Summerslam 2023
Date: August 5, 2023
Location: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 51,477
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re in another stadium and that means the show is going to feel big. In this case we have several major matches on the card, starting with Tribal Combat as Roman Reigns defends the WWE Universal Title, as well as being Tribal Chief, against Jey Uso. Other than that, we have Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar III and Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor for the Raw World Title. Let’s get to it.

Since the show is in Detroit, the opening video has a car theme and an intro by Kid Rock, because of course it does. It talks about knowing where you’re going and looks at some classic clips before moving into the look at this year’s show.

And again, for reasons I still cannot fathom, the show’s theme song is Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf. As in the song released in 1968.

Logan Paul vs. Ricochet

This is a battle over trying to go viral. They yell at each other to start and Paul is knocked to the floor where he covers up from a dive that never comes. Back in and Ricochet rolls through a sunset lip attempt but gets elbowed in the face to cut him off. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Ricochet fights up, only to get caught in the ropes. A neckbreaker onto the apron puts Ricochet down and Paul hammers away in the corner to keep him in trouble.

With a quick mock of the injured Braun Strowman, Paul hits a running powerslam for two and soaks in some booing. A big boot and legdrop (the Hogan Paul) connect for Paul but Ricochet is back with a spinebuster into the People’s Moonsault for two. Back up and one heck of a backdrop leaves Ricochet crashing down and Paul is back up with a springboard clothesline.

They go to the apron, with Ricochet having to stick the landing on a Spanish Fly before knocking Paul down for a breather. Paul is back up with a Buckshot Lariat to the floor (geez) and naturally a quick shot of Prime. Back in and a standing moonsault gives Paul two as Ricochet is starting to get overwhelmed. Paul misses a charge into the post so they both go up top (the fans get up too) and a super neckbreaker brings Paul crashing back down.

A springboard clothesline into the standing shooting star press gets two on Paul and we slow down a bit. Back up and Paul’s middle rope moonsault is caught but he spins into a tornado DDT for the big crash anyway. Ricochet is back up with the Recoil but the shooting star press only hits raised knees. One heck of a springboard frog splash gives Paul two, only to have Ricochet kick him in the face. A top rope Lionsault gets two but the 630 misses and cue one of Paul’s lackeys to give Paul brass knuckles. The big right hand gives Paul the win at 17:56.

Rating: B+. There is a concept of just letting it all hang out and do one big spot after another and it went well here. This was a blast of a match and they didn’t try to do anything but one big move after another. Paul gets a win on the big stage and that is what he has been lacking for a long time now. Really fun match here and they’ll likely get the highlights they were shooting for with this one.

Samantha Irvin, Ricochet’s fiance, is livid.

Sheamus and the Brawling Brutes mess with a monster truck.

We recap Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar, which started the night after Wrestlemania. Lesnar attacked him, presumably for not beating Roman Reigns, but Cody won the first match. Then Lesnar beat him back (and broke his hand), so it’s rubber match time.

Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes

Lesnar German suplexes him to start but Rhodes is right back with a pair of Disaster Kicks. A third is knocked out of the air though and Lesnar powers him hard into the corner. Lesnar’s charge only hits post and the fight heads outside as they’re certainly starting fast. Back in and Lesnar suplexes him a few more times as we’re getting firmly into Lesnar’s standard style. Rhodes is sent outside but beats the count, with Lesnar just shaking his head. Lesnar: “THIS IS ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE!”

Rhodes gets knocked to the floor a few more times as we’re in quite a bit of a stall. An F5 on the floor plants Rhodes again and Lesnar tells Michael Cole to tell Rhodes to take the countout. Somehow Rhodes beat the count and gives him a BRING IT look, earning himself another suplex. Another F5 through the announcers’ table has Cole begging Rhodes to stay down. Rhodes dives back in again and Lesnar is really displeased. They go back to the floor where Rhodes grabs the steps, which are kicked away.

Instead Rhodes manages a posting and NOW the steps can rock Lesnar again. The Disaster Kick into the Cody Cutter into a top rope Cody Cutter gets two and Rhodes is kind of stunned. The Kimura goes on but Rhodes makes it over to the ropes for the break. Back up and Rhodes sends him into an exposed buckle, setting up a Kimura on Lesnar. As you might expect, Lesnar powers him up and down for the break but an F5 is countered into the Cross Rhodes. Two more Cross Rhodes finish for Rhodes at 17:30.

Rating: B. They started losing me a bit during the teased countout spot but then it got going again with Rhodes hanging in there until Lesnar just couldn’t beat him. This is the way to give someone the Lesnar rub as Rhodes not only hung in there but wound up winning, which is a heck of a lot more than some can say. Good stuff here, with Rhodes getting the important win to finish the feud.

Post match Lesnar gets up and shows respect. The gloves come off and Lesnar leaves in peace.

Slim Jim Battle Royal

Erik, Ivar, JD McDonagh, Rick Boogs, Otis, Chad Gable, Ludwig Kaiser, Giovanni Vinci, Ridge Holland, Butch, Sheamus, Riddle, Grayson Waller, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bronson Reed, Tommaso Ciampa, Apollo Crews, LA Knight, Santos Escobar, AJ Styles, The Miz, Austin Theory, Karrion Kross, Cameron Grimes, Omos

We get a brief history of battle royals (including Royal Rumbles, which aren’t exactly the same thing) before the bell rings and….holds on as here is MVP to introduce Omos as the guaranteed winner. The fight is on before Omos gets in but he’s right in there to get rid of Crews, McDonagh and Boogs. A bunch of people go after Omos but he fights them off and knocks Sheamus silly.

Imperium gets rid of Otis but Gable throws Vinci out and gets to pose a bit. Ciampa breaks up the Viking Raiders’ springboard clothesline and gets rid of both of them. Willow’s Bell gets rid of Nakamura in a heck of a quick sequence. Not that it matters as Reed gets rid of Ciampa and Theory knocks out Holland. Grimes is out as the ring is getting cleared rather quickly. Escobar eliminates Theory but gets kicked out by Kross. Kaiser gets too cocky (shocking I know) in thinking he got rid of Gable, who tosses Kaiser instead.

Omos tosses Riddle and Butch at the same time and then knocks down (not out) a bunch of people at once. Knight starts going after Omos and a bunch of people join him, with the big group managing the elimination. Waller and Miz get together (Graves approves) but can’t get rid of either Gable or Knight. Instead Knight throws Miz out and Sheamus gets rid of Waller. Reed runs Sheamus and Knight over, leaving Styles to kick Kross out.

We’re down to Knight, Reed, Gable, Styles and Sheamus, with Reed backdropping Gable out. Knight muscles Reed out so it’s Sheamus taking over on Knight and Styles. Cue Kross to grab Styles’ leg so Sheamus can kick him out and get us down to two. Knight drops Sheamus and hits the LA Elbow but Sheamus is back up with the jumping knee. Sheamus goes up top but Knight jumps the corner for a superplex. A clothesline gets rid of Sheamus to give Knight the win at 12:46.

Rating: C+. It was a pretty run of the mill battle royal but what mattered was getting Knight a win on the big stage. Knight looked fine out there and got the win, despite not really being a focal point until the last few entrants. It wasn’t a particularly great match, but there is only so much you can get out of this kind of a battle royal in the first place.

And now, a Slim Jim ad featuring LA Knight. Geez good thing Butch didn’t win or that would have been awkward.

We recap Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler. They were friends, they were partners, then they weren’t friends or partners and now they’re fighting. This also goes back to their time in MMA, with Baszler apparently being jealous of Rousey’s success and Rousey not being very gracious.

Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler

This is under MMA rules, meaning no pinfalls, countouts, DQ’s or rope breaks. You win by submission or knockout, all of which are explained for the first time by the referee. Rousey breaks tradition by offering to touch gloves but Baszler isn’t up for it. Instead they grapple up against the ropes until Rousey slams her down. Some shots to Baszler’s back look to set up a cross armbreaker but Rousey can’t get it on, meaning it’s another standoff.

Back up and Baszler DROPS HER with a kick, sending Rousey outside. Baszler grabs a leglock back inside but Rousey slips out and hits a hard jumping knee. A knee to the ribs takes Baszler down again and Rousey hammers away at her back. Rousey headscissor chokes her and they fall over the top to the floor in a big crash.

Rousey gets back in and Baszler needs to be checked out by the medics. That doesn’t work for Rousey, who beats up the medics but Baszler suplexes her down. A Kirifuda Clutch is broken up and Rousey goes for the armbar, with Baszler reversing into an ankle lock. Baszler pulls her up into the Kirifuda Clutch and Rousey is out at 7:28.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what to make of this as it was barely wrestling and more a martial arts match, as advertised. What mattered the most here was Rousey giving Baszler a win on her way out of WWE. It was pretty clear that Rousey’s time in WWE was over and this is a good way for her to go out. Now if only WWE ever did anything with Baszler other than put her in another tag team.

Tonight’s attendance: 59,194.

We recap Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther for the latter’s Intercontinental Title. Gunther is this close to setting the all time record for longest Intercontinental Title reign of all time, while McIntyre is back after a long hiatus and wants to prove he’s still got it. Hoss fighting is set to ensue.

Intercontinental Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending. They stare at each other to start and eventually lock up to fight over the power game. A shoulder puts Gunther down and the slow pace continues. Gunther’s headlock takeover puts them on the mat as commentary runs down Gunther’s resume. Back up and McIntyre hits the Glasgow Kiss to send Gunther outside, where he is fine enough to post McIntyre and send him into the steps.

Back in and Gunther chops him down a few times but McIntyre is back up for the slugout. Gunther’s release German suplex doesn’t do much to McIntyre, who is right back up with a clothesline for the double knockdown. The chop each other down so McIntyre nips up, only to get dropkicked into the corner. McIntyre is right back with the Futureshock for two but the threat of the Claymore sends Gunther outside.

That means a big running flip dive from McIntyre but another Claymore attempt is cut off with a dropkick. The powerbomb gives Gunther two and they’re both down again. Gunther is up first with a top rope splash for two and frustration is setting in. With nothing else working, Gunther starts slapping him in the back of the head over and over with some shouting thrown in.

McIntyre fights up and hits a Claymore for two, meaning it’s time for McIntyre’s eyes to bug out. Gunther is sat up top for a hard chop and they strike it out up there. McIntyre gets crotched back down though and the top rope splash into the powerbomb retains the title at 13:42.

Rating: B. It was a good, hard hitting match that you would expect from these two but they didn’t have as much time as you would have expected. At the same time, they were being asked to live up to the expectations from the Wrestlemania three way with Sheamus, which just wasn’t likely to be topped. Gunther getting another big win makes him feel that much bigger though, as the legend continues to grow.

We recap Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Title. Rollins beat Balor to win the inaugural title at Money In The Bank and now we’re running it back as Balor is still obsessed with beating Rollins, despite doing it before and having many chances to do it over the last seven years. Damian Priest and his Money In The Bank briefcase are looming as well.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor

Rollins is defending and wears the same vest that he wore when he hurt Balor at Summerslam 2016. Balor jumps him from behind to start but Rollins fights back before the bell. The bell rings and they slug it out with Rollins elbowing him in the face to take over. Some chops and a running forearm in the corner have Balor in more trouble but he slips out of a suplex. There’s a stomp to Rollins’ chest and Balor hammers away. Balor starts in on the arm, just like Rollins hurt him seven years ago (in a freak accident rather than targeting it but revenge can make people’s memories hazy).

The armbar goes on for a bit before Balor switches back to more general cranking. Rollins fights up but gets Russian legswept right back into a Fujiwara armbar. That’s broken up and Rollins hits a much needed clothesline for a breather. The Falcon Arrow gives Rollins two and Balor is sent outside for three straight suicide dives. Balor is back up to catch Rollins on the apron and send the bad arm into the post.

We get the big flashback with the running toss powerbomb into the barricade and Rollins is rocked. Back in and the Sling Blade hits Rollins, who is right back with a superkick. Balor shrugs it off and plants him down for one, setting up a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well and Rollins hits a pair of buckle bombs into the great looking frog splash for two. Balor gets in a shot and goes up, where Rollins superplexes him down and rolls into the Falcon Arrow, only to have Balor reverse into a small package for two.

The shotgun dropkick sends Rollins into the corner (where he hits his shoulder again) but the Coup de Grace misses. Rollins’ Pedigree connects for two….and here is Damian Priest with the Money In The Bank briefcase (his music isn’t playing though so it isn’t a cash-in). Balor hits his own Pedigree for two and Priest is stunned.

That’s enough for Priest to offer a distraction so cue Judgment Day but Balor yells at Priest, saying they’re not changing the plan. The distraction lets Rollins hit the Stomp for two and we hit the big shocked faced. Rollins dives onto Priest and the distraction lets Balor shotgun dropkick him into the corner so the Coup de Grace can get two. Priest throws in the briefcase but Rollins hits a quick Stomp onto it to retain the title at 18:27.

Rating: B. This was the kind of match that they needed to have to make Rollins feel more like a champion. That being said, there was a bit too much going on with all of the interference and the tease of the cash-in/interference. What matters is Rollins won though, which had to be the case as he was only about a month into the inaugural title reign. They had a good match here though and it felt like it belonged on a show this big.

The Alpha Academy preview the rest of the show and promote Mike’s Hard Lemonade. Miz comes in and gets annoyed at being the only real Mike in the room. Maxxine Dupri throws him out and calls him Mark.

We recap Asuka defending the Smackdown Women’s Title against Bianca Belair and Charlotte. Belair had the title won but Damage CTRL interfered, causing Charlotte to accidentally take Belair out. The triple threat match was made as a result.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte

Asuka is defending and they start fairly slowly. Asuka’s rollup to Belair is broken up with a big boot from Charlotte as the fans are oddly quiet here. Charlotte suplexes Asuka down and kicks Belair in the face, only to be pulled outside by Asuka. Belair hits a dive onto both of them but gets kicked by Asuka on the way back in. A pop up knee to the face gets two on Belair with Charlotte making the save this time.

That earns Charlotte a knockdown of her own and Asuka, in the clown paint, gets in an evil smile. Charlotte is sent outside, leaving Asuka to small package Belair for two. They’re certainly not in high gear yet but things are at least starting to pick up. Charlotte dives onto both of them to break up a Glam Slam and it’s time to chop away. With Asuka and Belair in trouble in the corner….we pause for the referee to fix Charlotte’s gear.

Thankfully Asuka is smart enough to choke Belair until Charlotte can clothesline them both for two. Back up and Charlotte kicks Belair down but gets caught by Asuka’s running knees for two more, leaving everyone down. They all strike it out until Asuka grabs Belair’s hair to send her outside. Belair is back up with a neckbreaker to Asuka and right hands to Charlotte in the corner.

A spinebuster sends Charlotte onto Asuka but the handspring moonsault hits raised knees. Charlotte spears Belair but gets pulled into the Asuka Lock. Now the handspring moonsault can connect to break it up and everyone is down again. Back up and Charlotte sends them to the floor for the moonsault which….egads I don’t think she actually touched either of them (she might have grazed Belair but Asuka was nowhere near the impact).

With the crowd silent after that miss, Asuka takes Charlotte back in for a DDT but she has to fight out of a KOD attempt. Charlotte kicks Asuka to the floor and flips out of a KOD, only to get caught in an overhead German suplex. Charlotte has to break up the Asuka Lock on Belair and moonsaults onto both of them for two. For some reason Charlotte tries a figure Four on both of them at once, which doesn’t work as Belair kicks her off. Belair is sent outside and lands knee first on the steps in a SCARY crash.

That leaves Charlotte to go up but Asuka pulls her back down with a superplex. Charlotte is right back with a shot of her own and the Figure Eight goes on. Belair is back in with a 450 to break it up or two but Charlotte is able to send Asuka outside. The Figure Eight goes on Belair, only for Asuka to come in and break it up with the mist. With her legs still tied up, Belair small packages Asuka to win the title at 20:47.

Rating: B. This was a good match that took a while to get started. It wound up being more about Charlotte dominating and the other two having to take her down, which is something that has been done more than a few times. That being said, Belair felt like a star here and it’s all the more impressive to see her becoming a star on the highest level in the division. Belair winning the title is a bit of a surprise as she had already had the big, long title reign but it’s more interesting than Charlotte getting the title again. Asuka had a nice reign and can easily get the title back later if necessary.

And here’s Iyo Sky to hit Sky in the knee with the Money In The Bank briefcase.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair

Belair is defending and Over The Moonsault gives Sky the pin and the title at 7 seconds. Eh it gets rid of the briefcase so I’ll take it.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso in Tribal Combat for the WWE Title and the role as Head Of The Table. Reigns has been a monster and run the lives of the Usos, with Jey finally rebelling and Jimmy coming with him. Jey pinned Reigns at Money In The Bank, setting up his chance here to end Reigns once and for all. Reigns and Solo Sikoa put Jimmy in the hospital, leaving Jey all alone here. This is the VERY long term drama and there was even a feeling that Jey might kind of sort of maybe have a chance, which was so hard to fathom no matter who you are.

Smackdown World Title: Jey Uso vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns, with Paul Heyman, is defending (the title and the position) in Tribal Combat, meaning a street fight. Before the bell, reigns offers Jey the lei, saying he’ll give this to Jey if Jey can beat him. They circle each other to start and Reigns easily powers him back into the corner. A running shoulder puts Uso down (same sequence that started Gunther vs. McIntyre) and Reigns runs him over again to prove his point. Reigns knees him in the face as this is one sided and rather slow paced to start.

Jey is back with a kick to the ribs and a clothesline to the floor, setting up the required dive. The steps are set up at ringside but that’s not enough so let’s have a table out there too. The long delay and a Heyman distraction lets Reigns send him face first into the table and then into the corner as well. Jey manages a quick jumping enziguri to send Reigns outside again, where he finds a kendo stick. Some hard shots have Jey in trouble again but he slugs his way out of trouble.

Reigns clotheslines him down in the corner as Graves gets in the “your arms are too short to box with God” CM Punk line. Jey fights back and gets in his own kendo stick shots to send Reigns up the aisle as this is going rather slowly. Back in and Jey tries something off the top, only to get Superman Punched out of the air for two. Jey is back up with a superkick into the Superfly Splash for two and they’re down again.

A bunch of chairs are thrown in but Jey takes too long setting up a superkick and gets powerbombed down onto the chairs for two. Reigns takes forever to set a table up but Jey fights back, only to get punched out of the air. The spear is cut off with an enziguri and Jey Samoan drops him from the apron through the table. Rather than cover though, Jey whips out a leather strap and starts whipping away. They brawl out into the crowd, where Solo Sikoa pops up for Spinning Solo through a table.

Sikoa drags him back to he ring for another Spinning Solo but Jey pulls Sikoa in the way of a spear. Jey’s spear hits Reigns for two and he grabs a chair to clean house. That takes too long too (yes, in this match), allowing Sikoa to get in a shot of his own. Reigns and Sikoa stop to talk strategy, which lets Jey spear Reigns through the barricade.

Jey Superfly Splashes Sikoa through the announcers’ table and hits another spear on Reigns back inside. The Superfly Splash connects but someone in a hoodie (clearly Jimmy Uso) breaks up the cover. Yes it’s Jimmy, who gets yelled at by the fans before, eventually, superkicking Jey. Reigns hits the spear through a table in the corner to retain at 36:03.

Rating: D+. It’s never a good sign when you can probably cut off more than half of the match and tell the same story. This was one of the least interesting main events I’ve seen in a long time as it was hard enough to buy Jey as having a chance in the first place, but then they make it this boring. Just WAY too much time spent laying around with nothing going on and it sucked the life out of the match.

The usual Bloodline celebration ensues.

Highlight package.

Overall Rating: B-. This show started really well and had some very high points but the main event dragged it WAY down with a stretch in the middle that really didn’t work. If you cut out about half an hour total, it’s that much better, but this show’s very good moments were dragged back down by the weaker stuff. It’s far from an awful show, but this was really rough at times and it could have been a lot better.

Ratings Comparison

Logan Paul vs. Ricochet

Original: B
Redo: B+

Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: B
Redo: B

Battle Royal

Original: B-
Redo: C+

Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler

Original: D+
Redo: C

Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther

Original: B
Redo: B

Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor

Original: B+
Redo: B

Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte vs. Asuka

Original: C-
Redo: B

Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair

Original: N/A
Redo: N/A

Jey Uso vs. Roman Reigns

Original: C+
Redo: D+

Overall Rating

Original: B
Redo: B-

There are a lot of similarities in there but I’m not sure what I was thinking on the triple threat and the main event the first time around.

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Summerslam 2019
Date: August 11, 2019
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 16,904
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

Here we have a show that I do not remember in the slightest, which should make for a fun night. The show’s big main event is a Wrestlemania rematch as Seth Rollins is once again facing Brock Lesnar, which often works well. Other than that, Kofi Kingston is defending the Smackdown World Title against Randy Orton, which feels less promising. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Drew Gulak vs. Oney Lorcan

Gulak is defending and jumps Lorcan in the corner to start. Lorcan spins out of a wristlock and headlock and it’s an early standoff. Gulak’s arm crank works a bit better as it takes a bit longer for Lorcan to drive him into the corner. A running shot to the face drops Lorcan though and we take a break.

We come back with Lorcan fighting out of a chinlock and striking away. They head outside with Lorcan chopping him around ringside, only for Lorcan to get caught in the Gulock (dragon sleeper with a bodyscissors). That’s broken up and they knock each other down, meaning it’s time to slug it out again. Gulak actually gets the better of things but another Gulock is reversed. A running uppercut drops Gulak but he’s right back with a shot to the throat. A torture rack neckbreaker connects to retain Gulak’s title at 8:48.

Rating: B-. This was an interesting technical vs. brawling match and Lorcan could have been a bigger deal if he was allowed to show his quirkiness a bit more. The cruiserweights had some talented stars but there was only so much they could do when WWE made it clear that they were at the bottom of the ladder. Banishing them to 205 Live didn’t make it much better, but they could do some fun stuff when given the chance.

Kickoff Show: Apollo Crews vs. Buddy Murphy

Murphy runs him over to start and stomps away in the corner. Crews gets knocked down again and the chinlock goes on, followed by a double crossbody to leave them both down. Back up and Crews pulls him out of the air for a Samoan drop into the standing moonsault. Murphy catches him in the corner for a Cheeky Nandos Kick and a hard powerbomb out of the corner. Crews reverses Murphy’s Law into a rollup for two but gets sent to the floor. A big dive hits Crews but Erick Rowan runs in to jump Murphy for the DQ at 4:45.

Rating: C+. The ending was the more interesting thing here, but dang you could see some potential in Murphy. He’s big, he has a great look, he’s athletic and he has charisma. Naturally this had no place in modern WWE, but at least they were giving him something of a chance here. Crews was his usual self, but his big free fall hadn’t come yet so Murphy still got something out of facing him.

Post match Rowan wrecks Murphy, including a powerbomb against the post for quite the crash. This was due to Murphy suggesting that Rowan had attacked Roman Reigns on Smackdown, which Rowan denied.

Normally I don’t include segments in these things but here’s something. Elias is in the ring to sing his song about how he’s been in Toronto for a week and has written a song about it. He wants to leave the town in a hearse and mocks various Toronto teams…and here is Edge to blow the roof off the place. Edge hits the spear and leaves without saying a word. He would be back in the ring in about five months for quite the moment.

Kickoff Show: Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross vs. IIconics

The IIconics are challenging and since Bliss is in her Buzz Lightyear gear, she starts with a laser blast at Kay. The ensuing headlock doesn’t work long so it’s back to the laser, allowing Graves to fire off the Toy Story references. Cross comes in but gets rolled up by Royce and the IIconics get to kick her down, setting up a crossface chickenwing of all things.

That’s broken up with a jawbreaker and a swinging hair faceplant allows the tag back to Bliss. House is cleaned, including Insult To Injury, leaving Cross and Kay to fight outside. Royce counters a spinning kick into a Widow’s Peak, with Bliss’ kickout sending Royce into a panic. Bliss knocks her down, setting up Twisted Bliss to retain at 7:56.

Rating: C+. This was mainly about Bliss getting to show off the Toy Story gear with Graves’ reactions being rather amusing. These titles were still pretty new at this point so getting some teams together to have a division was the most important part. Bliss and Cross were the fun team and did fine here against the annoying challengers, so at least the fans got what they wanted to see.

The opening video is a standard look at how big this show is and the more important matches. Rather generic stuff here for such a big show.

We recap Becky Lynch defending the Raw Women’s Title against Natalya. Lynch is the biggest star in the world (she absolutely had a case for being the biggest star in WWE, man or woman, over the summer) and Natalya won a four way to get the shot in her home country. As a bonus, we’ll make it a submission match.

Raw Women’s Champion: Becky Lynch vs. Natalya

Lynch is defending in a submission match. Lynch knocks her into the corner and stomps away as Young talks about various Toronto bars. Graves: “What I’ve just discovered is that Renee spent her summer as a drunk.” Natalya has to break out of a triangle choke (remember rope breaks don’t matter because submission only) and they go outside, with Natalya stomping away at the knee.

Lynch fights out of the corner but gets sent to the apron, where Natalya snaps the leg over the rope. Something like the Sharpshooter in the corner (with Lynch laid on the middle rope) has Lynch screaming until they crash out to the floor. Natalya gets whipped into the announcers’ table, which bangs up her arm, as does a whip into the steps. The arm is fine enough to hit a top rope superplex so Natalya tries the basement dropkick.

That’s reversed into a Sharpshooter from Lynch (who doesn’t sit down) so Natalya rolls her into the corner for the break. Natalya pulls her out of the corner and grabs a Disarm-Her, followed by the Sharpshooter. Lynch has to get creative by crawling over the apron to send them into the ropes. That’s enough for the break and she grabs Natalya in the Disarm-Her to retain at 12:33.

Rating: B. Lynch was on the roll of a lifetime in 2019 and the fans were losing it over almost everything she did. The catch here was that Natalya was in her element and in her country so there was some drama over who was going to win. I liked this more than I was expecting to and it wound up being rather good, even if the ending kind of came out of nowhere.

Trish Stratus is back in her hometown and ready to face Charlotte and prove that her era was pretty great in its own right. If Charlotte is the queen, Stratus is the queen of queens. Eh not the greatest line.

We recap Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler. There was a legends show a few weeks back and Ziggler insulted the legends, with Shawn Michaels standing up for the old guard. Ziggler still wanted to fight through and Goldberg stepped up, meaning it’s destruction time.

Goldberg vs. Dolph Ziggler

Before the match, Ziggler says legends come and go but he’s always here to steal the show. Goldberg might not even show up tonight…and here he is. They stare each other down and Ziggler hits a superkick for a fast one. Another superkick gets the same so Ziggler tries it again, only to get speared into the next universe. The Jackhammer ends Ziggler at 1:49. That was one of the best spears Goldberg ever hit but the key here was they didn’t have Goldberg out there too long and it was more what made him work in his heyday. Why is that so complicated?

Post match Ziggler asks if that is all Goldberg has and wants one more fight. Goldberg comes back and spears him again before going to leave. Ziggler (writhing in pain) says anyone can get lucky twice and he’s still the best while Goldberg is a joke. He’s the best thing going today and here is Goldberg for a third time. Goldberg helps Ziggler up, hits the ropes a few times, and spears him a third time, just for fun. This was hilarious and Ziggler sold every one of them like death.

Clash Of The Champions is next month. I was at that show. Dang it was boring!

We recap AJ Styles defending the US Title against Ricochet. Styles, with the Good Brothers, got sick of losing to Ricochet and went evil on him to take the title. Ricochet is back for revenge and the belt, as tends to be the case.

We go to the international row of announcers, with Carmella and R-Truth in disguise. Drake Maverick runs out to look for R-Truth (and the 24/7 Title) but can’t find anyone.

US Title: Ricochet vs. AJ Styles

Styles, with the Good Brothers, is defending and Ricochet is in Black Panther gear. Ricochet starts fast and sends him outside for the early dive. Styles starts in on the leg though and takes him back inside to stomp on the knee. The leg is wrapped around the rope but Ricochet uses the good leg to kick him in the head.

A one legged springboard clothesline (good grief) gets two on Styles, who knocks him back outside. The baseball slide dropkick takes Ricochet down again but he gets back inside to kick Styles in the head. Styles gets smart by pulling him into the Calf Crusher but Ricochet reverses into the Anaconda Vice of all things. With that broken up, Ricochet grabs a twisting suplex for two and they’re both down. A one legged step up moonsault takes Gallows out and Ricochet tries a Whisper In The Wind…which is countered into the Styles Clash (brilliant) to retain the title at 13:02.

Rating: B. This was Ricochet fighting against the odds and trying everything he can, but that ending was just great with Styles catching him trying to do one too many things. It took some time to build things up but Ricochet’s comebacks and some of the things he was doing on one leg were amazing. I know he couldn’t talk that well but my goodness the things Ricochet could do should have kept him around for a very long time.

Post match Styles and the Good Brothers beat Ricochet down again.

NXT Tag Team Champions the Street Profits (not on the main roster but they were just kind of showing up from time to time) recap the show thus far but get distracted by a dancing Ric Flair.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Ember Moon

Moon (later known as Athena in AEW) is challenging and dang I had forgotten how awesome her theme song really is. They trade takedowns to start until Moon forearms her in the corner, followed by the springboard crossbody for two. A bow and arrow goes on but Bayley fights up and hits a clothesline of her own. Bayley grabs a suplex and goes to the apron, where Moon gets pulled neck first into the rope.

The running elbow drop in the corner gives Bayley two and she grabs a reverse Boston crab of all things. That’s broken up as well and Moon knocks her outside for a needed breather. Back in and Moon’s super hurricanrana sets up the spinning knees to the face for two more. Bayley’s comeback is cut off with a powerbomb out of the corner so Moon goes up. That takes too long though and it’s a super Bayley To Belly to retain the title at 9:40.

Rating: C+. This was decent while it lasted with the ending being the big highlight. Moon went flying off that Bayley To Belly and looked completely done after crashing down. The rest of the match was nothing of note and felt like it could have been on any given episode of Smackdown. Moon just never clicked on the main roster but wound up going that much better once she moved on, which is the case with a bunch of people from this era.

We recap Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens. McMahon bragged about being the Best In The World and gone completely insane with his bragging about everything he does. Owens doesn’t like McMahon being all obsessed with himself and not listening to the fans. Therefore, it’s time to fight, with Owens’ job being on the line.

Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon

Elias, McMahon’s crony, is guest outside referee. McMahon immediately bails to the floor, where Owens argues with Elias, while the regular referee starts the count. Owens gets back in and McMahon runs again, with Elias tripping Owens down. That’s enough of a distraction for McMahon to send him crashing into the barricade and take over. Back in and McMahon is somehow already red, which is made even worse as he hammers away in the corner.

More pounding looks to set up the Sharpshooter but Owens isn’t laying for that. Instead it’s the pop up sitout powerbomb for…nothing as Elias distracts the other referee. McMahon’s rollup gets two so Elias throws in a chair, with McMahon begging for the shot to the face. A slap to the face still can’t get Owens to crack but McMahon hits an interfering Elias by mistake.

The superkick and Swanton set up a frog splash but Elias pulls the referee. A flip dive off the apron takes out both referees so Owens grabs the referee, only for Elias to pull him outside again. Owens unloads on Elias with the spear but the referee gets back in to stop him from using the chair on McMahon. Instead the referee gets rid of the chair and Owens gets in a low blow. The Stunner finishes McMahon at 9:22.

Rating: C. This one didn’t work so well either, as so much of it was spent on McMahon running away. That works for a few minutes, but then he had to go on offense and that was as horrible as you would expect. Owens coming back to win in the end was the good way to go for the finish, but dang McMahon was rough to watch.

We get a long recap of Roman Reigns being attacked. Someone dropped a bunch of equipment on him and he accused Samoa Joe, only to have Joe be proven innocent. Then he thought it was Buddy Murphy, who said it was Erick Rowan, who swore it wasn’t him (it was). And that’s it.

Charlotte vs. Trish Stratus

Battle of the generations and Stratus gets the big legends reception. They take their time to lock up until Charlotte powers her into the corner a few times. A backbreaker is loaded up but Stratus reverses into a springboard hurricanrana and Charlotte isn’t happy. Stratus sends her outside for the Thesz press and right hands but Charlotte is back with a hard whip into the barricade.

Back in and Charlotte slowly kicks away before sending her flying with a fall away slam. Charlotte mocks Stratus’ pose, allowing Stratus to reverse a belly to back suplex into a crossbody for a fast two. One heck of a big boot knocks Stratus off the apron and outside for a huge crash. Back in and the moonsault misses, allowing Stratus to get in a springboard spinning Downward Spiral. For some reason Charlotte goes up, meaning she has to block a Stratusphere.

That lets Stratus do a big situp and slap away, with the super hurricanrana getting two. Another big boot gives Charlotte two but the Figure Four is blocked. Instead Stratus gets one of her own and even bridges up to the Figure Eight. Charlotte finally makes the rope and tries the spear, which only hits the corner. Stratusfaction gets two and they strike it out until the Chick Kick gives Stratus two more. Back up and Charlotte hits another big boot, setting up the Figure Four/Eight to make Stratus tap at 16:37.

Rating: B+. Yeah this was rather impressive, as Stratus not only turned back the clock but wrestled a mostly modern style match. It’s a great example of someone showing that she was indeed great and could hang with another generation. Stratus was the biggest star of her time but it’s a shame that generation was never treated seriously. This showed what she could do and of course Charlotte can have a great one with anybody. I liked this a lot and got way more into it than I was expecting.

Post match Charlotte leaves and Stratus gets the big legends reception.

Seth Rollins, with his taped up ribs, runs into Bret Hart, who wishes him well. Rollins seems impressed.

We recap Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton for the former’s Smackdown World Title. Kingston is on the biggest Cinderella run in years and Orton takes credit for his success. This dates all the way back to 2009 when Kingston was on the brink of breaking into the main event scene with one heck of a feud with Orton, who then wasn’t happy with how things went and reportedly held him down backstage (actually referenced here). It took ten years and the rise of the New Day to get Kingston here and now he’s defending against Orton.

Smackdown World Title: Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton

Kingston is defending and backs him into the corner, with Orton flipping his way out. Orton wins a slugout and manages to knock Kingston off the top for a crash into the barricade. That lets Orton send him into the announcers’ table, followed by the big drop onto it, as is Orton’s custom. The slow beating continues and they go back inside, with Orton uppercutting him right back to the floor.

Another drop onto the table has Kingston rocked and they head inside again. This time Orton slowly hammers him on the top, where Kingston fights back for the first time in a good while. A top rope tornado DDT gives Kingston two and they’re both down for a bit. Trouble In Paradise is blocked though and Orton plants him down for two more. Back up and Orton mocks the rhythmic clapping, which lets Kingston knock him outside for the big top rope trust fall.

Kingston sends him back inside for the frog splash high crossbody but Orton grabs a quick hanging DDT. That’s not enough for the RKO as Kingston counters into a backslide for two. Another high crossbody is loaded up but Kingston dives into the RKO, leaving Orton rather pleased but not covering. Kingston rolls outside in time and they slug it out for the double countout at 16:28.

Rating: C. Yeah this didn’t work, as it got dull for a long while and then the ending was little more than a commercial for the rematch the next month. It doesn’t help that the point of the match was Orton kept saying he was that much better than Kingston and had him in trouble for most of the match. If Orton covered after the RKO he would have won, which doesn’t exactly help Kingston’s case. Just not a fun match with a dull finish to make it even worse.

Post match the fans are livid and are quiet as Kingston unloads on Orton, even beating him down with a kendo stick. Trouble In Paradise leaves Orton laying.

We recap the Fiend vs. Finn Balor. Bray Wyatt has been doing his Firefly Fun House stuff for months now and has targeted Balor. This has resulted in the Fiend appearing to come after Balor, who says he isn’t afraid. Those do not sound like smart words.

Finn Balor vs. The Fiend

This is the Fiend’s in-ring debut. The lights go out and here he comes, complete with the human head lantern for quite the disturbing start to everything. Fiend does the full entrance and the lights come on, with the fans realizing this is different. Balor slowly gets back inside and is promptly beaten into the corner. Fans: “YOWIE WOWIE!” Fiend hammers away in the corner and then pulls him back out for a big crash.

The release Rock Bottom plants Balor as this is in full squash territory. Fiend seems shaken by some voices in his head but tries Sister Abigail anyway, only for Balor to kick his way out. Balor kicks away and shotgun dropkicks him into the corner, only to miss the Coup de Grace. That’s enough for a Mandible Claw to finish Balor off at 3:29.

Rating: C+. That couldn’t have gone much better, as Fiend came in and completely decimated Balor in short order. Balor got in a few shots of his own and was then promptly beaten down. That’s all this needed to be, as Fiend is clearly the next big bad and would be going after the World Title after the end of the next month’s PPV.

Post match Balor slowly gets up, looking like he’s been run over by a bus.

We recap Seth Rollins challenging Brock Lesnar for the Raw World Title. Rollins beat Lesnar for the title at Wrestlemania but Lesnar used Money In The Bank to get it back. Lesnar has proceeded to beat the fire out of Rollins and badly injured Rollins’ ribs. Rollins has to keep fighting though because this is all that matters to him. I’ve heard worse ideas, but it would have worked that much better if he hadn’t beaten Lesnar five months ago.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar

Lesnar, with Paul Heyman, is challenging and Heyman does the big intro. Rollins gets knocked into the corner for the shoulder to the ribs to start. A German suplex is escaped though and Rollins gets in a Stomp for two a minute in. Heyman panics as Lesnar rolls outside, with Rollins hitting a knee off the apron. Back in and Rollins flips out of another German suplex, setting up a pair of good looking superkicks.

Another Stomp is countered into the F5 though and they’re both down. Lesnar is ticked off and swings him around by the tape on the ribs, followed by the trash talking German suplex. They go outside for another German suplex to put Rollins down again. Rollins escapes the F5 though and posts Lesnar, setting up the springboard knee to the head back inside. Another knee misses though and Rollins is sent flying with the release German suplex.

A frustrated Lesnar takes the gloves off and suplexes Rollins again, followed by the waistlock to stay on the ribs. Lesnar drives him into the corner but the charge only hits the post. Rollins kicks him off the apron and there’s the string of suicide dives. The third is pulled out of the air though and Lesnar drives him hard into the post.

That’s enough for Rollins to put him onto the announcers’ table for the frog splash from the post. Back in and another frog splash hits Lesnar, followed by a Stomp for two as Heyman is panicking more than usual. Another Stomp is countered into a failed F5 attempt, with Rollins escaping for a superkick. The third Stomp gives Rollins the title back at 13:18.

Rating: B. They beat the fire out of each other and did a nice mixture of the big car crash exchange of finishers and a regular Lesnar beating. Rollins knows how to fight against Lesnar and these two do have good chemistry together. At the same time, it only has so much impact when Lesnar was only champion for about a month. This gets us right back where we were in July and that’s not exactly a top level Summerslam main event story.

Rollins celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event title change was good, though I would have considered Charlotte vs. Stratus going on last. If not for Rollins winning, it feels like it would have been a better fit. At the same time, the fans needed something happy after the not great Smackdown World Title match and the Fiend smashing through Balor.

Overall it’s not a bad show at all, but there are some parts that are less than interesting. Get the midcard a bit stronger and this show is that much better, with Charlotte vs. Stratus, Goldberg’s spears and the main event being the highlights. It’s not the most memorable show, but it does have good parts.

Results
Drew Gulak b. Oney Lorcan – Torture rack neckbreaker
Buddy Murphy b. Apollo Crews via DQ when Erick Rowan interfered
Alexa Bliss/Nikki Cross b. IIconics – twisted Bliss to Royce
Becky Lynch b. Natalya – Disarm-Her
Goldberg b. Dolph Ziggler – Jackhammer
AJ Styles b. Ricochet – Styles Clash
Bayley b. Ember Moon – Super Bayley To Belly
Kevin Owens b. Shane McMahon – Stunner
Charlotte b. Trish Stratus – Figure Eight
Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton went to a double countout
The Fiend b. Finn Balor – Mandible Claw
Seth Rollins b. Brock Lesnar – Stomp

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: June 24, 2026
Location: Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

It’s the last Dynamite before Forbidden Door and the finals are officially set for the Owen Hart Cups. That means we need to have the big hype segments for Sunday’s final showdowns. As for tonight, Zack Sabre Jr. is here again to face Jack Perry in his Forbidden Door warmup match. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Jon Moxley gives the Death Riders a pep talk. Will Ospreay gets in their bouncing circle and falls down. Well of course he did.

Death Riders vs. Brodido/Mistico

Yuta grabs Bandido’s arm to start and they trade takedowns. Back up and Bandido snaps off a running headscissors before headlocking Moxley. That earns Bandido a trip into the corner, meaning Castagnoli can stomp him down. Bandido shrugs that off and brings Mistico in to get a rather spinning headscissors to take Castagnoli down.

It’s off to King for the big man slugout and of course King can run the ropes to springboard into a double wristdrag to Castagnoli and Moxley. The Riders are sent outside for a triple dive and we take an early break. We come back with Bandido still in trouble and Moxley getting two off a suplex.

Bandido gets in a running kick to the chest and Mistico gets the much needed tag. That means house can quickly be cleaned, including a quick sunset flip for two on Castagnoli. Bandido muscles Castagnoli over for a suplex but Marina Shafir offers a distraction. That’s enough for Moxley to get in a belt shot and roll King up for the pin at 12:19.

Rating: B. This was a good, hard hitting opening match with King getting to showcase his impressive athleticism. At the same time, this doesn’t make Bandido look strong going into his title shot and Mistico has his upcoming tag match and this…really had nothing to do with that either. It’s a weird way to go, though Bandido getting a pin here would have made a bit more sense.

Post match Bandido has a quick staredown with the Riders.

The Conglomeration is ready to fight in the cage at Forbidden Door. Darby Allin is ready to fight and the team promises to load up their backpacks. The rest of the team leaves and Orange Cassidy looks a bit annoyed but insists he’s fine. Renee Paquette doesn’t seem convinced.

Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Marina Shafir vs. Harley Cameron

Cameron is in Supergirl inspired gear and gets kicked in the ribs to start fast. Shafir mounts her but Cameron is right out into a half crab. That’s broken up as well and Cameron knocks her outside for a crossbody off the steps. Back in and Shafir gives her an AA and we take an early break. We come back with Shafir snapping off some judo throws but Cameron manages a belly to back suplex. Cameron hammers away in the corner until Shafir knees her right back. The half crab is broken up again so Shafir flips her into a choke, only to have Cameron backflip into a cradle for the pin at 7:52.

Rating: C+. This was a nice surprise victory for Cameron but what matters the most here is that Cameron is going to be in next week’s match. I’m not sure if she’s going to win the title and she probably won’t, but at least she’s going to bring her rather amazing charisma to the whole thing. She’s a good bonus to the match and could even win the whole thing, which is kind of stunning considering where she was when she first came to AEW.

Video on Maya World vs. Mercedes Mone in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup finals.

Will Ospreay vs. ELP

ELP (El Phantasmo) works on the arm to start and runs Ospreay over with a shoulder, earning him a nip up. Ospreay sends him outside without much trouble and hits a slingshot dive but ELP is back up with a quick drop onto the apron. One heck of a moonsault takes Ospreay down again and we take an early break.

We come back with Ospreay hitting an enziguri, only for ELP to grab a tornado DDT. Ospreay’s forearms make ELP laugh and they trade kicks to the head until Ospreay grabs a standing Spanish Fly. ELP gets in a superkick for two of his own but Ospreay flips over into a Styles Clash. The Hidden Blade pins ELP at 10:42.

Rating: B-. It was another entertaining match with Ospreay getting to do all of his stuff, though again I’m not sure how well this did to make Ospreay look great. It did a good job of building up ELP, who hung with Ospreay for a good while before getting taken out. That’s something that happens quite a bit during this season and it’s kind of annoying as Ospreay is in the likely main event of Forbidden Door and ELP isn’t likely going to be here beyond tonight.

Post match Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana come out for a staredown, with Ospreay leaving through the crowd.

Swerve Strickland vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia walks in from outside and…how long has he been waiting out there? Strickland runs him over to start so Garcia pops up to get in Strickland’s face. That’s not a good idea as Strickland shoves him down and stomps away, setting up a running boot to the floor. This time Garcia pulls Strickland down for a hammering but takes too long yelling at a fan. Strickland kicks him in the face again and we take a break.

We come back with Strickland missing a Swerve Stomp to the apron and getting his leg dragon screw whipped. Strickland’s leg is fine enough to roll over and drop Garcia with a suplex. Garcia’s clothesline is shrugged off so he kicks out the leg instead. The ankle lock has Strickland in more trouble but he backbreakers his way out. A powerbomb is spun into a powerslam (cool) to plant Garcia, who pops up with a Styles Clash for two of his own. Strickland House Calls him for two, followed by a Hidden Blade to finish Garcia at 12:25.

Rating: B. Much like the previous match, this was a good way to build up someone who has nothing going on while the person set for a big match on Sunday is going 50/50 with Garcia. If protecting Garcia is that important (and I’m sure it is for whatever reason), don’t put him in the match. Strickland and Ospreay should have looked like killers in their matches and instead they’re just out there taking 10+ minutes to beat stars beneath them.

Post match Strickland goes after Garcia’s arm so Ospreay runs back in for the brawl. Nana offers a distraction though and Strickland gives Ospreay the House Call. A Vertebreaker drops Garcia and Ospreay chases Strickland off with a chair.

Video on Team Ospreay vs. Team MJF.

Don Callis and his Family are ready to win but MJF cuts them off to rant about Mark Briscoe. The reality is that Briscoe has never beaten MJF and that isn’t going to change. MJF thinks the two sides haven’t been on the same page but Callis whips out a shirt for TEAM DCMJF and yes the image is of them muscular and in limited clothing. MJF and Callis love it but the Family is less than impressed.

Jack Perry vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre takes him down with a cravate and shrugs off Sabre’s attempt to go after the leg. They fight over a double arm crank until Perry rolls him up for some near falls. A very near fall sends Sabre outside but he’s fine enough to start in on the arm, including snapping it over the top rope.

We take a break and come back with Perry hitting a Sliced Bread but getting sent outside. Sabre grabs a cross armbreaker on the floor but has to let it go, allowing Perry to hit another Sliced Bread on the apron. A moonsault to the floor takes Sabre out again, only for him to grab a triangle choke back inside. Perry reverses into a sitout powerbomb for two and the Snare Trap has Sabre in trouble for a change. Sabre twists the arm around to escape so Perry grabs a package powerbomb for two more. That earns him a double arm crank, with Sabre using his leg to pull Perry’s arm down for the submission at 13:12.

Rating: B-. This was a good example of Sabre getting to take Perry apart, which boosts him up on the way to facing Kenny Omega on Sunday. Granted we saw Sabre do something similar in his most recent match around here so it was only so necessary. It’s certainly fitting the theme for the night though and we’ll get the big match with Omega soon enough.

Young Bucks vs. TMDK

Tito jumps Matt from behind to start fast but the Bucks are right back with their stereo running bulldogs. A double clothesline puts TMDK on the floor for the stereo dives, followed by some back elbows to the face back inside. Matt gets crotched on top though and Nick gets pulled out of the air, with a spinebuster getting two on Matt in a big crash. Matt flips away from both of them though and grabs a DDT, allowing the tag off to Nick. House is cleaned and the Superkick Party is on, setting up the Meltzer Driver to pin Nicholls at 4:20.

Rating: C+. It was fun while it lasted and I’ll take this over the rest of the matches, as the Bucks get a pretty nice win over a team who doesn’t have anything going on. That’s a good way to go here as there was no reason to have the Bucks in any serious trouble. Nice enough job here and I’ll take that just about all the time.

Post match TMDK jumps the Bucks and Kenny Omega makes the save. Forearms are exchanged with Sabre and TMDK bails. Omega says may the best man win on Sunday and he certainly will.

We look at Thekla invading a Stardom show and attacking the owner.

Survivor Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Red Velvet vs. Queen Aminata

Velvet’s ROH Women’s TV Title isn’t on the line. Velvet rolls over her into a sunset flip for an early two and then wristdrags her down again. Aminata is right back with a snap suplex for one but the big headbutt misses. Aminata’s right hands in the corner are countered into a powerbomb and we take a break.

We come back with Velvet grabbing a sitout bulldog for two but Aminata gives her a slingshot reverse suplex to leave them both down. The running boot in the corner sets up a middle rope double stomp for two on Velvet. Back up and Velvet flips her off the top, setting up a frog splash to the back for two. Velvet kicks away and, after an apology, misses the big kick to the head. Aminata knocks her into the ropes and hits a PK for the pin at 10:17.

Rating: C+. And of course a reigning champion loses clean in a qualifying match. I’m sure there was absolutely no one else available to take this loss, but it’s just Ring Of Honor anyway, which has been treated like nothing since it was brought back from the dead to create a promotion of cannon fodder. This is the kind of stupid stuff that drives me crazy in wrestling and it doesn’t need to happen but here we are anyway.

The Young Bucks are ready to superkick their opponents at Forbidden Door but Adam Copeland and Christian Cage brawl through with the Dogs. They brawl into the makeup area and Connors blinds Copeland with some hairspray to take over. The Dogs choke them both out. And we get a five second pose, complete with Cage’s old over the top sunglasses.

International Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ricochet

Takeshita is defending and the Gates Of Agony are here with Ricochet. An early cheap shot knocks Takeshita outside and the big flip dive hits him as well. Back in and a springboard 450 gives Ricochet two as he’s certainly starting fast. Takeshita is back up but misses a charge in the corner, allowing Ricochet to hit a 619. The springboard clothesline and a running shooting star press give Ricochet two and we take a break.

We come back with Ricochet striking away in the corner and knocking him out to the floor. The shooting star off the apron is countered into a suplex though and they’re both down. Back in and a Blue Thunder Bomb gives Takeshita two before they trade kicks to the head. The wheelbarrow suplex drops Ricochet, who is right back up with Vertigo for two.

A shooting star press gives Ricochet two but he flips out of a German superplex. Takeshita’s Last Ride gets two but Ricochet uses the referee to cut off the running knee. A kick to the head sets up a Ricosault for two and Ricochet is stunned on the kickout. Takeshita drops him with a clothesline though and it’s the running knee and Raging Fire to retain at 13:48.

Rating: B. I don’t think anyone is going to be surprised that these two had a fast paced match together and they made it work here. Ricochet getting a somewhat random title match is hardly a stretch and it’s fine as a main event for a bit of an odd show. Takeshita gets a nice title defense as well and that’s a good thing as he looks for his next big challenger.

Here is Mark Briscoe with something to say about MJF. He and his friends are ready to fight in the cage on Sunday and he brings up their history in Blood & Guts. That was all about the thrill of the fight but this has some more consequential implications. Briscoe agrees that he and MJF are nothing alike (and he thanks God for that) but he knows he can beat MJF if they get a chance. On Sunday, he’ll be fighting with his friends while MJF has some hired stars who don’t care about him.

Cue Don Callis for a distraction so MJF can jump Briscoe from behind. Briscoe fights back and we get the parade of people running in one at a time to hit a single big move. Andrade has to save MJF from the Jay Driller but they go face to face. Callis cuts that off and MJF loads up the ring, only to accidentally hit Andrade. The Jay Driller lays MJF out to end the show. This was pretty much what you would have expected, though they do have some stories in the big cage match, which does help things.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a good example of a show where it’s perfectly fine from a quality standpoint, but it’s not something that interests me. A good chunk of this show was built around setting up Forbidden Door matches for wrestlers who aren’t likely to be regulars around here in a few days.

They aren’t regulars coming into this show either and it made for a less than thrilling show. Forbidden Door isn’t doing much to get my attention this year, though they’ve done an effective enough job with what they had. Not a bad show at all here (though another champion losing in a qualifying match makes my head hurt), but not my taste for the most part.

Results
Death Riders b. Brodido/Mistico – Rollup to King
Harley Cameron b. Marina Shafir – Cradle
Will Ospreay b. ELP – Hidden Blade
Swerve Strickland b. Daniel Garcia – Hidden Blade
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Jack Perry – Double arm crank
Young Bucks b. TMDK – Meltzer Driver to Nicholls
Queen Aminata b. Red Velvet – PK in the ropes
Konosuke Takeshita b. Ricochet – Raging Fire

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: June 20, 2026
Location: Smart Financial Center, Sugar Land, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Excalibur

We’re eight days away from Forbidden Door and this week we get another match officially set for the show. In this case it’s the semifinals of the Women’s Owen Hart Cup with Athena facing Maya World. Other than than we should have the usual big Collision attraction, meaning the announcements of stuff for Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Young Bucks/Jack Perry vs. Lethal Twists

Christian jumps Nick to start fast and everything breaks down in a hurry. Perry hits a suicide dive onto Johnson but misses a moonsault and gets superkicked by Christian. The Bucks make the save and it’s Christian getting kneed in the corner. Perry gets tied up in the Tree Of Woe though and Christian adds a moonsault as we take a break.

We come back with the Twists going after Perry’s knee but the leg is fine enough to snap off a hurricanrana to the floor. Matt gets the tag to clean house and the Bucks do their top rope double stomp on the rope into the sitout powerbomb. Stereo powerbombs out of the corner set up stereo Scorpion Deathlocks with Perry getting Lethal in the Snare Trap.

Everyone makes the ropes and it’s Perry slugging it out with Lethal. Johnson and Lethal are back with cutters as commentary points out that the referee is just watching and enjoying the match. The Death Valley Driver into Hail To The King gets two on Perry and we hit the parade of everyone kicking everyone. Perry gets in a double poisonrana and the Meltzer Driver finishes Johnson (McGuinness: “Five stars.”) at 14:20.

Rating: B. As usual, starting with the Bucks is a good way to get the crowd going as the AEW fans absolutely love these guys. It makes a lot of sense to go this way and the Lethal Twists are a good choice for their victims. Yes it feels like a match we’ve seen about a million times, but that’s kind of a feature with the Bucks.

Kris Statlander and Mina Shirakawa seem to respect each other but they’re ready to fight tonight. Harley Cameron will be on commentary and tells them to shake, though they shake hands while she shakes her….yeah you get the idea.

Hikaru Shida doesn’t care who she’s going to be facing in Survival Of The Fittest because TBS will stand for THE BEST IS SHIDA!

Survival Of The Fittest: Mina Shirakawa vs. Kris Statlander

Harley Cameron is on commentary. Shirakawa’s headlock has Statlander down early on until she sends Shirakawa hard into the corner. A Stunner over the top rope drops Statlander but she catches Shirakawa with something like a Big Ending onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Shirakawa hitting La Mistica before knocking Statlander outside. Back in and a missile dropkick gives Shirakawa two but Statlander is back with the Falcon Arrow for two of her own. Shirakawa comes back with another La Mistica but Statlander rolls her up for the fast pin at 9:09.

Rating: C+. Statlander winning clean is good to see as she’s kind of been all over the place lately. I’m not sure if she’s going to win the title, but at least she has something to do at the moment. On the other hand you have Shirakawa, who has felt like she’s in the middle of nowhere for months and that doesn’t seem to be changing.

Post match match respect is shown, with Harley Cameron joining in.

We get a commercial for the Bang Bang Gang’s spay and neuter center.

Jack Perry talks about Zack Sabre Jr. welcoming him to Japan in an act of kindness. He would love another act of kindness in the form of a match on Dynamite. After they can hit the bar again, with Perry picking up the tab, because the winner should always pay.

Hurt Syndicate vs. Warren Johnson/Zack Mason

Lashley gets annoyed at a chop and it’s off to Mason, with Lashley shoving both of them down. It’s off to Benjamin for a nasty German suplex, followed by a running knee. Lashley hits the spear on Johnson and Benjamin gets the pin at 1:52.

Post match MVP says that the Hurt Syndicate doesn’t want titles, but they are more than willing to hurt people for money. If anyone is interested, come find them.

Skyflight is ready for Dante Martin to face Mistico. In addition, Matt Sydal is back and Skyflight has his back. I’m really not sure if this team needs another warm body.

Nigel McGuinness introduces Tommaso Ciampa and Chris Jericho for a face to face chat. Jericho praises Ciampa and knows that he’s wanted to face him for a reason. The question is which version of Jericho Ciampa will face, but it won’t matter because all of them will take him out. Ciampa likes the sound of that and he wants to face Jericho on July 8 in Clearwater, Florida at Beach Break.

Jericho is in for some wrestling that night, but tonight they’re fighting. The brawl is on but Ciampa quickly cuts him down with a low blow. Ciampa beats him down and busts him open, with the running knee leaving Jericho laying. This was simple and to the point but I definitely like setting it up for a show other than Forbidden Door. That show is going to have enough and I want to see this match get some focus, which it wouldn’t receive at the pay per view.

Pac vs. Shota Umino for the latter’s IWGP Global Title is set for Forbidden Door.

Dante Martin vs. Mistico

Christopher Daniels is here with Martin. Mistico flips away from a headlock to start but gets elbowed in the chin. Martin sends him outside for a suicide dive but Mistico fights back and hits a suicide dive of his own. Back in and Martin runs the corner for a superplex and two, leaving Mistico’s knee banged up as we take a break.

We come back with Mistico’s knee being fine enough to hit a springboard high crossbody to send Martin outside. There’s the slingshot dive and they go back inside to trade groggy right hands. They kick each other down and we get a double breather. Mistico is up first and his moonsault hits a raised boot, allowing Martin to get two off a rollup. Mistico’s powerslam gets two, as does Martin’s package powerbomb. Martin heads up top, only for Mistico to plant him with a super Spanish Fly for the pin at 11:34.

Rating: B-. Yeah this was fine, as they weren’t pretending that this was anything more than “here’s Mistico in a match”. They weren’t hiding that or trying to make it anything else and that’s a fine way to go. Mistico has such a following and is such a big deal that getting him on the show makes sense, especially on a show so close to Mexico.

Ricochet wants Konosuke Takeshita and the International Title but first he wants to beat up the returning Matt Sydal.

The Dogs don’t think much of Adam Copeland and Christian Cage being around for thirty years. They want the Tag Team Titles at Forbidden Door and they’ll put those b****** down.

Pac vs. Jay Alexander

Jon Moxley is on commentary and doesn’t think this is going to take long. Pac backs the rather muscular Alexander into the corner and then drops him with a running clothesline. Marina Shafir gets in a cheap shot and Pac adds a missile dropkick. The Brutalizer finishes Alexander at 3:11.

Rating: C. This was quick and to the point as Pac gets to run through someone with quite the size and power. Pac has an intensity to him that could make him look good against anyone and that’s a nice asset to have. At the same time, Moxley put him over rather strong on commentary, saying Pac could win any title in the world on any given night, including Moxley’s. There are a lot of things to criticize about Moxley, but he knows how to make people sound strong on commentary.

Thunder Rosa wants to team with someone from CMLL and challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Adam Priest

Schiavone: “We haven’t seen Zack Sabre Jr. in an AEW ring since a year ago at Forbidden Door!” Forbidden Door was in late August last year, so no, it hasn’t been a year ago. Sabre works on the arm to start, including a nasty snap with his legs. Priest is right back with a snap suplex but Sabre is right back to the arm.

The arm is bent over the top rope and Priest is in trouble as we take a break. We come back with a double clothesline leaving both of them down before Priest knocks him down again. Priest starts in on Sabre’s leg but Sabre pulls the bad arm back in and twists it around. A double arm crank makes Priest give up at 10:36.

Rating: C+. This was the “here is Sabre’s warm-up match for his warm up match for Omega at the pay per view match”. As usual, it went on longer than it needed to and did more for Priest than Sabre. While Sabre was more or less toying with him the whole time, Priest looked tough in his comebacks, which doesn’t really do much for Sabre, as is often the case in matches like this.

Megan Bayne and Lena Kross are in for whatever Thunder Rosa wants to do.

A bloody Chris Jericho thanks Tommaso Ciampa, but Ciampa won’t thank him later. Serious Jericho is a nice thing to see.

Owen Hart Cup Semifinals: Maya World vs. Athena

Athena’s ROH Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Athena takes her down in the corner for a pat on the head to start but gets dropped with a running shoulder. A rather rolling crucifix gives World two as we’re told that Thunder Rosa will team with Olimpia to challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Titles. If that’s how they’re going to announce it, why bother with the mystery in the promos earlier? Just tell us then so that it’s not an afterthought in the main event.

Anyway they both try dropkicks at the same time and flip up for a staredown. World cartwheels into a basement dropkick and they go to the apron to slug it out. Athena catches a roll and flips her into a faceplant on the floor as we take a break. We come back with World hitting a superplex and stomping Athena in the ribs. World’s moonsault gets two, as does Athena’s sitout powerbomb. Athena stomps her down and gets two more off a rollup, which has Athena frustrated.

The O Face misses and World gets two off a tabletop suplex. They fight outside, with Athena hitting a Rock Bottom onto the barricade. World is mostly done but Athena breaks the count to bring her back in. Athena yells a lot, which just wakes World up. The big comeback doesn’t last long though as Athena hits the O Face for….two, giving us a well deserved stunned kickout face. Some superkicks put World down and Athena loads up the big right hand, only to get rolled up for the out of nowhere pin at 14:10.

Rating: B. Well World pretty much has to win the tournament now or this is a heck of a way to use Athena. As usual, Athena comes up to the AEW roster and loses but I’m sure she’ll get to continue her nearly four year reign as ROH Women’s Champion. As for World…well, it’s certainly a way to make someone look bigger, but it doesn’t mean nearly as much if she just loses to Mone. I like making a bigger star, though good grief just let Athena be a regular in AEW already.

Post match respect is shown but here is Mercedes Mone to interrupt and hug World, who is then jumped by Athena. The Statement Maker goes on and Athena mocks World to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was the “let’s get a lot of stuff together for Forbidden Door as fast as we can show” and….yeah it mostly worked. The action was good enough and the PPV card feels a lot more complete. At the same time, it was a show that felt rather packed and didn’t leave much time for anything to have an impact. That’s something AEW has had issues with for a long time and while it would be nice to see that change, it isn’t likely to happen. Either way, good show here, and it did a lot of the work that AEW needed.

Results
Young Bucks/Jack Perry b. Lethal Twists – Meltzer Driver to Johnson
Kris Statlander b. Mina Shirakawa – Rollup
Hurt Syndicate b. Warren Johnson/Zack Mason – Spear to Johnson
Mistico b. Dante Martin – Super Spanish Fly
Pac b. Jay Alexander – Brutalizer
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Adam Priest – Double arm crank
Maya World b. Athena – Rollup

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: May 27, 2026
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re done with Double Or Nothing and MJF got the World Title back from Darby Allin. That’s the big story, but it wasn’t the last part of the show. After the title change, Kevin Knight came to the ring and attacked Allin, turning evil in the process. Other than that, we are about a month away from Double Or Nothing and we need some Owen Hart Cup finalists. Odds are we’re get closer to those this week, especially since we have another hour of Collision after this show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Double Or Nothing if you need a recap.

Back at Double Or Nothing, Will Ospreay was happy with his win and ran into Kenny Omega. They get to the point, with Omega asking why Ospreay is hanging out with the Death Riders. Omega said Ospreay could have trained with him if he wanted the World Title, but Ospreay points out that Omega is barely ever here.

That leaves Omega without much of a defense but as a friend, he wants Ospreay to watch out for the Death Riders. Ospreay doesn’t seem offended but here is Jon Moxley to say that’s good advice. Moxley gives Ospreay a bag of ice and says the truck is outside. With Moxley gone, Omega says Ospreay can call anytime and they seem to part as friends.

Here is Kevin Knight for a chat. He knows everyone wants to know why he attacked Darby Allin. The answer is because Allin let them all down and even though they’re in Philadelphia, he’s not trusting the process. Knight was the last person to beat MJF but he didn’t get a title shot.

Instead Knight was sitting on the bench even though he isn’t a bench player. He wasn’t wasting any time because he should be in the main event. This brings out Mike Bailey (in a less than nice jacket) who thinks Knight can turn around and apologize. Knight ignores the handshake and lays Bailey out. That’s a smart move.

Ricochet, with the Demand, isn’t worried about Chris Jericho tonight, even if everyone else is banned from ringside.

Chris Jericho vs. Ricochet

Everyone is banned from ringside. I take it that doesn’t involve commentary or the production crew but I guess that’s implied. Ricochet starts fast and kicks him into the corner but Jericho is up with a backdrop to the floor. Jericho hits a dive and loads up the announcers’ table for the Walls on said table. With that broken up, Ricochet sweeps the leg off the apron and starts going after the leg as we take a break.

We come back with Jericho hitting a Death Valley Driver on the apron and they’re both down on the floor. They get back inside where Jericho tries the Lionsault but has to switch to a springboard back elbow as Ricochet gets up. The threat of the Judas Effect sends Ricochet back outside and he snapmares Jericho over the top. The suicide dive and running flip dive connect, as does a springboard Phoenix splash to give Ricochet two back inside.

Jericho is right back up with another Walls but Ricochet goes after the banged up knee to escape. Ricochet uses the referee as a distraction and hits Jericho low but misses the 630. Jericho’s Codebreaker gets two and there’s the Judas Effect into a not so clean Lionsault to pin Ricochet at 13:57.

Rating: B. This was the kind of match that Jericho needed as they didn’t do any shenanigans and he won clean (well, mostly clean as the Lionsault landed on Ricochet’s face) in the end. That’s how this should have gone and it wound up being a good TV match. Jericho can still go in the ring when he has to, but the situation has to be set up right, as it was here.

Post match Jericho celebrates but Tommaso Ciampa runs in to jump him from behind. The running knee leaves Jericho laying.

Andrade El Idolo wants the world Title because he’s that awesome and better than MJF.

Orange Cassidy vs. Lio Rush vs. Brian Cage vs. Rush

For the sake of simplicity, Lio Rush is “Lio” and Rush is “Rush”. Cage sends Lio outside to start and Cassidy is tossed as well, leaving the power guys to go at it. Rush cuts off a charge with a shot to the face but they knock each other down, allowing Cassidy and Lio to come in and get two each.

Lio starts running the ropes to confuse Cassidy before sending him to the apron. A handspring kick to the head knocks Cassidy outside but Cage pulls a suicide dive out of the air. Back in and Rush hits the Tranquilo pose as we take a break. We come back with Cassidy dropping his top rope elbow on Cage, who muscles him up with an apron superplex. Lio is dropped with a Falcon Arrow for two more but Cassidy manages a Stundog Millionaire to send Cage outside.

The diving tornado DDT plants Cage again but here is Lance Archer to cut Cassidy off. Cue the returning Jake Doyle to go after Cassidy, with Roderick Strong running in for the save. The teams brawl off, with Cassidy being carried to the back. Lio hits a quick springboard Stunner on Rush but misses the Final Hour. Rush sends him into the barricade and chokes a bit, setting up the Bull’s Horns for the win at 12:10.

Rating: B-. It was little more than a showcase match and that’s how it was described. Thankfully once two of them left, Rush didn’t waste time in running through Lio, which is how this should have ended. It was a good enough match with Cassidy doing his thing and Cage and Rush beating each other up. If nothing else, Rush beating someone with some actual status is nice to see.

MJF runs into Kevin Knight and thanks him for the beatdown on Sunday. Knight says he’s coming for the World Title, which doesn’t sit well with MJF. Kyle Fletcher comes in to stare Knight down and Don Callis likes what he sees.

Video on Mark Briscoe, including some cool old Briscoe Brothers footage.

The Brawling Birds aren’t happy with Jamie Hayter losing on Sunday but Alex Windsor is ready for whomever she is facing in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup.

Here is MJF for some bragging. He’s rather pleased with being a three time World Champion by the time he’s thirty years old and they will talk about him for years to come. The banner and confetti fall but here is Mark Briscoe to interrupt. He calls MJF a stranger in a strange place here in Philadelphia, almost like he’s a penguin.

Briscoe accuses MJF of thinking he’s above everyone else, but Briscoe beat him not too long ago. So he wants a title shot and asks if MJF is going to man up. That’s a firm “no” because this is a business and Briscoe isn’t business. MJF goes to leave but gets cut off by Rush, who wants the title as well. MJF says no to tonight but actually agrees for next week. That sounds shenanigansy.

Jack Perry is on his bus and uses the loudspeaker to say he’s ready for Mark Davis. Then he does a Rocky training montage.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brody King

They fight over a lockup to start and neither can get anywhere so they stare at each other a bit more. A big running clothesline sends Castagnoli outside where King chops away and we take a break. We come back with the two of them slugging it out and hitting stereo clotheslines.

They forearm it out with Castagnoli getting the better of things but King knocks him into the corner. A forearm knocks Castagnoli into the corner for the cannonball but he’s able to cut off a suicide dive. The Neutralizer is cut off so Castagnoli uppercuts away. Swiss Death is shrugged off though and King’s big clothesline finishes at 12:02.

Rating: B-. This was about two big guys beating the fire out of each other and that’s exactly what you knew it would be the second the match was announced. I do like King advancing as there is no reason to pretend that Castagnoli is going to make a serious run in the tournament. He’s there for one purpose and he served that purpose right here.

Here are Adam Copeland and Christian Cage for a chat after winning the Tag Team Titles at Double Or Nothing. Cage loads up his catchphrase and says it wasn’t that bad, because he didn’t bang of the fans’ mothers. Ok maybe he did. Either way, FTR was the top team but not the tippy top team. Copeland is so happy that he’s bringing back the FIVE SECOND POSE!

Cage points out that there is no such thing as flash photography again, but Copeland whips out a bag of disposable cameras, which he stocked up on 25 years ago just in case. Cage is STUNNED (that’s one of the funniest facial reactions I’ve seen in a good while) as Copeland hands them out and explains the concept but the Dogs attack them to break up the pose. The beatdown is on and Cage’s bad arm is injured again. The Dogs do their own pose and promise to win the titles.

Swerve Strickland is happy with his first round win and is ready to take out Brody King in the second round.

Tay Melo/Anna Jay vs. Ava Everett/Allie Katch

After an insert promo from Lena Kross and Megan Bayne about how they aren’t impressed by Melo and Jay, we’re ready to go. Katch is sent into the corner and hit with some running shots to the face to start. Everett comes in and gets kicked down as well, setting up a Gory Bomb into Melo’s knee for the pin at 1:13. Total squash.

Mike Bailey wants to face Kevin Knight.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Mark Davis vs. Jack Perry

Non-title and Davis jumps him to start fast so the beating can ensue. Back up and Perry takes Davis’ eye patch and sends him outside for the suicide dives. There’s the running flip dive as well and we take a break with Davis in trouble. We come back with King fighting back and sending him hard into the barricade.

Perry can’t piledrive him on the apron but can knock him put him on the ropes for a hurricanrana. Back in and top rope moonsault gets two, followed by a step up backsplash for two more on Davis. Perry sends him outside and hits a sliding wheelbarrow bulldog but Davis is fine enough to hit a suplex onto the apron.

We take another break and come back with Perry having lost his shoes but being able to hit a top rope DDT. They trade rollups for two each and Perry hits his own piledriver for two. The Snare Trap goes on until Davis makes the rope and is up with a huge clothesline. They go up top and Davis knocks him into a super piledriver for the pin at 17:25.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the fire out of each other and it was fun to see Davis getting another win. If nothing else, it’s good to see a champion get a pin rather than losing right out of the blocks. Perry is going to be fine and he lost to that big of a move so it’s not like it’s some quick upset.

Overall Rating: B+. They had a good followup to the pay per view here with enough action and storyline advancement to make for a fun show. MJF having to deal with a bunch of people makes sense, and it seems like we’re well on the way to Ospreay getting the big title win in England. Good stuff here and I could go for seeing what they’re setting up for the summer.

Results
Chris Jericho b. Ricochet – Lionsault
Rush b. Orange Cassidy, Brian Cage and Lio Rush – Bull’s Horns to Lio
Brody King b. Claudio Castagnoli – Clothesline
Tay Melo/Anna Jay b. Ava Everett/Allie Katch – Gory Bomb into a knee to Everett
Mark Davis b. Jack Perry – Super piledriver

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

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Dynamite
Date: May 20, 2026
Location: Cross Insurance Arena, Portland, Maine
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re getting another three hour block this week as Collision is taking place tonight in a one hour version due to this weekend’s Double Or Nothing event. As has been the case with recent shows, Darby Allin is defending the World Title again, this time against Mike Bailey. That could be quite the showdown so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Earlier today, Chris Jericho and the Young Bucks were outside near a lighthouse to talk about tonight’s six man tag match and the biggest Stadium Stampede of all time this weekend. They imply having a special team name too. It’s going to be Bucks Of Jericho isn’t it?

Chris Jericho/Young Bucks vs. Don Callis Family/Ricochet

Yeah it’s Bucks Of Jericho. On the other side you have Andrade El Idolo/Mark Davis for the Family. Ricochet tags out immediately (that has been done WAY too often lately and it could use a long break) so it’s Andrade vs. Jericho to start things off. Naturally Andrade bails out to the floor for a photo with some women, earning chops from Jericho. Back in and Andrade gets taken into the corner, setting up a Risky Business/fish drop combination.

Matt gets driven into the corner as well but fights out rather quickly, allowing Nick to come in and clean house. The Bucks hit stereo dives and Jericho hits a top rope version of his own and we take a break. We come back with Nick fighting out of trouble and bringing in Jericho, meaning Ricochet bails again. Everything breaks down and Jericho and the Bucks hit a bunch of right hands on top, setting up three straight super hurricanranas.

Ricochet runs in to make a save so the Bucks start firing off the superkicks. Andrade is back up but gets low blowed into a step up Canadian Destroyer. Jericho knocks Ricochet to the floor for a baseball slide and they crash through some tables. Back in and More Bang From Your Buck is broken up by Davis. The Bucks take out Andrade but here are the Dogs to take Nick out. A foreign object shot knocks Matt cold for the pin at 13:58.

Rating: B-. This was the usual “here’s everything going nuts and people doing all kinds of stuff”, meaning it was entertaining but little more than a preview for Stadium Stampede. That makes sense and thankfully they didn’t go too long or have too many people involved. I’m not wild on Stadium Stampede, but the preview version went well enough.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jack Perry makes the save with…a bag of onions. Yeah of course. Anyway the Hurt Syndicate comes in to help clear the bad guys out with some of the brawls going into the crowd. Jericho and company stand tall.

Video on Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada.

Darby Allin says he keeps taking these title matches because he feels it. He basically says he can’t wait to get to Double Or Nothing, more or less treating Mike Bailey as the nothing challenger that he really is.

Video on MJF vs. Darby Allin.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Mark Briscoe

Anything goes. Briscoe throws in a trashcan full of weapons to start but Ciampa gets in a shot to the back to put him down. Ciampa goes under the ring to find his own trashcan full of weapons…including a mousetrap, which catches his own hand. A chair is sat up at ringside, with Ciampa being sat down for a Blockbuster. The Froggy Bow through the table is broken up and Ciampa sends him through the table instead. The cheese grater slices open Briscoe’s head (ignore that his head seemed to be bleeding first) and we take a break

We come back with Ciampa covering a stuffed chicken but Briscoe pulls the referee out. Briscoe whips out a fire extinguisher to spray Ciampa (and the air around him) and then staples barbed wire to a table. Believe it or not, that takes WAY too long and Ciampa is back up to staple a piece of paper to Briscoe’s head. Loading up a kneepad covered in thumbtacks takes way too long as well as Briscoe sends him into the ladder in the corner.

Briscoe uses a screwdriver for some stabbing but Ciampa suplexes him through the ladder for two. Back up and they slug it out, with the rather bloody Ciampa getting the better of things again. The super Air Raid Crash through some open chairs is broken up so Briscoe puts them back to back for an Iconoclasm onto their edges. A Jay Driller through the barbed wire table and the Froggy Bow finish Ciampa at 14:16.

Rating: C+. Yeah ok. This was just carnage for the sake of carnage and they lost me a few minutes into it. Much like what I’m expecting from Stadium Stampede, you could pretty much picture the two of them mapping out the stunts. It was violent and intense, but it didn’t feel like they were really fighting, which isn’t a good sign.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring to talk about the Owen Hart Tournament but Prince Nana interrupts and says he has this. He brings out Swerve Strickland but here is Bandido to jump Strickland. Bandido goes after Nana though and Strickland gets in a shot to the knee. The Vertebreaker on the chair is broken up and Bandido gorilla presses him instead. Strickland bails from the threat of said chair.

Willow Nightingale talks about some of her great moments, including a recent title defense against Red Velvet. Unfortunately she injured her shoulder and is out of the Owen Hart Cup and has to vacate the TBS Title. GAH that’s a bad one as she was having the run of her career. She doesn’t know when she’ll be back but she’ll be back on top.

Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Non-title eliminator match. O’Reilly goes after the arm to start and gets reversed into a headlock takeover. This lets Taz talk about leverage and control, which is what he does best. They get up and grapple again, with Moxley getting him into the corner to take him down. Moxley starts stomping on the fingers but wins another strike off. O’Reilly kicks away in the corner, followed by a snap suplex.

They strike it out again with Moxley getting in a body shot to put O’Reilly down. Moxley puts him against the ropes and hammers away but gets backdropped out to the floor instead. O’Reilly’s ribs/body won’t let him dive though and Moxley knocks him down again as we take a break. We come back with Moxley holding a bodyscissors until O’Reilly goes for the eyes to break it up. O’Reilly kicks the leg out and they trade some running shots against the ropes.

Some knees to the face let O’Reilly flip him over and a running boot puts Moxley on the floor. They go outside and trade a bunch of kicks to the chest until O’Reilly goes up top. Moxley bites the head and rakes the back, setting up a superplex to leave them both down again. O’Reilly escapes a choke and grabs the ankle lock, which is reversed into the bulldog choke. The rope is reached for the break and O’Reilly gets to the apron to twist the arm down.

A running dropkick has Moxley in more trouble but Moxley is back with a cutter gets two. O’Reilly grabs a choke of his own, setting up a t-bone suplex. One heck of a PK drops Moxley again but he pops up and, say it with me, they trade forearms. We have less than a minute to go as Moxley misses a Stomp and gets ankle locked again. The grapevine goes on but Moxley manages to make it through the time for the draw at 20:00.

Rating: B. That’s our Moxley. He’s tapped to O’Reilly before but he won’t do it again because he’s this awesome tough guy who doesn’t tap anymore because now he’s just too tough. This is a rather basic way to set up a rematch at the pay per view and while I’m not sure why I’d want to see them do it again so soon after a twenty minute draw, it does make sense and I’ll take that. Just imagine how many times they can trade forearms in a rematch!

Hold on though as O’Reilly says Moxley survived him so he wants a no time limit title match.

Kris Statlander is upset over Willow Nightingale but Hikaru Shida interrupts, saying they’re here to watch and want the women to fight hard in their upcoming match.

Rush wants Darby Allin next week if he survives his next title defenses.

Athena/Triangle Of Madness vs. Thunder Rosa/Mina Shirakawa/Brawling Birds

Athena wins a wrestle off with Rosa to start and shakes a bit before handing it off to Blue. Windsor comes in and gets caught in a headlock but Hayter tags herself in and, after accidentally kicking Windsor, boots Blue down for one instead. Shirakawa comes in to take over on Thekla and hits a slingshot spinning splash.

We take a break and come back with Blue pulling Shirakawa down by the hair and a Tarantula in the corner. Hayter tries to make a save and gets caught in an Upside Down, leaving Shirakawa to get beaten up even more. Shirakawa fights out of the corner and brings in Rosa to clean house, including a running shot to Blue in the corner. Everything breaks down and Athena gets to clean house until she is the only one left standing. Shirakawa tornado DDTs Athena on the floor and Blue kicks Rosa down inside. Thekla’s belt shot is cut off but Hart mists Rosa, allowing Thekla to roll her up for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on here and there is only so much you can do with that many people and a somewhat limited amount of time. Athena got to showcase herself while she could but as usual, she feels like someone who AEW tolerates rather than wants to push. Hopefully she gets to do something in the tournament, but I wouldn’t bet on it. The match was pretty good as a preview for Sunday and the tournament, so at least it accomplished its goals.

Kevin Knight gives Mike Bailey a pep talk and wants a shot at the World Title. Works for Bailey.

The Death Riders do group pushups and he’s ready for Kyle O’Reilly in their no time limit match at Double Or Nothing. Moxley thanks O’Reilly for giving him a chance to practice what he preached. O’Reilly survived tonight and on Sunday he gets to try his odds and see if he can go double or nothing (thankfully Moxley does acknowledge that it’s kind of a lame line).

AEW World Title: Mike Bailey vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending and before the bell, here is MJF to join commentary. Bailey hits…I think a kick but the camera was on MJF as we start. The Tornado Kick connects less than fifteen seconds in and Allin has to go to the apron to avoid the Ultimate Weapon. The triangle moonsault hits Allin on the floor and Bailey slams him outside as well. That means a double knee drop off the steps but Allin crotches him on the barricade. The Scorpion Death Drop plants Bailey onto the barricade and we take a break.

We come back with the two of them still on the floor and Allin using the steps to crush Bailey’s foot. They get back inside with Bailey knocking him down again but missing the Ultimate Weapon. The Coffin Drop connects but MJF puts the foot on the rope. Cue Kevin Knight to yell at MJF, who backs off and sits back down. Bailey kicks Allin the head a few times for two before the moonsault knees connect as well. The Flamenco Driver is countered into a Scorpion Death Drop but the Scorpion Deathlock sends Bailey to the rope. A Coffin Drop sets up another Deathlock to retain the title at 11:00.

Rating: B. The best thing here is they didn’t go as insane with Allin surviving stuff. That has been an issue with some of his title defenses and thankfully it wasn’t quite so badly. Bailey never felt like he was a real threat to win the title and they didn’t spend nearly as much time on a match that didn’t need it. Allin got beaten up, made a comeback and retained. Simple, yet effective here.

MJF storms off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a good example of a show where my bigger issues were more around the style being presented. The main portion of this show felt like it was all about the insanity or violence and more the people just getting to do what they liked. That being said, the last two matches were better and Moxley vs. O’Reilly had some moments. I can accept that some of the things they did accomplished what they were trying but I’m just not a fan, as that’s not the same thing as being bad. I didn’t have a great time for a lot of this, but it did get better by the end.

Results
Don Callis Family/Ricochet b. Young Bucks/Chris Jericho – Foreign object shot to Matt
Mark Briscoe b. Tommaso Ciampa – Froggy Bow
Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly went to a time limit draw
Athena/Triangle Of Madness b. Brawling Birds/Thunder Rosa/Mina Shirakawa – Mist to Rosa
Darby Allin b. Mike Bailey – Scorpion Deathlock

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

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Collision
Date: May 9, 2026
Location: SoFi Center, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a live with a golf theme, which is certainly a way to go. The show is also only an hour long this week as the first half took place after Dynamite. Much like Dynamite, the World Title is on the line here, with Darby Allin defending against Pac this week on his way to Double Or Nothing. Let’s get to it.

Here is Wednesday’s Collision if you need a recap.

Well the venue is unique, with most of the arena taken up by a golf hole, complete with bunker.

National Title: Jack Perry vs. Mark Davis

Perry is defending and gets thrown out of the corner for daring to fire off some chops. Davis gets sent outside though and there’s the moonsault to take him down. That just earns Perry a toss onto the apron and a big clothesline drops him right back. They get back inside with Davis throwing him around as the golf green behind the ring is throwing me off. Davis knocks him outside again for a big crash and we take a break.

We come back with Perry’s running forearm staggering Davis and a sunset bomb getting two. They go to the apron, where Perry escapes a suplex attempt and snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor. A top rope elbow to the back gives Perry two and a running hurricanrana gets the same. Davis’ discus lariat into the piledriver gets two more so he takes Perry up top. The super piledriver is countered into a super hurricanrana. Don Callis gets on the apron so here is Ricochet with a golf club to Perry’s back. The piledriver gives Davis the pin and the title at 14:18.

Rating: B. It was a messy finish but what mattered the most here was Davis getting a win. He has turned into one of the more consistent stars in AEW and I can go with seeing him get some success. I’m not expecting him to be some all time champion, but he won it once and that’s all that matters at the moment. At the same time, how is Perry vs. Ricochet still going? It feels like it was long past done and yet here we seem to be again.

Nick Wayne will be in the Best Of The Super Juniors in New Japan for the second consecutive year.

Jack Perry is on the phone after his loss and wants to get his hands on Ricochet. Like say in Stadium Stampede, with the rest of the Elite. As in the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. Assuming the Hurt Syndicate stay in, we could be in for a fourteen man match.

Don Callis is thrilled and of course the Family is in for Stadium Stampede. Ricochet approves.

Lena Kross/Megan Bayne vs. Ruthie Slay/Rachel Ley

Non-title with a five minute time limit. Kross shrugs off some kicks to the head and plants Ley down. It’s off to Bayne for the German suplex, followed by one from Kross and another from Bayne. A double German suplex sends both of them flying and the double chokeslam finishes Ley at 2:17.

We look at the Women’s Title picture in recent weeks, with the result being Thekla defending against Hikaru Shida, Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter at Double Or Nothing. That’s a bit of a surprise.

The Owen Hart Tournament brackets will be announced on Dynamite.

Don Callis says the winner of tonight’s World Title shot will be facing Konosuke Takeshita on Dynamite. That’s different from the announced Kazuchika Okada match, with Callis saying Okada had to go back to Japan on personal business. Takeshita comes in to say he’ll win.

We look at Kyle O’Reilly’s recent successes. Well kind of recent.

Mike Bailey vs. Kiran Grey

Grey shoves him before the bell to start so Bailey kicks Grey out to the floor. That means the middle rope moonsault to the floor can connect and Bailey goes up again. Grey tries to cut him off but gets knocked down, setting up the Ultimate Weapon to give Bailey the pin at 1:49.

Post match Kevin Knight gets in to say he and Bailey should go to the top of the company together.

Video on Pac vs. Darby Allin.

AEW World Title: Pac vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending and there are no countouts. The bell rings and Allin bails to the floor to head up to the golf hole. Pac follows him and they slug it out with Allin blocking a suplex. Instead it’s a sunset bomb into the sand trap, followed by a running dropkick into another sand trap. Back up and Pac suplexes him into the sand trap and grabs the Brutalizer, with the referee breaking it up due to the lack of value. Or he just wants to get out of the sand. A gorilla press slam sends Allin into the sand again as we take a break.

We come back with Allin tied in the corner so Pac can kick him in the face a few times. Allin is right back up with a Scorpion Death Drop for two but Pac crotches him on top. A top rope Falcon Arrow gives Pac two and Allin rolls outside. Naturally that means it’s time for a table but the shooting star press misses, with Pac crashing hard. Back in and the Scorpion Deathlock goes on, with Pac crawling over to the rope. Pac knocks him down again and here are more Death Riders to load up a table.

A tombstone plants Allin onto the steps as the Death Riders are stacking up even more tables. Pac carries him towards the 2×2 tables and we take a break (already in the overrun). We come back with Allin fighting back in the balcony but getting thrown off through the pile of tables. That’s only good for two back inside and the Death Riders are stunned. The referee takes a chair away from Pac so he grabs the belt. That’s enough for Allin to get up, kick him low, and hit a belt shot. The Coffin Drop retains the title at 20:23.

Rating: B-. That was quite the long match, but the bigger issue here is how much Allin is surviving. It’s one thing to be a tough fighting champion, but someone kicking out of not only a tombstone onto the steps but also being thrown off a balcony and through four tables is a bit much. It reaches the point of I’m not buying Allin being in danger and that kind of defeats the purpose of the whole thing. The match was more good than bad, but it felt like a few matches tied together into one, with the sand stuff feeling like it was from something totally different.

Overall Rating: B. For what was basically a two match card, this worked out rather well, with a surprise title change to start and a good (albeit too long) main event. The venue was also very unique and that’s nice to see, as you can only have so many shows in the same kind of arenas. Trim the main event down a bit and the show is that much better, but what we got was solid enough.

Results
Mark Davis b. Jack Perry – Piledriver
Lena Kross/Megan Bayne b. Ruthie Slay/Rachel Ley – Double chokeslam to Ley
Mike Bailey b. Kiran Grey – Ultimate Weapon
Darby Allin b. Pac – Coffin Drop

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

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Dynamite
Date: May 6, 2026
Location: North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, South Carolina
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

It’s another double show this week as we have the usual two hours of Dynamite, plus the first half of Collision. As usual, the World Title is on the line as Darby Allin is defending against Kevin Knight in what could be a heck of a match. We’re also getting pretty close to Double Or Nothing and that should mean some new things being set up. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring for a dedication to Ted Turner, who started the network they’re on and had a big hand in bringing wrestling to national television. Schiavone brings out Sting, who talks about how great it was to have an all in billionaire who loved wrestling. Back in the day, a lot of people wanted to get rid of wrestling but Turner would tell the wrestlers to keep doing what he was doing because he had deep pockets.

He and Darby Allin burned this place up for three and a half years and he’s glad to see Allin defending the title tonight. Schiavone talks about how the TNT and TBS Titles have plates honoring where Turner started wrestling in Atlanta. And now, three hours of wrestling! It was nice to see this kind of thing and given that they air on the Turner networks, it kind of had to be there.

We get a ten bell salute to Turner.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Juice Robinson

Non-title Eliminator Match. They go head to head and yell a lot before trading the forearms. Robinson headbutts him in the corner and a catapult sends Moxley out to the floor. The big flip dive off the apron connects and they go back inside, where Moxley (already bleeding) stomps on the hand. The fingers are split apart but Robinson is able to send him outside again, this time with a toss into the timekeeper’s area. Back in and Robinson hammers away until we take a break.

We come back with Moxley working on the fingers again but Robinson gets up to slug away. That’s cut off rather quickly and now it’s Moxley getting to fire off the right hands in the corner. A super hurricanrana gets Robinson out of trouble and he reverses a piledriver attempt into a rollup for two.

The snap jabs just earn Robinson a bite to the face but he’s right back with a high crossbody. They trade headbutts and forearms until Moxley misses a charge into the post. A mere thirteen seconds later, he’s back with a bulldog choke and piledriver for two. The choke goes on again and Robinson is out at 14:34.

Rating: B-. This was Moxley in his Superman mode as he bounced up from charging into a post like it was nothing so he could do his big offense. That’s the kind of ridiculous stuff he does every so often and it makes for some less than great matches. Also, nice job of having the Bang Bang Gang get its momentum back on Collision and have their leader lose in the first match on the following Dynamite.

Will Ospreay trains with the Death Riders and Moxley says this is Death Ground (as in ground from which he can never escape) if his neck doesn’t get stronger. Yeah of course this is hard. And no more cameras.

Orange Cassidy vs. Dax Harwood

The winner gets a shot at the loser’s titles and Harwood has about seven people (including Tommaso Ciampa, RPG Vice, Cash Wheeler, the Dogs and Stokely dressed as Cassidy) with him. Cassidy brings out the rest of the Conglomeration, Adam Copeland, Christian Cage and the Young Bucks with him as there are probably fifteen people involved in this segment

Harwood armdrags him down to start but Cassidy kicks him off and grabs a headlock. Cassidy blocks the chops in the corner and hits an Orange Punch, sending Harwood outside. Another Orange Punch hits the post though and the hand gets wrapped around the post as we take a break. We come back with Cassidy being sent into the corner but blocking a superplex attempt. A top rope DDT gets two and Harwood goes outside, where he cuts off a suicide dive attempt.

Back in and a spinning DDT drops Harwood but Stokely offers a distraction and a cheap shot from the floor gets two. A big brawl on the floor looks to allow Harwood to bring in the ring bell, which is quickly taken away. Cassidy kicks him in the face but gets caught in a slingshot powerbomb for two more. Back up and the Orange Punch gets two so Harwood goes after the bad arm/hand again. That’s reversed into a cradle though and Cassidy gets the pin at 12:01.

Rating: B-. Well that was….busy. This felt like a match that could have had about, I don’t know, fifteen or so less people at ringside? I’m hardly thrilled with the idea of more people getting a chance to be a double champion again but it’s just another match before (I’m guessing) we get to Copeland and Cage getting their rematch at Double Or Nothing.

Post match everyone comes in and the good guys clean house.

Video on Rush.

Last week, the Demand jumped Chris Jericho.

This week, Jericho (not Chris Jericho but just Jericho) is in the back but wants to talk about the Demand in front of the people. He comes out to the ring and says he’s done with the three on one beatdowns. Instead, he’s going to DEMAND that Ricochet come out here and face him man to man right now.

Cue the Demand, with Ricochet mocking Jericho, who says that he can’t hear over all of the booing. Ricochet is tired of this stuff and listening to these people in Charleston, North Carolina (Jericho: “It’s South.”) and brings up a challenge for Stadium Stampede. He’s just not sure if Jericho can find four other partners because no one around here likes him. Jericho yells at him for getting the state wrong (Ricochet: “Same thing.”) and is sure he can find someone. Otherwise he’ll just do it himself.

The brawl is on and Jericho clears the ring…for a bit, only to get beaten back down. Cue the Hurt Syndicate to make the save. Schiavone: “I know they love Bobby Lashley and they love South Carolina native Benjamin Shelton.” That’s either a really odd reference to a Hulk Hogan interview from about a year ago, or Schiavone isn’t very good at his job.

Mina Shirakawa gives Harley Cameron a pep talk and rips Cameron’s shirt open. Shirakawa realizes Cameron is wearing her bra underneath rather than gear and has to apologize. Cameron doesn’t seem to mind and is fired up.

International Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Keith

Okada is defending in your random title match of the week. In case you’re wondering, Keith’s most recent singles win on AEW TV was in October. Of 2024. Excalibur says Keith has been racking up wins in Ring Of Honor though, and that is true. I mean he hasn’t actually won a singles match this year but the three he had in 2025 count right? Oh wait actually as Excalibur said that Keith has had success on the independent circuit. From what I can find, that success is a record of 1-1-2 this year. So I guess this is based on the ROH tag success? To get a singles title shot. Right.

Anyway, Keith kicks away to start and snapmares him into a knee drop for two. Keith goes up but gets dropkicked out to the floor, where Okada hits a DDT as we take a break. We come back with Keith not being able to get a Fujiwara armbar but he can knee Okada in the head. Keith hits a running DDT for two and they head outside again, where Keith gets in another DDT.

Naturally that doesn’t do much and Okada gives him a slam into the dropkick. Another dropkick misses but Okada backdrops his way out of a tiger driver attempt. The next attempt works a bit better but Diamond Dust is countered into something like a sitout Tombstone. The Rainmaker retains the title at 10:16.

Rating: B. Keith made the most of his chance here and the match wound up being good. While it would be nice to see the choice of title challengers have a bit more logic, it was nice to see Keith getting a shot. Okada is on the way to his biggest match in AEW (or at least close to it) so call this a rather early warmup.

Post match Okada says he’s coming for the World Title. Censored.

Video on Andrade El Idolo.

Mike Bailey gives Kevin Knight a pep talk before tonight’s World Title shot. Knight is ready to win another title.

Samoa Joe and the Opps, now with Anthony Bowens, wants Will Ospreay on his team. Either do that, or get his fist instead.

Mina Shirakawa/Harley Cameron vs. Hikaru Shida/Kris Statlander

Shirakawa and Statlander lock up to start, with Statlander giving her a slam and dancing a bit. A backslide gives Statlander two and it’s off to Shida vs. Cameron. That doesn’t last long as it’s back to Statlander, who gets headscissored into the corner. A backbreaker puts Shirakawa down though and Shida comes back in for a running knee on the apron.

We take a break and come back with Shirakawa and Shida trading forearms until Shirakawa knocks her silly. Cameron comes back in with a tornado DDT and Shirakawa adds a missile dropkick to Statlander as everything breaks down. Statlander is back up with a fisherman’s driver to Shirakawa but Shida’s running knee hits Statlander by mistake. Cameron rolls Shida up for two but Statlander is back in to boot Cameron in the face. Shida’s Falcon Arrow gets the pin at 12:43.

Rating: C+. At least Shirakawa didn’t lose again. I’m not sure why Shida and Statlander’s team is continuing as it isn’t like they have much to do at the moment after losing their title shot. It’s nice to have them actually doing something, but a team with issues despite having success is a bit played out.

Swerve Strickland wants power and that means going after the most wanted, Bandido.

Bandido, with Brody King, says he’s not hard to find and King threatens Strickland for coming after his friends. Didn’t we just see King vs. Strickland a month and a half ago? Also of note: neither Bandido, King, Strickland or commentary referenced Bandido being the Ring Of Honor World Champion whatsoever. Bandido had the belt, but no one mentioned it at all. That was the case when Andrade El Idolo came after the title as well. It’s not a good sign when the Defy World Title (as held by Bryan Keith) gets more discussion than the title held, and displayed, by an AEW star.

AEW World Title: Darby Allin vs. Kevin Knight

Only Allin is defending. They go with the grappling to start until Knight knocks him down and grabs a headlock. Allin reverses into one of his own and hits a springboard elbow to the face. Back up and they clothesline each other and Knight snaps off a heck of a super hurricanrana. A big dropkick sends Allin outside and we take a break.

We come back with Allin grabbing a Code Red for two and Knight goes outside. The suicide dive knocks Knight down again and Allin sits him in the chair. Knight pops back up and hurricanranas him off the top and out to the floor for the big crash. One heck of a springboard clothesline hits Allin on the announcers’ table and they’re both down for a bit. Back in and Knight dives into a Scorpion Deathlock, sending him over to the ropes.

Knight is able to catch him in the Tree Of Woe and hits a Coast To Coast, followed by the UFO Splash. The knee is too banged up though and it’s a delayed cover for two. Allin kicks the knee out and grabs a guillotine choke before hanging him on the top rope. The Coffin Drop in the ropes sets up the regular Coffin Drop to retain the title at 15:36.

Rating: B. This was good again, with Allin’s rather impressive string of title matches continuing. At the same time, it seems like they’re setting up the idea of Allin giving it everything he has in these title matches, which could result in him having some trouble rather soon. Knight losing is acceptable enough as it’s to the World Champion, but it shouldn’t be happening again anytime soon.

Sting comes out to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was another strong show, though it was missing something to take it all the way to that higher level. It was a show built more around setting things up for later and building to things that we’ve already gotten set up. That’s a fine way to go on occasion, though they really do need to add some more stuff to Double Or Nothing, as we only have three matches thus far. Anyway, this was more than good enough.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Juice Robinson – Bulldog choke
Orange Cassidy b. Dax Harwood – Rollup
Kazuchika Okada b. Bryan Keith – Rainmaker
Hikaru Shida/Kris Statlander b. Harley Cameron/Mina Shirakawa – Falcon Arrow to Cameron
Darby Allin b. Kevin Knight – Coffin Drop

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

Wrestlemania XXXIX Night One
Date: April 1, 2023
Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 67,303
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
America The Beautiful: Becky G

I’ve been curious to get back to this show as it was rather well received last year, leading me to wonder just how well it holds up. The main event of the first night is the Usos defending the Tag Team Titles against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, which is still hard to believe in multiple ways. Other than that, we have Rhea Ripley challenging Charlotte for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Let’s get to it.

The set is a classic one, looking like the stage at the Academy Awards.

Becky G sings America The Beautiful.

The opening video features Kevin Hart, who threatens the voiceover guy with a big boot and legdrop. Hart is here to tell us a story about something that happened once upon a time in Hollywood. This sends us to a Wrestlemania greatest hits package before we look at the Wrestlemania trailers, which really weren’t close to the level of the originals in 2005. Hart asks the pyro budget to wrap it up.

Here are the hosts (in the ring rather than doing a full entrance in a smart time saver), the Miz and Snoop Dogg, to get things going. Miz talks about how they have a lot in common: they’re both musicians (Miz was in Wrestlemania: The Musical) and they’re both in a bunch of movies, plus Snoop is a WWE Golden Champ. Snoop: “So we’re the same?” Snoop says it’s more about the champions in the audience tonight, sending Miz into a preview of the card. We’re ready to fire it up so let’s get going.

US Title: Austin Theory vs. John Cena

Theory, defending, has one of my favorite entrance styles as the camera is shooting from the entrance, allowing you to look at the sea of humanity in front of him. It’s been awesome for years and it still is here. Cena on the other hand gets a video of his Make-A-Wish work (which is as cool as it gets) and has a bunch of Make-A-Wish kids with him for the big feel good moment. The entrance is rather strong, though maybe not as strong as that bald spot Cena is sporting.

Feeling out process to start with Theory grabbing a headlock and getting powered off without much effort. Cena goes after the arm and takes Theory down with a headlock takeover as the fans aren’t sure about this one. Back up and Cena powers him into the corner so Theory gets creative with a bite of the ear of all things. As I try to figure out if Theory was alive for Tyson vs. Holyfield II, Theory jumps Cena from behind and hits a suplex for two.

Theory takes a bit too long to follow up though and Cena snaps off a suplex of his own. The rolling Blockbuster cuts Cena right back down for two and we hit the posing for a bit. Theory’s rolling dropkick gets the same as the fans aren’t quite into these covers yet. More posing sets up Theory knocking him down again but a big stomp is blocked. The AA is countered into a DDT to give Theory two more and the frustration is on again.

Theory misses a charge into the corner and they slug it out until Theory grabs a sleeper. That’s broken up with a ram into the buckle and Cena initiates the finishing sequence. The AA is blocked again with a grab of the ropes and the referee gets bumped. Cena grabs the STF for the tap, which the referee doesn’t see. Theory gets in a low blow and A Town Down retains the title at 11:21.

Rating: C. It takes some guts to have Cena come out with the Make-A-Wish kids and then have him lose. As for the rest of the match, it was rather basic and felt like Cena was just playing the greatest hits. I get that Cena wasn’t able to be his old self, but it was getting close to “shell of his former self” territory. It was an attempt to give Theory a rub, but that didn’t quite click here as it felt like Theory was beating someone out there for one more match rather than a returning star.

Street Profits vs. Ricochet/Braun Strowman vs. Alpha Academy vs. Viking Raiders

This is dubbed a Showcase Match, which is pretty much flat out saying “they’re here to be on the card”. I kind of like the honesty there. Titus O’Neil is on commentary for no adequately explored reason. The Raiders have Valhalla (or Sarah Logan according to Titus) in their corner. Ricochet and Gable start things off and thank goodness they aren’t having four in the ring at once.

Ricochet’s hurricanrana attempt is countered into a quickly broken ankle lock so Ricochet sweeps the legs, only to get pulled into a backslide for one. Gable gets sent into the corner for the tag from Otis, who runs Ricochet over without much effort (Titus: “Big sweaty Otis!”). It’s right back to Gable, who mocks Strowman, allowing Ricochet to jump over Gable and make the tag.

All eight get in (you knew it was coming) and the big brawl is on. The Vikings clear the ring and the springboard clothesline/German suplex combination drops Ricochet. Ragnarok hits Ford but let’s stop to pose instead of covering. Strowman is back up to run both of them over, only to have Gable come back in for the rolling Chaos Theory. Gable goes up for a Swan Dive but Dawkins tags himself in, only to miss a dive. Ivar comes in and misses the moonsault as Dawkins moves (not that it would have connected anyway).

That leaves Strowman to hit a top rope splash for two on Strowman, with almost everyone else making the save. Otis World’s Strongest Slams Strowman but Ford is back in to clean some house. A bunch of people go to the corner and that is indeed a Tower Of Doom, with Ricochet diving onto them for the real crash. Strowman is up for the Strowman Express until Dawkins BLASTS HIM with a shoulder to pop the heck out of Titus. Ricochet is up with a springboard shooting star onto Dawkins but the shooting star press inside hits raised knees. Ford’s frog splash to Ricochet’s back (onto Dawkins’ knees) is enough for the pin at 8:29.

Rating: B. The term showcase makes sense here as that is what it felt like we saw. This was eight people getting the chance to have fun and it felt like something you would have seen on an independent show. That block on Strowman and Ricochet’s shooting star were both great, though the Profits were the most established team coming into this and giving them the win makes sense. I’m not usually wild on the people being stacked onto the card, but I’ll take it over a battle royal.

Video on Brock Lesnar vs. Omos, which takes place tomorrow.

We recap Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul. Rollins is a star and Paul eliminated him from the Royal Rumble. To make it worse, Paul has knocked cost Rollins the US Title and knocked him out with his loaded right hand, leaving Rollins a little worried.

The UpUpDownDown crew simulates Rollins vs. Paul in WWE2K23, with Rollins having a 58% chance to win.

Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul

Paul ziplines in, which is cool enough, but it doesn’t have much in the way of lasting power. Rollins has quite the entrance, as a conductor leads the crowd to sing his song. There is also a walking bottle of Prime, which can’t end well. Rollins grabs a headlock to start and talks to Paul a bit before being shoved away. They pick the pace up a bit with Rollins hitting a running shoulder but it’s way too early for the Stomp.

Back up and Paul throws him over the top (just like he did at the Royal Rumble, hence Paul saying “that’s twice”). Rollins isn’t happy with that and comes back in to hammer away until Paul snaps his throat across the top. Back in and Paul starts slugging away before avoiding a charge in the corner. A springboard crossbody into a standing moonsault gives Paul two and we hit something like a seated octopus. They strike it out while laying on the mat until Paul busts out a nice gutwrench suplex.

Commentary isn’t sure if they should be shocked that Paul is this good as he jumps from the mat to the top for a moonsault (geez) which only hits mat. The fans greatly approve of something (seemingly in the crowd) as Rollins makes the comeback and sends him over the top to even the score a bit. Three straight suicide dives connect for Rollins so Paul crawls away, only for Rollins to Stomp his hand on the steps.

Back in and the Pedigree is countered into an exchange of rollups for two each. Paul pops up and hits the big right hand but the pain means it’s a VERY delayed near fall. Rollins is back up with a sitout powerbomb for two and the Stomp is loaded up….but the bottle of Prime makes the save. It’s KSI (Paul’s business partner), whose distraction lets Paul post Rollins for the big knockdown. The announcers’ table is cleared off but KSI spends too much time filming, allowing Rollins to pull him in the way of Paul’s splash off the post through the table.

Back in and the Pedigree gets two in a heck of a kickout, leaving them both down. The frustrated Rollins hits an elbow to the back of the head but the Stomp is pulled out of the air. Paul busts out a GTS of all things before dropping a nice frog splash for two. With Rollins down in the corner, Paul goes up and tries a Coast To Coast, only to dive into a superkick. The Stomp finishes for Rollins at 16:14.

Rating: B+. These guys tore the house down with some awesome stuff as Paul continues to be an absolute freak of nature out there. He absolutely should not be this good with so little experience but here he is, having a heck of a match with a top WWE star on the biggest stage of them all. I had a great time watching this and you could feel the energy going up over and over throughout. Great match.

We recap Damage CTRL vs. Becky Lynch/Trish Stratus/Lita. Damage CTRL took out Lynch so she brought in Lita of all people to team with her and take the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Lita and Lynch, with an assist from Stratus, actually won the titles so now it’s time for a big grudge match.

Damage CTRL vs. Lita/Trish Stratus/Becky Lynch

Damage CTRL gets a normal entrance while the other three get a movie trailer/comic book style entrance, which is indeed rather cool and fitting for the show. For some reason they come into the stadium in black and white and….well it’s cool but I’m not sure I get the theme here. We get the big staredown to start and the fight is on before the bell. Damage CTRL is cleared out to the floor so Lynch baseball slides into Kai.

Back in and we officially start with Lynch’s early Manhandle Slam attempt being broken up. Sky offers a distraction so Kai can kick Lynch in the head, meaning the villains can take over in the corner. Some knees in the corner give Sky two, followed by a heck of a springboard missile dropkick for the same. A double wheelbarrow suplex/neckbreaker combination gives Bayley two, followed by Kai’s kick to the face for two more.

Lynch manages to send Bayley outside and drop Kai but Bayley pulls Stratus down to break up the tag attempt. Kai is finally knocked down though and the tag brings in Lita for a kind of awkward looking headscissors. Another headscissors sends Sky face first into the corner, setting up a faceplant for two. Lita goes up but Kai offers a cheap shot to put her down as the villains take over again.

Triple kicks drop Lita again before Sky bends the neck around the rope and screams menacingly. Lita manages to DDT her way out of trouble and brings Trish back in to chop away at Kai in the corner. A neckbreaker gives Stratus two but the Stratusphere is broken up. Everything breaks down and an assisted Stratusphere sends Kai off the top and down onto Sky/Bayley.

Back in and we get a rather awful looking Poetry In Motion to Kai, setting up the Disarm-Her from Lynch. Bayley breaks that up and takes Stratus down before pulling Kai over to the right corner in a move heels should use more often. The Rose Plant and Manhandle Slam are broken up but Bayley’s second Rose Plant connects with Lita having to make the save. Stratus comes back in and everything breaks down with everyone but Sky crashing out to the floor.

Sky moonsaults onto the pile and everyone is down at once. All six of them get back in and we have the three on three slugout, much to the fans’ delight. Lita hits Sky with a Twist of Fate and the Chick Kick drops Kai. The Litasault connects on Kai and Sky, leaving Lynch to hit a super Manhandle Slam for the pin at 14:38.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t very good as it felt long and then went another five minutes. Lita can’t really move all that well anymore (a lot of that will have to do with her neck problems) and it was getting tough to watch her out there. Everything else was ok at best and this really needed to be about five or more minutes shorter. Not an awful match, but slow and fairly dull to watch at times.

Video on Bianca Belair vs. Asuka for the former’s Raw Women’s Title on Night Two.

We recap Dominik Mysterio vs. Rey Mysterio. Dominik has been corrupted by Rhea Ripley and the Judgment Day and has gone full evil. This saw him torment his dad for months before finally getting Rey’s attention by going after his own mother. Now Rey is ready to teach his son, who was arrested for invading Rey’s house and now brags about his time (all of a few hours) in jail, a lesson.

Bad Bunny is on Spanish commentary.

Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio

Following a long video showing him being transported from prison (including a shot of Auschwitz (as in the German concentration camp, which WWE had to apologize for using), Dominik is out first and comes to the ring in the back of a police van, where he has to be unshackled (with a lucha mask, which has Michael Cole WAY too incensed). Yeah that’s not going to be topped. Rey is driven to the ring in a low rider (with Eddie Guerrero music) by Snoop Dogg and yeah Dominik wasn’t topped.

Dominik, in gear close to Rey’s Halloween Havoc 1997 attire, locks up to start and gets absolutely nowhere with it. They go to the mat with Dominik taking him down, only to be sent out to the floor. Back in and Rey snaps off a running hurricanrana, meaning Dominik needs a breather. That’s fine with Rey, who headscissors him into the corner, where a whipping ensues. Dominik bails to the floor again, where he grabs a drink from his sister and throws it into her face.

Rey goes over to cut said sister off, allowing Dominik to catapult him into the post. That’s too far even for Graves, who can’t bring himself to defend Dominik on this one. The abdominal stretch goes on back inside before Dominik drops him down, meaning more trash talk can ensue. He yells at his mother enough that she slaps him in the face, allowing Rey to start the comeback.

Back in and Rey starts the comeback, including the springboard spinning crossbody. The Eddie Dance looks to set up Three Amigos but here is Judgment Day as Dominik drives him into the corner. Rey gets a running start but gets flipped over Dominik, sending him face first into the bottom turnbuckle for a VERY hard crash. After the referee makes sure Rey’s face isn’t broken, Dominik tries Three Amigos but Rey slips out of the third.

The 619 connects, only to have the Judgment Day offer a distraction so Dominik can take Rey down again. Rey is sent outside so Judgment Day surrounds him, only for the LWO to come in for the save. Back in and Dominik’s 619 sets up a frog splash for two, meaning frustration is setting in. Dominik unhooks the turnbuckle pad but the referee sees him, allowing Dominik to grab a chain instead. Bad Bunny breaks that up though and it’s a 619 into the frog splash to give Rey the pin at 14:31.

Rating: B. This is a weird one as I remembered absolutely loving it the first time but instead this was just good. The spanking in the corner spot was great and it was by far the biggest match Dominik has had. The big thing here was the Mysterio Family overcome Judgment Day and the evils of Dominik, which is about as feel good of a feeling as you can have.

It told a story and the action was good, making it feel very Wrestlemania worthy. Having the LWO there to cut off Judgment Day and Bad Bunny there to even things out again were nice additions as well. Good stuff overall, though maybe not the classic I remember it being originally.

You should visit Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico tourism bureau really recommends it.

We recap Rhea Ripley challenging Charlotte for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Ripley is the new monster of the division but Charlotte beat her before. This is a very different Ripley though and she wants the title, but also to avenge her loss to Charlotte at Wrestlemania XXXVI.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley

Ripley is challenging. They take their time to start before Ripley runs her over. Back up and Charlotte knocks her out to the floor for a change, with Ripley looking a bit scared. She gets back inside where Charlotte is sent to the apron, only to come back with a big boot. A high crossbody gives Charlotte two but Ripley drops her face first onto the top turnbuckle. Ripley’s bodyscissors slows things down a bit, followed by the chops to keep Charlotte in trouble.

Charlotte is back up with some chops up against the ropes but Ripley snaps off a German suplex for two. Another comeback lets Charlotte drop her on the turnbuckle and hit some clotheslines, followed by the big chops to really stagger Ripley. Back up and Ripley rolls through a high crossbody and tries Riptide, only to get countered into a heck of a DDT for a near fall. Stereo big boots leave them both down for a minute before it’s time to slug it out. Ripley sends her into the knee but Charlotte snaps off a t-bone suplex.

Charlotte takes too long going up though and it’s a release German superplex for two, leaving Ripley shaken up. The breather lets Charlotte go after the knee and Natural Selection gets two. They go outside, where Charlotte misses a charge into the steps, allowing Ripley to grab a belly to back faceplant for two. Riptide is countered into a German suplex to put Ripley down but she’s back up with a German suplex to put Charlotte down on her face (that was almost really bad as Charlotte barely rotated enough).

Charlotte is fine enough to hit a heck of a big boot for tow more but the Figure Four is blocked again. A staggered Ripley rolls to the apron, where Charlotte hits another big boot. The moonsault to the floor actually connects but Ripley blocks the Figure Four again. The spear misses and a quick Riptide gets two, leaving Ripley absolutely stunned (you don’t see that every day). With the covers not working, Ripley grabs the Prism Trap, which looks even more impressive with someone as tall as Charlotte.

The rope is reached and Ripley almost runs into the referee, allowing Charlotte to come back with a spear for two of her own. Another big boot (Charlotte likes those) drops Ripley and the Figure Four finally goes on but the rope is grabbed in about half a second. They go up top, where Ripley drops her face first onto the post. That sets up a super Riptide to knock Charlotte good and silly for the pin and the title at 23:34.

Rating: A. I gave this a B+ last year and I completely shortchanged the whole thing. These two beat the living daylights out of each other and it felt like an absolute war with Ripley being crowned as the new queen. This is the match that Ripley needed to win and WWE got it absolutely right with the victory coming in a war. It was time for something new in the division and that was Ripley, who had to beat Charlotte to get there after what happened three years ago. Outstanding match here and an instant classic.

Video on Gunther defending the Intercontinental Title against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus on Night Two.

Austin Theory says he showed John Cena. Do you believe in him now?

Miz and Snoop Dogg announce tonight’s attendance: 80,497. Snoop says the only thing that would be better than that would be if Miz had a match tonight and Miz agrees. He put out an open challenge, but no one responded. Everyone knows that he is the toughest man here and we hit the catchphrase….which is cut off by Pat McAfee.

Cole stands up and Graves looks crushed all over again. McAfee says high to the beautiful people and greets Snoop before saying no one heard about this open challenge. He’s wearing his Wrestlemania tank top and the challenge is on. Miz would love to do it but he’s just the host of Wrestlemania so he can’t make the match. McAfee mocks Miz’s testicular fortitude so Snoop decides he can make the match. Miz tells Snoop to do this instead. Snoop: “I don’t do this. I rap.” And the bell rings.

Pat McAfee vs. Miz

McAfee slugs away to start and catches a charging Miz with a spinebuster. Miz goes up top but McAfee goes up with him and then backflips away. A superkick (and a nice one) knocks a diving Miz out of the air so Miz is ready to walk. For reasons of celebrity involvement, Miz shoves NFL tight end George Kittle, who jumps the barricade (security around here is awful) and clotheslines Miz. That lets McAfee go up onto the post and flip dive down onto Miz for the big crash. Back in and McAfee hits the Punt for the pin at 3:25.

Rating: C. This was the goofy fun that they knew it would be as Miz continues to be the perfect choice for the goof who can be beaten down and come back again later no matter what. McAfee is a nice celebrity guest star as he can more than handle himself in a short match and the fans seemed to like him. Good, easy fun here.

Wrestlemania XL is in Philadelphia.

Night Two rundown.

We recap the Usos defending the Tag Team Titles against Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens. Zayn had been part of the Bloodline but they eventually turned on him, leaving Zayn to turn to his long time, on again/off again partner Owens, who did not trust Zayn. There was one too many beatdowns though, and Owens finally reformed the team with Zayn to set up the title match, as they have to bring the Bloodline down one way or another. The other aspect of this is Jey Uso, who seemed to trust Zayn before getting stabbed in the back as well. Zayn still seems to believe in Jey, which adds a bit of a twist to the whole thing.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens

The Usos are defending and are played to the ring by Lil Uzi Vert. Owens and Zayn are so fired up and you can feel every bit of it. After the Big Match Intros, Zayn seems ready to start with Jimmy but Jey comes in instead. Jey shoulders Zayn down but he comes back with right hands for a change. Jimmy low bridges Zayn to the floor though as the villains start taking over.

A suplex to the floor and a boot to the face keep Zayn in trouble, with Jey adding a Stinger Splash for two. Zayn finally manages to send the champs outside though and it’s Owens coming in to clean house. A big flip dive to the floor drops the Usos and a frog splash from the apron/top rope each gets two on Jimmy. Back in and Jey hits a pop up neckbreaker to cut Owens off though and we slow back down.

Owens fights back and tries a Swanton, only to hit raised knees. Jimmy adds a quick Superfly Splash for two and the near fall has Jimmy confused. Some superkicks put Jimmy into the corner though and it’s a Cannonball to Jimmy, with Zayn brainbustering Jey on the apron. The Swanton gives Owens two and Zayn adds his own Superfly Splash for two more. Cole references El Generico for the OLE chants but Jey cuts things off with a superkick.

A high quantity of superkicks get two on Zayn, with Owens having to make a save. Another superkick gets two but this time Zayn kicks out himself. Owens tries to come in sans tag but gets spinebustered through the announcers’ table for his efforts. Back in and the 1D gets two on Zayn, with Cole (and the fans) LOSING IT over the kickout. The livid Jey shouts at Zayn in the corner, slapping away while saying they were brothers.

Jey hits a Helluva Kick but Zayn grabs an exploder suplex into the corner. The tag brings in Owens for powerbombs a plenty, setting up a Helluva Kick from Zayn to Jimmy. The Stunner gets two on Jey and everyone is down. They all pull themselves up and the fight is on again, meaning more and more superkicks.

The Usos’ superkicks are superer though and Owens is down while Zayn is knocked to the floor. The double Superfly Splashes get two and the Usos are stunned. Zayn breaks up the super 1D though and Owens superplexes Jimmy, allowing the tag to Zayn for the Helluva Kick to Jey. Another Helluva Kick to Jey, a Stunner to Jimmy and a third Helluva Kick to Jey FINALLY give us new champions at 24:07.

Rating: B+. This was all about the emotion, as Owens and Zayn had such a long story to not only win the titles, but they headlined Wrestlemania (two in a row for Owens) to do so. That is one of those “who would have believed it” stories and my goodness the payoff was worth the wait. If nothing else, the fact that neither of them had won a Tag Team Title in WWE until now is almost hard to fathom. The match itself was rather good too and they nailed the finish as it had to be Zayn pining Jey, but even the Young Bucks would tell them to tone down the superkicks here. Heck of a main event though.

A big celebration and the highlight package take us out for the night.

Overall Rating: A-. There were eight matches on here (one of which was the impromptu celebrity match) and five of them were very good to excellent. That is getting into all time territory and if the other two matches (Cena/Theory and the six woman tag) could have held up even a bit more, it’s one of the best shows ever. For now, I’ll more than go with what they gave us, including an excellent Ripley vs. Charlotte match.

The biggest thing here though was how grand everything felt. From the stadium to the set to the crowd to the action, it felt like the biggest show in the world and that is what sets Wrestlemania apart. There is nothing like it in wrestling and this one blew a bunch of its predecessors out of the water. I liked it a lot on the first viewing and the repeat might have been even better. Definitely worth a look if you haven’t seen it before or even since the original airing.

Ratings Comparison

John Cena vs. Austin Theory

Original: C
Redo: C

Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy vs. Ricochet/Braun Strowman vs. Viking Raiders

Original: B
Redo: B

Logan Paul vs. Seth Rollins

Original: B+
Redo: B+

Damage CTRL vs. Becky Lynch/Trish Stratus/Lita

Original: C-
Redo: C-

Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio

Original: A-
Redo: B

Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte

Original: B+
Redo: A

Pat McAfee vs. Miz

Original: C
Redo: C

Usos vs. Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn

Original: A-
Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B+
Redo: A-

Pretty close all around but it’s better than a B+ overall.

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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