Rampage
Date: December 10, 2021
Location: UBS Arena, New York City, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

We’re still in New York and this time there is a pretty big match on the card, as the Lucha Bros are defending the Tag Team Titles against FTR. Other than that, we have the in-ring debut as Hook, which should be a heck of a moment in its own right. This show tends to do well with the faster pace so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. FTR

FTR, with Tully Blanchard, is defending. Fenix grabs Harwood by the wrist to start and takes Wheeler down at the same time. Penta comes in to help take FTR down and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and Penta takes off his glove but manages to roll Wheeler up for two. Now the glove is tossed to Wheeler, allowing Penta to catch him with a superkick. Fenix springboards in with a high crossbody but the momentum sends him outside.

That means Harwood can drop Fenix back first onto the apron and the champs are in trouble. Back in and Harwood knocks Penta off the apron but takes too long going up, allowing Fenix to snap off a super hurricanrana. We take a break and come back with Wheeler rolling Penta up for two but getting caught by Made In Japan for two. It’s back to Fenix for a slingshot Liger Bomb so FTR loads up the belts. Fenix takes it away and hits Harwood by mistake (allowing us to get in the required Eddie Guerrero tribute), setting up rope walk kick to the face.

The frog splash only hits belt though, giving Harwood two of his own. The Big Rig connects but Penta dives in with a high crossbody to Wheeler to break up the pin. They strike it out until Fenix tries the rolling cutter. That’s countered into a Gory Bomb from Wheeler, who has to block Penta’s Fear Factor. Instead, the spike Fear Factor retains the titles at 13:56.

Rating: B. They went with the all action format here and it worked well. This should wrap up the feud, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see one more match between them to really blow it off. The teams have developed better chemistry together over the last few matches though and this was another good one.

Nyla Rose/Bunny/Penelope Ford vs. Anna Jay/Tay Conti/Ruby Soho

Vickie Guerrero is here with the villains. Bunny takes Conti down to start and hits a chop, allowing Penelope to drive Conti into the corner. Rose comes in to hold Conti in said corner, allowing Bunny to yell at Conti’s partners. Back up and Jay forearms Ford, who takes her down with a faceplant. The hot tag brings in Soho to clean house, including an STO for two on Ford.

We take a break and come back with Jay hitting a basement crossbody for tow on Rose as everything breaks down. The parade of secondary finishers kicks off and everyone is left laying. Vickie slips Bunny the brass knuckles to knock Jay silly, leaving Rose to hit the Beast Bomb for the pin at 10:20.

Rating: C. Not too bad here as everyone was putting in the effort. There wasn’t a lot of interest here though as they put everyone into a match and let them go, with the main story being the TBS Title tournament. That’s fine on its own, but the tournament feels like it has been going on for the better part of ever and it’s hard to build up that much interest until we get to the end.

Sting and Darby Allin are being interviewed about a show in two weeks when FTR and Tully Blanchard jump them. This is really becoming a tired deal for AEW and they need to drop it for a good while.

Hook vs. Fuego del Sol

Hook takes him down by the head to start and flips him over with a headlock takeover. Fuego has to elbow his way out of something like an STF so Hook takes him into the corner for some shots to the ribs. Another suplex rocks Fuego but he’s back up with a dropkick into the corner. The tornado DDT is blocked though and Hook clotheslines him down. Some crossface shots set up the Tazmission to finish Fuego at 3:19.

Rating: C+. Well who saw that coming? Hook destroyed him and looked smooth doing so, which was quite the surprise. Hook knows his grappling and does feel like a Taz inspired wrestler. They were smart to keep this short and to the point and the match worked pretty well as a result. Total surprise, and nicely done at that.

The Elite is ready to destroy the Best Friends, who aren’t sure what this promo should be about. They steal the Bay Bay catchphrase though and Adam Cole is ready to fight.

Adam Cole vs. Wheeler Yuta

The Best Friends and the Elite are here, because you need ten people for a one on one match. Cole elbows him in the face to start but la majistral is countered into a rollup to give Yuta two. Back up and Cole hits a superkick out of the corner before avoiding a high crossbody to send Yuta crashing. Cole kicks him down again and sets up a neck crank, followed by the fireman’s carry backbreaker for…no cover as Cole is a bit too confident.

Yuta is sent outside so Cole can stare Orange Cassidy down. Back in and Yuta counters the Panama Sunrise into a cradle for two. Now the high crossbody can connect but Yuta can’t cover. An enziguri sends Cole into the corner and a top rope forearm gives Yuta two. A bridging German suplex gets the same but Cole catches him on top. Yuta gets in a slam, only to have his top rope splash hit raised knees. The Boom finishes Yuta at 7:09.

Rating: C. There wasn’t and shouldn’t have been much drama with this one, as Yuta wasn’t going to be a threat to Cole. The best part was the lack of a big brawl or all kinds of interference from everyone on the floor. It was little more than a squash for Cole, so this could have been a lot worse under some different circumstances.

Post match everyone gets in the ring but Bobby Fish comes in to take out the Best Friends. The Elite beats everyone down and Cole poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Not as good as some of their previous shows but still a rather nice hour of wrestling. As has been the case in recent weeks with AEW though, they are trying to put too many people and too many things on a show and everything feels rushed. That can get annoying in a hurry, along with the interrupted interviews. It’s ok to not do the same thing time after time and it would be nice for AEW to learn that with those concepts.

Results
Lucha Bros b. FTR – Spike Fear Factor to Wheeler
Nyla Rose/Penelope Ford/Bunny b. Anna Jay/Tay Conti/Ruby Soho – Beast Bomb to Jay
Hook b. Fuego del Sol – Tazmission
Adam Cole b. Wheeler Yuta – Boom

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Full Gear 2021
Date: November 13, 2021
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s time for what is likely going to be one of the best AEW shows in history as the card is stacked. AEW has shown that they can put together an awesome card and then deliver on the potential. I’m looking forward to more than a few things on the show and that is a great feeling to have. Let’s get to it.

Buy-In: Thunder Rosa/Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose/Jamie Hayter

The four of them are matched up in the TBS Title tournament and Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose/Hayter. Rosa and Rose start things off with Rosa grabbing some rollups for two each. A basement dropkick has Rose staggered and it’s off to Shida for a running knee in the corner. It’s back to Rosa, who gets powered into the wrong corner though, meaning the stomping is on. Rosa manages to roll away and brings Shida back in to start striking away as Serena Deeb is watching from ringside.

Hayter runs Shida over and grabs a chinlock before sending her into the corner for a bite from Rose. A double chokeslam gets two on Shida and it’s an Irish Curse to put her down again. Shida finally manages a German suplex and that’s enough for the hot tag off to Rosa. Everything breaks down and some running kicks to the face put the villains on the floor. The stereo dives take them down again but a Deeb distraction lets Vickie get in a shot to Shida’s knee. Back in and Rosa and Hayter fight straight back to the floor, leaving Shida to hurricanrana Rose for the pin at 8:42.

Rating: C. This was all it needed to be as they started with a fun, fast paced tag match. You don’t need to do anything more than that in a spot like this and the match worked out rather well. Shida pinning Rosa is the best possible outcome and it came after a rather nice opening match to get the already warmed up fans going even hotter.

We run down the card.

Darby Allin vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is introduced as “the man who can beat Darby Allin with a headlock takeover”. Allin’s intro video this time shows him driving a car with LOSER painted on the side, which blows up after a wreck. MJF takes him to the mat with the headlock takeover for some early near falls as the mind games are on. A shoulder puts Allin down, allowing MJF to bust out the cartwheel. Allin armdrags him down and they bridge up at the same time.

MJF gets driven into the corner but comes out with a right hand as JR says these are two of the four “pillows” of AEW. Allin is sent outside and then back inside, with MJF stopping to yell at the fans. That’s not a good idea as Allin is right there with a big suicide dive to take him out, only to miss the Coffin Drop onto the apron. Back in and MJF slowly hammers away, with Allin’s backbreaker not getting him very far. A superplex is loaded up but Allin bites his way to freedom.

The super flipping Stunner is blocked and MJF loads up a super Tombstone, which thankfully is countered into the flipping Stunner. That bangs up the back again though and MJF hammers away at a kneeling Allin. The right hands just make Allin rise back up though and now the comeback is on, only to have MJF pike him in the eye. Allin kicks the knee out but Code Red is countered into a heck of a powerbomb for two.

The Scorpion Deathlock has Allin in more trouble but Allin punches at the knee to escape. A chop block slows MJF down until he gets in a shot of his own. MJF hits a middle rope stomp to the arm but Salt of the Earth is blocked. Instead, Allin goes for the knee again and slaps on the Figure Four in a smart move. The rope is finally grabbed and they fight to the apron to slug it out.

Allin tries a bit of a running start but gets caught in a jumping Tombstone. The impact bangs up the knee again though and they’re both down on the floor. They both beat the count back in but MJF’s knee gives out, allowing Allin to small package him for two. They fight over some small packages for two each and roll around the ring until breaking it up. MJF tries the headlock takeover for two but Allin reverses into one of his own.

MJF’s powerbomb is countered into Code Red for a heck of a near fall and that’s a standing ovation (kind of hard to argue after that kind of a sequence). The Coffin Drop is loaded up so MJF rolls outside before it can launch. That’s fine with Allin, who hits said Coffin Drop on the floor instead.

Back in and another Coffin Drop hits raised knees to make Allin scream. Cue Wardlow and Shawn Spears but Sting runs out to cut them off. MJF rolls Allin up with tights for two so it’s time to grab the skateboard. He offers it to Allin and drops to his knees so Allin can use the skateboard, but that’s not happening. The referee gets rid of it, allowing MJF to get in the shot with the ring. Allin is out cold so it’s a headlock takeover to give MJF the pin at 22:48.

Rating: B+. This was great and that’s all you should have expected. AEW knows that they have some very talented younger stars on the roster and they know how to let them go out there and tear the house down. MJF might be the best talker in wrestling today and he can have some great matches to go with it too. Excellent stuff here and another star making performance from both. MJF’s bragging alone will be worth the whole thing.

Team Taz is in a sky box.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. FTR

The Lucha Bros are defending and it’s Alex Abrahantes/Tully Blanchard as the seconds. The Bros’ entrance features a lot of explosions and some people ducking for cover. Penta takes Wheeler down for an early rollup and that’s good for the quick standoff, sending Harwood outside for a breather. Back in and Wheeler gets taken down but Harwood saves him from a double superkick. Instead the Bros’ dives are caught, with Fenix being thrown at Penta to drive him into the barricade.

Wheeler chokes Fenix on the ropes but it’s quickly back to Harwood and Penta, with the former getting caught with an assisted Cannonball in the corner. Everything breaks down and the Bros tie FTR’s legs together before grabbing a Crossface and Octopus at the same time. The referee isn’t having any of that so it’s down to Penta hammering on Harwood in the corner. Tully offers a distraction so Wheeler can get in a cheap shot to take over though and the champs are in trouble.

Penta’s mask gets tied to the rope so the beating can continue for a bit. With that broken up, Harwood grabs a chinlock to slow things down a bit. Penta fights up and kicks Harwood in the ribs before using Wheeler to roll himself over for a jumping DDT. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Fenix for a bunch of kicks all around. A double cutter drops FTR for two on Harwood but Fenix’s rolling DDT is countered.

Fenix tries an O’Connor roll but accidentally knocks Penta off the apron. The kickout sends Fenix into the AAA title belt (as held by Wheeler) to set up a brainbuster for a very close two. Back in and Penta cleans house but stops to yell at Tully, allowing Harwood to try Three Amigos.

That’s broken up so Fenix can do the real version, setting up a heck of a frog splash for two. Penta gets sent outside again and the spike piledriver gets two on Fenix. Back up and Fenix superkicks Harwood and it’s a Fear Factor/Code Red for stereo near falls. It’s time to get creative so Wheeler (illegal) puts on a mask and grabs a rollup for two. The spike Fear Factor pins Wheeler at 18:38

Rating: B. I liked it better than their first match and that’s a good thing. The ending was all about setting up a rematch, which should be another good one. I could see it being a way for the Bros to get the AAA Tag Team Titles back to wrap it up, but they might even have a surprise to get the belts back on FTR. Either way, good, exciting match here as the first two matches have worked out well.

We recap Miro vs. Bryan Danielson for the #1 contendership. Danielson wants to win to prove he is the best and Miro wants to win the title to return to his wife.

World Title #1 Contenders Eliminator Tournament Finals: Miro vs. Bryan Danielson

Miro still isn’t interested in a handshake so Danielson kicks away at the thigh to start. Some more strikes stagger Miro until he hits a knee to the stomach to put Danielson outside for a needed breather. Back in and Miro is ready for the moonsault out of the corner so Danielson (not Daniel Bryan JR) kicks away in the corner. Miro knocks him outside for his own breather though and Danielson gets whipped into various hard objects.

Back in and we hit the chinlock, complete with another “Daniel Bryan” from JR. Miro whips him hard into the corner but stops to grab his own leg, allowing Danielson to strike away again. Some more strikes rock Miro and the Affirmative Kicks have him in trouble in the middle of the ring. Danielson grabs a kneebar but Miro powers out with a gutwrench suplex. Another hard kick gives Danielson two more and it’s a front facelock for some knees to Miro’s head.

The hard stomps have Miro down again but he cuts off the running knee. Game Over goes on but Danielson eventually slips out and grabs the LeBell Lock. Miro slips out again and tries to hammer down right hands but gets pulled into the triangle choke. Danielson adds the elbows to the head until Miro powers his way out. Back up and Miro invites Danielson to keep kicking him, though said kicks don’t do much damage. Miro takes him up top but Danielson reverses into a tornado DDT, setting up a guillotine choke for the win at 20:00.

Rating: B+. Commentary described this as a struggle and that’s exactly how it felt. This was about Miro powering his way through Danielson’s offense until Danielson finally found the weak point. It felt like two guys trying to break the other one down and that’s a great way to go. Awesome stuff here as this show is on a crazy roll to start.

Superkliq vs. Christian Cage/Jurassic Express

Falls count anywhere and the Bucks are all in purple, which is too much for Tony. JR: “Looks like a Bret Hart meet and greet.” It’s a brawl to start with the Bucks being sent outside, where Luchasaurus takes them down with a moonsault from the apron. That leaves Cole to charge into Christian’s elbow to put him down. Back in and the Bucks block Jungle Boy’s springboard double wristdrag so Luchasaurus makes a save of his own. Cole comes in as well and gets a chair thrown into his face but the Bucks break up a powerbomb onto an open chair.

Jungle Boy takes the Bucks down from the chair and has a seat, allowing Cole to knee him in the face. The BAY BAY pose takes too long though and Christian reverse DDTs Cole onto the chair. Everyone heads outside with Luchasaurus getting in a trashcan shot for two, much to JR’s annoyance. Luchasaurus kicks Cole in the face so Jungle Boy can send him face first into a chair.

A table is set up at ringside but Jungle Boy would rather load up a Conchairto on Cole. That’s broken up by the Bucks so Jungle Boy and Nick fight off towards the stage. Cole is busted open bad as Luchasaurus kicks him in the corner but Cole slips out of a Razor’s Edge. That means a parade of superkicks until Jungle Boy hurricanranas Cole off the apron through the table at ringside.

Matt springboard elbows Luchasaurus through another table at ringside and everyone is down. We cut to the stands where Brandon Cutler sprays Nick by mistake, allowing Christian to go up onto a balcony and crossbody down onto both of them for two. Back to ringside and Christian gets sent knees first into the steps, followed by Jungle Boy getting wheelbarrow suplexed into the apron. It’s time for the thumbtacks, which go into Jungle Boy’s mouth, but we need to stop for the double kiss to Cole.

With that out of the way, the double superkick gets two on Jungle Boy with Cage making the save. Since we need to check it off of a list, a ladder is put in the corner but Christian is back in. A tornado DDT (with Christian’s foot getting caught in the ladder) drops Nick as Luchasaurus gets back in. Cole gets tossed HARD onto the ladder in the corner and there’s a chokeslam to put Nick onto it as well.

The standing moonsault connects for two as Matt makes the save with a trashcan. A superkick gets one on Luchasaurus (JR: “Never count down a dinosaur Tony. EVER!”) so Matt walks up the ramp, only to have Jungle Boy charge out and grab the Snare Trap. Cole makes the save this time and everyone winds up on the ramp. Luchasaurus’ double chokeslam to the Bucks is broken up by Cole’s low blow and Cage catapults Nick onto the set.

Cage charges into a superkick from Cole so Nick dives down onto his for a bonus. Jungle Boy and Cole fight near the set until Cole hits a Panama Sunrise onto the stage for two more. A bunch of superkicks put Luchasaurus down and Cole busts out a thumbtack kneepad (Tony: “A THUMBTACK KNEEPAD???”). The Superkliq all have one and a three man BTE Trigger….gets two as Jungle Boy makes another save.

Jungle Boy suplexes Nick and Cage spears Matt, leaving Cole to be chokeslammed off the ramp and onto Cutler/Nakazawa. Luchasaurus shooting stars down onto everyone and Jungle Boy is impressed. Cage loads up the Conchairto to Matt, but Jungle Boy wants to do it instead. Matt’s head is crushed for the pin at 22:18.

Rating: B. This was the wild brawl you would have expected with some crazy spots, but it went too long and that hurt things. This needed to have about five minutes cut off as they could have dropped at least a few of the false finishes. That being said, good choice in having Jungle Boy pin one of the Bucks, as that image at the end was a great way to elevate Jungle Boy, who needs to get higher up the card. Luchasaurus looked more like a monster than usual too so this was a good way to move people up.

We recap Malakai Black/Andrade El Idolo vs. Cody Rhodes/Pac. Black and Cody have been feuding so Black got El Idolo to help him. Pac has been feuding with El Idolo so everything is combined.

Malakai Black/Andrade El Idolo vs. Cody Rhodes/Pac

Jose and Arn Anderson are at ringside. Pac and Andrade start but Cody tags himself in, earning even more booing. Hold on though as Pac tags himself in, with Andrade finally hitting Pac to get started. Black comes in to work on the arm as JR isn’t sure on the quality of the teamwork here. Pac gets over to the corner and it’s back to Black, who distracts Cody long enough for Andrade to get in a cheap shot. Cody fights back and suicide dives onto Jose, setting up the powerslam on Andrade back inside.

Pac tags himself back in and gets taken into the corner. Black’s belly to back suplex doesn’t work as Pac sticks the landing and staggers into the corner for Cody’s blind tag. The Cody Cutter hits Black but Pac makes another tag, just as Black kicks Cody’s head off. Pac sends the villains (not Cody in this case) to the floor for a big dive, leaving Arn Anderson to punch Jose out.

They fight to the back (read as Jose runs as Arn walks after him) as Andrade sends Pac outside for the running flip dive. Back in and Black kicks away, setting up Andrade’s split legged moonsault for two. Pac finally gets in a shot of his own but Cody is STILL down on the floor. Andrade uses the distraction to hit a pendulum DDT onto the apron for two back inside. Cody is back on the apron as Pac and Black kick each other down. The hot tag brings in Cody, which does not sit well with the fans.

House is cleaned in a hurry and Andrade gets crotched on top, setting up the reverse superplex. Cody grabs the Figure Four but Pac tags himself in and hits a 450 for two as Andrade grabs the rope. Everything breaks down again and Pac’s big running flip dive takes Cody out. Back in and Black knees Pac to set up a German suplex for two with Cody making the save. Black hits a heck of a running kick to the face to put Cody over the barricade, sending them both crashing into the crowd. Pac suplexes Andrade into the corner, setting up the Black Arrow for the pin at 16:55.

Rating: B-. They had a lot going on here but this Cody stuff isn’t going to work much longer. Having him get booed out of the arena every time isn’t exactly a great look and they are going to need to come up with something to fix it. The ending likely sets up something else with Cody and Pac, which doesn’t exactly leave Andrade looking good or Black with anything to do. I’m sure they’ll find something, but this feels like a flat way to end the feud.

Post match FTR runs in to jump Pac and Cody, probably setting up a big Dynamite main event.

We recap Tay Conti vs. Britt Baker for the Women’s Title. Conti thinks Baker has had everything handed to her but Baker thinks Conti keeps coming up short in the big matches.

Women’s Title: Britt Baker vs. Tay Conti

Baker, with Rebel and Jamie Hayter, is defending and is played to the ring by the guitarist from Fozzy. Some early rollups give Baker two but she can’t get Lockjaw. Baker takes her into the corner but gets caught in a cross armbreaker over the ropes. With that broken up, Baker works on the arm as well before kneeing Conti in the face. Conti fights out of the Lockjaw again with some shots to Baker’s formerly broken hand. A running knee rocks Baker and the comeback is on for Conti.

Some running boots in the corner set up a high crossbody for two on Baker. A neckbreaker out of the corner gives Conti the same but Baker is back with a running stomp for her own near fall. The Lockjaw glove is loaded up (with Rebel being VERY excited) but Conti grabs a cutter for two. They fight to the apron, where Baker hits an Air Raid Crash. Somehow that’s only good for two so it’s the Lockjaw, with Conti going straight to the rope.

They trade some rollups for two each until the TayKO gives Conti two more. A Gotch style piledriver gets another near fall on Baker but Rebel offers a distraction. Hayter gets in a cheap shot on the floor and Baker adds a stomp on the steps. Another stomp back inside sets up the Lockjaw….which is reversed into a cradle for two. Conti kicks her to the floor but can’t follow up due to exhaustion.

Eventually Conti moonsaults down onto Rebel and Hayter as Baker walks away. Instead, Conti spins Baker down into a slam on the floor, setting up the DDTay for two back inside. A bunch of kicks to the head rock Baker again but she pulls Conti into Lockjaw, which is countered into a rollup. Baker counters the countered rollup into a rollup of her own to retain at 15:30.

Rating: B-. The lack of drama hurt this a good bit, but Conti was trying hard and it is amazing how far she has come in the last year or so. Conti is going to be a big star in the near future, but it’s really hard to buy anyone not named Thunder Rosa as a threat to Baker’s title. Another good match though, with probably just a few too many false finishes for its own good.

We recap Eddie Kingston vs. CM Punk. They’re similar, but Kingston thinks Punk doesn’t respect him. Punk thinks Kingston keeps failing to live up to his potential and now it’s Kingston’s chance to prove himself in his biggest match ever.

CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston

Punk marches to the ring and doesn’t even stop for his signature stuff. Kingston isn’t waiting either and hits the spinning backfist before the bell. Punk is knocked outside as the match officially starts, with Punk hitting a few shots in the corner as they go back inside. Another shot in the corner is countered with a t-bone suplex and Kingston unloads on him in the corner.

Punk gets in another shot and takes it to the apron for a big kick to Kingston’s head. Kingston’s hand gets crushed in the steps as the fans are behind both of these guys. Punk has been busted open somewhere in there but he throws Kingston back inside anyway….for John Cena’s Five Moves Of Doom, albeit with a middle finger instead of You Can’t See Me. Kingston flips him off right back so Punk hammers away again and hits Three Amigos.

Back up and Kingston catches him on top with a shot to the face, setting up a top rope superplex. They pull themselves up and slug it out, allowing Excalibur to drop an old school UFC reference. Why he wouldn’t drop an old wrestling reference is beyond me, but Excalibur can be a strange duck. Kingston knocks him down again but walks into a GTS. Punk can’t follow up though so it’s a double breather. After Kingston pulls himself up though, he misses the backfist and it’s another GTS for the pin at 11:11.

Rating: B. As much as I would have liked to see Kingston get the big win, this was about the only way they could have gone. Punk is one of the biggest stars in the company and it would be a bit much to see him losing anytime soon. Kingston got the run of his life here and he’ll be getting another shot at something down the line. Heck of a fight, with the right ending.

Post match Kingston pulls himself up but walks away from the offer of a handshake.

We recap American Top Team/Men of the Year vs. the Inner Circle. Dan Lambert has run his mouth over and over and Chris Jericho is fed up. Tonight Lambert gets in the ring and it’s time for revenge in a street fight.

Baron Von Raschke of all people is here.

American Top Team/Men of the Year vs. Inner Circle

Street fight and Dan Lambert is in a blue tracksuit. Since that’s a lot of groups, that would be Dan Lambert/Andrei Arlovski/Junior Dos Santos/Scorpio Sky/Ethan Page vs. Chris Jericho/Jake Hager/Santana/Ortiz/Sammy Guevara. Scorpio Sky starts with Sammy Guevara (because there are tags in this thing) and drives him into the corner for a rake to the eyes. Sammy comes back with a middle rope kick to the chest and a dropkick into a nipup.

Santana and Ortiz hit a double suplex and another suplex is handed off to Hager. Arlovski comes in for a slugout but Hager pulls him into a failed ankle lock attempt. Hager gets taken down and Dos Santos comes in for a double shoulder. It’s off to Jericho, who gets suplexed down as well, setting up a standing moonsault (with Dos Santos’ head crashing into Jericho’s chest) for two.

Now Lambert comes in to slap Jericho in the face as everything breaks down (as it should have from the beginning). Lambert has to run away, allowing Ethan Page to hit Jericho with a hockey stick. Sammy hits a dive of his own but Sky and Hager hits a big dive onto a bunch of people. The weapons (Minneapolis things) come in, including a Prince sign, setting off a PURPLE RAIN chant. A chair gets wrapped around Ortiz’s throat and then sent into the post, leaving Santana to get beaten double teamed inside.

That doesn’t last long as Ortiz is back in to put a trashcan over Page’s head, allowing Santana and Ortiz to beat on him with hockey sticks. Then we get a Gory Stretch/Boston crab/camel clutch combination from Santana/Ortiz to the Men of the Year (that’s a new one, or maybe two or three), with Sammy throwing a football at Sky’s open ribs. Arlovski comes back in to clean house but Hager busts out a toaster to take everyone out.

Jericho has to save Hager with a water ski but Lambert trips him down. Sammy is back in with a double springboard cutter to the Men of the Year and a Swanton to Sky for two. A table is set up at ringside but Arlovski makes the save with a bundt cake pan. Santana and Ortiz superplex Dos Santos off the top as Sammy is climbing a really high ladder. The big Swanton drives Sky through the table but Ethan Page goes to yell at Hager’s wife.

That earns him a Baron Von Raschke claw, leaving Santana to take Page over the barricade. Lambert poses in the ring but gets caught by Jericho, who chops him down in a hurry. Jericho shouts for Dos Santos, who pops up to block the Lionsault so Lambert can get two. Lambert’s Walls are broken up with kendo stick shots….and Jericho pulls out a stapler for a shot low. Another frog splash finishes Lambert at 20:01.

Rating: C+. It was wild and nutty, but it wasn’t as good as the other big brawl from earlier. The ending wasn’t exactly great either, as it was all about Jericho beating up a manager when his team had an advantage. This really needs to be it though, as this wasn’t exactly an enthralling story in the first place and then it wasn’t a great blowoff match.

Tony Schiavone brings in the newest AEW star: Jay Lethal. He is officially All Elite and wants to answer the TNT Title open challenge Wednesday on Dynamite. Cue Sammy to say it’s on.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Kenny Omega for the World Title. They used to be friends (a long time ago) but Page had all kinds of self doubt and drank his way out of his problems. Now it’s time to redeem himself and win the title, though Omega isn’t quite nervous.

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page

Page is challenging and we see a video of him riding a horse through the street as clips of Page’s various failures play on screens behind him. Once he gets in the arena, Page’s chiron says “We’re Proud Of You – Graphics Team”. They stare each other down to start with Page taking him into the corner to hammer away. Don Callis grabs Page’s boot though and Omega gets in a shot from behind to take over.

Page backdrops him to the apron though and it’s a springboard clothesline to send Omega outside. Omega gets the better of things on the floor though and brings Page back inside for the running reverse bulldog for two. Callis offers a distraction so Omega can knock Page outside again, setting up the Terminator dive. Back in and Page cuts him off, including kicking Omega in the face.

This time it’s Omega being knocked outside for the suicide dive from Page, setting up the moonsault out to the floor. They get back up to their feet and head up top, where Omega hits a springboard super Liger Bomb to knock Page silly. There’s the snapdragon to set up the V Trigger but the One Winged Angle is countered into the victory roll to give Page two. The Deadeye is countered into a tiger driver 98 for two and Omega bites at the cut on Page’s head from Dynamite.

Omega goes up but gets crotched, allowing Page to bite away for a change. The super flipping fall away slam into a cover gives Page his own two and Omega is down on the floor. Page hits a big clothesline from the top but might have banged up his knee in the process. Back in and Page misses his own V Trigger but Omega pulls the referee in the way of a charge.

Callis grabs the belt but Page scares him away, setting up the Deadeye for two on Omega. Page picks up the title, only to throw it right back down so the slugout can be on instead. Omega slugs him down to one knee and then knees Page in the head. More knees set up the V Trigger but Page cuts him off and strikes away. The next V Trigger connects but Page is back up with a discus elbow.

Some Kawada kicks rock Page, who comes back (after an F bomb) with a heck of a clothesline. Cue the Young Bucks (Tony: “Dip**** alert.”) as Page drops Omega on the top of his head with a belly to back suplex. The Buckshot lariat is countered with the V Trigger but the One Winged Angel is countered into one from Page for a near fall. Now the Buckshot lariat hits Omega from behind but Page stops to look at Matt Jackson. A nod sets up the Buckshot lariat to give the pin and the title at 25:06.

Rating: B. They didn’t have another choice here and thankfully they pulled the trigger at the right time. There was no reason to keep the title on Omega any longer and hopefully this wraps up the main portion of the Elite saga. Page had to win here or I’m not sure if he ever would have otherwise. The match was rather good, though not quite great, but what matters is the ending, which was the right call.

Post match the Dark Order comes out to celebrate with Page and the big hug ends the show.

Overall Rating: A. Another classic show from AEW, which tends to be the case when they get on the big stage. There was nothing resembling a bad match all night long with even the worst match on the show being completely fine. Some of the matches probably went a big longer than they needed to, but I’m not about to complain about a show that delivered this well. Awesome night and the big title change wraps it up, so well done all around.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Darby Allin – Headlock takeover
Lucha Bros b. FTR – Spike Fear Factor to Wheeler
Bryan Danielson b. Miro – Guillotine choke
Christian Cage/Jurassic Express b. Superkliq – Conchairto to Cole
Cody Rhodes/Pac b. Malakai Black/Andrade El Idolo – Black Arrow to El Idolo
Britt Baker b. Tay Conti – Rollup
CM Punk b. Eddie Kingston – GTS
Inner Circle b. American Top Team/Men of the Year – Frog splash to Lambert
Hangman Page b. Kenny Omega – Buckshot lariat

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It’s always fun to see AEW back on pay per view as they really have figured out the formula. They know what they are doing with the whole thing and we should be in for another one this time around. The card is absolutely stacked from top to bottom and we could be in for one of the more historic moments in AEW’s history to date. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Hikaru Shida/Thunder Rosa vs. Jamie Hayter/Nyla Rose

It’s a battle of four people who are still in the TBS Title tournament and I’ve heard worse reasons to have a pre-show tag match. There isn’t much else connecting these women and they haven’t interacted much on TV, but it should do rather well as a way to get things rolling for the evening. It isn’t like Shida and Rose don’t know each other so maybe they can have a good match through familiarity.

I’ll go with Shida and Rosa to win here as there is little reason to go with having the popular wrestlers lose to open the night. This isn’t the kind of a match that needs to be anything more than a few competitive minutes while commentary plugs the tournament as much as they can. It would be nice to see the tournament move forward a bit more, but Shida and Rosa winning here will work for now.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros(c) vs. FTR

We’ll get going on the main card with a match that could go either way. I liked their first match against each other but there is a bad chance of this getting sloppy in a hurry. It is going to come down to the idea of whether FTR can keep things a bit more down to earth than usual, but that is no guarantee. That’s the way to put the match together, but it needs a winner as well.

I’m not sure on this one, but I think I’ll go with the Lucha Bros, as they can retain the titles to even the series and then win the AAA Tag Team Titles at an upcoming show in Mexico. Other than that though, we should be in for a fun match, as their first match worked out pretty well. At the same thing though, there is always the chance that it could go bad in a hurry, which makes things that much more fun.

Cody Rhodes/Pac vs. Andrade El Idolo/Malakai Black

Let’s keep going with the tag theme here and get a rather odd pair of pairings out of the way. Believe it or not, this is mainly about Rhodes, which tends to be the case far more often than it probably needs to be. Pac doesn’t like El Idolo and Black and Rhodes are still feuding for some reason, with El Idolo going after Rhodes to tie the whole thing together. Sounds like a great way to get Rhodes on pay per view no?

This could go either way but I’ll go with Rhodes and Pac winning here, as Black probably takes the fall. I’m at the point where I have no idea what to make of Rhodes these days and it is getting harder and harder to figure it out. Hopefully they can figure out what to do with him sooner than later, because throwing him out there to try and make him the most popular guy in the company isn’t exactly working.

Darby Allin vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

We’ll mix it up a bit here with a match that could (and should) be between two of the company’s stars of the future. That has even been the focus of the feud, as Friedman has talked about how these two are pillars of the company. Allin has mainly been sitting around letting Friedman say whatever he wants, but he has a history of turning it on when he gets the chance on the big stage.

I’ll go with Friedman here, as Allin is someone who is going to be over no matter what he does, while Friedman would seem to be on the road to a (rather) eventual World Title run. Allin is the kind of wrestler who will be popular with the fans based on how hard he goes whenever he is in the ring. Hopefully they can steal the show here, as tends to be the case when these two are on the big stage.

Inner Circle vs. Men Of The Year/American Top Team

To recap: we have a bunch of mixed martial artists, a tag team and a gym owner vs. five wrestlers in a street fight where the wrestlers got to pick sixty percents of who they are fighting. Got all that? This match has all kinds of details included and I’m not sure how well it is going to play out on paper. What matters is how it goes, but also how much longer they want the feud to continue.

Somehow this is a flip of the coin as I have no idea who is winning here. I’ll go with the Inner Circle to finally wrap up the feud though, which is probably how things should go. The idea is likely going to be built around Dan Lambert running away, which is probably the best thing for everyone involved. I’ll say Guevara pins one of the Men Of The Year, which is the pick that is most likely to be wrong of the show.

Women’s Title: Britt Baker(c) vs. Tay Conti

This is in a rough place and I’m not sure how well they are going to be able to get out of it. At the end of the day, it’s hard to imagine Baker losing the title to anyone before her eventual showdown with Rosa, as they almost have to get to the big rematch. That leaves almost any other challenger, including Conti, as a bit of a lame duck no matter what they do on the way to the title match.

Of course I’ll go with Baker here, as there is little reason to believe Conti has much of a chance. It might wind up being a good match, but at the same time it does not have the most drama. Conti is someone who could become a huge star down the line (and probably will), but we are still in Baker’s time and that is not going to stop anytime soon, or at least not until she runs into Rosa again.

Christian Cage/Jurassic Express vs. Superkliq

Falls Count Anywhere, because we need another wild tag team brawl. These guys have been feuding since Cage debuted and this does feel like a bit of a big blowoff to the whole thing. Then again, this is a feud that could go in a few directions, such as Cole vs. Jungle Boy or Cage, both of which would be good. Add in the absence of Marko Stunt and this is already getting more interesting.

That being said, you know full well there is practically no chance of the Superkliq losing a big time match so I’m not sure if there is any real drama here. The other three will fight hard and there will likely be a big spot, but ultimately this will involve several superkicks and end with the Boom to Jungle Boy. Why not Luchasaurus you may ask? Heck if I know, but that’s probably how it ends.

CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston

This is the one that everyone is talking about with good reason. Between the amazing exchange last week and the equally awesome Kingston piece in the Players Tribune (go out of your way to read that), Kingston is white hot going into this match. That’s going to tie into everything that Punk has been talking about too, as all of the pressure is going to be on Kingston in this one.

As much as I would really, really love to see AEW go nuts and have Kingston get the biggest win of his career, I can’t validate having Punk lose at any point in the near future. Punk is someone with a lot of star power and while a loss to Kingston wouldn’t kill that, it isn’t the kind of thing that needs to happen. I would love to see Kingston win, but I don’t think it is going to happen.

Bryan Danielson vs. Miro

Now we’re getting to the important stuff, as the last two matches on the card are tied together. This is the finals of the #1 contenders tournament and I could easily see this going either way. You could go with almost any combination of these two and either World Champion (save for probably Miro vs. Kenny Omega) and have a major title match, which is a sign that they are doing something right.

I think I’ll take….Danielson here, as he opens up more doors and was the original finalist anyway. Miro losing to some kind of a choke to focus on his bad neck works, but e pluribus gads it would be amazing to see him go nuts and slaughter Danielson. It’s so nice to have both as possible options here, but ultimately I think it’s Danielson’s to win and set up the huge title showdown. He’ll need an opponent though, which leaves us with this.

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Hangman Page

Here we go. This is the big one that AEW has literally been building towards for years. While some might think that is a big much and they should have gotten to the point a good while ago, it’s time to finally have this big showdown. They have set this up from several interesting angles and there is something to the idea of FINALLY having Page win. At the same time though, there might be something to having Danielson take the title off of Omega and finally slay the dragon.

But I think we’ll go with the sane idea here and have Page just win the match and take the title off of Omega. It is already the longest title reign in AEW history (nearly double the second place reign) and Omega hasn’t exactly led AEW to the promised land as champion. I don’t know if Page is going to be the one to do it, but I think he wins the title here, finally paying off a story that is a few years in the making.

Overall Thoughts

There is the potential for an incredible show here and that is kind of what you expect from AEW these days. I could go for seeing whatever they do here, as there is a good shot at some history being made in the main event. Other than that, the rest of the show looks great and maybe it can help boost their audience back up (which they kind of need these days). I’m excited for the show, and that’s always a good starting point.

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Dynamite
Date: November 10, 2021
Location: Indianapolis Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the go home show for Full Gear and that means things might actually be interesting around here. AEW knows how to stick the landing on their way to a pay per view and there is still some stuff that they need to cover. Odds are they’ll hit a lot of those points this week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson vs. Rocky Romero

Orange Cassidy is here with Romero. They go technical to start and the fans are behind Danielson as he grabs a headlock. The threat of an armbar sends Danielson over to the ropes so Romero elbows him in the face. Danielson flips over Romero in the corner but misses the running clothesline. Instead, Romero sends him outside, where Cassidy gives Danielson the hands in the pockets.

The delay lets Romero score with a suicide dive but Danielson is back with the kicks and chops in the corner. A kick to the back sets up a knee to Romero’s face but Romero is back with a springboard tornado DDT. Romero drapes him over the ropes and hits a dropkick to the side of the head. There’s a running Sliced Bread for two and it’s off to a triangle choke.

Danielson stacks him up for two and then grabs a sitout powerbomb for the real break. Another cross armbreaker is broken up and Danielson kicks him in the face for a breather. Romero tries another Sliced Bread but gets countered into the stomps to the face. The LeBell Lock is blocked so Danielson switches to something like a Tequila Sunrise for the tap at 10:53.

Rating: B. This was the match that you would have expected from these two as they both know how to work this exact style. Danielson continues to be a wrestling machine on this show as he will fight anyone, often in a match that gets some time. That is a great thing to see and fits Danielson so well, which is all you can ask for from him.

Commentary runs down the card.

Tony Schiavone brings out the Inner Circle for a chat but American Top Team jumps them and lays everyone out, including sending them into various things. Dan Lambert gives Chris Jericho an assisted powerbomb through a table and gets to brag a lot. The Men of the Year promise to destroy the Inner Circle at Full Gear, where Lambert will pin Jericho. Tonight though, they’re going to make Lambert tap Jericho out, so put him in the Walls! Lambert puts it on and shouts about it being a Boston crab. Scorpio Sky grabs Jericho’s hand and slaps the mat to really rub it in. Classic heel stuff here and it worked as a result.

Tay Conti/Anna Jay/Thunder Rosa vs. Rebel/Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter

Rosa and Baker start things off and you can see Baker getting more serious about this one. Rosa can’t hit a quick Fire Thunder Driver and the fans are split. Baker bails over to Rebel to hammer on Rosa but it’s off to Anna. Rosa whips Anna into Rebel in the corner but it’s Anna being knocked outside for the double teaming.

We take a break with Anna in trouble and come back with her suplexing her way to freedom. The hot tag brings in Conti to clean house until the numbers game gets the better of her. Rosa comes in and gets to run some people over as everything breaks down. Rosa dives onto Hayter and CRUSHES HER with a high crossbody to the floor (with Rosa immediately checking on her). Conti loads up the TayKO, glares at Baker, and plants Rebel for the pin at 7:58.

Rating: C. Not much of a match here, but again it was about building things up for Sunday. I don’t know if Conti has the greatest chance of winning the title at Full Gear but you have to do something like this to set her up as a potential threat. Just Baker looking scared of her at the end is enough to get her somewhere, so this worked out perfectly well given what they were trying to do.

Video on Ruby Soho vs. Kris Statlander.

Anthony Bowens vs. Jungle Boy

Max Caster’s rap insults Jungle Boy’s physique and wonders why he leaves his girlfriend (Anna Jay) alone with seven guys. Feeling out process to start until Bowens takes him down and poses. Bowens chops away in the corner but Jungle is right back with his own set of chops to take over.

Caster offers a distraction though and Bowens hits a Codebreaker over the ropes as we take a break. Back with Jungle striking away and grabbing the Snare Trap but Caster offers a distraction. That earns Caster a suicide dive but Bowens gets in a kick to the head and a twisting hanging DDT for a near fall. That’s about it for Bowens, as Jungle pulls him into the Snare Trap for the win at 10:07.

Rating: C. This is what the match should have been, as it was the same thing that happened with Bowens vs. Bryan Danielson on Rampage: Bowens can only get the advantage over a bigger star when his partner is helping him, which makes perfect sense for a tag team wrestler. Bowens has a lot of the tools but needs to be built up a little more, which can happen in the future. Jungle gets to overcome some odds and win though, which is what he should be doing.

Post match here is Bobby Fish to take out Jungle Boy, with Luchasaurus and Christian Cage making the save.

We get a video on Hangman Page vs. Kenny Omega, with both guys plus some talking heads going into what it means for Page. Omega says he never loses big matches and Page never wins them, so Page doesn’t have a chance.

Adam Cole introduces Bobby Fish to the Young Bucks, who the Bucks know very well. There is no dispute around here though, because this era is about the Elite. Cole has an idea: Fish vs. Jungle Boy on Rampage, but he’d like Fish to leave just a little piece for Cole on Saturday. Deal.

We get a video on CM Punk vs. Eddie Kingston, featuring a bunch of clips from their time on the independent scene, cut together with clips from their epic argument on Rampage.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Wardlow

The Best Friends are here too. Yuta starts fast and kicks away, only to miss a dropkick. Wardlow hits a heck of a powerbomb and then does it again. Two more powerbombs set up the knee to the face in the corner to finish Yuta at 2:18. Total dominance.

Post match the Hardy Family Office jumps the Best Friends. Matt Hardy wraps a chair around Orange Cassidy’s neck and hits the Twist of Fate to leave Cassidy writhing in pain. Can we please just get to the match already? This is reaching Brian Cage vs. Ricky Starks levels of GET ON WITH IT.

CM Punk and Eddie Kingston have to be held apart in the parking lot. Those are always cool to see.

Lio Rush/Dante Martin vs. Lee Moriarty/Matt Sydal

Moriarty works on Martin’s arm to start but they trade leg sweeps for no counts each. Martin rolls him up for two and then Moriarty rolls him up for two as they’re flying through this stuff. They go to a standoff and the fans give them a standing ovation. It’s off to Rush vs. Sydal, with Rush dodging around to avoid anything from Sydal.

Moriarty gets in a shot from the apron but Rush dodges more right hands. A springboard hurricanrana takes Sydal down and Moriarty gets knocked off the apron, setting up a big showdown. We take a break and come back with Rush and Moriarty coming in off the double tag to pick the pace right back up.

Everything breaks down again and Rush nails Sydal with a sinning kick to the face. Moriarty gets kicked to the floor as well and the fans seem very pleased with him. A double handspring elbow drops Sydal and Moriarty again, setting up back to back suicide dives. Sydal loads up something on top but gets pulled down, leaving Moriarty to hit a running uppercut for two on Martin. Rush enziguris Sydal and kicks Moriarty in the head again, setting up the double springboard moonsault press to finish Moriarty at 10:18.

Rating: B. Yeah this worked and a lot of that was due to Rush going insane to hit everything he could think of in a pretty short amount of time. The rest of the people involved were holding up their ends as well, as this was all about getting in as much as they could. It might have been a total spotfest, but dang it was a fun one.

Miro asks if Bryan Danielson thinks his God is messing with him. Would he trade Miro’s bad neck for Danielson’s bad neck? Danielson should fear him because this is going to hurt.

Dax Harwood vs. Pac

Tully Blanchard is here with Harwood. A lockup doesn’t go anywhere so Harwood cranks on the arm instead. Pac shoulders him down and starts taking over, including a bunch of chops in the corner. They forearm it out in the corner until ac sends him into the ropes for a German suplex. A clothesline puts Harwood on the floor and Pac nails a big running flip dive as we take a break.

Back with Harwood on top and getting kicked in the head to stagger him again. The top rope brainbuster (geez) connects and they’re both down in quite the heap. Pac knocks him into the corner again but Harwood rolls away before the Black Arrow can launch. Instead, Tully pulls Harwood out of the corner to avoid a charge, allowing Harwood to hit a brainbuster of his own for two.

Pac superkicks him out of the corner but the Black Arrow is broken up again. Harwood’s belly to back superplex drops Pac but he can’t follow up. Pac is back up but can’t hit a German suplex. Instead Harwood elbows him in the face, setting up a Liger Bomb for two. A backslide gives Pac two before he grabs the Brutalizer for the very fast tap (with commentary making it clear that Harwood doesn’t want to be hurt for Full Gear) at 13:47.

Rating: B. This was another hard hitting match with both guys doing everything they could. It helped that they got some extra time and they had a rather clever way out of either of them taking a definitive loss. Harwood tapping so fast made a lot of sense and it came after a heck of a fight.

Post match Cash Wheeler runs in for the beatdown and the lights go out. Cue Malakai Black and Andrade to help stomp Pac, drawing out Cody Rhodes and the Lucha Bros for the big brawl.

Here’s what’s coming on Rampage and at Full Gear.

Video on MJF vs. Darby Allin, which is a battle of two of the pillars of AEW.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring for the contract signing between Hangman Page and Kenny Omega. Before he signs, Page says that he can’t wait to get his hands on Omega and win the World Title. Page signs but Omega talks about how this could have all been for Page in the first place. Then Page had to deal with his insecurities and failures and it was always the Elite helping him up to do his cowboy s***.

Omega did it because he saw himself in Page but how wrong he was. Page brings up Omega’s former (unnamed partner) and maybe he didn’t live up to that partner either. Last year, Omega said that he was proud of Page, but the truth is Omega was scared. Omega didn’t want Page to become what he could become, which he will do at Full Gear.

They shake hands and Omega says he’s proud of Page before leaving (without signing)….and the cameraman jumps Page. It’s Don Callis and the beating is on, with Page being busted open. Omega signs the contract in blood to end the show. The Callis deal was a nice surprise, until you remember that it’s Don Callis.

Overall Rating: B+. This show did a rather good job of hyping up Full Gear, as they were in full on final push mode. I want to see the show more than I did coming in so at least they are on the right path with most of this stuff. They had some rather entertaining wrestling to go with it so it was a very well put together use of two hours. Now keep up their regular work on pay per view and they’ll be in better shape than usual.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Rocky Romero – Tequila Sunrise
Tay Conti/Anna Jay/Thunder Rosa b. Rebel/Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter – TayKO to Hayter
Jungle Boy b. Anthony Bowens – Snare Trap
Wardlow b. Wheeler Yuta – Knee to the face
Lio Rush/Dante Martin b. Matt Sydal/Lee Moriarty – Double springboard moonsault press to Moriarty
Pac b. Dax Harwood – Brutalizer

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: November 3, 2021
Location: Cable Dahmer Arena, Independence, Missouri
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We are less than three weeks away from Full Gear and things have been shaken up a bit. Jon Moxley, who was in the semifinals of the #1 contenders tournament, has decided to go to rehab for alcohol issues, which leaves a big hole in the brackets. We should get a replacement tonight though and that could be interesting. Let’s get to it.

Here is Rampage if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Kenny Omega vs. Alan Angels

Non-title and commentary brings up Moxley’s issues during Omega’s entrance. Angels goes right after him to start but Omega knocks him back, including some chops. A few shots knock Omega into the corner but he’s back with the Kitaro Crusher. Omega hits a running face shots to take Angels down (think a bulldog but from the front) and the brainbuster onto the knee knocks Angels silly.

The V Trigger misses though and Angels grabs a rollup for two. There’s a suicide dive to send Omega into the barricade and a 619 from the apron staggers him again. A middle rope moonsault drops Omega on the floor and a high crossbody gets two back inside. Omega is back with a sitout powerbomb for two and shock is setting in. Back up and they slug it out but the One Winged Angel is countered into a sunset flip for two. The V Trigger gets two on Angels, followed by more V Triggers for the pin at 7:59.

Rating: B-. The action was good and Angels got in a lot here against the World Champion. I’m really not sure why this was so even for so long but at least Omega won in the end. They really need to do something to make him look more dominant because it hasn’t exactly been clicking on the way to Full Gear.

Post match Omega threatens Angels with a chair, only to have Hangman Page come in for the save. Omega loads up the chair but Angels takes it away, leaving Omega to duck the Buckshot Lariat and run off. Page holds up the title but lets Omega come get it back.

Malakai Black is not happy about being barred from ringside for Cody Rhodes vs. Andrade El Idolo, but it won’t matter. When Julius Caesar was assassinated, it wasn’t just by one man. Sounds ominous.

Here is a serious CM Punk with something to say. There are two people who are not here tonight and one of them has a very valid reason. The fans chant for Jon Moxley and that is who Punk wants to hear about. Punk knows what it feels like to try and go through everything yourself and be a tough guy. Moxley was doing the same thing and realized he needed some help, which is exactly what he needed to do. Punk talks about how there is nothing wrong with asking for help if you need it and says anyone who needs some help to text or call someone and get some help.

With that out of the way, Punk wants to talk about Eddie Kingston, who isn’t here tonight either. The fans chant for Full Gear but Punk likes the idea of being in St. Louis for Rampage to get Kingston’s apology. Punk was ready to jump into Moxley’s spot in the eliminator tournament but thanks to Kingston, that isn’t happening. See you on Friday. This was serious Punk, and you could tell the Moxley stuff meant a lot to him (and he’s absolutely right on what he said).

Miro has been announced as Moxley’s replacement and is glad that his God has cleared a path back to his wife. He will be champion, he will be forgiven and he will be loved, and then he will forgive his God.

The Superkliq insists that last week was a fluke and nothing like that is ever happening again. Christian Cage pops up to tease a fight but the team says they have the numbers advantage. Cue Luchasaurus so the Bucks tease leaving, only to have the fight break out anyway. They brawl into the arena with the Kliq taking over, only to have Jungle Boy pop up with a flip dive off the stage.

The fight heads onto the stage with Christian spearing Cole but the Bucks take him down. Luchasaurus makes the save and Jungle Boy gets the Snare Trap on Cole to knock him out. Christian brings in some chairs and crushes Cole’s head with a Conchairto. This was a pretty big brawl and that is not a bad thing.

Ruby Soho and Kris Statlander respect each other going into their TBS Title tournament match.

AAA Tag Team Titles: Samuray del Sol/Aerostar vs. FTR

FTR (dig that Midnight Express style theme/the Mexico/USA themed gear) is defending and del Sol is better known as Kalisto. Del Sol starts fast with some dropkicks, sending FTR outside. Back in and more dropkicks send FTR outside, meaning it’s time for some springboard dives to take them down again.

We take a break and come back with Aerostar hitting a top rope back elbow (which might have been a moonsault press that didn’t rotate very well). Del Sol comes in as the pace picks back up, including a pop up hurricanrana to Harwood. A double cover gets two on the champs and a Salida del Sol plants Wheeler. The knockdown sets up the springboard splash for two more with Harwood making the save. Aerostar grabs a victory roll but Wheeler reverses and grabs the rope/tights for the pin to retain at 8:45.

Rating: B-. This was a fun match with the luchadors doing their luchaing at a very face pace (though there were some not so smooth sequences). FTR being in trouble but cheating to win makes sense, as they have no reason to be used to that style. I’m looking forward to the Full Gear match as it has a history, but also because the Lucha Bros can work with FTR a bit better.

Hikaru Shida got her trophy for 50 wins but Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero interrupt. Rose talks how she has dealt with Shida before and their TBS Title tournament match will be an easy night.

Here is the Inner Circle to announce which members of American Top Team they will be facing at Full Gear. Cue American Top Team, with Dan Lambert insulting the city and Chris Jericho insulting the whole team. Lambert wants to get to it and lists off everyone’s credentials while telling the Inner Circle to make their picks. Jake Hager picks Junior Dos Santos, promising to drop Dos Santos faster than his last fight (71 seconds). Santana picks Andre Arlovski (another former UFC Heavyweight Champion) and tells him what he can bite.

Before we get to the final pick, Lambert talks about how Jericho insulted Paige Vanzant, who wants in the final spot. Looking at those pants though, none of the team has enough to take her on anyway. Jericho: “You want to take on all five of us by yourself? Well that joke writes itself. Maybe you can put it on your OnlyFans page.” Ortiz throws in some Spanish, with Sammy Guevara translating into “you’re a b****.” Jericho finally gets to the point: Dan Lambert is the final member (after Lambert said he was the #1 member of the team). Lambert freaks out in the classic way that you knew he would.

Matt Sydal is cool with Dante Martin wanting to train with Lio Rush, because he can train with Lee Moriarty now anyway. The tag team challenge is thrown out and Rush accepts in a hurry.

TBS Title Tournament First Round: Jamie Hayter vs. Anna Jay

Rebel and Britt Baker are here with Hayter, who trades headlocks with Jay to start. They head outside with Hayter being sent into the barricade but managing a knee to the head. We take a break and come back with Jay taking her down by the hair and sending her into the corner a few times. A DDT gives Jay two but she can’t get the Queenslayer. Instead, Rebel offers a distraction, followed by Baker offering a distraction, allowing Hayter to hit a lariat for the pin at 5:52.

Rating: C. I’m a bit surprised by Jay losing, but it makes a bit more sense given the brackets. Hayter needed a win or two anyway, as she needs to be more established as a member of Baker’s gang. Not a great match, but it was too short to be that bad, which is often a plus.

Post match the beatdown is on but Tay Conti runs down for the save. The numbers game eventually gets the better of her but Thunder Rosa (Hayter’s next opponent) runs in for the real save.

Jade Cargill doesn’t care who she is facing in the tournament.

Here is MJF to call out Darby Allin (in the rafters). The two of them didn’t sweat the new names coming into the company because without the two of them, AEW doesn’t work. They’re just better than the other pillars and it drives everyone crazy. People like Allin more than him, because he is more like them. MJF is the one person that everyone hates because he is just better.

Allin lives life with reckless abandonment and it is because he can never fit in, just like these people. MJF talks about how he is the perfect package of someone who can talk this well and back it up in the ring. He is so much better, that he could beat Allin with a freaking headlock takeover. Allin says he is everything MJF called him and promises a wrestling match at Full Gear.

As for tonight though, it’s time for him to let his anger out. Allin comes to the ring, but MJF bails. Cue Sting and a bunch of masked goons to chase MJF back to ringside but Shawn Spears comes out to fight the goons to the back, leaving Allin and MJF to brawl in the crowd. MJF gets the better of things for a bit, only to have Allin clothesline him over the barricade. The Coffin Drop is loaded up but MJF bails into the crowd to escape. Heck of a brawl here, but Allin not talking might be a good idea.

Cody Rhodes vs. Andrade El Idolo

Cody strikes away to start, including the ten right hands in the corner. Andrade is sent to the apron but lands on his feet, allowing Cody to hit him a few more times. Back in the Cody Cutter is countered into a shot to the floor so we take a break. We come back with Cody not being able to grab a double underhook, allowing Andrade to hit a discus elbow instead.

The running knees in the corner connect and Andrade nails Three Amigos to keep Cody rocked. Andrade misses the split legged moonsault though, allowing Cody to bust out the Flip Flop And Fly to put him down. Cody’s Figure Four is broken up so Andrade grabs his own, sending Cody over to the rope. Arn Anderson has to beat up Jose, leaving Cody to send Andrade outside. Cody tries the suicide dive but FTR pops out from underneath the ring and Cody’s dive hits the AAA Tag Team Titles. Back in and El Idolo finishes Cody at 10:33.

Rating: C. The ending makes sense, but it wasn’t exactly the greatest match. What mattered here was giving Cody more issues because the Black feud isn’t quite over yet. Having Cody feud with the Pinnacle and Andrade seems a bit much, but at least he lost here instead of being the conquering hero all over again.

Post match the beatdown is on but Arn gets in to square off with Tully Blanchard. Cue the Lucha Bros to take out FTR before the fight can break out though.

John Silver is ready for Adam Cole, who he calls Budge, because Cole hasn’t followed his advice about getting a hair cut. Maybe if he did, he wouldn’t have gotten a Conchairto earlier tonight. The Budge stuff is probably your latest example of something you need to watch another show to understand.

The Bunny and Red Velvet are ready to face each other in the TBS Title tournament on Rampage.

World Title Eliminator Tournament Semifinals: Miro vs. Orange Cassidy

Bryan Danielson is on commentary and a bunch of the Best Friends are here with Cassidy. Both guys are banged up here, as Cassidy has taped up ribs while Miro has a taped up leg. Cassidy kicks at the leg to start and then runs to the floor, where the hands go into the pockets. They switch places but Cassidy’s dive is countered into a heck of an overhead belly to belly.

We take a break and come back with Miro stomping away until he charges into a boot in the corner. Cassidy gets fired up and slugs away, setting up the tornado DDT for a near fall. Cassidy knocks Miro outside and hits a big dive to send him through a table, meaning Miro has to dive to beat the count. Back in and Cassidy hits the Beach Break but Miro kicks him down again, setting up Game Over for the tap at 7:32.

Rating: C+. They packed a good bit into a pretty short match and managed to make Cassidy look more like a threat than expected. There wasn’t a lot of doubt on the ending, which is fine in a case like this, so well done on getting a little higher than they should have. Miro vs. Danielson should be great and I’m sure Cassidy will be in whatever battle royal or ladder match they have.

Post match, Danielson comes to the ring but Miro isn’t about shaking hands.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a more Full Gear focused show, though they also set up some things for the TV before the pay per view as well. What we got here was some nice build to the pay per view show and I’m more excited to see Full Gear. Things were a bit more serious this week and they set some things up, so now they have a few more steps to nail before we get to the big night.

Results
Kenny Omega b. Alan Angels – V Trigger
FTR b. Samuray del Sol/Aerostar – Rollup to Aerostar with a handful of tights/rope
Jamie Hayter b. Anna Jay – Lariat
Andrade El Idolo b. Cody Rhodes – El Idolo
Miro b. Orange Cassidy – Game Over

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Rampage
Date: October 15, 2021
Location: James L. Knight Center, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Ricky Starks, Taz

This is another special edition of the show as we have a bonus first hour airing on YouTube, which seems to be retaliation for WWE running an extra half hour of Smackdown this week. The bonus hour will feature Bryan Danielson vs. Minoru Suzuki while the regular show has CM Punk against Matt Sydal. Let’s get to it.

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

Buy-In: Tay Conti vs. Santana Garrett

Anna Jay is here with Conti, who takes Garrett down by the arm to start. Neither of them can hit am armdrag as commentary hypes up the Rampage card, including a commercial free opener. Conti’s leglock has Garrett in more trouble and she kicks Garrett in the face for two. Garrett is sent to the apron but misses a kick to the face, allowing Conti to roll her back inside for two.

There’s a forearm to Conti’s face to stagger her again and a running elbow in the corner makes it worse. Conti fights out of a leglock and a double hair takedown leaves both of them laying. Garrett’s handspring is broken up and Conti kicks her in the face. Some running kicks to the face in the corner rock Garrett again and the DDTay finishes Garrett at 4:47.

Rating: C. They hit/kicked each other hard here and it was a good way to start the show. The fans respond to Conti and Garrett is someone who can make anyone look better than they already are. You can see that Conti is going somewhere sooner than later and a big run towards the TBS Title would not be a surprise.

Video on Dan Lambert/American Top Team/Men of the Year vs. the Inner Circle. This includes various talking heads (and masks, because Excalibur is here too) talking about how Lambert is getting away with everything he says because of the MMA fighters behind him. As a result, we hear about their careers, which sounds more like reading a Wikipedia entry about their careers. Jorge Masvidal joins in and says they’re going to destroy the Inner Circle tonight. They’re ready to prove their dominance again.

Buy-In: Lee Moriarty vs. Bobby Fish

They go to the mat for the grappling to start before going to an early slugout. Moriarty takes him down by the arm but Fish punches his way to freedom. Fish grabs an armbar and drives Moriarty into the corner for some elbows to the face. Moriarty takes him down though and scores with a running kick to the arm. That’s broken up with a drive into the corner into a dragon screw legwhip to put Moriarty down again. Fish kicks him in the knee and gets two off a snap suplex.

Back up and Moriarty goes after the arm to take Fish down again, setting up the double stomp for two. Another comeback doesn’t get Fish very far as Moriarty suplexes him down for another near fall, complete with holding the bad arm. Fish reverses a suplex into a choke and a jumping knee gives him two. An exploder suplex sends Moriarty into the ropes and a big kick to the face finishes for Fish at 7:53.

Rating: B-. Yeah this worked, and it’s great to see Moriarty getting a chance. He really was one of the better indy stars going before he was signed to AEW so they certainly have an eye for talent. On top of that, Bobby Fish getting a chance to shine as a singles star is great as well, even if he might not go very far beyond being a good hand.

Video on Bryan Danielson, who is awesome and impressive, but his toughest test is tonight against Minoru Suzuki.

Buy-In: Bryan Danielson vs. Minoru Suzuki

They fight over arm control to start with Suzuki getting the better of things. The fans say this is wrestling as Danielson can’t get anywhere with an armbar. A snapmare takes Danielson down into a chinlock and he has to go to the ropes to escape a kneebar. Back up and Suzuki (mostly) blocks a dragon screw legwhip and tells Danielson to bring it. The fans do the YES pose and chant SI (ok that’s really clever) as it’s time to trade big shots.

Suzuki stands in the middle of the ring for a kick to the chest and actually gets staggered for a surprise. One heck of a forearm puts Danielson down and he seems to be immediately regretting this decision. Danielson is back up to take Suzuki to the mat for the hammer and anvil elbows. The threat of Cattle Mutilation sends Suzuki bailing to the ropes, where he pulls Danielson into a cross armbreaker.

Suzuki takes him to the floor and strikes away but lets Danielson get back in like a good monster. Danielson’s strikes don’t get him very far as the fans seem split. The armbar goes on, with Danielson getting to the rope as fast as he can. They head outside again with Danielson getting in a shot of his own, setting up the running knee off the apron. Back in and Danielson starts kicking at the chest, which just fires Suzuki up even more.

The SI stomps set up Cattle Mutilation but Suzuki rolls out, leaving Danielson to unload with strikes in the corner. Suzuki kicks him right back down so this time it’s Danielson pulling himself up to a strong reaction. The Fujiwara armbar has Danielson in trouble but he makes the rope again. That’s not cool with Suzuki but Danielson pulls him into the LeBell Lock. Somehow Suzuki rolls him over into the ropes for the break and they have to pull themselves back up.

Suzuki isn’t even pretending to be scared of Danielson and the big slugout is on. Stereo shots to the face put both of them down to a standing ovation. The delay lets Taz insult any fans who are watching TV at the moment rather than this before they’re back up for another slugout. Suzuki can’t get the sleeper but Danielson can’t get the LeBell Lock again. Back up and the running knee finishes Suzuki at 19:17.

Rating: A-. This was exactly what you would have wanted it to be and it was great stuff. What matters here is having two guys hit each other really hard until one of them couldn’t get up again. That’s all you could have asked for out of the match and Danielson gets a pretty big win over a legend. Suzuki is someone who can take loss after loss and not lose a thing, so this was about as great as it could have been.

Video on CM Punk’s time in AEW so far, because he has that IT factor. Tonight he has Matt Sydal, who is getting this match as a favor from Lio Rush. They know each other well and we see a clip from their first match in 2005, complete with Sydal talking about how Punk followed him to AEW. Everyone knows it’s going to be big, mainly because Punk is going to be involved.

CM Punk vs. Matt Sydal

We open the regular show with an exchange of arm control and an ICE CREAM BARS chant. Punk throws him into the ropes, possibly by the hair, to get out of an armbar and Sydal isn’t pleased. Sydal flips out of a suplex and they’re at another standoff. Punk gets in a slam and the fans chant OTRA VEZ (ONE MORE TIME) but another attempt is countered with a whip into the ropes.

A kick to the face rocks Punk and we hit the chinlock, with Sydal trapping the arms into a cradle for two in a nice move. It’s time to start in on Punk’s knee for kind of a reverse Muta Lock. The GTS and Lightning Spiral are both blocked and Punk gets two off a dropkick. The leg lariat puts Sydal down again but he is back up with a shot to Punk’s face. They head to the apron with Punk hitting a slam to drop Sydal back first for a nasty landing.

Back up and they both go to the top where an exchange of punches send them crashing to the floor. They get back inside, where Sydal hits him in the face for a near fall. Another Lightning Spiral attempt is countered into a neckbreaker to give Punk a breather and they take their time getting up.

Sydal grabs something like a reverse Texas Cloverleaf (like the Billy Goat’s Curse but with a Cloverleaf instead of a Boston crab) before trying to switch to a cobra stretch. That’s reversed into an Anaconda Vice attempt but Sydal is in the ropes in a hurry. A big kick to the head sets up the Lightning Spiral for two and they’re both down off the kickout. Sydal tries a crucifix but Punk counters into the GTS for the pin at 14:48.

Rating: B. This was the kind of match that Punk needs at the moment, as he had to go long to get a good win. It shows that he can still do it against good wrestlers, as Sydal can have a solid match with anyone. It’s easily Sydal’s best match in AEW and Punk broke a serious sweat to get there. Commentary did a nice job throwing in their history with each other to make it even better. Heck of a TV match here.

Respect is shown post match.

The Dark Order is back together and they’re ready for Adam Cole and the Young Bucks.

Bunny vs. Ruby Soho

Ruby goes after the arm to start before getting serious with a knee to the face for one. Bunny avoids a charge in the corner though and hits a dropkick to send Ruby into the buckle for two. Ruby manages to kick her away and goes up, only to get pulled down head first onto the buckle. Bunny’s sliding elbow in the corner rocks Ruby again and we take a break.

Back with Bunny in trouble on the floor thanks to a Downward Spiral. Soho unloads with chops in the corner and pulls her face first into the middle buckle. A running shot to the back of the head gives Ruby two but Bunny is back with a German superplex for two of her own. Down The Rabbit Hole is loaded up but Ruby reverses into a backslide for the pin at 10:43.

Rating: C. Perfectly fine match here with Ruby picking up a win over a high profile enough name. Bunny might not be the best in the ring but she has a presence that makes her feel important. Ruby is still a big deal and looks different enough to stand out, so she should be someone to watch in the TBS Title tournament.

Post match Penelope Ford comes in to help double team Ruby and the brass knuckles knock her silly.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite and next week on Rampage.

We get the split screen interview with Dan Lambert and American Top Team being ready to destroy the Inner Circle. The Inner Circle isn’t scared though and promises that Junior Dos Santos’ grandmother can make him a cake.

Inner Circle vs. Men of the Year/Junior Dos Santos

Dan Lambert and Jorge Masvidal are here with Dos Santos and company, with Lambert wanting a lot more respect. Sammy Guevara starts for the Circle and dropkicks Scorpio Sky down, setting up a quick bow. It’s off to Chris Jericho for a clothesline but Dos Santos comes in, with Jericho trying to punch with him for some reason. This goes very badly for Jericho, who is punched out to the floor in a hurry.

Jake Hager comes in for the showdown with Dos Santos taking him into the corner, only to be powered down as well. Dos Santos knees Hager in the face and the beating is on until Hager knees Sky down. The hot tag brings in Jericho, who goes outside to get into Masvidal’s face. The distraction lets Ethan Page get in a cheap shot from behind to take over as we go to a break. Back with Dos Santos powerslamming Jericho for two and handing it off to Page. An enziguri gets Jericho out of trouble and the hot tag brings Guevara back in.

The double springboard cutter drops Sky and there’s a Spanish Fly to Page. Guevara’s running shooting star press gets two on Sky as everything breaks down. The Lionsault gets two on Skyw ith Page making a save. Everyone else goes to the floor with the fans going nuts off….I think a big Guevara dive that the camera missed. Dos Santos gets Rock Bottomed through a table to put him down with Hager still on top of him. Back inside and Jericho gets Sky in the Walls but Paige Vanzant jumps the barricade for a distraction. Masvidal uses the distraction to hit the running knee on Jericho, giving Sky the pin at 11:27.

Rating: B-. Pretty good brawl here with Dos Santos more than hanging in there despite a lack of experience. This feud seems to have a long way to go and it will get better once the rest of the Inner Circle gets involved. Right now they don’t have much to counter all of the MMA guys, but taking it to the streets might work a little better. For now though, this was a nice win for the villains and the feud should be able to continue at a high level.

Post match the big beatdown is on (including Paige Vanzant taking selfies, because she’s an amazingly natural heel) until Santana and Ortiz run in for the save and clear the rung to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Heck of a night here, even with the extra run time. Having this as a one off two hour special was quite good, though I would hope that they don’t think it should be a regular idea. What we got here was mostly rather good, with Danielson vs. Suzuki being exactly the kind of match this audience would want to see. Punk’s match was good and the main event was a nice match and angle rolled into one. Pretty awesome stuff here and hopefully a good amount of people watched the whole thing.

Results
Tay Conti b. Santana Garrett – DDTay
Bobby Fish b. Lee Moriarty – Kick to the head
Bryan Danielson b. Minoru Suzuki – Running knee
CM Punk b. Matt Sydal – GTS
Ruby Soho b. The Bunny – Backslide
Men of the Year/Junior Dos Santos b. Inner Circle – Running knee to Jericho

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: September 29, 2021
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, CM Punk

AEW has been on a roll as of late and that means we could be in for something special tonight. I’m not sure what we are going to be seeing here, but it certainly could be a fun night. If nothing else, we’re in Brodie Lee’s hometown and that means we are probably going to be in for some tributes. Let’s get to it.

Here is Rampage if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We open with some BRODIE chants, which are just awesome.

Here’s CM Punk, who will be on commentary tonight but can’t dive into the crowd because of the athletic commission.

Adam Cole vs. Jungle Boy

Feeling out process to start until Boy hits a heck of a chop into a springboard armdrag. A dropkick puts Cole on the floor and let’s take a breather for a bit. Jungle follows him out and Cole kicks him down, setting up a neckbreaker back inside. The chinlock holds Boy in place for a bit but he is right back up with a shot to the face. Jungle hits a brainbuster into a belly to belly into the corner, followed by the rolling German suplexes for two.

Cole rolls his way out of a torture rack for two and hits the brainbuster onto the knee for two of his own. Jungle snaps off a poisonrana into a running forearm to the back of the head, setting up kind of an Angle Slam into a Death Valley Driver for two. Back up and Cole superkicks him out to the floor, leaving Jungle down for a good bit. The Panama Sunrise on the floor is broken up but Jungle’s suicide dive is cut off by an enziguri.

Cole gets back on the apron so Jungle snaps off a running hurricanrana to the floor. Back in and Cole hits another enziguri, setting up the Panama Sunrise…..for two. I’m not sure if someone should be kicking out of that so soon but Cole’s stunned face made it a little better. Jungle pulls him into the Snare Trap but Cole slips out and kicks him outside. Back in and a low blow cuts Jungle down, leaving Cole to hit the Boom for the pin at 13:45.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a back and forth match, which is something that you can always go for around here. It was a lot of dives and flips and kicks to the face, but at least they were putting on an entertaining match. Jungle losing again isn’t my favorite thing, but at least it was to someone like Cole, who is being pushed as a major star.

Post break here is the Elite and after a break, Karl Anderson talks about how great the Elite is, including introducing most of the team. Anderson: “And of course Nak and Cutler.” Cole talks about how he beat Jungle Boy on his own, because Bay Bay is elite and undefeated. The fans chant for Punk, who has not had the nicest things to say about the Elite so far.

Kenny Omega talks about how his social media has been blowing up over his match with Bryan Danielson last week. Last week might have been the greatest match in AEW history and he isn’t surprised. Danielson cashed in on his promise to kick Omega’s head in but he couldn’t make it work when it counted. Since Danielson has no record though, he isn’t getting a rematch and he’ll never see Omega face to face again.

Cue Danielson to refer to the champ as Kenny “NO BALLS” Omega. Punk: “Well that’s a t-shirt.” Danielson issues the challenge to face any member of the Elite on Rampage but gets no takers. Instead, Omega wants to fight right now but Danielson calls out the reinforcements from the back and gets Frankie Kazarian, Christian Cage and Jurassic Express. The Elite bails from the fight of course.

Andrade interrupts the Lucha Bros and says they haven’t defended their AAA Tag Team Titles in a long time. He has some friends if they’re up for a defense, and the Bros seem down.

Matt Sydal/Dante Martin vs. Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson

Cody headlocks Sydal to start and gets nowhere with it. Instead it’s off to Sydal to headlock takeover Johnson, setting up a kick to the back. It’s back to Martin to stare Johnson face to face and we take a break. Back with Cody getting the hot tag to clean house as commentary talks about how the fans aren’t thrilled with Cody these days. Everything breaks down as Johnson and Sydal fight outside.

Martin missile dropkicks Cody for two and a double jump moonsault is good for the same. Johnson tags himself back in and gets kicked in the face by Sydal. That doesn’t seem to matter as Johnson kicks Sydal in the face, only to get rolled up by Martin for two more. Another superkick rocks Martin though and a fisherman’s buster onto the knee finishes for Johnson at 7:45.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving and that was a good thing. Sometimes you don’t need a match to keep going forever and that was the case here. Good little match, with Johnson getting to shine a bit and the fans’ displeasure with Cody being highlighted for a change. That’s interesting, and it’s a smart path to take, even if it takes some time.

Post match Cody calls out Malakai Black but Arn Anderson tells him to shut up. Anderson talks about how Black has destroyed everything they love and Cody is missing the point. Black is an assassin who will take out everyone to win a match. Cody is the kind of person who would give up his car if someone tried to steal it but Anderson would shoot them in the head. He isn’t going to coach a loser, so Johnson can leave with him.

Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston/Darby Allin vs. Bear Country/Anthony Greene

Sting is here with Darby and company and it’s a brawl to start, with Allin and Greene being left alone in the ring. That’s fine with Allin, who gets two off of la majistral. An armdrag sends Greene down and we get a Ricky Steamboat reference. We settle down to Bear Country beating up Moxley but Kingston breaks up the double splash. The spinning backfist sets up a German suplex and the brawl heads to the floor. That leaves Greene alone with Moxley and Kingston, who shrug off a springboard spinning high crossbody attempt. The German suplex/lariat combination finishes Greene at 3:30.

Rating: C-. Mostly a squash here and that’s all it needed to be. Sometimes your best bet is to get people on there on screen and let them do their thing, which is exactly what they did here. It wasn’t a great match or anything, but it can be a good idea to let big stars feel like big stars. Nice job, even if it was hardly a classic.

Post match Sting lays Greene out for a bonus.

Video on Ruby Soho vs. Britt Baker, with Soho promising to take the title.

Dark Order/Orange Cassidy vs. Hardy Family Office

Negative 1 is here with the team because AEW likes making its fans emotional. This is a sixteen man tag to make things a bit complicated and the Dark Order is already fighting among themselves. Alan Angels loses his mask and it’s a suplex/top rope spear combination from Butcher and Blade for two. Private Party comes in to work on on Angels as we get a THANK YOU BRODIE chant.

Everything breaks down though and we take a break. Back with Jack Evans (Flippy McGillicutty according to Punk) coming in to pick up the pace until Evil Uno kicks him in the face. Alex Reynolds gets sent into Uno as the issues continue, so Cassidy comes in for the top rope thumbs up splash. Uno walks out on the match so some more of the Order goes to talk to him.

Evans flips over into a backslide for two on Cassidy as everything breaks down again. Uno keeps walking but cue Negative 1 and Amanda Huber (Brodie’s widow) with 1 throwing the papers and Amanda telling the team to get it together. The Order charges the ring and cleans house, with the parade of secondary finishers. A series of strikes sets up a German suplex and the Fatality is good for the pin at 7:51.

Rating: A. This was all about the emotions and they nailed that on every level. I wasn’t a big Lee fan but I was smiling throughout the entire thing, which is all it needed to be. Outstanding stuff here, with the Dark Order reunion bringing all the feelings. I loved this and they did exactly what they were trying to do.

Post match the Dark Order gets back together and it’s about as cool as you can get.

Lio Rush is All Elite. Rush? Not actually retiring? I’m as stunned as you are.

FTR and Tully Blanchard are ready to show that they’re the best again. Top guys out.

Here are Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year to talk about how Chris Jericho got kneed in the face by UFC’s Jorge Mazvidal last week. The thing is, Jericho saved this promotion from itself and turned it into the hottest promotion anyone has seen in years. Then Jericho came after them and got beaten down like never before, leaving his earning potential the same as everyone here: zero. Now they have cut the head off of AEW and Tony Khan-man will have more trouble selling snake oil.

Scorpio Sky talks about how he was a star around here at the beginning and then he grabbed the giant Sonic ring, but it wasn’t good enough. No one around here was paying attention, but Dan Lambert was watching. Lambert sees him as a main eventer, just like Ethan Page. That sends Page into a rant about how great he is at everything but he can’t get an action figure or a spot in the opening video. He has the best smile around here and now he rolls with champions, because the Men of the Year are the Top Team.

Hikaru Shida is ready to get her 50th win in AEW, but she has to beat Serena Deeb next week on Dynamite’s second anniversary show.

Penelope Ford/The Bunny vs. Tay Conti/Anna Jay

It’s a brawl to start with the villains being sent into the corner. Tay tries to jump to the apron but falls down and comes up holding her knee. Ford kicks Anna into a neck snap from Bunny before dropping a knee. We take a break and come back with Ford and Conti coming in off the double tag. A double suplex gets two on Ford but she Matrixes away from a clothesline and hits a Stunner on Jay. Ford’s fireman’s carry gutbuster gets two but she misses a moonsault. The TayKO knocks Bunny silly on the floor and the Dangerous Jay kick sets up the Queenslayer to finish Ford at 6:31.

Rating: C. This should be the end of the feud and that’s how it should have gone. Conti and Jay are a good team for the young and plucky faces and that’s what they did here. Ford and Bunny were a good obstacle for them to get by and it wound up being a completely watchable match as well.

Post match Negative 1 comes in to celebrate. Punk: “He’s a smart kid.”

Video on Thunder Rosa vs. Nyla Rose vs. Jade Cargill on Rampage.

Here is MJF for a chat. MJF doesn’t think much of upstate New York and wants to talk about the four pillars of AEW. You have Jungle Boy (“Beat him.”), Sammy Guevara (“Beat him.), Darby Allin (“…..yeah whatever.”) and the strongest pillar of them all, which is the man who was in the first match at All In, Maxwell Jacob Friedman himself. He is the past, present and future of AEW and that means he should be the AEW World Champion. Tony: “Earn that in the ring then dude.” MJF teases talking to Bruce Prichard if he doesn’t get a title shot, but here is Allin to interrupt.

MJF: “As much as I love the whole school shooter mime on a skateboard routine”, he’s not happy with the interruption. There is nothing wrong with being a #2 guy, like Mark Messier, Scottie Pippen, or Sting. MJF says he’s the #1 guy, so Allin asks if MJF is done talking and tells him to go if he isn’t happy. See, Allin is AEW for life until death, but he doesn’t understand how MJF can be #1 when Allin is the only one of the two of them to win a title.

MJF appreciates the Batman voice and brings up Allin being straightedge. We hear about Allin getting in a car with his drunk uncle as a kid and they got in an accident. The uncle died, and it’s a travesty because the wrong man died. Allin says MJF isn’t breaking him mentally, which sends MJF leaving. MJF was on fire here, even if he was going really far with some of these things.

Video on Sammy Guevara vs. Miro, which is fallout from Miro beating Fuego del Sol up to take his car. Guevara will buy him a new car if he wins.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara is challenging and they circle each other to start. A knee strike misses for Guevara and Miro takes him down for the stomping. Miro runs him over for two but Guevara is back up with a running crossbody to knock both of them outside. Guevara posts him hard and avoids a charge into the steps but Miro is fine enough to snap off a belly to belly back inside.

We take a break and come back with Guevara jawbreaking his way to freedom from a chinlock but Miro kicks him down again. That earns Miro a Spanish Fly and they’re both down for a bit. There’s a low superkick to rock Miro and a running knee does the same. Miro’s missed charge sends him flying out to the floor so Guevara hits a HUGE flip dive to the floor. Back in and Guevara charges into a swinging release slam for two but Guevara blocks a superplex attempt.

A middle rope cutter can’t keep Miro down and Guevara can’t load up the GTS. The jumping superkick gives Miro two so Guevara rolls outside. That leaves Miro to pull off a turnbuckle pad, which brings out Fuego for a save. Guevara is back in with a jumping knee to send Miro into the exposed buckle. There’s a tornado DDT into the GTH to drop Miro. The 630 gives Guevara the pin and the title at 13:42.

Rating: B. The best way I can describe this match is that it was a ride. I wanted to see if Guevara could pull off the impossible here and win the title and you could feel the release of emotion when he actually pulled it off. It didn’t feel like they rushed the title change either, and it would be fine if Miro gets the title back. If nothing else, they gave Guevara his big win and that’s what matters most here.

A bunch of wrestlers come out to celebrate with Guevara to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. I had a great time with this show as they were focusing on the emotions. This was about having a good time in front of a crowd that wanted to be entertained. Throw in some things being announced for the anniversary show and the big title change at the end and this was a heck of a way to spend two hours. Awesome show and things might be getting better soon.

Results
Adam Cole b. Jungle Boy – Boom
Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson b. Dante Martin/Matt Sydal – Fisherman’s buster onto the knee
Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston/Darby Allin b. Bear Country/Anthony Greene – German suplex/clothesline combination to Greene
Dark Order/Orange Cassidy b. Hardy Family Office – Fatality to Johi
Tay Conti/Anna Jay b. The Bunny/Penelope Ford – Queenslayer to Ford
Sammy Guevara b. Miro – 630

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Rampage
Date: September 17, 2021
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Taz, Ricky Starks, Chris Jericho, Excalibur

It’s another stacked show this week with a pair of title matches. First up we have Butcher and the Blade getting a shot at the Lucha Bros, plus Miro defending the TNT Title against Fuego del Sol. The latter is made a little more interesting when you throw in del Sol’s car being on the line as well. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Butcher And The Blade vs. Lucha Bros

The Bros are defending and Butcher throws Fenix around to start. Penta comes in to take over on Butcher, including the wheelbarrow splash for two. Butcher forearms Penta in the face so Fenix comes in, only to get kneed in the face. It’s already back to Penta for the Sling Blades to the floor, setting up the big dives from the champs.

We take a break and come back with Penta having to crawl over for the tag to Fenix, who strikes away at Butcher and Blade. Butcher breaks up something off the top rope so Fenix German suplexes him instead. A moonsault set up another German suplex for two on Blade, followed by the spike Fear Factor to Butcher.

Blade has to make the save so Penta kicks away at his legs. A powerslam gives Blade two as everything breaks down. Penta gets tied into the corner by the mask, leaving Fenix to get double stomped. With the powerbomb/neckbreaker loaded up, Penta takes his mask off to make the superkick save. Fenix grabs a hurricanrana to retain the titles at 9:43.

Rating: B-. Butcher and the Blade aren’t exactly top level challengers but they did just fine for a one off like this. They haven’t exactly been back for very long but they are undefeated this year (with most of the wins coming on Dark) so putting them here works. I’m not sure they needed much of an explanation for their title shot, though AEW certainly likes keeping things official.

Post match the Hardy Family Office comes in for the beatdown but Santana and Ortiz run in for the save.

Kenny Omega talks about how Bryan Danielson has always been the underdog and he isn’t even ranked over here. Danielson says everyone is underestimating him but he wants to start against the best. The underdog is getting taken apart here, just like everyone else.

Anna Jay vs. The Bunny

Tay Conti and Penelope Ford are the seconds and it’s a brawl in the aisle to start. Anna gets the better of things and takes Bunny inside to run her over. Bunny gets knocked back outside, where she pulls Anna’s shoulder hard into the post. The arm is cranked on some more as we take a break. Back with Bunny cranking on the arm again but Anna kicks the knee out. A running seated Blockbuster gives Anna two but the Queenslayer is broken up. The seconds get in a fight on the floor and Anna grabs a rollup for the pin at 6:59.

Rating: C. This was hard hitting enough to get by, though Anna still has a long way to go in the ring. She does the limited stuff well though and that is better than some people can say. It’s a smart move to let her have the win here as she needs it a lot more than Bunny, though neither of these two seem likely to break through to the title picture in the near future.

Post match the brawl is on again with Conti and Ford getting involved as well. Ford pulls out some brass knuckles to knock Conti and Anna cold.

Post break, Matt Hardy is furious and makes Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford, plus Lucha Bros/Proud and Powerful vs. Private Party/Butcher and the Blade for next week. For this week though, Hardy is sick of looking at an Orange Cassidy lookalike in the front row. The lookalike, who weighs about 300lbs, is pulled into the ring for a beatdown from Hardy and Jack Evans. Hardy pulls out some scissors and it’s time for the big haircut. Cue Orange Cassidy for the save.

Here are Ruby Soho and Britt Baker for a face to face chat. Britt thinks Riott is here for herself, because she needs to find out who she is. Ruby has changed her name and hair color so much because she needs to fit in. Everyone knows who Baker is around here though and we hit the crowd assisted catchphrase.

Ruby says of course everyone knows who Baker is because she tells them every week. Ruby knows who she is too, but now she has the freedom to show it. We pause for a RUBY SOHO chant before she wants to talk about Baker. Britt looks like every other broad she has stood across the ring from, even down to banging some dude in the back. Baker smiles a bit and nods as Ruby says she is trying to figure out if there is anything more.

Actually Baker would like to know the same thing, because Ruby was fired from the last place she worked. Ruby was fired, but it was the best thing that ever happened to her. She can’t believe Baker can see anything with her head so far up Tony Khan, but next week she won’t even be able to see herself as champion. Baker swings the belt and is chased off in a hurry. Good segment here with some great lines from both, but Soho really needs to win to not look like the flavor of the month.

We get the face to face interview with Fuego del Sol and Miro. Fuego is willing to put up his new car against the title, because he knows he can drop Miro on his head with the tornado DDT. Miro may be God’s Favorite Champion so he must have heard of David vs. Goliath. Miro talks about how he loves celebrating with his God above and his wife below, so he’ll retain the title.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Fuego del Sol

Miro is defending. Fuego kicks away to start and sends Miro outside, only to have his dive pulled out of the air. A posting drops Miro though and Fuego does it again for a bonus. Another dive off the barricade is countered with a fall away slam though and we take a break. Back with Fuego fighting out of a bearhug but the tornado DDT doesn’t work. Instead it’s a pair of double stomps into a regular DDT to drop Miro. That’s too far for Miro, who unloads on Fuego in the corner. The jumping superkick gives Miro a new car at 8:55.

Rating: C. They had a tricky job here as there was no drama about who was winning here and they managed to turn it into something interesting. That is hard to pull off but Miro can do almost no wrong at this point. Fuego is a total underdog and tried his best, but it is going to take something special to beat Miro for the title.

Post match Miro takes the keys and puts them in Fuego’s mouth, setting up the Game Over. Sammy Guevara runs in for the save and picks up the title to end the show. Miro vs. Sammy works for me.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a different kind of Rampage as it felt like a missing hour of Dynamite. In this case, that is not a bad thing as they built up some stories before next week’s double shot of huge. It is still a very easy hour of wrestling to watch and the Soho vs. Baker promo was quite good. Another nice show here and that’s the norm so far with Rampage.

Results
Lucha Bros b. Butcher and the Blade – Hurricanrana to Blade
Anna Jay b. The Bunny – Rollup
Miro b. Fuego del Sol – Jumping superkick

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Dark: Elevation
Date: September 13, 2021
Location: Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Paul Wight, Eddie Kingston

This is the other Dark show and since I was in the arena for the show, I might as well take a one off look. I’ve never actually seen Dark: Elevation, but the fact that it is only about forty minutes long as opposed to the occasional two plus hours of Dark is a good sign. Now just give us a good show to go with it. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Emi Sakura vs. Queen Aminata

Both of them are in royal outfits because AEW needs to put the two of them into one match. Sakura brings Aminata down to the mat without much effort and there’s a hair takedown to make it worse. The surfboard keeps Aminata in trouble but she’s back with a headscissors to pull Sakura face first into the back of the tights. The running hip attack connects in the corner but Sakura is back with a Downward Spiral. A butterfly backbreaker sets up a twisting Vader Bomb for the pin on Aminata at 3:48.

Rating: C-. That’s probably going to be one of the longer matches on this show, which is kind of a nice thing to have. Aminata seems to have some skills to go with the Queen deal but I’m not sure how far she is going to go when she isn’t even the most successful royalty in the match. Sakura is still fine, though she has never done much for me so far.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Ren Jones

Kazarian works on the arm and then grabs a headlock, which he flips back into the top wristlock. Jones gets up an elbow in the corner and loads up a powerbomb, only to drop Kazarian down into a right hand. Not that it matters as Kazarian hits some running knees to the back in the corner, setting up a chickenwing for the tap at 2:59.

Penelope Ford vs. Layna Lennox

Bunny is here with Ford, who forearms away to start. A Samoan drop is countered into a Russian legsweep to give Lennox two but Ford sends her outside for a beating from Bunny. Some slingshot knees to the back set up the Muta Lock to make Lennox tap at 2:24. Effective squash.

Butcher and the Blade vs. Turbo Floyd/Truth Magnum

This is Butcher and Blade’s (with Bunny) first time teaming together in months. Butcher pounds Magnum down to start and sends him into the corner. Blade comes in for a hard lariat and the powerbomb/neckbreaker combination is good for the pin at 1:17. So Butcher and Blade are back in the already very heavy tag division. Butcher looks like he’s near tears about being back.

Jade Cargill vs. Shawna Reed

Big boot, shoulder, fall away slam, Jaded for the pin on Reed at 1:02.

Tay Conti/Anna Jay vs. Ella Shae/Jaylee

Conti flips Shae around to start and a facebuster makes it worse. Jay comes in to kick Jaylee down and hits a running seated Blockbuster. Jaylee manages to take Conti down for all of two seconds before she gets kicked in the face. Everything breaks down and it’s a double Downward Spiral into a TayKO into the Queenslayer to finish Jaylee at 2:53. This is another team that is back.

Daniel Garcia vs. Lee Moriarty

Garcia has 2.0 with him and Moriarty is one of the best indy guys around today. They go straight to the mat for the technical off into a standoff. Back up and Moriarty ducks a clothesline and rolls over into a backslide for two. Garcia drops him hard with a chop and it’s time to start on Moriarty’s arm. We’ll switch that up to a shot to the leg, including a Bret Hart style snap back.

Another chop gives Garcia another two but Moriarty is back up with a cradle for the same. The Pepsi Twist gets two more but Garcia pulls him down into the Crossface. That’s broken up so Garcia tries a failed Sharpshooter attempt. Moriarty is back with a double stomp to the chest but hurts his knee in the process. Garcia grabs the leg and puts on the Sharpshooter, which he cranks back for the tap at 6:10.

Rating: B-. I remember saying earlier in the year that Moriarty was going to get a chance on the big stage sooner rather than later and it is nice to see him doing just that. He is incredibly smooth in the ring and can do just about anything, which makes him a heck of a lot of fun to watch. Good stuff here, and absolutely the match of the night by a few laps.

Skye Blue vs. Nyla Rose

Vickie Guerrero handles Rose’s entrance. Blue ducks a forearm in the corner and Rose gives her a bit of a look. A kick to the head staggers Rose but she is back with a side slam. Rose hits a lifting powerbomb but Blue is back with a running hurricanrana. Blue gets in a high crossbody for two but her hurricanrana is countered into the Beast Bomb for the pin at 3:30.

Rating: C. Not too bad here with Blue getting in the plucky underdog offense until Rose caught her in the end. That’s how a match like this should go and Blue continues to look good in her defeats. Rose is always going to be a monster and it makes sense to have something like this to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: C. This is my first time watching Elevation and while it was cool for a little variety, I really don’t see the need for it to be an eight match show. With so many of the matches being ones that don’t even break three minutes, nothing has the chance to stand out. Outside of Garcia vs. Moriarty, there isn’t much to be said here, though that was a heck of a match. When I was watching live, I kept waiting on the show to wrap up because I was getting tired of seeing people coming out for matches. It’s fun, but cut this down or make the matches longer, because this format gets tiring in a hurry.

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All Out 2021
Date: September 5, 2021
Location: Now Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re back to the still fairly rare AEW pay per view schedule with an absolutely stacked show. There are three major matches this time around, including CM Punk vs. Darby Allin, Chris Jericho vs. MJF and Kenny Omega defending the World Title against Christian Cage. Let’s get to it.

Buy-In: Hardy Family Office vs. Orange Cassidy/Wheeler Yuta/Chuck Taylor/Jurassic Express

Matt Hardy shoves Taylor into the corner because he wants Orange. He gets Luchasaurus instead so Jack Evans gets a rather fast tag. Luchasaurus sends Evans flying with a suplex and it’s off to Boy to send Evans into the corner. Quen and Yuta come in, with the former getting two off a running crossbody.

We get the big sequence of most of the people trying a hold at the same time to as much avail as you would expect. Luchasaurus comes back in to throw people around, including a knee to the face to drop Evans. Private Party and Hardy come in to take Luchasaurus down but Orange breaks it up with the slow motion kicks. That earns him a Codebreaker into a shooting star onto his back, followed by a trip to the floor. We get a short form parade of dives but Orange heads back inside for the hands in pockets comeback to drop Private Party.

Hardy is back in with a Twist of Fate but now it’s Jungle getting to clean house. Angelico and Luchasaurus put Evans and Jungle on their respective shoulders for a chicken fight but here is the Blade to interfere. Marko Stunt dives off of Luchasaurus’ shoulder to take him out, leaving Jungle to make Angelico tap with the Snare Trap at 8:34.

Rating: C+. Take a bunch of popular wrestlers, put them in the ring with a bunch of unpopular wrestlers, have them fly around a lot and do cool spots to pop the crowd. That’s how you do a match like this and they made it work well here. This was a fun, quick spectacle and it wasn’t supposed to be anything else.

The opening video runs down the big matches.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Eddie Kingston

Miro is defending. Kingston goes for his neck to start but has to fight out of an early Game Over attempt. That’s enough to send Miro outside for an early breather as they both feel very serious. Back in and Kingston snaps off a suplex, earning a rather loud cheer from the crowd as Miro bails back to the floor. This time Kingston joins him and gets sent hard into the barricade to put Kingston in trouble for the first time.

That lasts all of a few seconds as he is back with a kick to Miro’s face. A dive off the apron is countered into a powerslam though and Miro, despite holding his neck, gets a breather. There’s a hard posting to put Kingston down again and it’s a backbreaker back inside. We hit the chinlock but Kingston fights back up with the chops. Miro knocks him silly again but Kingston snaps off a jumping enziguri.

A Saito suplex drops Miro again, allowing Excalibur to rattle off Kingston’s Japanese influences. Back up and they chop it out, with Kingston getting the better of things to set up more Saito suplexes for two. The threat of a spinning backfist sends Miro outside so Kingston hits the suicide elbow. Back in and Kingston’s fisherman’s suplex gets two as the fans are all behind Kingston. Miro pulls him into the corner though and unloads with forearms to the back.

Kingston accidentally pulls the turnbuckle pad off but Miro catches him with the jumping kick to the face. Game Over goes on but Kingston falls forward to make the rope for the break. That is NOT cool with Miro, who walks into the spinning backfist into the DDT for a delayed two as the referee was getting rid of the turnbuckle pad. Some knees connect to Miro so he goes into the corner, allowing him to sneak in a low blow. The jumping superkick retains the title at 13:25.

Rating: B. This was two big guys hitting each other hard but there was a story there too. Kingston set up the neck and the DDT, which had been built up in the last week, gave him a great near fall. Miro needing to cheat to survive was a good way to go and the crowd was WAY into everything all night. Very good choice for an opener here and I got into it.

We run down the card.

Jon Moxley vs. Satoshi Kojima

Moxley wanted someone from New Japan and Kojima accepted. The bell rings and Moxley flips him off, setting up the big chop off. They forearm it out until Kojima runs him over with a shoulder and Moxley rolls outside. Kojima catches him with a dive and Excalibur is right there to list Kojima’s accomplishments. Moxley jumps back inside for a suicide dive of his own and a Russian legsweep sends Kojima into the barricade.

Back in and Moxley stomps on the hand and starts cranking on it for a bit, followed by the knees to the chest. Kojima sends him into the corner though for the rapid fire chops and a top rope elbow gets two on Moxley. Back up and Moxley snaps off a suplex before taking Kojima up top. That just earns Moxley a superplex back down and a DDT on the apron makes it worse. Tony calls Moxley a representative of the state of Chicago and even JR gets on him a bit for it.

Back in and Moxley (with a cut elbow, which causes Excalibur to mention Moxley’s staph infection from a year or so ago in a great catch) hits a release suplex, or Jason Jett’s Crash Landing for you last few weeks of WCW fans. The Paradigm Shift into the brainbuster gets a delayed two and Moxley is rocked. Kojima’s lariat is countered into a German suplex for two and a jumping knee drops Kojima again. Back up and Kojima hits the lariat into the Koji Cutter but can’t cover.

They slug it out from their knees and then their feet until Moxley blasts him with a lariat of his own. The bulldog choke goes on but Kojima makes the rope. Some Mongolian chops rock Moxley, who counters another lariat into the Paradigm Shift. Another Paradigm Shift finishes Kojima at 11:55.

Rating: B-. This was another fun one with Moxley getting a win over a credible opponent. There is something cool about AEW’s relationship with New Japan (stupid name aside) but I’m not a huge fan of having the dream matches with little personal backstory. The action made up for it and the match was good, though I could have used a better build.

Respect is shown post match….but none of that matters as Minoru Suzuki is here. Suzuki takes off his shirt and they forearm it out with Moxley throwing in a bow of respect. That’s fine with Suzuki, who wins the slugout and chokes Moxley out. The Gotch style piledriver leaves Moxley laying.

We recap Britt Baker defending the Women’s Title against Kris Statlander with a bunch of talking heads giving their predictions.

Women’s Title: Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander

Baker, with Rebel and Jamie Hayter, is defending and Orange Cassidy is here with Statlander. They stare each other down a bit until Statlander starts working on Baker’s recently broken arm. That’s broken up though and Baker takes her into the corner for a hanging neckbreaker. The seconds are near blows on the floor as Baker sends Statlander face first into the apron.

Baker grabs a neck crank to keep Statlander in trouble but she fights up for some running shots to rock Baker in the corner. Statlander grabs a modified Falcon Arrow for two but Baker is back with a hard DDT for the same. Baker loads up the glove, which takes long enough for Statlander to kick her in the head.

Statlander’s Area 451 misses though and Baker grabs a crossface. That’s countered into an electric chair faceplant and an ax kick gives Statlander two. Baker is sent outside but the big dive misses. A Stomp rocks Statlander again but she is able to counter the Lockjaw back inside. The Spider Crab is countered as well and Baker busts out a Panama Sunrise for two. Another stomp sets up the Lockjaw to retain at 11:33.

Rating: B. These two beat the fire out of each other and the fans were into it, even without the drama over who was going to win. Statlander was a good choice of an opponent as she feels like a credible enough of a threat but was always going to come up short in the end. Baker could be champ for a long time, but it is going to go through Thunder Rosa at some point and that is all that matters.

Andrade El Idolo and Chavo Guerrero deny having anything to do with Pac’s travel issues. El Idolo is ready for Pac on Rampage.

We recap the Lucha Bros vs. the Young Bucks in a cage for the Tag Team Titles. The Bucks keep cheating to win and the teams have a history of major matches in the company’s history.

Tag Team Title: Lucha Bros vs. Young Bucks

The Bros are challenging in a cage and get rapped to the ring. Don Callis joins commentary as the Bucks try to leave early. That’s broken up with ease though as the Bros score with kicks to their backs. More kicks, including stereo kicks to the kneeling Bucks, keep the Bros in control but the Bucks kick them right back down. Penta winds up on the floor between the ring and the cage (which doesn’t connect to the apron), leaving Fenix to get powerbombed against the cage.

There’s a kick to Penta’s head and a chain is used to choke Fenix. A hurricanrana sends Matt into the cage and Penta is back in with a Backstabber out of the corner. The Bros’ stereo low superkicks only hit each other and Matt hits a top rope flipping Stunner on Penta. A double rolling cutter drops the Bucks as well and the Penta Driver gives Penta two on Matt. The Bucks are back up with more kicks and Fenix is sent into the cage.

The Swanton/Tombstone get two on the Bros but the BTE Trigger knees only hit each other. Fenix sends the Bucks into each other but Matt kicks both of them low. More Bang For Your Buck gets two on Fenix so the frustrated Bucks go after the masks. Callis calls it psychology, which Tony calls BS. Fenix is sent face first into the cage and Cutler throws his bag into the cage. Matt loads up a thumb tack shoe but Penta gets in front of Fenix. That’s fine with Matt, who kicks Penta in the head instead.

Penta is sent into the boot in the corner, with his mask getting stuck for a disturbing visual. A running boot from Nick drives Penta’s head even further into the tacks and there’s a superkick into the poisonrana to Fenix. The BTE Trigger gets two on Penta with Fenix making a save to bring the crowd right back to life. Matt takes the shoe off but Fenix makes the comeback with his variety of insane kicks. The shoe goes upside the Bucks’ heads and the Black Fire Driver gets two on Matt. The spike Fear Factor is broken up so Nick and Fenix climb the cage to slug it out.

Matt and Penta pull them down for stereo package piledrivers on the apron, setting up the big slugout. Matt goes up top with Penta though and it’s a super Canadian Destroyer to bring him back down to put everyone out. Everyone gets back up for a circle strike off until they’re all knocked down again. Back up and a Fear Factor gets two on Nick so Fenix goes up to the top of the cage. Nick saves Matt from the package piledriver and climbs up top with Fenix, only to get kicked back down. Fenix dives onto all three of them (dang) and the spike Fear Factor FINALLY ends the Bucks’ reign at 22:02.

Rating: A-. They had to do the title change here and even though things got bleak for the Bros more than once, all that matters was the big ending. The Bucks had to lose here and it took a lot to put them away, but it was a heck of a match to get there. This was the big show stealing match and that’s all you could have expected it to be. Awesome stuff here and by far the best thing on the show so far.

We get the long celebration and a look back at the rest of the show as the cage is removed.

Casino Battle Royal

We have twenty entrants and three minute intervals between suits. Clubs are in first, including Hikaru Shida, Skye Blue, Emi Sakura, Bunny and Abadon, the latter of whom freaks out the announcers. Blue and Bunny slug it out to start with the hometown girl Blue getting a big reaction. Blue gets sent to the apron though and Abadon knocks her out in a hurry.

Bunny eliminates Abadon a few seconds later and is fine with letting Sakura put Shida in a surfboard. That’s broken up with a rake to Sakura’s face though and Bunny gets in some more stomping until the Diamonds come in. That means Anna Jay, Kiera Hogan, KiLynn King, Diamante and Nyla Rose.

The brawling is on again and Sakura is out in a hurry. Hogan and King follow her out and there goes Shida with them. Rose and Diamante team up to go after Bunny and Jay and split up in about ten seconds. The four of them are joined by the Hearts, in the form of Thunder Rosa, Penelope Ford, Riho, Jamie Hayter and Big Swole. Riho hits a double 619 on Ford and Conti but Hayter tosses her out. Swole headbutts Diamante out but gets tossed by Hayter as well. The fans are behind Rosa as she fights off Hayter and Rose in the corner.

Things slow down a bit until we get the Clubs, with Tay Conti, Red Velvet, Leylah Hirsch, Jade Cargill and Rebel. The brawling is on and Velvet dropkicks Rebel out. Bunny and Jay wind up on the apron and both are kicked out in a hurry. Cargill throws Hirsch out and onto the pile (including onto some referees) and the clock ticks down, bringing up the RUBY SOHO chants. The Joker is….Ruby Soho (formerly known as Ruby Riott).

The final grouping is Soho, Conti, Ford, Cargill, Hayter, Velvet, Rose and Rosa. Soho goes after Cargill and then Rose, with Rosa using Soho to take Rose down. Cargill pumphandle faceplants Soho and tosses Hayter out in a nasty crash. Velvet is tossed as well but Rose gets rid of Cargill. Conti gets rid of Ford but gets tossed as well, leaving us with Soho, Rosa and Rose.

Rosa and Soho are knocked silly in a hurry but Rose gets a bit too cocky, allowing Rosa to send her to the apron and kick her out for the elimination. They stare each other down until Rosa shouts in Spanish and chops her hard. The Fire Thunder Driver is broken up and Rosa is sent to the apron but she pulls Soho out with her. Soho can’t get a German suplex off the apron but she can knee Rosa off the apron for the win at 21:48.

Rating: C+. This is their signature deal with the decks and all that jazz but it doesn’t make for the most thrilling battle royal. It doesn’t help when the Joker gets the big advantage, but Soho winning is one of the right ways they can go. It made for a good moment, though the match could have been a bit shorter to keep things moving a bit faster.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. MJF. Jericho can’t beat MJF and has become obsessed with him, so tonight Jericho’s career is on the line.

Chris Jericho vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

We get the old school COUNTDOWN but it is only leading to “JERICHO’S LAST MATCH”. Ok points for some good trolling, along with MJF coming to the ring in a king’s robe. Jericho is played to the ring by Fozzy’s guitarist to quite the reaction. MJF bails to the floor to rip up some Jericho signs before coming back inside so Jericho can snap off some armdrags. MJF gets in a shot to the face so they head outside, where Jericho whips him into the crowd. Jericho drops things onto MJF’s head and they go back inside.

This time Jericho’s baseball slide is caught in the ring skirt though and the beating is on. MJF starts in on Jericho’s bad arm and drives his elbow into the shoulder. Jericho fights up but a shot to the arm cuts that off in a hurry. A headbutt and some chops set up MJF’s Fargo Strut and the Heatseeker on the apron crushes Jericho again. That’s good for a nine so MJF knocks him back outside, only to miss an Asai moonsault.

Back in and they slug it out with Jericho getting the better of things. Jericho goes up top but dives into a Codebreaker for two in a good moment. Back up and Jericho scores with a dropkick for two and the fans are behind him again. Some corner clotheslines and right hands look to set up a super hurricanrana but MJF counters into a super sitout powerbomb. MJF is banged up too though, allowing Jericho to come back with a Codebreaker for two. Cue Wardlow but Jake Hager comes out to take care of him in a hurry (because the Inner Circle and the Pinnacle are back for this match).

The distraction lets MJF get in a baseball bat shot and the Judas Effect hits Jericho…for the pin at 18:19, though Jericho’s foot was on the rope. Therefore hold on, as another referee comes out to explain things and the match will restart. The bell rings and Jericho grabs a rollup for two. MJF is right back with the Salt of the Earth, which is reversed into a rollup for two more. The hold goes back on but this time Jericho reverses into the Walls. MJF is dragged back to the middle of the ring and FINALLY taps to save Jericho’s career at 21:08.

Rating: B. This was another good one as MJF used all of Jericho’s stuff because he believes he is the better of the two. Then Jericho wins in the end, with the great false finish of the boot on the rope. I’m not sure how much good this whole thing has done for MJF because he ultimately lost in the end, but it was nice to see him in such a high profile feud over the last several months.

The Inner Circle comes out to celebrate with Jericho.

We recap CM Punk vs. Darby Allin, which includes Allin in a BEST IN THE WORLD body bag and being hung from a helicopter.

Darby Allin vs. CM Punk

This is Punk’s first match since January 2014 and he’s in tights instead of trunks. Allin sits in the corner so Punk sits in the middle of the ring for the staredown. They lock up and Allin armdrags him down, which has Punk thinking twice for a second. Back up and Punk shoulders him down, earning a WELCOME BACK chant. Punk has to clarify that they mean him before grabbing a headlock and laying on Allin for a bit.

That’s broken up as well so Allin hits a hard running shoulder of his own. The threat of the GTS sends Allin bailing to the floor though and we need a breather. Allin is back in with the high angle armdrag and some running shoulders in the corner. Punk whips him HARD over the top and out to the floor though with a nasty crash. Back in and a belly to back suplex sets up a double arm crank to keep Allin down.

The abdominal stretch goes on, followed by a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker (Allin: “OH S***!”) for two. Another abdominal stretch is countered into the flipping Stunner to give Allin a needed breather. The springboard Coffin Drop to a standing Punk sets up La Majistral for two and the Code Red gets the same. Punk catches him on top but a belly to back superplex is countered into a crossbody for two.

Back up and Punk scores with the GTS out of nowhere but Allin falls outside. Allin barely beats the count so Punk tries another GTS, which is countered with a bunch of elbows to the head. A big charge sends Punk outside and there’s a Swanton to a standing Punk outside. Back in and Allin loads up the Coffin Drop but Punk sits up. Allin’s cradle is countered but so is the GTS, allowing Allin to get two off the Last Supper. Punk’s leg lariat gets two so Allin loads up the poisonrana, only to get countered into the GTS for the pin at 16:08.

Rating: B. This was a well put together match as Punk got to stand still a lot and wrestle in bursts instead of going full speed the whole time. That allowed Allin to do most of the heavy lifting and protected Punk from not having his wind back yet. The big matches can come with time, but for now this was about getting Punk back in the ring to knock off some of the rust. Rather good match, mainly due to the setup and Allin’s work.

Post match Sting comes out to check on Allin, with Punk kneeling right next to him. Allin gets up and Punk shakes his hand for the cool moment. Punk gets to take a quick victory lap and says that was #1.

Full Gear is Saturday November 13.

We recap QT Marshall vs. Paul Wight. Marshall had been insulting Tony Schiavone and his family, so Wight came out to help his broadcast partner. Now it’s time for Wight’s in-ring debut.

QT Marshall vs. Paul Wight

Wight doesn’t waste time and starts in with the chops before Marshall can take his jacket off. Marshall gets in a shot to the bad hip though and a low dropkick staggers Wight. The kickout sends Marshall outside and it’s time to start panicking. Back in and the Diamond Cutter is blocked, Wight beats up the rest of the Factory and grabs the chokeslam for the pin at 3:12.

Rating: D+. That’s how it should have gone and there is nothing to complain about here. Yes the Marshall stuff over the last few weeks has been a bit lame but ultimately, Wight beat him without much effort and that is all he should have done. Wight can go back to commentary until he is needed again and Marshall can go back to….whatever it is that he does.

Jon Moxley is facing Minoru Suzuki on Dynamite in Cincinnati.

Moxley says Suzuki better be ready to come to his hometown in the Nasty Natti.

Malakai Black is ready for Dustin Rhodes on Dynamite and suggests that Rhodes think of everything he has done to Rhodes’ family and friends.

We recap Christian Cage challenging Kenny Omega for the World Title. Cage pinned him to win the Impact Wrestling World Title so now it is time to do it for the belt that really mattes. Talking heads aren’t sure who should win.

AEW World Title: Christian Cage vs. Kenny Omega

Omega, with Don Callis, is defending and Cage starts fast by knocking Omega outside. Cage whips him into the barricade and Cage hits the big dive off the top to take him out. Back up and Omega whips Cage into the steps before pulling out a table. This one is laid on top of Cage though and Omega stomps it for a break (Omega: “Did I do that???”). Cage blocks a suplex through another table and suplexes Omega onto the floor. Back in and Cage’s Cloverleaf is blocked, allowing Omega to hit something close to a Sling Blade for two.

Omega knocks him to the floor again and hits the moonsault off the barricade. Back in and Cage is in more trouble, setting up a chest first whip into the corner. A fireman’s carry backbreaker gives Omega two more but he takes too long going up, allowing Christian to grab a hurricanrana. Christian chokes on the ropes and then jumps over for the customary right hand. Omega gets in a knee to the head and drives him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs.

Now the V Trigger can hit the back of Christian’s head in the corner. The Snapdragon brings Christian out of the corner and there’s a second to make it even worse. Cage flips him off so it’s a third Snapdragon into another V Trigger. Instead of covering, Omega tries a German suplex through a table on the floor. Since that can’t work, Christian reverses into a Killswitch attempt but has to settle for a spear through the table instead. It takes them a minute to get back in, where Christian hits a spear each to Omega’s back and ribs for two.

Christian can’t follow up and has to escape the Dr. Wiley Bomb. Omega this some knees to the face, setting up a ripcord V Trigger. A tiger driver is countered though and Christian gets the high angle Cloverleaf. Callis calls in the reinforcements with the Good Brothers but Christian fights them off. The Killswitch gives Cage two more and they’re both down. With nothing else working, Christian catches him on top and tries a super Killswitch but gets reversed into a super One Winged Angel to retain the title at 21:21.

Rating: B+. They did everything they could to get around the lack of drama and it was a very good match. The problem is I never once believed Christian had a chance and I can’t imagine I’m alone. Cage was fine for a one off challenger, but Omega is going to need a major challenger sooner than later. Like at Full Gear for example.

Post match the rest of the Elite comes in for the big beatdown, with Jurassic Express not being able to make the save. The YES chants begin but Omega grabs the mic and asks if if Chicago is finally starting to understand. Omega doesn’t care who is a hometown hero because no one is on his level. When it comes to the AEW World Title, the only people who have a chance to beat him are either not here, already tired or already dead. Then the lights go out…..and it’s Adam Cole (Bay Bay) making his debut.

Cole gets in the ring….and superkicks Jungle Boy, because Cole is with the Elite. Omega: “In the words of Steve Urkel, did I do that?” Cole asks who is ready for Story Time With Adam Cole Bay Bay. The Elite is the most dominant faction in wrestling and no one can stop them. Omega hits the catchphrase….and we have Ride of the Valkyries. Brian Danielson is here too and some of the Elite bails. Danielson, Christian and Jurassic Express stare down Omega, Cole and the Young Bucks, with Omega leaving so the good guys can clean house so YES chants can end the show. That’s a heck of a pair of surprises so yeah, they nailed it.

Overall Rating: A. Great matches, two big moments and the historic title change with the only thing resembling a bad match lasting less than 200 seconds. They did pretty much everything right here and it was a pretty awesome show as a result. This felt like the normal AEW pay per view and that is certainly a great thing to hear. Awesome show and it didn’t feel like nearly four hours so there isn’t much of anything to complain about here.

Results
Miro b. Eddie Kingston – Jumping superkick
Jon Moxley b. Satoshi Kojima – Paradigm Shift
Britt Baker b. Kris Statlander – Lockjaw
Lucha Bros b. Young Bucks – Spike Fear Factor to Nick Jackson
Ruby Soho won the Casino Battle Royal last eliminating Thunder Rosa
Chris Jericho b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Walls of Jericho
CM Punk b. Darby Allin – GTS
Paul Wight b. QT Marshall – Chokeslam
Kenny Omega b. Christian Cage – Super One Winged Angel

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