Battle Of The Belts VIII
Date: October 21, 2023
Location: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly

We’re back with another one of these and this show is extra packed with four title matches in one hour. Granted I’m not sure how much of a difference that is going to make when there has not been a title change at a Battle Of The Belts in over a year and a half. Maybe that changes tonight though so let’s get to it.

We open with Jon Moxley leaving the ring and going to the back, where he runs into International Champion Orange Cassidy. They bump shoulders (Cassidy seemed to be the instigator) and the fight is…not on as the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club and a referee breaks it up.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. John Silver

Cassidy is defending and Silver has Alex Reynolds with him. Silver puts his hands in….Cassidy’s pockets so Cassidy puts his own hands on Silver’s head for a headbutt. Cassidy dives onto Reynolds, who had taken the sunglasses before the match. Back in and Silver misses a kick to the head but manages a heck of a toss into the corner. Cassidy manages to ram him into the buckle a few times but Silver is right back with a delayed superplex for two. They head to the apron where Silver hits a one armed gorilla press (that’s not bad) to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy hitting a Michinoku Driver for two, followed by some harder than usual lazy kicks. The spinning DDT is countered into a small package to give Silver two but Stundog Millionaire gets Cassidy out of trouble. Beach Break gets two but Reynolds offers a distraction and gets in a belt shot for two of his own. The Spin Doctor gets another near fall on Cassidy, who is right back with the Orange Punch to retain at 9:30.

Rating: C+. I know it’s a minor show and not exactly worthy of a big name challenger, but it was really hard to get into Silver coming for the title. He felt like someone thrown out there for the sake of having a title shot and that doesn’t make for the most interesting match. Cassidy vs. Moxley seems destined to take place again sooner rather than later so Cassidy losing was a very long shot at best against almost anyone, but there wasn’t a more serious challenger available?

Andrade El Idolo is banged up after his loss to Bryan Danielson but CJ Perry comes in to offer her guidance. Andrade seems intrigued, apparently not knowing what this means for his future health.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Tony Nese

Nese, with Mark Sterling, is challenging and we get their traditional “you’re all fat and need to exercise” bit before the match. Joe hammers away in the corner, avoids a moonsault (as only he can) and finishes with the MuscleBuster to retain at 1:17. Total squash.

Post match Joe says MJF can give him what he wants or he can take it, but he’ll be the next AEW World Champion.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale is challenging. They trade shoulders to start and neither can get very far. Statlander sends her to the floor and hits a moonsault off the apron for a crash. A posting cuts Statlander off (despite a visible gap between her head and the steel) and Nightingale Cannonballs her against the steps.

We take a break and come back with Nightingale launching her into the corner but Statlander hits a running knee. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two but Nightingale is right back with a Pounce. A quick DDT gives Statlander two and she goes up top, only to get super Death Valley Drivered back down. The Cannonball crushes Statlander but she’s fine enough to powerbomb Nightingale out of the corner. The 450 retains the title at 10:23.

Rating: B-. They went with the hoss fight here and the two of them beat the fire out of each other for about ten minutes. It was an exchange of one big shot after another and it made for a good match. Statlander is still clearing out the division and is going to need a new challenger. Right now though, I’m not sure who that is, though she almost needs to move up to the Women’s Title sooner or later. At the same time, Nightingale continues to lose in big matches, which is quite the sad thing to see for her.

Post match respect is teased but Skye Blue runs in to break it up. Nightingale does shake Statlander’s hand as Blue isn’t pleased.

Orange Cassidy doesn’t like the Blackpool Combat Club (Cassidy: “I don’t care about Yuta.”) but if they want to fight, Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson can fight him and…..Kazuchika Okada on Dynamite. Well that elevated quickly.

Trios Titles: Acclaimed/Billy Gunn vs. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker/Daniel Garcia

Menard and company, with Anna Jay, are challenging. Hold on though as the Memphis Grizzlies’ mascot is here for a pre-match scissoring. Caster grabs a hammerlock on Garcia to start before pulling him down into a headscissors. Garcia gets up and teases the dance but Menard breaks that up again. More dancing is teases but this time Anna breaks it up and gets ejected for her efforts.

Bowens slugs away at Menard and kicks Parker out to the floor. Gunn comes in (the fans approve) and we get the scissoring double elbow. It’s already back to Caster, who gets stomped down in the corner as we take a break. Back with Bowens getting punched down, allowing Garcia to step over him a few times. Bowens manages to kick the villains away but Garcia decks Caster before the tag.

A rolling tag brings Gunn in though and house is quickly cleaned. Scissor Me Timbers hits Menard and we get the three way scissoring. Garcia is back in and tries the dancing but has to beat up Caster instead. Now the dancing can ensue, but it takes too long and Gunn is back in with the Fameasser. The assisted Iconoclasm retains the titles at 10:48.

Rating: C+. This was more of a fun match than anything else and there is nothing wrong with wrapping up with that sort of thing. The fans are going to cheer for the Acclaimed and Gunn pretty much no matter what and Garcia’s dancing is crazy popular right now. There was even a hint of some drama over a title change here so this was a nice way to go to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: B-. As can be the case around here, the wrestling was fine but there is a grand total of no need to watch this show. There hasn’t been a title change on one of these shows since last April and it’s not like there was anything great on this one either. It’s worth a look if you are completely out of anything to see, but don’t expect much of anything that matters in the grand scheme of things.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. John Silver – Orange Punch
Samoa Joe b. Tony Nese – MuscleBuster
Kris Statlander b. Willow Nightingale – 450
Acclaimed/Billy Gunn b. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker/Daniel Garcia – Assisted Iconoclasm to Parker

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.

Collision
Date: October 21, 2023
Location: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s the first part of a double shot this weekend as we have the usual Collision plus Battle Of The Belts as a follow up. This week’s show has a pair of big matches as the Blackpool Combat Club gets a shot at the Tag Team Titles, plus Andrade El Idolo vs. Bryan Danielson in what should be a heck of a match. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson vs. Andrade El Idolo

Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. El Idolo can’t get a Gory Stretch as Danielson slips out, earning himself a running shoulder. Neither can get much of an advantage so they shake hands instead. Danielson pulls him into a bow and arrow but Andrade slips out for a failed Figure Four attempt. Andrade takes him into the corner for the exchange of chops but Danielson slips out and fires off the kicks to the chest. Danielson sends him to the floor and hits the running knee off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Andrade fighting back and dropkicking him off the top to the floor. There’s the moonsault to the floor but Danielson headbutts him of the top. The shotgun dropkick hits Andrade but he gets away from the LeBell Lock attempt. Andrade knocks him down again and tries the double moonsault, only to hit raised knees.

The LeBell Lock is countered into the Figure Four but Danielson gets to the rope before the Figure Eight. Back up and they collide but Danielson hits a kick to the head. The running knee misses and they trade rollups for two each until Danielson finally crucifixes him for the pin at 18:57.

Rating: B+. It was an awesome back and forth match, even if it isn’t exactly the dream match they advertised and has pretty much nothing to do with storylines at the moment. That being said, Danielson is as much of a guarantee of a good to great match as there is in the world at the moment. I’m curious to see what happens when he’s not there to fill in twenty minutes of this show every week, but I’ll certainly take it for now.

Post match respect is shown and Andrade leaves, only to have Malakai Black pop in to kick Danielson down. The Blackpool Combat Club makes the save.

Darby Allin isn’t worried about what has happened to Nick Wayne and can’t wait to see the special gift for Sting on Dynamite.

Skye Blue vs. Hollyhood Haley

Haley takes her down to start and hits a running knee to the back. Blue catches her in the corner and hits a powerbomb. Code Blue finishes Haley at 1:58.

The Gunns vs. Outrunners

The Gunns beat up Magnum to start and throw Floyd into the same corner. 3:10 To Yuma finishes Floyd at 2:04.

Post match the lights go out and we see the Devil in the back.

Kris Statlander squats interviewer Lexi Nair to warm up. Orange Cassidy is ready too.

Eddie Kingston vs. Jeff Jarrett

Non-title Memphis Street Fight (weapons provided), Jay Lethal gets a title shot if Jarrett wins, and Memphis legend Dave Brown is on commentary. They go straight to the weapons and since there was once a concession stand brawl near Memphis, they have a bunch of food, including ketchup and mustard. The brawl heads to the stage where Jay Lethal cutters Kingston off the stage and through a table.

We take a break and come back wit Jarrett doing various horrible things to Kingston’s knee. The Figure Four goes on but Kingston turns it over, only to have Lethal miss something off the top. Jarrett brings in the guitar and hits the Stroke for two. Lethal and Satnam Singh come in to beat the fire out of Kingston, with the Lethal Injection giving Jarrett the pin at 13:00.

Rating: C. This is going to be the definition of “your mileage may vary” and it’s not going to surprise me to see the reactions being all over the place. It was a wacky brawl and Kingston getting beaten down because he has no friends is a fine plot device to set up the title match. I could go for less of the concession stand stuff though, as would could have dropped the Memphis from the title and avoided the goofiness entirely.

Miro vs. Action Andretti

CJ Perry is at ringside as Andretti hits some dropkicks to start. Miro tosses him down though and we take a break with Andretti going into the steps. Back with Andretti fighting up and sending him to the floor for a running flip dive. Miro takes him down back inside and tries Game Over, which is flipped out of for the escape. Andretti manages the torture rack but Miro powers out and kicks him in the face, setting up Game Over for the win at 9:04.

Rating: C. Miro is a monster but he’s going nine minutes to beat low level tag guy Action Andretti. That doesn’t seem to be going with the point of Miro being angry at anyone for wanting to work with his wife but I guess they had to fill the TV time somehow. Odds are this is part of a longer story for Miro, though it could have gotten off to a better start.

The former Jericho Appreciation Society is still arguing and storm off. Ruby Soho comes in for the next interview and says she understands families falling apart. Angelo Parker says he’ll be a champion at the end of the night but Soho tells him to get out of her shot. Soho wants a title shot against someone, which doesn’t make a ton of sense given the graphic that shows her getting a title shot on Dynamite popping up during her promo.

Rush and La Faccion Ingobernable are on the way back.

Eddie Kingston goes on a rant about Jay Lethal losing his way and tells him not to bring his goons to their title match. Also something about Lethal’s parents being disappointed in him for referring to someone who isn’t blood as his uncle.

FTR vs. Bad Thad Brown/Darien Bengston

FTR wrecks them to start but the lights go out. Malakai Black is here so the lights go out again (four times tonight) and the House of Black is here to jump FTR for the DQ at 1:02.

Post match the beatdown is on.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Tag Team Titles: Big Bill/Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta/Claudio Castagnoli

Bill/Starks are defending. Yuta takes Starks to the mat to start and the champion is quickly frustrated. Bill comes in instead and it’s actually not Castagnoli coming in (commentary is surprised too). The power sends Yuta to the apron and Bill knocks him into the barricade for a crash.

We take a break and come back with Bill dropping an elbow for two, followed by a Boss Man Slam for the same. Yuta manages to avoid a charge in the corner though and hands it off to Castagnoli. House is quickly cleaned, including Old School of all things for two on Starks. The running uppercut against the barricade connects and we take a break.

Back with Bill big booting Castagnoli for two but having to escape a fireman’s carry. Yuta comes in with a missile dropkick Hart Attack for two on Bill but Starks comes in to cut him off. The Roshambo is blocked but Bill hits something like a powerbomb to give Starks two. Yuta manages to get back to Castagnoli so the pace can pick up, including the Swing into the dropkick. Bill makes the save and the Fastball Special is loaded up but cue the House of Black to break it up. Starks hits the spear and the Roshambo to retain the titles at 21:22.

Rating: B. This got a lot of time and they were able to do something with Yuta getting beaten down for such a long time before Castagnoli could come in to even things up a bit. The House Of Black ending does tie things together throughout the show but it might have felt like a bigger shock if this was their first appearance of night. Starks and Bill continuing their reign is a good sign as well, as you don’t want them to feel like they lucked into the titles with a short run.

Post match the beatdown is on so Bryan Danielson comes in for the failed save attempt. FTR comes in as well but Bill and Starks help beat them down. Cue Jon Moxley for the real save and the big brawl ends the show. Well after one more Swing to Starks to leave the fans happy.

Overall Rating: B. That’s certainly the Collision formula: good stuff to start and end the show without much of value in between. The opener and main event were both rather good TV matches, but I could have gone with something better in the middle. Save for the Blackpool Combat Club stuff, this wasn’t the most important show, but two matches totaling about forty minutes of that quality are more than enough to carry AEW through two hours.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Andrade El Idolo – Crucifix
Skye Blue b. Hollyhood Haley – Code Blue
Gunns b. Outrunners – 3:10 To Yuma to Floyd
Jeff Jarrett b. Eddie Kingston – Lethal Injection
Miro b. Action Andretti – Game Over
FTR b. Bad Thad Brown/Darien Bengston via DQ when the House Of Black interfered
Ricky Starks/Big Bill b. Blackpool Combat Club – Roshambo to Yuta

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: October 20, 2023
Location: Fort Bend Epicenter, Rosenberg, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We are less than a month away from Full Gear and the card is starting to come together. This week is all about CMLL’s Mistico star though, as he will be facing Rocky Romero in a match for the (unofficial) Pound For Pound Title of Mexico. That alone should be enough to carry the show so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Rocky Romero vs. Mistico

Neither Romero’s CMLL World Historic Welterweight Title or Mistico’s CMLL World Middleweight Title is on the line and this is 2/3 falls. They fight over a lockup to start as commentary talks about an NFL game. Romero takes him up against the ropes to start and they trade Eddie Guerrero dances. A running shoulder puts Mistico down but he’s back up with a Tajiri handspring elbow out to the floor. The big corkscrew dive takes Romero down again and the fans are rather pleased with Mistico. Back in and Mistico ties him up in something like an Octopus on the mat for the fast tap at 2:42.

The second all starts fast as Romero takes him outside for a ram into the steps as Excalibur lists off previous holders of their titles. Back in and Romero goes after Mistico’s mask and we take a break. We come back with Romero hitting some running clotheslines before grabbing a one armed camel clutch. Mistico is back up and snaps off a headscissors before running the corner for an armdrag to the floor.

They slug it out on the apron until Romero snaps off a suplex to take over. The suicide dive sends Mistico sprawling up the ramp and a superplex brings him back inside for two. The two arm camel clutch goes on but Mistico slips out, earning himself a stomp to the back. Sliced Bread gives Romero the pin to tie it up at 9:52 total.

We take another break and come back again with Mistico kicking him to the floor, setting up a big dive off the top. Back in and a springboard spinning crossbody gives Mistico two. A moonsault hits Romero’s raised boots but Mistico snaps off a powerslam for two. Romero is placed on top but he comes back with a super Sliced Bread for a rather near fall. Romero goes up top again, only to get pulled down with a super Spanish Fly for two more. One heck of a running Canadian Destroyer plants Romero and La Mistica makes Romero tap for the win at 18:35.

Rating: B. It was a good match and it did feel special, as commentary was making Mistico seem like one of the biggest stars around. His high flying did look good and at times he came off like a superhero, which seems like something they’re shooting for. On the other hand you have Romero, who can wrestle a good match with anyone and its into these spots when he’s working in the right spot, which was the case here.

We get a face to face talk between Jay Lethal and Eddie Kingston. Lethal pitches his case for a Ring Of Honor World Title shot but Kingston doesn’t say anything. Jeff Jarrett calls him the Bronx B**** but ROH boss Stokely Hathaway (oh yeah that’s a thing) makes Jarrett vs. Kingston. If Jarrett wins, Lethal gets a title match. Works for Kingston, who gets in Jarrrett’s face and talks about how much he knows about Memphis wrestling. He’ll eat Jarrett alive.

John Silver vs. Kip Sabian vs. Brother Zay

For an International Title shot at Battle Of The Belts and there are a bunch of people at ringside. Silver gets knocked outside to start leaving Sabian to get armdragged by Zay. Some right hands in the corner are broken up by Silver, who gets caught by Zay’s dropkick. Zay dives onto Silver but Sabian breaks up another one with a kick to the head. We take a break and come back with Zay firing off some kicks, setting up an Asai moonsault onto Silver.

A springboard flipping Stunner gives Zay two on Sabian but a Twist of Fate is broken up. Silver German suplexes Sabian for two but misses a charge and falls outside. That lets Sabian hit an Arabian moonsault but the seconds get in a fight, allowing Zay to hit a springboard dive. Back in and Zay hits a Swanton on Sabian, only to have Silver kick Zay in the face for the pin at 8:08.

Rating: B-. Good match here with Silver getting the kind of surprising win. It’s a bit hard to imagine Silver being a serious challenger to a singles title but he’s the best choice of these three. They kept the action going here though and it was another entertaining match, thankfully with the seconds not doing much to screw things up.

Video on Mike Santana vs. Ortiz, which will take place next week.

Wheeler Yuta/Claudio Castagnoli vs. Exodus Prime/Bryan Keith

Keith knocks Yuta into the corner to start and unloads with forearms. Yuta isn’t having that and snaps off a German suplex, meaning it’s Castagnoli coming in to clean house. Prime gets gorilla press dropped before Castagnoli goes outside for a running uppercut to Keith. The Swing into the dropkick sets up the Fastball Special to finish Prime at 1:44. Nearly a squash here, though Keith continues to feel like trying more than most people.

The former Jericho Appreciation Society argues again, with Jake Hager storming off. Anna Jay tells them to get it together because they can win the Trios Titles.

The Young Bucks and Hangman Page say they’re the Ring Of Honor Trios Titles (not Six Man, despite the words that can be seen on the belts) and issue an open challenge for Dynamite.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows, including a “dream match” between Andrade El Idolo vs. Bryan Danielson on Collision.

Video on Skye Blue vs. Ruby Soho.

Skye Blue vs. Ruby Soho

Saraya is here with Soho, who takes her into the corner for some chops. Blue gets annoyed and tells her to keep chopping before firing off her own chops. Soho sweeps the leg to put her down and then hits a standing clothesline. Back up and Blue kicks her into the corner, only to charge into an elbow. They fight to the apron where Blue faceplants her down. A knee to Saraya distracts Blue enough for Soho to hit a kick from the apron though and we take a break.

Back with a double clothesline putting them both down, setting up the exchange of forearms. Blue is back up with some running clotheslines and a running knee against the ropes has Soho in more trouble. A kick to the head and a swinging neckbreaker give Blue two each but Saraya grabs the leg for a distraction. Blue has to deal with Saraya and walks into No Future for two. Another No Future is blocked but Saraya hits her with the spray paint can, allowing Soho to get a rollup pin at 10:03.

Rating: C. This wasn’t much to see as Blue’s matches are only so good in the first place and then it didn’t get much better. The ending here was lame as it was just a can to the head rather than a spray. It’s also hard to imagine Soho actually getting anywhere after another win as she never seems to get to the next level, but at least she didn’t lose here.

Post match the beatdown is on but Kris Statlander makes the save but Blue doesn’t want the help to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This started good but then went down in pretty quick fashion. There is only so much you can get out of a bunch of matches that don’t seem to have much to do with major storylines at the moment. Silver getting an International Title shot is the biggest story going here, though the Mistico vs. Romero match was quite good. Check out the first two matches, but then move on to some Munsters or Welcome Back Kotter.

Results
Mistico b. Rocky Romero 2-1
John Silver b. Kip Sabian and Brother Zay – Kick to Zay
Wheeler Yuta/Claudio Castagnoli b. Exodus Prime/Bryan Keith – Fastball Special to Prime
Ruby Soho b. Skye Blue – Rollup

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.

Collision
Date: October 14, 2023
Location: Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

Dynamite was a big deal this week and now we get to see what they have planned as a follow up. That could mean a wide range of things as Collision has been a bit all over the place in its short history but things tend to lean positive. The card does look good tonight, including Christian Cage defending the TNT Title against Bryan Danielson, so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Adam Copeland to get things going. Copeland talks about how it’s wet and rainy outside but we can get it hot in here. This week on Dynamite, Christian Cage said some nutty things and Cage must believe them. Cue Cage, with Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne, to interrupt, though he hides behind security. Cage says the security is here for Copeland’s protection and tells him to get out so Cage can get ready for his main event. He also mentions that the Blackpool Combat Club has been removed from the building so his match with Bryan Danielson can be even.

Cue Danielson to say he wants a fair fight too, so Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne are banned from ringside too! Cue Ricky Starks and Big Bill, with the former mocking everyone in the ring for being old. Starks hasn’t forgotten about Danielson but Copeland mocks him for his silk pants.

Copeland calls Starks a vanilla midget version of the Rock and says talk to Danielson. Starks: “That really set me over the edge.” Copeland: “Aw dude.” Cue FTR to say they’re coming for the titles and the champs’ necks. Harwood likes the idea of fighting so Danielson tells Cage we should do it right now. The fight is on with the good guys clearing the ring and beating up security.

MJF was at an event about rejecting antisemitism. Nothing wrong with that.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Willie Mack

Joe is defending and backs him up against the ropes to start. Mack gets knocked into the corner and pounded down with right hands. Back up and Mack scores with a running kick to the face to send Joe outside, setting up the big slingshot dive. We take a break and come back with Mack hitting a Cannonball for two but Joe powerslams him down for the same. Joe cuts him off though and hits the MuscleBuster to retain at 9:17.

Rating: B-. There is something to be said about two big guys beating each other up and that’s more or less what we got here. Mack wasn’t likely to take the title from Joe here as that title reign seems destined to set the all time record, but I can go with this as a one off. Just maybe have Joe on the ROH show once or twice?

CJ Perry is here to help people and make stars so if you need guidance, come find the woman who makes made men. Action Andretti comes in to say he could benefit from her talents. She doesn’t say no and is waiting on a call.

Danhausen is back soon.

Juice Robinson vs. Christopher Daniels

The rest of Bullet Club Gold is here with Robinson, who gets chased to the floor to start and thinks Daniels needs to calm down. Back in and Daniels takes him down by the arm for some cranking, meaning Robinson wants the referee to “yell at him for cheating”. Daniels is sent outside for a beating from the Club and we take a break. Back with Robinson hitting a backsplash for two but Daniels grabs an STO. A Death Valley Driver gives Daniels two but the Club offers a distraction. Robinson hits the left hand into a Cannonball and hits the forward DDT for the pin at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Completely fine match, which is more or less a guarantee for Daniels at this point in his career. Robinson gets a win over someone with some status and that’s a good way to use someone like Daniels. At the same time, Robinson is one of the most entertaining people on the roster as he has that charisma to make you look at him and it was on full display here.

Post match Jay White gives Robinson a ring to knock Daniels out. Robinson says anyone can wear a ring and he bought his for $25. He’s been knocking people out for years and now he’s got a ring! White promises to take the ring and then the title from MJF.

Dustin Rhodes is back to win the ring and then the World Title.

Nick Wayne and his mom will have a sitdown interview on Dynamite. Wayne isn’t happy.

Kyle Fletcher vs. Boulder

Boulder stomps around a lot and Fletcher isn’t sure what to do with him. A running shoulder bounces off of Boulder but Fletcher manages to send him outside. There’s the big dive but Boulder knocks him back inside. Boulder goes up but gets powerbombed down, setting up a dragon sleeper to give Fletcher the win at 2:46.

Billy Gunn and Anthony Bowens talk to Max Caster about his aggressive relationship with MJF. They try to get him to be nicer when talking to Renee Paquette, so he asks about Oral Sessions. Renee: “You’re an idiot!” The former Jericho Appreciation Society comes in and gets a Trios Title shot.

TBS Title: Skye Blue vs. Kris Statlander

Statlander is defending. Feeling out process to start with neither getting very far until Blue hits her in the face. Statlander isn’t pleased so she slams Blue down but she’s back up with a running hurricanrana. We take a break and come back with Blue hitting a jawbreaker and kicking her in the head.

Statlander misses a clothesline and gets caught with a tornado DDT for two. One heck of a powerbomb out of the corner looks to set up a high crossbody but Statlander pulls her out of the air. A powerslam plants Blue and they’re both down for a bit. Blue gets two off a sunset flip and she superkicks Statlander but she’s right back with Saturday Night Fever for the pin at 9:10.

Rating: B. That might be high but I was expecting very little here and they got things rolling in the last few minutes. It was probably Blue’s best match ever as Statlander has turned into a star in the division. She’s having one good match after another and this time it felt like she elevated Blue to a level she’s never had in her before.

Post match Statlander goes to help her up but Willow Nightingale breaks it up. That was kind of weird.

Kyle Fletcher calls out Kenny Omega.

Rush and La Faccion Ingobernable are back and promise violence.

Keith Lee vs. Turbo Floyd

Floyd kicks him in the ribs to start and gets Pounced to start. The Spirit Bomb finishes Floyd at 1:11.

Miro talks about how CJ Perry will be surrounded by everything she loves but he’s going to kill it off in advance. Then he wrecks Action Andretti.

Video on Rocky Romero vs. Mistico next week on Rampage.

TNT Title: Christian Cage vs. Bryan Danielson

Cage is defending. Feeling out process to start with Danielson taking him down without much effort. Back up and Cage grabs a headlock but Danielson knocks him outside and we take a break. We come back with Danielson putting on a surfboard but Cage slips out and they go to the floor. Danielson strikes him against the barricade and we hit a bow and arrow back inside.

With that broken up, Danielson goes up for the headbutt but bangs up his arm instead. Cage starts cranking away but Danielson manages to get him to the apron and tries a German suplex. Back in and a hammerlock slam has Danielson’s arm in more trouble as we take a break.

We come back again with Cage sending him to the floor, where the arm goes into the announcers’ table. Cage takes him up top but Danielson knocks him down and hits the Swan Dive. Some headbutts have busted Cage open and there’s the running clothesline. Danielson knocks him outside for the suicide dive but the arm gets banged up again. Back in and Cage scores with a frog splash for two but his spear is cut off.

Danielson’s big kick to the head gets two and stomps away but Cage hits the spear. The Killswitch gets two, only for Cage to miss a charge into the corner. The running knee gives Danielson two and the LeBell Lock goes on, but Danielson’s bar arm means he can’t get the full thing. Cue Big Bill for a distraction and Ricky Starks comes in with a belt shot to knock Danielson silly, allowing Cage to retain at 25:11.

Rating: B+. Yeah of course it was awesome as Danielson can have a good match against a broken broom and Cage has shown he can hang with anyone, especially in longer matches. I wasn’t wild on the ending, but man alive were they doing some great stuff before then. I wasn’t sure who was leaving with the title here and that’s a pretty sure sign that they’re doing something right.

Post match the beatdown is on so here is FTR for the save, only to get beaten down as well. Adam Copeland makes the real save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Danielson and Cage stole the night here and Blue s. Statlander was almost shockingly good. That being said, the rest of the show felt like a lot of filler, as I could have gone without Fletcher or another long Bullet Club Gold promo or the ROH TV Title match. As usual, the wrestling isn’t the problem and it fixes a lot of the issues, but there is just so much AEW content these days and it’s starting to get exhausting. Another good show tonight with Danielson and Cage being awesome, but they can only rely on one great match saving the show for so long.

Results
Samoa Joe b. Willie Mack – MuscleBuster
Juice Robinson b. Christopher Daniels – Forward DDT
Kyle Fletcher b. Boulder – Dragon sleeper
Kris Statlander b. Skye Blue – Saturday Night Fever
Keith Lee b. Turbo Floyd – Spirit Bomb
Christian Cage b. Bryan Danielson – Belt shot

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

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

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

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

Post match the winners argue over Garcia’s dancing.

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

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

Jay Lethal vs. Trent Beretta

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

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

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

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

Emi Sakura vs. Skye Blue

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

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

We look back at Dynamite.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

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

Gates of Agony vs. Blackpool Combat Club

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Ring Of Honor
Date: October 12, 2023
Location: Maverik Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

This show continues to be searching for a purpose as there is very little going on around here. Maybe they can find something this week, but the easiest way to do it would have something feel like it matters. Outside of the Women’s Title, almost none of the champions are around here and it makes the show feel that much less important. Hopefully that changes this week so let’s get to it.

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

Serpentico is ready to survive ten minutes against Eddie Kingston because that’s all you have to do in a Proving Ground match.

Opening sequence.

Eddie Kingston vs. Serpentico

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Serpentico wins or survives the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Kingston lets him fire off some chops to start but Serpentico grabs a jumping Downward Spiral. That’s too far for Kingston, who grabs a belly to back suplex for two. The Stretch Plum makes Serpentico tap at 2:50. Well at least the champ was here.

Post match Angelico comes in to check on Serpentico but Eddie tells him to move so he can shake Serpentico’s hand. Somehow this makes Eddie think Angelico wants a title shot so….yeah sure Angelico is in.

Gates Of Agony vs. Fresco/Watson

Prince Nana is here with the Gates and the other two are part of Lights, Camera, Faction. The Gates beat up Fresco to start and pull Watson in as well. Kaun blasts Fresco with a clothesline and the Gates knock them outside. Back in and the Gates beat up the rest of Lights, Camera, Faction, setting up the double standing clothesline to finish Fresco at 2:32.

Daga is ready to win the Latin American Title back.

Athena vs. Mazzerati

Another non-title Proving Ground match and Billie Starkz is in Athena’s corner. Mazzerati takes her down with a rollup for two as commentary explains the Proving Ground rules for the second time in less than fifteen minutes. Athena takes her into the corner for a running knee and grabs a release gordbuster.

They head outside where Mazzerati’s hurricanrana is countered into a heck of a powerbomb, leaving the referee to check on her. Back in and Athena unloads with hard shots to the face but Mazzerati cuts off a charge with a kick to the ribs. Athena ties her in the Tree of Woe and fires off some kicks, only to have Mazzerati strike away. She makes the mistake of turning her back on Athena though and gets choked out at 5:15.

Rating: C+. Mazzerati looked impressive here, which is about all you can hope to get out of a Proving Ground match. It’s not like you’re going to see the champ lose in something like this so this was as good as it was going to get. Athena continues to be the star of the show though and it’s nice to see her around, as it’s not like much else gets to stand out.

Post match Athena loads up the post match beating but Starkz steals Mazzerati and hides her underneath the ring.

Lee Johnson is cut off by a Shane Taylor Promotions recruitment pitch.

AAA Latin American Title: QT Marshall vs. Daga

Daga is challenging and gets trash talked by Marshall to start, though Marshall doesn’t get that fans are swearing at him in Spanish. Daga knocks him down to start but they head outside where Marshall fires off some chops. Marshall hits a dropkick and yells a lot but Daga is right back with a brainbuster. A running Backstabber gives Daga two but Marshall’s tornado DDT gets the same. Daga kicks him in the leg though and muscles Marshall up for a gutwrench powerbomb. That’s enough for Daga to go up, only to dive into a cutter. The Dirt Sheet Driver and la majistral retain the title at 7:11.

Rating: C+. It’s a shame that Marshall has such a lame reputation because he’s downright pretty good in this role. He’s always been good as a middle of the road heel and if he hadn’t been wedged into the wrong spots so many times, it could have worked. The match here was a pretty nice back and forth showcase, though Daga has always been just kind of there for me.

Video on Dalton Castle, who is losing his mind under the pressure of making the fans happy.

The Infantry vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Moriarty headlocks Bravo down to start and grabs a hammerlock to hold him in place. Back up and Bravo hands it off to Dean for a double hiptoss into a double fist drop. Taylor comes in for the hard clotheslines to Dean as commentary brags about Taylor’s high level of awesome. Dean’s comeback is cut off by a release Rock Bottom and a splash for two. Moriarty misses a charge in the corner though and it’s back to Bravo to clean house. A rolling Downward Spiral gets two on Moriarty but Taylor breaks up Boot Camp. Taylor is back in with a release Rock Bottom to Bravo and the big right hand finishes for Taylor at 6:31.

Rating: C+. Another good enough match here as the Infantry kept the speed up but eventually got caught by Taylor’s pure power. Taylor is getting a rather strong push as of late and it’s cool to see him being treated as a monster. Moriarty did well too, as he makes a good contrast to Taylor’s size and strength.

Billie Starkz is ready for her match but didn’t think much of Lexi Nair saying she sucked at Minion Training. Diamante and Mercedes Martinez come in to mock Starkz.

Angelico vs. Martin Casaus

Casaus was Marty The Moth in Lucha Underground and gets quite the welcome. Angelico starts with some hip thrusting before punching him in the face. Casaus laughs a bit and gets dropped with a right hand to the head. Some face first rams into the buckle seem to please Casaus and he comes back with a hard elbow for two. The clothesline comeback gets Angelico out of trouble and a twisting leglock makes Casaus tap at 4:30.

Rating: C. Given that Angelico is somehow the new #1 contender for the World Title, it makes sense that he needs a win or two to build him up. That leglock looked good and as usual, the dancing was entertaining, but he might need something beyond that. Casaus popped the crowd and that’s more than you usually get from the guest stars on this show.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Lady Frost

Diamante is here with Martinez. Frost gets hit in the face a few times but comes back with some knees to the stomach. Martinez knocks her straight down and into the corner though, with some hard right hands keeping Frost in trouble. Ian thinks a shot to the eye might have been accidental and Caprice has to mock him for that. A butterfly suplex gives Martinez two but Frost kicks her in the face. Frost’s running kick in the corner sets up a twisting Vader Bomb for two more. Frostbite takes too long though and Martinez grabs a Razor’s Edge Dominator for the pin at 5:29.

Rating: C. Believe it or not, Martinez gets to look dominant again while not really moving up the ladder in the slightest. That’s just kind of what she does around here and while she’s good at what she does, it’s kind of hard to get interested in seeing the same running on a treadmill situation that she’s been in for months. See also Frost, who is talented enough to do something or be build up as a nice opponent for Athena but gets beaten like this over and over.

Mark Sterling offers Josh Woods Pat Buck as a coach, but Woods isn’t interested. They’ll have a match next week instead. It’ll even be a Pure Rules match for once!

Leyla Hirsch vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale blocks a drop toehold to start and grabs a hiptoss to put Hirsch down. Hirsch is able to pull her out of the corner for a crash into the turnbuckle though and it’s time to work on Nightingale’s arm. A Rock Bottom is countered into a basement dropkick from Hirsch and she grabs a Kimura. Nightingale reverses into a suplex and a spinebuster gets two. Back up and Hirsch snaps off a German suplex into a clothesline for two of her own. A release Rock Bottom puts Hirsch back down and the Pounce does it even worse. The Babe With The Powerbomb finishes for Nightingale at 6:54.

Rating: C+. Speaking of people on the treadmill, I give you Nightingale, who feels like she has been in the same spot for months now. Commentary mentioned the Owen Hart Tournament here and that feels like it was a lifetime ago. The fans go nuts for her, she’s good in the ring and feels different enough to stand out. Why not, I don’t know, do something with that???

Post match Leyla jumps Nightingale but Skye Blue runs in for the save.

Gringo Loco vs. Action Andretti

They go to the mat to start with Andretti getting a rollup for two and grabbing an armbar. With that broken up, they shake hands, only to have Loco hit him in the face. A seated arm/leg crank has Andretti in trouble before a hard suplex gives Loco two. Andretti is back up with a pop up dropkick to send him outside, where an Asai moonsault connects again. Back in and a Spanish Fly gives Andretti two but Loco nails a springboard cutter for two. It takes too long for Loco to go up though and he gets caught with a super hurricanrana. Andretti moonsaults him for the pin at 7:16.

Rating: C+. These two doing well isn’t a surprise but it’s another case of two people with talent who aren’t likely to do anything important in the near future having a match. It’s not a bad match by any means and the high flying was good, but it would be nice if these matches felt like they meant anything. Figure that out and this show gets so much better.

Eddie Kingston wants better competition and is happy to face Christopher Daniels. They’ll show respect afterwards, but he wants a win to show Eddie Kingston what he’s about.

Billie Starkz vs. Rachelle Riveter

They wrestle around to start with Starkz getting the better of things. A lifting double underhook facebuster sets up a Bank Statement to finish Riveter at 1:13.

Post match Diamante and Mercedes Martinez run in to beat down Athena and Starkz.

Kip Sabian vs. Anthony Henry

Penelope Ford and JD Drake are both here too. They fight over a test of strength to start until Henry tries a failed cross armbreaker attempt. Sabian sends him outside for an Arabian moonsault, which only hits Drake. Back in and Sabian scores with a reverse Cannonball in the corner, followed by a chop off for some skin slapping. A running kick to the chest puts Sabian down and Henry’s Michinoku Driver gets two. Sabian is right back with Deathly Hallows for the pin at 6:30.

Rating: C. If there is a better example of a match that felt like it was there to extend the show, I’ve yet to see it. There was no reason to have this match on here as the action wasn’t exactly great and it was Sabian, who doesn’t really mean anything beating half of a tag team. This is how you make a show longer for the sake of making it feel longer and that’s not a good thing.

Griff Garrison agrees that he hasn’t been pulling his weight in the team with Cole Karter but Maria Kanellis-Bennett tells them to figure it out. With Maria gone, Karter praises her skills and looks, with Garrison agreeing to work harder.

Christopher Daniels vs. Ethan Page

Page grabs a headlock to start but Daniels reverses into one of his own. A slam puts Daniels down but he drops Page and steps over his chest. Daniels whips him into the corner and grabs a waistlock, followed by the abdominal stretch. With that broken up, Daniels hits the STO but it’s too early for the BME. Page boots him in the face and slugs away, setting up a powerslam for two. Daniels low bridges him to the apron but has to block the springboard cutter. Angel’s Wings is countered as well and it’s the Ego’s Edge to finish Daniels at 7:18.

Rating: C+. As has been the case in recent weeks, Page looks good and now he gets his “I Beat Christopher Daniels” merit badge. That is only going to get him so far but it does seem like he is ready to move up the ladder a bit. I’ll believe it when I see it, but at least Page seems to have some kind of a story around here.

Post match Mark Sterling and Tony Nese come out, with the former offering Page a spot on the team. Page says no and, after some bickering, gets a match with Nese next week instead. With Sterling and Nese gone, Page shows respect to Daniels.

Scorpio Sky vs. Darius Martin

Commentary says they’re both on “absolute tears”. If Sky’s two straight wins and Martin’s four wins (two in tag matches) constitute tears, sure they are. Sky rolls out of a wristlock to start before some headlocks and headscissor counters don’t go anywhere. Martin armdrags him into an armbar but Sky slips out and kicks him in the ribs. Sky grabs the neck crank but Martin fights his way up and strikes away. A running bulldog sends Sky throat first into the middle rope but Sky’s Sky High gets two. The TKO finishes Martin at 6:10.

Rating: C+. Why was this the main event? The wrestling was fine, the wrestlers are both talented and they had a completely fine match. That being said, there was no build to this, there was no hype to this and it was just two people having a match. The show was just meandering along and then after one random match, it just ends. That’s not good structure, and having it be another perfectly fine match doesn’t help things.

Overall Rating: C+. That’s Ring Of Honor for the week and again, it’s just the same stuff we always see: a bunch of good enough matches with so many people who don’t feel like they’re going anywhere. We might hear some lip service about them moving up the card, but with Eddie Kingston making his first appearance and beating up Serpentico before moving on to Angelico, why should I buy any of these other people being elevated? The wrestling isn’t the problem around here, but if they don’t fix the way they set this show up, it’s going to get even less interesting and important, if that is somehow possible.

Results
Eddie Kingston b. Serpentico – Stretch Plum
Gates Of Agony b. Fresco/Watson – Double standing clothesline to Fresco
Athena b. Mazzerati – Choke
QT Marshall b. Daga – La majistral
Shane Taylor Promotions b. The Infantry – Right hand to Bravo
Angelico b. Martin Casaus – Twisting leglock
Mercedes Martinez b. Lady Frost – Razor’s Edge Dominator
Willow Nightingale b. Leyla Hirsch – Babe With The Powerbomb
Action Andretti b. Gringo Loco – Moonsault
Billie Starkz b. Rachelle Riveter – Bank Statement
Kip Sabian b. Anthony Henry – Deathly Hallows
Ethan Page b. Christopher Daniels – Ego’s Edge
Scorpio Sky b. Darius Martin – TKO

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.

Ring Of Honor
Date: October 5, 2023
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

The era of searching for the new champions continues and that could make for quite the different show. In the last six or so weeks, Ring Of Honor has crowned new World, Tag Team and Six Man Tag Team Champions, but none have appeared during their new reigns. It would be nice to have that change, but that might imply this show matters in the grand scheme of things. In other words: Save us again Athena. Let’s get to it.

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

We get a clip from after WrestleDream of Eddie Kingston talking about how much he loves the Japanese style. Now he wants to deal with future challengers and have Snickers pie. This aired on Youtube the night of WrestleDream.

Opening sequence.

Women’s Title: Leyla Hirsch vs. Athena

Athena is defending and has Billie Starkz in her corner. Hirsch sends her into the corner for a slingshot dropkick out to the floor. Athena dives over a charge and hits a dropkick before dropping Hirsch off the steps. Back in and Athena stomps away but Hirsch manages a quick choke. With that broken up, Athena kicks away but stops to dance, allowing Starkz to grab a rollup for two.

Athena isn’t having that and drops her with a single shot, setting up a surfboard. Hirsch manages a quick suplex into a hard clotheslines for two more. That’s broken up with a Regal Roll but the O Face is countered into a triangle choke. Athena breaks out and they slug it with Hirsch getting the better of things.

A cross armbreaker has Athena in more trouble but she slips out and unloads with right hands. Hirsch catches her up top though and cartwheels into a German suplex for the big crash and another near fall. Athena has had it with this though and grabs the Despicable Knee to retain at 12:23.

Rating: B. This was the big match feel that has been missing from Athena’s matches as Hirsch gave her a run for her money. While it still seems likely that Starkz will be the one to take the title from Athena, Starkz at least gave her a sweat here and that’s better than you will get in a lot of Athena’s title matches these days. Good stuff here and it felt like a main event level match.

Post match Athena loads up the post match attack but Starkz convinces her to calm down. Maria Kanellis Bennett comes out to shake her head at Hirsch.

Christopher Daniels and Rocky Romero are ready to fight, though they respect each other.

Josh Woods vs. Tyler Payne

Mark Sterling is here with Woods, who grabs a snapmare but stops before kicking Payne in the back. Payne flips over him out of the corner but now Woods hits the shots to the back. The Tilt-A-Woods finishes Payne fast, as commentary says that this non-Pure Rules match should get Woods closer to a Pure Rules Title shot. Sure.

Rocky Romero vs. Christopher Daniels

Daniels works on a headlock to start and then runs Romero over with a shoulder. Back up and Romero snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor, setting up the big dive to drop Daniels again. Daniels is fine enough to drive him into the corner back inside, followed by a suplex for two.

The chinlock doesn’t do much good for Daniels as Romero is back up with a springboard tornado DDT. A middle rope double stomp gives Romero two but Daniels crotches him on top. Angel’s Wings is countered and a kick to the face sets up the running Sliced Bread to finish Daniels at 8:07.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of a match that you knew was going to be good based on who was involved. Daniels and Romero could have a fine match with each other in their sleep and they did more than well enough here. The match might not have meant anything and Daniels continues to lose, but there are far worse ways to use show time.

Dalton Castle is panicking over the pressure from the fans and his heart is beating rather fast. He knows he makes the ratings spike so he wants to give the people what they want. Lexi Nair: “I don’t know what that was.”

Scorpio Sky vs. Fred Rosser

Rosser is better known as Darren Young (though he’s gotten a lot better since then). They fight over wrist control to start until Sky pulls him down into a headlock. Back up and a backbreaker gives Rosser a breather, setting up some hip smashes in the corner. The cravate holds Sky down but he’s right back up with a Sky High. The TKO is blocked though and Rosser drops him back first onto the apron for two. Sky shrugs it off and grabs the TKO for the pin at 5:57.

Rating: B-. Another good match in a series tonight as Rosser is someone who can work well with anyone. I’m not sure why he hasn’t gotten a shot on a bigger stage but he has built up a bit of a reputation in recent years. Sky is the same, as he is able to have a solid match with any opponent and that was the case again here. Go with more of these two, but maybe, with something important perhaps?

Lady Frost/Renegades vs. Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue/Kiera Hogan

Nightingale blocks Frost’s whip to start and hits the basement crossbody. Hogan and Blue come in for a double basement superkick but Blue gets taken into the wrong corner. A double suplex gives Robyn two and it’s back to Frost for a release fisherman’s suplex. Blue gets stomped down but rolls away from a double suplex. The hot tag brings in Hogan to clean house but Charlette cuts her off with a Samoan driver. Everything breaks down and Frost hits Blue with an Air Raid Crash. The Renegades are sent into each other and Nightingale gives Robyn the Babe With The Powerbomb for the pin at 5:54.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving and it made for an entertaining match. Nightingale continues to be as charismatic as any woman in AEW/ROH today and the Renegades are still smooth in the ring. Blue is treated like something of a star and Frost is a good hand, with Hogan having the fire to keep the energy up. Fun match here, even if there is no reason to believe any of them are going anywhere.

The Infantry and Trish Adora are ready for their matches tonight.

Ethan Page vs. Invictus Khash

Page grinds away on a headlock to start but gets his hair pulled. That earns Khash a series of right hands but he knocks Page out of the corner. Page gets rocked with a discus forearm, though he’s fine enough to send Khash outside. A shoulder off the apron sets up the slingshot cutter to give Page the pin at 2:59.

Mark Sterling and Tony Nese are ready for Satoshi Kojima, who likes bread. Carbs are the enemy you know.

TMDK vs. The Infantry

Bravo hugs Haste to start and they run around with neither being able to get anywhere. A double hiptoss into a double fist drop gets two on Haste but Nicholls trips Dean from the floor. The villains take over on Dean in the corner but he slips out of a belly to back suplex and kicks his way over to Bravo. House is quickly cleaned and a spinning faceplant gets two. Bravo goes up top but gets caught in a powerbomb/superplex combination for two. Everything breaks down and a diving DDT/Big Ending combination finishes Bravo at 7:36.

Rating: C+. TMDK is a good team who are the week’s guest stars, but it doesn’t help that they’ve already had their Trios Titles match and lost, making them a bit less interesting. Beating the Infantry doesn’t mean much around here, though they did put up a good fight. The main appeal was having a New Japan team here and while talented, they were another match on an already long show.

Ethan Page wants competition and if that happens to be Eddie Kingston, cool.

Tony Nese vs. Satoshi Kojima

Nese, crowd insults, group therapy, opponent interrupts. This time things go a bit further though, as Kojima loves bread, which Nese hates because of the carbs. Nese bounds off of Kojima to start and Kojima pops his pecs a bit. Mark Sterling trips Kojima down though and Nese sends him outside, where Sterling can get in a cheap shot.

Back in and Nese ties him in the Tree of Woe for the crunch kicks to the ribs. The bodyscissors stays on Kojima’s ribs but he fights up and hits the rapid fire chops in the corner. The top rope elbow gives Kojima two but Nese is right back with the neck snap across the top. Nese’s springboard moonsault gets two, only to have Kojima come back with a Koji Cutter. The lariat finishes Nese at 7:21.

Rating: C. This was another match featuring a guest star and while it’s cool to see Kojima here, there is only so much to be gotten out of having him beat up Nese. It’s the same match and series of crowd insults that we’ve seen for months and it’s not exactly fascinating in the first place. At least they had something with the Bread Club stuff but there wasn’t much else here.

Athena is NOT impressed with Billie Starkz’s minioning so more training is needed. Lexi Nair doesn’t like it either. As a result, Starkz has to go to Tony Khan’s office, shout “My name is Willow Nightingale and I’m a big loser!” and leave. As usual, these things are great.

Trish Adora vs. Billie Starkz

Athena is here with Starkz, who is knocked outside and gets some Athena yelling. Back in and Starkz drives her into the buckle over and over but Adora kicks her in the face over and over. Adora hits some hip attacks in the corner, until Starks comes back with a hard forearm. The Swanton hits raised knees but Starkz shrugs it off and grabs a lifting Pedigree. A Bank Statement finishes Adora at 4:05.

Rating: C. This would be your third Starkz segment of the night and while they’re still the best thing on the show, they might want to spread her stuff out a bit. Adora continues her fall down the ladder and I’m not sure how much further she can fall. The match didn’t have time to go very far but it could have been worse.

Lee Johnson vs. Darius Martin

Commentary starts talking about the pandemic shots as the guys go technical to start and trade some legsweeps for two each. Martin slips out of a hiptoss and knocks him down but Johnson manages a shove into the corner. A belly to back suplex gives Johnson two and we hit the chinlock. Martin suplexes his way to freedom and a springboard faceplant gets two on Johnson. Johnson’s Blue Thunder Bomb gets the same but Martin grabs a suplex. The frog slash finishes Johnson at 6:47.

Rating: C. The action was fine, the wrestlers are both talented and they had a completely watchable match. The problem here is it’s the tenth match an hour and forty minutes into a show and they came in ice cold. It’s kind of hard to get into a match between two people who are going nowhere when the show has already run long as it is and it really hurt things here. Not a bad match at all, but it was stuck in a horrible spot.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Cole Karter/Griff Garrison vs. Iron Savages vs. Workhorsemen

One fall to a finish. Henry and Moriarty start things off and technical to a standoff. Bronson comes in and is taken into the corner so Drake can slingshot in with a hilo. A forearm into a DDT gets two on Garrison as the rapid fire tags continue. It’s off to Taylor to headbutt Henry and a splash gets two. Drake comes back in and beats up Karter as everything breaks down. The Savages clean house and consume some Savage Sauce, which Maria Kanellis-Bennett steals. Taylor uses the distraction to blast Karter with a right hand for the pin at 7:35.

Rating: C+. This was one of those matches where there were so many people flying around that it was difficult to keep track of everything that was going on. Taylor getting the pin continues his rise back to the higher levels of Ring Of Honor and that is a good thing for a lot of people. Other than that, Karter and Garrison continue to be a waste of Maria and I do not get why whatsoever.

Komander/Gravity/Metalik vs. Spanish Announce Project/Gringo Loco

Loco and Metalik start things off with Metalik kicking him in the head and snapping off a rope walk hurricanrana. Loco flips out of a headscissors though and it’s off to Komander vs. Angelico. It’s quickly off to Gravity, who gets flapjacked into a splash on Angelico before snapping off a hurricanrana of his own.

Everything breaks down and a triple basement dropkick hits Gravity. Loco hits a powerbomb for two and Komander gets beaten down in the corner. Komander is fine enough to use Loco as a launchpad for a hurricanrana and it’s back to Metalik. Loco super Spanish Flies Komander and hits a dive onto the floor. Back in and Komander hits a springboard spinning Canadian Destroyer to drop Loco, followed by the rope walk shooting star press for the pin at 8:47.

Rating: B-. As has been the case for years, there is something to be said about taking a bunch of luchadors and letting them go nuts for a little while with the flips and the dive. It continues to work here, with everyone getting to do at least a little something. It could have been better served earlier in the show, but this kind of thing is always fun and it worked great here.

Overall Rating: C. Let me get this out of the way first: the wrestling here was absolutely not the problem. Everything was perfectly watchable at worst with some good matches sprinkled throughout. Match wise, nothing on here was even close to bad and all of the action was fine…but there is a lot more to a wrestling show than that.

I didn’t think it was possible, but they have somehow made this show feel even less important. Save for a pre-taped interview which had aired on AEW’s Youtube page four days earlier, there was no appearance from any champion here outside of Athena. That leaves you with a bunch of people fighting for possible title shots down the line, even though title shots tend to go to guest stars or AEW wrestlers with nothing else to do. On top of that though, despite having almost nothing of note to a lot of these matches, the show has somehow gotten EVEN LONGER, clocking in at 2:06 this week.

I’m not sure what the point is for having the show go this long, but it’s like they’re trying to make it feel less important. Throw in a lot of the ROH champions not even having their belts this week on Dynamite and it feels like ROH is getting the spotlight shifted away from the little space that it has. But then the show goes longer while filling it with less important stuff. As usual, this show is a mess, and it has nothing to do with the wrestling.

Results
Athena b. Leyla Hirsch – Despicable Knee
Josh Woods b. Tyler Payne – Tilt-A-Woods
Rocky Romero b. Christopher Daniels – Running Sliced Bread
Scorpio Sky b. Fred Rosser – TKO
Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue/Kiera Hogan b. Lady Frost/Renegades – Babe With The Powerbomb to Robyn
Ethan Page b. Invictus Khash – Slingshot cutter
TMNK b. The Infantry – Middle rope DDT/Big Ending to Bravo
Satoshi Kojima b. Tony Nese – Lariat
Billie Starkz b Trish Adora – Bank Statement
Shane Taylor Promotions b. Iron Savages, Griff Garrison/Cole Karter and Workhorsemen – Right hand to Karter
Komander/Gravity/Metalik b. Gringo Loco/Spanish Announce Project – Rope walk shooting star press to Loco

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: October 4, 2023
Location: Stockton Arena, Stockton, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We’re done with WrestleDream and more importantly, it’s the fourth anniversary of Dynamite. The card is fairly stacked as a result with the International Title on the line, plus Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho acing the Don Callis Family. Oh and Adam Copeland is here as well. Let’s get to it.

Here is WrestleDream if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho are ready to fight the Don Callis Family when Adam Copeland shows up. Adam is glad to be here and shakes hands with Jericho. Omega introduces himself, saying Adam had him on the edge of his seat at WrestleDream. They shake hands and Omega is looking forward to what Adam brings to AEW and everything seems cool.

International Title: Rey Fenix vs. Nick Jackson

Fenix is defending and Alex Abrahantes, Penta El Zero Miedo and Matt Jackson are here too. A running shoulder doesn’t do much for Fenix so they trade chops. Nick sends him to the apron but a sunset bomb to the floor is blocked, allowing Fenix to grab a middle rope armdrag. Fenix seems to come up a little sore but is fine enough to send Nick over the barricade. A hurricanrana gets Nick out of trouble though and they head back inside.

Fenix slips on the ropes though and Nick gets a Backstabber out of the corner. Fenix is fine enough to kick him off the apron and we take a break. Back with Fenix hitting a superkick but getting caught in a hurricanrana for two. Fenix knocks him to the floor but Nick catches him with a cutter.

Back in and the slingshot X Factor gets two on Fenix but Nick is pulled down on the ropes. He’s fine enough to hit a super cutter for two and they both need a breather. A springboard Canadian Destroyer drops Fenix for two more but Fenix is right back with a knockdown of his own. Fenix’s frog splash gets two but the Black Fire Driver is countered into a rollup which is countered into another rollup to pin Nick at 13:42.

Rating: B-. They kept the pace up here as you would have expected but it wasn’t exactly great. Granted that might be because Jackson isn’t known for his singles matches and isn’t usually as smooth in them. Odds are Fenix doesn’t hold the title that much longer and given the circumstances under which he won it, that shouldn’t be a surprise.

We get a segment with Adam Cole visiting Roderick Strong and the Kingdom. Strong talks about the works of Beethoven but Cole prefers Tchaikovsky. In theory at least, as there is no audio as Cole rides around on a bike that Strong has given him and Strong has a stuffed giraffe.

Wardlow vs. Griff Garrison

The referee stops it after a five movement Powerbomb Symphony at 1:02.

Wardlow leaves through the crowd, which seems to be pleased.

We look back at Adam Copeland’s debut at WrestleDream.

Don Callis says Sammy Guevara is hurt so Kyle Fletcher is taking his place.

We get the Cole/Strong segment, with Strong giving Cole a bike to get around on his bad ankle. As for the emergency from last week, Strong needs Cole to move some furniture. Cole struggles but manages to do it, only to have Strong ask him for one more favor.

Trios Titles: Billy Gunn/Acclaimed vs. Kip Sabian/Butcher and the Blade

Gunn and the Acclaimed are challenging and Penelope Ford is here with the challengers. It’s a big brawl before the match with the champs taking over. We take an early break and come back with everything breaking down. Scissor Me Timbers hits Blade and an assisted flipping slam finishes Sabian at 5:14. Not enough shown to rate but it was about what you would expect.

We get more of the Toni Storm interview as she freaks out over not having it anymore. She’s told she isn’t old, which sends her into saying “I’M TIMELESS” over and over.

Bryan Danielson is very pleased with his win over Zack Sabre Jr. but Sabre says the running knee was a scoundrel move.

Hangman Page says back to the drawing board after the loss to Swerve Strickland. Swerve is rather pleased.

We look back at MJF and Jay White arguing last week, followed by White being attacked to end the show.

Here is Bullet Club Gold, minus White, to mock MJF (after mocking Adam Cole’s ankle injury). He’s supposed to be some generational talent but the best he could think of was “tofu”. They call out MJF to come out here and face them like a man so cue MJF. We get some insults about various body parts and MJF has the fans chant both insults.

MJF lists off some things he’s done over the years, but he didn’t attack White. The challenge is on for a street fight but the Club runs, allowing Jay White to come in with the Blade Runner. White takes the title up to the stage and talks about how MJF is nowhere near elite. The challenge is made for Gull Gear and MJF is in. These segments still aren’t hitting the high points like you would expect from these two working together.

Hook and Orange Cassidy share some clips and talk about how Cassidy should get a title shot.

Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega vs. Kyle Fletcher/Konosuke Takeshita

Don Callis on commentary. Jericho shoulders Takeshita down to start and it’s Omega coming in for a double suplex. Takeshita suplexes Jericho to come back and we take a break. Back with Omega getting to clean house until Fletcher takes him down for two. Jericho comes back in to chop Fletcher in the corner, setting up the super hurricanrana.

Omega and Takeshita fight to the floor, leaving Jericho and Fletcher to chop it out from their knees. Jericho and Fletcher hit stereo clotheslines and we take another break. Back again with Jericho scoring with an enziguri, allowing the tag off to Omega for the slugout with Fletcher. A powerbomb into the knee to the face gives Omega two and Takeshita is knocked down. The Codebreaker into the One Winged Angel finishes for Omega at 15:11.

Rating: B-. This was hurt by having Fletcher, who has nothing to do with the story, included but if Sammy Guevara was injured, there is only so much they could have done. What we got was good, and Jericho teaming with Omega does feel like a big deal. I’m not sure what the endgame for the story with Callis is, but we still could be a long way off from it taking place.

Post match Powerhouse Hobbs runs in to take out Jericho and Omega as Don Callis seems to have a new star. The beating goes on in the crowd for a bit until they go back to ringside, where Omega is tied in the ropes. Callis gets in a chair shot to the head to end a rather lengthy beatdown. Of note: commentary explained that the Young Bucks and Hangman Page left/weren’t here to cover the lack of a save.

MJF is in the trainer’s room and wishes Adam Cole was here. For some reason Max Caster pops in to rub his neck, with MJF threatening a restraining order (apparently they have a running thing on Twitter). With Caster gone, MJF calls Adam Cole but gets voicemail.

Samoa Joe cuts some cigars and talks about needing to regain the hunger that it takes to be a champion. The championship he currently holds is not mentioned.

Toni Storm vs. Skye Blue

Storm is now officially timeless, complete with a black and white intro. Blue gets jumped to start but manages a forearm from the apron. Storm knocks her off the top though and scores with the hip attack. Storm: “We’ll be back after these words from our very important sponsors.” And we go to a break. Back with Blue rolling Storm up for two and firing off the forearms. A high crossbody gives Blue two but Storm’s chokebomb gets the same. The running hip attack into Storm Zero finishes Blue at 6:46.

Rating: C. This was the usual AEW women’s match, as they had so much time cut out that it wasn’t able to do much. Storm’s pitch to the commercial was funny, but other than that she didn’t do much different than her usual matches. That being said, the weird stuff she’s doing at the moment is making her more interesting than she’s been in years and that is great to see.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Here is Adam Copeland for his Mission Statement. After praising (and dismissing) Tony Schiavone, Copeland says he likes the ADAM chant (Copeland: “I’ve never heard that one before!”). He likes the idea of the AEW World Title around his waist and thinks there are a lot of first time matches he likes the sound of facing (Jon Moxley, Miro, Powerhouse Hobbs, Jay White etc).

Not long ago he asked his daughters if he should retire, but one of them said he should go have fun with Uncle Jay, better known as Christian Cage. Cue Cage, with Copeland talking about how they’ve been best friends for 40 years. Copeland isn’t happy with what Cage did to Sting at WrestleDream, because he remembers Cage taking Sting’s picture to the barber shop so he could have the same haircut.

It’s time for the first time in over twenty years for the two of them to….team together again. They could face teams like FTR or the Young Bucks, so let’s do it one more time. They hug, but Cage says “Go CENSORED” and walks off. Cage brings out Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne for the staredown to end the show. This is an interesting way to go, as having Christian around and not tying Edge into him somehow would have felt off.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t exactly a great show as save for the main event and the Hobbs deal, there wasn’t much going on. Wardlow being back is cool, but he was on screen for all of two minutes doing his usual stuff. For an anniversary show, I was expecting more, though I do like having the main event of Full Gear set up this far in advance. Next week’s show is the one that matters, but I was expecting more out of an anniversary/PPV fallout show.

Results
Rey Fenix b. Nick Jackson – Rollup
Wardlow b. Griff Garrison via referee stoppage
Billy Gunn/Acclaimed b. Kip Sabian/Butcher and the Blade – Assisted Iconoclasm to Sabian
Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega b. Konosuke Takeshita/Kyle Fletcher – One Winged Angel to Fletcher
Toni Storm b. Skye Blue – Storm Zero

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: September 22, 2023
Location: Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York City, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Ian Riccaboni

It’s a special two hour edition of the show and hopefully that means it gets a bit more attention this week. Rampage has a tendency to have one match of note and then a bunch of other things but maybe the big stage will change that. The ROH Six Man Tag Team Titles are on the line as the Elite get a shot, so we could be in for some fireworks. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Luchasaurus/Christian Cage vs. Darby Allin/Sting

Nick Wayne is here with Allin and Sting. It’s a brawl before the match and Luchasaurus is knocked outside. Sting sends Cage into the steps but Luchasaurus sends Allin into the post in a huge crash out to the floor. We settle down to Cage choking Allin inside and Luchasaurus whipping him hard into the corner. Luchasaurus cuts off a tag attempt and we take a break.

Back with Luchasaurus hitting a chokeslam on Allin to keep him in trouble. Allin manages to slip away from Christian though and it’s off to Sting. House is cleaned, including a spinebuster to Christian and a double Stinger Splash. A Scorpion Death Coffin Drop (cool) hits Luchasaurus but Christian pokes Allin in the eye. Wayne offers a distraction though and Allin gets a jackknife rollup for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: B-. This was a good way to get things going towards the TNT Title match on Collision while also not pinning the champion. The more interesting story here though was Sting, who looks phenomenal for just about anyone, let alone someone in their 60s. Hot opener here, with the Scorpion Death Coffin Drop being a great team finisher for Sting and Allin.

Kris Statlander/Orange Cassidy/Hook vs. Anna Jay/Angelo Parker/Matt Menard

Jake Hager is here with the villains. Hook and Menard start things off but the latter keeps tagging in and out with Parker. Hook beats them both up but Menard tags Jay in to escape Redrum. A running spinwheel kick hits Statlander in the corner but she’s right back with a delayed suplex. Hager jumps Cassidy though and the distraction lets Jay hit a superkick. A distracted Hook is taken out as well and it’s a belly to back suplex back inside.

We take a break and come back with Hook hitting a double clothesline and handing it off to Cassidy for a dropkick to Menard and Parker. Everything breaks down and the heroes hit a triple suplex. A jumping elbow to the back hits Cassidy and Hager gets in a cheap shot to Hook. Jay grabs the Queenslayer on Cassidy but Statlander breaks it up with a faceplant. Cassidy Orange Punches Parker for the pin at 9:26.

Rating: C+. While not quite as big on star power as the opener, this was another match where they kept things simple and let the fans cheer for people they liked. Cassidy and Hook have a weird thing going on and it wouldn’t shock me to see them face off in what could be one of the stranger matches in AEW. Jay doesn’t feel like much of a threat to Statlander, but it’s not like there are many people coming after the title at the moment.

QTV shows us some footage of QT Marshall winning a match in Montreal. Marshall sends in a text, saying he wants a partner for next week. Aaron Solo and Johnny TV think it should be them and Solo is disappointed when it’s not him.

Here are Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita to explain Sammy Guevara’s actions. Callis talks about how everyone was enthralled with him going after Chris Jericho a few weeks ago. Now though, here is the newest member of the Don Callis Family: Sammy Guevara. Cue Sammy, in a flowered shirt and white pants, to say he hated Callis at first, but Guevara was only showing him that he never had a family in the first place.

Guevara is sick of the fans and Chris Jericho, so here is Jericho to go after him. Takeshita makes the save with a bunch of chair shots and Callis busts out the screwdriver. Cue Kenny Omega for the save with a pipe. With the villains gone, Omega and Jericho tease fighting but it’s ok. I can go for combining these feuds into one, just for the sake of less Callis TV time.

Post break Omega says that was about going after Callis and company rather than saving Jericho. Cue Jericho to say AEW was build on their feud but now they should team up to face Callis’ family at WrestleDream. Oh and Kota Ibushi will team with them so Callis needs to find a third.

Best Friends vs. Hardys vs. Righteous vs. The Kingdom

For a Ring Of Honor Tag Team Title shot, with the Hardys having the same chance as the Righteous despite losing to the Righteous last week. It’s a brawl to start until the Hardys and Beat Friends have a staredown. The four way hug is broken up though and a bunch of them head outside for the Flight of the Conqueror from Taven. Back in and the Best Friends hug, followed by stereo running flip dives.

We take a break and come back with Matt Side Effecting Vincent for two, setting up Jeff’s splash for the same. Everything breaks down and the Righteous clean house but the Best Friends grab some suplexes. Chuck superkicks Taven but Soul Food is broken up. Bennett hits Taylor low and the Hail Mary (spike piledriver) gets two as Beretta makes the save. Jeff tags himself in for the Swanton but Vincent tags himself in and hits his own Swanton for the pin on Taylor at 9:30.

Rating: C. Well at least it wasn’t a tournament. The Righteous haven’t done much in ROH but here they beat three apparently AEW teams to get a shot at the titles. I can go for some fresh blood, but at the end of the day, all signs point to the Kingdom taking the titles from Adam Cole and MJF anyway.

Post match the Kingdom takes out the Best Friends with some chairs.

Mike Santana is ready to wonder where his life went. Now he’s back so don’t get in between him and his family. If you don’t like it, fight him or fire him.

Trios Titles: Dark Order vs. Billy Gunn/Acclaimed

Gunn/Acclaimed are defending and points for the “Scissor Me Daddy Ashe” sign. Caster chops Reynolds to start and armdrags him into an armbar. Back up and Caster is taken into the corner for some clubberin but he easily drives Silver into the champs’ corner. It’s off to Bowens for some fired up right hands before Gunn comes in for a scissoring double elbow. Scissor Me Timbers is broken up by Reynolds though and Silver’s bridging German suplex gets two on Bowens.

The Order mocks the scissoring and we take a break. Back with Reynolds hitting a running corner clothesline for two on Caster. The beating doesn’t last long as Caster gets over to Gunn for the hot tag without much effort. Gunn drops Silver and hands it off to Bowens, who is quickly small packaged for two. Back up and Bowens hits a superkick, setting up the Arrival and Mic Drop. Silver makes the save and Uno belts Caster in the head for two. Bowens is back in so an assisted Iconoclasm can retain the titles at 10:38.

Rating: C+. As usual, the match was ok but the Dark Order feel like bigger and bigger losers every time they’re out there. Granted I’m not sure who else is supposed to challenge for these titles as the trios division is basically one or two teams plus the champions at any given time. The fans were digging the Acclaimed as usual, but it was just another match.

Julia Hart vs. Skye Blue

Brody King is here with Hart, who has won TWENTY FOUR singles matches in a row. We get the big removal of the hats until Hart offers a left handshake, only to pull Blue in for a whisper. Blue gets slapped so she forearms away and hits a knee to Hart’s face. A suplex gives Blue two but Hart sends her into the corner and hammers away. We take a break and come back with Blue kicking her in the head for two more. Hart catches her on top and hits a superplex but manages to hang onto the ropes and look upside down at her for a bit. Hartless and Skyfall are both blocked but the second Hartless attempt makes Blue tap at 8:14.

Rating: C. Hart is starting to get somewhere and it is nice to see her develop. At the same time though, she needs to move up and face some better competition. Blue is an upgrade, but there are better stars out there that could help Hart improve a lot faster. At the same time, Blue continues to just be there and has cooled off tremendously in recent weeks.

Post match Hart grabs Hartless again but Willow Nightingale makes the save (the fans are rather into the clapping with the music).

Bullet Club Gold practice their Spanish before Jay White faces Andrade El Idolo on Collision. White is ready for him, as you might expect.

Mike Santana vs. Bronson

Bronson starts fast and hammers away in the corner but Santana is back with a rolling cutter. A discus lariat into a Cannonball sets up a double underhook Codebreaker for the pin at 2:26. Santana looked pretty good, or at least as good as you can get in a match with so little time.

Post match Ortiz comes out for the staredown and trash talking ensues.

Video on Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland and then Page/the Young Bucks vs. the Mogul Embassy for the ROH Six Man Tag Team Titles.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

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

The Embassy, with Prince Nana, is defending. It’s a brawl to start with the Bucks and Gates going to the floor, leaving Page to hammer on Cage. The Bucks help take Cage down and Kaun is held on the apron for Page’s running shooting star. Back in and a 450 hits Cage but cue Swerve Strickland to cut off the triple knee. Thankfully this means Nana gets to dance as Page stares Swerve down.

The distraction lets the Gates toss Matt into a sitout powerbomb, with Page having to make the save. Page is sent hard into the corner and we take a break. Back with Matt diving off the top to take out the Gates. The hot tag brings in Page to hammer on Cage, including a big boot. Cage gets two off a powerbomb and the champs all grab fireman’s carries. An F5, Samoan drop and White Noise drop Page and the Bucks for two on Page, followed by the running shots in the corner.

The middle rope splash/powerbomb combination gets two on Page with Nick making the save. Page is back with the Deadeye for two on Cage so Strickland comes down for a closer look. The Buckshot lariat misses though and Page is distracted by Swerve, allowing Cage to hit a discus lariat. The Drill Claw is loaded up but Page reverses into a rollup for the pin (despite Cage’s shoulder being WAY off the mat) and the titles at 11:58.

Rating: B. Best match of the show here and the title change does mean something after the Embassy has dominated the division for so long. That being said, having the Bucks and Page win even more titles isn’t the most thrilling story. The Elite winning titles feels like a regular tradition no matter what and it’s hart to get interested in it again. It might help ROH if they appear on the show, but for now, it’s just another item on an already very long resume.

Overall Rating: C+. The show was good enough and not boring but my goodness please keep it at an hour. As tends to be the case on a lot of AEW shows, it felt like they had a few big stories but a lot of stuff sprinkled in to fill time between them. The main event is good and the opener was good enough along with Jericho and Omega uniting, but that’s not quite eough to fill in a two hour show.

Results
Sting/Darby Allin b. Christian Cage/Luchasaurus – Rollup to Cage
Orange Cassidy/Hook/Kris Statlander b. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker/Anna Jay – Orange Punch to Parker
Righteous b. Hardys, the Kingdom and Best Friends – Swanton to Taylor
Billy Gunn/Acclaimed b. Dark Order – Assisted Iconoclasm to Reynolds
Julia Hart b. Skye Blue – Hartless
Mike Santana b. Bronson – Double underhook Codebreaker
Hangman Page/Young Bucks b. Mogul Embassy – Rollup to Cage

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.

Ring Of Honor
Date: September 21, 2023
Location: Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Things have gotten a lot more interesting around here as we have a new Ring Of Honor World Champion in the form of Eddie Kingston. The problem with that is it might not have much of an impact on the show as not much happens around here, plus the whole this show was taped before the title change. Let’s get to it.

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

Eddie Kingston opens the show and talks about what a great champion Claudio Castagnoli is. He’s proud and happy but that will change as soon as he gets back to the hotel and realizes he has to defend the title. This is dedicated to Xavier, the second Ring Of Honor World Champion and someone people don’t remember.

Opening sequence.

Pure Rules Title: Nick Wayne vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Wayne, who has never wrestled in ROH or had a Pure Rules match, is challenging. They go to the mat with Shibata working on a bodyscissors before switching over to the arm. It’s too early for the PK so Shibata pulls him into an ankle lock, sending Wayne to the ropes for the first time. They head outside with Wayne being sent into the barricade for a running boot to the face.

Back in and Shibata kicks him in the face a few times but Wayne fights up with a jumping elbow. There’s a shotgun dropkick into the corner so Wayne can forearm away, setting up a basement dropkick. Shibata isn’t having that and unloads in the corner, setting up a suplex for two. The cobra twist goes on but Wayne uses a second rope break, with the third being used seconds later. Wayne gets in a shot of his own but Wayne’s World is countered into the sleeper. The PK retains the title at 9:17.

Rating: C+. Not a bad way to open the show, but as commentary pointed out: it was Wayne’s first ROH match as well as his first Pure Rules match. That makes the idea of him winning the title more than a little hard to buy and Wayne felt like he was in over his head. In other words, it felt like a match for the sake of getting a title match on the show and that’s not a great idea.

Lee Johnson is interrupted by Shane Taylor Promotions and Lee Moriarty is ready for him tonight.

Diamante vs. Catie Brite

Diamante runs her over to start and fires off some elbows to the chin. Brite gets a rollup out of the corner for two but Diamante is back with a Cross Rhodes for the pin at 1:57. Not much to see here.

The Infantry and Willie Mack are ready to win the Six Man Tag Team Titles tonight.

Lee Johnson vs. Lee Moriarty

They fight over a lockup and wristlock to start until Moriarty sends him into the corner for a shot to the face. Back up and Johnson sends him outside but Moriarty stomps away on the way back in. The seated abdominal stretch goes on but Johnson fights up and makes the clothesline comeback. A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Johnson two and a superkick into a frog splash gets the same. Back up and Moriarty hits a dropkick into an enziguri for the pin at 7:18.

Rating: C. Well Moriarty wasn’t going to lose so soon after joining Shane Taylor Promotions so this was about getting him in the ring and having him break a sweat. The good thing is that Johnson did get in some offense so this wasn’t a squash. Johnson continues to be a nice hand who needs a few wins to establish himself as a bigger threat, but I’m not sure those are going to come.

And now, Minion Training with Athena training Billie Starks and Lexi Nair in tasks such as running the steps, giving her a standing ovation and booing people don’t like. Nair is dubbed the Minion Bestie, but Starkz still sucks. More funny stuff here.

Trish Adora vs. Mercedes Martinez

Martinez grabs a headlock to start and takes Adora down, only to have Adora escape without much trouble. A spinebuster gives Martinez two and a forearm staggers Adora again. Martinez hits a suplex for two more but Adora gets a suplex of her own. That’s too much for Martinez, who hits a running knee into a Hidden Blade into the Brass City Sleeper to make Adora tap at 4:39.

Rating: C. Almost a squash here as Martinez gets to look like a monster again. She’s someone who could easily be slotted in or a title shot and hopefully that comes sooner rather than later. At the same time you have Adora, who has fallen pretty far through the cracks. She felt like someone ready to move up the ladder yet here she is instead, losing in less than five minutes with so little offense. That’s kind of disappointing but not everyone can can a push.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Angelina Love

Athena, with Billie Starkz, is defending. They go with some standing switches to start until Love takes her down into an armbar. Athena breaks out and hits a basement Meteora but gets dropped hard on the floor. Back in and Athena’s head gets slammed onto the mat before they trade rollups for two each. Love gets the better of things and pulls her into a chinlock before taking it to the mat again to cut off a comeback attempt.

Athena fights up again without much trouble, setting up a kick to the face. The O Face is broken up (partially due to Starkz’s cheering) and the Botox Injection (pump kick) gives Love two. Back up and Starkz offers a distraction, allowing Athena to grab an over the shoulder backbreaker into a Codebreaker for the retaining pin at 6:21.

Rating: C+. Love is someone with enough of a history to hang in there with Athena but this was still about Athena and Starkz. That all but has to be the big match at Final Battle but my goodness that’s a good ways off. For now though, Athena gets a win over a name rather than devouring another nobody/midcarder.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is ready for Griff Garrison and Cole Karter’s first match as a team. Garrison already doesn’t seem confident.

Leyla Hirsch/Renegades vs. Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue/Kiera Hogan

Hogan hurricanranas Robyn out of the corner and it’s off to Blue for a basement superkick. Charlette comes in to take over on Blue and grab a chinlock before Leyla tags herself in for some German suplexes. Blue manages to come back with another kick and it’s Nightingale coming in to clean house. A double suplex drops the Renegades for two as everything breaks down. Hogan kicks Robyn in the head and grabs a neckbreaker. Everyone else heads outside and it’s Code Blue to finish Charlette at 7:11.

Rating: B-. This was the fun six person tag and that’s what they were trying to do here. Nightingale and Blue are good for a spot like this and Hogan has grown quite a bit. Unfortunately the Renegades have fallen through the floor in recent weeks after a rather promising start. Hirsch is someone else who should be given a chance and could have a spot with that style but instead she’s here filling in a three woman team.

Tony Nese and the Spanish Announce Project are ready for their debut as a team. If they win, Nese will give them free group training. They aren’t impressed.

Ethan Page vs. VSK

They trade headlocks to start until VSK has to go to the eyes to escape. The Ego’s Edge is broken up and VSK fires off some strikes. Page catches him in a kind of cobra clutch belly to back suplex, setting up a slingshot cutter for the pin at 2:11. Not much here but Page is someone worth pushing around here.

Tony Nese/Spanish Announce Project vs. El Hijo del Vikingo/Gravity/Metalik

Well that’s kind of one sided. Mark Sterling introduces Nese for his usual stuff, though he does mock the local college football team. Serpentico and Metalik turn up the speed to start with Metalik grabbing a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Angelico comes in and gets flipped over by Gravity but it’s too early for the dive.

Instead Vikingo springboards in to take over on Nese, including a missile dropkick. Vikingo loads up the big springboard dive but lands HARD on his hip and oh yeah that’s going to be a problem. Metalik and Gravity hit their own big flip dives before Metalik takes Nese back inside for a running knee. Nese dropkicks him down though and slap tags Angelico in, which doesn’t seem to go well.

A legdrop keeps Metalik in trouble as Vikingo is nowhere to be seen. Metalik’s sunset bomb gets him out of trouble and the hot tag brings Gravity back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Metalik powerbombs Serpentico for two with Nese making the save. Nese goes for Gravity’s mask but that’s too far for Serpentico and Angelico, who walk out instead. That leaves Metalik to come in with the rope walk Swanton for the pin on Nese at 8:32.

Rating: B-. Another entertaining match here, Vikingo injury aside. That is the kind of thing that is going to happen at some point as Vikingo’s style is so high risk in the first place. Then you have Nese going too far and annoying his already not so interested partners. Sometimes it’s nice to see a villain get what is coming to them and that is what they did here.

Ethan Page is glad to have a bit of a winning streak around here and talks about how great it was to challenge for the World Title in his hometown. It’s been downhill from there though and now it’s time to rebuild himself around here because this is the place for competition. This is a Page I could see going somewhere and that’s a good thing.

Griff Garrison/Cole Karter vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here with Garrison and Karter. Martin armdrags Martin to start before it’s off to Garrison to grapple it out with Andretti. Martin comes back in for a top rope double stomp to the back of the head but Maria offers a distraction so Garrison can score with a big boot.

Garrison doesn’t like that interference and doesn’t like her choking on the ropes any more. It’s back to Martin to pick up the pace, including a double handspring elbow. Karter grabs a rollup and puts feet on the ropes, which is broken up by Garrison. Maria and Garrison yell at each other so Andretti dives onto Garrison. Martin’s suplex sets up Andretti’s springboard 450 to finish Karter at 4:52.

Rating: C. I’m really not sure I get this Maria story. She’s an experienced and successful manager who is billed as a mastermind but she picks these two goofs to be her army to protect the Kingdom, who aren’t even on this show. I’m assuming the story is she can make anyone good, but if she’s that talented, why not just give her an established team. LIKE THE KINGDOM?

Post match Garrison shows respect but Karter isn’t having that and makes him leave.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Mogul Embassy vs. Infantry/Willie Mack

The Embassy, with Prince Nana, is defending. Kaun shoulders Dean down to start but Dean snaps off a dropkick so Bravo can come in for a wishbone. Toa comes in to miss a charge in the corner but runs Bravo over with a shoulder. It’s back to Kaun for some rolling suplexes and an early near fall.

Cage hits the clotheslines in the corner but Bravo gets over to Mack to take over. The swinging slam puts Cage down and there’s a running boot in the corner. That doesn’t work for Cage, who suplexes Mack down in quite the power display. Everything breaks down and the Infantry kicks away at Toa, leaving Mack to hit his frog splash for two on Cage. That’s broken up and Open The Gates finishes Mack at 9:26.

Rating: B-. They had another fast paced match here but this was the latest case of a three man team being put together over a few weeks and then losing to the champs. The Embassy has been built up as being almost unbeatable and that makes for some less than dramatic title matches. Granted that might change with the Young Bucks and Hangman Page coming for the belts, but for now it’s just pretty good action without much drama.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a great example of Ring Of Honor in a nutshell. Yes there was good action and the wrestling was good enough to work, but it’s another hour and forty five minute show with a lot of things being lost in the shuffle. There were ten matches on this show and you could have probably cut almost half of them without missing much. Even the title matches, which are nice to have around, were just kind of there for the sake of having them included, as Wayne, Love and the Infantry/Mack didn’t feel like viable challenges. The wrestling carried it again, but this show is just not very fun most of the time.

Results
Katsuyori Shibata b. Nick Wayne – PK
Diamante b. Catie Brite – Cross Rhodes
Lee Moriarty b. Lee Johnson – Enziguri
Mercedes Martinez b. Trish Adora – Brass City Sleeper
Athena b. Angelina Love – Spinning facebuster
Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue/Kiera Hogan b. Renegades/Leyla Hirsch – Code Blue to Charlette
Ethan Page b. VSK – Slingshot cutter
El Hijo del Vikingo/Metalik/Gravity b. Tony Nese/Spanish Announce Project – Rope walk Swanton to Nese
Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Cole Karter/Griff Garrison – Springboard 450 to Karter
Mogul Embassy b. Infantry/Willie Mack – Open The Gates to Mack

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.