Dynamite
Date: November 27, 2019
Location: Sears Center Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross

It’s back where things got started with a return to Chicago. As luck would have it, we are in for a big show here with the World Title being defended as champion Chris Jericho faces Scorpio Sky in an unlikely title defense. That could make for a heck of a match and hopefully the rest of the show backs it up. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Chris Jericho’s Thank You celebration, complete with people in rather large costumes, a marching band, large presents and MIKE JONES (Virgil) as emcee. Jericho, sounding rather distorted, talks about how much he has earned this thank you, but he has a thank you for the fans too. Some of the people in this arena have coupons underneath their seats for FIFTY CENTS off the new Le Champion shirt.

Jericho has also found some grapes from the mountains of Nepal and we now have official Little Bit Of The Bubbly champagne available. With a toast out of the way, Jericho brings out the Inner Circle for the celebration. Sammy Guevara has a present for Jericho: a cardboard cutout of the two of them hugging. Santana and Ortiz have a gift basket, including some Vaporub, a photo of someone whose name I couldn’t understand, some flip flops (Ortiz: “These double as a weapon.”), a little bit of the 40 (in a brown paper bag), and a Puerto Rico bandanna.

Cue Jake Hager with a goat named Chris Jerigoat. Now it’s time for the BIG surprise (it’s in a big box) which is…..Jericho’s dad, Ted Irvine! Ted talks about beating the Chicago Blackhawks all of the time and busts out some custom New York Rangers jerseys for the Inner Circle.

Jericho has a letter from AEW but since he isn’t in the mood to read, Justin Roberts can come do it for him. The statement is a nice proclamation about Jericho as World Champion but Jericho didn’t like Roberts’ tone. The beatdown is on but the marching band, which happens to be SCU, comes in for the save and beat down Virgil. This was a bit long, but the gifts were funny and Jericho can sell anything.

Best Friends vs. Lucha Bros

Orange Cassidy, in a turkey suit, is here with the Best Friends. The Bros jump them in the aisle so Cassidy dives onto the Bros, giving us a WKRP In Cincinnati references from JR (look it up). The Friends fight back in a hurry and we get the hug out of the way early on. A few cheap shots behind the referee’s back let Pentagon superkick Trent down for two. Back from a break with Trent still in trouble and a top rope double stomp, which looked rather low, gets two more.

Trent fights up and gets over for the tag to Chuck, who grabs a half crab of all things. That’s broken up with a quick superkick but Trent is right back with a running flip dive to the floor. Pentagon’s Canadian Destroyer gets two and it’s Fenix hitting his springboard kick to Trent. The rolling cutter is countered into the Crunchie for the pin on Fenix at 7:54.

Rating: C. The Friends looked good here, though I’m not sure how much sense it makes to have the Lucha Bros lose, especially after Pentagon lost the previous night. I can appreciate them building up a team like the Best Friends though, even if they’re not a team I care for all that much. I’m not sure I can picture them against SCU, but someone has to face the champs.

Here are the women’s rankings. Before the next match, we hear guest commentator Marco Martinez thanking JR and Excalibur in a statement I don’t think was supposed to make air.

Emi Sakura/Bea Priestly vs. Kris Stadtlander/Hikaru Shida

JR during Sakura’s entrance: “Freddy Mercury never looked so Oriental.” It’s a brawl to start with Stadtlander sending both of them to the floor. Shida loads up her dive off the chair so Sakura sits in it, only to be knocked out of it in a hurry. The dive hits and we take a break.

Back with Shida in trouble and Sakura grabbing an abdominal stretch, complete with her mic stand to continue the Mercury tribute. Sakura gets sent into Priestly in the corner though and an enziguri knocks Priestly sillier. She’s fine enough to grab a German suplex so Shida hits a running knee and makes the hot tag to Stadtlander. A pumphandle rollup gives Stadtlander two on Sakura but a rolling cutter takes her down.

Priestly hits a top rope double stomp to the back for two but Stadtlander avoids the moonsault. A running knee sets up a superkick to the back of Sakura’s head and an ax kick gives Stadtlander two (in a very near fall). Priestly gets in a cheap shot from behind though and Sakura grabs la majistral to finish Stadtlander at 9:33.

Rating: C. This felt sloppy in a lot of places with the fans not being happy with the ending. Shida is losing me in a hurry with the same knee strikes in every match. It’s still better than the Mercury thing, which is one of the more out there tributes that Sakura does every week. Are we really hoping to cater to the Mercury/wrestling fan crossover audience? Not the worst match, but it wasn’t exactly a tight effort.

Cody vs. Matt Knicks

Post match Cody calls out MJF but a masked man comes out from a hole in the ring. Excalibur: “IT’S THE BLADE!” Another man comes out, with Excalibur calling him the Butcher. Excalibur: “We have not seen them before!” They pull Allie, now going by the Bunny, out of the hole. JR was as confused as I am about who those two are, but Excalibur knows and that’s all that matters.

Pac vs. Kenny Omega

Omega starts fast with a snapdragon and sends him to the floor for the big dive. Pac gets in a kick to the ribs but it’s another snapdragon to put him back down. The suplex off the apron doesn’t work as Omega gets knocked to the floor with Pac nailing a moonsault as we take a break.

Back with Omega striking away in the corner and hitting another suplex. Omega goes up though and gets caught in a super Falcon Arrow for two. The Black Arrow is loaded up as JR congratulates Excalibur for getting in the Bowling Shoe Ugly line. Omega rolls away to make Pac crash and there’s the V Trigger to set up the One Winged Angel. That’s reversed as well so Omega rolls him into a crucifix for the pin at 12:04.

Rating: B-. This felt like the structure of a Pac vs. Omega match but it needed another eight to ten minutes to really make it work. What we got was good enough though and Omega won clean to continue his road to redemption. Pac losing again so soon after the loss to Page is a bit questionable, but so is having this many big matches so soon after the show debuted.

We look back at the end of last week’s battle royal.

Dynamite Diamond: Adam Page vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF, with Wardlow, says he is the only one who deserves the diamond. Page says he isn’t a ring guy but he’d be glad to win this. It’s a brawl to start with Page sending him to the floor and over the barricade as we take an early break. Back with Page hitting a moonsault to the floor, followed by the Buckshot lariat for two with Wardlow putting the foot on the rope. Wardlow gets in a shot of his own and the Cross Rhodes gives MJF the pin and the ring at 6:58.

Rating: D+. What we got was decent but Page losing another match isn’t helping him, though it’s hardly some career killer as it wasn’t even a clean loss. MJF getting the big win here is great though as he is the kind of guy who needs to be pushed as hard as they can. He’s the best heel in the company if not all of wrestling at the moment so giving him a win like this works well.

Post match here’s Diamond Dallas Page to present the ring. Page hands him the ring but isn’t happy with some of MJF’s recent actions. That means a hard slap on the shoulder but Page is willing to be the bigger man and offers a handshake. MJF puts his gum in the hand instead and gets pulled back, only to have Wardlow get in Page’s face. Agents and referees break it up in a hurry as I can’t believe they didn’t reference Page’s Lord Of The Ring from WCW.

Here’s Dustin Rhodes to say he’s out for Jake Hager’s blood. Cue the Inner Circle to go after Dustin though, drawing out the Young Bucks for the save. Triple Shattered Dreams leave the Circle laying.

We get another Join The Dark Order vignette, featuring various people flashing back to what drove them here. Anyone could be Dark Order, and they are all better now that they are part of the group.

AEW World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Scorpio Sky

Jericho is defending and seconds are banned from ringside. They take their time to start with Jericho shouldering him down but getting sent outside for his efforts. Sky hits a running boot to the face and a jumping elbow to the jaw back inside. Jericho is back up to send him to the apron though and the triangle dropkick connects to send us to a break.

Back with Sky still in trouble but hitting something like a Thesz press. A dropkick puts Jericho down and it’s the slingshot cutter for two. Jericho is right back with the Walls though, sending Sky straight to the ropes. Another cutter from Sky sets up a dragon sleeper but here’s Hager for the distraction into the break.

Jericho is back up for his half of a double clothesline and they’re both down again. Cue Kazarian and Daniels to go after Hager and drive him to the back, leaving Sky to hit the TKO for two. Sky gets two more off an enziguri but the Codebreaker pulls him out of the air for two more. A backslide gives Sky his own near fall but Jericho pulls him into the Walls for the tap at 12:13.

Rating: B-. This was a case where the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt but they gave us enough good stuff to make the match work. They weren’t out there a crazy amount of time and there was never a situation where I was thinking “get on with it because Sky isn’t winning”. It wasn’t the best match, but they didn’t do anything terrible or stupid and that means a lot.

Post match Jericho goes after Sky again but Moxley appears in the crowd for the big staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. That’s probably the weakest and least interesting show they’ve done so far and it was still a perfectly watchable and at times good two hours of wrestling. The energy was a bit down though and very little felt like something you needed to see (though the opening segment was highly entertaining). The most promising thing for the future though is that this felt like a one off dip instead of something I’m worried about. It wasn’t a great show but I have no reason to believe that they’re falling apart. That isn’t the case for a lot of companies and it’s a good sign for them.

Results

Best Friends b. Lucha Bros – Crunchie to Pentagon

Bea Priestly/Emi Sakura b. Hikaru Shida/Kris Stadtlander – La Majistral to Stadtlander

Kenny Omega b. Pac – Crucifix

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Adam Page – Cross Rhodes

Chris Jericho b. Scorpio Sky – Walls of Jericho

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

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

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

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

Dynamite
Date: November 13, 2019
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s time for the next step around here as we get into the fallout from Full Gear. That could go in a lot of different directions though as they do not have a next major event on the schedule just yet. The big story out of Saturday is MJF turning on Cody and Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley losing their minds. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Full Gear.

The announcers preview the show.

Kenny Omega is banged up.

Jon Moxley vs. Michael Nakazawa

Nakazawa, Omega’s friend, throws the baby oil away to start and hammers away, only to get beaten down. The Paradigm Shift gives Moxley the pin at 1:08.

Post match Moxley asks if that one counts. He did what he promised he would do at Full Gear and Omega will never be the same again. Moxley respects Omega because he doesn’t think anyone else will have the guts to face him. He is on a pilgrimage to scorch AEW and leave himself as the last man standing. If anyone is man enough, come face him, but say goodbye to your loved ones first.

Dark Order vs. Jurassic Express

Marko goes straight at Uno to start but it’s Jungle Boy coming in to headlock Grayson down. That’s escaped so it’s a hurricanrana to take over again. The rapid pace continues with another tag to Stunt and an elevated flip dive to Grayson’s back as well. Stunt gets caught in the corner though and Uno hits a Swanton for two. Grayson hits his own shot to the back and it’s Uno pulling on Stunt’s nose. Back from a break with Stunt hitting a big spinning Downward Spiral to drop Uno.

Grayson pulls Boy off the apron, though he drops Grayson and gets the tag anyway. Everything breaks down and Boy hits a suicide dive, with JR saying it’s the first one of the night. A knee gets two on Uno and everything breaks down. Stunt’s hurricanrana gets two on Grayson with Uno shoving Boy into the cover for the break. Boy’s suicide dive is blocked and it’s some knees to the head to put him down. The Nightfall sets up the Fatality to finish Stunt at 9:30.

Rating: C. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m relieved for the Dark Order. There is no way to have Stunt beat someone and make it be believable. I guess he’s popular enough to keep himself around but at the same time, he makes it impossible to buy anything as being a realistic possibility. The match was fine enough, but you can’t stop looking at Stunt.

Post match the Order praises Stunt and offers him a spot on the team. Boy turns it down for him and gets attacked, with the Order putting the mask on him, only to have Luchasaurus return for the save. A spinning kick to the face takes out three Creepers at once, leaving Grayson and Uno to face him alone. Uno bails so it’s a chokeslam into a standing moonsault to Grayson. Now that is how you make someone look like a star.

Darby Allin vs. Shawn Spears vs. Peter Avalon

Allin’s entrance cuts off Avalon running down country music. Avalon misses a dive at the other two to start and it’s Allin hitting the high angle springboard armdrag to put Spears on the floor. Allin hits a dropkick to put Avalon outside as well but Spears breaks up another dive. A belly to back faceplant gets two on Allin but here’s Joey Janela to get in a fight with Spears. They fight into the crowd, leaving Allin and Avalon on their own. The flipping Stunner into the Coffin Drop finishes Avalon at 3:49.

Rating: D+. No time here but Allin winning was the good way to go as he has turned into a star around here. Even I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him so far and that isn’t what I would have expected when I first saw him. The time hurt things here but in a way, it’s a lot better than having these three fight for ten minutes.

Post match Darby says he accepts Moxley’s challenge.

Nyla Rose vs. Dani Jordan

Rose misses a big boot to start so Jordan hammers away. The chokeslam is escaped and there’s a slap to Rose, which is not going to end well. She runs Jordan over and it’s a Samoan drop into a Beast Bomb for the pin on Jordan at 1:34.

Here’s Allie for a chat but after some sucking up to Nashville, the lights go out. Cue Awesome Kong and Brandi Rhodes so Allie can be destroyed. Allie loses some hair, just like Bea Priestly did last week.

Here’s Chris Jericho for a chat. Jericho brags about retaining the title and proving once again that he is the greatest of all time. Therefore, he deserves a thank you from every member of the roster, the back, front and side offices. Now he’s beaten Cody, who is nothing more than an entitled millennial. There go the lights and here’s….MJF to Cody’s entrance, including pyro, music and mocking of his entrance.

Jericho isn’t sure what to think of this but MJF yells at the fans about how he threw the towel in to save Cody’s career. The fans have been cheering for the real villain every time they see Cody. The real Cody only cares about himself because he saw MJF as a puppet. That’s not enough to convince the fans but Cody was keeping MJF under his thumb. Cody’s thumb isn’t big enough to hold MJF down because he is the new face of AEW and Cody knows it.

As for Jericho, MJF has heard that Jericho wants him in the Inner Circle. Jericho has heard that MJF is interested but they stop to make fun of each others names. MJF thinks Jericho has had a little too much of the bubbly. Jericho talks about how similar they are, to the point where he thinks MJF’s parents got into it watching him beat up Juventud Guerrera twenty five years ago and MJF is the result. MJF: “Who the **** is Juvy???” Jericho: “Google it!”

They tease getting in a fight before agreeing that they don’t like Cody. There’s a hug but here’s Cody to interrupt. He has a nasty patch above his head and can’t hit the powerslam on Jericho, with JR being smart enough to blame it on Cody being banged up from Full Gear. The beatdown is on but Wardlow debuts and lays Cody out with a spinning AA. MJF tells him to do it and Wardlow takes off his tie to hang Cody. I liked a lot of the things in here, but there were a few too many things going on to like in the first place.

Pac vs. Hangman Page

Rematch from Full Gear. Pac wastes no time in kicking him down and Page gets kicked to the floor. The moonsault to the floor keeps Page rocked but he’s fine enough to hit a running dropkick in the corner. That means a suicide dive and a pop up powerbomb for two on Pac. They’re not wasting time here. Page kicks him out of the air for two but Pac hits a pair of missile dropkicks to take over again. They head outside again with Page hitting his own top rope moonsault and we take a break.

Back with Page flipping out of a German suplex and nailing a discus lariat for the double knockdown. Another hard shot puts Pac on the floor but he suckers Page in, only to have Page catch him with a brainbuster on the floor. The Buckshot lariat gets two on Pac because this company has some issues with finishing a match. Pac hits a pair of pump kicks and Page is almost out, because the guy who took a brainbuster on the floor and a finisher is suddenly on the verge of winning by stoppage. The Black Arrow sets up the Brutalizer and Page is out at 12:09.

Rating: B-. The action was good but, as mentioned on Saturday, if you’re not going to finish the match with those big spots, stop doing them. Don’t have Pac get dropped on his head and then take Page’s finisher only to win the match in dominant fashion two minutes later. It doesn’t make me think that one of the guys is tough. It just makes me think that the Buckshot Lariat is a weak finisher that has no effect.

We cut to the back where the Young Bucks are getting in a fight with Santana and Ortiz. Santana dives off of a forklift as Ortiz is knocked into a bathroom door to find….Orange Cassidy. Nothing happens as the door is closed again and Matt superkicks Ortiz. Post break the fight comes into the arena and Santana and Ortiz take over with some slapjack shots to Nick’s knee. They spray paint a target on a table and powerbomb Matt through it for the huge crash. Brandon Cutler comes out for the save and gets beaten down as well. Private Party makes the real save.

Santana and Ortiz vs. Private Party is set for next week. Even JR says that was fast.

Tag Team Titles: SCU vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara

Jericho and Guevara are challenging and have Jake Hager in their corner, though Christopher Daniels is here to balance things out. After the Big Match Intros, we’re ready to go. Kazarian and Jericho go with the grappling to start and Kazarian snaps off an armdrag into an armbar. Sky and Guevara come in with the former hitting a backbreaker and we take a break.

Back with Sammy dropkicking Guevara into the corner but stopping to pose with Jericho. The chinlock keeps Kazarian down but he powers up and rolls over for the hot tag off to Sky. Everything breaks down with Jericho having to save Sammy from a dragon sleeper. Hager pulls Kazarian to the floor and takes him down, leaving Sky to kick Jericho in the head. Jericho is right back with the bulldog but the Lionsault hits knees. He’s fine enough to Codebreak Sky out of the air for two but Sky is back with a small package to retain at 10:45.

Rating: C+. That was quite the ending and they didn’t go anywhere other than straight into making Sky look like a big deal. Having him hand his half of the Tag Team Titles Daniels so he can get in a World Title shot wouldn’t shock me and that wouldn’t be the biggest stretch. Sky is a very talented guy and giving him a big chance is a smart move. I’m glad they didn’t change the titles as well, with SCU needing some more wins to put them on the level of the other tag teams.

Jericho is ticked and throws an old school fit to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. There were more good things on the show than bad but there were things that got on my nerves as well. You have the aforementioned issues between Page and Pac (in their rematch from four days ago), the completely unnecessary and out of place Cassidy cameo and the continued existence of Marko Stunt, none of which are the best ideas. On the other hand though you have Sky getting a push, Allin getting to move up to face Moxley, Luchasaurus being back early and Santana and Ortiz looking more and more awesome every week. There is more good than bad, but some of the bad is just annoying sometimes.

Results

Jon Moxley b. Michael Nakazawa – Paradigm Shift

Dark Order b. Jurassic Express – Fatality to Stunt

Darby Allin b. Peter Avalon and Shawn Spears – Coffin Drop to Avalon

Nyla Rose b. Dani Jordan – Beast Bomb

Pac b. Hangman Page – Brutalizer

SCU b. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara – Small package to Jericho

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

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

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

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

Dynamite
Date: November 6, 2019
Location: Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re back in Flair Country this week and it’s the go home show for Full Gear. Therefore, Chris Jericho is wrestling again because he does that quite often. In theory we should get some more matches announced for the show tonight as there are only five matches for the regular pay per view card so far. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The announcers preview the show.

Pac vs. Trent

Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy are here too. Pac takes him down with a headlock to start and goes outside to glare at Cassidy. Back in and Trent hits a chop in the corner but Pac takes him outside for some hard whips into the barricade. Trent’s head gets bounced off of the ramp and there’s the big flip dive to knock him down again. The missile dropkick gets one back inside and the headline goes on. A bridging German suplex gives Pac two and we hit the chinlock again.

Trent gets sent outside and it’s time for the Pac vs. Cassidy showdown, including the leg kicks. Pac kicks him down though (Tony: “He’s black and blue Cassidy now!”) and Trent is ticked off enough for a half and half suplex. That’s enough to put Pac on the floor for a big flip dive from Trent and there’s a whip into the barricade. A running knee to the back of the head gives Pac two and a tornado DDT is good for the same. Pac busts Trent’s brain on the floor and it’s the Red Arrow….for two? With that out of the way, it’s the Brutalizer to make Trent give up at 11:43.

Rating: C+. This was much longer than it needed to be as Trent shouldn’t be hanging with Pac for that long. That’s been a problem with AEW: it’s ok to have a match like this go a little shorter to make Pac look better. Instead he was standing there so Cassidy could do his thing and going move for move with Trent. There’s nothing wrong with Trent, but he’s not a singles guy and shouldn’t be hanging this long (six or seven minutes would have been fine) with Pac and certainly not kicking out of his finisher.

Here’s Cody for his big announcement. Cody thanks the fans for being behind AEW before moving on to the match with Chris Jericho at Full Gear. He brings up some great bookers (Eddie Graham, Bill Watts, Dusty Rhodes), saying that they were great bell to bell and great at the box office. The controversy about them is that they were also management and that is where they connect to him. He has been honest about that since the beginning and loves the pressure that comes with it.

However, if he does not defeat Jericho at Full Gear, he will never challenge for the title again. Cody is tired of hearing about Jericho thinking he is some privileged kid when Jericho is the son of a famous hockey player. Jericho is a carny succubus because Jericho needs this generation more than it needs him. This isn’t about Cody or his family but rather the fourteen years it took him to get from undesirable to undeniable. At Full Gear, he’s eating Jericho alive. This was a heck of a promo and I want to see Cody win the title, which wasn’t the case before.

Dark Order vs. Private Party

The winners are added to a triple threat title match at Full Gear, along with the Lucha Bros and SCU, the latter of whom is on commentary. Therefore, there are even bronze medals for the winners. The Dark Order takes over on Quen to start but it’s an atomic drop into an enziguri to Grayson. Kassidy screeches rather loudly and gets planted with a Rock Bottom so Uno can come in for some choking on the ropes. The Order poses with the Creepers and we take a break.

Back with Grayson suplexing Quen for two but the Fatality is countered with a dropkick. Another dropkick puts Grayson on the floor and a middle rope moonsault drops Uno. There’s the big flip dive to Order but Uno is back in with a Russian legsweep. Grayson suplexes Quen into Kassidy in the corner and it’s a Cannonball/450 combination for two on Quen. Kassidy gets kneed out of the air but Quen breaks up another Fatality attempt. Silly String puts Uno down and it’s Gin and Juice for the pin on Grayson at 11:46.

Rating: C+. Total spotfest here and you knew that was going to be the case when the match started. The Order has looked better in their last two matches but that doesn’t make them much more interesting. Private Party winning is the better call though and that is what matters most in the end. I could see them winning the titles too and that could be interesting.

Post match SCU comes in to stare down Private Party.

We get an Inner Circle video mocking Cody’s big video from a few weeks back. Basically Jericho is awesome and a legend who likes the bubbly and is going to retain the title. Even Virgil gets a cameo. His friend from church, Patricia Bobski, knew him when he was a kid and knew that he would be AEW World Champion. Jake Hager says nothing at all while Virgil says Jericho’s talent is like the Olive Garden breadsticks: unlimited. All that matters to Jericho is finding the best bubbly, which is hard to do but it’s part of being le champion. Hilarious stuff here and one of the best things AEW has done so far.

We look at the Proud and Powerful jumping the Rock N Roll Express and the Young Bucks last week.

Full Gear rundown.

Jamie Hayter/Emi Sakura vs. Shanna/Riho

Riho and Sakura trade takedowns and escapes to start until Sakura throws her down by the hair. Hayter comes in for a cheap shot from behind to slow Riho down, only to have Riho knee Sakura down. Shanna comes in with a dropkick to Sakura before dropping Riho onto Sakura for two. Sakura is back up with a double underhook backbreaker to Riho and it’s Hayter coming in for the first time.

Back from a break with Riho fighting out of a chinlock and getting in a headscissors, only to have the hot tag attempt broken up. A double stomp crushed Sakura and the tag brings in Shanna to take over. Shanna runs into Hayter in the corner a few times but charges into a chokebreaker. Sakura’s Vader Bomb hits raised knees but Hayter pulls Riho off the apron. Shanna is back up with a dive to the floor and a double underhook piledriver to drop Sakura on her head.

Sakura is comes back as well and hits a rolling cutter on Shanna, followed by a Falcon Arrow from Hayter. Riho tries to come back in but gets knocked right back to the floor. Sakura’s butterfly backbreaker sets up a Vader Bomb with Riho’s top rope double stomp making the save. Riho and Sakura trade near falls until La Majistral finishes Riho at 13:49.

Rating: C+. Nice match here, though the same issues with Riho and Sakura continue. These matches come and go and it still feels like there is a huge gap between the women AEW wants to push and the rest of the division. Riho and Sakura are very technically skilled but I know almost nothing about them other than how long they have been training and that they’re from Japan. You can’t give me anything more than that?

Brandi Rhodes talks about how people have written her off as just another pretty face. However, there is nothing wrong with a combination of her mind and Awesome Kong’s body. As Kong’s face keeps popping up, Brandi talks about how she never wanted to be in charge of a women’s division so the question is who are the bullies now. Well it’s better than the witchcraft stuff last week.

Brandon Cutler vs. Shawn Spears

Cutler starts fast and sends Spears into the ropes for a slingshot legdrop to the head. That’s enough for Spears to snap and send him into the barricade, followed by a running knee to the side of the head. Back in and Spears chops away but gets kicked in the arm and head. Spears shrugs that off and hits the running Death Valley Driver for the pin at 3:15.

Rating: C-. Now was that too much to ask for??? Spears gets to beat up one of the designated jobbers and gets a little boost, which he has been needing since he debuted. Maybe this is more his style, but it certainly hasn’t been what he has been doing so far. He’s not bad, but he hasn’t been interesting and around here that is worse.

Post match Blanchard throws in a chair but here’s Joey Janela, who Blanchard and Spears attacked on Dark, for the save.

Video on Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega, who are driving each other to get violent in their match at Full Gear.

Hangman Page/Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara

Jericho and Omega start things off and never mind as let’s make that Sammy instead. Omega takes him down to start but gets caught in an early front facelock. That’s broken up and Omega chops him down so it’s off to Page as Omega hits the running Fameasser from behind. Page’s running shooting star gets two on Sammy and the tabletop suplex gets the same.

Jericho comes in for a middle rope missile dropkick, knocks Omega off the apron and does a rather obvious spot call (made even worse as the camera was on the corner). Page gets in a clothesline and it’s off to Omega to start cleaning house, including a discus double ax handle to Sammy’s chest. The Regal Roll into the middle rope moonsault gets two more and Omega dropkicks Sammy out of the air. A hurricanrana puts Jericho on the floor but Jake Hager breaks up a big flip dive.

Back from a break with Jericho elbowing Omega down, only to have Omega make the hot tag a few seconds later. Page blocks the Walls attempt and Sammy’s dive hits Hager by mistake. Omega’s dive drops both of them and Page moonsaults onto Omega and Sammy at the same time. Cue Pac to kick Page low though and the Judas Effect finishes Page at 13:05.

Rating: B. This was almost a straight formula tag match and it was a good, entertaining way to make Jericho look strong heading into Sunday. Pac vs. Page is advanced as well, which was kind of needed after being set up not too long ago. They’ve done a nice job with Omega vs. Moxley as well and we should be in for a good show on Sunday on all counts.

Post match the Inner Circle is on Page but Cody runs in for the save. The Circle leaves so here’s MJF to hit them with a chair, allowing Cody to hit Cross Rhodes on Jericho. Cue Moxley with a barbed wire baseball bat but Jericho and Hager go after Cody and MJF. Omega finds the barbed wire bat but it’s Santana and Ortiz to jump Omega and Moxley. Therefore it’s the Young Bucks coming in for the save with superkicks and dives.

They fight up the ramp and it’s Moxley and Omega making the save before getting in a fight of their own. Nick gets on top of the entrance and hits the big flip dive to take down everyone, including the cameraman. The fight is on one more time to finally end the show. This was a HECK of a fight and one of the best go home segments for a pay per view I can remember in a long time.

Overall Rating: B+. I wasn’t into some of the wrestling here but they got one big thing accomplished by making me want to see the pay per view. This was a very, very effective go home show that made the pay per view feel a lot more important. Now if they can back that up on Saturday and keep it going in the future, they’re in business. Last week didn’t feel that energized but it seems more like a fluke, which is a very nice sign for the future. Great go home show here and one of the better shows they have done so far. Oh and find that Jericho video if you can because it was hilarious.

Results

Pac b. Trent – Brutalizer

Private Party b. Dark Order – Gin and Juice to Grayson

Emi Sakura/Jamie Hayter b. Riho/Shanna – La Majistral to Riho

Shawn Spears b. Brandon Cutler – Running Death Valley Driver

Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara b. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page – Judas Effect to Page

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

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

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

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

Dynamite
Date: October 23, 2019
Location: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

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

Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Lucha Bros vs. Private Party

Quen headlocks Fenix to start but can’t hit a standing moonsault. A dropkick sends Fenix into the ropes but it’s Pentagon hitting an enziguri from the apron, allowing Fenix to snap off a release German suplex. Kassidy makes the save and it’s Fenix being sent to the floor. A pop up hurricanrana sends Pentagon outside as JR doesn’t seem pleased with the style of offense so far. An atomic drop into an enziguri sets up a jump over Kassidy’s back into a double stomp to the head.

Quen hits the crazy high flip dive to take out Fenix on the floor, leaving Kassidy to enziguri Pentagon again. Fenix is right back in with a top rope double stomp to the standing Quen’s back, followed by a pop up double stomp low to Quen in the corner. Kassidy is set on Quen’s shoulders so Fenix can dropkick him down, making Quen hit a reverse hurricanrana to plant Kassidy in a heap.

The Pentagon Driver gets two on Quen so Fenix sends him into the ropes, only to have Quen cartwheel over to the ropes. Kassidy springboards in and picks up the pace (if that’s possible), including an Asai moonsault to Pentagon. A slingshot crucifix bomb gets two on Fenix, setting up the assisted Sliced Bread from Kassidy. Quen takes off the jacket and hits the perfect shooting star for the….two count.

Fenix is back up with a Gory bomb/legdrop combination for two and it’s back to Pentagon for the house cleaning. The spike Fear Factor is broken up and Gin and Juice hits Fenix. He isn’t legal though so it’s another Gin and Juice for Pentagon, who reverses into the Canadian Destroyer. Pentagon breaks Quen’s arm and it’s the spike Fear Factor for the pin at 12:23.

Rating: A-. Yeah what do you want me to say here? This was incredible stuff with both teams looking like they moved as one and the whole thing was just awesome. The Bros are just on a different level right now and get better every single week. I could have gone with either team winning here but dang this was a blast.

Wardlow is still coming.

We look at Christopher Daniels getting taken out, giving him a pinched nerve to put him on the shelf for six to eight week.

Video on the Dark Order.

Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Dark Order vs. SCU

The Creepers are here with Dark Order. Grayson and Kazarian exchange armdrags to start so it’s Uno coming in and getting dropkicked down. Grayson is already back in so Kazarian and Sky take turns on his arm again. A Pele kick gets Grayson out of trouble though and Uno sends Sky into the steps. Back with Sky still in trouble and the Inner Circle coming into the arena, tickets in hand.

Sky slips away and brings in Kazarian to clean house, including a neckbreaker for two on Grayson. Everything breaks down and Kazarian gets suplexed into Sky in the corner. Kazarian gets in his slingshot cutter though and it’s a double dragon sleeper to the order….so let’s cut to some young woman in the crowd and come back with the hold broken up.

Grayson flips onto Kazarian as we keep cutting to the Inner Circle in the corner. Uno hits something like the Bitter End bu the Fatality is broken up. Kazarian hits a running DDT onto the apron to drop Uno and it’s SCULater (Gory Bomb spun into a knee from Kazarian) to finish Grayson at 13:48.

Rating: C+. It was good for the most part but my goodness Dark Order has an ability to suck the life out of a show. No one was buying this as having any drama whatsoever and they really could have shortened things up a bit. That and drop it with the camera cuts. WWE does that all the time and it’s annoying there too.

Joey Janela vs. Kenny Omega

Janela grabs the arm to start but gets sent out to the apron. Omega’s running boot knocks him to the floor and there’s the big dive, with Kenny sitting down and yelling up at the Inner Circle (still in their private box). Back in and Janela starts the chops before sending Omega outside for the big crossbody.

We take a break and come back with the Inner Circle shouting a lot and Omega getting German suplexed into the corner. A top rope elbow connects with Omega but he’s fine enough to drop a showboating Janela face first onto the turnbuckle. Janela is right back with a block to the V Trigger and a fisherman’s buster for the double knockdown. A Swanton to the apron only hits apron so it’s the V Trigger into the One Winged Angel to finish Janela at 13:46.

Rating: C+. Well that was quite the drop from their hardcore match, which tends to be the case every time with Janela. I’m not big on Omega most of the time, but I can at least get the appeal of him and he certainly does something big more often than not. Janela….yeah I’m not really getting it. He looks like a guy in tights doing stuff with no real idea of why he’s doing things and that shows badly a lot of the time.

Here’s Cody for an interview but the Inner Circle starts blowing air horns every time he talks. Cody says that this isn’t like the other wrestling company they used to work for and he can come up there and take Jericho out. Jericho makes fun of him and we get a shot of Cody showing the almost entirely empty hard camera side. After that rather bad angle, here are Dustin and MJF (Jericho: “Now I’m supposed to be scared of someone wearing a scarf? Who wears a scarf?”) to even things up a bit.

Diamond Dallas Page of all people is here to even things up and the Inner Circle bails into a locked room. MJF hands Cody the scarf so Cody can break through the glass and the fight is on as they head into the concourse. JR: “They’re gonna destroy Dip N Dots!” Jericho points at the ticket as security breaks things up and takes Cody away. Jericho was awesome here, as he tends to be.

Young Bucks vs. Best Friends

The Bucks superkick Orange Cassidy to start so it’s a brawl early on. The Bucks throw Chuck to the floor and it’s a neckbreaker/backbreaker combination on Trent. They all head outside with Trent spearing Matt and it’s a Doomsday Knee to Nick. A knee to the head keeps Nick in trouble and Trent knocks him outside as we take a break.

Back with Nick rolling out of a 450 and getting caught in a German suplex. Matt takes a Saito suplex and everything breaks down. Taylor’s standing Sliced Bread sets up a sitout powerbomb for two on Matt. The Falcon Arrow (with Excalibur getting in his jokes) gets two more and Trent hits Matt with a super German suplex.

Soul Food into a half and half and Cassidy is back up for the hands in the pockets dive onto the Bucks. Strong Zero hits Matt but Nick Swantons in for the save. The Doomsday Knee hits Nick, so he backflips out of it and lands on his feet, showing that a springboard knee to the head has no effect. More Bang For Your Buck finishes Chuck at 12:08.

Rating: C. This was like watching the opener in slow motion and that’s not a good thing. For the life of me I don’t get the Best Friends and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. They kept this a little shorter too and that’s a better choice. Not every match needs to be some big showcase, especially when the Bucks are set for a huge match at Full Gear.

Post match the Bucks accept Santana and Ortiz’s challenge for Full Gear.

Video on Britt Baker, who is making her homecoming tonight. JR: “She can break your teeth and fix them in the same day!”

Jamie Hayter vs. Britt Baker

Baker starts fast but gets thrown into the corner and knocked off the apron. Baker gets whipped into the barricade and we take a break. Back with a slugout going to Baker but Hayter grabs a sleeper. That’s broken up with a drop back and a clothesline gives Baker two. Hayter comes back with a Michinoku Driver for two but Baker grabs a middle rope brainbuster. Hayter’s release Rock Bottom plants Baker and a clothesline gets two more. Baker hits her in the face though and a cutter (very popular move tonight) sets up the fisherman’s neckbreaker for two more. Lockjaw finishes Hayter at 8:31.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t a big match or even very good but it got the nice moment out of the way. I’ll certainly take that over having someone get the big homecoming in WWE and then losing so Vince can laugh about it or whatever. Baker has some star power but it seems like it’s going to be a while before she gets a real run at the title.

Hayter is in the back for an interview but cuts off the questions….as Brandi throws her down from behind. Brandi glares at the interviewer and storms off without saying anything.

Jon Moxley vs. Pac

Pac jumps him from behind with a chair on the ramp and the beating starts on the floor. They get in for the opening bell and Pac loads up the Red Arrow, sending Moxley bailing outside again. Pac’s running flip dive takes Moxley down and we seem to have a concussion. A running kick to the head cuts Moxley’s comeback off and we take a break.

Back with Moxley blocking a German suplex onto the apron and hitting the headlock driver instead. Moxley nails a suicide dive as we have five minutes of TV time left. The Cloverleaf has Pac in the ropes at four minutes left but Pac is right back with a super Falcon Arrow for a close two.

Moxley gets knocked to the floor and it’s a 450 from the apron for a VERY surprised look from a fan. Back in and the Red Arrow misses as we have a minute left. The Paradigm Shift connects but it’s a delayed cover as TV time runs out at 12:09. JR: “Twenty minutes of intensity and they couldn’t settle it.”

Rating: B-. The ending intrigues me as there are a few directions they could go with it, though the concussion deal (which to be fair they never specifically said) came and went about halfway through the match. The match was entertaining though and these two come off as stars, so it’s a smart move to not have either of them take a fall here.

Post match Moxley hits the Paradigm Shift on the referee for letting the time run out. Moxley rants about the time limit to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. I had a really good time with this show and the hot angle with Jericho vs. Cody made up for some of the weaker (yet still good) matches. The opener was excellent and maybe the best match I’ve seen yet from AEW. Just a heck of a fun two hours and they feel like they’re getting into a groove out there, which is pretty impressive so soon. Awesome show this week and next week could be even better.

Results

Lucha Bros b. Private Party – Spike Fear Factor to Quen

SCU b. Dark Order – SCULater to Grayson

Kenny Omega b. Joey Janela – One Winged Angel

Young Bucks b. Best Friends – More Bang For Your Buck

Britt Baker b. Jamie Hayter – Lockjaw

Jon Moxley vs. Pac went to a time limit draw

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

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

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

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

Dynamite
Date: October 16, 2019
Location: Liacouras Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We are in for a big night here as the AEW World Title is going to be defended for the first time as Chris Jericho defends against Darby Allin in a street fight. Odds are the winner will face Cody for the title at Full Gear so there is certainly a lot on the line. Other than that, we are likely to get more in the Tag Team Title tournament so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: SCU vs. Best Friends

It’s Christopher Daniels/Kazarian for SCU, meaning they are the two that the Lucha Bros jump from behind and lay out, including a piledriver on the ramp. Scorpio Sky runs out for the save and Daniels is taken out on a stretcher. Sky says he’ll take Daniels’ spot and throws some trainers’ tape around his wrist to get ready. Chuck and Kazarian start things off with the former taking over, allowing Trent to come in and hit a sliding knee to the face.

Sky comes in and gets his street shoe taken off and sent into the crowd, allowing Chuck to bite his toes. It’s back to Kazarian, who gets beaten up on the floor and superplexed for a bonus back inside. Kazarian kicks his way out of the corner as Sky comes in off the hot tag. Everything breaks down and Chuck misses a flip dive, landing on Trent by mistake. Kazarian’s slingshot hurricanrana drops Chuck and Sky hits the big flip dive, landing on his feet of course.

Sky gets back in and someone throws him his shoe back, followed by an assisted tornado DDT for two on Trent. Kazarian comes back in but gets caught with Soul Food. The big hug is broken up so Chuck knees Kazarian down and NOW we get the hug. A Doomsday knee gets two more on Kazarian but he’s fine enough to counter a piledriver on the apron. Back in and a powerbomb into a Backstabber, or at least what is supposed to be a Backstabber but wound up being more of a dropkick to the head, for the pin at 9:58.

Rating: C+. I’m not big on the Best Friends but Sky showed off very well here, as he tends to do. He’s just an athletic guy who knows how to do almost anything in the ring. The stuff with him being thrown in here was a nice story for the match and the fans throwing the show back was just cool. I’m much happier with SCU moving forward as it could bring the Freebird Rule into effect, which can always offer a bonus story.

Santana/Ortiz vs. Jon Silver/Alex Reynolds

Santana kicks Silver in the head to start and it’s Ortiz coming in as the beatdown is on in a hurry. Santana beats up Reynolds on the floor as Ortiz doesn’t seem worried by Silver inside. The Street Sweeper (sitout powerbomb/Blockbuster combination) finishes Silver at 2:02.

Post match Chris Jericho pops up on screen to say that’s why Santana and Ortiz are in the Inner Circle. The two of them want to beat up the Young Bucks so they’ll be facing off at Full Gear.

Video on Cody as he gets ready to challenge Jericho at Full Gear. This includes comments from Diamond Dallas Page, Brandi Rhodes, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone and Michelle Rhodes, Dusty’s widow. Winning the title means a lot to him and it would validate everything he has done over the years. Page talks about how you need to win your first World Title, as apparently the NWA World Title doesn’t count anymore.

Women’s Title: Riho vs. Britt Baker

Baker is challenging. Feeling out process to start with Riho taking her down by the arm, only to have an armbar blocked. The Lockjaw doesn’t work either so Riho heads to the apron and slugs away, followed by a running dropkick to the head. A double stomp to the ribs keeps Baker down but the top rope double stomp misses.

Baker hits a Sling Blade and a TKO, followed by a low superkick for two more. Riho’s bridging northern lights suplex gets two more and it’s off to a half crab. Britt makes the rope so Riho hits some sliding knees for another two. Baker ripcord forearms her down though and Lockjaw is loaded up, only to have Riho reverse into a cradle to retain at 8:12.

Rating: B-. It’s Riho’s most interesting match yet but it’s still missing for the most part. I get that she’s Kenny Omega’s project but it just seems like they have so many other options to pick from. The match was better, though Riho doesn’t really have a character other than she’s small. That doesn’t have the best track record, but it’s all we’re getting here.

We look back at the Lucha Bros attacking SCU.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express

It’s Jungle Boy/Marko Stunt here, with the latter replacing the injured Luchasaurus. Pentagon and Stunt start things off and Pentagon tells him CERO MIEDO, because he isn’t scared of someone who looks to be eleven years old. Stunt shoves him away and does the Floss Dance, which isn’t well received. Pentagon takes the glove off and throws it at Jungle Boy, so Pentagon bites the finger.

A toss into a hurricanrana drops Pentagon and everything breaks down in a hurry. Another toss into a DDT puts Fenix on the floor and Stunt hits the big suicide dive. Boy adds an Asai moonsault to Pentagon, who also takes a wheelbarrow suplex into a splash/legdrop combination for two back inside. Stunt hits a 619 into Boy’s German suplex for two but Pentagon finally gets back up with the superkicks.

Fenix comes in, only to get superkicked by Boy. That doesn’t go anywhere as Fenix starts the dives, leaving Stunt to take the Pentagon Driver for a rather close two. Pentagon yells at the referee and we take a break. Back with Stunt kicking Pentagon in the face and bringing in Boy as everything breaks down. A reverse powerslam into moonsault knees to Fenix gets two, followed by a running shooting star press for the same. Pentagon comes back in for the running Canadian Destroyer, followed by a swing around by the hair. Stunt’s arm is snapped and it’s the spike Fear Factor for the pin on Stunt as Fenix dives onto Boy at 11:24.

Rating: C+. Stunt’s limited charm is rapidly wearing off for me and I can’t bring myself to care about him just because he’s small. Throw in the eternally annoying Floss Dance and my tolerance for him falls more and more every week. At least they didn’t go ridiculous by having an upset here, as I don’t think I could have taken another underdog story.

Pac/Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page

During the entrances, Moxley says you don’t write him off after one injury because he is still the top of the food chain. The fans give Omega a HAPPY BIRTHDAY chant before the match and it’s Omega jumping Moxley from behind to start things off. Moxley gets the better of it but Omega is right back with the jumping Fameasser from behind. Pac gets in a cheap shot though and the villains (?) take over.

That doesn’t last long as Omega gets over for the tag to Page, who stars fast with the clotheslines. A top rope version looks to set up the Deadeye but Moxley makes it to the ropes. That’s fine with Page, who goes up but gets shoved down onto the apron thanks to a Pac distraction. Back from a break with Moxley grabbing a Texas Cloverleaf on Page, drawing Omega in for the fast save. A discus lariat drops Moxley and the hot tag brings in Omega for the house cleaning.

The Regal roll into the middle rope moonsault hits Pac and it’s a Snapdragon to both Pac and Moxley. The running flip dive takes Pac down on the floor but Moxley suicide dives both of them. Page moonsaults from the top onto Moxley and Pac so Omega can take Moxley back inside. A buckle bomb into a discus forearm into a Sky High gets two as Pac has to make a save.

Moxley hits a swinging Boss Man Slam to Page but gets his head knocked off by Omega. Pac’s slingshot cutter plants Omega but it’s a nasty suicide dive from Page to drive Pac into the barricade. We get the big showdown into the forearm off from Moxley and Omega and a V Trigger rocks Moxley. He’s fine enough to blast Omega with a clothesline though and they’re both down.

And now, with the wrestling being covered, it’s time for a barbed wire broom for Omega and a barbed wire bat for Moxley. The referee gets sent outside and it’s Moxley hitting Omega in the ribs with the non barbed wire part of the bat. Pac yells at Moxley and gets dropped with the Paradigm Shift. Moxley leaves and it’s a Buckshot Lariat into the V Trigger from Omega. Deadeye (with Pac’s head not coming close to the mat) finishes Pac at 15:04.

Rating: B. The barbed wire stuff was a little silly (though it is something that has been there before) but the rest of this was very entertaining stuff with both teams beating the heck out of each other and a few different stories being tied together into one match. I could go for a pair of singles matches out of this and that’s a distinct possibility for Full Gear.

AEW World Title: Darby Allin vs. Chris Jericho

Street fight with Allin challenging and skateboarding to the ring. Jericho is in Painmaker mode this week but Allin takes him straight down and hammers away. The champ gets sent outside for the suicide dive but Jericho takes over back inside. The confidence starts to come up, even as the fans chant for Allin. Jericho sends him hard into the post and Allin comes up holding his knee as we take a break.

Back with Jericho beating and choking with a kendo stick but the middle rope stick shot is knocked out of the air. That means Allin can unload with his own stick shots but has to get out of a Walls attempt. The referee counts to five, though I’m not sure why that would matter here. Allin uses Jericho’s argument with the referee to hit a high crossbody for two but Jericho knocks him down again.

A chair is brought in but Allin grabs a quick Stunner for two instead. Allin has to get to the ropes to get out of the Walls again so Jericho duct tapes Allin’s wrists together. Just because he can, Allin hits a moonsault press onto Jericho, followed by a suicide flip dive to the floor.

Back in and something like a Whisper in the Wind (again with the hands taped) gets two on Jericho, who clotheslines the heck out of Allin. Jericho has had it and tiger bombs Allin onto the skateboard for two, without much energy on the kickout. Allin dropkicks the chair into Jericho’s face and loads up the Coffin Drop, only to have Jake Hager come in for the save. The Walls retains the title at 15:45.

Rating: B-. This was a bit of a downgrade for Allin, who usually gets to show off a little more than he did here. The taped wrists was a good idea, though the ending felt a bit rushed with Hager just coming out for the win. That isn’t the strongest ending, though it does help keep Allin strong. It’s a good match, though it didn’t break through to the other side.

The Inner Circle comes out to celebrate with a little bit of the bubbly to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I might have liked this show more than any they’ve done so far as it a fast paced show with nothing remotely bad. It’s good that they have something to build towards now and you can probably imagine a good chunk of the Full Gear card. This was a very fast paced and entertaining two hour show with some solid wrestling and angle advancement. It might be their best show yet and hopefully that continues to be the case.

Results

SCU b. Best Friends – Powerbomb/dropkick combination to Trent

Santana/Ortiz b. Jon Silver/Alex Reynolds – Street Sweeper to Silver

Riho b. Britt Baker – Cradle

Lucha Bros b. Jurassic Express – Spike Fear Factor to Stunt

Kenny Omega/Hangman Page b. Pac/Jon Moxley – Deadeye to Pac

Chris Jericho b. Darby Allin – Walls of Jericho

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

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

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

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

Dynamite
Date: October 2, 2019
Location: Capitol One Arena, Washington DC
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re finally here. It almost feels weird to imagine that it’s actually happening but here we are. This is the debut episode of the much ballyhooed weekly series from AEW and the hype seems to be real. The show is going head to head live with NXT as the Wednesday Night Wars begin. I’m actually excited for this so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

The announcers welcome us to the show.

We get some clips from last night’s Countdown show to hype up Cody vs. Sammy Guevara, which will be the first match in the history of the show.

Cody vs. Sammy Guevara

Brandi is here with Cody and that is a lot of pyro. Feeling out process to start with Sammy’s speed giving Cody some issues. A trip to the floor lets Cody have a breather and it’s back in for an armbar from Sammy. That’s broken up as Cody powerslams him down and slaps on the Figure Four so we can hit the WOOing. Sammy makes the rope so Cody kicks him down again and does some pushups, setting up a springboard cutter/Stunner for two. Sammy is right back with a slingshot cutter for two of his own.

Cody sends him outside as well though and nails a suicide dive….which hits both Brandi and Sammy. Thankfully Brandi isn’t knocked cold and gets in a shoe to Sammy’s head, setting up Cody’s Disaster Kick for two. To mix it up a bit, Cody takes it to the top rope for a reverse superplex for two more. They head up again with Sammy hitting a super Spanish Fly, only to have a shooting star hit raised knees so Cody can small package him for the pin at 11:52.

Rating: C+. They were clearly jazzed to be on a big show and you knew Cody was winning here to set up his World Title shot at the next pay per view. The spots were good here and Sammy was fine for a villain here. They didn’t need to do anything more than get through a fast paced match here and that’s what they did. Nice first match with Cody playing the face role well.

Post match Cody has something to say but Sammy stops him for a tense handshake. Cue Jericho to jump him from behind and hit a Codebreaker as we take a break, albeit going split screen with Jericho beating him up even more during the commercial. Back with Jericho powerbombing him through some open chairs to really bang up the spine. Jericho declares himself the champion before leaving.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Brandon Cutler

Friedman has a mic on the way to the ring and insults the poor looking crowd, along with Cutler, who looks like a Dungeons and Dragon fan who got lost and needs to be back in his seat. We hear about Cutler being a big Dungeons and Dragons fan, with JR cutting the other two off as Cutler slaps Friedman in the face.

A shot to the throat gets Friedman out of trouble and he works on the arm while demanding Cutler tell his family that he’s a bum. Cutler gets fired up and sends him outside for a suicide dive but comes up favoring his knee. Back in and the knee doesn’t seem to be working so Friedman grabs his Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 2:45. That felt like a very sudden ending so maybe the injury was legit.

Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes (as Jay and Silent Bob) are here to hype up their new movie, featuring Chris Jericho. Cue Angelico and Jack Evans to yell, so Jay makes fun of them for not being able to win a match. Private Party shows up with drinks for some laughter.

SCU is in Washington DC to announce that they will be in the tournament, with Scorpio Sky impersonating Barack Obama.

In the arena, SCU announces that it will be Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian representing the team in the tournament. Cue the Lucha Bros to say they’re the best team in the world, with Pentagon spitting water in Daniels’ face. The fight is on but security quickly breaks it up.

Pac vs. Adam Page

Make up match after Pac’s contractual issues over the summer. Joined in progress with JR promising a picture in picture commercial break next time. Pac slides back in and forearms away but a discus lariat turns him inside out. They head outside with Pac being sent into the barricade, followed by a fall away slam into a running shooting star press back inside. Pac is fine enough to knock him back to the floor for an Asai moonsault and Page’s head bangs off the ramp.

Page is a bit rocked as Pac puts him on top, only to elbow Pac in the face. A super fall away slam sets up a slam into a reverse flapjack (that’s a new one) for two. Pac whips him shoulder first into the post though and we take a break. Back with Page in trouble and Pac shouting a lot before walking into a spinebuster. Page gets two off a powerbomb but Pac kicks him low. The Red Arrow hits Page in the back and the Brutalizer is good for the knockout win at 13:00.

Rating: B-. I’m a little surprised by the result here as Page seems to have had the plug pulled out from underneath him. Pac is certainly a star and someone who could be a huge deal around here, though I didn’t think it would be at the expense of Page. It wasn’t clean though and a rematch wouldn’t shock me, nor would it annoy me in the slightest.

Women’s Title: Nyla Rose vs. Riho

For the inaugural title and Britt Baker is on commentary. After the Big Match Intros, Riho starts with some dropkicks but gets shouldered down without much impact. Riho knocks her down again and tries a double stomp to the back but Rose just sits up for the block. The STF goes on for a bit until Riho makes the rope to save herself. A running knee sends Rose outside but she’s fine enough to send Riho into the barricade.

The ref takes a chair away so Rose sends her into the barricade again and pulls out a bunch of chairs. She puts Riho on those chairs but the middle rope dive only hits the steel, allowing Riho to hit a double stomp off the apron. Another double stomp sets up a Bank Statement inside and we take a break.

Back with Riho in trouble and making the mistake of trying a backdrop. Some forearms are cut off by a kick to the face but Riho slips out of a powerbomb. A rollup gets a very close two and the fans aren’t pleased by the kickout. Rose’s Death Valley Driver gets two more and she goes up top, only to get caught with even more forearms. A northern lights superplex gives Riho two so she knees Riho in the face for the pin and the title at 13:27.

Rating: C+. Yeah I can’t say I’m surprised. The tiny newcomer beats the seemingly unstoppable monster in your metaphor of the night. The problem with Riho continues to be that her whole character is that she’s small. Rose continues to lose far more often than she should and that was the case here as well. The crowd got into it though and those near falls were quite good at times. Fine match, but it’s going to take some time to get into Riho.

Post match Michael Nakazawa comes in for the interview in Japanese but Rose comes in to jump them both and powerbomb Nakazawa. A Death Valley Driver on the apron is broken up but Kenny Omega makes the save.

Elite vs. Chris Jericho/Santana/Ortiz

Omega runs back to the stage for his entrance despite the lack of a commercial. Jericho starts against Omega but tags out to Santana before anything happens in an old but classic move. Omega kicks Santana’s knee out and tries his running Fameasser but has to settle for a bulldog as he overshoots it a bit. Jericho comes in for the chops and the Bucks have to break up the Walls with some superkicks.

Back with the Bucks in trouble and Santana/Ortiz hitting their assortment of splashes. Jericho misses the Lionsault to Nick but Ortiz breaks up the hot tag attempt. A cutter out of the corner sets up some rolling northern lights suplexes and the hot tag brings in Nick to clean house. Everything breaks down and it’s Matt taking a springboard Cannonball in the corner. The Judas Effect gives Jericho the pin at 13:20.

Rating: C. The Omega deal took things down a bit here and it felt like it just came and went. It was a good choice for a first main event as it showcased Santana and Ortiz and it’s not like losing to the World Champion is a bad thing. What we got here was good enough and it gave us a fine enough main event, even if the big angle came a bit early.

Post match the big brawl is on with Cody coming in for the save. Sammy Guevara comes in to kick him low so Dustin Rhodes is out for the save. Cue the debuting Jake Hager (Jack Swagger) to wreck Cody, Dustin and the Bucks. That means a WE THE PEOPLE chant as the villains stand tall together. A table is brought in and Dustin gets powerbombed onto (not through) it for the big OOH from the crowd. The Judas Effect leaves Cody laying to end the show. They did get the timing right to wrap it up this time around.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling wasn’t what mattered here. The point of this was everything working well enough and the presentation feeling big overall. Everything looked great here and it felt like a WWE level show. There are a lot of things to work on still, but what we got was rather good. I want to see where things are going in the future and that’s a great sign for a first night.

That’s what matters the most here: it was the first night and the show worked well. Nothing was bad and they had a big moment with the title change. Nothing blew me away, which is actually a silver lining in a way. If you start with your biggest, best show ever, where can you go from there? They have room to improve, but what matters most is to keep things going. Very good start, now keep doing it and make it better.

Results

Cody b. Sammy Guevara – Small package

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Brandon Cutler – Fujiwara armbar

Pac b. Adam Page – Brutalizer

Riho b. Nyla Rose – Running knee to the face

Chris Jericho/Santana/Ortiz b. Kenny Omega/Young Bucks

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

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

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

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

All Out
Date: August 31, 2019
Location: Sears Center, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Alex Mendez

It’s time for the fourth AEW show and the final one before we get to the weekly TNT show. This show might not mean as much as the other shows as it is all leading up to October, but the World Title will be decided for the first time. We should be in for a good show, but they have a hard one to follow after Takeover this afternoon. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Casino Battle Royal

So it’s twenty one women in four groups of five with each group named after a card suit. Then there is a twenty first entrant with the Joker. The winner is in the Women’s Title match at the first TNT show. The Clubs (Nyla Rose, Faby Apache, Leva Bates, Shalanda Royal, Priscilla Kelly) start things off and it’s Rose cleaning house. Peter Avalon (Bates’ fellow librarian) offers Bates some books to stand on but Rose tosses everyone with almost no effort, plus Peter for a bonus.

The Diamonds (Britt Baker, Penelope Ford, Sadie Gibbs, Shazza McKenzie, Big Swoll) come in next with Ford hitting a handspring elbow on Rose as the ganging up….is broken up in just a few seconds. Baker pulls Shazza out for an elimination, leaving Rose to chokeslam Baker and Gibbs at the same time, leaving Swoll for a showdown. Rose isn’t having any of this and puts Swoll on the apron, setting up a Rock Bottom onto the apron for the elimination. A hard German suplex drops Ford as the countdown clock ends and….no one is here at the moment.

Ford is out as the Spades (Tenille Dashwood, Ivelisse, Bea Priestly, Brandi Rhodes and Awesome Kong) come out. Baker jumps Priestly in the aisle and it’s Ivelisse hurricanranaing Gibbs down. Dashwood butterfly suplexes Ivelisse into Gibbs in the corner, setting up Taste of Tenille to both of them. Brandi orders Kong to start cleaning house but Rose gets back in as a group of people go after Kong. Brandi’s Stunner takes Rose down as Kong picks up Ivelisse to use as a weapon.

Dashwood and Ivelisse are out and here are the Hearts (Allie, Nicole Savoy, Teal Piper, ODB and the bald Jazz). Allie goes straight after Brandi and it’s Savoy squaring off with Kong, who whips her into the ropes so Savoy can hit a big suicide dive. Piper pokes ODB in the eyes and grabs the sleeper but Kong breaks it up. Rose dumps Savoy and Kong tosses Piper through the ropes (no elimination), setting up the big monster showdown.

Jazz breaks that up and ODB joins them for the four way brawl. Kong and Jazz are eliminated as Mercedes Martinez is the Joker and the final entrant. Martinez starts suplexing everyone in sight and it’s a curb stomp to Priestly. Allie gets up and starts cleaning house but Rose knocks her out. It seems that we’re down to Rose, Gibbs, Martinez, Priestly and Baker, plus anyone on the floor. Gibbs gorilla presses Priestly but gets tossed a second later and we’re down to four.

A Sling Blade lets Baker put Martinez down and it’s time to double team Rose. Priestly tries to dump both of them but saves Rose in the process. Baker superkicks Martinez out but Rose survives a double toss attempt. Rose manages a cartwheel kick on the apron so Baker hits a Canadian Destroyer on Priestly. One heck of a forearm gets rid of Priestly and Rose dumps Baker (with an assist from Priestly) for the win at 20:41.

Rating: D. I really don’t care for this concept as it’s either the groups not coming out when the buzzer sounds or trying to keep track of who all is in there. At least they didn’t do the stupid “OH LOOK SOMEONE IS SNEAKING BACK IN!” but it’s still not a great concept. If you want to do a battle royal then do a battle royal, but the casino/gambling thing only really works in Las Vegas.

Pre-Show: Private Party vs. Jack Evans/Angelico

Isaiah Kassidy starts things off with Angelico and they waste no time in flipping around. Kassidy takes him down and starts dancing so it’s off to Marq Quen vs. Evans, with the former taking over in a hurry. Evans gets in a shot to the face on Quen though and the villains (or the closest things we have to villains in this match) take over. A guillotine choke has Quen reaching for the ropes as we already get the five minute announcement.

That’s broken up so it’s Kassidy coming back in to clean house, including the big dive onto Angelico. Back in and a slingshot splash gets two on Evans. A camel clutch into a leap frog double stomp to the back of the head plants Evans, followed by Kassidy flipping over a standing Quen and then flipping back into a tornado DDT on Angelico. An assisted Sliced Bread hits Evans and Kassidy nails a bit running flip dive to the floor.

Quen hits a great looking shooting star press but Evans is back in to suplex Kassidy off the top. A kick to the face and an assisted 450 gets two on Kassidy as we hit five minutes left. Everything breaks down and it’s a series of hurricanranas to Evans and Angelico, setting up another hurricanrana into a cutter to finish Evans at 11:14.

Rating: C+. Yeah it was a moves match but Private Party continues to look great. That’s the kind of thing that AEW needs: some teams (or acts in general) who can come in and be more original stars. Private Party has been around the indies for a good while but now they’re getting their first national exposure and they look like hidden gems.

Post match Evans and Angelico jump Private Party and wreck Quen’s knee as the fans are not pleased.

Some kids from a charity sing the Star Spangled Banner.

The opening video looks at just about every match on the show tonight in a well produced package.

The announcers preview the card again.

SoCal Uncensored vs. A Small Boy/A Boy And His Dinosaur

SCU does their usual stuff before the match with Daniels talking about how they were All In last year and now it’s a new deck and a new dealer. Jungle Boy and Kazarian start things off with neither being able to get anywhere, meaning they flip to a standoff. Daniels comes in for an STO to put Jungle Boy down but he’s right back up with a springboard armdrag. Luchasaurus comes in and it’s a series of kicks to take Daniels down, with the fans being WAY into the dinosaur.

It’s off to Stunt for a running dropkick and the required Floss Dance, setting up the even more required suicide dive. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus hit their own dives and we settle down to Jungle Boy chopping and headlocking Daniels. A blind tag brings in Kazarian for a dropkick before it’s back to Daniels for a dance of his own. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Jungle Boy fights up and brings in Luchasaurus to kick away.

The chokeslam into a standing moonsault gets two on Kazarian and the fans are rather pleased. Stunt gets tossed into a tornado DDT on Kazarian but Celebrity Rehab gets SCU out of trouble. A slingshot hurricanrana takes out Jungle Boy and Stunt, followed by Sky’s big flip dive onto Luchasaurus. The Best Meltzer Ever finishes Stunt at 11:58.

Rating: C. The Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy stuff is awesome as they work perfectly well together but Stunt….yeah it’s too much. Even Rey Mysterio is bigger than he is and that’s as much of a stretch as you can get. It’s like forcing a comedy act in there but they don’t really treat it as comedy. Sometimes its ok to not try for every smile possible and just have a good match without something like that. A Boy and His Dinosaur are awesome on their own so don’t mess with it any more.

Kenny Omega vs. Pac

They circle each other to start and the fans seem to be more behind Omega. Pac drops down and Kenny walks over his back for a bit of taunting. They take turns shoving each other in the face and the 205 chants begin. Omega sends him outside and tries the dive but Pac is waiting on him with a kick to the ribs. A whip into the barricade staggers Pac but he’s fine enough to drive Omega back first into the barricade as well.

The choking against the barricade continues, followed by a great looking dropkick to put Omega down again. Omega fights out of a chinlock in a hurry before sending him outside. That means a suicide dive to take Pack out but Omega comes up holding his ankle. As long as it’s not the V Trigger knee, he still has 89% of his offense. Back in and the ankle is fine enough for a missile dropkick to the back of the head and a fisherman’s buster gets two.

The Regal Roll connects but Pac rolls away before the middle rope moonsault can connect. Pac spikes him with a DDT for two but it’s too early for the Black Arrow. Instead Pac moonsaults to the floor, with his leg crashing into the barricade. Back in and a 450 gives Pac two, followed by Omega’s spinebuster for the same. Something like a fisherman’s buster onto the knee sets up the first V Trigger. The One Winged Angel is broken up so Omega settles for a bridging German suplex instead.

Pac is back up with a slingshot cutter and a snap German suplex of his own. The Snapdragon sets up Omega’s second V Trigger for two, followed by the third to stagger Pac some more. Pac hits something like a reverse hurricanrana but gets caught in a fireman’s carry. Before Omega can throw him anywhere though, Pac reverses into the Brutalizer (standing Rings of Saturn) to knock Omega out for the win at 23:14.

Rating: B-. Almost every Omega criticism is right here: longer than it needed to be, little building to anything and even less selling. It’s a bunch of spots and shots to the head with both of them popping right back up. I’m sure Omega will go on a winning streak and win the title eventually and that’s acceptable, but it’s the kind of thing that you know is coming at the end of the day. The idea here was that Omega isn’t what he’s capable of being and his “heart isn’t in AEW” yet so I’m sure he’s going to get a big featured story.

Darby Allin vs. Joey Janela vs. Jimmy Havoc

This is the Cracker Barrel Clash as we have a sponsored match. They go straight for the weapons and it’s time for the staple gun. Jimmy uses it on himself and it’s time to head outside with Jimmy getting taped into a chair. Joey puts thumbtacks in Jimmy’s mouth and tapes it shut as well, leaving Joey vs. Darby inside. A flipping Stunner takes Joey down but Darby would rather flip dive onto Jimmy, who begs him to do it.

The fight heads outside with Joey busting out weapons of his own, including a tennis racket, which he throws away (hilarious you see). Jimmy chops Joey down and gives him the paper cuts between the fingers. A monkey flip sends Joey flying but he lands in the chair, only to get a paper cut in the mouth. Joey brainbusters Jimmy through a chair and hits a running Canadian Destroyer to send Darby through a table in a nasty crash. Back up and Jimmy goes for a moonsault to the floor….with absolutely no one there to catch him.

Jimmy was down a few feet away but that looked Joey was trying to hurt himself. Since Joey has been crushed, Jimmy throws a plate of biscuits at him and then brings some barrels to the ring. Darby is back in with a skateboard covered in tacks, which he double stomps onto Joey’s back.

Darby throws Havoc at the steps and puts him on them….before grabbing a barrel. The Coffin Drop, with a barrel on Darby’s back, only hits steps as JR declares this insanity. Back in and Joey drops a top rope elbow for two on Jimmy. Another barrel is brought in and Havoc superplexes Joey….well his foot went through it at least. The Acid Rainmaker through the barrel finishes Janela to give Havoc the pin at 14:40.

Rating: D+. I didn’t hate this, mainly because they kept this in one match by itself instead of putting it in some big match that means something. Some of the stuff involved here was so ridiculous that it’s almost impossible to not smile a bit. There’s nothing more than freak show appeal here and some of it was so goofy that it was entertaining. Not the worst, with the biscuits being amusing and Cornette’s response to the tennis racket thing will be worth it alone.

Dark Order vs. Best Friends

The winners get a first round bye in the Tag Team Title tournament. Chuck can’t do much with Stu to start so everything breaks down in a hurry with the Friends cleaning house for the hug. We get a SPOOKY PERVERTS chant (JR: “That’s another t-shirt!”) after what the Best Friends have dubbed the Dark Order.

We settle down to the Order taking over on Trent with a side slam/knee drop combination for two. Grayson hits some knees to the ribs to keep Trent in trouble and it’s a slingshot hilo to the apron as Uno comes back in. A running clothesline isn’t enough for Trent to get over for the tag though as Uno brings him back to the wrong corner. Grayson pulls Chuck off the apron to break up a tag in another classic move. The beating continues, including something like Chasing the Dragon.

Trent gets in a tornado DDT and there’s the hot tag to Chuck so house can be cleaned. The Friends are right back into it Sliced Bread from Chuck, followed by a toss 3D for two on Grayson. That’s not cool with Uno, who comes right back in to toss Trent to the floor. A top rope backsplash gets two on Trent, as does Grayson’s 450. Chuck is back in though and house is cleaned, including Soul Food into a half and half suplex on Grayson. The Awful Waffle hits Uno but the Creepers (Order’s minions) beat up Chuck. The Fatality finishes Trent at 14:43.

Rating: C-. Yeah next please. I don’t like either of these teams and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. They’re not very interesting with the Best Friends coming off like they’re just goofing off and the Dark Order looking like cosplay evil wrestlers. Not a bad match, but a match I was wanting to wrap up in a hurry.

Post match the Creepers go after Trent but Orange Cassidy comes in for the save without ever taking his hands out of his pockets, as is his custom.

Hikaru Shida vs. Riho

The winner gets Nyla Rose for the Women’s Title on the first TNT show. The much smaller Riho slugs away to start but gets cut off by a knee lift. Shida knees her again and grabs a half crab with Riho being bent way too far back. Somehow that doesn’t break Riho in half so Shida sticks with the power by throwing Riho around some more.

A superplex is broken up though with Shida being sent down to the apron for a top rope double stomp. Back up and Shida goes for a Stretch Muffler but Riho makes the rope. With JR demanding separation, Shida pulls her away from the rope and bends the knee around some more. Riho escapes and hits a double stomp but can’t follow up. Shida’s running knee to the arms over Riho’s face gets two and frustration is setting in.

Riho grabs the leg to slow Shida down and it’s a northern lights suplex to drop Shida. A missed kick in the corner sets up the Alberto double stomp on Shida, followed by running knees for two. Shida is right back up with a fireman’s carry backbreaker for two and Shida is ready for a rollup. The second attempt works for Riho and puts Shida away at 13:14.

Rating: C. Again: next please. I know there is a reason for these things but it’s not clicking and seeing Riho vs. Rose is about the least most interesting combination they could go with for the first title match. There are so many interesting names on the roster and they pick these two for the best options? I get why with both of them, but it’s really not worth seeing.

We recap Cody vs. Shawn Spears. Cody brought Spears in and said he was a good hand who could become a player/coach. Spears didn’t like that and hit Cody with a chair to bust him open, plus got Tully Blanchard as a manager. This one is personal.

Cody vs. Shawn Spears

Shawn has Tully Blanchard in his corner but Cody counters with Pharaoh (who does not look happy about appearing), Brandi, Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Diamond Dallas Page in Star Trek gear. Only MJF stays and I think you know where this is going. Cody dives onto Spears before the bell and the fight heads into the crowd early on. They head back inside for the opening bell and go right back to the floor with Tully grabbing Cody’s arm so Spears can get in a low blow.

Back in and Cody shrugs off some chops but a suicide dive is knocked away because Spears saw it coming on the screen. That’s a nice touch that you don’t see very often. Back in and Spears hammers away with left hands to the head. Cody gets in the Dustin uppercut but misses a charge into the post. A hanging DDT onto the apron rocks Cody and it’s time for the weight belt.

Earl Hebner isn’t letting that happen though and yells, but the distraction lets Tully slip in a regular belt to beat on Cody again. Cody no sells a belt shot to the head and the beatdown is on. A springboard cutter into an Alabama Slam makes it even worse for Spears and it’s time for the leg. The Figure Four is applied but Spears turns it over, with an assist from Tully. They head outside with Cody getting dropped on the ramp, only to have MJF drag Cody back towards the ring.

Rating: C+. This was a bit better than I was expecting but as tends to be the case in a Cody match, it was too much stuff going on and the show was hurt as a result. Spears was good enough as a heel, though it feels like MJF is the real big bad for Cody later on. It was fine, though the show is starting to run long and it’s hurting things a bit.

Post match MJF teases a chair shot to Cody but hugs him instead.

We recap the ladder match. The Young Bucks and the Lucha Bros have fought a bunch of times and now they’re fighting in a ladder match for the final win.

AAA Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. Young Bucks

The Bros are defending in a ladder match and the Bucks are in deer masks (bucks you see) Thankfully they come off after the bell as I have enough trouble remembering which is which in the first place. Pentagon breaks up a very early Meltzer Driver attempt and the Bucks are sent outside early on. A ladder shot breaks up a Bros dive and the Bucks start the kicking. Fenix is right back up with a springboard flip dive over a ladder to take everyone down.

Back in and Nick and Fenix springboard onto the ladder but get taken down with rolling cutters. Since we’re doing the “we know each other so well” sequences, it’s a pair of spears to put Nick and Fenix through tables at ringside. That leaves Pentagon to kick Matt in the leg but Matt sends him outside for a flip dive. Back in and Nick rolls some northern lights suplexes on Pentagon but Fenix is back up with a springboard hurricanrana to send Nick into a ladder.

The Bros springboard off the ropes and then off the ladder to take out both Bucks. Another ladder is brought in but Nick gorilla presses Fenix and spears Pentagon down. Nick springboards onto the ladder, which is nowhere near the belts, but gets it turned over. That’s fine with Nick, who springboards off the top to take Pentagon down outside. Fenix’s springboard moonsaults takes Nick down so it’s Pentagon and Matt fighting on top of the ladder.

A super Sling Blade brings Matt off the ladder and it’s Pentagon going outside. That means a suicide dive from Nick, leaving Fenix to hit a Canadian Destroyer on Matt. A table is brought in as JR talks about barbecue sauce. Just because we need one, Pentagon hits a Canadian Destroyer off the ladder to drive Matt through the table and everyone is pretty much dead.

With the other two down, Nick and Fenix put them on tables and climb ladders at opposite sides of the ring. They shout at each other and there are the big dives through their brothers so everyone is down again. Nick and Fenix fight over another ladder until Nick dives over it for a tornado DDT. Two tables are set up at ringside but Nick has to superkick Fenix to prevent a climb. Since back to back huge moves don’t keep you down long, Matt is back in with a Crossface on Pentagon but lets go to cut Fenix off again.

Nick is alone on top so he teases a dive, allowing Pentagon to superkick Matt and then shove the ladder over, sending Nick through the tables. Matt and Pentagon go up with Matt taking off the mask, but Fenix kicks the ladder out for the bigger crash. Pentagon has the mask back on and it’s a spike Fear Factor onto the bridged ladder to kill Matt dead. The Bros FINALLY get the titles for the win at 24:06.

Rating: B. It was a complete stunt show spot fest and that’s all it was trying to be. There was no storytelling and nothing in the way of psychology as everything was one spot after another. Now in this case, that’s what it was supposed to be and in that sense it worked well. Now at the same time, it went on longer than it should have this late in a show and there were way too many instances of the teams having a chance to go up and then doing a spot instead.

Post match some masked men come in and beat down the Lucha Bros. The Bucks get laid out as well and it’s Santana and Ortiz, formerly known as LAX. Their matches with the Bros in Impact were awesome so I’m more than good with that.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Adam Page. Jericho beat Kenny Omega and Page won a battle royal to earn their spots here, then Jericho busted him open to make things personal. Tonight it’s for the inaugural title.

AEW World Title: Adam Page vs. Chris Jericho

The title is vacant coming in and Page rides in on a horse. We get Big Match Intros and an introduction from the referee to stretch things out even more. Page drives him into the corner to start and it’s an early clean break. A fall away slam and a clothesline put Jericho on the floor but he’s right back in with a middle rope dropkick.

The Liontamer attempt is broken up so Page sends him outside for a suicide dive. A top rope clothesline gives Page two and he ducks the triangle dropkick. The shooting star off the apron is blocked though and Page is down on the floor. Jericho knocks him off the barricade for a big crash with Page’s elbow banging into the barricade. Back in and Jericho bends the arm around the rope, followed by a backsplash for two.

Page fights back up with some strikes and a sliding lariat. The middle rope Russian legsweep gets two but a piledriver attempt is countered into the Walls to put Page in real trouble. That’s broken up and a discus punch busts Jericho open. Page slowly throws him back in, yells at the referee, and then punches Jericho down.

As JR asks if Jericho has enough soldiers in his tank, Page hits a super swinging neckbreaker, followed by the Buckshot Lariat. The Deadeye is countered into the Walls again but Page gets out one more time. Jericho is sent outside and Page’s top rope moonsault….somewhat connects.

Another Buckshot Lariat is countered into the Codebreaker (cool) for two and they’re both down again. Page gets back up but the running shooting star hits knees. The Deadeye is countered into a sunset flip but another attempt plants Jericho….for two. Another Buckshot Lariat misses and the Judas Effect gives Jericho the pin and the title at 26:23.

Rating: C+. It was a perfectly watchable match but it went on too long and the fans were just done by the end. Jericho winning was pretty clear about halfway through (at the latest) and while it makes sense to have the World Title (especially the first one) go longer than anything else, it came after a very long show. Jericho isn’t likely to hold the title for a long time but he’s the right call for the first champion.

Page is crushed as Jericho poses with the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. These shows have got to be shortened a bit as the length is their biggest problem. Eventually you’re two and a half hours in and looking at the clock because the show just keeps going with one long match after another. What we got was mostly good and it set up some stuff for later but my goodness it felt every bit of those five hours.

They need to shorten a few matches (it’s ok to have something go seven or eight minutes) and do something in between them every now and then, just for the sake of a breather. Having it be two hours a week will help, but these pay per views have got to pick up the pace a bit. This didn’t change a lot and I wouldn’t say it built up any real momentum for them, but I’m really not as interested in the promotion as I used to be. I hope TV helps them with that, because their spark isn’t going to last forever with these five hour shows that aren’t exactly burning the house down.

Results

SoCal Uncensored b. A Small Boy/A Boy And His Dinosaur – Best Meltzer Ever to Stunt

Pac b. Kenny Omega – Brutalizer

Jimmy Havoc b. Joey Janela and Darby Allin – Acid Rainmaker through a barrel to Janela

Dark Order b. Best Friends – Fatality to Barreta

Riho b. Hikaru Shida – Rollup

Cody b. Shawn Spears – Cross Rhodes

Lucha Bros b. Young Bucks – Bros pulled down the titles

Chris Jericho b. Adam Page – Judas Effect

 

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

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

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

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

Defiant Loaded #6
Date: January 13, 2019
Location: 02 Academy, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
Commentators: Dave Bradshaw, James R. Kennedy

So I took a look at this back when it was called WhatCulture Pro Wrestling but they’ve since rebranded to Defiant so someone wanted me to look at it again. We’re in England of course (as opposed to Newcastle Upon Tyne, Indiana) and the big draw here is Pac (Neville) facing David Star in Pac’s hometown. I wonder if he’ll be over. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of the previous show with various clips of various wrestlers and matches with no context.

A guy named General Ameen is looking for who stole General Phantasmo’s glasses. While he’s gone, he needs a guy named Simon Miller (who used to work for What Culture) to run things tonight. Simon, who looks like a younger, deflated Goldberg, says he’ll handle things while Ameen investigates things. Ameen is off to the battlefield.

Opening sequence as I try to figure out what in the world I’ve gotten myself into.

South Coast Connection vs. The Models

This is an open challenge from the South Coast Connection (Ashley Dunn/Kelly Sixx) with the Models (Danny Hope/Joey Hayes) answering. The Models do their strut before the bell as I try to remember that Kennedy isn’t Drew McIntyre (the voice resemblance is uncanny). Hayes dances out of Dunn’s headlock to start so Dunn goes with a dropkick to take over. A leg lariat gets two but Hayes drives him into the corner for the tag off to Hope. That lasts all of ten seconds before it’s back to Hayes for a snap suplex.

The Models get into a rhythm of double teaming but Hope takes too much time dancing on the ropes (seems to be a bad trend for them) and gets punched out of the air. It’s off to Sixx for the first time and everyone else is sent outside with a suicide dive taking out Hope. Back in and Hope catches Sixx, allowing Hayes to enziguri him down for two. Sixx breaks up a double suplex and sends Hayes outside, leaving Hope to take a spike over the back reverse piledriver (Adam Page’s Rite of Passage) for the pin at 5:58.

Rating: C. Completely watchable match here and a nice choice for an opener, as tag matches often are. The announcers did a good job of playing up the Models as being a big deal on the indy scene with a ton of experience so the win actually means something. Not a great match or anything but for a pretty quick win for the Connection, it was all it needed to be.

Post match Dunn says it’s usually not the best time here in Newcastle because nine times out of ten it’s negative. They recently fought a guy named Benji (the fans seem to like them) but he lost. They’re the kind of guys you can come up to at a bar and get a bit more time from them than the bigger stars. It’s time they remind you who they are, drawing a WHO ARE YA chant. Will Ospreay brought them here and they’re going to email him and have him fix things. They’re about to be elevated. I’ve heard worse heel turns and Dunn isn’t the worst talker.

Lana Austin didn’t agree to face Bea Priestly, especially not in a falls count anywhere match. The word WHAT is shouted a lot as she finds out about the stipulation.

Ameen asks Benji if he knows about Phantasmo’s glasses but Benji says just get some new ones because they only cost two pounds. Ameen: “To the battlefield!”

After a very big and full of praise introduction, here’s British wrestling legend Marty Jones for a chat. He’s been hearing the British wrestling is finished for a long time and now look at all this. Jones talks about some of the great times and makes some soccer jokes before talking about running a training school in Oldham. He’d like to introduce us to two of his students, who happen to be the nephews of the Dynamite Kid, who passed away about six weeks earlier. These two are part of the Breakout Division, which seems to be a newcomer division (hence the name Breakout more than likely). Tonight, we’re going to have an exhibition.

Thomas Billington vs. Mark Billington

These two are seventeen and fifteen with Jones saying they haven’t even been training for nine months yet. They start fast with Mark grabbing a belly to back to back suplex and some armdrags into a wristlock as Jones watches on. Some monkey flips can’t get Thomas anywhere other than into a standoff but some legsweeps work a bit better to put Thomas down.

Thomas catches him on top and slips while trying a superplex. A jumping Tombstone knocks Mark silly and the Swan Dive (required) makes it even worse. Instead of covering, Thomas tries a suplex and they fall out to the floor in a hard heap for a double nine. And here’s the Connection, now in Ospreay shirts, for the no contest at 4:04.

Rating: N/A. There’s something weird about rating a match between two people who combine to be only slightly older than I am. They certainly have some energy to them and they know how to do some things, but at the same time they were packing in way too much stuff for four minutes. To be fair though, that’s kind of the point of an exhibition. It’s not fair to rate two trainees the same way I’d rate professionals but they were trying and could have been far worse.

Post match the Connection says they don’t want to hear from an old man like Jones, who asks the fans for some applause for these two young boys. Jones wants to know who the Connection thinks they are because as much as Ospreay has taught them, it’s not as much as his boys know. Jones even insults the Connection’s hair before leaving. I’d assume a tag match is imminent.

John Klinger recently came back and won the Ringmaster tournament. He rants in German before switching back to English to say he will thrill us.

An unnamed guy has a very closeup interview, talking about hidden Easter eggs in videos he’s been sending in. He talks about 801 days passing since he set foot in WCPW and how Primate must remember. Primate needed help to beat him when the unnamed guy was told he was too wild for YouTube.

Now Primate has become the face of Defiant while this guy has kept making movies until someone kept coming back to have him pick up the slack. He’s started pre-production and is ready to be back to deal with Primate. They were going to make the rise of the Sick Boy and the premiere is soon. Heck of a promo here and I can live with not saying the guy’s name as the fans probably know who he is. I want to see more from this guy and his feud with Primate so this blew away everything else on the show so far.

Omari vs. Conor Renshaw

The announcers can’t stop talking about what we just saw and I can’t blame them. Renshaw goes right at him and scores with a suplex for two. Omari superkicks him down and gets two of his own off a gutwrench suplex. A springboard double stomp to the back sets up a swinging Downward Spiral (the O Zone) to finish Renshaw at 1:28. Just a step above a squash and Omari looked good while it lasted.

Post match Omari talks about Nathan Cruz attacking him recently. If Cruz is really the Mr. Professional that he claims to be, he’ll face Omari next week.

Ameen yells at Miller (on the phone) for not getting his dry cleaning on time. Martin Kirby (Internet Champion) comes in to be interrogated about the glasses. The only thing Kirby is guilty of is stealing the show. He’s so awesome that he’s not even going to defend the title anymore. Ameen pulls out the Defiant Rule Book (clearly not a phone book with a piece of paper on the front), which says he has to defend the title for free on YouTube. Actually hang on, as Kirby knows a rule of his own: if he wins the title from someone from Europe, he doesn’t have to defend the title if he doesn’t want to. Ameen: “WHY DID I PUT THAT IN THERE???”

Mark Haskins (again, not named) wants the Anti-Fun Police next week. They need some name graphics around here.

Preview for next week’s show.

Preview for Unstoppable.

David Starr vs. Pac

Starr is a cocky guy with approximately 192 nicknames. Pac’s (with a great video saying ERROR: GRAVITY LOST) Open The Dream Gate Title isn’t on the line. The fans sing what sounds like a song about Pac coming home. Starr gets a chant of his own and they lock up after over a minute of soaking it all in. A shoulder puts Pac down but he nips up to show off a bit. Pac is back up and moonsaults over Starr out of the corner before kicking some invisible dirt behind him.

Starr gets serious by tearing the tape off of his shoulder as the songs continue, this time with Starr being treated rather badly. They go to the mat with Starr not being able to get very far by pulling on the leg. A crisscross lets Starr get two off a Thesz press, followed by a crotch to the head. The crowd lets Starr know that he screwed up (more colorfully of course) and the fight heads outside with Starr going into the barricade. Back in and Starr’s comeback is countered with a kick to the head and the big middle rope moonsault drops him again.

Starr is trying but Pac is feeling it so far. A missile dropkick gives Pac one and we hit the chinlock. Back up and a brainbuster onto the knee gives Starr his first big offense nearly ten minutes in. Starr picks up the pace with a victory roll and a top rope elbow for two each, followed by a gutwrench faceplant. Product Placement (arm trap German suplex) is blocked and Pac grabs a slingshot cutter for a rather pleased reaction. Pac’s still great looking top rope superplex makes Starr bounce before the two count and the fans aren’t sure about this aggressive side.

They slug it out until Pac superkicks him but Starr nails an elbow to the face. Back to back lariats get a nice near fall but Pac blocks a superplex attempt. The Red Arrow misses and Starr grabs a Crossface. Thankfully Pac realizes that he’s a few inches from the rope and moves his leg over for the break. Starr doesn’t know what to do so it’s a Canadian Destroyer, which is countered into a backdrop to bump the referee. Pac kicks him low and the Red Arrow finishes Starr at 19:15.

Rating: B+. Yep he’s still got it and I continue to be astounded that WWE felt Enzo Freaking Amore was the way to go instead of Pac. The guy can go like this and looks like that but for some reason he wasn’t good enough to do anything but put over the goon with the catchphrases? Starr looked great as well, but that tends to be the case more often than not.

Post match World Champion Rampage comes out to stare Pac down before heading to the ring and granting Starr a title shot at Unstoppable. Starr accepts and promises to beat the censored out of Rampage because he’s really good at professional wrestling

Overall Rating: B-. Much like last time, I could see myself watching this more regularly. The wrestling was more than passable with an awesome main event and a really good promo from someone who seems to be named Sick Boy. They have some talent around here and I could go for watching some more of this. It’s more proof that it’s not about the size of the stage or budget (though those help) but rather how well you present what you have. Pac felt like a star here and they set up a heel turn for the Connection. It went well and there were things that made me want to come back. Not too bad at all.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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