Double Or Nothing 2026
Date: May 24, 2026
Location: Louis Armstrong Stadium, New York City, New York
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back with another big time pay per view and that means the card is stacked. That’s a good thing as the card does look appealing, though there is always the chance that it is going to go all the way into tomorrow. The main event if MJF challenging Darby Allin for the World Title in a hair vs. title match. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Lena Kross/Megan Bayne vs. Zayda Steel/Viva Van

Non-title match with a five minute time limit. Steel gets smart and bails outside to run away from Bayne and burn some clock. Back in and Bayne reverses a DDT attempt but Steel bails outside as we’re already over a minute in. Van scores with a springboard spinwheel kick and knocks Bayne outside, followed by a throat snap across the top. Kross isn’t having that and superkicks Van, allowing Bayne to unload in the corner.

It’s off to Kross for a basement clothesline and the alternating elbows in the corner. An enziguri gets Van out of trouble though and it’s off to Steel, who snaps off a headscissors. A pump kick misses for Kross and Steel tornado DDTs her with less than a minute to go. Bayne comes in for a kick to the face and German suplex, followed by the Divine Intervention to pin Steel at 4:46.

Rating: C. This was pretty much in the vein of “what else were you expecting” as it was the dominant team against a makeshift pair of opponents. The match was more about Steel trying to stall, which isn’t a bad way to go. It just would have made more sense for her to do it again later in the match rather than going for a pin, as it’s the same result. Either way though, having Bayne wreck Steel at the end was fine.

Post match Bayne lays out Christopher Daniels and give Van a Divine Intervention of her own. Anna Jay and Tay Melo run in armed for the save.

Kickoff Show: Opps vs. Death Riders

Always nice to throw in a six man tag. Yuta slips out of Bowens’ armbar to start and gets him into a backslide. Bowens gets the same off a small package but gets sent into the corner for some shots to the face. Yuta insists that HE HAS TIL FIVE and gets hit in the face for his efforts.

Hook and Garcia come in with Hook sending him flying off a suplex. Shibata and Castagnoli come in to trade some rapid fire forearms, with Shibata knocking him into the corner for a running dropkick. Hook comes back in and has his suplex blocked, allowing Castagnoli to send him into the corner. Yuta gets atomic dropped but the Riders get together for a triple boot to Shibata.

Garcia tries to come in and hammer away, which just isn’t working for Shibata, who grabs an STO. It’s Hook coming in and getting caught in the wrong corner for some running elbows and a two count. A missed charge lets Hook snap off some suplexes though and he rolls underneath a double clothesline to bring Bowens in. That means house can be cleaned but Castagnoli makes a save and Bowens is left on his own. A faceplant puts him down and a running uppercut gives Castagnoli the pin at 10:34.

Rating: B-. This is exactly what you would have expected from what would likely be on Collision most of the time. They had a pretty fast paced match, but I’m not sure why you would have had Bowens take the fall when Hook is around. Is Hook really still supposed to be that important? Are we still pretending that’s the case?

Kickoff Show: Boom & Doom/Conglomeration vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

The good guys have Harley Cameron, Big Justice and the Rizzler with them. Marshall handspring kicks Bravo in the face to start and it’s off to AJ for some right hands in the corner. The good guys get to keep alternating for right hands to Bravo in the corner. Well right hand from Cassidy. Everything breaks down and Cassidy gets caught in the wrong corner for a running Bronco Buster from Dean.

Cassidy fights back but gets punched down, leaving him to grab a Stundog Millionaire on Moriarty. The tag brings in AJ to clean house as Cameron has to save Rizzler from Christyan XO. Briscoe comes in to wreck the Promotions, including using the chair for the big step up flip dive. The Tower Of Doom brings Bravo down for the pin at 6:31.

Rating: C. Yeah fine. As usual, you’re only going to be able to get so much out of a match like this one with so many people involved but it was hardly bad. The idea here was to get some popular stars on the show and they did just that, along with Marshall. I don’t get the appeal of AJ and company these days, but I can only get so annoyed about him being in a six and a half minute wacky tag match.

Post match Eddie Kingston, Ortiz and Mance Warner come in to chase off the Promotions, who they’ve been fighting a bit in Ring Of Honor.

Mick Foley and Renee Paquette are in the ring to hype up the main event when MJF interrupts. MJF doesn’t want to hear from someone whose entire career was built on failing. He mocks the New York Knicks and Darby Allin before saying Foley would always lose when the chips are down. Foley thanks MJF for letting him have this moment one last time and agrees that yes, he did lose a lot of matches. Granted he did beat the Rock a few times, but none of those losses were in 2:15.

Unless MJF wants his matches to be compared to how long it takes to fry an egg, he better get ready for Allin. Foley sees a lot of himself in Allin, but it’s a more athletic Allin who wants to be World Champion. Foley says MJF has wavy hair and tonight it’s waving goodbye. MJF kicks him low but here is Allin to chase MJF off. Foley talks about how he inspired Allin’s career and how he saw Allin at a small show and knew there was something there. Tonight, Foley wants Allin to win one for the weird ones. To quote one of Foley’s friends, BANG BANG!

And now, the show proper.  Also: points for lightening up on the Kickoff Show.  21ish minutes of wrestling and a big promo in an hour is fine and nowhere near as crammed as usual.

Tag Team Titles: Adam Copeland/Christian Cage vs. FTR

FTR, with Stokely, is defending in an I Quit match and if they win, Copeland and Cage can never team together again. They stare each other down to start and the double brawl is on, with Cage and Harwood being left in the ring. Cage hits a clothesline but it’s way too early for the Killswitch. Stokely slips Harwood some barbed wire, which Cage takes away just as fast. The wire is wrapped around the middle rope so Cage can send him throat/face first into it, followed by standing on his back.

Back in and Copeland whips the champs with the barbed wire before Cage hangs Harwood over the rope. Wheeler makes the save but Copeland is back up with a ladder. Harwood is suplexed onto said ladder so of course it’s time for a table. That’s enough of a delay for FTR to fight back but Cage uses pliers on Harwood’s I believe nose and Wheeler’s…well the front of his trunks.

That’s broken up and Copeland is sent outside for a spike piledriver onto the announcers’ table (dang). A cinder block to Cage’s bad arm misses so the arm is put inside the block. Cage: “I….I….I BANGED YOUR MOTHER!” The chair crushes the block on the arm on the steps but Cage is back up to bite Harwood’s head. A Killswitch drops Wheeler so Stokely starts unhooking the turnbuckle.

The buckle is unhooked and Cage gets choked into a Shatter Machine, only for Copeland to come back with a pair of spears. Copeland unloads with chair shots to both champions and Harwood begs for mercy, but doesn’t quit. Wheeler asks him to stop but Stokely is up with a wrench to knock Copeland into a Shatter Machine. Cue Beth Copeland, who is immediately sent into the steps.

Harwood is back up with lighter fluid and the table is set on fire. Wheeler misses Beth though and spears Stokely through the fire instead (as the tributes are on). Beth is up to save her husband from a Conchairto (six months off a piledriver, a minute off being rammed into the steps) and Adam hits a piledriver. Cage gets a Sharpshooter and Cage adds the Grindhouse with Spike to make Harwood quit for the titles at 19:34.

Rating: B. They hit most of the notes here, though I’m not sure how much they needed to draw this one out for an extra month. What matters the most is that the titles are off of FTR, who were ready to lose the things already. It’s a big nostalgia moment, but Cage and Copeland are still able to have a good match and this was a nice win in the end.

We recap Konosuke Takeshita challenging Kazuchika Okada for the International Title. They’re both part of the Don Callis Family but have been having issues for months. Okada beat him back in December in the Continental Classic but this is more personal.

International Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Takeshita is challenging (and not defending his New Japan TV Title) and dang the fans certainly like him. They stare each other down to start and trade forearms until Takeshita charges into a boot to the face. Raging Fire is broken up though and it’s an early standoff. The fans get all over Callis as the two of them get into a shove off, with Takeshita hitting a jumping shoulder.

Okada is right back with a dropkick out to the floor, where Takeshita is driven into the barricade a few times. Back in and Okada suplexes him for a cocky one, followed by a neckbreaker for the same. Takeshita manages an exploder suplex but the middle rope backsplash hits raised knees. Okada charges into a jumping knee to send him outside, where Takeshita is right there with the big running flip dive.

Back in and Okada drops him down as well, setting up the top rope elbow. The build to the Rainmaker takes too long though and they fight over a Tombstone, with Takeshita planting him. A wheelbarrow suplex is shrugged off and Okada pops up with a dropkick into the Rainmaker and they’re both down. They slug it out on the apron until Okada hits another Rainmaker and Takeshita is down on the floor. Okada DDTs him on the floor but Callis calls off a Tombstone.

That’s enough for Okada to take a breather, allowing Takeshita to hit the brainbuster on the floor. Callis freaks out and Takeshita flips him off, followed by something like a very high German suplex for two. Okada’s Tombstone gets two but Takeshita gets all fired up and wins a slugout.

The Blue Thunder Bomb looks to set up the running knee, which is countered into a Rainmaker attempt, which is countered into a rollup for two. The Rainmaker connects but Okada holds onto the arm, only for Takeshita to hit his own Rainmaker. Takeshita’s running knee gets one and Raging Fire gives him the pin and the title at 19:04.

Rating: B+. I’m hardly surprised this was intense, with the result being the best way it could go. What matters the most is that Takeshita seems to be done with Callis for good, as there is no need for someone that talented and popular to be stuck with Callis for so much longer. They beat each other up and it felt like a showdown, with Takeshita dropping Okada on his head outside being quite the violent moment. Some of the quick kickouts got a bit annoying but they got the result absolutely right.

Post match the Don Callis Family comes in and Takeshita stares Okada down…as Kyle Fletcher returns. Fletcher stands with Takeshita and gives him a hug as the Family leaves. And of course Fletcher lays Takeshita out, then does it again with the brainbuster. Okada hands Fletcher the title and Takeshita is knocked colder.

We look at the Women’s Owen Hart Cup, which starts here with Athena vs. Mina Shirakawa. They’ve had some issues in Ring Of Honor to set things up a bit.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Mina Shirakawa vs. Athena

Athena’s Ring Of Honor Women’s Title isn’t on the line and she backs Shirakawa into the corner to start. Shirakawa ducks a charge and gets in her shake but Athena knees her off the top. They go outside, with Athena’s running knee hitting the steps. A running dropkick against the barricade knocks out a video screen has Shirakawa in trouble but she’s right back as they go inside again.

Shirakawa starts in on the leg but dives into a Wasteland for two. Back up and Shirakawa hits a Sling Blade before knocking her out to the floor. The slingshot corkscrew dive connects and it’s an electric chair drop back inside. The Figure Four is broken up though and Athena sweeps the leg (it works in No Mercy and it works here) but a middle rope O Face is broken up. Shirakawa’s seatbelt gets two and she gets the Figure Four, sending Athena over to the rope. Athena pumphandles her into a Tombstone and now the O Face finishes Shirakawa at 10:46.

Rating: B-. This was another Collision level match and Athena gets her latest win that isn’t likely to result in her finally breaking through on the main roster. She’s been such a star in Ring Of Honor for so long now and there is no reason, at least in front of the scenes, for her to not jump up. Hopefully it happens here, but I have no reason to believe that is the case, as we’ve been here for years now.

We recap Jon Moxley defending the Continental Title against Kyle O’Reilly. They went to a time limit draw on Dynamite and now it’s a no time limit rematch for the title. O’Reilly has made him tap a few times before so Moxley might be in danger.

The Conglomeration gives O’Reilly a pep talk.

Continental Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is defending and there is no time limit. They go with the grappling to start and O’Reilly’s armbar doesn’t go anywhere. Moxley knocks him down and grabs a snapmare for a kick to the back, with O’Reilly popping right back up. O’Reilly strikes away and grabs a guillotine choke, with Moxley firing off right hands. That doesn’t work for Moxley as he gets sent outside for a running knee from the apron.

Some kicks to the chest and rams into the steps have Moxley in more trouble but O’Reilly’s big kick hits the post. Back in and they trade forearms until O’Reilly tries a kick, which hurts him even more. The leg is wrapped around the rope for a dropkick to the knee and Moxley grabs a leglock. O’Reilly grabs the rope so Moxley bites him in the head. They go to the corner, where O’Reilly snaps the arm over the top and hits a middle rope knee to said arm.

The cross armbreaker is reversed into a half crab, with Moxley shifting it into a leglock. O’Reilly gets out and grabs an ankle lock, with Moxley escaping but getting kicked out to the floor. Back in and Moxley shrugs off a Curb Stomp and hits a cutter for a double down. A double clothesline gives us the same result and they punch it out from their knees. Moxley clotheslines him into the Death Rider into a bulldog choke but O’Reilly reverses into an ankle lock. That’s reversed into a grapevined ankle lock and O’Reilly taps at 18:44.

Rating: B. I saw them do this for twenty minutes earlier in the week so I was only so interested in seeing them to it for another eighteen minutes here. Some of the two of them popping up made my eyes roll, but you have to expect that on occasion. It was incredibly physical and a way for the two of them to show off their skills, but doing it twice in a week was too much.

Post match their teams come out and we get a big handshake.

We recap Will Ospreay vs. Samoa Joe in the first round of the Owen Hart Tournament. Ospreay is back from his neck surgery and picked to train with the Death Riders over the Opps. That doesn’t work for Joe and that’s just not a good idea.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Samoa Joe vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay Oscutters him at the bell and hammers away in the corner but Joe hits a heck of an elbow. Ospreay’s drop down into the dropkick sends Joe outside and there’s a suicide dive. Back in and a 450 looks to set up a cross armbreaker, with Joe going straight to the rope. Joe bails to the floor and is ready for a moonsault, instead choking Ospreay and sending him into the steps.

Back in and Joe goes after the neck before winning an exchange of forearms. Ospreay tries to chop back but gets knocked down again, this time for a backsplash. The MuscleBuster is broken up though and Ospreay stomps on Joe’s arm. A handspring kick to the head gets two but Joe walks away from the Oscutter. Joe goes into his string of holds, followed by a hard kick to the chest.

Ospreay Hulks Up and strikes away, with a Styles Clash connecting for two. The Hidden Blade gets two more but another Hidden Blade is cut off with a powerslam. The Koquina Clutch is countered but Joe plants him down and grabs it again, with the third arm drop seeing Ospreay grab the rope. Another MuscleBuster is countered into another Hidden Blade for one, followed by another Hidden Blade for the pin at 13:53.

Rating: B. As much as I can’t stand that “kick out at one off a finisher, then the same thing finishes you” stuff that we’ve seen twice now, this was a hard hitting fight. Joe is always just enough of a threat to beat anyone, though Ospreay going forward was by far the better way to go. He’s on the road to Wembley (in theory) and Joe was a heck of a first step there.

Post match Joe shows some respect before leaving.

We recap Bandido vs. Swerve Strickland in another Owen Tournament match. Strickland has attacked him a few times and Bandido is ready to fight back.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Swerve Strickland vs. Bandido

Bandido’s Ring Of Honor World Title isn’t on the line (of course) and Prince Nana is here with Strickland. Bandido goes right at him to start and dropkicks the knee but Strickland is right back up to take over. A big boot misses though and Bandido flips up into an Eddie Dance. Strickland is sent outside for a running dropkick and a superkick.

With Strickland sat in a chair, Bandido hits a running dive to knock him back out of it in a big crash. Back in and Strickland suplexes him into the corner before cranking on the neck. Bandido fights up but his leg is twitching. That’s shrugged off and Bandido kicks him out of the corner into a nifty German suplex.

The frog splash gets two but Strickland gives him a House Call into a Swerve Stomp for two more. They go to the apron where Bandido somehow poisonranas him out to the floor for the big crash. Back in and the 21 Plex connects but Bandido’s neck gives out, meaning we get more twitching. Bandido is able to try a Code Red but backflips up into a hurricanrana. The 21 Plex is loaded up again, only to be reversed into a Vertebreaker. The House Call finishes Bandido at 15:17.

Rating: A-. Yeah this was rather awesome and I don’t think that’s much of a surprise. Bandido is more or less guaranteed to have a great match no matter what he’s doing and that was certainly the case here. They beat the fire out of each other but it always felt like Strickland was playing from ahead. That allowed Bandido to fight from underneath and that is where he works best. Outstanding match here from two of AEW’s most exciting stars.

We recap the Women’s Title match. A bunch of women want the title and Thekla isn’t worried. Well she might be but you can’t tell as she’s kind of nuts.

Women’s Title: Thekla vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter

Thekla is defending. Hayter cleans house to start and hits a double clothesline but Thekla fights back in a hurry. Statlander and Hayter have the big power standoff, which is broken up by Shida. With everyone else on the floor, Thekla hits a big dive onto the pile to put everyone down.

Back in and Statlander bites the hand to get out of Thekla’s Rings Of Saturn and Alabama Slams her into the corner to escape the Upside Down. Thekla knocks her down again but spends too much time posing, allowing Shida to get in a shot of her own. Shida and Statlander grab a suplex each and all four are down. They slug it out from their knees until Statlander and Hayter crossbody each other.

Back up and Thekla shoves Statlander into a suplex from Hayter, who Haytebreakers Thekla. That’s reversed into a Black Widow to Hayter, who reverses into the Hayterade. Shida breaks it up at two and there’s the Falcon Arrow. Shida tries to grab Hayter’s leg but Statlander cuts that off in a hurry. Staturday Night Fever hits Hayter but Shida is in with a kendo stick for a save of her own. Thekla knocks Shida outside and Stomps Statlander to retain at 14:03.

Rating: B. They went from bell to bell with pretty much non-stop action as they beat each other up. Shida and Statlander have their issues to build things up even more and it made for a good mini feud. Thekla needed to keep the title at the moment as she’s on fire and I could go for seeing whatever else she can do.

The villains in Stadium Stampede arrive. The idea here is pretty simple: Chris Jericho was feuding with Ricochet and the Demand. It’s Double Or Nothing so we have Stadium Stampede so they both built up teams of seven people for a wild fight.

The good guys all get together in the back, complete with music and graphics which are likely out of a movie I haven’t seen.

Chris Jericho/Elite/Hurt Syndicate vs. Don Callis Family/The Demand/The Dogs

Stadium Stampede, meaning anything goes and they’re going to go nuts everywhere. It’s a huge brawl to start and we go to a quick quadruple screen to keep track of everyone. Ricochet gets caught in the wrong corner for some running knees and then Lashley spinebusters him onto the pile on the floor. Back in and Andrade rolls some suplexes to Perry but gets kneed out to the floor by Benjamin.

Perry hits a piledriver to drop Benjamin on the chair and Liona Samoan drops both Bucks at once. Ricochet is up with a dive and the Demand stands tall. Liona grabs an abdominal stretch on Omega and all six of his partners pull together. Believe it or not, it’s a bad idea to leave all of Omega’s partners free and it’s broken up pretty quickly. Finlay is backdropped onto the pile at ringside and Omega is fine enough for his own flip dive. Benjamin’s dive makes it even worse and there’s Jericho with a dive of his own.

Back in and the good guys hit a string of four super hurricanranas, followed by a quadruple submission attempt. Perry hits Davis with something that leaves a lot of smoke near the ring and the holds are broken. The Bucks set up tables on the floor as the Hurt Syndicate and Gates Of Agony brawl to the back.

They fight up an aisle and Lio Rush pops in to freak Lashley out. Rush jumps on Liona’s back and they go through a door as we come back to the arena. Omega and Jericho beat up Andrade as the Bucks and the Dogs are brawling in the concourse. Andrade fights back and takes a photo with a woman, only for Luchasaurus to pop in and go after him instead. Back in the ring and Jericho pours out a bag of tennis balls for a suplex to Ricochet but the Walls are broken up.

Davis and Perry brawl near catering with Davis being went eye first into a table. Andrade joins them but has to run from Satnam Singh, triggering a food fight. The Dogs and the Bucks fight on the stage, with Connors being put in a trashcan and in a shopping cart for a ride down the aisle. Liona is back in to clean house and hits Benjamin in the head with some kind of a stick or baton.

Connors spears Lashley and we cut to the back, where Ricochet beats Jericho up with a tennis racket. Cue Luther to give Jericho a BIG tennis racket and Jericho beats on Ricochet before throwing tennis balls at him. Back in the ring and Nick and Benjamin roll different kinds of suplexes before the Bucks superkick a variety of people.

We cut to the back where Davis, with his eye taped up, finds a golf cart with a knife and a note. Cue Perry to drive his bus through the cart (and another car) with Davis running off. Back inside and Omega V Triggers Andrade and Benjamin suplexes Kaun through a table. Omega One Wing Angels Andrade off the apron through a table and it’s Ricochet left alone inside. The parade of finishers is on until Kaun makes the save, earning himself a septuple (yes septuple) superkick. The Lionsault gives Jericho the pin at 31:12.

Rating: B+. This was a nice balance of insanity, brawling, fun moments and goofiness, mainly because it didn’t feel like a lot of it was scripted. Now of course it was, but it felt naturally enough that you could believe it was made up on the fly. Heck of a spectacle here and better than I was expecting, which is a nice relief.

Post match the Syndicate joins Jericho for the big thumbs up. Then Jericho puts himself through a table, seemingly in a tribute to Sabu. Nothing wrong with that.

We recap Darby Allin defending the World Title against MJF. After MJF ran his mouth about how awesome he was as champion, Allin got his title shot and won the belt in about two minutes. MJF demanded a rematch and finally put his hair on the line to get a shot. Allin has been defending all over the place and is wearing down fast though.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending, title vs. hair. We get a video of a guy getting in a cab to try to make it to the show for the main event. The camera pans below the street and Allin is skateboarding through the sewers. Well there’s nothing wrong with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tribute. We get the Big Match Intros and MJF insists on being introduced from “a mansion none of you can afford” and not from “one of the bulls*** boroughs”.

Some early headlock takeovers give Allin two each and he dropkicks MJF through the ropes. The suicide dive gets caught in the ropes though and Allin crashes out to the floor. Back in and the Heatseeker is broken up so MJF slingshots him in for a cutter instead. The chinlock is broken up but MJF forearms him out of the air. MJF tries a super Tombstone but gets reversed into the Diamond Dust to leave them both down.

It’s too early for the Coffin Drop though and MJF crawls outside, where Allin hits the suicide dive. The Coffin Drop only hits apron though and believe it or not, Allin is in big trouble on the floor. A package piledriver on the side of the steps knocks Allin sillier, but he’s right back with a low blow into a headlock takeover for two back inside. The Scorpion Deathlock goes on but MJF makes the rope, followed by raising his knees to block another Coffin Drop.

Another slingshot cutter is countered into a Scorpion Death Drop and they’re both down. They trade the headlock take for two each before trading rollups for one each. A Code Red gives Allin two more and they’re both down again. They pull themselves up and MJF is sent outside, where he pulls the cameraman in the way of Allin’s dive. MJF drags him up to the stage and tries to give Allin a hair cut but Allin reverses into a choke.

Allin puts him on a well placed table and climbs the scaffolding for the Coffin Drop to leave both of them down. Back in and another Coffin Drop gets two so Allin, who is bleeding from the back of the head, grabs the Scorpion Deathlock. Allin collapses again but is fine enough to grab the Scorpion Death Drop. Another Coffin Drop is broken up though and the super Tombstone into the headlock takeover finishes Allin to give MJF the title back at 24:02.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the heck out of each other and it felt like a match that could have gone either way. They had something with the idea of Allin fighting with everything he could and finally coming up short. I’m not sure about MJF getting the title back so soon but Allin couldn’t hold it that long given what he was doing as champion.

Post match Allin is stretchered out so MJF goes after him. Kevin Knight runs in for the save…and attacks Allin as MJF gives an “I’ll take it” look from the stage to end the show. If this gets Knight away from Mike Bailey, I’ll take that too.

Overall Rating: A. Yeah this was pretty outstanding, with one awesome match after another. It’s a good example of a show where you can pick multiple matches as your match of the night and be fine with any of them, from the Tag Team Titles to the International Title to the Continental Title to Stadium Stampede to Bandido vs. Strickland. That’s a heck of a lineup and watching it over two days helped. This was rather awesome stuff, as AEW gets back to its top level pay per view offerings. I have no idea if it lasts going into Dynamite, but I’ll absolutely take this here.

Results
Megan Bayne/Lena Kross b. Zayda Steel/Viva Van – Divine Intervention to Steel
Death Riders b. Opps – Running uppercut to Bowens
Boom & Doom/Conglomeration b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Tower Of Doom to Bravo
Adam Copeland/Christian Cage b. FTR – Sharpshooter/Grindhouse with Spike to Harwood
Konosuke Takeshita b. Kazuchika Okada – Raging Fire
Athena b. Mina Shirakawa – O Face
Jon Moxley b. Kyle O’Reilly – Ankle lock
Will Ospreay b. Samoa Joe – Hidden Blade
Thekla b. Hikaru Shida, Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter – Stomp to Statlander
Chris Jericho/Hurt Syndicate/Elite b. The Dogs/The Demand/Don Callis Family – Lionsault to Kaun
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Darby Allin – Headlock takeover

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We’re back to what might be the signature AEW pay per view and the card is certainly big enough. As usual there are a lot of matches and people on this show, with quite a few of them involving high stakes. That includes the main event, which is the rare mask vs. title match. We also have some wacky gimmickery on the docket so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Megan Bayne/Lena Kross vs. Zayda Steel/Viva Van

This is one of the non-title five minute deals as Bayne and Kross get to toy with the two of them for a bit before destroying them. That doesn’t make for the most interesting matches, but it does help when the match is guaranteed to be relatively short. Van and Steel could be any two breathing humans here and it wouldn’t make much of a difference, which is kind of the point.

Of course I’ll take Bayne and Kross to win, as there is no reason to suggest that a makeshit pair, including Van with her one win ever in Ring Of Honor, is going to score the upset. Kross and Bayne are waiting on real challengers to show up and there is a good chance that won’t be until we get to Wembley with the Brawling Birds. For now, they run through another thrown together team in short order.

Kickoff Show: Death Riders vs. Opps

This is a fine example of the “let’s get everyone on the show” match, as there is little reason for the match to be happening other than to fill in time on a pre-show. At least the teams have been having some issues, but it is a little difficult to get excited over a match involving Wheeler Yuta and Hook. It’s a match that feels like it could open any given edition of Collision and that only means so much.

We’ll flip a coin and say the Opps win here, as they could use the victory. This is especially true of Anthony Bowens, who is still new to the team and would benefit from picking up a win. It’s not like Yuta or Daniel Garcia are going to be hurt by taking a loss and Claudio Castagnoli will be there to keep things from getting too dull. The match should be ok, though it’s something that could easily be dropped.

Kickoff Show: Boom & Doom/Conglomeration vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

And we’ll wrap up the pre-show with ten more people in a match, including a way to get QT Marshall of all people on the card. I’m really not sure how much value there is to have Big Boom AJ on the show again but he’s here one more time, likely with his son again as well. Other than that we have the Promotions, who might as well be AEW’s version of the Job Squad given their success rate.

Naturally I’ll take the good guys to win here, as there is really no reason to suggest something else is going to happen. Hopefully they keep this quick, as it’s a match that doesn’t serve much of a purpose on an already crowded show. I’m not sure what the appeal is if having AJ around anymore, but at least it’s mainly just once in awhile and rarely outside of something like this.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Samoa Joe vs. Will Ospreay

So here we have one of the first matches of the tournament and as usual, the two of them have been doing something to set up the match. Joe wanted Ospreay to join the Opps but Ospreay has been training with the Death Riders instead. That’s a fine enough way to go and hopefully they have enough of a story to make this work. Ok to be fair, there is almost no way that Ospreay vs. Joe won’t work in the first place.

I’ll go with Ospreay to win here, as he is fresh off the new training with the Death Riders and is going to be doing some fresh things in the ring. Joe is someone who can work with anyone and it should be a blast to see these two wreck each other for a good while. I can’t imagine Ospreay losing in a tournament with the right to challenge for the World Title in his home country on the line so I’ll go with Ospreay winning here.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Bandido vs. Swerve Strickland

We might as well do the other first round match as well and as usual, the Ring Of Honor World Title hasn’t been mentioned in the slightest. That’s hardly a surprise, as Bandido’s match at Dynasty didn’t see it mentioned whatsoever either. Hopefully the title either moves on or becomes a thing people actually want. Anyway, this is about moving forward towards All In and that should be going in one way.

I can’t imagine this goes anywhere other than Strickland going over, as he’s that much of a bigger star in AEW. Bandido can do just about anything in the ring with anyone but Strickland is someone who should be going forward. It’s going to be a rather awesome match either way due to their impressive talent, though it winds up with Strickland beating Bandido and moving on.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Athena vs. Mina Shirakawa

These two have had some recent interactions in Ring Of Honor, which is better than nothing. This is one of the trickier matches, as both of them tend to lose their bigger matches in AEW. That leaves this as a more of a sad tossup than anything else, as I could see either moving on to lose in the next round. They both need a win of their own though and one stands out more than the other.

I’ll take Athena to win here, as she has the crazy long title reign to make her seem important. Unfortunately that tends to mean absolutely nothing in the long run, but at the moment she’s higher up than Shirakawa. Neither is going to win the whole thing, but Athena going over makes a lot more sense. Now just find a way for Athena to get up to the main roster already because GOOD GRIEF ALREADY!

Women’s Title: Thekla(c) vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter

Ah yeah we have title matches on this show too. This is kind of a weird way to go but there is something about having so many challengers trying to take the title. Thekla has done rather well for herself in recent months and become one of the best things in all of AEW. I could go for seeing her keep the title for a good bit longer, though I’m not entirely sure that’s going to happen.

While I could see one of the other three taking the belt here, I’ll go with Thekla retaining. If nothing else, that’s partially due to wanting to see her do her insane yet entertaining promotions from week to week. She’ll have to lose the title one day and that might not be until All In, so for now we’ll go with her stealing the win to retain, possibly with an assist from the rest of the Triangle Of Madness.

Tag Team Titles: FTR(c) vs. Adam Copeland/Christian Cage

This is an I Quit match after FTR beat Copeland and Cage in Canada earlier this year. Since it’s a rematch, Copeland and Cage are putting up their careers (as a team) and that should make it a bit more interesting. In theory it should guarantee how the result goes, though that isn’t always the way AEW goes. I’m kind of curious to see how it goes, which is more than I could say about their first match.

I’ll go with the sake of sanity here and say that Copeland and Cage win the titles and get their big moment. If nothing else, FTR has held the titles for a very long time now and there isn’t much for them to do at the moment. It’s time for someone new to get in the title picture and naturally that means giving the titles to a team who are almost a hundred years old combined. The Canadians win here after things get rather violent.

Chris Jericho/Hurt Syndicate/Elite vs. Demand/Don Callis Family/The Dogs

Oh boy here we go. We have fourteen people in this version of Stadium Stampede and I’m not exactly looking forward to this. These matches wind up being fun, but at the same time it might as well be a short film. This is AEW’s version of a cinematic match as it’s all about doing whatever insanity they get together and think of this time around. Hopefully they don’t go insane with the time, but it’s an AEW pay per view.

I’ll go with the good guys winning here, even if it’s a total guess as to who is going to win this thing. The match is designed to be a big spectacle and nothing more, so hopefully they don’t go too far (ok you know better) and then we move on. If nothing else, Jericho can actually get a win without having to get the win himself. It could be fun, though I’m more than a bit uninterested.

International Title: Kazuchika Okada(c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita

This is one of the longer built matches on the card, as it has been teased for the better part of ever. They had a match back in the Continental Classic, about five months ago, though that was part of a tournament rather than the grudge match they’ve both been wanting. I’m curious to see how it goes, as Okada is capable of having a rather good match if he’s trying. If that’s the case, it should work here.

I’m expecting one of them to be kicked out of the Don Callis Family and that person is going to leave without the title. In this case, I’ll take with Okada retaining the title here, likely with Don Callis turning on Takeshita and setting up a third match down the line. Okada has already held the title for way too long and ultimately Takeshita will take it from him, but I’ll go with AEW waiting a bit longer to pull the trigger.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Here we have another AEW trope: a rematch from a long match from less than a week ago with possibilities of the rematch going even longer. That’s the case here, as we’re just waving the title’s time limit rule (again) after the two of them went to a twenty minute time limit draw on Dynamite. That’s not the most promising thing, though I’d bet on seeing a lot of forearms exchanged, which must be good right?

I’ll go with Moxley retaining here, as the solution for Moxley seems to be “he can have long matches and wins because he’s awesome”. Last year Moxley kept tapping out to O’Reilly but not he even better so he won’t do that again. That seems to be the story here and odds are Moxley needs to get his win back. It should be hard hitting, but you kind of know what you’re getting with Moxley most of the time.

AEW World Title: Darby Allin(c) vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Title vs. hair and…I have no idea where to go here. The idea seems to be that Allin is wearing himself out with the title defenses, though I’m still not sure I can imagine MJF getting the title back so soon. That’s one of the things that makes a match that much more interesting, though Allin’s title reign has already worn me down on him. The matches have been fun, but I don’t really need to see him going crazy long again. So who wins here?

Geez where does this go? The logical way to go would see to be MJF but I’ll go with the twist of Allin retaining and MJF losing his hair. Maybe Allin loses the title soon after, but him losing here seems so simple. MJF losing his hair has some great potential and I could see him going there, but I’m not sure I need to see him get the title back. I’ll take Allin retaining here, though with a grant total of no confidence.

Overall Thoughts

This is a heck of a card and there could be some rather good matches on it, though as usual the idea of how long these matches are going to go is just draining. I’m interested in some of them though and Double Or Nothing does tend to be one of the better shows on AEW’s calendar. The wrestlers will definitely put in the work though, and that’s going to help this go a long way.

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: May 21, 2026
Location: Wicomico Youth And Civic Center, Salisbury, Maryland
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re done with Supercard Of Honor and that likely means a return to normal around here. Bandido and Athena retained their titles while the Tag Team Titles continued their tradition of not being defended. Other than that, we’re likely back in the deep freeze until the next big show is announced. Let’s get to it.

Here is Supercard Of Honor if you need a recap.

We open with a quick preview of the show. That’s a new way to go.

Opening sequence.

Action Andretti vs. QT Marshall

Before the match, Andretti mocks the fans and says it started with Marshall. Andretti cuts off Marshall’s introduction and asks for some applause. The thing is, Andretti used to be a dreamer like him but then the fans booed him. The reality is that Lio Rush turned on him and now Marshall does all kinds of things just to get attention. Now Andretti is going to embarrass Marshall like he embarrassed Rush. I really hope this doesn’t mean that Rush, who is basically a monster, is supposed to be the good guy in all of this.

Anyway, Andretti headlocks him down to start but gets reversed into a headscissors. Back up and Andretti snaps off a running headscissors, followed by a springboard clothesline. A springboard corkscrew splash gives Andretti two and a handspring elbow cuts off Marshall’s comeback. The second attempt works a bit better as Marshall scores with a handspring kick to the head.

A rolling Stunner gives Andretti two but Marshall knocks him back down, setting up a Lionsault for two. Andretti dropkicks him into the corner for a split legged moonsault and he blocks a running cutter. Another springboard is countered into a cutter but Marshall misses a nice moonsault. A tornado DDT and the torture rack neckbreaker finish for Andretti at 8:51.

Rating: B-. They got into a nice groove here and it was good to see Andretti win a match for a change. Since we’re apparently getting into a Rush vs. Andretti feud, he needed to win something to give him at least the tiniest of value after so many losses. Marshall as a good guy is kind of weird but he’s actually making it work well enough thus far.

Hyan/Maya World vs. Allie Katch/Kaia McKenna

Hyan and McKenna start things off with Hyan taking over, allowing World to come in for a double clothesline. Katch comes in for a rollup but World takes her down for a double stomp. World actually gets taken into the corner for some stomping so it’s a double neckbreaker to get her out of trouble. Hyan comes back in to clean house and spears McKenna, setting up Around The World (wheelbarrow slam/running Downward Spiral combination) for the pin on McKenna at 4:35.

Rating: C. This wasn’t quite a squash as Katch and McKenna got in a bit of offense but it was never in doubt. Hyan and World are fine as a team and could wind up going after the Women’s Tag Team Titles at some point. Katch and McKenna were ok here as well and I could go for having them around more often.

Shane Taylor praises AR Fox but it’s the wrong place and wrong time for him to win his first title. Tonight, Taylor is getting his title back.

Rush vs. Ryan O’Neil

Bull’s Horns in 1:00. The post match catchphrase makes this exactly the same thing he did on Collision.

We look at the Kingdom returning at Supercard Of Honor to confront Bustah And The Brain. Not wrestle them mind you, but they did in fact confront them.

Premiere Athletes vs. Bustah And The Brain

The rest of the Athletes are here too. Oliver and Nese start things off with Nese pausing for some posing. They start running the ropes until Oliver stops and just walks over him in a funny bit. Daivari comes in for a double suplex but Price easily escapes and goes after the arm. Oliver and Price are sent outside where a distraction allows the rest of the Athletes to get in some stomping.

Back in and Oliver jumps over Daivari but Nese pulls Price off the apron in a smart move. Nese grabs the Randy Savage neck snap on Oliver, who is back up with a crossbody to Daivari. Price comes back in and cleans house, including running up the ropes for a spinning Blockbuster (that looked good).

Mark Sterling trips Price from the floor though and everything breaks down. Price gives Daivari the Tyler Bate head bounce off the ropes rebound lariat but Nese is back in to kick him in the head. Back in and Oliver kicks Nese down and then hits a dive on the floor. The Price Is Right (top rope double stomp Doomsday Device, also known as OUCH) finishes Nese at 9:51.

Rating: B-. What matters the most here is that Bustah And The Brain are getting a steady rise up the ranks. That’s a lot more than most teams around here get and if Ring Of Honor can figure out the whole Tag Team Title situation (which would be a change after the last year and a half or so), they should already be near the title situation. On the other side you have the Athletes, who were built up and then put someone else over, as they should.

Eddie Kingston and Ortiz sit down with Caprice Coleman. Kingston is back to get better and he wants to see people prove they want it. Everyone wanted to come to Ring Of Honor when he was breaking in and he wants that back. As for Ortiz, they’re friends and business partners. Kingston: “I get to pay off my home and I get to have YouTube with no commercials.” Coleman asks Ortiz what Kingston isn’t telling them, which is apparently that they want to change the wrestling business. Kingston thinks this place is better than the AEW locker room and they want to make things better.

Dalton Castle and the Outrunners are happy about winning the Six Man Tag Team Titles and now they’re ready to face everyone.

Dalton Castle/Outrunners vs. Danny Grandview/Chulo Montana/Ykies

Non-title Proving Ground match. Montana chops Magnum in the corner to start and gets chopped down for his efforts. It’s off to Floyd, who is wearing the title as he knocks everyone down and poses. Castle fires off the suplexes and the Bang A Rang sets up the Mega Powers Elbow/ax handle drop for the pin on Ykies at 2:40.

AR Fox is ready to face Shane Taylor, who only had to ask for a title shot. Isn’t that what Taylor did?

We look at Fox winning the TV Title last week.

Lio Rush vs. Aaron Solo

Solo is scared to shake Rush’s hand and gets sent into the ropes for his efforts. Rush chases him around the ropes and then crawls around a lot. Solo is knocked outside as the black goo is coming out of Rush’s mouth. The chase goes up the aisle until Solo hits a superkick and they go back inside. Some chops just wake Rush up again and he hits a spinning kick to the head. They run the ropes until Rush grabs a powerbomb and sends Solo outside. The suicide dive connects and Black Thunder gives Rush the pin at 5:39.

Rating: C+. This was your latest reminder that “Rush is weird but really athletic”. That’s about all there is to this as the details of why he’s suddenly a monster haven’t been explained. Odds are that’s better as this is hardly something that I want to see explained after how it has gone so far.

Post match Rush sounds like he says something about someone being strong and promising to reign supreme.

Deonna Purrazzo is proud of beating Diamante and is ready for her next challenger.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Janai Kai

Non-title Proving Ground Pure Rules match. They wrestle around to start with neither getting very far. Purrazzo goes after the arm but gets caught in an Eye Of The Hurricane. Kai kicks her in the chest and back for two but Purrazzo breaks out of a sleeper. Another big kick puts Purrazzo down for two more and the sleeper goes on again. Purrazzo breaks it up again and grabs the Fujiwara armbar, which is actually reversed into a rollup for two. That’s enough for Purrazzo, who knocks her down and grabs the Fujiwara armbar for the win at 7:00.

Rating: C+. This was fairly long and just reminded us that the most successful women’s Pure Rules wrestler ever is still the best women’s Pure Rules wrestler ever. There is no one on the horizon coming for the title, but that could change rather quickly as it’s not like there is much of a process to set up challengers. Kai got in her usual strikes and kicks and that’s about all, as tends to be the case in her matches.

Video on Swerve Strickland vs. Bandido.

Billie Starkz/Diamante vs. Queen Aminata/Mina Shirakawa

Diamante and Shirakawa start things off with Shirakawa knocking her down and hitting her slingshot corkscrew splash. Aminata comes in for her hips to the face while Shirakawa kicks Diamante in the back. Diamante jawbreaks her way out of trouble and brings Starkz in to take over. A double suplex puts Shirakawa down and it’s back to Diamante for a chinlock. Shirakawa fights up and hits a basement dropkick, allowing the tag off to Aminata.

A Helluva Kick and running shot in the corner get two on Starkz, setting up Shirakawa’s missile dropkick. The top rope Sling Blade gets two with Diamante making the save but stereo Figure Fours are reversed into small packages. Shirakawa is right back with the Figure Four on Starkz until Diamante…well actually doesn’t make the save as Aminata knocks her away. That leaves Starkz to tap at 8:44.

Rating: C+. Athena’s goons losing again isn’t much of a surprise, though Shirakawa getting a win out of the thing is nice to see. She’s someone who could easily be put into a higher level on the card but it’s hard to figure out how that goes around here. You also have Starkz’s downfall continuing, which is likely going to result in her getting yet another big title shot.

Post match (and I mean maybe a tenth of a second after it’s over) Athena shows up to choke Shirakawa (who Athena is facing in the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament) with a towel. Aminata cuts that off but the villains beat Aminata and Shirakawa down.

TV Title: Shane Taylor vs. AR Fox

Taylor, with his Promotions, is challenging and spits on Fox’s hand to start fast. Fox gets knocked into the corner and his high crossbody is caught. That’s escaped and Fox sends him outside for the big dive, only for Taylor to punch him right in the face. There’s the apron legdrop for a rather delayed one and we hit the chinlock.

Fox is sent into the corner but avoids a legdrop for a breather. Taylor gets kicked to the floor and there’s the big running flip dive. Back in and a Swanton gives Fox two but Taylor is back with a chokeslam and splash for the same. The Marcus Garvey Driver is countered into a cutter and Fox dives at Taylor while kicking Anthony Ogogo at the same time. Back in and a 450 retains the title at 9:05.

Rating: B-. This was a perfectly acceptable title defense for Fox, as he got to beat a monster with a reputation. As usual, Fox’s dives looked good and it felt like he was working his way through getting around Taylor throughout. It made for a good main event and it’s great to see Fox getting this kind of a chance.

Overall Rating: C+. Well that was long. This was just a step above the regular weekly show, with a bunch of content that didn’t feel like it was doing anything more than getting people on the show. That’s fine once in awhile, but it seems to be the case more often than not. I do like that some of these things feel like they’re building to something, though we need them to actually pay off before without having to wait months on end.

Results
Action Andretti b. QT Marshall – Torture rack neckbreaker
Hyan/Maya World b. Allie Katch/Kaia McKenna – Around The World to McKenna
Rush b. Ryan O’Neil – Bull’s Horns
Bustah And The Brain b. Premiere Athletes – The Price Is Right to Nese
Dalton Castle/Outrunners b. Danny Grandview/Chulo Montana/Ykies – Mega Powers Elbow/ax handle drop combination to Ykies
Lio Rush b. Aaron Solo – Black Thunder
Deonna Purrazzo b. Janai Kai – Fujiwara armbar
Queen Aminata/Mina Shirakawa b. Billie Starkz/Diamante – Figure Four to Starkz
AR Fox b. Shane Taylor – 450

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

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Dynamite
Date: May 20, 2026
Location: Cross Insurance Arena, Portland, Maine
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re getting another three hour block this week as Collision is taking place tonight in a one hour version due to this weekend’s Double Or Nothing event. As has been the case with recent shows, Darby Allin is defending the World Title again, this time against Mike Bailey. That could be quite the showdown so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Earlier today, Chris Jericho and the Young Bucks were outside near a lighthouse to talk about tonight’s six man tag match and the biggest Stadium Stampede of all time this weekend. They imply having a special team name too. It’s going to be Bucks Of Jericho isn’t it?

Chris Jericho/Young Bucks vs. Don Callis Family/Ricochet

Yeah it’s Bucks Of Jericho. On the other side you have Andrade El Idolo/Mark Davis for the Family. Ricochet tags out immediately (that has been done WAY too often lately and it could use a long break) so it’s Andrade vs. Jericho to start things off. Naturally Andrade bails out to the floor for a photo with some women, earning chops from Jericho. Back in and Andrade gets taken into the corner, setting up a Risky Business/fish drop combination.

Matt gets driven into the corner as well but fights out rather quickly, allowing Nick to come in and clean house. The Bucks hit stereo dives and Jericho hits a top rope version of his own and we take a break. We come back with Nick fighting out of trouble and bringing in Jericho, meaning Ricochet bails again. Everything breaks down and Jericho and the Bucks hit a bunch of right hands on top, setting up three straight super hurricanranas.

Ricochet runs in to make a save so the Bucks start firing off the superkicks. Andrade is back up but gets low blowed into a step up Canadian Destroyer. Jericho knocks Ricochet to the floor for a baseball slide and they crash through some tables. Back in and More Bang From Your Buck is broken up by Davis. The Bucks take out Andrade but here are the Dogs to take Nick out. A foreign object shot knocks Matt cold for the pin at 13:58.

Rating: B-. This was the usual “here’s everything going nuts and people doing all kinds of stuff”, meaning it was entertaining but little more than a preview for Stadium Stampede. That makes sense and thankfully they didn’t go too long or have too many people involved. I’m not wild on Stadium Stampede, but the preview version went well enough.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jack Perry makes the save with…a bag of onions. Yeah of course. Anyway the Hurt Syndicate comes in to help clear the bad guys out with some of the brawls going into the crowd. Jericho and company stand tall.

Video on Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada.

Darby Allin says he keeps taking these title matches because he feels it. He basically says he can’t wait to get to Double Or Nothing, more or less treating Mike Bailey as the nothing challenger that he really is.

Video on MJF vs. Darby Allin.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Mark Briscoe

Anything goes. Briscoe throws in a trashcan full of weapons to start but Ciampa gets in a shot to the back to put him down. Ciampa goes under the ring to find his own trashcan full of weapons…including a mousetrap, which catches his own hand. A chair is sat up at ringside, with Ciampa being sat down for a Blockbuster. The Froggy Bow through the table is broken up and Ciampa sends him through the table instead. The cheese grater slices open Briscoe’s head (ignore that his head seemed to be bleeding first) and we take a break

We come back with Ciampa covering a stuffed chicken but Briscoe pulls the referee out. Briscoe whips out a fire extinguisher to spray Ciampa (and the air around him) and then staples barbed wire to a table. Believe it or not, that takes WAY too long and Ciampa is back up to staple a piece of paper to Briscoe’s head. Loading up a kneepad covered in thumbtacks takes way too long as well as Briscoe sends him into the ladder in the corner.

Briscoe uses a screwdriver for some stabbing but Ciampa suplexes him through the ladder for two. Back up and they slug it out, with the rather bloody Ciampa getting the better of things again. The super Air Raid Crash through some open chairs is broken up so Briscoe puts them back to back for an Iconoclasm onto their edges. A Jay Driller through the barbed wire table and the Froggy Bow finish Ciampa at 14:16.

Rating: C+. Yeah ok. This was just carnage for the sake of carnage and they lost me a few minutes into it. Much like what I’m expecting from Stadium Stampede, you could pretty much picture the two of them mapping out the stunts. It was violent and intense, but it didn’t feel like they were really fighting, which isn’t a good sign.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring to talk about the Owen Hart Tournament but Prince Nana interrupts and says he has this. He brings out Swerve Strickland but here is Bandido to jump Strickland. Bandido goes after Nana though and Strickland gets in a shot to the knee. The Vertebreaker on the chair is broken up and Bandido gorilla presses him instead. Strickland bails from the threat of said chair.

Willow Nightingale talks about some of her great moments, including a recent title defense against Red Velvet. Unfortunately she injured her shoulder and is out of the Owen Hart Cup and has to vacate the TBS Title. GAH that’s a bad one as she was having the run of her career. She doesn’t know when she’ll be back but she’ll be back on top.

Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Non-title eliminator match. O’Reilly goes after the arm to start and gets reversed into a headlock takeover. This lets Taz talk about leverage and control, which is what he does best. They get up and grapple again, with Moxley getting him into the corner to take him down. Moxley starts stomping on the fingers but wins another strike off. O’Reilly kicks away in the corner, followed by a snap suplex.

They strike it out again with Moxley getting in a body shot to put O’Reilly down. Moxley puts him against the ropes and hammers away but gets backdropped out to the floor instead. O’Reilly’s ribs/body won’t let him dive though and Moxley knocks him down again as we take a break. We come back with Moxley holding a bodyscissors until O’Reilly goes for the eyes to break it up. O’Reilly kicks the leg out and they trade some running shots against the ropes.

Some knees to the face let O’Reilly flip him over and a running boot puts Moxley on the floor. They go outside and trade a bunch of kicks to the chest until O’Reilly goes up top. Moxley bites the head and rakes the back, setting up a superplex to leave them both down again. O’Reilly escapes a choke and grabs the ankle lock, which is reversed into the bulldog choke. The rope is reached for the break and O’Reilly gets to the apron to twist the arm down.

A running dropkick has Moxley in more trouble but Moxley is back with a cutter gets two. O’Reilly grabs a choke of his own, setting up a t-bone suplex. One heck of a PK drops Moxley again but he pops up and, say it with me, they trade forearms. We have less than a minute to go as Moxley misses a Stomp and gets ankle locked again. The grapevine goes on but Moxley manages to make it through the time for the draw at 20:00.

Rating: B. That’s our Moxley. He’s tapped to O’Reilly before but he won’t do it again because he’s this awesome tough guy who doesn’t tap anymore because now he’s just too tough. This is a rather basic way to set up a rematch at the pay per view and while I’m not sure why I’d want to see them do it again so soon after a twenty minute draw, it does make sense and I’ll take that. Just imagine how many times they can trade forearms in a rematch!

Hold on though as O’Reilly says Moxley survived him so he wants a no time limit title match.

Kris Statlander is upset over Willow Nightingale but Hikaru Shida interrupts, saying they’re here to watch and want the women to fight hard in their upcoming match.

Rush wants Darby Allin next week if he survives his next title defenses.

Athena/Triangle Of Madness vs. Thunder Rosa/Mina Shirakawa/Brawling Birds

Athena wins a wrestle off with Rosa to start and shakes a bit before handing it off to Blue. Windsor comes in and gets caught in a headlock but Hayter tags herself in and, after accidentally kicking Windsor, boots Blue down for one instead. Shirakawa comes in to take over on Thekla and hits a slingshot spinning splash.

We take a break and come back with Blue pulling Shirakawa down by the hair and a Tarantula in the corner. Hayter tries to make a save and gets caught in an Upside Down, leaving Shirakawa to get beaten up even more. Shirakawa fights out of the corner and brings in Rosa to clean house, including a running shot to Blue in the corner. Everything breaks down and Athena gets to clean house until she is the only one left standing. Shirakawa tornado DDTs Athena on the floor and Blue kicks Rosa down inside. Thekla’s belt shot is cut off but Hart mists Rosa, allowing Thekla to roll her up for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on here and there is only so much you can do with that many people and a somewhat limited amount of time. Athena got to showcase herself while she could but as usual, she feels like someone who AEW tolerates rather than wants to push. Hopefully she gets to do something in the tournament, but I wouldn’t bet on it. The match was pretty good as a preview for Sunday and the tournament, so at least it accomplished its goals.

Kevin Knight gives Mike Bailey a pep talk and wants a shot at the World Title. Works for Bailey.

The Death Riders do group pushups and he’s ready for Kyle O’Reilly in their no time limit match at Double Or Nothing. Moxley thanks O’Reilly for giving him a chance to practice what he preached. O’Reilly survived tonight and on Sunday he gets to try his odds and see if he can go double or nothing (thankfully Moxley does acknowledge that it’s kind of a lame line).

AEW World Title: Mike Bailey vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending and before the bell, here is MJF to join commentary. Bailey hits…I think a kick but the camera was on MJF as we start. The Tornado Kick connects less than fifteen seconds in and Allin has to go to the apron to avoid the Ultimate Weapon. The triangle moonsault hits Allin on the floor and Bailey slams him outside as well. That means a double knee drop off the steps but Allin crotches him on the barricade. The Scorpion Death Drop plants Bailey onto the barricade and we take a break.

We come back with the two of them still on the floor and Allin using the steps to crush Bailey’s foot. They get back inside with Bailey knocking him down again but missing the Ultimate Weapon. The Coffin Drop connects but MJF puts the foot on the rope. Cue Kevin Knight to yell at MJF, who backs off and sits back down. Bailey kicks Allin the head a few times for two before the moonsault knees connect as well. The Flamenco Driver is countered into a Scorpion Death Drop but the Scorpion Deathlock sends Bailey to the rope. A Coffin Drop sets up another Deathlock to retain the title at 11:00.

Rating: B. The best thing here is they didn’t go as insane with Allin surviving stuff. That has been an issue with some of his title defenses and thankfully it wasn’t quite so badly. Bailey never felt like he was a real threat to win the title and they didn’t spend nearly as much time on a match that didn’t need it. Allin got beaten up, made a comeback and retained. Simple, yet effective here.

MJF storms off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a good example of a show where my bigger issues were more around the style being presented. The main portion of this show felt like it was all about the insanity or violence and more the people just getting to do what they liked. That being said, the last two matches were better and Moxley vs. O’Reilly had some moments. I can accept that some of the things they did accomplished what they were trying but I’m just not a fan, as that’s not the same thing as being bad. I didn’t have a great time for a lot of this, but it did get better by the end.

Results
Don Callis Family/Ricochet b. Young Bucks/Chris Jericho – Foreign object shot to Matt
Mark Briscoe b. Tommaso Ciampa – Froggy Bow
Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly went to a time limit draw
Athena/Triangle Of Madness b. Brawling Birds/Thunder Rosa/Mina Shirakawa – Mist to Rosa
Darby Allin b. Mike Bailey – Scorpion Deathlock

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

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Dynamite
Date: May 6, 2026
Location: North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, South Carolina
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

It’s another double show this week as we have the usual two hours of Dynamite, plus the first half of Collision. As usual, the World Title is on the line as Darby Allin is defending against Kevin Knight in what could be a heck of a match. We’re also getting pretty close to Double Or Nothing and that should mean some new things being set up. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring for a dedication to Ted Turner, who started the network they’re on and had a big hand in bringing wrestling to national television. Schiavone brings out Sting, who talks about how great it was to have an all in billionaire who loved wrestling. Back in the day, a lot of people wanted to get rid of wrestling but Turner would tell the wrestlers to keep doing what he was doing because he had deep pockets.

He and Darby Allin burned this place up for three and a half years and he’s glad to see Allin defending the title tonight. Schiavone talks about how the TNT and TBS Titles have plates honoring where Turner started wrestling in Atlanta. And now, three hours of wrestling! It was nice to see this kind of thing and given that they air on the Turner networks, it kind of had to be there.

We get a ten bell salute to Turner.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Juice Robinson

Non-title Eliminator Match. They go head to head and yell a lot before trading the forearms. Robinson headbutts him in the corner and a catapult sends Moxley out to the floor. The big flip dive off the apron connects and they go back inside, where Moxley (already bleeding) stomps on the hand. The fingers are split apart but Robinson is able to send him outside again, this time with a toss into the timekeeper’s area. Back in and Robinson hammers away until we take a break.

We come back with Moxley working on the fingers again but Robinson gets up to slug away. That’s cut off rather quickly and now it’s Moxley getting to fire off the right hands in the corner. A super hurricanrana gets Robinson out of trouble and he reverses a piledriver attempt into a rollup for two.

The snap jabs just earn Robinson a bite to the face but he’s right back with a high crossbody. They trade headbutts and forearms until Moxley misses a charge into the post. A mere thirteen seconds later, he’s back with a bulldog choke and piledriver for two. The choke goes on again and Robinson is out at 14:34.

Rating: B-. This was Moxley in his Superman mode as he bounced up from charging into a post like it was nothing so he could do his big offense. That’s the kind of ridiculous stuff he does every so often and it makes for some less than great matches. Also, nice job of having the Bang Bang Gang get its momentum back on Collision and have their leader lose in the first match on the following Dynamite.

Will Ospreay trains with the Death Riders and Moxley says this is Death Ground (as in ground from which he can never escape) if his neck doesn’t get stronger. Yeah of course this is hard. And no more cameras.

Orange Cassidy vs. Dax Harwood

The winner gets a shot at the loser’s titles and Harwood has about seven people (including Tommaso Ciampa, RPG Vice, Cash Wheeler, the Dogs and Stokely dressed as Cassidy) with him. Cassidy brings out the rest of the Conglomeration, Adam Copeland, Christian Cage and the Young Bucks with him as there are probably fifteen people involved in this segment

Harwood armdrags him down to start but Cassidy kicks him off and grabs a headlock. Cassidy blocks the chops in the corner and hits an Orange Punch, sending Harwood outside. Another Orange Punch hits the post though and the hand gets wrapped around the post as we take a break. We come back with Cassidy being sent into the corner but blocking a superplex attempt. A top rope DDT gets two and Harwood goes outside, where he cuts off a suicide dive attempt.

Back in and a spinning DDT drops Harwood but Stokely offers a distraction and a cheap shot from the floor gets two. A big brawl on the floor looks to allow Harwood to bring in the ring bell, which is quickly taken away. Cassidy kicks him in the face but gets caught in a slingshot powerbomb for two more. Back up and the Orange Punch gets two so Harwood goes after the bad arm/hand again. That’s reversed into a cradle though and Cassidy gets the pin at 12:01.

Rating: B-. Well that was….busy. This felt like a match that could have had about, I don’t know, fifteen or so less people at ringside? I’m hardly thrilled with the idea of more people getting a chance to be a double champion again but it’s just another match before (I’m guessing) we get to Copeland and Cage getting their rematch at Double Or Nothing.

Post match everyone comes in and the good guys clean house.

Video on Rush.

Last week, the Demand jumped Chris Jericho.

This week, Jericho (not Chris Jericho but just Jericho) is in the back but wants to talk about the Demand in front of the people. He comes out to the ring and says he’s done with the three on one beatdowns. Instead, he’s going to DEMAND that Ricochet come out here and face him man to man right now.

Cue the Demand, with Ricochet mocking Jericho, who says that he can’t hear over all of the booing. Ricochet is tired of this stuff and listening to these people in Charleston, North Carolina (Jericho: “It’s South.”) and brings up a challenge for Stadium Stampede. He’s just not sure if Jericho can find four other partners because no one around here likes him. Jericho yells at him for getting the state wrong (Ricochet: “Same thing.”) and is sure he can find someone. Otherwise he’ll just do it himself.

The brawl is on and Jericho clears the ring…for a bit, only to get beaten back down. Cue the Hurt Syndicate to make the save. Schiavone: “I know they love Bobby Lashley and they love South Carolina native Benjamin Shelton.” That’s either a really odd reference to a Hulk Hogan interview from about a year ago, or Schiavone isn’t very good at his job.

Mina Shirakawa gives Harley Cameron a pep talk and rips Cameron’s shirt open. Shirakawa realizes Cameron is wearing her bra underneath rather than gear and has to apologize. Cameron doesn’t seem to mind and is fired up.

International Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Keith

Okada is defending in your random title match of the week. In case you’re wondering, Keith’s most recent singles win on AEW TV was in October. Of 2024. Excalibur says Keith has been racking up wins in Ring Of Honor though, and that is true. I mean he hasn’t actually won a singles match this year but the three he had in 2025 count right? Oh wait actually as Excalibur said that Keith has had success on the independent circuit. From what I can find, that success is a record of 1-1-2 this year. So I guess this is based on the ROH tag success? To get a singles title shot. Right.

Anyway, Keith kicks away to start and snapmares him into a knee drop for two. Keith goes up but gets dropkicked out to the floor, where Okada hits a DDT as we take a break. We come back with Keith not being able to get a Fujiwara armbar but he can knee Okada in the head. Keith hits a running DDT for two and they head outside again, where Keith gets in another DDT.

Naturally that doesn’t do much and Okada gives him a slam into the dropkick. Another dropkick misses but Okada backdrops his way out of a tiger driver attempt. The next attempt works a bit better but Diamond Dust is countered into something like a sitout Tombstone. The Rainmaker retains the title at 10:16.

Rating: B. Keith made the most of his chance here and the match wound up being good. While it would be nice to see the choice of title challengers have a bit more logic, it was nice to see Keith getting a shot. Okada is on the way to his biggest match in AEW (or at least close to it) so call this a rather early warmup.

Post match Okada says he’s coming for the World Title. Censored.

Video on Andrade El Idolo.

Mike Bailey gives Kevin Knight a pep talk before tonight’s World Title shot. Knight is ready to win another title.

Samoa Joe and the Opps, now with Anthony Bowens, wants Will Ospreay on his team. Either do that, or get his fist instead.

Mina Shirakawa/Harley Cameron vs. Hikaru Shida/Kris Statlander

Shirakawa and Statlander lock up to start, with Statlander giving her a slam and dancing a bit. A backslide gives Statlander two and it’s off to Shida vs. Cameron. That doesn’t last long as it’s back to Statlander, who gets headscissored into the corner. A backbreaker puts Shirakawa down though and Shida comes back in for a running knee on the apron.

We take a break and come back with Shirakawa and Shida trading forearms until Shirakawa knocks her silly. Cameron comes back in with a tornado DDT and Shirakawa adds a missile dropkick to Statlander as everything breaks down. Statlander is back up with a fisherman’s driver to Shirakawa but Shida’s running knee hits Statlander by mistake. Cameron rolls Shida up for two but Statlander is back in to boot Cameron in the face. Shida’s Falcon Arrow gets the pin at 12:43.

Rating: C+. At least Shirakawa didn’t lose again. I’m not sure why Shida and Statlander’s team is continuing as it isn’t like they have much to do at the moment after losing their title shot. It’s nice to have them actually doing something, but a team with issues despite having success is a bit played out.

Swerve Strickland wants power and that means going after the most wanted, Bandido.

Bandido, with Brody King, says he’s not hard to find and King threatens Strickland for coming after his friends. Didn’t we just see King vs. Strickland a month and a half ago? Also of note: neither Bandido, King, Strickland or commentary referenced Bandido being the Ring Of Honor World Champion whatsoever. Bandido had the belt, but no one mentioned it at all. That was the case when Andrade El Idolo came after the title as well. It’s not a good sign when the Defy World Title (as held by Bryan Keith) gets more discussion than the title held, and displayed, by an AEW star.

AEW World Title: Darby Allin vs. Kevin Knight

Only Allin is defending. They go with the grappling to start until Knight knocks him down and grabs a headlock. Allin reverses into one of his own and hits a springboard elbow to the face. Back up and they clothesline each other and Knight snaps off a heck of a super hurricanrana. A big dropkick sends Allin outside and we take a break.

We come back with Allin grabbing a Code Red for two and Knight goes outside. The suicide dive knocks Knight down again and Allin sits him in the chair. Knight pops back up and hurricanranas him off the top and out to the floor for the big crash. One heck of a springboard clothesline hits Allin on the announcers’ table and they’re both down for a bit. Back in and Knight dives into a Scorpion Deathlock, sending him over to the ropes.

Knight is able to catch him in the Tree Of Woe and hits a Coast To Coast, followed by the UFO Splash. The knee is too banged up though and it’s a delayed cover for two. Allin kicks the knee out and grabs a guillotine choke before hanging him on the top rope. The Coffin Drop in the ropes sets up the regular Coffin Drop to retain the title at 15:36.

Rating: B. This was good again, with Allin’s rather impressive string of title matches continuing. At the same time, it seems like they’re setting up the idea of Allin giving it everything he has in these title matches, which could result in him having some trouble rather soon. Knight losing is acceptable enough as it’s to the World Champion, but it shouldn’t be happening again anytime soon.

Sting comes out to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was another strong show, though it was missing something to take it all the way to that higher level. It was a show built more around setting things up for later and building to things that we’ve already gotten set up. That’s a fine way to go on occasion, though they really do need to add some more stuff to Double Or Nothing, as we only have three matches thus far. Anyway, this was more than good enough.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Juice Robinson – Bulldog choke
Orange Cassidy b. Dax Harwood – Rollup
Kazuchika Okada b. Bryan Keith – Rainmaker
Hikaru Shida/Kris Statlander b. Harley Cameron/Mina Shirakawa – Falcon Arrow to Cameron
Darby Allin b. Kevin Knight – Coffin Drop

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

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Dynamite
Date: March 25, 2026
Location: Roy Wilkins Auditorium, St. Paul Minnesota
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Taz

Somehow we’re only about two and a half weeks away from Dynasty, which doesn’t have much set up as of yet. That’s really going to need to change and a lot of things could be added this week. We do already have a bit ready to go though and some of those things should get some extra boosts this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Kenny Omega vs. Swerve Strickland

Omega is putting up his EVP title and Strickland is putting up his #1 contendership. Prince Nana grabs Omega’s foot to start and Strickland hits an early clothesline. Omega gets dropped throat first across the top rope but he’s fine enough to grab a hurricanrana to send Strickland outside. The running flip dive connects and Omega adds a running hip attack against the barricade.

Strickland rams him into the barricade though and they back inside with Strickland grabbing something like a standing crossface. Omega breaks out and hits a running Fameasser into You Can’t Escape. They trade some hard strikes to the face until Omega sends him into the corner for the V Trigger. Omega goes up top but gets pulled down with something like a super Angle Slam as we take a break.

We come back with Omega winning a slugout and grabbing some snapdragons. They head to the apron, where Strickland distracts the referee so he can kick Omega low. A piledriver onto the barricade knocks Omega even sillier, followed by a suplex powerbomb for two back inside. Big Pressure is countered so Strickland hits a House Call to send Omega into the ropes.

The Swerve Stomp gives Strickland two but Omega kicks him into the corner. Strickland is able to hit a powerbomb into a powerslam for two more so Omega knees him into the ropes. The V Trigger and Vertebreaker are countered so Strickland goes to the eyes, setting up the Vertebreaker for the rather near fall. Another Swerve Stomp misses so Omega V Triggers him into the One Winged Angel for the pin at 20:34.

Rating: B+. This was a good way to go as you had two main eventers beating each other up with some important things on the line. The ending sets up Omega for a likely title shot in Canada at Dynasty, which isn’t a bad way to go. I’m not wild on Strickland losing so soon, but that’s the way to go given the stakes here.

We look at some of Darby Allin’s bigger stunts.

Will Ospreay wants to fight Pac and then he’s coming for Jon Moxley, who he wants to fight at Dynasty.

Death Riders vs. SkyFlight

That would be Jon Moxley/Marina Shafir/Daniel Garcia vs. Top Flight/Zayda Steel and Top Flight are the hometown stars. The men head to the floor as Shafir chokes Steel, who comes back with a headscissors. It’s off to Garcia, who takes over on Darius, followed by Moxley coming in to stomp away. Darius dropkicks his way out of trouble and Dante comes in to clean house. Everything breaks down and SkyFlight hits a triple dive as we take a break.

We come back with Dante in trouble but he fights out without much trouble. A jumping enziguri hits Shafir and it’s back to Steel to clean house. Steel has to escape a Doomsday Device attempt (with Moxley playing Hawk) and Top Flight is back in to take over. Wheeler Yuta knees Christopher Daniels down on the floor and Garcia Dragontamers Darius. Moxley adds a stomp and Garcia gets the pin at 11:03.

Rating: B-. This was ok, though there wasn’t much of a reason to believe that SkyFlight was going to have a change here. Granted there is always the chance that it could go badly for the Riders if Garcia is involved but he held up here. Steel held her own here and it’s nice to see her not take the fall, so maybe she has a bit more of a future than it seemed.

Post match Moxley accepts Ospreay’s challenge for Dynasty but warns him to not let his mouth get him in trouble.

The Young Bucks want the Tag Team Titles back.

Mike Bailey vs. Rocky Romero

Romero takes him down to start and, after dancing, hits a kick to the chest. Back up and Bailey fires off some rapid fire kicks to knock Romero outside, setting up the triangle moonsault. Bailey’s tornado kick misses back inside so Romero does his sliding dance. Bailey kicks him down twice and the Ultimate Weapon finishes Romero off at 2:43. Pretty much a squash.

We look at MJF beating Hangman Page in the Texas Deathmatch at Revolution. How many times do we need to look at this?

Here is MJF for a chat. He’s the World Champion and the man who hanged the Hangman and that means Page can never ever (repeat about 17 times) be World Champion again. That was the easiest win of his career and he holds the ultimate prize in this business. He hits both catchphrases but here is Kenny Omega to interrupt.

Omega mocks MJF’s appearance and smell before listing off his own nicknames. If MJF is the Devil, Omega might be the god of professional wrestling because he can cancel MJF out. Yeah MJF beat a weakened version of Omega but now Omega is back and better than MJF. The title match is set for Dynasty and no, MJF won’t shake hands. Omega gets in his own catchphrase before leaving.

Earlier today, Adam Copeland and Christian Cage talked about the choices that FTR have made to get here. It was going after Beth that went too far, as they have been friends for years, but now Copeland is swearing to take them out.

Here is FTR, with a now standing Stokely Hathaway. The team made a choice to dump Copeland and look at the result of that choice. Cash Wheeler talks about how he used to live in Copeland’s guest house and ate his food, but now he doesn’t need Copeland or his stupid kids. Dax Harwood says if he’ll drop Beth Copeland on her head, what will he do to Adam?

Conglomeration vs. The Dogs

That would be Orange Cassidy/Roderick Strong vs. David Finley/Clark Connors, though FTR shoves the Conglomeration on their way to the ring. Finlay and Strong lock up against the ropes to start before it’s off to Connors, who gets chopped in the corner. Cassidy sends both of them into the corner but the Dogs pull a double high crossbody out of the air. Connors rams both of them into the barricade and we take a break.

We come back with Strong getting knocked off the apron but Cassidy manages a Stundog Millionaire. Cassidy ducks a dive as well and it’s back to Strong to pick up the pace. The belly to back faceplant gets two on Connors, who is right back with a powerslam. Strong is back in to pick Cassidy up and ram him into the Dogs and Cassidy hits his top rope DDT on Connors. Finlay takes Cassidy out to save Connors and a high/low hits Strong. Cassidy is back up to put his hands in his pockets though and a running dropkick hits the Dogs. A chop block cuts Cassidy off though and the Full Clip gives Connors the pin at 10:40.

Rating: B. They had a good, fast paced match, though the Dogs have lost to the Conglomeration so many times that it’s hard to care about them very much. At least they won here, though it’s only going to mean so much for them. At the same time, both teams need to move on from this feud already.

Megan Bayne and Lena Kross are ready to beat the Babes Of Wrath again.

Kyle Fletcher is proud of his recent title defenses but he wants the World Title. Konosuke Takeshita comes in and they’re close as a team. Certainly closer than anything involving Kazuchika Okada.

Women’s Title: Mina Shirakawa vs. Thekla

Shirakawa is challenging and gets more flowers from her mystery admirer. Thekla gets sent into the corner and then back out of it to start, followed by a quick DDT. They head outside and strike it out as Shirakawa is looking more serious than usual. Back in and Thekla hits a running knee and knocks Shirakawa outside. That’s fine with Shirakawa, who sweeps the leg and hits a hanging DDT onto the floor.

We take a break and come back with Thekla holding something like a Rings Of Saturn. With that broken up, Thekla’s spear is cut off with a running boot, followed by a missile dropkick for two. Back up and they trade some shots to the face until Thekla gets in the spear. Thekla takes off her belt so the referee takes it away, allowing her to take out some brass knuckles to knock Shirakawa cold for the pin at 10:45.

Rating: C+. This is where the past catches up with them, as Shirakawa went from a regular loser to winning a single match and getting a title shot. That’s not enough to make this work and it didn’t here, as there was pretty much no reason to believe the title was changing hands. That being said, at least the secret admirer/who attacked Storm should be good enough to keep this part of the division going.

Kenny Omega is ready to take the World Title off of MJF. Mike Bailey comes in to shake Omega’s hand and say he wants the first shot when Omega wins the title. Works for Omega.

Ricochet admits that he lost it the last time they saw him because he had to defend his National Title in a battle royal. Now people like Kenny Omega is getting a World Title shot, even though Ricochet beat him. Anyway, Ricochet and the Demand will be back.

Rush vs. Darby Allin

No countouts for your weird stipulation of the night. Rush jumps him on the floor to start fast and sends Allin hard into the barricade. Another whip sends him into the steps, followed by the barricade again. Allin is sent hard into the steps, with his legs hitting the barricade but he’s able to fight back. The suicide dive only hits barricade though and Rush suplexes him off the apron as we take a break.

We come back with Rush stomping away in the corner as Allin is busted open. Rush tries the Tranquilo pose so Allin jumps him and hammers away, albeit to little avail. Instead Allin chops on the corner to set up a Coffin Drop to send Rush outside. Now the big dive connects so Allin puts him in the chair for a missile dropkick. The Code Red gives Allin two but Rush sends him flying into the corner with an overhead belly to belly. The Bull’s Horns miss though and Allin grabs a flipping rollup for the pin at 11:29.

Rating: B-. Believe it or not, Allin got beaten up for a good while here and took a lot of painful looking crashes. That’s pretty much the crux of a lot of his matches, though at least he won here. The stipulation didn’t make much of a difference at all here, which makes me wonder why this was even the main event in the first place.

Post match the Don Callis Family comes in to lay Allin out, though Andrade El Idolo isn’t sure about this to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a nice edition of the show, with some stuff being added to Dynasty and a few good matches throughout the night. The opener should have been the main event, though I’m assuming they needed the extra time to hype up MJF vs. Omega at Dynasty. They had a good show here, though Dynasty still has a long way to go to really be ready.

Results
Kenny Omega b. Swerve Strickland – One Winged Angel
Death Riders b. SkyFlight – Stomp to Darius
Mike Bailey b. Rocky Romero – Ultimate Weapon
The Dogs b. Conglomeration – Full Clip to Connors
Thekla b. Mina Shirakawa – Punch with brass knuckles
Darby Allin b. Rush – Rollup

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

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

Dynamite
Date: March 18, 2026
Location: Save Mart Center, Fresno, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Bryan Danielson

We’re done with Revolution and the big story is…well that could be a few things really. There were several returns with Adam Copeland/Christian Cage, Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega returning. That’s in addition to MJF retaining the World Title, meaning Hangman Page is no longer allowed to challenge for the belt. Other than that, it’s time to start getting ready for Dynasty so let’s get to it.

Here is Revolution if you need a recap.

Revolution recap.

Will Ospreay vs. Blake Christian

Since there is no one in the company who can do this other than the person chasing the ROH World Title. Christian bails out to the floor to start before coming back inside to fight over wrist control. Ospreay knocks him down and snaps off a running hurricanrana to send Christian outside. A slingshot dive takes him out again and Ospreay tosses him back inside, allowing Christian to hit a running flip dive.

Ospreay shrugs that off and hits a springboard clothesline for two so Christian is back with a clothesline of his own. A stomp to the back sends Ospreay outside, with Christian hitting a diving tornado DDT. Back in and a 450 and cutter give Christian two each and he loads up his own Hidden Blade. That’s cut off of course though and Ospreay hits the real Hidden Blade for the win at 7:23.

Rating: B-. Ospreay is back and this was basically just a way to get him back in the swing of things. Now he can move on to his first important match, likely at Dynasty. Christian could have been anyone here and that’s about how the likely #1 contender to the ROH World Title is seen most of the time.

Post match Ospreay calls out Jon Moxley and threatens to snap his neck with his bare hands. Cue Moxley through the crowd so Ospreay charges into the crowd and the brawl is on. Pac comes in for the save and Ospreay is caught in the Brutalizer.

The Bang Bang Gang come out for a match but we pause for Ospreay to dive onto Moxley again.

Death Riders vs. Bang Bang Gang

The Riders jump them to start but Robinson takes Yuta into the corner for some left hands. Yuta rakes the eyes though and it’s off to Moxley to stay on the eyes. Robinson fights out of trouble and hands it off to Austin for the rather speedy kicks. Austin sends Moxley outside for the running dive and we take a break.

We come back with Austin grabbing an STF on Austin, which he quickly switches into a Crossface. That’s broken up and Austin gets over to Robinson so it’s time to clean house. The left hands have Yuta down and Austin goes up, only to dive onto raised knees. Austin is able to fight up with a springboard spinning kick to the face and everything breaks down. A cutter takes Robinson down and Yuta dives onto him, setting up the Paradigm Shift for the pin at 11:10.

Rating: C+. This was about what you would expect, though it seems that Moxley is now the full on heel version again, which is quite the quick shift. Austin and Robinson both got in a bit of offense before losing and that didn’t make for the most interesting match. At least Yuta got beaten up a bit, which is always fun.

Gabe Kidd isn’t scared of Darby Allin.

Kidd wants Allin to meet him in the parking lot.

Kenny Omega wants to face Swerve Strickland one more time and if Strickland is so confident, he can put that #1 contendership up.

Gabe Kidd goes to the parking lot where Darby Allin tries to run him over. The brawl is on with Allin getting the better of things and throwing him in the trunk. Then Allin gets in the car and drives onto a pile of trash, which flips the car over. Allin breaks out of the window and then pops the trunk so that Kidd falls down in a heap. Since there is an anvil case next to them, Allin puts him on the case and wheels him inside for their casket match.

Gabe Kidd vs. Darby Allin

Casket match. Allin wheels him into the arena and opens the case, pulling out his skateboard and a straitjacket as this is going to be really stupid. Kidd is tied up in the straitjacket and put in a chair but manages to kick him low. The jacket isn’t entirely tied so Kidd can choke and bite at the same time. Allin is bleeding a gusher and Kidd slams the casket lid on Allin’s fingers.

We take a break and come back with Allin biting Kidd and giving him a super Code Red. Allin gets the arms tied up tighter and hits a Scorpion Death before going up top. Kidd kicks the referee into the ropes for the crotching though and a powerslam puts Kidd down again. They go to the casket again and Allin bites the nose, followed by a skateboard shot. Back to back Coffin Drops set up a suicide dive to knock Kidd into the casket and give Allin the win at 9:59.

Rating: C+. Yeah sure. I have no idea what to say about this as it started with Allin’s latest stupid stunt and then Kidd wrestled most of the match in a straitjacket, like any good villain should. This was the latest thing that feels like Allin had a dumb idea and got to do it on national TV. I stopped caring about his weird ideas a long time ago and this didn’t make it any better. The guy has talent and a weird charisma that could make him a top star but instead we have to see whatever stupid thing he thinks of this week and it’s been old.

Post match Allin says he’s coming for the World Title.

Video on Jack Perry leaving his house in the new Jurassic Express and riding to the show (as driven by the one armed Luchasaurus), though not before he feeds a squirrel. Once at the arena, he runs into the Young Bucks, who are ready for their six man tag tonight.

Here is Prince Nana to introduce Swerve Strickland, who sits in a chair. Strickland talks about power, which he didn’t get even after winning at Revolution. The reality is that power can be more important than titles. He’s spent most of his life fighting against people with power and that brings him to Kenny Omega. There is no reason for him to face Omega, except for one thing. Omega has power, so if he wants to face Strickland again, he can put up his EVP title, with Strickland getting the spot if he wins.

Mike Bailey talks about the work that he has had to put in to get where he is today and he’s willing to keep doing it.

Mike Bailey vs. Mark Davis

Davis charges at him to start but Bailey kicks away. That only gets him so far but Bailey is back with a middle rope dropkick. Bailey kicks at Davis but can’t knock him off the apron. A legsweep does send him to the floor though and Bailey hits a dive as we take a break. We come back with Bailey in trouble but catching Davis on top with the kicks to the chest. A powerbomb out of the corner puts Davis down but he’s back up to win a strike off.

Bailey kicks him in the head though and they’re both down again. Davis is up first and hammers away, followed by a toss powerbomb for two. Another powerbomb is escaped so Bailey kicks him in the head again but Davis is back with a running clothesline. Bailey kicks him into the moonsault knees, followed by the Ultimate Weapon for the pin at 10:51.

Rating: B. I’m far from a Bailey fan but he was doing well here, as it was a classic monster vs. smaller guy deal here. Bailey kept chopping away (or kicking away in this case) until the giant went down and that’s something that will work almost every time. This was better than I was expecting and that’s always nice to see.

After Revolution, MJF dubbed himself Mr. Revolution, even though he felt every bit of pain from his match. It was all worth it though and he won it the day he turned 30. He has twenty years to go and Hangman Page will be staying in the midcard where he belongs. Now that this is out of the way, he’s going to Disney World.

Kazuchika Okada laughs off the idea of the Young Bucks being his family, because the Don Callis Family is what matters. Well not Konosuke Takeshita.

Marina Shafir vs. Mina Shirakawa

No Holds Barred. Toni Storm was supposed to be in Shirakawa’s spot but was attacked earlier today. Shirakawa comes out with a barbed wire bat and gets in a shot to the knee but Shafir takes it away from her. Shafir says she doesn’t need a bat and gets kicked down for running her mouth too much.

A champagne bottle is brought in but Shafir knocks it away and plants her down to take over. Shafir flips the fans off and we take a break. We come back with Shirakawa knocking the (open) champagne bottle out of her hands but taking too long to load up a chair. Shirakawa is able to faceplant her onto the chair though and a missile dropkick puts Shafir down again.

The top rope Sling Blade onto the chair gets two but the Figure Four is cut off. Shirakawa has to break out of the Mother’s Milk so Shafir grabs a table. The strike out on the apron goes to Shafir, who suplexes Shirakawa through the table. Back in and Shirakawa gets the bottle to crack her over the head, followed by Storm Zero for the quick pin at 10:53.

Rating: C+. Commentary was pointing out that this style isn’t geared to Shirakawa and that was getting clear when things got a bit more violent. At the same time, they were in a weird spot as Storm was pulled out of this match for whatever reason. I’m not sure how much interest there is in having Storm vs. Shafir again now, but maybe they’ll move in a different direction, as they should.

Andrade wants the World Title but gets a briefcase full of money from MJF. Don Callis calls in to say that the deal is to get rid of Darby Allin. Andrade doesn’t seem convinced.

Don Callis Family vs. Young Bucks/Jack Perry

Okada flips the Bucks off to start so Perry gives him a quick dropkick. Beretta and Romero come in but get cut off by the Bucks, who clear the ring. The Bucks hit their dives and Perry adds a moonsault to take the Family down again. Back in and Perry gets caught in the wrong corner, with Okada hitting the Air Raid Crash onto the knee. We take a break and come back with Perry fighting out of trouble and bringing in Matt. The threat of a superkick sends Okada outside and it’s time for the string of northern lights suplexes.

The Bucks both go up and come down onto Romero and Beretta, setting up the superkicks. Romero and Beretta are back with the jumping knees though, only for the Bucks to come back with stereo Sharpshooters. Perry adds a quickly broken Snare Trap but Okada is back in to break up the TK Driver. The Family load up stereo Tombstones but get bitten low, giving us a triple small package for two each. The Bucks hit a BTE Trigger to Romero, setting up Perry’s running knee for the pin at 12:06.

Rating: B. As usual, the best thing they can do here is keep things moving as it made for an entertaining six man. Perry and the Bucks work well together, partially just due to their experience as a team. At the same time you have Romero, and I can’t imagine he gets in the ring for much of a reason other than to put someone else over.

Post match the Bucks say they blew it at Revolution and have to admit that FTR was the better team. The Bucks’ dad told them to remember who they are and work their way back to the top. Cue Adam Copeland and Christian Cage, with Copeland saying they shouldn’t hang their heads after a match as great as the one they had at Revolution.

Copeland knows what it’s like to hate FTR, which is why he and Cage are challenging for the titles at Dynasty. Cage says if they win, they get a bunch of money and prove their greatness. Cue FTR and Stokely, with FTR coming straight tot he ring and getting beaten up. The Bucks hold the titles but hand them to the Canadians, who pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. There were some good parts to the show but it only got so far. Ospreay’s return is nice to see, but the idea of Copeland and Cage winning the titles (even in Canada) doesn’t do much for me. The Allin stuff was even worse, which somehow left Bailey to pick up the slack. It’s a weird show, but that is often the case after an AEW PPV.

Results
Will Ospreay b. Blake Christian – Hidden Blade
Death Riders b. Bang Bang Gang – Paradigm Shift to Austin
Darby Allin b. Gabe Kidd – Kidd was shut in the casket
Mike Bailey b. Mark Davis – Ultimate Weapon
Mina Shirakawa b. Marina Shafir – Storm Zero
Young Bucks/Jack Perry b. Don Callis Family – Running knee to Romero

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

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Revolution 2026
Date: March 15, 2026
Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another big AEW pay per view and the main event features Hangman Page challenging MJF for the World Title in a Texas Death Match. That’s in addition to Jon Moxley defending the Continental Title against Konosuke Takeshita and the Young Bucks facing FTR. Again. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Boom & Doom vs. The Infantry

The rest of Shane Taylor Promotions are here with the Infantry while Big Justice and the Rizzler are here with Boom & Doom. The Infantry jumps them to start fast but an enziguri into a powerslam drops Bravo. Marshall’s big running flip dive takes out some of the villains on the floor but Bravo knocks Marshall down. Back in and Dean takes Marshall down, setting up a slingshot Vader Bomb.

Bravo goes outside to yell at the Rizzler before going back inside for the Bronco Buster on Marshall. That doesn’t do much good as it’s off to AJ for some slams, with Bravo making a save. The double stomp misses though and Marshall is back in with a double cutter. Shane Taylor low bridges Marshall outside but goes over to steal Wayne Brady’s hat. Brady slaps him in the face so Taylor pulls him over the barricade. That earns him a glare from the Rizzler so Justice hits a spear. AJ’s dive takes Taylor down and the Boomsday Device finishes Bravo at 7:41.

Rating: C. And people wonder why no one cares about the Ring Of Honor titles, as this is what happens to the Six Man Champions. That being said, this was the kind of entertaining opener that is a fine way to go, as the celebrity gets a win with Brady getting involved for a bonus. It’s not like the Infantry or the Promotions have anything of value in the first place so the loss isn’t a big deal.

TBS Title: Willow Nightingale vs. Lena Kross

Nightingale is defending and gets powered down to start fast. The exchange of shoulders doesn’t work for Nightingale, who is backed into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. Kross drops her face first onto the buckle for two and stomps away, only to miss a charge into the corner. A pump kick cuts Nightingale off again and Kross German suplexes her for two.

They head outside where Nightingale drives her against the barricade but gets dropped arm first onto said barricade. Back in and Nightingale fights out of the chinlock and starts hitting the clotheslines. A middle rope dropkick puts Kross down but Nightingale is slow to get up as well.

The rapid fire corner clotheslines and a spinebuster give Nightingale two and one heck of a chop puts Kross on her knee. Kross is fine enough to hit a TKO for two but Nightingale knocks her into the corner. Nightingale’s Cannonball misses but so does Kross’ split legged moonsault. Kross tries a Jackhammer, which is reversed into a backslide to retain the title at 10:59.

Rating: C+. The good thing here is Nightingale gets a singles win, as Kross dominated most of the match. That’s more than I was expecting from her, as Nightingale retaining the title makes more sense. That shoulder issue could come back to haunt Nightingale later though and there is a good chance that is a way to give us some new champions. For now though, it’s a good result for Nightingale, which is nice to see.

Post match Megan Bayne runs in for the beatdown so Harley Cameron comes in with a pipe for the save.

Zero Hour: National Title: Battle Royal

Ricochet, Jack Perry, Tommaso Ciampa, Trent Beretta, Rocky Romero, Dralistico, Rush, Scorpio Sky, Daniel Garcia, Anthony Bowens, Katsuyori Shibata, Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn, Ace Austin, El Clon, AR Fox, The Beast Mortos, Lio Rush, Komander, Johnny TV, Dalton Castle

Ricochet is defending and it’s a standard battle royal, with Perry debuting a new bus because that is an idea that needed to be brought back. Everyone brawls on the floor before anyone bothers to get in, with Perry beating Ricochet up against the barricade. Fox goes up for the big inverted flip dive onto the pile on the floor as no one has been in the ring yet.

A now bald Lio Rush (a horrible look for him) gets inside and bounces around before hitting a suicide dive. Komander walks the rope for a big flip dive and a bunch of people finally bother getting inside. Perry keeps going after Ricochet as Robinson fires off some snap jabs. Romero gets crotched on top but does his sliding dance, allowing Robinson to toss him out for the first elimination.

La Faccion Ingobernable and Bang Bang Gang get in a brawl and Rush tosses Gunn. Mortos gives Austin the pop up Samoan drop so Lio comes back in for some crawling kicks (McGuinness is right in calling him Gollum). Fox fights back on Clon and Lio as everyone else is still brawling on the floor. Clon manages to kick Fox out but gets sent to the apron by Robinson.

The also bald TV is knocked out and we get a Sky vs. Shibata slugout. Bowens cuts Sky off with the jumping Fameasser and Sky is eliminated. We finally get a decent amount of people inside and Ciampa knees Lio out. Shibata has to fight back against La Faccion and manages to easily knock Dralistico off the top for the elimination. Ricochet comes back in to Spirit Gun and toss Bowens but gets jumped by Dalton Castle, who is double teamed and eliminated.

Mortos misses a charge and is gone as well so Komander goes up top for the rope walk. He manages to save himself and get rid of Beretta but Garcia rips the mask off and Komander is out. Garcia is kicked out as well and it’s Rush vs. Austin for a bit. The cocky kick lets Rush take him to the apron and chop away but Robinson knocks Rush out. Shibata and Robinson brawl on the apron so Rush comes back in, only to be tossed again.

Ciampa knees Austin out but gets punched out by Robinson as Zero Hour ends, meaning that, again, the pay per view starts with the end of the Zero Hour main event. Perry comes back in and throws out Clon and apparently we’re down to Perry vs. Ricochet. They slug it out and trade big shots to the face until Ricochet flips out of a German suplex. Ricochet gets sent to the apron, where Perry tries a sunset bomb for no logical reason. He manages to save himself though and a poisonrana gets rid of Ricochet to make Perry champion at 22:54.

Rating: C+. There was good action, but it fell into the annoying trend of modern battle royals by having so many people on the floor. If you want to do Perry vs. Ricochet for the title then do so, but otherwise it was a bunch of people getting a change to do their stuff while most of the other participants weren’t even there. That makes for quite the weird battle royal, especially when these two have been the focus of the title since it was introduced.

Post match Perry celebrates with his family for the nice moment.

We recap FTR defending the Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks. They’ve fought on and off for years but this time FTR attacked the Bucks’ brother to make it personal. Therefore, the Bucks want the titles and revenge.

We get a video from the Bucks’ family, explaining how awesome the Bucks are for various reasons.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Young Bucks

FTR, with Stokely Hathaway, is defending and come out in Boston Celtics colors to annoy the Los Angels fans. Matt and Harwood trade slaps to the face to start and the Bucks clear the ring rather quickly. The brawl heads outside for a bit before the Bucks knock the champs to the floor again. The big dive is cut off though and Nick is sent face first into the announcers’ table.

A spike piledriver drives Matt into the apron and he comes up holding his shoulder/neck. Another spike piledriver is broken up though and Nick’s superkick gets a quick two on Wheeler. Nick still can’t get over to Matt, as Wheeler pulls him to the floor. The PowerPlex is broken up as Nick knocks Harwood (both bloody) off the top. Matt, whose shoulder is messed up, comes in to start cleaning house and a double suplex gets two on the champs. Matt is knocked outside again though and his neck is giving him problems.

A young member of the Bucks’ family sends Matt back into action, where he is quickly dropped onto the apron. That just makes him go up for a high crossbody for two on Harwood as Nick is too bloody to get back up. Harwood tries his own superkick but gets caught in a Sharpshooter, with Nick doing the same thing to Wheeler. Those are both broken up so the Bucks start firing off their kicks.

A slingshot sitout powerbomb drops Matt for two but Nick breaks up a double suplex. Instead FTR are both suplexed from the apron to the floor and it’s a quadruple crash on the outside. They all beat the count back in and it’s time for the four way slugout from their knees. The Bucks fire off superkicks to escape so Stokely jumps out of his wheelchair for a distraction. That means a Shatter Machine can get two on Matt, followed by a spike piledriver for the same.

FTR fire off their own superkicks to Nick and there’s a BTE Trigger, with Nick kicking out at one. The comeback is on, with a Shatter Machine sending Wheeler outside. The real BTE Trigger gets two on Harwood, with Wheeler making a diving save. Nick takes out Stokely and now the TK Driver can connect for two but FTR is back up with a spike piledriver. The super Shatter Machine retains the titles at 19:42.

Rating: B+. Again, the quality was never in doubt here, as these teams do work incredibly well together. That’s what deserves the focus here, as FTR gets another win to firmly establish themselves s the best team in the company. I could go for not seeing these teams together for a long time, but I’m not sure who is going to be next for the titles.

Post match the champs celebrate…and Adam Copeland is back. As is Christian Cage, the latter of whom comes in from behind to blind Wheeler. The Killswitch hits Harwood and there’s one to Stokely as well. The Canadians hold up the Tag Team Titles but stop to stare at the Bucks. This is going to wind up as a ladder match isn’t it?

We recap Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir. They’ve had some brawls, with Shafir often choking her out. Now it’s time for a showdown with no interference.

Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir

Everyone is banned from ringside. Shafir jumps her to start and fires off a hard kick to the chest for a knockdown. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Shafir lets go to judo throw her down. Storm invites more kicks so Shafir provides, followed by a leglock. That’s pulled into a choke, which Shafir breaks in a hurry. Shafir shrugs off a German suplex and kicks her down again but can’t get a German suplex off the apron.

Instead it’s a belly to back suplex on the floor but Storm gets smart by stomping on the bare foot. Back in and Storm hits a DDT to leave them both down. Storm gets up and strikes away, setting up the running hip attacks in the corner. Shafir tells her to bring it so it’s a third hip attack into Storm Zero for two. Mother’s Milk is broken up and Storm bites Shafir’s chest (yep), setting up a small package for the pin at 9:47.

Rating: B-. It was hard to imagine Storm losing here as she’s one of the biggest stars in the division’s history (if not the biggest) while Shafir has never really shown much interest in being a singles star. Storm made it rather insane to beat Shafir, with that bite being….well it fits for Storm, as weird as it was. I’m not sure what is next for Storm, as I don’t see much in the idea of her vs. Thekla for the title. For now though, at least she survived again.

Post match Storm goes to leave…but Ronda Rousey shows up for the big staredown. Security breaks it up, but Shafir comes back in for a shot to knock Storm down. Rousey and Shafir leave through the crowd.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Moxley is defending with no time limit. They go with a test of strength to start with Moxley driving him into the corner to hammer away. Takeshita is back with a running clothesline and the right hands in the corner as the fans certainly approve. Takeshita knocks him outside for a running boot up against the barricade but Moxley slides back inside. That means a quick suicide dive can connect, allowing Moxley to boot him out of a chair. Back in and Moxley bites above the eye, meaning it’s time to work on the leg (a totally logical progression).

The dragon screw legwhip sets up a half crab, with Takeshita having to dive over to the ropes. The Figure Four sends Takeshita over to the ropes again and he’s able to reverse the Death Rider into the kneeling Tombstone. A wheelbarrow suplex doesn’t do much to Moxley so Takeshita knees him in the face, which works a lot better. Moxley’s choke is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two, with Takeshita’s knee slowing him down. They go to the apron, where Moxley pops back up with a stomp to the floor, allowing him to flip off the fans.

Back in and a piledriver gives Moxley two before he unloads with right hands to bust Takeshita open. A Gotch style piledriver gives Moxley two so he grabs a crossface. Takeshita escapes that as well and sends him into the corner for the running knee. The exploder suplex sets up another running knee to give Takeshita two and Moxley’s cutter…has no effect.

Instead it’s a Paradigm Shift to put Takeshita down for a double breather. They trade big suplexes until Moxley’s running lariat gets one. The Death Rider is broken up and Raging Fire connects to give Takeshita two (the first time it hasn’t finished). Back up and the Death Rider gives Moxley the big two of his own so he takes Takeshita up for a super Death Rider…for two more. With nothing else working, Moxley chokes him out and traps the arm to retain at 23:33.

Rating: B+. Yeah you knew these guys were going to beat the fire out of each other, which is the point of these two getting together. Moxley gets the win to even things up a bit so the Continental Classic loss is covered. At the same time, we probably need to move on from Death Riders vs. the Don Callis Family, as it hasn’t exactly felt like much of a feud. That’s a pretty big win for Moxley, as it’s not like the Family has any big names left for him.

Post match Moxley offers respect and, after teasing leaving, Takeshita accepts the handshake. Moxley goes to leave but the lights go out again and it’s…Will Ospreay. That’s such a big surprise that Moxley comes back to ringside, with Ospreay decking him. The Death Riders’ save is cut off but Moxley escapes. Yeah that’s a pretty big return.

Willow Nightingale is banged up but ready to fight for revenge and the titles.

We recap the Women’s Tag Team Title match. Lena Kross and Megan Bayne teamed up in Australia and now it’s time for them to go after the belts.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Babes Of Wrath vs. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne

The Babes are defending, with Nightingale nursing a rather banged up shoulder. The champs get taken down to start, with Nightingale being sent outside. A suplex takes Cameron down and Bayne drops a leg for two. Kross can’t fight her way out of trouble but she can manage a tornado DDT. Nightingale tags herself in but the arm is very banged up.

A Pounce puts Bayne down and Nightingale plants Kross as well. Stereo fall away slams put the champs down and double clotheslines do it again. Cameron is sent outside and a superkick drops Nightingale. Bayne’s running clothesline sets up a double chokeslam to give us new champions at 4:56.

Rating: C. That’s about how this should have gone, as the champions were coming in banged up and Bayne/Kross were able to capitalize on the injury. There was no need for the Babes to hold the titles much longer and it gets rid of the pesky double champion thing. It wasn’t much of a match, but I do appreciate a shorter pay per view fight for a change.

We recap Brody King vs. Swerve Strickland, which is about determining the most dangerous man in AEW.

Brody King vs. Swerve Strickland

King wins an early slugout but charges into a well timed House Call. Swerve puts him on the apron for a double stomp and manages to hoist him up for a ram into the post. It’s already time to peel back the floor mat but King is able to drop Swerve back first onto the barricade. Back in and King unloads with some loud chops but Swerve saves himself in the corner.

King’s fingers get twisted in the turnbuckle rod so King bends his back around the entire post. Swerve gets dropped on his back again and another slam sends him into the exposed concrete. They’re back up to strike it out on the apron, with Swerve going to the knee. A sitout powerbomb on the apron has King in trouble for a change and it’s time to go into the corner, where a buckle pad has been removed.

Swerve can’t manage the stomp into the buckle, with King getting in a high crossbody. Instead Swerve is sent into the corner with the exposed buckle, where King gets in a Cannonball for two. They go back outside, where Swerve counters the Ganso Bomb into a Vertebreaker on the concrete for a nine count. The Swerve Stomp only gets one so Swerve hits three straight House Calls for the win at 14:19.

Rating: B. They had a good fight here and the result wasn’t exactly a surprise. King has been on a roll lately but it makes a lot more sense for Swerve to get a win out of him. They beat each other up and it felt like a fight, which is how this should have gone. Good brawl here, with Swerve continuing his roll.

Post match Swerve loads up the cinder block but Kenny Omega returns for the save.

We recap Thekla defending the Women’s Title against Kris Statlander. Thekla beat Statlander to win the title but Statlander is sure she can win. Therefore tonight, it’s 2/3 falls.

Women’s Title: Thekla vs. Kris Statlander

Thekla is defending and it’s 2/3 falls. An early shove makes Statlander give chase on the floor and she takes over back inside. Thekla gets a boot up in the corner but the upside down choke is blocked. Instead Statlander superplexes her into a sliding lariat for two but Thekla spiders away from another clothesline. The whipping is loaded up so the referee takes it away, only for Thekla to grab a rollup with ropes for the first fall at 4:31.

Statlander runs her over to start the second fall, with a suplex dropping Thekla on the floor. Thekla is dine enough to send her into the steps as things slow down again. Back in and now the upside down choke works for Thekla but as usual, can only last so long. Statlander gets up and grabs a fireman’s carry, only for Thekla to catch her up top. They head back outside, where Thekla is sent into the barricade, followed by some swinging whips into said barricade. Back in and Statlander’s Falcon Arrow gets two but Thekla is back with a Black Widow. That’s reversed into Staturday Night Fever though and we’re tied up at 13:42.

Thekla has to go to the eyes to get away from Statlander. The referee is bumped and Thekla whips out the belt, only for Statlander to take it away. Statlander whips away and hits another Staturday Night Fever but there is no referee. Back up and Statlander grabs the strap but this time the referee is up to take it away. The spear sets up two stomps to retain the title at 17:08.

Rating: B-. That’s how it should have gone, as Statlander has already had multiple runs as champion. Thekla has exploded in recent weeks and it’s great to see her getting this kind of a win. There are multiple women who could come after the title, and seeing Thekla work with any of them sounds like quite the treat.

Trios Titles: Don Callis Family vs. Mistico/Jet Speed

Mistico/Jet Speed are challenging and the fans are rather pleased as Mistico starts with Okada. A headscissors drops Okada so it’s off to Knight (who, like Bailey, is in a Mistico mask), who gets sent into the wrong corner. Davis gets in a choke but Knight escapes and brings in Bailey for the running hurricanrana. It’s right back to Mistico to clear the ring, setting up the suicide dive.

A triple dive is broken up and Knight is picked up and tossed outside onto his partners. Davis takes off Jet Speed’s masks and it’s Knight getting stomped down in the corner. Bailey is tossed into a kick to the chest for two but Mistico is back up (as we’re just not doing the tagging thing here) with some headscissors. Jet Speed come back in to help clear the ring and we settle down to Okada vs. Mistico.

That doesn’t last long either as everything breaks down again so Okada and Knight hit stereo dropkicks. Okada flips Knight off so Knight bites the finger, which is far smarter than most people come off when Okada does the same thing. Mistico is back in with a tornado DDT to Fletcher and the challengers all plant the Family on the apron.

Back in and Bailey’s shooting star press gets two on Fletcher and the Ultimate Weapon gets the same, with Davis making the save. Davis is back up to drop Jet Speed and gives them both a piledriver, with Mistico making a save of his own. Knight is back up with the springboard clothesline to Davis and La Mistica takes Fletcher down. Knight’s UFO Splash pins Davis for the pin and the titles at 17:20.

Rating: B. This was the insanity that you see on most AEW shows and in this case it wound up with a surprise title change. As usual, the Trios Titles don’t exactly mean much as they go from team to team, often with thrown together teams winning the belts. At least the match was fun though, with pretty much nonstop action throughout. Since there is no real trios division, this is about as good as it’s going to get and that’s not a bad thing.

Post match we get the big announcement that Mistico is All Elite. The celebration goes on for a good while.

We recap Bandido vs. Andrade El Idolo. They both wanted a fight so here we go. Bandido’s ROH World Title isn’t on the line because…well because it pretty much means nothing.

Bandido vs. Andrade El Idolo

Non-title. They go with the grappling to start and trade flip ups for an early standoff. Some standing switches result in Andrade doing the tranquilo pose in the ropes so Bandido tries to remove his pants. That doesn’t work so well, as Andrade jumps him for taking so long. Bandido is able to send him outside for a running hurricanrana off the apron. Back in and Bandido’s springboard is powerbombed out of the air and Andrade takes off his own pants. We pause for a rather impressed female fan to get a picture with Andrade before the chinlock goes on back inside.

Back up and Bandido reverses a suplex into a cutter before German suplexing him into the corner. They trade forearms from their knees until Bandido sends him hard to the floor. The suicide dive connects but a frog splash hits raised knees back inside. They trade rolling suplexes with Bandido getting the better of things, setting up a shooting star press for two more. Bandido goes up again but gets knocked outside, where Andrade moonsaults down onto him for a big crash.

Back in and the double moonsault gives Andrade two, followed by the running knees in the corner for the same. Bandido is able to catch him up top with the flipping fall away slam, setting up the X Knee. The 21 Plex is cut off with the spinning knee to give Andrade two but Bandido hits a ridiculous spinning kick to the back of the head. Now the 21 Plex can connect for two in a rare kickout so Bandido tries it again, only to get elbowed in the face. A super DM gives Andrade the pin at 20:57.

Rating: A-. This was a heck of a match, with the two of them beating the heck out of each other. I have little reason to believe that Andrade will keep giving this much effort for very long, but I’ll absolutely take it while it lasts. Bandido continues to be great at just about everything he does and they had another great match here. Awesome stuff.

We recap the Dogs vs. Darby Allin/Orange Cassidy/Roderick Strong. Both sides kept adding members so it’s time for a six man tag, which is under Tornado rules because of course it is.

The Dogs vs. Darby Allin/Orange Cassidy/Roderick Strong

Tornado Tag. The brawl starts on the floor with Cassidy getting an early two off a small package to Connors. Strong and Kidd chop it out in the ring until Connors backbreakers Allin to put him outside. Allin is right back up with a springboard double elbow but Connors spears Allin through the ropes and out to the floor. Back in and a Doomsday Device drops Allin for two so the Dogs use the tag ropes to tie him in the corner by the throat.

Cassidy is left alone with all three so he slowly chops away, earning himself a string of knockdowns. Strong is back in for the save, including picking up Cassidy and throwing him at the Dogs. A wheelbarrow DDT lets Connors be dropped onto raised knees and Cassidy heads outside. Cassidy finds some scissors to cut Allin free, meaning it’s a Coffin Drop take out the Dogs on the floor.

The Stronghold has Connors in trouble and Allin grabs the Scorpion Deathlock on Kidd, only for Finlay, with Cassidy on his back, to make the save. The big brawl is on and Allin is thrown outside, leaving Connors to spear Cassidy. Kidd and Allin fight on the ramp, with Allin skateboarding onto the back of his head. Cassidy has to save Strong as Kidd is apparently zip tied to the stage. That means Allin can suicide dive Finlay, leaving the End Of Heartache to finish Connors at 12:24.

Rating: B-. It was another wild match, though that only means so much when I saw the same thing about half an hour ago. While I like the dream team (or close enough to one) getting the win, the Dogs have not exactly been the most successful team right out of the gate. They can still correct course, but dang they’ve lost quite a bit early on.

We recap Hangman Page challenging MJF for the World Title in a Texas Deathmatch. Page is the #1 contender but wants to end this between them forever. Therefore, if Page loses, he can never challenge for the title again.

AEW World Title: Hangman Page vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending in a Texas Deathmatch, meaning you win by submission or your opponent not being able to answer a ten count (pins don’t count). Page is played live to the ring by a snazzy trumpet player and already has barbed wire wrapped around his knee. We get a video of MJF as a cowboy riding a horse and then relieving himself on Page’s grave. MJF even comes out in Terry Funk cosplay as he’s feeling the cockiness here.

They go straight to the slugout, with MJF hiding behind the referee and then bailing out to the floor. Page beats him into the crowd until they come back to ringside, where MJF gets in a trashcan lid shot. A crotch to the head knocks Page down so he suckers MJF into a chase, meaning it’s a trashcan lid to MJF’s head. It’s time for the staple gun (oh here we go) but first Page finds a piece of paper to slice up MJF’s fingers.

The paper (which has something written on it that I can’t read) is stapled to MJF’s chest and then ripped back out, allowing Page to pull out a window. MJF gets in a cheap shot and breaks the window, leaving the glass shattered on the mat. Page slams him onto said glass (commentary approves) and then drags him over the glass (commentary approves again) as it’s time for a lot of screaming.

Page whips out the barbed wire to gouge at MJF’s bloody head and then pulls it around MJF’s mouth. The table is pulled out as MJF is already looking destroyed. MJF gets in a cheap shot and cuts open Page’s head with the shard of glass. Now Page is dragged over the glass so MJF grabs a broom to clear the ring. Page takes the broom away and breaks it over his knee but MJF hits him with the broken piece and has a seat in a chair. MJF busts out the big syringe and stabs Page through the cheek, giving us some shots of a disturbed crowd.

Page, with the syringe still hanging out of his mouth, fights up and grabs another chair, this one wrapped in barbed wire. That takes too long as well and Page is dropped onto the chair for a rather lengthy count. MJF sets up a table at ringside but the Heatseeker is countered into a Deadeye, with Page’s knee landing on the barbed wire chair. That’s only good for a nine and Page chairs him in the back. MJF bails outside and avoids Page’s moonsault, allowing him to pelt the barbed wire chair at Page’s head.

The Heatseeker onto the barbed wire chair is broken up so Page Deadeyes him off the apron through the table to leave everyone down. They both beat the count and MJF Tombstones him off the apron through another table. They both beat the count again and pull themselves up for the big punch off. MJF ducks the Buckshot Lariat and pokes him in the eye so they knock each other down.

They both roll outside and it’s time for the light tubes (erg). The ring doesn’t work anymore so they go up to the stage, with both tubes being broken over MJF. Page kicks him down the ramp and it’s time for the skewers. They fight over stabbing the other in the head, with MJF getting the wood shoved into his scalp. That and a Buckshot Lariat get nine so Page kicks him in the face. Page pulls out a chain and some collars as it’s now a Dog Collar match.

Page knocks him down again and loads up another table on the floor. And a barbed wire board, just because. They fight on the apron until MJF uses the chain to toss Page through both the board and table. The count is beaten again and they go up to the stage, with Page belly to bellying him onto some equipment for the explosion. Page uses the chain to drag MJF back to the ring but a low blow breaks up another Buckshot Lariat. A belt to the head brings Page back to life but MJF uses the Diamond Ring and knocks Page silly. Page is choked over the ropes and can’t beat the count at 46:37.

Rating: B-. Yeah no. Between the extreme nonsense (I hate that stuff and always have) and the match going ridiculously long, this did not work very well. They beat each other up rather well and it was a violent, bloody fight, but it’s not a great sign when you could chop off around twenty minutes and not lose much. I’m well aware some people love this style, but it’s not my thing and I wanted this to end far before it actually did.

MJF stands on Page and poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This show had some very, very good parts, but as usual, I’m rather exhausted after it’s over. The main event certainly tried but after that long of a show, they probably should have chopped it down a bit. Andrade vs. Bandido was excellent and most of the matches were rather good, with the surprise returns certainly feeling important.

Ospreay being back is huge and Copeland/Cage are big enough (not my thing but that’s a different situation), which added some extra flavor to the whole thing. It’s definitely more good than bad, but after almost six hours of AEW on the fifth straight day of Tony Khan’s wrestling, I need a long break from this style, which is the case after pretty much every AEW pay per view.

Results
Boom & Doom b. The Infantry – Boomsday Device to Bravo
Willow Nightingale b. Lena Kross – Backslide
Jack Perry won a Blackjack Battle Royal last eliminating Ricochet
FTR b. Young Bucks – Super Shatter Machine to Matt
Toni Storm b. Marina Shafir – Small package
Jon Moxley b. Konosuke Takeshita – Rear naked choke
Megan Bayne/Lena Kross b. Babes Of Wrath – Double chokeslam to Nightingale
Swerve Strickland b. Brody King – House Call
Thekla b. Kris Statlander 2-1
Mistico/Jet Speed b. Don Callis Family – UFO Splash to Davis
Andrade El Idolo b. Bandido – Super DM
Orange Cassidy/Darby Allin/Roderick Strong b. The Dogs – End Of Heartache to Connors
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Hangman Page – Choke over the ropes with a chain

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

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We’re back on pay per view and as usual, there is quite the massive card. In this case, the show is headlined by Hangman Page challenging MJF for the World Title in a Texas Death Match, but there are several other titles on the line. That’s pretty normal around here, as is having awesome pay per views, so hopefully they can continue the trend. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Boom & Doom vs. The Infantry

This is the “get Big Boom AJ on the card” match and naturally there are no other options for opponents than two thirds of the Ring Of Honor Six Man Tag Team Champions. This is likely going to be the same as every AJ match has been thus far, meaning it’s going to be a lot better left on the pre-show than anything else. It’s not a match that is going to hurt anything and that makes it the easiest to watch of these three.

Of course I’ll take AJ and Marshall to win, there is no reason for the Infantry to beat the celebrity wrestler. Just let them do their thing and hits the catchphrase with AJ’s son and the Rizzler being there (because that’s still a thing) and we move on. It’s the definition of a harmless match and would be fine as a one off Kickoff Show match, but even as one out of three, it should be ok.

Zero Hour: TBS Title: Willow Nightingale(c) vs. Lena Kross

Since modern wrestling absolutely loves the idea of double champions, this is the first of two title defenses for Nightingale, with Kross being a challenger in both of them as well. This is a good example of a match that should be a Collision main event rather than on the card, but we have to beef the numbers up somehow due to reasons of that’s how AEW tends to work.

I’m actually kind of split on this one, as it would be a bit weird to have Kross lose here if she has another title shot later in the night. At the same time, I’m not sure how much sense it makes to have Kross win the title so soon into her run. Maybe this ends with some sort of interference, but I’ll take Nightingale to retain the title here, as she’s so adorable in general I don’t want her to lose.

Zero Hour: National Title: Battle Royal

So as usual, we only know a few of the participants in the match, which means we could be in for quite the collection of surprises. Ricochet is defending and that should be fine, though you never know what you’re going to see in something like this. Having the title on the line in a battle royal is a way to get the title off of Ricochet without him taking a (nother) pin so they might have an out.

Since we don’t know so much of the field, and the members we do know are not much, I’ll take Ricochet to retain. It’s the kind of thing that can give him a lot of bragging points going forward and that is where he tends to shine. He has to lose the title at some point, but shutting him up with a one on one loss sounds more effective. He’ll keep the title for now at least.

Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir

These two have been teasing a big fight for a long time now and we’re finally getting to see it take place. That hasn’t really made it feel must see, as Shafir is mainly just a valet/enforcer and Storm is…ok I’m still working on that but she’s different. What matters the most is that this could be quite the intense fight, but I’m not sure where it is going to go in the end.

Despite a feeling that it’s going the other way, I’ll take Storm here. At the end of the day, Shafir has never really shown any interest in becoming a singles star and beating Storm would rocket her up towards the top of the division. Storm overcoming the odds of another monster here makes sense, especially if she’s getting back into the title picture. It feels like Shafir could win, but I’ll take Storm.

Darby Allin/Orange Cassidy/Roderick Strong vs. The Dogs

So this has been built up for a few weeks, as Cassidy has been dealing with the Dogs and finding a single friend to help in the form of Allin. That only got him so far as there were three Dogs, so thankfully Strong popped up to even things out. Now we have a six man tag as a result, though it definitely feels like something that belongs on Dynamite rather than here on pay per view.

I’ll go with the Dogs to win here, as there is pretty much no reason to have them come together and lose in their first big man as a trio. The team is fun together and they’re against a makeshift group of good guys. Let the Dogs win so they can get their feet under them and maybe take the Trios Titles down the line, as at least they’re an actual team rather than some people thrown together.

Trios Titles: Don Callis Family(c) vs. Mistico/Jet Speed

Speaking of makeshift teams in the title picture, we have Mistico and Jet Speed getting a title shot despite having no history as a team. It’s pretty new for Jet Speed, as they won the titles while teaming with Hangman Page, basically from scratch. This feels like a way to get Mistico on the show, and fair enough, but it doesn’t do the titles much good in the process.

I don’t see any reason for the titles to change hands here so we’ll go with the champions retaining. Ultimately, Jet Speed and Mistico aren’t a team and Mistico isn’t going to be around full time (then again neither are the titles), so let the Family retain for a change. It should be a fast paced and entertaining match, but there is no reason to think the titles are changing hands here.

Bandido vs. Andrade El Idolo

Shockingly enough, there is no indication that the Ring Of Honor World Title is on the line here, as I guess Andrade has no interest in the thing. They really seem to just be fighting for the sake of having a fight, which is hardly a great reason to have a pay per view match. Basically it was Bandido’s partner had a match and Bandido wanted one too and here we are.

I don’t see a reason for Bandido to win here, as Andrade is on a roll and Bandido is basically there to add a banger to the card. That’s hardly a great reason to run the match, but at least it should be entertaining. Hopefully it lives up to the hype and leads to a rematch for the title that is right there. It would be even worse for Andrade to beat him and then move on, though there is a very good chance that’s what happens.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Babes Of Wrath(c) vs. Lena Kross/Megan Bayne

Here we have the second of Nightingale’s title defenses against Kross on the night, which is a pretty weird way to go. This one doesn’t feel so certain though, as the Babes have had the titles for a pretty long while now and it might make sense for them to lose. If nothing else, there is a good chance that Kross does something to weaken Nightingale in their first match to make this an easier victory.

I think I’ll go with the titles changing hands here, as if nothing else, Bayne needs to win something already. She’s an absolute monster but that doesn’t mean much if she never wins a prize. The Babes are more than solidified as a top team so changing the titles is an acceptable result. It should be a fun match, but in theory this is where the titles finally change hands.

Women’s Title: Thekla(c) vs. Kris Statlander

This is 2/3 falls because the show just wasn’t long enough already. These two have been feuding for the better part of ever already and it is high time for the thing to be over. In theory this is going to be the last match between them and the angle on Collision did help boost it up a bit. Ultimately the problem comes down to the fact that Thekla has exploded in recent weeks and that’s a big issue for Statlander.

I’ll take Thekla to retain here, likely two falls to one, as there is pretty much no reason to put the title back on Statlander. She had a lengthy enough run as champion and Thekla is absolutely feeling like the bigger star. Go with the hot hand at the moment, hopefully with something other than that still not so great looking spear, and let Thekla retain on the big stage.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita

This is one of the bigger matches on the card and it has no time limit, which is almost a scary concept. The good thing is that these two can work very well together on the big stage and if they can make that happen again here, we should be in for a heck of a match. Moxley won the title late last year but couldn’t beat Takeshita, which has been giving him quite the issue.

I’ll go with Takeshita winning the title here though, as Moxley and the Death Riders have mostly dominated the feud with the Don Callis Family and it might be time for the Family to get their big win. It’s a match that absolutely could go either way and I’m probably wrong. The good thing is that it should be an absolute war, which is what you want to see out of these two.

Tag Team Titles: FTR(c) vs. Young Bucks

Yes again. I know this is the big, all time tag feud in AEW but I stopped caring about everything they were doing a long time ago. The good thing is the match is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit, which is about all you can ask for here. This is going to be treated as one of the biggest matches on the card and that does make sense, so hopefully they can live up to the considerable hype.

Since we’re in southern California and it hasn’t happened in a bit, I’ll go with the Bucks to win the titles here. It might not be what I want to see, but the team tends to get a big run with them every year or two. That makes sense given their status in AEW and in theory it is where they’re going here. It should be a heck of a match, with the Bucks winning making the most sense.

Brody King vs. Swerve Strickland

I waited for this one as it’s the match that interests me the most. At the end of the day, these two could beat the living daylights out of each other and that should be a heck of a match. What matters here is having King look like a star against a big name like Strickland, who has already been crazy successful in AEW. This should be quite the showdown and it has all of the potential.

As much as I’d love to see King get a big win, Strickland seems to be on the way back into the World Title picture following his heel turn. Odds are Strickland wins here after one heck of a fight and that has me more than interested. The good thing is they are getting the big chance on the biggest stage and both have been on a roll as of late. Strickland wins, but it’s after an awesome match.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman(c) vs. Hangman Page

This is another Texas Death Match as Page officially has a signature match (at least it isn’t a bull rope match). The catch here is that if Page loses, he can never challenge for the World Title again. That seems like it’s setting things up to go one way, though it’s also giving me something of a doubt. It feels like everything is set up for MJF to lose, only to retain the title in a shocker.

Therefore, I’ll go with my pick most likely to be wrong and say MJF retains here, possibly with some shenanigans costing Page the match. While I absolutely cannot imagine the idea of Page never challenging for the title again, it just feels too safe for Page to win here. It feels like something where we’re going to see a swerve (not the Strickland kind) and that’s what I’ll take.

Overall Thoughts

Make no mistake about it: this show is going to be long. That’s the AEW way and they’re going to make it happen again here. The card has thirteen matches (yes including the pre-show), with one of them being 2/3 falls and another being no time limit. This is setting up to be a very long show, but the potential for some great stuff is there. AEW has earned the benefit of the doubt, but I’m going to need a nap when they’re done.

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

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Collision
Date: March 14, 2026
Location: San Jose Civic, San Jose, California
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the night before Revolution and it’s time for the final push towards the show. That’s what we’ll be doing here, with the usual assortment of matches around here, likely including a bunch of Don Callis Family members. Other than that, we might even get an extra match or two added to the card. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

El Clon vs. Kevin Knight

They start fast with Knight knocking him outside to start, only to crotch himself on the ring skirt on a dive. Clon suplexes him on the floor and takes it back inside to work on the leg. Knight manages a quick sitout spinebuster and an elbow to the face gets two. Now the slingshot dive connects for Knight and we take a break.

We come back with Clon hitting a backbreaker to send Knight outside, where a step up moonsault connects. Back in and Knight catches him on top with a superplex, followed by a nice dropkick to put Clon down again. Clon’s sitout powerbomb gets two, as do Knight’s rollup and backslide. Knight drops him again though and it’s the UFO Splash for the pin at 12:25.

Rating: B-. As usual, Knight pretty much steals the show no matter what he does as he’s one of the smoothest in-ring stars AEW has. He’s talented and getting his chance to shine, thankfully on his own without Mike Bailey. Clon is doing well too, but I’m not sure what else he’s supposed to do but have random matches until Hologram gets back for their big showdown.

Video on the Trios Titles match at Revolution.

The Babes Of Wrath are ready to retain their titles and make Megan Bayne/Lena Kross glitter like cotton candy.

Komander vs. Mark Davis

Davis throws him around to start and blocks the very springboardy hurricanrana. Komander sends him to the apron for a running superkick but Davis knocks him down again. We take a break and come back with Komander striking away and running up top for a missile dropkick. Davis bails out to the floor and there’s the moonsault to take him down again.

Back in and one heck of a running elbow drops Komander, who gets slammed down hard for two. A quick hurricanrana sends Davis into the corner where a springboard sunset bomb gets two more. The 450 hits raised knees though and Davis knocks his head off for two. Komander is back up with an octopus, followed by a 619 (Schiavone: “Area Code Kick to the head.”) but Davis blocks Cielito Lindo. The piledriver finishes for Davis at 11:55.

Rating: B-. Davis is someone who is making the most out of his chances and that is awesome to see. He’s a big power guy and that is the kind of thing that will always have a spot around a promotion, especially one focused on smaller wrestlers. Nice match here, with Davis looking like a killer who survived Komander’s rapid fire stuff.

The Dogs are ready to hurt Roderick Strong and company.

We run down the Revolution card.

Video on Mascara Dorada.

Various people are ready for the National Title battle royal.

Triangle Of Madness vs. Tatevik/Viva Van/Karisma

Blue kicks Tatevik into the corner to start and it’s off to Hart for a forearm. Thekla hits the spear for the pin at 1:06.

Post match Thekla rants about how she is tired of hearing about Kris Statlander. She’s tired of Statlander making challenges and running away, so here is Statlander to take out the rest of the Triangle. Thekla gets dropped as well and Statlander takes off her own belt, telling Thekla to beat her with it. This proves to be a bad idea as Statlander is quickly beaten down but gets up, even with the welts on her back. Instead Thekla hammers away on her and throws in some spit. Thekla leaves and Statlander gets up, saying Thekla should be afraid of what Thekla has to do to keep her down.

Marina Shafir says Toni Storm is getting into a level of violence she doesn’t understand.

The Demand vs. Bang Bang Gang

Austin speeds around Kaun to start, including an armdrag to take him down. A drop toehold and kick to the back set up a legdrop to keep Kaun down. Gunn comes in to strike away at Kaun, followed by a jumping Downward Spiral to an invading Ricochet. Liona offers Robinson an easy path inside, with Robinson slapping him in the face.

The crossbody is pulled out of the air but Robinson slips out and sends him outside. The dive is pulled out of the air again, only for Austin to hit a big running dive as we take a break. We come back with Austin in trouble, with the Demand taking turns crushing him in the corner. Austin manages to send Ricochet outside and hit a springboard missile dropkick to Liona.

It’s back to Robinson and house is cleaned as everything breaks down. A cutter out of the corner drops Robinson though and Ricochet’s top rope splash gets two. Austin and Robinson strike away at Liona and we hit the parade of knockdowns. Gunn hits a Fameasser to Kaun but Ricochet is back in with the Spirit Gun for the pin at 14:34.

Rating: B. This was another wild match and it’s nice to see Ricochet actually win (granted without getting the pin) for a change. His title is going to be in danger tomorrow and thankfully it’s a battle royal, so there was no reason to have him take a pin here. The match was more fast paced action and it worked out well, even if it didn’t feel overly important.

Post match the Gang gets beaten down again and Ricochet promises to retain his title in the battle royal.

Jack Perry stabs a board and wants to win the National Title in the building where he used to watch wrestling as a kid.

Toni Storm is laid on what appears to be a blanket and talks about knowing what the circus is like around here. At Revolution, Marina Shafir finds out that she is just a performer in her final act.

Lena Kross vs. Mina Shirakawa

Megan Bayne is here with Kross, who pats Shirakawa on the head to start. Shirakawa rolls her into the corner but gets sent flying with a fall away slam. A missed charge sends Kross crashing to the floor but she drops Shirakawa face first onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Shirakawa working on the leg, setting up a slingshot dive for two. The Glamorous Driver is broken up so Shirakawa grabs the top rope Sling Blade for two more. A rather hard German suplex puts Shirakawa back down though and a Jackhammer gives Kross the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C+. Kross needed the win before her title shot tomorrow, which makes me wonder why she’s getting a shot in the first place. At the same time, it’s yet another loss for Shirakawa, who has quite the collection of them lately. I still have no idea how this is the best use of her, but you can all but guarantee her losing every time she gets in the ring.

Video on MJF vs. Hangman Page.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Mascara Dorada

Don Callis is on commentary. Andrade kicks the handshake away to start and takes Dorada down without much trouble. A running shoulder drops Dorada again and they trade standing switches, with Dorada missing a moonsault as Andrade does Tranquilo in the ropes. Dorada headscissors him outside, where Andrade gets in a shot of his own but stops to flirt with another fan.

Back in and Andrade’s tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets two but Dorada spins into a crossbody to put Andrade down for a change. Andrade is sent outside for a slingshot hurricanrana, setting up a top rope DDT onto the apron. The Asai moonsault is blocked though and we take a break. We come back with Andrade getting the better of an exchange of forearms but getting caught with a pop up dropkick. A springboard hurricanrana takes Andrade down and a Code Red gets two.

Andrade’s Three Amigos get two and he goes up, only for Dorada to snap off a spinning super hurricanrana. Dorada sends him outside for a running corkscrew dive, followed by a 450 for two back inside. They slap it out from their knees until Andrade catches him in the ropes for the reverse Spanish Fly. The running knees in the corner give Andrade two but Dorada is back with some kicks to the head. A spinning Canadian Destroyer out of the corner looks to set up the shooting star press, with Andrade rolling to the apron. Back in and Andrade knocks him down, setting up the DM for the fast pin at 18:49.

Rating: B. Yeah of course this was good stuff, as Andrade is actually trying at the moment. That’s not something that is likely to last very long, but at least we’re getting something good for the time being. At the same time, Dorada is always worth a look, which was certainly the case again here. Pretty solid main event.

Post match Bandido comes in for the staredown but the Don Callis Family jumps him. Brody King makes the save but gets jumped by Swerve Strickland. Bandido and King fight back to clear out the villains to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was the kind of show that was all about the in-ring action, which made for a heck of a two hour stretch. At the same time, it only felt like so much of this really mattered for Revolution, but if the card is set, there is no need to push it too far. You don’t need to watch the show, but you would have had a pretty great time if you did.

Results
Kevin Knight b. El Clon – UFO Splash
Mark Davis b. Komander – Piledriver
Triangle Of Madness b. Tatevik/Viva Van/Karisma – Spear to Tatevik
The Demand b. Bang Bang Gang – Spirit Gun to Gunn
Lena Kross b. Mina Shirakawa – Jackhammer
Andrade El Idolo b. Mascara Dorada – DM

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

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