Collision
Date: August 26, 2023
Location: Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Caprice Coleman

It’s the final go home show for All In and that means it could go either way. We are going to get a final push to the show but the question is how much new stuff might be added. At the same time, All Out is in eight days and there isn’t much set for the show. While All In will have a lot to do with the card, we could get something or it here as well. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Here is Jack Perry, along with some people carrying the FTW Title, to open things up. The ring is set up for a funeral and Perry says it was a good title, which was just misunderstood at times. Instead of being sad at its demise, we should remember the good times. We see Perry with the title in various places, including bed, the bathtub, by the pool, in the shower etc.

It’s time to send the title to a better place though, and that means it’s time for a sledgehammer. Cue Hook on the video screen to say this wasn’t a good idea and now here he is in the ring. The beatdown is on and Perry gets suplexed through a table. Hook: “Wembley, Sunday.”

Orange Cassidy/Penta El Cero Miedo/Eddie Kingston vs. Butcher and the Blade/Kip Sabian

Penta loads up the glove on Sabian but Penelope Ford shoves Alex Abrahantes on the floor. Everything breaks down fast and it’s Penta superkicking his way out of trouble in the corner. Sabian crotches Penta against the post but Cassidy makes the save and comes in to pick up the pace. Cassidy gets sent to the floor and it’s a double team neckbreaker to give Sabian two back inside.

Blade’s swinging neckbreaker drops Cassidy again and we take a break. Back with Cassidy dropping Sabian hard and handing it back to Penta. House is quickly cleaned, including an assisted Canadian Destroyer on Sabian. Butcher knocks Penta into the tag to Kingston and it’s hoss fight time. Kingston gets the better of things before sending Sabian and Blade into the corner for the rapid fire chops. Cassidy hits Butcher with the Orange Punch and there’s an exploder to Sabian. Made In Japan hits Sabian and Kingston gets the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C+. The good guys here felt like a bunch of people who had nothing else to do so here they are. Cassidy is going to get a reaction no matter what he’s doing so it’s smart to have him on a show like this. Butcher and the Blade continue to be a team who feel like they could do more but they are forever tied to Sabian for some reason.

Post break the Best Friends are in the ring with Cassidy and company to call out the Blackpool Combat Club and Santana/Ortiz. Those people BROKE TRENT’S MOM’S VAN so they’re coming or revenge. The Club pops up on screen to say it shouldn’t be a surprise that they picked Santana and Ortiz. Kingston starts heading to the back but the other four stay back as Castagnoli says Kingston and company will be out of friends again soon. We cut to the back where Kingston has a chair but can’t find anyone. Kingston promises to hut Moxley. They had me until the part about the van.

Video on FTR vs. the Young Bucks, with both of them talking about how important this match is.

Dark Order vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin

Silver and Andretti start things off with Silver taking over, allowing Reynolds to come in for an elbow to the face. The powerbomb onto Silver’s knees gets two and a double elbow puts him down again. We take a break and come back with Andretti bringing Martin in to pick up the pace. A double DDT plants the Order and Andretti comes in with a springboard 450, meaning Silver has to make the save. Andretti is sent outside and it’s the jawbreaker into the German suplex into the flipping cradle for the pin at 8:37.

Rating: C. So the Dark Order is becoming a thing again and these two getting the focus is the best possible combination. Evil Uno being left out of the whole thing helps it so much as Silver and Reynolds have never been the issue. It was a watchable match, but again it does feel like these guys were out there to fill in time. Not their fault, but it was noticeable.

On Wednesday, AR Fox apologized to Nick Wayne and Darby Allin for everything that happened. Fox offered a handshake to Wayne, who walked away. Allin shook Fox’s hand though.

We get a new Acclaimed music video on how Billy Gunn is back and they’re coming for the House Of Black.

Video on the Women’s Title match.

Big Bill vs. Vary Morales

Ricky Starks is here with Bill, who gets tossed down hard to start. A swing around by the hair (ouch) sets up the chokeslam to finish Morales at 1:35.

Post match Starks whips Morales and promises a bigger strap next week.

Ruby Soho challenges Kris Statlander for the TBS Title at All Out. Soho calls Statlander more than a woman but less than an Outcast.

Willow Nightingale vs. Robyn Renegade

Robyn’s sister Charlette is here too. Robyn knocks her into the corner to start but Nightingale drops her with a shoulder. The basement crossbody gives Nightingale two and she manages a pair of Amigos into a fisherman’s suplex for two. Charlette offers a distraction though and Robyn takes over as we take a break. Back with Nightingale hitting a spinebuster for two but Robyn scores with a missile dropkick for the same. They head outside with Nightingale hitting a double suplex on both Renegades. Back in and the Babe With The Powerbomb finishes Robyn at 8:27.

Rating: C. Nightingale did her Nightingale style stuff and of course it worked because she’s the most adorable wrestler in recent memory. At the same time, she really needs to win something that matters around here sooner than later because otherwise she’s going to turn into the lovable jobber. On the other hand you have the Renegades, who have always felt like they could be something, but have lost all over the place in recent weeks. There is a lot of talent here, but none of them are really doing much and that’s a shame.

We see some quick clips of AEW stars in London.

Video on Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs.

Kris Statlander is sick of being stepped on by people like Ruby Soho so they’re on for All Out.

Keith Lee vs. Zicky Dice

Dice hammers away a few times and gets Pounced for his efforts. The Supernova finishes for Lee at 1:35.

We go back to Mexico, where La Faccion Ingobernable has been kidnapped and beaten up. Then they fought back and beat up their attackers, only to be knocked down again as someone we can’t see walks in.

Here is Samoa Joe to rant about how he wants to get his hands on CM Punk but has been told to wait until All In. Therefore tonight he’ll be on commentary for the main event and be a professional, but the beating is coming on Sunday.

We run down the All In card, complete with Hook vs. Jack Perry for the FTW Title confirmed for Zero Hour.

Video on CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe.

All Out rundown.

Hook/Darby Allin/Sting/CM Punk vs. Jay White/Luchasaurus/Brian Cage/Swerve Strickland

The Gunns, Juice Robinson and Christian Cage are on ringside. Punk headlocks Swerve to start but a hammerlock gets him backed into the corner. An anklescissors takes Punk down though and Swerve mocks his weird wrist thing. It’s too early for the GTS though so here’s White instead. They stare each other down a bit, but White wants Sting.

Punk goes to bring in Sting but gets jumped from behind (rare mental screwup there from Punk) before White goes after the leg. Punk suplexes his way out of trouble and it’s off to Hook to go after White in the corner. Allin comes in to stay on the arm and the tease of a tag to Sting sends White bailing back to Luchasaurus. Sting and Allin take turns crashing into Luchasaurus in the corner but Punk tries one too many.

Punk kicks his way out of trouble though and a big boot to the face cuts him off. We take a break and come back with Punk still in trouble and Swerve putting on a chinlock. An elbow cuts Punk off again and there’s a snap suplex to make it worse. Punk rolls away though and it’s back to Hook to pick up the pace. Hook gets knocked outside in a hurry though and some tosses into the barricade have him in trouble.

We take another break and come back with Hook fighting his way out of trouble and suplexing Cage for a needed breather. The hot tag brings in Punk to clean house, including a bulldog/running clothesline combination to White and Swerve. Punk goes up top but pauses for a good while, only to hit the elbow anyway. Swerve takes Punk down but Hook makes the save, meaning it’s time for the parade of knockdowns. Punk finally hits the GTS on Cage (with a heck of a stare at Joe) before grabbing the Koquina Clutch for the tap at 21:06.

Rating: B. This wasn’t as long as most of the main events around here but it worked well enough with everyone involved. The match was about getting in as much of a hard push towards All In as possible in one match, with Allin vs. Luchasaurus at All Out getting a bit of time of its own. Not a classic or anything, but they covered as much as they could in a limited time and that works.

Post match Joe says the match is officially over so the big brawl is on, with Jack Perry coming out to join in. The fights break off and a bunch of weapons are brought in, with Perry and Hook fighting up the steps. Joe belts Punk in the face and leaves to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show felt like it was designed or one purpose and one purpose only: fill in two hours and don’t screw up anything before London. They did that about as well as they could, if you ignore that the first hour and a half might as well have been an extended Rampage. You absolutely did not need to see this show, but there were some interesting pairings in the main event. The show is absolutely not going to matter this time tomorrow though and I think they knew that coming in.

Results
Orange Cassidy/Eddie Kingston/Penta El Cero Miedo b. Butcher and the Blade/Kip Sabian – Made In Japan to Sabian
Dark Order b. Action Andretti/Darius Martin – Flipping rollup to Andretti
Big Bill b. Vary Morales – Chokeslam
Willow Nightingale b. Robyn Renegade – Babe With The Powerbomb
Keith Lee b. Zicky Dice – Supernova
CM Punk/Sting/Hook/Darby Allin b. Jay White/Luchasaurus/Brian Cage/Swerve Strickland – Koquina Clutch 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.

Dynamite
Date: August 16, 2023
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s another special show with Fight For The Fallen, with proceeds going towards a Hawaii food bank helping with the fallout from the wildfires. There’s not a thing wrong with that and it’s great that AEW is doing something. Other than that, we are eleven days away from All In and we might get some more announcements for the show tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Wheeler Yuta

Cassidy is defending against his former student. Feeling out process to start and they slug it out with neither getting very far. They trade belly to back suplexes and then kick each other down. Cassidy is sent to the floor and gets taken down with a dive but he reverses a suplex into one of his own. Yuta piledrives him on the ram and Cassidy rolls back towards the ring. Back in and a quick Beach Break gives Cassidy two as we take a break.

We come back with Yuta working on the hand but he has to catch Cassidy on top. The top rope superplex sends Cassidy crashing back down and a top rope splash gives Yuta two more. Cassidy is back up with a Michinoku Driver into a PK but here is the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club to offer a distraction. A fake out lets Cassidy hit his own double arm Paradigm Shift, setting up the Orange Punch. Cassidy can’t cover so Yuta gets the Seatbelt for two, only to have Cassidy roll him up for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: C+. This was in fact an Orange Cassidy match, and that has been the case for a long time now. Cassidy is all banged up and injured but manages to do all of his stuff and win in the end. Yuta wasn’t feeling like much of a threat to the title in the first place, but it then went with as “we’ve seen this already” ending it could have had.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Best Friends, and then the Lucha Bros, make the save. The Club grab chairs but Eddie Kingston is back to go after Claudio Castagnoli. That’s enough for the Club to run off, leaving Kingston to issue a challenge for Wembley Stadium in a Stadium Stampede match.

We get a sitdown interview with Jim Ross talking to Kenny Omega. It turns out that Don Callis was friends with Omega’s uncle and helped him get whatever he wanted…and here is Callis for a distraction. Bullet Club Gold and Konosuke Takeshita jump Omega from behind and the big beatdown is on. That should set up another pay per view match, though hopefully JR can get some sleep before then. He looked incredibly rough here.

Omega was taken to a hospital, where Hangman Page was waiting. Page wants to finish this at All In, though here is a security guard to tell Page he can’t drink a beer here. That’s fine with Page, who downs it.

Here is Don Callis, with another painting under a blanket, to get Chris Jericho’s answer. Cue Jericho to give his answer, and while he’s the one who starts factions…..he’ll join the Don Callis family! Callis is stunned and happy so let’s go celebrate. Jericho wants to see the picture though, with Callis getting nervous. The blanket comes off, and it’s a painting of Callis holding Jericho’s decapitated head.

Callis backpedals really fast and tries to talk his way out of it but Jericho says just tell him the truth. It’s true that Callis didn’t expect Jericho to say yes….because of his massive ego. Callis goes on a rant about how Jericho has the biggest ego ever but Jericho says Callis is a nobody who wasn’t in wrestling a few years ago. Callis slaps him and here is Konosuke Takeshita to go after Jericho. Cue Will Ospreay to jump Jericho as well and the big beatdown is on, with Jericho being busted open. The painting is broken over Jericho’s head but here is Sammy Guevara with a baseball bad for the save.

Jack Perry is going to retire the FTW Title next week.

Gates Of Agony vs. Darby Allin/Nick Wayne

The Gates jump them from behind to start fast and the beatdown is on outside. We take an early break and come back with Allin getting the hot tag to roll Kaun up for two as the Mogul Embassy is watching from the ramp. Everything breaks down and Wayne takes Kaun down before diving onto Toa at ringside. Allin adds the Coffin Drop to finish Kaun at 6:26.

Rating: C. So after the Gates start winning some matches, they go right back down here to Allin and Wayne, who aren’t the most experienced team. Allin winning a match is fine enough but it’s another match that runs about six minutes and has a break in the middle. I’m sure it’s a television deal, but my goodness it gets old fast.

Post match Sting pops up on screen to say we’re coming up on the biggest show in AEW history. It seems that he has kidnapped Prince Nana and says it’s showtime as the Embassy goes to the back. Sting screams at Nana and he runs off. This was wacky Sting and that’s a great thing.

Adam Cole and MJF go to Outback Steakhouse to plan for Aussie Open. After eating, MJF knows they’re done because that was the best food he’s ever had so how can they beat an Aussie team? Later, at the arena, Cole has a DVD of Crocodile Dundee 1 and 2. MJF has a better idea: kangaroo fighting style! Cole isn’t convinced, so they put on Australian hats (and accents, ala Steve Irwin) and double clothesline a guy holding an inflatable crocodile.

Then Tony Khan summons them into his office (Thunder Rosa not included) and yells about hitting double clotheslines backstage. Leave it to the ring. The team leaves and MJF says Khan will regret that come contract time. Khan comes out and yells some more, but MJF is suddenly cool with him. Was that TK “responding” to people who say he doesn’t have a backbone after the Punk ordeals? Either way, this whole thing was hilarious. Again. They absolutely have something great with these two and I want to see a lot more.

MJF and Cole arrive in MJF’s car and head inside, leaving Roderick Strong to limp up and kick the tire, hurting himself in the process of course.

Here are MJF and Cole for a chat. They’re ready for All In but first they have to win the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles. MJF: “WITH THE KANGAROO KICK!” Cole talks about how important the World Title match will be, because it’s all about solidifying his legacy here in AEW. Not just by being in it, but by winning it. MJF doesn’t buy it and has a story of his own.

When he first got into the wrestling world, he was told to write down his dream opponents. He wrote down Cody Rhodes and Adam Cole. Then he had been working so hard to get ahead on the independent circuit, when he heard about a special show called All In. He messaged Cody Rhodes and somehow got a spot in the opening match, despite having no business being on.

It was enough to get him a contract with AEW, so without All In, there wouldn’t be an MJF. He has worked his way to the top and now he is going to be facing his best friend in the biggest show ever. Now all that matters is the World Title, because he has given everything to earn it. He’ll win because no one is on his level, so Cole says may the best man win. MJF says he will, because he’s better than Cole, even if Cole disagrees.

Cue Aussie Open to jump them from being before quickly being dispatched. Cole teases a superkick to MJF but then stands up…with MJF having seen him crouched. They hug anyway. This was a really good segment and did a lot to make the title match feel a heck of a lot more important.

Chris Jericho is getting cleaned up before saying this match with Will Ospreay (which is apparently happening) has been ready since 2021 and would have happened without the pandemic. Ospreay doesn’t know what he’s getting into because the Ocho is coming for him. So the British fans are supposed to book the incredibly athletic British wrestler in front of the biggest crowd in British wrestling history. Got it.

Jeff Hardy vs. Jeff Jarrett

Texas Chainsaw Massacre Death Match (tie-in with a video game release) and you can only win by pinfall. Hardy goes through the crowd and into the back to start, where Satnam Jarrett and Satnam Singh (I believe dressed like someone from the movie) jumps him. Ethan Page, Brother Zay and Matt Hardy make the save and pour something on Jarrett (Jeff and Karen). The two of them stagger through a dimly lit hallway as we take a break.

Back with the fight still going on in the back with Jeff Hardy diving onto the Jarretts and company. They fight into the arena (with about ten people involved) and Jeff Hardy Swantons him through a table for two with Jay Lethal making the save. The guitar is taken away from Jarrett and cracked over his head but cue Leatherface with a chainsaw. Singh can’t chokebomb Jeff Hardy but Lethal is back in with a hammer to Jeff Hardy’s head. The chokeslam lets Jarrett get the pin at 9:56.

Rating: D+. I don’t even begin to know where to go on this, but at the end of the day, I can accept that AEW was given a big check to do something with the game and this is the best they could do. Fair enough and the match was certainly memorable, even if it was for the bad reasons. That being said, Jarrett winning here is uh, a bit strange I would say.

And yes, Jarrett does get a special belt for winning.

Women’s Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Britt Baker vs. The Bunny

The winner is in the Women’s Title match at All In. Baker grabs a rollup to start but it’s too early for the Lockjaw. Instead Baker misses a stomp, allowing Bunny to miss Down The Rabbit Hole. Bunny sends her into the Corner and we take a break. Back with Baker hitting a Sling Blade and getting two off a rollup. That’s enough for Baker, who hits the Stomp for the pin at 7:36.

Rating: C-. Baker is getting weaker and weaker week to week and there isn’t much of a way to hide it anymore. It didn’t help that there was almost no reason to believe Bunny had a chance in this, especially after just coming back from an injury. Not a good match here, but at least they went with the only logical option.

All In rundown.

Acclaimed vs. ???/???

Hold on though as the lights go out before the bell and come up to reveal the House Of Black. The big beatdown is on and Caster is left busted open. The House walks off with Billy Gunn’s boots. No match.

The Gunns vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks jump them during the entrance and the fight heads down to the ring for the opening bell. A double dropkick sends the Gunns to the floor for the dives but the Gunns take over on Matt. Back in and a knee lift into a lariat gives Austin two and we take a break. We come back Matt getting hit with a dropkick for two but managing to roll over both of them for the hot tag.

Nick hits the slingshot X Factor and the apron moonsault. An assisted standing Sliced Bread drops Austin but the BTE Trigger is broken up. 3:10 To Yuma connects but Nick dives in with a top rope double stomp for the save. The Gunns try an assisted rollup but the Bucks break it up and use one of their own to pin Colten at 9:25.

Rating: C+. The Bucks did their high flying and get a win to give them some momentum on the way to the FTR match. That’s all you really need for them to do here but at least the Gunns are starting to figure out their thing. They’re a midcard heel team and work well together, which is a valuable role to fill.

Post match Bullet Club Gold runs in to help with the beatdown on the Bucks but FTR make the save. FTR teases taking out the Bucks but don’t do it to end the show (worked better when Cole and MJF did it earlier tonight).

Overall Rating: B-. This was a weird show for AEW as the wrestling was decent to mostly not that good for the most part. Instead, this was FAR more about the storyline stuff and building up the matches for All In and beyond. That is something AEW needed and the parts that worked here were very, very good. There were some weak parts to go with it though, and that dragged some of the positives back down. Overall, All In got a heck of a build here and while not all of it was great, it’s what the show was needing.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Wheeler Yuta – Rollup
Darby Allin/Nick Wayne b. Gates of Agony – Coffin Drop to Kaun
Jeff Jarrett b. Jeff Hardy – Chokeslam from Satnam Singh
Britt Baker b. The Bunny – Stomp
Young Bucks b. The Gunns – Assisted rollup to Colten

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: June 28, 2023
Location: Firstontario Center, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with Forbidden Door and that means it is time to get back to mostly just AEW stars after spending the last few weeks on the New Japan guest stars. That could open up a variety of options as we are about two months away from All In. We’re also just over two weeks away from All Out, which takes place the following week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Forbidden Door if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Tomohiro Ishii

The rest of the Blackpool Combat Club is here with Moxley. Ishii comes right at him and they chop it out. With that not working, they switch to the forearms until Ishii shoulders him down. Back up and Ishii bites Moxley’s face but Moxley hits a shoulder. With Ishii down on the floor, there’s a suicide dive to put him down again. Cue Eddie Kingston to grab a chair and chase off the Club as we take a break.

Back with another exchange of forearms until Moxley punches him down. A Gotch style piledriver sets up the elbows to Ishii’s face so Ishii flips him off. Back up and they trade lariats as Kingston hasn’t stopped staring at Castagnoli. Moxley is up first with the Paradigm Shift for two but Ishii hits a double arm DDT. A lariat sets up the sliding lariat for two on Moxley, who comes right back with the Death Rider for two. Moxley hits a stomp into another Death Rider for the pin at 15:10.

Rating: B-. This was the “we’re going to hit each other until one of us can’t get up any longer” match and it was good enough. Ishii still looks like one of the most intimidating stars in the world and Moxley…well you know you don’t have to ask him to do something like this twice. It was also another step towards Kingston vs. Castagnoli II and that should be a huge title changing moment. That’s a little ways off but at least they did something with it here.

Post match Kingston yells at Moxley, who comes back down the ramp….and then leaves.

Adam Cole arrives and is greeted by Renee Paquette when MJF comes in to be friendly with Cole. The tag tournament is a great chance for Cole to get somewhere because he can’t beat MJF for the World Title. MJF even has matching tag merch: Better Than You Bay-bay shirts! Cole: “Good God man.” And he leaves, with MJF seeming rather happy.

Post break Renee Paquette isn’t happy with what Jon Moxley has been doing but here is Eddie Kingston to interrupt. Kingston and Moxley yell (the former about Castagnoli and the latter asking “who cares about some Chikara BS”) and Paquette yelling at both of them. She tells Kingston to fix this.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay from Forbidden Door.

Orange Cassidy/El Hijo del Vikingo/Keith Lee vs. Jericho Appreciation Society

This is the result of the Society being annoyed at Cassidy and ranting about him at the same time. Cassidy found his partners in the locker room and they don’t seem to have anything better to do. Lee has dyed his hair and beard and looks about 12 years younger. Cassidy hands his sunglasses to a big fan at ringside who loses her mind over it. I’m not big on Cassidy but seeing a wrestler make a fan that happy is my favorite thing in wrestling and I will never get tired of seeing it happen.

With all of that out of the way, Vikingo takes Menard down to start before it’s off to Cassidy vs. Parker. We pause for Parker to pull out his new comb, which Cassidy takes away before sending him outside. Garcia comes in and gets pulled into Vikingo’s double stomp but Vikingo is sent outside. A cheap shot takes Vikingo down and a belly to back suplex does it again back inside. We take a break and come back with Menard powerbombing Vikingo.

That doesn’t last long though as it’s back to Lee to clean house, but Garcia manages to dance on Lee’s back. That’s fine with Lee, who pops up and keeps Garcia on his back as he beats up the other two. Vikingo comes back in and tries a flip dive, which hits Lee by mistake (looked like Lee was supposed to catch him but couldn’t).

That’s fine with Lee, who picks Vikingo up and swings him into various humans. Vikingo hits a huge moonsault to the floor, leaving Cassidy to have the Orange Punch pulled into a failed Dragon Tamer attempt. Garcia piledrives him for two and the Dragon Tamer goes on. Vikingo breaks that up and Menard’s clotheslines only have limited effect on Lee. The Supernova finishes Menard at 13:12.

Rating: C. There were quite a few botches in this and they took away a good bit of the enjoyment here. I’ve seen Vikingo get in there and be perfectly smooth so I think we can write it off as a bad night. It’s nice to see Lee in there doing something different, though until he’s actually in a story that matters, I’m not sure how much it’s going to matter.

The Elite have issued a challenge for a six man tag when the Dark Order interrupts to say they’ll take it. The Order yells at Hangman Page for not talking to them anymore so tonight it’s a fight.

Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara are ready to face Sting and Darby Allin, because Jericho and Sting aren’t done with each other. Oh wait: it’s the Painmaker rather than Jericho.

Dark Order vs. Elite

Reynolds can’t get anywhere with Matt to start so Matt takes him down without much trouble. Silver comes in and gets to air some grievances to Page, who grabs a headlock. Page takes over without much trouble so Uno comes in to yell at him as well. Even with Page in control, he can’t bring himself to really go after the Order.

Matt comes in and we take a break, coming back with Uno cleaning house. Uno goes after Page once too often and gets beaten up, only to have the Order come back their finishing sequence for two on Page. The Bucks come back in to clean house and hit dives, but Page takes too long with the Buckshot Lariat. Instead Silver gets two off a rollup but the Bucks are back in with the BTE Trigger. Now the Buckshot can finish Silver at 13:47.

Rating: C+. Somehow this Dark Order/Page story is still going and I’m really not sure why. It was only so interesting in the first place and it keeps coming back. This time around it might finally be the breaking point but it is still a lot to buy the Dark Order hanging with the Elite. At least there wasn’t another shrugged off spike piledriver on the floor.

Post match the Blackpool Combat Club runs in for the beatdown as the Dark Order watches. Jon Moxley even busts out the screwdriver for some gouging as Page watches the Order leaving. Moxley issues the challenge for Blood and Guts on July 19.

Video on the men’s Owen Hart tournament.

Adam Cole and Roderick Strong meet up in the back when MJF comes up (MJF: “Hey partner, hey generic white guy.”) and says they should leave. Cole actually leaves with him, albeit after wishing Strong luck.

Here is Jungle Boy, who says cut his music. He hates the song and most of the people here, but he’s still banging “the hottest b**** in this place.” So did he turn on Hook or did everyone turn on him? He has been cost two World Champions and has to see Hook with his unrecognized title. Hook is a fraud and when Jungle Boy gets his hands on Hook….and here is Hook to chase him off.

Post break, Jungle Boy runs through the parking lot with Hook chasing him and dives head first into the back of a car (cool visual), leaving Hook to beat up a trashcan.

Ruby Soho vs. Alexia Nicole

This was supposed to be Soho vs. Britt Baker but Baker is out with illness. Soho STOs her down to start and mocks Baker’s DMD taunt. Stomping keeps Nicole down and Lockjaw finishes for Soho at 2:01.

Nicole gets spray painted for a bonus. Soho complains about Baker not being here this week and blames those Canadian germs. The fight can be on next week and Soho is ready to hurt her again. Soho has never been better but Baker is a shell of her former self. Next week, violence is promised.

Johnny TV is ready to help take out Matt Hardy and Brother Zay on Rampage.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Sammy Guevara/Chris Jericho vs. Sting/Darby Allin

Texas Tornado match and Jericho is the Painmaker. Allin dropkicks Sammy go start so Jericho can hit Sting in the arm with the bat. Sting gets his own bat for a duel and has Jericho in the corner, only for Jericho to take it outside for a whip into the barricade. Sammy gets the ladder out before flipping Sammy over the steps and into the crowd.

We take a break and come back with Allin diving off the middle rope to take Guevara down. Tables are set up at ringside and Sting climbs a ladder for the dive onto Guevara….and only one of the breaks, with Sting kind of crashing into the side of the other. Back in and Allin hits Jericho with a skateboard off the top. Allin sends him face first into the ladder in the corner but the standing Coffin Drop hits skateboard.

The Judas Effect hits Allin to send him outside but Sting is back in (thank goodness). The Walls have Sting in trouble until a bat shot breaks it up. A Stinger Splash connects but a Codebreaker gives Jericho two. Sting gets two more off the Death Drop before countering another Codebreaker into the Scorpion Deathlock to make Jericho tap at 12:56.

Rating: C+. That Sting landing was TERRIBLE but at least he got back up and finished everything. I’m not sure where Sting vs. Jericho goes here, as Sting has already beaten him in the ring. There will always be an audience for a singles match but this felt a lot like a blowoff, which does make sense after two matches in four days.

Overall Rating: C+. This was an off show as it didn’t feel like anything overly important happened. A lot of the show was built around the middle of the card stories and those are only so interesting. It certainly wasn’t a bad show, but it did feel like a show that was designed as a breather after the pay per view. Nothing wrong with that and they earned it, but just a bit of a weird Dynamite.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Tomohiro Ishii – Death Rider
Orange Cassidy/Keith Lee/El Hijo del Vikingo b. Jericho Appreciation Society – Supernova to Menard
Elite b. Dark Order – Buckshot Lariat to Silver
Ruby Soho b. Alexia Nicole – Lockjaw
Sting/Darby Allin b. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara – Scorpion Deathlock to Guevara

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

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Forbidden Door 2023
Date: June 25, 2023
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, Taz

It’s time for the annual crossover show as we have a bunch of AEW vs. New Japan matches. The entire build to the show as well as the show itself are a total side trip away from what AEW normally does but it is one heck of a side trip, with an absolutely stacked card that has some serious potential. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Mogul Embassy vs. Best Friends/Rocky Romero/El Desperado

Kaun takes Romero into the corner to start but gets dropped with a hurricanrana. The Best Friends come in for a double elbow so it’s off to Toa, who gets high crossbodied. Everything breaks down and the villains are sent to the floor for the big series of dives. Trent caps it off with a moonsault onto Toa as the fans are rather pleased.

Back in and Toa hits a pop up Samoan drop to cut Trent off, followed by a whip over the corner to the floor. Kaun hits the slingshot hilo and Cage hits the Death Valley Driver on the apron. Trent suplexes his way out of trouble but the Embassy does the pull his partners to the floor thing.

Strickland takes over on Trent but a quick shot allows the tag to Desperado. A shot to Cage on the apron causes everything to break down and Strickland plants Desperado for two. We hit the parade of everyone hitting something until Cage accidentally discus clotheslines Swerve. Strong Zero gets two on Swerve but Cage is back in for the F5 into Swerve’s cutter. The Swerve Stomp finishes for Swerve at 12:24.

Rating: C. It’s always nice to see Swerve getting a pin, even if it is one of the less important matches of the show. What mattered here was starting the fans off with something fun and the Best Friends will always get that kind of a reaction. I’m still not sure why Swerve has to be stuck with these guys, as the Gates continue to feel worthless and Cage isn’t going anywhere, but at least he got a little something here.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Billie Starkz vs. Athena

Athena’s ROH Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Starkz fires off the kicks to start and a suplex brainbuster gets two. A headscissors into the corner gets Athena out of trouble and we slow it down as Athena prefers. Athena stays on the ribs with some more kicks but the O Face is countered into a Death Valley Bomb for two.

Starkz gets caught on top though and it’s a pop up powerbomb into a kick to the face for two, leaving Athena annoyed. Back up and they trade dropkicks until Athena misses a standing moonsault. Starkz misses a Swanton onto the apron and crashes hard, setting up a spinning gutbuster to give Athena the pin at 7:48.

Rating: C. That’s all it should have been, as Athena is on a roll and Starkz isn’t in here league yet. Athena didn’t quite run her over but it was hard to believe that there was any danger in this one. Not exactly a classic match, but Athena is on fire right now and any excuse to get her out of ROH and into AEW is a good thing.

Zero Hour: El Phantasmo vs. Stu Grayson

They shake hands to start before Grayson takes him into the corner to hammer away. Grayson pounds away and they stand there for the exchange of chops. Then Phantasmo grabs the nipples to take over, setting up a springboard spinning crossbody. Grayson is sent outside for the suicide dive into the barricade, followed by the springboard Swanton for two back inside.

Phantasmo catches him with a kick to the head on top and snaps off a super hurricanrana. The top rope splash (and a good one at that) gives Phantasmo two but Grayson kicks him back down. A 450 gives Grayson two but Phantasmo is back with a springboard tornado DDT. Something like Diamond Dallas Page’s old Pancake (with the arms held back) finishes Grayson at 7:17.

Rating: C. Of all the matches on the card, this one felt the most like “here’s a way to get more people on the card”. Grayson has been in the middle of an ordeal with the Dark Order on Ring Of Honor for weeks now and isn’t exactly a big star. Phantasmo is a bigger name, but I don’t know how many people were going to sit home if he wasn’t on the show. Fine match, but something that could have been dropped with no consequence.

Zero Hour: United Empire vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

United Empire: Jeff Cobb/TJP/Kyle Fletcher
Los Ingobernables: Bushi/Hiromu Takahashi/Shingo Takagi

Bushi gets double teamed to start and his comeback is quickly cut off by the numbers game. Cobb comes in to power Bushi around but a dropkick to the knee puts Cobb down. Takahashi comes in to clean house until Cobb pulls him into an overhead belly to belly. It’s off to Takagi, who gets kicked in the face by Fletcher so TJP can come in with a high crossbody. Everything breaks down and Takagi hits TJP with a pop up Death Valley Driver. Cobb has to make a save so Bushi dives onto Fletcher. Takagi’s Last Of The Dragon is blocked so TJP kicks him in the face, earning a discus lariat. Made In Japan finishes TJP at 7:22.

Rating: C+. Best thing on the Kickoff Show and a lot of that probably has to do with the people involved. There were some talented names in this match and I could have gone for a bit more of it. The Empire losing is a bit weird as they’re around AEW more often, but it isn’t like the result truly matters in the grand scheme of things.

The opening video gives a quick look at the major matches.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

MJF, who still believes New Japan is an indy company, is defending. Tanahashi takes him down to start so MJF bails to the floor, saying he’s already done. A COWARD chant is enough to bring him back in and a knee to the ribs cuts Tanahashi off. MJF grabs a bearhug into the abdominal stretch with a grab of the ropes keeps Tanahashi in trouble. Tanahashi fights out and knocks MJF down for the middle rope Swanton and a near fall.

MJF catches him on top for a good looking superplex and a near fall. The Heatseeker is blocked though and MJF bangs up his knees. MJF is right back up with a double underhook shoulder breaker, which only hurts the knee even more. Tanahashi is down so MJF calls him a joke (and a fan calls MJF a coward), which is enough to start the comeback.

The bad knee is taken out and the Texas Cloverleaf sends MJF bailing to the ropes. Twist and Shout into the Sling Blade sets up the High Fly Flow, which only hits the raised knees. They’re both down for a bit until MJF rolls outside and grabs the title. The referee takes it away and Tanahashi grabs a rollup for a VERY delayed two. Another referee distraction lets MJF hit Tanahashi with the diamond ring to retain at 16:20.

Rating: B-. Good opener here but the ending didn’t do it any favors. The ribs vs. the knees worked well for a story here as Tanahashi isn’t as fast as he was before so it gave him a reason to slow down. MJF gets over for his talking abilities but it is nice to see him being able to easily hang in a match like this. Nice choice for the first match on the main card here, as the fans still buy into MJF’s antics.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima

The fans are NOT pleased with Punk and commentary acknowledges the not so positive reaction. They start rather slowly with Kojima’s headlock not doing anything. Kojima goes after the back to take over and stops to pop his pectoral muscles. Punk sends him outside and pops his own pecs before going outside or some chops. A leg sweep knocks Punk down on the apron but he’s right back with a knockdown of his own.

The legdrop connects and we get the required Hogan references. They strike it out in the corner until Punk whips him hard into said corner. Punk hits his own Kojima style lariats in the corner (while shouting “KOJIMA” over and over), setting up a belly to back suplex for two (with quite the evil grin during the cover). A missed splash in the corner lets Kojima fire off his rapid fire chops and then he does it again in another corner. Kojima’s top rope elbow gets two and a DDT plants Punk again.

Punk knocks him down again though and drops a top rope elbow for two of his own. The Anaconda Vice goes on until Kojima hits him in the back of the head to break it up. The GTS is broken up and Kojima fires off his double chops into the Koji Cutter to drop Punk. Kojima’s lariat is countered into a neckbreaker for two more but the GTS is blocked again. A brainbuster gives Kojima two but Punk kicks him in the head, setting up the GTS to finish Kojima at 13:33.

Rating: B. They beat each other up rather well here and Kojima gave him more of a run for his money than I was expecting. If nothing else, it was a lot of fun to see Punk laying into the heel stuff, as he can shift from one side or the other like few in wrestling today. This got physical at the end and it wound up being a rather entertaining match.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia

Cassidy is defending (Shibata’s ROH Pure Title/Sabre’s NJPW TV Title aren’t on the line) and it’s one fall to a finish. They all block kicks to start until Sabre and Shibata are both sent outside. The Dragontamer has Cassidy in trouble until Shibata makes the save. Shibata Figure Fours Cassidy until Garcia makes a save and grabs a hold of his own. That’s broken up as well and everyone but Cassidy strike it out. Cassidy comes back in and everyone is knocked down for a bit.

Back up and Cassidy and Garcia grab holds, only to have Shibata and Sabre slug it out with said holds still on. With that broken up, Cassidy hits a Stundog Millionaire but Sabre twists the arm around to hit Cassidy in his own ribs. Garcia grabs a belt to knock Shibata silly for two but Cassidy clears Garcia out. That lets Cassidy and Shibata sit down to slap each other until an Orange Punch drops Shibata.

Cassidy’s hand is too banged up to cover so it’s the Beach Break for two. The Mousetrap to Sabre is countered into a double arm trap with a save being made. Sabre pulls Cassidy back into the hold until Shibata makes a save of his own. Everything breaks down again and Garcia pildrives Sabre. Shibata hits the PK on Garcia but Cassidy steals the pin to retain at 11:32.

Rating: B. The match was almost all action and Cassidy continues to show that he can hang with just about anyone. That being said, I’m not sure how many times the story has been “Cassidy is banged up and facing overwhelming odds” but he retains anyway. The point has long since been made and it’s time for someone to beat him for the title. He isn’t really gaining much more by doing it over and over again, yet here we are (after another rather entertaining match).

IWGP World Title: Sanada vs. Jungle Boy

Jungle Boy, with Hook, is challenging and gets run over by the champ. The threat of a Snare Trap sends Sanada straight to the ropes and Jungle Boy is already looking frustrated. Jungle Boy’s attempt at a Paradise Lock is broken up and Sanada gets one of his own, setting up the running dropkick for two. Back up and Jungle Boy fights back before a double knockdown gives them both a breather.

They chop it out until Jungle Boy gets Sanada’s own Skull End, slowly sending him over to the ropes. Sanada is right back up with a TKO for two but a moonsault doesn’t work as well. Jungle Boy snaps off a poisonrana but Sanada is right back with the swinging Skull End. Sanada’s poisonrana sets up a Shining Wizard for two, followed by a moonsault to retain at 10:37. There seemed to be a bit of confusion on the ending there, as the referee checked the shoulders and the bell didn’t immediately ring.

Rating: C+. This was a step down from the rest of the show, but there was only so much that could be done with the idea of Jungle Boy getting a World Title shot. He wasn’t going to win here and it fits in with his recent struggles. Commentary referred to this as a learning experience for Jungle Boy and that’s rather accurate, as he wasn’t going to win but could still get something out of it.

Post match Jungle Boy seems banged up but is fine enough to turn on Hook (Taz is LIVID). The fans give a very loud YOU F***** UP chant as this team with three whole matches together is done.

Blackpool Combat Club/Konosuke Takeshita/Shota Umino vs. Elite/Tomohiro Ishii/Eddie Kingston

Umino takes Page into the corner for some pats on the chest, plus a forearm to annoy Page a bit. Takeshita comes in instead and takes over, only for the Bucks to come in and pick up the pace. A neckbreaker/backbreaker combination hits Yuta (One of the Bucks: “See you in h***!”) and it’s off to Kingston vs. Moxley for one heck of an audience reaction. They stare each other down and then go to the big chop off as the other eight just watch from the floor.

Realizing that doesn’t make a ton of sense, the others come in for a big slugout of their own until the Bucks hit stereo dives to the floor. Page adds the moonsault as Kingston and Moxley are still chopping away. Castagnoli comes in to drop Kingston as Moxley goes outside to pour water on his chest. Takeshita comes in and BLASTS Ishii (on the apron) with an elbow before Kingston is caught in the wrong corner for some elbows from Castagnoli.

Kingston lariats his way out of trouble but Moxley is right there to cut him off. Stereo lariats connect and Moxley’s banged up chest keeps him down even longer. Ishii comes in to run Yuta over and slips out of a Hart Attack attempt. A back suplex drops Umino and a diving tag brings in Page for the big comeback. The Bucks hold Takeshita over the floor so Page can hit a running shooting star press from the apron.

Takeshita is back up but the Bucks start firing off the superkicks. The Blue Thunder Bomb Takeshita two on Matt and a wheelbarrow suplex drops him again. Castagnoli’s swing into Yuta’s dropkick gets two with a bunch of people making the save. Nick breaks up…something from Yuta and a rather cold tag brings Ishii back in as everything breaks down. Moxley cutters Ishii but the Bucks superkick their problems away again. Yuta ducks the Buckshot lariat and Ishii takes his head off with a lariat of his own. The brainbuster finishes for Ishii at 21:22.

Rating: B+. This was the all action match of the night and that’s all it needed to be, as the score (unofficially) is evened up between the Elite and the Club. You can book Blood & Guts from here and it should be rather epic. It was also rather nice to not have the match turn into a wild brawl, as they already covered that at Double Or Nothing. Heck of a fight here, and the storytelling with Kingston/Moxley/Castagnoli worked well. Throw in Takeshita looking like a main eventer and it was even better.

Post match Kingston isn’t having anything to do with his partners and leaves, as he didn’t want to hurt Moxley.

Video on Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale. Storm is so mean that even Nightingale doesn’t like her!

AEW Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale

Storm, with the Outcasts, is defending and Nightingale’s NJPW Women’s Strong Title isn’t on the line. They run the ropes to start until Nightingale counters a hiptoss into a cradle for two. Nightingale drops her to the floor but stops to yell at the Outcasts, allowing Storm to hit a hip attack on the way back in. The seated full nelson keeps Nightingale in trouble and Storm forearms her in the back to cut off a comeback.

Back up and they head to the apron with Nightingale hitting a Death Valley Driver to plant her hard. Nightingale goes up but the Outcasts throw in the spray paint. That’s enough for a double ejection but the delay causes Nightingale to miss the moonsault. The hip attack into a DDT gives Storm two, only to have Nightingale pull her into an Indian Deathlock. With that broken up, the Pounce sends Storm outside but she’s right back with a poke to the eye. Storm Zero retains the title at 11:03.

Rating: C+. This was more of the same from the Outcasts, but at least Storm was able to cheat on her own to retain here. Nightingale losing isn’t a surprise but it’s certainly annoying, as it seems to happen far too often. Odds are we’re coming up on Storm vs. Jamie Hayter for the title at All In, but at least Nightingale didn’t get squashed.

We recap Will Ospreay challenging Kenny Omega for the IWGP US Title. Omega escaped with the title at Wrestle Kingdom but now Ospreay is back and more dangerous for the rematch.

IWGP US Title: Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay is challenging and seems to be the big favorite. Omega takes him down into an early chinlock but Ospreay reverses into an arm crank. They chop it out but it’s way too early for the One Winged Angle. The Oscutter is countered as well and Omega has to duck a kick, leaving us with a standoff. Omega takes him down and hits a moonsault but here is Don Callis with his “military grade security” for the distraction.

That’s enough for an ejection but said distraction lets Ospreay send him into the barricade and take over back inside. Some shots to the back have Omega in trouble and Ospreay stays on said back for two. Omega manages to hit a quick Kitaro Crusher but Ospreay drapes him over the top rope. That sets up a shooting star press to the back and the Oscutter on the apron keeps Omega rocked. They head outside with Ospreay ramming him hard into the announcers’ table to knock Omega even sillier.

Omega is sent through the table’s covering and is busted rather open, allowing Ospreay to lick the blood off of his own arm. Ospreay V Triggers him to the floor and grabs the Canadian flag to clean himself, ala Shawn Michaels in 1997. That’s enough for Omega to knock him hard to the floor, where Ospreay is sent hard into the steps to bust him open as well. A DDT onto the steps knocks Ospreay silly again and Omega elbows away at the cut to make the blood flow even more freely. Ospreay powerbombs his way out of a choke and they’re both down.

Back up and Omega hits a V Trigger, only for Ospreay to grab the standing Spanish Fly for two. A rather terrible Sharpshooter sends Omega to the ropes but Ospreay pulls him back in and switches to a Crossface. With the rope break getting Omega out of trouble, Ospreay kicks him in the head a few times. The Oscutter is blocked (perhaps shouting OSCUTTER in advance was a bad idea) and Omega hits some Snapdragons. A piledriver gives Omega two and there’s the V Trigger to the back.

Omega tries a super One Winged Angel but Ospreay counters the chance of death into a Cheeky Nandos kick. Ospreay hits a skytwister to the floor, followed by a Liger Bomb for two back inside. Omega knocks him down again but here is Don Callis (the fans are NOT pleased) at ringside. A knee to the face hits Ospreay as Callis hides behind security. Callis’ distraction doesn’t stop the V Trigger but he manages to slip Ospreay a screwdriver.

The One Winged Angel is broken up with the screwdriver to the head and the Hidden Blade into the Stormbreaker gives Ospreay….two. Well that was ridiculous. Ospreay’s One Winged Angel gets one so Omega loads up his own version, only to switch into a German suplex for two. Ospreay Tiger Driver 91’s him for two and it’s a Hidden Blade into Stormbreaker to finally finish Omega at 39:07.

Rating: A. What else do you want here? They sold the idea of two people leaving it all in the ring until one of them couldn’t stand any longer and it felt like a violent war. That’s exactly what this should have been and on almost all accounts, it would have been a bit better without the (awesome) false finish off back to back finishers. That was a bit much and should have been the finish, but that’s a rather nothing complaint all things considered.

Omega has to be helped out due to obvious reasons.

Sting/Darby Allin/Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Jericho/Minoru Suzuki/Sammy Guevara

Guevara flips over Naito to start before hitting a dropkick to take over. Naito sends him outside though and that’s enough for the Tranquilo pose. Allin comes in to yell at Guevara but gets Suzuki instead. That doesn’t go well for Allin so it’s off to Jericho vs. Sting for the big staredown. Sting takes over without much trouble and hits the Stinger Splash into the Scorpion Deathlock.

Guevara makes the save with a cutter and we get a triple Le Suzuki Gods pose. Naito is back in to clean things out and we settle down to Naito’s Gloria being broken up. Everything breaks down and the villains grab triple chokes, which are quickly escaped. Allin hits a dive onto Suzuki but Jericho hits the Judas Effect to cut off Allin’s sequel dive.

Jericho brings out a table (of course) and puts Sting on it before ordering Sammy to hit the 630 off the top to drive him through it. Naito rolls Jericho up for two but Destino is countered into the Walls. Sting is back up for the save so Jericho gives Naito the Codebreaker for to instead. Naito and Sting beat on Suzuki and it’s an atomic drop into a rollup to finish Suzuki at 15:02.

Rating: C. This one didn’t do much for me and it felt like they were just kind of going through the motions in some places. I’m also guessing that Sting was supposed to get up before that 630 but just didn’t in time, which would explain (not excuse, but explain) his quick save. The match wasn’t bad, but nothing you need to see.

Post match Jericho grabs the bat but Sting clears everyone out.

We recap Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada. In summation, it’s Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada.

Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada

Danielson comes out to Final Countdown for a special moment. Okada goes for the arm to start but Danielson reverses into a surfboard with a double knee stomp to leave Okada a bit annoyed. An elbow to the face drops Danielson and they go to the floor, where Danielson starts working on the arms. Some shots to said arms have Okada in trouble and Danielson cranks away at both back inside. Okada fights up and lets Danielson kick him, which just wakes Okada up even more.

The forearms don’t work because of the arm but it’s fine enough to catch a charging Danielson in a flapjack. They fight to the floor again and this time Danielson is sent into the crowd. Okada is right after him with a big running clothesline, setting up a neckbreaker onto the knee for two back inside. Danielson pops back up and hits a missile dropkick before it’s time to strike it out again.

Okada shotgun dropkicks him into the corner, followed by another dropkick for two. Back up and Danielson goes for the arm again, this time getting in a Disarm-Her. With that broken up, Danielson sends him outside but misses the dive. The Rainmaker is blocked and Okada gets dropkicked up the ramp. The YES Kicks rock Okada but he’s right back with a Tombstone onto the ramp.

Danielson is mostly out of it and the Rainmaker is loaded up. Hold on though as we pause for the doctor, who says Danielson can go, despite convulsing. Danielson is cleared and immediately hits a knee to drop Okada. Danielson declares it time to kick his f****** head in and stomps away but Danielson’s arm seems to have given out.

The YES chant is loaded up but Okada cuts off the running knee with the dropkick. The Landslide sets up the Rainmaker for two but two more attempts miss. Danielson tries the LeBell Lock, only to opt for some weird double arm lock. Okada can’t reach the rope so Danielson lets go and hammers him in the face. The double arm crank goes back on and Okada taps at 27:33.

Rating: A-. This was great in a different way than the Omega vs. Ospreay bloodbath in that this felt more like a traditional classic wrestling match. You had Danielson tearing the arm apart all match while Okada worked on the neck, only to have Danielson get the better of things and tie him up for the win. I had a great time with it, but the lack of a story other than “hey let’s have a classic” slowed it down a bit.

Danielson is banged up to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. The two big matches and the ten man tag are more than enough to carry this, but it doesn’t quite get to that all time level. There are some matches on here that don’t exactly feel epic, but the good stuff is so, so good that it carries the rest. Definitely check out Okada vs. Danielson and Ospreay vs. Omega, but the rest you might want to pick and choose (save for the Zero Hour stuff, which added pretty much nothing). Another awesome show here, as we now veer back into the normal AEW material.

Results
Mogul Embassy b. Best Friends/Rocky Romero/El Desperado – Swerve Stomp to Romero
Athena b. Billie Starkz – Gutbuster
El Phantasmo b. Stu Grayson – Arm trap faceplant
Los Ingobernables de Japon b. United Empire – Made In Japan to TJP
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Hiroshi Tanahashi – Diamond ring to the head
CM Punk b. Satoshi Kojima – GTS
Orange Cassidy b. Daniel Garcia, Zack Sabre Jr. and Katsuyorhi Shibata – Crucifix to Garcia
Sanada b. Jungle Boy – Moonsault
Elite/Tomohiro Ishii/Eddie Kingston b. Blackpool Combat Club/Konosuke Takeshita/Shota Umino – Brainbuster to Yuta
Toni Storm b. Willow Nightingale – Storm Zero
Will Ospreay b. Kenny Omega – Stormbreaker
Sting/Tetsuya Naito/Darby Allin b. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Minoru Suzuki – Rollup to Suzuki
Bryan Danielson b. Kazuchika Okada – Double arm crank

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.

It’s time for one of the more unique shows of the year, as AEW and New Japan get together for another Forbidden Door (which does not seem to actually be forbidden in any way). This one has been built up a bit better than last year and the top of the card looks rather strong. If it is anywhere close to as good as the original show, we should be in for a nice night. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Mogul Embassy vs. Roppongi Vice/El Desperado

This is one of three matches that were added to Zero Hour this week on Collision. The Embassy has been treated as something of value on Ring Of Honor and it would be nice to see Swerve Strickland getting a bit more of a high profile win. Vice is a team who has been around in a variety of forms so having them around makes some sense. Desperado is a wild card, but that seems to be the point.

I’ll take the Embassy to win, even though the Gates of Agony notoriously never win anything of note. Maybe it’s different if they are in a six man match, but it is one of those random matches that could go either way. Hopefully Strickland gets a dominant pin over a member of Vice as it would be the most beneficial long term, even if the Gates continue to be rather dull.

Zero Hour: El Phantasmo vs. Stu Grayson

Grayson hasn’t been around AEW much lately but when he is given the chance, especially away from the Dark Order, he can put on quite the show. Phantasmo is a bigger star of course and in a better place, making this kind of a strange choice to put on the card. Hopefully they can make something work out of this, despite what is likely to be a limited amount of time.

Phantasmo wins here, as Grayson isn’t going to win here when he can barely get on AEW TV most of the time. This feels like a way to get Phantasmo in front of the audience and Grayson is the one who was selected to be out there too. The match should be fairly good if Grayson is trying to get some focus on himself and if that is the case, we should be in for something fun.

Zero Hour: United Empire vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

So this seems to be a showcase match for New Japan stars and that should be fine. Kyle Fletcher and Jeff Cobb are regular enough in AEW so at least commentary will have something to talk about. At the same time, Los Ingobernables haven’t been around lately but the talent will be more than enough to carry things forward, as the story isn’t the point to this one.

I’ll go with the Empire to win here as they have been around more frequently, but if there is one match on here where either would win with either making that much of a difference, it would be this one. If these guys get ten minutes or so, everything should be fine, as there is more than enough talent in there to fill in pretty much whatever amount of time that they are given. But yeah, the Empire wins here.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Athena vs. Billie Starkz

This is one of the matches that has some importance going forward and it is probably the one that has the least interest as far as who wins. It is almost hard to fathom this going any other way, but I’m hoping that we get the Athena who has been tearing up Ring Of Honor in recent weeks. If nothing else, the tournament works if we can see more of Athena on a bigger show.

Of course Athena wins here, as she is already a champion coming in and is up against a 18 year old rookie who hasn’t done much around here so far. This should be all about Athena running over Starkz until she gets to advance. Hopefully the match is there to get Athena over, as she is more than ready to move up into the big leagues of the women’s titles, assuming they can find someone who can take the title from her. For now though, Athena wins here and does so handily.

IWGP World Title: Sanada(c) vs. Jungle Boy

This feels like a match that is there to further a bigger story. Jungle Boy may have been in the World Title match last month but in no way does he feel like a serious threat to beat Sanada here. Instead, it feels like another place where he can come up short and further what seems to be a much needed heel turn. AEW hasn’t exactly been trying to hide his long at best shot and that is the right way to go.

So yeah, naturally this is Sanada winning, though Jungle Boy should be able to get in some stuff of his own. There is nothing to suggest that Jungle Boy is going to come close to winning so it is more about letting the two of them have a nice match before getting to the only possible option. That is the right way to go in this place and having the title on the show is a big deal on its own.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima

We’ll keep going with the obvious results here, as this is little more than a way for Punk to get back in the ring and get the first singles win of his comeback against a legend. Punk has only been back for two shows so far and while he has been in some multi-man tag matches, he has to have some singles matches at some point to really make it feel like he is back.

In case you didn’t get the idea, Punk wins here, albeit after Kojima gives him a heck of a match. Kojima is certainly a name and a very accomplished one at that, but Punk is one of the biggest stars in AEW at the moment and giving him the win is not only the right way to go, but pretty much the only logical choice. Being in the ring with Kojima will likely be a cool moment for Punk, and having him win will be a nice bonus.

Adam Cole vs. Tom Lawlor

This is another match that was added at almost the last minute but at least Lawlor attacked him on Rampage. That at least puts it ahead of the matches that had no build whatsoever other than an announcement so things are a step up. In this case, Cole is gearing up for his World Title shot against Maxwell Jacob Friedman and gets to face someone who should be in a higher profile company than he already is.

In what could be a hidden gem on the show, Cole wins here, and hopefully Lawlor does well enough to get a job, or at least one down the line, as a result. Lawlor is someone who has done well pretty much everywhere I’ve seen him go and it would be nice to see him in AEW more often. For now though, he can be a nice win for Cole, who is on his way to bigger and better things.

Le Suzuki Gods vs. Sting/Darby Allin/Tetsuya Naito

Naito was the mystery partner for Sting and Allin and definitely adds some New Japan star power to the match. This is much more about Sting vs. Jericho and Allin vs. Guevara, with Suzuki and Naito there as well. The good thing about a six man tag is that you can get some different combinations in there, which could even include the bizarre option of Sting vs. Suzuki.

Much like the IWGP World Title match, this feels like a means to an end but we could be in for some interesting things here as the good guys win. The Jericho vs. Sting showdown is bound to happen and it would not shock me to see them go one on one (or two on two) at All In in London in about two months. For now though, we should be in for one of those zany tag matches that AEW knows how to make work very well.

AEW Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Willow Nightingale

This is where what happens to Nightingale is one of the most frustrating things in AEW, as she has to actually win something at some point. While she has already advanced in the Owen Hart tournament and is the NJPW Strong Women’s Champion, she needs to win one of the two women’s titles in AEW. While that is a possibility here, I’m not sure I can imagine it actually happening.

As much as I want it to go the other way, I can’t imagine taking the title off of Storm so soon. Jamie Hayter returning to get the title from Storm (say, in London) would make the most sense and the Outcasts can interfere to give Nightingale an out. Nightingale still needs that big win and she can get it one day, but for now, it’s Storm defeating another champion to retain her own title.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Now stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but I’m not sure how much question there is here about who is leaving with the title. It’s the biggest issue with this show, but that shouldn’t stop them from having a solid match on the way. Friedman has shown that he can do very well in the ring under the right circumstances and Tanahashi is Tanahashi, so this this should work.

But yeah, Friedman wins here, likely with Cole getting involved in some way so he can take the title from Friedman down the line (or something similar). Tanahashi is one of those legends who can be put out there for one loss after another without any kind of a problem and that is what he is going to do here. At the same time, Friedman can brag about beating one of the best ever (and you know he will) so this is a rather logical idea.

International Title: Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia

We’re at a weird point for Cassidy’s title reign, as he has held the title for eight months and a good chunk of that has been spent on “he’s so tired and banged up that he can’t possibly retain the title much longer”. Then he just does it, beating one challenger after another. In theory he is being built up for someone to look like a huge deal when they finally take the title from him, but that has to actually happen at some point.

As ready as I am for Cassidy to lose the title already, odds are he retains here, as Shibata and Sabre Jr. already have titles and Cassidy already beat Garcia last month. If nothing else, Cassidy losing the title feels a lot better in a one on one showdown, and odds are he gets to retain again here. Sabre getting to torture some people will make it worth a look, but it’s Cassidy keeping the title.

Blackpool Combat Club/Konosuke Takeshita/Shota Umino vs. Elite/Eddie Kingston/Tomohiro Ishii

This is the big showdown match as the blood feud between the two sides continues. While Takeshita isn’t part of the Club, he certainly has the same enemies and that is enough to keep him in this kind of a feud. This one is going to be about violence and carnage as we get closer to what is likely Kingston challenging Claudio Castagnoli for the Ring Of Honor World Title next month. And some guest stars to keep up the theme of the show.

After Anarchy in the Arena, this needs to go to the Elite and company, likely with Umino or Wheeler Yuta taking the fall. Or they can just go for the obvious ending with Ishii pinning Castagnoli to set up the Death Before Dishonor match. Either way, there are going to be a lot of people involved and it will probably fall into chaos about halfway through, which is about all you can expect.

IWGP United States Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Will Ospreay

This is a rematch from a huge Wrestle Kingdom match which went very well (though I didn’t grade it as highly as some did). There is a real chance that it headlines the show and if it is similar to what we got on Dynamite with these two, I wouldn’t be opposed. Omega is capable of looking like an absolute star and Ospreay can hang with anyone in the world. Let these two go nuts and it should be a lot of fun.

As for a winner….it’s hard to imagine Omega going up 2-0, especially with Don Callis anywhere nearby. This should go to Ospreay to even the series and then they can do their big rubber match in Japan (or England). These two are going to beat the fire out of each other and it should be an awesome showdown, but Ospreay wins here to even the score and take away one of the main things Omega has at the moment.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson

As big as some of the other matches are, come on. This is the definition of a dream match as perhaps the best in Japan is facing perhaps the best in the United States (and on neutral ground). It’s a match where the names alone make the show feel that awesome and it is almost impossible for this to not be good. Just let them do whatever they want and it should be a main event caliber match.

Then we get to the hard part, as this is pretty much a coin flip. I’ll go with Danielson winning as he is the closer to a home country star, but it really could go either way. Either way, despite Danielson being a heel coming in, there is a good chance that he is going to be cheered out of the building by the end. This is the kind of match that should headline a show and there is a very good chance that it will, with Danielson winning (I guess).

Overall Thoughts

Forbidden Door really is one of the weirdest shows that you see all year and that makes it all the more interesting. New Japan isn’t being treated as a bunch of invaders and only a few of the matches really have personal issues. Instead, this is about proving who is better and we could have some outstanding matches on the way there. It will be nice to get back to the focus being only on AEW, but for a one night event, we could be in for a classic here.

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Collision
Date: June 24, 2023
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

It’s the go home show for Forbidden Door and the big attraction this week is again CM Punk and again he is in a multi-man tag. Other than that though, we have Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Swerve Strickland in a match that should be great. Other than that, Sting and Darby Allin need a mystery partner for tomorrow night and get to announce him tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Ricky Starks, FTR and CM Punk are ready for their eight man tag tonight.

Bullet Club Gold and the Gunns are ready for their eight man tag tonight.

Opening sequence.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring to find out who is Sting and Darby Allin’s partner but Chris Jericho and Minoru Suzuki cut him off. Jericho doesn’t know who Sting and Allin could find who is tougher or sexier than them, so they’re done waiting. What matters is that Schiavone knows the partner, so TELL US WHO IT IS.

Cue Sting and Darby Allin, with the latter asking where Sammy Guevara is this week. Maybe he finally thought better of it, because if he shows up at Forbidden Door, Darby will beat his a**. Just like the partner did to Jericho at the Tokyo Dome. Cue Tetsuya Naito to stare Jericho down and send him running outside. Not the biggest surprise, but a good choice.

Miro is sick of his god being a coward and bows before no man. He renounces his god and wife because he is ready to hurt people.

Swerve Strickland vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Feeling out process to start with Tanahashi taking him into the corner and firing off some air guitar. Strickland isn’t having that and guitars him right back before sending it to the floor. A kick to the ropes serves as a low blow on the way back in and Strickland gets to choke away. Tanahashi is sent over the ropes but skins the cat for a headscissors to put Swerve outside.

Strickland ties him up in the ropes though and hammers away as we take a break. Back with Tanahashi hitting something close to the Sling Blade and striking away. The running Downward Spiral gives Strickland two but a much better Sling Blade plants Strickland again. The High Fly Flow hits raised knees but the Swerve Stomp only hits the mat. Tanahashi shoves him off the top and now the High Fly Flow can finish Strickland at 10:45.

Rating: B-. This was a match that gave me some very high hopes when I first saw it advertised and it wound up being pretty good. Tanahashi is getting up there in years and is nowhere near what he once was, but he is still capable of having a perfectly good match. Strickland losing to a legend isn’t going to hurt him, but he does need to start moving up the ladder already.

Post match MJF pops up on screen to say he’s getting out of Canada as fast as possible. He holds the most important title in the world and doesn’t want to watch a bunch of indy geeks from Japan wrestle. MJF promises to do painful things to Tanahashi with his air guitar to wrap it up.

Brody King vs. Andrade El Idolo

Andrade kicks King’s leg out to start and gets up a raised boot in the corner. A headscissors out of the corner drops King again so he sends Andrade into the ropes, where we get the Tranquilo pose. King is sent outside and there’s the big moonsault from the top to take him down again. Back up and King knocks him down hard to the floor with a chop and we take a break.

We come back with King working on the taped up shoulder until Andrade makes it to the apron. The dragon screw legwhip over the rope takes King down and a high crossbody puts him down again. The running knees in the corner give Andrade two but King Death Valley Drivers him into the corner. Andrade is right back with another shot to the leg though and the Figure Four is loaded up. Cue Julia Hart with Andrade’s mask but the distraction doesn’t work. Instead, Andrade elbows King down and the Figure Eight goes on, only to have Buddy Matthews run in for the DQ at 12:56.

Rating: B-. Another solid match from Andrade, who is working extra hard since his return. While there is a very good chance that is to get a certain other company to notice him, I’ll certainly take what I can get while it’s available. Andrade finding some friends to go after the Trios Titles isn’t a bad idea and if it means King getting to maul people, I’m all for it.

Post match the House beats Andrade down. Malakai Black pops up on screen as Hart holds up the mask. The lights go out…and that’s it.

Here are Christian Cage (holding the TNT Title) and Luchasaurus (the TNT Champion) for a chat. Christian is back home in Toronto and now he knows that it breeds losers. He mocks the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors, including former Raptors star Kawhi Leonard, who left a few years ago. Now for a couple of housekeeping items: there will be no more open challenges and you will have to earn a title shot, like HE did. Christian is ready to take the title to the next level. Luchasaurus was barely mentioned and said nothing, but he does get to carry Christian around on his shoulders.

Various people talk about what it would mean to win the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. The interesting point here: Jim Neidhart trained Roderick Strong? That’s a new one on me.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Willow Nightingale vs. Nyla Rose

Non-title and Marina Shafir is here with Rose. Nightingale ducks a clothesline in the corner to start and takes her down, setting up the big chops. Rose is knocked outside, where a Shafir distraction lets her post Nightingale as we take a break. Back with Nightingale sending her into the corner and hitting a middle rope missile dropkick for two. Rose muscles her over with a suplex though and then drops her with a gordbuster for two of her own. Nightingale slips out of a powerbomb and hits the Pounce to drop Rose again. The Babe With The Powerbomb finishes Rose at 8:54.

Rating: C. Nightingale is in a weird spot at the moment as she doesn’t seem likely to win the TBS or AEW/ROH Women’s Titles, so this might be her high point for the time being. She can make a run in the tournament and still be the NJPW Strong champion, but, much like several others, she needs to win something from around here for a change. Maybe the tournament is it, but anything involving more Nightingale is a good thing.

Post match the Outcasts surround Nightingale but Skye Blue makes the save with a chair.

Scorpio Sky talks about how he struggled to get here. Then his success controlled him but no more. He is one half of the first Tag Team Champions, the first Face of the Revolution and a two time TNT Champion. Now you’ll find out who he really is.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Jeremy Prophet

Hobbs knocks him into the corner to start and doesn’t seem pleased when Prophet tries a rollup. Some clotheslines drop Prophet and the spinebuster finishes him at 1:37.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

CM Punk/FTR/Ricky Starks vs. Bullet Club Gold/The Gunns

It’s a VERY mixed reaction for Punk here, which almost had to be expected. While bails from the threat of facing Punk to start and hands it off to Robinson instead. A shoulder drops Robinson so it’s Harwood coming in for a headlock of his own. Said headlock is ground away a bit before it’s off to Starks for the hip gyrating Old School on Colten. White comes in for the save and NOW he wants Punk. That’s fine with Punk, who gives him a hip gyration of his own and then wins a chop off.

The GTS and Blade Runner are both broken up and White sends him outside. The big staredown is on and we take a break. Back with Robinson getting caught in FTR’s Doomsday Device, with White having to make a save. Something like a Demolition Decapitator gets two on Austin (the fans are NOT pleased with Punk) but it’s off to White for a dragon screw legwhip.

White starts working on the leg but brings Colten in for a chop off. Punk gets taken down again though and we take another break. Back again with White yelling that Punk doesn’t belong in this ring anymore and getting planted or his efforts. The running knee in the corner rocks White but the Gunns break up the tag attempt. Robinson’s GTS attempt is blocked and Punk kicks him in the head. The Gunns are kicked away and the diving tag brings in Starks to clean house.

Roshambo is broken up and we settle down to White rolling Starks up (with trunks) for two. Blade Runner is broken up and the Gunns are back in to beat up Harwood. Wheeler takes both of them out and hits a big dive to the floor. Not to be outdone, Punk dives at White but gets caught in a swinging Rock Bottom. Starks gets one of his own for two and the spear hits White. The Gunns are cleared out but Robinson gets in the big left, setting up Blade Runner for the pin on Starks at 23:43.

Rating: B. Another long and good match, but it didn’t feel as long this week. It’s almost strange seeing Punk’s team lose so early and while I could have gone for someone other than Starks taking a fall, it does open some doors for the future. As for Punk, what mattered here was he had a much longer stint in the ring this time and didn’t look horrible. He has a long way to go, but Sunday’s Forbidden Door match should tell us some more about what he is doing. Solid main event, and I can go or something like this once a week.

The winners celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I’m not sure it was quite as good as last week but what matters is having the solid action while also building up Forbidden Door. This show featured some guest stars and we’ll have to wait for next week to see how the norm might feel around here. I liked it again and the wrestling was good to rather good, though it’s still strange to have it be so different from Dynamite. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s certainly rather jarring in a lot of ways.

Results
Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Swerve Strickland – High Fly Flow
Andrade El Idolo b. Brody King via DQ when Buddy Matthews interfered
Willow Nightingale b. Nyla Rose – The Babe With The Powerbomb
Powerhouse Hobbs b. Jeremy Prophet – Spinebuster
Bullet Club Gold/The Gunns b. CM Punk/FTR/Ricky Starks – Blade Runner to Starks

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Dynamite
Date: June 21, 2023
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

It’s the go home Dynamite for Forbidden Door and you can likely expect some matches to be added to the card as there are only four at the moment. Other than that, we should probably bet on some New Japan stars showing up to build the matches that are already there. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Hardys vs. Gunns

Matt takes over on Colten to start and Jeff comes in to take over in the corner. Austin gets in a cheap shot from the apron to take over and the alternating villainous beatdown is on. Jeff avoids a charge in the corner though and it’s Matt coming in to clean house. The Twist of Fate (which was sold like a Stunner) gets two on Austin and a neck snap across the top gets the same on Matt.

Another Twist of Fate is countered via a grab of the rope and a twisting butterfly suplex gets two, with Jeff having to make the save. Jeff hits a double DDT and a double legdrop between the legs to keep the Gunns down. Cue Bullet Club Gold to break up the Swanton though and 3:10 To Yuma finishes Jeff at 6:58.

Rating: C. I know they’re legends and I know they have some nostalgia value, but it’s really hard to get through a Hardys match these days. Ignoring everything that has happened to them outside of the ring, they’re looking old and slow, with Jeff always feeling like he’s a step away from a disaster. The match wasn’t awful, but rather something that made me a bit sad.

Post match the beatdown is on, including a Robinson left hand with a roll of quarters to Jeff. Ricky Starks and FTR make the save but the villains beat them down as well. CM Punk runs in for the real save, with the Club escaping the GTS. Punk, in a Danhausen shirt, issues the challenge for Collision and we’re on. Punk: “I’m a Collision guy! I’m not even supposed to be here!”

Video on Jeff Jarrett vs. Mark Briscoe.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Mark Briscoe

This is a Concession Stand Brawl, which is exactly what it sounds like. They immediately fight over to the merch area and Jarrett is sent through a table. Back to the concession area and Mark is sent through a plastic shield. Cue Karen Jarrett with ketchup to Mark’s eyes but he fights back and loads up a ladder. Cue Sonjay Dutt to shove him off that ladder and we take a break.

Back with Briscoe getting beaten down in the ring with Jay Lethal joining in. Papa Briscoe pops up for the save but Karen comes in again for a cheap shot. Cue Satnam Singh to chokeslam Mark but Christopher Daniels, the Best Friends and the Lucha Bros come in to take him out. In the melee, Mark rolls Jarrett up for the pin at 8:28.

Rating: B-. I have no idea what to think of this. The concession stand stuff lasted for about a minute and a half and then it was more of the same brawls you’ve seen for years around here. That being said, everything after the Papa Briscoe interference was great and one of the more entertaining things you’ll see around here. It started of very slow and got better as it went along so I’ll call that a win.

The Blackpool Combat Club, with Konosuke Takeshita and Don Callis, are in the back with Jon Moxley saying that the only letters that matter in wrestling are BCC. The challenge is on for a five on five match at Forbidden Door, with the Elite needing two more members to accept. Bryan Danielson wants Kazuchika Okada out there for a staredown tonight or he’s a coward.

Video on the Collision debut.

Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Minoru Suzuki vs. Dante Martin/AR Fox/Action Andretti

Andretti and Sammy flip around to start before it’s off to Martin to lose a forearm exchange with Suzuki. Jericho comes in and does the Le Sex Gods pose, with Suzuki posing with him for a bonus. A cheap shot from the apron drops Fox and Jericho hits a belly to back suplex as we take a break. Back with Andretti hitting a springboard clothesline to drop Jericho, setting up a shotgun dropkick into the corner.

Suzuki chokes Andretti and Martin breaks it up, earning that insane smile from Suzuki in a funny bit. Guevara comes in with a double cutter from the top, leaving Jericho to send Fox to the apron. An imploding flip dive takes out Guevara (and Martin by mistake), leaving Andretti to hit the running shooting star press for two on Jericho (how he beat him in their singles match). The sleeper is broken up and Martin kicks Jericho down, only to get pulled out of the air into the Liontamer for the tap at 10:25.

Rating: B-. This got fun in a hurry as they didn’t bother doing much in the way of keeping things together. Instead it was more about flying around as much as possible and that is what you expect from a six man in AEW. It was another fun one and Jericho and company get some momentum built up for what is likely going to be a showdown with Sting and Darby Allin in some form.

Post match Jericho calls out Sting, saying Sting will show up for the highest bidder. The challenge is on for a six man at Forbidden Door so here are Sting and Darby Allin. Sting puts his arm around Jericho’s neck and accepts, with Jericho wanting to know the partner. Sting whispers something to Jericho and Allin says Jericho will find out at Collision. So what did Sting whisper?

Tony Schiavone and RJ City draw names for the blind eliminator tag team tournament. We don’t hear who they are, but names have been drawn.

The Elite are in for the ten man match and Eddie Kingston says he’ll be there too. He gets to pick the fifth member though.

Here is Adam Cole for a chat. He did everything he could to win last week but couldn’t do it. What he does know is that MJF did the right thing by not accepting the challenge for five more minutes, but Cole invites him to come out here right now. Cue MJF to say he’s better than these people. Fans: “SHUT THE F*** UP!” MJF: “No.”

MJF was glad to see the old Cole back last week but what matters is he had Cole beat last week. As for Cole’s rematch request, that’s a no. Hold on though as Tony Schiavone has an announcement. Cole and MJF: “SHUT UP SCHIAVONE!” The announcement is that the two of them will be teaming up in the blind eliminator tournament (shocking I know). The fans want a hug but get Hiroshi Tanahashi on screen to threaten MJF. Cole thinks MJF is scared that someone might better than him, which is enough for MJF to accept for Forbidden Door. Cole: “Good luck partner.”

Here are the brackets for the men’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament:

CM Punk
Satoshi Kojima

Roderick Strong
Samoa Joe

Dustin Rhodes
Powerhouse Hobbs

Juice Robinson
Ricky Starks

And the women’s brackets:

Britt Baker
Ruby Soho

Anna Jay
Skye Blue

Nyla Rose
Willow Nightingale

Athena
Billie Starkz

Katsuyori Shibata/Orange Cassidy vs. Daniel Garcia/Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre and Shibata go to the mat to start and the grapple off is a stalemate. The other two come in and we take a break during the four way staredown. Back with Shibata and Sabre trading holds again and going to a standoff. Cassidy and Garcia come in for a mini dance off of all things until Cassidy rolls him up for two. Sabre comes in to take Cassidy down and crank on the neck, including a figure our necklock. The arm crank goes on and Garcia adds a leglock to put Cassidy in even more trouble.

We take another break and come back again with Cassidy fighting his way out of trouble and bringing it back to Shibata to kick at Sabre. Garcia kicks away at Shibata but Cassidy and Shibata give him the lazy kicks. The pace picks way up with Cassidy and Sabre fighting to the floor. Shibata grabs Garcia’s leg but Sabre makes the save with a neck crank. Garcia and Shibata trade kicks to the face but Cassidy accidentally Orange Punches Shibata. Sabre cuts Cassidy off and Garcia gets the rollup pin on Shibata at 16:34.

Rating: B. They’ll be in some kind of combination at Forbidden Door I’m sure so we’ll call this a big preview for Sunday. Other than that, this felt more like a Sabre vs. Shibata match with the other two involved than anything else. They got some time and the ending was a bit of a twist with good action to back it up though, making it the best match of the night.

Official for Forbidden Door: these four in a four way for Cassidy’s International Title.

Will Ospreay talks about how much he hates Canada and Don Callis comes in to blame it on Kenny Omega. Callis knows what it’s like to have heat in Canada and offers his private security to Ospreay. All he wants is a fair fight, which Ospreay may not buy.

Toni Storm says Willow Nightingale represents the people and Storm can’t stand them. On Sunday, Nightingale gets a title shot.

TBS Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Kris Statlander

Statlander is defending and dodges a charge to start. Taya chops away but gets low bridged to the floor, setting up Statlander’s moonsault (her arm hit Taya) to put her down again. Back up and Taya dropkicks her off the apron and we take a break. We come back with Taya hitting a double underhook drop for two and a spear cuts Statlander down again. The sliding German suplex drops Statlander again but she’s fine enough to hit a top rope superplex. Wednesday Night Fever retains the title at 8:52.

Rating: C. This was another match where Statlander was able to get a win over an established name to make her feel more like a champion. She still needs the clean win over Jade Cargill, but for now it works as a way to present her as a bigger deal. Statlander feels like someone who could be the next big thing in the women’s division and AEW might be capitalizing on that early.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Here is Eddie Kingston to announce the final member of his team but cue Jon Moxley to interrupt. They get in each others’ face and argue about Kingston’s hatred for Claudio Castagnoli. Kingston doesn’t have time for this though and announces Tomohiro Ishii as the fifth member. Cue the Blackpool Combat Club to beat Ishii down, with Bryan Danielson calling out Kazuchika Okada. Cue Okada for the staredown with Danielson but Wheeler Yuta jumps Okada from behind. The fight is on and Danielson has to bail from the threat of the Rainmaker. Yuta gets hit with it instead to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was much more of the rapid fire “here’s a bunch of stuff for Forbidden Door” in one night show and thankfully they kept it to one week instead of show after show. There was enough good wrestling to make the show feel fun, but the majority was about getting ready for Saturday. The show should be good, as the card looks rather awesome for now. Just stick the landing on Sunday and that’s all that matters.

Results
Gunns b. Hardys – 3:10 To Yuma to Jeff
Mark Briscoe b. Jeff Jarrett – Rollup
Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Minoru Suzuki b. Action Andretti/Dante Martin/AR Fox – Liontamer to Martin
Daniel Garcia/Zack Sabre Jr. b. Katsuyori Shibata/Orange Cassidy – Rollup to Shibata
Kris Statlander b. Taya Valkyrie – Wednesday Night Fever

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

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Dynamite
Date: June 14, 2023
Location: Capitol One Arena, Washington DC
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re back at the location of the first ever Dynamite and that means we should be in for a big match. In this case, we are about a week and a half away from Forbidden Door and some more matches need to be announced. The top matches have been confirmed, but that still leaves a good bit of work to do. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Adam Cole

Non-title but if Cole wins, he gets a future title shot. They go toe to toe to start and then lock up with MJF getting in the first knockdown. That means some strutting but MJF has to bail away from the threat of a superkick. Hold on though as MJF goes into the crowd to knock a fan’s hat off. Back in and MJF knocks him into the corner but gets sent into the corner to even things out.

Cole’s baseball slide is countered as MJF ties him up in the ring skirt. Cole’s hand is crushed against the steps and it’s time for the armbar back inside. The arm gets twisted down again and a pumphandle driver gives MJF two. MJF does the Shawn Michaels pose and tunes up the band but Cole beats him to the superkick. Cole drops him again but the Panama Sunrise is countered.

The Heatseeker is countered as well and Cole hits a shoulder breaker for two. The fireman’s carry backbreaker hits MJF but Cole bangs up his own knee in the process. With both of them down, they roll over to the apron, where MJF hits a Tombstone to put them both down. We take a break and come back with MJF hitting a hard clothesline but getting pulled into the Crossface. MJF reverses into a Fujiwara armbar, which is reversed into an ankle lock.

That’s escaped as well and now the Heatseeker gives MJF two. A top rope elbow sends Cole through the timekeeper’s table and they’re both down. Cole dives back in to beat the count and MJF is looking terrified. A German suplex drops MJF on the apron but MJF falls down before the Panama Sunrise. MJF gets in a quick stomp on the arm but Cole’s rollup is kicked into the referee to knock him down.

Back up and MJF grabs the title and falls down….only to have the referee fall down as well. A belt shot and the Boom give Cole two for a shocked near fall look. MJF grabs the referee to kick Cole low, meaning it’s time for the diamond ring. The referee catches the big swing though and it’s a superkick into the Panama Sunrise into the Boom for….two as the time limit expires at 29:54 (close enough).

Rating: B. That certainly was an Adam Cole match, as it had a bunch of totally ridiculous kickouts and near falls but there was enough good action to go with it. They were kind of telegraphing the time limit by the end but it does set up a rematch at some point down the road. For a free TV match, this was rather good, though cut out the nonsense with the near falls and dropping them on their heads on the apron.

Post match Cole says “five more minutes” but MJF walks out.

Video on CM Punk, who is back at Collision and says he has scores to settle and things to get off his chest.

Here is Sammy Guevara for the first time since Double Or Nothing. He talks about being excited to be a father and how he’s looking forward to holding his daughter in one arm and the World Title in the other. Cue Darby Allin to interrupt and he immediately congratulates him on the daughter. That brings him to the important question though: is Sammy always going to walk in Chris Jericho’s shadow?

Allin and Sting are equals, so why aren’t Sammy and Jericho? Cue Jericho (in what appear to be sparkly high heels), who wants to know why Sammy didn’t ask for help to win the World Title. Sammy says if Jericho had called for help, he wouldn’t have lost to Adam Cole twice. Jericho isn’t happy but suggests a tag match, so here is Sting to even things up. They compare bats and Jericho backs off.

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Sanada issues an open challenge for Forbidden Door.

Keith Lee/Sting/Darby Allin/Orange Cassidy vs. Mogul Embassy

Dustin Rhodes is here with Sting and company. Allin and Cassidy’s dives are cut off but Allin is fine enough to come back in for running charges to Swerve in the corner. Sting adds his own but Cage (in Sting cosplay) pulls Sting outside. We take a break and come back with Swerve working on Allin’s arm.

Cassidy tries to make a save but gets sent outside, leaving Allin to get caught in a chinlock. Allin fights up and brings in Lee to clean house. A huge Tower of Doom plants Lee out of the corner for two as everything breaks down. Sting gets knocked hard into the corner but Lee makes the save. A clothesline drops Cage but he gets Sting up into a fireman’s carry. The Orange Punch into the Scorpion Death Drop finishes Cage at 8:46.

Rating: C+. There was a lot going on here but it was nice to have Sting back in the ring for another one off match. AEW has done a good job with making that feel special, though having him pin cage when the Gates of Agony are right there is a bit of a weird choice. Otherwise, fun enough match, even with the break cutting out a lot of it.

The Gunns want to face the Hardys next week.

TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Jake Hager

Wardlow is defending and gets jumped from behind during their entrances as we start fast. The beating doesn’t last long as Wardlow powers up and knocks him outside, with a clothesline dropping Hager as we take a break. Back with Wardlow escaping an ankle lock but here is the Jericho Appreciation Society. Arn teases pulling out his gun but Brock Anderson comes out for the save instead. With the gun tease done, Hager powerslams Wardlow for two but the Vader Bomb hits raised boots. The Swanton connects and the Powerbomb Symphony retains the title at 7:14.

Rating: C. It was another short match with Wardlow getting to wreck someone else before he gets to his next big title defense. The Anderson stuff still doesn’t feel like the most logical pairing for Wardlow, but at least he’s back to powerbombing people. Not much to this one, but Hager is fine enough for a one off challenger.

Post match Christian Cage and Luchasaurus pop up to challenge Wardlow for Collision. They’ve attacked Arn Anderson and busted him open, with Wardlow running to the back.

Hiroshi Tanahashi challenges MJF for Forbidden Door.

MJF says he’s not down for giving some random guy from a rinky dink promotion in Japan a title shot so nah.

Orange Cassidy is ready for Forbidden Door when Zack Sabre Jr. comes in. A title match is teased when Daniel Garcia comes in to ask about Katsuyori Shibata. Cassidy says Shibata will be here next week, so the tag match is on.

Women’s Title: Skye Blue vs. Toni Storm

Storm, with Ruby Soho, is defending. Blue starts fast and hits a high crossbody for an early two. With Storm outside, she and Soho spray paint in the face of Blue’s mom, setting up the double suicide dive as we take a break. Back with Blue in trouble but she cuts off the spray paint with a spray can of her own. A superkick drops Storm and Code Blue connects but Soho has the referee. There’s a superkick to Soho but Blue charges into Storm Zero for two (in a nice false finish). The Texas Cloverleaf retains the title a few moments later at 6:58.

Rating: C. They packed a lot into this and while it was only so good, Blue didn’t feel like a total pushover. The Outcasts don’t really have a big story at the moment so having Storm beat someone in a TV title defense is a smart way to go. It’s going to take some combination to take the Outcasts down, and Blue being part of it would be an acceptable idea.

Post match the beatdown is on but Willow Nightingale makes the save.

Jungle Boy accepts Sanada’s title for the IWGP Title shot at Forbidden Door. He also wants Hook, his best friend, to be in his corner. A fist bump makes it official.

Forbidden Door video.

Forbidden Door rundown.

Bullet Club Gold is ready for CM Punk and FTR.

Collision rundown, including Miro and Andrade El Idolo’s returns to the ring.

Hangman Page/Young Bucks vs. Blackpool Combat Club

Bryan Danielson is on commentary. It’s a slugout to start (with Matt Jackson hanging in a fist fight with Claudio Castagnoli) before the Elite takes over with the power of flips and dives. Nick high crossbodies Moxley but Claudio pulls a moonsault out of the air for the pop up uppercut. Back in and Moxley’s piledriver gets two and we take a break.

We come back with Nick dropkicking his way out of trouble and bringing Page in to clean house. A suicide dive connects on the floor and a high crossbody gets two on Yuta. Everything breaks down and Yuta’s German suplex gets two on Matt. It’s back to Moxley for a Doomsday Device and a near fall, followed by the choke to Matt. Nick Swantons in for the save and the Club’s Rocket Launcher only hits raised knees. The BTE Trigger hits Yuta and the Buckshot Lariat connects for the pin at 11:53.

Rating: B. At some point the Club had to show some vulnerability and that’s what we got here. The Elite taking them down isn’t a stretch and it was a former World Champion pinning the weakest member of the Club. Everything went well here and it was a fast paced match, which made for a pretty awesome main event.

Post match the beatdown stays on but Eddie Kingston runs in for the save. Kingston goes after Claudio but pulls the Bucks off of Moxley. Kingston and Moxley go face to face but here is Konosuke Takeshita to jump Kingston and the Elite. Kenny Omega runs to the ring for the brawl with Takeshita and house is cleaned. Omega loads up the dive but Will Ospreay comes in to take Omega down. A pair of Hidden Blades drops Omega to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a pretty great show, with the opener and main event both being very good, but also with the Forbidden Door build being sprinkled throughout. This year’s build has blown away last years as it has been one piece at a time rather than a bunch of stuff being thrown out there all at once. There was nothing really close to bad here and even with the middle being just ok, the two hours flew by and it made for a quality as well as useful show.

Results
Adam Cole vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman went to a time limit draw
Keith Lee/Sting/Darby Allin/Orange Cassidy b. Mogul Embassy – Scorpion Death Drop to Cage
Wardlow b. Jake Hager – Powerbomb Symphony
Toni Storm b. Skye Blue – Texas Cloverleaf
Hangman Page/Young Bucks b. Blackpool Combat Club – Buckshot Lariat to Yuta

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Dynamite
Date: April 12, 2023
Location: UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re getting closer to Double Or Nothing and the main story continues to be the Four Pillars coming together. While the other three all want MJF’s title, there hasn’t been much of the other three going after each other, which could make for an interesting dynamic on its own. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Swerve Strickland vs. Darby Allin

Allin starts fast with the rolling Stunner and tries the Coffin Drop but Swerve is on the floor instead. That’s fine with Allin, who hits a top rope flip dive and a whip into the barricade. Swerve gets in a shot of his own though and takes Allin’s belt for a whipping back inside. Allin trips the legs and hammers away but Swerve ties him in the ropes. A low superkick knocks Allin to the floor for a stomp, which hurts Swerve’s ankle as we take a break.

Back with Swerve hitting a rolling Downward Spiral but getting tied in the corner. Allin takes the boot off the bad ankle and bites the foot (because he’s weird like that) before grabbing a kneebar. Allin’s springboard is countered into a German suplex but Allin reveres a suplex into a reverse DDT (that was sweet). He goes up top and knocks Swerve down, setting up the Coffin Drop but here is Prince Nana to put the foot on the rope.

Allin gives chase but runs into Brian Cage, allowing Swerve to kick him in the head. The Swerve Stomp gets two, as he hurts his ankle and delays the cover. Cage trips Allin and gets ejected, allowing Swerve to grab a chair. That takes too long so Allin grabs a Code Red for two, followed by the Last Supper for the pin at 14:41.

Rating: B-. I’m not wild on Swerve taking a fall but Allin getting the pin makes more sense out of the two options. That being said, this is a match that either shouldn’t have happened or should have ended in some kind of a screwy finish, as Allin is likely on his way to headlining a pay per view and Swerve is being rebuilt. The action was good, but I could have done without one of them getting pinned.

Post match and post break here is MJF to say that was a great match. He praises Allin as a great talent but….SHUT UP WITH SAYING HIS CATCHPHRASE WITH HIM! The two words he has for Allin are “headlock takeover” because he beat him with a move that simple. Maybe it’s the 30 concussions but Allin is not on the level of the devil. Allin asks if MJF is happy. Has anything he has ever done made him happy?

They met six years ago, wrestling in front of thirty people. Now MJF is the World Champion and nothing has changed, because all he got are material things. Allin got to national TV and checked himself into therapy and he learned about how much he can do for everyone else. His AEW contract have helped him buy his parents a house and let his dad retire. MJF says morals kill a wrestling career and knows he might die alone and not go to Heaven.

As long as he goes with his title though, that’s all that matters. His legacy will be World Champion, but Allin’s legacy is “Sting’s b****.” Cue Sting to say he isn’t taking care of Allin, because he sees himself like a cheerleader. Sting pulls some pom poms (four of them) out of his jacket and throws them at MJF. He promises to stop if MJF will stop with the “Cody daycare” stuff. Sting: “I SAID CODY!!!”

MJF had a cheerleader and support system in Cody, just like Allin has in him. Sting had a support system in Ric Flair and praises him….and the Outsiders for Wolfpac Sting of all thing. He has a hunger for things but not the World Title, because showtime is almost over. Showtime is just starting for Allin though, because Allin is going to be World Champion. MJF spits at Allin and leaves in a hurry. This was another long and very good exchange, as Allin continues to feel the most interesting of the three potential challenges (though not by a long shot).

TNT Title: Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Silas Young

Hobbs is defending and Town Business retains the title at 43 seconds.

Post match Hobbs carries Young out but we cut to Wardlow in the parking lot with a lead pipe, wrecking the car that Hobbs bought with Wardlow’s credit card. Then he uses a forklift to turn the car over. Back in the arena, Hobbs loads up a powerbomb through two tables but here is Wardlow for the brawl. Wrestlers try to break it up, with Aaron Solo being put through the table instead.

Jay White promises Bullet Club success.

International Title: Buddy Matthews vs. Orange Cassidy

Matthews, with Julia Hart, is challenging and Cassidy’s hand is banged up. They stare at each other to start with Cassidy making him miss and spinning around into a headscissors. Cassidy sends him outside for the suicide dive, followed by a high crossbody, which is pulled out of the air. A tornado DDT plants Matthews but Cassidy hits the Orange Punch, meaning it’s time to check on the hand. Matthews stomps on the hand and we take a break.

Back with Cassidy’s dive being pulled out of the air. The tornado DDT is blocked and they head to the apron for an exchange of superkicks. The Beach Break drops Matthews on the apron and they both have to beat the count. Back in and Matthews stomps on the hand but Cassidy begs off….and puts the hands in the pocket.

Matthews hits him in the face anyway but walks into the Stundog Millionaire. They both go up top for a super tornado DDT, followed by a diving one to the floor. Back in and a top rope DDT gets two so the Orange Punch connects for the same. Matthews hits a pop up knee to the face and the Stomp gets two. What used to be Murphy’s Law is loaded up but Cassidy reverses into the Mousetrap to retain at 14:12.

Rating: B. I liked the match and Cassidy fighting underneath like the underdog that he is will almost always work. That being said, Cassidy is going to have to lose the title soon, maybe to Malakai Black, before this starts losing its impact. Kind of like the DDT did, after three enhanced versions in a row only got a two count on Matthews.

Christian Cage and Luchasaurus say some things are changing.

Orange Cassidy is banged up but the Best friends want Aussie Open for the IWGP Tag Team Titles on Rampage.

Here is Ethan Page to complain about Matt Hardy. Cue Isiah Kassidy and Hardy to set up a future match for Hardy’s freedom. The rest of the Firm comes down and the beatdown is on, with Hook’s save not working (he looked like he got banged up somewhere in there). Cue JEFF HARDY for the big save and reunion. The people certainly reacted and while that’s great, having him back again doesn’t exactly seem like the best idea.

We look at the Blackpool Combat Club’s recent violence.

A serious Kenny Omega promises vengeance. For Omega, this was pretty good talking and he stayed to the point.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Michael Nakazawa/Brandon Cutler

The Club jumps them to start and Nakazawa is bleeding before the bell. Nakazawa tries to fight back but gets caught in the Swing, setting up the Sharpshooter from Castagnoli. That’s actually broken up and it’s Cutler coming in instead. Moxley hammers away and bites the forehead to bust Cutler open too. Some clotheslines have no effect as Moxley hits the King Kong Lariat into the Death Rider. The bulldog choke is broken up but the Club’s strike’s to the head finish at 3:05.

Rating: C. That was just about the only way it should have gone and they didn’t do anything ridiculous here. Nakazawa and Cutler barely ever wrestle on TV so there was no reason for them to be anything but plucky cannon fodder here. The Club beat them up, sold just a hair and then finished strong. As it should have been

Post match the beatdown is on but Kenny Omega comes out for the staredown. The Young Bucks retain and jump the Club, with Omega whipping out a screwdriver to go after Moxley. The Club bails.

Swerve Strickland isn’t happy with Darby Allin beating him but promises to settle some scores.

Sky Blue/Riho vs. Ruby Soho/Toni Storm

Saraya is in Soho/Storm’s corner. It’s a brawl to start with Blue in trouble but Riho comes in for some dropkicks. Stereo dropkicks send Soho outside and a forearm drops Storm, setting up Riho’s dive from the top onto Soho as we take a break. Back with Riho rolling away from Soho and bringing Blue back in. Storm comes in as but gets sent to the floor for a kick to the face.

Blue snaps off a hurricanrana from the apron, followed by a high crossbody for two back inside. Everything breaks down and Blue superkicks Soho into a crucifix bomb. Storm German suplexes Blue and hits the running hip attack, setting up Storm Zero for the pin at 6:19. Not enough shown to rate due to the break but there was a lot of action packed into not a lot of time.

Post match the bating is on but Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker runs in for the save.

Keith Lee vs. Chris Jericho

Daniel Garcia is here with Jericho, whose early chops have no effect. Lee runs him over with a shoulder and takes it into the corner. The Grizzly Magnum is blocked so Lee unloads in another corner instead. Lee powers Jericho into the corner to start but the Grizzly Magnum is blocked. Jericho send Lee outside though and we take a break.

Back with Jericho hitting the Lionsault for two but Lee is back up. Lee blocks a charge and blasts him with a clothesline but Lee’s middle rope moonsault hits knees. That just huts Jericho even more so it’s a spinebuster to drop Jericho again. Jericho rakes the eyes to escape the powerbomb though and the Walls go on.

The long crawl lets Lee make the rope and there’s the Uncle Phil toss. Jericho grabs the referee to escape the Big Bang Catastrophe but Garcia’s interference doesn’t work. The Codebreaker is countered into the Spirit Bomb but Garcia offers another distraction, allowing Swerve Strickland to come in and deck Lee, giving Jericho the pin at 14:04.

Rating: B-. Lee got to do some of his impressive stuff here and at least they are finally getting back to Lee vs. Strickland, meaning we might even get to their blowoff match after so many months of waiting. The Garcia interference got a bit repetitive, but they certainly kept Lee looking strong. I’m not sure this needed to be the main event, but at least they did it well enough.

Post match Adam Cole comes out to check on Lee, complete with the over the shoulder look at Jericho ala Jericho a few weeks ago. Staring, but no violence, ensues to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was the eventful show and those are often the most fun. Having so many things going on in the span of two hours is going to make the show that much more interesting, which was the case here. You had a bunch of returns and steps taken forward for upcoming matches. Some of those are likely to be at Double Or Nothing, so they are going in the right direction. Throw in enough good action and this was a rather nice show.

Results
Darby Allin b. Swerve Strickland – Last Supper
Powerhouse Hobbs b. Silas Young – Town Business
Orange Cassidy b. Buddy Matthews – Orange Punch
Blackpool Combat Club b. Michael Nakazawa/Brandon Cutler via referee stoppage
Toni Storm/Ruby Soho b. Riho/Skye Blue – Storm Zero to Blue
Chris Jericho b. Keith Lee – Belt shot from Swerve Strickland

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Wrestlemania XXXI
Date: March 29, 2015
Location: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California
Attendance: 76,976
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

Pre-Show: Tag Team Titles: Tyson Kidd/Cesaro vs. Los Matadores vs. Usos vs. New Day

Pre-Show: Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Ryback gets rid of Goldust but Kane saves Big Show for no logical reason. Miz and Mizdow take a double chokeslam from Kane, who is quickly slammed out by Cesaro. Show dumps Jimmy but gets picked up by Cesaro again, only to escape and dump Cesaro with ease. Ryback grabs a spinebuster on Show and is eliminated for trying to get any momentum.

Aloe Blacc sings America the Beautiful.

Intercontinental Title: Daniel Bryan vs. Bad News Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Stardust vs. Luke Harper vs. R-Truth vs. Dean Ambrose

Truth sets up the big ladder but Stardust goes for the climb, only to get superplexed back down by Barrett. Bryan, Ziggler and Ambrose go up top until Dean drops down and shoves the ladder over. Dean goes up until Harper powerbombs him off the ladder and through a ladder bridged between the barricade and ring. Ziggler tries a sleeper on Harper as he climbs, followed by the Zig Zag to bring them crashing down.

Somehow Dolph is able to climb up, only to have Barrett pull him down into the Bull Hammer. Another one knocks Truth off but Bryan makes a quick climb and kicks Barrett down. Barrett is right back up though and makes a save, followed by a quick running knee from Bryan, allowing him to climb up, headbutt Ziggler off and win the title at 13:55.

Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton

Rollins is Mr. Money in the Bank and has Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble as his personal stooges. Seth starts by flipping away from Orton, only to eat a dropkick and bail to the floor from the threat of an RKO. Back in and a big clothesline looks to set up the RKO again but the Stooges offer a distraction to break it up. Orton deals with them early off a double elevated DDT from the apron.

Ronda Rousey is here.

HHH vs. Sting

No DQ or countout. Sting is played to the ring by some kind of Japanese band with drums and a gong. As you might expect, HHH completely upstages him with a full on Terminator commercial with the robots rising from the stage, a clip from the movie, HHH dressed as a Terminator and Arnold Schwarzenegger himself appearing on screen for the introduction. It might be time to call in Robocop.

Sting fights them off with ease and backdrops HHH onto them, setting up a dive off the top (remember that Sting is 56 here) to take them all out. Back in and a Pedigree gets two so HHH gets the sledgehammer (one of at least two under the ring). This brings out the NWO (Hall, Nash and Hogan) to save Sting (SO much wrong with that statement, not even counting trying to remember if the Kliq exists in storylines or not). They take their sweet time and eventually clean house, allowing Sting to hit the Scorpion Death Drop (reverse DDT) for two.

Ads for new shows coming to the WWE Network, including the new Divas Search.

Maria Menunos, in a Bushwhackers shirt, brings in Daniel Bryan. First ever Intercontinental Champion Pat Patterson comes in to congratulate him, as do Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat, Ric Flair (of course) and Bret Hart, who starts a YES chant. Ron Simmons comes in and scares them all before hitting his catchphrase.

AJ Lee/Paige vs. Bella Twins

Real people vs. reality stars (from Total Divas), even though Paige had already become a cast member. Nikki is Divas Champion and in the middle of her reign of doom. Paige debuted at the Raw after Wrestlemania last year and has formed a dream team with AJ to take on the sisters.

Rating: C-. This was a handicap match for the first half with Paige cleaning house, which was made even weirder when AJ came in anyway. Not that it mattered though as the Bellas were going to be pushed as the stars as long as they wanted to because of that stupid reality show. In theory this should have set up AJ as the next challenger but she retired later in the week and left the company for good.

We get a tale of the tape for Lesnar vs. Reigns, which Cole says is the result of a computer analysis. The stats include height, weight and career accomplishments. Did this computer analysis take place in the Korean War?

Hall of Fame video, with highlights of Lanny Poffo reading a poem to induct his brother Randy Savage and Connor Michalek receiving the first Warrior Award.

The Class of 2015 includes Rikishi, Larry Zbyszko (mainly famous in the 80s), Alundra Blayze, Connor Michalek, the Bushwhackers (with Butch on crutches but still doing the strut), Tatsumi Fujinami (a legendary Japanese wrestler), Randy Savage (represented by his brother), Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Kevin Nash (for the required Kliq member, though I wonder why he can go in under his real name and not Hall).

US Title: Rusev vs. John Cena

Rusev blames Lana for the loss.

Wrestlemania XXXII is in Dallas.

The pre-show panel talks about the Tag Team Title match and Big Show winning the battle royal. Thanks for reminding me.

Here are HHH and Stephanie to brag about the new attendance record and desperately fill in some time as we have two matches left and nearly an hour and a half to go. Stephanie talks about watching Wrestlemania I live and seeing her friend Andre the Giant (This was a thing for her around this time as she would mention this whenever she could. For some reason this was her justification for not letting Cena be in the Andre battle royal.).

Bray Wyatt vs. Undertaker

Ad for Extreme Rules.

WWE World Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns

A belly to belly overhead brings Reigns back in over the top rope but Reigns shakes his head at Brock again. Another F5 gets two and now Brock take the gloves off. Some hard slaps put Reigns down but he tells Brock to bring it on. Another German earns him another bring it on so Brock gives him suplex number ten. The third F5 gets two more, putting Reigns past Undertaker last year. Brock takes Roman outside but Reigns posts him, drawing some real blood from Lesnar.

WWE World Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins

The Curb Stomp puts Brock down but Reigns has to spear Brock down to save Seth from an F5. Another Curb Stomp (and a whisper of “thank you so much” to Reigns) gives Seth the title at 16:43!

Rating: A-. They went in a TOTALLY different direction here and it was the best thing they possibly could have done. Reigns vs. Lesnar had little interest as a match but as a one sided war with Reigns giving it everything he had near the end, they turned it into one of the most dramatic spectacles you could find. They had me on the near fall after that second spear and I lost it when Rollins came out.

Fireworks and posing take us out.

Overall though, this was a major surprise and a better show than it had any right to be. The low expectations helped it a lot, but this was looking like one of the worst Wrestlemanias in history and wound up being a lot of fun. Nothing on it really stands out above the rest (save for maybe the main event) so the whole is greater than the sum of all its parts. Really fun show here.

Ratings Comparison

New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. Usos vs. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd

Original: C+

Redo: B

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Original: D+

Redo: D

Intercontinental Title Ladder Match

Original: B

Redo: B

Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton

Original: B

Redo: B

Sting vs. HHH

Original: B

Redo: B-

Paige/AJ Lee vs. Bella Twins

Original: C+

Redo: C-

Rusev vs. John Cena

Original: B-

Redo: C+

Bray Wyatt vs. Undertaker

Original: B

Redo: C+

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: B+

Redo: A-

Overall Rating

Original: A

Redo: B+

Yeah the shock had a lot to do with it but there was good stuff throughout.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/03/29/wrestlemania-xxxi-shock-and-awe-shock-and-awe/

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