Rampage
Date: April 29, 2022
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks, Chris Jericho

We’re still in the most serious wrestling city in the country and that should play into AEW’s hands rather well. Rampage is the show that is going to focus on the in-ring action more than anything else and hopefully that makes for a good night. Throw in Danhausen calling out Hook and….I’m really not sure what that is going to mean. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Qualifying Match: Swerve Strickland vs. Darby Allin

Sting is in Allin’s corner as they start with a wrestle off. Neither can get very far until Allin takes him down by the arm. Make that a chinlock for a bit before Allin knocks him to the floor. The suicide dive is cut off by a jumping knee as commentary talks about how well these two know each other.

We take a break and come back with Allin working on the knee but Strickland fights up. Swerve knocks him down but misses the Serve Stomp. Allin’s Coffin Drop hits raised knees so Strickland kicks him in the head for two. Strickland heads to the apron and suplexes him down onto the floor, because that’s a totally rational thing to do. Cue Ricky Starks off commentary to go to ringside but Sting cuts him off. Allin grabs the Last Supper for the pin at 10:25.

Rating: C+. Annoying distraction finish aside, this worked well while it lasted, even if you factor in the pretty insane suplex to the floor. You could have gone with either winning here, but Allin is a bigger star and a threat to win the whole thing. Strickland needs a win of his own though, as he hasn’t had much success so far around here.

Shawn Spears is excited to see Wardlow get taken out by the big guy next week. They still won’t say who it is though.

Chris Jericho names himself Sports Entertainer Of The Week for attacking Eddie Kingston.

Santana and Ortiz storm the commentary booth and jump Jericho to lay him out.

Baddies vs. Skye Blue/Trish Adora/Willow Nightingale

That would be Jade Cargill/Red Velvet/Kiera Hogan. Blue gets taken into the corner to start so Velvet can choke with the boot. Hogan comes in with a running boot the face but Blue manages a kick. Blue and Hogan both catch a kick at the same time before Hogan kicks her in the head. Adora comes in and gets hit with a step up Fameasser, allowing the tag off to Cargill for jaded and the pin on Adora at 2:40. Total squash.

Darby Allin offers Swerve Strickland another match after the ending but Strickland knows Allin didn’t have anything to do with it. Strickland wants Allin to win the tournament so now he can go find Keith Lee and deal with Team Taz.

Keith Lee vs. Colten Gunn

Gunn looks like he got kicked in the face by a horse, kicked the horse back, and then got kicked in the face again. They shove each other around a bit until Lee takes him into the corner for the Grizzly Magnum chop. We take a break and come back with Lee hitting some running shoulders but missing a charge in the corner. The Fameasser is blocked though and the Big Bang Catastrophe finishes Gunn at 7:00.

Rating: C. As is so often said about AEW matches, this needed a break? The match wasn’t even that good as Gunn was little more than a sacrificial lamb for Lee. I’m still not sure what Lee is supposed to do in AEW, because he has been stuck in minor stories and matches like this for a lot of his time there. The Gunns continue to be watchable though and there might even be some potential upward mobility for both of them.

Jeff Hardy is ready to take out Bobby Fish next week in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament.

The Undisputed Elite laughs off the idea of Jeff Hardy being a threat, with Fish calling him Jeff hardly.

Here is Danhausen, who says SEND HOOK. Cue Hook, with Danhausen thinking that we need to do this at another time. Cue Mark Sterling for a distraction so Tony Nese can jump both of them. Hook fights up and grabs a suplex, allowing Danhausen to curse Nese and Sterling. The villains leave and the fans want Hookhausen, but Hook grabs him by the neck instead, only to leave without getting violent.

The Gunn Club says that isn’t a loss but the Acclaimed comes in to offer some scissoring, complete with hand gestures. The Club wants to go talk to their dad, leaving the interviewer to turn down the same offer.

Mercedes Martinez is ready to take out Deonna Purrazzo and become the undisputed Ring Of Honor Women’s Champion.

Samoa Joe threatens to kill Trent Beretta, while Trent says he’s going to win the ROH TV Title.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Trent Beretta vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is defending and the Best Friends are here with Trent. Joe knocks him into the corner to start but gets knocked outside, setting up Trent’s Asai moonsault. We take a break and come back with Trent hitting a top rope dive to the floor to drop Joe. Back in and Trent grabs a Saito suplex for two, only to have Joe pull him into an STF. We’ll make that a Crossface but Trent gets his foot on the rope. Jericho: “He’s not dead yet!” Joe blasts Trent with a clothesline, with Jericho switching to “he might be now!” The MuscleBuster is broken up and it’s the Koquina Clutch to make Trent tap at 10:02.

Rating: C+. Joe can have a good match with anyone and the same is true of Trent, making this a fine enough main event. That being said, having a 40+ year old Joe as the midcard champion of a minor league promotion isn’t likely to bring in more eyes to the show. Joe can still draw in some attention, but isn’t there anything bigger that he could do than this?

Post match Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh come out to interrupt a Samoa Joe interview. Orange Cassidy tries some lazy kicks but gets decked by Dutt. The brawl is on with Lethal and Joe having to be held apart to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Maybe they were taking a week off this time because of the NBA and NFL events going on, but this wasn’t exactly a great show. It didn’t feel like much of anything on this show mattered and that isn’t a great feeling to have. There is some good enough action, but it continued AEW’s trend of not feeling important without the big stars. Certainly a watchable show, but not worth the time.

Results
Darby Allin b. Swerve Strickland – Last Supper
Baddies b. Skye Blue/Trish Adora/Willow Nightingale – Jaded to Adora
Keith Lee b. Colten Gunn – Big Bang Catastrophe
Samoa Joe b. Trent Beretta – Koquina Clutch

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

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Dynamite
Date: April 27, 2022
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re back with another focus on the Owen Hart Foundation tournament as Dax Harwood faces Cash Wheeler. In addition to that, we won’t be see Hangman Page this week as he has come down with the Coronavirus, meaning that we don’t quite get any advancement in his feud with CM Punk. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Owen Hart Foundation Qualifying Match: Dax Harwood vs. Cash Wheeler

CM Punk is on commentary and the guys come out together for a nice touch. They go to the mat to start as Punk talks about how he doesn’t necessarily like these guys but he does respect him. A series of headlocks takeovers are countered with a series of nip ups and we get a standoff with some applause. An armdrag into an armbar has Wheeler in control as commentary cracks some jokes about the wrestlers’ names.

Harwood pokes him in the eye though and Wheeler doesn’t seem happy. Wheeler takes it back to the mat for a quickly broken chinlock as Harwood takes him up top for a heck of a superplex. We take a break and come back with Harwood sending him flying off a suplex. They both hit crossbodies at the same time for a double knockdown before it’s off to an exchange of rollups for two each.

Harwood tries a slingshot powerbomb but gets reversed into a hurricanrana for two and they’re both needing a breather. The second slingshot powerbomb attempt works for Harwood but Wheeler is back with a piledriver. Harwood is able to catch him on top but Wheeler slips through the legs and pushes Harwood down.

The belly to back superplex is countered into a crossbody for two on Wheeler and a running crossbody sends them both to the floor. They both make it back inside at nine but Wheeler has a banged up knee. Harwood can’t bring himself to stay on the leg (Punk: “You gotta sharp that shooter!”), allowing Wheeler to try a small package, which is reversed into another one to give Harwood the pin at 14:26.

Rating: B. This was the kind of match you would expect from these two and Harwood wins with a wrestling move in the end. That’s all you could have asked for from these two and now they can go back to being the best team in the world. They teased just enough tension to make it interesting without going over the line and it was good quality stuff on top of that, just in case you didn’t think this would be pretty awesome.

Official for Double Or Nothing: CM Punk vs. Hangman Page for the World Title.

CM Punk heads to ringside and says he has never been in a locker room with as much talent as this before. Before he came back here, he wasn’t sure if he could still do this again. Now he knows that he can do this again and while he can’t guarantee a win, he can guarantee that he will give 100%. He has never been a gambling man, but you can bet that he will fight until the wheels fall off in Las Vegas.

Scorpio Sky says it is no coincidence that he is here, fighting for the TNT Title again. He didn’t ask Frankie Kazarian to step aside if he was going to win and the fans are here to see him beat up Scorpio Sky. There can only be one face of TNT and you’re looking at him.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. The Factory

Wheeler Yuta gets the hometown reaction and William Regal is on commentary. The Club has nothing to do with this waiting around and jumps them before the bell. Moxley hits the release suplex on Aaron Solow and hits a belly to belly suplex. Regal loves that Solow’s eyes are watering so Moxley can “batter the granny” out of him without him seeing it coming. Yuta comes in with a dropkick for two but doesn’t quite hit the one on Comoroto that well (Regal: “We’ll have to work on that.”).

We take a break and come back with Marshall making the mistake of mocking Danielson, allowing Yuta to snap off a German suplex. Danielson comes in to clean house, including the dive to the floor. There’s the missile dropkick to Solow but Marshall breaks up the LeBell Lock. Moxley takes Marshall down and clotheslines him to the floor, leaving Danielson to kick Solow out of the air. Yuta gets the tag but is thrown around by Comoroto. A pair of chokes doesn’t work on Comoroto so Yuta elbows away and rolls him up (with Moxley and Danielson choking out the other two) for the pin at 8:20.

Rating: C+. I think we’ve firmly established the idea here and now it’s time for these guys to move into an actual feud. The Club is a hard hitting team who feels like they could fight anyone, but they’ve been beating up lower level people for weeks now. They need to move into an actual story rather than a bunch of one offs, as their status is pretty clear. Maybe they can make one more of these things work, but find them some good opponents soon.

Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter and Toni Storm are willing to just talk and avoid physicality but Storm brings in Ruby Soho, who has also qualified for the Owen Hart Foundation tournament. Soho knows the two of them have always had something to say so she wants to fight right now. Baker says no physicality because they’re off to Soho’s home in catering.

Jungle Boy says that he should have beaten Kyle O’Reilly last week but he didn’t get it done. Christian Cage says that Jungle Boy sounds like a loser, even if he isn’t one. Cage says he’s throwing out the challenge to any top five ranked team so here is Team Taz, ranked #3, to accept. Luchasaurus growls.

Lance Archer vs. Wardlow

Before the match, MJF and Shawn Spears are in the luxury box again, with MJF saying Philadelphia women use their personality as birth control. Wardlow comes out to no music and wearing handcuffs, allowing Archer to dive onto him as the handcuffs are removed. The bell rings and Wardlow sends him straight into the corner, setting up a running shoulder to the ribs. The Powerbomb Symphony is broken up, as is Archer’s chokeslam.

They clothesline each other down and it’s Archer up first to hammer away. Archer walks the ropes to set up a moonsault into the chokeslam for two, with the crowd not really reacting. The Blackout gets two but Wardlow knocks him off the top and hits a Swanton of all things for two of his own. A four movement Powerbomb Symphony finishes Archer at 5:26.

Rating: B-. The booking of Wardlow continues to be the high point around here and this was no exception. Wardlow survived a beating against someone with some success and won in the end to slay the monster. That’s all it should have been as he gets one step closer to MJF. Double Or Nothing is coming and I’m curious to see what the stakes will be for their showdown.

Here is the Jericho Appreciation Society for a face to face sitdown with Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz. There will be no physicality so get the three of them out here right now. The chairs are turned over and Jericho talks about how lucky everyone is to be living in his era. Santana flips Jericho off and says that Jericho forgot who got him here.

Trash is talked because Santana and Ortiz can’t hit them and Kingston isn’t happy with this standing around. Kingston talks about what a hit means in his world but Jericho says this place is Kingston’s last chance if he gets kicked out of another company. That’s too far for Kingston, who backs Jericho into a chair and threatens to put him in the ground. Jericho looks terrified as Eddie and company leave. They really need to announce/get to a match between these guys already because they’ve talked a lot.

Sammy Guevara is ready to beat Scorpio Sky again because Sky is so boring.

Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb

Street fight with Shida hammering away to start. The middle rope missile dropkick sends Deeb outside and then rams her into the buckle from the apron. Deeb falls back to the floor but manages to chair a flying Shida out of the air to take over. Back in and a shinbreaker onto the chair makes it worse for Shida as we take a break. We come back with Shida’s knee in big trouble but managing to counter another shinbreaker onto the chair. Deeb is sent outside but comes up with some powder to blind Shida.

That’s broken up as well as Shida comes back with a kendo stick shot, allowing her to wash her eyes out with some water. The Katana is cut off with a chair to the knee though and Deeb wraps the chair around Shida’s leg. That’s broken up as well and Shida hits the super Falcon Arrow for two. Deeb is back with Deebtox onto the chair for the same, setting up some rams of the knee into the chair. The Texas Cloverleaf makes Shida tap at 11:37.

Rating: B-. It was fun enough, though I don’t think it needed the weapons to prove the same point. This feud stopped being interesting more than a few weeks ago and I didn’t exactly need the blowoff but at least the right person won. Deeb gets the win to end the feud and should be on to a run against Thunder Rosa, which should be a good match.

MJF screams at Lexi to get out of his frame and then calls someone, offering him six figures to face Wardlow. He called someone bigger, taller and stronger than Wardlow….and you can’t teach that.

The House Of Black has taken out Fuego del Sol. They tease unmasking him but Alex Abrahantes pops up in the ring to say not so fast. The House goes after him but here is Penta Obscuro, Pac and…..Alex Abrahantes, because it’s Rey Fenix in the Abrahantes costume in the ring. Death Triangle clears the ring and we seem to have a six man tag set. This is another feud that has dragged on for so long now that I can’t quite bring myself to be interested. Also, it’s hard to care that much when I keep expecting Pac or one of the other members to go away for a month and a half after the match.

Swerve Strickland and Darby Allin are ready for their Owen Hart Foundation qualifying match on Rampage. They have fought for years and don’t quite see eye to eye on whose house it is.

Undisputed Elite vs. Varsity Blonds/Brock Anderson/Dante Martin/Lee Johnson

Martin gets punched in the head to start but the Blonds come in for the save. The non-Elite takes turns kicking everyone to the floor and it’s a pair of dives from Johnson and Martin. The good guys rule the ring and we take an early break. Back with Johnson getting double superkicked, setting up a four way BTE Trigger, setting up the Boom for the pin on Johnson at 6:27.

Rating: C. They hyped up this match as something important and then it’s a six minute match with a break in the middle? Kind of a weird way to go with this one but they didn’t bother with much of anything in the way of wasting time. Just have the bigger team take a few shots and then win in the end, as should have been the case. Now maybe we can move on to the most interesting thing in the world: the Bucks having friends.

Post match, the Undisputed Elite all put on matching shirts.

The Jericho Appreciation Society has jumped Santana and Ortiz and throw a fireball at Eddie Kingston. This company has an obsession with angles involving someone being blinded.

Quick video on Trent Beretta vs. Samoa Joe for the Ring Of Honor TV Title.

TNT Title: Sammy Guevara vs. Scorpio Sky

Guevara is defending in a ladder match. They fight on the floor to start with Sky sending him into the barricade but Guevara comes back with a Release German suplex on the ramp. That lets Guevara bust out some angels in the snow, which has JR a bit taken aback. They get inside with Sammy going up (nowhere near the belt) and then diving off….and hitting only the mat, leaving him knocked silly as we take a break.

Back with Sky climbing a ladder so Guevara dives off another, only to get pulled out of the air with a cutter. With nothing else working, it’s time to bring out a barbed wire ladder (because that’s a thing). Guevara fights up and sends Sky into the ladder but Tay Conti and Dan Lambert get in, with Conti kicking him low. Cue Paige VanZant so the big brawl can be on, with Conti kicking him in the face.

The ladder is set up and they both climb, each with a woman on their back. The women are thrown off, leaving Sky to bite Guevara’s finger. Guevara shoves him down anyway and goes up, only to be knocked down onto the barbed wire ladder. Sky goes up and, after knocking the springboarding Guevara down again (because he was back up in 12 seconds), wins the title at 14:02.

Rating: C+. This show ended about 20 minutes ago now and I have no idea what to make of this match. They certainly did some stuff and Sky gets the title back, but that’s about the extent of the logic. I was more or less checked out on the match as soon as the barbed wire ladder was brought into play, as that sounds like something you put in a comedy match rather than something important. Throw in Sammy bouncing back up from landing on it and the rather scary landing before the break and this was much more a WHAT ARE THEY DOING match than anything I would have liked to see.

Overall Rating: B-. Given how ridiculously (and I don’t mean that in a good way) stacked this show was, I was fairly disappointed in what we got. The ten man tag was a squash, the street fight was pretty good and the ladder match…..hey did you see that street fight? They crammed A LOT into this show but most of it only somewhat delivered.

There was some rather good stuff in here though as Wardlow continues to be presented perfectly and Sky winning the title again got a great reaction. I liked Punk’s stuff too and the opener was very good, but the parts that they hyped up the most didn’t work all that well and it brought things down a bit.

Results
Dax Harwood b. Cash Wheeler – Small package
Blackpool Combat Club b. The Factory – Cradle to Comoroto
Wardlow b. Lance Archer – Powerbomb Symphony
Serena Deeb b. Hikaru Shida – Texas Cloverleaf
Undisputed Elite b. Brock Anderson/Dante Martin/Lee Johnson/Varsity Blonds – Boom to Johnson
Scorpio Sky b. Sammy Guevara – Sky pulled down the title

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

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Dynamite
Date: April 13, 2022
Location: UNO Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s the start of a big week around here as we are on the third of five shows. There are some important matches set up for this card and there is a good chance that we could be in for a fun one. If nothing else, they are coming in off a white hot main event last week so hopefully they can keep up the momentum. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

CM Punk vs. Penta Obscuro

Alex Abrahantes is here with Penta. Punk isn’t overly intimidated by Obscuro’s entrance and they stare each other down to start. That goes into the big chop off, with the fans getting right into this as soon as they get going. A superkick staggers Punk but he kicks Penta in the ribs to cut him off. Punk strikes away as commentary runs down tonight’s card, including Samoa Joe vs. Minoru Suzuki. The GTS is countered into an ankle lock and Punk gets sent to the floor. Some suicide dives take too long though and Punk takes his place, setting up a dive of his own.

We take a break and come back with both of them going up to the same corner. Punk pulls him down into….something that wasn’t clear as his knee seems to give out. Penta takes him into the corner but Punk comes out with a super hurricanrana, setting up the running knee in the corner. The GTS is countered so Punk tries the Anaconda Vice, sending Penta straight to the rope.

They head to the apron to slug it out but neither can hit a piledriver. Instead Punk hits the running knee in the corner back inside, only to have the GTS blocked. The arm snap is countered into a rollup but that’s countered into another rollup to give Penta two. Another superkick rocks Punk but he’s fine enough to pull Penta out of the air for the GTS and the pin at 13:33.

Rating: B. They worked hard here and the ending was good, though it felt a bit like a match you would see on a big time indy show: no real reason for them to be fighting, but it makes fans go “that sounds AWESOME”. It was good while it lasted though and Punk continues his climb up to the top of the rankings. I’m sure the path will be completely scientific and logical as well.

The Jericho Appreciation Society arrived at the airport earlier but Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz were waiting on them. They beat up 3.0 and took their shoes, as good guys tend to do.

Tag Team Titles: ReDRagon vs. Jurassic Express

Jurassic Express is defending. Jungle Boy gets struck into the corner by Fish, allowing O’Reilly to come in for a headlock. Luchasaurus tags himself in and starts kicking away, only to get caught with some dragon screw legwhips. That’s enough to put Luchasaurus in the corner but he strikes his way out of trouble, allowing the tag off to Jungle Boy.

The suicide dives are on (JR: “It’s Tope Suicida Night folks! And the kids eat free!”), setting up Luchasaurus hitting his own dive. Jungle Boy goes for a dive but Fish isn’t quite ready and has to move over in a hurry (that could have been nasty). Fish twists Jungle Boy off the apron by the arm though and we take a break.

Back with O’Reilly trying a cross armbreaker on Jungle Boy but getting stacked up for two instead. Jungle Boy gets over for the tag off to Luchasaurus to clean house, including the Tail Whip to O’Reilly. There’s the double chokeslam into the standing moonsault for two on O’Reilly. A side slam top rope elbow combination (that looked good) gets two on Fish but ReDRagon is back in for a kick off into a German suplex.

O’Reilly grabs a cross armbreaker (while also trapping the leg) but Jungle Boy makes the rope. Back up and O’Reilly grabs a guillotine on Luchasaurus as Fish jumps over them with a super Falcon Arrow to Jungle Boy. Luchasaurus throws O’Reilly onto the two of them for the break and it’s time to strike it out again. Fish gets Tail Whipped by Luchasaurus and it’s the Throwassic Express for the pin to retain the titles at 13:45.

Rating: B. This was back into the “what’s tagging” formula for the most part and I can with with that after last week’s tag team clinic main event. Jurassic Express getting to add another win to their list is a good idea, but those titles seem destined either for FTR or the Young Bucks to set up the rubber match between the bigger name teams.

Post match O’Reilly chairs the champs down but FTR comes in to scare them off. I think you know where FTR and the Express are going.

The Blackpool Combat Club, now with Wheeler Yuta, are ready to fight the undisputed Gunn Club on Friday. Moxley’s idea: break their faces.

Jamie Hayter and Toni Storm are ready to face each other in the first round of the Owen Hart Foundation tournament. Hayter talks about their history together and how it was a lot like Owen’s rise to prominent. She isn’t going to let Storm slow her down and asks what Storm is going to do about it. Storm smirks and walks away.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Shawn Dean

Shawn Spears is here with MJF. Hold on though as MJF’s scarf gets caught in his jacket, but he jumps Dean from behind anyway. And yes, the scarf is completely fine in case you were wondering. MJF poses but we cut to the back where security has been taken out, with one of them missing a shirt. Back in the arena and MJF takes him to the floor, but Wardlow is behind MJF. The chase is on and security comes out to hold Wardlow back. MJF runs and, despite offering the referee a lot of money, loses by countout at 3:54.

Rating: D. This was a match in name only and that is ok. They are building up towards Wardlow vs. MJF even more and it is nice to see Dean getting some wins, even if they don’t mean anything. MJF begging at the idea of losing makes sense as he is that obsessed with being the best, so they had the logic going strong here. Not a match for the most part but they weren’t trying to make it one.

Post match Wardlow is taken to the back and Spears has to hold MJF back from fighting the referee. We cut to the back where Wardlow beats up security again and says he isn’t going to stop until MJF lets him out of his contract. Then he breaks the camera, which will somehow go on MJF’s bill.

In a video that is a bit more complicated for its message, Darby Allin challenges Andrade El Idolo to a casket match.

Malakai Black talks about how the House of Black is going to destroy Fuego del Sol.

Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz

Jericho flips Santana off to start and then hits him in the face, only to get himself into a chop off. Everything breaks down and Santana gets to beat on Jericho a bit more inside. It’s off to Ortiz, who gets caught in a double flapjack from Jericho and Hager to put him down for a change. Hager drives him into the corner again and it’s Garcia getting to come in for some shots of his own. Jericho gets the arrogant cover for two and we take a break.

Back with Jericho missing the Lionsault and, after getting away from Hager, Ortiz manages the hot tag off to Kingston. House is cleaned without much trouble and Santana comes in with a top rope splash for two on Garcia. Ortiz’s middle rope legdrop gets the same and the Street Sweeper is loaded up. Instead, Santana throws Garcia at Jericho to take him out. Cue 3.0 (still missing shoes) but Ortiz hits a big flip dive to take them down. The distraction lets Jericho get in a bat shot to finish Kingston at 11:45.

Rating: C+. It’s far from a disaster, but I’m really not feeling the Society so far. They feel like a rehash of the Inner Circle but nowhere near as good. It’s more of Jericho getting beaten up and then cheating to win, which is a pretty tired style. The match was good enough, but it feels like we’ve done this before and that isn’t great to see.

Post match the big beatdown is on and no one makes the save.

A very angry MJF talks about how he has money and can do whatever he wants. Also, since he owns Wardlow, he’s going to put Wardlow into the ring against the Butcher.

Marina Shafir vs. Skye Blue

This is Shafir’s Dynamite debut and Mark Sterling/Jade Cargill are watching in the back (Sterling more than Cargill). Shafir takes her down to start as we see Red Velvet as part of the Baddie Section. Blue’s attempt at a choke is countered into a bearhug and a slam down. Shafir pounds away and hits a pumphandle suplex. A palm strike sets up a headscissors choke to make Blue tap at 2:22. Shafir really didn’t look good here and they weren’t exactly mixing well. I don’t know what was wrong, but if this was anything more than an off night, Shafir is in trouble.

Tony Nese and Mark Sterling (third segment in a row after MJF and Cargill) interrupt Hook’s interview. Hook throws a medicine ball over his shoulder, hits an interrupting Danhausen, and leaves. Danhausen continues to be unsure what is going on.

The Men of the Year are ready for Sammy Guevara at Battle of the Belts on Saturday.

Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee vs. Team Taz

The fans are way into Ricky Starks as the hometown boy. Powerhouse Hobbs shoves Strickland around to start and doesn’t seem happy at Swerve trying an armbar. JR uses this time to talk about Mid-South/UWF memories and it’s off to Starks to run the ropes into a rope walk. A top rope shot to the shoulder drops Strickland and Starks hits his pose. It’s off to Lee, who sends Starks into the corner for the big chop, with Strickland holding the arms back to make it worse.

Everything breaks down and Strickland uses Lee’s chest as a springboard for a moonsault down onto Team Taz. We take a break and come back with Lee cleaning house. Swerve takes Hobbs off the apron but springboards into a spear from Starks. A Canadian Destroyer plants Swerve for two but he is right back up to put Starks in a fireman’s carry. Swerve goes up and throws Starks into the Pounce from Lee, who is cut off by Hobbs.

Cue Taz at ringside as Starks can’t Ro Sham Bo Lee. Swerve gets shoved off the top but manages to post Hobbs. Starks’ tornado DDT is blocked so he settles for a middle rope spear. Swerve breaks up the cover with a 450 but gets crushed by a running splash in the corner. Taz trips Lee though and the Last Will And Testament finishes Lee at 11:58.

Rating: C+. You build up Starks as the big star and don’t have him get the pin in the match? Anyway, they weren’t going to be able to get Starks booed here no matter what they tried so they didn’t even bother. That’s the right call here and Lee lost to cheating rather than clean. They did things as they should have here and it was a pretty hot match.

Here’s what’s coming at various upcoming shows.

Thunder Rosa is interrupted by Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero. They have a cake to celebrate her short title reign but there is no writing on it because she isn’t worth they money. Rosa: “Do you think I’m stupid?” Vickie and Nyla: “YES!” The cake goes in Rosa’s face and she’s so blind that she hits Vickie by mistake. Rosa gets sent into some boxes, with Rose shouting that the joke is on Rosa because she loves cake! This was pretty great.

Video on Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole in a Texas Deathmatch this week on Rampage.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Minoru Suzuki

Suzuki is defending and they go straight to the required strike off. This includes chops and forearms for two minutes plus until Suzuki gets knocked to the apron. The armbar over the ropes slows Joe down and we take a break with Joe looking to be more than a bit spent pretty soon into things.

Back with Suzuki fighting out of a Crossface as Joe’s chest is REALLY red. The Gotch Style piledriver is blocked and the chop it out again. Another piledriver attempt is blocked so Suzuki takes him into the corner for some choking. That’s countered into the MuscleBuster to knock Suzuki silly and Joe is champion at 11:34.

Rating: B-. This is going to be the definition of “your mileage may vary” as the chop/strike off stuff loses its charm pretty quickly (the fact that Penta and Punk did the same thing an hour and a half ago didn’t help). They kept this moving and it’s hard to believe that it went as long as it did, but Suzuki was the definition of a transitional champion. That isn’t a bad thing, but this one felt a lot more like something that sounded great on paper fifteen years ago rather than here, with both of them likely near the end of their careers.

Post match here are Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt with a present for Joe. It’s Lethal’s middle finger, but the lights go out. Cue a 7’3 monster (identified by Tony as Satnam Singh, an Indian basketball player who was drafted into the NBA) to take Joe down and crush his head in a Khali style vice grip. Lethal and Dutt seem to have a monster enforcer to end the show. I don’t know how the STUPENDOUS Khali will do but this wasn’t exactly an inspiring debut.

Overall Rating: B-. It was a weird week as they started off great and then fell pretty hard before almost limping across the finish line. The Singh debut didn’t exactly leave on a high note and the show was a bit of a rollercoaster. It doesn’t feel like there is a top story at the moment and the World Title was a complete afterthought this week. Still a perfectly good show, but far from one of their best.

Results
CM Punk b. Penta Obscuro – GTS
Jurassic Express b. ReDRagon – Throwassic Express to Fish
Shawn Dean b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman via countout
Jericho Appreciation Society b. Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz – Baseball bat shot to Kingston
Marina Shafir b. Skye Blue – Headscissors choke
Team Taz b. Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland – Last Will And Testament to Lee
Samoa Joe b. Minoru Suzuki – MuscleBuster

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: April 6, 2022
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

It’s pretty rare to have a lot of things going on when a company hasn’t had a major show, but that is the case this week. Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor event was basically AEW’s Wrestlemania weekend show and included the debut of Samoa Joe. He’ll be here tonight, and that means things could get a lot more interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Adam Cole vs. Christian Cage

They stare at each other for a bit until Christian grabs a headlock to grind away a bit. Cole breaks that up and sends him into the corner to take over. Christian knocks him outside though and it’s a baseball slide out to the floor. That means some chops up against the barricade but Christian’s foot gets caught in the ropes, allowing Cole to take over again. A hard whip into the corner rocks Christian and we take a break.

Back with Christian knocking him to the floor again and diving over the top to….I think it connected but it was more grazing Cole’s hands/arms. Back in and Christian hits the pendulum kick in the corner, setting up the tornado DDT for two. Cole’s Backstabber out of the corner gets two more and the low superkick into the running knee (knee pad still up and to the face instead of the back of the head) is good for the same. The Boom is countered into a rollup for two, followed by Christian hitting a spear for two more. With nothing else working, Cole pokes him in the eye and hits the Boom for the pin at 14:50.

Rating: B-. This is where Christian can help a lot, as he has a reputation that means a win over him still means something and can make anyone look good. Cole gets a nice win and Christian has been a made man for a long time so it isn’t like he is hurt here. Good choice for an opener and the kind of win that gives Cole an actually important win.

Post match ReDDragon comes out for the beatdown but the Jurassic Express makes the save. Christian walks off to the side of the stage as the other four brawl (After rolling outside pretty fast after the pin. Hopefully nothing is wrong.). With everyone else gone, Hangman Page comes down to get in Cole’s face. Page issues the challenge for a Texas Death Match for the title next week on Rampage (not Dynamite), while telling him to get his affairs in order.

We look back at Jay Lethal challenging Jonathan Gresham for the World Title and beating him down, only for Samoa Joe to return and take out Lethal’s associate Sonjay Dutt.

Owen Hart Foundation Qualifying Match: Samoa Joe vs. Max Caster

Anthony Bowens is here with Caster, whose rap talks about how Samoa Joe is an overweight X-Division wrestler who was NXT Champion when Dynamite beat NXT in the ratings. Joe starts fast and hammers away in the corner, even throwing in a dance. Caster gets knocked to the floor for the suicide dive and it’s the MuscleBuster for the pin at 2:53. Total and complete destruction, as it should have been.

Post match Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt pop up on screen to say they aren’t scared of Joe. They had a change of heart last week and now it’s about doing what they want. The might not have needed one had Joe just answered his phone in the last four months. Joe clearly has a phone, but he’ll only answer calls from billionaires. It’s not too late to roll out the red carpet for Joe though, so next week Lethal promises him a present. Next week, Joe is getting a present that he’ll never forget. Dutt is quite the odd addition to this story. I know he and Lethal have history together but there was no one else to pair up with Lethal?

William Regal is happy with the Blackpool Combat Club, as Wheeler Yuta will face Jon Moxley on Friday. Regal feels sorry for Yuta, and Moxley promises violence.

Shawn Spears vs. Shawn Dean

MJF is on commentary as commentary points out that Dean has beaten him. Spears throws Dean over the top for a big crash, only to stop and point at the security posters for Wardlow. Back in and Spears hits a pumphandle driver onto the knee for two, with Spears pulling him up. We cut to the back where security has been taken out and the fans know what’s up. Now we see Wardlow beating up security and coming into the arena, where he beats up even more security. In the melee, Dean rolls Spears up for the pin at 3:48.

Rating: C-. The match was a squash with a fluke ending and that’s fine as a way to keep pushing Wardlow as a major threat to MJF. The destruction is coming and it is going to be awesome once we get there. Dean could have been anyone here but giving him a pair of wins over Dean and MJF is a nice bit of continuity.

Wardlow is very happy as security takes him out of the arena.

The Best Friends aren’t happy with Wheeler Yuta finding new friends. Chuck Taylor even bought him his tights and Yuta lives on his couch. Trent is less forgiving, calling him a scumbag before leaving.

Earlier tonight, Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz beat down the Jericho Appreciation Society in the back. The Society bailed away in a car.

Here are Kingston/Santana/Ortiz in the arena for a chat. Eddie talks about how he’s coming for the Society and threatens to show up at Daniel Garcia’s door. Santana and Ortiz say they’ll be ready when Jericho stops running, say next week for example.

Here are Jade Cargill and Mark Sterling for a chat. Cargill introduces her Baddie Section, which is what she describes as a bunch of beautiful women with power. She’s ready for Marina Shafir to be her 30th victim.

MJF and Shawn Spears aren’t happy with Wardlow but MJF promises more security next week. As for Dean, he can face MJF next week, where he’ll get a Purple Heart for being injured worse than he ever could have been in the military.

Hardys vs. Butcher and the Blade

Tables match. It’s a brawl to start with Blade clotheslining Jeff down inside. Blade misses a charge through a table in the corner, which doesn’t count as it wasn’t an offensive move (as made clear by the pre-match announcement of the rules). Butcher and Matt come in, where Butcher can’t suplex Matt through a table. A double DDT drops Butcher but Blade breaks up what looked to be the Swanton through the table. That leaves Jeff to get suplexed/high crossbodied through a table for the elimination.

We take a break and come back with Matt chairing Butcher, setting up a top rope legdrop through the table for the elimination. That leaves Matt vs. Blade but Matt puts himself through a table off the apron. Butcher sticks around to help double team Matt, who is thrown over the barricade.

A double suplex brings him back over but Jeff has moved the table. What looks to be Poetry In Motion into a clothesline against the barricade doesn’t look great so Jeff makes up for it with the Twisting Stunner to Blade. Matt hits a Twist of Fate on the floor and the Hardys set up two tables underneath a ladder (you knew it was coming). The Swanton off the top drives Blade through the table to give the Hardys the win at 11:55.

Rating: C+. It was pretty good, though I’m trying to get my head around the Hardys being hyped up for their history in tables matches. The Hardys are certainly stars, but it doesn’t feel like they are a big deal at the moment. Maybe that’s FTR being on another level and the Hardys not being anywhere the title picture, but it feels like they’re still waiting to take off. They certainly can do that, though it hasn’t happened yet.

Post match here is Andrade, flanked by the AFO, but here is sting with the baseball bat to beat them down. The AFO didn’t do anything, so maybe Sting just broke up the presentation of a lovely bowling trophy.

Christian Cage is ticked off and walks away from Jurassic Express’ interview. The Express doesn’t think much of ReDDragon’s records but they can have a title shot next week anyway.

Thunder Rosa is ready for Nyla Rose at Championship Fight Night on April 16.

Jamie Hayter isn’t shaking Toni Storm’s hand because she wants to win the Owen Hart tournament.

Owen Hart Foundation Qualifying Match: Hikaru Shida vs. Julia Hart

Hart still has the eye patch and sends the Varsity Blonds to the back. Hart gets in a shot in the corner which has Shida mad as we take an early break. Back with Shida pounding away and hitting a running knee in the corner. Hart rakes the eyes to get off of Shida’s shoulders though and a splits bulldog gets two. What looked to be Twisted Bliss only has Hart’s knees hitting the mat though and Shida elbows her down. Shida hits a spinning knee though and the Falcon Arrow is good for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: D+. Yozwa this didn’t work very well, as they felt like they were on different pages at times. The moves weren’t connecting very well, they didn’t seem to be communicating and it was just awkward throughout. It’s rare to see a match go this badly in AEW but this was a pretty bad showing.

Post match Serena Deeb comes out for a kendo stick/chair showdown with Shida before bailing. This feud MUST CONTINUE you see.

Shane Strickland had a good time at the Grammys but here is Team Taz to jump him. Keith Lee makes the save and drives Powerhouse Hobbs through a wall.

AAA Tag Team Titles/Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are challenging. Harwood headlocks Matt down to start and it’s off to Dax to do the same to Nick. An armdrag into an armbar keeps Nick down but everyone comes in for the big staredown. We settle down to Dax taking Matt down with a headlock, setting up double Sharpshooters from FTR. Nick rakes the Wheeler’s eyes for the break and it’s Matt hitting a middle rope elbow on Wheeler.

The Bret Hart pose sets up the tag off to Nick and we take a break. Back with Wheeler suplexing his way out of trouble but Matt cuts off the tag attempt. Harwood Matt outside though and kicks his way over for the tag off to Harwood. House is cleaned with Harwood chopping away in the corner and getting two off a small package. Matt’s backslide (with Harwood’s shoulder not on the mat) gets two, as does Harwood’s piledriver. The PowerPlex is loaded up but Nick cuts off Wheeler with a super hurricanrana.

A dropkick/bulldog combination connects but Harwood brainbusters Nick on the floor. Wheeler Gory Bombs Matt for two but what looks like a low blow takes Wheeler down. The Big Rig gets two on Wheeler and More Bang For Your Buck connects for the same. Nick gets in a belt shot for two more on Wheeler but Harwood dives in for the save.

There’s a double superkick to Harwood and the BTE Trigger gets….a Dusty Finish, as Wheeler gets his foot on the ropes just before three, meaning the pin is called off. The Meltzer Driver is loaded up but Harwood makes the save, setting up a slingshot powerbomb to Matt. The Tombstone plants Matt and, after the double kiss, the Big Rig retains the titles at 20:00.

Rating: A. This is what you can get when you tone the Bucks down. Two superkicks, one or two flips. It was much, much better than their usual stuff and a high quality match instead of their usual junk food wrestling. The Bucks are very impressive athletes, but there are times where they want to remind you of that a bit too much. Have someone to keep them on more of a leash and you get an instant classic like this.

At the same time, FTR can do absolutely no wrong at the moment. They did this in NXT and they are doing it in AEW. These guys are just great and are becoming must see television. That isn’t something that has been the case in tag wrestling since probably Edge and Christian vs. the Hardys vs. the Dudleyz and that was 20+ years ago. Awesome stuff here and absolutely worth seeing.

Overall Rating: B+. The main event absolutely lifted this show up as, aside from maybe the opener, it wasn’t exactly great. This was the week where they moved things forward for later though and you can see a lot of what they are going for at the next Battle of the Belts. FTR is an amazing team at the moment though and that’s about all you need to remember from this show. Check out that main event for sure.

Results
Adam Cole b. Christian Cage – Boom
Samoa Joe b. Max Caster – MuscleBuster
Shawn Dean b. Shawn Spears – Rollup
Hardys b. Butcher and the Blade – Swanton Bomb through a table to Blade
Hikaru Shida b. Julia Hart – Falcon Arrow
FTR b. Young Bucks – Big Rig to Matt

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: February 16, 2022
Location: Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

They have their work cut out for themselves after last week’s show but AEW has a tendency to make something like that work more often than not. We are less than three weeks away from Revolution as well so it is time to start hammering home the card. The good thing is that you probably know what you’re getting. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We open with CM Punk sitting in the middle of the ring, where he explains the idea of straightedge, which means he is better than you. That kind of a statement might sound familiar because he said it for the first time over twenty years ago. It inspired some people to be wrestlers and some people to be straightedge. Heck it even inspired some people to sit like him, ala Maxwell Jacob Friedman.

That would be the same MJF who beat him in his hometown of Chicago (twice). MJF tries to make himself seem like some all time great but in reality he’s the same s***** little MJF from s***** little Long Island. Now though, after last week, and thanks to Jon Moxley for the assist, Punk gets to pick the rules of their rematch. That will be March 6 at Revolution in Orlando, Florida, but what kind of a match should it be?

Punk had been thinking about a cage match, but Wardlow can still tear things apart and MJF can still run away. The thing is, most important losses of Punk’s career are the kind of matches where he has left a piece of himself behind. MJF has been talking about Piper in Portland though, and that has Punk thinking. He opens a box in front of him and pulls out a dog collar with a chain attached.

Punk wants MJF out there to hear this from his mouth so here he is. Before MJF can say anything, Punk has one more thing: a photo of MJF as a kid meeting Punk. Punk: “For your, it was the greatest day of your life, but for me, it was Friday.” Revolution is going to be the worst day of your life, but for Punk, it is going to be Sunday, when the canvas will be stained with MJF’s blood. MJF picks up a mic to say something, only to drop it and walk away instead. That’s a nice choice for a stipulation and I could go for the violence that comes with it.

Video on Bryan Danielson trying to get Jon Moxley to join him in teaching the new generation.

Jurassic Express is defending their Tag Team Titles in a three way at Revolution and there will be a pair of battle royals over the next two weeks to determine their challengers (this company LOVES battle royals). Jungle Boy says he knows something about winning battle royals and taps Christian Cage on the shoulder in a nice, subtle moment. That’s cool with the champs.

Bryan Danielson vs. Lee Moriarty

Matt Sydal is here with Moriarty and this could be pretty great. Danielson offers a handshake but pulls it away when Moriarty goes for it. They go technical to start until Danielson slaps him in the face. Moriarty takes him down again by the ankle but gets reversed into a surfboard with a dragon sleeper. That’s escaped as well and Moriarty hits a running kick to the arm. Danielson’s legs are still fine enough for a moonsault over Moriarty, who gets tied in the ropes for the kicks to the chest.

We take a break and come back with Danielson holding Moriarty on the mat with a knuckle lock but not being able to break his bridge. Instead they lock legs (while still holding hands) and stand on their heads, where they start slapping each other (it’s quite the visual). Since that’s a bit nuts, Danielson tries to switch into the LeBell Lock but Moriarty makes the rope. Moriarty suplexes him down but gets kicked down to his knees.

The big kick is blocked though and Moriarty hits a clothesline. A belly to belly gets two on Danielson and it’s time for some forearms to the back. The Border City Stretch (Gargano Escape) has Danielson in more trouble but he reverses into a reverse fisherman’s suplex for the break. The running knee sets up the stomps to the head into the triangle choke to knock Moriarty cold at 12:12.

Rating: B. These two beat each other up rather well and that’s what they should have been doing. Sometimes you need a hard hitting match and the two of them did just that here. Danielson beating him down and winning in the end made sense, but Moriarty got to show what he can do as well. Moriarty is a very skilled star in his own right and it was nice to see him get this kind of a showcase. Good stuff here, as is a guarantee with Danielson these days.

Post match Danielson says that he needed to teach Moriarty a thing or two about violence but he wants Jon Moxley to help him. He has asked Moxley for his help and now he wants an answer. Cue Moxley through the crowd to talk about how he used to be just like Moriarty. When he was young, broke and a bit dumb, he wanted to take a shot at the American Dragon.

It was at a small show in Ohio but Danielson was late to the show because bad weather delayed his flight. After Tracy Smothers stalled for about 45 minutes, Danielson arrived in his gear and then got in the ring with Moxley. He fought hard, but ultimately Danielson beat him, as he has done every time. Moxley has never beaten him before and now he wants that one win that has eluded him.

But now Danielson wants to team up with him and yeah, Moxley has thought about it. Imagine the legacy of violence they could put together. He really couldn’t think of one good reason to say no, but then he got to thinking. Does Danielson want to be his partner to create things, or is it because he doesn’t want to be across the ring from Moxley? So what is Danielson saying? Either way, Moxley isn’t standing next to someone until he bleeds with them first.

That story was a great touch for this and it gave this a nice personal touch, especially with Danielson being the big monster that Moxley wants to slay. I’m not sure where this is going, but between Violence Unlimited and Violent By Design, I could go without another violence themed stable.

Keith Lee is happy with last week’s win, but it’s step one on the way to being the Face of the Revolution.

Face of the Revolution Qualifying Match: Wardlow vs. Max Caster

Shawn Spears and Anthony Bowens are here too. Caster’s rap mocks local Nashville teams and suggests that Wardlow is MJF’s b**** boy. Wardlow doesn’t like that and goes right for him, including sending Caster into the corner. We take a break and come back with Caster using a chain around his hand to escape the Powerbomb Symphony. The Mic Drop gets two but Wardlow is back up with the first powerbomb. The Powerbomb Symphony finishes Caster at 5:27. Not enough shown to rate but Wardlow dominated what we got to see.

Post match Bowens goes after Wardlow and gets powerbombed down for his efforts. Wardlow doesn’t seem interested in Spears’ approval.

Mercedes Martinez, with Britt Baker and company, is ready for the No DQ match with Thunder Rosa but Baker tells her to get this done already. A man (apparently a villain in the Karate Kid movies series….which I haven’t actually seen) comes in to say no mercy. That seemed to be a rather cool cameo.

Here is Hangman Page for a chat. Before he can say more than a few words, here is Adam Cole to cut him off and ask the fans to give Page a round of applause. Cole was impressed by the war that Page went through to retain the title last week and he has earned the right to be called champion. Now Cole has been a World Champion everywhere he has gone too, but for right now, Page has the title. Page talks about how Cole’s friends built up a company without him and this is the one World Title he has never had.

Cole brings up that the Young Bucks and the Dark Order have all left Page, who says Cole doesn’t have the best record with friends either. That makes Cole chuckle, but the truth is that Page is always known as the other Adam. Page rolls up the sleeves but Cole sucks up to him, saying they will fight for the World Title at some point. May the best man win, and they shake hands, with Cole walking away in peace. Cue ReDDragon to jump Page from behind though and Cole joins in for the big beatdown. Security comes in for the save, with Dark Order coming in as well. 10 even beats up security, with the Order having to hold him back.

Darby Allin talks about how wrestling is therapy to him, just like it is to Sammy Guevara. Sammy talks about their history together and now they’re fighting again.

Chris Jericho/Jake Hager vs. Santana/Ortiz

The Inner Circle implodes and here is the returning Eddie Kingston to make things all the bigger. Ortiz sends Jericho into the corner to start and it’s Santana coming in to chop away. A middle rope dropkick to a seated Jericho gets one and Ortiz’s fisherman’s suplex gets two. Jericho clotheslines his way out of trouble though and it’s Hager coming in for a belly to belly. The Vader Bomb gets two on Ortiz and we take a break.

Back with Jericho slapping Ortiz in the head but getting caught with a clothesline. Santana comes in to clean house, only to get powerslammed to give Hager two. It’s back to Jericho, who gets planted down without much trouble. The Street Sweeper gives Ortiz two and it’s time for some stunned kickout faces. Jericho is right back with the Walls of Jericho on Santana, with Kingston begging him to make the ropes. That earns Kingston a shot to the face but Santana is back up with a discus lariat to finish Jericho at 10:45.

Rating: B-. This was a solid enough tag match as Kingston’s issues with Jericho continue to cause problems. You can probably pencil them in for a match at Revolution, which very well could be Kingston’s big win. It wasn’t quite a classic, but they advanced the story as Santana and Ortiz win while Jericho gets taken down a peg.

Post match Jericho freaks out and gets in a fight with Kingston.

Adam Cole and ReDDragon ask the Young Bucks where they were earlier but the Bucks don’t have much to say. Cole is cool with that though as they are going to win both of their matches on Rampage and then they’re going to dominate the tag team battle royals. This turns into an argument over which team has the better fathers, with Cole trying to place peacemaker. Cole isn’t sure which way to go so he tells Brandon Cutler to turn off the camera instead.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Thunder Rosa

No DQ and John Kreese (the Karate Kid guy) is in the front row, where he is identified as Britt Baker’s sensei (you can imagine how this goes with JR). Rosa comes out looking like the Bride from Kill Bill and they start with the brawl in the aisle. The fans chant something I can’t make out as the fight is already heading back to the floor. Rosa pulls out the table but gets sent into the steps for her efforts.

Martinez throws some chairs inside but Rosa whips her through the barricade. They head into the crowd, where Rosa hits a dive off another barricade to take her down. We take a break and come back with Martinez hitting a fisherman’s buster off the apron through a table. Some chair shots send Rosa back inside but she counters a superbomb with a hurricanrana.

Rosa puts a trashcan over Martinez’s head and hits a running dropkick for two. Martinez is fine enough to catch her on top with a German superplex, setting up a top rope elbow (with a nasty landing) for two. A bunch of chairs are piled up but Rosa manages a crucifix bomb. The Fire Thunder Driver onto the chairs finishes Martinez at 9:30.

Rating: B-. Another good brawl and what matters most is Rosa gets closer and closer to the showdown with Baker. I would assume the title match is coming at Revolution, but I could also see it being the main event of a huge episode of Dynamite. Martinez is someone who continues to be a solid gatekeeper heel and she is perfect for this kind of a match when you need to make someone look a lot better. Not a classic fight, but Rosa got what she needed out of it.

Post match, Martinez shows respect but here are Britt Baker and company. Baker comes up to Kreese, who tells her to finish this. Jamie Hayter and Rebel run in to jump Rosa, with Martinez coming back in. She teases hitting Rosa with a lead pipe but can’t do it, meaning Hayter jumps her from behind and poses with Baker.

The House of Black talks about how they want to hurt people. A third member seems to be teased.

Jay White is ready to prove himself on Rampage.

TNT Title: Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin

Sammy is defending and Sting lets Allin do this one on his own. They stare each other down to start and then shake hands to get things going. Allin headlocks him over but has to slip out of a rollup. Back up and Sammy flips over him, only to get knocked into the corner. They head up top with Sammy getting him in a fireman’s carry and dropping him ribs first onto the top turnbuckle.

Back in and Sammy drapes him over the top for a Swanton to the back, sending Allin FLYING out to the floor in a cool looking crash. We come back from a break with Allin taking out Guevara’s knee and then falling backwards onto it to make things even worse. Allin ties him in the Tree of Woe and pulls on a loose leg to bang up the knee in a more unique way. There’s a half crab in the Tree of Woe (cool) but Sammy powers up and hits a super Spanish Fly.

Sammy’s springboard is countered into a Figure Four but they slap it out for the break. The flipping Stunner and GTH are both countered so Allin grabs the Last Supper for two. Now the flipping Stunner can connect to send Sammy outside but he counters a dive into a cutter for a big crash on the floor.

Back up and Sammy misses a Swanton onto the apron, with the landing leaving him down on the floor for a good while. They get back inside where Allin loads up the Coffin Drop but here is Andrade’s assistant Jose for a distraction. Sting takes him out, allowing Andrade to run in and hit Allin with the iPad. Sammy, who didn’t seem to see what happened, hits GTH for the pin to retain at 14:52.

Rating: B. Good stuff here and I don’t think that’s any kind of a surprise. This wasn’t so much about the wrestling but rather the big moves that leave one of them knocked silly or flying away. That’s a different way to go and it is the kind of match where these two excel, making this a solid main event, which even advanced Allin vs. Andrade. Granted your mileage on Andrade may vary, but at least they have an idea.

Post match Matt Hardy runs in to beat on Allin with Sammy making the save. Andrade hits him with the iPad poses with the TNT Titles (because there are still two of them) until Sting chases him off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Another awesome show here and that is what I have come to expect in the last few weeks. They are getting the formula right and it has me wanting to see what they are going to do from week to week. You had a bunch of matches here, but more importantly there are several things set up for later. That covers two bases at once, as we now have something to look forward to, but also the proof that they have a plan here. The plan might not be your taste, but they have something there and that is a great thing to see. Much like this show.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Lee Moriarty – Triangle choke
Wardlow b. Max Caster – Powerbomb Symphony
Santana/Ortiz b. Jake Hager/Chris Jericho – Discus lariat to Jericho
Thunder Rosa b. Mercedes Martinez – Fire Thunder Driver onto a pile of chairs
Sammy Guevara b. Darby Allin – GTH

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: January 19, 2022
Location: Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington DC
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s a big night around here as we have the return of Jon Moxley after a nearly three month absence. Moxley has been out of action due to undergoing alcohol rehabilitation treatment and it is great to have him back. What matters most is that he is healthy and if that is the case, I’m glad he can be around here again. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Jon Moxley to a hero’s welcome to get things going. Moxley gets in the ring and, after telling a fan “Go f*** yourself, get that piece of s*** out of here” (completely uncensored on the broadcast), Moxley talks about having a dream where a demon told him he would never make it. He has more scars on his body than most people and those are the things that tell our story. Those scars are the ones that tell us the story of who we are. Nobody is perfect and no one should be afraid to stand up and bare it all.

Everything that makes you the person you are, scars and all, should make you say THIS IS ME. If you want to write him off, he’ll tell you where to shove all that s***, just like he told that demon. For everyone who has supported him, thank you. He is going on a pilgrimage and do whatever he wants to the world of professional wrestling because he is truly free. No one here can put him through worse than he has been through and these days, all he drinks is blood. Well that was amazing, and one of the most emotional speeches you’ll see in a LONG time.

MJF talks about CM Punk needing to steal a win by using the hair and trunks last week to beat Wardlow (who could have escaped with a bit more experience). As for this week, it is Wardlow’s birthday and MJF offers him a sincere apology for losing it last week. Wardlow seems to appreciate that….but MJF is docking Wardlow’s pay for putting his hands on him. MJF moves on to Shawn Spears, who is going to hand PG Punk his first loss, while teaching Wardlow a lesson. The turn is going to be incredible when we finally get there.

Adam Cole/Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander/Orange Cassidy

The women start but Baker tags out almost immediately. Then Cole tags out, meaning Statlander has to come back in. Hold on though as Cassidy does the lazy kicks, earning himself a stomp to the food. Statlander comes in to slam the posing Baker but it’s too early for the Big Bang Theory. It’s back to the men, meaning Cassidy can hit a tornado DDT to send Cole outside.

Back in and Statlander grabs a delayed vertical suplex on Baker, with Cassidy shoving it over. Cassidy hits a rather low dive on Cole before stopping for a pose, allowing Baker and Cole to superkick them down. A nice kiss sends us to a break and we come back with Cassidy taking Cole down.

The women come back in with Statlander hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb for her own two. A neckbreaker takes Statlander down though and it’s back to Cole for the superkick to Cassidy’s knee. Cole hits an enziguri but Stundog Millionaire gets Cassidy out of trouble. Baker comes in off the blind tag to break up Beach Break and Stomp Cassidy down. Statlander kicks her in the face and hits something like a Falcon Arrow for two.

Area 451 is loaded up but Cole covers Baker….which is fine with Statlander, who splashes both of them. The Beach Break hits Cole for two but he superkicks a dive out of the air. Baker takes Statlander to the ramp for a Canadian Destroyer, leaving Cole to Panama Sunrise Cassidy for two. With nothing else working, Cole loads up a table at ringside (because we need tables), only to have Cassidy accidentally knock Baker through it. Cole is livid and it’s a low blow into the Boom for the pin at 14:22.

Rating: C+. That’s it for the feud right? There is no reason for Cole and Cassidy to feud any longer and hopefully we can move on and let Cole do something more important. The match was your usual AEW match with big kickouts and went on a bit longer than necessary, but it did have the entertaining bits that you would expect.

Chris Jericho tells Eddie Kingston to GFY but Santana and Ortiz don’t like him talking about Kingston that way. Actually, when has Jericho even had their back? Maybe next week, they can prove that they don’t need Jericho. That seems to shake Jericho a bit.

Adam Cole is sick of Orange Cassidy. He has beaten Cassidy every way he can, but now Cassidy is attacking Baker? Next week, it can be No DQ, anything goes, lights out. It might not be a good idea to point out that you have beaten the guy over and over before challenging him to another match. And great, ANOTHER hardcore match.

CM Punk vs. Shawn Spears

MJF is on commentary as the GTS finishes Spears at 12 seconds. Much like last week: that’s how I like my Spears matches.

Post match Punk poses so MJF tries to sneak in, only to have Punk jump in his face. Punk grabs the scarf but MJF bails from the threat of a right hand.

Billy Gunn stops Christian Cage in the back and says his sons have earned a Tag Team Title shot against Cage’s friends, the Jurassic Express. Cage says make a statement and they’ll talk. Cue the Gunn Club to jump Christian and send him head first into the steel door. Billy as a mouthpiece for his kids is a completely acceptable idea and an upgrade over what he has been doing.

Here is Cody Rhodes, with a huge ladder in the ring. Rhodes talks about CM Punk’s pipe bomb, which was the beginning of a revolution. Some of the things Punk were saying were the blueprint for what AEW would do. After pausing for some negative chants, Cody talks about how Punk made the comeback of the decade and we are all living it. Cody starts yelling about how he carried the revolution and since “you ask me why I won’t turn heel”, it’s because they cheered him when he needed it the most.

There are industry journalists who talk about opening the forbidden door…and now let’s talk about how ReDRagon passed hiptoss class. There are wrestlers elsewhere named Gunner McGillcutty or whatever it is but then he was gone for two weeks and there is an Interim TNT Title. Fans have been taught to believe that any title without the word World in it doesn’t matter.

That’s why he wants to face Sammy Guevara in a ladder match at Beach Break for the undisputed title. I got the gist of what Cody was saying here, but this was all over the place with one idea after another thrown out there but he kept moving on before getting to the point. The ladder match (because this company loves ladder matches) is a fine way to unify the titles, but this was a rambling mess of an insider/shoot promo and it was all about Cody, again, without making much sense until the end.

Jade Cargill has issued an open challenge for the TBS Title and Anna Jay is ready to accept it. Jay talks about the hardcore match from a few weeks ago to show she’s ready.

Kings of the Black Throne vs. Varsity Blonds

Brody shoves Garrison around to start and sends him outside, meaning it’s off to Pillman. That doesn’t work though as Pillman won’t try Air Pillman. Instead he drops outside to talk to Garrison, who is driven into the steps. Back in and Black sweeps Pillman’s leg so Garrison can hit a backsplash. Garrison is taken out again and Dante’s Inferno finishes Pillman at 1:48.

Post match Black tells the House of Black to rise but Pac, still blind, pops up on screen to say he is beyond Black’s reach.

Video on Lance Archer vs. Hangman Page, with Jake Roberts returning to say Archer is ready for Page.

Roppongi Vice steals Brandon Cutler to challenge the Young Bucks to a match on Rampage. They beat the Bucks in Japan once so they can do it again. Cutler thinks the Bucks are going to kill him. Romero: “Then turn the camera off bro.”

Lance Archer vs. Frankie Kazarian

Jake Roberts and Dan Lambert are in Archer’s corner. Archer hammers him down before the bell and then stands on Kazarian’s neck. The beating continues with Archer slowly pounding away as Kazarian can’t get anything going. Kazarian gets dropped again and again and we take a break.

We come back with Archer loudly saying “F*** YOU” (seemingly to a fan) and sending Kazarian chest first into the buckle. The Blackout is broken up with Kazarian finally getting in a little something. That doesn’t work for Archer though and he chokeslams Kazarian down as this is going WAY too long. Archer finally finishes with the Blackout at 10:01.

Rating: D. This was a bad miss, as Archer didn’t look like a monster but rather a guy lumbering around and (very) slowly beating Kazarian down. I don’t know if they were told to fill in time or what, but they took what should have been a three minute match and stretched it way further than it needed to be. This doesn’t make me want to see Archer vs. Page, but rather seeing a big audible call.

Post match, Dan Lambert goes on another cowboy rant against Hangman Page, but Archer cuts him off because he’s sick of this s*** (as we have even more swearing, which isn’t as edgy as AEW seems to think it is). Archer loads up a chokeslam off the ramp but here is Hangman Page for the save. Page gets kneed down so he pulls off his cowboy boot to blast Archer in the head. The Buckshot Lariat is blocked so Page forearms him out to the floor. Page stands tall.

Dante Martin is ready for Team Taz, with Lee Moriarty and Matt Sydal having his back until his brother gets back.

Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs are going to prove Martin is all alone because he’ll need someone to watch every side.

Leyla Hirsch breaks up a Red Velvet/Kris Statlander interview to complain about their loss on Friday. Velvet says it was miscommunication and gets her arm barred as a result.

Serena Deeb vs. Skye Blue

Deeb takes her down to start and sends Blue to the apron to keep up the beating. Back in and some uppercuts to the back of the heck set up a fisherman’s neckbreaker. The Serenity Lock finishes Blue at 2:50. I can absolutely go for more of this Deeb.

Ethan Page wants a big match on Rampage and tells Tony Khan to put the franchise player in.

On Rampage: Ethan Page vs. Jon Moxley, plus Roppongi Vice vs. the Young Bucks. We get some New Japan footage of their previous matches.

Video on Hook.

Matt Hardy has signed Andrade El Idolo 51% of the Hardy Family Office but he is still in charge of the board of directors. Andrade will be the president though, and they are now the AHFO. Now, they want Darby Allin. I’ll take them combining some of their more boring acts into one.

Acclaimed vs. Darby Allin/Sting

Caster’s rap promises to make this worse than Starrcade 97 so you know it’s serious. The Acclaimed jump them before the bell as Tony says he still can’t explain Starrcade 1997. A chair is wrapped around Allin’s neck and Caster whips it into the post. Sting is back up as medics check on Allin but he’s willing to fight on his own. Sting takes the Acclaimed down to start but the Stinger Splash hits an exposed buckle, giving Bowens two.

We take a break and come back with Sting putting Caster in the Deathlock. Bowens hits a discus forearm but Sting yells and doesn’t let go. A superkick breaks it up but Allin comes back in to make the save. Allin gets taken down again so the Mic Drop can give Caster two. Sting backdrops Bowens over the top and splashes Caster through a table at ringside. Fans: “YOU STILL GOT IT!” I don’t think YOU STILL GOT IT is a term that applies to something that Sting rarely did, but fair enough. The Coffin Drop finishes Bowens at 9:20.

Rating: C+. Sting matches are all smoke and mirrors, but dang they’re fun smoke and mirrors. They aren’t doing anything too bad and the fans’ reactions alone carry the matches to another level. That being said, Sting and Allin have to be close to being #1 contenders right? They’re undefeated and just beat the #1 contenders, so shouldn’t their title shot be coming soon? That’s not a bad thing, but it should be addressed.

Overall Rating: C-. I’m not sure what happened tonight but this might have been the biggest miss Dynamite has had to date. There were good parts to it (Gunn being moved into a manager role (at least for now), Deeb’s squash, the main event, Spears going short again and King/Black’s debut) but the rest was a bit of a mess. It felt like they didn’t have a plan tonight and it was kind of all over the place.

The biggest standout part was the Cody promo, which started and ended well but took a right turn into lala land in the middle. I still don’t know what he was trying to say with a lot of that and it was one of the bigger head scratchers in recent memory. In addition, you have Cole saying that he has done everything he can to Cassidy, including pinning him tonight, but now we’re going to do it AGAIN, and this time in a hardcore match.

That is where AEW is starting to slip a bit for me, as it feels like they are trying to be a modern day ECW. Between the constant hardcore based matches (I believe Cole vs. Cassidy makes three since December 31), the table spots (two tonight) and ALL THE SWEARING, it feels like they are trying to push the envelope for the sake of pushing the envelope. When you do that kind of thing all the time, the impact goes away very fast and that is what they are doing now. Just pull it back a bit and save that stuff for when it matters, not whenever you can throw it out.

Overall, this show just did not feel like AEW quality. Dynamite has been good to excellent most of the time but they have been missing a bit in recent weeks. I don’t know if that is due to some kind of Covid deal shaking things up backstage or something else, but the shows have not been the best as of late. Maybe they need to change something backstage, because this is starting to trend in a bad direction.

Results
Adam Cole/Britt Baker b. Orange Cassidy/Kris Statlander – Boom to Cassidy
CM Punk b. Shawn Spears – GTS
Kings of the Black Throne b. Varsity Blonds – Dante’s Inferno to Pillman
Lance Archer b. Frankie Kazarian – Blackout
Serena Deeb b. Skye Blue – Serenity Lock
Sting/Darby Allin b. Acclaimed – Coffin Drop to Bowens

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

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AND

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Rampage
Date: January 7, 2022
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Taz, Ricky Starks

We’re still in New Jersey and this week’s show is featuring some big names. Adam Cole is here, but we also have a street fight, which is something that hasn’t been done (or anything close to it) in at least a week around here. Rampage has been good as of late though and hopefully that keeps up this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jake Atlas vs. Adam Cole

Cole takes him down with a headscissors to start but Atlas flips out and does the Boom pose. Back up and they both dodge a bunch of kicks before teasing superkicks at the same time. Atlas puts his hand in Cole’s face but gets tossed outside, where Cole sends him into the post. Back in and Atlas hits a few shots of his own, only to springboard into a Backstabber as we take a break.

We come back with Cole being sent outside so Atlas can hit a suicide dive. A springboard missile dropkick hits Cole but he kicks Atlas in the face. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two and the brainbuster onto the knee gets the same. Atlas manages to get to the apron for a springboard but gets superkicked out of the air. Atlas comes up holding his knee and can’t stand up straight as Cole loads up the Panama Sunrise. Cole jumps down but Atlas collapses, leaving Cole to grab a kneebar (which doesn’t come close to the knee) to make Atlas tap at 9:40.

Rating: C+. This was the best showing I’ve seen from Atlas and it’s a shame that he seems to have hurt his knee pretty badly. He literally signed with the company earlier in the week and might have already been put on the shelf for a long time. Cole continues to be good, though I’m not sure he’s fighting on the right side of good and evil.

Post match ReDragon comes out to tease a beatdown but Orange Cassidy makes the save with a chain.

Cody Rhodes has been placed into medical protocols and will not be defending his title at Battle of the Belts. Instead, Dustin Rhodes will be taking his place for the Interim TNT Title against Sammy Guevara. That’s cool with Sammy.

Andrade El Idolo doesn’t think much of Sting and Darby Allin.

Hook vs. Aaron Solo

Jericho: “Hookamania is running wild baby!” QT Marshall is here with Solo. Hook suplexes him down to start and Solo already needs a breather in the corner. Solo gets taken down into a half nelson/cravate before Hook unloads in the corner. QT Marshall grabs Hook’s foot though and Solo hammers away. That earns him a capture suplex though and Solo goes flying. Some crossface shots set up Redrum to give Hook the tap at 3:13.

Rating: C. Hook has to be the biggest surprise of the end of 2021 as he felt like a total joke when he debuted but they have someone there as something close to the new Taz. They’ve got something with him and he looks unique enough to warrant trying something with him. It’s nice to see someone developed on the fly and that seems to be working here.

Ricky Starks isn’t happy that the FTW Title isn’t on the line at Battle of the Belts, so he’ll be defending against Matt Sydal. He’s doing it to prove a point to Dante Martin: it took him three matches to beat Sydal, but Starks will do it in one.

Anna Jay, Tay Conti, the Bunny and Penelope Ford are really happy with their street fight last week.

Ruby Soho/Riho vs. Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter

Baker gets sent to the floor to start but Soho waits for the bell to start hammering on Hayter. Riho hits a running shoulder in the corner and it’s a double backsplash for two. Hayter gets up for the tag off to Baker though and the beating is on. We take a break and come back with Soho kicking Baker in the face, allowing the hot tag off to Riho. Everything breaks down and Hayter hits a backbreaker for two on Riho with Soho making the save. Baker and Soho fight off, leaving Riho to roll Hayter up for the pin at 8:10.

Rating: C+. This is how you build up Riho for a title shot without making Baker look bad. They had some good action and Soho gets a win to make up for a bit of the loss to Cargill. Baker isn’t going to be happy and that can often make for the best versions of her when she has to put the title on the line.

Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year think an interim TNT Title is a bad idea and wonder why Scorpio Sky isn’t the champ right now.

Mark Henry has his face to face interview for the main event but Santana/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston and Daniel Garcia/2.0 start fighting anyway.

Santana/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston vs. Daniel Garcia/2.0

Street fight and we’re joined in progress with the fight coming down the ramp to ringside. The weapons are brought in and everyone pairs off to keep up the fighting. 2.0 gets beaten down with signs and chars as we take an early break. Back with Ortiz cleaning house and a limping Kingston hitting a t-bone suplex on Garcia.

Santana adds a frog splash for two with 2.0 making the save to put everyone down again. Lee DDTs Ortiz and Garcia hits Kingston in the head with the bell for two. Santana is back up with a chair to take everyone out, setting up an assisted facebuster. Garcia makes the save but Santana and Ortiz hit a superkick into an enziguri into a clothesline for the pin at 13:50.

Rating: C+. I really did try to get into this but it was yet another wild brawl which didn’t stand out from the others. We just had a far more violent version of this last week and it is starting to come off like brawling for the sake of brawling. The match has been over for a few minutes and I can barely remember any of the spots. They need to really slow down with these things because much like the matches full of flips, the returns are starting to diminish.

Post match, Garcia and company are right back up with duct tape to attach Kingston to the ropes, but Chris Jericho runs in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was the most skippable edition of the show in a good while as they didn’t seem to have much left after their huge Dynamite. That being said, this is also the night before Battle of the Belts so it isn’t like they have to wait long to get things back on track. It was a good enough show, but a step down from some recent weeks.

Results
Adam Cole b. Jake Atlas – Kneebar
Hook b. Aaron Solo – Redrum
Ruby Soho/Riho b. Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter – Rollup to Hayter
Santana/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston b. Daniel Garcia/2.0 – Clothesline to Lee

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

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Dynamite
Date: December 29, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’ll wrap up another year of Dynamite with this one, in the place that hosted the show for what felt like the better part of ever. Cody Rhodes it the new TNT Champion, which hopefully is not just for the Go Big Show or Rhodes To The Top. Other than that, we also have the welcome return of Jim Ross, who has announced that he is cancer free. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jim Ross gets a big entrance for his return, which is a great thing to see.

Jurassic Express/Christian Cage/Lucha Bros vs. FTR/Matt Hardy/Private Party

Wheeler takes Christian into the corner for a clean break so we hit the double bicep pose. Christian works on the arm for a bit so it’s off to Harwood to trade chops with Jungle Boy in the corner. Harwood gets caught in the wrong corner and it’s Christian coming in for a kick to the face. The jump over the top into the uppercut has Harwood rocked and Wheeler has to break up the Snare Trap.

It’s off to Kassidy but the Lucha Bros come in for the wheelbarrow splash (after a bit of mistiming). Jungle Boy adds a springboard onto Kassidy and then sends him over the top, only to have Quen take Jungle Boy down. Hardy is in with the Side Effect and it’s Jungle Boy in trouble in the corner. A catapult sends Jungle Boy into the buckle and he has to fight out of Hardy’s chinlock.

Back up and a heck of a clothesline drops Hardy and it’s back to Fenix to pick up the pace. Private Party hits a pretty sweet assisted flip DDT to plant Fenix for two but he’s able to shove FTR off the top. A heck of a double springboard moonsault takes FTR down and it’s off to Luchasaurus to clean house. Kassidy gets launched into the air and lets out a scream that would make Vickie Guerrero jealous.

The double chokeslam is broken up so Luchasaurus kicks Wheeler in the face. The chokeslam hits Harwood but Penta tags himself in, much to Luchasaurus’ annoyance. Everything breaks down, including Fenix hitting a crazy rope work corkscrew dive, but Christian tags himself in to break up the Fear Factor. FTR shoves them together though and it’s the Big Rig to finish Christian at 12:35.

Rating: B. They didn’t go too nuts here and it was a good match as a result. Sometimes you can get a little too crazy when you have this many people involved and thankfully they kept it a little more calm. The Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express should be good, assuming they don’t add in FTR as a bonus. Hopefully not as it could get messy, but that doesn’t tend to be AEW’s way in title matches.

2.0/Daniel Garcia vs. Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz

Kingston goes right after Garcia and it’s a big brawl on the floor in the first minute. Back in and we settle down to Ortiz vs. Jeff Parker, with the former taking over. Garcia comes in and teases wanting Kingston but gets Santana instead. Three Amigos have Garcia in trouble so it’s back to Ortiz, who gets caught by a kick to the face on the floor. We take a break and come back with Kingston getting the tag to rapid fire chop Garcia in the corner. Everything breaks down and Lee blocks Ortiz’s splash with raised knees, setting up a rollup with tights to give Lee the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C. This was an intense match but they were don maybe a minute after coming back. It was more of a wild match than the ten man tag as well, which didn’t exactly do it any favors. Between not being able to remember which member of 2.0 is which, there were too many things going on at once here and it brought the match down.

Post match Garcia hits Santana in the face with the ring bell. Cue the returning Chris Jericho for the late save. Kingston shoves Jericho away and says he doesn’t need the help. Ortiz has to play peacemaker.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman talks about unsafe working conditions involving that crazy dive last week, while suggesting that it wouldn’t happening a more professional company. We’ll worry about that later though, because Wardlow needs to quality for the Face of the Revolution ladder match. That way he can win the TNT Title and hand it over to MJF, as their contract says. Wardlow isn’t happy.

Christian Cage isn’t happy with the Lucha Bros so the challenge for the Tag Team Titles is set for next week. The response is some insults to Cage, plus an acceptance.

Wardlow vs. Colin Delaney

Powerbomb Symphony finishes Delaney at 1:24.

Post match, Shawn Spears chairs Delaney down.

The Young Bucks don’t seem to like Kyle O’Reilly, who wants to talk to Adam Cole in private. This includes Bobby Fish leaving so O’Reilly can ask if Cole has his back or not. Cole doesn’t seem happy.

Here are Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year to rant about Cody Rhodes. Lambert doesn’t think much of Cody but thinks even less of Brandi Rhodes. Stripper jokes abound, with Ethan Page mocking her wrestling abilities as well. Cue Brandi, who uses the same lines that she used on Jade Cargill during her debut. They don’t like each other, with Brandi being ready to beat him up (without having him pay for it) but Lambert, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, isn’t worried and makes stripper jokes. Brandi: “Well I’m a black b****!” Dustin Rhodes comes in for the save and gets laid out, with Brandi checking on him.

Video on Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page II, with a focus on the still unnamed judges.

TBS Title Tournament Semifinals: Jade Cargill vs. Thunder Rosa

Mark Sterling is here with Cargill and Rosa has Wolverine claws. Rosa goes after Cargill’s leg to start but a Sterling distraction lets Cargill take over on the floor. Some kicks to the leg get Rosa out of trouble but she dives into a backbreaker. Rosa snaps off a hurricanrana but gets posted hard. They finally get back inside, where Rosa shrugs off some knees to the face and hits a dragon screw legwhip. Cargill runs her over again though and we take a break.

Back with Rosa hammering on the knee in the corner and hitting some running clotheslines. Cargill Samoan drops her down again but bangs up the knee on the nip up. Rosa is right back to the leg with a shinbreaker into the Figure Four but Sterling offers a distraction. The hold is put on again but this time, Cargill kicks her into the corner, where a crew member hits her with a kendo stick. A fast Jaded gives Cargill the pin at 11:00.

Rating: C. It might not have been the cleanest match in the world and Jade still looks like she is quite green in the ring without knowing how to do something this long. The good thing is that Rosa was there to to walk her through the match with the story of the knee. It was far from a terrible match though and I’ll take what I can get with Cargill in this kind of a match.

Post match Rosa goes after Cargill again but it’s Mercedes Martinez as the crew member for the save and beatdown. Ruby Soho runs in with a pipe for the save.

Video on Riho vs. Britt Baker for the Women’s Title.

Here is CM Punk for a chat, but first he wants to say how glad he is to have Jim Ross back. With that taken care of, Punk talks about how he has never been here before, but it makes him think about Brodie Lee. If anyone out there has to say something about how Lee didn’t do anything, it means they didn’t meet him. Punk watched the tribute show to Lee and it made him want to come here.

Maybe there is someone who isn’t worth his time and doesn’t want to be here, like MJF. Punk talks about last week’s six man tag and now MJF says he’s done with him. That’s fine with Punk after he got to team with Sting to beat FTR and now they can move on to something else. MJF was talking about it too: they both want the World Title and MJF is a bigger waste of Khan Money than Tim Tebow….and we’ll pause off that one.

Punk never wanted to mess with MJF but on this mic and in this ring, no one can touch him. If MJF wants to climb that ladder though, Punk will see him in this ring, but it would be a shame if someone interfered with his quest for gold. I’m not sure what happened here but Punk didn’t have quite the zing here, Tebow joke aside.

Ricky Starks isn’t happy with Dante Martin tossing him from the Dynamite Diamond battle royal. Powerhouse Hobbs can take care of Martin again if that’s what Martin wants.

We look at Cody Rhodes taking the TNT Title from Sammy Guevara.

Here is Sammy with his signs and we take a break, as is usually the case.

Video on Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb.

Here is Brian Pillman Jr. to talk about Malakai Black trying to end Griff Garrison’s career. Then he remembered getting kicked in the head to leave him laying. Pillman worked hard to get here and started in Jacksonville, Florida. He didn’t know his father, but he knows he only gets one life and Black isn’t getting it. Next week, you’re seeing a brand new Brian Pillman Jr…and there go the lights. Malakai Black pops up on the ramp and then disappears again.

The Acclaimed complains about how they aren’t ranked but Sting and Darby Allin are. That’s why Anthony Bowens is taking care of Allin on Rampage.

Sting talks about how casual people are about main events these days. Allin says he’s fine with being in any match on the card and is ready for Bowens on Friday.

Video on Tay Conti/Anna Jay vs. Bunny/Penelope Ford, setting up their street fight on Rampage.

Orange Cassidy/Best Friends vs. Kyle O’Reilly/Adam Cole/Bobby Fish

Taylor and O’Reilly start things off with O’Reilly kneeing him in the ribs. Trent comes in to strike away with O’Reilly, including stereo boots to the face for a double knockdown. Cassidy comes in and rolls Fish up for two so it’s off to Cole, who gets taken down a few times. The Paisan elbow brings O’Reilly and Fish in, only to be sent outside. Cole breaks up the big hug though and the good guys are sent outside.

We take a break and come back with Cole superkicking Cassidy off the apron but everything breaks down instead. Trent tornado DDT’s O’Reilly for two but Fish comes back in to send Trent into the corner. Some running strikes connect but Trent manages a knockdown of his own. The hot tag brings in Cassidy but a DDT into a wheelbarrow suplex gives O’Reilly two. Cassidy gets taken down with a High/Low but Chuck makes the save.

They fight outside, where the Panama Sunrise on the ramp is countered with a backdrop. Taylor flip dives onto O’Reilly and Fish, leaving Cole to get speared down. Back in and Cassidy’s top rope DDT gets two on Cole, setting up back to back piledrivers. Beach Break gets two, with O’Reilly and Fish making the save. O’Reilly kicks Cole by mistake though and it’s back to Taylor for a knee to O’Reilly’s face. Soul Food into Trent’s half and half suplex sets up the big hug but here is Brandon Cutler to offer a distraction. The Young Bucks run in with double superkicks and Chasing the Dragon finishes Chuck at 14:55.

Rating: B-. They had me wondering if Cassidy was going to get a big win here so well done on making me think they were insane. Cole and company need to be established as a trio to start and that is what they made work here. Granted it is designed to be focused on a Young Bucks story, so there is a pretty firm limit to how interesting it is going to be. At least they had a good enough match here so well done.

Cole stands with the Young Bucks and Cutler, leaving O’Reilly and Fish unhappy to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Pretty good show to wrap up the Dynamite year, though it didn’t have the big blow away moment or match to really make it work. What we got here was a lot of stuff designed to set things up for later and sometimes that is the show you need. Next week is one of the all time stacked Dynamites and if it lives up to its hype, we should be in for a classic. Good enough show this week and that’s all it needed to be.

Results
FTR/Private Party/Matt Hardy b. Jurassic Express/Christian Cage/Lucha Bros – Big Rig to Cage
2.0/Daniel Garcia b. Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz – Rollup with trunks to Ortiz
Wardlow b. Colin Delaney – Powerbomb Symphony
Jade Cargill b. Thunder Rosa – Jaded
Adam Cole/Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish b. Orange Cassidy/Best Friends – Chasing the Dragon to Taylor

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Rampage
Date: December 17, 2021
Location: Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Ricky Starks, Taz

It’s a very stacked show, as we have three matches with a total of twenty people involved. This week features an eight man tag, a ten man tag and a submission match, which is quite the use of an hour. This show can go in more than a few ways and hopefully they go in a good one this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Best Friends/Rocky Romero vs. Superkliq/Bobby Fish

Chuck hits a quick standing Sliced Bread for two on Matt to start before it’s quickly off to Fish vs. Romero. Fish gets taken into the corner and Cassidy gets to come in for his slow clotheslines. Cole comes in for the Cassidy showdown but hands it off to Nick without getting physical. Cassidy walks the ropes but stops to put his hand in his pocket and jumps down without doing anything.

Nick gets armdragged and hiptossed despite Cassidy’s hands being in his pockets, meaning it’s time for the frustrated Cole to come in and beat on him. The triple superkicks drop Cassidy and we take an early break. Back with Nick hitting a splash on Cassidy, setting up the Superkliq triple kiss…which is broken up by Taylor and Romero. Instead, Cassidy kisses Cole and then rolls him up for two. Cassidy gets over for the tag to Trent and house is cleaned in a hurry.

An apron splash hits Cole and double jumping knees from Trent and Romero hit stereo jumping knees to Nick. Trent’s sliding knee gets two but everything breaks down. Cole hits the brainbuster onto the knee to Trent, setting up Fish’s top rope headbutt for two. The super Falcon Arrow connects for the same, with Cassidy having to make the save this time. Everything breaks down again and it’s a series of strikes to a bunch of people’s heads. Trent finally catches Fish with Strong Zero for the pin at 17:23.

Rating: B. There was a lot going on here but they did a nice job of making it feel action packed. I was surprised that the Best Friends and company won so well done on giving Trent a bit of his heat back. Fish is good at being the guy who can take a fall for the team, though Cole’s Christmas present for the Bucks could turn that around a bit.

Here is the returning Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year. Lambert rips on Tony Khan for wearing all kinds of hats, including those outside of AEW, which resulted in him pushing various people on the fans. He pushed the skateboard guy and the guy with hands in his pockets before bringing in CM Punk and Bryan Danielson. Khan is dangling a carrot with one hand but stabbing the fans in the back with the other, because this place is turning into late 90s WCW.

That brings him to Cody Rhodes, who has turned his backstage power into a main event career and a reality show that no one watches. Cue Cody, who gets in a microphone stealing match with Lambert. With nothing said, the fight is on but Dustin Rhodes runs in for the save. The Rhodes Brothers are beaten down but Sammy Guevara makes the real save, including the staredown with Cody.

Video on the final four in the TBS Title tournament.

Tay Conti vs. Penelope Ford

Submission match with Anna Jay and the Bunny at ringside too. Conti charges into the ring to start in a hurry but Ford slips out of a kneebar. They head outside where Ford chops the post by mistake to put her in even more trouble. Back in and Ford is fine enough to grab a bow and arrow stretch, which is flipped over in a hurry. Conti wrenches the arm back but Bunny’s distraction is good for a save.

Ford gets back up and manages to flip over into a backpack dragon sleeper (that’s a new one). With that not working, Ford grabs some kind of standing crossface, only to have Conti knee her way to freedom. A handspring cutter sets up another choke but Ford can’t hit a Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog. Instead Conti pulls her down into something like a choke with her leg behind Ford’s neck for the tap at 5:22.

Rating: C. This was a weird choice when they announced it and it was a weird match in execution. You don’t often see a five minute submission match, especially when one is such a bigger star than the other. It certainly wasn’t bad, but it felt like a stipulation that was tacked on for the sake of giving the feud a reason to continue.

Post match, Bunny lays Conti out with the knuckles to continue the feud.

The Owen Hart Tournaments (men’s and women’s) are coming next May, with the finals taking place at Double Or Nothing.

Daniel Garcia/2.0/Acclaimed yell at Eddie Kingston/Lucha Bros/Santana/Ortiz, but Eddie doesn’t have time for this and tells Mark Henry to do his catchphrase.

Daniel Garcia/2.0/Acclaimed vs. Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz/Lucha Bros

The brawl starts in the aisle, because this company doesn’t like to waste time. It’s a big fight outside until Penta and Caster get inside to officially start. They chop it out with Penta getting the better of things (the chest protector might have helped) and bringing in Fenix. Stereo kicks to the head rock Caster and the wheelbarrow splash gives Fenix two. Santana comes in for some chops of his own and we take a break.

Back with Santana rolling over for the hot tag to Penta for the house cleaning. Fenix gets to walk the top rope for the kick to Caster’s face and a springboard spinning kick to the face rocks Garcia. Everything breaks down and the Bros hit the running flip dives to the floor. Back in and Santana piledrives Bowens but gets dropped by Caster. Kingston loads up the spinning backfist but Garcia ducks into a rollup and grabs Kingston’s pants for the pin at 8:42.

Rating: B-. The ending was quite the surprise and unfortunately it means that Garcia will have to be destroyed in the near future. This was more of a brawl than the other big tag match, but running two of them in the span of an hour didn’t do this one any favors. The ending surprised me a lot, though as long as Kingston gets to massacre Garcia once and for all, it will work out fine.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Bowens wrapping a chain around his boom box. Cue Christian Cage and Jurassic Express for the save, but we get the showdown with the Lucha Bros over the titles.

Overall Rating: B-. It was an action packed night, though again they have a problem with putting too many people on the show. It’s a bit much to have nearly thirty people on a weekly TV show in the span of an hour and nothing really stood out as a result. AEW has a very big and talented roster, but they need to get that they don’t have to use so many people every week. The idea of less is more would be a good one for them to learn, as this show needed something to let it slow down and breathe a bit. What we got was good, but spread it out a bit more.

Results
Best Friends/Rocky Romero b. Superkliq/Bobby Fish – Strong Zero to Fish
Tay Conti b. Penelope Ford – Choke
Daniel Garcia/2.0/Acclaimed b. Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz/Lucha Bros – Rollup with tights to Kingston, Dan Lambert, Men of the Year, Sammy Guevara, Cody Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes

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Rampage
Date: September 24, 2021
Location: Arthur Ashe Tennis Stadium, New York City, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks

It’s the second half of AEW’s New York Adventures and that’s not a bad thing. This week’s Dynamite was huge and this is the biggest Rampage to date, clocking in at two hours instead of the usual one. I’m not sure what that is going to mean, but odds are it’s going to be fun. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

CM Punk vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Hook is here with Hobbs. Punk, in trunks for a change, goes after Hobbs to start but a single shot sends him down on the ropes. Hobbs plants him down and we hit the neck crank to keep Punk in trouble. Punk’s comeback includes a knee to the ribs but Hobbs runs him over again and seems to be toying with him so far. A running crotch attack on the ropes hits Punk and we take an early break.

Back with Punk fighting out of a bearhug and striking away, including a running shot to the face to put Hobbs down. The top rope elbow gets two (and has Team Taz freaking out on commentary) but the GTS is countered. Hobbs plants him with a spinebuster for two more and then drops Punk again to cut off a comeback.

The Oakland Stampede gives Hobbs two more but Punk catches him top top. A super hurricanrana gives Punk two off the big crash. Punk’s cross armbreaker is countered into a powerbomb and it’s time to slug it out. Hook gets up for a distraction but Punk sends Hobbs into him, setting up the GTS for the pin at 13:35.

Rating: C+. Hobbs got a lot in this and that’s the reason you put him in there with someone like Punk. They had a good fight here and Punk survived, likely setting up the big match with Ricky Starks down the line. The Team Taz feud gives Punk a chance to shake off some rust and that’s the right idea, without burning through some big matches.

Thunder Rosa isn’t scared of Jade Cargill or Nyla Rose and fights on her own.

Superkliq vs. Christian Cage/Jurassic Express

Don Callis is on commentary and a lot of the Elite is here too. Christian takes Matt down to start as Callis takes shots at the “Stanford Supermax.” Matt comes in and gets taken down as well with Jungle Boy adding the running kick to the face. Cole runs away from Jungle but the Bucks take over on Jungle’s arm. Everything breaks down and the chase is on outside, with Jungle charging into a double superkick. Jungle is brought back inside for a double dropkick and we take a break.

Back with Jungle not being able to get away for the hot tag until he sends the Bucks into each other. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Luchasaurus to clean house, including the big Tail Whip. Matt head fakes Jungle to plant him with a DDT but More Bang For Your Buck is broken up. The Snare Trap has Matt in trouble until a save is made.

A running clothesline drops Matt and everything breaks down again. The brawl heads to the ramp, where Matt hits Christian low and throws him off the stage. That leaves Cole to hit a Shining Wizard on Luchasaurus, followed by the Panama Sunrise. The Bucks are back in for the BTE Trigger into the Boom (Last Shot) for the pin at 14:38.

Rating: B-. This was the all action match that it should have been and Cole getting the pin is the right way to go. As little as I need to see a subset in the Elite, Cole getting pushed is the right idea for now. He has the spark at the moment and it makes sense to go with him. It’s not like the Bucks need to win anything right now anyway.

Men of the Year vs. Chris Jericho/Jake Hager

Dan Lambert is here with the Men of the Year. Jericho and Sky start things off but it’s quickly off to Hager to pummel Page in the corner. Like a good veteran, Jericho gets in some choking in the corner, allowing Hager to get one off a belly to belly. Jericho comes back in but gets taken into the wrong corner as we go to a break.

Back with Hager in trouble for a change but he manages a running shot to the face to get a breather. The hot tag brings in Jericho to face Sky, plus a triangle dropkick to Page. The top rope ax handle drops Sky and the Lionsault is good for two. Everything breaks down and it’s an ankle lock to Page and the Walls to Sky as we take a break…and come back a second later to officially start the second hour. Both holds are broken and Jericho slingshot dives onto Page. Lambert trips Hager though and Sky grabs a small package for the pin at 11:01.

Rating: C+. Another perfectly fine match as Lambert and company get to run their mouths some more. That’s why you have someone like him around and it should work out when someone finally shuts him up. The Men of the Year aren’t the most thrilling team, but at least they’re getting to do something else.

Post match Jericho and Hager go after Lambert but a bunch of MMA guys come out to surround the ring. The big beatdown is on, including Paige VanZandt getting in some shots to Jericho’s ribs. A running knee leaves Jericho laying.

Lucha Bros/Santana/Ortiz vs. Hardy Family Office

Butcher and the Blade/Private Party for the Office here as this company continues to love itself some tag matches. The good guys start fast and send the Office outside for the huge quadruple dive (that was awesome). Back in and it’s another big brawl with the Office taking over for a change. Matt Hardy loads up some scissors but here is Orange Cassidy to cut things off.

Cassidy takes out Jack Evans and we take a break. Back with Fenix handing it off to Ortiz to clean house. Penta hits a torture rack backbreaker onto Quen and kicks Butcher in the leg for a bonus. Back in and Fenix kicks Butcher in the face but Blade kicks him in the face to even things up. Quen misses his shooting star though and Penta hits the Sling Blade. The spike Fear Factor hits Quen and the Street Sweeper is enough for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B-. What we got was fun and there were all kinds of high spots, with that four way dive looking great. You don’t watch a match like this to have people stand out and there is nothing wrong with that. Santana and Ortiz getting the hometown win is a good thing, though the show is running very heavy on tags so far.

Matt Hardy isn’t happy with Orange Cassidy and he’s going to watch Penelope Ford beat Anna Jay to make himself feel better. As for Cassidy though, he’s issuing the challenge for a hair vs. hair match. If Cassidy has the guts, he can put his hair on the line against….Jack Evans. Matt to Evans: “YOU BETTER WIN!”

Sammy Guevara and Fuego del Sol come out for Sammy’s cue card deal but Miro jumps both of them and the beatdown is on. Fuego is tossed HARD off the stage and Game Over leaves Sammy down.

Andrade doesn’t like someone interfering in his matches like Chavo Guerrero did. Now he wants to beat Pac with no interference.

Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford

Jay jumps her on the ramp to start fast and the low bridges Ford outside. Back in and a hook kick drops Ford and sets up a choke but here is the Bunny for a distraction. Ford drapes her over the top and kicks her out to the ramp as the beating begins. We take a break and come back with a slugout but the Bunny throws in the brass knuckles to knock Jay out for the pin at 6:48.

Rating: C-. This was a quick one and it didn’t get to showcase much. Jay continues to feel like a star but this is mainly going to be about Tay Conti at the end of the day. They’re a good team together and have done rather well so far. I could see either of them getting a nice push out of this feud, once they get to the big blowoff tag match.

Post match the beatdown is on so here is Tay Conti for the save, only to get dropped with the knuckles as well. The Hardy Family Office comes out to stand tall but here are Orange Cassidy and Kris Statlander, with the Dark Order joining them, giving us about fifteen people in one segment. The Dark Order clears the ring but Stu Grayson and Evil Uno walk away.

We get the face to face showdown between Lance Archer/Minoru Suzuki and Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston. They want to fight so Mark Henry hits the catchphrase to get us out in a hurry.

Lance Archer/Minoru Suzuki vs. Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston

Lights out, meaning anything goes. Suzuki and Archer jump them to start with Suzuki and Moxley having their chair duel on the ramp. With that broken up, Suzuki and Kingston go inside to chop it out, with Suzuki laughing a lot. Kingston sweeps the leg and grabs a table. That goes badly as Suzuki kicks Kingston through the table in the corner but Moxley is back in to forearm Archer.

That’s broken up and Archer chokeslams Moxley off the apron onto a pile of people outside. It doesn’t last long as Moxley and Suzuki slug it out inside until Archer puts a belt around Moxley’s throat for a hanging. We take a break and come back with Moxley’s hands duct taped behind his back so Archer can get in another whip with the belt. Suzuki grabs a half crab but legs it go for no apparent reason. Archer holds Moxley in place so Suzuki can hit/bite him.

Moxley avoids a charge in the corner though and Kingston, with his left arm hanging, comes in to clean house. A poke to the eye sets up some machine gun chops to stagger Archer in the corner. That’s broken up and some chairs are set back to back. Archer loads up the Blackout but here is Homicide of all people to clean house with a chair. Some spinning backfists and the Paradigm Shift from a freed Moxley put Archer down, but Kingston puts him in a trashcan instead of covering. A bunch of kendo stick shots to the trashcan knock Archer silly for the pin at 15:10.

Rating: C. I couldn’t get into this one as it felt like a long segment at times, especially with the Moxley beating going on for the better part of ever. It also doesn’t exactly make Moxley and Kingston look that great to need someone to come in and save them, but that was more for the live crowd than anything else. Pretty good brawl, but it wasn’t exactly anything that kept my interest.

The long celebration ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There were a crazy amount of people on this show and a lot of tag matches, but it felt like a special show instead of another run of the mill edition. Nothing was bad and the big Punk match felt like it mattered. As long as this is a one off two hour edition, they’re going to be fine, as this was basically Dynamite II for the week. It absolutely does not need to be this long every week, but for a one time special, it worked well enough.

Results
CM Punk b. Powerhouse Hobbs – GTS
Superkliq b. Christian Cage/Jurassic Express – Boom to Luchasaurus
Men of the Year b. Chris Jericho/Jake Hager – Small package to Hager
Santana/Ortiz/Lucha Bros b. Hardy Family Office – Street Sweeper to Marq Quen
Penelope Ford b. Anna Jay – Brass knuckles
Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston b. Minoru Suzuki/Lance Archer – Kendo stick to Archer

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

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