Revolution 2024
Date: March 3, 2024
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back on pay per view with one of the big four events, which should make for a good night. There are a few major matches on tap for the show, including Samoa Joe defending the World Title against Samoa Joe and Hangman Page. In what should be the real main event though, Sting and Darby Allin are defending the Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks in Sting’s retirement match. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Bang Bang Scissor Gang vs. Private Party/Willie Mack/Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh

Max Caster still can’t get the rap right as he seems to have the yips. Kassidy headlocks Austin to start but gets shoved away and dropkicked down. Colten comes in for a dropkick to Quen and Bowens adds Scissor Me Timbers. It’s back to Colten, who gets knocked into the corner by Mack but manages to knock Kassidy down. Bowens comes in to clean house but a distraction lets Jarrett grab a Russian legsweep.

Back up and is able to hit a Blockbuster and the big tag brings in Billy to clean house. Singh offers a distraction though and it’s a Mack Stunner into Lethal’s cutter. Quen hits a 450 and Mack gets two, with the fans being impressed by the kickout. The Blade Runner is broken up and it’s Singh coming in to wreck everyone. White and Billy manage to get him down for a Fameasser and White grabs the Blade Runner for the pin on Mack at 12:16.

Rating: C+. This was a match where there were so many people that it was hard to stand out. The Gang winning was the only way to go, but at the end of the day I can’t imagine the team lasting that much longer. There is little reason to have both of the six man champs together when neither of them defend their titles, so hopefully the unification is coming soon enough. Perfectly fine opener, even if it was really busy with so many people around.

Post match White puts over the team and brags about their success. After hyping up the card, he teases doing something of his own on March 13.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Willow Nightingale vs. Skye Blue/Julia Hart

Stokely Hathaway is on commentary. Blue kicks Nightingale into the corner to start but gets whipped away, allowing Statlander to elbow her in the jaw. Statlander’s slam is escaped though and it’s off to Hart, who gets crossbodied by Nightingale. Stereo suplexes put the villains down for two on Hart and Statlander’s belly to back suplex gets the same. Blue comes back in and kicks Nightingale into the corner, meaning the villains can take turns stomping away.

Three straight whips into the corner wake Nightingale up for some reason and she gets over for the tag back to Statlander. House is quickly cleaned with a shot to the face getting two on Blue. Hart’s sliding lariat to the back of the head gets two on Statlander so Blue goes up, only to have her high crossbody pulled out of the air. Nightingale Death Valley Drivers Hart for two as Blue superkicks Statlander on the floor.

Statlander and Hart slug it out back inside until Hart knocks her down. The moonsault gets two and it’s Blue coming back in to kick Statlander in the face a few times. Statlander gets in a shot of her own though and brings Nightingale back in to Pounce Blue. The Babe With The Powerbomb finishes Blue at 13:16.

Rating: C. This felt like an extended Collision or Rampage match and that’s not a bad choice for a Kickoff Show match. Nightingale very well could be in for a TBS Title shot and this could put her into contention. Now that Hart is healthy again, it would be nice to see her actually defend the belt. Nightingale has needed a big win and while this wasn’t that, it could set her up for something in the near future.

And now, the show proper.

TNT Title: Daniel Garcia vs. Christian Cage

Cage, with the Patriarchy, is defending. They fight over a lockup to start with Garcia being taken up against the ropes but getting a clean break. Cage takes him down into a front facelock but Garcia fights up and knocks him outside without much effort. Back in and Garcia takes him down again, with Cage suggesting a leg injury. Naturally that’s a fake for a thumb to the eye and Garcia is back in trouble.

We hit the chinlock with a knee in Garcia’s back but he fights up again, only to be sent out to the floor. The big dive to the floor drops Garcia again but he’s able to hit a chop block back inside. Garcia’s ankle lock doesn’t last long as Cage sends him outside and then does it again for a bonus. The back of the neck snap across the top rope but Garcia finally fights up and hits some forearms to the head.

Cage goes up and gets legdragged down, allowing Garcia go roll him up for some near falls. They go outside again, this time with Cage’s knees being sent into the steps. Back in and the reverse DDT onto the knee gives Cage two but Garcia snatches on the ankle lock again. Cage manages to send him into the corner, where Killswitch gets in a chokeslam (the referee seemingly thinking Garcia knocked himself down), setting up Cage’s top rope splash for two.

Cue Matt Menard to go after Killswitch but Mother Wayne offers a distraction. Menard brawls with Killswitch to the back, leaving Garcia to hit the piledriver for two. Garcia’s rollup gets two more as Cage grabs the rope this time. Cue Nick Wayne for a Stunner over the ropes, setting up the Killswitch to retain at 16:43.

Rating: B-. This was a bit longer than it needed to be but they had a good match. Garcia wasn’t ready to win the title here and thankfully he got in some near falls here. The interference got a bit annoying but I’ll take it for a way to keep the title on Cage. Garcia has come a long way in recent weeks but this was the right way to go, especially with Adam Copeland likely coming back soon.

Continental Classic: Eddie Kingston vs. Bryan Danielson

Kingston is defending and Danielson has to shake his hand if he doesn’t win the titles. Danielson takes him into the corner to start but Kingston fires off the chops to leave Danielson’s chest in trouble. A suplex puts Danielson down on the floor and Kingston hits a big dive before they head up to the apron. Kingston’s chop only hits post though and Danielson suplexes him off said apron to the floor before taking him back inside to stay on the bad hand.

A middle rope dropkick to the shoulder keeps Kingston in trouble and Danielson does it again for a bonus. Danielson goes up again but dives into an exploder suplex to give Kingston a breather. The Stretch Plumb has Danielson in trouble so he goes after the bad hand to break it up. Kingston uses the good arm to fire off his own elbows but Danielson sends him into the corner for a running dropkick.

Another running dropkick misses so Danielson settles for a dragon suplex instead. Danielson kicks away in the corner and puts Kingston on top for a running dropkick. Oddly Kingston doesn’t react so Danielson butterfly superplexes him into a failed LeBell Lock attempt. That’s escaped so Kingston hits a spinning backfist into the northern lights bomb for a near fall.

Danielson goes back to the hand though and hits a running kick, setting up the running knee for an even nearer fall. Danielson’s triangle choke has Kingston in trouble but the arm drop doesn’t work. Instead Kingston gets his feet into the ropes, sending us into dueling chants from the fans. Danielson starts kicking away and Kingston tells him to bring it before winning an exchange of suplexes. They strike it out until Danielson reverses the powerbomb attempt, only to have the running knee clotheslined away. Kingston’s powerbomb retains the title at 19:43, leaving McGuinness rather pleased.

Rating: B+. This was Kingston’s specialty: fighting from behind and coming back up to win in the end as the fans get behind him. There is something so easy to get behind with Kingston and that was the case here. Heck of a match, which shouldn’t even be that surprising with Danielson involved.

Post match Danielson teases not shaking the hand but goes through with it before leaving.

Hook vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Lance Archer vs. Brian Cage vs. Wardlow vs. Dante Martin vs. Chris Jericho vs. Magnus

Non-title and one fall to a finish for a World Title shot. The four power guys clear the ring to start and are left alone, giving us a MEAT chant. Said monsters have a pose down before slamming into each other. A bunch of clotheslines are no sold until it’s Wardlow and Archer slugging it out inside. Archer walks the rope to take Wardlow down and then goes after Hobbs, only to have Jericho come in to Codebreaker Wardlow for two.

The vegetarian options come in to slug it out, doing the same things the meat guys did. Martin hits a dive onto the floor and Hook hits a top rope ax handle onto Cage on the floor. Wardlow and Archer are back in as we miss some of the others doing something rather loud. Cage apron superplexes Hook and everyone but Martin is down, with Martin hitting a frog splash for two. Martin’s middle rope crossbody gets two on Jericho, with Magnus making the save.

Magnus goes after Martin in the corner but gets hiptossed down by Archer, who hits the chokeslam for two. Jericho is back in to take Archer down for stereo Lionsaults along with Magnus. Hobbs is back in to powerslam Archer, who rolls outside. Hook and Cage get to have their showdown until Wardlow is back in to throw some suplexes. Hook breaks up the powerbomb to Cage by grabbing Redrum but Jericho puts the Walls onto both of them. Cage breaks up the Walls and Hook lets go of Redrum for no logical reason before staring Jericho down.

Hobbs breaks that up and sends Hook outside, leaving Jericho to triangle dropkick him to the floor. Hobbs plants Jericho on the floor but he’s back up with a fog machine of all things to cut him off. Back in and Cage knees Hook into an F5 but Martin gets two on Magnus. Archer breaks that up so Martin kicks him in the head. Wardlow cleans more house and breaks up Redrum, setting up the powerbomb to finish Martin at 16:19.

Rating: C. The result helps a lot as Wardlow cutting those fired up promos and then being put out there to lose wouldn’t have made a ton of sense. At the same time, the match was long, had WAY too much going on and as is usually the case with these things, it felt like someone hit one move to win rather than someone being the best. Wardlow is the best option but this really didn’t work.

We recap the International Title match. Roderick Strong wants the title and Orange Cassidy is willing to give him a shot, which set up a feud between Cassidy and the Best Friends and the Undisputed Kingdom.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Roderick Strong

Strong, with the Kingdom, is challenging and Cassidy is here on his own by his request. Strong misses an early Sick Kick attempt and they go to the floor, where Cassidy’s banged up ribs are sent into the barricade. Back in and Cassidy manages a high crossbody but bangs up his ribs in the process. The backbreaker keeps Cassidy in trouble and Strong wisely hammers away on the ribs.

They go up top with Strong hitting a crazy gutwrench superplex to send Cassidy bouncing onto the top turnbuckle (GEEZ). Strong sends him into the corner and is already rather confident, even getting his his own lazy kicks. The threat of a chop makes Cassidy go face down and Strong is even happier.

Back up and End Of Heartache is countered into a Stundog Millionaire to give Cassidy a breather. The Stronghold goes on but Cassidy slips out and hits the tornado DDT. The middle rope DDT gives Cassidy two and he hits his own Panama Sunrise. Beach Break is broken up so they trade big shots to the face. The second Beach Break connects for two but Strong comes back with the End Of Heartache for the pin and the title at 12:45.

Rating: B-. Strong might not be the most interesting star in the world but he is someone who can have a good match with just about anyone. Working on the back/ribs over and over is a fine way to go and Cassidy really needed to get away from the title for a bit. They also didn’t go too long, which makes for a nice change of pace on the show.

Post match the Undisputed Kingdom celebrates, with Kyle O’Reilly returning. He’s in too for a nice return.

FTR vs. Blackpool Combat Club

Rematch of the teams going to a draw and the Club comes out in pretty bad looking Road Warriors style spikes. FTR on the other hand has the Midnight Express lighting, which hopefully goes better than the time the Express fought the Warriors. Harwood and Castagnoli trade rollups for two each to start but Castagnoli is back up to knock him into the corner.

They slap it out and then trade strikes with neither being able to get very far. Schiavone talks about Dean Martin as Moxley comes in to take over on Wheeler. That’s broken up and Moxley is knocked into the corner, only to kick Wheeler in the face. It’s back to Castagnoli, who gets Russian legsweeped to put him down in a hurry. Wheeler comes back in and gets sent outside in a heap, followed by a gutwrench suplex for two back inside.

The Club trade front facelocks as the fans trade supportive chants. Moxley takes Wheeler up top for a back rake into a superplex for two. We get the trash talk in the corner, which is enough for Wheeler to fight up and hand it back to Harwood. Striking abounds but Castagnoli slips out of a suplex. Harwood hits him in the face but the spike piledriver is broken up and Harwood is sent into the post. Castagnoli snaps off a powerslam for two as Harwood is busted open rather badly.

Moxley and Harwood have their slugout but Wheeler is back in with the spike piledriver for two more. The Club is back in with a Doomsday Device (European uppercut variation) for two on Harwood and everyone is down. Moxley grabs a cutter into the Swing with a dropkick for two more on Harwood and everyone is down again. Moxley takes Harwood up top for some elbows and biting to the cut, with Castagnoli adding a running big boot.

Wheeler is back in for the save and a powerbomb/top rope clothesline gets two, setting up the Shatter Machine for two with Castagnoli making the save. A Neutralizer hits Wheeler on the floor but Harwood plants Castagnoli as well. Back in and Moxley Death Riders Harwood for two, with Harwood rolling him up for the same. The choke finishes Harwood at 21:43.

Rating: A-. This was very good and they got the crowd into it, with all kinds of big near falls and quite the violent edge. I could have gone for FTR winning instead of more of the Club’s dominance but that’s just going to happen. Heck of a fight here and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Club going after the Tag Team Titles in the near future.

We recap Toni Storm defending the Women’s Title against Deonna Purrazzo. They used to be friends but now Purrazzo wants the old Storm back. Plus the title.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Storm is defending and has Mariah May, who dresses as old school Storm, plus Luther, with her. Feeling out process to start with Purrazzo going technical to take over. Storm is back up to fight over a hammerlock until Purrazzo takes her down into a headscissors. Purrazzo can’t get the Fujiwara armbar so she goes for it again, only to be taken into the corner for some shots to the face.

Storm kicks her low to take over and then stomps the chest, setting up a bit of dancing. Purrazzo gets up and slugs away, setting up the clothesline comeback. Storm rolls out of the armbar so Purrazzo kicks her in the face for another knockdown. A missed charge in the corner sets up Storm’s hip attack and a DDT gives Storm two.

Storm grabs an ankle lock but Purrazzo gets out and kicks her to the floor, where Luther makes a catch. Purrazzo hits a dive onto both of them and the Fujiwara armbar goes on back inside. Storm taps but Luther has the referee, allowing May to offer her own distraction. That’s enough for Storm to grab the piledriver to retain at 12:16.

Rating: C. This was ok, but they never hit that level that you might have expected on a pay per view title match. Neither of them have exactly hit a high point in the ring in recent matches, but this was miles better than Purrazzo’s disaster against Madison Rayne a few weeks ago. Storm still seems destined to face Mariah May, which is going to need to be built up a bit more before we get there.

We recap Konosuke Takeshita vs. Will Ospreay. This is Ospreay’s in-ring debut as a full time AEW star and they’re both in the Don Callis Family, though there is some tension.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Will Ospreay

Don Callis is on commentary. The fans are clearly amped for this and the OSPREAY chants are off to a fast start. The fight over a lockup goes to the ropes, where Ospreay slaps him in the face. Ospreay snaps off a running hurricanrana before it’s time to slug it out. A springboard clothesline drops Ospreay and a delayed superplex gives Takeshita two. Takeshita takes him down again but Ospreay comes back up with the hard chops.

Ospreay is back with a springboard elbow and then knocks Takeshita outside in a heap. Back in and Takeshita fires off his own strikes, setting up a running kick to the face to send Ospreay outside. There’s the big running flip dive to take Ospreay down again, followed by a NASTY bridging German suplex for two. A release version cuts Ospreay off but he’s back with a running Spanish Fly to put them both down. Ospreay knocks him down again and we need the referee to check on him for a second.

Back up and Takeshita hits a heck of a headbutt, which doesn’t knock Ospreay down. Another headbutt wakes Ospreay up and he’s back with the Kawada Kicks. Back up and neither can hit a powerbomb variation so Ospreay kicks him in the face a few times. The tiger driver gives Ospreay two but the Oscutter is knocked out of the air for two. Takeshita can’t get in Rolling Chaos Theory so Ospreay kicks him in the head again. There’s the Oscutter for two but the Hidden Blade is countered with a shot to the face for two of his own.

Takeshita puts him on top but Ospreay slips out and hits the Cheeky Nandos kick. The super hurricanrana is blocked and Takeshita hits an El Generico Brainbuster, with Ospreay’s back taking a terrifying landing. Takeshita takes down the knee pad but his running knee is blocked. The Stundog Millionaire and a poisonrana have Takeshita in trouble but he’s right back with a wheelbarrow piledriver.

Ospreay pops up with a Hidden Blade for one and they’re both down again. Back up and Takeshita’s running knee is countered into a Styles Clash for two and they’re both down again. Ospreay is back up with a tiger driver 91, setting up the Hidden Blade for the pin at 21:48.

Rating: A-. This is the definition of “if you like this style, you’ll love this” and there is nothing wrong with that. It was a great spectacle with one cool looking move after another and if you can ignore some no selling issues, it was a blast. I had a good time with it and it’s a great debut for Ospreay, though some of those spots had me cringing in a less than good way.

Post match Kyle Fletcher comes out to celebrate with Ospreay.

We recap the AEW World Title match. Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland are still in their blood feud but Samoa Joe, the reigning champion, is still involved in the whole thing and promises violence.

AEW World Title: Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page

Joe is defending. They circle each other to start until Page is knocked into the corner, with Joe getting to step away from Swerve’s middle rope elbow. Swerve is sent outside for the suicide elbow, with Joe kicking Page in the head for daring to try a dive. Joe gets knocked down on the floor though and Swerve is back in to stomp away on Page. Swerve goes outside to drop Joe again, setting up a springboard dropkick to Page for another near fall.

Page is back up with a belly to belly for two of his own with Joe making the save this time. Back in and Joe powerbombs Page into the STF into the crossface so Swerve makes a save of his own. Joe and Swerve go up top with the former hitting a headbutt out to the floor. Swerve is right back in though and a double powerbomb plants Joe for a triple breather. Page and Swerve slug it out until Page middle rope moonsaults into a tombstone for two on Swerve.

Joe gets dropped again and Swerve suplexes Page for two with Joe being right there for a save. Back up and Joe gets to strike away, setting up the MuscleBuster for Page. Swerve Stomps Joe though and everyone is down. There’s the House Call to Joe and another to Page but the delay lets Joe break up the cover. With Page on the floor, Swerve hits a 450 to Joe’s back for no cover. Swerve knocks Joe down again for two but Page pulls the referee. A belt shot hits Swerve in the head and Page yells at him a lot, followed by a pair of Buckshot Lariats.

Here’s another referee to count the two but another Buckshot is pulled into the Koquina Clutch. Swerve breaks that up with a Sky Twister Press and grabs a foreign object, only to throw it down instead. Joe grabs the Clutch on Swerve but Page takes out another referee. Back up and Joe runs Page over but he’s back up with a Buckshot Lariat. Swerve hits Page with a Buckshot of his own into the JML Driver but Joe suplexes Swerve down. The Clutch finishes Page to retain the title at 19:40.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but it got a lot better by the ending. They did have a setup where all three could have pulled it off, though Joe winning does make the most sense….I think. Swerve is going to be champion one day but winning in a three way doesn’t quite feel great. For now, it’s a good title match that was in a rough spot after Takeshita vs. Ospreay.

Post match commentary suggests that Page gave up to cost Swerve the chance of winning. That’s….certainly a way to go.

AEW Dynasty is in St. Louis on April 21.

We recap Sting and Darby Allin defending the Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks. It’s Sting’s retirement match and the Bucks have gotten violent. Oh and Ric Flair is here too because of course he is.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Darby Allin/Sting

Allin and Sting are defending, it’s a tornado match, Ric Flair is here and Ricky Steamboat is here as a guest time keeper. With everyone else here, we get an amazing entrance, with Sting sitting in a theater and watching a highlight reel of his career. Sting says it’s showtime for the last time. We get some old era Sting’s on the stage (apparently played by Sting’s kids) and Seek & Destroy is back for one last time.

Allin starts fast against the Bucks with all three Sting’s getting in a Stinger Splash. A double Scorpion Deathlock has the Bucks in trouble but they slip out and head to the floor. Some tables are set up at ringside and Nick is slammed off the barricade. There’s a backdrop to put Matt down as well, leaving Allin to Coffin Drop off the top onto both of them. Sting whips out a pane of glass (JR: “You think we might be taking things a bit too far?”) but Sting misses a baseball bat shot and shatters it.

They go up to the stage with Matt having to break up a Scorpion Death Drop. Instead Matt suplexes him through a pair of tables and Sting appears to be mostly done. The Bucks take Nick back to the ring and toss him into a ladder in the corner. Allin fights back and loads up some chairs with glass on top on the floor before climbing up the ladder and flip diving through the glass and chairs onto the floor. Sting is back in as the medics check on Allin’s very bloody back.

The comeback is on and Matt is put on the table, with Sting going up the ladder (oh geez), only to be sent through a table. Sting pops up but gets knocked down through the glass again for two. The Bucks go to grab more weapons but Steamboat makes an attempted save. That’s broken up so Flair gets in the ring to protect Sting. A superkick drops Flair and Steamboat is taken out as well, setting up a belt shot to Sting for two.

The Bucks superkick Sting again (“WE HATE YOU!”) but he pops up and hits the Death Drop for two on Matt. The EVP Trigger gets two more and another….gets one. Sting laughs at them and Allin is back up to break up the Meltzer Driver. The Scorpion Death Drop gets two on Matt and the still bleeding from the back Allin hits the Coffin Drop. Sting puts on the Deathlock to retain at 20:56.

Rating: B. I have no idea how to rate something like this as it’s barely a wrestling match and is all one big ridiculous sendoff for Sting. I could have gone for not having the glass nonsense or Allin attempting his latest dumb idea, but I’ve been a Sting fan for more than thirty years and my goodness did he get a respectful sendoff. That’s all this was supposed to be and they didn’t do anything ridiculous with the result so we’ll call it a positive.

Post match Allin says we have three minutes left so let’s show some love for Sting. After soaking in some cheers, Sting thanks the fans for being there with him since the 80s and that he hoped he gave them a night to remember. Sting thanks Allin as the greatest partner he ever had and wonders how many stitches Allin needs. Sting talks about being a risk taker but hang on because he’s getting cues….and we’re done because the show went long. As usual, AEW can never time anything right, but at least we got the gist of it.

Overall Rating: A-. This is a show where the good was excellent and the worst was still fine. There is a one-two punch of the Ospreay vs. Takeshita match and FTR vs. the Club, plus the big emotional moment for Sting (that video is top notch). I’m not sure if it’s the best thing AEW has ever done but it was back to form after some weaker entries at the end of last year. Great stuff here, and check out most of it (with the fast forward ready for that scramble).

Results
Bang Bang Scissor Gang b. Willie Mack/Private Party/Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh – Blade Runner to Mack
Kris Statlander/Willow Nightingale b. Skye Blue/Julia Hart – Babe With The Powerbomb to Blue
Christian Cage b. Daniel Garcia – Killswitch
Eddie Kingston b. Bryan Danielson – Powerbomb
Wardlow won the All Star Scramble – Powerbomb to Martin
Roderick Strong b. Orange Cassidy – End Of Heartache
Blackpool Combat Club b. FTR – Rear naked choke to Harwood
Toni Storm b. Deonna Purrazzo – Piledriver
Will Ospreay b. Konosuke Takeshita – Hidden Blade
Samoa Joe b. Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland – Koquina Clutch to Page
Sting/Darby Allin b. Young Bucks – Scorpion Deathlock to Matt

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Rampage
Date: February 16, 2024
Location: H-E-B Center, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

The long road to Revolution continues as things are really starting to come together. At the same time, there are several matches that still need to be set up. While there isn’t much likely to be added to the card on this show, we are in for a twelve man tag, which should be quite the visual. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jeff Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara

No DQ and Matt Hardy is here with Jeff. They trade slaps to start and then slug it out with Jeff dropping him. It’s already time for a ladder but Guevara knocks it into Jeff, sending him into the announcers’ table. Jeff sends him into the barricade and hits a clothesline off the apron, only to have Guevara fight back up onto the apron. A middle rope knee to the face drops Jeff and they fight onto the floor again, with Jeff hitting Poetry In Motion against the barricade.

Back in and the ladder is set up and they both climb for no logical reason. They slug it out until Jeff grabs a super Twist of Fate for two and we take a break. Back with Jeff putting Guevara on a table at ringside and climbing a big ladder on the floor. They get back inside with Guevara wrapping a chair around Jeff’s head and hitting a middle rope cutter for two of his own.

Guevara puts him on the table at ringside and there’s the huge Swanton off the bigger ladder through Jeff through the table. Back in and a shooting star press hits raised knees, though Guevara’s knee slams into Jeff’s face for a scary landing. The GTH finishes for Guevara at 12:33.

Rating: C+. Other than the names involved, was there any reason for this to be a No DQ match? They used a bunch of weapons and Guevara’s big spot with the Swanton looked good but there is only so much to be gotten from a match with this much violence and so many weapons without a reason. It had its moments, but I could go for more than a match for the sake of someone saying “wouldn’t it be cool if we did this”.

Post match Powerhouse Hobbs comes in to wreck Guevara.

Brian Cage is ready for next week’s six man tag because he gets his hands on Hook.

Private Party wants the Tag Team Titles and have an enforcer/bouncer named Cheesecake.

The Blackpool Combat Club thinks FTR is stupid and Jon Moxley is ready to choke them. Claudio Castagnoli says when you’re great, people tell you, so they’ll see FTR next week.

The Outcasts interrupt Ruby Soho and say they forgive her. Soho knows Saraya was behind everything the whole time and walks off. Harley Cameron is ready to get Soho with her knife, but pulls out a spoon and hits Saraya in the chest with said spoon.

Dustin Rhodes/Von Erichs vs. Romero Crews/Hitt/Shimbashi

Rhodes uppercuts Hitt into the corner to start and it’s off to Ross for an armdrag into an armbar. Everything breaks down and Cross Rhodes hits Crews with the other two making the save. The Von Erich’s grab stereo Claws as Dustin hits the Final Reckoning for the pin on Crews at 1:49. Well that was to the point.

Toni Storm snaps over Deonna Purrazzo’s threats and ankle locks Mariah May to blow off some steam.

Video on Sting/Darby Allin vs. the Young Bucks.

Queen Aminata vs. Anna Jay

They shake hands to start and Aminata grabs a wristlock to work on the arm. A headlock takeover has Jay down but she sends Aminata into the corner for a Backstabber. We take a break and come back with Aminata fighting out of a chinlock so they can chop it out. Aminata snapmares her down into a running kick to the chest. Aminata’s running hip attack and running kick to the face in the corner get two but Jay grabs a quick Downward Spiral. The Queenslayer goes on but Aminata flips out and hits a headbutt for the pin at 8:01.

Rating: C. Say it with me: there is only so much you can get out of a match with eight minutes in the ring and a commercial eating up about half. The important thing here is that Aminata got a win over someone who matters. AEW has been trying to push her as someone who matters but that is only going to work if she wins some matches. This might not be a huge win but it’s certainly a place to start.

Respect is shown post match.

Willow Nightingale isn’t happy with Stokely Hathaway cheating to help her win but Kris Statlander plays peacemaker.

Angelo Parker gives Ruby Soho a Valentine’s Day present and talks about everything they’ve been through lately. They’ll have a date next Wednesday.

Bang Bang Scissor Gang vs. Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett/Satnam Singh/Dark Order

Lethal and White start things off by fighting over a lockup. An exchange of headlocked doesn’t go anywhere so Uno comes in and gets chopped. Colten comes in for a Stinger Splash into a dropkick, setting up Scissor Me Timbers. Everything breaks down and the villains are cleared out as we take a break.

Back with Austin in trouble in the corner and Jarrett hitting a running crotch attack against the ropes. Singh throws Austin into the corner but a missed clothesline allows the tag off to Billy to clean house. Everything breaks down and Singh is knocked outside. We hit the parade of secondary finishers until the 3:10 To Yuma finishes Reynolds at 10:47.

Rating: C. This was a spectacle rather than an important match and there is nothing wrong with something like that. The Bang Bang Scissor Gang is certainly an idea but they are going to have to do something at some point. I still think/hope it winds up with the two sets of titles being merged, though we might be waiting a bit before we get to that point. Like Double Or Nothing say.

Overall Rating: C. And now we’re back to Rampage being little more than an extra hour of AEW content with little going on. The big story here was Soho and Parker agreeing to go on a date next week. The matches were good enough and there was nothing bad, making this a show that was more about having an easy week. If you’re not looking for much of anything that matters but is completely watchable, have fun with this one.

Results
Sammy Guevara b. Jeff Hardy – GTH
Dustin Rhodes/Von Erichs b. Romero Crews/Hitt/Shimbashi – Final Reckoning to Crews
Queen Aminata b. Anna Jay – Headbutt
Bang Bang Scissor Gang b. Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett/Satnam Singh/Dark Order – 3:10 To Yuma to Reynolds

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Rampage
Date: February 2, 2024
Location: UNO Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re about a month away from Revolution and the card started to get bigger over the last few days. This week has its own issues though, as we have a mini invasion from CMLL. The four visitors will be facing a group of AEW stars tonight on their way to a showdown with the Blackpool Combat Club next week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Top Flight vs. Private Party

Rematch from last month where Private Party cheated to win and Action Andretti is here with Top Flight. Dante and Quen start things off with Dante taking over and handing it off to Darius. A double leg trip and stereo kicks to the chest set up an assisted DDT for two on Quen. The front facelock keeps Quen in trouble but he dropkicks his way to freedom and brings Zay in.

Zay cleans house and steals a crown from a fan as he takes over on Darius. Andretti tries to come in but gets held back as we take a break. Back with Darius hitting an enziguri and diving over for the tag to Dante so the pace can pick up. Zay fights his way back in though and it’s the Silly String into a shooting star press for two on Dante. Darius cuts Zay off though and Dante’s spinning half nelson slam finishes Quen at 9:53.

Rating: B-. You pretty much know what you’re getting with these teams and that was on display here. They flew around, did their dives and double teaming and then Top Flight won to even the series. Odds are we’ll see a third match here and the winners will move up in the title rankings, but it won’t matter unless one of them is a pretty clear winner.

Sammy Guevara is back and ready to take care of his family, which means he’s coming for Powerhouse Hobbs.

Jeff Jarrett and company are annoyed at Jay Lethal for being late for a workout. Lethal comes in and says he’s ready to go but no one else wants to get in the ring, so Jeff Jarrett says he’s running the meeting next week.

Ricky Starks/Big Bill vs. Dark Order

Non-title and Darby Allin is on commentary. The Dark Order go right after the champs to start and the fans do not like bad things happening to Starks, the hometown boy. A poewrbomb onto raised knees gets two on Starks but Silver gets taken into the wrong corner. That’s broken up and it’s Reynolds coming in to clean house. Bill gets sent outside for some dives but is fine enough to hit a Boss Man Slam back inside. Starks comes back in and gets to clean some house, including the dancing Old School. Roshambo finishes Silver at 5:41.

Rating: C. This was nothing more than a way to get Starks in the ring in front of his hometown crowd for a nice win. It did exactly that and they didn’t waste time in getting there. I’m glad the champs didn’t have much trouble against a team like the Dark Order, who have been presented fairly strongly in the past despite not winning much of anything.

Don Callis and Powerhouse Hobbs don’t think much of Sammy Guevara and promise to take him out like they did to Chris Jericho.

Willow Nightingale vs. Queen Aminata

Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway, the latter reluctantly holding a pro-Willow sign, are here with Nightingale. They fight over a wristlock to start until Nightingale runs her over with a shoulder. Some clotheslines put Aminata down again and a middle rope dropkick sends her outside. The backsplash off the apron misses though and Aminata points at her own head as we take a break. Back with Aminata hitting a running hip attack in the corner for two. Nightingale shrugs it off and hits the Babe With The Powerbomb for the pin at 7:57.

Rating: C. The more I think about Aminata, the less interested I am. She’s been around for several matches in recent weeks, with commentary pointing out how active she has been. The problem with that is we still don’t know much about her. She’s some kind of royalty and she’s from Africa. I’m going to need more than that to go on and she hasn’t shown it yet.

Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends know that the Undisputed Kingdom are about to interrupt them so here is the Undisputed Kingdom to interrupt. A six man is set for next week on Rampage.

The Outcasts interrupt Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway and a match is made for next week.

Matt Menard/Angelo Parker/Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal vs. Volador Jr./Mistico/Mascara Dorada/Hechicero

Dorada and Sydal start things off with Sydal snapping off a running hurricanrana. That doesn’t get him very far so it’s off to Volador to take over on Menard. Mistico and Daniels come in with the former hitting a handspring elbow into a crossbody for two. Daniels bails to the floor for a breather before being taken into the wrong corner back inside.

Dorada’s running shooting star press gets two with Sydal making the save. Back up and Dorada chops away at Daniels in the corner but Menard and Parker come in to clean house. Sydal’s standing moonsault gets two on Dorada and we hit the bow and arrow as we take a break. We come back with Dorada hurricanranaing/kicking his way out of freedom to bring in Hechicero.

The sleeper doesn’t work so well so Hechicero settles for a top rope clothesline. Everything breaks down and Daniels’ Koji Clutch is broken up. Mistico sends Menard and Parker to the floor so Volador can hit a dive. Dorada does the same, leaving Hechicero to roll Daniels up for the pin at 11:28.

Rating: B-. If you call this what it was, which was just a showcase for the luchadors, it went well. It’s certainly not a must see match but the four guys got in there and did their thing well enough. It’s not like they beat anyone of value so this was a perfectly serviceable match. I’m not really expecting the CMLL guys to be the next big thing here, but it was a fine choice to headline the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a “what do you want me to say” show as they had some good enough matches, the main event felt like something more than the rest of the card and some things were set up for next week. As is the case with Rampage, it’s nothing you need to go out of your way to see but it’s a good background noise show. Not a classic, but as usual, it’s hard to get that annoyed at an hour of decent wrestling.

Results
Top Flight b. Private Party – Spinning half nelson slam to Quen
Big Bill/Ricky Starks b. Dark Order – Roshambo to Silver
Willow Nightingale b. Queen Aminata – Babe With The Powerbomb
Volador Jr./Mistico/Mascara Dorada/Hechicero b. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker/Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal – Rollup to Daniels

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Rampage
Date: January 19, 2024
Location: North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, South Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Ian Riccaboni, Don Callis

There is some star power around this week as we have both Chris Jericho vs. Matt Sydal and Jeff Hardy vs. Darby Allin. The latter could be quite the showcase if both of them are capable of moving, while Jericho can face a talented opponent. I’m sure there will be some other stuff as well so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Chris Jericho vs. Matt Sydal

The fans seem to be behind Jericho as he grabs a headlock to start. A hurricanrana takes Jericho down and a running clothesline puts him on the floor. Back in and Jericho runs Sydal over and chops away in the corner, setting up the Walls. The rope is grabbed so Jericho hits the triangle dropkick to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Sydal kicking away, including kicking Jericho out of the air. A standing moonsault gives Sydal two as Callis is screaming for Sydal to finish Jericho. Sydal dives into a Codebreaker (albeit not a great one) and Jericho hits an FU. The Lionsault lands on raised knees though and Sydal hits an Air Raid Crash for two of his own. Sydal hammers away in the corner but Jericho does the same, setting up the Judas Effect for the pin at 10:37.

Rating: B-. Perfectly watchable match here and it worked out well. At the very least, Jericho didn’t get booed out of the building so AEW might be able to call it a win right off the bat. Sydal is someone who isn’t going to be a breakout star but he is able to be put in the ring with just about anyone. That made him a good choice to face Jericho here and it worked pretty well.

Post match Konosuke Takeshita comes out to go after Jericho. Christopher Daniels tries to help break it up and gets decked by Takeshita.

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Anthony Henry

Penta hits him in the face to start and grabs a spinning Death Valley Driver for an early two. Made In Japan is broken up and Henry kicks him down for two of his own. They trade kicks to the legs with Henry getting the better of things. Penta suplexes him into the corner though and the Fear Factor finishes for Penta at 3:52.

Rating: C. This didn’t have much time to go anywhere but it was still a nice win for Penta. That being said, I’m not sure why Penta needed a singles win as he’s mainly been in tag matches in recent months. At least they didn’t stay on it too long though, as this wasn’t exactly an interesting match in the first place.

Saraya and Ruby Soho are arguing when Harley Cameron comes in. Soho chokes her up against the wall and asks WHY HIM, with Cameron blaming Anna Jay for the idea. Soho is off to find Jay as Renee Paquette glares at Saraya.

Kris Statlander vs. Queen Aminata

Stokely Hathaway is here with Statlander (she doesn’t seem thrilled), who grabs a headlock to start. They trade legsweeps and rollups for two each until Statlander hits a running shoulder. Aminata grabs a snapmare into a kick to the back before a missed charge puts Statlander on the floor. Aminata hits a big dive to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Aminata’s hip attack and a kick to the head getting two. Aminata grabs a crossface but Statlander powers out. A discus lariat gives Statlander two of her own but a running knee misses in the corner. Aminata blasts her with a running knee against the ropes, only to have Statlander snap off a powerslam. A spinning fisherman’s driver finishes Aminata at 8:48.

Rating: C+. Aminata is getting into the Skye Blue territory of “ok, who else do you have”, as she’s popping up on multiple shows recently. She seems pretty good in the ring, but AEW has a tendency to run people into the ground at times. I’d hope they don’t do that here as she’s still new and over exposing her isn’t a good idea.

Post match Statlander does not seem pleased with Hathaway celebrating with him.

Jay Lethal is annoyed that Jeff Jarrett isn’t here for their talk. Lethal is glad in a way because he can get back to strong wrestling. Sonjay Dutt agrees: it’s time to get rid of Karen Jarrett. Lethal storms off, saying he might want singles gold.

Stokely Hathaway interrupts a Kris Statlander interview when Willow Nightingale comes in. Her travel arrangements were canceled and she seems to blame Hathaway. Statlander says they’ll figure this out and leaves, with Nightingale not being pleased with Statlander not shutting Hathaway down.

Darby Allin vs. Jeff Hardy

This is under relaxed rules. Allin starts fast and sends him outside for the big flip dive and a near fall inside. Hardy takes him to the floor this time and sends Allin over the announcers’ table before a double knockdown gives us a breather. Hardy misses Poetry In Motion from the steps to the barricade but Allin misses a dive and crashes onto the ramp.

We take a break and come back with Hardy hitting a sitout gordbuster. He puts Allin on the top, where a rake to the back and a super Code Red plants Hardy for two. They go up top again but this time Hardy hits a hanging neckbreaker onto the apron. It’s time for a table on the floor but Hardy misses the Swanton through said table. Back in and the Coffin Drop hits Hardy’s raised knees, only to have Allin grab a rollup for the pin at 13:45.

Rating: C+. Well, they certainly didn’t waste time here, but my goodness it’s hard to watch these two beating the fire out of each other like this knowing how banged up they both are. Then again, the two of them seem to be perfectly fine with breaking every bone they can so it’s not like they’re going to be stopped. Hardy on his own still feels like something of a star so having him put over someone like Allin over is a good move. But could they maybe, not try to kill themselves in the process?

Overall Rating: C+. This a slightly different version of Rampage as it had some bigger names, but it still felt like a show that was little more than some AEW stars having matches. You had some minor advancements from some stories but it’s definitely not a show that needs to be there. If you watch it you won’t be bored, though it’s completely skippable. Rampage could use its own identity and that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon.

Results
Chris Jericho b. Matt Sydal – Judas Effect
Penta El Zero Miedo b. Anthony Henry – Fear Factor
Kris Statlander b. Queen Aminata – Spinning fisherman’s driver
Darby Allin b. Jeff Hardy – Rollup

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Battle Of The Belts IX
Date: January 13, 2024
Location: Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

We’re back with another quarterly special, but this time around things are a bit different. This edition features a match that has been built up over a few weeks rather than just in the last few days. That alone makes things more interesting and now we could be in for a more entertaining show. Let’s get to it.

Tag Team Titles: Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara vs. Ricky Starks/Big Bill

Starks and Bill are defending in a street fight. We’re joined in progress as they’re fighting in the parking lot with Jericho and Bill taking over before going after each other for a change. Bill gets the better of things and Starks is back up, with Jericho being thrown near a tree. Cue Sammy Guevara on a golf cart (because that’s a thing that happened years ago) to run the champs over for two.

Bill is back up with a backpack full of bricks to Guevara but Jericho suplexes him onto a car. That would be the car of Ring Of Honor’s Rhett Titus, who yells at Jericho and gets the Judas Effect for his complaints. They go inside, where Starks puts a plunger in Jericho’s face. Jericho is back up by putting Starks’ face into a copy machine as the other two brawl down the hall. Bill escapes a choke and hammers Guevara down as we take a break.

Back with Bill choking with a table cloth until Guevara manages a blast with a fire extinguisher. They find the food table for the required mustard shot and then finally go into the arena. Jericho loads up the announcers’ table but here is Konosuke Takeshita to kendo stick Jericho in the head. Bill powerbombs Jericho through the table to leave them both laying. Starks and Guevara fight near the stage, with Guevara putting him down and climbing the lighting structure. The big flip dive…misses as Powerhouse Hobbs comes in to pull Starks away. Starks gets the pin to retain at 18:39.

Rating: B-. The match was a wild brawl and I’m sure there was no hidden reason to keep Jericho in the back and away from the live crowd for that long. They did a nice job with making this feel like a fight instead of a match, but egads the idea of more Jericho vs. Don Callis makes my head hurt. At the same time, AEW gets major points here for having a Battle of the Belts match that has been built up for weeks. That has been one of the major issues with these shows and they did something about it here, so very well done on that front.

Video on Serena Deeb, who wants gold.

TBS Title: Anna Jay vs. Julia Hart

Hart is defending and takes her down to start, with Jay’s head being slammed onto the mat. Jay gets caught in the corner for some more shots, only to be tossed outside where her banged up shoulder is even more banged up. We take a break and come back with Jay twisting Hart’s arm down and kicking her in the ribs for two. Hart gets in a quick STO for two but she has to fight out of the Queenslayer. Another Queenslayer has Jay in trouble for a change but Jay slips out as well. A quick trip takes Jay again though and it’s Hartless to retain the title at 9:00.

Rating: C. I’m not saying they should have changed the title here (as they shouldn’t have), but at some point Jay needs to actually win something. Like so many other people on the AEW roster, it feels like she gets some momentum going and then falls right back down without ever actually getting some kind of an accomplishment. That was the case again here, as she got a little bit of a build and then it comes crashing down one more time. That’s only going to be possible so many times, but I’m not sure what exactly she could win.

Jeff Jarrett and company argued again, with Satnam Singh coming in not making it better.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Preston Vance

Cassidy is defending but here is the Undisputed Kingdom to watch. Vance hits his discus lariat to start and Cassidy is knocked outside. Back in and Cassidy hits the Orange Punch but can’t get the Beach Break. Vance can’t get the full nelson so Cassidy tries a rollup, which is reversed into a wheelbarrow German suplex. A kick to the face sends Cassidy outside and a delayed vertical suplex gives Vance two back inside.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy dropkicking him to the floor, setting up the suicide dive. Back in and the tornado DDT is countered into a spinebuster, with the Undisputed Kingdom certainly approving. Cassidy fires off the lazy slaps before taking him down in the corner for some more aggressive stomping.

The Stundog Millionaire and tornado DDT give Cassidy two and Vance is sent outside. He pulls Cassidy’s dive out of the air and all away slams Cassidy into the Undisputed Kingdom for a crash. Back in and Vance grabs the full nelson but Cassidy slips out and hits the Orange Punch. The Beach Break retains the title at 11:45.

Rating: B-. The fast start was nice here as they made me forget that I was supposed to be invested in a Preston Vance title shot. At the same time, Cassidy seems to have a big title showdown on the horizon and that is the best thing that could happen for him at the moment. The match was the usual Cassidy stuff, but Vance was at least trying rather hard here and it helped a lot.

Post match the Undisputed Kingdom gets in the ring so Roderick Strong can say Cassidy’s clock is ticking. Cassidy holds up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. It’s kind of amazing how much just having a title match built up helped this show. It made things feel important after so many instances of this series feeling thrown together. This still isn’t a show you need to run out of your way to see, but it had three good to good enough matches and is out of the way in an hour. Not bad at all here, with the extra effort helping a lot.

Results
Ricky Starks/Big Bill b. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara – Pin after Guevara misses a splash
Julia Hart b. Anna Jay – Hartless
Orange Cassidy b. Preston Vance – Beach Break

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Rampage
Date: November 10, 2023
Location: Oakland Arena, Oakland, California
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s the rather rare live Rampage as AEW is shaking up its schedule a bit. As usual though, the card is kind of all over the place, as we’re getting a rare non-Collision FTR match. Rampage can be so random that it is hard to guess what we’ll be getting and that can make for a fun night. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Ricky Starks vs. Preston Vance

This isn’t quite as interesting as I was expecting after the RUSH graphic came on the big screen. Big Bill joins commentary as they trade chops in the corner to start. Vance knocks him to the floor but Starks rams him into the barricade. That’s enough for Starks to jump in on commentary to praise himself before suplexing Vance on the ramp.

We take a break and come back with Starks’ apron legdrop getting two. Vance hits a middle rope shoulder into a spinebuster but Starks hits a springboard tornado DDT. A Samoan driver plants Starks but he counters the full nelson into a rollup for two. Vance gets up so Bill offers a distraction, setting up the spear to finish for Starks at 7:08.

Rating: C+. This continues the interesting multi-team feud that seems to be breaking out on Collision. The good thing about a feud like that is it opens up a variety of options for matches as AEW can run all kinds of singles and tags out of there. Starks getting a win is good as well and it’s not like Vance has anything to lose.

Post match the beatdown is on but La Faccion Ingobernable makes the save.

Chris Jericho is ready to face Konosuke Takeshita in Japan and thinks Takeshita needs to be ready for one of the best wrestlers in the world. Revenge is promised.

Don Callis, with Prince Nana, is asked about who will be the fourth member of the Don Callis Family in the upcoming street fight. That would apparently be Brian Cage, who is being rented from the Mogul Embassy. Geez Sammy Guevara is still not cleared from his concussion? That’s not a good sign.

Jeff Jarrett and company are ready to see Jay Lethal win the Ring Of Honor World Title whenever he gets his title shot. Ortiz comes in to say he wants them to say what they’ve been saying from his face. Ortiz knows he’s going down, so he’s going down swinging. The fight is on and off rather quickly.

Ruby Soho vs. Red Velvet

Soho is doing this on her own, with Saraya happily heading to the back. Velvet throws her down to start and hits a leg lariat to drop Soho again. Velvet sends Soho into the corner but gets sent into the same corner for her efforts. Soho gets in a shot of her own and we take a break.

Back with Velvet making the clothesline comeback and hitting a standing moonsault for two. Some basement superkicks put Velvet right back down for two and a pair of Saito suplexes knock Velvet silly. Hold on though as someone delivers Soho flowers, allowing Velvet to strike away. A spinning kick to the head gives Velvet the big upset at 9:02.

Rating: C+. Velvet is doing a bit better than she was before the injury though it’s almost hard to fathom her beating Soho. It wasn’t a clean win but the result itself is quite the surprise. I’m curious to see where the secret admirer (assuming that’s what it is) idea goes as that could have quite the variety of options. Now just don’t screw it up.

We look back at the end of Dynamite with the masked men attacking Billy Gunn and the Acclaimed, much to MJF’s chagrin.

Kingdom vs. ???/???

Roderick Strong is here with the Kingdom and dedicates the match to his best friend Adam Cole. The Kingdom jumps them to start and finishes with the Neck Check at 50 seconds.

Post match Strong gets out of the wheelchair for a Backstabber and then gets back in for the ride up the ramp.

Daniel Garcia and pals challenges Andrade El Idolo for Collision. Ruby Soho, with flowers and Saraya, come in so the latter can accuse Angelo Parker of sending them. Storming off ensues.

The Kingdom and Roderick Strong are interrupted by Action Andretti and Darius Martin. A match is teased for some point in the future.

El Hijo del Vikingo/Komander vs. FTR

Harwood and Komander start things off with Komander grabbing a rollup for a fast two. That’s broken up so it’s off to Wheeler vs. Vikingo for a change. Vikingo kicks him into the corner and Wheeler is sent outside, setting up a suicide dive…which goes straight into the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Vikingo hitting a dive off the top to drop Wheeler on the floor again. Komander hits a high crossbody on Harwood and Vikingo’s missile dropkick gets two. Harwood catches Vikingo on top with a superplex but Komander breaks up the….I guess Power as it’s part of the PowerPlex.

Wheeler catches Komander in a Gory Bomb and Harwood Tombstones Vikingo for two. Back to back slingshot powerbomb attempts are countered into hurricanranas for two on Harwood but the third attempt connects. Komander takes both of them down in the corner but walks into the Shatter Machine for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: B. Every time I start to get a little over FTR, they come up with something like this match. This was a completely different kind of match from them and it worked very well for a heck of a main event. The idea of FTR not being able to keep up with the luchadors and having all of them usual stuff getting countered was a cool way to go and I had a good time here. Heck of a match and a nice twist off of the usual.

Respect is shown….and the House of Black pops up on the screen for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event was by far the best part of the show but the rest was good enough. I can go with having a randomly awesome main event to go with a few stories getting advanced, though it’s hard to believe that will continue. For now though, pretty nice Rampage and having more FTR around is a good thing.

Results
Ricky Starks b. Preston Vance – Spear
Red Velvet b. Ruby Soho – Spinning kick to the head
Kingdom b. ???/??? – Neck Check
FTR b. Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo – Shatter Machine to Komander

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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Rampage
Date: October 13, 2023
Location: Cable Dahmer Arena, Independence, Missouri
Commentators: Paul Wight, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re back to the normal schedule after a pretty stacked Dynamite and this time we’re on the way to Full Gear. The show still has a little over a month to go and that means there is a lot of time to get things set up for next month. We aren’t likely to get much about that this week but maybe the matches will be good. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Hardys/Brother Zay vs. Daniel Garcia/Matt Menard/Angelo Parker

Jake Hager is here with the latter and Zay works on Garcia’s wrist to start. We pause for Garcia to dance, allowing Zay to snap off an armdrag. Matt Hardy comes in with a middle rope elbow to the back before Jeff drops a middle rope splash for two. It’s back to Zay, who gets taken into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs.

Parker’s elbow to the back gives Garcia two but Zay slips away and makes the diving tag. Matt Hardy gets to come in and clean house again, including a sitout powerbomb out of the corner for two on Parker. Garcia loads up the dance again but this time Menard tags himself in to stay on offense. Everything breaks down and the villains need a breather on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Matt Hardy hitting a clothesline on Menard and bringing Jeff in to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and Zay dropkicks Garcia, who is right back up with a belly to back suplex. The Hardys take over on Parker and Zay adds a splash in the corner. The Twist of Fate looks to set up the Swanton but Hager crotches Jeff down. Zay is right back with a step up dive onto Menard and Hager, only to have Garcia knock Zay down back inside. Garcia gets to do his dance and an elevated gutbuster finishes Zay at 9:36.

Rating: C+. I was a bit surprised by the result but it’s the right call. The Hardys don’t win anything important and Garcia’s dance is one of the most popular things in AEW at the moment. Give the former Society a win as they try to find a new boss, as they could be valuable lackeys to someone else if that’s the direction they take.

Post match the winners argue over Garcia’s dancing.

At Dynamite, Bullet Club Gold interrupted an interview with Penta El Zero Miedo and mock him and Rey Fenix for not having titles. Penta says Fenix won his title and calls Jay White a thief. Arguing ensues and Penta seems interested in the stolen AEW World Title belt.

Matt Menard doesn’t like Daniel Garcia’s dancing but Angelo Parker says they just won. Jake Hager doesn’t want to hear this arguing and says squash this. Menard says everyone needs to squash it and walks off.

Jay Lethal vs. Trent Beretta

All of Lethal’s cronies and Chuck Taylor are here too. Lethal chokes in the corner and calls out Eddie Kingston for the Ring Of Honor World Title. Trent fights up and gets in a few shots, only to be sent into the corner. Lethal can’t get a Figure Four but a standing hurricanrana can give Trent two. Back up and Trent’s running crossbody only hits ropes and he crashes to the floor in a nasty landing. Taylor grabs a chair to keep things as even as possible but Lethal is right there to post Trent.

Back with Trent hitting a slingshot dive and getting two off a backslide. Some rolling German suplexes put Lethal down and a half and half suplex gives Trent two. Lethal is right back with the Figure Four but Trent reverses into a small package for two. A superkick to the bad knee sets up the Lethal Injection to give Jay the clean pin at 10:16.

Rating: C+. So Lethal seems to be the next important challenger for the Ring Of Honor World Title, which is better than nothing as he at least has a history with the title, though it would be nice to not have that on an AEW show. Trent is a good opponent for Lethal as he can make most people look better, and it’s nice to see Lethal used on his own a bit more.

Ortiz talks about Mike Santana believing in him when he didn’t believe in himself. Santana was just next to him though instead of being with him. Cue Santana to ask where Ortiz was when he was out. They ask where each other was the whole time. A challenge is issues and they talk a lot of trash to each other. Santana says it wasn’t karma that took out his knee, but carrying Ortiz.

Emi Sakura vs. Skye Blue

Sakura blocks a rollup to start and they trade chops until Blue misses a charge. Blue gets dumped out to the floor and a hard running crossbody crushes her against the steps. Back in and the surfboard has Blue in more trouble but she leans back for two and a break. Blue gets a boot up in the corner and a DDT gets two. Skyfall is broken up and Sakura hits a very delayed butterfly backbreaker for two of her own. Back up and Blue hits a superkick and grabs Code Blue for the pin at 4:26.

Rating: C. Blue’s presence continues to exist around here and while she’s better than she was before, she’s still not exactly a top level star. It would be nice to have her do something more than show up, do ok and win with the Code Blue. Sakura is still about the same as she always has been, in that she’s fine at what she does but isn’t likely to move up the ladder anytime soon.

We look back at Dynamite.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Video on the Gates of Agony vs. the Blackpool Combat Club.

Gates of Agony vs. Blackpool Combat Club

It’s Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta for the Club and Prince Nana is here with the Gates. Kaun and Yuta start things off with Kaun taking him down into a headlock. Back up and Kaun powers him into the corner but Yuta slams him down and drops a backsplash for two. Castagnoli comes in for a stomp to the ribs but it’s too early for the Swing. It’s back to Yuta, who is sent outside and nailed with another shot to the ribs.

A hard whip into the apron keeps Yuta in trouble and Kaun runs him over to make it even worse. We take a break and come back with Yuta snapping off a German suplex. The tag brings Castagnoli back in for the parade of uppercuts. The hard clotheslines in the corner have Toa in more trouble but the Neutralizer is blocked.

Toa blocks the Swing as well and Kaun is back in with a gutbuster to Castagnoli. That’s finally enough for Castagnoli, who swings Toa into Yuta’s dropkick but Kaun makes the save. Castagnoli chases the interfering Prince Nana to the back, leaving Yuta to get facebustered for two. The double standing clothesline and the double spinebuster gets two on Yuta but here is Castagnoli again. Yuta hits an Angle Slam on Kaun and the Fastball Special finishes him off at 12:15.

Rating: B-. Castagnoli leaving at the end had me wondering if they might go with the surprise result here but ultimately sanity prevailed. It’s hard to fathom the Gates actually winning an important match so they went with what made sense has as the Club wins. I’m sure they’ll be off to something bigger in the future and that’s what they should be doing sooner than later.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, the wrestling was completely fine but it feels like this show exists to fill in time until we can get back to Dynamite, where things actually happen. It feels like a comic book miniseries to fill in gaps that the main series doesn’t have time to talk about. The show is far from terrible and isn’t a nightmare at just an hour, but it feels like absolutely nothing of note would be lost if it was dropped. Completely watchable show, but don’t waste your time.

Results
Daniel Garcia/Matt Menard/Angelo Parker b. Hardys/Brother Zay – Elevated gutbuster to Zay
Jay Lethal b. Trent Beretta – Lethal Injection
Skye Blue b. Emi Sakura – Code Blue
Blackpool Combat Club b. Gates of Agony – Fastball Special to Kaun

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Rampage
Date: October 6, 2023
Location: Stockton Arena, Stockton, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re back to Friday and on the way to one heck of a Dynamite next week. There is a good chance that Dynamite will get some special attention this week and that could shake things up quite a bit. Other than that, we have a four way #1 contenders match for a Ring Of Honor World Title shot, because that kind of thing doesn’t happen on the Ring Of Honor show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Hardys/Best Friends vs. Jake Hager/Angelo Parker/Matt Menard/Daniel Garcia

Brother Zay and Anna Jay are here too. The Best Friends waste no time in beating up Parker before handing it off to Jeff. Garcia comes in as well and it’s time for….a dance off. Schiavone does not sound impressed but Menard gets in a cheap shot to take Jeff down as the villains take over. Jeff manages to fight out of trouble and bring Beretta in for some shots to Garcia’s face. Everything breaks down and the good guys clear the ring, only to be run over by Hager on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Matt Hardy getting to clean house but the Twist of Fate is broken up. The Hager Bomb gets two with Jeff making the save and we hit the parade of secondary finishers. Matt Hardy can’t hit the Twist of Fate on Garcia, who is sent into Jay by mistake. The Twist of Fate into the Swanton finishes Garcia at 11:27.

Rating: C+. The energy was there and the fans are always going to be into the Hardys and the Best Friends. That doesn’t make for a great match, but at least they started fast and had an entertaining enough match. At the same time, it’s kind of funny that the Jericho Appreciation Society is now just a Society without anyone to appreciate.

Eddie Kingston is ready for any opponent but Jeff Jarrett and company come in. Jay Lethal was so annoyed at Kingston calling him out that he isn’t here tonight. Sonjay Dutt calls Kingston out for disrespecting a former Ring Of Honor Champion. Kingston is more than willing to give Lethal a shot…if Lethal proves himself to be more than a clown these days. With Kingston gone, Stokely Hathaway comes in to offer Dutt a deal, which he seems to like.

Danhausen is returning soon. Makes sense for Halloween.

Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta vs. Levi Shapiro/Wise Guy Ruiz

Yuta stretches Shapiro’s abdominals to start before hitting something close to an Angle Slam. Castagnoli comes in and cranks on the neck, while also shrugging off a boot to the face from Ruiz. The Swing into a dropkick from Yuta knocks Shapiro silly and a Fastball Special (Rocket Launcher) finishes for Yuta at 2:42. Total squash.

The former Jericho Appreciation Society isn’t happy with Daniel Garcia, but they’re going to get Anna Jay to the doctor as a FAMILY.

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Lince Dorado vs. Johnny TV vs. Komander

For a Ring Of Honor World Title shot against Eddie Kingston, on commentary. Penta shoves Johnny into a superkick from Komander to start before Penta clears out Komander and Dorado. Johnny and Penta exchange armdrags and nipups but get dropkicked out to the floor. That leaves Komander and Dorado to flip around a bit, with Dorado landing on his feet. Eddie: “Oh like a cat. I get it.” Excalibur: “Lince Dorado does mean The Golden Lynx.” Eddie: “…..oh.”

Back in and Penta tags Johnny down again, setting up a dive to the floor. Johnny decks Penta from behind though and we take a break. Back with Johnny hitting a standing moonsault for an arroagant two on Dorado (Eddie: “That’s not a good pin.”) before powerslamming Komander. Dorado hurricanranas Komander into another hurricanrana to Johnny before sending Penta outside. A moonsault takes out Johnny and Penta on the floor, leaving Komander to hit his rope walk flip dive onto all three. Back in and Komander hits a 450 to pin Dorado at 10:51.

Rating: B-. Well what else were you expecting here? This was a situation of putting a bunch of high fliers together and letting them go nuts. What matters here is to have someone new coming after Kingston’s title, even if it shows that the matches on Ring Of Honor’s weekly show mean nothing as these four just get a #1 contenders match out of nowhere.

Ortiz is ready to hurt Santana and take out his other knee.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Kris Statlander/Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose/Marina Shafir

Statlander and Shida get jumped before the bell, with Statlander being knocked out to the floor. Shafir kicks away at Shida and we finally get the match officially started. Rose comes in and drops a leg or two on Shida as Statlander is still trying to get up. Shida punches her way back up and puts Shafir down to one knee, setting up a running elbow for two. Statlander gets knocked off the apron again and we take a break.

Back with Shida crossbodying her way out of trouble, allowing Shida to come in and clean house. Statlander can’t quite slam Rose though and the crash landing gets two. Rose runs Statlander over with a clothesline for two more but Shida dives onto both villains on the floor. The Falcon Arrow gets two on Shafir and Rose is loaded up into a Doomsday Device (with Shida jumping all of a foot and a half for the clothesline). The Katana hits Shafir but she hits Saraya’s Nightcap for the pin at 11:08.

Rating: C. Somehow that’s the main event, which was little more than a match to set up the women’s Title match on Dynamite. It’s not a bad match by any means, but it had three other people who had nothing to do with the title match. Saraya didn’t even make an appearance, making for a pretty flat finish to the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show did nothing to help the reputation that Rampage means very little. The show featured one match with storyline implications and that was for the Ring Of Honor World Title. Other than that we had an eight man tag that featured a dance off, a squash tag match, and a tag match designed to build towards another match down the line. As tends to be the case, there were some fun enough matches to keep me interested throughout an hour, but it’s not a show that you need tow watch in any way.

Results
Hardys/Best Friends b. Jake Hager/Angelo Parker/Matt Menard/Daniel Garcia – Swanton to Garcia
Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta b. Levi Shapiro/Wise Guy Ruiz – Fastball Special to Shapiro
Komander b. Lince Dorado, Penta El Zero Miedo and Johnny TV – 450 to Dorado
Hikaru Shida/Kris Statlander b. Nyla Rose/Marina Shafir – Nightcap to Shafir

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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Rampage
Date: September 29, 2023
Location: 1stBank Center, Broomfield, Colorado
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

It’s the last Rampage before WrestleDream and I’m not sure how much of a difference that is going to make. Rampage can be all over the place when it comes to importance, but there is a good chance that the wrestling itself will be pretty high quality. That should make for an easy show so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Trios Titles: Billy Gunn/Acclaimed vs. Hardys/Brother Zay

Gunn and the Acclaimed are defending in ANOTHER open challenge. Zay and Bowens stars things off with an exchange of armdrags until Zay grabs a headscissors (and thrusts his hips into the mat). Bowens is right back with a kick to the ribs into the running Fameasser for quite the crash. Zay manages to send Bowens to the floor so it’s off to Jeff to beat up Caster. Matt and Billy come in for a SUCK IT vs. DELETE off until Gunn is sent into the corner over and over.

It’s back to Jeff for the step up splash in the corner but everything breaks down. The champs clear out the Hardys and Scissor Me Timbers gets two on Zay. We take a break and come back with Caster hitting a dropkick on Zay, followed by a bit of a dance. Gunn comes back in to miss a Stinger Splash, leaving both he and Zay down. The double tag brings in Jeff and Bowens, with the former grabbing a rollup.

The Whisper In The Wind hits the Acclaimed and it’s the Twist of Fate into the Swanton to Gunn. A save is made and a bunch of charging shots in the corner put Matt down. The double tag brings in Bowens and Zay with Zay getting to kick people in the face. Zay hits a middle rope spinning Downward Spiral, followed by an Asai moonsault to Gunn. Back in and the assisted Iconoclasm finishes Zay to retain the titles at 10:36.

Rating: B-. These guys got going in the end and it turned into a rather high energy match. Gunn and the Acclaimed can move on to their title defense against a team from New Japan at WrestleDream while the Hardys can find another team to lose against in another title match. Zay stood out here a bit as well, as he got to show off some of his pretty impressive high flying. Good opener, even if it was another thrown out there title match.

Eddie Kingston is ready to defend the New Japan Strong Openweight Title against Rocky Romero tonight but Jeff Jarrett and company come in. Jay Lethal talks about how he can respect a double champ, but not when it means Kingston is the Ring Of Honor World Champion. That title means something and Kingston is unfit to hold the title. Kingston laughs and walks away.

On Saturday, Andrade El Idolo wants to know why Juice Robinson has a problems with him. See you Saturday at Collision.

New Japan Strong Openweight Title: Rocky Romero vs. Eddie Kingston

Kingston is defending. Feeling out process to start with Romero’s headlock not getting him very far. Romero’s shoulder doesn’t get him anywhere either but he manages to knock Kingston outside. That’s fine with Kingston, who hits a suplex on the floor as we take a break. Back with Kingston getting caught in the ropes so Romero can hit a middle rope dropkick for two. Kingston is right back with the rapid fire chops in the corner but Romero slugs his way out. That’s fine with Kingston, who hits a pair of spinning backfists into the Stretch Plum to retain at 8:58.

Rating: C+. As usual the match was fine, but it’s another instance of a random wrestler getting a title shot. Between this and the open challenges, there are so many out of nowhere title matches and it takes away some of the impact. As for the match itself, there’s only so much you can do with about nine minutes and a good chunk of it cut out of the middle. Completely fine action though and that’s better than some options they had.

Post match respect is shown but Katsuyori Shibata comes out for the staredown.

Aussie Open is sick of hearing about how great FTR is. They’ve spent the last year working to get here for one more match with them, because it’s time for FTR to feel pain.

Righteous vs. Gunnar/Caleb Crush

Dutch runs them over with a double clothesline to start and adds a swinging Boss Man Slam on Crush. Gunnar gets one of his own and Autumn Sunshine finishes Crush at 1:25.

Video on the history of Santana and Ortiz, who were a great team and then fell apart due to personal issues.

Video on Christian Cage vs. Darby Allin.

Nick Wayne won’t be at ringside for Allin vs. Cage but he wants to face Luchasaurus at Zero Hour. He even has a skateboard for the sake of a receipt.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Zack Sabre Jr. is ready to hurt Bryan Danielson and end his retirement tour a lot earlier than expected. He throws in a little Final Countdown (humming version) for a bonus.

Ruby Soho vs. Hikaru Shida

For a Women’s Title shot. Feeling out process to start with Shida taking her down. The right hands in the corner set up a spinning crossbody, followed by more right hands. There’s a middle rope dropkick to knock Soho down again and we take a break. Back with the exchange of forearms going to Shida before they go outside. The fight goes up the ramp before they both have to run back to the ring to beat the count.

Soho gets two off a Saito suplex and it’s time for the kendo stick. With that taken away, Soho tries the spray paint but the referee gets bumped while taking it away. Destination Unknown connects for no count so Shida sticks her in the head. The Katana connects and another referee runs down for two. Shida misses a top rope Meteora but blocks a top rope backsplash with raised knees. The Falcon Arrow gets two, followed by another Katana to give Shida the pin at 12:01.

Rating: B-. Shida vs. Soho is something that is going to work no matter what they’re doing and thankfully they didn’t do a bunch of nonsense with the referee down. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Shida get the title back as Saraya got her England win last month. At the same time, it would completely surprise me to see Soho win a match that matters, as it certainly hasn’t been her thing yet.

Saraya comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show’s problem continues to be that it is sandwiched between Dynamite and Collision, which doesn’t leave it with much purpose. You had two thrown out there title defenses, both of which will be followed by those same titles being on the line again two days later. That doesn’t make for a thrilling show, which leaves the wrestling to carry everything. As usual, that worked well, as long as you don’t expect a good bit of this show to be anything more than advertisements for later events.

Results
Billy Gunn/Acclaimed b. Hardys/Brother Zay – Assisted Iconoclasm to Zay
Eddie Kingston b. Rocky Romero – Stretch Plum
Righteous b. Gunnar/Caleb Crush – Autumn Sunshine to Crush
Hikaru Shida b. Ruby Soho – Katana

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: September 27, 2023
Location: 1stBank Center, Broomfield, Colorado
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

It’s the last Dynamite before WrestleDream and the card still needs some more focus. The card has been kind of thrown together so building up some of what is already there would be nice. In addition, we’ll probably get some fallout from Rey Fenix winning the International Title in an unplanned title switch last week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

International Title: Rey Fenix vs. Jeff Jarrett

Fenix, with Alex Abrahantes, is defending and the rest of Jarrett’s crew is here too. The fight is on outside to start with Penta hurricanranaing Jay Lethal into a low blow on Satnam Singh. Karen Jarrett’s interference doesn’t work as Fenix fires off some superkicks and we get the opening bell. Back in and Fenix’s back gives out as he tries a fireman’s carry, allowing Jeff to hit a DDT as we take a break.

Back with Fenix dropping Jeff for a double stomp, followed by a basement superkick to put him down again. A Sonjay Dutt distraction lets Jeff grab a small package for two, setting up the Stroke. Fenix gets a foot on the rope though, meaning Jeff tries the Figure Four, only to get small packaged to retain the title at 8:28.

Rating: B-. They kept this moving and gave Fenix a win to make him feel like more of a real champion. That being said, I’m not sure how many people are going to buy him as a long term champion in the slightest, which is probably because he was never meant to be champion in the first place. If we have to put up with Fenix every week though, I can think of worse ideas.

We look at Adam Cole injuring his ankle last week.

Adam Cole and MJF go boating near Long Island, and yes MJF has a captain’s hat on. MJF asks about Roderick Strong, and Cole worrying about him so much that he couldn’t accompany MJF to the ring. MJF goes to get Cole another beer but loads up the ring. Cole: “Max, you didn’t bring me out there to hit me in the head with the diamond ring and throw my body overboard did you?”

Cole talks about the need to have multiple friends. MJF says it’s not for him, but he gets what Cole means. MJF mentions throwing someone overboard in the past but before Cole can mention it, he has a bite. That bite happens to be from Captain Insano (Paul Wight) in a duck inter tube. They all drink together.

Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita were in Tokyo last week to look for Kota Ibushi.

Here are Callis and Takeshita for a chat. Callis brings out Sammy Guevara and we see more footage of Callis and Takeshita in Japan. They invaded Kota Ibushi’s gym and hit Ibushi in the head with a kettle bell. Back in the arena, Guevara rants about Chris Jericho clipping his wings over and over. Revenge is promised for WrestleDream.

Ricky Starks isn’t bothered by his loss to Bryan Danielson on Collision. Wheeler Yuta comes in and challenges him for WrestleDream.

Brian Cage vs. Nick Jackson vs. Claudio Castagnoli

The winner gets an International Title shot next week, and it’s not a good sign for the ROH Six Man Tag Team Titles when one of the new champions (who didn’t bring his belt) is getting into a singles title picture less than a week after winning the team titles. Jackson is sent outside to start, leaving the power guys to do power guy things. Back up and Nick hits a moonsault to the floor but Castagnoli boots him in the face as we take a break.

Back with Cage German suplexing Castagnoli but Nick takes Cage down with a bulldog out of the corner. Nick hits a moonsault to the floor to drop Castagnoli, followed by a 450 to Cage. Back in and Cage hits an F5 or two on Nick, followed by the apron superplex to Castagnoli. Not that it matters as Castagnoli is back up with the Riccola Bomb to Cage. Jackson springboards in to take Castagnoli out though and steals the pin on Cage at 10:04.

Rating: B-. Commentary pointed out that Jackson has had four singles matches (counting this one) in AEW, but now he’s getting a title shot. What is the kayfabe reason for him being in this match in the first place? Anyway, this was your usual “two in, one out” triple threat formula, complete with someone stealing the finish. Completely fine, though I’m not exactly needing to see Nick and Fenix flip around for ten minutes next week.

The Righteous play with paper dolls and are coming for the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles.

Here are Adam Cole (on crutches with a taped ankle/shin) and MJF for a chat. Cole gets to the point: he has broken his ankle in three places and torn ligaments, meaning he’s going to need surgery. Therefore, the titles have to be vacated, but MJF isn’t about to vacate the titles to those “freaky deaky douchebags the Righteous”. MJF is ready to defend the titles on his own, but here is Roderick Strong to say he needs Cole. IT’S AN EMERGENCY. Cole hugs MJF and goes up to Strong (and the Kingdom) and leaves with them.

Cue Bullet Club Gold, with Jay White telling MJF to shut up. He knows MJF wants some alone time with the Switchblade, which has MJF accusing him of smoking a certain substance. Fans: “WEED!” Yeah that one. MJF talks about how he’s been compared to all kinds of people and it’s never bothered him…until someone said he’s no Jay White. MJF says he’s like a filet mignon and it doesn’t matter who else is around him. White isn’t so much filet mignon, but rather tofu.

That means you can taste like anything you want but don’t have an identity. White was given the keys to one of the biggest stables ever but when you take that away, you’re bland, tasteless tofu. No matter what happens though, people will realize that MJF is better than him. White talks about how he got his personal MJF experience but says he holds MJF’s neck is feeling ok after Samoa Joe. He’s going to torment MJF for a little while longer though, because he wants the World Title.

MJF doesn’t seem so elite compared to White, who is the man who single handedly sold out Madison Square Garden. White is coming for the title, no matter what MJF thinks. This went on and on and on and couldn’t have been more obviously designed to fill in time if it had a big countdown clock going in the background.

We get a sitdown interview with Darby Allin and Christian Cage. They talk about being ready to leave WrestleDream with the title, with Cage saying he’s the better man. Cage brings up Allin’s uncle dying in a car wreck with Allin the car so Allin calls him out for bringing up so many dead people. Allin doesn’t want Nick Wayne out there with him so Cage accuses him of hiding behind his face paint. Allin pours water over his face and rubs it off, promising to win the title.

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Matt Jackson vs. Austin Gunn

It’s a brawl to start with Cassidy getting to armdrag Jackson. Gunn comes in to steal a cover but Penta chops him down. Penta superkicks Jackson but Cassidy comes in for the pockets vs. CERO MIEDO showdown. That doesn’t work for Penta, who drops him with a superkick. Gunn clears the ring again and we take a break.

Back with Gunn cleaning house again but Cassidy backdrops him down. A Canadian Destroyer hits Gunn but Jackson is back up with the rolling northern lights suplex. Penta comes back in with some kicks of his own but gets Orange Punched. Gunn hits the Fameasser for two on Cassidy, followed by two more on the other two. Back up and Cassidy sends Gunn outside, setting up the Orange Punch to finish Jackson at 12:21.

Rating: B-. The match itself was good enough, but there’s only so much you can get out of watching half of the wrestlers in an upcoming four way #1 contenders tag match. Cassidy getting the pin is almost always a wise way to go but this was more or less a “building momentum” match and that’s not exactly thrilling TV.

Willow Nightingale vs. Julia Hart

Brody King is here with Hart. Nightingale, with one eye bandaged, takes her into the corner to start and stomps away before planting her with some slams. We take a break and come back with Nightingale hitting a Death Valley Driver for two. Hart gets in a shot of her own and tries Hartless but Nightingale goes to the ropes. Nightingale ties her in the Tree of Woe but a King distraction lets Hart avoid the Cannonball. A moonsault gives Hart the pin at 8:18.

Rating: C. That was a rather nice looking moonsault from Hart and it should be interesting to see if they’ll pull the trigger with her on Sunday. She’s getting a lot better in the ring and a win over Nightingale feels like it matters. If nothing else, it would give the women’s division a new player and that is something they need at the moment.

Post match Hart grabs Hartless but Kris Statlander makes the save.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

It’s time for a contract signing between Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland. Swerve says this is a bad thing for Page because he’s in over his head. What’s a buckshot to a killshot (Killshot being Swerve’s name in Lucha Underground.)? Page thanks him for saying he’s in over his head because he was thinking about how things have changed in the last year.

Every time he started to smile though, that little cloud came back and it started to rain. That downpour rained something out of him and now he’s had time to think about what Strickland said. These people deserve more from him and that’s what Swerve will get in Seattle. Page signs but Strickland starts laughing, calling that the most pathetic thing he’s ever seen.

Sure Strickland has mental problems but he’s going to take this privilege from him at WrestleDream, because it rains a lot in Seattle. Page gets fired up and promises Strickland isn’t taking anything from him. Strickland slaps him and signs….so Page stabs him in the hand with the pen! The fight is broken up and they glare a lot. That was a heck of an exchange and this is one of the best things going in AEW right now.

We cut to the back where masked men jump Jay White. A man in a devil mask grabs the camera to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not sure what happened here tonight, but this was one heck of a weird show. Half of the matches felt out of nowhere and the other half were lame ways to build up unimportant WrestleDream matches. There’s still Collision to draw up some interest, but this didn’t make me want to hand AEW $50 for Sunday’s show. The wrestling was ok enough and carried the show, but this wasn’t just a regular Dynamite. This was the final Dynamite at the end of a not so great pay per view build. I’m not sure what AEW was trying here, but it didn’t work so well.

Results
Rey Fenix b. Jeff Jarrett – Small package
Nick Jackson b. Brian Cage and Claudio Castagnoli – Riccola Bomb to Cage
Orange Cassidy b. Austin Gunn, Matt Jackson and Penta El Zero Miedo – Orange Punch to Jackson
Julia Hart b. Willow Nightingale – Moonsault

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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