Dynamite
Date: May 25, 2022
Location: Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s Double Or Nothing weekend and that means it is time to get in the last Dynamite before the pay per view. Therefore, we nee to find out who will be in the finals of the Men’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament, which should make for some interesting action both tonight and on Sunday. It’s also the third anniversary of the first AEW show so this should be good. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Wardlow vs. Shawn Spears

In a cage with MJF as the referee and Wardlow has to win here to get MJF on Sunday. Wardlow is still handcuffed to start so Spears gets in a few shots, allowing MJF to stomp away in the corner. The double teaming is on, including sending Wardlow into the steps. MJF stops to talk too much trash though and gets hit in the face, which means Wardlow can drop Spears.

The Swanton connects but MJF won’t count, allowing Spears to get up. One heck of a chair shot hits MJF by mistake and Spears knows what he’s done. Wardlow pops up and it’s a four movement Powerbomb Symphony with another referee coming in to count the pin on the done Spears at 6:58.

Rating: C. This was more of an angle than a match and they did it very well. The last few weeks have done a great job of having Wardlow slowly reel MJF in and the big massacre can take place on Sunday. At this point, they can have MJF get in some cheap shots and cheat to take over, but then it is time for the Powerbomb Symphony that everyone has been waiting on.

Post match Wardlow goes for MJF but security runs in so MJF can escape.

JR and commentary offers condolences on the Texas shooters and say this has to stop.

The Jericho Appreciation Society attack a backstage worker with a fireball for wearing a Jon Moxley shirt.

Tony Schiavone brings CM Punk and Hangman Page for a face to face meeting. Tony goes over the stealing finishers and Punk says he’s ready to take the title. Page says there is nothing Punk can do to take the title from him. That makes Punk think Page is taking this personally. There are a lot of people backstage who want their shot and for Punk, this is just business.

Page wants to light a pipe bomb and roll it right up to Punk’s feet, where the Pipe Bomb promo was dropped in the first place. After pausing for the CM PUNK chants, Page says he can’t do it because he respects Page. The thing is Page doesn’t think Punk knows what it means to be a champion, because it is about more than being in this ring.

It’s also about what you do when no one else is watching, which isn’t what Punk has been about since he got here. On Sunday, Page is defending AEW from Punk, which gets a big reaction. Punk says Page is going to have to do something about it, because Punk paved the road here. Page built the house with trees that Punk chopped down and he gave Punk the blueprint. Page will shake his hand on Sunday, and he’ll do it right now too. It’s a right hand instead and that looked like it made some nice contact.

Video on Anna Jay vs. Jade Cargill for the TBS Title.

Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley vs. Private Party

William Regal and Chris Jericho are on commentary, with Jericho demanding that the crowd be quiet because they don’t have the rights to sing his song. It’s a brawl to start with Quen hitting a moonsault press for two on Moxley. Kingston comes in and beats on Quen but does stop to yell at Moxley. Said Moxley comes back in to plant Kassidy and we take a break

Back with Private Party taking over and knocking Moxley and Kingston to the floor. Quen’s shooting star press gets two on Moxley, who pops up and starts hammering away. The hammer and anvil elbows crush Quen as Kingston makes Kassidy tap to the eastern stretch. The Paradigm Shift finishes Quen at 7:25.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why Private Party, who has done nothing in weeks, was getting in this much offense on Kingston and Moxley but at least the ending had the two stars look dominant. Not quite as squashish as it should have been but they got the finish right. Kingston needs to switch back to his regular gear though, as the basketball shorts look wasn’t working so well.

Post match the Jericho Appreciation Society rushes the ring but referees break it up.

Video on Owen Hart, with wrestlers talking about what the tournaments would have meant to him. The people still involved in the tournament are ready to win.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Title Roppongi Vice vs. FTR

FTR is defending and Caprice Coleman is on commentary. Romero shoulders Wheeler down a few times to start and the threat of a cross armbreaker sends Wheeler over to the ropes. Back in and Dax gets chopped by Trent, only to reverse him to show the proper technique. Wheeler comes back in and gets half and half suplexes for two as we take a break.

We come back with Wheeler diving over for the tag off to Harwood to punch away. Some rolling German suplexes get two on Trent with Romero making the save. Double knees drop Harwood again but Strong Zero is broken up. A small package and victory roll give Trent two each but Vice is right back with Strong Zero for two with Wheeler finally making the save…..and New Japan’s Jeff Cobb and Great O’Khan running in for the double DQ at 10:21.

Rating: C+. This was turning into a heck of a match until the Forbidden Door ending took it away. Vice isn’t one of my favorite teams but they were hanging in there with the best team in the world. I do like that FTR survived Strong Zero before the interference, which keeps the champs looking a bit stronger. Run this back in the future perhaps.

House is cleaned, though O’Khan’s running cutter doesn’t exactly connect clean. Both teams are laid out and Trent/Wheeler are sent through tables. Cobb and O’Khan hold up the titles.

The Hardys talk about how they have a lot of similarities to the Young Bucks. They came from religious families and didn’t drink of smoke. That’s what the stories end though because the Hardys fought up to become one of the most revolutionary tag teams ever. The Bucks are talented, but they are seen as Hardy cosplayers. Now they’re approaching GOAT status, with Jeff making goat noises. They’re beyond their prime but they’ll still never be better than the Hardys. The Bucks weren’t even better babies than them! The saying is never meet your heroes, but in this case, the Bucks will never beat their heroes.

Ricky Starks vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Jungle Boy

Non-title. Starks bails to the floor to start but runs back in for the early exchange of rollups. With Starks being sent outside, Jungle Boy gets tripped to the floor with Swerve joining them. Starks takes them both down and we go to a break. Back with Jungle Boy hitting a running hurricanrana off the apron for two back inside, with Starks making the save. Swerve clears Starks out and sends Jungle Boy into the corner.

They go up top with Swerve being poisonranaed off….and landing on his feet, much to Jungle Boy’s shock. Starks kicks Swerve in the face and takes Jungle Boy down for two, with the kickout leaving him shocked. Roshambo to Swerve is blocked so Starks goes to the eyes and hits the Roshambo, only to get Snare Trapped. A long crawl gets Starks to the ropes so Jungle Boy pulls him back to the middle and puts it on again. Swerve breaks that up and hits the Swerve Stomp to finish Starks at 9:38.

Rating: B. This was the kind of action packed match that you should have expected from these three and I can always go with Swerve winning. What matters here is they gave you a reason to believe that we might see new champions while also giving us a good match this time. The triple threat match on Sunday should be good and the preview has me more invested in it than I was coming in.

Post match Powerhouse Hobbs comes in for the beatdown on Swerve but here is Luchasaurus, who can’t overpower Hobbs. This brings out Keith Lee so the brawl can be on, with Lee clearing the ring and hitting a slingshot corkscrew dive, which he can just do.

Dan Lambert laughs off Tay Conti and Sammy Guevara breaking up the TNT Title. Since American Top Team has won every belt there is, he has the belt makers on standby, so the new title will be unveiled on Friday. Lambert is relieved because it means Conti and Guevara can’t do anything with it.

Here is Thunder Rosa for a chat and for once she doesn’t have face paint on. This is the real her and she wanted people to see what a champion looked like. That’s what Serena Deeb will never look like, even though Rosa used to look up to her. On Sunday, the war paint is coming on and Rosa will make Deeb pay for the disrespect. Then theme music plays her off, even after a pretty good speech with the serious stuff working well.

Red Velvet mentions Ruby Soho, who happens to be walking by. Velvet hands her a notebook to know how to take out Kris Statlander, who might be banged up but Soho is ready without it.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Semifinals: Britt Baker vs. Toni Storm

The fans are split as it’s an exchange of wristlocks to start. Storm gets a headscissors on the mat but Baker switches into a neck crank, sending Storm to the ropes. A basement dropkick sends Storm outside, where she posts Baker hard. They head outside with Storm posting Baker, who sends her into the steps as we take a break. Back with Storm hitting a middle ropes DDT and a running hip attack.

Storm Zero is countered into an Air Raid Crash for two, which draws out Jamie Hater. Baker doesn’t want that so Storm grabs a rollup into a release German suplex to send Baker outside. A tornado DDT off the apron plants Baker on the floor as Storm’s nose might be broken. Hayter is knocked off the apron, leaving Baker to have to break up Storm Zero again. This time it’s a rollup with Baker…kind of grazing the rope as there is no Hayter to grab her hands, for the pin at 9:22.

Rating: C+. The ending hurt this one a bit, though the likely match of Soho vs. Baker should be a good final. Baker is still one of the bigger names in the division and a win over her still means something, so go with what works and set up something big. At the same time, dang I could go for Storm winning something, just for the sake of giving her a small something more important to do.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Semifinals: Samoa Joe vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Non-title and Joe pounds away against the ropes to start. Joe chops him down and then beats on O’Reilly again for daring to try a comeback. O’Reilly manages to knock him down and starts in on the arm, which was banged up by Jay Lethal and Satnam Singh. The cross armbreaker can’t quite go on as we take a break.

Back with Joe slugging O’Reilly down and hitting a backsplash, setting up some kicks to the face. A hard clothesline gives Joe two but the MuscleBuster is countered into a Fujiwara armbar. Joe makes the rope and strikes away to rock O’Reilly but the Rock Bottom out of the corner is broken up. That doesn’t matter for Joe, who pulls him into the Koquina Clutch to knock O’Reilly out at 12:38.

Rating: B. This is what you were probably expecting when you heard Samoa Joe vs. Kyle O’Reilly being added to the card. Joe knows how to do this submission/striking match as well as anyone and O’Reilly is either right there with him or slightly better at the moment. Joe might not be what he used to be, but he can do this match with anyone.

Adam Cole comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this show a good bit as it made me more interested in Double Or Nothing. There wasn’t anything on here that was great, but it worked well as a show that made me want to see their followup on Sunday. That is a hard trick to pull off but more importantly, it gave us the best AEW show in a few weeks, meaning some issues went away. This is the show they needed and they delivered.

Results
Wardlow b. Shawn Spears – Powerbomb Symphony
Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley b. Private Party – Paradigm Shift to Quen
FTR vs. Roppongi Vice went to a double DQ when Great O’Khan and Jeff Cobb interfered
Swerve Strickland b. Jungle Boy and Ricky Starks – Swerve Stomp to Starks
Britt Baker b. Toni Storm – Rollup with a grab of the ropes
Samoa Joe b. Kyle O’Reilly – Koquina Clutch

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: March 30, 2022
Location: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re still on the long road to Double Or Nothing and that means there are some things that need to get ready before then. It seems that we will be seeing Adam Cole vs. Hangman Page II either on the way there or at the show itself, meaning there is a good chance we’ll see more of the build here this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

CM Punk vs. Max Caster

Caster’s rap goes straight to the Will Smith reference and throws in a Hunter Biden line, plus a reference to Punk’s issues with Z-Paks. Anthony Bowens is here with Caster as Punk works on Caster’s taped up shoulder to start. Punk takes him down by the arm but it’s too early for the Anaconda Vice. Back up and Punk’s headlock doesn’t last long so he shoulders Caster down and grabs the armbar again. Caster gets in a shot of his own but Punk flips over the corner and runs the apron to set up a top rope ax handle.

Back up and Caster hits him in the neck, setting up a fisherman’s buster for two. Punk catches him on top though and it’s a super hurricanrana to bring him back down. There’s a running knee into the bulldog out of the corner for two more and they’re both down. Caster drops him ribs first across the top rope but the Mic Drop misses. Punk goes big with the piledriver out of nowhere and the Anaconda Vice finishes Caster at 7:09.

Rating: C+. I for one could go for more of Punk facing off with these tag wrestlers as he is getting them to much higher levels than they would be reaching on their own. Caster had probably his best singles match ever and hung in there for a bit against Punk before getting caught by the bigger star. Good enough match and Punk broke a sweat to make it look like he put in the work. Nice opener.

Post match Tony Schiavone gets in the ring for a chat with Punk, who asks the fans what motioning for the belt means. There is a lot of gray in his beard and there are scars on his head and there will be a lot more of both before he is done around here. He wants to be World Champion and it doesn’t matter who has the gold because he is coming for it.

FTR (in Outsiders inspired vests) and MJF are in the back. Mark Sterling is behind them putting up security photos of Wardlow, because he isn’t allowed around here. MJF talks about how the Pinnacle is still around and they’re going to be picking up some wins. Dash Harwood isn’t sure what is going on with MJF and Wardlow, but MJF says they’re family. Everyone’s hands go in.

Jay Lethal vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is now in a Blackpool Combat Club hoodie to make the team name official. After a handshake to start, Moxley takes him down with a headlock takeover. That’s reversed into a failed Figure Four attempt and Moxley sends him outside. That doesn’t last long so Moxley comes inside and puts his hands behind his back so Lethal can get in some cheap shots. The forearms off goes to Moxley so he loads up the top rope superplex, only to get crotched back down. Lethal scores with the suicide dive into the barricade and we take a break.

Back with a double crossbody putting both of them down for a bit. They strike it out until Moxley blasts him with a clothesline for a delayed two. Lethal grabs the Lethal Combination for two but Lethal is able to try the Paradigm Shift. The knee gives out though and Lethal tries the Lethal Injection, which is reversed into a sleeper. A flip over into a cover gives Lethal two and he’s back with a brainbuster. Hail To The King gives Lethal two but Moxley small packages him for the save. Back up and Moxley manages a quick Paradigm Shift for the pin at 10:59.

Rating: B. They went a bit heavy with the forearms here but this was rolling by the end. Lethal is in that place where him pulling off the upset isn’t the craziest thing in the world and that gave the match some additional drama. I could go for more of Lethal in roles like this as he can have a good match with almost anyone, including a game Moxley. Pretty nice stuff here.

Post match an upset Lethal shakes Moxley’s hand.

Video on Marina Shafir.

FTR vs. Gunn Club

Non-title. Billy Gunn is here with the Club and MJF comes out to do commentary, which FTR doesn’t seem to like. Harwood puts Austin in a top wristlock to start but gets thrown down. Colton comes in instead so the Club can do their gun sound effects. Austin hammers on Wheeler in the corner but gets armdragged down for his efforts. Some chops set up a running elbow drop from Harwood for two. Everyone winds up outside and Billy Gunn gets in a cheap shot on Wheeler so the Club can take over.

We take a break and come back with Wheeler flipping out of a sleeper and hitting a belly to back suplex. Wheeler gets sent into the corner though and it’s a Stinger Splash followed by a dropkick for two. That’s enough for Wheeler, who gets over for the tag off to Harwood to clean house on both Gunns. Austin and Harwood fight over a suplex on the apron until Colton trips the leg.

The Bobby Heenan pin doesn’t work but let’s cut to Wardlow storming into the arena and beating up security. This includes powerbombing a security guard onto (but not through) a table and coming into the arena. Security manages to hold Wardlow back, much to MJF’s relief, and we cut back to the match (Yeah remember that?) where Harwood and Billy get in a staredown. Wheeler jumps over Austin to take Billy down and the Big Rig gives Harwood the pin at 9:08.

Rating: C. This was more about Wardlow vs. MJF and FTR getting sick of the whole thing. That has potential for the future and I’m not sure how much longer FTR is going to put up with him. They’re practically good guys already and the fans are happy with them, but they still need that big moment. You also had the Club, who have come a long way sine I was rolling my eyes at them week after week on Dark.

Post match MJF gets in the ring but FTR really isn’t pleased with him. They eventually let him raise their hands and leave without getting violent though.

Video on Keith Lee vs. Powerhouse Hobbs, with Hobbs saying “you can bask in kissing my a**”.

Chris Jericho, with the Jericho Appreciation Society, says everyone wants to join the Jericho Appreciation Society but there are only five of them so everyone else can GFY. Matt looks for Santana/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston but can’t find them because they’re gone. Hager goes to do the same…..and there they are behind a curtain! The brawl goes out to the arena with the Society getting beaten down until Hager fights back and turns the tide. Kingston gets put in a Sharpshooter and Jericho unloads on him with Floyd the baseball bat. Jericho throws in some leather strap shots so the Society can stand tall.

Mark Sterling has picked Leva Bates as Jade Cargill’s thirtieth opponent but that’s not cool with Cargill. That leaves Sterling to pick Marina Shafir, which works for the unworried Cargill.

Bryan Danielson vs. Wheeler Yuta

William Regal is on commentary. Danielson grabs a suplex to start and cranks on the arm but can’t keep the shoulders on the mat. He can’t break Yuta’s bridge either so it’s off to a cross armbreaker attempt. Yuta makes it over to the rope for the break and that’s enough for a standoff. A dropkick puts Danielson down and Yuta grabs a bridging leglock to send Danielson to the ropes (that’s a rare one).

We take a break and come back with Danielson taking over and kicking him in the back for some cringing. A dragon suplex gives Danielson two so he fires off the hard elbows to the chest. Yuta slips out and does the same though, setting up an arm trap cradle for two. The not frustrated Danielson is right back with the running knee and Yuta is knocked silly. A large spit in the face sets up the hard stomps on Yuta and there’s a Gotch style piledriver. The LeBell Lock finishes the unconscious Yuta at 10:12.

Rating: B-. Yeah this worked and that shouldn’t be a surprise. Yuta was trying to hang in there for as long as he could and even gave Danielson some problems before getting beaten down by the higher level wrestler (see also the Punk match). I could see Yuta becoming a prospect for the Combat Club, and Regal’s reactions seem to be leading in that direction. I’m thinking Regal might be a good choice for this show.

Post match Regal says he is very impressed with Yuta for taking that kind of a beating and keep fighting.

Video on Andrade El Idolo vs. Darby Allin.

Here is the Undisputed Elite with their stolen titles, now featuring their homemade name plates (just like FTR does on their AAA titles). They’re here for a celebration, complete with a PARTY SUPPLIES box. Said box is opened and five balloons fly out, thereby ending the party supplies. Hangman Page and Jurassic Express weren’t invited to the party because these titles look better here.

AEW needs a new crew to run the show and now they have the best pro wrestlers on the planet. Kyle O’Reilly talks about how the haters keep saying that they don’t have enough wins to get the title shot. Actually O’Reilly has had too much champagne so he sits down, leaving Bobby Fish to brag about how bad the three of them are.

Cue Hangman Page, driving into the arena in a Tesla (complete with longhorns) to clear the ring. Cole is pulled away before the Buckshot Lariat can launch but here is Jurassic Express with Christian Cage for the brawl from behind. The real beatdown is on and the champs all get their titles back. They got to the point with getting the titles back but the title matches are probably coming soon.

Here is Thunder Rosa to say she is here to put women’s wrestling back on the map. She has fought and clawed to get here but she doesn’t want to be just the face or pillar of this division. Instead, she wants to be the case of all of women’s wrestling but there are always bullies who want to bring her down. Pillars get knocked down, but foundations remain standing and she doesn’t want to hear from Vickie Guerrero. Instead, she wants to fight the best, like Nyla Rose. Bring it on.

FTR has been told that they take things too seriously and maybe they do. They came here to build a reputation rather than lose one so now it’s time to issue the challenge to the Young Bucks. Let’s see who the best team of all time really is.

Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Qualifying Match: The Bunny vs. Toni Storm

There’s your big surprise debut. Storm starts fast and sends her into the corner for some forearms to the face. Bunny chops her way out of trouble and a basement dropkick gets two. That doesn’t last long though as Storm is back up with some arm cranking. Bunny knees her outside though and there’s a running clothesline to send us to a break.

Back with Bunny kneeing her in the ribs to cut off the comeback bid but getting forearmed in the face. A fisherman’s suplex gets two on Bunny but she’s right back with a Death Valley Driver for the same. Storm isn’t having that and snaps off a German suplex setting up a quick piledriver (now dubbed Storm Zero, the third piledriver of the night) for the pin at 8:40.

Rating: C+. Slight obsession with piledrivers aside, this was a fine way to debut Storm. Most of the fans are going to know her so it isn’t like she needs some big introduction. Putting her into a tournament that is coming up a few weeks from now isn’t a terrible idea and giving her said tournament would be a good start, assuming that is the way they go.

Vickie Guerrero rants about Thunder Rosa, though she isn’t quite talking into the microphone. Nyla Rose is the foundation of this division and if Thunder Rosa has a wish, Rose will be her genie. Rose: “Abracadabra b****.”

Darby Allin vs. Andrade El Idolo

Darby takes too long to skateboard to the ring, allowing Andrade to hit a slingshot dive to the floor. Allin is sent into the barricade and Andrade yells at the camera as we are waiting on the opening bell. Allin avoids a charge into the steps though and there’s a skateboard to the back. They head outside with Andrade picking him up for a suplex, walking him over to the barricade, and then dropping him down. That works so well that Andrade does it again, this time dropping him onto the side of the steps.

Allin gets inside and we have the opening bell, with Andrade sending him hard into the corner. Some running knees in the corner get two, with Allin having to grab the rope. Andrade backdrops him so high that Allin almost lands on his feet and we take a break. Back with Allin hitting a Code Red for two but getting stomped into the corner. They strike it out and lock up (JR: “They did something wrestling!”) until it’s a double knockdown.

Andrade whips off his belt but it gets taken away, allowing Allin to hit the flipping Stunner for two. Another exchange of strikes lets Andrade take him to the top, where Allin manages a super crucifix bomb. Allin puts on the Fujiwara armbar so here is Jose for a distraction, only to have Sting make the save. Butcher and Blade go after Sting so Allin dives onto both of them to save Steve. Back in and Andrade buckle bombs Allin, setting up El Idolo for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: B-. Another hard hitting fight here with Allin trying to hang in there but getting caught by the cheating numbers game again. Allin continues to be kind of floating around at the moment as I don’t remember the last time he got a big win. I can go for Andrade winning as he hasn’t really gotten his push, but he has to fight a bigger name at some point if it is going to mean anything.

Post match Andrade sends the goons after Sting again, with Private Party coming in to make it worse. The Hardys make the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. It might not have had any classic match but it covered a lot of ground and had a bunch of pretty awesome matches. I had fun with almost everything going on tonight, but the show still doesn’t feel like it has a big story going. Cole vs. Page isn’t doing it so far and Jericho N Pals vs. Kingston/Santana/Ortiz isn’t exactly great. Still though, what we’re getting is good and I can go with this as the “weaker” show.

Results
CM Punk b. Max Caster – Anaconda Vice
Jon Moxley b. Jay Lethal – Paradigm Shift
FTR b. Gunn Club – Big Rig to Colton
Bryan Danielson b. Wheeler Yuta – LeBell Lock
Toni Storm b. The Bunny – Storm Zero
Andrade El Idolo b. Darby Allin – El Idolo

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

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AND

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

Dynamite
Date: March 16, 2022
Location: Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for another major show with St. Patrick’s Day Slam and we actually have a rematch from last year’s edition. This week will see Thunder Rosa challenging Britt Baker for the Women’s Title inside a cage following their classic war last year. Other than that, Wardlow gets his TNT Title shot so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jurassic Express/Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole/ReDRagon

Jungle Boy hurricanranas Cole down to start but gets sent into the corner so Fish can come in to crank on the arm. That doesn’t last long as it’s off to Luchasaurus, who sends the villains outside but gets kicked off the apron. Fish posts him to take over and it’s time to work over the leg back inside. O’Reilly twists the knee around but Luchasaurus fights his way out and the hot tag brings in Page to clean house.

A sitout powerbomb gets two on Fish and Jungle Boy hits a big flip dive over Page to take out all three villains. Back in and the good guys go up top and it’s a triple moonsault off the same corner (Luchasaurus from the apron, Page from the top to the floor and Jungle Boy from the top onto Fish) for the big wipe out crash and a near fall. Back in and ReDRagon is back up with the running strikes in the corner to Jungle Boy and we take a break.

We come back with Luchasaurus coming in to clean house with kicks and chokeslams. What looks to be a Doomsday Device is broken up though and O’Reilly gets a kneebar on Luchasaurus. Page is caught in a guillotine but drives it into O’Reilly for the save. It’s off to Page vs. Cole for the strike off until Page hits the Deadeye. Everything breaks down and Jungle Boy hits a double Doomsday Device for two as Fish has to make the save. Back up and Cole hits the Boom on Jungle Boy for the pin at 13:49.

Rating: B. This is the match that you should have been expecting from these guys and it was quite the showcase as a result. Cole getting the pin makes sense and at least it was in a six man instead of in a regular tag match so it doesn’t hurt Jungle Boy as much. I’m not sure why we are setting up Cole vs. Page again but it should make for a good main event on a big Dynamite.

Team Taz mocks Keith Lee and tell him that he’ll get another beating if he shows up on Rampage this week. Lee threatens to punch out Ricky Starks again and says he’ll see them on Friday.

Bryan Danielson/Jon Moxley vs. Chuck Taylor/Wheeler Yuta

William Regal is on commentary. JR: “William Regal, can you control these two?” Regal: “Of course not.” As Regal has Danhausen explained to him, Moxley and Danielson jump the two of them to start fast. Yuta gets kneed in the ribs and Moxley adds a suplex for two. Some choking in the corner keeps Yuta down and Danielson comes back in to stomp on the arm as Regal talks about selling jam.

Yuta manages to get over for the tag to Taylor for some house cleaning, including a single leg crab on Danielson. The tag brings Moxley back in anyway and a kick to the face gets Danielson out of trouble. Danielson comes back in to grab an Indian deathlock on Taylor and a superplex gets two. We take a break and come back with Yuta hitting a dropkick and running forearm on Moxley, who runs him over with a clothesline. A Hart Attack gets two on Yuta but he fights back, only to get suplexed back down. The bulldog choke finishes Yuta at 11:46.

Rating: C+. It was mostly a squash, but it was longer than it needed to be as Moxley and Danielson should be running through people. Yuta got to fight a bit and that is a good thing, though at the same time it didn’t exactly make Danielson and Moxley look dominant. The two of them will be looking for some bigger competition soon though and that is what will matter most.

Post match Regal gets in the ring and Yuta offers to join up, earning a slap in the face. Yuta stares at Regal, who says something to him and Yuta leaves.

FTR seems happy to have fired Tully Blanchard but the Young Bucks come in to say it doesn’t matter who manages FTR because they’re just not that good.

The Acclaimed is ready for Keith Lee but Team Taz cuts them off for a pep talk. Shane Strickland comes in and says he’ll steal Ricky Starks’ spotlight. Strickland leaves and Caster wonders if Strickland was supposed to be a rapper.

Here is the Jericho Appreciation Society, with the fans still singing along with Judas. Matt Lee asks if the fans love singing that song and says that if it were up to him, there would be no song or singing, but Jericho is a better man than him. That is why Jericho deserves to be praised, for his contributions as a human being.

Jericho says the earth has been around for 4.5 billion years and you are lucky enough to be around during his era. We hear about some of the things he has done (including angles and promos (his words)) and how he has helped build companies, just like AEW. Instead of praising him though, people have said some very hurtful things about him on social media. Eddie Kingston was mean to him by making him tap out at Revolution but he isn’t coming out here.

Jericho isn’t a wrestler but rather a sports entertainer. Daniel Garcia grabs the mic and says he is one too. Jericho talks about a car crash on January 6, 2019 when a bunch of wrestlers were in a car crash so he donated thousands of dollars to help them. One of those men was Garcia, who was starting to get better.

As for 2.0, it’s a bad name from bad creative, so they are now using their real names: Angelo Parker and Matt Mirand. His former best friend Kevin asks Jericho to put them on Talk Is Jericho so they could hopefully get a job. Jericho saw the passion in them and helped them get to AEW. Then there is Jake Hager, who is Jericho’s ride or die man. Hager says they beat up pro wrestlers, with Jericho saying this is the start of the era of the Sports Entertainer. This felt more like the Jericho I was hoping to see, but him running another heel stable isn’t the most interesting thing.

Video on Serena Deeb vs. Hikaru Shida.

TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Scorpio Sky

Sky is defending and has Dan Lambert and company with him. Wardlow gets taken into the corner to start but Wardlow powers out and heads outside for a staredown with Paige VanZant. Paige’s husband gets in his face so Wardlow loads up the powerbomb, allowing Sky to hit a basement dropkick as we take a break.

Back with Wardlow in trouble but Sky has to punch his way out of a powerbomb out of the corner. The TKO is countered into a spinebuster and there’s the first powerbomb. Two more powerbombs make it worse but a distraction breaks up the fourth. Sky rolls to the floor but here is Shawn Spears, complete with some chairs, to offer a distraction. The referee yells at Spears, allowing MJF to come in with the Dynamite Diamond to knock Wardlow silly. That’s enough for Sky to retain the title at 9:20.

Rating: C+. I was expecting to see Wardlow win the title here but this is hardly some terrible decision. Wardlow getting to wring MJF’s neck should be fine and it will likely take place after MJF brings in a few hired goons to try to slow Wardlow down. I can also go with Sky getting a longer run with the title, as he is a bit different than most of the champions so far.

Post match Wardlow goes after MJF but gets chaired down by Spears, allowing VanZant’s husband to choke him out. Spears adds a chair to the head and MJF adds the Dynamite Diamond punch.

Jade Cargill and Mark Sterling want someone to step up to be her 30th victim.

Hardys vs. Private Party

Matt cranks on Quen’s wrist to start and it’s off to Jeff (strong reaction) and the Hardys hit their double elbow and Poetry In Motion. The chinlock goes on before it’s back to Matt, who gets taken into the wrong corner. A double elbow takes Matt down and a legdrop/standing shooting star press combination (mocking the Hardys’ sequence) gets two. Matt gets sent outside for a crash and we take a break.

Back with Kassidy hitting a running flip dive tot he floor on Matt, followed by an assisted boot to the face for two. Kassidy mocks Jeff with his own dance and Matt is over for the tag to Jeff a few seconds later. Jeff comes in and cleans house, including the middle rope splash for two on Kassidy. Everything breaks down and the Silly String is broken up, leaving the Hardys to hit stereo Twists of Fate. The Swanton finishes Kassidy at 12:17.

Rating: C+. The Hardys got a big reaction but it was just a Hardys match. I get why the team was put back together for a (or another) nostalgia run, but that’s about all it is. I’ve been watching the Hardys for almost twenty five years now and it isn’t like they haven’t been together in the last ten years or so. It was nice for a bit of a smile, but I’m not likely to get this excited over a team that I’ve seen together so many times.

Post match the AFO comes out to threaten the Hardys but Sting and Darby Allin make the save.

Red Velvet is ready for Leyla Hirsch on Rampage.

Women’s Title: Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa

Rosa, the hometown girl, is challenging in a cage (more like the Cell, as there is room on the floor) and gets played to the ring by a live band. Baker is in Scott Hall style gear and it’s a feeling out process to start. Rosa gets in a kick to the face and a clothesline and rakes Baker’s face into the cage. Some not very great right hands in the corner have Baker busted open and they head outside. Baker manages to send her into the cage for a breather and we take a break.

Back with Baker missing a chair shot so Rosa sends her into the corner for a running dropkick. The referee gets bumped though and it’s the Fire Thunder Driver for no count on Baker. That’s not enough to hold Baker down as she comes back and makes a pile of chairs. A super Air Raid Crash onto the chairs rocks Rosa as another referee runs in to count the delayed two.

With Rosa mostly done, Baker piles up six chairs (two on top of four) but Rosa sends her into the cage, sending her crashing onto the chairs. Baker busts out a superkick and grabs a bag of thumbtacks (in the match’s required call back, though JR wondering why those are there is funny).

Rosa loads up a powerbomb but gets backdropped onto the tacks, meaning she can try Lockjaw. That’s broken up with a bite to the hand before Rosa slams the other hand into the tacks. A powerbomb (with Rosa kind of falling) sends Baker into the tacks but she gets in a chair to the head. Rosa shrugs it off and hits the Fire Thunder Driver onto the tacks to win the title at 17:34.

Rating: B. It was another violent match, but this comes at the end of a story that felt like we were just sitting around waiting on this since last year when Rosa beat her in the first place. That has been the problem with all of Baker’s reign, as it has been a countdown to Rosa beating her again to get the title. As for the match itself, it was a brutal fight, though having so many violent and bloody matches in the last few months takes away some of its impact.

Confetti falls and Dustin Rhodes comes in to celebrate with Rosa to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Another good show, though it was still missing a little something to take it up to the next level. I don’t know if that’s the show focusing on a pair of rematches or something else, but it was only very good instead of great. Still though, I can certainly live with that as this was another awesome show with the opener and main event being more than enough to carry things.

Results
Adam Cole/ReDRagon b. Hangman Page/Jurassic Express – Boom to Jungle Boy
Jon Moxley/Bryan Danielson b. Wheel Yuta/Chuck Taylor – Bulldog choke to Yuta
Scorpio Sky b. Wardlow – Pin after a Dynamite Diamond punch from MJF
Hardys b. Private Party – Swanton Bomb to Kassidy
Thunder Rosa b. Britt Baker – Fire Thunder Driver onto tacks

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Rampage
Date: January 28, 2022
Location: Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Taz, Chris Jericho, Excalibur, Ricky Starks

It’s another Friday and Jon Moxley is back in the ring. That should be enough to make the show work, but we also have a pair of title matches, as Jade Cargill defends the TBS Title against Julia Hart and Private Party challenges for the Tag Team Titles. That’s not bad for an hour so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Anthony Bowens vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley gets a great ovation. Castor’s rap is about every thing happening to Moxley as of late, save for his rehab. Moxley jumps Bowens before the bell and beats him up, including taking it to the floor. He even stops to bow to and pose with referee Aubrey Edwards. The fight goes into the crowd with Bowens getting beaten up out there too. Back to ringside with Bowens managing to post him to slow things down.

They get back in with Bowens starting in on the arm but Moxley fights out of a suplex. Bowens neckbreakers him back down though and we take a break. Back with Moxley’s super Paradigm Shift being countered though as Bowens takes him down again. Moxley sends him outside and hits a suicide dive onto Caster, only to have Bowens catch him on the way back in.

A twisting hanging DDT drops Moxley for two but Bowens is back with a series of strikes. Moxley grabs a quick piledriver for his own two though and they’re both down. Bowens knees him in the face for two and hits a kind of belly to belly for the same. Caster throws in the boom box but it gets taken away, allowing Bowens to pull out a chain. Moxley isn’t having that and knocks Bowens silly, setting up the Paradigm Shift for the pin at 13:04.

Rating: B-. I liked this one a lot more than I would have expected, as Bowens got in a good deal of offense. There wasn’t any drama about the win and that’s ok in this case, as Bowens made Moxley put in the work. It’s a way to give Bowens a rub while Moxley gets back in the swing of things and that is a smart way to go.

Bryan Danielson is watching Moxley from the back.

Nyla Rose is ready to destroy Ruby Soho on Dynamite.

Andrade El Idolo comes in to see Darby Allin and offer him a contract. Allin didn’t realize that Andrade really believed Allin worked for Sting before talking about how money doesn’t matter. Andrade leaves without incident, saying he’ll talk to Allin’s boss.

Brock Anderson/Lee Johnson vs. FTR

Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard are here too. Johnson uses some power to slow Wheeler down to start before it’s off to Harwood, who can’t do much with Anderson. Brock slips out of a headlock and teases a right hand, making Harwood pause for a breather. Everything breaks down and FTR is sent outside for a pair of dives from Johnson. We take a break and come back with Johnson hitting a neckbreaker but Wheeler cuts off the hot tag attempt.

Then the tag goes through to Anderson a few seconds later, meaning it’s time for the comeback. A suplex takes Harwood down and it’s a gutwrench suplex to plant Wheeler. Harwood gets knocked off the apron, leaving Wheeler to get DDTed. A spinning frog splash gives Johnson two, with Wheeler having to put a foot on the rope. Anderson gets taken outside, leaving Tully to get into a staredown with Arn. Tully gets punched out, but it’s a spike piledriver to finish Johnson at 9:57 back inside.

Rating: C. Anderson and Johnson had no chance here but they lasted long enough to make this an old Superstars level main event. Anderson has improved some since he was last on television and Johnson can put in a good effort when he is given the chance. That is what we got here, but ultimately FTR wasn’t going to be in any real danger.

Thunder Rosa and Mercedes Martinez are ready to end each other next week.

We look at Serena Deeb beating up Hikaru Shida and putting her on the shelf.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill vs. Julia Hart

Cargill is defending and doesn’t seem to mind when Hart jumps her early on. Hart’s forearms are shrugged off and Cargill gets in some situps. Back up and Hart charges at her in the corner, setting up a hurricanrana for two. That earns her a kick to the face, setting up Jaded to retain the title at 2:24.

We get the face to face interview, with Christian Cage mocking Matt Hardy’s handling of Private Party. Matt yells back at him, with Jungle Boy saying there is no comparison between the two of then and they’re about to prove it.

Tag Team Titles: Private Party vs. Jurassic Express

Private Party is challenging and has more of the AHFO outside. Before the bell, the champs get in an argument with the Gunn Club at ringside, allowing Private Party to jump them from behind. It’s Gin and Juice for an early two on Jungle Boy and a neckbreaker gets the same as we take an early break.

Back with Luchasaurus getting crotched against the post so Kassidy can miss a charge into the barricade. Luchasaurus gets back in but Hardy sends Kassidy back inside to break up the tag. That’s fine with Luchasaurus, who keeps walking towards the corner, with Private Party grabbing a leg apiece. The hot tag brings in Jungle Boy to clean house, including some dives to take Private Party out.

Back in and Kassidy hits an enziguri for two, which sets up a Doomsday Device. That’s fine with Jungle Boy, who counters into something like a tabletop suplex to send Quen crashing down. Luchasaurus comes back in but gets taken down by the Silly String for two. The Snare Trap goes on but Quen breaks it up with the shooting star (with commentary thinking that might have taken a bit too long). Gin and Juice is loaded up but Jungle Boy reverses into a Canadian Destroyer. The Throwassic Express retains the titles at 7:14.

Rating: B-. Another good match here as Jurassic Express keeps mowing down teams. They’re trying something different with these guys, as the idea seems to be to get them in the ring a lot more frequently. That isn’t a bad way to go, as it is going to make whoever takes the titles from them look that much better. Good main event here, with the Express being put to another test.

Post match the Gunn Club comes in and lays out Jurassic Express to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Another packed yet still rather good edition this week, with nothing bad and a lot of hard work, as usual. That’s about all you can ask for out of Rampage, though it would still be nice to see them let the show breathe a little more. They do get a lot out of their time though and the ending sets up the next mini feud for Jurassic Express. Good show this week.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Anthony Bowens – Paradigm Shift
FTR b. Brock Anderson/Lee Johnson – Spike piledriver to Johnson
Jade Cargill b. Julia Hart – Jaded
Jurassic Express b. Private Party – Throwassic Express to Quen

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

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Dynamite
Date: December 29, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’ll wrap up another year of Dynamite with this one, in the place that hosted the show for what felt like the better part of ever. Cody Rhodes it the new TNT Champion, which hopefully is not just for the Go Big Show or Rhodes To The Top. Other than that, we also have the welcome return of Jim Ross, who has announced that he is cancer free. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jim Ross gets a big entrance for his return, which is a great thing to see.

Jurassic Express/Christian Cage/Lucha Bros vs. FTR/Matt Hardy/Private Party

Wheeler takes Christian into the corner for a clean break so we hit the double bicep pose. Christian works on the arm for a bit so it’s off to Harwood to trade chops with Jungle Boy in the corner. Harwood gets caught in the wrong corner and it’s Christian coming in for a kick to the face. The jump over the top into the uppercut has Harwood rocked and Wheeler has to break up the Snare Trap.

It’s off to Kassidy but the Lucha Bros come in for the wheelbarrow splash (after a bit of mistiming). Jungle Boy adds a springboard onto Kassidy and then sends him over the top, only to have Quen take Jungle Boy down. Hardy is in with the Side Effect and it’s Jungle Boy in trouble in the corner. A catapult sends Jungle Boy into the buckle and he has to fight out of Hardy’s chinlock.

Back up and a heck of a clothesline drops Hardy and it’s back to Fenix to pick up the pace. Private Party hits a pretty sweet assisted flip DDT to plant Fenix for two but he’s able to shove FTR off the top. A heck of a double springboard moonsault takes FTR down and it’s off to Luchasaurus to clean house. Kassidy gets launched into the air and lets out a scream that would make Vickie Guerrero jealous.

The double chokeslam is broken up so Luchasaurus kicks Wheeler in the face. The chokeslam hits Harwood but Penta tags himself in, much to Luchasaurus’ annoyance. Everything breaks down, including Fenix hitting a crazy rope work corkscrew dive, but Christian tags himself in to break up the Fear Factor. FTR shoves them together though and it’s the Big Rig to finish Christian at 12:35.

Rating: B. They didn’t go too nuts here and it was a good match as a result. Sometimes you can get a little too crazy when you have this many people involved and thankfully they kept it a little more calm. The Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express should be good, assuming they don’t add in FTR as a bonus. Hopefully not as it could get messy, but that doesn’t tend to be AEW’s way in title matches.

2.0/Daniel Garcia vs. Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz

Kingston goes right after Garcia and it’s a big brawl on the floor in the first minute. Back in and we settle down to Ortiz vs. Jeff Parker, with the former taking over. Garcia comes in and teases wanting Kingston but gets Santana instead. Three Amigos have Garcia in trouble so it’s back to Ortiz, who gets caught by a kick to the face on the floor. We take a break and come back with Kingston getting the tag to rapid fire chop Garcia in the corner. Everything breaks down and Lee blocks Ortiz’s splash with raised knees, setting up a rollup with tights to give Lee the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C. This was an intense match but they were don maybe a minute after coming back. It was more of a wild match than the ten man tag as well, which didn’t exactly do it any favors. Between not being able to remember which member of 2.0 is which, there were too many things going on at once here and it brought the match down.

Post match Garcia hits Santana in the face with the ring bell. Cue the returning Chris Jericho for the late save. Kingston shoves Jericho away and says he doesn’t need the help. Ortiz has to play peacemaker.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman talks about unsafe working conditions involving that crazy dive last week, while suggesting that it wouldn’t happening a more professional company. We’ll worry about that later though, because Wardlow needs to quality for the Face of the Revolution ladder match. That way he can win the TNT Title and hand it over to MJF, as their contract says. Wardlow isn’t happy.

Christian Cage isn’t happy with the Lucha Bros so the challenge for the Tag Team Titles is set for next week. The response is some insults to Cage, plus an acceptance.

Wardlow vs. Colin Delaney

Powerbomb Symphony finishes Delaney at 1:24.

Post match, Shawn Spears chairs Delaney down.

The Young Bucks don’t seem to like Kyle O’Reilly, who wants to talk to Adam Cole in private. This includes Bobby Fish leaving so O’Reilly can ask if Cole has his back or not. Cole doesn’t seem happy.

Here are Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year to rant about Cody Rhodes. Lambert doesn’t think much of Cody but thinks even less of Brandi Rhodes. Stripper jokes abound, with Ethan Page mocking her wrestling abilities as well. Cue Brandi, who uses the same lines that she used on Jade Cargill during her debut. They don’t like each other, with Brandi being ready to beat him up (without having him pay for it) but Lambert, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, isn’t worried and makes stripper jokes. Brandi: “Well I’m a black b****!” Dustin Rhodes comes in for the save and gets laid out, with Brandi checking on him.

Video on Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page II, with a focus on the still unnamed judges.

TBS Title Tournament Semifinals: Jade Cargill vs. Thunder Rosa

Mark Sterling is here with Cargill and Rosa has Wolverine claws. Rosa goes after Cargill’s leg to start but a Sterling distraction lets Cargill take over on the floor. Some kicks to the leg get Rosa out of trouble but she dives into a backbreaker. Rosa snaps off a hurricanrana but gets posted hard. They finally get back inside, where Rosa shrugs off some knees to the face and hits a dragon screw legwhip. Cargill runs her over again though and we take a break.

Back with Rosa hammering on the knee in the corner and hitting some running clotheslines. Cargill Samoan drops her down again but bangs up the knee on the nip up. Rosa is right back to the leg with a shinbreaker into the Figure Four but Sterling offers a distraction. The hold is put on again but this time, Cargill kicks her into the corner, where a crew member hits her with a kendo stick. A fast Jaded gives Cargill the pin at 11:00.

Rating: C. It might not have been the cleanest match in the world and Jade still looks like she is quite green in the ring without knowing how to do something this long. The good thing is that Rosa was there to to walk her through the match with the story of the knee. It was far from a terrible match though and I’ll take what I can get with Cargill in this kind of a match.

Post match Rosa goes after Cargill again but it’s Mercedes Martinez as the crew member for the save and beatdown. Ruby Soho runs in with a pipe for the save.

Video on Riho vs. Britt Baker for the Women’s Title.

Here is CM Punk for a chat, but first he wants to say how glad he is to have Jim Ross back. With that taken care of, Punk talks about how he has never been here before, but it makes him think about Brodie Lee. If anyone out there has to say something about how Lee didn’t do anything, it means they didn’t meet him. Punk watched the tribute show to Lee and it made him want to come here.

Maybe there is someone who isn’t worth his time and doesn’t want to be here, like MJF. Punk talks about last week’s six man tag and now MJF says he’s done with him. That’s fine with Punk after he got to team with Sting to beat FTR and now they can move on to something else. MJF was talking about it too: they both want the World Title and MJF is a bigger waste of Khan Money than Tim Tebow….and we’ll pause off that one.

Punk never wanted to mess with MJF but on this mic and in this ring, no one can touch him. If MJF wants to climb that ladder though, Punk will see him in this ring, but it would be a shame if someone interfered with his quest for gold. I’m not sure what happened here but Punk didn’t have quite the zing here, Tebow joke aside.

Ricky Starks isn’t happy with Dante Martin tossing him from the Dynamite Diamond battle royal. Powerhouse Hobbs can take care of Martin again if that’s what Martin wants.

We look at Cody Rhodes taking the TNT Title from Sammy Guevara.

Here is Sammy with his signs and we take a break, as is usually the case.

Video on Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb.

Here is Brian Pillman Jr. to talk about Malakai Black trying to end Griff Garrison’s career. Then he remembered getting kicked in the head to leave him laying. Pillman worked hard to get here and started in Jacksonville, Florida. He didn’t know his father, but he knows he only gets one life and Black isn’t getting it. Next week, you’re seeing a brand new Brian Pillman Jr…and there go the lights. Malakai Black pops up on the ramp and then disappears again.

The Acclaimed complains about how they aren’t ranked but Sting and Darby Allin are. That’s why Anthony Bowens is taking care of Allin on Rampage.

Sting talks about how casual people are about main events these days. Allin says he’s fine with being in any match on the card and is ready for Bowens on Friday.

Video on Tay Conti/Anna Jay vs. Bunny/Penelope Ford, setting up their street fight on Rampage.

Orange Cassidy/Best Friends vs. Kyle O’Reilly/Adam Cole/Bobby Fish

Taylor and O’Reilly start things off with O’Reilly kneeing him in the ribs. Trent comes in to strike away with O’Reilly, including stereo boots to the face for a double knockdown. Cassidy comes in and rolls Fish up for two so it’s off to Cole, who gets taken down a few times. The Paisan elbow brings O’Reilly and Fish in, only to be sent outside. Cole breaks up the big hug though and the good guys are sent outside.

We take a break and come back with Cole superkicking Cassidy off the apron but everything breaks down instead. Trent tornado DDT’s O’Reilly for two but Fish comes back in to send Trent into the corner. Some running strikes connect but Trent manages a knockdown of his own. The hot tag brings in Cassidy but a DDT into a wheelbarrow suplex gives O’Reilly two. Cassidy gets taken down with a High/Low but Chuck makes the save.

They fight outside, where the Panama Sunrise on the ramp is countered with a backdrop. Taylor flip dives onto O’Reilly and Fish, leaving Cole to get speared down. Back in and Cassidy’s top rope DDT gets two on Cole, setting up back to back piledrivers. Beach Break gets two, with O’Reilly and Fish making the save. O’Reilly kicks Cole by mistake though and it’s back to Taylor for a knee to O’Reilly’s face. Soul Food into Trent’s half and half suplex sets up the big hug but here is Brandon Cutler to offer a distraction. The Young Bucks run in with double superkicks and Chasing the Dragon finishes Chuck at 14:55.

Rating: B-. They had me wondering if Cassidy was going to get a big win here so well done on making me think they were insane. Cole and company need to be established as a trio to start and that is what they made work here. Granted it is designed to be focused on a Young Bucks story, so there is a pretty firm limit to how interesting it is going to be. At least they had a good enough match here so well done.

Cole stands with the Young Bucks and Cutler, leaving O’Reilly and Fish unhappy to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Pretty good show to wrap up the Dynamite year, though it didn’t have the big blow away moment or match to really make it work. What we got here was a lot of stuff designed to set things up for later and sometimes that is the show you need. Next week is one of the all time stacked Dynamites and if it lives up to its hype, we should be in for a classic. Good enough show this week and that’s all it needed to be.

Results
FTR/Private Party/Matt Hardy b. Jurassic Express/Christian Cage/Lucha Bros – Big Rig to Cage
2.0/Daniel Garcia b. Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz – Rollup with trunks to Ortiz
Wardlow b. Colin Delaney – Powerbomb Symphony
Jade Cargill b. Thunder Rosa – Jaded
Adam Cole/Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish b. Orange Cassidy/Best Friends – Chasing the Dragon to Taylor

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

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AND

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

Rampage
Date: August 20, 2021
Location: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Ross, Mark Henry, Excalibur, Taz

So this is a weird show as there is a big surprise, but everyone knows exactly what it is going to be. AEW has all but said what is going to happen here and that just leaves the question of how it goes down. There are a few ways to do that and I’m rather excited about what is going to happen. Let’s get to it.

Here are Dynamite’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

The crowd is already changing for CM PUNK…..and here he is to open the show. Punk takes his time getting to the ring and is clearly shaken up by this. Punk even dives over the barricade into the crowd and hugs a lot of people at ringside. After a break, Punk says you know how to make a guy feel like Britt Baker in Pittsburgh. Punk says he’s winging this and while he can’t get to everything tonight, he has a lot of time on Wednesdays, Fridays and four Saturdays/Sundays a year.

One important thing: if any of his decisions have ever made anyone feel disappointed or let down, he had to leave because he needed to get out of there so he can feel healthy. After taking off his jacket to reveal the CM PUNK: I WAS THERE shirt, Punk sits down Pipebomb style to talk about how he left Ring of Honor with tears in his eyes. He knew that he was leaving a place where wrestlers could learn their craft and love professional wrestling. While he was leaving Ring of Honor, he also left professional wrestling.

On August 20, 2021, he is back in professional wrestling because he wants to work with that same talent that he wishes he could have faced before. He is here to settle some scores and for some young guys, so he calls out Darby Allin…..who is in the rafters with Sting. Punk knows Allin is good and he’s seen him do some crazy things in and out of the ring. Punk knows Allin is crazy and there is nothing crazier than facing Punk in Chicago on pay per view on September 5 at All Out. Oh and one more thing: seven years is a long time, and on your way out, enjoy a free ice cream bar on him. And commentary actually has ice cream!

Christian Cage is fired up for Kenny Omega and tells Jurassic Express to go get the Tag Team Titles.

#1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament First Round: Private Party vs. Jurassic Express

Matt Hardy and Marko Stunt are both here too and the Young Bucks come out to watch. Kassidy takes Jungle down to start and it’s quickly off to Quen, who is armdragged in a hurry. Jungle takes Kassidy down as well but a distraction lets Private Party get in a quick double team to take over.

Back with Jungle hitting a clothesline and bringing in Luchasaurus (But…..he wasn’t even fighting out of a chinlock!), who puts Boy on his shoulders for some reason. That lets Quen hit a super Canadian Destroyer (with Jungle landing on his face because THAT’S A REALLY SCARY MOVE), followed by a springboard shooting star….well it’s a shove because only his hands graze Luchasaurus but at least he made contact. Back in and the Silly String is countered into the Extinction Level Event for two, followed by the Throwassic Express for the pin on Quen at 10:21.

Rating: C+. Private Party is like the Hardys if the Hardys weren’t very good. They can do the flips and dives and such and every now and then, one of them will actually work. This had the right ending and it would not surprise me a bit to see Jurassic Express get to the title match at All Out. That seems to be the story they are telling and that is more than a good enough idea.

Jade Cargill vs. Kiera Hogan

Hogan goes right at her but walks into Jaded (with some walking around) for the pin at 1:07.

Daniel Garcia, with 2.0, and Jon Moxley get this week’s split screen interview. 2.0 talks about how ready they are for this, with Moxley speaking really fast about how he isn’t going down tonight.

Daniel Garcia vs. Jon Moxley

2.0 is here with Garcia. Moxley doesn’t waste time in starting but Garcia takes him down by the leg. The leglock is countered into a cross armbreaker, followed by some rolling German suplexes. Garcia picks the ankle for an ankle lock but Moxley is in the ropes in a hurry. A heck of a clothesline blasts Garcia but the Paradigm Shift is countered into something like a nasty Sharpshooter. Moxley is fine enough to reverse into a bulldog choke for the tap at 4:06.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have much time here but I continue to like Garcia. Moxley wasn’t really in danger but it was nice to see him have to figure Garcia out and then make him tap. That’s about all you could get out of this one but Garcia could be good with a little more polish and a few wins.

Post match 2.0 comes in but Eddie Kingston comes in for the failed save attempt. Sting and Darby Allin come in for the real save. The beatdown is on and it’s a double Coffin Drop onto 2.0. Posing ends the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The best description I’ve heard of this show was “it’s a one thing show, but it’s a BIG thing”. This was all about Punk’s debut and that worked as well as you could have expected. I don’t know what else you could ask for here and the wrestling being pretty good was just a bonus. This was a pretty special event and that’s what it was supposed to be. Total success.

Results
Jurassic Express b. Private Party – Throwassic Express to Quen
Jade Cargill b. Kiera Hogan – Jaded
Jon Moxley b. Daniel Garcia – Bulldog choke

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

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

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

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

Elite vs. Mike Sydal/Matt Sydal/Dante Martin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Miro is ready to destroy Fuego del Sol.

Daniel Garcia vs. Darby Allin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nyla Rose vs. Kris Statlander

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

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

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

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

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

Impact Tag Team Titles: Dark Order vs. Good Brothers

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

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

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

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

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

Chris Jericho vs. Wardlow

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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: June 4, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re done with Double Or Nothing and things are on a bit of a roll around here. I’m curious to see how they follow up on a pretty awesome pay per view which saw the Inner Circle survive by winning Stadium Stampede over the Pinnacle. There are a few directions they can take before All Out in September so let’s get to it.

Here is Double Or Nothing if you need a recap.

Penta El Zero Miedo/Pac vs. Young Bucks

Non-title and apparently the Bucks attacked Rey Fenix before the match, including a bunch of V Triggers. Michael Nakazawa, Brandon Cutler and the Good Brothers are here but cue Frankie Kazarian to jump Nakazawa, causing the Brothers to chase him off. Don Callis joins commentary as Pac and Penta (looking Jokerish tonight) hit big dives to the floor. A pair of backdrops keep the Bucks in trouble and they head inside for the opening bell.

Penta comes in to roll Matt up for two with Nick making the save and ragging Matt to the corner. Pac comes in to hit a standing shooting star press for two on Matt but the Bucks set him outside. Matt takes forever to load up the dive, then runs outside and goes to the floor for a running clothesline instead. Back in and Matt spears Pac down to hammer away but a few shots allow the tag off to Penta. A Backstabber takes Nick down and Pac’s pop up powerbomb gets two.

Penta adds a Canadian Destroyer to send Nick into the corner. Matt comes back in with a Canadian Destroyer of his own and everyone winds up on the same apron. Nick German suplexes Pac and Penta Fear Factors Matt, leaving Nick to fight Penta back inside. The referee gets poked in the eye so Nick pulls off Penta’s mask, revealing a second mask. That means a low blow into the Fear Factor, setting up Pac’s Black Arrow for two as Matt dives back in for the save. Pac goes up again but Brandon Cutler hits him in the leg, allowing Nick to grab a rollup pin at 9:42.

Rating: C+. Yeah of course they did. Is there any surprise that the Bucks survive multiple finishers (including one on the apron) to win in the end? I barely blinked off the near fall because the Bucks could get launched out of a cannon into a brick wall and kick out at 2 and a half. Such is life in the Bucks’ matches, even if it means pinning Pac in the process.

Post match the beatdown seems ready to continue but Eddie Kingston runs in for the save.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Tony Schiavone brings out Mark Henry for his big debut. Henry talks about how how he isn’t here to fix AEW because it isn’t broken. Instead he will be here because he loves wrestling and it is time to see what he can offer. Tony asks if Henry is going to get back in the ring, but Henry can’t say yes to that yet. What he can say is that he has a lot left in the tank but here is Vickie Guerrero to interrupt. She has a surprise for us tonight…..and here is Andrade El Idolo. Well that’s a good surprise. Andrade is here to be the new face of AEW and Vickie demands some applause.

QT Marshall/Anthony Ogogo vs. Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson

Johnson hits Marshall in the face to start and a quick dropkick gets two. Ogogo comes in and takes Cody into the corner but it’s right back to Johnson for a neckbreaker on Marshall. Johnson gets dropped on the floor though and we take a break. Back with Johnson sending Marshall outside, allowing Cody to come back in and hammer away.

The powerslam sets up the Figure Four on Marshall but Ogogo makes the save with a frog splash. A Diamond Cutter gets two on Cody with Johnson making a save of his own. The Cross Rhodes is loaded up but here is Aaron Solow to offer a distraction. Ogogo punches Cody out and Marshall gets the pin at 9:21.

Rating: C. Ogogo continues to get a push, though it is still hard to make myself care about anything Marshall does, especially with him in charge of a group. He isn’t interesting and doesn’t stand out in any way, though at least Ogogo looked like a star with the big right hand. Granted he should have gotten the pin at Double Or Nothing, but I’ll take this.

Post match Marshall shouts at Tony Schiavone about how he told him so.

We look at the Inner Circle winning Stadium Stampede.

Here is the Inner Circle for a chat. Chris Jericho brags about the win and has a gift for everyone here: an Inner Circle Stadium Stampede t-shirt! Well that’s pretty cool. Jericho hands it off to Sammy Guevara, who won the match for them on Sunday. Sammy talks about hitting a 630 to win, just like he used to do off of his mom’s house (Sammy: “Hi mom!”). He can’t believe he got to do it at Double Or Nothing and is so proud that they won.

We get the big hug, followed by Santana promising that this isn’t over because FTR tried to take their careers. Jake Hager says this isn’t over until the Inner Circle says it is over and calls out Wardlow to fight him in an MMA cage. Jericho isn’t done though because thinking of every member of the Pinnacle makes him mad.

The worst of them all is MJF though, because he tried to end Jericho’s career and his life. He thinks about it every day and wakes up in a cold sweat. MJF calls Jericho the greatest of all time and Jericho doesn’t know about that, but he does think that if he wants to keep moving forward, he has to beat MJF. That is exactly what he is going to do, and the middle finger salute wraps it up. It was a fired up promo, but I’m not wild on another huge gimmick match coming and going as little more than a pit stop in the feud.

The Best Friends say this isn’t over between Orange Cassidy and Kenny Omega.

Kenny Omega and Don Callis are ready to blow the lid off of this conspiracy to get the AEW World Title off of Omega next week. Omega isn’t worried about his title defense against Jungle Boy either. They hum along to Boy’s theme song for a bonus. My only conclusion to this: I never need to hear of a conspiracy on a wrestling show again.

Jungle Boy/Christian Cage vs. Private Party

Matt Hardy is here too. Private Party, in street/club clothes, takes over on Boy’s arm to start but he flips over Kassidy and kicks Quen in the ribs. A double springboard wristdrag sends Private Party outside and it’s off to Christian. Hardy offers a distraction though and Quen knocks Christian down as we take a break.

Back with Private Party mocking the five second pose and taking Boy off the apron. Christian manages a double reverse DDT, allowing the tag back to Boy. A brainbuster gets two on Quen and Kassidy has to break up the Snare Trap. Kassidy pokes Boy in the eyes and rolls him up for two but Christian breaks up the Gin and Juice. The Snare Trap makes Quen trap at 11:20.

Rating: C. This worked well as a way to set up Boy’s title shot against Omega later this month. The best way to make him look like a threat is to give him win after win and that is what they had here. Some singles wins would be better, but Boy looked and felt like a star here and that is the right idea.

Post match Hardy hits a Twist of Fate to drop Christian on the ramp.

Taz promises that Team Taz is going to wreck Hangman Page and someone from the Dark Order. Ricky Starks walks off in the middle.

Tony Schiavone brings out Sting and Darby Allin for a chat. Sting talks about how he has a lot of memories in wrestling but he will never forget what he did at Double Or Nothing. The fans let him know that HE STILL HAS IT but Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page pop up on screen to mock both of the two of them. They have a challenge: Allin can go find anyone but Sting and prove them wrong. Allin pulls the mic up but doesn’t bother to say anything.

A bunch of people are in the ring (complete with a table of cheeseburgers) for Britt Baker’s official championship celebration. Baker is very pleased with everyone being here and says everyone is getting a coupon for a free burger. Actually never mind as they are all on the table for her, because she did all of the work. She promised that this was the start of an all new era and she was absolutely right.

It is the start of the DMD era and now it’s time for the burgers, but only two of them are allowed. Tony and Rebel are the only ones allowed to have them, but Nyla Rose throws them away. The heavy sigh at the idea of Rose probably getting ANOTHER title shot sums it up as well as anything else I can say here.

Pac and Penta ask Eddie Kingston what was up with that save. Kingston says the enemy of his enemy is his friend.

Bunny vs. Red Velvet

Blade is here with Bunny. A cheap shot from Bunny doesn’t works as Velvet kicks her down and hits a splash for two. Bunny is sent outside and Velvet hits a dive, almost landing on her head (and making me cringe harder than I have in a long time). Thankfully she pops back up and chokes in the corner, only to get superkicked off the top.

Another superkick sends Velvet outside and we take a break. Back with Velvet hitting some clotheslines but Bunny superkicks her down. Blade offers a distraction so KiLynn King and Big Swole protest. The distraction lets Blade send in the brass knuckles but Bunny walks into Just Desserts for the pin at 7:00.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here outside of another match with a good chunk taking place during the break. Velvet’s continued development is still nice to see as she has come a VERY long way in the last few months. Bunny has more or less vanished from the big shows, but she has enough of a reputation to matter a bit. She might be better served as a manager though, as it seems to work out better for her.

The Dark Order is fired up for John Silver’s birthday because Tony Khan has given him a TNT Title shot. He’s hurt though, so Evil Uno can have it instead! Uno promises to make the team proud.

Miro thanks God for his power and his wife for being hot. He isn’t worried about Uno because he is bigger, stronger and faster. You come after him when you can’t survive.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Nick Comoroto

Bullrope match and you win by pinfall or submission. Aaron Solow is here with Comoroto and the brawl starts on the ramp before the bell. Rhodes is thrown inside and the rope is tied up, meaning we can officially start. Comoroto chokes with the rope on the apron as JR longs for the days of headlocks. Rhodes comes back with a Cactus Clothesline to the floor and they head into the crowd.

Fuego del Sol gets shoved down by Comoroto and then tossed onto some chairs, allowing Rhodes to send them back to ringside. A powerslam plants Comoroto on the floor but he comes back with a bell shot to the face. Comoroto comes up bleeding from the head as Rhodes is barely able to stand. Rhodes posts him but gets dropped onto the apron as we take a break.

Back with Solow putting up a table on the floor but Rhodes hits Comoroto in the face with the rope. That just earns him a powerbomb through the table for two back inside so Solow gets on the apron and removes the turnbuckle pad. Cue Colton Gunn to beat up Solow as Rhodes hits a bulldog and the Final Reckoning on the cowbell….for one. A low blow staggers Comoroto and it’s a middle rope bulldog to put him down again. Rhodes gets smart and hogties him for the pin at 10:08.

Rating: C-. I don’t think this was anything more than a way to close out the show, as it seems AEW figured out that not a lot of fans are going to stick around until midnight on a Friday. There is nothing wrong with that, but I can sympathize with JR not liking another violent match. This is the first time these two have fought and they go right to the violent stuff. Just let it build up a bit first and save the violence for later. Also, Rhodes wins here? Over this monster caveman who looked untouchable for most of the match?

Overall Rating: C. They definitely took a bit of a breather this week and that is a good idea. It makes sense as they have a long way to go before they get to another major show and you don’t want to run through everything. Throw in the fact that these Friday shows are not going to draw a big audience (not AEW’s fault) and there is little reason to put a lot on them. They did the right thing by front loading it too, so they seem to be learning a bit.

Results

Young Bucks b. Penta El Zero Miedo/Pac – Rollup to Pac

Anthony Ogogo/QT Marshall b. Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson – Right hand to Rhodes

Jungle Boy/Christian Cage b. Private Party – Snare Trap to Quen

Red Velvet b. Bunny – Just Desserts

Dustin Rhodes b. Nick Comoroto – Middle rope bulldog

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: March 17, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for the next special show as we have a St. Patrick’s Day special. This time around we have the fallout from last week’s big angle with the Inner Circle being laid out by MJF and his new group. Other than that, we have a major showdown with Thunder Rosa and Britt Baker. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

MJF and company arrived at the airport earlier today.

Penta El Zero M vs. Cody Rhodes

During the intros, Penta (through a translator) promises to send Cody onto an early paternity leave. Penta jumps Cody during the entrances and we starts on the floor. Some kicks to the face and leg have Cody in more trouble and they head inside. Cody screams at Penta for chopping him and hits a release gordbuster. The Sling Blade gives Penta two and a Backstabber is good for the same.

Penta starts going after Cody’s bad arm but he’s fine enough to send Penta out to the apron. That means the Disaster Kick out to the floor, setting up the suicide dive. Back in and Cero Miedo is broken up with a superkick into a Canadian Destroyer into the Cody Cutter for two. Cross Rhodes gets two, as does a Vertebreaker, because modern professional wrestling is ridiculous. Cody wraps the leg around the post to set up the Figure Four but Penta makes the rope. Another Figure Four attempt is countered into the arm snap but Cody grabs a sunset flip for the pin at 10:09.

Rating: C+. Yeah I know they did a lot of cool stuff but they completely lost me with the ridiculous amount of kickouts. Sure a lot of people do it these days and it’s still ridiculous. Cody hit two finishers, a Vertebreaker and his submission with Penta surviving everything until a rollup got the pin. There is no need to do that much in a ten minute opening match and it was turning into a near joke.

Post match the Nightmare Family comes out to chase Penta off. QT Marshall gets out late and the Nightmare Family (all six members in the ring to chase off one Penta) is annoyed at him for being late.

The Young Bucks are ready to face Rey Fenix and Pac when Don Callis comes in. He’s heard that their dad wasn’t feeling good so Callis got him a shirt (“Do Not Slap Leg When Kicking”. SEE??? BECAUSE IT WAS A WWE THING AND THAT MEANS IT’S FUNNY TO REFERENCE IT BECAUSE IT MUST BE STUPID!!!). Anyway, Callis wanted to see the Bucks that he saw in Japan but there is nothing elite about them here. As for Kenny Omega, he is now the wrestling god and Omega doesn’t recognize the Bucks because they are just another team with fancy tights. Do they see the same Bucks they saw in Japan? Yay Japan. Again.

Jade Cargill vs. Dani Jordyn

Cargil doesn’t waste time in hitting a jumping knee and we hit the posing. A release German suplex sends Jordyn flying and Jade nips up, setting up Jaded (Glam Slam) for the pin at 1:17. That’s exactly how Cargill should be presented: total dominance with her doing the things she can make look good. Don’t have her trying to run before she can crawl.

Post match Cargill gets in Red Velvet’s face but is held back.

We look back at the big beatdown to end last week’s show.

Here are MJF and company for a chat. Tully Blanchard talks about how great it is to be in the middle of the ring with this bunch of guys. Last week they were in the ring with the Inner Circle and you saw them destroyed. So doesn’t that make this new group the most dominant group? That makes them the pinnacle (that sounds like a name) of professional wrestling. Thirty four years ago, Tully started his career with the best team in wrestling and now he’s ending it with them too.

MJF says now he is Judas and talks about how hard it was to take a backseat to Jericho for six months. Every time Jericho talked, he had to fall back as Jericho’s hairline. MJF sang and danced for Jericho and pretended to like his comedy BS, but it worked as planned. He was plucking Jericho feather by feather and then it was the coup de grace: he convinced everyone that he wanted to take over the Inner Circle. From day one, the plan was to kill the Inner Circle from the inside because he wanted to build something even better.

Tully was right when he called this group the Pinnacle and MJF talks about every member of the team. Then there is MJF himself, because he is the most talked about star in wrestling at 24 year old. He has 25 years plus left in the tank and that must make a lot of people want to put their fist through the screen. The GOAT spot is reserved for him and the Pinnacle is ready to be the backbone of AEW for years to come. And yes, he is better than us and we know it. Good promo here, with MJF selling it to perfection as you would expect.

Jurassic Express/Bear Country vs. Matt Hardy/Butcher and the Blade/Private Party

During the entrances, Hardy talks about how his team loves to make money and how he is building an empire. Matt wants to face Stunt to start but Marko makes him charge into the corner. That lets Jungle Boy comes in with a missile dropkick and everything breaks down in a hurry. The good guys clear the ring and Bear Country LAUNCHES Marko over the top (and he barely got his head down in time) for the huge crash.

Boulder throws Marq Quen but accidentally hits Boy by mistake, allowing Hardy to hit the Side Effect for two. We take a break and come back with Luchasaurus cleaning house with a bunch of kicks. The standing moonsault press gets two on Kassidy and it’s off to Bronson for a suplex.

Luchasaurus does not like Bronson coming in but Marko tags himself in as well as the good guys break down. A brawl breaks out on the floor and Kassidy kicks Marko in the face. Matt cuts off Marko’s comeback attempt and there’s Gin and Juice. That lets Matt tag himself in and hit the Twist of Fate for the pin on Stunt at 8:43.

Rating: C-. The tension between the Express and Bear Country could lead to a decent mini feud, but I’m not sure how much more they can milk out of Hardy. The Big Money Matt character is slightly better than Broken Matt but it’s still Matt Hardy as the focal point in 2021. That is only going to get them so far and it is getting more and more obvious every time he is in the ring.

Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston say they don’t like the Good Brothers, and it isn’t just because Moxley wasted his money on Talk N Shop A Mania. Moxley thinks Karl Anderson has googly eyes like something you see kids making with construction paper. Kingston says this isn’t Tokyo or the Impact Zone because this is their home. The Good Brothers are cowards who die a thousand deaths. Moxley and Kingston are soldiers who will only die once. See you out there. I’m not wild on their matches, but these are two of the best talkers on wrestling right now and they’re a highlight every week.

Christian talks about people who are considered workhorses in this business. He is the kind of guy who makes other wrestlers look better but he isn’t a workhorse. That’s because he is THE workhorse but he only wants one spot. That spot is currently held by the AEW World Champion, who he got to meet last week. Omega is on borrowed time as World Champion and they’ll see each other down the road. He is here to cement his legacy and out work everyone. More good talking here, with Christian not sounding like he did in WWE, which is a welcome result.

Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley vs. Good Brothers

The Brothers jump Kingston during his entrance but here is Moxley, with his shoulder taped from the barbed wire match, to start the fight. Moxley is sent shoulder first into the barricade and the Magic Killer drops him on the floor. The bell rings and it’s Kingston getting hammered down in the corner. More shots to the face give Gallows two as Moxley is still down on the floor.

Kingston gets in some chops but Gallows kicks Moxley off the apron as we take a break. Back with Kingston hitting a middle rope shoulder to drop Gallows and suplexing Anderson. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Moxley, who hits a running dropkick to send Anderson into the corner.

The running clothesline sets up a piledriver for two and there’s a suicide dive onto Gallows. Back in and Anderson scores with the spinebuster on Moxley, followed by the belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination to plant Kingston. Gallows and Moxley brawl out to the floor, leaving Moxley to small package Anderson for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C+. I liked this one as they told a good story with Moxley being down for the most part to leave this as a handicap match. The Good Brothers are fine as the enforcers for Omega and that’s all they need to be. This was mainly a one sided match until things picked up in the end, which is the story they were telling. Good enough match here.

Post match the beatdown takes out Moxley and here is Kenny Omega, dancing to the ring (that was great) and Kingston gets a Magic Killer. Kingston gets his ankle Pillmanized and the chair is wrapped around Moxley’s neck. Cue the Young Bucks to make the save but Omega gets in Matt’s face. Omega keeps wanting the Too Sweet, even with the Bucks looking ready to fight. Moxley gets the chair to clear the ring and Omega talks about his shoe. Omega was a bit loopy here and it worked….kind of? The dancing certainly did.

Tony Schiavone brings out Sting for his weekly chat but brings out Darby Allin as well for a change. Allin talks about winning the TNT Title and is here to defending it every week. He wants to pay tribute to the best TNT Champion of all time and will defend the title against any member of the Dark Order. Cue Lance Archer and Jake Roberts to interrupt. Archer wants to know why Sting is always getting the TV time and calls Allin the most indyrific wrestler around here. Roberts tells Allin to go put his hot dog bun back on because he is just a weenie.

Archer and Roberts leave so here is Team Taz, with Brian Cage speaking for himself this week. Cage talks about how great the street fight was and says he respects Sting. With or without the bat, Ricky Starks is wrong: Sting is still the Icon. Cage leaves as the rest of the team yells at him.

Video on Scorpio Sky, who was always the nice guy because no one wanted him to be the star. Now, everything has changed.

Rey Fenix vs. Angelico

Angelico takes him down to the mat to start but Fenix flips out of a wristlock. An armdrag takes Angelico down and we reset a bit. Angelico grabs the arm and starts hammering away on the tape on Fenix’s back. We take a break and come back with Fenix making the comeback and hitting the rolling cutter for two. A fireman’s carry is broken up and Fenix gets sent into the corner. An exchange of kicks to the head sets up Fenix’s crucifix bomb. The Black Fire Driver finishes Angelico at 7:31.

Rating: C+. These guys beat each other up for a few minutes and that was all it needed to be. I’m not sure why this wouldn’t be Fenix and Pac beating up the Hybrid 2 but the less Jack Evans around, the better things can be. Fenix continues to be as entertaining as it gets and I’m looking forward to the Tag Team Title match.

Miro is working out but stops to say he is sick of hearing about Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy. Kip Sabian comes in to say he isn’t done with them and wants the rematch. He also isn’t happy with Miro for bumping into Penelope Ford but Miro says the worst thing you can do is have your wife at ringside (right). Miro leaves and Fenix accepts the rematch on behalf of the team.

John Silver accepts the TNT Title challenge for next week.

The Pinnacle takes over the Inner Circle’s dressing room.

Thunder Rosa vs. Britt Baker

Lights out, meaning anything goes and Rebel is here with Baker. Speaking of Rebel, she hits Rosa from behind with a crutch before the bell and Baker takes it to the stage. The Air Raid Crash on the ramp gets two, as apparently this is falls count anywhere. Baker misses a chair shot against the barricade as we see Hikaru Shida watching from the back. Rosa is back up and throws a chair at Baker’s face and another shot to the back. Baker is sent over the barricade with Rosa following but missing a charge into a chair.

They’re back at ringside with Rebel helping Baker set up a table. A bunch of chairs are thrown inside and Rosa is busted open. We take a break and come back with Baker superplexing her onto the pile of chairs, which leaves her down as well. A delayed cover gets two and Rebel slides in a ladder. Rosa sends Baker face first into the ladder for two and there are the running knees in the corner.

The ladder is put on Baker’s face and a running dropkick crushes Baker in the corner. That busts her open too as commentary can’t believe how this is going. Baker is bleeding hard but manages to send her into the ladder. Rosa is down and Baker goes up….but gets Death Valley Drivered off the top and into the ladder for the huge crash. That’s good for two as well and somehow Baker is back up with a DDT onto the chair. The stomp onto a chair gets the same but Baker, who is covered in blood, smiles.

Rebel slips in the glove….and a bag of tacks as well. Rosa is back up and tries a powerbomb onto the tacks, only to have Rebel offer a distraction. That’s fine with Rosa, who knocks her off the apron and through the table, followed by the powerbomb onto the tacks for two. Baker pulls her down into the Lockjaw but Rosa rolls it into the tacks for the break in a painfully smart move. A hard low superkick rocks Rosa again and they head to the apron with Rosa pulling her off the top. That means a Fire Thunder Driver through the table to finally end Baker at 16:37.

Rating: A. This was everything you could have wanted from the match and more, but above all else it felt like a war. You could feel that these two were going to do everything they could to beat the other, but also to survive as long as they could. It was as hard hitting and brutal of a match as I have seen in a long time and I dug the heck out of the whole thing. I got a lot more out of the violence here than in the barbed wire match and I would not have bet on this coming in. Great match and check it out for sure.

They’re both mostly done to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. That main event bailed out an otherwise pretty meh show, as it was the only thing worth seeing. The good thing is that it is VERY worth seeing and made up for almost everything else. The first twenty minutes of this show had me ready to trash the whole thing but it did get better as it went along. I’m not big on some of the stories they are telling here, but at least they had a classic to wrap it up. Good show, and that is almost entirely attributed to the main event and some solid promos.

Results

Cody Rhodes b. Penta El Zero M – Sunset flip

Jade Cargill b. Dani Jordyn – Jaded

Matt Hardy/Butcher and the Blade/Private Party b. Jurassic Express and Bear Country – Twist of Fate to Stunt

Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley b. Good Brothers – Small package to Anderson

Rey Fenix b. Angelico – Black Fire Driver

Thunder Rosa b. Britt Baker – Fire Thunder Driver through a table

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: January 20, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s tag team night as we have a triple threat tag match to determine the official tag team of the Inner Circle. That’s certainly one way to go, though it isn’t likely to help the issues that they are already having. Odds are the match will be entertaining though, as most of their matches are. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s the Dark Order, complete with a cake because it is Negative One’s birthday. The cake is making John Silver hungy so the fans sing Happy Birthday in a nice moment. Cue the Chaos Project, who does not like Negative One or any children at all. The brawl is on so here is the Hybrid 2 to jump the Dark Order as well. Hangman Page is here too and it’s time for an eight man tag.

Dark Order/Hangman Page vs. Chaos Project/Hybrid 2

Silver gets taken down to start and it’s a butterfly suplex to keep him in trouble. Serpentico comes in but gets knocked out of the corner, allowing the hot tag to Page. House is cleaned in a hurry as everything breaks down. Cabana hits a top rope flying apple to Serpentico and Page moonsault down onto everyone at ringside. Back in and Page picks up Silver and Reynolds at once to drop them back onto Serpentico for two.

Luther breaks up something off the top though, allowing Serpentico to DDT Reynolds for two. Page powerbombs Evans over the barricade as Luther loads up a powerbomb onto the cake. Negative One breaks that up with a kendo stick and Silver sends Luther face first into the cage. Back in the ring and a Stunner sets up a Buckshot Lariat to send Serpentico into a German suplex to give Reynolds the pin at 6:15.

Rating: C+. The wrestling wasn’t great but that wasn’t the point here. This was all about the nice moment for Negative One and there is nothing wrong with that. It was a quick match with some goons losing to the Dark Order. They had some fun and made a kid smile. What more can you ask for than that?

Post break the Order holds Serpentico for a kendo stick shot from Negative One, who informs the Dark Order that his birthday was three days ago “you idiots”. And he throws the papers at Serpentico.

Back in the ring, John Silver asks Hangman Page if he is joining the Dark Order or not. Page says he can’t….but the HE SAID YES banners fall and the parade starts on the stage anyway. Page says he can’t do it because he did the team thing before and it didn’t work. He had a lot of fun with them but he just can’t do this. More apologizing ensues and Page leaves, though he does take a bottle of booze from Stu Grayson on the way out. This could be interesting.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

MJF doesn’t like interviewer Alex Marvez, saying his breath smells like rats having an orgy in a running microwave. With that image out of the way, MJF talks about how he doesn’t want the Inner Circle to have issues. Jericho thinks they’ll win tonight, with MJF saying the titles are next.

Tony Schiavone introduces Sting, who is here to praise Darby Allin, who joins him in the ring. Before Sting can get very far, here’s Team Taz to rant against Sting for costing Cage the TNT Title last week. The challenge is issued for a street fight and Allin says be careful what you wish for.

The Young Bucks go to Kenny Omega’s house, where they find a portrait of rather jacked Omega and Don Callis with their shirts off and their jeans riding rather low. Callis pops up and says that it was a birthday gift for Omega. Nick: “It was in October.” Callis: “It’s never too late to get started!” Anyway, Omega isn’t here because he’s been a bit busy. He’s also changed his number because people have been trying to call him up, including a bunch of old friends.

Callis sends Alex Marvez to the Dungeon (Marvez: “DUNGEON???”) but the camera has to stay here. With everyone else gone, Callis talks about how the Bucks have been friends with Omega for twelve years….and pays them for their twelve year investments with Omega. Matt: “We made this much last week.” Callis throws in another check for the merchandise, sending Matt over the edge with a rant about how the Bucks were there with Omega for years in Tokyo.

Matt knows those checks aren’t any good either because they used to work for Callis’ company (Impact). The Bucks go after him and violence seems to ensue after the camera is covered. This was a clever segment, though being threatened by the physicality of the Bucks isn’t the scariest feeling.

Cody Rhodes vs. Peter Avalon

Cody starts fast with the Cross Rhodes attempt but Avalon slips away. Cue Jade Cargill for a distraction though and Avalon gets in a low blow for two. Cody manages the Dustin Rhodes drop down uppercut but gets caught on top. Avalon pulls him down with a superplex and grabs a regular suplex for two.

We take a break and come back with Avalon missing something off the top. Cody seems to have hurt his knee so Avalon sends him outside. That doesn’t last long so they head back inside with Cody nailing a quick cutter. The powerslam sets up the Figure Four and Cody teases slapping him in the face, the threat of which is enough to make Avalon tap at 9:36.

Rating: C. I’ve seen worse and while Avalon still isn’t one of my favorites, he gave Cody a bit of trouble here. Cody is one of the smoother wrestlers in the company and I can go with seeing him on television more, though the Cargill stuff needs to go far away in a hurry. I’m not sure if Shaq is still on the table, but I’m also not sure how much interest there was in it in the first place.

Arn Anderson isn’t happy with Cody after the loss.

Tully Blanchard and FTR are happy with being #1 in the new rankings but here is Jurassic Express to interrupt. Jungle Boy says last week’s match taught him that he could hang with either of them, which Dax Harwood sees as a challenge. They’re fight next week, with Luchasaurus saying he’ll guarantee no one gets involved.

Jon Moxley vs. Nick Comoroto

Comoroto is a rather big (muscular) guy with a lot of hair. Looks a bit cavemanish. Moxley stomps him into the corner but Comoroto sends him into the corner instead. A running elbow to the face sets up a backbreaker but Comoroto misses a charge into the buckle. Moxley kicks him in the chest and snaps off a German suplex. The big clothesline doesn’t do much to Comoroto so Moxley chokes him out for the win at 3:55.

Rating: C. Comoroto was really impressive here and Moxley gave him a lot. The best thing about this was they treated Comoroto like someone who might have a future and given that WWE released him back in April, they might not be so fast to come after him again. Good little match here, and it made Comoroto look awesome.

Post match Moxley says things are crazy around here and he can’t keep track of where everyone is. Kenny Omega thought he could bring his frat brothers from Nashville to watch his back but all that did was make it more interesting for Moxley. It’s just going to mean bigger brawls and more blood with more limbs to break. Omega can bring in whoever he wants because all roads lead through him. Moxley even throws in some pushups.

Eddie Kingston is ready to face Lance Archer next week so here’s Archer who is ready to fight now. Jake Roberts breaks it up and says we’ll do this next week without Butcher and Blade.

Kenny Omega isn’t interested in hearing some questions about being at the beach and is even less happy about AEW being at his house earlier. He finds Callis, who has a black eye. Omega wants to now who did this and Callis slips up by saying it was Nick and Matt. Omega isn’t thrilled and Callis throws Marvez out.

Matt Hardy/Private Party vs. Matt Sydal/Top Flight

Dante Martin and Marq Quen start things off with Dante snapping off the hiptosses. Darius comes in as well for some dropkicks and Sydal joins them for a triple leapfrog into a spinwheel kick to Quen. We settle down with Private Party beating up Sydal until Top Flight comes in for a double half crab (as in three people pulling on a combination of legs). Sydal gets taken into the corner and we take a break.

Back with Kassidy holding Sydal in a chinlock but Sydal escapes and brings in Darius to clean house. The Spanish Fly drops Kassidy so Hardy comes in and is awkwardly sent outside. Everything breaks down again and Hardy comes back in for a bunch of Side Effects into a triple cover. Quen starts dancing and kicks Sydal as JR says there is a pile up in downtown Ringville. Darius gets dumped outside but the referee stops to yell at Hardy, allowing Kassidy to get in a chair shot to Dante. The shooting star press finishes Dante at 11:57.

Rating: C+. This was the usual all over the place match, but there were more than a few moments where it felt like they were trying to stick to the plans and then got lost because there was too much going on. The heel turn for Private Party is a good idea, because otherwise, Top Flight is possibly a better version of the same team.

Post match Top Flight isn’t happy so Hardy and Private Party beat them down again.

MJF goes in to see the rest of the Inner Circle and says that Jericho says the match has to happen. Let’s just get through this and move on. Sammy Guevara doesn’t quite buy it but he’s down with the idea.

Layla Hirsch vs. Penelope Ford

Ford has Charles Taylor (now the butler), Miro and Kip Sabian with him. Hirsch takes Ford to the mat to start and Ford is in early trouble. Back up and Taylor (under orders) trips Hirsch down. The cross armbreaker has Ford in more trouble but they head outside, with Hirsch getting distracted.

That lets Ford get in a pump kick and a whip into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Hirsch having none of this and getting in a dead lift German suplex. Hirsch pounds away on Ford to put her down before going up top for a big flip dive onto the men at ringside. Back in and Ford kicks her in the face, allowing Sabian to grab Layla’s foot for the pin at 8:05.

Rating: C-. Hirsch is someone who feels different and could be something in the near future. At the same time, they kept her strong in defeat as it took Ford and three men outside to beat her. The wrestling itself wasn’t all that great, but they made Hirsch look good and that has some potential in the future.

Post match Miro grabs the mic and makes Taylor say, while looking at Orange Cassidy, that Miro is his best friend now. Cassidy looks crushed and walks away, because he seems to be rather stupid in this story.

Here’s what’s coming next week and at Beach Break.

We’re having a #1 contenders tournament for the Women’s Title. No more details yet.

Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers jump Penta with Omega driving his rather large boot into Penta’s eyes.

Santana/Ortiz vs. Sammy Guevara/Jake Hager vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Chris Jericho

Anyone can tag anyone here. Jericho drives Sammy into the corner to start but Sammy sends him into the ropes. That’s fine with Sammy, who starts flipping a lot and sends Jericho outside. The big dive is teased but instead Sammy backflips into the Le Sex Gods pose, complete with a middle finger to Jericho. Hager comes in to run Santana over but Santana kicks the legs and head. Ortiz is in as well for a double belly to back suplex before it’s back to Jericho.

A moonsault press gives Santana two and we take a break. Back with Jericho taking Sammy down but Guevara gets over for the tag off to Hager. That means house is cleaned before a quick tag back to Sammy. That means a Cody Cutter to Ortiz and a clothesline to put Jericho on the floor. Everything breaks down and Sammy plants Ortiz with a suplex. The reverse hurricanrana drops MJF and there’s a super Spanish Fly for two on Ortiz.

Jericho teases hitting Hager with Floyd so Hager kicks him in the face. Wardlow slips MJF the ring and gets punched out by Hager for his efforts. Santana and Ortiz kick Hager down but MJF makes a save and tags himself in. A powerbomb sets up the Lionsault….and Jericho doesn’t get nearly over far enough, landing on his head/face instead.

The Codebreaker gets two on Ortiz, who comes back with a double DDT to Jericho and MJF. Hager comes back in for a running Vader Bomb on MJF and a very high Swanton gives Sammy two on MJF. Ortiz makes the save so Sammy hits most of the GTH on Jericho. Wardlow gets knocked off the apron but MJF grabs a quick rollup with trunks to pin Sammy at 12:39.

Rating: B-. The action was very good and Sammy makes me think of the good side of Jeff Hardy more and more every time I see him. The Jericho botch was more sad than anything else and I hope he doesn’t bust that out again, as he very easily could have landed on his head with that one. Just stick with the Codebreaker and the Walls. The rest was good though, as you can see the Inner Circle split continuing.

We are off the air in a hurry but at least they got everything in.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a good example of the wrestling not adding up to the overall rating, as there wasn’t a great match throughout the night but there are multiple things here that I want to see continue. In other words it gives me a reason to come back and that is one of the most important things a show can do. Good show, and Beach Break could become a big event in a hurry.

Results

Dark Order/Hangman Page b. Hybrid 2/Chaos Project – Buckshot Lariat into a German suplex to Serpentico

Cody Rhodes b. Peter Avalon – Figure Four

Jon Moxley b. Nick Comoroto – Rear naked choke

Private Party/Matt Hardy b. Top Flight/Matt Sydal – Shooting star press to Dante Martin

Penelope Ford b. Layla Hirsch – Pin with Kip Sabian holding the leg

Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Chris Jericho b. Jake Hager/Sammy Guevara and Santana/Ortiz – Rollup with trunks to Guevara

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

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AND

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