Dynamite
Date: April 15, 2026
Location: Angel Of The Winds Arena, Everett, Washington
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Bryan Danielson

It’s the first show after Dynasty, which was another good pay per view that ended with MJF retaining the World Title over Kenny Omega. That is the kind of ending that would leave you wondering where the title picture is going next, but this isn’t the most common situation. In this case we have Darby Allin coming after the title after beating Andrade El Idolo on Sunday. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynasty if you need a recap.

MJF arrives and ignores Renee Paquette but talks to Don Callis. After an exchange of pleasantries and praise, MJF says Andrade will never be title material because he screwed up. Renee finally yells at MJF to get his attention: Allin wants his title match TONIGHT and it’s RIGHT NOW. MJF: “WHAT THE F***???”

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Darby Allin

MJF is defending but hang on because he says this isn’t happening and threatens to sue everyone from Allin to that pervert Justin Roberts. MJF says that Allin is talented but not that good so…and Allin cuts him off. Allin says you only need one night to turn the wrestling world on its head.

He’s crying as he talks about how he hung posters for this show. He worked so hard to get here and climbed Mount Everest and now he wants the World Title. RING THE BELL! Actually hang on as Bryan Danielson grabs the mic and says Tony Khan agrees that it isn’t fair for MJF to defend the title on no notice. So he can defend it against Allin….in tonight’s main event or be stripped of the title. MJF is ticked and Allin is thrilled. No match here.

After Dynasty, Kenny Omega didn’t have much to say but ran into Will Ospreay in the trainer’s room. Omega doesn’t think he has much time left but Ospreay has the heart of a wrestler and years to go. Ospreay wants the World Title and thinks Omega can do it too. He calls Omega his hero and leaves. The hero bit gets to Omega, who thinks he might still have a chance and asks for the cameras to be cut. This was good stuff, as Omega being the legend who isn’t sure if he has it anymore and Ospreay as the current version of what Omega used to be is interesting.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Dezmond Xavier

Ciampa stomps away to start fast and sends him into the barricade. Xavier flips over the steps and sticks the landing, followed by a dropkick back inside. Ciampa is ready for the dive and it’s a staredown as we take a break. We come back with Ciampa grabbing a chinlock and throwing up the bicep.

Xavier fights up and strikes away, setting up a middle rope tornado DDT for two. The 450 misses though and Ciampa hits a discus forearm, only to get knocked out to the floor. Xavier hits a dive and now the 450 connects for two. Ciampa knees a springboard out of the air though and Project Ciampa connects. The running knee finishes Xavier at 9:38.

Rating: B-. Ciampa continues to do his thing and should be moving up to the next level at some point. They had a good, fast paced match as Ciampa cut off the high flying and won in the end. I’m not sure where Ciampa is going, but he’s done well with everything he’s done around here thus far. Just find something bigger for him to do.

Post match Ciampa says he wants it all. As in the World Title. Well that’s bigger. Ciampa gets in a cheap shot on Xavier before leaving.

Video on MJF vs. Darby Allin, including MJF beating him with an armdrag takeover.

Here is FTR, with Stokely, for a chat. Harwood talks about how the fans are losers, just like Adam Copeland and Christian Cage when they lost at Dynasty. Stokely talks about all of the teams FTR has beaten and Wheeler wants a moment of silence for Copeland and Cage. We go old school with a ten second pose from FTR to wrap it up.

TNT Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kevin Knight

Knight is defending after winning the title on Dynasty. Some early rollups give Knight two and he dropkicks Castagnoli out to the floor. Castagnoli is back up with an uppercut and a hard slam, followed by the neck crank. That’s broken up and Knight sends him outside for a dive as we take an early break.

We come back with Castagnoli missing an elbow and getting rolled up for two. A top rope clothesline hits Castagnoli and Knight grabs a slam of his own. Castagnoli is sent outside for a big running flip dive and they head right back inside. The super hurricanrana is blocked, as is the super Neutralizer (because that might hurt a lot).

Knight tries a super DDT, which is countered into…something close to a pop up uppercut (it didn’t seem to make contact but fair enough as that was a pretty complicated spot). Knight is back up and springboards into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, meaning it’s time to go Swinging. A catapult sends Knight into the corner but he bounces back with a spinning clothesline. The UFO Splash retains the title at 9:44.

Rating: B. I could go for more of Knight as he’s getting better and more confident in the ring almost every day. That’s a great thing to see as Knight has all kinds of talent and it works to have him in the ring like this. At the same time, Castagnoli is someone who is at his best when he is making someone else look good and beating him clean still feels like a pretty big deal. Nice match.

Post match Knight praises Castagnoli and says he’s not mad at Mike Bailey about losing the Trios Titles. This is moving through another door and he’s ready to go.

Video on Ricochet beating Chris Jericho at Dynasty.

Here is Jericho for a chat. Jericho soaks in some cheering before saying he might have lost at Dynasty because he was down 3-1. Cue the Demand, with Ricochet saying he had the chance to win on Sunday by using what is now the Ricosault. Now Jericho should just leave for good as we’ve seen everything he has.

Jericho thinks Ricosault is a brutal name and keeps calling out Ricochet for being bald while issuing the challenge to come down here one on one. Ricochet gets in the ring and Jericho beats him up, only for the Gates Of Agony to come in and drop Jericho without much trouble. Ricochet even adds a Ricosault. So who does Jericho get to help him?

At Dynasty, Konosuke Takeshita mocked Kazuchika Okada after their loss, which Takeshita intentionally caused.

Will Ospreay vs. Hechicero

Hechicero’s CMLL World Title isn’t on the line. Hechicero takes him down by the arm to start before going after Ospreay’s taped up neck. A headscissors is broken up but Ospreay’s neck is in trouble. Ospreay is able to hit a running hurricanrana into a slingshot dive and we take an early break.

We come back with Hechicero hitting his swinging hammerlock backbreaker. Hechicero spins the neck around and Ospreay has to bail out to the floor. Back in and Hechicero grabs the surfboard but Ospreay escapes for a handspring kick to the head. Hechicero gets up and takes his straps down, allowing Ospreay to fire off some chops. The Hidden Blade is countered into a headscissor driver and we take another break as the medics look at Ospreay’s neck.

We come back again with Hechicero choking on the apron and then knocking him out to the floor. A top rope elbow to the back of the neck gives Hechicero two but Ospreay hits a Stundog Millionaire. Ospreay kicks him in the head but the Oscutter is blocked. Hechicero tries the cross armbreaker so Ospreay stands up and reversed into the Styles Clash (that was slick). The Hidden Blade finishes Hechicero at 17:56.

Rating: A-. You know what this was? An awesome comic book miniseries. Hechicero wasn’t going to beat a star like Ospreay but the superhero fought back against the lesser known villain and beat him after an entertaining fight before moving on to the bigger issues. You could see Ospreay trying to find a way around Hechicero’s skills and hit his big shot, which is exactly what happened in the end. Awesome match here and I got way into this.

Post match Mark Davis runs in to take out Ospreay and gives him a piledriver.

After being attacked by Kamille at Dynasty, Willow Nightingale says she’s ready to take Kamille out on Dynamite.

Renee Paquette is here to talk to…someone but Thekla interrupts. She says the Toxic Spider is in the house and brags about beating Jamie Hayter. Cue Alex Windsor who wants a fight of her own and calls out Thekla for getting fired from Japan. Thekla: “I did not get fired from Japan! Ok I did get fired from Japan!”

Japan couldn’t handle her, just like Windsor can’t do it. The challenge is on and here are the Sisters Of Sin, who are taken out just as fast. Thekla is one of the best, or certainly most entertaining, on the mic in the company, with her firing line being hilarious. Even if she just slipped up, she rolled with it and it worked fine.

Jon Moxley, with the Death Riders, doesn’t feel bad about going after Will Ospreay’s neck to beat him at Dynasty. He’ll be facing Nick Wayne on Collision and doesn’t know much about him, so hopefully Wayne has a surprise.

TBS Title: Willow Nightingale vs. Kamille

Nightingale is defending and strikes away to start fast. Kamille is back to work on the bad arm and twists it down as we take an early break. We come back with Nightingale sending her into the corner for the Cannonball. A running X Factor and Rough Ryder give Kamille two so she tries a cross armbreaker. Nightingale stacks her up for two and sends Kamille into the corner. A backslide retains the title at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Well that came out of nowhere. I’m not sure what the point was in having Kamille come back to win a squash at Dynasty and then lose in a title match three days later. I like Nightingale getting this kind of a win, but this felt like it was rushed through at the last minute rather than at the beginning, which is basically the case coming straight off of a pay per view.

Hikaru Shida and Kris Statlander are ready to win at Collision. Well Shida is at least, as Statlander can’t get a word in edgewise.

Darby Allin is asked about the main event….and Sting shows up. Allin says it’s showtime, but Sting says it’s YOUR time. Allin has to win here right? Like….he has to right?

AEW World Title: Darby Allin vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Allin is challenging and after the Big Match Intros, MJF backs away and asks for time. MJF gives the ring to the referee and uses the distraction to kick Allin low. Allin shoves MJF away though and the referee ducks, allowing Allin to hit a low blow of his own. The Scorpion Death Drop sets up four straight Coffin Drops….and Allin grabs a headlock takeover for the pin and the title at 2:15.

The locker room comes out to celebrate with Allin and even Grandpa Sting shows up for the big feel good moment.

Whoo boy. Ok then. I’m not a big Allin fan, but this couldn’t have gone much better. Allin is someone who has felt ready to move up to the title picture more than once and they threw a curve ball by having him do it this way. They had the very nice touch thrown in of MJF cheating first so Allin’s low blow was evening the score instead of cheating as well.

The headlock takeover was great as well and the whole thing went so fast that you were left wondering if it would actually happen. Normally I would say “save it for the PPV”, but I like the change of pace here with the out of absolutely nowhere ending. It is absolutely not something you can do very often, but if you nail it like this, it’s ok if done very infrequently. Great moment.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah this went pretty great, with the outstanding shock title change unfortunately overshadowing an incredible Ospreay vs. Hechicero match. There wasn’t much else worth seeing on the show, but I’m thinking a 1-2 punch like they had here was more than enough. I’m not sure I’d call this a big reset, but it was a huge moment in the end and that went about as perfectly as possible. Awesome show here, though I have no idea where things are going from here (which isn’t a bad thing).

Results
Tommaso Ciampa b. Dezmond Xavier – Running knee
Kevin Knight b. Claudio Castagnoli – UFO Splash
Will Ospreay b. Hechicero – Hidden Blade
Willow Nightingale b. Kamille – Backslide
Darby Allin b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Headlock takeover

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

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

Collision
Date: March 7, 2026
Location: Tucson Arena, Tucson, Arizona
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We are eight days away from Revolution and the card has mostly already come together. There are still a few spots to be filled though and some of those might be taken care of this week. Other than that, the Tag Team Titles are on the line here as the Rascalz challenge FTR. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Rascalz

FTR, with Stokely Hathaway, is defending and Myron Reed is here with the Rascalz. Wentz takes Wheeler down to start so it’s off to Harwood for a hiptoss. Harwood takes him into a corner for a slap, only to get slapped out to the floor. Xavier comes in and slugs away but gets elbowed in the face. With Xavier on the floor and fighting off both champions, Wentz is there with a big corkscrew dive to take out FTR.

Back in and Wentz stomps on Harwood’s arm, setting up a quickly broken armbar. Harwood takes Wentz outside and suckers him into a clothesline from Wheeler. We take a break and come back with Wentz kicking FTR down and rolling through the legs for the tag off to Xavier. Harwood isn’t having any of this comeback thing and drops Xavier with a clothesline as everything breaks down.

The Rascalz hit stereo dives and Wentz hits a Swanton for two back inside. Wheeler takes Xavier out on the floor and Harwood’s top rope belly to back superplex gets two on Wentz. Harwood and Wentz strike it out until Wentz gets a small package for two. The Hot Fire Flame (or Flash according to Nigel) hits raised knees and FTR is back with a BTE Trigger to Wentz. The Tony Khan Driver is broken up though and Wentz strikes away, only to walk into the Shatter Machine to retain the titles at 15:06.

Rating: B+. There was no reason to believe that FTR was losing the titles here but I was pulled into the match well enough that I was buying some of the Rascalz’s near falls. That takes quite the effort and they made it work here. FTR gets to show what they can do, which is a nice reminder as they have mainly just been talking on the way to Revolution.

Post match Mark Briscoe comes out to do commentary for the next match and has a tense yet respectful meeting with FTR.

Anthony Bowens tells Hook he can be a killer so Hook says take over the camera from Katsuyori Shibata. Hook then Redrums a random wrestler and has Bowens follow them.

Daniel Garcia vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Mark Briscoe is on commentary. Ciampa wrestles Garcia to the mat to start and Garcia is in the ropes for a trip to the floor. Back in and Ciampa fires off some running chops in the corner, followed by a Garcia style dance on the middle rope. Garcia slips out of a suplex though and dragon screws the leg, which is wrapped around the post.

We take a break and come back with Garcia diving into a jumping knee to the face to leave both of them down. Ciampa knees him outside for some rams into the announcers’ table but Garcia gets in another dragon screw legwhip. The STF is broken up so Garcia dropkicks him into the corner instead. Garcia hammers away, only to be reversed into Project Ciampa for two. Back up and Garcia goes outside to shove Briscoe, with the distraction allowing Ciampa to be shoved into Briscoe. Garcia grabs a rollup to pin Ciampa at 10:18.

Rating: B-. The midcard is starting to develop a bit more and that is nice to see, especially with a title not being directly involved. You need to be able to do something away from championships all the time and this is getting somewhere. It helps that Briscoe and Ciampa are both a blast and Garcia is good enough in the ring to hang in there with them. Nice match here.

Post match Garcia leaves and Ciampa wants nothing of Briscoe’s handshake. Cue FTR and Stokely Hathaway again to go after Ciampa. Briscoe gets in to even things up before any violence breaks out and Ciampa is appreciative. Then Ciampa jumps Briscoe and lays him out with a knee.

Video on Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita, which went to a time limit draw in the Continental Classic.

Swerve Strickland vs. Gravity

Prince Nana is here with Swerve, who kicks Gravity down to start and seems rather confident. Gravity is back with a kick between the shoulder blades, which just seems to annoy Swerve. That earns Gravity a knockdown on the apron and a Swerve Stomp, allowing Swerve to go after the mask. Another Swerve Stomp connects inside and the House Call finishes at 4:00.

Rating: C. It wasn’t quite a squash but this was Swerve coming in and mauling Gravity for the most part. That’s what the match should have been, as Swerve is starting to feel it with his new heel style and this kind of a win makes him look dangerous. Swerve is one of the best things going in AEW today and seeing him back it up in the ring is rather fun to see.

Kris Statlander wants Thekla one more time at Revolution, 2/3 falls.

Post break here is Thekla to say no in a variety of languages. Since when does she have to listen to some b**** from outer space? What even makes Statlander think she can win twice in one night? Thekla sent Thunder Rosa back to the graveyards. Everything Statlander is afraid of is what Thekla is. Great line to end a kind of odd promo, though Thekla’s charisma carries everything.

We get a clip of Renee Paquette’s interview with Jon Moxley, who knows he can beat Konosuke Takeshita at Revolution.

LFI vs. The Swirl vs. Private Party vs. Outrunners

For $200,000 and Dalton Castle is on commentary. Johnson headlocks Magnum to start and it’s off to Dralistico to run Quen over. LFI takes Quen outside for some whips into the barricade, with Kassidy being whipped around as well. Back in and the Swirl/LFI hit some running splashes to Kassidy, followed by a quadruple dropkick. Dralistico is back up with a heck of a springboard hurricanrana to Christian and Rush drops Johnson as we take a break.

We come back with Kassidy backdropping his way out of trouble and handing it back to Floyd. Castle loses his mind as Floyd cleans house, including Christian being superplexed onto a pile at ringside. LFI breaks that up but Kassidy takes them out, only for Dralistico to hurricanrana him off the apron. Back in and Rush’s Bull’s Horns is cut off by Quen but the Swirl is back in with a poisonrana. The top rope Canadian Destroyer drops Quen for two, with Kassidy making the save. Private Party hits their top rope double stomp/neckbreaker combination and a Doomsday Cutter gives Kassidy the pin on Johnson at 11:52.

Rating: B-. This was your weekly “here are a bunch of people going nuts for awhile” match and that’s not a bad way to go. The money prizes don’t exactly feel important, but at least Private Party got to do something for a change. They’re a team who could be given a shot here or there, but this might be the best they can do for the time being.

We look at the Don Callis Family winning the Trios Titles on Dynamite.

Jet Speed will be teaming with Mistico against the Family for the titles at Revolution. That’s a great example of a match that doesn’t need to be on pay per view, or even Zero Hour. Anyway, Swerve Strickland comes in to tell Kevin Knight to be more of a killer.

Megan Bayne and Lena Kross jumped the Babes Of Wrath earlier today.

Megan Bayne/Lena Kross vs. Timeless Love Bombs

Bayne powers Shirakawa (Nigel calls her the former Ring Of Honor Women’s TV Champion when it was actually the INTERIM Women’s Champion. Geez get your totally unnecessary titles right McGuinness.) until Storm comes in for the save. That earns the Bombs stereo fall away slams but Storm gets the tag to come in and clean house. Some hiptosses and a hip attack to the face have Bayne down and Shirakawa hits a big dive to the floor to take out both villains.

Storm is staggered though and Bayne is up with a heck of a dive of her own to put the Bombs down again. We take a break and come back with Storm fighting out of the corner and rolling over for the tag to Shirakawa. A springboard tornado DDT and La Mistica put Bayne down, followed by something like a spinning Big Ending to drop Shirakawa onto her. Bayne is back up to fall away slam both of them, leaving Kross to hit a Tower Of Doom.

We hit the parade of strikes until Storm DDTs Bayne, who gets caught in Shirakawa’s Figure Four. Kross and Storm take turns turning the hold over until Kross actually breaks it up. Cue Marina Shafir to choke Storm under the ring, leaving Kross to Jackhammer Shirakawa for the win at 12:47.

Rating: C+. It’s kind of sad that my first though was “how does Shirakawa get pinned this time?”. One would think that somebody with that kind of talent and charisma would be able to do something other than lose all the time. Instead, she’s basically the designated jobber and that’s a bit sad to see. At the same time, Kross has fit in rather well with Bayne, as a pair of monsters like that will always have a place in a tag division.

Mark Briscoe says he’s known Tommaso Ciampa for a long time but something has felt off. Then tonight Ciampa jumped him and that’s the Ciampa he knows. Now Ciampa is aligned with FTR so Briscoe will just team with Dem Bucks on Dynamite.

The Dogs vs. Cosmo Quarry/Gino Catanari/Kayden Monroe

I’m going off my best guess for the latter’s names as there’s no graphic. Kidd knocks all three of them down and one heck of a powerbomb knocks Monroe silly. An implant DDT, a piledriver and a suplex knee to the face finish Monroe at 1:46. Total decimation and the Dogs looked impressive.

Here is a ticked off Toni Storm who wants to face Marina Shafir at Revolution, seemingly anything goes. Then she wants her title back.

We look at Persephone winning the CMLL Women’s Title from Mercedes Mone last night.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Non-title and Jon Moxley is on commentary. They go to the mat to start with Takeshita working on the leg. Back up and they trade running shots in the corner, with Castagnoli getting to stomp him down. Takeshita hits a leg lariat but gets his arm snapped across the top rope to put him in trouble. A hurricanrana takes Castagnoli down and Takeshita sends him face first into the buckle over and over.

We take a break and come back with Castagnoli taking him down by the arm but not being able to keep a short armscissors. Back up and Takeshita forearms him out of the air before snapping off a suplex. Castagnoli is right back with a Swing into an armbar with the legs tied up.

That doesn’t last long either as Takeshita is up with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Castagnoli fights back again and throws in some chairs, allowing him to grab the CMLL World Title. Hechicero comes in to take it away, allowing Takeshita to hit a running knee for two. Another knee is blocked and they trade the big forearms. The Riccola Bomb is countered though and the running knee into Raging Fire finishes Castagnoli at 14:36.

Rating: B. This was Takeshita’s warmup for the match with Moxley at Revolution and that’s a great spot for Castagnoli. It’s pretty firmly established that Castagnoli isn’t going to be THE guy, but having him as Moxley’s policeman is a good fit for him. Let him play to his strengths and make Takeshita look good, which is exactly what happened here. Sidenote: like him or not, Moxley is actually pretty good at commentary, as he sounds like he is having a great time out there every time.

Post match the Don Callis Family and Death Riders brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Another rather good Collision again, as they don’t have matches or angles that really extend stories but they have solid in-ring action. That was the case again here and I had a good time watching the whole thing. Collision works best when they don’t do much talking and that was what they did again here. Rather fun show and the time flew by for a change (but please don’t make the overruns a thing here too).

Results
FTR b. Rascalz – Shatter Machine to Wentz
Daniel Garcia b. Tommaso Ciampa – Small package
Swerve Strickland b. Gravity – House Call
Private Party b. LFI, The Swirl and Outrunners – Doomsday Cutter to Johnson
Megan Bayne/Lena Kross b. Timeless Love Bombs – Jackhammer to Shirakawa
The Dogs b. Cosmo Quarry/Gino Catanari/Kayden Monroe – Suplex knee to Monroe

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

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

Dynamite
Date: August 27, 2025
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Excalibur, Ian Riccaboni, Taz

We’re done with Forbidden Door, back in the United States, and the show is in some holy ground at the old ECW Arena. That is the kind of thing that can make a show even better than it would be otherwise, which will very likely be the case again here. The pay per view ended with Will Ospreay being laid out by the Death Riders, which probably won’t go well. Let’s get to it.

Here is Forbidden Door if you need a recap.

The set definitely has a bit of an ECW flavor to it, which is rather logical.

Here are FTR and Stokely Hathaway to get things going. After some technical issues, Dax Harwood talks about how the illegal man pinned him at Forbidden Door. Harwood brings in referee Paul Turner, who has been doing this for 27 years and whose wife is here tonight. He refuses to reverse his decision so Stokely gets in his face. Cue Adam Copeland, allowing Christian Cage to sneak in from behind and jump FTR. The Canadians appreciate the reaction and the match is officially announced for All Out.

Darby Allin, with his bad ear, wants to take everything from Jon Moxley. He talks about crying over the bodies on Mount Everest and thinks about Moxley taking everything from him. At All Out, he’s taking everything from Moxley.

Jon Moxley vs. Daniel Garcia

The Death Riders are here with Moxley. They go with the grappling to start and Garcia takes him to the ground. Back up and Moxley sends him into the corner for some rakes at the eyes, only for Garcia to dragon screw leg whip him down. The running dropkick sends Moxley into the barricade but the Riders’ distraction lets Moxley get in a big boot. Cue Matt Menard to help Garcia back inside and yell at Marina Shafir (who still has the briefcase key despite the lack of briefcase). Garcia goes for the leg again and Moxley bails outside as we take an early break.

We come back with the two of them on top and Garcia hammering away. A top rope superplex drops Moxley and some clotheslines put him down again. Moxley is right back up with a cutter for two but Garcia slaps on a half crab. That’s broken up as well and they go to the apron with Moxley DDTing him onto the steps. Back in and Moxley’s cross armbreaker is countered into the Dragon Slayer, which is escaped as well. Garcia hits a piledriver but Moxley is right back with a small package for the pin at 13:58.

Rating: B. This was a nice back and forth match, with Moxley selling the leg a bit more than I was expecting. Moxley needed the win and it isn’t like Garcia is going anywhere anytime soon. Garcia still has enough status to do something around here and this was a good way to use him. With Moxley getting ready for Allin, he could use some wins like this, though I wouldn’t give him the best odds at All Out.

Post match Wheeler Yuta gets the mic and turns down Darby Allin’s challenge for All Out.

Post break, Yuta is still in the ring and talks about how he grew up around here and used to be on the ring crew. He has broken bones in this building and now look at what he has been doing. Will Ospreay, Chuck Taylor and Bryan Danielson are all gone and Yuta has taken Danielson’s place. Cue the returning Hook to lay Yuta out and leave without saying a word.

MJF rants about how he had the World Title won but Mark Briscoe cost him the title. The only mistake he made was not lighting Briscoe on fire so he’ll get his revenge later. Now he can’t even use his contract at any time because of Tony Khan (because that’s how contracts work) so he’ll be coming for Hangman Page, but this time for his soul. Fired up stuff from MJF here.

Penelope Ford/Megan Bayne vs. Kris Statlander/Harley Cameron

Statlander chops Ford into a dropkick to start and a backbreaker into a lariat makes it worse. Cameron comes in and gets dropped onto Ford to give Statlander two. Bayne comes in so Cameron demands a shot, with Bayne easily pulling her out of the air. Ford drags Cameron into the corner and we take a break.

We come back with Bayne tossing Ford at Statlander for a cutter. The villains miss stereo moonsaults though and Cameron is back up with an assisted faceplant to Bayne. Back up and Bayne kicks Cameron in the face but Statlander hits a nice spinning lariat. Statlander and Bayne trade big boots to the face but Ford comes in off a blind tag. That’s fine with Statlander, who pulls Ford out of the air and grabs something like a reverse Rings Of Saturn for the tap at 10:13.

Rating: B-. Well you put Ford out there with Bayne for the sake of taking a fall and that’s exactly what we had here. Cameron being back is good and the fans are still reacting to her, but it’s only getting her so far. Other than that, Statlander looked like she was able to hang in there with Bayne, which means we could be in for a heck of a hoss fight in the near future.

Post match Bayne jumps Statlander again but gets knocked to the ropes as Willow Nightingale runs in. Cameron tries to negotiate peace and things seem to be at least decent.

Renee Paquette, with most of Mercedes Mone’s titles on a table, brings out Mone for a chat. Paquette recaps Mone’s recent success and Mone brags about being the greatest of all time. She’s ready to smash Ultimo Dragon’s record of ten titles at once and is NOT happy with the idea that Alex Windsor made her tap. She was swatting a bug away, but maybe Windsor is upset that Mone was dancing all over Will Ospreay. Mone threatens to put Windsor in a hospital next to her husband and now it’s time to dance. And scene. Really she just came out there, showed off her belts, said she didn’t tap and then danced.

Mark Briscoe talks about this place being EXTREMELY important to the Briscoes’ history and presents what I’m assuming is his newborn son (who can’t be more than a few weeks old). He’ll deal with MJF, but he recently heard Kyle Fletcher saying his name. Briscoe has beaten him before, so now he wants Fletcher and the TNT Title.

Don Callis Family/Kazuchika Okada vs. Jet Speed/Bandido/Brody King

As usual, Don Calls handles (and butchers) Hechicero’s intro in Spanish. Hechicero and Bandido trade rollups to start in a preview of their match at Friday’s Death Before Dishonor. King comes in to strike away at Alexander and Takeshita before Jet Speed gives Alexander a release gordbuster. Alexander fights back but Okada and Takeshita both want the tag, meaning it’s a bit of a glare among partners. King is back up with a running flip dive to the floor, followed by another dive from Bandido as we take a break.

We come back with Knight trying to fight over for a tag but getting sent into the wrong corner. A double dropkick gets Knight out of trouble and the much needed tag brings in King to clean house. Everything breaks down (as you probably expected) and Hechicero gives Bandido a swinging hammerlock backbreaker. King cuts Hechicero off and it’s back to Bailey for the moonsault knees to Takeshita.

The villains run in for the save but Takeshita pulls Bailey out of the way before Okada can hit a clothesline in the corner. Takeshita hits his own clothesline and gets glared at and shoved by Okada, with King pulling Takeshita outside. Back up and Takeshita hits a big running flip dive, leaving Alexander to get caught with a super hurricanrana. Alexander rolls away from the Ultimate Weapon though and cradles Bailey for the pin at 11:19.

Rating: B. Obviously the big story here is the distention with the villains, as Takeshita continues to feel like he could become a major breakout star if given the chance. If he’s going to become the one who turns on Callis and company, the sky could be the limit for his potential. Aside from that, King and Bandido didn’t get much of the focus here, with Alexander getting the pin on Bailey being quite the odd way to go.

Here is Hangman Page for a chat. He shouts out Will Ospreay and says everyone will miss him while he’s gone. Page hopes that when Ospreay comes back, he can challenge for the World Title. We move on to MJF, who now has to wait a week before he can cash in his contract, which is going to earn him an even bigger beating.

Cue Don Callis to interrupt, talking about their history together. Page won his World Title from one of Callis’ men, but that man was a weakling. Calls says he has half the roster under contract so it is a matter of time before someone takes it from Page. The question is which one will it be, so here is the Family. Page goes after them first, with a bunch of other good guys coming in for the brawl. Kenny Omega (the aforementioned weakling) makes the real save and poses with Page. That’s how Omega is best used, as he felt like the superstar here.

Toni Storm mocks Athena for losing on Sunday and says Mina Shirakawa (“the Love Bum”) is going to take the title. She asks about Mina’s hand, earning her a slap. Storm: “By God you’re back!” Shirakawa wants to win the title so the two of them can dance on top of the arena. We cut to Athena, who says she wants to throw Shirakawa off the roof and promises to do things that will make the Blue Meanie quiver (there’s a sight).

Trios Titles: The Opps vs. Ricochet/Gates Of Agony

The Opps are defending. Hobbs gets annoyed at Ricochet’s chops to start and tosses him into the corner, only to miss a charge. Shibata comes in to forearm it out with Kaun, with Shibata pounding him down into the corner. Back up and Shibata is sent outside, where Ricochet and company stomp him quite a bit as we take a break. We come back with Kaun striking away at Shibata, who manages an STO.

Hobbs and Liona come in for the big slugout, meaning Hobbs gets to fire off the clotheslines in the corner. A double clothesline staggers both of them and it’s off to Joe to slug away at Ricochet. The snap powerslam into the backsplash gives Joe two but the Gates come in to take Joe down. Ricochet’s running shooting star press gets two, only for MVP to sneak in with a cane shot to put Ricochet down. That’s enough for Shibata to kick Ricochet to the Koquina Clutch for the win at 10:24.

Rating: B-. Nice match here, though there was only so much you could get out of a match with about a third spent in a commercial. The good thing is the Opps are getting to defend the titles, though it’s not the best idea to have them running through challengers like this. At least they had an out so the team is far from done, though I’m not sure who is next to come after the titles.

Post match the Hurt Syndicate comes out to brawl with the Gates.

Darby Allin vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Falls Count Anywhere. Castagnoli jumps Allin from behind in the back and puts him in a shopping cart for a crash. They go into the arena, where Castagnoli swings him into the barricade for two. Allin manages to get inside for a suicide dive and a dropkick against the barricade, followed by a dive off the lighting structure for two of his own. Back in and Castagnoli takes over again before telling commentary to move. They get up, allowing Castagnoli to launch him onto the announcers’ table as we take a break (at a minute before 10pm EST).

We come back with Castagnoli dropping him onto the apron as there are a bunch of tables and chairs in the corner. Allin grabs a quick guillotine choke and then a sleeper but Castagnoli flips him away. Castagnoli misses a charge through the table in the corner but he’s able to catch Allin on top. The gutwrench superplex onto the pile of tables gives Castagnoli two so he powerbombs Allin through the table in the corner. Allin reverses a catapult into the corner into a double stomp, followed by a Code Red for two. The Coffin Drop finishes for Allin at 14:35.

Rating: B-. This was the “we’re in the ECW Arena so here’s a violent match” main event of the week and that’s fine. I hope they don’t do it every show for the entirety of their run here but it worked well enough here. Allin needs to start racking up some wins before he gets to face Moxley at All Out (as he obviously will) and they accomplished that rather well. Beating Castagnoli only means so much, but it’s better than nothing.

Post match the Death Riders run in and go after Allin, who manages to send Moxley and Kidd together and escape to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. They were in a tough spot with this one as they had the fallout from Forbidden Door but All Out needs to get set up in a hurry. You can see a lot of what is coming at the next pay per view already coming together and what we got here was a nice first step. It’s nice to be getting back to a more normal build after the Forbidden Door stuff requires some adjustments, so hopefully things continue in this more traditional direction.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Daniel Garcia – Small package
Harley Cameron/Kris Statlander b. Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford – Reverse Rings Of Saturn to Ford
Don Callis Family/Kazuchika Okada b. Jet Speed/Bandido/Brody King – Cradle to Bailey
Opps b. Ricochet/Gates Of Agony – Koquina Clutch to Ricochet
Darby Allin b. Claudio Castagnoli – Coffin Drop

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

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Dynamite
Date: August 13, 2025
Location: Andrew J. Brady Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

We have about a week and a half to go before Forbidden Door and the show could use some build, as there are only a few matches set up. MJF seems to be coming after the World Title and has that contract waiting if he wants to use it. There is always the chance for some shenanigans there too, though MJF also has to deal with the Hurt Syndicate. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here are MJF and Hangman Page for a face to face chat to get things going. MJF says Page is the main character and he is the main antagonist of AEW. He wants Page to be as angry as possible and the only reason Page is still standing is MJF hasn’t broken him yet. Page doesn’t like being called Seabiscuit and brings up that Seabiscuit wins in the end. He wants MJF to execute the contract already, like a man would.

MJF says Page is the real problem, even if people treat him like he’s perfect. Page can’t be all good and MJF is planning to expose him as a weak minded, depressed, alcoholic little boy. The difference is that MJF is real and he’s going to crucify Page. That doesn’t work for Page, who knows his faults like no one else.

If MJF wants to talk about Forbidden Door, he can use that contract he has to take his shot but he’s afraid. MJF should know that AEW is about going all in so prove that he is not a scared little boy. That’s finally enough for MJF to agree to use the contract. Why do I have a feeling that there’s going to be some kind of shenanigans in how he worded that?

We recap Darby Allin challenging Jon Moxley for Forbidden Door.

Hometown star Moxley, with the Death Riders, says whatever Allin thinks is happening at Forbidden Door isn’t happening.

Jon Moxley vs. Kevin Knight

The Death Riders are here with Moxley and Mike Bailey is here with Knight, who stomps Moxley into the corner to start. Moxley is fine with winning a chop off and sends Knight outside to hammer away. Knight is able to jump up to the apron for a nice dropkick and they’re back inside. That doesn’t last long as Knight sends him to the ramp for the running clothesline but Moxley sends him crashing into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Knight fighting out of a crossface but getting pulled into another neck crank. That’s broken up as well and Knight hits a dropkick before biting Moxley’s hand. They go up top, where Moxley rakes him across the back, only for Knight to grab a top rope superplex. A cutter out of nowhere drops Knight for two but he’s right back up to send Moxley outside. The slingshot dive connects but the UFO Splash hits knees back inside. Moxley chokes him out at 13:44.

Rating: B-. Knight gets a nice rub by being in there against Moxley, though there was pretty much no way he was going to win here. Moxley is trying to get back on track after losing the World Title and the big match against Darby Allin, whenever that happens, could get him there. Or it could be another big hit for the Death Riders, which would be rather nice to see.

Post match the choke stays on so Bailey comes in, earning himself a beating as well. Cue Darby Allin with a body bag and a skateboard for the save. Wheeler Yuta is put in the body bag but Moxley breaks that up. Allin is put in the bag instead and Castagnoli gives him the spinning torture rack slam. The villains get a chair but Will Ospreay is back for the real save. Ospreay says he and Moxley can both bring their friends to Forbidden Door for a lights out steel cage match. Well yeah I’d say that counts as different.

We recap FTR attacking Adam Copeland, who wants revenge.

Mercedes Mone/Thekla/Skye Blue vs. Alex Windsor/Queen Aminata/Willow Nightingale

Hold on though as here is Toni Storm to cheerlead in the crowd…but Athena is (elsewhere) in the crowd too. Blue and Windsor start things off with Windsor running her over. Nightingale comes in for the rapid clotheslines in the corner so it’s off to Mone. Aminata gives her a swinging full nelson (screaming ensues) and Windsor gets in some slams. Windsor is caught in the wrong corner for some choking though and we take a break.

We come back with Nightingale giving Blue a Death Valley Driver as everything breaks down. Nightingale cleans house and gets two on Thekla, followed by Aminata’s running side slam for the same. Windsor Russian legsweeps Mone into a basement clothesline for two but has to go after Blue. Everything breaks down again as Storm and Athena approve from the crowd. Blue superkicks Windsor but charges into a spinebuster and the Sharpshooter for the tap at 9:56.

Rating: C+. Windsor has gotten a heck of a nice push since showing up a few weeks ago. I’m not sure if that’s going to get her any gold anytime soon, but at least she’s getting a chance to do something. If nothing else, she’s already getting to go after Mercedes Mone so there is something to build on from here. The rest of the women were pretty much just there to keep things going, but the match was good enough.

Post match Storm and Athena get in a brawl in the crowd and the six in the ring start brawling again. Athena and Storm wind up on the ramp with Storm fighting back and saying we can do this in Scotland. Storm and Windsor get to tango a bit.

Will Ospreay has been talking to some New Japan stars and can confirm that Hiroshi Tanahashi is on his team. As Renee Paquette is doing the interview, Ospreay asks to talk to her husband next week.

Adam Copeland vs. Stokely Hathaway

Justin Roberts calls him Cope but commentary and the chyron say Adam Copeland and that’s good enough for me. FTR is banned from ringside and Hathaway has to be dragged to the ring by security. Hathaway’s attempt at a spear does nothing to Copeland, who punches Hathaway in the mouth. They go to the floor, where Copeland does a quick audience poll, with the fans not liking Hathaway that much.

Apparently he has no chance of getting any women either, with Copeland asking one woman if Hathaway has a shot. Woman: “Is this a serious question?” Back in and the spear drops Hathaway so here is FTR…who can only watch as Copeland hits another spear. FTR finally come in, which breaks their restraining order, but Copeland beats them down anyway. Another spear to Hathaway is cut off by some powder for the DQ at 4:23.

Rating: C. This was about exactly what it was clearly going to be, with Hathaway having no chance against…well anyone really. It was more a matter of waiting for the screwy finish and FTR had to get involved with the match somehow, just so Copeland can go after them later. The survey thing was funny enough, so call this a decent joke fight.

Post match Copeland gets beaten down until Christian Cage, with Spike, runs in for the save. Nick Wayne tries to jump Cage with a chair but Cage uses Spike to knock it out of his hands. The fans certainly seem to approve and Cage hands Spike to Cope. We get the big hug and the tag match is pretty much a matter of time.

We get what looks like a shot of the New York skyline and an H spotlight comes on.

Young Bucks/Don Callis Family vs. Brody King/Hologram/Tomohiro Ishii/Hiromu Takahashi

The Bucks still can’t get their entrance right, with Justin Roberts referring to them as “these guys”. Takahashi is a big surprise and slugs it out with Fletcher to start. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Bucks superkick Roberts to….why would that make me boo them? Hologram hits a big flip dive onto the pile and we take a break.

We come back with King clotheslining all four villains down and Cannonballing Fletcher. Another flip dive takes the Bucks down on the floor but Alexander gets in a shot to cut King off. Fletcher knocks Takahashi off the apron, which is enough of a distraction for King to get in a shot of his own. Ishii comes in to clean house but Hologram’s 450 hits raised knees. Takahashi cuts off the Bucks but gets World’s Strongest Slammed onto the apron. King is dropped on the ramp and we take another break.

We come back with Hologram grabbing some hurricanranas and bringing Takahashi back in to make the comeback. Alexander is dropkicked into Fletcher in the corner but the Bucks hit Takahashi with a standing assisted Sliced Bread. Fletcher shoves Takahashi, who quickly kicks his way out of trouble. Alexander can’t hit the C4 Spike so Takahashi gives him a Downward Spiral for two instead. King is back up with the suicide dive, setting off a string of various dives. Back in and Takahashi gives Alexander the Time Bomb for the pin at 16:25.

Rating: B+. This was the traditional wild multi man tag match that AEW tends to do well. As usual, Alexander takes the pin, which is kind of annoying as he never had much of a shot to stand out, but you can’t have Fletcher lose and the Bucks have been jobbing a good bit lately. Granted it might make sense for them to do it again, but at least the match was rather entertaining.

Renee Paquette’s audio isn’t working for an interview on the ramp. After a bit of a delay (it happens), she brings out Swerve Strickland for a chat. Strickland won’t say if he is medically cleared or not because all he cares about is beating Kazuchika Okada. Cue Okada to say Strickland has no chance. Strickland just asks “Whose house?” so Okada does his catchphrase. Security has to break it up rather quickly.

Jon Moxley is told Will Ospreay has Hiroshi Tanahashi for his Forbidden Door team. Moxley: “Tanahashi Tanahashi?” He goes to the jobber dressing room….and apparently recruits the Young Bucks. Ok points for a funny visual.

Confirmed for Forbidden Door: Adam Copeland/Christian Cage vs. Nick Wayne/Kip Sabian (remember FTR are still alive in the #1 contenders tournament so they might be busy that night) and the cage match, with the Death Riders/Gabe Kidd/Young Bucks vs. Will Ospreay/Darby Allin/Hiroshi Tanahashi/Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi.

Opps vs. La Faccion Ingobernable

Non-title. Hobbs blasts Mortos with a flying shoulder and it’s quickly off to Joe to beat on Dralistico. Shibata comes in but gets caught in the wrong corner for some running clotheslines. We take a break and come back with Dralistico working on Shibata’s leg and Rush adding the cocky kick to the face. Shibata gets up and trades the strikes with Rush in the corner. Another big shot is enough for the tag off to Hobbs to clean house. Joe comes in rather quickly and Koquina Clutches Dralistico for the win at 8:58.

Rating: C+. They only had so much time here, especially with so many people involved. At the same time, it’s nice to have Joe back, as you can only have so much with having two of the three Trios Champions around. I’m not sure why this couldn’t be a title match as the belts have only been defended once since mid April, but odds are they’ll be on the line at Forbidden Door.

MJF jumps Hangman Page in the parking lot and rams his head into a car hood over and over to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. While it was a bit of a step down from last week’s outstanding show, this was still quite a good show with more than enough to keep me interested. Forbidden Door got a huge boost this week with the cage match being set up, plus the big Copeland/Christian reunion. That was the important moment and now the question is when they get to face FTR. Solid show again here.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Kevin Knight – Choke
Alex Windsor/Queen Aminata/Willow Nightingale b. Mercedes Mone/Thekla/Skye Blue – Sharpshooter to Blue
Adam Copeland b. Stokely Hathaway via DQ when Hathaway used powder
Hiromu Takahashi/Hologram/Tomohiro Ishii/Brody King b. Don Callis Family/Young Bucks – Time Bomb to Alexander
Opps b. La Faccion Ingobernable – Koquina Clutch to Dralistico

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

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Dynamite
Date: May 28, 2025
Location: El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ian Riccaboni

We’re done with Double Or Nothing and that means it is time to start getting ready for All In, which is about a month and a half away. That is going to be one of the biggest AEW shows in history and we now have two of the top matches already set. Hangman Page and Mercedes Mone will be challenging for the World and Women’s Titles and they’ll likely have a lot to say. Let’s get to it.

Here is Double Or Nothing if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tony Schiavone brings out Hangman Page for a chat. Page talks about how fleeting triumph can be, but the same is true for loss. At Double Or Nothing, they both knew that one of them would lose and thank you Will Ospreay for giving him the fight of his life. Ospreay can be the man who carries this company forward, but one of them won. This victory is fleeting as well though, because it is time to hand off the Owen title, because someone will win it next year.

Now it is time to win the World Title, which has been locked in a briefcase for seven months. That title was supposed to be a symbol to everyone and he promises to win the title, which will be held high for all to see. Cue Swerve Strickland to interrupt and he shows us a clip of why he’s here. We see a clip from April 9, with the Young Bucks saying they came back to cost Swerve the World Title. Back in the ring, Swerve says he had the title won, but then the Bucks cost him.

Page was in the ring at the same time and Swerve is calling collusion on this. Swerve wants a straight answer: did Page have anything to do with what the Bucks did? Page: “Well, dumba**,”. Page says that he even considered helping Swerve at Dynasty but he implies he wasn’t working with the Bucks. Swerve: “You’re still full of s***.” Cue Will Ospreay to say he doesn’t want to do this but he tells Swerve that he’s wrong about Page. On Sunday, Page came back to the ring and helped him up, which is what Swerve did to him last year.

People are starting to believe in them again, and the reality is that Page is the guy who can get the title back. They have one shot at this and they need to work together. Swerve slaps the mic from Ospreay and he insists he will NEVER work with Page. That seems to be mutual from Page, who storms off as well. This is very reminiscent of Cody Rhodes and company coming together to take the WWE Championship from Roman Reigns and that is a story worth doing again.

Video on Anarchy In The Arena.

Death Riders vs. Willow Nightingale/Mike Bailey/Mark Briscoe

Kidd and Briscoe slug it out to start and everything breaks down in a hurry. Bailey hits a running kick to Moxley and Briscoe adds a big flip dive as we take a break. Back with Briscoe getting over for the tag off to Bailey, who fires off the kicks to Moxley. The double tag brings in Shafir and Nightingale to slug it out with Nightingale hitting a spinebuster for two. Shafir comes back up with a shot of her own and it’s back to Bailey vs. Moxley.

They waste no time in going outside, where Moxley throws him over the barricade for a crash as we take another break. Back again with Bailey being dropped over the top rope and kicked in the face. Bailey comes back up with some kicks to the chest and the standing moonsault knees hit Kidd.

Briscoe comes in to clean house, including a dropkick through the ropes to Moxley. Bailey hits a dive of his own and Briscoe’s Froggy Bow gets two on Kidd. Claudio Castagnoli offers a distraction but here is Komander (facing Castagnoli on Collision) to take him out. Moxley uses the distraction to come in and choke Briscoe out for the win at 18:42.

Rating: B-. Pretty standard six man tag here and the two breaks in the middle cut off some of the momentum. At the same time, this felt like the way for the Death Riders to get some momentum back after Sunday’s loss. The match is nothing that hasn’t been done multiple times around here but the flips were good enough.

MJF is ready to help the Hurt Syndicate retain the Tag Team Titles against anyone. It’s just business.

Penelope Ford and Megan Bayne want revenge on Anna Jay and Harley Cameron in a No DQ match.

Ricochet talks about wanting to get some gold around here but he sees how things are going around here. It’s clear that he needs a group and we’ll be working on that.

Megan Bayne/Penelope Ford vs. Anna Jay/Harley Cameron

No DQ and it’s a brawl on the floor to start with the weapons being brought in fast. A trashcan lid to the back gets two on Ford with Bayne making the save. Bayne shrugs off a chair shot and hits a double clothesline but gets knocked down again. That means it’s time to get the table and we take a break. Back with Bayne getting chaired in the head, sending her off the apron and through a table. That doesn’t last long either and it’s Bayne getting back up to send Cameron face first into the steps. Back in and Bayne clotheslines Jay down, setting up a Doomsday Device for the pin at 11:01.

Rating: C+. This was what the Double Or Nothing match should have been, as it was all about making Bayne look like a killer. She smashed through the two of them and it made for a great showcase. Ford was there as well, with Jay and Cameron being good cannon fodder. Bayne feels like she is on the way up again, and that is as obvious of a move as you can get.

Mercedes Mone arrived in a low rider.

Opps vs. Frat House

Non-title and the Frat House is from Ring Of Honor. Joe is not impressed at Jakked Jameson’s discussions of recruitment parties and the beating is on fast. Joe hammers away and it’s off to Shibata, who shrugs off some forearms and marches at Garrison, even as Garrison forearms away. It’s off to Hobbs for some clotheslines so some of the pledges come in, earning a string of spinebusters. A less than great looking spinebuster gives Hobbs the pin at 3:13.

Rating: C. Total destruction here and that’s what it needed to be. Hobbs looked good enough (save for that not very good spinebuster finish) and that’s something that needs to happen every so often. Occasionally you need a team to just smash through everyone in front of them and the Opps know just how to do that.

Renee Paquette brings out Jamie Hayter for a chat. Before she can say much though, the lights go out and Thekla, formerly of Stardom and recently of the spiders on screen, is here to lay Hayter out.

Video on Mistico, who isn’t on the card tonight. So they promote him when he isn’t there and don’t promote him when he is there?

TNT Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Adam Cole

Cole is defending. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. Cole knocks him into the corner for some stomping and SHOUTS HIS NAME. A superkick sends Fletcher outside but RPG Vice is there to cut off a dive. Cue Paragon to take them out, leaving Fletcher to give Cole a TERRIFYING apron powerbomb, with Cole’s head slamming into the apron as we take a break.

Back with Fletcher hitting a spinning slam but Cole catches him with a superkick. Cole strikes away and hits a Death Valley Driver onto the knee for two. The Panama Sunrise is blocked so Cole goes with a brainbuster onto the knee. Cue Josh Alexander to jump Cole for the DQ at 9:35.

Rating: B-. They were starting to roll before the DQ and it seems like we have the Paragon vs. Don Callis Family coming for the next few weeks. There is a good chance that one of them will take the title from Cole, which is not a bad way to go. This was a good match, but dang Fletcher needs to work on that powerbomb, because that could have gone far worse.

Post match the beatdown stays on until Brody King makes the save with a chair.

Brody King vs. Josh Alexander

For a spot in a four way International Title match next week. They go straight to the brawling with King getting the better of things. They go outside where King gets in a few shots, only to be knocked up against the barricade. Alexander sends him into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Alexander working on the arm but King hits a hard clothesline. They brawl out to the apron, where Alexander snaps off a German suplex. King shrugs that off and hits the running crossbody against the barricade. The Cannonball misses back inside though and Alexander locks up the apron. As tends to be the case, that’s broken up rather quickly so Alexander goes with the bridging German suplex for two. King raises the knees to cut off the moonsault and the Ganso Bomb finishes Alexander (who was busted open somewhere in there) at 14:11.

Rating: B. Take two big guys, have them beat the fire out of each other for the better part of fifteen minutes until one of them can’t get up. King needed the win after a stretch of bad results, though Alexander could use a good one of his own. Either way, good, hard hitting match here, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

Here’s what’s coming on Collision.

Adam Cole and Kyle Fletcher get in another fight in the back.

Here is Mercedes Mone for a chat. Mone talks about what it means to win the Owen Hart tournament (which she ties into Eddie Guerrero) but here is Toni Storm to cut her off. Storm says Mone has never spoken to her and she told Anthony Khan how much she wanted this match. So what took so long? Mone says this is about her because she is the Beyonce of women’s wrestling. They met years ago and Mone is no longer a Boss but rather a CEO. Storm talks about how they were in the same place and now they are in AEW where they can be their real selves.

The difference is while Mone wants all of the titles, Storm only needs one (that’s a great line). Storm has bled, cried and died for the Women’s Title. They will meet in 45 days and a little girl will be watching. That little girl will say “holy s*** these b****** are crazy” and Storm will still be timeless. Mone says it’s time for Storm to come to an end. Mone offers a handshake and Storm kisses it, leaving them to both miss their finishers, sending Mone running to end the show. This felt like a major showdown and that’s what it needed to be, as this is probably going to be the second biggest match at All In.

Overall Rating: B. That ending segment boosted this up a bit as I want to see Storm and Mone fight. Other than that, the show was the usual collection of good action as we move towards the four way next week, plus All In a little over a month from now. Good, hard working fallout show from the pay per view, but now it’s time to get ready for All In and that’s going to be difficult.

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

Dynamite
Date: April 9, 2025
Location: Baltimore And Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with Dynasty and that means both Double Or Nothing and All In are on the horizon. Well the distant horizon but the horizon nonetheless. Jon Moxley is still the World Champion and will need a new challenger, which we should get closer to finding if the Owen Hart Cup continues tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynasty if you need a recap.

Jon Moxley, with the Death Riders, talks about how the roster might be talented but no one can get together to take him out. The Young Bucks have returned and Moxley sees it as a power play. He doesn’t recognize the Bucks anymore and he hasn’t in a long time. They better think before they make a move.

Jon Moxley vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Non-title and Marina Shafir is here with Moxley. They go with the grappling to start and Shibata gets on a quickly broken headscissors. Back up and they fight over a lockup until Shibata hits a rather loud chop. Shibata then stands still so Moxley can chop him, with the exchange of chops going to Shibata as Moxley staggers. An Octopus goes on but Moxley slips out and grabs a piledriver…with Shibata not even going down and kicking Moxley in the chest. Moxley goes to the eye though and gets a rear naked choke for the win at 5:39.

Rating: C+. There wasn’t much to see here as this was more about seeing Moxley get a win over someone talented. Yes Moxley cheated to get the win, but this didn’t exactly make me think much of Shibata as a result. Moxley being in the ring is slightly better than him talking, but that’s not much of a bar to clear.

Post match the Young Bucks come out, with Moxley saying something we can’t hear and leaves with Shafir. The Bucks talk about costing Swerve Strickland the World Title, which was a favor to Hangman Page, who is still their friend. As for helping the Death Riders, consider it a peace offering. The Bucks and the Death Riders have a lot in common, as they both want the locker room to rise up and make AEW better so they can change the world. They couldn’t even get the World Title so what about the Death Riders and the Elite together?

Cue Kenny Omega to say the Bucks didn’t seem to remember him as part of the Elite. The last time he saw them, they were shoving Omega off a stretcher during the height of his diverticulitis. When Omega was in high school, he had a friend with two dogs who were kind of annoying. The dogs kept relieving themselves and it became a bit hard to take, so Omega suggested that they move it to his house instead.

That’s how AEW was without Omega around to clean up after the Bucks. The last time we saw the Bucks, they were shredding documents, which was to cover up various expenses they had billed to AEW. Omega didn’t like the Bucks trying to kill the company he gave his life to so let’s just fight.

Cue Kazuchika Okada but Swerve Strickland comes through the crowd with a chair (Omega looks surprised) to chase the Elite off. Omega shows some respect/thanks to Strickland before leaving in peace. Strickland says it is time to go Buck hunting and he’s ready to blast them. The Bucks just couldn’t leave well enough alone…and here is Pac from behind to jump Strickland before their scheduled match. The more I see the Elite talking about their backstage stuff, the more it feels like a less interesting McMahons saga.

Pac vs. Swerve Strickland

We come back for the opening bell, with Swerve hitting a Snake Eyes into a running big boot. Swerve knocks him outside but Pac flips over him, only to get buckle bombed for his efforts. Pac gets sent outside…and he grabs his ankle and goes down. The referee holds Swerve back as Pac gets up and rolls back inside. Swerve hits a superkick and the Swerve Stomp finishes Pac off at 4:16.

Rating: N/A. I’m not going to rate the match, which was only getting going before Pac seemingly got injured. Assuming that’s a legitimate injury (and it seems to be given how fast they went home), we’ll just have to hope for the best. Swerve was probably going to win anyway, but they just stopped cold out there and that’s never a good sign.

Ricochet, Cru and the Beast Mortos are ready for an eight man tag for $400,000. The other three aren’t happy about the idea of Ricochet being the captain.

Mark Briscoe, Will Ospreay, Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight talk about what they might use their winnings on. Bailey wants shoes, Knight wants to go to Atlantic City, Ospreay wants to go to Disney World and Briscoe…wants to diversity his portfolio.

Commentary recaps the evening so far.

We look back at the first round of the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament, including the matches still to come.

Renee Paquette talks to Hangman Page, who doesn’t know what to say because he’s facing a wild card in the Owen Hart Cup. He storms into Swerve Strickland’s locker room but only finds Prince Nana. Page was NOT trying to help Swerve at Dynasty and if Swerve gets involved in his tournament matches, he’ll pick up where he left off. Nana goes to say something to Page, who cuts him off and storms out.

Ricochet/Cru/The Beast Mortos vs. Mark Briscoe/Will Ospreay/Mike Bailey/Kevin Knight

The winning team gets $400,000. Ricochet starts with Bailey but immediately tags out to Mortos instead. Bailey is fine with kicking away before scaring Ricochet outside again. Ospreay comes in and gets taken down in the corner, where Cru gets to stomp him down. Everyone comes in and Ricochet runs his mouth enough that he gets pummeled. The villains are sent into the corners for right hands to the head, followed by a toss to the floor.

A string of dives, capped off by Bailey’s moonsault, drops everyone again. Ricochet tries a dive but has to land on his feet, earning a quadruple shot to the head in a funny bit. We take a break and come back with Bailey kicking away at Mortos, who catches him with a Backstabber. Ricochet comes in but misses Bailey, instead settling for knocking Bailey’s partners to the floor.

Bailey does the same to Ricochet’s partners but gets caught with a jumping double stomp. Everything breaks down and we hit the parade of knockdowns, including Ospreay hitting a double backflip kick to drop Cru. Ricochet Death Valley Drivers Bailey, who comes back up with some crane kicks to Mortos. The Oscutter hits Mortos and Knight hits his spinning frog splash for two with a big save (they got me on that one). The Hidden Blade finishes Mortos at 12:00.

Rating: B. This was a lot of fun and I can go for the occasional adding in of a prize that isn’t a traditional title. The money means nothing going forward (in theory, as I could go for more of Briscoe’s stock tips) but it did make the match feel a bit more interesting. They had talented people doing their stuff, with that look on Ricochet’s face after he landed on his feet being great. Just a fun match here and I can always go for something like that.

We look back at FTR turning on Cope and laying him out at Dynasty. Cope is out indefinitely and Tony Schiavone goes OFF on FTR, calling it the worst thing he has ever seen in wrestling. Dax Harwood’s daughter is probably disappointed in her father too.

Here is the Hurt Syndicate to celebrate their successful title defense, albeit with an unexpected assist from MJF. They bust out the champagne for a toast but here is MJF to interrupt. MJF stands next to the team and is happy to be with them, because it means he can skip the line and get his World Title back sooner than later. He helped them retain the Tag Team Titles and now they can help him win the World Title. So what is the initiation process?

Bobby Lashley tells MJF to shut up because they didn’t need MJF’s help. The Syndicate does not need him and Lashley gets into an argument with MJF (who insults Lashley’s new glasses). MVP and Shelton Benjamin break that up and MVP says it’s time to vote, with MJF needing three thumbs up to get in. MVP is a yes and Benjamin is in the middle….but says no. That’s enough for the Syndicate to leave and MVP just shrugs at MJF. This is going to keep on and I’m curious to see how MJF tries to change the team’s minds.

Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford are ready to move forward, with Bayne being at Collision.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Kris Statlander vs. Thunder Rosa

Toni Storm is on commentary, having stolen one of the commentators’ cars and returning their keys, albeit apologizing for the tobacco juice she left in there. Statlander runs her over with a shoulder to start but Rosa grabs an armbar. Back up and Statlander hits a running dropkick but misses a slingshot elbow. The running dropkick in the ropes knocks Statlander to the floor, setting up a seated senton off the apron. Back up and Statlander knocks her to the floor as well and we take a break.

We come back with Rosa grabbing a springboard hurricanrana into a northern lights suplex for two. Statlander gets a Blue Thunder Bomb, with Storm admiring her “juicy muscles”. A Canadian Destroyer gives Rosa two but Statlander powers up and hits Staturday Night Fever for the pin at 9:46.

Rating: B-. This was a strong showing from Statlander and that’s kind of weird to see when she is in there against Rosa. While Rosa didn’t get squashed here, it was more about Statlander looking dominant. Statlander might be a long shot to win the whole thing, but she’s already on a nice start.

Don Callis is ready for Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita to win the Owen Hart Cup. The team has injuries though and now it’s time to recruit some new members.

Adam Cole is happy to have gotten his moment but Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong want their own moment. Cole says they’re back and seems to dub the team the Paragon.

Here is an angry Chris Jericho for TV Time. Jericho is no longer the Ring Of Honor World Champion as he lost his match, his tooth and his title. He gives credit where credit is due to Bandido, who won the match, albeit with help from his brother and his STOOGE of a mother. Bandido has his family but so does Jericho, who brings out Big Bill and Bryan Keith.

Jericho gets on them for losing at Dynasty but Bill cuts him off. He joined up with the Learning Tree because Jericho is one of the best ever, but he is not here to be a punching bag when things go wrong. If all Jericho is going to do is berate him, then let him know now and it’s over.

Jericho says that’s not why he brought them out here, but rather so he can yell at them for not helping him retain the Ring Of Honor World Title. But that’s not what Jericho believes at all, because he isn’t angry. He’s just disappointed. Then he hits his TV monitor with a baseball bat, shouting about how he is disappointed…..in Bill. Jericho wants Bill to fix this and leaves. I really could have gone with no Jericho for a bit but that’s just not going to happen.

We look at Anthony Bowens returning to take out Max Caster.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

The Hurt Syndicate is in the back and Lashley says they don’t need or trust MJF. Benjamin thinks MJF is kind of funny and Lashley walks off, with Benjamin going to talk to him. MJF comes in to yell about how badly the rest of the Syndicate is treating him. MJF: “I’M MJF!” MVP: “That’s the problem.” He suggests that MJF find out what the rest of the team wants and give it to them.

Chris Jericho goes to leave and bashes more things with his bat.

Death Riders vs. Opps

Yuta’s waistlock doesn’t work on Joe to start and a forearm just annoys Joe even more. Castagnoli comes in for a strike off, with Joe sending him into the corner for a jumping enziguri. Hook comes in and gets slammed by Castagnoli but sidesteps Yuta’s dive in a nice tribute. Some rolling German suplexes have Yuta in trouble but he sends Hook to the apron for a double stomp from Castagnoli.

We take a break and come back with Yuta hitting an Angle Slam on Hook. A suplex gets Hook out of trouble but Yuta knocks Joe off the apron. That means a powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination (that looked good) for two on Hook, leaving Joe to go after Castagnoli. Hook goes for Redrum but here is Jon Moxley to offer a distraction. Cue Katsuyori Shibata to choke Moxley and Redrum has Yuta down for the tap at 11:40.

Rating: B-. It was a nice enough main event tag match and I can go for seeing the Death Riders lose. While it seems like we are coming up on the Opps getting a Trios Title shot and Pac is injured, Moxley could be swapped in to defend the titles if necessary. That might be what the ending was setting up, but for now, it’s nice to see the Opps getting somewhere.

Post match Marina Shafir comes in with a chair to take down the Opps. Castagnoli gives Hook a Neutralizer onto an open chair so Joe comes in to chase them off. Joe says the Opps are coming for the Trios Titles to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling was good here but the storytelling wasn’t holding up as well. The Young Bucks, the Death Riders and Jericho got a lot of focus here and that didn’t help the show. There was a lot of doubling down on stars who have not seemed to be getting the best reception in recent months and that’s quite the way to go. Hopefully we get more of the fun stuff that AEW has been doing and less of the annoying stories, because AEW can be very entertaining when they don’t go in the wrong directions.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Katsuyori Shibata – Rear naked choke
Swerve Strickland b. Pac – Swerve Stomp
Mark Briscoe/Will Ospreay/Mike Bailey/Kevin Knight b. Ricochet/Cru/The Beast Mortos – Hidden Blade to Mortos
Kris Statlander b. Thunder Rosa – Staturday Night Fever
Opps b. Death Riders – Redrum to Yuta

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

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Dynamite
Date: December 25, 2024
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s time for the end of the Continental Classic and that means we have a bunch of matches to wrap up the whole thing. In this case we have to get ready for Saturday’s Worlds End pay per view, so the rest of the show is going to need some more time as well. Granted nothing has come close to receiving the focus of the tournament so there is a lot to cover here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Continental Classic Gold League: Will Ospreay (6 points) vs. Brody King (6 points)

The loser is eliminated. King powers him into the corner to start and easily blocks a hurricanrana attempt. A shoulder drops Ospreay but he gets the knees up to stop a backsplash. The Ganso Bomb is blocked as well and they head outside, with King hammering away to take back over. Back in and we hit the neck crank for a bit before they slug it out. Ospreay goes down again and we take a break.

Back with King grabbing a release fisherman’s suplex but getting knocked to the floor for a corkscrew moonsault. Back in and King backdrops his way out of something before shrugging off some chops. The Cannonball in the corner gets two but Ospreay gets up to chop it out again. Shockingly this goes to King but Ospreay scores with a headbutt. Some Kawada Kicks into a Styles Clash get two on King but he blasts Ospreay with a clothesline for two of his own. Ospreay forearms him into the Hidden Blade for two, followed by Stormbreaker for the win at 15:29.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the heck out of each other and that’s what you need in a match like this one. Ospreay was wrestling more like a superhero again instead of whatever he’s been doing recently and that was great to see. It’s a shame to see King lose again, but dang I’ve missed this Ospreay and hopefully he can make a deep run in the tournament, if not outright win it, to get out of his up and down stretch. Heck of a match here.

Gold League Standings

Claudio Castagnoli – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Ricochet – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Will Ospreay – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Darby Allin – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Brody King – 6 points (0 matches remaining)
Komander – 0 points (1 match remaining)

The Hurt Syndicate is banned from the building, as per Christopher Daniels, for Shelton Benjamin’s match. Oddly they agree out of respect for…Renee Paquette?

Continental Classic Gold League: Darby Allin (6 points) vs. Ricochet (9 points)

Allin chills in the corner to start and Ricochet gets annoyed before they grapple around for a bit. Allin’s shoulder puts him down but Ricochet nips up, where Allin grabs a headlock. They go into the corner where Ricochet hits a right hand and we take a break. Back with Ricochet messing with the toilet paper and dropping Allin again.

A springboard clothesline into a Lionsault hits Allin but it’s too early for the 450. Allin rolls him up for two and sends him outside, where it’s time for a table, despite a table having nothing to do with this match. Ricochet’s 630 seconds Allin through the table and the referee is just fine with this happening.

We take another break and come back with Ricochet hitting a springboard double stomp. Allin forearms him on the top and hits a super Code Red, followed by a regular Code Red for two of his own. Ricochet sends the bad ribs into the ropes but misses a springboard 450. Allin grabs a Fujiwara armbar and cranks o the other arm as well but Ricochet makes the rope. A Scorpion Death Drop hits Ricochet and Allin adds the Coffin Drop but time expires at 19:57 (close enough), which is enough for Ricochet to advance to the semifinals.

Rating: B-. So one of the whole points of the tournament is not having interference so there is no way to have the referee distracted for the table spot. Well then maybe don’t do the table spot. Shocking idea I know but anyway, the rest of the match was fine enough, with Allin surviving against the crazy athlete despite the bad ribs. Just cut out the unnecessary table deal, which didn’t really make a significant impact.

Gold League Standing

Ricochet – 10 points (0 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Will Ospreay – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Darby Allin – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Brody King – 6 points (0 matches remaining)
Komander – 0 points (1 match remaining)

Jay White is ready to win the AEW World Title.

Continental Classic Gold League: Komander (0 points) vs. Claudio Castagnoli (9 points)

Komander’s newly won ROH TV Title isn’t on the line. Castagnoli strikes away to start and grabs a delayed suplex. The neck crank goes on as Schiavone rapid fires upcoming shows and on-sale dates. A super gutbuster gives Castagnoli two and a jumping double stomp gets the same. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Komander switches up into an electric chair, where they crash over the top and out to the floor.

Komander stays on his shoulders, at least until Castagnoli sends him face first into the apron. Back up and Komander hits a running flip dive to the floor, followed by a running faceplant back inside. Castagnoli crotches him on top and hits a big boot out to the floor, where Komander finds some brass knuckles. A right hand knocks Castagnoli silly and Cielito Lindo pins him at 7:37.

Rating: C+. What a heroic way to win! As usual, the Death Riders look strong even in defeat, with Komander doing quite the random heinous act of violence to win a match that means very little to him. I do like Komander winning his first match since becoming champion, but he couldn’t win with a rollup here to actually make him look good as opposed to a cheater?

Gold League Standings

Ricochet – 10 points (0 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Will Ospreay – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Darby Allin – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Brody King – 6 points (0 matches remaining)
Komander – 3 points (0 matches remaining)

Post match the Death Riders run out to wreck Komander but Orange Cassidy and Jay White come in for the save. Then Jon Moxley beats them both down and says neither of them will get close to the World Title. Hangman Page comes in and Moxley is finally beaten down, leaving the other three to argue over the briefcase.

Video on Mercedes Mone vs. Kris Statlander.

Continental Classic: Kazuchika Okada (7 points) vs. Shelton Benjamin (6 points)

They start slowly with Okada taking him up against the ropes for the slaps to the chest. Benjamin is back up and Okada bails out to the floor, where he catches Benjamin with a DDT. Back in and a super hiptoss gives Benjamin two and we take a break. We come back with Benjamin winning an exchange of forearms but getting caught with a DDT.

An ankle lock slows Okada down but he escapes into the cobra clutch. With that broken up, Okada hits the White Noise onto the knee before they exchange rolling German suplexes. The Rainmaker is countered into Paydirt but the exploder is countered into the Rainmaker to give Okada the pin at 12:35.

Rating: B-. Another good match here with Okada getting his win and likely going on to the next round. It’s nice to see Okada having some bigger and better matches, though that is going to have to continue long term. Benjamin continues to be rather excellent in AEW as a much more serious star who can work with anyone. That’s better than he had been used in WWE and it’s hard to fathom how they couldn’t find a better use for him.

Blue League Standings

Kazuchika Okada – 10 points (0 matches remaining)
Kyle Fletcher – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 7 points (1 match remaining)
Shelton Benjamin – 6 points (0 matches remaining)
The Beast Mortos – 0 points (0 matches remaining)

Post match Okada teases flipping him off but shakes his hand.

Swerve Strickland wants to step up in 2025 but Ricochet interrupts, saying he’s going on to Worlds End. Strickland tells him to not screw it up.

We get a New York Minute with Chris Jericho and the Learning Tree, where he accepts Anthony Bowens’ challenge for Rampage.

Toni Storm vs. Taya Valkyrie

Deonna Purrazzo is here with Valkyrie, who strikes away to start as the fans declare Storm a rookie. Valkyrie’s running knees in the corner get two but Storm fights up with a clothesline. That earns her a leg wrap around the ring to put Valkyrie in control again as we take a break. Back with Valkyrie kneeing her way out of the corner and hitting a clothesline. Storm hammers away and scores with a hip attack but Storm Zero is blocked. Valkyrie yells at her a lot but gets small packaged to give Storm the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C. It’s still weird to see Storm as a rookie who can’t remember knowing anyone in her history. I’m not sure where that is going to lead, but there is still the chance that it is little more than a big mind game. That would make more sense, though I could go for more of the traditional Storm for a long time.

Video on MJF vs. Adam Cole.

Christopher Daniels interrupts Hangman Page, who isn’t interested in Daniels’ offers of help. Daniels knows what it’s like to be alone, but if Page needs a friend at Worlds End, he’ll be there.

Continental Classic Blue League: Daniel Garcia (7 points) vs. Kyle Fletcher (9 points)

Non-title, Garcia advances with a win, Fletcher advances with a win or a draw. They fight over a lockup to start with Fletcher powering him into the corner. Garcia slips out of a slam attempt though and hammers away, only to be sent outside. Fletcher follows him out and hammers away before powerbombing Garcia onto the apron.

We take a break and come back with Garcia hitting some clotheslines and sending Fletcher crashing out to the floor. Back in and Garcia hits a hanging swinging neckbreaker but Fletcher hits a running boot in the corner. They go out to the apron where Fletcher hits a DDT, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two. A brainbuster gets two more and Fletcher takes them up top, where Garcia reverses into….something for a double crash. Garcia’s Sharpshooter is broken up and Fletcher takes him into the corner for the brainbuster onto the buckle for the pin at 15:06.

Rating: B-. The mega push of Fletcher continues and this should set him up for a rematch with Will Ospreay at Worlds End. I’m not sure that is going to mean for Fletcher, but he is certainly getting a chance to show what he can do. Other than that, Garcia loses again and hopefully that means he’ll have some title defenses coming up, as he’s lost a few matches as champion in the tournament.

Blue League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 12 points (0 matches remaining)
Kyle Fletcher – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 9 points (0 matches remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 7 points (0 matches remaining)
Shelton Benjamin – 6 points (0 matches remaining)
The Beast Mortos – 0 points (0 matches remaining)

So the semifinals are Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher and Ricochet vs. Kazuchika Okada. Therefore, Ospreay comes out for the staredown.

Worlds End rundown.

Jon Moxley is ready to end things at Worlds End and if you are not willing to sacrifice when he will sacrifice you. And he’s a king.

Overall Rating: B. This show is going to depend on what you think of the Continental Classic, because the vast majority of the show was focused on the tournament. Other than the Death Riders/Page and company segment, the first hour and fifteen minutes was almost entirely built around the Continental Classic. It does help that the show was on Christmas night, but dang that is a lot of focus on a tournament for a midcard title while some things on the pay per view were entirely ignored. I’m not sure what AEW is going to have planned for the shows after the tournament is over, but we’ll be finding out rather quickly.

Results
Will Ospreay b. Brody King – Stormbreaker
Darby Allin vs. Ricochet went to a time limit draw
Komander b. Claudio Castagnoli – Cielito Lindo
Kazuchika Okada b. Shelton Benjamin – Rainmaker
Toni Storm b. Taya Valkyrie – Small package

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

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Dynamite
Date: July 31, 2024
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re coming off a big week with Blood & Guts last week and after that, plus with this week’s show being up against the Olympics, there is a chance that this week might go in a bit of a different direction. We are just under a month away from All In as well so odds are it’s time for some building towards the show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here is MJF to get things going. He makes fun of the southern accent and southern people in general before talking to the REAL Americans. After a promise to take out Will Ospreay again at All In, we’re asked to stand for a real American hero but here is Ospreay to chase him out of the ring. Ospreay promises violence but finds it funny that no one here acknowledges the America’s Title because of the person holding it.

Men have worked hard to make the International Title mean something, like Pac, Orange Cassidy, Jon Moxley, Rey Fenix, Roderick Strong and himself. MJF isn’t worthy of holding it but some fans chant USA. Ospreay says he gets it but MJF doesn’t represent the American worth ethic. MJF promises to take out Ospreay at All In, but tonight, everybody dies. They’re trying to set up Ospreay for the big win at All In and that should work out. I’m not wild on what feels like it could very easily turn into another MJF election year story though.

Lance Archer vs. Will Ospreay

Archer wastes no time in hitting a chokeslam and hits some running elbows in the corner. Ospreay fights back and knocks him to the floor but the dive is cut off with a drop onto the apron. Archer takes his sweet time to follow up though and a hurricanrana sends him into the barricade. Back in and a springboard dropkick gets one on Archer as Ospreay is starting to pick up the pace. Something else off the top is cut off with a huge chokeslam and we take a break.

Back with Ospreay still in trouble and a huge spinebuster getting two. Archer goes up top but gets caught, meaning it’s a super Spanish Fly for two more. The Oscutter gets another near fall but the Hidden Blade is countered with a hard clothesline. The Blackout is countered into a tornado DDT and the Hidden Blade…gets one. Another Hidden Blade finishes Archer at 11:23.

Rating: B. This was a good way to make Osprey look like a giant slayer as Archer is still someone who has some value due to being presented as a monster. Ospreay is set up for a huge match next month and giving him a win like this will help. At the same time, Archer can bounce back up with just a few destructions.

Post match MJF comes in for the beatdown but Kyle Fletcher makes the save. Don Callis isn’t happy but Fletcher says he was helping his best friend, family or not. Fletcher goes into a rather fired up rat about how he doesn’t like what MJF has been saying about foreign wrestlers. He wants MJF right now, but MJF says we’ll do it next week, with promises of a kangaroo kick and a broken neck.

Video on Swerve Strickland.

Big Bill has a cake to celebrate Chris Jericho being FTW Champion for 102 days (yes 102). Jericho promises revenge on Katsuyori Shibata at the hands of Bryan Keith. Alex Marvez gets to keep the cake.

Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander

Non-title. Stokely Hathaway is here with Statlander. Nightingale gets jumped to start and a missile dropkick connects as the bell rings. They head outside with Nightingale sending her into the barricade but missing the Cannonball. We take a break and come back with Nightingale hitting a release gordbuster and a spinebuster for two. The Pounce is blocked so Statlander grabs an electric chair facebuster.

An ax kick gives Statlander two and they go to the apron to chop it out. Nightingale’s Death Valley Driver plants Statlander but she stops to go after Hathaway. That’s enough for Statlander to come back with a clothesline, only to have Nightingale powerbomb her out of the air. A DDT gives Nightingale two but Statlander headbutts her off the top. That means Statlander’s 450 can connect for two, leaving Hathaway to slip in a chain. The discus lariat, with the chain, finishes Nightingale at 9:48.

Rating: C+ This is a feud that has been going on for a good while now and it isn’t much of a surprise that Statlander cheated to win here. That being said, I’m really not sure if it needed to be a non-title match to set up what seemed to be a title match that was all but made. I can go for Statlander winning though and now we could be in for seeing her win in a title match down the line.

Post match Statlander wrecks Nightingale with a chair and hammers away.

We look back at Jeff Jarrett telling Bryan Danielson to give it his all at All In.

Here is Danielson for a chat. Danielson is glad to be in Greenville, South Carolina, which is where he and his wife got their engagement pictures taken. They were looking at those pictures and they have Danielson thinking. He is here to talk about presence and promises. A few years ago, he had to retire and had it all taken away from him. Now he’s back in AEW and having the most fun in his career. He was able to be present here and we get a THANK YOU BRYAN chant, which has him almost in tears.

For that moment, he was able to be present, but now let’s talk about promises. He promised his daughter that he would stop wrestling full time when she was seven. On top of that, he promised that his current AEW contract would be the last one he signs. That contract expires tomorrow and he is still promising to give it his all every time. Over the years, he has kicked a lot of heads in, but he hasn’t won the AEW World Title….yet.

This will be his last shot at AEW’s biggest show of the year. He promises to go to Wembley Stadium and be present for that moment because he will give us 100%. With his body and soul, he will go all in….and here is Swerve Strickland to interrupt. Swerve says he would be cheering for Danielson at any other time but not this time. He came to this place and said he would win the AEW World Title, which is exactly what he did.

Danielson came here promising to kick heads in, but apparently he couldn’t handle it when they started kicking back. The title isn’t an achievement award but rather something that shows you are the best in the world, which is Swerve himself. Last year, Swerve was competing at All In while Danielson couldn’t get on a plane. Maybe Danielson’s body can’t handle the pressure of being champion.

Swerve promises Danielson just isn’t winning at All In and he might not be walking again after their match. Swerve goes to leave, but Danielson ups the ante by putting his career on the line. Works for Swerve, who tells Danielson to keep that promise to his family. This was a segment with a lot going on, from Danielson’s emotional speech, Swerve’s dangerous sounding threats, and then the big reveal at the end. They’ve also laid the groundwork for the idea of Danielson possibly leaving, even though I can’t imagine it going that way. Rather good stuff here with a stipulation that isn’t ridiculous.

In the back, Danielson is congratulated by Jeff Jarrett, but Danielson says they can fight next week.

Rush/Beast Mortos/Roderick Strong vs. Conglomeration

It’s a brawl at the bell, with Cassidy using his jacket as a cape to make Mortos chase him. A very spinning DDT doesn’t quite work for Cassidy (with Taz accusing him of stealing his spots) and Mortos hits a spear to take over. Ishii comes in to slug it out with Mortos, who is knocked out to the floor. It’s off to Rush (there haven’t been any tags thus far) who wins a slugout to put Ishii down. Briscoe comes in for a slugout and knocks Rush outside, only to have the step up dive cut off by Strong.

That’s fine with Briscoe, who knocks him outside for a flipping neckbreaker, followed by a big dive to Rush and Mortos. Back from a break with Cassidy in trouble but avoiding a charge in the corner. The Stundog Millionaire staggers Mortos though and the tag brings in Briscoe to clean things out. Ishii comes back in to strike away but a piledriver is blocked. Strong hits an Angle Slam for two as everything breaks down. Mortos’ spinning piledriver finishes Briscoe at 11:18.

Rating: B. Wild match here, especially at the end, with the surprise finish. Odds are that sets up Mortos for a Ring Of Honor World Title match, though odds are it happens in AEW rather than Ring Of Honor. Other than that, a good hard hitting match here, with Ishii and Rush both looking strong.

Acclaimed and Billy Gunn want FTR but they’re nowhere to be seen. Instead, they’ll come see FTR at Collision.

Mariah May, not looking overly serious, talks about wanting to be like Toni Storm so she became just like her. Storm was perfect because she never did anything to her but May wore her like skin. And that’s the end so Renee Paquette walks out.

Here is Toni Storm, with a shoe and the title, to say she loved May too. She hits herself with the shoe and says it will be the romance of a lifetime at All In.

Britt Baker and Mariah May got in a fight at Comic Con. As a result, the title match was officially set for All In.

Kamille vs. Brittany Jade

Mercedes Mone is here with Kamille. The beatdown is on fast with Kamille unloading in the corner. A sitout Dominator finishes for Kamille at 1:16.

Post match Mone says Kamille is now part of the Mone Corporation and brags about how great the two of them are. She can’t stand Britt Baker, who is suspended for attacking Mone at Comic Con. For now though, this is Mone’s house and she is going to turn it into a mansion.

Darby Allin vs. Hangman Page

They take their time to start until Allin knocks him to the floor. The Coffin Drop is pulled out of the air with a German suplex and they go up the ramp, with Page grabbing a chair. That takes too long and they get to the stage where Allin hits a flipping Stunner. A Coffin Drop of the entrance hits Page and we take a break.

Back with Page swinging Allin around in a sleeper and slowly hammering him down. A rollup and springboard spinning crossbody hits Page….and the lights go out. They come back on to reveal nothing has changed as Page elbows him in the chest. Allin flips over the steps and dives at Page, who posts him hard and adds some powerbombs onto the apron. A fall away slam onto the steps (geez) has Allin in more trouble and we take a break.

Back again with Page hitting a super fall away slam and glaring at Allin as he tends to do. Allin gets dropped onto the steps again but sweeps the legs to send Page into the steps for a change. The suicide dive takes Page back of the steps and they’re both down on the floor. Back in and Allin’s Coffin Drop is pulled into a sleeper, which is reversed into a rollup for two on Page. The Buckshot Lariat gives Page two and a powerbomb is good for the same as Allin is in trouble. Back to back Deadeyes connect but another clothesline is countered into a rollup to give Allin the pin at 20:17.

Rating: B. It was a good fight with Allin taking an incredible beating, but I was left with a “really” response at the ending, as Allin just popped back up and won after that much punishment. While I like Allin winning, I’m not sure I would have had Page take another loss as that’s back to back singles losses for someone who was being presented as a big return. Either way, it was a good match, especially when it wasn’t exactly the biggest showdown.

Overall Rating: B+. This show was in a weird spot as this show was a bit of a step off the gas but it still wound up being rather entertaining with a bunch of good action throughout. That is more than I was expecting and it made for a nice surprise. The build to All In is already on and they can get into the harder push in the coming weeks, though this week was more about having fun with some select important moves being made.

Results
Will Ospreay b. Lance Archer – Hidden Blade
Kris Statlander b. Willow Nightingale – Clothesline with a chain
Rush/Beast Mortos/Roderick Strong b. Conglomeration – Spinning piledriver to Briscoe
Kamille b. Brittany Jade – Sitout Dominator
Darby Allin b. Hangman Page – Rollup

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Dynamite
Date: March 13, 2024
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

So it’s Big Business and Mercedes Mone is going to debut tonight. That hasn’t been officially announced, but AEW has beaten us over the head with the hints to the point where you can’t be any more obvious. Other than that, Samoa Joe is defending the World Title against Wardlow. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Renee Paquette is in the back when a nice car comes in. The door opens and let’s go to the arena.

We aren’t wasting time this week as here is Mercedes Mone (dubbed the CEO) fr the big debut. Mone talks about how great it is to be here and how much magic we will be seeing. Wrestling has given her hopes and dreams, with people like Eddie Guerrero making it feel so special. Those dreams made her the first woman to main event a pay per view in this building. She dropped out of school at 13 to take care of her brother and went to a place near here called Chaotic Wrestling. Now she is here so let’s get down to business.

She’s looking forward to tearing it up with everyone back there, including the two women in the main event: Willow Nightingale (who injured Mone’s foot/ankle last year and put her out for months) and Riho. For now though, she is All Elite and thanks Tony Khan for the tweet announcing it. Dancing ensues. This wasn’t exactly a bombshell shocker (and it wasn’t supposed to be) but it did what it needed to do and gave Mone a nice start.

Samoa Joe promises to take out Wardlow, whose time has come. He doesn’t lose titles at the Garden.

Adam Cole reads a story about a man named Wardlow, who had to fight for his freedom from an evil man (MJF). He was ready to win more titles and now he is ready to destroy Samoa Joe and win the World Title. The end.

AEW Wold Title: Samoa Joe vs. Wardlow

Wardlow, with the Undisputed Kingdom, is challenging. They start fast and head to the floor, with Joe being whipped into various things. Back in and Wardlow hammers away, only to have Joe chop his way out of the corner. Joe kicks him down but Wardlow heads up top for something like a Whisper In The Wind.

We take a break and come back with Wardlow hitting a middle rope shoulder. Joe is back with a knockdown and backsplash, setting up a slugout. What appeared to be an over the shoulder powerslam is broken up though and Wardlow hits his knee out of the corner for two. The Swanton misses so Joe hammers away in the corner, only to get powerbombed down. The Powerbomb Symphony is loaded up but Joe reverses into the Koquina Clutch to retain at 11:04.

Rating: B-. Well that happened. Wardlow was built up as a serious challenger for a few weeks and was then put away without much trouble. The match was good and felt like a title fight, but it was the latest example of Wardlow losing after being treated like a big deal. Swerve Strickland is the real next challenger for Joe, which makes the Wardlow thing feel like that much more of a waste of time.

Post match a livid Swerve Strickland comes out with his chain but a smirking Joe walks off.

The Elite is not happy with Alex Marvez disrespecting Kazuchika Okada and promise vengeance on Pac/Eddie Kingston/Penta El Zero Miedo. Marvez also has to sing Happy Birthday to Matthew.

Elite vs. Eddie Kingston/Penta El Zero Miedo/Pac

Okada and Kingston start things off but Okada brings in Matt before doing anything. One heck of a chop rocks Matt so it’s Pac coming in for a running shoulder. A hurricanrana into a backbreaker puts Matt down so it’s off to Penta. That means a rolling cutter from Nick, which only makes Penta kick him in the face a few times.

An AA powerslam gives Penta two and something like What’s Up sends Matt rolling outside. Okada comes in to chop it out with Kingston, setting up a dropkick to put Kingston in trouble. A triple strike in the corner puts Kingston down and we take a break. Back with Matt diving into an exploder suplex but Okada and Nick break up the tag attempts. Kingston fights up again and gets the big tag, meaning everything can break down.

Penta and Pac hit stereo dives, setting up a top rope double stomp on Nick. Pac’s springboard 450 gets two with Okada making the save. Okada DDTs Kingston and Matt wheelbarrow faceplants Pac. Penta hits a Canadian Destroyer but Nick takes him down. A low blow into the Rainmaker finishes Kingston at 12:38.

Rating: B. This was the kind of wild match that you would have expected from the people involved and that is a good thing. The ending should set up the title match between Kingston and Okada, which very well could see the title changing hands. Other than that, it was the usual wild AEW six man, as going nuts and ignoring the rules tends to be the norm for these things.

Tony Schiavone brings out Will Ospreay for a chat. Ospreay has spent years trying to be like Bryan Danielson, who is one of the best ever. He has seen Danielson doing things to hurt his body over the years and that has Ospreay wanting to see what happens when they face each other. It’s the best wrestler ever against the best in the world today and Ospreay is ready to show he is on another level. Ospreay can bring some fire in his promos.

Deonna Purrazzo challenges Mariah May and Toni Storm to a tag match next week. Partner to be named.

Jay White vs. Darby Allin

White has Bullet Club Gold with him and Allin is heavily bandaged. White takes it to the mat to start and grinds away but Allin fights back up and sends him outside. The big flip dive connects, followed by a suicide dive to make it worse. A ram sends Allin into the barricade instead and a big whip over the steps has Allin crashing again as we take a break. Back with Allin fighting back and flipping away from White.

The Blade Runner is countered into a flipping Stunner, followed by a sunset flip for two. A springboard Coffin Drop is countered into a German suplex but Allin is back with a Scorpion Death Drop for two more. The Coffin Drop to the apron only hits apron and Allin is in trouble. He dives back in to beat the count and White hits the Blade Runner for the pin at 12:15.

Rating: B-. Maybe it’s the leftovers from the Revolution main event but I’m rather over seeing Allin doing his stunt show out there. It feels like that’s the entire point of his matches, which is annoying as he is capable of doing so much more. The action was good and White winning as Allin is going away for a bit is the right way to go, so call the whole thing a success.

Post match White teases respect but the Club jumps Allin instead. A Pillmanizing is loaded up but the Acclaimed runs in for the save. Then White chairs Billy Gunn down and the Club destroys the Acclaimed. With the Acclaimed down, Allin’s ankle is Pillmanized to send him away. To climb Mt. Everest.

Hook/Chris Jericho vs. Gates Of Agony

Hook and Jericho starts fast with a pair of double suplexes and the ring is quickly cleared. Toa takes over on Jericho in the corner as we settle down. Jericho is sent outside and we take a break. Back with Hook coming in to clean house, including grabbing a northern lights suplex. Jericho comes off the middle rope with a shoulder, leaving Hook to suplex Toa down. Kaun’s fireman’s carry gutbuster gets two but he gets knocked down. Redrum and a Walls combination goes on, with Jericho letting go to take out Toa, leaving Kaun to tap at 8:43.

Rating: C. Much like the earlier tag match, this turned into another wild brawl, but this one was more than a bit sloppy with some of Jericho’s stuff not looking very sharp. It wasn’t exactly must see stuff and having Jericho teaming up with another young star isn’t the most interesting. Odds are they’ll be in the upcoming tournament, which will probably lad into a regular feud before Jericho moves on to some other young star. As he tends to do.

Kyle O’Reilly talks about how banged up he was but now he’s healed up. He’s just wondering if he can hang, which he’ll get to find out this week on Collision against Bryan Keith. The Undisputed Kingdom come in and seem to be cool with him fighting on his own. O’Reilly: “Yeah….on my own.”

Video on Riho vs. Willow Nightingale.

Riho meets Mercedes Mone.

Chris Jericho is happy to have teamed with Hook, then challenges him to a match next week on Dynamite.

Riho vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale blocks an early whip attempt and runs Riho over without much trouble. A dropkick takes Riho down again and we take an early break. Back with Riho hitting a suplex and going up top. That’s broken up and Nightingale hits a heck of a Pounce to send Riho outside. The flip dive off the apron misses though and Riho hits a stomp off the apron. A top rope stomp off the top gets two but Nightingale is right back up. Riho gets planted so Nightingale takes the straps down, setting up the Babe With The Powerbomb to give Nightingale the pin at 9:28.

Rating: B-. Good match here, which is nice to see even if it feels like this is in the main event spot so Mone can do something after the match. Nightingale continues to feel like someone who should be ready for a big push somewhere in the near future, but at some point it has to actually happen. For now though, Nightingale gets a solid win and hopefully that continues. I was expecting this to be Riho getting a win to cut Nightingale off again and it’s nice to see that not being the case.

Post match the lights go out and here is Julia Hart for a distraction. Skye Blue runs in for the cheap shot from behind but Mercedes Mone comes in for the save (Kris Statlander, Nightingale’s friend and partner who was there for her entrance, was apparently off getting a hot pretzel). A lot of dancing ensues to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show started off feeling huge and that first hour and fifteen minutes or so were enough to make up for the rest of the show not being the strongest. Mone coming in here was a big deal and it makes sense to focus on her. I’m curious to see where that goes from here, but it was off to a nice start. Hopefully the audience is up after last week, as the show was good enough to warrant strong viewership.

Results
Samoa Joe b. Wardlow – Koquina Clutch
Elite b. Penta El Zero Miedo/Pac/Eddie Kingston – Rainmaker to Kingston
Jay White b. Darby Allin – Blade Runner
Hook/Chris Jericho b. Gates Of Agony – Redrum to Kaun
Willow Nightingale b. Riho – Babe With The Powerbomb

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Dynamite
Date: February 7, 2024
Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We are less than a month away from Revolution and the card is rather stacked this week. First of all, Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland have another match (ignore the results of the first two) for the World Title shot at Revolution. Other than that, Sting and Darby Allin get a Tag Team Title shot against Ricky Starks and Big Bill. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland

The winner gets Samoa Joe for the World Title at Revolution and Prince Nana is here, though Swerve has asked him not to interfere. They start slowly and then crank it up by heading outside, where Swerve sends him over the barricade. Back in and Swerve knocks him into the corner and stomps away as the fans are almost entirely behind Swerve. Page comes back with a shot of his own and hammers in some right hands so Swerve goes for the arm.

That’s broken up and Swerve is sent to the apron for a ram into the buckle. Page takes him into the barricade and chops away inside as the pace has slowed a lot. A kick to the head looks to set up the Buckshot but Page has to backdrop him to the floor instead. Page misses his moonsault so Swerve is back up with a running dive of his own, setting up the middle rope elbow to the back.

The House Call gives Swerve two so he takes Page up top, where a bite to the head gets Page out of trouble. A sunset bomb doesn’t work for Page so he grabs a sitout powerbomb for two instead. Swerve is back up with a Buckshot Lariat of his own, setting up the Swerve Stomp for two. They go to the floor and Page hits a DDT onto the barricade as we take a break. Back with Swerve hitting a backbreaker and putting Page on a table at ringside…which breaks before Swerve can do anything.

They go back inside and Page gets his knees up to block a 450 as we get the five minute call. The Buckshot Lariat gives Page two and the Deadeye on the apron gives him a near count out (thanks to….apparently the healing powers of Nana’s dance). That doesn’t work for Page, who hits Nana with a chair, leaving Swerve to get in a shot of his own.

The Swerve Stomp connects back inside but Swerve hurts his ankle, allowing Page to kick him in said ankle. They head to the apron and Swerve hits his own Deadeye through another table at ringside. The Swerve Stomp misses back inside but Swerve is back with a JML Driver for two….as time expires at 29:33.

Rating: B. I’m of a few minds on this. First of all, it was a hard hitting match where they beat each other up and continued their trend of working well together. At the same time, they couldn’t have telegraphed that time limit more if they tried (though some of the near falls had me wondering). You can all but guarantee the triple threat at Revolution from here, and that’s going to make things feel all the less logical.

Swerve wants five more minutes but Page says nah because Swerve didn’t beat him to become #1 contender. Or not as Tony Schiavone is told by Tony Khan that this isn’t done because it’s a triple threat at Revolution. So yeah, the rankings and the entire #1 contenders match seem rather pointless now and Tony Khan looks like an idiot for putting Page, who hasn’t actually beaten Swerve, in the same spot.

Post break Samoa Joe isn’t pleased with this celebration of mediocrity.

Toni Storm vs. Red Velvet

Non-title and Deonna Purrazzo is on commentary. Storm knocks her around to start but gets taken down by a leg lariat. Velvet gets to stomp away in the corner but a Thesz press takes her down as we take a break. Back with Velvet striking away and sending her into the corner. Storm gets a boot up and hits the hip attack, setting up a DDT for two. With that not working, an ankle lock of all things makes Velvet tap at 7:45.

Rating: C. While Velvet has gotten better in the ring, this is a match that could have gone about half as long to be that much more effective. Storm is set for a major title match at Revolution but she can’t beat someone whose career peak is middle of the pack? It’s ok to let the champ run someone over and that should have happened here.

Post match Purrazzo chases the villains off.

Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends are ready for Tomohiro Ishii on Saturday. For now, they need to check out Chuck Taylor getting checked out. They go to leave but Renee Paquette asks them to bring it in. She also likes Rocky Romero’s jacket.

Mascara Dorada/Hechicero/Volador Jr. vs. Blackpool Combat Club

Danielson and Hechicero start things off with Hechicero taking over in the technical off. A rollup gives Hechicero two so it’s off to Dorada for some chops to Castagnoli. Those don’t work so Dorada stomps on his foot, setting up a hurricanrana to the floor. Volador comes in and sends Moxley to the floor as well, setting up a dive to the floor. Everyone gets in a brawl on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Castagnoli Swinging Volador for two as Moxley comes in. They trade kicks to the face and it’s Dorada coming in to kick Danielson in the face. The CMLL guys clear the ring and hit a pair of dives, with Dorada adding a shooting star onto the pile. Back in and Hechicero grabs a hammerlock swing on Danielson and Dorada’s 450 gets two. The Club is back in to clean house until Hechicero hits his reverse hurricanrana driver for two on Castagnoli. With the referee not looking, Castagnoli kicks Hechicero low for the pin at 14:38.

Rating: B-. This felt like a wilder version of Hechicero vs. Danielson from Collision, as the Club was getting beaten throughout and had to use a miracle (or in this case cheating) finish to escape. It was sloppy in some places but this was about going out there and doing a bunch of stuff to pop the crowd, which worked very well. It’s also nice to have some luchadors who aren’t just high fliers as there is so much more to lucha libre than the flips and dives.

Post match some CMLL guys run in to go after the Club but more AEW stars make the save.

The Undisputed Kingdom has attacked Chuck Taylor. I didn’t think they could pull that off.

Here is Tony Khan’s big announcement: AEW is returning to Boston on March 13 and it’s…..AEW Big Business. It’s going to be an important night and tickets are on sale this Saturday. That was in fact an announcement. Tickets are on sale for one show and it takes place over a month from today. Riveting stuff there and you can’t buy this type of energy.

Chris Jericho vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Don Callis/Powerhouse Hobbs are here and Jericho sends Takeshita outside to start. Callis isn’t happy and slaps Takeshita, who takes over with some right hands. A brainbuster on the floor plants Jericho but he’s able to get back in for a top rope elbow to the head. Cue Sammy Guevara with a chair to the back of Hobbs, followed by a cutter off the steps.

A chair to the head sends Hobbs over the barricade, leaving Jericho to fight back. Takeshita is sent outside so Jericho puts on his mask and hits a big dive to the floor. We take a break and come back with Takeshita hitting a hard dropkick. A backsplash hits knees though and the fans are behind Jericho.

The Walls are blocked but Jericho settles for the Codebreaker for two. Jericho loads up the Lionsault, which is countered into the Blue Thunder Bob for two more. A super Blue Thunder Bomb gives Takeshita two but the big knee is countered into the Walls of Jericho. Callis slides in a chair though and uses the distraction to hit Jericho with a screwdriver. Takeshita puts on the Walls for two arm drops and then Jericho taps at 13:50.

Rating: C. This really didn’t work as Jericho wasn’t exactly feeling crisp out there. At the same time, I cannot bring myself to care about the Callis vs. Jericho feud. It feels like it has been going on forever and now we’ll have to wait on Jericho’s next revenge. It’s a feud that feels like it’s continuing because it needs to continue and that is never a good sign.

Tag Team Titles: Big Bill/Ricky Starks vs. Sting/Darby Allin

Sting (with his family in the crowd) and Allin are challenging and this is under Texas Tornado rules. They fight into the crowd to start and use some trashcans, setting up Sting’s dive off an entrance onto the champs. We take a break and come back with Allin’s suicide dive being countered into Allin’s swinging Boss Man Slam for a huge crash (that was incredibly smooth).

Back in and a choke toss sends Allin flying and Starks hits a Scorpion Death Drop for two on Sting. That doesn’t keep him down long as he’s back up with a Stinger Splash to Bill, setting up Code Red to send him outside. Allin hits the Coffin Drop to a standing Bill on the floor, leaving Starks to miss a dropkick.

The Scorpion Deathlock goes on to Starks as the other two crash through a table. Starks escapes and avoids a Stinger Splash, sending Sting into an exposed buckle. The Spear gives Starks two and he can’t believe the kickout. Back up and the Scorpion Death Drop gives Sting the pin and the titles at 13:16.

Rating: B-. That Boss Man Slam alone was worth a look but this was all about the big moment at the end and it went very well. Sting and Allin winning the titles is far from a stretch as they’ve been a strong team since they started. It’s not out of nowhere and gives Sting a genuine feel good moment on his way out of the ring.

Post match Sting and his family celebrate but the Young Bucks come in (wearing all white suits) with baseball bats (also white) for the beatdown. Allin is busted open and the blood is all over the white suits. THAT was effective and made the Bucks look like evil villains rather than wasting their time making jokes that all of 14 people care about.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling on here was very good and the Sting/Allin title change made it even better. This was a show where it felt like the old energy was back and that is something that is always great to have. At the same time, the announcement was another (hilarious) letdown and Callis continues to kill my interest anytime he appears. The good heavily outweighs the bad here though, with three rather awesome matches (even if the rankings/#1 contender situation is still absurd).

Results
Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page went to a time limit draw
Toni Storm b. Red Velvet – Ankle lock
Blackpool Combat Club b. Hechicero/Volador Jr./Mascara Dorada – Low blow to Hechicero
Konosuke Takeshita b. Chris Jericho – Walls Of Jericho
Sting/Darby Allin b. Ricky Starks/Big Bill – Scorpion Death Drop to Starks

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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