Ring Of Honor
Date: July 4, 2024
Location: PPL Center, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re rapidly approaching Death Before Dishonor and there are a few matches you can probably guess from here, though nothing has been announced. In this case, there is a good chance that we will see some of them officially set, though some of the titles do not exactly have apparent challengers. Let’s get to it.

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

The Infantry welcomes us to the show, which they will be hosting. After confirming that this isn’t about the Will Smith movie, they send us to the opening sequence.

Opening sequence.

Dark Order vs. Bang Bang Gang

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if the Dark Order wins or survives the time limit, they get a future title shot. Oddly enough, this is the Juice Robinson/Gunns version of the team, meaning they can have a Proving Ground match but not defend the titles. Austin and Uno trade shoulders to start with Austin being taken into the Order corner. Everything breaks down and the Gang misses triple splashes in the corner, allowing the Order to hammer away.

Colten gets caught in a triple pose, with Robinson breaking it up for a distraction. That’s enough for Colten to take over on Reynolds in the corner with a snap suplex getting two. Robinson’s clothesline gets the same and we hit the chinlock. Reynolds fights up and hits a neckbreaker, allowing the tag to Uno to pick up the pace. The Gang all wind up in 619 position and get kicked in the head for two on Robinson. Reynolds kicks Robinson to the floor but walks into 3:10 to Yuma to give the Gang the pin at 7:23.

Rating: C+. That’s about the ceiling for the Dark Order and it isn’t a bad idea. They tested the champions just enough before the loss and that’s all they should have done. The Gang is better than the Dark Order and there was no reason to set up a title match. Perfectly fine stuff here and it didn’t overstay its welcome.

The Infantry talk about the rest of the card.

We look at Atlantis Jr. winning the Ring Of Honor TV Title in Arena Mexico. Fletcher wants a rematch.

Athena and the Minions have recruited Tony Deppen (not named) as their security guard. Queen Aminata and Red Velvet come in to say that Aminata is getting the Women’s Title shot against the still injured Athena at Death Before Dishonor. Billie Starkz will defend the North American Title against Velvet too. Athena wants Tony Khan. Those are the matches you knew were coming.

The Infantry talks about various places in Washington DC and plug Honor Club.

Komander/Metalik vs. Kingdom

Another Proving Ground match. Taven chops Komander to start but misses a splash in the corner. Komander strikes away but Bennett comes in for the double teaming. That’s broken up and Komander hands it off to Metalik for the rope walk dropkick and two on Bennett. Everything breaks down and Metalik hits a dive to take both of them down on the floor. Komander adds a springboard moonsault to drop the champs again as commentary is getting into this.

Back in and Metalik gets catapulted into a kick to the head from Taven as we get the five minute call (which we didn’t get in the first match). A sunset bomb gets Metalik out of trouble and it’s back to Komander to pick up the pace. Komander hits a tornado DDT to plant Taven and Cielito Lindo gets two with Bennett making the save. An assisted moonsaults the same, albeit without the save this time. Back up and Rockstar Supernova out of nowhere gives Taven the pin at 8:05.

Rating: B-. This was about as good as it was going to be as Komander and Metalik might as well have been “and here are our resident luchadors”. That is a team who can do well enough with just about anyone and it worked well enough here. The Kingdom really needs some fresh challengers though and I don’t quite see these two as those challenges.

Mason Madden and Mansoor, the MxM Collection, are coming.

The Infantry go to Mount Rushmore and hype Death Before Dishonor.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Lee Moriarty

Another Proving Ground match under Pure Rules as Ring Of Honor remembers Yuta is a thing around here. Yuta takes him down for an ankle crank to start before hitting a basement dropkick for two. Back up and Yuta cranks on a cravate but Moriarty reverses into an armbar. Moriarty even bridges back onto the arm for a rather nasty looking bend. The cross arm choke has Yuta in more trouble but he reverses into the elbows, with Moriarty needing his first rope break.

Yuta snaps off a German suplex for two but Moriarty pulls him into the Border City Stretch. That means Yuta has to use his first rope with less than three minutes to go. The Stretch goes on again and is quickly reversed into a cradle to leave them both down with under two minutes to go. They trade rollups for two each and keep going with a minute left. The reversals go on for over a minute until they slug it out as time expires at 10:00. Therefore, Moriarty gets a future title shot.

Rating: B-. This is only the second time a challenger has survived a Proving Ground match and that is a great thing to see. The concept is still overused but having it actually set up a title match, likely at the pay per view, is a good thing. At the same time though, the six month hiatus of the title which didn’t really seem to matter is a very bad sign for the whole thing. It just doesn’t feel important and that is something they might want to address. Like say by getting rid of the thing.

Post match Yuta stares Moriarty down but Shane Taylor Promotions scare him off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Well it certainly felt somewhat more important. The show was taking place on the Fourth of July so it wasn’t like it was going to be drawing a huge audience in the first place. They set some things up for Death Before Dishonor, though not having a World Title match with three shows left before the pay per view is not a great look. They felt like they went with the easiest path this week and that makes sense given the circumstances of the holiday, plus what needed to get done.

Results
Bang Bang Gang b. Dark Order – 3:10 to Yuma to Reynolds
Kingdom b. Komander/Metalik – Rockstar Supernova to Komander
Wheeler Yuta vs. Lee Moriarty went to a time limit draw

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Ring Of Honor
Date: June 13, 2024
Location: Acrisure Arena, Palm Desert, California
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Maybe it’s false hope but the Kyle Fletcher pinning World Champion Mark Briscoe this week on Dynamite has me wondering what they might be doing for the title going forward. Briscoe hasn’t defended the title in two months now so maybe he’ll have something to do. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Billie Starkz vs. Sandra Moone

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Moone wins or survives the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. Moone gets in a quick shot to start but Starks knocks her down and scores with a kick to the ribs. Moone’s elbow out of the corner just annoys Starkz again and we hit the double arm crank. That’s broken up and Moone sends her outside for the dive. Starkz’s Swanton attempt is blocked but she knocks Moone off the top. The Swanton….isn’t launched as Starkz drops down again. A half nelson fish hook chickenwing makes Moone give up at 4:58.

Rating: C. That’s a Proving Ground match alright, though Moone did get in some offense to make it a bit better. Starkz seems to have her next challenger set up in Red Velvet though, making this little more than a warmup for her before that match, likely in a little over a month. Not much to the match, but that’s not the point of something like this.

Nick Comoroto/Jacoby Watts vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Moriarty strikes away at Comoroto but a gorilla press puts Moriarty down. Watts comes in but stops to tell the fans to praise him. It’s off to Taylor for the shove off with Comoroto, the latter of whom skins the cat. Taylor plants him with a release Rock Bottom into a splash for two. Comoroto fights up and powerslams Moriarty, with Watts tagging himself in for two. Moriarty sends Comoroto face first into the middle buckle though and Taylor hits the big right hand for the pin at 4:20.

Rating: C-. Here’s the problem: we just saw Comoroto treated like a total jobber on Dynamite. That doesn’t make me want to see him do something here, especially something as lame as the story with Watts. Having ROH stars as jobbers in AEW doesn’t make them feel bigger. It just makes Ring Of Honor feel that much less important.

Taya Valkyrie and Johnny TV aren’t happy with recent loses. Valkyrie is ready to knock Queen Aminata off her throne.

Red Velvet vs. Viva Van

Velvet headlocks her down into a chinlock to start as commentary talks about Forbidden Door. Van is back up with a cravate and knees to the face but Velvet fights out of a cross armbreaker attempt. Velvet works on the arm for a change until Van runs the corner and bounces around for a wristdrag. Some running knees against the rope rock Van and the Mix finishes Van off at 5:12.

Rating: C. It’s pretty clear that Velvet is set for the TV Title shot and that isn’t a bad thing. She’s been built up well in recent weeks, though I still don’t think I can imagine her actually winning the title. For now though, she got a nice win against Van as she gets to keep the pace with Starkz, who did the same thing earlier.

Lance Archer/Righteous vs. Top Flight/Action Andretti vs. Dark Order vs. Infantry/Dalton Castle

Andretti snapmares Reynolds down to start but misses a kick to the head. Top Flight and Andretti start in on Reynolds’ arm until he scores with an elbow to the face. Uno comes in to Russian legsweep Dante for two but Dante brings in Bravo to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down (I’m shocked it took that long) with Archer getting to wreck just about everyone.

Dean manages to duck a corner clothesline though and it’s Castle coming in for the parade of suplexes. Castle’s falling splash gets two on Dutch with a bunch of people making the save. Dante and Reynolds slug it out but stop to beat up Dutch and Archer. Silver comes back in for the Spin Doctor on Dante and Castle DDT’s Darius, who rolls to the floor rather quickly. Top Flight’s double swinging slam finishes Reynolds at 9:14.

Rating: B-. This was exactly the match you would expect from something like this one: all action, nothing that resembles a story throughout, and the winner likely gains nothing. That being said, I don’t think there is anything to suggest that it was supposed to be something other than that. I don’t need to see this every week, but once in awhile can make for a fun fast paced match.

Diamante/Marina Shafir/Alex Windsor vs. Lady Frost/Abadon/Leyla Hirsch

Marina and Leyla start things off with a grapple exchange going to a standoff. Leyla takes her down and Abadon comes in with a backsplash for two. A bite to the arm sends Marina over for the tag to Diamante, who gets chopped into the corner by Frost. Abadon is sent into the corner so Shafir can start cranking on the legs to take over. A save is made and everything breaks down with Windsor hitting an Angle Slam for two, with Abadon breaking it up. Windsor’s Shining Wizard sets up a spinning brainbuster for the big upset pin on Leyla at 7:21.

Rating: C+. Just like the previous match, it was hard to get much out of this with so many people running around. I can go with Windsor getting a win, but there is a good chance that this was the best way they had to make her feel like a bigger deal before her match against Toni Storm on Collision. In other words, it’s a nice moment which isn’t likely to get her very far.

Harley Cameron vs. Trish Adora

Cameron grabs a headlock to start but Adora snapmares her into a double arm crank. A rolling sunset flip gives Adora two but Cameron takes her down for a lick to the cheek. Adora is right back with her Air Raid Crash leg crank, only to have Cameron slip out and hit a sliding Downward Spiral. Cameron grabs a cross arm choke but Adora powers her into the corner for some hips to the face. Back up and they collide, with Cameron going to the throat. A running kick to the chest gives Cameron the pin at 5:56.

Rating: C. Cameron is the bigger star, but dang it always feels like Adora should be on her way to something bigger somewhere. At the same time, putting Cameron, who is still very inexperienced, in there with someone like Adora is a good idea, as she can help Cameron learn. Not much of a match, but Cameron has made some strides in the ring.

Kingdom vs. Che Cabrera/Bad Dude Tito

Another non-title Proving Ground match. Tito chops away at Taven to start, at least until a dropkick takes his leg out. Cabrera comes in for a double flapjack but Taven gets in a neck snap. Taven’s running splash in the corner misses but it’s back to Bennett to strike away. Tito gets in a hard clothesline though and it’s Cabrera coming back in to clean house. A Sky High gets two on Bennett but it’s the Death Valley Driver to cut Cabrera off. Just The Tip into Hail Mary finishes for Bennett at 6:15.

Rating: C+. Nice enough match here, but again it’s hard to get into the idea of a match with ten minutes at most and little reason to believe that the champs were going to lose. Cabrera and Tito looked good out there and commentary mentioned they had experience. It was easy to see that they have a history, though it’s hard to showcase that in a match that barely gets six minutes.

Overall Rating: C+. Another show that feels rather like the norm for Ring Of Honor, with all kinds of people running around doing their thing and little that actually stands out. There is also little that feels like it matters going forward, which is a bit of a stretch with about five weeks to go before Death Before Dishonor. I would say Ring Of Honor needs to work on that, but that has been the case for years now.

Results
Billie Starkz b. Sandra Moone – Fishhook chickenwing
Shane Taylor Promotions b. Nick Comoroto/Jacoby Watts – Right hand to Comoroto
Red Velvet b. Viva Van – The Mix
Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Dark Order, Dalton Castle/The Infantry and Lance Archer/Righteous – Double swinging slam to Reynolds
Diamante/Marina Shafir/Alex Windsor b. Lady Frost/Abadon/Leyla Hirsch – Spinning brainbuster to Hirsch
Harley Cameron b. Trish Adora – Running kick to the chest
Kingdom b. Che Cabrera/Bad Dude Tito – Hail Mary to Cabrera

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Collision
Date: June 15, 2024
Location: Covelli Center, Youngstown, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re closing in on Forbidden Door but we have a holiday weekend to get through first. As a result, we get Christian Cage celebrating Father’s Day, which could go in a variety of directions. Other than that, CMLL Hechicero is here to face Dalton Castle, which could be rather good. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Christian Cage welcomes us to the one year anniversary of Collision. He put this show on the map the first week it was on the air when he won the TNT Title (not quite) and tonight he’s here to celebrate the most important holiday of the year.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Lio Rush/Rocky Romero/TMDK

Rush and Danielson start things off with Rush flipping around to make Danielson miss. Yuta can’t catch Rush either so it’s off to Romero, who gets pummeled into the corner. Castagnoli comes in and gets caught in a hurricanrana, allowing the tag to Mikey Nicholls (part of TMDK, along with Shane Haste). Danielson pulls him into the LeBell Lock but everything breaks down, including the hold. Instead, Danielson fires off the kicks to the chest but gets knocked to the apron as we take a break.

Back with Romero hitting the Forever Clotheslines on Danielson, who grabs a super atomic drop of all things for the break. Castagnoli comes in and gets to clean house, including going to the floor to keep up the beating. Back in and Nicholls has to break up the Swing to Haste so Moxley grabs a quick cutter. A double clothesline puts Moxley an Nicholls down, with Rush adding a frog splash for two on Moxley. Danielson is back in with the running knee to Nicholls but gets knocked outside again. The Swing sends Romero flying and Moxley Death Riders Rush for the pin at 13:23.

Rating: B-. What else were you expecting from an established team against a makeshift team? I get the idea of facing wrestlers from New Japan before Forbidden Door, but it would be nice if more than one of the eight people involved had a match on the show announced. Not a bad match, but it was more waiting around for the Club to win than anything else.

Post match Moxley grabs the mic and says Forbidden Door will be Tetsuya Naito’s final chance at the title. Moxley is coming to end him once and for all.

Video on MJF vs. Rush.

Here are the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn for a chat. Caster talks about how he has been fined $5,000 by the Young Bucks, but that isn’t what the fans want. The fans want to see them do their thing and for the Acclaimed to win the Tag Team Titles on Dynamite. Bowens talks about how they’ll do anything to get the titles back but here is Brandon Cutler to cut off the rap. More fining ensues but here is Christopher Daniels to say Tony Khan has reversed the fines. Daniels drops Cutler and the Acclaimed give him Scissor Me Timbers. We needed a full segment for that announcement? With two authority figures?

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Thunder Rosa

No DQ and Purrazzo jumps her from behind during the entrance. Rosa sends things outside and hits a dive off the ropes to the floor. Back up and Purrazzo slams the arm into the steps and it’s time to bring in the weapons. Rosa’s Death Valley Driver gets two but she takes too long getting a table, which is dropkicked into her face.

We take a break and come back with Rosa kicking a chair into Purrazzo’s face and Samoan dropping her onto an unopened table. Purrazzo catches Rosa on top and ties her in the Tree of Woe for a running shoulder. Rosa is right back up to put a trashcan over Purrazzo’s head and then dives off a table to crush her in the corner. Purrazzo fights back and tries the Venus de Milo but can’t quite get it on. Instead she goes outside and grabs a camera from a photographer, which she uses to knock Rosa silly. A double arm crank in the ropes finishes the unconscious Rosa at 10:26.

Rating: C+. If you’re going to have what seems to be some big blowoff match, or at least what should be a major match in their feud, you might not want to have about a third of it taking place during a break. I like the ending with Purrazzo knocking her senseless but then making sure she won submission anyway as it suits her and should give Purrazzo a nice boost. Rosa has been missing something since her return and it didn’t get much better here.

Video on the first year of Collision.

Dalton Castle vs. Hechicero

Castle even has the Outrunners as some of his Boys while Hechicero has the Gates of Agony. Hechicero takes Castle down to start but has to spin out of a quick Bang A Rang attempt. Back up and Castle grabs a suplex before kicking Hechicero square in the mask. Hechicero is right back with a running knee in the corner and a headscissors driver for the pin at 3:50.

Rating: C. What in the world was that? This was the match that had me the most intrigued and then it just ends like that? I was hoping this would get some time and let Castle showcase himself but we just didn’t get anything close here. For the life of me I don’t get how there isn’t a better use for Castle, even if it isn’t as a featured star. He’s good enough for a bigger spot.

Post match the beatdown is on so the Outrunners come in and…are taken down with ease. Daniel Garcia and Matt Menard run in with chairs for the save.

Dante Martin is ready for a TNT Title qualifying match against Lee Moriarty tonight. Lio Rush comes in to wish him luck and says he’ll see them later. Tony Schiavone is confused.

Here is the Patriarchy to introduce Christian Cage. Christian talks about how this is the anniversary of the death of Buddy Wayne (Nick’s dad), which is the best thing that ever happened to Nick. Speaking of Nick, he has a Father’s Day card for Christian, talking about how he hopes to be as good as Christian.

Killswitch has made a painting of Christian, which he thinks is ok, before raving about the card again. As for Killswitch, why can’t he be more like Nick? Killswitch goes to leave, but Christian calls him back. Cage wants the World Title but he’ll start with winning the Trios Titles. It’s his present to his children, just like Tony Khan’s father gave him the money to start AEW. Well from now on, this is Christian’s company. He is the greatest signing in this company’s history and now he is Tony Khan’s father. Well at least that’s something new for him to do.

The Bang Bang Gang know they have a lot of challengers and the Patriarchy can get in line.

TNT Title Qualifying Match: Dante Martin vs. Lee Moriarty

They trade takedown attempts to start and neither get anywhere. Moriarty takes him down by the leg but misses a charge and crashes out to the floor. There’s a dropkick through the ropes to drop Moriarty again and we take a break. Back with Martin hitting a springboard spinning crossbody for two but Moriarty faceplants him down. The Border City Stretch goes on and Moriarty even stomps the hand, only to have Martin make the rope anyway. Martin comes back with a knee out of the corner and a frog splash for the pin at 8:53.

Rating: C+. This was pretty much exactly what you probably expected it to be, meaning that while the action was good, the result wasn’t quite shocking. Martin has been in those ladder matches before as he’s there for the high flying aspect, while Moriarty is little more than part of a losing team. Perfectly fine use of a match, but not much in the way of drama.

Post match Shane Taylor Promotions comes in for the beatdown but Darius Martin and Action Andretti make the failed save attempt as they’re beaten down as well. Lio Rush comes in to make the real save as Dante seems to have suffered an arm injury.

Hikaru Shida is in the Owen Hart Cup.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Anthony Henry

Roderick Strong, with the Kingdom, is on commentary. They go to the mat to start with O’Reilly backdropping hits way out of an armbar. Henry grabs a Russian legsweep and kicks away, but O’Reilly just gets annoyed. Back up and O’Reilly suplexes him into the cross armbreaker for the win at 2:50.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Bang Bang Gang vs. House Of Black

Non-title, with commentary making it clear that the Bang Bang Gang is NOT using the Freebird Rule. Black runs Robinson over to start and then sits up to freak Robinson out a bit. Austin comes in, hits Black in the face, and then hands it off to Colten, who gets to face King. The Gang is quickly cleared from the ring but run back in to cut off the dive. The brawl goes back to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Robinson snapping off a suplex to Black, followed by a leg lariat for two. Robinson grabs the chinlock (“ASK HIM!”) but spends too much time shouting about a CANNONBALL before he misses one. Matthews comes in and gets to clean house, including a Jackhammer to Austin. The top rope Meteora connects but Matthews hurts his knee on the landing.

We take another break and come back with Matthews having been taken to the back. Robinson’s Cannonball gets two on King, who manages a shot of his own and brings Black back in. A German suplex gets two on Austin but Colten’s running shot to the back gets the same. The 3:10 To Yuma hits King but he isn’t legal. Cue Pac to distract Austin, allowing Black to hit the End for the pin at 18:24.

Rating: B-. Oh that knee did not seem like a good thing and now all we can do is wait and see how it is going. Matthews is one of the more entertaining guys in all of AEW and it would be terrible to see him added to their already long injured list. In theory the House is coming after the Trios Titles again, but now we’ll have to see just how bad things are. In other words, the result might not matter, which is a shame as it was a pretty good match.

Post match the Patriarchy pops up on screen, revealing that they have laid out Matthews with a Conchairto to end the show. That’s a really scary sign for Matthews, but I wonder if they had something similar planned with or without the knee injury.

Overall Rating: C+. That’s how Collision works. It’s a show where it feels like the biggest stars aren’t going to bother, leaving a bunch of things that don’t feel overly important. There are things happening, but what was the big development here? Purrazzo winning? Martin qualifying for a match he isn’t going to win? Between this and Rampage, it’s a lot of time being spent on things that don’t feel overly important, especially with Dynamite so crammed full. As usual, Collision was ok, but it’s not something you need to watch straight through.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club b. Lio Rush/Rocky Romero/TMDK – Death Rider to Rush
Deonna Purrazzo b. Thunder Rosa – Double arm crank in the ropes
Hechicero b. Dalton Castle – Headscissors driver
Dante Martin b. Lee Moriarty – Frog splash
Kyle O’Reilly b. Anthony Henry – Cross armbreaker
House Of Black b. Bang Bang Gang – The End to Austin

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: June 8, 2024
Location: Mid-American Center, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We have about three weeks to go before Forbidden Door and there is a chance we’ll see some more build towards it this week. Toni Storm is set to defend her Women’s Title against Mina Shirakawa and has a warmup match against Lady Frost this week, which could see Shirakawa get involved. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. FTR

For the same of simplicity, I’ll only refer to Cash Wheeler as “Wheeler” and Wheeler Yuta as “Yuta”. Wheeler (in long tights for a change, just like Harwood) wrestles Yuta to the mat to start and it’s off to Castagnoli vs. Harwood. They go around the ropes to start until Castagnoli uppercuts him out to the floor. Back in and Harwood hits a hard chop but Castagnoli knocks him right back down.

Yuta comes in to strike away in the corner and a backsplash gets two. A hard shot to the face gets Harwood out of trouble and it’s back to Wheeler to uppercut the heck out of Yuta. FTR catapults Yuta throat first into the bottom rope for two but he’s right back over to Castagnoli for the tag anyway. Wheeler breaks up the Swing on Harwood but we get stereo Sharpshooters from Harwood and Castagnoli. An exchange of slaps break those up and everything breaks down again with the fights heading outside.

We take a break and come back with Castagnoli grabbing a superplex for two on Harwood. Yuta comes in to cut off Wheeler but Harwood is back with a spinebuster for two of his own. Everyone is down for a bit before Wheeler gets Giant Swung into the dropkick from Yuta for two more. Castagnoli uppercuts the heck out of Wheeler for two and everyone is down again.

Wheeler is back up with a Sharpshooter of his own to Castagnoli, who reverses it int the same thing. That’s broken up and Yuta dives onto Harwood. Wheeler’s piledriver gets two on Castagnoli and we have a minute left in the time limit. Castagnoli superplexes Wheeler and rolls through into the Neutralizer for two. A crossface into the Rings of Saturn have Wheeler in trouble but the time limit expires at 20:00.

Rating: A-. I was wondering why one of these teams was going to lose and I’m rather pleased with the outcome we got instead. FTR can still work a good to great match with anyone and they had me wondering who was going to win all the way until the end. This was one of the best TV matches I’ve seen in a while and I had a lot of fun with the whole thing.

Post match Harwood wants five more minutes but Brandon Cutler is here on behalf of the Young Bucks (oh geez) to say no. Castagnoli swings Cutler and FTR adds the Shatter Machine. Ok so the Bucks don’t work Collision, but Tony Khan was here last week to make a ruling. Is Khan not here this week, or is he just not paying attention or doesn’t care here? Either way, assuming this isn’t just a one off, this is now FIVE PEOPLE with authority in this company. With that out of the way, Castagnoli says a handshake is too much of a cliché, but they’ll have a rematch anytime.

Kyle O’Reilly respects Orange Cassidy but the Undisputed Kingdom interrupts. They think someone or something is missing for O’Reilly and the team is cheering for him tonight. O’Reilly doesn’t want to hear it. Strong tells O’Reilly to remember what he said when he came back, but we don’t know what that is.

Kris Statlander vs. Robyn Renegade

Statlander powers her into the corner to start and fires off some shoulders to the ribs. Renegade slips out of a powerbomb out of the corner but the second attempt works just fine. Saturday Night Fever finishes Renegade at 1:33. Statlander looked awesome here.

Post match Stokely Hathaway praises Statlander and as of earlier today, she is officially in the Owen Hart Foundation Cup.

Post break, Willow Nightingale says she’s in the tournament too and hopes to see Statlander there.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Johnny TV

Taya Valkyrie is here with Johnny. Dustin slugs away to start and goes outside to annoy Taya for a bonus. A hard chop against the barricade rocks TV but Taya’s yelling lets him come back with a running flip dive through the ropes. They both step onto Dustin for some kissing on the steps as we take a break.

Back with Dustin fighting back and getting two off the scoop powerslam. The flipping neckbreaker gives TV two but Dustin hits a Destroyer (with TV appearing to give him a lot of help), setting up Shattered Dreams. The Cross Rhodes gives Dustin two, with Taya putting the foot on the rope. That’s enough for an ejection, with TV using the distraction to hit a superkick for two. Some knees to the face set up a missed Starship Pain and Cross Rhodes gives Dustin the pin at 9:33.

Rating: C+. I know it’s impressive that he’s been around for the better part of ever, but Dustin’s matches haven’t done much for me in a good while. It’s cool to see him still be able to have a decent match this late in his career, but odds are this is going to lead to another “I don’t know if I still have it in me but I’m going to give it all I’ve got” speech. That might work a bit better if we hadn’t heard it from him since AEW started.

Post match Dustin says he’s getting old. He’s got two things to talk about tonight, starting with the fans, who have not abandoned him after almost 37 years. Dustin thanks the production crew before moving on to the second thing, which is Jack Perry. AEW missed Perry when he left and they were happy to see him come back, but then Perry attacked the boss.

Perry has been talking about sacrifice despite being born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Dustin has been sacrificing for his family for decades but Perry has been a follower for years. If you’re a follower for that long, the view never changes. Dustin is facing Perry on Dynamite and Dustin promises to destroy his little punk a**. Perry will never forget his name. This was close enough to Dustin’s normal stuff, and that means it was good enough but not exactly exciting.

Zack Sabre Jr. wants Orange Cassidy at Forbidden Door.

Premiere Athletes vs. Trip Gordon/Dante Leon

The Athletes jump them to start and an over the shoulder Tombstone finishes Leon at 48 seconds.

Scorpio Sky offers to be our hero, our voice, and our champion.

Toni Storm vs. Lady Frost

Non-title and Luther and Mariah May are here with Storm. Frost gets taken down to start and Storm dances a bit before they fight over wrist control. Storm is knocked to the floor for an apron moonsault and we take a break. Back with Storm hitting the hip attack in the corner for two but Frost’s Air Raid Crash gets the same. Frostbite misses and Storm Sky Highs her for two more. Storm Zero finishes Frost at 7:57.

Rating: C+. Storm gets a nice win over someone who can work hard in the ring and that’s about all it needed to be. What mattered here was making Storm feel strong again, which should often be the case for a champion on the way into a big title match. Frost has a unique look, but she sems destined to be there to make people look better.

Post match Storm hugs May and says she knows how rough it is for May to see Storm and Mina Shirakawa fighting. As a distraction, Storm demands that May is entered into the Owen Hart Tournament. They’ll get through this together.

Dante Martin and Lee Moriarty argue over an Owen Tournament spot, with their respective partners getting in on it too.

Samoa Joe and Hook, after arguing about lacrosse, jump the Premiere Athletes.

Daniel Garcia vs. Tate Mayfairs

Mayfairs is from Progress Wrestling and this is his AEW debut. Garcia takes him down into a wristlock to start but Mayfairs knocks Garcia into the corner for some posing. Mayfairs hammers away both on the mat and on their feet but Garcia rolls some swinging neckbreakers. The Saito suplex into the shotgun dropkick into the Red Cross finishes for Garcia at 3:19.

Rating: C+. I guess it’s time for the next Garcia push, though I’m not likely to get my hopes up for this one being the time where everything comes together for him. Garcia has been a project for AEW for a long time now but it has never quite clicked. He’s come a long way, but seeing him make it up to the next level does not seem like the most likely result.

Post match, dancing ensues.

Video on Zeuxis, who faces Mercedes Mone on Dynamite.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Orange Cassidy talks about how bad things are going for him and now he has to deal with Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door. He has to go deal with things, including Kyle O’Reilly tonight.

Orange Cassidy vs. Kyle O’Reilly

O’Reilly takes him to the mat to start as the Undisputed Kingdom is watching from the crowd. Cassidy makes it over to the ropes so O’Reilly sits down and tells him to bring it. Instead Cassidy tries a monkey flip but has to get to the ropes to escape an armbar. They trade rollups for two each before a neck crank sends Cassidy to the floor and us to a break. Back with Cassidy grabbing a headlock takeover but O’Reilly reverses into a sleeper.

That’s reversed into a cradle to give Cassidy two but Cassidy has to escape a standing choke. The hands go into the pockets so O’Reilly sweeps the leg without much trouble. O’Reilly starts in on the arm before switching to a dragon screw legwhip over the ropes. They head outside and the Kingdom distracts O’Reilly but he’s fine enough to dragon screw Cassidy into the barricade. It works so well that O’Reilly does it again and there’s a fourth back inside.

We take another break and come back again with Cassidy working on O’Reilly’s arm. Cassidy sends him outside for a dive, followed by the high crossbody back inside. O’Reilly kicks the leg out and snaps off a German suplex, only for Cassidy to do the same, leaving them both down. Back up and they trade lazy kicks until Cassidy’s Stundog Millionaire is countered into a cross armbreaker.

Cassidy slips out of that and hits a Michinoku Driver for two, followed by a hard kick to the face. The Orange Punch is countered into a chickenwing, with O’Reilly putting his own hand into Cassidy’s pocket in a…..I guess you can call it smart touch. Cassidy powers him up for a Beach Break and a standing Orange Punch staggers O’Reilly. The more regular version finishes for Cassidy at 19:37.

Rating: B. Another good back and forth match here with the two of them both working hard. Cassidy needed a win after having some bad luck as of late, though O’Reilly losing again isn’t the best thing to see. Maybe he joins the Undisputed Era after some more losses, but egads I could go for a long, as in permanent, break from that entire team getting together again. Rather good main event here, with the fans still loving Cassidy.

Post match Trent Beretta and Kyle Fletcher come in to jump Cassidy but O’Reilly makes the…well the failed save attempt actually as the villains take over. Kris Statlander comes in as well and shakes hands with Trent. Willow Nightingale runs in to chase Statlander off to end the show

Overall Rating: B+. The opener was outstanding and the main event was rather good, which is enough to make this a heck of a show. They focused on the wrestling here and as usual, it made for a solid AEW offering. It still amazes me how much easier AEW is to watch when they don’t focus on the top storylines, but I can easily take something like this week to week. Check out the opener, as it was rather awesome.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club vs. FTR went to a time limit draw
Kris Statlander b. Robyn Renegade – Saturday Night Fever
Dustin Rhodes b. Johnny TV – Cross Rhodes
Premiere Athletes b. Trip Gordon/Dante Leon – Over the shoulder Tombstone to Leon
Toni Storm b. Lady Frost – Storm Zero
Daniel Garcia b. Tate Mayfairs – Red Cross
Orange Cassidy b. Kyle O’Reilly – Orange Punch

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Rampage
Date: June 7, 2024
Location: Blue Arena, Loveland, Colorado
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

The road to Forbidden Door continues and for once I’m almost believing we might get something new this week. Rampage has been built up a bit more in recent weeks and that has made things more interesting. It is nice to see the show feel a bit more important and hopefully that continues here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. The Butcher

They shove each other around to start until Butcher knocks him down and hammers away against the ropes. Penta fights back and strikes away in the corner, setting up a handstand dropkick to rock Butcher again. A headscissors sends Butcher to the floor, where he runs over Alex Abrahantes.

The distracted Penta gets run over and clotheslined against the apron as Butcher takes over. Butcher works on the arm and kicks him in the shoulder as we take a break. Back with Penta hitting a Sling Blade for two and the Backstabber out of the corner gets the same. Butcher’s half nelson backbreaker gets the same but Penta Fear Factors him to win at 9:48.

Rating: C+. This was a nice way to give Penta a boost as he lost to Takeshita recently. Penta is someone who continues to feel like he could be something if given the chance, though beating Butcher is only going to get him so far. For now though, I’ll take a good match that runs about ten minutes to open the show.

Here is the Learning Tree so Chris Jericho can critique Matt Menard’s commentary. That’s it.

Acclaimed vs. Hunter Grey/Parviz

Grey and Parviz look like bad Missing Link cosplayers. It’s a brawl to start but Caster hits an AA on Grey. The Mic Drop finishes Grey at 55 seconds as that is quite the poor use of guys with a good look.

Post match, scissoring ensues.

Shane Taylor Promotions wants Action Andretti/Top Flight. If you’re to the point where you’re challenging Top Flight and Andretti, it might be time to hang it up.

Gates Of Agony vs. Private Party

Kassidy starts fast and hits a springboard Stunner on Toa but a Pounce on the floor has Private Party rocked as we take a break. Back with Kassidy hitting a bit flip dive onto the Gates, setting up a Swanton for two. Kaun takes both of them down in the corner and hands it back to Toa to take over. Quen avoids a Vader Bomb and it’s back to Kassidy for a 450, with Quen adding a shooting star for two. Toa is right back with a swinging Rock Bottom and Open The Gates finishes Kassidy at 7:47.

Rating: C+. They had a completely fine match but it’s hard to believe that either of these teams is going to be going anywhere anytime soon. I can’t imagine the Gates doing anything important as they have been built up and then beaten back down over and over. Private Party is pretty much the same, as they have yet to really do much of anything other than beat the Young Bucks years ago. It was an entertaining showcase, but I don’t buy either of them as having a bright future.

Toni Storm is ready to make cinema with Lady Frost on Collision.

Bang Bang Gang vs. Caleb Crush/Chris Wilde/Tyler Payne

The Gunns let Robinson start and he runs Crush over, knocks Wilde off the apron, and pulls Payne in. A spinebuster into a Cannonball sets up the forward DDT to finish Crush at 1:34. Robinson’s charisma continues to be great.

Post match Jay White brags about the team’s success and calls Robinson the Stray Bullet. White names Robinson a quarter of the Trios Champions so we might have a Freebird Rule.

Mina Shirakawa vs. Serena Deeb

Mina dances to start before Deeb works on a standing armbar. That’s reversed into a wristlock but Deeb reverses the reversal into the Paradise Lock. With that broken up, Mina kicks the leg out and drops some elbows onto said leg before just dropping it onto the mat. Back up and Deeb manages a neckbreaker over the middle rope for a breather. We take a break and come back with Mina enziguring her way to freedom.

The bad knee won’t let her follow up immediately but she’s fine enough to rock Deeb with a discus forearm. Another forearm hits Deeb in the corner and a top rope knee to the shoulder gets two. They trade standing switches until Deeb hits a hard German suplex. The hammerlock lariat gives Deeb two but Deebtox is blocked.

Mina is right back with a Figure Four and they even slap it out while the hold is still on. The rope is eventually grabbed for the break but Deeb’s knee is shot. Somehow it’s fine enough to hit a powerbomb into a stretch muffler of all things. Deeb takes out Mina’s knee for a change and rams it into the mat. There’s no Serenity Lock though as Mina grabs a reverse sitout implant DDT for the pin at 13:19.

Rating: B-. It’s nice that Shirakawa won a match on the way to Forbidden Door as she hasn’t been in the ring much. Other than a one off match against Anna Jay back in April, she hasn’t wrestled for AEW and that needed to be fixed. Beating Deeb is a good enough deal, though it seems Deeb is falling back down into jobberland, which is more disappointing than anything else.

Post match Mariah May comes out to celebrate but Toni Storm, in a bathrobe and with a towel over her head, comes out to glare. May invites her in and we do get a handshake with Mina. They both hold the ropes open for May to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This felt like a show where the goal was to get multiple people into the ring and that’s not a terrible way to go. As usual, the problem feels like very little of this is going to make a difference in the bigger shows. At the same time, keeping it at three hours helps a lot as it can’t overstay its welcome. Nice show, but nothing you need to see.

Results
Penta El Zero Miedo b. The Butcher – Fear Factor
Acclaimed b. Hunter Grey/Parviz – Mic Drop to Grey
Gates Of Agony b. Private Party – Open The Gates to Kassidy
Bang Bang Gang b. Caleb Crush/Chris Wilde/Tyler Payne – Forward DDT to Crush
Mina Shirakawa b. Serena Deeb – Reverse sitout implant DDT

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

Here’s what’s coming on the show.

Kyle Fletcher vs. London Lightning

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

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

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

Workhorsemen vs. Spanish Announce Project

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

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

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

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

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

Nyla Rose vs. Riea Van Slasher

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

Video on Marina Shafir

Satnam Singh vs. Jimmy Jacobs

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

Blake Christian is in the Best Of The Super Juniors.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Artemis Spencer/Jon Cruz

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

Mike Bennett vs. Matt Menard

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

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

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

Post match the Kingdom jumps Menard and beats him down.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We’re still in Jacksonville for the second half of tonight’s double shot. In this case, that means we have a live parking lot brawl between Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta as their friendship is over. Other than that, it’s Rampage, and that could go in all kinds of directions. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Chuck Taylor vs. Trent Beretta

They’re in the parking lot for the brawl inside a circle of cars, with Trent starting fast by sending Taylor into a car. Taylor is busted open but is more than capable of sending Trent onto a hood. They climb onto a truck, with Beretta knocking him through a piece of plywood. We take an early break and come back with a TV being thrown and Taylor suplexing him though a door.

Some shovel shots to the back have Trent in trouble but he manages to slam Taylor onto a table of light tubes. Taylor is right back with a toss powerbomb through a windshield for two more. They’re both gushing blood as they climb onto the top of a car for another slugout. A low blow gets Beretta out of trouble and he piledrives Taylor onto the top of the car. That sets up a triangle choke and Taylor is out at 10:08.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of bloody, violent brawl that you do not get to see very often. It’s also something that you will either like or not like and as a result, your mileage may vary in a big way. The good thing is Beretta gets the win over someone who matters in his career and can move on to what is likely a showdown with Orange Cassidy at Double Or Nothing.

Post match Beretta grabs a wrench as Orange Cassidy and Kris Statlander come in. Beretta says this is Cassidy’s fault and crushes Taylor’s ankle with the wrench.

Don Callis watches approvingly.

Kyle O’Reilly is happy to come to his hometown and do what he does best: wrestle.

Thunder Rosa vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Rosa talks trash to start and they fight over a lockup with neither being able to get very far. A chinlock doesn’t last long for Rosa as Purrazzo fights up and goes after the leg. Rosa ties the limbs up in the ropes for a running dropkick, followed by a Liontamer to amp up the pain. Rosa is right next to the ropes for the break and sends Purrazzo outside for the dive.

Purrazzo kicks her in the face for a knockdown of her own and we take a break. Back with Rosa hitting a running kick to the face, followed by a running dropkick against the ropes. Purrazzo comes back but can’t get the Fujiwara armbar, instead settling for a kick to the face. Rosa fights back and goes up, only to dive into the Fujiwara armbar. That’s broken up with a rollup, which is reversed back into the Fujiwara armbar, which is reversed into another rollup to finally give Rosa the pin at 11:05.

Rating: C+. Rosa gets a nice win to boost herself back up after losing at Dynasty. She could be sticking around the title picture for a good while now and that makes sense as she is still one of the bigger names in the division. At the same time you have Purrazzo, who might be a talented star but you only get so far with her when she keeps losing.

Post match Rosa goes to leave but Purrazzo jumps her for a ram into the barricade. The brawl is on and referees have to break it up.

We look at Will Ospreay earning an International Title shot.

The Undisputed Kingdom want Tony Khan to stay neck strong but then move on to Will Ospreay, who will finally fall before the messiah of the Backbreaker.

Big Bill vs. Trevor Blackwell

Bill kicks him in the face to start and shouts about how he’s doing this to show Chris Jericho. More kicks to the face set up a rather delayed chokeslam to give Bill the win at 1:39.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Katsuyori Shibata/Daniel Garcia

Anthony Ogogo is on commentary. It’s a brawl to start and everyone fights to the floor with the Promotions taking over. Taylor sends Shibata inside and it’s off to Moriarty to stomp away in the corner. Shibata is able to get away for the tag to Garcia, meaning suplexes abound. A quick distraction lets Moriarty pull Garcia down with a hanging apron DDT to the floor as the villains take over. Garcia tries to fight out but gets hit in the face, setting up a splash for two.

We take a break and come back with Taylor missing a middle rope splash but Moriarty cuts off the tag. Garcia finally gets smart and sends them together, allowing the tag back to Shibata. Everything breaks down and the Promotions are sent int the corner for stereo right hands to the head.

Running dropkicks have the villains in even more trouble and Garcia dances as Shibata pounds Taylor down. Moriarty is back in to strike away at Shibata in the corner and yeah that’s not the best idea. Shibata kicks Taylor away so Garcia can grab a sleeper, with Shibata doing the same to Moriarty. Garcia suplexes Taylor and Shibata PK’s Moriarty for the pin at 14:55.

Rating: C+. This felt like a way to get Shibata featured on the show, which might have a bit of a bigger impact if he wasn’t around so often all the time. Putting Garcia out there with him should mean a nice rub, even if beating the Promotions again might not mean as much. For now though, it’s a nice enough main event on a rather weak looking show. Just get them to do something like this on Dynamite and their stock could rise nicely

Overall Rating: B-. The opener being a bigger deal helped, but there was only so much that could be done to hide how little this show meant. While it’s better than some of the recent Rampages, it still comes off as a show that has to be done rather than one AEW wants to do. Not every single important thing has to be on Dynamite and as usual, it leaves Rampage feeling kind of weak. Good, but weak.

Results
Trent Beretta b. Chuck Taylor – Triangle choke
Thunder Rosa b. Deonna Purrazzo – Rollup
Big Billy Trevor Blackwell – Chokeslam
Katsuyori Shibata/Daniel Garcia b. Shane Taylor Promotions

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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Dynasty 2024
Date: April 21, 2024
Location: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re back on pay per view and this time around we have a few big matches. First of all, Samoa Joe is defending the World Title against Swerve Strickland. In the match that might be bigger than that though, Bryan Danielson is facing Will Ospreay in a dream match. Finally, we have FTR vs. the Young Bucks in a ladder match for the vacant Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Trent Beretta vs. Matt Sydal

Trent comes out to the Best Friends theme to really crank up the villainy. Sydal knocks him to the floor to start and drops him again on the floor before going back inside. A standing Sliced Bread and a standing twisting moonsault give Sydal two but Beretta is back up with a brainbuster. Sydal gets sent outside but comes back in with a knockdown, allowing him to strike away.

A leg trap cradle gives Sydal two, only for Beretta to grab a half and half suplex. Sydal takes him down again and hits the top rope Meteora for two of his own. They go to the corner, where Beretta drops him face first onto the buckle to knock him silly. The Gotch Style piledriver gets two on Sydal, setting up the running knee into something like a triangle choke for the win at 8:11.

Rating: C. Total Rampage match here and that’s all it was ever going to be. Beretta is fresh off of his heel turn and is gearing up for a showdown with Orange Cassidy. On the other hand you have Sydal, who is the guy you put out there for the sake of making someone else look good. This was only going to be Beretta winning a not very long match and that’s what we got.

Post match Beretta won’t let go so Matt’s brother Mike and Chuck Taylor make the save. Beretta gives Taylor until Dynamite to make up his mind about where he stands. Orange Cassidy comes out for his match and Beretta bails, mainly due to the threat of violence from Cassidy’s partner.

Zero Hour: Orange Cassidy/Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Anthony Ogogo is on commentary as Moriarty takes Cassidy down by the arm to start. Moriarty cranks on said arm but Cassidy uses the power of the pockets to escape and send Moriarty down. Shibata comes in and wins a wrestle off before knocking Moriarty into the corner. It’s off to Taylor for an exchange of chops and forearms with Shibata getting the better of things.

Cassidy comes in and takes Moriarty outside, where Ogogo comes off commentary for a distraction. Taylor knocks Cassidy silly and the big apron legdrop crushes him to make it worse. Back in and Moriarty grabs an abdominal stretch but Taylor misses a splash in the corner. The tag brings Shibata in to kick away, including the running dropkick to Moriarty.

Taylor breaks up an abdominal stretch so Shibata takes him into the corner so the double striking can ensue. Beach Break is broken up and Moriarty snaps Cassidy’s fingers, only to have Cassidy grab the tornado DDT. Shibata kicks Taylor outside, leaving Cassidy to Orange Punch Moriarty for the pin at 12:44.

Rating: C. Another match that could have been on this week’s TV shows rather than taking up time here. I’m guessing the idea was the showdown between Cassidy and Trent Beretta, plus getting Shibata on the card. It’s not a bad match, but there’s a reason this was only thrown on at the last minute with little story.

Zero Hour: Ring Of Honor Six Man Tag Team Titles/AEW Trios Titles: Bullet Club Gold vs. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn

Winner take all and Caster gets an extended rap for a change. Bowens takes Austin into the corner to start before jumping over him and grabbing a backdrop. Colten comes in and has a seat so it’s off to Billy, which has Colten a little more nervous. Billy gets to clean house but gets taken into the wrong corner, meaning the beating is on. White’s chops just annoy Billy but Austin hitting him in the back makes it even worse.

A right hand drops Austin and it’s back to Caster for an armdrag into an armbar. Bowens neckbreaker Austin into a backbreaker from Caster and there’s Scissor Me Timbers. A cheap shot lets White take Caster outside though and whip him into the barricade. Back in and Colten grabs the chinlock but Caster is right back up for the tag to Bowens. Everything breaks down and Bowens gets dropkicked out to the floor with White throwing him back in.

Austin kicks him down and grabs another chinlock, with Bowens suplexing his way to freedom. That’s enough for the tag off to Billy so house can be cleaned. Billy misses a Fameasser and Austin hits his own for two. 3:10 To Yuma gets two more but the Acclaimed is back in for the save. That’s broken up as well so Billy has to power out of the sleeper suplex. The real Fameasser gets two on White, who is right back with the Blade Runner for the pin at 14:48.

Rating: C+. This was a bit long but what matters the most is they got rid of one see of titles. There has never been a reason for two sets of six man titles and thankfully one of them is going away. Acclaimed and Gunn winning would have made less than zero sense as they are ice cold right now so this was the logical result in both ways.

And now, the show proper.

The opening video looks at the big matches and talks about building a dynasty.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Pac

Pac is challenging and the fans are VERY interested at the opening bell. They start slowly and exchange wrist control until Pac grabs a headlock takeover. Back up and Pac hurricanranas him to the floor, setting up the big running flip dive. Pac whips him into the barricade, with Okada seeming to favor his shoulder. A super brainbuster (geez) gives Pac two so he goes up, only to get dropkicked off for a hard crash onto the apron.

Back in and Okada hits a running kick to the head, followed by the dropkick to put Okada on the floor again. The hanging DDT plants Pac, who barely beats the count back in, and a regular DDT gets two. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Pac fights up and sends him to the floor, setting up the top rope Asai moonsault. Back in and a missile dropkick gives Pac two and he snaps off a German suplex, only to get dropkicked into the corner. Okada grabs the Air Raid Crash onto the knee, setting up the top rope elbow for two more.

Pac is back up and kicks him in the head and muscles him over with a German suplex. A Helluva Kick looks to set up the Black Arrow but Okada gets out just in time. Okada grabs the Tombstone but the Rainmaker is reversed into the Brutalizer. That’s broken up as well and Pac hits a nasty Tombstone of his own, only to have the Black Arrow hit raised knees. The Rainmaker retains the title at 21:52.

Rating: B+. This was a match designed to have two guys beat the fire out of each other for a good while and that’s exactly what happened. It was a heck of a fight with Pac being the perfect choice to go after Okada in his first title defense. There’s a reason Pac has this kind of a reputation and it’s a shame that he has to miss so much time due to various reasons.

Post match Pac gets the big respectful ovation.

We recap the House Of Black vs. Adam Copeland/Eddie Kingston/Mark Briscoe. The House went after Copeland and now he has some friends, who happen to have recently fought over the Ring Of Honor World Title, on his side.

Adam Copeland/Eddie Kingston/Mark Briscoe vs. House Of Black

Taz can’t believe that Copeland is teaming with Kingston and Briscoe, showing he doesn’t watch Collision either. Matthews takes Briscoe up against the ropes to start but it’s quickly off to Copeland to hammer away in the corner. Black comes in, stares at Copeland, and then hands it off to King instead. King misses a clothesline so Kingston comes in for the strike off, which goes rather badly for him.

Kingston fights up and knocks him to his knees, setting up a big chop, followed by the rapid fire chops in the corner. King is back up and knocks Kingston into the other corner, where Matthews takes over for a change. It’s back to Black for the chinlock but Kingston fights up and strikes away (you might notice a theme here). The big tag brings in Briscoe to clean house, including an enziguri to send Matthews to the floor.

There’s the running dropkick through the ropes so Matthews….throws him a chair, allowing Briscoe to hit the step up flip dive to take Matthews down again. King comes over to Death Valley Driver Briscoe into the barricade, meaning the beating is taken into the wrong corner. Black grabs a chinlock but Briscoe fights up again, allowing the tag back to Copeland. King chops him off the top for a nasty crash so Kingston comes in to chop away instead.

Copeland is back up with a top rope superplex to bring King down again and everyone needs a breather. King gets up and hits a discus lariat on Briscoe, only to get spinning backfisted by Kingston. Copeland adds a spear and Briscoe’s Froggy Bow gets two. Black comes back in for the staredown with Copeland but Briscoe cuts it off. The House cleans house but the good guys are back with triple spears for another knockdown. We settle down to Black vs. Copeland…and it’s the mist into the end to give Black the pin at 17:41.

Rating: B. This got some time and the ending was the right way to go, with Black getting the win to likely set himself up as the next challenger to the TNT Title. They teased the heck out of the Copeland vs. Black showdown and then it lasted all of ten seconds, which makes things all the more interesting. Good stuff here, and it even set up something extra down the road.

We recap Julia Hart vs. Willow Nightingale for the TBS Title. Hart has the title, Nightingale wants it, end of recap.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Willow Nightingale

Hart is defending and Nightingale has Kris Statlander with her. Nightingale starts fast and knocks her out of the corner before going up. That takes a bit too long though and Hart knocks him to the floor, with Nightingale being knocked over the announcers’ table. The reverse chinlock goes on until Nightingale powers up and pulls her into a sleeper. Hart slips out so Nightingale plants her with a spinebuster for two. Nightingale charges into some boots in the corner but manages to raise her boots to block the moonsault. The Babe With The Powerbomb gives Nightingale the pin and the title at 6:00.

Rating: C+. That was the way the result needed to go as Nightingale FINALLY wins something important. While this is probably setting up her dropping the title to Mercedes Mone next month, at least she has the title in the first place and that is great to see. Nightingale could be a star due to her high level of likability, but she needed this kind of a win to move her forward.

Post match Nightingale celebrates with Statlander and Stokely Hathaway, only to have Mercedes Mone come out for the staredown. With that out of the way, Nightingale gets to celebrate again.

We recap the International Title, with Roderick Strong defending against Kyle O’Reilly. They used to be friends and now they’re fighting for the title.

International Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Roderick Strong

Strong is defending and they go technical to start with O’Reilly’s ankle lock being broken up. Back up and Strong hits the jumping leg lariat for two but O’Reilly knocks him back again. Strong catches him on top and drops him hard onto the buckle. Another backbreaker cuts O’Reilly off but he comes back with a bunch of strikes to get a breather. Strong comes right back with an Angle Slam into the running forearms against the ropes.

The running boot against the ropes is blocked though and O’Reilly grabs the kneebar. That’s broken up so O’Reilly strikes away, only to get pulled into another backbreaker for another two. A top rope superplex gives Strong two but O’Reilly ties the legs up into a small package for the same.

Another exchange of strikes lets O’Reilly grab a German suplex but Strong knees him in the face for the double knockdown. Cue Wardlow for a distraction so Strong can get two off a small package. Back up and O’Reilly hits a brainbuster, setting up the cross armbreaker to send Strong over to the ropes. Strong is back up with End Of Heartache for the pin to retain at 17:19.

Rating: C+. It was technically sound but this match didn’t feel interesting coming in and they lost my interest rather quickly. Anything with the Undisputed Kingdom is running with an anchor right now and that was the case here. Strong had to keep the title to keep the group going, but could they please find something to do other than another Undisputed Era reunion?

Post match the Undisputed Kingdom, including Adam Cole, comes out to celebrate.

We recap Hook vs. Chris Jericho for the former’s FTW Title.

Hook vs. Chris Jericho

Hook is defending under FTW Rules and they show respect to start. Feeling out process to start until Hook grabs the first suplex. They go to the floor with Hook….I think missing an apron clothesline but it came off like some miscommunication. Jericho loads up a table but Hook is back with the trashcan lid shots. With that broken up, Jericho trashcans him down as well and they go back inside.

Jericho knocks him to the apron, where Hook suplexes him down through a table for a nasty crash and a near fall on the floor. Back in and Jericho hammers away but stops to grab a trashcan, allowing Hook to snap off a German suplex. The trashcan is put over Jericho and Hook grabs the kendo stick for the beating.

Another suplex, with Jericho in the can, lets Hook load up another table in the corner. Jericho grabs a Codebreaker and they’re both down. They slug it out from their knees with Jericho getting the better of things, only to miss a Rockers’ fist drop. Redrum goes on until Jericho drives him through the table for the break.

The Judas Effect is countered into a kneebar but Jericho reverses into the Walls. Hook reverses into a small package for two and grabs Redrum, only to have Jericho kick him low (which the camera misses). Now the Judas Effect (with an “I’m sorry”) can connect for two so Jericho hits it again…for two again. Jericho grabs the baseball bat, says he’s sorry, and knocks Hook cold to win at 16:50.

Rating: D+. When I was writing up my preview for this show, I could not shake the feeling that AEW would give Jericho the win here because it would be the dumbest thing possible. Jericho is just a disaster right now and having him beat Hook, who already beat him once, is a mind blowing concept. The fans are not interested in seeing Jericho right now yet here he is, complete with a new title. He needs to go away for a bit, and I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

We recap Toni Storm defending the Women’s Title against Thunder Rosa. Storm is on a roll as champion but Rosa never lost the title so this is her big rematch.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Thunder Rosa

Storm, with Mariah May, is defending and Rosa isn’t wearing face paint for a change. They fight into the corner with Storm powering her around, only to get hit in the face. Storm kicks her in the ribs for a breather but Rosa knocks Storm out to the floor. There’s the big corkscrew dive but Rosa has to stop and glare at May. The forearms to the chest give Rosa two, only to have Storm come back with a backbreaker for the same.

Some shots to the back let Storm take her to the top, where Rosa powerbombs her down for two more. A Death valley Driver onto the apron plants Storm (Nigel McGuinness: “OH THE HUMANITY!”) for two more. Storm is back with a Backstabber out of the corner, followed by a bottom rope DDT of all things. A fisherman’s suplex gives Storm two but Rosa’s stomp connects for the same.

Storm grabs a chokebomb for two so Rosa slugs away, only to charge into a headbutt. May offers a distraction so here is Deonna Purrazzo to brawl with her to the back. Storm grabs a German suplex to set up the hip attack. Storm Zero gets two so Storm busts out the Texas Cloverleaf. Rosa gets out and grabs a Backstabber into a cobra clutch but Storm escapes as well. A low kick sets up another Storm Zero to retain at 15:05.

Rating: B. This was a nice surprise and better than I was expecting. It was one of the better Storm matches in AEW and Rosa’s best since her return as it felt like a big time fight. Storm is in a weird place as champion though as the only person to come after the title is May, and that is going to need some adjusting to set up. For now though, rather good stuff.

We recap Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay. It’s going to be good. End of story.

Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay

Don Callis is on commentary. Nigel talks about Danielson saying his version of Heaven is bleeding in a ring. Nigel: “My version of Heaven is him dying from bleeding in a ring.” Osprey grabs a front facelock to start but Danielson reverses into a headlock as the feeling out process begins. That’s broken up and the fans hit that BRUV chant. Another exchange goes to another standoff and the fans find this awesome.

Danielson goes with the chops but it’s too early for the LeBell Lock. Ospreay misses the big kicks to the head and the fans are way into this. Ospreay flips over and scores with a dropkick but Danielson strikes away against the ropes. A running boot knocks Danielson outside and there’s the big dive to take him out again. Back in and Danielson gets smart by going after the knee/ribs but Ospreay escapes again.

Danielson is sent into the corner and a running boot connects for two. Ospreay sends him outside for the big corkscrew dive to leave them both down. Back in again and Danielson grabs a tiger suplex for two, followed by the heavy elbows. Cattle Mutilation goes on for a bit until Danielson puts him into the corner for the running dropkick. Ospreay sticks the landing on a super hurricanrana so he goes up top, only to get caught with a tiger superplex for the huge crash.

Danielson’s kicks to the chest wake Ospreay up and one heck of a shot drops Danielson for a change. They go to the apron to slug it out and the Oscutter drops Danielson hard. The referee checks on Danielson so Ospreay gets in a Hidden Blade from the apron as the fans think they aren’t worthy. Danielson beats the count and Ospreay stacks him up for two. Danielson grabs La Mistica of all things into the LeBell Lock and then a double arm crank but Ospreay makes the rope.

The running knee is countered into a powerbomb but Danielson counters into a hurricanrana for two instead. Now the running knee connects for two and Danielson is frustrated. The stomping to the head looks to set up another LeBell Lock but Ospreay slips out and fires off forearms to the face. Danielson pulls him into a triangle choke and even the powerbomb can’t break it.

Instead Ospreay picks him up for a Styles Clash but he can’t follow up. They get to their feet with Danielson slapping the heck out of him and grabbing a suplex, only to have Ospreay pop up with the Hidden Blade. The Oscutter is loaded up but Danielson knees it out of the air for the big double down. Danielson does the YES pose in the corner and Ospreay goes to the other corner, where he takes off the elbow pad. The running knee is cut off with the Hidden Blade into the tiger driver onto the neck. Danielson is all vibrating but Ospreay Hidden Blades him for the pin at 32:19.

Rating: A. Back in the late 1920s, a man was driving his Model T Ford when it stopped running. He wasn’t very good with mechanical stuff and was in a bit of a jam when an older man came driving up. The older man asked if he could take a look and fixed it without much trouble. That older man was Henry Ford. Now what does this have to do with Ospreay vs. Danielson?

Nothing. It was outstanding and there was nothing else to say about it so I didn’t bother trying.

Post match the medics check on Danielson and Ospreay is scared, even as his arm is raised.

We recap FTR vs. the Young Bucks for the vacant Tag Team Titles. It’s the latest in their long running series and this is a ladder match.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. FTR

For the vacant titles in a ladder match. FTR takes over to start and goes for the ladders but the Bucks cut them off. The dives drop FTR and it’s time for the ladder to be brought in. FTR cuts that off for a change so it’s time to put some tables up at ringside. That takes too long as well so Wheeler is laid across the ladder for a dive from Matt. Back in and Harwood is busted open as the Bucks beat him down with chairs.

There’s a whip to send Harwood into the ladder in the corner as the blood is gushing. They go outside again with Harwood being sent into a bridged ladder but Wheeler is back up with a moonsault off of said ladder. The Bucks are right back up to crotch Wheeler on the ladder, setting up the EVP Trigger. Harwood gets knocked down again back inside but Wheeler is back in with a powerslam.

FTR hits a bulldog to plant Matt and a slingshot powerbomb puts him down again. That’s not enough as Matt gets knocked off the apron, sending him hard into the barricade. Nick hurricanranas Harwood off the apron and through a table for another nasty crash. All four are back up and go for the climb, with everyone but Matt crashing down. Harwood pulls Matt’s shoes off before FTR busts out the PowerPlex off the ladder for the big crash.

Nick is back up with a 450 to Wheeler through a table, leaving Harwood to piledrive Matt onto a bridged ladder. Wheeler pulls Nick down from the ladder but his suicide dive only hits table. Matt and Harwood go up, earning a PLEASE BE CAREFUL chant. Harwood knocks him down so here is a masked man for the save. And yeah of course it’s Jack Perry. The Bucks win at 21:47.

Rating: B. This was in fact a ladder match and there was almost no reason to believe that the ending was going to be anything else, even down to the interference. There was no way FTR was going to win here as the Bucks are being treated as a big deal again. This match cranked up the violence and it worked well enough, but the ladder gimmick didn’t make things much better.

We recap Samoa Joe defending the World Title against Swerve Strickland. Joe beat Hangman Page to retain in a triple threat match at Revolution so now it’s the singles match for Swerve’s big shot.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is defending. They take their time to start until Joe hits a knee to the ribs to take over. Joe takes him outside for a toss over the announcers’ table but Swerve gets in a knee to the face. That earns him a hard planting on the floor and they head back inside, with Joe keeping the pace slow.

Joe plants him again and grabs the neck crank as the dominance continues. Swerve tries to fight up and gets elbowed in the face to send him back outside. The floor mats are peeled back but Swerve gets in some shots of his own for a needed breather. Back in and Swerve has to strike his way out of the Koquina Clutch, setting up the rolling Downward Spiral for two. Swerve grabs a headscissors choke but Joe powers him into the corner for the Muscle Buster and another near fall.

Back up and Swerve hits the House Call into a 450 into the Swerve Stomp for two and they need a breather. Joe is right back up with the Koquina Clutch but can’t get the full grip. That lets Swerve get out and hit the House Call for two more. They both go up and Swerve knocks him off again, setting up the Swerve Stomp for the pin and the title at 17:55.

Rating: B. Well, it wasn’t bad and they did the big ending properly, though it didn’t quite get to that top level. The best thing here is that Swerve won the title in what might as well have been his last chance and that is what matters. I’m not sure what is next for either of them right now, but they got the big moment right after a hard hitting match. Well done and a nice way to wrap up the show.

Swerve celebrates for a long time to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Some of the matches in the undercard were a bit weak and some of the decisions (ok so just Jericho) were out there, but that Danielson vs. Ospreay match was outstanding and there were several others that hit or even exceeded their mark. Awesome show here and worth a long long, but you might want to fast forward some parts, as this was another very, very lengthy show. An excellent one, but long.

Results
Trent Beretta b. Matt Sydal – Triangle choke
Orange Cassidy/Katsuyori Shibata b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Orange Punch to Moriarty
Bullet Club Gold b. Billy Gunn/Acclaimed – Blade Runner to Gunn
Kazuchika Okada b. Pac – Rainmaker
House Of Black b. Adam Copeland/Mark Briscoe/Eddie Kingston – The End to Copeland
Willow Nightingale b. Julia Hart – Babe With The Powerbomb
Roderick Strong b. Kyle O’Reilly – End Of Heartache
Chris Jericho b. Hook – Baseball bat shot
Toni Storm b. Thunder Rosa – Storm Zero
Will Ospreay b. Bryan Danielson – Hidden Blade
Young Bucks b. FTR – Bucks pulled down the titles
Swerve Strickland b. Samoa Joe – Swerve Stomp

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This is another of the new pay per view and it is in a bit of a tough spot. While it has an absolutely stacked card, we are just over a month away from Double Or Nothing, which is one of the major shows. That could leave this show in something of a weird place, but the talent is more than capable of carrying it to a solid event. The potential is right there so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Matt Sydal vs. Trent Beretta

This is fallout from Beretta turning on Orange Cassidy a few weeks ago, which was followed by Beretta attacking Sydal for daring to help Cassidy. Beretta is actually something of a hot heel at the moment as the fans did not like him turning on one of their favorites. In other words, as usual, a personal issue is something fans will care about and it could do Beretta a lot of good.

There is a grand total of no reason for Sydal to win here and as a result, this is the biggest layup on the entire card. Beretta needs to win here and should do so in short order as this is little more than a Rampage main event. Sydal is the guy you put out there to make someone else look good and Beretta is pretty much locked in for a big match against Cassidy at Double Or Nothing. Beretta wins here with no doubt whatsoever.

Zero Hour: Orange Cassidy/Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

This feels like a way to get Cassidy and Shibata on the show and the Promotions are the current designated jobbers. You can only get so much out of that kind of a match as, again, it feels like something that belongs on Rampage. I’m not entirely thrilled by the idea of having to see Shibata again as he is the definition of not my style, but here we are again anyway.

While it isn’t as huge of a layup as Sydal vs. Beretta, there is pretty much no reason to believe Cassidy and Shibata are losing here. Barring interference from Beretta, this should be Cassidy and Shibata winning again. The Promotions are nothing more than people there to look intimidating and then lose, which is what they will do here as the fans get to cheer for Cassidy.

Zero Hour: Ring Of Honor Six Man Tag Team Titles/AEW Trios Titles: Bullet Club Gold(c) vs. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn(c)

It took long enough. That is the only thing I can think of here as my goodness there is barely enough of a reason to have one set of six man titles but here we have TWO. While neither of them needs to be there, it will be nice to get this down to one set so we can have less gold floating around. Other than that, it’s a bit of a personal feud with Gunn vs. his kids, but that’s about the extent of the interest.

I’ll go with the Club winning here, as Acclaimed and Gunn are ice cold right now. It makes sense for the Club to win, if nothing else because the star of their team isn’t 60 years old. Let Jay White get his win here and hopefully continue figuring things out, as he hasn’t exactly been a smash hit so far. Also of note: I’ve heard that this is and isn’t on Zero Hour but it would be a nice main event before we can get on to the stuff that matters a lot more.

FTW Title: Hook(c) vs. Chris Jericho

Let’s get one of the weaker ones out of the way. Despite Jericho desperately needing to just go away for a bit, here he is getting a title shot against some young star. I’m not sure how well that is going to go, but the segments setting it up have not been good coming in. As usual, this is going to be a hardcore match because that’s pretty much all Hook does on his own these days.

I’ll go with Hook, just for the sake of maintaining my own sanity. The worst part is I could very easily see Jericho winning the title as some kind of weird deal where Hook has to get it back, even though Hook already beat Jericho (ala Ricky Starks). Hopefully they don’t go nuts and let Hook win here and move on, though the more I think about this, the more worried I get over them doing something stupid. Hook wins, or at least I hope he does.

Adam Copeland/Mark Briscoe/Eddie Kingston vs. House Of Black

This is a weird one as Copeland gets his big win to retain the title yet he’s here in a six man tag. The House has come after Copeland and now he has some friends, who happen to have been fighting over the Ring Of Honor World Title just a few weeks ago. That should make for an interesting story, though it still makes me wonder why we aren’t getting Copeland in a title defense.

I’m not sure why a makeshift team should be able to defeat an established one so we’ll say the House wins here. If nothing else, someone pinning Copeland or Briscoe could set them up for a title match down the line. It’s what makes the most sense and there are different options to choose, though Kingston taking the fall to protect the champions would not surprise me in the slightest. Either way, the House wins here, as they should.

TBS Title: Julia Hart(c) vs. Willow Nightingale

I’ve been saying this for a long time now but e pluribus gads Nightingale needs to win something already. She has been that one star who never really wins anything but manages to lose a bunch of title shots. Winning the title here would help, even if she is going to be sacrificed at the altar of Mercedes Mone next month anyway. While Hart is good, she is just kind of there at the moment and that isn’t a good sign for her title reign.

I’ll go with Nightingale FINALLY winning here, as it is not only long overdue but it makes a lot more sense for Nightingale to win and feud with Mone. That’s what has been teased for weeks now and even if Nightingale loses the title quickly, it’s better than never winning it in the first place. Go with what makes sense here, which is Nightingale powerbombing the heck out of Hart to win the title so Mone can come out for a dancing staredown.

International Title: Roderick Strong(c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Yes believe it or not we are seeing more of the Undisputed Era members fighting again because that’s just what they do. O’Reilly is back after missing quite a bit of time due to health issues and now he’s getting a title shot after winning a handful of matches. As luck would have it, that means we get more from the Undisputed Kingdom, which has one swimmingly thus far. But yeah, this is our pay per view title match.

I’ll take Strong retaining, as the team is more or less worthless if he loses the title. I haven’t been been interested in either of them for a good while and while the match should be good, it hasn’t made for the best build. I’m sure the in-ring action will work though, which is almost always the case with everyone involved. Just come up with something more interesting for them to do? Please?

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. FTR

It’s a tournament final for the vacant titles and naturally it’s a ladder match. I can give them points for trying something new with the feud but egads can we just stop with the ladders? And FTR vs. the Bucks? And the Bucks in general? This is a match where the result has more or less been telegraphed, all the way down to how it happens, which is where this is probably going.

Yes I’ll take the Bucks winning here because they need to beat FTR again and get their big push again, because the fans just love everything about them. Throw in the likely return of Jack Perry to help them and we’ve got all the makings of a heel stable. AEW has been doubling down on the Bucks despite them running fans off in droves and now they seem to be getting some titles to go with it.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada(c) vs. Pac

The fact that I had to think about which of the THREE midcard titles Okada held should tell you there are too many of those things running around. Anyway, this is Okada’s first defense since winning the title from Orange Cassidy and that doesn’t leave a ton of drama about the result. The good thing is that Pac is here for his one big match before leaving for whatever reason and that should make for a heck of a showdown.

Of course Okada wins here, as not only is he friends with the Bucks and needs to be part of their team as they rise up, but there is almost no way that he is going to lose so soon after debuting. The good thing is that the match should be a heck of a showdown and we could be in for two guys beating the living daylights out of each other. What we won’t be in for is a new champion, as Okada retains.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Thunder Rosa

This is a place where we could use a “none of the above” option. Storm is desperately in need of a face turn as she can be her goofy self, but for some reason we’re stuck with her as a villain. On the other hand you have Rosa, who has not felt anywhere near special since her return. That doesn’t make for the strongest set of options, but maybe it’s just a weak feud.

I’ll go with Storm retaining, as she has stuff going on with Mariah May and Mina Shirakawa, so keeping the title on her makes sense. It would help if the May story actually got going for a change, but we could still be a long way off from that happening. For now though, hopefully the match works, but it should end with Storm winning, hopefully before turning good and breathing some life into her.

Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay

I’m not completely certain this isn’t the headliner as it has been the bigger story in recent weeks. The idea here is pretty simple: they’re both really good at wrestling and want to have the best match possible. That might not be the most interesting story, but it’s what we’re getting for at worst the co-headliner of the show. The main question here would seem to be “how good can they be” and that response could be quite high.

For the life of me I can’t imagine a reason for Danielson to win here as Ospreay gets to continue his rise up AEW. He’s been presented as one of the biggest things in AEW and this would be his signature win so far. Hopefully it helps get him away from the Don Callis Family, or at least Callis himself, as Ospreay deserves much more. For now though, we should be in for a classic, but good luck on living up to the hype they have built up.

AEW World Title: Samoa Joe(c) vs. Swerve Strickland

Strickland has to win here and that’s pretty much point blank. He has been built up as this huge star but without winning the World Title, that doesn’t mean much. Joe hasn’t been champion all that long (at least by AEW standards) but right now it is time to move the belt on to Strickland, just for the sake of giving him the big boost that he needs. I’m not sure where things go for him from there, but without the title win, Strickland doesn’t have a chance.

I’ll go with what needs to happen here and say Strickland wins. At the end of the day, Joe has been a made man for a very long time now and it makes sense for him to put Strickland over. Strickland doesn’t even have to be champion long, but what matters is that he gets the big win. Give him his win and then move on to whatever else, but don’t waste someone who has gotten that over without pulling the trigger on him.

Overall Thoughts

That is one heck of a stacked card, if nothing else for the amount of titles that are going to be on the line. AEW has more titles than it knows what to do with most of the time but it can lead to a show like this where you are going to get all kinds of title matches for a change. That is going to be the case this weekend and if the show lives up to its potential, we should be in for a heck of a show.

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Dynamite
Date: April 17, 2024
Location: Farmer’s Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

Things took a big turn last week and now we get to see things get back on the right track. One of the biggest ways to do that might be having the return of Jon Moxley, who is now the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. It’s also the last Dynamite before Dynasty and that could mean some last minute additions. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here is Jon Moxley to get things going. Moxley talks about how he won one of his first titles right here in Indianapolis and even back then, a lot of people were talking about how he wasn’t what he needed to be. His answer is still the same: watch him do what he does, which is what this IWGP World Heavyweight Title is all about. He’s been chasing the title for five years and no it wasn’t impossible if you know what is beating in his chest.

AEW is about being willing to show the world what you are all about, which brings him to the Don Callis Family. Moxley doesn’t like what is going on with the Family and Bryan Danielson so he’s challenging Powerhouse Hobbs to a match next week. Pain and violence are promised. This started as the latest AEW Rah Rah speech but they did shift away from that pretty quickly. Also, I’m not sure how much we needed a celebration of the new IWGP World Champion on the same week AEW asks you to pay to see an already only so strong AEW World Title match.

Mercedes Mone is not happy with being attacked in the dark last week and the locker room is ON NOTICE (feel free to retire that line anytime soon). She’ll be watching tonight’s mixed tag match.

Adam Copeland/Willow Nightingale vs. House Of Black

Hold on though as Nightingale has been attacked in the back so here is Brody King to jump Copeland from behind. The beating is on before the bell and Copeland is sent into the steps. Copeland gets inside and the bell rings, with the commercial coming in eleven seconds into the (handicap) match.

Back with Copeland fighting out of a superplex and knocking him down, meaning it’s time to strike it out. Copeland hits a running boot in the corner for two, followed by a neckbreaker to put King down again. The spear is cut off but King misses the Cannonball in the corner. Cue Nightingale to go after Hart and hit a Cannonball on King. The distraction lets Hart get in a chain shot, setting up Hartless on the unconscious Nightingale for the win at 8:49.

Rating: C. This was more or less Copeland vs. King until the angle at the end. That doesn’t have me feeling the strongest about Hart’s injury status, but at least she did get in the ring near the end to do something physical. Nightingale needs to win the title so she can have something important on her resume, but I’m not sure I can go for Hart losing the title yet.

Post match Mercedes Mone runs in to chase Hart off. Mone picks up the chair and stares at Nightingale before throwing it down.

Samoa Joe talks about how Swerve Strickland won’t stay down but Joe is ready to beat him again. He’ll have to get the title belt disinfected after Prince Nana touched it but let’s talk about Swerve coming up short every single time. Joe is ready to do his thing as usual and end Swerve once and for all.

The Young Bucks have bumped a package about FTR but promise to beat them on Sunday. Oh and Kazuchika Okada will take care of Pac. Why Tony Khan is just sitting there bewildered isn’t clear.

Young Bucks/Kazuchika Okada vs. Daniel Garcia/Pac/Penta El Zero Miedo

Penta kicks at Matt’s leg to start before sending Nick to the floor. There’s a superkick to Matt as everything breaks down. Matt kicks Garcia from the apron and we take an early break. Back with Matt on a headset doing live commentary (which can be heard in the arena) as he gets the tag. He can’t talk his way out of a belly to back suplex from Garcia so it’s Pac coming in to clean house (with Matt’s mic seemingly being turned off).

Pac hits a moonsault to the floor and goes after Okada, only to get cheap shotted from behind. Everything breaks down and Pac gets in a neck snap over the top to take over. Pac gets smart by dragging Penta over for the tag but the Black Arrow is broken up. Garcia is kicked into Okada’s Tombstone and there’s one for Penta as well. The Rainmaker finishes Garcia at 12:18.

Rating: B-. The action was good but Garcia might as well have worn a shirt saying “I’m taking the pin”. Pac is getting a title shot and Penta feels like too big of a star. That didn’t make for the most drama about the result, though Pac vs. Okada should be a heck of a match when they get the chance to do something. Otherwise, now we can move on to the Bucks winning the titles as the fans continue to leave, but at least AEW can stand their ground.

Post match the winners load up a ladder but Pac makes the save with his ring bell hammer.

Here are Chris Jericho and Hook for a chat with Taz moderating. Jericho thanks Taz for getting this out here before saying Hook wasn’t listening to him as much as he should have last week. Some people think he is great and the truth is Jericho IS the learning tree. Anyone who comes into the Jericho Vortex comes out better and now he’s ready to achieve greatness with Hook. What do you say? Hook: “No.” He doesn’t need Jericho’s help, so Jericho tells him to not be stupid.

Taz tries to cut it off but Jericho says he’s giving Hook some proper guidance like Taz should have a long time ago. Jericho goes on a rant about Hook not being ready and decks Taz for trying to intervene again. Hook grabs Jericho by the shirt and tells him to get out of his ring. Jericho does, as I try to figure out how this is supposed to make Hook like good in any way. We’ve established Hook can beat Jericho up but here he just shoves him a bit and tells him to get away? After Jericho hit Hook’s dad, who had to retire due to injuries and hasn’t wrestled a serious match in 20+ years?

We get a sitdown interview with Swerve Strickland, who doesn’t think much of Samoa Joe calling him a choke artist. Swerve has stumbled before and we hear about some of the horrible things that have happened to him this year. No matter what though, he’s still here. Joe can call him whatever he wants but on Dynasty, Joe can call him champ. Swerve is going to say something to Joe’s face tonight.

Mariah May vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Toni Storm is here too. May takes her into the corner to start but Purrazzo legdrags her way to freedom. It’s way too early for the Fujiwara armbar as May slips to the floor and whips Purrazzo into the barricade. Back in and the Stratusphere is broken up so May shoves her outside instead as we take a break.

We come back with Purrazzo slugging away before grabbing the Fujiwara armbar. May makes the rope again so Purrazzo tries a powerbomb which….doesn’t exactly work. Instead May sends her into the corner for a hip attack into a tornado DDT. Storm doesn’t seem happy and it gets a lot worse as Purrazzo rolls May up for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: C-. Purrazzo is boosted back up as May seems to disappoint Storm yet again. I’m not sure what is next for Purrazzo, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see May get yelled at by Storm, leaving Mina Shirakawa to pick up the pieces. The match itself wasn’t the best either though, as it had multiple sloppy moments and Purrazzo doesn’t exactly look great for winning here.

Post match the beatdown is on until Thunder Rosa runs in to save Purrazzo.

Bullet Club Gold challenges the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn for a winner take all match at Dynasty.

Gunn and the Acclaimed are in.

Shane Taylor vs. Orange Cassidy

The rest of Shane Taylor Promotions are here with Taylor but he says he’s got this. The team stays as Cassidy hits a dropkick to start, only to get draped over the top for a Stunner. Taylor drops him again and we take an early break. Back with Cassidy slugging away but Moriarty and Ogogo offer distractions, allowing Taylor to grab him by the throat. Stundog Millionaire gets Cassidy out of trouble but Taylor hits him in the face. Not that it matters as the Orange Punch gives Cassidy the pin at 8:00.

Rating: C. Taylor has been getting quite a bit of television time in recent weeks and beating him still means just enough. That being said, Cassidy vs. Trent Beretta is one of the most interesting stories going in AEW today and a lot of that has to do with how it feels personal. That can go a long way and it has done so thus far in their story.

Post match the beatdown is on so Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal run out for the save…but are cut off by Trent Beretta, because Orange Cassidy cannot have any friends.

Video on Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O’Reilly.

Will Ospreay vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Castagnoli grabs a rollup for two to start before blocking a hurricanrana with pure power. An uppercut cuts Ospreay off rather quickly but he knocks Castagnoli outside. Castagnoli walks away from the tease of a dive so Ospreay takes over on the floor, only to have a springboard cut off back inside. They forearm it out with Ospreay managing to knock him outside. Another dive is pulled out of the air and Ospreay is planted as we take a break.

Back with Ospreay getting two off a Phenomenal Forearm before they trade Sharpshooters. With Castagnoli’s broken up, he switches over to a crossface, which is reversed into a tiger driver to give Ospreay two. Back up and Castagnoli hits a hard clothesline for two, followed by Ospreay’s rollup for the same.

Ospreay springboards into a Burning Hammer for another near fall so Ospreay switches to a Spanish Fly for two of his own. Castagnoli grabs the Swing but Ospreay rolls his way up for a DDT (that was sweet). Spiral Tap gives Ospreay two more and the Hidden Blade finishes Castagnoli at 14:23.

Rating: B. These guys had a heck of a match and that shouldn’t be a surprise at this point. That’s kind of what Ospreay does and putting him in there against Castagnoli is a guaranteed good match. Ospreay will be ready for Bryan Danielson at Dynasty and this brings it a bit closer to home, but “yeah this was a good match, but wait until you see THIS MATCH” is still only getting me so far.

Post match the Don Callis Family comes in for the beatdown so here is Jon Moxley to go after Powerhouse Hobbs.

We run down the Dynasty card.

Here is Swerve Strickland (a minute after the show was supposed to end) for a chat. People have been asking why he thinks he’s going to beat Samoa Joe but last week Joe showed him everything he needed to see. Now Swerve is out here waiting for Joe to come out here and hear it face to face.

Cue Joe so security comes out, only to have Swerve come off the top and Stomp them to land in front of Joe. The brawl is on, with Prince Nana offering a distraction so Swerve can kick Joe in the face. Joe catches him on top and plants him down before posing with the title to end the show. Swerve’s dive was great, but he almost has to win the title on Sunday.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling continues to be good, though I’m having a hard time getting into Dynasty. Between the Young Bucks continuing to take the interest out of everything they touch, the lack of anything more than “Danielson vs. Ospreay will be great” and Jericho getting his hooks into Hook, there is a lot of stuff here that really isn’t making me care. That being said, Cassidy vs. Beretta has potential, Okada vs. Pac should be a war and Swerve vs. Joe had a heck of a nice final push. Good stuff from the wrestlers, less so from the storytelling, making it quite the AEW show.

Results
House Of Black b. Adam Copeland/Willow Nightingale – Hartless to Nightingale
Young Bucks/Kazuchika Okada b. Penta El Zero Miedo/Pac/Daniel Garcia – Rainmaker to Garcia
Deonna Purrazzo b. Mariah May – Sunset flip
Orange Cassidy b. Shane Taylor – Orange Punch
Will Ospreay b. Claudio Castagnoli – Hidden Blade

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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