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

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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:

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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

Dynamite
Date: December 30, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Chris Jericho

This is going to be a complete detour as the show is going to be all about Brodie Lee, who shockingly passed away on Saturday due to some kind of lung issue. The show is going to be a complete tribute to him with all stories postponed until next week. That’s the only way this could have gone and there is nothing wrong with that. Let’s get to it.

We open with a ten bell salute to Brodie Lee, with his family on the stage, including his son in a Dark Order mask.

Jon Moxley talks about Lee being a good person who he knew for years. This has been a soccer kick to the face but it has shown him that wrestling is a community. He is going to appreciate every day and he’ll never forget Brodie.

Matt Hardy/Private Party vs. Young Bucks/Colt Cabana

For the sake of sanity, I’ll only refer to Matt Jackson as Matt. Colt and the Bucks clean house one at a time to start, including a triple dropkick to put Hardy on the floor. Nick adds the running flip dive to take them all down again. Colt hits an Asai moonsault to do the same. We settle down to Hardy hammering on Matt but everything breaks down all over again with Marq Quen hitting a dive to Hardy on the floor.

Back in and Matt is taken down again, including being sent face first into Isaiah Kassidy’s boot in the corner. the triple teaming continues until Hardy makes the mistake of going after Cabana, allowing Matt to get over for the hot tag. Cabana comes in to clean house with the Flip Flop and Fly, followed by the Flying Apple to Kassidy. Hardy breaks up the tag to Nick and the discus lariat is countered into a crucifix for two on Cabana. A crossbody gets the same but Nick comes in sans tag with a hurricanrana.

Nick gets the actual tag a few seconds later and starts taking over, only to be tripped down by Hardy. Back in and Gin and Juice hits Matt, setting up Kassidy’s Swanton and Quen’s shooting star for two with Cabana and Nick making the save (JR: “Let’s hear it for Boom Boom!”). Hardy grabs a chair but gets taken down, leaving Cabana to have to fight out of Gin and Juice. The Chicago Skyline hits Kassidy and the Indytaker into the Superman pin finishes Quen at 13:29.

Rating: B-. The wrestling is going to be quite the minor point here and that’s how a show like this should be. This was a bunch of high flying and diving, with the Bucks doing everything they should be doing. Cabana can do any style and Hardy looked good enough. Private Party didn’t go too insane either, leaving this to be a rather nice and energetic opener.

Post match it’s the Acclaimed coming in to rap about this show but SCU jumps them from behind and Cabana hits the double Bionic Elbow. Cabana throws up the Dark Order sign for perhaps the first time.

Darby Allin, sans face paint, talks about how Lee was the #1 guy he wanted to wrestle because of everything he did behind the scenes. Lee was a great person to talk to and Allin is sad he never got in the ring with him.

Lance Archer/Stu Grayson/Evil Uno vs. Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade

Archer is in Luke Harper gear for a nice touch. Jake Roberts and the Bunny are here as well. Before the match, Kingston says he’s going to show that the Dark Order is nothing without Lee and the brawl is on in a hurry. Archer gets suplexed onto Kingston, who is taken into the corner for some wild eyed shots from Grayson. Bunny grabs Grayson’s leg though, allowing Butcher to clothesline him down.

Blade powerslams Grayson down but Jake grabs his leg to even things up. Grayson is back with a Boss Man Slam (Jericho: “It’s a Brody Slam!”) as we take a break. Back with Kingston and Uno slapping it out until Kingston misses some spinning backfists. A half and half (Brody move) hits Kingston and the hot tag brings in Archer to take over.

Archer starts wrecking people and it’s a rope walk moonsault (cool) to drop Blade. Grayson and Uno come in for an assisted Downward Spiral but Kingston makes the save and hits a DDT (with a glare at Roberts) for two. Kingston saves Blade from the Blackout and Grayson hits a running DDT to the apron to plant Butcher. The Fatality finishes Blade at 10:00.

Rating: B-. Another match where they did what they needed to do and showed off at the same time. I’m still not sure where this version of the Dark Order came from as they were one of the lamest teams around to start and then have a rather nice match like this for a change. Archer’s special gear was perfect too.

Post match Kingston gets beaten down, including a short arm clothesline from Jake.

Dax Harwood, Arn Anderson, Colt Cabana and Bryce Remsburg talk about what a great father and family man Lee was.

Hangman Page/John Silver/Alex Reynolds vs. Santana/Ortiz/Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is in Puerto Rico themed gear and Silver/Reynolds throw papers at Santana/Ortiz (apparently a Brodie thing from Being The Elite). MJF gets sent outside to yell at Brodie’s son, with Jericho saying the kid has been bothering him all day. We settle back down to Santana hitting a neckbreaker on Reynolds, followed by Two Amigos. Ortiz comes in for a double Third Amigo but Reynolds gets over for the tag to Page.

The pace picks way up, including a fall away slam to MJF into a nip up into a dive onto Santana on the floor. Back in and Page gets taken down for two as we go to a break. Back with Silver coming in to clean house and kicking Ortiz off the top. Silver hits a flip dive off the apron onto Santana (JR: “What a white meat babyface this kid is!”). A sitout powerbomb gets two on Ortiz back inside but MJF makes the save.

Silver is sent into the corner but MJF comes back with something like a Code Red, with only his ankles wrapping around MJF’s head to drive it into the mat. The Heat Seeker plants Silver and Ortiz grabs a powerbomb for two with Reynolds making a save of his own. Everything breaks down and Wardlow comes in but ERICK REDBEARD (Rowan) runs in to take him out. MJF goes outside and takes the mask off of Lee’s son, earning himself a kendo stick shot to the head. The fans go nuts and it’s a discus lariat to pin Ortiz 12:38.

Rating: C+. This was the emotional match on the card and you could see everyone being very invested in what they were doing (as everyone has been tonight of course). Silver got so much out of the Dark Order so this is the kind of match that he needs to have on the show. Throw in the incredible Redbeard cameo and the whole thing was near perfect.

Redbeard comes back in to hold up a sign saying “goodbye for now my brother, see you down the road.” Jericho sounds near tears over this one. Well that was about the most emotional thing I’ve seen in years.

Eddie Kingston talks about how much he is going to miss Lee. He talks about Lee’s kids missing their dad, who was a warrior outside of the ring. Lee took care of the two of them and he loved them so much.

Tay Conti/Anna Jay vs. Britt Baker/Penelope Ford

Rebel, Kip Sabian and Miro are all here too. Jay and Baker trade arm cranks to start before it’s off to Conti to kick Penelope down. We hear about Conti’s amateur experience as Sabian offers a distraction, allowing Baker to get in a jumping knee. Conti gets sent to the floor with Baker getting in a stomp and Rebel not quite being able to get in a cheap shot.

We take a break and come back with Conti and Ford kicking each other in the face, allowing the double tag to Baker and Jay. Everything breaks down and Jay stops to point at the 99 on her cheek, allowing Baker to hit a fisherman’s neckbreaker. A Downward Spiral sends Jay into the middle buckle and Ford comes in with a Blockbuster for two. Jay is right back with the Queen Slayer as for the tap from Ford at 9:49 with Conti taking out Baker.

Rating: C. Conti and Jay have come a long way in recent months and it was nice to see them getting a win like this. They didn’t need to do anything fancy here and it’s a good example of doing something more basic at a higher level. Ford taking the fall isn’t going to hurt her as she has the big wedding deal coming up in a few weeks anyway.

Post match Baker says everything was rigged. Conti was rigged, Jay was rigged, the match was rigged. In fact everything was…..a big rig. She winks at the camera but here’s Thunder Rosa to jump her from behind, with referees having to break it up.

Here’s what’s coming over the next two weeks.

Chris Jericho talks about working with Lee 27 times, including in Saudi Arabia. When he was in the hotel room in Saudi Arabia, Jericho saw what he thought was a sticker on the ceiling. Lee came in and said it was the arrow pointing to Mecca, which blew Jericho’s mind because he shouldn’t know that kind of thing.

Jericho helped bring Lee into AEW and it meant a lot that he was able to see Lee be the kind of star that he knew he could be. All the proof you need of how good a person Lee was is the time he came to Jericho’s house and Jericho’s mean dog licked his hand. Jericho promises to take care of Lee’s family. This was great.

Cody Rhodes/Orange Cassidy/10 vs. Team Taz

This was hand picked by Lee’s son and it is billed as his dream match. Cody bounces off of Powerhouse Hobbs to start. With that not working, Cody (reluctantly) brings in 10 to suplex Starks. That’s enough for Starks to head to the floor so it’s back to Hobbs, who wants Cassidy. The hands go into the pockets and a slow motion shoulder doesn’t go well as we take a break.

Back with Cage hitting a rather delayed vertical suplex on Cassidy. It’s off to Starks, who gets caught in a suplex from Cassidy for a change. Cody comes in to pick up the pace and throw his weight belt into the crowd. Starks and Cody hit stereo discus lariats, meaning it’s back to 10 for a Brodie Bomb. A spear cuts 10 down and it’s Cassidy coming back in as everything breaks down.

Hobbs hits a spinebuster on Cassidy but walks into a superkick from Cody. There’s a Downward Spiral from Cage but 10 hits a clothesline to the back of Cage’s head. With everyone down, Arn Anderson and Taz grab chairs, leaving Cassidy to hit the Orange Punch on Starks. Cody adds Cross Rhodes and 10 hits the spinebuster to finish Starks at 11:31.

Rating: C+. This was about elevating 10 and that’s what they did here. He isn’t exactly someone who gets a lot of attention around here and odds are he isn’t going to again, but at least he got a chance here. If nothing else, it was nice to see the Dark Order complete the sweep and it’s not like the results mean much on this show in the first place.

Post match the celebration is on but Team Taz breaks it up in a hurry. Even Hook gets in a suplex on Cassidy (Jericho: “Hook just wants to get his picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone.”). The lights go out and here’s Darby Allin for the save….with Sting following. JR: “I’ve known him since the days of the Blade Runners. Google it kids.”

Post break Cody is in the ring for the final tribute. Cody gives a quote about how you can tell the value of a man based on how he treats someone who has nothing to give him. Over the last few days, we have heard one tribute after another to Lee and it is because he was a beautiful man who left a legacy. That legacy is here tonight, so here is Lee’s family, including his son, Negative One, Brodie Lee Jr.

This brings out Lee’s wife and son, with the son leaving Lee’s boots in the ring. Tony Khan hands Lee Jr. the TNT Title, declaring him the champion for life. Khan thanks the fans and gives us a tribute video to Lee set to the Eagles’ Ol’ 55, complete with quite a bit of old school footage, including some home movies and shots of him with his family. There are even some WWE photos included, with some shots of Big E., John Morrison, Bray Wyatt and more. Find this as it’s one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time.

Overall Rating: A+. The wrestling wasn’t the point of the show and there is nothing wrong with that. Tonight was all about Brodie Lee and that’s all it should have been about, as he was taken away at a ridiculously too young 41 due to something he didn’t cause. The matches were good to rather good, but this was all about saying thank you and goodbye, with the stuff with his family being outstanding. Go find that tribute though as it’s the best thing on the show. This was excellent and they nailed everything about the whole night.

Results

Young Bucks/Colt Cabana b. Matt Hardy/Private Party – Superman pin to Quen

Lance Archer/Stu Grayson/Evil Uno b. Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade – Fatality to Blade

John Silver/Alex Reynolds/Hangman Page b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Santana/Ortiz – Discus lariat to Ortiz

Tay Conti/Anna Jay b. Penelope Ford/Britt Baker – Queen Slayer to Ford

10/Cody Rhodes/Orange Cassidy b. Team Taz – Brodie Bomb to Starks

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

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

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

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

Dynamite
Date: December 16, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

The run of big shows continue as we are now on the way to New Year’s Smash in two weeks. The big story continues to be World Champion Kenny Omega, who is going to be headlining the Impact Wrestling Hard To Kill pay per view in January. That could mean an invasion on this week’s show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Hangman Page/Dark Order vs. Matt Hardy/Private Party

Page and Quen start things off with Quen grabbing a headlock. That doesn’t go very long so it’s Hardy coming in for a kick to the ribs in the corner. Private Party both comes in but the Dark Order comes in as well for a triple big boot. The ring is cleared so Silver jumps on Page’s back to celebrate. Kassidy comes in and gets slammed down so Page drops Silver down onto him for two.

Reynolds tags himself in and it’s a double flipping faceplant to put Kassidy down again. Page adds the running shooting star to give Silver two and he knocks Kassidy into the corner. That lets Silver strike a pose, and Page isn’t sure what to think. Kassidy gets in a shot of his own and it’s off to Quen to start picking up the pace. Stereo basement dropkicks get two on Silver and Hardy comes in for a sleeper. That’s countered into a brainbuster from Silver and it’s back to Page to clean house.

The Side Effect cuts Page off but it’s too early for the Twist of Fate. Page nails a hard clothesline and it’s off to Reynolds to start cleaning house again. A neckbreaker drops Quen and Kassidy is sent outside. Page hits a pop up sitout powerbomb and Reynolds gets two off a rollup. Hardy breaks up the cover and hits a hanging Twist of Fate to pull Silver off the apron for a thud. That leaves Reynolds to take Gin and Juice, with Hardy stealing the pin at 10:48.

Rating: C+. Pretty good action and it didn’t go all that long. I was surprised by the ending too, though I could go for Less Hardy being involved in….well almost anything with some kind of a character for that matter. Private Party winning is a nice surprise and Silver continues to look more and more like a star every time he is out there. I’m curious to see where he goes and the further he gets away from the evil Dark Order, the better he’ll be doing.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman is given a plaque from the New York Times for Best Performance of 2020. Chris Jericho mentions that he was involved as well and MJF actually gives him credit. MJF sees the greatest of all time and his best friend when he looks at Jericho, who can only say thank you.

We go to Cody and Brandi Rhodes’ house where they are trimming the tree. Their doorbell rings and there is a box waiting for them. Inside is a Christmas ornament saying…..that they’re expecting a baby. Pharaoh has a collar saying “Baby Security In Training.” That’s great.

Cody Rhodes vs. Angelico

Cody is introduced as The Future Father in a nice moment. Angelico snapmares him down to start and wipes his hair back. Cody is right back with one of his own before they fight over a wristlock. Angelico kicks him away though and we have a standoff. With nothing else working, Cody takes him down so Angelico kicks his feet for protection. Back up and they shoves each other away, setting up a crisscross. Cody drops down into a dropkick for one and we take a break.

Back with Cody knocking him down again and hitting a few clotheslines. The powerslam gets two but Angelico ties him up in some kind of wacky double arm hold using his legs. Cody bites the rope for the escape because sometimes it’s all you can do. The Disaster Kick misses though and Angelico tweaks his knee, allowing Angelico to grab his Navaro Death Roll. That’s broken up as well and Cody is right back up with the Cody Cutter for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and having Cody doing his thing while having to deal with Angelico’s technical/submission stuff worked….in the little amount of time that Angelico did it. That being said, the announcement before the match is going to make a lot of people smile and it’s a lot more important in the first place. Fine enough match, though I could have gone for more from Angelico.

Post match here’s Team Taz to say they don’t get why they didn’t receive their own congratulations for taking out Darby Allin. They’re about to come to the ring to put Cody on paternity leave, but here’s Sting to cut them off. Powerhouse Hobbs has to be held back as Sting stand around with the bat and Darby Allin looks on from the rafters. Sting winks at Cody and leaves so Team Taz goes to the ring and pummels Cody. Well in theory at least, but instead they stand there as we go to a break due to wrestling logic.

Miro has been fined $75,000 for attacking various production workers last week. He says it’s all about the numbers and that is money Orange Cassidy owes him. Next week he’s breaking the internet again when he faces Sonny Kiss and then next week it’s the wedding date announcement. When asked about the people being put in the hospital at Christmas, he says BAH HUMBUG because Christmas is his birthday.

Here’s Eddie Kingston to address his enemies. First up is Pac, who has been injured and left on the shelf. Where is he anyway? Then there is Lance Archer, who rushes the ring to start the fight. Butcher, Blade and Bunny come to the ring for the save but Archer fights them off. The Lucha Bros come in for the save and Pac is back to make it even worse. Death Triangle beats up all four of them with Fenix hitting the big corkscrew dive. Archer grabs Kingston by the throat but Pac kicks Kingston in the face, which Archer doesn’t like. No violence ensues as Kingston and company bail.

Dustin Rhodes says Seven was a bad idea years ago and it was a bad idea last week. Uno said Rhodes was the least important member of the Rhodes Family and that’s just not true. Last week it was Ten and next week it’s Uno going down.

Best Friends/Top Flight/Varsity Blonds vs. Inner Circle

Orange Cassidy sits in on commentary, even though his headset isn’t plugged in and his mic isn’t down. Jericho chops Pillman into the corner to start and poses in the corner while standing on Pillman’s throat. Back up and Pillman nearly slips out of the corner but manages to hit a springboard crossbody to rock Jericho. The triangle dropkick sends Jericho to the floor and a slingshot dive takes Jericho down again.

Back in and it’s off to Garrison for a slam but Jericho drives him into the corner for the tag to Guevara. Dante comes in for a leg lariat to Guevara and Darius comes in for a crucifix (despite what looked to be a bit of confusion). Guevara punches him down with a hard shot and it’s off to Trent vs. Santana for a showdown. Ortiz and Chuck come in as well and the big brawl is on with everyone getting involved. The Inner Circle is cleared out and it’s a six way hug.

Back in and Ortiz suplexes Trent a few times, allowing Santana to come in with a top rope double stomp to the arm. Trent gets sent outside and we take a break. Back with Jericho and Guevara running Trent over and stopping for the double pose (that still works). Sammy misses the shooting star press so Trent nails the running knee. A suplex to Ortiz allows the tag off to Darius to pick up the pace.

The standing Spanish Fly hits Ortiz and Dante hits the big running dive to take out Santana and Ortiz. Pillman adds the springboard shoulder to Ortiz and Hager is low bridged to the floor. Garrison forearms Ortiz but Jericho gets in a baseball bat shot from the floor. Hager is in and hits Wardlow’s F10, allowing MJF to get the pin at 14:09.

Rating: C+. What we got was good enough, but they really could have cut this down to about eight people so there weren’t so many people standing around without much to do. They booked the match well though and the good guys got to showcase themselves rather well before going down. Garrison taking the fall doesn’t hurt him as he got to show off a bit first. Good enough here, and they didn’t get too messy for their own good.

Post match Top Flight clears the ring and we get the big staredown.

Thunder Rosa blames Britt Baker for costing her the NWA Women’s Title and doesn’t like her saying Rosa doesn’t belong here. Rebel comes up for a distraction and it’s Britt Baker jumping Rosa from behind. Baker traps the arm and Rebel pours water on Rosa to mess up the paint. With Rosa out (From what?), Baker looks at the camera to make sure it still works after looking at Rosa’s face.

SCU vs. Acclaimed

Acclaimed raps their way to the ring, including saying that Daniels is an out of date format like a CD and Kazarian’s back must be hurting with the carrying. Kazarian and Daniels rhyme right back, saying the Acclaimed suck. Daniels chops away at Bowens to start but gets backdropped down for his efforts. Castor comes in and hammers away in the corner as commentary talks about Castor’s father’s NFL career. Daniels knocks Castor down for a slingshot lariat to give Kazarian two.

Kazarian grabs an armbar to keep Castor in trouble but he gets sent outside, allowing the beating to be on as we take a break. Back with Kazarian in trouble until he uses the ropes to take Castor down. Bowens gets kicked away and it’s Daniels coming in with some clotheslines to take over. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Bowens and a high crossbody is good for the same. Daniels rolls Bowens up but gets kicked away, allowing Castor to hit him in the face with the boom box. Bowens hits a Rock Bottom slam for the surprise pin at 8:17.

Rating: C+. If there is one thing AEW is good at, it is using its younger talents to put people over. The match worked rather well for the Acclaimed, as the tag division continues to grow by leaps and bounds with all of the additions the make seemingly every month. SCU are a made team so this doesn’t hurt them whatsoever. Good match too.

Post match the Acclaimed rap a challenge to the Young Bucks for next week.

Top Flight challenge Chris Jericho and MJF for next week. They can either accept or run away like b******.

Ivelisse/Diamante vs. Big Swole/Serena Deeb

Swole and Diamante slug away to start and Swole suplexes her down over without much effort. Diamante jumps Deeb on the apron and takes Swole into the corner as we take a break. Back with Deep fighting both of them off at the same time, including an Indian Deathlock to Ivelisse while she suplexes Diamante.

A neckbreaker over the ropes puts Ivelisse down again and a Figure Four goes on. Diamante makes the save and it’s a double slam for two on Deeb. Swole is back in with a headbutt to Diamante and it’s a Clearwater Cloverleaf (with Swole not even stepping over) to make Diamante tap at 9:21.

Rating: C-. Deeb is so far ahead of Swole and Diamante it’s not even funny. Ivelisse can do some things well enough but there’s a polish to Deeb that just isn’t there with her. Diamante and Ivelisse do work well together though and it’s nice to have a team that means a little something. That being said, at least step over to make the Cloverleaf work.

Post match it’s Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero coming in to help beat down Deep and Swole. Red Velvet makes the save with a chair. Can we just not with Rose and Guerrero?

The Best Friends are going to be at the Holiday Bash (next week) when Miro announces the wedding date.

Video on the Jurassic Express. They’ve kind of disappeared in recent weeks.

FTR and Tully Blanchard storm the broadcast booth and complain about not getting any time while a grown up Tarzan and a wannabe dinosaur are featured. This is how Harwood feeds his family and these two men are his family. Top guys out, after a heck of a fired up promo from Harwood.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janela

Non-title and no DQ with Don Callis/Sonny Kiss as the seconds. During Omega’s entrance, Tony says he’s glad that Omega took Impact’s numbers from one to six. Not so much on the second week but it did work the first time. Janela throws a trashcan at Omega to start and Callis goes to commentary to take Tony’s headset. Tony tells him what to kiss as Janela whips Omega into the barricade.

Omega is right back with a Kitaro Crusher onto an open chair. There’s a baseball slide into a running flip dive to send Joey into another chair, allowing Callis to praise Kenny on his mic. Hang on as Omega gets the mic and blasts him with a cookie sheet, making sure to show off the extra sound. Back in and a moonsault with a trashcan crushes Janela for two.

Omega is annoyed at the kickout so he beats on Janela some more, setting up a springboard double stomp onto the trashcan. The One Winged Angle is countered with a reverse hurricanrana, allowing Kiss to whip out a table. The top rope legdrop sends Omega through the table but the moonsault misses back inside. Omega hits some V Triggers and the One Winged Angel finishes Janela at 7:01.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t about the action and that’s the way it should have gone here. There was no reason to believe that Janela was going to be a threat here and Omega dealt with him as such. The trash talk and Callis doing commentary were great heel touches and the kind of thing that fits them perfectly. It wasn’t a good match, but it was perfectly put together.

Post match Callis says all of the loose ends have been tied up and now there is no one left with a complaint. Cue Death Triangle with Pac saying that Fenix never got his shot against Omega in the tournament. Callis offers to teach him a lesson, because Pac has no authority. Wrestlers don’t tell the champ what to do, but Pac has talked to Tony Khan and Fenix is getting his title shot on December 30. Omega is livid to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling wasn’t exactly the point tonight as this was all about setting things up for the next few big shows. There are going to be three straight big weeks coming up and that could be some very good news for AEW. I’m not sure what to expect out of those shows, but dang they are making me want to see what they have coming. Another good show this week, and it has me wanting to see more, which is the more important result.

Results

Private Party/Matt Hardy b. Hangman Page/Dark Order – Gin and Juice to Reynolds

Cody Rhodes b. Angelico – Cody Cutter

Inner Circle b. Top Flight/Varsity Blonds/Best Friends – F10 to Garrison

Acclaimed b. SCU – Rock Bottom slam to Daniels

Serena Deeb/Big Swole b. Ivelisse/Diamante – Clearwater Cloverleaf to Diamante

Kenny Omega b. Joey Janela – One Winged Angel

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: November 4, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Chris Jericho, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s the go home show for Full Gear and that means it’s time to hammer things on in the way to the pay per view. I’m not sure what that is going to entail but AEW has done rather well with the build up towards their pay per views and hopefully that means we get something good here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The Inner Circle is in the back with Chris Jericho bragging about Jake Hager winning his MMA fight last week to remain undefeated. Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Wardlow come in with MJF saying he’s ready to say he’s ready to become the newest member of the Inner Circle. Jericho doesn’t buy it because he doesn’t think MJF has the toughness to be on the team. Where are his battle scars? MJF says he’s going to show Jericho how tough he really is.

Jericho joins commentary and, as always looks happy to see the fans singing Judas.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Wardlow vs. Sammy Guevara/Ortiz

Still a weird combination for the Inner Circle. Ortiz’s headlock doesn’t work on Wardlow so Ortiz jumps over him in the corner and hits a dropkick to the ribs. Wardlow plants him with a spinebuster though and it’s MJF stomping him down in the corner. Some biting ensues but Ortiz gets a boot up in the corner. Not that it matters as MJF sends him down into the corner for one and it’s time to start on the arm.

A jawbreaker gets Ortiz out of trouble though and it’s off to Sammy, who kicks Wardlow in the face. The jumping knee to MJF’s face connects and it’s a springboard crossbody onto both MJF and Wardlow. Sammy’s suicide flip dive into a running flip dive takes them out on the floor as Sammy can do the fired up face comeback. Back in and Sammy pops MJF up for a kick to the back (cool) but Wardlow’s distraction lets MJF get in a shot to Ortiz’s arm. Ortiz is whipped into the ropes for a Cactus Clothesline to Wardlow, leaving MJF and Sammy to have the showdown.

Sammy starts with the flips so MJF pokes him in the eye. That earns him a jumping knee to the face and it’s the GTH for two with Wardlow having to make a save. Sammy and Ortiz double team Wardlow and Jericho is VERY pleased. Everyone else heads up top so it’s a Tower of Doom to plant everyone. The F10 drops Ortiz but Sammy dives in for a save. MJF gets sent outside and Sammy hits a springboard flip dive (DANG) to take him out as well. Cue Serpentico to throw a chair at Sammy though and yeah it’s Matt Hardy under the mask. Back in and the Salt of the Earth makes Ortiz tap at 9:29.

Rating: B+. As good as he already is, this was a total star making/breakout performance for Sammy, who stole the show more than once. He was hitting one big spot after another and it was some great high flying on display. Everyone was feeling it here but this was all about Sammy, who seems primed for the face turn sooner than later. Just have him beat Matt on Saturday, as he should.

Post match MJF jumps Jericho until the Inner Circle breaks it up. Jericho is very pleased.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

We go to Kenny Omega’s house for a sitdown interview, complete with his dog. Actually never mind as it’s neither his house nor his dog (Chico). Either way, Omega is ready for the tournament final because that’s what he does. Now he could have gone in to see Tony Khan and gotten a title shot, but wins and losses matter around here. He has won every tournament he has ever been in, so why would you bet against him?

Trent vs. Miro

Hold on though as Miro interrupts the Big Match Intros to say that Trent is rude since his mom didn’t teach him any manners. You don’t mess with Trent’s mom so he hits a quick dropkick but Miro powers out of a tornado DDT attempt. The beatdown is on with Trent being tossed around and clotheslined down as Jericho gets on Excalibur for not having any merchandise. The referee yells at Miro as Chuck Taylor beats up Kip Sabian on the floor and takes him to the back.

Penelope Ford tries to go after them but Orange Cassidy cuts her off. Miro splashes Trent in the corner but Trent is back with a running clothesline. Another tornado DDT is countered into a throw and Miro sends him shoulder first into the post. We take a break and come back with Miro hitting a running kick to the chest as we hear about Miro chasing off the Dark Order during the break. Thankfully they show it again in case you stopped watching during the commercial as Miro slaps on a bearhug.

Trent fights back with some clotheslines but Miro just stares at him. Miro misses a splash in the corner though and Trent hits a hard clothesline for his own two. There’s a half nelson suplex to drop Miro again but the running knee is pulled out of the air. Miro hits the swinging release Rock Bottom for two but Trent grabs a rollup for the same. Trent low bridges him to the floor and hits the big running flip dive for a bonus. The tornado DDT finally connects and Trent’s running knee gets two. A springboard misses though and Miro kicks him in the face, setting up Game Over for the pin at 11:57.

Rating: C. The action was good, but for the life of me I don’t get why Miro hasn’t been more of a monster. He was going 50/50 with Trent here as Miro continues to look more like another guy on the roster than someone special. The match was good enough with the action and power vs. speed, but Miro’s allure is vanishing every single time he’s in the ring.

Post match Miro puts the hold on again, bringing in Sabian and Chuck for the save/attack. Chuck gets knocked down and Miro rants about his mom again, only to have Orange Cassidy hit a dive off the top to take him down.

Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down with Hangman Page (and his drink) to ask about the tournament. Page is pretty chill about the whole thing and is ready to take care of Omega, though first he’s enjoying his cocktail. As for his strategy, he knows holds and moves and knows how to reverse all of them. JR doesn’t buy it and thinks Page has had more than a few bourbons today because he’s nervous.

Page says he’s a bit nervous because everyone gets nervous. He came here as the guy destined to be the first World Champion and now he’s getting close to it again. If he loses, what else does he have except his whiskey? Now Page having issues because of not living up to the hype when AEW started and failing to win the title is an interesting way to go if that’s what they’re doing.

We get the big video on the Young Bucks vs. FTR, with various wrestlers and personalities making their picks. The Bucks insist that they’re never challenging for the titles again. This does help make things feel a little bigger, which is kind of hard to do.

Commentary talks about the match but here’s Team Taz to cut him off. Taz says he’s been at work lately and insists to get the cameraman inside. He sat outside Tony Khan’s office for three hours, trying to get two minutes of his time. Tony, or TK (second time he’s been called that tonight), was too busy talking to people who are going to be on pay per view. Taz brings up the ranking system, which has the 10-1 Brian Cage at #1 but he’s not on Full Gear. Ricky Starks has won ten of his last eleven matches and he’s not even in the top five.

Starks talks about how he has opened and closed Dynamite but he’s not even ranked. One plus one is two though, and that makes sense to them. So why don’t they have a match at Full Gear? Starks begs someone, like Taz, to make it make sense. Taz brings up Cody defending the TNT Title against Darby Allin on Saturday and thinks it’s going to be a great match. Cody walks around here with everything handed to him and Team Taz has done the work. There will be an FTW presence at Full Gear and you can believe that. Makes a lot of sense. Taz was great here and they brought up some very true points.

Private Party with Matt Hardy come out for a match but here’s Sammy Guevara to lay Hardy out with a Twist of Fate on the ramp.

Private Party vs. Young Bucks

Nick Jackson chops Marq Quen to start and hits the big running wristdrag out of the corner to start in on the arm. The limping Matt comes in and sends Kassidy into the corner, setting up the double chop from the Bucks. Quen gets double suplexed onto Kassidy and there’s the double dropkick to put Private Party on the floor. The double slingshot dives have them in trouble again but Matt grabs his ankle.

Back in and Private Party double teams Matt down, setting up a running basement dropkick. The Bucks are sent to opposite side on the floor, setting up double suicide dives. Back in and a bulldog/dropkick combination has Quen down again but the Meltzer Driver is countered into a DDT/Downward Spiral combination. We take a break and come back with Private Party making the comeback, including a slingshot cutter. A big running flip dive takes the bucks down on the floor and a springboard shooting star to the back gets two on Nick.

Matt can’t stand up on the apron so it’s Gin and Juice for two on Nick with Matt making the diving save. Quen has to bail out of the shooting star so Matt hits the spear into Nick’s running knee for two. Another Meltzer Driver is broken up and Quen gets two off a victory roll in a call back to their original match in the Tag Team Title tournament. The superkicks rock Quen though and it’s the BTE Trigger for the pin at 12:56.

Rating: B-. I know the Bucks are exciting but their matches run together as badly as anyone else in AEW. The athletics and high flying are both really good and entertaining but it feels like something I’ve seen a few dozen times now. Good match though, with Private Party looking great and the Bucks being slightly more slowed down than usual thanks to Matt’s injury.

Post match here’s FTR with the chair and they tease Pillmanizing Matt’s leg again until Hangman Page (with drink) makes the save. Kenny Omega runs in a few seconds later but won’t even look at Page. With FTR on the floor, Page picks up the chair but throws it down without even teasing a shot to Omega. Page and Omega have a fist bump as the Bucks yell at FTR. Hold on though as Omega turns his back on Page, who isn’t cool with that.

Tony Schiavone brings out Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley for the face to face showdown, though if things get physical, the match is off. Eddie literally goes nose to nose with Moxley, saying that the World Title means everything to him. The title is why he never gave his mother a grandchild or a daughter in law so he’s taking it on Saturday.

Moxley says he’d rather have four quarters than 100 pennies because he has been burned time and again. He never thought he would get burned by Kingston though because he was so happy when Kingston got signed. Eddie: “I DON’T CARE!” Moxley was happy for Kingston’s mother Ruthie, whose kitchen table he sat at to always have his back. Moxley broke his promise to keep an eye on Kingston because he believes the loudest person in the room is the weakest and Eddie has been loud. That isn’t Eddie, so what is going on?

After eighteen years, Kingston, who keeps his back to Moxley, is getting the shot he never thought he would get. What bothers Kingston is that he made a promise to his mother that he can’t keep because he’s going to lose. Kingston rants about how this is real and storms off. Moxley says Kingston is going to learn that he isn’t the man he thought he was.

This was GREAT and you could feel the intensity on every word. Also worthy of a note: during part of the silence, Jericho quickly said that Kingston couldn’t touch Moxley no matter what he said or the match is off. This was mentioned earlier in the night, but it helped as a reminder (I had forgotten about it too) and was said quickly, without going too emotional, and without distracting from what was going on. That’s how commentary is supposed to work in a situation like this and it worked.

We get a video from Pac, who is watching….himself watch Dynamite. The other Pacs leave so the real one says that the problem with isolation is that you have no one to play with. He has been alone for seven months and the casualty of this rotten world is that he has been here before. Pac has been lost and abandoned but he has gotten better, stronger and faster.

Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall are ready for Butcher and Blade next week but here’s the Bunny to say Marshall’s cards are all maxed out. Butcher and Blade jump them from behind for the big beatdown.

Nyla Rose vs. Red Velvet

Brandi Rhodes is in Velvet’s corner and Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose. Velvet goes right for her to start and hits a running kick to the face. Some stomping has Rose down in the corner and the elegant choking ensues. Rose is right back up with a heck of a clothesline but Velvet elbows her way out of a Samoan drop. A raised boot in the corner annoys Rose and she catches a top rope seated senton, setting up the Beast Bomb for the….two as Rose picks her up at two. A running knee, ala Hikaru Shida (at ringside), finishes Velvet at 2:54.

Post match Vickie Guerrero laughs at Velvet for losing even with Brandi in her corner. Maybe Brandi should be the Chief Bull S*** Officer. Anyway, Vickie goes over to Shida and promises to see her lose the title and cry on Saturday. Rose and Shida get in a brawl until wrestlers break it up.

We get the big Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page video ala the FTR vs. Bucks video from earlier. They do a nice job of showcasing the teamwork that made Page and Omega work, which turns into You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Til It’s Gone as they lose the titles and split up for good. That was so cheesy that it worked perfectly.

Full Gear rundown.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Darby Allin uses his skateboard to attack a car labeled THE FACE OF TNT. Then he runs over someone in a Cody mask.

Cody/Gunn Club vs. Dark Order

Cody and Jon Silver start things off but it’s quickly off to Austin for a Hennig faceplant for two. Billy comes in so Silver backs away, meaning Colt Cabana can rub his bald head. Cabana knocks Billy into the corner but misses the Flying Apple. Everything breaks down and Austin cleans house, only to get taken down by 10 as we take a break.

Back with Austin still in trouble in the corner, with Cabana even knocking Cody off the apron. Austin gets a knee in though and the hot tag brings in Billy to clean house. The Fameasser gets two on 10 with Silver making the save as everything breaks down. Cody hits a big dive to the floor to take Cabana down and it’s 10 with a cutter for two on Billy. Silver’s dive is cut off by Cody and tossed into the fans, leaving Austin to hit Cross Rhodes on Cabana. The Quick Draw finishes 10 at 8:43.

Rating: C+. Austin looked good here and I’ve liked that finisher for a good while now. Other than that you have a pretty action packed match, assuming you can get by Billy suddenly being AEW’s version of a legend. The match was better than I expected and it’s nice to see someone other than Cody getting the win here.

Post match the Dark Order comes in for the brawl but Orange Cassidy takes Silver out and the Order bails. Cody grabs the mic and says Darby Allin isn’t telling the truth when he talks about TNT not wanting him to be the face of the show. Why wouldn’t they? Darby is something different and under other circumstances, Cody would love to have him be champion. Cody is the one who got Darby here because the other EVP’s weren’t sure on him. It was Cody wrestling Darby to get him signed here and now Allin wants the ace belt but he isn’t the ace. A lot of staring ends the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This was one of the better shows that they have had in a good while and that is the kind of thing that they need on the way to Full Gear. I want to see the show more than I did before so that’s a nice feeling. The show should be a blast as it looks absolutely stacked, though they still have to execute on Saturday. The good thing is I believe AEW can make it work, which is a nice feeling to have. Really great show this week and it’s nice to be able to say that again.

Results

Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Wardlow b. Ortiz/Sammy Guevara – Salt of the Earth to Ortiz

Miro b. Trent – Game Over

Young Bucks b. Private Party – BTE Trigger to Quen

Nyla Rose b. Red Velvet – Running knee

Cody/Gunn Club b. Dark Order – Quick Draw to 10

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: October 21, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s time to start the second year as well as beginning the process of finding a new #1 contender. That means the first round of a tournament to crowd Jon Moxley’s next challenger, with the finals on November 7 at Full Gear. I’m not sure what to expect from this but it should be a wrestling heavy show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Wardlow vs. Jungle Boy

Boy starts kicking at the legs to start and even manages a head kick from the apron. Wardlow misses a charge and winds up on the floor, where he catches Boy’s dive. That’s broken up so Boy tries again, only to get powerbombed into the post instead. Back in and Wardlow pounds away before blasting Boy with a clothesline for two. The knee out of the corner is broken up as Boy hits his own knee to the face.

Wardlow gets knocked to the floor for a suicide dive to the back, followed by a slingshot DDT back inside. A low superkick lets Boy go up but Wardlow pops to his feet to cut that off. Wardlow loads up a super gorilla press but Boy reverses into a super hurricanrana instead. A backstabber out of the corner sets up Boy’s top rope double knees for two and the near fall leaves Boy down. Wardlow rolls out to the apron so Boy follows, only to get caught with the F10 back into the ring. One heck of an F10 gives Wardlow the pin at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Good stuff here with Boy playing a great underdog against the monster Wardlow. Boy is small enough to look like he’s in a lot of danger but is just big enough to make a comeback believable. I had a good time with this one and wanted to see Boy pull it off, even if the ending we got made the most sense.

We look at Eddie Kingston’s promo from last week, with Kingston promising to make Jon Moxley quit for the World Title.

Confirmed for Full Gear: Jon Moxley defends the World Title against Eddie Kingston in an I Quit match.

Moxley talks about his history with Kingston, who may not have said he quit. That’s because he was unconscious when he got choked out. Instead, Moxley is taking his friend back at Full Gear and ending this once and for all.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Kenny Omega vs. Sonny Kiss

Omega’s entrance now includes listing off his accomplishments (including the amount of times he has broken Meltzer’s five star scale) and dancing women in swimsuits with brooms. V Trigger and One Winged Angel finishes Kiss at 35 seconds. That’s the best way to go if Omega is being pushed as the ace again and was anyone buying Kiss as having a chance here anyway?

Orange Cassidy is asked about his match with Cody next week. Cassidy: “We’re off to Cincinnati.” After that few years old Bill Belichick reference, Cassidy says “whatever” with regards to his training. Then he plays with a monitor.

Cody and Arn Anderson arrived earlier and talked about gaining weight while he was away. He’s needing the weight for all of the giants he faces around here and needs to be a real heavyweight. Now it’s time to get ready for the title match.

Eddie Kingston talks about what his boys have been doing as of late and how successful they are going to be. Then it’s off to Moxley, and yeah what he said is true. Kingston had to go here though and look what it has gotten him. He has never quit on anything before and he won’t at Full Gear. Moxley is going to have to go to a dark place on November 7, but that’s where Kingston lives.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Fenix vs. Penta El Zero M

Eddie Kingston is on commentary. They go with the armdrags to start and Penta rolls him down into an ankle lock. That’s broken up and they go to the pinfall reversal sequence for two and then some zeroes each. They stand up and have the big chop off until Penta takes it to the apron. Fenix knocks him to the floor though and hits a big corkscrew dive for the crash. Back in and Fenix tries a rope walk but Penta avoids the kick for another crash as we take a break.

We come back with Penta chopping away and hitting a flipping DDT for two. Penta gets caught up top though and it’s a super Spanish Fly for a very near fall. Back up and Penta tosses him into the air, where Fenix flips forward, into a powerbomb for two more (good grief). Fenix comes up holding his arm but is fine enough to snap off a spin into a Canadian Destroyer for the pin at 14:12.

Rating: B. This was exactly what it was supposed to be with one crazy spot after another. I wasn’t expecting anything else and I wouldn’t have wanted it to be anything else, so well done on delivering what was expected. Good stuff here and for the life of me I don’t get why these two aren’t being featured more often. They might not be the most traditional wrestlers but dang they can have some exciting matches, just like this.

We look at the Best Friends accidentally destroying Kip Sabian and Miro’s arcade cabinet last week.

The Best Friends say that was an accident but Sabian and Miro don’t seem convinced.

The Dark Order is ready to continue their dominance by winning the Tag Team Titles and the World Title. Colt Cabana says he feels no pressure but John Silver snaps, shouting about how the entire Dark Order is under pressure. Next week, the entire Dark Order is going to beat up whoever leaves as the TNT Champion to help make Mr. Brodie Lee the next champion. Silver leaves while shouting his own BRODIE chant.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Colt Cabana vs. Hangman Page

Evil Uno is here with Cabana. Feeling out process to start and they run the ropes until Cabana says STOP, allowing him to snap off an armdrag. Page is back up with some chops and the running shooting star press gets two. We take a break and come back with Page hitting a fall away slam to set up the slugout.

Cabana gets in a rollup for two but the Flying Apple is countered into a bridging German suplex for two more. Back up and Cabana sends him outside for the splash off the apron. Page catches him on the way back in but the Buckshot Lariat is broken up. The Chicago Skyline is broken up as well but the Buckshot misses. Cabana gets the Superman Pin for two and NOW the Buckshot Lariat can connect for the pin on Cabana at 10:43.

Rating: C+. This took some time to get going but it wound up working out rather well in the end. I know Cabana is known for his comedy and such but he can work a completely straight match when he needs to and that’s what he did here for the most part. That’s a good change of pace and makes Cabana more valuable, so this worked out well.

Video on Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Hardy.

Team Taz wants to know why Will Hobbs is taking his time in accepting their invitation. Is he some kind of a big guy now? As for Darby Allin, he’s getting a TNT Title shot at Full Gear and Taz isn’t happy. Earlier today he talked to Tony Khan, who said Ricky Starks could have had the title shot if he had beaten Allin. WELL OF COURSE HE WOULD HAVE because Starks only lost because of a cheap ending. What do Brian Cage and Ricky Starks get? Starks talks about how he has proven his worth time after time already and now someone has to pay. That is going to be Allin, some place and some time. He’s putting Allin in the grave.

It’s time for Le Dinner Debonair with Chris Jericho and Maxwell Jacob Friedman. After getting the waitress’ name wrong, MJF orders a 20 ounce porterhouse with a baked potato and he’ll take that well done. Jericho orders the same, but he’ll have it medium well. MJF changes it to medium, setting off a back and forth until Jericho wants his blue (extra bloody rare). With the waiter off to find a new eraser, Jericho talks about a town hall with the Inner Circle next week. He doesn’t like MJF’s Ratings Ruler, because it has as much of a chance of getting over as, and they say together, Orange Cassidy.

They agree that they’re never going to get rid of each other…..and we hit an old Vaudeville style musical number, complete with synchronized dancing and the curtain pulling back to reveal dancing girls. I’m not even going to try to do this justice but the lyrics involve them being each other’s shadow and beating up a Moxley. Yeah nothing topping this one for a good while. Anyway they sit back down and get their meals, which they realize is horrible because they need to send this back. They shout their own versions of the waitress’ name to wrap things up. This was glorious.

Britt Baker vs. KiLynn King

King starts with an attempt at a rollup but gets kicked in the face for her efforts. Some knees to the face have her in more trouble and Baker pulls the arm around the post. Back up and King hits a kick to the face, only to get caught in a Sling Blade. A DDT sets up a fisherman’s neckbreaker into the Stomp, meaning it’s time for the Lockjaw to finish King st 4:03.

Rating: C-. I could go for a lot less King losing but Baker needed a showcase win here. Baker getting the title should be a matter of time now and I can’t imagine AEW messing up what should be the easiest thing they have had handed to them in a very long time. King continues to impress in losses, but this was all about Baker, as it should have been.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Orange Cassidy vs. Cody for the TNT Title in a lumberjack match.

Young Bucks vs. Butcher and Blade vs. Dark Order vs. Private Party

The winners get a shot at FTR, on commentary, at Full Gear. Matt armdrags Silver into the corner to start and it’s Blade coming in to get taken down without much effort. A double dropkick has Blade in trouble and an elevated dropkick puts Butcher down as well. Isaiah Kassidy comes in to kick Nick away and it’s a double nip up but Matt comes in and it’s a Bucks vs. Party staredown. The double superkicks are blocked so Party hits their own as everything breaks down.

Quen dives onto Silver and then does it again to Reynolds, with Dax Harwood saying he could just punch him in the face instead. Butcher and Blade are sent into each other and the shooting star press gets two on Blade with Butcher making the save. We take a break and come back with Silver missing a top rope double stomp but feeding Quen into an enziguri into a Stunner into a German suplex for two with the Bucks diving in for another save.

The hot tag brings in Kassidy, because we’re doing tags again. The Silly String hits Reynolds and it’s a top rope splash/top rope legdrop combination with the Bucks diving in a second time. Butcher and Blade hit Full Death on Kassidy with the Bucks doing their thing again, meaning it’s time for Nick to clean house with kicks and strikes.

Nick dives onto Private Party on the floor and it’s a double superkick to drop Butcher. The Bucks call out to FTR and it’s a top rope backsplash/Tombstone combination for two on Butcher and Blade with Private Party making the save. The Meltzer Driver is broken up but Kassidy is cradled into a rollup to give the Bucks the pin and the title shot at 13:29.

Rating: B-. That’s about as by the book as you would have expected here and that’s not a bad thing. The Bucks were never going to lose when they had a chance against FTR on a pay per view and it’s not like any other other teams would have been worthy of the spot anyway. It’s ok to have a match where the ending is clear and that’s what they did here, albeit with a lot of the same dives and spots that the Bucks have done in almost every single match.

Post match the Bucks get in the ring but here’s a masked man with a chair to Matt. FTR jumps Nick and give him a spike piledriver, followed by Matt’s leg being Pillmanized. The masked man is Tully Blanchard, who is rather happy with FTR to end the show. I’m going to spare myself a lot of headaches by not asking about the face/heel dynamic here.

Overall Rating: B+. How can a show that had the song number be anything but great? I know it’s going to get on some people’s nerves and fair enough but those grins and the whole production were too much to not make me smile. The wrestling was rather good throughout and they made the tournament move rather fast, even though the finals should be pretty clear. Again: there’s nothing wrong with predictable if the path there is entertaining and that’s what we got here.

Results

Wardlow b. Jungle Boy – F10

Kenny Omega b. Sonny Kiss – One Winged Angel

Rey Fenix b. Penta El Zero M – Canadian Destroyer

Hangman Page b. Colt Cabana – Buckshot lariat

Britt Baker b. KiLynn King – Lockjaw

Young Bucks b. Private Party, Butcher and Blade and Dark Order – Victory roll to Kassidy

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: September 16, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We are still dealing with the fallout from All Out and things are looking up for AEW. Last week’s show was the first time in the better part of a year that they got back to one million viewers, which is a heck of an accomplishment. Now the trick is to do it again and hopefully they can pull it off for a second time. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The Jurassic Express is here for the opening match against FTR. Hang on though as the Young Bucks come out to superkick the referee. The Bucks walk to the back and throw a stack of money at Tony Khan (I’d assume paying the fine from last week) before walking in front of FTR, who seem…I guess indifferent? I know it’s an upgrade for the Bucks to be heels, but dang they are the least intimidating looking heels that I’ve seen in years.

Tag Team Titles: Jurassic Express vs. FTR

FTR, with Tully Blanchard is defending. Dax Harwood takes Jungle Boy into the corner to start and it’s quickly off to Cash Wheeler for more of the same. It’s already back to Harwood who gets dropkicked down, with Wheeler receiving one of his own. Luchasaurus comes in and gets taken into the corner for the double teaming but some clotheslines get him out of trouble.

Harwood goes up but dives into a powerslam and it’s back to Boy. This doesn’t go well again as Boy is sent into the corner but comes back out with a double hurricanrana to send the champs outside. Back in and Wheeler hits Rick Steiner’s backdrop/powerslam for two and it’s time for an old school surfboard. The abdominal stretch stays on Boy’s ribs and Harwood comes back in for a gordbuster. Boy finally gets in a clothesline and drops Harwood, allowing the hot tag off to Luchasaurus. A double clothesline takes FTR down and it’s a chokeslam for two.

Some kicks to the head connect for two on Wheeler but he’s back up with another powerslam attempt. That’s countered into a small package for two and a crucifix gets the same on Harwood. Boy’s high crossbody connects but Wheeler rolls through for two more, even with a handful of trunks. Everything breaks down and Boy rolls Harwood up for two more. Luchasaurus is sent over the barricade and Boy dives onto Wheeler. Boy tries a sunset flip but Harwood sits down on it and Wheeler grabs his hand for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: B. Those were some hot near falls and I was thinking they were going to have the upset a few times. I can go for these old school stuff from FTR and it makes for such a contrast compared to so much else you see in the division. Jurassic Express is a lot better when they let Jungle Boy do all of the work and they seem to have understood that we don’t need to stop the matches for the Marko Stunt Show. You can do that every now and then but it was every single match for awhile there.

Matt Hardy has been attacked with Private Party not being sure what happened. They were planning for the match against Jake Hager and Chris Jericho tonight and then he was laid out. Cue Jericho and Hager to wonder how bad it is, with Jericho thinking they may need to amputate.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Hangman Page

Kenny Omega is on commentary, because talking is such a strong point for him. Page, who is no longer in a tag team, drives him into the corner to start and we get a clean break. Kazarian grabs a front facelock for two and drop toeholds him into a cravate. Back up and some shoulders go to Page, followed by a big slam. Some chops have Kazarian in trouble in the corner and Page clotheslines him off the apron. There’s the slingshot dive to the floor and we take a break.

Back with a double knockdown but Page is up with a fall away slam to put both guys down again. Page nips up and hits a running shooting star press for two. Another springboard clothesline misses though and Kazarian hits a slingshot DDT for two more. Kazarian hits an Unprettier for two and Page is right back up with a pumphandle Death Valley Driver for the same.

Page goes to the apron and gets pulled back in for a good looking slingshot cutter for a rather near fall. Kazarian’s springboard is countered into a Spirit Bomb for two and they head back outside. A clothesline drives Page against the barricade but they head back inside with Page nailing the Buckshot Lariat for the pin at 13:52.

Rating: B. They’re starting hot tonight and this was another heck of a match with the two of them working very well together. Kazarian can have a pretty awesome match with anyone and this was no exception. I had a really good time with this and Page was pulled up to another level, which is great to see.

Post match Page has a beer.

Video on Best Friends vs. Santana and Ortiz.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Shawn Dean

Poke to the eye and Salt of the Earth finishes Dean at 6 seconds.

Post match MJF says Jon Moxley cheated at All Out and he should be the World Champion. Therefore, he is going to be known as the Undefeated Undisputed. Uncrowned World Champion of All Elite Wrestling. He even makes Justin Roberts call him such, albeit with some gusto. With that out of the way, MJF says you have to be part of a faction around here so maybe it’s time for this lone wolf to join up with someone. Even if he doesn’t though, he is still better than you and you know it.

Taz breaks down Ricky Starks’ offense, even showing the difference between the grips he uses depending on the opponent’s size.

Eddie Kingston is in the ring with the Lucha Bros with the Butcher and Blade on the floor. Kingston talks about how they are a family and that means they are going to hurt people. Butcher and Blade pulls some wrestlers over the barricade and the four of them beat all of them up. Kingston: “That was hilarious.” Kingston says that now that their house is in order, it’s time for Blade to get his house in order.

Chris Jericho/Jake Hager vs. Private Party

The fans sing Judas to continue the cool tradition. Tony: “JR you have to learn the lyrics to that song and we’re going to sing it on our trip back to Atlanta.” Hager takes Quen down to start but Quen jumps over him in the corner and brings Kassidy in for a reverse Sling Blade. Jericho comes in and gets sent to the apron with a dropkick sending him outside. A double dive takes Hager and Jericho down again but Hager takes over on Quen a second time.

Jericho elbows Quen in the face and it’s already back to Hager, who gets dropkicked down. The hot tag brings in Kassidy for a standing Lionsault press. Jericho is frustrated so Hager gets in a bat shot to put Kassidy down and we take a break. Back with Hager grabbing a chinlock and pounding away with some forearms to the chest. Hager even knocks Quen off the apron but he gets back up for the Silly String (Tony: “It was a desperation Silly String!”) and eventually the hot tag.

The pace picks up in a hurry with Quen hitting a springboard crossbody for two on Jericho. Hager launches Quen into the air for a super hurricanrana on Jericho before being sent outside. Kassidy ducks the Judas Effect and hits a springboard Stunner for no cover. Instead, Kassidy goes up top but misses the Swanton, allowing the Judas Effect for the pin at 13:01.

Rating: C+. And somehow that’s the worst match of the night so far. Private Party still feel like people who are just doing things for the sake of doing things, but the good sign is that they have shown the ability to be helped to a good match by people like Jericho and FTR. That shows potential in them and there is nothing wrong with being young and in need of experience and coaching. If they can improve, they’ll be fine in the long run.

Post match, Jericho puts Kassidy in the Walls.

NWA Women’s Title: Thunder Rosa vs. Ivelisse

Rosa is defending, Diamante is in Ivelisse’s corner, and they both try armdrags to start. Ivelisse slaps her in the face so Rosa gives her one right back. A raised boot in the corner gets Ivelisse out of trouble and she snaps off a middle rope hurricanrana. The Gory Special goes on but Ivelisse slips out and sends her to the floor for a kick to the head.

Back from a break with Rosa hitting a delayed running dropkick against the ropes for two. The Crossface goes on but Ivelisse is out in a hurry, earning herself a Death Valley Driver. Ivelisse kicks her in the face for two but Rosa is back with a Tombstone (which it takes some time to secure) to retain at 9:33.

Rating: C. I like Rosa more and more every time I see her and it’s great to see her getting a shot like this. A the same time, it’s nice to see the NWA getting a little spotlight as it isn’t like they’re doing anything important at this point. The women’s division has gotten a lot better as of late with the different wrestlers and styles meshing together, which is a hard trick to accomplish.

Post match Diamante jumps Rosa so Hikaru Shida comes out of the crowd and makes the save. She also picks up the title and hands it to Rosa without any drama.

Miro is working out and Kip Sabian (in an AEW Is For Everyone, featuring someone wearing what look to be the headphones you see on a Twitch stream) and they talk about how Miro will be the best man. The bachelor party is coming.

Here are Jake Roberts and Lance Archer, with Lance destroying someone at ringside. Jake quotes some Pink Floyd and talks about how in wrestling, you can find yourself in bed with someone you wouldn’t expect. Sometimes you need information or money or a way out, but this time they need tag team partners for a six man tag. If Roberts is going to lay in bed with the devil, it might as well be with the Tasmanian Devil.

Cue Taz, who looks rather small by comparison. Team Taz is happy to do business with Archer and Roberts, though remember the deal: when Archer wins the World Title, Brian Cage gets the first shot. Archer agrees, and then he and Cage can go Godzilla. Cue Jon Moxley but Cage and Starks jump him from the crowd. Will Hobbs of all people makes the save with a chair. Moxley introduces Hobbs as his partner. Oh and they’ll need a third so Darby Allin can meet them in Jacksonville next week.

Next week: Orange Cassidy gets a TNT Title shot, plus Shida/Rosa vs. Ivelisse/Diamante.

Santana and Ortiz vs. Best Friends

This is in the parking lot in the old circle of cars. Santana and Ortiz have white face paint on, making them look like the Guerrillas of Destiny if you let some air out of them. Chuck is sent into the side of a car but Ortiz is thrown under the hood of a car for some slams down onto his back. Chuck adds a Swanton off the top onto the hood and Trent does the same. Santana is sent into a mirror to bust him open but comes back with the baton to get in a few shots.

The flying sledgehammer goes through the windshield of a car and Chuck is suplexed on top of it. Santana’s splash from the top of a truck gets two but Trent spears Ortiz through a piece of plywood. Santana is sent into the bed of a truck and there is a good bit of blood on the ground. Ortiz hits Trent with a metal dust pan Chuck suplexes Ortiz mostly through a piece of barricade but Ortiz is back with a low blow to Trent. A powerbomb onto the top of the car drops Trent again as the four of them are starting to fade.

The double powerbomb sends Trent hard through a windshield and there is some glass in his back. Chuck makes the save with a baseball bat and breaks a wooden board over Ortiz’s back. Trent pulls himself up but gets knocked down again….and Orange Cassidy pops out of a trunk with an Orange Punch (with a chain around his fist) to take out Santana. Chuck piledrives Santana on the hood of a car and Trent hits Strong Zero through plywood into the bed of a truck for the pin at 12:48.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a lot better than the usual Best Friends match, mainly because they took it seriously when they needed to. There was no big hug or anything else and even though the feud was over a minivan, the payoff was a violent and bloody brawl. This was a lot of fun and I cringed a few times (though not at Orange Cassidy as I didn’t expect it and it made sense to have a nine of spades in the hole).

Post match Cassidy carries them over to Sue’s van to drive them….well about a foot before Sue flips off Santana and Ortiz (ok that was hilarious) to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Now this was a lot more like it as they started off hot and then kept it going for most of the show. Nothing was even close to bad and it was a heck of a way to spend two hours. They’ve built some stuff up for the anniversary show and did so with a heck of a show here. This was the most enjoyable episode they have had in a long time and I had a really good time with the whole thing.

Results

FTR b. Jurassic Express – Rollup to Boy with an assist from Cash Wheeler

Hangman Page b. Frankie Kazarian – Buckshot lariat

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Shawn Dean – Salt of the Earth

Chris Jericho/Jake Hager b. Private Party – Judas Effect to Kassidy

Thunder Rosa b. Ivelisse – Tombstone

Best Friends b. Santana and Ortiz – Strong Zero into the bed of a truck to Ortiz

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

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