IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video on Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Hardy.

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

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

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

Britt Baker vs. KiLynn King

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Wardlow b. Jungle Boy – F10

Kenny Omega b. Sonny Kiss – One Winged Angel

Rey Fenix b. Penta El Zero M – Canadian Destroyer

Hangman Page b. Colt Cabana – Buckshot lariat

Britt Baker b. KiLynn King – Lockjaw

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: August 11, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Taz

Yeah we’re back and I’m still not sure what to say about this show. They are getting into a little bit better of a format here as they are at least now doing a bigger main event between some midcarders, which offers a nice boost. Hopefully the rest of the show can be good enough to make that match work. Let’s get to it.

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

Quick announcers preview.

Lee Johnson vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix takes him straight down into an armbar and then a quickly broken chinlock to start as the announcers talk about how amazing Fenix is when he starts flying. Back up and Johnson ducks a bunch of kicks and we get a quick handshake. Fenix takes him down and goes for the face, sending Johnson to the ropes for the break. They go outside with Fenix sending him into various things and kicking Johnson in the head.

Back in and Fenix hits the AJ Styles drop down into a (running) dropkick before sending him to the apron for a spinning kick to the face. Johnson is right back up with a series of strikes to the head into a springboard missile dropkick for one. A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Johnson two more but Fenix ducks a superkick and kicks him in the head. The running spin kick to the face in the corner sets up the Black Fire Driver to finish Johnson at 6:29.

Rating: C. Fenix is one of those guys who we don’t see very often and in a way, that’s a good thing. He doesn’t lose a lot of the impact that he could have from being around too often and it’s a case of absence makes the heart go fonder. Fenix can fly very well and I could go for more of him on his own, but don’t overuse him.

Video on Scorpio Sky wanting a TNT Title shot.

Shawn Spears vs. Alex Chamberlain

Tully Blanchard is here with Spears. Chamberlain gets headlocked to the mat to start but reverses into one of his own. They run the ropes until Spears catches him with a shot to the ribs. That’s fine with Chamberlain who runs him over with a shoulder, meaning it’s time for a breather on the floor. Chamberlain follows like a schnook and gets pulled into the post. Spears drops the arm onto the apron and it’s time to work on said arm back inside. The good arm is fine enough to knock Spears outside but he’s back in with a slingshot stomp to the arm. The Death Valley Driver ends Chamberlain at 4:09.

Rating: C. I’m still not big on Spears but it is nice to see him do something like this where he works on the arm and takes someone apart. Spears still doesn’t exactly show me enough to make me think that he is going to be some big star but they need to build him up somehow. Chamberlain has a good look but that’s about all you could see with him here.

Post match, Spears lays him out with the glove.

M’Badu/Shawn Dean vs. Gunn Club

Austin and Dean start things off with Dean spinning out of a wristlock and snapping off a dropkick. Billy comes in for a big boot and two and it’s off to the rather large (and muscular) M’Badu. A shove is enough to get Billy to take his shirt off (Taz: “Such a vet move.”) and a running shoulder (from Billy) puts Billy down. M’Badu elbows him into the corner and hits a Stinger Splash before it’s back to Dean.

Some shots in the corner have Billy doing a Flair Flop and we hit the quickly broken chinlock. Billy DDTs his way to freedom and Austin tells his daddy to come on. The double tag brings in Dean and Austin with the latter sending M’Badu to the floor. Everything breaks down and the hiptoss neckbreaker finishes Dean at 6:42.

Rating: D+. Forgive me if I’m not incredibly interested in seeing Billy Gunn trying to make his son relevant in 2020. Austin seems like a fine enough guy but there is only so much that you are going to be able to do when you’re in there with your far more famous father. The match wasn’t too bad and M’Badu looked good in a short stretch, but the Gunn Club isn’t exactly thrilling.

Michael Stevens vs. Kip Sabian

Penelope Ford is here too. Stevens’ gear looks like he wore it to a rather messy Nickelodeon game show and let the weird goo dry. Sabian kicks him down and rubs Stevens’ bald head so Stevens takes him over without much trouble. That means time for some dancing/mime work, allowing Sabian to take over again. After a shot of water, Sabian stomps away and hits a pop up knee into a discus punch.

There’s a penalty kick as Tony talks about how much he learns from Taz every week. Stevens gets thrown into the corner where he shakes his hips a bit before jumping over Sabian. An X Factor gets two but Sabian catapults him into the corner. The springboard tornado DDT sets up the hanging twisting neckbreaker to finish Stevens at 5:12.

Rating: C-. Stevens is going to get more attention here but I’m not sure what I think about him yet. He made a quick impression, but how far that can take him remains to be seen. There is only so much you can get out of a five minute match that was mainly a squash and the bright gear isn’t enough. He got more of my attention than most AEW jobbers though so that’s a first step at least.

Private Party vs. Griff Garrison/Brian Pillman Jr.

Kassidy and Pillman start as Tony talks about Urban Dictionary. A leg lariat staggers Pillman and it’s off to Quen to strike away at the head. Pillman gets taken into the corner for a running shot to the face but Kassidy has to stop to pose instead of dive. Back in and Pillman manages a knee to the face so Garrison can come in instead.

Garrison’s kick to the face gives him his own two as Tony wants to know why wrestlers with long hair don’t tie it back. Kassidy gets sent into the corner but rolls away and brings in Quen to clean house. Everything breaks down and a top rope splash/top rope legdrop combination (an old Hardy Boyz move in a nice nod to their work with Matt) finishes Garrison at 5:59.

Rating: C-. One of the common criticisms of Private Party is that they’re great athletes but don’t really know how to put together a match. That was on display here as they just kind of did some spots and then had the finish. They were strung together better than normal for a Private Party match, but it still feels like they don’t really know what they’re doing. It’s far from terrible or even bad, but they need more polish than what they have now.

Pineapple Pete/Aaron Solow/Corey Hollis vs. Jurassic Express

Stunt starts for the Express and, after the required unfunny dancing, gets to face Solow, who starts on his knees. That means it’s off to Luchasaurus to wreck everyone in sight. Solow manages a spinning kick to the head but Luchasaurus kicks him even harder, allowing Jungle Boy to come in for a suplex. Stunt adds a high crossbody for two but Solow takes Boy into the corner for some stomping.

Pete comes in and hits a northern lights suplex, only to get clotheslined by Boy. A double clothesline allows the hot tag to Stunt (who everyone would pick next over Luchasaurus) and it’s time to do his thing, including a Razor’s Edge to Pete out of the corner. Everything breaks down and the Express stomps on Pete, setting up Stunt’s 450 for the pin at 5:20.

Rating: D+. And of course it was the same Jurassic Express formula: Boy and Luchasaurus look good and we stop for all of Stunt’s antics, including the mini version of the big man offense as he becomes more and more like Hornswoggle every day. I’m sure that’s an idea that was funny once, but it was in another company with someone more talented and versatile than Stunt.

Hybrid 2 vs. Natural Nightmares

Brandi, with her action figure, and Allie are here with the Nightmares. Marshall starts with Angelico and it’s an early battle over wrist control. A headlock takeover has Angelico down as the announcers talk about ring gear. Evans flips in to face Dustin, meaning it’s the drop down uppercut to put Jack down. Marshall hits a standing moonsault for two and adds a slingshot shoulder for the same. A rake to Marshall’s eyes draws Dustin in though, allowing Angelico to add a cheap shot as the villains take over.

Dustin breaks up a figure four with the legs and Angelico misses a Stinger Splash. Evans keeps running his mouth so much that Marshall slips over for the tag to Dustin so house can be cleaned. There’s the bulldog to Evans and the scoop powerslam hits the 2. Dustin’s top rope flip dive takes both of them down again and Marshall’s pop up right hand hits Evans. Whatever Dustin is calling the Final Cut these days finishes Evans at 6:22.

Rating: C-. I believe the term ho-hum is the right way to go here as it was a great miniature version of this entire show: not terrible, but completely forgettable with two teams fighting and one of them winning. That’s not exactly something that I want to watch and it’s all this show has, which doesn’t exactly give me the highest enthusiasm.

Rachael Ellering vs. Penelope Ford

Kip Sabian is here too. Ford slips out of a headscissors to start so Ellering switches over to an armbar instead. Ellering hits a running elbow to the face for two but Penelope knees her way out of a brainbuster. Sabian whips out a leaf blower as Ford starts choking on the rope. Sabian: “She’s hot as h*** and clever.”

A clothesline to the back of the head drops Ellering again and Ford kicks her in the face a few times. The fisherman’s suplex is broken up and Ellering starts hitting her in the head. A spinebuster gives Ellering two but a springboard spinning legdrop only hits mat. The Lethal Injection drops Ellering and now the fisherman’s suplex is enough to finish 5:40.

Rating: C-. How in the world was that almost six minutes? Anyway, Ford has grown a lot in recent months and it is great to see her develop into something more than the good looking manager. Ellering is someone who seems to have potential but she only looked ok here. Then again she has been out of action for a LONG time after her torn ACL so it is far from fair to really critique her at the moment.

Butcher and Blade vs. SCU

Blade and Kazarian start things off and have a rather long lockup (as in over a minute) until Kazarian switches into a headlock. That lets Taz go head first into the analysis of the technique and what Kazarian should be going for with various parts of his body. I love that kind of thing. Blade fights up and charges into the corner, only to get rolled up for two. Daniels comes in with a neckbreaker for two on Blade as Tony talks about meeting Daniels in 2000 and how bad of a year that was.

Butcher comes in for a hard slam and drops a knee on Daniels before grabbing the bearhug. Blade tags himself back in to chop away against the ropes but Kazarian makes his own blind tag to come in for the save. A belly to back suplex drops Kazarian onto Blade and Daniels adds a Lionsault for two. Blade’s distraction lets Butcher hit a backbreaker though and Daniels is in trouble again.

A side slam/running legdrop combination gets two on Daniels and we hit the bearhug for the second time. Daniels bites his way to freedom and brings Kazarian back in to clean house. That means the springboard spinning legdrop to Blade with Butcher’s saving elbow only hitting his partner. Butcher is sent outside and it’s the double powerbomb for two on Blade. The Best Moonsault Ever is broken up by Butcher though and the suplex onto Blade’s knees finishes Daniels at 11:38.

Rating: C. As usual, the main event is the best match on the show because of the time it gets and the people involved. I’m also a little surprised at the ending as Butcher and Blade are starting to rise a bit but having them beat SCU feels like an upset. I’m not sure how good the match really was, but after everything we saw earlier in the show, this was quite the hit.

The Dynamite preview ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. My nearly complete apathy to this show continues to grow every week. It’s just most average(ish) wrestling that goes on for a long, long time every week. I need a little more to it than just watching a decent main event and it’s getting harder and harder to watch every week. I’m needing to take breaks to get through this show just so I can do something more interesting. It is far from a terrible show and the wrestling is rarely anything even bad, but I beg of you, find SOMETHING interesting to use on here.

Results

Rey Fenix b. Lee Johnson – Black Fire Driver

Shawn Spears b. Alex Chamberlain – Death Valley Driver

Gunn Club b. M’Badu/Shawn Dean – Hiptoss neckbreaker to Dean

Kip Sabian b. Michael Stevens – Hanging swinging neckbreaker

Private Party b. Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison – Top rope legdrop/top rope splash combination to Garrison

Jurassic Express b. Corey Hollis/Pineapple Pete/Aaron Solow – 450 to Pete

Natural Nightmares b. Hybrid 2 – Spinning suplex neckbreaker to Evans

Penelope Ford b. Rachael Ellering – Fisherman’s suplex

Butcher and Blade b. SCU – Suplex to Daniels onto Blade’s knees

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: May 20, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s the go home show for Double or Nothing and that means it is time to hammer home everything that has already been set up. Hopefully that makes for a good show as you never know what you might get out of something like this. Maybe Cody can ram something at six miles an hour this time. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Double or Nothing’s three big matches.

The Inner Circle arrives and has a surprise for Matt Hardy.

Here’s a preview of the show.

Jon Moxley vs. 10

Non-title and Brodie Lee, carrying the title, is here with 10. Before the match, Lee tells 10 to take a knee and talks about how he puts his pants on like anyone else and can’t walk on water. He is a man rather than a god, but he has taken possession of something important. This is the new Dark Order, and they operate at a different level. Lee sends 10 to hurt Moxley for him.

Moxley wastes no time in sending 10 flying with a suplex into the corner. That means some mocking but 10 gets in a cheap shot and hits a suplex onto the apron. Back in and 10 hits his spinebuster but Moxley pops back up with the Paradigm Shift. The Gotch style piledriver and another Paradigm Shift finish 10 at 3:36.

Rating: C. This is how things should have gone as Moxley beat him up, shrugged off the offense, and then beat up the goon. They have done some stuff to make 10 look important over the last few weeks so the win means more than beating some flunky who hasn’t accomplished anything. Perfectly booked buildup to the title match.

Post match Moxley wraps a chair around the arm and says Lee has ten seconds to get out here or the arm is being broken. Lee pops up on screen to say he’ll see Moxley Saturday and leaves. Moxley breaks the arm.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Marko Stunt

Wardlow is here with MJF. As we get going, JR pays a quick tribute to Shad Gaspard in a nice touch. Stunt gets slammed down to start and MJF grabs the bearhug. Stunt gets suplexed and we hit the chinlock, with MJF forcing Stunt’s finger into his own nose and then mouth. Wardlow gets in a cheap shot and MJF throws him down by the hair.

Stunt fights out of a superplex attempt and hits a top rope flipping hurricanrana into the corner. A dropkick and jumping knee have MJF in trouble and he gets low bridged to the floor. MJF is sent into the steps but he blocks the suicide dive with a forearm. The shoulder breaker into the Salt of the Earth (Fujiwara armbar) finishes Stunt at 4:56.

Rating: C-. At least Stunt didn’t get in too much offense and MJF got to dominate for the most part. That’s all this needed to be and the match wasn’t too long. MJF can beat Jungle Boy on Saturday and move on to something bigger, as you have to expect a World Title chase coming sooner rather than later.

Post match Wardlow holds Marko so MJF can make him kiss the ring. That means hitting him in the face, which draws out Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy for the late save.

We look back at Cody and Lance Archer’s brawl from last week.

Here’s Jake Roberts for his face to face discussion with Arn Anderson. Roberts talks about how it’s an honor to sit across the table from Anderson but the reality is Lance Archer is a monster. Archer is going to rip Cody’s face off and take the TNT Title. Anderson says he almost believed what Jake was saying because the two of them are what you call credible. He has known that Jake is evil for a long time now but the snake in the bag was just a distraction.

What matters is in the heart, but Jake challenges Anderson to a fight. Anderson says he’d love to but he won’t for the sake of decorum. At Double or Nothing, Mike Tyson will be at ringside to present the title but he’ll also have free reign. Is Jake going to throw the snake on Tyson? Jake talks about Archer being ready to take Tyson’s head off but he was hoping Brandi would be there to present the title. Jake: “I’d love to bump into her again.” Anderson talks about Jake doing DDP Yoga, which is a good thing because he wants Jake to be limber when he spinebusters him to the mat. Referees break it up in a hurry.

Video on Darby Allin, who pushes chips into a table and then climbs a ladder with fire above.

The Death Triangle threatens violence.

Orange Cassidy vs. Rey Fenix

Cassidy, with his hands in his pockets, grabs the leg to start and sends Fenix to the floor. Back in and Cassidy tries a bit more, including a rollup for two. Fenix stomps on the back of his head but a slingshot powerbomb is countered into a Code Red for two. That earns Cassidy a few kicks into a springboard legdrop for two more. We hit the chinlock with both of Cassidy’s arms pinned back as we take a break.

Back with Cassidy getting fired up with rapid fire shots to the chest and the Superman punch. The suicide dive connects, followed by a high crossbody. There’s a tornado DDT for two, with JR pointing out that Jake Roberts’ DDT actually beat people. A top rope DDT gives Cassidy two more and he catches Fenix on top with a headbutt. Fenix is right back with a right hand on top but the Black Fire Driver is countered into a small package for two. Cue Kip Sabian with a ladder and the distraction lets Fenix hit a low blow. The rolling cutter finishes Cassidy at 10:32.

Rating: B-. I was worried when the match started but it wound up being a rather entertaining back and forth match. Cassidy is at least entertaining when he puts in the effort, though it’s not like he’s done anything that others haven’t done better. Still though, pretty easily the best thing Cassidy has done so far so well done.

Post match SCU comes out to shove Sabian off the ladder. They head outside for the big dives, with Jimmy Havoc joining in. Fenix hits a crazy springboard flip dive and might hurt himself on the landing. Colt Cabana runs in for one of his own, followed by the Best Friends coming out to toss Cassidy onto the pile for the huge crash.

Hikaru Shida/Kris Stadtlander vs. Nyla Rose/Britt Baker

Rose misses a kendo stick shot to start and it’s a brawl before the bell. We finally settle down enough to officially start with Rose hammering Stadtlander in the corner. We take a break and come back with Shida firing off the running knees, including one to Baker on the apron. Everything breaks down again and Rose is double Death Valley Drivered into Baker in the corner.

Shida adds another running knee to the back of Rose’s head for two The medics are checking on Baker’s knee as Rose counters a sunset flip by landing on Shida for two. The Beast Bomb finishes Shida at 9:53 in what might have been a missed spot as Stadtlander didn’t make the save in time.

Rating: C. Not too bad here though I’m thinking the ending was either botched or switched due to Baker possibly being injured. There was no logical reason to have the #1 contender take a fall three days before the pay per view so maybe that wasn’t the plan. If it was though, I’d love to hear the logic behind it.

Post match Rose busts out a table but Shida jumps up and superplexes her through it instead.

Moxley talks about how disagreements can get a lot worse in a hurry. It started with a stolen belt and now it’s a broken arm. How bad is it going to get on Saturday?

It’s time for Shawn Spears News. In a breaking story, Dustin Rhodes has retired. That’s what Cody wanted all along right? Either way, it must be a tough pill to swallow, though a few years ago, Dustin had no problem swallowing pills. Another tough pill to swallow is Spears not having a match at Double or Nothing because wins matter around here. Therefore, he’s challenging Dustin to a match at Double or Nothing.

Double or Nothing rundown.

Matt Hardy and Sammy Guevara recap the Elite/Hardy vs. Inner Circle brawls over the last two weeks.

Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara

Matt takes him outside to start and sends Sammy’s hand into various things. Sammy’s head is crushed against the post but he’s able to block the Twist of Fate. The superkick to the back of the head staggers Hardy but a springboard cutter is countered into a reverse DDT. A Razor’s Edge bomb is countered into a hurricanrana to send Hardy outside, meaning it’s a corkscrew dive to take him out again.

Back with Sammy missing a standing moonsault so Matt can send him into the buckles over and over. A running clothesline sets up the Side Effect for two and Matt sends him outside. Another Twist of Fate is countered back inside and Sammy kicks him in the face. The shooting star press misses and the Twist of Fate connects for two, with Matt not believing the kickout.

Matt takes off the boot and bites the toe (JR: “The metatarsal has been munched on!”) so Sammy gets in a jumping knee to the face. A springboard cutter gives Sammy two but another shooting star hits knees. Another Twist of Fate is enough to give Matt the pin at 13:18.

Rating: B-. It’s a nice relief that Matt just wrestled as himself instead of doing something ridiculous like he tends to do in the Broken persona. Matt can still have a good match when he has the chance, but a lot of the time the antics get to be a little too much. Sammy continues to look like a star and it’s great to see him getting this kind of a chance.

Post match Matt grabs a chair but we cut to the stadium where the Inner Circle has Kenny Omega against the goal post. Matt goes running off for the save but here are the Young Bucks to dive in for the save (Were they just going to wait there until someone came over to them?).

Matt comes in to help (showing that you can get from the arena to the stadium in maybe forty five seconds on foot, proving again that the explanation of “Cody was over by the stadium and can’t make the save” from two weeks ago was stupid) and Hangman Page sprints down the field for the real save. The Inner Circle bails and Page walks off on his own now that the fight is over.

Overall Rating: B. This one is going to depend on what you were looking for, but they did a good job in both areas. The wrestling itself tonight was fine enough, but the important thing was they made me want to see Double or Nothing. I’m looking forward to the stadium match to see what they can pull off and the rest of the card looks good enough. Just make it work as they usually do and it can be another great night.

Results

Jon Moxley b. 10 – Paradigm Shift

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Marko Stunt – Salt of the Earth

Rey Fenix b. Orange Cassidy – Rolling cutter

Nyla Rose/Britt Baker b. Hikaru Shida/Kris Stadtlander – Beast Bomb to Shida

Matt Hardy b. Sammy Guevara – Twist of Fate

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dark
Date: May 19, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

For reasons I don’t think I want to understand, this week’s show is even longer than last week’s, clocking in at an hour and twenty seven minutes. Factoring out commercials, that is as long as a regular two hour wrestling show, comprised almost entirely of squash matches. Why this is seen as a good idea is beyond me, but that has never stopped AEW before. Let’s get to it.

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

Quick preview of the show.

Hikaru Shida vs. Dani Jordyn

Dani has her burn book. They trade shoulders to start with Shida’s giving her a knockdown, followed by a backbreaker to keep Dani down. A running knee to the face lets Shida point at the camera but Jordan hits a springboard DDT back inside. The Tommaso Ciampa flipping armbar has Shida in more trouble but she’s out in a hurry with a missile dropkick for two. Jordyn grabs a German suplex, which Shida no sells and hits a running knee to the back of the head for two more. The running knee (yes another one) into the Falcon Arrow finishes Jordyn at 5:08.

Rating: D+. I’m guessing Shida went to the Kenny Omega school of “knee people in the face over and over”, though at least she isn’t doing it fifteen times a match. Shida is geared up for the title shot against Nyla Rose and a title change wouldn’t surprise me. AEW has done a good job of building her up and if she winds up as champion, it could be a rather smart move. Then again Rose could keep the title too. It could go either way and that’s always welcome.

Clutch Adams vs. QT Marshall

This is Adams’ debut and Marshall has taped up ribs. Marshall starts in on the arm so Adams gets smart by going after the ribs with shoulders in the corner. A crossbody is pulled out of the air though and Marshall muscles him up for a suplex. Adams goes right back to the ribs for two of his own but he charges into a shot in the corner. A backdrop puts Adams on the ramp and some shots to the face put him down back inside. Some rams into the corner put Marshall in more trouble but he’s right back with a cutter for the pin at 4:56.

Rating: C. Marshall is a fine hand in the ring and that’s what he got to do again here. I can see why he’s around here and it’s a good place to put him. That being said, he probably shouldn’t be having this much trouble against a guy named Clutch making his debut. Then again, that’s a problem up and down this show.

Marko Stunt vs. Jason Cade

They’re going to have someone as talented as Cade lose to Stunt? They start fast with Cade being sent outside and a sunset flip giving Stunt two back inside. Stunt hits a knee to the face so Cade just hammers him down in the corner. A whip sends Stunt chest first into the corner and he’s busted open. Cade elbows him in the face and gets two off a DDT. Stunt is back up and sends Cade outside for a suicide dive. Back in and Cade goes up but Marko catches him in a Razor’s Edge out of the corner. A 450 gives Stunt the pin at 4:48.

Rating: C-. Yeah I still can’t buy Stunt as a serious guy. He’s fine enough in something like this, but I don’t want to see Cade as a threat to anyone else for a long time. Stunt just threw him off the top and then beat him clean in less than five minutes. Not off a fluke rollup or anything, but by a clean pin. I’m sure that’s not what will happen, but anyone associated with Stunt is treated a little oddly anyway.

Post match Stunt has to be checked out.

Lee Johnson/Musa vs. Jimmy Havoc/Kip Sabian

Sabian and Johnson start things off with Johnson working on the arm early on. A headscissors puts Sabian down but he’s right back up with a headlock. Havoc comes in to stomp away at the ribs and send Johnson flying with a suplex. It’s off to Musa, who shakes hands like a schnook and gets punched in the face for his efforts. Sabian comes back in to run the ropes and hit a leg lariat to keep Musa in trouble. Musa snaps off a running hurricanrana into a dropkick and it’s back to Johnson for his own dropkick.

Havoc isn’t having any of that and comes in to pull on Johnson’s face to take over again. The villains take turns beating on Musa in the corner, including Havoc’s eye poke. Sabian adds a kick to the chest and Havoc suplexes him down. Musa fights back and sends Havoc into the corner, allowing the hot tag to Johnson. That means the comeback can be on but Havoc cuts him off with the Acid Rainmaker into the fisherman’s DDT for the pin at 9:54.

Rating: D. If you wanted to see two guys beat up some jobbers for longer than it should have taken, this was a match you’ll want to see. Sabian and Havoc are fine at what they do but they haven’t been anywhere above the midcard in AEW so far. Johnson and Musa have done well so far, though when you know they’re not going to win, the interest goes away in a hurry.

Shawn Dean vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix gets pyro. Dean gets caught in an armbar to start but slips out into a headlock. That doesn’t last long as Fenix kicks him in the face and throws on a cross armbreaker. With that broken up in a hurry, Fenix goes with the loud chop against the ropes so Dean knees him in the face. Fenix gets sent outside and Dean hits a big flip dive, even going feet first into the barricade. Back in and Fenix hits his rolling dropkick into a quickly broken chinlock. Fenix tries a slingshot but gets caught in a tiger bomb for two. You don’t do that to Fenix, who is right back with the springboard kick in the corner into the Black Fire Driver for the pin at 5:34.

Rating: C+. As usual, Fenix has one of the more entertaining matches of the night, mainly due to pure athleticism. I’ve been a big Fenix fan since the first time I’ve seen him and I can go for him either in singles or tag matches. Dean is one of the better jobbers, but it’s still more of the same problem on the entire show.

Jon Cruz vs. Luther

Luther hammers away to start and adds the chops, only to yell at his hands to give Cruz a breather. Cruz gets sent face first into the corner and more shouting ensues. See he’s a bit insane. Luther rips at Cruz’s face and sends him outside for a whip into the barricade. Back in and Luther slowly pounds away, with the screaming included. Cruz gets a boot up in the corner but Luther knocks him right back down. A reverse suplex into a camel clutch with Luther ripping at the face makes Cruz tap at 4:43.

Rating: D+. Well that Luther sure is wacky. This was the first match that felt like a squash after a bunch of far too competitive ones. That being said, Luther is as much of a niche/gimmick wrestler as you can have and it’s another match where I’m glad he comes and goes in a hurry.

Ryan Rembrandt/Mike Reed vs. Private Party

Quen throws Rembrandt down to start and Rembrandt is rather irritated. A dropkick drops Rembrandt again and it’s Kassidy coming in as everything breaks down in a hurry. Rembrandt gets caught with a dropkick and chop against the ropes but he’s back with a belly to belly.

Kassidy has to fight out of a hammerlock and rolls over for the tag to Quen so the pace can pick up. Quen uses Reed as a launchpad to kick Rembrandt, followed by the big flip dive to the floor. An assisted Sliced Bread gets two on Rembrandt and there’s the Silly String to Reed. He’s not legal though so it’s a springboard X Factor to take Rembrandt down instead. Kassidy’s Swanton connects for the pin at 6:30.

Rating: C. Private Party is still great as the two guys who go out there and do their cool spots, but there isn’t much to them beyond that. They have some incredible athleticism but so can a lot of teams around here. It never seems like they have a reason or a plan in the match as it’s more just spot after spot. In other words, they’re AEW junk food.

Alan Angels vs. Sammy Guevara

The announcers put over Angels as someone who can hang with the stars but can’t get over the hump. How is that not the case for most of the people on this show? Angels calls Sammy a punk to start so Sammy headlocks him (as you deal with most insulting people). The wristlock doesn’t last long as Angels rolls away, only to get taken down in a hurry. Sammy stops to dance so Angels is back with some hard chops.

Angels rolls over his back into a quickly broken crossface and then mocks Sammy’s pose. A springboard is broken up with Sammy’s jumping knee and it’s time to choke on the ropes. Sammy demands that commentary praise him and then does the fireman’s carry squats. Those take too long and he gets rolled up for two so Sammy stomps on his hand.

The delayed vertical suplex plants Angels again but he’s able to block the big slap. They chop it out and then trade spinning kicks to the head for a double knockdown. Angels is up first and strikes away but Sammy knees him in the face. The GTH (Go To Hospital/Burning GTS) is good for the pin on Angels at 7:49.

Rating: C+. Angels continues to be entertaining and it’s easy to see why Sammy is seen as such a big deal. The match was another entertaining one and I could see Angels becoming something if he is given a few wins. There’s a natural talent to him and he could either hang in there on Dynamite or be a star in a mid-sized promotion.

Serpentico vs. Darby Allin

From what I can find, Serpentico is Jon Cruz under a mask. Believe it or not, Allin starts with a headlock so Serpentico crawls over to the ropes. Serpentico is back with an armbar but Allin is right back up with the springboard armdrag. That just earns him a running knee to the floor and Serpentico hammers away back inside. A springboard cutter gives Serpentico two but Allin is back with right hands to the face. Allin’s top rope superplex gets two and there’s a backdrop to the floor. That means the Coffin Drop to the floor takes Serpentico down again and it’s the Last Supper to give Allin the pin at 5:22.

Rating: C-. Allin continues to look good and is an established star in the company. It’s good to see him get what was almost a squash, though Serpentico didn’t exactly thrill me. He’s better than he was as Cruz but that’s not exactly saying much. At least Allin got to showcase himself, but that Coffin Drop is a rather dangerous looking move and hopefully it doesn’t backfire on him.

A quick preview of Dynamite and a reminder that Mike Tyson will be at Double Or Nothing wrap us up.

Overall Rating: D+. I know it seemed like I was complaining a lot during this and that’s because I do not understand why this show is put together this way. It’s a YouTube show that they film before and after Dynamite. Unless this is broadcast somewhere else that I’ve never heard of, there is no need to make it this long. The show is now having more content than Dynamite and I don’t get the point. Doing a show like this is fine but it should be about forty minutes or so at most, not a show that would last two hours if you took out commercials.

What do fans get out of this? A chance to see wrestlers who are often competing on Dynamite? The matches and show as a whole aren’t terrible or anything, but when you’re watching one after another with no doubt about the winners and they’re mostly mediocre at best, you get bored in a hurry, which feels a lot longer when you know you have so much time left. I don’t get the thinking here and this show has gone from a nice little supplement to a chore to watch. That’s not good, and it’s not like there is anyone making them do it this way.

Results

Hikaru Shida b. Dani Jordyn – Falcon Arrow

QT Marshall b. Clutch Adams – Cutter

Marko Stunt b. Jason Cade – 450

Kip Sabian/Jimmy Havoc b. Lee Johnson/Musa – Fisherman’s DDT to Johnson

Rey Fenix b. Shawn Dean – Black Fire Driver

Luther b. Jon Cruz – Face pulling camel clutch

Private Party b. Ryan Rembrandt/Mike Reed – Swanton to Rembrandt

Sammy Guevara b. Alan Angels – GTH

Darby Allin b. Serpentico – Last Supper

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #9
Date: June 15, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

It’s time to change things up a bit this week with the first ever Tag Team Champions being crowned. This has been teased for a little while and it’s something that could add in a new dynamic to the show. There are several ways to go with the titles, but there’s a good chance that a surprise team walks out with the belts. Let’s get to it.

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

Colonel Robert Parker is giving the Dirty Blonds some strategy for the Tag Team Title tournament. They’re not overly worried.

Opening sequence.

We hear about Battle Riot coming to New York City, which seems to be a 40 man Royal Rumble.

Earlier this week, Brody King tried to collect Salina de la Renta’s bounty on Shane Strickland in a parking lot. This meant shoving Strickland over and that’s about it.

MVP isn’t worried about Maxwell J. Friedman, whose mouth has written a check that his mouth can’t cash. Friedman is going to be taken to school and MVP is going to be his teacher. When Friedman is done, it’s time to go after Sami Callihan and his get along gang.

MVP vs. Maxwell J. Friedman

Before the match, Friedman calls MVP the Jabronin Ronin. Friedman hides in the ropes to start so MVP forearms him in the back and hits a belly to back. A running boot in the corner is blocked though and it’s a poke to the eye like you should be seeing from a villain. Friedman cranks on an armbar and we take a break.

Back with MVP throwing some right hands and the Ballin Elbow connecting for no cover. There’s a fisherman’s suplex for two and the Playmaker connects, drawing out Callihan and company. MVP dives onto the trip, allowing Friedman to get in a low blow, followed by a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin 7:34.

Rating: D+. Friedman is a pretty simple, basic character and that’s all he needs to be. He doesn’t have the best in ring skills but he’s not the worst either, putting him right in the middle on a show full of others who happen to be right in the middle. MVP is the same guy he’s been for years, meaning I’m still not much of a fan.

Ad for Battle Riot, explaining that it’s a Royal Rumble with pins and submissions with the winner getting a World Title shot anyplace anytime. Confirmed for the match: Jake Hager, Barrington Hughes, Jimmy Yuta and Pentagon Jr.

Barrington Hughes doesn’t like the idea of a bounty on someone who is just doing his job.

Jimmy Yuta and Jason Cade are ready to win the Tag Team Titles, with Cade saying he’s the captain. This goes as well as you would expect.

Simon Gotch vs. Parrow

This is Gotch’s $250 challenge, with Parrow only having to last five minutes to win. Parrow is a good sized guy who we’ve seen before and part of the Stud Stable. Gotch kicks him in the face and the 6’4 300lb Parrow bounces back with a shoulder to send Gotch outside. Back in and a chokeslam is countered into a kneebar but it’s too close to the rope. Tom Lawlor gets in a cheap shot with what looked like a shoe, setting up the rear naked choke to put Parrow away at 1:55.

Post match the Dirty Blonds come out for the save.

Brody King, a bounty hunter with a big beard, challenges Strickland for next week.

MLW CEO Court Bauer calls in and says the match is on for next week.

Elimination rules and anything goes with the titles vacant coming in. TBD is Cade/Yuta of course. It’s WCW rules with one person from every team in at once but everything breaks down in short order. The brothers are sent to the floor and TBD get backdropped at the same time. TBD dive into stereo superkicks but the Blonds pull Pentagon and Fenix outside. That just means stereo flip dives from TBD, followed by Brien’s own flip dive from the apron.

We settle down (kind of) with Cade getting caught in a double whip spinebuster for two as Yuta makes the save. Brien starts in with some suplexes and a backsplash to Fenix for two but Cade is back in for a tornado DDT. A top rope elbow from Yuta and a frog splash from Cade are enough to put Brien away and get rid of the Blonds at 4:28.

Back from a break with all four down in the ring until Cade pops up for some chops to the Bros. A double superkick rocks Yuta and he’s tied up in the Tree of Woe. With Cade seated beneath him, Pentagon gets launched into the two of them, only to have Yuta pop up with a kick to Pentagon’s leg for two. TBD go up top for a double missile dropkick on Fenix and Yuta’s German suplex gets two more. Pentagon comes back in and tells Cade CERO MIEDO. Cade: “I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!”” Eh good for a laugh.

The Sling Blade gets two on Cade and a Codebreaker is good for the same. Something resembling an Angle Slam gives Yuta two but Fenix dives in with a dropkick for a great looking save. An over the shoulder sitout Tombstone plants Yuta for another near fall but Cade is right back in with a handspring Codebreaker.

We haven’t had a dive in awhile so Cade nails a suicide version, leaving Yuta to eat a rolling dropkick to the face. Cade is back in with a hurricanrana to set up the elbow/frog splash combination for two more. As you might have expected though, Cade hits Yuta and calls him stupid as a result, setting up a superkick into the Pentagon Driver for another near fall. A spike Fear Factor on Yuta is enough for the pin and the titles at 16:07.

Rating: C+. It was a fun and wild match but if it’s the first time the titles are going to be decided, I could have gone for some more actual tag team wrestling instead of just a bunch of spots. Now that being said, what we got was an entertaining match in the lucha style and it’s the right call to give Pentagon and Fenix, who have been two of the stars of the show, the titles in the first place.

Salina busts out the Patron (thankfully sans Alberto) as the celebration is on to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a show that they needed to get done with the Tag Team Titles being something that can help them later on. They got the first champions right and that’s what matters most here, plus the match itself was entertaining. I’m actually looking forward to seeing Strickland again next week and that’s why you have someone like him in the top spot: he’s an attraction and feels like a big deal, which is what you want in a champion.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #8
Date: June 8, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

Things are starting to change a bit as evil manager Salina de la Renta is coming after World Champion Shane Strickland. At the same time, Tom Lawlor is still a jerk and tonight he gets to face the rather talented Fred Yehi. We’re still at the point of having people debut here fairly regularly around here so we might be seeing some new faces again. Let’s get to it.

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

Video on Shane Strickland. Is there a reason to have this if he’s not here to start the show?

Opening sequence.

Tom Lawlor vs. Fred Yehi

Lawlor has Team Filthy, including Simon Gotch and the still unnamed third man (though his jacket says Sanders), with him. Yehi takes him down to the mat and grabs a front facelock but Lawlor spins back up for a standoff. Now it’s Lawlor’s turn to wrestle him down but Yehi spins out and grabs him again, sending Lawlor to the ropes. This time Yehi stomps on Lawlor’s hand but Lawlor pulls him down by the leg.

That goes nowhere so Yehi gets two off a great looking fisherman’s suplex. Lawlor is right back up and grabs a seated abdominal stretch to slow things down again. It’s off to a butterfly lock on Yehi and we take a break. Back with Lawlor stomping away and getting two off a suplex. Lawlor grabs a dragon sleeper with a hammerlock (allowing Tony to talk about the Andersons, which had to make him smile) and then a guillotine, which is countered with a hard slam.

Yehi’s dragon suplex gets two so he fires off a long string of knees to the face. A layout powerbomb gets two more and Lawlor is rocked, which doesn’t happen very often around here. With the referee checking on Yehi, Lawlor takes off his forearm pad and knocks Yehi cold with the metal forearm. A rear naked choke finishes Yehi off at 13:41.

Rating: B-. Lawlor is one of those guys that MLW owner Court Bauer hyped up to a nearly ridiculous degree when he was promoting the show but he’s turned into one of the best things around here. He really is one of those guys who lives up to his building and the Filthy name suits him perfectly. Yehi is someone who could hang with him on the mat and I had a good time with this one. Well done.

We look back at Maxwell J Friedman attacking Joey Janela last week. He’s been fined $5,000.

Friedman really doesn’t think much of the fine and doesn’t want to talk about it but Janela’s manager Aria Blake comes in to yell at him. This goes nowhere and Friedman is out.

We look back at de la Renta threatening Strickland last week.

De la Renta has put out a $20,000 bounty on Strickland’s head. It’s worked before and it should work again.

Jimmy Yuta and Jason Cade, a fairly unsuccessful tag team, are at a photo shoot where Cade won’t let Yuta get much of the spotlight.

Leon Scott vs. MVP

Scott, the big bald guy who has been following Sami Callihan, is named for the first time here and has Callihan and (Sawyer) Fulton in his corner. MVP goes right at him to start but Callihan comes in for the DQ at 47 seconds.

Post match MVP tries to fight them off but gets caught by Fulton, whose presence seems to surprise Tony, even though he was present and active during Callihan’s match last week. The beatdown is on but Kotto Brazil, who Callihan attacked last week, comes in for the save. That doesn’t last long but he did try. Callihan beats them both down with the baseball bat.

Strickland doesn’t think much of the bounties on his head because it comes with being the World Champion. Low Ki comes in and, in a very low key voice, offers some help dealing with de la Renta and hands Strickland a business card. Shane isn’t interested and Low Ki walks away.

Rich Swann and ACH meet and might be a team in the future. So I guess Swann is just a cocky face? That’s hard to pull off, though not impossible.

ACH vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix is part of de la Renta’s Promociones Dorado but is still rather popular and fan friendly. ACH takes him to the mat and we’re back up to the standoff almost immediately. They take turns flipping around to another standoff but ACH gets in a double stomp to the back, followed by a sliding dropkick to put Fenix outside. You don’t do that with a flier like ACH so there’s the first dive. Fenix is right back up with a dropkick to the floor and the suicide dive takes ACH down as well.

Back from a break with a high angle Swanton giving Fenix two. They trade loud strikes with Fenix getting the better of it and ACH almost looking surprised that Fenix would kick him in the face. ACH is right back with a backbreaker and a snap German suplex for two of his own. Fenix snapmares him down and rolls into a frog splash, followed by a missed moonsault. That’s fine with Fenix, who keeps rolling and catches ACH with a cutter. Cool spot, albeit incredibly contrived. A chop to ACH’s chest makes me cringe and another puts ACH down.

Fenix jumps up top and tries a high crossbody, which ACH rolls through into a Death Valley Driver for two more. That’s enough of ACH on offense so Fenix knocks him to the apron and kicks him in the head. Back in and ACH returns the favor to knock Fenix off the top in a heap. ACH doesn’t exactly have the same prowess with the chops, to the point that Fenix sticks his chest out and tells him to do it. Fenix kicks the heck out him but charges into a superkick to keep ACH strong. The frog splash misses though and Fenix grabs a Muscle Buster driver (egads) for the pin at 14:44.

Rating: B. While maybe not the most classically formulated match in the world, this was a lot of fun with both guys flying around and hitting a variety of big moves, which is more than you get in a lot of matches like this. ACH isn’t likely to win much around here, but he’s regularly putting in entertaining performances on TV. Fenix needed the win a lot more though and that’s what matters most here.

Post match they stare each other down and shake hands after a few seconds to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. After last week’s really weak effort, it’s a good sign that they can still pull off something like this. You had two good matches and angle advancement up and down the show. That’s a good way to use your hour of TV time and even though there’s only so much to draw from, this was definitely one of the best episodes of the series so far.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #5
Date: May 18, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for our first rematch but the good thing is that it’s a rematch of one of the best matches the promotion has put on so far. In this case we have Pentagon Jr. defending his #1 contendership against his old rival (and brother) Rey Fenix as a result of Pentagon spraying mist in World Champion Shane Strickland’s face last week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Strickland vs. Pentagon, which has been built up to the point where it almost has to take place at this point.

Opening sequence.

Kotto Brazil vs. Trey Miguel

Miguel is from the WWN and is a pretty standard high flier. They hit the mat to start with Brazil grabbing a headlock to keep things slow. Back up and they flip a lot with neither making much contact until Brazil smacks him in the face. One heck of a running European uppercut rocks Miguel again but he headscissors Brazil down without much effort. A springboard flip dive has Brazil in even more trouble and I’m rather surprised by how well Schiavone is calling a faster paced match like this. If nothing else the voice is still the same and that’s a good thing.

Back in and Brazil gets one off a snapmare from the middle rope (that’s uh, certainly new) of all things. A slingshot dropkick from the apron keeps Miguel in trouble as the smaller Brazil is continuing to show off here. Miguel gets rocked by a German suplex and a running Sliced Bread makes things even worse. Back up and Brazil misses a charge to get caught in the corner, setting up a 619. Miguel heads up top for a Meteora and the pin at 7:10.

Rating: C. This was a fast paced match with some good spots but it felt like so many indy matches: a bunch of moves and stuff but nothing that suggested a story or storytelling or any of that outdated stuff. Both guys need some more time to get the finer points of wrestling, but they have the athletics part around.

Video on the first Pentagon vs. Fenix match.

We go to Salina de la Renta’s estate in Puerto Rico and Rich is in way over his head with someone as sharp as she is. She has the best collection of Hispanic talent and suggests that he’s intimidated by her. Rich winds up in the pool.

Backstage, Salina says she’s signed Pentagon and Fenix to Promociones Dorado.

We recap Jimmy Havoc’s issues last week, including defeating Joey Janela and getting beaten down by Tom Lawlor.

Team Filthy is in a hot tub and says bring Havoc on because they love easy paydays.

Dirty Blonds vs. Jimmy Yuta/Jason Cade

Elimination rules and the Blonds have Colonel Parker in their corner. Brien and Yuta trade slaps to the face to start and it’s Cade coming in with an ax handle to Brien’s arm. Patrick comes in and gets beaten up as well, setting up back to back dives to the floor to drop the Blonds again. Back in and Patrick rolls through a high crossbody and grabs the tights (good villain) for the elimination at 3:08.

Cade is left alone and punches away as much as he can but the numbers get the better of him in short order. The slow pace begins with Cade getting whipped into the opposite corner, though Patrick does throw in a strut for some real villany. A rollup (odd move for when you’re in control) gives Brien two but Cade does manage to use Patrick as a launch pad for a tornado DDT. Unfortunately a single foot to the chest doesn’t do much damage on Patrick, who puts Cade on top. A superplex is broken up though and Black Magic (a backslide driver) gets rid of Patrick at 7:06.

So we’re down to Cade vs. Brien and Cade is already spent after the long beating. Cade fights out of a chinlock without much trouble but Brien is way too big for Black Magic. Colonel Parker trips Cade though, drawing Yuta over to yell. That’s more than enough for Patrick to come back in for a double whip spinebuster and the pin at 9:03.

Rating: C. This was a little fast and while I can appreciate the different stipulation for the sake of some change, it’s not really working as Cade and Yuta aren’t the most thrilling team in the world. The Blonds are a good, old fashioned heel team (I love that they’re both big and overweight as it’s much easier to boo bigger guys) and that’s something that isn’t around often enough anymore.

Cade isn’t happy with Yuta.

Post break, Cade and Yuta say they’ll be on the same page for the upcoming Tag Team Title tournament.

Shane Strickland’s eyes aren’t back to normal yet but he’s ready for Pentagon. The attack only shows him that Pentagon is scared of Swerve. Pentagon can’t take his heart or the title and Pentagon should be afraid of that. Good, emotional promo from the champ.

Pentagon Jr. vs. Rey Fenix

The winner gets the title shot next week. Pentagon has Salina de la Renta with him, even though she said she has signed them both. They go straight to hitting each other in the face before a chop exchange goes nowhere. A pop up hurricanrana sends Pentagon to the floor and of course that means a big dive to take him out again. The fans are into this (as they should be) but Pentagon cuts them off by dropkicking Fenix out of the air on a springboard attempt.

Fenix’s leg gets wrapped around the post and it’s time for Pentagon to steal someone’s hat. I know he’s a rudo but come on now. A VERY loud chop wakes people up a bit more and a Sling Blade is good for two on Fenix. As has been a problem for him over and over again, Pentagon takes way too long setting something up and Fenix is right back with a rolling cutter. He’s fine enough to catch a powerbomb backbreaker for two more on Fenix and we take a break.

Back with Fenix getting two of his own off a nifty rollup and a spinwheel kick to Pentagon’s head puts them both down. The fans are nice enough to count to ten in Spanish so the guys won’t be confused. How polite of them. They fight to the apron and this is going to be painful. Fenix gets the best of it with a kick to the face and a double springboard stomp to the back.

Pentagon avoids getting German suplexed off the apron so he hits the Fear Factor on the apron instead. Geez and that’s his brother. What would he do to his Aunt Mabel? Naturally that’s only good for two back inside so Pentagon breaks his arm and hits the Pentagon Driver for two more. Of note: Tony has the names for the finishers backwards but that’s pretty normal in his case. Another Fear Factor gives Pentagon the pin at 12:40.

Rating: B. These two are incapable of having a bad match against each other so there was even more fun to be had here. Pentagon was pretty obviously the winner here as there was no way they couldn’t go through with the match after setting things up for Pentagon vs. Strickland for so many weeks. At least Fenix got to do his flippy stuff and that’s what he does best. Good match.

Overall Rating: B-. Another good episode this week and I’m looking forward to seeing Strickland again. They’ve built him up as a top guy who can take on almost anyone, including Pentagon who is one of the top villains around. They’re doing a lot of things right but they still haven’t had that blow away match or story that gets your attention so well. Then again with five hours of programming to their name on this show so far, there’s not much else you can do.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #1
Date: April 20, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

This is something interesting and since it’s me, I’m behind on the schedule. Major League Wrestling was around for a little while in the early 2000s but went away for a long time, only to be resurrected after some successful one off shows. They got a TV deal on beIN Sports and air a weekly show, which has been around for a little over a month now. I’m not sure what to expect here but if the first few episodes are good I’ll add it to the weekly schedule. Let’s get to it.

We see some clips from old wrestling promotions and the original MLW, which had some big name stars (CM Punk, Bryan Danielson etc). Nice opening and a good way to make this show feel more important.

The announcers (I’m sure you know Schiavone but Bocchini is former NXT announcer Rich Brennan) give us a quick welcome before throwing it to the ring.

ACH vs. Austin Aries

ACH says he’s as real as it gets and has bad ribs coming in. A handshake gets us going and they fight into the corner as I try to get my head around the idea of Tony Schiavone talking about ACH and Austin Aries. They go with a technical sequence to the mat until Aries has to nip his way out of a wristlock. The Last Chancery is broken up and it’s time for Aries to chill on the top. Back in and ACH flips around a lot, which seems to impress Aries for a change.

Some very fast armdrags have ACH down and there’s the basement dropkick for good measure. ACH’s dropkick gets two and a springboard version knocks Aries from the apron to the floor. That goes nowhere so Aries gets in a shot to the ribs to take over again and they walk around the ring a bit. An elbow to the back gives Aries two more as he’s certainly focusing on a target.

We go very old school with a Stump Puller (picture an electric chair if ACH is sitting on the mat and Aries is pulling on his leg) before Aries misses a missile dropkick. ACH is way too quick to go up top though and the missed splash only bangs up the ribs again. He’s fine enough to get two off a slingshot cutter and they both need a breather. The Pendulum elbow (spinning elbow according to Tony, which is fair enough) gives Aries two but a kick to the face cuts him down again.

This time the splash connects for two and ACH can’t believe the kickout. He’ll have even more trouble realizing what’s going on after a Death Valley Driver onto the apron knocks him silly. And then, because modern wrestling is annoying, ACH is trying the 450 only 45 seconds after a Death Valley Driver on the apron. That hits knees though and the Last Chancery….still doesn’t finish as ACH makes the rope. Instead Aries forearms him in the face and hits the brainbuster for the pin at 17:32.

Rating: B-. This went a few minutes longer than it needed to (you could have gone from the Death Valley Driver to the brainbuster with nothing in between) but it was a good way to start a new show (mainly due to the lack of commercials). ACH isn’t a name that a lot of fans are going to know but Aries was at Wrestlemania just last year. I had a good time watching this one and it’s a promising start to the show.

Jimmy Havoc, a British wrestler, talks about the history of fans wanting blood for wrestling in Florida. They haven’t gotten that in recent years but he’s going to change all of that.

Barrington Hughes vs. Chico Adams

Hughes (the Caramel Colossus, who says he won’t stop until he reaches the top) is 469lbs and finishes with a Rock Bottom at 9 seconds (his second fastest win to date). He’s at Viscera levels of disturbingly huge so getting him in and out of there so fast is the right idea.

Next week: MLW Champion Shane Strickland vs. Jimmy Havoc.

Rey Fenix vs. Pentagon Jr.

This should be a layup and the winner gets a future World Title shot. Pentagon is introduced as Penta El Cero but his graphic says Pentagon Jr. He also has what appears to be a standard good looking manager named Salina de la Renta. Fenix offers a handshake but gets the CERO MIEDO treatment. Some kicks to the head have Fenix in early trouble but he’s right back with kicks to the head of his own and it’s a double knockdown.

Back up and Fenix bounces along the ropes (including bouncing on his back onto the top rope), setting up an armdrag to the floor and a suicide flip dive. They head back in where Pentagon dropkicks him out of the air for a nice counter to take over again. Pentagon heads outside and chops him against the post before, of course, chopping the post by mistake. A running hurricanrana from the apron into the crowd (albeit in slow motion as it’s hard to roll over people) has Pentagon in more trouble.

Back in again and Fenix starts kicking him in the head, followed by a triple springboard missile dropkick for two. A Backstabber out of the corner gives Pentagon two and we take a break. Back with NOTHING CHANGED (THANK GOODNESS!) and Fenix grabbing some rollups for a near fall each. Fenix catches him on top with a super C4 for two more but charges into a powerbomb backbreaker.

Tony tries to figure out why the fans are cheering a rudo (I….don’t know how to handle Tony talking about rudos), followed by Pentagon backdropping him into a powerbomb for a sweet landing. We even get a catchphrase with Tony dropping “What’s major league? THAT’S MAJOR LEAGUE!” The Fear Factor gives Pentagon the pin at 14:09.

Rating: B. Like I said, kind of a layup with Pentagon being one of the biggest indy stars around at the moment and Fenix being crazy levels of exciting most of the time. You don’t need to do much more than let these two go insane and do all kinds of high flying stuff. Pentagon winning makes sense and while I doubt they would put the title on someone so hot, it’s cool to see him getting a big win.

A long video package and a handshake ensue.

A video on Strickland vs. Havoc takes us out.

Overall Rating: B+. Now that’s how you start a new show. This was all about giving you a taste of what you had coming and they did a solid job of making me want to see where things going. You had two good, long matches and stuff being set up for next week. They did something smart by having the hotter matches open things up, though I could see having the World Champion around in the first week. The question is how long can they hold this up, and that’s what we’ll see next week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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

IMG Credit: Impact Wrestling

Yes this company still does non-One Night Only pay per views, even though it’s been nearly six months since their last one. What used to be Lockdown has now been changed to the rather generic Redemption and a lot of the card is going to be featuring Lucha Underground talent. That’s not a bad thing, but there have been a combination of changes to the card and matches added in after the TV tapings, meaning it’s kind of a mixed bag up and down. Maybe they’ll surprise me though as the recent TV has been pretty good. Let’s get to it.

Taiji Ishimori vs. Dezmond Xavier vs. El Hijo de Fantasma vs. Brian Cage vs. DJZ vs. Trevor Lee

You didn’t know these people were on the card or even still with the company? Well here most of them are to be destroyed by Cage. It’s clear that Cage is being groomed to be a big deal, if nothing else due to defeating Bobby Lashley and sending him out of the promotion. The rest of these guys are just there as cannon fodder, though it wouldn’t shock me if they went with someone getting the fall while Cage is busy bench pressing a bus or something.

But yeah, Cage wins here because, in theory/hope at least, they realize that a lot of the X-Division guys should be fed to him like villagers being sacrificed to Godzilla. Cage is a monster who needs to be destroying people and it’s not like any of these people are doing anything. I mean, they don’t even have a move called the Canadian Destroyer. Why would they be going near a title shot? Cage wins here and should do so in dominant fashion.

Taya Valkyrie vs Kiera Hogan

This is a match that wasn’t announced on Impact but why let that stop you? Valkyrie is coming off a loss to Rosemary (not on the show) in the big blowoff match of their feud and is in need of a big win. Hogan is too though as she’s still relatively new but someone that Impact seems interested in pushing. The division needs some new names so if they have something with Hogan, it’s worth giving her a shot.

I’ll be taking Valkyrie though as Hogan winning would be quite the upset. I do however expect this to be pretty competitive with Hogan getting in a lot as there’s no reason to have a squash on pay per view. Hogan might not go anywhere but it’s worth taking a shot on her if she’s gotten this far. Valkyrie needs it more though and should win, preferably with a heck of a Road to Valhalla for the pin.

Knockouts Title: Allie(c) vs. Su Yung

Now we’re getting to one of the confusing ones. Allie won the title so recently and wasn’t exactly a big success as champion in the first place so a second win to establish her as one of the bigger stars of the division would make sense. At the same time though, they just brought Yung in and I’m not sure what the point would be in having a monster slayed so soon. It really could go either way and for once, I’m not sure which to go with here.

I’m going to take Yung to win the match here, but not the title. I could see this going to a DQ to set up a rematch, probably after a few weeks of Braxton Sutter being a jerk go by. It’s the best way out of this booking corner and Allie can come back and win the big rematch by overcoming her fears. You know, by being what Bayley should have been since Allie is a Bayley clone.

Tag Team Titles: LAX(c) vs. Scott Steiner/Eli Drake

So this is a thing that’s happening because Chris Adonis walked out on the promotion and WE MUST have a muscular guy take his place because of reasons. Drake would be the kind of guy who gets any dummy (KM would still be a good option) to team with him and win the titles. But hey, let’s bring in Scott Steiner and reinforce so many stereotypes about the promotion and gives us a horrible looking match at the same time.

Of course LAX retains, likely with Drake taking the fall because they can clearly have him losing a fall when STEINER is in there as a backup option. LAX needs to win here, mainly because they’re one of all of three teams (if that) on the roster. Maybe they can find another team to feud with them because other than OVE and…..oh yeah the Cult of Lee (pretty much the end of the division), they’ve cleared out the division. That being said, I don’t think that’s it for Drake on the night but we’ll get to that later.

Aerostar vs. Drago

This is one of the Lucha Underground matches as these two have no real connection to Impact Wrestling other than filling in a slot on the card. That being said, it’s quite the benefit to us as it gives the audience something fresh rather than doing the same stuff we see on TV every week. They’re both very talented guys and can wrestle a fun match, which is often a benefit for a pay per view like this.

I’ll go with Drago, who is a bigger star in Lucha Underground and a slightly better talent overall. Aerostar is fine but never did a ton for me so he’ll really be there as an opponent for Drago rather than a major attraction. Either way, it’s nice to have a match like this and both guys should get the chance to shine on a bigger (at least somewhat bigger) stage.

X-Division Title: Matt Sydal(c) vs. Petey Williams

This is Williams’ Feast or Fired briefcase cash-in, which is a decent thing in a way. I don’t like having three Money in the Bank ripoffs running around, but at least they actually announce the match in advance for a change. It’s better than having people run out and steal a title for once, and thankfully they’re getting at least two of the three things out of the way in one night.

I’ll go with Sydal winning here, as he’s a more interesting character and someone who can go a little further than Williams. I know Williams is a fan favorite due to having a good finisher, but that and being Canadian are really all he has going for him. Sydal and Josh Matthews aren’t the best combination in the world but Matthews is a good heel and Sydal…well he’s trying at least. The match should be fun though, just for Sonjay Dutt making fun of Matthews on commentary.

OVE vs. Tommy Dreamer/Moose/Eddie Edwards

This is a hardcore match, because it’s not like Tommy Dreamer can do much else right now. Sami Callihan and OVE have attacked Eddie Edwards for a few weeks now (reasons still yet to be explained, but general chaos seems to be in the lead) and Edwards needs some backup in the fight. I haven’t been thrilled with the feud so far and making this a tag match seems like a way to get Moose on the card (a good thing).

I’ll go with OVE though, as Dreamer seems in there to take the fall more than anything else. They can do Edwards vs. Callihan for the blowoff later, but it still doesn’t seem like the most thrilling thing in the world. That might be due to Callihan and OVE being rather annoying and uninteresting as heels (at least in this role) but that’s not likely to change anytime soon. But yeah, OVE wins here.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Austin Aries(c) vs. Pentagon Jr. vs. Rey Fenix

Well, we lost Alberto El Patron and got Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix so I’d call that an upgrade. El Patron was scheduled to get the title shot and had a bunch of stuff with Aries filmed but, due to reasons of being a ridiculously unprofessional jerk, he no showed an event and was subsequently fired. Therefore, we’re getting a rematch of the Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground triple threat, which was won by Pentagon Jr.

I’ll take Aries to win here, only to have Drake cash in his other Feast or Fired case to leave with the World Title. Aries can have some people to face down the line, but having him take the title from Drake again would be a good idea, especially for the sake of his promos being so great. The match itself will be fun and all three can work well together. That sounds like a good main event, but I don’t see it blowing the doors off of anything.

Overall Thoughts

I’m actually not dreading this show and that’s a rare feeling for an Impact Wrestling pay per view. The addition of the Lucha Underground talent should help things out a lot but at the same time, I’m not sure Impact Wrestling could do a three hour pay per view on their own. That’s not good given the amount of names on their roster, but the future is starting to have some color to it. That hasn’t been the case in a LONG time around here and I’ll take what I can get from these people.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/03/23/new-paperback-kbs-grab-bag/

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

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

In addition to the Rev Pro show on Friday night, WrestleCon also put on a Supershow in the same room (and with a lot of the same talent). This was the definition of a supershow with a little bit of everything from comedy to violence to dueling chants. To say this was a lot more energetic than most shows is an understatement.

The show was scheduled to start at 8:30 but since Rev Pro went fairly late it wound up starting at about 8:50. There were also well over 1000 people in one room sot he place was BOILING. Prices for a bottle of water (as in a regular one) at the bar: SIX DOLLARS. Realizing this was insane, I went down the street to Walgreens and bought a liter sized bottle for $1.79. At intermission I went and got two more, with all three not combining for the cost of one. I get the idea of making money but those prices would drive customers away.

1. David Starr/Caleb Kenley/Trevor Lee vs. Michael Elgin/ACH/Mascarito Dorado

That would be El Torito at the end. To give you an idea of what we were dealing with on this card, ACH was introduced as “Mr. I Used This Booking To Pay My Bills.” The match was under Lucha rules and it was very clear that this was going to be a very Un-PG show. Dorado did a bunch of speedy stuff, causing Lee to shout the following at his partners: “WHAT IN THE F******* F*** WAS THAT???” Later, when Dorado was in a chinlock, Lee shouted at Kenley to “MAKE THAT MIDGET TAP!”

2. Low Ki vs. Shane Strickland

3. Impact Wrestling World Title: Bobby Lashley vs. Jeff Cobb

4. Flip Gordon/Sammy Guevera vs. Angleico/Jack Evans

5. Team Ricochet (Ricochet/Jason Cade/Sami Calihan/AR Fox/Desmond Xavier) vs. Team Will Ospreay (Ospreay/Marty Scurll/Lio Rush/Drew Galloway/Ryan Smile)

The captains were chosen due to a great match Ospreay and Ricochet had last year in Japan which was called choreographed nonsense. The solution? Give then four partners each (which they say they were allowed to hand pick) and TWENTY TWO MINUTES to do as much choreographed stuff as they could. This included a series of about ten straight cutters, quadruple big boots, a quintuple suplex and a dance off that has to be seen to be believed. As luck would have it, I had a camera on me and filmed the second half of said dance off. Everyone danced but I only got the last few. The one that matters is included though.

Intermission time, which again ran long as the wrestlers were running their merch tables. It also meant time for me to meet some more wrestlers, including Angelico, Lio Rush, Flip Gordon, Sammy Guevera (very nice guy), Desmond Xavier and Moose. As I was coming back from Walgreens for water, I saw Marty Jannetty in the lobby and WOW he was out of it. I shook his hand and he started walking around without letting go while hitting on a woman. As I was heading out of the arena, I also saw Donovan Dijak watching the show as a fan.

6. DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Title: WrestleCon Rumble

1. Joey Ryan (defending champion)

2. Colt Cabana

Bell rings.

Ryan to Cabana: “GRAB MY D***!”

Fans: “GRAB HIS D***! GRAB HIS D***!”

3. Kikutaro (Japanese comedy character)

4. Underground Luchador

5. Manscout Jake Manning (He reads and beats people up at the same time)

6. George South

7. Suicide (Never unmasked, apparently Caleb Konley)

8. Mr. Hughes (Down probably 100lbs from his mainstream days)

9. Zane Riley (Mr. 305 Live)

10. 2 Cold Scorpio (One of my favorites so this was a treat)

11. Billy Gunn (Easily the biggest pop of the match)

12. Moose (Who had a staredown with Gunn for a bizarre visual)

13. Swoggle

14. Shane Douglas

15. Kevin Thorn

16. Shannon Moore

17. Hurricane (With a bad limp)

18. Abyss (House was cleaned)

19. Gangrel (That music is still SWEET)

20. Marty Jannetty

7. Johnny Mundo vs. Brian Cage

8. Hardys vs. Rey Fenix/Pentagon Dark