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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AND

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Collision
Date: May 18, 2024
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another three hour block on Saturday night, starting with this one. The show is likely going to feature some buildup for Dynamite, though hopefully it also includes some effort to get ready for Double Or Nothing next Sunday. The show could use some extra buildup and it would be nice to see some of it here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Will Ospreay vs. Shane Taylor

Anthony Ogogo is here with Ospreay and the Undisputed Kingdom comes out to watch at ringside. Ospreay dropkicks him to the floor to start and takes Taylor down with a dive, followed by a springboard back inside. Taylor hits a hard shoulder to put Ospreay down so Matt Taven goes after Ospreay, meaning Taylor gets to yell a bit. Ospreay manages to post Taylor and send him into Taven. Ogogo uses the distraction to get in a cheap shot on Ospreay as we take a break.

Back with Ospreay hitting a handspring kick to the head to stagger Taylor, setting up a top rope shot to the back of said head. The Hidden Blade is blocked and Taylor’s running splash gets two. One heck of a clothesline gives Taylor the same and he blocks the Oscutter, setting up a Marcus Garvey Driver for two more. The package piledriver is blocked so Taylor goes up, only to get caught with the Cheeky Nandos Kick. The Storm Driver out of the corner gives Ospreay the pin at 9:53.

Rating: B-. Ospreay is put in trouble and fights back to win over the monster in the end. That’s a perfectly fine way to go and gives Ospreay a nice victory on the way to his title shot. The problem continues to be that the International Title feels way beneath Ospreay and the more he’s built up, the bigger that problem becomes. Unless they have some kind of genius way out, Ospreay almost has to win the title, and he’s being built up well if he’s going to become the new champion.

Post match the Undisputed Kingdom goes after Ospreay, who takes them out like he’s a big star and they’re a bunch of goons.

Team AEW is happy with Darby Allin joining the team with Eddie Kingston out injured. Tonight, they’re ready for Lance Archer and the Righteous.

Jon Moxley is ready to face Konosuke Takeshita at Double Or Nothing. The BCC fights for violence, with Claudio Castagnoli saying he hates talking because it should be about going out there to fight.

Chris Jericho and Big Bill aren’t happy with Hook for attacking them, but Jericho likes Hook showing that kind of fire. That’s why Jericho is here, because Hook needs someone to teach him.

Hook vs. Johnny TV

This is a qualifying match for a triple threat match for a future FTW Title shot and Taya Valkyrie is here with TV. Hook takes him down to start and goes for the arm but TV’s rollup gets two. A suplex and clothesline put TV down and Hook counters a high kick into another suplex. Taya’s distraction lets TV hit the Flying Chuck but Starship Pain misses, allowing Hook to grab Redrum for the tap at 3:27.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do much here but I like Hook getting to do something other than the hardcore matches. He’s only going to get so much out of those, so putting him in here with a veteran, even in a short match, is going to let him learn a bit more. Now just let him beat Jericho into the ground (again) and he might be able to move on to something a bit better.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Rocky Romero

Another FTW qualifying match. They go technical to start with Shibata grabbing the arm before switching into a Figure Four. That’s broken up so Romero grabs an Octopus, which is reversed into another Figure Four. Romero is out again and grabs a tornado DDT as we take a break.

Back with Romero kicking at the arm, with Shibata telling him to keep it up. Shibata chops away but Romero ties him in the ropes for a middle rope dropkick. Sliced Bread doesn’t work for Romero, who comes up favoring his leg, meaning Shibata can grab a kneebar. Romero makes the rope so Shibata suplexes him for two more. With that broken up, Shibata goes back to the Figure Four for the win at 10:01.

Rating: B-. Perfectly acceptable, if not good, wrestling here with Shibata picking apart a limb and then working it over until Romero gave up. That helps to make up for the lack of drama, as Romero winning wouldn’t have made much sense. Romero might not be the most interesting star, but he’s a rather strong hand in the ring, which is a very valuable thing to have.

Bryan Keith vs. Beefcake Boulder

This is the final FTW qualifying match, making me wonder how the participants were chosen. Boulder has Bronson and Jacked Jameson with him, the latter of whom talks about how much trash he has seen in this city. Keith gets knocked into the corner to start but slips out of a slam and kicks away at the leg. Jameson offers a distraction but Keith uses it to send Bronson into Boulder’s hairy chest. Diamond Dust finishes Bronson at 1:43. Well that was fast.

Pac doesn’t care about what Bullet Club Gold has been saying to them. He wants them to make him feel something and care. The interviewer can leave him alone too.

We look back at Mercedes Mone and Willow Nightingale signing a contract on Dynamite.

Bullet Club Gold appears for a match but they have attacked Pac and carried him out to the stage. Much like in the previous match: well that was fast.

Christian Cage tells Nick Wayne that he has a warmup match tonight before he faces Swerve Strickland on Dynamite. Wayne thanks Cage for turning him into a man.

Orange Cassidy vs. Isiah Kassidy

We’ll go with first names to make things a bit more simple. Orange flips around to start and they go to the mat, with Orange grabbing a quickly broken surfboard. Isiah avoids the Orange Punch so Orange hits a suicide dive as Don Callis is watching in the back. There’s the running dropkick against the barricade…and here is Trent Beretta in the crowd. The distraction lets Isiah get in a whip to the barricade, setting up a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.

We take a break and come back with Orange countering a piledriver attempt on the steps. They get back in where Stundog Millionaire and the spinning DDT plant Isiah. Both of them head to the apron where Orange kicks him out to the floor. Another Beretta distraction lets Isiah get in a cheap shot, allowing him to use the referee for the Silly String. Orange pops up and hits the Beach Break for the pin at 12:12.

Rating: C+. They’re piling up the nice matches without much in the way of drama over the winner. Orange vs. Beretta is continuing, likely in some big showdown at Double Or Nothing, which should be where Orange gets his big win to win the feud for good. Another pretty good match here, as it helps move towards something important down the line.

Post break Beretta says he’s better than Cassidy, who had to cheat to beat him. The challenge is on for Double Or Nothing, with Cassidy pulling him over the barricade.

Serena Deeb vs. Anna Jay

Deeb starts fast and elbows away, setting up a swinging neckbreaker for two. Jay gets tied up in a Paradise Lock for the running dropkick. Back up and Jay snaps off a northern lights suplex, only to get neckbreakered over the middle rope. We take a break and come back with Jay fighting out of an abdominal stretch and grabbing a Downward Spiral for two. Deeb ties her in the ropes for a dragon screw legwhip, followed by a hammerlock lariat for two of her own. The Queenslayer goes on out of nowhere and Deeb has to flip out. A faceplant into the Serenity Lock makes Jay tap at 8:34.

Rating: C. Much like the Shibata match earlier, Deeb picked Jay apart and made her give up in the end. That’s a perfectly fine way to go, but my goodness it would be nice to have Jay either be some up and coming star or cannon fodder for the biggest stories. This is what she’s been doing for a long time now and she’s not getting anywhere new as a result.

Post match Luther comes out and steals Deeb’s flag. Mariah May comes out to hold the flag up so Toni Storm can come to the stage and disrobe behind it. The flag is wrapped around Storm and the villains leave.

Video on Swerve Strickland vs. Christian Cage.

Nick Wayne vs. Jack Cartwheel

Wayne jumps him to start and stomps away but Cartwheel fights back up. Cartwheel sends him outside, where Wayne pulls a Samoa Joe by sidestepping the big dive. Back in and Wayne’s World connects….for no cover. Instead it’s a Swerve Strickland House Call for the pin on Cartwheel at 2:19.

FTR/Bryan Danielson vs. Righteous/Lance Archer

Harwood and Vincent fight over a lockup to start, with the latter whipping him hard into the corner. That’s broken up and Harwood snaps off a suplex before a double slam gives Wheeler two. It’s off to Dutch so Wheeler snaps off some jabs, allowing Harwood to come back in for a Russian legsweep. The fans want Danielson as everything breaks down and we take a break.

Back with Harwood fighting out of a chinlock but Vincent drops him again. Harwood sends Archer into the corner and avoids Dutch’s elbow drop, allowing the tag back to Danielson to start cleaning house. Dutch gets low bridged to the floor and the suicide dive connects. Everything breaks down and Archer has to save Dutch from the LeBell Lock. Autumn Sunshine gets two, with Wheeler having to make the save. Vincent gets PowerPlexed but Danielson has to break up the Blackout. That leaves Vincent to walk into the Shatter Machine for the pin at 12:52.

Rating: B. This was the best match on the show and that shouldn’t be a big surprise given the talent involved. Danielson can make anything work and FTR is still probably the best team in the company. The villains did their job well enough before ultimately falling to the better team. Commentary kept talking about how Archer and the Righteous were doing this at the Elite’s bidding so at least it ties into the bigger story.

Post match the villains beat Danielson and FTR down, including a bunch of chair shots to Harwood’s ribs. Wheeler gets Blacked Out onto a chair but Daniel Garcia comes out with a chair of his own for the save.

Overall Rating: B. Collision is such a weird show. The wrestling ranges from fine to good, but two hours of little more than setting up things for Dynamite and supplements to the midcard feuds makes for a long, long sit. Throw in Rampage after and it’s even more tedious. That makes it all the more frustrating as this is by no means a bad show and I enjoy it more than Dynamite most of the time. You just have to remember that very rarely is anything big going to happen and it’s much more about setting things up for Dynamite, where everything happens. That makes for a rather good, yet at times tedious, two hours.

Results
Will Ospreay b. Shane Taylor – Storm Driver
Hook b. Johnny TV – Redrum
Katsuyori Shibata b. Rocky Romero – Figure Four
Bryan Keith b. Beefcake Boulder – Diamond Dust
Orange Cassidy b. Isiah Kassidy – Beach Break
Nick Wayne b. Jack Cartwheel – House Call
Bryan Danielson/FTR b. Righteous/Lance Archer – Shatter Machine to Vincent

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 15, 2024
Location: Angel Of The Winds Arena, Everett, Washington
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

We’re a week and a half away from Double Or Nothing and that means we could be in for a show building towards the pay per view. In this case, we have the Blackpool Combat Club vs. the Don Callis Family in what should be quite the fight. Other than that, Swerve Strickland needs some revenge on Brian Cage. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Don Callis Family vs. Blackpool Combat Club

Kyle Fletcher and Jeff Cobb for the Family here, with the latter as a hired gun for the week. The brawl starts on the floor with Danielson’s music still playing and the Club taking over. We settle down for the bell ringing and Danielson striking away at Cobb in the corner. Moxley comes in for a running dropkick to the leg in the corner as the Club starts picking Cobb apart.

Fletcher comes in and fires off some chops, which don’t have much effect on Moxley. A superplex gives Moxley two but Cobb breaks up a cross armbreaker attempt. Fletcher is draped over the top rope so Danielson can hit a top rope knee as we take a break. Back with Moxley staggering out of the corner and snapping off a suplex to Cobb. Danielson comes back in and starts firing off the strikes but Cobb suplexes him out of the air. Moxley and Fletcher trade kicks to the face until Cobb runs Moxley over. What looks to be a Doomsday Device is broken up though and Moxley Death Riders Fletcher for the pin at 12:58.

Rating: B-. Yes the Ring Of Honor TV Champion took the fall again and yes that happens over and over again and yes you are still expected to pay to see the television show (which isn’t on television) he represents. The match was the usual big party fight that you see around here, with Cobb looking like a monster as tends to be the case whenever he’s in AEW. Just find someone other than Fletcher to take the fall next time? Or have him drop the title?

Post match the Family goes after Moxley again but Claudio Castagnoli runs in for the save.

Video on Swerve Strickland vs. Christian Cage.

Here is Adam Copeland for a chat but the House Of Black jumps him from behind. Copeland is knocked out and Malakai Black steals his wedding ring. Kyle O’Reilly tries to make the save but gets beaten down as well.

We look at Eddie Kingston being injured at a New Japan event over the weekend at the hands of the Elite.

The Elite mocks Kingston for getting hurt and think Anarchy In The Arena will be 4-3.

The Young Bucks have their own shoes. Sure.

FTR thinks they have a replacement for Anarchy In The Arena. More on this later.

Young Bucks vs. Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels

Non-title and Jack Perry is on commentary. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll only refer to Sydal as Sydal and Matt Buck as Matt. Sydal rolls Matt up to start and it’s quickly off to Daniels to hammer away in the corner. Nick comes in and cleans house, followed by Matt’s top rope ax handle to Sydal as we take a break. Back with Daniels coming in to beat up the Bucks, including a Downward Spiral/DDT combination. Sydal misses a dive to the floor though and Matt sends him over the barricade, leaving Daniels to get Tony Khan Drivered for the pin at 8:32.

Rating: C+. This was about what it seemed likely to be, with the Bucks getting beaten up for a bit and then winning in the end. Daniels and Sydal weren’t exactly a major threat to them and it lets the Bucks get a win before going into the pay per view. You know, because they haven’t looked strong enough lately.

Post match the Bucks yell at Daniels for talking down to him last week. They’re trying to clean up the toxicity in the locker room so Daniels is fired. Perry pours a drink on Tony Schiavone too.

Toni Storm, while holding Mariah May, threatens Harley Cameron.

Malakai Black looks at Adam Copeland’s wedding ring and accepts his challenge for a barbed wire steel cage match at Double Or Nothing.

Hook vs. Sebastian Wolfe

Redrum in 28 seconds.

Post match Hook calls out Chris Jericho, so here he is, along with Big Bill. Jericho doesn’t want to hurt Hook but offers him a qualifying match to get a title shot. Hook likes the idea and then hits him in the face, only to have Big Bill get involved. Katsuyori Shibata makes the save.

Swerve Strickland is ready for Christian Cage but first he has to take out Brian Cage.

Swerve Strickland vs. Brian Cage

Non-title and Swerve gets the big hometown reaction. Cage slugs away in the corner to start but gets sent outside with Swerve stomping on the arm. The arm is snapped over the top rope but Cage sends him into the corner again. Swerve’s half nelson is broken up and Cage hits a gorilla press slam into the corner as we take a break.

Back with Swerve slipping out of a powerbomb attempt and sending Cage face first into the buckle. A middle rope elbow to the back has Cage in more trouble and Swerve brainbusters him for two. The rolling Downward Spiral is cut off but Swerve escapes Weapon X as well. Swerve ties him in the ropes for a slingshot stomp to the chest, setting up a 450 for two. Cage’s sitout powerbomb gets two more and they trade shots to the face. Another powerbomb is loaded up but Swerve Stomps his way out in a nice counter. The House Call finishes Cage at 14:48.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match that works well for Swerve: have him get in trouble and then fight back to win in the end. He has a history with Cage and it was nice to see him getting a win that means something to him. Rather good match here, which should completely sever Swerve from the Mogul Embassy.

Post match Swerve grabs a chair but the Patriarchy comes in to beat Swerve down. Nick Wayne breaks a photo of Swerve and his family over Swerve’s head. Christian says that’s payback for Swerve attacking Nick last year and asks if Swerve’s daughter is proud of her absentee father. He rubs Swerve’s blood on the photo for a personal touch.

Hook is willing to face anyone to get the shot at Chris Jericho, including Katsuyori Shibata, who wants Jericho as well. Samoa Joe comes in to yell at Hook for not focusing, with Shibata’s translator saying Joe’s flowery shirt doesn’t look good.

Toni Storm vs. Harley Cameron

Non-title. They trade headlocks to start with Storm taking her to the mat. Storm sends her to the apron and adds a running hip attack to take her down again. Cue Serena Deeb for a distraction though as Cameron takes over. We take a break and come back with Storm hitting a Backstabber into a DDT. A fisherman’s buster gets two on Cameron, who is right back with Eat Defeat. Cameron’s running knee gets two but Storm grabs a chokebomb. Storm Zero finishes Cameron at 7:04.

Rating: C. Cameron seems to be trying but it really isn’t working for her in the ring. She feels like someone who hasn’t been in the ring that long, which might be due to her only debuting about two years ago. I’m not sure why that means she should be in the ring on national TV, but it isn’t exactly working.

Will Ospreay and the Undisputed Kingdom have a staredown in the back, with Ospreay saying he won’t go after Roderick Strong because he knows the rest of the team would be on him. Strong has never had any respect for him and Ospreay’s feelings are mutual. Things get heated, wish Strong bringing up Ospreay’s family and saying Ospreay is a child/fraud. Ospreay accuses Strong of burying him to Ring Of Honor people and promises to take the title. This still feels like a huge downgrade for Ospreay.

Here are Mercedes Mone and Willow Nightingale, with Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway, for the contract signing. Willow asks if Mone respects the TBS Title because Willow is the face of TBS. This smiling face comes to the ring every time and says nothing else matters because you can have fun. She isn’t going to let Mone come into AEW and take all of that away.

Willow signs, leaving Mone saying the best part of Willow’s career is beating her, which will be the case after Double Or Nothing. Willow says the last time they wrestled, she walked out a champion but Mone didn’t walk out at all. The fight is on and Mone is put through the table. Mone is going to need to have the match of the century to make up for how useless she’s been since debuting.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Dax Harwood

Harwood is challenging and goes after Okada’s legs to start, sending him outside. Back in and Okada shoulders him down and sends Harwood shoulder first into the post as we take a break. We come back with Harwood being sat on top and dropkicked out to the floor. A running boot against the barricade hits Harwood, followed by a DDT to knock him silly.

Back in and Harwood falls down to avoid the Rainmaker, followed by a German suplex. Harwood hits a dragon suplex as well but Okada kicks off a Sharpshooter attempt. Okada goes up and gets superplexed down for the big crash, leaving them both down for a minute in a needed breather.

The slingshot sitout powerbomb is blocked and they fight over a Tombstone until Harwood plants him for two. The Sharpshooter goes on but is broken up just as quickly. Okada is frustrated and goes to grab the belt, which the referee takes away, allowing Okada to get in a low blow. The Rainmaker retains the title at 16:05.

Rating: B. Well, that certainly was a top singles guy taking a long time to beat one half of a tag team who never wins anything important on his own. They’re continuing with the idea of the Elite looking unstoppable going into Anarchy In The Arena, which isn’t exactly making me want to see the match. At the same time, points for not having the Bucks run in, as seeing less of them is nice.

Post match the Elite comes in for the beatdown so Cash Wheeler and Bryan Danielson run in. Darby Allin, in a purple fur coat, runs in from behind for the real save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was mainly focused on building things up for Double Or Nothing but the show is only looking so good at the moment. The main focus is, again, on the Elite and they aren’t exactly working so far. Allin being back is a good surprise and he’ll help the match, but it feels like the latest way for the Elite to be better than everyone else and that’s not the most thrilling story. Other than that you have Strickland vs. Cage, which is coming off as a rather midcard feud despite being for the World Title. They had a focus here, but the storylines just aren’t doing it for me at the moment.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club b. Don Callis Family – Death Rider to Fletcher
Young Bucks b. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal – Tony Khan Driver to Daniels
Hook b. Sebastian Wolfe – Redrum
Swerve Strickland b. Brian Cage – House Call
Toni Storm b. Harley Cameron – Storm Zero
Kazuchika Okada b. Dax Harwood – Rainmaker

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Dynamite
Date: May 8, 2024
Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re still in Canada with less than three weeks to go before Double Or Nothing. Much like last week, Kenny Omega is here for a special announcement about…well whatever he’s announcing. Other than that, we have the showdown between Trent Beretta and Orange Cassidy so let’s get to it.

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

Adam Copeland is worried about the House Of Black so tonight, he’s facing Brody King in a No DQ -TNT Title match.

Orange Cassidy vs. Trent Beretta

Cassidy starts fast and knocks him outside to start, with the suicide elbow dropping Beretta again. Beretta manages a posting and hammers away but Cassidy goes into the crowd and puts his hands in his pockets before continuing the beating. The running Orange Punch is backdropped over the barricade and they get back to ringside. Cassidy gets kneed in the face but comes right back with the Orange Punch for the double knockdown. Cue Don Callis to ringside and we take a break.

Back with Callis on commentary as Cassidy fires off forearms. Stundog Millionaire is countered so Cassidy grabs the tornado DDT instead. Beretta manages a half and half suplex and they’re both down again. Back up and Beretta drops him with a piledriver, followed by another piledriver and a running knee. The turnbuckle is ripped off but Cassidy rips off one of his own. Beretta is sent face first and the rollup gives Cassidy the pin at 13:09.

Rating: B-. Good fight between the two of them (ignore the complete lack of a count for such a long stretch of brawling) and the ending should leave the door open for a rematch at Double Or Nothing. I’m not sure if I would have had them do a full match like this one if they’re supposed to do it again in a few weeks but at least what we got was pretty nice. That being said, Beretta losing so soon isn’t exactly the wisest move.

Post match Beretta jumps him again and hits a piledriver onto the steps. Cassidy gets sent into various things so Beretta grabs a toolbox. Cassidy has a chair but Callis breaks it up before anything else happens. That would be Cassidy on his feet about a minute and a half after a piledriver on the steps.

Earlier today, the Elite was in their car and took Tony Khan’s parking spot.

We look back at Kenny Omega returning and being attacked by the Elite.

Jack Perry thinks Omega isn’t as tough as he thinks he is because Omega was a coward when the Elite needed him. Now they are going to change the world without him.

Omega joins us from the emergency room and says May 26 is when this all started. He issues the challenge for Anarchy In The Arena with the Elite vs. FTR/….two people we’ll find out tonight.

Here is Serena Deeb for a chat. She’s happy to be here and excited to face Toni Storm at Double Or Nothing. She has been out of action for a long time but we pause for a LET’S GO OILERS chant. Last year she suffered three seizures and talks about how serious they are but here is Toni Storm to say this sounds like a charity case. Deeb tells her to be serious because Deeb will be fighting to win the title at Double Or Nothing. Storm doesn’t care and the fight is on, with security breaking it up.

Rocky Romero checks on Orange Cassidy, saying that if he beats Jay White tonight, the two of them and a third partner get a Trios Title shot. Maybe it could be Trent Beretta. Cassidy isn’t convinced.

Harley Cameron vs. Mariah May

Saraya is here with Cameron, who kicks May own to start and talks a lot. May fights up and hits a quick basement dropkick to send Cameron to the apron. That earns May a neck snap over the top and a kick to the back as we take a break. Back with Saraya yelling at fans and May winning a slugout. A chokebomb gives May two and a heck of a headbutt puts Cameron down. It’s too early for May’s hip attack as Saraya pulls Cameron to the floor, earning herself a hard shot from May. Back in and May Day finishes Cameron at 9:02.

Rating: C. Well that’s a match that happened. I’m not sure why May needed nine minutes to beat Cameron, who hasn’t wrestled in over a year, but that’s what we got. May continues to be in a weird place as she doesn’t really have anything going on, though it seems like she might be up for something with Forbidden Door. Either that or get to the point with her and Toni Storm already.

Post match the beating is on but Mina Shirakawa makes the save and toasts the champagne with May.

Bullet Club Gold cuts off Pac (who was talking about bringing back Death Triangle), with Jay White saying he should go after Kazuchika Okada, who he beat before.

Malakai Black talks about having to destroy Adam Copeland so he can live again.

We get a very positive Young Bucks video.

The Bucks praise the video and say they don’t want more Kenny Omega updates.

Here is Swerve Strickland to say he is in a really bad mood. We look at the Patriarchy taking Swerve out last week, with Luchasaurus ripping out part of Swerve’s hair. Swerve can’t say he wouldn’t do the same thing, but he is the Conor McDavid (local hockey hero) of AEW. He wants the Patriarchy out here right now so here they are, with Christian Cage saying he is going to take something from Swerve every single week.

That leads to Double Or Nothing, when the wave Swerve has been riding will come crashing down. Violence is teased but Swerve says he wasn’t coming alone. Cue the Mogul Embassy so Swerve makes Drake/Kendrick Lamar references. Then the Embassy turns on him, apparently sick of hearing people talk about those two because nothing else is happening in the world whatsoever. Swerve is put through the announcers’ table. That was a good close to a loophole, but hopefully Swerve beats Brian cage next week to get his revenge and then moves on.

The Patriarchy goes to the back and runs into the Young Bucks, who seem to have had something to do with that. More business together is teased.

We look at Willow Nightingale beating Skye Blue in a street fight on Rampage.

Willow Nightingale says no one can beat the smile off her face. As for Mercedes Mone, she better be ready at Double Or Nothing, because Willow is always ready. Mone is in for the fight of her life.

Rocky Romero vs. Jay White

Romero starts fast and knocks him outside, followed by some of the Forever Clotheslines in the corner. White gets in a hard clothesline of his own though and we take a break. Back with Romero fighting out of a chinlock and taking it to the floor to hammer away. Back in and Romero hits a jumping knee, followed by a backslide for two. White knocks him out of the air though and grabs the Bladerunner for the pin (with one finger) at 8:04.

Rating: C+. Why am I supposed to care about Rocky Romero? He’s perfectly fine in the ring but you know what you’re going to get from him and he isn’t going to win any big matches. Other than his ties to New Japan, what about him warrants having him around so often? It just seems like there are a lot of people who could benefit from getting as much time as he does but instead it’s more of hearing about how great he is when he never wins anything.

Post match the beatdown is on until Pac makes the save.

Samoa Joe training video.

Big Bill/Chris Jericho vs. Mo Jabari/Harlon Abbott

Jericho knocks Jabari down to start and hands it off to Bill, who slowly pounds away. The chokeslam plants Abbott and Jericho gets the pin at 2:27.

Post match Jericho praises Bill and talks about facing Katsuyori Shibata and Hook. He’s not sure where Hook is, but get well soon!

TNT Title: Brody King vs. Adam Copeland

Copeland is defending and this is No DQ. A headlock has Copeland in some trouble to start but he has to escape an early Ganso Bomb attempt. King is sent to the apron where he gets a boot up to stop a charge. A neckbreaker over the ropes drops Copeland and we take a break.

Back with King missing a running crossbody and crashing into the barricade. Copeland chairs him in the back a few times and they go up to the apron. A DDT onto the chair onto the apron plants King, who comes up busted open. Copeland hammers away for two more so it’s time to grab another chair (just in case there wasn’t enough blood already, as King is gushing). It’s time to break the bar off of a chair, with the delay allowing King to hit a heck of a clothesline. Copeland is sent face first into a chair in the corner and we take a break.

Back with an exchange of shots tot he face leaving both of them down again. King sends him into the corner for the Cannonball but Copeland is back with the Edge-O-Matic for two. They go to the apron where Copeland manages a Death Valley Driver, followed by the spear through the ropes to send King through a table in a nasty crash. Back in and another spear retains the title at 18:26.

Rating: B. There was A LOT of blood in this match and there is a good chance that will go a long way in determining how much you liked this. It certainly felt intense at times, but it also felt long, with the Malakai Black promo earlier all but guaranteeing that he’s the next big challenger, likely at the pay per view. Copeland’s matches are mostly good, but they’re lacking that something to get them to the next level, which makes giving him this much time a bit weird.

Post match King jumps Copeland but Kyle O’Reilly makes the save.

Mercedes Mone is ready for Double Or Nothing. Yes she’s ready because Willow Nightingale took a year from her career. Now it’s time to get the title because she is that b****. This was every Mone promo: She’s a star, she’s been hurt for a year, did I mention she’s a star?

Adam Copeland thanks Kyle O’Reilly for the help and O’Reilly challenges him for the Cope Open on Collision. Copeland is in.

Here is the Elite (three minutes after the show was scheduled to end) for a chat. Kazuchika Okada tells Kenny Omega to get well soon. Matt Jackson says Tony Khan is the best boss he has ever had but they had to get him out of the way. They’re in for Anarchy In The Arena, which draws out FTR. They don’t like the Young Bucks so here are Eddie Kingston and Bryan Danielson to complete their team. The brawl is on to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. That was a really strange way to end the show, as it wasn’t like the last thing went long and they had to wrap it up. Instead, they just started doing three more segments when the show was supposed to be ending. That is asking a lot when the middle of this show was more than a bit tedious.

The opener and main event were both good, but the matches between them felt like filler, which tends to be the case way too often in AEW. I’ve lost track of how many times it feels like they have about an hour of important stuff and then need to fill in the rest. That was the situation here, which makes me wonder just how a three hour block is going to go this Saturday.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Trent Beretta – Rollup
Mariah May b. Harley Cameron – May Day
Jay White b. Rocky Romero – Bladerunner
Big Bill/Chris Jericho b. Harlon Abbott/Mo Jabari – Chokeslam to Abbott
Adam Copeland b. Brody King – Spear

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

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Dynamite
Date: May 1, 2024
Location: Canada Life Center, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re coming in off a big story last week as the Elite attacked Tony Khan and left him laying to end the show. That opens up a bunch of questions about where things are going, but right now that seems to mean more Young Bucks. Other than that we find out who is challenging Swerve Strickland at Double Or Nothing later this month. Let’s get to it.

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

Tony Khan joins us from Jacksonville, Florida and says he’ll be running the show remotely this week as he isn’t cleared to travel. Then the Young Bucks cut the feed and, in short, say that since Khan isn’t here and they’re still EVP’s, they’re in charge and have the contacts to prove it. Hit that new intro, now featuring all the Elite! So Tony Khan is the dumbest human in wrestling history right? He fell for Jack Perry’s nonsense last week and agreed to those contracts? But we’re supposed to cheer for him?

Here is Swerve Strickland, with Prince Nana, for a chat. Strickland talks about being around a lot lately and how that’s what this company deserves. As for the Bucks, what they did to Tony Khan was a b**** move. Now though he needs a challenger for Double Or Nothing, so who is it? Cue the Bucks on the screen to fine him for swearing (here here) and send out the new #1 contender: the returning Christian Cage.

The brawl is on without a word and a Patriarchy distraction lets Cage hit the Killswitch onto the title. Nana gets taken out as well and Cage says he hasn’t forgotten Strickland attacking Nick Wayne months ago. They were a team at All In and Swerve lost so now it’s time for some revenge. Cage is going to beat him up so badly that Swerve’s daughter doesn’t know him, but Cage will be her father. Then Luchasaurus pulls out some of Swerve’s hair. Cage getting the title shot out of nowhere is a bit weird for AEW but I was expecting Jack Perry so I’ll take this.

We recap Adam Copland vs. the House of Black, with the House getting the better of things recently and earning a TNT Title shot this week.

TNT Title: Buddy Matthews vs. Adam Copeland

Copeland is defending and shrugs off Matthews’ headlock to start. Copeland takes him down but Matthews pops back up for a staredown. Matthews is knocked outside for a big dive and we take a break. Back with Matthews catching him with a hanging DDT and they’re both down.

Matthews is back up with a kick to the back and a chinlock, with Taz being right there to explain the physics. Copeland fights out and the flapjack puts Matthews down for a change. Both of them head up on the same corner before crashing back down, meaning it’s a double dive back inside to beat the count. Back in and they hit stereo crossbodies, leaving Matthews to be checked on by medics and we take a break.

We come back again with the match continuing and Matthews getting two off a sitdown powerbomb. Matthews heads up top, where Copeland cuts him off and hits a super Impaler DDT for two more. The spear is cut off with some knees to the face and a Jackhammer gives Matthews two, followed by a quick crossface. Copeland fights up, avoids the stomp, and hits a spear to retain at 21:03.

Rating: B-. Rather long match here and it made for a good one, with Copeland feeling like he survived. Copeland can’t do everything he did before and Matthews is a better athlete in the first place, but Copeland gets to use his wits to survive. Odds are this sets up Malakai Black for the Double Or Nothing title match and that should be rather snazzy.

Post match Copeland loads up the Conchairto but the lights go out with Malakai Black appearing. Black tells Copeland to do it but Copeland won’t, allowing Black to disappear. Commentary questions if Black has pushed Copeland that far, suggesting that Copeland needs to be pushed to go violent, and also suggesting that they know very little about Copeland.

Samoa Joe vs. Isiah Kassidy

Kassidy mocks Joe’s towel pose to start and is dropped face first onto the mat to cut that off. A springboard neck snap across the top rope gives Kassidy an opening but the running dive is casually avoided, as is Joe’s custom. Back in and Kassidy tries a monkey flip for some reason, earning himself the MuscleBuster to give Joe the pin at 3:28.

Rating: C. Even in a match this short, Kassidy almost got in too much offense. I was expecting Joe to massacre him and he only beat him up rather easily. That being said, I could still watch Joe do that walk away spot every night as it is so fitting for him and makes everyone else look beneath what he is doing. Anyway, short and to the point here as it needed to be.

Skye Blue wants a TBS Title shot on Rampage.

Here is Orange Cassidy for a chat. He hates what has been going on and wanted the Best Friends to reunite after everything that has happened. Instead, he is told that Chuck Taylor will never wrestle again after what Trent Beretta did to him last weekend. Cue Beretta to say Cassidy is making it about him again, meaning security has to hold them apart. Don Callis comes out to walk Cassidy to the back. That’s quite the change.

The Young Bucks say they have had too much TV time tonight and let Jack Perry have some. Perry talks about how Tony Khan made him the scapegoat and now we are in a new era under the Elite.

FTW Title: Chris Jericho vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Jericho is defending under FTR rules. Shibata wrestles him down into a wristlock to start but Jericho elbows him down and hits a Lionsault (onto the legs) less than a minute and a half in. Taz rants about how Jericho has ruined the FTW Title as Jericho brings in an FTW trashcan lid. Jericho whips out a bag of hockey pucks (Taz: “Ok that’s creative”) but Shibata slams him onto them instead. Back up and they chop it out as we take a break.

We come back with Jericho throwing a hockey puck at him and grabbing the Walls. Shibata slips out and grabs the Figure Four so Jericho throws another puck at him for the break. Jericho puts a trashcan over Shibata’s head and beats on it with a kendo stick, only to have Shibata stand up (still in trashcan) and slowly stalk Jericho into the corner. The trashcan comes off and Shibata hands him a kendo stick so they can sit down and trade stick shots to the head.

The fight goes to Shibata so let’s get a table in here. Shibata nails him with a clothesline and moves the table from leaning in the corner to in front of the corner…and here is Big Bill to put Shibata through the table. Jericho gets the pin at 15:24 without having to do anything.

Rating: C+. This had some creative spots (the pucks were a nice touch) but this felt more like “hey what would happen if Shibata had a hardcore match”. We’re waiting for Hook to come back and win the title to avenge himself and Taz, because this is more or less the same story that we had with Ricky Starks/Jericho. Hopefully it doesn’t last much longer, as the story was only so interesting in the first place and now it’s becoming more about Jericho than anything else.

Kris Statlander apologizes to Willow Nightingale for Mercedes Mone interrupting her last week. It’s cool with Nightingale, who is ready to take out Skye Blue tonight. Stokely Hathaway goes on a rant about the Young Bucks, who send in a text to say Hathaway and Statlander are banned from ringside and Nightingale loses the title if there is any interference.

Brian Cage vs. Claudio Castagnoli

We hear from Castagnoli during his entrance, where he talks about being the best because he is so consistent. They trade clotheslines to start until Cage grabs a suplex. Castagnoli is back up with a spinning backbreaker and a double stomp but Cage catches him on top. The apron superplex connects and we take a break. Back with Cage hitting a discus lariat for two but Castagnoli runs him over as well. Castagnoli’s Swiss 1 9 sets up his own discus lariat for his own two. Swiss Death gets two more and Castagnoli Swings him into the Sharpshooter for the win at 9:53.

Rating: C+. It was two big guys hitting big guy moves until Castagnoli got the win. That worked as well as could be expected, though it felt like any match we’ve seen from Cage for years. You know what you’re getting from him and while it can be entertaining, it’s something that has been done pretty much to death.

Rocky Romero isn’t siding with anyone in the Best Friends’ drama because no one wins. He’s doing his own thing and now he wants a title shot. Romero wants Kyle O’Reilly, may the best man win.

Mariah May vs. Serena Deeb

Toni Storm and Luther are here with May. They go with the grappling to start with May getting tied up in a Paradise Lock for a dropkick. May is back up with a Stratusphere into a dropkick of her own and we take an early break. Back with Deeb neckbreakering her over the middle rope and hitting a fisherman’s neckbreaker to make it worse. A hammerlock lariat gives Deeb two but May kicks her in the head.

May’s missile dropkick sets up a hip attack and It’s Gotta Be May gets two. A rather spinning backslide gives Deeb two but May suplexes her back down. Deeb blocks another Stratusphere and grabs the half crab, even slamming May’s knee into the mat. That’s enough for Storm, who throws the towel in for the old school ending at 10:32.

Rating: C+. This was good enough as May can wrestle a good match when you ignore all of the shenanigans going on. At the same time you have Deeb, who might be as polished in the ring as anyone in the women’s division. She is long overdue to get at least a chance at this level and it will be nice to see what happens when she gets her likely Double Or Nothing title shot.

Deeb’s title shot is official for Double Or Nothing.

Adam Copeland seems a bit shaken up by the House Of Black when Kyle O’Reilly comes in to say he has Copeland’s back if he ever needs it. Copeland is appreciative of the offer, but thinks O’Reilly might have eyes for the TNT Title. As long as there isn’t lust in his eyes, he’ll be ok.

Here is Kenny Omega so Justin Roberts does his big entrance. Omega says he has never been good about talking about injuries and illness, but last year he was diagnosed with diverticulitis. He’ll leave out the gory details but he was 24 hours away from dying. Omega wanted to get fixed up quick but was told he needed surgery, which would leave him needing a colostomy bag for several months, if not the rest of his life.

Omega wanted to avoid surgery, which meant he would have a time bomb in his stomach. If he ever took a shot to the stomach again, he could wind up in the hospital having the surgery anyway. That had him thinking he might have to retire, but then he saw Dynasty and he got scared of being a wrestler. He stated shaking from withdrawals and he needed to be in this ring again.

There are people talking about being the best in the world and he is already being forgotten. He is going to exhaust every option to get back in this ring, bag or no bag. Omega: “We’re talking about colostomy bags, so why not talks about two other ***** while we’re at it?”

He brings up the Young Bucks, who are EVP’s, but so is Omega himself. Part of the power in this company belongs to him, but here is Kazuchika Okada to interrupt (Schiavone: “My God.”). Omega greets him in Japanese and offers to run it back one more time if Okada can give him a few months. Okada declines, saying he is the Best Bout Machine now.

Cue Jack Perry to jump Omega from behind and then grab a chair but Omega fights back. The dragon suplex connects but Okada offers a distraction, allowing Perry to hit Omega in the stomach with a chair. The Young Bucks come in and hit the EVP Trigger, with FTR running out for the save to end the show.

There is a lot to go through here. First, Omega gave one of the best emotional promos I’ve ever seen from him, as it felt like he was either telling the truth or telling something very close to it. I was feeling sorry for him and that’s a good sign for someone who is dealing with some serious issues.

Then we move on to the real story though and that is, again, the Young Bucks. They’ve been all over the show and are now running things, which will likely continue for a good while. It wouldn’t shock me to see this go to some Blood & Guts or Anarchy In The Arena match, possibly even at All In, for control of the company (Tony Khan getting involved physically would be almost expected at this point). I really don’t know how much interest there is in that, but it seems a likely destination. Hopefully we get another Omega vs. Okada match, which while not something I really need to see, sounds a heck of a lot better.

For now though, this was their big moment and it winds up being the Young Bucks again, despite them not being interesting and not being interesting for a long time. AEW seems obsessed with always bringing the main story back to the Elite and it seems that the audience has just moved on from them. It’s been five years plus and this story of “what’s going on with the Elite” keeps coming up. The options are find something new or keep doing the same stuff with a slightly different look over and over, and we seem to be getting the latter here.

Overall Rating: C+. And that’s AEW in a nutshell: solid action from bell to bell, but the stories between the matches don’t go so well. There was no blow away match but the opener was good and Deeb vs. May was rather entertaining. As has been the case for a good while though, your feelings on this show are probably going to be tied to the Young Bucks. If you like them then it was a nice show, but otherwise, it feels like the start of a very long road to…well probably whatever the next big Elite story is after this one is over.

Results
Adam Copeland b. Buddy Matthews – Spear
Samoa Joe b. Isiah Kassidy – MuscleBuster
Claudio Castagnoli b. Brian Cage – Sharpshooter
Serena Deeb b. Mariah May when Toni Storm threw in the towel

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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Collision
Date: April 27, 2024
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re doing another double shot this week with Collision and Rampage going back to back. That makes for a rather interesting night, as last week’s Collision was great while the following Rampage definitely took its foot off the gas. Odds are we’ll be getting an update on what happened to Tony Khan on Dynamite, which is suddenly the top story in AEW. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Swerve Strickland winning the World Title at Dynasty.

Here is Swerve Strickland, with Prince Nana, for a chat. Nana introduces Swerve as the boss of bosses, one h*** of a wrestler and the new World Champion. Swerve runs down what we have been seeing around here over the last week, including Jack Perry and the Young Bucks attacking Tony Khan. Swerve has done a lot of things in wrestling, but that sounds like a b**** move.

The biggest thing in wrestling though is him winning the World Title and he got here while making some sacrifices. Swerve’s oldest daughter said she doesn’t really know him and he can’t make up for lost time, but he can make sure that this is all worth it. He beat Kyle Fletcher on Dynamite so let’s do the open challenge tonight. Cue Claudio Castagnoli in a suit and I think we have a main event. Swerve says he’ll see him tonight in whose house? Castagnoli takes the mic and says it’s going to be his.

We look at the attack on Tony Khan.

Tony Schiavone says Tony Khan has suffered multiple head and neck injuries. Khan cannot travel but he can run AEW remotely from Jacksonville. Nigel McGuinness asks what happens if Khan something happens and Khan isn’t there. Are we really to believe that Khan can’t be expected to call/text in orders? That isn’t what was said, but I would hope they have a better explanation than “he’s not here in person”.

Trios Titles: Bullet Club Gold vs. Top Flight/Action Andretti

The Club is defending. White and Dante start things off with Dante striking away until White chops him into the corner. The Gunns come in for a clothesline into a knee lift as the villains start taking turns on Dante. A quick dive cuts Austin off though and it’s Darius coming in to clean house. Darius’ Downward Spiral gets two on Austin but White plants him face first onto the apron as we take a break.

Back with Dante and Andretti being pulled off the apron but Colten avoids a splash. Darius rolls over and brings Andretti in to pick up the pace. A split legged moonsault into a Spanish Fly gets two on Colten as everything breaks down. White crotches Andretti on top and the swinging Rock Bottom plants Dante. 3:10 To Yuma plants Darius but Andretti dropkicks White into the corner. Not that it matters as Andretti handsprings into the Blade Runner to retain the titles at 11:13.

Rating: B-. This was a perfectly good first title defense for the champs as Andretti and Top Flight were fine challengers. The division is hardly deep in the first place so it is nice to see a regular team getting a title shot. They don’t need to defend the titles every week but they did need to defend them at least once to get the unified reign off to a nice start.

We look at the Young Bucks winning the Tag Team Titles over FTR in a ladder match at Dynasty, albeit with help from Jack Perry.

The House Of Black is happy with beating Adam Copeland again at Dynasty. One of them will be accepting the Cope Open on Dynamite.

Rey Fenix vs. Beast Mortos

This is Fenix’s first match since October. Fenix fires off kicks to start and bounces off the ropes, right into a powerslam from Mortos. With Fenix sent outside, Mortos takes him down with a corkscrew dive. Back in and Mortos hits a crucifix bomb, followed by a heck of a clothesline for two.

Mortos starts in on the leg and gets in something like a reverse Figure Four, with Fenix having to roll to the ropes. It’s time to go after Fenix’s mask, because that is something we have to see quite often around here. We take a break and come back with Fenix striking away and snapping off a hurricanrana out of the corner. Fenix fires off some more kicks before running and…stepping up onto Mortos’ head, because that’s something someone can do.

Mortos doesn’t like having his head stepped on and knocks Fenix out of the air for a double knockdown. Back up and Fenix knocks him to the floor for the required dive but Mortos grabs a nasty gutbuster for two back inside. Fenix kicks him away again and hits a superkick into a frog splash for two. A rollup gives Fenix the pin at 15:11.

Rating: B-. Well they certainly got some time. This was a long match that let Fenix showcase his athleticism while letting Mortos get in his own power stuff. It made for a good match and a nice return, though there were some points when it felt like it was going long for the sake of going long.

Video on Trent Beretta turning on Orange Cassidy, with Chuck Taylor standing up to Beretta.

Cassidy is scared of what Taylor and Beretta are going to do to each other in the parking lot. Kris Statlander comes in to say Beretta needs them.

Rush vs. Martin Stone

Rush, in his first match since December, snaps off a German suplex to start and knocks Stone outside to choke against the barricade. Some whips with the TV cables make things worse and they head back inside. Rush suplexes him into the corner and the Bull’s Horns completes the squash at 2:15.

Post match Rush hits another Bull’s Horns for a bonus.

We look at Serena Deeb saying she’s coming after the Women’s Title.

Deeb says she is the obvious #1 contender and it is now or never. After all these years of being told she’s great, she needs to be Women’s Champion.

Toni Storm vs. Anna Jay

Non-title and Mariah May (in black for a change) is here with Storm. They lock up to start until Storm grabs a headlock and grinds away. Jay sends her into the corner for a running kick to the face, setting up a hip attack. That just wakes Storm up and she is back with a Thesz press, followed by some hips to the face. Another hip attack knocks May down, allowing Jay to grab a neckbreaker and Nigel to panic as we take a break.

Back with Storm hitting a Backstabber into a DDT into a fisherman’s suplex for two. A Gory Special gives Jay two and we hit the Queenslayer. Nigel: “THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME! THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!” Storm fights up and knocks her into the corner, setting up the big hip attack and Storm Zero finishes Jay at 9:22.

Rating: C+. Something has clicked for Storm in the ring lately and it has been going much better. She has the character stuff to be incredibly entertaining, but the in-ring part has been going way up lately. That helps a lot and has made things that much better, which is quite good given the amount of challengers coming for the title.

Chuck Taylor, with his dog, tells Orange Cassidy that he has to do this on his own. Works for Cassidy.

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Acclaimed

This is the Veterans’ (James Drake/Zack Gibson) debut and Billy Gunn is here with the Acclaimed. Gibson and Caster start things off with the former working on the arm and handing it off to Drake for the same. Bowens comes in and grabs a neckbreaker, setting up a slugout. Gibson isn’t having that and comes in for some double teaming, setting up something close to a Poetry In Motion to knock Caster off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Drake hitting a dive on Caster as Tony manages to figure out what Nigel means by “don’t GAF.” Gibson’s chinlock doesn’t last long and Caster ducks a spinwheel kick allowing the tag off to Bowens. House is quickly cleaned and Caster tags himself back in (rather quickly) for Scissor Me Timbers to Drake.

Gibson gets back in to distract Caster, allowing Drake to hit a running boot to the face. Bowens gets Codebreakered out of the corner, with Drake adding a missile dropkick for two. With nothing else working, Gunn offers a distraction so Bowens can come back with the Arrival, setting up the Mic Drop for the pin on Gibson at 12:10.

Rating: B-. If the Veterans want to stick around, they probably earned themselves a job with this match. They looked like a polished, experienced team and were running circles around the Acclaimed here. I’m not sure what has happened to the Acclaimed, but they seem to have just stopped evolving or advancing in the ring whatsoever. They feel like a colder version of the same act from a year ago and that is a really bad sign. The team needs something to change them up and it needs to happen soon.

Katsuyori Shibata is ready to beat up Shane Taylor Promotions himself tonight and then he’ll beat up Chris Jericho. Daniel Garcia comes in to offer some help and Shibata accepts, saying “save the last dance for me.”

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Strickland is defending. Feeling out process to start until Castagnoli wrestles him to the mat without much trouble. They fight over a test of strength on the mat with neither being able to get very far. Swerve twists up to his feet but Castagnoli is right there with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Castagnoli knocks him to the apron but Swerve comes back with a hurricanrana on the ramp for a nasty crash.

Back in and a high crossbody knocks Castagnoli down again, setting up some rolling neckbreakers for a new idea. Castagnoli isn’t having this and knocks him outside, where a hard running uppercut against the barricade takes us to a break. Back with Swerve hitting a basement superkick to send Castagnoli outside, where another kick to the chest makes it worse. The rolling Downward Spiral gives Swerve two and a forearm puts Castagnoli on the floor again.

Swerve gets sat up on the stage and a running flip dive brings him back off, while dropping Castagnoli at the same time. Back in and a 450 gives Swerve two but Castagnoli hits a running stomp of his own. That just fires Swerve up and he strikes away, at least until Castagnoli runs him over for a double knockdown. Swerve muscles him over with a suplex and there’s the Swerve Stomp for a rather near fall.

The House Call is loaded up but Castagnoli reverses into the Swing, setting up the Sharpshooter to put Swerve in a lot more trouble. The crossface goes on but Swerve gets out, earning himself a heck of a running clothesline for two. Swerve grabs a DDT and goes up for the Stomp…but Castagnoli just blocks him in the air and slams him down. A running stomp drops Castagnoli though and it’s the House Call to retain the title at 21:04.

Rating: B+. Now this was more like it, as Swerve had to work to get through a rather tough opponent. It takes someone special to be able to hang with Castagnoli and Swerve not only did it but even looked better at times. Castagnoli is one of those guys you call if you want to make an opponent look good and he did it in spades here, with a rather excellent match.

Respect is shown post match.

Overall Rating: B+. This had some pretty quality wrestling matches and I had a good time with the show. That’s two weeks in a row with high level Collisions and I could certainly go for more of this. While Dynamite needs to spread the important parts around to the other shows, it’s nice to Have a show that isn’t packed with storylines and lets the wrestlers do their thing. Rather strong stuff here as Collision is getting into a heck of a groove.

Results
Bullet Club Gold b. Top Flight/Action Andretti – Blade Runner to Andretti
Rey Fenix b. Beast Mortos – Rollup
Rush b. Martin Stone – Bull’s Horns
Acclaimed b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Mic Drop to Gibson
Swerve Strickland b. Claudio Castagnoli – House Call

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Collision
Date: April 6, 2024
Location: DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We are on a delay this week with the show airing at 11:30pm due to the NCAA Final Four and (unofficially) Wrestlemania. That is a good move from AEW as there is little reason to run the show at the normal time against that kind of competition. The big feature this week is FTR vs. Top Flight for the shot against the Young Bucks for the Tag Team Titles at Dynasty. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: FTR vs. Top Flight

Wheeler and Darius trade arm control to start until Wheeler grabs a backslide for two. Dante comes in for a kick to the back and FTR needs a breather on the floor. Back in and FTR take over on Darius, with Wheeler chopping him into the corner. Dante comes back in for a rollup into a middle rope crossbody for two before taking Harwood into the wrong corner.

Something close to Poetry In Motion knocks Harwood outside as commentary talks about Trent Beretta turning on Orange Cassidy. Harwood gets smart by tricking Wheeler outside for a cheap shot from Wheeler as we take a break. Dante reversing a superplex into a crossbody for two and handing it back to Darius.

A crucifix gets two on Harwood and everything breaks down with a dive taking Wheeler out on the floor. Darius’ springboard cutter gets two on Harwood but raised knees cut off a frog splash attempt. Darius is back up with a high crossbody for two so Wheeler sends Dante outside. That leaves Darius to go up and dive into a Shatter Machine for the pin at 15:40.

Rating: B. Good match as FTR continues to be the team that lures their opponents in to catch them in the end. That’s exactly what happened here, with Darius going for one too many high risks moves and got caught in the Shatter Machine. Now it’s on to Dynasty, where the Bucks will likely get their win back so they can get the titles again as more fans change the channel.

Video on Kazuchika Okada.

Pac vs. Encore Moore

Pac starts fast and whips him hard into the corner so the stomping can ensue. Some rolling suplexes have Moore down again and the Brutalizer finishes at 2:24.

Post match Pac challenges Kazuchika Okada.

Bryan Danielson talks about wanting to be the best version of himself and that needs to be the case against Will Ospreay. He is excited to test himself because someone was with Danielson and said Ospreay might be the best wrestler ever. The build makes sense but it’s not quite hooking me in.

Hook/Chris Jericho vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Jericho and Taylor start things off with Taylor easily punching him into the corner. Jericho as to cover up but manages a shot to the face, followed by a double suplex to put Taylor down. Hook stays in and gets taken into the wrong corner, only to fight right back out. It’s back to Jericho who tries the Walls on Moriarty but has to dropkick Taylor down instead.

We take a break and come back with Jericho knocking Moriarty down for the Lionsault. The tag brings Hook back in to clean house but he can’t suplex Taylor. Moriarty pulls Jericho into the Border City Stretch, which is reversed into the Walls. Hook manages the t-bone on Taylor, leaving Moriarty to tap at 8:55.

Rating: C+. The match wasn’t bad and Jericho/Hook worked well enough together but it’s really not that interesting to see them together. It feels like Jericho’s latest project and those have been hit and miss at best. Maybe it will work out, but I could go for a long break from Jericho and now it seems we’ll be seeing him doing this for awhile.

Post match Anthony Ogogo of all people comes in to lay out Jericho and Hook before joining Shane Taylor Promotions. For those of you wondering, the answer to “how long has he been gone” is “his last (non-dark) match for AEW was in August 2022.”

Dustin Rhodes wants to show he can still do it so he wants Samoa Joe for the World Title on Dynamite.

Will Ospreay is ready to face Bryan Danielson at Dynamite. No word on why Renee Paquette changed her clothes since she talked to Danielson.

House Of Black vs. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal/Bryan Keith

Black headlocks Keith to start before firing off the kicks. King comes in so Sydal wants Keith’s help against him. That’s fine with King, who wrecks them both and knocks Daniels down as we take a break. Back with Sydal coming in to clean house, including a very spinning headscissors to Matthews.

A jumping knee to the face gets two on Matthews but he’s back up with a knee of his own. Dante’s Inferno hits Sydal and Keith gets run over as well. A triple kick to the head in the corner hits Keith but Daniels makes the save. The End drops Daniels and Matthews’ swinging pumphandle slam finishes at 9:26.

Rating: C. Good enough here but it was a long match before the only realistic result. The House is setting up for a big match and needed a warmup like this one, which went well enough. At the end of the day, Daniels being on a team more or less guarantees he’s going to lose, which makes a nearly ten minute match feel that much longer.

Post match here is Adam Copeland from behind to go after the House but he has a staredown with Black. That lets the House beat him down but Mark Briscoe and FTR run in for the save. Cue the Young Bucks to brawl with FTR, leaving the good guys to stand tall.

Rocky Romero wants an eliminator match against Roderick Strong. Cue the Undisputed Kingdom with Strong granting the match.

The Young Bucks are going to present backstage footage from All In on Dynamite. In theory that would be the CM Punk/Jack Perry footage and if so…why?

Chris Jericho wants to fight Shane Taylor Promotions and Hook presents Katsuyori Shibata to even things up. Shibata continues his translator program for promos.

Yuka Sakazaki vs. Trish Adora

This is Adora’s reward for losing to Serena Deeb. Adora grabs a headlock to start and takes Sakazaki down, with Sakazaki nipping right back up. A Boss Man Slam onto the knee puts Sakazaki down again and we take a break. Back with Adora grabbing a not great looking Crossface but Sakazaki is right next to the ropes.

Sakazaki pounds on Adora’s back but can’t manages a suplex. Some forearms put Adora down again and Sakazaki drops her with a suplex. That takes enough out of Sakazaki that Adora is back up with a suplex of her own for two. A spinning hammerlock slam drops Adora again and a top rope splash finishes for Sakazaki at 8:34.

Rating: C. Sakazaki has been gone from AEW for over a year and this didn’t exactly have me wanting to see her around more frequently. It was just a match for the most part with neither showing off anything special. Odds are Sakazaki is just here for a quick appearance and hopefully she picks it up a bit as this didn’t exactly blow any doors off.

Post match Serena Deeb comes out to stare down Sakazaki.

Matt Menard praises Daniel Garcia but says he wants more. Garcia wants to move up the ladder.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. The Butcher

They fight over the power lockup to start before an exchange of shoulders doesn’t go anywhere. A flying shoulder works a bit better for Castagnoli but Butcher is back with a backbreaker. The chinlock doesn’t last long for Butcher as Castagnoli fights up, setting off an exchange of forearms. Castagnoli muscles him up for a Death Valley Driver and fires off the uppercuts in the corner. The Swing sets up the Neutralizer to finish Butcher off at 5:04.

Rating: C+. Rather basic power match here but it’s always fun to see Castagnoli throwing someone around like that. This should set up whatever is next for the Club, as they need a big feud again. If nothing else, maybe Castagnoli gets to do something on his own for a change, as it tends to go fairly well.

Julia Hart is ready for Willow Nightingale and Mercedes Mone later.

Samoa Joe is down to face Dustin Rhodes, but we’ll make it non-title.

Komander vs. Penta El Zero Miedo

Penta kicks away to start but gets rolled up for an early two. Stereo nip ups give us a staredown before Komander snaps off a hurricanrana. Back up and Penta kicks him in the ribs but another hurricanrana sends him outside. Komander’s dive is countered with a gorilla press (not bad) and it’s time to strut as we take a break.

We come back with Komander headscissoring him to the floor, setting up a more successful dive. Penta is right back with with a Canadian Destroyer for two, only to have Komander pull him into something like a half crab. With that broken up, Komander plants him with a Spanish Fly but Penta plants him right back with a springboard Canadian Destroyer onto the apron.

Back in and they slug it out from their knees until Penta grabs Made In Japan for two. Komander blocks a superplex and runs the corner for a twisting top rope splash. Cielito Lindo is loaded up but Penta reverses into a Codebreaker, setting up the Fear Factor for the win at 14:12.

Rating: B-. At the end of the day, you just have to accept that they are just not going to sell that much. It’s about hitting one big, flashy move after another until someone hits their finisher and win. That makes for a fun, junk food kind of match but there is only so much for it otherwise. For now though, Penta gets a nice boost on the way towards his title match on Dynamite and that’s all it needed to be.

Adam Copeland comes out for the staredown with Penta before their TNT Title match on Dynamite.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was in a really rough spot as there is only so much you can do with a show airing around midnight on Wrestlemania Saturday (with the two shows overlapping for a bit). The other problem is that after the opener and maybe the Hook/Jericho match, a grand total of nothing here felt like it mattered in the slightest. That being said, the wrestling was either good or perfectly acceptable, assuming you ignore how unimportant a lot of it felt. That was all they should have done with this show though, as the time slot is making this little more than a punt.

Results

FTR b. Top Flight – Shatter Machine to Darius

Hook/Chris Jericho b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Walls Of Jericho to Moriarty

House Of Black b. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal/Bryan Keith – Swinging pumphandle slam to Daniels

Yuka Sakazaki b. Trish Adora – Top rope splash

Claudio Castagnoli b. The Butcher – Neutralizer

Penta El Zero Miedo b. Komander – Fear Factor

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: April 5, 2024
Location: Budweiser Gardens, London, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Ian Riccaboni

We have another odd variety pack this week with Christopher Daniels vs. Malakai Black and a four way elimination match just for the heck of it. That almost makes things sound like Ring Of Honor more than Rampage but this show is almost lacking in its own identity a good chunk of the time. In a way that’s nice to have so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Malakai Black vs. Christopher Daniels

Buddy Matthews is here with Black. They start slowly until Black hits some running shoulders into a headlock takeover but Daniels is back with an armbar. That’s broken up and Daniels gets kicked into the corner where he seems to be a bit unconscious. Daniels is sent outside so Matthews sends him back inside for two.

An elbow to the face gives Black two and some kicks drop Daniels again as we take a break. Back with Daniels going on a run with a Downward Spiral into an STO, followed by a Death Valley Driver for two. Angel’s Wings is blocked and Black kicks him in the head for two more. Daniels grabs a rollup for two more but Black hits the End for the pin at 8:14.

Rating: C+. This was all it needed to be as Daniels put up a fight but got taken out by the monster threat. Daniels is still perfect for doing his thing out there and helping make someone look good in the process. That’s what happened with Black here, who snapped off a kick to the face when he got tired of dealing with Daniels. Perfectly fine match here.

Roderick Strong vs. London Lightning

Non-title and the Kingdom is here with Strong. Before the match, Strong has Lightning introduce himself but isn’t sure why he is named after such a nothing city. The bell rings and we hear about Lightning’s time teaming with Toronto Thunder (Ian: “I almost want to put that into Cagematch.”).

Lightning fights out of a headlock and hits a jumping knee to quite the reaction. The comeback is cut off with a backbreaker to give Strong two and we hit the reverse chinlock. Lightning gets up again and strikes away, setting up a suplex that has Nigel confused. Hold on though as Lightning has to go after Matt Taven but here is Wardlow to take Lightning out. The Cloverleaf finishes for Strong at 5:38.

Rating: C. This was fun and that’s the best word for it. Lightning was never going to be a serious threat but they played into the idea of the fans getting into what they were seeing here. Lightning has put in some good performances on Ring Of Honor and it wouldn’t stun me to see him used as a regular jobber going forward.

Leyla Hirsch has been doing her thing in Ring Of Honor and now she wants Julia Hart.

Serena Deeb vs. Trish Adora

Deeb goes after the leg to start before tying Adora up in a Paradise Lock. The running dropkick breaks it up and Adora isn’t pleased. Adora fights up and sends her hard into the corner as we take a break. Back with Deeb grabbing a neckbreaker over the top rope but Adora gets a boot up in the corner. A dragon screw legwhip across the rope cuts Adora down again but she counters another into a rollup for two. Adora gets two off a full nelson bomb and an exchange of clotheslines goes badly for Deeb. Not that it matters as she goes after the knee again and grabs the Serenity Lock for the tap at 9:56.

Rating: C+. Another perfectly nice match here that doesn’t feel like it means much for either of them. Deeb has felt like someone who could be pushed for a long time but it hasn’t happened in a good while. At the same time, Adora is someone who could be a bigger deal but is firmly in the jobber to the stars role at the moment. Good enough stuff, but it is on Rampage for a reason.

Julia Hart is down to face Leyla Hirsch.

Saraya and company are sick of Ruby Soho, with Zak Knight promising to hurt Angelo Parker. Is there an established reason for why exactly Saraya hates the relationship?

Daniel Garcia vs. Bryan Keith vs. Action Andretti vs. Komander

Elimination rules and Matt Menard is on commentary. As this is designed to tie into the NCAA Final Four. Andretti and Komander are left in the ring as we hear about Trish Adora (as in the loser of the match) getting a special match on Collision due to her amazing performance. Keith is back in to break up a cover on Andretti, which has commentary confused.

Garcia hammers on Keith in the corner until he has to punch Andretti out of the air. Keith elbows Garcia in the head for two before cutting Komander off on top to save Garcia. That’s enough for Komander to roll Keith up for the pin at 4:03. We take a break and come back with Andretti hitting a Death Valley Driver to drop Garcia on the apron. Komander hits a dive of his own to take them both out in a big crash. Andretti is fine enough to grab his torture neckbreaker to get rid of Komander at 9:03.

Garcia is back in to take out the knee but Andretti grabs a backbreaker into a neckbreaker. The running shooting star press is countered into an ankle lock but Andretti rolls him to the floor. A one legged dive to the floor hits Garcia again and a top rope clothesline takes him down again inside. The knee gives out on the torture rack attempt though and they slug it out. Andretti manages a Falcon Arrow for two but Garcia pulls him into a kneebar for the tap at 14:30.

Rating: B-. They got going a bit more near the end but it’s another match that could not feel less important. You had Garcia beating three lower card guys in a bunch of combinations that we have probably seen several times. The elimination rules helped a bit but Garcia is right where he was coming into this, much like every other winner on this show.

Overall Rating: C. This felt like a Ring Of Honor show and I do not mean that in a good way. It’s another case where the action itself is fine but my goodness they did not do themselves any favors with the show’s setup. It was more or less a bunch of matches to give midcard stars a win and that makes for a long hour. It’s a total nothing show and if this is all Rampage is going to be, just cancel it already or move it to YouTube where it belongs.

Results
Malakai Black b. Christopher Daniels – The End
Roderick Strong b. London Lightning – Cloverleaf
Serena Deeb b. Trish Adora – Serenity Lock
Daniel Garcia b. Komander, Action Andretti and Bryan Keith last eliminating Andretti

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: March 15, 2024
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

We’re slowly on the way towards Dynasty and that means we are going to be needing some things set up for the show. Odds are we won’t get anything big this time around, but we could be getting some smaller things here or there. That should be combined with some solid action so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta vs. Dark Order

Chuck Taylor is here with Cassidy and Beretta. Uno’s headlock on Cassidy doesn’t work to start but Cassidy asks him to wait for the hand/pocket merging. Silver breaks that up so Beretta comes in to shoulder the Order down. We get a forced Dark Order hug, followed by the real version, referee and Chuck included. Silver is back up with a gorilla press drop on Cassidy, followed by Uno neckbreakering Beretta.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy kicking away at the Order. Beretta rolls some German suplexes Silver a few times but Uno breaks up Strong Zero. Everything breaks down and we start the flip dives to the floor. Back in and Silver gets two on Beretta with Cassidy having to shove Uno into the cover for the save. That leaves Cassidy to Orange Punch Silver into Strong Zero for the pin at 9:42.

Rating: B-. Fast paced match here and they didn’t stay out there for a long time, meaning there was less Dark Order than was necessary. Cassidy and Beretta are getting primed for the tournament and they could make a nice run for a round or two. As for the Order, they’re fine in a role like this, which thankfully doesn’t involve them talking.

The Righteous talks about how you have to die to grow again.

Zak Knight and Angelo Parker get in a fight as the Outcasts watch on.

Mariah May/Toni Storm vs. LMK/Kayla Sparks

Before the match, Storm asks us to turn off all cellular devices. Also, if Deonna Purrazzo and her partner want a tag match, watch this. Storm jumps the two of them to start, with May adding a hard basement dropkick. Mae and Storm pose for a bit before Storm hits LMK with some hip attacks (including a dance before one of them). It’s back to Mae for a running knee to the face, followed by back to back running hip attacks. Storm Zero finishes Sparks at 3:07.

Rating: C. Total dominance here as May becomes more and more like Storm every time she’s out there. That should take us towards something interesting between the two of them and it could go in a few ways. Other than that, Storm gets to look dominant before we find out who Purrazzo has as a partner.

Post match here is Deonna Purrazzo with her partner…Thunder Rosa. Cool, as it’s been too long since she’s had anything important to do.

Video on Queen Aminata, who wants the ROH Women’s TV Title.

We get the brackets for the Tag Team Title tournament:

Young Bucks
Private Party

Undisputed Kingdom
Best Friends/Don Callis Family

Ricky Starks/Big Bill
Top Flight

FTR
Infantry/House Of Black

The lack of Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli is interesting.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Komander

Takeshita shoulders him down to start but Komander nips up. Komander avoids a running knee and hits a quick Lionsault, sending Jericho into a rant about a stolen move. Back up and Takeshita kicks him in the face to take over before snapping off a nasty release German suplex. We take a break and come back with Komander hitting a rope walk moonsault to the floor for the double knockdown.

Back in and a springboard hurricanrana gives Komander two but a springboard crossbody is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb. Komander kicks him off the rope though and hits a springboard Canadian Destroyer. Cielito Lindo hits raised knees though and Takeshita scores with a running knee. A spinning Falcon Arrow finishes Komander off at 9:38.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of win that gets Takeshita back on the right track after losing his big showdown with Will Ospreay at Revolution. Takeshita is someone who feels like he has had to take a back seat multiple times and it would be nice to see that change. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe that will be the case this time around.

Serena Deeb is back and ready to hurt people.

Video on the Undisputed Kingdom vs. Top Flight.

Undisputed Kingdom vs. Top Flight/Action Andretti

Strong jumps Dante to start and the villains take turns stomping away in the corner. Dante slips out to the apron and springboards in with a flip dive. A rolling DDT is cut off though, leaving Dante to bring in Darius to keep the pace up. Strong comes in to knock Darius into the corner and some hard chops have him in trouble. It’s already back to Dante for two off a sunset flip and Andretti comes in for a running shooting star press. Everything breaks down and the good guys hit running dives as we take a break.

Back with Taven missing a Lionsault (Jericho: “Another one? You have got to be kidding me.”), allowing Dante to come back in for a springboard high crossbody. A springboard 450 gives Andretti two but Bennett makes the save. Andretti slips out of the spike piledriver and cleans house, only to get spike piledriven anyway. The End of Heartache gives Strong the pin at 11:25.

Rating: B-. It was the usual fast paced, entertaining match with Andretti and Top Flight doing exactly what they should have done. At the same time, it’s kind of nice to see the Undisputed Kingdom getting to do something, even if it’s had to buy into them as a threat to anyone of note. The match was fine for a Rampage main event, but I’m not sure how much of a future the villains have without a bunch of adjustments.

Overall Rating: B-. This show felt a bit more important than the last few weeks and that’s nice to see. There weren’t exactly higher stakes but there were some bigger names and Rosa joining forced with Purrazzo should be good. Other than that, they set a few things up for future shows and that made for a nice enough show. It’s still nothing worth seeing, but you won’t be disappointed if you do see it.

Results
Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta b. Dark Order – Strong Zero to Silver
Mariah May/Toni Storm b. LMK/Kayla Sparks – Storm Zero to Sparks
Konosuke Takeshita b. Komander – Spinning Falcon Arrow
Undisputed Kingdom b. Top Flight/Action Andretti – End of Heartache to Andretti

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: March 2, 2024
Location: Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the last show before Revolution and while the card is mostly set, there is always the chance that something more could be added at the last minute. The likely main event will see an eight man tag which will feature some of the matches at Revolution combined into one. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Buddy Matthews comes out for a match but Mark Briscoe jumps him from behind and the beating is on. Briscoe uses a chair for a step up flip dive through a table at ringside before grabbing a spike. The House Of Black comes in for the save and Buddy has to knee Briscoe in the head to knock the spike away. Briscoe fights back on the stage and sends Matthews down to the floor. Things get more serious as Briscoe grabs the controls for the pyro and tries to use it to burn Matthews before security cuts him off. Briscoe being violent fits him well.

After getting jumped on Dynamite, Swerve Strickland isn’t happy with what Hangman Page did. Swerve will never take his eyes off of him again and at Revolution, Swerve is taking the World Title.

All Star Scramble Qualifying Match: Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Bryan Keith vs. Dante Martin

They shove each other to start before an exchange of shots to the face put everyone down for a second. Back up and Martin knees Keith to the floor, leaving Penta to Sling Blade Martin a few times. Penta Backstabbers Martin outside but gets suplexed by Keith for two. Martin comes back in with a dive onto both of them, followed by another dive to the floor as we take a break.

Back with another three way exchange of strikes but Penta blocks Keith’s Diamond Dust. Everyone is knocked down again until Keith knocks Penta outside. Keith’s tiger driver gets two on Martin before Keith heads to the apron to chop it out with Penta. That leads to a Fear Factor to drop Keith on the apron but Martin knocks Penta off. A frog splash gives Martin the pin on Keith at 10:01.

Rating: B-. I was surprised by the result as Penta is a more established name and Keith is getting a lot of TV time in recent weeks. That being said, Martin is someone who has felt like he could move up to the next level more than once but it has never clicked. While I can’t imagine him winning the scramble, getting into it is a step forward for him. Fun match too, with all three working well.

At Dynamite, a rather mad Hangman Page says he did what he had to do and he won’t let Swerve Strickland get the World Title.

Mariah May vs. Angelica Risk

May chops her to start and chokes on the ropes, followed by a rather spinning side slam. Nigel McGuinness is so overcome when May blows him a kiss that he falls down on the floor (Schiavone: “A grown man.”) and May kneeing Risk in the face makes it worse. May Day finishes for May at 2:54. Total squash.

Post match here is Toni Storm, leaving May rather overwhelmed. Never mind though as Storm calls out Deonna Purrazzo, ignoring May entirely. Storm says this isn’t why she and Purrazzo got here and says she loves Purrazzo. She also loves that there is only room for one and it will never be Purrazzo. That makes Purrazzo laugh, because she says she is the best friend and the worst enemy. Purrazzo promises to break both of Storm’s arms so Storm puts on lipstick and kisses her on the cheek. The fight is on but May breaks it up, earning herself a piledriver from Purrazzo. This played into two stories at once and did so well.

Austin Gunn/Acclaimed vs. Dark Order

The rest of the Bang Bang Scissor Gang is here too. This time the rap is broken up by Jay White putting his arm around Max Caster’s shoulders. Gunn punches Reynolds down to start before handing it off to Caster, who is driven into the corner. That doesn’t last long as Caster fights back and cleans house without much trouble.

Scissor Me Timbers hits Uno but Silver breaks up the scissoring. Uno hits a DDT and we take a break, coming back with Gunn knocking Uno down. The tag brings in Bowens to clean house, including the running Fameasser to Uno. Everything breaks down and the Order’s triple slam hits Bowens for a rather near fall. Back up and the Arrival into the Mic Drop finishes Reynolds at 8:17.

Rating: C+. Fun match here as the Order got in just enough offense to be interesting but not enough to overstay their welcome. The rap being messed up gives me hope that the team is already about to implode, meaning we could be in for a unification match at Double Or Nothing or so. I’m not sure what else the endgame for the whole thing should be, and it would be nice to see it finally happen.

Stokely Hathaway apologizes to Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander, but Nightingale cuts him off and promises to beat up Skye Blue and Julia Hart at Revolution.

Tony Schiavone brings out Wardlow for a chat, though Wardlow tells him to get out. Wardlow says he’s ready to win the scramble match and become the new #1 contender. But which champion is he going to face? Maybe he can slap Hangman Page back into depression. Maybe he can kick in the front door of Swerve’s house. Or maybe it’s Wardlow vs. Samoa Joe, because Wardlow is sick of the JOE chants. Joe is in Wardlow’s spot and this is no longer wrestling, because this is WAR.

Cue Chris Jericho to interrupt to say Wardlow isn’t fighting for the World Title tomorrow. He’s fighting Jericho, one of the best to do this. Jericho has won eight World Titles but Wardlow hasn’t won anything and it’s been years since he has had the chance to win the title again. Jericho knows he’s good enough, but does Wardlow know it? Maybe the reason Wardlow never got here is because he’s just not good enough, Mike (Wardlow’s first name).

Wardlow says he was this close to the top of the mountain, but then he had to take one step down after another and yeah he was mad. Work took away his happiness and he sat at home for three months, but then he came back and remembered who he was. He is the baddest man ever in wrestling and he is done eating scraps, so come do something about it. Jericho goes towards the ring but here is Powerhouse Hobbs to jump him from behind. Dang that was a heck of an exchange and now I want to see Wardlow vs. Jericho on their own rather than in a scramble.

Serena Deeb wants competition and issues an open challenge. She is the final boss. Meiko Satomura does not approve.

Private Party vs. Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels

Sydal hurricanranas Kassidy to start and everything breaks down in a hurry, giving us a four way standoff. We settle down to Quen and Daniels having a bit of a dance off, including the Curry Man dance. Sydal comes in to take Quen down for two before it’s back to Daniels for a clothesline to the back of the head as we take a break.

Back with Daniels grabbing a quick Downward Spiral, meaning a double tag brings in Sydal and Quen. Sydal gets to clean house but gets caught in a Swanton/neckbreaker combination for two. Daniels comes back in for the save but Angel’s Wings is broken up. Sydal’s top rope Meteora hits Zay and Daniels hits Angel’s Wings on Quen. Cue Jeff Jarrett and company (teaming with Private Party at Revolution) for a distraction though, allowing Jay Lethal to drop Daniels with the Lethal Combination and give Quen the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C. The match itself was fine and the interference at least set something up for the pay per view match. Private Party is at least getting to do something now that they are back together, while Sydal and Daniels are more or less the jobbers to the stars in Ring Of Honor, which might be spreading here too. That’s not a bad use of them, but I’m not sure how long it will last.

Video on Eddie Kingston vs. Bryan Danielson.

Thunder Rosa vs. Cassandra Golden

Commentary talks about various wrestlers named Golden over the years as Rosa kicks her in the chest to start. Golden gets out of a fireman’s carry but gets sent into the corner for a running dropkick. A top rope double stomp to the back sets up a seated cobra clutch to make Golden tap at 2:18. That was efficient.

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

Revolution rundown.

Hook/Daniel Garcia/Trent Beretta/Orange Cassidy vs. Christian Cage/Killswitch/Brian Cage/Roderick Strong

Brian shoves Trent into the corner to start and shrugs off a headlock attempt. Garcia comes in to face Strong with Garcia rolling around a lot. Strong’s wristlock doesn’t get him very far so Garcia and Hook clear the ring. We take a break and come back with Garcia being whipped hard into the corner but managing to send Brian into the buckle. That just earns Garcia a heck of a superplex and now Christian is more than willing to come in. The villains take turns beating on Garcia but he manages a shot of his own. The tag brings in Trent to clean house, only to have Killswitch chokeslam him onto the apron.

We take another break and come back again with Christian’s reverse layout DDT planting Trent. The top rope headbutt misses but Strong cuts off the tag attempt. Trent kicks him away though and it’s Cassidy coming in to clean house. The Stundog Millionaire drops Brian and the spinning DDT gives Cassidy two.

Everything breaks down and we hit the parade of strikes and throws. Brian F5’s Cassidy for two with Garcia and Hook making the saves. Cassidy dives onto Strong, who hits End of Heartache on the floor. The Stronghold keeps Cassidy in trouble outside as Trent rolls Killswitch up for two. Nick Wayne gets in a cheap shot though and Killswitch hits a clothesline to the back of Trent’s head for the pin at 19:14.

Rating: B-. This was the big fight to advance a bunch of matches at once and that is one of the best ways to go on a show like this one. The action was fine but it never hit that level that something like this tends to go. Trent taking the pin is the right way to go as he has nothing going on, so well done on doing the logical move.

Post match the big brawl is on to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Nice, efficient show here with little that didn’t advance a story (or two in some cases). This covered enough things on the way to Revolution, which is feeling like a pretty big show all things considered. They didn’t rock the boat here and that is what you want to do with the last show before the big event. Good enough here and that worked well.

Results
Dante Martin b. Bryan Keith and Penta El Zero Miedo – Frog splash to Keith
Mariah May b. Angelica Risk – May Day
Austin Gunn/Acclaimed b. Dark Order – Mic Drop to Reynolds
Private Party b. Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels – Quen pinned Daniels after a Lethal Combination from Jay Lethal
Thunder Rosa b. Cassandra Golden – Seated cobra clutch
Brian Cage/Christian Cage/Killswitch/Roderick Strong b. Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta/Hook/Daniel Garcia – Clothesline to the back of Trent’s head

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