Collision
Date: January 17, 2026
Location: Arizona Financial Theater, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re taped this week as the Arlington residency continues. There is at least a title match this week though as the Opps are actually defending the Trios Titles against Hangman Page and JetSpeed. Sure that might seem like a random combination, but they had one match together five months ago and that’s good enough. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Angelico vs. Andrade El Idolo

Don Callis is here with Andrade, who takes Angelico into the corner rather quickly. Some chops have Angelico in trouble and they go to the mat with Andrade in control. Andrade chops away in the corner again before charging into a boot to the face. Three Amigos put Angelico right back down but Andrade pulls him up at two. A twisting neckbreaker (the DM) finishes Angelico at 3:54.

Rating: C. Total squash here and yeah it’s about the same as always from Andrade. I just do not get the appeal of the guy, as while he’s fine, he’s just kind of there with nothing that makes him stand out. Having him be another member of the Don Callis Family doesn’t help either, but that has been the case with a lot of people.

The Rascalz come out of a smoky room and introduce the team: Zachary Wentz, Myron Reed and Dezmond Xavier. They want to be where the best wrestle, but like to smoke as well.

We recap the Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Eddie Kingston/Ortiz. Kingston has been having troubles with them, so Ortiz is back to help him out.

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Ortiz/Eddie Kingston

Ortiz takes over on Drake to start and hits a spinning high crossbody to put him down. Drake gets taken into the corner and we actually get some alternating arm cranking. Kingston gets caught in the Veterans’ corner though and a leg lariat puts him down. That’s broken up and it’s back to Ortiz, who gets taken outside for some yelling and a suicide dive.

We take a break and come back with Ortiz still in trouble but managing to strike his way out. Kingston comes back in for the chops to both Veterans, allowing Ortiz to hit a sitout powerbomb for two on Drake. Kingston and Gibson argue a lot until Gibson goes after Ortiz, leaving Kingston to grab….the scarf. Gibson hits a middle rope Codebreaker and Drake grabs the Koji Clutch on Kingston. That’s good for two arm drops but Kingston raises a middle finger and survives. Ortiz takes out Gibson and the DDT finishes Drake at 12:45.

Rating: C-. So Kingston beat up the Veterans on his own and then beat them up again when he had a partner. There’s only so much you can get out of a story like this and it didn’t help that Ortiz didn’t quite look great. He hasn’t been around in a long time and I’m not sure how many people were begging to have him back.

The Babes Of Wrath and Kris Statlander are upset after their loss, with Statlander saying she would take a bullet for them to be out there with her best friends. As for Thekla, Statlander will give her a title shot because that’s what a champion does. She likes the taste of toxic.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Here is FTR, with Stokely Hathaway, for a chat. Hathaway congratulates Davis And Doyle for becoming the #1 contenders, who have all kinds of potential. Wheeler says the team (“Jake…something….Doyle”) is good but they’re not FTR good. Harwood, after greeting Nigel McGuinness, doesn’t like the people here because they live in a fantasy world. He doesn’t have an issue with Doyle And Davis but FTR is the team who built this division. They grew up in North Carolina and beat up guys like Davis And Doyle over and over. Now it’s time for Davis And Doyle to find that out the hard way. This was rather long.

Cru wants to welcome the Rascalz in a way they’ll never forget.

Video on Zayda Steel, who was made to do this.

Zayda Steel vs. Marina Shafir

Christopher Daniels is here with Steel while Jon Moxley is here with Shafir. Steel jumps on her to slug away to start and gets sent to the floor. Back in and Steel misses something off the top so Shafir takes her into the corner as we take a break. We come back with Steel hitting a Codebreaker into a running knee in the corner. Shafir gives her a release Rock Bottom and puts on a seated full nelson but Steel fights up. That’s cut off in a hurry and it’s Mother’s Milk for the tap at 5:40. Not enough shown but it’s another loss for the newcomer because that’s how you get someone over.

Don Callis Family vs. SkyFlight

Moxley stays on commentary and Don Callis joins in to bicker with Moxley, who isn’t impressed. Eventually Moxley chases him off, saying Konosuke Takeshita can come find him before leaving as well. Cue the rest of the Family (because there are multiple lineups of the team) to jump Moxley so the Death Riders run in for the save. SkyFlight comes in to go after the Family as well and we take a break before the bell.

We’re joined in progress with Darius working on Fletcher’s arm before it’s off to Sky. Fletcher takes him into the corner and Clon comes in to stay on said arm. That’s broken up and Sky gets over for the tag back to Darius. A springboard swinging Downward Spiral gives Darius two and he (eventually) gets Alexander up for a powerbomb. Alexander breaks out and German suplexes before Clon’s elbow gets two. Fletcher elbows Darius down as well and we take a break.

We come back again with Darius still in trouble as Alexander grabs the ankle lock. That’s broken up with an enziguri and a suplex allows Dante to come in for the comeback. The swinging full nelson slam is blocked and Clon kicks Dante in the head, allowing Fletcher to come back in. Everything breaks down and Fletcher is sent into the corner for the double DDT. Alexander World’s Strongest Slams Darius onto the apron and Clon gives Dante a step up Asai moonsault on the apron. Darius gets caught in the ankle lock and the torture rack bomb sets up an arm trap piledriver for the pin at 13:07.

Rating: C. This wasn’t event that long of a match but my goodness it felt like it went on forever. I like SkyFlight but they have been beaten into the ground so much that they mean nothing anymore. On the other side you have a pretty weak Family lineup, which says a lot as they are only so interesting in the first place.

Post match Konosuke Takeshita comes out to…hug Fletcher and then pose with the team.

Roderick Strong is ready to win the CMLL World Title but he doesn’t want the Conglomeration around him. Mark Briscoe wants to face El Clon next week. You know the old saying: If you’re ready to conglomerate, be ready to share your plate, and whether it’s English or Espanol, you best be ready to share your roll. Yeah Cassidy doesn’t know it either.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford vs. Danielle Kamela/Viva Van

Bayne clotheslines Kamela to start and then sends both of them flying. A Doomsday Device finishes Kamela at 1:35.

Post match the Timeless Love Bombs come out to promise revenge and remind us that God doesn’t wear lipstick.

Swerve Strickland’s plan to get back to the World Title: win. Kevin Knight comes in to remind Swerve about his advice. Knight thinks he is the current and seemingly wants to fight Swerve. That’s fine with Swerve, who tells him to go win the Trios Titles and then come see him about being a main eventer.

Jack Perry vs. Anthony Bowens

For a future shot against Ricochet, on commentary, for the National Title. We get a handshake to start and they go technical, with Perry getting the better of things. Bowens grabs a headlock and takes over, earning an offering of scissoring. That won’t be happening as Perry goes up, only to get crotched down, allowing Bowens to get in some scissoring. They go outside with Perry winding up on his shoulders, only to come down with a bulldog as we take a break.

We come back with Perry hitting a running DDT for two, meaning it’s time to be frustrated. Bowens ties him up with a rollup for two, followed by a clothesline. Perry is back with a jumping knee, though Bowens blocked a bit of it. A second running knee finishes Bowens at 10:13.

Rating: B-. The match was good enough and Perry winning is the more logical choice of the two, but we’ve already seen Perry vs. Ricochet for the title. It doesn’t help that the championship doesn’t exactly feel important in the first place and now the champion is already trading wins with Perry. Bowens getting a few serious matches is nice, but it’s hard to imagine him really going anywhere on his own.

Post match Perry chases Ricochet to the back.

Video on Hangman Page vs. Samoa Joe.

The Death Riders aren’t happy with the Don Callis Family. Pac: “Who the f*** do you think you are?” Daniel Garcia talks about what it means to be a family and Jon Moxley says he’s the worst thing anyone has ever seen in wrestling.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Trios Titles: JetSpeed/Hangman Page vs. Opps

The Opps are defending. Shibata and Bailey shake hands to start, with Shibata jumping him as a villain should. Hobbs comes in to take over on Knight, who slips out of a slam and brings Page in. The rapid fire forearms have Hobbs rocked but he runs Page over without much trouble. Bailey comes back in and gets suplexed onto the apron, followed by another on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Knight getting out of trouble and handing it back to Page. House is quickly cleaned, including the moonsault to the floor to drop Hobbs and Joe. Hobbs powers out of a Deadeye attempt but gets his leg swept out by Bailey. Knight springboards into a release Rock Bottom and Joe comes in for the snap powerslam. A backsplash gets two on Knight and Joe grabs the Koquina Clutch on Page…but Knight rolls Hobbs up for the pin and the titles at 11:15.

Rating: B-. This was dragging a bit in the middle, but the titles going to a fresh team should help them a bit. The Opps had already held the titles longer than any team in history and they hadn’t done anything with them in months. I can’t imagine Page and JetSpeed hold them for very long, but at least it’s something new.

Swerve Strickland comes out to watch to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The show picked up in the last thirty minutes or so but the first stretch dragged things way down. It felt like a show built around the lowest level stories taking place in the company and that is hard to watch. Things did get better with the title match and setting up things for Dynamite, which is the main focus of Collision most of the time. It’s far from an awful show, but dang there were some dull stretches this week.

Results
Andrade El Idolo b. Angelico – DM
Eddie Kingston/Ortiz b. Grizzled Young Veterans – DDT to Drake
Marina Shafir b. Zayda Steel – Mother’s Milk
Don Callis Family b. SkyFlight – Arm trap piledriver to Darius
Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford b. Danielle Kamela/Viva Van – Doomsday Device to Kamela
Hangman Page/JetSpeed b. Opps – Rollup to Hobbs

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

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

Collision
Date: January 10, 2026
Location: eSports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

The Arlington residency continues as we are on the way to next week’s Maximum Carnage Dynamite. That is something that will likely get a lot of attention this week and it should make for a nice show. Collision tends to do well when it comes to advancing things for later so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Death Riders vs. SkyFlight

Jon Moxley is on commentary and SkyFlight’s newest member, Zayda Steel, is here as well. Yuta takes Sky down into a chinlock to start but Sky spins around into an armbar. Garcia comes in to chop away on Darius but Dante is in with a bulldog to send Garcia into Darius’ knee. Pac isn’t having that and comes in to stomp away but Dante makes the save. That’s cut off and the Riders kick him down in the corner as we take a break.

We come back with Dante fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught in a top rope Hart Attack for two. Dante’s dropkick allows the tag off to Yuta and a springboard Downward Spiral drops him again (Moxley: “Where do they come up with this offense?”). Yuta gets slingshotted into a cutter for two, with Garcia having to make a save. Darius gets caught in the corner for some rapid fire elbows. The Brutalizer makes him give up at 13:24.

Rating: B. Fun tag match to start things off here, which isn’t surprising as SkyFlight tends to do rather well. It was far from a squash and it got a lot more entertaining when things broke down near the end, which is where both teams tend to shine. Also of note: Moxley is rather good on commentary, as he is very energetic in the booth.

Post match Steel gets in a staredown with Marina Shafir…and gets laid out by a Megan Bayne Liger Bomb. So she gets pinned in her first match as part of SkyFlight and then gets laid out two days later. Why would I want to cheer for her?

The Conglomeration (and Roderick Strong) is ready for either bad guy faction that wants to come out of them. Mark Briscoe goes a bit nuts about being ready for Hechicero.

Brody King vs. Barrett Brown

This is billed as a standby match because the opener went short. Yeah apparently about thirteen and a half minutes is short. The Ganso Bomb finishes Brown at 26 seconds.

The Don Callis Family beat up more people in the back, with Don Callis himself apparently still in Tokyo celebrating Kazuchika Okada’s win at Wrestle Kingdom.

El Clon vs. Komander

They go technical with some rather spinning rollups to start with Clon getting the better of things. Clon knocks him down again and hits a quick moonsault for two. A rather springboardy wristdrag has Clon in trouble and a twisting top rope hurricanrana takes him down again. They go outside with Clon dropping him on the ramp as we take a break. We come back with Komander (whose knee was banged up during the break) going after the knee and hitting a DDT. Komander flips around a bit to show that the knee is ok and grabs a poisonrana for two.

Clon’s tilt-a-whirl is broken up and Komander runs to the top for a nice moonsault. Komander sends him outside for a dive but Cielito Lindo misses. Now the tilt-a-whirl backbreaker works for Clon but his spinning torture rack bomb is countered into a Canadian Destroyer (that was slick) for two. A leg trap powerbomb gives Clon two, followed by the torture rack bomb (McGuinness: “Now he’s dead.”) for the pin at 12:07.

Rating: B+. That might be a bit high but I was having a great time with this. They stopped trying to do anything but do one cool spot after another and that was quite the success. I had a good time with this match and Clon got to showcase himself, which is what he needs to be doing since he’s still establishing himself.

We look at the Don Callis Family’s night at Wrestle Kingdom.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Mina Shirakawa vs. Lady Frost

Shirakawa gets a bouquet of flowers at the bell and Frost kicks her in the face (naturally the referee is fine with starting the match as this happens). Frost stomps away in the corner but Shirakawa fights out, only to get caught in the corner again. A front flip Cannonball connects for Frost but Shirakawa strikes her in the head a few times. The Figure Four makes Frost tap at 2:48. They packed a lot into that time.

Post match Shirakawa gets the flowers but isn’t sure who sent them.

We look at Mercedes Mone’s downfall. She’s taking a break from AEW but is coming back to take more than just titles.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

TNT Title: Hechicero vs. Mark Briscoe

Briscoe is defending and they look at each other to start until Hechicero takes him down by the leg. Back up and Briscoe takes him down by the arm to little avail so he sticks the landing off Hechicero’s backdrop. Hechicero grabs the hammerlock into a spinning backbreaker for two and they go outside with Briscoe hammering away.

The Blockbuster off the apron drops Hechicero again but he breaks up Briscoe’s step up dive off the chair. A cross armbreaker on the floor has Briscoe in trouble and we take a break. We come back with Briscoe’s arm in trouble and another cross armbreaker sending him to the ropes. Hechicero grabs a rather impressive flip into the cross armbreaker again, with Briscoe needing the rope one more time.

They crash out to the floor, with Briscoe getting caught in a choke until he drops Hechicero onto the ramp. Back in and Briscoe hits the step up flip dive to drop him again and they both get back inside. The arm gives out on a Jay Driller attempt though and the running hurricanrana driver gives Hechicero two. Hechicero’s facebuster into another armbar doesn’t last long so they go up top, with Briscoe biting his way to freedom. The Froggy Bow gets two and the Jay Driller retains at 14:57.

Rating: B+. Another awesome match here as this show is on a roll. Briscoe fighting through the injury and managing to hit the two big finishers to retain was a good story, especially against someone as impressive as Hechicero. There are certain people who can just do things differently than everyone else and Hechicero certainly fits that description. Heck of a match here.

Post match the Conglomeration comes out to celebrate.

The Grizzled Young Veterans mock Eddie Kingston, who is going to take Ortiz down with him this time. Kingston says you reap what you sow, but they only reap.

Video on FTR, including their issues with Adam Copeland.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Babes Of Wrath/Kris Statlander vs. Hyan/Maya World/Vert Vixen

World rolls Statlander up for an early two but Statlander powers her down. Cameron comes in and gets dropped onto World for two, followed by a double side slam for two on Vixen. A series of running strikes take Vixen down and we take a break. We come back with Cameron getting thrown into the wrong corner for some running shots.

A shotgun dropkick gives Vixen two, with Nightingale actually having to make a save. Cameron tries to come back but gets kneed in the face…and she makes the tag without much difficulty anyway. Nightingale cleans house and hands it back to Statlander, with Cameron coming back in with a double high crossbody. Staturday Night Fever finishes Vixen at 8:57.

Rating: C+. It was fast paced, though I’m not sure how successful this was. The match was designed to set up the Babes and Statlander against the Triangle Of Madness but they had a pretty good bit of trouble here. I’d expect a bit more of a dominant performance from three champions, but at least they won.

Post match the winners are glad with the result but Thekla pops in to say she and her sisters will take care of them on Dynamite. Statlander promises to make them call her Big Stat Daddy.

Don Callis joins us from Tokyo (having gone back after showing up on Dynamite) and is thrilled with Kazuchika Okada’s win. Kyle Fletcher comes in to say they need to talk about Okada. Callis is confused but Fletcher talks about how Okada took his screwdriver at Worlds End. Callis kind of blows him off and says focus on getting the TNT Title back.

Video on Bandido vs. MJF.

Demand vs. JetSpeed/Anthony Bowens

JetSpeed runs in to start before Bowens even shows up. That goes well enough until Bowens gets in there to even the odds. The villains are quickly cleared out to the floor, where Knight is tossed into the post. Bowens gets triple teamed in the corner but rolls away for the tag off to Bailey. Everything breaks down and a UFO Splash gives Knight two on Kaun. Liona gets in a backsplash on the apron to crush Knight though and we take a break.

We come back with Knight fighting his way out of trouble but not being able to make the tag. Kaun and Knight hit stereo crossbodies for a double down and it’s Bowens coming in to clean house. Ricochet hits a big flip dive to the floor, followed by a springboard moonsault for two on Bowens.

Everything breaks down again and Bowens gives Ricochet a wind up DDT. Some dives to the floor put the Gates Of Agony down and a running kick to the face gets two on Ricochet. The Mollywop is broken up though and Kaun gives JetSpeed a double Big Ending. Bowens superkicks Ricochet and they trade rollups for two each. The Mollywop hits Ricochet but he makes a blind tag to Kaun. Open The Gates finishes Bowens at 13:42.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t feeling this one as much, as it was like they just wanted to do the wild brawling with all of the flips and such rather than an actual match. That’s how it started and ended, with only a bit of something different in the middle. Bowens was kind of a random partner for JetSpeed and him taking the fall isn’t a surprise, but I didn’t get into this one as much as the rest of the show.

Post match Max caster comes out for a distraction so JetSpeed can make the save. Caster comes in as well, followed by the Don Callis Family and the Conglomeration to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. For a random Saturday night show, you can’t ask for much more than this. You had some rather entertaining action and things were advanced before next week’s big Dynamite. This worked well and was better than I was expecting, so we’ll certainly call this one quite the success all things considered.

Results
Death Riders b. SkyFlight – Brutalizer to Darius
Brody King b. Barrett Brown – Ganso Bomb
El Clon b. Komander – Torture rack bomb
Mina Shirakawa b. Lady Frost – Figure Four
Mark Briscoe b. Hechicero – Jay Driller
Kris Statlander/Babes Of Wrath b. Vert Vixen/Hyan/Maya World – Staturday Night Fever to Vixen

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

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Collision
Date: January 3, 2026
Location: eSports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s the start of another residency as Collision will be here for a few weeks at least. That can make for some interesting crowd reactions but at least this seemed to be a pretty nice venue the first time around. Hopefully that is the case here again as we’re starting with Darby Allin vs. Wheeler Yuta. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

The Timeless Love Bombs, Dante Martin, Shelton Benjamin and Darby Allin are ready to fight.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Clon vs. Angelico

Angelico works on the arm to start and they trade legsweeps, allowing Clon to pose. A running clothesline drops Angelico and a step up moonsault gives Clon two. They trade chops until Clon hits a Pele kick, followed by a torture rack bomb (ala Hologram) for the pin at 3:29.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have time to do much here, but Clon did look good. I’m not sure how long it’s going to be before Hologram gets back, but it should make for a pretty awesome showdown if they do it right. For now though, they did a nice job to start the anticipation, with Clon having a dominant debut.

Post match Clon stomps on Angelico’s partner Serpentico but Komander runs in for the save.

Jon Moxley talks about how you get something special out of the Continental Classic and the title has a very high price tag. He’s getting ready to face Shelton Benjamin on Dynamite and while there is pretty much nothing he does better than Benjamin, it’s going to take a lot more than hurting him.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Timeless Love Bombs vs. Hyan/Maya World

Shirakawa and World start things off with Shirakawa getting in a bit of dancing. World gets taken down and it’s quickly off to Storm vs. Hyan. The Bombs start taking turns beating on Hyan, with Storm dropping Shirakawa onto her for two. A running hip attack sends Hyan outside and Shirakawa hits a big dive to take them both out on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Shirakawa being dropped onto World’s knees for two. That doesn’t seem to do much though as Shirakawa gets over to Storm for the house cleaning. A bulldog into a basement dropkick cuts Storm off though and a Blockbuster/Russian legsweep combination gets two. Shirakawa comes back in with a double missile dropkick and Storm hits the running hip attack. Storm Zero finishes World at 9:07.

Rating: B-. World and Hyan are starting to get a bit more comfortable around here and that’s nice to see. They’re a fine team to add to the division and while they have a long way to go, it’s better than nothing. At the very least, the keep the bigger teams from losing important matches so nice job on bringing in some extra names.

Post match respect is shown but the entrances for the next match cut off the Bombs’ celebration.

Marina Shafir/Megan Bayne vs. Rache Chanel/Londyn Dior

Points for the themed jobber names. Shafir strikes Dior down to start and it’s quickly off to Bayne for the shoulders in the corner. Everything breaks down and Chanel is Fate’s Descented into Mother’s Milk (Shafir: “Give it to me baby.”) for the tap at 1:27.

The Don Callis Family beat up some jobbers in the back and Josh Alexander gives Hechicero a pep talk.

Komander vs. Hechicero

For a TNT Title shot. Hechicero wastes no time in pulling him down into la majistral for two, with Komander getting his own rollup for the same. They trade cradles into a near fall into a standoff but Komander sends him outside. Back in and Hechicero takes him into the corner, where Komander comes out with a rather springboardy hurricanrana. Komander sends him outside again and tries a slingshot hurricanrana, which is countered into a toss powerbomb into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Komander kicking away but getting rolled into a bow and arrow. That’s switched into an armbar to keep Komander in trouble but he gets to the rope. Hechicero hits the arm and he falls outside, with Komander hitting the big rope walk dive. Back in and a sunset bomb gives Komander two but Hechicero is back with the swinging hammerlock backbreaker. Komander gets in a knockdown of his own and goes up, only for Clon to run in and shove him off the top. Hechicero hits a running knee, followed by a spinning arm trap rollup for the win at 13:36.

Rating: B. Much like the opener (albeit a good bit longer), this was an entertaining match between two people who know how to do this style. Hechicero winning makes for a better match for Mark Briscoe anyway, as he already has the whole ordeal with the Don Callis Family. As usual Komander is good for a solid match even in defeat and this was fun stuff.

Max Caster and Anthony Bowens are on assignments to build them up as a team, including saying nice things about each other and going on a scavenger hunt. It doesn’t work well as they keep getting in arguments, with Caster using a bunch of hand sanitizer.

Here are Eddie Kingston and Ortiz for a chat. After Kingston acknowledges two birthday fans in the crowd (that’s a nice touch), Kingston thanks Ortiz for keeping him from quitting this company over and over. They’re coming for the Grizzled Young Veterans, but Kingston keeps getting mad at Tony Schiavone for not holding the mic up (Kingston: “Flair must have hated you.”).

Big Bill and Bryan Keith laugh off the idea of Kingston having someone to watch his back. For now though, they want to take out JetSpeed, as someone has put a bounty on JetSpeed. Commentary thinks it’s Don Callis.

JetSpeed vs. Big Bill/Bryan Keith

Bailey and Keith start things off with Bailey elbowing him down. Keith cuts off a tag attempt though and everything breaks down, with Keith being sent outside. Some kicks put Bill on the floor but he’s back in with a swinging Boss Man Slam to Bailey. Eye gouging on the floor has Bailey in more trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Bill missing some charges in the corner, allowing the tag off to Bailey. The comeback doesn’t last long though as Bill kicks him in the face, with Knight having to make the save. Stereo dives take the villains down again but Keith strikes away at Bailey for two. Bailey kicks Keith down though and the UFO Splash finishes for Knight at 12:04.

Rating: C+. Nice tag match here, though it’s frustrating to see Knight and Bill brought back just to take another loss. At the same time, at least it was to a team like JetSpeed, who already have some success together. It’s a fine enough match and JetSpeed can do the high flying thing rather well, with Knight being a treat to watch.

The Grizzled Young Veterans are ready to fight Eddie Kingston and Ortiz, including threats to Kingston’s knee.

Video on the Hangman Page/Swerve Strickland vs. the Opps, setting up Wednesday’s lights out match.

Dante Martin vs. Shelton Benjamin

Christopher Daniels and MVP are here too. Benjamin shrugs off a lariat to start so Martin goes with a takedown instead. That’s enough to send Benjamin outside, only to have Benjamin come back in with a hard shoulder. Martin tries to go up top but gets knocked off to the floor as we take a break. We come back with Martin diving into a backbreaker and we see that Martin ignored a chance to walk out during the break, even asking if Benjamin’s mother raised a b****. A suplex sends Martin flying and the superkick finishes him off at 10:44.

Rating: C. This was pretty much an extended squash and that’s what it should have been with Benjamin set for his big match with Moxley next week. Benjamin is someone who has quite the reputation and has been treated seriously in AEW, so it wasn’t much of a step up to the next level. I’m rather pleased that he smashed through Martin like this, as that’s what makes perfect sense in this case.

Post match MVP asks for some applause for Martin and Benjamin shakes his hand, allowing Martin to leave in peace. With Martin gone, MVP talks about how Jon Moxley is a tough man, but Benjamin is different. Benjamin is going to hurt Moxley. This match has me intrigued.

Sammy Guevara is tired of the wrong people getting chances and wants to be World Champion. Bandido comes up and says he can have a shot.

Tony Schiavone reads a statement from Stokley Hathaway, who was injured at Worlds End and is at the Vivian Banks Medical Center, where he has over $400,000 worth of bills. See Tony Schiavone, who has nothing to do after the show but drink, to help pay them off.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

Darby Allin vs. Wheeler Yuta

Jon Moxley is on commentary. Allin knocks Yuta to the floor to start, where a Marina Shafir distraction lets Yuta get in a cheap shot. Back in and Allin dropkicks him into the corner but Yuta gets in a backdrop to send Allin face first down. We take a break and come back with Allin hitting a springboard elbow but Shafir interferes again.

This time it’s enough to get an ejection but here is Toni Storm (Moxley: “SHE’S NUTS!”) to cut her off. Daniel Garcia joins us at ringside as Yuta gets a Scorpion Deathlock. That’s escaped so Yuta catapults him into the corner, with Allin coming back with a double stomp. The Coffin Drop connects for two, as Allin pulls him up and grabs the Scorpion for the tap at 11:40.

Rating: B-. The match didn’t feel overly important, though I did get a solid laugh out of Moxley’s reaction to Storm. Allin making relatively quick work of Yuta is fine, as he gets to move on to his requested match with Pac. It works well enough for a Collision main event, which is often the case for Allin.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show where it was more about setting things up for later rather than what happened here. That’s a fine way to go, as the upcoming Dynamite is feeling like a major show. Sometimes you need a show like this to get things ready and it worked well enough. It’s not a show that you should go out of your way to watch, but there is far worse wrestling to spend two hours watching.

Results
Clon b. Angelico – Torture rack bomb
Timeless Love Bombs b. Hyan/Maya World – Storm Zero to World
Marina Shafir/Megan Bayne b. Rache Chanel/Londyn Dior – Mother’s Milk to Chanel
Hechicero b. Komander – Arm trap rollup
Shelton Benjamin b. Dante Martin – Superkick
Darby Allin b. Wheeler Yuta – Scorpion Deathlock

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

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Dynamite
Date: December 17, 2025
Location: Co-op Live, Manchester, England
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re in England again and that should make for a big night. The last few weeks have gone rather well, with the Continental Classic being more than enough to carry the shows. The matches have been rather good and hopefully we get to see something on the same level this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Continental Classic Blue League: Jon Moxley (3 points) vs. Roderick Strong (o points)

No entrances here and Moxley starts in on the arm but has to bail to the ropes to escape an ankle lock. A headlock takeover drops Strong but he’s back up with a dragon screw legwhip. Strong stomps the leg in the corner and backdrops Moxley out to the floor. The brawl in the crowd goes to Strong, who is back with a suicide dive against the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Strong slipping out of a crossface before countering a cradle piledriver. Strong slams him down and goes after the legs again, which sends Moxley bailing to the floor. A backbreaker onto the steps has Moxley in more trouble and a top rope suplex makes it worse.

They forearm it out until Moxley hits a hard lariat. We have five minutes left as Moxley hits a cutter for two. A piledriver gets two more and Moxley grabs a crossface chinlock, sending Strong rolling over to the rope. Strong’s jumping knee gets two and the Stronghold goes on, but Strong switches up his grip. Moxley kicks him away and hits a Paradigm Shift for a delayed two. The Death Rider finishes Strong at 18:11.

Rating: B-. Moxley needed the win to stay alive and there was almost no way he was going to be eliminated so soon. Moxley is still one of the biggest names in AEW and having him make a comeback like this is a fine way to go. Strong is still someone who can have a good match with anyone, and this worked well for a longer opening match.

Blue League Standings

Konosuke Takeshita – 7 points (2 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 7 points (1 match remaining)
Jon Moxley – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Mascara Dorada – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Eddie Kingston talks about learning from his loss to Samoa Joe and that’s going to be a problem for everyone he faces after that match. An open challenge is implied for Collision.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Don Callis Family vs. Elite

For $1 million. Omega and Takeshita start things off and the fans are already singing for the former. They run the ropes until Omega grabs an armdrag into an armbar. The Bucks come in to clean house, including a triple team shot to the head to a cornered Takeshita. We take a break and come back with Nick rolling away from Hechicero to make the tag off to Omega. Hechicero goes to the eyes to cut him off but Okada and Takeshita almost get into it again.

Omega manages a suplex to Okada and (after slipping) hits You Can’t Escape to Hechicero. Okada comes back in but gets sent outside by the Bucks. That means a triple dive from the Elite, only for Hechicero to hit the hammerlock backbreaker on Matt. We take a break and come back with Matt fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a flipping Stunner off the apron. Okada gets faceplanted back inside and it’s back to Nick to clean house with his usual array.

Risky Business gets two on Takeshita and a Canadian Destroyer drops Hechicero, meaning it’s time for the big Omega vs. Okada showdown. They chop it out for a bit until the other four come back in to break it up. Omega knees Okada down and brings Nick back in to face Takeshita. Everything breaks down and the Meltzer Driver is broken up by Okada.

A running knee gets two on Matt but Takeshita and Okada get in another argument. Hechicero tries to calm it down, only for Nick to fire off some superkicks. Omega is back in with the snapdragons and a triple superkick hits Hechicero. A spike One Winged Angel gives Omega the pin at 22:32.

Rating: B. It was the good match you would have expected from these guys and I’m sure the UK fans were happy to get to see the Elite in the ring. That’s not the worst idea in the world and it’s at least a match with some history. The money stuff doesn’t feel overly important but it’s probably worth more than the Trios Titles at this point.

Post match Okada and Takeshita lay out the Bucks but get into it again. Omega makes the save with a broom.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Tony Schiavone brings out Hangman Page, Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe (with the Opps) to sign the contract for World’s End. Joe knows Strickland and Page will destruct in the match so he signs. Swerve talks about how he has some mutual respect with Page, but there is a mutual hatred with Joe. He promises to leave a boot print on Joe’s face that was uglier than his fake tattoo in 2007.

Swerve signs and that leaves just Page, who talks about how they all worked together to get the World Title off of Jon Moxley. Any of them could have done it but Page wound up pulling it off. Then Page gave both of them title shots and Joe chose to side with the Opps. Page doesn’t want Joe to be remembered as what he is today. He was ready to defend the title against anyone who helped him, including Joe. Now he isn’t sure who is going to leave World’s End with the title, but it’s going to be someone new. And then the lights go out…and MJF is back.

MJF wastes no time and cashes in his contract, making the match a four way. After throwing Schiavone out, MJF talks about how he’s been working to prove that he’s not a coward. Joe gets in MJF’s face but actually gets cut off. MJF wants to prove to Joe and these people that he really is great and promises to end Joe’s title reign at the same place where Joe ended MJF’s reign.

That brings MJF to Swerve, who he compares to P Diddy. The fans know him as Swerve but MJF has known him for years as Shane. He remembers Swerve going to WWE (the fans don’t like it) and he remembers Swerve twerking for Top Dolla. Then Swerve came here and has done rather well, though not as well as MJF. It’s his house and the rent is due at World’s End. He hits the catchphrase and we’re out, with MJF not saying much out of the ordinary, though it’s nice to have him back.

Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight fire each other up for their upcoming matches.

Marina Shafir/Megan Bayne/Athena/Mercedes Mone vs. Babes Of Wrath/Timeless Love Bombs

Athena drops Cameron to start but gets taken down with Soul Food. Shafir comes in and gets legsweeped down, allowing Shirakawa to come in with a slingshot twisting splash. Shirakawa takes over on Shafir’s leg and DDTs Bayne at the same time. Everything breaks down and we take an early break.

We come back with Cameron managing a spinning DDT on Bayne, allowing the tag off to Storm. The running hip attack hits Shafir in the corner and they slug it out until Storm nails a headbutt. Nightingale comes in to but Bayne’s spine for two but the Babe With The Powerbomb is broken up. A super hurricanrana drops Nightingale and Shirakawa hits a dive to the floor. Mone’s dive is cut off by a Pounce from Nightingale and there’s a flip dive to drop Bayne outside. Back in and a quick O Face finishes Nightingale at 9:25.

Rating: B-. They didn’t have a ton of time with so many people involved but they did what they could. Athena getting the pin is a nice surprise as she has some hit and miss results on AEW. I’m not sure if I would have had one of the new champions take the fall here, but there were only so many options if Storm and Shirakawa can’t lose either.

Continental Classic Gold League: Pac (3 points) vs. Kyle Fletcher (6 points)

Pac grabs an armdrag into an armbar to start and it works so well that he does it again. A running hurricanrana sends Fletcher outside, where he hits a clothesline, allowing posing to ensue. Back in and Pac breaks up a quick chinlock by sending Fletcher outside for a running hurricanrana. Fletcher gets back inside and goes up top, where Pac runs the corner for a belly to belly superplex and we take a break.

We come back with an exchange of forearms until Fletcher grabs the Michinoku Driver for two. Pac kicks him in the face so Fletcher rolls outside, where Pac scores with a big dive. Back in and a tiger suplex gives Pac two, followed by a poisonrana. Fletcher pops up with a kick to the face and a powerbomb for two. Pac escapes the brainbuster though and gets the Brutalizer, only for a foot to make the rope. One heck of a running clothesline gives Pac two but Fletcher kicks him into the corner. The brainbuster gives Fletcher two and they go to the corner, where a super poisonrana plants Fletcher. The Black Arrow gives Pac the pin at 14:57.

Rating: B+. This was the hard hitting, back and forth fight that you would have expected from these two. That made for a pretty awesome match and it’s nice to see Pac getting a win as he seems to put a lot of people over. It made for the best match of the show thus far and makes the tournament that much more interesting.

Gold League Standings

Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Pac – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Kyle Fletcher – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Jack Perry – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal

Luchasaurus, Ace Austin, Shelton Benjamin, Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, Josh Alexander, Mark Davis, Brody King, Bandido, Bishop Kaun, Toa Liona, Ricochet

The last two face off for the ring next week. It’s a big brawl on the floor to start until Benjamin and Luchasaurus trade clotheslines. That’s broken up and the former Acclaimed tease working together before splitting off. We do however get a Scissor Me Timbers to Liona but the scissoring reunion is broken up as Ricochet eliminates Caster. Benjamin is back in to knock all of the Demand outside for no eliminations as people keep coming in and out.

Bowens neckbreakers Ricochet but gets eliminated instead as we take a break. We come back with Austin out as well, leaving Davis and King to forearm it out. Benjamin throws Ricochet to Luchasaurus for a chokeslam but Benjamin, Davis and Luchasaurus are all eliminated in a row. King has to fight out of the corner and Death Valley Drivers Ricochet into Kaun in the corner. A bunch of the people head outside until Liona grabs Bandido by the throat. King hits a running charge, eliminating himself and Liona at the same time. Bandido dumps Kaun and Ricochet gets back in, meaning they’re the last two for the win at 11:07.

Rating: C. The action was fine but it’s a bad sign when I have almost no idea who is still in or out of the match because so many people are on the floor. It doesn’t help that it’s for yet another prize rather than one of the far too many titles. This wasn’t much to see, though Ricochet vs. Bandido should be awesome.

Overall Rating: B. Not so great main event aside, this went well with the Continental Classic carrying things as usual. The MJF return was the big story of the show and it went well, though he didn’t quite hit his full on ceiling. Other than that, the show worked well, with the wrestling working well and the fans being hot throughout. Solid show here, as tends to be the case with the Continental Classic editions.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Roderick Strong – Death Rider
Elite b. Don Callis Family – Spike One Winged Angel to Hechicero
Marina Shafir/Mercedes Mone/Athena/Megan Bayne b. Timeless Love Bombs/Babes Of Wrath – O Face to Nightingale
Bandido and Ricochet won the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal

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

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Dynamite
Date: December 3, 2025
Location: Fishers Events Center, Fishers, Indiana
Commentators: Excalibur, Bryan Danielson, Tony Schiavone

We’re getting closer to Worlds End and that means it’s time to continue the Continental Classic. While I won’t even bother trying to get my head around the title situation, I can certainly enjoy the matches that come with the tournament. Hopefully it lives up to the hype so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring to start and brings out World Champion Samoa Joe and next week’s challenger, Eddie Kingston. Joe tells Schiavone to get out and then insults the crowd, saying he’s not looking nice out here because….well because it’s Indianapolis. With that out of the way, he explains that Hook is where he is because he has had the right training. Joe wanted Hook to see what it was like to be around the low level stars and that’s why he picked Kingston.

Next week, Kingston will fight for everything he has but just like every other time, he won’t cross the finish line. Kingston talks about how Hook learned to never quit and yeah he yells a lot, but he gets stuff done. He accuses Joe of being the kinds of people who got in heads and messed with people. That’s who Joe used to hate but now he’s one of them. It better be old school Joe, or Kingston will eat him alive on the tenth (imagine that: saying the date of a big match!). Kingston was bringing the intensity here and that’s been missing since he came back.

The Opps are ready to fight tonight and they’re going to beat up….the Dark Order. Of course.

Continental Classic Gold League: Pac (3 points) vs. Kazuchika Okada (0 points)

Okada works on the arm to start and they forearm it out with Pac getting the better of things. Pac hits a nice missile dropkick and Okada needs a breather on the floor. Okada gets the better of things outside but Pac kicks him down back inside. We take a break and come back with Pac missing a dropkick, allowing Okada to hit a dropkick of his own. A DDT gives Okada two and the top rope elbow lets Okada flip off the crowd.

The Rainmaker is blocked though and Pac grabs a slingshot cutter. Okada shrugs that off and hits the dropkick but the Rainmaker is cut off again. The German suplex out of the corner drops Okada and a bridging version gives Pac two. Okada is back up with a Tombstone and goes to the top, where Pac superplexes him down. The Brutalizer is loaded up but Okada reverses into a cradle for the pin at 13:30.

Rating: B. They were laying it in out there and that made for a good opener, with Okada getting on the board in the tournament. Pac is someone who can be put out there and feel like a threat no matter who he’s facing. That’s a good combination and it made for a solid match here, which could have gone on even longer.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Pac – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Darby Allin – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Mark Briscoe is ready to face Daniel Garcia again for the TNT Title. He doesn’t think as much of Garcia this time, but he knows the talent is there.

Earlier today, Ricochet, with the Gates Of Agony, promised to beat Dalton Castle at Final Battle and he’ll even have another title defense on Collision.

Mark Briscoe is ready for Orange Cassidy vs. Roderick Strong in the Continental Classic, but Strong insists he is NOT in the Conglomeration and promises to break Cassidy’s back.

Darby Allin is injured and cannot travel, let alone wrestle. Well that’s not promising.

Continental Classic Gold League: Kyle Fletcher vs. Kevin Knight

Knight backs him up against the ropes to start and gives Fletcher a pat on the chest. They go to the mat with Fletcher throwing him down and getting in a kick to the face. Back up and Knight snaps off some armdrags and the threat of a dropkick sends Fletcher bailing to the floor. Fletcher manages to kick him out to the floor but Knight hits a springboard lariat (that looked good) as we take a break.

We take a break and come back with Knight hitting a great dropkick for two. Fletcher sends him into the ropes but Knight scores with another springboard clothesline for two more. A running DDT plants Fletcher on the apron but Knight gets crotched on top. Knight is able to tie him in the Tree Of Woe for the Coast To Coast but the UFO Splash hits raised knees. A sitout powerbomb gives Fletcher two more and he cuts Knight off with a superkick. The Helluva Kick into the brainbuster finishes Knight at 13:09.

Rating: B+. Maybe it’s being a sucker for a top rope clothesline but I had a good time with this and Knight came off looking like a serious threat to someone like Fletcher. The good thing is that a loss only does so much damage to Knight and he was always going to be an underdog here anyway. Solid stuff here as Knight is becoming more and more of a star every time.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Pac – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Darby Allin – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Post match Don Callis gets in the ring for a chat and here are Josh Alexander and Hechicero, each carrying a bag of money. After a break, Callis calls out the Young Bucks for doing the unforgivable by signing with Kenny Omega. Callis tells the Bucks to come get their money so here they come, only to get beaten down. The Jurassic Express comes in but so do more members of the Family, with the villains taking over. Kenny Omega makes the real save and the Family escapes with the money.

Video on the Babes Of Wrath.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Megan Bayne/Marina Shafir vs. Timeless Love Bombs

Death match so it’s a brawl to start fast, with the Bombs actually taking over. The Bombs bust out some hard candy canes (Schiavone thinks it might be different than usual candy canes) to take over and Shirakawa is dropped onto Bayne. Shafir is back up with a headscissor driver to send Storm into the apron and Shirakawa is thrown onto Storm as we take a break.

We come back with the villains still in control and unloading with various weapons. Shirakawa dropkicks a chair into Bayne’s face though and Storm Zero sends Bayne from the apron through a table. Mother’s Milk is broken up and Shirakawa knocks Shafir outside, setting up the big dive.

A top rope sling blade onto a chair gives Shirakawa two, with Bayne driving Storm into the cover to break it up. Bayne spears Shirakawa HARD into a table in the corner but Storm Zero sends Bayne’s head into Shafir’s ribs. Cue Santa Claus with a present for Shafir…and it’s Luther, with a middle finger in the present. Storm gets in a shoe to Shafir’s head for the pin at 11:07.

Rating: B-. Good fight here, but certainly nothing that we haven’t seen done a bunch of times before. The stuff with Luther at the end felt stupid as Storm should be able to beat Shafir without help, but I guess they wanted to protect the villains a bit more. Either way, Storm and Shirakawa are a nice choice for the finals and the match certainly wasn’t dull.

The Triangle Of Madness are sick of Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter. The latter want a tag match…and Hayter wants to talk about the Women’s Title after.

The Dark Order is excited about being in action but tell Hangman Page not to ruin this. Page says he won’t, but he’ll be there as soon as the match is over.

Mercedes Mone doesn’t want to hear about Full Gear and brags about her various successes. She’s ready to beat Red Velvet again and she’ll even be on this week’s Ring Of Honor. How nice of her.

We look at FTR getting challenged by the Bang Bang Gang.

Stokely Hathaway finds it pathetic that the Bang Bang Gang wants the titles for their injured friends. FTR mocks every member and dare the Gang to touch their titles again.

Opps vs. Dark Order

Non-title. The Opps jump them from behind before the bell and keep up the beating as we officially start. Reynolds is dropped onto the apron and we take an early break. We come back with Uno fighting back, including a double DDT. Hobbs is back in though and the World’s Strongest Slam gets two. The spinebuster finishes Uno at 6:10. Not enough shown to rate but it was basically a squash, as it should have been.

Post match Hangman Page comes in and manages to clean house, but security cuts off the Buckshot Lariat to Hobbs.

Don Callis thinks the Family will win the Continental Classic. He tries to explain the Unified Title but he’s not putting the other legs of the title up because it would be stupid.

Hangman Page calls out the Opps for next week and says he won’t be coming alone.

Continental Classic Blue League: Jon Moxley vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Marina Shafir goes for a test of strength as Castagnoli wins a test of strength to start (shocking I know). Moxley goes for the fingers but gets taken down with a backbreaker as we take a break. We come back with Moxley busted open (ah, an old classic) and Castagnoli grabbing the Swing. The Sharpshooter has Moxley in more trouble and Castagnoli switches it into a crossface.

That’s broken up and they slug it out with Moxley knocking him outside. Moxley’s suicide dive sends Castagnoli into the announcers’ table but Castagnoli blasts him with a clothesline back inside. Moxley hits a heck of a clothesline of his own and a Stomp gets two. Castagnoli powers him out to the floor and hits a running double stomp as Moxley is sitting in a chair. Back in and a powerbomb gives Castagnoli two but Moxley grabs a Paradigm Shift. They pull themselves up and Castagnoli hits a running uppercut for the clean pin at 15:05.

Rating: B. The fall of Moxley continues, though sweet goodness they’re taking their time getting there. I do like Castagnoli getting a run in the tournament, though it’s hard to imagine he actually wins the thing or really comes close. At least Moxley is losing for a change and not looking like the most awesome toughest guy ever and it does give Castagnoli a big win of his own.

Blue League Standings

Claudio Castagnoli – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Konosuke Takeshita – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Mascara Dorada – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Overall Rating: B+. As usual, the Continental Classic shows offer some of the most consistent in-ring action that AEW can offer. They might not be much in the way of storyline advancement, but they are quite entertaining while they last. I liked the show again, which isn’t a big surprise, and now we get to see where things go for a bunch of people, including the Death Riders, who are having a rough time.

Results
Kazuchika Okada b. Pac – Cradle
Kyle Fletcher b. Kevin Knight – Brainbuster
Timeless Love Bombs b. Megan Bayne/Marina Shafir – Shoe to the head
Opps b. Dark Order – Spinebuster to Uno
Claudio Castagnoli b. Jon Moxley – Running uppercut

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

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Full Gear 2025
Date: November 22, 2025
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back on pay per view with a rare rematch in the main event. In this case that would be Hangman Page defending the World Title against Samoa Joe, this time inside of a cage. Other than that, we have the return of the Casino Gauntlet match to crown the inaugural National Champion. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Bang Bang Gang vs. Big Bill/Bryan Keith vs. Outrunners vs. Max Caster/Anthony Bowens

For $200,000 and Dalton Castle is on commentary. Gunn punches Bowens to start and the big shot to the head drops Bowens in a hurry. Back up and Bowens hits an atomic drop, prompting Caster to do the clapping. Bowens yells at him, saying he has this so Caster tags himself in. Robinson comes in to take over on Caster but Magnum tags himself in to dropkick Caster.

It’s off to Bill for the big boot to the floor and we take a break. We come back with Floyd coming in to clean house, including the Mega Powers elbow on Keith. The Unacclaimed break that up but Scissor Me Timbers is cut off. The Arrival into the Mic Drop has Keith in trouble and Caster wants to scissor. Bowens isn’t sure but Bill interrupts anyway. Bowens strikes him down but Robinson steals the rollup pin on Bowens at 7:27.

Rating: C+. Not a bad all over the place match here and I’ll take that over the Unacclaimed winning and being all annoying with the WE DON’T LIKE EACH OTHER deal. The Gang has been needing a win of some sort and this is as good as anything they’re going to do at the moment. Just let Robinson talk some more and they should be fine.

Kickoff Show: RPG Vice vs. Big Boom AJ/QT Marshall

Paul Wight and Don Callis are on commentary. Vice is beaten up to start and AJ powerslams Romero. Beretta gets punched off the apron and they all brawl to the floor as we take a break. We come back with Marshall fighting out of a chinlock but getting sent outside. The Rizzler checks on Marshall but Romero shoves Big Justice (AJ’s son) down, which draws Wight over to scare them away.

Back in and the tag brings in AJ to clean house, including some powerslams. A gorilla press and full nelson slam give AJ two with Romero making the save. AJ loads up the Powerboom but Callis offers a distraction. Beretta gets in a cast shot and the running knee connects for two. Strong Zero gets two on AJ with Marshall making the save from the top. Romero grabs the cast but Justice comes in with a Diamond Cutter. Beretta goes after Justice and gets punched by Wight, setting up a Powerboom/Blockbuster combination to finish Beretta at 9:14.

Rating: C. The match was fine and while I’m not a fan of the Costco Guys, they seemingly have an audience and there’s no harm in having them in a less than serious Kickoff Show match. It’s not like RPG Vice is doing anything important right now anyway. You can pretty safely call this “harmless” and that’s an acceptable use of time on this show.

Kickoff Show: Hook/Eddie Kingston vs. Workhorsemen

The Workhorsemen jump them on the floor to start and it’s Hook in trouble in the corner to start. Drake chops him up against the ropes but Hook suplexes his way to freedom. It’s off to Kingston (in street clothes) for a DDT and the pin at 1:52. I’m going to assume this was shortened due to time and hopefully not due to Kingston’s knee, which he was favoring at the end.

Kickoff Show: CMLL Trios Titles: Don Callis Family vs. Sky Team

Sky Team (Mistico/Neon/Mascara Dorada) is defending but there is no Kazuchika Okada, who apparently hasn’t arrived yet. Hechicero and Konosuke Takeshita jump the champs from behind to start, with Hechicero crushing Mistico’s arm with a chair. The arm is sent into the steps and then twisted around a chair as Takeshita chinlocks Dorada inside. We get the opening bell and it’s Dorada flipping over Takeshita and handing it off to Neon.

A top rope armdrag takes Hechicero down as we cut to Okada arriving in a rather fancy car. The Kickoff Show ends and we pick things up on the proper pay per view everyone brawling. Mistico has been taken out and now Okada manages to get to the ring. Hechicero tries to get his partners on the same page but Okada flips Takeshita off. The champs block superplex attempts and here’s a taped up Mistico to fight back. A springboard double high crossbody connects and a spinning wristdrag drops Okada.

Back in and Neon does the same to Okada but Takeshita grabs a kind of wheelbarrow Tombstone. Takeshita loads up Raging Fire but Okada breaks it up. The Family gets in a shoving match and a Rainmaker accidentally hits Takeshita. Dorada and Neon are back in to take Hechicero down, setting up stereo moonsaults to the floor. Mistico poisonranas Hechicero and La Mistica retains the titles at 13:44.

Rating: B. The Sky Team continues to be a blast, which shouldn’t be a surprise. The catch here though is that the titles were totally secondary to the stuff with the Family, which has been going on for a long time now. I’m not sure what that’s going to mean, but at least they seem to be setting up the big showdown, likely at World’s End.

We recap Darby Allin vs. Pac. Allin has been going after the Death Riders for what feels like ever and now it’s time to have him face someone other than Jon Moxley. The catch this time is that Pac wants it one on one with no shenanigans.

Pac vs. Darby Allin

After a quick video of a bandaged Allin getting ready to fight, with Allin’s face being fine (not so much with his taped up arm and ribs). Allin takes him down by the arm to start and cranks away, including an armbar. A shotgun dropkick sends Pac outside but he reverses a hurricanrana back inside. Allin grinds away on a headlock instead before switching to a leglock, which has Pac in the ropes.

Pac is back up with a gorilla press onto the floor, which isn’t going to do well on those bad ribs. That’s only good for an eight count so Allin ribs the tape off Allin’s arm and gives him an Indian burn. A hard whip sends Allin through the corner and outside again for a nasty crash. Back in and Pac scores with a missile dropkick but Allin ties him in the ring skirt and hammers away.

A dive drops Pac and Allin puts him in a chair for a missile dropkick. Back in and Pac grabs a snap German suplex, followed by a toss into the corner. Allin fights up with a knockdown of his own but Pac blasts him with a lariat for two. The Brutalizer goes on, with Allin getting his feet into the ropes for the break. Allin sweeps the leg and gets the Scorpion Deathlock but here is Wheeler Yuta for a distraction. That makes Allin let go and a baseball bat to the face finishes for Pac at 16:57.

Rating: B. Allin wanting to do this clean and then cheating in the end is about as on point for the Death Riders as you can get, though I’m almost scared to know how much longer the team is going to be fighting Allin. Odds are Allin will want revenge and that sounds like a reason for quite the violent match. Again.

We recap the women’s four way tag. They’re all in the Women’s Tag Team Title tournament. Pretty much end of recap.

Sisters Of Sin vs. Timeless Love Bombs vs. Babes Of Wrath vs. Megan Bayne/Marina Shafir

The winners get to pick the stipulation for their semifinals match in the tournament. It’s a brawl to start with Storm and Shafir being left alone in the ring. Storm gets sent into the corner for the rapid fire kicks and forearms from Shafir and Bayne. A suplex sends Storm flying into the corner again but she’s able to flip Shirakawa onto Bayne for a quick two.

Back up and Bayne takes over on Shirakawa so Shafir can come back in for some choking. Blue comes in with a quick swinging neckbreaker but the Babes come in to take Blue down. Hart gets a chance to take over on Cameron but stops to shove Shafir. This doesn’t go well for Bayne, who gets in a shot of her own so Shafir can take over on Cameron. A tornado DDT finally gets Cameron out of trouble and the much needed tag brings in Nightingale.

That doesn’t last long either as it’s off to Shirakawa, who takes over on the Sisters. Shafir is right back in with Mother’s Milk but Storm makes a quick save. That’s enough for Storm to come in and clean house but Cameron tags herself in. A high crossbody gives Cameron two on Storm but Bayne German suplexes the Sisters at the same time. Everything breaks down and Shirakawa hits a dive to the floor, leaving Storm to small package Cameron for the pin at 13:10.

Rating: C+. Bayne got to show off a bit, but as usual there is only so much you can do with so many people in one match at one time. It also doesn’t help that this was for a stipulation in a tournament semifinal match. That doesn’t exactly make it feel must see, but with so much of the women’s division in the tournament, it was about all they could do.

We recap FTR vs. Bandido/Brody King for the Tag Team Titles. FTR are the all time team around here but King/Bandido are the hot team.

Tag Team Titles: Bandido/Brody King vs. FTR

FTR, with Stokely Hathaway, is challenging and we get a quick video from Hathaway where he walks in a dimly lit room and looks at footage of the champs. I’m assuming he’s not a fan. Bandido and Wheeler start things off with Wheeler working on the arm but Bandido is back with some armdrags. Harwood and King come in to slug it out with King taking over and hitting a quick backsplash for two.

Bandido comes in and slams King onto Harwood, meaning it’s Macarena time. Hathaway’s distraction doesn’t do much as Bandido dives over him, only to get dropped face first onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Harwood grabs a Gory Stretch but Bandido is out with a kind of double spinebuster (or a double flapjack that didn’t work). It’s still not enough for the tag though as Bandido gets pulled into the corner.

That doesn’t last long either as he kicks his way to freedom and brings in King to wreck both of them. A Death Valley Driver sends FTR into the corner for a cannonball but Harwood low bridges Bandido out to the floor. King is able to block the PowerPlex though, with Bandido coming in with a frog splash back to Harwood. King’s dive onto Hathaway only hits the floor, leaving Bandido to roll Harwood up for two.

The sitout powerbomb into a top rope splash gets two on Bandido, who is right back with a one armed gorilla press to send Wheeler outside. The big dive takes FTR out again and Bandido counters the Shatter Machine back inside. That’s enough to set up the 21 Plex but Harwood pops up for a Shatter Machine, with King having to make the save. Wheeler grabs a title and knocks Bandido silly for two but he’s right back up for a Shatter Machine to Harwood for two.

The monkey flip 450 is broken up, just like the Doomsday Device, as Bandido powerslams Wheeler out of the air for two more. King tries to get back in and is quickly spike piledriven onto the apron. Something like a double reverse AA plants Bandido for two and the spike piledriver gets the same. The Shatter Machine gives FTR the titles back at 20:12.

Rating: B. This was the kind of high speed, action packed match you would expect, but dang some of the lack of selling took me out of it. People were hitting big moves and the other person just kept popping up. That’s a good way to derail things a bit, as it made me roll my eyes more than anything else. FTR getting the titles back is fine as Bandido and King never felt like a long term team. That being said, can we do something with Bandido already? I’d say he’s earned it.

We recap the Casino Battle Royal for the inaugural National Title. Well recap it as much as possible, as we only know a few of the entrants so it’s basically just about Ricochet and the Hurt Syndicate.

National Title: Casino Gauntlet Match

For the inaugural title. The idea is basically a Royal Rumble with unknown entrants, untimed entrances and the first fall wins, meaning it could be over with only two entrants. Bobby Lashley is in at #1 and Shelton Benjamin is in at #2 and they show respect to start. Lashley goes for the leg and can’t get anywhere so they circle a bit until Ricochet is in at #3 after quite the disappointing segment.

Ricochet says we want violence so here are the Gates Of Agony to jump the Syndicate. MVP gets jumped on the floor while Benjamin is dropped onto a chair and Lashley is sent into the steps. The Gates are sent to the back as Ricochet dances and Claudio Castagnoli is in at #4. Ricochet’s dive is cut off by an uppercut and Castagnoli throws him back inside. The Swing sets up the running uppercut in the corner but Ricochet manages a headscissors out to the floor.

Daniel Garcia is in at #5 to choke Ricochet from the apron, allowing the Riders to crush him in the corner. Orange Cassidy is in at #6 and gets picked up by Castagnoli. The spinning DDT is blocked so it’s a Stundog Millionaire for Castagnoli as Wheeler Yuta is in at #7. Cassidy and Yuta’s staredown is cut off by the Death Riders, with Ricochet getting in on the running shots in the corner.

Kevin Knight is in at #8 and takes out Garcia on the floor but gets cut off by Ricochet. The Riders take over again and it’s Roderick Strong in at #9 with a Sick Kick for two on Ricochet. Mark Davis is in at #10 for a spinning piledriver on Ricochet and another one to Cassidy. Mike Bailey is in at #11 with a DDT to Davis but Bailey and Knight aren’t sure who should cover. Knight rolls Bailey up for a fast two so he kicks Knight in the face. Garcia grabs a Dragontamer on Bailey but Matt Menard is in at #12.

Menard and Garcia yell at each other and it’s Davis vs. Castagnoli, which is cut off by the returning Hurt Syndicate. Davis and Castagnoli are sent outside so Ricochet comes back in and immediately realizes his screwup. The Syndicate quickly beats him up but Cassidy is back in with some Orange Punches. Lashley misses a charge into the barricade and Wheeler knees Cassidy for two, with Knight making the save. Knight hits the UFO splash but Ricochet drops him with the Spirit Gun for the pin and the title at 22:55.

Rating: B-. This was a bit weaker than some of the previous editions of the match as it was pretty much just Ricochet vs. the Hurt Syndicate with some other stuff going on. Most of the people involved were little more than warm bodies and there wasn’t much drama about a lot of them winning the title. Ricochet is a good choice though, as he’s been doing some great stuff in recent weeks.

We recap Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly. Moxley has been broken by submitting so he’s facing a submission expert, who has made him tap out before. This time though it’s No Holds Barred, which is a bit less violent after the last time Moxley tapped out inside Blood & Guts.

Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly

No Holds Barred. O’Reilly strikes away at the bell to start and they go to the grappling. That’s broken up and O’Reilly kicks him into the corner, with Moxley sticking out his face for some free shots. A bend of the finger sets up an abdominal stretch on Moxley, which O’Reilly switches into an ankle lock. Moxley bails out to the floor before coming back inside to work on the arm.

That’s enough wrestling, so Moxley whips out a fork to stab O’Reilly in the head. The blood starts flowing and Moxley bites away at his head. Moxley works on the arm and bites a finger before switching to a full nelson. That’s reversed into another ankle lock, which is countered into a stabbing of O’Reilly’s nipple (Schiavone: “You want to describe that one Excalibur?”).

O’Reilly grabs a choke and dragon screw legwhips Moxley over the rope. A catapult sends Moxley into the post and the ankle lock goes on again back inside. The kneebar has Moxley in trouble and O’Reilly stabs him in the head with the fork for a change. O’Reilly grabs a chain and they take turns wrapping it around each others’ neck before fighting for a suplex. Moxley is the one getting suplexed but they’re still connected so neither can go anywhere.

They trade forearms until Moxley shrugs off some kicks and bulldog chokes him. That’s reversed as well until Moxley gets an STF, which is broken up with a stab to the hand. Moxley stomps him onto the chain (the fans do Seth Rollins’ song) and it’s time to Pillmanize the arm. The Death Rider sets up a Kimura, which is reversed into an ankle lock with the chain to make Moxley tap at 19:18.

Rating: C+. They were getting close to some good stuff here with the grappling but then it kept getting derailed by the fork nonsense. The chain was fine and the chair fit in well, but the fork stuff felt like it was from a totally different match. I do like the stuff with Moxley’s tough man image being broken as it fits the long term story for him. Just stop with the ultraviolent garbage and let the match work on its own.

Post match Moxley beats him down again but gives what looks like a look of respect.

We recap Mark Briscoe vs. Kyle Fletcher for the TNT Title. They’ve traded wins but Briscoe wants one more shot at the title. If he loses though, he has to join the Don Callis Family.

TNT Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe

Briscoe is challenging, Don Callis is on commentary and it’s No DQ. We get a special video with Briscoe talking about trying to find a new family after his brother passed away. He found that with the Conglomeration and now his future family depends on this match. This was really good and it hit the emotional notes perfectly well to sell the stakes for Briscoe. They forearm it out to start (as tends to be the case in AEW) but Briscoe can’t get an early Jay Driller.

Instead Fletcher sends him outside, where Briscoe gets in a trip off the apron. Some chairs are brought in, with one of them hitting Fletcher in the back. The Bang Bang Elbow is pulled out of the air though and Briscoe gets brainbustered onto the chair. A short ladder is brought in and Briscoe’s missed running flip dive sends him through it for a crash. The bleeding Briscoe is taken inside and whipped into the ladder again.

Briscoe fights out of trouble though and it’s a missile dropkick to send the ladder into Fletcher. That’s enough to get Callis off commentary and Briscoe grabs a table. Fletcher gets off of said table before the dive though and suplexes Briscoe on the floor instead. A bunch of chairs are loaded up on the floor but Briscoe gets up and sends him onto them. That takes too long as well, allowing Fletcher to shove him off the top and through the table for the big crash.

Back in and something like a running Alabama slam sends Briscoe through another table in the corner for two. As Callis tries to figure out if he has to feed Briscoe’s kids if Briscoe joins the Family, Fletcher pours out the thumbtacks (of course). The powerbomb onto the tacks is broken up and Briscoe gives him a fisherman’s buster onto the tacks. Briscoe grabs a barbed wire table, plus a ladder and a regular table (yet somehow, Fletcher can’t be kept down for three seconds at the moment).

They go to the apron, where Briscoe drives him into the group of open chairs. Back in and they both climb the ladder, with Briscoe getting to the top for an elbow to drive Fletcher through the table (onto the tacks) for two. That means that either Fletcher is winning or they missed the point where it should have ended. Fletcher is back up with the screwdriver (yep they missed it) but after stabbing Briscoe, gets it stuck in the turnbuckle. A brainbuster onto the tacks gets two on Fletcher, who manages to turn the screwdriver upside down in the buckle.

The super brainbuster onto the pointed up screwdriver is teased (this is stupid), only to be reversed to avoid a bad case of death. The Cutthroat Driver is broken up with a stab to the head and a running stab sets up the brainbuster to give Fletcher two more. They go up top, with Briscoe managing a toss Razor’s Edge through the barbed wire table. That and the Jay Driller are enough to finish Fletcher at 25:16.

Rating: B-. I know what they were going for here and what makes it all the more frustrating is THEY HAD IT. If this ended with Briscoe’s big elbow from the ladder (and maybe a Jay Driller for the family thing), it would have been great and easily the best thing on the show. Instead, they went another five minutes and had the stabbing stuff, which is, in a word, REALLY FREAKING STUPID. Forgive me for not buying the image of Fletcher teasing impaling Briscoe’s head on a screwdriver. The first twenty or so minutes were great and the last five minutes were dumb, which makes this quite the irritating situation.

We recap the Young Bucks/Josh Alexander vs. Kenny Omega/Jurassic Express for a million dollars. The Bucks have been broke for a bit but are teasing joining the Don Callis Family for the sake of getting their money back.

Young Bucks/Josh Alexander vs. Kenny Omega/Jurassic Express

For a million dollars. Nick works on Perry’s arm to start and they flip around a bit until they both try dropkicks. Matt and Luchasaurus come in with Luchasaurus working on the arm. It’s quickly off to Omega for more of the same, though Omega comes up favoring his recently damaged ankle. The villains take over on Omega, who manages to hurricanrana Nick to the floor.

The ensuing dive slows Omega down though and it’s back to Perry, who gets World’s Strongest Slammed onto the apron. Nick dives onto Luchasaurus and hands it back to Matt for Risky Business on Perry. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Perry hits a nice running diving DDT, allowing the much needed tag off to Luchasaurus. The Bucks superkick him down but he manages a double knockdown of his own and it’s back to Omega.

House is quickly cleaned but Alexander escapes You Can’t Escape. Everything breaks down and it’s a springboard Destroyer to Luchasaurus but Perry hits a running knee to leave everyone down. Omega and Alexander get up to slug it out until Omega grabs a snapdragon. The Bucks come in to take Omega down and we hit the ankle lock, which is broken up via the ropes. Matt gets caught in a spike Tombstone but the Countdown To Extinction is broken up.

Alexander clotheslines Matt by mistake though and now the Countdown To Extinction connects, with Alexander making the save. Perry hits a double Doomsday Device on the Bucks, who completely no sell it (because a springboard double clothesline has no effect) and start firing off the superkicks. Some of those superkicks hit Alexander, who gets planted with the One Winged Angel on the floor. A rollup gives Perry two but it’s the BTE Trigger to finish Perry at 19:06.

Rating: B+. I’m not big on the Bucks but they know how to do an exciting six man tag. I wasn’t expecting the Bucks to win here, as it felt like Alexander was only there to take the loss. The match was rather entertaining, though you can tell Omega is a far shell of what he used to be. That’s no surprise given what he’s been through, but dang it’s getting rough to see him out there.

Post match the Bucks get their money and Callis says they’re in the Family. Alexander and the rest of the Family jump Omega and the Express, with the Bucks almost being dragged away by Callis. The Bucks come back for the big save and make peace with the Express, followed by the big hug with Omega. Oh good grief ENOUGH WITH THE ELITE MELODRAMA ALREADY. Omega has to be helped to the back and even collapses on the ramp. The Family seems to have left with all of the money, so the Bucks are still broke.

We recap Mercedes Mone challenging Kris Statlander for the Women’s Title. Mone beat her before and now wants to do it for her 385th title.

Women’s Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Kris Statlander

Only Statlander is defending. Mone goes for the leg to start but gets rolled up for two instead. The Statement Maker is broken up as well so Mone sends her outside in a crash. Statlander is able to roll through a dive though and a nice superplex drops Mone hard. It’s too early for the 450 though as they’re definitely starting fast. Statlander rolls outside and seems to be favoring her elbow, with Mone hitting a running Meteora off the apron.

A big stomp to the arm has Statlander in even more trouble and it’s off to a Fujiwara armbar back inside. Back up and the bad arm is sent into the buckle but she uses the good arm to elbow Mone in the face. Mone uses her feet to bend the arm again and snaps off a tornado DDT for two. Fourteen Amigos have Statlander down and the fans cheering for Mone (the villain, because doing something cool is more important).

The frog splash lands on raised feet and Statlander manages a backdrop, followed by something like a Michinoku Driver for two. The bad arm gets crushed again but Statlander gives her a Blue Thunder Bomb on the floor. Back in and Mone hits a Codebreaker into a Backstabber into a sunset bomb into the corner. The running Meteora is cut off with a clothesline so Mone kicks at the bad arm again.

Statlander’s crossface is reversed into one from Mone, which is broken up as well. A super gutbuster (Dean Malenko style) drops Mone for a delayed two but the arm is too banged up for Staturday Night Fever. Instead it’s a package piledriver for two, with Mone having to grab the rope for the escape. Mone is back with a hurricanrana and running knees against the ropes for two and they fight over a Tombstone. Statlander finally sends her into the corner and muscles her up into the Staturday Night Fever to retain at 23:06.

Rating: B+. This was rather good as well and would have been even better had Mone not seemingly been more about getting cheered than winning. What matters the most is that Statlander won, which is what should have happened. There was no reason for Mone to win here and while she will likely get the title down the line, at least she didn’t get it here, as Statlander picks up probably her biggest win ever. Really nice match here, with the arm injury telling a good story as Statlander didn’t have her usual power advantage.

The Don Callis Family is happy with having the money and Callis says that it’s time for the team to come together for the Continental Classic. Konosuke Takeshita says he’ll be in, as does an angry Kyle Fletcher. Well that was obvious, but in a good way.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Samoa Joe. Page retained the World Title over a good Joe last month so now it’s evil Joe in a cage.

AEW World Title: Hangman Page vs. Samoa Joe

Page is defending in a cage and apparently comes to the ring to a song from Red Dead Redemption 2. They tease rams into the cage to start with Page getting the better of things to bust Joe open early. Page takes his boot off to hammer Joe in the head for two but Joe sends him into the cage right back.

Now it’s Page busted open and getting his face raked against the cage, which isn’t a good sign. Page is back up to win a slugout and even tries his own Koquina Clutch. Joe’s release Rock Bottom out of the corner drops Page and he takes a turnbuckle pad off. Another comeback lets Page tease the Deadeye but here is Katsuyori Shibata for the distraction.

Eddie Kingston cuts him off but the referee gets crushed against the cage. The Deadeye connects for no count and here is Powerhouse Hobbs to break through the door. Page sends him into the cage and hits a Buckshot Lariat on Joe for no count. Instead here’s Hook to deck Page with the title and reveal an Opps shirt. Commentary acts like this is some shocking moment, as someone joining a stable he was part of just a few months ago is shocking. The Elite has done that what, half a dozen times? Anyway, Joe hits the MuscleBuster to retain the title at 16:02.

Rating: B. It was a violent, bloody brawl in a cage, which might have had a bit more impact had there not been two blood baths earlier in the night and two far bloodier cage matches just ten days ago. On the other hand, I do kind of like Joe winning the title again, as Page was (again) coming off as a huge afterthought as champion. I don’t get why that’s the case, but Joe is more interesting almost by definition. Good, violent match here, though a heel on top of a stable as champion, AGAIN, isn’t the most thrilling way to go.

Post match the Opps (complete with a group of Opps Dojo goons) celebrate but the lights go out. We see a burning home and Swerve Strickland is back. The Opps bail and Swerve takes out the goons (Like a…..house of fire?), with Page getting up to help to end the show. I’ve heard worse ideas.

Overall Rating: B+. This did exceed my expectations, which weren’t overly high coming into the show. What matters the most is that they changed the World Title, which just wasn’t an interesting situation for a long time. At the same time, we got some rather good matches, with the six man and Women’s Title matches being pretty close to excellent. I really could go with a lot less of the blood and more hardcore violence, but that’s just baked into a lot of modern wrestling. Either way, more than solid show tonight with some very good moments, even at five and a half hours (yes, the Kickoff Show counts, as always).

Results
Bang Bang Gang b. Max Caster/Anthony Bowens, Outrunners and Big Bill/Bryan Keith – Rollup to Bowens
Big Boom AJ/QT Marshall b. RPG Vice – Powerboom/Blockbuster combination to Beretta
Hook/Eddie Kingston b. Workhorsemen – DDT to Henry
Sky Team b. Don Callis Family – La Mistica to Hechicero
Pac b. Darby Allin – Baseball bat to the face
Timeless Love Bombs b. Sisters Of Sin, Marina Shafir/Megan Bayne and Babes Of Wrath – Small package to Cameron
FTR b. Bandido/Brody King – Shatter Machine to Bandido
Ricochet won the Casino Gauntlet Match – Spirit Gun to Knight
Kyle O’Reilly b. Jon Moxley – Ankle lock with a chain
Mark Briscoe b. Kyle Fletcher – Jay Driller
Young Bucks/Josh Alexander b. Kenny Omega/Jurassic Express – BTE Trigger to Perry
Kris Statlander b. Mercedes Mone – Staturday Night Fever
Samoa Joe b. Hangman Page – MuscleBuster

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

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I’m not sure if it’s due to Blood & Guts last week or something with the build itself, but it’s been a bit difficult to get up for this show. Part of it comes down to a lack of a hot main event. I’m assuming the main event is the cage match, but there is only so much you can get when Page already beat Joe last month. Hopefully the action is able to carry things over the finish line so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Big Boom AJ/QT Marshall vs. RPG Vice

So the Costco Guys are back and that means it’s time to act like they’re really interesting all over again. While AJ is far from terrible or even bad, it’s still hard to get interested in whatever the story is with himself and Marshall, which has been going on for way too long now. At least it’s in this spot and it’s not like Vice is going to lose much when they get beaten here.

In case that’s quite the spoiler, go back in time and insert your own warning. Of course there’s no reason to believe that the celebrity team is going to lose here. AJ is one of the bigger names that AEW can get at the moment so he’ll need to win here to keep his star power. It does help quite a bit that this is about as low level on the ladder as you can get, which at least keeps this from taking up more important time.

Kickoff Show: Hook/Eddie Kingston vs. Workhorsemen

In addition to the World Title match, here we have what is basically another rematch, or at least a repeat of the same setup. In this case, we have Kingston and Hook teaming up in an open challenge, only with the Workhorsemen accepting rather than the Frat House. I get the idea of wanting to get Kingston and Hook on the show, but maybe come up with something a bit more interesting?

As uninspired as this feels, there’s pretty much no doubt about the winner here, as this is all about trying to get Kingston and Hook to mean something. I’m not sure which one one is seen as the bigger star at the moment, but neither of them are exactly on fire right now. Maybe they can find something to spark them up a bit, but it’s hard to believe that them winning here will change much.

Kickoff Show: Max Caster/Anthony Bowens vs. Bang Bang Gang vs. Big Bill/Bryan Keith vs. Outrunners

It’s another match for a bunch of money which is code for “we have nothing else for these people to do but here they are anyway”. Caster and Bowens are by far the most important team at the moment, even if they’re not really a team. I could go for seeing the two of them together more often as the singles stuff was only so good, but either have them get back together or not.

That being said, I’ll take the Gang to win, partially due to how fun it could be to see Juice Robinson doing his stuff about the money, as you saw earlier this week. It sounds better than Caster and Bowens’ will they/won’t they deal, though that is the more likely pick. Maybe it’s due to me not caring much about Caster and Bowens, but hopefully the Gang wins here.

Kickoff Show: CMLL Trios Titles: El Sky Team(c) vs. The Don Callis Family

This is a bit of a confusing one as the names involved would make it feel like it belonged on the main card. While the titles might be in jeopardy, this feels like it’s much more about Konosuke Takeshita’s and Kazuchika Okada’s issues, which very well may spill over here. That has been teased for a good while now and it can only be stretched out so much longer. At the same time, getting the titles is something certainly in the realm of possibility.

I’ll take the champions to retain, as the Family doesn’t need to do much more at this point. Let them have some issues, possibly with a big showdown coming up in the Continental Classic. The Sky Team is fun to watch and it should make for a good match here, with the Family having some variety to spice it up a bit. The champs retain, but the focus is going to be on the Family, as tends to be the case.

National Title: Casino Gauntlet Match

We’ll start the main show with this one because it’s hard to say what we’re going to be seeing. While we are likely to have about twenty entrants, we only have five coming into the show. That doesn’t give us much in the way of the knowing where this is going as we’ll have to pick from the limited options that we have, which is hardly the best way to go but it’s the problem with a match like this.

Of the five options that we have (Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Mike Bailey, Kevin Knight and Ricochet), I’ll take Ricochet as the most likely choice. Given that he’s been getting a good bit of screen time and actually needs to win something, this would be a good way to start. I’m not sure who else is going to be in there and there is always the chance that it’s someone out of nowhere, but Ricochet seems like at least a safe bet.

Darby Allin vs. Pac

This is the next match in Allin’s seemingly never ending war with the Death Riders. The idea here is that this is going to be a regular match with no extra shenanigans. I know that’s quite the concept on a wrestling show, but it would be nice to see after all of the insanity that Allin has been doing lately. If nothing else, it’s not Allin vs. Jon Moxley for a change and the breather should be nice.

There’s no reason to think Allin will lose here so we’ll go with him getting the win. In theory Allin is going to be going over the Death Riders in the end, though I have no idea what kind of big closing match they’re going to have. This doesn’t feel like a pay per view match, but at least it’s something different than what we’ve been seeing from Allin for such a long time now.

Kenny Omega/Jurassic Express vs. Young Bucks/Josh Alexander

This is the other money match (a million dollars in this case), as Tony Khan continues to give the evil and annoying Young Bucks a chance to make a huge sum all at once. At the same time, there was something of a tease of an Elite reunion earlier this week, which sums up just how annoying this whole thing has been. The Bucks doing all of their stuff is one thing but my head might implode if I’m supposed to cheer for them again.

Ultimately, this feels like Omega and the Express’ to win, as the Bucks need to fall even further before they can turn it around. Omega probably does not have many big matches left in him as his body is breaking down so quickly, but at least he’s still in the ring for the time being. Alexander feels like he’s there to take the fall, which has been the case for a long time now. Either way, the good guys win here.

TNT Title: Kyle Fletcher(c) vs. Mark Briscoe

Title vs. Briscoe joining the Don Callis Family, which makes me think that it’s going one certain way. The Family continues to do pretty much whatever it wants, which doesn’t make for the most thrilling story. On the other hand you have Briscoe, who rarely wins the big one and has been chasing this title for a VERY long time now. One of those things is going to have to give and that is where we are today.

I’ll take Briscoe to win here, as Fletcher has held the title for a very long time now and there isn’t much to gain by having him keep it any longer. On the other hand you have Briscoe, who needs to win the title again before he starts losing his status. Fletcher is at the point where a loss won’t hurt him very much and he seems likely to move up to the main event scene anyway. Briscoe winning here makes more sense.

Babes Of Wrath vs. Sisters Of Sin vs. Timeless Love Bombs vs. Megan Bayne/Marina Shafir

I can’t get my head around this one, as it’s that dumb of an idea. In this case we have the four semifinalists for the Women’s Tag Team Title tournament (which as of this coming Wednesday will be one of three ongoing title tournaments under the Tony Khan banner). The winner of this match gets to pick the stipulation for their semifinal match, which is likely happening this coming week. Yes, this is the best they could come up with for a pay per view.

As this has such little impact on who wins the titles, give me the Bombs to win, just to see whatever wacky idea Storm gives us in the semifinals. I still can’t fathom that this was the best they could do for this show, though I guess it’s due to Blood & Guts taking up a week. It’s almost like AEW tries to do too much and isn’t great at pacing its stuff out, but that must be nonsense of course.

Women’s Title: Kris Statlander(c) vs. Mercedes Mone

So this is Mone’s chance to win her….I believe it’s 14th title? The idea is that Mone has been TBS Champion for about 37 years now and has all kinds of other titles but failed in her one attempt to win the AEW Women’s Title. I’m still not sure what the appeal of the Belt Collector deal is supposed to be yet here we are, with the whole thing somehow still continuing.

I think I’ll go with Statlander retaining here, as Mone needs to lose something here sooner than later. While I’m sure she’ll get the title at some point and that’s fine, Statlander hasn’t had it very long yet and deserves a better run as champion. Hopefully it doesn’t turn into another case of “let’s all praise Mone”, but that is probably what winds up happening in the end.

Tag Team Titles: Bandido/Brody King(c) vs. FTR

This is another case where we’ve seen FTR as champions so many times now that it’s hard to bring myself to care about the possibility of seeing it again. Bandido and King have done really well with the titles thus far and it would be nice to get to see that continue. At the same time though, there is a real chance that the “real” team wins the belts here as Bandido moves on to whatever else.

Give me the champs retaining here, if nothing else for the sake of I’ve enjoyed seeing them more often. What I don’t need to see is FTR winning and then defending against a reunited Copeland/Cage, which is a rather strong possibility. Maybe it’s just me having false hope, but hopefully King and Bandido get to hang onto the titles here, as they’ve earned the right to keep them for awhile.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jon Moxley

This is No DQ and could be another big step in the already rather lengthy downfall of Moxley. The idea is that Moxley keeps giving up in matches after months of talking about how tough he is and it’s not exactly holding up. In theory this leads to the downfall of the entire Death Riders, which has LONG since run its course. On the other hand though…it’s O’Reilly.

As little sense as it might make, I’ll take O’Reilly to win here, as that’s the story that has been built up. Maybe it comes with some shenanigans, but there is no reason to have Moxley win here after losing so many times in recent weeks. The Death Riders desperately need to come to an end already and this is as good of a way to do so as there is right now. It’s hard to imagine O’Reilly as the guy to make it happen, but for now, the pieces are there.

AEW World Title: Hangman Page(c) vs. Samoa Joe

So this is a case where had it been anything other than the World Title and likely the main event, I would have put this way higher as there just isn’t much doubt over the winner. We’ve already seen this last month with Page retaining over Joe clean, which set up the ensuing heel turn. I’m not sure why I would want to see this again here, but someone has to challenge for the title.

Of course I’ll take Page to win here, as there is no reason to believe that Joe is taking the title. This has felt like quite the filler feud for the title, which isn’t exactly much to see. I’m sure the fight will be good enough as these two know how to make it work, but Page really needs to move on to something else, as the two matches with Joe haven’t exactly felt that important. At least this one is different though.

Overall Thoughts

Dang that’s a lot of matches. I know four of them are officially on a separate show, but it’s one big block of AEW without much in the way of a top match. That’s been an issue for a good while now in AEW, as they really don’t seem to have a major story going on. Maybe that changes soon, but it’s not making for the most interesting pay per view, at least on paper. That’s been the case for the last few shows too, and that really needs to change.

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

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Collision
Date: November 19, 2025
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Bryan Danielson, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s the second half of the latest double taping and in this case that means the final push towards this weekend’s Full Gear. That could go in a few different directions, though hopefully we get some more personal issues this time around. The biggest story is likely Mercedes Mone trying to become the official Ring Of Honor Women’s TV Champion because the interim version just doesn’t mean enough. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We open with Hangman Page and Katsuyori Shibata in the ring following Page’s victory in Dynamite’s main event. Page glares down at Samoa Joe (who was on commentary) and says that Joe is now alone and that isn’t going to go well when they’re in a cage. Just remember what happened the last time Page was in a cage with another man. We also see Page kicking Shibata low, which apparently took place between shows.

FTR is ready to take out Bandido and Brody King at Full Gear because they want to win the Tag Team Titles again.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Megan Bayne/Marina Sharif vs. Anna Jay/Tay Melo

Penelope Ford is here with the villains. Melo and Shafir trade takedowns to start until Melo hits her in the face a few times. Jay comes in and everyone is quickly on the floor for the double brawls. Jay and Melo hit stereo dives off the barricade but Shafir plants Jay back inside. We take a break and come back with Melo coming in to clean house as everything breaks down.

A bunch of running kicks in the corner have Bayne and Shafir in trouble but stereo guillotines are broken up with suplexes. Bayne gets Downward Spiraled into a running necksnap for two and Jay gets the Queenslayer. Shafir breaks that up and grabs a quick Mother’s Milk to make Jay give up at 8:49.

Rating: C+. Even though Jay and Melo are a regular team, there was no reason to believe they were going to lose to a pair of monsters like these two. That’s the kind of team that should be there to be slayed by the winners of the tournament, assuming Shafir and Bayne don’t win them themselves. Not much here, but the fans like Melo and Jay.

Post match the Timeless Love Bombs pop up on the screen to promise to win the four way at Full Gear. That means they can pick the stipulation for their semifinal match, which could be a chicken coop match, apartment wrestling or a Taipei Death Match.

Video on Kris Statlander.

The Bang Bang Gang is VERY interested in winning $200,000 at Full Gear.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Mascara Dorada

This is a double jeopardy match, meaning the winner gets a future title shot at the other’s title. Okada backs him up against the ropes to start and gives him some applause, which is a bit of a surprise. Dorada starts flipping around and knocks Okada to the floor. That means it’s time to do the “roll inside to break the count a few times” deal, allowing commentary to point out that Okada has the longest title reign in AEW history.

Okada gets back inside and taken down with a springboard armdrag right back to the floor. Naturally that means a dive but Okada is right back in with his dropkick and we take a break. We come back with Dorada falling off the top for a DDT onto the apron (that could have been a lot worse). They get back inside for a springboard hurricanrana to send Okada outside, setting up the big dive. Dorada grabs a running cutter over the barricade and a hurricanrana but the 450 misses back inside.

The top rope elbow connects for Okada but the Rainmaker is cut off. Instead Okada hits the dropkick and goes up, where Dorada catches him for a quick slam. Now the 450 connects for two and they both go up top, with Dorada getting almost no rotation on a super hurricanrana (thankfully not breaking his neck). He’s fine enough to counter the Rainmaker into a small package for two so Okada gives him Takeshita’s Raging Fire. Now the Rainmaker can finish Dorada at 12:09.

Rating: B. I’m not sure what was with Dorada here as he’s usually much more sure footed than that. Hopefully it’s just an off night (happens to everyone) as those botches could have been far worse. This sets up the Family for a CMLL Trios Titles match and that means Okada and Takeshita can argue some more.

Post match Callis is rather pleased to announce that the Trios Titles match will take place at the Full Gear Kickoff Show. And yes, Takeshita will be in the match. And yes, Okada is less than pleased.

The Sisters Of Sin are ready to get creative when they win the four way at Full Gear.

Ring Of Honor Women’s TV Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Red Velvet

Kris Statlander is on commentary. Mone is the Interim Champion but this is to unify the titles. It’s also Velvet’s first title defense since April and commentary points out that she’s the longest reigning champion in the title’s history. True, though they neglect to point out that she’s the second champion ever. Velvet rolls her up for two to start before they both miss dropkicks.

Mone avoids a charge into the ropes and dropkicks her out to the floor for the big crash. There’s the Meteora off the apron and Mone poses with some titles, only to get kicked into Statlander. Back in and of course it’s an Eddie Guerrero tribute, with Velvet pretending to get hit with a belt and dropping down into a rollup for two as we take a break.

We come back with Velvet grabbing a wheelbarrow bulldog and hitting a running crotch attack on the ropes. Mone pulls her into the Statement Maker, which is reversed into a reverse cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well and Velvet grabs a German suplex into the Black Widow. Mone reverses into a Backstabber but gets caught with a super victory roll for two. They go up again and this time it’s a super Codebreaker to give Mone another title at 12:25.

Rating: B-. Welp, Mone sure did beat that longstanding champion who hadn’t defended the title in about seven months so this had all of the impact that you would think. I get that it’s not the point, but waiting for three hours to see Mone get to celebrate in her hometown isn’t exactly a thrilling way to wrap up a night. I’m not sold on the idea of her beating Statlander and this changed pretty much a grand total of nothing. The one thing it did confirm: interim titles are stupid and one of the concepts that AEW needs to drop.

Post match Mone throws some titles at Statlander and gives her a Meteora off the announcers’ table. Mone grabs a Statement Maker to make Statlander tap until the referees break it up. Statlander then….leaves with Velvet as Mone takes Statlander’s title and dances on the table. What a hero.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked it a bit better than Dynamite, though that might be due to focusing on some more interesting stories. That being said, Full Gear is not feeling like an important show and AEW needs to break out of that rut. Maybe it’s the focus on the Death Riders and Don Callis Family and stuff like “the winner of this four way gets to pick the stipulations for one semifinal” (good grief) and the fact that we’re coming up on the third tournament taking place at the same time starting next week, but dang it’s hard to get interested in a lot of this stuff.

Hopefully they have something new in mind, because they could use the change after the last few months. As usual, the wrestling isn’t the problem but rather doing something that has me wanting to see what happens next. Wondering if the Young Bucks or one of the four teams on the Kickoff Show will get one of the two big cash prizes or if Kenny Omega or Jon Moxley is facing someone with a better ankle lock isn’t exactly thrilling, but it might be a sign that this company is in need of some fresh ideas.

Results
Marina Shafir/Megan Bayne b. Anna Jay/Tay Melo – Mother’s Milk to Jay
Kazuchika Okada b. Mascara Dorada – Rainmaker
Mercedes Mone b. Red Velvet – Super Codebreaker

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

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Dynamite
Date: November 12, 2025
Location: First Horizon Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Bryan Danielson, Tony Schiavone

It’s time to get back to one of the biggest shows of the year with Blood & Guts. This time though that means a pair of matches as the women are getting a chance as well. Other than that, Powerhouse Hobbs is facing Hangman Page in a falls count anywhere match, so this is going to be a violent night. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

For the sake of simplicity, here are the rules for Blood & Guts for both matches:

• One entrant from each team starts for five minutes.
• The team with the advantage gets to send in its second entrant.
• Every “few” minutes another entrant enters.
• Once all entrants are in, the first pin or submission wins.

Team Statlander vs. Team Mone

Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale, Harley Cameron, Jamie Hayter, Mina Shirakawa, Toni Storm
Mercedes Mone, Skye Blue, Julia Hart, Thekla, Megan Bayne, Marina Shafir

Willow Nightingale and Skye Blue start things off and they go straight to the hockey fight style. Nightingale puts her hair up and commentary knows that’s going to be serious. They head over to the space between the ropes and the cage, with Nightingale slingshot alley ooping her into the steel. A Pounce sends Blue into the cage and she’s already busted open. Blue tries to fight out of the corner and it’s Julia Hart in to give the villains control (not quite five minutes but that’s going to happen).

Hart hammers away and starts looking for something in the turnbuckle pad. Nightingale manages to get to the other ring but a flipping elbow rocks her again. Harley Cameron is in to even things up and it’s a Sling Blade to take Hart down. Cameron slips out of a double suplex and Nightingale is there with a double clothesline. A baseball slide dropkick in to a chair hits Hart in the corner and we take a break.

We come back with Thekla coming in to uneven things up and house is quickly cleaned. Thekla whips out a belt to start some whipping and stereo dropkicks have Nightingale and Cameron in trouble. Jamie Hayter comes in to make it 3-3 and cleans house with a trashcan lid. That’s not enough so she grabs a barbed wire kendo stick. The tacks are poured out and Thekla is sent face first into them for a crash that should have been a bigger deal.

Megan Bayne is in at #4 and starts wrecking people, including a double suplex to Cameron and Nightingale. Hayter slugs away until Cameron’s trashcan lid to the back has no effect on Bayne. Kris Statlander evens things up again (wearing the title, which seems inconvenient), including a Vader Bomb. The injured Queen Aminata chases off the also injured Penelope Ford and we get the Statlander vs. Bayne showdown as we take another break.

We come back again with Cameron climbing the structure and Bayne giving chase, only for Bayne to be powerbombed down. Everyone is down and Mercedes Mone (yes the belts are at ringside) is in for the next to last advantage. House is quickly cleaned, including a tornado DDT to send Statlander onto the belt. Since we don’t have enough weapons (and no one in the other ring), Mone goes outside and grabs some belts for her team to use as weapons.

Mina Shirakawa comes in with a barbed wire baseball bat, which she throws at Bayne for a dropkick. Shirakawa goes after Mone until Marina Shafir completes her team. Shafir takes Statlander outside and knocks her into a bed of nails before beating up Hayter inside. Toni Storm completes the field and NOW we can officially have a submission to end the match. Storm hits Shafir in the face, which is shrugged off so Storm can be sent into the cage.

With that not working, Storm dips her taped hands into a bucket of broken glass, because when you can go Ian Rotten, you go Ian Rotten. A double DDT puts Bayne down and we take a break (now that the match can end). We come back with Blue being powerbombed onto a table, which doesn’t break. Statlander drops an elbow onto Blue….and the table only half breaks. That’s enough to set up the parade of knockdowns until Cameron whips out the puppet (oh no). Mone pulls it away….and reveals the brass knuckles under the puppet (nice save), which knock Mone silly.

Hart and Thekla slip through part of the cage and go outside to take the key from the referee, meaning the fight can go to the floor. Statlander and Mone go up, with Statlander Samoan dropping her through the belt table. The villains lock the cage, with a bunch of Statlander’s team outside. Storm pours out the bucket of glass and it’s a double DDT to send Shafir into said glass.

Back up and Shafir breaks a mirror over Storm’s head, leaving Statlander to superplex Bayne between the rings. Shirakawa grabs a figure four with the barbed wire baseball bat on Bayne, only for Shafir to….put glass in her foot and stomp Shirakawa for the save. Why she couldn’t have just, like, stomped her without injuring herself, isn’t clear. That’s enough for the villains to hold Storm while Shafir chokes Shirakawa. Bayne whips Shirakawa with a belt until Storm gives up to save her at 46:09.

Rating: B-. I’m never quite sure what to think of these things. I did like a lot of this and it was violent, but they could have dropped a member or two per team and, of course, shortened it a lot. The ending was fine enough as Storm and Shirakawa have been established as having that kind of relationship, but I’m not sure how good it was for a finish.

It kind of sums up the underlying problem with the match: I’m not quite sure what the major feud was supposed to be. It started with Thekla vs. Hayter, but that’s not exactly a top story. They had a bunch of stuff going on here, and the match felt like it was too much going on at once. As usual, it needs to be trimmed down, which is a regular issue for AEW.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Powerhouse Hobbs, who had a heck of a fight last week.

In the back, the Don Callis Family lays out Jurassic Express. The Young Bucks pop up and say it was a message. Don Callis wants an answer about the Bucks joining next week.

Hangman Page vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Non-title and Falls Count Anywhere. Page has taped up ribs and Hobbs rips off a turnbuckle pad to start. They both tease sending each other into the buckle until Page knocks him into the other ring. Page misses a shot and gets knocked down with a clothesline. Hobbs heads outside but takes too long, allowing Hobbs to hit a shot from the apron. A charge misses Page and only hits the steps but Hobbs is right back up to slam page onto various things.

Hobbs is World’s Strongest Slammed onto the steps Page backdropping Hobbs off the announcers’ table (Hobbs landed on his tailbone and that looked ROUGH). Page clotheslines him over the barricade and they go into the crowd, with Page hitting a moonsault in the people. Hobbs cuts him off with a spinebuster through a table and they go up into the crowd. Page takes his boot off for a running shot to the face, knocking Hobbs off a balcony and through a table (which explodes) to give Page the pin at 14:11.

Rating: B+. I got into this one as it felt like Page was fighting against a monster and had to do whatever he could to survive. I cringed more at the backdrop off the table than anything in the cage match, as that’s the kind of thing that makes it look like more of a painful fight. Page came off like he was in a war here and Hobbs felt like a monster. Hobbs losing again isn’t great to see, but at least he held his own in there.

Post match the Opps run in to go after Page, with the cage lowering. Eddie Kingston and Hook comes out for the save just in time. Page turns the Full Gear match into a cage match. Of course.

Tony Schiavone brings out Ricky Steamboat for a special appearance. He talks about his history in this territory and his history around here with Ric Flair. The story is cut off by FTR (Steamboat: “I KNOW HIM!”), with Stokely Hathaway introducing himself to Steamboat. As Steamboat makes fun of Hathaway’s height, Stokely says he wants his favorite wrestler front row at Full Gear. Hathaway: “You got Macho Man’s phone number?”

FTR brags about making Steamboat look good in his retirement match and Harwood mentions Steamboat being his trainer. The thing is…Steamboat didn’t teach him a thing. Steamboat says he didn’t teach Harwood to have his attitude, but Harwood says Steamboat taught him to save his money.

If he and Ric Flair (who hasn’t been seen) followed that advice, they wouldn’t have to be here tonight. The brawl is teased with FTR telling Steamboat to get out and Steamboat saying he’s going to play it smart here. FTR jump shim so Bandido and Brody King make the save, with Steamboat getting in a few chops to send the villains running. This was WAY too long and dragged badly.

Team Death Riders vs. Team Darby Allin

Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia, Claudio Castagnoli, Pac
Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly

Allin and Yuta start things off and they go straight to the floor, with Allin missing a charge and crashing into the barricade. They get back inside with Allin hitting a quick Coffin Drop from the cage to a standing Yuta. That’s enough to send Yuta to the other ring to reach for Allin’s skateboard. Allin gives him a Code Red and uses the thumbtacks on the back to cut Yuta open. Orange Cassidy is in to give the good guys the advantage and BREAKS HIS OWN SUNGLASSES. He uses the pieces to stab Yuta in the head (I’ve seen worse ideas) and Yuta is bleeding even more.

A jumping skateboard shot to the back has Yuta down again as Daniel Garcia is in to even things up. Garcia chokes Allin and Cassidy at the same time and a double chain shot puts Cassidy down. We take a break and come back with Garcia and Yuta being tied up with the chain as Mark Briscoe joins the fray. Well he’s supposed to at least as he has been attacked in the back.

Roderick Strong goes instead to buy time and drops Yuta onto Garcia. Claudio Castagnoli evens things up and sends Strong into a chair in the corner. Cassidy chokes Castagnoli….who swings Allin at the same time, because that’s something a human can do. The bleeding Strong’s head is rubbed into the cage and one heck of an uppercut drops Allin. Kyle O’Reilly is in as the next to last member of his team but Garcia and Yuta are back up with chair shots.

Yuta gives Allin a piledriver on the chair and we take another break. We come back again with Jon Moxley coming in and stabs O’Reilly in the head with a fork. Strong is stabbed in the head and Allin is stabbed in the back…and Briscoe isn’t here as Moxley stabs Strong with a piece of the mirror from the first match. We get word that the Don Callis Family attacked Briscoe as Allin is piledriven into a pile of glass. That’s enough to send us to another break and we come back again with Pac completing the field (with the villains up 5-4).

Allin Coffin Drops from the roof onto everyone else, leaving the very bloody Strong to get beaten up by Pac. One heck of a running clothesline drops Allin….and here is Briscoe with some boltcutters to break into the cage. Briscoe sends a toolbox into the ring and the good guys find some tools. Moxley shrugs off a wrench shot (of course) as Briscoe sets up a table on the floor. Garcia is put on the table and Briscoe goes up the cage, only for Garcia to move before the big jump.

Yuta joins Briscoe on top so Briscoe and O’Reilly rig up a pulley system to get some chairs up there. Yuta has to low blow his way out of a Jay Driller and we take one more break. We come back with Briscoe hitting the Jay Driller to Yuta onto a chair on top of the cage as Allin chokes Moxley with a hammer. Cue Gabe Kidd to drag Allin up the aisle as Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets.

They are then stapled as Kidd chokes Allin on the stage. Pac pulls All on top of the entrance…and Kidd lights some tables on fire. Pac is sent through the flaming tables and Kidd is taken away by security. Moxley chokes O’Reilly with a chain and gets flipped off so Castagnoli wraps a chair around O’Reilly’s neck. Cassidy rips the staples out of his pockets and Strong is up with some running knees. The Orange Punch hits Moxley and Garcia is sent into a table in the corner, with Garcia bouncing off of it in a nasty crash.

A powerbomb sends Yuta into (not through) another table in another corner before he gets whipped through it. Cassidy counters Swiss Death into an Orange Punch but Strong can’t put Castagnoli through the table (Where did they get these things from?). Another Orange Punch knocks Moxley into an ankle lock, which is reversed into the bulldog choke. That’s reversed into an ankle lock with a grapevine and Moxley taps at 54:07.

Rating: C. Was it a disaster? No. Was it bad? Not really. What it was instead was a FAR too long match that felt like it was just there to fill in time, with stuff like the Allin being sent through a burning table just being a moment in a long series of them. It’s another match that could have had nearly half an hour cut out without losing much. Now that being said, the ending was rather good and tied in with the bigger Moxley story. That part was well done, but it came at the end of a very long match and it didn’t have as much of an impact that it could have had otherwise.

Overall Rating: B-. This is just what Blood & Guts is and that isn’t a surprise anymore. It goes on far longer than it needs to and doesn’t exactly make me care about most of the people involved. I’m certainly not more interested in seeing Full Gear (which is now going to feature a smaller cage match) and that’s not a great feeling. The non-cage match here was very good, but the big focus was on Blood & Guts, which was pretty much exactly what you would have been expecting.

Results
Team Mone b. Team Statlander when Storm submitted
Hangman Page b. Powerhouse Hobbs – Boot to the head
Team Allin b. Team Moxley – Ankle lock to Moxley

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

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Dynamite
Date: November 5, 2025
Location: Bayou Music Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Bryan Danielson, Tony Schiavone

We are a week away from Blood & Guts and therefore this week’s show is going to focus on setting up the two cage matches. In this case that means determining who will have the advantage in the matches, which can be rather important. Other than that, we’ll have some more build towards Full Gear, which isn’t very far away. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring and….there is going to be something called the National Title introduced. Cue the Opps to interrupt, with Samoa Joe not being happy with Schiavone for the deal with Hangman Page at the end of last week’s show. Cue Page for the save, with Eddie Kingston and Hook joining him. They’re already set for a six man tag tonight and Hook thinks it should be a Trios Titles match. Works for a ticked off Joe.

Men’s Blood And Guts Advantage Series: Orange Cassidy vs. Claudio Castagnoli

First of a three match series. Cassidy fires off the suicide dives before the bell and the ten right hands connect against the barricade. Castagnoli manages a ram into the ropes though and gets inside for the opening bell. A tornado DDT cuts Castagnoli off but they go outside with Cassidy being dropped over the barricade. Castagnoli grabs a suplex and walks him up the steps (because that’s something a human can do) to throw him back inside.

Cassidy’s sleeper goes on and Castagnoli can’t even swing him off. It’s finally reversed into the regular swing and Cassidy is in trouble as we take a break. We come back with Cassidy putting his hands in his pockets, which earns him a gutwrench suplex in a smart move from Castagnoli. Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets again and shrugs off a string of punches in the corner.

Castagnoli is sent outside for a diving tornado DDT before planting Castagnoli for two back inside. A sitout powerbomb gives Castagnoli two and he grabs a crossface. That and a basement uppercut give Castagnoli two but the apron superplex is countered into a super Stundog Millionaire (that was great). An Orange Punch rocks Castagnoli but he’s right back with Swiss Death for the pin at 12:21.

Rating: B-. I was worried that Cassidy would survive that kind of a beating and win on a fluke so it was nice to see Castagnoli get a clean win like this for a change. He’s been just a guy in the Death Riders for a long time now and it’s good for him to have something other than just another loss. Cassidy is just kind of floating around at the moment, but he’ll be fine given the way the fans care about him.

Mark Briscoe is in the back with Kyle Fletcher, who hasn’t responded to Briscoe’s challenge for Full Gear. Briscoe lost to him at WrestleDream thanks to a low blow so let’s do it No DQ next time. Don Callis has an idea though: if Briscoe loses, he joins the Family.

The Young Bucks haven’t officially joined the Don Callis Family but Callis offers Kazuchika Okada as a testimony on what it means to join.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Willow Nightingale/Harley Cameron vs. Mercedes Mone/Athena

The villains jump them to start fast as we hear about Queen Aminata being injured and therefore out of Blood & Guts. Mone chokes Cameron on the ropes a bit but Cameron manages a belly to back suplex. Nightingale comes in for a middle rope dropkick as the house cleaning is on. It’s already back to Cameron, who gets dropped onto Mone for two. Everything breaks down and a Meteora drops Nightingale, leaving Athena to drop Mone onto Cameron for two.

We take a break and come back with Mone taking too long on Three Amigos, allowing Cameron to escape. The big tag brings in Nightingale to clean house, with a Cannonball hitting Athena for two. Athena cuts her off with a hard forearm and everything breaks down. A double Codebreaker sets up the Statement Maker on Cameron so Nightingale Pounces Athena into the two of them for the save.

Nightingale clotheslines Mone down but Athena is up with a spinning knee to the head. Athena puts Nightingale into a fireman’s carry and then fall away slams Cameron at the same time (geez). Cue Athena’s minion Billie Starkz to hand Athena a title but Kris Statlander cuts her off. The Babe With The Powerbomb into That’s Her Finisher to pin Athena at 12:44.

Rating: C+. Odds are that sets up Cameron as the next victim for Athena and I’ve heard worse ideas. One such bad idea would be to have Mone get closer to winning a tag team title in addition to all of her singles belts so at least they did the right thing here. The tournament has me wondering who is going to wind up with the titles so they’re certainly off to a nice start.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring to announce a Casino Gauntlet Match for Full Gear for the inaugural National Title. Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin, the first entrants, come out with MVP for a chat. MVP talks about the history of the National Title, which apparently will have lineage with the original NWA version.

Cue the Demand to interrupt, with Ricochet mocking the Syndicate for being old. MVP is ready to fight but Ricochet says he’ll be the next National Champion. I’d hope that they don’t go any further with the lineage/heritage of the National Title, as the NWA, which still sanctions it to this day, might have some issues.

Jurassic Express leaves the Young Bucks $100 to deal with their money issues.

Men’s Blood And Guts Advantage Series: Darby Allin vs. Daniel Garcia

If Garcia wins, the Death Riders clinch the advantage. Allin rolls around to start and grabs a headlock takeover. That’s broken up and Garcia chokes in the corner, only for Allin to put Garcia’s arm into the post (as in the hole on the top). Some biting keeps the arm in trouble before Allin sends him into the barricade. Garcia hits a big boot to the head to cut Allin off though and we take a break.

We come back with an exchange of chokes, with Allin backflipping onto him for two. Garcia takes him up top for a superplex but Allin rolls through into a Scorpion Death Drop. They head outside, with Garcia putting Allin’s arm between the steps and post for a running dropkick. Cue Pac for a cheap shot with a clothesline and Allin has to dive back in to beat the count. The bleeding Allin is put in the Sharpshooter but manages to reverse it into the Scorpion Deathlock for the tap at 13:26.

Rating: B-. There wasn’t much in the way of drama here as not only was it the second match in a best of three series, but Garcia wasn’t likely to beat Allin in any way. At least they didn’t do anything too nuts here, as Allin gets to go through and win a match he should have. Now just get him away from the Death Riders already, because the story needs to be done.

Post match the Death Riders run in for the beatdown, with Orange Cassidy’s save attempt getting cut off as well.

Here is FTR to call out Bandido/Brody King for a chat. The champs don’t show up though and we see their locker room door locked. Back in the arena, Harwood goes over to meet Bandido’s family with some less than great Spanish. Harwood mocks Bandido’s grandmother for being too old and does the keep pulling his microphone away before she can say much. She finally slaps him and Bandido’s brother jumps the barricade for the brawl. We cut to the back where Brody King punches through the wall and grabs Stokely Hathaway so the champs can escape for the save.

Video on Blood & Guts as narrated by….Dean Malenko?

Women’s Blood And Guts Advantage Series: Mina Shirakawa vs. Megan Bayne

Toni Storm is on commentary. Bayne shrugs off some shots to the ribs to start so Shirakawa gives her a running dropkick to the floor. Back in and Shirakawa kicking her in the head out of the corner but Bayne grabs an impressive release German suplex. Shirakawa fights back and hurricanranas Bayne into the corner. Cue Marina Shafir to jump Storm for the brawl, which distracts Shirakawa. The running Liger Bomb finishes for Bayne at 9:36.

Rating: C+. Bayne getting to wreck someone else is a good thing and this was little more than a preview for the big match next week. They’re almost putting everyone of note in the division into Blood & Guts, which is certainly a way to go. It has me interesting in what’s going to happen though and Bayne getting to be a smashing machine is a fun thing every time.

Post match the beatdown is on until Storm makes the save with a chair. Most of the rest of the teams come in for a brawl, with Mercedes Mone stopping short. Kris Statlander comes out to jump her from behind and the heroes stand tall.

Trios Titles: Opps vs. Hangman Page/Eddie Kingston/Hook

The Opps are defending. Joe does the really played out “yeah I’ll start but I’m tagging out before I make contact” deal and hands it off to Shibata. A quick slugout goes to Page and it’s Hook coming in for a suplex. Hobbs comes in for some backbreakers but Hook manages a nice overhead suplex to get a breather.

We take a break and come back with Joe putting Kingston in a nerve hold. That’s broken up and Page comes back in to clean house, including posting Hobbs on the floor. The top rope moonsault press gives Page two and it’s back to Kingston, which brings in the banged up Hook. Hobbs drops Page onto the apron and decks Kingston into a German suplex from Shibata. Page is taken up to the stage for a World’s Strongest Slam through the table, leaving Joe rather pleased. The injured Hook tries to make the save with Redrum, only to get reversed into the torture rack to give Hobbs the submission at 12:03.

Rating: B-. Hook being there to take the fall was fine, as this was about Hobbs and Page having a nice angle before Page defends against Joe at Full Gear. That’s the kind of thing that the Trios Titles can do rather well, as it gives them another reason for them to fight. Now just make the Joe vs. Page rematch a bit more interesting and they’ll be in business.

With about three seconds left in the show, Hobbs vs. Page, falls count anywhere, is announced for next week.

Overall Rating: B-. The majority of this show was built around setting up Blood & Guts and that’s not a bad thing. The show is going to be one heck of a detour on the way to Full Gear, so giving it a week mostly dedicated to preparation is a smart move. Full Gear is going to need some work in the last week after Blood & Guts, but there is a good chance those matches will build towards the pay per view. Good enough show here, with the really important ones coming.

Results
Claudio Castagnoli b. Orange Cassidy – Swiss Death
Willow Nightingale/Harley Cameron b. Athena/Mercedes Mone – That’s Her Finisher to Athena
Darby Allin b. Daniel Garcia – Scorpion Deathlock
Megan Bayne b. Mina Shirakawa – Running Liger Bomb
Opps b. Hangman Page/Eddie Kingston/Hook – Torture rack to Hook

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