Forbidden Door
Date: June 26, 2022
Location: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Kevin Kelly

It’s a special show as we have a host of international guest stars from New Japan coming in for a bunch of big time matches. The main event is for the Interim AEW World Title as CM Punk being stripped of the title was off the table. Other than that, we have a series of title matches which should make for a great show. Let’s get to it.

Buy-In: Hirooki Goto/Yoshi-Hashi vs. QT Marshall/Aaron Solo

Solo and Hashi start things off with Hashi working on a headlock. A running shoulder drops Solo again so it’s off to Marshall vs. Goto, with the latter knocking Marshall around without much trouble. Solo comes back in and cheap shots Hashi though, allowing Marshall to get in a cheap shot on Goto. That lasts all of a few seconds before the big beatdown is on to put Solo back in trouble. Everything breaks down and Marshall’s cartwheel tumbling dive drops Goto and Hashi.

Back in and Goto shrugs off the beating and hits a suplex, followed by a running clothesline to Marshall. The hot tag brings in Hashi to clean house, including a Blockbuster for two on Marshall. Everything breaks down and Marshall grabs a Diamond Cutter for two, with Goto having to make the save. A 450 misses for Marshall and Solo can’t hit his top rope double stomp, allowing the tag back to Goto. The superkick into the fireman’s carry backbreaker sets up a GTR/powerbomb combination to finish Solo at 8:53.

Rating: C+. It was energetic but this went a bit longer than it needed to. Marshall is a good pesky heel but it is a little hard to buy the Factory hanging in there this long. Goto is still a big enough star though and the right guys won in the end. For a warmup match, this did about all you could need it to pull off.

Buy-In: Lance Archer vs. Nick Comoroto

Archer rocks him to start but Comoroto picks him up for a gorilla press. That doesn’t work as Archer slips out and hits a big boot, only to be knocked outside and into the barricade. Comoroto’s collection of forearms just wake Archer up so Comoroto punches him back down. Back up and they slug it out until Archer takes over and hits the rope walk moonsault for two. Comoroto hits a powerslam for two of his own but Archer catches him on top. The Blackout finishes Comoroto at 6:05.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure I get the idea of commentary talking about Archer being in a big role at the G1 Climax tournament and then having him go 50/50 with a low level guy like Comoroto. This didn’t really make me think much of Archer and I’m not sure what the benefits was of adding this in. They didn’t pull an upset, but this didn’t do much for anyone.

Buy-In: Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee vs. El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemaru

The fans sing to Lee as he starts with Kanemaru, who doesn’t like said singing. Lee cranks on the arm and sends him into the corner, meaning it’s off to Desperado vs. Swerve. A drop down from Swerve is countered into a quickly broken Brock Lock and Desperado is sent outside. That’s fine with Desperado, who grabs the hold again on the floor.

Back in and Lee comes in again, with Swerve accidentally kicking him in the knee. The leg is cranked back and it’s a DDT for two on Lee. Desperado comes back in for more stomping but Lee kicks him away and brings Swerve back in. A brainbuster gets two on Desperado but he trades running elbows with Swerve. Lee tries to come back in, only to have Desperado kick the rope to keep him on the floor.

Swerve wins a strike off and hits a backbreaker, setting up the rolling Downward Spiral. Lee comes back in and, along with Swerve, gets taken down into stereo leglocks. With those broken up, Kanemaru loads up his whiskey and spits it in Lee’s face. The ensuing rollup gets two but Swerve is back up with a double stomp to Kanemaru. The Big Bang Catastrophe finishes for Lee at 12:03.

Rating: C+. Pretty nice match here, though I could go for Lee and Swerve either splitting up or being a team rather than teasing it for months on end. That is something AEW tends to do far too often and I hope they don’t try it again here. They work well together, but the will they/won’t they stuff is kind of played out.

Post match Team Taz pops up in a sky box to make basketball references and call Lee a broke Phillip Banks. The challenge seems to be thrown out.

Buy-In: DKC/Kevin Knight/Alex Coughlin/Yuya Uemura vs. Max Caster/Gunn Club

After the Acclaimed’s entrance, here is Danhausen with a customized entrance and theme song for the Gunn Club. That sends Austin and Colten chasing after him, leaving Billy and Caster to get beaten up. We settle down to Coughlin cleaning house and Caster getting double teamed to put him in trouble. Billy gets suckered in but Caster fights out of the corner anyway, only to get knocked back down. DKC drops a chop for two but Caster fights out of the corner (again) and hands it off to Billy to clean house. The Fameasser sets up the Mic Drop for the fast pin on DKC at 5:35. Austin and Colten were never even at ringside.

Rating: C. Kind of a weird match here as while the New Japan guys are mostly Young Lions, would it be that big of a stretch for them to give the Gunn Club some trouble? Turning it into a handicap match with Gunn and Caster winning doesn’t exactly make the New Japan guys look great, especially with it being so short. This is one of the matches that could have been dropped without missing much.

The opening video looks at the companies colliding.

No Jim Ross for the show, which might be for the best.

Eddie Kingston/Shota Umino/Wheeler Yuta vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Minoru Suzuki

The winning team gets an advantage in Blood & Guts on Wednesday (which has nothing to do with Suzuki and Umino). Yuta wastes no time in rolling Jericho with some German suplexes and the Crossface goes on. Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s Guevara getting in some shots to Umino to take over. That doesn’t last long as Kingston comes in to face Jericho, who hands it back to Suzuki.

Kingston takes the straps straight down and the fight is on, with Kingston’s chops having little effect. Suzuki drops him with a single forearm so it’s back to Jericho. That’s fine with Kingston, who chops away in the corner and gets in a shot on Guevara for a bonus. Suzuki armbars Kingston over the arm to put him back in trouble, setting up the penalty kick for two. Everything breaks down and the triple submissions have Kingston and company in trouble again.

With that out of the way, Kingston suplexes Sammy out of the air and sweeps the leg out, allowing the tag off to Umino to clean house. Umino sends Jericho outside for a flip dive but Sammy hits a top rope shooting star onto the floor. Kingston adds a dive but Suzuki loads up his own…and of course he isn’t doing that.

Back in and Yuta gets to come in and strike away, setting up a cradle for two on Guevara. Kingston’s backdrop driver sets up the Stretch Plum until Suzuki breaks it up. The spinning backfist drops Suzuki but Jericho German suplexes Kingston. We hit the parade of secondary finishers until everyone is down. The Codebreaker drops Umino but he catches Jericho on top with a super powerslam.

Suzuki makes the save and Guevara hits a GTH on Yuta on the floor. Jericho’s Lionsault is broken up by Kingston so Umino can get two but Tay Conti gets in a baseball bat shot to Umino. The Judas Effect misses though and a tornado DDT into a brainbuster gives Umino two. Jericho has to be saved from the Walls and Suzuki piledrives Kingston. The Judas Effect finishes Umino at 18:45.

Rating: B. This got going rather well and the action was very good, though it did run a few minutes longer than it needed to. Umino being in there all but guaranteed he was taking the fall but he did showcase himself here. Heck of an opener and it got the needed goal so there isn’t much to complain about with this one.

We recap the Tag Team Title match, with the United Empire’s IWGP Tag Team Titles and FTR’s Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles on the line. They all want to win for the gold and honor.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles/IWGP Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. United Empire vs. Roppongi Vice

That would be Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood vs. Great O’Khan/Jeff Cobb vs. Trent Barretta/Rocky Romero, Vice is the only challengers and it’s Harwood headlocking Trent to start. That’s reversed into a headscissors and we get an early standoff. Cobb comes in and shrugs off Harwood’s chop so Romero tags himself in, much to Cobb’s annoyance. Harwood fights back but seems to have hurt his shoulder and drops to the floor after handing it off to Wheeler.

The Forever Clotheslines have Wheeler in trouble and Harwood is taken to the back. O’Khan sits on Wheeler’s head in the corner and Cobb adds a swinging suplex to send him into the corner. Wheeler fights out and tries a tag but realizes Harwood isn’t there. Instead he goes with Trent to clean house, but Cobb blocks a tornado DDT. Everything breaks down and the fight heads to the floor, with Trent hitting a running knee off the apron to drop Cobb.

We settle back down to Wheeler chopping his way out of trouble against the Empire. That doesn’t last long as O’Khan chops him down….and Harwood is back, with his shoulder taped up. Harwood comes back in to clean house, including some rolling German suplexes to Cobb. Trent helps Harwood with a double superplex but Wheeler tags himself in to add a top rope splash for two. O’Khan gets to take over on Wheeler in the corner, only to have Romero help on a spike piledriver.

Cobb is back up with a powerbomb to Romero and we hit a parade of knockdowns. The claw slam into a German suplex from Cobb gets two on Trent, who kicks out without any help. FTR gets taken out on the floor and it’s a spike Strong Zero for two on Cobb, with Wheeler diving in for the save. Romero and Harwood trade rollups until an enziguri staggers Harwood. Not that it matters as the Big Rig gives FTR the pin and the IWGP Tag Team Titles at 16:16.

Rating: B. There was some serious relief when Harwood came back out, even if he still might be injured. FTR winning was the right call as it sets up the big winner take all match against the Young Bucks at All Out. The action was there throughout the match and it was a lot of fun, which shouldn’t be a surprise. I don’t know how any team can be better than FTR right now, because dang they are on the roll of a lifetime.

Juice Robinson and Jay White don’t think much of their competition and promise to win.

All-Atlantic Title: Pac vs. Miro vs. Malakai Black vs. Clark Connors

For the inaugural title. It’s a brawl to start (as you might have expected) with Connors knocking Miro to the floor (which you might not have expected), leaving Black to knock Miro into the corner. Miro comes back in to knock Black down, only to have Black come back with the springboard moonsault. Connors comes back in for a kneebar but Miro is back in to clean house. Miro runs Connors down and slams him for two before Black and Miro stomp Pac down.

Black doesn’t like anyone else getting to stomp Pac though and yells at Miro, setting up the required forearm off. With Black knocked to the floor, Pac superkicks Miro and tosses Connors outside as well. There’s the big flip dive to Black, followed by a shotgun dropkick to Miro. Connors comes back in with the German suplexes until Miro knocks him down. Black loads up a table against the barricade and gets in a fight with Miro on the floor.

Connors spears Miro through the table and powerbombs Pac for two back inside, as the fans get behind Connors for a change. Miro is back up though and Game Overs Pac until Black uses the mist to break it up. That means a Black Mass to Miro and a cross armbreaker on Connors, but Pac’s 450 makes the save. The Brutalizer to Connors gives Pac the tap and the title at 15:04.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but the ending worked well, with Pac coming in for the save and winning the title. It’s nice to see Pac winning a title for a change, as he hasn’t done much in the way of championships in his career. Connors showcased himself too and has a nice future, but he was in over his head here. Black and Miro need a win, but that mist could be the start of something between them.

Dudes With Attitude vs. Bullet Club

That would be Sting/Darby Allin/Shingo Takagi vs. the Young Bucks/El Phantasmo. And there’s no Sting, though Hikuleo is here with the Club. Hold on again though as we look at the catwalk above the arena….and then Sting dives off the set to take the Club down. We get inside with the bell ringing and Takagi taking over on Phantasmo as commentary dubs the Dudes Los Stingobernables.

Allin comes in and gets caught in the wrong corner, allowing Phantasmo to flip around a lot and hit his back rake. Then Matt flips around, dances, flips some more, and then rakes Allin’s back too. Phantasmo stands on Allin’s crotch in the corner and Hikuleo pulls Sting off the apron for a whip into the barricade. Allin manages to knock Phantasmo away though and the hot tag brings in Takagi.

A snap suplex gets two on Nick Jackson and a pop up Death Valley Driver drops him again. Now it’s back to Sting for the well received house cleaning but he has to no sell Phantasmo’s nipple twist. Hikuleo’s distraction lets Phantasmo punch Sting low though and it’s a Superkick Party. Sting shrugs off the superkicks, clotheslines them both down, and then goes down. The tag brings Allin back in but the Coffin Drop hits Matt’s raised knees.

Everything breaks down and it’s More Bang For Your Buck on Allin, setting up Phantasmo’s rope walk moonsault onto everyone on the floor. Back in and Sting teases a dive, which is cut off by a triple superkick. The BTE Trigger misses though and Sting hits a double Scorpion Death Drop. Now Sting gets to twist Phantasmo’s nipples (Tony: “This is so much fun! Unless someone is grabbing your nipples!”), allowing Takagi to blast Phantasmo with a clothesline for two. Last Of The Dragon finishes Phantasmo at 12:58.

Rating: B-. This was a lot of fun and the lighthearted match that the show needed after three more serious fights to open the show. Sting and Tony were both having fun here and it wound up being good stuff, with Phantasmo getting to be the showcase star. Takagi continues to be great at just about anything so another nice job with this one.

Chris Jericho and his goons jump Shot Umino, setting up the fireball.

AEW Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Thunder Rosa

Storm is challenging, making me wonder why she didn’t just win the Owen Hart tournament. Feeling out process to start with Rosa taking her to the mat for a quickly broken headscissors. Back up and Rosa cranks on the wrist before getting two off a crucifix. Storm takes her down for a double arm crank but gets small packaged for two more. It’s time for the slug out with screaming until Rosa knocks her against the ropes.

The running dropkick sets up the northern lights suplex for two more, followed by a double stomp to Storm. They head outside with Rosa snapping off another northern lights but the Death Valley Driver on the apron is blocked. Storm hits a DDT onto the floor, followed by the hip attack and another tornado DDT for two. Rosa is right back with a nasty Fire Thunder Driver for two, followed by the Final Reckoning to retain the title at 10:39.

Rating: C. This got better near the end, but it wasn’t exactly a great match at its best. The sudden ending didn’t help things, and it was another loss for Storm, who can’t take many more of them. They also felt rather rushed here and Rosa continues to not exactly blow anyone away with her defenses. Not a great match here, but they didn’t embarrass themselves or anything close to it.

We recap the IWGP United States Title, as champion Will Ospreay is a major star but might have trouble with Orange Cassidy.

Now JR comes out to join commentary.

IWGP United States Title: Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy

Ospreay, with Aussie Open, is defending but doesn’t have the title with him. Cassidy starts fast with the hands in pockets running shoulders so you know he’s serious. Ospreay is knocked outside for a breather so Cassidy can mock Ospreay’s pose (in slow motion of course). You know that’s too far for Ospreay, who runs around the ring and takes Cassidy down, followed by a hard whip into the corner back inside.

That lets Ospreay get in some situps before we hit the abdominal stretch. Ospreay makes sure to put his hand in Cassidy’s pocket so Cassidy hiptosses his way to freedom. There’s the high crossbody but the tornado DDT is blocked. A top rope forearm to the head drops Cassidy but he collapses before the Hidden Blade can launch. Some Kawada Kicks put Cassidy down again, until he powers up to his feet.

Cassidy, with his hand in his pocket, hits his own Kawada kicks but has to avoid the Oscutter. The Stundog Millionaire into the Michinoku Driver gets two and the tornado DDT sends Ospreay to the floor. A springboard flip dive takes out Aussie Open, setting up the top rope DDT for two. Cassidy catches him on top and sends Ospreay face first into the camera (for a wacky visual), allowing Cassidy to….drop down and avoid a double moonsault.

Ospreay is fine enough to try a standing shooting star press but Cassidy gets the knees up, setting up the Beach Break for a close two. The Orange Punch is countered into the Oscutter for two but the Hidden Blade misses. Stormbreaker is countered into a hurricanrana for two more so Ospreay blasts him with a clothesline. The Hidden Blade gets two more, setting up Stormbreaker to retain the title at 16:10.

Rating: B. They did what they should have done here with Cassidy by not having him do a bunch of stupid stuff. Instead, this was the serious match that they should have had and it worked well as a result. I didn’t quite buy the near falls, but I had a good time with the match and it was probably the best Cassidy has looked in a singles match to date.

Post match the big beatdown is on but Katsuyori Shibata comes in for the save and Ospreay has a new challenger. Shibata shows quite a bit of respect to Cassidy.

Zack Sabre Jr. wanted Bryan Danielson but gets a mystery opponent, which doesn’t matter to him.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. ???

It’s Claudio Castagnoli, better known as Cesaro, who is now part of the Blackpool Combat Club and will be in Blood & Guts on Dynamite. Claudio starts fast with the running European uppercut and the Neutralizer gets a very fast two. Sabre goes straight to the floor for a needed breather to cool things off a bit, earning himself a whip into the barricade. Back in and Claudio hits a suplex but Sabre gets in a Disarm-Her to slow things down.

That just ticks Claudio off though and he forearms the heck out of Sabre. A rake of the eyes breaks up the spinning torture rack and Sabre is back on the arm. That’s broken up with the deadlift but they crash over the top and out to the floor. Claudio doesn’t let go though and walks up the steps to powerbomb Sabre back inside (because that’s a thing a human can do).

Back in and Sabre grabs a guillotine but gets taken up top to break it up. That’s fine with Sabre, who pulls him into an octopus hold on top. Claudio reverses into a gutwrench superplex and they’re both down for a bit. The Giant Swing is loaded up but Claudio’s arm gives out. Claudio tries a Sharpshooter instead, which is reversed into a heel hook. That’s broken up but Claudio still can’t get the Sharpshooter. A Pele Kick to the arm sets up a sleeper on Claudio, followed by some hard kicks to the chest. Those just tick Claudio off though and it’s a pop up uppercut into the Riccola Bomb to pin Sabre at 18:23.

Rating: B+. This was the Claudio that fans have been wanting to see, as he got to show the fire and then hit a bunch of his signature/power stuff. Throw in Sabre Jr. being able to do just about anything imaginable to someone’s limbs and this was a fun chess match. Eventually though it was Claudio wrecking him for the win and that is how a debut should have gone.

IWGP World Title: Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White

White is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. After the Big Match Intros, we ring the bell and pause for the fans to cheer a lot. White bails straight to the floor so the other three can fight but Cole winds up out there with him. Cole pitches the alliance but Okada and Page join them on the floor to start the brawl. Page gets double suplexed on the ramp and a neckbreaker drops Okada inside.

Back up and Page whips White into the steps, only to be taken down by Cole. Page fights back again and gets to clean house but Cole superkicks the moonsault out of the air. That means Okada can come back, including the dropkick to knock Cole off the top and out to the floor. The running crossbody over the barricade drops everyone else before they head back inside. Cole’s brainbuster onto the knee gets two on White, who is right back up with the swinging Rock Bottom.

A sleeper suplex drops Cole and White hits another on Okada. Page gets one too but he pops back up with a lariat for the four way knockdown. We get the tag team double forearm off until Cole and White slug it out. Page goes after White but has to deal with Gedo, only to hit the Deadeye. The Buckshot Lariat gets two on White with Okada having to make a save. Page and Okada forearm it out until the Rainmaker misses. A discus lariat drops Okada but Cole breaks up the Buckshot.

The Panama Sunrise is countered into Okada’s White Noise onto the knee but White breaks up the Rainmaker (after the zoom). Cole superkicks Okada for two, earning himself that perfect dropkick. Some more superkicks drop Okada and Page but the Rainmaker misses Cole, as he collapses. Okada gets Sling Bladed, allowing White to pin Cole to retain at 21:04. Something looked wrong there and White was talking to the referee after the match. I don’t know if Cole got hurt or something but that didn’t look right.

Rating: B. That ending didn’t help things as they didn’t get the chance to go to the big climax. What we had instead was a very good match with White escaping again, which is the right call. The lack of a Rainmaker tells me that there was something bad with the ending, so this felt like it was lacking something. The fact that it worked as well as it did is quite the impressive result though, as the talent got to shine.

Interim AEW World Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jon Moxley

For the vacant title. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. A dragon screw legwhip puts Moxley down though and Tanahashi is starting to get the confidence going. That’s broken up as Moxley grabs a quick cutter, setting up the running corner clothesline. The piledriver drops Tanahashi again and Moxley stomps away, setting up a Texas Cloverleaf (a Tanahashi signature). Tanahashi fights out and hits his middle rope flip splash for two of his own.

The Sling Blade is countered into a whip outside though and Moxley puts him through a table. Tanahashi beats the count back in so Moxley kicks away at the chest. The Sling Blade cuts Moxley down for a change and somehow he’s busted open. A dive to the floor drops Moxley again, setting up Twist and Shout back inside. Moxley manages a suplex though and it’s time for the hammer and anvil elbows.

With those broken up, Tanahashi headbutts him down and hits the high crossbody. High Fly Flow connects but Moxley rolls him into the bulldog choke. That’s broken up so Moxley BLASTS HIM with the King Kong Lariat….for one. The Hammer and Anvil elbows set up a rear naked choke but Tanahashi fights up again. Moxley shifts into another bulldog choke, followed by the Death Rider for the pin and the title at 18:14.

Rating: A-. This was a good example of two guys beating the fire out of each other until Tanahashi couldn’t keep going. The blood was a bit too much and felt out of place, but Moxley winning the title makes the most sense. He is a good placeholder until Punk gets back and people will buy him in the role, so this is the right choice after a great match.

Post match respect is shown but Chris Jericho and Daniel Garcia run in for the beatdown. Eddie Kingston runs in, setting off a string of run ins until the Jericho Appreciation Society beats everyone down. Claudio Castagnoli runs in for the save and gets in a Swing. Kingston yells at Claudio (who he has never liked) and leaves so Moxley’s music can play us out.

Overall Rating: A. I don’t think there was any real surprise that this was an instant classic with one great match after another, though it was lacking THAT match that took it to the next level. It helps that it felt more like a New Japan show, as they cut out a bunch of the goofy stuff and focused on the in-ring action. The talent is there to make it work and this was a fantastic show. I didn’t care for the build but the show delivered on all levels, including time, as they shaved off about an hour from Double Or Nothing. Great stuff.

Results
Hirooki Goto/Yoshi-Hashi b. QT Marshall/Aaron Solo – GTR/powerbomb combination to Solo
Lance Archer b. Nick Comoroto – Blackout
Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland b. El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemaru – Big Bang Catastrophe to Kanemaru
Max Caster/Gunn Club b. Yuya Uemura/Alex Coughlin/DKC/Kevin Knight – Mic Drop to DKC
Minoru Suzuki/Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara b. Eddie Kingston/Shota Umino/Wheeler Yuta – Judas Effect to Umino
FTR b. United Empire and Roppongi Vice – Big Rig to Romero
Pac b. Clark Connors, Miro and Malakai Black – Brutalizer to Connors
Dudes With Attitude b. Bullet Club – Last of the Dragon to El Phantasmo
Thunder Rosa b. Toni Storm – Final Reckoning
Will Ospreay b. Orange Cassidy – Hidden Blade
Claudio Castagnoli b. Zack Sabre Jr. – Riccola Bomb
Jay White b. Adam Cole, Kazuchika Okada and Hangman Page – White pinned Cole after he collapsed
Jon Moxley b. Hiroshi Tanahashi – Death Rider

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Rampage
Date: June 24, 2022
Location: UW Panther Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Taz

It’s the go home show for Forbidden Door and I have no idea what that is going to mean here. This week’s Dynamite was a huge push towards the show, including several New Japan stars being added. That could mean more than a few things for this show and I’m curious to see where it going. Now to find out if that is a good thing. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Rey Fenix

After one week of including entrances for the opener, we’re right back to rushing straight to the opening bell. Jose and Alex Abrahantes are here as the seconds. They don’t bother with the feeling out process to start until it’s Fenix hitting a quick springboard hurricanrana to stagger Andrade. A boot in the corner staggers Fenix but he is right back with a kick to the ribs.

Something out of a fireman’s carry is countered into Andrade’s Three Amigos, which Fenix reverses into his own Three Amigos. That’s enough to send Andrade outside so Fenix hits a heck of a flip dive to drop him again (Jericho: “He looked like Wile E. Coyote falling off a cliff!”). Back in and a bridging German suplex gives Fenix two but a springboard something is shoved off the top for a huge crash to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Andrade hitting the Alberto double stomp for two more. Fenix tries a rolling cutter but has to settle for a springboard missile dropkick instead. Now the rolling cutter connects for a slightly delayed two but Fenix’s frog splash hits knees for two. Fenix goes up again and gets kicked off the top, allowing Andrade to take him to the apron. The running knees hit post though and a top rope double stomp to the back crushes Andrade as we take another break.

Back again with Fenix hitting a super reverse Spanish Fly for another delayed two, as Andrade got his foot on the bottom rope. Hold on though as we pause for a look at Fenix’s knee, allowing Andrade to grab the table from Jose. That’s caught so Andrade pokes Fenix in the eye and kicks him in the knee. Fenix knocks him right back to the floor and hits the running suicide flip dive for another double knockdown. As the managers fight in the ring, here is Rush (oh yeah he’s a thing) to kick Fenix low. That’s enough for Andrade to hit El Idolo for the pin at 18:43.

Rating: B. The ending felt a bit flat but they beat the heck out of each other and left it in the ring here. Fenix continues to be able to do one crazy spectacle after another while Andrade can work well with a lot of people. I wasn’t wild on having Rush pop up again but at least it makes sense after what was set up at Double Or Nothing.

Post match Andrade and Rush show of the La Faccion Ingobernable shirts before ripping off Fenix’s mask. Penta Obscuro runs in with a shovel for the save.

Eddie Kingston is ready for Forbidden Door but he also wants to see Chris Jericho bleed at Blood And Guts. Maybe he’ll even have a taste.

Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee are ready for their match with El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemaru at Forbidden Door. Then they can get back to normal, though Lee isn’t sure if they’re ready for that yet.

Mercedes Martinez/Serena Deeb vs. Laynie Luck/Sierra

Deeb puts Sierra in an early abdominal stretch and then chops her down. It’s off to Luck, with Deeb taking her down into an Indian deathlock. A rope is reached so it’s Martinez coming in for a running dropkick in the corner. A double drop across the top rope has Luck in more trouble but Martinez runs into Deeb on the apron. Not that it matters as stereo submissions get the double tap from Sierra and Luck at 3:36.

Rating: C-. Just a squash here with Martinez and Deeb’s issue near the end meaning nothing whatsoever. Deeb vs. Martinez could be interesting down the line, though it will need to be after everything else cleans out a bit more. It should be a good match and that is all you need a lot of the time.

Tully Blanchard brags about his monsters, who I don’t know if we’ve seen since the Ring of Honor show nearly three months ago.

Post break Tully Blanchard interrupts Jonathan Gresham and Lee Moriarty, the latter of whom seems to want a ROH World Title match. Tully Blanchard interferes and says his guys deserve a title shot first. A tag match is made.

Hook vs. DKC

Hook takes him down into a leglock to start but DKC takes him into the corner for some chops. A high crotch suplex drops DKC and the crossface shots set up Redrum to finish at 1:45.

Cash Wheeler is ready for Jeff Cobb tonight and to win the IWGP Tag Team Titles on Sunday. Cobb doesn’t like the lack of respect

Billy Gunn explains to the Gunn Club and Max Caster that they’re on the Forbidden Door Buy-In show. This requires an explanation to his kids that they aren’t going to Tokyo, but rather Chicago.

Jeff Cobb vs. Cash Wheeler

Caprice Coleman is on commentary. They lock up to start and neither can get anywhere, meaning Wheeler grabs a quickly broken headlock. Wheeler bounces off of a shoulder block attempt and there’s the suplex to send him outside. We take a break and come back with Wheeler grabbing a sleeper (not a full nelson Jericho) but getting knocked away again. Cobb blocks a backslide with straight power so Wheeler starts striking away.

That’s enough to knock Cobb outside for a slingshot dive but he runs Wheeler over again. Back in and Cobb’s apron superplex is blocked and Wheeler hits a sunset bomb. The Tour of the Islands is blocked and a doctor bomb is countered into a hurricanrana to give Wheeler two. For some reason Wheeler tries a powerbomb and gets German suplexed for his efforts. The Tour of the Islands gives Cobb the pin at 10;56.

Rating: B-. FTR gets to lose again, which has me wondering what happens to them on Sunday. I would hope that if they lose, at least they don’t take another fall in the process. Both of them can do some great things in the ring, though it starts to mean less if they never win anything to keep them boosted up.

Post match the rest of the United Empire comes in to jump Wheeler but Orange Cassidy, Dax Harwood and Trent make the save. Eddie Kingston runs out and tries to stab Chris Jericho with a pen as the big brawl ends the show (eventually, as the fight goes on for a good while).

Overall Rating: B+. Rather strong show this week, even if it went very heavy with the ROH stuff for a bit of a curve ball. After barely talking about ROH for weeks, waiting another few days to put the focus back on them wouldn’t have been the worst idea. That being said, we had two rather good matches here and they toned down some of the invasion stuff so it wound up being a solid show as a result.

Results
Andrade El Idolo b. Rey Fenix – El Idolo
Mercedes Martinez/Serena Deeb b. Laynie Luck/Sierra – Double submission
Hook b. DKC – Redrum
Jeff Cobb b. Cash Wheeler – Tour of the Islands

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: June 17, 2022
Location: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Chris Jericho

We are less than two weeks away from Forbidden Door and a bunch of matches were added to the card this week on Dynamite. I doubt that we get that much this time, but we do get Jade Cargill vs. Willow Nightingale. That should be a fun match and odds are we get something else on the same level. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Dante Martin

William Regal is on commentary and calls Jericho a Trout Slapper (I think). Moxley powers him into the corner to start as we talk about Zack Sabre Jr.’s comments about Bryan Danielson. They trade wristlocks into a headlock takeover from Moxley but Martin is back up with a dropkick out to the floor. Moxley runs him over again though and we take a break.

Back with Moxley hitting the running knee to the face and a butterfly superplex for two. Martin fights up and hits a quick ax handle, setting up a high crossbody for two of his own. The Nose Dive is countered into a rear naked choke but Martin climbs the corner for the escape. A super Sliced Bread gets two on Moxley and they strike it out (as required) until Moxley hits the running cutter. The King Kong lariat gives Moxley two and the hammer and anvil elbows rock Martin even more. Some kind of a choke with an arm trap and a bodyscissors makes Martin tap at 13:58.

Rating: B-. Martin continues to do well with the high flying stuff and they are building him up as the next one to win a big match. I’m not sure when that is going to happen, but it is going to be a heck of a moment when they actually go there. Moxley wasn’t going to lose on the way to the title match at Forbidden Door, but they had a good one on the way there.

Keith Lee isn’t happy with Swerve Strickland eliminating him from last week’s Casino Battle Royal but Swerve says it was a singles match instead of a tag match. Team Taz comes in to say Lee and Strickland still haven’t beaten them. Lee is rather silent.

The House of Black and Death Triangle are still ready to fight, this time in the All Atlantic Title tournament.

Bear Country/Leon Ruff vs. Max Caster/Gunn Club

Caster and the Club jump them to start and we have the required three way scissor party. Austin stomps Ruff down in the corner and it’s the Quick Draw into the Mic Drop for the pin at 1:13. Bear Country disappeared about halfway through this.

Hook isn’t worried about facing a New Japan top prospect but Danhausen comes in to swear their destruction. Hook says he has this.

TBS Title: Willow Nightingale vs. Jade Cargill

Cargill, with Kiera Hogan, is defending and Stokely Hathaway is on commentary. Cargill throws her down to start but Nightingale cartwheels her way out of a whip into the corner. There’s an enziguri to Cargill, who catches her in a fireman’s carry for some elbows to the face. What looked like a Pounce is countered by Cargill’s kick to the face, allowing Hogan to get in some stomps in the corner. Back with Nightingale knocking her into the corner for the almost required Cannonball. Cargill isn’t having that and faceplants her, setting up Jaded to retain at 6:04. Not enough shown to rate but it was a Cargill match.

Post match the beatdown is on but Athena pops in for a Fall From Grace to Hogan. Cargill gets in a kick to the face but Kris Statlander runs in for the save.

Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt brag about their success.

Forbidden Door rundown.

Bobby Fish and Darby Allin are ready for the main event after Fish and Kyle O’Reilly injured Sting a few weeks ago.

Bobby Fish vs. Darby Allin

Allin is so mad about Sting that he stops to pose on the ropes, allowing Fish to take him down. They head outside with Allin being driven into the apron, followed by a running charge through Allin. Fish hits the barricade though, allowing Allin to get back in and hit a dive. The running flip dive knocks Fish into the barricade as well but he’s right back on Allin’s legs to take over. A nasty dragon screw legwhip takes Allin down again and Fish takes him down again as we take a break.

Back with Allin getting in a shot of his own for a breather, setting up Code Red for two. Allin knocks him outside for a Coffin Drop to a standing Fish for the double knockdown. Fish is back up with a spear through the ropes and out to the floor again. They fight on the apron with Fish snapping off a German suplex, with Jericho begging Fish to end this. The super Falcon Arrow gives Fish two so he grabs the knee bar. Allin is fine with that, and reverses into the Last Supper for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: C+. They told a good story here with Allin being all about revenge and trying to crash into Fish as much as often while Fish kept pulling him in with the technical stuff. To cap it off, Allin wound up winning when Fish got a bit too violent and got pinned with a wrestling move. Good match, even if it might not have been the best revenge win.

Post match Fish hammers on Allin again as Kyle O’Reilly comes out with a chair. Cue the returning Sting for the save, allowing Allin to Pillmanize Fish’s ankle. Sting is pleased to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty solid week here as they kept the show moving and had enough good action throughout. I liked the Sting return in the end, though ReDRagon vs. Sting/Allin doesn’t sound like a match that should be overly competitive but it will be. This was more about the AEW side of things rather than Forbidden Door and that is nice to see for a change.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Dante Martin – Bodyscissors choke
Max Caster/Gunn Club b. Bear Country/Leon Ruff – Mic Drop to Ruff
Jade Cargill b. Willow Nightingale – Jaded
Darby Allin b. Bobby Fish – Last Supper

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: June 1, 2022
Location: Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re done with Double Or Nothing and for once that means that we are going to be building towards another show. This time it’s Forbidden Door, which is going to includes a bunch of special matches between AEW and New Japan. Odds are that includes new World Champion CM Punk so let’s get to it.

Here is Double Or Nothing if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

CM Punk/FTR vs. Gunn Club/Max Caster

Caster’s rap promises to make FTR pay like Amber Heard and that FTR is only here because of Punk’s coattails. Then the Club gets the city wrong twice before Bowens gets to do it right. Harwood takes Austin into the corner to start and hands it off to Wheeler. Austin powers him into another corner so Colton can come in, only to get backdropped. Punk comes in and drops a top rope ax handle onto the arm, much to the fans’ delight.

Caster manages to send him into the corner but Harwood is right back with a powerslam. A double elbow gives Austin two on Harwood though and Billy Gunn adds a right hand for the same. Harwood fights over for the tag but Punk and Wheeler get pulled off the apron in a good heel move.

The double flapjack gets two on Harwood and we take a break. Back with Austin trying a Sharpshooter (giving us a hilarious closeup of Punk’s eyes bugging out) but Harwood fights out and brings in Punk to clean house (after slipping on the springboard clothesline). Wheeler gets dropped over the top onto Caster and Colten, leaving Punk to top a top rope elbow on Austin. Billy’s distraction doesn’t work as Punk powerbombs Austin into him. The GTS into the Big Rig finishes Austin at 11:45.

Rating: B-. I don’t remember Punk and FTR teaming together before but I’m not at all surprised that they work well together. They seem to have a similar philosophy about wrestling and that is going to make for some good matches. At the same time, very nice work from the Gunn Club and Caster, who were put in a pretty high level spot and held their own throughout.

Post match Punk says he doesn’t do drugs but this must be what it feels like. After all of those miles, he still has a lot to learn. He has made mistakes but those are learning moments. Now all you can do is call him the champ. Dax Harwood talks about what all of this means to him, because being Ring Of Honor Tag Team Champion is very important. You don’t come out here and attack his best friend, even if you’re from another company. Punk talks about New Japan Pro Wrestling and wants to know who he has at Forbidden Door. Cue Hiroshi Tanahashi and I think we have a main event.

Here is MJF for a chat. Actually make that Max Friedman, who says there are some executives here and the boss wouldn’t want anything bad to happen. The boss has been wanting to sit down with MJF for a long time now but it’s too little too late. When this company started, it was all friends wrestling but he is out there expected to hit grand slam after grand slam. He has to be perfect though, because he is the 26 year old prodigy.

MJF hears clapping and booing, which he finds interesting because they were the same people calling him unprofessional over the weekend. There are people in the back who want his spot and they can have it because he doesn’t want to be here anymore. The fans are the problem because they are a bunch of internet marks.

MJF isn’t going to pretend to watch New Japan or chase star ratings and drop people on their head. He is that great because he makes you feel but people take him for granted. It isn’t just them, but the big man in the back too. Do you know who the second biggest minute for minute draw is?

It’s him, and you can ask Stat Boy Tony about it. Just don’t ask Tony to reach into his pockets to pay him, because he needs to give all his money to every ex-WWE guy he can find. MJF: “Hey boss? Would you treat me better if I was an ex-WWE guy?” The only position Khan should have is behind the guardrail so MJF wants Khan to fire him. After yelling at a director to not count him down, MJF swears a lot and throws the mic down. So there’s your worked shoot, and only MJF could have pulled it off this well.

Johnny Elite vs. ???

It’s an open challenge as answered by….Miro, who says he is healed and ready to destroy everyone on earth and in Heaven. Miro stomps him down into the corner and the beating is on, including a Saito suplex. We take a break and come back with Miro hitting a release Rock Bottom but Elite manages a kick to the head. The standing shooting star press gives Johnny two but Miro is back up with a jumping kick to the face. Game Over finishes Elite at 6:04. Not enough shown due to the break, but this was just a step above a squash.

Video on Anarchy In The Arena.

Here is the Jericho Appreciation Society for a chat. The team brags about everything they did and Chris Jericho lists off the things that happened to him. This includes Eddie Kingston trying to LIGHT HIM ON FIRE and Bryan Danielson wanted to kick his expletive head in. Cue Eddie Kingston to say he wants to fight all of them, but he has William Regal here to say how the match should go. Regal: “BLOOD AND GUTS!” Not quite the same ring to it.

Kingston comes to the ring but gets beaten down, allowing Ortiz to come in from behind and hit Jericho with the Madball. Ortiz cranks it up even more by CUTTING JERICHO’S HAIR, sending Jericho into a rant. Jericho agrees to Blood and Guts, but first Jericho wants a match with Ortiz, hair vs. hair. Ortiz is in, meaning we now have a hair vs. hair match to set up Blood and Guts, which is a rematch from Anarchy in the Arena, which is the spiritual successor to Stadium Stampede.

In the back, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh jump Samoa Joe and injure his arm. This is different than when Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh jumped Samoa Joe and injured his arm in the ring.

Matt Hardy/Darby Allin/Jurassic Express/Christian Cage vs. Young Bucks/ReDRagon/Hikuleo

Adam Cole is on commentary and Jeff Hardy is here too. Fish gets beaten down to start as everyone gets to take a few shots at him. This includes Matt’s middle rope elbow to the head but Fish kicks Matt away. Everything breaks down and the dives are aplenty, but the Bucks superkick Christian and we take a break.

Back with Luchasaurus getting the hot tag and cleaning house, including the standing moonsault for two. Hikuleo comes in for the exchange of throat grabs with Luchasaurus. A double clothesline puts both of them down and it’s a double tag to O’Reilly and Allin. Everything breaks down again and Allin’s dive is pulled out of the air by Hikuleo, setting up Chasing the Dragon on the floor. Matt cleans house and sends people into the buckle ten times each, leaving Christian to spear Hikuleo off the apron. The Bucks clean house with superkicks and the Meltzer Driver finishes Jungle Boy at 11:50.

Rating: C. Another wild ten man tag here, which is similar enough to something we get on almost any AEW show. The ending would suggest that the Bucks are getting back into the title picture, which might not be a thrilling prospect, but it would be nice to get the titles on one of the biggest teams in AEW. The Express is good, but they’re overshadowed by a lot of other teams around here.

Swerve Strickland introduces some people, who have something to do with music and Black Panther. A fashion icon gives him a jacket and Keith Lee wants titles.

Here is Athena for a chat. She wants to break Jade Cargill’s winning streak so here are Cargill and Stokely Hathaway. The staredown and shouting is on, with the Baddies, Anna Jay and Chris Statlander coming out to join in.

JD Drake vs. Wardlow

Wardlow, now with music, hits some shoulders and a two movement Powerbomb Symphony for the pin at 1:04.

Post match Tony Schiavone comes to the ring to talk to Wardlow….but here is Mark Sterling, who sends a lone security guard to the ring (Wardlow: “This guy doesn’t watch the product.”). It’s a lawsuit over Wardlow attacking various security guards and Sterling will see him in court. Wardlow powerbombs the guard and stuffs the papers in his mouth. At least that’s a bit more original.

The Men of the Year are ready to take out Dante Martin on Rampage. Martin comes in to say he’s better than Scorpio Sky and he’ll prove it on Rampage.

Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter vs. Ruby Soho/Toni Storm

Storm has to be held back from Baker to start so Baker heads outside to kiss her Owen Hart belt. Back in and Baker gets beaten down, allowing the tag off to Soho. That doesn’t go well for Soho, who is taken outside as we take a break. Back with Soho managing a Saito suplex on Baker, allowing the hot tag to Storm.

Everything breaks down but it’s Hayter hitting a hanging DDT to drop Storm on the floor. Soho hits a high crossbody to take Hayter down on the floor but Hayter hits an Irish Curse to drop Soho back inside. No Future connects for Soho but Baker tries to pull her into Lockjaw. That’s broken up but Hayter reverses the reversal, meaning Soho has to fight out of it again. A fisherman’s neckbreaker drops Soho but she is back with a knee to the face. Destination Unknown gives Soho the pin on Baker at 9:37.

Rating: C+. Soho gets a bit of her momentum back by beating Baker but it isn’t going to matter until she does it in a big one on one match. I still like Soho, but she has fallen pretty far since her debut. We could be heading for a showdown between the two of them, even though we just did that three days ago. Storm continues to just kind of be there, and I don’t know where she is supposed to go.

Post match Hayter hits Soho with the belt so Baker can stand tall.

Jon Moxley vs. Daniel Garcia

William Regal and Chris Jericho are on commentary. Moxley knocks him into the corner to start but Garcia is back with some chops. Those just annoy Moxley, who takes him down for some kicks to the back. Moxley was busted open somewhere in there and Garcia sends him outside to block the Paradigm Shift. A whip into the steps lets Garcia crush the ankle against the post and we take a break.

Back with Moxley hitting a toss suplex onto the steps for a SCARY landing, as Garcia landed back first on the edge of the steps. Thankfully he can get back in so Moxley can hit a butterfly superplex. The hammer and anvil elbows are countered into the same thing from Garcia, who hits a heck of a piledriver for two. Garcia’s Sharpshooter is countered into a bulldog choke but they head outside, with Moxley dropping him onto the table. Cue Chris Jericho to run to the ring but Eddie Kingston (who stumbles down there) pulls him down. The bulldog choke finishes Garcia at 11:28.

Rating: B+. Scary landing on the steps aside, this turned into a heck of a match after the break as they turned up the energy by about a thousand. Moxley looked like he was in trouble more than once but was able to hang on and win. Awesome stuff here as there were a few minutes that had me completely hooked.

Post match Moxley says Blood and Guts is on.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a heck of a show as they had things happening throughout. The biggest part is the energy that it had throughout, which isn’t something that has been around as much lately. AEW needed a Dynamite like this one and this certainly delivered with one of their best in awhile. Check out the second half of the main event, plus the MJF promo that is going to have people talking for a bit.

Results
CM Punk/FTR b. Max Caster/Gunn Club – Big Rig to Austin
Miro b. Johnny Elite – Game Over
Young Bucks/ReDRagon/Hikuleo b. Matt Hardy/Jurassic Express/Darby Allin/Christian Cage – Meltzer Driver to Jungle Boy
Wardlow b. JD Drake – Powerbomb Symphony
Ruby Soho/Toni Storm b. Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter – Destination Unknown to Baker
Jon Moxley b. Daniel Garcia – Bulldog choke

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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Double Or Nothing 2022
Date: May 29, 2022
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

AEW is back on pay per view and that should mean good things. The main event will feature CM Punk challenging Hangman Page for the World Title, but the question is around MJF. While he is scheduled to face Wardlow in a match a long time in the making, he has had some issues with AEW and there is a chance he won’t show up. That wouldn’t exactly be great to see so let’s get to it.

Buy In Show: Tony Nese/Mark Sterling vs. Hookhausen

Hook and Nese start things off with Hook taking him down without much trouble. Danhausen comes in and is allowed to grab a headlock before Nese runs him over. The curse is loaded up but Danhausen goes with the middle rope hurricanrana instead. Nese drops Danhausen again and it’s Sterling coming in to stomp away in the corner. Sterling misses a legdrop though and Danhausen suplexes his way to freedom, allowing the tag off to Hook. Suplexes abound and Danhausen gets to come in for the posing pin on Sterling at 5:22.

Rating: C. This is all you needed it to be and I had fun with the thing. Let Danhausen come in and pick up the scraps left by Hook, who gets to dominate over a manager and someone who is somehow in the top five. They didn’t bother trying to do anything out of the ordinary and the fans got to cheer for Danhausen’s wacky antics. It was exactly what you expected and that’s what it should have been.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Wardlow

If Wardlow wins, he is free of MJF but if he loses, he is pretty much done. MJF is indeed here so hopefully things are ok, at least for tonight. Wardlow is led out of a cell in the back where rowdy fans are kept to give this a Goldberg style vibe. The handcuffs (two pairs) are taken off so MJF bails to the floor before the bell. The bell rings and we get a HE SHOWED UP chant.

Wardlow wastes no time in trying the powerbomb so MJF bails to the floor again. Back in and MJF has to bite his way out of a powerbomb attempt before a cradle gets two. Hold on though as MJF is holding his leg and even the commentators are calling him out for making it up. The delay lets MJF load up the ring but the referee catches it this time, leaving MJF to beg off into the corner.

MJF: “I’LL DOUBLE YOUR PAY!” He ups it to quadruple and Wardlow shakes his hand….but doesn’t let go. MJF knows he’s done and the powerbomb connects. That’s part one of a ten movement Powerbomb Symphony, including at least one to each side of the ring and a tease of a cover in the middle, which finishes MJF at 7:25. Of note, during the Symphony was Excalibur: “I think I’ve figured out MJF’s strategy: he’s trying to take it to a time limit draw.”

Rating: B. This is a case where the match wasn’t the point but rather the complete and total destruction of MJF and it worked very well. Wardlow was never in trouble and absolutely demolished MJF, who couldn’t even get the chance to cheat. The fans had been wanting to see this and they got what they wanted, so well done on giving them that catharsis.

Post match MJF gets stretchered out and Wardlow is officially All Elite.

We recap the Hardys vs. the Young Bucks, which is presented as a dream match. The Bucks have gone after the Hardys, who have been accused of being Hardy cosplayers. The best you can hope for here is that the Hardys make it through the match without some kind of terrible injury.

Hardys vs. Young Bucks

Caprice Coleman is on commentary. The Matts start things off but Matt Jackson hands it off to Nick, who gets shouldered down by Jeff. That lets Nick get taken into the corner so Matt Hardy can come back in, meaning Nick bails to the floor. Matt Jackson comes back in and gets caught in a Razor’s Edge out of the corner but Nick breaks it up with a superkick. It’s Jeff coming back in and getting beaten down, with Nick getting to pose a lot.

Jeff finally gets over for the hot tag to Matt Hardy, who sends Nick into the buckle over and over. Brandon Cutler gets knocked off the apron and the hot tag brings in Matt as everything breaks down. They all wind up on the floor, where superkicks and dives drop the Hardys. Back in and Nick pounds on Matt Hardy before a running knee sets up Risky Business for two.

Nick accidentally kicks his brother and then does it to Cutler as well, allowing Jeff to hit a running clothesline off the apron. A Side Effect on the apron drops Matt Jackson and they’re all down on the floor again. Back in and Poetry In Motion hits Matt Jackson but he breaks up the Twist of Fate/Swanton combination. Jeff has to jawbreak his way to freedom on top, even if it means crotching himself.

The Swanton misses though and the Bucks hit their own Twist of Fate into a Swanton for two. A bunch of superkicks drop the Hardys but they’re back up and demanding more kicks. The Bucks oblige for a double two so it’s time to load up the steps. That takes long enough that Matt Hardy can Razor’s Edge bomb Nick, leaving Matt Jackson to be loaded up on the steps, which have been turned on their side. The Swanton connects to Matt Jackson and it’s a Twist of Fate for two on Nick back inside. Another Twist of Fate plants Nick and the Swanton finishes for Jeff at 19:16.

Rating: B-. The Hardys winning here is certainly a choice, as that would suggest the feud is continuing because of reasons. They didn’t have a disaster or even a bad match, but I don’t think this quite lived up to a dream match level. What matters most is that the Hardys didn’t get seriously injured, which might as well be a win for them these days.

Post match, Jeff teases going through the crowd but then comes back to the ring.

The Acclaimed and the Gunn Club promise to tear Las Vegas up. The next day, Billy Gunn finds them all out cold, calls his sons disappointments, and tucks in the Acclaimed.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill vs. Anna Jay

Jay is challenging and comes up through an elevator in the stage, while Cargill has a bunch of showgirls with her. An early Queenslayer attempt doesn’t work for Jay and Cargill throws her down without much effort. A snap suplex and a clothesline lets Cargill go up top but Jay superplexes her back down. Back up and a running forearm staggers Cargill and a running Blockbuster sends her outside. Cargill is sent back inside but Jay has to take out the Baddies with a double DDT. Back in and Cargill kicks her in the face but Jaded is reversed into a cradle for two.

Cue Smart Mark Sterling to throw in the crutch, which Jay grabs for a Russian legsweep and a near fall. Cue John Silver to brainbuster Sterling on the floor, leaving Cargill to hit the Eye of the Storm for two. Jaded is countered into the Queenslayer but Cargill gets up and sends her into the corner. They both go up and here is Stokely Hathaway (fifth person to come out during the match) for a distraction so a super Jaded can finish Jay at 7:23.

Rating: B-. This was a good bit better than I was expecting as Cargill’s matches continue to be structured to fit her strengths rather well. I didn’t buy Jay having a chance whatsoever, but that is the case with just about every Cargill challenger. Hathaway would be an upgrade over Sterling if that is where they are going, and he certainly has the skills to make Cargill feel that much more important. Good stuff here, even if it could have been done on Dynamite.

Post match the beatdown is loaded up but Kris Statlander comes in to go after Red Velvet. The staredown is on but Athena comes in for the debut and the big six way staredown. The Baddies bail and the fans seem rather happy to see Athena.

Forbidden Door is coming on June 26.

House Of Black vs. Death Triangle

Death Triangle has a young boy, who I’m assuming is one of their sons, with them during the entrance. Fenix flips out of Black’s suplex to start but they both miss spinning kicks to the head, meaning it’s time for the cross legged sitdown staredown. Matthews comes in and gets superkicked by Penta so it’s off to the floor, only to have Penta waiting on him with an evil glare.

King comes in and kicks down Fenix’s springboard, setting up the six way staredown. The brawl is on with everyone getting to knock someone else down until Pac poisonranas Matthews to leave everyone down. King is back up with a Boss Man Slam to Pac and Matthews adds a slingshot hilo for two. Matthews misses a charge in the corner though and the hot tag brings in Fenix to clean house. Stereo superkicks clear the ring and there are the double dives from the Bros.

Back in and Fenix hits a step up kick to the head on King but Matthews suplexes him on the floor. That sets up the series of dives until King hits a dive, albeit with a crash onto the apron on the way down. Fenix gets triple teamed inside, including Dante’s Inferno for two, with Pac driving Black into the cover for the save. Triple brainbusters are broken up and Death Triangle gets to kick them in the face in the corner.

A springboard Canadian Destroyer plants Matthews on the floor and a top rope double stomp/hanging DDT combination drops King next to him. That leaves Black to get kicked in the face a lot but he kicks his way out of trouble. Pac kicks Black down and throws Matthews onto King on the floor. An Alex Abrahantes distraction lets Pac kick Black low….and the lights go out again (JR is NOT happy). Cue Julia Hart to mist Pac, allowing Black to kick Pac in the head for the pin at 15:19.

Rating: A-. This was pure insanity for the most part, which also includes a rather nutty ending as Hart wasn’t evil a few weeks ago but she is now. Anyway, the match was the hard hitting, fast paced match that everyone had been hoping. I’m not sure it was worth all of the delays, but House of Black FINALLY getting a big win is good to see. Now just move on from this feud for all time.

We recap Samoa Joe vs. Adam Cole in the Owen Hart Foundation finals, which is more about Owen than either of them.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Final: Samoa Joe vs. Adam Cole

Non-title. Joe powers him into the corner to start but Cole slips out and wants a test of strength. That goes to Joe as well, who sends him into the corner for the jumping enziguri. An elbow sends Cole to the floor, where he manages to post Joe’s bad shoulder to take over. Back in and Cole chokes on the ropes before wrapping the arm around said rope. The Panama Sunrise is blocked though and Joe hits the Rock Bottom out of the corner.

Joe’s powerbomb is countered into a jumping enziguri and Cole grabs a Crossface. Joe cranks on both arms but Cole is in the ropes as well. Cue Bobby Fish to snap Joe’s arm across the top but the Boom misses. Joe grabs the Koquina Clutch, which has to be let go so Joe can take out Fish. Cole kicks him down and fires off more kicks, setting up the Boom for the pin at 13:15.

Rating: B-. Another good match here, though having even more interference had me rolling my eyes. Cole winning isn’t exactly a surprise and it is good to have him win something around here. It’s a fine enough way to go, even if it doesn’t have any kind of a connection to Owen whatsoever.

Forbidden Door is still coming on June 26. Nothing has changed in the last 40 minutes.

We recap the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, which is a rematch from Grand Slam, where Britt Baker beat Ruby Soho.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Finals: Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho

Baker gets played to the ring by Fozzy’s guitarist while Rancid plays Soho to the ring. We’ll call that advantage Soho. Baker takes her down by the arm to start but Soho is back up with a wristlock of her own. Some kicks don’t do much to Soho, who knees Baker out to the floor. Soho’s shotgun dropkick off the apron has Baker rocked but Soho is holding her ribs. Baker is smart enough to pull the ribs into the post before stretching her out back inside.

Some elbows to the ribs give Baker two but she takes too long going up top. A superplex brings her back down as JR talks about Soho owning a farm in Indiana. They forearm it out until it’s another double knockdown. No Future is blocked but Baker misses the Stomp. Soho is back up with a Saito suplex and a top rope backsplash gets two.

Baker is back with the Stomp and the Lockjaw is loaded up but Soho powers away. No Future connects and the Sharpshooter (with Soho dropping to a knee) goes on, with Baker finally making the rope for the save. With that Owen finisher not working, Soho loads up a victory roll, only to have Baker reverse into a cradle for the pin at 14:15.

Rating: C+. So Baker gets to win, meaning it’s a power couple winning both of them. The match itself was fine, as expected, though that Sharpshooter left a lot to be desired. I could have gone with Soho winning here but it would have been a bit weird to have Cole and Soho at the trophy presentation. Baker very well may be on her way to a face turn and that could be a good thing for her, as we have kind of covered everything she can do otherwise.

Respect is shown post match.

Post match Tony Schiavone has the trophy presentation (with Adam Cole coming out to glare at Tony for hugging Britt). Martha Hart gets an entrance, accompanied by Tony Khan, and gets to give a speech about how important this whole thing is. She thanks everyone from Khan to Chris Jericho to Dark Side of the Ring and her legal team. Cole and Baker are congratulated, with Martha even making fun of her own fairly ridiculous looking hat to wrap it up. Both are presented with a special belt and it’s a rather nice moment.

Sammy Guevara/Frankie Kazarian/Tay Conti vs. Men Of The Year/Paige VanZant

If the Men Of The Year/VanZant win, Guevara and Kazarian can never challenge for the TNT Title again. Kazarian and Sky start things off but Guevara tags himself in and gets to face Ethan. The slugout goes to Page so it’s back to Kazarian vs. Sky, with Kazarian taking him into the corner. Guevara comes back in and Conti gets in a rake to Sky’s back from the apron. VanZant is drawn in so Sammy and Conti can hit a double suplex. Kazarian grabs a front facelock on Sky, who fights out and hits a Downward Spiral.

Conti runs in to deck VanZant and then dives onto Sammy for some spinning around. That has Kazarian yelling at them before grabbing the chickenwing but Sammy tags himself in. Tony: “What kind of dumba** strategy is that?” The double tag brings in the women, with JR saying VanZant is going to be green. VanZant grabs a suplex on Conti and a handspring elbow hits Conti in the face.

A TKO is broken up by Sammy, who stops to kiss Conti and gets caught with a tornado DDT. Conti uses the distraction to strike away at VanZant and some pump kicks to the face get two. A spinning belly to back faceplant (JR: “What the h*** was that?”) plants VanZant but we pause for more kissing. The staredown is on but Kazarian is having none of this and walks out….before coming back in with a slingshot DDT to Sky. Kazarian clears the ring but Conti yells at him, only to have Sammy accidentally knock her down. Sky TKO’s Kazarian for the pin at 12:01.

Rating: C+. This was fun with Conti and Guevara totally embracing the hate, but what matters most is that this should mean the end of the feud. It has gone on far longer than it needed to and this really needs to be the blowoff. VanZant was fine enough in her pay per view debut but she clearly has a long way to go to feel natural in the ring. Good enough, but the show is running very long and this is something that could have been moved to another show.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Darby Allin

Allin goes straight for the legs and gets kneed in the face to cut him off. O’Reilly starts working on the arm and cranking away as Allin’s face is busted open from that knee. Back up and Allin gets in a few shots of his own to knock O’Reilly outside, setting up a suicide dive which nearly goes horribly wrong. Thankfully Allin is back up so he tries it again, only to get pulled into a guillotine choke.

Back in and the Last Supper gives Allin two and a small package is good for the same. A brainbuster plants Allin but he is able to fight off a cross armbreaker attempt. The ankle lock goes on but Allin ties up the legs and reverses into a Scorpion (again, not a great one). O’Reilly makes the rope so Allin goes up and hits a Coffin Drop onto O’Reilly in the ropes before crashing out to the floor.

Back in and O’Reilly goes for the arm again but gets stacked up for two more. They strike it out with O’Reilly getting the better of things and wrapping Allin’s chain around his mouth. Excalibur: “The unbreakable chain!” Then it breaks immediately. Some penalty kicks set up the top rope knee to finish Allin at 10:33.

Rating: B. Hard hitting fight here and that is a heck of a big win for O’Reilly as beating Allin clean on pay per view is an impressive feat. It doesn’t say much for Allin to lose in his match for his mentor’s honor, but I can go for O’Reilly getting this kind of a push. Good stuff here, though I hope it gets any kind of memory on a show with so much else.

We recap Thunder Rosa vs. Serena Deeb for the Women’s Title. Both want to be the best so they’re having a title match.

Women’s Title: Serena Deeb vs. Thunder Rosa

Rosa is defending. They fight over a lockup to start and go to the mat with neither being able to get anywhere. Back up and Deeb starts going for the limbs but that isn’t going to work for Rosa. They go back to the mat with Rosa grabbing the pendulum to rock Deeb around a bit. A backslide gives Rosa two but Deeb blocks a second one, allowing Rosa to hit an uppercut.

Rosa knocks her to the floor but misses a baseball slide, allowing Deeb to snap her across the top rope. A neckbreaker over the ropes puts Rosa back on the floor until Deeb takes it back inside. Deeb ties her up in the corner and cranks away, setting up an abdominal stretch to stay on the ribs. Rosa fights out and hits a running corner clothesline, followed by knees in the corner. A northern lights suplex gets two but Deeb catches her in the corner and hits Diamond Dust for two.

Deebtox is broken up though and Rosa slams Deeb’s knee into the mat for a change. Deeb gets in a shot to knock her away but Rosa is back with the Death Valley Driver for two. A chop block cuts Rosa down and we hit the Figure Four, with the two of them slapping each other in the face at the same time. They roll out to the floor but it’s Deeb grabbing a dragon screw legwhip in the ropes back inside.

Deebtox gets two and the Serenity Lock goes on, though Deeb lets it go to hit a powerbomb. The Texas Cloverleaf goes on but Rosa makes the rope, setting up a kick to the head. Deep knocks her down again and goes up, only to get superplexed down. Rosa isn’t done and rolls her up into the Fire Thunder Driver to retain at 16:43.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a fight with the technical master vs. the fighter, but they were in a near death spot this late in a show with a long match. I could go with another look at this in a vacuum as Rosa was bringing it and Deeb was her usual awesome self. It’s a good example of a match where they overcame a really bad build and had a heck of a match. Just in the wrong spot.

We recap Anarchy in the Arena, which is Sports Entertainers vs. Wrestlers.

Justin Roberts: “Ladies and gentlemen…..s***’s about to hit the fan.”

Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Blackpool Combat Club/Santana/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston

Anything goes and the Society is all in white, making them look like a painting crew. It’s a brawl to start with Wild Thing still playing, which seems like it is going to go throughout the match. Everyone brawls around the arena and we keep cutting from fight to fight, including Moxley stabbing someone in the head with a fork. Kingston is already busted open as Jericho and Moxley get on some kind of a cart.

Minard’s face is COVERED in blood as Jericho gets in a shot to Moxley with….something. We actually go to the ring where Santana and Ortiz suplex Hager. Jericho goes over to the sound board and hits Moxley to FINALLY kill the song. Some people fight to the back as Santana and Ortiz Street Sweep Hager through two tables at ringside. Moxley hits Jericho with a boom camera as Minard and Kingston fight over mustard at the concession stand. Garcia piledrives Ortiz on the steps and I think Minard takes Kingston down with a t-shirt stand.

Parker hits Danielson with a ring bell and Jericho suplexes Moxley onto a row of chairs. Back up and Moxley chucks a cooler at Jericho’s head as Tony dubs this as better than Stadium Stampede. Garcia chokes Kingston in the concourse and drags him around the floor as Jericho gets the Walls on Moxley on the announcers’ table….which breaks. Back up and Moxley hits a suicide dive to take Jericho down as a turnbuckle is unhooked.

Some unhooked turnbuckle shots slow Jericho down as I think Kingston and Garcia brawl in a freight elevator. Moxley hits a running knee to knock Jericho out of a chair as Santana and Ortiz set up a ladder over on the other side of the arena. They hit big splashes to drive Minard and Parker through tables as Jericho fire extinguishers Moxley. Jericho and Moxley pull themselves back into the ring, where Hager and Danielson are pulling themselves up. The four of them slug it out with Moxley and Danielson hitting the hammer and anvil elbows.

Stereo holds go on….and here is Kingston with a can of gasoline. Kingston pours gas onto Jericho (which breaks up the LeBell Lock) but Danielson goes after Kingston for general hatred. Moxley is sent onto a barbed wire board at ringside and a turnbuckle shot to the head gives Jericho two on Danielson. A bunch of kicks rock Hager and Jericho, including the YES Kicks to the latter. Danielson promises to kick his f****** head in but Hager makes the save with a baseball bat to the knee. A half crab to Danielson, with Hager choking with a rope (Tony: “HANG IN THERE!”) gives Jericho the win at 22:31.

Rating: B. I have no idea what to say about this and that’s about all you can get out of it. They were all over the place with one crazy spot after another and there was nothing close to a way to keep track of the whole thing. I’m not sure why the Society won, but maybe Jericho used some wizard magic to convince AEW it was a good idea.

We go to Andrade El Idolo, who brings in his new business partner: Rush.

Scorpio Sky/Ethan Page/Dan Lambert are really happy to be done with Sammy Guevara and company. Sky wants a new challenger and here is Dante Martin to issue the challenge. Game on.

Tag Team Titles: Jurassic Express vs. Team Taz vs. Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland

Jurassic Express, with Christian Cage, is defending. It’s a brawl to start and the fight heads to the floor before the Express hits a top rope elbow/side slam combination for two on Starks. We settle down to Hobbs blasting Strickland with a clothesline. Lee comes in and staggers Hobbs with a shoulder, setting up Strickland’s jumping knee. It’s off to Jungle Boy for some suicide dives but Lee pulls the big flip dive out of the air.

Back in and Hobbs hits a suplex slam on Jungle Boy and Starks grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Starks tries to run the corner and walk the ropes but stops to dance, allowing Jungle Boy to crotch him (JR’s disdain at the start followed by happiness in Starks getting hurt is hilarious). Everything breaks down and Starks gets tossed out to the floor for a nasty landing, setting up Strickland’s moonsault (off of Lee’s chest) onto the pile.

Back in and Strickland hits the running kick to the head for two on Hobbs and it’s Luchasaurus coming in to clean house. Hobbs gets kicked into the corner where Lee tags himself in, giving us Luchasaurus vs. Lee. A double chokeslam puts Luchasaurus down, leaving Lee to suplex Hobbs over the top. Lee hits the big no hands flip dive to show off a bit but Luchasaurus is back up with a fireman’s carry slam for two.

Starks is back in to take Jungle Boy down for two but Christian makes the save. The spear gets two more on Jungle Boy and a slingshot Roshambo gets the same. Luchasaurus comes back in but Hobbs cleans house, allowing Starks to grab the FTW Title. Christian breaks that up and it’s the Throwassic Express for the pin at 17:18.

Rating: B. Another good match here with a surprising ending as I would not have bet on the champs retaining here. What matters is that the tag division remains hot, but there is only so much that you can get when your champs are barely in the top five teams in the company. I was hoping for a title change here as Jurassic Express have held the belts for awhile, but it’s not like this is a horrible decision.

We recap Hangman Page vs. CM Punk for the AEW World Title. Punk sees it as a title shot and Page wants to stop Punk from destroying AEW….somehow.

AEW World Title: CM Punk vs. Hangman Page

Page is defending. They start fast with Punk taking him into the corner and giving him a break, albeit with a rake of the eyes. They strike it out with Punk getting the better of things but they go to the mat to exchange some near falls. Back up and Punk starts the string of slams, setting up the high crossbody. Page rolls through though and hits a fall away slam into a nip up. With Punk on the floor, Page hits a slingshot crossbody to take him down again.

Back in and Punk slugs away, only to get elbowed in the face to knock him silly. A running clothesline out of the corner looks to set up the Buckshot but it’s way too early for that, as Punk knocks him to the floor. That’s fine with Page, who gets in a powerbomb onto the apron to drop Punk again. Back in and a top rope clothesline gives Page two and Punk is tossed outside again.

What looks to be the moonsault is broken up and Punk superplexes him back down. They take their time getting back up for the slugout, setting up Punk’s leg lariat. There’s the running knee in the corner into the bulldog into the springboard clothesline and Punk is fired up. Page slips out of the GTS and Punk grabs a neckbreaker for two more. Punk goes up but gets knocked down, setting up the moonsault to the floor. Back in and the Buckshot Lariat is countered into a Sharpshooter, sending Page over to the ropes.

Both guys have to counter their own finisher until Punk is kicked to the apron. Punk kicks him in the head and hits a Buckshot Lariat but the knee gives out on the way. Both guys miss the GTS and Punk’s running knee in the corner is countered into the Last Ride. Page rolls him into the Deadeye for two more before calling for the GTS. Punk kicks him in the head and tries the GTS but Page escapes and hits one of his own.

They slug it out until Page kicks him in the face but they fall out to the floor. Page throws him over the announcers’ table and grabs the belt, which he emphasizes is HIS. Back in and the Buckshot Lariat is loaded up but gets countered into the GTS. Punk swings him around to kick the referee, meaning Page’s escape into the Buckshot Lariat gets no cover. Page looks at the belt and teases the shot but second guesses himself. Another Buckshot Lariat is countered into the GTS to give Punk the pin and the title at 25:58.

Rating: B+. There’s your controversial ending that is going to get people talking. Punk winning is the right call as you can only get so much out of Page as champion when there are so many bigger stars around him. The will he/won’t he was good and while it might lead to a heel turn down the line, it’s the right way to go here. Heck of a match too, which didn’t feel close to the length it went.

Punk celebrates for a good while to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. The action was very good to great, but egads I was done with this show with about an hour left. I’ll spare you the long, drawn out version and say a lot of this could have been left for Dynamite/Rampage and move on to the praise the show deserves. There was some awesome action here and I like a lot of the choices for the winners, though the tournaments still don’t feel important (save for Martha Hart looking so happy out there, which was great). Definitely check this out, but cut it off for a bit in the middle for the sake of a sandwich or something as you’re going to need to refuel.

Results
Wardlow b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Powerbomb Symphony
Hardys b. Young Bucks – Swanton to Nick
Jade Cargill b. Anna Jay – Super Jaded
House Of Black b. Death Triangle – Spinning kick to Fenix
Adam Cole b. Samoa Joe – Boom
Britt Baker b. Ruby Soho – Rollup
Men Of The Year/Paige VanZant b. Sammy Guevara/Frankie Kazarian/Tay Conti – TKO to Guevara
Kyle O’Reilly b. Darby Allin – Top rope knee to the back
Thunder Rosa b. Serena Deeb – Fire Thunder Driver
Jericho Appreciation Society b. Blackpool Combat Club/Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz – Half crab to Danielson
Jurassic Express b. Team Taz and Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee – Throwassic Express to Starks
CM Punk b. Hangman Page – GTS

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It’s time for another AEW pay per view and most of the time, that has been some very good news. AEW has a heck of a track record with pay per views, though things have been a bit weaker than usual in recent months. I don’t entirely know what that is going to mean for this show, but the card is absolutely huge with a staggering thirteen matches. Maybe they can make it work though so let’s get to it.

Buy-In Show: Hookhausen vs. Mark Sterling/Tony Nese

They aren’t starting with anything serious here as Hook and Danhausen are the latest comedy guys around here. There is a short form possibility to the two of them working together but I’d like to believe that Hook could mean a lot more than he is being given so far. Danhausen is one of the most unique guys around, and now he and Hook can do their thing here.

That thing here would be winning, as Hookhausen has no reason to lose whatsoever. Hook can be the muscle for Danhausen as he does his wacky deal. That is all you need in something like this as the fans are going to go nuts over anything Hookhausen does. Keep it short, let Danhausen pin the manager, and we get to move on to the important stuff. That’s a good opener and they have the right idea with this on the Buy-In.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals: Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho

This is a match that has some history to it and now the question becomes can Soho finally get a big win around here. Soho is someone with as unique of a look as you can find and the intangibles to back it up, but she hasn’t actually won anything just yet. Beating Baker would even their series up and that is a way they can go. At the same time though, it is hard to buy the idea of Baker losing her second big match in a row.

I’m in a total coin flip here but I’ll go with Baker winning here as Soho loses again for the sake of getting Baker back on track. This could be leading to a heck of a showdown between Baker and Jade Cargill, assuming they don’t do a rubber match with Thunder Rosa. Either way, I don’t see Soho winning here, and I’m really not sure where that leaves her going forward.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals: Adam Cole vs. Samoa Joe

I like this one more than the previous match and we could be in for a heck of a showdown here. Cole is someone who is still waiting for his own big win around here, while Joe has the Ring Of Honor TV Title, meaning that he too is waiting for his first big win in AEW. This is at least an interesting match and that puts it above a lot of what we have been seeing in the tournament so far.

I’ll go with Cole winning again here, as AEW not only likes pushing the heck out of him, but the idea of Cole and Baker as the winners of the tournaments is likely something AEW likes. The match should be a good, pay per view level fight as Joe knows how to make the big fight feel. Cole wins here though, possibly even with some help from Jay Lethal and pals to take out Joe.

Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Blackpool Combat Club/Santana/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston

This is the Anarchy In The Arena match, which seems to be the latest insane brawl that the company loves to run. The problem this time though is the lineups aren’t exactly even, as it’s hard to imagine the Combat Club and Kingston would have trouble against the entire Appreciation Society. Then again there is a good chance that the villains can take out a member to uneven things and make it a bit more even.

That being said, there isn’t much in the way of doubt here, as this should be a one sided victory for Kingston and company. Unfortunately I don’t think that is going to happen, as I could see AEW running with the Jericho Wizard/fireball stuff. Therefore, I’ll take the Appreciation Society winning here, even if that makes so little sense and will just mean more of the not so great act.

Hardys vs. Young Bucks

Now we have the Dream Match, which might have been the case about ten years ago but now, I’m not entirely convinced. To put it mildly, the Hardys are in their mid 40s and wrestle like they’re about ten years older than that each. Jeff looks close to terrible and you know what you’re going to get from Matt. I’m far from a Bucks fan, but they can run circles around the Hardys at the moment and this is going to be a mess as a result.

I’ll take the Bucks winning here, as there is no reason whatsoever to put the Hardys over anyone ever (unless you’re Darby Allin because reasons). I’m not exactly interested in seeing this one but maybe they can pull off something decent. All I know is I don’t need to see the Hardys trying to recreate their glory days again and odds are that is exactly what we are going to be getting here.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Wardlow

This now needs an asterisk as there have been a few issues involving MJF, but we’ll assume that the match is going to take place. This is a story that has been built up for years and is a more physical version of Ted DiBiase vs. Virgil from back in the day. The good thing is that Wardlow is almost on Virgil’s level and might even be able to get something out of this if they do it right.

Of course I’ll go with Wardlow here, as he should powerbomb MJF into oblivion here. Now that being said, MJF should not get squashed and will likely get in some offense off the back of Shawn Spears and some well timed cheating, but at the end of the day, this is Wardlow’s breaking out moment and I could go with seeing him wreck MJF as the fans get more and more into each powerbomb. Assuming the match takes place that is.

Women’s Title: Thunder Rosa(c) vs. Serena Deeb

The more I watch from Rosa, the less I think she is cut out to be champion. There are some people who are more interesting as the challenger rather than the champion and that is what we might have with her. The promo from this week was good, but I really can’t bring myself to get into this match. Granted it doesn’t help that Cargill feels like a much bigger star, but this is the next showdown.

I’ll take Rosa to retain here, as she deserves a longer title reign than a few months after FINALLY getting the belt. We might be up for a rematch with Baker, but at the moment the best thing that they can do is have Rosa keep going as champion to set up a showdown with someone. Rosa is still a star and I could go for seeing more of her with the title, but they need to find a better way to present her.

Tag Team Titles: Jurassic Express(c) vs. Team Taz vs. Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland

One thing that is interesting here is that AEW rarely runs triple threat. The company loves itself some gimmick matches but that isn’t the case with triple threat, which is certainly a nice bonus. Anyway, this has been set up as the two challenging teams have been set up as potential threats to take the titles. Granted it helps that Jurassic Express have been kind of there as champions for a lot of their reigns, so it is kind of somewhere in the middle.

As much as I’d like to see Lee and Strickland get somewhere, I have a feeling Team Taz wins here. At some point you have to give Taz and company some (official) titles and I think they do it here. Ricky Starks has been moving up higher and higher in recent weeks and Powerhouse Hobbs is one of the better potential stars around. They should have a good match here, but it’s time for the title change with the belts going to Team Taz.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Darby Allin

This is a grudge match which was added to the show on Rampage, even if it is one of the first matches that could be moved to Dynamite for the sake of cutting down the pay per view rundown. Allin is mad at O’Reilly for injuring Sting, meaning it is time to fight. Thankfully this seems to be a regular match, which is quite the change for Allin and his obsession with hardcore stuff.

I’ll go with Allin winning here, as he is still shaking off some of his funk, especially after that pretty ridiculous loss to Jeff Hardy a few weeks ago. O’Reilly could use a win too and it wouldn’t shock me if he won here, but Allin needs it more and is someone the fans are already behind. Seeing O’Reilly get a push of his own would be nice, but it’s Allin winning here in a match that should be pretty awesome.

House Of Black vs. Death Triangle

Yes, finally. After what feels like 37 years, this match is FINALLY going to take place, even though I can’t imagine it is going to live up to the hype that has been presented around it. Both teams are actually healthy for once and since it was on the books at some point back in the day, AEW had to get it in instead of cutting their losses and just moving on like anyone sane would do.

It’s one that could go either way, but I’ll take the House Of Black to win here. Death Triangle is a team that has a tendency to not be around very often for one reason or another so the House Of Black seems to be a better option at the moment. Odds are it will be a heck of a fight and Death Triangle will look great in defeat, but the House Of Black wins here to finally give them something.

Men Of The Year/Paige VanZant vs. Frankie Kazarian/Sammy Guevara/Tay Conti

Speaking of feuds that won’t go away, we have this mess that must continue no matter how many people are waiting in line for the TNT Title. This week seemed to show Guevara and company as the good ones, even if that involved invading the American Top Team facility and stealing stuff. I don’t think AEW knows what they are doing with this feud anymore, but even worse I don’t think many people care about it either. Granted, why let that get in the way of what AEW has decided to do?

Since the feud must continue and Guevara/Kazarian get no more shots if they lose, I’ll go with Guevara and company winning to keep their hopes alive. I’m not sure why that is something we need to continue, but this feud is probably heading for one big final blowoff to the whole thing. Maybe we could even get a ladder involved! For now, though Guevara and company win, because it must continue.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill(c) vs. Anna Jay

AEW has a bit of a weird situation on their hands with Cargill. While they have done a great job of building her up, there is no reason to believe that she is going to lose anytime soon. That makes this feel like nothing more than a requirement as she gets to add another win over someone who was thrown into a title match. I don’t particularly care about this match and it would have been fine on Dynamite, but maybe Cargill can get in her catchphrase for the 485th time.

Of course I’ll take Cargill, as Jay gets to be the latest sacrificial lamb. They REALLY need someone who is going to give Cargill a challenge and Jay, who hasn’t wrestled a singles match since March (or a TV match since January, when Cargill beat her) isn’t it. This is a match that probably doesn’t need to be on the pay per view but we are getting it for the sake of Cargill appearing, which does make sense.

AEW World Title: Hangman Page(c) vs. CM Punk

And then there’s this, which has been hit and miss so far. This has not been anywhere close to a disaster, but I’m not sure I buy Page as someone on Punk’s level. Punk had to get to the World Title shot at some point though, which comes after the end of the great Friedman feud. Hopefully they can go beyond the hype, which hasn’t quite hit the levels they seem to have been shooting for with the build.

I’ve been going back and forth on this for weeks now but I think I have Page retaining. If you want to elevate him, beating Punk and Danielson is about as perfect of a way as you can do so. Punk is going to be fine no matter what he does, but in this case it makes more sense to have him lose and give Page the next biggest rub of his career. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Punk win the title, but Page needs this a lot more than Punk. I think. Maybe. Perhaps.

Overall Thoughts

I’m expecting the show to be good, as almost every AEW pay per view tends to be, but my goodness there is way too much on here. There is no need for the show to have every one of these matches but for some reason that is what we’re getting. Hopefully they move something up to the Buy-In show, as having a twelve minute pay per view card is not going to leave them with much breathing room. The show has a lot of potential, but I’m worried about giving the matches the time that they need. Make something fast, or at least shuffle it up a bit, just to make it better. Either way, we should be fine, as is AEW’s custom.

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: May 25, 2022
Location: Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s Double Or Nothing weekend and that means it is time to get in the last Dynamite before the pay per view. Therefore, we nee to find out who will be in the finals of the Men’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament, which should make for some interesting action both tonight and on Sunday. It’s also the third anniversary of the first AEW show so this should be good. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Wardlow vs. Shawn Spears

In a cage with MJF as the referee and Wardlow has to win here to get MJF on Sunday. Wardlow is still handcuffed to start so Spears gets in a few shots, allowing MJF to stomp away in the corner. The double teaming is on, including sending Wardlow into the steps. MJF stops to talk too much trash though and gets hit in the face, which means Wardlow can drop Spears.

The Swanton connects but MJF won’t count, allowing Spears to get up. One heck of a chair shot hits MJF by mistake and Spears knows what he’s done. Wardlow pops up and it’s a four movement Powerbomb Symphony with another referee coming in to count the pin on the done Spears at 6:58.

Rating: C. This was more of an angle than a match and they did it very well. The last few weeks have done a great job of having Wardlow slowly reel MJF in and the big massacre can take place on Sunday. At this point, they can have MJF get in some cheap shots and cheat to take over, but then it is time for the Powerbomb Symphony that everyone has been waiting on.

Post match Wardlow goes for MJF but security runs in so MJF can escape.

JR and commentary offers condolences on the Texas shooters and say this has to stop.

The Jericho Appreciation Society attack a backstage worker with a fireball for wearing a Jon Moxley shirt.

Tony Schiavone brings CM Punk and Hangman Page for a face to face meeting. Tony goes over the stealing finishers and Punk says he’s ready to take the title. Page says there is nothing Punk can do to take the title from him. That makes Punk think Page is taking this personally. There are a lot of people backstage who want their shot and for Punk, this is just business.

Page wants to light a pipe bomb and roll it right up to Punk’s feet, where the Pipe Bomb promo was dropped in the first place. After pausing for the CM PUNK chants, Page says he can’t do it because he respects Page. The thing is Page doesn’t think Punk knows what it means to be a champion, because it is about more than being in this ring.

It’s also about what you do when no one else is watching, which isn’t what Punk has been about since he got here. On Sunday, Page is defending AEW from Punk, which gets a big reaction. Punk says Page is going to have to do something about it, because Punk paved the road here. Page built the house with trees that Punk chopped down and he gave Punk the blueprint. Page will shake his hand on Sunday, and he’ll do it right now too. It’s a right hand instead and that looked like it made some nice contact.

Video on Anna Jay vs. Jade Cargill for the TBS Title.

Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley vs. Private Party

William Regal and Chris Jericho are on commentary, with Jericho demanding that the crowd be quiet because they don’t have the rights to sing his song. It’s a brawl to start with Quen hitting a moonsault press for two on Moxley. Kingston comes in and beats on Quen but does stop to yell at Moxley. Said Moxley comes back in to plant Kassidy and we take a break

Back with Private Party taking over and knocking Moxley and Kingston to the floor. Quen’s shooting star press gets two on Moxley, who pops up and starts hammering away. The hammer and anvil elbows crush Quen as Kingston makes Kassidy tap to the eastern stretch. The Paradigm Shift finishes Quen at 7:25.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why Private Party, who has done nothing in weeks, was getting in this much offense on Kingston and Moxley but at least the ending had the two stars look dominant. Not quite as squashish as it should have been but they got the finish right. Kingston needs to switch back to his regular gear though, as the basketball shorts look wasn’t working so well.

Post match the Jericho Appreciation Society rushes the ring but referees break it up.

Video on Owen Hart, with wrestlers talking about what the tournaments would have meant to him. The people still involved in the tournament are ready to win.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Title Roppongi Vice vs. FTR

FTR is defending and Caprice Coleman is on commentary. Romero shoulders Wheeler down a few times to start and the threat of a cross armbreaker sends Wheeler over to the ropes. Back in and Dax gets chopped by Trent, only to reverse him to show the proper technique. Wheeler comes back in and gets half and half suplexes for two as we take a break.

We come back with Wheeler diving over for the tag off to Harwood to punch away. Some rolling German suplexes get two on Trent with Romero making the save. Double knees drop Harwood again but Strong Zero is broken up. A small package and victory roll give Trent two each but Vice is right back with Strong Zero for two with Wheeler finally making the save…..and New Japan’s Jeff Cobb and Great O’Khan running in for the double DQ at 10:21.

Rating: C+. This was turning into a heck of a match until the Forbidden Door ending took it away. Vice isn’t one of my favorite teams but they were hanging in there with the best team in the world. I do like that FTR survived Strong Zero before the interference, which keeps the champs looking a bit stronger. Run this back in the future perhaps.

House is cleaned, though O’Khan’s running cutter doesn’t exactly connect clean. Both teams are laid out and Trent/Wheeler are sent through tables. Cobb and O’Khan hold up the titles.

The Hardys talk about how they have a lot of similarities to the Young Bucks. They came from religious families and didn’t drink of smoke. That’s what the stories end though because the Hardys fought up to become one of the most revolutionary tag teams ever. The Bucks are talented, but they are seen as Hardy cosplayers. Now they’re approaching GOAT status, with Jeff making goat noises. They’re beyond their prime but they’ll still never be better than the Hardys. The Bucks weren’t even better babies than them! The saying is never meet your heroes, but in this case, the Bucks will never beat their heroes.

Ricky Starks vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Jungle Boy

Non-title. Starks bails to the floor to start but runs back in for the early exchange of rollups. With Starks being sent outside, Jungle Boy gets tripped to the floor with Swerve joining them. Starks takes them both down and we go to a break. Back with Jungle Boy hitting a running hurricanrana off the apron for two back inside, with Starks making the save. Swerve clears Starks out and sends Jungle Boy into the corner.

They go up top with Swerve being poisonranaed off….and landing on his feet, much to Jungle Boy’s shock. Starks kicks Swerve in the face and takes Jungle Boy down for two, with the kickout leaving him shocked. Roshambo to Swerve is blocked so Starks goes to the eyes and hits the Roshambo, only to get Snare Trapped. A long crawl gets Starks to the ropes so Jungle Boy pulls him back to the middle and puts it on again. Swerve breaks that up and hits the Swerve Stomp to finish Starks at 9:38.

Rating: B. This was the kind of action packed match that you should have expected from these three and I can always go with Swerve winning. What matters here is they gave you a reason to believe that we might see new champions while also giving us a good match this time. The triple threat match on Sunday should be good and the preview has me more invested in it than I was coming in.

Post match Powerhouse Hobbs comes in for the beatdown on Swerve but here is Luchasaurus, who can’t overpower Hobbs. This brings out Keith Lee so the brawl can be on, with Lee clearing the ring and hitting a slingshot corkscrew dive, which he can just do.

Dan Lambert laughs off Tay Conti and Sammy Guevara breaking up the TNT Title. Since American Top Team has won every belt there is, he has the belt makers on standby, so the new title will be unveiled on Friday. Lambert is relieved because it means Conti and Guevara can’t do anything with it.

Here is Thunder Rosa for a chat and for once she doesn’t have face paint on. This is the real her and she wanted people to see what a champion looked like. That’s what Serena Deeb will never look like, even though Rosa used to look up to her. On Sunday, the war paint is coming on and Rosa will make Deeb pay for the disrespect. Then theme music plays her off, even after a pretty good speech with the serious stuff working well.

Red Velvet mentions Ruby Soho, who happens to be walking by. Velvet hands her a notebook to know how to take out Kris Statlander, who might be banged up but Soho is ready without it.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Semifinals: Britt Baker vs. Toni Storm

The fans are split as it’s an exchange of wristlocks to start. Storm gets a headscissors on the mat but Baker switches into a neck crank, sending Storm to the ropes. A basement dropkick sends Storm outside, where she posts Baker hard. They head outside with Storm posting Baker, who sends her into the steps as we take a break. Back with Storm hitting a middle ropes DDT and a running hip attack.

Storm Zero is countered into an Air Raid Crash for two, which draws out Jamie Hater. Baker doesn’t want that so Storm grabs a rollup into a release German suplex to send Baker outside. A tornado DDT off the apron plants Baker on the floor as Storm’s nose might be broken. Hayter is knocked off the apron, leaving Baker to have to break up Storm Zero again. This time it’s a rollup with Baker…kind of grazing the rope as there is no Hayter to grab her hands, for the pin at 9:22.

Rating: C+. The ending hurt this one a bit, though the likely match of Soho vs. Baker should be a good final. Baker is still one of the bigger names in the division and a win over her still means something, so go with what works and set up something big. At the same time, dang I could go for Storm winning something, just for the sake of giving her a small something more important to do.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Semifinals: Samoa Joe vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Non-title and Joe pounds away against the ropes to start. Joe chops him down and then beats on O’Reilly again for daring to try a comeback. O’Reilly manages to knock him down and starts in on the arm, which was banged up by Jay Lethal and Satnam Singh. The cross armbreaker can’t quite go on as we take a break.

Back with Joe slugging O’Reilly down and hitting a backsplash, setting up some kicks to the face. A hard clothesline gives Joe two but the MuscleBuster is countered into a Fujiwara armbar. Joe makes the rope and strikes away to rock O’Reilly but the Rock Bottom out of the corner is broken up. That doesn’t matter for Joe, who pulls him into the Koquina Clutch to knock O’Reilly out at 12:38.

Rating: B. This is what you were probably expecting when you heard Samoa Joe vs. Kyle O’Reilly being added to the card. Joe knows how to do this submission/striking match as well as anyone and O’Reilly is either right there with him or slightly better at the moment. Joe might not be what he used to be, but he can do this match with anyone.

Adam Cole comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this show a good bit as it made me more interested in Double Or Nothing. There wasn’t anything on here that was great, but it worked well as a show that made me want to see their followup on Sunday. That is a hard trick to pull off but more importantly, it gave us the best AEW show in a few weeks, meaning some issues went away. This is the show they needed and they delivered.

Results
Wardlow b. Shawn Spears – Powerbomb Symphony
Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley b. Private Party – Paradigm Shift to Quen
FTR vs. Roppongi Vice went to a double DQ when Great O’Khan and Jeff Cobb interfered
Swerve Strickland b. Jungle Boy and Ricky Starks – Swerve Stomp to Starks
Britt Baker b. Toni Storm – Rollup with a grab of the ropes
Samoa Joe b. Kyle O’Reilly – Koquina Clutch

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: May 18, 2022
Location: Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s Wild Card Wednesday, meaning we find out the two Joker entrants in the Owen Hart Foundation tournaments. Other than that, we have two Dynamites left before Double Or Nothing and that means it is time to start hammering out a few more matches on the card. Most of the show is already set though and that can make things all the more interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Samoa Joe vs. ???

Non-title and the joker is….Johnny Elite (Nitro/Morrison/about eight other names). Feeling out process to start as Joe doesn’t seem overly impressed. Joe knocks him into the corner for some shots to the ribs, followed by an elbow to the face. Some shots to the face have Joe in a bit of trouble though and Elite knocks him to the floor, setting up the big twisting cannonball to take Joe down again.

We take a break and come back with Joe hitting a big boot and then chopping Elite down. The MuscleBuster is loaded up but Elite takes him down and goes up top. The 450 connects (with Elite’s knees hitting a good bit short) for two but Joe is right back with the MuscleBuster for the pin at 10:21.

Rating: C+. Yeah fine. Elite is about as perfect of a choice as you could get to have him come in, be a nice enough surprise, and be fed to Joe without ruining a debut. I don’t need Elite to stick around, but he had a pretty nice start to his time in AEW, even if this is it. Joe is likely making a deep run in this thing and him winning the whole tournament wouldn’t shock me.

Post match Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh come in to take Joe out with a pipe. The Best Friends make the save.

We look back at Jeff Hardy getting banged up last week against Darby Allin (egads).

The Young Bucks come up to see the Hardys, with Jeff being cleared to wrestle tonight. The Bucks have been praying for him all week but Jeff wants that “Christian AF BS” out of here. Jeff has a tournament to win and Matt threatens violence if the Bucks interfere. Matt calling the Bucks Hardys cosplayers was funny.

Hangman Page vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Non-title and CM Punk is on commentary. Page starts fast and knocks him to the floor but Takeshita is back in with some strikes of his own. They head to the apron with Page taking him down again as we take a break. Back with Takeshita hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb and a jumping knee for two each. They clothesline each other down but Page is back up with a release German suplex, setting up a Tombstone for two.

The buckshot lariat is countered into a jumping knee and a stalling German suplex plants Page again. They go up top with Takeshita hitting a heck of a forearm to knock Page to the mat. Page pops right up with a discus lariat and the Buckshot lariat….but doesn’t cover. Instead it’s the GTS (Punk: “I’ve got him right where I want him.”) for the pin at 12:12.

Rating: B-. I’ve liked Takeshita more than I would have expected as DDT Pro doesn’t have the best reputation for being serious. Takeshita has a good look and his work has gone well enough so I could go for more of him going forward. That being said, this was an extended workout for Page and that’s all it needed to be.

Fuego del Sol and the Dark Order are ready for the House of Black.

Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee vs. Workhorsemen

Lee gets the better of a chop off with Drake to start and hands it off to Strickland. A jumping kick to the face rocks Henry in the corner and it’s back to Lee to clean house. Lee loads up a sitout powerbomb and Strickland adds a top rope double stomp for the pin at 2:21. Nice use of the new power/speed team here.

Post match Lee says they are a top five team but here is Team Taz to interrupt. Ricky Starks calls Lee Rex from Toy Story but Strickland says Starks looks like a bar of soap with a pearl necklace on. Cue Jurassic Express with Christian Cage to interrupt. Christian says they are the best and the triple threat challenge is thrown out for Double Or Nothing. Deal. Oh and for a bonus: let’s do Jungle Boy vs. Ricky Starks vs. Swerve Strickland next week.

Red Velvet and Kris Statlander are ready to fight in the first round of the Owen Hart Tournament on Friday. Jade Cargill comes in for catchphrases/trash talk.

Here are MJF and Shawn Spears, with MJF nearly getting sick when saying he’s in Houston. He tells Wardlow to get out here right now so here is Wardlow, with his hands still cuffed. MJF spits in his face and slaps him but Wardlow maintains his composure. MJF gets in a few whips but Wardlow doesn’t flinch. Spears gets in a few whips of his own and those wake him up, but MJF gets in a low blow and unloads with the belt. The Dynamite Diamond ring knocks Wardlow cold and MJF is rather pleased with himself.

Roppongi Vice throws out the challenge to FTR for a Ring of Honor Tag Team Title shot.

Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix starts with the flips but loses a chop off to put him right back down. Back up and an armbar slows Fenix down but he knocks O’Reilly to the floor for a heck of a running flip dive. O’Reilly posts the arm though and we take a break. Back with Fenix kicking him down as O’Relly’s chest is very red. O’Reilly grabs the rolling butterfly suplexes but Fenix drives him into the corner for a springboard spinning kick to the head.

Another spinning kick rocks O’Reilly but he bounces off the ropes with a rebound lariat. O’Reilly is back with a choke, which is reversed for a jumping enziguri. Fenix isn’t done and knocks him to the floor for a rope walk flip dive. Back in and a rolling cutter is countered into a cross armbreaker for the tap at 11:16.

Rating: B. This was an interesting back and forth style, with O’Reilly being perfectly logical by going after the arm that was hurt not too long ago. O’Reilly is going to go after a limb no matter what and they gave him an extra target here. Joe vs. O’Reilly should be a good showdown next week and they have done a nice job getting us there, especially with Fenix getting in just enough flips etc. to not take it too far.

Here is the Blackpool Combat Club/Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz, as William Regal and Chris Jericho have their face to face chat (as Jericho tends to do). The Jericho Appreciation Society comes out, with the order to cut off the pyro and music. Jericho brings up the attack last week and says he thought Regal would be dead by now. Regal gets a chuckle out of that and talks about how Regal should have been one of the best of all time given all of his skills. Instead, he wound up being a world class addict.

Regal has been fired from every company he has ever worked for until he weaseled his way in here on the coattails of his proteges. Then you have Eddie Kingston, whose face was burned with a fireball. Then you have Bryan Danielson, and we pause for a YES chant. Danielson has never had a drink or taken a drug in his life, but stick with this gang long enough and Regal will have him needing the program just like Moxley. Jericho tells Regal to get out of the business or the Wizard will shoot a fireball in his face. Or relieve himself in Regal’s tea again.

The tea gets Regal talking, as the two of them have known each other since 1997. The only thing that are worse than Jericho’s voice are the screams from a burning orphanage so please be quiet. Jericho is right about Regal’s issues, but one thing has kept him going for the last 21 years. Whenever he has been on a show with Jericho, Regal would go to Jericho’s bag when Jericho was in the ring and….place Jericho’s toothbrush in a certain area. Daniel Garcia: “HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO SOMEONE???” Regal: “Actually flower, I did it to yours last week.”

Jericho loads up the Stadium Stampede challenge but Moxley says he “isn’t doing that s***.” Moxley isn’t doing that sports entertainment stuff so let’s make it anything goes with glorious violence until the Society is bleeding like stuck pigs. Call it whatever you want, including wrestling vs. sports entertainment.

Jericho seems down with that and brings up the other team’s history with each other, including Danielson calling Kingston “a judgmental prick.” Kingston to Danielson: “You are.” Kingston doesn’t care about buyrates or ratings though so let’s fight right now. Jericho and company leave instead, with Danielson and Kingston being ready to fight over giving chase. There were some great lines in there, but this wasn’t what I had in mind for Regal vs. Jericho: Face To Face, especially as Regal didn’t exactly get in any great lines in response to Jericho’s stuff.

Dante Martin and Matt Sydal want the Blackpool Combat Club on Friday.

Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Britt Baker vs. ???

The Joker is Maki Itoh, the singing wrestler who teamed with Baker last year at Revolution. Baker loads up the Fingerpoke of Doom but Itoh small packages her for two instead. Itoh steps on her foot and hits a headbutt, only to miss a falling headbutt. There’s a Sling Blade to Baker and we take a break.

Back with Baker sending Itoh face first into the buckle, but Itoh has a hard head so she does it to herself. A headbutt puts Baker down and Itoh adds a tornado DDT for two. Itoh finally hits her falling headbutt for two but Baker pulls her straight into the Lockjaw for the win at 6:45.

Rating: D+. The match itself was nothing and that isn’t the point here. Itoh is the definition of a gimmick and therefore having her pop up once every now and then is going to work. I don’t know how much anyone was wanting a payoff to Itoh and Baker teaming together at Revolution, but for something that lasted about eight minutes, there are far worse ways to go.

Post match Toni Storm comes out for the staredown with Baker, who doesn’t seem impressed.

Here is Tony Schiavone in the ring to hype up next week’s three year anniversary show but Serena Deeb cuts him off. She is sick of hearing Tony talk, especially last week when Tony said that she can’t beat Thunder Rosa. Dustin Rhodes has had a lot to say about Deeb having no chance against Rosa, so here is Dustin to interrupt.

Deeb calls him the poster boy of failure and says Jim Ross might be the only one with any brains around here. She says Dustin knows how hard it was to be a woman in her era and even got implants to satisfy old perverts. So why does Dustin think Deeb can’t beat Thunder Rosa? Dustin has nothing to say so she slaps him in the face, which draws out Rosa. Deeb takes the Women’s Title from her and gets in a good shot. I have no idea what they were going for here, but Deeb talking isn’t a good thing.

Owen Hart Tournament Semifinals: Adam Cole vs. Jeff Hardy

Cole jumps him in the aisle and the beating starts fast. Hardy is sent into the steps, setting up a Backstabber to drop Jeff again. We take a break and come back with the slugout in the middle (because of course) but Cole enziguris him down. The sitout gordbuster gives Jeff two but the Whisper in the Wind is…kind of superkicked out of the air (that didn’t look great). The Boom misses so Jeff hits the Twisting Stunner, only to miss the Swanton. Cole hits the Boom for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C. This felt like a rush job due to time constraints, especially with Cole jumping him in the aisle. I can kind of get the idea of not wanting Allin to lose to Cole here, but if that is the case, don’t set up the brackets that way in the first place. Hardy was still banged up here so he has an out, but it wasn’t like there was much to the match in the first place.

Post match Cole stares at Jeff but Matt Hardy gets in to cut him off. The Young Bucks come in for the cheap shot but the Hardys stare them down. Cole jumps the Hardys and here are Sting and Darby Allin for the save. Cue ReDRagon to go after Sting and Allin though, including Sting’s ankle being Pillmanized to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. AEW continues their weird streak of a good show with that one weird thing in there. This time it was Deeb’s segment, as I’m not sure I get what they were trying to do. Other than that (and the Baker vs. Itoh match, which was meant to be glorified comedy), there wasn’t much to complain about here. Double Or Nothing had matches either added or enhanced so I can’t complain all that much. Not a home run show here, but it did what it needed to do and didn’t go nuts with the surprises. I had fun, so call it at least mostly a success.

Results
Samoa Joe b. Johnny Elite – MuscleBuster
Hangman Page b. Konosuke Takeshita – GTS
Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee b. Workhorsemen – Sitout powerbomb/top rope double stomp to Henry
Kyle O’Reilly b. Rey Fenix – Cross armbreaker
Britt Baker b. Maki Itoh – Lockjaw
Adam Cole b. Jeff Hardy – Boom

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: May 11, 2022
Location: UBS Arena, Belmont Park, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re back on Long Island this week and that means it’s going to be a bit of a Bizarro World situation. CM Punk is getting to face Long Island’s own John Silver, but the big story is MJF getting to name the stipulations for his match against Wardlow with Wardlow’s freedom on the line. If nothing else, it should be fun to hear MJF get that kind of a hero’s welcome. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Owen Hart Foundation First Round: Adam Cole vs. Dax Harwood

Harwood starts fast with some shots to the face but gets kneed in the ribs to cut him down. That means Cole can start to pose a bit as he stomps Harwood down even more. Harwood gets sent ribs first into the post and it’s time to go outside. Cole sends him into various other things, including HARD into the post as we take a break.

Back with Harwood getting sent chest first into the buckle. Harwood is fine enough to hang in a slugout and grab a slingshot powerbomb for two of his own. A rollup gives Harwood two but the kickout sends him into the corner, only to have him come out with a spinning crossbody out of the corner. Cole is back with a superkick but Harwood rolls him up for two more.

The Panama Sunrise is blocked so Cole goes with a kick to the face and another Panama Sunrise attempt is countered, setting up a piledriver for two. With that not working, Harwood grabs the Sharpshooter but Cole kicks him off and out to the floor. That’s good for a nine count so Cole grabs his own Sharpshooter back inside. Harwood tries to bridge out but finally collapses and taps at 15:34.

Rating: B. I don’t think there was any real doubt about the winner here and that is not a bad thing. Harwood made Cole work here but ultimately fell in the end. The last few months have been a great showcase of FTR and it is great to see Harwood getting a moment to shine here on his own. Cole is a much bigger singles star and a real threat to win the tournament so this was a very nice way to use Harwood, even if he had no real chance of winning.

Video on Darby Allin vs. Jeff Hardy. They know each other and Allin has asked Tony Khan to relax the rules so they can be insane like they want to be.

CM Punk vs. John Silver

Hangman Page is on commentary. Punk, in a New York Islanders jersey, has his music stopped so the fans can boo him even more. Feeling out process to start with Silver running him over with a shoulder. Punk’s hiptoss is countered into a backslide for two but he gets in a shot of his own and we take a break.

Back with Silver firing off some kicks, including a low superkick into a brainbuster for two. Silver slips a bit in the corner but still manages a tornado DDT for another near fall. A running leg lariat gives Punk a needed breather and he goes to the apron, but stops to stare at Page. Punk hits a not very good Buckshot Lariat for the pin at 8:06.

Rating: C+. This was a similar story as the first match and that is something that works well. Punk vs. Page is starting to feel bigger and while they are going to have their work cut out for them, it is something they can pull off. That being said, Punk might need to stick to the GTS as that lariat wasn’t exactly great to see.

Post match Page storms to the ring and gets in Punk’s face. Punk talks about how the title is just business to him and this isn’t personal. Every morning, Punk would wake up and ask if he was a good guy. Now he is waking up to ask if he is the champ and yeah he thinks he is. At Double Or Nothing, Punk is winning the title and Page is going to shake his hand whether he is conscious or unconscious. Punk extends his hand but gets flipped off as Page leaves.

Britt Baker doesn’t care about who she is facing in the Owen Hart Tournament but she knows that Jamie Hayter is going to win. Tonight, the Toni Storm is going to pass. Oh and Baker is cool with facing Hayter in the semifinals.

Danhausen vs. Tony Nese

Danhausen loads up the curse but Nese sends him into the corner and hits the Running Nese for the pin at 32 seconds. It makes sense. There is nothing to suggest Danhausen is anything more than a joke so treat him as such.

Post match Nese hits another running knee and loads up another but here is Hook for the save. Nese runs off so Danhausen extends a hand to Hook, who shakes it, much to Danhausen’s shock.

We get a promo for the next season of Dark Side Of The Ring, as narrated by Chris Jericho, about an upcoming episode on MJF vs. Wardlow. Hold on though as Jericho says he doesn’t want to narrate something from MJF….but then he finds out how much he is being paid. This turns into a video about their history, with Taz not wanting to talk about Wardlow and Barry Horowitz talking about how much of a jobber Wardlow really is. Awesome, as usual with this stuff.

It’s time for the contract signing between MJF and Wardlow, with Wardlow coming to the ring in handcuffs and MJF sporting an Islanders jersey, allowing him to soak in even more cheers. MJF goes on about the greatness that is Long Island and explains the story, even for the fans in the cheap seats (MJF: “You’re poor but you’re still beautiful.”). He also doesn’t want the fans to boo Wardlow (with some very massive winking going on) and oddly enough, Wardlow is booed out of the building.

With that out of the way, it’s time to talk about the conditions, because it is time for Wardlow to pay for everything he did to Cody Rhodes. MJF again hints that he’s leaving in 2024 before saying at Double Or Nothing, he is going to whip Wardlow not one, two, etc etc, nine or…..hey Shawn Spears, how many times is he going to whip Wardlow? Anyway, if Wardlow is going to get his match, he has to beat Spears in a cage.

Wardlow REALLY likes that idea, until MJF says he’ll be the special referee. If Wardlow survives there, he can get his match at Double Or Nothing, but if he loses there, he can NEVER sign with AEW. Wardlow tries to sign but can’t with the handcuffs….so MJF says take them off. Spears and Mark Sterling point out that this is a REALLY BAD IDEA but the cuffs come off anyway.

Wardlow signs but doesn’t want the cuffs put back on. Security is taken out (with MJF hiding behind Spears) and Spears is taken out, leaving Sterling to save MJF from the Powerbomb Symphony. Then Sterling is put through the table instead. Commentary says MJF vs. Wardlow is set for Double Or Nothing, and I think it’s the whipping, the cage match and MJF vs. Wardlow all at the pay per view. Or maybe not as it’s kind of unclear. It seems that Wardlow has to get through the other stages first and then gets MJF, but their wording could have been a lot better here.

Video on Samoa Joe vs. Jay Lethal/Sonjay Dutt/Satnam Singh.

FTW World Title: Ricky Starks vs. Jungle Boy

Starks is defending. They go a bit technical to start with neither being able to get anywhere until Jungle Boy blocks a right hand. Starks gets dropkicked out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Jungle Boy hitting a rebound lariat but Starks knocks him back as well. Roshambo is blocked and Jungle Boy hits a superkick for two.

As JR goes on some weird tangent about Taz having a special guest at Thanksgiving (apparently he means Danhausen, which had nothing to do with anything going on at the moment), Jungle Boy gets the Snare Trap but Starks is in the ropes. Starks tries to leave but here is Swerve Strickland to cut him off. That means the referee doesn’t see Jungle Boy roll Starks up. Once the referee is back though, the Roshambo can retain the title at 10:01.

Rating: C+. Jungle Boy gets protected in the loss but it’s still weird to see him get pinned. This would seem to set up something between Strickland/Keith Lee and the Jurassic Express, even though Team Taz is right there. That’s the calling card of a triple threat and in this case, it makes enough sense. Starks and Jungle Boy had the perfectly good match you would expect them to have too so this was completely watchable.

Post match Christian Cage and Luchasaurus come out to check on Jungle Boy and don’t look happy with Swerve. Cue Keith Lee and it’s a three way staredown, also involving Team Taz.

Here is the Jericho Appreciation Society for a victory speech, though commentary isn’t sure what victory they’re talking about. Matt Menard talks about how excited being on this team makes him before it’s off to Jericho, who says he was glad to get out of this dump. He’s the Wizard and throws fireballs in people’s faces, including Eddie Kingston.

Hold on though as Kingston needs to stay home because he needs to keep his wife happy. If Kingston can’t, call Jericho and he’ll take care of it. Daniel Garcia talks about how sports entertainers always beat wrestlers, and it’s Jon Moxley interrupting. Jericho tells him to go on another hiatus but here are Bryan Danielson, Wheeler Yuta and William Regal.

That isn’t enough to even things up, so here are Santana/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston to start the real brawl. House is cleaned and even Regal gets in a shot on Jericho. The villains flee, as I wonder when they installed the invisible wall that is keeping the good guys from going after Jericho and company. That’s quite the one sided match on paper, but I’ll take this over the BCC crushing more and more jobbers.

Video on Thunder Rosa vs. Serena Deeb.

Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Toni Storm vs. Jamie Hayter

They go to the mat to start and neither can get very far. Back up and Hayter wins a power off and sends Storm outside as we take an early break. We come back with Storm getting two off a high crossbody but getting caught in a Rock Bottom backbreaker (with Hayter just barely getting the knee in). The ripcord lariat is countered into a German suplex though and Storm gets a breather as Hayter rolls to the apron. They slug it out until Hayter grabs a superplex, only to get small packaged for two. Hayter rolls through a backslide but Storm is right there with Storm Zero to advance at 8:32.

Rating: C+. They kept this one moving and had a physical fight to get there. I like that Storm is getting rehabbed a bit as she came in and then cooled off rather quickly, but at least they’re doing a little something with her here. I’m not sure if she is getting past Britt Baker, but one win on TV is better than another loss.

Video on Kazarian vs. Scorpio Sky.

Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti warn Kazarian about Scorpio Sky but he doesn’t want to hear it. Guevara: “SCU later.” Kazarian: “Your vlog sucks.”

Here is what is coming up on various shows. They do clarify that Wardlow will get his ten lashes next week.

Owen Hart Foundation First Round: Darby Allin vs. Jeff Hardy

Anything goes and Sting/Matt Hardy are the seconds. Allin starts at the bell and dropkicks Hardy to the floor. A bunch of chairs are set up next to each other (eight, set up four by two) but Jeff sends him face first into the steps. Hardy hammers away and turns the steps on their side but the Twist of Fate is blocked. Instead, Hardy pulls out a ladder (as we’re less than three minutes into the match) and we take a break.

Back with Allin on top of the big ladder in the ring and, after doing Jeff’s pose, flip dives onto Hardy onto the eight chairs. With that horrifically stupid idea out of the way (and Allin thankfully still moving), Allin misses a Coffin Drop onto the apron, allowing Hardy to put him on the steps for the Twist of Fate. The Swanton only hits steps though and Allin takes him back in for the Coffin Drop….so Hardy rolls him up for the pin at 10:16.

Rating: D. I know that’s not going to go over well but I got angrier and angrier throughout this….well it wasn’t wrestling so I’m not sure what to call it. Within three minutes, they had eight chairs, the ring steps and a ladder in play. After a break they did a crazy spot, then they did a crazy spot, then Allin hit his finisher but Jeff pinned him anyway. As in Jeff hardy, who can barely move, pinned Darby Allin, who (assuming he isn’t in a wheelchair because no one with any authority will tell him to stop doing those dangerous spots) could be a top star around here. If you liked it then that’s cool, but this was absolutely not for me in any way.

Post match the Undisputed Elite comes out to stare down the Hardys to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a MUCH better show than last week so I think we can write that off as the kind of bad night that happens to everyone. Main event aside (and I’m likely to be pretty alone on that one), this was an entertaining show but more importantly, it moved things forward towards Double Or Nothing. A lot of the card is either already set or is pretty clear, so now they can spend the next few weeks hammering things down. That is the important part of this week, but they also had some good action throughout. Nice stuff this week, which tends to be the case around here.

Results
Adam Cole b. Dax Harwood – Sharpshooter
CM Punk b. John Silver – Buckshot lariat
Tony Nese b. Danhausen – Running Nese
Ricky Starks b. Jungle Boy – Roshambo
Toni Storm b. Jamie Hayter – Storm Zero
Jeff Hardy b. Darby Allin – Crucifix

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: April 29, 2022
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks, Chris Jericho

We’re still in the most serious wrestling city in the country and that should play into AEW’s hands rather well. Rampage is the show that is going to focus on the in-ring action more than anything else and hopefully that makes for a good night. Throw in Danhausen calling out Hook and….I’m really not sure what that is going to mean. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Qualifying Match: Swerve Strickland vs. Darby Allin

Sting is in Allin’s corner as they start with a wrestle off. Neither can get very far until Allin takes him down by the arm. Make that a chinlock for a bit before Allin knocks him to the floor. The suicide dive is cut off by a jumping knee as commentary talks about how well these two know each other.

We take a break and come back with Allin working on the knee but Strickland fights up. Swerve knocks him down but misses the Serve Stomp. Allin’s Coffin Drop hits raised knees so Strickland kicks him in the head for two. Strickland heads to the apron and suplexes him down onto the floor, because that’s a totally rational thing to do. Cue Ricky Starks off commentary to go to ringside but Sting cuts him off. Allin grabs the Last Supper for the pin at 10:25.

Rating: C+. Annoying distraction finish aside, this worked well while it lasted, even if you factor in the pretty insane suplex to the floor. You could have gone with either winning here, but Allin is a bigger star and a threat to win the whole thing. Strickland needs a win of his own though, as he hasn’t had much success so far around here.

Shawn Spears is excited to see Wardlow get taken out by the big guy next week. They still won’t say who it is though.

Chris Jericho names himself Sports Entertainer Of The Week for attacking Eddie Kingston.

Santana and Ortiz storm the commentary booth and jump Jericho to lay him out.

Baddies vs. Skye Blue/Trish Adora/Willow Nightingale

That would be Jade Cargill/Red Velvet/Kiera Hogan. Blue gets taken into the corner to start so Velvet can choke with the boot. Hogan comes in with a running boot the face but Blue manages a kick. Blue and Hogan both catch a kick at the same time before Hogan kicks her in the head. Adora comes in and gets hit with a step up Fameasser, allowing the tag off to Cargill for jaded and the pin on Adora at 2:40. Total squash.

Darby Allin offers Swerve Strickland another match after the ending but Strickland knows Allin didn’t have anything to do with it. Strickland wants Allin to win the tournament so now he can go find Keith Lee and deal with Team Taz.

Keith Lee vs. Colten Gunn

Gunn looks like he got kicked in the face by a horse, kicked the horse back, and then got kicked in the face again. They shove each other around a bit until Lee takes him into the corner for the Grizzly Magnum chop. We take a break and come back with Lee hitting some running shoulders but missing a charge in the corner. The Fameasser is blocked though and the Big Bang Catastrophe finishes Gunn at 7:00.

Rating: C. As is so often said about AEW matches, this needed a break? The match wasn’t even that good as Gunn was little more than a sacrificial lamb for Lee. I’m still not sure what Lee is supposed to do in AEW, because he has been stuck in minor stories and matches like this for a lot of his time there. The Gunns continue to be watchable though and there might even be some potential upward mobility for both of them.

Jeff Hardy is ready to take out Bobby Fish next week in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament.

The Undisputed Elite laughs off the idea of Jeff Hardy being a threat, with Fish calling him Jeff hardly.

Here is Danhausen, who says SEND HOOK. Cue Hook, with Danhausen thinking that we need to do this at another time. Cue Mark Sterling for a distraction so Tony Nese can jump both of them. Hook fights up and grabs a suplex, allowing Danhausen to curse Nese and Sterling. The villains leave and the fans want Hookhausen, but Hook grabs him by the neck instead, only to leave without getting violent.

The Gunn Club says that isn’t a loss but the Acclaimed comes in to offer some scissoring, complete with hand gestures. The Club wants to go talk to their dad, leaving the interviewer to turn down the same offer.

Mercedes Martinez is ready to take out Deonna Purrazzo and become the undisputed Ring Of Honor Women’s Champion.

Samoa Joe threatens to kill Trent Beretta, while Trent says he’s going to win the ROH TV Title.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Trent Beretta vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is defending and the Best Friends are here with Trent. Joe knocks him into the corner to start but gets knocked outside, setting up Trent’s Asai moonsault. We take a break and come back with Trent hitting a top rope dive to the floor to drop Joe. Back in and Trent grabs a Saito suplex for two, only to have Joe pull him into an STF. We’ll make that a Crossface but Trent gets his foot on the rope. Jericho: “He’s not dead yet!” Joe blasts Trent with a clothesline, with Jericho switching to “he might be now!” The MuscleBuster is broken up and it’s the Koquina Clutch to make Trent tap at 10:02.

Rating: C+. Joe can have a good match with anyone and the same is true of Trent, making this a fine enough main event. That being said, having a 40+ year old Joe as the midcard champion of a minor league promotion isn’t likely to bring in more eyes to the show. Joe can still draw in some attention, but isn’t there anything bigger that he could do than this?

Post match Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh come out to interrupt a Samoa Joe interview. Orange Cassidy tries some lazy kicks but gets decked by Dutt. The brawl is on with Lethal and Joe having to be held apart to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Maybe they were taking a week off this time because of the NBA and NFL events going on, but this wasn’t exactly a great show. It didn’t feel like much of anything on this show mattered and that isn’t a great feeling to have. There is some good enough action, but it continued AEW’s trend of not feeling important without the big stars. Certainly a watchable show, but not worth the time.

Results
Darby Allin b. Swerve Strickland – Last Supper
Baddies b. Skye Blue/Trish Adora/Willow Nightingale – Jaded to Adora
Keith Lee b. Colten Gunn – Big Bang Catastrophe
Samoa Joe b. Trent Beretta – Koquina Clutch

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.