For the first time in a good while, we are getting a full scale AEW pay per view rather than AEW and some other promotion mixing together to make a big special. As tends to be the case on AEW pay per views, the card is absolutely loaded, even to the point of being WAY too big. There are fifteen matches between the Zero Hour (better than Buy In) show and the main card, all of which are absolutely necessary. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: FTW Title: Hook(c) vs. Angelo Parker

You know, because we needed to get Hook onto this thing. Or is it that we needed to get the “Sports…..Innderdainers”? Either way, this is the kind of a match that is not likely to take very long because Parker has never been treated as anything serious and Hook runs over everyone. I don’t know what else anyone is really expecting here, but at least Hook should pop the crowd.

Of course I’ll take Hook to win here, as there is no reason for it to go any other way. Hook is one of those unique stars that just works for some reason and it would be nuts to have him lose to one half of a comedy due. I’m sure Matt Menard will get his chance to be destroyed later, but for now, this will be Hook crushing Parker and going off to find some more chips.

Zero Hour: AAA World Mixed Tag Team Titles: Tay Melo/Sammy Guevara vs. Ruby Soho/Oritz

If anyone can explain why this match is on the card, you’re smarter than I am. This is the third time that these teams have fought in ten days and that isn’t exactly my idea of interesting. The first two matches weren’t good but now we’re seeing them again after a second match this week on Rampage. But at least they’re on the shwo and something is on the line, so points for that I guess?

There is almost no reason to believe that the titles are going to change here so we’ll go with Melo and Guevara retaining. If I had to guess, maybe Soho can even get pinned again to keep the titles where they already are. This feels completely out of the norm for AEW and I’d like to believe that it isn’t something they are going to do regularly. Either way, this isn’t something I’m interested in seeing but we’re getting it anyway, because something about a trilogy.

Zero hour: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Eddie Kingston

So these two fight back at a New Japan event in May and this it he rematch, which AEW is hosting so I guess they can fight each other once on equal footing? This is another match that was added on to the card and the story seems to be that Kingston is wanting to prove that he has become a better man since Ishii beat him the first time. I’m not sure how interesting that is but you know AEW will take a New Japan star when they can.

I’ll go with Kingston here, even if it is a match with virtually no build or reason to exist other than to get the two of them on the show. Much like the previous match, it is one of the first matches I would cut from the card, but it should at least be a heck of a fight with two guys hitting each other really hard. Ishii is getting up there in years but he can still do his thing well enough to get by.

Zero Hour: All Atlantic Title: Pac(c) vs. Kip Sabian

After several months of sitting in the front row with a box over his head, commentary just said “yeah that’s Kip Sabian” and now he is getting a title match against Pac. Why that is supposed to be interesting isn’t clear, as it’s still Sabian, who has never been much more than just ok during his time in AEW. It should be nice to see Pac defend the title on AEW TV for once, even under these circumstances.

Despite having no idea what they’re going for with the whole box thing, I’ll go with Pac to run through Sabian without much trouble. Pac is on a higher level and I don’t see the point in messing with the title on someone so far out of Pac’s league. Maybe commentary can explain something about Sabian’s deal, but for now, this is just a weird story that came out of nowhere and leaves me wondering why it’s happening.

Interim Women’s Title: Britt Baker vs. Toni Storm vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Jamie Hayter

Yes we’re still doing the Interim Champion deal and no I don’t quite get it either. This is the thing they’re doing rather than just vacating the title and moving on and it’s still not exactly a great way to go. This time Thunder Rosa has suffered a back injury and will not be able to defend the title, so this is what we’re getting instead. At least there are some options to win here, which always helps.

I’ll take Storm to win, even if the signs seem to be pointing to Baker. If nothing else, it would be nice for Storm to win and give us something fresh, as Baker and Shida have both been champion for so long. Hayter would be interesting as well and is a dark horse to win the thing, but I’ll go with Storm here, if nothing else to set up the Storm vs. Rosa match when she gets back.

Ricky Starks vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

For the life of me I don’t get why it took so long for these two to have something significant to do but at least they’re finally getting some kind of a match here. Both of them have the potential to be break out stars and that could very well start with this match. This is the result of a tag team split and that is as good of a reason as any for two young stars to be fighting.

I think I’ll take Hobbs here, even if Starks seems more ready to move up to the next level. The good thing here is there is no bad choice for a winner, as long as AEW picks someone and moves forward with them. Hobbs is a monster and Starks is more of a complete package, which opens up several possibilities no matter which choice they make. I’ll flip a coin and go with Hobbs though in what should be a fine match either way.

Jungle Boy vs. Christian Cage

We’ll stick with the grudge match theme here as Jungle Boy finally gets his hands on Cage after a lot of horrible things were said about him. These two have been on a collision course for several weeks now and we should be in for something good when they finally get to face off. There is a major wild card in the background though and that could be the big factor in the whole thing.

I think I’ll go with Cage here, as Luchasaurus has been so notorious in his absence for the last few weeks. If nothing else, it seems a bit too easy that Luchasaurus was Cage’s heavy and then stepped aside while Jungle Boy got to Cage. Maybe that is a red herring, but I have a feeling that Luchasaurus turns on Jungle Boy to let Cage get the win, which would set up even more between these three going forward.

Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho

Hey, did you know that Jericho calls himself a Sports Entertainer and is a bad guy in a company that focuses on wrestling? I wasn’t sure if AEW had hammered the idea in enough just yet. This is a match that has been set up for a few weeks and should be a good one if they do it right. Jericho has a hit or miss track record, but Danielson seems incapable of having a bad match no matter what he does in AEW, meaning I have a lot of hope.

Danielson needs the win more than Jericho so we’ll go with what makes sense here and pick Danielson to go over. Jericho seems to be bringing back the Lionheart as he continues his own version of the 3 Faces Of Foley, but Danielson wrestling him down and then beating him, likely with Daniel Garcia not helping Jericho when he needs it, is the way to go. This needs to be Danielson’s to give him a win over a bigger name and that is what they’ll do here.

TNT Title: Jade Cargill(c) vs. Athena

Well it’s about time. This is a story that has been built up for the last few months and I cannot bring myself to care after so many months of Athena getting beaten up by Cargill and the Baddies. They have to have the match at some point though and this is as good for a place as any, even if it is something that should have happened at least a few weeks ago when the interest was still there.

Of course Cargill retains here and there is no reason for this to be anything else. Cargill is someone who is going to need a special opponent to finally take her down and as good as Athena is, I can’t picture that being the case. Athena will probably hit the O Face for a near fall, but ultimately it’s going to be Jaded to keep Cargill undefeated, as she should be at the moment.

House Of Black vs. Sting/Darby Allin/Miro

This is another match that feels like it was forgotten until the last few days and now it is taking place on the show. That isn’t the best way to go but there are a lot of names in here who should probably be on the pay per view. Miro vs. the House Of Black alone should be good and Sting/Allin already have issues with the team. Now just let them all go nuts and it should be fun.

This should be fun and I’ll go with Miro making Matthews tap to win. Sting and Allin can do their wacky things and Sting can probably have his showdown with Black, but with all of the reported personal issues for Black, I can’t imagine his team winning here. This is a way to redeem Miro a bit and that is the way they should go, as it’s almost easy to forget he is even in AEW half of the time.

Casino Ladder Match

A few weeks ago, I was wondering when AEW was going to announce another ladder match and here we are. This is the latest future World Title opportunity on the line and so far we have seven names, plus more to come. In other words, this is all about the Joker, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see a big name return in that spot, as he is certainly overdue to do so.

In short, I’m going with MJF making his triumphant return, likely setting up the title match in New York City later this month. MJF has been gone for several months now and it is long past time to get him back so he can continue his reign of amazing. If nothing else, seeing him come in at the very end and win the thing without having to put in much, if any, work, would be a heck of a troll job and something I can see him doing.

Wardlow/FTR vs. Jay Lethal/Motor City Machine Guns

And here we have the weirdest match on the card, as I still don’t know why this is the best thing that they can offer. The match has felt thrown together since it was announced and for a very good reason: it is a thrown together match for the sake of getting the people involved on the show (you might be noticing a pattern emerging here). It’s nice to have them here, but Harwood’s speech explaining why the match matters didn’t quite sway me.

Give me FTR and Wardlow to win here, which is the only logical way this can go. At the end of the day, they both REALLY need something to do and this isn’t likely to lead anywhere. While I could go for FTR vs. the Guns later on, Wardlow vs. Lethal has already been done. I’m not sure why this match is taking place, but hopefully it isn’t AEW giving up on the three of them so soon, as that would be incredibly stupid.

Tag Team Titles: Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland(c) vs. Acclaimed

Now this one intrigues me and I’m not sure about where it is going to go. On one hand you have the champs, who have not exactly been given a major run yet and have only held the titles for a few weeks. On the other hand though, you have the Acclaimed, who are on fire and the fans absolutely love them, meaning there has to be some temptation to pull the trigger here. That makes this a little complicated and I’m not sure what they are going to do.

I’ll take the champions to retain though, as it just isn’t like AEW to take someone who is getting their big break and just cut them off so soon. The Acclaimed has come a long way but I don’t know how much they need the titles. Caster’s raps alone, or with Bowens’ nutty charisma, are going to keep them over for a very long time so why bother with giving them titles that they don’t really need yet? The champs keep the belts.

Trios Titles: Hangman Page/Dark Order vs. Elite

Yeah I don’t think there is any real shock that this is where we wound up after the whole tournament was announced. Even if Page wasn’t involved in the tournament in the first place, I don’t think there was any shock in the fact that he wound up in the finals anyway. These titles feel more and more like a vanity deal for the Elite anyway, and that is where things get screwy.

I’m actually taking Page and the Dark Order to win here, as it is more of a feel good story for the lovable goons to FINALLY win something than for the Elite to get another title on their resume. Throw in Omega possibly being blamed for the loss, Page redeeming himself, and whatever else the Bucks are going to talk about and the underdogs winning is the much more interesting way to go.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. CM Punk

CHICAGO! Ok there now we can move on. For some reason this feels like it is designed to be a match for the live crowd than everyone else watching. I get the idea of keeping a crowd hot, but this story has been so all over the place and I’m still not sure I get why we’re getting things going this way. At the very least, this is the kind of story that needs to end so everyone can move on to something else, and in theory that is what they’ll be doing.

I’ll take Punk to win here, again going off of the idea of MJF getting his title shot in New York later this month. MJF vs. Moxley doesn’t have the history to it and Punk winning the title back to set up the big loss to MJF is a better way to go. This really doesn’t feel like a main event though and I wouldn’t be hurt if they went with the Trios Titles headlining instead (The heck am I saying?). Oh and one more time: CHICAGO!

Overall Thoughts

Long. That’s the overall thought for this show: it sounds really long. There are so many matches crammed into this card that I’ve been dreading it more and more eveyr week. I’m still not sure why AEW insists on doing this but for some reason this is what we get with their regular pay per views anymore. I’m sure people will be burned out by the end, but why let that get in the way of what they want to do?

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Rampage
Date: September 2, 2022
Location: Now Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Chris Jericho

It’s the final show before All Out and now we get to find out who else is in the Trios Titles tournament final. Hangman Page is subbing in for the injured Evil Uno, who was taken out by a pair of crutches shots on Dynamite. With that rather intense injury out of the way, let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Trios Titles Tournament Semifinals: Best Friends vs. Dark Order/Hangman Page

Page and Orange Cassidy kick things off as Don Callis is on commentary. Hold on though as Danhausen gets in to tease a curse to Page but gets ejected. Then Cassidy gets on Page’s back like a horse, only to be flipped down to set up the hands in his pockets. Page misses a clothesline so the other four come in, meaning the Best Friends get to hug. Then the Dark Order try their own hug, only to be sent into each other.

Soul Food into the half nelson suplex drops Silver before he gets sat up top. Cassidy can’t do a Tower of Doom so Page pulls Silver down like a damsel in distress, leaving Cassidy to hit the lazy kicks. Silver takes the bullet for Page before Cassidy picks up the pace with a superkick. Trent’s tornado DDT drops Page and everyone is left down.

We take a break and come back with Page launching Reynolds over the top onto the Trent and Chuck. Page pulls Cassidy out of the air and hits a fall away slam before missing a dive by taking out Page by mistake. A double chokeslam puts Page through a table on the floor but it’s Silver getting to clean house. Some kicks rock Cassidy inside but he grabs the Stundog Millionaire.

One heck of a clothesline turns Cassidy inside out but he’s back with the Beach Break for two. The assisted splash gets two on Silver with Page having to make a save. Trent takes Page up top, where Page flips out of a belly to back superplex. The Deadeye gets two on Cassidy with Chuck making a save this time. Silver Stuns Cassidy but Silver can’t hit the German suplex. Instead Cassidy small packages Silver for two and the Awful Waffle gives Chuck the same. The Orange Punch hits Page and Chuck clotheslines him to the floor, only to have Silver grab a rollup pin on Chuck at 12:12.

Rating: C+. I really wasn’t big on the comedy in the first few minutes but then they cranked it up and had the usual insanity that comes with these matches. What matters is getting Page to All Out, because he needs to be in there with his friends/non-friends the Young Bucks. That’s the main story of the whole tournament and whether you like it or not, this had to happen to get us there.

Eddie Kingston is ready to face Tomohiro Ishii again because he has not walked that King’s Road path. Uh, yay.

Rey Fenix vs. Blake Christian

Christian blocks a kick to the face to start and snaps off a spinwheel kick. Back up and a dropkick sends Fenix into….a nip up so we can have a standoff. A rope walk wristdrag takes Christian down but he’s fine enough to hit a handspring kick to the head to send Fenix outside. The running flip dive drops Fenix again but he’s fine enough to chop away. A spinning knee to the face sets up the Black Fire Driver to finish Christian at 2:22. Short and packed with stuff.

The Jericho Appreciation Society interrupts Hook, who is ready to fight. They’ll fight on Sunday instead.

Sammy Guevara/Tay Melo vs. Ortiz/Ruby Soho

Non-title rematch from last week Ortiz and Soho lost last week. Ortiz avoids Sammy’s charge to start and hits some crossface shots in the corner. Soho kicks Melo from the apron and we take an early break. Back with Soho’s arm having been banged up during the break but Ortiz avoids a springboard.

A powerslam plants Sammy and it’s off to Soho for some STO’s to Melo. Soho hits a bunch of headbutts and a knee to the face as everything breaks down. Ortiz hits a running backsplash for two on Sammy but he catches Soho in a wheelbarrow. Melo adds the DDT for two but Ortiz flips out of a double suplex, leaving Soho to roll Melo up for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: C+. They were moving rather fast out there but I could go for not doing the same match twice to set up a rematch, likely for the titles. That is something out of WWE’s playbook and these matches aren’t good enough to overcome the bad idea. At least Soho go a win, though a rollup over Melo in a bit of a mess isn’t some kind of a game changer.

Don Callis interrupts the Dark Order/Hangman Page and talks down to Page, who is held back.

All Out rundown, now featuring a rubber match between Tay Melo/Sammy Guevara vs. Ortiz/Ruby Soho. That’s three times in ten days.

Earlier today, we had a sitdown interview between Athena and Jade Cargill, with the Baddies. Jade isn’t worried about Athena, who says that Jade needs to take her more seriously. That’s still not working for Jade, who Kiera Hogan thinks should be called #37. A lot of trash is talked and Athena leaves.

Here’s the rest of the All Out rundown, because it’s fifteen matches long.

Video on CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley. Punk really likes saying CHICAGO.

We get a face to face interview between the Acclaimed and Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland. Billy Gunn promises that the Acclaimed is winning, while the Acclaimed brag about how their accomplishments. Swerve gets serious and says they aren’t going to put up with Acclaimed being silly. The champs are the rocks of this division and rocks beat scissors.

Here are FTR and Wardlow for a chat, with Chris Jericho forgetting the Motor City Machine Guns’ name (“Detroit Machine Guns”) on the way to the ring. Dash Harwood is impressed by the fans’ cheering and talks about a time that he felt worthless and unloved. Then it was 2022 and the fans got behind him, which turned everything around. Not everyone is going to love FTR but that is ok.

There are some journalists (he means Meltzer) who are asking why the All Out six man tag is taking place. Well it means a lot to him because he’s looking in the rear view mirror of his career. There are three things you don’t mess with in life….but here are the Motor City Machine Guns, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh.

The Guns brag about being from Detroit and Alex Shelley talks about how great FTR may be. What they don’t have though is the respect that the Guns have. Dutt promises to mess with Harwood’s friends, money and family, which has Dutt calling Harwood’s daughter a brat. Harwood has to be held back to wrap things up. Wardlow didn’t actually say anything.

So this was a segment that happened and all it did was show that A, the match isn’t interesting and they threw in the Harwood/Dutt thing to try to make it matter, and B, Wardlow has lost all momentum that he had from the spring and early summer. Harwood talked about people asking why the match was taking place and yeah, it’s a valid question.

The match feels COMPLETELY tacked on as a way to get FTR and Wardlow onto the show. FTR should be in a big title match but instead they’re getting this for whatever reason. It’s not interesting and all three of them deserve FAR better (yes the Machine Guns are great but they’re thrown in here too rather than having a dream match with FTR be built up as it could have been).

QT Marshall isn’t impressed by Ricky Starks and thinks he won’t be worth anything without Powerhouse Hobbs behind him. Starks is ready to beat him up and walks over to knock on a locked door, which seems to contain the Factory. Marshall panics and eventually comes to get them out, only to get jumped by Starks. They fight into the arena and through the crowd before getting in the ring for the bell.

Ricky Starks vs. QT Marshall

After a break less than thirty seconds in, we come back with both of them getting up for the slugout. Starks grabs a springboard tornado DDT for two but the Factory tries a distraction. Marshall is slipped a watch but misses a big shot, leaving him to settle for a rollup with feet on the ropes for two. Starks takes out the rest of the Factory but gets a rope kicked low on the way back in. Marshall’s Diamond Cutter is countered but the second attempt connects for two. Back up and Starks hits the spear, setting up Roshambo for the pin at 7:03.

Rating: C. It was intense while it lasted but there is only so much you can get out of Starks beating up the Factory in about three and a half minutes shown. The good thing is that Starks has FINALLY beaten up the Factory, though I have no idea why the team needed to be involved in this story in the first place. The match was just a way to get Starks on the show though, so it was only ever going to be so good.

Post match Powerhouse Hobbs comes out to brawl with Starks. Bryan Danielson comes out to stare at Jericho to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The fact that this was a go home show for a pay per view helped things out a bit but otherwise, this wasn’t exactly a great week. What mattered here was setting up the Trios Titles match and apparently adding a fifteenth match to the pay per view card. I’m not sure why that is the case, but none of this show is going to matter once All Out starts. Pretty skippable show this week, but not a disaster.

Results
Dark Order/Hangman Page b. Best Friends – Rollup to Chuck
Rey Fenix b. Blake Christian – Black Fire Driver
Ruby Soho/Ortiz b. Sammy Guevara/Tay Melo – Rollup to Melo
Ricky Starks b. QT Marshall – Roshambo

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Rampage
Date: August 19, 2022
Location: North Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Jim Ross, Chris Jericho

Things have gotten all the more interesting around here in the last few days as we are now getting ready for one of the biggest matches in Dynamite history. Forget that for now though, because we have something far more important this week. That could only be one thing and say it with me: the Trustbusters are here! Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Claudio Castagnoli, with Wheeler Yuta, to get things going. After praising Ricky Steamboat (in the front row), Claudio gets to the point: an open challenge for a future Ring Of Honor World Title shot. Cue Dustin Rhodes to say he has wanted to hold the World Title for thirty four years and until recently, they both had people saying they should be World Champion. Castagnoli knows the feeling Dustin has and sees the fire in his eyes. The challenge is accepted for next week, with Castagnoli wanting the best Dustin has. Respect is shown. I could go for this.

Ruby Soho and Ortiz want to fight Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti next week.

Tag Team Titles: Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland vs. Private Party

Private Party is challenging. Kassidy punches away at Lee to start and it’s off to Swerve, who can’t hit a suplex. He can however duck a Quen springboard crossbody but gets hurricanranaed to the floor by Kassidy. A corkscrew dive takes Swerve down and we take a break. Back with Kassidy posing at Lee, with the delay allowing Swerve to hit a middle rope stomp on Quen. That’s enough for the hot tag to Lee so house can be cleaned. Kassidy gets Pounced into the ropes and Swerve adds the running kick to the back of the head for two. Swerve doesn’t like that kickout so it’s the JML Driver to retain the titles at 7:58.

Rating: C+. Lee and Swerve didn’t exactly feel like they were in a ton of danger here and that really is how things should have gone. Private Party had that one big win over the Young Bucks and then have done almost nothing of note since them. That isn’t enough to make them threats to the titles here, but their athleticism is still worth at least a glance.

Powerhouse Hobbs interrupts the Factory’s card/dominoes game, asking why they didn’t take care of Ricky Starks. QT Marshall promises they’ll get it done.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Zack Clayton

Clayton (formerly of some Jersey Shore spinoff) is challenging and brags about his star power and promises to take it back to a state people actually like in New Jersey. Redrum retains the title in 12 seconds.

Angelo Parker and Matt Menard don’t like Hook having the FTW Title and think it should be around the waist of a sports entertainer.

Billy Gunn isn’t happy with the Gunn Club and is bringing the Acclaimed to deal with them next week.

We look at La Faccion Ingobernable turning on Dragon Lee and kicking him out of the team.

Buddy Matthews vs. Serpentico

This is billed as a standby match because Hook’s match was so fast in a nice touch. Julia Hart is here with Murphy, who knocks him to the corner to start. A buckle bomb sets up what used to be known as Murphy’s Law for the pin on Serpentico at 1:10.

Post match Miro comes out, holding Malakai Black’s mask. Miro brawls with Matthews and beats him down.

Britt Baker (in a KISS shirt), Rebel and Jamie Hayter aren’t happy that they’re not in the title match at All Out. They do want to see Toni Storm and Thunder Rosa implode though. It’s not like either of them can win anyway.

Penelope Ford vs. Athena

Athena armdrags her into an armbar to start but gets driven into the corner. A jumping knee cuts Ford off but she rolls Athena throat first into the middle rope as we see the guy with a box in his head. Commentary confirms that it’s Kip Sabian as Ford hits a slingshot elbow and we take a break. Back with Ford being sent into the barricade, setting up the O Face to finish Ford at 5:20. Not enough shown to rate but it’s nice to have Ford back.

Post match the Baddies run in to beat down Athena. Jade Cargill and Stokely Hathaway come out and destroy Athena’s wings with a sledgehammer. Cargill sledgehammers Athena down too. Can we GET TO THE MATCH ALREADY? This has been going on for months already.

We recap Jon Moxley and CM Punk on Dynamite.

Video on Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Ricky Starks. Hobbs was hired to keep the FTW Title on Starks but Starks couldn’t keep up his end. More from Starks on Dynamite.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

The Best Friends and Orange Cassidy are ready for the main event.

Trios Titles Tournament First Round: Trustbusters vs. Best Friends/Orange Cassidy

Sonny Kiss is with the Trustbusters. Slim J drives Trent into the corner with Jericho comparing Slim J to a ferret. Chuck makes the save and tosses him into a sitout powerbomb from Trent. Some house is cleaned but Boudreaux comes in to wreck people without much effort. Everything breaks down and we take a break with the Best Friends in trouble.

Back with Trent getting in a forearm but Daivari brings in Slim J, who knocks Chuck off the apron. Cassidy’s staredown distracts Slim J though and Trent gets in a suplex. That’s enough for the tag to Cassidy so the pace picks up, including a high crossbody to Slim Jr and the satellite DDT to Daivari. Now Cassidy wants Boudreaux (and seems to talk some trash). Boudreaux wrecks the good guys, at least until he gets knocked into the corner for a triple dropkick.

Slim J takes the Best Friends down with a top rope corkscrew dive, followed by something like a Whisper in the Wind to Cassidy. Daivari’s frog splash gets two as everything breaks down again. A series of shots send Boudreaux over the barricade but Kiss crotches Cassidy. Slim J’s top rope elbow gets two on Cassidy but here is Danhausen to curse him. That’s enough for the Best Friends to hit a double chokeslam, setting up an assisted splash (with the Best Friends holding Slim J up and Cassidy diving off of their shoulders at the same time) to give Cassidy the pin at 10:32.

Rating: C+. The finish was rather cool and they had the right team win, but it’s still trying to make me interested in the Trustbusters. Good luck with that, as I’ve yet to see something from either Daivari or Boudreaux that will draw my interest. They are getting it much more right with Cassidy though, as he is filling hie role as the guy who is better than the lower card and a possible spoiler for bigger spots perfectly.

Danhausen poses with the winners to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Better than last week’s as it felt like some interesting things took place here, but still not a must see show. Rampage has been around for just over a year now and the show hasn’t felt important in a long time. You might get one somewhat important thing a week and the rest of the show feels like they are just filling in their hour. Not a bad show whatsoever, but nothing you would need to watch, as has been the case with most recent editions.

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Dynamite
Date: August 17, 2022
Location: North Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re closing in on All Out and the big story from last week saw AEW World Champion CM Punk return after a two month absence. You can probably pencil in Punk vs. Jon Moxley for the main event of All Out, but that is still a few weeks away and we have something big tonight. In this case, that would be a mystery partner in the Trios Tag Team Titles tournament, which will absolutely be a surprise and not the most obvious reveal in recent memory. Let’s get to it.

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

Since this show is a crossover with HBO’s House Of The Dragon, the opening video is tied together with clips of the series.

Here is CM Punk to get things going. Punk says he’s trying trying to keep his tough guy face on tonight but the fans are making him too happy. For now though, he has something to deal with so he wants Hangman Page out here right now for a rematch. No one comes out so Punk dubs it coward s*** instead of cowboy s***.

Punk talks about how everyone talks a lot until it’s time to do champ s*** so now let’s move on to Jon Moxley. He knows what it means to be in a big match situation and there is always a guy who has someone’s number. Punk is Moxley’s guy and Moxley is the third best guy in his group, which is a reoccurring theme in his career. Moxley talks about breaking bones and drinking blood but in the last six months, the only person to break bones is Punk, and those were his own.

Moxley’s best friend Eddie is the third best Eddie he’s been in the ring with and the second best Kingston he’s ever shared a locker room with. He’s looking forward to beating Moxley in Chicago, but that won’t even be the best John he has beaten in Chicago for a title. Cue Moxley, who says Punk’s mouth is writing checks that his body can’t cash. The title on Punk’s shoulder isn’t worth anything and neither is this one that he’s carrying, at least until he beats Punk.

Moxley says he is the heart and soul of AEW but Punk says he’ll be the dollars and cents. Moxley: “We both know you only came to AEW because you ran out of money.” The fight is teased but Punk would rather wait for the pay per view so Moxley doesn’t bleed all over him. The fight is on and they slug it out until security breaks it up…which takes a few attempts but they finally get them apart. They both had some great lines here and I’m more into the match than I was before.

Powerhouse Hobbs says he doesn’t like Ricky Starks and has something planned for him. The Factory will get theirs too.

Ricky The Dragon Steamboat (as opposed to Ricky The Tupperware Salesman Steamboat) is the guest timekeeper.

Daniel Garcia vs. Bryan Danielson

2/3 falls and Chris Jericho is on commentary. Feeling out process to start with Jericho hyping up what a technical showdown we’ll be seeing. Both of them try for some grappling but neither can get very far. We go to a standoff and take a break. Back with Danielson hitting a running dropkick in the corner and going for a cross armbreaker.

That’s blocked so Danielson switches to something like a Regal Stretch but they get to the ropes for the break. Garcia suplexes him on the floor and brings him back inside, setting up a piledriver to plant Danielson. A dragon sleeper has Danielson knocked out for the first fall at 9:19.

Garcia isn’t done and hits a chop in the corner, does Danielson’s pose, and hits the running corner dropkick as we take a break. Back again with Danielson (bleeding) grabbing a rollup to reverse a hold for the second fall to tie things up at 15:07 (total). Danielson ties him in the Tree of Woe and fires off some kicks, setting up a German superplex to rock Garcia.

The missile dropkick rocks Garcia again and he is sent outside, where they have a tug of war over a posting. That goes badly for Danielson, who gets sent into said post and has to beat the count back in at nine. We take another break and come back again with Danielson winning a slugout but getting taken down for some stomps to the head. Those are broken up and Danielson pulls him into the LeBell Lock for the tap at 25:52.

Rating: B. Heck of a fight here as Danielson gets his win back, but Garcia saves some face by winning the first fall. Garcia is getting a push as of late and losing a 2/3 falls match to one of the best AEW has to offer isn’t going to hurt him. Danielson needed the win and should be set for his All Out match wit Jericho. Rather good stuff here and the time flew by, which is always nice.

Danielson shows respect post match and Garcia accepts it, but Chris Jericho runs in to jump Danielson from behind. Garcia pulls Jericho off and the fans tell him that he’s a wrestler.

Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland are ready for Private Party, who are now ranked #5. They’ll fight on Rampage.

Tony Nese comes out for a match but Jon Moxley jumps him from behind. Moxley calls out CM Punk to fight right now so here is Punk for the first. The brawl is teased but security and the Blackpool Combat Club breaks it up (with Claudio Castagnoli manhandling Moxley).

Chris Jericho isn’t pleased with Daniel Garcia and wants a face to face meeting with him next week to see where he stands. Ricky Steamboat comes in to rehash his issues with Jericho and suggests that Bryan Danielson would be a better mentor to Garcia. Angelo Parker gets in Steamboat’s face and gets chopped.

Gunn Club vs. Varsity Blonds

Colt 45 finishes Garrison at 27 seconds.

Post match Billy Gunn talks about how great that was and how proud he is of his sons. Cue Stokely Hathaway to smile at the Gunns….who turn on Billy. The Acclaimed run in for the save. Scissoring ensues.

Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh are ready for Wardlow and FTR.

Death Triangle is ready for the United Empire next week.

Here is Jungle Boy for a chat. He wore a shirt a few weeks ago and was told to never wear it again (it involved Christian and a bit of a derogatory term), but he is too preoccupied with trying to hit Christian. Over the weeks, he has tried to hit Christian Cage with his fist, a chair and a car but can’t make it work. So how about he hits Christian at All Out?

Cue Christian to say no match but he wants to make this work. He wants everything to be ok with them and make amends. The hug is teased but Jungle Boy takes him down and hammers away. Jungle Boy stomps him on the steps and then rams Christian’s head into them over and over. Security makes the save. Good stuff from Jungle Boy once the action started, but he would be better suited by going with something like Jungle Boy Jack Perry, as Jungle Boy isn’t the most serious name.

FTR and Wardlow are ready for Jay Lethal and company. Dax Harwood will take Jay Lethal next week.

Toni Storm vs. KiLynn King

They go to the mat to start until King drops her over the top rope for a top rope knee to the face. That sends Storm outside, where King has to block a tornado DDT and drives Storm back first into the apron. We take a break and come back with King hitting a powerbomb for two but Storm sends her into the corner. The running hip attack, now dubbed Sweet Cheeks Music (no) sets up a pendulum DDT to finish King at 6:46.

Rating: C. I’ve always liked King so it was nice to see her getting a spot here. Storm seems to have righted the ship a bit and odds are she is going to be getting the title shot at All Out against Thunder Rosa. I’m not sure how well that is going to go, but Storm needs a big win at some point or the potential she has is going to fade in a hurry.

Video on the Trustbusters vs. Best Friends.

Here’s what’s coming on future shows, including Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk….next week on Dynamite. Ok then.

Trios Title Tournament First Round: La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Young Bucks/???

The mystery partner is…..Kenny Omega, who is in very little way a mystery. Nick takes Dragon Lee into the corner to start and hammers away before Matt comes in to for the double team takedown. Omega (in a compression shirt and shoulder brace) comes in to hammer away in the corner, with the fans being rather pleased. Lee gets Omega into the wrong corner though and the triple teaming is on as we take a break.

Back with Matt not being able to hit his rolling suplexes, so both sets of brothers fight over them instead. Andrade comes in to stomp on Matt some more and we take another break. We come back again with the hot tag bringing in Omega to clean house, including on Andrade, who seems to be favoring his shoulder.

Everything breaks down and the Bucks hit the dives to the floor. Omega loads up the Rise of the Terminator but Lee breaks up the dive (which might be a good thing). Jose the Assistant breaks up another dive attempt and Omega gets held up on the barricade for a SCARY dive from Lee. Back in and Andrade hits his double moonsault for two on Omega with Matt shoving Rush into the pile for the save. The V Trigger knocks Lee silly and a not so great One Winged Angel finishes Lee at 20:49.

Rating: B-. This is a weird one to grade as it was all about Omega, and that made it tricky. Omega did look rusty and that is completely fair given how long it has been since he has been in the ring. Completely healthy or not, he hasn’t wrestled a match in front of people in over nine months and that is going to take some time to get back to normal.

Other than that, there was a grand total of no way the Bucks and Omega were losing here, meaning it was a good bit of waiting until the expected finale. It also doesn’t help that Andrade seems to have hurt his shoulder/arm, so things might have been even slower than usual. Not a bad match at all, but they were working with some serious limitations.

Omega and the Bucks celebrate as Andrade and Rush turn on Lee (whose mask comes off) with about five seconds left in the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a rather good show and I liked most of what I saw with the whole thing. What we got here was a few rather strong matches and a big surprise match set up for next week, along with some build to All Out. They did what they needed to do here, but I’m really curious about what is going to headline All Out with Punk vs. Moxley taking place next week. Overall, positive show here as they did what they needed to do.

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

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Rampage
Date: August 12, 2022
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Jim Ross, Bryan Danielson, Taz

It’s still Quake By The Lake week and that means a lot of talking this time, as Bryan Danielson is back after getting beaten up by Daniel Garcia a few weeks back. Other than that, we have Orange Cassidy in action and that can oddly work. Rampage hasn’t been great in recent weeks so maybe they can pick it up tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Bryan Danielson to get things going. Tony Schiavone asks him about Daniel Garcia calling himself the Dragon Slayer. Danielson talks about how he has been wrestling for 23 years and now he needs to live to the fullest. That means he can never stop wrestling and his career is not ending next Wednesday.

Cue Garcia to interrupt and call Danielson his hero, but it sounds like his hero is ready to lose. Garcia is ready to make Danielson call him the greatest sports entertainer alive. That’s too far for Danielson, who doesn’t like what Chris Jericho is putting in Garcia’s head. Danielson talked about Garcia being a founding member of the Blackpool Combat Club because he remembers seeing Garcia wrestle for 60 minutes in front of 250 people. With a grab of Garcia’s face, Danielson asks if he wants to be a sports entertainer or a wrestler before walking out. Garcia looks a bit shaken.

We look back at CM Punk’s return and showdown with Jon Moxley on Dynamite.

AAA Mixed Tag Team Titles: Tay Melo/Sammy Guevara vs. Dante Martin/Skye Blue

Melo and Guevara, the newlyweds, are defending. It’s a brawl to start with the women brawling on the floor and Martin hammering away on Guevara inside. We settle down to Melo saving Guevara from a whip into the ropes and comes in, complete with a kiss. Said kiss takes too long though and Blue comes in with a high crossbody, setting off a beating. Melo pulls her into…some kind of a stretch on the mat but Blue is back up with a running knee into a spinning kick to the face. Guevara grabs Blue’s foot though and a pump kick drops her as we take a break.

Back with the guys coming back in to start the strike off with Martin sending Guevara outside for a dive. Melo comes back in for a distraction so Martin uses her as a launchpad into a Canadian Destroyer for two more. Back up and Melo plants Martin with a floatover DDT (Tony is WAY too impressed by that) but Skye takes out Guevara with a high crossbody. Not that it matters as the TayKO finishes for Melo at 7:18.

Rating: C+. Guevara’s dives are often worth a look and there is a bit of a history here to keep it somewhat more interesting. More importantly though, it is nice to have Martin walking after that scare a few weeks ago. The match was good enough, but you can imagine Guevara and Melo were still adjusting to their new normal.

The Lucha Bros are excited about Pac being back so the Death Triangle can be at full strength.

Parker Boudreaux vs. Sonny Kiss

Slim J is here with the debuting Boudreaux, better known as Harland in NXT. Boudreaux runs Kiss over to start and slugs away in the corner but gets caught with the handspring slap. A chokeslam drops Kiss and a belly to back slam finishes for Boudreaux at 1:01.

La Faccion Ingobernable yells at Private Party, who aren’t having it. Private Party is ready for Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland next week.

Gunn Club vs. Danhausen/Erick Redbeard

Billy Gunn is here with the Gunn Club. Redbeard shoves Colten down to start so Austin comes in, earning himself a hard shoulder down. Danhausen comes in and gets thrown into the corner as we take a break. Back with Danhausen slipping between Austin’s legs and handing it back to Redbeard for the house cleaning.

Everything breaks down and Redbeard hits a running crossbody to drop the Club on the floor. Back in and a slingshot hilo connects, setting up a spinning kick to the face for two on Austin with Colten making the save. Redbeard suplexes both Gunns but Billy low bridges him to the floor. The Fameasser gives Austin the pin at 7:00.

Rating: C. Well, the regular team beat the makeshift team by pinning someone who is usually cannon fodder, so at least they went with what makes sense. Redbeard is someone who looks good and is fine for an enforcer, but the Gunn Club should be picking up wins so they went with the right decision here.

Post match Billy yells at his kids and says he misses the Acclaimed. They need to toughen up a bit and do what he taught them. They can prove themselves next week on Dynamite, opponents unknown. Billy walks off but Stokely Hathaway pops up in the crowd with his business card, but the Club walks off.

Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland are ready for Private Party, who aren’t even in the top five. They can get a chance anyway.

Here’s Hook for a chat and he actually says something: YEP, when asked if the title is really going to be up in an open challenge on Dynamite. Cue Zack Clayton from Jersey Shore to say he’s taking the title next week.

Ari Daivari is ready for Orange Cassidy, even if Cassidy won’t join the Trustbusters. Cassidy does Mark Henry’s line so Henry cuts him off and does it properly.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Ari Daivari vs. Orange Cassidy

The Trustbusters and Best Friends are here too. Hold on as Daivari gives Cassidy one more chance to join the Trustbusters and all he has to do is lay down. Cassidy does, but then rolls over before the cover. After a hug from the Best Friends, they go back inside for some grappling, including Cassidy using his hands in the pockets to knock Daivari away. The dropkick and nip up keep Daivari down but he manages a shot of his own. A Trustbusters hug on the floor sends us to an early break.

Back with Daivari holding a sleeper until Cassidy makes the rope…and gets put right back into the sleeper. That’s smarter than most wrestlers. Cassidy gets out again and they collide for a double knockdown. Back up and Cassidy’s spinning DDT is blocked and Daivari hits a running neckbreaker.

Cassidy tries the Orange Punch but gets caught in a Rock Bottom for two. Another spinning DDT works better for Cassidy, followed by the top rope DDT for a rather near fall. Everyone gets in a fight on the floor so Cassidy hits a dive to break it up. Back in and Daivari catches him on top with an Iconoclasm for two, only to get caught with the Orange Punch for the pin at 13:05.

Rating: C. This is one of the places where Cassidy can shine. Cassidy beat someone who didn’t exactly come off as a threat to become a major star and got to do his fun offense at the time. As long as AEW can avoid going too far with Cassidy, he’s one of the more consistently popular and oftentimes entertaining guys around here. Plus he beat the still mostly worthless Daivari and that’s always a good thing.

Post match Boudreaux gets to clean house but Sonny Kiss comes in and jumps Cassidy so Boudreaux can lay him out. Kiss is a Trustbuster to end the show.

So yes, the stable is actually Daivari (not even the best known Daivari in wrestling), Boudreaux (Joe Gacy’s lackey), Slim J (who looks like he would fit in great at any independent show in 2001) and Kiss (who has never won a match on Dynamite/Rampage and until tonight, hasn’t wrestled on either since September 2020). For some reason that lineup is not only in the tournament, but just got half of the matches on this show. What a great week.

Overall Rating: C-. I really wasn’t feeling this one as it continues to seem like AEW has given up on this show. Other than Danielson/Garcia, this was a bunch of lower to midcard stuff at best and that doesn’t make for the most interesting hour. I’m not sure why I’m supposed to be interested in Daivari and company, leaving the Gunn Club and the newlyweds to carry most of the night. The show wasn’t terrible, but it really wasn’t compelling and in a lot of ways that’s worse.

Results
Tay Melo/Sammy Guevara b. Skye Blue/Dante Martin – TayKO to Blue
Parker Boudreaux b. Sonny Kiss – Belly to back slam
Gunn Club b. Erick Redbeard/Danhausen – Fameasser to Danhausen
Orange Cassidy b. Ari Daivari – Orange Punch

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

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Rampage
Date: August 5, 2022
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re a day away from Battle Of The Belts and that is probably not going to mean very much. Other than that, we have a street fight this week between Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland and Josh Woods/Tony Nese, after Woods attacked Lee last week. In addition, Madison Rayne will be making her AEW debut which could be interesting. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Mance Warner

Non-title and William Regal is on commentary. Before the match, we get a video from Warner, who is quite the Tennessee style talker. He promises to fight Moxley (rather than dance with him) because he has heard Moxley talk about how much he loves to bleed. Now Ole Mancer is here to become the man. It’s a brawl in the aisle to start with Warner sending him into the steps before biting Moxley’s head.

They get inside for the bell and are back on the floor literally two seconds later. Moxley gets sent into the barricade and there’s a crotching on the barricade to make it worse. A clothesline knocks Moxley down again and they head inside but he tied Warner’s leg in the ropes. There’s a running dropkick to the ropes to set up a Figure Four but Warner is out without much trouble.

Back up and they trade right hands in the corner before going outside again. Moxley gets whipped hard into the steps but he’s back up with a suplex. They head inside but are right back outside (again) to fight on the steps. Warner hits a DDT onto said steps and we take a break. Back with Warner stomping on the ankle and hitting a not great spinebuster for two. A boot to Moxley’s bloody face gets two and Warner grabs a chair, which is forearmed into Warner’s head.

Now Warner is busted open as well, which offers a good target for Moxley’s suicide dive into the barricade. Back in and a superplex sets up the hammer and elbow elbows, though Moxley’s arm is hurt from forearming the chair. Warner hits him with a clothesline and they’re both down. The cover from Warner is countered into a Kimura before Moxley stomps away at the head. A piledriver sets up more stomping and Moxley chokes him out at 11:37.

Rating: C+. Yes it’s another Moxley brawl with blood and again it doesn’t get to stand out after how many times we have seen it. Warner is a good talker but his stuff between the bells doesn’t exactly stand out. It’s a bunch of whipping people into things and hitting them with weapons, which gets repetitive fast. Having both of them in the same match didn’t exactly hit a high level, though it was a decent brawl.

At Dynamite, Ricky Starks was interrupted by the Factory. QT Marshall offers Starks protection from the team (which now includes Kole Carter) but he isn’t interested in help, either from Marshall or Aaron Solo.

Ryan Nemeth vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Takeshita avoids a charge to start and hits a running boot in the corner as the fans seem rather invested here. Peter Avalon, in Nemeth’s corner, grabs Takeshita’s leg though and Nemeth starts kneeing away. Takeshita is right back up with a Blue Thunder Bomb and the running knee finishes Nemeth at 1:40. Well that’s how you build someone up for tomorrow’s title match.

Post match Avalon goes after Takeshita and gets kneed down for his efforts.

At Dynamite, Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends aren’t thrilled with how they’re doing as of late but think they do their best as a trio. They’re in for the Trios Title tournament, but Dr. Danhausen comes in to make it four. Because he’s a doctor too.

Madison Rayne vs. Leila Grey

Stokely Hathaway is here with Grey. They lock up to start with Grey driving her into the corner for a forearm to the chest. The frustration sets in for Rayne and they go to a series of standing switches. Some rollups gives Rayne some near falls and we hit the armbar to keep Grey in trouble.

Back up and Grey misses a charge into the corner but Hathaway jumps up and down on the steps for a rather obvious distraction. Grey knocks her off the apron and we take a break. Back with Rayne striking away and getting two off a northern lights suplex. Rayne hits a sliding lariat into Cross Raynes (yes Cross Raynes) to finish Grey at 8:29.

Rating: C. Rayne is an interesting veteran to bring in as the fans are going to know who she is and she can wrestle a good enough match. There are multiple women above her though and she is only going to draw so much interest. This was about what I expected and now Rayne can move on to do whatever else, though she might be better suited as a coach than a regular competitor.

Post match Jade Cargill comes out and issues the challenge to Rayne for next week’s Dynamite. Rayne is in and even takes out the invading Kiera Hogan.

Video on the Lucha Bros vs. La Faccion Ingobernable in a tornado tag.

Mark Sterling doesn’t think much of Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland, who are ready to face Tony Nese/Josh Woods in a street fight.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland vs. Tony Nese/Josh Woods

Non-title falls count anywhere and Mark Sterling is here with Nese and Woods. It’s a brawl on the floor to start with Woods driving Strickland into the barricade. They trade off with a drop toehold sending Nese into the barricade, leaving Woods to get forearmed in the face. Nese is back up with some protein powder in Lee’s face but that’s about it for offense, as Strickland grabs a toolbox and launches it, only to hit the steps.

As Lee gets some water for his eyes, Woods forearms Swerve in the face and grabs a twisting suplex to send him into the steps. We take a break and come back with Lee saving Strickland from being powerbombed off the apron and through a table. Lee can’t stop Nese from kicking Strickland in the face but he can break up a cover at two. Everyone gets back in with Lee cleaning house but Nese dropkicks a chair into his face. A double DDT onto a chair gets two as Strickland 450s in for the save.

Now we get a table set up, but Sterling comes in with a wrench (from the toolbox) to knock Strickland silly. Lee is back up with a headbutt to Nese and throws Sterling off the top and through the table. Woods still can’t suplex Lee off the apron and through more tables but Nese adds a suplex and the superplex does indeed drive Lee down hard. Nese brings in a bunch of chairs but gets backdropped onto them instead. The Swerve Stomp onto the chairs is enough to give Strickland the pin at 13:56.

Rating: B-. I’m not sure what to think about something like this, as it’s another weapons based brawl which we seem to have almost every week or so. Lee and Strickland are a rather good team and they did well here, but I could go a little while without seeing Nese, who never seems to win anything. There are so many good teams around here but Lee and Strickland are facing a makeshift team with Mark Sterling. I’m not sure I get that one.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty good show here, but the amount of time spent on hardcore or weapons stuff around here gets annoying at times. Rayne vs. Grey was the only match here to get some time and not have a bunch of weapons stuff involved. There are talented wrestlers around here and they don’t need the stuff going on to make their matches interesting. The show was good enough, but it felt like they were tacking on a bunch of extra stuff that didn’t need to be there, which tends to be a recurring theme for AEW.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Mance Warner – Bulldog choke
Konosuke Takeshita b. Ryan Nemeth – Running knee
Madison Rayne b. Leila Grey – Cross Raynes
Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland b. Tony Nese/Josh Woods – Swerve Stomp onto chairs to Nese

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: July 27, 2022
Location: DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts
Commentators: Jim Ross, Taz, Excalibur

It’s another special event this week with Fight For The Fallen. There is another stacked card this week as well, as Jon Moxley is defending the Interim World Title against Rush, plus the return of Bryan Danielson. We are on the way towards All Out and it might be time to start setting things up for the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Interim AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Rush

Moxley is defending and gets jumped on the floor to start. They get inside with Rush stomping away in the corner and we’re off to the neck crank. It’s back to the floor with Moxley busted open and William Regal not being pleased on commentary. Jose the Assistant offers a distraction but Rush misses a chair shot. Moxley is right back with a suicide dive into the barricade and some hard chops to take over for the first time.

They get back inside with Moxley standing on Rush’s head in the corner but Rush plants him for a quick two. Back to the floor they go (you may be noticing a pattern emerging here) where Rush chokes him with a camera cord as we take a break. We come back with the two of them chopping it out and trading German suplexes. Moxley’s King Kong lariat drops Rush but he snaps off another German suplex to drop Moxley hard.

Back up and Moxley unloads with stomps to the head but Rush gets in a suplex into the corner. Rush takes him up top and is shoved down, only to have Andrade El Idolo come in to shove him down. The Lucha Bros chase Andrade out, leaving Rush to have the Bull’s Horns cut off with another lariat. A straitjacket piledriver gives Rush two but Moxley is back up with the Death Rider. The bulldog choke finishes for Moxley at 13:52.

Rating: B. Good, hard hitting fight here and the kind of match you would expect from them. This is where Moxley thrives and Rush is enough of a bull to make his end of the match work well. Moxley wasn’t about to lose to someone who has barely been around, but at least they had a good brawl to get there.

Post match here is the Jericho Appreciation Society to say APPRECIATE US before Chris Jericho talks about everything the team is going to do tonight. New member Anna Jay changes her name to Anna JAS and promises to choke out everyone. Jericho rants about how he beat Eddie Kingston last week despite all of the injuries he suffered.

Now he wants a shot at Moxley to avenge his loss from two and a half years ago. They’ll fight at Quake By The Lake, which has Moxley saying he hates Jericho. After saying what Jericho can do with that INTERIM nonsense, Moxley says he wants to face the Jericho he saw for years. Not the Wizard or the Painmaker, but the Lionheart. It isn’t like there is any better option to bridge the gap to All Out so Jericho makes the most sense.

The Trios Titles are officially here and the inaugural champions will be crowned at All Out.

Dante Martin accuses Sammy Guevara of going soft but he has someone in his corner tonight: Skye Blue. Uh, sure.

Video on Ricky Starks being a perfect choice for a champion.

FTW Title: Ricky Starks vs. Danhausen

Danhausen is challenging and mocks Starks’ pose instead of cursing him. Starks mocks the curse and gets kicked in the face. A northern lights suplex gives Danhausen one and he avoids a spear into the corner. The second spear connects though and Danhausen retains at 1:25.

Post match Starks is holding his neck but issues another open challenge for a second title defense.

FTW Title: Ricky Starks vs. Hook

Starks is defending and gets pounded into the corner to start. A t-bone suplex drops Starks but he’s back with a belly to back of his own. Hook flips out of a hiptoss and lands on his feet, only to get speared down. Roshambo is countered into Redrum and Starks taps at 1:33. That was pretty awesome, and Hook beating his trainer to win his dad’s title is about as cool as you can get.

Respect is shown post match.

Post break Starks is in the ring with Powerhouse Hobbs to say he turned that title from a noose into a tie. He is the only one who could do that and he exceeded all expectations, working hard every week. People keep telling him to work hard and he’ll get his chance, but his chance was last month and his chance is right now. It isn’t a string of bad luck but bad timing….and then Hobbs lays him out. Taz isn’t sure what is going on as Hobbs hits the spinebuster.

The Acclaimed raps about the Gunn Club and tell us to watch their music video to see what kind of match they’ll have on Rampage. Friday is trash day.

Sammy Guevara vs. Dante Martin

Tay Conti is here with Sammy while Skye Blue is here with Martin. Guevara hits a shoulder to start but Martin is right back up with a headlock. A backflip over Martin picks up the pace and Guevara hits a dropkick before spinning into a pose. Martin gets in his own spin but is sent outside, only to switch places with Guevara. The big flip dive is dropped so Martin can moonsault into the middle to stare at Guevara.

Hold on as Guevara and Conti walk out, only to be jumped by Martin (well at least Guevara is). Martin hits a HUGE dive off the stage to drop Guevara again and we take a break. Back with Martin’s springboard dive being kneed out of the air but not being able to hit the GTH. Instead Martin grabs a Spanish Fly for two but the Nose Dive misses. Guevara’s springboard cutter connects (with Martin’s leg looking to collapse) and the GTH gives Guevara the pin at 8:46.

Rating: B-. Much like Moxley vs. Rush, you knew what you were getting from these two and they did their high flying stuff until Sammy go the win. Martin continues to look good in just about everything he does, but at some point he has to win a match that matters. Guevara bounces back from the Blood & Guts loss and continues to be annoying, so he should be just fine going forward.

Post match Guevara goes after Martin again but Blue gets in the way. Cue Anna Jay to beat her down, only to have Ruby Soho, Eddie Kingston and Ortiz run in for the save. Martin is taken out and seems hurt.

Daniel Garcia is ready to beat Bryan Danielson and show that he is the best in the world.

Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh aren’t happy with Samoa Joe but they’re even less happy with the Best Friends. Cue the Best Friends to issue the challenge for Rampage and Dutt accepts, despite being retired.

Here is Jungle Boy for a chat in the ring, with Luchasaurus coming out with him as a bit of a surprise. Jungle Boy gets right to it by calling Christian Cage a coward. Cage is the most relevant he has ever been and then he turned on Jungle Boy over a battle royal? Shouldn’t a legend like Cage have enough money to not worry about that?

Oh yeah, Christian got divorced so his ex-wife took everything. Cage needed a bodyguard in Luchasaurus but he picked Jungle Boy’s best friend. We hear about Jungle Boy burying his father but we cut to Cage in the back, saying that Jungle Boy can pull up a grave next to his father. Cage knows all of Jungle Boy’s secrets and now he’s going to use them. Sounds ominous.

The Young Bucks want the Trios Titles but need a partner. Brandon Cutler offers his services but they run into Hangman Page. The Bucks seem to be interested in a reunion but the Dark Order comes up to with Page a happy birthday.

Tony Nese/Mark Sterling vs. Swerve Strickland

Keith Lee is barred from ringside. Nese takes Strickland into the corner to start but Swerve spins up into the anklescissors. A backbreaker lets Swerve go outside where Sterling offers a distraction. Some cheap shots from Nese put Swerve in trouble as we take a break. Back with Nese being knocked into the corner, which counts as a tag to Sterling.

Strickland keeps beating up Nese as Sterling won’t get inside, including a knockout kick to Nese. Since Nese is hanging from the bottom rope over the floor, Swerve adds the slingshot Swerve Stomp to knock him silly. Back in and the jumping kick to the head finishes Sterling at 6:42.

Rating: C-. Well ok then. Strickland was never in any kind of danger here but he didn’t need to be. Nese isn’t much of a threat to anyone but at least they protected him with the loss going on Sterling. Nothing to see here, but it should wrap up the feud between them, as it needs to do.

Post match We see Keith Lee down in the back with Josh Woods (who has been scouted by Nese and Sterling) standing over him. Nese uses the distraction to knock Strickland silly.

The House of Black wants to hurt Darby Allin while offering Miro the throne. Brody King challenges Allin to a coffin match.

Excalibur talks about Pac’s successful All-Atlantic Title defense.

Miyu Yamashita beat Thunder Rosa in a title elimination match, earning a Women’s Title match tonight.

Women’s Title: Miyu Yamashita vs. Thunder Rosa

Rosa is defending and they fight over wrist control to start. An exchange of rollups gets two each and that’s good for a standoff. Yamashita takes the leg out on the apron but Rosa knocks her down and chops hard against the barricade. A clothesline drops Rosa though and we take a break.

Back with the two of them slugging it out until Rosa hits a running kick to the chest against the ropes. Yamashita kicks her HARD in the head for two, with Rosa looking a bit rocked. A fireman’s carry is countered into a small package which is countered into a small package for two on Rosa (how she lost the first match for the callback). There’s a kick to Yamashita’s head though and a Fire Thunder Driver retains the title at 10:01.

Rating: B-. Good stuff here again, even though it was kind of an unknown going against Rosa. They set this up a few weeks ago in Japan, which is better than you get around here a lot of the time, so this could have been worse. Rosa needed a win like this, but she is still far from the top of the division and it shows badly.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Daniel Garcia vs. Bryan Danielson

Chris Jericho is on commentary and this is Danielson’s first match since May. Danielson starts fast with the kicks to the chest and Garcia is rocked early. A kick to the face doesn’t do much to Danielson, who backdrops Garcia to the floor, setting up the suicide dive. Back in and Danielson takes him down for the hard elbows to the head, much to the fans’ approval. Garcia is back up with a neckbreaker and sends Danielson outside.

The floor mat is peeled back but Danielson hits a running forearm to stagger Garcia again. The kicks to the chest set up a running dropkick. There’s a missile dropkick back inside and some forearms rock Danielson again. Danielson is back up and tries the backflip out of the corner but collapses when running the ropes. That’s fine with Garcia, who sends him into the steps and hits a DDT onto the exposed concrete.

We take a break and come back with Garcia stomping on a bloody Danielson before putting him on top. Danielson reverses into a belly to back superplex, which bangs up the head even more. It takes a bit but Danielson gets up and tries Cattle Mutilation, which doesn’t quite go on. Instead, Garcia hits the hammer and anvil elbows, which just bring Danielson back to his feet.

Danielson gives us a proper hammer and elbow demonstration and a reverse fisherman’s suplex. The running knee is countered into a brainbuster for two and it’s time to slug it out. Danielson sends him outside for the running knee from the apron but hang on as someone reaches from under the apron to grab Danielson’s boot. That’s enough for the piledriver to plant Danielson and the Sharpshooter goes on. Garcia cranks back and Danielson passes out at 17:04.

Rating: B. The ending was a surprise and points for putting Garcia over, which is what has been missing for a bit. This felt more like something bigger for Danielson though, as it might be the start of something leading to his retirement. Having Danielson’s head be all messed up s a scary situation, but also something he has dealt with before. Good job on getting Garcia a rub though, which has been lacking for him so far.

The hand was that of Jake Hager, who runs in to celebrate with Garcia and Jericho to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This was a show where they fired off one good match after another and that made for a heck of a weekly show. Dynamite can be awesome when they let the wrestlers do their thing at a high level and that’s what we got here. It helps that they had different kind of matches, with the Moxley vs. Rush brawl, Guevara vs. Martin flying all over the place and Garcia and Danielson being more about the striking. Very good show here and it didn’t feel like they had as much stuff crammed in here, which is nice for a change.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Rush – Bulldog choke
Ricky Starks b. Danhausen – Spear
Hook b. Ricky Starks – Redrum
Sammy Guevara b. Dante Martin – GTH
Swerve Strickland b. Tony Nese/Mark Sterling – Running kick to Sterling
Thunder Rosa b. Miyu Yamashita – Fire Thunder Driver
Daniel Garcia b. Bryan Danielson via referee stoppage

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

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Dynamite
Date: July 20, 2022
Location: Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s time for the Shark Week show, because corporate synergy is a thing. That means a barbed wire match between Eddie Kingston and Chris Jericho, with the rest of the Jericho Appreciation Society in shark cages. That’s quite the way to go but I’m sure we’ll get something else big tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Brodie King vs. Darby Allin

Sting is here with Allin. They start fast with Allin knocking him to the floor for a suicide dive. Back in and King gets staggered again but is fine enough to shrug off a high crossbody attempt. King swings him around by the pants and Allin is sent outside, followed by some stomping back inside.

We take a break and come back with Allin hitting a suicide flip dive but a charge in the corner is countered into a sleeper. Allin tries to climb the rope but gets caught in the Tree of Woe for his efforts. The Cannonball only hits corner though and it’s a Code Red to give Allin two. Allin spins King over into a weird double arm crank, which thankfully is switched into a choke before I have to try and describe it. With that broken up, King is sent to the apron where he grabs the hanging sleeper. Allin is mostly out but beats the count back in, setting up the Ganso Bomb to give King the pin at 12:29.

Rating: B-. This was a well put together story, as Allin can only go with the fast paced hit and run stuff while King is the monster who can crush Allin with his bare hands. That’s what happened at the end as Allin was overwhelmed, which is the best way to go with these two. Nice stuff here, with King getting a win to boost himself up a bit.

Post match King goes after Allin again but Sting comes in for the save. The Death Drop is loaded up but the lights go out, with Malakai Black popping up. King chokes Sting and it’s the black mist from Black as King chokes him out. Cue Miro to stare down the House Of Black but he doesn’t get in the ring.

Cole Karter is ready for Ricky Stars tonight when Team Taz interrupts. Trash talk is exchanged before tonight’s title match.

Best Friends vs. Jon Moxley/Wheeler Yuta

Orange Cassidy and William Regal are on commentary. Moxley and Beretta start things off with some grappling until Moxley goes for the leg. Yuta comes in to face Chuck and gets shouldered down for an early two as Excalibur goes into a discussion about a trainer from Mexico. Cassidy: “Uh…..sure.” It’s quickly back to Trent to suplex Yuta and forearm him against the ropes. They head outside with Yuta being sent into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Moxley getting the tag to take Trent’s head off, setting up the hammer and anvil elbows. Some stomps to the head rock Trent but Taylor makes the save. Yuta gets crotched on top and the Awful Waffle hits Moxley. Back to back piledrivers get two on Yuta and the Crunchie is good for the same, with Moxley making a save. Everything breaks down and Moxley Figure Fours Trent on the floor. That leaves Yuta to roll Chuck up (with a rather nifty arm trap) for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure if they’re teasing Cassidy vs. Moxley or Yuta but neither is the most interesting. What matters here is that Yuta got to shine a bit, as he already has a major title defense coming up this weekend. Moxley is a star no matter what he does so letting Yuta get the attention here is a good thing. It isn’t like it happens every often.

Video on Jonathan Gresham vs. Claudio Castagnoli at Death Before Dishonor.

Chompy, the Shark Week mascot, is at commentary for some fin pumping.

Here are Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland for a championship celebration, complete with champagne and cake. The fans sing BASK IN HIS GLORY so Swerve throws in a WHO’S HOUSE. After a YOU DESERVE IT and a plug for a rapper in the front row, Lee thanks Swerve to getting them here. Lee says they don’t look down on anyone so if you want a shot, come get one.

It’s time for a toast, but here are Mark Sterling and Tony Nese with A PETITION. The petition is almost complete but Sterling wants the rapper (Kevin Gates) to sign as well. Gates won’t sign, so Sterling says Gates’ music is terrible. That’s good for a shot to the face, plus a cake to the face from Strickland.

The Dark Order tries to be nice to Butcher and the Blade, even giving them matching BUTCH shirts. That earns them a beatdown, with Hangman Page making the save. Page: “You guys all right???” Silver: “No. We’re pretty bad.”

Luchasaurus/Christian Cage vs. Varsity Blonds

Christian starts with Pillman but hands it off to Luchasaurus before doing anything. House is cleaned so Garrison comes in, only to get beaten up as well. The double chokeslam plants the Blonds and Christian comes in to get the pin at 2:00.

Post match Christian gets on Luchasaurus’ shoulders to celebrate but Jungle Boy is back. Luchasaurus looks at Jungle Boy….and then stands beside him. Christian bails through the crowd with Jungle Boy giving chase.

The Gunn Club doesn’t want a match with the Acclaimed, but Austin Gunn will have a rap battle with Max Caster this week on Rampage. The winner gets to set up the match between the teams.

JR comes out.

FTW Title: Cole Karter vs. Ricky Starks

Starks is defending and sends Karter into the corner for some shots to the face. Karter gets a boot up in the corner and hits a high crossbody before knocking Starks outside. We take a break and come back with Karter missing a 450, allowing Starks to hit the spear to retain at 6:11. Not enough shown to rate, but Karter looked fine, for a wrestler with nothing that makes him stand out in any way.

Post match Starks says he’s got something left so let’s have another open challenge.

FTW Title: Danhausen vs. Ricky Starks

Starks is defending….or at least he was going to as he backs off and says we can do this next week. No match.

Athena and Kris Statlander want titles, with Willow Nightingale approving.

Here is FTR for a chat. They aren’t used to this kind of a reaction, but now it’s time to talk about their upcoming match with the Briscoes. On Saturday, it’s 2/3 falls for the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles. FTR respects the Briscoes and what they have done for wrestling, but no one is taking these titles from them.

Harwood talks about a girl with a hole in her heart which could have healed on its own but she might need open heart surgery. Three years went by, and the hole was completely closed. She fought to get better and did it, because that little girl is his daughter. If she can fight that hard, then her daddy has to do the same thing, which is what he’ll do on Saturday. Harwood is going to fight like a girl on Saturday so Top Guys out. To the point with a good story here. That’s all you needed.

Jay Lethal is ready to win the Ring Of Honor TV Title but here is Christopher Daniels to say he’ll fight Lethal on Rampage.

Jade Cargill/Kiera Hogan vs. Athena/Willow Nightingale

Before the match, Stokely Hathaway says Leila Grey can’t compete but Kris Statlander is barred from the ring too. Cargill sidesteps Athena to start and hands it off to Hogan. That’s fine with Nightingale, who runs her over and hits a basement crossbody. Nightingale sends both of them to the floor and hits a running Blockbuster off the apron. Athena dives onto everyone and we take a break.

Back with Nightingale coming in to chop away at Hogan before we get the Cargill vs. Athena showdown. Cargill avoids a dropkick and hits a fall away slam but they both nip up. Some knees to the chest drop Cargill and Athena apron bombs Hogan. A Hathaway distraction lets Cargill send Athena into the steps and it’s Jaded to finish Nightingale at 8:26.

Rating: C. Again, at some point, you might want to make SOMEONE feel like a threat to Cargill because what they’re doing with Athena isn’t working. Cargill has shrugged off almost everything Athena has done and left her laying time after time. Why would I want to see a title match between them?

Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm are ready for Rosa’s title defense next week. Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter come in to laugh at them like the villains that they are.

Here is what is coming on future shows.

Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Jericho

There is barbed wire everywhere, including around the microphone. The Jericho Appreciation Society is in a shark cage and Ruby Soho is in charge of the key and the cage’s lift. Jericho is the Painmaker, complete with spike jacket and barbed wire bat. Kingston grabs the mic and spikes Jericho in the head with it, allowing Jericho to blade on camera.

They fight to the floor with Jericho going into various things, followed by a drop onto the barbed wire ropes back inside. A barbed wire chair to the back has Jericho in trouble but he backdrops Kingston onto a barbed wire board as we take a break. Back with Jericho getting crotched on the barbed wire but Jericho knocks him onto a barbed wire table. Cue Tay Conti to go after Soho but Anna Jay makes the save. Then Jay sends Soho into the post and the shark cage is lowered. Conti opens the cage and the Society gets out to beat on Kingston.

Cue Ortiz and company for the save, allowing Kingston to suplex Jericho through a barbed wire board in the corner for two. The Codebreaker cuts Kingston down for two more and some very weak barbed wire chair shots to the knee keep him in trouble. The Lionsault is cut off by Kingston tossing the barbed wire chair into the….well something on a flying Jericho. The spinning backfist gets two so the Stretch Plum, with barbed wire, goes on. Cue Sammy Guevara to break it up and the barbed wire Judas Effect gives Jericho the pin at 13:10.

Rating: C-. I’m sure there will be quite a bit of variance in the takes on this match but how the heck do you rate something like this? It’s one violent stunt after another and doing one barbed wire deal after another stops having any impact after about the fifth one. If this is your thing I completely get it, but I lost interest a few minutes in and never got it back.

Post match Kingston fights back and tries a spinning backfist to Guevara (which misses completely but Guevara falls outside anyway). That leaves Jericho to be thrown onto a barbed wire board to end the show, with Kingston looking mildly annoyed at the loss.

Overall Rating: C. This show was all over the place with a bunch of different things going on and it is a great example of “your mileage may vary”. They were focusing on some AEW feuds, plus a bunch of Ring Of Honor stuff. The show certainly wasn’t bad, but AEW continues to feel like it doesn’t have anything resembling a top story. There are things they’ll focus on, but nothing feels head and shoulders above the rest. That can work for a bit, but it’s getting a little tiresome in recent weeks. Not their best show, but it felt like more about trying to do too much than a drop in quality.

Results
Brodie King b. Darby Allin – Ganso Bomb
Jon Moxley/Wheeler Yuta b. Best Friends – Rollup to Taylor
Christian Cage/Luchasaurus b. Varsity Blonds – Double chokeslam
Ricky Starks b. Cole Karter – Spear
Jade Cargill/Kiera Hogan b. Willow Nightingale/Athena – Jaded to Nightingale
Chris Jericho b. Eddie Kingston – Judas Effect with barbed wire

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: July 13, 2022
Location: Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re on the way to Death Before Dishonor and thankfully the build for that show hasn’t taken everything over like the Forbidden Door stuff did. It’s the first of four Fyter Fest shows and the Tag Team Titles are on the line as the Young Bucks defend against Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee and Team Taz. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Orange Cassidy

Cassidy is challenging, with the Best Friends in his corner (complete with managers’ licenses). They go with the test of strength to start and Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets….which are torn off by Wardlow. Now Wardlow’s straps come down….with Cassidy putting them right back up. The Powerbomb Symphony is broken up and Cassidy snaps off a headscissors but comes up favoring his eye. The referee checks on him, allowing Chuck Taylor to whip out A CHAINSAW.

Believe it or not, that’s enough for an ejection, with Wardlow blocking a quick Orange Punch attempt. The lazy kicks annoy Wardlow and he misses a charge to the floor. Cassidy has to slip out of an apron powerbomb, leaving Wardlow to choke an interfering Danhausen. Back in and an overhead belly to belly sends Cassidy flying as we take a break.

We come back with Cassidy driving him into the corner but Wardlow hits the F10….for two, making Cassidy the first person to ever kick out of it. Another powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana and there’s the Orange Punch. The Beach Break connects for two but another Orange Punch is countered into powerbomb to retain the title at 11:44.

Rating: B-. This was a good example of a match that got a lot better once they dropped the nonsense with the Best Friends (and some with Cassidy). Once you let Cassidy do his thing, you can get a nice match, especially with him fighting from underneath. Wardlow won as he should have, but Cassidy was hardly destroyed.

Respect is shown post match.

Quick look at Pac retaining the All-Atlantic Title at a Rev Pro show in England.

Here is Chris Jericho for a chat. He’s here talking as Chris Jericho the man, not the rock star. Jericho is here to talk about Eddie Kingston, who is such a rotten friend. We hear about how Kingston’s friends are always getting hurt or injured, from Santana and Bryan Danielson to Ruby Soho. Jericho: “You need to take better care of your chicks Eddie.”

Now it’s time for a barbed wire match because Kingston is a mark for Sabu and Terry Funk but how many barbed wire matches has he been in? Jericho had a barbed wire match at 22 and knows how it tastes. Now it’s time for Kingston to face the Painmaker because it’s time for both of them to bleed in the final fight. This was the hard push to the match and while I still roll my eyes at the barbed wire stuff, Jericho sold it well.

Post break, Eddie Kingston gets very close to the camera and promises to make Jericho bleed every drop of his blood. Ruby Soho and Ortiz are behind him and don’t seem overly pleased.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Jon Moxley

Non-title, but a title eliminator match and William regal is on commentary. Moxley works on the arm to start before they trade shoulders. A headlock takeover puts Takeshita down but they’re back up for a double chop off. Moxley runs him over and we hit a rather loose STF. With that broken up they head to the apron, where a German suplex drops Moxley. He’s right back up and knocks Takeshita silly as we take a break.

Back with Moxley stomping away at a bleeding Takeshita. They get back up for a slugout, with Moxley being sent into the corner for a running big boot. A brainbuster gives Takeshita two but his frog splash hits raised knees. They slug it out again until Takeshita snaps off a hurricanrana to send him outside. There’s the big no hands flip dive as Takeshita is holding his arm. Back in and Takeshita’s frog splash connects for two, followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb for the same. The Death Rider is countered into a German suplex to give Takeshita two more but Moxley pulls him into the bulldog choke for the tap at 13:07.

Rating: B+. They beat the heck out of each other here and it was a pretty awesome match, with Moxley having to survive instead of just running over Takeshita. AEW has something with Takeshita if they want to go somewhere with him, as he can hang with anyone and the fans are into him. Find a story with him and go from there.

The House of Black doesn’t think much of Darby Allin and blame him for his problems.

Griff Garrison vs. Luchasaurus

Before the match, Christian Cage talks about how he just doesn’t like the Varsity Blonds, especially when Brian Pillman Jr.’s father was average at best. Christian would be so disappointed to see that his final legacy in wrestling is a failure like his son. As for Garrison, Christian doesn’t like a publicity picture that he put up this week because it makes him look like Jungle Boy. That’s too much for Luchasaurus, who stomps to the ring to start the beating. Luchasaurus drops him hard and a pair of chokeslams set up the Snare Trap variation (now dubbed the Tar Pit) for the tap at 1:34.

Post match Luchasaurus knocks Pillman out and puts him on the table, with Garrison being chokeslammed onto Pillman and through the table (on the second try).

The Jericho Appreciation Society aren’t happy with being in a shark cage next week and want Eddie Kingston’s friends in one of their own. Tony Schiavone is threatened with a comb until Daniel Garcia says Wheeler Yuta is doing a Garcia impression.

All Out is coming to Chicago on September 4.

The Dark Order interrupts Hangman Page, who wants to fight the House of Black. Page goes along with it, despite it not seeming to be his original idea.

Jake Hager vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Castagnoli uppercuts him fast and tries a Neutralizer and swing within the first ten seconds but Hager gets outside. Back in and Castagnoli counters the ankle lock into a 619 for two. A dropkick to the knee sets up a bulldog for two on Hager but he’s back with some body shots to the ribs to put Castagnoli down. There’s a beal to send Castagnoli flying, setting up the Vader bomb for two more.

We take a break and come back with Castagnoli hitting the springboard uppercut for a double knockdown. They fight to the floor with Castagnoli hitting a running uppercut against the barricade. Back in and it’s the giant swing into a Sharpshooter, with Hager calling out the rest of the Society. The distraction lets Hager plant Castagnoli down for two but he tries another Sharpshooter. That’s broken up by another Society distraction so Castagnoli goes with a pop up uppercut. The Riccola Bomb finishes Hager at 11:44.

Rating: B-. This was looking like a squash to start but they took their time and let Hager get in some offense of his own. That being said, Castagnoli never felt like he was in any trouble and won with his signature stuff in the end. Castagnoli continues to look like a monster around here and that should work well once he finally gets into a serious feud.

Hook won’t comment when asked about a possible title shot.

We look at Thunder Rosa getting pinned in Japan.

Thunder Rosa is ready to have a rematch here in America for the title. She and Toni Storm are ready to face anyone so here are Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter to say they’re back. This place is a natural disaster without them (Baker: “Get it?”) but luckily they know how to deal with these things. Rebel pops in with a sandbag, which Baker hands to Tony and says enjoy carrying it for a month.

Serena Deeb vs. Anna Jay

Jay is the home state girl. Deeb takes her to the mat to start and we hit the headlock, followed by a shoulder to put her down. Jay gets in a shot of her own and hits a running Blockbuster. Something like a reverse Rings of Saturn has Jay in trouble until she stacks Deeb up for two. The Queenslayer is broken up with a throat snap across the top and a fisherman’s neckbreaker gives Deeb two.

We take a break and come back with Jay firing off some running elbows and a northern lights suplex for two. The Queenslayer is broken up again and Deeb rolls her up for two more. They don’t quite get a backdrop into a rollup right so Deeb grabs a weird hold as she looks like she’s setting up a Code Red but sits down on Jay’s neck and cranks on the arms. That’s broken up and Jay misses a charge, only to come back with the Queenslayer again. With that escaped as well, the Serenity Lock makes Jay tap at 8:22.

Rating: C+. Deeb was doing a lot of the work here but they did a good job of keeping Jay looking strong. She isn’t great at what she does yet but she here a few things that she can do well and it worked here. Nice match and that’s all it needed to be, even with Jay having to tap in front of her hometown(ish) crowd.

Post match Deeb keeps the hold on until Mercedes Martinez runs in for the save.

Jade Cargill and the Baddies aren’t happy with Athena and Kris Statlander, but they also want Leila Grey to know her place.

We run down the Death Before Dishonor card.

Jay Lethal comes to the commentary desk and promises to win the Ring Of Honor TV Title.

Anna Jay is getting her knee looked at when Tay Conti comes in to mock her for not being on TV very much.

Tag Team Titles: Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland vs. Team Taz vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending and Matt tries a superkick on Lee, who just stares at him. Nick comes in instead and trades flippy counters with Strickland until they both go outside. Stereo dropkick attempts don’t go anywhere so they’re back inside with Nick armdragging him into an armbar. Starks comes in and walks the top rope, as does Nick.

Both of those are broken up with a double crotching, leaving Matt to try to northern lights suplex Hobbs and Lee at the same time. Everything breaks down and Lee kind of suplexes Matt and Starks at the same time (this works a bit better). Starks tags himself back in to dropkick Swerve and we take a break.

Back with Lee coming in off the hot tag and cleaning house, but Nick slips out of the powerbomb. Hobbs and Lee hit stereo crossbodies before Hobbs goes up. Lee shoves him off and hits a heck of a frog splash for two with a save being needed. Team Taz is back in with Nick being put in an electric chair, allowing Starks to walk the rope for a cutter. Swerve tags himself back in and clotheslines Matt but it’s time for the Bucks to clean house with superkicks.

The referee gets bumped and the Bucks grab the titles, only to have Swerve take one away. Swerve can’t bring himself to use it though and it’s the Bucks cleaning house with the titles. A belt shot doesn’t pin Swerve so it’s the BTE Trigger, with Starks making the save. Lee breaks up the Meltzer Driver and it’s a powerbomb/Swerve Stomp combination for two, with Team Taz making the save.

Hobbs starts spinebustering people including a bunch of people being stacked onto Lee. Starks spears Swerve for two with Nick making his own save. Matt loses a shoe so Lee knocks the Bucks outside with it. Hobbs gets dumped to the floor and Swerve uses Lee’s chest as a launchpad for a moonsault. Back in and the Swerve Stomp crushes Starks for the pin and the titles at 13:04.

Rating: A-. And I had a long post thought out about how the Bucks never lose and the near falls were all a waste of time before the titles were retained. This was all action once it got going and that is a very fun way to spend a good chunk of the night. The surprise alone gave this an upgrade as I was actually shocked by the ending. Well done here and an awesome match.

Overall Rating: A-. Nothing bad, an actual surprise on the ending, and more than a few awesome matches. This was a great show that just kept going with the good stuff. It set up some things for the next few shows and if those are anything close to this, we should be in for a great few weeks. Pretty great show here and worth a look up and down the card.

Results
Wardlow b. Orange Cassidy – Powerbomb
Jon Moxley b. Konosuke Takeshita – Bulldog choke
Luchasaurus b. Griff Garrison – Tar Pit
Claudio Castagnoli b. Jake Hager – Riccola Bomb
Serena Deeb b. Anna Jay – Serenity Lock
Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland b. Young Bucks and Team Taz – Swerve Stomp to Starks

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

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Dynamite
Date: July 6, 2022
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Taz, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re back to the normal show this week and that could mean more than a few things. In this case it means that we are going to be seeing Jon Moxley defend the Interim World Title against Brody King, which should be a heck of a fight. Other than that, it is time to build towards Ring Of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor later this month. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Scorpio Sky

Wardlow is challenging in a street fight. Sky strikes away at the leg to start and gets dropped with a hard shoulder. A low blow cuts off Wardlow but he’s fine enough to toss Sky around a few times. They head outside where an American Top Team distraction lets Sky send Wardlow into the steps.

We take a break and come back with Wardlow knocking him off the top and hitting a Swanton. The Powerbomb Symphony is loaded up but Wardlow clears them out without much effort. The distraction lets Sky get in a belt shot for two and Wardlow is back with the spinebuster. A three movement Powerbomb Symphony gives Wardlow the pin and the title at 8:29.

Rating: C. Not exactly a great match and I’m not sure on the idea of having Sky lose again here, but Wardlow needed to win something already and they pulled that off here. Wardlow shrugged off whatever was thrown at him here and he won the title like a monster should. Good enough match and it did what it needed to do.

Confetti falls and Wardlow gets to celebrate.

Jon Moxley is tired of people trying to make their name off of him and tonight, Brody King is going to do it again. You don’t know what kind of a monster you have with him but Moxley knows what he is facing tonight in King.

Here are Christian Cage and Luchasaurus for a chat. Christian has been asked what is going on for a few weeks now and why Luchasaurus has sided with him. Before he can say anything, here is Matt Hardy to interrupt. Matt says he and Jungle Boy have gotten close in recent weeks and Jungle Boy didn’t deserve what Christian did to him.

Christian: “Matt, you’re starting to make your brother sound like the sober one.” Matt talks about regretting the time he spent manipulating people and maybe the last month has been karma coming to get him. Christian calls Matt out for being delusional and for riding Jeff’s coattails for one more run. The brawl is on with Luchasaurus leaving Matt laying, including a chokeslam through the ringside table. I could have gone without the Jeff references but this was fine enough.

Video on Blood & Guts from last week. The Jericho Appreciation Society promises it is not over.

Jake Hager yells at Claudio Castagnoli for never being a World Champion. Castagnoli talks about respect and promises to earn it next week.

Butcher and the Blade vs. Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee

Bunny is here with the villains. Lee headbutts Butcher down to start so we’ll try Strickland vs. Blade instead. That doesn’t go so well for Strickland to start but he knocks Blade down and hands it back to Lee for a shot of his own. Blade jawbreaks his way to freedom but gets knocked outside. Bunny offers a distraction to cut off the dive though and Butcher gets in a cheap shot to take over as we take a break.

Back with Lee getting to clean house as everything breaks down. A lariat/enziguri combination drops Butcher but Blade pulls Swerve in the way of Lee. Butcher hits Lee with a Stunner and Butcher runs him over, allowing Butcher to toss Lee into Blade’s knee. A running knee gets a VERY close two on Swerve with Lee making a (maybe late) save. Back up and Swerve In Our Glory finishes Blade at 9:38.

Rating: C+. I’m not wild on the continued tease of Swerve and Lee breaking up, especially when they haven’t been around long in the first place, but at least they won the match in the end. Butcher and Blade almost feel like a relic from the past but they are still good enough as a team to make a match like this work. Just either split Swerve and Lee or let them stay together and stop with the teases if it isn’t happening.

Post match Team Taz comes out to yell at Swerve and Lee, with Ricky Starks losing his mind over what sounds like a challenge. Cue the Young Bucks to cut them off, though they don’t have to apologize for anything because they started this company. The Bucks brag about the tag division, including what we saw at Double Or Nothing, which was 4.5 stars. Granted that’s an off night for the Bucks, but they need to keep things going. The solution to that: a triple threat match next week at Fyter Fest. Fans: “FTR!” Nick: “We’re better than them and you know it.” The match seems to be on.

Malakai Black says his House’s violence is by design and Jon Moxley doesn’t know what he is in for.

Here is Eddie Kingston for a chat. He congratulates Wardlow on winning the title and everyone who won Blood & Guts last week. The only person he doesn’t like is Chris Jericho, who made him a liar last week. Kingston didn’t get to taste his blood…but Jericho cuts him off on the screen. Jericho asks if Kingston wants to get nuts and we see the Jericho Appreciation Society slamming Ruby Soho’s hand in a car (granted it wasn’t in the car and they more or less had to tell her to get it slammed in the door, making it look really bad).

Here is the Dark Order, complete with -1, to say that they aren’t going anywhere. They’re here to stay because Dark Order is forever but here is QT Marshall to interrupt. Marshall doesn’t think much of the team and -1 in particular, so threats are made. Cue Hangman Page to send Marshall into the ring and the big beatdown is on. -1 teases beating Marshall but says he’ll wait until he’s 18. This could have, and probably should have, been a post show segment.

Rush vs. Penta Obscuro

Andrade, Jose, Fenix and Alex Abrahantes are here too. They go right at it to start with Rush getting the better of things by running Obscuro over. The fight heads to the floor, where the Alex Abrahantes and Jose get in a fight of their own and we take a break. Back with Rush hitting a powerslam for two but Penta grabs a Backstabber for the same.

They slug it out until Rush knocks him into the corner and hits a top rope dropkick for two. Penta is back up with a kick to the face and the Fear Factor gets two, with Andrade putting Rush’s foot on the rope. The distraction lets Rush get in a low blow and rip off Penta’s mask (of course) for the pin at 11:04.

Rating: C+. Good brawl here, though I am completely over that rip off the mask ending. It has been done so many times with both of the Lucha Bros that it feels like something they have to do instead of something special. These two can work the hard hitting style well and they did here, though Rush is still only so interesting.

Jay Lethal and company are happy with the upcoming ROH TV Title shot at Death Before Dishonor. Lethal isn’t taking Joe lightly, but he is taking Joe’s title. Good line.

Mark Sterling is trying to get the Best Friends to sign a petition to get rid of Swerve Strickland. Orange Cassidy wants his lawyer present and that’s….Danhausen? Sterling wants Tony Nese vs. Cassidy on Rampage so they can make a lot of money. but Cassidy isn’t sure. Danhausen to Cassidy: “How about you vs. his client on Rampage? We’ll make a lot of money.” Cassidy is in. Funny stuff, especially Danhausen shouting various legal terms and no one paying attention to him.

Ruffin It/Fuego del Sol vs. Gunn Club/Acclaimed

The Club cuts off Caster’s rap and tensions are high. Fuego takes Colten down to start but it’s Bear Bronson coming in for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Caster hits the Mic Drop, but Austin tags himself in and steals the pin at 2:14. This story is oddly growing on me.

Post match the Club and Acclaimed get into it but Billy Gunn comes in the ring…and turns on the Acclaimed, leaving both of them laying. So there’s the Acclaimed’s face turn.

Miro is not happy with Malakai Black.

Thunder Rosa/Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir/Nyla Rose

Rosa takes Shafir into the corner to start and it’s a double suplex for two. A hip attack keeps Shafir in trouble as the dominance is on to start. Rose gets in a cheap shot though and a fireman’s carry slam drops Storm as we take a break. Back with Storm fighting out of the corner and handing it back to Rosa to clean house. The running dropkick against the ropes staggers Rosa but she’s back up with a Rock Bottom. Everything breaks down and the hip attack hits Shafir, setting up a spike fire thunder driver to pin Shafir at 9:07.

Rating: C. Calling Rosa and Storm Thunderstorm is a funny way to go, though at first I thought it was AEW’s latest gimmick match. Anyway, this is a fine way to set up what should be Rosa vs. Storm for the title down the line, though the less Shafir we see on TV the better. It isn’t working with her, but she’s here pretty frequently anyway for whatever reason.

Stokely Hathaway recommends Leila Grey as the newest Baddie. Jade Cargill says he better be right.

Daniel Garcia is ready to take the Ring Of Honor Pure Title from Wheeler Yuta at Death Before Dishonor.

FTR wants the Briscoes at Death Before Dishonor, one more time.

Interim AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Brody King

King is challenging and William Regal is on commentary. They shove each other around to start and get in each others’ faces to yell a lot. King knocks him outside and sends Moxley into various things to take over. Back in and Moxley gets in a few shots to the knee to take over but gets dropped again as we take a break.

Back with King missing a Cannonball in the corner so Moxley puts him on top and rakes the back for some pain. King blasts him with a clothesline and hits a piledriver for two before grabbing the sleeper in the corner. With that broken up due to being in the ropes, Moxley grabs a Paradigm Shift. The hammer and anvil elbows keep King in trouble, setting up the bulldog choke to finish him off (ala how Moxley beat Brodie Lee) at 11:14.

Rating: B-. They had a good fight here, even though it was Moxley defending against Moxley’s Designated Victim #1. There was no reason to believe that King was going to take the title here, but in this case that worked out well. Moxley gets a win over someone who looks impressive and King doesn’t lose anything from a loss to the champ. Completely logical choices.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t their strongest effort as everything seemed a bit off. Maybe it was a post-holiday hangover or something but it just didn’t quite click. They have some time before All Out and you can probably guess the top of the card from here, but focusing on it would be nice. Certainly not a bad show, but Dynamite has a pretty high bar and this was beneath their usual.

Results
Wardlow b. Scorpio Sky – Powerbomb Symphony
Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland b. Butcher and Blade – Swerve In Our Glory to Blade
Rush b. Penta Obscuro – Small package
Gunn Club/Acclaimed b. Fuego del Sol/Ruffin It – Mic Drop to Bear Bronson
Thunder Rosa/Toni Storm b. Marina Shafir/Nyla Rose – Spike fire thunder driver to Shafir
Jon Moxley b. Brody King – Bulldog choke

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

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

AND

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