Ring Of Honor
Date: January 2, 2025
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re starting a new year and that could make things more interesting around here. I mean it probably won’t as tends to be the case with this series, but we do at least have some title matches coming up at Wrestle Dynasty. I’m not sure what that is going to mean, but it’s better than the usual stuff around here. Let’s get to it.

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

We preview the show.

Women’s TV Title: Red Velvet vs. Hanako

Hanako is challenging after defeating Harley Cameron on the Final Battle kickoff show. Velvet poses at her to start and they fight over arm control. Back up and Hanako shoves her into the ropes, where Velvet tells her to get away. More mocking earns Velvet a hard shoulder before a slam sends Velvet outside.

Back in and Velvet starts working on the leg, including wrapping it around the post. Hanako’s knee is fine enough to muscle her up with a suplex and hit some running corner clotheslines. Velvet is back with running knees against the ropes and the Stir It Up gets two. A flipping faceplant finishes Hanako at 8:36.

Rating: C. The match was fine, but Velvet’s incredibly sudden heel turn isn’t exactly doing anything for her. The problem is she doesn’t really have that much of a personality in the first place so it wasn’t some shocking moment when she turned. Without a reason to care about her in the first place, the turn doesn’t have any impact. Throw in Hanako having wrestled for less than ten minutes in ROH coming into this match and there wasn’t much to get interested in here.

Shane Taylor Promotions wants it all. Cool. Now stop talking about it and do something already.

Action Andretti/Lio Rush vs. Homicide/Rocky Romero

Rush jumps Romero to start before it’s off to Andretti to draw Romero in. Homicide comes in legally to chase Rush to the floor, followed by a double shoulder to take him down back inside. The Forever Lariats are broken up and a double suplex drops Romero. A double flapjack sets up Rush’s front facelock but Andretti accidentally decks Rush. Romero kicks Andretti in the face and it’s back to Homicide to clean house. The cutter gives Homicide two and everything breaks down. Romero misses a dive to the floor, allowing Andretti to hit Homicide low for the pin at 8:08.

Rating: C+. This was more action packed to keep the pace up, though it definitely felt like a match that had been written out to the letter to set it up. Rush and Andretti are the new team around AEW/ROH and they are getting some wins together, which makes sense for their future. They could use a name of some kind, but getting a win is what matters most.

We look at Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara retaining the Tag Team Titles at Final Battle.

After the match, Rhodes talked about how important this was and how they have grown together. They’re ready for a match at Wrestle Dynasty, as the House Of Torture have challenged them for the titles.

Harley Cameron vs. Ashley Vox

Vox takes her down to start but Cameron gets a drive into the corner. Cameron avoids a quick Cannonball attempt and grabs a suplex for two. The cross arm choke is broken up in a hurry so Vox can hammer away in the corner. The Cannonball connects as the camera rapidly cuts away from a row of empty seats. Cameron is back with some forearms into the Shining Wizard for the pin at 5:06.

Rating: C. The match wasn’t much to see and in Cameron’s case, it makes sense that she isn’t running through people. She isn’t presented as some kind of dominant force but rather someone who is so out there that she believes she’s amazing. It makes her close to the female Danhausen and it’s nice to see that kind of talent featured here.

Red Velvet is asked why she cheated at Final Battle. She’s tired of being asked that but Leyla Hirsch comes in to demand a rematch. Velvet says sure but on her time.

Shane Taylor Promotions/The Infantry vs. Iron Savages/Dark Order

Trish Adora, Jon Silver and Jacked Jameson are here too. Reynolds and Moriarty grapple to the mat to start with Moriarty getting two off a crucifix. Bravo comes in to hit Boulder in the face so Bronson comes in for his hairy chest spot to make Bravo scream. Adora gets in a cheap shot from the floor and it’s Taylor coming in to take Bronson into the corner. A belly to back suplex/backbreaker combination drops Bronson but he piledrives Bronson onto Dean.

Uno comes in to clean house and everything breaks down, with Boulder hitting a double Downward Spiral. Boulder powerslams Taylor but Bronson gets posted. Moriarty gets Reynolds in the Border City Stretch on the floor and Uno is caught with a double stomp inside. Moriarty comes back in to Border City Stretch Uno for the win at 9:10.

Rating: D+. There is so much wrong with this match, I don’t know where to start. First and foremost, the problem here is the Iron Savages, who have been the most obnoxious villains in the company for months, are suddenly good. There was no promo, no action and no explanation, but now we’re supposed to cheer them. That’s poor storytelling no matter how you look at it. On top of that, forgive me for believing that THIS will be the time that Shane Taylor Promotions finally starts moving up the card. I’ve heard it for so long that I have no reason to believe it. The action was fine, but this match was annoying on multiple levels.

We look at Athena firing Lexi Nair last week.

From Death Before Dishonor 2023 (and from a previous review).

Ring Of Honor Women’s Title: Athena vs. Willow Nightingale

Athena is defending in the rubber match and immediately bails to the floor. Back in and Willow powers her around before they forearm it out. Athena gets two off a crucifix but Willow’s fisherman’s buster gets the same. A crucifix gives Athena two and she sends Willow outside in a crash. Back in and the double knees connect in the corner, setting up the chinlock.

Willow powers her way up and hammers away, only to get dropped with a quick shot to the face for two. Willow is fine enough to try the Babe With The Powerbomb but Athena reverses into a snapmare driver for two. Willow’s swinging neckbreaker gets two but Athena is right back with Obliteration. She muscles Willow up and into a sitout powerbomb for two (that was impressive) before going up.

That takes too long as well though and Willow grabs a super Death Valley Driver for a rather near fall. They head outside and Athena posts her, setting up the O Face for a VERY near fall back inside. The Babe With The Powerbomb gets the same but Athena is back up with another O Face. The crossface goes on and Athena even grabs a leg. Willow passes out to retain Athena’s title at 20:28.

Rating: B-. Well. Ok then. I’m not sure what this weird obsession Ring Of Honor has lately with the heroes losing in the end but they did it again here. It also makes me wonder why the Owen Hart tournament wasn’t just for the title shot with someone else in Athena’s place, thereby giving us the same result and no Athena loss. They had a hard hitting fight, but that was one more deflating ending on a long list of them in Ring Of Honor’s recent history. Someone is going to have to beat Athena, and it’s going to have to be an AEW import at this point. Anyway, solid main event with a rather surprising result.

QT Marshall vs. Komander

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning Marshall gets a title shot if he wins or survives the ten minute time limit. Marshall immediately bails to the floor to burn off a minute to start. Komander isn’t having this and hammers away but gets sent into the corner for a chop. A kick to the ribs staggers Komander and a knee drop gets one. Marshall grabs a neck crank before switching to a basic choke, followed by a chinlock to complete the trifecta.

Komander fights up and his the very springboardy hurricanrana to the floor. Back in and Marshall gets two off a suplex powerbomb and they go up top. Marshall’s super cutter is countered into a super hurricanrana. Marshall is sent outside again for a big springboard moonsault and a springboard Canadian Destroyer sets up Cielito Lindo…but Marshall rolls outside for the time limit at 10:00.

Rating: C+. If there was one match that summed up why this show can be so annoying, it might be this one right here. First and foremost, Marshall hasn’t won a match in AEW or ROH in over a year. Why is he getting this chance? Why not former champion Brian Cage or Survival Of The Fittest runner up Blake Christian? No, instead it’s someone who is known for losing low level matches on Zero Hour getting this shot, again with absolutely no explanation as to why.

Second, Komander, who just got the biggest win of his career and followed it up with an upset in the Continental Classic suddenly can’t be comedy jobber QT Marshall. This is what I mean when I saw this show feels like it just comes and goes with no logic or reasoning behind almost anything that happens, and my goodness it is so frustrating at times.

Overall Rating: C. This show was all kinds of frustrating, if nothing else due to just how all of the place it felt. Case in point, you have three title matches coming up and they were earned by someone winning their only match in ROH, someone just asking for a shot, and someone losing every match they have before going to a draw. Meanwhile, how many people are THIS CLOSE to a title shot and have been for months now?

I’m not expecting this show to be the greatest, tightest booked show of all tie but having it include some sort of continuity or sense. Throw in the unforgivable sin of trying to make me like the Iron Savages and this was a really hard show to watch. As usual, the action was fine, but the show feels like it’s thrown together with an excuse of “oh who cares” when it comes to structure or internal logic.

Results
Red Velvet b. Hanako – Flipping faceplant
Action Andretti/Lio Rush b. Homicide/Rocky Romero – Low blow to Homicide
Harley Cameron b. Ashley Vox – Shining Wizard
Shane Taylor Promotions/The Infantry b. Iron Savages/Dark Order – Border City Stretch to Uno
QT Marshall vs. Komander went to a time limit draw

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Ring Of Honor
Date: December 19, 2024
Location: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s the night before Final Battle and that probably means we’re going to be getting a bunch of matches added to the card. That should open up the door for some important stuff, but this show has a hit and miss track record. Hopefully the show makes me want to see Final Battle more than I do coming in so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Lee Johnson vs. Bishop Kaun

EJ Nduka and Toa Liona are here too. Johnson can’t do much with the power to start as Kaun easily powers him into the corner. Back up and Johnson picks up the pace, with a running dropkick sending Kaun outside. The dive connects but Kaun is smart enough to tie the leg up in the ropes to take over. After a random stomp on the arm, Kaun cranks on the leg and dragon screw whips it out of the corner.

The half crab sends Johnson over to the ropes so Kaun blasts him with a clothesline. The goo leg lets Johnson hit a basement superkick into an enziguri, setting up a standing moonsault for two. Kaun catches him on top for a superplex though and some knees to the ribs get two of his own. A double underhook is loaded up but Johnson reverses into a jackknife rollup for the pin at 8:28.

Rating: C+. Standard speed vs. power match here with Johnson hanging in there against the rather strong Kaun. It makes Johnson 1-1 against the Gates of Agony an odds are it leads to a tag match at Final battle to give Nduka a showcase. That’s not a bad idea and it comes after a good enough match here.

Post match a fight is teased but Kaun whispers something to Liona, who backs down from Nduka.

Lee Moriarty is ready for anyone at Final Battle.

Leyla Hirsch and Red Velvet go face to face in the back and they’re ready to fight at Final Battle.

Lady Frost vs. Queen Aminata

Aminata shoves her down to start and they trade forearms, with Aminata getting the better of things. Frost gets in some kicks to drop Aminata and a standing moonsault gives her two. A fisherman’s suplex gives Frost two and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Aminata kicks her in the face for two but Frost scores with a kick of her own. The handspring cannonball gives Frost two more but she misses a spinning kick to the head. Aminata ties her up in something like an Octopus with the legs wrapped up for the tap at 6:44.

Rating: C+. This is a good example of a match between two people who have nothing going on. They’re both just kind of there and having decent matches without moving up the ladder. The match was ok enough but neither of them are going anywhere and it’s hard to get interested in whatever they’re doing here.

The Righteous go to Dustin Rhodes’ wrestling school and jump him (as he’s vacuuming the ring). They choke him out and bust him open before calling Sammy Guevara to promise more at Final Battle.

Murder Machines vs. Iron Savages

Don Callis and Jacked Jameson are here too. Cage and Boulder trade shoulders to start until Cage snaps off a suplex. Bronson comes in and Archer crossbodies him down without much trouble. A crossbody out of the corner gets Boulder out of trouble and a double chokeslam drops Archer. The Beefcake Bomb gets two but Cage is back in for the save. Archer’s splash gets two more and everything breaks down. The chokeslam/powerbomb combination finishes Bronson at 5:23.

Rating: C. Archer and Cage are a fine power team but my goodness I never need to see the Savages again. They’re the whipping boys of ROH/AEW and just hearing their music makes me want to fast forward. The Machines beat them up well enough here but it’s another case of “here’s a match to remind you that the winners are in fact still here”.

QT Marshall is late to a face to face meeting with Jay Lethal. They bicker about Lethal wanting to get back to the top of ROH while Marshall has to deal with a neck injury. Lethal was in the match where Marshall got hurt but it wasn’t his fault. Marshall hits him in the face. Why in the world is Jay Lethal vs. QT Marshall getting roughly 10x the build that the main event is getting?

From Final battle 2023 and from a previous review:

Ring Of Honor Women’s Title: Athena vs. Billie Starkz

Athena, the hometown star with a broken nose, is defending. Starkz knocks her fast into the corner and they fight out to the floor. Athena sends Starkz face first into the barricade a few times, with Starkz coming up bleeding. Back in and Athena keeps up the beating, including a neck crank as the blood continues to flow. Starkz gets sent to the floor as this has been much more of a brawl than a match so far.

Athena cuts off a comeback attempt but Starkz fights out of the Tree of Woe and suplexes her into the corner. They both mix kicks to the face before Starkz grabs a dragon suplex. Starkz spears her down and pulls off the mask, setting up some less than great looking forearms. The Swanton connects for two so Athena goes outside, with Starkz hitting a suicide dive into the barricade.

Athena gets in a shot of her own and loads up the announcers’ table but Starkz suplexes her down to the floor. A fireman’s carry is escaped and Starkz pulls her down by the hair. They fight onto the barricade again and it’s a reverse Sling Blade to send Starkz face first onto the floor. It’s time to really try something new so they head back inside for a top rope German superplex for two on Starkz. Back up and the ref gets bumped so Athena asks guest ring announcer (and head Minion) Lexi Nair to hand her the title.

Starkz dropkicks Athena into Nair and Starkz’s End gets two. Back up again and they fight to the apron, where Starkz hits an electric chair driver to knock Athena silly on the floor. The Swanton misses back inside and Athena punches her in the face for a double knockdown. Athena wins a slugout and hits Despicable Knee for two. They trade some rollups for two each until Athena ties her up in something like a modified Octopus hold for the tap to retain at 28:21.

Rating: B. I would bet that this had to be more of a brawl than a match due to the injury, as the style let Athena take a few long breaks in there. Other than that….my goodness who is left to take the title from Athena? This is the match that has been built up for months now and, again, Athena just retains. I’m not sure who in the world is supposed to take the title from her, but it might not be happening for a bit. It’s cool to see a milestone like the women headlining, but it would also be cool to see a heel lose a major title match around here.

Sidney Akeem vs. Serpentico

They fight over arm control to start and flip around a bit until Akeem is sent to the apron. Serpentico’s baseball slide misses and some spinning knees give Akeem two. Serpentico grabs a hurricanrana into a clothesline for two, followed by a double stomp for the same. Akeem sends him into the corner for a running clothesline into something like a Swerve Strickland House Call. Akeem’s top rope standing moonsault press gets two and they trade forearms. Back up and Akeem goes with a double backflip into a cutter for two more but Serpentico knocks him off the top. The Swanton finishes for Serpentico at 6:26.

Rating: C+. If you like flips and video game style matches, you’ll like this. There was very little here to be seen, as a lot of the stuff has been done to death around here. Neither of them has anything going on with the pay per view and this was little more than a way to extend this show, which feels like quite the bad idea on a long show before the biggest event of the year.

Respect is shown post match.

Billie Starkz/Athena vs. Missa Kate/Blair Onyx

Athena chops Starkz so she can start, with a German suplex dropping Kate. A kick to the head and hurricanrana out of the corner drop Onyx but Kate kicks Starkz in the face. Kate gets slammed onto Starkz for two before Athena comes in to throw Starkz at both of them. Starkz gets suplexed onto Onyx before Athena chokes her out for the win at 3:18.

Rating: C. There were some creative spots in there with Athena using Starkz as a weapon but my goodness it is hard for me to fathom that Starkz vs. Athena is the main event of Final Battle again. It feels ice cold compared to last year’s match and they are going to need a lot more than this to make me interested.

Post match Starkz steals the custom Athena title and rips her picture off. The fight is on with Athena beating her down.

Final Battle rundown.

Chris Jericho is in the back of a car and says that Matt Cardona is making a big mistake. We look at Jericho invading a GCW show and attacking Cardona. The summary of why this whole thing feels off: Jericho is wearing an AEW shirt rather than something from Ring Of Honor.

Video on Lee Moriarty.

Grizzled Young Veterans/Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Dark Order/Undisputed Kingdom

Gibson and Reynolds fight over a lockup to start and get nowhere. Reynolds takes him down and nips up, allowing Uno to come in. That means Moriarty comes in and takes over on the arm and a basement forearm connects for two. Back up and Uno sends Moriarty into a triple boot in the corner and it’s Bennett coming in for a Thesz press on Drake.

Taylor comes in for a chokeslam to Taven and the villains take over. Drake and Gibson take turns on Taven until he enziguris his way to freedom. Everything breaks down and it’s a parade of strikes until Taylor is low bridged to the floor. The Order and the Veterans brawl to the back, leaving Bennett to knock Taylor outside. Moriarty then rolls Bennett up for the pin (while grabbing the rope) at 10:12.

Rating: C+. Another fast paced match but again, I’m not sure how this is the best way to wrap up a show before the biggest pay per view Ring Of Honor offers. The Veterans are just kind of there and Moriarty is a singles champion. That doesn’t exactly make me interested in seeing what Moriarty (the only one on the actual pay per view card) is going to do. As usual with a match like this, it was a lot of people running around until someone got a (cheating) win, which isn’t going to let anyone really stand out.

Overall Rating: C. Again, if this is supposed to make me want to watch Final Battle, they really didn’t do a good job. As usual, there is a bunch of stuff from people who have nothing to do with the bigger stories, or really any story, and it makes things a lot less interesting. Ring Of Honor’s biggest problem is there is too much content without the interesting stars to back it up and that was on full display here. Not a bad show on its own, but for a show designed to draw interest in Final battle, it didn’t work so well.

Results
Lee Johnson b. Bishop Kaun – Jackknife rollup
Queen Aminata b. Lady Frost – Leg tie Octopus
Murder Machines b. Iron Savages – Chokeslam/powerbomb combination to Bronson
Serpentico b. Sidney Akeem – Swanton
Billie Starkz/Athena b. Missa Kate/Blair Onyx – Choke to Onyx
Grizzled Young Veterans/Shane Taylor Promotions b. Dark Order/Undisputed Kingdom – Rollup with rope to Bennett

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Ring Of Honor
Date: November 28, 2024
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s Thanksgiving night and that means we are less than a month away from Final Battle. As usual at this point, we don’t have anything set for the show but we might get some of those set up this week. That should make for an interesting night, assuming that is the direction it actually takes. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Chris Jericho retaining the ROH World Title over Tomohiro Ishii last night on Dynamite.

Jericho promises to defend his title at Final Battle. And he sings.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

LeeJ vs. Anthony Gangone/Kubes

That would be Lee Johnson and EJ Nduka. Johnson and Gangone start things off with Gangone taking him down but getting punched out of the corner. Nduka comes in and sends Kubes to the floor, setting up a spinebuster/neckbreaker combination to finish Gangone at 1:44. Total squash, but LeeJ is an awful name.

Queen Aminata vs. Christina Marie

Aminata wastes no time in snapping off a suplex but Marie dropkicks her into the corner. A bulldog is shoved off though and Aminata hits a running boot in the corner. With Marie down, Aminata ties up the legs and cranks on the arm (almost an Octopus) for the tap at 1:50.

Iron Savages vs. MxM Collection

Mansoor and Bronson start things off with Mansoor’s headlock not getting him anywhere. A dropkick staggers Bronson so Boulder comes in, threatening to bite the tip off. Mason’s flying shoulder sends Boulder out to the floor and the Collection gets to pose. A hip attack drops Bronson but Mansoor gets taken into the wrong corner.

Bronson runs him over with a shoulder and a powerslam cuts off the tag attempt. The middle rope moonsault misses though and it’s Mason coming in to clean house. The Savage’s hairy chest deal goes badly and Mason grabs a chokeslam. That’s enough to set up the Centerfold to finish Boulder at 6:33.

Rating: C. You know what you’re going to get from these guys and that wasn’t a surprise. The Collection had the fans behind them and the Savages are doing the same things that they do every time they’re out there. It wasn’t a bad match, but I couldn’t get interested in the Savages no matter what they do.

Matt Taven vs. Josh Woods

Pure Rules match and Mark Sterling (with Ariya Daivari) do their usual before the match. They go to the mat to start with Woods’ armbar sending Taven over to the ropes. Back up and a dropkick puts Woods down, with Taven reminding us that he does in fact know his name. Woods sends the arm into the ropes to take over and an armbar stays on said arm. Taven elbows his way to freedom and gets two off a DDT. A doctor bomb and knee to the face give Woods two but Taven knocks him back down. Taven’s Lionsault hits knees but Woods’ suplex is reversed into a cradle for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C. This match was a good example of what is wrong with the Pure Rules division: the rules don’t change a thing about the match. This was a run of the mill match with a single rope break, which would have been the case in any match. I’m sure this will put Taven in line for a Pure Rules Title match because that’s how the title works, which shows you how unnecessary that title happens to be.

A bunch of women argue over who will be representing Ring Of Honor at Wrestle Dynasty.

Athena promises to win the four way at Wrestle Dynasty, though she’s not sure why she has to qualify.

Righteous vs. Beef/JD Drake

The Righteous jump them before the bell but Beef and Drake fight back. Dutch takes over on Beef for the bell and Vincent takes off his belt, allowing Dutch to choke with the bull rope. Dutch’s Flip Flop and Fly has Beef in more trouble but he gets over to Drake to come in and clean house. Orange Sunshine takes Drake down though and the Bionic Elbow finishes for Dutch at 4:15.

Rating: C. Does it feel like the Righteous are feuding with Dustin Rhodes and a warm body? This whole feud has been about Dutch and that bull rope/cowbell vs. Dustin, with Sammy Guevara just kind of being there. It’s almost like Dustin and Sammy are lame champions who shouldn’t have held the titles this long in the first place.

Post match Dustin Rhodes charges out but Sammy Guevara cuts him off. Dustin wants to fight and grabs a chair but the Righteous runs off.

AR Fox vs. John Silver

The rest of the Dark Order is here with Silver. A running shoulder puts Fox down to start but he’s right back up with a neckbreaker to send Silver outside. The big no hands dive wipes Silver out but he grabs a heck of a German suplex back inside. Fox isn’t having that and hits a legdrop into a big dive on the floor, followed by a Swanton for two. Silver’s brainbuster gets two more but Fox is back with an Iconoclasm. The 450 finishes Silver at 4:58.

Rating: C+. Fox was a ball of energy here and it made for a good, fast paced match. It helps that Silver has his usual batch of charisma and they kept things moving in the limited time that they had. Fox isn’t likely going to do anything significant, but the fans like him and that’s enough around here.

Red Velvet will defend the Women’s TV Title against Leyla Hirsch at Final Battle.

From Final Battle 2009.

Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Hero

Fight Without Honor so it’s a brawl on the floor to start. Hero kicks him in the face and grabs a chain for some whipping. A whip into the barricade has Kingston in more trouble and they head inside so Hero can stomp away. Some shots to the face with the chain have Kingston busted open and a Wasteland onto the chain makes it worse. Kingston headscissors his way out of a Liger Bomb and a release Rock Bottom onto the chain has Hero in trouble for a change.

A northern lights bomb gives Kingston two but Hero knocks him down again. The shirts come off and they strike it out with Kingston looking a bit out of it. Hero brings in a piece of barricade before snapping off a belly to back suplex. The barricade is laid over the middle rope and a superbomb (almost a piledriver) drops Kingston onto the steel…for two.

Somehow Kingston is back with a German suplex and a clothesline with the chain gets two more. Hero’s lackey Shane Hagadorn offers a distraction so Kingston has to take out Sara Del Ray. A suplex drops Hero but he’s back with a low blow. The rolling elbow gives Hero two so Kingston spinning backfists him for two. Kingston steals the golden (loaded) elbow pad and hits a rolling elbow of his own for the win at 15:14.

Rating: B. As usual, something tells me this would be better with some knowledge of the backstory. Since this is just a random wild brawl added to the show, there is only so much that can be covered. Kingston was his usual fighting self and Hero could work with anyone. It was a good brawl, but the backstory would have helped a lot.

Grizzled Young Veterans/Pat Buck vs. Conglomeration

O’Reilly and Gibson trade takedowns to start until Drake goes to the eyes to take O’Reilly into the corner. That doesn’t last long as it’s off to Briscoe to take over. Romero comes in but gets kicked from the apron to slow him down. Buck comes in for a dropkick but Romero suplexes Gibson down. The Veterans take turns hammering on Romero until a quick knockdown lets Briscoe come in. A fisherman’s buster gets two on Drake and Briscoe gets in a double noggin knocker. O’Reilly cross armbreakers Buck for the win at 6:39.

Rating: C. What the heck happened to the Veterans? I get that they’re not great but they’re good enough to be more than cannon fodder for the Conglomeration. I forget that they’re around most of the time because they came in, did a quick thing with the Young Bucks and then got dropped. They’re better than this, but that doesn’t seem to matter at the moment.

Overall Rating: C-. So that’s the Thanksgiving show. A bunch of run of the mill matches, a random title match being added to Final Battle, and a classic match which was only so good in the first place and has no real reason to be here. Other than commentary talking about it, you would have no idea that the show was taking place on a holiday, making this just a dull, lifeless show. In other words, typical Ring Of Honor.

Results
LeeJ b. Anthony Gangone/Kubes – Spinebuster/neckbreaker combination to Gangone
Queen Aminata b. Christina Marie – Four limb stretch
MxM Collection b. Iron Savages – Centerfold to Boulder
Matt Taven b. Josh Woods – Cradle
Righteous b. JD Drake/Beef – Bionic Elbow to Drake
AR Fox b. John Silver – 450
Conglomeration b. Grizzled Young Veterans/Pat Buck – Cross armbreaker to Buck

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Ring Of Honor
Date: November 14, 2024
Location: Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, Rhode Island
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re closing in on Final Battle but since there is probably more than a month to go before the show, nothing has been announced just yet. Odds are we’ll be seeing some seeds being planted soon though and that might start this week. Last week’s show was a bit more structured than usual so hopefully the trend continues here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Card rundown.

Gates Of Agony vs. Undisputed Kingdom vs. Dark Order vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Kaun takes Taven down to start and hammers away but Taven is back up with a dropkick and the shout of his name. Bennett comes in and gets chopped down before some rapid fire chops let the Order knock Gibson down. It’s off to Drake for a step up dropkick to send Reynolds to the floor. Back in and Taven gets the tag to clean house, with Bennett’s Death Valley Driver setting up Just The Tip for two on Gibson. The Gates are back in with Open The Gates to Bennett before Silver gets to take over for a change. A quick Hail Mary gives Bennett the pin on Silver at 5:37.

Rating: C+. What are you supposed to get out of an eight man match that doesn’t even last six minutes? The Kingdom was the last team to go on a big run of offense and got the win as a result. As usual, this would have been better as a regular tag match, but it’s not like any of these teams are likely to get near the title situation anytime soon.

Post match respect is shown between the Gates and the Kingdom.

Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara vs. Shot Through The Heart

Non-title. Rhodes and Doug (as in Love Doug, because his name is Love Doug) with Rhodes shrugging off some early right hands to take over on Crawford. Guevara comes in and flips over him before hitting a dropkick to send Crawford outside. There’s the big flip dive, followed by the middle rope cutter back inside. Rhodes kicks Crawford in the face and the GTH finishes him off at 2:43. As usual, Rhodes and Guevara show absolutely nothing that makes them feel important or better than any average team.

Post match the Righteous come in and beat down Guevara and Rhodes. We get extra serious as the cowbell is used, as well as STOLEN.

We get Chris Jericho and the Learning Tree’s promo from Dynamite accepting a challenge from Tomohiro Ishii.

Preston Vance/Griff Garrison vs. Waves And Curls

Vance shoulders Jordan (of Traevon Jordan/Jaylen Brandyn) down to start and gets in another knockdown for a bonus. Brandyn comes in and lays down rather than get chopped in what might be a smart move. It’s off to Garrison to stomp away and before Vance adds a delayed vertical suplex, allowing commentary to make a Power And Glory comparison (because Power And Glory has become a great team over the years….somehow). Jordan is sent into the barricade, followed by a discus forearm into a discus lariat to give Vance the pin at 4:19.

Rating: C. Vance and Garrison aren’t exactly a great team but it’s not like either of them have anything going at the moment. I’m assuming Cole Karter is gone or something, as Vance was just thrown in there as Garrison’s new partner. It’s not a great move, but they did well enough in their first match together.

Video on the Infantry joining Shane Taylor Promotions.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Aaron Solo

Solo, Shibata’s student, jumps him before the bell and seems rather pleased as he suplexes Shibata on the floor. Shibata comes up favoring his ankle but it’s fine enough to kick Solo in the face. Shibata’s suplex drops Solo and they head inside with Shibata striking away. Some chops in the corner and a butterfly suplex drop Solo but he’s back with an exploder for two of his own. That’s not going to work for Shibata, who grabs an Octopus for the win at 4:01.

Rating: C+. They started fast here and had a physical match until Shibata crushed Solo, which is how this should have gone in the end. It’s also a match where they didn’t waste time, as there was no reason to believe that Solo was going to be able to hang in there long term. Shibata doesn’t have much going on at the moment, but he’s still far ahead of Solo.

Komander vs. Josh Woods

Mark Sterling is here with Woods and says the same thing he says every week (if not twice). Woods wrestles him to the mat to start but Komander is back up with a whip to the floor, setting up the flip dive. Another dive seems to hurt Komander’s knee so Sterling gets in some stomping of his own like a good villain is supposed to do.

Some Sterling choking (with Alex Abrahantes chasing him off) sets up a quickly broken chinlock as Komander kicks him in the head. A springboard crossbody gives Komander two but Woods knees him out of the air for two. They head outside again with Komander hitting a hurricanrana into the post. Sterling offers a distraction so Abrahantes spears him own, leaving Komander to grab a tornado DDT. Cielito Lindo finishes for Komander at 6:37.

Rating: C+. That’s your required Komander match of the week, though it’s not a great sign when the fans are reacting to the managers fighting more than the people in the match. Other than that, neither of them did anything out of their usual, which didn’t make for the most thrilling match. At least it didn’t go on far longer than it needed to, as is Komander’s custom.

MxM Collection has merch.

Abadon vs. Viva Van

Van goes with a slap rather than a handshake to start before snapping off a spinwheel kick for two. Abadon gets annoyed at the hair pull though and hits a knee to the face. An RKO plants Van and the Black Dahlia finishes Van at 3:06.

Rating: C. Not much to see here as they kept it short again, though this was longer than most of what Abadon tends to do. Abadon continues to feel like a star, though that doesn’t mean guaranteed future gold. For now, I’ll take a fairly hard hitting match which was a step more competitive than a normal squash.

Athena and Lexi Nair are waiting for Billie Starkz to apologize but she doesn’t want to do it. Leila Grey interrupts and challenges Athena, who laughs her off. A Proving Ground match is set for next week. Starkz is still in trouble though.

From March 16, 2023 and from a previous review.

Athena vs. Hyan

Another non-title Proving Ground match. Athena drops her to start and mocks the fans a bit, only to get kicked in the face for her rudeness. A swinging chokeslam cuts Hyan down again but she fights out of a chinlock. Athena catches her on top and spins into a powerbomb to the floor (ouch). Back in and the Crossface makes Hyan tap at 4:41.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do much here and a lot of that was spent on Athena playing to the fans. That powerbomb looked good though and Athena ran through an opponent who shouldn’t have caused her much trouble. This was little more than a showcase for Athena and in that regard, it went well.

Righteous vs. Matt Raymond/Sammy Diaz

Dutch has the cowbell from earlier. Diaz slugs away to start but gets elbowed in the face for his efforts. A Russian legsweep allows the tag off to Dutch for a Side Effect. Dutch suplexes Diaz down and it’s a Boss Man Slam into Orange Sunshine into an assisted Death Valley Driver to pin Diaz at 2:55.

Post match Vincent says they should have been the Tag Team Champions a long time ago and they’re coming for the belts. Dig what he is saying? Dutch mocks Dustin Rhodes with the cowbell because it used to belong to Dusty Rhodes. Apparently Dutch and Dusty were close and Dusty say potential in him. Everyone knows that Dustin is the weakest link in “our” family. Maniacal laughing ensues.

Women’s TV Title: Diamante vs. Red Velvet

Diamante is challenging in a street fight. The fight starts on the floor, where Diamante gets in some kendo stick shots to the back and then chokes on the ropes. The belt is hung on the ropes but Diamante misses a charge and goes head first instead. Diamante is fine enough to tie her in the Tree of Woe, and a trashcan, for a running dropkick and a near fall. Velvet is rammed head first into a chair a few times and it’s time to choke with a chain. That’s broken up and Diamante is sent into the corner as the fans want tables.

Instead they get a ladder from Velvet, which takes long enough that Diamante suplexes her onto the ladder for the crash. Diamante loads up the table but again it takes too long, allowing Velvet to get in some chair shots. Velvet takes too long (a pattern emerges) going up and a superplex sends her through the table for the big crash. The delayed cover gives Diamante two but Velvet is back with a flipping faceplant onto the belt to retain at 10:57.

Rating: B-. They beat each other up rather well here and it felt like a match that was built up over time. Velvet gets a win to make her seem like a more serious champion and that is good to see. At the same time, Diamante put in quite a nice performance of her own and it was a nice enough brawl. It wasn’t perfect though, as they spent too much time setting things up and it was a bunch of stuff that feels like it has been done a million or so times.

Overall Rating: C+. Overall, the show was a bit better as they trimmed the time down again (just shy of an hour and a half this week) but there is still a lot on here that feels like it could be trimmed of. I’m not sure why we needed to see Shibata beat Solo or a random non-title match from Athena from a year and a half ago. What matters the most is that it feels like they’re building some things up and that could help in the long run, assuming they stick with that style for a change.

Results
Undisputed Era b. Dark Order, Gates Of Agony and the Grizzled Young Veterans – Hail Mary to Silver
Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara b. Shot Through The Heart – GTH to Crawford
Preston Vance/Griff Garrison b. Waves And Curls – Discus lariat to Jordan
Katsuyori Shibata b. Aaron Solo – Octopus
Komander b. Josh Woods – Cielito Lindo
Abadon b. Viva Van – Black Dahlia
Righteous b. Matt Raymond/Sammy Diaz – Assisted Death Valley Driver to Diaz
Red Velvet b. Diamante – Flipping faceplant onto the title belt

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Ring Of Honor
Date: November 7, 2024
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re getting close to Final Battle, though it’s still far enough away that the show hasn’t been officially announced yet. Last week’s show was quite the lengthy affair at nearly three hours, with the big story being Athena escaping with the Women’s Title against Abadon. That would seem to set up an eventual showdown with Billie Starkz over the title and maybe that starts here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

We recap the Righteous coming after the Tag Team Titles last week.

Infantry vs. Tom Mitchell/Trace Parker

Shane Taylor is here with the Infantry. Bravo takes Parker into the corner to start and slugs away, with Dean getting in some choking from the apron. Bravo gives Mitchell a wind up DDT and it’s Boot Camp into a double stomp (Two To The End) for the pin at 2:24.

Spanish Announce Project vs. Shawn Donovan/LSG

Angelico and Donovan fight over wrist control to start until Serpentico comes in off the top with a stomp to the arm. Angelico hits some running clotheslines in the corner, at least until Donovan knocks him into another corner to take over. A Snow Plow gets two on Serpentico, who kicks his way out of trouble and hands it back to Angelico to pick up the pace. Angelico kicks Donovan in the head for two before grabbing an over the back stretch to make LSG tap at 5:15.

Rating: C. This is a good example of how Tony Khan’s booking style not only gets repetitive but also wastes time. Last week, the Project lost to the Infantry. Therefore, this match was designed to rehabilitate them in some way. That’s something that works well enough in theory, but the problem is rather simple: it’s the Spanish Announce Project. While they’re talented, they’re also about as low level of a team as you can get on the good side.

Winning this match doesn’t boost them up or change anything about them, as they’re still nothing but a team who have been around forever and aren’t going to move up the card in any meaningful way. This would be the equivalent of having Demolition beat the Killer Bees in 1988 and then needing to see the Bees win a match over the Brooklyn Brawler and Jose Estrada the next week. That would never happen, as it would just take up time and have no impact. That’s Ring Of Honor in a nutshell, as the show was just extended by about eight minutes and nothing was gained.

Lee Moriarty is ready to fight Matt Taven.

Preston Vance vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara tries an early GTH but Vance slips out, only to get caught with a dropkick. With Vance on the floor, Guevara gets to spin into his pose for a bit. Vance pulls him to the floor but Guevara changes places and hits a quick dive. Another dive off the barricade is countered into a suplex, allowing Vance to send him hard into the barricade. We hit the chinlock back inside until Guevara pops up for a superkick. Some forearms against the ropes stagger Vance, who is right back with the discus lariat. Not that it matters as Guevara is right back with the GTH for the pin at 6:04.

Rating: C. So Guevara is dealing with the Righteous as they come after the Tag Team Titles so he has a fairly competitive singles match against someone who has nothing to do with the Righteous? One might think there should have been a tag match here as Guevara and Dustin Rhodes haven’t actually teamed together in over a month, but why waste time with that? Vance continues to look decent and continues to do nothing around here, as is the case for a lot of people.

Post match the lights flicker and we hear the Righteous laugh but nothing happens.

The Outrunners have merch. I think it’s going to sell.

Lee Johnson/EJ Nduka vs. The Philly Marino Experience

Johnson headlocks Marino down to start and we’re off to the early chinlock. The rather large Nduka comes in and unloads on Marino in the corner. The good guys take turns hammering away in the corner before Philly comes in. A double clothesline drops the Experience and a spinebuster plants Philly. Johnson’s frog splash finishes at 4:39.

Rating: C. Johnson and Nduka work well enough together and it was a fine way to give them some ring time without being in any danger. I’m not sure I can imagine them getting close to the title picture, but I can go with an effective squash. If nothing else, Nduka continues to look impressive so putting him in the ring in any way seems like a smart move.

We look at Athena retaining the Women’s Title in last week’s main event.

Athena has called a MEM (Minion Empowerment Meeting) for tonight and thinks it’s time to go around the world. Lexi Nair says hello in a variety of languages when Billie Starkz comes in. Athena is not impressed and leaves, with Starkz being amazed that Athena won’t apologize.

Diamante vs. Rachael Ellering

Ellering grinds away on a headlock to start and then runs her over with a shoulder. A gutwrench suplex drops Diamante but she sends Ellering into the corner for the stomping. Diamante’s running corner dropkick gets two but Ellering is back up with a running elbow. The Squish gives Ellering two, only for Diamante to go to the eyes. The rolling cutter finishes for Diamante at 4:41.

Rating: C+. Ellering continues to feel like a fine midcard gatekeper, which is all that she needs to be. On the other hand you have Diamante, who being built up for another shot at the TV Title. There is a story there and the follow up has gone rather well. Now just do the match and see where it goes from there.

Post match Red Velvet comes in to brawl with Diamante in a not so nice move.

We look at Leylah Hirsch beating Diamante in a Last Woman Standing match in July but dislocating her elbow in the process.

Leylah Hirsch vs. Tina San Antonio

Hirsch wrestles her down to start but an O’Connor roll is blocked. San Antonio gets in some shoulders to the ribs in the corner but she misses a running elbow. Hirsch’s German suplex into a running knee finishes at 2:30.

Matt Taven wants the Pure Wrestling Title.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Aaron Solo

Solo’s running shoulders have no effect as Ishii drops him with a single clothesline. Another try goes better for Solo as he drops Ishii and they trade more forearms. Ishii hits another running shoulder and a Saito suplex gets two. A German suplex plants Solo, who is right back with a superkick to put Ishii down. Solo hits a frog splash for two but Ishii’s big lariat gets the same. Ishii isn’t having this and hits the sliding lariat, setting up the brainbuster for the pin at 5:30.

Rating: C+. While Solo isn’t exactly top level competition, they had a nice competitive match with Ishii eventually getting to take him out. Ishii is getting boosted up for a big main event level run in AEW as he helps go after the Death Riders, so giving him a win here is fine. Maybe it should have been on AEW, but he’s already over enough there anyway.

The Righteous come out for a tag match but Sammy Guevara and Dustin Rhodes jump them for the brawl.

Nick Wayne vs. Ryan Clancy

Wayne kicks away the handshake offer but Clancy spins around and takes him down without much trouble. A posing monkey flip out of the corner drops Wayne, who is fine enough to send Clancy outside to take over. Back in and a neckbreaker gives Wayne two and he grabs a neck crank. Clancy fights up and gets in a Russian legsweep for two of his own. A dropkick sends Wayne to the floor, only for Wayne to knock the referee into the ropes to crotch Clancy on top. Wayne’s World finishes at 7:28.

Rating: C+. This was a good showcase for Clancy and that’s what the idea seemed to be. Wayne isn’t someone who should be out there dominant but rather winning by cheating, with Christian Cage being able to beam with pride later. Nicer than I was expecting here, even with the extended time.

The Infantry and Shane Taylor Promotions try to find Dustin Rhodes but have to beat up security instead.

From February 21, 2021.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Mexisquad

Shane Taylor/the Soldiers of Savagery are challenging and Maria Kanellis-Bennett is on commentary. Hands are shaken but the fight is on in a hurry with everyone going to the floor. Back in and Flamita ducks Khan’s running big boot in the corner, allowing Flamita to hit a quick takeover. A dropkick puts Khan down again but he powers Flamita into the corner, allowing the tag off to Moses.

That means a big running charge takes Flamita over (commentary is rather pleased) but he’s right back up with a twisting Stunner. Shane comes in to chase Rey Horus around until a shot to Shane’s face sends us to a break. Back with Bandido getting the hot tag to come in and hammer on Shane. That’s fine with Taylor, who shoves him into the corner for the tag off to Flamita. A walk across Bandido’s shoulders sets up a running hurricanrana with the champs sending all of them outside. That means trio of dives, followed by a trio of flips to take them down again.

Back in and a 450 gets two on Shane as commentary tries to figure out if the champs winning can be an upset. Flamita flips Bandido around to take out Khan’s legs, because that’s just something he can do. One heck of a toss splash gives Flamita two on Moses with Khan making the save. Horus accidentally DDT’s Flamita and Moses nails a double clothesline to the floor. That leaves Shane to Rock Bottom Flamita into a splash for two and Welcome To The Land gives us new champions at 12:32.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t quite the level of awesome that you expect from the Mexisquad but they have been champions for so long and I don’t think that a single loss is going to change anything for them in the long run. What matters here is that we have some fresh champions, which probably needed to happen after the long layoff. Throw in Shane getting a big win before next week’s World Title match and it is a rather well put together title match.

AR Fox vs. Josh Woods

Mark Sterling and Ariya Daivari are here with Woods. An early elbow drops Fox but he pops back up to knock him outside for the big dive. Back in and Woods starts going after the knee, setting up a German suplex to drop Fox again. Sterling gets in some choking from the floor and some knees to the back give Woods two.

Fox sends him into the ropes for a running hanging DDT and the fans are getting a bit more into things. A Sling Blade into a Swanton gives Fox two and it’s time to fight over a suplex. Instead they crash out to the floor, with Fox getting up or a quick cutter. Back in and Rolling Chaos Theory is countered so Fox hits a Death Valley Driver into a 450 for the pin at 11:56.

Rating: C+. So commentary mentioned that Fox is going to be facing Nick Wayne on Collision. That’s all well and good, but how long is that match going to be? Maybe ten minutes or so? Did we really need to spend nearly twenty building both of them up on a show that is WAY less likely to be seen than Collision in the first place? That’s what I was getting at earlier: it feels like wrestling for the sake of filling time, which makes no sense when you’re on a show that has no set time limit, either high or low.

Post match Wayne comes in to lay out Fox. Again: this is all to set up a match on Collision.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. The Butcher

Butcher tries to wrestle to start and gets taken to the mat for an early leglock. With that not working, they go to the floor with Butcher hitting a clothesline and slapping on a half crab to put Shibata in trouble. The rope break gets Shibata away but the PK is cut off with a clothesline. Shibata goes with the sleeper instead and now the PK finishes Butcher at 4:29.

Rating: C. That’s quite the odd choice for a main event, as Butcher go in some offense but Shibata just got back up and won with his usual. It’s not a bad match to give Shibata a win, but he isn’t exactly doing anything at the moment so this isn’t coming off like a big step. Butcher is fine as a low level monster though and he’s done quite well for himself all things considered.

Overall Rating: C. This was probably the most well put together show they’ve done in awhile as there are clearly stories being built up. I’ll certainly take that over the seemingly random collection of matches you see a lot of the time around here, but dang they need to cut out a lot of the fat. We didn’t need twenty minutes of setting up Nick Wayne vs. AR Fox or the Spanish Announce Project being built back up. Cut out the “classic” match and the Guevara match and you’ve gt this down to a rather nice hour long show.

Results
Infantry b. Tom Mitchell/Trace Parker – Two To The End to Mitchell
Spanish Announce Project b. Shawn Donovan/LSG – Over the back stretch to LSG
Sammy Guevara b. Preston Vance – GTH
Lee Johnson/EJ Nduka b. The Philly Marino Experience – Frog splash to Collins
Diamante b. Rachael Ellering – Rolling cutter
Leylah Hirsch b. Tina San Antonio – Running knee
Tomohiro Ishii b. Aaron Solo – Brainbuster
Nick Wayne b. Ryan Clancy – Wayne’s World
AR Fox b. Josh Woods – 450
Katsuyori Shibata b. The Butcher – PK

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Ring Of Honor
Date: October 31, 2024
Location: Alliant Energy PowerHouse, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s Halloween and in theory that should mean we’re getting things shaken up a bit. This is the kind of show that could include some kid of change of pace or at least some fun, even if we’re back in the Chris Jericho Era. The main event will see Abadon challenging Athena for the Women’s Title so let’s get to it.

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

Happy Halloween: this show is two hours and fifty six minutes long.

The Righteous want the Tag Team Titles and don’t think Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara are family. What happens when the snake bites Dustin? The Righteous want the titles.

We run down the card.

We look at La Faccion Ingobernable beating down JD Drake and Beef.

Peter Avalon/Preston Vance vs. JD Drake/Beef

Beef makes Vance shake his hand to start before they trade shoulders. That doesn’t go very far until Beef runs him over with a shoulder. Vance’s delayed suplex cuts him off and it’s Avalon coming in for a running corner clothesline. It’s off to Drake, who shakes pinkies with Avalon and then chops him, which is kind of a mixed message.

Drake chops him in the corner and hands it back to Beef for the same thing. Another tag brings Drake back in but he seems to hurt his leg, sending Beef back in to get taken down with a hard spinebuster. Vance’s discus lariat gets two but another one hits Avalon by mistake. Drake is back in with the spinning butterfly suplex, setting up Beef’s frog splash for the pin at 7:16.

Rating: C. So Beef and the Workhorsemen are the new Action Andretti and Top Flight yes? It’s quite the similar story and if it winds up going about the same way, it means they won’t have much of an impact. That being said, I could go for something new in the six man division, assuming you actually call that a division.

We look at Chris Jericho’s promo from Dynamite, promising to elevate Ring Of Honor.

Johnny TV vs. Deonn Rusman

This is certainly elevation. Feeling out process to start with TV driving him into the corner but stopping to pose. Some kicks to the head set up a knee to Rusman’s face but a shooting star headbutt low blow (yep) misses. Rusman stomps away but gets kicked low, allowing TV to rain down some forearms. A flipping neckbreaker choke just fires Rusman up, only for TV to kick him down for two more. Rusman connects with an AA but misses a charge in the corner. The flipping neckbreaker into Starship Pain finishes for TV at 4:58.

Rating: C. This was more about featuring Rusman a bit, as you more or less know exactly what you’re going to get from TV. Rusman has done well in some previous appearances and he did decently again here, though there is only so much you can do on defense. It wasn’t quite a squash, but TV isn’t likely to move up the ladder in any meaningful way.

The MxM Collection as a fall collection.

Gates Of Agony vs. CSJ/Dave Dutra

Kaun runs Dutra over to start and Liona hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. CSJ is sent into the barricade and some running shots in the corner crush Dutra. Open The Gates finishes at 1:40.

Sammy Guevara and Dustin Rhodes are down to face the Righteous. I still have no idea why these two are the champions, but I have less idea why Dustin is a double champion.

Lady Frost vs. Reyna Isis

Frost anklescissors her down to start but Isis runs the corner for a wristdrag. A corkscrew dive to the floor drops Frost again but Frost is back with a moonsault off the steps. Back in and Isis works on the back in the corner, with some running knees connecting for two. Frost ducks a clothesline and hits a running elbow for two but Isis ties her in the ropes. The springboard legdrop finishes for Isis at 5:41.

Rating: C+. I could go for building up Isis as a challenger for one of the titles and two matches in, that wouldn’t be the worst idea. If nothing else, it’s nice to have her around for a bit before throwing her right into something. That’s how a build is supposed to work and if that’s what we’re getting, I’ve heard worse ideas.

We look at Abadon attacking Athena again last week.

Matt Taven vs. Aaron Solo

Pure Rules. Solo knocks him into the corner to start and kicks away but Taven is back with the big dropkick. A springboard is broken up though and Solo hammers him down on the mat. Taven kicks his way out of trouble and hits a DDT, followed by a springboard kick to the head. A choke sends Solo over to the ropes for his first break, followed by a Climax for the second break. Solo gets in a kick to the face but dives into another choke for the tap at 5:49.

Rating: C. Let me guess: this puts Taven into contention for the Pure Rules Title or makes him #1 contender because he has now spent almost six minutes wrestling a Pure match. Ignore that NOTHING in this match had anything special about it that would make you realize it was a Pure Rules of course, because the Pure Rules Title is one of the most pointless titles around. The champion either doesn’t defend it for months at a time or loses in regular matches, but it just keeps existing because it was around before and therefore it has to stay around.

Post match Lee Moriarty comes out for the staredown because THAT’S WHAT WE DO in this….it’s not a division but around this title at least.

JD Drake insists he and Beef aren’t family. They’re waiting for Anthony Henry to get back. I still have no idea what the appeal of these guys is supposed to be.

Righteous vs. Jay Marston/Solomon Tupu

Marston gets dropped, Tupu gets dropped, Orange Sunshine finishes Marston at 1:19.

Post match the Righteous crush Tupu’s leg with Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara running in for the too late save.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Josh Woods

Mark Sterling and Ariya Daivari are here with Woods and plug the Premiere Athletes’ new shirt. Woods wrestles him to the mat to start but Woods is back up with a shot to the face to send him outside. Back in and Woods knocks him into the corner as commentary talks about ear injuries. Ishii’s Saito suplex gets two and he snaps off a German suplex. Woods comes back with an exploder but gets caught on top for a delayed superplex. The big lariat gives Ishii two so he headbutts Woods down, setting up the brainbuster for the pin at 7:08.

Rating: B-. Easily the best match of the night so far as they were beating each other up pretty well. Ishii is old and can’t move nearly as well as he did before but there is still a certain intensity to him that you cannot fake. That’s what we saw here and Woods was hanging in there with him well enough.

Post match the villains beat Ishii down but Kyle O’Reilly runs in for the save.

Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara get jumped by the Righteous, with Dustin trying to protect Guevara. As they rush through probably three weeks’ worth of stuff in about an hour.

Top Flight/Action Andretti vs. Dante Leon/Jah-C/Trip Jordy

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll refer to Dante Martin as Dante and Dante Leon as Leon. Darius armdrags Leon down to start and hands it off to Dante for a dropkick. The slingshot hilo sets up a double backbreaker and an assisted moonsault gets two. Jah-C comes in and gets caught with an atomic drop into a springboard spinning Downward Spiral. Leon comes back in and gets dropkicked into a German suplex. The swinging full nelson slam finishes for Dante at 4:51.

Rating: C+. As usual, Andretti and Top Flight work well together but there is no reason to believe that it’s going to lead anywhere. It’s not like it ever has before, yet here we are watching them have another (albeit entertaining) match. At some point though, I need to have a reason to get interested in these matches, as they’ve been doing the same thing for a long, long time now.

From This Means War on October 29, 2005.

Jay Lethal vs. Curry Man

Curry Man has Allison Danger with him. We get a long pose off to start with the first lockup not taking place until nearly two minutes in. Curry armbars him down into a headscissors but a hammerlock sends Lethal over to the ropes. They trade hammerlocks and that goes nowhere so it’s another standoff so the fans can have their dueling chants. Lethal turns down the option to dance but does armdrag him down into a hip swivel.

They fight over a wristlock again and then trade leg kicks like a dance…and then we pause so the referee can dance too. Danger comes in to dance as well before Curry grabs the mic and says…I think something about how he loves dancing. Lethal wristdrags him to the floor for the suicide dive, followed by a neckbreaker for two.

Curry sends him into the corner for a splash and a back elbow sends Lethal outside, setting up a dive of his own. Fan: “YOU’RE BETTER THAN PEPPER!” The chinlock goes on back inside before Lethal flips out of a suplex and knocks him down. Lethal’s middle rope leg lariat gets two but he misses the top rope headbutt. They trade rollups for two each until Lethal grabs a dragon suplex for the pin at 22:31.

Rating: C. I’m sorry what? Why in the world was this match added to this show? It runs over twenty minutes, including dance off and mid-match promo and could have easily had about fifteen minutes dropped. They were trading decent stuff but the match didn’t build to anything as Lethal just suddenly beat him. There was no need for this to be this long or added to this already marathon show.

Billie Starkz vs. Blair Onyx

Starkz takes her down by the arm to start and slowly kicks away before hitting a spinning kick to the head. Some stomping in the corner has Onyx in trouble and Starkz yells at the referee. Onyx gets a boot up but Starkz catches her on top and hits something like a One Winged Angel for the pin at 4:08.

Rating: C. Just a squash here with Starkz running her over and showing more aggression now that she is seemingly on the outs with Athena. We’re likely coming up on Starkz vs. Athena at Final Battle so we can finally change the title, though that has felt like an obvious case for a long time now. Starkz did look a bit better than she did before, so maybe things are changing a bit.

The Infantry joins Shane Taylor Promotions. Well that’s consolidating losers for a change.

Spanish Announce Project vs. Infantry

Shane Taylor Promotions and Trish Adora are here with the Infantry. Dean shoulders and armdrags Angelico to start but it’s quickly off to Serpentico for a falling splash. The Infantry is knocked outside, where Adora sends Angelico into the steps. Back in and Bravo hammers away on Serpentico with a suplex getting two.

Dean sends him hard into the middle buckle and a middle rope knee/backbreaker combination gets two more. Serpentico kicks his way out of the corner though and hands it off to Angelico to clean house. Everything breaks down and Adora has to offer a distraction, allowing Moriarty to get in a belt shot. Boot Camp finishes Angelico at 9:23.

Rating: C-. The team turns heel, has multiple people interfering, including a belt shot, and they need nearly ten minutes to beat one of the lowest of the low tag teams in Ring Of Honor. That’s the Ring Of Honor mindset in a nutshell: change something around and then make sure that it has as little impact as possible. None of these teams feel like they are going anywhere and this match going so long somehow made it worse.

We look at Diamante screwing up and getting disqualified against Red Velvet.

Diamante vs. Aminah Belmont

Whip into the corner, running dropkick, rolling cutter, Diamante wins at 1:24.

Lexi Nair tells Billie Starkz to focus on Athena’s title defense but Starkz is taking the night off. Nair: “I can’t protect her. I’m just a fragile flower!”

Jacked Jameson/Iron Savages vs. Dark Order

Silver and Bronson start things off with the latter driving him into the corner. That’s fine with Silver, who knocks him into another corner for some chops from Uno. Reynolds, still with bad ribs, comes in and gets driven into the corner for some shoulders. Reynolds shoulders his way out of trouble and chokes away on the ropes.

Boulder comes in for some hip swiveling and a crash into the bad ribs. That’s broken up and Reynolds fights out of the corner, only to get taken down again. An electric chair splash misses and the tag brings in Uno to clean house. A DDT puts Bronson down and the Order’s strike sequence into the jackknife rollup is good for the pin at 8:24.

Rating: C. Nothing to see here, again, as we have two teams who have been established as nothing more than the bottom of the barrel. The Order got wrecked by the Blackpool Combat Club while the Savages lose to everyone. They argued once and now they had a match to determine the second lowest team around here. Why would I want to see these guys fight for eight minutes?

Komander vs. Ariya Daivari

Mark Sterling and Josh Woods are here again and does pretty much the same promo as their first time out here. Komander works on a wristlock to start but has to fight out of a headlock. An armbar puts Daivari down again as commentary reminds us to vote on Tuesday. Some strikes to the face have Daivari in more trouble but Sterling offers a distraction so he can knock Komander off the top.

The villains get in some stomping on the floor and a neckbreaker gives Daivari two. Komander fights out of a chinlock and hits a springboard crossbody into a headscissors. The very springboardy hurricanrana sets up a top rope splash for two on Daivari. A reverse layout DDT gives Daivari two of his own and a superkick puts Komander down. The Magic Carpet Splash is cut off and Daivari rolls outside, where Woods gets in a cheap shot on Komander. He’s fine enough to hit the rope walk flip dive onto the villains, setting up Cielito Lindo for the pin at 11:09.

Rating: C+. This was a perfectly nice match which came at a terrible time in a long show. Komander is the designated jobber to the stars around here and has to be given a win every so often. The problem with that is he beat one of the Premiere Athletes, who lose to everyone. Not a bad match, but this show has gone on WAY too long to make a match between these two work.

Chris Jericho previews the main event. So far, he’s the only one to make any reference to this being the Halloween show.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Abadon

Athena, with Lexi Nair, is defending in a Ring Of Horror match, which is a Halloween themed hardcore match. Oh and they’re chained together. A forearm just annoys Abadon to start so some clotheslines in the corner have Athena in trouble. Athena hits a baseball slide to take it outside, where some chairs are set up.

That takes way too long though and Abadon gets in some kendo stick shots to take over. Things aren’t intense enough yet so Athena whips out a barbed wire baseball bat to miss some big swings. Some pumpkins are destroyed but Abadon uses the distraction to, eventually, spear Athena through a table for two. Another whip through another table has Athena in more trouble as they head back inside for the slugout.

Athena grabs a ladder, which is dropkicked back into her and they go back to the floor. Abadon gets in a dropkick with a trashcan and lays Athena onto a ladder onto the bottom rope. The ensuing backsplash connects and they’re both down. The fight goes outside again, where Athena gets in a hard knee against the steps for two. Back in and Abadon’s bite to the head doesn’t work very well as Athena gets in a powerbomb out of the corner.

Athena manages to slip out of the chain and swings a kendo stick, which bounces off the ropes and hits her in the head to give Abadon two. Abadon goes up but gets powerbombed onto the steps for two more. Nair slides in some skewers, which are driven into Abadon’s head. That’s shrugged off and Abadon pulls her head first into a chair in the corner. A swinging Rock Bottom plants Athena onto a bunch of thumbtacks on the floor for two more, leaving Abadon frustrated. Athena gets in a bottle shot to the face and the O Face onto the chairs retains the title at 19:48.

Rating: B. This worked rather well for a variety of reasons, including the effort that they put into the match on the way here. For once, it felt like this match had been built up for weeks and then they put in a heck of a performance in the match itself. It was violent and hard hitting, with Athena feeling like she survived. Good stuff here, as Athena continues to be the best thing about Ring Of Honor by a mile.

Overall Rating: D+. Oh this did not work, pretty awesome main event aside. This was WAY longer than it needed to be, as it felt like they were trying to cram in every single thing and person they could find. At what point do you look at a two and a half hour show and think “I KNOW! WE NEED A NINETEEN YEAR OLD CURRY MAN MATCH!”

There comes a point where a show just needs to end and they hit that point way before halfway through this week. It was a bunch of nothing matches featuring low level stars who felt like they were there to fill in an overly long card. Ring Of Honor has done this before and it never works, but I guess they just had to have all of this stuff on here because we only have what, five months between pay per views these days? Terribly put together show this week, as someone needs to tell Tony Khan to stop (again).

Results
JD Drake/Beef b. Peter Avalon/Preston Vance – Frog splash to Avalon
Johnny TV b. Deonn Rusman – Starship Pain
Gates Of Agony b. CSJ/Dave Dutra – Open The Gates to Dutra
Reyna Isis b. Lady Frost – Middle rope legdrop in the ropes
Matt Taven b. Aaron Solo – Choke
Righteous b. Jay Marston/Solomon Tupu – Orange Sunshine to Marston
Tomohiro Ishii b. Josh Woods – Brainbuster
Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Dante Leon/Jah-C/Trip Jordy – Swinging full nelson slam to Leon
Billie Starkz b. Blair Onyx – Electric chair flipping slam
Infantry b. Spanish Announce Project – Boot Camp to Angelico
Diamante b. Aminah Belmont – Rolling cutter
Dark Order b. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson – Jackknife rollup to Bronson
Komander b. Ariya Daivari – Cielito Lindo
Athena b. Abadon – O Face onto chairs

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Dynamite
Date: October 23, 2024
Location: Maverik Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

We’re a month away from Full Gear so that means it’s time for a ladder match with a title on the line. In this case it’s the Ring Of Honor World Title with Chris Jericho challenging Mark Briscoe, who beat Jericho clean at WrestleDream. Other than that, Jon Moxley and company are still all tough and violent and such. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the Blackpool Combat Club being all mega evil.

Jon Moxley is in the desert and saying it’s for the greater good when the rest of the Club pulls up in a truck to take him away.

Mark Briscoe fires up a bunch of low level stars who are ready for the Club to arrive.

Here is Hangman Page to brag about how awesome he is but here is Colten Gunn to jump him for attacking Austin Gunn last week. Jay White and Juice Robinson run in to clear Page out. White talks about having Page’s number and all of the violence that Page loves isn’t hiding the fact that he’s not as good as the Switchblade. They’ll see each other again.

Video on Shelton Benjamin vs. Sammy Guevara.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Sammy Guevara

MVP is here with Benjamin, who wastes no time in launching Guevara into the air for a backdrop. Some hard knees set up a snap suplex to keep Guevara in trouble but he’s right back with a dropkick. Benjamin cuts off a suicide dive and hits an overhead belly to belly as we take a break.

Back with Benjamin snapping off another German suplex but Guevara hits some superkicks. Guevara hits a big running flip dive to the floor, followed by a pop up cutter for one back inside. Benjamin staggers up but manages to superkick Guevara out of the air (I wonder where he learned that…). A knee to the face and the exploder finish for Benjamin at 10:07.

Rating: B-. See, this is something that made a lot more sense than the Lio Rush match last week. Guevara is a far more established name around here and him giving Benjamin trouble fits perfectly. That’s the kind of win that actually builds Benjamin up rather than making him look like he’s needing to try too hard to beat someone who hasn’t accomplished much. Far better situation for everyone here.

Mariah May throws Anna Jay’s stuff out of the locker room so the brawl is on. It’s broken up in about three seconds, but it was on.

Video on Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher. They were friends, mainly in other promotions, but then Fletcher turned on him at WrestleDream and now we need an explanation.

Here is Fletcher, with Don Callis, for his explanation. For eleven days, Will Ospreay has been in a hospital bed while fans are wondering why. When Fletcher arrived in AEW, people thought he was the next big thing (Who thought that?) but then Ospreay got here. That made people call him the next Will Ospreay, because people said he looked and sounded like Ospreay. Fletcher is better than him in every single way but the fans don’t seem interested.

Don’t worry though because Don Callis has bought him all the TV time he needs so you will listen to him! Anyway, we move on to Kazuchika Okada, who brought Will Ospreay into New Japan (as we go back years and halfway around the world to another promotion to explain this story), who Ospreay stabbed in the back. Then Ospreay did the same thing to Kenny Omega. Fletcher turned on Ospreay because it’s what Ospreay did to people, so Fletcher is giving him one chance to save face.

They can face each other next week and Fletcher will give him tiger driver after tiger driver. For now though, he will be nothing like Ospreay. Then he shaves his own hair. So we have a feud between one of the company’s superheroes and a mostly midcard star over something that happened years ago in another promotion in Japan as the Don Callis Family/Will Osprey Saga is now going on for….how many months? Fletcher is getting a bit of a boost out of it, but if this is the best they have for Ospreay, I have no idea what to think of how screwy this place is.

We look at Ricochet showing up at Maple Leaf Pro over the weekend to go after Konosuke Takeshita.

Ricochet isn’t done with Takeshita, but MVP (who compliments his suit) and Shelton Benjamin come in. MVP leaves him with a business card and Ricochet doesn’t say no.

Lance Archer/Brian Cage vs. Pillars Of Destiny

Powerbomb/chokeslam combination finishes for Cage at 1:01.

Chuck Taylor tells the army outside that Mark Briscoe’s match is up next. Taylor holds Orange Cassidy back and says Cassidy can beat the villains so it’s time to step up.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Mark Briscoe

Briscoe is defending in a Ladder War and slugs away to start fast. Jericho is knocked off the apron and through some tables and Briscoe beats him around ringside. A suplex gets Jericho out of trouble but Briscoe hits him in the face with a ladder. Briscoe’s big running flip dive only hits ladder and Jericho hits him in the face with another ladder as we take a break.

Back with Briscoe hitting a Death Valley Driver through a ladder in the corner before throwing in a fresh one. They go up the ladder with Jericho going for the belt but Briscoe shoves the ladder over for the crash. The Froggy Bow through the table is loaded up but Bryan Keith comes in to break it up.

Rocky Romero runs in and hits Keith with a kendo stick, setting up the Froggy Boy to crush Jericho. It’s such a crash that Briscoe is on his feet eight seconds later and the Jay Driller connects but here is Big Bill to send Briscoe through a table. Jericho gets the title back at 15:46.

Rating: B-. Of course he did. You could feel the title change coming when Jericho said he wanted a rematch, because I’m sure we now need to set something up where Jericho allegedly puts someone over before moving on to something bigger. That’s just what the Ring Of Honor Title is about, as we now get to see which non-Ring Of Honor wrestler gets the shot at Final Battle in about two months. The match was pretty run of the mill ladder showdown, but another heel champion around here isn’t exactly appealing right now.

Post match Tomohiro Ishii returns with Rocky Romero. Gee man. Thanks for coming out and helping with Big Bill!

Video on Kamille vs. Kris Statlander, featuring both of them being rather strong.

Here is Adam Cole for a chat but the Undisputed Kingdom cuts him off. They don’t like MJF either, but they did check on Cole while he was healing up. The team does great things when they are together and agree to go after MJF. Cue MJF on the Titantron, getting a massage, who says either Roderick Strong or Cole has to win three matches in a row to get a match with him at Full Gear.

MJF won’t be around until then, which might be enough time to realize that this is the third time MJF has forced someone to beat a string of opponents to face him. Second, the Undisputed Kingdom is working for MJF right? It’s the most logical way for all of this to go. Otherwise, this is the second “group of good guys bands together to fight the villain” story going at the moment.

Video on Penelope Ford vs. Jamie Hayter.

Hayter talks about how hard she has worked to get here and she’s ready for a fight, but Ford isn’t here. How about they fight in two weeks?

House Of Black vs. Jaden Monroe/Kevin Koa/Pirata de la Muerte

The House beats up Monroe, sends Koa bailing into the corner, and hits the Cannonball/dropkicks combination to Muerte. The toss powerbomb into Murphy’s stomp finishes Monroe at 1:59. That team was squashed flatter than something that is very flat.

Post match, Matthews challenges Adam Cole for next week. We cut to Cole in the back, who walks up to Matthews and wonders what’s up with that. The match seems set.

Kamille vs. Queen Aminata

Mercedes Mone is here with Kamille, who powers Aminata down to start. A short arm lariat gives Kamille two but Aminata is back with a running headscissors. Aminata rolls her up for two but gets dropped as we take an early break. Back with Aminata hitting a running elbow and grabbing a neckbreaker. A running shot against the ropes gets two on Kamille and Aminata grabs a full nelson with her legs. Kamille’s powerbomb attempt is countered into a hurricanrana for two but Kamille is back with a torture rack spun into a powerbomb for two of her own. The reverse spinning DDT finishes for Kamille at 8:16.

Rating: C. Of course. Of course you have a monster like Kamille in her fifth match in AEW and of course it takes her eight minutes to beat someone who is best known in AEW for not winning a match for months when she got there (What else is she known for?). This made Aminata, who isn’t set for a big showdown with Kris Statlander, look like someone who could go somewhere while Kamille, the new monster, looked like she had trouble beating someone who hasn’t won anything of note around here. “But AEW doesn’t squash it’s own stars!” Then don’t book the match. Really not that complicated.

Post match Kris Statlander comes out for the staredown. With Kamille. Who just struggled to beat Queen Aminata. Kamille and Mone lay her out.

The Patriarchy arrives and the army is looking for them. The Patriarchy backs off, but chases Kip Sabian away, because THE KIP SABIAN/PATRIARCHY STORY IS STILL A THING.

After commentary talks a bit, the Patriarchy chases Sabian into the ring but Hook shows up on the screen, saying that the people in the ring took out his dad. Hook storms the ring and goes after Nick Wayne before trying to Choke Christian Cage. Sabian saves Cage, who tells Sabian to get in that corner to be dealt with later. The Patriarchy takes out Hook, with Cage calling him “Tyler” and says “it’s not what it seems” (I think). Well thank goodness Kip Sabian is getting something to do. Now I can stop losing sleep over him lack of direction.

Elite vs. Private Party/Daniel Garcia

The Elite gets taken out before the bell…and then the bell rings a second later. Garcia stomps on Perry in the corner before it’s off to Kassidy to hammer on Matt. A quadruple clothesline gives us a quadruple nip up until Garcia comes in to take out villains. We see the army still waiting outside as the Bucks take over on Quen.

We take a break and come back with Stokely Hathaway watching in the front row as Nick accidentally kicks Matt in the face. The big tag is cut off and Garcia is sent into the timekeeper’s area. Risky Business gets two on Kassidy but a headscissors/wristdrag gets him out of trouble. Quen comes in to clean house but gets caught in the powerbomb/stereo enziguris in the corner. Garcia cuts off something on the apron, with Quen breaking up the TK Driver. Silly String is enough to pin Matt at 11:11.

Rating: B-. For those of you keeping track, this is now the fourth match between Private Party and the Bucks which has been set up by that one time Private Party beat them five years ago. They weren’t interesting challengers at WrestleDream and they aren’t going to be interesting challenges whenever they get their next title shot, but this is what we’re getting until whomever is ready to fight the Bucks next.

Post match, Private Party says they want another title shot and put their future as a team on the line. The Bucks are down and the match is made. Oh no. What ever would we do if a team who was apart for over a year is apart for good? Anyway, the Blackpool Combat Club’s truck arrives in the back but it’s just Marina Shafir. The men sneak in from behind and take out Private Party with Chairs. Jon Moxley throws Chuck Taylor inside to Pillmanize his neck. A bunch of people, including Orange Cassidy, run in to clear them out. The Elite watch on as commentary is DISGUSTED to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I liked most of the wrestling tonight, but I do not remember being so bored, uninterested and uninvested in an AEW (or most anywhere else) show in a LONG time. The stories they are telling are a mixture of far more complicated than they need to be, illogical, and flat out dull. Right now, in 2024, the biggest good guy champion in AEW/ROH is Dustin Rhodes. That’s what we have to cheer for at the moment.

Other than that, you have the BCC not only dominating everyone but making them look like idiots, because NO ONE THOUGHT TO GUARD THE OTHER DOOR. It’s astounding how dumb the heroes in this promotion are presented as being and it’s not making an already annoying show that much worse. Between insisting on Kyle Fletcher getting Will Ospreay’s attention, Chris Jericho winning ANOTHER title, whatever Adam Cole/MJF are doing now and their insistence on making sure that people like Queen Aminata are kept strong, this place has its priorities in a really weird place.

I’m sure I’m just watching it wrong or I’m not bright enough to get the subtle nuances of “Private Party could TOTALLY win this time and you should care that they might split up even though they’ve won one thing that matters in five years”, but dang I haven’t been this down on AEW since its inception.

Results
Shelton Benjamin b. Sammy Guevara – Exploder
Lance Archer/Brian Cage b. Pillars Of Destiny – Powerbomb/chokeslam combination
Chris Jericho b. Mark Briscoe – Jericho pulled down the title
House Of Black b. Jaden Monroe/Kevin Koa/Pirata de la Muerte – Stomp to Monroe
Kamille b. Queen Aminata – Reverse spinning DDT
Daniel Garcia/Private Party b. Elite – Silly String to Matt

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Collision
Date: September 28, 2024
Location: Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York City, New York
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Ian Riccaboni, Matt Menard

It’s the second show in the tennis stadium and that means we are in for a big card. In this case it means we have a lumberjack strap match between Hangman Page and Jeff Jarrett, an open challenge for the TNT Title and Saraya’s Rules between Saraya and Jamie Hayter. That should be enough so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Saraya vs. Jamie Hayter

This is under Saraya’s Rules, which basically means Saraya can do whatever she wants and Hayter can do nothing. Harley Cameron is here with Saraya and says there is one more rule: the match does not begin until Saraya “slaps the slag”. Saraya does get in the slap and Hayter drops both of them in short order. Cameron grabs the leg though and Saraya gets in a VCR shot before beating on Hayter with a computer keyboard.

Cameron gets in some more shots on the floor (Menard smiles because he likes a good crazy woman). Hayter fights up and German suplexes Saraya on the floor before sending Cameron hard into the steps. Saraya hits her in the back with a pipe before pouring a bunch of toy cars onto a table. That takes too long though and Hayter sends her into the barricade as well.

Cameron offers a distraction but Hayter still catches a diving Saraya with a powerslam. They go up, with Saraya hitting Hayter with a chair, knocking her through a table and Cameron onto another (with Hayter’s head coming dangerously close to slamming into the still standing table). That’s enough to give Saraya two on the floor…and now she’s willing to try for a countout. Back in and Hayter drives her through a table in the corner for a breather and hits a tombstone, followed by Hayterade for the pin at 8:10.

Rating: B-. I feel like I’ve seen so many of these matches lately that there’s just nothing to get excited about anymore. They hit each other with weapons, they put each other through tables, they do something that makes fans think “oh I’ve stepped on one of those and that hurts” and then they had the finish. On the positive side, it was a good, hard fought win for Hayter, who can move on from these two and get into something more serious.

We get more of a sitdown interview with Ricochet and Will Ospreay, with Ricochet talking about how he showed up and everyone was on him. Ospreay says the best in the world is on him too. More on this on YouTube.

Conglomeration vs. Learning Tree

Tornado Tag. It’s a big brawl to start, as it kind of has to do. Cassidy hits Jericho in the face with a backpack for two, revealing a brick inside. Keith comes back in and gets caught with the Stundog Millionaire. Bill is back in but gets sent outside, with Briscoe loading up the chair. That takes too long though and Jericho hits an AA to send Briscoe into the chair.

We take a break and come back with Bill cleaning house until a three on one beating in the corner cuts him off. Briscoe starts cleaning house with the chair but Jericho cuts him off with a Codebreaker. Jericho is sat in the chair for some alternating kicks but Bill makes another save. O’Reilly takes out Bill’s leg though and Briscoe hits Jericho with the chair. The Jay Driller hits Jericho but Briscoe would rather put him on a table. Bill chokeslams Briscoe through said table and Jericho gets the pin at 9:02.

Rating: C+. I’m not surprised that Jericho pinned a champion and is probably getting a title shot and you shouldn’t be either. That’s the kind of thing that Jericho does and I’m sure Briscoe will be stuck with him for months. As for the match, it was another wild brawl after the previous match was similar enough (though this one didn’t feature as many weapons), but this one had Jericho likely going into another title program so it’s a lot more frustrating.

Post match Jericho motions that he wants the title. I for one am shocked.

Brody King vs. Action Andretti

Andretti goes for the leg to start and hits the running shooting star press for an early two. King runs him over though and punches Andretti out of the air, setting up the Cannonball for the pin at 1:41. That worked.

Post match the Righteous runs in to brawl with Andretti, Top Flight and Lio Rush.

Jack Perry drives his stupid bus/van to the show.

TNT Title: Jack Perry vs. ???

Perry is defending against…Minoru Suzuki. We get the staredown to start and they trade forearms, with Suzuki getting the better of things. Suzuki takes him down and stomps on the arm as we take an early break. Back with Perry getting two off a neckbreaker as Schiavone seems to forget where we are for a second. Suzuki shrugs off some knees to the head and grabs the sleeper before switching to a failed Gotch Style piledriver attempt. They go outside with Perry being sent into the barricade. Perry comes back with a knee to the face and a DDT, followed by another running knee for the countout at 7:23.

Rating: C-. Yeah sure. I know Perry had to be on the show because he’s still a thing for whatever reason and this was probably supposed to be some big moment. Suzuki showing up for his regular exchange of forearms and funny looks isn’t exactly exciting either and that made for quite a lackluster match here. At least the break cut things up a bit.

Post match Perry beats on Suzuki even more until Katsuyori Shibata makes the save.

Trios Titles: Claudio Castagnoli/Pac/Wheeler Yuta vs. Private Party/Komander

Castagnoli/Pac/Yuta are defending but Yuta comes out behind them and really does not seem happy. Quen hammers on Pac in the corner to start but Castagnoli gets in a cheap shot from the apron so Pac can take over. Yuta won’t accept a tag in so Castagnoli slams Quen down and hits a double stomp. Something like an Irish Curse gives Castagnoli two and Pac chokes some more.

Quen fights out of the corner again though and it’s off to Kassidy for some fresh punching. Everything breaks down and Castagnoli Swings Kassidy but Yuta won’t do the dropkick. Komander sends Castagnoli outside so Yuta Angle Slams Kassidy (Yuta doesn’t look thrilled) for two. Kassidy slaps Yuta in the face though and that’s enough for Yuta to snap, with the elbows to the face and Cattle Mutilation (Pac approves) to retain at 7:23.

Rating: C+. This was almost a squash but it’s also one of the more interesting things in AEW. Having Yuta not wanting to be on the same side of the villains and only fighting because he got hit in the face has my interest and I’m curious to see where it goes. Yuta is doing the best he can with it, though it might be rather different when there is some tougher competition.

Post match Yuta snaps back to reality and storms away from his partners.

We get an Outrunners video, featuring them at an amusement park.

Hologram vs. Dralistico vs. The Beast Mortos

Mortos runs the other two over with a clothesline to start but they’re back up for a three way exchange of hurricanranas. Dralistico kicks Hologram down before sending Mortos outside, with Hologram hitting a dive onto both of them. We take a break and come back with Hologram being suplexed into the corner before kicking him in the head. Mortos gets headscissored down as well as commentary talks about how the current luchadors compare to the WCW days.

Holorgram’s big flip dive takes out Mortos on the floor but Mortos is back in to take out Dralistico. Hologram poisonranas Mortos into a crucifix bomb from Dralistico. That doesn’t keep him down long though as Mortos is back up with a double clothesline. A discus lariat drops Hologram and Dralistico grabs the cover for two. Dralistico is back up with a springboard Canadian Destroyer but Hologram grabs a crucifix to pin Dralistico at 10:08.

Rating: B. This was the popcorn match of the show and that’s all it needed to be. Hologram got to showcase himself but as usual, Mortos felt like a big star and seems to be someone who could be something special. As usual it’s more about Hologram though, which is starting to work, though he could use more of a feud.

Post match Rush comes in to pose with the losers, setting up a three way beatdown on Hologram. That’s not what I was hoping for from Mortos, as Los Ingobernables haven’t meant anything in months.

Kris Statlander is back and picking her spots, as she either takes people out or makes them better.

Here is the MxM Collection to present Max Caster’s improved jacket. They mock the idea of Caster being the best wrestler in the world and bring out some models, holding up cutouts of the Collection over their faces. Then they reveal a large man (named Hans, behind a mask) in Caster’s jacket, with a heard cut out from the chest. They want the rather large and muscular Hans on the team…but it’s really Billy Gunn, which brings out the Acclaimed to clear the ring. Caster gets his jacket back. This was really, really bad.

Hangman Page vs. Jeff Jarrett

Lumberjack strap match, with lumberjacks carrying straps (as the name implies). They slug it out until Jarrett sends him to the apron but Page avoids the whipping. Jarrett gets sent to the apron as well but saves himself too. Back up and Page sends him outside, but his friends won’t whip him. Another trip to the floor doesn’t go as well, with Jarrett taking a beating. Page suplexes him down and we take a break.

Well we’re supposed to though as commentary throws it to picture in picture but we’re still full screen. Page hammers away in the corner but misses a charge, only to knock Jarrett outside again for another whipping. We see to come back from break but the feed starts messing up (a graphic tells us it’s #2436 and we’re in part 4, with seg 7-10). Now we go picture in picture, with the video rewound to what we saw on full screen. Back with Jarrett hitting a Russian legsweep (same thing that happened before the glitching) but Page sends him outside, again in front of Jarrett’s friends.

A whip from Juice Robinson (dressed as a lumberjack) breaks up the Buckshot Lariat though and Jarrett hits a dive. The Stroke is broken up though and Page gets one of the straps to whip Jarrett. Karen Jarrett comes in to protect her husband, which is enough for Jeff to get his own strap and whip Page outside. Everyone, including Karen, gets in some whips, but a low blow cuts Jeff off. The Deadeye finishes for Page at 13:25 (from bell to bell, including the glitching and repeat footage).

Rating: B-. I’m not sure what to make of this one but I had a good time with it. Page survived what everyone threw at him and then beat a game Jeff. It didn’t need to do anything with drama or the like and they didn’t bother trying. Jeff got in a few shots before losing to the bigger star, which is all this should have been.

Post match Page beats up a variety of people but the Gunns chase him off.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Sammy Guevara

Non-title. They fight over wrist control to start until Okada takes him up against the ropes. Okada hits a sliding kick to the head but Guevara sends him outside and strikes a pose. With Okada on the floor, Guevara gets a running start and dives off the steps with a cutter. Okada puts him back down though and we take a break.

Back with Guevara grabbing a headscissor driver and hitting a running clothesline to the floor. A moonsault out to the floor drops Okada again but he backdrops Guevara hard onto the steps. Back in and a top rope elbow hits Guevara but the Rainmaker is countered into a Spanish fly for two. The GTH sends Okada into the corner, where he comes out with the Rainmaker for the pin at 12:28.

Rating: B-. This is a match that would have been a lot better a few years ago, as Guevara is not exactly the star he used to be. Okada was doing his usual stuff here and it was only so good, with the Rainmaker wrecking Guevara in the end. It didn’t feel like much of a main event, but Okada in the ring is a nice treat most of the time.

Overall Rating: B-. Other than the name, there was nothing here that made this show feel important or big in any way. Hayter and Page got wins, the Learning Tree beat up the popular team, the two title matches were just there, and the main event felt like it could have been on any given show. Not a bad night at all, but not exactly worth your time.

Results
Jamie Hayter b. Saraya – Hayterade
Learning Tree b. Conglomeration – Chokeslam through a table to Briscoe
Brody King b. Action Andretti – Cannonball
Jack Perry b. Minoru Suzuki via countout
Claudio Castagnoli/Pac/Wheeler Yuta b. Private Party/Komander – Cattle Mutilation to Kassidy
Hologram b. Dralistico and The Beast Mortos – Crucifix to Dralistico
Hangman Page b. Jeff Jarrett – Deadeye
Kazuchika Okada b. Sammy Guevara – Rainmaker

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Ring Of Honor
Date: September 19, 2024
Location: Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re FINALLY out of Texas and that means it is likely time to do the same stuff this show usually does but in a different place for a change. There are only so many stories going on around here at the moment but maybe something else can start up here. Ring Of Honor could certainly use them so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Red Velvet vs. Allysin Kay

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Kay wins or lasts the ten minute time limit, she receives a future title shot. They miss charges to start but velvet snaps off a headscissors before choking in the corner. A wheelbarrow suplex puts Velvet down for two and a Samoan drop plants her again, setting up a fall away slam for two more. Kay works on the ankle lock before switching to the cross arm choke. Velvet hits a quick Stunner but walks into a spinebuster for another near fall. Back up and Velvet hits something like a jawbreaker into some running knees in the ropes. The Final Slice finishes Kay at 5:33.

Rating: C. Kay is someone who feels like she could be something if she was around for any significant amount of time. Instead she’s just kind of any other person around here, which is a bit of a stretch given her history both here and elsewhere. It isn’t like there are a ton of challengers to Velvet, but at least she got a win over something of a name.

Video on Sammy Guevara/Dustin Rhodes vs. the Dark Order.

Gates Of Agony vs. Dante Leon/Trip Jordy

Kaun backbreakers Jordy to start and it’s off to Toa for some shots to the ribs. A double slam sets up a big toss and it’s Leon coming in to get beaten against the ropes. Open The Gates finishes at 2:08. Short and to the point.

Preston Vance vs. Brandon Cutler

Before the match, Cutler mocks the idea of Vance not being able to hit him until the Code Of Honor is enforced. Vance shakes his hand and then hits him in the face to start fast. Cutler gets beaten up in the corner and a backdrop has him on the floor. A Stunner over the ropes gets Cutler out of trouble and he grabs the quickly broken chinlock. Vance comes back with a spinning belly to back slam for two but Cutler superkicks him into a pumphandle slam for the same. Vance isn’t having that and finishes with the discus lariat at 4:03.

Rating: C. Vance getting to appear again is something of a good sign for his future but beating Cutler isn’t going to get him very far. The fans weren’t really caring much for Vance, but Cutler is enough of a loudmouth that beating him is going to get something of a reaction. Not much to see here, but it’s better for Vance than not being on the show.

Last week, the Iron Savages jumped the Outrunners.

The Outrunners respect the Iron Savages’ muscles but they have no glitz to go with their glamour.

John Silver vs. KM

The much bigger KM poses so Silver does the same until KM punches him down. A clothesline puts Silver down again and KM chokes away in the corner. Silver trips him into the ropes though and hits a running boot. A German suplex into the Spin Cycle finishes KM off at 2:55. Silver is suddenly good again after being evil for a few weeks. Makes as much sense as anything else the team does.

Mark Sterling hypes up Josh Woods.

Rachael Ellering vs. Maggie Lee

Ellering takes her down by the arm to start and fires off some clotheslines. Maggie’s running knee is shrugged off and Ellering kicks her in the head. The backsplash and Boss Woman Slam finish Maggie at 2:48.

Video on Beef and Anthony Henry.

Infantry vs. Spanish Announce Project

Trish Adora is here with the Infantry. Bravo and Angelico start things off with a fight over wrist control. They both miss dropkicks so it’s a bit of dancing before Serpentico and Dean come in. Serpentico hurricanranas Dean down but a double hiptoss drops Serpentico as well. Angelico comes back in to work on Bravo’s arm before a belly to back suplex gets two. Bravo fights his way out of an armbar and brings Dean back in to pick up the pace. A Falcon Arrow hits Serpentico for two but the Project hits a Downward Spiral into a frog splash for two of their own. Back up and a quick Boot Camp finishes Serpentico at 7:19.

Rating: C+. So we spent about six months working on the Project vs. Griff Garrison and Cole Karter and after all that, the Project is right back to being the same low level tag team they’ve always been. At the same time you have the Infantry win something while feeling nowhere near close to a title shot, mainly because they aren’t two guys from Texas who were given a title match out of nowhere. Such is life in Ring Of Honor.

Anthony Ogogo vs. Kit Sackett

Ogogo poses to start and muscles him up with a pumphandle powerbomb. Some stomping in the corner has Sackett in more trouble and an overhead belly to belly cuts off the comeback attempt. The pop up right hand finishes Sackett at 2:59. Ogogo continues his matches that involve one move and nothing else of note.

Brian Cage vs. Deonn Rusman

Cage wrestles him down to start and then sends him flying to shift to the power. A clothesline and belly to back suplex has Rusman in more trouble but he hits a quick dropkick. Rusman hits a quick Rock Bottom for two but a frog splash misses. Allowing Cage to powerbomb him down. A Cloverleaf makes Rusman tap at 3:42.

Rating: C. It wasn’t quite a squash but at the same time it’s just a Brian Cage match. He does his same thing over and over and there isn’t much to be seen from it. There is no reason to believe that Cage is going to move forward in the slightest as he never really does, but the power stuff was ok enough.

Anthony Ogogo, with Shane Taylor, wants some gold.

Dark Order vs. Sammy Guevara/Dustin Rhodes

Another non-title Proving Ground match. Reynolds bails to the floor to burn some clock to start and Guevara poses on the top rope. We hear about Dustin’s start as part of the Texas Broncos in 1988 as Uno bails outside away from Dustin. Back in and a double Russian legsweep takes Uno down so the Order bails outside and the champs get to pose.

John Silver gets in a quick posting on Dustin though and they head inside with Dustin in trouble. The snap powerslam gets Dustin out of trouble but Silver’s distraction means the referee doesn’t see the tag. Uno hits a piledriver for two but Dustin dives over and brings in Guevara for the hot tag. Everything breaks down and Dustin gives Reynolds a Canadian Destroyer. The Final Reckoning into Guevara’s Swanton finishes at 7:26.

Rating: C+. This was a great example of the problem with Rhodes and Guevara as the champions: there is no real connection to them other than they’re from Texas and their chemistry is just pretty basic. Throw in the fact that they’re facing the Dark Order, who have been rather low level for a long time and there wasn’t much to see here.

Post match the Cage of Agony runs in wrecks the champs to end the show. Oh joy: the Gates of Agony being featured again.

Overall Rating: C. Well sweet goodness look what happens when you cut off about an hour of the show. It’s still not particularly good and certainly not worth watching, but it’s far less infuriating. It still felt longer than it needed to be but the matches were mostly short and they were a bit more focused this week. Far easier sit here, but that doesn’t make it interesting.

Results
Red Velvet b. Allysin Kay – Final Slice
Gates Of Agony b. Dante Leon/Trip Jordy – Open The Gates to Leon
Preston Vance b. Brandon Cutler – Discus lariat
John Silver b. KM – Spin Cycle
Rachael Ellering b. Maggie Lee – Boss Woman Slam
Infantry b. Spanish Announce Project – Boot Camp to Serpentico
Anthony Ogogo b. Kit Sackett via knockout
Brian Cage b. Deonn Rusman – Cloverleaf
Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara b. Dark Order – Swanton Bomb to Reynolds

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Collision
Date: September 21, 2024
Location: MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the last show before Grand Slam and that means it is time to start the final push towards the show. There is still a chance that we find out whether or not Bryan Danielson will be appearing at Grand Slam, along with anything else that might be added. Other than that, we have the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles on the line, as AEW shows continue to host a lot of the other promotion’s title matches. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Sammy Guevara/Dustin Rhodes vs. Kingdom

The Kingdom is challenging in a Bunkhouse Brawl. Rhodes and Guevara come out in local hockey jerseys to make them even more popular. It’s a brawl on the stage to start as commentary points out that the Kingdom is from around here. The champs fight back inside as we talk about Dusty Rhodes giving Dustin the belt buckle he is wearing.

Bennett is already busted open and Guevara whips out a kendo stick to clean some house. A hard shot to the face sends Guevara outside though and something like a diving Doomsday Device on the floor makes it worse. Dustin goes after them but gets superkicked down, only to bulldog Taven off the stage and through some tables. Guevara is back up with a bulldog off the apron and through a table at ringside as we take a break. Back with Guevara being shoved off a ladder and through a table but Dustin grabs a double testicular claw to save himself.

A cowbell to the head puts Bennett down and Taven gets the same as the comeback is on. Dustin powerslams Taven onto a chair and then suplexes him through it for a nasty crash. Two chairs are set up and Dustin charges into a Death Valley Driver onto said chairs. Guevara is back in and gets Bennett in the corner, setting up Dustin’s Shattered Dreams and the Final Reckoning. Guevara’s Swanton off the ladder pins Bennett to retain at 13:19.

Rating: B. It was a good brawl, which is enough to get around the fact that the champions are still not that interesting. Guevara and Rhodes are just two guys who were put together because the show was in Texas for a few months. They don’t have anything special in the way of chemistry and yet Rhodes is a double champion for whatever reason.

The Conglomeration and Hologram are interrupted by the Premiere Athletes, who want no shenanigans. Mark Briscoe looks at these four scalawags and sees one shenanigator in the form of Mark Sterling. Kyle O’Reilly asks if shenanigator is the word of the day. Briscoe: “Close Kyle, but you’re way off.” The word of the day is AZUCAR, because Rocky Romero is here to even things out. As usual, Briscoe is as delightful of a thing as you will find in AEW.

The Dark Order is ready to face Darby Allin later tonight. Allin comes in to say there is a war coming with Jon Moxley and coming. He wants Evil Uno to remind him what he can do tonight.

Conglomeration/Hologram vs. Premiere Athletes

Rocky Romero is here with the good guys to even out the Athletes’ Mark Sterling. O’Reilly and Woods start things off with Woods having to bail to the ropes to escape the ankle lock. Hologram comes in to dropkick Nese, followed by another dropkick for another two. Sterling offers a distraction though and Woods gets in a cheap shot to take over as we go to a break.

Back with O’Reilly not being able to get over for the tag but then tagging in Hologram seconds later. Daivari gets in a knee from the apron though and Hologram has to hand it off to Briscoe for Redneck Kung Fu. The Death Valley Driver hits Woods and Hologram dives onto Sterling, leaving Briscoe to hit the Jay Driller for the pin on Woods at 8:59.

Rating: B-. More of the same as Hologram is put in there with any star AEW can find, but I’m not sure how much good it’s doing him. It’s not hurting him or anything, but it’s a lot of the same stuff that we’ve seen for a few months now. Hologram needs something of his own and while it’s not too late (or even close), I’m not sure what that is going to be.

The MxM Collection say last week (it was last night on Rampage) they promised to give Max Caster’s jacket a makeover. You’ll see what they’ve done…next week.

Mariah May vs. Lady Frost

Non-title. May blows Nigel McGuinness a kiss and he almost falls out of his chair. The distraction lets Frost grab a rollup for two but May rams her into the buckle a few times. May grabs a Stratusphere but charges into some boots in the corner. A middle rope crossbody gives Frost two but May snaps off a German suplex. May’s knee to the face into Storm Zero finishes at 3:29.

Rating: C. May stacks up another win, though she is still looking for that first big challenger. Yuka Sakazaki doesn’t count as such but it would not surprise me to see Toni Storm show up again after the title match at Grand Slam. For now though, giving May another victory is perfectly logical and about all that can be done.

Video on May vs. Sakazaki.

Willow Nightingale will be watching Grand Slam but Deonna Purrazzo and Taya Valkyrie show up, saying Nightingale isn’t a good friend. Purrazzo offers Yuka Sakazaki protection and we get Nightingale vs. Valkyrie for Rampage.

Acclaimed and Billy Gunn don’t like the MxM Collection, with Max Caster actually rapping again for once.

Video on Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley with Wheeler Yuta not sure if he should stick with Moxley and company.

Darby Allin vs. Evil Uno

Uno drives him into the corner to start and hammers away, with Alex Reynolds distracting the referee. That lets Uno whip Allin with a belt but Allin fights up and knocks Uno outside. Reynolds offers a distraction though and Allin gets sent into the steps to put him back in trouble. Back in and Allin grabs the Captain’s Hook (bulldog choke) before ripping at Uno’s mask in the corner. Uno is back with a Downward Spiral and Reynolds offers another distraction, earning him a whipping with the belt. Allin Coffin Drops onto the two of them on the floor, setting up the regular version to pin Uno back inside at 5:11.

Rating: C. Just a quick win to give Allin some momentum heading into his match with Jon Moxley at Grand Slam. Heating up Uno for one night didn’t exactly work but being out there for five minutes isn’t going to hurt things. Allin fought through some adversity and won, which is where he tends to shine.

We look at Hangman Page and Jeff Jarrett on Dynamite.

Jarrett promises to fight Page at Grand Slam, even if his wife Karen doesn’t. He proposes a lumberjack strap match because that’s how he was raised.

Queen Aminata vs. Serena Deeb

They start slowly until Deeb takes her down by the wrist. Aminata gets in a quick knockdown for two but Deeb sends her hard into the corner as we take a break. Back with both of them down until Aminata is up with a running boot in the corner. Some suplexes give Aminata two and a release German suplex sends Deeb flying.

The running knee in the ropes gives Aminata two more but Deeb is back with a hammerlock lariat for the same. Deebtox is broken up though and they trade rollups for two each. The big headbutt sends Deb outside but she’s fine enough to grab a dragon screw legwhip over the ropes. Now Deebtox can connect to finish Aminata at 10:25.

Rating: C+. Deeb getting a win is almost weird to see but at least she has some momentum for a change. On the other hand you have Aminata, who felt like she was going to be the next big thing but then she just stopped moving forward. They had a nice match here though, and Deeb can hopefully move on to something bigger.

We look at Saraya challenging Jamie Hayter to a Saraya’s Rules match.

Saraya and Harley Cameron explain the rules: Saraya can do anything and Hayter can’t do anything. Then Cameron eats the rules because she’s odd that way.

Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara are happy to retain their titles but Guevara wants another title. So he’ll face Kazuchika Okada for an eliminator match. Dustin believes in him.

Grizzled Young Veterans/Roderick Strong/Rush/The Beast Mortos vs. Outrunners/FTR/Hook

Drake headlocks Wheeler to start and then runs him over a few times. Back up and Wheeler grabs an armdrag into an armbar. Everything breaks down and Strong gets caught in the big circle of punches as we take a break. Back with Mortos and Harwood striking it out until Mortos knocks him into the corner for the cannonball. Rush comes in for the cocky boot to the face in the corner before it’s Gibson coming in.

That works better for Harwood, who grabs a snap suplex for two. Hook comes in to headlock Gibson but Drake comes in for a shot to the face. Strong chops Hook into the corner as Nigel complains about Schiavone’s lack of professionalism. Hook fights up and cleans house on his own but Mortos gets in a cheap shot so Strong can take over. We take another break and come back with Hook fighting out of a chinlock and escaping a suplex, allowing Floyd to come in.

Everything breaks down and the Paisan Elbow sets up the Shatter Machine (from the Outrunners) for two on Drake. Everything breaks down again and Gibson chokes away on Magnum in the ropes. Strong hits an Irish Curse for two and it’s back to Rush for the running clothesline. Strong grabs the chinlock as commentary talks about Bryan Danielson. Magnum fights up and a double clothesline gives him a needed breather.

The tag is cut off again though and we take another break. Back again with Harwood coming in to fire off the rights and lefts to put various villains down. Triple stereo German suplexes give us a triple near fall before Rush and Harwood chop it out. Mortos breaks up a Shatter Machine and hits a dive, leaving Harwood to get double teamed in the corner. The Bull’s Horns finishes Harwood at 24:17.

Rating: B. The result is a surprise as I was expecting the Outrunners to take the fall here but instead they were out there so the fans can have a good time with one of the most popular teams in the company. Rush continues to get a renewed focus and seeing him get a pin in a TV main event is a big spot.

Serena Deeb wants Britt Baker next week.

Nigel McGuinness is disgusted by the World Champion being a coward. The reality is Bryan Fears Nigel (which is what Nigel’s shirt says) but maybe Bryan should do it for the fans. The fans identify with him but Tony Schiavone interrupts, saying he has had enough of McGuinness. Danielson is not afraid of McGuinness and is only missing because he is not medially cleared.

Schiavone praises Danielson, earning a big threat from Nigel. He doesn’t care how Danielson does it but he wants Danielson in the ring to prove that he is just as good. Danielson knows who the better man is and knows what happens if he shows up at Grand Slam. The ball is in Danielson’s court and Nigel wants him there next week. Nigel is growing more and more unhinged here, which could make for a very interesting showdown.

Overall Rating: B-. The opener and main event were both good but this show was in a tough spot. Grand Slam is all that matters and this show was much more about setting things up for next week. This show was good enough, but everything is going to matter next week and this was little more than a preview/prep show.

Results
Sammy Guevara/Dustin Rhodes b. Kingdom – Swanton off a ladder to Bennett
Conglomeration/Hologram b. Premiere Athletes – Jay Driller to Woods
Mariah May b. Lady Frost – Storm Zero
Darby Allin b. Evil Uno – Coffin Drop
Serena Deeb b. Queen Aminata – Deebtox
Grizzled Young Veterans/Rush/Roderick Strong/The Beast Mortos b. FTR/Hook/Outrunners – Bull’s Horns to Harwood

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.