Dynamite
Date: September 21, 2022
Location: Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York City, New York
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

It’s probably the biggest Dynamite of the year as we are in a stadium for Grand Slam. As expected, the show is going to be a huge one with a World Title match between Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley for the vacant championship. Other than that, Swerve In Our Glory is defending the Tag Team Titles against the Acclaimed in an All Out rematch. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Castagnoli is defending and starts fast by gorilla pressing Jericho onto the top rope. A big boot knocks Jericho outside and Castagnoli follows him, only to have Jericho hide behind former Ring Of Honor owner Cary Silkin. That’s enough for Jericho to get in some cheap shots to stagger Castagnoli but he’s right back with the uppercuts back inside. They fight to the apron and fight over a suplex before forearming it out instead. Jericho gets the suplex onto the floor and they’re both down as we take a break.

Back with Jericho charging into a boot in the corner but managing to catch Castagnoli on top. A super hurricanrana pulls Castagnoli down for two and the fans bought that kickout. The Judas Effect is blocked though and a double stomp sets up the Sharpshooter to put Jericho in trouble.

A rope is grabbed so Castagnoli hits the Riccola Bomb for two. Castagnoli goes up but dives into the Codebreaker for two more. The Walls go on but Castagnoli is out fast, setting up the Swing. That and a clothesline are enough for two so Jericho grabs Floyd the baseball bat. That’s taken away but the distraction lets Jericho hit him low. The Judas Effect gives Jericho the pin and the title at 14:48.

Rating: B. I’m really not sure on this one as Jericho is the definition of someone who doesn’t need to win a World Title. Castagnoli was on a roll since winning the title and he loses to Jericho of all people? I’m not exactly interested in more of the Sports Entertainers vs. Wrestlers (read as WWE vs. AEW) feud but that seems to be where we’re going. Good match of course, but that result is a head scratcher in a lot of ways.

Post match the Jericho Appreciation Society, including Daniel Garcia, come out to celebrate.

Tag Team Titles: Swerve In Our Glory vs. Acclaimed

Acclaimed is challenging and Caster’s rap makes reference to a glory hole. The champs have rapper Fabulous in their corner while the Acclaimed have Billy Gunn. Lee runs Bowens over to start and then snaps off a running hurricanrana, which has Bowens scared and the crowd impressed. Bowens comes in and manages a hiptoss, meaning it’s scissoring time. Strickland isn’t having that and breaks it up with a dropkick, much to Gunn’s annoyance.

We take a break and come back Caster powerslamming Swerve and brainbustering Lee (which might have been planned as a suplex). The hot tag brings in Bowens to clean house, including a hurricanrana (or maybe a headSCISSORs) to Lee and a rollup for two on Strickland. Back up and Lee tosses Bowens HARD onto the ramp but misses a moonsault to Caster. Swerve goes for a boombox shot but hits Lee by mistake, allowing Bowens to hit a Blockbuster.

The Mic Drop connects for a VERY delayed two as Caster seems to hurt his knee. Strickland comes back in and drives Caster (knee seems ok) into the corner. Lee Pounces Caster and throws him into Swerve’s sitout powerbomb for a rather near fall, with the kickout bringing the crowd back to life. Strickland’s springboard flip dive is more of a springboard flipping kicks to their faces but Gunn gets in his face. The Fameasser on the floor hits Swerve and it’s the mic Drop to give Caster the pin and the titles at 13:41.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t the match they had at All Out but there was no way it was going to be able to live up to that standard. That being said, this was ALL about the huge moment as the fans were ready to see it and AEW went exactly where they should have. The Acclaimed has turned into one of the most over acts in the company and they needed the titles here.

Post match scissoring ensues as Swerve is stunned.

FTR congratulates the new champs but it’s time for their title shot. The Gunn Club comes in to mock them and I think FTR has their next non-Tag Team Title feud.

Wheeler Yuta….is interrupted by MJF, who comes to the stage with a Ric Flair strut. MJF says Wheels will never get a reaction like this. These people love him and would drink his sweat or let him sleep with their wives. The only reason he wouldn’t do it is because he has standards but Yuta calls him the King of The Low Hanging Fruit.

Yuta brings up MJF getting engaged to be married recently and suggests that MJF’s fiance is too smart for her. His fiance has figured out that MJF is a spineless piece of garbage who will walk out on her like MJF walked out on AEW. MJF: “Give it up for Wheeler. He has went from drying paint to pet rock personality.” MJF is here to wish the “Blackpool Cuckold Club” luck in the main event tonight and mocks both Danielson and Moxley. Oh and William Regal can teach him how to pop pills! That earns MJF a slap to the face but he headbutts Wheeler and SHOVES TONY SCHIAVONE! Yuta is back up but W. Morrissey comes in for the save.

Jade Cargill and the Baddies aren’t worried about Diamante and her friend. Cue Diamante, who brings in her friend….Trina, who is apparently a rapper. Not that commentary or anyone else tells us that of course.

All-Atlantic Title: Pac vs. Orange Cassidy

Cassidy is challenging and throws his sunglasses at Pac to start. Pac doesn’t care for that and the lazy kicks make him even angrier. They’re enough to make Pac stomp him down in the corner as Tony keeps talking about how MJF will be fined but it won’t matter. They head outside with Cassidy getting posted, setting up the big flip dive over the top.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy raising his boots to prevent the Black Arrow from launching. Cassidy knocks him outside for a dive, setting up the top rope DDT back inside. The Orange Punch is blocked though and Pac pulls him into the Brutalizer, which is countered into a rollup for two. The Orange Punch connects for two and Pac rolls outside for a breather. With the referee not able to see it, Pac gets in a shot with the ring bell hammer to knock Cassidy silly and retain at 12:15.

Rating: B-. This is where Cassidy has found his sweet spot. He isn’t likely to ever become a main eventer or a World Champion but giving him a title shot like this, only for him to come up short is fine. Good match here and Pac continues to be someone who feels like a major star every time he’s in the ring. The fans would have gone nuts for the title change, but it wasn’t the right call.

Interim AEW Women’s Title: Britt Baker vs. Serena Deeb vs. Athena vs. Toni Storm

Storm is defending and Rebel is here with Baker. It’s a brawl to start with everyone getting a quick near fall. Deeb even breaks up a backslide and rolls Baker and Athena up at the same time. Then it’s a leglock to Storm and an abdominal stretch (and then a suplex) to Athena at the same time.

We settle down to Storm hitting a running dropkick for two on Baker before going up top. That means a Tower Of Doom to bring everyone down and we take a break. Back with Storm and Deeb holding half crabs but slapping each other instead of cranking back harder. With those broken up, Athena dropkicks Baker to break up the Stomp and Deeb neckbreakers Baker over the ropes.

A swinging neckbreaker gives Deeb two on Storm and the Serenity Lock goes on. Athena breaks that up and throws Baker and Deeb at the same time. A powerbomb swung into a faceplant gives Athena two on Storm and Deeb makes the save. Baker tries the Lockjaw on Storm, who reverses into a crucifix to retain the title at 9:47.

Rating: C+. They went fast here and got to the point, with Storm getting the pin to retain in the end. Storm needs more wins to make her feel like a bigger star and pinning Baker is one of the best ways to do so. Storm needs a feud for the title, but getting rid of the Interim name would make things better than anything else.

Post match Baker (whose nose is busted) goes after Storm but Jamie Hayter runs in to pull her off. Then Hayter and Baker beat Storm down together and hug. Deeb beats on Athena at the same time. Lockjaw is loaded up….and Saraya (Paige) debuts. She clears the ring and invites anyone to come fight her but no one accepts. There’s your big debut, but seeing her in the ring is going to be a scary sight.

Darby Allin drags a body bag around New York before getting in a cab, saying he’s going to a funeral.

Here is what is coming on Rampage.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson

For the vacant title and William Regal is on commentary. Danielson goes for the leg to start before we get to the chops that you knew were coming. The chop off goes to Danielson, who takes Moxley into the corner for more chops and kicks. The running dropkick misses but Danielson keeps striking away anyway. Another kick knocks Moxley off the top and down to the floor for the flying knee as MJF, with the chip, is watching in the crowd. Moxley gets him onto the apron and tries a choke, only to get German suplexed hard. The running knee from the apron drops Moxley again as we take a break.

Back with Danielson striking away but Moxley pulls him into a half crab, followed by the ankle lock. With that broken up, they go up top with Moxley raking the back and backdropping him down. Moxley grabs a LeBell Lock of his own but Danielson slips out. They lock legs and wind up standing on their heads to slug it out, with Danielson getting the better of things.

Danielson grabs Cattle Mutilation to keep Moxley in trouble and the Hammer and Anvil elbows make it even worse. Moxley manages to survive and hits the King Kong lariat as MJF is chuckling over what he’s seeing. Danielson suplexes his way out of the Death Rider and hits the running knee for two, which has MJF on his feet. Moxley stomps Danielson in the ankle and hits the Death Rider for two.

Back up and Danielson starts kicking away, setting up some stomps. A triangle choke goes on before shifting to the LeBell Lock but Moxley makes it to the ropes. That’s fine with Danielson, who goes up top and hits a knee onto the arm. Moxley is right back with a Death Rider on the ramp for two, setting up a sleeper to make Danielson tap for the title at 19:32.

Rating: A-. They had a heck of a fight here and what matters most is that the title situation is set as we get ready for MJF to take the title, probably at Full Gear. You knew this was going to be an awesome match and that is what they pulled off in another great one. Moxley winning the title is a safe way to go, even if it makes it feel like we could have been here a few months ago.

Post match Regal comes in to hand Moxley the title but Danielson takes it away and points at Regal to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. What else is there to say here? The action was great, big things happened, and the main event set up things for the future. What mattered the most here was the atmosphere though, as they were in front of a ton of people in a huge venue and it was an outstanding show that delivered on every front. Absolutely worth checking this one out, as there is nothing bad in the slightest and some of the stuff was excellent.

Results
Chris Jericho b. Claudio Castagnoli – Judas Effect
Acclaimed b. Swerve In Our Glory – Mic Drop to Strickland
Pac b. Orange Cassidy – Hammer to the head
Toni Storm b. Britt Baker, Serena Deeb and Athena – Rollup to Baker
Jon Moxley b. Bryan Danielson – Choke

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: September 14, 2022
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re a week away from Grand Slam and that means it is time to set up a World Title match. We have two semifinal matches in the title tournament this week and that should make for a good show. Other than that, we might get some more of the start of the build towards Full Gear. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Grand Slam Tournament Of Champions: Jon Moxley vs. Sammy Guevara

No Tay Melo with Guevara but William Regal is on commentary. Guevara bails to the floor to start before coming back in and getting headlock takeovered. Back up and Guevara hammers him down in the corner, including some boot choking. They chop it out with Moxley laying down and feigning sleep before chopping more. Guevara sends him to the floor for the flipping suicide dive, followed by the running corkscrew dive. Moxley is sent into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Guevara blocking a piledriver on the apron and sending Guevara outside instead. Moxley hits the corner clothesline and rakes the back, setting up a butterfly superplex. Guevara manages an enziguri out of the corner and the top rope cutter gets two. The GTH is blocked but the King Kong lariat is countered into the bulldog choke.

With that broken up, Guevara is taken up top, only to have Anna Jay and Tay Melo come out. A Jay distraction lets Melo kick Moxley low, leaving Guevara to go up top, only to miss the Swanton. They slut it out until Guevara hits a jumping knee to stagger Moxley. The GTH is countered into the Death Rider for the pin at 13:25.

Rating: B-. There was no drama here as Moxley wasn’t going to lose to Sammy Guevara in a World Title tournament semifinal. Moxley is one of the favorites to win the whole thing and was the World Champion less than a month ago. Guevara did his usual stuff and had the women interfere, but there was nothing to convince me that Moxley was ever in danger.

Here is MJF for a chat. He says he hasn’t slept since he and Jon Moxley went toe to toe last week. MJF doesn’t like Moxley but isn’t the same person he was when they met the first time. Moxley is someone playing a character and MJF knows it because he read Moxley’s book. Moxley isn’t a normal person because he was raised like these people right here in Albany: poor and uneducated, which is why they love him.

Now Moxley is playing with something a lot more dangerous than his disease. MJF knows that Moxley is still the scared kid from Cincinnati, no matter how much people cheer for him. Sure Moxley went to rehab but MJF is the demon that he can’t overcome. Now though MJF has some backup that is going to help him take the title so here is the first stable on retainer: Stokely Hathaway and the Firm.

MJF leaves and Hathaway is going to tell us the gospel. He and MJF are best friends and Hathaway talked him out of quitting AEW. They prayed a lot and the men in this ring are his support system. Each of them will help MJF when necessary before going their separate ways. Hathaway is a friend who kicks it with Britt Baker and watches reruns of Living Single with the House of Black.

Hathaway talks about each member, saying he loves and appreciates them but thinks they could use some gold. Or to not be in their father’s shadow in the Gunn Club’s case. Either way, Hathaway is going to help get them what they want. This went on WAY longer than it needed to and Hathaway had nothing to talk about, which left it hanging badly. It doesn’t help that he is representing a bunch of goons and it was made even more obvious here.

Jungle Boy wants to fight and has issued an open challenge.

Jay Lethal is down to face Jungle Boy.

Jay Lethal vs. Jungle Boy

Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt are here with Lethal while Jungle Boy’s back is taped up. Lethal takes him into the corner to start and something involving running the corner is blocked. Jungle Boy is right back up and runs the corner for a wristdrag. Back up and Lethal goes for the leg but Jungle Boy sits down on him for two instead. A quick distraction lets Lethal get in a shot to the bad back, setting up a middle rope backbreaker onto the turnbuckle as we take a break.

Back with Jungle Boy winning a slugout but his back gives out on a suplex attempt. Jungle Boy pops back up for a brainbuster and goes to the middle rope, only to get Russian legsweeped down. The Lethal Combination sends Jungle Boy outside for the suicide dive, setting up the top rope elbow for two back inside. Lethal loads up a pump kick but gets pulled into the Snare Trap and Lethal taps at 10:34.

Rating: C+. There is nothing wrong with a good face coming in hurt and having to fight through the pain to win. That’s exactly what they had here and with Lethal in the ring as the good hand, this was going to work well. It wasn’t an epic or a classic, but it was a perfectly watchable wrestling match and that’s a nice thing to have on the show.

Action Bronson and Hook train for the Jericho Appreciation Society.

Ethan Page kicks pizza maker Luigi Primo in the face because no one takes his place seriously. Danhausen pops in and gets a match with Page on Rampage.

Darby Allin rides extreme bicycles.

Matt Hardy doesn’t like Darby Allin.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Matt DiMartino

Spinebuster finishes for Hobbs in 26 seconds.

Post match Hobbs says Ricky Starks is tough but it took him 4:35 to win at All Out. Damage starts tonight, but here is Starks through the crowd to interrupt. Starks charges the ring and clears Hobbs out.

The Lucha Bros are ready for their Tag Team Title shot.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. Swerve In Our Glory

The Bros are challenging and Pentagon strikes away on Strickland to start. It’s way too early to snap the arm so Penta settles for a kick to the ribs instead. Fenix comes in with a rolling dropkick, drawing some polite applause from Lee. There’s the assisted wheelbarrow splash for two but Strickland gets in a shot of his own and brings Lee in to shrug off some chops as we take a break.

Back with Fenix slipping out of a Gory Stretch and bringing Penta in to clean house. The Fear Factor is broken up though and a kick to the face allows Strickland to bring Lee back in. Lee wrecks the Bros but Penta manages a Canadian Destroyer on Lee for a very delayed two. That’s enough for Lee, who is back up with a Big Bang Catastrophe for the pin to retain at 8:12.

Rating: B-. Kind of a random Tag Team Title shot here but the Lucha Bros are always going to be near the top of the division. Lee and Swerve work well together as a big man/speed team, even though they’ve kind of become heels by default due to the Acclaimed stuff. Another good match though, and that’s always nice to see.

Post match here is the serious Acclaimed to promise to win the titles next week. They kind of have to.

Pac doesn’t like that loss being called a bump in the road and wants more respect. Orange Cassidy comes in with an Orange Punch and suggests he’s taking one of Pac’s titles.

Athena and Toni Storm don’t like Britt Baker and Serena Deeb.

Athena/Toni Storm vs. Serena Deeb/Britt Baker

Rebel is here with the villains. Deeb and Storm trade takeovers and headscissors on the mat to start until Storm gets her into the corner and chops away. Athena comes in with a slingshot splash for two and an over the shoulder spin into a Codebreaker (that was a lot) drops Deeb again. Baker offers a distraction though and Deeb takes the knee out as we take a break.

Back with Storm getting the hot tag to clean house, including a tornado DDT to Baker on the floor. Baker is fine enough for a Sling Blade back inside so it’s off to Athena vs. Deeb again. Athena has to power out of an armbreaker and brings Storm back in. Deeb grabs a half crab and shrugs off shots from Athena to keep Baker in trouble. Baker adds a basement superkick to Storm for two, with Athena having to backsplash the pile for the save. Athena is sent into the steps so Rebel offers a distraction, allowing Deeb to send Storm into a Baker held chair. Storm is out and Deeb gets the pin at 8:37.

Rating: C. So yeah, just after Storm wins the big one, she is losing to Serena Deeb in a tag match. It wasn’t clean, but Storm is at the point where she doesn’t need to be losing for a long time. She needs the rub to get her back to credibility and even though there was a chair involved, this wasn’t a good way to get there. At least it wasn’t Baker getting the pin though.

Post match Athena comes back in and gets Stomped for her efforts. Jamie Hayter runs in to break up another chair shot but beats Storm down with the chair instead. Hayter yells at Baker, who still says she is sorry.

Mark Sterling is ready for Josh Woods to win the ROH TV Title on Rampage.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Tournament Of Champions Semifinals: Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson

William Regal is on commentary. Danielson starts fast by firing off the kicks in the corner. There’s the running dropkick in the corner as we see Daniel Garcia watching, because of course he’s featured here too. Jericho fights back but gets taken outside with Danielson starting in on the arm.

Back in and the missile dropkick sets up the Swan Dive for two. Jericho manages a release German suplex into the triangle dropkick to the floor. They get back in for a chop off until stereo crossbodies leave them both down. We take a break and come back with Jericho snapping off a super hurricanrana but the Judas Effect is countered into a suplex for two.

Cattle Mutilation doesn’t finish Jericho so Danielson fires off the Hammer and Anvil elbows. Jericho reverses into some of his own, followed by a Codebreaker. Danielson isn’t having that and pops up with the running knee for the double knockdown. Back up and Jericho sends him over the top to the floor, where Danielson comes up grabbing his ankle.

Jericho isn’t going to let the doctor check on Danielson so he wraps the leg around the post. With the leg banged up, Jericho grabs a half crab and pulls Daniels back into the middle for a Figure Four. Somehow Danielson escapes and gets him into the LeBell Lock for the tap and the title match at 19:40.

Rating: B+. It felt like two guys struggling against each other because they both want something. That is how a match like this should go and it was another good one between two of the biggest stars in AEW. Danielson needed the win after a bit of a skid lately, though the positive thing is that he is so over in the first place that a few losses aren’t going to hurt him that much.

Post match Jon Moxley comes out for the staredown with Danielson as William Regal looks anxious. The handshake ends the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The tournament matches were good and the Firm is kind of interesting, but what made this one stand out a bit more was having good stuff in the middle. There wasn’t a point here where I felt bored (save for maybe the women’s match) and the two good matches book ended the show well. It was a wrestling heavy show and that is a good way to get rid of some of the drama.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Sammy Guevara – Death Rider
Jungle Boy b. Jay Lethal – Snare Trap
Powerhouse Hobbs b. Matt DiMartino – Spinebuster
Swerve In Our Glory b. Lucha Bros – Big Bang Catastrophe to Penta
Britt Baker/Serena Deeb b. Toni Storm/Athena – Storm was sent into a chair
Bryan Danielson b. Chris Jericho – LeBell Lock

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 7, 2022
Location: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

And then, everything changed again. AEW World Champion CM Punk and AEW Trios Champions Kenny Omega/the Young Bucks got in a hue bar fight and the question now is what happens to the titles. Odds are this is going to be a huge night of change, which is not what you want after a major pay per view. Let’s get to it.

Here is All Out if you need a recap.

We open with a look at MJF returning as the Joker and winning the Casino Ladder Match, with help from Stokely Hathaway and company.

AEW President Tony Khan joins us (in a VERY rare appearance) to announce that the Trios and World Titles are both vacated. The Trios Titles will be crowned tonight as Death Triangle meets the Best Friends. The World Title will be crowned in a tournament, with the finals at Grand Slam on September 21.

Here are the brackets:

Chris Jericho
Bye

Hangman Page
Brian Danielson

Sammy Guevara
Darby Allin

Jon Moxley
Bye

The Trios Titles are fine but yes, it’s ANOTHER TOURNAMENT and apparently based on past accomplishments. One would think this would be about the #1 and #2 ranked contenders fighting for the title, but that would imply that the rankings had any meaning in AEW. What matters here is that the tournament is going to be over in just two weeks on a grand stage, but I really could have gone with another way to get there instead of AEW’s favorite way of crowning a champion.

Here is MJF, in a Buffalo Bills jersey, to hype up the crowd. He asks how happy people are to see him and says yeah he meant most of what he said last time he was on Dynamite. The fans get an apology for calling them stupid marks and yes that honey in the front row can hit him up after the show. The World Title has been vacated so the Tournament Of Champions is coming to crown a new World Champion.

There is one person who deserves to be champion but he is willing to work smart instead of hard. What we need right now is a leader and he tells the story of Moses, but MJF is better than Moses. Cue Jon Moxley to interrupt and after his Undertaker length entrance, he gets in the ring to say MJF is full of it. MJF turns on the crowd (Tony: “He’s back.”) and sticks it to the Buffalo fans. He talks about how the only Khan worth anything in wrestling is Jolly Old St. Nick but as his all time favorite wrestler, the Game, said, MJF being the World Champion is best for business.

Moxley says MJF needs to be out of the ring right now but MJF takes his shirt off. After that takes some time, MJF bails anyway. Moxley: “Your music sucks.” Anyway, Moxley says that he wants the title back and it is time for someone to take the shot. He needs to be the best and he is taking the shot because it is time to be a legend. You could feel the emotion here, but the better part is that MJF is back.

Trios Titles: Best Friends vs. Death Triangle

For the vacant titles and Danhausen and Alex Abrahantes are here too. Pac and Orange Cassidy start things off but Pac isn’t down for that. Instead Penta comes in for the pose off until Cassidy snaps off a headscissors. Everything breaks down and Death Triangle is sent outside for the big flip dive.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy in trouble but they head outside for Danhausen vs. Abrahantes. Cursing ensues so Danhausen tries the same on Pac, earning himself a shot to the face. Back in and the hot tag brings in Pac to clean house but Trent gets in a shot of his own to take over. Soul Food into the half nelson suplex drops Fenix and we get the Big Hug.

Back up and Fenix fires off the kicks but Death Triangle has to superkick him out of the Crunchie. The Orange Punch knocks Penta into the Crunchie for two with Pac making a save. An assisted Canadian Destroyer drops Trent and the spike Fear Factor hits Taylor. Instead of covering, Pac dives onto the other two, leaving Pac to hit the Black Arrow for the pin and the titles at 11:59.

Rating: B. This was about as good of a choice as they could have made as Death Triangle might be the most established trio in all of AEW. Let them have the titles and do their wacky stuff, which should be more interesting than whatever Elite melodrama we were supposed to get. The Best Friends were doing their serious version here and the whole thing worked well, as it was all about getting some new champions crowned.

Dark Order gets interrupted by Jose the Assistant, who has been sent by Andrade El Idolo to hire 10. John Silver isn’t having that Andrade and Rush come up, with 10 seeming interested.

We recap the Interim Women’s Title match, with Britt Baker costing Jamie Hayter the title.

Hayter won’t talk to Baker.

Toni Storm vs. Penelope Ford

Non-title. Ford, with Kip Sabian in her corner, takes Storm down with a headscissors to start but gets knocked into the corner. The running hip attack misses and Ford bails to the floor, where she sends Storm into the steps and we take a break. Back with Storm knocking her into the corner and hitting the hip attack. The jumping DDT finishes Ford at 5:53. Not enough shown to rate but it was just below a squash for Storm.

Matt Menard and Angelo Parker yell about Action Bronson interfering after Hook beat Parker.

Bronson says he’ll be at Grand Slam.

Here is the Acclaimed but Swerve Strickland cuts them off and says he has a joke for them: Acclaimed as AEW Tag Team Champions! Billy Gunn cuts them off and says this isn’t Swerve’s house anymore. Anthony Bowens says the rematch is in two weeks in New York City and they’re taking home the gold because everyone loves the Acclaimed. They have to change the titles there right?

Chris Jericho talks about finding the Fountain of Youth and drinking it in man. After beating Bryan Danielson, he is the greatest wrestler in history. This is his company and championship and no one is taking that away from him EVER. As for this Friday, Sammy Guevara is ready to beat Darby Allin and Daniel Garcia is winning the Ring Of Honor Pure Title tonight. Sammy didn’t hear him because he was admiring Jericho’s abs.

TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Tony Nese

Nese, with Mark Sterling, is challenging. A headbutt and lariat sets up the three movement Powerbomb Symphony to retain the title at 1:30. That was such a squash that it made up for Wardlow’s music not playing, Wardlow saying “where’s my music” and his old theme playing before the match by mistake.

Post match Wardlow loads up a powerbomb on Sterling but Josh Woods makes the save. Wardlow says he is tired of hearing that he is being misused and this is still WARDLOW’S WORLD!

Video on Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara, with Darby talking about how they have been competing since AEW started. He’ll throw in a bonus: no Sting when they fight on Rampage.

Tournament Of Champions First Round: Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page

William Regal is on commentary. Feeling out process to start with Danielson grabbing a headlock to no avail. A chop sends Danielson outside but he is right back in for a takedown into a double knee stomp. Danielson kicks away in the corner but gets sent outside. That doesn’t go well for Page, who is sent shoulder first into the post and we take a break.

Back with Danielson chopping away even more but getting caught in the fall away slam to the floor. Danielson gets back in and walks into a Death Valley Driver for two but Danielson takes him back down for two of his own. Page gets sent to the apron and we take a break. Back with Page hitting a sitout powerbomb for two but Danielson ties him in the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the chest. A belly to back superplex is broken up so Page hits a discus lariat for two.

Danielson is able to pull him into the LeBell Lock but Page slips out again. Back up and Danielson takes him down by the arm for another LeBell Lock, which is escaped as well. Danielson charges into the Deadeye for a very close two but Page misses a moonsault. Danielson’s running knee connects to send Page outside, where his suicide dive is countered into a powerbomb onto the apron. Page hits the moonsault to the floor, but the Buckshot Lariat is countered into a bridging O’Connor Roll for the pin at 22:50.

Rating: A-. Yeah of course this was great as Danielson can do no wrong while Page is able to have a very good match with a lot of people. This was a great way for Danielson to come back as it isn’t like Page was going to lose much in a match like this one. They had a long wrestling match here and it was very well put together, which shouldn’t be a shock at all.

Jungle Boy is ready to take out Christian Cage. As for Luchasaurus, it was appropriate that Luchasaurus carried him to the ring for so many years, because Jungle Boy carried his entire career. At All Out, it felt like an anchor was taken off of him and he has never been happier.

Stokely Hathaway and company come out for a chat but he is told they are out of time. Hathaway grabs the production guy by the throat, demands respect, and then drops him with a mic shot. Hathaway’s guys beat the production guy down.

Claudio Castagnoli and Dax Harwood are ready for their Ring Of Honor World Title match on Rampage.

Here’s what’s coming at various shows.

Ring Of Honor Pure Title: Daniel Garcia vs. Wheeler Yuta

Garcia is challenging and gets rapped to the ring. Feeling out process to start and they fight over a lockup before falling outside. We take a break and come back with Garcia coming up for an exchange of chops, with Yuta hitting a snap suplex. Garcia snaps off some suplexes and a running shot to the face gets two.

Back up and Yuta grabs some rolling German suplexes, only to have Garcia come back with his own. Then they trade German suplexes until Garcia hits a middle rope release German superplex, with Yuta landing on the back of his head (yow) as we take a break. Back with Garcia winning a slap off and putting on the Dragonslayer. With that broken up, Garcia does it again and bends back to make Yuta tap at 16:00.

Rating: B. These matches are still a good concept, though they feel out of place on such a high energy show as Dynamite. Garcia had to win here after everything he has done, though now we get to continue the wrestler vs. sports entertainer deal with him. Very technical match, though I’m not sure how well it served as a main event.

Post match Bryan Danielson comes out as the Code Of Honor is adhered to (they shake hands). Danielson then puts the title around Garcia’s waist as an aghast Chris Jericho comes out to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This show told me a few things. First of all, AEW has WAY too many stars on its roster if four big names can be dropped and you don’t really notice because there is still so much talent around. Second, having a show focusing on wrestling is always going to work and that is what they did here. There were three good matches with one near classic in the middle. This was an awesome two hours of TV, which flew by, and had some excellent wrestling included. Great show, and hopefully the end of so much AEW drama.

Results
Death Triangle b. Best Friends – Black Arrow to Taylor
Toni Storm b. Penelope Ford – Jumping DDT
Wardlow b. Tony Nese – Powerbomb Symphony
Bryan Danielson b. Hangman Page – O’Connor roll
Daniel Garcia b. Wheeler Yuta – Dragonslayer

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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All Out 2022
Date: September 4, 2022
Location: Now Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

It’s time for the big night and in this show’s case, that means really big, as we have a whopping fifteen matches on the card. That alone is going to make this a busy night, but the question becomes what happens in the main event. CM Punk is challenging Jon Moxley despite having a bad foot as of last week. This could go in a few ways, and I’m not sure how well it is going to wind up. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: AAA Mixed Tag Team Titles: Sammy Guevara/Tay Melo vs. Ruby Soho/Ortiz

Sammy and Tay are defending and get jumped during their entrance at the Red Carpet. Soho and Ortiz chase them down with a golf cart and beat them into the ring, where we officially start with Sammy and Tay in street clothes. I have no idea what street, but they’re street clothes. Sammy gets kicked in the face to start and is busted open but manages a shot of his own.

Tay comes in and kisses a downed Soho on the cheek before putting Soho on top. The guys come in so Sammy launches Tay at Ortiz for a Canadian Destroyer. A Swanton gives Sammy two but Soho missile dropkicks Melo and lands on Sammy in the process. Cue Anna Jay for a failed save attempt, leaving Soho to hit No Future and Ortiz to hit a clothesline for stereo near falls. Back up and Melo catches Soho on top for a superplex onto the guys on the floor. They head back inside where the TayKO finishes Soho to retain the titles at 6:04.

Rating: C. So now Tay gets jumped before the match, wrestles in street clothes, and still pins Soho? At what point should she just move on to a trade school? The match was the usual collection of rapid fire spots as we have now seen this match three times in ten days. That is more than enough but hopefully everyone can move on from this feud, as it has been rather overdone in short order.

Zero Hour: FTW World Title: Hook vs. Angelo Parker

Hook is defending and Matt Menard is here with Parker. Hook takes him down to start but gets poked in the eye, allowing Parker to send him throat first into the ropes. Parker: “I’M EXPOSING HOOK!” That earns him a shot to the face but Menard grabs the foot for a distraction. Granted it doesn’t matter as Hook throws him down and an exploder suplex. Another suplex drops Parker again and Redrum makes him tap at 3:38.

Rating: C. They kept this short, as tends to be the case for Hook matches. As usual, it’s the idea of getting him in and out before anything can go badly, which is the right way to go for him. I’m sure Hook will get to beat up Menard next before moving on to whatever his next goofy match is, as it isn’t like this title matches whatsoever.

Post match Menard runs in to jump Hook but Action Bronson, who performs Hook’s music, comes in for the save.

Zero Hour: All-Atlantic Title: Kip Sabian vs. Pac

Sabian, with the box on his head, is challenging and yeah I still have no idea what the deal is supposed to be with that thing. Pac starts fast and kicks away at Sabian but it’s too early for the Black Arrow. Sabian gets shoved off the top but is right back with a springboard kick to the head.

That’s enough to knock Pac outside, setting up a springboard moonsault to drop him again. Pac is fine enough to hit a suplex on the floor and they head back in for some kicks to the unboxed head. A pop up knee to the head sets up a dragon suplex for two on Pac but he snaps off a German suplex for the double knockdown. The Black Arrow is loaded up again but Sabian rolls away before it can launch. Pac chokes him down again and stomps away, setting up the Red Arrow for the pin to retain at 10:20.

Rating: C+. I for one totally get why we waited six months to set this up with Sabian sitting in the crowd without being acknowledged in any way. Pac winning and getting this over with is the right way to go because there wasn’t much to the story anyway, and I’d much rather not have to figure out what the point of Sabin was supposed to be. Nice enough match as Pac was there, but Sabian is still his old self.

Post match Pac says he needs a new challenger so here is Orange Cassidy. Pac: “NO!” Cassidy is a joke instead of a wrestler and he can get to the back of the line.

Sabian yells at his box hat.

Zero Hour: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Eddie Kingston

Rematch from a New Japan match earlier this year, with Ishii winning. The chop it out to no avail to start with Ishii getting the better of things until Kingston drops him with a hard clothesline. Back up and Ishii unloads on him in the corner with Kingston being knocked down for a change. Kingston can’t hit a belly to back suplex so Ishii hits a vertical suplex but they’re both banged up.

Ishii misses a charge in the corner so Kingston hits, you guessed it, more chops. A DDT plants Ishii and a sliding forearm gives Kingston two. Ishii gets up and is more serious so he stands there while Kingston chops him. A kick to the back frustrates Kingston for a change so this time they slap it out.

Kingston hurts his shoulder on a suplex attempt and Ishii is back with a German suplex. One heck of a clothesline staggers (but doesn’t drop) Kingston so they hit each other for a double knockdown. Back up and Kingston hits a hard lariat for two before Ishii runs him over for the same. Ishii’s brainbuster is blocked and Kingston hits the spinning backfist for a VERY near fall. Another spinning backfist is shrugged off and Kingston grabs a northern lights bomb for the pin at 13:28.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of a match that might not be everyone’s taste and that was the case for me as well. The chopping part was more than a bit repetitive but eventually they started beating the fire out of each other and that made up for a lot of it. Kingston winning the match made sense, but there is only so much that you can get out of these two hitting each other with such similar stuff over and over.

Casino Ladder Match

Rey Fenix and Wheeler Yuta start things off and Fenix is right there with the first ladder, which he leans over the barricade. That takes too long so Yuta takes him down and goes up. Rush is in at #3 and shoves both of them down to take over. Andrade El Idolo comes in at #4 and this is not going to go well for everyone not named Rush. A ladder is set up in the middle and it’s a super sunset bomb to drop Martin hard onto the bridged ladder.

Claudio Castagnoli is in at #4 and pushes the double ladder, with Andrade on it, over for the big crash out to the floor. Dante Martin is in at #5 and has a ladder fall on him as he hits the ring. Martin kicks away at Castagnoli before getting shoved from one ladder to another. Penta El Cero Miedo is in at #6 and Canadian Destroys Martin on the ramp and another one drives Andrade onto a bridged ladder.

Fenix frog splashes Rush through a table at ringside and….we’ve got a bunch of masked men to wreck everyone else. One of them goes up to pull down the chip and it’s Stokely Hathaway. Apparently that doesn’t count because he’s not a wrestler, so whoever get the chip wins the title shot. Cue the Joker, another masked man, and it’s…well we don’t know as he doesn’t unmask but he wins at 14:12.

Rating: B-. It’s another wild ladder match and there are only so many things that you can see in one of these things. They were doing all of their crashes and dives but what matters most is having the Joker as a wild card. That could be a lot of people and odds are we’ll be finding out in a few weeks at the most. Good stuff here, but these ladder matches completely run together.

We recap the Trios Titles tournament, which should make for a big final.

Trios Titles: Elite vs. Hangman Page/Dark Order

For the inaugural titles and Don Callis is on commentary. Reynolds and Matt Jackson start things off and neither gets anywhere of note. That means a lot of glaring as we recap the issues among Page and the Elite over the years (and there are a lot of them). Matt gets knocked down by Silver and his back seems to be messed up, which is enough for Page to call off the Order. It’s off to Omega vs. Page and the fans are WAY into this.

They lock up and go into the Order corner, where Silver comes in, much to some booing. Omega’s recently repaired shoulder gets cranked on but Page doesn’t like that either. A big boot and fall away slam connect for Page but his springboard is superkicked out of the air. The Bucks start taking turns on Page before Omega tells him that HE CAN’T ESC….ok I guess Page can as he slips out and gets Silver back in.

Everything breaks down and the Order hits a suicide dive/brainbuster combination to Nick on the floor, giving us a rare ALEX REYNOLDS chant. Matt suplexes both of them but hurts his back again, as tends to be the case with him. Omega gets caught in the corner for the running lariats and the German suplex into a jackknife rollup gives Reynolds two. The Bucks are back in with the superkicks to set up the V Trigger to send Silver outside.

Omega hits the big running flip dive to the floor but Silver is back in with a Backstabber. Page moonsaults onto Nick on the floor and the Pendulum Bomb gets two on Matt. The Bucks and the Order trade clotheslines and a four way superkick puts all of them down. That leaves us with Page vs. Omega….and the referee actually says they need to tag in. With that idiocy out of the way, Omega hits a V Trigger into the Jay Driller for two but Page is able to catch him on top.

A super fall away slam into a cover gives Page two of his own and there’s a Buckshot Lariat to the back of Omega’s head. Matt teases grabbing Page’s leg ala when Page won the World Title but the delay lets Nick hit his own Buckshot Lariat to drop Page. The BTE Trigger gets two with Silver making the save but a V Trigger cuts him down. The One Winged Angel is countered into a rollup to give Silver two but a Buckshot Lariat accidentally knocks Silver silly, with Omega stealing the pin at 19:47.

Rating: B+. Heck of a match as you knew it would be, but there is something amusing about the Elite winning again and setting up even more Bucks/Page/Omega melodrama. What we got here was another pretty awesome match though and that is the point of these belts. Just let them get in their car crash, all action stuff and pop the crowd, which I’ll take over it being the focal point of the show. Very good stuff, even if I’m not at all into the never ending Elite story.

We look at Jade Cargill and Athena yelling at each other on Rampage.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill vs. Athena

Cargill is defending and is painted green for a She-Hulk look. Athena starts fast and hits the O Face in less than a minute, but the Baddies pull Athena out (a second late as the referee had to slow his count). That earns the Baddies a beating but Jade runs Athena over for two back inside. A big toss sends Athena flying until she’s back up with a springboard spinning crossbody for her own two. The fans get behind Athena as she goes up but Kiera Hogan grabs her leg again. Another springboard is pump kicked out of the air and Jaded retains the title at 4:25.

Rating: C-. So remember every big match that Cargill has had? This was the latest one as Athena gets beaten down and added to the list. I’m not sure who is next for Cargill but she continues to be the most pushed woman in AEW, which does make sense given how oddly charismatic she is, but it is going to be very interesting to see what happens when she loses.

CM Punk arrived earlier and put over Chicago again as the live crowd gets more love.

FTR/Wardlow vs. Jay Lethal/Motor City Machine Guns

Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt are here, with the latter’s shirt mocking Dax Harwood’s daughter. Harwood one ups that by bringing out his daughter for a sweet moment. Lethal and Wardlow start things off but it’s way too early for a powerbomb. Harwood and Sabin come in, with the latter slapping him in the face. Everything teases breaking down before Harwood runs Sabin over again.

Shelley gets knocked off the apron but it’s time to chase Dutt, allowing Sabin to get in a cheap shot back inside. Harwood chops his way out of trouble though and it’s Wardlow coming in to clean house. A double suplex drops the Guns and Harwood comes back in (rather quickly) for a chop off with Lethal.

Harwood fights his way out of the corner and hands it off to Wheeler to pick up the pace. Sabin is sent outside, leaving Shelley to kick Wheeler’s leg out. The villains take turns wrapping Wheeler’s leg around the post, leaving Lethal to grab a Figure Four. With that broken up, Wheeler gets over to Wardlow for the tag, setting up the house cleaning.

Everything breaks down and Singh punches Wardlow in the face for two, leaving Wardlow to be tied in the Tree of Woe for the series of baseball slide dropkicks. Lethal is back up with the double Lethal Injection to FTR. That’s enough time for Wardlow to fight up and start wrecking everyone, including a four movement Powerbomb Symphony on Lethal at 16:36.

Rating: C+. Good enough match here as Wardlow gets some momentum back after a few weeks of nothing. That doesn’t really help FTR, but maybe we can get a regular tag match against the Guns sooner than later. This match never felt important from the moment it was announced and this didn’t help, though of course it was at least pretty good.

Post match Samoa Joe returns and goes after Sonjay Dutt. Cue Harwood’s daughter Finlay so Harwood decks Dutt, allowing Finlay to get the pin for a feel good moment.

We recap Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Ricky Starks. They were friends and partners, but then Hobbs got sick of Starks’ singles success. Fighting ensued and here we are, as Starks wants revenge.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Ricky Starks

Starks charges straight at him to start and is promptly powered down without much trouble. Hobbs goes into the slow power beating as Starks realizes he might be in over his head. The neck crank goes on as Hobbs is working on the recently injured neck. Starks fights up and strikes away in the corner, setting up a DDT for two. Back up and Starks charges into a spinebuster to give Hobbs the sudden win at 5:13.

Rating: C. This feels like the match that was cut down due to time but the ending made up for it. Hobbs winning is a fine way to go (and Starks would have been as well) because AEW is giving someone young and talented a win. We could be in for something from Hobbs and I could certainly go for that kind of a push, as he seems like he could be a breakout star.

We look back at Acclaimed and Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee arguing on Rampage.

Tag Team Titles: Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee vs. Acclaimed

Acclaimed, with Billy Gunn, is challenging. Bowens takes Swerve down to start as the fans chant OH SCISSOR ME DADDY at Billy. Thankfully they are smart enough to let the fans get it out of their system before handing it off to Lee vs. Caster. For some reason Caster tries to go with power vs. Lee but gets about as far as you would expect. A middle rope hurricanrana works a bit better as Lee is taken down before all four come in at once.

The champs are sent outside, meaning it’s time for the big scissoring, much to Billy’s delight. We settle down to Lee taking over on Caster, despite the fans letting Lee know that HE CAN’T SCISSOR. Caster fights out of the corner and hits a middle rope cutter to put Lee down. It’s back to Bowens to hit a running neckbreaker on Swerve, followed by a discus forearm.

A shot to the leg cuts Bowens down though and Swerve throws him over the top, with the leg being banged up again. Lee adds a splash to the knee but misses a charge, allowing the hot tag off to Caster for the house cleaning. For some reason Caster tries a fireman’s carry on Lee, which works as well as you would expect. Lee Pounces over by mistake and a knee gets two on Lee.

Back up and Lee kicks out Bowens’ bad knee but gets caught up top. Swerve makes the save and hits the Swerve Stomp for a VERY close two on Bowens. A half crab goes on but Caster makes the save with a missile dropkick. Swerve’s running kick to the head gets two on Caster, leaving Bowens to break up Swerve’s springboard. With Bowens holding Swerve over the floor, Caster hits a Mic Drop, only to hurt Bowen’s knee in the process. Back inside and Lee chops away, until Billy gets up for a distraction.

Somehow Caster uses the distraction to hit an FU on Lee and it’s the Arrival to Swerve setting up the Mic Drop for a VERY close two with Lee making the save (and the fans aren’t pleased). A Death Valley Driver onto the apron plants Caster and Bowens gets pulled into a backbreaker back inside. Bowens has to fight off both champs but his knee gives out, causing Swerve to kick Lee by mistake. A rollup gets a VERY close two on Lee but Bowens gets caught on Lee’s shoulders. Swerve adds the Stomp to make it a sitout powerbomb for the pin to retain at 22:18.

Rating: B+. Oh I’m not sure about that result, as the fans were BEGGING for the Acclaimed to win here. I get why they didn’t do it and I get why they want Swerve and Lee to retain, but egads if there was ever a reason to call an audible, that might have been it. Either way, at least they had a big pick up match that got a lot of time, with some of those near falls being too close to believe.

Post match Lee and Billy scissor, much to the fans’ uncertainty.

All of the Women’s Title match participants want the title.

Interim Women’s Title: Jamie Hayter vs. Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Toni Storm

For the vacant title, Rebel is here too and the fans seem to like Hayter. It’s a big brawl to start and we get an exchange of rollups. With that not working, Hayter half crabs Storm to leave her in trouble. Baker and Shida trade some rollups before Baker is back up with a Sling Blade. Hayter suplexes Shida and Storm at the same time before being sent outside. Storm dives onto Hayter but gets Sling Bladed by Baker.

With Baker taken down, Shida and Storm face off back inside with Storm being shouldered down but nipping right back up. Rebel tries to come in and gets double headbutted down, which is good for a flat back fall and a lot of laughter from commentary. Hayter carries Shida up the ramp and Baker follows for a Stomp to Shida. That’s enough to get Shida taken out, leaving us with three for the moment.

Storm is double teamed inside and the fans think Hayter is better, which has JR talking about….a sale in a department store? And now here is Shida, complete with two kendo sticks, because KENDO STICKS ARE COOL. Shida gets to clean house and suplexes Baker into Hayter in the corner. Everyone is back up for an exchange of strikes and the villains get a double rollup for two on Shida.

Now it’s Shida with a Falcon Arrow for two on Hayter, with Storm making the save. Hayter breaks up a German suplex with a Tombstone to Storm (that was cool) but Shida makes a save of her own. Baker is back up with a Stomp to Shida for two but Storm breaks up a Lockjaw attempt. There’s a ripcord lariat from Hayter to Shida, causing baker to pull the referee out at two. Storm hits Storm Zero on Hayter but Baker steals the cover for two more. Back in and Storm gives Baker and Hayter a jumping DDT each, with the latter being enough to make Storm champion at 14:41.

Rating: B-. There were some plot points in there, as Baker costing Hayter is going to come back and bite her in the near future. Storm needed to win here as you can only go so far with the losses before she stops mattering. Good match here with the right result, so I’ll take what I can get.

We recap Christian Cage vs. Jungle Boy. Christian claims that Jungle Boy cost him money by losing the Tag Team Titles so he started insulting the memory of Jungle Boy’s dead father. Jungle Boy is out for revenge.

Jungle Boy vs. Christian Cage

Hold on though as Jungle Boy can’t find Luchasaurus, who comes up from behind and chokeslams Jungle Boy onto the lighting grid. Jungle Boy is taken to ringside and beaten down again, but insists on the bell ringing. A spear gives Christian two and the Killswitch finishes for Christian at 21 seconds.

Death Triangle is ready for the Best Friends on Dynamite, though Pac still doesn’t like Orange Cassidy.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson, which is about who is the better professional wrestler/sports entertainer.

Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson

William Regal is on commentary and it’s Lionheart here as the 17 Faces Of Jericho continues. Danielson is sung to the ring by someone named Elliott Taylor. They go technical to start until Danielson takes him down for the stomping. With that broken up, they stare at each other a bit in the corner and Jericho hits a hard chop. Danielson goes with a hammerlock but lets him go instead of firing off the palm strikes.

Jericho takes him down on the mat for a change, which is reversed into a double knee stomp. A cross armbreaker is blocked and Jericho reverses up for some elbows to the head. Danielson reverses that and ties up the legs before asking if the fans want some entertainment. That means a Rick Rude hip swivel, which has Jericho angry enough that he chops away in the corner.

Jericho sends him to the apron and hits the triangle dropkick to the floor, but the dive is knocked away to give Danielson a breather. Back in and Danielson hits a missile dropkick, setting up the YES Kicks. A super hurricanrana is countered into the Walls though but Danielson slips out and sends Jericho outside.

That means a suicide dive through the ropes in the corner, only to miss the Swan Dive back inside. Jericho takes his time following up though and Danielson tries the LeBell Lock, which is reversed into a catapult. Naturally Danielson skins the cat so Jericho hits a Tombstone into the Lionsault for two. Back up and the Judas Effect misses and Danielson kicks him in the head.

Danielson stomps away at Jericho, setting up the LeBell Lock. It’s rolled into the middle for better position but Jericho reverses into the Walls again. That’s reversed into a triangle choke but Jericho gets him into the ropes for the break. They chop it out from their knees with Jericho getting chopped into the corner. The backflip over into the clothesline is countered with the Codebreaker for two, setting up a Liontamer to make it even worse.

Another rope is grabbed so Jericho goes primal by hammering away at the head. Danielson gets up again though and it’s the running knee for two. Cattle Mutilation goes on but Jericho rolls out again. That works for Danielson, who fires off the hammer and anvil elbows. Cattle Mutilation goes on again but this time Jericho makes the rope with his foot. More kicks stagger Jericho until Danielson is backed away from the rope. Instead it’s a rolling forearm to rock Jericho and more hammering and elbowing ensues. Jericho manages a low blow though and the Judas Effect finishes Danielson at 23:31.

Rating: A-. They were having a classic and a low blow brought it down a bit. Otherwise, this was a heck of a wrestling match, but I’m really not sure on having Danielson lose again. I’m sure this will be more about Daniel Garcia on the end than anything else, but could we get Danielson a big win for a change? He’s a made man for the rest of his career, though I’m still not sure how many more losses he needs.

The House Of Black is ready to end Sting, Darby Allin and Miro.

House Of Black vs. Sting/Darby Allin/Miro

Miro and Black start things off with Miro taking him into the corner. King comes in for the power brawl with Miro until Allin has to tag himself in. Allin counters Matthews’ Murphy’s Law into a cradle for two but a Code Red is countered (Allin: “Oh s***.”) by Black’s kick to the head. King throws Allin into the corner and Black comes in for the chinlock. Allin fights up and goes over to the corner but Julia Hart distracts the referee, meaning no tag.

The tag goes through a few seconds later, allowing the tag brings in Sting. Some Stinger Splashes connect and it’s time for the staredown with Black. The brawl is on and we hit the Scorpion Deathlock, with the rest of the House not being able to break it up. Sting is finally staggered enough to let Black reverse into a kneebar, with Miro having to make a save.

Allin hits a Coffin Drop for two but Matthews gets in a bat shot to send Miro crashing into the steps. Allin is back up with a flipping Stunner and a suicide flip dive, only to come up holding his shoulder. Back in and Sting mists Black, setting up Allin’s Last Supper for the pin at 12:09.

Rating: C+. This didn’t get crazy for Sting but at least he got to get in there and do his thing while Allin got the glory in the end. I’m still not sure what AEW is doing with Black and Miro, but neither of them did much of anything here. What we got was a fun match, but it is coming near the end of a FAR too long show and that hut things a lot.

Chris Jericho asks Daniel Garcia where he was. As a result, Garcia is challenging Wheeler Yuta for the Pure Rules Title without the Jericho Appreciation Society.

We recap the AEW World Title match. CM Punk came back from his injury and lost to Jon Moxley in three minutes. Now he is motivated by his friends and family and wants to win the title back for Chicago.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk

Moxley, with William Regal in his corner, is defending. They stall to start until Moxley starts hammering away in the corner. Punk gets in a kick to the head with the bad foot, setting up the running knees in the corner. Some Hammer and Anvil elbows rock Moxley and the GTS gets two. They fight into the crowd with Punk unloading as Moxley seems to be covering up.

Back at ringside and Moxley manages to post him, which busts Punk open. They get back inside where Moxley licks the blood off of his hand before kicking away at Punk again. Back up and Punk hits the running knee in the corner but the knee gives out, allowing Moxley to hit a shinbreaker. We hit the leglock, followed by a half crab, which Moxley switches into an STF and then a Figure Four.

Some middle fingers fire Punk up enough to roll over to freedom and Moxley gets beaten up on the floor. Back in Punk grabs the Anaconda Vice but Moxley slips out and stomps away. The clothesline misses though and Punk hits a dropkick but the top rope elbow is pulled into a bulldog choke.

That’s broken up and Punk hits a kick to the head, only to be taken down for more Hammer and Anvil elbows to knock Punk silly. The bulldog choke goes on again but that’s muscled up as well. The GTS attempt is countered and Moxley hits the Death Rider for two. Moxley isn’t having that and grabs the choke again, only to get GTS’d for the third time and the title at 19:43.

Rating: B. This was more of a fight than anything else, though it does feel like they spent a long time setting up this one moment when they could have cut out a lot of stuff in the middle. Anyway, Punk got to get his big hometown moment (as it had been…four days since the last one) and is champion again, but now he needs something else to do as we start to close out the year. Heck of a match here, but I really don’t think it was worth the effort they put in to make it happen.

Then the lights go out and we hear a voiceover from Tony Khan, talking about how someone is gone over and over and keeps screwing the fans. Show up at All Out and everything is forgiven, with whoever it is being put in the Casino Ladder Match, plus get a big bonus. We see a clip of Punk in the old ROH days talking about the devil. Then we see the devil from earlier….and he’s wearing a scarf. MJF is back and comes into the arena and the fans are VERY happy to see him. MJF motions that he wants the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. It was a show where the high points were very good, but there is enough stuff here that REALLY needs to be cut or just dropped altogether. The biggest problem as always with these shows it he length, but at least we had some very good action in there as well. The big ending should set up Grand Slam where MJF gets the World Title, but other than that, you also have Jericho vs. Danielson in a great one and the far better than expected Tag Team Title match.

This was another awesome AEW pay per view, but if they want to really make them all timers, enough with the Wrestlemania lengths. It doesn’t work there and it doesn’t work here, as I was sitting around wondering how in the world there were so many matches left on the show, despite how good they might be. Anyway, certainly check this out, but have a fast forward button loaded up, or at least take a break in the middle.

Results
Tay Melo/Sammy Guevara b. Ortiz/Ruby Soho – TayKO to Soho
Hook b. Angelo Parker – Redrum
Pac b. Kip Sabian – Black Arrow
Eddie Kingston b. Tomohiro Ishii – Northern lights bomb
The Joker won the Casino Ladder Match
Elite b. Hangman Page/Dark Order – Buckshot Lariat to Silver
Jade Cargill b. Athena – Jaded
FTR/Wardlow b. Jay Lethal/Motor City Machine Guns – Powerbomb Symphony to Lethal
Powerhouse Hobbs b. Ricky Starks – Spinebuster
Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee b. Acclaimed – Sitout powerbomb/Swerve Stomp combination to Bowers
Toni Storm b. Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida – Jumping DDT to Hayter
Christian Cage b. Jungle Boy – Killswitch
Sting/Miro/Darby Allin b. House Of Black – Last Supper to Black
CM Punk b. Jon Moxley – GTS

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For the first time in a good while, we are getting a full scale AEW pay per view rather than AEW and some other promotion mixing together to make a big special. As tends to be the case on AEW pay per views, the card is absolutely loaded, even to the point of being WAY too big. There are fifteen matches between the Zero Hour (better than Buy In) show and the main card, all of which are absolutely necessary. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: FTW Title: Hook(c) vs. Angelo Parker

You know, because we needed to get Hook onto this thing. Or is it that we needed to get the “Sports…..Innderdainers”? Either way, this is the kind of a match that is not likely to take very long because Parker has never been treated as anything serious and Hook runs over everyone. I don’t know what else anyone is really expecting here, but at least Hook should pop the crowd.

Of course I’ll take Hook to win here, as there is no reason for it to go any other way. Hook is one of those unique stars that just works for some reason and it would be nuts to have him lose to one half of a comedy due. I’m sure Matt Menard will get his chance to be destroyed later, but for now, this will be Hook crushing Parker and going off to find some more chips.

Zero Hour: AAA World Mixed Tag Team Titles: Tay Melo/Sammy Guevara vs. Ruby Soho/Oritz

If anyone can explain why this match is on the card, you’re smarter than I am. This is the third time that these teams have fought in ten days and that isn’t exactly my idea of interesting. The first two matches weren’t good but now we’re seeing them again after a second match this week on Rampage. But at least they’re on the shwo and something is on the line, so points for that I guess?

There is almost no reason to believe that the titles are going to change here so we’ll go with Melo and Guevara retaining. If I had to guess, maybe Soho can even get pinned again to keep the titles where they already are. This feels completely out of the norm for AEW and I’d like to believe that it isn’t something they are going to do regularly. Either way, this isn’t something I’m interested in seeing but we’re getting it anyway, because something about a trilogy.

Zero hour: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Eddie Kingston

So these two fight back at a New Japan event in May and this it he rematch, which AEW is hosting so I guess they can fight each other once on equal footing? This is another match that was added on to the card and the story seems to be that Kingston is wanting to prove that he has become a better man since Ishii beat him the first time. I’m not sure how interesting that is but you know AEW will take a New Japan star when they can.

I’ll go with Kingston here, even if it is a match with virtually no build or reason to exist other than to get the two of them on the show. Much like the previous match, it is one of the first matches I would cut from the card, but it should at least be a heck of a fight with two guys hitting each other really hard. Ishii is getting up there in years but he can still do his thing well enough to get by.

Zero Hour: All Atlantic Title: Pac(c) vs. Kip Sabian

After several months of sitting in the front row with a box over his head, commentary just said “yeah that’s Kip Sabian” and now he is getting a title match against Pac. Why that is supposed to be interesting isn’t clear, as it’s still Sabian, who has never been much more than just ok during his time in AEW. It should be nice to see Pac defend the title on AEW TV for once, even under these circumstances.

Despite having no idea what they’re going for with the whole box thing, I’ll go with Pac to run through Sabian without much trouble. Pac is on a higher level and I don’t see the point in messing with the title on someone so far out of Pac’s league. Maybe commentary can explain something about Sabian’s deal, but for now, this is just a weird story that came out of nowhere and leaves me wondering why it’s happening.

Interim Women’s Title: Britt Baker vs. Toni Storm vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Jamie Hayter

Yes we’re still doing the Interim Champion deal and no I don’t quite get it either. This is the thing they’re doing rather than just vacating the title and moving on and it’s still not exactly a great way to go. This time Thunder Rosa has suffered a back injury and will not be able to defend the title, so this is what we’re getting instead. At least there are some options to win here, which always helps.

I’ll take Storm to win, even if the signs seem to be pointing to Baker. If nothing else, it would be nice for Storm to win and give us something fresh, as Baker and Shida have both been champion for so long. Hayter would be interesting as well and is a dark horse to win the thing, but I’ll go with Storm here, if nothing else to set up the Storm vs. Rosa match when she gets back.

Ricky Starks vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

For the life of me I don’t get why it took so long for these two to have something significant to do but at least they’re finally getting some kind of a match here. Both of them have the potential to be break out stars and that could very well start with this match. This is the result of a tag team split and that is as good of a reason as any for two young stars to be fighting.

I think I’ll take Hobbs here, even if Starks seems more ready to move up to the next level. The good thing here is there is no bad choice for a winner, as long as AEW picks someone and moves forward with them. Hobbs is a monster and Starks is more of a complete package, which opens up several possibilities no matter which choice they make. I’ll flip a coin and go with Hobbs though in what should be a fine match either way.

Jungle Boy vs. Christian Cage

We’ll stick with the grudge match theme here as Jungle Boy finally gets his hands on Cage after a lot of horrible things were said about him. These two have been on a collision course for several weeks now and we should be in for something good when they finally get to face off. There is a major wild card in the background though and that could be the big factor in the whole thing.

I think I’ll go with Cage here, as Luchasaurus has been so notorious in his absence for the last few weeks. If nothing else, it seems a bit too easy that Luchasaurus was Cage’s heavy and then stepped aside while Jungle Boy got to Cage. Maybe that is a red herring, but I have a feeling that Luchasaurus turns on Jungle Boy to let Cage get the win, which would set up even more between these three going forward.

Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho

Hey, did you know that Jericho calls himself a Sports Entertainer and is a bad guy in a company that focuses on wrestling? I wasn’t sure if AEW had hammered the idea in enough just yet. This is a match that has been set up for a few weeks and should be a good one if they do it right. Jericho has a hit or miss track record, but Danielson seems incapable of having a bad match no matter what he does in AEW, meaning I have a lot of hope.

Danielson needs the win more than Jericho so we’ll go with what makes sense here and pick Danielson to go over. Jericho seems to be bringing back the Lionheart as he continues his own version of the 3 Faces Of Foley, but Danielson wrestling him down and then beating him, likely with Daniel Garcia not helping Jericho when he needs it, is the way to go. This needs to be Danielson’s to give him a win over a bigger name and that is what they’ll do here.

TNT Title: Jade Cargill(c) vs. Athena

Well it’s about time. This is a story that has been built up for the last few months and I cannot bring myself to care after so many months of Athena getting beaten up by Cargill and the Baddies. They have to have the match at some point though and this is as good for a place as any, even if it is something that should have happened at least a few weeks ago when the interest was still there.

Of course Cargill retains here and there is no reason for this to be anything else. Cargill is someone who is going to need a special opponent to finally take her down and as good as Athena is, I can’t picture that being the case. Athena will probably hit the O Face for a near fall, but ultimately it’s going to be Jaded to keep Cargill undefeated, as she should be at the moment.

House Of Black vs. Sting/Darby Allin/Miro

This is another match that feels like it was forgotten until the last few days and now it is taking place on the show. That isn’t the best way to go but there are a lot of names in here who should probably be on the pay per view. Miro vs. the House Of Black alone should be good and Sting/Allin already have issues with the team. Now just let them all go nuts and it should be fun.

This should be fun and I’ll go with Miro making Matthews tap to win. Sting and Allin can do their wacky things and Sting can probably have his showdown with Black, but with all of the reported personal issues for Black, I can’t imagine his team winning here. This is a way to redeem Miro a bit and that is the way they should go, as it’s almost easy to forget he is even in AEW half of the time.

Casino Ladder Match

A few weeks ago, I was wondering when AEW was going to announce another ladder match and here we are. This is the latest future World Title opportunity on the line and so far we have seven names, plus more to come. In other words, this is all about the Joker, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see a big name return in that spot, as he is certainly overdue to do so.

In short, I’m going with MJF making his triumphant return, likely setting up the title match in New York City later this month. MJF has been gone for several months now and it is long past time to get him back so he can continue his reign of amazing. If nothing else, seeing him come in at the very end and win the thing without having to put in much, if any, work, would be a heck of a troll job and something I can see him doing.

Wardlow/FTR vs. Jay Lethal/Motor City Machine Guns

And here we have the weirdest match on the card, as I still don’t know why this is the best thing that they can offer. The match has felt thrown together since it was announced and for a very good reason: it is a thrown together match for the sake of getting the people involved on the show (you might be noticing a pattern emerging here). It’s nice to have them here, but Harwood’s speech explaining why the match matters didn’t quite sway me.

Give me FTR and Wardlow to win here, which is the only logical way this can go. At the end of the day, they both REALLY need something to do and this isn’t likely to lead anywhere. While I could go for FTR vs. the Guns later on, Wardlow vs. Lethal has already been done. I’m not sure why this match is taking place, but hopefully it isn’t AEW giving up on the three of them so soon, as that would be incredibly stupid.

Tag Team Titles: Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland(c) vs. Acclaimed

Now this one intrigues me and I’m not sure about where it is going to go. On one hand you have the champs, who have not exactly been given a major run yet and have only held the titles for a few weeks. On the other hand though, you have the Acclaimed, who are on fire and the fans absolutely love them, meaning there has to be some temptation to pull the trigger here. That makes this a little complicated and I’m not sure what they are going to do.

I’ll take the champions to retain though, as it just isn’t like AEW to take someone who is getting their big break and just cut them off so soon. The Acclaimed has come a long way but I don’t know how much they need the titles. Caster’s raps alone, or with Bowens’ nutty charisma, are going to keep them over for a very long time so why bother with giving them titles that they don’t really need yet? The champs keep the belts.

Trios Titles: Hangman Page/Dark Order vs. Elite

Yeah I don’t think there is any real shock that this is where we wound up after the whole tournament was announced. Even if Page wasn’t involved in the tournament in the first place, I don’t think there was any shock in the fact that he wound up in the finals anyway. These titles feel more and more like a vanity deal for the Elite anyway, and that is where things get screwy.

I’m actually taking Page and the Dark Order to win here, as it is more of a feel good story for the lovable goons to FINALLY win something than for the Elite to get another title on their resume. Throw in Omega possibly being blamed for the loss, Page redeeming himself, and whatever else the Bucks are going to talk about and the underdogs winning is the much more interesting way to go.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. CM Punk

CHICAGO! Ok there now we can move on. For some reason this feels like it is designed to be a match for the live crowd than everyone else watching. I get the idea of keeping a crowd hot, but this story has been so all over the place and I’m still not sure I get why we’re getting things going this way. At the very least, this is the kind of story that needs to end so everyone can move on to something else, and in theory that is what they’ll be doing.

I’ll take Punk to win here, again going off of the idea of MJF getting his title shot in New York later this month. MJF vs. Moxley doesn’t have the history to it and Punk winning the title back to set up the big loss to MJF is a better way to go. This really doesn’t feel like a main event though and I wouldn’t be hurt if they went with the Trios Titles headlining instead (The heck am I saying?). Oh and one more time: CHICAGO!

Overall Thoughts

Long. That’s the overall thought for this show: it sounds really long. There are so many matches crammed into this card that I’ve been dreading it more and more eveyr week. I’m still not sure why AEW insists on doing this but for some reason this is what we get with their regular pay per views anymore. I’m sure people will be burned out by the end, but why let that get in the way of what they want to do?

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Dynamite
Date: August 31, 2022
Location: Now Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Taz

We’re four days away from All Out and it would be nice to have a main event announced. I would certainly hope we know who that is this week, but the question now is which way they go. There is a good chance that it is a rematch with CM Punk, but other than that, is there another option outside of maybe Hangman Page? Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Jon Moxley to get things going. Moxley says let’s talk about it: he had 57 minutes left in him last week but CM Punk didn’t. Last week, we found out what Punk was made of and it turned out that Moxley didn’t care. Champions never fold and it just didn’t work out for him. Moxley knows this is Punk’s town but he has no sympathy. That’s last week though and now he has a signed open contract for All Out, which he will leave in the ring. He’s not sure who he’s going to face and he really doesn’t care. Cue Ace Steel, Punk’s mentor, who grabs the contract and takes it to the back.

Chris Jericho is ready for Bryan Danielson on Sunday. Daniel Garcia comes in to say that he is loyal to the Jericho Appreciation Society and wants to see Jericho crush Danielson at All Out. Works for Jericho.

Jake Hager vs. Bryan Danielson

Chris Jericho and William Regal are on commentary. Hager hits him in the face to start but charges into a boot in the corner. The guillotine goes on but Hager powers out without much trouble. They head outside with Danielson’s suicide dive being cut off and Hager hitting a running spinebuster through a table. Back in and Danielson can’t grab a kneebar as Hager elbows him in the face.

We take a break and come back with Danielson firing off the kicks to the chest but getting hammered with more heavy forearms. That’s pulled into the guillotine, which is countered into something like a powerbomb to drop Danielson again. Danielson is fine enough to pull him into the LeBell Lock, which sends Hager over to the rope. Back up and Danielson hits the running knee for the pin at 10:45.

Rating: B-. That’s what Danielson does best, as he got the most out of Hager by playing to his strength and making the match that much better. Hager does not exactly have the best track record in AEW but Danielson made it work. Nice match, as Danielson continues to show what a master he is every week.

Post match the Jericho Appreciation Society runs in for the beatdown but the Blackpool Combat Club makes the save. Jericho tries to come in with a chair but Daniel Garcia takes it away. The distraction lets Danielson hit another running knee.

Here are the Wingmen to complain about not being around much lately. From now on, Dynamite is their show, but here is W. Morrissey (better known as Big Cass) to wreck things. Stokely Hathaway comes out and seems to have a new client. Tony Schiavone stops them in the aisle and asks Hathaway what’s up with all of the business cards. Hathaway says none of his business and grabs Tony for daring to say it is AEW business. Morrissey had a Sid like energy in Impact Wrestling but I don’t know if that is going to work in AEW.

Will Ospreay and Aussie Open are in the back when Don Callis comes in to praise him a lot, saying he knows it’ll be different than the last time Kenny Omega gave him the One Winged Angel.

Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida/Toni Storm

Rebel is here with Baker/Hayter. Shida hammers on Hayter to start so it’s off to Storm, who gets taken down with a jawbreaker. Baker comes in and we take an early break. Back with Shida getting the hot tag to start cleaning house but Baker takes her down with a neckbreaker for two. A basement superkick nails Shida but the Stomp misses. Shida gets in a shot of her own though and goes outside to distract Hayter. Storm comes in with a running hip attack and takes out Hayter again. Shida’s spinning kick to the head finishes Baker at 7:34.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have time to do much as a good chunk of it was in the commercial. Shida getting the pin boosts her up a bit for the title match but I don’t exactly see her having much of a chance on Sunday. Having her win in a tag match is a good way to go, even if there wasn’t much to see here.

Kip Sabian talks about how brilliant his box on the head plan was and how he took it out on Pac. Now they are meeting on Sunday for the title.

Miro/Sting/Darby Allin are ready for the House Of Black.

Here is CM Punk, looking rather emotional. Punk talks about breaking his foot on June 1 and wrestling a match on it anyway. His doctor said he “pulverized” the bones so he had a bunch of plates and screws put in his foot during a June 8 surgery. After saying the number of screws he had put in his foot is more times than this fat guy in the front row has been screwed in his life, he talks about his loss last week. His foot was completely cleared last week but it’s a new 100%. What he doesn’t know is if that 100% is good enough and he doesn’t want to let his fans down.

Maybe that love just isn’t enough anymore, but here is Ace Steel to interrupt. Steel explains who he is (thank you) and doesn’t know what Punk is doing here. The two of them are family and Punk didn’t let his family down last week. Punk filled an arena up on a rumor last year and now he is going to get up and fight on Sunday.

Steel pulls out the contract for Sunday and says sign it (possibly dropping an F bomb in there). Punk takes off his jacket and says people have been trying to kill him since he was born with a cord around his neck. Moxley isn’t a man who can do it because THIS IS CHICAGO and, as Punk goes into the crowd, he declares WE ARE CHICAGO and signs. So yeah, this whole story has been about the live crowd instead of the people watching at home, which is one of those AEW tropes that needs to go away.

Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down between Christian Cage and Jungle Boy with the rule of no physicality. Christian says he is here to make money instead of being Jungle Boy’s father. Jungle Boy isn’t looking for a father, and on Sunday, Christian is going to fight Jack Perry. Good closing line there and the name change would not be a bad idea.

Wardlow/FTR vs. Silas Young/Ren Jones/Victor Capri

Wardlow and Jones start things off and we don’t waste much time getting to the dominance. After Harwood takes over on Capri, a two movement Powerbomb Symphony finishes him off at 1:59.

Here is Moxley to say that if that is what Punk wants, that’s what he can have.

10 is injured and out of the Trios Title match so here is Andrade to offer to buy him if he’ll take the mask off. Evil Uno says no, so Andrade hits him with a crutch. Then Jose the Assistant….either tazes 10, who doesn’t move, or just threatens to do it. I think it’s the latter, which would be a lot better.

Rush vs. Rey Fenix vs. Dante Martin vs. Wheeler Yuta

William Regal is on commentary. Rush powerslams Fenix to start and Martin snaps off a Code Red for two. The big series of dives is on, with Rush wiping out Fenix on the landing. We take a break and come back with Fenix spinning Martin into a knee to the face, followed by a spinning powerbomb for two. Rush makes the save but gets sent outside, leaving Martin to drop Fenix with a poisonrana. Fenix pops up to catch Yuta on top, only to get sent outside. Yuta misses a top rope stomp to Martin but pulls him into the Seat Belt for the pin at 7:57.

Rating: B-. I know I say this a lot for a match like this but you know exactly what you’re getting with this style. Everyone not named Rush can wrestle that style just fine and he was there for the power to offer a different way to go. I was thinking Martin would get the pin here but at least they didn’t talk about the idea of building momentum for ten minutes.

The Dark Order needs a partner and Hangman Page is willing. You knew that was coming.

Trios Titles Tournament Semifinals: United Empire vs. Elite

That would be Will Ospreay/Aussie Open vs. Kenny Omega/Young Bucks. Omega and Osprey slug it out to start and everything breaks down. The Bucks’ dives onto Aussie Open on the floor are pulled out of the air, leaving Ospreay to hit a VERY twisting dive to take them out.

We take a break and come back with Aussie Open beating on Matt, who hurricanranas his way to freedom. The hot tag brings in Omega to start cleaning house but the V Trigger is blocked. The Oscutter is blocked as well and Ospreay snaps off a hurricanrana to send Omega outside. Ospreay misses the Space Flying Tiger Drop and gets kicked down, leaving Aussie Open to hit a double delayed vertical superplex for two on Omega.

We take another break and come back with Nick cleaning house but having his 450 hit Ospreay’s raised knees. The snapdragon drops Nick and it’s Omega vs. Ospreay with the forearm slugout. A sitout powerbomb plants Omega HARD, leaving Aussie Open to load up the assisted Oscutter but Matt countered into a cutter of his own. Omega is back up for the triple knees to the head but Ospreay makes a save. A shooting star Meltzer Driver (just go with it) gets two on Matt but Omega’s V Trigger is broken up. The spike Indytaker gets two more and there’s the V Trigger into the One Winged Angel to finish Davis at 18:53.

Rating: A-. This is a great example of a match that isn’t for me but I get why it is taking place. This was tailor made for the AEW audience and the fans are going to eat it up. The flips and dives worked very well and it was incredibly high energy, which is the kind of match you had to expect take place here. I don’t think there was much in the way of question about the winner, but Omega vs. Ospreay is going to be a big match down the line and it should be a blast.

Overall Rating: B+. They got this one right and built up All Out rather well. I’m not wild on how they got to Punk vs. Moxley II and AEW still has issues with rushing through things as fast as they can, but it is certainly not boring and that is a great thing to see. Very fun show this week and it got some stuff done, so it’s quite the success.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Jake Hager – Running knee
Hikaru Shida/Toni Storm b. Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter – Spinning kick to Baker
Wardlow/FTR b. Victor Capri/Silas Young/Ren Jones – Powerbomb Symphony to Capri
Wheeler Yuta b. Rush, Rey Fenix and Dante Martin – Seat Belt to Martin
Elite b. United Empire – One Winged Angel to Davis

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: August 24, 2022
Location: Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Taz

We’ve got a big one this week as suddenly we have a World Title match between Interim World Champion Jon Moxley and World Champion CM Punk. This comes as we have All Out in about a week and a half and now we need a main event. Odds are we get the main event announced or all but announced by the end of the night. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Chris Jericho to get things going but he gets to the point this time: Daniel Garcia needs to get out here to explain things to him. The fans tell Garcia that he is a wrestler as Jericho says all he wants is an apology. Garcia gets serious and talks about how he had wanted to face Danielson, his hero, for as long as he remembers. People are calling it the best match in Dynamite history (no, they aren’t) and they went thirty minutes (still not quite but closer to reality than best match in Dynamite history). It was the match he always wanted to have and Jericho ruined it.

Jericho wants him to say that he’s a sports entertainer but here is Danielson to interrupt. Danielson was proud of the match too but wants Garcia to be a wrestler. Jericho says Garcia is the best sports entertainer but Garcia says he can’t decide between his mentor and his hero. He gets so emotional that he knocks Jericho down and leaves.

That leaves Jericho to rant about how much he knows more about wrestling than Danielson. That doesn’t compute for Danielson, who asks what Jericho’s mentor, Stu Hart (not exactly), would think of this. The result is a match at All Out, but here is Jake Hager to jump Danielson from behind. Jericho vs. Danielson at All Out isn’t a surprise, but dang I could go for dropping this SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT IS BAD/WRESTLING IS GOOD story. We get it: WWE is awful and AEW rocks. Move on already.

Dax Harwood vs. Jay Lethal

No seconds are here oddly enough. They chop it out to start as JR talks about how old school promoters would love this and Taz explains what makes chops loud. Harwood hammers away in the corner until Lethal slips out and hits a super Russian legsweep as we take a break.

Back with Harwood rolling German suplexes but Lethal is right back with a Figure Four attempt. That’s broken up so Harwood goes for a Sharpshooter, which is broken up as well. Another Figure Four attempt is countered into a small package for two before Lethal kicks him in the leg.

The leg is fine enough to hit a slingshot powerbomb for two and the Sharpshooter goes on. Sonjay Dutt (with pencil) gets on the apron for the break and Lethal grabs a rollup for two. A small package gives Harwood the same and a middle rope spinning crossbody gives him two more. Lethal gets crafty by distracting the referee though and a rollup with trunks is enough to pin Harwood at 12:47.

Rating: B-. Lethal isn’t likely to become the tops tar in AEW or even a champion around here, but you are almost never going to see him do anything close to bad in the ring. That is a fine reason to put him on television and it worked well here, with Harwood going step for step with him before getting cheated in the end. I could go for Harwood winning more of these singles matches, but he is making himself into more and more of a star every time he’s in there.

Post match Sonjay Dutt says we’re still having a six man tag at All Out, but he never said who was in it. Jay Lethal will be teaming with……the Motor City Machine Guns???? Well that’s an upgrade.

Thunder Rosa is in tears and announces that she has to vacate the Women’s Title. Therefore, an Interim (STOP DOING THAT!) Women’s Title will be crowned in a four way match at All Out.

Billy Gunn vs. Colten Gunn

The Acclaimed handles Billy’s entrance, bringing up student loan debt and backstage talent meetings. Billy wastes no time in powering Colten outside and we take an early break. Back with Billy unloading in the corner and stomping away, with the referee having to pull him off. The distraction lets Stokely Hathaway get in a cheap shot with the boom box on the floor. That’s also enough of a distraction so Colten can get in a low blow, setting up the Colt 45 for the pin at 6:16. Most of the match was in the break but that’s the right result.

Post match Hathaway again offers his business cards and this time the Gunns accept. The beatdown is on until Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland make the save.

Death Triangle is ready for Will Ospreay/Aussie Open.

Britt Baker vs. KiLynn King

Baker hammers away in the corner but King reverses and stomps away in said corner. A Downward Spiral into the buckle drops King though and Baker pulls her head into the post. Back in and King hits a German suplex but King gets taken down and Stomped. The Lockjaw finishes for Baker at 3:55.

Rating: C. Just a quick win to give Baker some momentum heading into the All Out title match. Baker isn’t exactly someone who needs such a win but at least they are doing something to build her back up. King continues to look like a good prospect and I could see her going somewhere just due to her unique look and size.

Post match Baker rips on the rest of the challenges for the Women’s Title, including Toni Storm. Jamie Hayter and Rebel jump her from behind but Hikaru Shida makes the save.

Keith lee and Serve Strickland are down to give the Acclaimed a Tag Team Title shot at All Out.

AEW World Title: CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley

Punk’s AEW World Title and Moxley’s Interim World Title are being unified. They fight over a lockup to start and Punk is taken into the corner, where Moxley hammers away. Punk is back with a kick but hurts the previously injured foot and he’s in trouble. The doctor is called over but Moxley hits a King King lariat. Leg cranking ensues, along with hammer and anvil elbows, setting up the Death Rider. Moxley hits it again and wins at 2:59.

I believe a “….whoa” is in order here as that wasn’t exactly what a lot of people were likely expecting. This feels like either Punk was still injured or those backstage issues are bigger than we think, but it is still a good bit too early to know for sure what is going on. What matters here is that Moxley wins and can move on to….I have no idea what actually at All Out, but the Interim Title (at least this one) nonsense is over. People are going to be talking about this one for awhile though and that is a good thing.

Punk is helped to the back.

Christian Cage is rather serious as he accepts Jungle Boy’s challenge for All Out. All he wanted was for two of them to be back together but then Jungle Boy took it to another level. Jungle Boy isn’t in his league but the match is on.

Here is a ticked off Ricky Starks to talk about how Powerhouse Hobbs turned on him. Veterans are telling him that this is show business and you have to get used to this but he thought he was the exception because he had Hobbs behind him. Hobbs was checking on him every day last year when he broke his neck, but then Hobbs got jealous of Starks’ success. Starks remembers Hobbs standing around in the background until they got together, but then Hobbs hit him in the neck. He sees Hobbs as a neck, and where Starks comes from, they step on snakes. The challenge is on for All Out in another match you knew was coming but needed to be officially set.

We look at the title change again.

Jon Moxley is sick of people writing his obituary as soon as Punk arrived. He is the answer to every wrestling problem and his time is right censored now.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

We look at Kenny Omega’s return last week.

Trios Titles Tournament: Death Triangle vs. Will Ospreay/Aussie Open

Don Callis in on commentary. Fenix and Ospreay trade flips to start before everything breaks down. Death Triangle sends them to the floor and hit the stereo flip dives for the big knockdown. Back in and Pac chops away at Ospreay before Fenix kicks him down for two. We take a break and come back with Osprey hitting a Sky Twister onto Pac and Penta, followed by a running boot in the corner to Fenix.

We settle down to a heck of a dropkick to Fenix but he chops away at the Aussies and hits a very springboard double wristdrag for a breather. The hot tag brings in Penta for a double high crossbody and everything breaks down as we take a break. Back with Pac coming in to clean house, but Aussie Open and the Lucha Bros come in for the brawl. Ospreay and Pac hit stereo poisonranas to the teams and it’s time for the big staredown. They slug it out until the Oscutter drops Pac, followed by a hard shot to the face to do it again.

Pac catches him on top though and it’s the big superplex for a double knockdown as we take a break. Back with Ospreay back up and hitting a hurricanrana on Pac but the Stormbreaker is countered into a hurricanrana to give Pac two. Everything breaks down again and Penta hits a step up Canadian Destroyer. Pac goes outside and stops to glare at whoever is in the Kip Sabian box because it clearly isn’t Sabian. It’s….just someone, allowing Sabian to jump Pac from behind. Back in and an assisted Oscutter gives Ospreay the pin on Fenix at 25:18.

Rating: B+. Kip Sabian aside, this is the reason you put a match like this on the card: total and complete insanity with very little resembling a tag match (though there was some in there for a bit of a bonus) and all of the insanity you could ask for in one match. It was a lot of fun and the result surprises me, so well done all around.

Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks come out for the staredown but Callis holds Omega back to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a rather weird show with all kinds of stuff going on, a lot of which had a vibe like it was being cobbled together at the last minute. That’s usually a problem, but they have a huge out this week with the Punk/Moxley situation, which is going to completely dominate the post show chatter. I have no idea what they are going to do with the title at All Out but me being this curious says they seem to be doing something right.

Results
Jay Lethal b. Dax Harwood – Rollup with trunks
Colten Gunn b. Billy Gunn – Colt 45
Jon Moxley b. CM Punk – Death Rider
Britt Baker b. KiLynn King – Lockjaw
Will Ospreay/Aussie Open b. Death Triangle – Elevated Oscutter to Fenix

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Dynamite
Date: August 17, 2022
Location: North Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re closing in on All Out and the big story from last week saw AEW World Champion CM Punk return after a two month absence. You can probably pencil in Punk vs. Jon Moxley for the main event of All Out, but that is still a few weeks away and we have something big tonight. In this case, that would be a mystery partner in the Trios Tag Team Titles tournament, which will absolutely be a surprise and not the most obvious reveal in recent memory. Let’s get to it.

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

Since this show is a crossover with HBO’s House Of The Dragon, the opening video is tied together with clips of the series.

Here is CM Punk to get things going. Punk says he’s trying trying to keep his tough guy face on tonight but the fans are making him too happy. For now though, he has something to deal with so he wants Hangman Page out here right now for a rematch. No one comes out so Punk dubs it coward s*** instead of cowboy s***.

Punk talks about how everyone talks a lot until it’s time to do champ s*** so now let’s move on to Jon Moxley. He knows what it means to be in a big match situation and there is always a guy who has someone’s number. Punk is Moxley’s guy and Moxley is the third best guy in his group, which is a reoccurring theme in his career. Moxley talks about breaking bones and drinking blood but in the last six months, the only person to break bones is Punk, and those were his own.

Moxley’s best friend Eddie is the third best Eddie he’s been in the ring with and the second best Kingston he’s ever shared a locker room with. He’s looking forward to beating Moxley in Chicago, but that won’t even be the best John he has beaten in Chicago for a title. Cue Moxley, who says Punk’s mouth is writing checks that his body can’t cash. The title on Punk’s shoulder isn’t worth anything and neither is this one that he’s carrying, at least until he beats Punk.

Moxley says he is the heart and soul of AEW but Punk says he’ll be the dollars and cents. Moxley: “We both know you only came to AEW because you ran out of money.” The fight is teased but Punk would rather wait for the pay per view so Moxley doesn’t bleed all over him. The fight is on and they slug it out until security breaks it up…which takes a few attempts but they finally get them apart. They both had some great lines here and I’m more into the match than I was before.

Powerhouse Hobbs says he doesn’t like Ricky Starks and has something planned for him. The Factory will get theirs too.

Ricky The Dragon Steamboat (as opposed to Ricky The Tupperware Salesman Steamboat) is the guest timekeeper.

Daniel Garcia vs. Bryan Danielson

2/3 falls and Chris Jericho is on commentary. Feeling out process to start with Jericho hyping up what a technical showdown we’ll be seeing. Both of them try for some grappling but neither can get very far. We go to a standoff and take a break. Back with Danielson hitting a running dropkick in the corner and going for a cross armbreaker.

That’s blocked so Danielson switches to something like a Regal Stretch but they get to the ropes for the break. Garcia suplexes him on the floor and brings him back inside, setting up a piledriver to plant Danielson. A dragon sleeper has Danielson knocked out for the first fall at 9:19.

Garcia isn’t done and hits a chop in the corner, does Danielson’s pose, and hits the running corner dropkick as we take a break. Back again with Danielson (bleeding) grabbing a rollup to reverse a hold for the second fall to tie things up at 15:07 (total). Danielson ties him in the Tree of Woe and fires off some kicks, setting up a German superplex to rock Garcia.

The missile dropkick rocks Garcia again and he is sent outside, where they have a tug of war over a posting. That goes badly for Danielson, who gets sent into said post and has to beat the count back in at nine. We take another break and come back again with Danielson winning a slugout but getting taken down for some stomps to the head. Those are broken up and Danielson pulls him into the LeBell Lock for the tap at 25:52.

Rating: B. Heck of a fight here as Danielson gets his win back, but Garcia saves some face by winning the first fall. Garcia is getting a push as of late and losing a 2/3 falls match to one of the best AEW has to offer isn’t going to hurt him. Danielson needed the win and should be set for his All Out match wit Jericho. Rather good stuff here and the time flew by, which is always nice.

Danielson shows respect post match and Garcia accepts it, but Chris Jericho runs in to jump Danielson from behind. Garcia pulls Jericho off and the fans tell him that he’s a wrestler.

Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland are ready for Private Party, who are now ranked #5. They’ll fight on Rampage.

Tony Nese comes out for a match but Jon Moxley jumps him from behind. Moxley calls out CM Punk to fight right now so here is Punk for the first. The brawl is teased but security and the Blackpool Combat Club breaks it up (with Claudio Castagnoli manhandling Moxley).

Chris Jericho isn’t pleased with Daniel Garcia and wants a face to face meeting with him next week to see where he stands. Ricky Steamboat comes in to rehash his issues with Jericho and suggests that Bryan Danielson would be a better mentor to Garcia. Angelo Parker gets in Steamboat’s face and gets chopped.

Gunn Club vs. Varsity Blonds

Colt 45 finishes Garrison at 27 seconds.

Post match Billy Gunn talks about how great that was and how proud he is of his sons. Cue Stokely Hathaway to smile at the Gunns….who turn on Billy. The Acclaimed run in for the save. Scissoring ensues.

Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh are ready for Wardlow and FTR.

Death Triangle is ready for the United Empire next week.

Here is Jungle Boy for a chat. He wore a shirt a few weeks ago and was told to never wear it again (it involved Christian and a bit of a derogatory term), but he is too preoccupied with trying to hit Christian. Over the weeks, he has tried to hit Christian Cage with his fist, a chair and a car but can’t make it work. So how about he hits Christian at All Out?

Cue Christian to say no match but he wants to make this work. He wants everything to be ok with them and make amends. The hug is teased but Jungle Boy takes him down and hammers away. Jungle Boy stomps him on the steps and then rams Christian’s head into them over and over. Security makes the save. Good stuff from Jungle Boy once the action started, but he would be better suited by going with something like Jungle Boy Jack Perry, as Jungle Boy isn’t the most serious name.

FTR and Wardlow are ready for Jay Lethal and company. Dax Harwood will take Jay Lethal next week.

Toni Storm vs. KiLynn King

They go to the mat to start until King drops her over the top rope for a top rope knee to the face. That sends Storm outside, where King has to block a tornado DDT and drives Storm back first into the apron. We take a break and come back with King hitting a powerbomb for two but Storm sends her into the corner. The running hip attack, now dubbed Sweet Cheeks Music (no) sets up a pendulum DDT to finish King at 6:46.

Rating: C. I’ve always liked King so it was nice to see her getting a spot here. Storm seems to have righted the ship a bit and odds are she is going to be getting the title shot at All Out against Thunder Rosa. I’m not sure how well that is going to go, but Storm needs a big win at some point or the potential she has is going to fade in a hurry.

Video on the Trustbusters vs. Best Friends.

Here’s what’s coming on future shows, including Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk….next week on Dynamite. Ok then.

Trios Title Tournament First Round: La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Young Bucks/???

The mystery partner is…..Kenny Omega, who is in very little way a mystery. Nick takes Dragon Lee into the corner to start and hammers away before Matt comes in to for the double team takedown. Omega (in a compression shirt and shoulder brace) comes in to hammer away in the corner, with the fans being rather pleased. Lee gets Omega into the wrong corner though and the triple teaming is on as we take a break.

Back with Matt not being able to hit his rolling suplexes, so both sets of brothers fight over them instead. Andrade comes in to stomp on Matt some more and we take another break. We come back again with the hot tag bringing in Omega to clean house, including on Andrade, who seems to be favoring his shoulder.

Everything breaks down and the Bucks hit the dives to the floor. Omega loads up the Rise of the Terminator but Lee breaks up the dive (which might be a good thing). Jose the Assistant breaks up another dive attempt and Omega gets held up on the barricade for a SCARY dive from Lee. Back in and Andrade hits his double moonsault for two on Omega with Matt shoving Rush into the pile for the save. The V Trigger knocks Lee silly and a not so great One Winged Angel finishes Lee at 20:49.

Rating: B-. This is a weird one to grade as it was all about Omega, and that made it tricky. Omega did look rusty and that is completely fair given how long it has been since he has been in the ring. Completely healthy or not, he hasn’t wrestled a match in front of people in over nine months and that is going to take some time to get back to normal.

Other than that, there was a grand total of no way the Bucks and Omega were losing here, meaning it was a good bit of waiting until the expected finale. It also doesn’t help that Andrade seems to have hurt his shoulder/arm, so things might have been even slower than usual. Not a bad match at all, but they were working with some serious limitations.

Omega and the Bucks celebrate as Andrade and Rush turn on Lee (whose mask comes off) with about five seconds left in the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a rather good show and I liked most of what I saw with the whole thing. What we got here was a few rather strong matches and a big surprise match set up for next week, along with some build to All Out. They did what they needed to do here, but I’m really curious about what is going to headline All Out with Punk vs. Moxley taking place next week. Overall, positive show here as they did what they needed to do.

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Dynamite
Date: August 10, 2022
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Jim Ross

It’s another themed show with Quake By The Lake, though in this case it seems to just be a name instead of anything specific. The card is pretty stacked as we have Jon Moxley defending the World Title against Chris Jericho, plus a coffin match and a tornado tag. That should be enough so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Darby Allin vs. Brody King

Coffin match. Allin pops up out of the darkness to start fast, including some thumbtacked skateboard shots. They fight around the ring with Allin getting punched out of the air and being sent over the table. King breaks the skateboard over his knee, which has Allin diving right back at him. Back in and Allin fights his way out of trouble on top and hits a super Code Red, with King being sent outside again (there is a trail of blood on the floor). This time King whips him HARD into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with King missing Allin with a middle rope splash to the floor but hitting the table clean. Allin loads up a big dive but the lights go out, meaning it’s House Of Black time. Julia Hart trips Allin down and the beating is on, allowing King to hit a running flip dive through a table in the corner.

The coffin is loaded up, but Sting is inside. House is cleaned but Sting throws Malakai Black the bat. Black thinks about it but leaves, allowing Allin to hit a big cannonball suicide dive to drop King on the floor. It’s not enough to get him into the coffin though as King drops Allin onto the steps. Allin manages to get in a few chain shots though and chokes King on the apron. King falls off the apron and falls into the coffin to give Allin the win at 13:24.

Rating: B-. That was a lot of blood from King, who was gushing by the end of the match. The good thing here is that Allin won, which is pretty overdue for him in a big match. Odds are that isn’t it for him with the House of Black as Sting and Malakai still need to have their showdown, but for now, it’s a good win for Allin.

Jon Moxley says that since we have the FTW Title, his title might as well be the FYI Title. Tonight, he is going to push the last survivor of the Hart Dungeon and the Lionheart and see what happens.

Chris Jericho promises to win the title tonight because the Lionheart, complete with the leather vest, is back. Jericho talks about how he is going to stretch Moxley tonight and tonight he is going to win the title again.

We have brackets for the Trios Titles tournament:

Death Triangle
Will Ospreay/Aussie Open

Andrade El Idolo/Dragon Lee/Rush
Young Bucks/???

House Of Black
Dark Order

Trustbusters
Best Friends

La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Lucha Bros

Tornado tag with Jose and Alex Abrahantes here too. La Faccion starts fast and Fenix is suplexed hard into the corner. Penta is back up with a Sling Blade though and Fenix hits a suicide dive to send Rush into the barricade. There’s the running flip dive to drop Andrade again, leaving Penta to hit Made In Japan for two on Rush. Back in and Rush breaks up the spike Fear Factor and drops Fenix onto Penta for a double two. La Faccion hits stereo flip dives to the floor and we take a break.

We come back with the Bros hitting their own big flipping dives, setting up Fenix’s Eddie dance and frog splash. That only hits knees (spent too much time dancing) but Penta hits a rolling cutter to drop Rush, leaving all four down. Back up and Andrade ties Penta’s mask to the ropes (JR: “NOT THE DOUBLE KNOT!”), leaving Rush to piledrive Fenix. Penta rips the mask off and makes the save, leaving Andrade to throw the mask into the crowd. As the fans chant THROW IT BACK, Rush hits the Bull’s Horns and El Idolo finishes Fenix at 13:52.

Rating: C+. In a way, I can go with the idea of just throwing up your hands and not even bothering with the tags anymore. These matches exist for nothing more than a bunch of chaos, so just throw away the tagging part and get to what everyone is waiting on. They do the style well, but my goodness, enough with the Bros losing their masks.

The Young Bucks come up to Hangman Page and the Dark Order. The Bucks praise Page for everything he has done over the years and reminisce about their great times together, saying it was the best time of their careers. One more time: they can reunite the team and win the Trios Titles. Page is grateful for their time together but turns them down for the Dark Order, because they have had his back. They’ll get together later though, with the Bucks not being overly pleased but not arguing.

Anthony Henry vs. Luchasaurus

Jungle Boy is on commentary. Henry charges at him, gets beaten up, and walks into the Fossilizer (Sean O’Haire’s Widowmaker for those O’Haire fans out there) for the pin at 37 seconds.

Post match Christian Cage pops up on screen in the back….and Jungle Boy actually goes running after him because he knows where the interviews take place (as logical as it gets around here). Security keeps Jungle Boy from Christian but Luchasaurus comes in to take them out. Christian escapes and Luchasaurus headbutts agent Pat Buck.

Miro isn’t sure what to do about the House of Black but Julia Hart comes up to tell him to embrace their gift. She isn’t the woman allowed to touch his face, but he’ll accept their help.

Powerhouse Hobbs is interrupted by QT Marshall and the Factory. They’ll take care of Ricky Starks, which seems to have Hobbs’ approval.

Here are Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt. They brag about taking out Wardlow on Saturday and Lethal wants another shot. Cue Wardlow to say he’s taking them all out right now, with FTR coming out join them. The villains bail but come back in, with Wardlow and FTR clearing the ring.

The Jericho Appreciation Society is ready for Chris Jericho’s win tonight and even have a little bit of the bubbly waiting on them. Daniel Garcia calls himself the Dragon Slayer for taking out Bryan Danielson, which sends Anna Jay off to choke someone who doesn’t seem to like that. That would be Leva Bates (formerly known as Blue Pants).

Aaron Solo vs. Ricky Starks

The Factory is here too but get ejected for trying to interfere. Starks takes Solo down but the Roshambo is countered with a hurricanrana. Starks misses the spear but then hits the spear (almost from the side) for the pin at 2:02.

Post match Nick Comoroto comes in to go after Starks but he gets away from a chair shot. Then Starks runs away into the crowd when the rest of the team comes in.

Stokely Hathaway interrupts the Gunn Club and recruits the younger generation. Billy doesn’t like it, so Stokely calls him old. Danhausen comes in and a match seems to be made for Rampage.

The Trustbusters interrupt the Best Friends because Orange Cassidy won’t answer Ari Daivari’s texts or calls. Cassidy says no, so threats are made.

TNT Title: Madison Rayne vs. Jade Cargill

Cargill is defending and misses a charge into the corner to start. A middle rope dropkick sends Cargill outside. They head outside and Madison has to counter a powerbomb into a hurricanrana. Back in and Jade hits a heck of a spear as we take a break. Back with Rayne grabbing a neckbreaker and hitting a not great enziguri. The Baddie distraction lets Jade kick her down and, after countering a counter, hit Jaded to retain at 7:34.

Rating: C. This could have been worse, but Rayne is going to hit a pretty solid ceiling of just ok most of the time. At the same time, Jade isn’t going to lose in a mostly cold match on Dynamite so there was only so much drama. Rayne is a veteran who can wrestle a competent match, but this seemed more about giving Jade a win over a name, whatever that is worth in Rayne’s case.

Post match Athena, previously disguised as a Baddie, comes in to take Jade out and clear the ring.

Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm, now #1 contender due to Kris Statlander getting hurt, are cool with each other but ready to fight. Storm wants to keep her momentum going.

Here’s what’s coming on a bunch of shows.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho, in his WCW/ECW/NJPW look as the Lionheart, is challenging and William Regal is on commentary. Feeling out process to start as Jericho (with ponytail) armdrags him down a few times. Jericho takes him down to crank on the neck but Moxley is back up with some chops and trash talk. A snapmare drops Moxley and Jericho rips out the earring, with Regal saying fair enough, as he would have done it too.

We take a break and come back with a rather bloody Moxley working on an armbar but Jericho breaks that up. Jericho grabs the Hartbreaker Figure Four around the post, which lasts as long as it can. Back in and Moxley grabs a crossface, which is reversed into the Walls. We take a break and come back with Moxley still in the hold but crawling over to the rope for the break. Jericho tries the triangle dropkick but gets sent outside, allowing Moxley to go up top, only to dive into the Codebreaker for a close two.

With that not working, Jericho takes a turnbuckle pad off for a distraction, allowing Sammy Guevara to throw in a baseball bat (overthrow that is). A heck of a shot gives Jericho two and a ram into the buckle sets up the Judas Effect for a very close two. With nothing else working, Jericho goes for the belt but misses a charge into the exposed buckle. Moxley grabs a choke but Jericho (now bleeding too) reverses that into a Liontamer. That’s reversed into another choke and Jericho finally taps at 22:34.

Rating: B. This was a good enough big match feel, though the blood was a bit excessive after the opening bloodbath from Brody King. Jericho is still a big enough win that this boosts Moxley, as he continues to be able to stop Jericho each time. Rather good TV main event here, though Moxley is going to need someone for All Out.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Jericho Appreciation Society, followed by the Blackpool Combat Club and more of the Society run in for the big dive. Cue the returning CM Punk for the ring clearing save and showdown with Moxley. A middle finger from Moxley and a brushing off leave Punk alone to pose to end the night. It was about time for Punk to be back, as the interim thing was getting a bit ridiculous after two plus months. It’s the only thing that would make sense for All Out too, so this is about as perfect as you can get.

Overall Rating: B-. The opener and main event were both good but the middle dragged pretty badly here. What matters is that they now have a big main event set for All Out, which had been sorely lacking over the last few weeks. They still need some better work in the midcard and All Out needs a bit of a better focus, but the last half hour of this show was the important part and they covered it well.

Results
Darby Allin b. Brody King – Allin knocked King into the coffin
La Faccion Ingobernable b. Lucha Bros – El Idolo to Fenix
Luchasaurus b. Anthony Henry – Fossilizer
Ricky Starks b. Aaron Solo – Spear
Jade Cargill b. Madison Rayne – Jaded
Jon Moxley b. Chris Jericho – Choke

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

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Battle Of The Belts III
Date: August 6, 2022
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for another of these specials and I’m not sure what to expect from something like this. AEW does not seem to be the most interested in running these shows but that very well might have a lot to do with the shows being network mandates. At least we should get some good action so let’s get to it.

TNT Title: Jay Lethal vs. Wardlow

Lethal, with Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh, is challenging. Wardlow shoves him around to start and a big toss sends Lethal outside. Lethal gets in a cheap shot though and scores with an enziguri back inside. A tilt-a-whirl slam gets Wardlow out of trouble but Lethal knocks him outside for the suicide dive. That means Lethal can get in the strut before wrapping Wardlow’s leg around the post. We take a break and come back with Lethal having to escape the powerbomb. Instead Wardlow goes with a clothesline to turn Lethal inside out and the powerbomb retains Wardlow’s title at 7:19.

Rating: C+. Wardlow wasn’t losing the title so soon into his reign but having Lethal in there made for a good match. Lethal is able to make almost anyone look better, even if he isn’t likely to be a major threat to the title. Wardlow could be champion for a rather long time and having him win matches like these is only going to boost his credibility.

Post match Wardlow gets jumped by the rest of the villains, with Singh putting his foot on Wardlow’s chest as Lethal applies the Figure Four. Lethal lets go so Wardlow fights up and kicks Singh low. The powerbomb is loaded up but Lethal makes the save, allowing Singh to chokeslam Wardlow through a table. I could go for a nice long break between table spots.

Women’s Title: Jamie Hayter vs. Thunder Rosa

Hayter, with Britt Baker and Rebel, is challenging while Rosa has Toni Storm with her. Rosa gets jumped fast, with Baker and Rebel being rather pleased at ringside. Some choking in the corner keeps Rosa in trouble but she knocks Hayter outside. A whip into the barricade cuts Rosa off but she’s back with a DDT on the floor. Baker grabs the title belt though and the distraction lets Hayter knock her off the top for a crash.

We take a break and come back with Rosa catching Hayter on top but getting dropped with a brainbuster. Baker and Storm get in a fight on the floor with Storm hitting a tornado DDT off the steps. The distraction lets Rosa grab a rollup for two, followed by another rollup to retain the title at 11:28.

Rating: C+. Another nice enough match here with Rosa surviving to retain the title, as she gets built up a bit more. I’m not sure I can imagine her surviving her next big title match, as you can probably pencil Storm in for the All Out shot. Rosa’s title reign hasn’t been a disaster, but it has never risen above a certain level and that is rather telling most of the time.

Video on FTR.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Castagnoli is defending and William Regal is on commentary. Neither can hit a hard shot to start and it’s an early standoff. Takeshita is taken down with a test of strength and Castagnoli monkey flips him over, meaning it’s time for a handshake. A hiptoss takes Castagnoli down for a change but a running shoulder puts Takeshita down instead.

Castagnoli gets knocked outside where he avoids a slingshot dive. Back in and Castagnoli plants him for two as we take a break. Back with Takeshita hitting a middle rope hurricanrana and knocking Castagnoli outside, setting up the big running flip dive. They get back in with Castagnoli catching him on top with a gutwrench superplex for two, setting up the giant swing.

Takeshita catches him with a running big boot in the corner though and a Blue Thunder Bomb gets two. A turnbuckle DDT sets up a frog splash for two more on Castagnoli, who elbows him out of the air. The Crossface is countered with a rollup to give Takeshita two and he hits a clothesline for the same.

A running knee into the brainbuster gets another near fall on Castagnoli, who blocks a powerbomb. Back up and a double stomp to the ribs looks to set up the Riccola Bomb but Takeshita reverses into a hurricanrana for two. The Death Valley Driver drops Takeshita though and its the hammer and anvil elbows to rock Takeshita again. The Riccola Bomb retains the title at 19:52.

Rating: B+. This felt like an old school Ring Of Honor World Title match, as there was no major story here but they had a heck of a fight anyway. It was never about anger between the two of them but rather about being the best. They tore the house down here and had a pretty excellent match, which is exactly what you have someone like Castagnoli here to go. Very good stuff here as Takeshita continues to be unable to do wrong.

Overall Rating: B. As usual, this was a show that was completely skippable, but there was enough good action that it’s worth your time, especially the awesome main event. It’s also really hard to complain about a show that is only an hour long as it hardly overstays its welcome. This felt like a show where they threw some matches together and told the wrestlers to carry things and that worked out well. Nice stuff here, and check out the main event if you have time.

Results
Wardlow b. Jay Lethal – Powerbomb
Thunder Rosa b. Jamie Hayter – Rollup
Claudio Castagnoli b. Konosuke Takeshita – Riccola Bomb

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