IMG Credit: AEW

Dark
Date: February 25, 2020
Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tazz
Hosts: Tony Schiavone, Dasha Gonzalez

It’s another week and I still don’t know what to expect from this show. They get into a rhythm and then it goes flying out the window the next week. The shows are fine enough most of the time but there are weeks where I don’t need to see most of what they are presenting. Let’s get to it.

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

Excalibur and Tazz run down the card with Tony Schiavone nowhere in sight.

Jimmy Havoc vs. Marko Stunt

The rest of the Jurassic Express is here with Stunt. Havoc misses an early charge and gets knocked to the floor for some suicide dives. A diving tornado DDT plants Havoc again but he’s fine enough to hit a buckle bomb back inside. Cue Dr. Luther and Mel to watch on the stage as Havoc hits a brainbuster and cranks on the neck.

Stunt gets a boot up in the corner but dives into a Crossface to work on the neck a bit more. The neck is bent around the turnbuckle and a fisherman’s suplex gives Havoc two. Stunt fights up with an enziguri and dropkicks Havoc outside, but this time he just sidesteps a suicide dive. The Acid Rainmaker finishes Stunt at 7:32.

Rating: D+. Same thing I always say about Stunt: it’s a nice story once, but it’s too much to believe that anyone has any real difficulty beating him. They didn’t go too long here and Stunt’s offense was mainly fluke shots that Havoc could shrug off, but it looks and feels like Havoc is beating up a twelve year old. The long hair and tiny frame make it impossible to believe and that’s not something that is going to get better.

Tony and Dasha (hey she still exists) talk about….not much really.

Dark Order vs. Strong Hearts

Fallout from the Dark Order trying to recruit Cima to the team. Evil Uno and T-Hawk start things off with Hawk chopping away but getting stopped with a poke to the eye. Grayson comes in and gets his leg dropkicked out, allowing the Hearts to set up a basement dropkick to the face. Something like a reverse Rings of Saturn keeps Grayson in trouble but he drives Hawk into the corner to cut him off. Some right hands keep Hawk in trouble and Uno adds a big boot.

A jumping knee into a clothesline gets two but Hawk gets in a quick powerbomb. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Cima so house can be cleaned as everything breaks down. The double suicide dive takes the Order out and it’s a missile dropkick to Uno back inside. Uno is fine enough to hit a DDT/Samoan drop combination on the Hearts though and it’s a toss into a powerbomb for two on Hawk. The Fatality finishes Hawk at 8:35.

Rating: C+. That’s one of the best things I’ve seen from the Dark Order so far but what matters most is having the Exalted One show up and be impressive. I’m not sure who it is going to be but they have a few options, some of which could be rather successful. If it doesn’t work though, the team is done for all intent and purpose so they better get it right.

Come to see Dynamite!

Kip Sabian vs. Joey Janela

Falls count anywhere so Janela low blows him on the stage for two at the bell with Penelope Ford making the save. Sabian knocks Ford down by mistake and it’s time to fight by the stage. That lets Ford hit a big dive off the stage with a crossbody but Janela is fine enough to hit a superkick. Ford gets in another distraction though and Sabian hits a flip dive to put Janela down.

They get inside for the first time with Sabian pulling on something like a reverse Koji Clutch until they fall outside again. The fight goes into the crowd with Janela throwing a drink in his face and taking it back to ringside. Janela’s dive off the barricade gets chaired out of the air but Sabian dropkicks a chair by mistake. A prosthetic leg to the head has Sabian drown again and it’s time to set up a table at ringside.

Sabian is back with a half and half suplex on the apron for two, followed by the swinging neckbreaker through the table. Two more tables are set up but Ford is back up with a top rope hurricanrana to Janela. That just earns her a toss into Sabian, who knocks the table over but doesn’t break it. Janela hits a hard kendo stick shot to the head for the pin at 12:29.

Rating: C+. The match was fine enough but I haven’t cared about this feud (or anyone involved in it) since the beginning and this match, which hopefully is the finale, is no different. Janela and Sabian fighting over Ford isn’t worth caring about and they both desperately need something different. It’s a boring feud and hopefully AEW can figure that out.

QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes are ready for their tag match.

QT Marshall/Dustin Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears/Peter Avalon

Brandi Rhodes and Leva Bates are the seconds. Marshall gets hiptossed down to start and that means an early SHH. Dustin comes in for a running knee into a standing twisting moonsault for two on Avalon as the oldest person in the match gets to pick up the pace. Spears’ headlock works a bit better and he tries the Goldust deep breath.

Dustin’s uppercut doesn’t do much good so he goes with the ten right hands in the corner instead. Everything breaks down and Dustin and Marshall get in some stereo dancing jabs. We settle down to Spears dropping Marshall back first onto the apron to take over, allowing Avalon to get two off a leg lariat. Marshall gets away for the tag without much trouble though and it’s Dustin coming in to clean house.

Spears manages a spinebuster though and Marshall gets sent off the top for a big crash to the floor. Back up and Dustin grabs the Code Red for two but Spears runs him down again. A twisting frog splash gets two, only to have Avalon tag himself in. That means a left hand from Spears, who walks out on Avalon to seal his fate. Leva grabs Dustin’s foot to break up Shattered Dreams so it’s a spear from Brandi, followed by Shattered Dreams anyway. A powerslam/sliding reverse suplex combination finishes Avalon at 11:41.

Rating: C. I liked this one well enough but this Spears Needs A Partner deal isn’t going anywhere. The fact that they are already repeating the same idea with the same people isn’t a good sign and I don’t know why I would want to see it again. Not a terrible match but it belongs on a show like this one instead of anywhere near the main show.

Overall Rating: C-. This is a great illustration of the divide between the top half of the roster and everyone around here. The show was full of a bunch of wrestlers who have little reason to be anywhere near Dynamite (not the case with everyone here, but the majority of them). There is a big difference between the two pools of talent and I don’t know how necessary it is to keep showing these matches. Not a bad show, but not one you’ll ever need to see.

Results

Jimmy Havoc b. Marko Stunt – Acid Rainmaker

Dark Order b. Strong Hearts – Fatality to T-Hawk

Joey Janela b. Kip Sabian – Kendo stick to the head

Dustin Rhodes/QT Marshall b. Peter Avalon/Shawn Spears – Powerslam/sliding reverse suplex combination to Avalon

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dark
Date: February 18, 2020
Location: HEB Center, Austin, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz
Host: Tony Schiavone

This show is what I want when I watch WWE’s Main Event: they rarely mess around and include some recaps when necessary, but above all else the show offers some talent a chance to get on TV. You don’t get repeat matches and it’s not a bunch of lifeless drek. That makes things so much better and Dark can be an entertaining show. Let’s get to it.

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

Tony welcomes us to the show. Dasha isn’t coming back is she?

Diamante vs. Kris Stadtlander

Stadtlander does her poke to the referee’s nose but Diamante isn’t as interested. A shot to the face sends Diamante into the corner and Stadtlander crawls after her. There’s the double arm pull before she sticks Diamante’s fingers into her (as in Diamante’s own) ears. A running knee in the corner puts Diamante on the floor so Stadtlander gorilla presses her onto the apron. Back in and a Code Red gives Diamante two but a wheelbarrow suplex (egads) drops Diamante on her head. The Big Bang Theory finishes Diamante at 4:26.

Rating: C-. This was just a squash and I still really like Stadtlander. She doesn’t need the alien deal as she’s unique enough looking on her own but it’s certainly something unique. Diamante hasn’t impressed me during most of the time I’ve seen her but there are far worse choices they could throw out there.

Hybrid 2 vs. Best Friends

And yes Orange Cassidy is here too. Chuck and Evans start things off with the former taking Evans down in a hurry. That’s reversed into a headscissors and it’s up to a standoff. Evans flips out of a northern lights suplex but the second work just fine. Chuck comes in for a double elbow drop as the fans are behind the Best Friends again. Apparently bored on the apron, Angelico drops to the floor and decks Cassidy, only to get knocked down by Chuck.

The Hybrids use the distraction to take over and Angelico Gory Specials Trent onto Chuck in a cool spot. Evans adds a moonsault to both of them and Angelico’s top rope double stomp into a belly to back suplex gets two. Trent’s tornado DDT gets him out of trouble and a helicopter bomb gets two on Evans.

A reverse Razor’s Edge into a cutter gets two more on Evans with Angelico making a save. The assisted 450 hits Trent for two but Cassidy gets on the apron to distract Evans on top. The big shot to the leg is loaded up but Cassidy steps to the side to avoid Angelico, who hits the ropes to crotch Jack. That’s one of the only times Cassidy has felt like he contributed something substantial to a match. Strong Zero finishes Evans at 8:31.

Rating: C. They worked more of a formula here and that’s a nice treat for the Hybrid 2. I still can’t bring myself to get into them and the Best Friends continue to be hit or miss. Cassidy using his shtick to outsmart some villains is a surprise as well and a lot better than having him stare down what is supposed to be some big heel stable in the Dark Order.

Post match, the winners and Cassidy have the extra big hug.

Here’s where Dynamite is coming.

Christi James vs. Big Swole

They fight over a lockup to start, with Taz talking about what you can learn from your opponent by locking up with them. I know he can be a catchphrase machine at times but Taz can throw out some insightful stuff every now and then. Swole’s headlock is reversed into one from James and we get an early standoff. A hard clothesline puts James into the corner but she puts Swole on the ropes and hits an enziguri. James pulls her by the hair so Swole strikes away, including a headbutt to the ribs. A pump kick into Dirty Dancing finishes James at 4:48.

Rating: D+. James is someone who has a catchy look with a lot of Brazilian flags but I need more than that to think much of her. Granted you’re not getting much out of a five minute match but this could have been a lot worse. Swole is someone who seemed to be little more than a person on the card but she has come around a good bit in recent weeks and that’s a good thing for the division.

Young Bucks vs. QT Marshall/Peter Avalon

Before the match, we get a lot of shushing from Avalon, with Marshall even asking the fans to let him get this out of the way so we can wrestle. Nick wristlocks Marshall to start and it’s time to flip around a bit without making much contact. A handspring into the Ricochet pose has Nick perplexed but Avalon asks what is this flippy doo stuff. Avalon: “THIS ISN’T WRESTLING!” Matt grabs the mic and asks if he and Nick should do a bad a** tag team move. Matt: “Let’s do a double hiptoss!” He doesn’t mention the double basement dropkick but does start a YOUNG BUCKS chant.

The camera can’t keep up with the Bucks but it settles down for Avalon running from a Matt superkick. Marshall gets in a few shots to Matt and Leva Bates reads to him a bit. Granted she also hits him with a book but at least it comes after some education. Nick gets knocked off the apron so there’s no one for Matt to tag, leaving him to roll some northern lights suplexes.

This time it’s eight in a row, with Taz saying he’s jealous that he never thought of it. The hot tag brings in Nick to clean house with kicks in the corner and a double bulldog out of the same. A moonsault/slingshot splash combination gets two on Avalon with Marshall making the save. Marshall won’t let Avalon use the book so it’s a right hand to take him down. The superkicks into the Meltzer Driver put Avalon away at 10:30.

Rating: C. I chuckled at the in-match commentary bits but that’s an old favorite of mine. This is the kind of match that works well for a main event on this show: a top act beating a team that isn’t going to get them any real danger but can get a few nice moments out of them. It worked well enough for a Dark main event and they weren’t trying for more than that (which is fine too).

Overall Rating: C. When this show gets it right, they have a nice little groove going. That’s what we had here with four matches over forty eight minutes and nothing going longer than it should have. That makes things so much easier while also making you understand how this show, without a lot of major stars, blows away stuff like 205 Live, which has talented wrestlers but not energy whatsoever. This was fun and an easy watch, which is always nice to have.

Results

Kris Stadtlander b. Diamante – Big Bang Theory

Best Friends b. Hybrid 2 – Strong Zero to Evans

Big Swole b. Christi James – Dirty Dancing

Young Bucks b. Peter Avalon/QT Marshall – Meltzer Driver to Avalon

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dark
Date: January 14, 2020
Location: Landers Center, Southaven, Mississippi
Commentators: Excalibur, Dave Brown
Hosts: Tony Schiavone, Dasha Gonzalez

It’s a special show this week as we focus on the legends of Memphis wrestling. This was teased back on last week’s Dynamite but then it was “hey check out Dark for that thing we built the advertising for this show around”. I can always go for a legends ceremony so hopefully we get some cool stuff here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence. This show has an opening sequence?

Excalibur and Dave Brown, open the show in the style of the classic Memphis show. They even have the tracking issues on the side of the screen. It’s a nice touch, but please tell me that Excalibur won’t spend most of the show doing a Lance Russell impression.

The hosts welcome us and send it to the legends ceremony.

There are a bunch of legends in the ring and each gets their own introduction with a quick bio:

Handsome Jimmy Valiant

Kevin Lawler (representing Brian Christopher (and he looks EXACTLY like him) and realistically Jerry Lawler)

Dave Brown

Shane Russell (representing his father Lance Russell)

Austin Idol

Doug Gilbert (representing his family and, to a much lesser degree, himself)

Rock N Roll Express (biggest reaction so far by a mile)

Lanny Poffo (representing his family and, to a much lesser degree, himself)

We get a ten bell salute to all of the legends who have passed away.

This was VERY nice and a cool moment and felt like it was done out of pure respect and honor rather than trying to pop a bigger audience. In a pretty rare moment, I have no criticisms of this at all.

Brandon Cutler vs. Darby Allin

They lock up to start as Brown talks about seeing Flex Kavana in Memphis, who is better known as the Rock. The lockup keeps going even as Allin goes up and monkey flips him (Brandon, not Brown). A shoulder puts Cutler down and a dropkick sends him into the corner. Cutler gets in his own whip into the corner and a very spinny Boss Man Slam gets two.

Allin is right back with a Fujiwara armbar before dropping a knee on the arm. That’s broken up as well and Cutler slaps on a torture rack, which is broken up with a pull of the hand. Allin is busted open over his nose and Cutler makes it worse by crotching him on the top. A running legdrop with Allin hanging in the ropes puts him on the floor. Back up and Allin knocks him away and hits a quick suicide dive to put Cutler down again. The front flip Stunner drops Cutler and it’s the Coffin Drop to give Allin the pin at 9:02.

Rating: C. Cutler continues to be your designated jobber to the stars and that’s not the worst role to have. He’s going to be around as long as he wants to be due to his connection to the Young Bucks and he can do well enough in the ring to back it up. Allin continues to be a potential top star of the future and the cult response to him is growing.

Nyla Rose vs. Shanna

Shanna jumps her from behind in the aisle and the beatdown is on early. Rose drives her back into the barricade but can’t hit a powerbomb on the floor. Instead Rose shrugs off a kick to the head and hits a spinebuster to make it even worse. A table is loaded up but Shanna escapes another powerbomb and spears Rose off the apron through the table. Cue the referees to break it up. No match.

After a quick chat with the hosts, Shanna’s interview is broken up by Rose, who says Shanna just made this personal. She tries to cut a promo of her own but Shanna starts the fight again.

Here’s where AEW is coming over the next few weeks.

Gunn Club vs. Peter Avalon/Shawn Spears

Tully Blanchard is with Avalon and Spears and that would be Billy and his son Austin. Before the match, Austin says if the crowd gets loud enough, Billy might hit the catchphrase. He manages to pull it off but here is Peter Avalon (with Leva Bates) to talk about the royal history around Memphis, with one king having a restaurant so bad that after you eat there you’ll die just like another king. Leva apologizes and we’re ready to go.

Spears tells Billy to suck it and it’s time to walk around a bit before the contact begins. Billy shoulders him down a few times and Spears winds up kneeling in front of Billy’s crotch. Imagine what he is told to do from there. Austin, with the headband, comes in and Spears bails to the apron for a little while. Avalon comes in as well so Austin picks up the pace, setting up a hiptoss into a neckbreaker for two.

It’s back to Billy, meaning Leva has to save Avalon from a powerslam. Spears’ chops just annoy Billy so he chops away until Spears wants time out. Austin comes in and misses a dropkick, allowing Spears to send him into the post a few times. It’s back to Avalon to work on the arm some more but Austin fights up with a clothesline. The hot tag brings Billy back in to clean house as everything breaks down. Avalon rolls Austin up for two but walks into the Fameasser for the same. Spears gets sent into the barricade and it’s the cobra clutch slam into a Swanton from Austin for the pin at 11:05.

Rating: C-. Just a match here to get the Gunns on TV and that worked out well enough. They’re not a great team and Austin looked rather green. That’s going to happen to everyone at some point though so it’s really way too early to say anything about him. The rest of the match went fine and it wasn’t bad by any stretch. Just kind of there really, but Austin wasn’t a disaster.

Tony and Dasha wrap us up in a hurry.

Overall Rating: C+. That legends ceremony helped bring this way up as it was easily the best part of the show. What mattered most here was keeping the show shorter over the last few weeks. I’m good with this show being just shy of an hour after a few weeks approaching an hour and fifteen minutes. The show has stopped being anything worth seeing most weeks, but it has also gotten less annoying so we’ll call it a little bit in both directions.

Results

Darby Allin b. Brandon Cutler – Coffin Drop

Gunn Club b. Peter Avalon/Shawn Spears – Swanton to Avalon

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: AEW Wrestling

Dark
Date: December 10, 2019
Location: State Farm Center, Champaign, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Chuck Taylor, Orange Cassidy
Hosts: Dasha Gonzalez, Tony Schiavone

It’s another week as we get closer to the end of the year. The card is going to be your usual mystery bag as the show is likely to get even longer. Rather than just being a collection of dark matches (which aren’t dark as they are being filmed and aired but that isn’t the point). Instead it’s just a toned down Dynamite, which doesn’t work as well when it’s the day before next week’s show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

The announcers run down the card.

Scorpio Sky vs. Jimmy Havoc vs. Peter Avalon

Havoc goes straight for the weapons to start so Sky knocks him down before the staple gun can be brought in. That lets Sky hit a spinning crossbody for two on Avalon as Havoc gets inside again. Havoc sends Sky into the corner and hits a sitout implant DDT on Avalon. Sky fights back but Avalon knocks him down as well, meaning it’s time for the double teaming.

That’s fine with Sky, who suplexes Avalon onto Havoc and then dives onto both of them again. With Avalon down on the floor, Havoc hits a Landslide for two on Sky. It’s staple gun time but Avalon knocks it out of Havoc’s hand and gets his own two. Sky throws Havoc outside though and TKOs Avalon for the pin at 6:30.

Rating: C-. Just a match here and a way to get Sky back on the winning track, even though the title should be more than enough to do just that. Avalon taking the fall was of course the right way to go as Havoc has a lot more value than an average wrestler with a bad gimmick. This would have been fine as a dark match, but instead it’s on TV as something completely forgettable, much like a lot of this show.

Dark Order initiation video.

From Dynamite.

Here’s Chris Jericho, flanked by Jake Hager, for a chat. After shilling A Little Bit Of The Bubbly, Jericho pulls out a list….and the fans cheer. Actually they need to get out of 2016 because this is THE LEXICON OF LE CHAMPION! Anyway he has to wrestle one more time in two weeks to wrap up the year but he has some people he won’t wrestle:

Jon Moxley, Cody (“Because he can’t.”), the Young Bucks, Papa Buck, Uncle Buck, Buck Owens, Moxley, Hangman Page, Diamond Dallas Page, Paige, Moxley, Scorpio Sky, 2 Cold Scorpio, Any member of the Scorpions, Moxley, Michael Nakazawa, Kenny Omega, Kenny Ortega, Kenny Shields, Kenny Chesney, Kenny from South Park, Moxley, the chubby guy with the popcorn in the fifth row, the ugly guy with the dumb glasses in the third row, Moxley, Darby Allin, Rick Allen, Alan Jones (AJ Styles), Moxley, Evil Uno, Angry Dos, Hateful Tres, Moxley, Marty…..and here’s the Jurassic Express to interrupt.

Jericho says he wasn’t finished because dinosaurs and little children were up next. Luchasaurus roars at him and then speaks normally, bringing up that he can talk and has a degree in Medieval History. It’s no surprise that dinosaurs are on the list because they’ve been marginalized for 65 million years. Yes Marko is small, but he’s more of a man than Jericho will ever be. That leaves Jungle Boy, who Jericho dubs “a piece of s***”. Jericho doesn’t think Boy could last ten minutes with him, so Boy takes the mic and says he’ll take Jericho out. The fight is on with Hager and Jericho bailing.

Jurassic Express vs. John Silver/Alex Reynolds

Marko Stunt and Luchasaurus for the Express here. Luchasaurus growls Reynolds into the corner so it’s off to Silver, whose chop is swatted away. The monster starts kicking away so it’s off to Stunt to miss a charge in the corner. A running knee gets two on Silver but Reynolds breaks up the dive. Silver’s superkick gets two and Reynolds stands on Stunt’s hair as it is rather cathartic to see Stunt get hurt.

A gorilla press into a cutter gets two on Stunt but he’s fine enough to small package Reynolds for the same. Stunt can’t kick him away so it’s a wheelbarrow roll to get over to Luchasaurus instead. House is cleaned in a hurry (as expected) and there’s the double chokeslam. A powerbomb/top rope flip neckbreaker combination finishes Reynolds at 6:18.

Rating: C. Just a step above a squash here and there is some quality Stunt damage in there as well. Sometimes you just need to see a smaller guy get beaten up to entertain you a bit. That’s what we got here, plus the awesome Luchasaurus getting to wreck people. It’s a fine enough match, but just get back to Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy already.

We look at the current state of/recent events in the women’s division, including Nyla Rose being suspended for attacking a referee.

From Dynamite.

Post match here are Awesome Kong and Brandi Rhodes to dub themselves the Nightmare Collective, saying that they do the jobs no one wants to do. Kris is all up in her business and that may give Kris an opportunity. Brandi tells Kris to pledge herself to the Nightmare Collective right now but before there’s a yes, Kong gets in Kris’ face. A female fan at ringside offers to pledge and security lets her come to ringside. She lets Kong cut off her hair and that’s that. No answer from Kris, as she doesn’t seem interested in joining the newest cult/faction.

We get a profile on Big Swole, whose name means a big personality. She had emergency surgery in 2008 and actually died but had to be brought back to life. Then she had a daughter and has taught her that she needs to live every day because you never know when it might end.

Here are the women’s rankings:

5. Kris Stadtlander

4. Britt Baker

3. Emi Sakura

2. Nyla Rose

1. Hikaru Shida

Christopher Daniels was banged up and is furious at hurting himself. He came out early and got beaten up by Pentagon Jr. Daniels isn’t done with him.

We get the explanation from the Bunny of why the Butcher and the Bunny attacked Cody.

From Dynamite.

Here’s Cody for a chat. He talks about how he isn’t allowed to challenge for the World Title again but everything his gone nuts around here. His brother and the Young Bucks are in a blood feud with Santana and Ortiz, his wife has joined forces with a monster who steals women’s hair and then there’s the Butcher and the Blade. If they wanted a match with him, all they had to do was ask and they can even choose his partner.

That brings him to Maxwell Jacob Friedman, who had no business to throw in the towel at Full Gear. There are a lot of things people can criticize about MJF. He’s short, he might wear a fake scarf, and he does the worst Cross Rhodes in wrestling. Cody: “At least they’re botching it on two channels now.” Or maybe it’s the fact that he’s an NWO low rent Chris Jericho. But MJF won’t fight him, so Cody is willing to sweeten the pot.

Cody offers the keys to his Ford Black Ops (Google says it costs about $88,500), his watch from Tony Khan, and his Louis Vuitton shoes. If that’s not MJF’s speed, Cody brings out a briefcase with about $50,000 cash. To prove it’s real, he gives a kid in the front row $100 and the kid looks….confused? Anyway, come play ball with him and name your price. Cody is a great promo, NXT/WWE shot aside.

We get MJF’s response, where he announces that he hired the Butcher and the Blade to jump Cody, which somehow didn’t make Dynamite.

Video on the six man tag opener from Dynamite.

Here’s where Dynamite is coming.

Buy a Little Bit Of The Bubbly!

Kenny Omega vs. Kip Sabian

Sabian has Penelope Ford in his corner. They fight on the mat to start with Omega tripping him a few times to take over. Omega misses a big chop so they run the ropes, with Kenny plowing through him for two. A head fake lets Omega chop away in the corner and some more knock Sabian off the top to the floor. Ford offers a distraction though, allowing Sabian to hurricanrana him to the floor.

Ford’s hurricanrana makes it worse and Sabian keeps it up with a hard whip into the corner. A hanging swinging neckbreaker gets two on Omega but he Hulks Up for the slugout. Omega clotheslines him down and You Can’t Escape gets two. Sabian is right back with a springboard tornado DDT for two and Omega is sent to the apron. Ford grabs the leg but Omega is back with a powerbomb.

The running knee to the back of the head rocks Sabian again but he pulls Aubrey Edwards in the way of the V Trigger. Omega pulls up, allowing Ford to come in for a Stunner so Sabian can get two off a kick to the chest. The V Trigger into the snapdragon so Ford comes in again, only to get thrown into Sabian. A Tiger Driver 98 gets two on Sabian and it’s another running knee to the back of the head, setting up the One Winged Angel for the pin at 14:21.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of win that Omega needs: where he has to sweat a bit but is never in any real danger. At the end of the day, he is going to be the big deal going forward, as he should be, and it makes sense to build him up with wins like this. Ford continues to have more star power than she knows what to do with but she almost never gets to do anything significant. Anyway, fine match here for a Dark main event.

Overall Rating: C. This show hasn’t been around very long but it has already started to evolve. Instead of just a collection of matches, the show is also a recap/backstage show. That makes it a bit longer than it needs to be though, as it is now regularly over an hour, and in this case over an hour and fifteen minutes. AEW isn’t at the point where they need to have that much TV time yet and it might be better to cut this by about fifteen to twenty minutes. The fans who are watching this show are already watching Dynamite so why show them the same things again? It’s still good, but tighten things up a bit.

Results

Scorpio Sky b. Jimmy Havoc and Peter Avalon – TKO to Avalon

Jurassic Express b. John Silver/Alex Reynolds – Powerbomb/top rope flip neckbreaker combination to Reynolds

Kenny Omega b. Kip Sabian – One Winged Angel

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: AEW

AEW Dark
Date: October 29, 2019
Location: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross
Host: Tony Schiavone

I’m not sure what to expect from this show, even though I know the card coming in. Sometimes you get a huge match on here and sometimes it’s just a bunch of stuff happening. The good part about it though is this is just the wrestling show and it’s not like it has any standard to meet. That takes a lot of the pressure off of things and makes for a pretty easy sit. Let’s get to it.

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

Tony Schiavone welcomes us to the show and runs down the card.

QT Marshall/Peter Avalon vs. Dustin Rhodes/Sonny Kiss

Well this could be…..I’m thinking a tag team wrestling match. Hold on though as Avalon and Leva Bates need to insult the Pittsburgh sports teams because that’s the kind of cheap heat he goes for. Avalon and Kiss start things off with Kiss stealing his book. He even beats Peter up and sits on him for a good read. The book gets thrown to the floor (again, not a face move to a lot of people) so Marshall comes in and wants Dustin.

That’s just what he gets and Dustin chops away in the corner before hitting Marshall in the face for daring to mock the Goldust pose. Kiss springboards back in with a clothesline and it’s a dancing moonsault for two. Leva offers a distraction though and Peter kicks Kiss in the face to take over. The beating begins on Kiss with the villains taking turns, including a double suplex.

Kiss tries the splits but Avalon is smart enough to stay with him and grab a chinlock to keep him down. An elbow to the face gets two with Dustin having to make a save. Avalon misses a moonsault though and Marshall misses an elbow as well, allowing the hot tag to Dustin. The snap powerslams set up a double spinning high crossbody for two on Avalon. Kiss adds a Meteora to Avalon but Bates’ high crossbody is pulled out of the air with ease. Dustin shushes her and Avalon is sent into her, setting up the Curtain Call to finish Avalon at 9:10.

Rating: C. Completely run of the mill tag match here with two teams that feel like they came out of a Lethal Lottery. Kiss was someone who had me a bit worried as he is a rather over the top gimmick but they have kept him right where he belongs: opening comedy matches, which is perfectly fine place to be. The Librarians….just go away already, even from a spot like this.

Sadie Gibbs vs. Penelope Ford vs. Allie vs. Emi Sakura

It’s a four way lockup to start and that goes to a four way staredown. Therefore it’s a four way test of strength with Gibbs easily getting the best of it. Allie backflips out and Gibbs is held down so we can get a Kaientai pose. This has been your completely staged moment of the match that is not hiding its nature whatsoever. Ford and Sakura are knocked down so Gibbs takes Allie down for two.

Allie’s backslide gets two of her own but Ford is back up for a kick to Gibbs’ head. Sakura comes in and takes Gibbs’ place….before dancing with the referee. JR: “That’s embarrassing.” I’ll go with the hatted one here. The surfboard goes on with Allie diving in to cover Sakura and force the break. That’s fine with Sakura, who tries a double surfboard on Allie and Gibbs, only to have Ford pulls Sakura back at the same time. Gibbs and Ford send the other two into the corner for stereo handspring elbows and it’s time to fight over the covers.

Some double teaming puts Ford and Sakura down and it’s Gibbs diving onto the two of them on the floor. Allie is knocked down as well and it’s a Samoan driver to give Gibbs two on Ford. More fighting over a suplex ensues with Sakura sitting it out and running over everyone. Sakura stops to clap but is fine enough to send Allie into Gibbs in the corner. All three of them are stacked in the corner but come out to triple team Sakura.

The three of them get crushed in the corner again and a Vader Bomb to all three of them gets a triple two. Allie superkicks Sakura but walks into a short DDT from Ford. Gibbs and Ford kick each other down and everyone is on the mat for a bit. The four way slugout is on with Sakura getting the better of it and hitting a butterfly backbreaker for two on Ford. The tiger driver gives Sakura the pin on Ford at 11:53.

Rating: C. This worked well enough as your weekly “joshi is AWESOME and you need to get used to it” as the three other women were spending a good bit of time fighting each other. Sakura was even beating all three of them up at various points and we heard about what a legend she was more than once. I have no idea if this is going to be a recurring problem, but just because you’re from Japan doesn’t instantly make you more interesting. Couple that with the really annoying parts at the beginning where it looked like they were just going through planned spot after planned spot and I could have gone for some changes here.

Cody sits down with MJF for the weekly interview. He grew up playing football and getting bullied for being Jewish so he grew up and is proud to say that the bully is now a homeless drug addict.

We go to the AEW Control Center for a preview of this week’s Dynamite.

We look at how the finals of the Tag Team Title tournament were set up.

Here’s where the upcoming shows are coming.

Kip Sabian has the best record in AEW without appearing on Dynamite so he’s ready to debut this week.

Darby Allin vs. Jimmy Havoc vs. Jack Evans

Falls Count Anywhere. Evans starts fast with the flips, the kicks, and the flipping kicks. Havoc cuts him off with a Death Valley Driver out of the corner and a basement dropkick to send Evans outside. Allin gets two off a Code Red but Havoc is back up with a shot to the face as the brawling continues. The flipping Stunner drops Havoc and Allin hits the suicide dive onto Evans.

Another dive is cut off by Havoc raising a chair, which is then pelted at Evans’ head. Allin dives over the barricade to take Evans down again but Havoc flip dives onto both of them at once. They fight into the crowd until Evans suplexes Havoc for two on the ramp. A moonsault off the stage is caught and Havoc hits a reverse suplex for a good crash. Allin gets back up so Havoc hits a big flip dive off the stage onto both of them.

They go back to the ring with Evans throwing in a ton of chairs but spending WAY too much time yelling at the fans, allowing Havoc to move away from a legdrop. Havoc Death Valley Drivers Allin into a chair into Evans, only to have Allin and Evans play Moustache Mountain for two on Havoc instead. Havoc is right back up with a double underhook piledriver onto a chair for two on Allin with Evans making a save.

A chair shot drops Evans so Havoc lays two chairs onto their sides, only to get backbreakered onto them. Evans adds a frog splash onto Havoc onto the chairs for two, so it’s time to put a table over the middle rope. That earns Evans a super piledriver through said table, only to have Allin comes back in with the Coffin Drop, including a chair, to Havoc. That’s enough to steal the pin on Evans at 13:13.

Rating: C. This was another hardcore match which didn’t have anywhere near the charm as the Cracker Barrel match from a few months ago. It wasn’t bad or anything but some of the spots felt like they were there to fill in time and move the match closer to the ending. People popping up after big moves is rather annoying when it’s done this often and it became rather distracting. At least Allin won though.

Tony says goodbye.

Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one as it was a bunch of matches that I didn’t need to see and didn’t particularly care about. I’m sure there were a lot of fans who liked a good bit of this and there is nothing wrong with that. The matches were all completely watchable but nothing jumped off of the page at me. That being said, this show not being a great one is hardly a major problem as it’s nothing more than a supplement to Dynamite. It has a pretty low bar to clear so for what it was, this was completely acceptable.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

AEW Dark
Date: October 15, 2019
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross

I’m not sure what to expect here and that’s kind of the point of the whole thing. Last week’s show was completely watchable but at the same time, it isn’t exactly something that you needed to watch. We could be in for a lot of different things around here tonight, but I would bet on wrestling being a focal point. Let’s get to it.

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

Before Dynamite, the Young Bucks were getting ready when Kenny Omega came in. Instead, he’ll face Joey Janela in an unsanctioned match on Dark. Tony Schiavone repeats what we just heard.

Schiavone is in the studio and introduces us to the first match.

Kip Sabian vs. Sonny Kiss vs. Peter Avalon

Yes they’ve managed to get the Librarians on the show and Avalon isn’t happy with the crowd disrespecting him. Therefore, sports jokes ensue, none of which make this any better. The bell rings and Avalon shushes the crowd, earning himself a double dropkick to the floor. That leaves Kip and Kiss to flip around a lot with Kiss getting the better of it and striking a pose. Kiss does his big series of flips into a slap and hits the splits but Avalon is right back in to knock him down. Shushing ensues and we hit a seated full nelson on Kiss.

Sabian dropkicks Avalon to the floor and hits the springboard flip dive, only to hurt his hand in the process. The doctor comes out and checks on him, showing a large section of empty seats, though this is before the show officially started so it’s a lot more forgivable. Avalon suplexes Kiss but Sabian is back up for some running kicks to the head in the corner. Sabian gets thrown at Kiss, who hits a DDT as Avalon adds a neckbreaker for two each. Now it’s Kiss popping up for a double facebuster to both of them. Avalon knocks him outside but walks into the Deathly Hallows to give Sabian the pin at 6:07.

Rating: C. Now this was a different kind of presentation as you had a flamboyant character, a gimmick and a standard wrestler. That’s a good mixture of everything being thrown together at once and getting a good enough match as a result. This made a lot of sense as a dark match to opening the night and Sabian gets some momentum while keeping Kiss strong.

Dark Order/Hybrid Two vs. SCU/Cima

Hold on a second though as Jack Evans needs to hold up an SCU Sucks sign and then throw it into the crowd. Angelico and Cima start things off and that could be interesting. Cima gets hiptossed down but nips up into an armdrag. A crucifix gives Cima two and it’s off to Daniels to stay on Angelico. Actually make that Grayson, who walks into an armbar for his efforts. SCU and Cima get Grayson in the corner and it’s a series of dropkicks in the corner to really knock him silly.

A Stunner/DDT combination takes the Dark Order down and Kazarian follows up with a slingshot hurricanrana to the floor to take Grayson down again. The parade of dives begins until Grayson takes Sky back in for a torture rack into a backbreaker. Kazarian grabs a slingshot Stunner though and it’s now the parade of finishers. Sky starts cleaning house until the Hybrid Two get in a double low blow. Evans backslides Sky and flips over for the pin at 9:51.

Rating: C+. This was the designed showcase match with eight people doing a bunch of stuff, though they made sure to get in a heat segment, which does help things a lot. It was a match we have seen better several times before but it was entertaining and had some good looking dives. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with two boring teams winning, but that’s something they can work on over the next few weeks.

Cody sits down with referee Audrey Edwards to talk about her road to where she is now. WWE tried her out a few times but wasn’t signed for unclear reasons. The undeniable moment (which seems to be the theme here) is when she is holding up the title and everyone knows it is the main event. This was a fine enough interview with someone you don’t usually hear from.

Highlights of Young Bucks vs. Private Party, which works for me.

Quick look at the Tag Team Title tournament brackets.

We look at the end of Dynamite, with the battle lines being drawn between the Inner Circle and everyone else.

Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janela

Unsanctioned match and yes they do turn the lights out for a second in some nice symbolism. Joey goes straight to the floor and it’s time to grab a chair. Omega isn’t having that though and hammers away in the corner but a hurricanrana sends him outside. Of course that means the suicide dive and Janela smiles a lot. That means it’s time to throw in more chairs and a ladder as we’re getting close to three minutes in.

Omega tries to fight back but gets a chair pelted at his face. He’s fine enough to hit the running Fameasser onto a pile of chairs, which Janela was kind enough to pose in front of. A running flip dive to the floor connects with Janela’s but Omega’s legs crash into the barricade, meaning it’s time from the sanctioned doctors. The table (of course) is thrown in and Omega nails a top rope missile dropkick to the back of the head.

The Regal Roll into the middle rope moonsault gets two and the snapdragon makes it even worse. They slug it out on the apron until Omega hits another snapdragon out there and Janela is looking a bit dead. The One Winged Angel onto the steps is broken up though and Janela German suplexes him onto the floor for the next OW spot. Janela bridges a table between the steps and apron but stops to whip Omega into the ladder in the corner.

A hard German suplex sends Omega into the ladder for two, only to have Omega pop up with a V Trigger. They’re both down for a bit but Omega gets up top, only to be superplexed right back down. Janela can’t Russian legsweep him through the bridged table (which is face up) so he backdrops him onto another upside down table instead. The Death Valley Driver into the ladder rocks Omega again but Janela misses a frog splash off the ladder through the table.

Omega gets two off a Sky High and there are two more V Triggers, into Jon Moxley’s Paradigm Shift for two. A missed charge lets Janela send him over the top and through the table for the big crash. Janela puts him in a chair and knocks him right back out of it, which seems a little counter productive. Omega is right back up and loads up a pair of chairs back to back. Just because Janela is kind of out there, he gets slammed off the top, back first onto the top of the two open chairs. The One Winged Angel through a chair gives Omega the pin at 26:31.

Rating: B+. Yeah this was a blast, even if you ignore a lot of the problems with the lack of a story, the violence for the sake of violence and Janela still not being able to do much outside of hardcore stuff. I had a good time with it though and that’s all it needed to be. Omega gets the big win, though it isn’t over the highest level of competition.

Tony gives us a quick sendoff to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a very different kind of show with two pretty standard matches to open things up and a match that you could have seen on a top pay per view to wrap it up. I liked the big main event though and it’s the kind of showcase match that the company was looking for. Good show here, and completely different than what I was expecting to see from this series, in a positive way.

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

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

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

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