Collision – March 9, 2024: Yes, Again

Collision
Date: March 9, 2024
Location: Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re still near Atlanta for the third show of the week, though this show is going to be a bit of a follow up from Dynamite. In this case we have the first match for the new Elite, as the Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada are now the new big evil trio. Other than that, we have a street fight, because that’s what we do around here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Shane Taylor vs. Bryan Danielson

Lee Moriarty is here with Taylor, who backs Danielson into the corner to start. The test of strength goes to Taylor of course but Danielson kicks away at the chest. That only goes so far so Danielson goes for the leg and uses the ropes to slow Taylor down. Nigel: “He’s using the ropes! That’s illegal!” Tony: “You never used the ropes during your career?” Nigel: “Of course!”

Taylor’s leg is tied up in the ropes so Danielson hits a running dropkick but a right hand sends Danielson outside (and us to a break). Back with Taylor hitting the apron legdrop for two but missing a splash in the corner. Danielson ties the leg around the post and kicks away to put Taylor down back inside.

The big kick to the head gets one and Danielson can’t believe the kickout. The running dropkicks in the corner just wake Taylor up though and it’s a big clothesline for two on Danielson. Taylor’s cannonball misses so he tries a powerslam, only for Danielson to take him down for the kicks to the head. The running knee finishes for Danielson at 14:00.

Rating: B-. Danielson is this generation’s wrestler who can get the best out of any opponent and that is amazing to see. Taylor had a good match here and wrestled like a power monster should, which made for a good showing. You could see Danielson trying to take him apart out there and it worked well in the end. Good opener.

Post match Will Ospreay comes out and says he’s here for a chat. After praising Danielson and Taylor, Ospreay praises…the sandwiches backstage before talking about how so many people are in awe of Danielson. Ospreay then calls him a “cheeky little slag” for interrupting him on Dynamite and wonders if Danielson has a question for him. Danielson praises Ospreay’s match with Konosuke Takeshita, but he’s also heard Ospreay talking about how great he is the best in the world, so the challenge is on for Dynasty. Ospreay is in.

Young Bucks/Kazuchika Okada vs. Jon Cruz/Liam Gray/Adrian Alanis

Nick and Cruz start things off but it’s Okada coming in instead. Okada takes him up against the ropes for a pat on the head to start so the bigger Alanis comes in. The forearms just annoy Okada so he hits the dropkick, followed by the Rainmaker to pin Gray at 2:03. That’s what it should have been.

Post match Eddie Kingston runs in and gets beaten down so here is Penta El Zero Miedo…who gets beaten down as well. Cue Pac to come in and stare up at Okada (Nigel: “TAKE MY MONEY! TAKE MY MONEY! TAKE MY MONEY!”) before striking him out to the floor. Pac says he’s here to look for trouble and a six man is set up for Dynamite.

Video on Darby Allin vs. Jay White on Dynamite.

Mariah May vs. Trish Adora

May works on a wristlock to start as Nigel completely swoons over Mariah’s…well everything. Adora takes her down a few times without much effort but May grabs a running headscissors. A running dropkick puts Adora on the floor and we take a break. Back with Adora hitting a pump kick into a backsplash for two. Adora grabs a German suplex from her knees, only to have May hit a running knee. May Day finishes Adora at 6:13.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why a match that barely breaks six minutes needs a break but unfortunately that’s the AEW women’s division for you. May’s rise continues and having her dressed as rocker Toni Storm could be going in a few different directions. Not much in the way of a match, but what are you supposed to do with so little time and so much of that in a break?

Post match here is Toni Storm to present the first ever Toni Award (Storm: “That’s Toni with an I so we don’t get sued.”). May is the only nominee and she does indeed win. Cue Deonna Purrazzo to go after Storm but May lays her out with a DDT.

Video on Riho vs. Willow Nightingale.

Nick Wayne vs. Adam Priest

The rest of the Patriarchy is here too. Wayne starts fast and hammers away before sending Priest outside. A running boot rocks Priest again but he fires back, only to get a glare from Luchasaurus. Back in and Wayne chokes on the ropes, setting up Wayne’s World for the pin at 3:12.

Rating: C. More or less a squash here for Wayne, who still doesn’t have much in the way of interest. He’s Christian’s secondary lackey but having him beat up a relative unknown for a few minutes is hardly the worst thing. They kept this short and that’s the right way to go for a match like this one.

Post match someone in a mask pulls Cage into the crowd (Tony: “Is this a luchador? Is this someone from CMLL?” That’s a perfectly reasonable reaction and you don’t get many of those in wrestling today.) before diving onto the Patriarchy. It’s Adam Copeland, who gets in the ring and grabs the TNT belt, plus a metal case. Copeland opens it and Cage sees it (we don’t see what’s in there), making him back up. The match seems ready for Dynamite March 20.

Jeff Jarrett says Mark Briscoe can trust him tonight. Mark isn’t sure but they’ll fight together.

Chris Jericho vs. Titan

Jericho wastes no time in pulling him into a surfboard, which is broken up just as fast. Back up and they chop it out until Titan knocks him to the floor. That means a big suicide dive to drop Jericho and a whip sends him into the steps. Back in and they both go up, with Jericho hitting a super faceplant for two as we take a break. We come back with Titan kicking him out to the floor, setting up another dive.

That bangs Titan up a bit though and it’s a butterfly backbreaker to put him down again. The Lionsault misses though and Titan grabs a springboard tornado DDT for two. Titan’s top rope double stomp gets two but his leglock is countered into a failed Walls attempt. The Judas Effect misses as well and Titan grabs a spinning Death Valley Driver for two. Titan tries a springboard hurricanrana but gets pulled into the Walls for the submission at 11:59.

Rating: B. I liked that a good bit more than I thought I would have and Jericho hung in there with the younger high flier well enough. That being said, I’m still waiting on some kind of a point to these CMLL guys being around other than “here they are”. They had the feud with the BCC but that seems to have mostly wrapped up (thanks to the visa situation). Are we just going to have random matches like this with nothing really happening?

Post match the Gates Of Agony run in to beat down Jericho but Hook makes the save.

Here is FTR for a chat. Things didn’t go how they wanted at Revolution but that’s life. They’re officially throwing their names into the hat for the Tag Team Title tournament but they know it’s going to be difficult. Harwood isn’t sure they belong in the tournament but they will give everything they have if they get a chance. Cue the Infantry to interrupt, with a quick introduction. They say the tag division needs a revival and we get some of the old Revival theme song. Harwood: “The revival is dead and if we meet you in the tournament, you will be too.” Well that was efficient.

Mistico vs. Angelico

Serpentico is here with Angelico. They fight over wrist control to start and Angelico gets up for something of a dance. Mistico grabs some armdrags for a standoff and we take a break. Back with Mistico hitting a 619 into a springboard missile dropkick, followed by a slingshot hurricanrana to the floor. A slingshot corkscrew splash gets two on Angelico and a Swanton is good for the same. Angelico grabs la majistral for two and they trade running clotheslines in the corner. Both of them are knocked down but Mistico is back up with a very spinning rollup for two. La Mistica finishes Angelico off at 9:26.

Rating: B-. Again, nice match but it’s kind of hard to get interested in Mistico, as big of a star as he is, facing someone the caliber of Angelico. It’s a match that came and went with some nice high flying, but it doesn’t seem to have any connection to anything else going on. That’s fine once in awhile, but this is the second match on the show with the same stuff. It would be nice to have this tied into something, as otherwise it’s just wrestling for the sake of wrestling.

Respect is shown post match.

House Of Black vs. Mark Briscoe/Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal

Street fight. The brawl starts on the floor with Briscoe and Black slugging away inside. The good guys start in with the dives before it’s time to set up some tables. Lethal sends a charging King into an open chair but King is back up to crush Lethal through a table. Briscoe and Matthews slug it out until Briscoe’s dive off the top completely misses a table, hitting chairs instead.

We take a break and come back with Matthews pouring lighter fluid over a table but Sonjay Dutt offers a distraction. Cue Julia Hart with gasoline, which Matthews pours on Dutt. Karen Jarrett cuts off the whole murder thing so Hart gives her the mist. Lethal and Jarrett hit the Infantry’s Boot Camp (Russian legsweep/running big boot combination) to put King down but he’s back up with the sleeper to Lethal.

Jarrett makes the save with a heck of a guitar shot, only to walk into the End from Black. Hart slips in the spike but Briscoe blocks a stabbing and Jay Drillers Black. Briscoe’s big flip dive is pulled out of the air and the table is set on fire. The powerbomb puts Briscoe through said table and Black gets the pin at 12:47.

Rating: C+. Yeah it was another big brawl and had the spots and carnage but how many of these hardcore matches are we supposed to be interested in? This one had the fire theme but there was so much going on that it was just another big wild fight than anything else. It kept my interest but it feels like we get some kind of big weapons brawl every few weeks. Slow down with them already.

Overall Rating: B-. They were going back and forth from stuff that felt important to stuff that felt like it was just there to fill in time, which makes for a rather long two hours. The show was good enough, but after a pay per view on Sunday and three hours of AEW since then, the two CMLL matches, another brawl and a quick Elite match isn’t quite enough to make this a great show.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Shane Taylor – Running knee
Young Bucks/Kazuchika Okada b. Jon Cruz/Liam Gray/Adrian Alanis – Rainmaker to Gray
Mariah May b. Trish Adora – May Day
Nick Wayne b. Adam Priest – Wayne’s World
Chris Jericho b. Titan – Walls Of Jericho
Mistico b. Angelico – La Mistica
House Of Black b. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Mark Briscoe – Powerbomb through a flaming table to Briscoe

 

 

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Rampage – February 9, 2024: Depressurized

Rampage
Date: February 9, 2024
Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

We’re still in Arizona and there is a heck of a crowd for the show this week. That alone should make the energy that much better and everything else should be fine. Rampage has quite the success rate, if nothing else for the sake of the show having so little pressure involved. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Orange Cassidy/Rocky Romero/Trent Beretta vs. Kingdom/Roderick Strong

The fight starts in the aisle and Cassidy even throws the sunglasses at Strong to show how serious he is. Then he puts his hands in his pockets to take care of that. Cue Adam Cole and Wardlow to watch as Trent takes out Bennett’s legs to start. Taven comes in and gets draped over the top, setting up a top rope knee to the back.

It’s off to Strong, who gets German suplexed for his efforts. Trent finally gets pulled into the corner so the beating can be on, including a suplex from Bennett. Taven’s top rope splash misses though and it’s Cassidy coming in with a high crossbody. The tornado DDT plants Taven but Bennett is back with a spinebuster to put Cassidy down. Everything breaks down until Taven kicks Cassidy down to block the Orange Punch.

We take a break and come back with a low blow cutting Cassidy down and the Hail Mary getting two. The powerbomb/Zig Zag combination hits Trent but he rolls outside before a cover. Instead the Kingdom goes after Romero, who is right back in for a big dive. Back in and Romero hits the Forever Clotheslines but Strong cuts him off with the End of Heartache for the pin at 9:13.

Rating: C+. This was the match to help set up Cassidy vs. Strong for the International Title at Revolution, which brings up the bigger problem: the match is almost a month away. The match was set up really far in advance and that doesn’t make for the best setup. I’m not sure how the match is going to go, but I’m also worried about how the story is going to go on the way there.

Post match Romero is sent through a bunch of chairs to make it even worse.

We look at Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland going to a time limit draw on Dynamite, meaning they both get a shot at Samoa Joe for the World Title at Revolution.

Young Bucks vs. Mondo Rox/Robbie Lit

The Bucks are still in their bloodstained white suits from Dynamite. Matt runs over Lit to start and stomps away in the corner. Nick comes in with a Blockbuster into a backbreaker and doesn’t even lose his hat on the way down (that’s talent). A Matt distraction lets Nick get in a low blow and the EVP Trigger finishes at 2:11.

Post match the Bucks say they want more respect and congratulate Sting and Darby Allin for winning the Tag Team Titles. Sting and Allin are apparently banged up though and the Bucks are thinking of them. That being said, they still want the titles back and they are going to play by the rules to get there.

Video on Tomohiro Ishii.

Mistico vs. Matt Sydal

Sydal offers respect while Menard goes on a rant about how AEW has to fight to feed their families when other companies are invading. Mistico snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor and naturally follows with a dive. Another dive is cut off though and Sydal grabs a bow and arrow. A standing corkscrew backsplash gets two on Mistico and we take a break.

Back with Sydal hitting a jumping knee to the face and an Air Raid Crash gets two. They strike it out with Mistico getting the better of things but Sydal gets his boots up to block a moonsault. Mistico snaps off a powerslam though and they’re both down. They go up top and Mistico grabs a super Spanish Fly for the pin at 8:48.

Rating: C+. They had to give the CMLL guys a few more wins after they’ve lost their big matches to the Blackpool Combat Club. It’s not exactly a huge win but Mistico got to showcase himself a little bit and that’s a good thing to see. I’m still not sure how long this feud can go on, but you can almost guarantee that some AEW stars will wind up in Arena Mexico at some point out of all this.

Brian Cage issues a challenge for a handicap match on Collision to show he’s better than Hook.

Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander vs. Saraya/Ruby Soho

Stokely Hathaway is on commentary and Harley Cameron is at ringside. Soho looks at a note in her pocket on the way to the ring but doesn’t want the others to see it. Statlander headlocks Saraya over to start and nails her with a basement dropkick. Soho comes in and gets armdragged down as Excalibur rapid fires off things coming on Collision.

Nightingale’s fisherman’s suplex gets two on Soho and Statlander runs her over with a shoulder. Some running backsplashes in the corner connect but Saraya pulls Nightingale off the ropes as we take a break. Back with Nightingale hitting a big boot and the double tag bringing in Statlander and Soho.

Statlander’s powerslam gets two as everything breaks down. Saraya knees Statlander down for two but accidentally hits Soho. Statlander is back up to drop Saraya for two and a Blue Thunder Bomb gets the same. Saraya tries to get over to Soho….who drops to the floor and walks out (including decking Cameron on the way). The Babe With The Powerbomb gives Nightingale the pin on Saraya at 10:38 as Soho watches.

Rating: C. This was a match for the sake of an angle and there’s nothing wrong with that. Soho has been having issues with the team for weeks now and the whole note in her pocket should make things more interesting. It’s not like the Outcasts have been doing much in recent weeks anyway so having Soho walk away is the best choice.

Post match Skye Blue comes out to stare down Nightingale and Statlander. Then the lights go out and Julia Hart is next to Blue. The lights go out again and they vanish to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Yeah this was ok. That’s just slightly below average for Rampage as it’s a show that takes an hour, has about one or two things that feel like they might matter and then we move on to the important shows. While it might not be the most important show, it’s the kind of show that you can watch without needing some deep backstory and have a good time. It worked well and goes by quickly, which is a nice change after how intense Dynamite and Collision tend to be.

Results
Kingdom/Roderick Strong b. Orange Cassidy/Rocky Romero/Trent Beretta – End of Heartache to Romero
Young Bucks b. Mondo Rox/Robbie Lit – EVP Trigger to Lit
Mistico b. Matt Sydal – Super Spanish Fly
Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander b. Saraya/Ruby Soho – Babe With The Powerbomb to Saraya

 

 

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Rampage – February 2, 2024: Viva Los Guest Stars

Rampage
Date: February 2, 2024
Location: UNO Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re about a month away from Revolution and the card started to get bigger over the last few days. This week has its own issues though, as we have a mini invasion from CMLL. The four visitors will be facing a group of AEW stars tonight on their way to a showdown with the Blackpool Combat Club next week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Top Flight vs. Private Party

Rematch from last month where Private Party cheated to win and Action Andretti is here with Top Flight. Dante and Quen start things off with Dante taking over and handing it off to Darius. A double leg trip and stereo kicks to the chest set up an assisted DDT for two on Quen. The front facelock keeps Quen in trouble but he dropkicks his way to freedom and brings Zay in.

Zay cleans house and steals a crown from a fan as he takes over on Darius. Andretti tries to come in but gets held back as we take a break. Back with Darius hitting an enziguri and diving over for the tag to Dante so the pace can pick up. Zay fights his way back in though and it’s the Silly String into a shooting star press for two on Dante. Darius cuts Zay off though and Dante’s spinning half nelson slam finishes Quen at 9:53.

Rating: B-. You pretty much know what you’re getting with these teams and that was on display here. They flew around, did their dives and double teaming and then Top Flight won to even the series. Odds are we’ll see a third match here and the winners will move up in the title rankings, but it won’t matter unless one of them is a pretty clear winner.

Sammy Guevara is back and ready to take care of his family, which means he’s coming for Powerhouse Hobbs.

Jeff Jarrett and company are annoyed at Jay Lethal for being late for a workout. Lethal comes in and says he’s ready to go but no one else wants to get in the ring, so Jeff Jarrett says he’s running the meeting next week.

Ricky Starks/Big Bill vs. Dark Order

Non-title and Darby Allin is on commentary. The Dark Order go right after the champs to start and the fans do not like bad things happening to Starks, the hometown boy. A poewrbomb onto raised knees gets two on Starks but Silver gets taken into the wrong corner. That’s broken up and it’s Reynolds coming in to clean house. Bill gets sent outside for some dives but is fine enough to hit a Boss Man Slam back inside. Starks comes back in and gets to clean some house, including the dancing Old School. Roshambo finishes Silver at 5:41.

Rating: C. This was nothing more than a way to get Starks in the ring in front of his hometown crowd for a nice win. It did exactly that and they didn’t waste time in getting there. I’m glad the champs didn’t have much trouble against a team like the Dark Order, who have been presented fairly strongly in the past despite not winning much of anything.

Don Callis and Powerhouse Hobbs don’t think much of Sammy Guevara and promise to take him out like they did to Chris Jericho.

Willow Nightingale vs. Queen Aminata

Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway, the latter reluctantly holding a pro-Willow sign, are here with Nightingale. They fight over a wristlock to start until Nightingale runs her over with a shoulder. Some clotheslines put Aminata down again and a middle rope dropkick sends her outside. The backsplash off the apron misses though and Aminata points at her own head as we take a break. Back with Aminata hitting a running hip attack in the corner for two. Nightingale shrugs it off and hits the Babe With The Powerbomb for the pin at 7:57.

Rating: C. The more I think about Aminata, the less interested I am. She’s been around for several matches in recent weeks, with commentary pointing out how active she has been. The problem with that is we still don’t know much about her. She’s some kind of royalty and she’s from Africa. I’m going to need more than that to go on and she hasn’t shown it yet.

Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends know that the Undisputed Kingdom are about to interrupt them so here is the Undisputed Kingdom to interrupt. A six man is set for next week on Rampage.

The Outcasts interrupt Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway and a match is made for next week.

Matt Menard/Angelo Parker/Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal vs. Volador Jr./Mistico/Mascara Dorada/Hechicero

Dorada and Sydal start things off with Sydal snapping off a running hurricanrana. That doesn’t get him very far so it’s off to Volador to take over on Menard. Mistico and Daniels come in with the former hitting a handspring elbow into a crossbody for two. Daniels bails to the floor for a breather before being taken into the wrong corner back inside.

Dorada’s running shooting star press gets two with Sydal making the save. Back up and Dorada chops away at Daniels in the corner but Menard and Parker come in to clean house. Sydal’s standing moonsault gets two on Dorada and we hit the bow and arrow as we take a break. We come back with Dorada hurricanranaing/kicking his way out of freedom to bring in Hechicero.

The sleeper doesn’t work so well so Hechicero settles for a top rope clothesline. Everything breaks down and Daniels’ Koji Clutch is broken up. Mistico sends Menard and Parker to the floor so Volador can hit a dive. Dorada does the same, leaving Hechicero to roll Daniels up for the pin at 11:28.

Rating: B-. If you call this what it was, which was just a showcase for the luchadors, it went well. It’s certainly not a must see match but the four guys got in there and did their thing well enough. It’s not like they beat anyone of value so this was a perfectly serviceable match. I’m not really expecting the CMLL guys to be the next big thing here, but it was a fine choice to headline the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a “what do you want me to say” show as they had some good enough matches, the main event felt like something more than the rest of the card and some things were set up for next week. As is the case with Rampage, it’s nothing you need to go out of your way to see but it’s a good background noise show. Not a classic, but as usual, it’s hard to get that annoyed at an hour of decent wrestling.

Results
Top Flight b. Private Party – Spinning half nelson slam to Quen
Big Bill/Ricky Starks b. Dark Order – Roshambo to Silver
Willow Nightingale b. Queen Aminata – Babe With The Powerbomb
Volador Jr./Mistico/Mascara Dorada/Hechicero b. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker/Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal – Rollup to Daniels

 

 

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Rampage – October 20, 2023: Load Up The Munsters

Rampage
Date: October 20, 2023
Location: Fort Bend Epicenter, Rosenberg, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We are less than a month away from Full Gear and the card is starting to come together. This week is all about CMLL’s Mistico star though, as he will be facing Rocky Romero in a match for the (unofficial) Pound For Pound Title of Mexico. That alone should be enough to carry the show so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Rocky Romero vs. Mistico

Neither Romero’s CMLL World Historic Welterweight Title or Mistico’s CMLL World Middleweight Title is on the line and this is 2/3 falls. They fight over a lockup to start as commentary talks about an NFL game. Romero takes him up against the ropes to start and they trade Eddie Guerrero dances. A running shoulder puts Mistico down but he’s back up with a Tajiri handspring elbow out to the floor. The big corkscrew dive takes Romero down again and the fans are rather pleased with Mistico. Back in and Mistico ties him up in something like an Octopus on the mat for the fast tap at 2:42.

The second all starts fast as Romero takes him outside for a ram into the steps as Excalibur lists off previous holders of their titles. Back in and Romero goes after Mistico’s mask and we take a break. We come back with Romero hitting some running clotheslines before grabbing a one armed camel clutch. Mistico is back up and snaps off a headscissors before running the corner for an armdrag to the floor.

They slug it out on the apron until Romero snaps off a suplex to take over. The suicide dive sends Mistico sprawling up the ramp and a superplex brings him back inside for two. The two arm camel clutch goes on but Mistico slips out, earning himself a stomp to the back. Sliced Bread gives Romero the pin to tie it up at 9:52 total.

We take another break and come back again with Mistico kicking him to the floor, setting up a big dive off the top. Back in and a springboard spinning crossbody gives Mistico two. A moonsault hits Romero’s raised boots but Mistico snaps off a powerslam for two. Romero is placed on top but he comes back with a super Sliced Bread for a rather near fall. Romero goes up top again, only to get pulled down with a super Spanish Fly for two more. One heck of a running Canadian Destroyer plants Romero and La Mistica makes Romero tap for the win at 18:35.

Rating: B. It was a good match and it did feel special, as commentary was making Mistico seem like one of the biggest stars around. His high flying did look good and at times he came off like a superhero, which seems like something they’re shooting for. On the other hand you have Romero, who can wrestle a good match with anyone and its into these spots when he’s working in the right spot, which was the case here.

We get a face to face talk between Jay Lethal and Eddie Kingston. Lethal pitches his case for a Ring Of Honor World Title shot but Kingston doesn’t say anything. Jeff Jarrett calls him the Bronx B**** but ROH boss Stokely Hathaway (oh yeah that’s a thing) makes Jarrett vs. Kingston. If Jarrett wins, Lethal gets a title match. Works for Kingston, who gets in Jarrrett’s face and talks about how much he knows about Memphis wrestling. He’ll eat Jarrett alive.

John Silver vs. Kip Sabian vs. Brother Zay

For an International Title shot at Battle Of The Belts and there are a bunch of people at ringside. Silver gets knocked outside to start leaving Sabian to get armdragged by Zay. Some right hands in the corner are broken up by Silver, who gets caught by Zay’s dropkick. Zay dives onto Silver but Sabian breaks up another one with a kick to the head. We take a break and come back with Zay firing off some kicks, setting up an Asai moonsault onto Silver.

A springboard flipping Stunner gives Zay two on Sabian but a Twist of Fate is broken up. Silver German suplexes Sabian for two but misses a charge and falls outside. That lets Sabian hit an Arabian moonsault but the seconds get in a fight, allowing Zay to hit a springboard dive. Back in and Zay hits a Swanton on Sabian, only to have Silver kick Zay in the face for the pin at 8:08.

Rating: B-. Good match here with Silver getting the kind of surprising win. It’s a bit hard to imagine Silver being a serious challenger to a singles title but he’s the best choice of these three. They kept the action going here though and it was another entertaining match, thankfully with the seconds not doing much to screw things up.

Video on Mike Santana vs. Ortiz, which will take place next week.

Wheeler Yuta/Claudio Castagnoli vs. Exodus Prime/Bryan Keith

Keith knocks Yuta into the corner to start and unloads with forearms. Yuta isn’t having that and snaps off a German suplex, meaning it’s Castagnoli coming in to clean house. Prime gets gorilla press dropped before Castagnoli goes outside for a running uppercut to Keith. The Swing into the dropkick sets up the Fastball Special to finish Prime at 1:44. Nearly a squash here, though Keith continues to feel like trying more than most people.

The former Jericho Appreciation Society argues again, with Jake Hager storming off. Anna Jay tells them to get it together because they can win the Trios Titles.

The Young Bucks and Hangman Page say they’re the Ring Of Honor Trios Titles (not Six Man, despite the words that can be seen on the belts) and issue an open challenge for Dynamite.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows, including a “dream match” between Andrade El Idolo vs. Bryan Danielson on Collision.

Video on Skye Blue vs. Ruby Soho.

Skye Blue vs. Ruby Soho

Saraya is here with Soho, who takes her into the corner for some chops. Blue gets annoyed and tells her to keep chopping before firing off her own chops. Soho sweeps the leg to put her down and then hits a standing clothesline. Back up and Blue kicks her into the corner, only to charge into an elbow. They fight to the apron where Blue faceplants her down. A knee to Saraya distracts Blue enough for Soho to hit a kick from the apron though and we take a break.

Back with a double clothesline putting them both down, setting up the exchange of forearms. Blue is back up with some running clotheslines and a running knee against the ropes has Soho in more trouble. A kick to the head and a swinging neckbreaker give Blue two each but Saraya grabs the leg for a distraction. Blue has to deal with Saraya and walks into No Future for two. Another No Future is blocked but Saraya hits her with the spray paint can, allowing Soho to get a rollup pin at 10:03.

Rating: C. This wasn’t much to see as Blue’s matches are only so good in the first place and then it didn’t get much better. The ending here was lame as it was just a can to the head rather than a spray. It’s also hard to imagine Soho actually getting anywhere after another win as she never seems to get to the next level, but at least she didn’t lose here.

Post match the beatdown is on but Kris Statlander makes the save but Blue doesn’t want the help to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This started good but then went down in pretty quick fashion. There is only so much you can get out of a bunch of matches that don’t seem to have much to do with major storylines at the moment. Silver getting an International Title shot is the biggest story going here, though the Mistico vs. Romero match was quite good. Check out the first two matches, but then move on to some Munsters or Welcome Back Kotter.

Results
Mistico b. Rocky Romero 2-1
John Silver b. Kip Sabian and Brother Zay – Kick to Zay
Wheeler Yuta/Claudio Castagnoli b. Exodus Prime/Bryan Keith – Fastball Special to Prime
Ruby Soho b. Skye Blue – Rollup

 

 

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