Rampage
Date: February 3, 2023
Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Commentators: Chris Jericho, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

Rampage continues to be a bit all over the place as you know most of the card/lineup in advance but it still feels like a show that could go in a bunch of different directions. That could be the case again this week as there is some star power with the Elite around to defend the Trios Titles. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Trios Titles: Elite vs. Isiah Kassidy/Matt Hardy/Ethan Page

The Elite is defending and for the sake of simplicity, Matt Hardy will be referred to as Hardy and Matt Jackson will be referred to as Matt. Nick Jackson and Kassidy trade some flips and takedowns to start before Matt comes in to take over. Kassidy gets over to Hardy for the tag, so Omega gets the overly dramatic tag (Omega is a big deal, but spare me with the Hardy stuff at this point).

Hardy sends Omega outside and goes up but Page tags himself in to take over instead. Omega snaps off a hurricanrana and it’s the Bucks coming back in for a pop up hurricanrana. Everything breaks down and Nick hits a big flip dive to the floor. Back in and Matt rolls the northern lights suplexes on Hardy but Page makes the save as we take a break.

Back with Nick in trouble and Hardy going up, only to have Page tag himself back in. The delay lets Omega come back in to take over, including You Can’t Escape to Page. Everything breaks down and Kassidy tries to play Jeff Hardy in Poetry In Motion, only to get superkicked out of the air. Omega and Hardy hit stereo clotheslines, leaving Kassidy to hit a super swinging Downward Spiral on Matt.

Kassidy and Nick slug it out but the triple superkick is broken up. A Canadian Destroyer sends Nick into the corner and the Twist of Fate gives Kassidy two on Nick. Kassidy’s cutter gets two more on Nick but Omega is back in with a heck of a V Trigger sets up the One Winged Angel. The BTE Trigger retains the titles at 15:44.

Rating: B-. Good enough action here, but the lack of drama was impossible to ignore. No one was buying half of a tag team, plus a pair of guys who can’t get along, as a threat to the Trios Titles. I know Hardy is a legend but so much of the special feeling is gone whenever he does anything. That leaves Page, who is talented but not enough to overcome these odds. Not a bad match at all, ubt it was a bunch of waiting around for the Elite to retain.

Ricky Starks is ready to run the gauntlet to get to Chris Jericho because he’ll always find a way.

Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Sonjay Dutt/Satnam Singh brag about stealing the Golden Globe and using it to beat the Best Friends and Danhausen.

The Best Friends and Danhausen kind of swear revenge but Danhausen seems a bit confused.

Swerve Strickland vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

Parker Boudreaux and Trench (yeah Trench) are here with Swerve. They fight over arm control to start and then lock up until Pillman sends him into the corner. A running dropkick sends Swerve outside and Pillman takes a victory lap as we take a break. Back with the traditional exchange of forearms with Strickland getting the better of things.

A kick to the face gives Pillman two but Swerve hits his step up kick to the back of the head for two of his own. Pillman manages a neck snap across the top rope but the goons’ interference lets Swerve hit the Death Valley Driver on the apron. The Swerve Stomp finishes for Strickland at 8:18.

Rating: C-. Pillman Jr. is trying and looks so much like his dad that it’s scary, but he’s another case where it just isn’t working. The fire isn’t there and you can see it more and more every time he is in the ring. I know he is proud of his name, but being the Jr. version of his famous dad seems to be destroying his career. Granted it also would have helped if he hadn’t been thrown onto national TV before he was ready, but that’s a bigger AEW problem.

Post match the beatdown is on but Dustin Rhodes makes the save.

Malakai Black talks about poisoning Eddie Kingston. They don’t want him in the House of Black but they are glad he has gone to the dark side.

Toni Storm/Saraya vs. Renegade Twins

Storm and Robin start things off with a rather aggressive lockup until Storm hits a Thesz press. Saraya gets in some knees from the apron and the hip attack sends Robin crashing to the floor. There’s a whip into the barricade and it’s Saraya coming in for a running knee in the corner. A running knee to the face gets two on Robin and Storm grabs the chinlock. Back up and Robin is able to nail an enziguri, allowing the hot tag off to Charlotte. Everything breaks down and a quick Storm Zero gives Storm the pin at 5:08.

Rating: C. I know they’re jobbers and a lot of what they do is because of being twins, but there is something about the Renegades that makes me interested. They feel like they are giving it everything they have every time and that makes for a fun time whenever they’re out there. Saraya is starting to shake the ring rust off too, as while she wasn’t in there long, she looked smoother than she has recently. Maybe things are looking up for her.

Post match Saraya and Storm spray paint L’s on the Twins. Because they’re losers you see.

Adam Cole is ready to get back in the ring.

Video on Rush vs. Christopher Daniels.

Here’s what is coming on Dynamite.

Rush vs. Christopher Daniels

Jose the Assistant and Preston Vance are here too. They go with the grappling to start as Tony lists off Daniels’ ROH resume. Daniels knocks him to the floor and hits the required suicide dive. We take a break and come back with Rush kicking away at the ribs and Jose/Preston throwing money on Danielson’s back.

Some chops out of the corner give Danielson a break and a Blue Thunder Bomb gets two. The Koji Clutch keeps Rush in trouble but Vance puts the foot on the rope for the save. The Best Moonsault Ever hits raised knees though and Rush suplexes him into the corner. Rush hits the Bull’s Horns for the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C. As has been the case with a few Rampage matches in recent weeks, this was an “oh, ok then” match. Was anyone thinking that they needed to see this match before it was announced? They made Rush look more like a killer before the Danielson match next week, but that was about all you could get from this one. Again, not a bad match, but it had no spark or interest and that hurts things badly.

Overall Rating: C. I think it’s safe to say that Tony Khan’s attempts to make Rampage feel special are gone. Having the Elite in there for a pretty nothing title defense was nice, but you need more than fifteen minutes of important to make the show matter. It’s another week that felt like they just picked people who were backstage to be on the show and fill time, which shouldn’t be how a TV show feels. Completely watchable, but again, nothing you need to see and that hurts.

Results
Elite b. Isiah Kassidy/Matt Hardy/Ethan Page – BTE Trigger to Kassidy
Swerve Strickland b. Brian Pillman Jr. – Swerve Stomp
Saraya/Toni Storm b. Renegade Twins – Storm Zero to Charlotte
Rush b. Christopher Daniels – Bull’s Horns

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: January 4, 2023
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

We’re in a new year and the big story is a new look for the show. That is somewhat long overdue and the question is will AEW have a good show to back it up. The likely main event is Samoa Joe defending the TNT Title against hometown boy Darby Allin in a rematch from a few weeks back. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence, with remixed themed song.

There is a new set with new graphics. They’re nothing mind blowing but they look sleek and rather nice.

Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Starks

Feeling out process to start with Starks slapping him in the face and pounding away in the corner. Starks does a rather length Old School but gets knocked to the apron. The triangle dropkick is broken up though and Jericho suplexes him off the apron as we take a break. Back with Starks hitting a running clothesline to leave both of them down.

Starks grabs a sitout powerbomb for two, blocks the Codebreaker and hits a superkick for two. Jericho is right back with the Walls so he goes to the rope, only to have one of the Society member knock him silly with a foreign object. The referee gets two arm drops before Starks is up again. Jericho tries a running something but gets caught in a tornado DDT. Starks drops the Society and hits the spear for the pin at 12:41.

Rating: B-. Well that’s a surprise, but what matters here is Starks overcame the odds and got a pretty big win. It seems like they are trying something with him and that is one of the best things that could happen. Starks has the talent and has been on a roll over the last few weeks. Maybe he goes somewhere with this and I can think of far worse ideas. Good match too, as Starks overcame the odds, just as he should have.

Post match the beatdown is on with the rest of the Society coming in, only to have Action Andretti make the save. Anna Jay and Tay Melo come in for the low blow though and the beatdown is on again. Starks gets powerbombed off the apron through a table.

Here is Hangman Page for an update on his medical condition. He can’t give us the good news that he is cleared, but he can pass one more brain scan before next week and fight Jon Moxley then. Cue Moxley, who says he is tired of the candlelight vigil for Page. He also seems sick of thinking that the mic isn’t on (though we can hear it at home, including him dropping an F bomb about it). Moxley: “Let’s go Seahawks. Ok let’s get this back on track.”

Page talks about being knocked out by everyone from enemies to his best friends. Moxley has been making jokes about everything though and thinks it’s because Moxley is scared. That’s why Page is here right now and he has two in the chamber for Moxley. That doesn’t work with Moxley, who says Page doesn’t belong in the ring with him, and next week, he’ll make sure Page doesn’t get back up. This was intense stuff, but Page better win next week.

Video on Samoa Joe, who is ready for Darby Allin.

Tag Team Titles: Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal vs. Acclaimed

The Acclaimed is defending, with Max Caster talking about how Jarrett is going to blame the loss on Dixie Carter because TNA means Total Nonstop Acclaimed. Billy Gunn, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh are all here too as Caster jumps over Lethal to start and kicks him a few times. The running Fameasser from behind drops Lethal and Scissor Me Timbers hits Lethal again. Jarrett breaks up the big scissoring though and it’s Scissor Me Timbers for him too.

Back up and Lethal slides outside to slap Gunn in the face, which is enough to draw him inside. That’s enough for the ejection and we take a break. Back with Lethal grabbing a chinlock on Bowens, only to miss Hail To the King. Bowens hits some suplexes and it’s back to Caster for the house cleaning, including a dive to Lethal on the floor. A high crossbody gets two on Lethal with Jarrett making the save. Caster gets shoved off the top so it’s a Figure Four to Bowens.

Singh and Dutt get caught going after Caster so they’re out as well, which is enough for Lethal to let go of Bowens’ leg. The Stroke hits Bowens instead and Lethal covers but Bowens gets his foot on the rope….which Dutt shoves off for the pin. Thankfully even AEW isn’t that insane and here is Aubrey Edwards to say not so fast, meaning the match continues. In the chaos, Bowens rolls Lethal up to retain at 12:01.

Rating: C. That was a heck of a false finish, though the fear of Jarrett and Lethal being champions is so strong that I’m not sure what to think of the whole thing. I still don’t get the reason why they’re in this spot as it isn’t like they’re a thrilling team, but at least they didn’t do anything insane here. They may have teased it, but they didn’t go all the way.

We get a sitdown interview with Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter. They aren’t worried about whoever Saraya has as her partner because they are AEW originals. How does Saraya not know who her partner is yet? It doesn’t matter because Britt is the pillar and Jamie is the killer (that’s a great line).

Jungle Boy is ready for the Firm and has Hook with him.

Bryan Danielson vs. Tony Nese

Mark Sterling and Josh Woods are here with Nese and the fans go NUTS for Danielson. A distraction lets Nese take him into the corner for the Running Nese and a near fall. Danielson fires off the kicks in the corner to set up the YES Kicks but the big one is blocked. Nese hits a not so great buckle bomb but misses the Running Nese this time. The running knee knocks Nese silly and Danielson stomps him unconscious. The Regal Stretch makes the referee stop it to give Danielson the win at 3:23.

Rating: C. This was little more than a squash and a way to get Danielson in the ring in front of his (close enough) hometown crowd. Danielson seems ready to be getting ready for the World Title shot against MJF, so running through a schnook like Nese is a good way to go. They didn’t give this any kind of time and they shouldn’t have done so, making it a perfectly acceptable use of time.

Post match Danielson says he’s glad to be home and calls out MJF. Cue MJF to say he isn’t coming out there and wrestle Danielson right now. MJF doesn’t care about wrestling like this but doesn’t think much of Danielson anyway. If Lance Storm and Dean Malenko could procreate, it would still be more interesting than him.

MJF mocks Danielson’s mother having relations with a goat, but Danielson has heard MJF’s mother had enough male suitors to fill this arena. MJF: “THAT’S NOT FUNNY!” MJF says marks like these fans have anointed Danielson, but people like Disco Inferno, Eric Bischoff, “and the smartest man of them all, and my #1 fan, Jim Cornette” have put MJF over. Danielson is ready to fight but MJF backs away, saying Danielson has to become #1 contender. Fans: “SHUT THE F*** UP!” MJF: “No.”

MJF has talked to Tony Khan, who said that Danielson has to win a match every week until February 8 to get the title shot at Revolution. Danielson: “No.” He’ll just wrestle when he wants, become #1 contender the title and win when he feels like it. That sends MJF over the edge, promising to have Mark Sterling filibuster. Danielson: “Mark Sterling is a horrible lawyer.” He wants a stipulation of his own, so let’s have a one hour Iron Man match. Schiavone: “DO IT DUMBA**, DO IT!”

The match is on….but MJF says Danielson still has to win until February 8. Danielson says MJF doesn’t have what it takes and promises to run the gauntlet and win the title. This went on a good bit longer than it needed to but it got the point across. That Cornette line is going to get a lot of hype though.

Video on Kip Sabian vs. Orange Cassidy.

AR Fox vs. Swerve Strickland

Mogul Affiliates are here with Swerve. Fox is sent to the apron and drops to the floor, with Swerve flipping through the ropes (that was sweet) so an Affiliates distraction can ensue. Swerve takes him down on the floor and we take an early break. Back with Swerve grabbing a suplex for two but Fox fights out of the corner. A basement cutter sets up another cutter to plant Swerve, setting up a 450 for two. Fox gets caught on top and pulled back down though, setting up the Swerve Stomp for the pin at 9:12.

Rating: B-. These two just work well together and they have everywhere else I’ve seen them. The good thing here is Fox looked good in defeat and that is all he needed to do. At the same time, Swerve looked as smooth as he always does, showing just how far he could go in AEW. Now just drop the completely unnecessary Affiliates and we could go somewhere fast.

Saraya, with Toni Storm and Hikaru Shida, won’t announce her partner for next week. She talks about how great AEW’s women’s division has been…and then picks Storm as her partner. Shida looks stunned.

Here are the Gunns for the FTRIP funeral. We hear about how FTR won a bunch of titles, save for the AEW Tag Team Titles. Then they lost them, because the Gunns are just better. After the Gunns fake out the FTR entrance, they promise FTR will never wrestle here again.

Video on the Elite vs. Death Triangle Best Of Seven series, with the finals next week.

Jade Cargill/Red Velvet vs. Skye Blue/Kiera Hogan

Velvet and Blue wrestle to the mat to start but neither can get anywhere. Hogan is brought in to take Velvet down, much to Cargill’s annoyance. Blue comes back in and kicks away, setting up a DDT to drop Hogan again. We take a break and come back with Velvet suplexing her way out of trouble. Cargill comes in to kick away though and Hogan is right back in trouble. Velvet comes in and has to suplex her way to freedom, meaning it’s back to Cargill coming in for some kicks. Cargill plants Hogan again so Velvet walks, leaving Cargill to get rolled up for two. The pump kick finishes Hogan at 6:43.

Rating: C-. You mean Jade Cargill, who is the same wrestler as she was before she got the Baddies, might lose the Baddies, who have added nothing to Cargill whatsoever? Gee, I wonder if this is going to change the way Cargill squashes everyone in her path, just like she has done since she debuted. More of the same as we have seen from Cargill for months and just as exciting.

Here’s what is coming on various shows, including Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal vs. the Acclaimed for the Tag Team Titles, No DQ.

Jarrett and Lethal are ready.

TNT Title: Samoa Joe vs. Darby Allin

Allin, the hometown boy, is challenging and dives on Joe before the belly. A skateboard shot to the back rocks Joe and Allin gets in another shot to the back for a bonus. Allin climbs a ladder and hits the huge flip dive, only to come up holding his knee. We get the opening bell to start the match and Joe drops Allin hard onto the steps.

Back from a break with Allin going for a choke, only to have Joe drop back down onto him. Joe kicks him in the chest for two and crushes Allin in the corner. Allin tries to drive him into the corner but Joe rips the turnbuckle pad off. The Koquina Clutch goes on but Allin flips over into a cradle for two. The flipping Stunner is countered into another Koquina Clutch but Allin sends him into the exposed buckle. Back to back Coffin Drops give Allin the pin and the title at 8:50.

Rating: B. This was all action as they played this one as well as they could have. Take Allin, let him bounce off of Joe as much as possible until the ending. Sometimes the best way to go is with the hometown star getting the big win. Allin has been trying to get back to the top of the mountain and he did it here. Keep it simple and let what works work.

Post match Sting comes out for the big celebration and Allin gets to pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. There might not have been anything great on this show but there was more than enough quite good to carry it pretty far. The main event was the high point, but what mattered was making the show feel important. Most of what you saw here was either good enough on its own or set something up for the future. Solid show here, as AEW starts the new year off well.

Results
Ricky Starks b. Chris Jericho – Spear
Acclaimed b. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal – Rollup to Lethal
Bryan Danielson b. Tony Nese – Regal Stretch
Swerve Strickland b. AR Fox – Swerve Stomp
Jade Cargill/Red Velvet b. Skye Blue/Kiera Hogan – Pump kick to Hogan
Darby Allin b. Samoa Joe – Coffin Drop

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: December 30, 2022
Location: 1st Bank Center, Broomfield, Colorado
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Paul Wight

We’ll close out the AEW year with this and as is often the case around here, Orange Cassidy is defending the All-Atlantic Title. This time though, it’s against his friend Trent Beretta. That could go in a few directions and on top of that, we’ll be hearing from Jon Moxley about something. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

In Memory Of Don West.

Opening sequence.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Trent Beretta

Cassidy is defending, Chuck Taylor/Danhausen are on commentary and Kip Sabian is on commentary. They shake hands for a good bit to start until Trent misses an armdrag. Back up and they run the ropes until Cassidy is hiptossed outside. Cassidy gets back in and sends him outside as well. Then they switch places again, with Cassidy being sent outside for the second time.

Trent’s dive hits Chuck by mistake but it’s turned into a well timed Big Hug. Cassidy dives onto Trent to take over, setting up a high crossbody back inside. Trent knocks him to the floor again (you might be noticing a pattern emerging here) but this time Cassidy gets whipped into the barricade. A hard charge hits barricade only though and Cassidy dropkicks him into it again as we take a break.

Back with Cassidy hitting the lazy chops, capped off by a regular one. They forearm it out until a Michinoku Driver gives Cassidy two. He can’t bring himself to try the Orange Punch though and instead tries the Beach Break. That’s reversed into a failed piledriver attempt so Trent settles for a running elbow in the corner. A tornado DDT plants Trent again and the top rope DDT gives Cassidy two more.

Trent’s Crunchie attempt is countered but he can hit the tombstone for his own near fall. A piledriver out of the corner gives Trent two and here is Penelope Ford to interrupt. Ford gets up on the apron to distract Trent, allowing Cassidy to hit a quick Beach Break for two. The Orange Punch retains the title at 11:23.

Rating: C+. The action was good enough and they told a nice story of the two friends not wanting to fight each other but having to in the end. The Ford addition seemed to be there to move us towards Cassidy vs. Kip Sabian again, because that is a thing we need to do one more time. Good match here, as Cassidy gets in his traditional Rampage win.

Post match Trent walks away and Cassidy passes Sabian, who is on the way to the ring for his match.

After Dynamite, Tony Schiavone asked Darby Allin about his upcoming TNT Title shot. Allin is glad to get his title shot in his hometown of Seattle. Everyone laughed at him when he was 115lbs at the end of high school and he proved all of them wrong. Then he became TNT Champion but he lost it all. Now he isn’t sure if anyone, including Sting, believes in him. Sting asks what if he says no before saying he knows Joe is going to kill him. We get the big firing up speech and Sting wants Allin to forget what everyone else is saying. Go get your title back! Nice stuff here as they went with what made sense.

Kip Sabian vs. Atifa

I have no idea if that is Sabian’s opponent’s name but it’s the closest I can get. Sabian mocks Orange Cassidy, hits a Cannonball in the corner, and finishes with his own version of the Orange Punch at 1:18.

La Faccion Ingobernable is in the back with Preston Vance mocking the idea of the Dark Order. Vance isn’t happy that he doesn’t know next week’s opponent, but he doesn’t mind mocking Negative One on national TV.

Here is Jon Moxley in the ring for a chat (no entrance this time). He isn’t happy with Hangman Page and knew that there was going to be a showdown coming. There can only be one true ace and last man standing after what happened between them in Cincinnati. Page woke up in the hospital that night but he slept like a baby. The Blackpool Combat Club works harder than anyone else and deserve their praise. Wrestling is a tough business and if Page can make it to January 11, he’ll be ready to show Page how rough things can be. Keep your hands up b****.

Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal are ready to win the Tag Team Titles on Dynamite. Lethal is rather over the top while Jarrett is serious and to the point about wanting to hurt Max Caster.

TBS Title: Kiera Hogan vs. Jade Cargill

Cargill, with the rest of the Baddies, is defending. Hogan small packages her for a fast two and ducks the pump kick. A chokeslam plants Hogan and we take a break. Back with Hogan slipping away but getting caught with the pump kick for two. They head outside where Leila Grey holds Hogan for a slap….which Red Velvet blocks. Back in and Hogan slips out of another chokeslam, setting up a running hip attack on the ropes to rock Cargill. A high crossbody gives Hogan two more bud it’s Jaded to retain the title at 7:33.

Rating: C. And that is the latest Jade Cargill match with no drama about her losing as she absorbs everything and then wins with Jaded in the end. Hogan was going hard here but there was no chance she was going to lose for the first time to Hogan on Rampage. As has been the case for a long, long time now, Cargill desperately needs something new and this wasn’t it.

Post match Red Velvet leaves on her own.

Jamie Hayter is ready for whomever Saraya has for a partner on January 11.

Mark Sterling is tired of Bryan Danielson messing with MJF so next week, Danielson gets to face Tony Nese.

Wheeler Yuta (and company) is ready for Swerve Strickland (and company).

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Swerve Strickland vs. Wheeler Yuta

Non-title and the rest of the Affiliates are here. They go with the grappling to start before trying to run the ropes. Swerve can’t get a leglock so Yuta slams him down to set up a backsplash for less than one. A bow and arrow keeps Swerve in trouble but he slips out, only to get dropkicked down. The Affiliates offer a distraction so Swerve can get in a shot from behind as we take a break.

Back with Yuta knocking him away and going up top for a forearm. A bridging German suplex gives Yuta two but Swerve’s brainbuster gets the same. Yuta is right back with something like an Angle Slam for another near fall but his knee gives out. Swerve unloads in the corner and hits a running dropkick to said knee. The Swerve Stomp is broken up though and Yuta hits a heck of a top rope superplex. Swerve hits the jumping kick to the head but again can’t hit the JML Driver. The referee gets bumped so it’s a low blow and NOW the JML Driver can finish Yuta at 12:40.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t sure on the winner here and it made for an entertaining match. The good thing is that Strickland is off to a nice start on his own, even if the Affiliates are kind of lame as henchmen. Strickland winning on his own here (even with cheating) is a good sign and beating Yuta means something. Yuta will be fine as he’ll get a win whenever Ring Of Honor is back so this was a solid enough main event.

Overall Rating: B-. This show felt a bit more important as some of the developments felt like they were leading towards something else. The action was good enough and you can only get so bored with an hour long show, which is one of the best things about Rampage. Not a must see show, but it does seem like they are addressing some issues.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Trent Beretta – Orange Punch
Kip Sabian b. Atifa – Orange Punch
Jade Cargill b. Kiera Hogan – Jaded
Swerve Strickland b. Wheeler Yuta – JML Driver

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: December 28, 2022
Location: 1st Bank Center, Broomfield, Colorado
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s another stacked show this week with another Death Triangle vs. Elite match, plus the TNT Title is on the line as Samoa Joe defends against Wardlow. Other than that, we are going to hear from MJF, but Bryan Danielson might have something to say about him. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson vs. Ethan Page

Stokely Hathaway is here with Page…and hang on as here is MJF in a sky box to watch. The distraction lets Page jump Danielson, with MJF having his own mic to mock him for a bonus. Page hits a slam but Danielson is right back with a running clothesline. The chops rock Page and the kicks in the corner make it even worse. Page knocks him back down but Danielson manages to knock him off the top.

The top rope dropkick drops Page but Danielson has to knock Hathaway’s hat off. The distraction doesn’t work for Page, who gets dropkicked to the floor. Page gets in a cheap shot on the floor though and we take a break. Back with Danielson missing the running knee off the apron, thanks to Hathaway shoving Page out of the way.

A powerslam on the floor plants Danielson again and they head back inside, where Danielson grabs a tornado DDT. The LeBell Lock goes on but Page gets a boot on the rope for the save. They head up top again where Danielson fires off the hammer and anvil elbows, only to be reversed into a super powerslam for two. The Ego’s Edge is broken up though and it’s the running knee into the stomps to Page’s head. Danielson grabs a Regal Stretch for the tap at 16:21.

Rating: B. Danielson got in a good win here and made Page look maybe as good as he ever has. Page continues to be a perfectly fine hand in the ring and someone who can do good things under the right circumstances. Working with Danielson is about as good of a set of circumstances as you can find, so this was a very solid match between two talented guys.

Video on Wardlow vs. Samoa Joe.

Wardlow is ready for Joe, who runs in and blasts Wardlow in the knee with a pipe.

Hangman Page doesn’t think much of Renee Paquette asking about his concussion status but apologizes for being rude. He still isn’t cleared, but has to be held back from going to fight Jon Moxley right now. The doctor says he’s on the right track though and he could be back in the ring in about two weeks. Page seems to approve, albeit impatiently.

Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli vs. Top Flight

Top Flight clears the ring to start but their dives don’t work so well as both of them are sent into the barricade. Back in and we officially start with Castagnoli slamming Darius, allowing Moxley to come in and kick him in the ribs. Darius manages to get over to Dante for the tag and some of the house is cleaned. The Club is in trouble and we take an early break. Back with Dante having to avoid the Swing but Darius gets caught in it instead.

That leaves Dante to jump over the swinging Darius (that was awesome) until he can make the save. Castagnoli suplexes Top Flight at the same time but a superkick cuts him off. A springboard Downward Spiral plants Castagnoli with Moxley (holding his knee) having to make the save.

Everything breaks down and Darius reverses the uppercut into a backslide for two. The Neutralizer hits Darius….for two, with Castagnoli giving us a well deserved stunned kickout face. Castagnoli hammer and anvil elbows Darius as Moxley Paradigm Shifts Dante on the floor. Darius tries to fight up but gets BLASTED with an uppercut to give Castagnoli the pin at 13:21.

Rating: B+. This is a prime example of a team getting a lot out of a loss, as Top Flight just hung with two World Champions. The Club felt like they had to work for this one and that is a great way to go. I was way into this one and the idea of Top Flight pulling off the huge upset wasn’t out of the cards. Very good stuff here and it accomplished its goal as well as possible.

Moxley applauds Dante after the match and Castagnoli looks impressed with Darius.

Kip Sabian wants one more match with Orange Cassidy but Trent says he tossed Sabian so he should get the shot. That’s apparently official for Rampage.

Hook vs. Baylum Lynx

Non-title, suplexes, crossface shots, Redrum finishes for Hook at 55 seconds.

Post match the Firm comes out to stare down Hook but Jack Perry comes out to even things up a bit. Perry takes Lee Moriarty down as Hook stares Big Bill down. Hook can’t t-bone him but Perry comes in with a 2×4 shot to Big Bill’s back to send him running. Hook seems appreciative.

We look at Chris Jericho’s recent issues, including with Ricky Starks.

Jericho is ready for Starks on January 4 and brags about burning Action Andretti last week.

Swerve Strickland brags about Mogul Affiliates but still doesn’t name the tattooed guy. Wheeler Yuta comes in to talk about violence and gets a match with Swerve on Rampage.

Elite vs. Death Triangle

Match #6 in the best of seven series with Death Triangle up 3-2. This is Falls Count Anywhere so they start the brawl in the back, with the fight going from a hall into what looks to be catering. Pac moonsaults off a pile onto a bunch of people, followed by Nick diving off what looks to be some risers for a flip dive through Penta and a table with snacks.

They go into the arena for the first time with Fenix hitting a big corkscrew dive off the set to take the Bucks down. Omega comes in with a running knee to Fenix, leaving Pac and Matt to slug it out. Matt rolls his northern lights suplexes down the ramp and we take a break. Back with Omega in trouble in the ring and having a trashcan put over his head. A triple dropkick into the trashcan gets two but Matt is back in with a running knee to Pac in the corner.

Penta superkicks Matt and hits the Sling Blade. Matt hits a destroyer but Fenix hits a frog splash. Omega is back in with the snapdragon to Pac to leave everyone down. Penta double stomps Omega on the floor for two with the Bucks making a save. Back in and Penta takes out both Bucks, setting up the flip dive to Omega and Michael Nakazawa on the floor.

The running Meltzer Driver off the apron plants Penta on the floor with Pac making the save. Back in and the BTE Trigger gets two more on Penta with Pac making another save. Matt superkicks Nick by mistake, allowing Pac to grab the Brutalizer. At the same time, Kenny One Winged Angels Fenix off a platform through a table for the pin at 17:15.

Rating: B. The match was a lot of fun and pure energy, but it was one of those matches where you knew the result from the second the Elite went down 3-1. That being said, that was a heck of a creative finish and it fit into the match they were having. Now just get this feud over with already so they can move on to ANYTHING else.

The Acclaimed raps about Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal, complete with a Global Force reference, plus a reference to losing to Ric Flair in Flair’s Last Match. Look this up as it was hilarious.

Anna Jay/Tay Melo vs. Ruby Soho/Willow Nightingale

Nightingale can’t quite get to Melo to start so it’s off to Jay. That’s fine with Ruby, who hammers away at the face to try and even the broken nose score. Nightingale comes back in to waistlock Melo but gets taken down as we take a break. Back with Nightingale fighting out of trouble and handing it back to Ruby to hammer on Melo’s face again.

No Future gets two on Melo and Anna pump kicks Nightingale. With Nightingale and Anna on the floor, Melo and Soho headbutt each other down. The referee yells at Nightingale and Jay, leaving Melo to throw a chair at Ruby. Soho holds onto it so Melo can hit a kick to the chair, followed by the Tay KO (with the knee not really getting close to connecting) for the pin at 11:56.

Rating: C. This didn’t exactly work, as the whole thing was about Soho getting her revenge. Not only did her finisher only get two, but then she took the pin after a not so great ending. I’m not sure what the thinking was here, but hopefully it isn’t setting up Jay and Melo as the first Women’s Tag Team Champions.

The Gunn Club leaves rather than deal with FTR.

Here’s what is coming on various shows.

Ricky Starks is ready to beat Chris Jericho next week.

TNT Title: Samoa Joe vs. Wardlow

Joe is defending but hold on because there is no Wardlow. As Joe mocks the Denver Broncos, here is a limping Wardlow for the opening bell. Joe hammers away until a spinebuster cuts him off. The Rock Bottom out of the corner plants Wardlow but he’s right back with a hard clothesline. A shot to the knee cuts Wardlow off again though and we take a break.

Back with Wardlow getting back in despite the doctor not exactly approving. Joe goes after the knee again but Wardlow fights up and knocks him down. The Swanton gets two on Joe, followed by a Whisper in the Wind for the same. Wardlow’s wind up clothesline gets two more but Joe gets in a kick to the ribs. Joe hammers away in the corner until a powerbomb plants him down. Wardlow loads up the Powerbomb Symphony but the knee gives out. The Koquina Clutch goes on and Wardlow is out at 11:51.

Rating: B. It was a good fight, with Wardlow trying to get through the pain but coming up short. If you ignore Wardlow losing again and him being able to do Jeff Hardy’s signature stuff on one leg, this felt like a big time brawl. The knee injury lets Wardlow have an out and probably sets up a rematch, but he better win something bigger soon, as this has been a rough few months.

Post match Wardlow eventually gets up but Joe knocks him down again. With Wardlow out, Joe finds some scissors in a toolbox, headbutts the referee, and cuts off Wardlow’s hair. Then Darby Allin comes out with a skateboard shot to Joe’s back to clear the ring and end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. There were some questionable booking moves here, but dang you are not going to find a much better collection of matches in a two hour TV show. This was one show stealer after another and the two hours flew by. Great show here to wrap up the year, as things have seemed a bit more focused in the last few weeks.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Ethan Page – Regal Stretch
Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli b. Top Flight – Uppercut to Darius
Hook b. Baylum Lynx – Redrum
Elite b. Death Triangle – One Winged Angel through a table to Fenix
Anna Jay/Tay Melo b. Ruby Soho/Willow Nightingale – Koquina Clutch
Samoa Joe b. Wardlow – 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: December 21, 2022
Location: Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Ricky Starks

It’s the Holiday Bash and that means we are about to wrap up the year in a big way. That should make for a good week, but you never know what you are going to see around here. Last week saw Bryan Danielson seemingly line himself up as the next challenger to MJF so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of MJF cheating to retain the World Title over Ricky Starks.

Here is Ricky Starks to get things going. He makes one thing clear: he was ready for MJF last week and it took some cheating to beat him, but Starks is going to be even more ready next time. Now bring him whoever he needs to beat to get another title shot, but here is the Jericho Appreciation Society to interrupt. Jericho praises Starks and says he’ll be a World Champion one day. It just won’t be anytime soon, but maybe Starks just needs some extra guidance from Jericho.

Starks says Jericho looks like a single father on his fifth divorce. He’s going to pass on the offer, because the J in JAS might as well stand for jobbers. Starks calls the other two JAS-Holes and asks what Jericho has done for either of them. The challenge is on for January 4 but here is Jake Hager to jump Starks from behind. Action Andretti runs in for the save. Starks has jumped MILES ahead in recent weeks and it’s pretty awesome to watch.

Elite vs. Death Triangle

Match #5 with Death Triangle up 3-1 and no DQ. Death Triangle clears the ring to start and there are the big flip dives. Back in and Penta gets caught in the corner for some running shots but we pause for Michael Nakazawa to get in some shots. Then Brandon Cutler, dressed as an elf, gets cut off by Alex Abrahantes. That means a parade of superkicks, followed by Penta hitting a heck of a trashcan shot to Omega. A faceplant puts nick Jackson down and we take a break.

Back with Matt being sent into a Christmas tree in the corner (Excalibur: “Into those unforgiving artificial pine needles!”) but Nick dives onto all of Death Triangle. Pac goes after Matt’s ankle though, only to have Omega break up the Pillmanizing. Omega takes Pac out with a trashcan and it’s table time on the floor. With two of them set up, Omega pulls out a barbed wire broom, which goes over Fenix’s back. The Bucks dive through Pac and Fenix and the tables, leaving Omega to tiger driver 98 Fenix onto the barbed wire broom for a delayed two.

Abrahantes’ interference doesn’t work so Omega tries the One Winged Angel, only to have Fenix reverse into a hurricanrana for two more. The hammer to the head gives Fenix two so the Triangle goes for triple submissions (including the Brutalizer to Omega with tinsel). Matt slips out and makes the save and Omega snapdragons Fenix. That leaves Matt, with a bad ankle, to hit a Meltzer Driver to drive Fenix into a chair for the pin at 13:48.

Rating: C+. If your previous matches barely have rules, does it really matter than much when you get rid of the rules you have? This was more of what the series has been devolving into: an entertaining enough mess that is stringing the idea out even longer, to the point where I never want to see these teams fight again. I’m sure we’ll get to the big blowoff in Los Angeles and then everyone can move on, but dang they are killing my interest on the way there.

Post match Death Triangle massacres the Elite, leaving Matt busted open.

After last week’s successful title defense, MJF was livid at Bryan Danielson for interfering. Now he wants to give Danielson more than he deserves.

Action Andretti is happy with beating Chris Jericho, which draws in the Jericho Appreciation Society to yell. It’s a ruse though, allowing Jericho to throw a fireball at Andretti.

Here is Bryan Danielson for a chat about how he isn’t happy with William Regal turning on the Blackpool Combat Club. The fans might remember that he trained in San Antonio and had his first match just up the road from this building. His trainers were Rudy Boy Gonzalez and Shawn Michaels (pause for HBK chants) but William Regal taught him how to be a wrestler. When Regal was in the hospital, Danielson cried because Regal made him who he is. One thing Regal taught him was that there are consequences to his actions, which is what MJF needs to learn.

Cue….Ethan Page and Stokely Hathaway instead, to talk about how Page is always finishing in second place but Danielson (or Vegetable Man) wants to jump the line anyway. Danielson says that Hathaway’s bald head is distracting him so grow some hair. Also, did Page just call him Vegetable Man? Hathaway: “You raggedy b****.” Page says that he is going to turn Danielson into a vegetable so Danielson is ready to fight. But nah, we’ll do it next week instead. They’re certainly trying with Page and that’s a good sign. I’m not sure how well it’s going, but they have picked someone and are going for it so well done.

Jon Moxley is ready for the $300,000 Trios Casino Christmas Battle Royal on Rampage. Other than that though, he’s ready for Hangman Page, who can brawl with him all across Texas if he wants. What is there to settle though? Page got knocked out, but what did you think Moxley was trying to do with that clothesline? Comb Page’s hair? For tonight though, Moxley is going to teach Darius Martin a hard lesson.

Samoa Joe wishes Wardlow Happy Holidays because he won’t have a Happy New Year. The beating is coming on December 28.

Hook vs. Exodus Prime

Redrum finishes Prime at 1:00.

Post match we see the Firm beating up Jack Perry in the back, including a Big Bill chokeslam into a dumpster.

Jon Moxley vs. Darius Martin

Dante Martin and Claudio Castagnoli are here too. Moxley elbows him in the face to start but a dropkick sends him outside. They fight into the crowd early with Moxley putting him down but pausing to celebrate too long. Darius hits a heck of a suicide dive to drop Moxley and they head back in. Moxley is fine enough to drop him hard on the floor before starting in on the arm.

A superplex drops Darius and there are the hard elbows to the face. Darius gets in a shot of his own and a Pele out of the corner gives him a breather. There’s a springboard Downward Spiral for two on Moxley, who rolls through a high crossbody. That means a bunch of stomps to Darius’ head, setting up the hammer and anvil elbows. The bulldog choke into the Death Rider finishes for Moxley at 8:35.

Rating: C. This wasn’t the greatest from either guy but Moxley did have to work rather hard to get the win in the end. Moxley needed to do something to get back on track after having some rough times lately, as well as keeping himself ready for Hangman Page. At the same time, as sad as it is, you have to worry if one of the Martins is going to get hurt at any given time. It’s sad to see, but after everything they have been through, it’s hard to not think about.

Hikaru Shida is ready to take the Women’s Title from Jamie Hayter.

We get more from the Book Of Hobbs, who talks about watching his uncle overdose and various other horrible things as a kid.

FTR vs. The Gunns

Dax is very taped up so Austin pounds on the bad ribs to take over. Wheeler comes in instead for some atomic drops before avoiding a dropkick. The Gunns are sent outside in a heap and we take a break. Back with Wheeler fighting out of trouble and handing it back to Harwood to clean house.

Wheeler has to make a diving save to block a spike piledriver on the floor and everything breaks down. The Sharpshooter is broken up back inside but Harwood’s back gives out before the piledriver can be loaded up. Harwood tries an O’Connor roll but Austin reverses into one of his own and grabs some help for the pin at 9:01.

Rating: B-. The Gunns get a big win, but FTR continues to feel like they are on a pretty downward path. They are on a bit of a losing streak and have already lost the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles. Maybe they are on their way out of AEW, but dang it is sad to see what could have been an all time run being reduced to “we gave you all these other titles, that’s enough”.

Sonjay Dutt has a rap video about the Acclaimed.

Hip hop mogul Rick Ross is here to moderate a meeting between Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland. After Ross calls Lee a “big motherf***** (uncensored)”), Swerve comes out to say we need to be doing this his way. Swerve tells Lee to keep looking behind him, so here is Parker Boudreaux (in the same shirt as Swerve) to brawl with Lee. Boudreaux gets sent outside without much effort and Lee goes to stare at Swerve…as a guy with a lot of tattoos jumps Lee. Boudreaux and the unnamed lackey put Lee on a table so Swerve can double stomp a cinder block on his chest. And yes, we have a new stable. This was really, really bad.

The Best Friends/Orange Cassidy and the Dark Order are ready for the Rampage battle royal. Both Trent and Cassidy wanting to buy Chuck’s mom a house is funny.

Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Jamie Hayter

Hayter, with Britt Baker and Rebel, is defending. They strike away to start with Shida getting the better of things and knocking it to the floor. Shida drops her again and scares Baker away as we take a break. Back with Shida in control and snapping off a suplex but a double clothesline puts them both down. It’s Shida up first with a dropkick and they head to the apron, where Shida hits a jumping knee. A suplex to the floor drops Hayter HARD and we take another break.

Back again with Hayter missing a moonsault and getting kneed in the face. A snap German suplex drops Hayter so Baker gets on the apron with the kendo stick. Rebel offers a distraction as Shida springboard kicks baker down. The distraction lets Hayter hit a powerbomb for two, followed by the running clothesline for the same. The Hayterade is enough to retain the title at 16:16.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a fight and the women were both working hard to get it over. The ending was a nice change of pace as they had Shida survive a few times before ultimately being taken out. Shida looks good but Hayter looks like a killer, which is about all you can hope for here. Awesome match and hopefully the women get more chances like this, as they nailed it here.

Post match the beatdown is on but Toni Storm and then Saraya run out for the save to end the show.

It’s the Holiday Bash and that means we are about to wrap up the year in a big way. That should make for a good week, but you never know what you are going to see around here.: B-. There were a few weak parts on here (the Lee/Swerve segment in particular) but overall, this was a fast paced and pretty nice edition of Dynamite. You can see where they are going for their next big edition of TV and that should be enough to carry things over to the Revolution build in March. For this week though, good stuff, with the main event standing out.

Results
Elite b. Death Triangle – Meltzer Driver onto a chair to Fenix
Hook b. Exodus Prime – Redrum
Jon Moxley b. Darius Martin – Death Rider
The Gunns b. FTR – Assisted rollup to Harwood
Jamie Hayter b. Hikaru Shida – Hayterade

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: December 14, 2022
Location: Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s time for Winter Is Coming and in this case that means a pair of big matches. First up, we have the battle for the World Title and the Dynamite Diamond Ring with Ricky Starks challenging MJF. Other than that, it’s the fourth match in the best of seven series between the Elite and the Death Triangle. Let’s get to it.

Here is last week’s show if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Elite vs. Death Triangle

Match #4 in a Best Of 7 series with Death Triangle up 2-1 and Don Callis on commentary. Matt and Penta start things off with neither being able to get the better of things. Instead everything breaks down and the Elite hits a bunch of dives to take over. We settle back down to Omega working on Pac’s arm as Nick Jackson seems to have hurt his ankle on a dive.

With the actual tag match going on again, Fenix takes over on Matt as Nick is taken to the back. We take a break and come back with Matt beating up the Lucha Bros on his own, only to have Fenix get over for the tag to Pac. Omega comes in as well for YOU CAN’T ESCAPE into the middle rope moonsault.

Pac fights up until Kenny takes him down again, only to have Penta package piledriver Matt on the apron. Fenix comes back in and frog splashes Omega for two but the Black Arrow misses. Cue Nick Jackson to limp back to ringside, where Penta hits in him the ankle with the hammer. Fenix grabs a heel hook for the win at 14:48.

Rating: B-. The matches continue to be fun but it is still hard to get invested into seeing them over and over. It doesn’t help that this seems to be setting up a bit Elite comeback, though it would be kind of hilarious to see this not go to seven matches. For now though, it was good enough, though I don’t care to see it again next week.

Post match Omega grabs the mic and says if Death Triangle wants to cheat, let’s just make the next match No DQ. Oh and he wasn’t authorized to cut this promo so we now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

MJF talks about how Ricky Starks worked hard to get here and now everyone wants to see him win the big one. Yeah, MJF was born privileged and with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he was just better than Starks at everything.

Here is the Acclaimed for the topical rap but Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett and company jump them from behind. The guitar shot knocks Bowens silly and Jarrett says LISTEN. Remember when AEW’s tag division was such a great thing and not Lethal and Jarrett getting a title feud?

We look at Claudio Castagnoli winning the Ring Of Honor World Title at Final Battle over the weekend.

Chris Jericho and the Jericho Appreciation Society aren’t happy with their losses at Final battle. Jericho is ready to win his World Title back while Daniel Garcia….gets cut off by Jericho, who says Garcia never should have lost. From now on, Garcia needs to follow around his new mentor: Sammy Guevara. This Friday, Guevara is going to beat up Jon Moxley on Rampage.

Brian Cage vs. Jungle Boy

Jungle Boy is still banged up from Big Bill’s chokeslam coming in. Cage runs him over to start and Jungle Boy can’t quite get up. The curls into the standing fall away slam take us to a break and we come back with Cage continuing the beatdown. A release German suplex into a full nelson slam give Cage two but Jungle Boy manages a desperation Canadian Destroyer. The Snare Trap goes on but Prince Nana’s distraction means the referee doesn’t see the tap. Cage knocks Nana off the apron by mistake and it’s an O’Connor roll to give Jungle Boy the win at 8:18.

Rating: C. So you kick out of a Canadian Destroyer but get pinned by an O’Connor roll? Anyway, the good thing here is that Jungle Boy won, because he needs to get a bit more momentum going. At the very least, calling him Jack Perry, as commentary was doing for most of the match, is a nice step forward and should give him a much longer shelf life.

Post match Jungle Boy calls out Big Bill but gets Stokely Hathaway instead. Lee Moriarty runs out to go after Jungle Boy, allowing Big Bill to come in and run Jungle Boy over. The beatdown, including a chokeslam, drops Jungle Boy but Hook of all people runs in for the save. Hook gets a crazy reaction so it might be time to start pulling the trigger.

The Blackpool Combat Club brags about their recent success and Jon Moxley is ready for Sammy Guevara on Rampage. Oh and Hangman Page and the Dark Order can bring it anytime.

Video on Swerve In Our Glory having issues. They’ll meet face to face (not in a match) next week to handle things.

House Of Black vs. The Factory

Julia Hart sprays mist at the Factory to start and the beating begins quickly. The House cleans house to start, with Malakai Black and QT Marshall not getting involved. With the rest of the Factory down, the bell rings and black kicks Marshall in the head for the pin at 22 seconds. More of this, less of the talking.

Hikaru Shida and Jamie Hayter are ready to fight next week.

Britt Baker and Rebel don’t think Hikaru Shida is ready for Jamie Hayter Skye Blue interrupts and it’s Blue vs. Baker at Rampage.

Chris Jericho vs. Action Andretti

Jericho shoves him to start and hammers away in the corner as the fans chant LET’S GO JOBBER. Andretti manages a shot of his own and a bottom rope splash gets two. Jericho isn’t having that and busts out a Death Valley Driver into a Codebreaker for…..two? Back from a break with Andretti busted open but getting a boot up in the corner. Some chops rock Jericho, who pokes Andretti in the eye.

A running forearm rocks Jericho but Andretti’s split legged moonsault only hits raised knees. The Judas Effect misses and Andretti rolls him up for two. A springboard spinning kick to the head connects and Jericho is clotheslined to the floor. An Arabian press drops Jericho again but he pulls a springboard into the Walls. That takes too long as well though and Andretti small packages him for two, setting up what looked like a tornado DDT. The running shooting star press gives Andretti the completely clean pin at 9:30.

Rating: B. Well. Ok then. I wasn’t exactly seeing this coming and they actually went with this for a change. It was the kind of thing that you see happen about once every few years but it is almost never anyone on Jericho’s level. Throw in the fact that it wasn’t even a fluke rollup and this is even more surprising. Well done on throwing in a heck of a curve ball and having a rather good match at the same time. I’m still trying to process this one and that’s a nice sign.

Ricky Starks is ready for his big World Title match because he has been working so hard to get here. Tonight everything comes to a head and no one cares about anything MJF says. There are a lot of people who are want to see Starks do what he can and he is a reflection of what MJF wants to be. Starks is going with everything he can with these promos.

FTR wants the Gunn Club for jumping them at Final Battle.

Chris Jericho is livid.

Ruby Soho vs. Tay Melo

Sammy Guevara is here with Melo. It’s a brawl on the floor to start with Soho being sent into the barricade a few times. They get inside and Soho says she can go so the bell rings. Soho sends her to the floor but walks into a hammerlock DDT on the ramp. We take a break and come back with Soho planting Melo down. Back up and Melo hits a heck of a pump kick for two, followed by the Gotch Style piledriver for the same. The TayKO is broken up though and Soho knees her in the face. No Future (or Destination Unknown, as Excalibur isn’t sure) finishes Melo at 9:02.

Rating: C. This was just a match as Soho gets a little revenge for Melo injuring her a few months back. Soho is someone who seems like she should be ready to move up the ladder in a hurry but for some reason that has never taken off. Maybe she can pick it up a little bit here, but that has not exactly taken off so far. For now though, nice enough of a start.

Post match Anna Jay comes down and beats Soho down.

Hangman Page remembers being knocked out in Cincinnati. He was taken away in an ambulance and woke up, where the medics were asking him questions. Page remembers being in Cincinnati on October 18, but couldn’t remember his son’s name. So yeah, he’ll fight Jon Moxley on Rampage.

Dustin Rhodes and the Best Friends are ready for Kip Sabian, Trent Seven, the Butcher and the Blade on Rampage. Dustin referring to Danhausen as the Spooky Boy was great.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Ricky Starks

MJF is defending the title and the Dynamite Diamond. Starks gets annoyed to start and MJF runs him over, setting up the old school strut. Back up and MJF leapfrogs him, only to get shouldered out to the floor. MJF gets back in and is promptly backdropped into a sunset flip for two.

A small packages gives Starks two more as we hear about the stipulations in the remaining Death Triangle vs. Elite matches. MJF grabs a waistlock before sending him outside as we take a break. Back with Starks holding an abdominal stretch and grabbing the ropes for a bonus. The referee catches him though and kicks the arm away, allowing Starks to hiptoss his way to freedom.

The Roshambo is blocked so Starks settles for a sitout powerbomb and a near fall instead. MJF is right back with a powerbomb onto the knee for two and it’s time to slug it out. Starks nails the spear but can’t follow up as he’s down to hold his arm. The Salt of the Earth keeps Starks in trouble, with MJF tying the arm up with his legs as well. Starks uses his leg to make the rope but still can’t hit Roshambo. MJF hides behind the referee and uses the distraction to set up a low blow. The small package retains MJF’s title at 15:46.

Rating: B. The ending was a bit lame but they were trying with Starks here and that is a good thing. Starks is someone who could be a big star down the line but for now though, he isn’t ready to win the title here. They had a good match here and MJF gets his first title defense out of the way and now he gets to move on to the first real opponent.

Post match MJF goes to leave but Bryan Danielson cuts him off. The chase sends MJF into the crowd and up the steps with Danielson letting him go for some reason.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a good show for the most part, with the ending setting the stage for the main event for the next few weeks, if not months. Other than that you have the Jericho surprise and another Death Triangle vs. Elite match, the latter of which will see your mileage vary. Energetic show, and hopefully they can keep that going for weeks to come.

Results
Death Triangle b. Elite – Heel hook to Nick Jackson
Jungle Boy b. Brian cage – O’Connor Roll
House Of Black b. The Factory – Black Mass to Marshall
Action Andretti b. Chris Jericho – Running shooting star press
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Ricky Starks – Small package

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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Rampage
Date: December 2, 2022
Location: Indiana Farmer’s Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We are eight days away from Final Battle and the card is in need of some work. There are a few matches set but nowhere near enough to carry a full pay per view. Maybe we can get something new added tonight, but you never can tell with this show. At least the wrestling tends to be fun so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Darby Allin vs. Cole Karter

Before the match, Allin beats up Nick Comoroto with the baseball bat to cut him off. With that not being enough, Allin dives onto Karter on the floor but an apron powerbomb cuts him off. Back in and a buckle bomb rocks Allin again as we take a break. We come back with Karter missing a Stinger’s Splash but hitting a jumping knee to the face. Allin goes after the knee though and grabs a Code Red for two, leaving them both down. Karter drops him again and goes up, only to miss a 450. A hammerlock Scorpion Death Drop sets up the Coffin Drop to finish Karter at 7:41.

Rating: C+. Well they certainly did get rid of the loose end from a bad segment from a few weeks ago. Karter is the definition of “I’m not sure why he’s here”, as he has a good physique and nothing else that makes him stand out in any way. He’s certainly ok, but bringing him in felt like just an excuse to sign someone else. Pretty decent match though, as Allin does his signature style and as usual, it works.

Keith Lee is in the back when his former partner Shane Taylor comes in to interrupt. Taylor accuses Lee of always walking away, so let’s do it at Final Battle: Taylor/JD Griffey vs. Lee and whomever he can find. Taylor leaves and a grinning Swerve Strickland comes in. Lee hopes he can trust him. Why Taylor didn’t want to do this one on one isn’t clear, but having Taylor around is a good thing.

We recap 10 turning his back on the Dark Order and joining Rush last week. The Dark Order is crushed and La Faccion Ingobernable is rather pleased.

Here is the Acclaimed, with Billy Gunn, for a chat. After a rap of various topical statements, Bowens talks about how everyone wants a title shot, but there is one team that has been waiting for a very long time to get a chance. The fans think that might be FTR and since the Acclaimed are fighting champions…..and here is the Gunn Club to interrupt. The Gunns don’t think much of the champs but Jeff Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal and Satnam Singh interrupt. The villains argue but Billy cuts them off, saying they want the best. Cue FTR for the handshake with the Acclaimed and a match seems set.

Video on Hikaru Shida vs. the Bunny, who will face off next week for Shida’s Regina Di Wave Title next week.

Private Party vs. Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett

Singh, Dutt and Matt Hardy are here too. As commentary reminds us that Jeff Jarrett last wrestled on TNT 21 years ago, Kassidy flips out of Lethal’s headlock and armdrags him down. That earns Kassidy a trip into the corner so Jarrett can come in to stomp away. Jarrett gets taken into the corner as well and it’s time to start in on the arm. As the seconds get in a staredown on the floor, Kassidy is sent into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Quen getting the hot tag to clean house, including a suicide dive to Jarrett on the floor. There’s the Silly String to Lethal but he avoids the 450. Quen is fine enough to grab a rollup but Jarrett makes the save, setting up a Stroke/Lethal Injection combination for the pin at 7:07.

Rating: C. So we have Lethal and Jarrett having a perfectly competent tag match that wasn’t much in the way of interesting and probably drew more TNA chants than AEW would like. I’m still not sure why Jarrett is wrestling on this or any AEW show, but it had been a full 21 years since he had wrestled on this channel and thankfully that has been rectified.

Saraya sits down with Renee Paquette and still can’t believe that she got back in the ring at Full Gear. She was amazed that her brother could be there for the match and will be back in the ring soon. Not much to say here.

Athena vs. Dani Mo

Athena decks her to start and hits Two Amigos into a swinging neckbreaker for two. Mo’s superkick has no effect so Athena forearms her in the face, setting up the over the shoulder backbreaker spun into a Codebreaker for the pin at 1:27. Total squash to get Athena ready for her ROH Women’s Title match at Final Battle.

Post match Athena sends her out to the floor and beats her up some more. This is FAR better from Athena than whatever she was doing before.

Juice Robinson wants Samoa Joe for the ROH TV Title at Final Battle. There’s your “you know this guy and now he’s getting a random title match” random title match.

The Factory is ready for the lumberjack match with Orange Cassidy. The Best Friends, dressed as lumberjacks, seem to be more ready.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows, including FTR vs. the Acclaimed for the Tag Team Titles on Dynamite.

Darby Allin wants the TNT Title and gets a shot on Dynamite, with promises of no Sting.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. QT Marshall

Cassidy is defending in a lumberjack match…but the Best Friends and Danhausen can’t bring their axes to the ring. Eh they’re lumberjacks and they’re ok without them. Cassidy starts fast with the dropkick and Marshall is on the floor ten seconds in. The Best Friends throw him back inside, where he throws Cassidy outside too. That earns the Factory some lazy kicks but Marshall pulls Cassidy’s high crossbody out of the air back inside. Some backbreakers drop Cassidy and he gets thrown outside again.

Hold on though as Ethan Page stares at Matt Hardy and then ejects him. Does he have lumberjack rights over Hardy too? We take a break and come back with the lumberjacks coming in and getting cleared out. The distraction lets Marshall hit a handspring enziguri, only to get caught with the Stundog Millionaire.

A pop up right hand rocks Cassidy but he’s fine enough to hurricanrana his way out of a powerbomb. Marshall loads up a powerbomb on the apron but gets cursed by Danhausen. Another lumberjack brawl breaks out on the floor, leaving Cassidy to hit a heck of a springboard dive. Cue Penelope Ford (JR approves) for a distraction so Kip Sabian can push Cassidy into a cutter for two. Not that it matters as the Beach Break retains the title at 9:32.

Rating: C+. Fun match, but nothing that Cassidy hasn’t done before. The stuff with the lumberjacks was the usual for a match like this but I’m not exactly going to get excited over the prospects of Kip Sabian getting a title match. Fine for a Rampage main event, even if it was hardly a classic.

Post match Cassidy goes after Sabian, because it’s his turn to be reheated again. Everyone brawls until the lights go out and the House of Black appears. Carnage ensues and the House stands tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Rampage is an interesting subject, as the wrestling is usually completely watchable, but you need to accept that most of it means absolutely nothing. This show’s goal tends to be to set up things for either Dynamite or the next pay per view, which doesn’t exactly seem to be the best use of one third of your weekly television time. We got some stuff set up for next week’s Dynamite/Rampage/Final Battle and if that is what Rampage is for, good for it. I’m not sure if that’s the best use of the show, but I guess you can call it a direction. Maybe?

Results
Darby Allin b. Cole Karter – Coffin Drop
Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal b. Private Party – Lethal Injection/Stroke combination to Quen
Athena b. Dani Mo – Backbreaker spun into a Codebreaker
Darby Allin b. QT Marshall – Beach Break

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Dynamite
Date: November 23, 2022
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Taz, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the first show after Full Gear and thanks to William Regal, MJF is the new World Champion. That is enough of a story to carry things for the time being, but we have more important things to get to right now: like building up a Ring Of Honor pay per view in the next few weeks. Let’s get to it.

Here is Full Gear if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

William Regal is in the ring to open things up and he lets us know the MJF isn’t here because he’s on the set of a major motion picture. MJF will explain things then, including the contents of an emails Regal sent him a few weeks ago. Cue Jon Moxley to rather slowly interrupt, meaning Regal can sneer a lot. Bryan Danielson runs in to keep them apart though and says that they have all done bad things.

Moxley slaps him in the face so Danielson begs him not to do this. Danielson talks about his dad having the same struggles that Moxley has had, saying that only Regal could help him through it. More begging doesn’t keep Moxley back, so he gets in Regal’s face and tells him to run far away and never come back. Regal turns and walks away as the fans sing him the Goodbye Song. That was intense, as it should have been.

Keith Lee is asked about Swerve Strickland slapping him in the face when Swerve comes in. Lee says choose your words wisely so Swerve covers the camera and says let’s talk. That works for Lee.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Jake Hager

Hager, with the Jericho Appreciation Society, is challenging. Cassidy has the Best Friends to even things up but Hager won’t let him put his hands in his pockets. That doesn’t last long and the lazy kicks into the dropkick have Hager in trouble. Hager runs him over but Cassidy knocks his hat off and sends Hager to the floor. Cassidy teases putting the hat off and uses it like a cape in a bullfight for Hager’s goons. The suicide dive is pulled out of the air though and Hager sends him into the post and apron.

We take a break and come back with Hager pulling Cassidy out of the air but getting caught in the Stundog Millionaire. The spinning DDT gives Cassidy two but Hager runs him over again. Hager gets his hat back and grabs the ankle lock, with Cassidy kicking the hat off. Cassidy rolls out and staggers Hager with the Orange Punch, setting up a cradle to retain at 8:36.

Rating: C+. AEW has found the sweet spot for Cassidy, as this was a title match that focused on a hat. You know what kind of goofy stuff you’re getting with Cassidy but the fans love him and that’s all it needs to be. Hager hasn’t had any value in months (if not longer) so Cassidy beating him is a win for him that doesn’t hurt Hager, making this a fine opening match.

Post match the Factory comes out to surround the Best Friends….but the lights go out. Julia Hart is on the stage and raises her hand, with the House Of Black appearing to beat down the Best Friends. The Factory gets beaten down as well, leaving a staff member to get Dante’s Inferno on the stage. Black tells members of the House to rise. Well at least they’re back for good. Now don’t screw them up again.

Full Gear Contenders Tournament Finals: Ricky Starks vs. Ethan Page

Page has Stokely Hathaway with him and Starks is heavily taped up. Page grabs a wristlock to start and Starks is already cringing in pain. Starks tries to fight back but gets knocked into the corner for the heavy stomping as Page is enjoying this. There’s a knee to the ribs but Starks manages a spear, only to fall out to the floor. Page drives him into the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Starks slipping out of a fireman’s carry and knocking Page to the floor. Hathaway pulling Page out of the way of a dive, leaving Starks to crash hard. That’s enough for Hathaway to get ejected so Page goes up. The super powerslam is broken up though and Starks sends him crashing down but can’t follow up. A swinging neckbreaker drops Page again and there’s a tornado DDT to give Starks two. The powerslam gives Page two of his own but the Ego’s Edge is escaped. Starks hits a spear and then a third is enough to finish Page at 12:58.

Rating: C+. This was impressive as there was no reason to believe that Page was going to be MJF’s first challenger but Starks was so beaten up that it was hard to imagine him winning. Starks vs. MJF will be a fine big time TV match and even though Starks has absolutely no chance of winning, it will be nice to see AEW trying someone fresh in the title picture, even as a one off match.

We look at Samoa Joe winning the TNT Title at Full Gear. Wardlow is not pleased and wants his title back.

Ever wanted to see Jade Cargill and the Baddies interrupt a Bow Wow concert and get escorted out? Here you go.

Jade Cargill and the Baddies are done with Bow Wow Wow and Jade is glad they have the belt back. The celebration is next week, and according to Mark Sterling, they have no comment on the Bow Wow situation. Oh and Kiera Hogan is fired from the team. Moving on.

Death Triangle vs. Elite

Non-title and the Elite are down 0-1 in the Best of 7 series. The Elite gets quite the entrance and the fans don’t seem to like them very much. At the same time, Pac has a face mask on due to a broken nose. Omega yells at Fenix to start and gets two off an early Sky High. The ring is cleared but Fenix is back in with a cutter to break up the Terminator dive. Fenix hits the big corkscrew dive to take out almost everyone else and the fans are rather pleased.

Back in and Pac grabs a waistlock on Omega, who elbows him in the face for a breather. Matt moonsaults off the top onto the Lucha Bros and Omega drops Pac as we take a break. Back with Pac biting Omega, which is enough to frustrate him into the hot tag to Penta. Everything breaks down and the V Trigger hits Pac, setting up the snapdragon.

The Bucks take Pac’s mask off to reveal the bad nose, setting up the triple superkick for two with the Bros making a save. The V Trigger connects but the One Winged Angel is escaped, leaving Omega to hit a GTS for two. Back in and Matt hits Pac low before pulling out a hammer. That doesn’t work for Penta, who breaks it up and pulls out his own hammer to knock Matt out for the pin at 14:49.

Rating: B. It’s not quite as good as their pay per view match but Penta pulling out another hammer was a great way to keep the Elite down. Granted there is almost no chance that this doesn’t go to a seventh match so the comeback is coming, but for now the champs are in firm control. I’m sure the Elite won’t be sweating it though as they wouldn’t sweat on their way to the sun, but the match was the kind of all action fight you would expect.

Thunder Rosa has officially forfeited the Women’s Title, making Jamie Hayter the official champ. Only about….however many days since the Interim Champion deal started late. Hayter and Britt Baker come out for a chat, with Baker saying they were never considering the interim moniker anyway. Hayter is THE champ and always was.

Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter vs. Anna Jay/Tay Melo vs. Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue

Hayter starts fast by suplexing Melo and Jay at the same time, followed by a suplex into a slam for two on Melo. Baker comes in and gets caught in a suplex, allowing the tag off to Nightingale. House is cleaned and Blue is dropped onto Melo for two. Melo manages to drop Nightingale for two of her own though and we take a break. Back with everything breaking down and the parade of secondary finishers kicking off. Blue gets knocked down and Baker hits the Stomp to finish Blue at 7:03.

Rating: C. Kind of a weird way to start Hayter’s title reign but I would assume that she isn’t going to be pleased with Baker talking for her before the match and then getting the win (as she’ll probably do a few times). Baker vs. Hayter is the logical way to go and probably what is coming, but Hayter getting more of a showcase for her first night as champion would have been nice.

Post match we’re told that because Thunder Rosa vacated the title, Toni Storm’s reign is official and she was never the Interim Champion. THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE INTERIM TITLE NONSENSE IN THE FIRST PLACE????

Top Flight and FTR are in the back and after mutual respect is shown, the Ring of Honor Tag Team Title match is set for Rampage.

Here are the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn for a rap/chat. They’re happy to be here and Billy is scissor eligible again, but Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett pop up on screen (after being mentioned in the rap) and I think we have new challengers. Billy says to get the old Jarrett off the screen so scissoring can ensue.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is defending and we hear about their history 25 years ago in Japan. They slap it out and then forearm it out with Ishii getting the better of things, followed by….another chop off. We take a break and come back with Jericho’s chest busted open and the chopping continuing. Ishii knocks him into the corner and powerbombs him back out for two.

The lariat doesn’t work for Lariat as Jericho kicks him to the apron, only to have the triangle dropkick broken up. Jericho knocks him to the floor for a double crash and they forearm it out again. Back in and they trade German suplexes, with Ishii popping up multiple times, only to fall down after the second.

The Lionsault gives Jericho one but Ishii is back with the sliding lariat for two. Ishii can’t hit the brainbuster but he can hit a Codebreaker of his own. The hard lariat gives Ishii two but the brainbuster is countered into the Walls. We’ll make the that Liontamer so Ishii flips Jericho off….and then taps at 15:38.

Rating: B-. I have no idea what to call this, but anything involving someone’s chest being busted open is worth some credit for the visuals alone. It’s still an ice cold match though and having Jericho just beat someone like Ishii clean feels like little more than saying “yes, Jericho is in fact great” again. Good enough match, even if Ishii could have been almost anyone and gotten the same result.

Post match Jericho goes after Ian Riccaboni on commentary but Claudio Castagnoli comes out for the save to end the show. So that’s probably Ring Of Honor.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a weird show in that it was more or less AEW punting to next week and not doing much of anything important. That is exactly what they should have done due to the holiday causing the audience to go away, but it only made for so good of a show. The Jericho stuff main eventing is another example of Ring Of Honor being presented as something incredibly important around here over and over, no matter how uninteresting it might feel. Why the six man couldn’t have had that spot is beyond me as it would have felt a lot more like a main event. Not a bad show, but they were clearly waiting for next week.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Jake Hager – Rollup
Ricky Starks b. Ethan Page – Spear
Death Triangle b. Elite – Hammer to Matt’s head
Jamie Hayter/Britt Baker b. Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue and Anna Jay/Tay Melo – Stomp to Blue
Chris Jericho b. Tomohiro Ishii – Liontamer

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: October 14, 2022
Location: Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re still north of the border and that should make for a rather energized show. AEW has never gone international (at least on land) before and the crowds are often enough to carry the night. Hopefully they like Ring Of Honor stuff though, because that’s the main event this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli vs. Butcher and the Blade

Bunny is here with Butcher and the Blade. It’s a brawl to start with the fight starting at the bell. They’re quickly on the floor with Blade being sent over a table and then chopped up against the barricade. We settle down to Moxley chopping Blade into the corner before it’s off to Castagnoli as we see Hangman Page watching in the back. A poke to the eye gets Blade out of trouble, meaning Butcher can come in to fight over a suplex with Castagnoli. Butcher gets muscled over and the running uppercuts make it even worse.

Bunny finally rolls inside to cut off the uppercut to Blade, meaning Butcher can get in a cheap shot. We take a break and come back with Castagnoli fighting out of a chinlock but Moxley has been knocked to the floor, meaning there is no one to tag. The second attempt at the tag works just fine though and Moxley comes in to clean house.

A back rake on the top sets up a piledriver for two on Blade and frustration seems to be setting in. Butcher breaks up a series of stomps to the head (JR: “Crossbody from a big tattooed hairy man.”) but Castagnoli breaks up a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination. The big showdown is on with Moxley and Castagnoli dropping them with stereo clotheslines. Blade gets Death Ridered and the Riccola Bomb finishes Butcher at 8:38.

Rating: B-. Butcher and Blade are a rather decent power team and it felt like Moxley and Castagnoli had to break a sweat to win here. This was a match where the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt but it was a hard hitting fight to get there. I could go for more of Castagnoli on his own but teaming with Moxley works too.

Post match Moxley says it doesn’t matter who they face, because it’s time to take out Hangman Page next week.

Swerve Strickland laughs about beating Billy Gunn but what’s even better is Acclaimed losing the scissoring stuff. Keith Lee doesn’t like Swerve’s attitude, or his cheating to beat Gunn on Dynamite. Maybe Swerve is swerving into the wrong lane. Swerve needs to think about that.

The Dark Order is disappointed with their loss but Jose the Assistant interrupts. 10 gets recruited again but he’s tired of this. Next week on Rampage, 10 will face Rush and when 10 wins, LEAVE HIM ALONE. That gets rid of Jose and here is the returning Stu Grayson to join in on the team huddle. Jubilation occurs.

Here is the Jericho Appreciation Society for a chat. Matt Menard: “DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT MAKES DADDY MAGIC’S NIPPLES HARD?” Tony: “NO!” The team is rather pleased with Daniel Garcia making his loyalties known and Anna Jay gives him an official welcome. Garcia thanks Chris Jericho for helping him see the way and even though Bryan Danielson is his hero, he will never be a pro wrestler.

Jericho taught him how to win by hitting him in the head with a title belt, and that is how he learned sports entertainers win every time. Garcia is a sports entertainer and Jericho promises to beat every former Ring Of Honor World Champion. Cue Dalton Castle to say that as a former World Champion, he is sick to see that title around Jericho’s waist.

Castle broke his back for that title and now he’ll break Jericho’s to give the fans what they deserve. You can feel the Peacock Power in this building and his heart beating keeps the lights on. So give him a title shot next week on Dynamite! Jericho says it’s on and promises to pluck Castle’s feathers. All Honor The Ocho. Castle was a nice surprise and keeps the Jericho vs. Honor run going for another week.

Toni Storm and Hikaru Shida are ready to fight for Storm’s Interim Women’s Title on Dynamite.

Nyla Rose vs. Anna Jay

The rest of the Vicious Vixens are here with Rose, who has the TBS Title but isn’t the champion. Rose takes her down to start before grabbing some rather easy looking slams. A legdrop gets two on Jay but she avoids the Cannonball in the corner. We take a break and come back with Nyla missing a top rope knee to the back of the head and getting her throat snapped across the top. Anna grabs a chinlock but Rose fights up and hits the Beast Bomb for the pin at 6:28.

Rating: C. Pretty to the point match here as Rose beat her up, didn’t exactly stay in trouble for any significant amount of time, and then won clean with the Beast Bomb. Rose seems to have shifted face, or at least close to it, and with the sense of humor she has, that has some serious potential. Just don’t have her lose clean to Jade Cargill and preserve the bit of momentum she has here.

Post match Vickie Guerrero holds up a 1-0 sign. Cue Jade Cargill with the Baddies, with Jade clearing out security without much effort. The distraction lets the Vixens run off with the title.

Ariya Daivari is sick of Hook turning down the $50,000 offer for the FTW World Title. Next week, he’ll take it himself.

Isaiah Kassidy vs. Ethan Page

Matt Hardy and Marq Quen are here with Kassidy, who gets suplexed to start. A kick to the face lets Page do the Jeff Hardy dance but Kassidy is back with a tornado DDT. Page bails to the floor so there’s the running spinning dive. Stokely Hathaway offers a distraction though, meaning Kassidy misses the Swanton. A Twist of Fate and the Ego’s Edge gives Page the pin at 2:15.

The Best Friends want the Trios Titles.

FTR and Shawn Spears are ready for the Embassy, whose feelings are mutual.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

FTR/Shawn Spears vs. Embassy

Prince Nana is here with the Embassy and it’s almost weird to see Spears doing the 10 thing again. Spears and Kaun grapple away to start with Spears grabbing something like an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and Spears is taken to the floor, where the Gates put him down as we take a break.

Back with Cage hitting the apron superplex for two on Spears but the F5 is countered into a DDT. Kaun breaks up a tag attempt but of course the diving tag goes through a few seconds later. It’s Harwood coming in to clean house and the fans are behind FTR again. There’s the spinebuster to Kaun but Cage is back up to drop FTR. A top rope elbow gets two on Harwood and there’s the F5 to Spears. FTR is back up though and stereo Sharpshooters go on, with Spears grabbing one on Nana for a bonus. Loa breaks that up but gets cleared out. The hart Attack hits Kaun and the C4 finishes for Spears at 10:31.

Rating: B-. The Embassy continue to be little more than warm bodies for other people to beat up but they’re Ring Of Honor so they have a place on this show. Other than that, FTR was FTR and Spears got to do his stuff as Tye Dillinger rather than himself. While Spears doesn’t feel like a top star, he is better this way than as the chair swinging villain so it was a nice comeback.

Post match the Kingdom (Maria Kanellis and Mike Bennett/Matt Taven) debut to interrupt and ask how FTR can be the Top Guys without ever facing them. That’s enough of a distraction for the Embassy to jump FTR and Spears, with the Kingdom joining in. Samoa Joe and Wardlow make the save to end the show. I like the Kingdom, but AEW bringing in more people right now is almost hard to fathom.

Overall Rating: B-. As has been the case for a good while now with AEW, the wrestling and in-ring work bail out some pretty weak stories. This was another show with a heavy focus on Ring Of Honor and it’s still hard to find a way to care. There are only a handful of interesting stories and Chris Jericho and company trying to make Ring Of Honor into a sports entertainment company isn’t exactly great stuff. The wrestling here was good, as it almost always is, but they need to find something to draw in some interesting on the story side. Otherwise, they’ll be more like Ring Of Honor than they probably planned.

Results
Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli b. Butcher and the Blade – Riccola Bomb to Butcher
Nyla Rose b. Anna Jay – Beat Bomb
Ethan Page b. Isaiah Kassidy – Ego’s Edge
FTR/Shawn Spears b. Embassy – C4 to Kaun

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: October 7, 2022
Location: Entertainment And Sports Arena, Washington DC
Commentators:

It’s the first half of a live double shot with a special Rampage. That should make the show a bit more interesting, which is a boost that is rather necessary around here. We have a Trios Titles match tonight, as the previously announced mask vs. career match has been canceled due to reasons of Andrade El Idolo. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Rush/Private Party

Regal calls Excalibur a caramel cheesecake that he would let melt in his mouth. Regal to Jericho: “I’d rather rip off my own eyelids and dip my head in hot soapy water than sit next to you.” That’s quite the range of emotions. The Firm is watching at ringside as Castagnoli takes Kassidy down with almost no effort to start. Yuta comes in as Jericho and Regal argue over how filthy and horrible Blackpool, England is.

Kassidy gets sent down again so it’s off to Rush, who spits at Moxley and shakes his hair, which is enough to bring Moxley in. Rush’s German suplex is easily blocked as Moxley sends him into the corner and we take a break. Back with Rush coming in to stay on Moxley but Kassidy isn’t a fan. Moxley fights up and brings in Castagnoli to clean house, including a Swing to Quen and an airplane spin to Kassidy at the same time because he can do that.

Back up and Private Party kicks Moxley outside, only to get taken down by Yuta. A top rope splash gets two on Kassidy with Rush making the save. Moxley sends Rush outside and hits a suicide dive, leaving Kassidy to rake Yuta’s eyes. Silly String is broken up by Castagnoli and the pop up uppercut drops Kassidy. That leaves Yuta to grab an arm hold (the Bicep Slice) to make Quen tap at 10:11.

Rating: C+. They didn’t bother with much of the tagging stuff here and that is a good way to go. The people involved here tend to go better with all of the insanity and brawling, though Yuta was there for more of the traditional style. It’s a fun opening match and it had star power, so good job here, even if Private Party has faded so far since the start of AEW.

Video on Death Triangle vs. Dark Order, with 10 talking about how much Brodie Lee meant to him.

Varsity Blonds vs. Tony Nese/Josh Woods

Nese gets taken into the Blonds corner to start and Garrison comes in to crank on the wrist. A blind tag brings in Woods though and it’s an Angle Slam/neckbreaker combination to finish Garrison at 1:56. Arn Anderson is shown watching in disgust in the back.

Post match Mark Sterling says he has trademarked the term VARSITY in wrestling, so Nese and Woods are now known as the Varsity Athletes. If the Blonds use the term, he’ll sue. For a more personal issue though, his groin has been on fire since National Scissoring Day….and here is the Acclaimed to interrupt. Rapping and three way scissoring ensues.

Eddie Kingston talks about losing control two weeks ago against Sammy Guevara and then gets annoyed that he is out of time after thirty seconds. Kingston: “MJF gets fifteen minutes and I get thirty seconds?”

Tay Melo/Anna Jay vs. Madison Rayne/Skye Blue

Madison and Jay start things off with Rayne having to deal with an early Melo distraction. Blue comes in and manages a kick to Jay’s face, only to get tripped down and kicked by Melo. We take a break and come back with Rayne getting the tag to clean house as everything breaks down. Melo gets planted but Melo catches Rayne with a Gory Bomb. Blue superkicks Melo but the Queenslayer makes Blue tap at 7:48.

Rating: C. Melo and Jay are one of the most established teams around and them winning here wasn’t exactly a surprise. Rayne still doesn’t hurt anything by being around and it isn’t like she has taken up a major role. Blue feels like someone they could turn into something, though that name doesn’t exactly make me take her seriously.

The Dark Order wants to win the Trios Titles for Brodie Lee, but Pac and the Death Triangle says not so fast.

Here’s what’s coming on various show.

Swerve Strickland doesn’t care about getting cheers, but rather beating up Billy Gunn.

Trios Titles: Dark Order vs. Death Triangle

Death Triangle is defending. It’s a brawl to start with the referee having to get the belts out of the ring. Fenix can’t hurricanrana 10, who sends him over to the rest of the Order for a double faceplant. We settle down to Reynolds dropping a slingshot elbow on Fenix for two but it’s right off to Penta. That’s fine with Reynolds who drops him with a superkick to take over again. Silver comes in to slug it out with Penta and we take a break.

Back with Penta coming back in to take over, including a Backstabber to Reynolds for two. Pac comes in for a bridging German suplex and a near fall of his own, leaving Penta to pose over Reynolds. A spinebuster plants Reynolds again and Penta adds the top rope What’s Up stomp for two. Penta works on Reynolds’ arm as commentary talks about the Jim Crockett days. Pac suplexes Reynolds on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Reynolds dropping Pac and diving over for the tag off to 10. House is cleaned and 10 steals Shawn Spears’ 10 deal, only to get hammered down by known gimmick protector Pac. JR isn’t sure why the champs can triple team 10, who gets caught with a moonsault/flipping splash combination. Back up and 10 gets over to Silver for the tag and the slugout is on with Pac. A brainbuster gets two on Pac but a blind tag brings in Fenix. That doesn’t seem to matter to the Order, who loads up the Pendulum Bomb to drop Fenix for two just as fast.

Everything breaks down again and Penta Backstabbers Silver out of the corner. The Order is right back up to clean house with 10 hitting the discus lariat to give Reynolds a rather close two. Cue Jose the Assistant for a distraction and it’s Rush giving Pac the bell hammer. That’s enough to knock Reynolds silly (not clear if the Lucha Bros saw it) and Fenix takes out 10. Pac comes back in and grabs the Brutalizer for the pin at 21:05.

Rating: C+. There’s a lot to this one, with the first thing being a lack of any need for this to go over twenty minutes. This version of the Dark Order has no business lasting anywhere near that long against Death Triangle, Brodie Lee tribute or no Brodie Lee tribute. Then you have the Pac/Rush deal, which could go in a bunch of ways, most of which might be a bit weird. All in all, this is a match that went longer than it needed to and had a weird ending, but the action was enough to make up for a lot of that so it’s acceptable enough.

Overall Rating: B-. Maybe it was the live aspect or having some more star power around here, but this was a better Rampage than most. What mattered the most here was that the show felt more energized, which has been lacking some in recent weeks. Good show as the two six man tags made it work, with the bigger names helping a lot.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club b. Rush/Private Party – Bicep Slice to Quen
Tony Nese/Josh Woods b. Varsity Blonds – Angle Slam/neckbreaker combination to Garrison
Tay Melo/Anna Jay b. Madison Rayne/Skye Blue – Queenslayer to Blue
Death Triangle b. Dark Order – Brutalizer to Reynolds

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