Dynamite
Date: June 11, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

The Friday night escapades continue as we move towards the return of fans in a little over a month. That means we could be in for a big card tonight but there is always something interesting going on around here. I’m not sure what to expect and that can often be a good thing with AEW. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The Hardy Family Office is in the ring to get things going. Matt Hardy rants about how Christian Cage is jealous over Matt making more money in his career so tonight, Angelico is going to give Christian such a beating that he will never financially recover.

Angelico vs. Christian Cage

They fight over arm control to start so Angelico offers him his leg to keep things interesting. Christian doesn’t fall for that and hits Angelico in the face instead. Some right hands in the corner stagger Angelico even more but he is right back up to pull Christian off the top. Angelico stomps on the arm and sends Christian hard into the corner.

The arm is wrapped around the rope and Angelico adds a PK to the shoulder. Something like a short armscissors goes on with Christian having to get to the ropes. Christian starts the comeback but gets pulled down by the arms again. Angelico goes up but dives into raised boots and it’s a small package to give Christian two. A collision puts both of them down and they get up in opposite corners. Christian is over this and grabs the Killswitch for the pin at 9:24.

Rating: C. Not a bad opener but Christian still hasn’t quite caught fire around here. He’s perfectly solid and in no way looking horrible, but at the same time, he isn’t exactly great so far. The idea of Matt Hardy vs. Christian in 2021 doesn’t do much for me, though Christian doesn’t need to go any higher than that whatsoever.

Post match Jack Evans runs in to lay out Christian, allowing Matt to hit another Twist of Fate.

Here’s the July schedule:

July 7 – Road Rager
July 14 – Fyter Fest Night One
July 21 – Fyter Fest Night Two
July 28 – Fight For The Fallen

They’re really pushing this return.

Tony Schiavone is here for a chat, but first he has an announcement: next week it’s QT Mar-Shall (as it was pronounced in Ring Of Honor)/Aaron Solow vs. Cody Rhodes and…..Brock Anderson, the son of Arn Anderson. Here are Cody, Brock and Arn, with Cody talking about how Brock is going to prove that he wasn’t born on third base. Cue QT Marshall to say he’s tired of all of Cody’s vanity projects (preach it).

Cody has been ducking the up and coming stars but the people who are really behind Cody are the fans. Marshall: “Not the IWC. The real paying fans.” Marshall wants to end this with Cody in a South Beach Strap match when all of the fans are back. Cody is ready to do it right now but Marshall decks Arn and Brock jumps him until referees pull him off.

Pac/Penta El Zero Miedo/Eddie Kingston vs. Young Bucks/Brandon Cutler

Don Callis joins commentary as Pac sends Cutler (in a mask to protect his injured face) into the corner to start and kicks him down. Penta comes in to kick him down and chop the skin off of Cutler’s chest. Kingston comes in for a double stomp and Pac kicks him even more, meaning he wants the Bucks for a change. Matt comes in and gets dropped, allowing Pac to mock the Bucks’ pose. Nick trips over the rope getting inside so Pac knocks him to the floor again. Matt is back up to kick Pac in the face and we take a break.

Back with Pac fighting his way out of the corner so Kingston can come in to clean house. Penta comes in with a high crossbody and kicks Cutler in the mask. Matt gets dropped and Nick kicks Cutler in the face by mistake. The Backstabber drops Nick and the Pentagon Driver gets two with Cutler making the save.

A series of kicks in the corner look to set up the Black Arrow but Cutler’s distraction breaks it up. Kingston cleans house and takes Nick to the floor as Penta dives onto Cutler. Pac hits the 450 into the Brutalizer on Matt but Nick…can’t break it up despite kicking Pac in the head. Kingston and Pac hit dives onto Nick and Cutler, leaving Matt to roll Pac up with trunks for two. Pac gets buckle bombed into a pair of kicks, but Cutler misses a springboard elbow. Kingston hits the spinning backfist to give Pac the pin on Cutler at 13:06.

Rating: C+. It was certainly fast paced, though the ending wasn’t the biggest surprise. You know the Bucks aren’t losing, like ever, including when Pac had the Brutalizer. Cutler was there to take the fall so that worked out fine, though building up Pac/Penta for a title shot is not quite as thrilling when the Bucks already beat them.

Post match the Bucks are on Penta and Pac a mere five seconds after the bell (that’s our Bucks), with the Good Brothers coming in to help with the beatdown. Kazarian comes in for the save and Cutler is left alone, with Kazarian planting him with a clothesline.

We get a Don Callis/Kenny Omega produced video on the Double Or Nothing World Title match, complete with some questionable subtitles.

Here is the Pinnacle for their first comments since Double Or Nothing. Dax Harwood talks about how Stadium Stampede did not go as well as they hoped, but FTR doesn’t want to hear about Santana and Ortiz. Harwood has a family to take care of and is going to take money out of Santana and Ortiz’s pockets. How have they not won the Tag Team Titles in two years?

Shawn Spears says he is the hero instead of Sammy Guevara and they aren’t done. Wardlow thinks that Jake Hager is obsessed with him and needs him around. Is that because Hager brings out the best in him? Next week, they can meet in an octagon, where Wardlow will show that everywhere is his world.

MJF says he’s getting a little tired because he was the best so soon. No one here can relate to that, because they won’t be the best at anything. That brings him to Chris Jericho, with MJF watching every match and listening to every promo. MJF was at the Double Or Nothing Rally in 2019 and spoke on the stage. Then he saw Chris Jericho, his idol. MJF couldn’t believe it because he was going to get the chance to work with Jericho, but that isn’t how it went.

One night it hit him: he had spent all of this time idolizing a false god. Jericho is not even remotely on his level so he has nothing to prove to the fans. The match request is denied, so MJF is moving on to Sammy Guevara. Sammy can’t compete in the talking department because he has the verbal skills of Helen Keller. MJF is better than Sammy and he knows it, but here is Chris Jericho on the screen.

The Pinnacle can walk home, because the Inner Circle is destroying the Pinnacle’s limo. Tires are slashed, windows are broken, spray paint is applied, and I lose count of how many cars or vehicles have been used in this company’s history. Cue Jake Hager with a forklift to crush the limo all over again, including lifting it into the air and dropping it down. Jericho thinks the Pinnacle is going to need an Uber and Sammy is ready to fight anytime. MJF’s promo was good, but a feud should probably be done after WarGames and Stadium Stampede.

Darby Allin wants Sting to stay home for his handicap match with Ethan Page and Shawn Spears. Sting says Allin has nothing to prove because he was the TNT Champion when Sting got here. Allin: “It’s not about that. Just stay home this one time please.” Sting agrees and they bump fists because everything is cool.

Evil Uno talks about what Brodie Lee meant to the Dark Order. He wants to bring the TNT Title back to the Dark Order to honor Lee again.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Evil Uno

Uno is challenging and has some of the Dark Order with him. Miro slams him down in a hurry but Uno chops him out to the floor. That’s fine with Miro, but he punches a post and gets taken down with a flip dive from the apron. Back in and Miro off the ropes and into a Saito suplex as we take a break.

Back with Uno being knocked outside in a heap but the Dark Order’s pep talk gets him back inside. That earns the Order a beating and Miro rips the turnbuckle pad off. Uno gets in some shots to the face, including a running big boot. A Swanton connects and the rest of the Dark Order comes out to cheer Uno on. Miro can’t hit a spinout Rock Bottom and gets kicked into the exposed buckle for two. A hard clothesline drops Uno though and it’s Game Over to retain the title at 9:36.

Rating: C+. This was a match that had no business being good and they made it work anyway. I was getting into the idea of wanting Uno to win the title in Lee’s memory, though Miro should not be losing for a good while to come. Good stuff here, as they turned what should have been just a quick match into enough of a story to pull me in. Nice job.

Video on Andrade El Idolo, who seems rather rich and is billed as the Face of Latinos.

Here are Kenny Omega and Don Callis for a chat. Callis talks about the AEW conspiracy to get the title off of Kenny Omega, so Jungle Boy did a good job at becoming the #1 contender. But to Callis, Jungle Boy is just like the band that sings his theme song: a one hit wonder. Omega talks about how he is supposed to sell the match but he can’t bring himself to say anything bad about Jungle Boy.

When he looks at Boy’s long hair and underwear model body, Omega sees a bit of himself. There is something missing though, and Callis thinks it is the guts. Cue Jungle Boy, with Omega saying he has never heard Boy talk. Omega doesn’t think this will be the battle of wits or the greatest promo of all time.

If he has anything to say, he has five five second to say it because Omega is getting tired of this. Boy says Omega talks to much so Omega swings, only to get punched up against the ropes. Omega gets pulled into the Snare Trap but the Young Bucks run in to clear Boy out. This was good once Boy came in, but Omega talking is not the best thing.

Jade Cargill and Mark Sterling are rather happy that their monetization plan has been a success. Next up: marketing the catchphrase, because Cargill is that b****.

Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky aren’t impressed with Darby Allin but they are going to take him out again. They are going to chop him down, step on his body and move up, because it is all up from here for the Men Of The Year. What an odd name for a team.

Lance Archer vs. Chandler Hopkins

Archer jumps him to start but Hopkins actually gets out of the chokeslam. Archer knocks Hopkins out of the air and this the big chokeslam. The Blackout finishes for Archer at 52 seconds.

Archer storms out of the arena immediately after the win.

The Wingmen offer Orange Cassidy a chance to get his wardrobe upgrade, or Cesar Bononi will mess up his face.

Nyla Rose vs. Leyla Hirsch

Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose. Leyla chases Vickie out to start and gets slammed for her efforts. That doesn’t seem to cause much trouble though as a cross armbreaker has Rose in trouble. A dropkick puts Rose on the floor but the suicide dive is cut off, with Leyla being driven into the apron. Back in and Rose drops a knee for two, setting up a neck crank to send us to a break.

We come back with Leyla hitting a slingshot dropkick in the corner for two, setting up a release German suplex. A running knee rocks Rose again and a rope walk moonsault (with barely a cover) gets two. Leyla can’t suplex her, with Rose draping her over the top instead. The top rope knee drop is broken up though and Leyla goes up, only to get super Beast Bombed back down to give Rose the pin at 8:45.

Rating: C. They made a bit of a go with it here, though I’m not sure how much I could buy Rose being in danger here. What worked was having Leyla show off with some power and technique, which really do make her look legit. Rose is on her way to another title shot (because of course) and a win over someone with some credibility will help her get there.

Britt Baker doesn’t like Nyla Rose making fun of Leyla Hirsch’s height but let’s get back to her. Baker has endorsement deals flying in left and right, which was never the case when Rose was champion. That’s cool with Baker though, because she’ll add Rose to the list of jealous b****** in the back. Rose needs the title because it makes her, but Baker is making the title.

Here is what’s coming next week.

Hangman Page/10 vs. Brian Cage/Powerhouse Hobbs

Page, who has lost all sense of time, gets driven into the corner to start so Cage can drive shoulders into the corner. Some forearms get Page out of trouble for a bit but his sliding lariat is countered. Cage misses a basement dropkick though and Page hits a standing shooting star press for two. 10 comes in but walks into an assisted powerbomb from Hobbs, who starts getting a bit cocky. A running knee to the ribs drops 10 and we take a break.

Back with 10 hitting a pump kick each to Hobbs and Cage, allowing Page to come in for a running boot to Cage. They head outside with Page posting Cage, setting up a moonsault press for two on Hobbs. A crossbody gives Hobbs two on Page but Cage is back in with a 619 to knock 10 silly.

Page is back in with a springboard shot to Cage’s face and 10 busts Hobbs spine. Cage comes back with a running clothesline in the corner and a sloppy high/low gets two on 10. Ricky Starks throws Cage the FTW Title but Cage throws it away, earning a slap from Starks. Cage chases Starks off so Hobbs buts a spinebuster for two on 10. A ripcord cutter drops Hobbs though and the Buckshot Lariat is enough to give Page the pin at 10:18.

Rating: C+. There was a lot going on here, with the continuing split of Team Taz being the biggest story. Cage vs. Starks will be good, though they are going to have to stretch things out a lot due to Starks’ injury. Hobbs vs. Cage will do for the time being though, assuming that is the way they go. At the same time, it is a good sign to see Page being treated as a big deal again, as he should have been for a long time now.

The Dark Order comes out to celebrate with some beers to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was another week where they kind of took the night off, but it wasn’t as bad as last time. Right now they are building towards the June 26 show with the World Title match, though I’m not sure what else is going to be seen as a big deal on that show. This was a completely watchable show with some good action, as they got me to care about matches that weren’t all that interesting in the first place. Nice job here, though it’s another skippable show.

Results
Christian Cage b. Angelico – Killswitch
Pac/Penta El Zero Miedo/Eddie Kingston b. Brandon Cutler/Young Bucks – Spinning backfist to Cutler
Miro b. Evil Uno – Game Archer
Lance Archer b. Chandler Hopkins – Blackout
Nyla Rose b. Leyla Hirsch – Super Beast Bomb
10/Hangman Page b. Brian Cage/Powerhouse Hobbs – Buckshot Lariat to Hobbs

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

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

AND

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

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

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

Here is Double Or Nothing if you need a recap.

Penta El Zero Miedo/Pac vs. Young Bucks

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

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

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

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

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

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

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

We look at the Inner Circle winning Stadium Stampede.

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

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

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

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

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

Jungle Boy/Christian Cage vs. Private Party

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bunny vs. Red Velvet

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Nick Comoroto

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

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

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

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

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

Results

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

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

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

Red Velvet b. Bunny – Just Desserts

Dustin Rhodes b. Nick Comoroto – Middle rope bulldog

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: May 5, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We are less than three weeks away from Double Or Nothing and the card is pretty much non-existent so far. You can probably guess where things are going, but it would be nice to start setting things up. Now, forget about all of that because it’s BLOOD & GUTS, which is going to be one of the biggest matches in Dynamite history, as we get an old fashioned WarGames match with the Pinnacle vs. the Inner Circle. Let’s get to it.

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

We even have a parental advisory on this one. Oh yeah this is going to be big.

Michael Nakazawa/Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston

Hold on though as Don Callis says Kenny Omega isn’t here tonight so Nakazawa (in his work clothes with the headset, because apparently he is too stupid to know he has a match) can wrestle it alone. Commentary says they saw Omega here earlier today as Moxley and Kingston make their entrances….and get jumped from behind by Omega. Nakazawa hammers on Moxley to start and Omega comes in to send him into the corner.

That’s too much for Moxley, who comes in to knock Nakazawa down as well. An Omega distraction lets Nakazawa hit Kingston low ans the double teaming in the corner is on again. The Kitaro Crusher gives Omega two but Kingston comes back with the chops out of the corner. An enziguri puts Kingston back down but he comes back with a clothesline.

That’s enough for the hot tag to Moxley and house is cleaned in a hurry. A German suplex into a piledriver gets two on Nakazawa with Omega making the save. Moxley chokes Nakazawa as Kingston holds Omega off, but Omega walks out instead of coming in. A half nelson suplex/running clothesline combination finishes Nakazawa at 8:04.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure what you were expecting from this match as Kingston and Moxley are top level stars and they were in a glorified handicap match. I’m still not sure why Moxley and Kingston wanted this match instead of a title match of some kind but logic can be iffy in wrestling at best. It went as you probably would have expected though, and thankfully they didn’t go in some weird direction.

Post match here are the Young Bucks (looking like they raided a Hawaiian shirt store) for a distraction, allowing the Good Brothers to come in for the beatdown. Kenny Omega and Brandon Cutler come in as well, with Omega giving Kingston the One Winged Angel.

Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall

Arn Anderson and the Nightmare Factory are here too. Cody starts fast and hammers away, including the drop down uppercut. It’s time for the belt but the referee takes it away, allowing Marshall to pull out his own belt and get in a whipping. Cody fights back and heads up top, only to have Marshall run the corner for a superplex back down. A German suplex drops Cody again so Marshall sends him outside.

For some reason Marshall thinks it is a good idea to go after Anderson, who sends him into the post and crushes Marshall’s head against the steel. That’s good fro an ejection and we take a break. Back with Cody chopping away until stereo crossbodies put them both down. Marshall kicks him down but Cody pulls his trunks for a little blurring, followed by a DDT to plant Marshall again.

The Cody Cutter is countered into the Cross Rhodes to give Marshall two Marshall calls for a Diamond Cutter but Cody fights out, only to get buckle bombed. Cody reverses a Tombstone but Marshall reverses a Tombstone but Cody reverses a Tombstone into one of his own for two more. Cross Rhodes gets two more on Marshall so Cody, with his eye bleeding, puts on the Figure Four for the tap at 12:08 (which Cody promised he wouldn’t do to Marshall when this started).

Rating: B. And that should be it for Marshall, as he was built up for one match and then lost. That is probably for the best as there is very little that is going to make me care about Marshall as anything more than a low level midcarder who is a good hand in the ring. In other words, it’s a similar situation to Cody vs. Shawn Spears from a little over a year ago.

Post match, Anthony Ogogo comes in to drop Cody.

We look back at Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page jumping Sting and Darby Allin last week.

Sky says that Steve’s time is over and SHOWTIME is done. Page talks about his history with Allin, but admits no one has seen their matches. The face paint is there to cover a dent he left in Allin’s face and the metal in his elbow is from Page as well. Cue Allin to jump both of them, including climbing a ladder to hit a Coffin Drop on Page. Sky hits Allin with a trashcan though and they send Allin HARD down a flight of stairs for a scary looking crash. The medic comes in to check on Allin, who is holding his arm.

Britt Baker vs. Julia Hart

Baker starts fast with a Sling Blade and an Air Raid Crash. Lockjaw finishes Hart at 1:28. As effective as you would need it to be.

We get a new Technique With Taz, breaking down and criticizing Christian’s bad leg strength and footwork. Christian will be in trouble against Brian Cage.

Jurassic Express vs. Varsity Blonds vs. SCU vs. Acclaimed

The winners get a future Tag Team Title shot, even though SCU seemed to secure one last week. Caster’s rap says the Varsity Blonds are going to be on Dark Side of the Ring in ten years. Kazarian takes Jingle Boy down to start but he comes back up with a headlock. That goes as long as the average headlock is going to go so Boy grabs a backslide for two instead. Caster and Pillman tag themselves in as everything breaks down to send us to a break. Back with Caster getting two on Daniels and Bowens coming in for a belly to back suplex.

Daniels fights out of the corner though and grabs a running STO but Luchasaurus tags himself in to clean house. Pillman gets chokeslammed and Garrison is chokeslammed onto him but Kazarian comes in to chop away. Everything breaks down again and Boy plants Pillman but gets caught on top. Daniels dives off the apron for a Downward Spiral to take Luchasaurus down to the floor, leaving Kazarian to clothesline Boy down. Pillman rolls Kazarian up for two but Daniels is back in for the BME to finish Pillman for the pin and the title shot at 9:10.

Rating: C+. I’m never sure what to make of these things as you can only get so much out of eight people out there flying around and doing their thing. SCU winning was the obvious ending and the only right way to go, though I really can’t imagine them getting the titles back next week. Still though, fun match with the energy you would have expected.

Video on Jon Moxley vs. Yuji Nagata. Moxley is ready to fight him and respects no one. Uh, yay New Japan (I’m aware that Nagata is a legend).

Kenny Omega, with Nakazawa holding his belts, comes out to hype up Blood & Guts but he isn’t overly interested. He would rather find out who he is facing at Double Or Nothing, so Tony Schiavone announced a #1 contenders match between Orange Cassidy and Pac for next week.

Omega laughs off the idea of Cassidy being in the match but here is Cassidy to interrupt. That sends Omega into a less than serious speech about how Cassidy is a joke who ripped off Omega’s sunglasses look. Omega takes the sunglasses and gives them to Nakazawa, because they look better on him anyway. Cassidy can come see him when he grows up in about ten years. I’m curious about Pac vs. Omega. Cassidy vs. Omega headlining a pay per view though….egads.

Here’s Miro to say that he is facing Darby Allin for the TNT Title next week, no matter how injured Allin is. Miro is going to make him even more injured.

Pinnacle vs. Inner Circle

Blood & Guts, meaning WarGames with the same rules: each team sends in one man for five minutes. After the time is up, the team with the advantage (Pinnacle) sends in its second man for a two minute advantage). The teams alternate until everyone is in and then it’s first submission wins. Sammy Guevara starts for the Circle and walks into Dax Harwood’s spinebuster for….well a cover but no count as Harwood’s instincts took over for a bit there.

Sammy hits a springboard kick to the face and they head outside of the ring (with a bit of space between the ring and the cage) to send Harwood into the cage over and over. The beating continues (with Sammy’s arm cut) until Shawn Spears comes in with a chair to give the Pinnacle an advantage. A Sky High plants Sammy and the VERY bloody Harwood is up to chair Sammy in the head. The beating continues until Ortiz is in to even things up. House is cleaned and Sammy is back up on the top (as in the middle of the rope).

Harwood winds up on the other rope and Ortiz tosses a chair at his back, sending Harwood into the super Spanish Fly. Things slow down a bit until Cash Wheeler gives the Pinnacle the advantage again. An assisted brainbuster plants Ortiz and Sammy gets sent into the cage. Spears puts Sammy in a Sharpshooter and Ortiz gets Gory Bombed into the cage. That’s enough to have him fall down between the cage and the mat to send him to the floor.

Santana comes in to start cleaning house, including a swinging Rock Bottom on Wheeler. We take a break and come back with Wardlow in as well (and Ortiz back in the ring) to clean house. Jake Hager evens things up again and starts wrecking everyone, including making Spears tap to the ankle lock. We get the big Hager vs. Wardlow showdown with Hager being sent over the ropes and then into the cage.

They keep fighting by the steel and it’s MJF coming in to complete the Pinnacle. Hager gets taken out at the knee as Wheeler is bleeding from the face as well. Chris Jericho comes in to complete the entire field and now it’s the big staredown on opposite sides of the rings. They charge at each other and the fight is on with Jericho choking Spears in the corner.

We take another break and come back with the ring mat having been pulled up and a double spike piledriver planting FTR. Sammy goes Coast To Coast with a dropkick into a chair to knocks Spears even sillier. Jericho hits MJF with a turnbuckle ala WarGames 1992 and there’s a fork into MJF’s bloody head. Jericho decks MJF in the forehead but Wardlow is back up to clean some house.

Chair shots and a clothesline take him down so the Inner Circle can pose….as we take a third break. Back with MJF on the roof and Jericho putting on the Walls, only to get caught with a low blow. MJF grabs the Salt Of The Earth until Jericho escapes, only to put it back on again. With that broken up, MJF loads up the Dynamite Diamond to knock Jericho silly. MJF shouts that he is going to throw Jericho off the top unless the Inner Circle surrenders, so Sammy gives it up at 34:19.

Rating: B. It was violent, it was bloody, and above all else, it felt like a WarGames match rather than what we get in NXT (which I also like a lot, despite it not being WarGames). The problem here was the length, as this went on FAR longer than it needed to, making it feel like they were stalling for time. Something to remember: the two (arguably) best received WarGames (1991/1992) both clocked in at less than twenty four minutes. Both this and the NXT versions went on about ten or more minutes longer than they needed to. Go with quality, not quantity.

Now that being said, I had a great time with most of this and was excited coming in. They got the essence of the match a lot better than NXT does and it felt like you were watching a modern WarGames match. If that is what they were going for, then it was certainly a hit and probably the best version in nearly thirty years. For a free TV main event, this was an absolute success, though it did need some adjustments to get to the next level.

Post match, MJF shoves Jericho off the cage and through the steel (completely real steel of course) set. I actually laughed at how weak of a landing that was. They might as well have had a big sign with an arrow pointing to the crash pad. Everyone panics about Jericho as MJF stands on the cage and shouts THANK YOU to Jericho to end the show. If they can’t make those big spots look better, they really need to stop trying them.

Overall Rating: A-. This show was built around one match and that match delivered for about the last 40 minutes of the show. On top of that you had the four way tag and some stuff set up for both the coming weeks and Double Or Nothing. I had a very good time with this show and it felt like something special, which is the point of a show like this. Now it’s time to get ready for Double Or Nothing, but dang they did a nice job of making this feel like an event on its own.

Results

Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston b. Michael Nakazawa/Kenny Omega – Half and half suplex/running clothesline combination to Nakazawa

Cody Rhodes b. QT Marshall – Figure Four

Britt Baker b. Julia Hart – Lockjaw

SCU b. Acclaimed, Varsity Blonds and Jurassic Express – BME to Pillman

Pinnacle b. Inner Circle when Sammy Guevara submitted

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Dynamite
Date: April 21, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We are about five weeks away from Double Or Nothing and that means it is time to start setting up the show. The good thing is you can probably guess a good chunk of the card from here so it isn’t like they need to do a ton of work on the way there. We also have Blood & Guts coming up in two weeks and it needs one more push. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Commentary runs down the card.

Ricky Starks vs. Hangman Page

Starks has Hook with him and promises to take care of Page, who has poor interview etiquette. Taz joins in on commentary as they trade headlock takeovers to start. Page counters a leapfrog into a slam and stomps Starks down into the corner. A springboard clothesline puts Starks on the floor and there’s a slingshot dive to drop him again. Back in and Starks sends him throat first into the middle rope to take over. Some choking ensues but Starks has to stick the landing on a belly to back flip suplex.

Starks’ springboard is clotheslined out of the air to give Page two and a brainbuster gets the same. An Alabama Slam out of the corner is countered though and Starks’ sitout powerbomb gets two. The fall away slam sets up a running clothesline for two more on Starks but the Buckshot Lariat misses. Starks spears him down for his own near fall and escapes the Deadeye. Instead, Page pulls him down into a bulldog choke and pulls back on the leg to make Starks tap at 8:56.

Rating: B-. These are the guys that give you hope for the future in AEW as they are both young and talented, but above all else they feel like stars. Page seems like a main eventer ready to break out and Starks seems like someone with all of the potential in the world. Throw in the fact that they can have a good match and this was a very nice way to get things going.

Post match Taz tells Page to watch his back and Hook takes him down with a chop block. Page tries to fight them off but Brian Cage comes in to keep up the beatdown. The Dark Order runs in for the save.

Trent vs. Penta El Cero Miedo

Trent has the question mark behind his name again and commentary isn’t sure why it’s there. I’m guessing it is something that he put together on the indies and for some reason did not stop using it despite not being in the indies anymore. Trent starts fast by taking Penta down for a running Meteora and then knocks him outside for the big flip dive (thankfully not injuring his leg when it crashes into the barricade).

Back in and Penta hits a quick Sling Blade into the Canadian Destroyer and we take a break. Of note: during the break, an ad for Rich Swann vs. Kenny Omega at Impact’s Rebellion on Sunday aired. Aside from a throw away line here or there, that might be the first mention of the match on AEW TV.

We come back with Penta hitting a Backstabber for two and the Pentagon Driver is good for the same. They head to the apron and Trent drops Penta to the floor, but Penta’s translator says that Penta has a message for him: Trent sucks, but not as much as Trent’s mom! Trent grabs a chair to go after him but walks into a microphone shot into the package piledriver to give Penta the pin at 10:37.

Rating: C. I like Penta a lot but I’m not sure how much success a feud built around a YOUR MOM insult is going to have. Death Triangle vs. the Best Friends is a little weird in the first place but maybe they can make it work in the ring. I would hope that they drop the stuff about the mom though because that is just kind of lame.

Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down with the Pinnacle for a chat. MJF talks about having his scarf for years, but Tully Blanchard has sent him a gift: a new scarf! Wardlow brings up JR calling Chris Jericho’s recent statements the immortal promo. Jericho cut a great promo (not as great as MJF’s of course) but he stumbled a bit on Wardlow.

That’s because he knew he was doing something wrong, because you don’t mess with Wardlow. MJF accuses Jericho of standing around a bunch of B’s so you look like an A and wrestling a bunch of B’s so you don’t look like an A. Jericho has tried to latch on to a bunch of popular stars like Jon Moxley and Orange Cassidy, which worked well until he got to MJF. Jericho likes to say that MJF is great for 25 but that is BULL S***!

MJF is great for any age and he finds it interesting when Jericho says go beat some low level people. See, he remembers beating Jericho, which means that MJF is better than him and Jericho knows it. The one thing Jericho got right was saying that MJF is a mark, but it is for Jericho’s spot. At Blood and Guts, MJF is taking it. This was mostly great, with MJF selling everything and Wardlow getting some time as well. I’m not big on them saying promo, but that ship has kind of already gone for a sail, come back and been chopped up for firewood.

Video on Hikaru Shida vs. Tay Conti for Shida’s Women’s Title. Shida respects her, but it is time to fight.

Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Tay Conti

Conti is challenging and the Dark Order goes to the back to let her do this on her own. A hard forearm doesn’t do much to Shida to start and it’s time for the slugout. Conti judo throws her over and grabs a chickenwing with a bodyscissors. Shida gets to the ropes for the break and heads to the floor for a needed breather. Conti tries to follow but gets tripped down, setting up a running knee to the face.

An enziguri catches Conti again and a suplex drops her hard. Back in and the surfboard goes on but Shida switches into a reverse chinlock to keep Conti in trouble. We take a break and come back with Shida hitting a superplex but Conti pops up to kick her in the face. A German suplex drops Shida again and some running kicks to the face in the corner put her down again.

Shida is laid across the top rope and Conti adds a top rope backsplash for a near fall. The DDTay is broken up and Shida hits a running knee to the face. The Falcon Arrow gets two and Shida drops her hard to the floor. Back in and Conti nails another pump kick, setting up the TayKO for two. They strike it out again until Shida drops her with a slap. A fireman’s carry into a backbreaker sets up the Katana to retain the title at 12:18.

Rating: B. I liked the match but egads Shida has lost all sense of interest with this never ending title reign. While you can all but pencil in Britt Baker to take the title at Double Or Nothing, it has been far too long coming. Tonight was another good match and Shida can be fun to watch in the ring, but something to make me care about her would help a lot. Conti has been on a tear as of late and I really hope she isn’t dropped as a result.

Post match here’s Britt Baker, who shows us the updated rankings….with her at the top.

Miro is sick of Kip Sabian not being here and he is ready to beat people up.

Here is the Inner Circle for a chat. After we reaffirm Jericho’s rock star status with the fans singing Judas back to him, Jericho talks about how Mike Tyson knocked Shawn Spears’ teeth out. Jake Hager has straws for the Pinnacle because they are going to be drinking meat through straws after Blood & Guts. Santana finds it interesting that MJF is only doing his talking when he has people behind him. They have seen the color of their blood and now they are going to see the size of their hearts.

Jericho talks about MJF singing show tunes on Rosie O’Donnell so Jericho has written a show tune of his own. The song recaps the Inner Circle returning and MJF’s head going into a toilet but Jericho drops the singing rather quickly. It is great to make jokes but next week, the teams are having a parlay, meaning a meeting to discuss battle plans, before Blood & Guts. Jericho gets serious and says that MJF better own his soul because on May 5, they own the Pinnacle’s a**. They brought it at the end, but they have not done the best job setting things up. Another interview before the war isn’t likely to help that.

Billy Gunn vs. QT Marshall

Gunn goes after Marshall and company before the bell to take over early. A suplex into a tilt-a-whirl slam sends Marshall outside so the referee checks on him. That lets Anthony Ogogo jump Gunn so the Gunn Club dives out of the crowd to take care of them. Back in and Marshall punches him down and mocks the SUCK IT. You don’t do that to Gunn, who is back up with some right hands. The Fameasser and Diamond Cutter are both avoided so Gunn is sent to the ramp. Cue Anthony Ogogo again to hit the gut shot to drop Gunn, allowing Marshall to get the pin at 4:18.

Rating: D+. Not the worst match but it’s really hard to bring myself to care about Billy Gunn and his kids against QT Marshall and company. Marshall’s stable has some potential but how much interest is there going to be in a story involving these people. Also, if Marshall is going to be moving up a bit, he shouldn’t need help beating Billy Gunn.

Post match Ogogo hands Marshall a chair but Dustin Rhodes runs in for the save. Nick Commarado comes back in so Dustin breaks the wooden chair over his head to no avail. Referees get Big Bubba out of the ring as Dusty is stunned.

The Elite is in the back and talks about how they are the reason business was up in Japan. They are the reason for the Bullet Club shirt exploding and the revolution that became AEW. Kenny Omega is sick of Jon Moxley but we keep hearing a horn….and Omega demands it be taken care of. It’s Moxley in his truck, which he rams into the side of the trailer the Elite was in. Eddie Kingston gets out of the truck and they go inside the trailer, armed with pipes. The Elite is gone, which Moxley describes as “b**** AF”. He throws the pipe through the window anyway, with Kingston asking if Moxley could wait until he is out of the way.

Christian Cage. vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Taz is on commentary again and Hobbs powers Christian into the corner to start. A waistlock works a bit better, or at least it does until Hobbs slams him down. They head outside with Hobbs hitting him in the back of the head, setting up a toss over the barricade. Hobbs grinds his face against the barricade and we take a break. Back with Hobbs stepping on Christian’s chest but the Vader Bomb is countered with some raised boots to the face.

The pendulum kick connects in the corner and a top rope back elbow gives Christian two. Hobbs is back with a heck of a spinebuster for two (not powerbomb JR) but gets powerbombed out of the corner (now JR). The frog splash gets two but Hobbs sends him into the corner for the running hip attack. Hobbs has to power out of a sleeper so he sends Christian into the corner, only to have Christian come back with the Killswitch for the pin at 10:20.

Rating: C+. See, now this is more like it. Christian needs to establish himself in AEW and he beats a monster like Hobbs by coming from behind. It was a completely watchable match and it was one of the few without something going on before or after. Do more of this from time to time and let things breathe a bit.

Here is what’s coming next week.

Jade Cargill talks about how every manager wants her and we hear from Matt Hardy and Vickie Guerrero about why she should sign with them.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Jungle Boy

Allin is defending and Sting and the rest of the Jurassic Express are here. They go technical to start with both of them grabbing a rollup for two each. Boy works on the wristlock and armdrags him into an armbar. That’s broken up with Allin’s springboard armdrag and they start getting in each others’ faces. Allin takes him down and hammers away so they head to the floor to keep up the fight.

Some chops have Boy staggered but he tackles Allin over the barricade as we take a break. Back with Allin charging into an elbow in the corner, allowing Boy to grab a bridging German suplex for two. A tiger suplex gets the same but Allin is back with the flipping Stunner. Boy sends him outside for the back to back suicide dives into the flip dive over the top. Back in and Allin stomps away, setting up the Coffin Drop back to the floor.

Luchasaurus has to help Boy back in, which gets Sting in his face. They fight to the back, leaving Boy to blast Allin with a clothesline. The brainbuster into a running elbow to the back of the head gets two on Allin and the Snare Trap goes on. Allin has to go to the eyes for the escape so Boy forearms away out of desperation. They get back up and Allin pulls him into the Last Supper to retain at 14:45.

Rating: B. This match told a good story as Allin is trying to defend the title as often as he can but is starting to have more trouble, leading to some slightly more desperate ways to retain. That could lead somewhere, but for now it is a good match with a clean enough finish, though with a slightly dirty path to get there. Boy losing is kind of sad to see, but Allin is a bigger deal right now.

Post match Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky run in to beat Allin down. Lance Archer runs in for the save but gets beaten down as well, drawing out Sting with the baseball bat for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. There were three rather good matches on here, but some of the other stuff dragged it back down. It’s great to see some of this stuff featured, but at the same time, they might want to have something a little more interesting than Marshall vs. Gunn, trying to figure out the question mark after Trent’s name and another ending that felt like a month’s worth of material in fifteen second. The good outweighs the bad here though, as the wrestling was enough to make up for some kind of odd choices.

Results

Hangman Page b. Ricky Starks – Bulldog choke with a leglock

Penta El Cero Miedo b. Trent – Package piledriver

Hikaru Shida b. Tay Conti – Katana

QT Marshall b. Billy Gunn – Punch to the ribs from Anthony Ogogo

Christian Cage b. Powerhouse Hobbs – Killswitch

Darby Allin b. Jungle Boy – Last Supper

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: March 31, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

I’m not sure what to expect here, as we are on the rather long road towards Double Or Nothing and it is still too early to set things up for the show. Christian might be the next title match for Kenny Omega, but I’m not sure if that is the most interesting match to headline a pay per view. Maybe they have something else in mind though. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Christian Cage vs. Frankie Kazarian

Feeling out process to start with Christian taking over on the arm as the fans tell him that he still has it. Christian gets sent hard over the top and crashes down onto the ramp for some shaking of the head. Back in and Kazarian knocks him off the top to the floor for another breather. Christian’s slide through the legs is broken up and we hit the neck crank.

After Christian fights up, Kazarian takes him back down with a flipping neckbreaker for two. Back up again and Kazarian hammers away but Christian grabs a tornado DDT out of the corner. Some shots to the face have Kazarian in trouble and Christian stands on his back for the choking on the ropes. Christian rains down right hands in the corner and scores with the reverse DDT for two.

The top rope splash only hits mat though and Kazarian hammers away again. He talks a bit too much trash though and gets small packaged for two, which is a bit too much from Christian. The springboard spinning legdrop gets two on Christian but he grabs the top rope to block a superplex attempt.

A headbutt cuts Christian off on top though and the Flux Capacitor connects for two. Christian gets caught in the ropes but manages to snap Kazarian’s neck across the top. Now the frog splash connects for two but Christian has to flip out of the crossface chickening. Kazarian goes shoulder first into the post and now the Killswitch can connect for the pin at 16:33.

Rating: C. That’s being as generous as I can as these guys looked rather old for the most part. They still moved around well enough, but there was about ninety years of age in the ring. Christian as a main eventer is not the most appealing idea in the world for more than a few reasons and this didn’t do him any favors. Not bad, but it was far from inspiring.

Sting and Darby Allin didn’t like what Matt Hardy did to Allin last week. Allin says that Matt’s money doesn’t mean anything to him.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Jade Cargill knows she is special and there is nothing Red Velvet can do to stop her.

Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall

Unsanctioned exhibition with Arn Anderson refereeing and all kinds of Nightmare Family members at ringside. Feeling out process to start with Cody armdragging him into an armbar. Marshall gets a bit more aggressive to take him down by the wristlock but Cody nips up to his feet.

Another takedown puts Marshall on the mat but Cody won’t stomp him. Instead Cody stays on the arm and we take a break. Back with Cody hitting a slam but not being willing to put on the Figure Four. Marshall misses a crossbody and crashes out to the floor, so Cody holds the ropes open for him. Back in and Marshall decks Arn for the no contest at 7:35.

Rating: C-. Kind of slow and dull, but that was the point of the match. Marshall decking Arn was a surprise, but then two seconds pass and you realize that it’s QT Marshall and the interest goes away. At least they had a bit of a clever way out of the match, even if the angle doesn’t quite have my interest.

Post match Marshall looks distraught at what he did but Aaron Solow, Anthony Ogogo and Nick Conorado (of Marshall’s Nightmare Factory wrestling school) come in and beat down the Nightmare Family. Lee Johnson is powerbombed over the ropes and onto the ramp and Dustin Rhodes is piledriven onto the steps. Ogogo, the Olympic boxer, punches Cody down and Marshall loads up a Conchairto on the steps. Red Velvet runs in for the save and screams a lot. Did we really need another heel group?

Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky are ready to take over.

Post break Red Velvet says she had to protect her partner….and gets taken out by Jade Cagrill.

Jon Moxley can’t get the sound of Eddie Kingston’s ankle being snapped by the Good Brothers. Then you have the Young Bucks, who can’t decided if they want to fight or not. He has the barbed wire scars which make him all itchy and all of this stuff ticks him off. Tonight he has Cesar Bononi, who has a lot of talent and could make some money, but not if Moxley kills him first.

Cesar Bononi vs. Jon Moxley

Bononi runs him over to start but Moxley is right back to work on the leg. Moxley cranks the leg back but Bononi pops up with a suplex for two. We take a break (In THIS match?) and come back with Bononi hitting a running knee in the corner, only to have a knee hit the turnbuckle. Moxley snaps off a German suplex and there’s a superplex to take him down again. Bononi’s partner JD Drake offers a distraction and breaks up the Paradigm Shift, but Moxley grabs the rear naked choke for the tap at 8:00.

Rating: C-. This is where AEW could do with learning how to shorten matches. I know they can do it, but it would be nice to see it happen a bit more often. Bononi is a big guy who hasn’t done anything in AEW, so why is he going eight minutes with a former World Champion? The match wasn’t terrible, but it was longer than it needed to be.

Team Taz has another meeting where Ricky Starks talks about having a great time on Dark. They are a team, but Brian Cage doesn’t seem convinced.

MJF has brought in an interior designer to decorate the Pinnacle’s room….but the Inner Circle is in the bathroom. The big brawl is on, with Sammy Guevara slamming a door on Shawn Spears’ head. Wardlow gets Rock Bottomed through the massage table and Dax Harwood is busted open. Jericho puts MJF’s head into a toilet and then through a Pepsi refrigerator. Jericho declares this their dressing room and puts the Inner Circle’s sign back up. The Inner Circle popping up behind the door was great.

Don Callis comes up to the Young Bucks. Nick doesn’t want to hear it and leaves, so Callis talks to Matt about everything Kenny Omega sacrificed for AEW. Callis wants Matt to get fired up and finally mentions the Bucks’ dad. A slap to the face wakes Matt up but he lets Callis go, with Callis calling him pathetic.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Lucha Bros/Laredo Kid

The Lucha Bros say they want the Tag Team Titles and Don Callis is on commentary. They starts fast with a triple superkick getting two on Omega and the big triple dive over the top to the floor. We settle down to Kid striking away on Omega but he gets in a shot of his own and hands it off to Gallows.

The rights and lefts in the corner rock Kid and the triple teaming is on. We take a break and come back with Kid getting over for the tag to Penta so house can be cleaned. A middle rope moonsault into a top rope double stomp into a Swanton crushes Anderson and some running shots in the corner make it worse.

Everything breaks down again and Anderson hits a spinebuster for two on Fenix with Kid having to make the save. The V Trigger gives Omega two on Kid but he escapes the One Winged Angel. An enziguri into a Michinoku Driver gets two on Omega but he’s back with another V Trigger. The One Winged Angel finishes Kid at 14:20.

Rating: B-. Not bad while it lasted, with more of the same dives and flips that you might have expected. Omega might not be the most interesting promo, but he can certain wrestle the fast paced style once the match actually starts. I’m still not wild on the Good Brothers, but dang the Lucha Bros know how to do this style as well as anyone going right now.

Post match here is Jon Moxley, followed by the Young Bucks, for the big staredown.

Britt Baker and Rebel laugh about Thunder Rosa not getting credit for the big win because the match was unsanctioned.

Nyla Rose/Bunny vs. Tay Conti/Hikaru Shida

Matt Hardy and Vickie Guerrero are here with Nyla and Bunny. Before the match, Matt promises Bunny won’t be left out of the title scene any longer. Oh and starting tomorrow, he gets ALL of his money again. Shida runs Bunny over to start, only to get sent outside. That means Rose can squash Shida on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Shida avoiding a charge in the corner and handing it off to Conti for a series of judo throws to Bunny. A running knee in the corner sets up a running knee in the corner, sending Bunny outside. Everything breaks down with the Dark Order getting into it with Matt and company on the floor. That leaves Bunny to take the TayKO for two with Rose making the save. Vickie offers a distraction and Bunny hits Tay with a kendo stick, setting up Down The Rabbit Hole for the pin at 7:01.

Rating: C. Kind of a mess here, but also kind of a fun mess and I’ll certainly take that. I’m really trying to wrap my head around Conti and the Bunny being the next challengers for the Women’s Title, though anything is better than Shida vs. Rose again. Bunny picking up a win should do her some good, but I’m not sure if she is going to be seen as a viable threat to many people.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Jurassic Express vs. Bear Country in a match sponsored by Kong vs. Godzilla.

Jurassic Express are ready to show Bear Country who is on top of the food chain, but Marko Stunt has a Kong tattoo.

Chuck Taylor/Orange Cassidy vs. Kip Sabian/Miro

This is Arcade Anarchy, meaning there are video games all around the ring. They start fast with Cassidy sending Kip into Whack A Mole. Miro slams Cassidy on the floor and sends him into the same thing, including a shot with the mallet. A barricade is moved around but Miro fights out of a double suplex through said barricade. Instead, Taylor is suplexed onto the steel instead and Miro grabs a chair from the prize table (cost of 20,000 tickets) to unload on Cassidy.

Taylor makes the save and it’s time for more prizes, in the form of a trashcan lid and kendo stick. The beatdown puts Miro in trouble and a barricade shot makes it worse. More prizes are turned on top of Miro and now let’s throw Whack A Mole in there for two, with Sabian making a save. Back in and Taylor busts out a teddy bear full of Legos, but Sabian reverses a superplex into a sitout powerbomb for two.

Cassidy makes the save and hits a DDT into Beach Break for two. The Orange Punch connects but Penelope Ford pulls the referee out. There’s a low blow for Cassidy and Ford loads up a belt….but Kris Stadtlander (oh dang I had forgotten about her) pops out of the alien claw machine. Kris beats the fire out of her and hits a Falcon Arrow off of the apron and through an air hockey table.

Miro is back up with a chair to Taylor but here is Trent’s mom Sue in the van….and Trent is back as well. Miro beats up all three Best Friends and goes after Sue but Trent makes the save. Trent spears Miro through a table and Chuck hits  the powerslam off the stage through the set for the pin at 14:30.

Rating: C+. I know this is going to sound bizarre coming from me, but I wanted MORE carnage and insanity with the games here. It’s like they kept wanting to do something with them and kept pulling back from going too far. That’s kind of a shame as they had a lot of ways to go with them, but the Stadtlander return was a very nice surprise. Now can we please, please get Miro away from this story and onto ANYTHING else?

Post match the big hug, complete with Stadtlander, ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m not sure what it was but I couldn’t get into the show this week. There was nothing overly bad here but there was nothing on here which got me overly excited. There are still too many stables and too many heels, but at least they had a fun main event and a few moments that have me interested in where things are going in the future.

Results

Christian Cage b. Frankie Kazarian – Killswitch

Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall went to a no contest when Marshall punched Arn Anderson

Jon Moxley b. Cesar Bononi – Rear naked choke

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Laredo Kid/Lucha Bros – One Winged Angel to Kid

Nyla Rose/Bunny b. Hikaru Shida/Tay Conti – Down The Rabbit Hole to Conti

Chuck Taylor/Orange Cassidy b. Miro/Kip Sabian – Powerslam through the set to Sabian

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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IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: October 20, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

We’re back and somehow the show is even bigger, at a sixteen match card. That’s a record even for this show and up there with the biggest Wrestlemania lineups of all time. I’m not sure why that needs to be the case around here but it’s not like there is much else to talk about with this show. Let’s get to it.

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

Commentators welcome.

Shawn Spears vs. Christopher Daniels

Again with the idea of opening with what could be the headliner. Spears works on the wrist to start before switching off to a headlock. Daniels is right back up to flip him to the floor though and we get a breather. Back in and an exchange of leapfrogs goes badly for Spears as Daniels clotheslines him down. A Fargo Strut sets up a t-bone suplex to send Spears outside again, with Daniels hitting a slingshot dive this time.

This one doesn’t go as well as Daniels is whipped hard into the barricade, setting up a neckbreaker on the floor. Back in and Daniels whips him hard into the corner, followed by a DDT to stay on the neck. The C4 is countered though and Daniels grabs a Downward Spiral. The STO plants Spears and another C4 is countered again into a rollup for two. Daniels gets another two off a high crossbody but the Angel’s Wings is blocked. A slingshot is cut off though and now the C4 can finish Daniels at 7:16.

Rating: C. As expected, two people who have done this for a long time and have shown that they can do good things in the ring have a completely watchable match. It’s nothing that hasn’t been done before, but there wasn’t a bad thing about the match and it was well set up throughout. Spears is still totally uninteresting, but it could have been far worse.

Post match Spears hits a second C4, drawing out Scorpio Sky to chase him off. Spears beats up a production guy to blow off some steam.

Brandi Rhodes vs. KiLynn King

I don’t see King breaking her losing streak here. King spins her down into a hammerlock but gets reversed with a headscissors. Back up and Brandi snaps off a headlock takeover as the mat grappling continues. King’s rollup gets two and Brandi’s gets the same, setting up an early standoff.

An armdrag into an armbar has Brandi in trouble again but she sends King into the corner for the running elbow as commentary makes radio jokes. Cue John Silver to campaign to be on Brandi’s cooking show, but Brandi is fine enough to hit a Sling Blade for two. They slug it out from their knees and it’s the Shot Of Brandi (which looked like it needed a camera cut) for the pin on King at 3:22.

Rating: D+. This was all you could have expected as Brandi isn’t going to lose a match like this, even if it’s against someone who seems like they could be a breakout star in King. The wrestling wasn’t anything great, but they did well enough with the counters and reversals. That finish still doesn’t look great, but it’s better than Brandi using the spear.

David Ali vs. Ricky Starks

Ali hammers away to start but gets picked up and dropped hard. The chopping is on as Taz is rather pleased with all of this. Ali manages to get to the corner though and it’s a missile dropkick to stagger Starks. After being confused for a second, Starks goes up again and gets crotched back down. A running boot in the corner connects and the Roshambo finishes Ali at 2:57.

Starks joins commentary, as is his custom.

Scorpio Sky vs. Fuego del Sol

Fuego flips out of a wristlock to start so Sky slows him down with a headlock. A front chancery has Fuego in trouble and a Russian legsweep gives Sky two. Sky hits a backbreaker and bends Fuego over the knee as the announcers talk about Goosebumps. The abdominal stretch goes on but Fuego is out in a hurry for a dropkick. That’s enough to send Sky outside and Fuego adds a slingshot dive. Back in and Sol rolls him up out of the corner for two, followed by an enziguri for the same. Not that it matters as Fuego dives into a very quick Scorpion Deathlock for the tap at 5:41.

Rating: C. Sky continues to be one of the smoothest workers around here and it’s nice to see him doing this kind of thing every time he’s out there. Fuego got to showcase himself here and Sky is someone who can do something with anyone. I liked this well enough, with Sky working on the ribs throughout and then getting the win with a hold that works on the back. Makes enough sense.

Post match Shawn Spears’ music hits but he doesn’t show up.

Aaron Solow vs. Luchasaurus

Luchasaurus shoves him down without much effort and unloads on him in the corner as Starks talks about his time teaming with Solow. Back up and Solow hits a headscissors to the floor but the suicide dive is caught. A tornado DDT on the floor works a bit better but Luchasaurus is right back with a kick to the face inside. Solow knees him in the face, only to get blasted by a running clothesline. The Tail Whip into the chokeslam into the standing moonsault finishes Solow at 3:36.

Rating: C-. Solow got in a lot of offense here and it was probably too much. Luchasaurus is a monster and not the kind of person who should be giving up so much. At the same time, he probably shouldn’t be needing to do so many big moves at the end. The Tail Whip, the chokeslam and the standing moonsault could all be finishers. Use one or two at most, not three.

Griff Garrison/Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Butcher and Blade

Eddie Kingston is here with Butcher and Blade. It’s Garrison getting chopped in the corner to start but it’s off to Pillman to kick away at Blade. A superkick doesn’t work on Butcher though, as he crushes Pillman with a running crossbody. It’s back to Blade for some choking on the ropes and Butcher drives in some knees to the back.

Pillman gets in a dropkick but Butcher whips him hard into the corner to cut him off again. A quick spinning high crossbody gives Pillman enough space for the hot tag to Garrison though and everything breaks down. Pillman is sent to the floor though and it’s a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to finish Garrison at 6:03.

Rating: C. There is something to be said about Pillman taking a beating like that and then making a comeback. It worked out just fine here and that isn’t the most surprising. Garrison and Pillman as a small, plucky team is fine enough and I won’t be surprised when they’re both signed soon enough.

Penta El Cero M vs. QT Marshall

Dustin Rhodes is here too. Penta takes his time in removing the glove so Marshall hits him in the face. A running headscissors takes Penta down again but a dive is cut off with ease. Back in and Penta throws him right back to the floor for the strikes against the post. They head inside again with Penta charging into an elbow and then getting elbowed down again. Penta kicks him down and hits a double stomp for two but Marshall hits a handspring kick to the face.

A Sling Blade gives Penta two and here’s Eddie Kingston with a microphone to watch. The package piledriver is blocked and they kick each other down. Eddie waves at Marshall and says he has a surprise. Cue Allie in the Bunny gear again but she leaves with Eddie. Marshall is fine enough to get two off a backslide but Penta is back with a Pentagon Driver for two of his own. A Michinoku Driver gives Marshall two more so Penta goes up for a change. That means it’s the middle rope Canadian Destroyer into the Fear Factor to finish Marshall at 8:31.

Rating: C. They avoided the styles clash here and had a nice match, though the point is ending the rather unnecessary Allie/Marshall deal. I’m still not sure what the idea behind that was but maybe we get to find that out later. Either way, Penta winning is nice and it’s not like Marshall is hurt by a loss.

Jungle Boy vs. KTB

KTB charges but gets dropkicked to the corner. Boy snaps off a headscissors out of the corner but KTB sends him into the corner for the rolling shoulder to the ribs (that’s a new one). A dragon screw legwhip sets up a fireman’s carry slam for two and it’s an atomic drop into a quick splash for the same.

Boy pops off a clothesline and hits his own dragon screw legwhip to the floor. That means a suicide dive and a slingshot DDT gives Boy two more. Boy goes to the ropes again but gets caught in a Razor’s Edge flipped down into a knee to the face for two more. KTB misses a moonsault though and it’s a running elbow to the back of the head. Boy’s top rope double knee drop is good for the pin at 5:27.

Rating: C+. KTB got to showcase himself here and that was all you could hope for. Boy is not big enough to be someone to look dominant so having him fight from underneath is the right idea every time. The match worked a lot better than I would have bet on and that’s always a nice surprise.

And that’s the halfway point.

Ivelisse/Diamante vs. Skyler Moore/Kenzie Paige

It’s a brawl to start with Moore and Paige being cleared out in a hurry. Diamante muscles Moore up in a not great looking suplex and there’s an uppercut into the corner. A double suplex gets two on Moore and we hit the chinlock. Diamante charges into a boot though and it’s a double clothesline for the double knockdown. Paige and Ivelisse come in to pick up the pace and Paige’s Natural Selection gets two. Diamante is right back with a quick Stunner though and Ivelisse hits the rolling kick to the face for the pin at 4:09.

Rating: D+. Just a quick match here to remind you that Ivelisse and Diamante exist. You might have forgotten after they won that tournament, which wound up meaning a grand total of nothing. Moore and Paige are both find enough, but there is only so much that can be done in a situation like this.

Colt Cabana vs. Bshp King

There’s no Dark Order with Cabana and he seems to be confused. Commentary talks about Cabana’s jackets and make an Orange Cassidy/Pockets reference to make sure that we know they listen to Jim Cornette. Feeling out process to start with both taking turns going after the arm as John Silver and Alex Reynolds come out.

Actually never mind as Cabana sends them back before kicking at King’s legs. Something close to an old Stump Puller has King in more trouble and some elbows to the head make it worse. The Order is here again and the distraction means Cabana can’t hit the Chicago Skyline. The Flying Apple into the Superman Pin is enough to finish King at 4:07.

Rating: C-. Another match that came and went with little of interest. I guess Cabana is having issues with the Dark Order now and this needed to be on the show because…maybe having sixteen matches sounds better than having fifteen? Yeah this is the first candidate for the match being cut so far and that’s not a good place to be.

Adam Priest vs. Alan Angels

Most of the Dark Order is here with Angels. Priest gets knocked into the corner to start and Angels hits a middle rope springboard clothesline. A quick moonsault gives Angels two but Priest is back with a big boot and clothesline of his own. Angels grabs a twisting fisherman’s buster and the Wing Snapper finishes Priest at 3:16.

Rating: C-. Ironically enough this didn’t get enough time and it hurt things a lot. It wasn’t a bad match at all and Angels continues to get to showcase himself well. Priest is another guy in a long list of them around here and while I don’t think this was meant to be a showcase for him, he didn’t quite get to do much here.

Frankie Kazarian tells Jack Evans that respect is earned and now he wants to be at the top of the industry. He has always been the bridesmaid but never the bride so tonight is the start of his wedding march.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Jack Evans

Angelico is here with Evans. Kazarian takes him down by the arm to start but Evans gets a quickly broken chancery. Back up and a shoulder runs Evans over, setting up an armdrag into an armbar. A cartwheel into a headscissors takes Kazarian down but he’s right back with the armdrag into a second armbar. That’s broken up and Evans offers a distraction so Angelico can get in a cheap shot, setting up a northern lights suplex. Evans pops up onto Kazarian’s ribs into a standing moonsault for two more.

A hair takedown gets another two on Kazarian and there’s a hard whip into the corner. Kazarian gets a sunset flip out of the corner for his own two but he has to deal with Angelico. Evans gets clotheslined down for another near fall and there’s two more off a springboard spinning legdrop. Kazarian’s leg is kicked out and a standing sky twister press (geez) gives Evans another two. Kazarian reverses the moonsault into a reverse DDT into a reverse DDT of his own to finish Evans at 7:57.

Rating: C. Kazarian can go with anyone and Evans was doing all of his flips and dives, as he is known to do. It’s another case of having a steady hand like Kazarian in there and that’s the best way to use Evans. It wasn’t a classic or anything but it got a little time and they traded some nice spots so it went well enough.

Post match Angelico jumps Kazarian but Christopher Daniels runs in for the save.

Louie Valle/Baron Black/D3 vs. Dark Order

It’s 3/4/10 for the Order here and the fact that we have now had two different stables with three matches each and have four matches left might suggest that this show is TOO FREAKING LONG. Taz: “Maybe we should call this show AEW Dark Order.” See? Even he gets it. Valle is offered a spot in the Dark Order to start but turns it down, meaning Reynolds beats him up. That’s broken up with Valle getting in a few shots of his own but not being ready to follow up.

Black comes in but gets crotched, meaning it’s off to D3, who is shouldered down by Silver. An arm trap rollup gives D3 two so Silver knocks him down again. Vance comes in and blocks a hurricanrana, followed by a hard fall away slam into the corner. A double flipping faceplant drops D3 again and there’s a delayed suplex from Vance. Silver sends D3 flying across the ring but he slips out of a gorilla press. The hot tag brings in Valle for a running crossbody as Taz talks about how short both of them are. Everything breaks down and Vance spinebusters Black. The double flipping slam finishes Black at 5:48.

Rating: C. In case you didn’t get the idea the first 183 times we’ve seen it, the Dark Order can beat up jobbers in a match that doesn’t last very long and look good together as a trio. I don’t know how many times we need to see them do this or some combination of it to get the point already, but since this is the third Dark Order match on the show, it probably isn’t enough yet. The team has gotten better, but I’m sick of seeing them do the same stuff over and over like this.

Wardlow vs. Vinny Pacifico

Wardlow’s knee in the corner knocks Pacifico out at 40 seconds. This is just like last week when Wardlow’s knee in the corner knocked out another jobber in a short match, but you needed to see it twice to get the point or something.

Post match Wardlow gives him an F10.

Eddie Kingston and company welcome Allie to the fold to complete the team.

Matt Sydal vs. Shawn Dean

Sydal takes him down into a headscissors to start before cranking on the arm. A front facelock keeps Dean in trouble but he’s back up with some armdrags into a dropkick. That earns him a jumping spinwheel kick and a standing twisting Swanton gets two on Dean. Back up and Dean slugs away but gets pulled down into a reverse Rings of Saturn. That’s broken up as well because we’ve already had our short matches of the night. Dean grabs a tiger driver for two but Sydal hits a jumping knee. A kick to the head sets up the cobra stretch to finish Dean at 6:02.

Rating: C-. Another Sydal match as he gets to show what he can do outside of the high flying. It was fine enough and Dean can go better than most of the job squad. I just didn’t need to see another six minute match after fourteen matches throughout the card so far. That’s where this show gets in trouble: everything gets crushed by all of the other stuff and it defeats the purpose of making Sydal look good.

Sonny Kiss vs. Rey Fenix

Joey Janela is here too. Kiss shoves him away to start and they go to a test of strength to show off their counters. A step up hurricanrana takes Fenix down so Fenix rolls into a hurricanrana of his own. Fenix dropkicks him into the corner and then pulls him shoulder first into the corner.

We hit the armbar for a bit until Fenix goes with a sunset flip but cranks on the leg instead (that’s a new one). Something like a Tequila Sunrise has Kiss in more trouble and Fenix kicks the arm to make it worse. Kiss is back with a twisting elbow to the face and the front flip kick to the ribs in the corner. A victory roll gives Kiss two and he drops Fenix on top of his head. Fenix is fine enough to catch him on top though and the Black Fire Driver finishes Kiss at 7:44.

Rating: C. This was Kiss doing his gymnastics and Fenix doing his lucha stuff and it wound up being ok. The arm and leg stuff from Fenix was a nice twist and I’m glad to see him getting a chance in the big tournament. I could see him getting to the second round and after not being able to do much else around here, that’s a pretty good result all things considered.

Overall Rating: D+. What even is there to say? It’s a longer version of the same problems that this show always has. Last week’s show was fourteen matches and they even had four matches that were similar to last week, down to the same people. I honestly have no idea what this show is supposed to be or who it is supposed to appeal to, but if they keep this up, plus Dynamite and the third show, they are going to risk burning out their audience REALLY fast.

The point of Dynamite was the same as the glory days of NXT: the best show you get all week and it leaves you wanting more. This isn’t the same as Dynamite, but it has a lot of the same people and there is rarely anything worth going out of your way to see. It’s still AEW though, and if you keep pumping out this much content, fans are going to get burned out one day and there is no one to blame but yourselves.

Another problem with the show itself is in the matches. It would be one thing if these matches were all a minute or two, but when it’s one five to six minute match after another, that time adds up in a hurry and, again, nothing gets to stand out. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been done better elsewhere and I don’t get invested in anything they do. It has a nice idea and if you fix things up it would be a good supplement to Dynamite. At this rate though it’s WAY longer than Dynamite (with commercials factored out) and that’s killing whatever benefits it has. Cut it down by two thirds (geez) and it works, but this was insane.

Results

Shawn Spears b. Christopher Daniels – C4

Brandi Rhodes b. KiLynn King – Shot Of Brandi

Ricky Starks b. David Ali – Roshambo

Scorpio Sky b. Fuego del Sol – Scorpion Deathlock

Luchasaurus b. Aaron Solow – Standing moonsault

Butcher and Blade b. Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Garrison

Penta El Cero M b. QT Marshall – Fear Factor

Jungle Boy b. KTB – Top rope double knee drop

Ivelisse/Diamante b. Kenzie Paige/Skyler Moore – Rolling kick to Paige’s face

Colt Cabana b. Bshp King – Superman Pin

Alan Angels b. Adam Priest – Wing Snapper

Frankie Kazarian b. Jack Evans – Reverse DDT

Dark Order b. D3/Baron Black/Louie Valle – Double flipping slam to Black

Wardlow b. Vinny Pacifico – Knee to the face

Matt Sydal b. Shawn Dean – Cobra stretch

Fenix b. Sonny Kiss – Black Fire Driver

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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IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: October 6, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks

It’s back to this show as they seem to have lightened up on the time a bit. This is probably four or five regular shows in a row to be around the ninety minute mark. That’s still too long, but it’s a lot better than the two hour one that they had a month and a half or so ago. Hopefully the wrestling makes it better. Let’s get to it.

Here are last results if you need a recap.

Announcers’ welcome.

Kenzie Page vs. Brandi Rhodes

Dustin Rhodes is here too. Page shoves her in the face to start and gets taken down with a headlock takeover. The armbar goes on for a bit, followed by the low superkick for two on Page. Back up and Page stomps her down in the corner as Starks mentions that Page has changed her gear color since last time. What an astute observation. Brandi fights out of the chinlock in a hurry and hits something like a Sling Blade. The bulldog gets two and there’s a Dustin uppercut. The Stunner sets up the Shot Of Brandi for the pin on Page at 3:37.

Rating: D+. This was your usual Brandi match: Brandi gets to shine, wins in the end, and doesn’t do much to prove more than she’s a more athletic Stephanie McMahon. It’s not like she can do anything special in the ring and she is far from the worst wrestler, but sweet goodness it’s one of those things that you just have to get used to because she’s always going to be around.

Post match here’s Anna Jay to jump Brandi but Red Velvet makes the save.

Ray Rosas/Eric Watts vs. Jurassic Express

Not THAT Watts. Boy headlocks Rosas to start and armdrags him into an armbar. It’s already off to Luchasaurus to throw him into the corner and hand it straight back to Boy. Rosas gets in a backbreaker for a breather and it’s Watts coming in with a splash in the corner. A fall away slam keeps Boy in trouble and Watts throws him into the corner again.

Boy is fine enough to roll over for the hot tag to Luchasaurus anyway, meaning it’s a chokeslam into the standing moonsault. Watts makes the save and kicks Luchasaurus down, setting up Rosas’ top rope elbow for two with Boy making the save. Watts pulls Luchasaurus to the floor, leaving Boy to get rolled up for two. A sitout chokeslam gives Watts two on Boy but it’s back to Luchasaurus for the Tail Whip. Boy dives onto Watts and slides back in for the Extinction Level Event and the pin on Rosas at 6:34.

Rating: C-. What in the world happened to Luchasaurus? Remember about six months ago when he was having the big hoss showdowns with Jake Hager and other associated giants? Well now he’s almost getting pinned by a jobber on Dark and it doesn’t even feel like a big deal. It’s a case of someone being dragged down instead of rising up and that’s a sad thing to see.

Chris Jericho talks about his history with Luther in Japan and Canada. He was a bit jealous of Luther being a bigger star in Japan but he had never had the chance on the big stage. That’s why he was hired for AEW and no, it wasn’t a favor for a friend. Now though, it is time for a match thirty years in the making. I don’t buy the “it wasn’t a favor” for a second, but it is nice to see Jericho getting to face an old friend in such a major spot.

Anthony Bowens/Lee Johnson vs. Chaos Project

Serpentico dives at Johnson’s knees to start but gets caught in a headlock for his efforts. A dropkick puts Serpentico down again, allowing Taz to talk about the best dropkick in the company. Johnson misses a charge though and gets caught with a basement dropkick. Luther comes in with a slam and suplexes Serpentico onto Johnson for two.

The chinlock doesn’t last long so Luther goes with a snap suplex instead. Serpentico comes back in but misses a charge, allowing the hot tag to Bowens. That means clotheslines a go-go and a dropkick to Luther, followed by something like a torture rack Samoan drop for two on Serpentico. Everything breaks down and Serpentico hits a standing Sliced Bread on Johnson. The spinebuster/top rope Meteora finishes Bowens at 6:36.

Rating: C-. The near falls were good but it’s a little hard to get into the idea of another evil team. They have quite a few of them around here already (if nothing else the multiple Dark Order lineups are enough) and Luther/Serpentico aren’t exactly thrilling. Not a bad match at all though, as Johnson continues to be one of the better jobbers around.

Will Hobbs vs. Ryzin

Will runs him over with a clothesline to start, but Ryzin gets in a ram to the buckle. That just annoys Hobbs, who is back with a delayed vertical suplex. Ryzin kicks him in the face but a clothesline hurts his own arm. Hobbs hits a jumping shoulder and plants him with a powerslam. The Last Will And Testament (spinebuster) finishes Ryzin at 2:28. Ryzin got in a bit too much but Hobbs looked dominant.

Eddie Kingston is sick of Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss acting like clowns. They aren’t doing that to the Lucha Bros tonight, because the Bros aren’t clowns.

John Silver vs. QT Marshall

They go to the mat in a hurry with Marshall grabbing a headscissors and then a headlock. Back up and a right hand puts Silver in the corner and a suplex gives Marshall two. Silver is back up with a running elbow to put Marshall outside and Evil Uno is rather pleased. Back in and Marshall tells him to kick at the chest, so Silver slaps on a Crossface instead. Marshall makes the rope and loads up a superplex, which has Taz thinking it’s going to be a superplex.

The top rope superplex puts them both down so Marshall heads up top for a back elbow to the jaw. An Evil Uno distraction means the Diamond Cutter attempt can be countered, followed by Silver hitting an enziguri. Silver’s Backstabber gets two but Marshall grabs a Lethal Combination. Evil Uno gets on the apron so Dustin Rhodes fights him to the back. The rest of the Dark Order comes in for the distraction, allowing Silver to grab the spinning torture rack slam for the pin at 8:26.

Rating: C. It feels like these teams have been fighting forever now and while Cody vs. Brodie Lee is actually going somewhere, the rest of it feels like it has been going in circles forever. Silver winning a match gives him a big more credibility, but does beating QT Marshall carry that much weight? The match was fine enough, though like most of the matches between the Rhodes Family and the Dark Order, it pretty much came and went.

Griff Garrison/Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Cezar Bononi/David Ali

Ali’s headlock doesn’t keep Pillman in trouble for very long to start so it’s already off to Garrison. A slingshot hilo into a slingshot legdrop has Ali in more trouble but he gets in a knee to the ribs. It’s off to Bononi for a hard shoulder and a blown kiss to Garrison, but he would rather face Pillman. Some kicks and chops just annoy Bononi but a few more to the leg stagger him a bit.

Bononi elbows him in the face and brings in Ali, meaning Pillman can grab a rollup for a fast two. With that not working, Bononi comes back in and drives Pillman hard into the corner. Pillman slips out though and the hot tag brings in Garrison to start cleaning house. A belly to back faceplant drops Ali and it’s a powerbomb/Air Pillman combination for the pin at 5:57.

Rating: C. And that’s what they should have been doing for MONTHS. Pillman and Garrison aren’t likely to go anywhere, but instead of having them lose every single time, they now have a win under their belt and aren’t seen as instant pushovers. This is something that needed to be changed for a long time now and it could do a lot of good for this show in the long run.

Big Swole vs. Skyler Moore

Moore drives her into the corner to start and it’s already time for the shoving. Swole gets knocked down and Moore gets in a few stomps in the corner for one. A snap suplex gets Swole out of trouble and it’s a headbutt into a springboard cutter. Dirty Dancing finishes Moore at 3:04.

Rating: D+. This is definitely in the “well that happened” category as Swole continues to do her thing and only works in small doses. I like Moore a good bit as she looks different enough to stand out and can do some decent stuff when she is given the chance. That being said, AEW seems to like Swole a lot so it is hardly a surprise that she is getting such a push towards the title.

Matt Sydal didn’t have the best debut at All Out and it’s all due to Michael Nakazawa spreading his baby oil around. Tonight, it’s about revenge.

Matt Sydal vs. Michael Nakazawa

Nakazawa puts the oil on the turnbuckle to start but Sydal sees it coming and kicks him down. Sydal grabs a towel, wipes off the turnbuckle and goes up but Nakazawa sprays more oil on the ropes to make him slip again. Nakazawa pulls out the underwear claw and finally manages to get it on, only to have Sydal pull him into a Cobra Clutch with the legs trapped for the submission at 1:47. I don’t remember the last time I saw an idea dumber than Nakazawa, but it must have been decades at this point.

Eddie Kingston vs. M’Badu

Kingston chops away to start but M’Badu is back with a Stinger Splash. A powerslam gives M’Badu two but Kingston nails a knee to the ribs and the spinning backfist. The Kimura makes M’Badu tap at 1:41. Of all the people you have available, you had to have M’BADU lose that fast???? I sat through Michael Nakazawa doing his stupid routine and M’Badu, a guy who could actually be something, loses in less than two minutes? Come on AEW. You’re smarter than this.

Post match Kingston grabs the mic and says leave the hard camera on because he only cares about getting this message to Jon Moxley. What you just saw was a Kimura and the next time he puts that on Jon Moxley, he’s going to shout I QUIT instead of tapping out because he’s going to be in so much pain. Moxley was supposed to take them to the promised land but instead he forgot about them. You’re in this business to be a World Champion so he’s going to hurt Moxley and have a really good time doing it. This was outstanding as Kingston is rocketing up the list of best talkers in wrestling.

Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss are ready to take out the Lucha Bros because they want back in those rankings.

Angelico vs. Shawn Dean

Jack Evans is here with Angelico. Dean’s wristlock doesn’t last long so he goes with a dropkick to make Angelico think about it a bit. Angelico kicks him in the leg for a knockdown and a leglock sends Dean to the rope. Dean starts getting fired up so it’s a kick to the back of the head to take him down again. Back up and Dean blasts him with a forearm into a German suplex. What looked to be a double arm DDT takes too long and Angelico kicks the leg out. An inverted Figure Four makes Dean tap at 4:35.

Rating: C. Angelico has always been a favorite of mine and Dean looks rather solid most of the time he’s in there. They’re doing a nice job of playing up Dean as someone who could imagine stealing a win, but again it would help so much to have him actually win something. What we got here was pretty nice though and I like both guys, so it was hardly the biggest surprise.

Lucha Bros vs. Sonny Kiss/Joey Janela

Eddie Kingston is here with the Bros, who are taken down in a hurry by double suicide dives (from Sonny and Joey if that isn’t clear). Fenix is back up and takes his brother down by mistake but they get back in without much trouble. A double kick (may have been low) gets two on Janela but it’s off to Sonny, who is flipped into a moonsault for two on Fenix. It’s off to Pentagon, who kicks Janela down to set up the wheelbarrow splash. Pentagon starts in on the armbar but gets small packaged for two to slow things down.

Joey flips over Pentagon and the hot tag brings in Joey to clean house, including a running basement dropkick to Pentagon in the corner. A 450 connects with Fenix making the save and it’s an exchange of shots to the face for a bit knockdown. Fenix is up with a rolling cutter to take down the legal Janela and it’s back to back superkicks from Pentagon. The spike Fear Factor is enough to finish Janela at 6:00.

Rating: C-. The match was what you would expect, but there was one thing of note here that made me smile and believe it or not, it was from Sonny Kiss. I’m not a big fan of a lot of the less than serious stuff that Kiss does most of the time, but it wasn’t on display here. I kept waiting for the goofy offense to start but instead I got a running dropkick and a 450 when things were getting serious. That was a very pleasant surprise and it deserves some praise.

Overall Rating: C+. Maybe it was keeping the matches shorter, but I had a better time with this show. As much as Nakazawa’s shtick needs to be thrown into a dumpster fire, Kingston’s promo was master level stuff as you believe every word that he says. It wasn’t a great show, but it flew by and that’s not something I can often say about Dark. Good enough show here, and more Kingston please, in a big way.

Results

Brandi Rhodes b. Kenzie Paige – Shot Of Brandi

Jurassic Express b. Ray Rosas/Eric Watts – Extinction Level Event to Rosas

Chaos Project b. Lee Johnson/Anthony Bowens – Spinebuster/Top rope Meteora combination to Bowens

Will Hobbs b. Ryzin – Last Will And Testament

John Silver b. QT Marshall – Spinning torture rack slam

Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison b. David Ali/Cezar Bononi – Powerbomb/Air Pillman combination to Ali

Big Swole b. Skyler Moore – Dirty Dancing

Matt Sydal b. Michael Nakazawa – Leg trap Cobra Clutch

Eddie Kingston b. M’Badu – Kimura

Angelico b. Shawn Dean – Inverted Figure Four

Lucha Bros b. Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss – Spike Fear Factor to Janela

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

Dark
Date: September 15, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Veda Scott

We’re back to the usual hour and a half long show on Tuesday after last week’s double shot on Tuesday and Friday. This time around we even have a special featured match with Peter Avalon vs. Brandon Cutler in a match where one of them will have a winner, unless they find a way to have a draw, as they should. Let’s get to it.

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

The announcers bicker and make their jokes about each other, as they tend to do.

Red Velvet vs. Brandi Rhodes

Dustin Rhodes is here with Brandi. They fight over the wristlocks to start and Velvet seems to indicate that she is red. A shoulder taker Velvet down but she’s right back up with a leg lariat. Brandi kicks her in the face and hammers away before a low superkick gets two. The Sling Blade gets two but here is Anna Jay to stare at Brandi. The distraction lets Red hit a DDT for two but Brandi is back up with the spear. Brandi grabs Jay’s Queenslayer for the tap at 4:19.

Rating: D+. I can’t say I’m surprised that Brandi is getting a story of some kind because it has been a full two or three weeks since she had something going on. Normally I would complain about someone who isn’t exactly the most talented in-ring performer getting a spot like this but I think that has been covered extensively enough. Brandi is treated like the biggest star around but she loses so much of her aura as soon as she gets in the ring. The solution would be not to have her wrestle….and yeah that isn’t going to happen so here we are.

Daniel Garcia/Kevin Blackwood vs. Butcher and Blade

Eddie Kingston is here too. Butcher and Blade jump them to start and the brawl is on in a hurry with all four heading outside. Back in and Garcia gets beaten down in the corner as Taz goes into his New York geography discussion of the week. Blade comes in and kicks away at Garcia’s head as commentary argues about a pen. Blackwood gets the tag and a crossbody from Butcher to go with it. Everything breaks down and it’s backbreaker into Full Death to finish Garcia at 4:19.

Rating: C-. This was a little bit better than the opener, but I’m still not feeling the suplex onto the knees finisher. Butcher and Blade have come a long way since their debut, which might have something to do with them actually winning some matches for a change. And dropping the whole “we’re butchers” thing.

Dani Jordyn vs. Penelope Ford

Kip Sabian is here too so we get into a Twitch discussion. That’s switched into a battle of the Mean Girl vs. the Super Bad Girl as commentary starts laughing at each other again. Thankfully Scott actually takes her job seriously as Ford chokes on the rope and catapults her throat first into the top rope for two. A gutbuster drops Jordyn and Sabian slides in the burn book so Ford can shoves the pages down Jordyn’s throat. That brings Jordyn back to life (because wrestling is weird) but Ford bulldogs her into the corner. A missile dropkick sets up the fisherman’s suplex to finish Jordyn at 4:32.

Rating: C-. Taz and Excalibur need to be punched in the face while Scott needs a stern lecture as commentary is rapidly going off the rails. It’s more of the same with them doing and saying things to entertain themselves because they know this match means nothing and is just there to fill in time on the show. If AEW insists on the show being this long, at least get commentary to take it seriously for a few matches.

Brian Cage vs. Megabite Ronnie

Ronnie (with his glorious mustache) isn’t a computer guy, but rather a competitive eater. Ricky Starks joins commentary which has to be an upgrade. The running shoulder into a backbreaker set up the shoulders in the corner as commentary makes car references about Cage. Ronnie gets in some kicks to the ribs and a knee to the face but Cage clotheslines his head off. A sitout powerbomb plants Cage and Ronnie….goes to grab a hot dog, which he eats while hitting a People’s Elbow for two. Thankfully Cage kicks him in the face and hits a 619 into the Drill Claw for the pin at 3:09.

Rating: F. You have Cage, who has been a World Title challenger within the last month or so, staying down long enough so that a guy can get a bite of a hot dog and hit a move that takes about ten seconds to set up. All because, at least according to the official reason, AEW wants to let indy wrestlers showcase themselves? But yeah, I’m the one who misses the point.

Santana and Ortiz vs. Griff Garrison/Brian Pillman Jr.

Starks stays on commentary because a four person booth has been a great idea so many times in the past. Santana cranks on Pillman’s arm to start and gets annoyed at Pillman for trying to reverse. Garrison comes in and gets his skin chopped off in the corner, followed by a superkick to put him down. A bulldog drives Garrison down and Ortiz gets two before kicking Garrison in the ribs for good measure.

Ortiz hits another clothesline and brings Santana back in for a running kick to the head. There’s a suplex into the corner but Garrison gets in a shot to the face allowing the tag to Brian for Air Pillman. Commentary doesn’t get the reference, but Excalibur does get to call a tope suicida, which I’m sure is more important to someone other than Excalibur. Ortiz hits a sitout powerbomb into a kick to the head from Santana for the pin at 6:09.

Rating: C. This was an entertaining extended squash as Santana and Ortiz got to do all of their cool stuff. Naturally there was no doubt a tot the winner, but at least Pillman has charisma and Garrison has a little something to him that makes him fun to watch. It was the most entertaining thing on the show to watch so far, which might be more due to commentary doing their jobs for the most part.

Will Hobbs vs. Jessy Sorensen

Hobbs clotheslines him down to start and sends Sorensen to the apron. That means a kick to Hobbs’ head on the way back in but he hits a spinebuster into an Oklahoma Stampede to finish Sorensen at 1:20.

Rache Chanel/Skyler Moore vs. Diamante/Ivelisse

Ivelisse works on Moore’s arm to start but gets hiptossed down in a hurry. Diamante and Chanel come in with the latter hitting some armdrags, only to get pulled into a hard forearm to the face. Ivelisse is back in with a kick to the back to set up a dragon sleeper. That goes nowhere so Diamante comes back with a hard clothesline. A shot to the face allows the hot tag back to Moore though and house is cleaned in a hurry. Everything breaks down and it’s a Backstabber into a rolling kick to the face to finish Moore at 5:28.

Rating: D+. Commentary has thankfully settled down, which may be due to Starks, who can be the cocky guy without going too far out of the way. It wasn’t exactly a competitive match but it wasn’t quite supposed to be here. I like Moore most of the time I see her and she had a fairly fired up comeback so this could have been a lot worse.

Colt Cabana vs. QT Marshall

Allie and the Dark Order are here as well. They go with the grappling to start until Marshall is headscissored out to the floor for a lecture from Allie. Back in and Cabana looks up at the Dark Order for approval and gets dropkicked down in a hurry. Marshall gets sent hard into the corner and an elbow to the head gets two.

The neck crank doesn’t last long as Marshall fights up with a flying shoulder and a top rope elbow to the face. A Lethal Combination gets two on Cabana and he counters the Flying Apple into a belly to back suplex for two. Cue Evil Uno to talk to Cabana for a distraction, allowing Stu Grayson to hit a running knee on Marshall. Cabana’s discus lariat is good for the pin at 7:03.

Rating: C. See, now this was more like it. Not because the wrestling was better or anything, but because there was an actual story here and the slightest bit of doubt over who could win. That’s such a relief and a nice change of pace after all of the noncompetitive matches with people who aren’t all that interesting. Why not do more like this?

Brandon Cutler vs. Peter Avalon

Neither has ever won a match around here and Leva Bates is here with Avalon. They slug it out and head outside for a bit until Cutler sends him back inside for a springboard clothesline. They head outside again with Avalon spinning around the post to avoid going head first into the steel. Avalon is sent inside but comes right back with a suicide dive. Back in and a Rock Bottom gives Avalon two and we hit a quickly broken Boston crab.

Cutler is back with a reverse inverted DDT for two so Avalon comes back with a tiger driver for the same. The split legged moonsault gives Avalon another near fall but Cutler knocks him down and hits a springboard elbow for a closer two. They both head up top and slug it out to send them both to the floor. Neither can get back in thanks to some saves from the other…and it’s a double countout at 6:45.

Rating: C. That’s the only way to go, but most importantly here is that it took place on Dark. This match has a story and the two of them have a history, but it is the kind of match that could only fit on this show. The action was pretty good too, so it was a

Dontae Smiley/Maxx Stardom vs. Best Friends

Chuck drives Stardom into the corner to start and hits a kick to the face to send him over for a tag. It’s off to Smiley, who gets headlocked takeoverd but a running knee takes him right back down. Trent forearms him in the corner and it’s back to Stardom, who hits a spinning bulldog out of the corner. That earns him a suplex down and everyone heads to the floor. Trent spears Stardom down and it’s Soul Food into the half and half back inside. The stuff piledriver into the piledriver gives Trent the pin at 5:36.

Rating: C-. I for one certainly needed to see the Best Friends again as being on every show is not the easiest thing in the world to accomplish. They played it a little more serious here though and that helped a bit. I’m still not a fan of the Trent’s mom’s van deal, but it’s the closest thing we can get to making it work.

Private Party/Gunn Club vs. Dark Order

Billy headlocks Reynolds to start and stares Reynolds down for daring to try a chop. It’s Reynolds being taken into the corner for some work on the arm. Austin comes in to do the same and there’s a backdrop for two. Reynolds drives him into corner though and it’s time for the villains to beat him down. That doesn’t last long either though as Austin drives him back into the corner for the tag to Marq Quen.

An atomic drop looks to set up the shooting star as everything breaks down. Quen’s leg is grabbed and it’s Grayson pulling him down for two off a crash. We hit the reverse chinlock for a bit until Quen it taken back into the corner to keep up the stomping. Uno’s brainbuster gets two with Kassidy making the save, leaving him to get out of trouble with his own with a double hurricanrana.

A roll over to the corner allows a nice hot tag to bring Billy back in. Everything breaks down but the Fameasser is broken up by Reynolds pulling Billie outside. Everything breaks down and it’s the Fameasser for Grayson but Billy gets pulled to the floor. The Fatality finishes Austin at 10:42.

Rating: C. Another not terrible match here, though I’m surprised by Gunn taking the fall. I get that Billy is the legend (work with me here) here around AEW and they don’t want to have Private Party lose, but it still felt off. The Fatality did look good though, which is usually the case for a nice ending.

The Dynamite preview takes us out.

Overall Rating: C-. There wasn’t much wrestling worth going out of your way to see here and it was another long show on top of that. Some of the matches did feel a little more important here, which helped somewhat, though it was still a show that you don’t need to see with a bunch of wrestlers who are on here almost every week. Just more of the same, which means it wasn’t very good.

Results

Brandi Rhodes b. Red Velvet – Queenslayer

Butcher and Blade b. Daniel Garcia/Kevin Blackwood – Full Death to Garcia

Penelope Ford b. Dani Jordyn – Fisherman’s suplex

Brian Cage b. Megabite Ronnie – Drill Claw

Santana and Ortiz b. Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison – Kick to Pillman’s head

Will Hobbs b. Jessy Sorensen – Oklahoma Stampede

Diamante/Ivelisse b. Rache Chanel/Skyler Moore – Kick to Moore’s face

Colt Cabana b. QT Marshall – Discus lariat

Brandon Cutler vs. Peter Avalon went to a double countout

Best Friends b. Dontae Smiley/Maxx Stardom – Piledriver to Stardom

Dark Order b. Private Party/Gunn Club – Fatality to Gunn

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

Dark
Date: August 4, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Taz

Things are getting interesting around here again as the road to All Out is getting bigger and bigger. The most important thing we seem likely to be seeing is Maxwell Jacob Friedman challenging Jon Moxley for the World Title. I’m not sure how much we will be seeing of that round here, but at least they seem to have a goal in mind about a month out. Let’s get to it.

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

Tony and Taz give the usual quick preview.

Will Hobbs vs. Scorpio Sky

Hobbs jumps him in the corner to start and hits a good spinebuster for two. Sky slips out of a powerslam though and hits a running kick to the back of the head in the corner. The TKO gives Sky the pin at 1:15. Well that worked.

Post match Sky puts a chair in the ring and calls it symbolic. Lately, people have been calling him the king of AEW Dark so this might as well be a throne. Sky does not like the idea of that being his ceiling because he is one of two people to pin Chris Jericho around here. You people have forgotten who he is so say the name and remember it. Nice promo here and I could go for more from him.

Gunn Club vs. Serpentico/Aaron Solow

Serpentico dives at Billy’s leg to start to no avail. Billy kicking him in the face works a lot better and it’s off to Austin, who runs Serpentico over for two. Serpentico gets him into the corner though and Solow comes in, only to be quickly armdragged. Solow hits a slingshot stomp but Austin kicks Serpentico away. That’s fine though as Solow is right there with a basement clothesline to keep Austin down. Austin sends them into each other though and rolls over for the hot tag to Billy. A missed charge sends Serpentico outside and Austin hits the Fameasser on Solow. The hiptoss neckbreaker finishes Serpentico at 5:26.

Rating: D+. The Gunn Club is just there at the moment as a way to get Austin on TV. He isn’t exactly making me all that interested but I’ll take him over Billy doing his old shtick again. They’re harmless as a Dark team and the match could have been worse, as we at least got a fresh jobber pairing to fed to them.

Sonny Kiss/Joey Janela vs. The Initiative

Janela’s headlock doesn’t get him very far with Cutler so he grabs a running rollup to send Cutler into the corner. It’s off to Kiss so Cutler ducks underneath him and dives onto Janela on the floor. That’s fine with Kiss, who hits his own dive to take Cutler down with a DDT. A running hurricanrana takes Avalon down but he pops back up to take Kiss into the corner. That doesn’t last long either though as Janela comes in for a Hart Attack. Part of the Motor City Machine Guns’ Dream Sequence gets two as Taz talks about being buried online.

Janela hits a running forearm to knock Avalon up the ramp but misses a charge to send himself into the set, hurting his arm in the process. Back in and Avalon works on the banged up shoulder, followed by more of the same from Cutler. Janela dives for the tag but gets driven back into the corner. As you might have guessed, the hot tag goes through a few seconds later and Kiss gets to clean house. Janela throws Avalon at Leva Bates but takes too long, allowing Cutler to escape.

Cutler gets shoved off the top and into a fireman’s carry from Avalon, allowing Kiss to hit a top rope Blockbuster to take them both down. Avalon is back up with a middle rope Russian legsweep for two on Kiss, followed by Bates hitting a Sliced Bread off the post to drop Janela. Back in and Janela is already up on the apron again, allowing Kiss to make another tag. Janela throws Avalon into an electric chair and Kiss adds the top rope splits splash for the pin at 9:38.

Rating: C. The match was entertaining but you really can see how little of a traditional structure their tag matches have. This was about pumping as many spots as they could into a single match and while that wasn’t bad, it does get a little repetitive at times. Janela and Kiss are getting better as a team, though I’m still not sure I can imagine seeing them get much higher up the card than they are now.

Abadon vs. KiLynn King

King goes straight at her to start and they head to the mat for the slugout. Abadon is sent outside where she whips King into the barricade. Back in and King is sent face first into the mat, only to come back with a middle rope dropkick. It’s Abadon getting back up first though (in a rather creepy way) but King gets two off a release German suplex. Abadon doesn’t mind though as she kicks her in the face and hits the hurricanrana driver for the pin at 4:08.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have much time here and that was possibly better for Abadon. What makes her work so well for the most part is having her out there in a quick match and let her do her creepy thing. King is someone who could go somewhere if she had a character or story of some sort but the potential is there.

Jack Evans vs. QT Marshall

Angelico and Allie are the seconds. Marshall takes him into the corner for a clean break and they trade wristlocks. Evans flips out of a hiptoss and adds a handstand kick to the face. Taz thinks Tony would be over huge if he could do that as Evans hammers away in the corner. A middle rope spinning crossbody is countered into a suplex from Marshall and they head outside for a bit. Angelico offers a distraction and Evans hits a running flip dive to take over.

Back in and Evans flips around before poking him in the eye, setting up something like an Octopus hold, with Evans hanging in the air off of Marshall’s shoulders. Marshall gets out and counters Evans’ springboard with a powerslam for the big crash. A pop up right hand gives Marshall two but Evans kicks him in the head. The standing corkscrew moonsault gives Evans two and draws Allie up to the apron. Angelico uses the distraction to get in a cheap shot though and Evans grabs a backslide with a flip over for the pin at 8:24.

Rating: C-. That might be the biggest upset ever on this show, assuming you consider it to be that big of an upset. Evans and Angelico are a nice midcard heel team and it’s nice to see them back after such a long time away. Allie and Marshall continue to be a weird combination, but I don’t think I can picture anything happening to them anytime soon.

Post match the beatdown is on until Dustin Rhodes makes the save.

FTR vs. Griff Garrison/Brian Pillman Jr.

Points for Pillman for getting as much ring time as he can. FTR seems to get some advice from Tully Blanchard before they come through the entrance. Harwood and Pillman start things off and it’s a quick standoff. A wristlock doesn’t last long for Harwood as Pillman flips around and kicks him in the head. After the Hollywood Blonds camera work, Pillman allows the tag off to Wheeler, who chops away rather hard. Pillman is back up with a high crossbody and a superkick, allowing the tag to Garrison.

Harwood pulls him down by the hair but he’s back up with a heck of a right hand to Wheeler. Pillman is back in with a running shot in the corner and an armbar. Wheeler powerslams his way to freedom though and it’s Harwood tying him in the ropes to strike away. A kick to the head almost gets Pillman out of trouble but Wheeler drags him right back to the corner. Pillman slips out of of a gordbuster and rolls over to bring in Garrison….who walks into the Goodnight Express for the pin at 6:20.

Rating: C. I liked the ending to this one as it was a nice twist on the usual story. Instead of going with Garrison cleaning house and going into the ending sequence, they just knocked Garrison silly for the pin. Pillman continues to look young but full of potential and that’s a place that he can grow from in a big way.

Post match we see Shawn Spears watching FTR.

Butcher and the Blade vs. Private Party

Butcher easily drives Quen into the corner to start and it’s off to Butcher vs. Kassidy. This time it’s Kassidy being brought into the corner and the beating is on in a hurry. A hiptoss into a dropkick gets Kassidy out of trouble but Blade cuts him off with a hot shot. Butcher comes back in and hits a running clothesline in the corner. The quick tag brings Quen back in though and everything breaks down. Blade is sent outside, where he helps break up Silly String so Butcher can plant Quen to take over again. Some corner clotheslines give Butcher two and it’s time to stand on Quen’s throat.

The chinlock goes on for a few seconds but Quen sends Blade into the middle buckle. The hot tag brings in Kassidy, who mostly misses a springboard Stunner to knock Blade off the apron. A springboard flipping Stunner to Butcher works a bit better and it’s already back to Quen. Butcher gets double drop toeholded onto Kassidy’s knees for a standing moonsault to the back from Quen. Blade shoves Quen off the top for a big crash to the floor, leaving Kassidy to miss his Swanton. The suplex onto Blade’s knees is enough for the pin at 8:48.

Rating: C+. It really is amazing how much better it is to have even a pair of midcard teams like this fighting each other on this show. They give us something a little more interesting and makes the stakes feel somewhat higher. On top of that, the match wasn’t too bad as it felt a lot more structured than a lot of AEW matches, even though the ending wasn’t in the most doubt.

The Dynamite preview wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C. The length was a lot better on this show and it made things easier. The biggest problem with a show being that long continues to be that it feels draining to look over and see how much longer there is. They kept this show short and to the point, with only a handful of matches and the winners getting to showcase themselves a little bit more than usual. In other words, doing what should be the point of the show.

Results

Scorpio Sky b. Will Hobbs – TKO

Gunn Club b. Serpentico/Peter Avalon – Hiptoss neckbreaker to Serpentico

Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss b. Initiative – Top rope splits splash to Avalon

Abadon b. KiLynn King – Hurricanrana driver

Jack Evans b. QT Marshall – Flipping backslide

FTR b. Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison – Goodnight Express to Garrison

Butcher and The Blade b. Private Party – Suplex onto Blade’s knees 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: AEW

Dark
Date: June 9, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur

Last week’s show was a nice change of pace as it was down to about forty five minutes, making things feel a lot better. This week though it’s a different world as we have World Champion Jon Moxley in action. Hopefully the show is as easy to watch as it was last week. Let’s get to it.

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

Taz and Excalibur welcome us to the show.

Fuego del Sol/Low Rider vs. SCU

Kazarian legsweeps del Sol to start and it’s quickly off to Sky for a knee to the ribs. A butterfly suplex gives del Sol two and Rider comes in with a springboard missile dropkick for the same. Rider misses a charge in the corner though and it’s a hot tag to Kazarian to clean house. The hiptoss neckbreaker hits del Sol (always looks cool) and SCU Later finishes him at 2:58.

Alan Angels joins the Dark Order and is renamed 5.

Lee Johnson vs. 5

Some more of the team is here with 5. Johnson shrugs off the beating in the corner to start and dropkicks 5 to the floor. Back up and 5 sends Johnson arm first into the post and starts working it over. A fireman’s carry slam plants Johnson but he’s right back up with some clotheslines. The leg lariat drops 5 and he gets knocked to the floor for a big running flip dive. Back in and the Blue Thunder Bomb gives Johnson two but 5 hits a hanging DDT onto the apron. Brodie Lee comes out to watch as 5 hits a modified Backstabber (boots instead of knees) for the pin at 5:20.

Rating: C. The match was pretty much skippable but what matters is they gave Angels something to do after some rather impressive performances on this show. That opens up some doors as it gives the wrestlers an added incentive to work hard around here while also boosting the company’s roster. That’s a good sign going forward and a smart thing to do.

Post match, the rest of the Dark Order, minus Lee, beats down Johnson.

Santana and Ortiz vs. Musa/Brady Pierce

Ortiz flips Musa down by the arm to start and they trade some standing switches. A rake to the back keeps Musa in trouble and a sitout powerbomb makes it worse. Pierce’s save fails as both of them are sent outside for a moonsault from Santana. Back in and Santana throws Musa into the corner for the tag to Pierce, who misses a quick moonsault attempt. Pierce and Musa are laid on top of each other in the corner for the assisted Cannonball. The Street Sweeper finishes both of them at 5:09.

Rating: C-. Santana and Ortiz are getting more and more entertaining every week, which says a lot given how good they were in the first place. They’re the kind of team who works so well together and it’s fun to see how well they gel as a unit. Give them some big matches already because they can hang with (if not beat) any team in the company.

QT Marshall tells Dustin Rhodes that their tag match is now a singles match for himself. Dustin isn’t pleased and seeing the Natural Nightmare shirts that Allie made doesn’t make it better. Brandi gets a special one and asks who the f*** this is for, as it’s about three sizes too big.

Butcher And Blade vs. Pineapple Pete/Anthony Catena

Butcher drives Pete into the corner to start and goes Arn Anderson with an eye rake across the rope. It’s off to Blade for a beating in the corner as the announcers run down the name Pete (which is an inside joke of course). A fisherman’s neckbreaker into a fisherman’s DDT plants Pete and it’s off to Catena. Blade hits a Stunner into Butcher’s hard clothesline and the running powerslam gets two. The suplex onto Blade’s knees finishes Catena at 3:59.

Rating: D+. It isn’t often that getting rid of the talented manager makes things that much better but it was the case here. Butcher and Blade were little more than heel goons to start so it is nice to see them getting to do something for a change. The match was total destruction, and that’s a nice way to rebuild a team like Butcher and Blade.

QT Marshall vs. Zack Clayton

Allie, Brandi Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes are all here with Marshall, though Allie goes over for commentary. Marshall knocks him down to start as Allie talks about all of the training she has been putting Marshall through. Clayton sends Marshall over the top so he skins the cat but Clayton dropkicks him to the ramp. That’s enough to send Allie down to ringside as Clayton hammers away even more back inside.

A knee drop gives Clayton two and the powerslam is good for the same. Clayton goes for the turnbuckle so Brandi gets on the apron, only to be knocked down onto Dustin. Marshall uses the distraction to hit a Lethal Combination as Brandi is clutching her wrist. Allie claims a broken nail so Marshall checks on her, much to Dustin’s annoyance. Allie grabs Clayton’s leg (it isn’t clear if Marshall saw it) and the Red Delicious is enough to give Marshall the pin at 5:19.

Rating: C-. The match was nothing of course but it’s rather nice to have a story going on around here. It’s not a hard story to set up with Marshall siding with Allie over the team, though it’s not like Allie has been completely evil or seems to have some other motivation. Maybe that comes later though, as you know a Rhodes story is going to get the attention.

Christopher Daniels vs. Sonny Kiss

Daniels slams him down to start and works on the arm but Sonny bounces out of a wristlock. The armbar has Daniels in trouble and it’s an armbar into another one. Let’s do that a third time until Sonny gets two off a forearm. The fourth armbar goes on and you can feel Daniels’ frustration setting in. Back up and Daniels sends him hard into the corner, setting up the STO into a Crossface.

Sonny grabs the rope and a much more aggressive than usual Daniels stomps away in the corner. Sonny fights back with a dropkick into a hurricanrana, setting up the standing hurricanrana for two. A victory roll gets the same and there’s a spinning kick to Daniels’ head to drop Daniels again. Daniels counters a quick flip though and kicks him in the ribs, setting up the Angel’s Wings for the pin at 8:25.

Rating: C. This was more interesting from Daniels as he is better as a heel than a face. It certainly wasn’t a full on face turn or anything, but it was cool to see him showing a different side of himself. Let some of that aggression out, especially when he is against someone whose style might frustrate him. If nothing else, a split from SCU could be rather interesting.

Jurassic Express vs. Peter Avalon/Brandon Cutler

Marko Stunt is wearing Luchasaurus’ shin guards, which look like chaps on him. See it’s funny because he’s small. Avalon laughs off the idea of facing Stunt so Luchasaurus comes in to chop him over to Cutler instead. Cutler tries to bail to the floor but gets grabbed by the head and pulled back inside. A superkick gives Luchasaurus two but Cutler scores with an enziguri.

That just earns him a wheelbarrow suplex and it’s off to Stunt, who is dropped down onto Cutler for two more. Avalon comes in and gets caught in a super hurricanrana but Stunt spends too much time looking at Leva Bates. That lets Avalon slam him off the top and Cutler slaps on a torture rack (Taz: “The Total Package Brandon Cutler.”). Stunt gets out of a gorilla press and tornado DDTs Avalon, allowing the hot tag to Luchasaurus.

House is cleaned in a hurry and it’s time for Cutler and Avalon to fight. Stunt dives onto both of them but gets caught and tossed onto Luchasaurus. He throws them right back for a double knockdown but Avalon kicks them both down. Avalon hits a sunset bomb into a slingshot elbow from Cutler. Luchasaurus dodges a double running knee and nips up before Stunt springboards in with an armdrag to Cutler. Stunt hits his own Tail Whip and a double chokeslam finishes Avalon at 10:38.

Rating: D+. Remember every complaint I’ve ever had with Stunt matches? It was all of the same ones here, with so many “See, he’s SMALL” deals that it gets annoying in a hurry. I can’t quite say Cutler and Avalon are above this, but egads man. How many people have to be in the ring with him and not just pummel him into a pulp?

Jon Moxley vs. Robert Anthony

Non-title and Brian Cage is standing near commentary. They wrestle to a quick standoff to start and Anthony bails to the floor to get out of a headlock. Moxley trips the leg to take Anthony down, which Taz says he saw coming because he knows this stuff. That’s where Taz can be really really valuable as he’s viewed as someone with a knowledge of this stuff and can explain it very well.

Moxley takes him down again and goes to the arm as Cage doesn’t look overly impressed. Anthony is sent outside for a suicide dive, with Moxley coming up favoring his shoulder a bit. Back in and Moxley starts in on the leg with some dragon screw legwhips and the half crab. A release suplex drops Anthony again and it’s time to wrap his back around the post. There’s a Hartbreaker around the post but Anthony grabs a quick tilt-a-whirl faceplant.

Taz is losing his mind over Anthony not covering and going for a surfboard instead, which is pretty sound advice. Moxley’s Gotch style piledriver is countered into a Death Valley Driver for two. The Paradigm Shift is countered as well but Moxley slams him off the top. A double chickenwing slam plants Anthony for a surprise two so it’s the Texas Cloverleaf to make him tap at 13:10.

Rating: C-. This was an angle rather than a competitive match and commentary did a great job of making the story clear. Moxley was trying to show off in front of Cage and didn’t take Anthony seriously until the ending, when he finished Anthony pretty much with ease. That’s a good way to go, and I’m not sure how the title match is going to play out. It’s nice to have that feeling and hopefully they can keep it up. Also, big points to Taz here, who called the match perfectly given the circumstances. He stood out here, which is rare for commentary.

A quick Dynamite preview takes us out.

Overall Rating: C-. The show is watchable and it’s nice to have some bigger names and angle advancement, but it’s the same thing I ask almost every week: why does it need to be this long? You had eight matches here and two of them had any major (or even moderate) angle advancement. You couldn’t cut out two of those? Say the SCU match and Jurassic Express? Those matches don’t make the show any bigger of a deal and just extend it longer than it needs to be. Just let them have the night off instead. It’s not that important to get them in the ring every week and it makes the show feel long, which isn’t good.

Results

SCU b. Fuego del Sol/Low Rider – SCU Later to del Fuego

5 b. Lee Johnson – Backstabber

Santana and Ortiz b. Musa/Brady Pierce – Double pin after a Street Sweeper

Butcher and Blade b. Pineapple Pete/Anthony Catena – Suplex onto Blade’s knees to Catena

QT Marshall b. Zack Clayton – Red Delicious

Christopher Daniels b. Sonny Kiss – Angel’s Wings

Jurassic Express b. Peter Avalon/Brandon Cutler – Double chokeslam to Avalon

Jon Moxley b. Robert Anthony – Texas Cloverleaf