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

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

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Adam Cole vs. Trent Beretta

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

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

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

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

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

Andrew Everett vs. Shawn Spears

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tag Team Titles: Jurassic Express vs. Dark Order

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

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

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

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

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

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Rampage
Date: December 31, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks

It’s the very last show of the year for any company, as this one is going all the way to an hour before the New Year on the east coast. There is a fairly big card tonight with an anything goes women’s tag and Cody Rhodes defending the TNT Title. That doesn’t sound too bad so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Anthony Bowens vs. Darby Allin

Max Caster’s rap is about the booster shot and putting people away like Ghislaine Maxwell. Allin starts fast with an early rollup for two, sending Bowens bailing to the floor in a hurry. Back in and Allin ducks a clothesline and dropkicks Bowens right back to the floor. We take a break and come back with Bowens catching a splash in the corner but Allin grabs some rollups for two each anyway.

Allin heads up for the Coffin Drop but gets knocked down, with his arm landing pretty hard. A twisting DDT out of the corner gives Bowens two so he goes up, only to have Allin run the corner and step on his hand. Sting and Caster get in a fight on the floor, allowing Bowens to send Allin into the barricade. Back in again and Allin grabs a Code Red for two, setting up a flip dive to the floor to take out the Acclaimed. The Coffin Drop finishes Allin at 10:08.

Rating: C+. Pretty nice match here as they gave Allin an opponent he should beat and then did just that. It’s the kind of match that works out well as Bowens has no business beating someone like Allin while Allin gets a win over someone he should beat. I could go for more like this, especially when it didn’t overstay its welcome.

Post match, Andrade El Idolo comes out for a distraction, allowing the Acclaimed to blast Sting with the boombox.

We get the return of Technique With Taz, looking at Hook. These are always cool and show a very different side from an analyst. Like analysis.

Penelope Ford/The Bunny vs. Tay Conti/Anna Jay

No DQ and the fight is on in a hurry. Conti and Jay take them down to start and set up a table on the flor but Ford posts Jay hard. A bicycle kick takes out Conti and Ford goes up top for a moonsault onto Conti onto the table….which doesn’t budge an inch in a very painful looking crash.

Back in and Ford breaks a bottle over Conti’s head to knock her silly. A bunch of weapons, including a very specially painted table (including a brass knuckles design) goes in, with Bunny and Conti already busted open. The table is put in the corner and the villains load up some open chairs in the middle of the ring. Back in and Jay suplexes Bunny onto the chairs and we take a break.

We come back with Jay trying the Queenslayer but getting driven through the table for her efforts. It’s already time for some thumbtacks, with Jay superplexing Bunny onto said tacks for two, with Ford diving in for the save. The save sends Ford’s hands into the tacks but she is fine enough to kick Conti down. Some stomps onto a chair crush Conti, setting up a piledriver from the apron through a table to knock Conti silly. Back in and Bunny grabs the brass knuckles but Jay wraps barbed wire around her arm and grabs the Queenslayer to finish Bunny at 11:19.

Rating: B. This one took some time to sink in and I’m still not sure what to think about it. They were working very hard and it felt like they were trying to prove a point, but it also felt like they were trying a bit too hard. I’m not wild on having all of the blood and violence and carnage in any match and this was no exception. Throw in that I’m not sure the feud warranted such a violent match in the first place and this was a lot. That being said, I couldn’t take my eyes off of it and can absolutely appreciate the effort so I’ll go with a pretty solid performance here.

Video on Hangman Page vs. Bryan Danielson.

Here’s what’s coming at various show.

The face to face interview has Dan Lambert talking about how Cody Rhodes made a bunch of deals to get where he is. Arn Anderson doesn’t want to hear it and says tonight, Cody is going to show something.

TNT Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Ethan Page

Cody, with Arn Anderson to counter Scorpio Sky and Dan Lambert, is defending. They start fast with Cody headlocking him down but Lambert grabs a foot to cut things off. Page grabs a suplex for two but they head to the apron, where Cody can’t hit Cross Rhodes. Back in and Cody goes after the leg, setting up an Indian Deathlock as we take a break.

We come back with Page hitting a gordbuster and Sky getting in a cheap shot. Cue Dustin Rhodes to go after Sky, but the distraction lets Cody hit Cross Rhodes for two. Cody takes him up top but gets caught in a heck of a super powerslam for two more. They slug it out with an exchange of kicks to the head, only to have Cody come back with the Cody Cutter. Cody goes up and gets pulled down with the Iconoclasm. The Ego’s Edge is escaped though and it’s a string of Cross Rhodes into the Tiger Driver 98 to finish Page at 14:18.

Rating: C+. As usual, it’s a perfectly serviceable Cody Rhodes match and little more. While he might not be the most popular name in the world right now, he can still put in a completely watchable, if not good, match with just about anyone. That is his firm ceiling most of the time though and a match without much drama in this spot wasn’t breaking through anything. This was more a way to get Cody on the show for a first title defense and it did both things successfully.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m not sure what kind of an audience this is going to draw, but it had three good matches with a very memorable street fight in the middle. Rampage has figured out what kind of a show it needs to be and now we’re getting some more entertaining shows as a result. The street fight is the only thing worth seeing, but dang it was a spectacle to behold.

Results
Darby Allin b. Ethan Page – Coffin Drop
Tay Conti/Anna Jay b. The Bunny/Penelope Ford – Queenslayer to Bunny
Cody Rhodes b. Ethan Page – Tiger Driver 98

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Rampage
Date: December 17, 2021
Location: Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Ricky Starks, Taz

It’s a very stacked show, as we have three matches with a total of twenty people involved. This week features an eight man tag, a ten man tag and a submission match, which is quite the use of an hour. This show can go in more than a few ways and hopefully they go in a good one this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Best Friends/Rocky Romero vs. Superkliq/Bobby Fish

Chuck hits a quick standing Sliced Bread for two on Matt to start before it’s quickly off to Fish vs. Romero. Fish gets taken into the corner and Cassidy gets to come in for his slow clotheslines. Cole comes in for the Cassidy showdown but hands it off to Nick without getting physical. Cassidy walks the ropes but stops to put his hand in his pocket and jumps down without doing anything.

Nick gets armdragged and hiptossed despite Cassidy’s hands being in his pockets, meaning it’s time for the frustrated Cole to come in and beat on him. The triple superkicks drop Cassidy and we take an early break. Back with Nick hitting a splash on Cassidy, setting up the Superkliq triple kiss…which is broken up by Taylor and Romero. Instead, Cassidy kisses Cole and then rolls him up for two. Cassidy gets over for the tag to Trent and house is cleaned in a hurry.

An apron splash hits Cole and double jumping knees from Trent and Romero hit stereo jumping knees to Nick. Trent’s sliding knee gets two but everything breaks down. Cole hits the brainbuster onto the knee to Trent, setting up Fish’s top rope headbutt for two. The super Falcon Arrow connects for the same, with Cassidy having to make the save this time. Everything breaks down again and it’s a series of strikes to a bunch of people’s heads. Trent finally catches Fish with Strong Zero for the pin at 17:23.

Rating: B. There was a lot going on here but they did a nice job of making it feel action packed. I was surprised that the Best Friends and company won so well done on giving Trent a bit of his heat back. Fish is good at being the guy who can take a fall for the team, though Cole’s Christmas present for the Bucks could turn that around a bit.

Here is the returning Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year. Lambert rips on Tony Khan for wearing all kinds of hats, including those outside of AEW, which resulted in him pushing various people on the fans. He pushed the skateboard guy and the guy with hands in his pockets before bringing in CM Punk and Bryan Danielson. Khan is dangling a carrot with one hand but stabbing the fans in the back with the other, because this place is turning into late 90s WCW.

That brings him to Cody Rhodes, who has turned his backstage power into a main event career and a reality show that no one watches. Cue Cody, who gets in a microphone stealing match with Lambert. With nothing said, the fight is on but Dustin Rhodes runs in for the save. The Rhodes Brothers are beaten down but Sammy Guevara makes the real save, including the staredown with Cody.

Video on the final four in the TBS Title tournament.

Tay Conti vs. Penelope Ford

Submission match with Anna Jay and the Bunny at ringside too. Conti charges into the ring to start in a hurry but Ford slips out of a kneebar. They head outside where Ford chops the post by mistake to put her in even more trouble. Back in and Ford is fine enough to grab a bow and arrow stretch, which is flipped over in a hurry. Conti wrenches the arm back but Bunny’s distraction is good for a save.

Ford gets back up and manages to flip over into a backpack dragon sleeper (that’s a new one). With that not working, Ford grabs some kind of standing crossface, only to have Conti knee her way to freedom. A handspring cutter sets up another choke but Ford can’t hit a Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog. Instead Conti pulls her down into something like a choke with her leg behind Ford’s neck for the tap at 5:22.

Rating: C. This was a weird choice when they announced it and it was a weird match in execution. You don’t often see a five minute submission match, especially when one is such a bigger star than the other. It certainly wasn’t bad, but it felt like a stipulation that was tacked on for the sake of giving the feud a reason to continue.

Post match, Bunny lays Conti out with the knuckles to continue the feud.

The Owen Hart Tournaments (men’s and women’s) are coming next May, with the finals taking place at Double Or Nothing.

Daniel Garcia/2.0/Acclaimed yell at Eddie Kingston/Lucha Bros/Santana/Ortiz, but Eddie doesn’t have time for this and tells Mark Henry to do his catchphrase.

Daniel Garcia/2.0/Acclaimed vs. Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz/Lucha Bros

The brawl starts in the aisle, because this company doesn’t like to waste time. It’s a big fight outside until Penta and Caster get inside to officially start. They chop it out with Penta getting the better of things (the chest protector might have helped) and bringing in Fenix. Stereo kicks to the head rock Caster and the wheelbarrow splash gives Fenix two. Santana comes in for some chops of his own and we take a break.

Back with Santana rolling over for the hot tag to Penta for the house cleaning. Fenix gets to walk the top rope for the kick to Caster’s face and a springboard spinning kick to the face rocks Garcia. Everything breaks down and the Bros hit the running flip dives to the floor. Back in and Santana piledrives Bowens but gets dropped by Caster. Kingston loads up the spinning backfist but Garcia ducks into a rollup and grabs Kingston’s pants for the pin at 8:42.

Rating: B-. The ending was quite the surprise and unfortunately it means that Garcia will have to be destroyed in the near future. This was more of a brawl than the other big tag match, but running two of them in the span of an hour didn’t do this one any favors. The ending surprised me a lot, though as long as Kingston gets to massacre Garcia once and for all, it will work out fine.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Bowens wrapping a chain around his boom box. Cue Christian Cage and Jurassic Express for the save, but we get the showdown with the Lucha Bros over the titles.

Overall Rating: B-. It was an action packed night, though again they have a problem with putting too many people on the show. It’s a bit much to have nearly thirty people on a weekly TV show in the span of an hour and nothing really stood out as a result. AEW has a very big and talented roster, but they need to get that they don’t have to use so many people every week. The idea of less is more would be a good one for them to learn, as this show needed something to let it slow down and breathe a bit. What we got was good, but spread it out a bit more.

Results
Best Friends/Rocky Romero b. Superkliq/Bobby Fish – Strong Zero to Fish
Tay Conti b. Penelope Ford – Choke
Daniel Garcia/2.0/Acclaimed b. Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz/Lucha Bros – Rollup with tights to Kingston, Dan Lambert, Men of the Year, Sammy Guevara, Cody Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes

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

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

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. FTR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hook vs. Fuego del Sol

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

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

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

Adam Cole vs. Wheeler Yuta

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Dynamite
Date: October 23, 2021
Location: Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s another tournament focused show as we continue the World Title Eliminator Tournament and begin the TBS Title Tournament. We are also less than a month away from Full Gear and that show is going to need some more attention sooner than later. The card is being set up, but it rarely feels like something that is receiving focus. AEW knows how to pull these things off though so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

World Title Eliminator Tournament First Round: Bryan Danielson vs. Dustin Rhodes

Feeling out process to start with Rhodes seeming to be a bit nervous to go after him. Danielson takes him down by the legs and ties them up in kind of an Indian deathlock. Back up and Rhodes hits the drop down uppercut but gets knocked to the floor, setting up the suicide dive.

Dustin is right back up with a flip dive off the apron and scores with a belly to back suplex for two. Danielson pulls him down by the arm though and it’s a short armscissors, setting up the stomp on the arm. They go up top with a superplex bringing Danielson back down, setting up Dustin’s snap powerslam.

Danielson kicks away in the corner but gets caught with the jumping clothesline. Dustin has to block the LeBell Lock and it’s time for some more kicks. A big one to the chest makes Dustin Hulk Up and it’s a piledriver to plant Danielson for two. Dustin is back up but Danielson slaps on the guillotine to finish at 15:24.

Rating: B. I’m not a big Dustin fan but he was going hard here and the match got a lot better as a result. This was about the old gunslinger taking one more shot but running into the buzzsaw that is Danielson. I don’t know how much reason there was to believe in an upset here, but they absolutely made it interesting on the way there. Very good stuff, with Rhodes pulling his weight and then some.

Kenny Omega and the Elite are ready for the Superkliq to face the Dark Order next week. Omega saw Hangman Page being all tough last week but he knows the man behind the mask. He knows Page’s weaknesses and at Full Gear, it’s going to be COWARD S*** instead of COWBOY S***! The Bucks compliment him on the last line.

FTR brags about winning the AAA Tag Team Titles last week. They have been waiting on the sidelines for over a year now and it is time to complete their return by winning the AEW Tag Team Titles.

Penta El Zero Miedo and Alex Abrahantes swear revenge on FTR for hurting Fenix last week.

FTR says bring it.

Tony Schiavone brings out Sting for an update on Darby Allin. Before he can say anything though, here is MJF to interrupt. After asking Florida to try and have some class, MJF talks about how Sting needs to tell these people that their little hero is a coward. Sting can paint his face, swing a bat, or even have your leftover stash from the 80s rain down on the, but you can’t fool MJF: Sting isn’t a good guy.

MJF talks about how all of Sting’s fans stick by them and then he leaves them, like he left Lex Luger in a wheelchair. The fight is on and here is the Pinnacle to beat Sting down, despite Sting swinging MJF’s jacket at them. MJF picks up Sting’s head and asks if he has broken Darby Allin’s mind this time. Allin can listen to these people all he wants, but this is what is waiting on him, because MJF is just that much better. The Pinnacle gets ready to leave but MJF hits Sting with the Dynamite Diamond.

Britt Baker isn’t happy with Tay Conti sticking her nose in the title picture. If Conti had worked hard to get to the main event, they could have had a nice title match. Now though, since Conti put her hands on something that didn’t belong to her, Baker is going to kick that a** that Conti loves showing everyone (her words) and keep her title. Baker continues to come off like she believes every word she says and that is why she is one of the best talkers in wrestling today.

TBS Title Tournament First Round: Penelope Ford vs. Ruby Soho

Ford takes her into the corner and starts the stomping but a running boot is blocked. They fight to the apron and slug it out but here is the Bunny for a distraction. That’s enough for Ford to get in a kick to the face and we take a break. Back with Soho striking away for two but missing a charge into the corner. Ford catches her with a jumping cutter for a close two so Soho gives her an STO out of the corner. Another kick to the head rocks Soho though and it’s the fireman’s carry gutbuster for two. Bunny tries to throw in the brass knuckles but the referee sees what’s going on, allowing Soho to grab an O’Connor roll for the pin at 8:30.

Rating: C-. Another not very long match here as Soho doesn’t quite impress. She is a weird case where she has all of the tools on the surface and seems to have a mind for wrestling but for some reason it hasn’t exactly clicked in the ring. Maybe that can be changed with just a few tweaks, but it isn’t working out perfectly.

Post match the Bunny goes after Soho but Red Velvet runs in for the save.

MJF says he sent Darby Allin a message this week but Wardlow interrupts. Wardlow wants to know why MJF shoved him in front of Sting last week. MJF says it was just fight or flight and tries to talk his way out of it. He sees that Wardlow has been working hard and that’s too much pressure. Therefore, he is assigning Shawn Spears (here as well) to be his account-abili-buddy. Wardlow and Spears are confused but MJF has to leave for a meeting. That was a little weird.

Bobby Fish vs. Anthony Greene

Green grabs a rollup for an early two but Fish is right back with the kicks to the knee. A hard suplex sets up a big kick to the head to end Green at 1:48.

Post match Fish kicks Greene down again to turn heel. The beating is on but CM Punk runs in for the save. So Fish vs. Punk? Well if it’s all you have.

Lio Rush still tries to tell Dante Martin that they’re going to be a great team. Martin still isn’t sure but Rush has already gotten them a match against the Sydal Brothers next week. Dante does not look happy.

World Title Eliminator Tournament First Round: Eddie Kingston vs. Lance Archer

Kingston jumps him in the aisle to start and the brawl is on outside the ring. Archer gets the better of things and pulls a plant over the barricade to slam onto Kingston. A chokeslam off the apron plants said plant onto Kingston and we head inside for the opening bell. Archer chops away but Kingston slips out of the Black Out. The chinlock goes on to put Archer in trouble and we take a break.

Back with Archer choking away in the corner but missing a running shoulder. Instead he gets a boot up to Kingston’s face so Archer tries a moonsault and lands ON THE TOP OF HIS HEAD. Thing stop pretty soon and Archer rolls outside, only to go back in where Kingston rolls him up for the pin at 8:12.

Rating: C. I’m going with right in the middle because I’m a bit shaken up after that landing. It isn’t often that I get scared watching wrestling but seeing a giant like that landing on the top of his head is one way to make it happen. That looked horrible and the best thing to see is that Archer was walking around. Hopefully he is on his way to the hospital though, because that was a scary situation.

Of note: former WWE star Tony Nese was shown in the crowd just after Archer’s crash.

Here are Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year for a chat. They aren’t impressed by the Inner Circle, because the team has been beaten down time after time. Yeah Jake Hager has an undefeated MMA record but no one has ever seen it. Santana and Ortiz are from the streets, but the Men of the Year treat the streets like a runway. As for Chris Jericho, why is AEW paying him to come to the ring and flirt with Paige Vanzant?

Cue Sammy Guevara to quote Jericho, by asking them to shut the h*** up. Sammy remembers hearing that they had some stipulations so let’s have them. Dan Lambert cuts them off and says that Sammy doesn’t suck on the stick as much as he thought he did. The Inner Circle can have their big team match at Full Gear, but only if Sammy defends the title against Ethan Page next week.

WHEN Sammy loses though, he’s also out of the Inner Circle forever. Sammy says it’s on, but if he wins, he gets to pick the members of American Top Team. That’s a deal, but Scorpio Sky is ready to fight right now. Cue the rest of the Inner Circle to chase the villains off in a hurry.

Jon Moxley knows he is supposed to be talking trash and yelling about how he’s going to take out everyone in the tournament. He’ll be doing that, but right now, all he can think about is his baby daughter. His daughter squeezes his finger (which is a little messed up) for all she’s got and all he can think about is her looking up at him. Winning this tournament will let him do more for her, and it’s time so smash everyone.

The Dark Order is ready for the Superkliq when Hangman Page comes in. Page is sorry for not getting back with them sooner. If they are going back after the Elite, and so close to Halloween, it might be time for some costumes. The Dark Order seems interested, with John Silver mentioning Bambi.

Jungle Boy vs. Brandon Cutler

Jungle sends him outside for an early suicide dive and throws him back in for a backdrop. The Snare Trap finishes Cutler at 1:02.

Post match Jungle Boy says he’s still feeling good and wants another member of the Elite. Since no one comes out, the Snare Trap goes on again so Cole screams for someone to help him. Cue Adam Cole to say we can do this right now but it’s a ruse so the Young Bucks can run in for the beatdown. Jungle gets beaten up the ramp and then throw off the stage through some tables in a huge crash.

Miro wants to know why his God has forsaken him. Now he will hurt everyone in front of him and become the favorite champion again. Therefore he can return to his wife, with blood on his hands, which is on us.

Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes

Black has beaten Rhodes twice before but now Cody is being more serious. Arn Anderson is back with Cody, who charges into the ring and we get the opening bell in a hurry. Cody goes straight for the knee but can’t get the Figure Four. Back up and they strike it out as the fans chant CODY SUCKS. A shot to the knee has Cody in trouble but he knocks Black away for a breather. Cody is right back on the knee and we hit the Figure Four as the fans seem to be paying attention to something else. Black bails to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Black in trouble after Cody hit Cross Rhodes through a table at ringside. Black manages to post Cody and they’re both busted open. The fans want Anderson to GET THE GLOCK as Andrade comes out for a distraction. Anderson cuts off Andrade’s assistant with the spinebuster and here is Pac to take out Andrade. Black mists Anderson but walks into the Cross Rhodes for two (and A LOT of booing).

Back up and Black kicks him down, setting up a bridging German suplex for two. Black Mass connects but Cody falls into the ropes to avoid the cover. Cody is back up and gets backdropped out and onto the apron. Black misses the middle rope moonsault and gets taken down by Cody’s suicide dive. The Cody Cutter drops Black back inside and it’s Cross Rhodes into a double underhook piledriver for the pin at 11:44.

Rating: B-. Is it really a surprise that Cody got his win back here? This whole thing has been a Cody story since the beginning with Black getting in some good shows and moments, but ultimately this was about Cody rediscovering the eye of the tiger. This isn’t the end of Black and this isn’t some horrible moment, but it isn’t something that needed to happen. Black is a potential breakout star and the fans do not seem to like Cody very much. Unless this is leading to something down the road with Cody turning, I’m really not feeling this move.

Overall Rating: B-. This was an interesting one as it certainly didn’t hit the heights that some of their shows did, though there was enough to make it worth watching. What interested me the most here is just how much energy there was to the show and how far it took everything else. The fans were into everything they were seeing here (even if they weren’t happy with Cody at any point) and that is going to make a show so much more fun. AEW might be a lot of things and there are criticisms to be made about it, but they know how to make their fans care about everything they are doing and that is huge.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Dustin Rhodes – Guillotine
Ruby Soho b. Penelope Ford – Rollup
Bobby Fish b. Anthony Greene – Kick to the head
Eddie Kingston b. Lance Archer – Rollup
Jungle Boy b. Brandon Cutler – Snare Trap
Cody Rhodes b. Malakai Black – Tiger Driver 98

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: October 16, 2021
Location: James L. Knight Center, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, CM Punk

We’re on a rare Saturday night due to the MLB playoffs and they are going to have a hard time topping what they did last night with Rampage. Tonight we see the brackets for the #1 contenders tournament, as Full Gear is less than a month away. Add in a AAA Tag Team Titles match and we should be good to go. Let’s get to it.

Here is Rampage if you need a recap.

Guest commentator CM Punk gets his big entrance.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Malakai Black vs. Dante Martin

Lio Rush is here with Black. Some armdrags put Martin down to start but he sends Black outside. It’s too early for a dive though as Black comes back in and elbows him in the face. A powerbomb sets up a half crab to put Martin in trouble but he slips out in a hurry. That earns Martin and STO and shinbreaker, setting up a kneebar. Martin makes the ropes to escape and goes up top, only to have his springboard blocked. A sunset flip gives Martin two and a poisonrana out of the corner staggers Black.

With Black out on the ramp, Martin hits a springboard flip dive (with a bit of a slip) to drop him again. Back in and a double springboard moonsault misses for Martin, setting up a slugout. Black kicks him down and scores with a top rope double stomp, setting up a kick to the head. There’s a hard German suplex to drop Martin hard so he heads up top. That’s broken up with a super hurricanrana but Black is right back with a half crab. Martin escapes again and tries to go up again, only to get caught with Black Mass (Rush is NOT pleased) for the pin at 9:37.

Rating: B. They pulled me into this one as I wasn’t exactly thinking that it was great at the start. That was all changed by the end as these guys were beating the heck out of each other, with one big spot after another. I didn’t buy Martin as possibly winning, but it would have been too much of a stretch to have that take place anyway. Rather good match here as Black continues to prove that WWE was totally wrong about him every single week.

Post match Black goes to leave but stops to nod at Martin in respect.

The Jurassic Express talks about being banged up but the Elite comes in to beat them down. Kenny Omega manages to powerbomb Luchasaurus through the table to show that he can do it.

Here is the Inner Circle, fresh off their loss last night, to quite the reception. Santana isn’t happy about American Top Team, which brings them out with Dan Lambert to brag about their MMA success. Jericho tells us to welcome the “fat faced dip****” and yes the fans chant the name. Jericho accuses Paige Vanzant of having a thing for him, but he wouldn’t touch her with her husband’s genitalia. Punk: “I don’t believe him. I think he would.”

The challenge is on for the ten man tag but Lambert insults the team, including talking about the size of Jake Hager’s head. Lambert is down if the Inner Circle will accept their challenge, but he’ll give them the terms next week. Scorpio Sky says he has pinned Chris Jericho twice, but the fans think he still sucks. Sammy Guevara is ready to fight right now and he’ll see them next week. Vanzant continues to look like a star every time she’s on camera.

AAA Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. Las Super Ranas

The Ranas (the Super Frogs) are two guys in green suits with masks and challenging. Punk: “I don’t know if the Lucha Bros care, but that’s clearly FTR.” We’ll say #1 starts with Fenix, who spins the arm around to start until #1 takes him down and goes for the mask. A victory roll faceplant takes #1 down and everything breaks down, with the Bros going for the masks. Commentary confirms that it’s FTR, mainly due to the lack of flips. The masks come off and FTR clotheslines the Bros down to take over as we go to a break.

Back with Fenix getting dropped ribs first on top but Penta is back in for the brawl. Fenix gets a running start to springboard onto both of them, setting up the Lucha version of What’s Up. Everything breaks down and FTR tries to bring in the belts, only to get kicked down in a hurry. Cue Tully Blanchard (in matching green) for a distraction though, allowing Harwood to belt Fenix out of the air. A brainbuster gives Harwood the pin and the titles at 8:14.

Rating: C+. The frogs deal was weird but points for a surprise title change. FTR getting some gold is certainly a nice thing to see and I could go for another match between these two. The AAA Tag Team Titles have enough meaning for this to be an important win so nice job in a surprise, even if it doesn’t last long. It was also nice for commentary to sound smart, as they weren’t exactly fooled by the disguises.

Lio Rush says Dante Martin failed because he screwed up but Martin can be successful if he just listens. From this point forward, they’re tag partners, though Martin doesn’t seem convinced.

Andrade and FTR celebrate the win. MJF comes in to celebrate with them and gets paid by Andrade, seemingly to rent FTR for the night. MJF’s horrible Spanish is that much better.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley jumps him to start, puts Yuta down, and finishes with the Paradigm Shift at 1:11. Well that worked, though Orange Cassidy staring down at Moxley as Yuta is checked on by the medics seems to give us a future.

Serena Deeb beat Hikaru Shida last week but she’s not happy with how the division has been since she went on sabbatical. It was time to drag the division back up but here is Shida to jump her from behind.

Dark Order vs. Superkliq

It’s Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds and John Silver for the team here but the Superkliq jump them before the bell. Silver escapes the TripleBomb (because the Elite is the Shield these days) on the ramp with Reynolds coming in to help out. They get back inside for the opening bell and Cole gets triple dropkicked to the floor. We settle down to Silver having to kick all three of them away but a Don Callis distraction lets Matt kick him down.

Cole cuts off Reynolds’ dive with an enziguri and it’s a double superkick into a brainbuster onto the knee on the floor to drop him again. JR: “You might want to bother counting.” More kicks and shots to the face have Silver in trouble and we take a break. Back with Nick losing a shoe as Silver makes the comeback, allowing the tag to Uno. That means a full on Mr. Socko return, because AEW doesn’t like to put together the most unique stuff. Uno runs wild for a bit until a few more shots cut him (and the crowd) off.

Cole gets Uno in a camel clutch and the Bucks load up the double kiss, but the rest of the Order takes their place for the kiss instead. A double backdrop puts Cole on the floor and the Order gets to pose for a change. Something Evil gets two on Cole as everything breaks down again. The Order is sent outside and get take out by dives, leaving Cole to kick Reynolds down. A rollup gives Reynolds two and he knees Cole in the face for a bonus. The Bucks are back in with superkicks and the Panama Sunrise into the BTE Trigger into the Boom finishes for Cole at 10:48.

Rating: C+. I can forgive the Superkliq for not exactly taking the Dark Order seriously but they ultimately had to put in some effort to win. Cole getting the pin works as well as he continues to pad his resume while the Bucks take a bit of a step back from him. Silver continues to look like a star, though I’m not sure how much of a future he has in this 837 member group.

Post match here is Jungle Boy to go after the Superkliq, who run off because he grabs a chair. Brandon Cutler is left alone to try the cold spray, which is blocked by the chair. The Snare Trap has Cutler in trouble, with Boy adding the spray to Cutler’s eyes. Now see how easy it is to make Jungle Boy look good? Get rid of the freak show and he’s a star. It’s not that hard.

Cody Rhodes appears at his wrestling academy, where his fellow coaches (or maybe students) aren’t happy with him. Arn Anderson puts him through a drill where everyone goes after him one at a time. Cody wants to know what this is supposed to teach him so Anderson pulls out a photo of Dusty Rhodes beating him up back in the day. Arn talks about how Cody never wanted to disappoint kids, but would kids have thought Dusty was bad for busting Arn open that night? Of course not, because Arn had it coming. Malakai Black has it coming too.

Here is MJF to say he is stuck in a place that smells like hookers and gasoline. He doesn’t like not being announced for his match, even though there is no match scheduled. Punk: “You know how I can tell? No Wardlow.” MJF doesn’t think Darby Allin is ready to fight him so maybe he did break Allin mentally. After telling a fat guy to shut up, MJF feigns shock over hearing about Allin being attacked last week. MJF: “TONY SCHIAVONE! DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS???”

MJF is going to give us a match with Allin, so Wardlow brings out a referee to count the ten. The count is on….and here’s Sting to answer. A baseball bat shot to the ribs drops Wardlow and MJF runs into the snow. MJF teases running back in but runs despite Sting dropping the bat, much to commentary’s disgust.

Britt Baker interrupts Anna Jay’s interview and talks about how the Superkliq beat the Dark Order. Anna: “They are not losers!” Baker talks more trash and the fight is on with referees breaking it up in a hurry.

Kiera Hogan vs. Penelope Ford

The Bunny is here with Ford. Hogan grabs a headlock to start as Punk wants to know if there is any relation, though commentary isn’t sure which Hogan he could possibly mean. Tony is right there to bring them back to focus on the TBS Title as Ford misses a running boot in the corner, setting up a takedown to give Hogan two. Ford bulldogs her into the corner to take over again though and we go to a break. Back with Hogan hitting a superplex but not being able to follow up. A sliding kick to the face in the corner rocks Ford for two more but Ford hits a running cutter. The Muta Lock finishes Hogan at 7:53.

Rating: D+. Not the best match here, but neither of these two are exactly known as a ring general. They were both trying but ultimately you’re only going to be able to get so much out of them. Hogan is someone who has potential due to her amazing charisma and it’s clear that AEW sees a lot in Ford. Keeping it short was the right call here, and it’s not like this dragged down the show.

Post match here is Ruby Soho to jump Ford in revenge from last night. The beating is on but the Bunny comes out to….do nothing actually.

Miro isn’t sure what happened that caused him to lose the TNT Title. He thinks his God has turned on him because he was given a body of granite and a neck of sand. Miro will either be a champion or an enemy and it is time to destroy. He hasn’t seen his wife since losing the title and he will not again until he is God’s favorite champion again.

Here is Hangman Page for a chat. Tony Schiavone recaps Page’s feud with Kenny Omega, leaving Page to talk about how the Elite left their home in Ring of Honor in 2019. Their world changed and then he lost his big matches on the way. It felt like he started to lose a bit more, including his confidence. The one thing that it felt like he never lost was the fans chanting COWBOY S***, which means we have to pause for a chant.

That meant taking his shot on day one and learning to let the past live in the past and accept new friends in his life. It meant taking his chance to stick his neck out like his friends did so many times. It means having the guts to go back home for the birth of his son, but last week he finally picked up the phone and took a shot.

Page feels the people still believe in him though, and for the first time in his life, he does too. The promise he can make is that he will give us everything at Full Gear, including COWBOY S***! This was a heck of a promo and it was nice to have Page finally say these things instead of having to figure out the big story for ourselves. It wasn’t hard to figure out, but it’s nice to hear it from the source for a change.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes III and tournament matches.

Bryan Danielson vs. Bobby Fish

Feeling out process to start with Fish’s headlock not working, as Danielson kicks him into the corner. Back up and Fish strikes away, only to get knocked outside. Fish gets posted but is fine enough to cut off the running knee from the apron as we take a break. Back with Fish working on the knee and hitting a sliding lariat for two more.

The half crab goes on but Danielson is back up with a suplex to send Fish flying. Danielson evens things up by wrapping the knee around the post but Fish is back in with a backdrop driver. Fish takes him up top for a super Falcon Arrow and starts tying up the knee. They both get kneebars until Danielson kicks him in the head for the break. A heel hook makes Fish tap at 12:28.

Rating: B. Fish got in a lot here, which is the kind of thing that makes AEW work so well. They know how to make someone look good in defeat, albeit in a match they had no business winning. There is nothing wrong with Fish losing to a much bigger star and Danielson gets a win over someone with some name value. AEW has figured out that formula and that is a great thing to see.

With less than a minute to go in the show, here is the bracket for the #1 contenders tournament:

10
Jon Moxley

Orange Cassidy
Powerhouse Hobbs

Dustin Rhodes
Bryan Danielson

Lance Archer
Eddie Kingston

That’s….interesting. I guess?

Overall Rating: B. Not so great brackets aside, this was another good show from AEW, who don’t seem to know how to had a bad one these days. They throw in at least two exciting matches to keep you hooked and the rest is all gravy. The title change was a nice surprise too, though I’m not completely sure why the frog suits were included. Anyway, another good night here, as AEW is on fire (again).

Results
Malakai Black b. Dante Martin – Black Mass
Las Super Ranas b. Lucha Bros – Brainbuster to Fenix
Jon Moxley b. Wheeler Yuta – Paradigm Shift
Superkliq b. Dark Order – Boom to Reynolds
Penelope Ford b. Kiera Hogan – Muta Lock
Bryan Danielson b. Bobby Fish – Heel hook

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: September 29, 2021
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, CM Punk

AEW has been on a roll as of late and that means we could be in for something special tonight. I’m not sure what we are going to be seeing here, but it certainly could be a fun night. If nothing else, we’re in Brodie Lee’s hometown and that means we are probably going to be in for some tributes. Let’s get to it.

Here is Rampage if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We open with some BRODIE chants, which are just awesome.

Here’s CM Punk, who will be on commentary tonight but can’t dive into the crowd because of the athletic commission.

Adam Cole vs. Jungle Boy

Feeling out process to start until Boy hits a heck of a chop into a springboard armdrag. A dropkick puts Cole on the floor and let’s take a breather for a bit. Jungle follows him out and Cole kicks him down, setting up a neckbreaker back inside. The chinlock holds Boy in place for a bit but he is right back up with a shot to the face. Jungle hits a brainbuster into a belly to belly into the corner, followed by the rolling German suplexes for two.

Cole rolls his way out of a torture rack for two and hits the brainbuster onto the knee for two of his own. Jungle snaps off a poisonrana into a running forearm to the back of the head, setting up kind of an Angle Slam into a Death Valley Driver for two. Back up and Cole superkicks him out to the floor, leaving Jungle down for a good bit. The Panama Sunrise on the floor is broken up but Jungle’s suicide dive is cut off by an enziguri.

Cole gets back on the apron so Jungle snaps off a running hurricanrana to the floor. Back in and Cole hits another enziguri, setting up the Panama Sunrise…..for two. I’m not sure if someone should be kicking out of that so soon but Cole’s stunned face made it a little better. Jungle pulls him into the Snare Trap but Cole slips out and kicks him outside. Back in and a low blow cuts Jungle down, leaving Cole to hit the Boom for the pin at 13:45.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a back and forth match, which is something that you can always go for around here. It was a lot of dives and flips and kicks to the face, but at least they were putting on an entertaining match. Jungle losing again isn’t my favorite thing, but at least it was to someone like Cole, who is being pushed as a major star.

Post break here is the Elite and after a break, Karl Anderson talks about how great the Elite is, including introducing most of the team. Anderson: “And of course Nak and Cutler.” Cole talks about how he beat Jungle Boy on his own, because Bay Bay is elite and undefeated. The fans chant for Punk, who has not had the nicest things to say about the Elite so far.

Kenny Omega talks about how his social media has been blowing up over his match with Bryan Danielson last week. Last week might have been the greatest match in AEW history and he isn’t surprised. Danielson cashed in on his promise to kick Omega’s head in but he couldn’t make it work when it counted. Since Danielson has no record though, he isn’t getting a rematch and he’ll never see Omega face to face again.

Cue Danielson to refer to the champ as Kenny “NO BALLS” Omega. Punk: “Well that’s a t-shirt.” Danielson issues the challenge to face any member of the Elite on Rampage but gets no takers. Instead, Omega wants to fight right now but Danielson calls out the reinforcements from the back and gets Frankie Kazarian, Christian Cage and Jurassic Express. The Elite bails from the fight of course.

Andrade interrupts the Lucha Bros and says they haven’t defended their AAA Tag Team Titles in a long time. He has some friends if they’re up for a defense, and the Bros seem down.

Matt Sydal/Dante Martin vs. Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson

Cody headlocks Sydal to start and gets nowhere with it. Instead it’s off to Sydal to headlock takeover Johnson, setting up a kick to the back. It’s back to Martin to stare Johnson face to face and we take a break. Back with Cody getting the hot tag to clean house as commentary talks about how the fans aren’t thrilled with Cody these days. Everything breaks down as Johnson and Sydal fight outside.

Martin missile dropkicks Cody for two and a double jump moonsault is good for the same. Johnson tags himself back in and gets kicked in the face by Sydal. That doesn’t seem to matter as Johnson kicks Sydal in the face, only to get rolled up by Martin for two more. Another superkick rocks Martin though and a fisherman’s buster onto the knee finishes for Johnson at 7:45.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving and that was a good thing. Sometimes you don’t need a match to keep going forever and that was the case here. Good little match, with Johnson getting to shine a bit and the fans’ displeasure with Cody being highlighted for a change. That’s interesting, and it’s a smart path to take, even if it takes some time.

Post match Cody calls out Malakai Black but Arn Anderson tells him to shut up. Anderson talks about how Black has destroyed everything they love and Cody is missing the point. Black is an assassin who will take out everyone to win a match. Cody is the kind of person who would give up his car if someone tried to steal it but Anderson would shoot them in the head. He isn’t going to coach a loser, so Johnson can leave with him.

Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston/Darby Allin vs. Bear Country/Anthony Greene

Sting is here with Darby and company and it’s a brawl to start, with Allin and Greene being left alone in the ring. That’s fine with Allin, who gets two off of la majistral. An armdrag sends Greene down and we get a Ricky Steamboat reference. We settle down to Bear Country beating up Moxley but Kingston breaks up the double splash. The spinning backfist sets up a German suplex and the brawl heads to the floor. That leaves Greene alone with Moxley and Kingston, who shrug off a springboard spinning high crossbody attempt. The German suplex/lariat combination finishes Greene at 3:30.

Rating: C-. Mostly a squash here and that’s all it needed to be. Sometimes your best bet is to get people on there on screen and let them do their thing, which is exactly what they did here. It wasn’t a great match or anything, but it can be a good idea to let big stars feel like big stars. Nice job, even if it was hardly a classic.

Post match Sting lays Greene out for a bonus.

Video on Ruby Soho vs. Britt Baker, with Soho promising to take the title.

Dark Order/Orange Cassidy vs. Hardy Family Office

Negative 1 is here with the team because AEW likes making its fans emotional. This is a sixteen man tag to make things a bit complicated and the Dark Order is already fighting among themselves. Alan Angels loses his mask and it’s a suplex/top rope spear combination from Butcher and Blade for two. Private Party comes in to work on on Angels as we get a THANK YOU BRODIE chant.

Everything breaks down though and we take a break. Back with Jack Evans (Flippy McGillicutty according to Punk) coming in to pick up the pace until Evil Uno kicks him in the face. Alex Reynolds gets sent into Uno as the issues continue, so Cassidy comes in for the top rope thumbs up splash. Uno walks out on the match so some more of the Order goes to talk to him.

Evans flips over into a backslide for two on Cassidy as everything breaks down again. Uno keeps walking but cue Negative 1 and Amanda Huber (Brodie’s widow) with 1 throwing the papers and Amanda telling the team to get it together. The Order charges the ring and cleans house, with the parade of secondary finishers. A series of strikes sets up a German suplex and the Fatality is good for the pin at 7:51.

Rating: A. This was all about the emotions and they nailed that on every level. I wasn’t a big Lee fan but I was smiling throughout the entire thing, which is all it needed to be. Outstanding stuff here, with the Dark Order reunion bringing all the feelings. I loved this and they did exactly what they were trying to do.

Post match the Dark Order gets back together and it’s about as cool as you can get.

Lio Rush is All Elite. Rush? Not actually retiring? I’m as stunned as you are.

FTR and Tully Blanchard are ready to show that they’re the best again. Top guys out.

Here are Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year to talk about how Chris Jericho got kneed in the face by UFC’s Jorge Mazvidal last week. The thing is, Jericho saved this promotion from itself and turned it into the hottest promotion anyone has seen in years. Then Jericho came after them and got beaten down like never before, leaving his earning potential the same as everyone here: zero. Now they have cut the head off of AEW and Tony Khan-man will have more trouble selling snake oil.

Scorpio Sky talks about how he was a star around here at the beginning and then he grabbed the giant Sonic ring, but it wasn’t good enough. No one around here was paying attention, but Dan Lambert was watching. Lambert sees him as a main eventer, just like Ethan Page. That sends Page into a rant about how great he is at everything but he can’t get an action figure or a spot in the opening video. He has the best smile around here and now he rolls with champions, because the Men of the Year are the Top Team.

Hikaru Shida is ready to get her 50th win in AEW, but she has to beat Serena Deeb next week on Dynamite’s second anniversary show.

Penelope Ford/The Bunny vs. Tay Conti/Anna Jay

It’s a brawl to start with the villains being sent into the corner. Tay tries to jump to the apron but falls down and comes up holding her knee. Ford kicks Anna into a neck snap from Bunny before dropping a knee. We take a break and come back with Ford and Conti coming in off the double tag. A double suplex gets two on Ford but she Matrixes away from a clothesline and hits a Stunner on Jay. Ford’s fireman’s carry gutbuster gets two but she misses a moonsault. The TayKO knocks Bunny silly on the floor and the Dangerous Jay kick sets up the Queenslayer to finish Ford at 6:31.

Rating: C. This should be the end of the feud and that’s how it should have gone. Conti and Jay are a good team for the young and plucky faces and that’s what they did here. Ford and Bunny were a good obstacle for them to get by and it wound up being a completely watchable match as well.

Post match Negative 1 comes in to celebrate. Punk: “He’s a smart kid.”

Video on Thunder Rosa vs. Nyla Rose vs. Jade Cargill on Rampage.

Here is MJF for a chat. MJF doesn’t think much of upstate New York and wants to talk about the four pillars of AEW. You have Jungle Boy (“Beat him.”), Sammy Guevara (“Beat him.), Darby Allin (“…..yeah whatever.”) and the strongest pillar of them all, which is the man who was in the first match at All In, Maxwell Jacob Friedman himself. He is the past, present and future of AEW and that means he should be the AEW World Champion. Tony: “Earn that in the ring then dude.” MJF teases talking to Bruce Prichard if he doesn’t get a title shot, but here is Allin to interrupt.

MJF: “As much as I love the whole school shooter mime on a skateboard routine”, he’s not happy with the interruption. There is nothing wrong with being a #2 guy, like Mark Messier, Scottie Pippen, or Sting. MJF says he’s the #1 guy, so Allin asks if MJF is done talking and tells him to go if he isn’t happy. See, Allin is AEW for life until death, but he doesn’t understand how MJF can be #1 when Allin is the only one of the two of them to win a title.

MJF appreciates the Batman voice and brings up Allin being straightedge. We hear about Allin getting in a car with his drunk uncle as a kid and they got in an accident. The uncle died, and it’s a travesty because the wrong man died. Allin says MJF isn’t breaking him mentally, which sends MJF leaving. MJF was on fire here, even if he was going really far with some of these things.

Video on Sammy Guevara vs. Miro, which is fallout from Miro beating Fuego del Sol up to take his car. Guevara will buy him a new car if he wins.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara is challenging and they circle each other to start. A knee strike misses for Guevara and Miro takes him down for the stomping. Miro runs him over for two but Guevara is back up with a running crossbody to knock both of them outside. Guevara posts him hard and avoids a charge into the steps but Miro is fine enough to snap off a belly to belly back inside.

We take a break and come back with Guevara jawbreaking his way to freedom from a chinlock but Miro kicks him down again. That earns Miro a Spanish Fly and they’re both down for a bit. There’s a low superkick to rock Miro and a running knee does the same. Miro’s missed charge sends him flying out to the floor so Guevara hits a HUGE flip dive to the floor. Back in and Guevara charges into a swinging release slam for two but Guevara blocks a superplex attempt.

A middle rope cutter can’t keep Miro down and Guevara can’t load up the GTS. The jumping superkick gives Miro two so Guevara rolls outside. That leaves Miro to pull off a turnbuckle pad, which brings out Fuego for a save. Guevara is back in with a jumping knee to send Miro into the exposed buckle. There’s a tornado DDT into the GTH to drop Miro. The 630 gives Guevara the pin and the title at 13:42.

Rating: B. The best way I can describe this match is that it was a ride. I wanted to see if Guevara could pull off the impossible here and win the title and you could feel the release of emotion when he actually pulled it off. It didn’t feel like they rushed the title change either, and it would be fine if Miro gets the title back. If nothing else, they gave Guevara his big win and that’s what matters most here.

A bunch of wrestlers come out to celebrate with Guevara to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. I had a great time with this show as they were focusing on the emotions. This was about having a good time in front of a crowd that wanted to be entertained. Throw in some things being announced for the anniversary show and the big title change at the end and this was a heck of a way to spend two hours. Awesome show and things might be getting better soon.

Results
Adam Cole b. Jungle Boy – Boom
Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson b. Dante Martin/Matt Sydal – Fisherman’s buster onto the knee
Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston/Darby Allin b. Bear Country/Anthony Greene – German suplex/clothesline combination to Greene
Dark Order/Orange Cassidy b. Hardy Family Office – Fatality to Johi
Tay Conti/Anna Jay b. The Bunny/Penelope Ford – Queenslayer to Ford
Sammy Guevara b. Miro – 630

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Rampage
Date: September 24, 2021
Location: Arthur Ashe Tennis Stadium, New York City, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks

It’s the second half of AEW’s New York Adventures and that’s not a bad thing. This week’s Dynamite was huge and this is the biggest Rampage to date, clocking in at two hours instead of the usual one. I’m not sure what that is going to mean, but odds are it’s going to be fun. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

CM Punk vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Hook is here with Hobbs. Punk, in trunks for a change, goes after Hobbs to start but a single shot sends him down on the ropes. Hobbs plants him down and we hit the neck crank to keep Punk in trouble. Punk’s comeback includes a knee to the ribs but Hobbs runs him over again and seems to be toying with him so far. A running crotch attack on the ropes hits Punk and we take an early break.

Back with Punk fighting out of a bearhug and striking away, including a running shot to the face to put Hobbs down. The top rope elbow gets two (and has Team Taz freaking out on commentary) but the GTS is countered. Hobbs plants him with a spinebuster for two more and then drops Punk again to cut off a comeback.

The Oakland Stampede gives Hobbs two more but Punk catches him top top. A super hurricanrana gives Punk two off the big crash. Punk’s cross armbreaker is countered into a powerbomb and it’s time to slug it out. Hook gets up for a distraction but Punk sends Hobbs into him, setting up the GTS for the pin at 13:35.

Rating: C+. Hobbs got a lot in this and that’s the reason you put him in there with someone like Punk. They had a good fight here and Punk survived, likely setting up the big match with Ricky Starks down the line. The Team Taz feud gives Punk a chance to shake off some rust and that’s the right idea, without burning through some big matches.

Thunder Rosa isn’t scared of Jade Cargill or Nyla Rose and fights on her own.

Superkliq vs. Christian Cage/Jurassic Express

Don Callis is on commentary and a lot of the Elite is here too. Christian takes Matt down to start as Callis takes shots at the “Stanford Supermax.” Matt comes in and gets taken down as well with Jungle Boy adding the running kick to the face. Cole runs away from Jungle but the Bucks take over on Jungle’s arm. Everything breaks down and the chase is on outside, with Jungle charging into a double superkick. Jungle is brought back inside for a double dropkick and we take a break.

Back with Jungle not being able to get away for the hot tag until he sends the Bucks into each other. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Luchasaurus to clean house, including the big Tail Whip. Matt head fakes Jungle to plant him with a DDT but More Bang For Your Buck is broken up. The Snare Trap has Matt in trouble until a save is made.

A running clothesline drops Matt and everything breaks down again. The brawl heads to the ramp, where Matt hits Christian low and throws him off the stage. That leaves Cole to hit a Shining Wizard on Luchasaurus, followed by the Panama Sunrise. The Bucks are back in for the BTE Trigger into the Boom (Last Shot) for the pin at 14:38.

Rating: B-. This was the all action match that it should have been and Cole getting the pin is the right way to go. As little as I need to see a subset in the Elite, Cole getting pushed is the right idea for now. He has the spark at the moment and it makes sense to go with him. It’s not like the Bucks need to win anything right now anyway.

Men of the Year vs. Chris Jericho/Jake Hager

Dan Lambert is here with the Men of the Year. Jericho and Sky start things off but it’s quickly off to Hager to pummel Page in the corner. Like a good veteran, Jericho gets in some choking in the corner, allowing Hager to get one off a belly to belly. Jericho comes back in but gets taken into the wrong corner as we go to a break.

Back with Hager in trouble for a change but he manages a running shot to the face to get a breather. The hot tag brings in Jericho to face Sky, plus a triangle dropkick to Page. The top rope ax handle drops Sky and the Lionsault is good for two. Everything breaks down and it’s an ankle lock to Page and the Walls to Sky as we take a break…and come back a second later to officially start the second hour. Both holds are broken and Jericho slingshot dives onto Page. Lambert trips Hager though and Sky grabs a small package for the pin at 11:01.

Rating: C+. Another perfectly fine match as Lambert and company get to run their mouths some more. That’s why you have someone like him around and it should work out when someone finally shuts him up. The Men of the Year aren’t the most thrilling team, but at least they’re getting to do something else.

Post match Jericho and Hager go after Lambert but a bunch of MMA guys come out to surround the ring. The big beatdown is on, including Paige VanZandt getting in some shots to Jericho’s ribs. A running knee leaves Jericho laying.

Lucha Bros/Santana/Ortiz vs. Hardy Family Office

Butcher and the Blade/Private Party for the Office here as this company continues to love itself some tag matches. The good guys start fast and send the Office outside for the huge quadruple dive (that was awesome). Back in and it’s another big brawl with the Office taking over for a change. Matt Hardy loads up some scissors but here is Orange Cassidy to cut things off.

Cassidy takes out Jack Evans and we take a break. Back with Fenix handing it off to Ortiz to clean house. Penta hits a torture rack backbreaker onto Quen and kicks Butcher in the leg for a bonus. Back in and Fenix kicks Butcher in the face but Blade kicks him in the face to even things up. Quen misses his shooting star though and Penta hits the Sling Blade. The spike Fear Factor hits Quen and the Street Sweeper is enough for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B-. What we got was fun and there were all kinds of high spots, with that four way dive looking great. You don’t watch a match like this to have people stand out and there is nothing wrong with that. Santana and Ortiz getting the hometown win is a good thing, though the show is running very heavy on tags so far.

Matt Hardy isn’t happy with Orange Cassidy and he’s going to watch Penelope Ford beat Anna Jay to make himself feel better. As for Cassidy though, he’s issuing the challenge for a hair vs. hair match. If Cassidy has the guts, he can put his hair on the line against….Jack Evans. Matt to Evans: “YOU BETTER WIN!”

Sammy Guevara and Fuego del Sol come out for Sammy’s cue card deal but Miro jumps both of them and the beatdown is on. Fuego is tossed HARD off the stage and Game Over leaves Sammy down.

Andrade doesn’t like someone interfering in his matches like Chavo Guerrero did. Now he wants to beat Pac with no interference.

Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford

Jay jumps her on the ramp to start fast and the low bridges Ford outside. Back in and a hook kick drops Ford and sets up a choke but here is the Bunny for a distraction. Ford drapes her over the top and kicks her out to the ramp as the beating begins. We take a break and come back with a slugout but the Bunny throws in the brass knuckles to knock Jay out for the pin at 6:48.

Rating: C-. This was a quick one and it didn’t get to showcase much. Jay continues to feel like a star but this is mainly going to be about Tay Conti at the end of the day. They’re a good team together and have done rather well so far. I could see either of them getting a nice push out of this feud, once they get to the big blowoff tag match.

Post match the beatdown is on so here is Tay Conti for the save, only to get dropped with the knuckles as well. The Hardy Family Office comes out to stand tall but here are Orange Cassidy and Kris Statlander, with the Dark Order joining them, giving us about fifteen people in one segment. The Dark Order clears the ring but Stu Grayson and Evil Uno walk away.

We get the face to face showdown between Lance Archer/Minoru Suzuki and Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston. They want to fight so Mark Henry hits the catchphrase to get us out in a hurry.

Lance Archer/Minoru Suzuki vs. Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston

Lights out, meaning anything goes. Suzuki and Archer jump them to start with Suzuki and Moxley having their chair duel on the ramp. With that broken up, Suzuki and Kingston go inside to chop it out, with Suzuki laughing a lot. Kingston sweeps the leg and grabs a table. That goes badly as Suzuki kicks Kingston through the table in the corner but Moxley is back in to forearm Archer.

That’s broken up and Archer chokeslams Moxley off the apron onto a pile of people outside. It doesn’t last long as Moxley and Suzuki slug it out inside until Archer puts a belt around Moxley’s throat for a hanging. We take a break and come back with Moxley’s hands duct taped behind his back so Archer can get in another whip with the belt. Suzuki grabs a half crab but legs it go for no apparent reason. Archer holds Moxley in place so Suzuki can hit/bite him.

Moxley avoids a charge in the corner though and Kingston, with his left arm hanging, comes in to clean house. A poke to the eye sets up some machine gun chops to stagger Archer in the corner. That’s broken up and some chairs are set back to back. Archer loads up the Blackout but here is Homicide of all people to clean house with a chair. Some spinning backfists and the Paradigm Shift from a freed Moxley put Archer down, but Kingston puts him in a trashcan instead of covering. A bunch of kendo stick shots to the trashcan knock Archer silly for the pin at 15:10.

Rating: C. I couldn’t get into this one as it felt like a long segment at times, especially with the Moxley beating going on for the better part of ever. It also doesn’t exactly make Moxley and Kingston look that great to need someone to come in and save them, but that was more for the live crowd than anything else. Pretty good brawl, but it wasn’t exactly anything that kept my interest.

The long celebration ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There were a crazy amount of people on this show and a lot of tag matches, but it felt like a special show instead of another run of the mill edition. Nothing was bad and the big Punk match felt like it mattered. As long as this is a one off two hour edition, they’re going to be fine, as this was basically Dynamite II for the week. It absolutely does not need to be this long every week, but for a one time special, it worked well enough.

Results
CM Punk b. Powerhouse Hobbs – GTS
Superkliq b. Christian Cage/Jurassic Express – Boom to Luchasaurus
Men of the Year b. Chris Jericho/Jake Hager – Small package to Hager
Santana/Ortiz/Lucha Bros b. Hardy Family Office – Street Sweeper to Marq Quen
Penelope Ford b. Anna Jay – Brass knuckles
Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston b. Minoru Suzuki/Lance Archer – Kendo stick to Archer

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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Rampage
Date: September 17, 2021
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Taz, Ricky Starks, Chris Jericho, Excalibur

It’s another stacked show this week with a pair of title matches. First up we have Butcher and the Blade getting a shot at the Lucha Bros, plus Miro defending the TNT Title against Fuego del Sol. The latter is made a little more interesting when you throw in del Sol’s car being on the line as well. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Butcher And The Blade vs. Lucha Bros

The Bros are defending and Butcher throws Fenix around to start. Penta comes in to take over on Butcher, including the wheelbarrow splash for two. Butcher forearms Penta in the face so Fenix comes in, only to get kneed in the face. It’s already back to Penta for the Sling Blades to the floor, setting up the big dives from the champs.

We take a break and come back with Penta having to crawl over for the tag to Fenix, who strikes away at Butcher and Blade. Butcher breaks up something off the top rope so Fenix German suplexes him instead. A moonsault set up another German suplex for two on Blade, followed by the spike Fear Factor to Butcher.

Blade has to make the save so Penta kicks away at his legs. A powerslam gives Blade two as everything breaks down. Penta gets tied into the corner by the mask, leaving Fenix to get double stomped. With the powerbomb/neckbreaker loaded up, Penta takes his mask off to make the superkick save. Fenix grabs a hurricanrana to retain the titles at 9:43.

Rating: B-. Butcher and the Blade aren’t exactly top level challengers but they did just fine for a one off like this. They haven’t exactly been back for very long but they are undefeated this year (with most of the wins coming on Dark) so putting them here works. I’m not sure they needed much of an explanation for their title shot, though AEW certainly likes keeping things official.

Post match the Hardy Family Office comes in for the beatdown but Santana and Ortiz run in for the save.

Kenny Omega talks about how Bryan Danielson has always been the underdog and he isn’t even ranked over here. Danielson says everyone is underestimating him but he wants to start against the best. The underdog is getting taken apart here, just like everyone else.

Anna Jay vs. The Bunny

Tay Conti and Penelope Ford are the seconds and it’s a brawl in the aisle to start. Anna gets the better of things and takes Bunny inside to run her over. Bunny gets knocked back outside, where she pulls Anna’s shoulder hard into the post. The arm is cranked on some more as we take a break. Back with Bunny cranking on the arm again but Anna kicks the knee out. A running seated Blockbuster gives Anna two but the Queenslayer is broken up. The seconds get in a fight on the floor and Anna grabs a rollup for the pin at 6:59.

Rating: C. This was hard hitting enough to get by, though Anna still has a long way to go in the ring. She does the limited stuff well though and that is better than some people can say. It’s a smart move to let her have the win here as she needs it a lot more than Bunny, though neither of these two seem likely to break through to the title picture in the near future.

Post match the brawl is on again with Conti and Ford getting involved as well. Ford pulls out some brass knuckles to knock Conti and Anna cold.

Post break, Matt Hardy is furious and makes Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford, plus Lucha Bros/Proud and Powerful vs. Private Party/Butcher and the Blade for next week. For this week though, Hardy is sick of looking at an Orange Cassidy lookalike in the front row. The lookalike, who weighs about 300lbs, is pulled into the ring for a beatdown from Hardy and Jack Evans. Hardy pulls out some scissors and it’s time for the big haircut. Cue Orange Cassidy for the save.

Here are Ruby Soho and Britt Baker for a face to face chat. Britt thinks Riott is here for herself, because she needs to find out who she is. Ruby has changed her name and hair color so much because she needs to fit in. Everyone knows who Baker is around here though and we hit the crowd assisted catchphrase.

Ruby says of course everyone knows who Baker is because she tells them every week. Ruby knows who she is too, but now she has the freedom to show it. We pause for a RUBY SOHO chant before she wants to talk about Baker. Britt looks like every other broad she has stood across the ring from, even down to banging some dude in the back. Baker smiles a bit and nods as Ruby says she is trying to figure out if there is anything more.

Actually Baker would like to know the same thing, because Ruby was fired from the last place she worked. Ruby was fired, but it was the best thing that ever happened to her. She can’t believe Baker can see anything with her head so far up Tony Khan, but next week she won’t even be able to see herself as champion. Baker swings the belt and is chased off in a hurry. Good segment here with some great lines from both, but Soho really needs to win to not look like the flavor of the month.

We get the face to face interview with Fuego del Sol and Miro. Fuego is willing to put up his new car against the title, because he knows he can drop Miro on his head with the tornado DDT. Miro may be God’s Favorite Champion so he must have heard of David vs. Goliath. Miro talks about how he loves celebrating with his God above and his wife below, so he’ll retain the title.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Fuego del Sol

Miro is defending. Fuego kicks away to start and sends Miro outside, only to have his dive pulled out of the air. A posting drops Miro though and Fuego does it again for a bonus. Another dive off the barricade is countered with a fall away slam though and we take a break. Back with Fuego fighting out of a bearhug but the tornado DDT doesn’t work. Instead it’s a pair of double stomps into a regular DDT to drop Miro. That’s too far for Miro, who unloads on Fuego in the corner. The jumping superkick gives Miro a new car at 8:55.

Rating: C. They had a tricky job here as there was no drama about who was winning here and they managed to turn it into something interesting. That is hard to pull off but Miro can do almost no wrong at this point. Fuego is a total underdog and tried his best, but it is going to take something special to beat Miro for the title.

Post match Miro takes the keys and puts them in Fuego’s mouth, setting up the Game Over. Sammy Guevara runs in for the save and picks up the title to end the show. Miro vs. Sammy works for me.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a different kind of Rampage as it felt like a missing hour of Dynamite. In this case, that is not a bad thing as they built up some stories before next week’s double shot of huge. It is still a very easy hour of wrestling to watch and the Soho vs. Baker promo was quite good. Another nice show here and that’s the norm so far with Rampage.

Results
Lucha Bros b. Butcher and the Blade – Hurricanrana to Blade
Anna Jay b. The Bunny – Rollup
Miro b. Fuego del Sol – Jumping superkick

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

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

Opening sequence.

Emi Sakura vs. Queen Aminata

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

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

Frankie Kazarian vs. Ren Jones

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

Penelope Ford vs. Layna Lennox

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

Butcher and the Blade vs. Turbo Floyd/Truth Magnum

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

Jade Cargill vs. Shawna Reed

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

Tay Conti/Anna Jay vs. Ella Shae/Jaylee

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

Daniel Garcia vs. Lee Moriarty

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

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

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

Skye Blue vs. Nyla Rose

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

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

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

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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