IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: October 9, 2019
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

It’s the second week and that means we are in for something that might be more important than the debut episode. You can have as good of an opener as you want, but if you don’t get the fans to stick around, it isn’t going to matter all that much. The ratings and audience are going to be interesting after this week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The announcers welcome us to the show.

Video on Private Party vs. the Young Bucks, the first match in the Tag Team Title tournament.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Young Bucks vs. Private Party

Private Party weigh 27 ounces of vodka cranberry and come from a place you need an invitation to. Isaiah Kassidy and Nick Jackson start things off with neither being able to hit a superkick. Nick spits his gum in Kassidy’s face so Kassidy flips out of an atomic drop attempt. Kassidy gets caught in a backbreaker/flipping neckbreaker combination to put the Bucks in control. A dive misses though and Kassidy hits a Lionsault to take him down.

Marc Quen comes in and starts busting out his own dives to a BIG reaction (as he deserves). A 450 gets a VERY close two on Matt but Nick is back in to start the Superkick Party. Nick sunset bombs Kassidy, with the powerbomb onto the ramp for a nasty landing. Back in and a powerbomb/Sliced Bread #2 combination gets two on Marc, setting up the Sharpshooter to work on the back even more.

With Kassidy down, it’s a top rope double stomp/backbreaker combination for two more on Quen. A spear gets two more on Quen as Kassidy gets pulled back off the apron. Quen gets over for the tag a few seconds later though and Kassidy comes in with a missile dropkick. He comes up holding his back but is fine enough to hit a double hurricanrana. Matt rolls the northern lights suplexes to bang up the back quite a bit before suplexing Quen at the same time for two.

The buckle bomb/kick to the head in the corner sets up another Sharpshooter, with Nick adding a facebuster. The tap seems near but Kassidy rapid fire crawls over for the tag. Quen makes a blind tag though and it’s the hurricanrana into the cutter (Gin and Juice) to rock Matt. The perfect shooting star press gets two on Nick and that should have been the finish. The Meltzer Driver is loaded up but Kassidy breaks up the springboard, allowing Quen to roll Matt up for the pin at 13:47.

Rating: B. They had one too many false finishes in the end though I’m happy with Private Party winning. That could have gone either way though, as you can either give Private Party the rub now or give the rub to whoever beats the Bucks in the finals. As long as the Bucks didn’t win though, as there was no need for that to happen. Good match too, with Private Party looking like an incredibly polished team right out of the box.

Post match Private Party celebrates in the crowd all through the commercial.

Here are Chris Jericho and his whole group of friends for a chat. Jericho takes credit for all of Dynamite’s success last week and gets a thank you chant. That’s not what he wants though and he says that we are now. Yes they’re still together and yes they have a name. Jericho introduces the team, starting with the sexy Spanish god Sammy Guevara. Now Sammy is on his list. Then you have Santana and Ortiz, who are going to be nastier than ever before, which Jericho likes. Jericho: “Viva la raza.” Nice touch on Eddie’s birthday.

Then we have Jake Hager (which Jericho pronounces as Hagar) so we get a WE THE PEOPLE. Jericho: “We the people sucks and it’s dead and buried. It was a bad idea from bad creative and all that’s dead and gone.” Jericho brags about Hager’s undefeated MMA record and he’ll fight any boxer, fighter, wrestler, bare knuckle fighter or whatever. The team is dubbed the Inner Circle and they are taking over.

Jericho goes on to Cody, who is part of a family Jericho never liked. Dusty was a jerk, he’ll beat up Dustin and he’ll beat the s*** out of Cody at Full Gear. That promo is going to get people talking and it’s a good thing to have a big story going on like this. Good stuff here, though they better be able to back up the shots at WWE.

Darby Allin vs. Jimmy Havoc

The winner gets a shot at Jericho for the title next week. During the entrance, Havoc says he likes the pain and the violence. Darby grabs a quick cradle for two and dropkicks Havoc into the corner. A bottom rope suplex doesn’t work as Havoc bites the fingers and Falcon Arrows Allin out to the floor in a big crash.

Havoc starts working on the fingers before choking in the corner to cut off a comeback attempt. A suplex puts Allin on the floor and we take a break. Back with Allin being Death Valley Driven into the corner and stomped in the head to keep him down. The Acid Rainmaker is broken up with a bite to Havoc’s fingers and it’s a knockdown into the Coffin Drop for the pin at 10:02.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one as Allin didn’t do much for most of the match, came back and hit his finisher for the win. What bothers me a bit more than that though is AEW talking about how they want to incorporate win/loss records and that puts Allin at 2-2-1. It’s not a big deal, but they might want to work on that if they want records to matter that much.

Bea Priestly/Sakura vs. Britt Baker/Riho

Riho starts with Sakura and charges into a powerslam, only to pop back up with a dropkick. Her back is banged up and Sakura blocks a slam without much effort. A very screaming surfboard works on the back even more and it’s off to Priestly, who gets in a fight with Baker on the floor.

Riho is down in the corner so Sakura goes outside to help with a double suplex. A Riho dive takes them down though and we take a break. Back with Baker in trouble until Riho sneaks in for a double stomp to Sakura. Baker’s swinging neckbreaker gets two on Sakura and it’s off to the Rings of Saturn. Baker adds the Mandible Claw at the same time for the tap at 8:45.

Rating: C. I’m trying to care about the women’s division but Baker is the kind of star who can be a big deal based on every aspect you could want. Priestly feels like a good villain and Sakura is fine enough. Riho….it’s not a complete miss but there are just better options to pick from other than her. Maybe I’m just not enough of a wrestling fan to get it, but it’s not working just yet.

We see a video of the Best Friends hugging.

The Best Friends are in the front row and asked about how they’re doing. They defer to Orange Cassidy, who gives them a thumbs up.

Jon Moxley vs. Shawn Spears

Tully Blanchard is with Spears and Pac is on commentary. Moxley gets right in his face and chops away before dropping Spears with a clothesline. Spears bails to the floor so Moxley knees him in the back and chokes away, with Tully’s interference not working whatsoever. As JR wonders how that isn’t a DQ, Moxley jumps off the apron with a forearm to the face but gets sent into the steps. The fight on the floor continues (they’ve been out there a long time now) with Spears Death Valley Drivering him into the barricade for a double knockdown.

Back from a break with Spears putting on a half crab but Moxley breaks it up in a hurry. Moxley sends him outside again for back to back suicide dives and scores with a running knee for two. The slugout it on but the Paradigm Shift is countered into the fireman’s carry backbreaker. Another fireman’s carry is countered into the Paradigm Shift to give Moxley the pin at 12:44.

Rating: C. I still don’t get it with Spears, though he is better than he was in WWE. He’s just a guy at this point and the chair stuff feels out of place after the Cody feud wrapped up. Tully is a cool addition, but it doesn’t matter if the guy keeps losing. It’s far from too late for him, but he didn’t shot me much here.

Post match here’s Kenny Omega, carrying a barbed wire bat and a barbed wire broom. He throws Moxley the bat but Pac runs down with a chair shot to the back of Omega’s head. Moxley looks at Omega but drops the bat and walks away.

Dustin Rhodes/Hangman Page vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara

Hager is here with Jericho and Guevara. One good sign: I can already recognize Jericho’s music after the first few notes. Impact took years to make that happen and still have a lot of trouble making it work. Dustin goes after Jericho on the floor to start and gets in a posting with a thud. We settle down to Page fall away slamming Sammy and handing it back to Dustin for a hard whip into the corner.

A belly to back toss sets up Page’s running shooting star press with Jericho having to make a save. Guevara gets in a knee though and fireman’s carry drops Page onto the top turnbuckle for two. Back from a break with Jericho posing until Page gets in a hard shot to the face. Sammy is right there to block a tag though and Jericho slaps Page in the face. The Lionsault hits knees though and Page scores with the big lariat, allowing the hot tag to Dustin.

Everything breaks down and Dustin dives onto Jericho and Sammy with Page adding a moonsault to the floor. Hager runs Page over though, leaving Dustin to hit a Code Red for two on Jericho. The powerslam takes Sammy down but the referee checks on him, allowing Hager to save Jericho from Shattered Dreams. Jericho hits the Judas Effect for the pin at 13:57.

Rating: C+. The extra time helped a bit here and they did a good job of making Hager look like the monster. That’s the key here as everyone (save for Sammy) is pretty established and they need to make Hager stand out as a monster. This was the standard idea of taking parts of a stable and letting them fight, which is always going to work just fine.

Post match Hager goes after Page, who pelts a chair at Hager’s head. They fight to the back and the lights go out. It’s Cody laying out Sammy with Cross Rhodes but here are Santana and Ortiz to take Cody out. Maxwell Jacob Friedman runs out as well and teases turning on Cody, only to chair the Inner Circle down. Cue the Young Bucks for the real save and the fans are rather pleased. Jericho escapes but Allin skateboards down and beats Jericho up to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was another good outing, though a step down from last week. That has to be expected though after last week’s big debut, which isn’t going to be the norm. It’s a good idea to slow things down for a week while still making things seem like a big deal. I’m curious to see where things go with some of these stories and that’s a nice feeling. The wrestling itself wasn’t bad at all here and the atmosphere is still what matters most around here. It felt big and if they can do that when it’s not even a big show, they’re in a solid spot two weeks in.

Results

Private Party b. Young Bucks – Victory roll to Matt

Darby Allin b. Jimmy Havoc – Coffin Drop

Britt Baker/Riho b. Bea Priestly/Sakura – Rings of Saturn/Mandible Claw combination to Sakura

Jon Moxley b. Shawn Spears – Paradigm Shift

Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara b. Dustin Rhodes/Hangman Page – Judas Effect to Rhodes

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: October 2, 2019
Location: Capitol One Arena, Washington DC
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re finally here. It almost feels weird to imagine that it’s actually happening but here we are. This is the debut episode of the much ballyhooed weekly series from AEW and the hype seems to be real. The show is going head to head live with NXT as the Wednesday Night Wars begin. I’m actually excited for this so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

The announcers welcome us to the show.

We get some clips from last night’s Countdown show to hype up Cody vs. Sammy Guevara, which will be the first match in the history of the show.

Cody vs. Sammy Guevara

Brandi is here with Cody and that is a lot of pyro. Feeling out process to start with Sammy’s speed giving Cody some issues. A trip to the floor lets Cody have a breather and it’s back in for an armbar from Sammy. That’s broken up as Cody powerslams him down and slaps on the Figure Four so we can hit the WOOing. Sammy makes the rope so Cody kicks him down again and does some pushups, setting up a springboard cutter/Stunner for two. Sammy is right back with a slingshot cutter for two of his own.

Cody sends him outside as well though and nails a suicide dive….which hits both Brandi and Sammy. Thankfully Brandi isn’t knocked cold and gets in a shoe to Sammy’s head, setting up Cody’s Disaster Kick for two. To mix it up a bit, Cody takes it to the top rope for a reverse superplex for two more. They head up again with Sammy hitting a super Spanish Fly, only to have a shooting star hit raised knees so Cody can small package him for the pin at 11:52.

Rating: C+. They were clearly jazzed to be on a big show and you knew Cody was winning here to set up his World Title shot at the next pay per view. The spots were good here and Sammy was fine for a villain here. They didn’t need to do anything more than get through a fast paced match here and that’s what they did. Nice first match with Cody playing the face role well.

Post match Cody has something to say but Sammy stops him for a tense handshake. Cue Jericho to jump him from behind and hit a Codebreaker as we take a break, albeit going split screen with Jericho beating him up even more during the commercial. Back with Jericho powerbombing him through some open chairs to really bang up the spine. Jericho declares himself the champion before leaving.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Brandon Cutler

Friedman has a mic on the way to the ring and insults the poor looking crowd, along with Cutler, who looks like a Dungeons and Dragon fan who got lost and needs to be back in his seat. We hear about Cutler being a big Dungeons and Dragons fan, with JR cutting the other two off as Cutler slaps Friedman in the face.

A shot to the throat gets Friedman out of trouble and he works on the arm while demanding Cutler tell his family that he’s a bum. Cutler gets fired up and sends him outside for a suicide dive but comes up favoring his knee. Back in and the knee doesn’t seem to be working so Friedman grabs his Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 2:45. That felt like a very sudden ending so maybe the injury was legit.

Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes (as Jay and Silent Bob) are here to hype up their new movie, featuring Chris Jericho. Cue Angelico and Jack Evans to yell, so Jay makes fun of them for not being able to win a match. Private Party shows up with drinks for some laughter.

SCU is in Washington DC to announce that they will be in the tournament, with Scorpio Sky impersonating Barack Obama.

In the arena, SCU announces that it will be Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian representing the team in the tournament. Cue the Lucha Bros to say they’re the best team in the world, with Pentagon spitting water in Daniels’ face. The fight is on but security quickly breaks it up.

Pac vs. Adam Page

Make up match after Pac’s contractual issues over the summer. Joined in progress with JR promising a picture in picture commercial break next time. Pac slides back in and forearms away but a discus lariat turns him inside out. They head outside with Pac being sent into the barricade, followed by a fall away slam into a running shooting star press back inside. Pac is fine enough to knock him back to the floor for an Asai moonsault and Page’s head bangs off the ramp.

Page is a bit rocked as Pac puts him on top, only to elbow Pac in the face. A super fall away slam sets up a slam into a reverse flapjack (that’s a new one) for two. Pac whips him shoulder first into the post though and we take a break. Back with Page in trouble and Pac shouting a lot before walking into a spinebuster. Page gets two off a powerbomb but Pac kicks him low. The Red Arrow hits Page in the back and the Brutalizer is good for the knockout win at 13:00.

Rating: B-. I’m a little surprised by the result here as Page seems to have had the plug pulled out from underneath him. Pac is certainly a star and someone who could be a huge deal around here, though I didn’t think it would be at the expense of Page. It wasn’t clean though and a rematch wouldn’t shock me, nor would it annoy me in the slightest.

Women’s Title: Nyla Rose vs. Riho

For the inaugural title and Britt Baker is on commentary. After the Big Match Intros, Riho starts with some dropkicks but gets shouldered down without much impact. Riho knocks her down again and tries a double stomp to the back but Rose just sits up for the block. The STF goes on for a bit until Riho makes the rope to save herself. A running knee sends Rose outside but she’s fine enough to send Riho into the barricade.

The ref takes a chair away so Rose sends her into the barricade again and pulls out a bunch of chairs. She puts Riho on those chairs but the middle rope dive only hits the steel, allowing Riho to hit a double stomp off the apron. Another double stomp sets up a Bank Statement inside and we take a break.

Back with Riho in trouble and making the mistake of trying a backdrop. Some forearms are cut off by a kick to the face but Riho slips out of a powerbomb. A rollup gets a very close two and the fans aren’t pleased by the kickout. Rose’s Death Valley Driver gets two more and she goes up top, only to get caught with even more forearms. A northern lights superplex gives Riho two so she knees Riho in the face for the pin and the title at 13:27.

Rating: C+. Yeah I can’t say I’m surprised. The tiny newcomer beats the seemingly unstoppable monster in your metaphor of the night. The problem with Riho continues to be that her whole character is that she’s small. Rose continues to lose far more often than she should and that was the case here as well. The crowd got into it though and those near falls were quite good at times. Fine match, but it’s going to take some time to get into Riho.

Post match Michael Nakazawa comes in for the interview in Japanese but Rose comes in to jump them both and powerbomb Nakazawa. A Death Valley Driver on the apron is broken up but Kenny Omega makes the save.

Elite vs. Chris Jericho/Santana/Ortiz

Omega runs back to the stage for his entrance despite the lack of a commercial. Jericho starts against Omega but tags out to Santana before anything happens in an old but classic move. Omega kicks Santana’s knee out and tries his running Fameasser but has to settle for a bulldog as he overshoots it a bit. Jericho comes in for the chops and the Bucks have to break up the Walls with some superkicks.

Back with the Bucks in trouble and Santana/Ortiz hitting their assortment of splashes. Jericho misses the Lionsault to Nick but Ortiz breaks up the hot tag attempt. A cutter out of the corner sets up some rolling northern lights suplexes and the hot tag brings in Nick to clean house. Everything breaks down and it’s Matt taking a springboard Cannonball in the corner. The Judas Effect gives Jericho the pin at 13:20.

Rating: C. The Omega deal took things down a bit here and it felt like it just came and went. It was a good choice for a first main event as it showcased Santana and Ortiz and it’s not like losing to the World Champion is a bad thing. What we got here was good enough and it gave us a fine enough main event, even if the big angle came a bit early.

Post match the big brawl is on with Cody coming in for the save. Sammy Guevara comes in to kick him low so Dustin Rhodes is out for the save. Cue the debuting Jake Hager (Jack Swagger) to wreck Cody, Dustin and the Bucks. That means a WE THE PEOPLE chant as the villains stand tall together. A table is brought in and Dustin gets powerbombed onto (not through) it for the big OOH from the crowd. The Judas Effect leaves Cody laying to end the show. They did get the timing right to wrap it up this time around.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling wasn’t what mattered here. The point of this was everything working well enough and the presentation feeling big overall. Everything looked great here and it felt like a WWE level show. There are a lot of things to work on still, but what we got was rather good. I want to see where things are going in the future and that’s a great sign for a first night.

That’s what matters the most here: it was the first night and the show worked well. Nothing was bad and they had a big moment with the title change. Nothing blew me away, which is actually a silver lining in a way. If you start with your biggest, best show ever, where can you go from there? They have room to improve, but what matters most is to keep things going. Very good start, now keep doing it and make it better.

Results

Cody b. Sammy Guevara – Small package

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Brandon Cutler – Fujiwara armbar

Pac b. Adam Page – Brutalizer

Riho b. Nyla Rose – Running knee to the face

Chris Jericho/Santana/Ortiz b. Kenny Omega/Young Bucks

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #34
Date: December 7, 2018
Location: Cicero Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Rich Bocchini

Last week was a big show and now we have the final event before it’s off to Miami. In this case that means we have the debut of Rush, a big star from Mexico. It’s hard to say what else we might be getting around here, but the good part around here is how you’re almost guaranteed to get at least something worth seeing. Let’s get to it.

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

Earlier today Simon Gotch arrived and was chased by Tom Lawlor. Ricky Martinez shows up to jump Lawlor but didn’t get anywhere.

Opening sequence.

The Hart Foundation went to the Pro Wrestling Tees store and rather like the Hart Foundation shirt. As they should, though it’s not the flashiest thing in the world.

Jason Cade vs. Teddy Hart

Hart has Brian Pillman Jr. with him. Cade isn’t interested in a handshake and strikes away to start instead. A running neckbreaker puts Teddy down and the fans aren’t happy. Teddy gets out of trouble with a Code Red and a Project Ciampa, followed by a bearhug, which actually works despite the sizes. Cade gets planted with a hammerlock DDT, followed by a top rope moonsault elbow (cool) for two.

Since you don’t sell in a match like this, Cade is back up with a tiger driver and a handspring Codebreaker. Cade even goes outside and smacks Pillman around before sending Hart into the barricade. There’s a legdrop off the barricade to Hart’s back but a frog splash hits knees back inside. The electric chair Backstabber keeps Cade in trouble to the point where we even get some old school begging off.

The Stu Hart Special (looked like a suplex flipped forward into a spinebuster) gives Teddy two and Pillman (DANG he looks like his dad here) is shouting at the crowd. Hart hits a piledriver for two more but Cade is right back with some rolling vertical suplexes. A Samoan driver gets another two so Hart pops back up with a super Canadian Destroyer. Another one puts Cade away at 8:41.

Rating: C+. This is all about entertaining spots and no kind of story or flow, which is perfectly fine. Sometimes you need something fun and that’s what you got here. Hart can do the big spots as well as anyone else and Cade is a very talented guy in his own right. I had a good time with this and that’s all that matters in a popcorn match.

An upset Salina de la Renta rants on the phone when Konnan comes up to brag about the Lucha Bros retaining last week. Next up is the World Title, which Konnan will take himself in Miami. After that, he’s coming for Salina. Singing ensues.

We look back at Lawlor and Martinez from earlier.

Konnan finds Martinez down and dripping blood from the head before dropping a padlock next to him.

Marko Stunt vs. Ace Romero

Stunt is about 5’2 and Romero weighs about 400lbs. Tony: “Who in the world booked this?” Stunt dances to Romero’s music before the (literal) squashing can begin. He only comes up to Ace’s chest so they’re definitely going for the freak show style here. Stunt can’t even get his arms halfway around on a waistlock attempt and a chop to the chest just annoys Romero. A running dropkick sends Stunt flying into the corner and Romero goes up (oh dear), only to miss a legdrop onto the apron. I never would have bet on seeing him try a spot like that and the landing looked dangerous.

Stunt hits a suicide dive but Romero CRUSHES HIM against the barricade in a good visual. Back in and the big elbow gets two but Stunt gets fired up. Some running dropkicks stagger Romero and an enziguri makes it even worse. A springboards backsplash to a leaning over Romero gets two and he tosses Stunt into the air, only to get pulled down into a Codebreaker.

Rich brings up a good point: Marko has to make sure that Romero doesn’t fall on him. That’s not usually something that applies but it’s accurate here. Romero takes him up top but Stunt manages a VERY impressive sunset bomb (Rich: “HE BROKE GRAVITY!”) to pop the heck out of the crowd. Marko heads up but his high crossbody is countered into a Black Hole Slam for the pin at 8:41.

Rating: C+. This was fun. That’s the first thing that came to my mind and I’m rather surprised by how much I liked this. Normally this is the kind of match that would make me roll my eyes but I had a good time with it and they didn’t make it seem stupid (for the most part). That’s very hard to do but they managed to pull it off. Well done, and Stunt is slowly starting to change my mind.

We run down next week’s card. Maxwell Jacob Friedman is officially out of the ladder match due to his elbow injury so it’s now a four way match for the vacant Middleweight Title.

We look back at Shane Strickland losing his World Title match two weeks ago and snapping as a result.

Strickland is yelling at CEO Court Bauer (the fact that I have to point out his job title because he’s not around that often is a good thing) behind closed doors and Bauer doesn’t sound happy.

Miami Control Center with both card rundowns.

Salina has had it with Konnan. Low Ki says they came to him with respect and this is what they got. Ricky Martinez comes up, spitting blood into a trashcan. Ki and Salina leave him there after being told it was Konnan.

Rush vs. Sammy Guevara

This is Rush’s (pronounced Roosh) MLW debut and Sammy’s AAA Cruiserweight Title isn’t on the line. Rush’s theme music sounds like it’s being hummed to start but he definitely has some star power. Rush shoves him away to start and dives over a monkey flip attempt. They both try dropkicks and flip up to a standoff, which is enough for Rush to take the shirt off. He throws it all the way onto the lighting grid, which is quite the arm. Rush takes him into the corner and stomps away, followed by a single kick to the face.

That’s enough for a pose ala Andrade Cien Almas (both from the same stable so it makes sense). Guevara knocks him down but stops to pose a little too much, with Tony calling out him for not being serious enough. They fight outside with Rush dropping him onto a table, which doesn’t break. Rush whips him with an electrical cord and gets in a chair shot to keep Sammy in trouble.

Back in and Rush nearly decks the referee and Guevara hits a running shoulder in the corner. Sammy sends him outside for a running flip suicide dive, followed by a springboards missile dropkick for two back inside. They botch what looked to be a standing Spanish Fly so Rush catches him on the top with a release superplex for two of his own. An exchange of superkicks goes to Rush and he headbutts the heck out of Sammy for another near fall. Guevara’s shooting star hits knees so Rush hits a double underhook piledriver (Jay Driller) for the pin at 9:24.

Rating: B-. Oh yeah they have something with Rush. He comes off as a star and has a presence that almost no one around here has, which isn’t something you can teach. Rush is the kind of guy you want on your show because he makes it feel bigger, which is hard to do on a smaller show like this. He’s a good talent to have and someone that hopefully gets a lot of attention going forward.

Post match Rush grabs a mic and says (with subtitles) that he’s here for the rivalry with LA Park, which is quite a big deal in Mexico. Works for me, though I hope Park can carry his side.

After a quick preview for next week’s show, we see Ki and Salina leaving (How are they not gone yet?) and Lawlor chases after them to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Good show here as they seem to actually have found a way to bridge out Lawlor vs. Low Ki all the way to February. This company has managed to surprise me more than once and that’s not something I can say very often. That makes for a fun show week to week and that’s what we got here. Nice work again here, which is becoming the norm.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Lucha Underground

Lucha Underground
Date: October 31, 2018
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

We’ve finally reached Ultima Lucha Cuatro and there’s a pretty strong lineup for the final two shows of the year. Tonight we have the Trios Titles on the line and a mask vs. mask match, but the important thing around here is going to be the backstage stuff, which is where Ultima Lucha really wraps up a bunch of the big stories. That’s what really matters, though the wrestling should be fun too. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video previews tonight’s three matches, as it should.

Aerostar goes to see Captain Vazquez (Catrina’s mother, a Los Angeles cop) and gives her the other half of the medallion, which is from the ancient Aztec times. Vazquez puts it together with her half and disappears, with Aerostar suggesting that she is now reunited with her family beyond the cosmos.

The announcers do their usual welcome.

Trios Titles: Rabbit Tribe vs. Reptile Tribe vs. XO Lishus/Sammy Guevara/Ivelisse

Elimination rules and the Reptile Tribe (Daga/Jeremiah Snake/Kobra Moon) are defending. The White Rabbit destroys everyone to start and loads up the white glove but a quintuple superkick takes him down. El Bunny, the small guy, starts speeding things up with a very spinny headscissors to send Daga outside, setting up dives from Sammy and Ivelisse.

Sammy takes Kobra up above the entrance and hits a crazy Spanish Fly onto everyone else. That ticks the White Rabbit off so he starts wrecking everyone in sight, leaving Sammy to rollup Bunny for the elimination. The White Rabbit isn’t about to leave peacefully so he Mandible Claws Sammy, drawing blood from the mouth. We need a medic as we take a break.

Back with Ivelisse and XO slugging away at all three champs with Ivelisse getting two off the crucifix driver. XO hits a wheelbarrow Stunner for two on Sami with Moon and Daga making a save. Sami is back up and pulls XO shoulder first into the rope, damaging XO’s neck/shoulder/collar bone in the process.

Ivelisse hits a high crossbody onto Daga and Moon with Sami making a save this time. Code Red gets two more on Sami but Daga kicks Ivelisse away, leaving the injured XO all alone. XO goes after them all and gets triple superkicked. The double underhook shoulder breaker into a hurricanrana driver sets up a cross armbreaker for the tap at 12:04.

Rating: C. The action was good though I’m a little surprised by the result as you would have assumed the Rabbits hopped away with the titles here. The Trios Titles haven’t exactly been much in a long time but at least they’re getting some actual teams together at the moment. Now just keep that going, assuming the show is around next season.

Taya Mundo vs. Ricky Mundo

Ricky broke up Taya’s wedding and it’s time for pain. Taya throws him down to start and hits an early release German suplex as the beating is on in a hurry. The running knees in the corner give Taya two but Ricky is right back with a superkick. It’s table time but Taya jumps onto the announcers’ table for a crossbody. Back in and a Saito suplex gives Taya two, followed by a curb stomp. Ricky is almost done anyway so Taya puts on a modified STF to make him tap at 4:11.

Rating: D+. Almost a squash here but the angle and story wrapping up was much more important than the wrestling. Ricky is just a goof so having Taya beat him up is hardly a stretch. Taya is a skilled wrestler, meaning this is hardly a fluke win. Not a bad match or anything, but the wrestling wasn’t the point.

Post match Taya tells him that he ruined her f****** (not censored) wedding and chokeslams him off the apron through the table.

Son of Havoc vs. Killshot

Mask vs. mask. They slug it out to start as Vampiro explains lucha de apuestas (it means a bet match, so his long explanation isn’t quite needed. Killshot takes him to the floor for some chops against the wall and a spinning double underhook slam drops Havoc back inside. Havoc cartwheels away but gets caught with a knee to the face, followed by the Killstomp for two.

Hang on though as Killshot needs a stretcher and unhooks the bottom turnbuckle to get it inside. That’s enough in the ring so let’s head outside again with another table being set up. Havoc fights off of it without much effort and dives off the balcony with a splash to put Killshot through it instead. That only gives Havoc two back inside but Killshot crotches him to break up the shooting star.

Killshot heads up as well but gets taken down with a super Death Valley Driver, setting up the shooting star for two in a great near fall. Havoc goes up again and a superplex brings him down onto the stretcher, setting up the Killstomp for a close two. They slug it out on the stretcher until Havoc gives him a piledriver. That’s not enough for the cover though as Havoc straps him to the stretcher and hits another shooting star for the pin at 14:10.

Rating: B. Killshot is one of the most underrated and consistent people around here and that makes him a very valuable member of the roster. I can’t say I’m surprised as some of his stuff outside of Lucha Underground has been excellent as well. This was another hard hitting match and while it wasn’t quite last year’s match with Dante Fox, it was a heck of a brawl with the right ending.

Post break, Killshot says his name is Jermaine Strickland and he left his brothers to die in war. The mask comes off and it’s someone you probably know better as Shane Strickland. Havoc holds up the mask as Killshot leaves to a lot of cheering.

After the credits, Strickland comes up to Dante Fox (in military uniform), who says he was on a mission. Strickland requests to be relieved of duty and walks away.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t a blow away great show, but to be fair this is just the warm up for next week’s big stuff anyway. It’s nice to have closure to a few stories and that’s what we got here in a well wrapped up way. The main event is pretty good and while it seems that Killshot is gone, almost any Strickland match is worth seeing. Hopefully he gets to make it big soon, because he certainly has the talent. Hopefully next week is the huge show it should be.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #11
Date: June 29, 2018
Location: Gilt Nightclub, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Tony Schiavone

Things are starting to take shape around here but at the same time, there is still new stuff being addle every week which makes the show that much more fun to watch. We’re also getting closer to Battle Riot later this month, which should be a lot of fun if they do it right. I’m not sure what to expect tonight so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s show with Barrington Hughes fighting Sami Callihan’s goons.

Hughes, with a bandage around his head, says he was jumped from behind by something made of metal. They’re not done quarreling or rumbling.

Opening sequence.

We look back at Kotto Brazil beating Vandal Ortagun last week.

Kotto is proud of his win but here are Callihan’s goons and Callihan himself to jump Brazil from behind. Callihan says that’s a message for MVP, as that feud is still going. They take Kotto away.

Ariel Dominguez vs. Jaye Skye

This is a Prospect match and Dominguez weighs 140lbs. They lock up in the corner but here are Su Yung and Zeda Zhang (from the Mae Young Classic) to beat them both down for a no contest after about a minute.

Video on Low Ki wanting to claim the bounty on Shane Strickland. He wants to burn the house of Swerve to the ground. The bounty is now up to $60,000. I don’t like Low Ki but the low voiceover is a very nice touch and rather creepy.

Newly announced for Battle Riot: Tom Lawlor, Brody King, Low Ki, Jimmy Havoc, Samu, Leon Scott. Yes that’s Headshrinker Samu. I’m not sure I get it either.

Also announced for the show: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Joey Ryan for the inaugural Middleweight Championship. That’s rather abrupt.

MVP finds Kotto (no idea how) along with a phone featuring a message from Callihan, who wants to meet him in the boiler room.

Fred Yehi vs. Sammy Guevara

Sammy has Salina de la Renta with him along with a big bodyguard. In the back, Team Filthy offers Fred what sounds to be a rather insincere good luck. A trip to the mat goes nowhere and Yehi runs him over with a shoulder. Back up and Guevara does a standing backflip instead of a leapfrog, which is rather impressive looking. Unfortunately it doesn’t do much good as Yehi grabs the arm to take over. A release German suplex drops Guevara for two but he belly to belly suplexes Yehi into the corner to cut him off.

Guevara puts him in a fireman’s carry to do some squats but Yehi slips out and forearms him in the face. There’s a powerbomb for two on Guevara and it’s time for a sloppy looking sequence where they seem to mistime multiple spots, including Guevara slipping out of a full nelson and getting covered for two. Yehi is tired of the missed spots and grabs a Koji Clutch for the tap at 6:31.

Rating: C. Yehi is getting more and more fun to watch every time he’s out there and Guevara is fine for a cocky heel who can get what’s coming to him. This worked fine and gave Yehi a win that he needed. You can go a few places with someone like him but it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t win at least a few times.

Post match de la Renta ignores Guevara’s excuses.

We look back at Yung and Zhang’s attack earlier.

Team Filthy runs into Low Ki and thank him for building up the bounty money. Low Ki brings up Lawlor being #1 contender and points out all the #1 contenders who have lost their shot. Oh and Low Ki is getting the next title shot anyway. Ki’s voice really is great for things like this.

We look back at Callihan attacking MVP until Brazil made the save, only to have Callihan and company beat them both down with the baseball bat.

Callihan says what happened to Brazil was just a warning to MVP. The boiler room challenge is thrown out again.

We look back at Team Filthy beating Jimmy Havoc down about a month ago.

Havoc is sitting by Team Filthy’s hot tub and says he’s watching them.

Clip of Fenix and Pentagon becoming Tag Team Champions.

Team TBD is arguing and can’t be interviewed right now.

Rich Swann vs. ACH

Tom Lawlor is on commentary and isn’t pleased with both guys dancing before the bell. Lawlor: “I want to beat somebody up.” Swann rolls away from an early chop in the corner as Bocchini asks why the prize in Team Filthy Open Challenges is so low. ACH gets in a roll of his own and backflips into a standoff. There’s a dropkick to put ACH down but Swann doesn’t seem interested in being very aggressive.

An attempt at a handspring bulldog is pretty easily countered as ACH pulls him out of the air and it’s off to a chinlock. A backbreaker into a snap German suplex gives ACH two and we’re right back to the chinlock. Rich: “How do you counter that suplex?” Lawler: “Don’t get caught in it in the first place.” ACH hits him in the back and we hit the third chinlock in about six minutes. I mean….do an armbar or something. Swann fights up and grabs a headscissors for two and a jumping hurricanrana brings ACH off the ropes.

ACH gets in a double stomp to the back and kicks him in the head but comes up holding his shoulder. It’s fine enough for a middle rope frog splash and a one armed deadlift German suplex gets two. Lawlor: “But what if he had two???” Swann is right back up with a Lethal Injection and they’re both banged up. A slow slugout goes to Swann off a kick to the face for two but the standing 450 hits boots. Swann tries la majistral but ACH lays down on it for the surprise pin at 12:37.

Rating: B-. This was a different kind of match as neither was wanting to go that high as neither was willing to find out if the other was that much better. ACH needed the win a lot more than Swann, but it’s kind of surprising to see someone with Swann’s WWE status and being so new take a loss. Still though, not too bad.

Overall Rating: C+. This show isn’t great but I’ve yet to see a bad episode from these guys. They put on good shows with stories that have been put together logically and you can start to see where things are supposed to go. I like what I’ve been seeing and that’s not something I can say happens with a lot of promotions with more time than this one.

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

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

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

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