Dynamite
Date: June 26, 2024
Location: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the last Dynamite before we get to Forbidden Door, meaning it’s time for the final push towards the show. There is a good chance that more matches will be added either tonight or on Rampage or Collision, which doesn’t leave much time to get things ready. Other than that, we have some Owen Hart Tournament matches to cover so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here is MJF to get things going but Daniel Garcia (hometown boy) cuts him off. MJF is glad the fans love Garcia, but tread lightly. Garcia thanks him for the save last week but says this is his town and his business. He is here to do something new: say nice things about MJF! That works for MJF, so Garcia talks about MJF’s accomplishments, including beating Garcia in a World Title match.

That loss set him off on the run of a lifetime, so why settle for being a pillar when he can be the workhorse around here? For that, he thanks MJF, but does mention MJF being two faced. MJF hypes up Forbidden Door (getting the date wrong) but then thanks Garcia for actually thanking him for what he does behind the scenes. Garcia got his title shot because he earned it and because he reminds MJF of himself.

The thing to remember though is that MJF beat Garcia, but maybe he should get one more shot…say at All In. Garcia says that’s huge but here is Will Ospreay to interrupt. Ospreay says he appreciates Garcia, who has been earning a shot by earning win after win. Not only that, but he’s been doing it faster than Ospreay “lasts in the bedroom Bruv.”

After an apology to his lady friend at home, Ospreay says the title shot is on for next week…and we’ll make it a World Title match too since Ospreay is winning that at Forbidden Door. Works for Garcia, so Ospreay leaves and MJF isn’t happy. MJF tells him to focus on his big shot and leaves in a hurry. The fact that MJF’s match against Hechicero on Sunday was barely mentioned isn’t a great sign for that one, but it’s not like they have anything to talk about anyway.

Swerve Strickland doesn’t get why Ospreay isn’t making promises he won’t be able to keep, because that isn’t very World Champion-esque. Fans: “WE CAN’T HEAR YOU!”

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

Bryan Danielson is on commentary and it’s Titan/Shingo Takagi/Hiromu Takahashi for Los Ingobernables. Castagnoli runs Takagi over with a shoulder to start and they slug it out, as you might have expected. A hiptoss puts Castagnoli down and he’s rather impressed. Takahashi comes in for a running hurricanrana to Yuta and it’s off to Titan for a running clothesline in the corner. There’s the big dive to the floor but Castagnoli comes back in and pulls Titan out of the air to take over.

We take a break and come back with Titan kicking Castagnoli’s leg out but it’s off to Moxley, who gets hit in the face. Everything breaks down and it’s a slugout between Moxley and Takagi. Moxley bites his face but gets put down with a clothesline, meaning it’s off to Yuta vs. Takahashi. A rather snappy German suplex sends Takahashi down but he’s back with a Death Valley Driver. Then Moxley hits Takahashi with a chair for the DQ at 10:48.

Rating: B-. It was fun while it lasted but the ending was kind of out of nowhere. Maybe they’re playing up the idea that Moxley is wild and violent before his IWGP World Title defense against Tetsuya Naito on Sunday but it only went so far. Other than that, this was the Club against another group of guest stars, which has kind of been done to death lately.

Post match the brawl is on until Tetsuya Naito comes in for the brawl. Takagi hammers on Yuta until Danielson makes the save.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Jay White vs. Rey Fenix

The rest of the Bang Bang Gang is here with White while Penta El Zero Miedo is here with Fenix. Everyone at ringside wants to grab a chair so the referee ejects them all before the bell. Fenix grabs a very fast rollup for two so White chops away at him to take over. Fenix is right back up with a springboard armdrag to send White outside, which of course means a big dive to take him down again. Back in and White grabs a quick flipping neckbreaker for two as we take a break.

We come back with White firing off more chops but Fenix kicks him down. A frog splash gets a rather delayed two but White spins him into a DDT for a knockdown. The brainbuster gives White two, only to have Fenix reverse the Blade Runner into a rollup for two of his own. Fenix tries the Fire Thunder Driver but White reverses into the Blade Runner for the pin at 9:18.

Rating: C+. This only had so much time and I was expecting a bit more from them. White getting a singles win is almost weird to see as he has spent so much time as part of a team. I’m not sure I can imagine him going very far in the whole thing but giving him a single win isn’t going to hurt anything.

Post match the Bang Bang Gang comes back and here is the Patriarchy to stare them down. Then the Patriarchy leaves.

The Young Bucks blame the Acclaimed for the cheating in last week’s match as the Bucks were pushed to it. With that out of the way, they brag about the Elite’s success and next week, they’ll get to pick their own Wild Card into the Men’s Owen Hart Tournament so the World Title can come to the team.

Here are the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn for a chat. Caster refers to the Bucks as the “cucks” and showed how inept they are at running anything. They’re going to decide when to issue the challenge for the Tag Team Titles….but here is the Elite to interrupt. They get right to the point and issue the challenge for a six man tag at Forbidden Door. Gunn says he’s kind of a big deal and knows a president, so we get a video from Hiroshi Tanahashi, who says he is coming to Forbidden Door to fight the Elite. So did Gunn have that video ready just in case the Elite issued a challenge for a six man?

The Conglomeration is ready to win everything on Sunday, with Kyle O’Reilly calling Zack Sabre Jr. a scalawag. Mark Briscoe goes into a rant about various horrible things that Sabre Jr. is like, including Peppa Pig. Orange Cassidy thinks that went well, which has been the case every time they’ve let Briscoe go insane.

Mina Shirakawa/Toni Storm/Mariah May vs. Outcasts/Anna Jay

May is dragged to the entrance by Storm but stays on the stage to come to the ring with Shirakawa (following a rather snazzy dance routine). Jay and Shirakawa start things off with the former sliding down and dancing a bit. Back up and a springboard kick to the face rocks Jay so it’s off to May for some shaking. Cameron comes in for some elbows to the back but May isn’t sure who she should tag. Instead she stays in, allowing Saraya and Jay to pull Storm and Shirakawa to the floor.

We take a break and come back with May and Cameron grabbing stereo hair takedowns. Storm comes in and sends Saraya flying with a German suplex, setting up the hip attack. Shirakawa tags herself in and everything breaks down, with the Mina Driver (I think) finishing Cameron at 6:57.

Rating: C+. They are playing the heck out of the triangle deal here and it’s working well enough. I’m curious to see where they go on Sunday but odds are they have some kind of a way out of it. Other than that, I’m a bit relieved that Jay didn’t take the pin here, as she seemed to be added for little more than that.

Post match May has the other two toast the champagne. May then dances with Storm, leaving Shirakawa to grab the champagne bottle….which hits May by mistake. Storm is not pleased and seething ensues.

Video on Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer.

Mone is here and says it’s funny that Vaquer isn’t. Vaquer will be wrestling on Collision and Mone will be there too.

Here is the Learning Tree for a chat, with Bryan Keith’s arm in a sling. They aren’t happy with Keith’s arm being injured, but Samoa Joe and company has challenged them to a six man anyway. The Sensei of the Sickos (Chris Jericho that is) has an idea though, so here is their third man: Minoru Suzuki!

But hang on, as Suzuki says he wants to fight Jericho for the FTW Title rather than team with him. Jericho said that he hadn’t watched the video (and that Suzuki was a fellow Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall Of Famer). Cue Samoa Joe and company, with Joe saying this is awkward. Katsuyori Shibata sums up the situation with his computer saying “this guy sucks” and the fight is on, with the Learning Tree bailing.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Orange Cassidy is on commentary and Roderick Strong is watching from ringside. They go to the grappling to start (shocking I know) with O’Reilly flipping over him into a standoff. Sabre goes after the arm but O’Reilly is away just as quickly and we have a standoff. O’Reilly takes over on the mat by cranking on the leg but Sabre slips out and stomps him down as we take a break.

Back with O’Reilly striking away until Sabre pulls him into an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up as well so it’s time for O’Reilly to win a strike off. O’Reilly suplexes him into a cross armbreaker before switching into an ankle lock. That’s broken up so O’Reilly snaps off a German suplex for the knockdown. They exchange kicks to the head and then slap it out until Sabre pulls him into a Disarm-Her for the tap at 10:59.

Rating: B. This was exactly what you would have expected it was going to be from these two and it went rather well. It was two guys who are masters at technical wrestling getting to do their thing for a good while until one of them gave up. Solid match, though I’m still only so interested in seeing Sabre vs. Cassidy on Sunday.

Post match Cassidy goes to the ring to check on O’Reilly as Sabre’s partners, the Mighty Don’t Kneel, come in. Cue Tomohiro Ishii to even things out and the villains run off.

Swerve Strickland/Will Ospreay vs. Gates Of Agony

The Gates jump them at the bell and the beating is on in a hurry. We settle down to Ospreay jumping over Kaun and sending him flying with a monkey flip. A standing moonsault hits Kaun and Swerve gets two, only to have to block an accidental big boot from Ospreay. The distraction lets Liona run both of the over with a clothesline and we take a break.

Back with Swerve kicking his way up from the mat but Kaun pulls Ospreay off the apron to break up the tag. Kaun dropkicks Liona by mistake though and the tag brings Ospreay in to clean house. The standing shooting star press gets two on Kaun but he catches Ospreay on top for a super Jackhammer. Swerve is back with a Stomp from the apron to the floor to take Kaun down. Back in and Ospreay superkicks Swerve by mistake, leaving Kaun to hit a Pounce for two. Swerve is back up but his boot misses Ospreay (in theory) and hits Liona, setting up the Oscutter for two more. The Hidden Blade finishes Liona at 10:08.

Rating: C+. This was about adding more spice to the World Title match and it worked well enough, or at least as well as you can get with the Gates being involved. Strickland vs. Ospreay should be a heck of a match on Sunday, though I’m worried about how overshadowed it might be. Maybe this match boosts it up a bit, but they have some work to do.

Post match Ospreay picks up both titles and gets House Called for his efforts to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The show was fine enough but my goodness I do not care about Forbidden Door and I never can. The show always winds up being good but the build always comes off as “and then we have this person and this person and this person and this person” as guest stars.

It certainly has an audience of some kind, though I can never bring myself to get interested in this. That was on full display this week as we have a bunch of people added to the show at the last minute. Forbidden Door will be good, but I don’t care for the build and never have. Some of the other stuff worked well, like the Women’s Title match and the World Title, but that’s only a portion of a rather long two-plus hour show.

Results
Los Ingobernables de Japon b. Blackpool Combat Club via DQ when Moxley used a chair
Jay White b. Rey Fenix – Blade Runner
Mina Shirakawa/Toni Storm/Mariah May b. Outcasts/Anna Jay – Mina Driver to Cameron
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Kyle O’Reilly – Disarm-Her
Swerve Strickland/Will Ospreay b. Gates Of Agony – Hidden Blade to Liona

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

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AND

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Collision
Date: June 22, 2024
Location: PPL Center, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time to wrap up the build for Forbidden Door, with just over a week to go before the event. In this case we have a major match as Kazuchika Okada will face CMLL legend Ultimo Guerrero in a rather unique international match. Other than that, we have the International Title on the line as Will Ospreay defends against Brian Cage so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Samoa Joe/Hook/Katsuyori Shibata vs. Premiere Athletes

Joe and Tony Nese start things off with Joe running him over off a shoulder. An elbow to the face does it again and it’s off to Hook for some clubberin in the corner. Daivari comes in and takes Hook down for a seated full nelson, with Hook fighting up rather quickly. It’s off to Shibata vs. Woods, who strike it out for a bit before fighting over arm control on the mat. Nese comes in for a cheap shot to the knee but Shibata just sidesteps a top rope moonsault (Joe approves).

In addition to approving, Joe also comes in but a distraction lets Woods get in a neck snap across the top rope to take over. That doesn’t last long either as Joe is back with a backsplash and Hook comes in to beat up the Athletes. Woods manages a release German suplex so Shibata comes back in and dropkicks Nese in the corner. The cross armbreaker finishes Nese at 7:35.

Rating: C+. I’d think we’re done with Joe and company against the Athletes, which we should have been done with a few weeks ago. If nothing else, it’s another case where people treated as bigger deals in Ring Of Honor are massacred on the main roster, but it’s also Joe and company taking longer than they needed to in order to beat a weak set of opponents. Joe and company could have something, but they need better competition.

The Bang Bang Gang isn’t happy that Juice Robinson isn’t an official Trios Champion. Now the House Of Black is getting a title shot so Jay White is going to come back with TEN ABS.

Learning Tree vs. Private Party

Bryan Keith is here with the Learning Tree. Jericho starts with Quen but hands it off to Bill before anything can happen. Bill hammers away in the corner and then sends Quen flying right back out of it. A missed charge gives Quen a breather but Bill drops him with a right hand. Jericho comes in but charges into a boot in the corner, allowing Kassidy to come in and hammer away. The Silly String gives Kassidy two on Jericho and it’s Quen coming back in to rain down his own right hands. Jericho gets in a cheap shot though and we take a break.

Back with Quen managing to knock Jericho down and bring Kassidy back in. The pace is picked up until Jericho knocks Quen down, leaving Kassidy to dive onto Bill. Quen’s 450 gets two on Jericho but Bill gets in a big boot to give Jericho two of his own. A hurricanrana is countered into the Walls but Kassidy makes the rope. The very swinging Boss Man Slam gets two more and Bill chokeslams Quen onto Kassidy for the same. Kassidy is back up with a step up dropkick to Bill and Gin and Juice into a Codebreaker gets two on Jericho. Keith is back up with a foreign object to knock Kassidy silly though, giving Jericho the pin at 14:53.

Rating: C+. The best thing here is the fact that it wasn’t Jericho talking. Jericho having more followers isn’t the worst idea but the talking is quite a bit to take. Beating Private Party is fine, but the Learning Tree needs someone better to feud against than a fairly low level tag team.

Post match the villains go for the beatdown but Hook/Samoa Joe/Katsuyori Shibata come in for the save. The challenge is made for the six man at Forbidden Door. Jericho seems in as Keith seems to have hurt his arm.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Ultimo Guerrero

Non-title and Guerrero is in a mask here despite having lost his mask in 2014. Okada slaps his hand in respect to start and they trade armdrags for an early standoff. We pause for Guerrero to play to the fans as commentary says their Spanish isn’t great. Guerrero plants Okada for two and chops away in the corner before grabbing the chinlock. With that broken up, Guerrero goes after the leg and then the arm, only for Okada to come back with White Noise onto the knee as we take a break.

Back with an exchange of running shots in the corner for a double knockdown. They fight to the floor with Guerrero firing off a chop before heading back inside. Guerrero has to adjust his mask for about the fourteenth time, allowing Okada to come back with the dropkick. Guerrero’s belly to back superplex is broken up but the Rainmaker is blocked as well. Not that it matters as Okada pulls the mask off and hits the Rainmaker for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of what’s wrong with the way these international guest stars are introduced. Guerrero is a legend and has done all kinds of amazing things in wrestling but unless you’ve watched him in CMLL or elsewhere, he’s just a guy who was brought in and lost to Okada in about twelve minutes. If you want to do some kind of dream match, set it up a bit better than just throwing it on Collision with a few days’ notice and nothing from Guerrero coming in.

Dante Martin talks about breaking his leg in a ladder match and some people say he’s crazy for getting in another one. It’s going to take a bit of crazy to make him TNT Champion. Lio Rush comes in and says he has Top Flight’s back, but he wants the TNT Title for himself. They’ll see each other at Forbidden Door.

We look at the Patriarchy attacking Buddy Matthews last week.

Patriarchy vs. Jacked Jameson/Iron Savages

Christian Cage joins commentary, despite being in the match. Bronson takes a sip of the Savage Sauce to start and gets dropped, allowing Wayne to get in a cheap shot from behind. Bronson gets up and hits a backdrop before rubbing Wayne’s face into Boulder’s chest. It’s off to Killswitch to clean house and Wayne dives onto Boulder and Jameson on the floor. Back up and Bronson clotheslines Killswitch to one knee, only for Killswitch to come back with a chokeslam. Now Cage is willing to go to the ring and hit the Killswitch for the pin on Bronson at 4:40.

Rating: C. Jameson and the Savages are at or near the top of the worst acts in all of AEW or ROH and that was the case again here. They talk trash, they do the stupid hairy chest deal, and then they lose. I’m not sure who I was supposed to be cheering for here and the way both teams acted didn’t make it any less complicated.

We look at Mercedes Mone going to Arena Mexico and getting in a big brawl with Stephanie Vaquer. Still not shown in AEW: Vaquer having a match.

Toni Storm/Mariah May vs. Lady Frost/Leyla Hirsch

Storm and Hirsch start things off and fight over a lockup with neither being able to get very far. Storm front facelocks her into the corner and brings May in to chop away at Frost. A running hip attack puts Frost on the floor and we take a break. Back with Storm hitting a Backstabber out of the corner for two on Hirsch.

A cross armbreaker has Storm in trouble but May hits a running knee for the save. Stereo hip attacks miss in the corners though and Hirsch hits running knees on May (Nigel: “SHE’S JUST A CHILD!!!”). Everything breaks down and Storm and May hit stereo German suplexes. The running hip attacks set up Storm Zero to pin Hirsch at 8:05.

Rating: C+. Not bad here and a good way to show Storm and May working well together. That’s the kind of thing that plays into the story with May needing to pick between Storm and Mina Shirakawa, which continues to be one of the best things going into Forbidden Door. I’m still not sure why I’m supposed to be interested in Shirakawa, but I’ll take what I can get.

Serena Deeb talks about being on a losing streak but she won’t give up. Open challenge next week.

House Of Black vs. LSG/MSG

Black and MSG start things off with Black striking away, as you might have expected. King comes in and chops the soul from LSG, setting up Dante’s Inferno to finish MSG at 1:52.

Post break the House Of Black says revenge is a straight line and they feel nothing.

Hechicero vs. Matt Menard

The Gates Of Agony are here with Hechicero. Menard strikes away to start and is quickly knocked out to the floor. Hechicero bites away at his head and hits a backdrop before snapping Menard’s arm. A missed charge in the corner lets Menard strike away and a cutter gets two. Hechicero is right back with the headscissor driver into an armbar using his legs for the tap at 3:19.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t exactly a major showcase for Hechicero and I’m still not sure why he is the one getting MJF’s first pay per view match after six months away. He has some cool technical stuff and his match with Bryan Danielson was rather good, but it was only kind of on display here. Also, they didn’t have anyone other than Menard to be the designated victim here? Why do that to one of your commentators?

We get a rather emotional interview with Jeff Jarrett talking about his friendship with Owen Hart. Jarrett, fighting back tears, talks about how he wants to be there for Owen’s kids and how this means more to him than anything else. This was really good, though it’s hard to imagine that Jarrett is making it past the first round.

International Title: Will Ospreay vs. Brian Cage

Ospreay is defending and Cage charges at him in the corner to start. The champ gets dropped fast and his running hurricanrana attempt is pulled out of the air. Cage misses a charge over the top though and Ospreay takes him out with a slingshot dive. We take a break and come back with Ospreay fighting out of a bearhug and scoring with an enziguri.

A Phenomenal Forearm gets two on Cage but he snaps off a German suplex to drop Ospreay again. The apron superplex gets two on Ospreay so the fans try to get behind him. Ospreay is back with a shot to the face but the Hidden Blade and Oscutter are both blocked. A sitout powerbomb puts Cage down for no cover and they slug it out from their knees. Cage is back up with an F5 for two and we take another break.

Back again with Ospreay firing off some kicks to the face but Cage gives him a helicopter bomb. Ospreay’s hard shot to the head gets two so he puts Cage up. The super hurricanrana is loaded up but Cage reverses into a super swinging powerslam (that’s a new one) for two. They go up top again and this time the super hurricanrana puts Cage down. A Stundog Millionaire into a poisonrana drops Cage and the Oscutter gets two. The Hidden Blade finishes Cage at 17:21.

Rating: B. It’s the kind of match where the ending wasn’t in doubt and that’s perfectly fine. Ospreay can get an audience into just about anything and that’s what he did here. There is something fun about watching Ospreay fight back against a monster and win in the end, though I’m still not sure if I can imagine him winning the World Title next weekend.

Overall Rating: B-. Your taste in this show is going to depend on whether you like the international guest stars and the Learning Tree. That and the main event were the majority of this show and it went well enough, with a bit more interest than in most weeks. I’m not sure what they are going to do once Forbidden Door is over as it is going to take away a lot of their content, but hopefully they have something to make up for it.

Results
Samoa Joe/Hook/Katsuyori Shibata b. Premiere Athletes – Cross armbreaker to Nese
Learning Tree b. Private Part­ – Foreign object to Kassidy
Kazuchika Okada b. Ultimo Guerrero – Rainmaker
Patriarchy b. Jacked Jameson/Iron Savages – Killswitch to Bronson
Toni Storm/Mariah May b. Leyla Hirsch/Lady Frost – Storm Zero to Hirsch
House Of Black b. LSG/MSG – Dante’s Inferno to MSG
Hechicero b. Matt Menard – Armbar
Will Ospreay b. Brian Cage – Hidden Blade

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

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AND

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

Collision
Date: June 15, 2024
Location: Covelli Center, Youngstown, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re closing in on Forbidden Door but we have a holiday weekend to get through first. As a result, we get Christian Cage celebrating Father’s Day, which could go in a variety of directions. Other than that, CMLL Hechicero is here to face Dalton Castle, which could be rather good. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Christian Cage welcomes us to the one year anniversary of Collision. He put this show on the map the first week it was on the air when he won the TNT Title (not quite) and tonight he’s here to celebrate the most important holiday of the year.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Lio Rush/Rocky Romero/TMDK

Rush and Danielson start things off with Rush flipping around to make Danielson miss. Yuta can’t catch Rush either so it’s off to Romero, who gets pummeled into the corner. Castagnoli comes in and gets caught in a hurricanrana, allowing the tag to Mikey Nicholls (part of TMDK, along with Shane Haste). Danielson pulls him into the LeBell Lock but everything breaks down, including the hold. Instead, Danielson fires off the kicks to the chest but gets knocked to the apron as we take a break.

Back with Romero hitting the Forever Clotheslines on Danielson, who grabs a super atomic drop of all things for the break. Castagnoli comes in and gets to clean house, including going to the floor to keep up the beating. Back in and Nicholls has to break up the Swing to Haste so Moxley grabs a quick cutter. A double clothesline puts Moxley an Nicholls down, with Rush adding a frog splash for two on Moxley. Danielson is back in with the running knee to Nicholls but gets knocked outside again. The Swing sends Romero flying and Moxley Death Riders Rush for the pin at 13:23.

Rating: B-. What else were you expecting from an established team against a makeshift team? I get the idea of facing wrestlers from New Japan before Forbidden Door, but it would be nice if more than one of the eight people involved had a match on the show announced. Not a bad match, but it was more waiting around for the Club to win than anything else.

Post match Moxley grabs the mic and says Forbidden Door will be Tetsuya Naito’s final chance at the title. Moxley is coming to end him once and for all.

Video on MJF vs. Rush.

Here are the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn for a chat. Caster talks about how he has been fined $5,000 by the Young Bucks, but that isn’t what the fans want. The fans want to see them do their thing and for the Acclaimed to win the Tag Team Titles on Dynamite. Bowens talks about how they’ll do anything to get the titles back but here is Brandon Cutler to cut off the rap. More fining ensues but here is Christopher Daniels to say Tony Khan has reversed the fines. Daniels drops Cutler and the Acclaimed give him Scissor Me Timbers. We needed a full segment for that announcement? With two authority figures?

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Thunder Rosa

No DQ and Purrazzo jumps her from behind during the entrance. Rosa sends things outside and hits a dive off the ropes to the floor. Back up and Purrazzo slams the arm into the steps and it’s time to bring in the weapons. Rosa’s Death Valley Driver gets two but she takes too long getting a table, which is dropkicked into her face.

We take a break and come back with Rosa kicking a chair into Purrazzo’s face and Samoan dropping her onto an unopened table. Purrazzo catches Rosa on top and ties her in the Tree of Woe for a running shoulder. Rosa is right back up to put a trashcan over Purrazzo’s head and then dives off a table to crush her in the corner. Purrazzo fights back and tries the Venus de Milo but can’t quite get it on. Instead she goes outside and grabs a camera from a photographer, which she uses to knock Rosa silly. A double arm crank in the ropes finishes the unconscious Rosa at 10:26.

Rating: C+. If you’re going to have what seems to be some big blowoff match, or at least what should be a major match in their feud, you might not want to have about a third of it taking place during a break. I like the ending with Purrazzo knocking her senseless but then making sure she won submission anyway as it suits her and should give Purrazzo a nice boost. Rosa has been missing something since her return and it didn’t get much better here.

Video on the first year of Collision.

Dalton Castle vs. Hechicero

Castle even has the Outrunners as some of his Boys while Hechicero has the Gates of Agony. Hechicero takes Castle down to start but has to spin out of a quick Bang A Rang attempt. Back up and Castle grabs a suplex before kicking Hechicero square in the mask. Hechicero is right back with a running knee in the corner and a headscissors driver for the pin at 3:50.

Rating: C. What in the world was that? This was the match that had me the most intrigued and then it just ends like that? I was hoping this would get some time and let Castle showcase himself but we just didn’t get anything close here. For the life of me I don’t get how there isn’t a better use for Castle, even if it isn’t as a featured star. He’s good enough for a bigger spot.

Post match the beatdown is on so the Outrunners come in and…are taken down with ease. Daniel Garcia and Matt Menard run in with chairs for the save.

Dante Martin is ready for a TNT Title qualifying match against Lee Moriarty tonight. Lio Rush comes in to wish him luck and says he’ll see them later. Tony Schiavone is confused.

Here is the Patriarchy to introduce Christian Cage. Christian talks about how this is the anniversary of the death of Buddy Wayne (Nick’s dad), which is the best thing that ever happened to Nick. Speaking of Nick, he has a Father’s Day card for Christian, talking about how he hopes to be as good as Christian.

Killswitch has made a painting of Christian, which he thinks is ok, before raving about the card again. As for Killswitch, why can’t he be more like Nick? Killswitch goes to leave, but Christian calls him back. Cage wants the World Title but he’ll start with winning the Trios Titles. It’s his present to his children, just like Tony Khan’s father gave him the money to start AEW. Well from now on, this is Christian’s company. He is the greatest signing in this company’s history and now he is Tony Khan’s father. Well at least that’s something new for him to do.

The Bang Bang Gang know they have a lot of challengers and the Patriarchy can get in line.

TNT Title Qualifying Match: Dante Martin vs. Lee Moriarty

They trade takedown attempts to start and neither get anywhere. Moriarty takes him down by the leg but misses a charge and crashes out to the floor. There’s a dropkick through the ropes to drop Moriarty again and we take a break. Back with Martin hitting a springboard spinning crossbody for two but Moriarty faceplants him down. The Border City Stretch goes on and Moriarty even stomps the hand, only to have Martin make the rope anyway. Martin comes back with a knee out of the corner and a frog splash for the pin at 8:53.

Rating: C+. This was pretty much exactly what you probably expected it to be, meaning that while the action was good, the result wasn’t quite shocking. Martin has been in those ladder matches before as he’s there for the high flying aspect, while Moriarty is little more than part of a losing team. Perfectly fine use of a match, but not much in the way of drama.

Post match Shane Taylor Promotions comes in for the beatdown but Darius Martin and Action Andretti make the failed save attempt as they’re beaten down as well. Lio Rush comes in to make the real save as Dante seems to have suffered an arm injury.

Hikaru Shida is in the Owen Hart Cup.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Anthony Henry

Roderick Strong, with the Kingdom, is on commentary. They go to the mat to start with O’Reilly backdropping hits way out of an armbar. Henry grabs a Russian legsweep and kicks away, but O’Reilly just gets annoyed. Back up and O’Reilly suplexes him into the cross armbreaker for the win at 2:50.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Bang Bang Gang vs. House Of Black

Non-title, with commentary making it clear that the Bang Bang Gang is NOT using the Freebird Rule. Black runs Robinson over to start and then sits up to freak Robinson out a bit. Austin comes in, hits Black in the face, and then hands it off to Colten, who gets to face King. The Gang is quickly cleared from the ring but run back in to cut off the dive. The brawl goes back to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Robinson snapping off a suplex to Black, followed by a leg lariat for two. Robinson grabs the chinlock (“ASK HIM!”) but spends too much time shouting about a CANNONBALL before he misses one. Matthews comes in and gets to clean house, including a Jackhammer to Austin. The top rope Meteora connects but Matthews hurts his knee on the landing.

We take another break and come back with Matthews having been taken to the back. Robinson’s Cannonball gets two on King, who manages a shot of his own and brings Black back in. A German suplex gets two on Austin but Colten’s running shot to the back gets the same. The 3:10 To Yuma hits King but he isn’t legal. Cue Pac to distract Austin, allowing Black to hit the End for the pin at 18:24.

Rating: B-. Oh that knee did not seem like a good thing and now all we can do is wait and see how it is going. Matthews is one of the more entertaining guys in all of AEW and it would be terrible to see him added to their already long injured list. In theory the House is coming after the Trios Titles again, but now we’ll have to see just how bad things are. In other words, the result might not matter, which is a shame as it was a pretty good match.

Post match the Patriarchy pops up on screen, revealing that they have laid out Matthews with a Conchairto to end the show. That’s a really scary sign for Matthews, but I wonder if they had something similar planned with or without the knee injury.

Overall Rating: C+. That’s how Collision works. It’s a show where it feels like the biggest stars aren’t going to bother, leaving a bunch of things that don’t feel overly important. There are things happening, but what was the big development here? Purrazzo winning? Martin qualifying for a match he isn’t going to win? Between this and Rampage, it’s a lot of time being spent on things that don’t feel overly important, especially with Dynamite so crammed full. As usual, Collision was ok, but it’s not something you need to watch straight through.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club b. Lio Rush/Rocky Romero/TMDK – Death Rider to Rush
Deonna Purrazzo b. Thunder Rosa – Double arm crank in the ropes
Hechicero b. Dalton Castle – Headscissors driver
Dante Martin b. Lee Moriarty – Frog splash
Kyle O’Reilly b. Anthony Henry – Cross armbreaker
House Of Black b. Bang Bang Gang – The End to Austin

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Dynamite
Date: June 5, 2024
Location: Blue Arena, Loveland, Colorado
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Taz, Excalibur

We’re coming up on Forbidden Door and now we have the World Title match set, as Will Ospreay will challenge Swerve Strickland. Other than that, it’s going to be time to see which guest stars we have for the show, some of whom might pop up for the first time this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is MJF to get things going and he references being high on weed to start. He shills his new merch and tickets for Forbidden Door before talking about the people who have shown up while he’s gone. First up we have the Rainmaker, who looks like he can’t even afford a gym membership. Then you have Swerve Strickland, who says he’s a business mogul but apparently he skipped public speaking classes at business school.

Finally we have a guy with a cockney accent saying he’s the best in the world. MJF lists off a bunch of people better than Will Ospreay, including himself. He carried this place but then when he was gone healing up, people tried to smear his name. Cue Rush to say like every other American, MJF never shuts up. Where are Rush’s celebration and big moment?

MJF: “I didn’t get any of that.” Maybe Brandon Cutler is running the audio because no one can hear him. He asks if anyone could hear him before doing his version of It Doesn’t Matter. MJF casually suggests that Rush is a nepo baby before praising Rush’s successes. Sure Rush has beaten some of the best, but MJF is the best. MJF goes into some Spanglish before the fight is on, with security and Christopher Daniels breaking it up. This was MJF showing the insane charisma that he has, though starting with Rush, even in a one off match, is a little weird.

Video on Roderick Strong before his World Title shot tonight.

Orange Cassidy vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jay Lethal vs. Rey Fenix

For an International Title shot next week. The bell rings and Excalibur’s copy for the WOO Energy spot pops up on screen as Lethal clears the ring but poses instead of diving. Cassidy is back in to send Lethal to the apron but O’Reilly grabs Cassidy for an armbar. Fenix comes back to clear things out, only to pose too long so Lethal can get in a shot from behind.

The Lethal Injection is cut off by O’Reilly and Fenix kicks Lethal in the head. Everyone gets kicked down and we get a four way breather. We take a break and come back with Fenix diving in to break up a cover, leaving all of them down again. Lethal grabs a Figure Four on Cassidy and O’Reilly grabs a guillotine on Fenix. Lethal lets go to save Fenix so O’Reilly grabs Lethal for a cross armbreaker. Cassidy and Fenix break that up until Cassidy puts Fenix down with a DDT. Back up and Lethal takes everyone out before trying a Figure Four on Fenix, which is reversed into a small package for the pin at 8:34.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match that is almost always going to be entertaining and it worked well here. Lethal was good as the normal wrestler who wasn’t going nuts for long stretches out there while the other three did their collective things. Fenix vs. Ospreay will be fine for a big flashy title match next week and that’s all it needed to set up.

Post match Trent Beretta and Don Callis come out, with the latter throwing a chair inside. Cassidy grabs a chain to even things up but here is Kris Statlander to get between them. Stokely Hathaway comes out to threaten Cassidy with Statlander violence…and then Statlander decks Cassidy. Since Cassidy can’t bring himself to hit Statlander, Willow Nightingale runs in to chase her off. That feels like a mixed tag in the making.

Chris Jericho goes all educational to his driver. Then he does it to the camera operator too.

Willow Nightingale is annoyed at losing her TBS Title but she’s ticked off at Kris Statlander. Orange Cassidy comes in for a fist bump. Nightingale was showing some intensity here and it worked.

Christopher Daniels comes out to announce the next TNT Title qualifying match.

Mark Briscoe vs. Brian Cage

Mark Briscoe’s ROH World Title isn’t on the line (he won it two months ago today and has yet to have a title defense). Briscoe starts fast and sends him outside for a dropkick through the ropes. Cage is back with a ram into the barricade, setting up the apron superplex for the crash as we take a break.

Back with Briscoe applying Redneck Kung Fu as Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita are watching from the crowd. Briscoe grabs an exploder suplex for two and Cage is sent outside. That means Briscoe can use a chair for the step up flip dive but Cage is right back with a helicopter bomb. Briscoe shrugs that off and knocks him down again, setting up the froggy bow for the pin at 10:15.

Rating: C. This was pretty much what you would expect from Briscoe vs. Cage and it wasn’t exactly great. I’m not sure why how but they’ve managed to make the Ring Of Honor World Title feel that much more worthless. That’s a heck of a trick, but I wasn’t sure if Briscoe was going to win here and Cage almost never wins.

Jack Perry says he’s going to win the TNT Title.

The Premiere Athletes interrupt Samoa Joe and Hook, with Hook’s Funions being knocked away. Joe holds Hook back from violence, saying people like them pick their spots.

Chris Jericho and company educate Matt Menard and Angelo Parker about commentary and parenting.

The Acclaimed come out for their rap but the Young Bucks (the subject) cut them off.

Swerve Strickland calls MJF a little b**** and says he’s ready for Will Ospreay. He’s proud of Team AEW, but next time, include the World Champion.

Video on Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer, which is title for title at Forbidden Door.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Team CMLL

Wheeler Yuta is back from injury for the first time since January and it’s Rugido/Magnus/Volador Jr./Esfinge. Thankfully Excalibur is there to tell us that Magnus is the one with his back to the camera. This would be more informative if he didn’t say it when all four had their backs to the camera. It’s a brawl to start and all eight head out to the floor.

We settle down to Danielson and Rugido chopping it out but it’s quickly off to the parade of strikes. Team CMLL clears the ring and hit stereo dives, setting up Magnus’ 619 for two on Danielson. Everything breaks down again and Hart plays Bret in a Hart Attack on Magnus. Yuta’s Fastball Special connects and we take an early break.

Back with Moxley striking away on Magnus, who manages to enziguri his way to freedom. Esfinge comes in to monkey flip Castagnoli and then grabs a leg tie rollup for two. Castagnoli cuts off the running knees with the Swing to Magnus and Moxley adds the dropkick. Volador is back in with a sunset flip for two and Rugido’s powerslam gets the same on Yuta. Back up and Yuta hits the Angle Slam, setting up the seat belt to pin Rugido at 11:58.

Rating: B-. This is the definition of “it’s not for me”. The action was good and the CMLL guys are talented, but this felt like little more than an exhibition as you had people coming in from a different promotion and getting a match against a top faction because it’s Forbidden Door season. I’m sure the CMLL guys will have a match at the pay per view and it will be good, but it’s likely nothing that is going to interest me very much.

Chris Jericho explains how to scoop chicken and dumplings. I have no idea who thinks this is funny but they should be severely punished.

Video on Daniel Garcia.

The Acclaimed threaten the Young Bucks.

Post break the Young Bucks talk to the Patriarchy, with Christian Cage wanting another title shot. They agree to keep up their partnership.

Mariah May vs. Saraya

Toni Storm/Luther and Harley Cameron/Zak Knight are here too. May wears an Outcasts jacket to the ring so Saraya jumps her to start fast. The big chase is on with May getting suckered into a superkick so Saraya can look at the camera. May is sent hard into the barricade and we take a break.

Back with May winning a slugout and hitting a hard headbutt. May hurricanranas her out of the corner and hits a missile dropkick for two. The running hip attack gives May two but Saraya is back up with Rampage for the same. Saraya grabs the Scorpion Crosslock for the win at 9:06.

Rating: C. This was a weird situation as Saraya hasn’t been doing much of anything lately and she beat May, who has at least been presented as a big deal, clean. The match wasn’t exactly great either, as Saraya isn’t exactly as sharp in the ring as she used to be. Maybe we’re getting ready for Saraya to be in a title match down the line, but otherwise this was way out of left field.

Post match Storm comes in to check on May but the Outcasts beat Storm and May down. Mina Shirakawa runs in for the save. May hugs both Mina and Toni.

Chris Jericho tells Private Party that they should open up their party and make it public. An argument ensues.

Bryan Danielson is happy with Wheeler Yuta for winning but isn’t happy with his own losses. He isn’t done with his last year yet though and now he wants in on the Owen Hart Cup to go on to a World Title shot at All In. Danielson getting fired up for anything is a good thing, but it’s still hard to fathom him winning anything big.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Roderick Strong

Swerve is defending and Prince Nana/the Kingdom are here too. They go technical to start until Swerve grabs a headscissors into an armdrag. It’s too early for the House Call though and Strong bails out to the floor. Back in and Swerve starts in on Strong’s knee but an Undisputed Kingdom distraction breaks up the Swerve Stomp. Strong backbreakers Swerve onto the turnbuckle but his dropkick through the ropes is blocked. Swerve posts him hard and we take a break.

Back with Swerve fighting out of a seated abdominal stretch and starting the comeback. The middle rope elbow to the back sets up a brainbuster for two and we slow down a bit. The powerbomb into a powerslam gets two on Strong but the threat of the House Call sends Strong outside. They go outside with Swerve diving onto the Kingdom, allowing Strong to send him into the steps. Back in and Strong hits a Codebreaker to cut off a comeback. The Sick Kick gives Strong two but Swerve sends him to the apron for the Stomp. Back in and the House Call retains the title at 14:10.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match where you know it’s going to be good because the wrestlers are rather talented. Strong isn’t going to be a top level challenger but he is perfect for a spot like this as he made Swerve look good. Rather nice main event here, and sometimes you just need to have that kind of a match.

Overall Rating: C+. They were having a weird balancing act here as it was a mixture of good to ok at best wrestling, the Forbidden Door stuff (which I find a chore to get through) and whatever the heck they’re trying for with those Jericho segments. Those things were TERRIBLE and not in a way that makes me want to see someone beat Jericho (whomever that is going to be as he doesn’t seem to have any serious challenges at the moment) but rather wanting to wring the neck of whomever allowed it on TV. There are good parts to this show and it is NOT bad, but egads the rough parts ranged from boring to dreadful.

Results
Rey Fenix b. Jay Lethal, Orange Cassidy and Kyle O’Reilly – Small package to Lethal
Mark Briscoe b. Brian Cage – Froggy Bow
Blackpool Combat Club b. Team CMLL – Seat Belt to Rugido
Saraya b. Mariah May – Scorpion Crosslock
Swerve Strickland b. Roderick Strong – House Call

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

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Collision
Date: May 18, 2024
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another three hour block on Saturday night, starting with this one. The show is likely going to feature some buildup for Dynamite, though hopefully it also includes some effort to get ready for Double Or Nothing next Sunday. The show could use some extra buildup and it would be nice to see some of it here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Will Ospreay vs. Shane Taylor

Anthony Ogogo is here with Ospreay and the Undisputed Kingdom comes out to watch at ringside. Ospreay dropkicks him to the floor to start and takes Taylor down with a dive, followed by a springboard back inside. Taylor hits a hard shoulder to put Ospreay down so Matt Taven goes after Ospreay, meaning Taylor gets to yell a bit. Ospreay manages to post Taylor and send him into Taven. Ogogo uses the distraction to get in a cheap shot on Ospreay as we take a break.

Back with Ospreay hitting a handspring kick to the head to stagger Taylor, setting up a top rope shot to the back of said head. The Hidden Blade is blocked and Taylor’s running splash gets two. One heck of a clothesline gives Taylor the same and he blocks the Oscutter, setting up a Marcus Garvey Driver for two more. The package piledriver is blocked so Taylor goes up, only to get caught with the Cheeky Nandos Kick. The Storm Driver out of the corner gives Ospreay the pin at 9:53.

Rating: B-. Ospreay is put in trouble and fights back to win over the monster in the end. That’s a perfectly fine way to go and gives Ospreay a nice victory on the way to his title shot. The problem continues to be that the International Title feels way beneath Ospreay and the more he’s built up, the bigger that problem becomes. Unless they have some kind of genius way out, Ospreay almost has to win the title, and he’s being built up well if he’s going to become the new champion.

Post match the Undisputed Kingdom goes after Ospreay, who takes them out like he’s a big star and they’re a bunch of goons.

Team AEW is happy with Darby Allin joining the team with Eddie Kingston out injured. Tonight, they’re ready for Lance Archer and the Righteous.

Jon Moxley is ready to face Konosuke Takeshita at Double Or Nothing. The BCC fights for violence, with Claudio Castagnoli saying he hates talking because it should be about going out there to fight.

Chris Jericho and Big Bill aren’t happy with Hook for attacking them, but Jericho likes Hook showing that kind of fire. That’s why Jericho is here, because Hook needs someone to teach him.

Hook vs. Johnny TV

This is a qualifying match for a triple threat match for a future FTW Title shot and Taya Valkyrie is here with TV. Hook takes him down to start and goes for the arm but TV’s rollup gets two. A suplex and clothesline put TV down and Hook counters a high kick into another suplex. Taya’s distraction lets TV hit the Flying Chuck but Starship Pain misses, allowing Hook to grab Redrum for the tap at 3:27.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do much here but I like Hook getting to do something other than the hardcore matches. He’s only going to get so much out of those, so putting him in here with a veteran, even in a short match, is going to let him learn a bit more. Now just let him beat Jericho into the ground (again) and he might be able to move on to something a bit better.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Rocky Romero

Another FTW qualifying match. They go technical to start with Shibata grabbing the arm before switching into a Figure Four. That’s broken up so Romero grabs an Octopus, which is reversed into another Figure Four. Romero is out again and grabs a tornado DDT as we take a break.

Back with Romero kicking at the arm, with Shibata telling him to keep it up. Shibata chops away but Romero ties him in the ropes for a middle rope dropkick. Sliced Bread doesn’t work for Romero, who comes up favoring his leg, meaning Shibata can grab a kneebar. Romero makes the rope so Shibata suplexes him for two more. With that broken up, Shibata goes back to the Figure Four for the win at 10:01.

Rating: B-. Perfectly acceptable, if not good, wrestling here with Shibata picking apart a limb and then working it over until Romero gave up. That helps to make up for the lack of drama, as Romero winning wouldn’t have made much sense. Romero might not be the most interesting star, but he’s a rather strong hand in the ring, which is a very valuable thing to have.

Bryan Keith vs. Beefcake Boulder

This is the final FTW qualifying match, making me wonder how the participants were chosen. Boulder has Bronson and Jacked Jameson with him, the latter of whom talks about how much trash he has seen in this city. Keith gets knocked into the corner to start but slips out of a slam and kicks away at the leg. Jameson offers a distraction but Keith uses it to send Bronson into Boulder’s hairy chest. Diamond Dust finishes Bronson at 1:43. Well that was fast.

Pac doesn’t care about what Bullet Club Gold has been saying to them. He wants them to make him feel something and care. The interviewer can leave him alone too.

We look back at Mercedes Mone and Willow Nightingale signing a contract on Dynamite.

Bullet Club Gold appears for a match but they have attacked Pac and carried him out to the stage. Much like in the previous match: well that was fast.

Christian Cage tells Nick Wayne that he has a warmup match tonight before he faces Swerve Strickland on Dynamite. Wayne thanks Cage for turning him into a man.

Orange Cassidy vs. Isiah Kassidy

We’ll go with first names to make things a bit more simple. Orange flips around to start and they go to the mat, with Orange grabbing a quickly broken surfboard. Isiah avoids the Orange Punch so Orange hits a suicide dive as Don Callis is watching in the back. There’s the running dropkick against the barricade…and here is Trent Beretta in the crowd. The distraction lets Isiah get in a whip to the barricade, setting up a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.

We take a break and come back with Orange countering a piledriver attempt on the steps. They get back in where Stundog Millionaire and the spinning DDT plant Isiah. Both of them head to the apron where Orange kicks him out to the floor. Another Beretta distraction lets Isiah get in a cheap shot, allowing him to use the referee for the Silly String. Orange pops up and hits the Beach Break for the pin at 12:12.

Rating: C+. They’re piling up the nice matches without much in the way of drama over the winner. Orange vs. Beretta is continuing, likely in some big showdown at Double Or Nothing, which should be where Orange gets his big win to win the feud for good. Another pretty good match here, as it helps move towards something important down the line.

Post break Beretta says he’s better than Cassidy, who had to cheat to beat him. The challenge is on for Double Or Nothing, with Cassidy pulling him over the barricade.

Serena Deeb vs. Anna Jay

Deeb starts fast and elbows away, setting up a swinging neckbreaker for two. Jay gets tied up in a Paradise Lock for the running dropkick. Back up and Jay snaps off a northern lights suplex, only to get neckbreakered over the middle rope. We take a break and come back with Jay fighting out of an abdominal stretch and grabbing a Downward Spiral for two. Deeb ties her in the ropes for a dragon screw legwhip, followed by a hammerlock lariat for two of her own. The Queenslayer goes on out of nowhere and Deeb has to flip out. A faceplant into the Serenity Lock makes Jay tap at 8:34.

Rating: C. Much like the Shibata match earlier, Deeb picked Jay apart and made her give up in the end. That’s a perfectly fine way to go, but my goodness it would be nice to have Jay either be some up and coming star or cannon fodder for the biggest stories. This is what she’s been doing for a long time now and she’s not getting anywhere new as a result.

Post match Luther comes out and steals Deeb’s flag. Mariah May comes out to hold the flag up so Toni Storm can come to the stage and disrobe behind it. The flag is wrapped around Storm and the villains leave.

Video on Swerve Strickland vs. Christian Cage.

Nick Wayne vs. Jack Cartwheel

Wayne jumps him to start and stomps away but Cartwheel fights back up. Cartwheel sends him outside, where Wayne pulls a Samoa Joe by sidestepping the big dive. Back in and Wayne’s World connects….for no cover. Instead it’s a Swerve Strickland House Call for the pin on Cartwheel at 2:19.

FTR/Bryan Danielson vs. Righteous/Lance Archer

Harwood and Vincent fight over a lockup to start, with the latter whipping him hard into the corner. That’s broken up and Harwood snaps off a suplex before a double slam gives Wheeler two. It’s off to Dutch so Wheeler snaps off some jabs, allowing Harwood to come back in for a Russian legsweep. The fans want Danielson as everything breaks down and we take a break.

Back with Harwood fighting out of a chinlock but Vincent drops him again. Harwood sends Archer into the corner and avoids Dutch’s elbow drop, allowing the tag back to Danielson to start cleaning house. Dutch gets low bridged to the floor and the suicide dive connects. Everything breaks down and Archer has to save Dutch from the LeBell Lock. Autumn Sunshine gets two, with Wheeler having to make the save. Vincent gets PowerPlexed but Danielson has to break up the Blackout. That leaves Vincent to walk into the Shatter Machine for the pin at 12:52.

Rating: B. This was the best match on the show and that shouldn’t be a big surprise given the talent involved. Danielson can make anything work and FTR is still probably the best team in the company. The villains did their job well enough before ultimately falling to the better team. Commentary kept talking about how Archer and the Righteous were doing this at the Elite’s bidding so at least it ties into the bigger story.

Post match the villains beat Danielson and FTR down, including a bunch of chair shots to Harwood’s ribs. Wheeler gets Blacked Out onto a chair but Daniel Garcia comes out with a chair of his own for the save.

Overall Rating: B. Collision is such a weird show. The wrestling ranges from fine to good, but two hours of little more than setting up things for Dynamite and supplements to the midcard feuds makes for a long, long sit. Throw in Rampage after and it’s even more tedious. That makes it all the more frustrating as this is by no means a bad show and I enjoy it more than Dynamite most of the time. You just have to remember that very rarely is anything big going to happen and it’s much more about setting things up for Dynamite, where everything happens. That makes for a rather good, yet at times tedious, two hours.

Results
Will Ospreay b. Shane Taylor – Storm Driver
Hook b. Johnny TV – Redrum
Katsuyori Shibata b. Rocky Romero – Figure Four
Bryan Keith b. Beefcake Boulder – Diamond Dust
Orange Cassidy b. Isiah Kassidy – Beach Break
Nick Wayne b. Jack Cartwheel – House Call
Bryan Danielson/FTR b. Righteous/Lance Archer – Shatter Machine to Vincent

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

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Dynamite
Date: May 15, 2024
Location: Angel Of The Winds Arena, Everett, Washington
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

We’re a week and a half away from Double Or Nothing and that means we could be in for a show building towards the pay per view. In this case, we have the Blackpool Combat Club vs. the Don Callis Family in what should be quite the fight. Other than that, Swerve Strickland needs some revenge on Brian Cage. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Don Callis Family vs. Blackpool Combat Club

Kyle Fletcher and Jeff Cobb for the Family here, with the latter as a hired gun for the week. The brawl starts on the floor with Danielson’s music still playing and the Club taking over. We settle down for the bell ringing and Danielson striking away at Cobb in the corner. Moxley comes in for a running dropkick to the leg in the corner as the Club starts picking Cobb apart.

Fletcher comes in and fires off some chops, which don’t have much effect on Moxley. A superplex gives Moxley two but Cobb breaks up a cross armbreaker attempt. Fletcher is draped over the top rope so Danielson can hit a top rope knee as we take a break. Back with Moxley staggering out of the corner and snapping off a suplex to Cobb. Danielson comes back in and starts firing off the strikes but Cobb suplexes him out of the air. Moxley and Fletcher trade kicks to the face until Cobb runs Moxley over. What looks to be a Doomsday Device is broken up though and Moxley Death Riders Fletcher for the pin at 12:58.

Rating: B-. Yes the Ring Of Honor TV Champion took the fall again and yes that happens over and over again and yes you are still expected to pay to see the television show (which isn’t on television) he represents. The match was the usual big party fight that you see around here, with Cobb looking like a monster as tends to be the case whenever he’s in AEW. Just find someone other than Fletcher to take the fall next time? Or have him drop the title?

Post match the Family goes after Moxley again but Claudio Castagnoli runs in for the save.

Video on Swerve Strickland vs. Christian Cage.

Here is Adam Copeland for a chat but the House Of Black jumps him from behind. Copeland is knocked out and Malakai Black steals his wedding ring. Kyle O’Reilly tries to make the save but gets beaten down as well.

We look at Eddie Kingston being injured at a New Japan event over the weekend at the hands of the Elite.

The Elite mocks Kingston for getting hurt and think Anarchy In The Arena will be 4-3.

The Young Bucks have their own shoes. Sure.

FTR thinks they have a replacement for Anarchy In The Arena. More on this later.

Young Bucks vs. Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels

Non-title and Jack Perry is on commentary. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll only refer to Sydal as Sydal and Matt Buck as Matt. Sydal rolls Matt up to start and it’s quickly off to Daniels to hammer away in the corner. Nick comes in and cleans house, followed by Matt’s top rope ax handle to Sydal as we take a break. Back with Daniels coming in to beat up the Bucks, including a Downward Spiral/DDT combination. Sydal misses a dive to the floor though and Matt sends him over the barricade, leaving Daniels to get Tony Khan Drivered for the pin at 8:32.

Rating: C+. This was about what it seemed likely to be, with the Bucks getting beaten up for a bit and then winning in the end. Daniels and Sydal weren’t exactly a major threat to them and it lets the Bucks get a win before going into the pay per view. You know, because they haven’t looked strong enough lately.

Post match the Bucks yell at Daniels for talking down to him last week. They’re trying to clean up the toxicity in the locker room so Daniels is fired. Perry pours a drink on Tony Schiavone too.

Toni Storm, while holding Mariah May, threatens Harley Cameron.

Malakai Black looks at Adam Copeland’s wedding ring and accepts his challenge for a barbed wire steel cage match at Double Or Nothing.

Hook vs. Sebastian Wolfe

Redrum in 28 seconds.

Post match Hook calls out Chris Jericho, so here he is, along with Big Bill. Jericho doesn’t want to hurt Hook but offers him a qualifying match to get a title shot. Hook likes the idea and then hits him in the face, only to have Big Bill get involved. Katsuyori Shibata makes the save.

Swerve Strickland is ready for Christian Cage but first he has to take out Brian Cage.

Swerve Strickland vs. Brian Cage

Non-title and Swerve gets the big hometown reaction. Cage slugs away in the corner to start but gets sent outside with Swerve stomping on the arm. The arm is snapped over the top rope but Cage sends him into the corner again. Swerve’s half nelson is broken up and Cage hits a gorilla press slam into the corner as we take a break.

Back with Swerve slipping out of a powerbomb attempt and sending Cage face first into the buckle. A middle rope elbow to the back has Cage in more trouble and Swerve brainbusters him for two. The rolling Downward Spiral is cut off but Swerve escapes Weapon X as well. Swerve ties him in the ropes for a slingshot stomp to the chest, setting up a 450 for two. Cage’s sitout powerbomb gets two more and they trade shots to the face. Another powerbomb is loaded up but Swerve Stomps his way out in a nice counter. The House Call finishes Cage at 14:48.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match that works well for Swerve: have him get in trouble and then fight back to win in the end. He has a history with Cage and it was nice to see him getting a win that means something to him. Rather good match here, which should completely sever Swerve from the Mogul Embassy.

Post match Swerve grabs a chair but the Patriarchy comes in to beat Swerve down. Nick Wayne breaks a photo of Swerve and his family over Swerve’s head. Christian says that’s payback for Swerve attacking Nick last year and asks if Swerve’s daughter is proud of her absentee father. He rubs Swerve’s blood on the photo for a personal touch.

Hook is willing to face anyone to get the shot at Chris Jericho, including Katsuyori Shibata, who wants Jericho as well. Samoa Joe comes in to yell at Hook for not focusing, with Shibata’s translator saying Joe’s flowery shirt doesn’t look good.

Toni Storm vs. Harley Cameron

Non-title. They trade headlocks to start with Storm taking her to the mat. Storm sends her to the apron and adds a running hip attack to take her down again. Cue Serena Deeb for a distraction though as Cameron takes over. We take a break and come back with Storm hitting a Backstabber into a DDT. A fisherman’s buster gets two on Cameron, who is right back with Eat Defeat. Cameron’s running knee gets two but Storm grabs a chokebomb. Storm Zero finishes Cameron at 7:04.

Rating: C. Cameron seems to be trying but it really isn’t working for her in the ring. She feels like someone who hasn’t been in the ring that long, which might be due to her only debuting about two years ago. I’m not sure why that means she should be in the ring on national TV, but it isn’t exactly working.

Will Ospreay and the Undisputed Kingdom have a staredown in the back, with Ospreay saying he won’t go after Roderick Strong because he knows the rest of the team would be on him. Strong has never had any respect for him and Ospreay’s feelings are mutual. Things get heated, wish Strong bringing up Ospreay’s family and saying Ospreay is a child/fraud. Ospreay accuses Strong of burying him to Ring Of Honor people and promises to take the title. This still feels like a huge downgrade for Ospreay.

Here are Mercedes Mone and Willow Nightingale, with Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway, for the contract signing. Willow asks if Mone respects the TBS Title because Willow is the face of TBS. This smiling face comes to the ring every time and says nothing else matters because you can have fun. She isn’t going to let Mone come into AEW and take all of that away.

Willow signs, leaving Mone saying the best part of Willow’s career is beating her, which will be the case after Double Or Nothing. Willow says the last time they wrestled, she walked out a champion but Mone didn’t walk out at all. The fight is on and Mone is put through the table. Mone is going to need to have the match of the century to make up for how useless she’s been since debuting.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Dax Harwood

Harwood is challenging and goes after Okada’s legs to start, sending him outside. Back in and Okada shoulders him down and sends Harwood shoulder first into the post as we take a break. We come back with Harwood being sat on top and dropkicked out to the floor. A running boot against the barricade hits Harwood, followed by a DDT to knock him silly.

Back in and Harwood falls down to avoid the Rainmaker, followed by a German suplex. Harwood hits a dragon suplex as well but Okada kicks off a Sharpshooter attempt. Okada goes up and gets superplexed down for the big crash, leaving them both down for a minute in a needed breather.

The slingshot sitout powerbomb is blocked and they fight over a Tombstone until Harwood plants him for two. The Sharpshooter goes on but is broken up just as quickly. Okada is frustrated and goes to grab the belt, which the referee takes away, allowing Okada to get in a low blow. The Rainmaker retains the title at 16:05.

Rating: B. Well, that certainly was a top singles guy taking a long time to beat one half of a tag team who never wins anything important on his own. They’re continuing with the idea of the Elite looking unstoppable going into Anarchy In The Arena, which isn’t exactly making me want to see the match. At the same time, points for not having the Bucks run in, as seeing less of them is nice.

Post match the Elite comes in for the beatdown so Cash Wheeler and Bryan Danielson run in. Darby Allin, in a purple fur coat, runs in from behind for the real save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was mainly focused on building things up for Double Or Nothing but the show is only looking so good at the moment. The main focus is, again, on the Elite and they aren’t exactly working so far. Allin being back is a good surprise and he’ll help the match, but it feels like the latest way for the Elite to be better than everyone else and that’s not the most thrilling story. Other than that you have Strickland vs. Cage, which is coming off as a rather midcard feud despite being for the World Title. They had a focus here, but the storylines just aren’t doing it for me at the moment.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club b. Don Callis Family – Death Rider to Fletcher
Young Bucks b. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal – Tony Khan Driver to Daniels
Hook b. Sebastian Wolfe – Redrum
Swerve Strickland b. Brian Cage – House Call
Toni Storm b. Harley Cameron – Storm Zero
Kazuchika Okada b. Dax Harwood – Rainmaker

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

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Dynamite
Date: May 8, 2024
Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re still in Canada with less than three weeks to go before Double Or Nothing. Much like last week, Kenny Omega is here for a special announcement about…well whatever he’s announcing. Other than that, we have the showdown between Trent Beretta and Orange Cassidy so let’s get to it.

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

Adam Copeland is worried about the House Of Black so tonight, he’s facing Brody King in a No DQ -TNT Title match.

Orange Cassidy vs. Trent Beretta

Cassidy starts fast and knocks him outside to start, with the suicide elbow dropping Beretta again. Beretta manages a posting and hammers away but Cassidy goes into the crowd and puts his hands in his pockets before continuing the beating. The running Orange Punch is backdropped over the barricade and they get back to ringside. Cassidy gets kneed in the face but comes right back with the Orange Punch for the double knockdown. Cue Don Callis to ringside and we take a break.

Back with Callis on commentary as Cassidy fires off forearms. Stundog Millionaire is countered so Cassidy grabs the tornado DDT instead. Beretta manages a half and half suplex and they’re both down again. Back up and Beretta drops him with a piledriver, followed by another piledriver and a running knee. The turnbuckle is ripped off but Cassidy rips off one of his own. Beretta is sent face first and the rollup gives Cassidy the pin at 13:09.

Rating: B-. Good fight between the two of them (ignore the complete lack of a count for such a long stretch of brawling) and the ending should leave the door open for a rematch at Double Or Nothing. I’m not sure if I would have had them do a full match like this one if they’re supposed to do it again in a few weeks but at least what we got was pretty nice. That being said, Beretta losing so soon isn’t exactly the wisest move.

Post match Beretta jumps him again and hits a piledriver onto the steps. Cassidy gets sent into various things so Beretta grabs a toolbox. Cassidy has a chair but Callis breaks it up before anything else happens. That would be Cassidy on his feet about a minute and a half after a piledriver on the steps.

Earlier today, the Elite was in their car and took Tony Khan’s parking spot.

We look back at Kenny Omega returning and being attacked by the Elite.

Jack Perry thinks Omega isn’t as tough as he thinks he is because Omega was a coward when the Elite needed him. Now they are going to change the world without him.

Omega joins us from the emergency room and says May 26 is when this all started. He issues the challenge for Anarchy In The Arena with the Elite vs. FTR/….two people we’ll find out tonight.

Here is Serena Deeb for a chat. She’s happy to be here and excited to face Toni Storm at Double Or Nothing. She has been out of action for a long time but we pause for a LET’S GO OILERS chant. Last year she suffered three seizures and talks about how serious they are but here is Toni Storm to say this sounds like a charity case. Deeb tells her to be serious because Deeb will be fighting to win the title at Double Or Nothing. Storm doesn’t care and the fight is on, with security breaking it up.

Rocky Romero checks on Orange Cassidy, saying that if he beats Jay White tonight, the two of them and a third partner get a Trios Title shot. Maybe it could be Trent Beretta. Cassidy isn’t convinced.

Harley Cameron vs. Mariah May

Saraya is here with Cameron, who kicks May own to start and talks a lot. May fights up and hits a quick basement dropkick to send Cameron to the apron. That earns May a neck snap over the top and a kick to the back as we take a break. Back with Saraya yelling at fans and May winning a slugout. A chokebomb gives May two and a heck of a headbutt puts Cameron down. It’s too early for May’s hip attack as Saraya pulls Cameron to the floor, earning herself a hard shot from May. Back in and May Day finishes Cameron at 9:02.

Rating: C. Well that’s a match that happened. I’m not sure why May needed nine minutes to beat Cameron, who hasn’t wrestled in over a year, but that’s what we got. May continues to be in a weird place as she doesn’t really have anything going on, though it seems like she might be up for something with Forbidden Door. Either that or get to the point with her and Toni Storm already.

Post match the beating is on but Mina Shirakawa makes the save and toasts the champagne with May.

Bullet Club Gold cuts off Pac (who was talking about bringing back Death Triangle), with Jay White saying he should go after Kazuchika Okada, who he beat before.

Malakai Black talks about having to destroy Adam Copeland so he can live again.

We get a very positive Young Bucks video.

The Bucks praise the video and say they don’t want more Kenny Omega updates.

Here is Swerve Strickland to say he is in a really bad mood. We look at the Patriarchy taking Swerve out last week, with Luchasaurus ripping out part of Swerve’s hair. Swerve can’t say he wouldn’t do the same thing, but he is the Conor McDavid (local hockey hero) of AEW. He wants the Patriarchy out here right now so here they are, with Christian Cage saying he is going to take something from Swerve every single week.

That leads to Double Or Nothing, when the wave Swerve has been riding will come crashing down. Violence is teased but Swerve says he wasn’t coming alone. Cue the Mogul Embassy so Swerve makes Drake/Kendrick Lamar references. Then the Embassy turns on him, apparently sick of hearing people talk about those two because nothing else is happening in the world whatsoever. Swerve is put through the announcers’ table. That was a good close to a loophole, but hopefully Swerve beats Brian cage next week to get his revenge and then moves on.

The Patriarchy goes to the back and runs into the Young Bucks, who seem to have had something to do with that. More business together is teased.

We look at Willow Nightingale beating Skye Blue in a street fight on Rampage.

Willow Nightingale says no one can beat the smile off her face. As for Mercedes Mone, she better be ready at Double Or Nothing, because Willow is always ready. Mone is in for the fight of her life.

Rocky Romero vs. Jay White

Romero starts fast and knocks him outside, followed by some of the Forever Clotheslines in the corner. White gets in a hard clothesline of his own though and we take a break. Back with Romero fighting out of a chinlock and taking it to the floor to hammer away. Back in and Romero hits a jumping knee, followed by a backslide for two. White knocks him out of the air though and grabs the Bladerunner for the pin (with one finger) at 8:04.

Rating: C+. Why am I supposed to care about Rocky Romero? He’s perfectly fine in the ring but you know what you’re going to get from him and he isn’t going to win any big matches. Other than his ties to New Japan, what about him warrants having him around so often? It just seems like there are a lot of people who could benefit from getting as much time as he does but instead it’s more of hearing about how great he is when he never wins anything.

Post match the beatdown is on until Pac makes the save.

Samoa Joe training video.

Big Bill/Chris Jericho vs. Mo Jabari/Harlon Abbott

Jericho knocks Jabari down to start and hands it off to Bill, who slowly pounds away. The chokeslam plants Abbott and Jericho gets the pin at 2:27.

Post match Jericho praises Bill and talks about facing Katsuyori Shibata and Hook. He’s not sure where Hook is, but get well soon!

TNT Title: Brody King vs. Adam Copeland

Copeland is defending and this is No DQ. A headlock has Copeland in some trouble to start but he has to escape an early Ganso Bomb attempt. King is sent to the apron where he gets a boot up to stop a charge. A neckbreaker over the ropes drops Copeland and we take a break.

Back with King missing a running crossbody and crashing into the barricade. Copeland chairs him in the back a few times and they go up to the apron. A DDT onto the chair onto the apron plants King, who comes up busted open. Copeland hammers away for two more so it’s time to grab another chair (just in case there wasn’t enough blood already, as King is gushing). It’s time to break the bar off of a chair, with the delay allowing King to hit a heck of a clothesline. Copeland is sent face first into a chair in the corner and we take a break.

Back with an exchange of shots tot he face leaving both of them down again. King sends him into the corner for the Cannonball but Copeland is back with the Edge-O-Matic for two. They go to the apron where Copeland manages a Death Valley Driver, followed by the spear through the ropes to send King through a table in a nasty crash. Back in and another spear retains the title at 18:26.

Rating: B. There was A LOT of blood in this match and there is a good chance that will go a long way in determining how much you liked this. It certainly felt intense at times, but it also felt long, with the Malakai Black promo earlier all but guaranteeing that he’s the next big challenger, likely at the pay per view. Copeland’s matches are mostly good, but they’re lacking that something to get them to the next level, which makes giving him this much time a bit weird.

Post match King jumps Copeland but Kyle O’Reilly makes the save.

Mercedes Mone is ready for Double Or Nothing. Yes she’s ready because Willow Nightingale took a year from her career. Now it’s time to get the title because she is that b****. This was every Mone promo: She’s a star, she’s been hurt for a year, did I mention she’s a star?

Adam Copeland thanks Kyle O’Reilly for the help and O’Reilly challenges him for the Cope Open on Collision. Copeland is in.

Here is the Elite (three minutes after the show was scheduled to end) for a chat. Kazuchika Okada tells Kenny Omega to get well soon. Matt Jackson says Tony Khan is the best boss he has ever had but they had to get him out of the way. They’re in for Anarchy In The Arena, which draws out FTR. They don’t like the Young Bucks so here are Eddie Kingston and Bryan Danielson to complete their team. The brawl is on to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. That was a really strange way to end the show, as it wasn’t like the last thing went long and they had to wrap it up. Instead, they just started doing three more segments when the show was supposed to be ending. That is asking a lot when the middle of this show was more than a bit tedious.

The opener and main event were both good, but the matches between them felt like filler, which tends to be the case way too often in AEW. I’ve lost track of how many times it feels like they have about an hour of important stuff and then need to fill in the rest. That was the situation here, which makes me wonder just how a three hour block is going to go this Saturday.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Trent Beretta – Rollup
Mariah May b. Harley Cameron – May Day
Jay White b. Rocky Romero – Bladerunner
Big Bill/Chris Jericho b. Harlon Abbott/Mo Jabari – Chokeslam to Abbott
Adam Copeland b. Brody King – Spear

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: March 20, 2024
Location: Coca Cola Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We’re north of the border this week and that means a big title match featuring some Canadians. In this case we have Adam Copeland challenging Christian Cage for the TNT Title in an I Quit match. Other than that, Kazuchika Okada is challenging for the Continental Crown, as the titles unified in the Continental Classic are already coming undone.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Mercedes Mone for a chat. She is so glad to be here and last week was so amazing. This is what she wants to do, but her dream was almost taken away from her ten months ago. We see a highlight reel of things she has done in and out of the ring before Mone talks about how she isn’t here to lea a revolution, because she has done that before. Instead, she is here to lead a GLOBAL revolution (that might not have been the best wording).

She wants to face some people and hits the catchphrase to wrap it up, but here are Julia Hart and Skye Blue. Mone fights them off but Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander run in with chairs for the save. The villains leave via blackout but Nightingale is still holding up the chair behind Mone. That gives us a standoff and egads standing in the ring talking is not Mone’s strong suit.

The Young Bucks mock Alex Marvez for not speaking Japanese to Kazuchika Okada. They won’t be ringside for the Continental Title match tonight but they will be on the headsets producing.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Eddie Kingston

Kingston is defending and only one of the three titles are on the line. They start slowly and take their time to lock up until Kingston hits a hard chop. Kingston knocks him out to the floor and the chase is on, with Okada jumping him on the way back in. Okada starts working on the arm and Kingston is down as we see the Bucks sitting next to Tony Khan producing the show. That great dropkick puts Kingston down again and we take a break.

Back with Kingston hitting a suplex and grabbing an STO for a needed breather. Kingston strikes away and hits another suplex but gets caught with the dropkick to put him back down. The elbow misses for Okada though and Kingston hits the spinning backfist for two. Back up and Kingston has to block the discus lariat before knocking Okada down again. A running clothesline scores for Kingston, whose half and half suplex is broken up with a rake to the eyes. An enziguri takes Okada down but another spinning backfist misses. Okada hits a powerslam, followed by the Rainmaker for the pin and the title at 15:50.

Rating: B-. That was a pretty definitive win for Okada and so much for Kingston’s big run. There’s no shame in losing to a star like Okada, but egads they’re really splitting up the titles they unified less than three months ago. Odds are the NJPW Strong Title goes away, leaving the Continental Title and the ROH Title, which makes the unified deal feel all the more worthless in the first place. Also: we are 16 days away from ROH’s Supercard Of Honor and the TV, Tag Team and World Champions have all lost on AEW TV this month alone.

Post match Pac comes out for the staredown and we likely have a Dynasty match.

Swerve Strickland suggests Samoa Joe is scared of him because of the chain. We’re in Toronto tonight and he wants to fight so the open challenge is on.

Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander are ready for their street fight with Julia Hart and Skye Blue tonight. Mercedes Mone interrupts and says she has Statlander’s back tonight. Willow looks to say something but Mone says she’s done enough. Stokely Hathaway brings up Nightingale breaking Mone’s leg and Statlander isn’t pleased. I would sincerely hope they aren’t trying to turn Willow heel out of all this. Statlander sure, but Willow feels like the definition of someone born to be good.

Chris Jericho vs. Hook

Non-title and Hook suplexes him down at the bell. We pause for the referee to check on Jericho before he fires off some chops. A reverse t-bone suplex drops Jericho for two as it’s pretty much one sided to start. Jericho cuts him off with a shot to the head but a string of German suplexes drop Jericho again.

We take a break and come back with Jericho still being suplexed and Hook strolling around the ring. Jericho finally reverses a suplex and hits some shoulders but Hook suplexes him again. A big boot “hits” for Jericho and he scores with the Lionsault for a delayed two. Back up and Jericho tries a suplex but instead kind of drops Hook on his face. They go up top but Hook grabs Redrum, which has Jericho down in the middle. Jericho slips out and throws some VERY slow punches until Hook reverses into a cradle for the pin at 10:51.

Rating: C-. Well that didn’t go well for Jericho, and I’m not sure where this is leading. Given what happened with Jericho when Powerhouse Hobbs squashed him, I can’t imagine it’s going to go well for Hook, but he was basically Brock Lesnar to Jericho’s John Cena out there. The Redrum should have been the finish, but odds are we’re going to be seeing these two together for a lot longer.

Adam Cole is furious about Wardlow losing last week and says it is Wardlow’s job to keep the gold in the Undisputed Kingdom. Don’t screw it up.

Post break Chris Jericho says he wanted to face Hook, who showed him a lot tonight. Hook is as much of a bad man as people say he is and next week, Jericho will have a proposition for him.

Here is Will Ospreay for a chat. He was a little bit of a naughty boy the last time he was here and now he is here for the betterment of AEW. Ospreay apologizes for what he did to Kenny Omega in Toronto, but in return for his elite wrestling he needs….some of that maple syrup! As for Bryan Danielson, he hopes that you saw him face Katsuyori Shibata on Collision. When Ospreay went over to Japan (“Where you wanted to be a big star.”), he saw Danielson’s shoes, but they weren’t big enough for Ospreay.

What Danielson did in Japan was great, but Ospreay elevated wrestling over there. Ospreay lists off his accomplishments in Japan and now he’s ready to prove he can walk in his shoes. He met Shibata before but now he has cats, dogs and a mortgage to pay. The challenge is mad for next week and since Tony Khan is apparently watching the show from Shibata’s house, the match is made official about ten seconds later.

Video on Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage.

Mariah May/Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo/Thunder Rosa

It’s a brawl to start with May taking Purrazzo down so it’s off to Storm. Rosa comes in to strike away in the corner and a sliding clothesline gets two on Storm. A Luther distraction lets Storm knock Rosa outside though and we take a break. Back with Purrazzo striking away at May but not being able to get the Fujiwara armbar. Instead Purrazzo boots her in the ace but Rosa tags herself in, which Purrazzo doesn’t like. Rosa comes in to plant May but gets German suplexed by Storm. The hip attack connects, only to have Rosa roll Storm up for the pin at 7:10.

Rating: C. Again, a seven minute match does not need to have a commercial in the middle. The ending came out of nowhere but Rosa vs. Storm is a fresh match as we shift away from Purrazzo challenging. May seems to be the long term goal, but Rosa, who never lost the title in the first place, will do just fine for now.

Swerve Strickland vs. The Butcher

Swerve starts fast by knocking him into the corner, setting up the middle rope elbow to the back. A half nelson backbreaker puts Swerve down though and Butcher hits him in the face a few times. Back up and Swerve kicks him down, setting up the House Call. Butcher sits down for a good while, allowing Swerve to hit the Swerve Stomp into something like a short armscissors for the tap at 3:22.

Rating: C. This was perfectly acceptable booking as Butcher is just established enough to make Swerve work but not enough to be a threat to him. Swerve took a few shots but fought back and won clean. It’s exactly what it needed to be and I can always go for something logical and efficient.

Post match Swerve grabs his chain and says he keeps thinking about using it to choke Samoa Joe out. Every week, Joe can send security after him and Swerve will keep beating them up until Joe gives him what he wants. Cue Joe to interrupt, saying contrary to what Swerve believes, Joe beat him at Revolution. Joe says he has learned what to do with someone like Swerve: give him exactly what he wants.

Cue Don Callis of all people to interrupt, saying Konosuke Takeshita and Swerve Strickland have the same amount of wins. Takeshita is undefeated outside of the Don Callis Family so maybe he needs to show Swerve whose house this is. Swerve is in to face Takeshita, and then he’s coming for Joe. Yay more Callis N Pals.

TNT Title: Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage

Cage is defending in an I Quit match. Copeland starts fast and they go out to the floor with the brawl heading into the crowd. Copeland grabs a Boston Bruins jersey to put over Cage before grabbing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey for himself (the fans approve). Cage is knocked around even more as we take a break. Back with Copeland bridging a ladder between the announcers’ table and the barricade. An Edge O Matic onto the ladder has Cage in more trouble and we get a breather.

The ladder is turned upside down inside, where Cage is dropped ribs first onto said ladder. A table is set up against the barricade but Cage breaks up the spear attempt. The busted open Copeland is staggered and Cage hits a dive off the top to send him through the table. Back in and Copeland is catapulted into a ladder but still won’t quit. A quick Grindhouse is broken up and they both try spears at the same time for a double knockdown.

We take a break and come back with Cage being launched off the stage but cue Mother Wayne with a hockey stick to hit Copeland low. Cage sticks away inside and it’s time for a barbed wire chair. The Conchairto is loaded up but Copeland moves just in time. Neither can hit a Killswitch onto the ladder so Copeland hits him with the hockey stick. The Grindhouse, with the stick in Cage’s mouth, gets an incoherent answer so Copeland uses the draw string from his tights.

Cue the Patriarchy for the save but cue Matt Menard and Daniel Garcia for the save. Copeland sets up a ladder and dives onto the Patriarchy before handcuffing them in the corner. Mother Wayne runs away and cage gets speared down, meaning he can be cuffed as well. A low blow isn’t enough for Cage to quit so Copeland kicks him several more times. Spike (the 2×4 with nails) is pulled out for a major low blow….and the video goes off for a second (presumably the end of Dynamite/the start of Rampage), only to come back with Copeland loading up a shot to the head. That’s enough for Cage to quit at 25:43.

Rating: B. There was quite a bit here (to say the least) but it feels like a nice cap on the whole feud. Copeland getting the win in what very well may be the final match between the two in his hometown is a good way to go, with the rapid fire low blows in the corner feeling like the kind of humor these two would love. At the same time, I can’t help but think the lure of a ladder/TLC match will be too much for the two of them/AEW to resist.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show where the opener and main event bookended the show well, but the wrestling in the middle left a good bit to be desired. Mone was still a focal point here and does come off as a star but we still need to see what they have planned for her first feud. Other than that, you had some things teased for the coming weeks plus Dynasty, but this was all about the main event and it worked well enough.

Results
Kazuchika Okada b. Eddie Kingston – Rainmaker
Hook b. Chris Jericho – Rollup
Deonna Purrazzo/Thunder Rosa b. Mariah May/Toni Storm – Rollup to Storm
Swerve Strickland b. The Butcher – Short armscissors
Adam Copeland b. Christian Cage when Cage quit

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

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AND

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

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

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

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Shane Taylor vs. Bryan Danielson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video on Darby Allin vs. Jay White on Dynamite.

Mariah May vs. Trish Adora

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

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

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

Video on Riho vs. Willow Nightingale.

Nick Wayne vs. Adam Priest

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

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

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

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

Chris Jericho vs. Titan

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

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

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

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

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

Mistico vs. Angelico

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

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

Respect is shown post match.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: March 6, 2024
Location: Gas South Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the Dynamite after Revolution, which was quite the smashing success. Now though comes the hard part in following up on what they did. Samoa Joe is still the World Champion after the triple threat and now we are on the way towards both Big Business next week and Dynasty next month. Let’s get to it.

Here is Revolution if you need a recap.

Opening sequence. We have a new theme song and set/logo. The song works well enough and the set/logo….well they’re a set/logo.

Tony Schiavone brings out Swerve Strickland, with Prince Nana, for a chat. Swerve talks about how he came up short in his house on Sunday. That isn’t cool with him because he remembered signing with AEW about two years to the day at Revolution 2022 in Orlando, Florida. Strickland was going to give it his all but here he stands with no gold. Maybe he is paying for all of the bad things he has done around here and maybe he isn’t supposed to be a champion here.

Maybe instead he is supposed to be a role player, but then he hears the reactions he is receiving and people have even flown in from his home state of Washington to see him. Whether Samoa Joe is still World Champion or not, Swerve is coming for the title because Swerve’s house. Cue Samoa Joe, complete with using the towel to polish up the belt. Joe thinks Swerve is talking funny after that beating at Revolution, because here we are in Swerve’s house, but that house is in Joe’s world. Swerve is ready to go right now but here is the Undisputed Kingdom to interrupt.

Adam Cole talks about how great the team did at Revolution and in a few months, no one is going to remember Swerve’s name. The only person that matters is Wardlow, who is going to win the title and bring it back where it belongs. Swerve calls out Cole going to the back of the line over and over. If he needs extra clients, he has Britt Baker’s phone number in his pocket. Cole doesn’t like that so how about we do Swerve/Joe vs. The Kingdom next week. Swerve says let’s do it right now and Tony Khan agrees.

Kingdom vs. Samoa Joe/Swerve Strickland

Non-title and Joe hammers Bennett down into the corner to start. Taven’s running splash in the corner misses (with Joe just stepping aside as only he can) and his middle rope dropkick hits Bennett (again with the sidestep). The Kingdom finally manages to kick Joe in the face to put him down and we take a break. Back with Swerve getting the tag to clean house, with Joe not being pleased at anything happening. Swerve hits the Swerve Stomp to Bennett and glares over at Joe, who still looks unhappy. The House Call sets up the JML Driver to finish Bennett at 6:54, with Joe still being furious over the whole thing.

Rating: C. That might have been the most WWE opening I’ve ever seen from outside of WWE. We had people interrupting promos, an impromptu match and the champions losing clean. Odds are this won’t have any impact on the titles (and it certainly shouldn’t as those are WAY beneath Joe and Swerve), but it’s yet another unnecessary blow to Ring Of Honor, which does in fact want you to pay for its show in thirty days (no matches announced thus far either).

Post match Wardlow comes out to glare at Swerve, who gets choked out by Joe.

Chris Jericho interrupts Hook and talks about Taz dropping him on his head in his first ECW match. Jericho sees talent in Hook, who isn’t impressed and walks away.

We look at Hangman Page going nuts at Revolution.

The Young Bucks, in a parody of Tony Khan, have two huge announcements, which they’ll make later tonight.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Brian Cage

Hook is defending under FTR Rules. Cage starts fast by snapping off some suplexes before wedging a chair in the corner. Hook comes back with the fire extinguisher blast and some trashcan lid shots to the face. A dive off the steps is powerslammed out of the air though and Hook crashes down hard on the floor. Cage misses a charge through the barricade and crashes out into the crowd as we take a break.

Back with Cage chairing Hook down but Hook DDTs him onto the chair for a breather. A suplex into the barricade in the corner gives Hook two so Cage grabs an F5 onto the chair for two of his own. It’s time for thumbtacks but Hook suplexes him into said tacks, leaving…not that many in Cage’s back. Redrum goes on so Cage drops him back into the tacks, which doesn’t work and Cage is out at 10:06.

Rating: C-. That was a bit much for this kind of a match and that’s not a good thing in this case. I know they’ve had issues, but going from soe tag matches to this in their first singles match is a little bit much to take. They were also sloppy in some spots with a few big moves missing and the whole thing not exactly making Hook look good.

Post match the Gates Of Agony run in to beat Hook down but Chris Jericho makes the save. Oh joy: Jericho teaming with a young guy.

We’re having a tournament to crown new Tag Team Champions.

Orange Cassidy wans a new title and the Best Friends are ready to get the Tag Team Titles…but Chuck is still hurt. Instead, Cassidy and Trent Beretta should win the tournament, and they happen to have their first round match on Rampage.

Killswitch vs. Matt Menard

Menard is fighting for revenge after Revolution and Christian Cage is on commentary. A bunch of right hands in various corners rock Luchasaurs and some clotheslines put him on one knee. That doesn’t last long as Luchasaurus is up with a chokeslam, followd by the running clothesline to finish Menard at 1:56.

Post match Daniel Garcia runs in for the brawl but Nick Wayne runs in to take him out. The villains go to leave but Adam Copeland is back to jump the Patriarchy. Mother Wayne’s low blow is blocked and Copeland chases Cage into the crowd. We follow the chase through the tech area and into the back, with Cage running into the parking lot where he steals someone’s car to escape. Copeland issues the challenge for an I Quit match for the title in two weeks in Toronto. Since two seconds have passed, Tony Khan has made the match official.

Kyle O’Reilly is happy to be back and he is medically cleared.

We look at Sting’s final match at Revolution.

Here are the Young Bucks, who throw Tony Schiavone out for bringing up their loss. They aren’t happy with Sting’s sons, who are 6’8 and 305lbs because THEY CHEATED! The Bucks are going to get their Tag Team Titles back, but first they have to take care of some things. First of all, Hangman Page put his hands on some officials at Revolution and is suspended indefinitely. The other item is Kenny Omega, who has no showed various dates for no good reason (commentary brings up his health issues) so he’s fired from the Elite.

Cue Eddie Kingston, who says you might as well fine him now because he’s got something to say. They try to cool things down but the fight is on, with a low blow cutting Kingston off….and Kazuchika Okada is here. The staredown is on and Okada lays out Kingston with the Rainaker because Okada is Elite. That’s certainly a way to go for Okada, who does work better as a villain. I’m worried about putting him with the Bucks, but the debut could have been a lot worse.

We look at Will Ospreay winning his debut match over Konosuke Takeshita at Revolution.

Kris Statlander vs. Riho

Stokely Hathaway is here with Statlander. Riho gets slammed down to start and tries to pick up the pace, only to get knocked straight back down. Statlander powers her into the corner and slams her down as we take a break. Back with Riho striking away in the corner, despite needing to get ont he bottom rope to be close to Statlander’s size.

Statlander tries a powerbomb but gets hurricanranaed into the 619. Riho’s high crossbody doesn’t work so she grabs a dragon suplex for two. Statlander knocks her down again so Hathaway throws her a chain, which Statlander drops onto the floor. Some hard suplexes rock Riho but she grabs a victory roll for the pin at 9:21.

Rating: C+. It’s time for the Riho push again because…well for some reason AEW insists. Statlander was on fire as TBS Champion and now here she is instead, teaming with Willow Nightingale and having her main issue with a manager. The match itself was a good big vs. Small format and Riho’s offense looked nice as usual, but egads it’s hard to try and make myself care about anything she does.

Toni Storm is happy to retain her Women’s Title and presents Mariah May with her first shirt. Yes Storm is getting a cut.

Willow Nightingale is ready to face Riho next week because she wants to be a champion herself. She’s coming for the TBS Title.

Here is Daby Allin to talk about being happy with Sting’s retirement match. He has Jay White next week and then in three weeks, he’s off to climb Mount Everest. He might not come back alive so next week, he’s going to go out fighting for his life. Allin lays down the Tag Team Title belt and congratulates whoever holds them next but here is Bullet Club Gold to interrupt.

Jay White talks about how Allin has been doing some great things but warns him about what is going to hapen if they get in the ring. Instead of a match, how about Allin comes hang with the Bang Ban Scissor Gang. We can even call him Darby Scissorhands! Allin doesn’t want to hear it and says White should climb Everest too. He’ll see White next week. I’m really not sure why that one off match for next week needed this much hype.

Julia Hart issues an open challenge for Rampage.

The House Of Black is ready to burn Mark Briscoe. Do they need to dig one grave or three?

Mark Briscoe talks about walking through flames and dancing with the devil. He’s ready for a street fight, but Jay Lethal comes in to say it’s time he mans up to help Briscoe. Mark says don’t bring Jeff Jarrett, but Lethal says trust him. Commentary implies Jarrett will be there.

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher

Non-title and Don Callis is on commentary. They trade takedowns to start until a hsoulder doesn’t get Ospreay very far. Back up and Ospreay ducks some shots to the head before snapping off a headscissors. Fletcher hits a heck of a chop to drop Ospreay and we take a break. We come back with Ospreay hitting a dive to the floor but the Oscutter is countered into a hard suplex for two.

They grab hands and chop it out with Ospreay getting the better of things, only to have another Oscutter countered. The powerbomb countered is countered into a DDT to plant Fletcher but he ducks the Hidden Blade. A middle rope Snake Eyes hits Ospreay but he’s back with a cutter on the apron and we take a break (at 9:57). Back with Ospreay planting Fletcher and going up top, where Fletcher crotches him. Ospreay has to flip out of dragon superplex before grabbing a Liger Bomb for two.

Some kicks to the face set up a failed Stormbreaker attempt so Fletcher hits a double underhook slam of his own. Fletcher hits a heck of a sitout powerbomb for two before putting Ospreay on top. That’s broken up for Cheeky Nandos into a super poisonrana, followed by a running back elbow for two. Back up and a Spanish Fly is countered so Fletcher hits a superkick, only to get caught with the Spanish Fly for two. The Oscutter gets two and the Hidden Blade finishes for Ospreay at 19:23.

Rating: B. This was very similar to the Takeshita match from Revolution but there is quite the difference between Taekeshita and Fletcher. Some of the kickouts in here didn’t leave me wanting more like I did on Sunday, but rather wondering why in the world Fletcher was getting to survive this long. Ospreay is a lot of fun, but hopefully they don’t have him doing the same kind of match week in and week out, or the spark is going to be lost quickly.

Post match Bryan Danielson comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I’m not sure what to make of this show. It definitely moved things forward into the next pay per view cycle and the new look/set made things feel fresh, but some of the stuff wasn’t exactly great. Having Ring Of Honor be treated like the whipping boy around here a month before their big show is a choice and having more of Riho and the Young Bucks is not the most intriguing. What matters here is it feels like they know where they want to go and that is a very nice thing to see with a month and a half before their next pay per view.

Results
Samoa Joe/Swerve Strickland b. Kingdom – JML Driver to Bennett
Hook b. Brian Cage – Redrum
Killswitch b. Matt Menard – Running clothesline
Riho b. Kris Statlander – Victory roll
Will Ospreay b. Kyle Fletcher – Hidden Blade

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

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

AND

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