Worlds End 2023
Date: December 30, 2023
Location: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Long Island, New York
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the last pay per view of the year and that means we could be in for a rather big show. The main events will see MJF defending the AEW World Title against Samoa Joe with the Devil’s reveal lurking. We also have the finals of the Continental Classic, which means the crowning of the first Triple Crown Champion. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale

Stokely Hathaway, the source of the issues between these two, is at ringside and both of the women are from Long Island. An exchange of shoulders doesn’t go anywhere as Hathaway blames Tony Schiavone for the issues between these two. Nightingale takes her to the mat and grabs a headscissors but Statlander easily slips out. A legsweep and some spinning knees give Statlander two but Nightingale runs her over with a crossbody.

Back up and Statlander strikes away, setting up the pretty impressive slam. We hit the bodyscissors and then a chinlock to keep Nightingale down, followed by a belly to back suplex for two. Back up and they collide for a double knockdown, followed by Nightingale crushing her in the corner. A spinebuster gets two for Nightingale, who gets planted down to give Statlander the same. Statlander hits an electric chair faceplant but Nightingale is right back up with the Pounce.

The Cannonball into a Death Valley Driver gives Nightingale two more, followed by Statlander’s ax kick for the same. Nightingale powerbombs her onto the apron though and a missile dropkick gets two more. Saturday Night Fever is broken up so Statlander settles for a discus lariat, only to miss the 450. The Babe With The Powerbomb doesn’t work as Statlander lands on Nightingale (with Nigel pointing out that it was more of a legdrop for Statlander), so Nightingale grabs a better version for the pin at 13:21.

Rating: B-. This was a hoss fight and thankfully they went home after the not so great powerbomb slip. It’s very nice to see Nightingale get a win after being known for coming up short so often. At the same time, what in the world has happened to Statlander? She went from on ire to losing clean in a Zero Hour match, which is hardly the best way to go for her. She needs to get back on track, though I’m not sure I see that happening anytime soon.

Zero Hour: Battle Royal

Action Andretti, Darius Martin, Alex Reynolds, John Silver, Danhausen, Bryan Keith, Matt Menard, Rocky Romero, Trent Beretta, Angelo Parker, Kip Sabian, Christopher Daniels, Lance Archer, Killswitch, Dalton Castle, Johnny TV, Butcher, Blade, Serpentico, Lee Johnson

For a future TNT Title shot. Castle (with two suspiciously large Boys) and TV get in a fight at ringside while everyone else jump Archer and Killswitch to bury the under tables at ringside. Everyone else gets inside and Serpentico is quickly eliminated. Sabian knocks Castle out (less than two minutes in) before a launched Danhausen gets rid of TV and Johnson follows him out.

The Dark Order beats up and eliminates Parker before Reynolds is out as well. Butcher tosses Silver as the ring is rapidly clearing out. Keith kicks Sabian out before going after Butcher and the Blade, who put him out. Archer is back up so Menard chops away at him, earning the quick elimination. Archer’s running knee gets rid of Daniels before Andretti (following his water bottle trick) and Martin manage to take Archer down.

Killswitch is back in and starts clearing the ring until it’s down to Killswitch, Archer, Danhausen and Trent. Danhausen gets saved from the Blackout and Trent and Danhausen manage to get rid of Archer. Then Trent turns on Danhausen to throw him out (the fans DO NOT approve) but has to slip out of Killswitch’s chokeslam. A low bridge puts Killswitch on the apron and a jumping knee puts him down on said apron. Not that it matters as a headbutt knocks Trent down to give Killswitch the win at 13:47.

Rating: C. One of the worst things you can do in a battle royal is having a field where one or two people is a likely winner. That was certainly the case here, and as soon as you remembered who the TNT Champion is, the drama goes even lower. It made for a bunch of waiting around for Archer and Killswitch to get back up and then it was just a matter of time.

Zero Hour: FTW Title: Wheeler Yuta vs. Hook

Hook is defending (Yuta’s Ring Of Honor Pure Rules Title isn’t on the line) in an FTW Rules match, meaning anything goes. We start fast with Hook jumping him and grabbing a throw, only for Yuta to get in a cheap shot. It’s time to grab some weapons but Yuta takes too long, allowing Yuta to grab a suplex on the ramp. One heck of a trashcan lid shot puts Hook down but Yuta makes the mistake of yelling at Taz.

That’s enough for Hook to come back with a clothesline and they get back inside. Yuta knocks him down again and a running backsplash gets two. Hook manages another suplex and they slug it out for a double knockdown. A t-bone suplex sends Yuta into a trashcan in the corner for two but Redrum is broken up. Yuta DDTs him for two and Hook bails to the floor for a breather. With Yuta grabbing a 2×4, Hook pulls out a stick (hockey or lacrosse) and nails Yuta hard. Redrum, with the broken stick, retains at 10:15.

Rating: C+. They were smart to go with the weapons stuff here as Hook probably isn’t capable of a regular match yet and the Pure Rules still aren’t interesting. Odds are they’ll do this again under Pure Rules and then have a regular match later on, but this one had to go this way to start. Hook has cooled off a lot but at least he got some momentum here.

The PPV proper opens with a look at the big matches and a talk about how this is the end of everything.

Brody King/Jay Lethal/Rush/Jay White vs. Blackpool Combat Club/Mark Briscoe/Daniel Garcia

Matt Menard is on commentary. Rush and Castagnoli trade the heavy strikes to start with Castagnoli getting the better of things. Rush sends him outside but Castagnoli is back in and they stare each other down. Briscoe and Lethal come in with Lethal not being able to get the Figure Four. A chop off goes to Briscoe so Danielson comes in with the LeBell Lock to White. That means a quick rope break as Nigel is in rare form of insulting Danielson.

A running corner dropkick hits White and a middle rope hurricanrana drops him again. King comes in and shrugs off Garcia’s right hands, setting up a swinging Boss Man Slam to plant Garcia. King takes him outside and yells at Menard, who isn’t exactly interested in coming after the monster.

Back in and Lethal stomps away on Garcia (who might have a broken nose) before White adds a seated chop. Garcia manages to fight out of the corner though and it’s Briscoe coming back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and the fight heads outside. Briscoe hits the running Blockbuster and Bang Bang Elbow from the apron, followed by a fisherman’s buster for two on White. Back in and Briscoe knocks Lethal off the top, only to have Lethal pop back up for a top rope superplex.

Everything breaks down again and Castagnoli unloads with uppercuts to King. Castagnoli muscles King up for an impressive suplex but Rush is back in for the save. Danielson cuts Rush off and dropkicks King to cut off Castagnoli’s Swing. Garcia and Lethal slug it out until Lethal grabs his namesake Combination. The Figure Four goes on but Briscoe makes the save with the froggy bow. We hit the parade of finishes until Garcia rolls Lethal up for the pin at 17:12.

Rating: B. This was the insanity that you were expecting as this wasn’t about the teams but rather getting eight people in the ring for a pay per view match following the Continental Classic. In other words, it was a great choice for an opener and Garcia’s likely face push continues, as he gets a nice win in a match where someone had to pick one up.

We recap Andrade El Idolo vs. Miro. CJ Perry, Miro’s wife, is managing El Idolo so Miro promised to not end him until after the Continental Classic. Since El Idolo is out, he’s fair game for Miro.

Miro vs. Andrade El Idolo

CJ Perry is here with El Idolo, who gets jumped to start as the beating is on. El Idolo gets in a shot of his own but dives into a suplex to cut that right off. Perry yells at Miro about her infected finger so Miro chokes him on the ropes in front of her. Miro throws El Idolo to the floor, where El Idolo gets in a shove over the announcers’ table.

Back in and El Idolo blocks a superplex attempt so they slug it out instead. El Idolo gets the better of things so Miro drops him with a clothesline. Miro gets knocked into the corner but it’s too early for the running knees. Instead Miro bails to the floor, leaving El Idolo to hit the middle rope moonsault.

Back in and the double moonsault gives El Idolo two so we hit the Figure Four. That’s turned into the Figure Eight…but Perry cuts it off. Miro, now much happier…or at least whatever passes for happy with him, kicks El Idolo in the face, setting up Game Over for the tap at 15:03.

Rating: C. This was a rough one as it just kept going. It’s a good example of a match that should have been cut down by at least five minutes so there wasn’t as much slow offense and standing around. The Perry turn was the right way to go as she and Miro work really well together. I’m not sure what took so long to set them up, but at least now things are as they should be.

We recap Toni Storm defending the Women’s Title against Riho. Basically Riho returned, wanted a title shot, earned one, and is getting it.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Riho

Riho is challenging. Storm takes over to start so Riho starts spinning around. A running knee into and a running bulldog out of the corner gives Riho two and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up and they head outside where Storm gets in a slam to take over. Storm slowly hammers away and gets in a slam, setting up the double bicep pose. The half grab goes on to stay on Riho’s back, followed by a toss out to the floor.

Back in and Storm declares “she’s toast now” before grabbing a Texas Cloverleaf. Luther adds some cheating but gets caught, meaning the hold is broken and Luther is out of here. Riho hits the 619 and a high crossbody, followed by another dive to the floor. Back in and Riho misses a charge in the corner, allowing Storm Zero to connect for two. Riho tries to spin over her but gets caught in a hard DDT to retain the title at 11:47.

Rating: C+. This could have been a lot worse, but they weren’t given the chance to set up much of a feud. It was more or less Riho coming back, saying she wanted the title, getting a title shot and then losing with little in between. Storm is still great at what she’s doing and has Mariah May waiting on her, so this shouldn’t have been the most stunning result.

Post match Mariah May brings out rose petals to celebrate.

Dante Martin is upset about not being a champion so Orange Cassidy comes in to say he knows where this is going. Martin issues the challenge and they’re on for Dynamite.

Swerve Strickland vs. Dustin Rhodes

Rhodes is replacing an injured Keith Lee. Swerve jumps him before the bell and beats him up on the floor, with the cinder block being loaded up. The Swerve Stomp onto the ankle onto the block leaves Rhodes laying. Medics come down to check on Rhodes…who wants to go anyway.

The bell rings, with Swerve taking him down immediately and hammering away before shouting that it could have been you (meaning Lee). Swerve dropkicks the leg out again and gets in some dancing so Rhodes gets in a shot of his own. Rhodes manages a high crossbody for two, followed by the Canadian Destroyer and snap powerslam for two.

Nana offers a distraction and gets dropped with a right hand, followed by a piledriver and Cross Rhodes for two on Swerve. Back up and Swerve hits a Downward Spiral, setting up a half crab. Rhodes makes the ropes and fires up again before flipping Swerve off. The House Call cuts Rhodes off though and a second knocks him silly. Swerve snaps the arm and hits the Swerve Stomp to win at 9:24.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t about the action, but rather the fact that this match didn’t need to happen. Swerve took Rhodes apart before the match and left him laying, but instead of letting that be it, they had to have a nine minute match anyway. Throw in Rhodes doing high risk moves so he can get his stuff in and this made Swerve look weaker than need be. He won in the end, but the match didn’t need to happen.

Don Callis Family/Big Bill/Ricky Starks vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Sting/Darby Allin

Guevara gets knocked around by Takeshita to start so it’s quickly off to Jericho. The fans don’t seem to pleased with that, even as Hobbs comes in to run him over. Takeshita gets in a few shots until Jericho makes it over to Allin for the tag. That doesn’t last long as Allin is taken over for the tag to Hobbs so the beating can be on.

A suplex from Hobbs lets Bill come in for a huge toss across the ring. Allin manages to get over for the tag to Sting and house is quickly cleaned. Everything breaks down and Bill gets in a cheap shot, followed by a Boss Man Slam. Jericho comes back in with a Codebreaker and is soundly booed out of the building.

Allin manages to knock Jericho into Hobbs for a breather and a Scorpion Death Drop takes Hobbs down. Takeshita drops Allin HARD though and then does it to both Guevara and Allin with a single German suplex. Sting is back in and grabs the Scorpion on Takeshita, with Callis making the save. The Scorpion goes on but gets broken up again, allowing Guevara to come in and go all flippy. The shooting star press finishes Starks at 15:43.

Rating: C+. The match was the usual fun wild brawl, but this was ALL about Jericho. I’m not sure what AEW needs to do about him at the moment, but they are going to have to do something about it soon. Jericho can’t come out there and be this kind of a distraction so he needs to either go away until his name is cleared or AEW is going to need to come up with some kind of a long term solution. The match was kind of a mess because of him and that can’t happen again.

We recap Julia Hart vs. Abadon for the TBS Title. They’re both weird and want to be champion.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Abadon

Abadon is challenging and under house rules, biting is allowed. The fans declare THIS IS SPOOKY and Abadon grabs a quick cutter to take over fast. Hart isn’t quite sure what to do here so they grab each other by the throat until Hart can leg sweep Abadon down. Choking on the ropes has Abadon in more trouble until a running knee hits Hart in the corner.

A Codebreaker gets two but Hart manages to grab Hartless. The ropes don’t help so Abadon has to crawl out and knock Hart away. Cue Skye Blue for a cheap shot before she dives underneath the ring, leaving Abadon to go after her. The distraction lets Hart drop Abadon, setting up the moonsault (which seemed to be more Hart’s knees slamming into Abadon) to retain at 11:13.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure if it was the spooky vs. spooky stuff here, but they lost me and lost me hard during this one. They just kind of kept doing things until Blue showed up at the end and it couldn’t have been much less interesting. Maybe I just couldn’t get into it for some reason but this wasn’t working and felt a lot longer than it lasted.

We recap Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage. Copeland came back and wanted to reform the team, but Cage said no. The Waynes were brought into this, with Copeland attacking Nick and Shayna costing him the title as a result. Now it’s about violence, revenge and the title, with the latter being a good bit less important than the others.

TNT Title: Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage

Cage, with the Waynes, is defending and this is No DQ so Copeland jumps him on the floor to start. They brawl around ringside, with Nigel McGuinness insulting Copeland. That earns him a SHUT UP NIGEL, with Nigel obliging before waiting for Copeland to be out of earshot to call him a coward. Cage’s right hands don’t do much as he has to avoid his hand being stomped onto the steps.

Cage bails into the crowd with Copeland following, setting up a big dive to take Cage down again. They go back to ringside where Copeland drops him again, earning a YOU STILL GOT IT chant. Back in and Copeland’s spear hits post, followed by a drop onto the steps for two. With Copeland bleeding around the eye, Cage grabs some kendo sticks and chokes away before punching at the cut.

Cage grabs a chair and puts it over Copeland’s back for a Boston crab in a creative, and mostly painful, looking hold. With that broken up, Copeland gets in a stick shot of his own, followed by some more to the ribs. As usual, Copeland gets the bar from the chair for the Crossface but that’s not good enough. We get the obvious ladder brought in, with Cage being catapulted face first into it in the corner.

A low blow cuts Copeland off so Cage goes up, where a superplex is countered into a sunset bomb to leave them both down. It’s time for a table, with the distraction letting Copeland grab an Impaler onto the chair. The Conchairto is loaded up but cue Nick Wayne with a low blow for the save. Cage loads up a spear through the table but naturally gets speared through it himself. Shayna Wayne breaks up the cover and Nick hits Copeland with the title. Wayne’s World to the floor (next to the table rather than through it) drops Copeland again and Cage gets two.

That leaves the Waynes to cover the table with lighter fluid and set it on fire but Copeland spears Cage back inside. The fire goes out so Copeland puts on more fluid and it’s on fire again. Nick gets sent onto (not through) the table and goes writhing onto the floor. Cage’s belt shot is cut off and Copeland hits a Killswitch for the pin and the title at 24:40.

Rating: B. Now this felt like a fight and that is a good thing to see. It also helps that these two have a history, along with Cage being one of the best things in all of wrestling today. The ending isn’t great, but I guess Copeland needed his “you still got it” moment. They could have done without some of the weapons, but the point here was they wanted to hurt each other and then tried to do it. That made or a better match and I liked what we got here.

Post match Killswitch jumps Copeland and chokeslams him through a chair….and since the contract from earlier is for a title match anywhere any time….but hold on as Cage wants it instead. Killswitch hands it over and let’s do this.

TNT Title: Christian Cage vs. Adam Copeland

Cage is challenging and wins the title with a spear in ten seconds. That was A, great and B, even better because it gets rid of the Money In The Bank thing (with Edge getting some payback after being so well known for using the briefcase before).

Copeland gets looked at after the match.

We recap the Continental Classic, which has been going on for over a month now. Kingston wants to win to prove he belongs while Moxley wants to win because he likes winning.

Continental Classic Finals: Triple Crown Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Jon Moxley

For the vacant title and Bryan Danielson is on commentary. They go technical to start with Moxley taking it to the ground for some grappling. Moxley gets the better of things until a rope gives Kingston a breather. Back up and they go to the test of strength with neither getting the better of things. They stare each other down a bit more as Danielson is in full analysis mode, talking about each of them having strengths.

Kingston manages a jumping enziguri to put him on the floor but the dive goes over Moxley for a nasty crash. Back in and Moxley hits a quick suplex, followed by a Paradigm Shift on the floor. They get back in with Kingston’s chop hitting a raised forearm, leaving Kingston in a lot of pain. A piledriver gives Moxley two so we pause for some yelling at the referee (possibly due to Kingston’s bell being rung).

Kingston is back up and drops Moxley to his knees off a single chop. They chop it out and even Danielson is thinking this is a bad move. Kingston grabs a suplex so Moxley pops up, only to grab his banged up knee. The spinning backfist drops Moxley for no cover as Danielson is livid. The machine gun chops have Moxley in trouble in a variety of corners, setting up a DDT to plant Moxley again.

Moxley is back up with a cutter so Kingston hits the spinning backfist, only to get dropped with a hard lariat. The northern lights bomb gives Kingston two but Moxley is back with the bulldog choke. That’s broken up and another northern lights bomb gives Kingston another two. One heck of a lariat drops Kingston for two, sending commentary into stories of injuries from clotheslines. They headbutt it out from their knees until another spinning backfist gives Kingston the pin and the titles at 17:05.

Rating: B+. Much like the previous match, this felt like a fight but for a very different reason. While Copeland vs. Cage felt like a fight between two people who hated each other, this felt like two people wanting to survive to claim a prize. That worked very well and I dug what we got here. Danielson in particular made a feel more like a sporting contest and it made things that much better.

Post match Eddie is presented with the title. Respect is shown and Moxley lets Kingston have the ring.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

We recap Samoa Joe vs. MJF for the World Title. While Joe is challenging, the real story is MJF being chased by the Devil, who very well could be revealed here.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Samoa Joe

MJF is defending and we get a video of people talking about how he’s THEIR scumbag, including a video from his ex-girlfriend giving a VERY censored story about a night in the back of a car. Before the match, cue Adam Cole to support MJF, whose shoulder is completely wrapped up. Joe backs him into the corner but MJF goes to the eye in a smart move.

A shot to the arm cuts MJF down fast and Joe drops a leg on said arm to make it worse. It’s too early for the Muscle Buster though and Joe gets low bridged to the floor. Back in and a low superkick staggers Joe and the Kangaroo Kick connects. MJF is knocked outside for a heck of a suicide dive, followed by a suplex to rock the shoulder again.

They go to the apron where Joe drops him hard with a MuscleBuster for two. MJF manages a shot to the back of the head and rams Joe into the buckle over and over. Joe shrugs off some right hands in the corner and MJF collapses when trying a fireman’s carry. He’s fine enough to catch Joe with a Heatseeker for two before grabbing the Salt Of The Earth.

Joe reverses into an armbar of his own but MJF makes the rope. Back up and the ref gets bumped so MJF gets all smiley. A low blow cuts Joe off on the middle rope and an F5 of all things leaves both of them down. MJF’s cover gets a very delayed two and Joe pulls him into the Koquina Clutch….for the knockout and the title at 17:47.

Rating: B. This was interesting as Joe won (more or less) clean and that makes sense. MJF isn’t John Cena, meaning at some point the odds are so strongly against him that he has to lose. That’s what took place here, as Joe had been built up as this unstoppable force and MJF was coming in very banged up. While MJF fought, he ultimately couldn’t last against someone like Joe. It told a good story, as the hero goes out on his shield and loses in the end.

Post match Joe leaves and Cole tells MJF to listen to the fans cheering for him. Cue the Henchmen to take both of them down, with Cole saying hit him instead. MJF says hit him instead of Cole. Then the lights go out and the Henchmen have let Cole go. The Henchmen are Wardlow, the Kingdom and Roderick Strong, with MJF being in tears. The big beatdown is on with Cole dropping the Devil mask on MJF to end the show.

Now this is probably the biggest story of the show as it is the big reveal after a months long story. While we’ll have to wait and see what the actual story is, in theory it’s all of MJF’s past sins coming back to haunt him. MJF may be a changed man, but he’s hurt a lot of people on his way to the top. That seems to be what came back to bite him here, as Cole and company wanted to take down the villain who had hurt them all on his way to the top. Cole in particular should feel upset, as he turned into some kind of goof and then lost to MJF at All In because he wasn’t being himself. The real explanation will help, but the potential is there.

Overall Rating: B. This show might not have been great, but the last three matches did a lot to help boost it up. I know I say it a lot about Tony Khan produced shows, but there was too much here at first. The matches that came before the big stuff needed to be trimmed down, as only one non-cash-in match was less than ten minutes long. It’s ok to have something go 5-6 minutes instead of stretching it out way longer than it needs to go and it would have helped a lot.

Now on the good side, the matches that had the biggest builds did rather well, with Copeland vs. Cage, the tournament final and the World Title match all being big hits. It continues to show what AEW can do with some nice storytelling to back up the good action. There are still some corrections to be made and overall this is on the weaker end of the AEW pay per view offerings, but this started off weak and finished very strong and that is a great thing to see.

Results
Willow Nightingale b. Kris Statlander – Babe With The Powerbomb
Killswitch won a battle royal last eliminating Trent Beretta
Hook b. Wheeler Yuta – Redrum
Blackpool Combat Club/Daniel Garcia/Mark Briscoe b. Jay White/Rush/Brody King/Jay Lethal – Rollup to Lethal
Miro b. Andrade El Idolo – Game Over
Toni Storm b. Riho – DDT
Swerve Strickland b. Dustin Rhodes – Swerve Stomp
Sting/Darby Allin/Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara b. Big Bill/Ricky Starks/Don Callis Family – Shooting stark press to Starks
Julia Hart b. Abadon – Moonsault
Adam Copeland b. Christian Cage – Killswitch
Christian Cage b. Adam Copeland – Spear
Eddie Kingston b. Jon Moxley – Spinning backfist
Samoa Joe b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman via referee stoppage

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It’s the end of the year and that means there is time for one more pay per view. Since it’s AEW, the show is stacked with twelve matches announced so far. The two big draws are the finals of the Continental Classic for the Triple Crown Title, plus MJF defending the World Title against Samoa Joe. The question in the latter is whether or not the Devil will be revealed, which would probably help quite a bit. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale

This was added on Rampage and the big issue seems to be Stokely Hathaway trying to cause drama. That is where Hathaway excels and some of the things that he’s been saying have been more entertaining than the story itself. As for the actual match, both of them need a win and maybe a change of pace, which very well could come here, even if the options aren’t great.

I’ll go with Statlander winning here as she could use the win more, along with the principle that Nightingale doesn’t win anything. At the same time, having Nightingale be the evil one who sides with Hathaway might be the traditional way to go, but I can’t imagine anyone in AEW thinking evil Nightingale is a good idea. Statlander wins and then something probably happens after the match, but Nightingale going bad would be the worst possible outcome.

Zero Hour: FTW Title: Hook(c) vs. Wheeler Yuta

This is under FTW rules, meaning anything goes. I’ll take that over Pure Rules, but this hasn’t been the most eye catching feud so far. They seem to be going for a brawling vs. technical style, which could work well when Hook gets to show off all of his suplexes. That works in theory, but egads Yuta is not interesting a lot of the time and there isn’t much of a way around that. Having an opponent as young as Hook isn’t going to help that and I’m almost worried about how this is going to go.

I’ll go with Hook winning here, as it lets Yuta complain that they didn’t do things in the right style to set up a rematch. I appreciate the idea of Hook getting in the ring more often and he’s done well before, though he needs things set up very well for him. Keeping him on the pre-show is the right move at the moment, though he might be in for a bigger feud with Yuta should this continue. Hook needs to win to make that happen, so we’ll say Hook wins here.

Zero Hour: Battle Royal

So this is a tricky one, as we have a twenty man battle royal for a future TNT Title shot but we don’t know any of the participants. That doesn’t leave much in the way of a preview, but AEW sure does love itself a battle royal here and there. These things kind of have to happen if there are so many people who need to get on the show, but it is quite the cliché at this point.

We need a blind guess here, so I’ll play the safe guard here and go with Trent Beretta. You can almost guarantee that he’s going to be involved in the thing so let’s say he wants to set up his one off title shot. This is pretty easily the one with the least amount of confidence as I can’t even guess who all will be included, but hopefully they have the entertaining kind of battle royal that they know how to do.

Swerve Strickland vs. Keith Lee

We’ll go with this one before Tony Khan changes his mind and doesn’t do the match again. These two started having issues last November and then did a big angle in December, only to never actually wrestle. That leaves us with a weird match as the story has pretty much gone ice cold, but also because Strickland is in a very different place than he was when the whole thing started.

There is no reason for Strickland to lose here as he is rapidly rising up the ranks and could be on the way to the World Title picture in the near future. While Lee is incredibly athletic and fun to watch, he also has very little going on at the moment. I’m really not sure why this loose end needed to be fixed over a year after it got started, but Strickland wins here and moves on to something more important.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Riho

Riho returned after another hiatus and was immediately back in the title scene, as tends to be the case when she returns most of the time. She might even be acting a bit more serious this time around, but Storm is still feeling it with this rather bizarre Timeless deal. That has made for a pretty strange story but then again, it isn’t like they had time to really set anything up.

Storm wins here, as Riho is likely going to go away again after or shortly after the match. With Mariah May likely waiting on Storm in the near future, this should be Storm retaining and doing pretty well. Riho hasn’t been interesting in a good while now so it would be pretty insane to give her the title again. Storm retains and moves on to something more natural for her, while Riho just kind of fades away until she gets another title shot down the line.

TBS Title: Julia Hart(c) vs. Abadon

This is another surprise as Abadon is getting a push that isn’t close to Halloween. That’s a different way to go for her and it’s kind of working, as AEW has presented her as the creepy monster who could be a threat. At the same time, Hart is already the supernatural kind of star so this is a bit of a weird setup. The match hasn’t had a great build, but it deserves credit for adding someone new to the mix.

While Abadon has done well enough in her chance, there is no reason to expect her to win the title here so we’ll say Hart retains. Hart has been doing well with her new stuff and it would be kind of nuts for her to lose one of her first title defenses. Abadon has done well in a short amount of time, but she hasn’t shown herself ready for the level of being a champion. It should be a weird fight, but Hart wins in the end.

Ricky Starks/Big Bill/Don Callis Family vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Darby Allin/Sting

Here we have the result of a pretty wild segment on Dynamite which saw about three stories coming together to set up an eight man tag. In other words, Sting needed to be on the show and he works almost exclusively in big tag matches. That has served him well so far and now we get to see what he can do again with quite the group of talented people around him.

There is little reason to have the freshly reunited Guevara and Jericho, as well as Sting, lose here so we’ll go with the good guys winning. I’m not sure who you have them pin here, but Jericho or Guevara pinning Starks or Bill would do well to set up their Tag Team Title match. This should be a lot of fun as the teams should be able to have the kind of wild match that this needs to be.

Blackpool Combat Club/Mark Briscoe/Daniel Garcia vs. Brody King/Jay White/Jay Lethal/Rush

This is the second eight man tag as we have most of the people in the Continental Classic thrown onto the show. That could go in a variety of different ways as there are several combinations, even if we’ve seen a bunch of them in recent weeks. The good thing is they can put almost any of them together for a solid match and we’ll probably be seeing quite a bit of it here.

Hopefully this ends with either Garcia or Briscoe getting the pin as both of them had a bit of momentum after their last match in the tournament. Neither of them have anything going on at the moment but a win in a match like this could be a nice boost. This has the potential to be all over the place with quite a bit of time and it could be quite the show stealer if given the chance.

Miro vs. Andrade El Idolo

It’s the classic story: Miro is married to CJ Perry, who is managing El Idolo, but promised not to massacre El Idolo until after the Continental Classic was over. Since Miro almost never wrestles (one match per month since September), it’s hard to say where this is going to go but at least there is a story. Granted it isn’t much of one as Perry and El Idolo have barely been a thing long enough to matter, but it’s something.

Since Miro never really does anything these days, I’ll take El Idolo to win here as he has quite a bit more going on at the moment. I’m sure this will wind up involving Perry, but there is only so much that she can do given how things are set up. Miro is one of the more interesting people in AEW but he never really wrestles, so there is little reason for him to win. El Idolo did well in the tournament and a win over Miro could take him a long way.

TBS Title: Christian Cage(c) vs. Adam Copeland

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Cage is overshadowing Copeland, despite Copeland being treated as the bigger star. The good thing is that Cage has turned into a heck of a villain in AEW and he has done it by becoming one of the most unlikable people imaginable. They’re going to have a No DQ match, which should open up quite a few doors for some wild brawling involving Cage’s friends. In other words, exactly what this needs to be.

As much as I don’t want it to be the case, I’m thinking Copeland wins here. He hasn’t had the big moment in AEW yet and there is a good chance that he’ll get the title here for that moment. Cage winning would make more sense and I certainly hope he does, as he has become the best heel in AEW in a very long time. I’m expecting Copeland to win here but really hope I’m wrong.

Triple Crown Title: Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston

If not for the whole Devil thing, I would almost have this one be the main event of the show. The Continental Classic has dominated AEW TV for the last six weeks or so and this has the most potential of anything on the card. Kingston is getting to defend his Ring O Honor and Strong Openweight Title, which has me wondering how much the whole tournament was necessary to get us here. Anyway, the promo to set this up has me wanting to see these two go at it and now we’ll get to see just that.

For the life of me I have no idea why Moxley would win here as the big emotional moment would be Kingston winning another big one to give the fans something to cheer. I’ll go with that as the feel good option, while also remembering that Tony Khan really, really, really likes to snatch those moments away from the fans. Moxley absolutely does not need this win while Kingston certainly does, so hopefully sanity prevails and Kingston wins as he should.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman(c) vs. Samoa Joe

This is one of the weaker World Title matches in recent memory, as Joe has played a huge second fiddle to the Devil and everything going on with him. They tried to remedy that on Dynamite by having Joe fake the injury and cost MJF the ROH Tag Team Titles, even though that is one of the best things that could have happened. I’m far more interested in the Devil story finally going anywhere than the result of the title match though and that’s really not good.

There is zero reason for the Devil to not be revealed or MJF to retain the title here so I’ll take Joe to win. MJF already beat him once so get to where things should be, which is Joe winning the World Title on a grand stage. The Devil (I’ll take Adam Cole for the reveal, as it might not be the most interesting but it’s the person who makes the most sense) needs to be done here and cost MJF the title though, even if I have no idea what is next for everyone after.

Overall Thoughts

The biggest though, other than how many matches there are on here, is how weird the build to this has been. Dynamite, and a good chunk of Collision, has been dominated by the Continental Classic and the Devil stuff as of late and there is only so much that can be done for the rest of the show. I have hope for how this is going to go, but it’s going to be on the wrestlers to do the heavy lifting here.

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Dynamite
Date: December 20, 2023
Location: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

Things are finally coming to a head in the Continental Classic as we will ind out the semifinalists in the Gold League. That alone should be a big deal, but we also have the Devil stuff going on. What we don’t have is a ton set up for Worlds End, which could use a good bit of building. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Continental Classic Gold League: Rush vs. Swerve Strickland

Swerve takes him down with a headscissors to start but Rush is back up with some chops. Rush avoids a dropkick and it’s a staredown for a breather. Swerve is sent outside for a big flip dive, followed by the stomping in the corner back inside. Back up and Swerve kicks away at the leg in the corner but that’s too much defense for Rush and they head outside. Rush whips him into the barricade over and over and we take a break.

We come back with stereo big boots leaving both of them down. Rush knocks him into the corner but the knee gives out on the charge, allowing Swerve to grab a Stretch Muffler. That’s broken up so Rush goes to the apron for a chop off. Swerve charges into a belly to belly to the floor, only to avoid a backsplash back inside. A 450 gives Swerve…one, and Rush is up to his feet before Swerve. Swerve’s brainbuster gets two and the Swerve Stomp finishes Rush at 14:53.

Rating: C+. There was only so much drama in this match, but Rush did manage to get in his ridiculous kickout because he must have one of those in every match to show his awesomeness. Swerve seems to be on the way back to a rematch with Jon Moxley in the semifinals, or at least that’s how things should be going. He had a nice match here though and beating Rush does feel a bit special.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 12 points (1 match remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 12 points (0 matches remaining)
Jay White – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Rush – 6 points (0 matches remaining, eliminated)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (1 match remaining, eliminated)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (1 match remaining, eliminated)

We look back at Collision’s Blue League matches.

Chris Jericho talks about Kenny Omega having diverticulitis, meaning the Golden Jets’ Tag Team Title shot is off. Omega’s health is what matters most though and everyone is pulling for him.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jay Lethal vs. Mark Briscoe

They fight over a lockup to start until Lethal takes him down into an armbar. With that broken up, Briscoe chops away in the corner until Lethal wins a fight over a suplex. Briscoe is sent outside for the suicide dive from Lethal, who gets in the strut on the apron. Another dive is broken up and we take a break.

Back with the Lethal Combination putting Briscoe down but he breaks up Hail To The King. Lethal knocks him back and grabs a torture rack slam for two as frustration sets in. The Lethal Injection is blocked as we talk about ticket sales for Revolution. A fisherman’s buster gives Briscoe two but the Froggy Bow hits raised knees. Lethal’s Jay Driller gets two as Briscoe is back with a Burning Hammer of all things. The Jay Driller finishes Lethal at 13:55.

Rating: B-. This was a weird one as they had no actual stakes and were only fighting for the sake of pride. That is only going to get you so far but the talent here helped a bit. At the same time, Briscoe needed to win here more than Lethal as he still feels like someone who could be a star if given the slightest push. Lethal might be breaking away from his friends and that should help him a lot as well.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 12 points (1 match remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 12 points (0 matches remaining)
Jay White – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Rush – 6 points (0 matches remaining, eliminated)
Mark Briscoe – 3 points (0 matches remaining, eliminated)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (0 matches remaining, eliminated)

Respect is shown post match.

MJF was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall Of Fame.

Wardlow still wants to hurt MJF.

Here is Samoa Joe, who wants answers about the Devil. He finds it interesting that we’ve never seen MJF laid out and wants him out here right now for some answers. Cue MJF, who says he remembers Joe promising to protect him on the way to Worlds End. MJF doesn’t remember the Devil’s Henchmen touching Joe last week, so MJF wants to fight right now.

Cue a bunch of masked men but Joe and MJF clear them out rather quickly. The lights go out and we see the Devil on screen. Text saying “Where Can You Go? Who Can You Trust” appears, followed by a challenge for the ROH Tag Team Titles next week. MJF starts to talk Joe into it but Joe immediately accepts, promising violence.

The Best Friends aren’t sure what’s next, with Rocky Romero saying he wants gold. Orange Cassidy says he’ll see Romero on Rampage.

Riho vs. Saraya

For the Women’s Title shot against Toni Storm (on commentary) at Worlds End. Ruby Soho is watching in the back as Riho takes over but Saraya bails away from a running knee. Riho snaps off a headscissors on the floor but Saraya hides behind a security guard. That’s enough for Riho to be swung into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Saraya getting in some mocking but being pulled into a headlock. A northern lights suplex gives Riho two and a top rope double stomp into a running knee finishes Saraya at 9:40.

Rating: C. Riho, who has been teased to get the title match for weeks now, is getting the title match. She has a history of being gone for months and then coming back to get into the title picture and that is what we’re seeing again here. It’s nice to see her getting a win, but it doesn’t exactly feel like a top title match.

Post match Storm comes in for the staredown (with opera glasses) but Riho beats her down. Mariah May makes the save with a belt shot.

Tony Schiavone has a prepared statement from Christian Cage, including threats to Tony if he doesn’t do things properly. He’ll be back to address Adam Copeland on Collision and expects a hero’s welcome.

MJF finds a Devil’s henchman mask outside the Mogul Embassy’s locker room. A knock brings out Swerve Strickland, who MJF seems to know from their independent days. Swerve calls him the best chauffeur he ever had. Threats are made over MJF’s lack of respect, but MJF says show some respect to the champ. MJF accuses Swerve of being the Devil and violence is teased, with the rest of the Mogul Embassy comes in. Samoa Joe comes in as well to get MJF out of there.

Roderick Strong vs. Komander

The Kingdom is here with Strong. They fight over a lockup to start so Komander flips away, earning a running knee to the face. Back up and a headscissors into a dropkick has Strong down but he’s right back with a backbreaker. Komander knocks him to the floor though and we take a break.

We come back with Komander avoiding a charge into the corner and hitting a kick to the face. A springboard crossbody gives Komander two and he kicks Strong face first into the turnbuckle. Komander hits a phoenix splash for two so the Kingdom pulls Strong outside. That earns them all a big moonsault to the floor but Strong knees him out of the air back inside. End Of Heartache (to the chest instead of the back) finishes for Strong at 9:58.

Rating: B-. Pretty good stuff here with Strong picking up a win over someone who is around a good deal of the time. Komander might not be the biggest star in AEW but at least he has been active and a danger to some bigger stars. I’m not sure where Strong is going, but at least he got a win here.

Post match the Kingdom gives out MJF IS THE DEVIL signs and Strong doesn’t like the accusations that Samoa Joe had anything to do with it. That’s his best friend by proxy!

Jim Ross joins commentary for the main event.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jon Moxley vs. Jay White

White goes to the floor to start but has to escape the rear naked choke back inside. A piledriver gives Moxley an early two so White has to bail outside from another choke. Back in and Moxley punches him out to the floor again, where they fight up the ramp. This time White reverses a piledriver into a backdrop but Moxley hammers away back inside. White gets in a shot to the knee though and sends Moxley outside again as we take a break.

Back with White holding a Muta Lock but Moxley fights up. White gets knocked into the corner and stomped a bunch before a clothesline sends him outside. Moxley hits a suicide dive but White gets in a shot of his own, setting up a chop block to the bad knee. The count is beaten and Moxley grabs a Paradigm Shift for two.

A running knee gives Moxley two but White snaps off a sleeper suplex and swinging Rock Bottom for two of his own. The Kiwi Crusher gets two more but the Blade Runner is countered into a King Kong lariat. The Death Rider is countered into a Blade Runner out of nowhere though and Moxley is done at 15:09.

Rating: B. That would appear to make the semifinal a triple threat because you can never have enough of those. This felt something like a Rush match, as Moxley cut White off time after time, though it didn’t get to quite those extremes. White did get the win to keep Moxley from being perfect, so we should have some drama next week.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 12 points (0 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 12 points (0 matches remaining)
Jay White – 12 points (0 matches remaining)
Rush – 6 points (0 matches remaining, eliminated)
Mark Briscoe – 3 points (0 matches remaining, eliminated)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (0 matches remaining, eliminated)

So yeah, it’s a triple threat.

Post match Swerve Strickland comes out to stare at Moxley, allowing White to take out Moxley’s knee to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Good enough show this week, though it only did so much for Worlds End. We’re at least a step closer to the end of the Continental Classic and we’ll be half done by this time next week. Other than that, the Devil stuff seems like it might be in for a big moment next week, though I’m getting more and more scared of who might be revealed as the Devil. Not a great show here, though it did move the biggest stories forward. It just needs something else besides those stories.

Results
Swerve Strickland b. Rush – Swerve Stomp
Mark Briscoe b. Jay Lethal – Jay Driller
Riho b. Saraya – Running knee
Roderick Strong b. Komander – End Of Heartache
Jay White b. Jon Moxley – Blade Runner

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Dynamite
Date: December 13, 2023
Location: College Park Station, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re about two and a half weeks away from Worlds End and that means the card should start coming together tonight. We have whatever the finals of the Continental Classic will be, plus MJF defending the World Title against Samoa Joe and nothing more at the moment. Now we need to get something else added and maybe that is the case this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here is Samoa Joe to get things going. After last week with the Devil and his henchmen, Joe wants answers on his way to becoming the AEW World Champion. First up, he wants an answer about the broken beer bottle near MJF’s head last week. He went looking for answers last week and a certain Hangman was missing.

Cue Hangman Page to interrupt, saying he doesn’t care about the Devil and asking Joe to accuse him to his face. Joe says he might be out here as an executioner but here are Roderick Strong and the Kingdom to interrupt. Strong brings up a bunch of recent attacks by the Devil and his henchmen…but we’ve never seen MJF being attacked. Strong insists that it’s MJF but Page decks him.

Hangman Page vs. Roderick Strong

Page punches him into the corner and hits the all away slam as Excalibur runs down the rest of the card. A running shooting star press gives Page two but Strong is back up with some stomps in the corner. That’s broken up and Page starts the comeback, including clotheslining him to the floor for the slingshot dive.

Back in and the Kingdom distraction lets Strong get in a backbreaker onto the turnbuckle as we take a break. We come back with Strong working on the arm until Page fights up for stereo discus forearms. Page is up first and gets two off a Death Valley Driver before biting away at the head.

The moonsault press misses for Page, who sticks the landing and grabs a pop up sitout powerbomb for two more. Strong’s flapjack into an Angle Slam gets the same but Page is back up again. The Kingdom’s distraction earns them a big moonsault to the floor, followed by the Deadeye to finish Strong at 14:47.

Rating: B. This was a rather solid match with Strong putting in his usual good performance. Page is a lot more interesting in this more serious style and the promo before the match was the same. Having matches like this as a tie in to the Devil stuff is a nice benefit and this was a rather impressive opener.

Continental Classic Blue League: Brody King vs. Andrade El Idolo

Andrade grabs a headlock to start and King actually can’t power out. That’s broken up so King hammers away, only to get knocked back again. Andrade hits a top rope moonsault to send King outside, followed by another one out to the floor. Back in and King knocks him hard out to the floor as we take a break.

We come back with El Idolo fighting out of a chinlock and chopping away. Andrade knocks him into the corner and manages a slam of all things, setting up a split legged moonsault for two. The running knees misses in the corner though and King blasts him with a clothesline for two.

King’s cannonball gets two and they strike it out until Andrade hits a spinning back elbow. Andrade goes up but King catches him on top. Andrade manages to expose part of the turnbuckle though and King is dropped face first, setting up El Idolo (the hammerlock DDT) for the pin at 14:45.

Rating: B-. King’s winning streak wasn’t going to go through the entire tournament but Andrade is on a heck of a roll. That’s more than a bit of a surprise but at least he is getting tot he top of the Blue League. They beat the fire out of each other here and it was a good showdown, though I’m still trying to get my mind around the idea of Andrade as a hero.

Blue League Standings
Andrade El Idolo – 9 points (2 matches left)
Brody King – 6 points (2 matches left)
Bryan Danielson – 6 points (2 matches left)
Eddie Kingston – 3 points (3 matches left)
Claudio Castagnoli – 3 points (2 matches left)
Daniel Garcia – 0 points (3 matches left, Eliminated)

The Von Erichs are here when Orange Cassidy, Danhausen and Trent Beretta interrupt. Cassidy asks the Von Erichs to team with him on Rampage and of course they’re in. Danhausen is also assured that Cassidy isn’t turning on him.

Here are Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega, who want Big Bill and Ricky Starks out here right now. Cue Starks and Bill, with the latter suggesting that Jericho is going to turn on Omega….who wouldn’t be surprised. Omega brings up Bill being part of the Firm, which was rather, uh, sawft.

The title match is set for Worlds End, with Starks and Bill bringing up Starks beating Jericho twice. Jericho thinks Bill and Starks need a name, so Jericho suggests….some things that have to be censored. The eventual solution is Big Billy Starks, which doesn’t go over that well either. Jericho calls Starks a better dressed Enzo Amore, with Omega saying Enzo wouldn’t take all of Bill’s spotlight. Omega gives his catchphrase to wrap up a really, really bad segment which involved some people who know how to talk.

Riho vs. Ruby Soho

Toni Storm is on commentary, but isn’t sure about doing color. Soho stomps away in the corner but Riho is back with a suplex for two. They go up top with Riho hitting a top rope double stomp and we take a break. Back with Riho hitting a high crossbody for two, setting up a pinfall reversal sequence for two each. A crucifix bomb gives Riho two, followed by No Future to give Soho the same. Riho suplexes her down and hits some running knees for the pin at 8:28.

Rating: C. This is a match that happened as Riho is being slotted into the title picture out of almost nowhere. I know she has a history of success in AEW but having her run in and get a title match after months of not being around is a bit much. Riho vs. Storm doesn’t feel like a pay per view title match but odds are that is where this is heading, even as several other women have been running in circles in AEW as of late.

Video on Wardlow, who needs a haircut.

Continental Classic Gold League: Rush vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal picks up the pace to start and knocks Rush to the mat, setting up the basement dropkick. There’s the strut, allowing Rush to come back with a snap German suplex. They head outside with Rush beating him up again, followed by some chops back inside. The tranquilo pose lets Lethal get a breather before he charges into a powerslam for two. Lethal is back with the Lethal Combination but Rush runs him over again. A superkick cuts off the Bull’s Horns but Rush blocks the Lethal Injection. Rush chokes Lethal out for the win at 4:18.

Rating: C+. That’s pretty much exactly what it should have been. There was no reason to believe that Lethal was going to be a threat here so they kept it short and to the point. It’s ok to have some of these tournament matches go short as not everything needs to be some epic showdown. That ending almost has to be setting up another Rush vs. Moxley match and I’m really not sure how much I need to see that happen.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay White – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Rush – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (2 matches remaining, Eliminated)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (1 match remaining, Eliminated)

Post match Jeff Jarrett and company come out but Lethal is annoyed.

Video on Jon Moxley vs. Swerve Strickland.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe

They start fast with Briscoe getting the better of things and hitting a Death Valley Driver. The Froggy Bow sends White rolling to the barricade but he’s back in with a shot of his own. Briscoe is knocked outside for a ram into the barricade but Red Neck Kung Fu breaks up the Blade Runner. White knocks him down again though and we take a break.

Back with Briscoe fighting out of trouble with a heck of a clothesline. Briscoe sends him outside for the Bang Bang Elbow and puts White on top for some shots to the back. The belly to back superplex brings White back down but he grabs a sleeper suplex. The Blade Runner is countered into a heck of a suplex but another Froggy Bow hits raised knees. White hits the Blade Runner for the pin at 11:40. As a result, Rush is officially eliminated.

Rating: B-. I’m really not sure I get why Briscoe needed to be this League’s designated jobber as there should be some more options out there given the size of AEW’s roster. White is still in play to win the League though and it makes good sense to move him forward. The match was quite good, but Briscoe losing so much is more than a bit deflating.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay White – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Rush – 6 points (1 match remaining – Eliminated)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (1 remaining, Eliminated)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (1 match remaining, Eliminated)

Video on the Blackpool Combat Club vs. FTR/Mark Briscoe this Friday at Ring Of Honor Final Battle. The only match at a Ring Of Honor show is the one featuring all AEW stars.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jon Moxley vs. Swerve Strickland

The fans are very interested in this to start as things start off slowly. Moxley gets taken into the ropes and kissed on the head, allowing Swerve to knock him outside. Back in and Swerve knocks him down again, setting up a middle rope DDT for a nasty crash. Moxley gets up and is knocked to the apron, where he manages to crotch Swerve onto the ring skirt.

Swerve goes arm first into the steps and we take a break. Back with Swerve hitting an elbow to the back and dancing. Swerve goes up but dives into a cutter, allowing Moxley to hit a Gotch style piledriver for two. A suplex drops Moxley, who pops right back up, earning himself a running boot to the face to give Swerve two more.

Swerve hits his own hammer and anvil elbows before going up goes up top but gets shoved down hard to the floor. The count is beaten so Moxley goes for a cross armbreaker, sending Swerve to the ropes. Swerve fights back and his the Swerve Stomp for a rather near fall, only to have Moxley roll him up for the pin at 16:25, complete with a handful of tights.

Rating: B. That ending is likely setting up a rematch in the League semifinals where Swerve gets his win back and that’s not the worst thing. While Swerve losing doesn’t feel like the best result, they did seem to leave a door open or him to make a comeback later. It felt like a main event though, which is a very positive sign for Swerve’s future.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 12 points (1 match remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Jay White – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Rush – 6 points (1 match remaining – Eliminated)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (2 matches remaining, Eliminated)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (1 match remaining, Eliminated)

The Devil’s Henchmen attack Hangman Page in the parking lot and put him through the windshield of a car driven by the Devil.

Overall Rating: B. If you like the Continental Classic run out and….well there is nothing to buy here so come back home and watch the show on repeat until Collision. The action ranged from good to rather good, with only the women’s match not being a hit. I could go for having more than just the Devil stuff and the tournament getting so much focus, but if I have to live with two hours of strong wrestling, I think I’ll be fine.

Results
Hangman Page b. Roderick Strong – Deadeye
Andrade El Idolo b. Brody King – El Idolo
Riho b. Ruby Soho – Running knees
Rush b. Jay Lethal – Rear naked choke
Jay White b. Mark Briscoe – Blade Runner
Jon Moxley b. Swerve Strickland – Rollup with a handful of tights

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

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Dynamite
Date: December 6, 2023
Location: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re north of the border here and well on the way towards the big closing pay per view of the year. As has been the case in recent weeks, it’s another Continental Classic week with three more matches to keep things going. Other than that, and probably a good bit bigger, we have Christian Cage defending the TNT Title against Adam Copeland. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Excalibur runs down the card.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jon Moxley vs. Rush

They strike away at each other to start with Rush suplexing him hard onto the arm. The fight goes outside and into the crowd, followed by another trip into another part of the crowd. Rush puts him in a chair and hits him with a beer (that’s not a good idea around Moxley) before they head back inside.

Rush takes Moxley into the corner for the Tranquilo pose, only for Moxley to come back up with a double middle finger. Believe it or not, Rush pounds him down again but this time Moxley grabs a cutter. A superplex gives Moxley two and they go back to the floor, with Rush belly to bellying him into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Rush hitting a piledriver and then a top rope superplex for two. They fight out to the floor and crash onto the ground, where Moxley crawls over to whisper something to Rush. Since countouts suddenly matter, they beat the count back in at nine and trade strikes back inside. Rush knocks him hard into the corner but Moxley comes out with the King Kong Lariat. The Death Rider gets two so Moxley grabs the choke for the win at 14:28.

Rating: C. I’m sure I’ll get yelled at for this one but my goodness I was bored out of my mind for a good chunk of this. It was a lot of two people hitting each other and barely selling a thing, which doesn’t make for an interesting match. Instead it was waiting for someone to get to the finish, which has been the case in a lot of Rush matches. I get what they were going for, but it really didn’t land for me.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Rush pops up to his feet immediately after being choked out.

Video on Jay Lethal vs. Jay White.

Here are Roderick Strong and the Kingdom for a chat. Strong (who now shouts first names) wants Samoa Joe to hurt MJF and shrugs off the idea that MJF isn’t bad. He’s sick of being held back by the wheelchair and pops up, saying it has held him back for far too long.

Hangman Page talks about how he wasn’t allowed to fly for a bit so he’s been gone. As for Swerve Strickland, he broke into Page’s house and into his son’s room and it took a bunch of people to beat him on pay per view. Page took something from Swerve though and this is not over.

Swerve wants something but now Page is going to make sure he never has it. MJF pops out of his locker room (where Page and Renee Paquette are standing) to mock Page. They argue about their history until MJF says Page is jealous over his title reign not being as long. MJF accuses him of being the Devil and a fight almost breaks out until Samoa Joe breaks it up. Can we just announce MJF vs. Everyone already?

Continental Classic Gold League: Swerve Strickland vs. Mark Briscoe

Feeling out process to start with Briscoe taking him down into a headlock. Swerve reveres into one of his own but Briscoe is back up with a boot to the face. Briscoe hammers away in the corner and grabs a suplex as Schiavone talks about how many wrestlers in WCW would love to play spoiler in the tournament.

Back up and Swerve takes him down, setting up the middle rope elbow to the back of the neck. A neckbreaker gives Swerve two but Briscoe sends him to the floor for a dropkick through the ropes. The apron Blockbuster is broken up and they chop it out on the apron. Swerve backdrops him over the barricade before superplexing him off the barricade and back to ringside.

We take a break and come back with Swerve working on the arm but Briscoe fights up with the chops. A fisherman’s buster gives Briscoe two but Swerve is back with a kick to the head for the same. They go to the corner and crash out to the floor, where Briscoe hits a quick dive.

Back in and one heck of a lariat gives Briscoe two but the Jay Driller is countered. The House Call connects on Briscoe but the 450 hits raised knees. Briscoe’s Froggy Bow hits raised knees as well so Swerve rolls him up for two of his own. We get the five minute call as they fight to the apron again. Swerve plants him with a Death Valley Driver, followed by the Swerve Stomp for the pin at 15:43.

Rating: A-. Oh yeah this was awesome stuff with two guys beating the fire out of each other until one got the pin. Briscoe is someone who can work well with anyone and has that weird charisma that makes you want to see him win. At the same time, Strickland is on a roll right now and I could easily see him winning the whole tournament. Great match here and the best of the tournament so far.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (2 matches remaining, Eliminated)

Mariah May is excited to be here for her first match but she will not say who that opponent will be.

Samoa Joe/Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Devil’s Henchmen

Joe comes to the ring and four masked men surround the ring. The lights go out again and the our men are gone. The Devil pops up on screen and we see MJF down in the back with a broken beer bottle next to him. No match.

Post break we look at what we just saw.

Jon Moxley is in the back and says he is humble for everything because he knows what he is capable of doing. He expected to be 3-0 and he expects to be 5-0. Swerve Strickland comes in to say it’s going to take more than Moxley to beat him. They ace each other next week.

Ben Makiewicz, host of Turner Classic Movies, introduces Toni Storm, playing it completely straight and listing off some of her films. This was great.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Skye Blue

Storm, with Luther and Mariah May, is defending. They go with the grappling to start with Storm getting the better of things. Storm gets knocked to the apron but lands on Luther’s shoulders, setting up a superplex to take Blue down. The beating continues on the floor, with a running hip attack against the barricade knocking Blue silly.

We take a break and come back with Storm missing the wind up punch and getting kicked in the head. Blue’s high crossbody gets two and a running hip attack knocks Storm silly. Code Blue gives Blue two but Storm catches her up top. A superplex brings Blue down but the hip attack (with the camera going black and white) is countered into a rollup. Storm reverses into a sunset lip of her own (with Blue’s shoulders nowhere near the mat) to retain at 9:28.

Rating: C+. That ending looked terrible but Storm getting a win is a good thing to see. May is likely going to be her surprise challenger at some point in the future (perhaps at the end of the month) and that should make for something interesting. For now though, Storm continues to be the best thing about the women’s division and that is great to see.

May is nowhere to be seen during the celebration. Instead, here is the returning Riho to seemingly challenge for the title. Well so much for May at the moment.

Video on Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jay White vs. Jay Lethal

They go at it to start and strike away with Lethal getting the better of things. The strut is broken up though and White fires off some chops. Lethal takes him down into the basement dropkick, setting up the strut. White gets in a hard knockdown of his own though and we take a break.

Back with the fans making funny JAY chants (Holy Jay/Let’s Go Jay etc) and Lethal taking over. The top rope elbow gives Lethal two but White goes after the knee. A suplex into the corner and a brainbuster give White two, setting up the sleeper suplex. The Blade Runner is countered but so is the Lethal Injection, with White taking out the knee. Another Blade Runner is countered into a rollup but White reverses into one of his own for the pin at 11:21.

Rating: B-. Another good one, though the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt. Lethal is the guy in this half of the tournament whose job it is to make other people look good and he did that here. White gets a boost and Lethal is mathematically eliminated, so things came together as they were supposed to.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay White – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (2 matches remaining, Eliminated)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (2 matches remaining, Eliminated)

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

TNT Title: Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage

Cage is defending. Copeland starts fast by knocking him to the apron for the forearms to the chest. A bunch of rams into the announcers’ table have the WOO energy drinks flying but Cage bails back into the floor. Copeland blocks the low blow though and goes after the hand to keep Cage in trouble. Cage manages a ram into the post though and we take a break.

Back with Cage hammering away (with the left hand) in the corner so Copeland bites the right hand to escape. A middle rope Russian legsweep takes Cage down and they go outside again. This time cage sends him into the steps and hits a frog splash for two. Cage’s spear is countered into the Impaler for two but Cage is back up with more left hands in the corner. This time Copeland counters into a Liger Bomb for two but Cage is right back up.

The Killswitch is countered into an Edge-O-Matic for two, followed by the Crossface to keep Cage in trouble. With that broken up, Copeland hammers him down but the spear is countered into the Killswitch for two more. The referee takes a shot to the eye….so Cage kicks him low and grabs the title. That misses so they both try spears, only to collide in the air. Cue Nick Wayne’s mom (who is apparently named Shanna) to grab the title and hit Copeland. With Wayne gone, Cage puts Copeland’s face on the title and stomps on it (that didn’t look great) for the pin to retain at 18:04.

Rating: B-. The ending is going to get the attention here and it was….I guess the word is fine? It was perfectly logical, but as soon as Copeland crushed Nick Wayne with the Conchairto (note: send him a Christmas card for that) in front of Wayne’s mom, you knew there was going to be payback down the line and this match felt like the perfect place. They shouldn’t have done a swerve for the sake of a swerve, but the match (which was good) felt like a lot of waiting around until Wayne came out to cost Copeland the title.

Overall Rating: B. This show went in a few different directions as you had the main event, the MJF stuff and the tournament. That gives you a lot of variety, but some of it is wildly more interesting than others. The tournament is going to go on for a few more weeks while Cage vs. Copeland seems set for a rematch (please nothing involving a ladder, I beg of you). That leaves the MJF/Devil stuff and while it’s not a bad story yet, they are going to need a heck of a reveal for this to be worth the time spent on it. For now though good show, but things need to change up a bit before they run out of steam fast.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Rush – Rear naked choke
Swerve Stickland b. Mark Briscoe – Swerve Stomp
Toni Storm b. Skye Blue – Sunset flip
Jay White b. Jay Lethal – Rollup
Christian Cage b. Adam Copeland – Stomp onto the TNT Title

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

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Dynamite
Date: November 29, 2023
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Bryan Danielson, Excalibur, Taz

It’s the second week of the Continental Classic and that seems to be the focal point of the show again. That went well enough last week, but I’m curious to see how well it holds up week after week. Other than that, Christian Cage has to respond to Adam Copeland’s challenge for a TNT Title match next week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson joins commentary.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jon Moxley vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal takes him down rather fast to start but the figure four doesn’t last long. Instead Lethal knocks Moxley outside for the suicide dive, only to have Moxley come right back with a dive of his own. Moxley comes up favoring his knee so Lethal is right back to go after the knee. Lethal knocks him off the apron and we take a break.

Back with Moxley grabbing a cutter but Lethal pulls him off the top with a super dragon screw legwhip. More shots to the knee have Moxley down but he sends Lethal into the corner. Moxley’s rear naked choke is broken up though and now the Figure Four can go on for a lot longer. The rope is grabbed though and it’s a Paradigm Shift into a pulling piledriver. The rear naked choke goes on though and Lethal is done at 11:20.

Rating: B-. Lethal continues to be one of the most consistent stars in AEW as he can have a nice match against anyone. That was the case here, with Lethal working on the knee, even if Moxley only sold it so much. Moxley feels like a strong candidate to go to the finals, so stacking him up with wins to start makes sense.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Following his loss on Collision, Eddie Kingston says he didn’t deserve to win and now he has to face Bryan Danielson. Time to heal up.

Danielson is all fired up and says he’s coming to win.

Tony Schiavone announces the Revolution will take place on March 3 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Naturally this means a discussion about the Clash Of Champions match between Sting and Ric Flair, who come in to talk about said match. Sting thanks Flair for putting him on the map that night and Flair talks about how awesome Sting was that night. Trivia for you: according to AEW, that was the only match these two have ever had and now they’re legends 35 years later with nothing in between.

Continental Classic Gold League: Rush vs. Mark Briscoe

They go right to the slugout to start with Briscoe knocking him into the corner. Rush switches places with him and takes Briscoe out of the corner before they head outside. An exchange of whips into the barricade has Rush down, setting up the Bang Bang Elbow off the apron. Back in and Rush hits a superkick but Briscoe hits a hard lariat as we take a break.

We come back with Rush holding a leglock, with Briscoe making it over to the ropes. Rush sends him flying into the corner but a spear cuts off the Bull’s Horns for two. They fight to the apron until Briscoe charges into a suplex out to the floor. Back in and Rush gets knocked off the top, setting up the Froggy Bow for two. The Jay Driller is broken up though and the Bull’s Horns finishes for Rush at 11:22.

Rating: B-. This was the fight you would expect from these two and it was a fun brawl. Rush winning does get him on the board, but it’s rather frustrating to see Briscoe lose so often. He has so much charisma and could be a steady hand in the midcard. Instead he seems there to put people over, but maybe things can change in the next few weeks.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (3 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Toni Storm is proud of winning the Women’s World Title but she’s a bit tired from celebrating and has some gout.

Here is MJF, on a cane, for a chat. He’s set to defend the World Title against Samoa Joe next month and he respects Joe very much. We hear a story about MJF seeing Joe in TNA and knowing what kind of a monster he saw. Then Joe went to WWE, who didn’t see his talents or make him a World Champion. The road Joe paved brought MJF to wrestling though so thank you…..but MJF has gone down his own road as well. MJF talks about the names he has beaten and now their match is about MJF’s own legacy.

On December 30, MJF doesn’t care about his injuries because it is going to be about how much fight he has in him. If Joe wants the title, he’ll have to put MJF down. Then the lights go out and the Devil minions show up, only to have Joe make the save. Then the screen goes back and a text crawl comes up, with someone challenging Joe and MJF to team together to face the unknown in a tag match. An angry MJF says it’s on and promises to unmask people.

Commentary says their IT security is looking into who keeps taking over.

Wardlow vs. AR Fox

Fox knocks him over the top and out to the floor to start the beating on the floor. They get inside with Wardlow suplexing him over the top to get us to the opening bell. Wardlow takes him back outside to keep up the beating but Fox kicks him down back inside. A 450 gives Fox two but Wardlow calmly powerbombs him. A Swanton crushes Fox and another powerbomb makes the referee stop it at 3:13.

Rating: C+. This was another slow step forward for Ward low as he gets to beat up a slightly bigger nae this week. That is a nice way to keep him moving but it is only going to mean so much if there isn’t some consistency. Wardlow has been higher than this before, only to have everything stop out of nowhere. Keep this up and it should work.

Hardys/Brother Zay vs. Action Andretti/Top Flight

Andretti sunset flips Matt for two to start but the Hardys take Andretti down without much trouble. It’s off to Zay, who gets caught in the wrong corner, allowing Dante to come in for a running corner clothesline. We take a break and come back with Jeff taking Andretti into the corner.

Andretti fights back to take Matt down and the hot tag brings Dante back in. Everything breaks down and Zay takes Dante down for two. Jeff cuts Darius off the apron (the fans do not approve), leaving Dante to get caught in a double electric chair/springboard missile dropkick combination for two. Back up and a dropkick into a German suplex gives Dante the pin on Zay at 9:46.

Rating: C+. This was about getting Dante back in the ring to show that he can still do it. You can see the athleticism there and Top Flight has looked like a potential breakout team for a long time now. What matters though is how long they can stay healthy, as it feels like they have spent years apart due to the injuries destroying them. For now though, I can go with the Hardys putting someone else over, as it’s what they do best at the moment.

Post match, Penta El Zero Miedo, Hijo del Vikingo and Komander seem to want to face Top Flight and Action Andretti.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Emi Sakura

Hart is defending and due to House Rules, the match cannot end by submission. Hart starts fast by knocking her into the corner for a running elbow. Sakura chops her way out of trouble but gets taken down by the arm. They head outside with Sakura hitting a running crossbody against the steps as we take a break.

Back with Sakura hitting the delayed butterfly backbreaker, only to have Hart pull her into a triangle choke. Since that doesn’t work, Hart hits a running forearm to the back, setting up the moonsault to retain at 7:34. Sakura seemed to try to roll away and it looked like Hart almost had to hold her down for the pin.

Rating: C. The match was nothing of note but I’m a bit curious about that ending. I’m not sure if that was a communication issue or something that didn’t work like they were planning. Either way, it’s another win for Hart, who is on a roll at the moment and getting win after win is the right way to go.

Here is Christian Cage, with security, to call out Adam Copeland for a chat. Cue Copeland, so Cage sends security away. Cage talks about their history together and how much success they had on their own and together. We hear about their history, including Cage and Copeland being friends as children. Copeland was raised as Cage’s brother so they should do it one more time. Copeland seem to agree but then catches the low blow. He’s coming for the title next week and says “go f*** yourself”, which is NOT censored on the TNT feed. Good stuff here, as Copeland knew Cage and didn’t fall for his tricks.

Continental Classic Gold League: Swerve Strickland vs. Jay White

Feeling out process to start and they’re quickly out on the floor. Swerve sends him hard into the barricade and fires off some chops back inside. Things head back outside with Swerve dropping him over the barricade, followed by an apron double stomp to the back. White manages a DDT on the way back inside though and we take a break.

Back with White cranking on both arms but Swerve comes up with some chops. White doesn’t seem to mind and suplexes him into the corner, meaning it’s time to yell a lot. Swerve’s rolling Downward Spiral is blocked but so is the swinging Rock Bottom. A quick suplex gives Swerve two but White grabs what looked to be a Downward Spiral.

Swerve hits a quick clothesline though and they slug it out. White goes back to the knee and a swinging Rock Bottom gets two. Back up and White tries the low blow but gets taken down instead. The Swerve Stomp gets two more but White grabs a quick Blade Runner. Swerve rolls to the apron before the cover though and they chop it out with five minutes left…when Swerve grabs a cradle out of nowhere for the pin at 15:26.

Rating: B. These two tore it up here as Swerve continues to FINALLY get the chance to show what he can do. It feels like we’ve been waiting to see it happen for the better part of ever now and at least it seems to finally be going somewhere. Beating White clean is a pretty big deal, so well done on making someone feel like a much bigger deal, which isn’t easy to do.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (3 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Overall Rating: B. The tournament is by far the biggest focus for the show and that is good enough, but they also focused on the other important stories on the show. That would include the Cage vs. Copeland title match next week, plus the banged up MJF vs. Samoa Joe. Good show here, though I continue to wonder how long the tournament is going to be able to last at this level.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Jay Lethal – Rear naked choke
Rush b. Mark Briscoe – Bull’s Horns
Wardlow b. AR Fox via referee stoppage
Action Andretti/Top Flight b. Hardys/Brother Zay – German suplex to Zay
Julia Hart b. Emi Sakura – Moonsault
Swerve Strickland b. Jay White – Rollup

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: November 22, 2023
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with Full Gear and that means it is time to start the Continental Classic. This is a round robin tournament that will run until the end of the year with a new title (plus seemingly two more though it’s a little unclear how it works) going to the winner. Samoa Joe is also coming for MJF and the World Title so let’s get to it.

Here is Full Gear if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

The graphics on the sides of the entrances are now Ric Flair WOO Energy with a cartoon Flair. The drinks are also at the announcers’ desk.

Here are the rules for the Continental Classic:

20 minute time limit
3 points for a win
1 point for a draw
Everyone is banned from ringside

Continental Classic Gold League: Swerve Strickland vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal shoulders him down to start but an anklescissors sends Lethal to the floor. They strike it out on the apron, with Lethal going after Swerve’s banged up arm. Swerve is knocked to the floor for a suicide but Swerve is right back on the leg back inside. They strike it out with shots to the leg and arm until Lethal gets in a shoulder breaker as we take a break.

Back with Swerve catching him on top and hitting a Downward Spiral for two. Lethal puts him right back down and drops a top rope elbow for two. The basement dropkick is countered into a stretch muffler to send Lethal bailing to the ropes. That’s fine with Swerve, who hits the House Call into the Swerve Stomp for the pin at 13:51.

Rating: B-. The action was good enough and the working on the leg/arm worked well enough for a story. Swerve pretty much had to win coming off the momentum he had in the Full Gear match against Hangman Page, though it’s a bit much to take to have him be this fine so soon after that kind of a fight. I’m not sure why Swerve had to wrestle here, but they did the right thing in their current situation.

Gold League Standings
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Jay White – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Orange Cassidy, Hook and Katsuyori SShibata are cut off from making an announcement as Wheeler Yuta interrupts. Yuta is sick of Shibata and wants the Pure Title back. Cassidy doesn’t get to make his announcement.

Here are MJF (on a cane) and Adam Cole (on crutches) for a chat. Cole has a seat in a chair as MJF talks about how the Devil is here and no one is on his level. He brags about his win over Jay White but sometimes he can be a bit too humble. None of what he has done without his brochacho though so it’s time for Storytime with Adam Cole. Uh, bay-bay.

Cole say she’s a long way off from being able to get back in the ring but he wants to be here with MJF. He understands, and threatens the person in the Devil mask. Cue said person on the screen….and here is Samoa Joe. After mocking Cole, he wants MJF to honor his deal of a title shot. MJF has thought about this and says something that gets muted. Cole insists that MJF is a man of his word and praises Joe.

Cole tells MJF to be a man of his word so MJF says Joe wouldn’t be the first Ring of Honor legend he has beaten in Chicago. Twice. The challenge is thrown out for right now but Joe says nah. He knows better than to face MJF when he can complain about his injury. Instead, we’ll do it at World’s End in MJF’s hometown of Long Island.

The match is on, though MJF has to calm the crowd down after praising Long Island a bit too much. Joe says MJF doesn’t have to worry about the Devil anymore because MJF is now his property. He wants the best MJF, so for now, he has MJF’s back. That’s a nice little twist on a match we knew was coming.

Hook/Orange Cassidy/Katsuyori Shibata vs. Angelo Parker/Matt Menard/Jake Hager

Before the match, Cassidy gets to make him announcement: Danhausen is back! Menard uses the distraction to jump Hook from behind and gets thrown down for his efforts. Everything breaks down and a backbreaker/running knee to the head combination puts Hook down. Hager yells at the referee and we take an early break.

Back with Hook suplexing his way out of trouble and handing it off to Cassidy to pick up the pace. The Stundog Millionaire cuts off Hager and Shibata comes in to forearm away. Shibata chops Hager down in the corner and nails the running dropkick….and Danhausen has Hager’s hat. Everything breaks down and Shibata/Hook grab a stereo sleeper/Redrum for the double submission at 8:08.

Rating: C. This was only so competitive as the match was more about getting Danhausen back in the fold. The fans are going to be happy with just about anything he does and it was a smart move to bring him back. At the same time, the double submission worked well as one of the Ring Of Honor champions is back. And later this week, he’ll be back on Ring Of Honor!

Adam Cole is glad to be back when Roderick Strong and the Kingdom interrupt. Strong asks where Cole was on Friday, which sends Cole into a rant about how they’re not best friends anymore.

Here is Christian Cage, with Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne, for a chat. Cage says things did not go their way at Full Gear but Luchasaurus lost that match. They have both benefited from their relationship with cage and it is time to rechristen them. Luchasaurus takes the knee and is renamed….Killswitch. Wayne takes the knee even faster but Cage tells him to get up because he is special. Since Cage sees himself in Wayne, he is now the Prodigy Nick Wayne.

Cue Wayne’s mom (Cage: “You are a terrible mother.”) but Cage cuts her off and berates her. It’s a good thing Wayne’s father is already dead because he could never be as good of a wrestler as Cage. He tells her to go get to her shift at Denny’s….but Luchasaurus gets between them. Cage tells him to get back on his knees. That doesn’t happen so Cage slaps him….and shoves him into Wayne’s mom. Cage orders Wayne to grab a chair but wants Luchasaurus to hit the Conchairto. Hesitation ensues but here is Adam Copeland for the save. Wayne is left alone for the spear and an Impaler, setting up a Conchairto.

The former Jericho Appreciation Society is annoyed at their loss but Anna Jay tells them to shut up. Angelo Parker says he’s got her back tonight…but is getting a call from Ruby Soho.

Continental Classic Gold League: Rush vs. Jay White

Rush easily powers him into the corner to start and then does it again for a bonus. A takedown lets Rush stomp away and there’s a basement dropkick to the back of the head. They head outside where Rush drops him with a hard chop, followed by some hard whips into the barricade.

Back in and they trade chops in the corner with Rush getting the better of things (as he tends to do). White gets stomped down in the corner, setting up the cocky kick to the face. We take a break and come back with White suplexing him into the corner for two. That’s too much selling for Rush though as he’s back with rolling suplexes into a brainbuster for two.

White manages a brainbuster of his own for two more before mocking the matador’s cape. They slug it out again until a swinging Rock Bottom plants Rush for two more. Rush snaps off a German suplex and suplexes him into the corner, only to have the Bull’s Horns cut off. The Blade Runner is blocked as well but the referee gets distracted. That lets White hit a low blow into the Blade Runner for the pin at 13:56.

Rating: B. This is becoming more of Rush’s traditional match, as he beats the fire out of someone for a good while before getting to whatever they have for a finish. White was mostly squashed here until managing to get in some offense of his own. That being said, White did get the win (cheating aside), which he needed after losing at Full Gear.

Gold League Standings
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

We look at Ricky Starks and Big Bill retaining the Tag Team Titles, plus Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega earning a title shot, both at Full Gear. The teams got into it at the media scrum and the champs jumped Jericho afterwards, damaging his arm in the process.

Here is Toni Storm for her Women’s Title acceptance speech, though first we get an Oscar winner announcement style introduction. She didn’t have anything prepared but does pull out a list of people to thank. That includes Anthony Khan, all of those at Warner Discovery (including founder Jack Warner, who died in 1978) and all of the little Toni Storms out there.

Skye Blue vs. Anna Jay vs. Ruby Soho

Angelo Parker, Matt Menard and Saraya are here too. They trade rollups to start until Soho and Parker stop to stare at each other a bit. Soho is sent outside, leaving Jay to kick Blue in the face. Back in and Soho suplexes Blue, allowing Parker to trip Blue up. Jay bends Blue around the post and we take a break.

We come back with Jay planting them both with a Tower Of Doom before they all head outside. Soho gets the better of things but stops to look at Parker, allowing Blue to dive onto Soho and Jay back inside. Jay gets sent outside where Menard offers a distraction. Saraya breaks that up, leaving Blue to kick Soho right into Parker’s arms (Soho doesn’t seem to mind). That’s broken up as well and the distraction lets Blue hit a TKO to pin Jay at 9:52.

Rating: C+. The action was good enough but this was all about Parker and Soho and nothing more. They’re having that forbidden romance deal and in a way that’s kind of interesting. I could go or it being someone other than Parker, but Soho needs something to get her somewhere and maybe this is it. Jay losing is a bit frustrating, though if AEW has to start pushing Blue again, doing it in her hometown makes sense.

Wardlow is interrupted by AR Fox and drops him as a result.

Continental Classic Gold League: Mark Briscoe vs. Jon Moxley

They go to the slugout to start with Moxley taking him into the corner for some chops. Briscoe manages to send him outside for a running Blockbuster from the apron. Back in and the Froggy Bow misses, allowing Moxley to knock him into the corner again. We take a break and come back with Moxley working on an STF on the bloody Briscoe (commentary does in fact make fun of the fact that Moxley isn’t bleeding for once).

The comeback is on with Briscoe striking him down, setting up a running shot in the corner for two. Moxley’s armbar sends Briscoe to the ropes so Moxley grabs the Paradigm Shift. Briscoe pops back up and hits a dropkick before collapsing for the double breather. The Death Valley Driver into the Froggy Bow gives Briscoe two but Moxley is back with the Death Rider for the same. Moxley wins a slugout and hits a Stomp into another Death Rider for the pin at 11:23.

Rating: B. It’s against bigger names, but Briscoe continues to lose now that he’s back in AEW. I’m not sure how wise that is as he’s one of the most charismatic people they have but at least it was to one of the company’s top stars. Moxley is going to be a favorite to win the tournament, though I could go for an explanation for why he’s getting the chance to win three titles after losing to Orange Cassidy on Saturday when Cassidy isn’t in the tournament.

Gold League Standings
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Respect is shown to end the show.

Of note: the Ring Of Honor Instagram account has announced that Ronda Rousey will be wrestling on this week’s Ring Of Honor. Unless it was mentioned in a quick throw away line, I did not hear her name or any reference to her on this show. Katsuyori Shibata’s Pure Title match on the same Ring Of Honor was mentioned and Wheeler Yuta said he wanted the title. That was mentioned, but not Rousey, who has been announced by the official Ring Of Honor social media. That’s a very interesting choice.

Overall Rating: B+. Well the focus was on the tournament here and that stuff went very well. I’m not surprised by that part as it is still fresh and new with some very talented wrestlers involved, but it should be interesting to see how that goes a few weeks from now when the new shine has worn off. The rest of the show was rather good, with the six man tag being the weakest point and even that was completely fine. This was a wrestling based show and as usual, AEW knows how to make that work.

Results
Swerve Strickland b. Jay Lethal – Swerve Stomp
Hook/Orange Cassidy/Katsuyori Shibata b. Angelo Parker/Matt Menard/Jake Hager – Double submissions
Jay White b. Rush – Blade Runner
Skye Blue b. Anna Jay and Ruby Soho – TKO to Jay
Jon Moxley b. Mark Briscoe – Death Rider

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

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Collision
Date: November 17, 2023
Location: Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly, Tony Schiavone

It’s the night before Full Gear and therefore the schedule is a little wacky, as Collision is taking place before Rampage and in the same building. That is going to make things a bit more interesting, but Collision has been up and down in recent weeks. It would be nice to have a more old school feel to this one….or as old school as a show about five months old can be. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tony Schiavone (in a very green suit) brings out Christian Cage and company to start things off. Cage is ready for the six man tag tomorrow night, plus a TNT Title defense tonight on Rampage. Other than that though, in a town full of phony people, we need some reality. Cage says tomorrow is going to be Sting’s last match because he has been living off his past name and reputation for fifteen years. Darby Allin is going to need a father figure and Cage knows someone who can do that for him.

As for Adam Copeland, Cage knows he is here to steal the spotlight but Cage is a different person than he was back then. Beth Phoenix needs to keep the girls up late because Cage is breaking Copeland’s neck. It doesn’t matter who he is facing tonight, but he can beat any of the four in the qualifying match anyway. Fans: “PROVE IT!” Cage quotes not so popular NBA player James Harden, saying he doesn’t work within the system because he is the system.

Ricky Starks and Big Bill have a new stipulation for their four way Tag Team Title defense: we’ll make it a LADDER match. WELL OF COURSE WE WILL.

Miro vs. Daniel Garcia

Miro throws him down without much trouble to start and then suplexes him out of the corner for a bonus. A gutwrench suplex drops Garcia again so Miro loads up the Garcia dance. You don’t do that though as Garcia strikes away, only to be caught in a swinging release Rock Bottom. We take a break and come back with Miro grabbing a chinlock but Garcia fights up. Some slugging in the corner has Miro in trouble and he can’t swat a dropkick away.

Garcia’s running knee to the face just annoys Miro, who superkicks him down. It’s too early for Game Over though and Garcia slaps away, setting up a belly to back suplex. The dance is loaded up but cue Matt Menard to break it up. Not that it matters as Garcia pulls him into a crossface, which he switches into the Dragontamer. The bending back too far is a bad idea for Garcia though, as Miro slams his head into the mat or the break. Game Over finishes Garcia at 10:14.

Rating: C+. This was what it needed to be, as Miro is mad at Garcia for approaching his wife and wrecked him as a result. That’s all this should have been, as Garcia got in some offense before losing. Miro seems likely for a showdown with Andrade El Idolo sooner or later and this should be a good warmup.

CJ Perry and Andrade El Idolo are happy with their new business relationship, which is why Perry has entered into the Continental Classic. If he wins, he gets extra money.

Kings Of The Black Throne vs. The Boys

Brent goes after Black’s wrist to start and is easily shoved away. King comes in so it’s off to Brandon as everything breaks down. Brandon’s enziguri doesn’t do much to Black as it’s Dante’s Inferno to give King the pin at 2:09. Pretty much a squash.

Julia Hart, Skye Blue and Kris Statlander are ready to win/keep the TBS Title.

Trent Beretta vs. Brian Cage vs. Komander vs. Penta El Zero Miedo

The winner gets a TNT Title shot on Rampage and Prince Nana is here with Cage. The fans aren’t sure who they like here so Penta stops to take his glove off. That earns him a shot to the face before Cage gets triple teamed to the floor. Trent elbows Penta down before a jumping knee sets up a half and half suplex. Back in and Cage apron superplexes Komander onto the other two to send us to a break.

We come back with Penta striking away at Cage, followed by Trent suplexing Komander a few times. Penta gets suplexed as well but Cage blocks one without much trouble. A discus lariat knocks Trent silly and there’s a faceplant for two on Komander with Penta making the save. Penta is back up with a Canadian Destroyer to Komander and a Sling Blade to Cage. The big springboard flip dive hits Cage, leaving Komander’s rope walk shooting star to not quite hit Trent. The Scrunchie finishes Komander at 10:34 to give Trent the title shot.

Rating: B-. This felt like something you would see at a house show to set up a title match later in the night. That isn’t a bad thing either as it at least gives the match some stakes, even if Beretta doesn’t seem like a heavy favorite in the title match. For now though, good all action match and that’s what it needed to be.

Don Callis and Powerhouse Hobbs are proud of getting rid of Paul Wight with a heck of a slam onto a car on Dynamite. Hobbs tells Wight to stay away because anyone can get it.

Wardlow vs. Evan Daniels

Powerbomb, Swanton, Powerbomb for the stoppage at 57 seconds.

Full Gear rundown.

Dax Harwood vs. Rush

Ricky Starks is on commentary (Big Bill is with him but wasn’t introduced for some reason) and the rest of LFI is here. They shove each other around to start until Rush backdrops him out to the floor. Some rams into the barricade have Harwood in even more trouble as Starks does a Harwood impression.

Harwood gets sent shoulder first into the post and Rush unloads in the corner, setting up the single boot. We take a break and come back with Harwood chopping his way off the top. That lasts all of three seconds as Rush is back up with a superplex for two. They strike it out for a double knockdown before getting back up to trade clotheslines.

Rush can’t get a backslide so Harwood is right back with a piledriver for two of his own. The fight heads outside with Rush hitting a jumping knee to the face, setting up a posting. Rush goes after Starks before loading up the Bull’s Horns, only to have Starks come in with the spear to Rush for the DQ at 14:01.

Rating: B-. This was quite the Rush match, as he mostly beat the fire out of Harwood, though at least Harwood got in a bit of offense of his own. That being said, I’ll absolutely take having one of them avoid a pin before a title match, as that has always felt like the biggest waste of time. Rush continues to feel like a star, but he certainly likes being on offense. Maybe a bit too much at that.

Post match the beating is on until the other people in the ladder match run in for the huge brawl. Referees can’t break it up as we take a break. Of note: we’re told Tony Khan says this is a no contest. I know he’s a big wrestling fan, but in my day, someone coming in and attacking a single wrestler was a DQ.

Action Andretti is cut off by Roderick Strong and the Kingdom, the former of which says he has found his next victim.

Buddy Matthews vs. Wheeler Yuta

Matthews works on the arm to start but Yuta flips out to escape and crank away as well. Yuta even offers him a shot to grab the leg before pulling it back. Instead Yuta sends him outside, where a dropkick through the ropes makes it worse. That’s not ok with Matthews, who beats him up around ringside.

They head to the apron for a slugout until Yuta is LAUNCHED onto the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Matthews striking him down until Yuta is back up with a heck of a forearm. Yuta manages to knock him down to one knee but Matthews is back with a shot of his own.

A rollup and German suplex give Yuta two each and there’s a superkick to put Matthews on the floor. They fight on the apron until Matthews drops him ribs first onto the turnbuckle. Yuta kicks his way out of trouble and drapes him over the top for an ax handle. Matthews hits a heck of a powerbomb though and the Stomp finishes Yuta at 13:43.

Rating: B. I can always go for a power vs. speed match and they had a nice one here, with Yuta doing what he could against the far stronger Matthews. That’s a formula that has worked forever in wrestling and they did it here with two potential stars. Matthews has long since felt like he could be moving up the ladder whenever he’s given a chance but there is only so much that can be done with the rest of the House Of Black around. See also Yuta with the Blackpool Combat Club, as he is by far the lowest member of the team but is still a talented star. Anyway, pretty sweet match here and that’s always nice to see.

Post match Matthews grabs a chair but here is Claudio Castagnoli to cut him off. Castagnoli says the House Of Black has his attention so he and Matthews can fight at Full Gear.

Orange Cassidy and Jon Moxley are ready to fight again at Full Gear.

Ruby Soho/Saraya vs. Kris Statlander/Hikaru Shida

Shida and Soho grapple around to start as we hear about Angelo Parker “pitching woo” about Soho. Nigel is of course all over Kelly for that one as Statlander comes in to take over on Saraya. Back up and Statlander shoulders her down for two as Julia Hart is watching in the back. Statlander suplexes both villains down at once and hands it back to Shida as we see Skye Blue watching in the back as well. The villains pull Shida down out of the corner and we take a break.

Back with Parker watching at ringside as Saraya kicks Shida in the ribs. That brings Statlander and Soho back in, with Statlander hitting a Falcon Arrow for two. Statlander has to get Soho back inside, but sees Parker in a Soho shirt. Saraya comes back in and gets to clean some house, setting up a forearm off with Shida. After a double knockdown, Shida is back up with a knee each for Saraya and Soho, which has Parker checking on the latter. Saraya is livid as Statlander clotheslines Parker (seemed to be aiming for Soho). That leaves Shida to Katana Saraya for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: B-. This wound up being more of a focus on the Parker stuff and that might be a bit more interesting than the match. Saraya is already starting to feel forgotten around here and it’s not like her matches are tearing the house down. Maybe she ties in with the Parker story, but she certainly needs something. Shida probably will as well, as it feels almost impossible to imagine her leaving Full Gear with the title. Statlander might be in a safer spot, but Hart winning feels long overdue. They covered a bit here, but it didn’t quite feel like a big time main event.

We get a sitdown interview with MJF, who is defending the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles to keep his promise to Adam Cole. The Gunns are very ugly but he’ll beat them anyway. Other than that, he doesn’t like Jay White stealing his title belt, but he’ll get that back at Full Gear. Schiavone brings up MJF winning the title a year ago, sending MJF into a rant about overcoming the odds over the years. He likes the odds against White, so we’ll see them tomorrow. This was fired up MJF and that is often the best kind.

Overall Rating: B. There was good action throughout and the Yuta vs. Matthews match was quite good, but it did feel like a show that didn’t really need to be here. I was hoping they would have pulled the show from the schedule for the sake of the PPV but we got a decent enough push towards Full Gear. The pay per view still doesn’t exactly feel must see, though this show did a nice job of boosting it up a bit.

Results
Miro b. Daniel Garcia – Game Over
Kings Of The Black Throne b. The Boys – Dante’s Inferno to Brandon
Trent Beretta b. Brian Cage, Komander and Penta El Zero Miedo – Scrunchie to Komander
Wardlow b. Evan Daniels via referee stoppage
Rush b. Dax Harwood via DQ when Ricky Starks interfered
Buddy Matthews b. Wheeler Yuta – Stomp
Hikaru Shida/Kris Statlander b. Saraya/Ruby Soho – Katana to Saraya

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

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Collision
Date: October 21, 2023
Location: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s the first part of a double shot this weekend as we have the usual Collision plus Battle Of The Belts as a follow up. This week’s show has a pair of big matches as the Blackpool Combat Club gets a shot at the Tag Team Titles, plus Andrade El Idolo vs. Bryan Danielson in what should be a heck of a match. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson vs. Andrade El Idolo

Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. El Idolo can’t get a Gory Stretch as Danielson slips out, earning himself a running shoulder. Neither can get much of an advantage so they shake hands instead. Danielson pulls him into a bow and arrow but Andrade slips out for a failed Figure Four attempt. Andrade takes him into the corner for the exchange of chops but Danielson slips out and fires off the kicks to the chest. Danielson sends him to the floor and hits the running knee off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Andrade fighting back and dropkicking him off the top to the floor. There’s the moonsault to the floor but Danielson headbutts him of the top. The shotgun dropkick hits Andrade but he gets away from the LeBell Lock attempt. Andrade knocks him down again and tries the double moonsault, only to hit raised knees.

The LeBell Lock is countered into the Figure Four but Danielson gets to the rope before the Figure Eight. Back up and they collide but Danielson hits a kick to the head. The running knee misses and they trade rollups for two each until Danielson finally crucifixes him for the pin at 18:57.

Rating: B+. It was an awesome back and forth match, even if it isn’t exactly the dream match they advertised and has pretty much nothing to do with storylines at the moment. That being said, Danielson is as much of a guarantee of a good to great match as there is in the world at the moment. I’m curious to see what happens when he’s not there to fill in twenty minutes of this show every week, but I’ll certainly take it for now.

Post match respect is shown and Andrade leaves, only to have Malakai Black pop in to kick Danielson down. The Blackpool Combat Club makes the save.

Darby Allin isn’t worried about what has happened to Nick Wayne and can’t wait to see the special gift for Sting on Dynamite.

Skye Blue vs. Hollyhood Haley

Haley takes her down to start and hits a running knee to the back. Blue catches her in the corner and hits a powerbomb. Code Blue finishes Haley at 1:58.

The Gunns vs. Outrunners

The Gunns beat up Magnum to start and throw Floyd into the same corner. 3:10 To Yuma finishes Floyd at 2:04.

Post match the lights go out and we see the Devil in the back.

Kris Statlander squats interviewer Lexi Nair to warm up. Orange Cassidy is ready too.

Eddie Kingston vs. Jeff Jarrett

Non-title Memphis Street Fight (weapons provided), Jay Lethal gets a title shot if Jarrett wins, and Memphis legend Dave Brown is on commentary. They go straight to the weapons and since there was once a concession stand brawl near Memphis, they have a bunch of food, including ketchup and mustard. The brawl heads to the stage where Jay Lethal cutters Kingston off the stage and through a table.

We take a break and come back wit Jarrett doing various horrible things to Kingston’s knee. The Figure Four goes on but Kingston turns it over, only to have Lethal miss something off the top. Jarrett brings in the guitar and hits the Stroke for two. Lethal and Satnam Singh come in to beat the fire out of Kingston, with the Lethal Injection giving Jarrett the pin at 13:00.

Rating: C. This is going to be the definition of “your mileage may vary” and it’s not going to surprise me to see the reactions being all over the place. It was a wacky brawl and Kingston getting beaten down because he has no friends is a fine plot device to set up the title match. I could go for less of the concession stand stuff though, as would could have dropped the Memphis from the title and avoided the goofiness entirely.

Miro vs. Action Andretti

CJ Perry is at ringside as Andretti hits some dropkicks to start. Miro tosses him down though and we take a break with Andretti going into the steps. Back with Andretti fighting up and sending him to the floor for a running flip dive. Miro takes him down back inside and tries Game Over, which is flipped out of for the escape. Andretti manages the torture rack but Miro powers out and kicks him in the face, setting up Game Over for the win at 9:04.

Rating: C. Miro is a monster but he’s going nine minutes to beat low level tag guy Action Andretti. That doesn’t seem to be going with the point of Miro being angry at anyone for wanting to work with his wife but I guess they had to fill the TV time somehow. Odds are this is part of a longer story for Miro, though it could have gotten off to a better start.

The former Jericho Appreciation Society is still arguing and storm off. Ruby Soho comes in for the next interview and says she understands families falling apart. Angelo Parker says he’ll be a champion at the end of the night but Soho tells him to get out of her shot. Soho wants a title shot against someone, which doesn’t make a ton of sense given the graphic that shows her getting a title shot on Dynamite popping up during her promo.

Rush and La Faccion Ingobernable are on the way back.

Eddie Kingston goes on a rant about Jay Lethal losing his way and tells him not to bring his goons to their title match. Also something about Lethal’s parents being disappointed in him for referring to someone who isn’t blood as his uncle.

FTR vs. Bad Thad Brown/Darien Bengston

FTR wrecks them to start but the lights go out. Malakai Black is here so the lights go out again (four times tonight) and the House of Black is here to jump FTR for the DQ at 1:02.

Post match the beatdown is on.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Tag Team Titles: Big Bill/Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta/Claudio Castagnoli

Bill/Starks are defending. Yuta takes Starks to the mat to start and the champion is quickly frustrated. Bill comes in instead and it’s actually not Castagnoli coming in (commentary is surprised too). The power sends Yuta to the apron and Bill knocks him into the barricade for a crash.

We take a break and come back with Bill dropping an elbow for two, followed by a Boss Man Slam for the same. Yuta manages to avoid a charge in the corner though and hands it off to Castagnoli. House is quickly cleaned, including Old School of all things for two on Starks. The running uppercut against the barricade connects and we take a break.

Back with Bill big booting Castagnoli for two but having to escape a fireman’s carry. Yuta comes in with a missile dropkick Hart Attack for two on Bill but Starks comes in to cut him off. The Roshambo is blocked but Bill hits something like a powerbomb to give Starks two. Yuta manages to get back to Castagnoli so the pace can pick up, including the Swing into the dropkick. Bill makes the save and the Fastball Special is loaded up but cue the House of Black to break it up. Starks hits the spear and the Roshambo to retain the titles at 21:22.

Rating: B. This got a lot of time and they were able to do something with Yuta getting beaten down for such a long time before Castagnoli could come in to even things up a bit. The House Of Black ending does tie things together throughout the show but it might have felt like a bigger shock if this was their first appearance of night. Starks and Bill continuing their reign is a good sign as well, as you don’t want them to feel like they lucked into the titles with a short run.

Post match the beatdown is on so Bryan Danielson comes in for the failed save attempt. FTR comes in as well but Bill and Starks help beat them down. Cue Jon Moxley for the real save and the big brawl ends the show. Well after one more Swing to Starks to leave the fans happy.

Overall Rating: B. That’s certainly the Collision formula: good stuff to start and end the show without much of value in between. The opener and main event were both rather good TV matches, but I could have gone with something better in the middle. Save for the Blackpool Combat Club stuff, this wasn’t the most important show, but two matches totaling about forty minutes of that quality are more than enough to carry AEW through two hours.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Andrade El Idolo – Crucifix
Skye Blue b. Hollyhood Haley – Code Blue
Gunns b. Outrunners – 3:10 To Yuma to Floyd
Jeff Jarrett b. Eddie Kingston – Lethal Injection
Miro b. Action Andretti – Game Over
FTR b. Bad Thad Brown/Darien Bengston via DQ when the House Of Black interfered
Ricky Starks/Big Bill b. Blackpool Combat Club – Roshambo to Yuta

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

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AND

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Collision
Date: October 14, 2023
Location: Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

Dynamite was a big deal this week and now we get to see what they have planned as a follow up. That could mean a wide range of things as Collision has been a bit all over the place in its short history but things tend to lean positive. The card does look good tonight, including Christian Cage defending the TNT Title against Bryan Danielson, so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Adam Copeland to get things going. Copeland talks about how it’s wet and rainy outside but we can get it hot in here. This week on Dynamite, Christian Cage said some nutty things and Cage must believe them. Cue Cage, with Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne, to interrupt, though he hides behind security. Cage says the security is here for Copeland’s protection and tells him to get out so Cage can get ready for his main event. He also mentions that the Blackpool Combat Club has been removed from the building so his match with Bryan Danielson can be even.

Cue Danielson to say he wants a fair fight too, so Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne are banned from ringside too! Cue Ricky Starks and Big Bill, with the former mocking everyone in the ring for being old. Starks hasn’t forgotten about Danielson but Copeland mocks him for his silk pants.

Copeland calls Starks a vanilla midget version of the Rock and says talk to Danielson. Starks: “That really set me over the edge.” Copeland: “Aw dude.” Cue FTR to say they’re coming for the titles and the champs’ necks. Harwood likes the idea of fighting so Danielson tells Cage we should do it right now. The fight is on with the good guys clearing the ring and beating up security.

MJF was at an event about rejecting antisemitism. Nothing wrong with that.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Willie Mack

Joe is defending and backs him up against the ropes to start. Mack gets knocked into the corner and pounded down with right hands. Back up and Mack scores with a running kick to the face to send Joe outside, setting up the big slingshot dive. We take a break and come back with Mack hitting a Cannonball for two but Joe powerslams him down for the same. Joe cuts him off though and hits the MuscleBuster to retain at 9:17.

Rating: B-. There is something to be said about two big guys beating each other up and that’s more or less what we got here. Mack wasn’t likely to take the title from Joe here as that title reign seems destined to set the all time record, but I can go with this as a one off. Just maybe have Joe on the ROH show once or twice?

CJ Perry is here to help people and make stars so if you need guidance, come find the woman who makes made men. Action Andretti comes in to say he could benefit from her talents. She doesn’t say no and is waiting on a call.

Danhausen is back soon.

Juice Robinson vs. Christopher Daniels

The rest of Bullet Club Gold is here with Robinson, who gets chased to the floor to start and thinks Daniels needs to calm down. Back in and Daniels takes him down by the arm for some cranking, meaning Robinson wants the referee to “yell at him for cheating”. Daniels is sent outside for a beating from the Club and we take a break. Back with Robinson hitting a backsplash for two but Daniels grabs an STO. A Death Valley Driver gives Daniels two but the Club offers a distraction. Robinson hits the left hand into a Cannonball and hits the forward DDT for the pin at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Completely fine match, which is more or less a guarantee for Daniels at this point in his career. Robinson gets a win over someone with some status and that’s a good way to use someone like Daniels. At the same time, Robinson is one of the most entertaining people on the roster as he has that charisma to make you look at him and it was on full display here.

Post match Jay White gives Robinson a ring to knock Daniels out. Robinson says anyone can wear a ring and he bought his for $25. He’s been knocking people out for years and now he’s got a ring! White promises to take the ring and then the title from MJF.

Dustin Rhodes is back to win the ring and then the World Title.

Nick Wayne and his mom will have a sitdown interview on Dynamite. Wayne isn’t happy.

Kyle Fletcher vs. Boulder

Boulder stomps around a lot and Fletcher isn’t sure what to do with him. A running shoulder bounces off of Boulder but Fletcher manages to send him outside. There’s the big dive but Boulder knocks him back inside. Boulder goes up but gets powerbombed down, setting up a dragon sleeper to give Fletcher the win at 2:46.

Billy Gunn and Anthony Bowens talk to Max Caster about his aggressive relationship with MJF. They try to get him to be nicer when talking to Renee Paquette, so he asks about Oral Sessions. Renee: “You’re an idiot!” The former Jericho Appreciation Society comes in and gets a Trios Title shot.

TBS Title: Skye Blue vs. Kris Statlander

Statlander is defending. Feeling out process to start with neither getting very far until Blue hits her in the face. Statlander isn’t pleased so she slams Blue down but she’s back up with a running hurricanrana. We take a break and come back with Blue hitting a jawbreaker and kicking her in the head.

Statlander misses a clothesline and gets caught with a tornado DDT for two. One heck of a powerbomb out of the corner looks to set up a high crossbody but Statlander pulls her out of the air. A powerslam plants Blue and they’re both down for a bit. Blue gets two off a sunset flip and she superkicks Statlander but she’s right back with Saturday Night Fever for the pin at 9:10.

Rating: B. That might be high but I was expecting very little here and they got things rolling in the last few minutes. It was probably Blue’s best match ever as Statlander has turned into a star in the division. She’s having one good match after another and this time it felt like she elevated Blue to a level she’s never had in her before.

Post match Statlander goes to help her up but Willow Nightingale breaks it up. That was kind of weird.

Kyle Fletcher calls out Kenny Omega.

Rush and La Faccion Ingobernable are back and promise violence.

Keith Lee vs. Turbo Floyd

Floyd kicks him in the ribs to start and gets Pounced to start. The Spirit Bomb finishes Floyd at 1:11.

Miro talks about how CJ Perry will be surrounded by everything she loves but he’s going to kill it off in advance. Then he wrecks Action Andretti.

Video on Rocky Romero vs. Mistico next week on Rampage.

TNT Title: Christian Cage vs. Bryan Danielson

Cage is defending. Feeling out process to start with Danielson taking him down without much effort. Back up and Cage grabs a headlock but Danielson knocks him outside and we take a break. We come back with Danielson putting on a surfboard but Cage slips out and they go to the floor. Danielson strikes him against the barricade and we hit a bow and arrow back inside.

With that broken up, Danielson goes up for the headbutt but bangs up his arm instead. Cage starts cranking away but Danielson manages to get him to the apron and tries a German suplex. Back in and a hammerlock slam has Danielson’s arm in more trouble as we take a break.

We come back again with Cage sending him to the floor, where the arm goes into the announcers’ table. Cage takes him up top but Danielson knocks him down and hits the Swan Dive. Some headbutts have busted Cage open and there’s the running clothesline. Danielson knocks him outside for the suicide dive but the arm gets banged up again. Back in and Cage scores with a frog splash for two but his spear is cut off.

Danielson’s big kick to the head gets two and stomps away but Cage hits the spear. The Killswitch gets two, only for Cage to miss a charge into the corner. The running knee gives Danielson two and the LeBell Lock goes on, but Danielson’s bar arm means he can’t get the full thing. Cue Big Bill for a distraction and Ricky Starks comes in with a belt shot to knock Danielson silly, allowing Cage to retain at 25:11.

Rating: B+. Yeah of course it was awesome as Danielson can have a good match against a broken broom and Cage has shown he can hang with anyone, especially in longer matches. I wasn’t wild on the ending, but man alive were they doing some great stuff before then. I wasn’t sure who was leaving with the title here and that’s a pretty sure sign that they’re doing something right.

Post match the beatdown is on so here is FTR for the save, only to get beaten down as well. Adam Copeland makes the real save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Danielson and Cage stole the night here and Blue s. Statlander was almost shockingly good. That being said, the rest of the show felt like a lot of filler, as I could have gone without Fletcher or another long Bullet Club Gold promo or the ROH TV Title match. As usual, the wrestling isn’t the problem and it fixes a lot of the issues, but there is just so much AEW content these days and it’s starting to get exhausting. Another good show tonight with Danielson and Cage being awesome, but they can only rely on one great match saving the show for so long.

Results
Samoa Joe b. Willie Mack – MuscleBuster
Juice Robinson b. Christopher Daniels – Forward DDT
Kyle Fletcher b. Boulder – Dragon sleeper
Kris Statlander b. Skye Blue – Saturday Night Fever
Keith Lee b. Turbo Floyd – Spirit Bomb
Christian Cage b. Bryan Danielson – Belt shot

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