Forbidden Door 2026
Date: June 28, 2026
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Walker Stewart, Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for the international show with guest stars from CMLL, New Japan and Stardom coming over. At the same time though, we have a bunch of #1 contenders matches, with the finals of the Owen Hart Cups and the 12 man cage match, with MJF having challengers on both his team and his opponent’s. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Daniel Garcia (AEW) vs. Drilla Moloney (NJPW)

Feeling out process here with Garcia taking him down and spinning up, which annoys Moloney. The running shoulders put Garcia down for a change and Moloney knocks him outside for a chop over the barricade. Back in and Garcia knocks him out to the floor again, this time for a running kick in the chair. Marina Shafir gets in some choking (of course) and Garcia locks up the ankle.

With that broken up, Garcia settles for a dropkick to the leg and the right hands in the corner to keep Moloney rocked. Moloney is right back with the AJ Styles drop down into a dropkick and it’s time to chop it out. Garcia charges into a powerbomb for two and of course pops up for a Sharpshooter, sending Moloney over to the ropes. Back up and Moloney grabs an over the shoulder backbreaker, with Shafir making the save. Garcia strikes away and grabs a rolling neckbreaker but charges into an over the shoulder piledriver for the pin at 10:23.

Rating: C+. Moloney isn’t a regular around here and it was a bonus match but I’ll take it for an opening match to a rather long night. If nothing else, seeing Garcia lose, even with the interference from Shafir, is kind of amusing. They kept this moving and it was about all you could have expected here.

Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Maika (Stardom) vs. Skye Blue (AEW)

Blue backs her into the corner to start and pulls Maika down by the air. Back up and Maika runs her over for a basement clothesline but misses a charge to the floor. The hurricanrana attempt is countered into a powerbomb onto the apron, which naturally doesn’t do much damage.

Back in and Blue kicks her in the face in the corner but Maika grabs some suplexes for two. A superplex gets the same but Blue Cheeky Nandos Kicks her into a powerbomb out of the corner. That and a tornado DDT give Blue two and they fight out to the apron, where Maika hits a brainbuster. Back in and a Michinoku Driver finishes for Maika at 9:20.

Rating: C+. It was nice to have this actually mean something, with Maika getting to qualify for the title match. While she isn’t likely to win, it’s perfectly fine to have her win here and get onto the bigger stage, as it’s a nice way to give Stardom a win. Besides, it’s not like Blue has any status in the first place.

Kickoff Show: Olympia/Persephone (CMLL/AEW) vs. Megan Bayne/Lena Kross (AEW)

Bayne and Kross are defending. Rosa hammers on Kross to start and is quickly dropped with a running shoulder. Everything breaks down and a pair of hurricanranas send the champs outside. Rosa’s corkscrew dive takes both of them out and Olympia adds a dive of her own. Back in and Rosa gets sent into the wrong corner for some shoulders to the ribs, setting up Kross’ basement clothesline for two.

Rosa fights up and gets over to Olympia, who cleans house as everything breaks down. A step up basement dropkick in the corner hits Kross and Olympia’s splash gets two. The parade of strikes leaves everyone down and it’s Olympia striking it out with Kross. Bayne is up with a super hurricanrana to Olympia, who is back with a gorilla press out of the corner. Bayne’s powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana for two but it’s a German suplex/running boot combination to put Olympia down. Divine Intervention retains the titles at 10:49.

Rating: B-. There was no reason to believe that a makeshift team was going to take the titles here but it was a fast paced match with both teams working hard. AEW has done a good job of building up the champions as a pair of monsters and it is going to take something special to get the titles off of them. I’m just not sure who that is going to be.

And now, the show proper.

Young Bucks (AEW) vs. Sky Team (CMLL) vs. Unbound Co. (NJPW)

Sky Team’s ROH Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Mistico and Titan start things off with Titan knocking him down and stomping away. Mistico is right back up with the great looking springboard hurricanrana and it’s already off to Dorada vs. Matt. Neither of them can make any contact and it’s a pair of dropkicks into stereo nipups for a standoff. Nick backbreakers Dorada so Matt can add a top rope double stomp but Dorada armdrags both Bucks without too much trouble.

Takagi comes in to add some power and Titan’s springboard splash gets two. It’s right back to Mistico to pick up the pace but the Bucks take over on Dorada again. Dorada is fine enough to hurricanrana Titan onto the pile at ringside and Mistico adds a springboard Swanton for two. Back in and Matt snaps off his rolling northern lights suplexes, at least until Takagi cuts him off with a DDT.

Mistico is in with his wristdrags and Dorada’s shooting star takes out the pile on the floor. Takagi comes back with the hard clotheslines but a bunch of superkicks take him down, followed by clotheslines to put everyone else down. That’s enough for a six way breather before Mistico catches Takagi up top with a super Spanish Fly.

Dorada shooting stars onto the Bucks but they’re back up to save Takagi from La Mistica. Takagi is back up to plant Mistico for Titan’s top rope double stomp, with the Bucks making another save. The Bucks and Unbound slug it out until the Meltzer Driver finishes Titan at 17:44.

Rating: B+. You had AEW vs. CMLL vs. NJPW and somehow, ROH lost. Anyway, this was exactly what you would have expected and it was as exciting as you would have expected, with pretty much nothing resembling a tag match for the most part. That being said, it was also rather entertaining, as the Bucks and Sky Team could do this stuff in their sleep and Takagi was there for the power. Good start to the show here and the right kind of match to get things going.

We recap Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kenny Omega. There’s no real story here, other than Sabre wanted the match and Omega was in.

Zack Sabre Jr. (NJPW) vs. Kenny Omega (AEW)

They actually go technical to start and that’s good for an early standoff. A battle over arm control goes to Sabre and he sends Omega into the corner, with Omega fighting out rather quickly. Sabre is sent outside and Omega hits a dive, followed by the chops to take over. The top of an announcers’ table is dropped onto Sabre and Omega adds a stomp but can’t superplex him through the table.

Instead Sabre gets an Octopus before being nice enough to put the cover back onto the table (how British of him). Back in and Sabre kicks away in the corner but Omega is back with the running Fameasser. Sabre is knocked outside again and there’s the big running flip dive, setting up the missile dropkick to the back inside. A Last Shot drops Sabre again and it’s time to strike it out. Omega gets the better of things and the knees to Sabre’s ribs set up some Snapdragons.

For some reason Omega tries to go to a cross armbreaker but Sabre slips out to kick him in the chest. Sabre pulls him into a Fujiwara armbar, which is broken up as well so they can trade some more hard strikes. Once again Omega gets the better of things and there’s a V Trigger to Sabre in the corner. Sabre grabs a sleeper but Omega climbs the corner and drops backwards onto the mat for a crash that probably makes Mick Foley cringe.

Another V Trigger is countered into an ankle lock, which Omega quickly escapes for a poisonrana. Omega misses the V Trigger yet again though and the European Clutch gets two. Back up and Omega smashes him with a V Trigger but Sabre’s Zack Driver connects for another near fall. Omega wins another strike off and tries the One Winged Angel, which is reversed into a triangle choke. A powerbomb into a knee to the head knocks Sabre silly though and the One Winged Angel finishes for Omega at 26:28.

Rating: A-. This was about Omega’s striking against Sabre’s technical style, which is pretty much exactly what you knew it was coming. They went with just that and it wound up being awesome stuff, with Omega getting to show that he still has it. Sabre is one of the big stars who does not show up around here that often and his reputation helped boost this up again. Outstanding match here and it was the dream match it was designed to be.

We recap Jon Moxley vs. Bandido. There isn’t much to this one either, as Bandido just popped up and wanted to face Moxley. It should be noted that there have been rumors that this was going to be Moxley vs. Callum Newman but Newman got hurt, so there might be a reason for the complete randomness.

AEW Continental Title: Jon Moxley vs. Bandido

Moxley is defending. I would tell you that Bandido’s Ring Of Honor Title isn’t on the line too but you’re smart enough to figure that out by yourself. Bandido goes with a front facelock to start but Moxley is back up with a middle finger. Then it’s a double middle finger from Moxley before they trade flips over each other. The big exchange of chops lets Moxley send him outside for the suicide dive but Bandido is back up for a running flip dive of his own. Back in and Moxley gets his boots up in the corner to cut Bandido off again, followed by a piledriver onto the steps.

Bandido is busted open and sitting up less than a minute later so Moxley goes outside and bites at the mask. Back in and Moxley rips at the mask so Bandido slaps him in the face, earning one heck of a clothesline. Moxley hammers away in the corner but Bandido gives him a heck of a release running Liger Bomb. Moxley is nice enough to stay down for a full twenty seconds before Bandido hits a spinning high crossbody. The right hands in the corner wake Moxley up again so Bandido gives him a running knee for two.

The one armed gorilla press sets up Bandido’s frog splash, which only hits raised knees. They strike it out again until a snap German suplex…has Moxley popping up for a hard clothesline. Moxley goes up so Bandido catches him with the super flipping fall away slam. Bandido tries the 21 Plex and gets reversed into the bulldog choke on the apron. Moxley pulls him back inside and, even with Bandido standing up to drop back onto him, holds on until Bandido is out at 18:10.

Rating: B. It was a hard hitting match but my goodness it felt like Moxley would have kicked out of being hit by a bus. Bandido threw everything he had at him here but it never felt like Moxley was in any danger. This was also the third pay per view out of four that saw Bandido lose a singles match with zero indication that any of the people beat him cared about the ROH World Title. Why do it that way?

Post match Bandido shows respect to Moxley, just in case Moxley hadn’t taken everything from him yet.

We recap Shota Umino defending the IWGP Global Title against Pac. Again, it’s pretty much “Hey, want to fight? Yeah sure.”.

IWGP Global Heavyweight Title: Shota Umino (NJPW) vs. Pac (AEW)

Pac is challenging and charges at Umino at the bell to stomp away. They’re already on the floor with Umino being sent into the barricade a few times, followed by a heck of a missile dropkick back inside. Umino finally gets in some offense with a dropkick and a fisherman’s suplex for two as we settle down a lot.

A slingshot DDT drops Pac onto the apron and Umino drapes him into the barricade for a hanging DDT. Back in and Umino gets two off a powerbomb but he charges into an overhead belly to belly into the corner. It’s time for a table (erg) but Pac cuts him off and hits a heck of a moonsault out to the floor.

Pac takes him inside again and hammers away, which wakes Umino up one more time. The strike off goes to Umino, who is quickly German suplexed and powerbomb outside through the table. Back in and a 450 sets up the Brutalizer but Umino makes the rope. Umino hits him in the face and nails a running knee for two of his own. One heck of a clothesline and a Paradigm Shift sets up a northern lights bomb to retain the title at 18:12.

Rating: B+. You had two guys beating the living daylights out of each other until one of them couldn’t get up again. That’s not a bad way to go and the reason this worked so well is because Pac has been established as a rather tough man to beat. This made Umino feel like that much of a bigger deal for beating him and it was a good fight to get there. I liked this a good bit, as Pac continues to be one of the more dependable stars on the AEW roster.

Post match Jon Moxley gets in the ring to stare at his former partner/student Umino but here is Hiroshi Tanahashi to put the belt on Umino.

We recap Thekla vs. Starlight Kid, which is more about Thekla vs. all of Stardom. I’m not entirely sure who I’m supposed to cheer for here but it’s one of the few stories on this show that feel like it’s actually promotion vs. promotion.

AEW Women’s Title: Thekla (AEW) vs. Starlight Kid (Stardom)

Thekla is defending and comes to the ring with some fire dancers. Kid flips over her to start and hits a dropkick so Thekla wants a breather on the floor. Back in and Thekla knocks her down before ripping at the mask, which has Kid slugging away. They’re quickly on the floor with Thekla sending her into the barricade and ripping at the mask some more, as we have a theme here.

Hold on though as Thekla needs to go yell at the Stardom president before stomping away back inside. Kid is back up with a springboard spinning crossbody before starting in on Thekla’s knee. The knee is fine enough for a hanging choke in the ropes, plus a spider superplex. They head out to the apron where Thekla runs into a heck of a knee to the face (that looked great).

Kid picks her up and spikes her onto the apron, followed by something like a fisherman’s suplex for two back inside. Thekla is right back up with a spear for two so Kid dropkicks her in the back. Another strike off goes to Thekla and a high crossbody drops Kid for two more. Kid is right back to grab a stretch muffler while grabbing the arm (geez) but Thekla uses the free arm to make the rope. Something like a Tombstone gives Kid two and her moonsault gets the same. Thekla escapes a tiger suplex and cuts her in half with another spear for another two. Back to back stomps finish Kid to retain the title at 18:40.

Rating: B. They had a good back and forth match, with Kid showing off some rather impressive and painful looking stuff. I could have gone without Thekla being dropped on her head on the apron but that’s almost tame given some of the ridiculous things people have popped up from tonight. The match was good, but I’m glad we’re back to the regular AEW roster getting a chance at the title, as it’s been missing for a few weeks.

Post match Thekla takes off the mask and hits the Stardom president with it.

And with that, the outsiders are done and the rest is all AEW.

We recap the Dogs challenging Adam Copeland and Christian Cage for the Tag Team Titles. The Canadians won the belts and need some challengers so the Dogs have mocked the Five Second Pose and are coming for the titles as well. Nothing wrong with a basic story.

Tag Team Titles: Adam Copeland/Christian Cage vs. The Dogs

The Dogs are challenging. Cage, with his still injured arm, and Connors start things off with the latter missing a right hand in the corner. Connors charges into a boot to the ribs and Cage gets two off a middle rope sunset flip. Copeland and Finlay come in with Copeland grabbing a headlock to grind away. A side slam/reverse DDT combination puts Finlay down and Cage hammers on Connors in the corner.

Cage’s charge hits the post though and Connors posts him again for a bonus. Back in and Finlay slows things down by stomping on the bad arm, followed by Connors getting in some basic cranking. A backdrop doesn’t get Cage out of trouble and Connors goes lights a match to burn Cage’s head. As you do. Copeland finally gets smart by coming in to take both of them out and brings Cage over for the tag.

House is quickly cleaned but Finlay avoids the spear and Copeland is double shouldered down. Cage is up for the save but it’s a chop block/spear combination for two on Copeland. Back up and Copeland tosses Finlay into Cage’s spear, with Connors making the save by bumping the referee. Finlay and Copeland spear each other at the same time so Finlay grabs the shillelagh. The lights go out though and the Bang Bang Gang is here, complete with the returning Jay White. Finlay is taken out and the speared by Copeland to retain the titles at 16:46.

Rating: B. Yeah this worked, as they didn’t really try to do anything too complicated and just let the veterans work a match. It’s nice to see that they can still do it and without a bunch of shenanigans so this was kind of a treat. At the same time, it’s nice to see White back, though it’s also hard to believe that he’ll stay healthy for more than about 18 days.

We recap Maya World vs. Mercedes Mone in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup finals, with World being the big underdog and in over her head against the star in Mone.

Women’s Owen Hart Cup Finals: Mercedes Mone vs. Maya World

World backslides her for a fast two to start and Mone is thinking twice about this. Back up and World cartwheels over her and dances a bit before avoiding a charge to put Mone on the floor. Mone finally comes back with something like a 619 from the apron but can’t get the Statement Maker back inside.

With the hold not working, Money kicks her into the corner, only to get driven into another corner. Mone knocks her outside for the Meteora off the apron, followed by a middle rope Meteora for two back inside. A third Meteora (erg) gives Mone two more and she throws World outside before mocking the fans a good bit. Back in and World gets some boots up in the corner but can’t hit a Tombstone.

Mone stomps her down instead but World gets in a rollup into a stomp of her own. A springboard cutter gives World two and she connects with a Shining Wizard, only to get caught with Three Amigos. The frog splash hits raised knees but Mone is right back with the Statement Maker. Some rolling fall away slams result in Mone being tossed outside, followed by the suicide dive.

Back in and a Swanton gives World two but she can’t hit a Cheeky Nandos Kick. Mone can’t get her up for a powerbomb so she goes with a running sunset bomb into the corner. Another Meteora gets two on World and Mone is getting frustrated. Mone’s spinning faceplant drops World again but she’s back with her own sunset bomb to the floor.

A moonsault takes Mone out again and another gets two back inside. World gets her own Statement Maker but they roll into the middle of the ring (ala the famous Bayley counter) with Mone getting one of her own. World actually doesn’t tap…so Mone Backstabbers her into it again and this time World taps at 24:51.

Rating: B. Shockingly, Mone makes World tap after making her tap after winning the semifinals and in their tag match on Collision. I’m sure the idea here is that World gets elevated by getting close to beating Mone (close being a bit of a stretch) but unless she beats Athena or gets promoted to the main roster full time, it pretty much means nothing. The match also went a good bit too long and would have been much better served by chopping off about seven minutes. And probably two of Mone’s Meteoras.

Athena brags about being great and mocks World, her former student, for dreaming so many big dreams. The title match is coming and while it would make sense for World to win, Athena has seemed primed to lose about a dozen times now.

The cage (a big circular one) is lowered.

We recap the twelve man cage match. Mark Briscoe wants a World Title shot against MJF but MJF doesn’t want to give him one. Therefore, we’ll have a twelve man cage match (likely due to MJF’s knee being banged up) and if Briscoe’s team wins, he gets a title shot. MJF is teaming with the Don Callis Family, some of whom want title shots if they win too.

Team MJF vs. Team Briscoe

MJF, Kevin Knight, Kyle Fletcher, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, Andrade El Idolo
Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, Konosuke Takeshita, Darby Allin

In a big round cage, which thankfully has room to fight on the floor and the villains even have matching shirts for a nice touch. It’s a big brawl to start (as it should be) and a bunch of them head to the floor (as they should) with a bunch of brawls breaking out around ringside. Doyle powerbombs Allin against the cage and it’s already table time.

Briscoe fights back but it’s time for another table, complete with the MJF/Don Callis painting. MJF and Andrade stop for a pose off and have to be separated, allowing Strong to come back with a rather large bag. The good guys find their own backpacks, complete with an NES (and controllers) to hit MJF in the head. Briscoe pours out tacks but Doyle saves Fletcher from a suplex.

Briscoe takes Doyle out and O’Reilly is launched face first into the middle turnbuckle. Briscoe gets thrown onto the tacks so Allin is back up with the skateboard. That earns him a face first drop onto the tacks because Allin is not a well man. With the damage done, MJF grabs a broom to sweep the tacks out (rather on point for him, but him paying someone else to do the sweeping would have been perfect).

That’s enough for Cassidy to get up with a bag from Willow Nightingale…and everyone gets orange slices. Naturally the juice is sprayed into the cut on Fletcher’s head because we’re actually getting a spot involving oranges. Takeshita and Okada slug it out and Takeshita grabs a backpack containing…his middle finger. Fletcher is back in and accidentally superkicks Okada, allowing Takeshita to German suplex both of them.

Knight and Allin get in a brawl with Allin hitting a Code Red, only to get chaired in the back by Doyle. Knight’s Coast To Coast dropkick drives the chair into Allin’s face and MJF chairs Briscoe in the head (nope). MJF rakes at Briscoe’s bleeding head and Okada goes for the big bag…which contains Lio Rush. I guess he’s the new Orange Cassidy who has to appear in every random place possible.

Rush beats up the Don Callis Family and goes after MJF’s ring but Doyle and Knight manage to get him back in the bag and chain him up. Rush is deposited underneath the ring…and I guess he’s just staying there from now on. Briscoe finds a ladder to spin around, even when there is no one around to hit. Strong Angle Slams Doyle off the apron and through a table before Andrade hits running knees to drive a chair into O’Reilly’s face. Takeshita beats up Okada on the apron but gets superkicked by Fletcher.

The Blue Thunder Bomb drives Fletcher through the table at ringside, leaving MJF to punch Cassidy in the jaw. A Coffin Drop puts MJF down and Knight splashes him by mistake. Knight and Allin climb to the top of the cage…where some pyro goes off (apparently set up by Allin) to send Knight crashing through the cage. Allin Coffin Drops onto the pile and the Jay Driller hits MJF, with Doyle making the save. MJF wants Andrade to hold Briscoe but gets elbowed in the face. Andrade takes off his shirt revealing one saying “F*** MJF AND F*** DON”. Briscoe pops up with a Jay Driller to pin Doyle at 30:45.

Rating: B. It had its spots but this was the usual “and everyone gets to do everything they can think of” match. The cage was a nice feature as it kept them from running all over the arena, so at least it was somewhat different. The spot with Andrade was good and it gets the Family’s numbers down a bit, which is always appreciated. It was another wild match, but I’ve seen so many of them in AEW that they don’t mean as much anymore.

The winners are at least nice enough to drag Lio Rush away, albeit still in the bag out of fear. I’ll take that over them just standing still.

Mark Briscoe yells a lot but the audio doesn’t work so it’s even harder to understand than usual. Excalibur explains that Briscoe was challenging MJF for Dynamite.

We recap the Men’s Owen Hart Cup Finals. Will Ospreay had a broken neck but worked with the people who broke it to get back in the ring. Now he wants to go to Wembley Stadium and win the World Title, which means he has to win the tournament. Oh and Swerve Strickland is all evil and wants to hurt Ospreay and win too. Can’t you tell how much of a chance Strickland has here?

Men’s Owen Hart Cup Finals: Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland

Ospreay looks like Bane from the Dark Knight Rising and Strickland is on a motorcycle, looking like Lobo. I’ve seen worse. Ospreay misses a springboard to start and a missed Hidden Blade sends Strickland out to the floor. Back in and Ospreay snaps off a hurricanrana before kicking Strickland in the face.

Strickland’s rolling Downward Spiral gets two and he rolls some neckbreakers to stay on the obvious target. Ospreay comes up with a handspring kick to the head and a Phenomenal Forearm to put Strickland down again. The Styles Clash is countered though and Ospreay flips him up into a powerslam (that always looks good) for two. Strickland pulls the pad off one of the bars that holds the turnbuckle and sends Ospreay outside.

That’s fine with Ospreay, who grabs a cross armbreaker for the tap, which doesn’t matter as they’re on the floor but has Strickland in trouble. Strickland is right back with a shot of his own before catapulting Ospreay into the exposed bar. Ospreay is rather busted open but yells at Strickland anyway, earning himself a suplex. The House Call is countered into a Spanish Fly, followed by the Styles Clash for two.

The Hidden Blade connects but Ospreay is too weak so Strickland just hits him in the face to take over again. Ospreay breaks up the Swerve Stomp and the 630 Kick gets two. The Oscutter is countered into the Deadeye for two more but another Swerve Stomp misses, with Ospreay swinging him into the steps for a big crash. The announcers’ table is loaded up but Ospreay goes after Prince Nana, earning himself a House Call.

Ospreay is gushing so much blood that the steps are stained as Strickland loads up the Vertebreaker. That’s reversed into a Styles Clash onto the announcers’ table and the Oscutter gets two back inside. Ospreay hits him in the face a few times and Strickland seems a bit unconscious. Strickland gets counted but is up at nine, with the Hidden Blade connecting for two. Back up and Strickland ties him in the ropes for a Swerve Stomp to the back, followed by a House Call and Hidden Blade for one each.

They hit each other at the same time and both of them are down again. They both stand up, stare at each other, go to different corners, and Ospreay Hidden Blades him into the Stormbreaker for two. The referee almost gets hit so Strickland gets in a low blow, followed by the Vertebreaker for two. Strickland hits a Hidden Blade into a JML Driver and here are the Death Riders. A Buckshot Hidden Blade into the Death Rider into the Tiger Driver 91 gives Ospreay the pin at 34:45.

Rating: A-. I’m not sure how much drama there was to the result here, but it wasn’t so much about would Ospreay get there but how. That’s not a bad thing whatsoever and they beat each other senseless, thankfully without getting ridiculous like Strickland could do at times. The Vertebreaker was a perfectly logical spot for the match and Ospreay kicking out of it made for an awesome moment. This was a heck of a fight, with Ospreay bleeding buckets to make it feel that much more intense.

Ospreay says something to Strickland and the Death Riders celebrate with Ospreay to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. The main event and Omega vs. Sabre are both rather awesome and the show as a whole is another great one. There was only so much drama to who was winning the main events (or most of the matches for that matter) but the action made up for the issues.

The problem here (aside from the show lasting nearly six hours of course) is more that it’s about setting up a bunch of stuff for the future rather than anything really happening here. You have to have shows like that at times and there was only so much that MJF could do given his injury, but it still makes the show feel a bit less important. Either way, awesome show, but could we maybe keep it on a single day?

Results
Drilla Moloney b. Daniel Garcia – Over the shoulder piledriver
Maika b. Skye Blue – Michinoku Driver
Megan Bayne/Lena Kross b. Olympia/Persephone – Divine Intervention to Rosa
Young Bucks b. Sky Team and Unbound Co. – Meltzer Driver to Titan
Jon Moxley b. Bandido – Bulldog choke
Shota Umino b. Pac – Northern lights bomb
Thekla b. Starlight Kid – Stomp
Adam Copeland/Christian Cage b. The Dogs – Spear to Finlay
Mercedes Mone b. Maya World – Statement Maker
Team Briscoe b. Team MJF – Jay Driller to Doyle
Will Ospreay b. Swerve Strickland – Tiger Driver 91

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: April 11, 2026
Location: Rogers Center, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the night before Dynasty and we have something of a warmup title match this week. The Trios Titles are on the line as Mistico and Jet Speed defend against the Dogs, who have barely won anything but get a title match anyway. Other than that it’s likely time for the final hard sell to the pay per view so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Trios Titles: The Dogs vs. Mistico/Jet Speed

Mistico and Jet Speed are defending and get jumped by the Dogs to clear the ring to start. Back in and Bailey flips away from Kidd but gets knocked out to the floor. Mistico gets back in to grab a headscissors to send Connors outside. Kidd runs back in to take Mistico down but all six are back inside for the slugout. The champions all hit dives to the floor so they load up more, only to get knocked down as we take a break.

We come back with Knight fighting to his feet and bringing Mistico back in, meaning more dives can put the Dogs down again. Bailey hits a moonsault to the floor and Knight drops Finlay but the UFO Splash is broken up. Kidd piledrives Mistico but Bailey is back up with the Ultimate Weapon to put Kidd down. A straitjacket sunset flip gets two on Kidd, who is right back with a heck of a clothesline. Connors picks Bailey up for a suplex and a top rope spear gives us new champions at 13:39.

Rating: B-. It was the kind of wild match you would expect from these guys and while the Dogs don’t have the best win/loss record, it wasn’t like Mistico was going to be a regular around here. The titles are hardly some mega serious thing so having them bounce around might be the best option for them. They still don’t really need to exist but this is better than having them sit on a shelf for months at a time.

Post match Orange Cassidy and Roderick Strong pop up on screen for a challenge, suggesting they have a third. Kyle O’Reilly I’m guessing?

Will Ospreay introduces the United Empire and then says they won’t be there at Dynasty. Ok then.

Kris Statlander/Hikaru Shida vs. Ava Lawless/Gigi Rey

Shida strikes away at Lawless to start and puts her down with a Falcon Arrow. Statlander comes in with some suplexes to Rey and Staturday Night Fever finishes at 1:40.

Post match Shida isn’t happy with Statlander tagging herself in to win the match.

Hyan and Maya World are getting a Women’s Tag Team Title shot at Dynasty. Their AEW record as a team: 0-5.

Jon Moxley says no one can hang with the Death Riders and if Will Ospreay is so determined to break his neck again, so be it.

Rush vs. Anthony Bowens

For the #2 spot in the Casino Gauntlet. They trade headlocks to start and then shove each other a bit. The exchange of strikes goes to Rush but Bowens is back up to send him outside. Rush is sent into various things, including the steps, but he whips Bowens into the barricade and we take a break.

We come back with Rush hitting a basement dropkick to the back of the head before they strike it out again. Rush misses a kick in the corner and gets caught with a hanging wind up DDT for two. Back up and Rush sends him into the corner but the Bull’s Horns is broken up. A running dropkick sends Bowens outside, where Rush sends him into the barricade. Back in and the Bull’s Horns finishes Bowens at 11:10.

Rating: B-. They had a hard hitting match here, but what mattered the most was the fact that either of them could have pulled this off. Bowens winning wasn’t out of the question as Rush hasn’t been the most consistent star in AEW. Odds are Bowens will be in the match anyway, but in this case the numbers actually matter so he’s at a disadvantage. Oh and is Bowens to the Opps still a thing?

The Brawling Birds are ready for their singles matches at Dynasty, as they want revenge and the Women’s Title.

Hurt Syndicate vs. Andy Anderson/Mo Jabari

Lashley shoves Anderson into the corner to start and gives him a delayed vertical suplex. Benjamin comes in and gets annoyed at Jabari’s chops. That earns him a knee to the head, followed by a spear to Anderson. Benjamin superkicks Anderson for the pin at 2:19. Total squash.

Mina Shirakawa and Harley Cameron are sad that their partners are gone. They opt to drink instead.

Young Bucks vs. Don Callis Family

Hechicero/Clon for the Family. Matt and Clon start things off with Matt grabbing a wristdrag/headscissors combination to put the Family down. The Bucks hit some dives, only for Hechicero to knee Matt in the face back inside. The rather spinning rollup gives Hechicero two, followed by the spinning backbreaker for the same.

We take a break and come back with Matt rolling the northern lights suplexes. Nick comes in with a double high crossbody and everything breaks down. The Bucks go with stereo sunset flips into stereo Sharpshooters, which are quickly broken up. The Family grabs a pair of bridging rollups for two each and everyone is knocked down for a breather. Back up and Clon flips out of a DDT, only to get superkicked down. Hechicero throws Matt into a choke with Nick making the save. The EVP Trigger misses but the Bucks are right back with the TK Driver to finish Clon at 14:49.

Rating: B. This was little more than a way to get the Bucks on the show, which is all it needed to be. The Bucks are one of those acts who are able to pop the crowd just by being in the ring and that’s what we got here. It’s a good enough match too, even with the D-list Family opponents.

We look at Chris Jericho and Ricochet’s meeting on Dynamite to set up their match at Dynasty.

International Title: Myron Reed vs. Kazuchika Okada

Okada is defending and both of their associates are here too. Okada misses a clothesline in the corner to start and sends Reed to the apron. That’s fine with Reed, who is back with a springboard kick to the face. A springboard is blocked though and Okada dropkicks him out to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Okada hitting a DDT for a cocky one but the falling top rope elbow hits raised knees. Reed ties him in the ropes for a slingshot legdrop as Don Callis is starting to panic. Okada is sent outside and taken out with a dive but comes back in with the Air Raid Crash onto the knee for two. Now the top rope elbow can connect but Reed is right back up with the diving cutter to the floor. Back in and Reed’s springboard 450 hits raised knees and the Tombstone into the Rainmaker retains the title at 11:22.

Rating: B-. Reed was able to get in some stuff here but it wasn’t quite what he’s done before. At the same time, he has been treated as the singles star from the Rascalz, which isn’t the worst move. He’s one of those guys who puts everything into his matches and that makes for a nice feeling. At the same time, Okada is (still) gearing up for his match with Takeshita and this was a way to keep him warm.

Willow Nightingale wants some of the new talent to come after her title.

Lena Kross and Megan Bayne are ready for Hyan and Maya World.

Dynasty rundown.

Thekla/Marina Shafir vs. Brawling Birds

Thekla and Shafir jump them during the entrances and the brawl heads to the floor before the opening bell. Hayter gets choked with part of the barricade but Windsor drops Shafir onto the apron. The bell rings (the fans don’t seem thrilled) with the Birds getting beaten up again as we take an early break.

We come back with Windsor fighting her way out of trouble and bringing in Hayter to clean house. Thekla catches her in a Black Widow as everything breaks down again. All four are knocked down for a bit until Shafir is up to strike it out with Windsor. A shot to the face staggers Shafir and a quick Two Birds One Stone finishes her off at 9:01.

Rating: C+. There is nothing wrong with taking two PPV matches and having them do a tag match together to build it up. That’s all it needed to be here and it worked out fine enough. The Birds winning gives Hayter just enough momentum to make her feel like a bigger threat to the title. It’s not exactly a main event level match, but I’ll take what I can get.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a fine enough show, with just a show that got us over the final stretch to Dynasty. They added in a few matches to make the PPV card even bigger because we have to do that but nothing really big was changed. That’s all it needed to be and the show went by rather easily.

Results
The Dogs b. Mistico/Jet Speed – Suplex/top rope spear combination to Bailey
Kris Statlander/Hikaru Shida b. Ava Lawless/Gigi Rey – Staturday Night Fever to Rey
Rush b. Anthony Bowens – Bull’s Horns
Hurt Syndicate b. Andy Anderson/Mo Jabari – Superkick to Anderson
Young Bucks b. Don Callis Family – TK Driver to Clon
Kazuchika Okada b. Myron Reed – Rainmaker
Brawling Birds b. Thekla/Marina Shafir – Two Birds One Stone to Shafir

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: April 8, 2026
Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

It’s the last Dynamite before Dynasty and that means we’re going to be seeing one of the last pushes towards the pay per view. In this case we have a big six man tag, which should make for a rather entertaining match. We might be seeing some more matches added to the card, which still has some spots available. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Will Ospreay jumps Jon Moxley in the parking lot so here are the Death Riders to cut him off. Cue Alex Windsor and the United Empire (New Japan stable) for the big brawl. The fight heads into the arena, with Callum Newman (the new IWGP World Champion) hitting a dive. The Death Riders run off and Ospreay says this is him using his head. Ospreay issues the challenge for the big team match tonight.

Don Callis announces that Kyle Fletcher is injured so the TNT Title is vacated. There’s going to be a casino gauntlet match for the title at Dynasty, but he’s not done. People are asking to see Takeshita vs. Okada but he doesn’t give them what they want. The Family will be stronger than ever.

Darby Allin/Bandido/Jack Perry vs. Don Callis Family

It’s Konosuke Takeshita/Andrade El Idolo/Mark Davis for the Family. Bandido is replacing Brody King, who had a family issue. Allin starts with Andrade, who hands it off to Takeshita and walks out. Davis teases a piledriver but gets knocked outside for some dives. Allin calls Andrade back out, so here he is to suplex Allin in the aisle. Takeshita throws Allin into the corner but it’s off to Perry to take over, including a dive to the floor. Back in and Takeshita knocks Perry out of the air and Andrade sends him into the barricade. Andrade gets his weekly photo with the woman and we take a break.

We come back with Perry enziguring Davis, allowing Bandido to come in and start the comeback. A pop up hurricanrana gets two on Davis and Allin dives onto Andrade. Allin gets caught though and LAUNCHED over the announcers’ table for a huge crash. Bandido gets powerbombed onto the apron to take him out as well. Back in and Davis hits the piledriver on Perry, leaving the rather cocky Andrade to come in and hit the DM for the pin at 11:40.

Rating: B-. This was quite the wild match, with Allin’s huge toss over the announcers’ table being a heck of a visual. The Family basically won by diving and conquering, which was a fun strategy. It should mean that Andrade gets the next National Title shot, but can we pleased stop having the champion get pinned? It’s happened far too often in the title’s short history.

Post match the beatdown continues, with Andrade distracting Allin to kick him low. Even Callis gets to go after Perry’s eyes but the Young Bucks run in for the save. Kazuchika Okada comes in to save Davis from the TK Driver before going face to face with Takeshita. They slug it out until the Family breaks it up. Cue the Rascalz to hit some dives onto the Family as this was quite the populated segment.

The medical doctor says Kenny Omega has been cleared, no matter what MJF said.

TBS Title: Queen Aminata vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale is defending. Aminata snaps off a quick neckbreaker for an early two and they head outside to forearm it out. We see Hikaru Shida watching as Aminata misses a running boot over the barricade. Back in and Nightingale fires off the clotheslines in the corner but gets taken down for a PK.

We take a break and come back with Nightingale grabbing a backbreaker, followed by a middle rope dropkick. The Death Valley Driver gives Nightingale two and Aminata rolls outside, where a running flip dive from the apron takes her down. Back in and Aminata hits a running elbow for two, followed by some chops. Nightingale grabs a backslide for two before Pouncing Aminata out to the floor. The Babe With The Powerbomb finishes for Nightingale at 11:08.

Rating: B. Aminata hasn’t been around in a rather long time but she had a good return here. It certainly helped to be in the ring with Nightingale, who can work well with just about anyone. The match kind of came out of nowhere but it wound up being better than I was expecting, which is always a nice bonus.

We get a video on MJF’s impact on wrestling, which is quite praising of everything he has done.

Here is Chris Jericho for a chat. Jericho has a clipboard and talks about how glad he is to be back. He’s going to sign his new AEW contract, just 100 kilometers from where he wrestled the first match of his career. Yes he’s glad to be back, but he admits that everything he’s done here hasn’t been great.

There have been times when things haven’t gone as they were supposed to but all he cares about is trying to build AEW. Jericho is about to sign the contract but here is the Demand to interrupt. Ricochet insults all of Canada, though he’s here to talk to Jericho (as you might have guessed). His advice to Jericho is to just don’t sign and come back. Why would he want to come back after a year?

The reality is that Ricochet is the man right now and no one wants Jericho here right now. Jericho: “Wow. You really are bald.” He doesn’t care what Ricochet thinks and signs the contract. Oh and there’s a bonus: he can pick whomever he wants to face at Dynasty, so he’ll face Ricochet. He hasn’t done this in about ten years, but he takes the back of the clipboard off to reveal his own logo. Ricochet being bald means HE JUST MADE THE LIST!

Don Callis announces the Young Bucks vs. Okada/Takeshita, neither of whom are happy with this. Takeshita wants to challenge Okada for the International Title, which is fine with Callis. He even makes them shake hands, but they argue over which one is Pippen and which is Jordan.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Mascara Dorada

For the #1 spot in the Casino Gauntlet match at Dynasty. Ciampa works on the arm to start but has to escape a quick crossface attempt. Back up and Dorada flips around a lot, setting up a nice wristdrag. Ciampa avoids a flip to the floor and hits a heck of a running knee. Dorada gets back inside for a headscissors out of the corner and we take a break.

We come back with Dorada coming off the top with another wristdrag to send Ciampa outside. A big moonsault off the post hits Ciampa, followed by a middle rope 450 for two. Dorada’s handspring is cut off with a dropkick but Dorada catches him with something like a 619 on top. Something like a standing Iconoclasm gets two but Dorada misses a charge and gets caught in Willow’s Bell. The running knee finishes Dorada at 11:01.

Rating: B. When Ciampa signed, he felt like just another guy but he has wound up being one of the best additions to the roster in a good while. He’s had one good match after another and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give him the title back on Sunday. Dorada is quite the star in his own right but Ciampa felt like the better one here, which has me encouraged about where he’s going.

The Dogs have attacked Orange Cassidy and Roderick Strong and now they’re coming for the Trios Titles.

Thekla is so sick of hearing about Jamie Hayter being a former Women’s Champion that she threatens….to take Lexi Nair to a strip club, give her a nice dinner, and drag her onto the stage and break every bone in her body. Oh and general threats to Hayter. I have no idea what Thekla was going on about here but it certainly had my attention.

Here are Adam Copeland and Christian Cage. Copeland talks about how FTR’s jealousy of being in his shadow but that’s not his fault. He’s not shrinking to their size and they’re not big enough to get into his. Cage talks about how FTR has ticked off all of Canada and as everyone’s favorite father figure, they have been very naughty. He has visited both of their mothers and, just so there’s no confusion, “I mean, I banged them both” (Copeland needs a minute on that one). Oh and Stokely shouldn’t feel left out, because Cage will be visiting Stokely’s mother very soon, but as half of the Tag Team Champions.

Cue FTR and Stokely for a distraction, allowing Roppongi Vice of all people to sneak in and beat Copeland and Cage down. That left FTR come in to beat the Canadians down, with Stokely even spearing Copeland. Cage’s arm gets Pillmanized as well to leave him in big trouble. It’s not a great ending for them, but Cage was hilarious here.

Darby Allin talks about how he really wants to be champion and he’s coming for the winner of the title match at Dynasty.

United Empire vs. Death Riders

Anything goes as this is CHAOS IN CANADA. The Empire jumps the Riders in the crowd to start fast and they head back to ringside. Cue Alex Windsor to go after Marina Shafir as Francisco Akira and Henare pull out a ladder to go after Castagnoli. Newman hits a huge dive onto a pile of Riders and we take a break.

We come back with the Empire setting up a table at ringside (to go with another on the other side) but Castagnoli cuts Newman off. Akira gets taken inside for a string of running shots in the corner and Newman receives the same treatment. Henare is back in to take the Riders down again but Castagnoli muscles him up on the floor, where he walks Henare around to suplex him through a table.

We take another break and come back with Castagnoli forearming away at a downed Ospreay. Henare comes back in and we hit the parade of knockdowns. Garcia gets Ospreay into a Dragontamer, with Moxley adding a Stomp to knock Ospreay silly. Akira breaks up the cover and strikes away at Moxley, which doesn’t go so well. Newman comes in to strike it out with Moxley until Ospreay is back in for a double cutter and a double near fall

Castagnoli swings Ospreay, only to get taken down by Henare’s clothesline. Henare finally spears Castagnoli through the table at ringside and Garcia is put onto (not through) another table. A top rope double stomp puts Pac through a table at ringside and Callum’s splash still won’t put Garcia through another table. Back in and Moxley gives Ospreay the Paradigm Shift and then does it two more times. Newman makes a save with a clothesline and Ospreay Hidden Blades Moxley through the table in the corner for the pin at 20:49.

Rating: B. I’m not sure what to think of this one. It was a wild brawl and felt like a bigger deal than most of the matches of this kind…but that’s kind of the problem. This is something AEW does fairly often and they threw it together on about two hours’ notice. You have all of these guest stars, including the IWGP World Champion, and he’s in an eight man tag with no rules. It felt like this was thrown together without much planning, which left it more like “yeah go do something and we’ll call it a main event”. Still good, but it felt like it should have been something more.

Video on Kenny Omega’s history in wrestling, basically his version of the MJF video from earlier.

Here is Omega (in a suit) for a chat. He talks about how he used to drive here about twenty five years ago because he wanted to be part of this place’s independent scene. That brings him to MJF, who thought he was surprising people by bringing up his diverticulitis. Omega points out that commentary mentions it EVERY SINGLE WEEK so it wasn’t exactly shocking

MJF is best known for his talking about everything he can do. Well everything MJF can do, Omega can do better and everything MJF can’t do is what Omega does every day (that’s a great line). He thought the idea here was to have the title on the best wrestler, as in someone who can actually wrestle. These fans deserve a better champion and while he might not be the same Omega he was before, but now it’s about working harder. At Dynasty, he’s taking the title and starting to right MJF’s wrongs.

This brings out MJF, who thinks Omega and the fans are scared. Is this going to be Omega’s last match? It will be his last shot, because his health isn’t holding up and MJF is ready to show that Omega isn’t on his level. Omega says this is their last chance to act civil together and offers one final handshake before Dynasty.

MJF swings instead and gets kneed in the face, with Omega calling him predictable and stealing the ring. Omega hits his catchphrase and drops the ring to end the show (a whopping 25 minutes after the scheduled ending). This was really long after it started late in the first place, but Omega’s promo was great.

Overall Rating: B+. This was the big final push towards Dynasty and that worked pretty well, even if Dynasty doesn’t feel like the biggest show. I liked Omega’s promo a lot and Ciampa is always worth a look. It would be nice to keep the card a bit smaller than usual, though there is always the chance that more matches will be added on Collision. Good show here though, and that’s what they needed for Dynasty.

Results
Don Callis Family b. Darby Allin/Bandido/Jack Perry – DM to Perry
Willow Nightingale b. Queen Aminata – The Babe With The Powerbomb
Tommaso Ciampa b. Mascara Dorada – Running knee
United Empire b. Death Riders – Hidden Blade to Moxley through a table

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

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

Collision
Date: March 22, 2026
Location: Save Mart Arena, Fresno, California
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the second half of the Slam Dunk show as Collision is split up for a pair of shows this weekend. In this case we have the Trios Titles on the line as the new champions are defending against…eh it’s hard to guess as the titles can be kind of all over the place. The wrestling is going to need to carry things again here and that can work rather well at times so let’s get to it.

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

Orange Cassidy/Roderick Strong vs. Lee Johnson/Jay Lethal

Blake Christian is here with the villains. Lethal struts around to start but can’t spin out of Strong’s early wristlock. Strong sends Lethal into the corner and throws Cassidy at him, with Cassidy coming in to pose a bit. Johnson comes in for a big boot/Russian legsweep combination but has to escape a Beach Break attempt.

Back up and Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets to start rolling around. A dropkick connects so Lethal comes in, only to have his Figure Four attempt kicked away. Johnson drops Cassidy with a suplex for two and we take a break. We come back with Cassidy still in trouble in the Tree Of Woe and Christian sneaking in for a quick 619.

Cassidy fights out of the corner and avoids Johnson’s charge, allowing him to kick Lethal away for the tag to Strong. House is quickly cleaned, with an Angle Slam dropping Johnson for two. Everything breaks down again and Lethal’s Hail To The Chief connects, with Strong having to make the save. The Stundog Millionaire hits Lethal and an Orange Punch drops Christian off the apron. End Of Heartache hits Johnson and Cassidy gets the pin at 10:47.

Rating: B-. Nice opener, as Strong and Cassidy get to show that they can work together, which is a good sign for their future. Granted that might have made more sense before they had their big match with the Dogs. Either way, it’s nice to see them win, as the Lethal Twists get to continue their status as the top heels in ROH and losers in AEW.

Post match Strong announces that he’s officially part of the Conglomeration. The Dogs pop up for a challenge for a match next week.

We look at Lena Kross/Megan Bayne winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles at Revolution. The Babes Of Wrath want a rematch.

Megan Bayne/Lena Kross vs. Alex Gracia/Vipress

Non-title. Bayne shoulders Gracia down to start and takes her into the corner for some running shots to the face. It’s back to Bayne for a German suplex and the monsters hit stereo clotheslines. A double chokeslams finishes Gracia at 1:43. Total domination.

Lio Rush vs. Tommaso Ciampa

So Rush is basically Gollum now and Ciampa looks more confused than anything else. Rush, with his eyes bugging out, does his regular running dodges and sends Ciampa outside. There’s the suicide dive, with Ciampa dropping him onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Rush is sent to the apron and then into the post, with Ciampa hitting a running knee to the floor. We take a break and come back with Rush escaping a Fairy Tale Ending and kicking Ciampa in the head.

The springboard Stunner is kicked out of the air and a second attempt is blocked as well. The third works a bit better though as Ciampa is stunned. Rush goes up with Ciampa rolling outside, only to get picked up for back to back Stunners. Ciampa gets up again and they slug it out, followed by the two of them biting the others’ finisher. They strike it out with Rush hitting a spinning kick to the head. Back up and Ciampa sends him into the corner, followed by Project Ciampa for a rather near fall. The running knee finishes Rush at 11:04.

Rating: C+. Yeah I’m not feeling the new Rush thing. It’s weird based on the idea that he looks strange without his hair. The fact that this is somehow a downgrade from Cru isn’t a good sign, but at least Ciampa won here. Hopefully Rush isn’t featured very often or is at last tweaked, because this wasn’t the strongest fit.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page vs. MJF from Revolution.

Trios Titles: Jet Speed/Mistico vs. Don Callis Family

El Clon/Josh Alexander/Konosuke Takeshita are challenging for the Family. Mistico and Clon start things off but the rest of the Family run in to jump Mistico from behind. Everything breaks down and Mistico gets double teamed. Bailey comes in and gets reversed suplexed but Mistico is back up with a headscissors to Clon. Mistico takes all three villains down without much trouble and Knight adds a dive as we take a break.

We come back with Clon working on Bailey’s leg to send Bailey over to the rope. Bailey manages a kick to the head and it’s back to Knight to clean house. Takeshita comes back in with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two but Knight avoids the running knee. Raging Fire is countered as well and Knight plants him down, allowing the tag back to Mistico.

Clon immediately gives him a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two but a springboard is cut off with a kick to the head. Everything breaks down again and Mistico hits a big dive to the floor but the UFO Splash misses back inside. Clon’s step up moonsault gets two but Knight manages the spring board clothesline to Takeshita. That leaves Mistico to grab La Mistica to make Clon tap at 13:12.

Rating: B-. For a token title match on a show that probably isn’t going to get much in the way of viewership, I’ve seen far worse. They had a nice back and forth match with the new champions getting to beat something of a regular team (or at least a regular stable) to start off their reign. Mistico and Jet Speed still aren’t exactly fascinating champions, but it’s better than one of them going after the World Title at the same time.

Schiavone runs down upcoming cards in an Excalibur imitation to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Much like last night, the show was fine, albeit completely inconsequential viewing. It’s not something that had much in the way of important wrestling but the action you did get was fine. That’s about all you could get out of this kind of a show as there was no reason to do anything else and it worked out well enough. There’s nothing worth going out of your way of seeing, but it’s a fine watch all things considered.

Results
Orange Cassidy/Roderick Strong b. Lee Johnson/Jay Lethal – End Of Heartache to Johnson
Megan Bayne/Lena Kross b. Alex Gracia/Vipress – Double chokeslam to Gracia
Tommaso Ciampa b. Lio Rush – Running knee
Mistico/Jet Speed b. Don Callis Family – La Mistica to Clon

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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PWG Eight
Date: July 23, 2011
Location: American Legion Post #308, Reseda, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Hero, Chuck Taylor, Kevin Steen

This promotion is often all over the place, but it can have some rather entertaining shows. Usually the bigger the shows, the better they get, and this one happens to be an anniversary show. As usual, I have no idea what is going on here as I’ve only seen random events, though storylines only mean so much around here anyway. Let’s get to it.

Pac vs. Kevin Steen

This is Pac’s return to PWG and Steen realizes that Pac has bulked up. Steen: “YOU GOT F****** HUGE!” Actually hang on as Steen sees Pac’s arm band and runs to the back to get one of his own. They finally lock up nearly three minutes in and Steen powers him into the corner, with commentary asking how you pronounce “Pac”.

A hard shot to the face knocks Steen into the corner so Steen shouts something that we can’t hear because Excalibur won’t stop running his mouth. They go to the test of strength, with Steen kicking him in the ribs as he knows he’s in trouble. Steen hits the ropes for the hard running shoulder but Pac is back with a running hurricanrana. The standing shooting star has Steen bailing out to the floor for some intense staring. The referee tells Steen to get back inside. Steen: “You fight him!” Fan: “We want wrestling!” Steen: “THIS IS WRESTLING YOU F*** FACE!!!”

We go back to the test of strength with Steen snapping off a monkey flip and stomping Pac’s head down for quite the crash. That lets Steen stop for some pushups but Pac actually wins an exchange of forearms. A dropkick sends Steen outside, where he sidesteps a running flip dive. Steen spinebusters him onto the apron and there’s a slow motion Bang Bang elbow off the apron. This lets commentary make a bunch of video game references and…yeah fair enough as this is a place where you can get away with it.

Steen seems to stick his finger in Pac’s nose before dropping a backsplash for two. The fans start getting on Steen so he stands on Pac’s hair (Hero: “Utilizing one of Kelly Kelly’s favorite moves!”). They get back up and slug it out, with Steen going to the apron and trying a superplex. That doesn’t work so Pac grabs a slingshot cutter to knock Steen silly instead.

The corkscrew Asai moonsault to the floor sets up a high crossbody for two on Steen back inside as commentary talks about Youtube videos. Another cutter is countered into an F5 (with a diverticulitis reference) to drop Pac for two but Steen stops to respond to a fan (Steen: “I’M A LITTLE BUSY A******!”). That lets Pac kick him into a German suplex and a running enziguri catches Steen on top. A running Frankensteiner is countered into a super Regal Roll for two and Steen can’t believe the kickout.

Steen hits a pair of moonsaults, the latter onto the legs, into the Sharpshooter but Pac dives over to the rope. Pac knocks him down and goes up for an inverted 450 (because that’s something that can be done) so Pac goes up again. This time Steen is there to catch him with a top rope hanging DDT for two more. Steen is livid and Pac blocking the package piledriver makes it worse. A poisonrana drops Steen on his head but the shooting star press hits raised knees, allowing Steen to get the small package pin at 23:08.

Rating: B+. This was very much a PWG match, with Steen yelling a lot and a good deal of crowd play to go along with the hard hitting stuff. Pac was starting to get somewhere with the bigger size and incredible aerials, which is why he was signed so soon after this. On the other hand you have Steen, who certainly feels like a major star around here. Rather fun match here and a heck of an opener which didn’t feel nearly that long.

Post match Pac gets the PLEASE COME BACK chant.

Brian Cage-Taylor vs. Brandon Gatson

Cage is…oh a good sixty pounds lighter than his crazy muscular look. They have some issues ringing the bell before Gatson starts with a wristlock. Cage gets to the ropes as commentary goes into stories about beating up plants. Gatson cuts off some knees to the ribs and hits a running forearm, only for Cage to come back with a left armed Stunner. Cage sends him outside where the big dive is cut off with a forearm.

That means a standing Tarantula of all things can go on, followed by something like a Stunner to the leg. A PerfectPlex gives Gatson two but he slingshots into a release German suplex. The chinlock goes on as commentary starts talking about Chris Benoit coming out to a song about killing a baby. The abdominal stretch doesn’t last long for Cage, who plants him down hard for two instead.

A kind of Angle Slam gives Cage two as commentary goes on about the former Gorgeous George (90s edition) and how she caused Randy Savage to drive into a tree (no). Gatson comes back with some spinning kicks to the head and some rolling neckbreakers have Cage down again. The third neckbreaker is countered into a northern lights suplex for two and they knock each other down. Gatson is up first and misses a moonsault, only to come back with a moonsault for two.

Back up and Gatson tries to jump over him but Cage gets in a shot to the ribs for two more. Cage’s suplex to the floor is cut off by a nasty superkick but Gatson misses a Sasuke Special. Gatson is fine enough to kick him in the face though and they’re both down again. Another superkick drops Cage again and they get back inside. Something resembling a McGillicutter has Gatson in trouble for a change and Weapon X (without a smooth landing) finishes Gatson at 14:08.

Rating: B-. This match had the problem of following the much better opener, which had a lot more time and better stars. Cage looking so small was the amazing part of this one, as he looked nothing like his more famous version. I’ve seen Gatson a few times now and he’s not bad at all. I could have seen him going further but it never happened for some reason.

Alex Shelley/Roderick Strong vs. El Generico/Ricochet

Yeah this should be good. Generico and Shelley start things off with a rather tentative test of strength until Shelley grabs a headlock takeover. Back up and Shelley is ready for a leapfrog, meaning the headlock goes on again. Generico gets up and flips over him, setting up some rapid fire armdrags. Ricochet (with his weird mohawk) comes in and grabs a headlock, with Shelley grabbing the hair in a smart move.

Granted it doesn’t work but it’s smart. Shelley bites the hand to escape and grabs his own headlock and hands it off to Strong. That means it’s time for Ricochet to pick up the speed with the dives before grabbing a front facelock on Shelley. That’s reversed into a rocking horse of all things, which naturally doesn’t last long with Ricochet getting back over to Generico.

The chinlock goes on to keep Shelley in trouble and Ricochet is back in with a double arm crank. Shelley starts to break it up but Generico comes in with a chop to cut that off in a smart move. Generico comes back in with a high crossbody to send Shelley outside, where a big running flip dive takes him out again. Strong picks Ricochet up and throws him over the top for a crash as well.

Ricochet gets dropped face first onto the apron, followed by what would be known as the Devil’s Kiss back inside. Strong slams him down again and we hit the chinlock, with the fans already rhythmically clapping. A Liontamer version of a Texas Cloverleaf (or something like one) goes on before Shelley comes right back in to hammer away. It’s right back to Strong for a basement superkick and a suplex gets two.

An Irish Curse gives Strong two and Shelley is back in to knock Generico off the apron. Ricochet manages to backflip out of a double belly to back suplex and sends the….I guess villains into each other, followed by a double Pele. That’s enough for the tag off to Generico, who cleans house, including a Blue Thunder Bomb for two on Strong. Back up and Strong kicks Generico in the face, followed by an Angle Slam for two on Ricochet.

What looks like End Of Heartache is countered into a hurricanrana to give Ricochet two but Strong drops Ricochet again. Shelley hits a painful looking top rope double stomp for two, with Generico having to dive in for the save. The Helluva Kick/enziguri combination hits Shelley in the corner and it’s another Helluva Kick into a brainbuster. Generico isn’t legal though so Ricochet misses a 450. A nasty End Of Heartache finishes Ricochet at 22:06.

Rating: B+. Another action based match and that was a fun thing to see. Generico was doing his thing as usual and the other three were more able to hang with him. This was the kind of match I was expecting from PWG, as it was all about having people flying around the ring until one more finisher was enough for the win. Good stuff as the hot start continues.

Post match Generico and Ricochet aren’t on the same page. Ricochet looks close to swinging but stops, with Generico shoving him instead. The fans want the bell to ring but Ricochet spits at him and runs off.

Peter Avalon vs. Ryan Taylor

Taylor works on the arm to start as commentary tries to figure out how the Taylor boys are related. Avalon escapes an armbar as the fans are all over Taylor, with Avalon playing right into it. Avalon’s headlock works a bit better as we hear about the first PWG show taking place near a Magic The Gathering competition. Taylor twists the arm down onto the mat and stomps away but lands on some knees in what might have been an intentional low blow.

We pause for a Booker T. pose from Avalon, with Taylor cutting it off. Taylor does the same thing and Avalon breaks it up as well, so they decide that they should both do Spinaroonis. Excalibur: “And they both sucked.” Taylor goes back after the arm but gets driven into the corner as commentary previews a tag match. Avalon knocks him outside for a suicide dive, followed by an elbow to the jaw for two back inside.

Taylor ducks a big kick to the face and scores with a clothesline to leave them both down. Back up and Taylor strikes away, followed by a Rock Bottom for two. A kick to the head gives Taylor two more and he drives Avalon into the corner. That lets Avalon hit a middle rope knee to the back of the head and Taylor rolls outside. With nothing else working, Avalon grabs a chair but here is Brian Cage-Taylor to take it away. Avalon rams the Taylors together though and a small package, with trunks, pins Ryan at 12:06.

Rating: C+. This was the weakest part of the show thus far but it was still perfectly fine. That’s not a bad thing to see, as not every match on the card can be some kind of all time classic. They had a good, hard hitting match here though with Taylor showcasing himself well. I still don’t get much out of Avalon, but he’s fine enough most of the time.

RockNES Monster vs. The Dynasty

That would be Johnny Goodtime/Johnny Yuma vs. Scorpio Sky/Joey Ryan. The Dynasty dropkick them to the floor to start fast and hit some dives for the double knockdown. They split off and brawl on the floor, with Goodtime hitting Ryan in the head with a water bottle. Apparently the match hasn’t started yet as Ryan and Goodtime go out into the crowd. Yuma manages to come over and help stomp at Ryan so Sky gets a charge on the apron and hits a big dive.

Yuma and Ryan go inside and we actually get the opening bell. Sky kicks Goodtime down and the Dynasty knee him in the head, which looks rather painful. Goodtime manages to backdrop Sky out to the floor for a crash, only to get dropkicked by Ryan. One heck of an Asai moonsault takes Sky down and there’s a headscissors to do it again. Back in and Goodtime high crossbodies Ryan for two but Sky is back in.

That’s fine with Goodtime, who suplexes him over the top but crashes out as well. Yuma tries a springboard but gets superkicked down, leaving Ryan to get missile dropkicked by Goodtime. Ryan is back up to spear Yuma and Goodtime sends Sky chest first into the buckle. A pumphandle suplex puts Ryan in the corner but is right back up with a Tombstone into Sky’s frog splash.

That just earns Sky a powerbomb into Ryan in the corner and a leg lift DDT drops Ryan for two. Back up and Yuma is knocked outside, meaning it’s a series of strikes to knock Goodtime into Sky’s TKO. Cue the Young Bucks for a distraction though, allowing the Monsters to hit an enziguri/cutter combination on Ryan. Goodtime Death Valley Drivers Yuma onto Ryan for the pin at 10:04.

Rating: B-. Another fun enough match here, though Goodtime was wrestling like such a superhero that prime John Cena would have found it a bit much. The Dynasty was a team that was around for a long time in PWG and had quite the success so I’d assume we can call this a big upset. Either way, it was another good match, though the lack of time took away from it a bit.

Young Bucks vs. Kevin Steen/Cima

The Bucks’ Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. The Bucks jump them from behind to start and double team Steen inside. Cima is back in for the save as apparently this is about the Bucks disrespecting Cima’s stablemate Akira Tozawa. Hold on though as Matt wants to prove that he can do pushups, allowing Cima to stomp him down without much trouble. Steen slams Cima onto Matt but Cima can’t slam Steen onto Nick. Well not at first at least, as the fans have to help him make it work.

Steen goes to slam the referee but gets chop blocked to cut him off. A double apron bomb has Steen in more trouble and we settle down to Steen biting Nick’s finger. Matt isn’t having that and takes Steen into the corner for some right hands. Steen spits at him and Cima comes in to rake the eyes, which doesn’t get him very far. Nick starts mocking Dixie Carter, with Excalibur suggesting that the Bucks slept with Carter to get their jobs in TNA. A front facelock has Steen in more trouble until he bites the leg, followed by the face, to escape.

The Bucks go after Steen’s knee again to cut him back down but the Scorpion Deathlock is broken up. Steen is able to get over to Cima to clean house but the Bucks cut him off again. A springboard splash connects with Steen having to make a save. Steen gets caught on the apron and kicked out to the floor, allowing the Bucks to kick away some more. The Bucks drape Steen in the ropes for a 450 and a near fall, meaning it’s time to look shocked.

More Bang For Your Buck is broken up though and Steen hits a package piledriver. Steen’s top rope Meteora gets two with Matt making the save. Matt spits on Steen, who blocks another Scorpion Deathlock attempt. A powerbomb drops Matt and Steen grabs the Scorpion as Cima Air Raid Crashes Nick. Cima adds a top rope Meteora to Matt while the hold is still on and Matt taps at 15:04.

Rating: B. I can always go for seeing the Bucks take a beating and it worked well here. Steen is having a rather nice night thus far and you can see the star power that WWE saw in him. Cima is someone I’ve only seen so much of and he’s worked well every time. Good match here as the Bucks may be annoying but they can be entertaining.

Post match Nick reveals it was a non-title match, which was already mentioned by commentary. The Bucks also want back in TNA so they can fight real stars like Eric Young and Shark Boy. Matt talks about how they built this company and Cima hasn’t been relevant since 2006. Steen can go get fired by another promotion, which is enough for him to chase the Bucks off. Cima thanks the fans, who want him back. The Bucks have left a belt behind and Steen tells them to come get it.

PWG World Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero

Castagnoli is defending. They test the top rope, after it apparently broke in their previous match. Castagnoli works on the arm to start but Hero wrestles him down and starts in on the leg. That’s broken up with Castagnoli going after Hero’s leg, which is enough for a standoff. Castagnoli ties up the leg again but steps on the rope, with Kevin Steen (on commentary) calling him out for being a cheater.

Hero reverses into a leglock of his own as commentary mocks the idea of various wrestlers sleeping with Dixie Carter. Back up and Hero grabs a full nelson, with Castagnoli swinging him around but not being able to break it. Steen of course wants to see the Uncle Slam, ala the Patriot, which lets Excalibur blow his mind by revealing that Tom Brandi/Salvatore Sincere later wrestled as the Patriot.

The hold is broken up and it’s time to make fun of Test for being dead. A cravate holds Castagnoli in place as Excalibur gets to tell Steen about the Chris Benoit joke from earlier. Excalibur: “Twice in one night folks. That’s what you get with Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.” Castagnoli gets a headlock and Hero wiggles out, only to get pulled right back into the same thing.

The hold stays on for a good while as Excalibur brings up the Benoit joke AGAIN. Hero reverses into a headscissors but Castagnoli reverses into a handstand as commentary seems envious of Castagnoli’s physique. Castagnoli works on the arm for a good while until Hero is back up with a boot to the face. That’s enough to send Castagnoli outside, with Hero hitting a running boot to the face through the ropes for the big crash. Castagnoli chops the post by mistake as Steen is yawning on commentary.

Back in and Hero strikes away, including some rather hard chops. The shoulders in the corner keep Castagnoli in trouble and Hero crushes him with a backsplash. Castagnoli rolls outside, where he catches Hero with a dragon screw legwhip over the ropes to bang up the knee. Back in and Castagnoli stays on the leg, including a reverse Indian deathlock. The bad leg is wrapped around the post and Castagnoli even uses the post for some painful looking cranks.

A running dropkick takes out the knee again and Castagnoli pulls on it inside, at least until Hero kicks him in the head. Castagnoli is fine enough to grab the Figure Four, with Hero having to go to the eyes for the break. They go outside with Hero getting slammed onto some chairs, followed by a snapmare to send the knee into the ropes. Castagnoli switches over to the back with a camel clutch and Hero’s knee gives out as he tries to stand up. The hold is broken anyway and Hero snaps off a very painful sounding chop.

A flipping cravate neckbreaker puts Castagnoli down but Hero needs a breather, even to the point of changing knee pads. Some shots to the face put Castagnoli down and Hero grabs another neckbreaker. Hero goes up but gets dragon screw legwhipped back down, allowing Castagnoli to grab a half crab. That’s broken up and Hero forearms him out of the air, followed by la majistral for two. Some boots to the face just seem to make Castagnoli scream a lot but Hero finally knocks him out to the floor.

That’s good for a nineteen count before Castagnoli comes back in, where an elbow to the face gives Hero two more. Hero tries a Riccola Bomb of his own but Castagnoli reverses into a one legged Swing. The Neutralizer (a Brock Lock rather than the piledriver faceplant) goes on, with Hero bailing over to the rope. Somehow Hero escapes that as well and goes up, where a super flipping cravate neckbreaker gets two. Hero loads up the discus elbow but his knee gives out. Instead he fires off a cyclone boot for two more but Castagnoli uppercuts him into another Neutralizer for the tap at 37:08.

Rating: B. This was a good example of a match that was rather good but would have been even better if it was shorter. They went longer than they needed to, though there was something awesome about seeing Castagnoli working on the leg like that and then cranking it until Hero gave up. Of course they had great chemistry together as they always did, though shaving off about eight or so minutes would have helped a lot.

Post match Kevin Steen comes to the ring and asks for a title shot, which he has officially earned after his recent victories. Steen wants a title shot at the next…and the fans say no. They seem to want to see it right now and Steen is in. Castagnoli moves the referee out of the way and then says no. That’s fine with Steen, who says Castagnoli will have to face him eventually. Then Castagnoli runs back in and kicks him in the head, bumping the referee in the process. That’s enough for a bell and we’re on.

PWG World Title: Kevin Steen vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Castagnoli is defending and tries the Riccola Bomb but Steen reverses into a Sharpshooter. Cue the Young Bucks to superkick Steen for the save as another referee comes down. The Dynasty runs in to take out the Bucks and Castagnoli hits a big lariat. The Riccola Bomb is countered into a Code Red for two, followed by the package piledriver to make Steen champion at 1:34.

The fans declare this awesome and thank Castagnoli as Chris Hero comes back in to help Castagnoli up to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah this was pretty awesome stuff, with nothing but either rather awesome or at worst good action throughout. It’s the definition of popcorn wrestling as they’re just throwing matches out there to pop the crowd and it worked rather well. PWG is a good example of a company where you know exactly what you’re getting and it worked well here. I had a good time and they nailed what is probably their biggest show of the year.

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

Revolution 2026
Date: March 15, 2026
Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another big AEW pay per view and the main event features Hangman Page challenging MJF for the World Title in a Texas Death Match. That’s in addition to Jon Moxley defending the Continental Title against Konosuke Takeshita and the Young Bucks facing FTR. Again. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Boom & Doom vs. The Infantry

The rest of Shane Taylor Promotions are here with the Infantry while Big Justice and the Rizzler are here with Boom & Doom. The Infantry jumps them to start fast but an enziguri into a powerslam drops Bravo. Marshall’s big running flip dive takes out some of the villains on the floor but Bravo knocks Marshall down. Back in and Dean takes Marshall down, setting up a slingshot Vader Bomb.

Bravo goes outside to yell at the Rizzler before going back inside for the Bronco Buster on Marshall. That doesn’t do much good as it’s off to AJ for some slams, with Bravo making a save. The double stomp misses though and Marshall is back in with a double cutter. Shane Taylor low bridges Marshall outside but goes over to steal Wayne Brady’s hat. Brady slaps him in the face so Taylor pulls him over the barricade. That earns him a glare from the Rizzler so Justice hits a spear. AJ’s dive takes Taylor down and the Boomsday Device finishes Bravo at 7:41.

Rating: C. And people wonder why no one cares about the Ring Of Honor titles, as this is what happens to the Six Man Champions. That being said, this was the kind of entertaining opener that is a fine way to go, as the celebrity gets a win with Brady getting involved for a bonus. It’s not like the Infantry or the Promotions have anything of value in the first place so the loss isn’t a big deal.

TBS Title: Willow Nightingale vs. Lena Kross

Nightingale is defending and gets powered down to start fast. The exchange of shoulders doesn’t work for Nightingale, who is backed into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Kross drops her face first onto the buckle for two and stomps away, only to miss a charge into the corner. A pump kick cuts Nightingale off again and Kross German suplexes her for two.

They head outside where Nightingale drives her against the barricade but gets dropped arm first onto said barricade. Back in and Nightingale fights out of the chinlock and starts hitting the clotheslines. A middle rope dropkick puts Kross down but Nightingale is slow to get up as well.

The rapid fire corner clotheslines and a spinebuster give Nightingale two and one heck of a chop puts Kross on her knee. Kross is fine enough to hit a TKO for two but Nightingale knocks her into the corner. Nightingale’s Cannonball misses but so does Kross’ split legged moonsault. Kross tries a Jackhammer, which is reversed into a backslide to retain the title at 10:59.

Rating: C+. The good thing here is Nightingale gets a singles win, as Kross dominated most of the match. That’s more than I was expecting from her, as Nightingale retaining the title makes more sense. That shoulder issue could come back to haunt Nightingale later though and there is a good chance that is a way to give us some new champions. For now though, it’s a good result for Nightingale, which is nice to see.

Post match Megan Bayne runs in for the beatdown so Harley Cameron comes in with a pipe for the save.

Zero Hour: National Title: Battle Royal

Ricochet, Jack Perry, Tommaso Ciampa, Trent Beretta, Rocky Romero, Dralistico, Rush, Scorpio Sky, Daniel Garcia, Anthony Bowens, Katsuyori Shibata, Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn, Ace Austin, El Clon, AR Fox, The Beast Mortos, Lio Rush, Komander, Johnny TV, Dalton Castle

Ricochet is defending and it’s a standard battle royal, with Perry debuting a new bus because that is an idea that needed to be brought back. Everyone brawls on the floor before anyone bothers to get in, with Perry beating Ricochet up against the barricade. Fox goes up for the big inverted flip dive onto the pile on the floor as no one has been in the ring yet.

A now bald Lio Rush (a horrible look for him) gets inside and bounces around before hitting a suicide dive. Komander walks the rope for a big flip dive and a bunch of people finally bother getting inside. Perry keeps going after Ricochet as Robinson fires off some snap jabs. Romero gets crotched on top but does his sliding dance, allowing Robinson to toss him out for the first elimination.

La Faccion Ingobernable and Bang Bang Gang get in a brawl and Rush tosses Gunn. Mortos gives Austin the pop up Samoan drop so Lio comes back in for some crawling kicks (McGuinness is right in calling him Gollum). Fox fights back on Clon and Lio as everyone else is still brawling on the floor. Clon manages to kick Fox out but gets sent to the apron by Robinson.

The also bald TV is knocked out and we get a Sky vs. Shibata slugout. Bowens cuts Sky off with the jumping Fameasser and Sky is eliminated. We finally get a decent amount of people inside and Ciampa knees Lio out. Shibata has to fight back against La Faccion and manages to easily knock Dralistico off the top for the elimination. Ricochet comes back in to Spirit Gun and toss Bowens but gets jumped by Dalton Castle, who is double teamed and eliminated.

Mortos misses a charge and is gone as well so Komander goes up top for the rope walk. He manages to save himself and get rid of Beretta but Garcia rips the mask off and Komander is out. Garcia is kicked out as well and it’s Rush vs. Austin for a bit. The cocky kick lets Rush take him to the apron and chop away but Robinson knocks Rush out. Shibata and Robinson brawl on the apron so Rush comes back in, only to be tossed again.

Ciampa knees Austin out but gets punched out by Robinson as Zero Hour ends, meaning that, again, the pay per view starts with the end of the Zero Hour main event. Perry comes back in and throws out Clon and apparently we’re down to Perry vs. Ricochet. They slug it out and trade big shots to the face until Ricochet flips out of a German suplex. Ricochet gets sent to the apron, where Perry tries a sunset bomb for no logical reason. He manages to save himself though and a poisonrana gets rid of Ricochet to make Perry champion at 22:54.

Rating: C+. There was good action, but it fell into the annoying trend of modern battle royals by having so many people on the floor. If you want to do Perry vs. Ricochet for the title then do so, but otherwise it was a bunch of people getting a change to do their stuff while most of the other participants weren’t even there. That makes for quite the weird battle royal, especially when these two have been the focus of the title since it was introduced.

Post match Perry celebrates with his family for the nice moment.

We recap FTR defending the Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks. They’ve fought on and off for years but this time FTR attacked the Bucks’ brother to make it personal. Therefore, the Bucks want the titles and revenge.

We get a video from the Bucks’ family, explaining how awesome the Bucks are for various reasons.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Young Bucks

FTR, with Stokely Hathaway, is defending and come out in Boston Celtics colors to annoy the Los Angels fans. Matt and Harwood trade slaps to the face to start and the Bucks clear the ring rather quickly. The brawl heads outside for a bit before the Bucks knock the champs to the floor again. The big dive is cut off though and Nick is sent face first into the announcers’ table.

A spike piledriver drives Matt into the apron and he comes up holding his shoulder/neck. Another spike piledriver is broken up though and Nick’s superkick gets a quick two on Wheeler. Nick still can’t get over to Matt, as Wheeler pulls him to the floor. The PowerPlex is broken up as Nick knocks Harwood (both bloody) off the top. Matt, whose shoulder is messed up, comes in to start cleaning house and a double suplex gets two on the champs. Matt is knocked outside again though and his neck is giving him problems.

A young member of the Bucks’ family sends Matt back into action, where he is quickly dropped onto the apron. That just makes him go up for a high crossbody for two on Harwood as Nick is too bloody to get back up. Harwood tries his own superkick but gets caught in a Sharpshooter, with Nick doing the same thing to Wheeler. Those are both broken up so the Bucks start firing off their kicks.

A slingshot sitout powerbomb drops Matt for two but Nick breaks up a double suplex. Instead FTR are both suplexed from the apron to the floor and it’s a quadruple crash on the outside. They all beat the count back in and it’s time for the four way slugout from their knees. The Bucks fire off superkicks to escape so Stokely jumps out of his wheelchair for a distraction. That means a Shatter Machine can get two on Matt, followed by a spike piledriver for the same.

FTR fire off their own superkicks to Nick and there’s a BTE Trigger, with Nick kicking out at one. The comeback is on, with a Shatter Machine sending Wheeler outside. The real BTE Trigger gets two on Harwood, with Wheeler making a diving save. Nick takes out Stokely and now the TK Driver can connect for two but FTR is back up with a spike piledriver. The super Shatter Machine retains the titles at 19:42.

Rating: B+. Again, the quality was never in doubt here, as these teams do work incredibly well together. That’s what deserves the focus here, as FTR gets another win to firmly establish themselves s the best team in the company. I could go for not seeing these teams together for a long time, but I’m not sure who is going to be next for the titles.

Post match the champs celebrate…and Adam Copeland is back. As is Christian Cage, the latter of whom comes in from behind to blind Wheeler. The Killswitch hits Harwood and there’s one to Stokely as well. The Canadians hold up the Tag Team Titles but stop to stare at the Bucks. This is going to wind up as a ladder match isn’t it?

We recap Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir. They’ve had some brawls, with Shafir often choking her out. Now it’s time for a showdown with no interference.

Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir

Everyone is banned from ringside. Shafir jumps her to start and fires off a hard kick to the chest for a knockdown. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Shafir lets go to judo throw her down. Storm invites more kicks so Shafir provides, followed by a leglock. That’s pulled into a choke, which Shafir breaks in a hurry. Shafir shrugs off a German suplex and kicks her down again but can’t get a German suplex off the apron.

Instead it’s a belly to back suplex on the floor but Storm gets smart by stomping on the bare foot. Back in and Storm hits a DDT to leave them both down. Storm gets up and strikes away, setting up the running hip attacks in the corner. Shafir tells her to bring it so it’s a third hip attack into Storm Zero for two. Mother’s Milk is broken up and Storm bites Shafir’s chest (yep), setting up a small package for the pin at 9:47.

Rating: B-. It was hard to imagine Storm losing here as she’s one of the biggest stars in the division’s history (if not the biggest) while Shafir has never really shown much interest in being a singles star. Storm made it rather insane to beat Shafir, with that bite being….well it fits for Storm, as weird as it was. I’m not sure what is next for Storm, as I don’t see much in the idea of her vs. Thekla for the title. For now though, at least she survived again.

Post match Storm goes to leave…but Ronda Rousey shows up for the big staredown. Security breaks it up, but Shafir comes back in for a shot to knock Storm down. Rousey and Shafir leave through the crowd.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Moxley is defending with no time limit. They go with a test of strength to start with Moxley driving him into the corner to hammer away. Takeshita is back with a running clothesline and the right hands in the corner as the fans certainly approve. Takeshita knocks him outside for a running boot up against the barricade but Moxley slides back inside. That means a quick suicide dive can connect, allowing Moxley to boot him out of a chair. Back in and Moxley bites above the eye, meaning it’s time to work on the leg (a totally logical progression).

The dragon screw legwhip sets up a half crab, with Takeshita having to dive over to the ropes. The Figure Four sends Takeshita over to the ropes again and he’s able to reverse the Death Rider into the kneeling Tombstone. A wheelbarrow suplex doesn’t do much to Moxley so Takeshita knees him in the face, which works a lot better. Moxley’s choke is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two, with Takeshita’s knee slowing him down. They go to the apron, where Moxley pops back up with a stomp to the floor, allowing him to flip off the fans.

Back in and a piledriver gives Moxley two before he unloads with right hands to bust Takeshita open. A Gotch style piledriver gives Moxley two so he grabs a crossface. Takeshita escapes that as well and sends him into the corner for the running knee. The exploder suplex sets up another running knee to give Takeshita two and Moxley’s cutter…has no effect.

Instead it’s a Paradigm Shift to put Takeshita down for a double breather. They trade big suplexes until Moxley’s running lariat gets one. The Death Rider is broken up and Raging Fire connects to give Takeshita two (the first time it hasn’t finished). Back up and the Death Rider gives Moxley the big two of his own so he takes Takeshita up for a super Death Rider…for two more. With nothing else working, Moxley chokes him out and traps the arm to retain at 23:33.

Rating: B+. Yeah you knew these guys were going to beat the fire out of each other, which is the point of these two getting together. Moxley gets the win to even things up a bit so the Continental Classic loss is covered. At the same time, we probably need to move on from Death Riders vs. the Don Callis Family, as it hasn’t exactly felt like much of a feud. That’s a pretty big win for Moxley, as it’s not like the Family has any big names left for him.

Post match Moxley offers respect and, after teasing leaving, Takeshita accepts the handshake. Moxley goes to leave but the lights go out again and it’s…Will Ospreay. That’s such a big surprise that Moxley comes back to ringside, with Ospreay decking him. The Death Riders’ save is cut off but Moxley escapes. Yeah that’s a pretty big return.

Willow Nightingale is banged up but ready to fight for revenge and the titles.

We recap the Women’s Tag Team Title match. Lena Kross and Megan Bayne teamed up in Australia and now it’s time for them to go after the belts.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Babes Of Wrath vs. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne

The Babes are defending, with Nightingale nursing a rather banged up shoulder. The champs get taken down to start, with Nightingale being sent outside. A suplex takes Cameron down and Bayne drops a leg for two. Kross can’t fight her way out of trouble but she can manage a tornado DDT. Nightingale tags herself in but the arm is very banged up.

A Pounce puts Bayne down and Nightingale plants Kross as well. Stereo fall away slams put the champs down and double clotheslines do it again. Cameron is sent outside and a superkick drops Nightingale. Bayne’s running clothesline sets up a double chokeslam to give us new champions at 4:56.

Rating: C. That’s about how this should have gone, as the champions were coming in banged up and Bayne/Kross were able to capitalize on the injury. There was no need for the Babes to hold the titles much longer and it gets rid of the pesky double champion thing. It wasn’t much of a match, but I do appreciate a shorter pay per view fight for a change.

We recap Brody King vs. Swerve Strickland, which is about determining the most dangerous man in AEW.

Brody King vs. Swerve Strickland

King wins an early slugout but charges into a well timed House Call. Swerve puts him on the apron for a double stomp and manages to hoist him up for a ram into the post. It’s already time to peel back the floor mat but King is able to drop Swerve back first onto the barricade. Back in and King unloads with some loud chops but Swerve saves himself in the corner.

King’s fingers get twisted in the turnbuckle rod so King bends his back around the entire post. Swerve gets dropped on his back again and another slam sends him into the exposed concrete. They’re back up to strike it out on the apron, with Swerve going to the knee. A sitout powerbomb on the apron has King in trouble for a change and it’s time to go into the corner, where a buckle pad has been removed.

Swerve can’t manage the stomp into the buckle, with King getting in a high crossbody. Instead Swerve is sent into the corner with the exposed buckle, where King gets in a Cannonball for two. They go back outside, where Swerve counters the Ganso Bomb into a Vertebreaker on the concrete for a nine count. The Swerve Stomp only gets one so Swerve hits three straight House Calls for the win at 14:19.

Rating: B. They had a good fight here and the result wasn’t exactly a surprise. King has been on a roll lately but it makes a lot more sense for Swerve to get a win out of him. They beat each other up and it felt like a fight, which is how this should have gone. Good brawl here, with Swerve continuing his roll.

Post match Swerve loads up the cinder block but Kenny Omega returns for the save.

We recap Thekla defending the Women’s Title against Kris Statlander. Thekla beat Statlander to win the title but Statlander is sure she can win. Therefore tonight, it’s 2/3 falls.

Women’s Title: Thekla vs. Kris Statlander

Thekla is defending and it’s 2/3 falls. An early shove makes Statlander give chase on the floor and she takes over back inside. Thekla gets a boot up in the corner but the upside down choke is blocked. Instead Statlander superplexes her into a sliding lariat for two but Thekla spiders away from another clothesline. The whipping is loaded up so the referee takes it away, only for Thekla to grab a rollup with ropes for the first fall at 4:31.

Statlander runs her over to start the second fall, with a suplex dropping Thekla on the floor. Thekla is dine enough to send her into the steps as things slow down again. Back in and now the upside down choke works for Thekla but as usual, can only last so long. Statlander gets up and grabs a fireman’s carry, only for Thekla to catch her up top. They head back outside, where Thekla is sent into the barricade, followed by some swinging whips into said barricade. Back in and Statlander’s Falcon Arrow gets two but Thekla is back with a Black Widow. That’s reversed into Staturday Night Fever though and we’re tied up at 13:42.

Thekla has to go to the eyes to get away from Statlander. The referee is bumped and Thekla whips out the belt, only for Statlander to take it away. Statlander whips away and hits another Staturday Night Fever but there is no referee. Back up and Statlander grabs the strap but this time the referee is up to take it away. The spear sets up two stomps to retain the title at 17:08.

Rating: B-. That’s how it should have gone, as Statlander has already had multiple runs as champion. Thekla has exploded in recent weeks and it’s great to see her getting this kind of a win. There are multiple women who could come after the title, and seeing Thekla work with any of them sounds like quite the treat.

Trios Titles: Don Callis Family vs. Mistico/Jet Speed

Mistico/Jet Speed are challenging and the fans are rather pleased as Mistico starts with Okada. A headscissors drops Okada so it’s off to Knight (who, like Bailey, is in a Mistico mask), who gets sent into the wrong corner. Davis gets in a choke but Knight escapes and brings in Bailey for the running hurricanrana. It’s right back to Mistico to clear the ring, setting up the suicide dive.

A triple dive is broken up and Knight is picked up and tossed outside onto his partners. Davis takes off Jet Speed’s masks and it’s Knight getting stomped down in the corner. Bailey is tossed into a kick to the chest for two but Mistico is back up (as we’re just not doing the tagging thing here) with some headscissors. Jet Speed come back in to help clear the ring and we settle down to Okada vs. Mistico.

That doesn’t last long either as everything breaks down again so Okada and Knight hit stereo dropkicks. Okada flips Knight off so Knight bites the finger, which is far smarter than most people come off when Okada does the same thing. Mistico is back in with a tornado DDT to Fletcher and the challengers all plant the Family on the apron.

Back in and Bailey’s shooting star press gets two on Fletcher and the Ultimate Weapon gets the same, with Davis making the save. Davis is back up to drop Jet Speed and gives them both a piledriver, with Mistico making a save of his own. Knight is back up with the springboard clothesline to Davis and La Mistica takes Fletcher down. Knight’s UFO Splash pins Davis for the pin and the titles at 17:20.

Rating: B. This was the insanity that you see on most AEW shows and in this case it wound up with a surprise title change. As usual, the Trios Titles don’t exactly mean much as they go from team to team, often with thrown together teams winning the belts. At least the match was fun though, with pretty much nonstop action throughout. Since there is no real trios division, this is about as good as it’s going to get and that’s not a bad thing.

Post match we get the big announcement that Mistico is All Elite. The celebration goes on for a good while.

We recap Bandido vs. Andrade El Idolo. They both wanted a fight so here we go. Bandido’s ROH World Title isn’t on the line because…well because it pretty much means nothing.

Bandido vs. Andrade El Idolo

Non-title. They go with the grappling to start and trade flip ups for an early standoff. Some standing switches result in Andrade doing the tranquilo pose in the ropes so Bandido tries to remove his pants. That doesn’t work so well, as Andrade jumps him for taking so long. Bandido is able to send him outside for a running hurricanrana off the apron. Back in and Bandido’s springboard is powerbombed out of the air and Andrade takes off his own pants. We pause for a rather impressed female fan to get a picture with Andrade before the chinlock goes on back inside.

Back up and Bandido reverses a suplex into a cutter before German suplexing him into the corner. They trade forearms from their knees until Bandido sends him hard to the floor. The suicide dive connects but a frog splash hits raised knees back inside. They trade rolling suplexes with Bandido getting the better of things, setting up a shooting star press for two more. Bandido goes up again but gets knocked outside, where Andrade moonsaults down onto him for a big crash.

Back in and the double moonsault gives Andrade two, followed by the running knees in the corner for the same. Bandido is able to catch him up top with the flipping fall away slam, setting up the X Knee. The 21 Plex is cut off with the spinning knee to give Andrade two but Bandido hits a ridiculous spinning kick to the back of the head. Now the 21 Plex can connect for two in a rare kickout so Bandido tries it again, only to get elbowed in the face. A super DM gives Andrade the pin at 20:57.

Rating: A-. This was a heck of a match, with the two of them beating the heck out of each other. I have little reason to believe that Andrade will keep giving this much effort for very long, but I’ll absolutely take it while it lasts. Bandido continues to be great at just about everything he does and they had another great match here. Awesome stuff.

We recap the Dogs vs. Darby Allin/Orange Cassidy/Roderick Strong. Both sides kept adding members so it’s time for a six man tag, which is under Tornado rules because of course it is.

The Dogs vs. Darby Allin/Orange Cassidy/Roderick Strong

Tornado Tag. The brawl starts on the floor with Cassidy getting an early two off a small package to Connors. Strong and Kidd chop it out in the ring until Connors backbreakers Allin to put him outside. Allin is right back up with a springboard double elbow but Connors spears Allin through the ropes and out to the floor. Back in and a Doomsday Device drops Allin for two so the Dogs use the tag ropes to tie him in the corner by the throat.

Cassidy is left alone with all three so he slowly chops away, earning himself a string of knockdowns. Strong is back in for the save, including picking up Cassidy and throwing him at the Dogs. A wheelbarrow DDT lets Connors be dropped onto raised knees and Cassidy heads outside. Cassidy finds some scissors to cut Allin free, meaning it’s a Coffin Drop take out the Dogs on the floor.

The Stronghold has Connors in trouble and Allin grabs the Scorpion Deathlock on Kidd, only for Finlay, with Cassidy on his back, to make the save. The big brawl is on and Allin is thrown outside, leaving Connors to spear Cassidy. Kidd and Allin fight on the ramp, with Allin skateboarding onto the back of his head. Cassidy has to save Strong as Kidd is apparently zip tied to the stage. That means Allin can suicide dive Finlay, leaving the End Of Heartache to finish Connors at 12:24.

Rating: B-. It was another wild match, though that only means so much when I saw the same thing about half an hour ago. While I like the dream team (or close enough to one) getting the win, the Dogs have not exactly been the most successful team right out of the gate. They can still correct course, but dang they’ve lost quite a bit early on.

We recap Hangman Page challenging MJF for the World Title in a Texas Deathmatch. Page is the #1 contender but wants to end this between them forever. Therefore, if Page loses, he can never challenge for the title again.

AEW World Title: Hangman Page vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending in a Texas Deathmatch, meaning you win by submission or your opponent not being able to answer a ten count (pins don’t count). Page is played live to the ring by a snazzy trumpet player and already has barbed wire wrapped around his knee. We get a video of MJF as a cowboy riding a horse and then relieving himself on Page’s grave. MJF even comes out in Terry Funk cosplay as he’s feeling the cockiness here.

They go straight to the slugout, with MJF hiding behind the referee and then bailing out to the floor. Page beats him into the crowd until they come back to ringside, where MJF gets in a trashcan lid shot. A crotch to the head knocks Page down so he suckers MJF into a chase, meaning it’s a trashcan lid to MJF’s head. It’s time for the staple gun (oh here we go) but first Page finds a piece of paper to slice up MJF’s fingers.

The paper (which has something written on it that I can’t read) is stapled to MJF’s chest and then ripped back out, allowing Page to pull out a window. MJF gets in a cheap shot and breaks the window, leaving the glass shattered on the mat. Page slams him onto said glass (commentary approves) and then drags him over the glass (commentary approves again) as it’s time for a lot of screaming.

Page whips out the barbed wire to gouge at MJF’s bloody head and then pulls it around MJF’s mouth. The table is pulled out as MJF is already looking destroyed. MJF gets in a cheap shot and cuts open Page’s head with the shard of glass. Now Page is dragged over the glass so MJF grabs a broom to clear the ring. Page takes the broom away and breaks it over his knee but MJF hits him with the broken piece and has a seat in a chair. MJF busts out the big syringe and stabs Page through the cheek, giving us some shots of a disturbed crowd.

Page, with the syringe still hanging out of his mouth, fights up and grabs another chair, this one wrapped in barbed wire. That takes too long as well and Page is dropped onto the chair for a rather lengthy count. MJF sets up a table at ringside but the Heatseeker is countered into a Deadeye, with Page’s knee landing on the barbed wire chair. That’s only good for a nine and Page chairs him in the back. MJF bails outside and avoids Page’s moonsault, allowing him to pelt the barbed wire chair at Page’s head.

The Heatseeker onto the barbed wire chair is broken up so Page Deadeyes him off the apron through the table to leave everyone down. They both beat the count and MJF Tombstones him off the apron through another table. They both beat the count again and pull themselves up for the big punch off. MJF ducks the Buckshot Lariat and pokes him in the eye so they knock each other down.

They both roll outside and it’s time for the light tubes (erg). The ring doesn’t work anymore so they go up to the stage, with both tubes being broken over MJF. Page kicks him down the ramp and it’s time for the skewers. They fight over stabbing the other in the head, with MJF getting the wood shoved into his scalp. That and a Buckshot Lariat get nine so Page kicks him in the face. Page pulls out a chain and some collars as it’s now a Dog Collar match.

Page knocks him down again and loads up another table on the floor. And a barbed wire board, just because. They fight on the apron until MJF uses the chain to toss Page through both the board and table. The count is beaten again and they go up to the stage, with Page belly to bellying him onto some equipment for the explosion. Page uses the chain to drag MJF back to the ring but a low blow breaks up another Buckshot Lariat. A belt to the head brings Page back to life but MJF uses the Diamond Ring and knocks Page silly. Page is choked over the ropes and can’t beat the count at 46:37.

Rating: B-. Yeah no. Between the extreme nonsense (I hate that stuff and always have) and the match going ridiculously long, this did not work very well. They beat each other up rather well and it was a violent, bloody fight, but it’s not a great sign when you could chop off around twenty minutes and not lose much. I’m well aware some people love this style, but it’s not my thing and I wanted this to end far before it actually did.

MJF stands on Page and poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This show had some very, very good parts, but as usual, I’m rather exhausted after it’s over. The main event certainly tried but after that long of a show, they probably should have chopped it down a bit. Andrade vs. Bandido was excellent and most of the matches were rather good, with the surprise returns certainly feeling important.

Ospreay being back is huge and Copeland/Cage are big enough (not my thing but that’s a different situation), which added some extra flavor to the whole thing. It’s definitely more good than bad, but after almost six hours of AEW on the fifth straight day of Tony Khan’s wrestling, I need a long break from this style, which is the case after pretty much every AEW pay per view.

Results
Boom & Doom b. The Infantry – Boomsday Device to Bravo
Willow Nightingale b. Lena Kross – Backslide
Jack Perry won a Blackjack Battle Royal last eliminating Ricochet
FTR b. Young Bucks – Super Shatter Machine to Matt
Toni Storm b. Marina Shafir – Small package
Jon Moxley b. Konosuke Takeshita – Rear naked choke
Megan Bayne/Lena Kross b. Babes Of Wrath – Double chokeslam to Nightingale
Swerve Strickland b. Brody King – House Call
Thekla b. Kris Statlander 2-1
Mistico/Jet Speed b. Don Callis Family – UFO Splash to Davis
Andrade El Idolo b. Bandido – Super DM
Orange Cassidy/Darby Allin/Roderick Strong b. The Dogs – End Of Heartache to Connors
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Hangman Page – Choke over the ropes with a chain

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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We’re back on pay per view and as usual, there is quite the massive card. In this case, the show is headlined by Hangman Page challenging MJF for the World Title in a Texas Death Match, but there are several other titles on the line. That’s pretty normal around here, as is having awesome pay per views, so hopefully they can continue the trend. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Boom & Doom vs. The Infantry

This is the “get Big Boom AJ on the card” match and naturally there are no other options for opponents than two thirds of the Ring Of Honor Six Man Tag Team Champions. This is likely going to be the same as every AJ match has been thus far, meaning it’s going to be a lot better left on the pre-show than anything else. It’s not a match that is going to hurt anything and that makes it the easiest to watch of these three.

Of course I’ll take AJ and Marshall to win, there is no reason for the Infantry to beat the celebrity wrestler. Just let them do their thing and hits the catchphrase with AJ’s son and the Rizzler being there (because that’s still a thing) and we move on. It’s the definition of a harmless match and would be fine as a one off Kickoff Show match, but even as one out of three, it should be ok.

Zero Hour: TBS Title: Willow Nightingale(c) vs. Lena Kross

Since modern wrestling absolutely loves the idea of double champions, this is the first of two title defenses for Nightingale, with Kross being a challenger in both of them as well. This is a good example of a match that should be a Collision main event rather than on the card, but we have to beef the numbers up somehow due to reasons of that’s how AEW tends to work.

I’m actually kind of split on this one, as it would be a bit weird to have Kross lose here if she has another title shot later in the night. At the same time, I’m not sure how much sense it makes to have Kross win the title so soon into her run. Maybe this ends with some sort of interference, but I’ll take Nightingale to retain the title here, as she’s so adorable in general I don’t want her to lose.

Zero Hour: National Title: Battle Royal

So as usual, we only know a few of the participants in the match, which means we could be in for quite the collection of surprises. Ricochet is defending and that should be fine, though you never know what you’re going to see in something like this. Having the title on the line in a battle royal is a way to get the title off of Ricochet without him taking a (nother) pin so they might have an out.

Since we don’t know so much of the field, and the members we do know are not much, I’ll take Ricochet to retain. It’s the kind of thing that can give him a lot of bragging points going forward and that is where he tends to shine. He has to lose the title at some point, but shutting him up with a one on one loss sounds more effective. He’ll keep the title for now at least.

Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir

These two have been teasing a big fight for a long time now and we’re finally getting to see it take place. That hasn’t really made it feel must see, as Shafir is mainly just a valet/enforcer and Storm is…ok I’m still working on that but she’s different. What matters the most is that this could be quite the intense fight, but I’m not sure where it is going to go in the end.

Despite a feeling that it’s going the other way, I’ll take Storm here. At the end of the day, Shafir has never really shown any interest in becoming a singles star and beating Storm would rocket her up towards the top of the division. Storm overcoming the odds of another monster here makes sense, especially if she’s getting back into the title picture. It feels like Shafir could win, but I’ll take Storm.

Darby Allin/Orange Cassidy/Roderick Strong vs. The Dogs

So this has been built up for a few weeks, as Cassidy has been dealing with the Dogs and finding a single friend to help in the form of Allin. That only got him so far as there were three Dogs, so thankfully Strong popped up to even things out. Now we have a six man tag as a result, though it definitely feels like something that belongs on Dynamite rather than here on pay per view.

I’ll go with the Dogs to win here, as there is pretty much no reason to have them come together and lose in their first big man as a trio. The team is fun together and they’re against a makeshift group of good guys. Let the Dogs win so they can get their feet under them and maybe take the Trios Titles down the line, as at least they’re an actual team rather than some people thrown together.

Trios Titles: Don Callis Family(c) vs. Mistico/Jet Speed

Speaking of makeshift teams in the title picture, we have Mistico and Jet Speed getting a title shot despite having no history as a team. It’s pretty new for Jet Speed, as they won the titles while teaming with Hangman Page, basically from scratch. This feels like a way to get Mistico on the show, and fair enough, but it doesn’t do the titles much good in the process.

I don’t see any reason for the titles to change hands here so we’ll go with the champions retaining. Ultimately, Jet Speed and Mistico aren’t a team and Mistico isn’t going to be around full time (then again neither are the titles), so let the Family retain for a change. It should be a fast paced and entertaining match, but there is no reason to think the titles are changing hands here.

Bandido vs. Andrade El Idolo

Shockingly enough, there is no indication that the Ring Of Honor World Title is on the line here, as I guess Andrade has no interest in the thing. They really seem to just be fighting for the sake of having a fight, which is hardly a great reason to have a pay per view match. Basically it was Bandido’s partner had a match and Bandido wanted one too and here we are.

I don’t see a reason for Bandido to win here, as Andrade is on a roll and Bandido is basically there to add a banger to the card. That’s hardly a great reason to run the match, but at least it should be entertaining. Hopefully it lives up to the hype and leads to a rematch for the title that is right there. It would be even worse for Andrade to beat him and then move on, though there is a very good chance that’s what happens.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Babes Of Wrath(c) vs. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne

Here we have the second of Nightingale’s title defenses against Kross on the night, which is a pretty weird way to go. This one doesn’t feel so certain though, as the Babes have had the titles for a pretty long while now and it might make sense for them to lose. If nothing else, there is a good chance that Kross does something to weaken Nightingale in their first match to make this an easier victory.

I think I’ll go with the titles changing hands here, as if nothing else, Bayne needs to win something already. She’s an absolute monster but that doesn’t mean much if she never wins a prize. The Babes are more than solidified as a top team so changing the titles is an acceptable result. It should be a fun match, but in theory this is where the titles finally change hands.

Women’s Title: Thekla(c) vs. Kris Statlander

This is 2/3 falls because the show just wasn’t long enough already. These two have been feuding for the better part of ever already and it is high time for the thing to be over. In theory this is going to be the last match between them and the angle on Collision did help boost it up a bit. Ultimately the problem comes down to the fact that Thekla has exploded in recent weeks and that’s a big issue for Statlander.

I’ll take Thekla to retain here, likely two falls to one, as there is pretty much no reason to put the title back on Statlander. She had a lengthy enough run as champion and Thekla is absolutely feeling like the bigger star. Go with the hot hand at the moment, hopefully with something other than that still not so great looking spear, and let Thekla retain on the big stage.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita

This is one of the bigger matches on the card and it has no time limit, which is almost a scary concept. The good thing is that these two can work very well together on the big stage and if they can make that happen again here, we should be in for a heck of a match. Moxley won the title late last year but couldn’t beat Takeshita, which has been giving him quite the issue.

I’ll go with Takeshita winning the title here though, as Moxley and the Death Riders have mostly dominated the feud with the Don Callis Family and it might be time for the Family to get their big win. It’s a match that absolutely could go either way and I’m probably wrong. The good thing is that it should be an absolute war, which is what you want to see out of these two.

Tag Team Titles: FTR(c) vs. Young Bucks

Yes again. I know this is the big, all time tag feud in AEW but I stopped caring about everything they were doing a long time ago. The good thing is the match is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit, which is about all you can ask for here. This is going to be treated as one of the biggest matches on the card and that does make sense, so hopefully they can live up to the considerable hype.

Since we’re in southern California and it hasn’t happened in a bit, I’ll go with the Bucks to win the titles here. It might not be what I want to see, but the team tends to get a big run with them every year or two. That makes sense given their status in AEW and in theory it is where they’re going here. It should be a heck of a match, with the Bucks winning making the most sense.

Brody King vs. Swerve Strickland

I waited for this one as it’s the match that interests me the most. At the end of the day, these two could beat the living daylights out of each other and that should be a heck of a match. What matters here is having King look like a star against a big name like Strickland, who has already been crazy successful in AEW. This should be quite the showdown and it has all of the potential.

As much as I’d love to see King get a big win, Strickland seems to be on the way back into the World Title picture following his heel turn. Odds are Strickland wins here after one heck of a fight and that has me more than interested. The good thing is they are getting the big chance on the biggest stage and both have been on a roll as of late. Strickland wins, but it’s after an awesome match.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman(c) vs. Hangman Page

This is another Texas Death Match as Page officially has a signature match (at least it isn’t a bull rope match). The catch here is that if Page loses, he can never challenge for the World Title again. That seems like it’s setting things up to go one way, though it’s also giving me something of a doubt. It feels like everything is set up for MJF to lose, only to retain the title in a shocker.

Therefore, I’ll go with my pick most likely to be wrong and say MJF retains here, possibly with some shenanigans costing Page the match. While I absolutely cannot imagine the idea of Page never challenging for the title again, it just feels too safe for Page to win here. It feels like something where we’re going to see a swerve (not the Strickland kind) and that’s what I’ll take.

Overall Thoughts

Make no mistake about it: this show is going to be long. That’s the AEW way and they’re going to make it happen again here. The card has thirteen matches (yes including the pre-show), with one of them being 2/3 falls and another being no time limit. This is setting up to be a very long show, but the potential for some great stuff is there. AEW has earned the benefit of the doubt, but I’m going to need a nap when they’re done.

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: March 11, 2026
Location: San Jose Civic, San Jose, California
Commentators: Bryan Danielson, Ian Riccaboni, Tony Schiavone

It’s the last Dynamite before Revolution and the big story this week is a press conference of all things. That means we’ll be hearing from Hangman Page and MJF, likely with a bunch of guest stars asking questions. That’s not the most thrilling idea so hopefully they have something strong for the rest of the show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

We run down the card.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Death Riders vs. Don Callis Family

Castagnoli and Hechicero start things off with Hechicero taking him to the mat for some grappling. They trade rollups for two each and get up for a standoff, with Castagnoli looking annoyed (though that might just be his basic look). Hechicero takes him down by the leg and it’s off to Moxley vs. Takeshita. An exchange of shoulders lets Moxley bring Takeshita into the corner for the tag to Castagnoli. Takeshita manages to knock him down, only to get taken back into the corner. Hechicero comes back in with a hurricanrana driver and we take a break.

We come back with Hechicero pulling himself up but having to go to the ropes to escape the Swing. Moxley comes in and gets taken down by the leg, leaving Castagnoli to get caught with a high crossbody. Takeshita comes back in to clotheslines Castagnoli to the floor and break Moxley’s sleeper. Moxley and Takeshita trade big shots to the face until Moxley clotheslines him into something like a reverse Koji Clutch. Takeshita gets into the ropes and nails Moxley with a running knee to the face to leave both of them down.

Hechicero comes back in to take over on Castagnoli’s limbs but gets shoved outside. Castagnoli hits a running seated senton off the apron but Hechicero ties up the legs for a rollup back inside. Moxley makes the save and Castagnoli Swings Hechicero, who is right back with a fireman’s carry faceplant. The referee almost gets bumped in the corner, allowing Castagnoli to go to the eyes. A small package gives Castagnoli the pin at 14:04.

Rating: B-. Nice enough opener here, but this was more about the preview of Moxley vs. Takeshita than anything else. At the same time, it’s nice to see Castagnoli getting a pin, as he has been the designated loser for so long. It isn’t like Hechicero is going to be hurt by a loss of her own, as he can easily rebuild himself with another crazy showcase.

Post match the Family runs in for the beatdown but Takeshita won’t use a chair on Moxley. The team isn’t happy with him but leave, with Takeshita signaling that he wants the title without attacking Moxley again.

Persephone and Willow Nightingale, who are facing off tonight, compare how hard they hit Mercedes Mone.

Don Callis fires up Kyle Fletcher before he faces Mike Bailey. MJF comes in and wants Fletcher to beat Bailey up, but Fletcher says he’s doing it for himself.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

TNT Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Mike Bailey

Fletcher is defending and Don Callis is on commentary. Bailey grabs an early hurricanrana but they’re quickly on the floor where Fletcher kicks him down. That’s fine with Bailey, who pulls him into an armbar but has to let it go to break the count. Back in and Fletcher stomps him down in the corner, followed by a spinning belly to back suplex for two. Bailey kicks at the arm again and snaps off another running hurricanrana, followed by more kicks.

The running shooting star press gets two but Fletcher grabs a snapdragon. They trade kicks to the face for a double down before going to the apron. That means Bailey can flip into a poisonrana to send Fletcher outside as we take a break. We come back with Bailey knocking him down on the floor again, followed by a middle rope moonsault. Fletcher gets back in and slides back outside, where Bailey catches him with a corkscrew springboard moonsault.

Back in and Fletcher lawn darts him into the buckle but Bailey manages some kind of a choke. The moonsault knees to the shoulder set up a triangle choke on Fletcher, who lifts him up for a sitout powerbomb. They go outside again, with Bailey managing some more moonsault knees. Bailey snaps the arm across the top rope, followed by the super poisonrana.

The Tornado Kick gets two so Bailey kicks him in the face again, only to charge into a Michinoku Driver for two. Another spinning kick in the corner connects but the Ultimate Weapon misses so Bailey kicks him in the head again. Cue Kazuchika Okada for a distraction and Mark Davis hands Fletcher the belt. A big shot to the head and a brainbuster retain the title at 18:31.

Rating: B. That ending brought it down a good bit as they were having a heck of a match but then it’s just “and here’s the interference”. In theory the idea is to protect Bailey, but he shouldn’t be able to win the title from Fletcher anyway. These two work well together, though they needed a better ending.

Brody King vs. ???

Ganso Bomb in 18 seconds.

Post match King walks around the ring but gets choked by Swerve Strickland (in the crowd) with a chain. King breaks the chain though and Swerve has a great “….uh oh” face. The Cannonball sets up the choke from the apron but Prince Nana comes in for the distraction so Swerve can get out.

Mike Bailey is ready to win the Trios Titles and is looking forward rather than backward.

Orange Cassidy/Darby Allin vs. The Dogs

Finlay and Cassidy start things off but it’s off to Kidd, who crawls around on all fours and then knocks Allin off the apron. Everything quickly breaks down and Cassidy dropkicks Finlay into the steps. Not to be outdone, Allin dropkicks Kidd into the barricade but Finlay is back in with a toss suplex to Cassidy.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy’s lazy chops not exactly getting him out of trouble. The tornado DDT to Kidd works a bit better and Cassidy sends them both into the corner. Allin comes in to clean house, including the running shoulders in the corner. Kidd gets caught in the Scorpion Deathlock so Finlay goes to the eyes for a break.

A Stundog Millionaire into a Code Red has Kidd down and Cassidy dives onto Finlay. Kidd is sat in the chair for Allin’s missile dropkick but here is Clark Connors to deck Cassidy with a tire iron. Back in and Coffin Drop is countered into a choke, which doesn’t last long. Finlay hits a Dominator though and Kidd’s piledriver finishes at 12:02.

Rating: B. This was a hard hitting tag match and thankfully the Dogs won, as they should have last time. They’re still a new team and need to establish themselves a bit more, so beating something of an AEW dream team is a good idea. Allin and Cassidy will need a third man to fight back and that opens a few doors.

Post match Connors comes in to help with the beatdown but Roderick Strong walks down. He teases helping the Dogs but then makes the save and the good guys stand tall.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

TBS Title: Persephone vs. Willow Nightingale

Only Nightingale is defending and grinds away at a headlock to start. Neither of them can get a backslide so Persephone grabs a running hurricanrana. Back up and Nightingale fires off the clotheslines in the corner, followed by a basement crossbody for two. Persephone actually catches her though and it’s a fall away slam to put Nightingale down as we take a break.

We come back with the two of them heading outside, with Nightingale hitting a big spinebuster. Nightingale connects with a cannonball off the apron and then adds another in the corner for two back inside. A moonsault misses though and Persephone German suplexes her down. Persephone’s Lionsault gets two but Nightingale catches head up top. That’s escaped as well so Persephone tries a Razor’s Edge, only to be reversed into a backslide to retain the title at 12:13.

Rating: B. Persephone continues to be quite the star and it’s a shame that she’s wasted on Ring Of Honor so often. At the same time you have Nightingale, who was able to hang with her rather nicely here. That made for a good match, though again, I could go for less titles floating around. There were three belts between these two and that was all I could focus on during their interview earlier. Just…don’t have so many.

We recap Tommaso Ciampa joining FTR to jump Mark Briscoe, who is getting the Young Bucks to help him.

Willow Nightingale wants to defend the Tag Team Titles against Megan Bayne and Lena Kross. Oh and Kross can get a TBS Title shot on Zero Hour too. There’s your case of “this is how to make a show long when it really doesn’t need to be.”

Mark Briscoe/Young Bucks vs. FTR/Tommaso Ciampa

Stokely Hathaway is here as well. The brawl starts fast on the floor with Briscoe almost sending Ciampa through a table, with Harwood breaking it up. The PowerPlex puts Briscoe down and Nick makes the save. Nick escapes a double suplex from FTR and the Bucks get to come in and clean house. The superkicks have FTR down until Ciampa makes a save of his own. Harwood is catapulted into Wheeler so Briscoe and Ciampa get to trade clotheslines until we take a break.

We come back with Briscoe and Harwood chopping it out on the floor. Briscoe hits a Blockbuster off the barricade to take Ciampa down, followed by the step up flip dive onto the villains. Back in and Mark and Nick hit Redneck Boogie for two on Harwood, who clotheslines his way out of trouble.

Believe it or not, the Bucks are up with superkicks and a top rope elbow hits Ciampa. The Froggy Boy gets two with Harwood making the save and it’s a quick Shatter Machine to put Briscoe down. Matt gets hit with a monitor and spike piledriven onto the announcers’ table. Back in and the Jay Driller is blocked, with Ciampa hitting the running knee to pin Briscoe at 12:53.

Rating: B. Another wild and entertaining match, with Ciampa getting a win to keep him looking strong. I’m not sure what he is going to be doing next, though he is already set for the battle royal on the Kickoff Show. Other than that, it was a preview of FTR vs. the Bucks, which you should know about already given their history.

Post match Ciampa beats on Briscoe again, including a super Air Raid Crash through some open chairs.

We get a video on MJF vs. Hangman Page, looking back at their history on the way to Revolution.

It’s time for a press conference with Page and MJF, as emceed by Bryan Danielson. Page is asked if this is about the title or revenge, with Page saying it’s only about the title. MJF wants fans to realize that he is a real wrestler and is having to lower himself to this. He knows Page is out of bullets and will win at Revolution. Page is asked about his history in Texas Deathmatches specifically in California and he promises to win.

Finally, Page is asked who he is if he loses and can’t challenge for the title again. That doesn’t matter as Page says he’ll win. MJF gets some beers out and toasts Page, triggering the brawl that goes into the arena. Security is taken out so Page pulls out a barbed wire board but can’t hit the Deadeye. MJF bails to end the show. The brawl was fine but the press conference deal was a terrible waste of time as they pretty much had nothing to say and were asked dumb questions.

Overall Rating: B+. The wrestling was really good, but the ending was just a big misfire and that hurt things a bit. The pay per view is certainly feeling important, which might be due to how many matches are included. At the very least, Page vs. MJF feels big, though I’m not sure I can imagine MJF losing the title back so soon. At least they had a pretty great final Dynamite though and hopefully they can follow that up this weekend with the really important show.

Results
Death Riders b. Don Callis Family – Small package to Hechicero
Kyle Fletcher b. Mike Bailey – Brainbuster
Brody King b. ??? – Ganso Bomb
The Dogs b. Orange Cassidy/Darby Allin – Piledriver to Allin
Willow Nightingale b. Persephone – Backslide
FTR/Tommaso Ciampa b. Young Bucks/Mark Briscoe – Running knee to Briscoe

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: February 11, 2026
Location: Toyota Arena, Ontario, California
Commentators: Bryan Danielson, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s time to get ready to head down to Australia for Grand Slam later this weekend and that should make for an interesting show. This week is quite the warmup as we have a pair of title matches, with both the TNT and Women’s Title on the line. Other than that, we have more build towards Revolution so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring and brings out Kenny Omega and Swerve Strickland for a chat. Strickland says Omega was on top of his game five years ago and everyone wanted to face him, including Strickland himself. It took him two years to get to the top of AEW but then Omega was nowhere to be found. Omega was either in the hospital bed or suspended and in his absence, AEW needed someone else to step up into that role.

Then everyone was shouting SWERVE’S HOUSE, but now Omega wants back in this spot. It sounds like he’s using his EVP powers and Strickland is ready to knock another one of them down. Omega said the people called him the god of professional wrestling and that’s in the eye of the beholder, but he takes that as a personal responsibility. Now the fans want Omega back so while it may be Swerve’s house, there might not be any lights on in the house.

Omega knows someone who can burn down a house and he’s ready to face Swerve if that’s where this is going. Swerve offers to put Omega back in the hospital bed so Omega slaps him, which Swerve says is Omega making a choice. The fight is on and they go up to the stage, with Swerve escaping the One Winged Angel and spearing him down through a table. This was two big names having a clear issue and arguing about it to set up a top level match. That’s always going to work.

We run down the card.

Kyle Fletcher is ready to regain the TNT Title and Don Callis can sit back and watch. This is different than anything else he does how?

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Death Riders vs. Don Callis Family

Davis powers Pac down to start a few times before it’s off to Moxley. That goes a bit better as Davis is driven into the corner for some chops, followed by Castagnoli for the uppercuts. Davis fires off some chops of his own and a running shoulder actually puts Castagnoli down. Back up and Castagnoli grabs a big suplex before Takeshita comes in and goes right after (the illegal) Moxley.

Everything breaks down and the fight heads to the floor, leaving Castagnoli to tilt-a-whirl backbreaker Takeshita back inside. Pac gets pulled down onto the apron though and the Riders are in trouble as we take an early break. We come back with Pac hiptossing his way out of a neck crank and handing it off to Castagnoli. That means the running uppercuts in the corner until Davis hits a hard running clothesline.

Takeshita and Moxley come back in for an exchange of failed finisher attempts and Takeshita is taken into the corner. The Riders fire off some running uppercuts but the Family is back in to roll German suplexes on Moxley. Back in and the Riders clear out most of the Family, leaving Moxley to choke Alexander. The Death Rider finishes Alexander at 15:06.

Rating: B+. This was a fast paced, hard hitting match and it was a heck of an opening match. The match was a way to help set up the Takeshita vs. Moxley showdown and that’s the real main event of the whole thing. At the same time, Alexander is just the jobber to the stars of the team and that’s all he was pretty much ever going to be.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

TNT Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Fletcher is challenging and Don Callis is on commentary. Fletcher backs out to the floor to start before coming back in (as invited by Ciampa) for a running shoulder. A boot to the face drops Ciampa again but he snaps off a DDT for a knockdown of his own. Back up and Fletcher hits a quick full nelson slam so Ciampa gives him a jumping clothesline. The running knee sends Fletcher outside for a ram into the barricade and yes Ciampa will applaud himself. Fletcher snaps off a half and half suplex on the floor though and we take a break.

We come back with Fletcher missing a running knee in the corner but avoiding a running knee into the steps. Ciampa’s knee is fine enough to hold Fletcher up for an Air Raid Crash onto the steps, followed by a running knee for two back inside. A reverse DDT gets the same and Ciampa takes him up top, where Fletcher reverses into a spinning belly to back superplex.

The sitout Last Ride gives Fletcher two and he powerbombs Ciampa onto the apron. Fletcher’s brainbuster gets two and both of them look stunned on the kickout. Ciampa is able to get in a superplex of his own and a running knee gets two more. Fletcher spits at him and manages a lawn dart into the corner. Ciampa is right back with a running knee into a brainbuster for two but Fletcher blasts him with a clothesline. The brainbuster gives Fletcher the title back at 16:34.

Rating: A-. Yep that worked, as they just beat the daylights out of each other and it was even better than expected. While I could have gone with Ciampa holding the title longer, this was about getting the belt on Fletcher before he goes back home to Australia. Either way, awesome match here with both guys looking outstanding.

Post match Fletcher is proud of his title win and he’s ready for his hero’s welcome in Australia. He’ll even defend the title against anyone so here is Mark Briscoe to interrupt. He’s proud of Fletcher for winning again but brings up that they’re 3-3 so he’s willing to give Fletcher home field advantage. Fletcher is sick of Briscoe but wants it to be bigger than ever, so we’ll make it a ladder match. Deal. Of course it is.

Video on the Babes Of Wrath defending the Women’s Tag Team Titles against Penelope Ford and Megan Bayne on Saturday.

Daniel Garcia/Clark Connors vs. Roderick Strong/Orange Cassidy

Strong whips Connors into the corner to start fast and hits the big dropkick. Connors knocks him down into the corner and hammers away, allowing Strong to come in and fire off the chops. Cassidy comes in with the Stundog Millionaire but the tornado DDT is countered into a sleeper from Garcia. That’s broken up and we take a break, coming back with Cassidy escaping a full nelson.

Strong walks out on a tag attempt though and that means Cassidy gets double stomped down in the corner with no one around to help. Connors hits a spear on the apron but misses a charge into the barricade. Cue a man in the crowd (clearly Darby Allin) to take out Connors, leaving Cassidy to small package Garcia for the pin at 9:08.

Rating: C+. Now this was a better use of Allin, as he’s someone who can sneak up on people and take them out rather than getting beaten up every week. Cassidy and Allin as a potential team is….I guess intriguing? It’s either amazing or not so good and I’m not sure which. Strong walking out on Cassidy makes sense and hopefully it lets him go off and do his own thing.

Post match Toni Storm pops up on the platform to say if Marina Shafir can knock her out, she can shave her head bald, but Storm will be the most beautiful bald woman in the world. On the other hand though, Storm plans to shave her so bald that they’ll sell Shafir’s head at Spirit Halloween. Cue Wheeler Yuta, who says “bring her out”. Cue Shafir, holding Mina Shirakawa in Mother’s Milk and cutting off some of her hair. Ok that was a nice touch.

Last week, Don Callis (yes again) praised Andrade El Idolo for his win, with Andrade threatening Hangman Page.

Page wanted to face Kenny Omega again and threatens Andrade’s….pants?

Jet Speed is looking for challengers to the Trios Titles but want singles titles. Why are these two part of the Trios Champions? It feels like they’re almost never even around Page.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Young Bucks vs. Rascalz vs. ???

For a future Tag Team Title shot and the wild card team is…the returning Private Party, for their first AEW match in over a year. Quen headlocks Xavier to start and the Rascalz are quickly cleared out. That leaves the Bucks to take out Private Party and then drop the Rascalz as well.

Reed is back in with a big dive to the floor, followed by another one from Kassidy. Xavier’s shooting star takes out the pile at ringside and we take a break. We come back with the Bucks cleaning house again, including a bulldog/running clothesline to Private Party. A stereo top rope elbow and 450 get two on Private Party as Hook is watching.

Silly String (not named) drops Xavier and a bunch of superkicks leave everyone down. The Bucks fire off superkicks and Reed’s big diving cutter over the top (that always looks great) takes out Private Party on the floor. We mix it up a bit with the Bucks firing off even more superkicks until the TK Driver finishes Reed to give the Bucks the win at 13:17.

Rating: B. The result isn’t a big surprise, as Reed was debuting and therefore he had to lose the match. I guess I’ll take that over Private Party returning and losing the fall, but what matters the most here is that it was another fast paced match. At the same time, it sets up the Bucks vs. FTR 97 or so, because I guess Australia needs to see it as well.

Post match FTR comes out for the staredown. Dax Harwood says they’re both great teams but FTR are ahead. The Bucks needed to make their own company to become the top stars and….superkicks drop FTR. The Bucks scare Stokely Hathaway before leaving him alone.

Video on Will Ospreay.

Video on MJF vs. Brody King for the World Title on Saturday.

Women’s Title: Kris Statlander vs. Thekla

Statlander is defending in a strap match. They pull on each other to start and Statlander drops her with a clothesline. Statlander knocks her to the floor but Thekla WHIPS HER IN THE FACE with the strap. That’s a violent enough one so Statlander is back with a big boot. Thekla pulls her into the steps and flips her off, which is enough to bust Statlander open.

We take a break (the match started after 10pm EST) and come back with Thekla grabbing the upside down leg choke in the ropes. Thekla does her spider pose, which allows Statlander to pull her into a superkick. Statlander goes up top and gets pulled down with a Spider superplex. A discus lariat drops Thekla again and Statlander (bleeding quite a bit now) unloads with the whip. Statlander hits a Tombstone but here are the Sisters Of Sin for a distraction, allowing Thekla to hit the spear. A Stomp gives Thekla the pin and the title at 14:03.

Rating: B-. It was violent, but the ending was kind of flat, with the villains coming in and Thekla just getting the win. At the same time, it’s the result that should have happened in their first title match. Thekla is on a roll right now and it makes more sense for her to win the title, though I’m not sure why they needed the delay. Either way, the end result is the right one.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Brawling Birds make the save (commentary does make it clear that the Babes Of Wrath are already in Australia) to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Those opening matches are more than enough to carry the show and anything else on the night was just going to be gravy. While I’m not wild on having Ciampa be a really short transitional champion, it’s going well if that’s the low point of the show. Other than that, you had the big title change at the end and the show was quite a hit. Heck of a show here and I’d be rather pleased if AEW can keep this up.

Results
Death Riders b. Don Callis Family – Death Rider to Alexander
Kyle Fletcher b. Tommaso Ciampa – Brainbuster
Roderick Strong/Orange Cassidy b. Daniel Garcia/Clark Connors – Small package to Garcia
Young Bucks b. Rascalz and Private Party – TK Driver to Reed
Thekla b. Kris Statlander – 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:

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Collision
Date: February 7, 2026
Location: Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s another title match tonight as the new TNT Champion Tommaso Ciampa is defending in a three way match against Claudio Castagnoli and Roderick Strong. Other than that, the Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Eddie Kingston/Ortiz continues (for some reason) in an eight man parking lot brawl. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Young Bucks vs. Gates Of Agony

The winners are in a three way #1 contenders match on Dynamite. Liona shoves Matt down to start so Nick comes in and charges into a slam from Kaun. Everything breaks down and the Bucks take over by sending the Gates outside. The stereo dives are pulled out of the air and it’s off to a double nerve hold on Matt back inside.

The Gates hit each other by mistake but Nick’s running flip dive is cut off as well. That means the Bucks can be rammed into each other and a headbutt drops Matt as we take a break. We come back with Matt sliding between Kaun’s legs and making the tag off to Nick to clean house. A high crossbody gets two and everything breaks down (meaning the referee gets to just stand there) as the Bucks take over.

The Bucks come off the top at the same time for stereo near falls but Liona is back with a double Samoan drop. The Gates hit their own dives onto the floor (because they can do that), followed by a wheelbarrow cutter for two on Matt. Nick is back in to help with the BTE Trigger for two, with Kaun making the save. The TK Driver finishes Kaun at 13:56.

Rating: B. It’s a good match, though the idea of getting anywhere closer to the Bucks vs. FTR again makes my head hurt. The Bucks got to do their usual stuff so it was entertaining enough, though I still don’t see much of a reason to get interested in them. It’s a good example of match quality not making the biggest impact, as they continue to just be there, often in a prominent spot.

Post match FTR and Stokely Hathaway pop up on screen. Hathaway can’t believe that in the year of our lord Beyonce Knowles, the Elite still wants to hold all of the gold like in the good old says. Dax Harwood says that’s the problem with the good old days: they’re not here anymore, unlike FTR, who are the top guys. And they’re out.

Video on the TNT Title triple threat.

Brody King is ready to win the World Title next week.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Here is Kris Statlander to announce the stipulation for her rematch with Thekla. Cue Thekla to spear her down though, with the Triangle Of Madness holding Statlander to the mat. Thekla whips her with the belt and promises to make things toxic no matter what. The villains go to leave but Statlander calls Thekla a stupid b**** and makes it a strap match.

Kyle Fletcher wants the TNT Title back and here is Kazuchika Okada for a quick pep talk.

Scorpio Sky vs. Kevin Knight

Christopher Daniels, Leila Grey and Mike Bailey are here too. They stare at each other to start and we get an SCU chant, which doesn’t impress Knight. The fight over a lockup goes around the ropes but doesn’t get either very far. A test of strength lets Sky shoulder him down and they exchange nipups. Knight makes fun of Sky’s lack of hair and gets chopped into the corner but Knight sends him outside.

The big dive drops Sky on the ramp and we take a break. We come back with Sky planting him down for two but Knight’s small package gets the same. A DDT gives Knight two more but Sky catches him on top with a superplex. Knight is right back with a springboard clothesline, followed by the UFO Splash for the pin at 11:44.

Rating: C+. This was kind of a weird one, as it felt like they were having something of a personal issue, despite the two of them not having any important interactions in a good while. I do like Knight winning a match on his own though, as he’s quite fun to watch. At the same time, given that most of the team wrestles in singles matches at the moment, I have no idea why Knight/Bailey/Hangman Page are the Trios Champions. Then again, the Opps barely ever defended them anyway so this does at least continue the tradition.

Hook says Samoa Joe is out injured so in the time being, he’s the new captain of the Opps. Sure. I completely believe that this will be the thing that gets Hook over after years of trying.

Mina Shirakawa vs. Viva Van

Shirakawa works on the arm to start but Van flips away and does Shirakawa’s dance. Some knees to the face put Shirakawa down and Van snapmares her into a chinlock. That’s broken up and Shirakawa starts firing off the kicks. A Stunner to the leg over the rope sets up a slingshot dive but Van blocks the Figure Four. Back up and Van’s flipping kick to the head gets two but Shirakawa is back with the top rope Sling Blade. They trade strikes to the head until the Figure Four finishes Van off at 5:42.

Rating: C-. This was a bit of a disappointment, as it felt like Van was wrestling in slow motion and not exactly working smoothly. It doesn’t help that Shirakawa is just kind of floating around at the moment while her partner teams with Orange Cassidy. She needs something to do, and a five minute match on Collision isn’t exactly much to see.

Death Riders vs. Sky Flight

Jon Moxley is on commentary. It’s a brawl to start with the men going outside while Shafir easily wrestles Steel down. The leglock is reversed into a quick choke and Steel gets two off a small package. A distraction from the floor lets Shafir get in another knockdown but it’s off to Dante Martin to take over. That lasts all of ten seconds before Yuta pulls him down into a chinlock and we take a break.

We come back with Yuta holding Martin up top and raking his back. One heck of a chop puts Yuta down though and the top rope flip dive connects. Yuta is back with a bridging German suplex into the elbows to the head but Martin fights up again. Steel comes in to take over on Shafir and even gets in a shot to Yuta on the apron. Shafir pulls Steel out of the air though and Mother’s Milk (with Shafir yelling at the camera and treating Steel like an afterthought in a nice touch) finishes at 9:21.

Rating: B-. This was basically a warmup for the Riders before their big hair vs. hair match next week and naturally Steel needed to take the loss. That’s all she’s done since showing up around here, which is apparently the new favorite way to debut stars. At the same time, Martin (and Sky Flight in general) feel even less important than ever, which is quite the feat.

Post match the Riders go for Steel’s hair but Toni Storm and Orange Cassidy make the save.

A man hits on Alex Windsor and Jamie Hayter, earning himself a beating. They dub themselves the Brawling Birds.

After Dynamite, MJF went nuts and ranted about all the people coming for his title, which he’ll keep. He’s at his most dangerous when his back is against the wall and that will be the case next week.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Thekla vs. Brittnie Brooks

Thekla knocks her down to start and finishes with the spear at 28 seconds.

Post match Thekla whips Brooks with the strap and…no one makes the save.

Video on Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita next week for the Continental Title.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Eddie Kingston/Ortiz/Rascalz vs. Grizzled Young Veterans/Big Bill/Ortiz

Parking Lot Brawl. Kingston throws in a trashcan full of weapons and charges in as the brawl is on with a fast start. A missed shot breaks a car window and Bill kicks a side view mirror off. We settle down to general chaos until the Rascalz hit Hot Fire Flame off the top of a car. Bill takes over again with the heavy forearms before tossing Xavier over the top of a car for a big crash.

We take a break and come back with Keith and Xavier fighting over a hammer until Wentz and Xavier fight into the back of the limo. Kingston cleans house with a stick and Xavier shooting stars off the limo roof. Bill is up again to start wrecking everyone and Wentz is chokeslammed through a windshield (with a camera suddenly inside the car). Some double teaming drops Bill on the concrete and a double suplex drops Keith on the top of the limo.

The Veterans get in a slugout with Kingston and Ortiz, with Kingston getting choked. Ortiz is up with a cable of some kind but Isla Dawn pops up to hit Ortiz in the head with a sheet. Myron Reed (the third Rascal) pops up with a flip dive off a car before stealing Dawn. Kingston DDTs Gibson onto the car for the pin at 12:31.

Rating: C+. Ok then. I mean what else am I supposed to think here? Kingston has destroyed the Veterans for the entirety of their feud and he did it again with this match. I’m not sure why this match needed to exist, as it felt like AEW wanted to do another parking lot brawl and then put the feud into the match as a result. It was your usual good carnage, but I had no reason to care about any of these people.

Post match Schiavone has trouble remembering how many people were in the match.

Roderick Strong says he needs to change things around here but Mark Briscoe interrupts. Briscoe thinks Strong has what it takes to win the title, but he wants a title shot against the winner. Strong appreciates that, though he’s not in the Conglomeration.

TNT Title: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Roderick Strong vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Only Ciampa is defending. Castagnoli is knocked outside to start fast and the other two are left to strike it out. Strong is sent flying over the top, with Castagnoli easily catching him to show off a bit. Back in and Ciampa kicks Castagnoli in the face but Strong is back with a jumping knee to Ciampa. Castagnoli hits his running shots in the corner but Ciampa grabs a Downward Spiral/DDT to drop both of them.

A double suplex drops Castagnoli and the other two get to strike it out a bit. They all head outside with Strong chopping away against the barricade and a charging Castagnoli is sent into said barricade. Naturally Castagnoli is fine enough to drop Ciampa face first onto the announcers’ table as we take a break. We come back with Castagnoli striking Ciampa down again and muscling him up top.

Strong pulls Castagnoli down though and dropkicks Ciampa out of the air. A backbreaker sets up the Stronghold, with Castagnoli making the save. Castagnoli gets to show off a bit with a double suplex but Ciampa is right back with a DDT. The Fairy Tale Ending gets two on Castagnoli but the running knee is cut off. Castagnoli’s Swing is broken up as well and an uppercut hits Strong for two. Strong’s jumping knee drops Castagnoli but Ciampa’s running knee knocks Strong silly to retain at 11:43.

Rating: B. So this was the match designed to prove that Ciampa’s win last week wasn’t a fluke. That’s a fine way to go as Ciampa was more than good enough to hang in there. It made for a strong main event with Castagnoli getting to show off the insane power. Strong can work well with anyone as well and that made Ciampa look even better retaining. Odds are he loses it to a big name soon, but at least they’re starting somewhere.

Post match Kyle Fletcher comes out to hold the title, which he hands back to Ciampa. Fletcher asks how it feels to know that Ciampa will never fill his shoes. He wants the title match next week and it seems to be set for Dynamite (I’m assuming Ciampa kissing him on the cheek counts) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was the run of the mill Collision, with good action but little that felt important. The opener and main event both felt big enough that it made for a good show, though as usual, it’s not exactly a show you need to see. At least next week is Grand Slam so things should feel bigger. The show looked good on paper and lived up to the hype, though it had its usual Collision issues.

Results
Young Bucks b. Gates Of Agony – TK Driver to Kaun
Kevin Knight b. Scorpio Sky – UFO Splash
Mina Shirakawa b. Viva Van – Figure Four
Death Riders b. Sky Flight – Mother’s Milk to Steel
Thekla b. Brittnie Brooks – Spear
Eddie Kingston/Ortiz/Rascalz b. Grizzled Young Veterans/Big Bill/Ortiz – DDT onto a car to Gibson
Tommaso Ciampa b. Roderick Strong and Claudio Castagnoli – Running knee to Strong

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