Dynamite
Date: December 6, 2023
Location: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re north of the border here and well on the way towards the big closing pay per view of the year. As has been the case in recent weeks, it’s another Continental Classic week with three more matches to keep things going. Other than that, and probably a good bit bigger, we have Christian Cage defending the TNT Title against Adam Copeland. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Excalibur runs down the card.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jon Moxley vs. Rush

They strike away at each other to start with Rush suplexing him hard onto the arm. The fight goes outside and into the crowd, followed by another trip into another part of the crowd. Rush puts him in a chair and hits him with a beer (that’s not a good idea around Moxley) before they head back inside.

Rush takes Moxley into the corner for the Tranquilo pose, only for Moxley to come back up with a double middle finger. Believe it or not, Rush pounds him down again but this time Moxley grabs a cutter. A superplex gives Moxley two and they go back to the floor, with Rush belly to bellying him into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Rush hitting a piledriver and then a top rope superplex for two. They fight out to the floor and crash onto the ground, where Moxley crawls over to whisper something to Rush. Since countouts suddenly matter, they beat the count back in at nine and trade strikes back inside. Rush knocks him hard into the corner but Moxley comes out with the King Kong Lariat. The Death Rider gets two so Moxley grabs the choke for the win at 14:28.

Rating: C. I’m sure I’ll get yelled at for this one but my goodness I was bored out of my mind for a good chunk of this. It was a lot of two people hitting each other and barely selling a thing, which doesn’t make for an interesting match. Instead it was waiting for someone to get to the finish, which has been the case in a lot of Rush matches. I get what they were going for, but it really didn’t land for me.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Rush pops up to his feet immediately after being choked out.

Video on Jay Lethal vs. Jay White.

Here are Roderick Strong and the Kingdom for a chat. Strong (who now shouts first names) wants Samoa Joe to hurt MJF and shrugs off the idea that MJF isn’t bad. He’s sick of being held back by the wheelchair and pops up, saying it has held him back for far too long.

Hangman Page talks about how he wasn’t allowed to fly for a bit so he’s been gone. As for Swerve Strickland, he broke into Page’s house and into his son’s room and it took a bunch of people to beat him on pay per view. Page took something from Swerve though and this is not over.

Swerve wants something but now Page is going to make sure he never has it. MJF pops out of his locker room (where Page and Renee Paquette are standing) to mock Page. They argue about their history until MJF says Page is jealous over his title reign not being as long. MJF accuses him of being the Devil and a fight almost breaks out until Samoa Joe breaks it up. Can we just announce MJF vs. Everyone already?

Continental Classic Gold League: Swerve Strickland vs. Mark Briscoe

Feeling out process to start with Briscoe taking him down into a headlock. Swerve reveres into one of his own but Briscoe is back up with a boot to the face. Briscoe hammers away in the corner and grabs a suplex as Schiavone talks about how many wrestlers in WCW would love to play spoiler in the tournament.

Back up and Swerve takes him down, setting up the middle rope elbow to the back of the neck. A neckbreaker gives Swerve two but Briscoe sends him to the floor for a dropkick through the ropes. The apron Blockbuster is broken up and they chop it out on the apron. Swerve backdrops him over the barricade before superplexing him off the barricade and back to ringside.

We take a break and come back with Swerve working on the arm but Briscoe fights up with the chops. A fisherman’s buster gives Briscoe two but Swerve is back with a kick to the head for the same. They go to the corner and crash out to the floor, where Briscoe hits a quick dive.

Back in and one heck of a lariat gives Briscoe two but the Jay Driller is countered. The House Call connects on Briscoe but the 450 hits raised knees. Briscoe’s Froggy Bow hits raised knees as well so Swerve rolls him up for two of his own. We get the five minute call as they fight to the apron again. Swerve plants him with a Death Valley Driver, followed by the Swerve Stomp for the pin at 15:43.

Rating: A-. Oh yeah this was awesome stuff with two guys beating the fire out of each other until one got the pin. Briscoe is someone who can work well with anyone and has that weird charisma that makes you want to see him win. At the same time, Strickland is on a roll right now and I could easily see him winning the whole tournament. Great match here and the best of the tournament so far.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (2 matches remaining, Eliminated)

Mariah May is excited to be here for her first match but she will not say who that opponent will be.

Samoa Joe/Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Devil’s Henchmen

Joe comes to the ring and four masked men surround the ring. The lights go out again and the our men are gone. The Devil pops up on screen and we see MJF down in the back with a broken beer bottle next to him. No match.

Post break we look at what we just saw.

Jon Moxley is in the back and says he is humble for everything because he knows what he is capable of doing. He expected to be 3-0 and he expects to be 5-0. Swerve Strickland comes in to say it’s going to take more than Moxley to beat him. They ace each other next week.

Ben Makiewicz, host of Turner Classic Movies, introduces Toni Storm, playing it completely straight and listing off some of her films. This was great.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Skye Blue

Storm, with Luther and Mariah May, is defending. They go with the grappling to start with Storm getting the better of things. Storm gets knocked to the apron but lands on Luther’s shoulders, setting up a superplex to take Blue down. The beating continues on the floor, with a running hip attack against the barricade knocking Blue silly.

We take a break and come back with Storm missing the wind up punch and getting kicked in the head. Blue’s high crossbody gets two and a running hip attack knocks Storm silly. Code Blue gives Blue two but Storm catches her up top. A superplex brings Blue down but the hip attack (with the camera going black and white) is countered into a rollup. Storm reverses into a sunset lip of her own (with Blue’s shoulders nowhere near the mat) to retain at 9:28.

Rating: C+. That ending looked terrible but Storm getting a win is a good thing to see. May is likely going to be her surprise challenger at some point in the future (perhaps at the end of the month) and that should make for something interesting. For now though, Storm continues to be the best thing about the women’s division and that is great to see.

May is nowhere to be seen during the celebration. Instead, here is the returning Riho to seemingly challenge for the title. Well so much for May at the moment.

Video on Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jay White vs. Jay Lethal

They go at it to start and strike away with Lethal getting the better of things. The strut is broken up though and White fires off some chops. Lethal takes him down into the basement dropkick, setting up the strut. White gets in a hard knockdown of his own though and we take a break.

Back with the fans making funny JAY chants (Holy Jay/Let’s Go Jay etc) and Lethal taking over. The top rope elbow gives Lethal two but White goes after the knee. A suplex into the corner and a brainbuster give White two, setting up the sleeper suplex. The Blade Runner is countered but so is the Lethal Injection, with White taking out the knee. Another Blade Runner is countered into a rollup but White reverses into one of his own for the pin at 11:21.

Rating: B-. Another good one, though the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt. Lethal is the guy in this half of the tournament whose job it is to make other people look good and he did that here. White gets a boost and Lethal is mathematically eliminated, so things came together as they were supposed to.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay White – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (2 matches remaining, Eliminated)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (2 matches remaining, Eliminated)

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

TNT Title: Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage

Cage is defending. Copeland starts fast by knocking him to the apron for the forearms to the chest. A bunch of rams into the announcers’ table have the WOO energy drinks flying but Cage bails back into the floor. Copeland blocks the low blow though and goes after the hand to keep Cage in trouble. Cage manages a ram into the post though and we take a break.

Back with Cage hammering away (with the left hand) in the corner so Copeland bites the right hand to escape. A middle rope Russian legsweep takes Cage down and they go outside again. This time cage sends him into the steps and hits a frog splash for two. Cage’s spear is countered into the Impaler for two but Cage is back up with more left hands in the corner. This time Copeland counters into a Liger Bomb for two but Cage is right back up.

The Killswitch is countered into an Edge-O-Matic for two, followed by the Crossface to keep Cage in trouble. With that broken up, Copeland hammers him down but the spear is countered into the Killswitch for two more. The referee takes a shot to the eye….so Cage kicks him low and grabs the title. That misses so they both try spears, only to collide in the air. Cue Nick Wayne’s mom (who is apparently named Shanna) to grab the title and hit Copeland. With Wayne gone, Cage puts Copeland’s face on the title and stomps on it (that didn’t look great) for the pin to retain at 18:04.

Rating: B-. The ending is going to get the attention here and it was….I guess the word is fine? It was perfectly logical, but as soon as Copeland crushed Nick Wayne with the Conchairto (note: send him a Christmas card for that) in front of Wayne’s mom, you knew there was going to be payback down the line and this match felt like the perfect place. They shouldn’t have done a swerve for the sake of a swerve, but the match (which was good) felt like a lot of waiting around until Wayne came out to cost Copeland the title.

Overall Rating: B. This show went in a few different directions as you had the main event, the MJF stuff and the tournament. That gives you a lot of variety, but some of it is wildly more interesting than others. The tournament is going to go on for a few more weeks while Cage vs. Copeland seems set for a rematch (please nothing involving a ladder, I beg of you). That leaves the MJF/Devil stuff and while it’s not a bad story yet, they are going to need a heck of a reveal for this to be worth the time spent on it. For now though good show, but things need to change up a bit before they run out of steam fast.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Rush – Rear naked choke
Swerve Stickland b. Mark Briscoe – Swerve Stomp
Toni Storm b. Skye Blue – Sunset flip
Jay White b. Jay Lethal – Rollup
Christian Cage b. Adam Copeland – Stomp onto the TNT Title

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

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

AND

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

Rampage
Date: December 1, 2023
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re back to the normal time slot this week and that probably won’t make much of a difference here. What matters here is having something interesting, as the show has a tendency to be an odd collection of matches rather than anything big. Maybe they can change it here though so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Matt Menard/Angelo Parker/Dark Order vs. Danhausen/Trent Beretta/Orange Cassidy/Hook

The villains start fast and the brawl heads outside. Back in and Danhausen snaps off a hurricanrana to Uno before all eight get inside for a big brawl. The good guys clear the ring and of course we get the big hug. Back in and Parker sets up Menard’s running knee to Cassidy’s head. Danhausen comes in for a release German suplex to Uno, followed by Hook’s series of suplexes.

Cue Wheeler Yuta to join commentary, with the distraction letting Hook get jumped from behind. We settle down to Reynolds stomping on Hook and getting to pose a bit as we take a break. Back with Trent getting the tag to clean house in a hurry. Cassidy comes back in to kick away, at least until Uno plants him with a piledriver. We get a staredown between Danhausen and Garcia, meaning curse vs. dancing. Danhausen pulls out Jake Hager’s hat though and the distraction lets Hook Redrum Parker. That distraction is enough of a distraction that Danhausen can roll Menard up for the pin at 10:11.

Rating: C+. Not much of a match, but the whole point of this was just to have a good time. Danhausen is the definition of goofy fun and we even moved Cassidy vs. Hook forward a little bit more. It’s not a great match or even very good, but they started the show fast and that is nice to see.

Ruby Soho (not looking happy), Saraya and Anna Jay are teaming up tonight, with Saraya praising Anna for being beautiful. For now though, they need to deal with Ruby Soho’s thing about Angelo Parker…who shows up. Saraya breaks up the whole meeting.

Here is Tony Schiavone to introduce two men who were in the main event of the very first wrestling match (yes match rather than show) on TNT. If by that you mean the second of three matches that night then yeah sure. In case that’s not enough, Schiavone says that the very last match on TNT was Sting vs. Ric Flair. Well, if you ignore every AEW match to air on there, sure.

Anyway, here are Sting and Ric Flair for a chat. Sting talks about being in the first and last match on TNT (apparently Sting is rather dense too) before mentioning Lex Luger and Bam Bam Bigelow. Flair talks about being in wrestling since 1972 and there are always some people who will be special in his life: Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat and Sting.

Flair promises to be there with Sting from the beginning until the end and (after a pretty clear camera cut, possibly due to some questionable comments being edited out) says they’ll dance all night and a little longer. This was the latest edition of “Ric Flair and Sting are so awesome that we have no concept of history” theater.

Kris Statlander, Hikaru Shida and Skye Blue are ready to get their momentum back starting tonight. Statlander seems to blame Blue for losing the TBS Title but Blue isn’t having that. Shida tells them to calm down and focus.

Don Callis Family vs. Jah-C/???/???

Jah slugs away at Hobbs to no avail and it’s a triple finisher, with Hobbs hitting the World’s Strongest Slam for the pin at 1:00.

Post match, Don Callis praises his team’s dominance and wants the Golden Jets.

Prince Nana wants the Workhorsemen to join the Mogul Embassy for tonight. Brian Cage isn’t sure.

Anna Jay/Ruby Soho/Saraya vs. Skye Blue/Kris Statlander/Hikaru Shida

Statlander and Jay start things off but it’s quickly off to Shida for a running elbow. Blue comes in for a shot of her own but Statlander tags herself in, meaning it’s time to argue. Shida finally tags herself in to beat up Saraya and Soho in back to back shots. We take a break and come back with Statlander planting Saraya. Jay makes a save and gets the tag to choke Statlander. With that broken up, Statlander pulls Jay into the path of Soho’s superkick, allowing Blue to grab Code Blue for the pin at 7:21.

Rating: C. It’s another women’s match where so much of the match was stuck in the break that there wasn’t much to be seen otherwise. They’re playing up the issues between Saraya and Soho, along with Statlander and Blue, which should make for something going forward. As usual, Blue gets a win, though she still needs to win a championship at some point for it to really matter.

We look at the Continental Classic matches from Dynamite and preview the matches on Collision.

Brian Cage/Workhorsemen vs. Penta El Zero Miedo/Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo

Komander tries to flip over Cage to start but gets tossed into the corner for his efforts. Commentary ignores this match for the rapid fire preview for Collision and more, because the main event doesn’t matter to AEW either. Vikingo comes in and chops away at Drake, who suplexes Vikingo down to even things up. Everything breaks down and the luchadors clean house, setting up the triple dives.

We take a break and come back with Penta cleaning house, including a double DDT. Komander missile dropkicks Drake, setting up a running corner dropkick. A backstabber into a double stomp into a top rope double stomp gets two on Cage but he’s right back up. Komander is monkey flipped into Drake’s powerbomb as everything breaks down. Vikingo hits a springboard Canadian Destroyer but gets piledriven by Henry. Made In Japan drops Henry, who is right back up to nail Cage by mistake. Cage drops Henry and walks out, leaving Vikingo to hit a 630 for the pin on Henry at 11:12.

Rating: C+. The match had all of the usual insane athleticism and fun stuff, but it’s the same thing that has been a problem for Rampage for most of the last few months: how is this supposed to feel like a main event? This could have been on any given Ring Of Honor in the middle of the show but it’s the featured match here. The time slot doesn’t help things, but man this felt like a nothing way to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not sure what to think here, as stuff did happen and some stories were moved forward, but it felt like a beefed up edition of Dark. Who was the biggest star on this show other than Cassidy? Statlander maybe? Saraya? The action was good enough, but it was a bunch of multi-person tags and the latest chance for Flair and Sting to reminisce about one or two matches. The show wasn’t bad, but it’s definitely not worth the time to watch.

Results
Danhausen/Trent Beretta/Orange Cassidy/Hook b. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker/Dark Order – Rollup to Menard
Don Callis Family b. Jah-C/???/??? – World’s Strongest Slam to Jah-C
Skye Blue/Kris Statlander/Hikaru Shida b. Anna Jay/Ruby Soho/Saraya – Code Blue to Soho
El Hijo del Vikingo/Penta El Zero Miedo/Komander b. Brian Cage/Workhorsemen – 630 to Henry

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: November 22, 2023
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with Full Gear and that means it is time to start the Continental Classic. This is a round robin tournament that will run until the end of the year with a new title (plus seemingly two more though it’s a little unclear how it works) going to the winner. Samoa Joe is also coming for MJF and the World Title so let’s get to it.

Here is Full Gear if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

The graphics on the sides of the entrances are now Ric Flair WOO Energy with a cartoon Flair. The drinks are also at the announcers’ desk.

Here are the rules for the Continental Classic:

20 minute time limit
3 points for a win
1 point for a draw
Everyone is banned from ringside

Continental Classic Gold League: Swerve Strickland vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal shoulders him down to start but an anklescissors sends Lethal to the floor. They strike it out on the apron, with Lethal going after Swerve’s banged up arm. Swerve is knocked to the floor for a suicide but Swerve is right back on the leg back inside. They strike it out with shots to the leg and arm until Lethal gets in a shoulder breaker as we take a break.

Back with Swerve catching him on top and hitting a Downward Spiral for two. Lethal puts him right back down and drops a top rope elbow for two. The basement dropkick is countered into a stretch muffler to send Lethal bailing to the ropes. That’s fine with Swerve, who hits the House Call into the Swerve Stomp for the pin at 13:51.

Rating: B-. The action was good enough and the working on the leg/arm worked well enough for a story. Swerve pretty much had to win coming off the momentum he had in the Full Gear match against Hangman Page, though it’s a bit much to take to have him be this fine so soon after that kind of a fight. I’m not sure why Swerve had to wrestle here, but they did the right thing in their current situation.

Gold League Standings
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Jay White – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Orange Cassidy, Hook and Katsuyori SShibata are cut off from making an announcement as Wheeler Yuta interrupts. Yuta is sick of Shibata and wants the Pure Title back. Cassidy doesn’t get to make his announcement.

Here are MJF (on a cane) and Adam Cole (on crutches) for a chat. Cole has a seat in a chair as MJF talks about how the Devil is here and no one is on his level. He brags about his win over Jay White but sometimes he can be a bit too humble. None of what he has done without his brochacho though so it’s time for Storytime with Adam Cole. Uh, bay-bay.

Cole say she’s a long way off from being able to get back in the ring but he wants to be here with MJF. He understands, and threatens the person in the Devil mask. Cue said person on the screen….and here is Samoa Joe. After mocking Cole, he wants MJF to honor his deal of a title shot. MJF has thought about this and says something that gets muted. Cole insists that MJF is a man of his word and praises Joe.

Cole tells MJF to be a man of his word so MJF says Joe wouldn’t be the first Ring of Honor legend he has beaten in Chicago. Twice. The challenge is thrown out for right now but Joe says nah. He knows better than to face MJF when he can complain about his injury. Instead, we’ll do it at World’s End in MJF’s hometown of Long Island.

The match is on, though MJF has to calm the crowd down after praising Long Island a bit too much. Joe says MJF doesn’t have to worry about the Devil anymore because MJF is now his property. He wants the best MJF, so for now, he has MJF’s back. That’s a nice little twist on a match we knew was coming.

Hook/Orange Cassidy/Katsuyori Shibata vs. Angelo Parker/Matt Menard/Jake Hager

Before the match, Cassidy gets to make him announcement: Danhausen is back! Menard uses the distraction to jump Hook from behind and gets thrown down for his efforts. Everything breaks down and a backbreaker/running knee to the head combination puts Hook down. Hager yells at the referee and we take an early break.

Back with Hook suplexing his way out of trouble and handing it off to Cassidy to pick up the pace. The Stundog Millionaire cuts off Hager and Shibata comes in to forearm away. Shibata chops Hager down in the corner and nails the running dropkick….and Danhausen has Hager’s hat. Everything breaks down and Shibata/Hook grab a stereo sleeper/Redrum for the double submission at 8:08.

Rating: C. This was only so competitive as the match was more about getting Danhausen back in the fold. The fans are going to be happy with just about anything he does and it was a smart move to bring him back. At the same time, the double submission worked well as one of the Ring Of Honor champions is back. And later this week, he’ll be back on Ring Of Honor!

Adam Cole is glad to be back when Roderick Strong and the Kingdom interrupt. Strong asks where Cole was on Friday, which sends Cole into a rant about how they’re not best friends anymore.

Here is Christian Cage, with Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne, for a chat. Cage says things did not go their way at Full Gear but Luchasaurus lost that match. They have both benefited from their relationship with cage and it is time to rechristen them. Luchasaurus takes the knee and is renamed….Killswitch. Wayne takes the knee even faster but Cage tells him to get up because he is special. Since Cage sees himself in Wayne, he is now the Prodigy Nick Wayne.

Cue Wayne’s mom (Cage: “You are a terrible mother.”) but Cage cuts her off and berates her. It’s a good thing Wayne’s father is already dead because he could never be as good of a wrestler as Cage. He tells her to go get to her shift at Denny’s….but Luchasaurus gets between them. Cage tells him to get back on his knees. That doesn’t happen so Cage slaps him….and shoves him into Wayne’s mom. Cage orders Wayne to grab a chair but wants Luchasaurus to hit the Conchairto. Hesitation ensues but here is Adam Copeland for the save. Wayne is left alone for the spear and an Impaler, setting up a Conchairto.

The former Jericho Appreciation Society is annoyed at their loss but Anna Jay tells them to shut up. Angelo Parker says he’s got her back tonight…but is getting a call from Ruby Soho.

Continental Classic Gold League: Rush vs. Jay White

Rush easily powers him into the corner to start and then does it again for a bonus. A takedown lets Rush stomp away and there’s a basement dropkick to the back of the head. They head outside where Rush drops him with a hard chop, followed by some hard whips into the barricade.

Back in and they trade chops in the corner with Rush getting the better of things (as he tends to do). White gets stomped down in the corner, setting up the cocky kick to the face. We take a break and come back with White suplexing him into the corner for two. That’s too much selling for Rush though as he’s back with rolling suplexes into a brainbuster for two.

White manages a brainbuster of his own for two more before mocking the matador’s cape. They slug it out again until a swinging Rock Bottom plants Rush for two more. Rush snaps off a German suplex and suplexes him into the corner, only to have the Bull’s Horns cut off. The Blade Runner is blocked as well but the referee gets distracted. That lets White hit a low blow into the Blade Runner for the pin at 13:56.

Rating: B. This is becoming more of Rush’s traditional match, as he beats the fire out of someone for a good while before getting to whatever they have for a finish. White was mostly squashed here until managing to get in some offense of his own. That being said, White did get the win (cheating aside), which he needed after losing at Full Gear.

Gold League Standings
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

We look at Ricky Starks and Big Bill retaining the Tag Team Titles, plus Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega earning a title shot, both at Full Gear. The teams got into it at the media scrum and the champs jumped Jericho afterwards, damaging his arm in the process.

Here is Toni Storm for her Women’s Title acceptance speech, though first we get an Oscar winner announcement style introduction. She didn’t have anything prepared but does pull out a list of people to thank. That includes Anthony Khan, all of those at Warner Discovery (including founder Jack Warner, who died in 1978) and all of the little Toni Storms out there.

Skye Blue vs. Anna Jay vs. Ruby Soho

Angelo Parker, Matt Menard and Saraya are here too. They trade rollups to start until Soho and Parker stop to stare at each other a bit. Soho is sent outside, leaving Jay to kick Blue in the face. Back in and Soho suplexes Blue, allowing Parker to trip Blue up. Jay bends Blue around the post and we take a break.

We come back with Jay planting them both with a Tower Of Doom before they all head outside. Soho gets the better of things but stops to look at Parker, allowing Blue to dive onto Soho and Jay back inside. Jay gets sent outside where Menard offers a distraction. Saraya breaks that up, leaving Blue to kick Soho right into Parker’s arms (Soho doesn’t seem to mind). That’s broken up as well and the distraction lets Blue hit a TKO to pin Jay at 9:52.

Rating: C+. The action was good enough but this was all about Parker and Soho and nothing more. They’re having that forbidden romance deal and in a way that’s kind of interesting. I could go or it being someone other than Parker, but Soho needs something to get her somewhere and maybe this is it. Jay losing is a bit frustrating, though if AEW has to start pushing Blue again, doing it in her hometown makes sense.

Wardlow is interrupted by AR Fox and drops him as a result.

Continental Classic Gold League: Mark Briscoe vs. Jon Moxley

They go to the slugout to start with Moxley taking him into the corner for some chops. Briscoe manages to send him outside for a running Blockbuster from the apron. Back in and the Froggy Bow misses, allowing Moxley to knock him into the corner again. We take a break and come back with Moxley working on an STF on the bloody Briscoe (commentary does in fact make fun of the fact that Moxley isn’t bleeding for once).

The comeback is on with Briscoe striking him down, setting up a running shot in the corner for two. Moxley’s armbar sends Briscoe to the ropes so Moxley grabs the Paradigm Shift. Briscoe pops back up and hits a dropkick before collapsing for the double breather. The Death Valley Driver into the Froggy Bow gives Briscoe two but Moxley is back with the Death Rider for the same. Moxley wins a slugout and hits a Stomp into another Death Rider for the pin at 11:23.

Rating: B. It’s against bigger names, but Briscoe continues to lose now that he’s back in AEW. I’m not sure how wise that is as he’s one of the most charismatic people they have but at least it was to one of the company’s top stars. Moxley is going to be a favorite to win the tournament, though I could go for an explanation for why he’s getting the chance to win three titles after losing to Orange Cassidy on Saturday when Cassidy isn’t in the tournament.

Gold League Standings
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Respect is shown to end the show.

Of note: the Ring Of Honor Instagram account has announced that Ronda Rousey will be wrestling on this week’s Ring Of Honor. Unless it was mentioned in a quick throw away line, I did not hear her name or any reference to her on this show. Katsuyori Shibata’s Pure Title match on the same Ring Of Honor was mentioned and Wheeler Yuta said he wanted the title. That was mentioned, but not Rousey, who has been announced by the official Ring Of Honor social media. That’s a very interesting choice.

Overall Rating: B+. Well the focus was on the tournament here and that stuff went very well. I’m not surprised by that part as it is still fresh and new with some very talented wrestlers involved, but it should be interesting to see how that goes a few weeks from now when the new shine has worn off. The rest of the show was rather good, with the six man tag being the weakest point and even that was completely fine. This was a wrestling based show and as usual, AEW knows how to make that work.

Results
Swerve Strickland b. Jay Lethal – Swerve Stomp
Hook/Orange Cassidy/Katsuyori Shibata b. Angelo Parker/Matt Menard/Jake Hager – Double submissions
Jay White b. Rush – Blade Runner
Skye Blue b. Anna Jay and Ruby Soho – TKO to Jay
Jon Moxley b. Mark Briscoe – Death Rider

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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Full Gear 2023
Date: November 18, 2023
Location: Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back to one of the main pay per views and that should mean a heck of a show. This time around we’ve got MJF defending the World Title against Jay White, who has the physical title. Other than that, Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page has the potential to be a heck of a violent fight. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Ring Of Honor World Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Jay Lethal

Kingston is defending, Ring Of Honor executive Stokely Hathaway is on commentary, and Lethal’s friends are here, despite Kingston saying he wanted this to be one on one. Kingston sweeps the leg down for two to start and sends Lethal outside but he’s smart enough to not follow him (as Lethal is quickly surrounded).

Lethal pulls him down for a posting and some right hands, setting up a triple strut from Lethal, Jeff Jarrett and Sonjay Dutt. A forearm from Dutt rocks Kingston again as Hathaway is promising some stern talkings after the match. Lethal grabs a chinlock before stomping away at the ribs/arm.

Kingston fights up and gets in the boot scrapes in the corner. A distraction cuts that off but Lethal can’t hit the top rope elbow. The Lethal Injection is countered into a Saito suplex but Kingston has to take out Dutt. Cue Ortiz to guitar Dutt as another Lethal Injection is countered into the half and half. The spinning backfist retains Kingston’s title at 10:53.

Rating: C+. Lethal never felt like a serious threat to win the title but it’s smart to have Kingston face a former World Champion to add another win to his resume. I’m not sure who is going to be challenging Kingston at Final Battle, but they seem to be teasing Ortiz. I know there’s a history there, but that hardly feels like a headlining match on the biggest show of the year.

Zero Hour: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Buddy Matthews

They slug it out to start but Castagnoli can’t get the swing. Instead they go outside where Castagnoli sends him into the barricade, setting up the running uppercut. Matthews gets in a hard shot of his own though and the top rope Meteora gets two back inside. The chinlock keeps Castagnoli down for a bit, only to have him come back with the discus lariat. Some kicks set up another failed swing attempt so Castagnoli uppercuts him for two.

Back up and Matthews tries another Meteora, only to get pulled into the swing. They go up top where Castagnoli fires off headbutts until Matthews slips out and hits a Cheeky Nandos Kick. A Jackhammer gives Matthews two and he grabs a Crossface. That’s broken up as well and Castagnoli grabs a Riccola Bomb into the Scorpion Deathlock for the tap at 10:26.

Rating: B. Sometimes you just need two big, strong guys to hit each other really hard for a little while and that is what we got here. It was an entertaining, hard hitting match and Castagnoli won. I could still go for Matthews getting a better push, but for now I can settle for him getting something of a showcase match here.

Post match Castagnoli offers a handshake but Matthews bails.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Samoa Joe vs. The Gunns

MJF and Joe are defending and of course they’re in Los Angeles Lakers gear. The Gunns take over on MJF to start but Joe cuts off a whip into the corner like a good partner. MJF says he doesn’t need Joe, but they send the Gunns outside for a heck of a suicide dive from Joe. Back in and Joe snaps off the right hands in the corner, setting up an enziguri.

It’s back to MJF, who gets caught in the wrong corner and has to send both Gunns outside. A roll underneath a double clothesline sets up a big boot for two on Austin. Joe loads up the MuscleBuster but MJF tags himself in and tries his own version. That’s broken up so MJF can hit a double DDT, only to have Joe break up the Kangaroo Kick. The Gunns escape stereo MuscleBusters and 3:10 To Yuma hits Joe. MJF breaks up the cover…and Adam Cole is here! The distraction lets Joe Koquina Clutch Colten to retain at 9:23.

Rating: C+. This is about what it was always going to be, as the Gunns might be good but they’re not going to beat the World Champion and his next likely challenger. I could certainly go for getting the titles off of MJF already so they can do something in Ring Of Honor again, but the champs retaining here makes sense in the bigger story with MJF and Joe.

Post match Joe leaves and the Gunns jump MJF again to wreck his knee. The Gunns Pillmanize the leg and MJF has to be stretchered into an ambulance. MJF shouts to Cole to not let him take his title.

The opening video looks at the show’s matches and talks about how people are fighting for prizes and honor

We open with a recap of MJF’s injury.

We run down the card.

Christian Cage/Luchasaurus/Nick Wayne vs. Sting/Darby Allin/Adam Copeland

A children’s choir sings Cage to the ring for a nearly creepy bonus. Ric Flair is here with Sting and company. Edge has his own face painted as well for a nice touch. Allin cranks away on Wayne’s arm to start, setting up the springboard high angle armdrag. Sting comes in to send Wayne outside for a whip into the barricade.

Back in and it’s off to Cage vs. Copeland but of course it’s off to Luchasaurus instead. Copeland tries to slug away before Allin comes in, with Cage getting in a cheap shot. A chokeslam over the top to the apron leaves Allin down, meaning the villains get to take turns beating on him. Wayne stomps away and mocks Flair before hitting a backsplash for two. They go up top, where Allin manages a super Code Red for a needed breather.

That’s not going to be enough though as Cage slides underneath the ring and pulls Copeland off the rope to break up the tag. Cage misses a spear though and it’s Copeland coming in, meaning Luchasaurus and Wayne bail from an attempted tag. Everything breaks down and Allin hits a dive through the ropes, followed by Sting hitting one off the apron.

Back in and a double Scorpion Death Drop puts Luchasaurus down. Luchasaurus fights back up and wrecks the good guys, leaving Cage to get in a fight with Flair on the floor. Cage hits him low but accidentally hits Luchasaurus with the TNT Title, allowing Copeland to chase Cage into the crowd. The spear and Coffin Drop finish Luchasaurus at 15:01.

Rating: B-. Good choice for an opener here as the fans are always going to be into whatever Sting is doing. As usual, Cage is a phenomenal heel and I’m sure his next promo will play into this perfectly. Copeland vs. Cage is probably coming next month or at Revolution, but for now I’ll take a good enough opener as part of Sting’s retirement tour.

Jay White is brought to the stage where we’re told the MJF vs. White match is canceled and White is…..cut off by Adam Cole. There is no way that White is leaving with the title, so he has talked to Tony Khan. If MJF can’t wrestle tonight, Cole will do it in his place. White is fine with that. If Cole talked to Khan already, why was Schiavone out there to award the title to White?

We recap Orange Cassidy defending the International Title against Jon Moxley. Cassidy lost to Moxley in September at All Out but then a string of injuries have put us right back where we started.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Jon Moxley

Cassidy is defending and gets jumped in the corner to start. Moxley sends him into the corner and then out to the floor. Some rams into the announcers’ table have Cassidy in even more trouble and a release suplex makes it worse back inside. Moxley stomps away in the corner before cutting off a charge with a swinging Boss Man Slam. They go up top where Cassidy fires off some headbutts, setting up a superplex for the big crash.

Moxley, now busted open, gets dropped with a diving DDT for two. Cassidy sends him outside and over the announcers’ table, meaning the suicide dive can connect. The suicide elbow connects as well but Moxley is right back with the hammer and anvil elbows. The Bulldog choke is broken up but Cassidy can’t hit the Beach Break.

Instead Cassidy grabs the Redrum until Moxley grabs the buckle to escape, pulling off the pad in the process. A cutter puts Cassidy down and a Gotch style piledriver gives Moxley two. Moxley gets set into the buckle, setting up three straight Orange Punches to….barely keep Moxley down. Three more set up the Beach Break to retain at 12:00.

Rating: B. It’s a good fight and the ending felt like Cassidy was slaying a giant, but this would have been better if Cassidy hadn’t won the title back in the first place. It makes Cassidy feel like a bigger deal, though I’m not sure where they’re supposed to go with him from here. He’s already had the big long term title reign and now he has beaten a former World Champion, so the main event scene would seem to be the only thing left. That might be a stretch, but it seems to be the only remaining outcome.

Post match their friends come in to check on them, with Wheeler Yuta bumping into Hook.

Mark Briscoe is in the Continental Classic. He eats continental breakfasts!

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Hikaru Shida

Storm, with Luther, is challenging and rips up the script to show you how serious this is. Shida slugs away to start and hits a running knee in the corner. Chops in the corner and more in the corner have Storm in trouble as Nigel confuses the rest of commentary with silent movie references. Storm fights back with the windup punch as Mariah May is watching in the back. Shida is back with a running knee but Storm knocks her down again. Luther sticks something in Storm’s trunks and hands her a shoe, which knocks Shida down for two.

Shida strikes away and gets two off a Falcon Arrow, only to hurt her leg coming of the top. An ankle lock of all things has Shida in trouble but a quick grab of the rope gets her out of trouble. Another shoe shot is blocked so Shida grabs the kendo stick and unloads on Luther. Back in and Shida rolls her up for two, only for Storm to grab a German suplex. The hip attack, with a metal tray included in Storm’s tights, finishes Shida at 10:22.

Rating: B-. That ending was more than a little weird as Storm, the big face of the match, has to cheat to win despite Shida not having some big kickout beforehand. Not that it really matters though, as this was ALL about getting the title back on Storm. The Timeless deal is the hottest thing in the women’s division at the moment and it would have been insane to not ride that momentum while it’s going so strong.

Post match Mariah May comes out to give Storm some flowers. Luther takes Storm to the back.

Eddie Kingston is in the Continental Title and says his titles will be on the line in the tournament, which is to crown a Continental Title.

Tag Team Titles: Kings Of The Black Throne vs. FTR vs. La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Ricky Starks/Big Bill

Starks and Bill are defending in a ladder match. It’s a brawl to start with FTR breaking up a Bill vs. King showdown. Harwood brings in a ladder, which is sent into his face for a knockdown. Wheeler and Rush slug it out inside until Wheeler hits a dive onto a bunch of people. Dralistico hits a bigger dive onto the pile, followed by a moonsault from Black and a superplex from Harwood.

Back in and Harwood and Rush have a ladder duel until Harwood can do the Terry Funk spot. Rush kicks Wheeler in the face in the corner and hits the Tranquilo pose. Black throws a ladder into Wheeler’s face but Wheeler gets in a low blow and a piledriver onto a ladder. Starks comes back in and cleans some house, including a rope walk shot to Harwood’s head.

With everyone else down, King goes up so Bill tips the ladder over to send him into another ladder in the corner. Dralistico hits a springboard Codebreaker to Bill and it’s time for a bunch of people to go up a group of ladders. With that broken up, Dralistico hits a poisonrana on King, who is right back with a Ganso Bomb onto a bridged ladder. Wheeler dives onto King onto a ladder so Harwood and Starks go up. With Harwood knocked down, Starks drops Wheeler as well and retains at 20:34.

Rating: B. This is one of those matches that you’ve seen done a bunch and it does still entertain. That was the case again here, with a bunch of high spots that set up a bunch of crashes. It wasn’t a great ladder match as they did stuff that has been done better before, but at least Starks and Bill get to continue their rather entertaining reign.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Kris Statlander vs. Skye Blue

Statlander is defending and slams them both to start. Hart is sent into the corner so we get a Statlander vs. Blue showdown. With that not working, they go outside so Statlander can suplex both of them at once. Back in and Statlander gets knocked down, leaving Blue and Hart to shake hands (with left hands) before fighting as well. Blue hammers away and gets two off a kick to the face. Statlander is back up and all three are knocked down for a breather.

Hart is knocked outside and Statlander faceplants Blue before going up. That lets Hart knock her back down and moonsault Blue for two as Statlander makes a save. Blue reverses Saturday Night Fever and grabs Code Blue for two of her own. Hartless has Blue in trouble until Statlander suplexes both of them down (Excalibur: “One could describe her as a human suplex machine!” Taz: “EASY THERE PARTNER!”). Statlander grabs Saturday Night Fever to Blue but Hart knocks Statlander off and steals the pin for the title at 11:19.

Rating: C+. This was quite the triple threat match and not much more than that. The “one person hits their finish and someone else steals the pin” is as played out as you can get. While I wasn’t wild on how she did it, I’m rather pleased with Hart winning the title. She probably should have gotten it last month, but at least she got the title here, as she should have.

Tony Schiavone brings in the new big signing for AEW….and it’s Will Ospreay. Cue Ospreay to say he’s got to finish up with New Japan and then he’ll be on the road to Revolution, where he’ll be all yours. He’s ready for the best in AEW, especially at Wembley Stadium. This wasn’t exactly a shocking surprise, but it’s probably about as big of a star as they could have realistically brought in.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland in a Texas Death match. They’ve been feuding for a few months now and Swerve made it personal by breaking into Page’s house. Page is out for blood and revenge.

Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page

Texas Death match, meaning you can only win by submission or knockout (still not how a Texas Death match works but whatever). Prince Nana is here with Swerve and does his dance with a dance team. Page jumps Swerve during his entrance and hits a powerbomb into a Buckshot Lariat as I don’t think the bell ever rang. They go outside with Page whipping him into the barricade over and over. Page grabs some duct tape and ties his hands together for a staple to the bicep.

A chair to the head knocks Swerve silly again and we’ve got blood. Page stables a paper to Swerve’s face and lets Swerve’s blood drip onto his face (the fans aren’t sure about that). A barbed wire chair shot to the head is cut off by a low blow to give Swerve a breather. Swerve gets his hands untied and Page staples him in the chest…to no effect. A hard shot to the face knocks Page down the barbed wire chair is wedged in the corner. Page is sent into said chair but he’s back up for a slugout.

They fight to the apron, where Swerve hits a Death Valley Driver onto a cinder block. Somehow that’s not enough for a knockout so Swerve piledrives him onto the barricade (giving us a shot of Swerve’s face, which is COVERED in blood). Back in and more right hands seem to wake Page up so he hits a pair of fall away slams. Page rakes some barbed wire over Swerve’s face and then wraps it around his chest for another fall away slam.

With Swerve on the floor, Page grabs the barbed wire chair for the moonsault to knock Swerve down again. Back in and the Buckshot Lariat is blocked so Swerve kicks the barbed wire chair into his face. Page is right back with a Tombstone onto the barbed wire chair but Nana breaks up the ten count. Swerve manages a powerbomb onto the chair, setting up the Swerve Stomp onto Page onto the chair. Page is up again so let’s grab a bag of glass….which is stomped onto Page’s back as well.

The JML Driver gets nine so Swerve Cactus Clotheslines him….and pulls out a barbed wire board. Said board is bridged between two chairs in the ring but Page slams him through said board. Then a powerbomb and Dead Eye onto the wire lets Page wrap the wire around Swerve’s neck. The Buckshot Lariat….still doesn’t finish as Nana pulls Swerve to the floor to break the count.

Cue Brian Cage to wreck Page and set up a table, but Page saves himself with some barbed wire shots. Nana tries to come in but gets Dead Eyed through the table at ringside. Swerve is back up with the remains of the cinder block to the head though and then chokes Page out with a chain to FINALLY win at 29:56.

Rating: A-. Well, if you’re going to go violent and death matchish, do it like this. These guys beat the living daylights out of each other and it felt like they had been through a war. It was one of the best fights I’ve seen in a good while, which has been Swerve’s forte over the years. The one drawback here is it went about five to seven minutes long, which hut it a bit. I’m not sure if Page losing was the right call, but at least the numbers caught up with him. What might matter the most here is giving Swerve the big win that he needs, as this was one heck of a fight and worth seeing, assuming you don’t mind quite a bit of blood.

We recap the Young Bucks vs. Kenny Omega/Chris Jericho. The Bucks aren’t happy that Omega is teaming with Jericho and want to fight about it. If Omega and Jericho win, they get the Bucks’ Tag Team Title shot but if the Bucks win, Omega and Jericho can no longer team together.

Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega vs. Young Bucks

Don Callis is on commentary as Omega runs Nick to start. The springboard spinning armdrag takes Omega down and we get a handshake before it’s off to Matt vs. Jericho. That doesn’t get very far so Omega comes back in but doesn’t seem overly thrilled. Everything breaks down and Jericho triangle dropkicks Nick to the floor. The Bucks are back up to crush Jericho’s arm in the steps and the villains take over back inside.

The arm is wrapped around the post as Nick pulls away, only to have Jericho score with a middle rope dropkick. Omega comes in and tells Matt that he can’t escape, only for Matt to escape. Instead Omega moonsaults onto Nick at ringside, followed by Jericho Lionsaulting onto both of them. The Walls have Matt in trouble and Omega breaks up Nick’s springboard save.

Jericho’s arm gives out though and Matt slips out, allowing him to hit the double northern lights suplex (because Matt Jackson, who had a back injury for years, can shrug off about a minute in a Boston crab and suplex two men at once). Nick German suplexes Omega onto the apron and Nick’s Swanton to a hanging Omega gets two. Back in and the referee checks on Omega, allowing Matt to kick Jericho low. It works so well on Jericho that Omega gets one as well and a Judas Effect gets two on Jericho.

The BTE Trigger hits Jericho for two more but he’s able to send Matt’s kick into Nick. Matt kicks Jericho in the arm but Omega is back up to knock both of them into the ropes. Omega has to decide who to V Trigger and goes with Matt, only to have the One Winged Angel broken up. Matt hits Omega with his own One Winged Angel but Omega is back up with a German suplex for two more. Jericho is back up with a superkick but gets superkicked down. Back up and Omega grabs the One Winged Angel to finish Matt at 20:44.

Rating: B. It was good stuff and a heck of a match which didn’t get to that epic level. It doesn’t help that it’s so similar to Omega/Hangman Page vs. the Bucks from a few years ago but I can go with the slightly watered down version just as well. If nothing else, this gives the Bucks something else to complain about, just in case they only have five things to whine about this week. I do like the idea of Omega and Jericho continuing as a team though as they work well together.

Post match the Bucks turn down a handshake and rant a lot.

AEW World Title: Adam Cole vs. Jay White

So Cole is defending on behalf of MJF but White has the title….and never mind as here is MJF, as they set up an angle to run for about four and a half hours.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Jay White

MJF, with a very banged up leg (and Cole), is defending and the Gunns are here too. White, being intelligent, goes right after the knee to take over. A suplex into the corner gives White two and MJF sends him outside, where the Gunns get caught with a chair. That’s good for an ejection and MJF gets a breather, but White tells Cole to get in. MJF gets fired up and tells White to hit him, which he does, square in the knee.

Back up and MJF hammers him into the corner for a bite to the head, followed by the Kangaroo Kick. For some reason MJF loads up a dive but White kicks out the leg without much trouble. White’s knee gives out when he’s whipped across the ring but he manages to kick White in the corner. White is back up with a swinging Rock Bottom and dumps him out to the floor. MJF manages to fight back again and sends him through the announcers’ table, setting up a top rope elbow to the floor.

Back in and the dragon screw legwhip over the rope puts MJF down again and the bad leg is tied in the Tree of Woe. The leg is fine enough for MJF to pull himself up and superplex White back down. White goes up to bring him back down with a super swinging Rock Bottom for two more. The chops make MJF tell him to bring it so White Downward Spirals him. The Blade Runner is countered into an exchange of rollups for two each and they knock each other down.

White blocks the Heatseeker….so MJF hits a running cutter over the top and out to the floor. Back in and the knee gives out again as MJF can’t even stand. The doctor asks if MJF wants to stop it so MJF hits himself in the knee. White grabs some dragon screw legwhips and we hit the Figure our. Cole teases tossing in the towel but MJF manages to turn it over. White escapes and yells at Cole before trying to grab the ROH Tag Team Title belt.

The pulling sends it into MJF’s head for two and the fans are still into it. The referee gets bumped though and Cole loads up the diamond ring. White goes for the leg though and grabs the ring instead, so MJF goes low to save himself. The Gunns come in and are quickly dispatches, setting up a ring shot to retain the title at 29:56.

Rating: B+. This was a weird match as MJF was the fighting underdog throughout and then cheated to even out a bunch of the cheating White had already done. The story they had went rather well, though it could have been trimmed down a bit at the end of a really long show. At the same time, it doesn’t exactly make White look good to not be able to beat someone on one leg who had already wrestled that night.

MJF and Cole celebrate and limp up the ramp to end the show. No Devil stuff at all.

Overall Rating: A-. Another rather good pay per view from AEW, even with the show feeling rather long at times. As usual, there was nothing close to a bad match with the weakest match being completely fine. The Texas Death match is the best match on the show with the main event being a close second. I’m not sure if this felt like one of the biggest shows AEW has run, but it’s certainly worth a look, assuming you don’t mind some of the matches going a good bit longer than they need to.

Results
Eddie Kingston b. Jay Lethal – Spinning backfist
Claudio Castagnoli b. Buddy Matthews – Scorpion Deathlock
Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Samoa Joe b. The Gunns – Koquina Clutch to Colten
Sting/Darby Allin/Adam Copeland b. Christian Cage/Nick Wayne/Luchasaurus – Coffin Drop to Luchasaurus
Orange Cassidy b. Jon Moxley – Beach Break
Toni Storm b. Hikaru Shida – Running hip attack with metal tray
Ricky Starks/Big Bill b. FTR, La Faccion Ingobernable and Kings Of The Black Throne – Starks pulled down the titles
Julia Hart b. Kris Statlander and Skye Blue – Saturday Night Fever to Blue
Swerve Strickland b. Hangman Page when Page could not answer the ten count
Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega b. Young Bucks – One Winged Angel to Matt
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Jay White – Right hand with diamond ring

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

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AND

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

AEW has changed up its pay per view schedule so much that their original Big Four do not exactly feel as important these days. While the promotion isn’t ice cold, they don’t have the hottest product in the world going into this show. That being said, AEW’s pay per view record is more than good enough to rally things up in the blink of an eye. The main event and a few other things have me interested and that might be enough to carry things. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Ring Of Honor World Title: Eddie Kingston(c) vs. Jay Lethal

So this match, which felt like it could have headlined Final Battle next month, is instead taking place here and might not even main event the pre-show. Lethal’s friends helped him beat Kingston to set this up and now Kingston wants to face him one one one. That should work out rather well as Lethal is capable of wrestling a good, simple match against anyone and we could be in for something nice here.

I’ll go with Kingston winning, as Lethal isn’t exactly on fire right now. There is little reason to change the title here since this feels like a way to give Kingston a win over an ROH legend. I’ve heard worse ideas, though I’m not sure who is going to face Kingston at Final Battle. They teased something with Ortiz on Rampage, but that’s for next month. For now, Kingston wins here and moves on to Final Battle.

Zero Hour: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Buddy Matthews

The two stables have been kind of teasing each other in recent weeks and then Castagnoli saved Wheeler Yuta from Matthews after their match on Collision. Therefore, we have a heck of a rather hard hitting showdown and that should be more than enough to make for some entertaining television. Matthews continues to feel like someone who could be a breakout star and it’s nice to see him getting this kind of spot.

For now though, Castagnoli wins here, as the only way I can imagine seeing Matthews win is through some House Of Black interference. This is one of those matches that sounds goo on paper and will probably be even better when they actually get in the ring. Castagnoli is about as dependable as you can get and we should be in for a good, hard hitting, ten or so minute match here.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Samoa Joe(c) vs. The Gunns

Joe is teaming with MJF in the place of Adam Cole, though I’m not sure if it’s going to be a permanent thing. At the same time, Joe is probably going to want some compensation for helping MJF, which likely leads to a title match next month in Long Island. For now though, they have to deal with a talented team who can be a threat to win the titles. Granted they’re fighting to be the champions of a show they’ve never wrestled on.

As much as I’d love to see MJF get away from the titles and have them actually be around in ROH, I’m not sure I can picture the Gunns winning here. MJF and maybe Joe will have to lose the titles at some point in the future, though that might not happen until Final Battle. ROH needs the titles back, but this doesn’t feel like the spot where that is going to happen just yet.

AEW Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida(c) vs. Toni Storm

I try to get what I think are the most obvious results out of the way in these things and that seems to be the case here. Shida is a good champion and has been one of the most dependable people in all of AEW, but she’s up against a different kind of force here. Storm has tapped into something with this Timeless deal and that feels like it is going to be enough to go somewhere.

Of course I’ll take Storm here as I can’t see any reason to keep the title on Shida. While she’s very good and one of the workhorses of the division, but Storm is on another level entirely at the moment. It makes all the sense in the world to give her the title as it’s a case of striking while the iron is hot. This should be a layup, and unless Mariah May costs Storm the title, Storm gets the gold here.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander(c) vs. Julia Hart vs. Skye Blue

We’ll stick with the women here and another match that has a somewhat clear favorite. Hart seemed ready to take the title last month at WrestleDream but lost to Statlander, which makes me wonder how things are going to go here. This feels like it should be Hart’s to lose, though Blue being in there is a wild card given how much it seems AEW has wanted to push her.

It’s trickier than I thought but I’ll go with Hart winning here. At some point the House Of Black needs some gold and it would make sense for Hart to get them back on the champions’ list here. Hart has been built up very well in recent months and it fees like the time to go somewhere with that. Statlander has become a star during her reign, but it’s ok to move her out here and maybe into the main Women’s Title picture. Hart wins here, though Blue is a longshot option too.

Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega vs. Young Bucks

This is the Bucks’ title shot vs. the Canadians’ future as a team because, believe it or not, the Bucks can’t handle Omega having another friend. They did a bit of a rushed buildup to this one as the Bucks weren’t happy with Omega and Jericho teaming together because Omega seems to have forgotten the Elite. Thankfully that means the Bucks have turned heel again, which suits them so much better.

I’ll take Jericho and Omega to win here, as it would make the Bucks all the more frustrated and get them out of the title picture at the same time. The Bucks are going to find something else to whine about anyway so maybe the loss is enough to do just that. Omega and Jericho have done well enough as a team and I could see them going for the Tag Team Titles, even if it feels like a rehash of Omega and Hangman Page. Then again, the Elite’s whole thing is about repeating the same melodrama so that kind of fits. Omega and Jericho win here, or at least I think they do.

International Title: Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Jon Moxley

So this headlined a show about two and a half months ago but now we’re right back where we started before All Out. It felt like we were going to get back here eventually and maybe we’re here a bit earlier than expected, but the rematch is on. Moxley no sold the Orange Punch on Dynamite to scare Cassidy, which puts this in quite the different place than the original version.

As much as it would make sense for Cassidy to win here and tie the series, it feels like AEW wants to get back to where this was supposed to be when Moxley won at All Out. Maybe that means Cassidy comes back and wins the third match down the line, but Moxley was champion for all of a few weeks before the concussion screwed things up. I’ll go with Moxley here, despite a feeling that Cassidy could win with a rollup for a shock victory.

Sting/Darby Allin/Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage/Luchasaurus/Nick Wayne

And yes, Ric Flair with be here with Sting and company. That’s likely going to get a bunch of the focus and yes there is always the chance that Flair turns on Sting again because we must repeat history every chance we can. For now though, it seems much more like a way to set up Copeland vs. Cage down the line and that is not the worst idea given how rarely they have fought over the years.

Outside of Flair cheating though, this should be Copeland and company’s to win. Wayne can be right there to take a fall without damaging anything major going forward, as tends to be the case in a six man like this. Things will probably break down multiple times, but this is another step in Sting’s retirement tour and having him get a win on pay per view is a fine way for him to step away from California.

Tag Team Titles: Ricky Starks/Big Bill(c) vs. La Faccion Ingobernable vs. FTR vs. Kings Of The Black Throne

Say it with me: it’s a ladder match. That feels like a requirement that AEW has to cover every so often and we’re getting it here for reasons of “Bill is tall”. That’s not exactly a great reason to have a ladder match but that’s modern wrestling for you. The only team you can probably write off here is FTR as they’ve had the titles so recently that getting them again doesn’t make a ton of sense. That leaves us with three options and it could be either of them.

I’ll take the champs to retain here, as I could go for seeing more of what they can do. They won the titles about a month and a half ago and have wound up doing some nice things with them. Let them get a defense in here, even though it might not be the most traditional match. What matters is getting ready for another match against one of these teams later on, but that might have to wait for Omega and Jericho if all things stand. For now though, the champs retain.

Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland

This is the “steal the show” match as it feels like they’re having two young stars get the chance to break through in a Texas Death Match (or Last Man Standing to everyone else). That’s a bit weird when Page is already one of the most decorated stars in AEW history, but Page is out for revenge/blood on Strickland and that often makes for a much more interesting situation.

This feels like Page getting his revenge so I’ll take that here after one heck of a fight. Strickland has been waiting for that big breakout moment and while it has been said over and over again, it should be coming one day. I just don’t think it’s here, as the idea of having Page get his home violated like that and then lose in the big fight seems like a bad idea. Page wins here, after a war.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman(c) vs. Jay White

If this wasn’t the main event (or at least it should be), I would have put it high up because this doesn’t feel like the highest drama. White stole the belt at the start of their feud and has mostly kept it since, but now MJF wants the belt and the win. They’ve done a nice job with making me want to see MJF beat White and get everything back, but they might have tilted it a bit too far one way.

Naturally MJF retains here and gets the belt back. That’s not exactly a deep story and it’s hard to fathom that it doesn’t end with MJF getting the belt back here. Samoa Joe is all but guaranteed to be waiting for MJF next month in Long Island and having MJF win here is kind of required to make that work. White has done well enough but it’s time to move on without him as champion.

Overall Thoughts

The more I think about it, the more I would consider Strickland vs. Page headlining. It might not be the highest profile match on the show, but it certainly feels like the hottest one. I’m worried that it might be good enough that nothing can follow it and that could ruin whatever comes after. The show looks good enough, though having it come so soon after the previous one feels off in AEW> I’ll still take them as having a real chance to make this work though as Full Gear seems like it has a good deal of potential, as usual.

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Collision
Date: November 17, 2023
Location: Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly, Tony Schiavone

It’s the night before Full Gear and therefore the schedule is a little wacky, as Collision is taking place before Rampage and in the same building. That is going to make things a bit more interesting, but Collision has been up and down in recent weeks. It would be nice to have a more old school feel to this one….or as old school as a show about five months old can be. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tony Schiavone (in a very green suit) brings out Christian Cage and company to start things off. Cage is ready for the six man tag tomorrow night, plus a TNT Title defense tonight on Rampage. Other than that though, in a town full of phony people, we need some reality. Cage says tomorrow is going to be Sting’s last match because he has been living off his past name and reputation for fifteen years. Darby Allin is going to need a father figure and Cage knows someone who can do that for him.

As for Adam Copeland, Cage knows he is here to steal the spotlight but Cage is a different person than he was back then. Beth Phoenix needs to keep the girls up late because Cage is breaking Copeland’s neck. It doesn’t matter who he is facing tonight, but he can beat any of the four in the qualifying match anyway. Fans: “PROVE IT!” Cage quotes not so popular NBA player James Harden, saying he doesn’t work within the system because he is the system.

Ricky Starks and Big Bill have a new stipulation for their four way Tag Team Title defense: we’ll make it a LADDER match. WELL OF COURSE WE WILL.

Miro vs. Daniel Garcia

Miro throws him down without much trouble to start and then suplexes him out of the corner for a bonus. A gutwrench suplex drops Garcia again so Miro loads up the Garcia dance. You don’t do that though as Garcia strikes away, only to be caught in a swinging release Rock Bottom. We take a break and come back with Miro grabbing a chinlock but Garcia fights up. Some slugging in the corner has Miro in trouble and he can’t swat a dropkick away.

Garcia’s running knee to the face just annoys Miro, who superkicks him down. It’s too early for Game Over though and Garcia slaps away, setting up a belly to back suplex. The dance is loaded up but cue Matt Menard to break it up. Not that it matters as Garcia pulls him into a crossface, which he switches into the Dragontamer. The bending back too far is a bad idea for Garcia though, as Miro slams his head into the mat or the break. Game Over finishes Garcia at 10:14.

Rating: C+. This was what it needed to be, as Miro is mad at Garcia for approaching his wife and wrecked him as a result. That’s all this should have been, as Garcia got in some offense before losing. Miro seems likely for a showdown with Andrade El Idolo sooner or later and this should be a good warmup.

CJ Perry and Andrade El Idolo are happy with their new business relationship, which is why Perry has entered into the Continental Classic. If he wins, he gets extra money.

Kings Of The Black Throne vs. The Boys

Brent goes after Black’s wrist to start and is easily shoved away. King comes in so it’s off to Brandon as everything breaks down. Brandon’s enziguri doesn’t do much to Black as it’s Dante’s Inferno to give King the pin at 2:09. Pretty much a squash.

Julia Hart, Skye Blue and Kris Statlander are ready to win/keep the TBS Title.

Trent Beretta vs. Brian Cage vs. Komander vs. Penta El Zero Miedo

The winner gets a TNT Title shot on Rampage and Prince Nana is here with Cage. The fans aren’t sure who they like here so Penta stops to take his glove off. That earns him a shot to the face before Cage gets triple teamed to the floor. Trent elbows Penta down before a jumping knee sets up a half and half suplex. Back in and Cage apron superplexes Komander onto the other two to send us to a break.

We come back with Penta striking away at Cage, followed by Trent suplexing Komander a few times. Penta gets suplexed as well but Cage blocks one without much trouble. A discus lariat knocks Trent silly and there’s a faceplant for two on Komander with Penta making the save. Penta is back up with a Canadian Destroyer to Komander and a Sling Blade to Cage. The big springboard flip dive hits Cage, leaving Komander’s rope walk shooting star to not quite hit Trent. The Scrunchie finishes Komander at 10:34 to give Trent the title shot.

Rating: B-. This felt like something you would see at a house show to set up a title match later in the night. That isn’t a bad thing either as it at least gives the match some stakes, even if Beretta doesn’t seem like a heavy favorite in the title match. For now though, good all action match and that’s what it needed to be.

Don Callis and Powerhouse Hobbs are proud of getting rid of Paul Wight with a heck of a slam onto a car on Dynamite. Hobbs tells Wight to stay away because anyone can get it.

Wardlow vs. Evan Daniels

Powerbomb, Swanton, Powerbomb for the stoppage at 57 seconds.

Full Gear rundown.

Dax Harwood vs. Rush

Ricky Starks is on commentary (Big Bill is with him but wasn’t introduced for some reason) and the rest of LFI is here. They shove each other around to start until Rush backdrops him out to the floor. Some rams into the barricade have Harwood in even more trouble as Starks does a Harwood impression.

Harwood gets sent shoulder first into the post and Rush unloads in the corner, setting up the single boot. We take a break and come back with Harwood chopping his way off the top. That lasts all of three seconds as Rush is back up with a superplex for two. They strike it out for a double knockdown before getting back up to trade clotheslines.

Rush can’t get a backslide so Harwood is right back with a piledriver for two of his own. The fight heads outside with Rush hitting a jumping knee to the face, setting up a posting. Rush goes after Starks before loading up the Bull’s Horns, only to have Starks come in with the spear to Rush for the DQ at 14:01.

Rating: B-. This was quite the Rush match, as he mostly beat the fire out of Harwood, though at least Harwood got in a bit of offense of his own. That being said, I’ll absolutely take having one of them avoid a pin before a title match, as that has always felt like the biggest waste of time. Rush continues to feel like a star, but he certainly likes being on offense. Maybe a bit too much at that.

Post match the beating is on until the other people in the ladder match run in for the huge brawl. Referees can’t break it up as we take a break. Of note: we’re told Tony Khan says this is a no contest. I know he’s a big wrestling fan, but in my day, someone coming in and attacking a single wrestler was a DQ.

Action Andretti is cut off by Roderick Strong and the Kingdom, the former of which says he has found his next victim.

Buddy Matthews vs. Wheeler Yuta

Matthews works on the arm to start but Yuta flips out to escape and crank away as well. Yuta even offers him a shot to grab the leg before pulling it back. Instead Yuta sends him outside, where a dropkick through the ropes makes it worse. That’s not ok with Matthews, who beats him up around ringside.

They head to the apron for a slugout until Yuta is LAUNCHED onto the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Matthews striking him down until Yuta is back up with a heck of a forearm. Yuta manages to knock him down to one knee but Matthews is back with a shot of his own.

A rollup and German suplex give Yuta two each and there’s a superkick to put Matthews on the floor. They fight on the apron until Matthews drops him ribs first onto the turnbuckle. Yuta kicks his way out of trouble and drapes him over the top for an ax handle. Matthews hits a heck of a powerbomb though and the Stomp finishes Yuta at 13:43.

Rating: B. I can always go for a power vs. speed match and they had a nice one here, with Yuta doing what he could against the far stronger Matthews. That’s a formula that has worked forever in wrestling and they did it here with two potential stars. Matthews has long since felt like he could be moving up the ladder whenever he’s given a chance but there is only so much that can be done with the rest of the House Of Black around. See also Yuta with the Blackpool Combat Club, as he is by far the lowest member of the team but is still a talented star. Anyway, pretty sweet match here and that’s always nice to see.

Post match Matthews grabs a chair but here is Claudio Castagnoli to cut him off. Castagnoli says the House Of Black has his attention so he and Matthews can fight at Full Gear.

Orange Cassidy and Jon Moxley are ready to fight again at Full Gear.

Ruby Soho/Saraya vs. Kris Statlander/Hikaru Shida

Shida and Soho grapple around to start as we hear about Angelo Parker “pitching woo” about Soho. Nigel is of course all over Kelly for that one as Statlander comes in to take over on Saraya. Back up and Statlander shoulders her down for two as Julia Hart is watching in the back. Statlander suplexes both villains down at once and hands it back to Shida as we see Skye Blue watching in the back as well. The villains pull Shida down out of the corner and we take a break.

Back with Parker watching at ringside as Saraya kicks Shida in the ribs. That brings Statlander and Soho back in, with Statlander hitting a Falcon Arrow for two. Statlander has to get Soho back inside, but sees Parker in a Soho shirt. Saraya comes back in and gets to clean some house, setting up a forearm off with Shida. After a double knockdown, Shida is back up with a knee each for Saraya and Soho, which has Parker checking on the latter. Saraya is livid as Statlander clotheslines Parker (seemed to be aiming for Soho). That leaves Shida to Katana Saraya for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: B-. This wound up being more of a focus on the Parker stuff and that might be a bit more interesting than the match. Saraya is already starting to feel forgotten around here and it’s not like her matches are tearing the house down. Maybe she ties in with the Parker story, but she certainly needs something. Shida probably will as well, as it feels almost impossible to imagine her leaving Full Gear with the title. Statlander might be in a safer spot, but Hart winning feels long overdue. They covered a bit here, but it didn’t quite feel like a big time main event.

We get a sitdown interview with MJF, who is defending the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles to keep his promise to Adam Cole. The Gunns are very ugly but he’ll beat them anyway. Other than that, he doesn’t like Jay White stealing his title belt, but he’ll get that back at Full Gear. Schiavone brings up MJF winning the title a year ago, sending MJF into a rant about overcoming the odds over the years. He likes the odds against White, so we’ll see them tomorrow. This was fired up MJF and that is often the best kind.

Overall Rating: B. There was good action throughout and the Yuta vs. Matthews match was quite good, but it did feel like a show that didn’t really need to be here. I was hoping they would have pulled the show from the schedule for the sake of the PPV but we got a decent enough push towards Full Gear. The pay per view still doesn’t exactly feel must see, though this show did a nice job of boosting it up a bit.

Results
Miro b. Daniel Garcia – Game Over
Kings Of The Black Throne b. The Boys – Dante’s Inferno to Brandon
Trent Beretta b. Brian Cage, Komander and Penta El Zero Miedo – Scrunchie to Komander
Wardlow b. Evan Daniels via referee stoppage
Rush b. Dax Harwood via DQ when Ricky Starks interfered
Buddy Matthews b. Wheeler Yuta – Stomp
Hikaru Shida/Kris Statlander b. Saraya/Ruby Soho – Katana to Saraya

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

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Dynamite
Date: November 8, 2023
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We are a week and a half away from Full Gear and that means we should be getting the final push towards the show. This week that includes MJF defending the World Title against Daniel Garcia and an interesting main event of Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe. Other than that, we have a heck of a showdown between Keith Lee and Samoa Joe for the ROH TV Title. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone brings in MJF to talk about his lost last week but MJF says it will never happen again. Adam Cole calls him so MJF throws it to a video screen and says MJF should take Samoa Joe up on his offer. MJF isn’t sure why but here is Daniel Garcia (challenging MJF for the title tonight) to laugh a bit. Garcia says tonight, MJF is getting the professional wrestler. With Garcia gone, the Kingdom wheels in Roderick Strong, who offers MJF some tips. MJF walks off, which Strong says is what the devil would do. It’s time to remind people who Strong is.

Opening sequence.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia, with Matt Menard and Angelo Parker, is challenging. MJF hits him in the face to start so Garcia does the same, only to have his friends break up the dance (as tends to be their custom as of late). An armbar has Garcia down and a rollup gives MJF two. We take a break and come back with Garcia hitting a one armed German suplex and dancing a bit.

MJF is right back on the arm before a hammerlock DDT gets two. Garcia kicks the leg out and hits a one armed piledriver for two. They’re doing something there with the arm not working at full strength. The Dragontamer goes on but MJF escapes and grabs the Salt Of The Earth to retain the title at 10:38.

Rating: B-. Not too bad at all here, though Garcia continues to not exactly be the most interesting star in the world. He’s a strong technician, but that doesn’t do much to help his charisma. Thankfully they didn’t let this go on too long, as there was no way to make Garcia feel like a serious threat to the title.

Post match MJF wants to shake hands but Garcia’s friends won’t allow it.

Mark Briscoe is ready for Jay White.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. Outrunners

Allin headlocks Magnum to start but gets take into the corner for a stomping from Floyd. A suplex is broken up and String comes in to clean house. The Scorpion Deathlock finishes Floyd at 2:58. That’s how it should have gone.

We have a sitdown interview (in black and white) between Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm. Shida promises to beat her again as usual but Storm doesn’t seem to buy it. They sign the contract and go face to face.

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Swerve Strickland

Feeling out process to start until Swerve takes him into the corner for a kick to the leg. Swerve bites the fingers but Penta is back with some chops. A Backstabber sends Swerve outside, where he is able to drop Penta face first onto the steps. Penta strikes away and hits a big running flip dive as we take a break.

Back with Made In Japan and the JML Driver both being blocked, leaving us with a double knockdown. A Death Valley Driver gets Penta two and he drops Swerve hard onto the apron to leave Swerve on the floor. Back in and Swerve reverses a headscissors out of the corner by flipping Penta into the corner. A 450 is blocked and Made In Japan gives Penta two. Swerve is back with his own Death Valley Driver and snaps Penta’s arm. The Swerve Stomp gives Swerve the pin at 13:33.

Rating: B. One of AEW’s greatest strengths is being able to take any two wrestlers out of a huge number available and have them put on a good match. That’s what they did here as these two came pretty close to tearing the house down. If you can get Penta away from doing his CERO MIEDO line over and over again and let him do his thing, he can put in a heck of a performance and that was the case here. At the same time you have Swerve continuing to showcase just how good he really is as his roll continues.

Post match Swerve goes for the mast but Hangman Page runs in to lay Swerve out with a Deadeye off the stage and through some tables. It seems WAY too early for that as it could have come during their Full Gear match instead.

Jay White is ready to beat up Mark Briscoe tonight and hopes MJF is watching.

The Don Callis Family is ready for serious violence next week against Chris Jericho and pals.

Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega are ready to fight next week, but the Young Bucks come in to bring up an idea of the Elite. They think Jericho is just here to get a paycheck, but Jericho thinks he and Omega are a better team. They agree to fight at Full Gear, with Jericho wanting the Bucks’ Tag Team Title shot on the line. That works with the Bucks, but if they win, Jericho and Omega are done as a team and they get back to being the Elite. Omega says he’s beaten the Bucks before so he can do it again.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Keith Lee

Joe is defending and grabs a headlock to start. Lee isn’t having that and runs Joe over with a shoulder. Some choking on the rope keeps Joe down but he’s back up with the snap jabs in the corner. Back up and Lee leapfrogs over him and knocks Joe outside to send us to a break. We come back with Joe taking out the leg, including hitting a dragon screw legwhip. Lee manages a pop up powerbomb for a delayed two but Joe is right back up. Joe pulls him into the Koquina Clutch to retain the title at 11:26.

Rating: B-. This was the hoss match it was advertised as being and that made for a good fight. While I could go for more of Lee being a monster who runs people over, there is little shame in losing to someone as dominant as Joe. That being said, this felt like a match that could have been built up a lot better, but that is the case for a lot of things on AEW TV.

Post match Joe says he’s vacating the title to go after the AEW World Title. After a year and a half and Joe retaining the title when it seemed perfect for Joe to lose, he just walks away from it without putting anyone over? And not even on the ROH show. This has been your weekly reminder that RING OF HONOR MEANS NOTHING.

Orange Cassidy, with Hook, is rather serious and says he has to beat Jon Moxley.

Gunns b. Bollywood Boyz

3:10 To Yuma finishes Gurv at 42 seconds.

Post match the Gunns promise to beat up MJF and win the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles.

Jon Moxley says he’s in for the Full Gear title shot against Orange Cassidy, but he and Wheeler Yuta might crush Cassidy and Hook before they get there.

Wardlow is ready to end MJF.

Julia Hart vs. Red Velvet

This is Velvet’s return after nine months on the injured list. Velvet snaps off some armdrags to start and strikes away in the corner. Hart knocks her out of said corner though and we take a break. Back with Velvet making the clothesline comeback and hitting some running knees. An Iconoclasm out of the corner gives Velvet two but Hart kicks her down. The moonsault finishes for Hart at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Hart gets some momentum back after losing at WrestleDream and still looks like she’s keeping most of her momentum. She seems to have turned a corner in recent months and that moonsault looks good every time. It’s also nice to have Velvet back as you never want to see someone on the shelf, especially for that long.

Post match Hart goes after Velvet but Skye Blue comes out for the staredown. Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale come in to break it up before things get physical.

Mariah May is ready to debut in AEW and is excited about Toni Storm being here.

Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe

The rest of Bullet Club Gold is at ringside. Mark sends him outside to start and White needs an early breather. Back in and Mark chops away, setting up a suplex to put White down again. Redneck Kung Fu puts White on the floor and there’s the Bang Bang Elbow to make it worse. The Club knocks Mark off the top though and we take a break.

Back with White kicking the knee out but getting cut off with a middle rope dropkick. They strike it out with Mark getting the better of things and hitting a fisherman’s buster for two. A dragon screw legwhip over the ropes hits White again and there’s a Death Valley Driver. The Froggy Bow gets two but White snaps off the swinging Rock Bottom. White goes for the knee but the Blade Runner is countered into an exploder suplex. More chops have Mark down again and the sleeper suplex drops him hard. The Blade Runner finishes for White at 14:00.

Rating: B. Another good one here, though I’m not wild on having Briscoe lose so soon after his comeback. Granted it’s against a big name in White who has a major match coming up, but it’s still a bit of a weird choice. That being said, Mark getting to showcase himself is a good thing as he really is one of the better hands in the ring around here.

Post match MJF comes out with the diamond ring to chase White off but he still can’t get the belt back. For the first time ever, MJF has a reason to fight for everyone in the arena and wants to know if White can pull the trigger.

The lights go out and we cut to the back where the masked men are attacking Billy Gunn and the Acclaimed. Anthony Bowens is sent through some glass as we see the person in the devil mask watching. MJF runs to the back, where Samoa Joe pops up to say MJF is running out of friends.

Overall Rating: B. Better show than last week and it’s nice to see things getting a bit back to normal. They had more of a focus this week as they get ready for Full Gear and things got more interesting with the angle at the end. Throw in some good wrestling up and down the card and it made for a good Dynamite. Now just get to Full Gear with the same efficiency and everything should work very well.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Daniel Garcia – Salt Of The Earth
Sting/Darby Allin b. Outrunners – Scorpion Deathlock to Floyd
Swerve Strickland b. Penta El Zero Miedo – Swerve Strickland
Samoa Joe b. Keith Lee – Koquina Clutch
Gunns b. Bollywood Boyz – 3:10 To Yuma to Gurv
Julia Hart b. Red Velvet – Moonsault
Jay White b. Mark Briscoe – Blade Runner

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: November 1, 2023
Location: KFC Yum Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re less than a month away from Full Gear and the show tonight is looking a bit different. There are a pair of title matches but MJF is also needing three people to team with him to face Bullet Club Gold. Other than that, Tony Khan has another important announcement and that could be just about anything. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Renee Paquette brings in MJF, who still needs three partners tonight. He has a list to go after but he wants some advice from Adam Cole, who pops up in a video chat. Cole thinks MJF should take Samoa Joe’s offer but here are Roderick Strong and company. MJF leaves and Cole doesn’t have time for this.

The person in the Devil mask is watching.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Castagnoli is challenging and fires off the knees to start. Back up and Cassidy sends him into the buckle but dives into a backbreaker/gutbuster. Cassidy knocks Castagnoli outside but a dive is cut off, with Castagnoli dropping him on the barricade. Hook and Wheeler Yuta come over to check on them both and get tossed, leaving Cassidy to….not be able to sunset bomb Castagnoli out of the corner. Castagnoli muscles him up for a delayed superplex and we take a break.

Back with Cassidy fighting back and hitting the dive. They get back inside where the DDT is countered into the Swing, setting up the Sharpshooter. With that broken up, Castagnoli hits the uppercut for two, setting up the elbows to the head. A swinging sleeper has Cassidy in more trouble but he flips over for the escape. The Orange Punch into the Beach Break but Castagnoli bails to the floor. Back in and another Orange Punch is countered, only to have the counter countered into a very spinning DDT for two. Castagnoli is back up with an uppercut attempt but Cassidy reverses into a hurricanrana into the pin at 16:50.

Rating: B. This was good stuff and thankfully Castagnoli didn’t get pinned by the Orange Punch or the Beach Break. It would be a bit too far to buy him losing to one of those moves from Cassidy but I can buy a leverage move like the hurricanrana. I’m not sure I would have kept the title on Cassidy here, but it feels like he is gearing up for another Jon Moxley match anyway.

Post match Jon Moxley comes in and the big beatdown is on.

MJF goes to ask Kenny Omega to be his partner but finds Chris Jericho instead. Jericho slams the door in his face. MJF keeps walking and gets grabbed by Wardlow, who says he is going to take everything from him when he least expects it. Now needing a new clipboard, MJF runs into the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn, who he still won’t pick as his partners.

A ticked off Jon Moxley challenges Orange Cassidy for Full Gear.

Ring Of Honor Six Man Tag Team Titles: Mogul Embassy vs. Young Bucks/Hangman Page

The Bucks and Page are defending. It’s a brawl to start with the champs sending them outside for stereo dives to the floor. Back in and a 450 hits Kaun and we take an early break. We come back with Page hitting a pop up powerbomb on Kaun but here is Swerve Strickland. Swerve: “WHOSE HOUSE? Last week I was at YOUR house!” Page tags out (nice little touch) and runs off, leaving the Bucks 3-2. The Embassy wrecks Nick with a powerbomb and a knee to the face, setting up Open The Gates to give us new champs at 7:56.

Rating: C. This was more storyline advancement than anything else, assuming you count taking us back to where we have been for most of the year to be advancement that is. The Six Man Titles still don’t feel important in the slightest but at least they might be on the ROH show again. The Bucks and Page winning the titles in the first place didn’t feel like a great idea but thankfully it didn’t last long.

Post match Matt snaps and beats on the posts with a chair.

MJF considers going to see Samoa Joe but goes to Darby Allin’s room instead. Rather than opening the door though, he writes “EMO B****” and walks off…where he runs into Billy Gunn and the Acclaimed again. Still a no.

Here is Adam Copeland for a chat. After Copeland puts over Tony Schiavone, he talks about how he respects Sting and Darby Allin…but here are Christian Cage and company to interrupt. Cage talks about how he is going to retire Sting, but that brings him to Copeland’s bad neck. If Copeland teams with Sting and Darby Allin at Full Gear, Cage will break his neck. The brawl is on with Cage loading up the Conchairto but cue Allin and Sting for the save. Copeland spears Cage and says he’s in. It was pretty clear that it was going to be Copeland so points for not wasting time getting to the announcement.

Tony Khan, with Nigel McGuinness, is in the back for his big announcement: All In is at Wembley again and tickets go on sale December 1. But you can get them early! That’s the announcement and they’ve pretty much reached a new all time low with these things.

Kenny Omega/Chris Jericho vs. Angelo Parker/Matt Menard

The former Society jump them to start but Omega and Jericho shrug it off like two former World Champions fighting a pair of comedy goons. The Society gets beaten down and we take an early break. Back with Jericho hitting a top rope ax handle to Parker and grabbing the Walls. That’s broken up by Menard and a baseball bat shot to Jericho gets two. With that not working, it’s the Judas Effect to wrap it up at 6:11. Not enough shown to rate but this was mostly a squash.

Post match the Don Callis Family pops up to say we need to finish this in a street fight. Jericho and Omega are in, and they’ll bring Kota Ibushi to help even things up a bit. That still leaves them a man short though, so Jericho has an idea. Cue Paul Wight and the team is complete.

Post break the Young Bucks aren’t happy that Omega and Jericho didn’t pick them. Jericho doesn’t seem to care. Oh sweet goodness we’re doing this “I thought we were friends” melodrama nonsense again?

Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Willow Nightingale

Shida is defending and gets run over by some shoulders to start. Back up and Shida sends her outside and hits a dive off the apron as we take an early break. We come back with Nightingale running Shida over but Shida scores with a kick of her own. A super Falcon Arrow gives Shida one (oh dear) and the strike it out. The Pounce sends Shida flying but she’s back with a knee to the head for two. The Katana retains the title at 10;11.

Rating: C+. The usual good match here between these two with the same usual loss for Nightingale. At some point she has to win something that matters and that isn’t seeming to be the case right now. Shida feels like she is just kind of floating around at the moment and that isn’t great to see, but the matches are at least working. Granted almost none of that matters as Toni Storm is ready to get the title back in a few weeks.

Post match respect is shown but here is Toni Storm to interrupt. That’s fine with Shida, who runs up and knees Storm in the face to chase her off. With them gone, the lights go out and here is Julia Hart to stand behind Nightingale. There isn’t a sneak attack though and Hart extends her hand. Cue Skye Blue though and she mists Julia instead.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn offer to be MJF’s partners but he won’t wear….whatever they offer him. MJF won’t tag with them and goes to look at Jeff Jarrett and company instead. MJF isn’t sure what to do.

Roderick Strong and company call Adam Cole, who is apparently as sick of the annoying catchphrase as everyone else.

Bullet Club Gold vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman/???/???/???

Yeah it’s the Acclaimed/Billy Gunn, with MJF in full pink gear. Jay White runs from MJF to start so it’s off to Bowens to run Colten over. Austin comes in and gets to face Billy, though neither can get much going. Austin slugs away until Billy punches both of his kids down as the villains are cleared out. MJF WILL NOT scissor though and we take a break.

We come back with Austin still in trouble and getting caught with Scissor Me Timbers. The four way scissoring is broken up though and Caster is sent outside to start up the beating. White comes in to beat on Caster but he avoids a shot to the face and dives over to bring MJF in to clean house. White bails as MJF hits the Kangaroo Kick but walks into the Blade Runner to give White the fast pin at 13:35.

Rating: C+. Features the AEW World Champion, who does not have his belt, wanting to avoid all of the other people coming after his title so he teams with a team including a guy who might be stalking him and has to wear a funny costume while also facing the team that is going to be challenging him for the minor league Tag Team Titles on the same show where he defends the major league World Title. Oh and Billy Gunn beating up his kids. The match itself was a decent eight man tag with a good result, but it felt like this was there for MJF to be in a costume/scissoring and they spent a long time to get to those payoffs.

Post match the beatdown is on with White loading up a belt shot but Caster takes the bullet for him. The fans chant BS but Billy Gunn orders MJF to do the scissoring. Four way scissoring ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a weird show and a lot of that has to do with how MJF is being booked. He’s currently dealing with at least five different things and that doesn’t leave a ton of focus for others. At the same time you have Paul Wight being brought in to deal with Powerhouse Hobbs rather than, I don’t know, the guy who beat Hobbs at All Out in Miro. Then you have the Elite drama and my goodness I cannot begin to care. The show wasn’t a bad one, but the wrestling was only so good and a lot of what went on only felt so important. It was something of a skippable show and that’s rarely good to see.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Claudio Castagnoli – Hurricanrana
Mogul Embassy b. Hangman Page/Young Bucks – Open The Gates to Nick
Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega b. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker – Judas Effect to Menard
Hikaru Shida b. Willow Nightingale – Katana
Bullet Club Gold b. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn/Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Blade Runner to Friedman

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: October 28, 2023
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly

We’re three weeks away from Full Gear but in this case we have one heck of a main event here. This week will see MJF defend the World Title against Kenny Omega as the latter tries to preserve his record for the longest title reign in history. That should be more than enough to carry the show so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jay White vs. AR Fox

White has the rest of Bullet Club Gold with him. Feeling out process to start with Fox frustrating White, only to get caught in the corner for some chops. A bottom rope cutter gets Fox out of trouble and Fox dropkicks him out to the floor. Fox hits a running shooting star off the apron to a standing White but a suplex sends Fox crashing into the corner.

White plants him down again and Fox bails to the floor as we take a break. Back with Fox hitting a slingshot hilo on White, followed by a flip dive onto the Club, followed by a flip dive onto White. They get back inside with Fox hitting a Swanton for two but a 450 misses. The Blade Runner finishes for White at 10:49.

Rating: B-. It’s no surprise that these two work well together as they are both incredibly talented stars. This was another example of White getting a nice win to boost him up to the next level before he gets his big World Title match at Full Gear. Fox is one of those good hands who can make anyone look good and that is what he did here, as expected.

Post match MJF runs out to try and get his title back but the numbers cut him off. MJF leaves belt less.

Max Caster thinks he has gotten MJF to agree to be at National 69 Day but he’s been catfished. Caster gets to go stand in the corner while Anthony Bowens and Billy Gunn talk up the big night.

The Boys vs. The Gunns

Dalton Castle and the rest of the Bullet Club Gold are here too. Austin runs Brent over to start and everything quickly breaks down. With Brandon sent outside, 3:10 To Yuma finishes Brent at 1:42. Total squash.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. MJF, I believe the same one from Rampage.

Danhausen is still coming back.

Ryan Nemeth talks about all of the good things he is doing outside of AEW but he needs the best management. He knocks on CJ Perry’s door, but gets Miro instead. Miro pulls him inside and violent sounds are heard.

Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Abadon

Shida, in a rather long red dress, is defending in a Fright Night Fight, meaning we have Halloween weapons abounding. Abadon gets run over to start but she’s right back with a headscissors. Shida hits a running dropkick and hammers away in the corner until a middle rope dropkick connects. They head to the floor where Abadon can’t quite pull her under the ring, but she can get in a trashcan lid shot to the back.

We take a break and come back with Shida grabbing a broom and going up top. A big dive misses though and they clothesline each other down. Shida strikes away to no avail so Abadon runs her over for two instead. Abadon whips out a bucket of hard candy and Blockbusters Shida onto them. A pumpkin shot misses though and Shida puts it on Abadon’s head instead. The Katana into the pumpkin into Abadon’s head retains the title at 10:11.

Rating: C. Well it was set up last night and since it was already the Halloween match, there was only so much of a reason to believe that Shida would lose here. The match wasn’t bad and Shida gets another win, though Abadon can only mean so much with almost a year between televised matches. The pumpkin deal at the end was at least cute though and that’s nice to see.

Post match Toni Storm comes out to pose and glare at Shida.

Video on FTR vs. Ricky Starks/Big Bill, with Dax Harwood vs. Starks set for tonight.

Video on the history between Keith Lee and Shane Taylor, who were partners in Ring Of Honor and then went their separate ways. Now they’re set for a fight.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Rhett Titus

Joe is defending. Titus slips out of a wristlock and chops away but gets pummeled down in the corner for his efforts. A right hand gets Titus out of the corner but Joe sidesteps a high crossbody. Joe looks at his non-existent watch but slips out of the MuscleBuster. The release Rock Bottom out of the corner sets up the Koquina Clutch to retain the title at 2:04.

QTV is happy to be back and QT Marshall is ready to defend his title against anyone.

We look at Bryan Danielson being banged up on Dynamite.

Claudio Castagnoli talks about how Danielson has a broken orbital bone and promises to make Kazuchika Okada and Orange Cassidy pay for what they did. He’s ready to take the International Title from Cassidy on Dynamite.

Ricky Starks vs. Dax Harwood

Big Bill and Cash Wheeler are here too. Hold on though as the lights go out and the House Of Black are shown watching from the crowd/stage. With that cleared up, Harwood and Starks trade waistlocks to no avail so Starks works on a wristlock. Back up and Starks chops him into the corner but Harwood reverses for some chops of his own. Starks slugs away, only for Harwood to punch him out of the corner again. A whip over the top sends Starks crashing to the floor but Starks ties him into the ring skirt.

Starks grabs a suplex onto the ramp and we take a break. Back with Harwood hitting a top rope superplex for two and a big crash. Starks grabs a small package with trunks for two but the tornado DDT is countered into a suplex. The spear is cut off and Harwood hits a fairly scary looking piledriver for two as Bill breaks it up. Bill offers a distraction as well and Starks hits a piledriver of his own for the pin at 12:52.

Rating: C+. This was the usual good match between two more talented stars but now the question is who comes for the titles next. FTR isn’t the strongest looking team to challenge right now and I can’t really imagine the Young Bucks going after Starks and Bill. What matters here is getting the champs over strong though and that has certainly been the case so far.

Post match the lights go out again and we have the House Of Black. Cue the returning La Faccion Ingobernable though and the brawl is on, with La Faccion teaming up with FTR to send the five villains running.

Andrade El Idolo isn’t worried about Miro being angry over a possible CJ Perry association. He is a businessman and this is his business.

Kris Statlander wants Willow Nightingale and Sky Blue to make up. Nightingale talks about how there is a tension there and it might be due to Julia Hart. Blue says anything between herself and Julia is between the two of them.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Tracy Williams

Castagnoli jumps him during the entrance, hits a bunch of forearms, something like a Rainmaker, and a big uppercut for the pin at 42 seconds. So that’s the angry Castagnoli.

Post match Castagnoli puts on something close to a LeBell Lock.

Samoa Joe gives MJF a pep talk and says scream his name if he needs some help tonight.

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending. They go technical to start with neither being able to get anywhere with a wristlock. Back up and Omega fights out of a headlock, only for MJF to walk over his back. Omega cartwheels away from him and hey trade nipups (Omega doesn’t quite get it) ad we get a standoff. MJF pokes him in the eye but Omega is fine enough for a backdrop to the floor.

There’s the big running flip dive but MJF slides back in for a running Fosbury Flop of his own. A high crossbody puts Omega down back inside, only to have MJF take him down again. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by a hammerlock DDT for two on Omega. Back up and Omega grabs the snapdragon, followed by the cross arm choke. MJF gets sent outside for a middle rope moonsault, followed by the missile dropkick back inside.

The middle rope moonsault only hits raised knees though and they need a breather. MJF bites his head in the corner but Omega hits a brainbuster onto the knee. The table is set up at ringside but Omega heads back inside for a pinfall reversal sequence. A buckle bomb rattles MJF, who comes right back out of the corner with a clothesline to leave them both down. They fight to the apron where Omega grabs a snapdragon to knock MJF even sillier. One heck of a sitout powerbomb puts MJF through the table and we take a break.

Back with the big slugout until Omega hits the running knee. What looks to be the One Winged Angel is countered into a poisonrana but Omega hits one of his own and they’re both down again. Omega scores with another jumping knee, only to have MJF pull him down by the arm.

A pumphandle driver gives MJF two and a butterfly brainbuster rocks Omega again. MJF loads up a suplex but Omega reverses into one of his own. There’s a Texas piledriver for two on MJF, who has to get his foot on the rope for the break. We take another break and come back again with MJF holding his back on the floor. Omega goes up but gets crotched, allowing MJF to do some pelvic thrusting, only to have Omega drop him face first onto the buckle.

Another running knee gives Omega two and there’s another V Trigger, only to have Don Callis come out for a distraction. They trade rollups for two more and Omega hits another running knee for two more. Another rollup exchange gets two more before MJF hits the Heatseeker for a good near fall. MJF grabs a Panama Sunrise and another Heatseeker retains the title at 30:12.

Rating: A-. Well that was certainly a pay per view worthy main event and MJF winning clean is one of the biggest wins of his career. You don’t see Omega lose very often and to lose like this is an even bigger deal. It also makes MJF feel like a much bigger deal, as he isn’t known for winning his matches without some kind of screwiness. Outstanding TV match here, as I’m still thinking this could have been a pay per view headliner somewhere along the way.

Samoa Joe, Wardlow, Powerhouse Hobbs and Bullet Club Gold are watching in the back.

We get the big handshake of respect to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This is an instance where one match is more than enough to carry the whole thing, as one quarter was spent on one of the better matches of the year. Other than that, you had more of the things surrounding MJF going on, plus some rather nifty squashes. Those short matches help keep things moving while getting some people on TV and that is a nice perk. Rather good show here as AEW is going well at the moment.

Results
Jay White b. AR Fox – Blade Runner
The Gunns b. The Boys – 3:10 To Yuma to Brent
Hikaru Shida b. Abadon – Katana
Samoa Joe b. Rhett Titus – Koquina Clutch
Ricky Starks b. Dax Harwood – Piledriver
Claudio Castagnoli b. Tracy Williams – Uppercut
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Kenny Omega – Heatseeker

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

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AND

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

Rampage
Date: October 27, 2023
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Excalibur, Ian Riccaboni, Tony Schiavone

The countdown to Full Gear continue and hopefully so does the string of good Rampages. In this case, we have the showdown between Ortiz and Mike Santana, which has been brewing for the last few weeks. Other than that, we get more of a build towards MJF vs. Kenny Omega tomorrow night. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Mike Santana vs. Ortiz

Street Fight. They stare at each other to start with Ortiz sending him outside for the running flip dive. Various weapon shots keep Santana in more trouble but Ortiz takes too much time to set up a table. Santana fights up and manages a suplex back inside…with Ortiz rolling right back to the floor. An Asai moonsault hits Ortiz and the table is set up against the barricade. Ortiz is back up with a heck of a powerbomb through said table for two back inside. Santana suplexes him off the apron for a big crash to the floor as we take a break.

Back with the slugout from their knees until Ortiz fights up. They trade kicks to the head until Santana grabs a rolling cutter for two. Ortiz’s powerslam gets two and they both need a breather. A discus lariat hits Ortiz and a Cannonball makes it worse, followed by a torture rack powerbomb for the pin at 10:36.

Rating: B. This was a match that felt like a hard hitting fight and that’s what it needed to be. At the same time, it was nice to have them cut out the weapons later in the match and just hit each other a bunch of times. Santana’s finisher looked good too and he should move forward to something more important. Pretty sweet fight here and Santana gets a nice rub.

Post match Santana talks some trash to Ortiz and leaves. Cue Sonjay Dutt to talk to Ortiz.

Video on MJF vs. Kenny Omega for the World Title tomorrow night on Collision. MJF talks about his rise to the top, as well as seeing Omega watch him at any indy show and being amazed. Now if he can get the win over Omega, he will be happy. On the other hand, Omega is not what he once was but he is ready to show that he is still great. This is also Omega’s last chance to prevent MJF from breaking his record for longer title reign. Hold on though as Jay White interrupts Omega and says he’ll be waiting for him at Full Gear.

We cut to Don Callis, who offers MJF a spot in the Don Callis Family. MJF thinks it might be a great idea…except he’s already World Champion so he doesn’t need Callis.

Kris Statlander talks to Willow Nightingale and Skye Blue, both of whom have gotten more evil since being misted. Blue says she’s fine but Nightingale doesn’t get it. Nightingale realizes this isn’t who they are, but Blue tells her to be ready for tonight. Statlander isn’t sure what to say.

Here is Kip Sabian, with Penelope Ford, to mock Philadelphia sports. He knows the Phillies are going to come back in the next game and win the Super Bowl! Ford whispers to him so Sabian corrects himself before saying bet on James Harden (Philadelphia 76 who isn’t exactly happy with being on the team). Cue the returning Mark Briscoe who, after hearing one more Philadelphia sports joke, beats up Sabian without much effort.

The former Jericho Appreciation Society is ready for Anna Jay to become #1 contender to the Women’s Title. Don Callis comes in to recruit Jake Hager but Matt Menard isn’t pleased. Callis offers them help if they take out Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega before walking off. Anna tells them to calm down. Everyone but Parker leaves and Ruby Soho pops in to return Parker’s lost comb. They seem to be flirting a bit.

Willow Nightingale vs. Abadon vs. Anna Jay vs. Skye Blue

For a future Women’s Title shot. Anna runs off to start so Abadon sends the other two into each other. Abadon German suplexes Anna and hits a Codebreaker on Nightingale and Blue. Cue Toni Storm to watch as we take a break. Back with Nightingale running over Abadon and Blue, setting up some running shots in the corner. Anna comes back in and gets Pounced but everyone gets together to put Nightingale on the floor. Abadon slugs away at Anna, who is back with the Queenslayer. That’s broken up and Abadon hits something like a DDT to pin Jay at 8:21.

Rating: C. So since it’s near Halloween, Abadon wrestles her first televised match since November and gets a title shot. This could have been solved by having her win a few matches over the last few weeks but that would be too much effort. Other than that, at least Nightingale didn’t lose the fall.

Max Caster offers MJF an invitation to National 69 Day (yes seriously, as it’ll be that day in their reign) but Anthony Bowens tells him to cool it.

We see a clip of the AEW International Championship press conference with Orange Cassidy proving he can wear a suit better than Claudio Castagnoli.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kyle Fletcher

Don Callis, with powerhouse Hobbs, is on commentary. Takeshita grabs an armdrag to start but Fletcher slams him and they go out to the floor. Fletcher sends him over the barricade but Takeshita is back with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two as we take a break. Back with Fletcher charging into an elbow but managing to send Takeshita outside.

There’s a suicide dive, followed by a high crossbody for two back inside. Takeshita snaps off a poisonrana but Fletcher is right back with a brainbuster for two. Fletcher goes up but caught in something like a kneeling middle rope Tombstone for another near fall (because a middle rope piledriver is a near fall). A nasty wheelbarrow suplex wakes Fletcher up for some reason and they strike it out until a knee to the face finishes Fletcher at 11:15.

Rating: B-. These two know how to do a rather AEW style match and it went well enough for the C show main event. At the very least, it was nice to see Callis and company on this show rather than Dynamite as it lets them stay a bit more fresh. Good match as you would expect from these two, though I could go with less Fletcher for a bit. His matches work, but he’s just not that interesting.

Post match Fletcher comes back in with a chair to Hobbs. That’s broken up and Callis says that’s the hate they want. He seems to offer Fletcher a spot no the team, with Fletcher being a bit non-committal to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m not sure what it was on here but this was a more entertaining edition of Rampage than most. The story of Callis looking for a new member of his Family made things a bit more interesting by giving it a mostly show-long story. Other than that, Santana vs. Ortiz was a good fight and they set up a title shot for Collision. I liked this, mainly because it felt like a show that mattered a bit more than usual.

Results
Mike Santana b. Ortiz – Torture rack powerbomb
Abadon b. Anna Jay, Willow Nightingale and Skye Blue – DDT to Jay
Konosuke Takeshita b. Kyle Fletcher – Knee to the face

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

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AND

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