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

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: September 1, 2021
Location: Now Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the go home show for All Out and that means it’s time for the big push to the show. As you might have guessed, CM Punk is back in the house and the ovation should crazy all over again. It’s also the 100th edition of Dynamite and that means we might be seeing something of a look back. AEW has always done those well so let’s get to it.

Here is Rampage if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Santana/Ortiz vs. FTR

Tully Blanchard is here with FTR, who have Bobby Eaton themed trunks for a very nice moment. Harwood headlocks Santana down to start and then shoulders him down for a bonus. They chop it out and Santana gets knocked into the ropes. Everything breaks down in a hurry with FTR being sent outside, where Wheeler holds his bad arm. The big flip dives take FTR down and the springboard flip dives do it again.

Back in and Harwood tags his way out of a belly to back suplex so Wheeler can send Ortiz into the post. Now it’s time to work on Ortiz’s arm out of the old Anderson playbook, because FTR respects the classics. The turnbuckle pad is taken off somewhere in there and the arm is wrapped around the exposed buckle. Ortiz uses the good arm to blast Wheeler for a breather and the hot tag brings in Santana to start cleaning house.

Three Amigos have Harwood in trouble and the frog splash gets two. Wheeler comes back in and knocks Ortiz into Harwood’s brainbuster (how FTR won before) for two more. Santana breaks up a double suplex so Ortiz can small package Harwood for two. Harwood shoves Santana off the top and Wheeler plants Ortiz with a Gory Bomb for his own near fall.

The PowerPlex is broken up but the Big Rig plants Ortiz….and Santana comes off the top to drive Harwood into the cover for the save. That was a heck of a great save. Santana grabs a cutter on Wheeler though and it’s a middle rope Codebreaker into a double belly to back faceplant to give Santana the pin at 13:33.

Rating: B. This was what you would expect from these two teams as they tarted a bit more slowly and then wrestled a back and forth match. It wasn’t about the flips and dives and everything else and it made for a good showcase. These guys stood out because they did something differently and it stood out, as it should have.

Daniel Garcia and 2.0 don’t like Darby Allin overlooking them for the sake of CM Punk. This week on Rampage, Garcia is going to hurt Allin and take the match away from everyone.

Here is CM Punk for a chat. Punk asks if the fans are sick of him yet, because he could do this kind of thing for months. There are people who are going to get tired of this in a hurry, but he isn’t one of them so he’ll keep at it. This could all end for him on Sunday because he hasn’t wrestled in seven years and he is a little nervous. Cue Daniel Garcia and 2.0 for the beatdown (marking Punk’s first time getting physical in AEW) but Darby Allin and Sting come in for the save. Finishers abound, including the GTS.

Punk and Allin go nose to nose but Sting separates them. Hold on though as Punk has to clear out a bit more of the ring, allowing Sting to say he always wanted to share a ring with Punk. Sting respects him and it felt good to clear things out a bit like that. It’s time to get traffic out of the way for All Out and that includes Sting himself. Therefore, you won’t be seeing him at All Out because Allin and Punk are ready for Showtime without him. They have done a great job of making this feel like an epic dream match.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Christian Cage, with various AEW names taking sides and talking about how Christian is one of the few people who can say they have beaten Omega in AEW.

We get a sitdown interview with Tony Schiavone and MJF. Tony doesn’t want to be here but MJF cuts him off and lists off most of Chris Jericho’s nicknames and ring names from over the years (including Cowboy Chris Jericho). After four decades, Jericho is on the Mount Rushmore of wrestling. When MJF’s career is said and done though, he is going to take Jericho’s place. Jericho is like Muhammad Ali, who was great once but he kept coming back for more. Then one day he had to be taken out, just like Jericho. On Sunday, Jericho’s music ends. The Ali analogy was good stuff, as is most of what MJF tends to say.

Orange Cassidy vs. Jack Evans

Matt Hardy is here with Evans and jumps Cassidy before the bell. Cassidy can go so Evans hammers away to start, including a shot to the back of the head and a kick to the chest. Cassidy makes the comeback but Evans bails to the floor before the Orange Punch. Back in and a high crossbody gives Cassidy two, followed by a Michinoku Driver for the same.

The lazy kicks abound, with Tony explaining that they aren’t supposed to hurt. We go to a standing switch (earning the boo/yay treatment) until Cassidy heads back up. Another high crossbody is broken up but Evans’ superplex attempt is blocked as well as we take a break. Back with….well Cassidy celebrating actually, as he won with a small package during the break at 6:48.

Rating: C. Totally fine way to keep Cassidy’s momentum going, though anything involving the Hardy Family Office is going to feel like a downgrade. I do like the way the ending went though, as it is enough of a twist to keep things interesting. Far too often, a show can fall into a repetitive formula so well done on mixing things up a bit for a change.

Post match here is Matt Hardy again and the beatdown is on. The Best Friends run in for the save but the rest of the Hardy Family Office runs in for the real beatdown. Cue Jurassic Express for the real save.

Eddie Kingston thinks Miro’s neck is a weak spot so he’s going after it. That strategy didn’t work when the Executioner said he was going after Tito Santana’s leg at the first Wrestlemania so I doubt it works here. Eddie is coming for the title, because that’s what makes Miro God’s favorite champion.

Miro says he only lays down for his wife after a title defense so he’s ending Kingston.

Jon Moxley has respect for Satoshi Kojima but that ends when the bell rings. He’s going back home to Cincinnati next week and he’s bringing Kojima’s scalp.

Jim Ross is in the ring and brings out Chris Jericho for a chat. Jericho says welcome to Chicago Is Jericho to (kind of) bust out one of the classics. It seems like a good time to hearken back to the past because he started his main event journey in this business here in Chicago. The man who recruited him to start that journey is the man standing in the ring with him, which earns a JR nod.

Jericho remembers signing the contract with JR, but now he wants to say that MJF is a piece of s***. He’s also diabolical and calculated, just like Jericho. They’re both button pushers and confident, so the only thing MJF has over him are three victories, and Jericho lists off the dates. Jericho doesn’t want it to be the end of his in-ring career and the fans certainly agree. He has to know he can beat MJF but if something goes wrong and he does lose, he is going to go to that commentary desk and do his best. Jericho has to know if he can win though and he’ll see what he can do on Sunday. Oh and MJF is a little p****. More good here.

Darby Allin will die to beat CM Punk in Chicago.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Brian Cage

Hook is here with Hobbs and Taz is on commentary. Cage jumps Hobbs in the aisle before the bell and whips him hard into the barricade. They head inside to officially start and a Hook distraction lets lets Hobbs get in some shots from behind. Cage gets knocked into the corner and we take a break.

Back with Hobbs firing off shoulders in the corner and Schiavone saying Britt Baker has some major free agent news. Cage makes the comeback and sends Hobbs flying with an exploder suplex. The Drill Claw is countered so Cage misses a discus lariat, allowing Hobbs to plant him with a spinebuster for two. A knee to the face staggers Hobbs though and Cage grabs an F5. Another Drill Claw is loaded up but Hook offers a distraction. Cue Ricky Starks to hit Cage with the FTW Title so Hobbs can grab Town Business for the pin at 7:23.

Rating: C+. Nice power match here and that’s what you need to see from these two. I’m not wild on the Cage vs. Hobbs feud as it has taken far too long to set things up, but at least there is even more of a reason for Cage to take off a few of Hobbs’ limbs. Good enough of a way to move things forward though, and that’s all it needed to be.

Malakai Black says he has given Lee Johnson a week to atone for his sins, but Johnson has been silent. Therefore, Black will take Johnson out and put two coins over his eyes so Johnson can pay the boatman’s toll in Hades.

Here is the Factory to call out Paul Wight, so here he is in a hurry. The swarm is on in a hurry but Wight cleans house….and the Gunn Club runs in after the ring is already empty. Marshall’s attempt to bring in a chair doesn’t work, so Billy Gunn hits Wight in the bad hip with the chair. Wight gets up so Billy chairs him in the head. Now the Factory comes back in for a cutter from Marshall. Billy Gunn being needed to boost a story is not a good sign.

Britt Baker announces that Jamie Hayter and Reba will be in the Casino Battle Royal. As for her free agent news, a top name has indeed signed with AEW. That would be….Baker herself!

Penelope Ford vs. Tay Conti

Bunny is here with Ford and Conti dives onto both of them before the bell. Conti grabs something like a dragon sleeper to hammer away with forearms to the chest and a pump kick gets two. We take a break and come back with Ford missing the handspring elbow into the corner and missing a running boot as well.

Conti scores with a high crossbody but Ford sends her throat first into the bottom rope. The Muta Lock is escaped and Conti grabs a leg crank of her own. That’s broken up so Conti hits some running boots in the corner. A fireman’s carry gutbuster plants Conti for two, with the bad leg slowing down the near fall. Bunny’s trip fails so Conti sends Ford into Bunny and grabs the rollup pin at 8:28.

Rating: C+. These two have gotten better in the ring with Conti being one of the best success stories in a long time around here. What matters here is that the two of them have gotten so much more comfortable in the ring and can have a good match like this one. The fans are into Conti as well and that’s a positive sign for her in-ring future.

Post match the double beatdown is on but Anna Jay makes the return for the save. She’s in the Casino Battle Royal too.

Thunder Rosa gets interrupted before she can talk about the battle royal so Nyla Rose and Jade Cargill beat her down. Mark Sterling breaks up the fight.

All Out rundown, including a special look at MJF vs. Chris Jericho.

Jurassic Express/Lucha Bros vs. Young Bucks/Good Brothers

Marko Stunt and Brandon Cutler are here too, with Don Callis joining commentary. Gallows and Luchasaurus start with the big showdown with Gallows driving him into the corner. The suplex is reversed into one from Luchasaurus though and it’s off to Fenix vs. Nick. The pace picks up and the Lucha Bros and Bucks come in for a superkick off. Matt knocks Penta down and some pelvic thrusting takes us to a break. Back with Jungle blasting Anderson with a clothesline on the floor and bringing in Fenix to pick the pace way up.

House is cleaned, including the very springboardy armdrag to Nick. A Death Valley Driver sets up the Lucha version of What’s Up for two more. Another Bucks vs. Bros kickoff gives us a four way knockdown and it’s back to Luchasaurus to clean house. Nick is shoved off the top and onto the Good Brothers. Back in and Anderson gets chokeslammed for two but Cutler offers a distraction, setting up a Magic Killer for two on Fenix. The BTE Trigger only has the Bucks’ knees clashing together but they counter Fenix’s springboard into the Meltzer Driver for the pin at 10:11.

Rating: B-. It was fun while it lasted but this was shorter than the usual wild tag matches. The Bucks got in their big beatdown on Fenix, which makes me think that the title change on Sunday is that much more likely. That is certainly the way things should go, as there is no reason for the Bucks to hold onto the belts any longer. Good match, but not as wild and crazy as you would have expected.

Post match here are Kenny Omega and Don Callis to lead the beatdown on the Bros and the Express. A Magic Killer puts Luchasaurus through a table and Omega tells Jungle that he isn’t in contention anymore. Christian Cage runs in but the beatdown is on again. Omega tells Callis to lower the cage so everyone is locked in (minus the top). Dante Martin and Frankie Kazarian come in but get knocked down, mainly via sprays to the face. The big group beatdown is on and the BTE Trigger knocks Christian silly to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. They did a very nice job of making me want to see the pay per view and that was the point of the entire show. It was a good use of two hours and the action was working as well. If they can raise their game up for the pay per view even more, then everything should work out well in the end. Nice show here, and better than last week by a pretty wide margin.

Results
Santana/Ortiz b. FTR – Double spinning belly to back slam
Orange Cassidy b. Jack Evans – Small package
Powerhouse Hobbs b. Brian Cage – Town Business
Tay Conti b. Penelope Ford – Rollup
Young Bucks/Good Brothers b. Jurassic Express/Lucha Bros – Meltzer Driver to Fenix

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

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Rampage
Date: August 27, 2021
Location: UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Mark Henry, Taz, Excalibur, Chris Jericho

We’re on to week #3 and they might have a bit of a hard time beating out last week’s show. Rampage has become a lot of fun in a hurry though as the hour run time is a great change of pace over the full two hours of Dynamite. I’m not sure how a taped show is going to work but I doubt it matters that much. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles #1 Contenders Tournament Finals: Jurassic Express vs. Lucha Bros

The winners get the Young Bucks, who come out to watch, at All Out. Jungle and Fenix run the ropes to start until Fenix gets onto the ropes for his nutty bouncing into an armdrag. Jungle isn’t sure what to do so it’s off to Luchasaurus vs. Penta. After taking a long time to take the glove off, Penta tries a charge at Luchasaurus and gets kicked in the head. Everyone gets knocked down for a breather as NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is watching in the front row.

We take a break and come back with Luchasaurus and Penta coming back in with the former getting to clean house. A double clothesline drops the Bros and the standing moonsault gets two on Penta. Fenix is back up and kicks Luchasaurus down, setting up the frog splash (complete with Eddie dance). Jungle comes back in with a clothesline into a poisonrana on Fenix and it’s a tiger driver into the Snare Trap.

Penta breaks it up and hits a backbreaker for two on Jungle. Penta is taken outside where Marko Stunt and Luchasaurus hold him in place, only to have Fenix walk the ropes to hurricanrana Jungle onto the pile. There’s the Canadian Destroyer to drop Jungle onto the apron, followed by Fenix hitting one of his own for one on Luchasaurus. The Bros hit the series of superkick to Luchasaurus and the assisted wheelbarrow splash gets two. The assisted Fear Factor finally finishes Luchasaurus at 12:15.

Rating: B-. Another nutty tag match with one crazy spot after another, as has become the tradition around here. The Bros are LONG overdue for another title program and I’m wanting to see what they can do with the Bucks in the cage. It is high time for the Bucks to drop the titles and this should be a good place to do just that.

Post match the Young Bucks come out for the staredown but the Lucha Bros and Jurassic Express clear the ring.

We get a video on CM Punk’s debut, leading into a look at Punk vs. Darby Allin at All Out.

Miro comes to the ring, though he comes out by kicking Fuego del Sol down the ramp. T
hey get inside, with Miro demanding that Fuego show his face to the Lord. The mask is ripped off, and here is Eddie Kingston for the brawl with Miro. The brawl is on and referees break it up, though Miro seems very pleased by the challenge.

Tay Conti vs. The Bunny

Bunny jumps her before the bell and hits a sliding forearm in the corner for a slightly delayed two. Back up and Conti unloads with some chops in the corner but Bunny knocks her into the ropes. We hear about Conti’s martial arts background, allowing Henry to say “it doesn’t matter if you know karate if someone know ka-razy.” Conti is back up with a belly to back swinging faceplant into a swinging Boss Man Slam. A knee to the face connects and the Tay-KO rocks Bunny as Penelope Ford comes out. The distraction lets Blade slip Bunny the brass knuckles for the knockout pin at 4:33.

Rating: C. The action was moving out there and the ending worked well as Conti seems to need an ally. Bunny and Ford make sense as a team in the Casino Battle Royal, which is one of those ideas that is suitable for villains in such a match. Conti should be a dark horse favorite in the match and it wouldn’t stun me to see her win the whole thing.

All Out rundown, now including Miro defending the TNT Title against Eddie Kingston.

We get the weekly split screen interview between Christian Cage/Frankie Kazarian vs. Kenny Omega/Brandon Cutler. Omega can’t wait to drop Christian on his head with the One Winged Angle and send the fans home happy. Christian knows he has already hurt Omega and now he wants the big one at All Out. Tonight, make sure you get in the ring because they don’t want any of this Cutler stooge stuff.

Kenny Omega/Brandon Cutler vs. Christian Cage/Frankie Kazarian

Don Callis is here with Omega and Cutler. Kazarian throws Cutler around with ease, which shouldn’t be the biggest surprise. Omega comes in and chokes Kazarian in the corner but misses a charge. A Russian legsweep drops Omega and it’s back to Cutler so Christian can choke away on the ropes. Kazarian drops Cutler on the top rope for a kick to the face so Michael Nakazawa gets in a laptop shot tot he back. This has a grand total of no effect, allowing Omega to clothesline Kazarian down.

Back in and Cutler misses a dancing elbow, setting up the hot tag to Christian. Some chops have Cutler cringing in the corner but Omega breaks up the right hands. Christian slips out of the One Winged Angle and hammers on both of them at once. The reverse DDT lays out both villains but Omega crotches Christian against the post. Omega V Triggers Cutler by mistake and walks out, leaving Cutler to get speared and Killswitched for the pin at 8:27.

Rating: C+. This was mainly a storytelling match as there was no way two stars like Cage and Kazarian were losing to Omega and his lackey. They got the ending right too as Omega bailing on Cutler fits him perfectly and leaves Cutler to take the fall. It was a perfectly fine match and the did what they needed to do to keep up the All Out build.

Overall Rating: C+. Much more down to earth show this week and while Rampage is more or less the third hour of Dynamite, it serves a nice purpose. I would much, much rather have it be a show like this than a place to put the Gunn Club and the Factory and the Wingmen. The show wasn’t must see, but for an hour of television where two new All Out matches were set, it worked out just fine.

Results
Lucha Bros b. Jurassic Express – Spike Fear Factor to Luchasaurus
Bunny b. Tay Conti – Brass knuckles punch
Christian Cage/Frankie Kazarian b. Kenny Omega/Brandon Cutler – Killswitch to Cutler

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: April 21, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We are about five weeks away from Double Or Nothing and that means it is time to start setting up the show. The good thing is you can probably guess a good chunk of the card from here so it isn’t like they need to do a ton of work on the way there. We also have Blood & Guts coming up in two weeks and it needs one more push. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Commentary runs down the card.

Ricky Starks vs. Hangman Page

Starks has Hook with him and promises to take care of Page, who has poor interview etiquette. Taz joins in on commentary as they trade headlock takeovers to start. Page counters a leapfrog into a slam and stomps Starks down into the corner. A springboard clothesline puts Starks on the floor and there’s a slingshot dive to drop him again. Back in and Starks sends him throat first into the middle rope to take over. Some choking ensues but Starks has to stick the landing on a belly to back flip suplex.

Starks’ springboard is clotheslined out of the air to give Page two and a brainbuster gets the same. An Alabama Slam out of the corner is countered though and Starks’ sitout powerbomb gets two. The fall away slam sets up a running clothesline for two more on Starks but the Buckshot Lariat misses. Starks spears him down for his own near fall and escapes the Deadeye. Instead, Page pulls him down into a bulldog choke and pulls back on the leg to make Starks tap at 8:56.

Rating: B-. These are the guys that give you hope for the future in AEW as they are both young and talented, but above all else they feel like stars. Page seems like a main eventer ready to break out and Starks seems like someone with all of the potential in the world. Throw in the fact that they can have a good match and this was a very nice way to get things going.

Post match Taz tells Page to watch his back and Hook takes him down with a chop block. Page tries to fight them off but Brian Cage comes in to keep up the beatdown. The Dark Order runs in for the save.

Trent vs. Penta El Cero Miedo

Trent has the question mark behind his name again and commentary isn’t sure why it’s there. I’m guessing it is something that he put together on the indies and for some reason did not stop using it despite not being in the indies anymore. Trent starts fast by taking Penta down for a running Meteora and then knocks him outside for the big flip dive (thankfully not injuring his leg when it crashes into the barricade).

Back in and Penta hits a quick Sling Blade into the Canadian Destroyer and we take a break. Of note: during the break, an ad for Rich Swann vs. Kenny Omega at Impact’s Rebellion on Sunday aired. Aside from a throw away line here or there, that might be the first mention of the match on AEW TV.

We come back with Penta hitting a Backstabber for two and the Pentagon Driver is good for the same. They head to the apron and Trent drops Penta to the floor, but Penta’s translator says that Penta has a message for him: Trent sucks, but not as much as Trent’s mom! Trent grabs a chair to go after him but walks into a microphone shot into the package piledriver to give Penta the pin at 10:37.

Rating: C. I like Penta a lot but I’m not sure how much success a feud built around a YOUR MOM insult is going to have. Death Triangle vs. the Best Friends is a little weird in the first place but maybe they can make it work in the ring. I would hope that they drop the stuff about the mom though because that is just kind of lame.

Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down with the Pinnacle for a chat. MJF talks about having his scarf for years, but Tully Blanchard has sent him a gift: a new scarf! Wardlow brings up JR calling Chris Jericho’s recent statements the immortal promo. Jericho cut a great promo (not as great as MJF’s of course) but he stumbled a bit on Wardlow.

That’s because he knew he was doing something wrong, because you don’t mess with Wardlow. MJF accuses Jericho of standing around a bunch of B’s so you look like an A and wrestling a bunch of B’s so you don’t look like an A. Jericho has tried to latch on to a bunch of popular stars like Jon Moxley and Orange Cassidy, which worked well until he got to MJF. Jericho likes to say that MJF is great for 25 but that is BULL S***!

MJF is great for any age and he finds it interesting when Jericho says go beat some low level people. See, he remembers beating Jericho, which means that MJF is better than him and Jericho knows it. The one thing Jericho got right was saying that MJF is a mark, but it is for Jericho’s spot. At Blood and Guts, MJF is taking it. This was mostly great, with MJF selling everything and Wardlow getting some time as well. I’m not big on them saying promo, but that ship has kind of already gone for a sail, come back and been chopped up for firewood.

Video on Hikaru Shida vs. Tay Conti for Shida’s Women’s Title. Shida respects her, but it is time to fight.

Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Tay Conti

Conti is challenging and the Dark Order goes to the back to let her do this on her own. A hard forearm doesn’t do much to Shida to start and it’s time for the slugout. Conti judo throws her over and grabs a chickenwing with a bodyscissors. Shida gets to the ropes for the break and heads to the floor for a needed breather. Conti tries to follow but gets tripped down, setting up a running knee to the face.

An enziguri catches Conti again and a suplex drops her hard. Back in and the surfboard goes on but Shida switches into a reverse chinlock to keep Conti in trouble. We take a break and come back with Shida hitting a superplex but Conti pops up to kick her in the face. A German suplex drops Shida again and some running kicks to the face in the corner put her down again.

Shida is laid across the top rope and Conti adds a top rope backsplash for a near fall. The DDTay is broken up and Shida hits a running knee to the face. The Falcon Arrow gets two and Shida drops her hard to the floor. Back in and Conti nails another pump kick, setting up the TayKO for two. They strike it out again until Shida drops her with a slap. A fireman’s carry into a backbreaker sets up the Katana to retain the title at 12:18.

Rating: B. I liked the match but egads Shida has lost all sense of interest with this never ending title reign. While you can all but pencil in Britt Baker to take the title at Double Or Nothing, it has been far too long coming. Tonight was another good match and Shida can be fun to watch in the ring, but something to make me care about her would help a lot. Conti has been on a tear as of late and I really hope she isn’t dropped as a result.

Post match here’s Britt Baker, who shows us the updated rankings….with her at the top.

Miro is sick of Kip Sabian not being here and he is ready to beat people up.

Here is the Inner Circle for a chat. After we reaffirm Jericho’s rock star status with the fans singing Judas back to him, Jericho talks about how Mike Tyson knocked Shawn Spears’ teeth out. Jake Hager has straws for the Pinnacle because they are going to be drinking meat through straws after Blood & Guts. Santana finds it interesting that MJF is only doing his talking when he has people behind him. They have seen the color of their blood and now they are going to see the size of their hearts.

Jericho talks about MJF singing show tunes on Rosie O’Donnell so Jericho has written a show tune of his own. The song recaps the Inner Circle returning and MJF’s head going into a toilet but Jericho drops the singing rather quickly. It is great to make jokes but next week, the teams are having a parlay, meaning a meeting to discuss battle plans, before Blood & Guts. Jericho gets serious and says that MJF better own his soul because on May 5, they own the Pinnacle’s a**. They brought it at the end, but they have not done the best job setting things up. Another interview before the war isn’t likely to help that.

Billy Gunn vs. QT Marshall

Gunn goes after Marshall and company before the bell to take over early. A suplex into a tilt-a-whirl slam sends Marshall outside so the referee checks on him. That lets Anthony Ogogo jump Gunn so the Gunn Club dives out of the crowd to take care of them. Back in and Marshall punches him down and mocks the SUCK IT. You don’t do that to Gunn, who is back up with some right hands. The Fameasser and Diamond Cutter are both avoided so Gunn is sent to the ramp. Cue Anthony Ogogo again to hit the gut shot to drop Gunn, allowing Marshall to get the pin at 4:18.

Rating: D+. Not the worst match but it’s really hard to bring myself to care about Billy Gunn and his kids against QT Marshall and company. Marshall’s stable has some potential but how much interest is there going to be in a story involving these people. Also, if Marshall is going to be moving up a bit, he shouldn’t need help beating Billy Gunn.

Post match Ogogo hands Marshall a chair but Dustin Rhodes runs in for the save. Nick Commarado comes back in so Dustin breaks the wooden chair over his head to no avail. Referees get Big Bubba out of the ring as Dusty is stunned.

The Elite is in the back and talks about how they are the reason business was up in Japan. They are the reason for the Bullet Club shirt exploding and the revolution that became AEW. Kenny Omega is sick of Jon Moxley but we keep hearing a horn….and Omega demands it be taken care of. It’s Moxley in his truck, which he rams into the side of the trailer the Elite was in. Eddie Kingston gets out of the truck and they go inside the trailer, armed with pipes. The Elite is gone, which Moxley describes as “b**** AF”. He throws the pipe through the window anyway, with Kingston asking if Moxley could wait until he is out of the way.

Christian Cage. vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Taz is on commentary again and Hobbs powers Christian into the corner to start. A waistlock works a bit better, or at least it does until Hobbs slams him down. They head outside with Hobbs hitting him in the back of the head, setting up a toss over the barricade. Hobbs grinds his face against the barricade and we take a break. Back with Hobbs stepping on Christian’s chest but the Vader Bomb is countered with some raised boots to the face.

The pendulum kick connects in the corner and a top rope back elbow gives Christian two. Hobbs is back with a heck of a spinebuster for two (not powerbomb JR) but gets powerbombed out of the corner (now JR). The frog splash gets two but Hobbs sends him into the corner for the running hip attack. Hobbs has to power out of a sleeper so he sends Christian into the corner, only to have Christian come back with the Killswitch for the pin at 10:20.

Rating: C+. See, now this is more like it. Christian needs to establish himself in AEW and he beats a monster like Hobbs by coming from behind. It was a completely watchable match and it was one of the few without something going on before or after. Do more of this from time to time and let things breathe a bit.

Here is what’s coming next week.

Jade Cargill talks about how every manager wants her and we hear from Matt Hardy and Vickie Guerrero about why she should sign with them.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Jungle Boy

Allin is defending and Sting and the rest of the Jurassic Express are here. They go technical to start with both of them grabbing a rollup for two each. Boy works on the wristlock and armdrags him into an armbar. That’s broken up with Allin’s springboard armdrag and they start getting in each others’ faces. Allin takes him down and hammers away so they head to the floor to keep up the fight.

Some chops have Boy staggered but he tackles Allin over the barricade as we take a break. Back with Allin charging into an elbow in the corner, allowing Boy to grab a bridging German suplex for two. A tiger suplex gets the same but Allin is back with the flipping Stunner. Boy sends him outside for the back to back suicide dives into the flip dive over the top. Back in and Allin stomps away, setting up the Coffin Drop back to the floor.

Luchasaurus has to help Boy back in, which gets Sting in his face. They fight to the back, leaving Boy to blast Allin with a clothesline. The brainbuster into a running elbow to the back of the head gets two on Allin and the Snare Trap goes on. Allin has to go to the eyes for the escape so Boy forearms away out of desperation. They get back up and Allin pulls him into the Last Supper to retain at 14:45.

Rating: B. This match told a good story as Allin is trying to defend the title as often as he can but is starting to have more trouble, leading to some slightly more desperate ways to retain. That could lead somewhere, but for now it is a good match with a clean enough finish, though with a slightly dirty path to get there. Boy losing is kind of sad to see, but Allin is a bigger deal right now.

Post match Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky run in to beat Allin down. Lance Archer runs in for the save but gets beaten down as well, drawing out Sting with the baseball bat for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. There were three rather good matches on here, but some of the other stuff dragged it back down. It’s great to see some of this stuff featured, but at the same time, they might want to have something a little more interesting than Marshall vs. Gunn, trying to figure out the question mark after Trent’s name and another ending that felt like a month’s worth of material in fifteen second. The good outweighs the bad here though, as the wrestling was enough to make up for some kind of odd choices.

Results

Hangman Page b. Ricky Starks – Bulldog choke with a leglock

Penta El Cero Miedo b. Trent – Package piledriver

Hikaru Shida b. Tay Conti – Katana

QT Marshall b. Billy Gunn – Punch to the ribs from Anthony Ogogo

Christian Cage b. Powerhouse Hobbs – Killswitch

Darby Allin b. Jungle Boy – Last Supper

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: April 7, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

Believe it or not we have a big six man tag here with the Young Bucks and Jon Moxley teaming up to face Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers. That certainly has potential, as does the next step in the Inner Circle vs. the Pinnacle. Throw in the explanation from QT Marshall about his new group and….you’ll realize that this place has a lot of stables. Oh and Mike Tyson is here again. Let’s get to it.

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

The Inner Circle arrived in some very expensive cars.

Opening sequence.

Max Caster vs. Hangman Page

Page doesn’t seem to like the rap and sends Caster into the buckle over and over. Caster gets in some right hands of his own but Page takes him down and hits a backsplash for two. They head outside where Page sends him into the barricade but stops to yell at Anthony Bowens. Back in and Page sends Caster outside again, this time setting up a slingshot dive. Caster is sat on the barricade for a clothesline, followed by a stare to get Bowens to put the boom box down.

The distraction lets Caster start in on the arm with some knee drops and a hammerlock with a crossface. That doesn’t last long as Page is back up with a spinebuster into an exploder suplex for two. They head to the apron for a slugout until Caster charges into a belly to back drop. Page goes up again but Bowens offers another distraction, allowing Caster to grab a superplex.

Zack Gibson’s Shankly Gates has Page in trouble but he’s out in a hurry and clotheslines Caster out of the air. The boom box comes in again for a distraction, allowing Bowens to slide Caster the chain. One heck of a right hand gives Caster two but the Mic Drop misses. Bowens breaks up the Buckshot so Page takes him out, followed by the Buckshot Lariat to finish Caster at 10:04.

Rating: C. That’s kind of a long time to beat a tag guy (who was somehow #3 in the rankings). Page is the #1 contender for whenever he gets the title shot and at least he had to take care of both of the Acclaimed here. The match was fine enough, though it didn’t exactly make Page look like the guy who is ready to take on Omega.

Tony Schiavone brings in the Death Triangle for a chat. Before they can say anything, here are the Best Friends (now complete with Kris Stadtlander), with Orange Cassidy showing us a clip from May when the Triangle took them out. The Triangle laughs them off but Pac is willing to give them another beating. Trent says the boys are back in town and now they have an alien with them. I’ll consider that a Toy Story reference as we wrap things up, basically with an announcement of what is next for both group.

Urban Meyer, coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, talked with Mike Tyson earlier.

Here’s the Inner Circle for a chat. After a break, Chris Jericho says they’re back in black after a beatdown from the Pineapple. He apologizes for the bad things they did but that was because of MJF (My Jerkoff Friend). Jericho talks about being bad in chemistry, to the point where his high school teacher asked him if he was on dope. No one is smart at chemistry, but Jericho is smart at people. He didn’t let MJF into the Inner Circle to help him up, but rather to keep him under Jericho’s thumb.

Then MJF outsmarted them, but then Jericho put his face in a toilet. Jericho knows that MJF is going to be the great one one day but he wants to be the great one now. Instead, be better than Peter Avalon, be better than Michael Nakazawa and be better than that scarf, because it is old and is sucks. Jericho was doing the scarf thing five years ago so why is MJF stealing his s***?

MJF is the one who ran to the back to ask how he did, which is called being a mark. Actually, from now on we’re going to call that being a Max. Then there is the Pinnacle, which is quite the lineup. You have Tully Blanchard, who is nothing more than the third string member of the Four Horsemen, right between Ole Anderson and Paul Roma (OUCH). Then there is FTR, who he can’t tell apart. They’re like the Jonas Brothers, in that they’re talented but no one can remember who is which.

Then you have Shawn Spears, and the only thing Jericho knows about him is the phone call Jericho got from him when WWE fired him ten years ago. Finally there is Wardlow with a million dollar brain and a thirteen cent body (yes that is what Jericho said) and is so stupid he has to strip to count to 21. Jericho: “I’ve seen him do it.” They are going to turn the Pinnacle into a human centipede and on May 5, it’s Pinnacle vs. Inner Circle in a Blood & Guts match. Jericho was showing the fire here and his face turn should breathe some new life into him.

Christian Cage talks about bringing Kazarian up to another level last week. Taz comes in and offers him a spot on Team Taz but leaves pretty quickly, telling Christian to sleep on it.

Bear Country vs. Jurassic Express

Bear Country is sent outside to start, where they catch Boy’s dive. They can’t catch Luchasaurus though and it’s time to head back inside. Boy’s top rope hurricanrana is cut off so Luchasaurus dives at them and….bounces off of them, making Bronson and Boy stagger around a bit.

We take a break and come back with Boy taking a backdrop and being powered into the corner. A few elbows get him out of trouble and a few slides between the legs are enough for the hot tag to Luchasaurus. The hot tag brings in Luchasaurus to clean house with strikes but Bronson catches him on top with a superplex. Boy breaks up the cover and mostly hits a slingshot tornado DDT.

Luchasaurus covers Boulder but Bronson picks up Boy and drives him into the cover (while not looking great in the process) for a save of his own. A double Cannonball in the corner crushes Luchasaurus but he sits up to avoid some kind of electric chair splash. Boulder gets kicked in the face and sent to the floor, leaving Bronson to take a chokeslam. Luchasaurus’ standing moonsault is good for the pin at 8:58.

Rating: C-. This was rather messy with not much of a flow or anything, plus some ugly looking sequences and spots. They were kind of lumbering around and trying to go a little bit faster than they should have. Throw in the moves they were doing not quite working and it wasn’t the best thing in the world. At least Jurassic Express won, even if they aren’t getting close to the titles anytime soon.

QT Marshall talks about how sick he is of Cody Rhodes, who was stuck behind Ted Jr. in WWE. That’s why Cody went to the indies and surrounded himself with small guys so he could stand out for once. Marshall has surrounded himself with men, like Aaron Solow who will never be someone’s boyfriend (Bayley’s ex), Commarado, who will never be just a body guy, and Ogogo, who is a household name in the UK. This is Marshall’s factory now. Nice promo, but it’s still QT Marshall leading a stable.

Sting comes out for a chat but here’s Jake Roberts to cut him off before Sting can say a word. Jake says Sting is insane if he keeps trying the same thing and expecting something else. Cue Lance Archer to say how awesome he is and how sick he is of Sting getting the mic time. Sting takes the mic and says he’s tired of Archer being left out too. So why isn’t Jake telling him how to do it? Sting tells Archer to make it showtime and leaves.

Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky are watching from the rafters.

Taz cuts off Ricky Starks and Brian Page because they need to focus on Christian.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. JD Drake

Allin is defending and has Sting in his corner. Drake knocks him to the floor with a single chop, where Ryan Nemeth goes after Allin. That earns him a stalking to the back from Sting and we take a break with Allin still in trouble. Back with Allin rolling outside but Drake tosses him into the ropes (from the floor) and nails a hard clothesline. Drake’s Cannonball against the barricade only hits barricade so Allin takes out Cezar Bononi (because Drake has multiple friends too).

Back in and Drake gets him in the Tree of Woe, meaning the Cannonball can connect this time for two. Drake misses a moonsault that wouldn’t have connected even if Allin had stayed in the same place so Allin goes up top. That brings Drake up with him so Allin bites his finger for the break. The super Code Red sets up the Coffin Drop to retain at 9:13.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and it’s nice to see Allin having an actual title defense. Drake is someone with potential, though I’m not sure where he (and his friends) fit in other than being new jobbers. This was fine for a one off match and that’s all it needed to be, though I’m curious as to what Allin’s next actual feud will be.

Post match the Hardy Family Office runs in for the beatdown but Sting and the Dark Order makes the save. Tay Conti comes in for the brawl with the Bunny.

Video on Kenny Omega’s issues with the Young Bucks, who used to be friends, then they weren’t friends, then they were friends, then they weren’t friends, then Don Callis talked to them a lot, and now it’s complicated.

The Pinnacle jumps Chris Jericho and bring him into the ring for the beatdown. The spike piledriver plants him as we see the Inner Circle locked in their dressing room. They break through the door and we come back to the arena where MIKE TYSON saves Jericho and beats up Shawn Spears in the corner. The rest of the Inner Circle comes in for the real save and Jericho poses with Tyson (who is in pretty good shape here).

Britt Baker and Rebel think that Baker deserves a Women’s Title shot because the rankings are nonsense. She is going to be getting her wins up because rankings aren’t based on things that matter like merchandise sales and star power.

The Bunny vs. Tay Conti

The Hardy Family Office, the Dark Order and Hikaru Shida are all at ringside. The brawl is on in a hurry with Bunny hammering away and yelling a lot. Conti is back up with a capture suplex, allowing Excalibur to compare her to Akira Maeda. Bunny is fine enough to send her into the apron and then nail a running dropkick against the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Conti hitting a spinning backbreaker but missing a running knee in the corner. Down The Rabbit Hole is broken up and a failed Matt Hardy distraction lets Tay hit the TayKO for….two. Bunny gets in a neck snap over the top and knocks down Shida to take away her kendo stick. Shida takes it back though, allowing Conti to hit a superplex. The DDTay finishes Bunny at 7:43.

Rating: C+. Conti is on a roll as of late and Bunny got in enough to carry her half. It seems that Conti is the next challenger for Shida, though I have no idea if she would wind up taking the title because Shida seems likely to be the champion for the rest of time. Maybe Conti is the one, but it’s not like there is a reason to believe it at this point. She has been awesome as of late though and this was more good stuff.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Video on Jade Cargill vs. Red Velvet.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Young Bucks/Jon Moxley

Don Callis is on commentary. Matt and Anderson start things off as JR calls it a six man tag instead of a trios match. Actually we’ll make it Omega vs. Matt instead, meaning a lot of trash is talked. The lockup doesn’t go anywhere so it’s off to Nick to crank on Omega’s arm. A hurricanrana puts Omega on the floor so it’s Anderson coming in. Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s the triple dives to take down Omega and the Brothers.

Back from a break with Matt making the hot tag to Moxley so house can be cleaned, including snapping off some German suplexes. Anderson manages to take Moxley into the corner for two, setting up a big boot to drop him again. Moxley manages to come back up with a neckbreaker and the hot tag brings in Nick to face Anderson. Nick sends Omega to the floor and cleans house on the Brothers until Anderson snaps off a spinebuster. Matt comes in to hiptoss Omega a few times, setting up a DDT to plant him.

Matt can’t bring himself to superkick Omega though, instead asking if he is ok. That earns him a slap from Omega so Matt takes Omega down and hammers away. The rung is cleared out again and Omega grabs the snapdragon on Matt. There’s another snapdragon but Moxley breaks up the V Trigger. Matt piledrives Omega but stops to check on him, only to go with More Bang For Your Buck for two.

Anderson makes the save so the Bucks clear the ring again. The BTE Trigger is loaded up on Omega but can’t do it. Moxley comes in instead for the Paradigm Shift into the rear naked choke….but the Bucks superkick Moxley. Eddie Kingston runs in for the attempted save but gets laid out by the Brothers. A Magic Killer to Moxley is enough for Omega to get the pin at 16:25.

Rating: B-. You knew it was coming and now we’re finally here. The big Bullet Club reunion that….well I guess someone must find it fascinating. It’s the big heel stable again and odds are they are going to hold the titles for a long time to come against a variety of challengers. The story makes sense but it’s not exactly thrilling stuff. At least we’re finally here now after months of “well maybe the Bucks are going to do something” and that’s an improvement. I guess.

Post match the Bucks hit a double superkick on Moxley and the big hug ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The big angle at the end wasn’t exactly inspiring but the rest of the show was pretty good for the most part. They need to find something to do other than big group beatdowns though, because there were quite a few on this show alone. AEW has a bad tendency to repeat things in their angles and post match segments (which happen in almost every match) and it would be nice if they could mix it up a bit. It’s starting to get tiring and that is never a good feeling. It’s still a very energetic show, but it needs to have something fresh in there for a change.

Results

Hangman Page b. Max Caster – Buckshot Lariat

Jurassic Express b. Bear Country – Standing moonsault to Bronson

Darby Allin b. JD Drake – Coffin Drop

Tay Conti b. The Bunny – DDTay

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Jon Moxley/Young Bucks – Magic Killer to Moxley

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: March 31, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

I’m not sure what to expect here, as we are on the rather long road towards Double Or Nothing and it is still too early to set things up for the show. Christian might be the next title match for Kenny Omega, but I’m not sure if that is the most interesting match to headline a pay per view. Maybe they have something else in mind though. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Christian Cage vs. Frankie Kazarian

Feeling out process to start with Christian taking over on the arm as the fans tell him that he still has it. Christian gets sent hard over the top and crashes down onto the ramp for some shaking of the head. Back in and Kazarian knocks him off the top to the floor for another breather. Christian’s slide through the legs is broken up and we hit the neck crank.

After Christian fights up, Kazarian takes him back down with a flipping neckbreaker for two. Back up again and Kazarian hammers away but Christian grabs a tornado DDT out of the corner. Some shots to the face have Kazarian in trouble and Christian stands on his back for the choking on the ropes. Christian rains down right hands in the corner and scores with the reverse DDT for two.

The top rope splash only hits mat though and Kazarian hammers away again. He talks a bit too much trash though and gets small packaged for two, which is a bit too much from Christian. The springboard spinning legdrop gets two on Christian but he grabs the top rope to block a superplex attempt.

A headbutt cuts Christian off on top though and the Flux Capacitor connects for two. Christian gets caught in the ropes but manages to snap Kazarian’s neck across the top. Now the frog splash connects for two but Christian has to flip out of the crossface chickening. Kazarian goes shoulder first into the post and now the Killswitch can connect for the pin at 16:33.

Rating: C. That’s being as generous as I can as these guys looked rather old for the most part. They still moved around well enough, but there was about ninety years of age in the ring. Christian as a main eventer is not the most appealing idea in the world for more than a few reasons and this didn’t do him any favors. Not bad, but it was far from inspiring.

Sting and Darby Allin didn’t like what Matt Hardy did to Allin last week. Allin says that Matt’s money doesn’t mean anything to him.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Jade Cargill knows she is special and there is nothing Red Velvet can do to stop her.

Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall

Unsanctioned exhibition with Arn Anderson refereeing and all kinds of Nightmare Family members at ringside. Feeling out process to start with Cody armdragging him into an armbar. Marshall gets a bit more aggressive to take him down by the wristlock but Cody nips up to his feet.

Another takedown puts Marshall on the mat but Cody won’t stomp him. Instead Cody stays on the arm and we take a break. Back with Cody hitting a slam but not being willing to put on the Figure Four. Marshall misses a crossbody and crashes out to the floor, so Cody holds the ropes open for him. Back in and Marshall decks Arn for the no contest at 7:35.

Rating: C-. Kind of slow and dull, but that was the point of the match. Marshall decking Arn was a surprise, but then two seconds pass and you realize that it’s QT Marshall and the interest goes away. At least they had a bit of a clever way out of the match, even if the angle doesn’t quite have my interest.

Post match Marshall looks distraught at what he did but Aaron Solow, Anthony Ogogo and Nick Conorado (of Marshall’s Nightmare Factory wrestling school) come in and beat down the Nightmare Family. Lee Johnson is powerbombed over the ropes and onto the ramp and Dustin Rhodes is piledriven onto the steps. Ogogo, the Olympic boxer, punches Cody down and Marshall loads up a Conchairto on the steps. Red Velvet runs in for the save and screams a lot. Did we really need another heel group?

Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky are ready to take over.

Post break Red Velvet says she had to protect her partner….and gets taken out by Jade Cagrill.

Jon Moxley can’t get the sound of Eddie Kingston’s ankle being snapped by the Good Brothers. Then you have the Young Bucks, who can’t decided if they want to fight or not. He has the barbed wire scars which make him all itchy and all of this stuff ticks him off. Tonight he has Cesar Bononi, who has a lot of talent and could make some money, but not if Moxley kills him first.

Cesar Bononi vs. Jon Moxley

Bononi runs him over to start but Moxley is right back to work on the leg. Moxley cranks the leg back but Bononi pops up with a suplex for two. We take a break (In THIS match?) and come back with Bononi hitting a running knee in the corner, only to have a knee hit the turnbuckle. Moxley snaps off a German suplex and there’s a superplex to take him down again. Bononi’s partner JD Drake offers a distraction and breaks up the Paradigm Shift, but Moxley grabs the rear naked choke for the tap at 8:00.

Rating: C-. This is where AEW could do with learning how to shorten matches. I know they can do it, but it would be nice to see it happen a bit more often. Bononi is a big guy who hasn’t done anything in AEW, so why is he going eight minutes with a former World Champion? The match wasn’t terrible, but it was longer than it needed to be.

Team Taz has another meeting where Ricky Starks talks about having a great time on Dark. They are a team, but Brian Cage doesn’t seem convinced.

MJF has brought in an interior designer to decorate the Pinnacle’s room….but the Inner Circle is in the bathroom. The big brawl is on, with Sammy Guevara slamming a door on Shawn Spears’ head. Wardlow gets Rock Bottomed through the massage table and Dax Harwood is busted open. Jericho puts MJF’s head into a toilet and then through a Pepsi refrigerator. Jericho declares this their dressing room and puts the Inner Circle’s sign back up. The Inner Circle popping up behind the door was great.

Don Callis comes up to the Young Bucks. Nick doesn’t want to hear it and leaves, so Callis talks to Matt about everything Kenny Omega sacrificed for AEW. Callis wants Matt to get fired up and finally mentions the Bucks’ dad. A slap to the face wakes Matt up but he lets Callis go, with Callis calling him pathetic.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Lucha Bros/Laredo Kid

The Lucha Bros say they want the Tag Team Titles and Don Callis is on commentary. They starts fast with a triple superkick getting two on Omega and the big triple dive over the top to the floor. We settle down to Kid striking away on Omega but he gets in a shot of his own and hands it off to Gallows.

The rights and lefts in the corner rock Kid and the triple teaming is on. We take a break and come back with Kid getting over for the tag to Penta so house can be cleaned. A middle rope moonsault into a top rope double stomp into a Swanton crushes Anderson and some running shots in the corner make it worse.

Everything breaks down again and Anderson hits a spinebuster for two on Fenix with Kid having to make the save. The V Trigger gives Omega two on Kid but he escapes the One Winged Angel. An enziguri into a Michinoku Driver gets two on Omega but he’s back with another V Trigger. The One Winged Angel finishes Kid at 14:20.

Rating: B-. Not bad while it lasted, with more of the same dives and flips that you might have expected. Omega might not be the most interesting promo, but he can certain wrestle the fast paced style once the match actually starts. I’m still not wild on the Good Brothers, but dang the Lucha Bros know how to do this style as well as anyone going right now.

Post match here is Jon Moxley, followed by the Young Bucks, for the big staredown.

Britt Baker and Rebel laugh about Thunder Rosa not getting credit for the big win because the match was unsanctioned.

Nyla Rose/Bunny vs. Tay Conti/Hikaru Shida

Matt Hardy and Vickie Guerrero are here with Nyla and Bunny. Before the match, Matt promises Bunny won’t be left out of the title scene any longer. Oh and starting tomorrow, he gets ALL of his money again. Shida runs Bunny over to start, only to get sent outside. That means Rose can squash Shida on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Shida avoiding a charge in the corner and handing it off to Conti for a series of judo throws to Bunny. A running knee in the corner sets up a running knee in the corner, sending Bunny outside. Everything breaks down with the Dark Order getting into it with Matt and company on the floor. That leaves Bunny to take the TayKO for two with Rose making the save. Vickie offers a distraction and Bunny hits Tay with a kendo stick, setting up Down The Rabbit Hole for the pin at 7:01.

Rating: C. Kind of a mess here, but also kind of a fun mess and I’ll certainly take that. I’m really trying to wrap my head around Conti and the Bunny being the next challengers for the Women’s Title, though anything is better than Shida vs. Rose again. Bunny picking up a win should do her some good, but I’m not sure if she is going to be seen as a viable threat to many people.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Jurassic Express vs. Bear Country in a match sponsored by Kong vs. Godzilla.

Jurassic Express are ready to show Bear Country who is on top of the food chain, but Marko Stunt has a Kong tattoo.

Chuck Taylor/Orange Cassidy vs. Kip Sabian/Miro

This is Arcade Anarchy, meaning there are video games all around the ring. They start fast with Cassidy sending Kip into Whack A Mole. Miro slams Cassidy on the floor and sends him into the same thing, including a shot with the mallet. A barricade is moved around but Miro fights out of a double suplex through said barricade. Instead, Taylor is suplexed onto the steel instead and Miro grabs a chair from the prize table (cost of 20,000 tickets) to unload on Cassidy.

Taylor makes the save and it’s time for more prizes, in the form of a trashcan lid and kendo stick. The beatdown puts Miro in trouble and a barricade shot makes it worse. More prizes are turned on top of Miro and now let’s throw Whack A Mole in there for two, with Sabian making a save. Back in and Taylor busts out a teddy bear full of Legos, but Sabian reverses a superplex into a sitout powerbomb for two.

Cassidy makes the save and hits a DDT into Beach Break for two. The Orange Punch connects but Penelope Ford pulls the referee out. There’s a low blow for Cassidy and Ford loads up a belt….but Kris Stadtlander (oh dang I had forgotten about her) pops out of the alien claw machine. Kris beats the fire out of her and hits a Falcon Arrow off of the apron and through an air hockey table.

Miro is back up with a chair to Taylor but here is Trent’s mom Sue in the van….and Trent is back as well. Miro beats up all three Best Friends and goes after Sue but Trent makes the save. Trent spears Miro through a table and Chuck hits  the powerslam off the stage through the set for the pin at 14:30.

Rating: C+. I know this is going to sound bizarre coming from me, but I wanted MORE carnage and insanity with the games here. It’s like they kept wanting to do something with them and kept pulling back from going too far. That’s kind of a shame as they had a lot of ways to go with them, but the Stadtlander return was a very nice surprise. Now can we please, please get Miro away from this story and onto ANYTHING else?

Post match the big hug, complete with Stadtlander, ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m not sure what it was but I couldn’t get into the show this week. There was nothing overly bad here but there was nothing on here which got me overly excited. There are still too many stables and too many heels, but at least they had a fun main event and a few moments that have me interested in where things are going in the future.

Results

Christian Cage b. Frankie Kazarian – Killswitch

Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall went to a no contest when Marshall punched Arn Anderson

Jon Moxley b. Cesar Bononi – Rear naked choke

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Laredo Kid/Lucha Bros – One Winged Angel to Kid

Nyla Rose/Bunny b. Hikaru Shida/Tay Conti – Down The Rabbit Hole to Conti

Chuck Taylor/Orange Cassidy b. Miro/Kip Sabian – Powerslam through the set to Sabian

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: January 13, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

Things continue to pick up around here as we have the second week of New Year’s Smash. This time around we are going to be seeing the TNT Title on the line as Brian Cage challenges Darby Allin, meaning a Sting appearance is certainly not out of the question. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Quick look at Death Triangle vs. Eddie Kingston/Butcher/Blade.

Pac vs. Eddie Kingston

Pac starts fast by sending Kingston to the floor for the dive. They head back inside with Pac hitting a pump kick, followed by a missile dropkick to put Kingston into the corner. Some knees to the head rock Kingston again but he’s back with a middle rope knee to the back of the head. Allie gets in some eye raking from the floor and Kingston adds a t-bone suplex. Back in and a neckbreaker gets one before Pac’s head is driven into the mat.

Some chops in the corner let Kingston pull on Pac’s ear but he snaps off a German suplex for a breather. Back up and Kingston hits an enziguri into a Saito suplex for two. Pac gets in his own kick to the head that makes Kingston look straight into the camera, setting up the top rope superplex for his own near fall. Another kick drops Kingston and the Black Arrow finishes for Pac at 9:39.

Rating: B-. This was about two guys beating each other up and that’s all it needed to be. They had a good brawl and I could go for watching the two of them talk or fight. I’m not sure how big of a star that Kingston is going to become on his own, but the sky really seems to be the limit for Pac. This is all building towards the big gang brawl though and that should be awesome.

Post match the big brawl is teased but Lance Archer comes in to chase off Kingston and company.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Chuck Taylor vs. Miro

Orange Cassidy and Kip Sabian (with a Trent cutout) are at ringside and if Miro wins, Chuck is his butler until the wedding in three weeks. Miro starts fast and knocks him outside but Chuck gets in a whip into the barricade for a breather. Sabian jumps Cassidy but gets superkicked by Chuck. That’s enough of a distraction for Miro to get in a leg lariat, followed by the jumping superkick. Game Over finishes Chuck at 3:26.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here but they only had a few minutes and the ending was designed to set up the angle going forward instead. Miro wrecking Chuck is the right way to go as he needs a few wins and the butler stuff could be funny. If nothing else, Miro needed the wins after a few months of doing nothing of note so this could be an upgrade.

Matt Hardy speaks for Private Party, who he insists are great. The team isn’t all that thrilled with part of their contracts but Hardy says they should have read them better. He is the only person here who cares about Private Party and the sooner they learn that, the happier they will be. So when he says jump, they say how high. NOW GET OUT OF HERE.

Here’s the Inner Circle and, after the required Judas chorus from the fans, and a break, it’s time to hear about their new year’s resolutions. Jake Hager wants championships, MJF wants to strengthen their bonds and get rid of the fat people and Ortiz wants to learn one of his grandmother’s recipes. Jericho loves all of those ideas and thinks this is the year he and MJF win the Tag Team Titles. That’s not cool with Santana, because he and Ortiz are the Inner Circle’s tag team.

Sammy Guevara sees what is going on here: Jericho is a tag team sl**! Jericho has teamed with Santana, Hager, he and Sammy were Le Sex Gods. Is he going to team with Snoop Dogg next? Jericho: “…..MAYBE!” Jericho thinks we should have Jericho/MJF vs. Santana/Ortiz vs. Sammy/Hager to determine the OFFICIAL tag team of the Inner Circle. Hager: “CHAMPIONSHIPS! YEAH!” Jericho: “Sammy and Hager. That’s funny.” Sammy: “Why is that funny?” The team poses and everything seems cool.

The Dark Order talks about how important the Brodie Lee tribute was for the team. Everything the team does will be in his name, and next week it starts with Hangman Page teaming with the Dark Order. Page, with his glass, staggers in so everyone can show their appreciation. Maybe after the match, he can let them know if he’s going to join! Page agrees and leaves, with the team celebrating his joining in advance. It turns out that Page only took about a step….and we go to a break anyway.

Video on Taz and the construction of Team Taz, setting up the title match against Darby Allin later tonight. Sting joining in to seemingly mentor Allin might even the odds a bit though.

Kenny Omega, Don Callis and the Young Bucks are fired up and have all the titles.

Kenny Omega/Young Bucks vs. Varsity Blonds/Danny Limelight

Callis handles Omega’s entrance. Actually hold on as he also introduces Omega’s real partners for the evening: the Good Brothers, which doesn’t sit well with the Bucks or Tony Khan in the back.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Varsity Blonds/Danny Limelight

It’s a brawl to start with Omega and the Brothers cleaning house. Everything breaks down though and Limelight kicks away at Omega, with the Blonds clotheslining the Brothers outside. The Kitaro Crusher drops Limelight though and it’s Anderson coming in for a hard whip into the corner.

Back from a break with Limelight still in trouble but managing a hurricanrana out of the corner. Omega cuts him off but Limelight gets over for the hot tag to Pillman. Air Pillman hits Anderson and it’s a Blockbuster/spinebuster combination for two. Omega grabs a neckbreaker for two and Anderson hits a big boot for two. Limelight tries to run the corner but gets caught in a spinebuster. The Magic Killer is good for the pin at 9:26.

Rating: C. I’m not sure it needed to be this long for what they were doing, but at least Omega and company didn’t get in that much trouble. Maybe the Bucks vs. Good Brothers deal can set something up in the future, which would be better than paying another tribute to the good old days in New Japan.

Post match here’s Jon Moxley to charge at all three of them, with the numbers game catching up. Cue the Lucha Bros of all people to go after the Good Brothers (that’s interesting) so Moxley can hammer on Omega. The Young Bucks come in to break it up…and are superkicked by the Lucha Bros. The Good Brothers get back in and the brawl is on again, with agents and referees finally breaking it up. That could be a heck of a six man with the Bucks being mixed in somehow.

It’s time for the Waiting Room with Dr. Britt Baker. After a quick intro dance with Rebel, Britt convinces the fans that they have a gift underneath their chairs. Her guest tonight is Cody Rhodes, who needs to pick his best friend already. Just make one good choice, unlike the one on your neck. This brings in Cody, in a green jacket and with some Gillberg sparklers during the entrance (Britt: “All contractual obligations met. We’ve got the pyro.”).

Britt congratulates Cody on his upcoming baby, who will have an action figure before her. Cody can’t talk before Baker cuts him off with a surprise guest. That would be Jade Cargill, who says no one cares about Brandi being pregnant. She and Shaq are tired of waiting though, because Jade needs an opponent. She shoves Cody so here’s Red Velvet to hit a heck of a slap.

Jade gives her one back and the fight is on, with the fans breaking it up. Velvet is taken outside and we cut to a video of Britt and Rebel attacking Thunder Rosa a few weeks back. Rosa pops up to say Britt her has show because she likes to put her big nose in people’s business. Some Spanish ranting sets up the announcement of Baker vs. Rosa on February 3 at Beach Break. Baker yells a lot because Khan said they didn’t have to wrestle. Cody never said a word other than shouting for help to break up the brawl.

Jurassic Express vs. FTR

Marko Stunt/Jungle Boy for the Express here and Luchasaurus and Tully Blanchard are here too. Marko and Cash start things off but it’s off to Dax to drive him into the corner. A slap from Marko earns him a beating in the corner and Wheeler comes back in for the same. Marko’s moonsault out of the corner is countered and a dropkick seems to mostly miss. Boy comes in and everything breaks down with Boy monkey flipping Stunt into a hurricanrana to Harwood.

Stunt’s suicide dive hits FTR and Boy adds his own dive as we take a break. Back with Wheeler hitting a spinebuster for two on Stunt and then grabbing a Gory Stretch. Stunt wiggles his way out for two off a sunset flip before rolling away from Dax for the tag off to Boy. House is cleaned with some clotheslines into a Backstabber for two on Harwood, followed by a super hurricanrana for the same.

There’s a superkick before Boy throws Stunt onto Harwood for two more. Sliced Bread is countered with a toss and a hard lariat drops Stunt again. A low blow gets Stunt out of trouble though and now a Dudley Dog can connect for another near fall. Tully posts Marko though, earning him a glare from Boy. Wheeler sends Boy into the barricade for his efforts though and it’s the Big Rig (Goodnight Express’ new name) for the pin at 12:25.

Rating: C. It was a little much to believe that it took FTR over twelve minutes and Tully’s help to beat Stunt but at least the ending was exactly as it should have gone. The match was pretty boring stuff for the most part, but at least they didn’t do something crazy like have FTR lose here. Just get them back to something important now.

NWA Women’s Title: Tay Conti vs. Serena Deeb

Deeb is defending and Conti has Anna Jay with her. Feeling out process to start with Deeb taking her down for an early rollup. Conti goes for the leg to set up a heel hook, which is reversed into a chinlock. That’s broken up as well so Conti pump kicks her out to the floor. Back from a break with Conti hitting a full nelson spun into a Stunner for two but getting caught in a Stretch Muffler. Deeb switches to take her up top for a Gory Special using the ropes for extra leverage. Conti can’t get a Gory Bomb so Deeb reverses into a pancake (the Deebtox) to retain at 9:07.

Rating: C+. They were flying through this and that held things back a bit. Deeb continues to be great though and Conti is improving as well so this was hardly a rough watch. It wouldn’t hurt to slow things down a bit though, which would be the case in almost any match around here. I’m still not sure why this company needs two Women’s Titles, but at least this one is much more of a featured attraction than anything else.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

TNT Title: Brian Cage vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending, Team Taz is at ringside and Taz is on commentary. Allin goes straight at Cage and knocks him outside, setting up the suicide dive. Another one is pulled out of the air into a suplex on the floor though, followed by Cage LAUNCHING Allin from the ring through a ringside table. Cage picks Allin (now bleeding) up in a suplex, walks him up the steps and throws him inside for another crash. A release German suplex sends Allin flying and Cage unloads with right hands to the busted open head.

We take a break and come back with Cage hitting an F5 for two, followed by a trio of powerbombs. Another powerbomb sends Allin over the top and onto the ramp but Allin says bring it. The apron superplex gets one and Cage is livid. Cage loads up the steps at ringside but an F5 from the apron to the floor is escaped. Instead Allin bites the fingers to knock Cage onto the steps, setting up the Coffin Drop onto Cage onto the steps (Taz: “That’s not good.”).

They get back in with Allin hitting the flipping Stunner and using his belt to tie Cage’s legs together. A Code Red gives Allin two and there’s a middle rope stomp. Hook’s distraction lets Ricky Starks crotch Allin but here’s Sting with the baseball bat shot to Starks’ throat. The super crucifix retains Allin’s title at 12:39.

Rating: B. This took time to get going but I got into the underdog comeback story near the end. They might have gone a step too far with Allin surviving everything but I don’t think it ever went too far into being ridiculous. Allin is one of the best underdogs/survivors around and while the Sting/Team Taz stuff was far from a surprise, they did it as by the numbers (which isn’t a bad thing) as possible here. Good main event with a near Brock Lesnar smashing a mortal style story.

Post match everyone stares to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event was good and there was enough solid stuff in the middle to hold things up but this wasn’t their strongest show. It felt like they were setting up things for later, which is something you have to do, but it doesn’t make for a great evening. What we got worked well though and it seems they’re building to Beach Break in three weeks.

Results

Pac b. Eddie Kingston – Black Arrow

Miro b. Chuck Taylor – Game Over

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Danny Limelight/Varsity Blonds – Magic Killer to Limelight

FTR b. Jurassic Express – Big Rig to Stunt

Serena Deeb b. Tay Conti – Deebtox

Darby Allin b. Brian Cage – Super crucifix

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Dynamite
Date: December 30, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Chris Jericho

This is going to be a complete detour as the show is going to be all about Brodie Lee, who shockingly passed away on Saturday due to some kind of lung issue. The show is going to be a complete tribute to him with all stories postponed until next week. That’s the only way this could have gone and there is nothing wrong with that. Let’s get to it.

We open with a ten bell salute to Brodie Lee, with his family on the stage, including his son in a Dark Order mask.

Jon Moxley talks about Lee being a good person who he knew for years. This has been a soccer kick to the face but it has shown him that wrestling is a community. He is going to appreciate every day and he’ll never forget Brodie.

Matt Hardy/Private Party vs. Young Bucks/Colt Cabana

For the sake of sanity, I’ll only refer to Matt Jackson as Matt. Colt and the Bucks clean house one at a time to start, including a triple dropkick to put Hardy on the floor. Nick adds the running flip dive to take them all down again. Colt hits an Asai moonsault to do the same. We settle down to Hardy hammering on Matt but everything breaks down all over again with Marq Quen hitting a dive to Hardy on the floor.

Back in and Matt is taken down again, including being sent face first into Isaiah Kassidy’s boot in the corner. the triple teaming continues until Hardy makes the mistake of going after Cabana, allowing Matt to get over for the hot tag. Cabana comes in to clean house with the Flip Flop and Fly, followed by the Flying Apple to Kassidy. Hardy breaks up the tag to Nick and the discus lariat is countered into a crucifix for two on Cabana. A crossbody gets the same but Nick comes in sans tag with a hurricanrana.

Nick gets the actual tag a few seconds later and starts taking over, only to be tripped down by Hardy. Back in and Gin and Juice hits Matt, setting up Kassidy’s Swanton and Quen’s shooting star for two with Cabana and Nick making the save (JR: “Let’s hear it for Boom Boom!”). Hardy grabs a chair but gets taken down, leaving Cabana to have to fight out of Gin and Juice. The Chicago Skyline hits Kassidy and the Indytaker into the Superman pin finishes Quen at 13:29.

Rating: B-. The wrestling is going to be quite the minor point here and that’s how a show like this should be. This was a bunch of high flying and diving, with the Bucks doing everything they should be doing. Cabana can do any style and Hardy looked good enough. Private Party didn’t go too insane either, leaving this to be a rather nice and energetic opener.

Post match it’s the Acclaimed coming in to rap about this show but SCU jumps them from behind and Cabana hits the double Bionic Elbow. Cabana throws up the Dark Order sign for perhaps the first time.

Darby Allin, sans face paint, talks about how Lee was the #1 guy he wanted to wrestle because of everything he did behind the scenes. Lee was a great person to talk to and Allin is sad he never got in the ring with him.

Lance Archer/Stu Grayson/Evil Uno vs. Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade

Archer is in Luke Harper gear for a nice touch. Jake Roberts and the Bunny are here as well. Before the match, Kingston says he’s going to show that the Dark Order is nothing without Lee and the brawl is on in a hurry. Archer gets suplexed onto Kingston, who is taken into the corner for some wild eyed shots from Grayson. Bunny grabs Grayson’s leg though, allowing Butcher to clothesline him down.

Blade powerslams Grayson down but Jake grabs his leg to even things up. Grayson is back with a Boss Man Slam (Jericho: “It’s a Brody Slam!”) as we take a break. Back with Kingston and Uno slapping it out until Kingston misses some spinning backfists. A half and half (Brody move) hits Kingston and the hot tag brings in Archer to take over.

Archer starts wrecking people and it’s a rope walk moonsault (cool) to drop Blade. Grayson and Uno come in for an assisted Downward Spiral but Kingston makes the save and hits a DDT (with a glare at Roberts) for two. Kingston saves Blade from the Blackout and Grayson hits a running DDT to the apron to plant Butcher. The Fatality finishes Blade at 10:00.

Rating: B-. Another match where they did what they needed to do and showed off at the same time. I’m still not sure where this version of the Dark Order came from as they were one of the lamest teams around to start and then have a rather nice match like this for a change. Archer’s special gear was perfect too.

Post match Kingston gets beaten down, including a short arm clothesline from Jake.

Dax Harwood, Arn Anderson, Colt Cabana and Bryce Remsburg talk about what a great father and family man Lee was.

Hangman Page/John Silver/Alex Reynolds vs. Santana/Ortiz/Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is in Puerto Rico themed gear and Silver/Reynolds throw papers at Santana/Ortiz (apparently a Brodie thing from Being The Elite). MJF gets sent outside to yell at Brodie’s son, with Jericho saying the kid has been bothering him all day. We settle back down to Santana hitting a neckbreaker on Reynolds, followed by Two Amigos. Ortiz comes in for a double Third Amigo but Reynolds gets over for the tag to Page.

The pace picks way up, including a fall away slam to MJF into a nip up into a dive onto Santana on the floor. Back in and Page gets taken down for two as we go to a break. Back with Silver coming in to clean house and kicking Ortiz off the top. Silver hits a flip dive off the apron onto Santana (JR: “What a white meat babyface this kid is!”). A sitout powerbomb gets two on Ortiz back inside but MJF makes the save.

Silver is sent into the corner but MJF comes back with something like a Code Red, with only his ankles wrapping around MJF’s head to drive it into the mat. The Heat Seeker plants Silver and Ortiz grabs a powerbomb for two with Reynolds making a save of his own. Everything breaks down and Wardlow comes in but ERICK REDBEARD (Rowan) runs in to take him out. MJF goes outside and takes the mask off of Lee’s son, earning himself a kendo stick shot to the head. The fans go nuts and it’s a discus lariat to pin Ortiz 12:38.

Rating: C+. This was the emotional match on the card and you could see everyone being very invested in what they were doing (as everyone has been tonight of course). Silver got so much out of the Dark Order so this is the kind of match that he needs to have on the show. Throw in the incredible Redbeard cameo and the whole thing was near perfect.

Redbeard comes back in to hold up a sign saying “goodbye for now my brother, see you down the road.” Jericho sounds near tears over this one. Well that was about the most emotional thing I’ve seen in years.

Eddie Kingston talks about how much he is going to miss Lee. He talks about Lee’s kids missing their dad, who was a warrior outside of the ring. Lee took care of the two of them and he loved them so much.

Tay Conti/Anna Jay vs. Britt Baker/Penelope Ford

Rebel, Kip Sabian and Miro are all here too. Jay and Baker trade arm cranks to start before it’s off to Conti to kick Penelope down. We hear about Conti’s amateur experience as Sabian offers a distraction, allowing Baker to get in a jumping knee. Conti gets sent to the floor with Baker getting in a stomp and Rebel not quite being able to get in a cheap shot.

We take a break and come back with Conti and Ford kicking each other in the face, allowing the double tag to Baker and Jay. Everything breaks down and Jay stops to point at the 99 on her cheek, allowing Baker to hit a fisherman’s neckbreaker. A Downward Spiral sends Jay into the middle buckle and Ford comes in with a Blockbuster for two. Jay is right back with the Queen Slayer as for the tap from Ford at 9:49 with Conti taking out Baker.

Rating: C. Conti and Jay have come a long way in recent months and it was nice to see them getting a win like this. They didn’t need to do anything fancy here and it’s a good example of doing something more basic at a higher level. Ford taking the fall isn’t going to hurt her as she has the big wedding deal coming up in a few weeks anyway.

Post match Baker says everything was rigged. Conti was rigged, Jay was rigged, the match was rigged. In fact everything was…..a big rig. She winks at the camera but here’s Thunder Rosa to jump her from behind, with referees having to break it up.

Here’s what’s coming over the next two weeks.

Chris Jericho talks about working with Lee 27 times, including in Saudi Arabia. When he was in the hotel room in Saudi Arabia, Jericho saw what he thought was a sticker on the ceiling. Lee came in and said it was the arrow pointing to Mecca, which blew Jericho’s mind because he shouldn’t know that kind of thing.

Jericho helped bring Lee into AEW and it meant a lot that he was able to see Lee be the kind of star that he knew he could be. All the proof you need of how good a person Lee was is the time he came to Jericho’s house and Jericho’s mean dog licked his hand. Jericho promises to take care of Lee’s family. This was great.

Cody Rhodes/Orange Cassidy/10 vs. Team Taz

This was hand picked by Lee’s son and it is billed as his dream match. Cody bounces off of Powerhouse Hobbs to start. With that not working, Cody (reluctantly) brings in 10 to suplex Starks. That’s enough for Starks to head to the floor so it’s back to Hobbs, who wants Cassidy. The hands go into the pockets and a slow motion shoulder doesn’t go well as we take a break.

Back with Cage hitting a rather delayed vertical suplex on Cassidy. It’s off to Starks, who gets caught in a suplex from Cassidy for a change. Cody comes in to pick up the pace and throw his weight belt into the crowd. Starks and Cody hit stereo discus lariats, meaning it’s back to 10 for a Brodie Bomb. A spear cuts 10 down and it’s Cassidy coming back in as everything breaks down.

Hobbs hits a spinebuster on Cassidy but walks into a superkick from Cody. There’s a Downward Spiral from Cage but 10 hits a clothesline to the back of Cage’s head. With everyone down, Arn Anderson and Taz grab chairs, leaving Cassidy to hit the Orange Punch on Starks. Cody adds Cross Rhodes and 10 hits the spinebuster to finish Starks at 11:31.

Rating: C+. This was about elevating 10 and that’s what they did here. He isn’t exactly someone who gets a lot of attention around here and odds are he isn’t going to again, but at least he got a chance here. If nothing else, it was nice to see the Dark Order complete the sweep and it’s not like the results mean much on this show in the first place.

Post match the celebration is on but Team Taz breaks it up in a hurry. Even Hook gets in a suplex on Cassidy (Jericho: “Hook just wants to get his picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone.”). The lights go out and here’s Darby Allin for the save….with Sting following. JR: “I’ve known him since the days of the Blade Runners. Google it kids.”

Post break Cody is in the ring for the final tribute. Cody gives a quote about how you can tell the value of a man based on how he treats someone who has nothing to give him. Over the last few days, we have heard one tribute after another to Lee and it is because he was a beautiful man who left a legacy. That legacy is here tonight, so here is Lee’s family, including his son, Negative One, Brodie Lee Jr.

This brings out Lee’s wife and son, with the son leaving Lee’s boots in the ring. Tony Khan hands Lee Jr. the TNT Title, declaring him the champion for life. Khan thanks the fans and gives us a tribute video to Lee set to the Eagles’ Ol’ 55, complete with quite a bit of old school footage, including some home movies and shots of him with his family. There are even some WWE photos included, with some shots of Big E., John Morrison, Bray Wyatt and more. Find this as it’s one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time.

Overall Rating: A+. The wrestling wasn’t the point of the show and there is nothing wrong with that. Tonight was all about Brodie Lee and that’s all it should have been about, as he was taken away at a ridiculously too young 41 due to something he didn’t cause. The matches were good to rather good, but this was all about saying thank you and goodbye, with the stuff with his family being outstanding. Go find that tribute though as it’s the best thing on the show. This was excellent and they nailed everything about the whole night.

Results

Young Bucks/Colt Cabana b. Matt Hardy/Private Party – Superman pin to Quen

Lance Archer/Stu Grayson/Evil Uno b. Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade – Fatality to Blade

John Silver/Alex Reynolds/Hangman Page b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Santana/Ortiz – Discus lariat to Ortiz

Tay Conti/Anna Jay b. Penelope Ford/Britt Baker – Queen Slayer to Ford

10/Cody Rhodes/Orange Cassidy b. Team Taz – Brodie Bomb to Starks

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: November 11, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s the show after Full Gear and that means we have a long time to go before Revolution at the end of February. There is a lot of ground to cover on the way to that show and that means they have the time to set up more than a few things. I’m not sure what that is going to include and that is a nice feeling to have. Let’s get to it.

Here is Full Gear if you need a recap.

Happy Veterans Day.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Team Taz for a chat before Brian Cage’s match. Taz talks about how Cage is going to wrestle but before that he can see Darby Allin sitting up in the rafters. The last time they saw him, he was splattered on the roof of his own car at Full Gear. If Allin comes near the ring, he is getting taken out again. While he is sitting up there, send a message to his friend Cody, who can get taken out too. Cage is about to wrestle someone who is respected around the world in Matt Sydal. See, Sydal is no joke and Cage isn’t either, so let’s go.

Brian Cage vs. Matt Sydal

Taz is on commentary and Ricky Starks is at ringside. Sydal starts fast with an enziguri into a kick to the face but gets tossed into the corner for the rapid fire clotheslines. A hiptoss into a backbreaker has Sydal in more trouble and Cage throws him around to make it even worse. There’s another clothesline and Cage does the curls into the fall away slam for two more. Sydal slips out of a powerbomb though and sends Cage to the ramp before going up top (Taz: “Oh no.”).

The top rope Meteora connects and it’s time to head back inside for the various kicks to various parts of Cage. The snap Angle Slam sets up another kick for two more and Sydal needs a breather. Another kick to the head connects but Cage is right back with a huge clothesline. The Drill Claw is countered into a hurricanrana for a hot near fall, which has Taz in near hysterics (which is a nice move as it adds drama). Sydal goes up top but Cage pulls him out of the air (dang) for the Drill Claw and the pin at 7:40. Taz: “VICTORY!!!!”

Rating: C+. That’s one of the better Sydal matches I’ve seen in a long time as he was fighting the monster and did so rather well. It helps that Cage is the kind of athletic freak that you don’t get to see very often. Sydal looked good in defeat and that’s nice to see, as he has only been doing so much around AEW so far.

Post match Ricky Starks grabs the mic and says the TNT Title is next. They’re ranked now and the revolution will be televised.

Here’s Cody Rhodes for a chat. After asking how the fans are, he congratulates Darby Allin (with a wince) and says that he will not be asking for a rematch right now. There are other giants to take care of….and here’s a rather tall and muscular woman to cut him off. Her name is Jade Cargill (not sure if I heard that right) and she is the total package.

She has been sitting on the sidelines studying her competition and has heard Cody talking about himself for months. He calls himself the giant killer but there is nothing giant about him. Jade knows a real giant and statements like Cody’s are an echo loud enough to wake him. The next time Cody wants to talk, keep that s*** to yourself.

Jade goes up the ramp but stops to say congratulations on the name. The giant that he was talking about is the real star, and his name is SHAQ (who commentary mentions was backstage at Full Gear to make a little more sense out of things). Cue Brandi, to ask who told her this was open mic night b****. Brandi shouts in her face about messing with her man and says get out of here until Brandi sends for her, heifer. Jerry Lynn comes out to break it up and commentary thinks it’s going to take more than just him.

Cue Cage to kick Cody low and Starks joins him, but it’s Darby Allin coming in for the save. Darby hits a Coffin Drop to a standing Starks, which is made a lot worse as he has a jacket with thumbtacks sticking out (that’s a new one). With everyone cleaned, out, Will Hobbs comes out to make it a trio. The Shaq thing was a little odd but Brandi snapping and going off on Jade was great.

We look at Kenny Omega beating Hangman Page to become #1 contender.

Jon Moxley talks about how he couldn’t say I Quit on Saturday because he was unable to. On Saturday, he realized that this title represents everyone who can’t pay their bills right now and every kid who gets mocked for being a wrestling fan. Now he has his biggest challenge in front of him. Beating Kenny Omega once is one thing but doing it again is another and it’s going to take someone special. Moxley creates magic though and while someone will beat him someday and it might be Omega, good luck.

Moxley vs. Omega for the title is set for December 2. Well that’s quite the surprise s that sounds more like a pay per view headliner. I can get the idea of not being able to wait three and a half months, but dang that sounds like leaving a lot of money on the table.

Butcher and Blade vs. Natural Nightmares

Bunkhouse match meaning anything goes and you can only win by pinfall or submission in the ring. It’s a brawl to start with Dustin taking Butcher outside for a face first drop onto an open chair. Marshall drops Blade and it’s time to set up a table at ringside. A guitar to the head drops Marshall so Dustin takes Blade back inside to load up Shattered Dreams. Butcher gets back up to run Dustin over though as Marshall is busted open bad. A ladder is brought in (as you tend to find in most bunkhouses) and we take a break.

Back with Butcher and Blade in control until Dustin fights up to take Butcher outside. They fight up to the set and climb onto the stage, where Marshall blasts Butcher with a fire extinguisher. That means a bulldog to take Butcher off the stage and through some well placed plywood. That leaves Marshall and Blade, busted open as well, to slug it out with Marshall nailing him with a trashcan lid.

The huge elbow drop off the ladder gets two and it’s Butcher and Dustin coming back in. Dustin’s sunset flip (not quite a Code Red) gets two on Butcher but Blade hits Dustin in the throat with a chain. A powerbomb/neckbreaker combination through some chairs gets two on Dustin with Marshall making the save. Marshall takes out Butcher with a cutter but Blade blocks one to him. Instead it’s Butcher being knocked into Bunny to put her through the table. A cowbell to Blade sets up the cutter to give Marshall the pin at 13:03.

Rating: B. Well that worked and the blood took it a lot higher than it would have been otherwise. I know the cowboy stuff is a little much at times but this was all about violence and four people wanting to hurt each other. That is the kind of thing that you shouldn’t be doing very often but when you get one that really works, it can be a heck of a showcase and that’s what it was here. Really violent brawl and I got into it in a big way.

Matt Hardy talks about the feud with Sammy Guevara, which is the most personal of his career. He went a long way to beat Guevara so don’t squander what Hardy has given him. Just don’t make us sit through the match again.

It’s time for Chris Jericho to induct MJF and Wardlow into the Inner Circle. Jericho talks about how it is the first time that the Inner Circle is adding in two members, but first we need the rest of the Inner Circle (minus Sammy Guevara). Jericho is confused by the lack of Sammy because he’s out of the hospital but we can worry about that later. Now it’s MJF and Wardlow, with MJF talking about how it has been a long hard road to get here. Tony: “Oh shut up.”

MJF has been in this industry for five years and all he had was a small loan from his father of a million dollars. He has taken a hard road to get here and he has written out some poetry, which he thinks his homies in Proud and Powerful will appreciate. The poem happens to be lyrics from a Drake song (MJF: “I WROTE THAT!”) and Santana and Ortiz aren’t pleased. Jericho says it’s on him if they have an issue but MJF beat him to get into the Inner Circle. MJF and Wardlow are going to make the team stronger than ever and they are already stronger than the Walls of Jericho.

They are a team and they are going to make it work. MJF: “I don’t even know who Drake is!” We’re not just here to celebrate him though, because it’s also Chris Jericho’s birthday, complete with confetti and balloons….which go flying out of the building instead of falling down. Next week though, they’re going to Vegas and it’s all on MJF. Jericho holds up the tickets as MJF sings him Happy Birthday and it’s a group pose. JR: “Well they’re probably bus tickets.” The tension is there and that’s an interesting thing to see for the future.

We look at the Young Bucks beating FTR to become the Tag Team Champions.

A nervous Alex Marvez talks to the Young Bucks and asks what is next for the team. They talk about how big of an accomplishment this is for them and how they are looking for fresh competition. Next week it’s the Bucks vs. Top Flight, who have competed on Dark. New top guys out. I’ve heard good things about Top Flight so hopefully they get a great showcase next week.

Scorpio Sky vs. Shawn Spears

Tully Blanchard is here with Spears. They trade running shoulders to start until it’s an exchange of chops to put Spears into the corner. A big boot takes Spears down and they head outside with Sky hammering away. Sky bites at the ear to send Spears back inside but he rolls right back outside to keep things moving. Back in again and Spears throws him off the top as we take a break.

We come back with Sky hitting a big dive to the floor to drop Spears again and it’s a slingshot cutter back inside. They head to the floor again with Sky trying a dive off the steps, only to jump into a superkick. A backbreaker onto the steps has Sky down again (Tony: “That’s very abrasive steel too.”) and they head back inside one more time.

Sky’s TKO is countered so he goes with a Scorpion Deathlock (Tony: “It’s a Scorpio Deathlock!”). Tully begs Spears to make it to the ropes and then offers a distraction, allowing Spears to grab the slug to load up the glove. Tully throws another slug to Sky for a distraction, allowing Spears to hit the loaded glove for the pin at 9:04.

Rating: C. There was a lot going on here and it was a little bit too much for the match to work. They went in and out a lot and it was getting to be a big distracting. It’s also not the kind of thing that is going to make me care about Spears, but it’s not the worst idea in the world to give him a push. Not a bad match either, but it would be nice to see Sky getting a bigger push instead of the less interesting Spears.

Kenny Omega isn’t ready for an interview and is nowhere to be found.

Actually hang on as Omega is outside and on the phone with someone. The call ends and Omega is asked about the upcoming title match. Omega talks about how he has been living with everyone being on him about not being the Cleaner or the Best Bout Machine. Now he is ready to bring back the old Omega, who has never wrestled Moxley before. Now he has had a fight with him, but what happens when they have a match? That’s what’s coming on December 2, so Moxley better be ready. He has a flight to catch so enjoy Dynamite.

Tay Conti vs. Red Velvet

Anna Jay and Brandi, who begrudgingly does the Red Velvet mixing deal, are here too. Jay takes her into the corner to star but gets taken down into a rather complicated rollup for two. Back up and they trade armdrags before Velvet scores with a spinwheel kick for two. Conti kicks her down as well and we take a break.

Back with Velvet hitting a Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog into some running knees to the back in the ropes. They get back up and hit stereo kicks to the face, allowing Anna to slide in a chair. Conti wants nothing to do with that though and Velvet hits a leg lariat for two more. A kick to the face misses, though Velvet slaps her thigh anyway. Thankfully Conti doesn’t sell it and it’s a Gory Special into a spinning knee to the face to finish Velvet at 7:59.

Rating: C-. That miss near the end hurt it a lot but it’s nice to see a midcard women’s story as Conti isn’t interested in joining the Dark Order just yet. What we got worked out well enough, though it seems to be the next step in a much bigger story. It’s also nice to see Velvet getting a chance to showcase herself as she is getting more comfortable out there.

The Inner Circle is celebrating the Vegas trip when Sammy Guevara pops up to say he was told to go to the beach instead of being here. MJF insists he sent another email and has a ticket for Sammy as well. Sammy: “I only got one email.” I’d be more worried about Sammy being around four days after a Conchairto on concrete.

We recap Kip Sabian/Miro/Penelope Ford not being happy with Orange Cassidy’s apology and a brawl nearly breaking out.

Next week: Sabian vs. Cassidy, Team Taz vs. Darby Allin/Cody and Top Flight vs. the Young Bucks, plus the Inner Circle Slays Vegas.

Here’s Eddie Kingston for a chat. Kingston doesn’t need the fans to cheer his name because he already knows it. Yes he quit against Jon Moxley but he’s back here, unlike all of these people who never got in the ring in the first place. For tonight though, we have Penta vs. Rey Fenix and you’re welcome.

Penta El Cero Miedo vs. Rey Fenix

Kingston is on commentary. They kick each other down to start and then trade clotheslines. Fenix flips forward into a victory roll, which is reversed in a hurry as they get back to their feet. A twist into a sunset flip gives Penta two so Fenix hits a running headscissors to send him outside. Back in and Penta gives him a big backdrop to the floor, which seems to bang up Fenix’s knees. They head inside again with Penta lifting him up for a Tombstone but tying the legs up instead.

Penta goes extra evil by ripping part of the mask apart, revealing a good chunk of Fenix’s face. Excalibur: “This would be a disqualification in Mexico!” Kingston: “WE’RE IN JACKSONVILLE!” The chinlock goes on as Excalibur and Kingston keep up their argument. Back with Fenix hitting a running spinning kick to the head in the corner but getting sent out to the ramp. That’s fine with Fenix, who hits a quick kick to the head and now it’s time to rip Penta’s mask. Kingston: “You should DQ Fenix for that!”

Some shots to the face have Penta in trouble but he’s back with a flipping forward DDT (starts in a reverse DDT position and flips forward to drop Fenix on his head). Fenix sends him outside for a very spinning corkscrew dive. Penta is right back with a fear Factor onto the apron and Fenix is mostly done on the floor. Even Kingston thinks that was too much but Fenix is up a few seconds later anyway. Penta drops him on his head again and takes it back inside for another Fear Factor and the pin at 12:33.

Rating: B. Aside from Fenix possibly dying multiple times during the match, this was an awesome showcase between the two of them and you knew it was going to be. Kingston continues to be awesome on commentary, as he has a tendency to do. The ripping at the masks made it feel more personal, but there was no way this wasn’t going to be awesome. Heck of a main event, as you knew it was going to be.

Kingston: “THIS IS AWESOME! CLAP CLAP! Whatever you marks do!” He praises the match for being so great and calls Penta his best friend for showing his brother who is boss. Fenix falls outside….and here’s Pac to say he’s back. Pac is ready to go with Kingston but referees break it up to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling carried this one for the most part as the show felt a little unfocused throughout. What we got worked out well enough though and that’s a nice thing to see, especially on a show that was more about taking a nice deep breath after Full Gear. It was a good show though and that’s nice to see in a spot that always has the potential to be a letdown. Pac being back and the rather brutal tag match were cool enough and it was an easy two hour watch.

Results

Brian Cage b. Matt Sydal – Drill Claw

Natural Nightmares b. Butcher and Blade – Cutter to Blade

Shawn Spears b. Scorpio Sky – Loaded left hand

Tay Conti b. Red Velvet – Gory Special into a knee to the face

Penta El Cero Miedo b. Rey Fenix – Fear Factor

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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