Drake distraction lets Henry take Fox down but Fox sends him outside for his efforts. The suicide dive connects and the big flip dive takes out Drake and Henry at the same time. Back in and a twisting suplex gives Fox two but Henry grabs a piledriver on the apron to knock….oh of course it doesn’t knock Fox silly, because it’s just a piledriver on the apron.

Fox is back to his feet less than 40 seconds later so Henry gives him a regular piledriver for two. This time Fox is back up even faster so Henry rolls some brainbusters, only to have Fox reverses into one of his own. Fox hits a Swanton for two but gets caught in a slingshot brainbuster for two more. Henry grabs a choke but Fox slips out and catches him on top, setting up a cutter for another near fall. Fox takes out an interfering Drake, hits him with a big running flip dive, and grabs Lo Mein Pain. The 450 finishes Henry at 9:39.

Rating: D. Nope. Say I’m old and out of touch, say I don’t know good wrestling or whatever you want. This was stupid, made it clear that nothing they are doing is real, and was a huge waste of time on a show that is already crammed full of stuff that doesn’t need to be on here. All Fox showed me here was that he’s a video game superhero come to life in a wrestling ring and that modern wrestling is a stunt show rather than about putting on a compelling match. I’ve seen Fox do very well before, but this was either an off night or terrible agenting, because it was little more than Fox showing off and not selling much of anything.

Post match Henry and Drake beat on Fox with Shane Taylor coming in to help with the beating. FTR makes the save as I wonder why I should believe anything is going to hurt Fox after dropping him on his head four times in a row didn’t really slow him down. Just to show how awesome he is, Fox is fine enough to hit a Swanton on Henry after FTR drops him. Henry tries to leave but Eddie Kingston cuts him off, allowing FTR to hit the Shatter Machine.

Varsity Athletes/Trustbusters vs. Dark Order

Mark Sterling and Ari Daivari here with the non-Dark Order. Uno chops Woods down to start and it’s quickly off to Reynolds, with Uno seemingly avoiding Grayson. Sterling gets on the apron and is quickly pulled off, only to have Silver taken into the wrong corner for some cheating. Silver wheelbarrow suplexes Kay for a breather and dives over to Grayson for the hot tag.

The big flipping dive takes out some villains on the floor and a Lionsault gets two on Slim J back inside. Slim J sends Uno into Grayson as everything breaks down. A string of strikes rocks Slim J, setting up the Fatality to give Reynolds the pin (with Grayson being knocked outside in the melee) at 6:05.

Rating: C+. At least they’re keeping the Dark Order around here instead of on Dynamite. I still have no idea why the Varsity Athletes and the Trustbusters need to be featured so often but the match wasn’t all that long and they didn’t talk, both of which do help a bit. The tension between Uno and Grayson lasted for all of 14 seconds, though I’d assume the Righteous being around will help with that a good bit.

Post match Grayson is on the floor and doesn’t look happy.

Skye Blue isn’t impressed with Athena and is ready for the title shot tonight.

Ring Of Honor Women’s Title: Athena vs. Skye Blue

Athena is defending and drops Blue with an early forearm. They trade flips out of headscissors but Athena kicks her in the face to take over again. A lot of yelling at the referee leaves Athena distracted enough to get rolled up for two so she knocks Blue outside. The steps are loaded up but Athena gets sent into them instead.

They fight to the stage with Blue snapping off a headscissors but Athena saves herself from falling. Instead Athena superkicks her off the stage before they head inside for a bow and arrow. Some rollups give Blue a bunch of near falls as commentary says that’s pretty much the only way she can win (what a vote of confidence). A kick to the head and a high crossbody give Blue two but Athena kicks her down again.

The O Face is broken up and a super hurricanrana brings Athena back down. There’s a standing Sliced Bread for two on the champ but Skyfall is broken up. Athena hits a Wasteland backbreaker but Blue slaps her in the face from the mat. They slug it out until Athena hits her own Skyfall for two. Blue is right back with a top rope Stunner into Skyfall for two of her own.

They fight to the apron with Blue dropping her face first, only to get powerbombed from the middle rope onto the steps (on their side). Back in and Blue kicks out at one, only to have Athena grab a Crossface. With Blue too close to the ropes, Athena reverses into a reverse chinlock to retain at 14:43.

Rating: B. This got going at the end and once they got around the idea of “Blue can only win off a rollup”. Blue was the first serious competition Athena has faced in a long time and it wound up being a rather good match. Athena really is at the best level of his career, though I have no idea who is supposed to be a threat to her unless someone comes over from AEW.

Post match Athena shows respect….and then beats up Blue, including sending her face first into the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was everything that frustrates me about Ring Of Honor in one show: there is good stuff included, but instead of just sticking with that, they just adding more and more stuff in and I stopped caring a long time before the ending. There were multiple matches were I was wondering why in the world this needed to be on here, other than just making the show go longer and longer. I’m sure that’s great for the people who are getting on the show and getting a check for it, but it doesn’t make for an entertaining show.

I get that you need to boost people up and get them ready for later, but with no major show even hinted at for the moment (I’m sure the Anniversary Show is coming up this summer but it hasn’t been talked about yet), why do they need to cram in so much every week? It’s the definition of subtraction by addition, as the matches that keep piling up drag down the good stuff (which is certainly there). Throw in a Fox match that had me almost yelling at my laptop and this was an annoying show that could have been a rather good one given what else was there.

Results
Mark Briscoe b. Shane Taylor – Jay Driller
Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta b. Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus – Rocket Launcher to Williams
Samoa Joe b. Blake Christian – MuscleBuster
Righteous b. Infantry – Assisted Autumn Sunshine to Bravo
Robyn Renegade b. Vert Vixen – Octopus
Mogul Embassy b. Adam Priest/Lucky Ali/Victor Benjamin – Double pin
Willie Mack b. Ninja Mack – Sitout powerbomb
Kyle Fletcher b. Tony Deppen – Michinoku Driver
AR Fox b. Anthony Henry – 450
Dark Order b. Varsity Athletes/Trustbusters – Fatality to Slim J
Athena b. Skye Blue – Reverse chinlock

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

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AND

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

Dynamite
Date: May 10, 2023
Location: Little Caesar’s Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s a stacked night as we have quite the card, featuring Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley in a cage. This has been hyped up as a pay per view on TBS and with the card they have out there, it might not be too far from the truth. We are also less than three weeks away from Double Or Nothing and the card could use some attention. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Rey Fenix

This is a Double Jeopardy match, where the winner gets a shot at the other’s title (as in Claudio’s Ring Of Honor World Title and Fenix’s Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles), though this is non-title. Feeling out process to start with neither getting very far until Claudio powers him into the corner to take over. Fenix is right back with a springboard hurricanrana to the floor, followed by some hard suicide dives.

A third dive is cut out of the air though and Fenix is dropped HARD onto the barricade. Claudio loads up a suplex and tries to walk up the steps but can’t quite do it, allowing Fenix to walk the barricade for a heck of a hurricanrana. Back in and Castagnoli loads up a middle rope gorilla press but Fenix reverses into a rather springboardy hurricanrana.

They head outside again with Fenix being tossed hard over the barricade as we take a break. We come back with Castagnoli hitting a gutwrench superplex but Fenix kicks him in the face. The rolling cutter (that always looks good) plants Castagnoli for two but something like an Angle Slam drops Fenix. The Riccola Bomb finishes Fenix off at 14:20.

Rating: B. I like the stipulation here as it opens up some doors and gives Castagnoli, the favorite, incentive to win. Odds are that sets up a big Ring Of Honor match later (probably not on Ring Of Honor TV but take what you can get) with Castagnoli picking Yuta as his partner, but it should be good either way. Now just get Fenix on TV more and everyone can be happy.

MIRO of all people returns and walks into Tony Khan’s office. That’s his first appearance since September of last year.

MJF talks about the Four Pills concept and how all four of them were great stars with unlimited potential. The difference though? MJF has actually done something.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley, who have fought for years and are in a cage tonight.

Here is FTR for a chat. They want Mark Briscoe out here for an apology but get Sonjay Dutt and company instead. Dutt gets to the point and asks about the challenge for a Tag Team Title match at Double Or Nothing. Harwood is in, with one condition: Dutt and company have to admit that they used Mark Briscoe to get to them.

Cue Briscoe with a thermos and a bunch of cups. Briscoe understands that these people have trouble holding their emotions, but he has an announcement: FTR vs. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal at Double Or Nothing, with Briscoe as guest referee. Briscoe offers a toast but Dutt throws alcohol into FTR’s eyes, causing the blinded Dax to piledrive Briscoe. Another story where it could be solved by watching the tape back, but I’ll take what intrigue I can get for the match.

Chris Jericho is upset at Adam Cole for attacking him on commentary because this is an unsafe working environment. Jericho now has a court order saying that Cole is banned from any building he is in. Roderick Strong comes in and the falls count anywhere match is set for next week. Anywhere as in….outside? Where the court order wouldn’t count? Strong has his own legal order: the Jericho Appreciation Society is banned from the building next week. I want to see the credentials of a judge who would sign off on that under these circumstances.

Renee Paquette is trying to get an update on Miro when Thunder Rosa pops up to walk into Tony Khan’s office as well.

Video on Sammy Guevara.

Tony Khan promises a huge announcement next week, with hints of a new show. That sounds Collisiony.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia is challenging and we start with some grappling. Cassidy armdrags him into an armbar before casually escaping a drop toehold attempt. Garcia isn’t pleased and sends him outside for some drops onto the apron/barricade as we take a break. Back with Garcia hitting a curb stomp but posing instead of covering. A top rope superplex connects on Cassidy, who tries to reverse a suplex into the Stundog Millionaire, only getting part of it.

Garcia stays on him but gets caught in a quick Beach Break for two. The Orange Punch is broken up with a dropkick to the knee and Garcia is rather cocky. Cassidy’s hands in the pockets is broken up with a kick to the face and a piledriver gets two. The Dragon Slayer is countered into a small package for two and another Beach Break gets two more. Garcia is right back with the Dragon Slayer, which he switches into a triangle choke and then a crossface. That’s reversed into a rollup to give Cassidy the pin at 13:24.

Rating: B. What matters here is keeping Cassidy strong and this was one of the better matches during his title run. I could go with this version of Cassidy, but at the same time he is still around a bit too often for my taste. Other than that, these two had a heck of a back and forth match with Garcia doing his thing as well as he can, plus Cassidy hanging in there until he could escape at the end.

The Outcasts are ready to hurt Hikaru Shida next week.

Here are Christian Cage and Luchasaurus for a chat. Christian rips on Detroit and then brings up Wardlow’s father, who wasn’t famous and no one cared about him. Wardlow found Arn Anderson, whose son is wresting here in AEW. Then Arn saw Wardlow and jumped over to him for all of the success.

Christian mocks Anderson for being a legend, but maybe being the other guy in a team with Tully Blanchard or being Ric Flair’s lapdog is enough to make you a legend. Wardlow will never be a legend like Christian, and Christian is going to prove it. Fans: “EDGE IS BETTER!” This was some GREAT heel stuff from Christian, who is a heat magnet right now. Granted it was almost terrifying when I thought he was going to bring up Anderson’s recently deceased son but thankfully it didn’t go there.

Darby Allin is back home with his dad and talks about everything he has done to become a wrestler. Now he is willing to take any chance to become the World Champion.

Anna Jay vs. Julia Hart

Anything goes and Anna chairs her down from behind before the bell. They go to ringside where Hart gets in some kendo stick shots, followed by some rams into the barricade. We take a break and come back with Hart getting planted on some chairs on the floor. The chairs are brought inside but Hart superplexes her down. Hartless makes Anna tap at 9:17.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t a bad match but I was having trouble getting into this one. The feud hasn’t exactly been interesting in the first place and having them go into this big hardcore match (a good chunk of which was in the break) just felt like a quick escalation. Hart winning was a surprise too, and it was probably the biggest win of his career.

The Best Friends and Bandido don’t quite understand the House Of Black’s Open House rules. Orange Cassidy is tired though.

Trios Titles: House Of Black vs. Best Friends/Bandido

The House is defending and we have 20 counts/no DQ, with Julia Hart banned from ringside (as per the challengers’ choice). The lights are also turned down for a rather cool look. Black strikes away at Bandido in the corner to start and goes after the knee. Bandido goes to the ropes but has to crawl to the floor for the break and a needed breather.

Back in and Black gets caught in the wrong corner so the good guys can take over. We take a break and come back with Trent having to Stomp Matthews out of the corner, allowing the diving tag back to Bandido. Everything breaks down and Chuck comes in, only to get caught with Dante’s Inferno to retain the titles at 8:20.

Rating: C+. The lighting looked good and the action was good enough, but the rules might need some tweaking. The idea of having the first set of challengers being confused by what was going on isn’t a great sign, but it isn’t like the titles have anything else going on. Just get some more teams together to come after the titles, which is probably going to take some time.

Video on Jungle Boy, who has worked hard to get here, including his feud with Christian Cage.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Ricky Starks wants Jay White next week.

Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley

Bryan Danielson is on commentary, Don Callis is with Omega and this is in a cage. They start fighting in the aisle before the bell though and the fans seem to approve. Cue the Blackpool Combat Club and the Young Bucks for the double interferences. The Bucks go after Danielson but security breaks everything up as Omega is finally in the cage.

Moxley gets in as well and the bell rings, with Omega knocking him down fast. Omega hits the middle rope moonsault and whips out a chair wrapped in barbed wire. Moxley is quickly hit in the head and busted open, though Omega hurts his hand with the swing. The chair is put on Moxley’s back and stomped down to rip him open even more but Moxley gets creative by sending Omega face first into the TV camera. Omega is right back with a bulldog onto the chair but gets caught up top. Moxley superplexes him onto the chair and we take a break.

Back with the top rope having been broken up so Moxley can choke away. It’s time to bring out the broken glass but Omega grabs a fireman’s carry backbreaker. The One Winged Angel is countered into a choke but Omega flips him onto said glass. Moxley grabs a choke, which is reversed into a V Trigger and the dragon suplex. Another V Trigger sends Moxley through the cage wall and out to the floor, though Omega wrenches his knee. Moxley whips out the screwdriver but Callis takes it away. The V Trigger into the One Winged Angel gets two…..as Callis turns on Omega with the screwdriver. Moxley gets the pin at 14:29.

Rating: B. Your mileage may vary here as I’m not big on the weapons being used in a CAGE match. The big spot with the knee through the cage was awesome enough though and the big angle at the end, while still centered around Don Callis, was an important deal. It felt like a major match and I’m wondering what is going to come next at Double Or Nothing, so they’re doing something right.

Post match Callis loads up the screwdriver but throws Omega down instead. The villains leave to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The show felt big and they lived up to a lot of the hype that they made for themselves. That’s a hard trick to pull off but AEW made it work with a stacked show. The announcement next week sounds important enough and having Miro and Rosa return made this week feel like something of a turning point. Now follow up on it and things can start to cook.

Results
Claudio Castagnoli b. Rey Fenix – Riccola Bomb
Orange Cassidy b. Daniel Garcia – Rollup
Julia Hart b. Anna Jay – Hartless
House Of Black b. Bandido/Best Friends – Dante’s Inferno to Taylor
Jon Moxley b. Kenny Omega – Screwdriver to the head

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

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AND

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Rampage
Date: May 5, 2023
Location: CFG Bank Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s a special show this week, as we have both an earlier airtime and the Firm Deletion match from the Hardy Compound. Other than that, we have the push towards Double Or Nothing, which may or may not be addressed this week. I’m almost scared to see what they have planned for the Firm Deletion match so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

QT Marshall/Aaron Solo/Powerhouse Hobbs vs. El Hijo del Vikingo/Lucha Bros

Vikingo flips around to avoid Marshall to start, allowing Marshall to try his own flip and fall on his face. A springboard missile dropkick sends Marshall into the corner, setting up the inverted flip into the hurricanrana out of said corner. The middle rope Phoenix splash gets two on Marshall so it’s off to Fenix vs. Solo. Fenix walks the ropes in the corner for a wristdrag, followed by a roll into a failed kneebar.

Penta comes in with a high crossbody to Hobbs, followed by a superkick. Hobbs runs him over with a clothesline and forearms Fenix out of the air. There’s a shot for Vikingo as well before Hobbs gets to plant Penta again. Marshall posts Penta and we take a break. Back with Penta kicking his way out of trouble and handing it back to Fenix. Vikingo comes back in with a springboard hurricanrana, setting up the triple dives to the floor. Back in and the wheelbarrow splash gets two on Solo, who flips Fenix face first down.

Marshall suplexes Vikingo into a powerbomb but Penta is back with a running Canadian Destroyer off of Vikingo’s back. Everyone is down so commentary talks about the Double Or Nothing main event. The villains are up first but Fenix knees his way out of Solo’s suplex. Vikingo tags himself back in but gets caught n top by Marshall. That’s fine with Vikingo, who hits a super Canadian Destroyer. The big lip dive through the table is broken up by Harley Cameron, leaving Solo to get caught with the spike Fear Factor for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: B. Take six people and let them go nuts. Marshall was doing his thing well and Hobbs still looks like a monster and Solo was fine enough in what she did. For now it was nice to see the Bros and Vikingo wreck some people, especially after rumors of Fenix needing some time away due to injuries.

We see a clip from after Dynamite with MJF losing it backstage after the Double Or Nothing main event became a four way.

Chris Jericho is worried about Adam Cole attacking him, hence him not doing commentary tonight. He is working on various assurances to keep himself safe and we’ll hear more about that on Dynamite.

Jade Cargill vs. Gia Scott

Non-title. Jaded finishes the screaming Scott at 33 seconds.

Mark Briscoe….doesn’t get to talk as Jeff Jarrett and company. The team wants Briscoe to get FTR to give them a Tag Team Titles shot but he has a match. Jay Lethal thinks Briscoe will do the right thing.

Mark Briscoe vs. Preston Vance

Briscoe knocks him to the floor to start and scores with the running Blockbuster off the apron. A posting drops Vance again and Briscoe sits him in a chair, only to miss a middle rope flip dive, sending him into said open chair (OUCH). Vance whips him into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Briscoe having to climb the corner to escape a full nelson. A German suplex drops Briscoe but he pops back up and kicks Vance in the face.

They forearm it out, including a running version each, until Briscoe drops him with a running clothesline. Vance is right back with a shot of his own and goes for a chair, but settles for a slingshot spear. The chair is brought in again but it gets kicked out, allowing Vance to hit him low for two (JR: “He’s got testicles of steel!” Excalibur: “Well he has eight kids.” Schiavone: “That was terrible.”). Briscoe knocks him outside and uses the chair as a springboard to drop Vance again. Back in and the Jay Driller finishes Vance at 11:54.

Rating: B-. Vance might not ever be a star but he is good for a hoss fight like this, as the two of them beat each other up rather well for what they had the chance to do. Briscoe’s weird charisma is able to carry him a long way, but the stuff with Jarrett and company is only working so well. Then again, if that is what he wants to do right now, good for him.

Post match Briscoe’s family get in the ring to celebrate with him.

Dustin Rhodes is looking forward to AEW coming to his hometown of Austin, Texas on May 17. Brian Cage jumps him though and Swerve Strickland comes in for trash talk. Keith Lee makes the save.

Video on Anna Jay vs. Julia Hart, who are fighting on Dynamite.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

Video on Daniel Garcia vs. Orange Cassidy.

Hardys/Isiah Kassidy/Hook vs. The Firm

This is the Firm Deletion match, meaning cinematic, at the Hardy Compound with Hardy/Kassidy’s freedom from the Firm on the line. The Firm (Big Bill/Lee Moriarty/Ethan Page/Stokely Hathaway) break the mailbox before going through the gates, where they are met by Vanguard1 (the drone). Matt Hardy’s face is projected to say they are going through the space time continuum. Then it’s night and the Hardys and company are shoot fireworks at them.

We actually have commentary as a bunch of referees pop up to try and keep track of things. Kassidy gets chokeslammed against a tree as Matt beats up Page. The Twist of Fate is broken up and Page drops Matt for two. Jeff breaks a tree limb over Bill’s back and chokes him with another one. Hathaway is left alone and we see clips of his walk of shame from a few weeks ago. Then two of Matt’s kids almost run him down with a miniature car. Bill hits Jeff in the head with a limb as Matt and Ethan fight into a well lit barn, complete with a ring, as we take a break.

Back with Matt kicking out and Page yelling about the count. The Twist of Fate drops Page for two as we cut to Hathaway in a lounge, watching the match on a couch. Matt’s family pops in, with Senior Benjamin (the odd gardener) tazing him. We cut back to the Firm covering the Hardys in gasoline. Bill pulls out a lighter but Brother Zay (Kassidy, in different gear), dives onto them (Matt: “Brother Zay, I KNEW YOU’D COME!”).

Back in the barn, Reby Hardy (Matt’s wife) sends Stokely into the ring for a Twist of Fate and Matt’s son Maxel adds a Swanton, but Reby sends him to bed. Zay legdrops Bill off a ladder through a table and we cut back to the barn, where everyone beats up Page. The Twist of Fate into the Swanton finishes Page at we’ll say 14:00 (there was no opening bell).

Rating: B-. I have no idea what to say about something like this as it’s kind of in its own little universe. While they did go nuts with a lot of the stuff, they didn’t go completely over the top like the previous versions. It was more a match in the woods/the barn with a few Deletion match elements thrown in, making it a lot less insane.

On the negative side though, this is still about Matt Hardy vs. Ethan Page, which has been going on since October and never got all that interesting in the first place. It’s kind of hard to buy the Firm, who has never been treated as anything serious, as a threat to the Hardys and an undefeated Hook, though granted it was never quite presented as an even standoff. I didn’t dislike it, but this is still the definition of “not for me”, though there is certainly an audience for the Hardys’ totally out there antics.

Jeff leaves and goes outside to light a huge Hardys symbol on fire in the yard. Jeff thanks God and we’re done.

Overall Rating: B. While your mileage may vary on the main event, this was the most entertaining Rampage in a good bit. The biggest thing here is the fact that while insane and not the biggest story, the main event actually felt special. So often Rampage will start with its biggest thing and then meander around for the next 45 minutes. They went in the opposite direction here and it made for a good show, though that main event may be a complete and total miss for a lot of people.

Results
El Hijo del Vikingo/Lucha Bros b. QT Marshall/Aaron Solo/Powerhouse Hobbs – Spike Fear Factor to Solo
Jade Cargill b. Gia Scott – Jaded
Mark Briscoe b. Preston Vance – Jay Driller
Hardys/Hook/Isiah Kassidy b. The Firm – Swanton to Page

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

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Rampage
Date: April 28, 2023
Location: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re on at another weird time slot as the playoffs continue to wreck havoc on the AEW schedule. As usual, it’s hard to say what you are going to get from Rampage, though I would assume a heavy focus on stories that aren’t going to matter much elsewhere. Things do happen around here, but it would be nice if it felt more important. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Bullet Club Gold vs. Ricky Starks/Shawn Spears

It’s a brawl at the bell and they all head to the floor to keep it up. White chokes Spears with a camera cord as Starks chops Robinson inside. A White cheap shot from the apron lets Robinson take over though and we go to a break. Back with White chopping Spears in the corner, with Ross liking the physicality.

Spears manages to fight over to the corner though and the hot tag brings in Starks to clean house. It’s right back to Spears but the C4 is broken up with a rake to the eyes. A Sky high gives Spears two on White but another C4 attempt is broken up as well. The Blade Runner finishes Spears at 9:47.

Rating: C+. Putting White in a team right off the bat isn’t exactly making me care about what he does and tying him in with the Bullet Club again doesn’t help. Starks isn’t exactly getting much higher up the ladder by teaming with Shawn Spears, making me wonder what the point of a lot of this is. The match itself was good enough, though the rest is only so intriguing.

The Hardys and Hook are mad about the Firm kidnapping Isiah Kassidy. The Firm pops up on screen to demand to know when the Firm Deletion match is taking place. We’ll make it next week on Rampage, and then Big Bill chokeslams Kassidy off camera.

Naturally Limitless vs. Brady Pierce/Charlie James

Dustin punches Pierce in the face to start and snaps off the powerslam. Lee comes in for his half of a double backdrop before knocking James down. There’s the Uncle Phil toss to James before Dustin tells Lee to throw him at both guys. The pop up Spirit Bomb finishes James at 2:08. Total dominance.

Post match the Mogul Embassy comes out for a staredown.

Tay Melo interrupts a Sammy Guevara interview and yells at him for agreeing to lay down for MJF. It’s his turn to listen instead.

Anna Jay vs. Ashley D’Amboise

Anna gets in a few shots to start and bends Ashley’s back around the post as we take an early break. Back with Ashley fighting out of a suplex but getting dropped with a neckbreaker. The Queenslayer finishes Ashley at 5:43. Not enough shown to rate as more than half of that was in the commercial but Jay’s dominance continues.

Post match Julia Hart pops up to brawl with Jay, who bends her around the post as well.

The Outcasts are ready for Saraya to beat up Willow Nightingale on Dynamite.

Billy Gunn/Acclaimed vs. Cameron Stewart/Dante Casanova/Ryzin

Fameasser, Arrival, Mic Drop finishes Stewart at 52 seconds, a lot of which was Gunn standing there looking at Stewart.

Jay Lethal and Cash Wheeler are ready for the main event.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows.

Jay Lethal vs. Cash Wheeler

Mark Briscoe is the guest enforcer and Jeff Jarrett/Satnam Singh/Sonjay Dutt/Dax Harwood are all here too. Lethal gets knocked outside to start before coming back in for an aggressive lockup. Some slams let Lethal put him down but Wheeler armdrags him into an armbar. Back up and it’s too early for Lethal Injection, meaning Wheeler can clothesline him to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Lethal grabbing an abdominal stretch as we see Wheeler’s bruised ribs. Briscoe doesn’t let Dutt cheat and Wheeler escapes, only to get caught in a hot shot. Lethal gets in a strut but Hail To The King hits raised knees. Wheeler slugs back and grabs a powerslam into a DDT for two on Lethal. The ribs give out on a piledriver attempt though and the Lethal Combination drops Wheeler. The Lethal Injection is countered into a Gory Bomb but Dutt gets on the apron for a distraction. Briscoe goes after Dutt but Lethal sends Wheeler into Briscoe for the big crash. Now the Injection can finish Wheeler at 12:18.

Rating: C+. The match was good enough and now that we have the Tag Team Champions losing out of the way, we can move on to the title match. Hopefully this doesn’t lead to Briscoe wondering why Wheeler hit him, as I don’t think I can take another story where watching the tape would solve everything but no one does it. It was a perfectly sound match, even if it didn’t feel all that important.

Overall Rating: C. And that’s being about as generous as I can be. This show felt a lot more like a bad Ring Of Honor show than anything else, as it was just a bunch of midcard stuff that didn’t have anything worth seeing. It was a rare case of me feeling like I was wasting my time watching an AEW show and I have a bad feeling that is going to get worse around here, especially when Collision comes around. Certainly not a bad show, but a total “here’s an hour of wrestling that fulfills a requirement” show, which is often a lot worse.

Results
Bullet Club Gold b. Ricky Starks/Shawn Spears – Blade Runner to Spears
Naturally Limitless b. Brady Pierce/Charlie James – Pop up Spirit Bomb to James
Anna Jay b. Ashley D’Amboise – Queenslayer
Billy Gunn/Acclaimed b. Cameron Stewart/Dante Casanova/Ryzin – Mic Drop to Stewart
Jay Lethal b. Cash Wheeler – Lethal Injection

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

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AND

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

Rampage
Date: April 22, 2023
Location: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s a Saturday show due to the NHL playoffs and that means…well I have no idea what it means as the audiences for these shows can be all over the place. The big story advertised is Jeff Hardy talking about some stuff, which isn’t exactly an incredibly intriguing draw. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Christopher Daniels

They go technical to start with Daniels taking him to the mat for a facelock. Back up and Daniels chops away before backdropping Moxley outside. That means the dive, even as Excalibur and JR ignore the match to talk about what is coming tonight. Moxley sends him into the steps though and we take a break.

Back with Moxley putting him on top for a back rake, only to have Daniels shove him down. A high crossbody gives Daniels two but Moxley blasts him with the King Kong lariat. The piledriver into the choke has Daniels in more trouble but he slips out and grabs a backdrop. Angel’s Wings gets a delayed two, only to have Daniels break up the Best Moonsault Ever. Moxley chokes him out for the win at 9:00.

Rating: B-. Daniels is a good example of someone who will give you a good match against anyone and it still feels like it means something when someone beats him. That was the case again here and what we got worked well. Moxley is already dealing with the Elite and this was a nice boost to keep him going towards whatever the big match is going to be.

Jade Cargill and Mark Sterling are ready for Taya Valkyrie on Dynamite, where the Road To Valhalla is illegal for Taya.

Here are the Hardys, with Isiah Kassidy and Hook for a chat. Jeff says he is happy to be back after working so hard but the best thing he can do is retire….from screwing up. Stokely Hathaway pops up to ask about the details for the Firm Deletion match. Cue the Firm to jump the four of them and the good guys are laid out.

We look at the Outcasts beating down Britt Baker as Adam Cole had to watch.

Baker was in the medical room as Cole kept apologizing to her.

Keith Lee and Dustin Rhodes are back next week.

Kiera Hogan vs. Julia Hart

Hogan starts fast by dropping her down but Julia goes for the throat to even things up. A snapmare sets up a kick to the back for two and counters Hartless into a rollup for two, only to have Hartless go on the second time to make Hogan tap at 3:07.

Rating: C-. Hogan hasn’t done anything since splitting from Jade Cargill and company but at least they’re doing something with Hart. The move to the House of Black has at least let her stand out some more, though she still isn’t exactly great in the ring. Just a quick match to give Hart something to do, which isn’t exactly a great sign.

Post match Anna Jay comes in for the brawl with Hart.

The Blackpool Combat Club interrupts a Christopher Daniels interview. Daniels is ready to fight but Jon Moxley comes in to cut them off. Then he lays out Daniels on his own.

Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/FTR vs. Varsity Athletes/Slim J

Mark Sterling, Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt are here too. Slim J takes Harwood into the corner and hammers away but Harwood snaps off a suplex to take over. Wheeler comes in and gets caught with a headscissors so Lethal and Jarrett come in to take over instead. FTR and Lethal/Jarrett have a faceoff and we take a break.

Back with Woods chinlocking Wheeler to keep him down until a kneelift gets him out of trouble. Daivari gets caught with a suplex and it’s back to Harwood to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and Jarrett doesn’t notice Nese rolling Harwood up for two. Harwood yells at Jarrett for not making the save so Nese charges in. That earns him a Stroke, with Jarrett letting Harwood get the pin at 8:16.

Rating: C. What were you expecting here? Lethal and Jarrett are find hands with almost nothing interesting about them and the Varsity Athletes are the Varsity Athletes. FTR are great but they can only carry a story this dull so far. It’s still very early in their new title reign, but I would hope that FTR has something better to do at Double Or Nothing.

Post match Mark Briscoe has to come out and play peacemaker.

Video on Orange Cassidy’s run as International Champion.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

The Butcher and the Blade are ready for Kenny Omega/Konosuke Takeshita on Dynamite.

AAA Mega Title: El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Dralistico

Vikingo is defending and gets dropped in the aisle by a flying Dralistico during his entrance. They get inside with Dralistico chopping away until a spinning kick to the head cuts him down. A poisonrana gives Vikingo a breather and a quick Canadian Destroyer sends us to a break. Back with Dralistico hitting a middle rope moonsault to the floor, followed by a springboard Codebreaker for two. They both go to the corner, where Vikingo hits another Canadian Destroyer onto the apron.

Cue La Faccion Ingobernable to jump Vikingo, who is fine enough to kick Dralistico down. A top rope double stomp gets two but Dralistico is back with a top rope hurricanrana to the floor. Back in and Dralistico grabs La Mistica until Vikingo slips out. The running knees in the corner set up the 630 to retain the title at 11:30.

Rating: B-. This was quite the step down for Vikingo, who only got to do a few of his usual big stuff. At the same time, there hasn’t been much of anything from him since the Omega match, as the same flips and dives are going to lose their impact the more you see him. As I saw Vikingo two days ago on Ring Of Honor, this didn’t do nearly as much and I can’t say that’s any kind of a surprise. Entertaining match, but either give Vikingo a feud or stop featuring him so often.

Post match La Faccion beats up Vikingo to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The show was good enough to get by but it has the traditional Rampage problem: nothing on here feels even remotely important and there is nothing to suggest that it is getting better. What even was the big story here? The Club takes out someone who was friends with the Young Bucks years ago? Hopefully they pick the pace up again next week, because this wasn’t much of a show. At least not one worth seeing.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Christopher Daniels – Bulldog choke
Julia Hart b. Kiera Hogan – Hartless
FTR/Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett b. Varsity Athletes/Slim J – Stroke to Nese
El Hijo del Vikingo b. Dralistico – 630

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Dynamite
Date: April 19, 2023
Location: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

With just over five weeks to to before Double Or Nothing, the card is starting to take shape. It still needs a lot to be officially announced, but you can probably guess a lot of it from here. Maybe we get something set up tonight, as there are several matches that just need to be made official. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Jungle Boy to get things going but before he can get a word out, here is Sammy Guevara to interrupt. Before he can say anything either, here is Darby Allin to interrupt as well. Allin says Guevara is a follower and not a champion, because there is no Guevara Appreciation Society. Jungle Boy is talented, but he got his job because he was part of that California clique.

Jungle Boy says that Allin is only here because he couldn’t make it as a skateboarder. As for Guevara, it would be hard to find new ways to describe how big of a scumbag he really is. While he respects what Guevara does and the risks he takes, Jungle Boy knows Guevara is a scumbag. Guevara brings up that he and Allin will do whatever it takes to make it. Seeing Allin work hard and achieve success gives Guevara a hope, like when Allin won the TNT Title. Then Guevara did it three times, and now it’s time for Allin to sit back and watch him win the World Title.

Jungle Boy says he’s winning the title but here is MJF to interrupt. After insulting the fans (for liking Britt Baker), MJF announces a Pillars Tournament for the #1 contendership. MJF draws a name out of a hat, which determines that Allin gets a bye to the finals, leaving Guevara to face Jungle Boy in a first round match tonight. I’d like to believe that the four way title match is still happening, but there is something to having this be one on one. The talking was hit and miss, but putting most people next to MJF isn’t the most fair choice.

Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter vs. Outcasts

Believe it or not, Baker is in fact over like free beer in a frat house in her hometown. Saraya is the outcast Outcast here and gets to be at ringside, where she gets into it with Baker’s mom. The fight starts in the aisle until they head inside for the bell/a double clothesline from Hayter. Saraya grabs Hayter’s leg but Hayter is fine enough to drive a diving Storm into the barricade. Baker’s attempt at a Canadian Destroyer on the floor is broken up and we take a break.

Back with Hayter hitting an AA onto the knee, allowing the hot tag off to Baker for the house cleaning. The Lockjaw glove is loaded up but Baker goes with an Air Raid Crash to Storm instead. Everything breaks down and Hayter’s sliding lariat gets two. Baker gets hit with the running hip attack in the corner and Storm Zero gets two. Back up and a Panama Sunrise gives Baker two on Soho, setting up Lockjaw for the win at 9:37.

Rating: B. That was all it needed to be as the fans got to go nuts for Baker’s entrance and the Lockjaw gave Baker the win. This wasn’t some classic but it was a fast paced opener that gave the fans a nice thrill. It also gives Baker some momentum, as Hayter has gotten a lot of the attention in recent appearances. Good stuff here, as the hometown fans are pleased.

Wardlow introduces Arn Anderson of all people to be his manager. Anderson is ready to get Wardlow’s TNT Title back.

Here is the Elite to talk about the Blackpool Combat Club. Kenny Omega is more serious this week as he talks about what the Club has put he and his friends through. Right now, the Elite is out there to settle this with the Club and he wants them here. Bryan Danielson pops up on screen to say they’re amateurs, allowing the rest of the Club to come in for the brawl.

With the Elite down, here is Danielson to say that the Club is a bunch of amateurs. Don Callis follows Danielson out with a chair but he gets caught before he can swing, sending him running off. Danielson talks about the potential that Omega has, but since he won’t do anything, it’s time to fix the house. Danielson gets the screwdriver until Konosuke Takeshita is sent out by Callis for the save. The Elite gets back up to clear the ring as you can see Blood And Guts from here. Also, it’s amazing how much easier Kenny Omega is to deal with when he’s not acting like Kenny Omega.

TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Wardlow, with Arn Anderson, is challenging and we get a clip of QT Marshall attacking Anderson two years ago (That is a NICE touch as it gives Anderson a reason to be here and how many people were going to remember that happening?). QT Marshall and Harley Cameron are here too as Hobbs grabs three straight belly to belly suplexes to start. They head outside with Hobbs being whipped hard into the corner and the brawl heads into the crowd. The Powerbomb Symphony is broken up though and we take a break.

Back with Hobbs putting him on the top but a superplex attempt is blocked. Wardlow scores with a Swanton and the slug it out. Wardlow runs him over with a clothesline and snaps off some German suplexes and the big wind up punch drops Hobbs again. Cameron and Anderson get on the apron, allowing Marshall to grab a QT Cutter. The spinebuster gives Hobbs two and Anderson’s finger gun sets up the DDT to drop Marshall. A three movement Powerbomb Symphony gives Wardlow the title back at 9:34.

Rating: B-. This was another step in the rapid fire Wardlow rollercoaster and I’m not even sure why I should believe this is a big step forward for him. Wardlow and Anderson is a weird pairing but things are at least looking up for him. Now if this means the end of the QTV stuff, things are looking up for humanity in general.

Post match Christian Cage and Luchasaurus come out to stare down Wardlow. Can they please slow down and let the moment sink in for once?

MJF interrupts a Sammy Guevara interview and offers a guaranteed title shot at Double Or Nothing….if he’ll just lay down. That’s a no, but MJF throws in a blank check. Guevara fills in the amount and MJF reluctantly agrees, leaving Guevara to give him a hug (MJF isn’t pleased).

Kommander vs. Jay White

Juice Robinson is here with White. They shake hands to start and White takes him into the corner for a loud chop as we see Shawn Spears watching. Kommander is fine enough to hit a kick to the head and a very multiple springboard flip dive sends White outside. The rope walk has to be dropped as White gets back up and sends him face first into the apron as we take a break.

Back with White hammering away in the corner before dropping Kommander with a chop. Kommander fights back and hits the ropes, setting up a rather spinny rollup for two. A clothesline drops Kommander again but he kicks White off the top. After two failed attempts, Kommander finally manages his rope walk flip dive to drop White on the floor. A springboard phoenix splash gives Kommander two and he climbs on White’s back for something like an abdominal stretch. White isn’t having this and suplexes him down, setting up the Blade Runner (swinging Downward Spiral) for the pin at 10:44.

Rating: B-. This was a fun one as Kommander was trying to do all of his complicated flippy stuff but White kept cutting him off. While it makes all the sense for White to cut off Kommander’s high flying, I kept getting the feeling of White cutting it off because he felt like it’s nonsense. White ran him over in the end, which is how it should have been as he felt like a much more well rounded star as opposed to someone who was trying to flip around as much as he could.

Shawn Spears is not impressed so he gets pulled inside for the brawl. Ricky Starks makes the save.

FTR is shown a clip of Mark Briscoe being jumped by the Varsity Athletes. Since they somehow have no idea that this happened despite them being set to team with Briscoe, they go to check on Briscoe, who has Jeff Jarrett and company with him. Briscoe is ready to fight but the trainer won’t let him. Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett will do it instead.

Here are Chris Jericho and Adam Cole for a face to face chat. The fans love the latter so much that Jericho has to point it out. Cole talks about how much of an inspiration Jericho was, to the point where Jericho inspired his catchphrase. They do shake hands but Jericho says he has zero respect for Cole. He wants to slap Cole in the face but Cole says he and the fans think Jericho is a “jagoff”.

Cole thinks the real Jericho is an insecure stupid idiot and gets in his face. Jericho says you never want to meet your idols and Cole doesn’t want to meet him. There’s the slap to Cole, triggering the brawl. Cue the Jericho Appreciation Society but Britt Baker runs in for the save and goes after Jericho. Cue the Outcasts (who just happened to be under the ring) to jump Baker and Jericho handcuffs Cole to the ropes. A kendo stick emerges and Cole has to watch Saraya get in some rather lame stick shots on Baker. It was a solid idea for a segment and Cole/Baker’s selling more than made it, but Saraya’s stick shots were pretty horrible.

Jeff Hardy will speak on Rampage.

Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn

The Society jump them before the bell and apparently if the Acclaimed and Gunn lose, they have to join the team until Double Or Nothing. The Acclaimed fights up and hits Scissor Me Timbers on Parker as we take a break. Back with Bowens coming in to slug it out with Menard but Parker gets in a cheap shot with the loaded comb (egads) for two on Bowens. Gunn takes said comb away and breaks it, setting up the Arrival and Mic Drop for the pin at 6:21. This was your “stop putting half the match in the break” match of the week and while there wasn’t enough shown to rate, PLEASE let the Acclaimed move on to ANYTHING else.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Four Pillars Tournament First Round: Sammy Guevara vs. Jungle Boy

Tay Melo comes out to the stage with Guevara but doesn’t stay. Jungle Boy sends him outside for a dive to start but Guevara switches places with him for a dive of his own. Back in and Guevara hits a super Spanish Fly to leave both of them down as we’re now a minute in. As Darby Allin watches from the rafters, they go to the apron for a standoff until Guevara knees him out of the air. Another Spanish Fly to the floor plants Jungle Boy on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Jungle Boy fighting out of trouble, including a hard clothesline. They head to the floor for an apron bomb from Jungle Boy, followed by a top rope Canadian Destroyer for two back inside. Guevara is back with a top rope cutter before flipping Jungle Boy into a DDT (ouch) for two. The GTH is countered into a poisonrana and the running forearm to the back of Guevara’s head but Jungle Boy can’t follow up.

The Snare Trap sends Guevara over to the ropes so Jungle Boy goes up. One heck of a running dropkick sends Jungle Boy HARD into the corner of the ringside table. Guevara breaks up the count at eight though and here is MJF to pull Jungle Boy out of the ring (behind the referee’s back). A big shot with the diamond ring knocks Jungle Boy cold, allowing the referee to pick up his count at nine for the countout at 11:39.

Rating: B. This was a very modern style match with a bunch of flips and dives packed in. That doesn’t exactly make for a great match but it does make for something fun. At the same time, MJF costing Jungle Boy the match makes sense for him as he fears Jungle Boy quite a bit, though I’m curious if that ending is going to give them an out to get all three challengers to Double Or Nothing.

MJF and Guevara celebrate as Darby Allin is not pleased to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. They did a lot here, though some of it was a little odd. I’m not entirely sold on the tournament for a title shot when they have seemingly been building towards a four way, but Jungle Boy losing via countout/cheating leaves a lot of doors open. Other than that, you had some good action and a title change, though this show felt like a bit of an adjustment on the way to Double Or Nothing rather than setting things up.

Results
Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter b. Outcasts – Lockjaw to Soho
Wardlow b. Powerhouse Hobbs – Powerbomb Symphony
Jay White b. Kommander – Bladerunner
Acclaimed/Billy Gunn b. Jericho Appreciation Society – Mic Drop to Parker
Sammy Guevara b. Jungle Boy via countout

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

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Rampage
Date: April 14, 2023
Location: UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We are about a month and a half away from Double Or Nothing but this week’s show has a bit of an international feeling. The major advertised match will see Aussie Open, the new IWGP Tag Team Champions Aussie Open defending against the Best Friends. Other than that, we should get at least some stories advanced with the action to back it up. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Aussie Open vs. Best Friends

Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher/Mark Davis) is defending with Davis running Trent over to start. As Excalibur lists off all kinds of former champions, what happened recently and what is coming tonight (taking about a minute to do so), Trent hits a high crossbody to take over on Fletcher. That doesn’t last long though as Fletcher drops him on top and the Best Friends are sent outside.

The Friends are rammed into each other before the hand off suplex drops Trent for two back inside. We take a break and come back with Chuck saving Trent and a double chokeslam putting Davis down. We get the Big Hug and a Doomsday knee gets two on Fletcher. Back up and Davis kicks Chuck into a spinning Tombstone, followed by a nasty piledriver to Trent. The double clothesline sets up Coriolis to retain the titles at 9:45.

Rating: C+. Nice stuff here as the Aussies get a win to establish themselves a bit better. The Best Friends are going to be over no matter what they do so there is little for them to lose in something like this. The match was energetic enough to be a featured showdown on Rampage and that’s a pretty good place to be.

Mark Briscoe isn’t sure that he’s on the same page as Sonjay Dutt and company, because apparently a misleading statement leads to a legally binding agreement. Dutt talks to Briscoe about working together and even has a shirt with the entire stables’ faces on it. Isn’t this more or less the same thing as Matt Hardy (also a legendary tag wrestler) with the Firm?

Here is FTR for a chat. It took them two years and five months to get the AEW Tag Team Titles back. There has been some speculation about their futures, but they have signed with AEW for another four years. They are retiring when their contracts are done, but for the next four years, you’re getting everything they have because they want to be the best team ever.

This is their redemption story after they have been beaten down. They have fought and fought to be here and the only difference between themselves and the fans is having the fans in their corner. They have four years left and it will be awesome. Top guys out. It’s nice to have some clarification for their futures and they’re back on top, where they should be.

The Hardys, Isiah Kassidy and Hook are glad to have Jeff Hardy back, after a rough nine months. They are ready for their match against the Firm so Matt and Private Party can be free from their contracts. The match will take place at the Hardy Compound (oh geez) as Matt seems Broken again.

Wardlow had no comment on destroying Powerhouse Hobbs’ card. Hobbs is mad, but he’s ready to destroy Wardlow in their TNT Title match next week.

Mark Briscoe/Jeff Jarrett/Satnam Singh/Jay Lethal vs. Spanish Announce Project/Jake Manning

Briscoe and company have Sonjay Dutt with them and the brawl is on fast. Dutt trips Manning down and Briscoe isn’t happy, leading to everything breaking down. Singh comes in for a gorilla press and chokeslam, setting up the Froggy Bow to finish Manning at 2:00.

Video on the Blackpool Combat Club vs. the Elite.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Emi Sakura

Taya chops away to start and hits a running elbow in the corner to rock Sakura. The running knees make it worse and Taya powering out of a waistlock doesn’t help. The Road To Valhalla is loaded up but here are Leila Grey and Jade Cargill for a distraction. Sakura drops Taya and we take a break. Back with Taya hitting a sliding German suplex but another Cargill distraction lets Sakura send Taya into the steps. Back in and Taya has had enough of this, setting up a spear into the Road To Valhalla for the pin at 8:33.

Rating: C+. It was nice to see Taya having to work for a win for a change as she continues to be built up for Cargill. Sakura is someone who has done well enough to make this mean something and Taya getting a win helps enough. Good match here, and now the question is whether Taya can take the title from Jade. I mean she probably won’t, but it’s nice to see her having more of a chance than most.

Post match Grey comes in but gets Road To Valhalled as well. Cargill comes in and slugs it out with Taya but Leila breaks up the Road To Valhalla. Jade plants her with Jaded to stand tall. It’s so nice to see Jade having an actual challenge to one of her upcoming title defenses rather than the next designated victim.

Jose The Assistant challenges El Hijo del Vikingo for a AAA Mega Title shot on behalf of Dralistico.

The Jericho Appreciation Society “raps” about the Acclaimed. Cue the Acclaimed, with Caster not even bothering to rap. The beating is on, with Billy Gunn whipping out some scissors to try to cut off Matt Menard’s hard nipples. The challenge is thrown out for Dynamite.

Jungle Boy and Shawn Spears are ready for the main event. Spears isn’t friends with MJF anymore but he wants the World Title too. If beating Jungle Boy gets him that much closer, so be it.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows.

Jungle Boy vs. Shawn Spears

Spears rolls him up for two (and a ten) but Jungle Boy hits a dropkick for a ten of his own. They both go to the floor where the other can tease a dive but pull up at the last second. Spears gets sent into the barricade as we see Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara watching in the back. Jungle Boy gets sent over the barricade and we take a break.

Back with an exchange of near falls until Spears pump kicks him down. Jungle Boy hits a clothesline for his own knockdown though and they both get a breather. A rollup gives Jungle Boy two but Spears is back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Spears goes for a cradle but Jungle Boy stacks him up for the pin at 9:04.

Rating: C. This was a completely watchable match which never broke through to the next level. In other words, it was a Shawn Spears match and little more. Spears is one of the good hands around here who won’t give you a bad match but also won’t get anywhere beyond his ceiling. Jungle Boy gets another win to keep up the brilliant yet shockingly simple build towards Double Or Nothing of “have challengers win matches”.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a show that existed, with a bunch of stuff that didn’t really mean much and Jungle Boy getting a win in the main event. That’s Rampage in a nutshell for the most part and it isn’t something you need to see in any way. It’s a complete watchable show, but the big draw of this show was a guest team defending another company’s titles and finding out what is going to happen on Dynamite. That’s not the most interesting hour.

Results
Aussie Open b. Best Friends – Coriolis to Chuck
Mark Briscoe/Jeff Jarrett/Satnam Singh/Jay Lethal b. Spanish Announce Project/Jake Manning – Froggy Bow to Manning
Taya Valkyrie b. Emi Sakura – Road To Valhalla
Jungle Boy b. Shawn Spears – Cradle

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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Ring Of Honor
Date: April 13, 2023
Location: Ryan Center, Kingston, Rhode Island
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

The show continues to go on the road with AEW and that could make for some changes to how things work. It is almost impossible to imagine doing the nearly two hour show in front of Dynamite so maybe things are going to be shuffled up a bit. Either way, I would still bet on Athena and Tony Nese getting in their regular appearances. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ari Daivari vs. Mark Briscoe

Tony Nese, Josh Woods and Mark Sterling are here with Daivari. They roll around a bit to start until Daivari charges into an overhead belly to belly. A vertical suplex sends him outside but the distraction lets Nese get in a cheap shot to take over. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by a hammerlock DDT for two on Briscoe. The frog splash misses though and Briscoe gets to chop away. A Rock Bottom suplex into a hangman’s neckbreaker plants Daivari but it’s too early for the Jay Driller. Sterling’s distraction lets Nese and Woods interfere but they’re thrown out, meaning the Jay Driller can finish Daivari at 6:10.

Rating: C. This was a way to get Briscoe back on track and that is a perfectly fine way to go. Daivari is still enough of a name around here that beating him means enough when you combine him with the rest of his goons. If nothing else, it’s not the Trustbusters so this could be a heck of a lot worse.

Post match the Varsity Athletes jump Briscoe but FTR makes the save. Mark Briscoe: Friend Of Tag Teams is an interesting way to go.

Eddie Kingston reveals that he is suffering from a hernia and has been dealing with it since September. He went through the Supercard Of Honor match against Claudio Castagnoli but isn’t making any excuses. Odds are he is going to need surgery though and a lot of that is due to the beating Castagnoli gave him. He has been thinking back to his match with Cody Rhodes, when he gave his heart to AEW in the first place. Then he went home and he thought about it and now he is going to have to do it again. Kingston going away for a bit might help him, as he has been kind of all over the place in recent months.

Kelly Madan vs. Skye Blue

Blue teases a superkick to take Madan down and another kick puts her on the mat. Madan gets in a kick of her own and stops to dance, allowing Blue to kick her down again. Skyfall finishes for Blue at 2:06. Not quite a squash but it did what it needed to do.

Mike Bennett vs. Darius Martin

Matt Taven and Maria Kanellis-Bennett are here with Bennett. Martin wins a slugout to start and they trade chops in the corner. The fight goes to the floor with Bennett being sent into the barricade but Taven offers a distraction on the way back inside. That’s enough for Bennett to take over on the apron, with a superkick rocking Martin. Bennett drops him hard onto the apron but Martin manages to get up for a clothesline through the ropes. Back in and a Spanish Fly gives Martin two but Taven comes in for the DQ at 4:57.

Rating: C+. It’s almost strange seeing a DQ on one of these shows, but it’s also weird seeing Martin doing this on his own. That’s what we’re going to have to get used to in the coming months, but he did look comfortable out there in a singles match. I’m curious to see who is going to make the save/help Martin against the Kingdom, as he certainly can’t do it on his own. For now though, nice start to his singles run, even in a limited time.

Post match the beatdown is on but Action Andretti makes the save. I’ve heard worse ideas.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Tracy Williams

They go technical to start (shocking I know) but it’s too early for Williams to get in his crossface. The cross armbreaker is broken up as well and it’s Yuta grabbing a German suplex. Yuta ties up the legs and forearms away but Williams slips out. A belly to back suplex rocks Yuta but he’s right back with the strikes in the corner. The double arm DDT onto the top sets up a brainbuster and Yuta is down again. The crossface still doesn’t work and Yuta is back up with an Angle Slam. A dragon sleeper with Williams’ arms tied back is enough to give Yuta the win at 5:11.

Rating: C+. Williams is rather good at this kind of a match and Yuta can go move for move with him the entire way. Yuta is on a roll right now (save for the Shibata loss) so getting a win here is no surprise. What is a bit of a surprise is seeing Williams lose again, as has been the case since he came back to Ring Of Honor. I get the idea of having someone with a name do some jobs, but Williams has a strong enough resume that he should be able to do better than this.

Darius Martin is glad that he has a friend in Action Andretti, who knows what it’s like to deal with numbers. The challenge to the Kingdom is on for next week.

Katsuyori Shibata/Alex Coughlin vs. Workhorsemen

Drake won’t shake Shibata’s hand to start so Shibata starts with Henry instead. They go to the mat for a quick standoff and Shibata blocks an early Penalty Kick. Drake adds a headbutt to Shibata and it’s off to Coughlin to give Drake a belly to back. Another suplex drops Coughlin though and a Vader Bomb from the middle of the ropes crushes Coughlin again.

Henry comes in and goes technical with Coughlin, who starts while sitting down and manages to grab a suplex and stand up while holding Henry in the air (WOW). It’s off to Shibata, who tries a sleeper but can’t get anywhere. Drake breaks it up with a chop to the back so Shibata sleepers Henry again,, with Drake breaking it up again. A kick to the back/Downward Spiral combination plants Shibata but Coughlin makes the save. Coughlin takes Drake outside and it’s the Penalty Kick to finish Henry at 8:46.

Rating: B-. That suplex alone made this worth a look as Coughlin might be able to live up to that cyborg nickname. Shibata was a bit off here and even commentary was surprised at some of the mistakes that he was making. The Workhorsemen were their usual reliable selves and this was the best match on the show by a wide margin so far.

Post match Coughlin says he wants the Pure Title.

Willow Nightingale vs. Little Mean Kathleen

Nightingale slams her down to start but gets sent into the corner for some running stomps. Back up and Nightingale runs her over, setting up a Stampede for the pin at 1:47. As it should be, given that Kathleen is rather tiny and not overly impressive.

Stu Grayson vs. Tony Nese

You knew Nese would get a match in there somewhere. Mark Sterling, Josh Woods and Evil Uno are here too. Grayson starts fast and sends him outside, only to have Sterling’s distraction let Nese get in a cheap shot. Back in and Nese hits a running uppercut in the corner before a hard kick to the face gets two. Another forearm wakes Grayson up and a swinging Rock Bottom gives him two more. A fireman’s carry spun into a faceplant gives Grayson another near fall but Nese sends him face first into the buckle. Back up and a Pele kick rocks Nese, setting up Knightfall to finish for Grayson at 7:14.

Rating: C+. Well at least the right person won, as I was worried Grayson would take another loss. Grayson has something with the look and energy so giving him a win over anyone, even Nese, is a nice boost. If nothing else, it would be nice for the Dark Order to have someone who might be able to win a match of some value at some point. The team has needed that for a long time now so maybe they are finally getting the idea right.

Post match the Righteous come out to stare down the Dark Order. Er, actually just Grayson.

Post break the Righteous says the Dark Order is about power (How?) but now it’s like a shell of itself. Vincent has the keys to Grayson’s freedom.

Ashley D’Amboise vs. Athena

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning that if Ashley can survive ten minutes or win, she gets a title shot. Ashley dropkicks her down to start so Athena dropkicks her a few times to take over. The Crossface is broken up and Ashley gets two off a cradle. Something like a leg lariat gives Ashley two and a Samoan drop gets the same. Athena isn’t having that and dropkicks her off the top for a big crash. A clothesline on the floor drops Ashley again and the running knees against the steps make it worse. Back in and the O Face finishes for Athena at 5:09.

Rating: C+. I’ve heard of D’Amboise before but I’ve never seen her in a match that let her shine a bit. She did well with the time that she had here, though this was all about keeping Athena as a monster. I’m not sure who is going to take the title from her, but they are making her feel like a force. Maybe just give her a week off here or there though, just to keep her appearances feeling more special.

Post match Athena throws her to the floor.

Post break D’Amboise isn’t happy with the lack of honor so Athena jumps her again. Athena wants better competition and sends D’Amboise face first into the title.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Metalik

Metalik is challenging and gets taken into the corner to start. A legsweep drops Metalik but he kicks Castagnoli into the corner without much trouble. Castagnoli gets sent outside, where he cuts off a dive and drops Metalik hard onto the apron. The neck crank goes on back inside and there’s a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Metalik fights up and slugs away but Castagnoli sends him into the corner for the stomping. Back up and Metalik manages a kick to the head and a springboard hurricanrana.

A pop up Sling Blade (cool) drops Castagnoli again but the Metalik Driver is blocked. Code Red gives Metalik two more but a moonsault only hits raised boots. Castagnoli hammers away in the corner until Metalik kicks him in the head again. The rope walk elbow is cut off though and a Crossface has Metalik in trouble. That’s broken up so Castagnoli blasts him with the uppercut. The Neutralizer retains the title at 11:59.

Rating: B. I wasn’t expecting much coming into this one but they had a nice power vs. speed match with Metalik getting in a lot of offense. This could have been a four minute squash but they stretched it out a bit and made Castagnoli break a sweat. While there was no drama over a title change, it was nice to see this be more competitive than it could have been

Overall Rating: B-. This show was about 20-30 minutes shorter than the show’s average so far and my goodness it was more enjoyable as a result. Running just shy of an hour and a half, this show didn’t drag or feel like it just kept going and that is a huge improvement. I had a good time with the show and the action was good, but I never sat there wondering how much more they could squeeze in. Keep it around this length (or maybe a hair shorter) and it goes WAY up in value. Good show this week, with one of the biggest issues being addressed, at least for now.

Results
Mark Briscoe b. Ari Daivari – Jay Driller
Skye Blue b. Kelly Madan – Skyfall
Darius Martin b. Mike Bennett via DQ when Matt Taven interfered
Wheeler Yuta b. Tracy Williams – Dragon sleeper
Alex Coughlin/Katsuyori Shibata b. Workhorsemen – Penalty Kick to Henry
Willow Nightingale b. Little Mean Kathleen – Stampede
Stu Grayson b. Tony Nese – Knightfall
Athena b. Ashley D’Amboise – O Face
Claudio Castagnoli b. Metalik – Neutralizer

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