All In 2024
Date: August 25, 2024
Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinnness, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the biggest show of the year and they’re in London for the second time in a row. That alone should make the show feel important but in this case the card is mostly living up to the hype. The main event will see Bryan Danielson challenging Swerve Strickland for the World Title in a title vs. career match, which has all of the makings. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Private Party/Ariya Daivari/Dark Order/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh/Anthony Ogogo vs. Kyle Fletcher/Rocky Romero/Kip Sabian/Tommy Billington/Lio Rush/Action Andretti/Top Flight

Don Callis is on commentary as Billington and Lethal strike it out to start. Sabian and Ogogo come in for a lockup until Sabian hits a dropkick to kick him down. Everything breaks down and we’re left with Singh and Rush for the visual. Rush’s chops to the stomach don’t work so he grabs Singh’s leg, with Singh walking around anyway. Singh isn’t having that and launches Rush over the top and down onto the pile.

Back in and Silver slams Andretti down and chokes on the ropes, allowing Evil Uno (one of the many extras on the floor) throwing the papers ala Brodie Lee. Private Party hit slingshot hilos and Daivari chops him down for two. Andretti handspring elbows his way out of trouble though and it’s back to Sabian to pick up the pace.

Fletcher comes in with a middle rope cutter to Lethal before knocking Singh off the apron. A brainbuster gets two on Reynolds and everything breaks down, meaning it’s time for the dives. Silly String hits Sabian and Gin and Juice makes it worse. Ogogo gets to punch at various people but Darius is back in with a double DDT onto the Order. Dante drops Daivari and hits a frog splash for the pin at 11:36.

Rating: C+. It was an entertaining match but it was such a mess with that many people in there that no one really got to stand out (save for maybe Fletcher). This was the definition of “get a bunch of people on the show”, but it was also the definition of “most of these people don’t mean much and they’re out there in front of a half empty stadium because the show doesn’t start for over an hour”. That’s not exactly a great start and the wide shot of all the empty seats at the start made me feel more sad for them than excited for the show.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Willow Nightingale

The winning team picks the stipulation for Statlander vs. Nightingale next month at All Out. Hathaway is brought to the stage on a sedan, because of course he is. Ishii starts with Hathaway, who isn’t having this and bails out, meaning it’s Nightingale vs. Statlander. Nightingale gets sent into the corner for some shots to the face but comes back with a spinebuster for two.

We pause for some yelling at Hathaway, allowing Statlander to get in some cheap shots to take over. Back up and Nightingale makes the clothesline comeback, only to walk into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Nightingale slips out of a Death Valley Driver and drops a backsplash for two of her own. The double tag brings in the men and for some reason, Hathaway fires off some chops.

This goes as well as you would expect and Ishii runs him over. Statlander comes back in to forearm away at Ishii, allowing Hathaway to actually hit a spinebuster. The fans are rather happy as Ishii pops back up, with Hathaway hammering away in the corner. That doesn’t last long as Nightingale Pounces Statlander, leaving Ishii to hit the sliding lariat for the pin on Hathaway at 8:15.

Rating: C+. This was all about Hathaway and of course he made it work in his limited chances. The bigger story is going to be the stipulation for Nightingale vs. Statlander, which almost has to be either a hardcore match or Nightingale fighting both of them at once. Perfectly fine match here and it would have fit in on any given Rampage.

Zero Hour: Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Von Erichs vs. Kingdom/Cage Of Agony

Kevin Von Erich is here with the good guys and it’s a big brawl in the aisle before the bell. We get a quadruple Shattered Dreams to the villains and, with the referee ok with all of that, it’s the opening bell with Guevara and Kaun starting things off. Guevara quickly clears the ring and stares it down with Cage, who gets dropped with a top rope cutter. Kaun pulls Guevara outside for a whip into the barricade and they head back inside with Guevara caught in the wrong corner.

A backbreaker/springboard elbow drop combination gets two but Taven misses a frog splash. Rhodes comes in to take over and the snap powerslam puts Taven down. We hit the parade of knockdowns as Excalibur can barely keep track of everyone. Taven is back up with the Flight Of The Conqueror so Rhodes teases a dive but dances into a pose instead. Cage tries a running flip dive but mostly misses, leaving Guevara to shooting star onto the pile.

Back in and Cage gets the worst of a Tower Of Doom, leaving Rhodes to hit Cross Rhodes for two on Taven with the Gates making the save. Rhodes gets tossed into a powerbomb for two but Guevara hurricanranas his way out of the same thing. Shibata’s running dropkick hits Bennett in the corner and Marshall’s top rope moonsault gets the same. Rhodes hits Taven with the Final Reckoning and Guevara adds the Swanton so Rhodes can get the pin at 11:03.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what Rhodes has on AEW but he has been the most active guy in the company (and in Ring Of Honor, because that’s a thing as well) for the last few weeks. That being said, Texas Takes England wasn’t the most thrilling story, especially when it came after a tag match with even more people. This was another bunch of people doing stuff until someone got the pin. The Texas guys don’t do anything for me because I’ve seen them more than I could possibly want to recently, but at least it didn’t go that long.

Post match the villains jump them but Kevin Von Erich makes the save, meaning it’s a group claw to get rid of the bad guys.

Here are the Outcasts, with Saraya’s entire family, for her big moment. Harley Cameron says Saraya is mad, with Saraya going into a rant about not being on the show despite being the best British woman ever in wrestling. And cue the returning Jamie Hayter (now with red hair) to march her way to Saraya, with Sweet Saraya (Saraya’s mother) getting in a cheap shot. The younger Saraya escapes, allowing Hayter to take out Cameron and stand tall.

The last nine minutes of the pre-show are spent on the entrances to the opener so the main show can start fast.

Trios Titles: Patriarchy vs. Pac/Blackpool Combat Club vs. House Of Black vs. Bang Bang Gang

The Patriarchy is defending in a ladder match. The bell rings and Cage runs away to start, leaving everyone else to brawl on the floor. That means a table is already set up on the floor but Austin has to cut Matthews down from a climb attempt. A bunch of people go up but get pulled down, with King dropping Pac with a clothesline. Robinson hits a running flip dive off the apron to take out Castagnoli, leaving Matthews to hit a big flip dive over the top.

Pac dives onto all of them but gets caught with What’s Up from the Gunns. King hits the big suicide dive…and here is Cage again. Cage goes up but gets pulled down by King, who takes Cage outside to be surrounded by a mob. That leaves Mother Wayne to go up, with the Gunns cutting her off and talking some sense into her. Killswitch comes in with chokeslams abounding, including one onto a ladder.

Wayne’s World through a table drops King so Luchasaurus goes up, only for Cage to go up at the same time for the sake of getting the glory. That’s broken up as well so it’s Castagnoli getting to wreck the Gunns. There’s the Swing to Robinson but the Gunns make the save, meaning it’s time for the tables. A bunch of people go up and crash through said tables, leaving Robinson to pull Black off the ladder. Wayne goes up and gets knocked hard through another table so let’s bring in the really big ladder, which is grazing against the bottom of the titles.

Pac goes up but gets pulled back down as Mother Wayne passes something off to Cage. That would be a spray of some kind, which goes into Yuta’s eyes to bring him off the ladder. Cage puts a ladder onto him and unloads with a chair but Robinson blocks Mother Wayne’s spray and sprays her instead. Luchasaurus knocks Robinson through a table, leaving Cage and Matthews to go up a pair of ladders. Cage spears him down through a table but might have hurt his own head in the process. Luchasaurus picks Cage up and climbs but Pac goes up as well and kicks Cage down. Pac gets the titles at 19:10.

Rating: B. Well that was a ladder match with a bunch of weapons and even more people involved. It’s something that has been done time after time and while it can be fun, it’s not something I’m going to get excited to see. This would also be the case with a thrown together team winning the titles. I’m sure it’s to get a British champion on there, but there are going to be more than a few on here without doing this title change.

We recap Mariah May challenging Toni Storm for the Women’s Title. May was Storm’s understudy but then won the Owen Hart Tournament to earn the shot and violently attacked Storm. Now Storm is being serious for the first time in a good while and wants revenge.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Mariah May

Storm is defending and has Luther with her. They glare at each other and argue to start before slugging it out. May Day and Storm Zero are both broken up so May dropkicks her into the corner. They chop it out until Storm grabs a DDT, with the fans approving. Storm misses a running hip attack in the ropes and gets powerbombed out onto the floor for a nasty landing.

Back in and May hits a running dropkick, followed by Stratusphere for two. Storm fights up from a slap and hammers away, only to get suplexed back down. May even goes outside and dropkicks Luther, which is just not that nice. To make it even worse, May slaps HER OWN MOTHER (in the crowd) but the delay lets Storm hit Storm Zero onto the steps. Storm goes over to hug May’s mother and now May is busted open.

Back in (because the champ’s piledriver onto the steps barely keeps May down for a minute) and Storm throws her around, including a chokebomb for two. May kicks her in the head and hits a bunch of hip attacks but the big one takes too long. Storm is back up and hits her own hip attack, setting up Storm Zero for two.

May goes after the fingers and kicks Storm low before stereo headbutts leave them both down. Back up and May Day gets two so it’s time to grab the title, with Luther pulling it away. Instead May grabs the bloody shoe but Storm takes it away..and can’t bring herself to hit May, who rolls her up for two. May knees her in the face, kisses Storm on the head, and hits Storm Zero for the pin and the title at 15:11.

Rating: B. That was the only result that made sense as Storm’s time as champion had come and gone. It was a hard hitting fight with Storm wanting revenge but coming up short, which is how it should have gone. It wouldn’t shock me to see Storm go a bit more back to normal now, as she can only go so much nuttier. Good stuff here, which overcame a bit of a weak build.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Hook for the FTW Title. Jericho has already beaten Hook but has had to jump through hoops to get another shot at him.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is defending and gets played to the ring by Fozzy. It’s FTW Rules so the Learning Tree gets in and beats Hook down to start. The Codebreaker connects for one but Hook is back up with a German suplex. Jericho drops him again and hits the Lionsault for two, meaning it’s weapons time. That takes too long so Hook grabs another suplex and pulls out a cricket bat. Hook even grabs some cricket balls and hits them at Jericho but Keith comes in with a trashcan lid.

The Walls are broken up so Hook grabs his own version, only to have Bill make the save. They go outside with Keith setting up a barbed wire board on another table. Hook slips out of a chokeslam but Jericho goes after the good eye to blind him again. One heck of a trashcan shot puts Hook down but the Judas Effect is countered into a t-bone suplex, allowing Hook to reveal that his patched eye has healed and he could really see (Remember when Jericho blinded Jon Moxley and Moxley wore an eyepatch but then Moxley revealed he could really see during their match? Just a random thought.).

Redrum goes on with Bill making the save, only to have Jericho accidentally knock him into the barbed wire board. Keith gets up for a cheap shot, which FINALLY draws Taz off commentary to Tazmission Keith down. Redrum makes Jericho tap and gives Hook the title back at 10:11.

Rating: C+. And that should be it for these two. Hook gets his (latest) win over Jericho and Jericho gets to…well probably move on to a bigger feud because he has to be involved in something important every week. For now though, it’s a feel good moment and that’s all it needed to be.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. The Acclaimed and FTR both want the Young Bucks’ titles but since the Bucks almost never defend them, we have both of them getting a shot at once.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. FTR vs. Acclaimed

The Bucks are defending and Caster rushes through his rap, possibly due to nerves. Harwood works on the arm to start but FTR and the Acclaimed get in a shoving match, all while the Bucks approve. The Bucks do come in but are quickly dispatched, leaving Wheeler to get caught in a Scissor Me Timbers attempt. That takes too long though and Nick makes the save, setting up an assisted standing Sliced Bread to Wheeler. Matt grabs a chinlock for a bit before Wheeler fights up and hands it off to Bowens to pick up the pace.

Now Scissor Me Timbers can hit Nick and we pause for some scissoring. Harwood is back in with the German suplexes, including one to both Bucks at once. The PowerPlex only hits raised knees but so does Nick’s 450. The Tony Khan Driver is broken up as well though with Nick being shoved into a moonsault onto the Acclaimed. Matt walks into the Shatter Machine but Nick pulls the referee out.

Back up and Matt hits a tornado DDT to plant Bowens on the floor, leaving Matt and Caster to hit a VIP Trigger to Harwood. Wheeler makes a save but gets sent outside, leaving the Acclaimed to load up Nick. Matt makes the save with a low blow and it’s time for the superkicks. That’s not enough for Matt, who grabs a title, earning himself a Fameasser from Billy Gunn. The Arrival connects but Nick makes the save. Harwood rolls Nick up for two but gets belt shotted for two. The EVP Trigger to Harwood is enough for the pin to retain the titles at 13:21.

Rating: B-. It was a good match but not top level stuff. The Bucks getting their win back in Wembley wasn’t exactly shocking and now we get to find out who they’ll defend against, maybe by Halloween or so. The story coming in wasn’t overly exciting and it dragged things down a bit, though I do appreciate them not going crazy long, which just wasn’t needed.

Post match the Grizzled Young Veterans come in for a staredown with the Young Bucks, who leave instead. Heaven forbid we get that match here of course, because we needed to repeat the previous combinations instead.

Casino Gauntlet Match

This is a 21 person gauntlet match with staggered entrances, but the fall can happen at any time, even if it is only the first two entrants. The winner gets a World Title shot at any time (basically MITB). Orange Cassidy is in at #1 and Kazuchika Okada is in at #2. Okada doesn’t seem worried so Cassidy dropkicks him down into the nip up. NIGEL MCGUINNESS is in at #3 and the fans go coconuts, especially as he and Okada go with the grappling. Nigel takes Okada down and it’s Kyle O’Reilly in at #4.

O’Reilly ties up Okada’s arm but gets caught in an armbar from Nigel at the same time. Cassidy is back in with a Stundog Millionaire and Zack Sabre Jr. is in at #5. We get the Nigel vs. Sabre showdown and the fans are VERY pleased. They go with the grappling before trading rollups for two each until Okada takes Nigel’s place. Sabre gets in a weird neck crank but Okada slips out and hits the top rope elbow. Back up and Sabre goes for the leg but Roderick Strong is in at #6.

Strong’s entrance takes so long that Mark Briscoe is in at #7 by the time he gets to do anything. House is quickly cleaned and it’s Hangman Page in at #8. Clotheslines abound and it’s Jeff Jarrett in at #9. We get the strut before Jarrett gets to hammer on Page in the corner. Page breaks that up and powerbombs Jarrett onto a pile as Ricochet makes his debut at #10. Ricochet starts firing off the kicks and goes to the floor to hammer on Page. Christian Cage limps in at #11 but Ricochet cuts him off.

Okada dropkicks Page, who fights back and loads up the Buckshot Lariat. That’s broken up with a guitar shot, leaving Okada to Rainmaker Jarrett. Cassidy is back up to clean house until he walks into End Of Heartache. Briscoe is in to wreck everyone until he accidentally helps Nigel hit the Tower of London (hanging Stunner) on Sabre. Cage drops Nigel though and it’s Luchasaurus in at #12. He starts firing off the chokeslams, including one to O’Reilly, with Cage stealing the pin at 25:50.

Rating: B. They were rocking here for a bit before a kind of downer ending. Cage being added to the match and stealing it in the end felt like something out of Unforgiven 2008 with a banged up Chris Jericho winning the World Title. That being said, the good stuff here more than outweighed the bad, with Nigel being a crazy great surprise and Ricochet being a cool moment. I liked this, but make it an annual PPV event, as this is the third time we’ve sen it this year.

We recap MJF defending the American Title against Will Ospreay. MJF beat Ospreay in a match that went about an hour via some cheating and now Ospreay wants the title back.

American Title: Will Ospreay vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending and comes out dressed as Uncle Sam, while Ospreay gets an Assassin’s Creed entrance. Just to make it worse, MJF has a big American flag come down from the rafters, which Taz calls “heat”. They slug it out to start with Ospreay getting the better of things to send him outside. That means a Sasuke Special to drop MJF, who is right back with a running boot against the barricade. Back in and Ospreay can’t hit the Oscutter so they trade rollups for two each.

MJF powerbombs him onto the knee and adds a Kangaroo Kick. That means we get a hip swivel but Ospreay is back up with an enziguri for two. A skytwister press gets two and MJF heads outside, where he catches Ospreay’s dive in a Tombstone on the floor. Ospreay is back on his feet 51 seconds later and catches MJF’s Moonsault in a Spanish Fly. Back in and MJF is draped over the top for a shooting star to the back for two more.

Stormbreaker is countered into Cross Rhodes for two, only for Ospreay to come back with the Oscutter for the same. MJF hits a quick piledriver for two more but has to counter Stormbreaker into a discus forearm. He takes too long to follow up though and walks into the Stormbreaker for two. The Hidden Blade is loaded up but MJF rolls out to the apron instead. The Oscutter misses as Ospreay only hits mat in a nasty crash. A Canadian Destroyer on the apron knocks Ospreay even sillier, to the point where he collapses before MJF can try a Hidden Blade.

The Heatseeker is blocked and NOW the Oscutter on the apron connects. The crash takes out a production crew member though and Ospreay goes to check on him, allowing MJF to grab the title. Ospreay superkicks MJF and goes after him again, only to bump the referee. MJF hits him low and loads up another shot but a man in black jumps up to cut him off. It’s Daniel Garcia, with MJF threatening him as he leaves. The running forearm drops MJF and the Tiger Driver 91 gives Ospreay the title back at 25:36.

Rating: B. This got going and turned into a showdown, with Garcia being a fine way to go. It was either going to be him or Adam Cole and while I’m not a Garcia fan, I’d rather they go with him over reheating Cole vs. MJF. The match was the kind of hard hitting special that works well for Ospreay, though MJF better be out of action for the better part of ever after all the hype the Tiger Driver 91 received. I know he won’t be, but that’s how he should be after the story they were telling.

Post match Christopher Daniels presents Ospreay with the International Title as the America’s Title goes away.

We recap Britt Baker challenging Mercedes Mone for the TBS Title. Mone is the dominant champion but Baker is back to get into the title hunt again.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Britt Baker

Mone, with Kamille, is defending and comes to the ring in a carriage with her corgis. They run the ropes to start until Mone hits a dropkick but Baker is back up to knock her to the floor. Kamille catches her though and Mone poses with the title as a villain should. Back in and it’s too early for the Lockjaw so Baker settles for a superkick. Kamille offers a distraction though and Mone grabs a backbreaker onto the turnbuckle for two.

Another backbreaker keeps Baker in trouble but she fights up. A kick to the back cuts her off and Banks grabs Three Amigos. Baker fights up again and takes Mone up, only to get slammed down from the middle rope for a nasty crash. Back up and Baker tries a stomp but gets countered into a powerbomb. A quick cutter drops Mone but she goes to the back again for some near falls. Mone loads up…something, only to be reversed into the Air Raid Crash for two.

They go up top and Mone tries another slam, which is reversed into a wicked super powerslam to give Baker two more. Mone tries a belt shot but gets caught, allowing Kamille to tease one, only for Baker to drop down, Eddie Guerrero style. Kamille is ejected and the Panama Sunrise hits Mone for two. Lockjaw goes on but Mone bites the fingers and grabs the Mone Maker to retain at retain the title at 17:20.

Rating: C+. This went long and it hurt things a lot, as they could have wrapped it up about five minutes earlier. As usual, Mone is much more about the sizzle and setup than the match itself, though she was doing well here. Just find a finisher that doesn’t look terrible all the time and she’ll be in a much better place. I’m not sure what is next for Baker, but she could use a win in a good feud. Maybe Deonna Purrazzo?

We recap Darby Allin challenging Jack Perry for the TNT Title. Allin doesn’t like how Perry was handed the title and since Perry is the Most Interesting Wrestler Ever, he wants it to be a Coffin Match.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Jack Perry

Allin is challenging in a Coffin Match and goes after Perry with a chair to start. They go to the floor with Perry being sat in the chair for a dive, meaning it’s time for the coffin. Perry cuts off a dive though and it’s already time for a bag of broken glass. The fans sing CRY ME A RIVER so Perry swears at them, only for Allin to drive a skateboard into his back, sending him into the glass.

They go outside with Allin hitting a dive, only to get rammed into the coffin. Now it’s time to go up the ramp and Allin gets thrown off the stage and through a table. Perry throws him into a bodybag and carries him back to the ring….where Allin is thrown into the coffin. A running knee is enough to knock Allin out and retain the title at 10:35.

Rating: C+. Well, there’s your Jack Perry win over someone who is more interesting and better than him. It’s not exactly a shock and Allin is on the way to bigger things with the World Title shot at Grand Slam, but as usual, this felt more about Perry and….yeah it’s still the same guy. The tough guy thing isn’t working for him and they had to get the glass spot in, which might not be the most lucrative call back.

Post match the Young Bucks come out to light the casket on fire…..but STING returns for the save. Perry chairs him in the back for no effect so Perry runs off, leaving Sting to lay the Bucks out. Then Allin is helped out of the coffin to pose, which doesn’t exactly make Perry look like a killer. Granted that might be minor to having a 62 year old retired legend take out the top heel stable on his own.

We recap the AEW World Title match with Swerve Strickland defending against Bryan Danielson. That’s not big enough so Danielson, whose neck is held together by paper clips and a dream, is putting his career on the line.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Bryan Danielson

Swerve is defending and gets rapped to the ring. After the Big Match Intros, Danielson chops away to start but gets taken down by the arm, allowing Swerve to glare at Danielson’s family in the crowd. Back up and Danielson goes to the arm but it’s too early for the LeBell Lock attempt. Swerve misses a dive so Danielson is up with a springboard flip dive to take him down on the floor.

Back in and Danielson starts in on the arm, which is fine enough for Swerve to grab a suplex. The confidence starts to pick up as Swerve knocks him into the corner. Swerve heads outside but gets caught in a triangle choke over the ropes. Back up and Swerve tries a Death Valley Driver, with the referee getting knocked down. That lets Prince Nana slide in the title, with the Driver onto the belt knocking Danielson silly and busting him open in the process.

Swerve asks why we have to do this when Danielson’s family is watching, though he’s fine enough to hit a middle rope elbow to the back. They head back outside where Swerve stomps at the bloody Danielson and then yells at Danielson’s family. The Swerve Stomp misses though and Danielson pulls him into an STF.

That’s broken up but Danielson is right back with a clothesline for the double knockdown. The Cattle Mutilation is broken up so Danielson settles for the YES Kicks. A tiger superplex drops Swerve again and we hit the Cattle Mutilation again. This time Swerve powers out and hits a Vertebreaker for the big, scary crash. That’s enough to pause for the medical team to come in and check on Danielson but deem him ok to continue.

The Swerve Stomp gets two so Swerve hits back to back House Calls…for two more. Swerve is stunned as Danielson gets up and strikes away, setting up a triangle choke. After we cut to Danielson’s daughter not watching the match, Danielson suplexes Swerve down and hits the running knee…which Swerve brushes off. Another House call drops Danielson and the JML Driver gets two.

Swerve loads up his own running knee but cue Hangman Page for a distraction. That’s enough for Danielson to hit the running knee for two, with Nana almost diving in for the save. They slug it out until Swerve tries a roll but gets kneed down. Another running knee to the back sets up the LeBell Lock but Swerve powers out, only to get pulled into a Rings of Saturn variant for the tap at 25:45.

Rating: A-. They did a good job here of making me wonder how it was going to end and that’s a nice feeling. When in doubt, going for a feel good Danielson win is as safe of a moment as you can have and it worked here. It felt like the last hurrah of a legendary career and while he probably won’t hold the title for very long, he had one last great one (so far). Strickland can move back into the Page feud, and thankfully the interference didn’t lead directly to the ending. Heck of a main event and it felt important, which is how a match of this magnitude should go.

Danielson’s family gets in the ring to celebrate, with the Blackpool Combat Club (and Pac) joining them to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The matches that needed to deliver did so and they nailed the big happy ending. There were some weaker parts, such as the Coffin Match, Baker vs. Mone and Hook vs. Jericho, plus having SO MANY PEOPLE on the show, but the good stuff was more than enough to make this work. It’s absolutely AEW’s biggest event of the year and they worked out some of the kinks from last time, with a show that not only felt big but was better. Rather solid stuff here, and if they can leave some of the people alone next time, it could be even stronger. Heck of a show, with the big feeling taking it higher.

Results
Private Party/Ariya Daivari/Dark Order/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh/Anthony Ogogo b. Kyle Fletcher/Rocky Romero/Kip Sabian/Tommy Billington/Lio Rush/Action Andretti/Top Flight – Frog splash to Daivari
Willow Nightingale/Tomohiro Ishii b. Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway – Sliding lariat to Hathaway
Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Von Erichs/Katsuyori Shibata b. Cage Of Agony/Kingdom – Swanton to Taven
Pac/Blackpool Combat Club b. Patriarchy, House Of Black and Bang Bang Gang – Pac pulled down the titles
Mariah May b. Toni Storm – Storm Zero
Hook b. Chris Jericho – Redrum
Young Bucks b. FTR and Acclaimed – EVP Trigger to Harwood
Christian Cage won the Casino Gauntlet – Chokeslam to O’Reilly
Will Ospreay b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Tiger Driver 91
Mercedes Mone b. Britt Baker – Mone Maker
Jack Perry b. Darby Allin – Perry put Allin in the coffin
Bryan Danielson b. Swerve Strickland – LeBell Lock

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This is the biggest AEW show of the year, if nothing due to the outstanding atmosphere. Last year’s edition looked like a Wrestlemania level event and that is a hard trick to pull off. The crowd is going to be a bit smaller this time, but the card is feeling a bit bigger. It’s not exactly perfect, but I’m curious enough to see what we’ll be getting on this size of a stage. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway vs. Willow Nightingale/Tomohiro Ishii

This is part of the long running Statlander vs. Nightingale feud and the winning team gets to name the stipulation for their match next month at All Out. That could make things interesting here as it could go either way. You could have Nightingale pick a match where she can get revenge, or you could have Statlander pick a match where she is a heavy favorite. Either way it likely winds up being some kind of a hardcore match, but how do we get there?

I’ll go with Statlander and Hathaway winning here, as Ishii can torment Hathaway without getting the win. This feels like a way for Hathaway to steal a pin on Nightingale for some humiliation before she comes back and gets revenge on both of them next time. The Hathaway stuff should be funny, but he and Statlander win to stack the beck against Nightingale in the blowoff.

Zero Hour: Dustin Rhodes/Von Erichs/Katsuyori Shibata/Sammy Guevara vs. Kingdom/Cage Of Agony

And here is your “we’re just throwing stuff out there” match, as Dustin Rhodes and the Von Erichs apparently must be on EVERY POSSIBLE SHOW. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m not a fan of how much they’ve been around, just because I’m tired of seeing them over and over. The match will be the Ring Of Honor showcase, which just has to happen because reasons, even if I’m not sure how much interest Ring Of Honor could possibly have.

There is zero reason to believe that the villains will win here as Texas gets to annex England once and for all. The cage Of Agony could not be treated as bigger loses and I can’t imagine the Kingdom gets a win on a stage like this. It feels like another big thank you to Rhodes, because apparently being a double champion in his late 50s while having him appear more than he has in years just isn’t enough. But yeah, the good guys win.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks(c) vs. FTR vs. Acclaimed

This is the closest thing to a rematch that we have from last year, as the Bucks manage to have their second title defense in four months as champions. It doesn’t help that FTR doesn’t have much of a claim to a title match and the Bucks could not be more ice cold if they moved into a freezer. On top of that, the Acclaimed isn’t exactly on fire either, and that leaves one option.

I’ll take the Bucks to win here as they get their win back after putting FTR over last year. It’s not a result that needs to happen, but for some reason AEW seems to think that there is something to the Bucks as some o the top heels in the company. This isn’t something I’m looking forward to, making it rather similar to most of what the Bucks have been doing during their title reign.

Trios Titles: Patriarchy(c) vs. Bang Bang Gang vs. House Of Black vs. Pac/Blackpool Combat Club

This is a ladder match, marking the third ladder match on pay per view out of five shows this year. As usual, I would wonder what would happen if any other gimmick was used that much, but that’s another problem. The other issue here is THAT’S A LOT OF PEOPLE in one match, especially when Pac and the Club are pretty clearly there because they have nothing else going on.

That being said, I’ll go with the Patriarchy to retain here, as there is little reason for it to go another way. Christian Cage has been great in his role and it would be a shame for them to lose the titles so soon. The Gang and the House have both held the titles recently enough, leaving either the champs to retain or the makeshift team to win. Either is possible, but I’ll hope for some sanity with the Patriarchy holding the belts.

FTW Title: Chris Jericho(c) vs. Hook

Remember when Ricky Starks beat Jericho and then had to jump through a bunch of hoops to get his rematch so he could do it again? That’s exactly what we have again here and somehow it’s even less interesting. I know Jericho has some defenders (mainly himself) but it’s really not working for me so far. There is a really good chance that this wraps up the feud and we move on to Jericho doing something even bigger, because that’s just kind of how Jericho rolls in AEW.

I’ll go with Hook getting the big win here, which he certainly needs more than Jericho. At the same time, I don’t expect Jericho to be downgraded whatsoever after the match while Hook continues to do the same stuff he’s been doing for months. This whole feud has felt like such a waste of time but I guess the idea is Jericho puts Hook over on the big stage in the end. It doesn’t make up for everything, but it’s better than nothing.

TNT Title: Jack Perry(c) vs. Darby Allin

Why does Perry want this to be a Coffin Match? Other than trying to be the cool heel that he SO CLEARLY ALREADY IS (because Perry is obviously the most amazing heel ever), why would he want that stipulation? On top of that, the bigger question is whether or not Perry will make a glass reference, because that is the kind of thing that can’t be let go no matter what happens.

Normally I would go Allin here but he seems to have bigger fish to fry with the World Title match in about a month at Grand Slam. Allin can lose via some shenanigans here, or perhaps by doing something really stupid to cost him the match, but odds are Perry wins. For reasons I still can’t fathom, AEW sees something special in him and odds are here gets a big win here.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Mariah May

This is one of the more personal feuds on the show but unfortunately it reached its peak about a month ago and now they are limping to the finish. Storm has held the title for what feels like forever and May seems ready to move into the spotlight, but other than that big attack, they haven’t really done much that makes me want to see them fight. It should be intense, especially if Storm is playing it more straight, but I’m not sure how much they can do.

This is May’s to win as there is no reason to keep the title on Storm after everything she has already done as champion. May has a good bit of star power and deserves the win, while Storm can move on to….I have no idea actually, but she’ll probably be gone for a bit before she gets there. I can’t imagine May losing here as there is no reason for her to, so we’ll say the title changes hands.

Casino Gauntlet

I’m not sure what to do here as I don’t know most of the people in the match. The one thing I do know is that the rules have apparently been changed to make this more or less Money In The Bank, because THAT is something AEW needs. We only know a handful of the people involved, but there is one name that stands out above the rest and seems to be a likely candidate.

In short, this has to be Hangman Page right? He is the bigger singles star (in AEW) of the Elite/their associates and it wouldn’t shock me to see him winning here to have a chance at stealing the World Title from Swerve Strickland. While there is a chance that he does it to end the show, I’ll assume he saves it for later, meaning he has to win it first, which is what we’ll go with here.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone(c) vs. Britt Baker

This has been an interesting feud in the last few weeks, even if the match itself might not have the most drama. Mone is still treated as one of the biggest stars in the company and certainly in the women’s division but Baker is one of the most successful women AEW has ever seen. That makes for a more interesting match and it certainly feels big, which is exactly what this needs to be.

That being said, there is almost no way that Mone is going to lose the title so far. Mone hasn’t exactly hit the ground running so far in AEW and needs a major win. That is exactly what she can do here, perhaps with an assist from Kamille. What matters the most here though is that she gets the win over Baker, who can move on to something else after the loss. Money on the other hand gets to keep telling us how big of a star she is while actually having a win to back it up so….progress?

American Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Will Ospreay

On paper, this should be one of the easiest matches on the card, but the fact that I’m not sure about the result has me wondering. While Ospreay winning the title seems like the obvious way to go, he’s in there against someone who is on another level in MJF. There is a chance that MJF does retain through some shenanigans, but it is almost hard to fathom Ospreay losing another major pay per view match.

I’ll go with the safe pick here and say Ospreay gets the title back here in front of his home country crowd, as it makes a lot more sense. At the end of the day, this one could go either way but one of the ways fits a lot better than the other. Ospreay is near the top of the popularity charts in AEW and a big win could move him up to an even higher level, which would be quite the accomplishment.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland(c) vs. Bryan Danielson

Now we have what is starting to feel like a big main event as it’s title vs. career, even if Strickland has gone from a pretty likable face over the summer into a full on villain again seemingly overnight. While it would seem that Danielson winning for the big feel good moment would be the way to go, his neck and overall health is just enough to make me wonder if things are going in another way. That’s a good trick to pull off and AEW has managed to do it.

That being said, I don’t think I can go with the idea of Danielson losing again, so we’ll say he gets the World Title in the big moment. There is almost no chance he keeps it long (I’ve got Nigel McGuinness costing him the title at Grand Slam, setting up Danielson’s retirement match with McGuinness at WrestleDream) but that has never stopped a great moment before. Danielson wins the title here, as he absolutely should.

Overall Thoughts

The more I think about this show, the more I’m talking myself into being excited about it. There are some problems with the card (WAY too many people being one of them), but the idea of Danielson having one more major World Title win is a good way to go. This week’s Dynamite did a lot of good for the show and if they can live up to the hype, we could be in for something strong, but more importantly, special.

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Collision
Date: August 24, 2024
Location: Utilita Arena, Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the European debut for the show and that means we should be in for some good stuff. At the same time, it’s the day before All In and even though most of the card is set, there is still a spot to be filled in the four team ladder match for the Trios Titles. Throw in the final push towards the show and we could be in for a good one here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Conglomeration vs. Undisputed Kingdom

Tomohiro Ishii is on commentary. Briscoe and Bennett start things off by trading chops before it’s off to O’Reilly for a kick to the face. O’Reilly and Strong strike it out with O’Reilly getting the better of it again, meaning it’s off to Taven so O’Reilly can beat up two people at once. Cassidy comes in for the lazy kicks and a double hurricanrana to the Kingdom, followed by a toss into a tornado DDT to Bennett.

Back up and Bennett’s Hail Mary is blocked but Cassidy gets sent into the corner to put him in trouble for a change. That doesn’t last long as Cassidy escapes a sunset flip and hands it off to Briscoe as everything breaks down. Cassidy dives onto Strong but Taven dives onto both of them. Bennett moves the chair to prevent Briscoe’s dive but puts it back so Strong can slam Briscoe onto it. We take a break and come back with Briscoe in trouble and Strong mocking the hands in the pockets, which draws in an irate (well as irate as he gets) Cassidy.

Not that it matters as Briscoe gets over for the tag off to O’Reilly, who gets to wreck the whole team at once again. Bennett’s leg gets dragon screwed over the ropes and it’s the Froggy Boy into the lazy elbow for two with Taven making the save. Everything breaks down again and Bennett Death Valley Drivers O’Reilly for two.

A Rock Bottom backbreaker gives Strong two on O’Reilly but the Conglomeration all grab stereo holds. Those are broken up at the same time and everyone is down in a heap. Strong backbreaker O’Reilly but gets caught with Cassidy’s top rope DDT. NOW Briscoe can get the chair and there’s the big step up dive onto the pile at ringside. O’Reilly guillotines Taven for the win at 15:23.

Rating: B+. This was a blast with everyone doing a bunch of stuff, but O’Reilly was the absolute star. He wrecked the villains multiple times and felt almost unstoppable, which is quite the performance. I’m not sure how much of a preview this was for the Casino Gauntlet, but I had a really good time with this as they got a lot into and out of the opener. This doesn’t include Ishii, who didn’t say a word as far as I could tell. He did however sneer a lot, as is his custom.

Video on the Trios Title situation, which naturally set up a four team ladder match for the titles, even though the story had been about three teams and one more is being added for the sole purpose of putting more people in the match.

Willow Nightingale vs. Harley Cameron

Ishii is still on commentary as Cameron chokes (and screams) in the corner to start. Nightingale fights out of that and hits a running shoulder in the corner, followed by some rapid fire clotheslines. A Russian legsweep gives Cameron two and an elbow to the face is good for the same. Eat Defeat and a running knee give Cameron two more and she drives some elbows into the neck. Nightingale gets fired up and hits a quick Babe With The Powerbomb for the pin (it’s as sudden as it sounds) for the pin at 4:11.

Rating: C+. Cameron got to do some stuff here but this was about getting Nightingale ready for her tag match tomorrow. There’s nothing wrong with giving her a nice boost like this and the match didn’t overstay its welcome. I could see Cameron eventually evolving into a bigger deal, but she’s not there yet.

Private Party are the official emcees for All In. I have no idea why that is necessary.

Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara issue an open challenge for All In. They’re also bringing the Von Erichs and Katsuyori Shibata. I have no idea why that is necessary.

Jay Lethal vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Both of their usual friends are here too. They fight over arm control to start and Lethal has to go to the ropes for the early clean break. Back up and Shibata goes right back to the arm, only to get taken down for the basement dropkick. Lethal starts going for the leg but the Figure Four is broken up, allowing Shibata to go right back to the arm.

We take a break and come back with Lethal putting on a Figure Four, sending Shibata to the ropes this time. The Lethal Combination drops Shibata again but Hail To The King is countered into a quickly broken cross armbreaker. Back up and Shibata suplexes him for two and it’s time to strike it out. Shibata grabs the claw (as taught to him by the Von Erichs) and pulls him into the cross armbreaker for the win at 9:49.

Rating: B-. This is one of those matches was going to work because of who was involved and that is a nice thing to see. Lethal is someone else who can be put out there with anyone for at least a passable match. If you put someone as good as Shibata in there with him, it wound up being all the better for a nice TV match.

Post match everyone else gets in and Shibata offers Lethal a handshake, which he eventually accepts.

Video on Will Osprey vs. MJF.

We go to Create A Pro Wrestling Academy where Kris Statlander trains Stokely Hathaway, who does surprisingly well.

Stokely Hathaway/Kris Statlander vs. Nina Samuels/Kid Lykos 2

Statlander runs them both over to start and gives Lykos a Babe With The Powerbomb. Hathaway gets dropped onto Lykos for the pin at 58 seconds.

Post match Hathaway calls that a preview for tomorrow at All In.

Ben Mankiewicz narrates a video on Toni Storm vs. Mariah May, explaining May being something of an understudy who was never quite accepted. Then May won the Owen Hart Tournament and attacked Storm, setting up the personal title match.

Hook vs. Big Bill

Chris Jericho and Bryan Keith here with Bill and the fans don’t seem overly thrilled with Hook. Jericho even joins commentary as Bill throws him out on the corner to take over fast. Hook gets beaten down into the corner and Bill goes after the bandaged eye. A big boot sends Hook to the floor and we take a break. Back with the fans going a bit nuts over Bill, who grabs a bearhug.

With that broken up, Bill hammers away and the fans start slapping the barricade so loudly that I thought it was someone’s music in a run-in. Hook fights up and low bridges him to the floor before hammering away in the corner. A northern lights suplex drops Bill but he grabs a Hook by the throat (to a MONSTER reaction). That’s broken up but Hook slaps on Redrum out of the corner for the tap at 10:47.

Rating: C+. The match itself was just kind of there, but this was ALL about the absolutely incredible reaction to Bill. It must be one of those things where a wrestler can be over in a certain place and it would suggest that Bill should move to Wales as soon as possible. That was one of the most ridiculously positive receptions I’ve ever seen and it was a sight to behold.

Video on Jack Perry vs. Darby Allin for the TNT Title.

We look at the Bryan Danielson/Swerve Strickland showdown from Dynamite, with Danielson dropping Strickland to end the show.

Ariya Daivari vs. Jeff Jarrett

Karen Jarrett is here with Jeff. The fans sing for Jeff to get things even more hyped up, meaning the pose off is rather one sided. Daivari knocks him down and does the Fargo Strut before hitting a running shoulder. Back up and a hiptoss lets Daivari strut for the third time but Jarrett sends him hard into the buckle. Jarrett knocks him to the floor and teases a strut of his own (BIG pop) and we take a break.

We come back with the fight on the floor and Jarrett sending him into various hard objects. They do Jarrett’s signature sleeper exchange sequence until Jarrett rams him into the corner to break it up. A Russian legsweep gives Jarrett two and an enziguri sets up the running crotch attack against the ropes. NOW we get the real strut, with the fans coming to their feet in a cool moment. The Figure Four is blocked but Jarrett hits the Stroke for the pin at 9:54.

Rating: C+. This was similar to the previous match as the wrestling was just ok, but the fans carried this to a much more entertaining level. The fans were absolutely insane for Jarrett here and the reaction to the Stroke was great. I’m not a big Jarrett fan but he clearly loved this, as he did his basic stuff but the fans were way into it, mainly due to him being an actual legend. This was a lot of fun.

Video on Hologram.

All In rundown, with the Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara challenge now a ten man tag, because of course it is.

Lio Rush/Top Flight vs. Pac/Blackpool Combat Club

For the final spot in the four way ladder match for the Trios Titles at All In. Darius grabs a cravate on Yuta to start but gets pulled into a quickly broken bow and arrow. Back up and a dropkick staggers Yuta and it’s off to Pac, who misses a charge at Dante. Pac gets in his own flips as well so it’s off to Rush vs. Castagnoli. Rush tries his own Swing, which is broken up just as quickly and Castagnoli gets triple teamed down into the corner.

We take a break and come back with Yuta in control on Darius and knocking Top Flight off the apron. Darius fights up and hands it back to Dante to pick up the pace, including some kicks to the head. Rush adds a bottom rope Asai moonsault to Pac for two back inside as commentary just kind of stops for a few seconds. Yuta grabs a nasty German suplex on Dante and Rush kicks Castagnoli in the head. Pac is back up with an overhead German suplex to Rush but a series of splashes hit Pac for two. Dante hits a dive but Castagnoli cuts off one from Rush, setting up the Black Arrow to give Pac the pin at 12:58.

Rating: B. This was another action packed match and that’s all it needed to be. While I could go for a regular team being in the ladder match (or the ladder match not having four teams, or ladders for that matter), I do like getting some of these people on the show. At least they got there after very fast paced match as well.

Post match here is Christian Cage, with Mother Wayne, to mock the Welsh fans’ accents. The distraction lets the Patriarchy come in with chairs for the beatdown, only for the Bang Bang Gang to come in and whip out some tables. Then the lights go out and the House Of Black come in, leaving all nine of the challengers to brawl while the Patriarchy leaves. Sweet goodness that is a lot of people for one ladder match.

Overall Rating: B. The opener and main event were both pretty great, with the rest of the matches being forgettable….at least on their own. What mattered here was a white hot crowd, as they were carrying everything up more than a few levels. They drew me way into this show and I was more interesting than I would have been based on what I was getting from what AEW was doing. Not a great show, but one that was a really good time to watch.

Results
Conglomeration b. Undisputed Kingdom – Guillotine choke to Taven
Willow Nightingale b. Harley Cameron – Babe With The Powerbomb
Katsuyori Shibata b. Jay Lethal – Cross armbreaker
Stokely Hathaway/Kris Statlander b. Nina Samuels/Kid Lykos 2 – Splash to Lykos
Hook b. Big Bill – Redrum
Jeff Jarrett b. Ariya Daivari – Stroke
Pac/Blackpool Combat Club b. Lio Rush/Top Flight – Black Arrow to Rush

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Dynamite
Date: August 21, 2024
Location: Utilita Arena, Cardiff, Wales
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the final Dynamite before All In and the show has some work to do. While the pay per view card is set, there are still some matches that could use some additional build. AEW still has time to make that happen, but they are going to need to do it well this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone brings out Britt Baker and Mercedes Mone (with Kamille) to sign their contract. Mone says she is the future but Baker is the past before signing. Baker says there was a DMD before there was a CEO and signs as well. Mone doesn’t like the DMD chant and thinks Baker having another career means she isn’t all in.

Baker laughs it off and says that Mone is one of four but she is one of one. She praises Mone for being a trailblazer and hopes Mone finds that person again, because it’s who Baker wants to beat. Baker says she’ll agree to not get violent with Mone to start but then jumps Kamille, who is knocked into Mone to send the villains running. It’s hard to imagine Baker winning, but she looked strong here.

Chris Jericho talks about how he was on his way to Cardiff, England and wonders why Tommy Billington is bidding himself as the Dynamite Kid. Billington isn’t as good as the original Dynamite Kid and doesn’t even belong on Dynamite!

Chris Jericho vs. Tommy Billington

Non-title and the Learning Tree is here with Jericho. Billington grabs a headlock to start but gets sent outside, where the Learning Tree jumps him for a posting. We take a break and come back with stereo crossbodies leaving both of them down for a breather. Billington strikes away for two but gets pulled into the Walls in the middle of the ring. The rope is grabbed so Billington hits the snap suplex before diving onto Bryan Keith. That’s enough of a distraction for Jericho to hit the Codebreaker for the pin at 9:23.

Rating: C+. Billington is still brand new around here but they’re certainly putting him in there with some big names. That could take him a long way if they do it right and at least the start has gone well. Jericho was his usual self here, but he was going to lead a match like this no matter what, just due to the massive experience edge.

Post match Jericho says he would beat Hook up if he was here so cue Hook, who gets chokeslammed by Big Bill.

Women’s Title: Saraya vs. Toni Storm

Storm is defending and Harley Cameron is here with Saraya. Storm’s headlock into a rollup gets an early two and she jumps over Saraya a bit, setting up another rollup for another two. Back up and Saraya sends her outside, where Cameron tosses Storm into the barricade. Saraya adds a cannonball and we take a break. Back with Storm grabbing a DDT an a fisherman’s suplex for two. Storm Zero is countered into the Nightcap to give Saraya two and the Rampaige gets two more. Back up and Storm grabs a quick chokebomb for two before kissing Saraya and hitting Storm Zero for the pin at 8:40.

Rating: C+. I can go for tying up a loose end and that’s what they did here, as Saraya gets and loses her title rematch. Storm has a bigger deal with May anyway, but this gave Saraya a nice moment before she won’t be on the pay per view card. The match was ok enough as well, and it gave Storm some momentum before All In.

Post match Mariah May jumps Storm and leaves her laying.

The Conglomeration is ready for Collision and All In. Mark Briscoe is rather animated, as you might expect.

Here is Will Ospreay for a chat but cue MJF, in an American flag suit, to interrupt. MJF asks the crowd to shush but gets soundly booed, leaving Ospreay to request a resounding weapon. Ospreay talks about everything he has done to get here and all the tiny places he has wrestled in over the years. Sunday is about cleaning up everything MJF has done and promises to finish him at All In.

MJF says he didn’t have to break his body like Ospreay, because all he had to do was tease a kangaroo kick. The reality is that MJF came back early from an injury because the bosses want him to clean up Ospreay’s mess. A lot of people have heard about this wrestling first promotion but then MJF was the World Champion. The joke went on too long and now the owner is asking Ospreay not to make their match about wrestling, because the champion can’t do it.

All In is about restoring the feeling and Ospreay is that feeling. MJF laughs it off because Ospreay is only where he is because the fans like him. The reality is that MJF is the youngest World Champion in AEW history and Ospreay doesn’t have the nerve to use the tiger driver. Ospreay talks about being the best in the world in all kinds of countries and that is what he has to defend at All In in front of his family and country. MJF loses it over the OSPREAY chants but says he talked to Ospreay’s wife and so called kid earlier today.

The reality is that Ospreay is the kid’s stepfather, but after the talk MJF had with Ospreay’s wife, the next kid she has won’t be Ospreay’s either. Ospreay asks Tony Schiavone about the fine if he jumps MJF right now and that would be about $127,000. It’s worth it, so the fight is on with security not being able to break it up. The diamond ring shot drops Ospreay (and busts him open) and a brainbuster leaves him laying. Security breaks up a tiger driver attempt from MJF. That move better connect on Sunday and it better put MJF on the shelf for eleventy billion weeks after the hype it has received.

Hangman Page has been asked to leave the building following an unexplained altercation. He’s in the Casino Gauntlet at All In, but here is Evil Uno to say he’s in too. Page drops him and talks about wanting to ruin Swerve Strickland.

Continental Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kazuchika Okada

Okada is defending and backs him into the ropes to start, meaning it’s a fairly sarcastic break. Castagnoli backs him right back up against the ropes as well before both the Rainmaker and Neutralizer are broken up. Okada strikes away so Castagnoli tells him to bring it, earning himself a running forearm.

We take a break and come back with Castagnoli muscling him over for a suplex before knocking Okada outside. Back in and they forearm it out with Castagnoli getting the better of things. A DDT gets Okada out of trouble and a neckbreaker gives him two. Castagnoli blocks a Tombstone attempt though and they crash out to the floor in a big heap.

We take another break and come back again with Castagnoli muscling him over with a gutwrench suplex and stomping him down for two. Okada’s dropkick sends Castagnoli outside though and the top rope elbow gets…well no cover, but Okada does get to flip the crowd off.

Castagnoli is back with the Giant Swing but Okada cuts off the clothesline with a dropkick. The Air Raid Crash onto the knee leaves both of them down as the fans approve again. They slug it out from their knees and we have a minute left in the time limit. Swiss Death sends Okada mostly outside and the time limit expires at 20:00 as Castagnoli can’t quite get the cover.

Rating: B. This was Okada at middle of the road speed and believe it or not, it still worked. Okada is long past the point where he is expected to be his old self, but I can go for this version of him from time to time. Castagnoli was his usual self and they had a good match, which thankfully didn’t see Castagnoli lose another big one. Strong chance they run it back at All Out.

Post match the Young Bucks come out to ask if the fans want five more minutes…but that isn’t going to happen. They ask Castagnoli to leave and threaten violence before the main event, only to be interrupted by their opponents.

FTR/Darby Allin vs. Young Bucks/Jack Perry

The brawl starts on the floor before the bell until we get Harwood elbowing Perry in the face for two. Allin comes in and hits a dive onto Perry as everything breaks down. The Bucks dive onto FTR and it’s a Doomsday kick to Allin’s chest as we take a break. Back with the powerbomb/corner enziguri getting two on Allin, who dives over for the tag to Harwood anyway.

Harwood rolls the German suplexes and gets two off a brainbuster to Perry. Wheeler comes in and gets superkicked down for two but the EVP Trigger misses. Back up and FTR/Allin grab stereo Sharpshooters, all of which are broken up. The villains tease leaving but get caught, with Allin hitting a Canadian Destroyer. Perry reverse DDT’s Allin but walks into the Shatter Machine. The PowerPlex into the Coffin Drop finishes Nick at 9:57.

Rating: B-. This was a good bit shorter than I was expecting and one of the Bucks getting pinned didn’t feel like that big of a deal. It’s hard for me to fathom them losing the titles on Sunday, but the three way deal makes it more of a possibility. At the same time, I had forgotten that Allin vs. Perry was a coffin match, as it doesn’t really add much to the whole thing. That being said, this was a nice enough way to promote two matches in one segment, which is always nice to see.

Post match here is the Acclaimed to say they’re better than the Bucks and FTR.

Bryan Danielson tells Will Ospreay to DO IT. He means beat MJF, perhaps with the tiger driver 91, in case you thought he was wanting Ospreay to quit wrestling and become a beekeeper.

Nigel McGuinness is in the ring to moderate the final showdown between Swerve Strickland and Bryan Danielson. Swerve is out first and Nigel calls him a huge favorite in the title match. Swerve lists off the people he has hurt and promises to take Danielson apart. Nigel goes to introduce Danielson, but Swerve says he feels disrespected by Danielson wanting to win the title and walk away.

Swerve doesn’t want Danielson to be able to wrestle again, so if Danielson loses and wants to wrestle at some small show in Washington, Swerve will be there to beat him down. If Danielson wants to put on a mask and wrestle in Arena Mexico, Swerve will be there to beat him down. Swerve brings up Danielson’s family and here is Danielson to clear the ring.

Danielson says it’s not just a catchphrase, because he is the best wrestle in the world and has been for the last 20 years. Swerve is going to have to near kill him to beat him on Sunday. The question is whether or not Danielson can win the title and the answer is….well the fans chant YES and Danielson says they know the answer. This was an effective final showdown, though it felt like I saw a very, very similar thing (down to the family talk) between MJF and Ospreay about an hour ago.

Overall Rating: B. This show felt more like a recent WWE go home show for a pay per view and that isn’t a bad formula to follow. They pushed the big stories for Sunday and while I’m still not entirely feeling the show, this was a step in the right direction. Danielson vs. Swerve could go either way and Ospreay vs. MJF feels a bit more personal. All In has the pressure on it but they did a good job at building it up here.

Results
Chris Jericho b. Tommy Billington – Codebreaker
Toni Storm b. Saraya – Storm Zero
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kazuchika Okada went to a time limit draw
FTR/Darby Allin b. Young Bucks/Jack Perry – Coffin Drop to Nick

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Dynamite
Date: August 14, 2024
Location: Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We have about a week and a half to go before All In and that means the card is mostly set up. This week has its own things going o though, with the Young Bucks defending the Tag Team Titles (which they won in April) for the first time. Other than that, Mariah May has a film of her own for us so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Hikaru Shida

Mone, with Kamille, is defending. Mone knocks her down to start and, shockingly enough, does her dance. Back up and Shida hits her own running shoulder knockdown, setting up a hurricanrana into the corner. A snap suplex gives Shida two and she sends Mone to the apron, where Kamille cuts her off with a glare. Mone uses said distraction to hit the running knees off the apron, followed by a regular version for two back inside.

The kickouts have Mone frustrated and Shida’s enziguri makes it worse. Shida comes back with a running knee but Mone grabs a Backstabber. A middle rope Meteora connects but Three Amigos are countered into the Falcon Arrow. The threat of Shida’s Katana sends Mone outside, where Shida beats up Kamille with the kendo stick. Mone takes it away though, allowing Kamille to get in a cheap shot. The Mone Maker (somehow worse than usual) retains the title at 10:41.

Rating: C+. This picked up near the end but they felt like they were in different books to start. Mone is being presented as a major star but it’s just not clicking most of the time. That was the case here and it didn’t get much better until Shida started her comeback. It’s good to give Mone some momentum, but can we please give her a new finisher to go with it? That Mone Maker is horrible and it’s managing to get worse, which I didn’t think was possible.

Post match Britt Baker’s music plays so Kamille beats up a masked fan…and of course here is Baker through the crowd. The threat of the Lockjaw is broken up by Kamille and the villains bail.

We look at Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal and Hangman Page brawling backstage after last week’s show.

Page jumps Jarrett and Lethal again to start his scheduled match.

Hangman Page vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal starts fast and sends him outside for five straight suicide dives. Page is back up with a Deadeye on the apron and sends Lethal over the barricade as we take a break. Back with page hammering away and grabbing a belly to belly suplex for two. A Death Valley Driver gets two more but Lethal grabs some rollups for two of his own. Lethal tries the Figure Four but Page goes to the eyes, setting up a heck of a discus lariat to drop Lethal. The Buckshot Lariat finishes Lethal at 9:29.

Rating: B-. This was a pretty decisive win for Page and that’s a good use for someone like Lethal. He’s long since established as a veteran and if he can give Page a boost on his way towards a bigger match, it should help things out that much more. Page is rather insane still and will probably face Swerve Strickland again, which could make for quite the unhinged match.

We look at MJF attacking Will Ospreay’s friend Michael Oku at a Rev Pro (London) event, with Ospreay making the save.

Video on Ospreay vs. MJF, with both of them claiming to be the best in the world. The Tiger Driver 91 gets quite a bit of focus as well, to the point where it almost has to be used in the match.

Pac talks about being #1 contender to the International Title but he’s not going to Wembley for his title shot. He’ll face the winner at All Out instead.

We look at Darby Allin’s recent momentum.

Allin talks about killing himself on the indies for nothing (“We’re talking $25 or $50 a night.” That’s a very interesting definition of “nothing”.) and he heard about Jungle Boy Jack Perry. He didn’t see much in him, but now Perry is being himself. Allin is ready for him at All In.

Here is Allin for a match but Perry runs him over with a knee. Perry takes him to the back and drops a metal door on Allin’s ribs before calling him names. An anvil case to the head is broken up by security. Perry challenges Allin to make it a Coffin Match at All In.

Mariah May burns her Toni Storm style gear and talks about how bad it is to be forgotten. They’ll both die, but May will write Storm’s eulogy.

Mina Shirakawa is back and says she hasn’t talked to May since she attacked Storm. She still loves both of them and isn’t sure what happens at All In.

Orange Cassidy vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Roderick Strong

For the #1 spot in the casino gauntlet match at All In. Cassidy starts fast and knocks Strong outside or a dive. O’Reilly holds the ropes open for him and we take a break. Back with Strong knocking both of them down for two, followed by a backbreaker for two on more Cassidy. A double Stronghold goes on but that’s rather hard to maintain and doesn’t last long. Strong puts Cassidy on top for a loud chop instead but O’Reilly is back up with a guillotine choke.

Cassidy breaks it up with the lazy elbow and everyone is down again. Cue the Kingdom but the Conglomeration runs out and cuts them off with the brawl to the back. A chair (in the ring from the Kingdom) lets Cassidy sit down so Strong misses a charge to the floor, where Strong sends Cassidy into the apron.

We take another break and come back with Cassidy firing off kicks at both of them. A double hurricanrana sets up a tornado DDT to O’Reilly and the Beach Break for two on Strong. Back up and O’Reilly and Strong go high/low on Cassidy but the referee won’t count a double cover. Cassidy is right back up with a crucifix for the pin on Strong at 15:57.

Rating: B. They went with the style of match that often works, with three people working hard throughout a pretty lengthy match. Having the match be for the #1 spot in the gauntlet adds some psychology to it as well, as they could have even had someone not wanting to win because of the risk involved. Good match here, with the logical winner not being a bad thing.

Claudio Castagnoli and Kazuchika Okada have a face to face staredown about their Continental Title next week. Okada says he’s going into the Continental Classic as the best tournament wrestler ever and he’ll win. B****. Okada leaves and Castagnoli says he wants the Rainmaker next week.

We look at Christian Cage causing a #1 contenders match for the Trios Titles to end in a draw.

Cage says we’ll have to find a new team to challenge for the titles because he is on the way to winning every title in AEW. He has Renee Paquette leave because she’s probably a worse mother than she is an interviewer.

Here is Hook, with his eye still bandaged, for a chat. He can still see out of his other eye and now he wants to fight Chris Jericho for the FTW Title. Cue the Learning Tree, but Jericho isn’t doing it tonight. Instead he’ll do it at All In, but it’s going to be Hook’s LAST shot at the title. First though, he has to face Big Bill next week. We get some promises of people being stuffed inside of Taz before Hook accepts.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Acclaimed

The Bucks are defending (for the first time in their four month reign) but the Acclaimed jump them on the stage. Bowens dives off the ramp onto the Bucks, who get inside and hit dropkicks through the ropes. Slingshot dives put the Acclaimed down again as the bell finally rings. The Acclaimed takes back over with some double hiptosses as Billy Gunn comes out to watch. That doesn’t last long though as Caster gets knocked into the corner and we take a break.

Back with Matt being scared of Gunn, who gets ejected after being falsely accused of throwing a chair. The Bucks beat on Caster in the corner, with Matt taking him outside and ripping up a fan’s sign. Caster throws said sign at him and that’s enough for the tag back to Bowens. The comeback is cut off almost immediately with an assisted standing Sliced Bread into a knee to the face for two. We hit the chinlock on Bowens and take another break.

Back again with Bowens hitting a double clothesline and handing it off to Caster to pick up the pace. A high crossbody gets two on Nick as everything breaks down. An exchange of superkicks leaves everyone own until Nick is up with a bulldog to Caster. The Swanton hits raised knees but Matt powerbombs Bowens off the apron to break up the tag. The TK Driver is broken up and the ref gets bumped, allowing Matt to kick Caster low. Matt loads up a belt shot but here is FTR to break it up. Matt spits at Harwood, who double legs him down and that’s a DQ (with almost eerie silence from the fans) at 18:08.

Rating: B-. Oh that ending could not have been much flatter if they tried. The Bucks literally did not defend the titles or about four months and then the ending is there to set up either a #1 contenders match or a three way. The crowd reactions through the match weren’t exactly great either and it’s not much of a surprise. It’s felt like the Bucks have been in their own world for a long time now and the fans didn’t seem to care here, which is not exactly a great sign.

Christopher Daniels doesn’t like this and makes FTR vs. Acclaimed on Collision for the All In title shot.

We get a video on Bryan Danielson’s AEW career (with some clips from his days on the independent circuit), set to Time Of Your Life by Green Day. It’s a cool video, despite my utter disdain for that song.

Swerve Strickland vs. Wheeler Yuta

Non-title and Bryan Danielson is in the front row. Swerve knocks him to the floor to start and yells at Danielson, who cheers Yuta on in response. Back in and Swerve hammers Yuta down again and yells at Danielson some more, meaning more cheerleading ensues. Swerve grabs something like a torture rack but kneels down on one knee and bends Yuta sideways at the same time (it’s kind of hard to describe) before switching to a more basic leglock.

That’s broken up and Yuta sends him outside for a suicide dive. Back in and Yuta armdrags him down into the hard elbows but the seatbelt only gets two. Swerve smiles off some strikes and hits a pair of House Calls, followed by a third for no cover. Instead Swerve pounds away and the referee calls it at 9:23.

Rating: C+. You could see the match playing out this way almost from the second it was announced. Thankfully it didn’t go on too long and it did make Swerve look like more of a killer, even though I have no idea why he needs to be turned into one when he was quite popular just a few weeks ago. I could still go for less of Yuta, but at least he wasn’t presented as a major threat to the champ.

Post match Swerve promises to cripple Danielson into retirement. Then he sneaks back in for a House Call and does a slow motion YES pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was one of the weirdest Dynamites I’ve seen in a long time, with a very talk heavy first hour and then stories that weren’t keeping me interested in the second half. The Bucks stuff was dreadful, the Learning Tree was its usual stuff and Swerve vs. Danielson just doesn’t feel big. Maybe it was the Bucks stuff being that uninteresting and Swerve being all evil again after months of not needing to be but this was a show where the wrestling bailed out some pretty lame….well almost everything else. I’m a lot less interested in All In than I was coming in and that’s not good.

Results
Mercedes Mone b. Hikaru Shida – Mone Maker
Hangman Page b. Jay Lethal – Buckshot Lariat
Orange Cassidy b. Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly – Rollup to Strong
Young Bucks b. Acclaimed via DQ when FTR interfered
Swerve Strickland b. Wheeler Yuta via referee stoppage

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

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Dynamite
Date: August 7, 2024
Location: LJVM Coliseum, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re on the way to All In and a lot of the card is already set up. Odds are we are going to be seeing some more of that added to the show this week, as there are still things that need to be set up. We have a big match here with MJF facing Kyle Fletcher in an Eliminator Match, plus Jeff Jarrett vs. Bryan Danielson, anything goes. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Kyle Fletcher

Non-title and Don Callis is on commentary. MJF bails to the floor at the bell and grabs the mic, saying lock up with him like a real wrestler or get out. Back in and MJF kicks him down but gets backslidden for two. Fletcher gets in a slam but it’s way too early for the piledriver. An arm crank into the corner has Fletcher in more trouble and MJF starts cranking away. A shoulderbreaker sets up an armbar as this is mostly one sided so far.

Fletcher gets out and scores with a superkick, allowing him to hammer away in the corner. Another kick sends MJF outside and there’s the suicide dive. A huge moonsault to the floor takes MJF down again but he drop toeholds a charging Fletcher into the barricade. MJF misses a charge of his own though and gets plowed through for a big crash. Fletcher drops a top rope elbow for two back inside but the piledriver is countered into an Alabama Slam.

The hammerlock DDT gives MJF two and they’re both down. MJF starts slapping him in the face and yelling a lot, allowing Fletcher fight up with a big clothesline. Fletcher lawn darts him into the middle buckle but has to escape a super Tombstone. Fletcher’s piledriver gets two and Callis heads to the ring to throw in the screwdriver. That isn’t going to happen though and it’s a low blow into a kangaroo kick into the brainbuster to give MJF the pin at 17:43.

Rating: B. I’m not sure how much of a reason there was to believe that Fletcher was going to win here but he put in quite the effort on the way. MJF is on his way to a huge showdown with Will Ospreay in London and a nice win here was a good way to go. If nothing else, MJF getting to bust out the Kangaroo Kick makes him that much more of a jerk so this went well.

Post match Will Ospreay tries to storm the ring but is delayed by a blocked door, allowing MJF to hit Fletcher with the diamond ring. MJF loads up a tiger driver 91 but Ospreay gets to the ring to clear him out. Fletcher’s blood is all over Ospreay’s shirt for the big visual.

Video on Bryan Danielson vs. Jeff Jarrett, with Ricky Steamboat saying he wants to see it.

Mariah May vs. Viva Van

May drops her to start and snaps off a release German suplex. Van gets beaten down in the corner and May fires off right hands…as we take a break? In this match? Back with May stomping away in the corner and adds a kiss to the cheek before May Day…gets no cover. Instead it’s Storm Zero to finish Van at 6:25. Not enough shown to rate but I have no idea why this needed a break.

Post match May unwraps a big picture of herself and Toni Storm, with the words DIE MARIAH DIE on the back. Cue Storm for the brawl and security has to break it up.

Jack Perry watches clips of Blood & Guts and talks about being willing to sacrifice anything.

Darby Allin wants Perry to show up at Wembley. That’s why he didn’t light Perry on fire.

Bryan Keith vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Chris Jericho is on commentary. Keith jumps him to start but Shibata is right back to work on the arm. They head outside with Shibata being sent into the barricade to work on his arm for a change. We take a break and come back with Shibata knocking him into the corner but getting caught in a fireman’s carry backbreaker. Shibata snaps on a cross armbreaker and Keith taps at 7:04.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere as about half of the match was spent on the break. Shibata seems primed to be the next challenger to Jericho and the FTW Title and beating up the lackey is a tried and true way to go. Either that or Hook is on his way back, but Shibata seems to be the more logical way to go.

Post match the Learning Tree runs in for the beatdown but the returning Hook makes the save.

Orange Cassidy is the lone member of the Conglomeration here due to travel issues but he’s going to wrestle anyway.

Hangman Page only wants to destroy Swerve Strickland but people keep getting in his way. He’ll get his revenge.

Swerve Strickland sits down with Jim Ross, who wants to see the World Title match at All In with Swerve defending against Bryan Danielson. Strickland doesn’t feel remorse over some of the worse things he’s done and he won’t feel bad about beating Danielson up. This his his company and he doesn’t care about Danielson’s family. Not only can Swerve beat him, but he he will.

Orange Cassidy/FTR vs. Rush/Beast Mortos/Roderick Strong

The Kingdom is here with the villains. Rush and Harwood start things off but it’s quickly off to Mortos for a drop toehold so Rush can get in a basement dropkick to the side of the head. Back up and Strong is taken into the wrong corner so Harwood can grab a snap suplex. Everything breaks down and the villains are sent to the floor, with FTR putting their hands in their trunks for team unity.

Back from a break with Wheeler being sent into the corner for a string of running splashes. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Wheeler grabs a sunset flip for two. It’s back to Harwood to clean house, including a spinebuster for two on Mortos. Strong pulls Harwood off the top and hits the Sick Kick, allowing Mortos to knock Harwood outside.

We take another break and come back again with Harwood and Rush knocking each other down and the big tag brings in Cassidy to pick up the pace. The very spinning tornado DDT plants Mortos but it’s back to Rush for a dropkick on Harwood. Everything breaks down and the Shatter Machine finishes Rush at 16:49.

Rating: B-. This was a long match and it was entertaining, but I’m almost having a hard time fathoming that FTR was substituting for Mark Briscoe and Kyle O’Reilly. That would be the third time we had seen a similar tag match in a bit over a week and while they’re fun, I could go for something a bit different. FTR being used as the substitutes isn’t a surprise as they see to be the perfect choice for such a spot, as the fans are always going to react to them. Nice stuff here, but three times being so similar is close enough.

Post match here is the Acclaimed….but Caster’s mic doesn’t work. Security comes in and hold them back from FTR on the second or third try.

We look at the Patriarchy getting beaten up on Collision.

Christian Cage and the Patriarchy announce the Bang Bang Gang vs. the House Of Black on Collision for a Trios Titles shot at All In. Maybe they need a father, so Cage will be guest referee.

Video on Hologram.

Kamille vs. Clara Carter/Jazmyne Hao

Mercedes Mone is here with Kamille. House is cleaned, with Kamille stomping away despite having Hao on her back. A torture rack bomb and a Dominator are enough to give Kamille the double pin at 1:52.

Post match Mone and Kamille brag about being so great but Britt Baker isn’t here. Tony Schiavone says Tony Khan has overridden the Elite (make a note of that for when it would be appropriate later) and Baker is not only no longer suspended, but here she is on screen. Baker promises to win the title at All In.

Video on Bryan Danielson vs. Swerve Strickland.

Claudio Castagnoli won a triple threat on Collision and gets a shot at Kazuchika Okada.

Bryan Danielson vs. Jeff Jarrett

Anything goes and Ricky Steamboat joins commentary. Jarrett jumps Danielson on the stage with a guitar shot to the back and they go inside for the opening bell. Danielson is clotheslined to the floor and then sent into the barricade as Jarrett is starting fast. They go into the crowd and then into the concourse where Danielson fights back. Jarrett suplexes him through a trashcan though and slugs away, only to get suplexed onto the same trashcan.

We take a break and come back with Jarrett using a chair to wreck Danielson’s knee. Jarrett hammers away in the corner but gets sent outside for Danielson’s suicide dive. Back up and Jarrett goes after the knee again, including some more chair shots. Danielson gets in a chair shot of his own though and the spider superplex sets up a missile dropkick.

For some reason Danielson fires off the YES Kicks but Jarrett pulls him into the Figure Four. Some chairs to the knee break it up so Jarrett switches to the Sharpshooter, which Danielson reverses into the LeBell Lock. That’s broken up as well and they slug it out, with Danielson grabbing the chair and hitting the running knee into it into Jarrett’s head for the pin at 15:33.

Rating: B-. Is there any surprise that this wound up working? Despite his less than great reputation, Jarrett has been around for going on forty years and wrestles a very effective style. This was a fun brawl with both guys getting to show off a bit before we got to the serious stuff at the end.

Post match Steamboat and Jarrett’s friends get in the ring as respect is shown. Cue Swerve Strickland to say we just saw three legends of TBS programming: Jarrett, Steamboat and Swerve. They’ve all been World Champions, unlike Danielson. Everyone else clears out and Swerve gets in the ring to say he won’t hesitate to hit the kill shot on Danielson. Swerve wants a warmup next week as well, so he’ll face….Wheeler Yuta, with Danielson sitting ringside. A staredown ends the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show was in a weird place with little being added to the card but enough solid content to keep the two hours moving. At the same time, the Olympics are likely going to take away a good chunk of the audience so it wouldn’t make sense to waste a bunch of stuff when the viewers weren’t going to be there. Solid show here though, with two more Dynamites to go before it’s off to London, meaning there is time to really hammer it home.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Kyle Fletcher – Brainbuster
Mariah May b. Viva Van – Storm Zero
Katsuyori Shibata b. Bryan Keith – Cross armbreaker
Orange Cassidy/FTR b. Beast Morton/Rush/Roderick Strong – Shatter Machine to Rush
Kamille b. Clara Carter/Jazmyne Hao – Double pin
Bryan Danielson b. Jeff Jarrett – Running knee with a chair

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

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

AND

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

Collision
Date: August 3, 2024
Location: Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re still in Texas with the Arlington residency and things have gone well enough so far. This show is coming off a Dynamite which wasn’t as eventful as recent weeks but that doesn’t mean things are going to be weaker this time around. Hopefully it can follow the successful Collision formula so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Here is the Patriarchy, with Christian Cage holding all of the belts, to get things going. Cage tells the fans to shut up while he conducts his business and can’t wait to get on his private plane to get out of here. He brags about winning the Trios Titles, which are a vehicle to get to the World Title. They aren’t belts but rather titles, because a belt holds your pants up or beats an unruly child. For now though, it is time to present the Patriarchy with their titles.

Nick Wayne is a prodigy and Killswitch is Cage’s finisher….but Killswitch didn’t give birth to a prodigy, so Mother Wayne gets his belt instead. Killswitch grabs Cage but here is the House Of Black to interrupt. Cage only sees two of them so no, they can’t be #1 contenders. Cage thinks they want some fatherly advice but the lights go out and here is Buddy Matthews to chase the Patriarchy off. Cue the Bang Bang Gang to cut them off and Kip Sabian sends Nick back inside for the beating. They’re teasing things with Cage and Luchasaurus and the fans are right there with them for it.

Dustin Rhodes and the Von Erichs talk about their partnership and families’ history. Sammy Guevara comes in to say he wants to team with them and earn their trust because they’re Texas legends. Dustin shakes his hand.

Mistico/Hologram vs. Premiere Athletes

Yes they have Mistico, no they didn’t announce him in any major way in advance and yes they are using him to get Hologram over. Hologram takes Daivari down to start and snaps off a hurricanrana into a dropkick to keep Daivari in trouble. It’s off to Mistico for a springboard high crossbody into something like Silly String. The luchadors tease dives but get in a stereo pose instead.

We take a break and come back with Mistico fighting out of a chinlock and hitting the double handspring elbow to drop the Athletes. It’s back to Hologram to pick up the pace with a hammerlock faceplant getting two on Daivari. Nese is back in with his pumphandle driver for two on Hologram with Mistico making the save. Hologram dives onto Mark Sterling (the fans approve) and Mistico hits a springboard missile dropkick on Nese. Hologram hits a big rope walk flip dive (taking out Mistico as well), setting up a 450 to finish Daivari at 9:40.

Rating: B-. The match was the fun stuff you would expect but my goodness it boggles my mind that this is the best they can do with Mistico. You do not get someone of his caliber very often and this is the best they have for him? At least announce him a bit more in advance to draw some kind of an audience with what you have there. Also, maybe don’t try to get your new luchador over with the biggest luchador in the world right now.

We look at Bryan Danielson not being pleased with Jeff Jarrett and setting up their match on Dynamite.

Mariah May comes out for commentary during Toni Storm’s match but here is Storm to dive onto May for the brawl (McGuinness: “SHE’S GONE FULL NORMA DESMOND!”).

Toni Storm vs. Rache Chanel

Chanel uses the distraction to jump Storm, who hits the Hip Attack and Storm Zero for the pin at 57 seconds.

Kyle Fletcher talks about his friendship with Will Osprey, which is why he stood up to MJF.

We look at MJF coming to CMLL for an American Title defense.

Kyle Fletcher vs. Brian Cage

Don Callis is on commentary. They fight over a lockup to start with Cage kneeing him down but getting sent to the floor. The big dive takes him out again as Callis praises Fletcher (and himself) as much as he can. They go to the ramp for a running cannonball from Fletcher as we take a break. Back with Cage slamming him off the top but the Drill Claw (Callis: “This move scares me.”) is countered into a small package. Fletcher’s piledriver finishes at 6:01. Not enough shown to rate, but how in the world does a six minute match need a break?

Post match Fletcher challenges MJF to put the title on the line in their match. MJF pops up on screen and says he doesn’t like Fletcher’s accent so let’s make it an eliminator match instead. This sends us to a break, maybe five minutes after we came back from the previous break.

Bryan Danielson is having Wheeler Yuta go after his neck in training because he knows Swerve Strickland is coming for it at All In.

Jay Lethal and company cut off Jeff Jarrett, who says no one got what they wanted but he’s ready for Bryan Danielson on Dynamite. Danielson needs to get ready for Swerve Strickland so let’s make it anything goes.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Lee Moriarty

For a Continental Title shot and Shane Taylor is here with Moriarty. They do the circle strike to start with Moriarty being shouldered down, leaving Ishii and Castagnoli to trade shoulders. Moriarty is back in with a dropkick to both of them but Castagnoli stomps him down in the corner. Back up and Moriarty dropkicks him out to the floor, setting up the dive as we take a break.

We come back with an exchange of German suplexes and everyone is down. Castagnoli and Ishii are both up to slug it out until Castagnoli Swings Moriarty. Ishii is back in but gets rolled up by Moriarty. Castagnoli makes a save and slugs it out with Ishii again. Moriarty rolls both of them up and gets the Border City Stretch on Ishii, who has to make the rope. Castagnoli plants Moriarty so Ishii makes a save of his own, leaving Castagnoli to uppercut Moriarty for the pin at 10:31.

Rating: B-. That’s a very AEW style of booking: taking three people, putting them into a random #1 contenders match and having the new Ring Of Honor champion take the fall. It’s another example of not being able to take Ring Of Honor seriously and I have no idea why Moriarty needed to be in there. Was there really not a non-champion available to do the job?

Top Flight, now with Leila Grey as their attendant, is interrupted by the MxM Collection. They don’t like Grey’s gear and pose.

Thunder Rosa vs. Taya Valkyrie

Johnny TV is here with Taya. An early TV distraction lets Taya jump her to start and the rope choking is on. Taya stomps away and kicks her in the back but Rosa is up with a running corner clothesline. The sliding lariat sends Taya outside and we take a break. Back with Rosa unloading with forearms on Taya and scoring with some dropkicks. Taya strikes away but gets double stomped for two. Johnny pulls Taya out and the distraction lets Taya score with a spear for two. Rosa dropkicks Johnny through the ropes and pulls Taya into the seated cobra clutch for the win at 7:50.

Rating: C+. Another match where they didn’t get to really showcase that much because of the break in the middle but Rosa gets to look good again, this time in victory. She’s done well since her return but losing to Deonna Purrazzo all the time isn’t helping things. For now though, a win over a nae who has been around for a good while should only help her.

Post match Rosa calls out Deonna Purrazzo, who mocks Rosa for all of her losses. Rosa issues the challenge for a Texas Bullrope match next week.

Darby Allin/FTR/Mark Briscoe vs. Beast Mortos/Undisputed Kingdom

Harwood and Strong start things off with Harwood grabbing a headlock. That doesn’t last long as Strong is back up with some chops but Harwood armdrags him into an armbar. Wheeler comes in to grab a hammerlock and the good guys get to take turns on the arm. Strong manages a quick shot though and it’s off to Bennett to chop it out with Harwood. Taven comes in to take over on Briscoe, who quickly brainbusters him for a breather.

It’s off to Allin for a headlock into a cradle for two as the fast tags continue. Mortos comes in (the fans approve) to drop Wheeler with a clothesline. Briscoe tries to go after Mortos but the referee holds him back, leaving Wheeler to chop it out with Strong. Wheeler gets dropkicked to the floor for the big beatdown as we take a break. Back with Wheeler hitting a middle rope bulldog for a needed breather. Strong is smart enough to take out Wheeler’s partners but the tag brings Briscoe in a few seconds later anyway.

Briscoe gets to clean house but has to slip out of the Proton pack. A Razor’s Edge/neckbreaker combination into the Froggy Bow gets two on Taven with Strong making the save. Mortos hits a huge suicide dive, followed by a twisting Swanton for two on Harwood. Strong comes back in but Harwood gets in a double clothesline for the double knockdown.

Bennett Death Valley Drivers Briscoe on the apron as everything breaks down. Mortos strikes away at Harwood until another double knockdown allows the tag back to Allin. House is quickly cleaned as Briscoe and Mortos knock each other down on the floor. Strong gets sent into the barricade but Taven lets go of the Hail Mary to go after Wheeler for some reason. Allin breaks up another Hail Mary attempt before he and Wheeler hit stereo suicide dives. The PowerPlex into the Froggy Bow into the Coffin Drop finishes Taven at 18:56.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match with everyone looking good in the process, with Allin getting the pin to slowly build him up for the title match in nearly two months. In theory Mortos is the next challenger to Briscoe, who wanted to fight Mortos here, but it wasn’t exactly a focus. FTR going after the ROH Tag Team Titles would feel like a waste, but then again the titles don’t quite have much in the way of a status anyway right now.

Post match Harwood grabs the mic to say how much he loves everything here and calls his team the heart and soul of AEW. Cue the Acclaimed to say not so fast because FTR wasn’t in Blood & Guts last week. They don’t care about FTR’s legacy because the Acclaimed is the real heart and soul around here. The challenge is made for the tag match but Mark Briscoe breaks it up, saying this is what the Young Bucks want. Harwood extends his hand but Billy Gunn won’t let it happen. Gunn and the Acclaimed leave to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. That was certainly a Collision, with little that mattered and the big story being a match that we already knew about being turned into the dreaded Eliminator Match. Oh and Jeff Jarrett vs. Bryan Danielson is now anything goes. As usual, Collision needs a bit more than advertising what is going to happen on Dynamite, but if they can’t even advertise Mistico further in advance, it isn’t like it matters that much anyway.

Results
Mistico/Hologram b. Premiere Athletes – 450 to Daivari
Toni Storm b. Rache Chanel – Storm Zero
Kyle Fletcher b. Brian Cage – Piledriver
Claudio Castagnoli b. Lee Moriarty and Tomohiro Ishii – Uppercut to Moriarty
Thunder Rosa b. Taya Valkyrie – Seated cobra clutch
FTR/Darby Allin/Mark Briscoe b. Beast Mortos/Undisputed Kingdom – Coffin Drop to Taven

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

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Dynamite
Date: July 31, 2024
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re coming off a big week with Blood & Guts last week and after that, plus with this week’s show being up against the Olympics, there is a chance that this week might go in a bit of a different direction. We are just under a month away from All In as well so odds are it’s time for some building towards the show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here is MJF to get things going. He makes fun of the southern accent and southern people in general before talking to the REAL Americans. After a promise to take out Will Ospreay again at All In, we’re asked to stand for a real American hero but here is Ospreay to chase him out of the ring. Ospreay promises violence but finds it funny that no one here acknowledges the America’s Title because of the person holding it.

Men have worked hard to make the International Title mean something, like Pac, Orange Cassidy, Jon Moxley, Rey Fenix, Roderick Strong and himself. MJF isn’t worthy of holding it but some fans chant USA. Ospreay says he gets it but MJF doesn’t represent the American worth ethic. MJF promises to take out Ospreay at All In, but tonight, everybody dies. They’re trying to set up Ospreay for the big win at All In and that should work out. I’m not wild on what feels like it could very easily turn into another MJF election year story though.

Lance Archer vs. Will Ospreay

Archer wastes no time in hitting a chokeslam and hits some running elbows in the corner. Ospreay fights back and knocks him to the floor but the dive is cut off with a drop onto the apron. Archer takes his sweet time to follow up though and a hurricanrana sends him into the barricade. Back in and a springboard dropkick gets one on Archer as Ospreay is starting to pick up the pace. Something else off the top is cut off with a huge chokeslam and we take a break.

Back with Ospreay still in trouble and a huge spinebuster getting two. Archer goes up top but gets caught, meaning it’s a super Spanish Fly for two more. The Oscutter gets another near fall but the Hidden Blade is countered with a hard clothesline. The Blackout is countered into a tornado DDT and the Hidden Blade…gets one. Another Hidden Blade finishes Archer at 11:23.

Rating: B. This was a good way to make Osprey look like a giant slayer as Archer is still someone who has some value due to being presented as a monster. Ospreay is set up for a huge match next month and giving him a win like this will help. At the same time, Archer can bounce back up with just a few destructions.

Post match MJF comes in for the beatdown but Kyle Fletcher makes the save. Don Callis isn’t happy but Fletcher says he was helping his best friend, family or not. Fletcher goes into a rather fired up rat about how he doesn’t like what MJF has been saying about foreign wrestlers. He wants MJF right now, but MJF says we’ll do it next week, with promises of a kangaroo kick and a broken neck.

Video on Swerve Strickland.

Big Bill has a cake to celebrate Chris Jericho being FTW Champion for 102 days (yes 102). Jericho promises revenge on Katsuyori Shibata at the hands of Bryan Keith. Alex Marvez gets to keep the cake.

Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander

Non-title. Stokely Hathaway is here with Statlander. Nightingale gets jumped to start and a missile dropkick connects as the bell rings. They head outside with Nightingale sending her into the barricade but missing the Cannonball. We take a break and come back with Nightingale hitting a release gordbuster and a spinebuster for two. The Pounce is blocked so Statlander grabs an electric chair facebuster.

An ax kick gives Statlander two and they go to the apron to chop it out. Nightingale’s Death Valley Driver plants Statlander but she stops to go after Hathaway. That’s enough for Statlander to come back with a clothesline, only to have Nightingale powerbomb her out of the air. A DDT gives Nightingale two but Statlander headbutts her off the top. That means Statlander’s 450 can connect for two, leaving Hathaway to slip in a chain. The discus lariat, with the chain, finishes Nightingale at 9:48.

Rating: C+ This is a feud that has been going on for a good while now and it isn’t much of a surprise that Statlander cheated to win here. That being said, I’m really not sure if it needed to be a non-title match to set up what seemed to be a title match that was all but made. I can go for Statlander winning though and now we could be in for seeing her win in a title match down the line.

Post match Statlander wrecks Nightingale with a chair and hammers away.

We look back at Jeff Jarrett telling Bryan Danielson to give it his all at All In.

Here is Danielson for a chat. Danielson is glad to be in Greenville, South Carolina, which is where he and his wife got their engagement pictures taken. They were looking at those pictures and they have Danielson thinking. He is here to talk about presence and promises. A few years ago, he had to retire and had it all taken away from him. Now he’s back in AEW and having the most fun in his career. He was able to be present here and we get a THANK YOU BRYAN chant, which has him almost in tears.

For that moment, he was able to be present, but now let’s talk about promises. He promised his daughter that he would stop wrestling full time when she was seven. On top of that, he promised that his current AEW contract would be the last one he signs. That contract expires tomorrow and he is still promising to give it his all every time. Over the years, he has kicked a lot of heads in, but he hasn’t won the AEW World Title….yet.

This will be his last shot at AEW’s biggest show of the year. He promises to go to Wembley Stadium and be present for that moment because he will give us 100%. With his body and soul, he will go all in….and here is Swerve Strickland to interrupt. Swerve says he would be cheering for Danielson at any other time but not this time. He came to this place and said he would win the AEW World Title, which is exactly what he did.

Danielson came here promising to kick heads in, but apparently he couldn’t handle it when they started kicking back. The title isn’t an achievement award but rather something that shows you are the best in the world, which is Swerve himself. Last year, Swerve was competing at All In while Danielson couldn’t get on a plane. Maybe Danielson’s body can’t handle the pressure of being champion.

Swerve promises Danielson just isn’t winning at All In and he might not be walking again after their match. Swerve goes to leave, but Danielson ups the ante by putting his career on the line. Works for Swerve, who tells Danielson to keep that promise to his family. This was a segment with a lot going on, from Danielson’s emotional speech, Swerve’s dangerous sounding threats, and then the big reveal at the end. They’ve also laid the groundwork for the idea of Danielson possibly leaving, even though I can’t imagine it going that way. Rather good stuff here with a stipulation that isn’t ridiculous.

In the back, Danielson is congratulated by Jeff Jarrett, but Danielson says they can fight next week.

Rush/Beast Mortos/Roderick Strong vs. Conglomeration

It’s a brawl at the bell, with Cassidy using his jacket as a cape to make Mortos chase him. A very spinning DDT doesn’t quite work for Cassidy (with Taz accusing him of stealing his spots) and Mortos hits a spear to take over. Ishii comes in to slug it out with Mortos, who is knocked out to the floor. It’s off to Rush (there haven’t been any tags thus far) who wins a slugout to put Ishii down. Briscoe comes in for a slugout and knocks Rush outside, only to have the step up dive cut off by Strong.

That’s fine with Briscoe, who knocks him outside for a flipping neckbreaker, followed by a big dive to Rush and Mortos. Back from a break with Cassidy in trouble but avoiding a charge in the corner. The Stundog Millionaire staggers Mortos though and the tag brings in Briscoe to clean things out. Ishii comes back in to strike away but a piledriver is blocked. Strong hits an Angle Slam for two as everything breaks down. Mortos’ spinning piledriver finishes Briscoe at 11:18.

Rating: B. Wild match here, especially at the end, with the surprise finish. Odds are that sets up Mortos for a Ring Of Honor World Title match, though odds are it happens in AEW rather than Ring Of Honor. Other than that, a good hard hitting match here, with Ishii and Rush both looking strong.

Acclaimed and Billy Gunn want FTR but they’re nowhere to be seen. Instead, they’ll come see FTR at Collision.

Mariah May, not looking overly serious, talks about wanting to be like Toni Storm so she became just like her. Storm was perfect because she never did anything to her but May wore her like skin. And that’s the end so Renee Paquette walks out.

Here is Toni Storm, with a shoe and the title, to say she loved May too. She hits herself with the shoe and says it will be the romance of a lifetime at All In.

Britt Baker and Mariah May got in a fight at Comic Con. As a result, the title match was officially set for All In.

Kamille vs. Brittany Jade

Mercedes Mone is here with Kamille. The beatdown is on fast with Kamille unloading in the corner. A sitout Dominator finishes for Kamille at 1:16.

Post match Mone says Kamille is now part of the Mone Corporation and brags about how great the two of them are. She can’t stand Britt Baker, who is suspended for attacking Mone at Comic Con. For now though, this is Mone’s house and she is going to turn it into a mansion.

Darby Allin vs. Hangman Page

They take their time to start until Allin knocks him to the floor. The Coffin Drop is pulled out of the air with a German suplex and they go up the ramp, with Page grabbing a chair. That takes too long and they get to the stage where Allin hits a flipping Stunner. A Coffin Drop of the entrance hits Page and we take a break.

Back with Page swinging Allin around in a sleeper and slowly hammering him down. A rollup and springboard spinning crossbody hits Page….and the lights go out. They come back on to reveal nothing has changed as Page elbows him in the chest. Allin flips over the steps and dives at Page, who posts him hard and adds some powerbombs onto the apron. A fall away slam onto the steps (geez) has Allin in more trouble and we take a break.

Back again with Page hitting a super fall away slam and glaring at Allin as he tends to do. Allin gets dropped onto the steps again but sweeps the legs to send Page into the steps for a change. The suicide dive takes Page back of the steps and they’re both down on the floor. Back in and Allin’s Coffin Drop is pulled into a sleeper, which is reversed into a rollup for two on Page. The Buckshot Lariat gives Page two and a powerbomb is good for the same as Allin is in trouble. Back to back Deadeyes connect but another clothesline is countered into a rollup to give Allin the pin at 20:17.

Rating: B. It was a good fight with Allin taking an incredible beating, but I was left with a “really” response at the ending, as Allin just popped back up and won after that much punishment. While I like Allin winning, I’m not sure I would have had Page take another loss as that’s back to back singles losses for someone who was being presented as a big return. Either way, it was a good match, especially when it wasn’t exactly the biggest showdown.

Overall Rating: B+. This show was in a weird spot as this show was a bit of a step off the gas but it still wound up being rather entertaining with a bunch of good action throughout. That is more than I was expecting and it made for a nice surprise. The build to All In is already on and they can get into the harder push in the coming weeks, though this week was more about having fun with some select important moves being made.

Results
Will Ospreay b. Lance Archer – Hidden Blade
Kris Statlander b. Willow Nightingale – Clothesline with a chain
Rush/Beast Mortos/Roderick Strong b. Conglomeration – Spinning piledriver to Briscoe
Kamille b. Brittany Jade – Sitout Dominator
Darby Allin b. Hangman Page – Rollup

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

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AND

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

Dynamite
Date: July 24, 2024
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s time for a special show with Blood & Guts as the Elite faces Team AEW in what is likely going to be a rather long fight. We also have Minoru Suzuki challenging Chris Jericho for the FTW Title in what could be quite the train wreck. We are about a month away from All In and the show could use some more stuff, some of which might be announced this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Will Ospreay is trying to drive to the arena but someone has punctured his tire. He makes Alex Marvez give him the keys to Marvez’s car and speeds off, mentioning that he hasn’t driven in America.

Here is MJF, with cheerleaders, to brag about how easy it was to beat Ospreay last week. Some people would say Ospreay needs to go wait for a title shot, but since his grandmother just died, so he should dig a grave next t her. Just make it a long way off because the woman was large. We’ll move on to the International Title, which is supposed to be the Workhorse Title. The fans like it because international stars fought for it and ans of those wrestlers should be deported.

MJF calls the title garbage and throws it in a trashcan. He unveils a new title, dubbed the America’s Title, and brags about Long Island. Streamers fly and an MJF flag is unrolled, but here is Will Ospreay to chase him off. Ospreay talks about how MJF had to cheat to win rather than admit that Ospreay could beat him. He’s spoke to Tony Khan and the rematch is officially on For All In. MJF isn’t pleased.

The Elite has attacked Christopher Daniels and then does the coin toss for tonight’s advantage, with the Elite winning. They aren’t worried about Hangman Page but also reveal it was a two sided coin. Now, I know Tony Khan isn’t going to do anything about this and I have no idea why.

FTW Title: Minoru Suzuki vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is defending and the fans are behind Suzuki. They chop it out…and keep chopping…and continue chopping….before chopping some more in between the rings. Jericho’s chest is bleeding as we are almost five minutes in and they have literally not done a move other than a chop. Jericho finally falls down and we take a break, coming back with even more chopping (and more blood on Jericho’s chest).

Jericho finally kicks him in the chest (the fans disapprove) and puts him on the apron, where the triangle dropkick has to be pulled up short as Suzuki isn’t ready to knock him out of the air. They fight outside with Suzuki hitting him with a chair and then Pillmanizing the hand. The hand is bent backwards both on the floor and back inside but Jericho hits a quick Codebreaker for one. Some forearms have Suzuki staggered but he blocks the Walls and grabs a sleeper. That’s broken up with a low blow and the Judas Effect retains the title at 13:57.

Rating: C. I get that the chop thing was supposed to be some test of wills or whatever but it was going on for about seven minutes with nothing else but chops. At the same time, Suzuki may be a legend but his matches are getting harder and harder to watch as he isn’t exactly doing anything great. I wasn’t feeling this at all and they easily could have cut five minutes out.

Post match Suzuki chokes Jericho and hits the Gotch Style Piledriver but the Learning Tree runs in to beat him down. Katsuyori Shibata runs in for the save.

Willow Nightingale is the new CMLL Women’s champion but gets jumped by Kris Statlander. Stokely Hathaway pops in to suggest an eliminator match for next week. Not a title match mind you, but at eliminator match.

Earlier today, Bryan Danielson was talking to Renee Paquette, where he said that he had a bad neck but his doctors have said it’s fixable. They just need to make sure it stays that way. Jeff Jarrett comes in to say Danielson was the right man to win the Owen Hart Tournament, but Jarrett thinks Danielson needs to heal up mentally. He doesn’t want Danielson to have an excuse, because if he’s going to go all in, he needs to go all in. Jarrett is at the top of a list of people who believe in him. Danielson seems touched and says he has a lot of work to do. Jarrett was rally good here and you could feel the emotion.

Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida

Feeling out process to start and Baker gets a rollup for an early two. Lockjaw is blocked and they trade rollup for two each. They fight outside with Shida hammering away against the barricade. We take a break and come back with Baker grabbing a neckbreaker into a Sling Blade for the knockdown.

The Lockjaw glove is loaded up but Shida pulls her into a triangle choke. That’s broken up so they trade rollups for two more but Shida teases going for the kendo stick. That takes too long though and Baker grabs a fisherman’s neckbreaker for two. Shida hits the Falcon Arrow but the Katana is countered, setting up the Lockjaw to give Baker the win at 10:18.

Rating: C+. This was Baker’s first match in nearly a year and you could definitely see some ring rust out there. Some of her timing was off and there were parts where it felt like they weren’t on the same page. That being said, baker’s attitude and personality have always been what matter more than her in-ring work and if it is passable enough, which it was here, she’ll be fine.

Post match Mercedes Mone comes out to say she knows Baker wants a TBS Title shot but that isn’t happening. Cue the debuting Kamille (a rather tall monster) to jump Baker from behind. A torture rack leaves Baker laying.

The Patriarchy brags about winning the Trios Titles and Christian Cage promises that Nick Wayne is going to win the Royal Rampage on Rampage….but he gets distracted by Kip Sabian. Wayne says he’ll beat him in the Royal Rampage and no one cares that Sabian’s dad is dead.

Pac vs. Boulder

Pac kicks him into the corner to start but gets knocked down. A moonsault misses for Boulder though and Pac chokes away in the corner. Pac manages a brainbuster for the win at 1:50.

Team AEW is ready for Blood & Guts, even if they’re never going to get along. Mark Briscoe calms things down and rallies the troops.

Mariah May vs. Kaitlyn Alexis

May knocks her into the corner at the bell and hammers away, setting up May Day for…no cover. Instead it’s a running hip attack into Storm Zero for the pin at 1:36.

Post match Toni Storm’s music plays but she doesn’t come out, leaving May pleased. Then Storm pops up in disguise for the fight, with security breaking it up. Storm shouts that May better be prepared to die because she already is.

We get a long video on Blood & Guts, as narrated by Dean Malenko, noted cage match specialist.

The rules:

• Two men start for five minutes.
• After five minutes, the Elite will get a one man advantage for a “regularly scheduled interval” (usually 2-3 minutes).
• After that time, Team AEW will add another man to tie it up. The teams will alternate until all ten are in.
• When everyone is in, first submission wins.

Blood & Guts

Team AEW: Darby Allin, Swerve Strickland, Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, Mark Briscoe
Elite: Jack Perry, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson, Hangman Page, Kazuchika Okada

Perry is in at #1 for the Elite with Allin coming in at #1 for Team AEW, only for Perry to jump him before he can get inside. The beating starts on the floor, with Allin being sent into the cage and steps. They fight into the crowd and brawl around the arena before coming back to ringside. Allin is sent inside and goes face first into a trashcan in the corner, allowing Perry to pose.

Nick Jackson is in at #2 and brings a chair and a case of some kind. A guillotine legdrop hits Allin and he gets sent into the cage as we take a break. Back with Mark Briscoe coming in at #2 to even things up and slug away. A running step up dive hits Perry and there’s a suplex to put Nick down as well. Briscoe brings in a ladder to beat on Nick and then crushes it onto Nick in the corner. A trashcan to the head has Nick in more trouble but it’s Matt Jackson in at #3 to put the Elite back up.

The case to the head busts Briscoe open and Allin gets DDTed onto said case as well. Allin gets catapulted into a case to the head and a Dominator/top rope double stomp combination puts him down again. Anthony Bowens is in at #3 to even things up and cleans some house. Allin gets clotheslined down but comes back with a Scorpion Death Drop. Back up and Allin hits a top rope double stomp with the skateboard to Nick’s back as Bowens whips out the scissors or some stabbing.

Kazuchika Okada is in at #4 with a street sign to knock the good guys back down. A Tombstone onto the sign sets up a dropkick into a chair into Briscoe’s face as we take another break. Back again with Max Caster coming in at #4 to even things up. Caster whips out a barbed wire board but a suplex to Okada onto sad board is broken up. Instead Bowens is sent onto the board and another such board is placed on top of him, with Nick adding a Swanton to crush Bowens between them. We get the bag of tacks, some of which are put into Caster’s mouth for a superkick.

Hangman Page is….supposed to be in at #5 but he’s not here. The good guys use the delay to fight back, with Bowens tying barbed wire around his leg for Scissor Me Timbers to Nick. Swerve Strickland is in at #5 and NOW Page comes running down with a chair to jump Swerve from behind before he can get in. Swerve gets handcuffed to the cage on the outside as Briscoe is dropkicked into the barbed wire board in the corner.

A hard belt shot to the head has Swerve mostly out of it but Page keeps hitting him/yelling about it. The Bucks grab the mic and ask what Page is doing before threatening to fire him if he doesn’t get in. Page gets in and the cage is locked, with the match officially beginning, meaning first submission wins. The Bucks and Page keep arguing, allowing the rest of the good guys to fight back as we take another break.

Back again with Jeff Jarrett coming out to do something but Brandon Cutler cuts him off. Billy Gunn cuts off Cutler and Jarrett gives him a guitar shot, leaving Jarrett to set Swerve free. Prince Nana cuts the cage open so Swerve can get in to wreck most of the Elite, leaving Page as the last man standing. They slug it out between the rings until the Buckshot Lariat is blocked. Page ties to hit him with a barbed wire board but Allin makes the save. Okada takes Allin down but Swerve is back up with a staple gun.

Nick breaks that up with a low blow and we finally see what is in the case from earlier: a bunch of staple guns! Well that was anticlimactic. Swerve gets stapled by four people at once but shrugs it off to beat up everyone, including stapling Okada’s finger. The Buckshot Lariat hits Okada by mistake and we take another break. Back again with four tables set up on the floor and Matt and Bowens climbing up the cage.

Swerve and Page have apparently crashed off the stage to get rid of both of them, with Bowens crashing off the cage and through the four tables to likely join them. Briscoe hits a bunch of Jay Drillers and some of the Elite are put through tables. Allin climbs the cage and drops off the top to put Perry through a table for a huge crash. Perry gets cuffed to the cage so Briscoe can kendo stick him in the ribs.

Allin goes underneath the ring and pulls out a metal spike as Briscoe uses a SCAPEGOAT chair to smash Perry in the head (unprotected). Allin isn’t done and finds some gasoline to douse Perry. He threatens to light Perry on fire but Mat says Allin can have the TNT Title match at All In if he doesn’t do it. Allin says deal and Matt quits to save Perry at 48:55.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t a bad match, but it was every Blood & Guts you’ve seen before: long, more about the weapons and big spots than the hatred (save for Page vs. Swerve). In addition, the ending wasn’t so much about the Elite getting defeated, meaning this is going to keep going for a long time. The match definitely felt important and that is what matters most, but as usual, it felt like about twenty minutes could have been chopped off without missing much. There was enough good stuff here to keep it entertaining, but there was too much going on overall and it felt like we were having the match because it’s July.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event felt big and the Kamille debut was nice, but there was a lot of stuff here that I couldn’t get into at all. Between Jericho and Suzuki doing their thing and the really long main event, this felt like a mostly two match show, with Storm and May boosting things up a bit. They were focused on one match for the most part here and it was good enough to get by. Now we can get on towards All In though, which is the show that really matters, so the real work starts next week.

Results
Chris Jericho b. Minoru Suzuki – Judas Effect
Britt Baker b. Hikaru Shida – Lockjaw
Pac b. Boulder – Brainbuster
Mariah May b. Kaitlyn Alexis – Storm Zero
Team AEW b. Elite when Matt Jackson quit

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: July 17, 2024
Location: Simmons Bank Arena, Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the 250th episode and that means the show is going to be a stacked one. In this case, that means we have MJF challenging Will Ospreay for the International Title, along with a champion vs. champion match between Swerve Strickland and Kazuchika Okada. It’s also a week before Blood & Guts so we should get the final push. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

International Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Will Ospreay

MJF is challenging and bails to the floor to start. Back in and MJF has to duck the Bidden Blade before dodging a bunch of shots to the face. Ospreay flips over him and MJF isn’t sure what to do. His best idea seems to be bailing out to the floor, where Ospreay hits a big flip dive. Back in and MJF manages a quick Stunner for two, meaning frustration is staying on. Ospreay fights up again and knocks him to the floor for the Sasuke Special.

A sky twister press gets two on MJF and it’s time to set up a table at ringside. Instead they head back inside with Ospreay chopping away until is back with a Cheeky Nandos Kick. The fake knee injury lets MJF hit a piledriver for two and Ospreay is down. The Figure Four goes on but Ospreay gets over to the ropes. MJF whips him into the corner and the knee gives out, which has MJF rather pleased. Ospreay gets back up again and knocks him down for a needed breather, only to get his leg taken out again.

The brainbuster (which MJF shouts in advance) is countered into a Stundog Millionaire and MJF rolls outside. Back in and the Oscutter misses as MJF just kind of falls down and we take a break. We come back with Ospreay hitting a handspring kick to the head for the double knockdown but coming up favoring his shoulder. They go out into the crowd with Ospreay (leg seeming fine) striking away, and letting a kid get in a few shots (ok that was great).

They head back to ringside where MJF gets another beating. They go back inside to trade rollups for two each. Ospreay grabs a poisonrana but MJF is back with the Long Island Sunrise for two. MJF heads outside and has some water, which he throws around with a nice look on his face before breaking the count. The delay lets Ospreay get in a shot of his own and Cross Rhodes (with a wink) connects for two.

Back up and MJF pokes him in the eye, setting up a stomp to the arm. A hammerlock DDT gets two on Ospreay but MJF crotches him on top. They go to the apron and fight over a piledriver attempt until Ospreay hits a Styles Clash for two. Ospreay plants him down for two more and we take another break.

Back again with MJF hitting a Tombstone for two and they head to the apron, followed by a middle rope elbow to the back of MJF’s head for two. MJF takes him up but gets reversed into a super Styles Clash for a rather delayed near fall. Ospreay is put on the table for the top rope elbow and the huge crash sends us to another break. Back again with MJF holding the abdominal stretch until he gets caught cheating, allowing Ospreay to hiptoss his way to freedom.

One heck of a backbreaker gives MJF two and he takes Ospreay to the top where, after some pelvic thrusting, his super hurricanrana is flipped out of the air for a standoff. They trade rollups for two each before the brainbuster is countered into another Stundog Millionaire. Another poisonrana sets up a countered Stormbreaker and a Spanish Fly gives Ospreay two.

They fight to the top again where Ospreay has to fight out of a super Tombstone. The Oscutter and a running elbow to the face gets two on MJF, who can barely move. The Hidden Blade misses so Ospreay teases the Tiger Driver 91 as we have a minute left. Ospreay picks him up but can’t bring himself to go through with it. He doesn’t drop MJF but the referee gets bumped. Back up and the big shot with the ring gives MJF the pin and the title at 59:58.

Rating: A. This started hot and then kept going with some great stuff. While it dragged a bit at times and the leg injury was just dropped, they played up a great back and forth match with MJF finally cheating in the end while Ospreay wanted to do it the right way. This was Ospreay getting to show that he still has it and they had an awesome match throughout.

Post match MJF gets some oxygen before bragging about his win.

The Acclaimed want in on Blood & Guts so Mark Briscoe and Swerve Strickland agree.

It’s time for TV Time with the Learning Tree, with Big Bill introducing Chris Jericho. After the “hi guys” and a lecture about how Little Rock needs to work on its crime rates, Jericho says this is the 250th Dynamite and he’s been on almost all of them (Taz: “Shocking.”). Jericho promises to be on every show until episode #500 before talking about how many “accidents” there have been in recent weeks.

Who would be crazy enough to not want to listen to the Learning Tree? Cue Minoru Suzuki, with a paper in his hand. Next week it’s Suzuki vs. Jericho with Bill and Bryan Keith banned from ringside. I know he’s a legend, but I’m having more and more trouble caring about Suzuki every time he shows up.

The Elite aren’t going to lose their Tag Team Titles and threaten to beat up Swerve Strickland so much that the World Title is vacated. Mercedes Mone comes in to thank them for banning Britt Baker from the building. Okada requests she do her dance, which she obliges, leaving Okada rather, uh, bothered.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Nyla Rose

Mone is defending and is placed on the ropes, where it’s already time to dance. Rose’s suplex is blocked so Mone tries a tornado DDT. Rose blocks that as well (Rose: “HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND???”) and plants Mone down as we take a break. Back with Rose powering out of a suplex and hitting a splash in the corner.

The Cannonball gets two but Mone kicks her off the ropes and hits a Vader Bomb. The middle rope Meteora gives Banks two and a middle rope bulldog puts Rose down again. Mone loads up a CEO glove (ala Britt Baker) and grabs Lockjaw, with Rose just biting her hand for the break. Instead the Statement Maker (Bank Statement) makes Rose tap at 9:18.

Rating: C+. I know the ending was never in doubt whatsoever but egads it’s frustrating to see Rose be such an incredibly charismatic star only to come up short. Mone is by far the bigger star but I’m still having trouble caring about almost anything she does. It’s like she got to skip all of the stuff that she would need to do to connect with the audience and is just on top because of everything else she’s done. That makes sense, but it’s not the easiest thing to watch.

Post match Mone rips up a DMD > CEO sign…and yeah of course it’s Britt Baker.

We look back at Mariah May snapping on Toni Storm.

Jack Perry doesn’t care about Darby Allin beating up Brandon Cutler, and proceeds to beat Cutler up himself. Allin can come find him tonight. This would work better if there was any reason to care about Cutler.

Here is Toni Storm……as played by Mariah May. Schiavone: “Speak b**** come on now.” Taz and Excalibur: “WHOA TONY!” May says everyone but Storm saw it coming because Storm was giving it all away. The question shouldn’t be why, but rather why May took so long. She didn’t think it would take this long either. It was so easy though and she had so much fun stringing her along. She was ready to turn on Storm but then she figured she might as well beat her at Wembley.

Don’t worry though: she still loves Storm, who she never loved more than when she was on her knees, bleeding in front of May. The greatest performance will be at All In, because AEW is All About Mariah. She didn’t exactly tell us anything we didn’t know here, but it wasn’t supposed to be/didn’t need to be that kind of an explanation.

On Collision, the Bang Bang Gang was stripped of the Trios Titles but promise to win them back in their match for the vacant titles on Saturday. This still seems WAY more complicated than it needs to be.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Swerve Strickland

Non-title. Okada takes over to start but Swerve slips out and grabs a headscissors into the corner. Swerve gets in a bit of dancing before they head outside, where Okada plants him with a DDT. We take a break and come back with Swerve favoring his wrist, allowing Okada to knock him down again.

The top rope elbow connects but Okada spends too much time posing, allowing Swerve to roll him up for two. Okada is back up with the dropkick though and they both need a breather. Swerve is back up with a backbreaker into a powerslam but the Swerve Stomp misses. Okada is back up with a Tombstone but the Rainmaker is countered into the Swerve Stomp. Cue the Young Bucks to jump Swerve for the DQ at 11:28.

Rating: B-. This didn’t have the time to really go anywhere, especially with the break in the middle and little chance of a clean ending (which shouldn’t have happened). The did at least get some time to make it feel important, but it was always going to end with the big Blood & Guts preview. That’s the right way to go as well, as neither of these two should be taking a pin.

Post match the Acclaimed, Jack Perry and Mark Briscoe all run in for the brawl. Hangman Page runs in as security can’t break it up. Since team AEW is outnumbered, here is Darby Allin….from the ceiling ala Sting to even things up. The huge brawl ends the show.

Overall Rating: A-. When half of your show is spent on an instant classic, you’re pretty much playing with the house’s money. This was a heck of a show with a pair of huge matches and nothing bad to bring it down. While some parts of it might not have been as interesting (Mone/Jericho/Suzuki), that opener was more than enough to carry it. They only needed one other good thing to make this an easy win and the May promo was more than enough. Great show here, with that opener being more than PPV quality.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Will Ospreay – Punch with Dynamite Diamond Ring
Mercedes Mone b. Nyla Rose – Statement Maker
Swerve Strickland b. Kazuchika Okada via DQ when the Young Bucks interfered

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