Dynamite
Date: February 5, 2025
Location: Gateway Arena Center At College Park, College Park, Georgia
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

We are just over a week away from Grand Slam and that means it is time to finish hammering home the card. Most of it is either set or almost set, which leaves a few spots to be filled in. There is a chance that we get something new added this week, though it could go in a few different ways. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Renee Paquette talks to Jay White, who says he has to rely on Rated FTR to take out the Death Riders. Cue the Death Riders and cue Rated FTR to even things up, with the brawl coming into the arena. Yuta gets taken out and Cope adds a spear to send the villains running. With the Riders out in t he crowd, Cope again issues the challenge for a World Title shot at Revolution. That’s a no from Moxley, so White issues a challenge for a tag match at Grand Slam.

We run down tonight’s card.

Buddy Matthews challenges Kazuchika Okada for the Continental Title again, with Okada saying no again.

Will Ospreay vs. ???

It’s the newest member of the Don Callis family….Mark Davis. Ospreay isn’t happy and gets chopped down as Callis is on commentary, talking about how he signed Aussie Open so he owns Davis. Back up and Davis knocks him into the corner before hitting a suplex. Ospreay is back up with a Phenomenal Forearm though and we take a break.

We come back with Ospreay hitting a DDT to send Davis outside, with the big dive taking him down again. Back in and Ospreay strikes away, only to get piledriven for two. Davis yells at the referee and thanks to the distraction, gets taken down by the Hidden Blade for the pin at 10:58.

Rating: B-. Having Davis as the newest member of the team is something that makes sense, but egads it doesn’t do much for the interest. It wasn’t a bad match, but I could go a very long time without seeing Ospreay dealing with anything related to Callis again. Just get to the tag match and let that be enough already.

Post match Ospreay grabs the mic and says that he and his new friend will take out the Don Callis Family in Australia. Cue Kenny Omega to say he’s back and ready to fight. He hits his catchphrase and a lot of pyro goes off, with Omega saying it surprised him.

Video on Swerve Strickland vs. Ricochet, complete with clips from their issues before they got to AEW.

Here is the Hurt Syndicate to celebrate their title win. Private Party was a good team, but the Syndicate is going to take out anyone who comes after them. They are open or business, so here are the Gunns to interrupt. The Gunns want their titles back and say that hurting someone is the point of being in wrestling. MVP agrees to the title match, even if they are a couple of “A** Boys.” Austin says something in response but it’s censored, even with the fans cheering rather loudly. Simple and to the point here.

Harley Cameron, with her Mercedes Mone puppet, are ready for Cameron’s concert on Collision. Mone comes in to mock Cameron for only getting her first win. Now stay away from her locker room.

Hangman Page isn’t going to accept the idea of feeling sorry for Swerve Strickland. He took out Christopher Daniels but here is Max Caster to say it’s his time for an interview. A match seems made for later.

Don Callis Family vs. Hounds Of Hell

Fletcher works on Matthews’ arm to start but it’s quickly off to Takeshita, who gets to slug away at King. Everything breaks down and they all fight to the floor, where King puts both villains in the same chair for a running crossbody. We take a break and come back with King fighting out of the corner, including a hard clothesline to Takeshita.

A German suplex doesn’t do much to King so they clothesline each other down. Matthews’ running flip dive to the floor takes both of them out again…and here is Kazuchika Okada for the interruption. Takeshita hits a dropkick/top rope backsplash combination, setting up a hanging DDT for two on King. An assisted brainbuster finishes King at 14:14.

Rating: B. Good match here, but I’m not sure about the logic behind having the Hounds lose so soon into their new run. It seems rather early for them to lose and that isn’t the most logical way to go. Hopefully they get a nice win sooner than later, because otherwise I’m not sure I get the thinking.

Hook and Samoa Joe go to find Christian Cage but have to settle for beating up his minions. With Hook and Joe gone, Cage and Mother Wayne come in to survey the damage.

Here is MJF for a chat. MJF blames Jeff Jarrett for his issues and reminds Jarrett that the E in AEW isn’t for “elderly”. No one is on his level so here is Max Caster to interrupt. Cue Hangman Page to go after Caster but he gets in MJF’s face instead. With Page gone, Dustin Rhodes (erg) cuts off the catchphrase and believe it or not, he’s in a bad mood. Rhodes gets on MJF for insulting Owen Hart’s memory because that was Rhodes’ friend.

Stop talking about people who have substance abuse issues because Rhodes is sixteen years sober. Rhodes talks about how he’s been here for a long time and is still just as good as ever. MJF mocks Rhodes for thinking he’s better before saying it took 37 years for Rhodes to get out of his father’s shadow. Now he’s in his little brother’s shadow and the brawl is on, with security breaking it up. Nice promo from Rhodes, but not enough to overcome the fact that it’s Dustin Rhodes.

Toni Storm vs. Queen Aminata

Mariah May is on commentary…and Storm is dressed as May. Storm has the mannerisms and look down, with the real May looking furious. They fight over a headlock to start with Storm taking her down as May vents about how she did this months ago. And where did she get that outfit? Aminata sends her into the ropes but gets hip attacked out to the floor. Back up and Aminata hits a suicide dive, taking off some of Storm’s hair extensions with her.

We take a break and come back with May complaining that Storm doesn’t have the chest to make the impression work. Storm Zero is countered into a rollup to give Aminata two and they trade the big forearms. Aminata knocks her into the corner for the running shot to the face but Storm hits a DDT. The running knee sets up May Day for the pin on Aminata at 9:05.

Rating: C. This was two things at once, as Storm absolutely nailed everything about May and was doing a pretty awesome impression. The problem, which tends to be a recurring issue in AEW, was having Aminata hang in there with the #1 contender for almost ten minutes. This should have been Storm massacring someone while having fun but instead we get this, which felt like it was more about building Aminata than anything else. They missed badly with this one, which is a shame as Storm was great.

Post match Renee Paquette gets in and Storm insists that she is Mariah May. The real May gets on the apron but walks off instead.

Dustin Rhodes wants to fight MJF.

Video on Big Bill vs. Powerhouse Hobbs, with Bandido returning last weekend.

The Learning Tree gives us a live New York Minute and doesn’t like Bandido being back. Jericho issues a $200,000 bounty for Bandido so Bryan Keith can collect it. Cue Powerhouse Hobbs to go after Bill, with the Outrunners coming in to even things up. Bill and Hobbs brawl around ringside and we take a break.

Post break the brawl is still having to be broken up.

Swerve Strickland vs. Ricochet

Ricochet chairs Strickland from behind before the bell, setting up Vertigo for two at the bell. A backbreaker keeps Strickland in trouble and a running dropkick sends him to the floor. They go to the barricade where Strickland powerbombs his way out of a hurricanrana (that looked great). Ricochet gets sent into the corner and we take a break.

Back with Ricochet hitting a Codebreaker out of the corner, followed by a backbreaker. Both of them escape powerbombs until Strickland grabs a World’s Strongest Slam for two. The House Call into he Swerve Stomp gets two on Ricochet, who is right back up with a springboard 450. The shooting star press gives Ricochet two more but the Spirit Gun is countered with a House Call. Strickland tries the Stomp but Ricochet gets his fists up for a low blow. The Spirit Gun finishes Strickland at 13:24.

Rating: B. The build to this match was a bit odd with the gold scissors coming out of nowhere, but what mattered here was having a fight for the match itself. That’s what we got here and it worked well, making this feel like a main event which had been set up. Good, hard hitting fight, but dang enough with Strickland losing.

Post match Ricochet steals Prince Nana’s robe to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Oddly enough, the show with the least Death Riders involvement is one of the better shows AEW has had in a bit. They had some good matches here and while there was a bit to much Don Callis Family for my liking, this was a show that kept me interested throughout. What mattered here was setting up more for Grand Slam, which should be going well. Nice stuff here, and again, how nice it was to not deal with the Death Riders.

Results
Will Ospreay b. Mark Davis – Hidden Blade
Don Callis Family b. Hounds Of Hell – Assisted brainbuster to King
Toni Storm b. Queen Aminata – May Day
Ricochet b. Swerve Strickland – Spirit Gun

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: February 1, 2025
Location: Propst Arena At Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We have two weeks to go before we get to Grand Slam and the top of the card has come together. The show has some more spots to fill in though and we’ll start taking care of that this week. As for this week, we have a Mid-South street fight, despite not being in the Mid-South (well, at least the wrestling version). Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Hook/Samoa Joe vs. The Patriarchy

Wayne shoulders Hook down to start but gets suplexed for his efforts. Joe comes in but misses a charge into the corner, allowing Sabian to kick away. That doesn’t work for Joe, who runs Sabian over and hits the backsplash. Hook comes back in but gets taken into the wrong corner so the villains can take over.

Sabian grabs a chinlock as Schiavone rattles off the rest of the card, sounding more robotic than ever. A double suplex gives Wayne two but Hook is over to the corner without much trouble. Joe comes back in, hits the release Rock Bottom out of the corner, and MuscleBusters Sabian for the pin at 8:59.

Rating: C. This was what it needed to be, with Joe getting in there and smashing through everyone as soon as he got the chance. That’s the point of someone like Joe, as he is an absolute monster when he gets the chance. Joe vs. Cage could be interesting, though Joe should have something to do with Chris Jericho first.

Post match Christian Cage comes in with the metal contract and lays the winners out.

Cope thinks Jon Moxley is always whining about something and was stupid to hide the World Title in a briefcase. He wants Moxley at Revolution. Logical, but dang that’s a long time to sit through this feud.

The Beast Mortos vs. Adam Priest

The discus lariat and the spinning piledriver finish Priest at 44 seconds. Yep.

Post match here is Max Caster to say he doesn’t want to fight, but he does want to issue his first open challenge.

Max Caster vs. Rush

Rush isn’t having any of this waiting around to start and pounds Caster into the corner to start. The Bull’s Horns finishes at 1:03. Yep again.

Post match Rush and Mortos, with Dralistico get in the ring so Rush can do his catchphrase.

The Outrunners think the Learning Tree need to dig two graves.

Outrunners vs. Learning Tree

Big Bill is here with the Learning Tree. Jericho pokes Magnum in the eyes to start and takes those eyes into the corner for some raking. Floyd comes in for some alternating atomic drops and the villains are cleared out to the floor. Bill gets in a big boot for a cheap shot though and we take a break.

Back with Floyd getting to clean house but the Mega Powers elbow takes too long. Jericho gets the Walls on Floyd but Magnum comes back in with a suplex. NOW the Mega Powers elbow can connect, only for Bill to break up Total Recall. Keith small packages Floyd for the pin at 8:21.

Rating: C+. Maybe I was stupid for thinking they could do something with the Outrunners, but here they are losing to bigger teams. I know they weren’t going to be AEW Tag Team Champions, but they could have beaten some biggish team in a funny feud. Instead, they are the latest stars to be sacrifice on the altar of Jericho.

Post match, Big Bill beats up the Outrunners again. A double chokeslam through the table is loaded up but Bandido comes in for the save. Keith goes through the table instead.

Kyle Fletcher wants to even the score with Mark Briscoe. They’re set for next week.

Buddy Matthews again challenges Kazuchika Okada, who isn’t interested. B******* ensues.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Harley Cameron

Taya jumps her to start and stomps away in the corner, only to get kicked in the head. Back up and the sliding German suplex drops Cameron and we take a break. We come back with the fans chanting FEEL THE WRATH and Cameron hitting a Canadian Destroyer. Cameron misses a Swanton but gets speared, only for Cameron to roll her up for the pin and her first AEW victory at 7:34.

Rating: C. Now THIS is what AEW needs to do more often. It wasn’t some stunning upset or total nonsense, but one of the most popular stars in the promotion got a clean win. They still have time to do this on the way to Grand Slam where Cameron likely gets to lose to Mercedes Mone. Not a particularly good match, but it was what the fans wanted to see and it went well.

We get a sitdown interview with Ricochet, who is happy to be here among the best around. Then the fans turned on him and threw toilet paper at him. Swerve Strickland thought it was a good idea to join the fans booing him. Cue Strickland to say he could end Ricochet but that would disappoint fans in Atlanta. Strickland talks about how the two of them have a long history and now it is going to be a fight, which Ricochet can’t win. Ricochet talks about how he doesn’t care about the fans and they’ll see each other in Atlanta. Nice stuff here, as they’re making this feel like a showdown.

Here is Toni Storm to say that she has been playing the role of Toni Storm for the last six weeks. Naturally no one got this because she’s such a great actress. She has to run away after Mariah May broke her heart and now she has seen everything she has. May is a “shambolic b****.” and her time is over. At least they’re winking at the fact that it wasn’t a big surprise.

Video on Christopher Daniels.

Harley Cameron is outside of Mercedes Mone’s dressing room….and whips out a Mone puppet for some outstanding ventriloquism. Mone comes in to mock Cameron for being a loser who doesn’t get to ride the money train. Sweet goodness this woman is talented.

Video on Daniel Garcia.

TNT Title: Daniel Garcia vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Lee Moriarty

Garcia is defending and Moriarty’s ROH Pure Title isn’t on the line. Feeling out process to start with neither going much of anywhere. We get the parade of holds with neither being able to get very far, meaning it’s another standoff. Moriarty gets sent outside so the other two can get kicked in the face. A big dive drops O’Reilly and Garcia and we take a break.

Back with Moriarty hitting an Eat Defeat/Downward Spiral combination for two each. Some double teaming takes Moriarty down until an exchange of kicks leaves everyone down. Garcia hammers away at both of them in the corner. With O’Reilly down, Garcia gets the Dragon Slayer but O’Reilly breaks it up. Moriarty’s associate Shane Taylor punches Garcia into the Border City Stretch but Garcia reverses into the jackknife cover for the retaining pin at 11:31.

Rating: B-. This was mostly just a nice wrestling match, but CAN WE STOP PINNING RING OF HONOR CHAMPIONS??? If you don’t want O’Reilly to lose here then fine, but don’t put another champion in there to take the fall. Heck you had Shane Taylor RIGHT THERE on the floor to take the fall instead. This is one of those things that Tony Khan does far too often and it drives me insane.

Post match Shane Taylor Promotions surround O’Reilly and Garcia but the Undisputed Kingdom makes the save.

Video on Penelope Ford vs. Thunder Rosa.

Hologram is walking the streets and seems to have electrical powers.

Megan Bayne vs. Hyena Hera

Bayne powers her into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs to start and hits a pump kick for a knockdown. An F5 finishes Hera at 1:25. That’s how she should have debuted rather than being just another name in the Casino Gauntlet.

Lio Rush might take up Darius Martin’s challenge. Maybe.

Mariah May is ready to watch Toni Storm vs. Queen Aminata.

Kris Statlander apologizes to Willow Nightingale over their issues. Nightingale says it’s time to focus on herself, but Statlander pulls out their friendship bracelet, showing it was never broken.

Death Riders vs. FTR

Street fight and FTR jumps them in the crowd to start fast. The weapons are brought in rather quickly and the Riders fight back, with Cash being sent into the steps to put him down. Harwood is sent into them as well and Moxley puts him in a chair for a kick to the face and two, as “Mid-South Street Fight” apparently means falls count anywhere. Yuta chairs Harwood in the ring and here is Moxley with some pliers. Cash fights up and helps clean some house but Moxley pliers Harwood’s nose…and we take a break. Because of course.

We come back with Moxley pouring out the thumbtacks, only to get powerbombed onto them. Cash and Yuta fight over a suplex before Cash settles for a suicide dive. Moxley Death Riders Cash on the floor and puts a table up in the corner. The double suplex is broken up and Harwood hits a brainbuster for a needed breather.

Harwood grabs Moxley low, only for Marina Shafir to come in and grab Harwood low. Shafir grabs a choke but gets sent through the table in the corner for his efforts. A piledriver sets up a Sharpshooter on Moxley so here is Claudio Castagnoli for the save. Cue Jay White and Cope to even things up, with Yuta getting piledriven through the announcers’ able for the pin at 16:51.

Rating: B-. Quite the fight here and it’s nice to see the Riders lose, but at the same time, it was quite a bit of the same stuff that we have seen in this kind of a match before. The match did come a bit out of nowhere, though apparently this was the last minute replacement for Powerhouse Hobbs due to his injury, so fair enough. Good stuff here, but the Death Riders in general are just not that interesting.

Post match the Riders keep up the beating but get taken out, with a Shatter Machine and spear dropping Moxley. The Conchairto is broken up to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Nice enough show here, even if the audience is going to be crushed by the Royal Rumble. The last two non-squash matches were pretty good and I liked them throwing in some shorter matches to keep things moving. It’s not a show you need to see, but it was perfectly enjoyable.

Results
Hook/Samoa Joe b. The Patriarchy – MuscleBuster to Sabian
The Beast Mortos b. Adam Priest – Spinning piledriver
Rush b. Max Caster – Bull’s Horns
Learning Tree b. Outrunners – Small package to Keith
Harley Cameron b. Taya Valkyrie – Rollup
Daniel Garcia b. Lee Moriarty and Kyle O’Reilly – Jackknife rollup to Moriarty
Megan Bayne b. Hyena Hera – F5
FTR b. Death Riders – Spike piledriver through the announcers’ table to Yuta

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: January 25, 2025
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s Homecoming because we can’t go a week without some kin of special show. It is nice to be back in Daily’s Place though as we should be in for a fun show. We are less than a month away from Grand Slam and it should be time to start getting the rest of the card put together so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

The Patriarchy, Toni Storm, Mariah May and Samoa Joe are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

Jim Ross is back. That’s nice to see.

Samoa Joe vs. Nick Wayne

The rest of the Patriarchy is here so Katsuyori Shibata and Hook come out to even things up. You know, assuming Joe wouldn’t be able to smash the entire team on his own. Wayne strikes away to start but misses a shoulder, allowing Joe to hit a backsplash. The early MuscleBuster is broken up and Joe’s leg is wrapped around the ropes. Wayne hits a dive to the floor and it’s time to say on the leg. Joe isn’t having this though as he knocks Wayne back and hits the MuscleBuster for the pin at 5:24.

Rating: C. That’s what this should have been as Wayne was going to be little more than an annoyance to Joe at best. Joe shrugged off whatever Wayne threw at him and finished him in a hurry. There is no point in making this overly complicated and that is what they made work here. Joe is going to be on his way to something better so smashing the Patriarchy on the way there isn’t a bad idea.

We recap Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay brawling with the Don Callis Family on Dynamite, setting up the tag match at Grand Slam.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Komander

Non-title. Komander starts fast with a knockdown and reverses a suplex into a quickly broken choke. Okada isn’t having this and kicks him in the face before going outside. A DDT plants Komander hard and we take an early break. Back with Komander grabbing an X Factor out of a powerbomb and picking up the pace. Okada’s White Noise onto the knee sets up the top rope elbow but the Rainmaker is blocked. Komander grabs a hurricanrana to the floor and hits a moonsault, only to get Rainmakered for the pin at 8:59.

Rating: B-. Hey look: a Ring Of Honor champion loses AGAIN, but we’re still expected to pay to watch that the show. There was no reason for Komander to be Okada’s latest victim here as the champion vs. champion aspect wasn’t much of a bonus. But why let common sense get in the way of something Tony Khan thinks is cool?

Powerhouse Hobbs and Big Bill get in a fight in the parking lot. They hit each other with metal objects, including a gate that Hobbs rips off a fence. Security breaks it up.

The Costco Guys are back but get interrupted by the Undisputed Kingdom for a Boom off.

Undisputed Kingdom vs. Daniel Garcia/Angelo Parker/Matt Menard

Oh hey Parker still works here. Garcia headlocks Cole over to start but they pop up for a staredown. Strong and Menard come in with the former working on a wristlock before grinding on a headlock. Garcia comes in and is quickly backdropped to the floor, where he gets in an argument with Shane Taylor Promotions. We take a break and come back with Garcia hammering on O’Reilly in the corner. O’Reilly fights out without much trouble and hands it back to Cole for a slugout with Garcia. Everything breaks down and Parker is faceplanted for two. A superkick cuts off Garcia and the high/low finishes Parker at 9:55.

Rating: C. This was little more than a handicap match as there was no reason to believe that Parker and Menard were going to be a real threat to the Kingdom. In theory one of these three could be coming after Garcia’s TNT Title, which would be fine, but it didn’t make for much of a six man tag. Parker and Menard are harmless enough but they’re about as bottom of the barrel as you can get around here.

Respect is shown post match.

Max Caster is happy with the response to the Acclaimed’s split and announces an Open Challenge series.

We get a bunch of computer code as I’m guessing Hologram is coming back.

Top Flight argues over Action Andretti and Lio Rush. Darius Martin wants to fight Rush one on one.

Tony Schiavone brings out Mariah May and Toni Storm for a face to face chat. Storm’s enthusiastic handshake offer is turned down and May says Storm makes her think and feel nothing. Storm is nothing and a joke and the fans laugh at her, just like May knew they would. May will get off by humiliating Storm in her hometown.

Storm says she is May’s biggest fan and wants to be just like her. She hugs May, who responds with a heck of a slap. May whips her with the belt and leaves, but Storm asks why May thinks she has forgotten. Storm takes off her clothes to reveal the Timeless gear and promises to shove May back into the womb. For some reason this is presented as a surprise, despite it being pretty obvious for most of the story.

There is a special interview with the Death Riders debuting next week. Jon Moxley’s vision is a thousand Moxleys. Oh dear.

Hounds Of Hell vs. Gates Of Agony

The Hounds are Buddy Matthews/Brody King with Julia Hart as the House Of Black seems to be completely done. Matthews shoulders Kaun to no effect to start and is shouldered into the corner. King and Toa collide before striking it out until King is taken into the wrong corner to take over. That doesn’t last long as King fights out and brings Matthews back in to clean house.

We take a break and come back with Open The Gates getting two on Matthews. The comeback doesn’t take long and it’s off to King to clean house, including a Death Valley Driver for two on Toa. A Samoan drop gets the same on King, who Kaun can’t powerbomb. Instead King hits a piledriver and a Cannonball/running dropkick combination in the corner finishes Kaun at 10:04.

Rating: B-. The Hounds are already a good team so this was little more than a way to show that Malakai Black is gone and they’ll be fine. The Gates aren’t a great team but they’re a couple of monsters and it looks good for the Hounds to beat them. This was a nice way to show us the new team and I’m interested in seeing what they can do. A hoss fight with the Hurt Syndicate could work just fine.

The Costco Guys bring Harley Cameron, who can’ t get their catchphrase right. The Vendetta comes in to mock Cameron and the Guys do their catchphrase. Again.

Penelope Ford and Thunder Rosa argue and a match seems to be made.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Serena Deeb vs. Yuka Sakazaki vs. Queen Aminata

For a future TBS Title shot. They go for early rollups to start to limited avail, leaving Purrazzo to chill on the ramp with Taya Valkyrie. Deeb ties up Aminata’s leg before neckbreakering her over the top rope. Sakazaki clears the ring and hits a big dive to take everyone out on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Purrazzo Fujiwara armbarring Aminata, who rolls her way out. Everyone but Deeb is down but Sakazaki is back with a high crossbody to take her down. Deeb and Aminata brawl up the ramp so Valkyrie comes in, only for Harley Cameron to come in for the save. Sakazaki rolls Purrazzo up for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: B-. So Sakazaki, who hasn’t gotten a singles win since September (the most recent of these four to win a singles match in AEW is Purrazzo, who won a squash more than a month ago), is suddenly in a four way for a title shot. Sure, why not. The match was the usual collection of four people with nothing going on suddenly getting into the title picture because it’s not like there are people here doing things who could be in these slots instead. But hey, at least Mone gets to wrestle one of her friends from Japan, because that’s what matters the most.

The Hounds are back and bark but Kazuchika Okada comes in to say they sound like b******. Buddy Murphy challenges him for the Continental Title but that’s a no. Murphy: “Then you’re the b****.” Okada: “I’m not a b****.” This has been “how much can we get out of a one word joke”.

Here is Big Bill to call out Powerhouse Hobbs. Cue Hobbs, who has to beat up security, allowing Bill to hit him with a backpack. Said backpack contains a brick, a knee brace, and handcuffs. Hobbs is cuffed and beaten, with his nose busted open. Bill beats him with a chair but Hobbs gets in a low blow, setting up the belly to belly off the stage through a table.

The Don Callis Family has dinner at the….Don Callis Mansion? Callis tells the team to be ready for Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay and teases a new member. This was so over the top that it was funny.

International Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Shibata is challenging and Don Callis is on commentary. They go to the mat to start as Callis confirms that yes, he does think everyone else is stupid. Shibata slips out of a headscissors but can’t get in a kick to the head so they get back up. They head outside with Shibata being sent into the barricade but he cuts off a charge with a hard kick.

We take a break and come back with Shibata striking away, setting up a butterfly suplex for two. An exchange of suplexes sets up an STO to put Takeshita down and we get a double breather. Shibata grabs a choke but Takeshita reverses into a Tombstone into a wheelbarrow suplex.

Shibata pops back up for a running shot and they’re both down again. The abdominal stretch has Takeshita in trouble so Callis heads to the ring. Takeshita chokes him down but Callis grabs the foot to break up the PK. One heck of a Blue Thunder Bomb gives Takeshita one and they strike it out, only for Raging Fire to retain the title at 13:32.

Rating: B+. I got way into this one and it was a heck of a main event. They were beating each other up and while I didn’t think Shibata was going to win the title, he put in an awesome effort in defeat. This is one of those matches where there isn’t much else to say other than it was really good and is worth a look if you get the chance.

Overall Rating: B-. As tends to be the case with a lot of Collisions, there is a really good hour long show in here but instead it was stretched out to two hours and brought down a lot. The issues with random people being thrown into title contention are still going strong and that is likely to be the case forever around here. Other than that, the main event is very good and the Hounds looked great, so there were definitely some big positives on this show.

Results
Samoa Joe b. Nick Wayne – MuscleBuster
Kazuchika Okada b. Komander – Rainmaker
Undisputed Kingdom b. Daniel Garcia/Angelo Parker/Matt Menard – High/Low to Parker
Hounds Of Hell b. Gates Of Agony – Cannonball/running dropkick in the corner combination to Kaun
Yuka Sakazaki b. Serena Deeb, Queen Aminata and Deonna Purrazzo – Rollup to Purrazzo
Konosuke Takeshita b. Katsuyori Shibata – Raging Fire

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 3, 2024
Location: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re coming up on WrestleDream and that is going to include Mark Briscoe defending the Ring Of Honor World Title against Chris Jericho. That’s at least what is taking place in the championship picture around here, because the World Title situation is still nutty. Other than that, it’s hard to say hat we’ll be getting here so let’s get to it.

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

We run down the card, including Mark Briscoe defending the World Title against Matt Taven in a match that was not advertised in any significant way.

Premiere Athletes/Mark Sterling vs. Dustin Rhodes/Von Erichs

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning that if the Athletes and Sterling win or last the ten minute time limit, they get a future title shot. Daivari headlocks Marshall to start before a dropkick puts Daivari down. Sterling comes in to slam Ross and hands it off to Nese, who gets double dropkicked.

Back up and Nese hits his own dropkick to knock Ross into the corner so the villains can take over. Nese splashes Sterling by mistake though and an enziguri allows the tag to Rhodes to wreck the Athletes. The Canadian Destroyer sends Nese outside but Sterling breaks up the Cross Rhodes. Stereo Claws get rid of Nese and Daivari so Shattered Dreams and the Final Reckoning can finish Sterling at 6:18.

Rating: C-. Counting the match where he won the Six Man Titles, Rhodes has been involved in matches involving the Undisputed Era five times, the Dark Order four times and the Premiere Athletes two times (some of which have been combinations of multiple teams). Some of those matches have been either title matches or Proving Ground matches for the Tag Team and Six Man Tag Team Titles.

I have no idea whatsoever why there are four teams fighting over two sets of titles, with one person holding a piece of both championships. Now though we’ve reached the point where the goofy manager is getting beaten up too. The limited interest that came with Rhodes getting one final run as a champion is already worn thin as he’s out of viable challengers and is just repeating the same low level goofs he’s already beaten. Either fix this or get rid of the titles.

During WrestleDream’s Zero Hour, Atlantis Jr. will defend the TV Title against Brian Cage. To be fair, Cage has won two singles matches over no name opponents in about six weeks so that’s good enough for a title shot. Again: give me a reason to care about what happens on this show when it comes to title matches or get rid of the stupid thing. This is another title match thrown together with no rhyme or reason and it’s been that way for months now.

Nyla Rose vs. Katie Arquette

Arquette kicks her in the ribs off the handshake and is promptly knocked down. The Cannonball into the backsplash into the Beast Bomb finishes for Rose at 1:30.

The Minions are planning a celebration for Athena but Billie Starkz isn’t happy. Athena isn’t happy and tells Starkz to admit she has a problem. Starkz says Athena is the problem for leaving her with Abadon but Athena says get over it because this is her day. That’s enough for Starkz to storm off, with Abadon popping up behind Athena and reach out for her, but Athena doesn’t notice.

Anthony Henry/Beef vs. Anthony Cantena/Wes Barkley

Henry and Barkley start things off but Beef comes in to crush Barkley in the corner. A missed charge allows the tag of to Cantena, who gets dropkicked down by Beef. It’s back to Henry, who gets caught with a quick neckbreaker but is right back with a short powerbomb to Cantena. The tag brings Beef back in and everything breaks down, with Cantena and Barkley’s stereo sunset flips being broken up. Henry’s top rope double stomp finishes Barkley at 3:55.

Rating: C. Henry and Beef are a funny enough act as the team where only one member wants to be there, but it’s hard to imagine this goes anywhere. Unless JD Drake comes back and Henry has to pick his side, there isn’t much of a reason to believe it’s going anywhere. They kept this quick here, which is the right idea for a comedy act like this one.

Infantry vs. Outrunners

Bravo and Magnum start things off and get nowhere so it’s a double tag to Dean and Floyd. They run the ropes until Floyd gets in a hiptoss into an armbar. Magnum comes back in to chop on Bravo, who punches him in the face for a breather. Some loud chops and a suplex get two on Magnum and a jumping elbow connects for the same. Dean misses a charge into the corner though and it’s Floyd coming in to clean house. A boot to the head into a DDT drops Floyd but Magnum is back in with Total Recall for the pin at 7:12.

Rating: C. Give the Outrunners the Tag Team Titles. Why not? There’s no division to speak of, Dustin Rhodes has gotten his oh so special run as a double champion and can still have his meaningless Six Man Titles and the fans actually seem to like the Outrunners. Do something with them before the hype is over.

Post match the Infantry shake hands but leave in a huff.

Beef is fired up about his team with Anthony Henry, who says they are not a team. Henry is in a team with JD Drake, so Beef asks for Drake’s number. There’s a one in a million chance, which is good enough for Beef.

Since WrestleDream is a celebration of professional wrestling (….sure), here’s a classic ROH match from October 1, 2005 (and from a previous review).

Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi

Well it was going to be this or one of the Punk matches and this makes more sense. Joe gets a pop but Kobashi gets an ovation. They shake hands to start and it’s time for some high intensity circling. The feeling out process continues until Joe hits the first chop for a loud gasp from the crowd. Kobashi takes him into the corner and shows him a real chop before a shoulder sends Kobashi outside. Joe hits the big suicide elbow into the barricade for two back inside and we take a break.

Back with Joe taking him outside for the big running boot in the chair. It worked so well the first time that Joe tries it again, only to charge into a shot to the face. Joe gets planted on the floor and they head back inside for some more hard Kobashi chops. We hit the front facelock for a bit until Joe suplexes his way to freedom. They strike it out hard with the sweat literally flying off of their chests.

Kobashi gets the better of things as we take another break and come back with Joe making the comeback and striking away even faster. Some Kawada kicks send Kobashi flying into the corner and it’s time for the facewashes. The MuscleBuster connects for two and Joe is stunned by the kickout. Another kick to the head sets up Joe’s STF, which is switched into a crossface and then something like an octopus hold on the mat as Kobashi FINALLY gets a foot on the ropes for the break.

Kobashi manages a half and half suplex and they’re both down again. Back up and Kobashi goes nuts with the rapid fire chops in the corner, leaving Joe’s chest looking rather disturbed. Another half and half suplex gets two and a sleeper suplex gives Kobashi the same. Joe tries to chop away but some spinning backfists set up a huge lariat to put him away at 24:21.

Rating: A. This is a great example of a match which was made better by the crowd’s reaction. The match felt like an event, as Kobashi is a living legend and having Joe face him in such a high profile match is the kind of thing you do not get to see very often. Joe is the biggest name in Ring of Honor history and Kobashi is far above him, but Joe hung in there and had him in real trouble in a classic. Great match, as you may have heard before.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Matt Taven vs. Mark Briscoe

Taven, with Mike Bennett, is challenging. A rollup gives Taven an early two but Briscoe is back up with a headlock. Briscoe chops him down and they slap hands, with Taven knocking him into the corner. Bennett’s distraction doesn’t work though and Briscoe is back with a Blockbuster off the apron. Back in and Briscoe misses the Froggy Bow, allowing Taven to hammer away and take over.

A neckbreaker sets up the chinlock but Taven’s Lionsault hits raised knees (which oddly gets commentary to stop talking about Chris Jericho rather than the other way around). Briscoe gets two off a high collar suplex but Taven hits Just The Tip for the same. Aurora Borealis hits Briscoe for two but a second attempt hits raised knees (again). The Froggy Boy also hits raised knees (we get the concept) so Briscoe hits a fisherman’s buster. The Jay Driller retains the title at 9:32.

Rating: B-. So to recap: Matt Taven has had one singles match since ROH relaunched under Tony Khan (defeating Darius Martin in February 2022) and has lost to Briscoe’s teams in some recent AEW tag matches. This is on the same she where there Premiere Athletes get a Proving Ground match rather than an actual title match despite losing to Dustin in multiple matches in recent weeks. At the same time, Brian Cage is getting a TV Title shot based on winning a few squash matches and possibly due to being on the winning team in a six man tag almost two months ago. Eh just give Dustin Rhodes all the titles. Should be fine.

Overall Rating: B-. I can only get so annoyed when about a third of this show was Joe vs. Kobashi (I’m assuming that was put in because two matches taped for the show ended in injuries) but geez the lack of continuity and coherence around here is astounding. I have no idea how one goes about getting a title shot around here, but I also know that none of it matters as the important stuff takes place on AEW shows anyway, making this show all the more pointless. Just make it Dark again already and drop the whole ROH thing, which sounds nice but after a year and a half, it’s not exactly seeming likely.

Results
Dustin Rhodes/Von Erichs b. Premiere Athletes/Mark Sterling – Final Reckoning to Sterling
Nyla Roe b. Katie Arquette – Beast Bomb
Anthony Henry/Beef b. Anthony Cantena/Wes Barkley – Top rope double stomp to Barkley
Outrunners b. Infantry – Total Recall to Dean
Mark Briscoe b. Matt Taven – Jay Driller

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: July 10, 2024
Location: Calgary Stampede Grounds, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a big night here as we have the Owen Hart Foundation tournament finals for both the men and the women, which will give us two major All In matches. Other than that, Chris Jericho is facing Samoa Joe in a street fight. Finally, we have two weeks to go before Blood & Guts and the match could use some more build. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of MJF’s explanation for turning on Daniel Garcia last week. Basically he doesn’t like that the fans turned their backs on him and is going to hurt everyone the fans love. That fits him well and makes sense.

Here is Will Ospreay, looking rather serious, for a chat. Ospreay has heard rumors about MJF being insecure and now that someone like Daniel Garcia came up on MJF’s popularity, MJF snapped. Garcia is at home with no feeling in his arms and there is no idea when he’ll be back in the ring. MJF blamed his ADD but Ospreay has ADHD and it doesn’t give him an excuse to be horrible.

There are a few reasons MJF isn’t happy, like the Bidding War Of 2024 didn’t go MJF’s way because Tony Khan didn’t want to spend money on someone who buried the promotion. Ospreay says he has more talent than MJF could ever have and says some people are going to cheer for MJF anyway. That’s cool with Ospreay, because the Level Of The Devil is ground floor while Ospreay is on the top of the skyscraper.

The challenge is on for a fight so MJF’s music plays but he pops up on screen, sitting in a chair instead. MJF has beaten all of these favorites before, so why should Ospreay be any different? Ospreay is a flavor of the month while MJF is the flavor of the millennium. MJF is irreplaceable but Ospreay is a dime a dozen. If you get in the ring with MJF, you will be exposed. That’s cool with MJF though, because they can have a match next week for that International Title. Works for Ospreay. Ospreay’s talking was a bit rough but they got where they needed to go.

Video on Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page in the Men’s Owen Hart finals.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Finals: Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page

Jeff Jarrett is special outside enforcer. Feeling out process to start until Page takes him down and hammers away. Danielson fights up and knocks him outside for the suicide dive, only to bang up his own neck on the landing. Back in and Danielson hits a missile dropkick but charges into a boot in the corner. A hard shot to the neck lets Page send him into the buckle and out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Danielson busted open and Page stomping away while Nigel is rather pleased. Page chops away in the corner but Danielson pulls him into an armbar and then the LeBell Lock. A rope is reached in a hurry so Page put shim on top, only for Danielson to hit a release German superplex. Danielson’s swan dive misses and Page gets a crossface, sending Danielson over to the ropes.

We take another break and come back again with Page sending him into an exposed buckle. A tombstone gives Danielson two but he knocks Page outside for a springboard flip dive, with commentary saying he hasn’t done that in years. Page is right back with another piledriver, this time on the floor. Danielson makes it back in before ten so Page ribs the tape off of Danielson’s neck.

Back up and Danielson hits a running knee for a needed breather but Page flips out of a German suplex. Danielson does the same and another running knee hits the referee. Page takes off his belt and whips Danielson, which draws Jarrett in, earning him a shove down. Jarrett takes off his shirt to reveal a referee shirt (fair, as they established he was an enforcer) and counts two off Page’s Deadeye. The Buckshot Lariat to the back of the neck drops Danielson but another one is countered. Instead Page grabs a crossface with the belt and Danielson is in trouble…until he reverses into a rollup for the pin a 25:49.

Rating: A-. This took some time to get going but eventually it reached that higher level. Danielson winning was a genuine surprise, if nothing else because it happens so infrequently. They were having Danielson go all the way to the brink before fighting back for the win. I’m more than a bit surprised that Page lost as he was looking like a killer, but I’ll take this over Page vs. Swerve again.

Post match Jarrett and Martha Hart present Danielson with the title and trophy. Swerve Strickland comes out for the staredown.

Post break Swerve is still in the ring to talk about being the best in the World and he’s ready to face Bryan Danielson at All In. He’s not happy that Danielson beat him before because he likes to hold grudges. That’s for later though, because he is officially joining Team AEW for Blood & Guts. He’s ready to beat Danielson like Ospreay couldn’t before moving on to talking about the Dynasty Era. There are three people named as the top of the company, with himself, Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada. The challenge is issued for Okada, but as for Danielson, it’s his Final Countdown.

Mariah May and Willow Nightingale are ready to win the Women’s Owen Hart tournament.

We get a new Acclaimed/Billy Gunn music video mocking the Young Bucks, including them raiding the Bucks’ locker room.

Samoa Joe vs. Chris Jericho

Street fight. Joe takes Jericho’s hat and punches him through it before hitting the enziguri in the corner. Jericho slugs away but gets sent outside, where Joe hits the big suicide elbow. Back up and Jericho gets in some chair shots to take over, meaning it’s time for a bag of horseshoes.

Jericho drops him onto said horseshoes and grabs the Walls as we take a break. Back with Joe hitting Jericho with a horseshoe to break the hold and they head out into the crowd. They go into the back where Joe gets the Koquina Clutch, only to have the Learning Tree break it up. Joe is whipped with a belt and put on a forklift, which Jericho drives through a wall. The match is stopped at 12:35.

Rating: C+. Well that was certainly something, though I’m not sure what. If nothing else, it’s the latest instance of Jericho getting to look strong, which comes after last week when he got to look like a killer over all three of Joe and company (important note: commentary did say Hook and Katsuyori Shibata weren’t here to explain the lack of a save). In theory this leads to Joe or Hook coming back for revenge, but dang I could go for a break from all of the Jericho stuff for a long time.

Post break Joe is taken away in an ambulance while the Learning Tree waves goodbye.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Pac vs. Kyle Fletcher vs. Tomohiro Ishii

The winner gets an International Title shot. It’s a brawl to start with Ishii and Castagnoli being left alone to slug it out. Ishii shoulders Castagnoli down but Pac is back in with a missile dropkick. Back up and Ishii fires off some suplexes until Castagnoli gutwrench suplexes him down. Castagnoli hits a big dive onto a pile of people as we take a break.

Back with all four pulling themselves back up, with Ishii having to fight off all three of them. Fletcher superkicks Castagnoli but gets dropped by Ishii. We get the parade of strikes to the face, including Swiss Death to Pac. Ishii and Fletcher strike it out until Fletcher hits a Tombstone for two. Castagnoli grabs the Giant Swing to Fletcher and grabs the Sharpshooter.

Pac adds a springboard elbow and puts on the Brutalizer to Fletcher, while the Sharpshooter is still on. Ishii breaks that up and hits a suplex, followed by a clothesline to Pac (who had already let go of the Brutalizer). A hard clothesline gets two on Fletcher and Castagnoli gives him the Neutralizer but Pac breaks it up. Pac German suplexes everyone and hits the Black Arrow into the Brutalizer to beat Fletcher at 11:21.

Rating: B. This was what you would expect in a modern four way, with hard hitting shots and people trying to steal pins. What matters is setting up what should be a heck of a match, with Pac being more than capable of hanging in there with anyone. Good stuff here, thankfully with Fletcher losing again, as he should.

Post match Pac says he doesn’t know what’s next for him but teases a title match at All In.

Hangman Page storms past Renee Paquette and goes to see the Young Bucks. Kazuchika Okada doesn’t want to let him in but the Bucks ask if there is anything they can do for Page. An angry Page says he’ll do it, with the Bucks approving.

Here is Mercedes Mone to celebrate her double title win. She heard Britt Baker talking about the past, present and future, which is appropriate because Mone is the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. Baker is crazy to think she can beat her so it’s time for a champagne toast, only for Baker to interrupt. Baker beats up security and Mone bails in a hurry. Well that was short.

Brandon Cutler has been attacked by….Darby Allin, who calls out Jack Perry for next week.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals: Mariah May vs. Willow Nightingale

May has Luther and Toni Storm with her while Nightingale is in Owen Hart inspired gear. Feeling out process to start with the grappling not going either way. May hits a hard running dropkick and then another one to the back gets two. Back up and Nightingale hits a swinging side slam into a running basement crossbody for two of her own. May is sent outside for a big cannonball off the apron as we take a break.

We come back with May hitting a running hip attack but Nightingale runs her over again. The Sharpshooter takes too long to set up and May kicks her away, setting up a hurricanrana for two. May’s running knee strike misses and Nightingale grabs a fisherman’s buster for two of her own. Back up and the Pounce is blocked with a hard headbutt to put both of them down.

Cue someone in an old Sting shirt for a distraction, allowing Storm to grab the referee. Cue Kris Statlander to kick Nightingale in the head (it’s Stokely Hathaway in the Sting shirt) and May hits a running knee to the head for two. May’s bridging rollup gets two more but Nightingale’s lariat gets the same. The Cannonball hits May but a Death Valley Driver is countered into a victory roll to give May the pin and the tournament at 12:35.

Rating: B. Good stuff here, even if there was only so much drama to be had in the result. May vs. Storm should be a heck of a showdown and I’m glad that they didn’t have the interference cost Nightingale the match. May feels like someone who could be the next big breakout star in the division and this could be a step in that direction.

Post match May and Storm skip up to the stage….where May blasts Storm in the face with the belt. May unloads on Luther with the belt as well and kicks the bleeding Storm in the ribs. Some HARD shoe shots to the head have Storm busted open even more before even Aubrey Edwards gets shoved down. May rubs her face on Storm’s bloody head as the fans are rather impressed to end the show. Awesome stuff here as May looked like a psycho.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a very wrestling heavy show and as usual, that’s where AEW tends to shine. The tournament finals were both very good and the four way was a nice bonus. Even the street fight, which was something we’ve seen done roughly a hundred times (save for the finish) worked well enough. Throw in a heck of an ending segment and some stuff being set up for the next few weeks, plus All In, and you had a rather awesome show.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Hangman Page – Rollup
Chris Jericho b. Samoa Joe via referee stoppage
Pac b. Kyle Fletcher, Tomohiro Ishii and Claudio Castagnoli – Brutalizer to Fletcher
Mariah May b. Willow Nightingale – Victory roll

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.

Rampage
Date: July 5, 2024
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Don Callis

We’re still in Chicago for the second half of Beach Break, which didn’t exactly mean much on Dynamite. Hopefully the show goes somewhere off of the big ending from Dynamite, but there is a real chance they save that for tomorrow night. We are starting to get ready for All In though and that build might continue here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Rush vs. Komander

Metalik is here with Komander. For some reason Komander tries a handshake to start, earning a shove down. Rush knocks him outside without much trouble and adds a whip into the barricade as Callis talks taking Rush to a baseball game. A chair is sent in, which is enough of a distraction to let Rush whip Komander with a camera cable. Back in and Rush hits a running double stomp but Komander manages a tornado DDT. That doesn’t work for Rush, who takes him outside for a HARD swing into the barricade as we take a break.

We come back with Rush stomping away in the corner and hitting the cocky kick to the mask. Komander is tied in the Tree of Woe for a rather hard kick but the Bull’s Horns misses. The comeback is on with a dropkick to the knee (Callis: “That’s a dirty move.”) to send Rush outside. Komander hits the dive into the Asai moonsault, setting up the shooting star press for two back inside. A headbutt cuts Komander off and an apron superplex gives Rush two. Rush suplexes him off the apron and the Bull’s Horns finishes at 11:56.

Rating: C. This is a good example of a match that went long and really shouldn’t have. If Rush is supposed to be the next big star for Callis, there is pretty much no reason for him to take about twelve minutes to beat Komander. It’s ok to just have Rush go in there and maul someone and that’s what should have happened here.

Post match Rush throws Komander at Callis’ feet.

The Undisputed Kingdom isn’t worried about the Conglomeration, who has Kyle O’Reilly bamboozled. Roderick Strong swears vengeance and are ready to bring O’Reilly back.

Konosuke Takeshita/Kyle Fletcher vs. Private Party

The Family jumps them before the bell and Private Party is in trouble to start. Kassidy armdrags Fletcher down for a breather and it’s off to Quen for a springboard missile dropkick. Takeshita comes in and gets caught with a moonsault but he’s fine enough to suplex Kassidy and Quen at the same time. We take a break and come back with Quen fighting his way to freedom, allowing the tag off to Kassidy. The pace picks up and the Family is sent outside for Kassidy’s big flip dive.

Kassidy throws on a shark hat but the Family fights back and hits stereo brainbusters for two each. A superbomb is reversed into Gin and Juice to Takeshita and Silly String gets two on Fletcher. Takeshita runs both of them over with a clothesline though, leaving Fletcher and Quen to slug it out. Back in and Takeshita takes out Kassidy, leaving Quen to get caught with the piledriver for the pin at 10:10.

Rating: B-. For once, commentary covered part of the issue here, as they hammered in the idea that Takeshita and Fletcher are part of the same stable but not a regular team. That makes the match feel a bit more competitive, as while Private Party isn’t the most successful team, they’re at least a regular team with experience. Takeshita got to look like his usual awesome self and Fletcher was….well Takeshita was great.

We see a clip from earlier this week, with Rush and Don Callis coming to terms.

We look at MJF turning heel and attacking Daniel Garcia on Dynamite.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. GPA

Roderick Strong, with the Kingdom, is on commentary. O’Reilly kicks away to start and shrugs off GPA’s comeback attempt. The cross armbreaker finishes for O’Reilly at 1:48.

Samoa Joe wants to massacre Chris Jericho on Dynamite. Ticked off Joe is always awesome.

Video on Mariah May vs. Hikaru Shida.

Toni Storm does a kind of old school newsreel announcement about her match with Trish Adora on Collision.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament Semifinals: Mariah May vs. Hikaru Shida

Toni Storm and Luther are here with May. The fans are behind Shida to start before the slow forearm exchange gets things going. May takes her down out of the corner and a running kick to the chest gets two. May’s sunset bomb to the floor is countered into a hurricanrana, leaving Storm annoyed as we take a break.

Back with May making the clothesline comeback and hitting a middle rope hurricanrana out of the corner. May goes up but gets caught with a superplex. Back up and May grabs a spinning side slam before they trade German suplexes. Shida’s Falcon Arrow gets two but May sends her into the corner for the hip attack. They trade rollups until Shida tries the Katana, which is reversed into a cradle to give May the pin at 11:37.

Rating: B-. They haven’t exactly been hiding that this is May’s tournament to win, but they’re doing a nice job of making her work to get there. Beating Shida still means a lot as she’s one of the most successful stars the division has ever seen and May gets to beat another former champion. Storm is waiting for her though, and the finals could not feel like more of a formality.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was mostly good but this was a show that you absolutely could have skipped. With the first half being the Don Callis Show and the main event being the only match with any value (and not exactly much in the way of drama), I wasn’t exactly invested in this one. That’s a bit of a step down from recent Rampages, which is a shame as the show was fun for a bit.

Results
Rush b. Komander – Bull’s Horns
Konosuke Takeshita/Kyle Fletcher b. Private Party – Piledriver to Quen
Kyle O’Reilly b. GPA – Cross armbreaker
Mariah May b. Hikaru Shida – Rollup

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: July 3, 2024
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with Forbidden Door and that means it is time to start getting ready for All In next month. It’s too early to know what is going to happen on the show, but they have at least teased MJF vs. Will Ospreay. That could be addressed this week, as Ospreay defends the International Title against Daniel Garcia. Let’s get to it.

Here is Forbidden Door if you need a recap.

Daniel Garcia, described as someone becoming “the backbone of AEW”, is ready for the biggest match of his life. MJF comes in to praise him and offers to be in Garcia’s corner. Works for Garcia, as well as Matt Menard.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament Semifinals: Pac vs. Bryan Danielson

Feeling out process to start and they go technical with an exchange of armdrags. Back up and Pac chops away in the corner, only for Danielson to moonsault over him. The running clothesline misses though and they trade crossbodies for a double knockdown. Back up and Pac kicks him to the floor for one heck of an Asai moonsault. The Brutalizer sends Danielson over to the ropes and we take a break.

Back with Danielson kicking away against the ropes and hitting the running knee off the apron. A superkick cuts Danielson off though and a springboard elbow drop gets two back inside. Pac tombstones him for two but Danielson pulls him into the LeBell Lock, sending Pac over to the ropes.

Back up and Danielson hits a running dropkick in the corner but Pac crotches him on top. The top rope superplex drops Danielson for two but the Black Arrow misses. Danielson is back with the running knee for a very delayed two, with Pac turning the cover into the Brutalizer. That’s reversed into the LeBell Lock, which is reversed into a rollup, which is reversed into a crucifix to pin Pac at 16:45.

Rating: B. I don’t think there is any surprise to this being good. These two beat the fire out of each other and it was a heck of an opener with Danielson managing to survive again. I’m not sure if he wins the whole thing, but at least he’s getting some wins rather than piling up loss after loss.

Willow Nightingale is sick of being mocked by Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway because they don’t understand what Smile Anyway is all about. She’s ready to fight to become the first ever two time Women’s Owen Hart Cup champion.

Here is Mark Briscoe for a chat. He isn’t scared of anything but he was so close to being the TNT Champion. Jack Perry must have had an extra bowl of Lucky Charms because he took the TNT Title at Forbidden Door. For now though it’s Shark Week and that makes him think of blood. As in Blood & Guts, so he’s on Team AEW. Cue Perry to jump Briscoe from behind, with Kazuchika Okada joining in the beating. Cue the Young Bucks, with the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn to make the save. I still have no idea what being the Ring Of Honor World Champion adds to Briscoe.

Toni Storm cradles Mariah May, who is set to face Hikaru Shida on Rampage. Storm gives her a pep talk. May does Storm’s catchphrase.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament Semifinals: Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander

The brawl starts on the stage, where Nightingale Pounces her all the way to ringside in an awesome spot. They get inside for the opening bell with Statlander knocking her into the corner as we take an early break. Back with the two of them heading to the apron to slug it out again. Statlander tries a German suplex off the apron and crashes down to the floor, allowing Nightingale to hit a big cannonball.

Back in and Statlander grabs a German suplex for two but Statlander runs her over again. Nightingale goes up top but gets pulled back down, setting up a trade of rollups for two. Statlander’s F5 gets two so she grabs a chain, which almost hits Hathaway by mistake. The accidental distraction lets Nightingale get the rollup pin at 8:10.

Rating: C+. This was ok but mostly didn’t feel like a showdown between two women who hated each other. Nightingale gets to move forward and there is a chance that Statlander costs her in the finals, which could set up the big blowoff match. For now though, it’s nice to see Nightingale win, though I can’t imagine that happens in the next round.

Jeff Jarrett has nothing to say about the Owen Hart Tournament match tonight. Jay Lethal says Jarrett has never been more focused.

Tony Schiavone brings out Britt Baker for a chat. She says she missed us but she was thinking about what she should say in her first time back. Instead of over thinking it, she’s going to talk about things we all have: a past, a present and a future. The past is our lesson, the present is a gift and the future is our motivation. For the last ten months, people have been saying she’s been injured but people who know her know that it takes more than injuries to keep her gone.

Then one day she started to feel sick and her arm was tingling. She looked in the mirror and said she was good, but she couldn’t open a body of water. Then her whole right side stopped functioning and was diagnosed with a mini stroke. So it turned out she wasn’t good so she had to stay home and get better. Now she’s back and healthy, but she was never more nervous than she was at Forbidden Door. She wasn’t sure if anyone was going to care that she was there or not but the fans welcomed her back with open arms and DMD chants. For that, she will always be in our corner because she is one of us.

That brings us to the future and the motivation, so always go through your hard times. With all of that out of the way, it’s time to talk about the new female face of AEW. She can’t imagine how hard it must be to have to work to get someone to chant three letters after your name. The only letters that matter are DMD, but here is Mercedes Mone on screen getting out of a car and running into the Young Bucks. They say get the props ready for a championship celebration, which come to the ring while Baker is still in the ring.

Mone comes out and Baker accuses her of one upping her, just like Baker did to Mone at Forbidden Door. Mone brags about her title win and Baker talks about her history at All In. The challenge is laid out but Mone says get to the back of the line because there is a price to pay. Baker felt so much more natural out there and came off much better here.

There was a lot to this one, but Baker sounded completely genuine (likely because she was telling the truth, or at least most of it) while Mone, as always, felt like she was remembering her script. Baker came off far, far better here and while I can’t imagine her beating Mone for the title so soon, she absolutely feels like a star and is on (or above) Mone’s level.

Don Callis interrupts Will Ospreay, who says he wants out of the Family because he’s not that guy anymore. Callis isn’t used to doing that but he’ll do the favor. Maybe Ospreay can repay it one day. That’s so foreshadowing it might as well be sixshadowing.

Here is Chris Jericho to talk about how Hook broke a rule by using someone else’s finisher. Jericho: “That doesn’t work for me brother.” What was worse was Taz, who stood up and cheered like a mark. He’s spoken to the Young Bucks and since he’ll be on commentary here, Taz is ejected from the building.

Cage Of Agony vs. Samoa Joe/Hook/Katsuyori Shibata

Shibata knocks Liona into the corner to start so it’s off to Hook, who is kicked to the floor as we take an early break. Back with Hook throwing suplexes until Liona hits him in the face. Kaun gets two off a gutbuster but Hook fights back up and everything breaks down. Cage’s F5 is countered into a DDT and Joe comes back in to start cleaning house. Liona gets caught in the corner for the running shots to the face, setting up a double suplex. Joe’s backsplash gets two and triple chokes finish the villains at 9:45.

Rating: B-. Perfectly nice match here with Joe and company getting another win after their big one on Sunday. The Learning Tree feud continuing is certainly a choice though, as there is little reason to keep it going when Jericho got pinned clean at the pay pr view. For now though, Joe and company get some more momentum.

Post match Jericho applauds the winners but the Learning Tree runs in with chairs to lay them out. Shibata’s arm gets Pillmanized and Jericho gets in the worst belt shot I’ve ever seen. Bill gets in some rather lame chair shots to Joe and Hook is laid out with some brass knuckles. Hook is put through a table as well. Dang that was a heck of a beatdown and in no way shape or form means a feud that should have wrapped up gets to continue.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament Semifinals: Jeff Jarrett vs. ???

It’s Hangman Page. Jarrett isn’t sure what to do and they go with the brawling until Page kicks him down. Page hammers away and kicks him in the ribs, followed by a fall away slam. They go outside with Jarrett’s head being rammed into the steps as we take a break. Back with Jarrett hitting a Stroke on the apron but the Figure Four is blocked.

The Sharpshooter is blocked as well, allowing Page to hit the Deadeye. Instead of covering, Page tries the Buckshot Lariat but gets reversed into a Sharpshooter for the tribute spot. Page makes the ropes and sends him throat first into the ropes. The Buckshot and another Deadeye finish Jarrett at 10:14.

Rating: B-. The point of this was to have Page wrecking the fans’ hopes for Jarrett, which isn’t bad, but it feels like it would have gone a lot better if this was deeper into the tournament. Once Jarrett was announced as facing a wild card, it was pretty clear that he was losing here, which mad the great vignettes feel like a waste of time. Page did look good, but dang it could have been better.

The Learning Tree jumps Hook and throws fire in his face. Geez did Hook show Tony Khan the Dynamite ratings or something?

The Young Bucks ask Hangman Page to be their fifth man in Blood & Guts but he says he isn’t the Elite’s man anymore. He’s in the Owen Hart Cup and he’s going to win. That’s a bit of a twist and a good one.

International Title: Will Ospreay vs. Daniel Garcia

Ospreay is defending and MJF is in Garcia’s corner. Ospreay knocks him down to start, with MJF giving Garcia a pep talk. Garcia gets taken down with a headlock takeover, followed by the Cheeky Nandos kick to the floor. The dive connects, but Ospreay stops to stare at MJF. We take a break and come back with Ospreay chopping away in the corner, which just fires Garcia up.

Some rolling neckbreakers drop Ospreay and a DDT does it again. Ospreay fights up and hits a Phenomenal Forearm for two and things slow down a bit. Garcia fights back up and hits some dancing hip attacks, followed by a piledriver for two. A Styles Clash gives Ospreay two but the Oscutter is countered into a piledriver for two more. MJF slips in the ring but Garcia won’t accept it….so the Hidden Blade retains the title at 13:26.

Rating: B-. And Garcia loses again. That’s kind of a pattern with him but it’s a better choice than putting him over Ospreay, which would have felt like a stretch no matter the circumstances. If nothing else, they still haven’t had the Don Callis Family turn on Ospreay so they’re not jumping the gun with what should seem like a logical move. For now though, Ospreay wins and Garcia goes back to being pushed despite not winning anything important.

Post match Ospreay consoles Garcia and shows respect before leaving. MJF says that was on him instead of Garcia….then he kicks Garcia low. The ring shot and a bunch of left hands bust Garcia open and a middle rope tombstone makes it worse. Ospreay FINALLY comes back (presumably after trying to find a hot pretzel) out to chase MJF off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I’m really not sure what to make of this show. It was certainly eventful and I’ll take this kind of a show over “and here is this person from this other promotion and this person is cool because they won this title in this other country and just trust us about all of them”, but dang there wasn’t much to cheer for here.

MJF turning heel again feels like a retreat back to something safe while Page being back opens a few new doors. It was a bunch of stuff happening in two hours, but that’s kind of what you need with All In about six weeks away. Blood & Guts will likely get more attention going forward though, so this show was a bit more needed this week.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Pac – Crucifix
Willow Nightingale b. Kris Statlander – Rollup
Samoa Joe/Hook/Katsuyori Shibata b. Cage Of Agony – Triple choke
Hangman Page b. Jeff Jarrett – Deadeye
Will Ospreay b. Daniel Garcia – Hidden Blade

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.

It’s that time again as we have the show built around the idea of gust stars from a variety of other promotions. You get to wrestlers from around the world coming in to compete against the stars of AEW, which can make for some rather interesting situations. The buildup to the show is not often the strongest but you can see one heck of a night of action. That should be the case again so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Momo Watanabe vs. Willow Nightingale/Tam Nakano

This, along with the other two Zero Hour matches, were not important enough to be announced on Dynamite but rather a few hours later on Twitter. I’m not sure I get the thinking, but it isn’t exactly making me interested in what we’ll be seeing here. In this case, Statlander vs. Nightingale is the big draw, as they are already set to face off in the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament.

I’ll go with Statlander and Watanabe winning here to give a bit of doubt about Nightingale being able to make it to the finals of the tournament. That should make for a good match here, but Watanabe and Nakano are people who have not been around AEW very much over the years. That doesn’t exactly make for a big time match, but that is kind of the point in having the match on the Zero Hour show.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Mariah May vs. Saraya

It’s a little weird to have May on the show when she already has a major role in another, bigger match on the card. For now though, we could be in for a nice match as either of them going forward could be an interesting way to go. Both of them could make for an a solid choice for the next round, though there is some logic that comes into play here which should determine the winner.

At the end of the day, May being involved in the Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa match is a lot more important and there is pretty much no reason for her to go into that spot as a loser. May going over here makes a lot more sense and while there is something to the idea of Saraya going on towards a title shot in London, it isn’t the best option that they have available here.

Zero Hour: Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Mistico/Lucha Bros

The big draw here is that Mistico and the Bros have never teamed together before. That isn’t the biggest draw in the world but it is certainly a cool enough moment and better than nothing. In other words, this feels like an excuse to get Mistico onto the show and that is not a bad idea. The match itself is only so important here, but that is often the case on Zero Hour.

There is pretty much no reason for Mistico and the Bros to lose here as Mistico can do his stuff and pop the crowd. There are some talented people in Los Ingobernables but it feels like they are here for the sake of making Mistico look that much bigger. It’s not a bad idea either, so hopefully they at least have an entertaining match on the way to the main show proper.

Zero Hour: House Of Black vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gabriel Kidd/Roderick Strong vs. Private Party

Yes there is a fourth match on this show, which was added during this week’s Collision. This feels like little more than a way to get a bunch more people onto the card, which is often not the most thrilling way to go. In this case we do have some big names who probably should have been on the show, but that doesn’t exactly make for the most exciting match possible.

I’ll take the House Of Black here, as they’re the biggest of the two regular teams (at least in AEW) and it makes the most sense to give them the win. This is going to be the insane match with everyone going nuts all over the place and trying to get in as much as they can, which isn’t going to be easy given how many people are involved. Odds are it should be fun though and that’s what you want out of a match like this one.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy

We’ll start the main card here as Sabre wants revenge on Cassidy for beating him at last year’s show in a four way match. The other idea is that Cassidy isn’t good enough to beat Sabre on his own and is going to need some kind of special trick to pull it off. I’m not sure what that is going to be, but then again that’s kinds of the point of watching the match in the first place.

As much as I want to take Sabre here, it feels like a situation where Cassidy is coming in as the huge underdog but manages to pull it off somehow anyway, as tends to be his custom. It might not be the most thrilling way to go but that has never really stopped AEW with Cassidy before. It’s always fun to see whatever Sabre can do to torment someone else so we should be in for a good one here with Cassidy winning.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hechicero

This is a bit early for a match involving someone as big as MJF but it isn’t like AEW has treated it like anything important. For the second year in a row, MJF’s Forbidden Door match feels like it was thrown on for the sake of giving him something to do and I do not get the thinking behind that move. It’s MJF’s first pay per view match since December and he’s more or less an after thought. That’s quite the odd way to go, but at least it’s an easy pick.

Save for some wacky interference, there is no reason for Hechicero to win here so we’ll take MJF in what should be an easy one. MJF will probably get in some trouble here but then wind up winning anyway, because there is pretty much no reason for Hechicero, who is probably not sticking around, to beat one of the biggest stars in the company. I’m still not sure I get the thinking here, but MJF wins.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi

The roller coaster that is the last full time year of Danielson’s career continues and that means we have another match against a hard hitter. That is kind of his trademark at this point and in this case he actually has a better chance to pull it off. It’s quite the way to go for a first round match in a #1 contenders tournament, but Danielson has a tendency to go a bit nuts anyway.

While Danielson might not have the best win/loss record, there is no reason to believe he goes down here. Takagi is another guy who isn’t likely to be around for the long term, which would likely include another match in the tournament. That leaves Danielson to win a heck of a fight, which isn’t something you get to say very often in AEW but it makes all the sense in the world here.

Learning Tree/Jeff Cobb vs. Samoa Joe/Hook/Katsuyori Shibata

Cobb is substituting for an injured Bryan Keith as Jericho’s latest weird character gets a pay per view match. The good thing about Jericho being in the match is that he can’t talk, which would be about as bad as it could get around here. Joe vs. Cobb is the hoss fight fans would want to see while the rest…well they’re all involved as well, no matter how odd it might be.

I’ll take the Learning Tree and Cobb to win here, as it seems like we’re going to be seeing Jericho do his thing for a long time to come, no matter how much of a mess it might be. That doesn’t go well if he loses his big match as part of the team, so odds are Cobb pins Shibata to get the win, giving Jericho something else to talk about. The match itself should be ok, but egads this has been a rough sit for a good while now.

Elite vs. Acclaimed/Hiroshi Tanahashi

Tanahashi is replacing Billy Gunn for the sake of it’s Forbidden Door and therefore Tanahashi has to be on the show. Much like the Learning Tree match, the good thing here is that if the Bucks are in the match, they can’t be talking (in theory at least) and that should make things a bit less annoying. This feels like a match that should be on Dynamite but here we are instead, though at least the addition of Tanahashi makes it feel more special.

It’s hard to imagine the Bucks losing a big match until Blood And Guts at the earliest so we’ll say the Elite wins here and keeps things going. Odds are we get a rematch of this later on with Gunn in there rather than Tanahashi, but for now at least we should be in for something good enough. The Elite go over though, as they’re a bigger deal than another makeshift team.

TNT Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Dante Martin vs. El Phantasmo vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Lio Rush vs. Jack Perry

Here we have a ladder match for the vacant title as Adam Copeland decided that jumping off a cage and landing on his feet was a good idea. The ladder match part makes it all the more eye roll inducing because it’s such a cliché at this point, but it also lets someone potentially steal the title without having to get a pinfall. That opens up some doors, but I think you know where this is going.

As much as I’d love to see someone like Martin, who could actually be made by something like this, get the title, this feels like it’s Perry all day. AEW is obsessed with getting this guy over one way or another and it feels like he’ll do it here as a way to become that much bigger of a deal. The match will be the usual car crash, meaning it’s only going to be so good, but it should be exciting.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Mina Shirakawa

This is both a title match and part of a love triangle, as both of them are trying to woo Mariah May. That has made for quite the unique story but it is something that has been set up well enough that I’m curious to see where it goes. The match quality itself might be up in the air as Shirakawa doesn’t have a long track record in AEW, but that is far from the most interesting part here.

I’ll go with Storm to win of course, as the title isn’t likely changing hands here, though the question becomes what happens with May. It would not surprise me at all to see her side with Storm before eventually winning the Owen Hart Tournament and getting a shot against Storm at Wembley. For now though, all is right in the world as May signs with Storm and moves forward, though it could be quite the path there.

AEW TBS Title/NJPW Women’s Strong Title: Mercedes Mone(c) vs. Stephanie Vaquer(c)

We’re going title for title here and…I have almost no idea what to expect here as all I’ve seen from Vaquer is most of an eight minute match this week on Collision. Other than that it’s been all hype videos and promos from Mone, which isn’t the best way to go. What matters though is that we have what could be a huge match which could go either way, as the title vs. title stipulation shakes things up.

While there is a chance that Vaquer wins, I can’t imagine Mone loses anywhere near this close to her AEW debut. AEW knows that she is a star and isn’t about to have her lose a big match, or any match for that matter, here. They have also hyped up the idea that she needs to win the NJPW belt, even if that means we are going to be seeing another title running around AEW, because we haven’t had that in a bit.

IWGP World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Tetsuya Naito

This is the other World Title match on the show, which is arguably a bigger match than the main event. Thankfully AEW has managed to avoid treating this as such a big deal, as that would be about as bad of a result as you could get for the AEW World Title. Moxley is already one of the biggest stars in AEW, but that brings up the question of whether or not he gets to retain the title here.

This one could go either way, but I’ll take Naito to win here, as I can’t imagine Moxley being the next big thing in AEW. Naito can get back the title that Moxley took fro him and we could be in for a rather good match on the way there. It also gives the other promotions their big win on the show, which very well could otherwise be dominated by AEW. This one could go either way of course, but I’ll take Naito to get the title back.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland(c) vs. Will Ospreay

Here we have the biggest match on the card and thankfully the best built up story. It’s an idea that has been done before, as you have Ospreay as the new ace of the company and Strickland being the “not so fast” champion. Ospreay has pretty much been able to do no wrong so far in AEW and Strickland can work well with anyone. That opens up the door for something great, but there is one thing in the way.

That thing is the Don Callis Family and unfortunately I’m expecting them to be what costs Ospreay the match here. Ospreay getting the World Title at some point seems to be an inevitability, but I would hope that Strickland gets at least one successful defense in the main event spot. Strickland has done incredibly well in this role and this could be another great one, though odds are the Family gets involved to cost Ospreay. It’s predictable, but that’s about all I can expect to happen.

Overall Thoughts

As you can probably tell from here, this is going to be a very long show. Fourteen matches and a show that could go around six hours makes for one heck of a marathon and I’m worried about things getting bogged down by sheer volume. There is a great show in there somewhere but AEW has a tendency to put in way too much on any pay per view. Hopefully they can find a way around it, but they’ve got a big challenge in front of them.

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: June 29, 2024
Location: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness

We’re a day away from Forbidden Door and that means it is time for the big final push towards the show. That could go in a variety of ways but with most of the show already set, this is likely going to be about pushing things that have already been set up. That could still make for a good show so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Orange Cassidy/Tomohiro Ishii vs. TMDK

Haste wants to check on Cassidy’s pockets to start but with nothing happening, it’s off to Ishii instead. They go head to head to no avail so we’ll try Eagles vs. Cassidy instead. Cassidy takes him down without much trouble and sends Eagles into the corner so many times that Eagles has to grab the referee. Tis but a ruse though, as Haste drops Cassidy onto the apron, allowing Eagles to hit a bit flip dive as we take a break.

Back with Cassidy kicking Haste into Eagles, allowing the tag off to Ishii to clean house. Haste’s kick to the face is shrugged off and Ishii grabs a Saito suplex for two. Ishii and Cassidy hit the alternating strikes in the corner and Cassidy’s top rope elbow gets two. Back up and a Falcon Arrow plants Cassidy but he’s back with Stundog Millionaire. Eagles plants him again but Ishii makes the save. Cassidy kicks Haste into the corner though and grabs the Beach Break for the pin at 10:46.

Rating: C+. This was about getting Cassidy in the ring with Zack Sabre Jr.’s teammates and little more, which made for kind of a weird match. Cassidy is working rather hard as of late and might be more than a bit worn down for Sabre, which tends to be exactly what he tends to do most of the time. Not bad at all here, but it feels a bit off from the matches Cassidy and Ishii have tomorrow.

We get a Hangman Page vignette as he sits and drinks in his empty house. That very well could be the wildcard from the Elite. Or he’s just a loner drunk again.

The Learning Tree is in the back and walks into the trainer’s area to complain about faulty wrist taping. Chris Jericho also advocates stealing tape.

Stephanie Vaquer vs. Lady Frost

Non-title and here is Mercedes Mone to watch. Vaquer puts her down to start and then spins out of a wristlock. An STF sends Frost over to the ropes and they head outside, where Frost snaps off a hurricanrana. Frost tries a handstand on the apron but gets superkicked, leaving us with a Mone/Vaquer staredown as we take a break.

Back with Frost hitting some faceplants to send Frost into the mat but Frost kicks her in the head. A twisting high crossbody gives Frost two, with Mone approving at ringside. Vaquer is back with a spinning DDT for two and some headbutts in the corner have Frost in more trouble. A package backbreaker finishes Frost at 7:58.

Rating: C+. Well at least they finally got Vaquer in the ring for once before her title match against Mone. That’s what we’ve been needing since the match was announced as Vaquer hasn’t wrestled in AEW prior to this, which doesn’t give fans much to go on. This was better than nothing, but the story is only going to be so interesting going into tomorrow.

Post match Mone comes in for the staredown but Vaquer leaves. Vaquer’s partner, Zeuxis, comes in to jump Mone, allowing Vaquer to lay Mone out.

The Lucha Bros are ready for Forbidden Door when Los Ingobernables de Japon come in to challenge Death Triangle. The Bros are going to pass because Pac is in the Owen Hart Cup, but they’ll team with Mistico instead. Los Ingobernables are cool with that. Well Takahashi isn’t, as he’s kind of panicking over the Mistico idea.

Serena Deeb vs. Kelly Madan

Deeb chops away to start and hits a neckbreaker over the middle rope. A hammerlock lariat into Deebtox finishes Madan at 1:15.

Post match Deeb says she isn’t going into wrestling purgatory and wants some competition. And cue Riho for the staredown, because it’s time to pretend she’s amazing again.

The Learning Tree critiques hand washing techniques.

Post match the Learning Tree tries to ride a Zamboni machine but get beaten up by Samoa Joe and pals. The fight heads into the arena, where Jeff Cobb runs in to even things out so the Learning Tree can stand tall.

Video on Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy.

Cassidy says his world is falling apart but he’s here, unlike Sabre. Cue Sabre to say he knows what Cassidy is going to do, so Cassidy offers to pin him with his hands in his pockets. Cassidy grabs him by the shirt, with Sabre saying he’s already won.

Hechicero vs. Kevin Blackwood

Hechicero takes him down and ties up the leg before switching to an ankle lock. Some elbows to the face and a flapjack set up a Mad Scientist Bomb to rock Blackwood again. The Rings of Saturn with the legs makes Blackwood tap at 2:22.

The Patriarchy wants the Trios Titles so here is the Bang Bang Gang for the argument. Jay White mocks the team but gets why Christian Cage wants to latch onto him.

Daniel Garcia vs. The Butcher

They’re both from Buffalo. They fight over a lockup to start until Butcher powers him into the corner for some stomping. Garcia fights back but gets taken outside for a ram into the barricade. Garcia’s running boot is countered into a backdrop onto the barricade and we take a break. Back with the fans declaring this awesome as Butcher keeps Garcia in trouble. Garcia fights back and grabs a swinging neckbreaker for the breather. Back up and Garcia shrugs off a big boot before dropping Butcher with a clothesline. The piledriver finishes for Garcia at 9:00.

Rating: C+. The fans were into it, but I’m really not sure what the point is in having the fans split between two hometown stars before Garcia gets his big title match next week. Garcia isn’t likely to win, but this wasn’t the best way to get the fans behind him on the way there. Then again there have always been some rather odd choices for Garcia in AEW.

Post match dancing ensues and respect is shown.

The Don Callis Family interrupts Will Ospreay, who still says he can win the World Title on his own. That works for Callis and we pan out to show Rush standing with the Family.

Brodie Lee is getting his own custom shoe.

Jack Perry wants the TNT Title but doesn’t want to wrestle tonight. Christopher Daniels pops in to say Perry wrestles tonight or he’s out of the title match. Fans chant for CM Punk.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Hikaru Shida vs. Deonna Purrazzo

They fight over wrist control to start before switching to an exchange of forearms. Purrazzo gets knocked into the corner with an enziguri and then out to the floor, with Shida hitting a big dive. Back up and Purrazzo kicks her down and we take a break. We come back with Shida hitting some running knees for two but Purrazzo legsweeps her down. The Fujiwara armbar goes on but Shida slips out again. A step up kick to the head drops Purrazzo and the Falcon Arrow connects. The Katana finishes Purrazzo at 9:09.

Rating: B-. I’m a bit surprised that Purrazzo lost here as she was on something of a roll. That being said, Shida is possibly the most successful star in the history of AEW’s women’s division so losing to her is hardly some career killer. They did well here with Shida getting another win, and while I can’t imagine her winning the whole thing, someone will get a nice boost from beating her.

Post match Purrazzo jumps Shida again but Thunder Rosa runs in for the save.

We get another rather serious video from Jeff Jarrett, talking about what it means to honor Owen Hart’s legacy. The rest of Jarrett’s friends are ready to have his back, though he wants to go to the ring on his own. They all seem ok with this and will be with him in spirit.

We get a very slow pan up Toni Storm as she talks about how she is ready to beat Mina Shirakawa. As you might expect, this is rather over the top, as only Storm can do.

Mark Briscoe/Dante Martin/Lio Rush vs. Konosuke Takeshita/Jack Perry/El Phantasmo

Rush and Perry start things off but let’s try Takeshita instead. Rush gets two off a quick rollup before getting kicked in the face for his efforts. Phantasm comes in and all three opponents send him into the corner for some running clotheslines. We settle down to Rush’s suplex getting two on Phantasmo but he fights back up for a breather. Hold on though as Perry drops to the floor instead of tagging. Briscoe dropkicks Perry through the ropes and we take a break.

Back with Martin hurricanranaing Phantasm and Takeshita at the same time, allowing the tag back to Briscoe. Phantasmo kicks Briscoe in the head so Rush can come back in to pick up the pace. A suicide dive take Takeshita down but Phantasm and Martin hit dives of their own. Back in and Martin’s frog splash gets two with Perry making the save.

Briscoe’s running flip dive from the apron misses though and Takeshita comes back in to clean house. Martin catches him on top with a super hurricanrana, only o have Perry break up something on top. The distraction lets Takeshita hit the Blue Thunder Bomb into the running knee to finish Martin at 10:51.

Rating: B-. This was the preview for the ladder match which has nothing to do with ladders but that’s how ladder matches are built up. It’s hard to imagine anyone but Perry winning but at least there is quite the lineup of talent involved. It also helps that it was the best match of the night so far, though the lineup has only been so good this week.

Post match Perry decks Takeshita, who gets superkicked by Phantasmo, who gets Stunnered by Rush, who gets in a tug o war with Martin, who is knocked down by a ladder shot from Briscoe, who climbs the ladder and throws the title onto the pile before hitting a flip dive onto everyone.

Forbidden Door rundown.

We get the weigh-in for the World Title match between Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay, with Prince Nana as moderator. Ospreay weighs 220 and Swerve weighs 230. They go nose to nose and pose for photos before Ospreay says they are 24 hours away from ushering in a new era. Swerve talks about how he’s a businessman and offers Ospreay’s wife a contract. That’s enough for the fight to be on, with all of the seconds getting into it as well. Ospreay manages a quick Hidden Blade and poses over Swerve to end the show. This has been the best built match on the pay per view, but I’m worried that it’s going to get overshadowed.

Overall Rating: B-. The ending segment was good, but this was a show that seemed more designed as a big preview for tomorrow’s event. While that makes sense on paper, there is only so much that you can get out of having a preview of what is supposed to be a bunch of one off special matches. It also doesn’t help that this was a two hour show which came the day before an hour long show and the day before a four plus hour pay per view (with an hour and a half pre-show). Not a bad show, but not one you really needed to watch.

Results
Orange Cassidy/Tomohiro Ishii b. TMDK – Beach Break to Haste
Stephanie Vaquer b. Lady Frost – Package backbreaker
Serena Deeb b. Kelly Madan – Deebtox
Hechicero b. Kevin Blackwood – Rings of Saturn with legs
Daniel Garcia b. The Butcher – Piledriver
Hikaru Shida b. Deonna Purrazzo – Katana
Konosuke Takeshita/Jack Perry/El Phantasmo b. Mark Briscoe/Dante Martin/Lio Rush – Running knee to Martin

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: June 26, 2024
Location: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the last Dynamite before we get to Forbidden Door, meaning it’s time for the final push towards the show. There is a good chance that more matches will be added either tonight or on Rampage or Collision, which doesn’t leave much time to get things ready. Other than that, we have some Owen Hart Tournament matches to cover so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here is MJF to get things going but Daniel Garcia (hometown boy) cuts him off. MJF is glad the fans love Garcia, but tread lightly. Garcia thanks him for the save last week but says this is his town and his business. He is here to do something new: say nice things about MJF! That works for MJF, so Garcia talks about MJF’s accomplishments, including beating Garcia in a World Title match.

That loss set him off on the run of a lifetime, so why settle for being a pillar when he can be the workhorse around here? For that, he thanks MJF, but does mention MJF being two faced. MJF hypes up Forbidden Door (getting the date wrong) but then thanks Garcia for actually thanking him for what he does behind the scenes. Garcia got his title shot because he earned it and because he reminds MJF of himself.

The thing to remember though is that MJF beat Garcia, but maybe he should get one more shot…say at All In. Garcia says that’s huge but here is Will Ospreay to interrupt. Ospreay says he appreciates Garcia, who has been earning a shot by earning win after win. Not only that, but he’s been doing it faster than Ospreay “lasts in the bedroom Bruv.”

After an apology to his lady friend at home, Ospreay says the title shot is on for next week…and we’ll make it a World Title match too since Ospreay is winning that at Forbidden Door. Works for Garcia, so Ospreay leaves and MJF isn’t happy. MJF tells him to focus on his big shot and leaves in a hurry. The fact that MJF’s match against Hechicero on Sunday was barely mentioned isn’t a great sign for that one, but it’s not like they have anything to talk about anyway.

Swerve Strickland doesn’t get why Ospreay isn’t making promises he won’t be able to keep, because that isn’t very World Champion-esque. Fans: “WE CAN’T HEAR YOU!”

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

Bryan Danielson is on commentary and it’s Titan/Shingo Takagi/Hiromu Takahashi for Los Ingobernables. Castagnoli runs Takagi over with a shoulder to start and they slug it out, as you might have expected. A hiptoss puts Castagnoli down and he’s rather impressed. Takahashi comes in for a running hurricanrana to Yuta and it’s off to Titan for a running clothesline in the corner. There’s the big dive to the floor but Castagnoli comes back in and pulls Titan out of the air to take over.

We take a break and come back with Titan kicking Castagnoli’s leg out but it’s off to Moxley, who gets hit in the face. Everything breaks down and it’s a slugout between Moxley and Takagi. Moxley bites his face but gets put down with a clothesline, meaning it’s off to Yuta vs. Takahashi. A rather snappy German suplex sends Takahashi down but he’s back with a Death Valley Driver. Then Moxley hits Takahashi with a chair for the DQ at 10:48.

Rating: B-. It was fun while it lasted but the ending was kind of out of nowhere. Maybe they’re playing up the idea that Moxley is wild and violent before his IWGP World Title defense against Tetsuya Naito on Sunday but it only went so far. Other than that, this was the Club against another group of guest stars, which has kind of been done to death lately.

Post match the brawl is on until Tetsuya Naito comes in for the brawl. Takagi hammers on Yuta until Danielson makes the save.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Jay White vs. Rey Fenix

The rest of the Bang Bang Gang is here with White while Penta El Zero Miedo is here with Fenix. Everyone at ringside wants to grab a chair so the referee ejects them all before the bell. Fenix grabs a very fast rollup for two so White chops away at him to take over. Fenix is right back up with a springboard armdrag to send White outside, which of course means a big dive to take him down again. Back in and White grabs a quick flipping neckbreaker for two as we take a break.

We come back with White firing off more chops but Fenix kicks him down. A frog splash gets a rather delayed two but White spins him into a DDT for a knockdown. The brainbuster gives White two, only to have Fenix reverse the Blade Runner into a rollup for two of his own. Fenix tries the Fire Thunder Driver but White reverses into the Blade Runner for the pin at 9:18.

Rating: C+. This only had so much time and I was expecting a bit more from them. White getting a singles win is almost weird to see as he has spent so much time as part of a team. I’m not sure I can imagine him going very far in the whole thing but giving him a single win isn’t going to hurt anything.

Post match the Bang Bang Gang comes back and here is the Patriarchy to stare them down. Then the Patriarchy leaves.

The Young Bucks blame the Acclaimed for the cheating in last week’s match as the Bucks were pushed to it. With that out of the way, they brag about the Elite’s success and next week, they’ll get to pick their own Wild Card into the Men’s Owen Hart Tournament so the World Title can come to the team.

Here are the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn for a chat. Caster refers to the Bucks as the “cucks” and showed how inept they are at running anything. They’re going to decide when to issue the challenge for the Tag Team Titles….but here is the Elite to interrupt. They get right to the point and issue the challenge for a six man tag at Forbidden Door. Gunn says he’s kind of a big deal and knows a president, so we get a video from Hiroshi Tanahashi, who says he is coming to Forbidden Door to fight the Elite. So did Gunn have that video ready just in case the Elite issued a challenge for a six man?

The Conglomeration is ready to win everything on Sunday, with Kyle O’Reilly calling Zack Sabre Jr. a scalawag. Mark Briscoe goes into a rant about various horrible things that Sabre Jr. is like, including Peppa Pig. Orange Cassidy thinks that went well, which has been the case every time they’ve let Briscoe go insane.

Mina Shirakawa/Toni Storm/Mariah May vs. Outcasts/Anna Jay

May is dragged to the entrance by Storm but stays on the stage to come to the ring with Shirakawa (following a rather snazzy dance routine). Jay and Shirakawa start things off with the former sliding down and dancing a bit. Back up and a springboard kick to the face rocks Jay so it’s off to May for some shaking. Cameron comes in for some elbows to the back but May isn’t sure who she should tag. Instead she stays in, allowing Saraya and Jay to pull Storm and Shirakawa to the floor.

We take a break and come back with May and Cameron grabbing stereo hair takedowns. Storm comes in and sends Saraya flying with a German suplex, setting up the hip attack. Shirakawa tags herself in and everything breaks down, with the Mina Driver (I think) finishing Cameron at 6:57.

Rating: C+. They are playing the heck out of the triangle deal here and it’s working well enough. I’m curious to see where they go on Sunday but odds are they have some kind of a way out of it. Other than that, I’m a bit relieved that Jay didn’t take the pin here, as she seemed to be added for little more than that.

Post match May has the other two toast the champagne. May then dances with Storm, leaving Shirakawa to grab the champagne bottle….which hits May by mistake. Storm is not pleased and seething ensues.

Video on Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer.

Mone is here and says it’s funny that Vaquer isn’t. Vaquer will be wrestling on Collision and Mone will be there too.

Here is the Learning Tree for a chat, with Bryan Keith’s arm in a sling. They aren’t happy with Keith’s arm being injured, but Samoa Joe and company has challenged them to a six man anyway. The Sensei of the Sickos (Chris Jericho that is) has an idea though, so here is their third man: Minoru Suzuki!

But hang on, as Suzuki says he wants to fight Jericho for the FTW Title rather than team with him. Jericho said that he hadn’t watched the video (and that Suzuki was a fellow Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall Of Famer). Cue Samoa Joe and company, with Joe saying this is awkward. Katsuyori Shibata sums up the situation with his computer saying “this guy sucks” and the fight is on, with the Learning Tree bailing.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Orange Cassidy is on commentary and Roderick Strong is watching from ringside. They go to the grappling to start (shocking I know) with O’Reilly flipping over him into a standoff. Sabre goes after the arm but O’Reilly is away just as quickly and we have a standoff. O’Reilly takes over on the mat by cranking on the leg but Sabre slips out and stomps him down as we take a break.

Back with O’Reilly striking away until Sabre pulls him into an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up as well so it’s time for O’Reilly to win a strike off. O’Reilly suplexes him into a cross armbreaker before switching into an ankle lock. That’s broken up so O’Reilly snaps off a German suplex for the knockdown. They exchange kicks to the head and then slap it out until Sabre pulls him into a Disarm-Her for the tap at 10:59.

Rating: B. This was exactly what you would have expected it was going to be from these two and it went rather well. It was two guys who are masters at technical wrestling getting to do their thing for a good while until one of them gave up. Solid match, though I’m still only so interested in seeing Sabre vs. Cassidy on Sunday.

Post match Cassidy goes to the ring to check on O’Reilly as Sabre’s partners, the Mighty Don’t Kneel, come in. Cue Tomohiro Ishii to even things out and the villains run off.

Swerve Strickland/Will Ospreay vs. Gates Of Agony

The Gates jump them at the bell and the beating is on in a hurry. We settle down to Ospreay jumping over Kaun and sending him flying with a monkey flip. A standing moonsault hits Kaun and Swerve gets two, only to have to block an accidental big boot from Ospreay. The distraction lets Liona run both of the over with a clothesline and we take a break.

Back with Swerve kicking his way up from the mat but Kaun pulls Ospreay off the apron to break up the tag. Kaun dropkicks Liona by mistake though and the tag brings Ospreay in to clean house. The standing shooting star press gets two on Kaun but he catches Ospreay on top for a super Jackhammer. Swerve is back with a Stomp from the apron to the floor to take Kaun down. Back in and Ospreay superkicks Swerve by mistake, leaving Kaun to hit a Pounce for two. Swerve is back up but his boot misses Ospreay (in theory) and hits Liona, setting up the Oscutter for two more. The Hidden Blade finishes Liona at 10:08.

Rating: C+. This was about adding more spice to the World Title match and it worked well enough, or at least as well as you can get with the Gates being involved. Strickland vs. Ospreay should be a heck of a match on Sunday, though I’m worried about how overshadowed it might be. Maybe this match boosts it up a bit, but they have some work to do.

Post match Ospreay picks up both titles and gets House Called for his efforts to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The show was fine enough but my goodness I do not care about Forbidden Door and I never can. The show always winds up being good but the build always comes off as “and then we have this person and this person and this person and this person” as guest stars.

It certainly has an audience of some kind, though I can never bring myself to get interested in this. That was on full display this week as we have a bunch of people added to the show at the last minute. Forbidden Door will be good, but I don’t care for the build and never have. Some of the other stuff worked well, like the Women’s Title match and the World Title, but that’s only a portion of a rather long two-plus hour show.

Results
Los Ingobernables de Japon b. Blackpool Combat Club via DQ when Moxley used a chair
Jay White b. Rey Fenix – Blade Runner
Mina Shirakawa/Toni Storm/Mariah May b. Outcasts/Anna Jay – Mina Driver to Cameron
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Kyle O’Reilly – Disarm-Her
Swerve Strickland/Will Ospreay b. Gates Of Agony – Hidden Blade to Liona

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.