IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: November 11, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s the show after Full Gear and that means we have a long time to go before Revolution at the end of February. There is a lot of ground to cover on the way to that show and that means they have the time to set up more than a few things. I’m not sure what that is going to include and that is a nice feeling to have. Let’s get to it.

Here is Full Gear if you need a recap.

Happy Veterans Day.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Team Taz for a chat before Brian Cage’s match. Taz talks about how Cage is going to wrestle but before that he can see Darby Allin sitting up in the rafters. The last time they saw him, he was splattered on the roof of his own car at Full Gear. If Allin comes near the ring, he is getting taken out again. While he is sitting up there, send a message to his friend Cody, who can get taken out too. Cage is about to wrestle someone who is respected around the world in Matt Sydal. See, Sydal is no joke and Cage isn’t either, so let’s go.

Brian Cage vs. Matt Sydal

Taz is on commentary and Ricky Starks is at ringside. Sydal starts fast with an enziguri into a kick to the face but gets tossed into the corner for the rapid fire clotheslines. A hiptoss into a backbreaker has Sydal in more trouble and Cage throws him around to make it even worse. There’s another clothesline and Cage does the curls into the fall away slam for two more. Sydal slips out of a powerbomb though and sends Cage to the ramp before going up top (Taz: “Oh no.”).

The top rope Meteora connects and it’s time to head back inside for the various kicks to various parts of Cage. The snap Angle Slam sets up another kick for two more and Sydal needs a breather. Another kick to the head connects but Cage is right back with a huge clothesline. The Drill Claw is countered into a hurricanrana for a hot near fall, which has Taz in near hysterics (which is a nice move as it adds drama). Sydal goes up top but Cage pulls him out of the air (dang) for the Drill Claw and the pin at 7:40. Taz: “VICTORY!!!!”

Rating: C+. That’s one of the better Sydal matches I’ve seen in a long time as he was fighting the monster and did so rather well. It helps that Cage is the kind of athletic freak that you don’t get to see very often. Sydal looked good in defeat and that’s nice to see, as he has only been doing so much around AEW so far.

Post match Ricky Starks grabs the mic and says the TNT Title is next. They’re ranked now and the revolution will be televised.

Here’s Cody Rhodes for a chat. After asking how the fans are, he congratulates Darby Allin (with a wince) and says that he will not be asking for a rematch right now. There are other giants to take care of….and here’s a rather tall and muscular woman to cut him off. Her name is Jade Cargill (not sure if I heard that right) and she is the total package.

She has been sitting on the sidelines studying her competition and has heard Cody talking about himself for months. He calls himself the giant killer but there is nothing giant about him. Jade knows a real giant and statements like Cody’s are an echo loud enough to wake him. The next time Cody wants to talk, keep that s*** to yourself.

Jade goes up the ramp but stops to say congratulations on the name. The giant that he was talking about is the real star, and his name is SHAQ (who commentary mentions was backstage at Full Gear to make a little more sense out of things). Cue Brandi, to ask who told her this was open mic night b****. Brandi shouts in her face about messing with her man and says get out of here until Brandi sends for her, heifer. Jerry Lynn comes out to break it up and commentary thinks it’s going to take more than just him.

Cue Cage to kick Cody low and Starks joins him, but it’s Darby Allin coming in for the save. Darby hits a Coffin Drop to a standing Starks, which is made a lot worse as he has a jacket with thumbtacks sticking out (that’s a new one). With everyone cleaned, out, Will Hobbs comes out to make it a trio. The Shaq thing was a little odd but Brandi snapping and going off on Jade was great.

We look at Kenny Omega beating Hangman Page to become #1 contender.

Jon Moxley talks about how he couldn’t say I Quit on Saturday because he was unable to. On Saturday, he realized that this title represents everyone who can’t pay their bills right now and every kid who gets mocked for being a wrestling fan. Now he has his biggest challenge in front of him. Beating Kenny Omega once is one thing but doing it again is another and it’s going to take someone special. Moxley creates magic though and while someone will beat him someday and it might be Omega, good luck.

Moxley vs. Omega for the title is set for December 2. Well that’s quite the surprise s that sounds more like a pay per view headliner. I can get the idea of not being able to wait three and a half months, but dang that sounds like leaving a lot of money on the table.

Butcher and Blade vs. Natural Nightmares

Bunkhouse match meaning anything goes and you can only win by pinfall or submission in the ring. It’s a brawl to start with Dustin taking Butcher outside for a face first drop onto an open chair. Marshall drops Blade and it’s time to set up a table at ringside. A guitar to the head drops Marshall so Dustin takes Blade back inside to load up Shattered Dreams. Butcher gets back up to run Dustin over though as Marshall is busted open bad. A ladder is brought in (as you tend to find in most bunkhouses) and we take a break.

Back with Butcher and Blade in control until Dustin fights up to take Butcher outside. They fight up to the set and climb onto the stage, where Marshall blasts Butcher with a fire extinguisher. That means a bulldog to take Butcher off the stage and through some well placed plywood. That leaves Marshall and Blade, busted open as well, to slug it out with Marshall nailing him with a trashcan lid.

The huge elbow drop off the ladder gets two and it’s Butcher and Dustin coming back in. Dustin’s sunset flip (not quite a Code Red) gets two on Butcher but Blade hits Dustin in the throat with a chain. A powerbomb/neckbreaker combination through some chairs gets two on Dustin with Marshall making the save. Marshall takes out Butcher with a cutter but Blade blocks one to him. Instead it’s Butcher being knocked into Bunny to put her through the table. A cowbell to Blade sets up the cutter to give Marshall the pin at 13:03.

Rating: B. Well that worked and the blood took it a lot higher than it would have been otherwise. I know the cowboy stuff is a little much at times but this was all about violence and four people wanting to hurt each other. That is the kind of thing that you shouldn’t be doing very often but when you get one that really works, it can be a heck of a showcase and that’s what it was here. Really violent brawl and I got into it in a big way.

Matt Hardy talks about the feud with Sammy Guevara, which is the most personal of his career. He went a long way to beat Guevara so don’t squander what Hardy has given him. Just don’t make us sit through the match again.

It’s time for Chris Jericho to induct MJF and Wardlow into the Inner Circle. Jericho talks about how it is the first time that the Inner Circle is adding in two members, but first we need the rest of the Inner Circle (minus Sammy Guevara). Jericho is confused by the lack of Sammy because he’s out of the hospital but we can worry about that later. Now it’s MJF and Wardlow, with MJF talking about how it has been a long hard road to get here. Tony: “Oh shut up.”

MJF has been in this industry for five years and all he had was a small loan from his father of a million dollars. He has taken a hard road to get here and he has written out some poetry, which he thinks his homies in Proud and Powerful will appreciate. The poem happens to be lyrics from a Drake song (MJF: “I WROTE THAT!”) and Santana and Ortiz aren’t pleased. Jericho says it’s on him if they have an issue but MJF beat him to get into the Inner Circle. MJF and Wardlow are going to make the team stronger than ever and they are already stronger than the Walls of Jericho.

They are a team and they are going to make it work. MJF: “I don’t even know who Drake is!” We’re not just here to celebrate him though, because it’s also Chris Jericho’s birthday, complete with confetti and balloons….which go flying out of the building instead of falling down. Next week though, they’re going to Vegas and it’s all on MJF. Jericho holds up the tickets as MJF sings him Happy Birthday and it’s a group pose. JR: “Well they’re probably bus tickets.” The tension is there and that’s an interesting thing to see for the future.

We look at the Young Bucks beating FTR to become the Tag Team Champions.

A nervous Alex Marvez talks to the Young Bucks and asks what is next for the team. They talk about how big of an accomplishment this is for them and how they are looking for fresh competition. Next week it’s the Bucks vs. Top Flight, who have competed on Dark. New top guys out. I’ve heard good things about Top Flight so hopefully they get a great showcase next week.

Scorpio Sky vs. Shawn Spears

Tully Blanchard is here with Spears. They trade running shoulders to start until it’s an exchange of chops to put Spears into the corner. A big boot takes Spears down and they head outside with Sky hammering away. Sky bites at the ear to send Spears back inside but he rolls right back outside to keep things moving. Back in again and Spears throws him off the top as we take a break.

We come back with Sky hitting a big dive to the floor to drop Spears again and it’s a slingshot cutter back inside. They head to the floor again with Sky trying a dive off the steps, only to jump into a superkick. A backbreaker onto the steps has Sky down again (Tony: “That’s very abrasive steel too.”) and they head back inside one more time.

Sky’s TKO is countered so he goes with a Scorpion Deathlock (Tony: “It’s a Scorpio Deathlock!”). Tully begs Spears to make it to the ropes and then offers a distraction, allowing Spears to grab the slug to load up the glove. Tully throws another slug to Sky for a distraction, allowing Spears to hit the loaded glove for the pin at 9:04.

Rating: C. There was a lot going on here and it was a little bit too much for the match to work. They went in and out a lot and it was getting to be a big distracting. It’s also not the kind of thing that is going to make me care about Spears, but it’s not the worst idea in the world to give him a push. Not a bad match either, but it would be nice to see Sky getting a bigger push instead of the less interesting Spears.

Kenny Omega isn’t ready for an interview and is nowhere to be found.

Actually hang on as Omega is outside and on the phone with someone. The call ends and Omega is asked about the upcoming title match. Omega talks about how he has been living with everyone being on him about not being the Cleaner or the Best Bout Machine. Now he is ready to bring back the old Omega, who has never wrestled Moxley before. Now he has had a fight with him, but what happens when they have a match? That’s what’s coming on December 2, so Moxley better be ready. He has a flight to catch so enjoy Dynamite.

Tay Conti vs. Red Velvet

Anna Jay and Brandi, who begrudgingly does the Red Velvet mixing deal, are here too. Jay takes her into the corner to star but gets taken down into a rather complicated rollup for two. Back up and they trade armdrags before Velvet scores with a spinwheel kick for two. Conti kicks her down as well and we take a break.

Back with Velvet hitting a Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog into some running knees to the back in the ropes. They get back up and hit stereo kicks to the face, allowing Anna to slide in a chair. Conti wants nothing to do with that though and Velvet hits a leg lariat for two more. A kick to the face misses, though Velvet slaps her thigh anyway. Thankfully Conti doesn’t sell it and it’s a Gory Special into a spinning knee to the face to finish Velvet at 7:59.

Rating: C-. That miss near the end hurt it a lot but it’s nice to see a midcard women’s story as Conti isn’t interested in joining the Dark Order just yet. What we got worked out well enough, though it seems to be the next step in a much bigger story. It’s also nice to see Velvet getting a chance to showcase herself as she is getting more comfortable out there.

The Inner Circle is celebrating the Vegas trip when Sammy Guevara pops up to say he was told to go to the beach instead of being here. MJF insists he sent another email and has a ticket for Sammy as well. Sammy: “I only got one email.” I’d be more worried about Sammy being around four days after a Conchairto on concrete.

We recap Kip Sabian/Miro/Penelope Ford not being happy with Orange Cassidy’s apology and a brawl nearly breaking out.

Next week: Sabian vs. Cassidy, Team Taz vs. Darby Allin/Cody and Top Flight vs. the Young Bucks, plus the Inner Circle Slays Vegas.

Here’s Eddie Kingston for a chat. Kingston doesn’t need the fans to cheer his name because he already knows it. Yes he quit against Jon Moxley but he’s back here, unlike all of these people who never got in the ring in the first place. For tonight though, we have Penta vs. Rey Fenix and you’re welcome.

Penta El Cero Miedo vs. Rey Fenix

Kingston is on commentary. They kick each other down to start and then trade clotheslines. Fenix flips forward into a victory roll, which is reversed in a hurry as they get back to their feet. A twist into a sunset flip gives Penta two so Fenix hits a running headscissors to send him outside. Back in and Penta gives him a big backdrop to the floor, which seems to bang up Fenix’s knees. They head inside again with Penta lifting him up for a Tombstone but tying the legs up instead.

Penta goes extra evil by ripping part of the mask apart, revealing a good chunk of Fenix’s face. Excalibur: “This would be a disqualification in Mexico!” Kingston: “WE’RE IN JACKSONVILLE!” The chinlock goes on as Excalibur and Kingston keep up their argument. Back with Fenix hitting a running spinning kick to the head in the corner but getting sent out to the ramp. That’s fine with Fenix, who hits a quick kick to the head and now it’s time to rip Penta’s mask. Kingston: “You should DQ Fenix for that!”

Some shots to the face have Penta in trouble but he’s back with a flipping forward DDT (starts in a reverse DDT position and flips forward to drop Fenix on his head). Fenix sends him outside for a very spinning corkscrew dive. Penta is right back with a fear Factor onto the apron and Fenix is mostly done on the floor. Even Kingston thinks that was too much but Fenix is up a few seconds later anyway. Penta drops him on his head again and takes it back inside for another Fear Factor and the pin at 12:33.

Rating: B. Aside from Fenix possibly dying multiple times during the match, this was an awesome showcase between the two of them and you knew it was going to be. Kingston continues to be awesome on commentary, as he has a tendency to do. The ripping at the masks made it feel more personal, but there was no way this wasn’t going to be awesome. Heck of a main event, as you knew it was going to be.

Kingston: “THIS IS AWESOME! CLAP CLAP! Whatever you marks do!” He praises the match for being so great and calls Penta his best friend for showing his brother who is boss. Fenix falls outside….and here’s Pac to say he’s back. Pac is ready to go with Kingston but referees break it up to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling carried this one for the most part as the show felt a little unfocused throughout. What we got worked out well enough though and that’s a nice thing to see, especially on a show that was more about taking a nice deep breath after Full Gear. It was a good show though and that’s nice to see in a spot that always has the potential to be a letdown. Pac being back and the rather brutal tag match were cool enough and it was an easy two hour watch.

Results

Brian Cage b. Matt Sydal – Drill Claw

Natural Nightmares b. Butcher and Blade – Cutter to Blade

Shawn Spears b. Scorpio Sky – Loaded left hand

Tay Conti b. Red Velvet – Gory Special into a knee to the face

Penta El Cero Miedo b. Rey Fenix – Fear Factor

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: September 29, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

Things are a bit shorter this week with nine matches instead of the recent trend of eleven. That could be a bit of a relief as Dark has a tendency to be very padded out more often than not. It’s ok to cut some of these things out and let the show breathe a bit, which thankfully they are doing this time around. Let’s get to it.

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

Commentary says this is a super sized Dark. When in the world is a regular show not closer to this length?

Shawn Spears joins commentary for the opener.

SCU vs. Ray Rosas/Ryzin

It’s Scorpio Sky/Frankie Kazarian for SCU this time around. Kazarian headlocks Rosas down to start and then runs him over with a shoulder. Spears complains about Kazarian getting the better opportunities as Sky comes in with a good looking dropkick. It’s off to Ryzin for some shots to Sky but it’s already back to Kazarian to suplex Rosas.

A shot in the corner lets Rosas hit a missile dropkick for one and Kazarian is taken into the wrong corner. Ryzin’s powerbomb gets two as Spears thinks he’s in Sky’s head. Rosas misses a charge into the corner and Kazarian rolls over Ryzin’s back for the hot tag to Sky. The slingshot cutter drops Ryzin and it’s SCU Later to finish Rosas at 6:25.

Rating: C. SCU is always worth a look and they were against some good opponents here, as Ryzin has looked at least decent in all of his appearances. It’s a nice choice for an opener and they didn’t slow down for the most part. Spears was helping a bit, but don’t make me try to care about him because we’re WAY past that point.

John Silver isn’t happy with teaming with Colt Cabana tonight but Evil Uno tells him to calm down. Cabana comes up and asks if they’re doing a promo, which Silver confirms. Uno really needs an adjusted voice because his regular one is really average.

Alex Gracia vs. Penelope Ford

Ricky Starks is on commentary this time and Ford has Kip Sabian with him. And yes it’s Gracia, not Garcia, who is dubbed The Pink Dream. Ford takes her down and messes with Gracia’s hair but the trash talking allows Gracia to grab a rollup for two. Gracia is back up with a running dropkick to send Ford outside (with Taz making it clear that Starks could do as well) but she comes back with choking on the rope. A fireman’s carry gutbuster gets two on Gracia and the fisherman’s suplex gives Ford the pin at 3:22.

Rating: C-. Ford is someone who is getting better over time and that’s the point in putting her in the ring for matches like this. She’s far away from being the future or even the star of the division but a little movement forward is better than nothing. Gracia didn’t get to showcase herself that much here, but she didn’t look bad by any means.

Best Friends vs. M’Badu/BSHP King

Trent and M’Badu start things off with Trent being shoved hard into the corner. Trent slips out of a gorilla press and forearms away before doing his own pose. Taylor and King come in with the latter hitting a hard shoulder as commentary is in their own world again. A double back elbow drops King again but he gets fired up in the corner and tells Trent to bring it.

Chuck gets taken into the corner so M’Badu can unload on him but King misses a Swanton. M’Badu comes in and misses a Stinger Splash, allowing the hot tag off to Trent to start sticking and moving. Trent’s tornado DDT plants M’Badu and it’s Soul Food into a dragon suplex to drop him again. Strong Zero finishes M’Badu at 5:49.

Rating: C+. M’Badu looks like a star, King looks good, Trent looks like a talented wrestler, and Chuck continues to look like he won a contest. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to think is his strong point but it’s not exactly something that is overly obvious. I’ve always liked Trent and the team is getting better, but sweet goodness Chuck is dragging it down.

Brandon Cutler yells about going to a tie with Peter Avalon, who is dubbed the “bug eyed bookworm”. There will be a rematch, so keep your schedule open.

Jurassic Express vs. Dark Order

It’s 5 and 10 for the Order here and Marko Stunt is here too so he can…wave. What a worthwhile employee. Luchasaurus scares 5 over to the corner for the tag to 10, who Luchasaurus (mostly) muscles over with a belly to belly suplex. Boy and 5 come in and it’s a grapple off into a standoff. A fireman’s carry takes 5 down as Starks dubs the Order as Nickels and Dimes.

Boy armdrags 5 into an armbar and it’s back to Luchasaurus for a buckle bomb. That’s enough for him though and Boy comes back in to get caught in the wrong corner. 10’s suplex gets two as commentary discusses who is the most attractive person in the ring. A backdrop into a middle rope dropkick gets two on Boy but he comes back with a clothesline.

Boy rolls over and brings in Luchasaurus to clean house, which is what he should be doing most of the time. The Tail Whip drops 10 and the reverse Death Valley Driver plants 5 for two. A powerslam into a frog splash gets a VERY close two on Boy, who comes back with strikes to both of them. Luchasaurus chokeslams 10 and the Extinction Level Event is good for the pin at 9:38.

Rating: C. This was an improvement, mainly because there was a little drama in there. While the Express was never in any serious doubt, it was nice to have at least a glimmer of a hope of an upset. That is lacking so often around here and it was nice to see something a little different for a change.

Luther and Serpentico talk about being born evil and promise to destroy Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison. They’re now the Chaos Project, because everyone needs to be in a team or stable.

Gunn Club vs. Shawn Dean/Cezar Bononi

We really do have to get the Gunn Club in here every time don’t we? The other Gunn is here too and Starks isn’t impressed. Austin and Shawn start things off with Dean hitting a quick monkey flip to take over. It’s off to Billy to crank on the wristlock before Austin comes back in for an armbar. The rather large Bononi comes in and throws Austin down without much effort. Billy comes back in for the big lockup to get the better of things but a Dean distraction lets Bononi get in a kick to the face.

That means Billy gets pounded down in the corner and Bononi’s right hand gets two. The chinlock goes on and Billy’s comeback is cut off with a forearm to the back. A knockdown allows the hot tag to Austin to start cleaning house though, including a running neckbreaker and DDT for two on Shawn. Billy comes back in and catapults Shawn into a clothesline from Austin but Bononi breaks up the pin. Austin takes care of Bononi and the Fameasser finishes Shawn at 7:57.

Rating: C-. I’m running out of ways to say that the Gunn Club is a completely run of the mill tag team who doesn’t add anything to the roster and feels like they’re there to get Billy on the show more than anything else. The matches aren’t complete wastes of time or horrible or anything close. Instead, they’re matches which come and go with nothing really new being added in any fashion. They’re the matches you could cut out of Dark without losing anything and that’s never a good sign.

The Natural Nightmares are ready to take care of the Dark Order again tonight. Brandi is ready to take care of Anna Jay again.

Tay Conti vs. Red Velvet

Anna Jay is ringside to cheer for Conti. Tay takes her down with a judo throw (cue Taz) to start and then pulls Velvet into a neck crank. There’s a kick to the head for two and Conti hammers away with forearms to the head. A dragon sleeper is broken up in a hurry and Velvet is back with a running kick between the shoulders. Conti isn’t having this and kicks her in the head, setting up a slingshot belly to back drop. The half nelson with the leg makes Velvet tap at 4:09.

Rating: C-. Conti looked sharper than usual here and that’s an upgrade for her at the moment. I’m not sure if she is going to go anywhere in the near or distant future, but at least she got to go in there and get a quick win. Velvet continues to look fine, but I’m not sure how well it’s going to go with the cake…uh…theme?

Post match Anna comes in to hug Conti and kicks Velvet in the face. Brandi Rhodes runs out for the save.

Chaos Project vs. Griff Garrison/Brian Pillman Jr.

Luther and Serpentico jump them to start but Garrison is back with a backdrop to Serpentico, meaning the streamers go flying. Pillman comes in and gets caught in the corner so the double teaming can begin. Luther slams Serpentico onto Pillman a few times and then suplexes Pillman down.

It’s off to Serpentico, who gets hit in the face and taken down by a top rope spinning crossbody. Garrison comes in off the hot tag and a belly to back faceplant gets two on Serpentico. With Garrison knocked outside, Serpentico superkicks Pillman and Luther adds a big boot. A spinebuster/top rope Meteora combination finishes Pillman at 5:00.

Rating: C-. Garrison and Pillman are fine for a low level team though I’m not sure how well that is going to go until they’re both signed. The Chaos Project is perfectly acceptable as a midcard heel team but at the same time….how far are they exactly going to go? The team name is hardly good but everyone has to have a name around here, many of which are hardly the best.

Rache Chanel vs. Nyla Rose

Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose. Nyla tells Chanel to lay down but Chanel tries throwing some shots. A slam cuts Chanel off and it’s the double chokebomb for two. Chanel sends her into the corner though and a running kick to the face rocks Rose again. Back up and Rose hits her in the face though, setting up the Beast Bomb for the pin at 2:42. That’s what it should have been.

Natural Nightmares vs. Dark Order

Brandi, Anna Jay and Evil Uno are here and it’s John Silver/Colt Cabana for the Order here. Dustin runs Cabana over to start and snaps off an armdrag before it’s off to Silver. That’s fine with Dustin, who takes him into the corner for some arm cranking and Marshall adds a suplex. Silver’s brainbuster gets two more and Cabana’s middle rope splash gets the same. Silver kicks at the chest to little avail and it’s a Lethal Combination from Marshall.

There’s the hot tag to Dustin to clean house and the snap powerslams connect. Everything breaks down and Dustin flip dives off the apron to take both of them down. Silver kicks Marshall into a gutbuster from Cabana, followed by a superkick to put Dustin outside. Not that it matters as Marshall grabs the cutter to finish silver at 6:36.

Rating: C. More people who know what they’re doing having a watchable match in the main event. One of the perks of a team like the Dark Order is you can throw a bunch of combinations out there and have something fine like this and it worked out fine here. Cody vs. Brodie Lee II should be the big blowoff, but this will do fine as filler until then.

Uno consoles Cabana to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. It’s more of the same from Dark, though cutting off ten to fifteen minutes helped it a lot. Nothing here was bad and they even had some rather nice matches includes. The problem is nothing was very high above average and that’s not the most thrilling show. It could be a lot worse, but it could also be FAR more interesting, which is where the show loses me most weeks.

Results

SCU b. Ray Rosas/Ryzin – SCU Later to Rosas

Penelope Ford b. Alex Gracia – Fisherman’s suplex

Best Friends b. M’Badu/BSHP King – Strong Zero to M’Badu

Jurassic Express b. Dark Order – Extinction Level Event to 10

Gunn Club b. Shawn Dean/Cesar Bononi – Fameasser to Dean

Tay Conti b. Red Velvet – Half nelson with a leg

Chaos Project b. Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison – Spinebuster/Top rope Meteora combination to Pillman Jr.

Nyla Rose b. Rache Chanel – Beast Bomb

Natural Nightmares b. Dark Order – Diamond Cutter to Silver

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

All Out 2020
Date: September 5, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

They’re back on pay per view and for once that’s a rather nice thing to see. AEW has a great history with the big shows and hopefully we continue the streak here. The main events are Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy where you can win by throwing the other one in a vat of mimosa and Jon Moxley defending the World Title against MJF. Let’s get to it.

Buy In: Joey Janela vs. Serpentico

This was announced earlier today and Sonny Kiss and Luther are here. Joey jumps him before the bell and they fight to the floor where Janela glares at Luther. Back in and Serpentico charges into a boot to the face but he sends Joey hard into the corner. Serpentico’s running thigh slap disguised as a shot to the face gets two and Joey is sent outside for some abuse from Luther.

Back in and a snap suplex gives Serpentico two but a Swanton hits raised knees. Janela’s Blue Thunder Bomb gets two but he misses a moonsault. Janela is back up with a super fisherman’s buster for two. Luther grabs the foot so Janela dropkicks him through the ropes. The top rope elbow gives Joey the pin at 7:55.

Rating: D+. So that happened and it could have been on any given edition of Dark. Janela still does nothing for me though I do kind of like Serpentico. For what feels like a really basic gimmick, he does well enough with what he has and that’s all you can ask for from something like this.

Buy In: Dark Order vs. Private Party

John Silver/Alex Reynolds for the Order. Silver starts with Isaiah Kassidy and they fight over wrist control. With that going nowhere, Marq Quen comes in for an atomic drop to send Silver into a clothesline. A top rope ax handle to Reynolds’ arm gets a delayed two but Silver comes in to powerbomb Kassidy onto Reynolds’ knees. There’s a backbreaker for two more and it’s time to kick at Kassidy’s chest for the same. The chinlock with a knee in the back goes on but Kassidy fights out.

A roll over into the corner brings in Quen to clean house, including a top rope moonsault press for two. Silly String is broken up and a heck of a torture rack spinning slam gets two more on Quen. Everything breaks down and Private Party knocks them off the top. A 450 and Swanton miss and it’s a Stunner into a German suplex for two. Private Party is back up and sends Reynolds to the floor, setting up Gin and Juice to finish Silver at 10:14.

Rating: C. This was a bit longer than it needed to be as Private Party isn’t ready to do a match this long on their own and the Dark Order isn’t going to be able to walk them through it. They certainly didn’t have a disaster out there and the match could have been a lot worse, but it came and went with one spot after another. They were good spots, but they were just spots.

Jim Ross gets his full entrance and really doesn’t seem thrilled to be here.

The announcers run down the card. Thank goodness they’re thinking of those people who buy pay per views and forget what they ordered.

Britt Baker vs. Big Swole

This is Tooth vs. Nail and is taking place in Baker’s dental office. Reba checks Swole in and shouts to Baker that she is here, earning herself a clipboard to the head. Swole goes hunting for Baker but finds a bunch of blood on a chair instead. Baker, in a face mask, stalks Swole, who finds a cabinet full of chattering teeth. Baker gets behind her and eventually breaks a framed diploma over her head. The doctor isn’t sure if they can save Swole’s teeth so it’s time to extract them but Swole fights out.

They go outside and into Baker’s motorized wheelchair with Reba helping Baker to little avail. Baker gets in a crutch shot to take Swole down though and they fight back inside. Swole manages to throw a chair at her and Baker is in trouble. They go into an exam room where Baker his a superkick and loads up a syringe full of Novocaine. Swole manages to knock into Baker’s leg to send Reba into hysterics and knocking Baker out for the stoppage at 6:29.

Rating: D+. This was quite the disappointment as they could have done a lot more than what we got here. There is only so much that you can get out of a match that has less than seven minutes and a good chunk of that was spent walking around. I’m not wild on Baker losing, but at least it wasn’t via pinfall so it could have been a lot worse.

Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express

No story here as they won an eight man tag on Wednesday and get to fight as a result. Nick and Jungle Boy start things off for some flipping before it’s quickly off to Matt, who goes outside to yell at Marko Stunt. Back in and Jungle Boy Tail Whips Nick into a Flatliner but Nick slips over for the tag to Matt. A dropkick staggers Luchasaurus but he sends the Bucks into each other and brings Boy back in.

Nick is sent over the top and hard onto the ramp but Matt is back with Locomotion. He suplexes Boy to the floor and hits some more Locomotion, plus another suplex over the barricade to drop Boy. Back in and Matt grabs a front facelock and Nick comes in for a running knee to the face. Boy sends him to the ropes though and Stunt gets in a cheap shot, allowing the hot tag to Luchasaurus. House is cleaned in a hurry, including the standing moonsault for two.

Everything breaks down but Boy’s hurricanrana is countered into a powerbomb on the apron. A Canadian Destroyer hits Luchasaurus and there’s a superkick to Boy. Back in and the Swanton gets two more on Boy but he avoids the BTE Trigger. Luchasaurus breaks up the Meltzer Driver and chokeslams Nick. The Extinction Level Event hits Matt for two but the Bucks send Luchasaurus outside. The Superkick Party gets two on Boy and now the BTE Trigger is enough for the pin on Boy at 14:53.

Rating: B-. Good action here, even if there wasn’t a ton of drama over who was going to win. There was no reason to believe that the Bucks were going to lose when they have been teasing a heel turn in recent weeks. This worked well enough as a way to get the Bucks on the show, but it wasn’t anything that we haven’t seen before.

The announcers preview the Casino Battle Royal.

Casino Battle Royal

There are four groups of five wrestlers each and a group comes in every three minutes. One wrestler comes in as the Joker at the end and it’s a regular battle royal, with the winner getting a World Title shot in the future. Taz joins commentary for a bonus. First up we have the Spades, meaning Trent, Christopher Daniels, Jake Hager, the Blade and Rey Fenix to start things off. It’s a brawl to start with Daniels having to fight out of Hager and Blade’s double teaming. Fenix armdrags Trent down but walks into a tornado DDT.

Hager suplexes Daniels and everyone keeps fighting until it’s the Diamonds, consisting of Frankie Kazarian, Will Hobbs, Chuck Taylor, and Santana and Ortiz. The last two hit Chuck from behind with the baton before he can get in the ring and stay on him outside. Hobbs pulls Blade in the way of a charge and Blade is out, followed by Hager getting rid of Daniels. Everyone gets in and it’s time for the Hearts, including Billy, Penta El Zero M, Ricky Starks, Brian Cage and Darby Allin.

Cage gets rid of Billy in a hurry so here’s Allin with the skateboard to wreck people. Allin tosses Fenix and the Best Friends get to clean a little house, setting up the Big Hug. Santana and Ortiz get rid of Chuck because they’re not stupid enough to stop for a hug in a match like this. Now it’s time for the Clubs, with Shawn Spears (who goes over to commentary instead of getting in), Eddie Kingston, the Butcher, Sonny Kiss and Lance Archer.

Spears takes his time heading to the ring as Archer gets to clean house in a hurry. Kiss eliminates Hager but Cage gets rid of him as well. Tully Blanchard hands Spears the piece of metal for the glove as Hager decks Kiss on the floor. Trent gets rid of Santana but can only send Ortiz to the apron. Archer tosses Trent and then eliminates Ortiz as the Joker is….Matt Sydal. Well that’s a disappointment. He comes in and goes to the top to try the shooting star press….and slips off, crashing hard onto his back so Hobbs immediately goes to check on him.

Penta is out and Kazarian follows him and we hear a bunch of noise, which Taz blames on catering. Cage gets up to clean house and hits Starks by mistake, allowing Allin to throw Starks out. Starks is annoyed and pulls out a body bag, which Cage fills with thumbtacks. Cage puts Allin in the bag and zips it up as JR is DONE with this. A powerbomb over the top rope gets rid of the bag and Allin for the scary bump. Sydal kicks Spears to the apron but Spears pulls him out as well.

With Spears tied in the ropes, Spears adds a middle rope double stomp for the elimination. Back in and Hobbs hits a big spinebuster on Sydal but gets Pounced by Archer. Cage and Archer give us the big showdown and they strike it out until Cage hits a jumping knee. Hobbs cuts Cage off and pulls him to the apron though and Archer knocks both of them out.

That leaves us with Archer, Kingston, Sydal and Blade, with Archer not wanting to hear from Kingston. Archer dumps Butcher and throws Sydal through the air and right into a DDT onto Kingston. There’s the Blackout to Sydal but he lands on the apron. Kingston gets rid of Sydal and winds up on the apron with Archer. Jake Roberts busts out the snake bag but here is Blade to go after Archer. Kingston bites Archer’s ear but another snake distraction lets Archer throw Kingston out for the win at 21:50. JR: “Lance Hoyt wins it!”

Rating: C-. These things are always hard to rate and Sydal wasn’t exactly the biggest surprise. The botch didn’t make things any better but I did get to laugh as soon as he got up. Archer winning makes good sense as he needs a big win to get him back to the top level after the loss to Cody. It was fine enough for a battle royal, which means it has a pretty hard ceiling above everything.

We recap Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Hardy. Guevara busted him open with a chair by throwing it rather hard at Hardy’s head so Hardy busted him open in a tables match. Tonight it’s Broken Rules, meaning Last Man Standing, but if Matt loses, he leaves AEW.

Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara

Broken Rules so Last Man Standing. They start near the football field, with Sammy showing up behind him in the golf cart. Since Matt is a wrestler, he runs straight ahead instead of going over a barricade or something. Sammy crashes and the fight is on, with Matt heading over to a scissor lift. They go into the air and Matt tries the Side Effect. That winds up with a huge crash instead and Matt’s head hits the concrete, meaning we get the X sign. Hokey smoke that was terrifying and Matt is DONE. As in not moving and looks completely stiff.

Sammy goes after Matt again and gets a nine but here’s the doctor to say the match is over at 3:47. Sammy staggers towards the ring so Matt gets up and jumps him again. The bell rings and the match continues as they head towards ringside. They climb the set structure and Sammy gets knocked off for a huge crash through the stage. That’s enough for a ten count at 8:07, counting the break between the breaks.

Rating: D+. I’m really not sure what to say here as I can’t imagine this was the plan for the whole thing. It feels like Matt got hurt but they had to keep going until the finish because of the Matt Leaves stipulation, though that’s just a guess. It didn’t have the time to do much, which seems to be a continuing problem with this feud. They don’t need to do this again, and hopefully Matt isn’t too banged up.

We recap Thunder Rosa vs. Hikaru Shida for Shida’s AEW World Title. We hear a bunch of great things about Rosa, the NWA Women’s Champion, including comments from NWA owner Billy Corgan. Everyone knew Rosa was going to be a top star from the moment they saw her and she challenged Shida for a champion vs. champion match. Shida was certainly down.

AEW Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Thunder Rosa

Only Shida’s title is on the line. They go nose to nose to start before heading to the mat. With no one being able to get the advantage, it’s Shida hitting a running hurricanrana and it’s time to go nose to nose again. Rosa hits a hard elbow to the face and snapmares Shida down as Excalibur mentions that Rosa is also a champion in Tokyo Joshi Pro. JR: “BUT ONLY YOU KNOW THAT!” Shida gets in a shot of her own and hits a running knee to Rosa as she hangs over the apron. Rosa is back up to hit Shida in the face and bend her back around the post.

Back in and the Thunder Driver is escaped and Shida pulls her into a rear naked choke with a bodyscissors. Rosa slips out of that and grabs a rocking horse to drive Shida’s head into the bottom buckle over and over. Back up and Shida counters a kick to the head into the Stretch Muffler but that’s reversed into a headscissors. Shida hits a jumping knee to the head but her back is banged up from earlier. Rosa hits some running knees in the corner and they head to the ramp.

A Death Valley Driver is escaped so Rosa goes to the top, only to get shoved to the apron. That’s fine with Rosa, who hits the Death Valley Driver on the apron instead. An armbar goes on but Shida gets her foot on the rope for the fast save. Shida sends her to the ramp and hits the Meteora to drop Rosa hard on the back of her head. Back in and Shida gets one off the Falcon Arrow but can’t get the Full Metal Muffler. A rollup doesn’t work either so it’s a hard backbreaker for two on Rosa. The running knee finishes Rosa at 16:43.

Rating: B. Match of the night so far and I’m not at all surprised. You had two very talented wrestlers getting to showcase themselves in a long match. They weren’t going to have Shida lose to someone not signed to the promotion so the winner wasn’t in doubt, but they had a heck of a match on the way there. Good, hard hitting match match here which lived up to my expectations.

Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford announce that they are getting married on Dynamite, but first, Sabian needs a handsome best man. This week, we’ll find out who his best man is.

We recap the Dark Order vs. the Natural Nightmares/Scorpio Sky/Matt Cardona. Brodie Lee destroyed Cody to win the TNT Title and now it’s time for friends and family to fight for revenge.

Dark Order vs. Natural Nightmares/Scorpio Sky/Matt Cardona

It’s Brodie Lee/Colt Cabana/Evil Uno/Stu Grayson for the Order and the Nightmare Sisters are at ringside too. It’s a brawl to start before the bell until Lee knocks Dustin down to officially get things going. Uno comes in and gets taken into the corner by Dustin. It’s Uno getting caught in the corner for the big beatdown, including Cardona hitting a neckbreaker for two. Uno gets Marshall to chase him on the floor and the stomping is on back inside. Lee backdrops Marshall but Dustin comes in to stop Uno from using the wrist tape.

That just lets Uno choke anyway but Marshall manages a Lethal Combination. Marshall ducks a clothesline and that’s enough to bring in Cardona for the house cleaning. The middle rope dropkick hits Cabana and there’s a faceplant. Grayson and Uno low bridge Cardona to the floor as Cabana might have a broken nose. Now it’s Lee beating on Cardona in the corner, which again draws Dustin in for a failed save.

Lee chokes in the corner and shouts WHERE’S CODY over and over. Chasing the Dragon drops Cardona, allowing commentary to talk about Batman and Robin. Cardona slips out of the suplex and grabs the neckbreaker, allowing the hot tag to Dustin to clean house. There’s a Canadian Destroyer to Cabana and Sky comes in for the showdown with Lee. Cue Anna Jay to go after Sky but Brandi kicks her in the face.

As JR wishes Anna had a wardrobe malfunction (seriously), Sky hits a TKO for two on Uno. Radio Silence (the Rough Ryder) hits Grayson and Cardona nails a flip dive to the floor. Cardona charges into a powerbomb from Lee so Marshall hits his own flip dive. Back in and Grayson throws Marshall into a sitout powerbomb and Cabana adds a splash for two. The hot tag brings in Dustin though and it’s time for the slugout with Lee. That means a quick discus lariat to Dustin but Lee tags in Cabana for the pin. Cabana would rather go up top to miss a moonsault though, allowing Dustin to grab a rollup for the pin at 15:03.

Rating: C. This was long and that’s not the best thing for this kind of a match. I’m really not sure why we need the Order to lose here, unless they’re setting up Dustin as Lee’s first challenge. I know Dustin is old and related to Cody, but I’m not exactly interested in seeing Dustin vs. Lee in a big showdown. This felt more like something you would see on Dynamite and while it was fine enough, I wasn’t exactly thrilled.

Post match Lee freaks out and yells at Cabana before leaving in a huff. Uno shakes Cabana’s hand.

Dustin Rhodes is very excited over the win because he’s still doing this after five decades. As a bonus, he gets the TNT Title shot against Lee on Dynamite and is rather fired up as a result.

We recap FTR vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page. FTR doesn’t like a thrown together team having the Tag Team Titles and Page seems more serious about drinking than wrestling. The Young Bucks have thrown him out of the Elite and say he’s going to get what he deserves.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Hangman Page/Kenny Omega

Omega/Page are defending and Tully Blanchard is here with FTR. Omega and Wheeler start but Page (whose graphic says “I don’t care what the graphic says anymore”) wants in instead. Page slugs away to start but nearly hits Omega. The champs hit stereo big boots and Wheeler gets caught between some chops. Omega is finally willing to high five Page and it’s a snap suplex to drop Wheeler. It’s back to Omega for a springboard ax handle to the back and the Kitaro Crusher takes Wheeler down again.

Page hits a running shooting star to the back and it’s off to Harwood. That means a missed elbow but Page misses a boot in the corner. Harwood starts working on the leg as we hear that Matt Hardy is going to be ok. We hit the abdominal stretch until Omega is sent outside. Back in and Page gets to Omega for the tag so house can be cleaned. A jumping knee hits Harwood but Wheeler blocks the Snapdragon. Wheeler is dropkicked out of the air and Omega hits the big running flip dive to the floor.

Back in and Harwood powerbombs Omega into a German suplex from Wheeler for two more. Omega strikes both of them down though and everything breaks down again. A shot to the face takes Wheeler down for two and Omega goes up, where he gets to shove Wheeler down again. Harwood crotches him on top though the PowerPlex gets two. The Goodnight Express is broken up so Harwood brainbusters Omega instead. Omega is right back up with the poisonrana to Harwood and the Tiger Driver 98 gets two on Wheeler.

The V Trigger hits Wheeler but Harwood breaks up the One Winged Angel. Back to back dragon screw legwhips take Omega down and it’s off to the reverse Figure Four. The hold is broken up and Harwood stays on the leg with a Cannonball. Page finally comes over to try and break things up but is sent back to the corner as Omega’s leg is wrapped around the post. Omega manages to get up and hits back to back snapdragons but kicks Harwood into Page for the double knockdown.

Page gets back up for the hot tag a few seconds later though and house is cleaned. Wheeler is knocked down and Page dives onto Harwood at ringside. The big flip dive from the top takes FTR down again for a breather at ringside. Back in and Page is sent into Harwood’s knee for two and it’s the double Swan Dive for two, with Omega making the save. Page is sent to the apron again and gets caught with a reverse powerbomb/running bulldog combination for the big knockdown.

Back in and Omega breaks up a double team something, with Harwood falling off the top and landing hard on the apron. The super fall away slam hits Wheeler for two but the Buckshot Lariat misses. Omega V Triggers Page by mistake and Harwood takes out Omega’s knee. The Mindbreaker gives Harwood a cocky two so they do it again for the pin and the titles at 28:38.

Rating: B+. This was quite the match and they did the big mistake spot between Omega and Page to keep the issues going. FTR had to win here as there was no reason to keep them away from the titles at this point. The big deal is going to be the Omega/Page issues though as the Elite story continues. Heck of a match, but this started to feel long at the end.

Post match FTR leaves and Omega grabs one of the ringside tables. He throws it down though and Page collapses. Omega looks disgusted but walks away anyway. We follow Omega to the back where he finds the Young Bucks but storms off anyway. Omega says he’s done and let’s go so they head to the parking lot. Matt can’t talk him out of it as Omega says we need a good cleaning around here. Omega tells them to get in the car now or never but they stay out and Omega leaves.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy. They have split the first two matches and now it is time for Mimosa Mayhem, where you can win by pinfall, submission or throwing your opponent into a big vat of mimosa.

Chris Jericho talks about how he has been dealing with Cassidy for fourteen weeks and has finally made Cassidy into a real main event draw. They have been through a lot and now it is time to beat him for good, by making him tap out and throwing him into the vat of champagne and orange juice.

Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy

You win by pinfall, submission or throwing your opponent into one of the vats of mimosa (on platforms of equal height to the ring). There are also no rope breaks. During the entrances, we hear more about Hardy, with Tony making it clear that Matt was cleared to continue by the doctor and everything was safe. Cassidy charges straight into the Codebreaker for two to start and Jericho sends him hard into the corner. They go over to one of the platforms with the vat and Jericho hits him in the head with a table.

Jericho gets knocked off to the floor though and Cassidy adds the big dive. They get back on the platform and tease knocking each other in before getting back to safer ground. Cassidy tries a hurricanrana but gets powerbombed onto the platform and then through the table. A kick to the face rocks Jericho and a champagne bucket to the head puts him back inside.

The triangle dropkick almost puts Cassidy in but he’s back with a sunset flip for two. Cassidy grabs a Michinoku Driver for two more and a Stundog Millionaire gets the same. Jericho is back with a counter into the Walls so it’s time to crawl towards the vat. Cassidy uses a pitcher to throw some mimosa into Jericho’s eyes for the break and the Orange Punch connects.

Jericho is thrown over the top and his foot goes in the vat (doesn’t count) so Cassidy hits a running penalty kick (Excalibur: “THE RUNNING PK!” Tony: “THE RUNNING PK!” JR: “THE RUNNING PK!”) and the tornado DDT for two. Cassidy gets planted again for two more but Jericho can’t lawn dart him into the vat. Splash Mountain into the vat is blocked so Cassidy Superman Punches him into the vat for the win at 15:01.

Rating: C+. It was as good of a match as you were going to get based around the idea of throwing someone into a pool of champagne and orange juice. Cassidy already got the big rub off of pinning Jericho on Dynamite so this was more the goofy win than anything else. If this helps turn Cassidy into a main event star then so be it, but I’m not sure how much more of an impact this is going to have. It wasn’t bad, but it felt more silly rather than some big, serious match.

Full Gear is on November 7.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

We recap Jon Moxley vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman. MJF is the whiny kid who gets whatever he wants but now he has to find a way to beat Moxley to become the World Champion. This has seen a big campaign by MJF to get the title shot, which was pretty quickly dropped to set up MJF being injured by the Paradigm Shift. Then a lawyer got involved and now the Paradigm Shift is banned. Moxley wants to shut MJF up for good and MJF wants the title.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley s. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Friedman is challenging and has Wardlow in his corner plus a big red robe to complete the look. The Paradigm Shift is banned as well and if Moxley uses it, he loses the title. Friedman headlocks him down to start but Moxley is up with a right hand. Moxley sends him outside and gives chase but MJF gets back inside. They do it again and this time Moxley tries a dive, only to have to land on his feet as MJF slides back in.

Moxley sends him to the floor again and this time fakes the dive to get in a stomp. There’s a suicide dive but Moxley has to stop and glare at Wardlow. MJF is sent through the barricade and now it’s time to bend the fingers back, sending MJF into a scream for the ref. Back in and Moxley grabs a sleeper but MJF flips back onto him for two. There’s a ribs first drop onto the top rope but Moxley gets thrown over the top so he can crash down onto his arm.

Wardlow throws him back in and MJF starts in on said arm, as he should. MJF whips him by the arm into the corner for two but Moxley sends him into the post, drawing a big old gash on MJF’s head. MJF is staggered so Moxley teases the Paradigm Shift before realizing that won’t work. The Gotch Style piledriver doesn’t work either because the arm gives out, meaning it’s a swinging Boss Man Slam on the floor instead. Back in and the Gotch Styles piledriver gets two as Moxley’s arm means he can’t hook the leg.

Moxley bites him in the corner as a receipt from Dynamite but MJF gets in a top rope stomp to the arm. They slug it out with Moxley’s arm giving out so he hits a big running clothesline for two instead. Moxley yells at him so MJF spits in Moxley’s face. That almost makes Moxley use the Paradigm Shift so he puts on the brakes, only to get pulled into the Salt of the Earth (Fujiwara armbar). That’s broken up as well so MJF grabs the Heatseeker for two.

Moxley is back with the Air Raid Crash for his own two and they slug it out from their knees. MJF goes to the eye and tries a backslide for two so Moxley is back with the sleeper. The referee gets pulled in so MJF kicks him low for two more. MJF is bleeding even more as he grabs Cross Rhodes for another near fall. Wardlow has had it and gets on the apron to throw in the ring, but Moxley sees MJF pick it up. As the ref is with Wardlow, it’s the Paradigm Shift to give Moxley the pin and the title at 23:45.

Rating: C+. It was good enough and the blood helped but this was a long main event at the end of a show that felt very long and it hurt things a lot. The ending wasn’t exactly the most creative either, but they did find a way to keep the title on Moxley and give MJF something else to complain about. I liked it well enough, but I would have liked MJF winning the title more.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s their weakest pay per view to date and, just like Dynamite, that makes it one of the more entertaining shows I can remember in a good while. There was nothing close to really bad on here and the big matches delivered. That being said, I was done with this with about an hour to go and it just kept going.

They needed to trim some time off of some stuff here (5-10 minutes off the Tag Team Title match and the Bucks vs. Jurassic Express in its entirety would be good places to start) as it took away some of the impact that the bigger matches could have had. It was by no means bad or close to it, but it was a case where less would have equaled more.

Now as for the good stuff, the Tag Team Title match and Women’s Title match were both very good to great and the main event was good enough. The Hardy vs. Guevara match was more scary than anything else and I can’t imagine how much they had to cut out of that to make things work out. Cassidy got another rub here so they seem to have a plan in mind for him. There were a lot of positives here and more of them than negatives, but there was a bit too much of the whole show and it became an issue by the end. Still though, another good AEW pay per view as they remain perfect in that regard.

Results

Big Swole b. Britt Baker via knockout

Young Bucks b. Jurassic Express – BTE Trigger to Jungle Boy

Lance Archer won the Casino Battle Royal last eliminating Eddie Kingston

Matt Hardy b. Sammy Guevara when Guevara could not answer the ten count

Hikaru Shida b. Thunder Rosa – Running knee

Natural Nightmares/Scorpio Sky/Matt Cardona b. Dark Order – Rollup to Cabana

FTR b. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page – Mindbreaker to Page

Orange Cassidy b. Chris Jericho – Orange Punch into the mimosa

Jon Moxley b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Paradigm Shift

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: September 4, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

Yes it’s a double shot of this show as they continue their tradition of running a special show the night before a pay per view. In theory this means that we won’t be having a show next Tuesday, though I do wonder what that means for the Gunn Club and Kip Sabian. How can we get by without seeing them every single week? Let us get to it.

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

Faboo Andre/D3 vs. Butcher and Blade

Eddie Kingston is here with Butcher and Blade. The beatdown is on before the bell with Butcher running D3 over and taking him into the corner for the beating. D3 gets in a shot and hands it off to Andre, who walks into a side slam as the beating is on in a hurry. Blade doesn’t seem worried about Andre and slowly kicks him in the back but charges into a knee in the corner.

A hurricanrana allows the hot tag to D3 but he gets caught in a chokeslam/belly to back suplex combination. Andre makes the save and gets powerbombed/neckbreakered for his efforts. The suplex onto Blade’s knees is good for the pin on Andre at 3:34. They have those two big combinations and use the suplex onto the knee for the finisher?

Rating: D+. Again, you can only go so wrong with someone named Faboo Andre and it was nice to see Butcher and Blade destroying people like this. It isn’t a match that you need to see or course but as a brief showcase for Butcher and Blade, who seem to be on their way up, it worked out well enough. Now do something with them.

Allie vs. Red Velvet

QT Marshall is here with Velvet and Brandi Rhodes is on commentary. Feeling out process to start with Velvet grabbing a headlock and then running her over with a shoulder. A rollup gives Velvet two and Allie isn’t into the handshake. Instead Allie sends her into the corner but gets choked down with a boot. Velvet gets caught on top though and Allie hits a superkick. The running knee sets up a bulldog as Brandi wants Allie to stay on it. Down The Rabbit Hole finishes Velvet at 4:19.

Rating: D+. Another not too bad match with Allie and Brandi’s issues being front and center. What those issues are still isn’t clear, as Allie hasn’t exactly been trying to do anything bad to Marshall. I’m not sure what they’re going for long term, but it seems that the short term goal is to get Brandi on TV, which is working well enough.

Colt Cabana vs. Zack Clayton

Cabana drives him into the corner to start and we get some clean breaks but Stu Grayson of the Dark Order doesn’t seem thrilled with Cabana’s tactics. Evil Uno comes out to yell at him as well so Cabana shoulders Clayton down to take over. Clayton gets two off a rollup and Cabana is ticked off enough to start the aggression. Clayton fires off some uppercuts but the Dark Order offers a distraction. The Chicago Skyline puts Clayton down and, after an order from Uno, Cabana uses Brodie Lee’s discus lariat for the pin at 4:20.

Rating: C-. It was nice to see some storyline advancement during a match on this show because it has been lacking for nearly a year now. This is the kind of thing that can make Dark worth watching (or at least a little more worth watching) but for some reason this stuff is rather rare. That being said, if Cabana needed help beating this guy, maybe the Dark Order is a little beyond him.

Peter Avalon says the Initiative is done because it’s all about him. He isn’t an enhancement talent and it’s time to light a fire under Brandon Cutler. The two of them can go one on one and it’s time for the loser to win. Leva Bates does not seem pleased.

Lucha Bros vs. Ryzin/Angel Perez

Fenix and Ryzin start things off with Ryzin being knocked down in a hurry. Penta comes in and holds Fenix’s hand for a crazy springboard flipping armdrag but Ryzin gets a boot up in the corner. Perez comes in to elbow Fenix in the face and a running knee to the face drops him again. Penta’s distraction lets Fenix grab a spinning sunset flip out of the corner for two. Penta hits a running Canadian Destroyer on Ryzin and a spike Fear Factor (though with Fenix standing up for the spike instead of coming off the top) finishes Perez at 2:53.

Post match here are Eddie Kingston and Butcher and Blade with Eddie promising that one of them is going to win the Casino Battle Royal. Butcher isn’t happy but Kingston gets them together for a group hug.

Ivelisse vs. KiLynn King

Diamante is here with Ivelisse. They trade some strikes to start until King takes way too long trying a slam, allowing Ivelisse to slip away. A springboard tornado DDT gives Ivelisse two and a kick to the head gets the same. The full nelson with the legs keep King down and a running knee gives Ivelisse two more. Another big kick misses though and King hits a hard forearm. King kicks her in the head and sends Ivelisse flying with a German suplex for two. As Taz criticizes the covering, Diamante offers a distraction so Ivelisse can hit a Downward Spiral. Code Red finishes King at 4:48.

Rating: C-. They might have something here with King, who gets noticed every time she is on the show. I know she probably isn’t going anywhere, but it could be worth giving her a little something. Like say, a win, over another of the Dark jobbers. That could help a few other people here and there but for some reason it never happens. I really don’t get it, but that’s not what the show seems to be about.

Shawn Dean/Brandon Bullock vs. Dark Order

It’s John Silver and Alex Reynolds for the Order here. Silver takes Dean straight down for an attempted choke and then fires a knee to the face. It’s off to Reynolds, who gets caught with a quick enziguri so Bullock can come in off the tag. Silver kicks Bullock in the chest though as commentary talks about Tom and Jerry.

The Order starts hammering away on Bullock in the corner and back to back splashes give Reynolds two. Bullock flips out of a belly to back suplex though and it’s back to Dean. That earns him some quick strikes to the face from Dean and a spinning torture rack powerbomb plants Dean again. The double flipping DDT gives Silver the pin at 5:42.

Rating: D+. Kind of a long match by comparison to the rest of the show and that’s not the best thing. Dean is one of the better jobbers but there is a reason that Silver and Reynolds were put under masks and are often just identified by numbers. The match wasn’t anything of note, but the Dark Order has been getting a lot more TV time as of late so I can’t say I’m surprised to see them here.

Brandon Cutler, also with Leva Bates, says he’ll take Peter Avalon’s challenge. If Avalon wants to light that fire, be ready to be burned.

Luther vs. Darby Allin

Taz is suddenly a huge Luther fan. Luther kicks the knee out to start and sends Darby’s knee into the post. Back in and Luther stomps at the knee some more with Allin not even being able to run the ropes. Allin comes back with a Fujiwara armbar but Luther makes it over to the rope. Luther is right back to the knee and a backdrop driver gives him two. There’s a reverse suplex for two more as Taz wants Darby to headbutt a fire hydrant. The Cannonball only hits corner though and Luther rolls outside for a Coffin Drop from Allin. Back in and the Coffin Drop finishes Luther at 4:29.

Rating: C. Luther was wrestling a much more logical match here and that made it a lot easier to watch. He hasn’t been the disaster that I was expecting when he seemingly was hired because he and Jericho worked together a long time ago, but this worked out well enough. Allin survived until the end here, and that’s perfectly fine.

Dark Order vs. Natural Nightmares

It’s Preston Vance/Alan Angels for the Order here. The Nightmares jump them before the bell and the fight is on with the Order getting beaten out to the floor in a hurry. Dustin hammers on Vance and hits a belly to back suplex for…well more right hands actually. Marshall comes in for his own shots to the face but Angels low bridges Marshall to the floor. Back in and Vance hits his own suplex for two, followed by a spinebuster for the same.

Marshall gets in a faceplant on Angels but Vance pulls Dustin off the apron. A DDT gives Angels two and the hot tag brings in Dustin to clean house. The snap powerslams plant the Order but a cheap shot from the apron lets Vance get a rollup for two. Back in and Marshall hits a Diamond Cutter on Angels, leaving Vance to take the Final Reckoning for the pin at 8:00.

Rating: C. Again, believe it or not, the talented wrestlers getting a little time led to a better match. It also helps that there is an actual story here instead of just people doing moves to each other for the sake of filling in time. This wasn’t bad either, as the Nightmares continue to be a nice little pairing.

Quick All Out preview wraps it up.

Overall Rating: C-. I know I’m beating a heavily damaged horse here but the time was the key to making this one a lot more watchable. There was nothing wroth going out of your way to see here but then again there almost never is on Dark. It was more of the same, but there wasn’t a point where I was wondering how much longer I would have to sit through the thing. This was as proof positive as you could get that there is no need to make the show so long most of the time and it was easier to watch as a result. I’m sure that won’t matter next time, but it was a nice break for one week.

Results

Butcher and Blade b. Faboo Andre/D3 – Suplex onto Blade’s knees to Andre

Allie b. Red Velvet – Down The Rabbit Hole

Colt Cabana b. Zack Clayton – Discus lariat

Lucha Bros b. Ryzin/Angel Perez – Spike Fear Factor to Perez

Ivelisse b. KiLynn King – Code Red

Dark Order b. Brandon Bullock/Shawn Dean – Double flipping DDT to Bullock

Darby Allin b. Luther – Coffin Drop

Natural Nightmares b. Dark Order – Final Reckoning to Vance

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: August 27, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Chris Jericho, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re on another special schedule this week and this time around it’s another stacked show. We have a tag team gauntlet match for the #1 contendership to the Tag Team Titles for All Out, plus all of the other tag matches that this show really likes presenting. Throw in a Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara tables match (though a chairs match would make more sense) and we should be good to go. Let’s get to it.

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

There are fans back too and it already helps a lot.

Tag Team Gauntlet Match

The winners get the title shot against Kenny Omega/Hangman Page at All Out. The Young Bucks and the Natural Nightmares start things off with Nick hiptossing Marshall early on. Dustin comes in to trade armdrags with Matt and Dustin needs a little breather. The powerslams plant the Bucks and a double Russian legsweep gets two on Matt. It’s back to Dustin who teases the Goldust deep breath but just works on the arm instead.

Matt gets away from Dustin though and the Bucks get in a double dropkick to send Marshall outside. Dustin is right back with a Canadian Destroyer to Matt though and it’s back to Marshall. The QT Special is broken up and a double superkick drops Marshall. The BTE Trigger finishers Marshall at 6:23.

It’s the Best Friends in third and they shoulder Nick down to start. Trent is sent to the floor but he avoids the moonsault and hits a spear on Nick. Back in and Nick is sent hard into the corner as Jericho rants about how much he hates Being The Elite. A superkick and a German suplex on the apron allow Nick to get over for the hot tag though and house is cleaned. Something like Diamond Dust sets up the rolling northern lights suplexes but Trent grabs the tornado DDT out of the corner to put both of them down.

It’s back to Nick for more kicks until Chuck spinebusters him down, although he is favoring his knee a bit. Soul Food into the half and half suplex takes Nick down again and there’s the Big Hug. Strong Zero is reversed into a rollup for two on Trent and he’s pulled down to the floor for a Swanton from the apron. Back in and the hanging 450 gets two on Trent. The Meltzer Driver is reversed into a rollup on Matt and here’s Hangman Page to hold Nick back to give Chuck the pin at 16:31.

FTR is in last and has Tully Blanchard in their corner. Back from a break with Chuck in trouble but countering a Figure Four attempt with a quick small package. Wheeler breaks up the hot tag attempt and even pulls Trent to the floor for a suplex to break it up again. That lets Harwood grab a reverse Figure Four…and Chuck taps at 26:20. It’s so sudden that commentary acknowledges that they almost missed it.

Rating: C+. You could pretty much figure out the order of eliminations and the winners here without much effort and that’s not a bad thing. I’m also glad that they didn’t pad the match out with a bunch of teams who didn’t need to be there. Throw in the fact that they had normal tag matches instead of some big eight man insanity and it was downright not bad.

Darby Allin, in a Ricky Starks mask, walks across a really high bridge and says he isn’t afraid of Starks. Then he dives off the bridge.

Lance Archer vs. Sean Maluta

Archer has Jake Roberts with him and runs Maluta over at the bell. Another shot puts him on the floor but Archer lets him come back in for a slugout. That just annoys Archer, who throws him into the corner with a suplex. The chokeslam gets two with Archer pulling him up, much to Jake’s delight. The Blackout into the EBD Claw finishes Maluta at 2:55.

Post break Jake says there will be twenty one men in the Casino Battle Royal and Archer better win it. Archer thinks he can throw out all twenty men, which makes Jake happy because he loves to abuse people. Cue Team Taz (Jake: “IT’S THE FLINTSTONES!”) with Taz saying that one of the members is winning the battle royal. Jake says they should put on some chicken suits because they’re going to get plucked. Violence is teased but here’s Darby Allin, on the skateboard, to go after Starks. The two of them fight to the back so Archer and Cage are ready to go.

MJF manages to get down the hall way and doesn’t like someone sounding like they’re laughing.

Video on Thunder Rosa, including clips from the NWA and comments from Billy Corgan.

We get a quick signing between Thunder Rosa and Hikaru Shida.

It’s time for the contract signing between Jon Moxley and MJF. Jericho rants about Moxley being #1 in the PWI 500 and Tony makes it worse by saying Jericho is #3. Jericho: “WHO IS NUMBER TWO??? MARKO STUNT???” The contract involves banning the Paradigm Shift from their match and MJF signs in a hurry but Moxley hesitates. MJF talks about how contract signings end in violence ten times out of ten but they need to practice social distancing. MJF: “Kind of like your hairline Jon.”

Moxley laughs it off and says MJF will get there one day. MJF says Moxley is as sharp as a marble and that’s not surprising. He knows Moxley is crazy because even Mike Tyson said he wouldn’t want to be in a dark alley with Moxley. On September 5, they’re going to be in a ring though and MJF is a wrestling prodigy. He is going to pick Moxley apart and use every piece of the ring to take him apart like a brain surgeon.

Moxley is going to try to take him outside for the brawling because that’s all he knows. He grew up watching and idolizing people like Sandman, New Jack and Onita. MJF grew up watching Buddy Rogers, Ernie Ladd (those are two rather different influences) and Tully Blanchard and they made him a wrestling machine. When they leave the ring on September 5, he’s wearing platinum because he’s the best in the world.

If Moxley is so sure that he’s a better wrestler though, why does he need the Paradigm Shift? If Moxley isn’t so sure, maybe MJF should call Moxley’s hot little wife and tell him he’s single. Moxley is ready to fight so the lawyer threatens a lawsuit. Sure he wants to use the Paradigm Shift and drop MJF on his head to cause him permanent neck damage. But he doesn’t want to get sued because the only lawyer he knows is his old public defender and he’s in jail. None of this matters anyway because on September 5, MJF is a dead man.

Moxley signs and MJF celebrates, though Moxley says he loved what is on page 17. MJF: “THERE ARE ONLY SIXTEEN PAGES!” Moxley slipped in a deal, saying that he gets to face the lawyer next week and the Paradigm Shift is legal. If the lawyer doesn’t show up, MJF doesn’t get a title shot. Moxley: “I should be a lawyer.”

Santana and Ortiz recap their issues with the Best Friends and sure they’ll apologize. They’re just sorry that Trent’s mom wasn’t in the van when they wrecked it.

Butcher and Blade/Lucha Bros vs. Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss/Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison

Eddie laughs off the idea that he and his friends are a faction. They’re just about titles and nothing more. It’s a brawl to start with the Bros hitting big flip dives out to the floor to take down all four of them. Back in and a running dropkick into a gutwrench suplex drops Garrison as JR and Jericho talk about guitars. Kiss comes in and Matrixes away from Blade’s right hand. It’s off to Janela to forearm Blade in the corner.

Back from a break with Janela punching Fenix down but getting sent to the ramp by Butcher. That earns Butcher a Stunner over the ropes and Janela runs over for the tag off to Kiss. House is cleaned but Janela gets caught on the apron with a package piledriver. Pillman comes in and gets to chop away but walks into the spike Fear Factor for the pin at 9:02.

Rating: D+. This could have been on any given episode of Dark and that’s not the best place to be. What mattered here was getting the new team together for a win and that’s perfectly fine. Just let Kingston talk a lot and the team will be fine. I’m not sure what they’re going to do next, but they had a passable debut as a team here.

Post match Kingston says the five of them are in the Casino Battle Royal and guarantees a winner.

We recap Brodie Lee destroying Cody last week and making it even worse post match.

Here’s the Dark Order, minus Lee, carrying a casket (Jericho: ‘IS CODY IN THERE???”). Evil Uno talks about the team purchasing six lawn mowers for this kind of a celebration. This is a farewell to the man known as Cody and they open the casket, with Ten inside. He even has a Nightmare Family jacket and a fake Cody tattoo. They throw the jacket inside and put the Cody flag onto the casket. Now it’s Brodie coming out and Uno demands that all of them show respect.

The team gets in the ring for an interview with Tony, with Lee saying the Dark Order was laughed at about a year ago because of people like Tony. See, Lee was sitting in prison back then and now they’re here with the gold in his hands. Lee tells the team to shut up for chanting for him and introduces Ann Jay as the Queen Slayer. Cody is never getting the title back and the Open Challenge is over.

One of the members tries to cheer for him so Lee punches him in the face. Cue the Natural Nightmares to go after the Order but the numbers take him down. Scorpio Sky comes in to clear out everyone but Lee, only to have Anna come in from behind for a slap. That lets Lee get in a cheap shot so here’s Matt Cardona to chase everyone else off.

The Young Bucks find Hangman Page at the bar and yell at him for costing them the match. They know he doesn’t want to be part of this because he’s a drunk. He’s also out of the Elite.

Penelope Ford/Reba/Britt Baker vs. Big Swole

Baker is still in her wheelchair but has an offer for Swole: if Swole wins, she can have any match with Baker that she wants. It’s a brawl before the bell and Swole can’t fight off the numbers game. Swole catches Reba on the top though and a super hurricanrana barely works. Kip Sabian distracts the referee so Swole gives him Dirty Dancing. Ford throws Swole back in so Reba can hit a middle rope moonsault for two. Reba tries to bring in the crutch but the referee stops it. The crutch is picked up anyway but Swole ducks and Ford is knocked out to give Swole the pin at 2:48. A little messy but it did what it was supposed to.

Here’s the Dark Order again with a JOIN US folder for Taya Conti. A big hug seems to say yes. JR: “Let’s all go tot he mall.”

All Out rundown.

We look at the Inner Circle destroying Orange Cassidy last week.

Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara

Tables match. Matt wastes no time in sending it outside for a whip over the barricade. The beating stays on near the crowd but Sammy gets in a knee to the face as we take a fast break. Back again with Matt hitting a Side Effect on the apron and loading a bloody Sammy onto the table. The apron elbow misses though and the table is destroyed.

Sammy grabs a chair but Matt gives him a Twist of Fate through it instead. It’s time for a table with DELETED painted on top (Jericho: “OH NO!”) and Matt even knows how to get it untangled from the ropes. Matt puts it on top of an open chair and goes up but his balance gives out. That lets Sammy superplex Matt through the table for the win at 6:28.

Rating: D+. The lack of time destroyed this as they didn’t have a lot of time and then that was cut out because of the commercial. There isn’t much anyone can do under those circumstances, especially with a gimmick match. I’m hoping they get another change at this and with some more time because this was criminal given what they had set up.

Post match Orange Cassidy sprints across the stage (nicely done too as the camera was on Sammy so you just saw a white shirt streaking through the background) to jump Jericho and the big fight is on with Sammy trying to help Jericho to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I wasn’t feeling this one as much as some of the matches felt like they belonged on Dark instead of the big show and the big segments were only ok. I don’t need to see the Dark Order as the featured team, especially against Dustin Rhodes and Matt Cardona. The contract signing worked because MJF can say anything, but Moxley beating up a lawyer isn’t exactly interesting. It’s a good enough show and they moved things along, but not one of their best efforts.

Results

FTR won a gauntlet match last eliminating Best Friends

Lance Archer b. Sean Maluta – EBD Claw

Butcher and Blade/Lucha Bros b. Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison/Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss – Spike Fear Factor to Pillman

Big Swole b. Penelope Ford/Britt Baker/Reba – Crutch shot to Ford

Sammy Guevara b. Matt Hardy – Superplex through a table

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: August 22, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s a special Saturday edition of the show and as luck would have it, the only time that the show could air this week was opposite the first hour of Takeover. With that coincidence out of the way, it’s a big night with the finals of the Women’s Tag Team Tournament and we get a sitdown interview with Orange Cassidy. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

FTR vs. Private Party

Tully Blanchard is here with FTR. Dash Harwood hiptossed Marq Quen to start and everything breaks down in a hurry for not quite stereo dropkicks from Private Party. We settle down to Cash Wheeler offering a distraction so Harwood can rake Quen’s eyes to take over. It’s off to Kassidy anyway and a top rope ax handle hits Harwood’s arm. Some quick double teaming takes Harwood down to give Quen two and we hit the hammerlock.

Harwood bails to the floor for a second and it’s a Wheeler distraction to set up a double clothesline to take Quen down. Choking ensues behind the referee’s back, followed by some old school eye raking across the top rope ala Arn Anderson. The chinlock goes on but Quen fights up and we go to an overhead camera shot. Wheeler comes back in for two off a powerbomb and another chinlock goes on.

Quen fights up and sends both of them to the floor, allowing the hot tag off to Kassidy. A blind tag brings Quen back in for two off a springboard crossbody plus a small package for the same. Wheeler hits a spinebuster for two more and everyone is down again. Kassidy’s slingshot dive to the floor misses thanks to a Tully save, leaving Quen to go shoulder near to the post. The Goodnight Express is good for the pin at 12:51.

Rating: B. That’s the best FTR match in AEW so far as they had a solid, back and forth effort here. Pairing them with Tully is about as perfect as you can get outside of Arn Anderson and I’m not sure why it took so long to get us here. This worked rather well and I could go for more of it down the road. Private Party looked good here too and FTR felt even more old school than usual here.

Jon Moxley likes to let his actions do the talking. MJF thinks he’s the future but Moxley would be one to disagree. Moxley wants the company to succeed for the next twenty five years and since he won’t be here that long, he needs MJF to move out of his basement. On September 5, MJF is going to take one heck of a beating and then get dumped on top of his head. MJF better be ready.

MJF, in a neckbrace and using a walker (which matches the scarf of course), says he hopes Moxley knows his actions have consequences. He hopes that he can have kids some day and wants to hear “Pa-pa, can we have a game of catch? But now he might be too injured to allow that to happen. MJF’s lawyer takes over to talk about the Paradigm Shift, also known as the double arm DDT, being so dangerous. If MJF is injured, who is next? Wardlow? Gum Guy? They have put a petition online to get the Paradigm Shift, also known as the double arm DDT, banned, and FIVE MILLION people have signed. That’s why they have a contract ready to ban it and if Moxley doesn’t sign it, they’ll sue.

Lucha Bros/Butcher and Blade vs. Natural Nightmares/Jurassic Express

It’s the Dark Special making it to Dynamite. The brawl is on before the introductions until Marshall hits a handspring forearm to Blade. Marshall has to flip out of a double belly to back suplex and the hot tag brings in Dustin to clean house. Dustin gets taken to the floor though and the beating is on. Back in and Pentagon starts working on Dustin’s leg before handing it off to Fenix for more of the same.

We take a break and come back with Luchasaurus coming in off the hot tag and cleaning house, including a bad chokeslam to Pentagon. The standing moonsault gets two as everything breaks down. The Sling Blade connects for Pentagon but he gets caught in Jungle Boy’s tornado DDT. Jungle Boy gets backdropped into a piledriver from Pentagon but Blade goes up top instead of Fenix. Pentagon shoves Blade…right into a rollup to give Boy the pin at 9:42.

Rating: C. It feels like we’ve seen some version of this match between all of the midcard tag teams around here at least once a week. They aren’t bad and there was no Marko Stunt involvement so it couldn’t be as bad. The match was short enough to not overstay its welcome but it’s nothing we haven’t seen far better before, including anything from the Lucha Bros.

Post match the losers argue a lot but here’s Eddie Kingston to ask why they’re fighting. TNT knows drama so why is there drama here? After that good line, he says that if the four of them follow him, they can have anything they want. The five of them hug and Eddie winks at the camera, because we have another stable around here.

We go to the gym with Britt Baker talking about how awesome she is but Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford are physically expressing their affections with each other. Baker calls them off because that’s a way to exchange germs and offers free dental care for a year if they’ll help get rid of Big Swole. Oh and Reba will do her makeup for a year. Ford says deal.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring and brings out Orange Cassidy for an interview. The Best Friends are here too because they’re on every single show in the history of ever. Tony talks about it being the biggest win of Cassidy’s career but here’s Chris Jericho to interrupt. Jericho congratulates Cassidy on his win because it doesn’t happen around here very often. That means Cassidy is learning, because now he knows what it takes to be a main eventer around here. Jericho wants to offer him a toast but there is one more thing. They’re even in their two matches so they need to do it again.

Jericho invented a match involving a ladder and a briefcase so they need to do something else: the Mimosa Mayhem Match. We see a video explaining the rules: there will be an eighty gallon tub of orange juice mixed with A Little Bit Of The Bubbly at ringside and you win by pinfall, submission, or throwing your opponent in. Back in the arena, Cassidy gives him a thumbs up for All Out. Jericho is pleased and still wants to toast Cassidy, but not alone. Cue the Inner Circle to surround the ring and Jericho says get them. The beating is on and Cassidy is held upside down with Jericho pouring champagne over his face.

Kenny Omega/Young Bucks vs. Dark Order

It’s Alan Angels/John Silver/Alex Reynolds for the Order here. Nick and Angels (I think, as the Order are all in masks) start things off and Matt comes in for the early double teaming. The Bucks shrug off a triple teaming and Omega comes in to show them how it’s properly done. The Order is sent outside until it’s Omega chopping away at Reynolds. Omega is sent outside for a stomp to a chair to his chest and Reynolds hits a suicide dive. Back in and Omega gets beaten down in the corner as we take a break.

We come back with Nick in and cleaning house, including a Backstabber out of the corner to Reynolds. It’s Reynolds getting caught in the corner, including a bulldog/dropkick combination. Omega misses a charge in the corner though and it’s the Order starting with the running corner elbows. Reynolds’ powerbomb to Omega is broken up and it’s time to unleash the snapdragons.

The Meltzer Driver is broken up though and the Order hits back to back Tombstones on the Bucks. Angels comes in with a top rope double stomp for two on Matt with Omega diving in for the save. Angels’ moonsault is superkicked out of the air and Nick hits a moonsault onto the other two. A launch into the Indytaker into the One Winged Angel finishes Angels at 11:17.

Rating: C+. This was as good as the Elite beating up three masked goons was going to be. Omega and the Bucks are fine as a mini stable inside the Elite but it’s only going to be so good given their opponents. Omega wasn’t quite as aggressive as he had been teasing, but then again how angry can you get in a match against the Dark Order?

Post match Omega grabs a chair and loads up a powerbomb to send Angels through it, with the Bucks having to break it up. There’s your aggression.

FTR and Tully Blanchard like the idea of a #1 contenders gauntlet match next week. Tully says it’s time to prove that they are the best and they’ll go through everyone to get there. Hangman Page comes in to share drinks and they seem to be cool with the idea of coming after the titles once they win the gauntlet match. Page and Omega have beaten everyone, but not FTR. Things seem to be all cool.

Darby Allin vs. Will Hobbs

Allin jumps him during the entrance and dropkicks him outside. The dive takes Hobbs out again but he says ring the bell anyway. Allin can’t whip him in so Hobbs hits a heck of a backdrop. Hobbs pulls him out of the corner for two before yelling a lot. That takes a little too long and Allin hits a headbutt to the ribs. The Coffin Drop finishes Hobbs at 2:46.

Post match Taz laughs at Darby and introduces the newest member of Team Taz. His name is Darby also, and it’s…..Ricky Starks in Darby face paint. Starks talks about how no one likes him while he only likes skateboards. He also likes shredding someone’s back with thumb tacks because life is a joke. Ha ha ha. Cue Brian cage from behind to hit Allin with the FTW Title.

We come back with Matt Hardy unloading on Sammy Guevara (who had been out with his signs about Matt) with a chair. Sammy is thrown off the stage and through the table. Matt isn’t done and grabs the same kind of chair that busted him open a few weeks back but referees won’t let him throw it.

NWA Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa, with the title, is coming for Hikaru Shida so she can make the women’s division mean something. She wants a shot at Shida at All Out and nothing else.

Women’s Tag Team Tournament Finals: Nightmare Sisters vs. Diamante/Ivelisse

Veda Scott joins commentary for the four person booth. The Natural Nightmares are here, with Dustin keeping track of Brandi’s action figures. Ivelisse strikes away at Brandi, including kicking out her knee for a kick to the chest. Diamante comes in to kick her down as well but it’s quickly off to Allie for a forearm in the corner.

We take a break and come back with Allie putting Diamante on top but Diamante comes back with a quick suplex to get a breather. The double tag brings in Allie for the reverse DDT but Ivelisse make the save as everything breaks down. Allie is caught in a double team but QT Marshall offers a distraction. He gets knocked off the apron and Brandi is dropped onto him, leaving Allie to be snapmared into a kick to the head for the pin and the tournament at 9:34.

Rating: C-. And that’s the tournament, thank goodness. This was one of the worse things that AEW has done so far and thank goodness it didn’t go on longer. They didn’t have the personnel and it wasn’t exactly interesting as a big trailer for Brandi and Heels. The final could have been worse, but the whole thing felt like such a horrible waste of time. Either get better with the talent or don’t do this again. Keep Veda though, as she was great on commentary.

Post match Madusa comes out to present the trophy. That doesn’t involve saying anything, but the winners get some medals too.

TNT Title: Brodie Lee vs. Cody

Cody is defending and has Arn Anderson in his corner. Brodie starts fast with a dropkick and Cody is sent outside, meaning it’s a hard whip into the barricade. Back in and the smiling Lee drops him again for two. A powerbomb sets up the discus lariat….and Lee wins the title at 3:06. Cody got in no significant offense.

Rating: D+. This was a complete squash and my eyes bugged out on the pin. That’s a good way to send in a shock and I didn’t see it coming. This was in the Brock Lesnar squashes John Cena mold, albeit the shorter form. It wasn’t a good match, but it was a big shock and that’s a positive thing here.

Post match the Dark Order comes in to celebrate as Lee says he told us so. Cody is taken out on a stretcher. He does the big thumbs up….and Lee sends the Dark Order after Arn. Anderson slugs away but gets knocked down, allowing Lee to turn the stretcher over. Dustin Rhodes runs out and gets laid out as well. Lee hits Cody in the head with a rolled up bag and poses over him. Cue Brandi to stand over Cody but Anna Jay chokes her out. Lee calls her off and poses with the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling wasn’t as good here but the ending angle and title change were quite good. They moved some things forward here and All Out is starting to come together. They don’t have a lot of time left before the pay per view and hopefully now they can hammer things down and blow it out of the water again. Good show here, and things are looking bright down the road.

Results

FTR b. Private Party – Goodnight Express to Quen

Jurassic Express/Natural Nightmares b. Lucha Bros/Butcher and Blade – Rollup to Pentagon

Kenny Omega/Young Bucks b. Dark Order – One Winged Angel to Angels

Diamante/Ivelisse b. Nightmare Sisters – Kick to Allie’s head

Brodie Lee b. Cody – Discus lariat

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: August 11, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Taz

Yeah we’re back and I’m still not sure what to say about this show. They are getting into a little bit better of a format here as they are at least now doing a bigger main event between some midcarders, which offers a nice boost. Hopefully the rest of the show can be good enough to make that match work. Let’s get to it.

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

Quick announcers preview.

Lee Johnson vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix takes him straight down into an armbar and then a quickly broken chinlock to start as the announcers talk about how amazing Fenix is when he starts flying. Back up and Johnson ducks a bunch of kicks and we get a quick handshake. Fenix takes him down and goes for the face, sending Johnson to the ropes for the break. They go outside with Fenix sending him into various things and kicking Johnson in the head.

Back in and Fenix hits the AJ Styles drop down into a (running) dropkick before sending him to the apron for a spinning kick to the face. Johnson is right back up with a series of strikes to the head into a springboard missile dropkick for one. A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Johnson two more but Fenix ducks a superkick and kicks him in the head. The running spin kick to the face in the corner sets up the Black Fire Driver to finish Johnson at 6:29.

Rating: C. Fenix is one of those guys who we don’t see very often and in a way, that’s a good thing. He doesn’t lose a lot of the impact that he could have from being around too often and it’s a case of absence makes the heart go fonder. Fenix can fly very well and I could go for more of him on his own, but don’t overuse him.

Video on Scorpio Sky wanting a TNT Title shot.

Shawn Spears vs. Alex Chamberlain

Tully Blanchard is here with Spears. Chamberlain gets headlocked to the mat to start but reverses into one of his own. They run the ropes until Spears catches him with a shot to the ribs. That’s fine with Chamberlain who runs him over with a shoulder, meaning it’s time for a breather on the floor. Chamberlain follows like a schnook and gets pulled into the post. Spears drops the arm onto the apron and it’s time to work on said arm back inside. The good arm is fine enough to knock Spears outside but he’s back in with a slingshot stomp to the arm. The Death Valley Driver ends Chamberlain at 4:09.

Rating: C. I’m still not big on Spears but it is nice to see him do something like this where he works on the arm and takes someone apart. Spears still doesn’t exactly show me enough to make me think that he is going to be some big star but they need to build him up somehow. Chamberlain has a good look but that’s about all you could see with him here.

Post match, Spears lays him out with the glove.

M’Badu/Shawn Dean vs. Gunn Club

Austin and Dean start things off with Dean spinning out of a wristlock and snapping off a dropkick. Billy comes in for a big boot and two and it’s off to the rather large (and muscular) M’Badu. A shove is enough to get Billy to take his shirt off (Taz: “Such a vet move.”) and a running shoulder (from Billy) puts Billy down. M’Badu elbows him into the corner and hits a Stinger Splash before it’s back to Dean.

Some shots in the corner have Billy doing a Flair Flop and we hit the quickly broken chinlock. Billy DDTs his way to freedom and Austin tells his daddy to come on. The double tag brings in Dean and Austin with the latter sending M’Badu to the floor. Everything breaks down and the hiptoss neckbreaker finishes Dean at 6:42.

Rating: D+. Forgive me if I’m not incredibly interested in seeing Billy Gunn trying to make his son relevant in 2020. Austin seems like a fine enough guy but there is only so much that you are going to be able to do when you’re in there with your far more famous father. The match wasn’t too bad and M’Badu looked good in a short stretch, but the Gunn Club isn’t exactly thrilling.

Michael Stevens vs. Kip Sabian

Penelope Ford is here too. Stevens’ gear looks like he wore it to a rather messy Nickelodeon game show and let the weird goo dry. Sabian kicks him down and rubs Stevens’ bald head so Stevens takes him over without much trouble. That means time for some dancing/mime work, allowing Sabian to take over again. After a shot of water, Sabian stomps away and hits a pop up knee into a discus punch.

There’s a penalty kick as Tony talks about how much he learns from Taz every week. Stevens gets thrown into the corner where he shakes his hips a bit before jumping over Sabian. An X Factor gets two but Sabian catapults him into the corner. The springboard tornado DDT sets up the hanging twisting neckbreaker to finish Stevens at 5:12.

Rating: C-. Stevens is going to get more attention here but I’m not sure what I think about him yet. He made a quick impression, but how far that can take him remains to be seen. There is only so much you can get out of a five minute match that was mainly a squash and the bright gear isn’t enough. He got more of my attention than most AEW jobbers though so that’s a first step at least.

Private Party vs. Griff Garrison/Brian Pillman Jr.

Kassidy and Pillman start as Tony talks about Urban Dictionary. A leg lariat staggers Pillman and it’s off to Quen to strike away at the head. Pillman gets taken into the corner for a running shot to the face but Kassidy has to stop to pose instead of dive. Back in and Pillman manages a knee to the face so Garrison can come in instead.

Garrison’s kick to the face gives him his own two as Tony wants to know why wrestlers with long hair don’t tie it back. Kassidy gets sent into the corner but rolls away and brings in Quen to clean house. Everything breaks down and a top rope splash/top rope legdrop combination (an old Hardy Boyz move in a nice nod to their work with Matt) finishes Garrison at 5:59.

Rating: C-. One of the common criticisms of Private Party is that they’re great athletes but don’t really know how to put together a match. That was on display here as they just kind of did some spots and then had the finish. They were strung together better than normal for a Private Party match, but it still feels like they don’t really know what they’re doing. It’s far from terrible or even bad, but they need more polish than what they have now.

Pineapple Pete/Aaron Solow/Corey Hollis vs. Jurassic Express

Stunt starts for the Express and, after the required unfunny dancing, gets to face Solow, who starts on his knees. That means it’s off to Luchasaurus to wreck everyone in sight. Solow manages a spinning kick to the head but Luchasaurus kicks him even harder, allowing Jungle Boy to come in for a suplex. Stunt adds a high crossbody for two but Solow takes Boy into the corner for some stomping.

Pete comes in and hits a northern lights suplex, only to get clotheslined by Boy. A double clothesline allows the hot tag to Stunt (who everyone would pick next over Luchasaurus) and it’s time to do his thing, including a Razor’s Edge to Pete out of the corner. Everything breaks down and the Express stomps on Pete, setting up Stunt’s 450 for the pin at 5:20.

Rating: D+. And of course it was the same Jurassic Express formula: Boy and Luchasaurus look good and we stop for all of Stunt’s antics, including the mini version of the big man offense as he becomes more and more like Hornswoggle every day. I’m sure that’s an idea that was funny once, but it was in another company with someone more talented and versatile than Stunt.

Hybrid 2 vs. Natural Nightmares

Brandi, with her action figure, and Allie are here with the Nightmares. Marshall starts with Angelico and it’s an early battle over wrist control. A headlock takeover has Angelico down as the announcers talk about ring gear. Evans flips in to face Dustin, meaning it’s the drop down uppercut to put Jack down. Marshall hits a standing moonsault for two and adds a slingshot shoulder for the same. A rake to Marshall’s eyes draws Dustin in though, allowing Angelico to add a cheap shot as the villains take over.

Dustin breaks up a figure four with the legs and Angelico misses a Stinger Splash. Evans keeps running his mouth so much that Marshall slips over for the tag to Dustin so house can be cleaned. There’s the bulldog to Evans and the scoop powerslam hits the 2. Dustin’s top rope flip dive takes both of them down again and Marshall’s pop up right hand hits Evans. Whatever Dustin is calling the Final Cut these days finishes Evans at 6:22.

Rating: C-. I believe the term ho-hum is the right way to go here as it was a great miniature version of this entire show: not terrible, but completely forgettable with two teams fighting and one of them winning. That’s not exactly something that I want to watch and it’s all this show has, which doesn’t exactly give me the highest enthusiasm.

Rachael Ellering vs. Penelope Ford

Kip Sabian is here too. Ford slips out of a headscissors to start so Ellering switches over to an armbar instead. Ellering hits a running elbow to the face for two but Penelope knees her way out of a brainbuster. Sabian whips out a leaf blower as Ford starts choking on the rope. Sabian: “She’s hot as h*** and clever.”

A clothesline to the back of the head drops Ellering again and Ford kicks her in the face a few times. The fisherman’s suplex is broken up and Ellering starts hitting her in the head. A spinebuster gives Ellering two but a springboard spinning legdrop only hits mat. The Lethal Injection drops Ellering and now the fisherman’s suplex is enough to finish 5:40.

Rating: C-. How in the world was that almost six minutes? Anyway, Ford has grown a lot in recent months and it is great to see her develop into something more than the good looking manager. Ellering is someone who seems to have potential but she only looked ok here. Then again she has been out of action for a LONG time after her torn ACL so it is far from fair to really critique her at the moment.

Butcher and Blade vs. SCU

Blade and Kazarian start things off and have a rather long lockup (as in over a minute) until Kazarian switches into a headlock. That lets Taz go head first into the analysis of the technique and what Kazarian should be going for with various parts of his body. I love that kind of thing. Blade fights up and charges into the corner, only to get rolled up for two. Daniels comes in with a neckbreaker for two on Blade as Tony talks about meeting Daniels in 2000 and how bad of a year that was.

Butcher comes in for a hard slam and drops a knee on Daniels before grabbing the bearhug. Blade tags himself back in to chop away against the ropes but Kazarian makes his own blind tag to come in for the save. A belly to back suplex drops Kazarian onto Blade and Daniels adds a Lionsault for two. Blade’s distraction lets Butcher hit a backbreaker though and Daniels is in trouble again.

A side slam/running legdrop combination gets two on Daniels and we hit the bearhug for the second time. Daniels bites his way to freedom and brings Kazarian back in to clean house. That means the springboard spinning legdrop to Blade with Butcher’s saving elbow only hitting his partner. Butcher is sent outside and it’s the double powerbomb for two on Blade. The Best Moonsault Ever is broken up by Butcher though and the suplex onto Blade’s knees finishes Daniels at 11:38.

Rating: C. As usual, the main event is the best match on the show because of the time it gets and the people involved. I’m also a little surprised at the ending as Butcher and Blade are starting to rise a bit but having them beat SCU feels like an upset. I’m not sure how good the match really was, but after everything we saw earlier in the show, this was quite the hit.

The Dynamite preview ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. My nearly complete apathy to this show continues to grow every week. It’s just most average(ish) wrestling that goes on for a long, long time every week. I need a little more to it than just watching a decent main event and it’s getting harder and harder to watch every week. I’m needing to take breaks to get through this show just so I can do something more interesting. It is far from a terrible show and the wrestling is rarely anything even bad, but I beg of you, find SOMETHING interesting to use on here.

Results

Rey Fenix b. Lee Johnson – Black Fire Driver

Shawn Spears b. Alex Chamberlain – Death Valley Driver

Gunn Club b. M’Badu/Shawn Dean – Hiptoss neckbreaker to Dean

Kip Sabian b. Michael Stevens – Hanging swinging neckbreaker

Private Party b. Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison – Top rope legdrop/top rope splash combination to Garrison

Jurassic Express b. Corey Hollis/Pineapple Pete/Aaron Solow – 450 to Pete

Natural Nightmares b. Hybrid 2 – Spinning suplex neckbreaker to Evans

Penelope Ford b. Rachael Ellering – Fisherman’s suplex

Butcher and Blade b. SCU – Suplex to Daniels onto Blade’s knees

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: June 17, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re rapidly approaching Fyter Fest and the card is starting to come together. With so much taking place over the course of the two weeks, we should be in for some rapid fire building and that could make for some entertaining shows. Tonight includes almost a mini tournament to set up the Tag Team Title match at Fyter Fest and that could be good stuff. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Natural Nightmares vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page

Omega and Page are defending. Dustin starts with Omega and has to escape an early One Winged Angel attempt. Omega sends him into the corner and tried to jump over but knees Dustin in the head by mistake. It’s off to Marshall for a dropkick on Page but he gets taken into the corner. Omega comes back in with a springboard ax handle to the ribs, only to have Marshall muscle him up with a suplex.

That’s enough for the tag to Dustin and the pace picks up, only to have Omega hit the Kitaro Crusher for two. Omega brings Page back in for a basement clothesline to Marshall, setting up the middle rope moonsault to give Page two. Marshall knocks him back though and the hot tag brings in Dustin to start cleaning house again. Everything breaks down and the champs are sent outside.

Dustin hits a flip dive off the apron and Marshall adds a flip dive of his own to Omega. Back in and Omega blocks the cutter and hits the snapdragon on Marshall. Dustin hits the Canadian Destroyer on Omega but Page is there with the non-Buckshot lariat. Marshall grabs the cutter on Page to put everyone down. Cue Allie to cheer Marshall on but it’s Omega forearming Marshall and throwing him into a German suplex from Page. Dustin is sent to the floor for a dive from Page and the V Trigger gives Omega two on Marshall. The Last Call drops Marshall and the Last Call retains the titles at 12:48.

Rating: B. They did a good job of making a hot match out of a defense without much doubt as to the winners. The Nightmares are a fine midcard team but they aren’t going to take the titles when there is a chance of Omega/Page vs. Jericho/Guevara at a major show. Allie coming out to cheer didn’t change much, but they could make something out of her not being there from the start.

The announcers run down the card.

Video on Anna Jay, the Star of the show.

Anny Jay vs. Abadon

Abadon crawls to the ring (note from Britt Baker: “This girl needs to find Jesus.”) and knees away in the corner before choking on the ropes. A hurricanrana driver finishes Jay at 1:14. Well ok then. This company is going to get some evil, dark woman over and YOU WILL LIKE IT.

Post match here’s the Dark Order with Brodie Lee pointing some members to the ring and having Evil Uno hand Colt Cabana, at ringside, an envelope with a document inside. The rest of the team helps Jay out of the ring and she leaves with them as Cabana reads the papers.

Billy vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Austin Gunn and Wardlow are the seconds (and Billy towers over Wardlow). MJF bails to the floor to start so Billy hammers away as he comes back inside. A big boot misses so Billy tries again and connects this time for two. That’s enough to send MJF bailing up the ramp but Billy brings him back. A throat snap across the top rope doesn’t work for some reason and MJF busts out a Fargo Strut. Billy gets in a few more shots but MJF takes him down as we hit the break.

Back with MJF working on the leg but walking into a tilt-a-whirl slam. MJF goes right back to the leg and puts on a reverse Figure Four. Aubrey Edwards catches him grabbing the ropes and physically breaks it up so MJF yells at her to no avail. MJF kicks him in the leg and tries a Fameasser, only to get backflipped off. Billy’s Fameasser connects but also draws Wardlow to the apron. The distraction lets Wardlow slip MJF the ring and that’s enough for the pin at 9:54.

Rating: C-. The wrestling wasn’t all that great but what matters here is keeping MJF going hard. He knows how to cheat to win very well and beating Billy is a fine use of both of them. I’m not sure when the Fameasser became some big legendary finisher, but it really isn’t, especially from Billy Gunn.

Post match MJF goes after Jungle Boy at ringside and the wrestlers stream over the barricade for the big brawl.

Le Sex Gods are ready to become #1 contenders because they’re closer than best friends. They’re brothers, and blood is thicker than water. Or orange juice, and they beat Orange Cassidy to a bloody pulp.

Tony Schiavone interviews Britt Baker and mentions that Hikaru Shida will defend the Women’s Title at Fyter Fest. Baker doesn’t like being interviewed for this so she and Tony are ON A FRIENDSHIP TIMEOUT! She orders Rebel to drive but Big Swole is driving the golf cart and kidnaps Baker.

TNT Title: Cody vs. ???

Cody, with Arn Anderson, is defending against someone from outside of AEW and it’s….a promo from Cody first. He’s out here looking for a challenger and wants the best competition. Someone pops up on screen and it’s……former NWA TV Champion Ricky Starks, who says he has the same grit and work ethic as Cody. After the Big Match Intros, Cody shoulders him down to start but Starks nips up.

Starks slugs away but walks into a dropkick. A shot that looks pretty close to a low blow sends Starks outside and a suicide dive takes him down again. Starks drops him ribs first over the ropes though as Jake Hager is watching from backstage. Anderson offers a quick distraction and it’s time to strike it out. Starks takes him down but can’t hit a tornado DDT. Instead, Cody hits a boot to the face and the scoop powerslam.

Cross Rhodes is countered so Cody hits a gordbuster for two instead. Cody heads up top but Starks catches him with a top rope superplex. Back up and Starks’ running crossbody puts both of them on the floor for another breather. They head back inside for a slugout until Starks hits a spear for two. They go to a pinfall reversal sequence until Cody ducks a clothesline and grabs Cross Rhodes to retain at 8:32.

Rating: B. I’d be surprised if Starks didn’t get a job out of this as he looked great in the NWA and then did it again on a bigger stage here. Starks is someone who could be a star in the future and that’s what AEW (or anyone) can always use. Cody having matches against other free agents is nice for the same dynamic of the John Cena Open Challenges and that’s a really good idea.

Respect is shown post match.

Young Bucks vs. Superbad Squad

The Death part of the Squad’s name was removed in what is probably a good idea. The referee finds some pliers on Jimmy Havoc but leaves the in the corner, which can’t be a good idea. Matt starts for the Bucks so Havoc goes straight for his taped up ribs. The Bucks fight back in a hurry as is their custom, setting up stereo slingshot dives to the floor. After a glare from Butcher and the Blade (all in white for a change), the Bucks sucker Sabian into the corner and knock him into the corner.

Havoc comes in and gets caught in a running flip neckbreaker into a backbreaker but Butcher and Blade jump the barricade. The distraction lets Havoc get in a shot to Matt’s ribs and the villains take over. Back from a break with Matt getting beaten up in the corner as FTR comes out to watch. Sabian adds a penalty kick to the ribs (which he declares wide) but Matt counters a super hurricanrana into a super sitout powerbomb.

The hot tag brings in Nick to clean house and the Sharpshooter has Sabian in trouble. Havoc tries to bring in a mallet (must be a Fiend fan) allowing Penelope Ford to hit Nick with a wet floor sign. Havoc’s Sing the Sorrow gets two with Matt making the save so Sabian hits a springboard DDT for two of his own. Everything breaks down and Risky Business (springboard 450/standing moonsault combination) gets two on Havoc.

The Butcher and Blade offer a distraction but get stared down by FTR. Sabian’s top rope double stomp hits Matt with Nick making the save, allowing Matt (with the bad ribs, which have been worked on all match) to northern lights suplex both of them at once. The Bucks put Havoc upside down in Sabian’s arms and then superkick Sabian’s knees to make him Tombstone his partner (egads man). Double knees to the face finish Sabian at 15:22.

Rating: B-. The action is entertaining but Bucks matches can be incredibly exhausting with one diving save after another, plus one big move after another. They’re very exciting matches but there are times where I see some of the spots and wonder how in the world I’m supposed to believe this is a real competition. That was turned up higher than usual here and it was hurting things.

Post match the Butcher and Blade come in but FTR takes them out. Butcher and Blade are wiped out by stereo spike piledrivers.

Taz and Brian Cage are outside with Taz ranting about how Jon Moxley was ranting and raving about being miserable. That was Taz’s gimmick twenty years ago and now Cage doesn’t know if he wants to drop Moxley on his head or take the title.

Jon Moxley is in this business because he has demons and fighting holds them back. So Cage, beat him if you can, and survive if you can hang in the deep water.

We run down next week/Fyter Fest.

Rebel is searching for Baker, and finds her in a dumpster. Baker yells about it being five hours and ignores Rebel saying it was just one. Baker wants to know where Schiavone is and says he should be here, timeout or no timeout. Rebel sends out an Instagram because fans will want to see Baker being saved. Baker: “So I’m a damsel in distress???” She swears that Swole will pay for this, meaning fines and lawsuits. Now get her out of here! Baker might be the best thing in AEW right now and that’s some serious competition.

Le Sex Gods vs. Best Friends

The winners face Omega and Page at Fyter Fest for the titles and there’s no Orange Cassidy after last week. Matt Hardy is on commentary as Sammy sings Judas during the entrance. It’s a brawl to start with Chuck taking Jericho to the floor for some early choking. A water bottle to the eye makes it worse for Jericho as Trent spears Sammy down. Back in and Chuck stomps on Jericho in the corner but Sammy comes in for a fast dropkick.

The chinlock doesn’t last long so it’s back to Jericho for a hard clothesline. The Lionsault misses though and Jericho tweaks his knee, meaning the tag to Sammy goes through in a hurry. Trent comes in to chop away but Jericho gets in a bat shot to the ribs. Back from a break with Jericho flipping Trent over the top to crash on the mat, meaning it’s time for the pose from Le Sex Gods.

The delay allows the hot tag to Chuck, who hits a powerbomb with Jericho making a fast save. That earns Jericho a trip to the floor, followed by Soul Food into a half and half suplex. The hug is loaded up but Jericho decks Trent (thank goodness) and Sammy takes Chuck to the floor. Jericho grabs the Walls on Trent, who crawls over to the rope for the break. Back up and Trent crotches Sammy on top (Sammy: “Oh my Spanish god.”) and it’s Chuck coming over for the assisted superplex.

Jericho makes his own save and throws Chuck over the barricade. The distraction lets Sammy hit Trent with the bat, setting up the shooting star press for two. As ridiculous of a kickout as that was, commentary does cover it by saying Sammy pulled back too far. The cameraman trips Sammy though (aha) and Strong Zero finishes Sammy at 16:02.

Rating: B-. They actually surprised me with the ending and that’s a good thing. The Cassidy as a cameraman deal is a deal that has worked before and it worked well here. I would have bet on the switch but they managed to do something logical with a pretty good match at the same time. Well done, especially for a Best Friends match.

Post match the cameraman is in fact Orange Cassidy to wreck Jericho. House is cleaned and Tony announces Cassidy vs. Jericho for Fyter Fest.

Overall Rating: B+. I had a really good time with this one and they made it into a solid show overall. It definitely had a focus on tag wrestling but it also helped set up Fyter Fest rather well. The Jay loss surprised the heck out of me, as did Starks’ debut. One of those things is better than the other, but you can’t have a hit every time. Overall, rather good show and one of their better ones in a good while.

Results

Kenny Omega/Hangman Page b. Natural Nightmares – Last Call to Marshall

Abadon b. Anna Jay – Hurricanrana driver

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Billy – Ring punch

Cody b. Ricky Starks – Cross Rhodes

Young Bucks b. Superbad Squad – Double knees to Sabian

Best Friends b. Le Sex Gods – Strong Zero to Guevara

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dark
Date: June 2, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur

Now we get back to something a little bit less interesting with the night of the jobber matches. Usually that would mean the night of squash matches, but that’s not how it tends to work for whatever reason. The biggest problem with the show is how long it tends to run, so hopefully it’s a bit shorter tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

We run down the (rather shorter) card.

John Skyler vs. Billy Gunn

Austin Gunn is in his dad’s corner and Skyler bails into the corner to start. Billy grabs an armbar to send him right back into the corner and a hammerlock makes it worse. Austin is rather pleased so Skyler heads outside to glare at him. Back in and Gunn hits a spinebuster….but Austin tells him not to use a powerbomb. Instead it’s the Fameasser to finish Skyler at 3:39.

Rating: D+. Just a quick match here and there’s nothing wrong with Billy getting a win over a low level guy. Austin being the big cheerleader plays into the roles that the two of them have had in the stands, though I’m not sure how much of a future they have together. The father and son thing is a nice touch though so it’s not exactly torture.

Earlier today, Brandi and Dustin Rhodes are ready for a tag match tonight but there’s no QT Marshall. Cue Marshall in a Corvette, with Allie in the passenger seat. Brandi and Dustin aren’t sure about this but Marshall and Allie leave, promising to be back in a bit. Dustin says bring something to eat so Marshall throws him the apple. Brandi isn’t letting that happen because it’s nasty.

Joe Alonzo/Jon Cruz vs. Butcher and Blade

Butcher and Blade jump them to start and the beating is on in a hurry. Butcher sends Alonzo flying and it’s Blade sending him into the corner for the early beating. A side slam/legdrop combination plants Cruz but he gets away for the tag to Alonzo. The comeback is cut off in a hurry as Butcher runs him over without much trouble. An assisted spinning Rock Bottom gives Butcher two but Alonzo gets in a kick to make the quick tag. That just earns Cruz a suplex onto Blade’s knees for the pin at 5:20.

Rating: C-. This was an extended squash and that’s not a bad thing. Butcher and Blade have never gotten out of the blocks and they barely ever win a match. Maybe not having Allie around is a good thing for them as she is going to get all of the attention. The tag division has all kinds of potential so the team has their work cut out for them, but maybe it can work.

Peter Avalon and Brandon Cutler aren’t sure if they can win, but Leva Bates insists that she is the missing element that they needed.

Christi Jaynes vs. KiLynn King

Jaynes lays over the top rope during King’s entrance and doesn’t seem overly nervous. A running shoulder drops King so Jaynes throws in some dancing. They trade rollups for one counts until King grabs an armbar. She even swings Jaynes down, which looks a good bit painful. Jaynes finally gets her into the corner and hammers away before standing on King’s hair. Some more dancing and a kick to Jaynes’ back gets two but King is back up with a release German suplex. They trade rollups and Jaynes grabs the tights for the pin at 4:02.

Rating: C-. They were working fast here and that’s not a bad thing. Jaynes is someone with all kinds of star power and I can see why they would give her the win here. King isn’t quite the same level of star but she certainly has a lot of potential so there wasn’t a bad choice here. Not a bad little match, but the time hurt them a good bit.

Big Game Leroy/EJ Lewis vs. Santana and Ortiz

Leroy is playing a Nintendo Switch and has to be reminded that the match is about to start. Commentary says this is Santana and Ortiz’s first match since “all the way back at Double Or Nothing.” Indeed, all the way back ten whole days. Santana kicks the Switch out of Leroy’s hands and the stomping is on in the corner. Lewis comes in but Ortiz takes him down to set up a running backsplash as the beatdown is on in a hurry.

The Gory Stretch goes on and Santana comes in for some chops. There’s a kick to the face and Santana insists that it is supposed to hut. Lewis’ comeback is cut off with a superkick and a Michinoku Driver gets two. Ortiz throws Lewis into the corner so Leroy can come back in. The assisted Cannonball sets up the Street Sweeper to finish Leroy at 5:10.

Rating: C. Another extended squash but Santana and Ortiz are a more entertaining team than Butcher and Blade. The two of them beat the heck out of Leroy and made you see why they were signed in the first place. Leroy was a funny jobber with the Switch and Lewis took a heck of a beating so what else could you need?

Natural Nightmares vs. Brandon Cutler/Peter Avalon

Brandi Rhodes is here with the Nightmares, Leva Bates is here with Cutler/Avalon and Allie sits in on commentary. Dustin and Cutler start things off as Allie is swooning over QT. With the feeling out process going nowhere, it’s off to Avalon vs. Marshall, the latter of whom hits a suplex for some applause from Allie. Leva offers a leg trip and Marshall is sent outside for a suicide dive from Avalon. It’s off to Cutler for a springboard forearm and Avalon’s leg lariat gets two.

Cutler comes back in for an enziguri into a Swanton with Dustin having to make the save. Marshall kicks him away though and the hot tag brings in Dustin to clean house. Everything breaks down and Avalon and Cutler get in an argument, meaning Bates has to break up the Unnatural Kick. Brandi comes in for a Stunner/cutter on Bates, who is thrown into Avalon. That leaves Cutler to take Dustin’s Canadian Destroyer and a cutter from Marshall is good for the pin at 7:28. Brandi dubs the cutter the Red Delicious.

Rating: C-. This was fine despite the lack of drama as to the winner. That’s all it was supposed to be and they did a good enough job with the Allie stuff. I’m not sure what her big plan is, but at least she’s back on screen and that’s a good thing. I have a feeling it winds up being more about Brandi than anyone else, but that is often the case with anything involving her.

After a quick Dynamite preview, Marshall declares Allie the apple of his eye.

Overall Rating: C. Sweet merciful chicken wings this is so much easier at about 45 minutes than an hour and a half. This was a perfectly fine low level supplemental show, with the quick promos adding a little something as well. The length is the big appeal though as you don’t feel drained after you’ve seen an hour and still have three matches to go. Keep it like this, I beg of you.

Results

Billy Gunn b. John Skyler – Fameasser

Butcher and Blade b. Joe Alonzo/Jon Cruz – Suplex onto Blade’s knees to Cruz

Christi Jaynes b. KiLynn King – Rollup with tights

Santana and Ortiz b. EJ Lewis/Big Game Leroy – Street Sweeper to Leroy

Natural Nightmares b. Brandon Cutler/Peter Avalon – Red Delicious to Cutler

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dark
Date: May 26, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

It’s the first show after the very good Double Or Nothing and you know what that calls for: nearly an hour and a half of overly competitive jobber matches! I’m not sure if this is the new permanent norm or if they’re just burning off a bunch of material they taped on the off chance that they wouldn’t be able to tape for a good while. Either way, it’s hardly must see material. Let’s get to it.

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

Tazz makes it clear that he will not be getting into any details about his relationship with Brian Cage. That’s wrestling code for “this was taped before that happened.”

Dark Order vs. Natural Nightmares

Jon Silver/Alex Reynolds here. The Nightmares snap off an early double Russian legsweep on Reynolds to start and Dustin adds the running knee lift. Cue Allie of all people, with Marshal’’s apple. Marshall certainly seems interested and Silver uses the distraction to get in a cheap shot and take over. Reynolds’ uppercut gives Silver two but Marshall tells him to go with the chest kicks. The big one is countered in a hurry so the hot tag brings in Dustin for the house cleaning. The snap powerslam plants Silver and Marshall adds a cutter for the pin at 5:02.

Rating: C-. It’s not the biggest story but Allie eating an apple now counts as the top story on this show in about a month, if not more. I can always go for more of Allie as she is a great manager, but I’m worried about how long it might be before the angle gets any followup. If this show was taped that long ago, it could be a good while indeed.

Michael Nakazawa vs. Brandon Cutler

Cutler starts fast with a running forearm for an early two as Taz talks about Cutler’s losing streak. Nakazawa comes back with a spear but Cutler comes in from the apron with a kick to the head for his own near fall. Hold on though as Nakamura is out of oil, likely sending him into a downward spiral. Cutler keeps kicking away, despite having been busted open somewhere in there. The torture rack goes on and Nakazawa gets sent over the top. They fight on the floor and it’s Nakazawa sending him into the barricade for the first countout in AEW history at 6:20.

Rating: D. So yes, we needed to see these two have a match that actually got a little bit of time on this show. The wrestling was just there for the sake of filling in time and it’s not like either of these two mean anything. It’s why they’re here, having a glorified comedy match without ever being mentioned anywhere else.

Post match here are the Librarians, with Peter Avalon saying this is proof Cutler is the worst wrestler in the world. Therefore, Cutler can go sit on commentary and watch Avalon pick up a win.

Peter Avalon vs. Jungle Boy

Boy grabs an early headlock takeover and we’re already in the technical material. An armdrag puts Avalon on the floor but the rest of Jurassic Express won’t let him leave. The distraction lets Avalon post him and it’s a suplex for two back inside. A leg lariat gives Avalon two more and we hit the headscissors. The moonsault misses though and Boy hits a hard clothesline.

Boy’s springboard tornado DDT gets two but Avalon is back with a Meteora to the back of the head for his own near fall. Leva Bates gets on the apron for the assistance but winds up on Luchasaurus’ shoulders. Cue Marko Stunt to kiss her, meaning Boy can grab a modified STF for the tap at 7:30.

Rating: D+. The match was only somewhat better than the previous one and that’s not much of a compliment. Avalon has never been interesting and having him in a feud with Cutler over who the worst wrestler in the company is doesn’t sound too promising. As usual, there are people in wrestling companies who don’t need a story. Avalon, Cutler and Nakazawa fit the descriptions.

Serpentico vs. Christopher Daniels

Serpentico goes for the arm to start but Serpentico grabs a headlock. Some armdrags into the armbar put Serpentico down so he slugs away, only to walk into a leg lariat for two. Daniels hits a high collar suplex (Taz: “Thanks to him for stealing my gimmick.”) but Serpentico takes him down as well. A slingshot elbow gives Serpentico two but Daniels STOs him down. The release Rock Bottom into the BME gives Daniels the pin at 4:27.

Rating: C-. A little better here, but that might be due to having Daniels in there. He’s always good for a quick win and can make anyone look decent. Serpentico has been around a few times now and showed me a little more this time around. I don’t think he goes anywhere significant, but a not terrible performance is better than an awful one.

John Skyler/Brady Pearce vs. Sonny Kiss/Joey Janela

Pearce knocks Kiss down to start but Kiss kicks him into the corner for the early tag to Janela. That means Pearce gets laid over the middle rope and gets caught with a front flip ax kick to the ribs from Kiss. Skyler offers a quick distraction though and Pearce gets in a kick to the face. Janela avoids a charge though and the hot tag brings in Kiss for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down and Kiss kicks Pearce through the ropes, setting up the suicide dive. Back in and Janela drops a top rope elbow to finish Skyler at 4:37.

Rating: C-. This was your random partners with nothing else to do getting a win. There wasn’t much to talk about in this one but Kiss had his usual charisma turned up high. Janela continues to be someone who is just there, despite his ability to make his eyes bug out more than should be humanly possible.

Tony Donati/Faboo Andre vs. Kip Sabian/Jimmy Havoc

Penelope Ford is here with Sabian and Havoc. Andre gets jumped before the bell but manages to dropkick Sabian into the corner for what is likely the highest level of success he should expect here. Havoc comes back in and walks into a spinning middle rope crossbody from Andre. Sabian is back in to stomp Andre down in the corner, leaving Havoc to bite the face. Ford gets in a cheap shot from the floor so Havoc’s running big boot can get two.

A PK to the chest connects, though the referee said it was wide right. The lack of Stadium Stampede references as a result would tell me that there is a time gap between the tapings. The Acid Rainmaker misses though and (the bloody, from Havoc’s bite) Andre dives over for the hot tag to Donati. A hammerlock suplex gives Donati two on Sabian but he’s right back up with the hanging spinning neckbreaker. Sabian’s top rope double stomp sets up a dropkick/Michinoku Driver combination to finish Donati at 6:58.

Rating: D+. Another match that came and went as Sabian and Havoc are a fine midcard team, but there isn’t much of a reason to have them take this much time to beat a pair of jobbers with next to no experience around here. What am I supposed to get out of this? Or out of anything on this show actually?

Mr. Grimm vs. Wardlow

MJF is here with Wardlow, who slams Grimm down and stomps away in the corner to start. A missed charge sends Wardlow into the post, but he easily counters a springboard into a German suplex. The F5 is broken up but this time the running shoulder connects in the corner. A knee to the face knocks Grim out at 2:59.

Post match Wardlow hits the F10 for a bonus.

Lee Johnson vs. Colt Cabana

They shake hands to start and fight over a wristlock with Johnson bailing into the corner. As the announcers debate if Tony Schiavone or Tony’s wife is the bigger heel, Cabana gets two off a quick rollup. Cabana cranks on the arms into some crucifixes for two each until Johnson makes the mistake of firing off a chop. Johnson dropkicks him in the back to knock Cabana into the corner, which just annoys him. The Flying Apple into the Bionic elbow into the Billy Goat’s Curse finishes Johnson at 3:43.

Rating: C-. Cabana isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but at least his comedy seems to be more about chuckles than some big laugh that rarely connects. There isn’t much else to say about him, but that’s the case with most comedy wrestlers. Johnson continues to be someone they seem interested in, though that 0-8 record isn’t helping him.

KiLynn King vs. Penelope Ford

Sabian is here with Ford. King is a giant compared to Ford and grabs a headlock to start. Some standing switches don’t go anywhere so King runs her over with a shoulder. That lets King yell at Sabian, meaning Ford can get in a shot from behind. Stomping in the corner keeps King down and a suplex gives Ford two. Some choking doesn’t do much on King, who snaps off a dropkick. King misses a charge in the corner though and Ford hits a cutter for the pin at 4:53.

Rating: D+. The back and forth between eh and erg matches continues with Ford not exactly looking like a star here. Ford is talented in the ring but she needs someone better to make this work. King looked like someone who could go a little further with some more time, which is the kind of thing that you can get in this situation.

Shawn Dean/Alan Angels vs. Best Friends

Orange Cassidy is here too. Taylor works on Dean’s arm to start and adds a dropkick for a bonus. Trent comes in for the double elbow and it’s off to Angels, who is taken to the mat in a hurry. A hard clothesline cuts off Angels’ comeback but a springboard dropkick sends Trent into the corner. Dean suplexes Angels into Trent in the corner for two but Trent gets in his own suplex. The hot tag brings in Chuck to pick up the pace, including sending Dean into a spear from Chuck. Angels gets powerbombed and the big hug sets up Strong Zero for the pin on Angels at 4:24.

Rating: C. This was better just because of the shorter run time, but the #1 contenders shouldn’t be in any trouble against two guys who literally have never won a match between them around here. That’s the case with almost everyone on this show though and that hasn’t stopped them yet. Not a terrible match, but maybe I’m just numb to the Best Friends by now.

Overall Rating: D+. They did the same thing they have done for the last two weeks but this time around the matches were even weaker than usual. They weren’t terrible or anything really close to it for the most part, but it continues to be a show that you don’t need to watch in any situation. I’m assuming this was just a bunch of material they needed to burn off, but it makes me wonder how much they taped when they had the chance. This is about thirty jobber matches in three weeks. They can’t have many more, right?

Results

Natural Nightmares b. Dark Order – Cutter to Silver

Michael Nakazawa b. Brandon Cutler via countout

Jungle Boy b. Peter Avalon – STF

Christopher Daniels b. Serpentico – Best Moonsault Ever

Sonny Kiss/Joey Janela b. John Skyler/Brady Pearce – Top rope elbow to Pearce

Kip Sabian/Jimmy Havoc b. Faboo Andre/Tony Donati – Dropkick/Michinoku Driver combination to Donati

Wardlow b. Mr. Grimm via knockout

Colt Cabana b. Lee Johnson – Billy Goat’s Curse

Penelope Ford b. KiLynn King – Cutter

Best Friends b. Shawn Dean/Alan Angels – Strong Zero to Angels

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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