Rampage
Date: January 14, 2022
Location: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Commentators: Chris Jericho, Excalibur, Ricky Starks, Taz

We are still in Horsemen Country and that means we should be in for another pretty good night. Rampage has found its groove in recent weeks and now it is time for a Tag Team Title match, as the Dark Order gets the first shot against Jurassic Express. Adam Cole is here too so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Adam Cole vs. Trent Beretta

The Best Friends and all of Adam Cole’s friends are here. They trade chops to start until Beretta tosses him down with a suplex. Back up and Beretta is sent to the floor and then into the barricade to put him in trouble for a change. They go inside again with Cole hitting his own suplex before Beretta is tossed right back to the floor. The Panama Sunrise is countered into a backdrop so Cole sends him into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Beretta fighting out of a chinlock. A tornado DDT plants Cole and Beretta drops him down again for two each. There’s a German suplex to rock Cole again but he’s right back with a brainbuster onto the knee. Beretta doesn’t seem to mind as he comes back with a piledriver onto the apron.

That doesn’t seem to bother Cole either as he’s back with the Panama Sunrise maybe fifteen seconds later. Another Panama Sunrise is countered into a Saito suplex and a hard clothesline from Beretta. Cole still can’t hit the Panama Sunrise as Beretta reverses into Strong Zero for two. Everyone gets in a fight on the floor, allowing Cole to hit him low. The Boom finishes Beretta at 11:33.

Rating: C+. It’s how you would have expected the match to go but those kickouts and popping up from big moves is about as ridiculous as you can get. Being dropped on your head on the apron is something that should have you down for a few minutes, but here it isn’t even enough time to roll your eyes at how fast someone is getting up. I would say cut that out already, though I think we’re long past the point of that being a realistic possibility.

Thunder Rosa and Mercedes Martinez are ready to hurt each other.

Andrew Everett vs. Shawn Spears

Everett gets sent into the corner but he does a handstand on the corner to escape. Back in and the C4 finishes Everett at 57 seconds. That’s how I like my Spears matches.

Post match Shawn Spears asks if he (meaning CM Punk) is ready the best in the world. Spears doesn’t realize he has crossed a line until he is already over it and all it takes is one swing of his chair. Punk is going to be in the ring with a twenty year veteran and Spears is going to expose him.

We get an Acclaimed music video on Sting and Darby Allin, who the Acclaimed certainly don’t seem to like. They seem to think it’s weird that an old man is friends with a younger man, with references to Sting taking a buckle bomb and Sting having a bat for reasons of compensation.

Leyla Hirsch/Red Velvet/Kris Stadtlander vs. The Bunny/Penelope Ford/Nyla Rose

They’re already in the ring when we come back from the Acclaimed video and it’s Hirsch being sent into the corner for some choking. Rose hits a belly to belly suplex but lets Hirsch get over for the tag to Stadtlander. Bunny comes in and gets taken down with a front facelock, followed by a powerslam for two. An assisted moonsault gives Hirsch two on Bunny so Velvet tags herself in, where Rose runs her over.

We take a break and come back with Rose hitting a chokeslam for two on Velvet, causing Vickie Guerrero to scream at ringside. Rose misses a backsplash though and the hot tag brings in Stadtlander to run Ford over. A sitout gordbuster gives Stadtlander two and the Spider Crab goes on, only to have Guerrero offer a distraction. Bunny kicks Stadtlander in the face for the save but gets caught in a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Stadtlander and Hirsch collide though, allowing Bunny to roll Hirsch up for the pin at 9:13.

Rating: C. This was a bit of a rushed match as they felt like they were packing in a lot of people without much time. Hirsch seems to be teasing a heel turn sooner rather than later and her style could play towards that rather well. The rest of the match was just an exchange of moves, though Stadtlander continues to look like a monster.

Scorpio Sky wants to know why he isn’t getting a TNT Title shot when he is the face of TNT.

Ricky Starks rants about Jay Lethal messing with Team Taz business so here is Lethal to interrupt. Lethal has been watching Starks for a few months now and doesn’t remember him wrestling very much. The challenge is thrown out for an FTW Title match, but Lethal knows Starks has to check with Taz. So whatever Daddy says, do the opposite. Referees have to break it up as Taz goes on a rant about how he doesn’t care what Lethal did in Ring of Honor.

We get the face to face main event interview. The Dark Order bust out some kazoos to play a song about joining them but Christian Cage doesn’t find it funny. Imagine what Jurassic Express is going to do to them tonight. Mark Henry hits his catchphrase, with John Silver mouthing along with him.

Tag Team Titles: Jurassic Express vs. Dark Order

Jurassic Express, with Christian Cage, is defending. Reynolds works on Jungle Boys’ arm to start and armdrags him down. Jungle Boy pops back up with a dropkick and brings in Luchasaurus for a chop. It’s already back to Jungle Boy so Silver gets to come in and toss him around. Silver sends him outside for a big dive and we take a break.

Back with Jungle Boy slipping out of an electric chair and hitting a German suplex on Silver. They all go up top and Luchasaurus comes back in for the Tower of Doom. Luchasaurus is sent outside as well, leaving Dark Order to hit a bunch of shots to Jungle Boy, setting up a German suplex into a jackknife cover for two. A rebound lariat drops Reynolds for two but it’s Luchasaurus coming back in for the Extinction Level Event to finish Reynolds and retain at 12:43.

Rating: B-. It’s good to get the Express their first win, though they had to work rather hard to beat two guys who aren’t exactly known for success in big matches. What matters here though is the champs get a first defense under their new belts and they had to break a sweat in doing so. Good match for a Rampage main event.

Overall Rating: C+. They had another good week, but they really could go for finding a way to slow things down a bit. As usual, this show felt really rushed, with stuff like the fast commercials and coming back from one segment with the bell for the next match ringing almost immediately. It feels like I’m trying to catch my breath too often around here and that isn’t exactly how a show should be making you feel. What they’re doing overall is good, as was the case here, but some tweaking could make it even better.

Results
Adam Cole b. Trent Beretta – Boom
Shawn Spears b. Andrew Everett – C4
The Bunny/Penelope Ford/Nyla Rose b. Leyla Hirsch/Kris Stadtlander/Red Velvet – Rollup to Hirsch
Jurassic Express b. Dark Order – Extinction Level Event to Reynolds

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

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Dynamite
Date: December 22, 2021
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re back with yet another special show, this time in the form of Holiday Bash. That should make for another big card, though this time around the major draw is Sting being back in Greensboro. I’m still not sure why that should matter to anyone but the live audience, though seeing Sting team with CM Punk and Darby Allin against MJF and FTR should be fun. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Orange Cassidy vs. Adam Cole

They stare each other down to start and trade headlock takeovers. Cassidy grabs a rollup for two and it’s right back to the mat, with Cassidy bouncing out of a headscissors. Cole kicks him down again and grabs a chinlock as they keep fighting for minor victories to start. Cassidy fights up again and grabs some rollups for two each. Back up and Cole hits a Backstabber out of the corner, setting up a hard whip into another corner to put Cassidy in trouble.

Cassidy blocks a superplex attempt and hits a high crossbody into the tornado DDT. Cue the Young Bucks and Brandon Cutler, with Cassidy diving onto the latter. The Best Friends run out to take care of them but the distraction lets Cole send Cassidy into the steps. The Boom only hits steps though and we take a break.

Back with Cole winning a slugout, setting up the brainbuster onto the knee for two. Another one is countered into the Stundog Millionaire though and Cassidy grabs a top rope DDT for the same. Cole kicks him down again but gets small packaged for two more anyway. Another superkick rocks Cassidy and the Panama Sunrise sets up a cover, with Cole’s hands in the trunks, for two. The Boom misses though and Cassidy hits Beach Break for another near fall. Cue Bobby Fish for a distraction though and it’s the debuting Kyle O’Reilly to strike away at Cassidy. Now the Boom can connect to finish Cassidy at 17:04.

Rating: B. These guys were working hard here and the O’Reilly debut is going to get some interest. I almost bought the idea of Cassidy getting the win off the Beach Break too so well done on the tease. This was a pretty awesome match and I wouldn’t have bet on that so call this a very nice surprise.

Post match the Best Friends come back in but get taken down in a hurry, including the High/Low from Fish and O’Reilly. The Young Bucks come down and don’t seem to have known this was coming. Cole, O’Reilly and Fish leave together.

Video on Hangman Page vs. Bryan Danielson’s classic last week. The rematch is on January 5.

Here is Hangman Page for a chat. Page talks about how hard he fought last week but at the end, he had never felt less like a champion. Cue Bryan Danielson to cut him off and call Page an entitled millennial cowboy. Danielson beat him up for sixty minutes and should be the champ. He would have won, but he was a bit injured after that match with Evil Uno. Therefore, Danielson is not going to wrestle again until January 5 so he can take the title as he should.

But what if Page stalls again and retains off another draw? Danielson wants judges, who will guaranteed that he wins because he is clearly better. Page thought of a variety of options from a ladder match to a cage match to an inferno match, but it is clear that something needs to be different. He was three seconds away from winning, so sure the judges are fine. Just make sure the judges are paid off in advance because Danielson isn’t going to win. Page has given way too much for this title to be told that he isn’t good enough, or a B+ player. Can Page beat him in less than an hour? YES. More Danielson greatness.

The Pinnacle has a meeting and MJF wants to know why Wardlow didn’t have the champagne ready in time last week so he could have protected MJF from CM Punk. MJF sees right through Punk saving Sting because that good guy mask is slipping off faster than Sting’s Krusty the Clown makeup. FTR has no problem with Sting but now he is coming after the kings of wrestling. Now it’s time for the kings to destroy him.

Shawn Dean vs. Wardlow

Four powerbombs finish Dean in 1:12.

Post match, Shawn Spears comes in to chair Dean down.

Video on Cody vs. Sammy Guevara for the TNT Title on Christmas night.

Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year are in the balcony to talk about leadership. Lambert doesn’t think much about the people who run this company. On the other hand, he runs the best MMA gym in the world and has to make the right decisions to keep things fair. Tony Khan is the flip side of that: if you’re his friend you’re an executive vice president, but if you’re not his friend, you’re stuck in the midcard.

Look at what Khan has tasked him with doing: get people to cheer Cody Rhodes. Instead, Lambert wants the Men of the Year to face the winner of Guevara vs. Rhodes for the TNT Title. Lambert continues to be great, even with the inside wrestling stuff. That’s kind of the point, but he goes a bit too far with it at times.

We go to Britt Baker’s Christmas party, complete with her lackeys and Tony Schiavone. She isn’t worried about never beating Riho because she is bigger, stronger and better. Then she’ll prove that she is the best around, meaning we can hit the catchphrase.

Video on the Owen Hart tournaments, meaning a lot of clips of Owen, with the wrestlers talking about how much of an inspiration/influence he really was. The home movie stuff was rather cool.

TBS Title Tournament Semifinals: Nyla Rose vs. Ruby Soho

Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose, who jumps Soho on the way in. Soho’s jacket gets pulled over her head so Rose can hammer away, setting up a face rake. Back up and Soho cranks away on an armbar but can’t hit an STO. A powerbomb doesn’t work for Rose so she blasts Soho with a clothesline instead. They head outside with Soho winning a slugout but missing a charge into the steps (thanks to Vickie pulling Rose out of the way).

We take a break and come back with Soho hitting a bunch of clotheslines into a tornado DDT for two. Rose grabs a chair but gets it knocked into her face for the big knockout shot. Vickie shoves Soho off the top though, allowing Rose to hit the top rope knee to the back for two. Rose sends her shoulder first into the buckle to bang it up even worse. Some kind of a slam is countered into a dragon sleeper though, drawing Vickie up to the apron. The referee doesn’t see Rose tap but Soho lets go anyway. The powerbomb gives Rose two so she goes up, only to get pulled into the Soho Kick (cool) for the pin at 10:27.

Rating: C+. Pretty good stuff here, though the tournament has dragged on for so long that I’ve lost almost all interest in the thing. I’m glad to see Soho win though, as she could be a heck of a first champion, especially if it means handing Jade Cargill her first loss. Rose is a good obstacle to overcome and she looked like a monster here, as usual.

Video on Serena Deeb vs. Hikaru Shida, with the former saying it will never be over.

Malakai Black vs. Griff Garrison

Brian Pillman Jr. is here with Garrison, who charges into a kick to the face to start. Black goes after Pillman instead but the delay lets Garrison come back with a suicide dive. The head back in and Black grabs a kneebar to send Garrison over to the ropes. Back in and Black strikes away but Garrison kicks him in the face. A rolling elbow knocks Black down again but he rocks Garrison with an awesome looking jumping knee to the face. Black Mass is loaded up but Black would rather take out the knee, setting up a half crab for the tap at 3:15.

Rating: C. Those strikes from Black were vicious and this is the only way the match should have gone. Black is head and shoulders above the Blonds and there was no reason for this to be competitive. Sometimes that’s the best way to go, even if Garrison was fighting on emotion for revenge here.

Post match, Pillman tries to come in and gets his head kicked off.

We look at Jurassic Express and the Lucha Bros’ staredown from Rampage.

Matt Hardy wants Private Party to be the new #1 contenders. As for Jurassic Express, Isaiah Kassidy wants to spend Christmas pounding Jungle Boy.

Jungle Boy is fine with the challenge. Christian Cage tells people to get their new Christmas shirt.

Here’s what’s coming over the next few shows.

CM Punk/Sting/Darby Allin vs. FTR/Maxwell Jacob Friedman

We get the MJF vs. Punk (in Sting face paint/gear) showdown to start so they circle each other…and MJF tags out without doing anything. Commentary knew that was coming as Dax Harwood comes in to feel Punk out a bit. The amateur off goes nowhere so Punk slaps him into the corner. Wheeler comes in and gets slammed so Allin can come in and knock Wheeler into the corner. It’s off to MJF, who runs away from Punk again and tags Wheeler right back in.

Sting (with CM Punk face paint/gear) gets to come in and cranks away on the arm but it’s too early for the Scorpion. A meeting on the floor means MJF can come in, only to bail from the Punk threat. Punk chases him into the crowd and they circle around the arena until they’re back at ringside. Back in and MJF’s diving tag hands it off to Harwood but Allin dives onto all three of them.

We take a break and come back with Allin in trouble and Wheeler spitting water in Punk’s face to mess with him even more. A bunch of stomping sets up a hard slam on Allin but he avoids a charge in the corner. Allin slams Wheeler down and dives over to Sting for the hot tag. Stinger Splashes abound but Wheeler breaks up the Deathlock and we take another break.

Back again with Sting fighting out of an abdominal stretch and hitting the falling headbutt low blow on MJF. Tony wants to see a hundred replays as Punk comes in to clean house. Punk’s high crossbody gets two on Wheeler and a swinging neckbreaker gets the same on Harwood. The top rope elbow takes too long though and Punk gets crotched, setting up a slugout with Harwood on top. Now the superplex can connect, with Wheeler turning it into the PowerPlex for a rather near fall.

Allin is back up (sans tag) to clean house but Punk kicks Harwood in the head for a double knockdown. They get back up for a slugout until the GTS is loaded up. That’s countered into the Big Rig but Sting makes the save. MJF’s DDT has no effect on Sting, who crotches MJF on the ropes. MJF gets tossed over the top onto FTR and lands ON HIS HEAD (with Wheeler and the referee immediately checking on him). Thankfully he’s ok enough for Sting to dive off the top onto all three of them for the huge crash. Back in and the GTS into the Death Drop into the Coffin Drop finishes Harwood at 25:53.

Rating: A-. This was an absolute blast and a great time in a match that felt like a house show main event. It got time, it had star power and the big spots all worked. Just all kinds of fun here and the ending with Harwood taking a huge beating for the loss was great. One thing though: AEW has to find some way to cut down on the near horrible botches, as MJF almost landed on his head on the floor. That happens way, way, WAY too often around here and people have already gotten hurt in something similar. Find a way to cut that out, immediately.

Overall Rating: A-. The opener and main event were very good to great, the Danielson/Page promo worked and there wasn’t a bad thing on the show. I had a great time with this show and it was one of the better Dynamites to date. If there is one thing AEW knows how to do, it is let the fans have a great time for two hours and that is what they did here. Great show and worth checking out, especially that main event.

Results
Adam Cole b. Orange Cassidy – Boom
Wardlow b. Shawn Dean – Powerbomb
Ruby Soho b. Nyla Rose – Soho Kick
Malakai Black b. Griff Garrison – Half crab
Sting/CM Punk/Darby Allin b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman/FTR – Coffin Drop to Harwood

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

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AND

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Rampage
Date: December 10, 2021
Location: UBS Arena, New York City, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

We’re still in New York and this time there is a pretty big match on the card, as the Lucha Bros are defending the Tag Team Titles against FTR. Other than that, we have the in-ring debut as Hook, which should be a heck of a moment in its own right. This show tends to do well with the faster pace so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. FTR

FTR, with Tully Blanchard, is defending. Fenix grabs Harwood by the wrist to start and takes Wheeler down at the same time. Penta comes in to help take FTR down and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and Penta takes off his glove but manages to roll Wheeler up for two. Now the glove is tossed to Wheeler, allowing Penta to catch him with a superkick. Fenix springboards in with a high crossbody but the momentum sends him outside.

That means Harwood can drop Fenix back first onto the apron and the champs are in trouble. Back in and Harwood knocks Penta off the apron but takes too long going up, allowing Fenix to snap off a super hurricanrana. We take a break and come back with Wheeler rolling Penta up for two but getting caught by Made In Japan for two. It’s back to Fenix for a slingshot Liger Bomb so FTR loads up the belts. Fenix takes it away and hits Harwood by mistake (allowing us to get in the required Eddie Guerrero tribute), setting up rope walk kick to the face.

The frog splash only hits belt though, giving Harwood two of his own. The Big Rig connects but Penta dives in with a high crossbody to Wheeler to break up the pin. They strike it out until Fenix tries the rolling cutter. That’s countered into a Gory Bomb from Wheeler, who has to block Penta’s Fear Factor. Instead, the spike Fear Factor retains the titles at 13:56.

Rating: B. They went with the all action format here and it worked well. This should wrap up the feud, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see one more match between them to really blow it off. The teams have developed better chemistry together over the last few matches though and this was another good one.

Nyla Rose/Bunny/Penelope Ford vs. Anna Jay/Tay Conti/Ruby Soho

Vickie Guerrero is here with the villains. Bunny takes Conti down to start and hits a chop, allowing Penelope to drive Conti into the corner. Rose comes in to hold Conti in said corner, allowing Bunny to yell at Conti’s partners. Back up and Jay forearms Ford, who takes her down with a faceplant. The hot tag brings in Soho to clean house, including an STO for two on Ford.

We take a break and come back with Jay hitting a basement crossbody for tow on Rose as everything breaks down. The parade of secondary finishers kicks off and everyone is left laying. Vickie slips Bunny the brass knuckles to knock Jay silly, leaving Rose to hit the Beast Bomb for the pin at 10:20.

Rating: C. Not too bad here as everyone was putting in the effort. There wasn’t a lot of interest here though as they put everyone into a match and let them go, with the main story being the TBS Title tournament. That’s fine on its own, but the tournament feels like it has been going on for the better part of ever and it’s hard to build up that much interest until we get to the end.

Sting and Darby Allin are being interviewed about a show in two weeks when FTR and Tully Blanchard jump them. This is really becoming a tired deal for AEW and they need to drop it for a good while.

Hook vs. Fuego del Sol

Hook takes him down by the head to start and flips him over with a headlock takeover. Fuego has to elbow his way out of something like an STF so Hook takes him into the corner for some shots to the ribs. Another suplex rocks Fuego but he’s back up with a dropkick into the corner. The tornado DDT is blocked though and Hook clotheslines him down. Some crossface shots set up the Tazmission to finish Fuego at 3:19.

Rating: C+. Well who saw that coming? Hook destroyed him and looked smooth doing so, which was quite the surprise. Hook knows his grappling and does feel like a Taz inspired wrestler. They were smart to keep this short and to the point and the match worked pretty well as a result. Total surprise, and nicely done at that.

The Elite is ready to destroy the Best Friends, who aren’t sure what this promo should be about. They steal the Bay Bay catchphrase though and Adam Cole is ready to fight.

Adam Cole vs. Wheeler Yuta

The Best Friends and the Elite are here, because you need ten people for a one on one match. Cole elbows him in the face to start but la majistral is countered into a rollup to give Yuta two. Back up and Cole hits a superkick out of the corner before avoiding a high crossbody to send Yuta crashing. Cole kicks him down again and sets up a neck crank, followed by the fireman’s carry backbreaker for…no cover as Cole is a bit too confident.

Yuta is sent outside so Cole can stare Orange Cassidy down. Back in and Yuta counters the Panama Sunrise into a cradle for two. Now the high crossbody can connect but Yuta can’t cover. An enziguri sends Cole into the corner and a top rope forearm gives Yuta two. A bridging German suplex gets the same but Cole catches him on top. Yuta gets in a slam, only to have his top rope splash hit raised knees. The Boom finishes Yuta at 7:09.

Rating: C. There wasn’t and shouldn’t have been much drama with this one, as Yuta wasn’t going to be a threat to Cole. The best part was the lack of a big brawl or all kinds of interference from everyone on the floor. It was little more than a squash for Cole, so this could have been a lot worse under some different circumstances.

Post match everyone gets in the ring but Bobby Fish comes in to take out the Best Friends. The Elite beats everyone down and Cole poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Not as good as some of their previous shows but still a rather nice hour of wrestling. As has been the case in recent weeks with AEW though, they are trying to put too many people and too many things on a show and everything feels rushed. That can get annoying in a hurry, along with the interrupted interviews. It’s ok to not do the same thing time after time and it would be nice for AEW to learn that with those concepts.

Results
Lucha Bros b. FTR – Spike Fear Factor to Wheeler
Nyla Rose/Penelope Ford/Bunny b. Anna Jay/Tay Conti/Ruby Soho – Beast Bomb to Jay
Hook b. Fuego del Sol – Tazmission
Adam Cole b. Wheeler Yuta – Boom

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

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Dynamite
Date: November 17, 2021
Location: Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re done with Full Gear and Hangman Page is FINALLY the AEW World Champion. To say this is a long time coming is an understatement but now we get to see where things go from here. That could be in a variety of directions but this week is all about the big celebration. We have a long way to go before Revolution next year so let’s get to it.

Here is Full Gear if you need a recap.

We open with a Full Gear recap.

The Elite is in the back and Kenny Omega is rather sad. He hasn’t watched the match with Hangman Page back but he knows he has some things to fix. Omega wants them to hold the fort down while he’s gone and Adam Cole says they’ve got it. Omega just meant the Bucks though and they walk off. This would be the write off for Omega so he can go have shoulder surgery.

The Dark Order is in the ring and here is Hangman Page, in a Virginia Is For Lovers shirt. Fans: “YOU DESERVE IT!” Page: “I’m gonna stop you right there. I didn’t deserve it. I f’ing earned it.” Page says he doesn’t usually come out here and talk but since he’s the World Champion, he’s going to do whatever he wants. He’s still just a man with a boss to answer to and that boss is the fans.

The title means a lot and now his responsibility is Bryan Danielson….and here is Danielson to interrupt. Danielson is here to say one thing: congratulations. He’s excited for the match, but he’s a bit disappointed that it isn’t Kenny Omega standing across the ring from him. Page says it’s not Omega because he beat Omega at Full Gear…and he did it in less than 30 minutes. Danielson isn’t here to start anything but he’s here for some wrestling instead of flapping his gums.

When he won the World Title at Wrestlemania, he wrestled the very next day (Without actually doing a move!). The fans aren’t thrilled and Danielson isn’t surprised that Virginia doesn’t appreciate hard work. Danielson is here in his gear while Page is in cowboy boots and….whatever that vest is. Page says we might not have the match here in Virginia, but we can have a fight. The Dark Order breaks that up and Danielson mocks Page for hiding behind his friends. I can absolutely go for heel Danielson so this is a nice change of pace. It’s more interesting than the idea of good vs. good so well done.

Bryan Danielson vs. Evil Uno

Danielson takes him down in a hurry and grabs a half crab. Some shots to the mask and an Affirmative Kick to the chest have Uno in trouble. More kicks to the back allow Danielson to say HE HAS UNTIL FIVE. Uno tells Danielson to kick him so Danielson obliges, only to get caught with a neckbreaker. Danielson just blasts him with a shot to break up the comeback and then slaps away in the corner. There’s the running knee but Danielson would rather stomp away than cover. The triangle choke knocks Uno out at 6:24.

Rating: C+. This was exactly as it should have been, with Danielson toying with someone who was out of his league. Uno was destroyed throughout here and Danielson knows just how to come off as evil. Good stuff here, as Page is going to be angry at Danielson for hurting his friend to make the title match all the more personal.

Post match Danielson says he is going to take out the Dark Order one by one. Next week they’re in Chicago and that is the hometown of Colt Cabana. If Cabana is interested, come get your head kicked in.

MJF talks about being covered in Darby Allin’s shame. He has destroyed every wrestler who thinks he can do nothing but talk. Yeah his knee is banged up but he got every one of your little mark chants and then won anyway. He has the best right hand in wrestling and now everyone has to admit it.

We look at Eddie Kingston vs. CM Punk, with Kingston walking away from a post match handshake.

Daniel Garcia and 2.0 come up to Kingston to say they’re tired of the losses. Kingston isn’t cool with 2.0 calling Garcia their son and a fight is proposed. With them gone, Kingston goes to catering while complaining about never being able to get in one promo without being interrupted.

Butcher and the Blade vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Orange Cassidy

Matt Hardy, the Bunny and Rocky Romero are here. Ishii and Butcher start things off but it’s quickly off to Cassidy to put his hands in his pockets. That earns him a knock to the floor and we take an early break with Cassidy in trouble. Back with Ishii suplexing Blade for two so Butcher comes in for the big power brawl. Some chops in the corner just wake Ishii up and he walks through some forearms, backing Butcher (who is still firing off strikes) into the corner.

A superplex gives Ishii two with Blade making the save. It’s off to Cassidy for a Stundog Millionaire and a tornado DDT to Blade for the near fall. Butcher and Blade hit a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination for two with Ishii making a save this time. Ishii comes back in and unloads on Butcher in the corner but Matt Hardy and the Bunny offer a distraction. Bunny slips in the brass knuckles but Rocky Romero breaks it up, with Cassidy diving onto Matt and Blade. Cassidy throws Blade back in so a heck of a clothesline and the brainbuster can finish for Ishii at 11:24.

Rating: C. The Cassidy vs. Hardy N Pals feud continues, though I did miss the elbow being involved this time around. They have to be setting up the hair vs. hair match at this point and that could very easily headline the first hour of an upcoming Dynamite. Other than that, it was cool to see Ishii here, as his presence alone is worth a look.

Andrade El Idolo, with FTR, brags about beating Cody Rhodes and Pac clean. Now he’s going to show them his good size. FTR says they’re so annoyed that they’ll wave their fee, get Malakai Black in there, and make it an eight man tag against Rhodes/Pac/the Lucha Bros. Tully Blanchard even threatens Arn Anderson because he has one more fight in him.

We recap Tay Conti vs. Britt Baker at Full Gear, with Conti saying she’s coming out of her next title shot as champion.

Britt Baker can’t wait to see Jamie Hayter destroy Thunder Rosa and make her not a thing.

TBS Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida

Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose. Shida takes her into the corner to start but gets powered over with a suplex. That earns Rose a kick to the head and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and Rose drives some shoulders into the ribs before slowly starting in on the knee. They head outside with Shida sending her into the barricade and then setting up the chair. It turns out that setting up a chair and then yelling at the camera is enough for Rose to make a comeback (good, because Shida looked stupid there), only to cannonball off the apron and through the chair.

Vickie tries to take the kendo stick away and gets blasted with it instead. The delay (the second one) lets Shida get slammed off the top and we take a break. Back with Serena Deeb, who popped up during the break, jumping Shida and sending her back inside. Rose adds the top rope knee to the back for two but Shida pulls her into a triangle choke. That’s broken up with a powerbomb but Shida raises the knees to block a backsplash. Shida misses something off the top though and it’s a stretch muffler to give Rose the win at 10:59.

Rating: C. The ending surprised me a bit here and Rose moving forward makes sense. This also opens up a third match between Deeb and Shida, which should work out fine. I could see Rose making it to the finals of the tournament as the next monster for the winner to slay. That’s a classic formula and it should work fine if they do it here.

Malakai Black is ready for next week’s eight man tag.

Here is MJF, flanked by Wardlow and Shawn Spears, the latter of whom talks about how MJF can beat any hero with a headlock takeover. MJF says he’s the man who will start a bidding war in 2024. He could take your hometown horse and send him straight to the glue factory. The rankings won’t tell you this, but he deserves to be the next World Champion. There is no one in that locker room on his level….and here is CM Punk. The fans (and JR) like this while telling MJF to shut up. MJF extends his hand but Punk walks away without saying a word. Yeah I think this is going to be fine.

Darby Allin says he’ll face MJF again but for now, he wants the biggest and the baddest AEW has to offer. Cue the Gunn Club, with Billy accepting the challenge.

The Superkliq doesn’t like Jurassic Express so on Rampage it’s the two of them against Bobby Fish/Adam Cole.

Acclaimed vs. Dante Martin/Lio Rush

Stereo dives take out the Acclaimed to cut off the rap (about Martin and Rush’s issues with relationships) and Caster in trouble to start. Martin gets sent outside for a ram into the barricade, setting up a middle rope stomp back inside. It’s Martin getting stomped in the corner, setting up Caster’s neckbreaker for two.

We take a break and come back with Rush coming in to clean house, including the spinning kick to Bowens’ head. Caster gets kicked to the floor and an ax kick gives Rush two on Bowens. Rush has to bail out of the frog splash and Bowens strikes away to put him down. Martin springboards in with a missile dropkick though and everyone is down. Back up and Caster clotheslines Rush’s head off and Bowens plants him with a spinning slam. Caster drops a top rope legdrop for two but Martin makes a save. Martin plants Bowens down and a heck of a frog splash gives Rush the pin at 10:24.

Rating: B-. These guys know how to do this kind of thing and they didn’t waste time here. This was about flying around and letting Martin/Rush look good over a team with a reputation. The Acclaimed might not be the flashiest team but they know how to get the fans annoyed at them in a hurry, which is a lot more important most of the time.

Post match here is Team Taz for another sales pitch to Martin. They think Martin could be a heck of an addition to the team, but saying no might be a bad idea.

Christian Cage and Jurassic Express are ready for Adam Cole/Bobby Fish at Rampage because you don’t bring a fish to a fist fight.

Video on Red Velvet vs. Jade Cargill.

Here’s what’s coming on Rampage and Dynamite.

The Lucha Bros are ready for next week’s eight man tag.

TNT Title: Sammy Guevara vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is challenging in his company debut. Guevara (with bad ribs) tries a quick GTH but settles for an exchange of rollups for two each into a standoff. Lethal hits his hiptoss into the basement dropkick for two and starts in on the bad ribs. A jumping knee sends Lethal outside though and there’s the big flip dive. Back in and the shooting star press hits raised knees and Guevara is in trouble.

We take a break and come back with Sammy blocking the Lethal Injection to hit a Spanish Fly. Lethal rolls outside for a breather before they change places so Lethal can try the suicide dive. That’s blocked in a hurry though and Sammy hits a brainbuster on the floor. Sammy loads up the Swanton but only hits a table at ringside for the huge crash.

Back in and Lethal’s Hail To The King elbow is countered into a cradle for two. He’s right back up with a reverse fisherman’s suplex into a faceplant, setting up the Figure Four. Sammy grabs the rope and is back with another knee but the ribs won’t let him hit the GTH. That means another jumping knee to rock Lethal and now the GTH retains the title at 12:55.

Rating: B. Lethal looked awesome in his debut but they’re not taking that title off of Guevara until they want to take away a piece of the audience’s soul. The fans know who Lethal is and what he has accomplished so he already has a leg in the door. Guevara fighting through an injury and winning with his hard hitting finisher was the right way to go here and Lethal is going to be fine going forward.

Tony Nese (in the crowd) is not impressed. The Inner Circle comes out to celebrate and Lethal shakes Sammy’s hand. Lethal gets some respect from the team to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show started off well, hit some lulls in the middle and then bounced back strong for the last thirty minutes or so. The important thing here was setting up a bunch of stuff for the future and that is looking bright. Odds are we’ll see another special Dynamite in December for some of these matches and that should be enough to get us to the Clash of Champions style show in January. Another solid week here, as they come off the pay per view looking good.

Results
Daniel Bryan b. Evil Uno – Triangle choke
Tomohiro Ishii/Orange Cassidy b. Butcher and the Blade – Brainbuster to Blade
Nyla Rose b. Hikaru Shida – Stretch muffler
Dante Martin/Lio Rush b. Acclaimed – Frog splash to Bowens
Sammy Guevara b. Jay Lethal – GTH

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Full Gear 2021
Date: November 13, 2021
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s time for what is likely going to be one of the best AEW shows in history as the card is stacked. AEW has shown that they can put together an awesome card and then deliver on the potential. I’m looking forward to more than a few things on the show and that is a great feeling to have. Let’s get to it.

Buy-In: Thunder Rosa/Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose/Jamie Hayter

The four of them are matched up in the TBS Title tournament and Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose/Hayter. Rosa and Rose start things off with Rosa grabbing some rollups for two each. A basement dropkick has Rose staggered and it’s off to Shida for a running knee in the corner. It’s back to Rosa, who gets powered into the wrong corner though, meaning the stomping is on. Rosa manages to roll away and brings Shida back in to start striking away as Serena Deeb is watching from ringside.

Hayter runs Shida over and grabs a chinlock before sending her into the corner for a bite from Rose. A double chokeslam gets two on Shida and it’s an Irish Curse to put her down again. Shida finally manages a German suplex and that’s enough for the hot tag off to Rosa. Everything breaks down and some running kicks to the face put the villains on the floor. The stereo dives take them down again but a Deeb distraction lets Vickie get in a shot to Shida’s knee. Back in and Rosa and Hayter fight straight back to the floor, leaving Shida to hurricanrana Rose for the pin at 8:42.

Rating: C. This was all it needed to be as they started with a fun, fast paced tag match. You don’t need to do anything more than that in a spot like this and the match worked out rather well. Shida pinning Rosa is the best possible outcome and it came after a rather nice opening match to get the already warmed up fans going even hotter.

We run down the card.

Darby Allin vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is introduced as “the man who can beat Darby Allin with a headlock takeover”. Allin’s intro video this time shows him driving a car with LOSER painted on the side, which blows up after a wreck. MJF takes him to the mat with the headlock takeover for some early near falls as the mind games are on. A shoulder puts Allin down, allowing MJF to bust out the cartwheel. Allin armdrags him down and they bridge up at the same time.

MJF gets driven into the corner but comes out with a right hand as JR says these are two of the four “pillows” of AEW. Allin is sent outside and then back inside, with MJF stopping to yell at the fans. That’s not a good idea as Allin is right there with a big suicide dive to take him out, only to miss the Coffin Drop onto the apron. Back in and MJF slowly hammers away, with Allin’s backbreaker not getting him very far. A superplex is loaded up but Allin bites his way to freedom.

The super flipping Stunner is blocked and MJF loads up a super Tombstone, which thankfully is countered into the flipping Stunner. That bangs up the back again though and MJF hammers away at a kneeling Allin. The right hands just make Allin rise back up though and now the comeback is on, only to have MJF pike him in the eye. Allin kicks the knee out but Code Red is countered into a heck of a powerbomb for two.

The Scorpion Deathlock has Allin in more trouble but Allin punches at the knee to escape. A chop block slows MJF down until he gets in a shot of his own. MJF hits a middle rope stomp to the arm but Salt of the Earth is blocked. Instead, Allin goes for the knee again and slaps on the Figure Four in a smart move. The rope is finally grabbed and they fight to the apron to slug it out.

Allin tries a bit of a running start but gets caught in a jumping Tombstone. The impact bangs up the knee again though and they’re both down on the floor. They both beat the count back in but MJF’s knee gives out, allowing Allin to small package him for two. They fight over some small packages for two each and roll around the ring until breaking it up. MJF tries the headlock takeover for two but Allin reverses into one of his own.

MJF’s powerbomb is countered into Code Red for a heck of a near fall and that’s a standing ovation (kind of hard to argue after that kind of a sequence). The Coffin Drop is loaded up so MJF rolls outside before it can launch. That’s fine with Allin, who hits said Coffin Drop on the floor instead.

Back in and another Coffin Drop hits raised knees to make Allin scream. Cue Wardlow and Shawn Spears but Sting runs out to cut them off. MJF rolls Allin up with tights for two so it’s time to grab the skateboard. He offers it to Allin and drops to his knees so Allin can use the skateboard, but that’s not happening. The referee gets rid of it, allowing MJF to get in the shot with the ring. Allin is out cold so it’s a headlock takeover to give MJF the pin at 22:48.

Rating: B+. This was great and that’s all you should have expected. AEW knows that they have some very talented younger stars on the roster and they know how to let them go out there and tear the house down. MJF might be the best talker in wrestling today and he can have some great matches to go with it too. Excellent stuff here and another star making performance from both. MJF’s bragging alone will be worth the whole thing.

Team Taz is in a sky box.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. FTR

The Lucha Bros are defending and it’s Alex Abrahantes/Tully Blanchard as the seconds. The Bros’ entrance features a lot of explosions and some people ducking for cover. Penta takes Wheeler down for an early rollup and that’s good for the quick standoff, sending Harwood outside for a breather. Back in and Wheeler gets taken down but Harwood saves him from a double superkick. Instead the Bros’ dives are caught, with Fenix being thrown at Penta to drive him into the barricade.

Wheeler chokes Fenix on the ropes but it’s quickly back to Harwood and Penta, with the former getting caught with an assisted Cannonball in the corner. Everything breaks down and the Bros tie FTR’s legs together before grabbing a Crossface and Octopus at the same time. The referee isn’t having any of that so it’s down to Penta hammering on Harwood in the corner. Tully offers a distraction so Wheeler can get in a cheap shot to take over though and the champs are in trouble.

Penta’s mask gets tied to the rope so the beating can continue for a bit. With that broken up, Harwood grabs a chinlock to slow things down a bit. Penta fights up and kicks Harwood in the ribs before using Wheeler to roll himself over for a jumping DDT. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Fenix for a bunch of kicks all around. A double cutter drops FTR for two on Harwood but Fenix’s rolling DDT is countered.

Fenix tries an O’Connor roll but accidentally knocks Penta off the apron. The kickout sends Fenix into the AAA title belt (as held by Wheeler) to set up a brainbuster for a very close two. Back in and Penta cleans house but stops to yell at Tully, allowing Harwood to try Three Amigos.

That’s broken up so Fenix can do the real version, setting up a heck of a frog splash for two. Penta gets sent outside again and the spike piledriver gets two on Fenix. Back up and Fenix superkicks Harwood and it’s a Fear Factor/Code Red for stereo near falls. It’s time to get creative so Wheeler (illegal) puts on a mask and grabs a rollup for two. The spike Fear Factor pins Wheeler at 18:38

Rating: B. I liked it better than their first match and that’s a good thing. The ending was all about setting up a rematch, which should be another good one. I could see it being a way for the Bros to get the AAA Tag Team Titles back to wrap it up, but they might even have a surprise to get the belts back on FTR. Either way, good, exciting match here as the first two matches have worked out well.

We recap Miro vs. Bryan Danielson for the #1 contendership. Danielson wants to win to prove he is the best and Miro wants to win the title to return to his wife.

World Title #1 Contenders Eliminator Tournament Finals: Miro vs. Bryan Danielson

Miro still isn’t interested in a handshake so Danielson kicks away at the thigh to start. Some more strikes stagger Miro until he hits a knee to the stomach to put Danielson outside for a needed breather. Back in and Miro is ready for the moonsault out of the corner so Danielson (not Daniel Bryan JR) kicks away in the corner. Miro knocks him outside for his own breather though and Danielson gets whipped into various hard objects.

Back in and we hit the chinlock, complete with another “Daniel Bryan” from JR. Miro whips him hard into the corner but stops to grab his own leg, allowing Danielson to strike away again. Some more strikes rock Miro and the Affirmative Kicks have him in trouble in the middle of the ring. Danielson grabs a kneebar but Miro powers out with a gutwrench suplex. Another hard kick gives Danielson two more and it’s a front facelock for some knees to Miro’s head.

The hard stomps have Miro down again but he cuts off the running knee. Game Over goes on but Danielson eventually slips out and grabs the LeBell Lock. Miro slips out again and tries to hammer down right hands but gets pulled into the triangle choke. Danielson adds the elbows to the head until Miro powers his way out. Back up and Miro invites Danielson to keep kicking him, though said kicks don’t do much damage. Miro takes him up top but Danielson reverses into a tornado DDT, setting up a guillotine choke for the win at 20:00.

Rating: B+. Commentary described this as a struggle and that’s exactly how it felt. This was about Miro powering his way through Danielson’s offense until Danielson finally found the weak point. It felt like two guys trying to break the other one down and that’s a great way to go. Awesome stuff here as this show is on a crazy roll to start.

Superkliq vs. Christian Cage/Jurassic Express

Falls count anywhere and the Bucks are all in purple, which is too much for Tony. JR: “Looks like a Bret Hart meet and greet.” It’s a brawl to start with the Bucks being sent outside, where Luchasaurus takes them down with a moonsault from the apron. That leaves Cole to charge into Christian’s elbow to put him down. Back in and the Bucks block Jungle Boy’s springboard double wristdrag so Luchasaurus makes a save of his own. Cole comes in as well and gets a chair thrown into his face but the Bucks break up a powerbomb onto an open chair.

Jungle Boy takes the Bucks down from the chair and has a seat, allowing Cole to knee him in the face. The BAY BAY pose takes too long though and Christian reverse DDTs Cole onto the chair. Everyone heads outside with Luchasaurus getting in a trashcan shot for two, much to JR’s annoyance. Luchasaurus kicks Cole in the face so Jungle Boy can send him face first into a chair.

A table is set up at ringside but Jungle Boy would rather load up a Conchairto on Cole. That’s broken up by the Bucks so Jungle Boy and Nick fight off towards the stage. Cole is busted open bad as Luchasaurus kicks him in the corner but Cole slips out of a Razor’s Edge. That means a parade of superkicks until Jungle Boy hurricanranas Cole off the apron through the table at ringside.

Matt springboard elbows Luchasaurus through another table at ringside and everyone is down. We cut to the stands where Brandon Cutler sprays Nick by mistake, allowing Christian to go up onto a balcony and crossbody down onto both of them for two. Back to ringside and Christian gets sent knees first into the steps, followed by Jungle Boy getting wheelbarrow suplexed into the apron. It’s time for the thumbtacks, which go into Jungle Boy’s mouth, but we need to stop for the double kiss to Cole.

With that out of the way, the double superkick gets two on Jungle Boy with Cage making the save. Since we need to check it off of a list, a ladder is put in the corner but Christian is back in. A tornado DDT (with Christian’s foot getting caught in the ladder) drops Nick as Luchasaurus gets back in. Cole gets tossed HARD onto the ladder in the corner and there’s a chokeslam to put Nick onto it as well.

The standing moonsault connects for two as Matt makes the save with a trashcan. A superkick gets one on Luchasaurus (JR: “Never count down a dinosaur Tony. EVER!”) so Matt walks up the ramp, only to have Jungle Boy charge out and grab the Snare Trap. Cole makes the save this time and everyone winds up on the ramp. Luchasaurus’ double chokeslam to the Bucks is broken up by Cole’s low blow and Cage catapults Nick onto the set.

Cage charges into a superkick from Cole so Nick dives down onto his for a bonus. Jungle Boy and Cole fight near the set until Cole hits a Panama Sunrise onto the stage for two more. A bunch of superkicks put Luchasaurus down and Cole busts out a thumbtack kneepad (Tony: “A THUMBTACK KNEEPAD???”). The Superkliq all have one and a three man BTE Trigger….gets two as Jungle Boy makes another save.

Jungle Boy suplexes Nick and Cage spears Matt, leaving Cole to be chokeslammed off the ramp and onto Cutler/Nakazawa. Luchasaurus shooting stars down onto everyone and Jungle Boy is impressed. Cage loads up the Conchairto to Matt, but Jungle Boy wants to do it instead. Matt’s head is crushed for the pin at 22:18.

Rating: B. This was the wild brawl you would have expected with some crazy spots, but it went too long and that hurt things. This needed to have about five minutes cut off as they could have dropped at least a few of the false finishes. That being said, good choice in having Jungle Boy pin one of the Bucks, as that image at the end was a great way to elevate Jungle Boy, who needs to get higher up the card. Luchasaurus looked more like a monster than usual too so this was a good way to move people up.

We recap Malakai Black/Andrade El Idolo vs. Cody Rhodes/Pac. Black and Cody have been feuding so Black got El Idolo to help him. Pac has been feuding with El Idolo so everything is combined.

Malakai Black/Andrade El Idolo vs. Cody Rhodes/Pac

Jose and Arn Anderson are at ringside. Pac and Andrade start but Cody tags himself in, earning even more booing. Hold on though as Pac tags himself in, with Andrade finally hitting Pac to get started. Black comes in to work on the arm as JR isn’t sure on the quality of the teamwork here. Pac gets over to the corner and it’s back to Black, who distracts Cody long enough for Andrade to get in a cheap shot. Cody fights back and suicide dives onto Jose, setting up the powerslam on Andrade back inside.

Pac tags himself back in and gets taken into the corner. Black’s belly to back suplex doesn’t work as Pac sticks the landing and staggers into the corner for Cody’s blind tag. The Cody Cutter hits Black but Pac makes another tag, just as Black kicks Cody’s head off. Pac sends the villains (not Cody in this case) to the floor for a big dive, leaving Arn Anderson to punch Jose out.

They fight to the back (read as Jose runs as Arn walks after him) as Andrade sends Pac outside for the running flip dive. Back in and Black kicks away, setting up Andrade’s split legged moonsault for two. Pac finally gets in a shot of his own but Cody is STILL down on the floor. Andrade uses the distraction to hit a pendulum DDT onto the apron for two back inside. Cody is back on the apron as Pac and Black kick each other down. The hot tag brings in Cody, which does not sit well with the fans.

House is cleaned in a hurry and Andrade gets crotched on top, setting up the reverse superplex. Cody grabs the Figure Four but Pac tags himself in and hits a 450 for two as Andrade grabs the rope. Everything breaks down again and Pac’s big running flip dive takes Cody out. Back in and Black knees Pac to set up a German suplex for two with Cody making the save. Black hits a heck of a running kick to the face to put Cody over the barricade, sending them both crashing into the crowd. Pac suplexes Andrade into the corner, setting up the Black Arrow for the pin at 16:55.

Rating: B-. They had a lot going on here but this Cody stuff isn’t going to work much longer. Having him get booed out of the arena every time isn’t exactly a great look and they are going to need to come up with something to fix it. The ending likely sets up something else with Cody and Pac, which doesn’t exactly leave Andrade looking good or Black with anything to do. I’m sure they’ll find something, but this feels like a flat way to end the feud.

Post match FTR runs in to jump Pac and Cody, probably setting up a big Dynamite main event.

We recap Tay Conti vs. Britt Baker for the Women’s Title. Conti thinks Baker has had everything handed to her but Baker thinks Conti keeps coming up short in the big matches.

Women’s Title: Britt Baker vs. Tay Conti

Baker, with Rebel and Jamie Hayter, is defending and is played to the ring by the guitarist from Fozzy. Some early rollups give Baker two but she can’t get Lockjaw. Baker takes her into the corner but gets caught in a cross armbreaker over the ropes. With that broken up, Baker works on the arm as well before kneeing Conti in the face. Conti fights out of the Lockjaw again with some shots to Baker’s formerly broken hand. A running knee rocks Baker and the comeback is on for Conti.

Some running boots in the corner set up a high crossbody for two on Baker. A neckbreaker out of the corner gives Conti the same but Baker is back with a running stomp for her own near fall. The Lockjaw glove is loaded up (with Rebel being VERY excited) but Conti grabs a cutter for two. They fight to the apron, where Baker hits an Air Raid Crash. Somehow that’s only good for two so it’s the Lockjaw, with Conti going straight to the rope.

They trade some rollups for two each until the TayKO gives Conti two more. A Gotch style piledriver gets another near fall on Baker but Rebel offers a distraction. Hayter gets in a cheap shot on the floor and Baker adds a stomp on the steps. Another stomp back inside sets up the Lockjaw….which is reversed into a cradle for two. Conti kicks her to the floor but can’t follow up due to exhaustion.

Eventually Conti moonsaults down onto Rebel and Hayter as Baker walks away. Instead, Conti spins Baker down into a slam on the floor, setting up the DDTay for two back inside. A bunch of kicks to the head rock Baker again but she pulls Conti into Lockjaw, which is countered into a rollup. Baker counters the countered rollup into a rollup of her own to retain at 15:30.

Rating: B-. The lack of drama hurt this a good bit, but Conti was trying hard and it is amazing how far she has come in the last year or so. Conti is going to be a big star in the near future, but it’s really hard to buy anyone not named Thunder Rosa as a threat to Baker’s title. Another good match though, with probably just a few too many false finishes for its own good.

We recap Eddie Kingston vs. CM Punk. They’re similar, but Kingston thinks Punk doesn’t respect him. Punk thinks Kingston keeps failing to live up to his potential and now it’s Kingston’s chance to prove himself in his biggest match ever.

CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston

Punk marches to the ring and doesn’t even stop for his signature stuff. Kingston isn’t waiting either and hits the spinning backfist before the bell. Punk is knocked outside as the match officially starts, with Punk hitting a few shots in the corner as they go back inside. Another shot in the corner is countered with a t-bone suplex and Kingston unloads on him in the corner.

Punk gets in another shot and takes it to the apron for a big kick to Kingston’s head. Kingston’s hand gets crushed in the steps as the fans are behind both of these guys. Punk has been busted open somewhere in there but he throws Kingston back inside anyway….for John Cena’s Five Moves Of Doom, albeit with a middle finger instead of You Can’t See Me. Kingston flips him off right back so Punk hammers away again and hits Three Amigos.

Back up and Kingston catches him on top with a shot to the face, setting up a top rope superplex. They pull themselves up and slug it out, allowing Excalibur to drop an old school UFC reference. Why he wouldn’t drop an old wrestling reference is beyond me, but Excalibur can be a strange duck. Kingston knocks him down again but walks into a GTS. Punk can’t follow up though so it’s a double breather. After Kingston pulls himself up though, he misses the backfist and it’s another GTS for the pin at 11:11.

Rating: B. As much as I would have liked to see Kingston get the big win, this was about the only way they could have gone. Punk is one of the biggest stars in the company and it would be a bit much to see him losing anytime soon. Kingston got the run of his life here and he’ll be getting another shot at something down the line. Heck of a fight, with the right ending.

Post match Kingston pulls himself up but walks away from the offer of a handshake.

We recap American Top Team/Men of the Year vs. the Inner Circle. Dan Lambert has run his mouth over and over and Chris Jericho is fed up. Tonight Lambert gets in the ring and it’s time for revenge in a street fight.

Baron Von Raschke of all people is here.

American Top Team/Men of the Year vs. Inner Circle

Street fight and Dan Lambert is in a blue tracksuit. Since that’s a lot of groups, that would be Dan Lambert/Andrei Arlovski/Junior Dos Santos/Scorpio Sky/Ethan Page vs. Chris Jericho/Jake Hager/Santana/Ortiz/Sammy Guevara. Scorpio Sky starts with Sammy Guevara (because there are tags in this thing) and drives him into the corner for a rake to the eyes. Sammy comes back with a middle rope kick to the chest and a dropkick into a nipup.

Santana and Ortiz hit a double suplex and another suplex is handed off to Hager. Arlovski comes in for a slugout but Hager pulls him into a failed ankle lock attempt. Hager gets taken down and Dos Santos comes in for a double shoulder. It’s off to Jericho, who gets suplexed down as well, setting up a standing moonsault (with Dos Santos’ head crashing into Jericho’s chest) for two.

Now Lambert comes in to slap Jericho in the face as everything breaks down (as it should have from the beginning). Lambert has to run away, allowing Ethan Page to hit Jericho with a hockey stick. Sammy hits a dive of his own but Sky and Hager hits a big dive onto a bunch of people. The weapons (Minneapolis things) come in, including a Prince sign, setting off a PURPLE RAIN chant. A chair gets wrapped around Ortiz’s throat and then sent into the post, leaving Santana to get beaten double teamed inside.

That doesn’t last long as Ortiz is back in to put a trashcan over Page’s head, allowing Santana and Ortiz to beat on him with hockey sticks. Then we get a Gory Stretch/Boston crab/camel clutch combination from Santana/Ortiz to the Men of the Year (that’s a new one, or maybe two or three), with Sammy throwing a football at Sky’s open ribs. Arlovski comes back in to clean house but Hager busts out a toaster to take everyone out.

Jericho has to save Hager with a water ski but Lambert trips him down. Sammy is back in with a double springboard cutter to the Men of the Year and a Swanton to Sky for two. A table is set up at ringside but Arlovski makes the save with a bundt cake pan. Santana and Ortiz superplex Dos Santos off the top as Sammy is climbing a really high ladder. The big Swanton drives Sky through the table but Ethan Page goes to yell at Hager’s wife.

That earns him a Baron Von Raschke claw, leaving Santana to take Page over the barricade. Lambert poses in the ring but gets caught by Jericho, who chops him down in a hurry. Jericho shouts for Dos Santos, who pops up to block the Lionsault so Lambert can get two. Lambert’s Walls are broken up with kendo stick shots….and Jericho pulls out a stapler for a shot low. Another frog splash finishes Lambert at 20:01.

Rating: C+. It was wild and nutty, but it wasn’t as good as the other big brawl from earlier. The ending wasn’t exactly great either, as it was all about Jericho beating up a manager when his team had an advantage. This really needs to be it though, as this wasn’t exactly an enthralling story in the first place and then it wasn’t a great blowoff match.

Tony Schiavone brings in the newest AEW star: Jay Lethal. He is officially All Elite and wants to answer the TNT Title open challenge Wednesday on Dynamite. Cue Sammy to say it’s on.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Kenny Omega for the World Title. They used to be friends (a long time ago) but Page had all kinds of self doubt and drank his way out of his problems. Now it’s time to redeem himself and win the title, though Omega isn’t quite nervous.

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page

Page is challenging and we see a video of him riding a horse through the street as clips of Page’s various failures play on screens behind him. Once he gets in the arena, Page’s chiron says “We’re Proud Of You – Graphics Team”. They stare each other down to start with Page taking him into the corner to hammer away. Don Callis grabs Page’s boot though and Omega gets in a shot from behind to take over.

Page backdrops him to the apron though and it’s a springboard clothesline to send Omega outside. Omega gets the better of things on the floor though and brings Page back inside for the running reverse bulldog for two. Callis offers a distraction so Omega can knock Page outside again, setting up the Terminator dive. Back in and Page cuts him off, including kicking Omega in the face.

This time it’s Omega being knocked outside for the suicide dive from Page, setting up the moonsault out to the floor. They get back up to their feet and head up top, where Omega hits a springboard super Liger Bomb to knock Page silly. There’s the snapdragon to set up the V Trigger but the One Winged Angle is countered into the victory roll to give Page two. The Deadeye is countered into a tiger driver 98 for two and Omega bites at the cut on Page’s head from Dynamite.

Omega goes up but gets crotched, allowing Page to bite away for a change. The super flipping fall away slam into a cover gives Page his own two and Omega is down on the floor. Page hits a big clothesline from the top but might have banged up his knee in the process. Back in and Page misses his own V Trigger but Omega pulls the referee in the way of a charge.

Callis grabs the belt but Page scares him away, setting up the Deadeye for two on Omega. Page picks up the title, only to throw it right back down so the slugout can be on instead. Omega slugs him down to one knee and then knees Page in the head. More knees set up the V Trigger but Page cuts him off and strikes away. The next V Trigger connects but Page is back up with a discus elbow.

Some Kawada kicks rock Page, who comes back (after an F bomb) with a heck of a clothesline. Cue the Young Bucks (Tony: “Dip**** alert.”) as Page drops Omega on the top of his head with a belly to back suplex. The Buckshot lariat is countered with the V Trigger but the One Winged Angel is countered into one from Page for a near fall. Now the Buckshot lariat hits Omega from behind but Page stops to look at Matt Jackson. A nod sets up the Buckshot lariat to give the pin and the title at 25:06.

Rating: B. They didn’t have another choice here and thankfully they pulled the trigger at the right time. There was no reason to keep the title on Omega any longer and hopefully this wraps up the main portion of the Elite saga. Page had to win here or I’m not sure if he ever would have otherwise. The match was rather good, though not quite great, but what matters is the ending, which was the right call.

Post match the Dark Order comes out to celebrate with Page and the big hug ends the show.

Overall Rating: A. Another classic show from AEW, which tends to be the case when they get on the big stage. There was nothing resembling a bad match all night long with even the worst match on the show being completely fine. Some of the matches probably went a big longer than they needed to, but I’m not about to complain about a show that delivered this well. Awesome night and the big title change wraps it up, so well done all around.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Darby Allin – Headlock takeover
Lucha Bros b. FTR – Spike Fear Factor to Wheeler
Bryan Danielson b. Miro – Guillotine choke
Christian Cage/Jurassic Express b. Superkliq – Conchairto to Cole
Cody Rhodes/Pac b. Malakai Black/Andrade El Idolo – Black Arrow to El Idolo
Britt Baker b. Tay Conti – Rollup
CM Punk b. Eddie Kingston – GTS
Inner Circle b. American Top Team/Men of the Year – Frog splash to Lambert
Hangman Page b. Kenny Omega – Buckshot lariat

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It’s always fun to see AEW back on pay per view as they really have figured out the formula. They know what they are doing with the whole thing and we should be in for another one this time around. The card is absolutely stacked from top to bottom and we could be in for one of the more historic moments in AEW’s history to date. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Hikaru Shida/Thunder Rosa vs. Jamie Hayter/Nyla Rose

It’s a battle of four people who are still in the TBS Title tournament and I’ve heard worse reasons to have a pre-show tag match. There isn’t much else connecting these women and they haven’t interacted much on TV, but it should do rather well as a way to get things rolling for the evening. It isn’t like Shida and Rose don’t know each other so maybe they can have a good match through familiarity.

I’ll go with Shida and Rosa to win here as there is little reason to go with having the popular wrestlers lose to open the night. This isn’t the kind of a match that needs to be anything more than a few competitive minutes while commentary plugs the tournament as much as they can. It would be nice to see the tournament move forward a bit more, but Shida and Rosa winning here will work for now.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros(c) vs. FTR

We’ll get going on the main card with a match that could go either way. I liked their first match against each other but there is a bad chance of this getting sloppy in a hurry. It is going to come down to the idea of whether FTR can keep things a bit more down to earth than usual, but that is no guarantee. That’s the way to put the match together, but it needs a winner as well.

I’m not sure on this one, but I think I’ll go with the Lucha Bros, as they can retain the titles to even the series and then win the AAA Tag Team Titles at an upcoming show in Mexico. Other than that though, we should be in for a fun match, as their first match worked out pretty well. At the same thing though, there is always the chance that it could go bad in a hurry, which makes things that much more fun.

Cody Rhodes/Pac vs. Andrade El Idolo/Malakai Black

Let’s keep going with the tag theme here and get a rather odd pair of pairings out of the way. Believe it or not, this is mainly about Rhodes, which tends to be the case far more often than it probably needs to be. Pac doesn’t like El Idolo and Black and Rhodes are still feuding for some reason, with El Idolo going after Rhodes to tie the whole thing together. Sounds like a great way to get Rhodes on pay per view no?

This could go either way but I’ll go with Rhodes and Pac winning here, as Black probably takes the fall. I’m at the point where I have no idea what to make of Rhodes these days and it is getting harder and harder to figure it out. Hopefully they can figure out what to do with him sooner than later, because throwing him out there to try and make him the most popular guy in the company isn’t exactly working.

Darby Allin vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

We’ll mix it up a bit here with a match that could (and should) be between two of the company’s stars of the future. That has even been the focus of the feud, as Friedman has talked about how these two are pillars of the company. Allin has mainly been sitting around letting Friedman say whatever he wants, but he has a history of turning it on when he gets the chance on the big stage.

I’ll go with Friedman here, as Allin is someone who is going to be over no matter what he does, while Friedman would seem to be on the road to a (rather) eventual World Title run. Allin is the kind of wrestler who will be popular with the fans based on how hard he goes whenever he is in the ring. Hopefully they can steal the show here, as tends to be the case when these two are on the big stage.

Inner Circle vs. Men Of The Year/American Top Team

To recap: we have a bunch of mixed martial artists, a tag team and a gym owner vs. five wrestlers in a street fight where the wrestlers got to pick sixty percents of who they are fighting. Got all that? This match has all kinds of details included and I’m not sure how well it is going to play out on paper. What matters is how it goes, but also how much longer they want the feud to continue.

Somehow this is a flip of the coin as I have no idea who is winning here. I’ll go with the Inner Circle to finally wrap up the feud though, which is probably how things should go. The idea is likely going to be built around Dan Lambert running away, which is probably the best thing for everyone involved. I’ll say Guevara pins one of the Men Of The Year, which is the pick that is most likely to be wrong of the show.

Women’s Title: Britt Baker(c) vs. Tay Conti

This is in a rough place and I’m not sure how well they are going to be able to get out of it. At the end of the day, it’s hard to imagine Baker losing the title to anyone before her eventual showdown with Rosa, as they almost have to get to the big rematch. That leaves almost any other challenger, including Conti, as a bit of a lame duck no matter what they do on the way to the title match.

Of course I’ll go with Baker here, as there is little reason to believe Conti has much of a chance. It might wind up being a good match, but at the same time it does not have the most drama. Conti is someone who could become a huge star down the line (and probably will), but we are still in Baker’s time and that is not going to stop anytime soon, or at least not until she runs into Rosa again.

Christian Cage/Jurassic Express vs. Superkliq

Falls Count Anywhere, because we need another wild tag team brawl. These guys have been feuding since Cage debuted and this does feel like a bit of a big blowoff to the whole thing. Then again, this is a feud that could go in a few directions, such as Cole vs. Jungle Boy or Cage, both of which would be good. Add in the absence of Marko Stunt and this is already getting more interesting.

That being said, you know full well there is practically no chance of the Superkliq losing a big time match so I’m not sure if there is any real drama here. The other three will fight hard and there will likely be a big spot, but ultimately this will involve several superkicks and end with the Boom to Jungle Boy. Why not Luchasaurus you may ask? Heck if I know, but that’s probably how it ends.

CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston

This is the one that everyone is talking about with good reason. Between the amazing exchange last week and the equally awesome Kingston piece in the Players Tribune (go out of your way to read that), Kingston is white hot going into this match. That’s going to tie into everything that Punk has been talking about too, as all of the pressure is going to be on Kingston in this one.

As much as I would really, really love to see AEW go nuts and have Kingston get the biggest win of his career, I can’t validate having Punk lose at any point in the near future. Punk is someone with a lot of star power and while a loss to Kingston wouldn’t kill that, it isn’t the kind of thing that needs to happen. I would love to see Kingston win, but I don’t think it is going to happen.

Bryan Danielson vs. Miro

Now we’re getting to the important stuff, as the last two matches on the card are tied together. This is the finals of the #1 contenders tournament and I could easily see this going either way. You could go with almost any combination of these two and either World Champion (save for probably Miro vs. Kenny Omega) and have a major title match, which is a sign that they are doing something right.

I think I’ll take….Danielson here, as he opens up more doors and was the original finalist anyway. Miro losing to some kind of a choke to focus on his bad neck works, but e pluribus gads it would be amazing to see him go nuts and slaughter Danielson. It’s so nice to have both as possible options here, but ultimately I think it’s Danielson’s to win and set up the huge title showdown. He’ll need an opponent though, which leaves us with this.

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Hangman Page

Here we go. This is the big one that AEW has literally been building towards for years. While some might think that is a big much and they should have gotten to the point a good while ago, it’s time to finally have this big showdown. They have set this up from several interesting angles and there is something to the idea of FINALLY having Page win. At the same time though, there might be something to having Danielson take the title off of Omega and finally slay the dragon.

But I think we’ll go with the sane idea here and have Page just win the match and take the title off of Omega. It is already the longest title reign in AEW history (nearly double the second place reign) and Omega hasn’t exactly led AEW to the promised land as champion. I don’t know if Page is going to be the one to do it, but I think he wins the title here, finally paying off a story that is a few years in the making.

Overall Thoughts

There is the potential for an incredible show here and that is kind of what you expect from AEW these days. I could go for seeing whatever they do here, as there is a good shot at some history being made in the main event. Other than that, the rest of the show looks great and maybe it can help boost their audience back up (which they kind of need these days). I’m excited for the show, and that’s always a good starting point.

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Rampage
Date: October 1, 2021
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Taz, Ricky Starks, Excalibur

It’s time for a special night as we have two big matches on the same show. First of all, we’ll be seeing Bryan Danielson facing Nick Jackson in a match that could be rather interesting. Other than that, Jack Evans is putting his hair on the line against Orange Cassidy, as per Matt Hardy’s orders. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson vs. Nick Jackson

They start slowly until the threat of some strikes send Danielson outside. Nick spends too much time getting some cold spray that Danielson is right there with the suicide dive. Back in and Danielson takes him down into the surfboard/Dragon Sleeper. Not that it matters as Danielson is right back up with a flip into a rebound clothesline to take over.

A cross armbreaker sends Nick over to the ropes but Danielson is right back on the arm. Danielson suplexes him down to set up a hammerlock, complete with knees to make the arm worse. Back up and Danielson misses the running dropkick in the corner to put him on the floor. Matt Jackson gets in some cheap shots of his own and we take a break. Back with Danielson not being phased by the YES Kicks before firing off his own in the corner.

The moonsault into the running clothesline sets up the big kick to the head for two on Nick. The LeBell Lock is broken up in a hurry so they head to the apron, with Danielson kicking the post by mistake and getting suplexed hard. Nick hits a big flip dive and it’s a Scorpion Deathlock to put Danielson in trouble back inside. With that broken up, Nick hits a superkick but Danielson is back with a tiger suplex. The hard elbows to the face rock Nick again and Cattle Mutilation gives Danielson the win at 15:32.

Rating: B. This worked much better than I would have expected, as Danielson pulled Jackson in and eventually caught him in a hold. You can see a good difference between the two, as Nick is all about hitting whatever he can while Danielson feels more controlled and going with what he’s looking for each time. It made for a good match though and that is one of the reasons you have Danielson on the show.

Post match the Elite comes in for the beatdown but Jurassic Express and Christian Cage come in for the save. Danielson and Jungle Boy make Kenny Omega and Adam Cole tap.

We get a video from Ricky Starks, who is absolute in the fact that he is not scared of Brian Cage. This is reaching Blood Runs Cold levels of GET ON WITH IT ALREADY!

CM Punk talks about how the only reason he beat Will Hobbs is experience. People are starting to get that he is back and people are going to be gunning for him. That’s what he wants, because he would rather choke on greatness than starve on mediocrity. Going to sleep is always on the menu.

Jade Cargill vs. Nyla Rose vs. Thunder Rosa

Rosa kicks Cargill down to start but gets planted by Rose. Cargill makes the save and we get the big power showdown with Rosa being knocked outside. That leaves Rosa to hit a missile dropkick and we take a break. Back with Rosa hitting a running dropkick to Cargill against the ropes, followed by another involving a trashcan. Rose sends Rosa outside and grabs a half crab on Cargill, with Rosa making the save this time. Rosa has to win a fight on the apron and powerbombs Rose off the apron through a table at ringside. Back in and Cargill unloads on Rosa with a chair for the pin at 9:06.

Rating: C. Just a match here and I’m not sure how much it really accomplished. Cargill was able to win a match that went a little longer than usual, but seeing Rosa lose, especially when Rose is right there, isn’t the easiest thing to see. Rosa has been waiting to break through for a long time now and it seems we’ll be waiting even longer. It’s hardly some death sentence, but it’s a bit frustrating.

Malakai Black says the black mist to Cody Rhodes came from the heart. There is more destruction coming for the Nightmare Family.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

We get the face to face interview between Jack Evans/Matt Hardy and Orange Cassidy. Evans is ready to win but Cassidy doesn’t know what a hair vs. hair match is. Once he figures it out, he decides he won’t lose.

Jack Evans vs. Orange Cassidy

Matt Hardy is here with Evans and his distraction lets Evans get in a rollup for two. Cassidy is back with the lazy kicks before spinning Evans around by the hair. Hardy gets in a cheap shot though and Evans adds a spinning kick from the apron. A 450 from the apron crushes Cassidy and we take a break.

Back with Evans countering the tornado DDT into a northern lights suplex. A Michinoku Driver gets two and a standing sky twister press hits Cassidy for the same. Cassidy is right back with the tornado DDT and the top rope DDT gets two more. Cue the Hardy Family Office to even things up but the Dark Order, Chuck Taylor and Wheeler Yuta to cut them off (because Cassidy vs. Evans needed the extras). The Orange Punch finishes Evans at 9:04.

Rating: C. The wrestling wasn’t the point here, but that has never stopped AEW from having WAY too many people come out during a match. Cassidy winning was never in question here and that’s fine, as it is nice to see him in this lower level feud instead of up near the top of the card. This is where he thrives and feels more like a star, so nice job of figuring that out.

Post match Hardy and company leave, so Evans can get his hair cut. Cassidy even sweeps up the hair, which is turned into a mustache for Negative One. The big hug ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This is what I wanted from Rampage: supplementing matches stories that get their main focus on Dynamite and giving other stories more attention than they are going to get on the main show. It made for a very easy to watch hour and that’s how this show should go. Nicely done, and they seem to be figuring out the Rampage formula.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Nick Jackson – Cattle Mutilation
Jade Cargill b. Thunder Rosa and Nyla Rose – Chair shot
Orange Cassidy b. Jack Evans – Orange Punch

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Dark: Elevation
Date: September 13, 2021
Location: Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Paul Wight, Eddie Kingston

This is the other Dark show and since I was in the arena for the show, I might as well take a one off look. I’ve never actually seen Dark: Elevation, but the fact that it is only about forty minutes long as opposed to the occasional two plus hours of Dark is a good sign. Now just give us a good show to go with it. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Emi Sakura vs. Queen Aminata

Both of them are in royal outfits because AEW needs to put the two of them into one match. Sakura brings Aminata down to the mat without much effort and there’s a hair takedown to make it worse. The surfboard keeps Aminata in trouble but she’s back with a headscissors to pull Sakura face first into the back of the tights. The running hip attack connects in the corner but Sakura is back with a Downward Spiral. A butterfly backbreaker sets up a twisting Vader Bomb for the pin on Aminata at 3:48.

Rating: C-. That’s probably going to be one of the longer matches on this show, which is kind of a nice thing to have. Aminata seems to have some skills to go with the Queen deal but I’m not sure how far she is going to go when she isn’t even the most successful royalty in the match. Sakura is still fine, though she has never done much for me so far.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Ren Jones

Kazarian works on the arm and then grabs a headlock, which he flips back into the top wristlock. Jones gets up an elbow in the corner and loads up a powerbomb, only to drop Kazarian down into a right hand. Not that it matters as Kazarian hits some running knees to the back in the corner, setting up a chickenwing for the tap at 2:59.

Penelope Ford vs. Layna Lennox

Bunny is here with Ford, who forearms away to start. A Samoan drop is countered into a Russian legsweep to give Lennox two but Ford sends her outside for a beating from Bunny. Some slingshot knees to the back set up the Muta Lock to make Lennox tap at 2:24. Effective squash.

Butcher and the Blade vs. Turbo Floyd/Truth Magnum

This is Butcher and Blade’s (with Bunny) first time teaming together in months. Butcher pounds Magnum down to start and sends him into the corner. Blade comes in for a hard lariat and the powerbomb/neckbreaker combination is good for the pin at 1:17. So Butcher and Blade are back in the already very heavy tag division. Butcher looks like he’s near tears about being back.

Jade Cargill vs. Shawna Reed

Big boot, shoulder, fall away slam, Jaded for the pin on Reed at 1:02.

Tay Conti/Anna Jay vs. Ella Shae/Jaylee

Conti flips Shae around to start and a facebuster makes it worse. Jay comes in to kick Jaylee down and hits a running seated Blockbuster. Jaylee manages to take Conti down for all of two seconds before she gets kicked in the face. Everything breaks down and it’s a double Downward Spiral into a TayKO into the Queenslayer to finish Jaylee at 2:53. This is another team that is back.

Daniel Garcia vs. Lee Moriarty

Garcia has 2.0 with him and Moriarty is one of the best indy guys around today. They go straight to the mat for the technical off into a standoff. Back up and Moriarty ducks a clothesline and rolls over into a backslide for two. Garcia drops him hard with a chop and it’s time to start on Moriarty’s arm. We’ll switch that up to a shot to the leg, including a Bret Hart style snap back.

Another chop gives Garcia another two but Moriarty is back up with a cradle for the same. The Pepsi Twist gets two more but Garcia pulls him down into the Crossface. That’s broken up so Garcia tries a failed Sharpshooter attempt. Moriarty is back with a double stomp to the chest but hurts his knee in the process. Garcia grabs the leg and puts on the Sharpshooter, which he cranks back for the tap at 6:10.

Rating: B-. I remember saying earlier in the year that Moriarty was going to get a chance on the big stage sooner rather than later and it is nice to see him doing just that. He is incredibly smooth in the ring and can do just about anything, which makes him a heck of a lot of fun to watch. Good stuff here, and absolutely the match of the night by a few laps.

Skye Blue vs. Nyla Rose

Vickie Guerrero handles Rose’s entrance. Blue ducks a forearm in the corner and Rose gives her a bit of a look. A kick to the head staggers Rose but she is back with a side slam. Rose hits a lifting powerbomb but Blue is back with a running hurricanrana. Blue gets in a high crossbody for two but her hurricanrana is countered into the Beast Bomb for the pin at 3:30.

Rating: C. Not too bad here with Blue getting in the plucky underdog offense until Rose caught her in the end. That’s how a match like this should go and Blue continues to look good in her defeats. Rose is always going to be a monster and it makes sense to have something like this to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: C. This is my first time watching Elevation and while it was cool for a little variety, I really don’t see the need for it to be an eight match show. With so many of the matches being ones that don’t even break three minutes, nothing has the chance to stand out. Outside of Garcia vs. Moriarty, there isn’t much to be said here, though that was a heck of a match. When I was watching live, I kept waiting on the show to wrap up because I was getting tired of seeing people coming out for matches. It’s fun, but cut this down or make the matches longer, because this format gets tiring in a hurry.

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All Out 2021
Date: September 5, 2021
Location: Now Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re back to the still fairly rare AEW pay per view schedule with an absolutely stacked show. There are three major matches this time around, including CM Punk vs. Darby Allin, Chris Jericho vs. MJF and Kenny Omega defending the World Title against Christian Cage. Let’s get to it.

Buy-In: Hardy Family Office vs. Orange Cassidy/Wheeler Yuta/Chuck Taylor/Jurassic Express

Matt Hardy shoves Taylor into the corner because he wants Orange. He gets Luchasaurus instead so Jack Evans gets a rather fast tag. Luchasaurus sends Evans flying with a suplex and it’s off to Boy to send Evans into the corner. Quen and Yuta come in, with the former getting two off a running crossbody.

We get the big sequence of most of the people trying a hold at the same time to as much avail as you would expect. Luchasaurus comes back in to throw people around, including a knee to the face to drop Evans. Private Party and Hardy come in to take Luchasaurus down but Orange breaks it up with the slow motion kicks. That earns him a Codebreaker into a shooting star onto his back, followed by a trip to the floor. We get a short form parade of dives but Orange heads back inside for the hands in pockets comeback to drop Private Party.

Hardy is back in with a Twist of Fate but now it’s Jungle getting to clean house. Angelico and Luchasaurus put Evans and Jungle on their respective shoulders for a chicken fight but here is the Blade to interfere. Marko Stunt dives off of Luchasaurus’ shoulder to take him out, leaving Jungle to make Angelico tap with the Snare Trap at 8:34.

Rating: C+. Take a bunch of popular wrestlers, put them in the ring with a bunch of unpopular wrestlers, have them fly around a lot and do cool spots to pop the crowd. That’s how you do a match like this and they made it work well here. This was a fun, quick spectacle and it wasn’t supposed to be anything else.

The opening video runs down the big matches.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Eddie Kingston

Miro is defending. Kingston goes for his neck to start but has to fight out of an early Game Over attempt. That’s enough to send Miro outside for an early breather as they both feel very serious. Back in and Kingston snaps off a suplex, earning a rather loud cheer from the crowd as Miro bails back to the floor. This time Kingston joins him and gets sent hard into the barricade to put Kingston in trouble for the first time.

That lasts all of a few seconds as he is back with a kick to Miro’s face. A dive off the apron is countered into a powerslam though and Miro, despite holding his neck, gets a breather. There’s a hard posting to put Kingston down again and it’s a backbreaker back inside. We hit the chinlock but Kingston fights back up with the chops. Miro knocks him silly again but Kingston snaps off a jumping enziguri.

A Saito suplex drops Miro again, allowing Excalibur to rattle off Kingston’s Japanese influences. Back up and they chop it out, with Kingston getting the better of things to set up more Saito suplexes for two. The threat of a spinning backfist sends Miro outside so Kingston hits the suicide elbow. Back in and Kingston’s fisherman’s suplex gets two as the fans are all behind Kingston. Miro pulls him into the corner though and unloads with forearms to the back.

Kingston accidentally pulls the turnbuckle pad off but Miro catches him with the jumping kick to the face. Game Over goes on but Kingston falls forward to make the rope for the break. That is NOT cool with Miro, who walks into the spinning backfist into the DDT for a delayed two as the referee was getting rid of the turnbuckle pad. Some knees connect to Miro so he goes into the corner, allowing him to sneak in a low blow. The jumping superkick retains the title at 13:25.

Rating: B. This was two big guys hitting each other hard but there was a story there too. Kingston set up the neck and the DDT, which had been built up in the last week, gave him a great near fall. Miro needing to cheat to survive was a good way to go and the crowd was WAY into everything all night. Very good choice for an opener here and I got into it.

We run down the card.

Jon Moxley vs. Satoshi Kojima

Moxley wanted someone from New Japan and Kojima accepted. The bell rings and Moxley flips him off, setting up the big chop off. They forearm it out until Kojima runs him over with a shoulder and Moxley rolls outside. Kojima catches him with a dive and Excalibur is right there to list Kojima’s accomplishments. Moxley jumps back inside for a suicide dive of his own and a Russian legsweep sends Kojima into the barricade.

Back in and Moxley stomps on the hand and starts cranking on it for a bit, followed by the knees to the chest. Kojima sends him into the corner though for the rapid fire chops and a top rope elbow gets two on Moxley. Back up and Moxley snaps off a suplex before taking Kojima up top. That just earns Moxley a superplex back down and a DDT on the apron makes it worse. Tony calls Moxley a representative of the state of Chicago and even JR gets on him a bit for it.

Back in and Moxley (with a cut elbow, which causes Excalibur to mention Moxley’s staph infection from a year or so ago in a great catch) hits a release suplex, or Jason Jett’s Crash Landing for you last few weeks of WCW fans. The Paradigm Shift into the brainbuster gets a delayed two and Moxley is rocked. Kojima’s lariat is countered into a German suplex for two and a jumping knee drops Kojima again. Back up and Kojima hits the lariat into the Koji Cutter but can’t cover.

They slug it out from their knees and then their feet until Moxley blasts him with a lariat of his own. The bulldog choke goes on but Kojima makes the rope. Some Mongolian chops rock Moxley, who counters another lariat into the Paradigm Shift. Another Paradigm Shift finishes Kojima at 11:55.

Rating: B-. This was another fun one with Moxley getting a win over a credible opponent. There is something cool about AEW’s relationship with New Japan (stupid name aside) but I’m not a huge fan of having the dream matches with little personal backstory. The action made up for it and the match was good, though I could have used a better build.

Respect is shown post match….but none of that matters as Minoru Suzuki is here. Suzuki takes off his shirt and they forearm it out with Moxley throwing in a bow of respect. That’s fine with Suzuki, who wins the slugout and chokes Moxley out. The Gotch style piledriver leaves Moxley laying.

We recap Britt Baker defending the Women’s Title against Kris Statlander with a bunch of talking heads giving their predictions.

Women’s Title: Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander

Baker, with Rebel and Jamie Hayter, is defending and Orange Cassidy is here with Statlander. They stare each other down a bit until Statlander starts working on Baker’s recently broken arm. That’s broken up though and Baker takes her into the corner for a hanging neckbreaker. The seconds are near blows on the floor as Baker sends Statlander face first into the apron.

Baker grabs a neck crank to keep Statlander in trouble but she fights up for some running shots to rock Baker in the corner. Statlander grabs a modified Falcon Arrow for two but Baker is back with a hard DDT for the same. Baker loads up the glove, which takes long enough for Statlander to kick her in the head.

Statlander’s Area 451 misses though and Baker grabs a crossface. That’s countered into an electric chair faceplant and an ax kick gives Statlander two. Baker is sent outside but the big dive misses. A Stomp rocks Statlander again but she is able to counter the Lockjaw back inside. The Spider Crab is countered as well and Baker busts out a Panama Sunrise for two. Another stomp sets up the Lockjaw to retain at 11:33.

Rating: B. These two beat the fire out of each other and the fans were into it, even without the drama over who was going to win. Statlander was a good choice of an opponent as she feels like a credible enough of a threat but was always going to come up short in the end. Baker could be champ for a long time, but it is going to go through Thunder Rosa at some point and that is all that matters.

Andrade El Idolo and Chavo Guerrero deny having anything to do with Pac’s travel issues. El Idolo is ready for Pac on Rampage.

We recap the Lucha Bros vs. the Young Bucks in a cage for the Tag Team Titles. The Bucks keep cheating to win and the teams have a history of major matches in the company’s history.

Tag Team Title: Lucha Bros vs. Young Bucks

The Bros are challenging in a cage and get rapped to the ring. Don Callis joins commentary as the Bucks try to leave early. That’s broken up with ease though as the Bros score with kicks to their backs. More kicks, including stereo kicks to the kneeling Bucks, keep the Bros in control but the Bucks kick them right back down. Penta winds up on the floor between the ring and the cage (which doesn’t connect to the apron), leaving Fenix to get powerbombed against the cage.

There’s a kick to Penta’s head and a chain is used to choke Fenix. A hurricanrana sends Matt into the cage and Penta is back in with a Backstabber out of the corner. The Bros’ stereo low superkicks only hit each other and Matt hits a top rope flipping Stunner on Penta. A double rolling cutter drops the Bucks as well and the Penta Driver gives Penta two on Matt. The Bucks are back up with more kicks and Fenix is sent into the cage.

The Swanton/Tombstone get two on the Bros but the BTE Trigger knees only hit each other. Fenix sends the Bucks into each other but Matt kicks both of them low. More Bang For Your Buck gets two on Fenix so the frustrated Bucks go after the masks. Callis calls it psychology, which Tony calls BS. Fenix is sent face first into the cage and Cutler throws his bag into the cage. Matt loads up a thumb tack shoe but Penta gets in front of Fenix. That’s fine with Matt, who kicks Penta in the head instead.

Penta is sent into the boot in the corner, with his mask getting stuck for a disturbing visual. A running boot from Nick drives Penta’s head even further into the tacks and there’s a superkick into the poisonrana to Fenix. The BTE Trigger gets two on Penta with Fenix making a save to bring the crowd right back to life. Matt takes the shoe off but Fenix makes the comeback with his variety of insane kicks. The shoe goes upside the Bucks’ heads and the Black Fire Driver gets two on Matt. The spike Fear Factor is broken up so Nick and Fenix climb the cage to slug it out.

Matt and Penta pull them down for stereo package piledrivers on the apron, setting up the big slugout. Matt goes up top with Penta though and it’s a super Canadian Destroyer to bring him back down to put everyone out. Everyone gets back up for a circle strike off until they’re all knocked down again. Back up and a Fear Factor gets two on Nick so Fenix goes up to the top of the cage. Nick saves Matt from the package piledriver and climbs up top with Fenix, only to get kicked back down. Fenix dives onto all three of them (dang) and the spike Fear Factor FINALLY ends the Bucks’ reign at 22:02.

Rating: A-. They had to do the title change here and even though things got bleak for the Bros more than once, all that matters was the big ending. The Bucks had to lose here and it took a lot to put them away, but it was a heck of a match to get there. This was the big show stealing match and that’s all you could have expected it to be. Awesome stuff here and by far the best thing on the show so far.

We get the long celebration and a look back at the rest of the show as the cage is removed.

Casino Battle Royal

We have twenty entrants and three minute intervals between suits. Clubs are in first, including Hikaru Shida, Skye Blue, Emi Sakura, Bunny and Abadon, the latter of whom freaks out the announcers. Blue and Bunny slug it out to start with the hometown girl Blue getting a big reaction. Blue gets sent to the apron though and Abadon knocks her out in a hurry.

Bunny eliminates Abadon a few seconds later and is fine with letting Sakura put Shida in a surfboard. That’s broken up with a rake to Sakura’s face though and Bunny gets in some more stomping until the Diamonds come in. That means Anna Jay, Kiera Hogan, KiLynn King, Diamante and Nyla Rose.

The brawling is on again and Sakura is out in a hurry. Hogan and King follow her out and there goes Shida with them. Rose and Diamante team up to go after Bunny and Jay and split up in about ten seconds. The four of them are joined by the Hearts, in the form of Thunder Rosa, Penelope Ford, Riho, Jamie Hayter and Big Swole. Riho hits a double 619 on Ford and Conti but Hayter tosses her out. Swole headbutts Diamante out but gets tossed by Hayter as well. The fans are behind Rosa as she fights off Hayter and Rose in the corner.

Things slow down a bit until we get the Clubs, with Tay Conti, Red Velvet, Leylah Hirsch, Jade Cargill and Rebel. The brawling is on and Velvet dropkicks Rebel out. Bunny and Jay wind up on the apron and both are kicked out in a hurry. Cargill throws Hirsch out and onto the pile (including onto some referees) and the clock ticks down, bringing up the RUBY SOHO chants. The Joker is….Ruby Soho (formerly known as Ruby Riott).

The final grouping is Soho, Conti, Ford, Cargill, Hayter, Velvet, Rose and Rosa. Soho goes after Cargill and then Rose, with Rosa using Soho to take Rose down. Cargill pumphandle faceplants Soho and tosses Hayter out in a nasty crash. Velvet is tossed as well but Rose gets rid of Cargill. Conti gets rid of Ford but gets tossed as well, leaving us with Soho, Rosa and Rose.

Rosa and Soho are knocked silly in a hurry but Rose gets a bit too cocky, allowing Rosa to send her to the apron and kick her out for the elimination. They stare each other down until Rosa shouts in Spanish and chops her hard. The Fire Thunder Driver is broken up and Rosa is sent to the apron but she pulls Soho out with her. Soho can’t get a German suplex off the apron but she can knee Rosa off the apron for the win at 21:48.

Rating: C+. This is their signature deal with the decks and all that jazz but it doesn’t make for the most thrilling battle royal. It doesn’t help when the Joker gets the big advantage, but Soho winning is one of the right ways they can go. It made for a good moment, though the match could have been a bit shorter to keep things moving a bit faster.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. MJF. Jericho can’t beat MJF and has become obsessed with him, so tonight Jericho’s career is on the line.

Chris Jericho vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

We get the old school COUNTDOWN but it is only leading to “JERICHO’S LAST MATCH”. Ok points for some good trolling, along with MJF coming to the ring in a king’s robe. Jericho is played to the ring by Fozzy’s guitarist to quite the reaction. MJF bails to the floor to rip up some Jericho signs before coming back inside so Jericho can snap off some armdrags. MJF gets in a shot to the face so they head outside, where Jericho whips him into the crowd. Jericho drops things onto MJF’s head and they go back inside.

This time Jericho’s baseball slide is caught in the ring skirt though and the beating is on. MJF starts in on Jericho’s bad arm and drives his elbow into the shoulder. Jericho fights up but a shot to the arm cuts that off in a hurry. A headbutt and some chops set up MJF’s Fargo Strut and the Heatseeker on the apron crushes Jericho again. That’s good for a nine so MJF knocks him back outside, only to miss an Asai moonsault.

Back in and they slug it out with Jericho getting the better of things. Jericho goes up top but dives into a Codebreaker for two in a good moment. Back up and Jericho scores with a dropkick for two and the fans are behind him again. Some corner clotheslines and right hands look to set up a super hurricanrana but MJF counters into a super sitout powerbomb. MJF is banged up too though, allowing Jericho to come back with a Codebreaker for two. Cue Wardlow but Jake Hager comes out to take care of him in a hurry (because the Inner Circle and the Pinnacle are back for this match).

The distraction lets MJF get in a baseball bat shot and the Judas Effect hits Jericho…for the pin at 18:19, though Jericho’s foot was on the rope. Therefore hold on, as another referee comes out to explain things and the match will restart. The bell rings and Jericho grabs a rollup for two. MJF is right back with the Salt of the Earth, which is reversed into a rollup for two more. The hold goes back on but this time Jericho reverses into the Walls. MJF is dragged back to the middle of the ring and FINALLY taps to save Jericho’s career at 21:08.

Rating: B. This was another good one as MJF used all of Jericho’s stuff because he believes he is the better of the two. Then Jericho wins in the end, with the great false finish of the boot on the rope. I’m not sure how much good this whole thing has done for MJF because he ultimately lost in the end, but it was nice to see him in such a high profile feud over the last several months.

The Inner Circle comes out to celebrate with Jericho.

We recap CM Punk vs. Darby Allin, which includes Allin in a BEST IN THE WORLD body bag and being hung from a helicopter.

Darby Allin vs. CM Punk

This is Punk’s first match since January 2014 and he’s in tights instead of trunks. Allin sits in the corner so Punk sits in the middle of the ring for the staredown. They lock up and Allin armdrags him down, which has Punk thinking twice for a second. Back up and Punk shoulders him down, earning a WELCOME BACK chant. Punk has to clarify that they mean him before grabbing a headlock and laying on Allin for a bit.

That’s broken up as well so Allin hits a hard running shoulder of his own. The threat of the GTS sends Allin bailing to the floor though and we need a breather. Allin is back in with the high angle armdrag and some running shoulders in the corner. Punk whips him HARD over the top and out to the floor though with a nasty crash. Back in and a belly to back suplex sets up a double arm crank to keep Allin down.

The abdominal stretch goes on, followed by a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker (Allin: “OH S***!”) for two. Another abdominal stretch is countered into the flipping Stunner to give Allin a needed breather. The springboard Coffin Drop to a standing Punk sets up La Majistral for two and the Code Red gets the same. Punk catches him on top but a belly to back superplex is countered into a crossbody for two.

Back up and Punk scores with the GTS out of nowhere but Allin falls outside. Allin barely beats the count so Punk tries another GTS, which is countered with a bunch of elbows to the head. A big charge sends Punk outside and there’s a Swanton to a standing Punk outside. Back in and Allin loads up the Coffin Drop but Punk sits up. Allin’s cradle is countered but so is the GTS, allowing Allin to get two off the Last Supper. Punk’s leg lariat gets two so Allin loads up the poisonrana, only to get countered into the GTS for the pin at 16:08.

Rating: B. This was a well put together match as Punk got to stand still a lot and wrestle in bursts instead of going full speed the whole time. That allowed Allin to do most of the heavy lifting and protected Punk from not having his wind back yet. The big matches can come with time, but for now this was about getting Punk back in the ring to knock off some of the rust. Rather good match, mainly due to the setup and Allin’s work.

Post match Sting comes out to check on Allin, with Punk kneeling right next to him. Allin gets up and Punk shakes his hand for the cool moment. Punk gets to take a quick victory lap and says that was #1.

Full Gear is Saturday November 13.

We recap QT Marshall vs. Paul Wight. Marshall had been insulting Tony Schiavone and his family, so Wight came out to help his broadcast partner. Now it’s time for Wight’s in-ring debut.

QT Marshall vs. Paul Wight

Wight doesn’t waste time and starts in with the chops before Marshall can take his jacket off. Marshall gets in a shot to the bad hip though and a low dropkick staggers Wight. The kickout sends Marshall outside and it’s time to start panicking. Back in and the Diamond Cutter is blocked, Wight beats up the rest of the Factory and grabs the chokeslam for the pin at 3:12.

Rating: D+. That’s how it should have gone and there is nothing to complain about here. Yes the Marshall stuff over the last few weeks has been a bit lame but ultimately, Wight beat him without much effort and that is all he should have done. Wight can go back to commentary until he is needed again and Marshall can go back to….whatever it is that he does.

Jon Moxley is facing Minoru Suzuki on Dynamite in Cincinnati.

Moxley says Suzuki better be ready to come to his hometown in the Nasty Natti.

Malakai Black is ready for Dustin Rhodes on Dynamite and suggests that Rhodes think of everything he has done to Rhodes’ family and friends.

We recap Christian Cage challenging Kenny Omega for the World Title. Cage pinned him to win the Impact Wrestling World Title so now it is time to do it for the belt that really mattes. Talking heads aren’t sure who should win.

AEW World Title: Christian Cage vs. Kenny Omega

Omega, with Don Callis, is defending and Cage starts fast by knocking Omega outside. Cage whips him into the barricade and Cage hits the big dive off the top to take him out. Back up and Omega whips Cage into the steps before pulling out a table. This one is laid on top of Cage though and Omega stomps it for a break (Omega: “Did I do that???”). Cage blocks a suplex through another table and suplexes Omega onto the floor. Back in and Cage’s Cloverleaf is blocked, allowing Omega to hit something close to a Sling Blade for two.

Omega knocks him to the floor again and hits the moonsault off the barricade. Back in and Cage is in more trouble, setting up a chest first whip into the corner. A fireman’s carry backbreaker gives Omega two more but he takes too long going up, allowing Christian to grab a hurricanrana. Christian chokes on the ropes and then jumps over for the customary right hand. Omega gets in a knee to the head and drives him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs.

Now the V Trigger can hit the back of Christian’s head in the corner. The Snapdragon brings Christian out of the corner and there’s a second to make it even worse. Cage flips him off so it’s a third Snapdragon into another V Trigger. Instead of covering, Omega tries a German suplex through a table on the floor. Since that can’t work, Christian reverses into a Killswitch attempt but has to settle for a spear through the table instead. It takes them a minute to get back in, where Christian hits a spear each to Omega’s back and ribs for two.

Christian can’t follow up and has to escape the Dr. Wiley Bomb. Omega this some knees to the face, setting up a ripcord V Trigger. A tiger driver is countered though and Christian gets the high angle Cloverleaf. Callis calls in the reinforcements with the Good Brothers but Christian fights them off. The Killswitch gives Cage two more and they’re both down. With nothing else working, Christian catches him on top and tries a super Killswitch but gets reversed into a super One Winged Angel to retain the title at 21:21.

Rating: B+. They did everything they could to get around the lack of drama and it was a very good match. The problem is I never once believed Christian had a chance and I can’t imagine I’m alone. Cage was fine for a one off challenger, but Omega is going to need a major challenger sooner than later. Like at Full Gear for example.

Post match the rest of the Elite comes in for the big beatdown, with Jurassic Express not being able to make the save. The YES chants begin but Omega grabs the mic and asks if if Chicago is finally starting to understand. Omega doesn’t care who is a hometown hero because no one is on his level. When it comes to the AEW World Title, the only people who have a chance to beat him are either not here, already tired or already dead. Then the lights go out…..and it’s Adam Cole (Bay Bay) making his debut.

Cole gets in the ring….and superkicks Jungle Boy, because Cole is with the Elite. Omega: “In the words of Steve Urkel, did I do that?” Cole asks who is ready for Story Time With Adam Cole Bay Bay. The Elite is the most dominant faction in wrestling and no one can stop them. Omega hits the catchphrase….and we have Ride of the Valkyries. Brian Danielson is here too and some of the Elite bails. Danielson, Christian and Jurassic Express stare down Omega, Cole and the Young Bucks, with Omega leaving so the good guys can clean house so YES chants can end the show. That’s a heck of a pair of surprises so yeah, they nailed it.

Overall Rating: A. Great matches, two big moments and the historic title change with the only thing resembling a bad match lasting less than 200 seconds. They did pretty much everything right here and it was a pretty awesome show as a result. This felt like the normal AEW pay per view and that is certainly a great thing to hear. Awesome show and it didn’t feel like nearly four hours so there isn’t much of anything to complain about here.

Results
Miro b. Eddie Kingston – Jumping superkick
Jon Moxley b. Satoshi Kojima – Paradigm Shift
Britt Baker b. Kris Statlander – Lockjaw
Lucha Bros b. Young Bucks – Spike Fear Factor to Nick Jackson
Ruby Soho won the Casino Battle Royal last eliminating Thunder Rosa
Chris Jericho b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Walls of Jericho
CM Punk b. Darby Allin – GTS
Paul Wight b. QT Marshall – Chokeslam
Kenny Omega b. Christian Cage – Super One Winged Angel

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Dynamite
Date: August 11, 2021
Location: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the Britt Baker Show this week and that is pretty long overdue. Baker has been the best thing about the women’s division, if not the entire company, for a long time now and deserves a big hometown night like this. Other than that, we are getting ready for both All Out and this week Rampage debut. Let’s get to it.

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

MJF, with Wardlow, talk about how Chris Jericho is trying to make his way through the Labors of Jericho, but tonight he is running into a monster. Jericho needs to defeat MJF because he never has before and he can’t handle that. Somehow though, let’s say that he makes it through Wardlow, what do you think is waiting on him? MJF brings up Wardlow losing to Cody Rhodes in the cage last year though and tells him not to mess up again. Wardlow destroys the apple MJF hands him.

Elite vs. Mike Sydal/Matt Sydal/Dante Martin

Don Callis is on commentary and during the entrances, we’re told that Kenny Omega will defend against Christian Cage at All Out. That’s going to get some people talking. Mike gets sent into the corner by Matt Jackson to start but comes back with a rollup for two. Nick comes in and rakes Martin’s eyes but a rather spinning headscissors takes Nick down. Omega comes in to take Martin down and is booed out of the building.

The Sydals come in for double enziguris to Omega, followed by the double baseball slides. Dante is launches out onto them, with Mike joining in but Matt Sydal hanging back. They head back inside with Martin hitting a high crossbody on Matt Jackson (who thankfully is fine after having his leg go underneath him on the landing). Omega comes in to shove Mike down and the Elite starts taking their turns.

The Kitaro Crusher gets two but Mike slips away and gets the hot tag to Matt Sydal. Everything breaks down and the Sydals grab a Muta Lock/Crossface combination on Matt Jackson. That’s broken up by Omega who snaps off some snapdragons. Martin comes in to clean house and then gets the hot tag to clean house again. A running springboard hurricanrana to the floor drops Omega and a moonsault gets two on Matt Jackson.

We hit the parade of shots to the face, capped off by Omega hitting a heck of a V Trigger to Martin. The One Winged Angel is countered though and Martin hits a Pele. Another V Trigger cuts that off but Martin counters a Tiger Driver 98 into a rollup. A third V Trigger and the One Winged Angel plant Martin as the Bucks superkick the Sydals. The BTE V Trigger finishes Martin at 12:18.

Rating: B. Now this was more like it, as the Elite shouldn’t have been sweating these guys and then had to turn it up to pull off the win. Martin’s comebacks against Omega at the win made for a good sequence and more than one of the counters surprised me. Good stuff here and the kind of Elite swagger I can go for on occasion. That being said, this was a breakout performance from Martin, whose high flying stuff looked great and had the fans going nuts.

Post match Callis gets in the ring for a chat but here is Christian Cage to cut them off. The Jurassic Express comes in to even things up a bit and we take a break. Back with Callis taking the mic from Christian, who does get a bit of praise. It’s true that Christian has a great finisher and Omega can’t wait to kick out of it. Christian calls Callis a piece of s*** and then uses….whatever Pittsburgh term he uses for a bad person. Callis says of course Christian isn’t getting his title shot in Pittsburgh, but Christian has heard something else.

See, Omega has a lot of titles, and according to Tony Khan, he’ll be defending the Impact Wrestling World Title on Friday, in the first match of Rampage. The music plays but Jungle Boy says hang on a second. It turns out that he has been talking to Khan as well, so next week on Dynamite, the Jurassic Express gets a shot at the Young Bucks. Omega is so annoyed that he has nothing to say after cutting the music.

We look back at Malakai Black laying out Cody Rhodes last week while talking about how he has one foot on Cody and one foot in the grave.

Cody and Brandi Rhodes have a new reality show starting September 29.

Miro is ready to destroy Fuego del Sol.

Daniel Garcia vs. Darby Allin

Garcia has 2.0 (formerly Ever-Rise) and Allin has Sting. Allin grabs a headlock to start but Garcia shoves him off and shoulders him into an armbar. Garcia takes him into the ropes as one of 2.0 offers a distraction, allowing Garcia to send Allin arm first into the buckle. We take a break and come back with Garcia pulling him off the ropes.

A double arm lock allows Garcia to kick Allin in the head until he can reach the rope with a boot. Garcia slaps him in the back, which just seems to bring Allin back to live. A rear naked choke out of nowhere has Allin in trouble but he flips backwards for two and the break. The flipping Stunner plants Garcia and the Coffin Drop is enough for the pin on Garcia at 10:39.

Rating: C+. I remember seeing a lot of Garcia over Wrestlemania weekend and being impressed. I’m glad to see him getting a chance here and that is a good thing. The same is true of 2.0, who are great at being the goofy lackeys. Allin continues to be built up for something big, and they are certainly teasing the huge showdown in Chicago.

Post match 2.0 goes after Allin but Sting takes them out. Allin gets back up and 2.0 is cleared out in a hurry.

Death Triangle doesn’t like what Andrade El Idolo has been doing to mess with them. Pac says the Lucha Bros are the best and deserve gold. As for Andrade, if he wants some of Pac, come find him.

Orange Cassidy/Chuck Taylor/Wheeler Yuta vs. Matt Hardy/Private Party

Kris Statlander and the rest of the Hardy Family Office are here too. Hardy and Cassidy have the DELETE vs. Pockets staredown to start, with Cassidy putting Hardy’s hand in his own pocket to start. That’s enough for two off a rollup but Hardy is back up with the Side Effect for two. Cassidy rolls away before Matt can launch the middle rope elbow and avoids a charge in the corner.

The falling middle rope splash gets two and it’s Marq Quen coming in to set up a missed Poetry In Motion. Cassidy slow motion kicks Quen in the knee and drops low to set up Yuta’s running charge. Taylor adds Soul Food and Yuta hits something like an Angle Slam for two. The Silly String plants Yuta though and the near fall sends us to a break. Back with everything breaking down and the women getting in an argument on the floor.

Cue Nyla Rose to run Statlander over and Jack Evans to take out Yuta. Everything breaks down and it’s a parade of secondary finishers until Yuta hits a top rope splash for two on Kassidy. Matt sends Taylor into the barricade (and nearly runs a referee over on the way). Gin and Juice hits Yuta but Cassidy makes the save and hits an Orange Punch on Kassidy. Hardy sends Quen into Kassidy and the Twist of Fate finishes Yuta at 9:53.

Rating: C. The action was certainly energized but there were WAY too many people involved in this match. You had all seven members of the Hardy Family Office, Cassidy, Taylor, Statlander, Rose and Yuta. That’s double the amount of people actually in the match and it was way too much going on to keep track of what was happening. Just keep some of them in the back or break it up a bit because a lot of the fun was lost due to the calamity.

Chavo Guerrero is offended by the Death Triangle’s comments but thinks Andrade El Idolo vs. Pac sounds good for All Out.

Santana and Ortiz want to hurt FTR even more because it isn’t over.

Nyla Rose vs. Kris Statlander

Great. Nyla Rose is here twice. Vickie Guerrero and Orange Cassidy are here too. Rose runs her over to start but Statlander gets in a shot of her own. Vickie screams at Cassidy to mess him up, allowing Rose to hit a chokeslam onto the apron for two. Statlander handstands her way to freedom but gets speared down, allowing Rose to load up a superplex. That’s countered into a powerbomb out of the corner and Area 451 finishes Rose at 2:59.

The Young Bucks are back at the basketball and say that beating the Jurassic Express will be like a layup. Cue Luchasaurus to block it and say not in his house. Nick calls it a foul but Brandon Cutler says it was all ball. When AEW gets a theme going, they run with it until the bitter end. That being said, it was a funny segment.

Video on Britt Baker vs. Red Velvet in the main event of the first Rampage. Velvet is on a roll and gets a title shot against Baker in Baker’s hometown.

Tony Schiavone brings out Britt Baker for a chat, meaning the fans get to wave the yellow towels (Pittsburgh Steelers tradition). Baker can’t really comment on Red Velvet’s rise because she is on the top of AEW. She wasn’t afraid to step up when this city needed a champion and holds up the title, because it means hope. Speaking of hope, Red Velvet might have a glimmer of it if the match wasn’t taking place in Pittsburgh. With that out of the way, Baker needs Tony to practice his DMD, which seems to go well. Cue Red Velvet for the brawl before the title match.

Ricky Starks says he is a man instead of a machine and is ready for Brian Cage.

Impact Tag Team Titles: Dark Order vs. Good Brothers

The Brothers are defending and Impact’s Scott D’Amore is on commentary. The Order jumps them to start and it’s Anderson in trouble in a hurry. Brandon Cutler offers a distraction so here is Frankie Kazarian to take care of him. We take a break and come back with Grayson getting the hot tag and cleaning house. A 450 gives Grayson two and the Fatality is loaded up. Cutler breaks that up and it’s a Gun Stun to Grayson, setting up the Magic Killer to retain at 7:39.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to get very far, but at the same time, that is a lot better than having the Good Brothers out there for a long match. I don’t know if there was any drama about the Dark Order actually winning here, but if they ever actually do, the pop is going to be other worldly.

NWA Women’s Champion Kamille is ready for Leylah Hirsch.

Here is QT Marshall and the Nightmare Factory to get the apology from Tony Schiavone. Therefore, they grab Tony’s son from the crowd and beat him up, despite Tony apologizing (and calling Marshall a son of a b****). Cue Paul Wight to wreck everyone.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Sting/Darby Allin vs. 2.0 in a Texas Tornado match.

Chris Jericho vs. Wardlow

This is the fourth Labor of Jericho and MJF is at ringside. Jericho starts fast and hits a Codebreaker for one, which just seems to annoy Wardlow. They head outside with Jericho being sent into the barricade and post as the dominance is on. Back in and Wardlow hits a pair of powerbombs to send us to a break.

We come back with Wardlow hitting another powerbomb but Jericho chops away. That just earns him the F10 but MJF says keep going instead of covering. Jericho grabs the legs and puts on the Walls but MJF rakes the eyes for the break. MJF tries to slip Wardlow the Dynamite Diamond but gets caught, meaning it’s an elimination. Jericho uses the distraction to get in a shot with Floyd, setting up the Judas Effect for the pin at 10:07.

Rating: C. First off: am I crazy or was MJF announced as guest referee coming into this? Anyway, the match was mostly a squash until the wacky finish and that’s how you get Wardlow to look like a monster. Jericho had to hit him in the face with a baseball bat to win so it isn’t like he beat him clean. This was little more than a means to an end though and there was little drama as a result. In this case, that’s how the match should go.

Post match Shawn Spears runs in to jump Jericho, which draws in Sammy Guevara for the save. Wardlow and MJF run back in to beat on Jericho, including the Salt of the Earth on the bad arm, but Jake Hager makes the real save. MJF grabs the mic and says the match is on for next week, but there will be no Judas Effect or Judas music. That’s a pretty lame way to go, especially since Jericho used his other two (and more famous) finishers in the match, with commentary bragging about how awesome the Codebreaker has been over the years.

Overall Rating: B. I’m not sure where to start here as this was a PACKED show with all kinds of things going on throughout the night. The first thing I would say is that I was entertained though, as they threw in so much stuff that it was never once boring. This was the kind of energized show that WWE has not had in years and only NXT has had in a long time. That part was very fun and is the kind of thing that AEW has focused on over its existence.

That being said, there are still quite a few issues here, with the biggest being the amount of people running around. There were multiple matches here with WAY too many people involved and it dragged things down almost every time. AEW’s roster is far, far too big for one show and having everyone running around all the time keeps things from leaving as much of an impact as they should. In the same vein, it felt like nothing had a chance to breathe because they were building up Rampage, Dynamite and All Out at the same time, while also focusing on titles from three different promotions (with AAA there as well).

Overall, I liked the show a lot but there were times where I was getting frustrated by how many things were going on. That has been an issue with AEW for a long time, as they try to pack in way too much stuff. I’m half hopeful that Rampage will help, but at the same time I’m worried that they will keep Dynamite the same and add even more in on Rampage. Maybe not, but they need to find a way to pace things a bit better. Still though, heck of a fun show.

Results
Elite b. Mike Sydal/Matt Sydal/Dante Martin – One Winged Angel to Martin
Darby Allin b. Daniel Garcia – Coffin Drop
Matt Hardy/Private Party b. Wheeler Yuta/Orange Cassidy/Chuck Taylor – Twist of Fate to Yuta
Kris Statlander b. Nyla Rose – Area 451
Good Brothers b. Dark Order – Magic Killer to Grayson
Chris Jericho b. Wardlow – Judas Effect

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