All In 2024
Date: August 25, 2024
Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinnness, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the biggest show of the year and they’re in London for the second time in a row. That alone should make the show feel important but in this case the card is mostly living up to the hype. The main event will see Bryan Danielson challenging Swerve Strickland for the World Title in a title vs. career match, which has all of the makings. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Private Party/Ariya Daivari/Dark Order/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh/Anthony Ogogo vs. Kyle Fletcher/Rocky Romero/Kip Sabian/Tommy Billington/Lio Rush/Action Andretti/Top Flight

Don Callis is on commentary as Billington and Lethal strike it out to start. Sabian and Ogogo come in for a lockup until Sabian hits a dropkick to kick him down. Everything breaks down and we’re left with Singh and Rush for the visual. Rush’s chops to the stomach don’t work so he grabs Singh’s leg, with Singh walking around anyway. Singh isn’t having that and launches Rush over the top and down onto the pile.

Back in and Silver slams Andretti down and chokes on the ropes, allowing Evil Uno (one of the many extras on the floor) throwing the papers ala Brodie Lee. Private Party hit slingshot hilos and Daivari chops him down for two. Andretti handspring elbows his way out of trouble though and it’s back to Sabian to pick up the pace.

Fletcher comes in with a middle rope cutter to Lethal before knocking Singh off the apron. A brainbuster gets two on Reynolds and everything breaks down, meaning it’s time for the dives. Silly String hits Sabian and Gin and Juice makes it worse. Ogogo gets to punch at various people but Darius is back in with a double DDT onto the Order. Dante drops Daivari and hits a frog splash for the pin at 11:36.

Rating: C+. It was an entertaining match but it was such a mess with that many people in there that no one really got to stand out (save for maybe Fletcher). This was the definition of “get a bunch of people on the show”, but it was also the definition of “most of these people don’t mean much and they’re out there in front of a half empty stadium because the show doesn’t start for over an hour”. That’s not exactly a great start and the wide shot of all the empty seats at the start made me feel more sad for them than excited for the show.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Willow Nightingale

The winning team picks the stipulation for Statlander vs. Nightingale next month at All Out. Hathaway is brought to the stage on a sedan, because of course he is. Ishii starts with Hathaway, who isn’t having this and bails out, meaning it’s Nightingale vs. Statlander. Nightingale gets sent into the corner for some shots to the face but comes back with a spinebuster for two.

We pause for some yelling at Hathaway, allowing Statlander to get in some cheap shots to take over. Back up and Nightingale makes the clothesline comeback, only to walk into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Nightingale slips out of a Death Valley Driver and drops a backsplash for two of her own. The double tag brings in the men and for some reason, Hathaway fires off some chops.

This goes as well as you would expect and Ishii runs him over. Statlander comes back in to forearm away at Ishii, allowing Hathaway to actually hit a spinebuster. The fans are rather happy as Ishii pops back up, with Hathaway hammering away in the corner. That doesn’t last long as Nightingale Pounces Statlander, leaving Ishii to hit the sliding lariat for the pin on Hathaway at 8:15.

Rating: C+. This was all about Hathaway and of course he made it work in his limited chances. The bigger story is going to be the stipulation for Nightingale vs. Statlander, which almost has to be either a hardcore match or Nightingale fighting both of them at once. Perfectly fine match here and it would have fit in on any given Rampage.

Zero Hour: Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Von Erichs vs. Kingdom/Cage Of Agony

Kevin Von Erich is here with the good guys and it’s a big brawl in the aisle before the bell. We get a quadruple Shattered Dreams to the villains and, with the referee ok with all of that, it’s the opening bell with Guevara and Kaun starting things off. Guevara quickly clears the ring and stares it down with Cage, who gets dropped with a top rope cutter. Kaun pulls Guevara outside for a whip into the barricade and they head back inside with Guevara caught in the wrong corner.

A backbreaker/springboard elbow drop combination gets two but Taven misses a frog splash. Rhodes comes in to take over and the snap powerslam puts Taven down. We hit the parade of knockdowns as Excalibur can barely keep track of everyone. Taven is back up with the Flight Of The Conqueror so Rhodes teases a dive but dances into a pose instead. Cage tries a running flip dive but mostly misses, leaving Guevara to shooting star onto the pile.

Back in and Cage gets the worst of a Tower Of Doom, leaving Rhodes to hit Cross Rhodes for two on Taven with the Gates making the save. Rhodes gets tossed into a powerbomb for two but Guevara hurricanranas his way out of the same thing. Shibata’s running dropkick hits Bennett in the corner and Marshall’s top rope moonsault gets the same. Rhodes hits Taven with the Final Reckoning and Guevara adds the Swanton so Rhodes can get the pin at 11:03.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what Rhodes has on AEW but he has been the most active guy in the company (and in Ring Of Honor, because that’s a thing as well) for the last few weeks. That being said, Texas Takes England wasn’t the most thrilling story, especially when it came after a tag match with even more people. This was another bunch of people doing stuff until someone got the pin. The Texas guys don’t do anything for me because I’ve seen them more than I could possibly want to recently, but at least it didn’t go that long.

Post match the villains jump them but Kevin Von Erich makes the save, meaning it’s a group claw to get rid of the bad guys.

Here are the Outcasts, with Saraya’s entire family, for her big moment. Harley Cameron says Saraya is mad, with Saraya going into a rant about not being on the show despite being the best British woman ever in wrestling. And cue the returning Jamie Hayter (now with red hair) to march her way to Saraya, with Sweet Saraya (Saraya’s mother) getting in a cheap shot. The younger Saraya escapes, allowing Hayter to take out Cameron and stand tall.

The last nine minutes of the pre-show are spent on the entrances to the opener so the main show can start fast.

Trios Titles: Patriarchy vs. Pac/Blackpool Combat Club vs. House Of Black vs. Bang Bang Gang

The Patriarchy is defending in a ladder match. The bell rings and Cage runs away to start, leaving everyone else to brawl on the floor. That means a table is already set up on the floor but Austin has to cut Matthews down from a climb attempt. A bunch of people go up but get pulled down, with King dropping Pac with a clothesline. Robinson hits a running flip dive off the apron to take out Castagnoli, leaving Matthews to hit a big flip dive over the top.

Pac dives onto all of them but gets caught with What’s Up from the Gunns. King hits the big suicide dive…and here is Cage again. Cage goes up but gets pulled down by King, who takes Cage outside to be surrounded by a mob. That leaves Mother Wayne to go up, with the Gunns cutting her off and talking some sense into her. Killswitch comes in with chokeslams abounding, including one onto a ladder.

Wayne’s World through a table drops King so Luchasaurus goes up, only for Cage to go up at the same time for the sake of getting the glory. That’s broken up as well so it’s Castagnoli getting to wreck the Gunns. There’s the Swing to Robinson but the Gunns make the save, meaning it’s time for the tables. A bunch of people go up and crash through said tables, leaving Robinson to pull Black off the ladder. Wayne goes up and gets knocked hard through another table so let’s bring in the really big ladder, which is grazing against the bottom of the titles.

Pac goes up but gets pulled back down as Mother Wayne passes something off to Cage. That would be a spray of some kind, which goes into Yuta’s eyes to bring him off the ladder. Cage puts a ladder onto him and unloads with a chair but Robinson blocks Mother Wayne’s spray and sprays her instead. Luchasaurus knocks Robinson through a table, leaving Cage and Matthews to go up a pair of ladders. Cage spears him down through a table but might have hurt his own head in the process. Luchasaurus picks Cage up and climbs but Pac goes up as well and kicks Cage down. Pac gets the titles at 19:10.

Rating: B. Well that was a ladder match with a bunch of weapons and even more people involved. It’s something that has been done time after time and while it can be fun, it’s not something I’m going to get excited to see. This would also be the case with a thrown together team winning the titles. I’m sure it’s to get a British champion on there, but there are going to be more than a few on here without doing this title change.

We recap Mariah May challenging Toni Storm for the Women’s Title. May was Storm’s understudy but then won the Owen Hart Tournament to earn the shot and violently attacked Storm. Now Storm is being serious for the first time in a good while and wants revenge.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Mariah May

Storm is defending and has Luther with her. They glare at each other and argue to start before slugging it out. May Day and Storm Zero are both broken up so May dropkicks her into the corner. They chop it out until Storm grabs a DDT, with the fans approving. Storm misses a running hip attack in the ropes and gets powerbombed out onto the floor for a nasty landing.

Back in and May hits a running dropkick, followed by Stratusphere for two. Storm fights up from a slap and hammers away, only to get suplexed back down. May even goes outside and dropkicks Luther, which is just not that nice. To make it even worse, May slaps HER OWN MOTHER (in the crowd) but the delay lets Storm hit Storm Zero onto the steps. Storm goes over to hug May’s mother and now May is busted open.

Back in (because the champ’s piledriver onto the steps barely keeps May down for a minute) and Storm throws her around, including a chokebomb for two. May kicks her in the head and hits a bunch of hip attacks but the big one takes too long. Storm is back up and hits her own hip attack, setting up Storm Zero for two.

May goes after the fingers and kicks Storm low before stereo headbutts leave them both down. Back up and May Day gets two so it’s time to grab the title, with Luther pulling it away. Instead May grabs the bloody shoe but Storm takes it away..and can’t bring herself to hit May, who rolls her up for two. May knees her in the face, kisses Storm on the head, and hits Storm Zero for the pin and the title at 15:11.

Rating: B. That was the only result that made sense as Storm’s time as champion had come and gone. It was a hard hitting fight with Storm wanting revenge but coming up short, which is how it should have gone. It wouldn’t shock me to see Storm go a bit more back to normal now, as she can only go so much nuttier. Good stuff here, which overcame a bit of a weak build.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Hook for the FTW Title. Jericho has already beaten Hook but has had to jump through hoops to get another shot at him.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is defending and gets played to the ring by Fozzy. It’s FTW Rules so the Learning Tree gets in and beats Hook down to start. The Codebreaker connects for one but Hook is back up with a German suplex. Jericho drops him again and hits the Lionsault for two, meaning it’s weapons time. That takes too long so Hook grabs another suplex and pulls out a cricket bat. Hook even grabs some cricket balls and hits them at Jericho but Keith comes in with a trashcan lid.

The Walls are broken up so Hook grabs his own version, only to have Bill make the save. They go outside with Keith setting up a barbed wire board on another table. Hook slips out of a chokeslam but Jericho goes after the good eye to blind him again. One heck of a trashcan shot puts Hook down but the Judas Effect is countered into a t-bone suplex, allowing Hook to reveal that his patched eye has healed and he could really see (Remember when Jericho blinded Jon Moxley and Moxley wore an eyepatch but then Moxley revealed he could really see during their match? Just a random thought.).

Redrum goes on with Bill making the save, only to have Jericho accidentally knock him into the barbed wire board. Keith gets up for a cheap shot, which FINALLY draws Taz off commentary to Tazmission Keith down. Redrum makes Jericho tap and gives Hook the title back at 10:11.

Rating: C+. And that should be it for these two. Hook gets his (latest) win over Jericho and Jericho gets to…well probably move on to a bigger feud because he has to be involved in something important every week. For now though, it’s a feel good moment and that’s all it needed to be.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. The Acclaimed and FTR both want the Young Bucks’ titles but since the Bucks almost never defend them, we have both of them getting a shot at once.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. FTR vs. Acclaimed

The Bucks are defending and Caster rushes through his rap, possibly due to nerves. Harwood works on the arm to start but FTR and the Acclaimed get in a shoving match, all while the Bucks approve. The Bucks do come in but are quickly dispatched, leaving Wheeler to get caught in a Scissor Me Timbers attempt. That takes too long though and Nick makes the save, setting up an assisted standing Sliced Bread to Wheeler. Matt grabs a chinlock for a bit before Wheeler fights up and hands it off to Bowens to pick up the pace.

Now Scissor Me Timbers can hit Nick and we pause for some scissoring. Harwood is back in with the German suplexes, including one to both Bucks at once. The PowerPlex only hits raised knees but so does Nick’s 450. The Tony Khan Driver is broken up as well though with Nick being shoved into a moonsault onto the Acclaimed. Matt walks into the Shatter Machine but Nick pulls the referee out.

Back up and Matt hits a tornado DDT to plant Bowens on the floor, leaving Matt and Caster to hit a VIP Trigger to Harwood. Wheeler makes a save but gets sent outside, leaving the Acclaimed to load up Nick. Matt makes the save with a low blow and it’s time for the superkicks. That’s not enough for Matt, who grabs a title, earning himself a Fameasser from Billy Gunn. The Arrival connects but Nick makes the save. Harwood rolls Nick up for two but gets belt shotted for two. The EVP Trigger to Harwood is enough for the pin to retain the titles at 13:21.

Rating: B-. It was a good match but not top level stuff. The Bucks getting their win back in Wembley wasn’t exactly shocking and now we get to find out who they’ll defend against, maybe by Halloween or so. The story coming in wasn’t overly exciting and it dragged things down a bit, though I do appreciate them not going crazy long, which just wasn’t needed.

Post match the Grizzled Young Veterans come in for a staredown with the Young Bucks, who leave instead. Heaven forbid we get that match here of course, because we needed to repeat the previous combinations instead.

Casino Gauntlet Match

This is a 21 person gauntlet match with staggered entrances, but the fall can happen at any time, even if it is only the first two entrants. The winner gets a World Title shot at any time (basically MITB). Orange Cassidy is in at #1 and Kazuchika Okada is in at #2. Okada doesn’t seem worried so Cassidy dropkicks him down into the nip up. NIGEL MCGUINNESS is in at #3 and the fans go coconuts, especially as he and Okada go with the grappling. Nigel takes Okada down and it’s Kyle O’Reilly in at #4.

O’Reilly ties up Okada’s arm but gets caught in an armbar from Nigel at the same time. Cassidy is back in with a Stundog Millionaire and Zack Sabre Jr. is in at #5. We get the Nigel vs. Sabre showdown and the fans are VERY pleased. They go with the grappling before trading rollups for two each until Okada takes Nigel’s place. Sabre gets in a weird neck crank but Okada slips out and hits the top rope elbow. Back up and Sabre goes for the leg but Roderick Strong is in at #6.

Strong’s entrance takes so long that Mark Briscoe is in at #7 by the time he gets to do anything. House is quickly cleaned and it’s Hangman Page in at #8. Clotheslines abound and it’s Jeff Jarrett in at #9. We get the strut before Jarrett gets to hammer on Page in the corner. Page breaks that up and powerbombs Jarrett onto a pile as Ricochet makes his debut at #10. Ricochet starts firing off the kicks and goes to the floor to hammer on Page. Christian Cage limps in at #11 but Ricochet cuts him off.

Okada dropkicks Page, who fights back and loads up the Buckshot Lariat. That’s broken up with a guitar shot, leaving Okada to Rainmaker Jarrett. Cassidy is back up to clean house until he walks into End Of Heartache. Briscoe is in to wreck everyone until he accidentally helps Nigel hit the Tower of London (hanging Stunner) on Sabre. Cage drops Nigel though and it’s Luchasaurus in at #12. He starts firing off the chokeslams, including one to O’Reilly, with Cage stealing the pin at 25:50.

Rating: B. They were rocking here for a bit before a kind of downer ending. Cage being added to the match and stealing it in the end felt like something out of Unforgiven 2008 with a banged up Chris Jericho winning the World Title. That being said, the good stuff here more than outweighed the bad, with Nigel being a crazy great surprise and Ricochet being a cool moment. I liked this, but make it an annual PPV event, as this is the third time we’ve sen it this year.

We recap MJF defending the American Title against Will Ospreay. MJF beat Ospreay in a match that went about an hour via some cheating and now Ospreay wants the title back.

American Title: Will Ospreay vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending and comes out dressed as Uncle Sam, while Ospreay gets an Assassin’s Creed entrance. Just to make it worse, MJF has a big American flag come down from the rafters, which Taz calls “heat”. They slug it out to start with Ospreay getting the better of things to send him outside. That means a Sasuke Special to drop MJF, who is right back with a running boot against the barricade. Back in and Ospreay can’t hit the Oscutter so they trade rollups for two each.

MJF powerbombs him onto the knee and adds a Kangaroo Kick. That means we get a hip swivel but Ospreay is back up with an enziguri for two. A skytwister press gets two and MJF heads outside, where he catches Ospreay’s dive in a Tombstone on the floor. Ospreay is back on his feet 51 seconds later and catches MJF’s Moonsault in a Spanish Fly. Back in and MJF is draped over the top for a shooting star to the back for two more.

Stormbreaker is countered into Cross Rhodes for two, only for Ospreay to come back with the Oscutter for the same. MJF hits a quick piledriver for two more but has to counter Stormbreaker into a discus forearm. He takes too long to follow up though and walks into the Stormbreaker for two. The Hidden Blade is loaded up but MJF rolls out to the apron instead. The Oscutter misses as Ospreay only hits mat in a nasty crash. A Canadian Destroyer on the apron knocks Ospreay even sillier, to the point where he collapses before MJF can try a Hidden Blade.

The Heatseeker is blocked and NOW the Oscutter on the apron connects. The crash takes out a production crew member though and Ospreay goes to check on him, allowing MJF to grab the title. Ospreay superkicks MJF and goes after him again, only to bump the referee. MJF hits him low and loads up another shot but a man in black jumps up to cut him off. It’s Daniel Garcia, with MJF threatening him as he leaves. The running forearm drops MJF and the Tiger Driver 91 gives Ospreay the title back at 25:36.

Rating: B. This got going and turned into a showdown, with Garcia being a fine way to go. It was either going to be him or Adam Cole and while I’m not a Garcia fan, I’d rather they go with him over reheating Cole vs. MJF. The match was the kind of hard hitting special that works well for Ospreay, though MJF better be out of action for the better part of ever after all the hype the Tiger Driver 91 received. I know he won’t be, but that’s how he should be after the story they were telling.

Post match Christopher Daniels presents Ospreay with the International Title as the America’s Title goes away.

We recap Britt Baker challenging Mercedes Mone for the TBS Title. Mone is the dominant champion but Baker is back to get into the title hunt again.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Britt Baker

Mone, with Kamille, is defending and comes to the ring in a carriage with her corgis. They run the ropes to start until Mone hits a dropkick but Baker is back up to knock her to the floor. Kamille catches her though and Mone poses with the title as a villain should. Back in and it’s too early for the Lockjaw so Baker settles for a superkick. Kamille offers a distraction though and Mone grabs a backbreaker onto the turnbuckle for two.

Another backbreaker keeps Baker in trouble but she fights up. A kick to the back cuts her off and Banks grabs Three Amigos. Baker fights up again and takes Mone up, only to get slammed down from the middle rope for a nasty crash. Back up and Baker tries a stomp but gets countered into a powerbomb. A quick cutter drops Mone but she goes to the back again for some near falls. Mone loads up…something, only to be reversed into the Air Raid Crash for two.

They go up top and Mone tries another slam, which is reversed into a wicked super powerslam to give Baker two more. Mone tries a belt shot but gets caught, allowing Kamille to tease one, only for Baker to drop down, Eddie Guerrero style. Kamille is ejected and the Panama Sunrise hits Mone for two. Lockjaw goes on but Mone bites the fingers and grabs the Mone Maker to retain at retain the title at 17:20.

Rating: C+. This went long and it hurt things a lot, as they could have wrapped it up about five minutes earlier. As usual, Mone is much more about the sizzle and setup than the match itself, though she was doing well here. Just find a finisher that doesn’t look terrible all the time and she’ll be in a much better place. I’m not sure what is next for Baker, but she could use a win in a good feud. Maybe Deonna Purrazzo?

We recap Darby Allin challenging Jack Perry for the TNT Title. Allin doesn’t like how Perry was handed the title and since Perry is the Most Interesting Wrestler Ever, he wants it to be a Coffin Match.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Jack Perry

Allin is challenging in a Coffin Match and goes after Perry with a chair to start. They go to the floor with Perry being sat in the chair for a dive, meaning it’s time for the coffin. Perry cuts off a dive though and it’s already time for a bag of broken glass. The fans sing CRY ME A RIVER so Perry swears at them, only for Allin to drive a skateboard into his back, sending him into the glass.

They go outside with Allin hitting a dive, only to get rammed into the coffin. Now it’s time to go up the ramp and Allin gets thrown off the stage and through a table. Perry throws him into a bodybag and carries him back to the ring….where Allin is thrown into the coffin. A running knee is enough to knock Allin out and retain the title at 10:35.

Rating: C+. Well, there’s your Jack Perry win over someone who is more interesting and better than him. It’s not exactly a shock and Allin is on the way to bigger things with the World Title shot at Grand Slam, but as usual, this felt more about Perry and….yeah it’s still the same guy. The tough guy thing isn’t working for him and they had to get the glass spot in, which might not be the most lucrative call back.

Post match the Young Bucks come out to light the casket on fire…..but STING returns for the save. Perry chairs him in the back for no effect so Perry runs off, leaving Sting to lay the Bucks out. Then Allin is helped out of the coffin to pose, which doesn’t exactly make Perry look like a killer. Granted that might be minor to having a 62 year old retired legend take out the top heel stable on his own.

We recap the AEW World Title match with Swerve Strickland defending against Bryan Danielson. That’s not big enough so Danielson, whose neck is held together by paper clips and a dream, is putting his career on the line.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Bryan Danielson

Swerve is defending and gets rapped to the ring. After the Big Match Intros, Danielson chops away to start but gets taken down by the arm, allowing Swerve to glare at Danielson’s family in the crowd. Back up and Danielson goes to the arm but it’s too early for the LeBell Lock attempt. Swerve misses a dive so Danielson is up with a springboard flip dive to take him down on the floor.

Back in and Danielson starts in on the arm, which is fine enough for Swerve to grab a suplex. The confidence starts to pick up as Swerve knocks him into the corner. Swerve heads outside but gets caught in a triangle choke over the ropes. Back up and Swerve tries a Death Valley Driver, with the referee getting knocked down. That lets Prince Nana slide in the title, with the Driver onto the belt knocking Danielson silly and busting him open in the process.

Swerve asks why we have to do this when Danielson’s family is watching, though he’s fine enough to hit a middle rope elbow to the back. They head back outside where Swerve stomps at the bloody Danielson and then yells at Danielson’s family. The Swerve Stomp misses though and Danielson pulls him into an STF.

That’s broken up but Danielson is right back with a clothesline for the double knockdown. The Cattle Mutilation is broken up so Danielson settles for the YES Kicks. A tiger superplex drops Swerve again and we hit the Cattle Mutilation again. This time Swerve powers out and hits a Vertebreaker for the big, scary crash. That’s enough to pause for the medical team to come in and check on Danielson but deem him ok to continue.

The Swerve Stomp gets two so Swerve hits back to back House Calls…for two more. Swerve is stunned as Danielson gets up and strikes away, setting up a triangle choke. After we cut to Danielson’s daughter not watching the match, Danielson suplexes Swerve down and hits the running knee…which Swerve brushes off. Another House call drops Danielson and the JML Driver gets two.

Swerve loads up his own running knee but cue Hangman Page for a distraction. That’s enough for Danielson to hit the running knee for two, with Nana almost diving in for the save. They slug it out until Swerve tries a roll but gets kneed down. Another running knee to the back sets up the LeBell Lock but Swerve powers out, only to get pulled into a Rings of Saturn variant for the tap at 25:45.

Rating: A-. They did a good job here of making me wonder how it was going to end and that’s a nice feeling. When in doubt, going for a feel good Danielson win is as safe of a moment as you can have and it worked here. It felt like the last hurrah of a legendary career and while he probably won’t hold the title for very long, he had one last great one (so far). Strickland can move back into the Page feud, and thankfully the interference didn’t lead directly to the ending. Heck of a main event and it felt important, which is how a match of this magnitude should go.

Danielson’s family gets in the ring to celebrate, with the Blackpool Combat Club (and Pac) joining them to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The matches that needed to deliver did so and they nailed the big happy ending. There were some weaker parts, such as the Coffin Match, Baker vs. Mone and Hook vs. Jericho, plus having SO MANY PEOPLE on the show, but the good stuff was more than enough to make this work. It’s absolutely AEW’s biggest event of the year and they worked out some of the kinks from last time, with a show that not only felt big but was better. Rather solid stuff here, and if they can leave some of the people alone next time, it could be even stronger. Heck of a show, with the big feeling taking it higher.

Results
Private Party/Ariya Daivari/Dark Order/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh/Anthony Ogogo b. Kyle Fletcher/Rocky Romero/Kip Sabian/Tommy Billington/Lio Rush/Action Andretti/Top Flight – Frog splash to Daivari
Willow Nightingale/Tomohiro Ishii b. Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway – Sliding lariat to Hathaway
Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Von Erichs/Katsuyori Shibata b. Cage Of Agony/Kingdom – Swanton to Taven
Pac/Blackpool Combat Club b. Patriarchy, House Of Black and Bang Bang Gang – Pac pulled down the titles
Mariah May b. Toni Storm – Storm Zero
Hook b. Chris Jericho – Redrum
Young Bucks b. FTR and Acclaimed – EVP Trigger to Harwood
Christian Cage won the Casino Gauntlet – Chokeslam to O’Reilly
Will Ospreay b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Tiger Driver 91
Mercedes Mone b. Britt Baker – Mone Maker
Jack Perry b. Darby Allin – Perry put Allin in the coffin
Bryan Danielson b. Swerve Strickland – LeBell Lock

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Rampage
Date: June 14, 2024
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

We are just over two weeks away from Forbidden Door and that means it is time to start putting things together before the show. While you are not likely going to see anything big added this week, there is a good chance that you are going to get a nice boost for some of the things that have already been announced. That’s a fine way to use Rampage so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Toni Storm vs. Alex Windsor

Non-title and Luther/Mariah May are here with Storm. Windsor jumps her at the bell but Storm is right back with a Thesz press and some hip attacks to the face. A running hip attack sends Windsor outside, where Windsor grabs a suplex. Storm’s head and leg are both posted but Windsor goes to yell at Luther, including shoving him into Storm and May. We take a break and come back with Storm hitting another hip attack in the corner. A fisherman’s suplex gets two but Windsor grabs an Angle Slam for two of her own. Windsor hits a Shining Wizard but Storm grabs a quick Storm Zero for the pin at 8:01.

Rating: C+. They were working had here with Windsor getting in a lot. It’s nice to see Storm have to do something a bit more serious but still doing her usual spots. I’m not sure where things are going with May/Storm/Mina Shirakawa, but at the very least, they have made a story where I’m wondering what is going to happen. That is a great sign for the future, and hopefully they are going to make it work again when it really matters.

Harley Cameron is in the Owen Hart Cup.

Video on Thunder Rosa vs. Deonna Purrazzo in a No DQ match this week on Collision.

Cage Of Agony vs. Solomon Tupu/Jay Marston/Kevin Gutierrez

Kaun dropkicks Tupu into the corner to start and the beating is on in a hurry. Gutierrez comes in and gets elbowed in the face so it’s off to Marston. A spinebuster, Open The Gates and the triple lifting slam finishes Marston off at 2:39. Total destruction.

We look back at Dynamite.

Rocky Romero vs. Shota Umino

They fight over arm control to start until Romero’s chop just annoys Umino. Some hard shots to the face rock Romero and Shota even gets in some dancing. A low bridge sends Umino outside though and Romero hits a suicide dive. We take a break and come back with Romero hitting the Forever Clotheslines, only to be sent to the apron.

Umino DDTs him onto the apron but Romero is back with a tornado DDT of his own. The running Sliced Bread gets two on Umino but the regular version is blocked. Umino elbows him in the back of the head and hits a double arm DDT (homage to his friend Jon Moxley) for the pin at 10:06.

Rating: C+. Perfectly fine match here with both guys getting to showcase their talents. There is nothing wrong with having a basic, back and forth match with good wrestlers involved. In theory this is something of a preview for Forbidden Door, which might make sense, though that show is going to need more than “here are wrestlers you might have heard of”.

Forbidden Door rundown.

Satnam Singh vs. Rosario Grillo

Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt are here too as Grillo chops away and gets bearhugged for the tap at 19 seconds.

Post match Lethal brags about Singh and wants his own opponent out here right now.

Jay Lethal vs. Pac

Lethal knocks him into the corner to start and stomps away but Pac hits a superkick to the floor. Dutt offers a distraction though and Singh trips Pac down, which is enough for Singh to get ejected. Lethal sends him hard into the steps and we take a break. Lethal’s Figure Four being reversed into a small package and the Lethal Injection being blocked as well.

Pac strikes away and the missile dropkick connects for two. Lethal gets in a shot to the leg though and Pac is down again. They go up top where a superbomb is countered with a backdrop but Dutt’s distraction breaks up the Black Arrow. Lethal hits a cutter but Pac clotheslines him into the Brutalizer for the win at 12:34.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of main event you would expect around here, with a bigger name like Pac being able to get a nice win over a name in Lethal. The wrestling was good and the result wasn’t exactly in doubt, but that didn’t bring the match down. Pac getting to be all dominant and angry is a good thing and it was worth a look here.

Overall Rating: B-. This is just kind of what Rampage is: an hour of acceptable wrestling with little in the way of anything that actually matters. It helps to have some big enough names involved here, as there is only so much effort you should be putting in for an hour on Friday nights at 10pm. Not a bad show at all, but as usual, nothing you need to watch.

Results
Toni Storm b. Alex Windsor – Storm Zero
Cage Of Agony b. Solomon Tupu/Jay Marston/Kevin Gutierrez – Triple lifting slam to Marston
Shota Umino b. Rocky Romero – Double arm DDT
Satnam Singh b. Rosario Grillo – Bearhug
Pac b. Jay Lethal – Brutalizer

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Rampage
Date: May 31, 2024
Location: Kia Forum, Inglewood, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

We’re still off the normal schedule with another early evening show. Rampage has been picking things up a bit lately and there is a good chance that we might be seeing it again here. If nothing else it would make sense to have this show be a bit bigger for the major location. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

TNT Title Qualifying Match: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Penta El Zero Miedo

They run the ropes to start and Penta dives over him for the standoff. Takeshita kicks him in the face but Penta grabs a Backstabber out of the corner. It’s too early for the dive to the floor and Takeshita cuts off a kick from the apron to cut him down. Back in and Takeshita grabs a chinlock, followed by a suplex as we take a break.

We come back with Penta hitting a running Sling Blade to send Takeshita outside. The big running flip dive takes Takeshita down again but he’s right back with a rather impressive wheelbarrow suplex. Penta grabs Made In Japan for two and they’re both staggered. Takeshita is knocked to the apron and a springboard Canadian Destroyer knocks him silly. Back in and the Blue Thunder Bomb gives Takeshita two but the running knee misses. Instead it’s a hot shot to Penta, setting up the running knee for the pin at 13:09.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of match I was looking for from AEW. While there might not have been a ton of drama over who was going to win, there is something cool about taking two talented wrestlers and letting them have a match. It was a nice opener and I dug seeing these two go at it, likely for one of the first, if not the first, time ever.

Chris Jericho, with the Learning Tree, says he is done with Rampage commentary after being attacked by Hook last week.

The Undisputed Kingdom says Double Or Nothing sucked, with Roderick Strong saying he was the next man in the Casino Gauntlet this week on Dynamite. This weekend, he wants Lio Rush and then he’ll go after Swerve Strickland AND Will Ospreay.

Satnam Singh vs. Peter Avalon

Singh lays down so Avalon can cover him, with Avalon being launched through the air shortly thereafter. A bearhug finishes for Singh at 1:05.

The Cage Of Agony is ready to restart everything and they’ll do it starting on Collision. Hechicero of all people comes in and seems to have joined the team.

Toni Storm vs. Vita Van

Non-title and Mariah May and Luther are here too. Van takes her down for an early submission attempt, sending Storm straight to the ropes. A chop staggers Van but she ducks a clothesline, only to get hip attacked in the face. Storm sends her outside and tells us she’ll see us soon after the break. Back with Storm hitting the big wind up right hand for two but Van runs her over for two. A Backstabber out of the corner into a fisherman’s suplex gives Storm two but Van’s ax kick gets the same. That’s enough for Storm, who hits a running hip attack in the corner, followed by Storm Zero for the pin at 8:57.

Rating: C. Well that was long. Storm has had some longer matches against not exactly top level competition lately and it’s a bit odd to see. I do like having the bigger name on the show though and having Storm around is one of the better things that has happened lately. She’ll need a new challenger sooner than later, but this works for now.

The Outcasts offer some mocking applause for May and Storm before Saraya faces May on Dynamite.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jordan Cruz

O’Reilly charges right at him to start and strikes away before cranking on the arm. The cross armbreaker makes Cruz tap at 1:17.

Johnny TV, with Taya Valkyrie, challenges Claudio Castagnoli for Collision.

Rey Fenix vs. Isiah Kassidy

Kassidy is getting some pretty big spots lately. They fight over wrist control until Fenix hits a dropkick to put him down. Kassidy’s springboard hurricanrana doesn’t work as Fenix cartwheels his way out, setting up a German suplex to send Kassidy flying. We take a break and come back with Fenix snapping off a super hurricanrana for two.

Kassidy manages a springboard Stunner to knock Fenix throat first over the top. The big flip dive takes out Kassidy again but Fenix hammers away on the mat back inside. One heck of a Canadian Destroyer gives Kassidy two but he misses a Swanton. Fenix’s frog splash gets two and something like a double underhook brainbuster finishes Kassidy at 11:19.

Rating: C+. Another fun match with Fenix and Kassidy both getting to fly around and show off their athleticism. That’s all you need in a match like this as Fenix gets to shake off some more of his ring rust. As good as he is, there is always the chance that an injury could take him out again, but he’s quite an entertaining star when he’s out there.

Overall Rating: B-. This was more like it with what felt like a big time opener, a good enough main event and Storm being out there for some star power. The best thing about a show this short is that it didn’t feel long, which wasn’t the case here. I had a good enough time with the show and that’s about as high as most Rampages are going to get.

Results
Konosuke Takeshita b. Penta El Zero Miedo – Running knee
Satnam Singh b. Peter Avalon – Bearhug
Toni Storm b. Vita Van – Storm Zero
Kyle O’Reilly b. Jordan Cruz – Cross armbreaker
Rey Fenix b. Isiah Kassidy – Double underhook brainbuster

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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Ring Of Honor
Date: May 23, 2024
Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are about two months away from Death Before Dishonor and that means we are still too far away to really start setting things up. I’m not sure what that is going to mean for a bit, though it would be nice to have something of an interesting program going on around here. Ring Of Honor is capable of pulling that off but just doesn’t for some reason. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

JD Drake is ready to fight on his own but Anthony Henry comes in to say the Workhorsemen are back.

Here’s what’s coming on the show.

Kyle Fletcher vs. London Lightning

Non-title Proving Ground match meaning if Lightning wins or survives the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Fletcher takes him down with a headlock to start but Lightning slips out and hits a running crossbody. They head outside with Fletcher hitting a brainbuster but Lightning beats the count back in. Lightning strikes away until Fletcher runs him over to cut it off. Fletcher snaps off three slams but Lightning fights up and hits an atomic drop.

A suplex drops Fletcher and a middle rope elbow gets two. Back up and Fletcher knocks him to the floor, setting up a suicide dive. Another brainbuster gets two back inside but Lightning fights up AGAIN and gets two off a hurricanrana. A spinebuster plants Fletcher and Lightning grabs a Sharpshooter. That’s escaped with a rollup so Fletcher hits a superkick into the piledriver for the pin at 9:09.

Rating: C. Ring Of Honor/AEW is mad at Fletcher right? He regularly loses on AEW TV and then has to escape a match like this one. It’s ok to let a champion act like a dominant force every so often, but for some reason that doesn’t seem to apply to Fletcher these days. And also: a brainbuster on the floor should not be something that just happens in the middle of the match. That should have been a countout or a pin, and no I do not care that it happens that way on a regular basis. It’s stupid when that is just another move and it was awful here.

Workhorsemen vs. Spanish Announce Project

Angelico and Drake start things off with Angelico failing to sweep the leg. Henry comes in to trade wrist control with Serpentico before an exchange of headscissors gives us a standoff (and a VERY intrigued crowd). Drake comes back in and dances a bit before hitting a hard chop to Serpentico in the corner.

Serpentico manages a tornado DDT and kicks Henry away, allowing the hot tag to Angelico. Everything breaks down and a dive takes out Drake, leaving Henry to get planted with a lifting Downward Spiral. Cue Griff Garrison and Cole Karter for a distraction, allowing the Workhorsemen to hit a Downward Spiral/enziguri combination to finish Serpentico at 7:44.

Rating: C. The Workhorsemen are back and that’s about all of the interest I can muster about them. They’re a fine team who aren’t going anywhere but will be around more weeks than not. At the same time we have the Project still dealing with Garrison and Karter because that feud must continue for months on end.

Post match Garrison and Kole jump the Project but Serpentico fights back and the villains are dispatched.

Matt Menard is ready for Mike Bennett, even if Angelo Parker isn’t here.

Nyla Rose vs. Riea Van Slasher

Van Slasher has some size to go with her awesome name. She stomps on Rose’s foot to start but gets run over with a hard shoulder. A neckbreaker and the Beast Bomb finish for Rose at 1:32.

Video on Marina Shafir

Satnam Singh vs. Jimmy Jacobs

Singh hits a crossbody for one and a chokeslam for the pin at 46 seconds.

Blake Christian is in the Best Of The Super Juniors.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Artemis Spencer/Jon Cruz

Spencer’s wristlock to Ogogo gets nowhere so it’s already off to Cruz. For some reason Cruz wants Taylor, who drops him with a single left hand. The big right hand and the Marcus Garvey Driver finish Cruz at 1:56.

Mike Bennett vs. Matt Menard

Matt Taven is here with Bennett. Menard, with his taped up ribs, wastes no time in backdropping his way out of a piledriver attempt. Bennett grabs a headlock takeover instead but they head outside where Menard hammers away. Menard sends him shoulder first into the steps, only to be whipped into them as well to put him in trouble. Back in and Bennett hits a nice dropkick and we hit the chinlock.

That’s broken up and they trade rollups until Bennett grabs a Kimura. Menard reaches the rope for the break and blocks the piledriver three more times. The third sees Bennett backdropped out to the floor, with Taven offering some advice. Back in and Menard hammers away before grabbing the Boston crab. Taven’s distraction breaks things up though and Bennett hits a Death Valley Driver. The referee gets distracted so Taven tries powder but hits Bennett by mistake. Menard cutters them both and pins Bennett at 10:35.

Rating: C+. This right here is what I’m wanting more from on this show: a match that felt like it actually mattered. Menard mentioned that a win here might put he and Angelo Parker that much closer to a Tag Team Title match, making it feel somewhat important. It’s an actual story that could go somewhere and that is very needed around here.

Post match the Kingdom jumps Menard and beats him down.

Athena and the Minions are ready for Queen Aminata and Red Velvet.

Griff Garrison/Cole Karter/Premiere Athletes vs. Lee Johnson/Top Flight/Action Andretti

Darius backslides Daivari for two to start but an armbar is driven into the evil corner. That doesn’t last long and it’s off to Andretti, who headscissors Nese into a dropkick. Andretti slips out of Karter’s suplex and hands it off to Johnson to clear the ring. Johnson gets caught in the wrong corner as well, with Daivari grabbing a backbreaker into a chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry and Johnson wins a slugout, setting up an enziguri.

Nese breaks up the tag attempt but gets caught in a Blue Thunder Bomb, allowing the diving tag to Dante (wrestling in a shirt for some reason). Everything breaks down and the villains are sent outside, where they are taken down by four way stereo dives. Andretti tries a springboard back inside but gets knocked down, leaving Garrison to break up Dante’s Nose Dive. A chair is loaded up in the corner but cue Serpentico to take it away for a distraction. Dante’s spinning half nelson slam finishes Garrison at 11:27.

Rating: B-. And here’s your latest multi team match with a bunch of people flying around until one of them got the pin. They tied the ending into a feud, but unfortunately it’s a feud that stopped being interesting months ago but is still going week after week. It’s nice to see Top Flight and Andretti getting a pin, but I have long since stopped believing that they are going to mean anything after seeing them fail in big matches far too often.

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling was ok enough, but at the same time, this show could not feel more worthless if they tried. Throughout this show, a total of two feuds feud got any significant development and one of them is the Spanish Announce Project vs. Garrison/Karter feud. This show keeps coming and going with almost nothing whatsoever that feels important.

Case in point: assuming the there isn’t a last minute title match on either Collision or at Double Or Nothing, none of the Ring Of Honor Title will have been defended in a month, with most of them closing in on two months. We get Proving Ground matches, which have had one successful win in the show’s history, but other than that it’s nothing more than talking about title matches that come around once every few months. That makes for an incredibly tedious show as you’ll spend months waiting around for anything that feels important.

I’ve gone on a similar rant to this several times now but it just keeps happening. What happened on this show? Fletcher won his third straight Proving Ground match over a very low level opponent, the tag feud continued, Rose, Singh and STP won squashes, Menard and Parker (who isn’t here) might be on their way to a title shot and the main event saw the second segment in the same tag feud (which has been going for five plus months now). That is pretty much nothing and that is pretty much what it feels like around here WAY too often. Fix this stupid show already.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. London Lightning – Piledriver
Workhorsemen b. Spanish Announce Project – Downward Spiral/enziguri combination to Serpentico
Nyla Rose b. Riea Van Slasher – Beast Bomb
Satnam Singh b. Jimmy Jacobs – Chokeslam
Shane Taylor Promotions b. Artemis Spencer/Jon Cruz – Marcus Garvey Driver to Cruz
Matt Menard b. Mike Bennett – Cutter
Lee Johnson/Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Griff Garrison/Cole Karter/Premiere Athletes – Spinning half nelson slam to Garrison

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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Collision
Date: May 25, 2024
Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the last show before Double Or Nothing and the show has a little more work to be done. There is a good chance that a match or two, plus something on the Buy-In, could be added here as they have a lot of people with nothing to do. Other than that we should be in for some interesting action, including the Gunns vs. the Lucha Bros. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Here is Jon Moxley for a chat and it is five years to the day of his AEW debut. Before he can say anything, cue Don Callis to interrupt. Callis talks about how he and Moxley got together to beat Kenny Omega last year. Moxley is blamed for putting the 24 stitches in Callis’ head, with the fans wanting it ONE MORE TIME.

Then Moxley said Callis was one of them now, because they are two of the same people. They’re both high functioning sociopaths and if they got together, no one could stop them. He wants to know what it takes to get this deal with Moxley done. Moxley offers to put 24 more stitches in his head but here is Konosuke Takeshita to jump Moxley from behind. Moxley’s arm is Pillmanized and the Blackpool Combat Club come in for the too late save.

After Dynamite, a ticked off and bloody Will Ospreay swore vengeance against Roderick Strong. Ospreay can bring the intensity when he needs to and it was on full display here.

Claudio Castagnoli/Daniel Garcia/??? vs. Righteous/Lance Archer

The good guys need a partner and here is….Hiroshi Tanahashi! Well that works. The fans are impressed and it’s Castagnoli trading shoulders with Dutch to start. Dutch easily slams him but Castagnoli gives him one of his own. Garcia comes in and knocks Vincent into the corner before Tanahashi comes in for Twist And Shout to Archer. Tanahashi’s guitar accompanies Garcia’s dancing but Archer breaks it up as we take a break.

Back with Garcia suplexing his way out of trouble and handing it off to Tanahashi to forearm away at Archer. Everything breaks down and Castagnoli plants Archer but the High Fly Flow is broken up. Orange Sunshine hits Tanahashi but Castagnoli makes the save. Everything breaks down and Tanahashi Sling Blades Archer down. The High Fly Flow gives Tanahashi the pin at 9:35.

Rating: C+. The action was ok enough but obviously this was about the surprise with Tanahashi of all people showing up as a mystery partner. There’s a good chance that this is the first step towards Forbidden Door and if that is the case, it makes sense to start with a huge name. Not a great match, but a fine way to use ten minutes.

Video on the greatness of the Young Bucks and everything they have done for AEW, with Team AEW daring to stand up to them.

Lucha Bros vs. The Gunns

If the Bros win, tomorrow’s six man match is for the titles. Penta and Colten start things off with the Bros clearing the ring rather quickly. The Gunns take over on the floor and it’s Penta in trouble in the corner back inside. Austin comes in to hammer away and we take a break. Back with Penta hitting a superkick and handing it off to Fenix to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and a Fameasser gets two on Fenix, with Penta making the save. The 3:10 To Yuma is broken up and the spike Fear Factor finishes Colten at 8:14.

Rating: B-. It’s nice to have the Lucha Bros back, though it’s hard to fathom that they are actually going to stick around for a long time. When they’re on their game, they’re one of the best teams around though and it should be a good fight tomorrow with the Trios Titles on the line. They didn’t waste time with this one and it wound up being a hot enough match.

Chris Jericho, with Big Bill, knows he has to work hard tomorrow to win but he believes he can do it. Bryan Keith comes in to say Jericho will see him again. Jericho: “Thanks Bryan!”

Kyle O’Reilly vs. KM

KM strikes away to start but charges into a boot in the corner. O’Reilly pulls him into the cross armbreaker for the tap at 1:09.

Video on Mercedes Mone.

We look at Mone brawling with Willow Nightingale last night on Rampage.

Here is Nightingale for a chat. Nightingale says you can’t have a show on TBS without the TBS Champion but last night, Mone put her hands on the title. They are way past respect and Nightingale promises to wreck Mone tomorrow night. She broke her neck a few years ago and fought through that, so Mone isn’t going to stop her. Mone can’t beat her at any percent and tomorrow night, she’ll prove she’s the better woman. Fired up promo from Nightingale here.

Trent Beretta promises to show the world what he has known for a long time. Rocky Romero comes in to say that no matter what happens tomorrow night, he hopes they can put this behind them. Trent says that is not happening and never interrupt him again.

House Of Black vs. Gates Of Agony vs. Infantry vs. Acclaimed

Caster and Bravo trade rollups to start and it’s off to Bowens vs. Matthews, with the latter tagging himself in. Kaun comes in to face Matthews instead but it’s quickly off to Toa vs. King, with the big clotheslines staggering both of them. Everything breaks down and King hits a big suicide dive and we take a break.

Back with Murphy chinlocking Caster but the Infantry breaks it up. A bunch of superkicks send Matthews into the corner for the tag to King but Toa comes in to wreck people as well. Everything breaks down and Toa Samoan Drops King for two. The Infantry hit stereo dives to the floor but Matthews saves King from Boot Camp back inside. A Cannonball/running boot combination hits Bravo to give King the pin at 10:30.

Rating: B-. This felt like the main event of a Ring Of Honor show and that’s not the worst thing. I’m not sure how much this is going to make a difference for any of the teams going forward, but the team with the most going on getting the win is the right way to go. They kept things going here and it wasn’t boring so there are worse ways to use time on this show.

Adam Copeland knew that Malakai Black was going to come after him because he lives in the shadows Copeland cast. Black wanted this version of Copeland, but imagine the kind of force he and Black could be. Imagine if he beats Black and the House joins him. When you see the evil in a man’s eyes, it’s already too late.

Toni Storm, still in agony after Serena Deeb’s attack, says she’ll make Deeb’s seizures feel like a walk in the park.

Leyla Hirsch vs. Mariah May

May chops away to start but Hirsch backs her up. That earns Hirsch a chest to the face (Nigel: “I wish I was wrestling again.”) and a dropkick as we take a break. Back with Hirsch missing a moonsault but blocking a running shot in the corner. Hirsch grabs a German suplex for two but May is back with a headbutt into a running knee for the pin at 7:14.

Rating: C+. As is the case with most of the women’s matches in this slot on any show, so much of the match was in the commercial that there wasn’t time to do much. May gets a win to keep her going towards…whatever the story is with her and Toni Storm and company. Hirsch continues to feel like someone who could go somewhere, but that isn’t likely to happen anytime soon.

Serena Deeb is ready for Deeb Or Nothing and she’s ready to stretch Toni Storm.

Video on Christian Cage vs. Swerve Strickland.

FTR/Bryan Danielson vs. Satnam Singh/Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal

Sonjay Dutt and Karen Jarrett are here with the villains. Danielson and Jarrett start things off and Jarrett gets in an early strut. Lethal comes in instead and gets kneed in the ribs. It’s off to Harwood to take over on Lethal, with Wheeler getting to send him into the corner. Singh grabs Wheeler by the throat though and drops him throat first across the top as we take a break.

Back with Harwood small packaging Lethal for two but getting caught in the Lethal Combination. Singh comes in for some chokeslams from his knee, with Wheeler’s middle rope ax handle breaking it up. It’s back to Danielson to hammer away on Jarrett in the corner but Lethal breaks up the LeBell Lock.

Danielson and Wheeler hit stereo dives before Singh accidentally posts himself. Everyone gets together to kick away at Singh, with a bunch of knees putting him down. Lethal is back in for a double Lethal Injection but the referee catches Karen sending in the guitar. Instead it’s a chair coming in but Jeff chairs Singh by mistake. The running knee finishes Jeff at 10:30.

Rating: B-. This was a nice warmup for Team AEW before their match tomorrow, with commentary playing up the idea that the Young Bucks had paid off the villains to soften the heroes up. It’s a simple story but they did it well, which shouldn’t surprise you given who was out there. Jarrett and company might not be a top level stable, but they’re fine for short term villains to be taken down after giving the good guy a sweat.

Post match Wheeler says FTR debuted here four years ago and now he will live, breathe, fight and die for this company. Everyone is better off because of AEW and they are banged up but they are going to fight for AEW tomorrow night. Harwood says they are fighting for everyone who watches at home and if they die tomorrow, they’ll go out as your heroes. AEW certainly loves these rah rah speeches lately and this was another one of them.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked this well enough and now I need to see them do their thing tomorrow with the big show. They did enough to build up some things for Sunday, with a stipulation being added to the trios match and some stories being slightly advanced. Double Or Nothing needs to be a solid hit and this helped set the stage for it, which is about as good as you could expect with what they had to offer tonight.

Results
Hiroshi Tanahashi/Claudio Castagnoli/Daniel Garcia b. The Righteous/Lance Archer – High Fly Flow to Archer
Lucha Bros b. The Gunns – Spike Fear Factor to Colten
Kyle O’Reilly b. KM – Cross armbreaker
House Of Black b. Gates Of Agony, Infantry and Acclaimed – Cannonball/running boot combination to Bravo
Mariah May b. Leyla Hirsch – Running knee
Bryan Danielson/FTR b. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh – Running knee to Jarrett

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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Dynamite
Date: May 22, 2024
Location: Mechanics Bank Arena, Bakersfield, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re less than four days away from Double Or Nothing and that means it is time for one of the final pushes to the show. There is a good chance that we’ll be seeing some more matches added to the card. Other than that, we are probably going to be seeing more of the Young Bucks because of course. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence, including clips from Furiosa as part of a crossover event.

Orange Cassidy/Will Ospreay vs. Roderick Strong/Trent Beretta

Don Callis is on commentary and suggests that Cassidy is now one of “his guys”. Cassidy and Beretta slug it out on the floor to start before Cassidy comes back in for a high crossbody on Strong. The Kingdom distracts Ospreay so Trent can get in a cheap shot and take over. Ospreay knocks Strong away and brings Cassidy in to clean house but Beretta crotches him on top. A gutbuster onto the top drops Ospreay again and all four brawl to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Cassidy…seemingly trying to nip up but crawling over for the tag to Ospreay instead. Strong cuts Ospreay off with a half and half suplex and then hits a spinning faceplant for two. Ospreay is back with a poisonrana and Cassidy falls off the top (on purpose) for two more on Strong.

Cassidy’s top rope DDT plants Beretta and another DDT drops Strong for two. Strong is back up and tries End Of Heartache but Callis grabs Cassidy’s foot, allowing him to grab Stundog Millionaire. The Kingdom’s interference fails but here is Wardlow to deck Ospreay from behind. Strong grabs End Of Heartache to pin Cassidy at 12:56.

Rating: B. Rather hot opener here with Strong getting the win that he needs to boost himself up before what is likely a loss to Ospreay on Sunday. Even with the Undisputed Kingdom around him, it’s hard to imagine him leaving with the title without some kind of screwy finish. The Callis/Cassidy stuff…yeah I’m not feeling it, but odds are it continues on Sunday.

Post match Beretta chokes Cassidy out and Strong busts Ospreay open with the International Title.

The Young Bucks have security bar Darby Allin from the building because they want the safest locker room in wrestling. Sonjay Dutt comes in to suggest that he get paid extra if Satnam Singh takes out Bryan Danielson.

Here is Bullet Club Gold for a chat (and yes the wagon for all of their belts is funny). Jay White doesn’t think much of Pac (he’s not sure how to pronounce it) because Pac has been messing with things that don’t concern him. Pac pops up on screen and brings back the Lucha Bros to reform the Death Triangle. Cue Death Triangle to clear the ring and Pac issues the title challenge for Double Or Nothing.

Bryan Keith vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hook

For a shot at Chris Jericho’s FTW Title on Sunday with Jericho on commentary. Shibata and Hook both go after Keith in the corner to start before trading suplexes. Keith gets in one of his own and we take an early break. Back with Shibata hitting running boots in the corner until Hook gets Redrum on Keith. Shibata breaks that up and gets the Figure Four on Keith….but Hook adds Redrum on Keith for the double submission at 6:31.

Rating: C. Ok so it’s going to be a triple threat at the pay per view, making me wonder why Keith, or the qualifying matches, needed to take place at all. At least they didn’t make it go long so Jericho didn’t get to talk that much. Hook being featured is a good thing, though I’m almost scared of how long he’ll have to wait before getting a big win.

Post match Jericho grabs the mic and says he’s here to get more camera time. He’s proud of Hook and Shibata for everything they’ve learned and yes the three way is official. That’s from Tony Khan, making me wonder why he’s allowing the Bucks to do anything at all.

We look at the first Mercedes Mone vs. Willow Nightingale match from last year for New Japan, when Mone was injured. This has set up their rematch at Double Or Nothing.

Video on Konosuke Takeshita.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Matt Sydal

Takeshita jumps him to start and hits a hard brainbuster before stopping to sneer. Sydal manages a quick hurricanrana and a dropkick but walks into the Blue Thunder Bomb. One heck of a right hand knocks Sydal silly for the pin at 2:00. Ok that was WAY more effective than I was expecting. Nice work.

Post match Takeshita keeps up the beating until Jon Moxley hits the ring…to talk. Or hit Takeshita with the microphone. Back to back nice surprises.

The Young Bucks find Swerve Strickland sitting at their seat and says hit his music because he’s up next.

Swerve Strickland vs. Nick Wayne

Non-title and Wayne is alone for once. Wayne runs away to start but Swerve catches him for a whipping with a belt. Swerve picks him up but gets tornado DDTed on the floor as we take a break. Back with Swerve belly to back superplexing him onto the apron and hitting the Swerve Stomp onto the floor. They get back inside and Wayne rolls him up for two with feet on the ropes, as the band-aid over Swerve’s eye is falling off. Swerve isn’t having that and hits the House Call for the pin at 8:57.

Rating: C+. The ending was just about perfect as Swerve turned it on and beat Wayne like the lower level star that Wayne is. Swerve shouldn’t be having trouble beating Wayne and as soon as it started getting difficult, he finished things off out of nowhere. It was a well put together match as it went the way it should have and that’s nice to see.

Post match Killswitch comes in to beat down Swerve as Christian Cage comes in. Swerve takes out Luchasaurus and Cage sprints off, steals a car and bails…but gets cut off by Prince Nana in another car. Swerve shows up and gives Cage a beatdown so good that I’ll forget to wonder how Nana knew where he should have been at the perfect time. Cage avoids a Conchairto on the hood of the car.

Malakai Black vs. Kyle O’Reilly

They trade strikes to start (shocking indeed) until Black grabs a headlock. O’Reilly kicks the leg out on a springboard attempt and sweeps the leg for a bonus. Black kicks him out to the floor though and we take an early break. Back with O’Reilly’s rebound lariat being cut off by an elbow to the face.

O’Reilly snaps off a German suplex for two and the hard kicks keep Black in trouble. The ankle lock goes on but O’Reilly legs go for no apparent reason, allowing Black to hit a brainbuster for two. Back up and Black head fakes him, setting up The End for the knock out and the pin at 10:21.

Rating: B-. This was mainly about the striking and it worked pretty well, with Black looking like more of a killer on the way to the pay per view. The End is one of those moves that is going to knock anyone cold and that makes Black dangerous. I’m not feeling the Black vs. Copeland feud, but it’s nice to see Black getting built up again.

Post match the lights go out and Black gets a Bloodbath. Adam Copeland pops up to say see you soon.

We look at Bryan Danielson’s history in Anarchy In The Arena and what he is willing to do to fight for AEW.

Double Or Nothing rundown.

We look at Toni Storm stealing Serena Deeb’s flag and using it as a towel on Saturday.

Toni Storm/Mariah May vs. Outcasts

Zak Knight is here with the Outcasts. Cameron gets sent to the apron to start but manages a shoulder to May’s ribs. May takes her down back inside and it’s off to Saraya, with the fans seemingly approving. Storm comes in for the slugout and a Thesz press into the right hands has Saraya in trouble. Storm slams May onto Saraya for two and we pause for the referee to check on Saraya. As you might expect, this lets Cameron come in for a cheap shot so the villains can take over as we take a break.

Back with Storm getting the tag to clean house, including a headbutt to rock Cameron. A chokebomb hits Cameron as everything breaks down. Storm and May pause for a hug but get caught with stereo sunset bombs. Back up and Storm and May kiss the Outcasts, setting up Storm Zero and May Day. Another Storm Zero to Cameron finishes at 9:12.

Rating: C. The Storm/May/Deeb/Cameron/anyone else they’re bringing into things is so all over the place and I think that’s what they’re trying to do with it. If the story has so many moving parts, maybe it doesn’t need to make that much sense. The fans are reacting to the people in it and that might be enough for whatever it is they’re doing.

Storm teases disrobing behind Serena Deeb’s flag again but Deeb runs in with a chair shot. And a shoe shot, which sets up a half crab in a chair to make Storm tap.

Bullet Club Gold wants Death Triangle at Double Or Nothing. That’s already set so I guess they’re just happy about it?

Bryan Danielson vs. Satnam Singh

Jeff Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal are here with Singh. Danielson kicks away in the corner to start and is quickly swatted away. A delayed suplex drops Danielson and they head outside. Danielson is sent into the steps as Dutt loads up the announcers’ table….which collapses on its own.

Danielson comes back with the strikes, including a hard shot against the barricade. A Jarrett distraction lets Singh chokeslam him onto the apron for two as the beating is on. Dutt pulls the turnbuckle pad off but Danielson gets in a low blow and strikes away. Singh chops him from his knees but Danielson strikes him down again. The LeBell Lock goes on, with the other villains coming in for the DQ at 4:52.

Rating: C+. This was a good example of “well, what else were they supposed to do?”. Singh did his basic giant stuff, but it was more about giving Danielson an obstacle to overcome. The whole point was about the Elite getting Danielson in trouble and that went well, especially the beatdown. Good storytelling for a mediocre match.

Post match Danielson fights back and gets the guitar but Singh punches it to pieces. Cue the Young Bucks with an envelope (to pay off Dutt and company) but the EVP Trigger only sees their knees collide. Kazuchika Okada comes out for a distraction, allowing Jack Perry to jump Danielson from behind. Danielson is taken up the ramp as Darby Allin arrives in a car, driven by Tony Khan.

Allin comes into the ring and scares the Elite off with a flamethrower (yes a flamethrower) as Nick is sent through a table to end the show. Khan already being back makes me wonder if they’re going to just blow off the Bucks’ story on Sunday. It’s probably false hope, but it’s better than nothing.

Overall Rating: B-. This was an odd show, as it certainly had good parts and things that kept me interested, but it didn’t do much about making me want to see Double Or Nothing. The pay per view should be good, though nothing on it has me begging to see what they’re going to do. This show, while certainly not bad, didn’t make me want to see the pay per view that much more and that’s not a great sign heading into Sunday.

Results
Roderick Strong/Trent Beretta b. Will Ospreay/Orange Cassidy – End Of Heartache to Cassidy
Hook and Katsuyori Shibata b. Bryan Keith – Double submission
Konosuke Takeshita b. Matt Sydal – Right hand
Swerve Strickland b. Nick Wayne – House Call
Malakai Black b. Kyle O’Reilly – The End
Toni Storm/Mariah May b. Outcasts – Storm Zero to Cameron
Bryan Danielson b. Satnam Singh when Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett interfered

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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Ring Of Honor
Date: May 16, 2024
Location: Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re up in Canada this week and that means we could be in for something…well as interesting as it gets around here. With more than two months from Death Before Dishonor, it could be a long time before we get to anything important with this show. Maybe we could get some decent action out of it though so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s what’s coming on this show.

Kyle Fletcher vs. Mentallo

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning that if Mentallo wins or lasts the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Fletcher jumps him to start and fires off the chops in the corner. Some stomps set up a delayed suplex but Mentallo is back with a running dropkick to the knee. Fletcher is sent outside for a moonsault, setting up a top rope Fameasser for two back inside. The palm strike in the corner is cut off with a boot to the face and Fletcher hits a brainbuster for two. They trade kicks to the face until Fletcher grabs the piledriver for the pin at 5:56.

Rating: C+. So Fletcher loses over and over on Dynamite to bigger names, then needs to work to beat someone who means nothing around here. I’m not sure why he couldn’t have a dominant win here, but he could use a few of them after a not so great stretch of results. There’s nothing wrong with moving Fletcher up the ladder, but maybe not have your champion take so many losses?

Satnam Singh/Jay Lethal vs. Dark Order

Oh yeah Lethal and company are a thing. Lethal and Uno slug it out to start and neither can get very far. Therefore we’ll go to Singh vs. Silver, the latter of whom barely comes up to his chest. Silver puts his hand up for a test of strength, with said hand only reaching Singh’s shoulder. Singh drops him with a single shot and hands it off to Lethal for a running crotch attack against the ropes into a Fargo strut. Uno knocks Lethal off the top and Silver tries to choke Singh, who chokeslams Uno anyway. Lethal actually has to make the save, setting up the Lethal Injection to finish Uno at 4:46.

Rating: C. As weird as it is to see Singh in ROH (or in a match at this point), it was nice to have something resembling star power around here. Lethal isn’t a top name in AEW, but he’s someone who has nothing else going on so putting him out there for about five minutes in ROH is a good idea. While it wasn’t a particularly good match, I’ll take a match between some midcard names over another squash.

Jacked Jameson and the Iron Savages are tired of being stepping stones and are ready to become road blocks. Shouldn’t they want to be something other than something that stands still?

Anna Jay vs. Tara Zep

Zep powers her into the corner to start but Jay is back with a suplex for a quick two. Jay chokes away on the ropes and hits a Gory Bomb, only to pull Zep up. The Queenslayer finishes Zep at 2:09.

Skye Blue vs. Rachael Ellering

Blue grabs a headlock to start but gets powered away without much trouble. Ellering hits a hard shoulder into a gutwrench suplex but the running backsplash hits raised knees. A handspring elbow is cut off by an Ellering clothesline and a running elbow puts Blue down again. Ellering’s scoop brainbuster gets two and now the backsplash can connect. They trade rollups for two each and Ellering hits a pop up powerbomb for two more. Blue is back up with a quick Code Blue for the pin at 6:32.

Rating: C+. The action was fine but this was the match that became infamous last week due to the horrible person (he’s not a fan) at ringside. Whatever he said was edited out here as he wasn’t noticeable at all, though there were a few odd camera cuts in places. I’d be curious to see how much of the match was trimmed, but the less he has to be heard, the better.

Angelico and Serpentico say they’ve been in a nightmare for months and can’t wake up. They’ve had to deal with Griff Garrison/Cole Karter/Maria Kanellis and it’s about to get uglier. Does it have to? It can’t just be over instead?

Action Andretti/Darius Martin vs. Levi Knight/Jon Cruz

Knight is rather retro and gets kicked in the ribs by Darius to start. Cruz comes in and takes his jacket off but trips on the ropes, with Andretti not being overly impressed. Knight comes back in and gets elbowed out to the floor in a hurry. With commentary making as many Knight/Night music puns as they can manage, Knight gets in a quick shot to take over on Darius.

A backbreaker gives Knight two and Cruz hammers away as well, with Andretti having to make a save. Cruz grabs the chinlock with a knee in the back but Darius hits a Pele Kick out of the corner. That’s enough for Andretti to come back in as everything breaks down. Andretti hits a slingshot dive to the floor and a double superkick drops Knight. Cruz is sent to the floor and a double swinging slam finishes Knight at 7:44.

Rating: C+. This was a fun match with the kind of regular team beating a makeshift team. Knight got your attention by looking a bit odd and sometimes that’s enough to get you through something like this. Any combination of Andretti/Top Flight works, though they need to win something of value at some point.

Kingdom vs. London Lightning/Jason Geiger

Another non-title Proving Ground match and the spotlights during the Kingdom’s entrance show off a lot of fans cosplaying as empty seats. Lightning and Bennett start things off with Lightning moving around rather quickly. Taven comes in and can’t catch Geiger, who grabs a quick spinebuster with Bennett having to make the save.

Taven chokes in the corner and says that’s how your mom stretches, which is kind of a weird insult. It’s back to Bennett for the Death Valley Driver and Just The Tip gives Taven two. Lightning gets over to Geiger as everything breaks down, with Lightning being sent outside. Rockstar Supernova puts Geiger down for the count at 5:05.

Rating: C. If only the Undisputed Kingdom hadn’t been treated as such losers, the Kingdom could be a rather useful team. They work well together and have a history of success, but for some reason they’re stuck with worthless titles and get beaten by any serious competition. Lightning continues to do well when he’s out there so it’s no surprise that he’s one of the resident Canadian jobbers.

Athena vs. Nicole Matthews

Non-title Proving Ground match and Matthews is something of a mainstay of independent wrestling. The fans certainly seem to know Matthews and that is already helping a bit. They go to the mat to start with Matthews working on a hammerlock. Athena reverses into a gator roll but gets sent outside as she can’t do much with Matthews early on. With nothing else working, Athena trips her down and scores with a big right hand as commentary talks about Matthews’ career history.

A running forearm in the corner rocks Matthews again and Athena even throws in a bit of a dance. Matthews escapes a neck crank and gets a few near falls, followed by some clotheslines. A northern lights suplex gives Matthews two but Athena hits her in the face. Matthews gets baseball slided to the floor and the O Face gives Athena the pin at 7:02.

Rating: C+. The name value of Matthews helped a good bit here, as the fans seemed to remember her and wanted to see her have a chance. While I get not having her go over Athena or even make the time limit, it was nice to see something of a tease. Athena seems likely to be facing Queen Aminata next so giving her a nice win helps, with Matthews being able to give her just enough of a challenge.

Post match Athena puts her in the crossface but Queen Aminata makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Ring Of Honor is in such a weird spot, as this is the kind of show that makes for a perfectly watchable show week to week. The problem is that the champions and the bigger names are treated as such losers on AEW shows that it’s hard to get behind them here. I’d want to see more of these people in action, but seeing them lose all the time on AEW TV brings them right back down. Notice that Athena, who never loses anywhere and is almost never on AEW TV, is the biggest star on this show. That’s not a coincidence, but that isn’t stopping AEW from running most of the ROH names into the ground.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. Mentallo – Piledriver
Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh b. Dark Order – Lethal Injection to Uno
Anna Jay b. Tara Zep – Queenslayer
Skye Blue b. Rachael Ellering – Code Blue
Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Levi Knight/Jon Cruz – Double swinging slam to Knight
Kingdom b. London Lightning/Jason Geiger – Rockstar Supernova to Geiger
Athena b. Nicole Matthews – O Face

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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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

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: 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

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: 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

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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