Collision
Date: February 22, 2025
Location: Arizona Financial Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Jim Ross

We’re about two weeks away from Revolution and things picked up a bit last week at Grand Slam. We now have a few matches set for the show, with the big story still being Cope coming after Jon Moxley and the World Title. Cope seems interested in taking out the Death Riders one by one and we’ll probably see something like that here. Other than that, Chris Jericho is defending the Ring Of Honor World Title against Bandido so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Mariah May jumps Toni Storm in the back and brings her to the stage for a Storm Zero on the ramp. May demands a spotlight and, cradling Storm, says Storm never knew how to write an ending. This is their spotlight and moment so they can be stars together. They’ll have a Hollywood ending at Revolution. That should be the big ending and Storm winning there does make sense.

We look at Kazuchika Okada retaining the Continental Title over Buddy Matthews last week.

Okada says that is what you do to a b**** and he’ll do it to any other who comes after him.

Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos

Mortos wastes no time in running him over with a shoulder but misses a charge in the corner. Hologram dances around and flips off of Mortos’ chest, setting up a headscissors. Mortos is sent outside for a rope walk hurricanrana, only to grab an armdrag back inside. The Pounce sends Hologram outside for the corkscrew dive and we take a break. Back with Hologram taking him up top, where Mortos super gorilla press slams him back down.

Another hurricanrana sends Mortos outside and the big dive takes him down again. A kick to the head staggers Mortos but he grabs a crucifix driver on the ramp. Hologram grabs a Code Red on the ramp and they head back inside for a rope walk high crossbody for two on Mortos. The pop up Samoan drop gets two on Hologram but he’s back with a Spanish Fly. Another super gorilla press is countered into an anklescissors though and Hologram is back with a sunset flip for the pin at 13:51.

Rating: B. It was another good match between them but I’m only getting so much out of Hologram. He’s just kind of there to do his random matches and that’s only getting him so far. I could go for him doing something and his matches are quite entertaining, but him having a story would go a long way for him. And hopefully soon.

Post match Mortos jumps Hologram and goes for the mask but Komander makes the save.

Speedball Mike Bailey is coming. Yay.

Here is Harley Cameron for a chat. Cameron talks about a little girl who loved singing and puppets but above all else, she loved wrestling. One day she told her grandmother that she would go to America and become a wrestler. That little girl was…her next door neighbor Suzette Dickinson. Cameron doesn’t know what happened to her but she’s ready to make everyone feel her wrath. The awesomeness continues.

Gabe Kidd vs. The Butcher

Kidd strikes away in the corner to start but Butcher sends him outside. That’s shrugged off and Kidd hits a heck of a clothesline (which JR describes as “toxic”). Back in and Butcher kicks him in the face, only to get dropped by another clothesline. A piledriver finishes Butcher at 3:40.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t quite a squash but Butcher was out there for the beating and nothing more. Kidd is one of the bigger names outside of the two main promotions at the moment and it’s a nice deal to have him show up here. Kidd has some great charisma and gets your attention and I could see him being a big deal elsewhere if given the shot.

Don Callis and Kyle Fletcher are ready for Will Ospreay at Revolution in a cage. They’re going to use the cage like a Veg-O-Matic. Can we get a Double Goozle instead?

Julia Hart vs. Queen Aminata

Aminata grabs an armbar to start and wiggles her hips a bit because that’s what fun wrestlers do. A snapmare takes Hart down for a kick to the back and a double chop in the corner makes it worse. Hart knocks her down for two and we take an early break. Back with Aminata hitting a backbreaker and snapping off some suplexes for…no cover, which even commentary realizes is a bad idea. A running boot in the corner gives Aminata two but Hart kicks her down. The moonsault hits Aminata’s raised boots though and Aminata releases some German suplexes. Hart is right back up with an Octopus for the tap at 9:48.

Rating: C. Aminata is a good example of someone who can do all of the things in the ring but she’s still fairly dull. There’s nothing about her that makes her stand out and that isn’t going to leave her much to do. Hart beating her is good and it wasn’t a stretch for it to go this long, but it’s rather difficult to get invested in an Aminata match most of the time.

Murder Machines vs. ???/???

The Murder Machines beat them up on the ramp and throw them inside so destruction can ensue. The powerbomb/chokeslam combination finishes at 1:15.

Post match the Murder Machines want the Hurt Syndicate and the Tag Team Titles. Cue the Syndicate, with MVP not being impressed. MVP says if the Machines beat a REAL team next week, we’ll consider a title shot.

Action Andretti and Lio Rush are now Cru. Does every team need a name? Well in this case, yeah they really kind of did.

Thunder Rosa and Kris Statlander are ready for Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford.

Trios Titles: Daniel Garcia/Angelo Parker/Matt Menard vs. Death Riders

The Riders are defending. Parker dropkicks Yuta down to start but it’s quickly off to Castagnoli. Swiss Death puts Parker down and Garcia has to make a save. Garcia, in red and yellow, comes in to clean house but doesn’t bother to tag, meaning Parker gets beaten down even more. Parker finally gets away and brings in Menard to…get kicked in the face by Castagnoli.

Everything breaks down and Yuta and Pac get suplexed down. We take a break and come back with Yuta kicking Menard down so Pac can kick him while he’s down. Castagnoli powers Menard around and it’s back to Pac for a headlock. Pac teases a springboard dropkick but head fakes Menard, who misses a dropkick out of the air. Menard slams his way out of trouble though and it’s Garcia coming in to clean house.

Garcia rolls Yuta into the Sharpshooter and Parker takes Pac out. Castagnoli makes the save with a Jackhammer, leaving Garcia to strike it out with Yuta. Garcia gets Swung into the dropkick from Pac fort two but Menard breaks up the Black Arrow. Parker superplexes Pac for two and everyone is down. Pac is back up with the Brutalizer to make Parker tap at 16:55.

Rating: B-. This was more of a formality than anything else, with the Death Riders not being in trouble against a team including Menard and Parker. Garcia can hang with the champs long enough but that wasn’t going to be enough here. It wasn’t exactly a top level set of challengers, but I’ll take a title defense over the belts sitting cold for months on end.

Post match the hold stays on but the Undisputed Kingdom makes the save. Pac gets taken out and here is Cope to give him a pair of Conchairtos.

The Vendetta isn’t impressed with Harley Cameron.

Here is Max Caster for another open challenge.

Max Caster vs. Brody King

Caster gets his requested handshake and the pain begins in a hurry. Caster’s headlock is countered into a headscissors as the fans know that pain is coming. King sends him into the corner and finishes with the Cannonball at 1:40.

The Outrunners agree to face the Murder Machines next week. The Hurt Syndicate says the good news is if they win, they get a title shot. But the bad news is if they win, the get a title shot.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Bandido

Jericho is defending and is here on his own for a change. The fans are behind Bandido to start so Jericho goes to the eyes to take over. Bandido isn’t having that and sends him to the floor for a dive. Back in and a quick Codebreaker gives Jericho two, setting up a super hurricanrana.

We take a break and come back with the two of them striking it out with Bandido going down. Bandido is back up with a belly to back faceplant for two and they trade kicks to the face. They do their ten paces deal but Jericho reverses the knee to the face into the Walls. Bandido breaks out and grabs the one handed gorilla press into a frog splash for two.

The triangle dropkick is countered into a powerbomb for two more but Jericho bulldogs him down into the Lionsault. A flying headscissors (with a wave, called the High Spot) gets two on Bandido and they go up top for Bandido’s tabletop superplex. The 21 Plex is loaded up but Jericho reverses into a cradle to retain at 17:20.

Rating: B-. Well of course Jericho beat him. Bandido was built up for a few weeks here and then loses clean to Jericho, who counters the big finisher for the win. Jericho has already held the title for about four months and it’s only so interesting. Bandido is someone who could have gotten a big moment out of the win here but I have a feeling we’ll be waiting for Eddie Kingston to come back and beat Jericho as a real New Yorker. That’s not exactly a thrilling way to go but Jericho going over someone with that kind of potential isn’t a surprise anymore.

Overall Rating: B. Sigh inducing result of the main event aside, this was a rather good show with a bunch of solid matches. As has been the case recently, there has been a nice mixture of long and short matches to make things move that much faster. Good show here, and if they can stick the landing with a bunch of this stuff at Revolution, we could be in for one of AEW’s best runs in a long time.

Results
Hologram b. The Beast Mortos – Sunset flip
Gabe Kidd b. The Butcher – Piledriver
Julia Hart b. Queen Aminata – Octopus
Murder Machines b. ???/??? – Powerbomb/chokeslam combination
Death Riders b. Daniel Garcia/Angelo Parker/Matt Menard – Brutalizer to Parker
Brody King b. Max Caster – Cannonball
Chris Jericho b. Bandido – Rollup

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: November 22, 2024
Location: Santander Arena, Reading, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Excalibur, Ian Riccaboni, Matt Menard

It’s the night before Full Gear and that means we are likely going to be seeing some more matches added at the last minute. That has been a standard move from AEW and they have already added the International Title match to the card. Other than that, we should be in for the normal good action. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Mariah May/Mina Shirakawa vs. Nyla Rose/Harley Cameron

Rose and Shirakawa dance to start until Shirakawa has to escape a slam. That means more dancing, so Rose kicks her in the face to take over. Cameron tags herself in and is quickly taken down with a Russian legsweep. May comes in for the very spinning side slam before Rose breaks up May and Shirakawa’s stereo chest shakings.

Everything breaks down and we take a break, coming back with Rose planting May for two. A side slam and splash get two on May and it’s back to Cameron for the same. May headbutts her way to freedom though and it’s off to Shirakawa to pick up the pace. A leglock to Rose with a DDT to May at the same time has the villains in trouble before May dropkicks Rose to the floor. Something close to a Steiner Bulldog finishes Cameron at 8:38.

Rating: C+. As tends to be the case on Rampage, this wasn’t about a question of who was winning but rather how May and Shirakawa were going to work together. They definitely have a chemistry, but now we get to see what happens between them at Full Gear. Nice opener here though, with Rose being a threat and Cameron being…whatever you want to call her.

And now, a weigh-in with Big Boom AJ of the Costco Guys and QT Marshall. Apparently they’ve known each other for a long time with AJ considering a wrestling career but going into….whatever he does instead. Marshall says he’s here after waiting for twenty years, while AJ says he wants to do this after Marshall insulted some cookies. The Rizzler will be ringing the bell at Full Gear (that was announced on Dynamite). Marshall weighs 229lbs and Boom weights….over 500? Boom’s son says Marshall rigged the scale so Boom punches Marshall in the face, earning himself a cutter. Well at least it was short.

Juice Robinson vs. The Butcher

They trade some early shots, with Butcher telling him to bring it. That earns him some left hands in the corner but Robinson gets dumped outside. A ram into the barricade makes it even worse and we take a break. Back with Robinson hammering away with the snap jabs and a backsplash gets two. Butcher hits a hard clothesline for two but Robinson grabs a rollup for the same. Robinson’s cannonball connects in the corner, only for Butcher to come back with something like a Cannonball for two. Robinson hits a pair of left hands and the Juice Is Loose is good for the pin at 10:04.

Rating: C. Not a bad match at all here but it feels like the kind of filler match that you often get around here. Neither of them exactly have anything going on at the moment, which is a shame as Robinson has so much charisma and draws in your attention every time he’s in the ring. Butcher was his usual midcard villain self and that’s not a bad use for him.

Video on the Tag Team Title match at Full Gear.

Thunder Rosa is happy that some luchadors are coming and issues a challenge to any luchadora. This brings in Harleygram, the female counterpart to Hologram, though Rosa thinks she looks familiar. Harleygram: “Does not compute.” Anyway a match is set for next week and this should be fun.

Video on the International Title match at Full Gear.

Conglomeration vs. Dark Order

Briscoe and Silver start things off with a handshake as Excalibur ignores the match to go into rapid fire Full Gear rundown mode. Uno gets in a cheap shot to take over on Briscoe, who fights out of the corner without much efforts. Ishii comes in to knock Uno into the corner, allowing Romero to hit some clotheslines.

Something Evil gets Uno out of trouble and we take a break. Back with Briscoe coming in off the tag to clean house but Silver kicks him into Uno’s piledriver for two. The pendulum bomb is broken up though and everything breaks down with a parade of shots to the face. Briscoe grabs the chair for the step up flip dive to the floor. Ishii’s sliding lariat into the brainbuster finishes Reynolds at 11:46.

Rating: B-. They went with straight energy here and that’s what the match should have been. Sometimes you need to just let people go nuts and have a fun match, which the Conglomeration can do rather well. The Order is still little more than a bunch of humans who have a team name and that’s not really enough to make them a big deal, but they’re better in this role than as anything to be taken seriously.

The last nearly ten minutes of the show is a huge Full Gear hype video set to Guns N Roses’ November Rain.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, this is a show that you absolutely do not need to see as there is barely anything going on that makes a difference. We had a women’s tag, a lower midcard match, an entertaining six man and a weigh-in for a low level celebrity match. This show didn’t make me want to see Full Gear any more than I did coming in, though I’m not sure it was supposed to. The problem is I’m not sure what Rampage is supposed to do other than fulfill a contractual obligation, and that doesn’t make for the most fulfilling show.

Results
Mariah May/Mina Shirakawa b. Nyla Rose/Harley Cameron – Steiner Bulldog to Cameron
Juice Robinson b. The Butcher – Juice Is Loose
Conglomeration b. Dark Order – Brainbuster to Reynolds

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

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AND

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Ring Of Honor
Date: November 7, 2024
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re getting close to Final Battle, though it’s still far enough away that the show hasn’t been officially announced yet. Last week’s show was quite the lengthy affair at nearly three hours, with the big story being Athena escaping with the Women’s Title against Abadon. That would seem to set up an eventual showdown with Billie Starkz over the title and maybe that starts here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

We recap the Righteous coming after the Tag Team Titles last week.

Infantry vs. Tom Mitchell/Trace Parker

Shane Taylor is here with the Infantry. Bravo takes Parker into the corner to start and slugs away, with Dean getting in some choking from the apron. Bravo gives Mitchell a wind up DDT and it’s Boot Camp into a double stomp (Two To The End) for the pin at 2:24.

Spanish Announce Project vs. Shawn Donovan/LSG

Angelico and Donovan fight over wrist control to start until Serpentico comes in off the top with a stomp to the arm. Angelico hits some running clotheslines in the corner, at least until Donovan knocks him into another corner to take over. A Snow Plow gets two on Serpentico, who kicks his way out of trouble and hands it back to Angelico to pick up the pace. Angelico kicks Donovan in the head for two before grabbing an over the back stretch to make LSG tap at 5:15.

Rating: C. This is a good example of how Tony Khan’s booking style not only gets repetitive but also wastes time. Last week, the Project lost to the Infantry. Therefore, this match was designed to rehabilitate them in some way. That’s something that works well enough in theory, but the problem is rather simple: it’s the Spanish Announce Project. While they’re talented, they’re also about as low level of a team as you can get on the good side.

Winning this match doesn’t boost them up or change anything about them, as they’re still nothing but a team who have been around forever and aren’t going to move up the card in any meaningful way. This would be the equivalent of having Demolition beat the Killer Bees in 1988 and then needing to see the Bees win a match over the Brooklyn Brawler and Jose Estrada the next week. That would never happen, as it would just take up time and have no impact. That’s Ring Of Honor in a nutshell, as the show was just extended by about eight minutes and nothing was gained.

Lee Moriarty is ready to fight Matt Taven.

Preston Vance vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara tries an early GTH but Vance slips out, only to get caught with a dropkick. With Vance on the floor, Guevara gets to spin into his pose for a bit. Vance pulls him to the floor but Guevara changes places and hits a quick dive. Another dive off the barricade is countered into a suplex, allowing Vance to send him hard into the barricade. We hit the chinlock back inside until Guevara pops up for a superkick. Some forearms against the ropes stagger Vance, who is right back with the discus lariat. Not that it matters as Guevara is right back with the GTH for the pin at 6:04.

Rating: C. So Guevara is dealing with the Righteous as they come after the Tag Team Titles so he has a fairly competitive singles match against someone who has nothing to do with the Righteous? One might think there should have been a tag match here as Guevara and Dustin Rhodes haven’t actually teamed together in over a month, but why waste time with that? Vance continues to look decent and continues to do nothing around here, as is the case for a lot of people.

Post match the lights flicker and we hear the Righteous laugh but nothing happens.

The Outrunners have merch. I think it’s going to sell.

Lee Johnson/EJ Nduka vs. The Philly Marino Experience

Johnson headlocks Marino down to start and we’re off to the early chinlock. The rather large Nduka comes in and unloads on Marino in the corner. The good guys take turns hammering away in the corner before Philly comes in. A double clothesline drops the Experience and a spinebuster plants Philly. Johnson’s frog splash finishes at 4:39.

Rating: C. Johnson and Nduka work well enough together and it was a fine way to give them some ring time without being in any danger. I’m not sure I can imagine them getting close to the title picture, but I can go with an effective squash. If nothing else, Nduka continues to look impressive so putting him in the ring in any way seems like a smart move.

We look at Athena retaining the Women’s Title in last week’s main event.

Athena has called a MEM (Minion Empowerment Meeting) for tonight and thinks it’s time to go around the world. Lexi Nair says hello in a variety of languages when Billie Starkz comes in. Athena is not impressed and leaves, with Starkz being amazed that Athena won’t apologize.

Diamante vs. Rachael Ellering

Ellering grinds away on a headlock to start and then runs her over with a shoulder. A gutwrench suplex drops Diamante but she sends Ellering into the corner for the stomping. Diamante’s running corner dropkick gets two but Ellering is back up with a running elbow. The Squish gives Ellering two, only for Diamante to go to the eyes. The rolling cutter finishes for Diamante at 4:41.

Rating: C+. Ellering continues to feel like a fine midcard gatekeper, which is all that she needs to be. On the other hand you have Diamante, who being built up for another shot at the TV Title. There is a story there and the follow up has gone rather well. Now just do the match and see where it goes from there.

Post match Red Velvet comes in to brawl with Diamante in a not so nice move.

We look at Leylah Hirsch beating Diamante in a Last Woman Standing match in July but dislocating her elbow in the process.

Leylah Hirsch vs. Tina San Antonio

Hirsch wrestles her down to start but an O’Connor roll is blocked. San Antonio gets in some shoulders to the ribs in the corner but she misses a running elbow. Hirsch’s German suplex into a running knee finishes at 2:30.

Matt Taven wants the Pure Wrestling Title.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Aaron Solo

Solo’s running shoulders have no effect as Ishii drops him with a single clothesline. Another try goes better for Solo as he drops Ishii and they trade more forearms. Ishii hits another running shoulder and a Saito suplex gets two. A German suplex plants Solo, who is right back with a superkick to put Ishii down. Solo hits a frog splash for two but Ishii’s big lariat gets the same. Ishii isn’t having this and hits the sliding lariat, setting up the brainbuster for the pin at 5:30.

Rating: C+. While Solo isn’t exactly top level competition, they had a nice competitive match with Ishii eventually getting to take him out. Ishii is getting boosted up for a big main event level run in AEW as he helps go after the Death Riders, so giving him a win here is fine. Maybe it should have been on AEW, but he’s already over enough there anyway.

The Righteous come out for a tag match but Sammy Guevara and Dustin Rhodes jump them for the brawl.

Nick Wayne vs. Ryan Clancy

Wayne kicks away the handshake offer but Clancy spins around and takes him down without much trouble. A posing monkey flip out of the corner drops Wayne, who is fine enough to send Clancy outside to take over. Back in and a neckbreaker gives Wayne two and he grabs a neck crank. Clancy fights up and gets in a Russian legsweep for two of his own. A dropkick sends Wayne to the floor, only for Wayne to knock the referee into the ropes to crotch Clancy on top. Wayne’s World finishes at 7:28.

Rating: C+. This was a good showcase for Clancy and that’s what the idea seemed to be. Wayne isn’t someone who should be out there dominant but rather winning by cheating, with Christian Cage being able to beam with pride later. Nicer than I was expecting here, even with the extended time.

The Infantry and Shane Taylor Promotions try to find Dustin Rhodes but have to beat up security instead.

From February 21, 2021.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Mexisquad

Shane Taylor/the Soldiers of Savagery are challenging and Maria Kanellis-Bennett is on commentary. Hands are shaken but the fight is on in a hurry with everyone going to the floor. Back in and Flamita ducks Khan’s running big boot in the corner, allowing Flamita to hit a quick takeover. A dropkick puts Khan down again but he powers Flamita into the corner, allowing the tag off to Moses.

That means a big running charge takes Flamita over (commentary is rather pleased) but he’s right back up with a twisting Stunner. Shane comes in to chase Rey Horus around until a shot to Shane’s face sends us to a break. Back with Bandido getting the hot tag to come in and hammer on Shane. That’s fine with Taylor, who shoves him into the corner for the tag off to Flamita. A walk across Bandido’s shoulders sets up a running hurricanrana with the champs sending all of them outside. That means trio of dives, followed by a trio of flips to take them down again.

Back in and a 450 gets two on Shane as commentary tries to figure out if the champs winning can be an upset. Flamita flips Bandido around to take out Khan’s legs, because that’s just something he can do. One heck of a toss splash gives Flamita two on Moses with Khan making the save. Horus accidentally DDT’s Flamita and Moses nails a double clothesline to the floor. That leaves Shane to Rock Bottom Flamita into a splash for two and Welcome To The Land gives us new champions at 12:32.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t quite the level of awesome that you expect from the Mexisquad but they have been champions for so long and I don’t think that a single loss is going to change anything for them in the long run. What matters here is that we have some fresh champions, which probably needed to happen after the long layoff. Throw in Shane getting a big win before next week’s World Title match and it is a rather well put together title match.

AR Fox vs. Josh Woods

Mark Sterling and Ariya Daivari are here with Woods. An early elbow drops Fox but he pops back up to knock him outside for the big dive. Back in and Woods starts going after the knee, setting up a German suplex to drop Fox again. Sterling gets in some choking from the floor and some knees to the back give Woods two.

Fox sends him into the ropes for a running hanging DDT and the fans are getting a bit more into things. A Sling Blade into a Swanton gives Fox two and it’s time to fight over a suplex. Instead they crash out to the floor, with Fox getting up or a quick cutter. Back in and Rolling Chaos Theory is countered so Fox hits a Death Valley Driver into a 450 for the pin at 11:56.

Rating: C+. So commentary mentioned that Fox is going to be facing Nick Wayne on Collision. That’s all well and good, but how long is that match going to be? Maybe ten minutes or so? Did we really need to spend nearly twenty building both of them up on a show that is WAY less likely to be seen than Collision in the first place? That’s what I was getting at earlier: it feels like wrestling for the sake of filling time, which makes no sense when you’re on a show that has no set time limit, either high or low.

Post match Wayne comes in to lay out Fox. Again: this is all to set up a match on Collision.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. The Butcher

Butcher tries to wrestle to start and gets taken to the mat for an early leglock. With that not working, they go to the floor with Butcher hitting a clothesline and slapping on a half crab to put Shibata in trouble. The rope break gets Shibata away but the PK is cut off with a clothesline. Shibata goes with the sleeper instead and now the PK finishes Butcher at 4:29.

Rating: C. That’s quite the odd choice for a main event, as Butcher go in some offense but Shibata just got back up and won with his usual. It’s not a bad match to give Shibata a win, but he isn’t exactly doing anything at the moment so this isn’t coming off like a big step. Butcher is fine as a low level monster though and he’s done quite well for himself all things considered.

Overall Rating: C. This was probably the most well put together show they’ve done in awhile as there are clearly stories being built up. I’ll certainly take that over the seemingly random collection of matches you see a lot of the time around here, but dang they need to cut out a lot of the fat. We didn’t need twenty minutes of setting up Nick Wayne vs. AR Fox or the Spanish Announce Project being built back up. Cut out the “classic” match and the Guevara match and you’ve gt this down to a rather nice hour long show.

Results
Infantry b. Tom Mitchell/Trace Parker – Two To The End to Mitchell
Spanish Announce Project b. Shawn Donovan/LSG – Over the back stretch to LSG
Sammy Guevara b. Preston Vance – GTH
Lee Johnson/EJ Nduka b. The Philly Marino Experience – Frog splash to Collins
Diamante b. Rachael Ellering – Rolling cutter
Leylah Hirsch b. Tina San Antonio – Running knee
Tomohiro Ishii b. Aaron Solo – Brainbuster
Nick Wayne b. Ryan Clancy – Wayne’s World
AR Fox b. Josh Woods – 450
Katsuyori Shibata b. The Butcher – PK

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

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AND

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

Rampage
Date: October 18, 2024
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

The show seems to be running out of weeks but we still have some time left before it goes away for good. In this case we are fresh off of WrestleDream and it would take some time to deal with all of the fallout. This show could also do something for tomorrow’s Battle Of The Belts so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Mark Briscoe vs. The Butcher

Non-title. They take turns driving each other into the corner to start with Briscoe sending him head first into the buckle. Briscoe sends him outside for the running flip dive and we hit the chinlock back inside. That’s broken up and Butcher hits a heck of a clothesline before a slam puts Briscoe down again.

We take a break and coe back with Briscoe fighting out of a chinlock and hitting some running forearms. The Death Valley Driver sets up a missed Froggy Bow, allowing Butcher to grab a Jackhammer for two. Butcher takes him up top but gets knocked down, setting up the Froggy Bow for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C+. Here’s what I don’t get about AEW at times. Briscoe beat Jericho at WrestleDream and their rematch is already set. Briscoe has momentum and is coming into a ladder match for his title, which will be his second major match in about a week and a half. He had a promo on Dynamite this week so it’s not like he’s out of the public eye. Why did he need a ten minute match here? The title wasn’t on the line and it was a cold match. With the roster AEW has, there wasn’t someone else who could have used this spotlight?

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Aaron Solo

They go to the mat to start for some grappling until O’Reilly gets in a few kicks. Back up and O’Reilly cranks him down by the arm beffore striking away again. O’Reilly isn’t having that and fights up, with a few more kicks setting up a guillotine to finish Solo off at 4:41.

Rating: C. Not quite a squash here but nothing to see with this one. O’Reilly wasn’t going to be in any danger against Solo and they didn’t waste much time in getting to the point. This was a nice way to build O’Reilly up and he seems to be gunning for the Continental Title so at least there is something for him to go.

Post match O’Reilly challenges Kazuchika Okada for the Continental Title at Battle Of The Belts. So there’s your one title match on the show.

Jamie Hayter doesn’t like Penelope Ford coming after her. She’s ready to fight so if Ford is ready, be at Collision.

Deonna Purrazzo talks about taking care of her brother. If you want to take someone out, go for the people they love.

Anna Jay vs. Trish Adora

Mariah May is on commentary and is stunned that Jay just got back from Japan as Jay hasn’t said a word about it. May on Adora: “I heard she got a dishonorable discharge. I never heard the guy’s name but it sounds like a good time.” May shifts over to mocking Jay’s appearance and attitude, which send a bad message to the kids watch. Excalibur says the real message is to stab your mentor in the head with a shoe. May: “Yes and I emerged victorious. Thank you.” Jay strikes away to fight back and hits a running shoulder, with May wondering if she learned that in Japan.

We take a break and come back with May referring to Battle Of The Belts as “Tony Schiavone trying to get dressed.” Schiavone: “….Ok.” Jay’s running flipping neckbreaker gets two but Adora’s kneeling bridging German suplex gets the same. Jay is right back up with a Backstabber and a Gory Bomb for the pin (with her shoulders down too) at 8:23.

Rating: C. The match was nothing of note because this was ALL about May. She was funny, witty, and regularly leaving commentary with nothing to say because her lines were so good. She has had two nights on commentary where she was outstanding and one of the most entertaining things in AEW. Definitely worth a listen here if you get the chance, as May is by far the best thing on this show so far.

Post match May grabs the mic and says Jay should buy her dinner, because at Battle Of The Belts, Jay will be on her knees, crying, shaking, and screaming her name.

Harley Cameron says Saraya is still incapacitated but no one is talking about what Cameron can do. She’s talented, she can do ventriloquism and she speaks Chinese. Oh and she’s ready for Kris Statlander because she’s versatile.

The Undisputed Kingdom, Shane Taylor Promotions and Gates Of Agony are ready for the three way tag next week. That’s a Ring Of Honor main event at best but points for announcing something that far in advance.

Private Party vs. MxM Collection

Mansoor works on Quen’s arm to start and it’s quickly off to Kassidy vs. Mason. Kassidy gets taken down so Mason strikes a pose and hands it back to Mansoor. Quen is sent outside and seems to bang up his shoulder, setting up a side slam/legdrop combination. We take a break and come back with a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination getting two on Quen.

That doesn’t last long as Quen gets over for the tag to Kassidy to start cleaning house. A Hart Attack (boot instead of clothesline) hits Kassidy for two but Silly Strong drops Mason. There’s a Twist of Fame to Mansoor and More Bang For Your Buck (with a shoutout to the Bucks) finishes at 12:05.

Rating: B-. I cannot get my head around the idea that Private Party might actually be getting another shot at the titles. Their first title shot was a stretch at best and I’m going to need a lot more than “they might put their career as a team on the line” to make me interested in a rematch. At the same time, the Collection is not exactly in a good place at the moment, with back to back losses.

Post match Quen promises on his mama’s life that they’re winning the Tag Team Titles.

Overall Rating: C+. Well some people are definitely building momentum. I’m not sure what good it is going to do for them but they certainly are building it. Briscoe’s title match is already set, O’Reilly is likely getting a title shot at the least important shows AEW puts on, Anna Jay got completely smoked by Mariah and Private Party is still Private Party. Not a show you need to see as usual, and if this is all they’re using it for, the cancellation isn’t going to hurt them at all.

Results
Mark Briscoe b. The Butcher – Froggy Bow
Kyle O’Reilly b. Aaron Solo – Guillotine
Anna Jay b. Trish Adora – Gory Bomb
Private Party b. MxM Collection – More Bang For Your Buck to Mansoor

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Rampage
Date: October 11, 2024
Location: Spokane Arena, Spokane, Washington
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jeff Jarrett

It’s the night before WrestleDream and in this case we won’t be having a Collision tomorrow night, so this is the last push towards the pay per view. That very well could mean a different kind of Rampage, which is often not exactly there for the sake of pushing towards a pay per view. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Conglomeration vs. Kingdom

Cassidy and Bennett start things off with an exchange of covers that don’t even get one each. The lazy kicks set up a running shoulder to put Bennett down so it’s off to Taven, who accidentally teams up with Cassidy for a double clothesline. O’Reilly comes in for the knees but gets knocked into the corner so the beating can ensue. That doesn’t last long either as O’Reilly fights out of trouble and everything breaks down.

The tornado DDT hits Taven and O’Reilly gets the cross armbreaker on Bennett, sending him straight tot he ropes and us to a break. Back with Taven backbreakering and DDTing Cassidy, setting up a Lionsault for two on O’Reilly. Some rapid fire strikes have Taven back down but Bennett is back in with a piledriver on Cassidy. Since it’s just a piledriver, Cassidy is back up with the Beach Break to Bennett but Taven hits him with Just The Tip. Back up and O’Reilly guillotines Taven for the win at 10:09.

Rating: B-. The teams works well together, but there was little drama here as the Kingdom has long since been established as losers who certainly aren’t going to beat a team like the Conglomeration. Otherwise, that’s three straight wins for O’Reilly and Cassidy so a title shot isn’t out of the cards. I mean it’s not like Private Party has won three matches…maybe this whole year?

Mercedes Mone and Kamille are rather busy and time is money.

The Acclaimed come out for a match but the MxM Collection jump them from behind. The Collection throw out the challenge for WrestleDream and promise to have a third man in their corner.

Kris Statlander blames Mercedes Mone for making everything all apart. She’s coming for the TBS Title. We’re never getting a clear explanation for why she and Stokely Hathaway are done are we?

Rocky Romero is ready to prove that he’s not the Conglomeration’s lackey.

Kris Statlander vs. Amira

A suplex and Friday Night Fever finish for Statlander at 1:00.

Chris Jericho is ready to become the Nueve. The word of the day is humbled, which is what Mark Briscoe needs to do.

The Beast Mortos vs. The Butcher

Roderick Strong is on commentary. They take turns powering each other around to start and an exchange of shoulders goes nowhere. Morton rolls over him and grabs a snapmare, with Strong approving. Butcher is right back up with a knockdown for two of his own before avoiding a charge to send Mortos crashing to the floor. We take a break and come back with a double knockdown for a double breather. Mortos misses the twisting moonsault and Butcher gets two off a Jackhammer. Back up and Mortos hits a torture rack backbreaker, setting up a twisting top rope headbutt for the pin at 8:33.

Rating: B-. Take two big guys and have the beat on each other for a few minutes until one of them can’t get up. It’s a rather simple formula and they made it work here, with both guys doing their usual good stuff. Mortos gets a nice win on his way to what should be a loss to Hologram while Butcher does what he’s there to do.

Harley Cameron says Saraya is incapacitated and but Cameron wants to fight the newly tough Anna Jay.

Lance Archer vs. Matt Brannigan

Brannigan slips out of an early chokeslam attempt but Archer knocks him into the corner for some running elbows. The Blackout finishes at 2:10.

Jake Roberts is happy with La Faccion Ingobernable. We’ll have to see what they do next.

Anna Jay says she and Harley Cameron aren’t friends. Cameron wants to kick her a**, but this a** kicks back.

Bryan Keith vs. Rocky Romero

Keith jumps him in the corner to start but Romero, still in his ring jacket, is back with a spinning middle rope crossbody. Keith bails to the floor so Romero dropkicks him through the ropes, only to have an exploder cut off. We take a break and come back with Romero stomping away in the corner but Keith hits a double underhook knee to the face for two. The running Sliced Bread gives Romero two, followed by the super Sliced Bread but Romero bangs up his knee. The knee is fine enough to hit a suicide dive…and cue Big Bill to boot Romero in the face. Diamond Dust finishes for Keith at 10:25.

Rating: C+. You kind of knew what you were going to get with this one as the people are talented, though Romero as the unhappy lackey of the Conglomeration isn’t exactly hooking me. He’s been on the team for approximately 18 seconds and is already having issues. Romero is only so interesting in the first place and having him be upset by this stuff isn’t helping.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling was good and it added just enough to WrestleDream (ok the Kickoff Show but it’s something) to seem somewhat important. The big stuff is already set so there wasn’t much to cover here, but we did get some good enough matches. WrestleDream isn’t the strongest card, but at least they did well on their last stop on the way.

Results
Conglomeration b. Kingdom – Guillotine to Taven
Kris Statlander b. Amira – Friday Night Fever
The Beast Mortos b. The Butcher – Top rope spinning headbutt
Lance Archer b. Matt Brannigan – Blackout
Bryan Keith b. Rocky Romero – Diamond Dust

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Rampage
Date: September 20, 2024
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back to the Friday show as the slow build towards WrestleDream begins. Before we get there though, next week is the big Grand Slam Dynamite and there is a good chance that we might be seeing something added to the card this week. Other than that, there is a four way match involving Kip Sabian and Nick Wayne, which is continuing due to reasons. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Mark Briscoe vs. Bryan Keith

Non-title. Keith backs him into the corner to start but Briscoe switches places and stomps away. Briscoe takes it tot he floor and hits the dropkick through the ropes, setting up the Bang Bang Elbow from the apron. The step up dive off the chair is broken up and Keith gets in a low blow to take over. They to back to the floor with Keith kicking him in the face and snapping a suplex as we take a break.

Back with Briscoe blocking Diamond Dust and hitting a superplex for the double knockdown. They chop it out and trade jumping enziguris until Briscoe hits a Rock Bottom. The Death Valley Driver looks to set up the Froggy Bow but Keith breaks it up and knees him down for two. Now the Diamond Dust is countered into a heck of a lariat, with the Jay Driller finishing Keith off at 12:24.

Rating: B-. The fact that the title wasn’t on the line or really even mentioned here continues to show that it doesn’t exactly need to exist. Briscoe rarely defends it in any kind of an important match and other wrestlers don’t seem to want it. Here it was just a thing that happens to be there during a feud between the Conglomeration and the Learning Tree, though Jericho coming after it wouldn’t stun me.

Post match Chris Jericho runs in to beat down Briscoe with the baseball bat but Orange Cassidy makes the save. Big Bill and Kyle O’Reilly run in as well and the Learning Tree stands tall.

Wheeler Yuta vs. The Butcher

Butcher jumps him from behind to start and the beating is on, with a half nelson backbreaker getting two. The stomping continues as Yuta is clearly distracted again. Yuta manages a quick basement dropkick though and hammers away in the corner. Some rolling German suplexes set up the elbows to the head into Cattle Mutilation for the tap at 4:01.

Rating: C. There is something interesting here with the Yuta being all distracted thing as he eventually snaps back to reality and turns into a machine. That being said, there is a good chance that we’ll be seeing something big come of it in the near future, which will hopefully see new Trios Champions. Or just drop the things already for the greater good.

The MxM Collection has stolen Max Caster’s jacket and are going to give it a makeover.

Harley Cameron vs. Hikaru Shida

Saraya is here with Cameron. Shida takes her down to start and hits a kind of reverse side slam. Some right hands in the corner are broken up with a Saraya distraction though and we take a break. Back with Shida hitting a running knee for two but an enziguri misses. They trade rollups for two each until Shida kicks her in the head. Another Saraya distraction breaks up the Katana (with Shida looking scared to try it) so here is Jamie Hayter to chase Saraya off. Shida uses the distraction to grab the Falcon Arrow for the pin at 8:57.

Rating: C. This would be the second straight match where someone is hesitant or distracted, but at least in this case it’s over one move rather than everything. Shida gets some momentum back after her big loss and Cameron is pretty much an easy target for just that. Not much to this one, but the Saraya/Hayter showdown should work at some point.

Post match Saraya challenges Hayter to a Saraya’s Rules match at Grand Slam. Hayter is in.

Roderick Strong/The Beast Mortos vs. Joe Keys/Marcus Mathers

The Kingdom is here with Strong and Mortos. Strong takes Mathers down to start and hammers away before it’s off to Mortos. A Samoan drop/jumping knee gives Mortos and Strong the double pin at 1:26. Total destruction.

Deonna Purrazzo talks about how she is here to hurt people and has some friends, such as Taya Valkyrie.

Nick Wayne vs. Kip Sabian vs. Rocky Romero vs. Lio Rush

It’s a four way brawl to start with Rush sending the rest outside for a dive, only to have Sabian hit a dive of his own. Back in and Sabian avoids Rush’s Final Hour as commentary runs down all of the upcoming matches on various shows. Wayne is back in to kick Sabian down and we take a break.

Back with Rush coming back in to take Wayne down but Sabian hits a missile dropkick. Romero remembers he’s in the match with the Forever Lariats and a running Sliced Bread for two on Sabian. Wayne can’t hit Wayne’s World on Sabian but he can cutter a diving Rush out of the air. Back up and Sabian hits his Deathly Hallows on Romero but Wayne steals the pin at 10:16.

Rating: C+. I think we can effectively call that the most Rampage main event you could ask for in any given week. I’m not sure why the Sabian vs. Wayne stuff is continuing but it certainly looks like we’ll be seeing more of it going forward. Other than that, this was similar to the four way Konosuke Takeshita won a few weeks ago: he was the only person to get any serious focus coming in and then picks up the win.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty run f the mill Rampage this week, with some midcard stuff being addressed, decent enough action and very little that felt important enough to watch. That’s Rampage in a nutshell, in that it’s rarely a bad show but even more rarely a show that is going to add much to the overall scheme of things. Grand Slam is what matters in the near future though and this did add a match to it, so the important show got some time.

Results
Mark Briscoe b. Bryan Keith – Jay Driller
Wheeler Yuta b. The Butcher – Cattle Mutilation
Hikaru Shida b. Harley Cameron – Falcon Arrow
Roderick Strong/Beast Mortos b. Joe Keys/Marcus Mathers – Double pin
Nick Wayne b. Kip Sabian, Lio Rush and Rocky Romero – Deathly Hallows to Romero

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Rampage
Date: August 9, 2024
Location: LJVM Coliseum, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard, Excalibur

I’m starting to not know what to expect from this show and it’s not in the best way. Odds are we’ll get some good action and some minor storyline advancement, but a lot of Rampage tends to feel like a bunch of one off matches. The good thing is the talent is more than good enough to make that work and we should be in for a fun show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

In Memory Of Kevin Sullivan.

Opening sequence.

Darby Allin vs. The Butcher

Butcher runs him over at the bell to start and a slam sends Allin into the corner so the choking can ensue. Allin is tossed outside and sent into various things, only to avoid a charge into the barricade. The top rope Coffin Drop drops a standing Butcher but he knocks a diving Allin out of the air back inside. Allin is bleeding from the nose and gets dropkicked into the corner to make things even worse.

We take a break and come back with Butcher grabbing a Texas Cloverleaf, with Allin having to get the ropes. Butcher knocks him out to the floor for a swinging into the barricade, followed by a good posting. Back in and a half nelson backbreaker gives Butcher two but Allin is back with a super Code Red. The Coffin Drop finishes Butcher at 10:25.

Rating: B-. Allin has two title matches coming up so he needed a win like this one to start him on the right path. It’s going to take some time to get there but at least things are looking in the right direction for him. There will always be a place for someone smaller like Allin fighting up against a monster like Butcher and it worked well here.

On Dynamite, Don Callis yelled at Rush over his loss but Rush said he was willing to do everything to become the best. That includes beating up Preston Vance on Collision.

We look at the brawls between Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Hangman Page after Dynamite.

Lethal is ready for Page on Dynamite.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Rocky Romero

Bryan Danielson is on commentary. They fight over a lockup to start until Yuta grabs a test of strength. Romero gets a bodyscissors but can’t manage a cross armbreaker. Back up and Yuta gets in a belly to back suplex before sending Romero outside for a suicide dive. We take a break and come back with Yuta fighting out of a chinlock as Swerve Strickland is watching somewhere. They strike it out and then go to the top for some biting of Yuta’s fingers. A running Sliced Bread takes Yuta down but he counters the top rope version. Cattle Mutilation finishes Romero at 11:00.

Rating: B-. Perfectly fine technical match here but I can’t imagine there was that much of an audience for two midcarders having a cold match. That’s the problem with Rampage as a whole: what we’re getting is good enough, but it’s not exactly something worth getting excited over. That makes the show feel like it’s just there because it has to be and that’s not great.

Willow Nightingale is frustrated with what Stokely Hathaway has done to Kris Statlander. Tomohiro Ishii comes in for a chat.

Private Party vs. Zane/Dave Dawson

Zay and Dave get in a fist pumping (air, not faces) off to start before it’s off to Quen. A slam attempt on the much bigger Zane fails terribly but Quen manages to get Dave up for the slam and ensuing crash. It’s back to Zay to clean house, including the Silly String for two on Dave. A Stunner int an assisted Sliced Bread puts Zane down, setting up Gin and Juice for the pin on Dave at 4:00.

Rating: C+. This was pretty much the definition of “it was what it was” as you had an established team facing a local pair in a power vs. speed match. Private Party hasn’t meant much of anything in a long time in AEW and this isn’t going to change that. Maybe it gets better later, but for now, this was more a reminder of “oh yeah, they work here”.

Deonna Purrazzo promises to summon a symphony of violence on Thunder Rosa.

Dustin Rhodes wants to fight the Kingdom and win the ROH Tag Team Titles. The Kingdom come in and kick Dustin low.

Saraya vs. Nyla Rose

Harley Cameron is here with Saraya. Cameron offers a distraction before the bell so Saraya can shove Rose outside and hammer away. They get inside for the official start with Rose fighting up and sending her into the corner for a splash. Rose slams her down a few times but actually gets driven into the corner for some forearms to the face. Back up and Rose sends her outside, where a slide is cut off and she gets tied in the ring skirt.

We take a break and come back with Rose asking if Saraya has lost her mind. A side slam puts Saraya down but she avoids a splash and hits the Paige Turner for two. Rose is right back with a basement superkick for two and it’s time to trade forearms. Back up and Rose drops her with a clothesline but Cameron offers a distraction. Rose tries a suplex but Cameron plays Bobby Heenan with the trip to give Saraya the pin at 9:32.

Rating: C+. As usual, Rose has more charisma than most of the roster but comes up short in a match against someone who isn’t a jobber. This wasn’t exactly much of a main event, but it was nice to have Rose out there doing her stuff. Saraya will likely have at least something to do at All In, but I’m not sure I can imagine it being overly important.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, the show is completely watchable but it is a show you do not need to watch in any way, shape or form. The problem with Rampage continues to be that it’s a show of either people who have nothing important going on or people who are doing important things on other shows. It’s perfectly fine wrestling, but you wouldn’t miss anything if you skipped it, which isn’t exactly a great thing to say about a weekly series.

Results
Darby Allin b. The Butcher – Coffin Drop
Wheeler Yuta b. Rocky Romero – Cattle Mutilation
Private Party b. Zane Dawson/Dave Dawson – Gin and Juice to Dave
Saraya b. Nyla Rose – Splash with assist from Harley Cameron

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 2, 2024
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

We are now officially less than a month away from All In and that means the show’s card has already started coming together. Most of the bigger matches are either set or have been teased and there is a good chance of moving things forward this week. If nothing else, we should be in for solid action, as tends to be the case around here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Wheeler Yuta vs. The Butcher

Bryan Danielson is on commentary. Feeling out process to start until Yuta strikes away as Danielson is right there to explain the idea behind what Yuta is doing. Butcher shoulders him down to take over and a backdrop keeps Yuta in trouble. Back up and Yuta manages to send him outside for the suicide dive, only to be knocked out of the air back inside. Butcher plants him down and we take a break.

We come back with Yuta hitting a high crossbody as Danielson talks about wanting to face Jeff Jarrett on Dynamite. A flying forearm drops Butcher and a German suplex gives Yuta two. Butcher backbreakers his way out of a Kimura and grabs a sitout powerbomb for two of his own. Yuta fights up and sends him shoulder first into the buckle, setting up the up and down elbows. Cattle Mutilation of all things finishes Butcher at 10:39.

Rating: C+. This is one of those ideas that will always work as you have the smaller Yuta fighting the scary looking monster in Butcher. It was made even better by having Danielson there to push the idea, which he can do rather well. They didn’t reinvent the wheel here, but they didn’t have to as they made a simple idea work well.

The MxM Collection are only addicted to shampooing and conditioning and the only shots they take are beauty shots.

Brian Cage vs. Manny Lo

Cage grabs a suplex to start, followed by posing and Weapon X for the pin at 1:01.

We look at Kyle Fletcher yelling at MJF to set up their match on Dynamite.

Fletcher is cut off by Don Callis before Brian Cage comes in. Cage vs. Fletcher is set for Collision. That will be three straight nights of Cage wrestling (counting Ring Of Honor), which seems a bit excessive.

Nyla Rose vs. Harley Cameron

Cameron says this is for Saraya (who isn’t here). For some reason Cameron tries to go straight after Rose, who just glares at her. A kick to the back of Rose’s head only makes her mad, with Cameron being sent outside for a baseball slide. Cameron manages to send her into the barricade to take over, followed by some boot choking back inside.

We take a break and come back with Rose grabbing a backbreaker and elbowing her down for two. Cameron gets in a shot of her own but misses the Cannonball. A knee to the head gives Cameron two, followed by a Bronco Buster. That doesn’t work for Rose, who sits up with a Beast Bomb for the pin at 8:58.

Rating: C+. This was Cameron hammering away on the much bigger monster to limited avail. At the end of the day, Rose basically treated her like a fly and smashed her to wrap things up. I could go for more of more of Rose in almost any kind of role and if that means having a more competitive than expected match with Cameron, so I’ll be glad with what I’m getting.

Private Party is ready for the MxM Collection but doesn’t seem to be taking them seriously.

Bryan Keith vs. Jackson Drake

The rest of the Learning Tree is here as Keith strikes away to send him into the corner. Keith ties him in the Tree of Woe and stomps away, allowing Big Bill to get in some choking from the floor. A suplex into a running kick to the chest sets up Diamond Dust to finish for Keith at 3:10.

Rating: C. I can only get so annoyed at anyone who uses Diamond Dust, which is still one of the coolest looking moves anywhere. This was a quick way to build Keith up a bit, especially after his hiatus due to the injury. The Learning Tree needs something to do and I’m not sure what that is at the moment.

Katsuyori Shibata is ready to hurt Bryan Keith to even the score.

The Kingdom is ready for FTR.

Private Party vs. MxM Collection

Mansoor and Isiah Kassidy start things off with the latter being taken down for a walk over his back. Back up and they argue over how serious this is before flipping to a standoff. Mansoor gets dropkicked out to the floor and it’s off to Mason to power Kassidy into the corner. Everything breaks down Mansoor gets double flapjacked down to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Kassidy faceplanting Mansoor, setting up a neckbreaker/ for two with Mason making the save. Mason gets kicked down but manages to power both of them over with a double suplex. An exchange of strikes leaves everyone down for a breather. Mason is sent outside, where he catches Kassidy’s dive with a swinging Boss Man Slam. Back in and Mason chokeslams Quen off the top, setting up an assisted double arm inverted DDT for the pin at 12:02.

Rating: C+. So far the Collection has been getting to showcase a few different sides of themselves, with the promos being much more goofy while the matches themselves are more on the serious side. It’s a mixture that is working so far and they are certainly getting television time. We’ll have to see where it goes, but it could be a far worse start.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a bit different after last week’s big Royal Rampage edition as it was more about the in-ring action. That being said, there was only so much to be seen here, with little in the way of interesting. Nothing on here was bad, but it was a show that you really did not need to see.

Results
Wheeler Yuta b. The Butcher – Cattle Mutlation
Brian Cage b. Manny Lo – Weapon X
Nyla Rose b. Harley Cameron – Beast Bomb
Bryan Keith b. Jackson Drake via
MxM Collection b. Private Party – Assisted double arm inverted DDT to Quen

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: July 26, 2024
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Matt Menard

It’s the Rampage after Dynamite, meaning we are in for the traditional Royal Rampage followup. That means a double ring battle royal with the winner getting a World Title shot at Grand Slam. In this case it means we have a different enough kind of show and that is often nice to see. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Royal Rampage

There are two rings with ten total entrants, last man standing gets a World Title shot at Grand Slam. Ring #1 starts with Orange Cassidy in at #1 and Brody King in at #2 while Ring #2 starts with Claudio Castagnoli in at #1 and Komander in at #2. Cassidy and Komander grab an arm each to start and walk the ropes but the wristdrags are both blocked. Tomohiro Ishii is in at #3 (Ring #1) and goes after King, with Cassidy offering a low bridge. Brian Cage is in at #3 (Ring #2) and plants Komander with a half nelson slam as Cassidy and King slug it out.

The Butcher is in at #4 (Ring #1) and teams up with Cage for a double elbow to Cassidy. Matt Menard jumps off commentary to be in at #4 (Ring #2) and that goes nowhere until Roderick Strong is in at #5 (Ring #1). Strong and Butcher beat up King and it’s Kip Sabian in at #5 (Ring #2). Sabian gets to clean house, including a gordbuster to Komander. Brandon Cutler is in at #6 (Ring #1) because when Excalibur said “TEN TOTAL ENTRANTS” he meant “TEN TOTAL ENTRANTS PER RING”, further proving that Excalibur is not very good at his job.

Cutler talks a lot and is immediately eliminated by Ishii. Nick Wayne is in at #6 (Ring #2) and Menard is eliminated to make room for him. Kyle O’Reilly is in at #7 (Ring #1) and starts striking away, as is his custom. Jeff Jarrett is in at #7 (Ring #2) as Menard is back on commentary. We take a break and come back with Butcher being eliminated and Matt Taven in at #8 (Ring #1). A DDT plants Cassidy and Komander is knocked out as well. Jay Lethal is in at #8 (Ring #2) and teams up with Jarrett to go after Wayne, who is tossed by Sabian.

Mike Bennett is in at #9 (Ring #1) and it’s a Backpack Stunner to Cassidy. The Beast Mortos is in at #9 (Ring #2) and gets to clean house until Jarrett clotheslines him down. Sabian is knocked out and it’s Darby All in at #10 (Ring #1), only to be knocked outside (not eliminated) by King. Lethal and Jarrett stop to strut as Lio Rush is in at #10 (Ring #2) to complete the field.

King and Allin fight up into the crowd despite not being eliminated. We take another break and come back with Mortos having been eliminated as King and Allin come back to ringside. Ishii and Bennett are both out, with Cassidy, Taven and O’Reilly following them out in short order. That leaves Strong, King and Allin in Ring #1 as Rush and Castagnoli fight in Ring #2.

They both wind up on the apron and Castagnoli swings Rush out. Strong is tossed out as well and Castagnoli eliminates Lethal to keep clearing the ring. King chokes Allin on the apron as he did in a previous edition but this time Allin slips out and hits a running body block to get rid of King and win Ring #1. Jarrett fights back on Cage and hammers away in the corner but here is Hangman Page to jump Jarrett and yell a lot.

That leaves Castagnoli and Cage in Ring #2 as we take another break. Back again with Castagnoli slugging at Cage, who pulls him out to the apron as well. A Neutralizer on the apron gets rid of Cage to win #Ring 2. Castagnoli goes after Allin and sends him to the floor (not out) before swinging him into the steps (geez). Back in and a nasty German suplex drops Allin again as Menard wants Allin to give up. They go to the apron with Castagnoli stomping away but Allin drapes him over the top and hits the Coffin Drop for the win at 36:44.

Rating: B. This is one of the more unique matches that AEW runs every year and it worked again here. Allin winning should make for a good World Title match when they get back to New York for Grand Slam and that is something they should have set up this far in advance. They’ve got a cool concept here and kept it moving to get all of the entrants in. Nice job and a good bit of fun.

Post match Castagnoli won’t shake hands.

Following an attack at the hands of Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale agrees to give Statlander a match in South Carolina. No word on which show that will be.

Kris Statlander vs. Leila Grey

Statlander backdrops her down to start and hits a kick to the face, setting up Friday Night Fever for the pin at 54 seconds.

Lance Archer vs. Alejandro

Archer has jumped Alejandro in the back and carries him to the ring for the opening bell. Two chokeslams and the Blackout finish Alejandro at 1:06.

Saraya is ready to show what she can do on Dynamite.

Outrunners vs. Private Party vs. Righteous vs. Don Callis Family

Vincent headlocks Floyd to start but it’s quickly off to Magnum for the big pose. That’s broken up as well and it’s Dutch coming in to clean house. Floyd is sent hard into the corner and we take a break. Back with Quen busting out a big running flip dive but Floyd dives him a Stunner over the ropes. Fletcher comes in to hammer on Floyd in the corner and Rush adds the running slap. Fletcher’s piledriver finishes at 8:50.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have time to get going and they had to rush to the end. It was going to be tricky to make this work with the amount of time they had and they had a break to make it worse. The Family getting the win is a fine way to go, though winning a match like this is only going to have so much value.

Overall Rating: B. This was a unique show as most of it was spent on one match, which went well. The rest of the show was made up of a pair of squashes and a rather quick four way. I can go for a Rampage where the majority goes to a fun match as that’s about all you can ask for here. Nice stuff this week, though it’s not something you’ll see again for a good while.

Results
Darby Allin won Royal Rampage last eliminating Claudio Castagnoli
Kris Statlander b. Leila Grey – Friday Night Fever
Lance Archer b. Alejandro – Blackout
Don Callis Family b. Outrunners, Private Party and Righteous – Piledriver to Floyd

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

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Rampage
Date: June 7, 2024
Location: Blue Arena, Loveland, Colorado
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

The road to Forbidden Door continues and for once I’m almost believing we might get something new this week. Rampage has been built up a bit more in recent weeks and that has made things more interesting. It is nice to see the show feel a bit more important and hopefully that continues here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. The Butcher

They shove each other around to start until Butcher knocks him down and hammers away against the ropes. Penta fights back and strikes away in the corner, setting up a handstand dropkick to rock Butcher again. A headscissors sends Butcher to the floor, where he runs over Alex Abrahantes.

The distracted Penta gets run over and clotheslined against the apron as Butcher takes over. Butcher works on the arm and kicks him in the shoulder as we take a break. Back with Penta hitting a Sling Blade for two and the Backstabber out of the corner gets the same. Butcher’s half nelson backbreaker gets the same but Penta Fear Factors him to win at 9:48.

Rating: C+. This was a nice way to give Penta a boost as he lost to Takeshita recently. Penta is someone who continues to feel like he could be something if given the chance, though beating Butcher is only going to get him so far. For now though, I’ll take a good match that runs about ten minutes to open the show.

Here is the Learning Tree so Chris Jericho can critique Matt Menard’s commentary. That’s it.

Acclaimed vs. Hunter Grey/Parviz

Grey and Parviz look like bad Missing Link cosplayers. It’s a brawl to start but Caster hits an AA on Grey. The Mic Drop finishes Grey at 55 seconds as that is quite the poor use of guys with a good look.

Post match, scissoring ensues.

Shane Taylor Promotions wants Action Andretti/Top Flight. If you’re to the point where you’re challenging Top Flight and Andretti, it might be time to hang it up.

Gates Of Agony vs. Private Party

Kassidy starts fast and hits a springboard Stunner on Toa but a Pounce on the floor has Private Party rocked as we take a break. Back with Kassidy hitting a bit flip dive onto the Gates, setting up a Swanton for two. Kaun takes both of them down in the corner and hands it back to Toa to take over. Quen avoids a Vader Bomb and it’s back to Kassidy for a 450, with Quen adding a shooting star for two. Toa is right back with a swinging Rock Bottom and Open The Gates finishes Kassidy at 7:47.

Rating: C+. They had a completely fine match but it’s hard to believe that either of these teams is going to be going anywhere anytime soon. I can’t imagine the Gates doing anything important as they have been built up and then beaten back down over and over. Private Party is pretty much the same, as they have yet to really do much of anything other than beat the Young Bucks years ago. It was an entertaining showcase, but I don’t buy either of them as having a bright future.

Toni Storm is ready to make cinema with Lady Frost on Collision.

Bang Bang Gang vs. Caleb Crush/Chris Wilde/Tyler Payne

The Gunns let Robinson start and he runs Crush over, knocks Wilde off the apron, and pulls Payne in. A spinebuster into a Cannonball sets up the forward DDT to finish Crush at 1:34. Robinson’s charisma continues to be great.

Post match Jay White brags about the team’s success and calls Robinson the Stray Bullet. White names Robinson a quarter of the Trios Champions so we might have a Freebird Rule.

Mina Shirakawa vs. Serena Deeb

Mina dances to start before Deeb works on a standing armbar. That’s reversed into a wristlock but Deeb reverses the reversal into the Paradise Lock. With that broken up, Mina kicks the leg out and drops some elbows onto said leg before just dropping it onto the mat. Back up and Deeb manages a neckbreaker over the middle rope for a breather. We take a break and come back with Mina enziguring her way to freedom.

The bad knee won’t let her follow up immediately but she’s fine enough to rock Deeb with a discus forearm. Another forearm hits Deeb in the corner and a top rope knee to the shoulder gets two. They trade standing switches until Deeb hits a hard German suplex. The hammerlock lariat gives Deeb two but Deebtox is blocked.

Mina is right back with a Figure Four and they even slap it out while the hold is still on. The rope is eventually grabbed for the break but Deeb’s knee is shot. Somehow it’s fine enough to hit a powerbomb into a stretch muffler of all things. Deeb takes out Mina’s knee for a change and rams it into the mat. There’s no Serenity Lock though as Mina grabs a reverse sitout implant DDT for the pin at 13:19.

Rating: B-. It’s nice that Shirakawa won a match on the way to Forbidden Door as she hasn’t been in the ring much. Other than a one off match against Anna Jay back in April, she hasn’t wrestled for AEW and that needed to be fixed. Beating Deeb is a good enough deal, though it seems Deeb is falling back down into jobberland, which is more disappointing than anything else.

Post match Mariah May comes out to celebrate but Toni Storm, in a bathrobe and with a towel over her head, comes out to glare. May invites her in and we do get a handshake with Mina. They both hold the ropes open for May to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This felt like a show where the goal was to get multiple people into the ring and that’s not a terrible way to go. As usual, the problem feels like very little of this is going to make a difference in the bigger shows. At the same time, keeping it at three hours helps a lot as it can’t overstay its welcome. Nice show, but nothing you need to see.

Results
Penta El Zero Miedo b. The Butcher – Fear Factor
Acclaimed b. Hunter Grey/Parviz – Mic Drop to Grey
Gates Of Agony b. Private Party – Open The Gates to Kassidy
Bang Bang Gang b. Caleb Crush/Chris Wilde/Tyler Payne – Forward DDT to Crush
Mina Shirakawa b. Serena Deeb – Reverse sitout implant DDT

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.