Wrestle Dynasty 2025
Date: January 5, 2025
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Commentators: Walker Stewart, Chris Charlton

So it’s time for a bunch of wrestling promotions and Ring Of Honor to come together and have a big show in Japan. Why? Heck if I know and AEW basically glossed over the this this week anyway. It’s basically a big cross promotional show, which can go in all kinds of directions. Let’s get to it.

Note that I do not follow any of the international promotions involved with this show. I might know some of the wrestlers, but I apologize in advance for not knowing history or plot points.

Pre-Show: International Women’s Cup: Momo Watanabe (Stardom) vs. Willow Nightingale (AEW) vs. Persephone (CMLL) vs. Athena (ROH)

The winner receives a Women’s Title shot. Athena and Watanabe clear the ring to start until Nightingale kicks Watanabe in the head. Persephone comes in for a Matrix/spider walk but Athena takes her into the corner for a running shot. Back up and Nightingale kicks Athena in the face before suplexing the other two at the same time. The dives are on to leave Nightingale and Persephone as the only two standing, meaning Persephone hits her own running flip dive.

Back in and Athena hits a middle rope Codebreaker to Persephone and Nightingale but Nightingale is back up with a Pounce. Persephone suplexes Nightingale for two and Athena is knocked outside. Nightingale’s Death Valley Driver sends Watanabe into the corner but Athena is back up with the O Face. Cue Thekla (from Stardom) to pull the referee though, allowing Watanabe to hit Athena in the head with a club. A dragon suplex pins Athena at 11:29.

Rating: B-. So we sat through tournaments and qualifying matches and all that other jazz to hype up this match and it’s on the pre-show for some to be determined title match later? In theory this sets up Watanabe as Athena’s next challenger for something of a dream match, though it wouldn’t shock me if this is barely mentioned in Ring Of Honor. The match was fine, but it was nothing that AEW hasn’t done a dozen times in the last few months.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Sons Of Texas vs. House Of Torture

The Sons (Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara) are defending against Sho/Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Sho shakes Dustin’s hand to start but holds it in place so Kanemaru can come in to jump him from behind. That doesn’t last long as Guevara comes in to moonsault Sho, setting up Dustin’s PK for two. Sho sends Guevara outside though and Kanemaru gets in a whip to the barricade.

The turnbuckle pad is ripped off and Dustin is sent into the exposed steel and it’s back to Guevara. A Boston crab goes on and Kanemaru steps on one of the titles. An enziguri gets Guevara out of trouble and it’s back to Rhodes to clean house. Kanemaru spits some liquid into Rhodes’ face and a moonsault connects for two. Guevara is back in with a cutter and Rhodes adds his own liquid (whiskey) to the face. The Final Reckoning into Guevara’s Swanton retains the titles at 9:27.

Rating: C. This was a gold match between two teams who aren’t that interesting in the first place. The Sons of Texas haven’t been interesting since they won the titles and there is a good chance that they’ll hold the belts until All In Texas, because TEXAS. There’s nothing to see here but Ring Of Honor had o be on the because reasons.

The opening video looks at the card in order and does a great job of hyping the show up.

Casino Gauntlet Match

Non-title and it’s one fall to a finish, meaning there is no guarantee everyone will get in. Hechicero is in at #1 and Kosei Fujita is in at #2. They grapple to start and get nowhere as Soberano Jr. is in at #3 after a very short interval. A Rocking Horse/top rope Fameasser hits Fujita and it’s Master Wato in at #4.

Wato and Soberano go at it until Mascara Dorada is in at #5 as these entrances are flying. Dorada gets to clean house with takedowns and dives until Taiji Ishimori is in at #6. A Lethal Injection hits Dorada and Titan is in at #7 to keep the pace fast. Titan hits a gordbuster into a kick to the face as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado is in at #8 to complete the field.

Everyone runs up the ramp to go after Desperado and they carry him to the ring for the big beating. Naturally that’s broken up when someone goes for the cover, meaning it’s time for the big collection of dives. Wato hits a big running flip dive onto the pile, with Dorada doing the same thing. Somehow Desperado is back up but gets pulled into a leg trap choke, only for Ishimori to steal the pin on Desperado at 16:16.

Rating: B-. This was a bunch of spots and staggered intervals, which made for a good enough showcase. I do like them getting that many people on the show at once, even if the only thing from AEW was the concept. The bit with Desperado was smart and protects him with the loss, which is perfectly fine. Nice stuff, though more of a “get them on the card” match than anything else.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata

This is a grappling match with a five minute time limit. They fight over a lockup to start until Shibata gets him to the ropes for a clean break. They chop it out with Shibata seemingly getting the better of things and telling Tanahashi to bring it. The chop exchange keeps going until time expires at 5:00. The whole match was the long lockup and chop exchanges with a few small moves in the middle.

Rating: C. This wasn’t a normal match and I’m not going to treat it overly harsh as a result. The idea here was either something of a tease or just to have the two of them in the Dome again. That’s perfectly fine and even though it wasn’t a traditional match, it wasn’t supposed to be some mat classic.

Respect is shown post match.

Rev Pro British Women’s Title/NJPW Strong Women’s Title: Mina Shirakawa vs. Mercedes Mone

Title for title. Mone takes her into the corner off a lockup to start before they both miss a few shots, allowing Mina to dance. The Statement Maker is broken up in a hurry and Mina bails to the floor, setting up a suicide dive. Mina gets smart by going after the knee but a quick Meteora gives Mone two.

The knee gets slammed into the mat to cut that off but Mone is right back with another Meteora. Mina sends the knee into the mat again and grabs a Figure Four, with Mone going straight to the ropes. Mone gets in a gutbuster, with commentary pointing out that it’s kind of stupid. Speaking of stupid, Mone’s knee is suddenly fine enough to hit Three Amigos, which she has apparently wanted to do in this building for fifteen years. To be fair, she hasn’t paid tribute to Eddie Guerrero in what, four days or so?

Mina hits a super DDT into another Figure Four but Mone is out again. The Glamorous river gets two but Mone is back with a pair of Coebreakers for two. A Gory Bomb sets up another Figure Four but Mone rolls her up for two. The Mone Maker connects out of nowhere for the pin to make Mone a triple champion at 14:06.

Rating: C-. I’m sure that Mone is happy that she gets another title and got to do something in the Tokyo Dome, but there is only so much to get out of a match built around working the knee when Mone keeps popping back up. The lack of selling was nonsense and took me completely out of the match, which didn’t have the highest drama in the first place. This felt like Mone was getting to do whatever she wanted and Mina was little more than a prop to make that happen. Big disappointment here.

David Finlay vs. Brody King

King wastes no time in kicking him in the face to start but misses a charge into the corner. A Stunner over the ropes lets Finlay get a breather and he starts in on the leg. Finlay’s slingshot dive to the floor is pulled out of the air though and King puts him against the barricade for a huge crash. Back in and a backsplash connects before King gets to say some bad words.

They forearm it out on the apron until Finlay has to break up the hanging sleeper. Finlay hits a big dive off the top but King is back with a lariat into a powerbomb. Finlay’s spear gets two, only for King to Death Valley Driver him into the corner. There’s the cannonball but Finlay sends him into the buckle. A powerbomb into the Overkill (knee to the face) finishes King at 12:35.

Rating: B-. This gets Finlay back on track after he lost the title yesterday. Finlay is someone who has some skills and I can see the potential in him, but there was something missing to get him to that next level. On the other hand you have King, who is a great monster and can work well against almost anyone. Nice power match here, with Finlay’s powerbomb looking good.

Shota Umino vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Castagnoli jumps him on the ramp to start and takes it to the ring to officially start the beating. Umino gets knocked outside before Castagnoli grabs a crossface to crank away on the neck. Umino fights up and shrugs off some shots, setting up a springboard tornado DDT. Another DDT onto the apron drops Castagnoli and he gets beaten up on the floor.

Back in and a springboard missile dropkick gets two but Castagnoli gorilla presses him off the top. A running clothesline sets up the Swing and Castagnoli grabs the Sharpshooter. That’s broken up and Castagnoli strikes away, only for Umino to hit the Death Riders elbows. Another DDT and another elbow to the head get two on Castagnoli but he blocks the Death Rider. The Riccola Bomb gives Castagnoli two but Umino is back with the Death Rider for the pin at 14:32.

Rating: C+. I’ve seen two matches from Umino now and neither has exactly made me interested. There’s just no spark to him and hearing about Jon Moxley and the Death Riders (yes I know Umino and Moxley have a history) for most of the match didn’t make it much better. Just a match with some good enough moves, but this form of Umino isn’t doing it for me.

AEW International Title/NJPW Never Openweight Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Takeshita, with Don Callis, is defending. Ishii’s chops don’t work very well and Takeshita knocks him into the corner, where some forearms eventually have some success. Some kicks to the head wake Ishii up though and he chops away. Ishii’s shots to the face earn him a German suplex though and they’re both down. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Takeshita two and the Raging Fire gets the same, leaving Takeshita surprised.

The kneeling Tombstone plants Ishii but he’s back with a German suplex into a release German suplex. They trade headbutts from all fours until Takeshita gets the better of a forearm off. Takeshita takes him up top, where Ishii snaps off a super hurricanrana. Takeshita’s brainbuster is shrugged off but he grabs a poisonrana. Another hard forearm into Raging Fire retains the titles at 13:30.

Rating: B-. I’m not big on the “you hit me in the head but I scream and get back up really fast” style and that’s what Ishii does rather often. That’s what they were going for here and it was another nice win for Takeshita, but it was only so entertaining. Takeshita is going to come back to AEW with multiple titles and there is a good chance he’ll hold those for a rather long time to come. That makes sense, as he really is that good most of the time.

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. United Empire vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

The titles are vacant coming in and it’s the Great O Khan/Jeff Cobb for the Empire and Tetsuya Naito/Hiromu Takahashi for Los Ingobernables. Tornado rules as well, because having to tag might hinder the Bucks’ art. It’s a brawl to start and the Bucks clear the ring, setting up stereo dives to the floor.

Cobb fights back and is quickly cut off with a double superkick. Back in and the Bucks cut off Cobb and Naito, including a SUCK IT, though the Superkick Party is broken up. Naturally Matt can hit the double northern lights suplex but a tornado DDT into a Time Bomb 1.5 gets two. Cobb starts throwing suplexes and eventually suplexes both Bucks at once but Matt is right back up to team up with Takahashi.

A double superplex drops Cobb but Matt jumps Takahashi, because the Bucks are smart. Destino gets two on Nick with O Khan making the save. The EVP Trigger hits Naito with O Khan making another save, earning himself a superkick party. The Meltzer Driver finishes O Khan to give the Bucks the titles at 13:47.

Rating: C. Well, that was a nice tribute/love letter to the Young Bucks. The story was that they were just put into the title match because they’re rich and famous, and then they dominate/win the match. This felt like the Bucks saying they needed to show how dominant and awesome they were and that’s exactly what we got. You know, in case we haven’t seen that enough in AEW over the years.

NJPW Global Title: Jack Perry vs. Yota Tsuji

Tsuji is defending. Perry takes him into the corner to start but Tsuji takes him down with a faceplant. They’re quickly on the floor with Tsuji being sent into the barricade as Perry takes over. Back in and Perry stomps away, only to get caught with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.

Another backbreaker gives Tsuji two but Perry ties him up in the Tree of Woe. A basement dropkick sets up a German suplex to give Perry two and they go up top. Tsuji’s super Spanish Fly gets two though and they’re both down. They forearm it out until Perry gets two off a DDT. A low blow sets up an Angle Slam for two but Tsuji hits a spear to retain at 13:12.

Rating: C+. While it’s not as bad as Shota Umino, I’m not sure I get it with Tsuji either. It doesn’t help that he’s completely average size and is using a spear, which is pretty much never a good idea. At least he won clean though and that’s a good thing. Granted I’m not sure how much value there is in beating Perry, who is showing that he isn’t the next big thing every single time he’s out there.

Gabe Kidd vs. Kenny Omega

This is Omega’s first match in over a year after dealing with diverticulitis. They grapple against the ropes to start and then strike it out until Omega knocks him into the corner. Commentary seems to call Tony Khan a “money mark” who took New Japan stars away to start AEW as Omega knocks him down and stomps away. They suplex each other out to the floor for the big crash and Omega is sent into the barricade.

Kidd takes too long setting up some tables though and gets taken own by a slingshot dive. Omega sends him into the barricade and hits a dragon suplex on the floor and Kidd is sent crashing though a table. Kidd is busted open so Omega takes him down with a dive but bangs up his own hip in the process. Some chair shots have Omega in trouble for a change and a suplex puts him through a table.

Omega is busted open as well so some chairs are thrown inside, leaving Kidd to work on the cut. Back in and Omega sends him into the chairs, only for Kidd to do the exact same thing. They trade chair shots to the head and both of them need a breather. Omega wins a strike off but Kidd blasts him with a discus lariat to leave both of them down. Back up and Omega snaps off a hurricanrana, setting up the big flip dive to the floor.

Back in and a Jay Driller gives Omega two and there’s a V Trigger against the ropes. The One Winged Angel doesn’t work though and Kidd grabs an abdominal stretch (remember Omega’s internal issues). That’s broken up so Kidd grabs a piledriver for two. Kidd is back up with a Ganso bomb into a package piledriver for two (Commentary: “GIVE ME A BREAK!” Yep.). A V Trigger into a powerbomb into another V Trigger gets one on Kidd before the One Winged Angel finishes Kidd at 31:49.

Rating: A-. They didn’t bother trying for a match here but rather had a fight, which made the match that much more emotional. Ignoring some of the “…really?” kickouts near the end and I had a great time with this. Kidd felt like a monster who had to be beaten and Omega did everything he could. This is the Omega that feels like a star and while he can only do it for so much longer, it worked here. Best match of the weekend so far.

IWGP World Heavyweight Title: Ricochet vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre is defending and gets taken out by a dive before the bell. Ricochet hits another dive and a 450 gets two. Sabre ties him up in the ropes though and kicks him in the back so the fight can head outside. A flip dive is caught in a cravate (nice) and Sabre twists the neck. Back in and Sabre starts in on the leg but Ricochet hits a handspring elbow. A springboard clothesline into a moonsault gives Ricochet two but he has to break up Sabre’s choke.

Ricochet Death Valley Drivers him for two, only for Sabre to grab a dragon suplex for the same. Ricochet rolls some suplexes onto the apron and then the floor (that was different) for a double knockdown. Back in and they slap it out from their knees and then their feet. They fight up top until a super Zack Driver gets two, with Ricochet having to bail to the ropes to get out of an armbar.

Ricochet’s Vertigo connects for two and a shooting star press gets the same. A kick to the head sets up another Vertigo for another two but the 630 misses. The Zack Driver gets two so Sabre knocks him down again without much trouble. Sabre ties up the arms and Ricochet gives up at 21:06.

Rating: B+. I liked this a good deal, as it was a clash between a technical master and a high flier, which often works well. Sabre is quite good at what he does and some of the holds he pulls out are insane. Ricochet didn’t feel like the most serious challenger but he more than held up his own in a rather good match.

Post match Sabre puts over Ricochet and says the future of New Japan is the orange of TMDK. Posing ends the show.

Overall Rating: B. I had a better time with this one than Wrestle Kingdom, though that might be due to recognizing more of the names. The Omega vs. Kidd match is the best part of the weekend and the main event was better than last night’s. It’s not a concept that needs to be a regular thing but I’m sure it will be, even if some of the promotions were more or less tacked on (ROH not making it out of the pre-show was funny). Overall, a good show, but after two straight days of long shows, it’s a bit much to take in all at once.

Results
Momo Watanabe b. Willow Nightingale, Persephone and Athena – Dragon suplex to Athena
Sons Of Texas b. House Of Torture – Swanton to Sho
Taiji Ishimori won the Casino Gauntlet Match – Rollup to Desperado
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi went to a time limit draw
Mercedes Mone b. Mina Shirakawa – Mone Maker
David Finlay b. Brody King – Overkill
Shota Umino b. Claudio Castagnoli – Death Rider
Konosuke Takeshita b. Tomohiro Ishii – Raging Fire
Young Bucks b. Los Ingobernables de Japon and United Empire – Meltzer Driver to O Khan
Yota Tsuji b. Jack Perry – Spear
Kenny Omega b. Gabe Kidd – One Winged Angel
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Ricochet – Double armbar

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Ring Of Honor
Date: June 29, 2023
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re done with Forbidden Door but like so many other things AEW does, we’ll be seeing some of the same people here this week. There are likely going to be several New Japan stars on this show and that means we could be in for a high quality week. Not so high quality that Jerry Lynn could actually say something important, but still good. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tony Khan and Stokely Hathaway are here to talk about how there are a bunch of New Japan stars here. We hear about some of the stars, with Tony saying he’ll be at the Gorilla position and Hathaway can find him if needed. Another thing AEW does better than ROH: not having Tony Khan on the show so often. It feels like he’s using this show for practice to be on AEW TV more and no. Please goodness no.

Dralistico/Preston Vance vs. Mark Wheeler/Vikram Prashar

Dralistico knocks Wheeler down to start and strikes away to take over fast. Vance comes in with his spinebuster for two and demands the now legal Prashar to hit him. It’s back to Dralistico for a knee to the face and Vance adds the lariat for the double pin at 2:25. Well that was efficient.

Dark Order vs. The Righteous

Evil Uno is here with the Order while Stu Grayson is here with the Righteous. The Order jumps them to start fast and clears the ring, allowing Grayson to hand Uno a chair. That’s enough for an ejection, with the distraction letting Dutch run Silver over for two. Silver gets caught in the wrong corner and the beating is on until Dutch charges into a boot.

The big tag brings in Reynolds to clean house, including a hard running knee to Vincent in the corner. Everything breaks down and the Righteous is sent into various things on the floor. Back in and Silver brainbusters Vincent but Dutch makes the save. Vincent grabs a small package to finish Reynolds at 5:32.

Rating: C+. The Order did look more aggressive here and that helps, but at the end of the day, it’s another loss in a rather long string of them. The Righteous might not be great, but they’re more interesting than the Order. I could go for more of the Righteous’ mind games, though it’s almost time to move them over to some new opponents.

Post match the beatdown is on until Uno runs back out for the save. Grayson gets in the way of the chair shot though and we get the big staredown, with Grayson leaving before anything gets violent.

Leila Grey vs. Diamante

Mark Sterling is here with Grey. A headlock has Diamante in some early trouble but she slips out and works on the arm instead. Grey bails to the floor and gets sent into the steps for her efforts. Sterling offers a distraction though and Grey gets in a cheap shot to take over. The double arm crank with a knee in Diamante’s back doesn’t last long so we’ll go with a normal chinlock instead. Diamante jawbreaks her way to freedom but it’s too early for a running knee in the corner. A running corner dropkick connects instead but Sterling puts the foot on the rope. Not that it matters as Diamante hits Cross Rhodes for the pin at 6:03.

Rating: C. This was more about Diamante overcoming Sterling’s interference, as it isn’t like beating Grey is overly impressive. I still think there is something to be done with Diamante as she has a unique look and the charisma to make it work. Give her a chance already, as this feud isn’t getting her anywhere.

Claudio Castagnoli says no one wants the World Title because they’re scared of him. Cue Chuck Taylor to say he’ll challenge if Castagnoli is interested. Taylor leaves and Castagnoli says it can be a Proving Ground match, but they’ll scrap the time limit so the beating can be on.

Lucha Bros/El Hijo del Vikingo/Kommander b. Gringo Loco/Shane Taylor/Workhorsemen

Wouldn’t be Ring Of Honor without the Workhorsemen getting in their required appearance. Penta and Loco start things off and the fans are a bit split here. There’s no major contact for a minute and a half so everything breaks down with a series of strikes and flips to the floor. The spike Fear Factor is loaded up for Loco but he slips out and kicks Fenix down. Taylor’s splash gets two so it’s Kommander coming in to get crushed in the corner as well.

A springboard moonsault gives Loco two but Kommander kicks his way over to bring in Vikingo. Everything breaks down and the Bros snap off kicks. Drake breaks up the Fear Factor and it’s off to Fenix vs. Henry in a chop off. Taylor comes in and gets to wreck some people until Kommander and Vikingo do their big dives to the floor. The spike Fear Factor finishes Henry at 8:55.

Rating: B-. It was exactly the fun match that you would expect and they got a bit of time to make it work. This is where the Lucha Bros get to shine, though I’m not sure who is supposed to be their next challengers. Other than that, Vikingo and Kommander flipped, Loco did well when he could, Taylor is a monster and the Workhorsemen are here a lot.

Samoa Joe is ready to defeat Roderick Strong in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament. Stokely Hathaway comes in to say he runs things around here but Joe says he runs Hathaway, which has panic ensuing.

Big Bill/Lee Moriarty vs. Karou/Tariq

Karou slugs at Bill to start and can’t get very far, even with the heavy shots. The swinging Boss Man Slam drops Karou and it’s off to Moriarty to take over on Tariq. A hurricanrana sends Moriarty into the corner but he slips away and brings in Bill for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down and the Border City Stretch makes Tariq tap at 3:22.

Rating: C. Tariq and Karou didn’t exactly look great in there and Bill/Moriarty still don’t feel like anything important. Some of that might have to do with the fact that one of their names is “Big Bill” but it also might be that they aren’t exactly interesting. They could be fine enough as a one off challenger for the Tag Team Titles, though that could still be a ways off.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: The Embassy vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

The Embassy is defending and has Prince Nana with them. Bushi bounces off of Cage to start so Takagi comes in to strike away. With that not working, Takahashi comes in and sends Cage into the corner for a triple team. The Gates make a save and Cage hits the apron superplex on Takahashi. Toa grabs a neck crank but Takahashi DDTs his way to freedom. Takagi comes in to clean house but gets cut off by Kaun’s Backstabber.

Kaun gets dropped as well though and it’s Bushi coming in off a missile dropkick. Everything breaks down and Kaun blasts Bushi with a clothesline. Cage World’s Strongest Slams Takagi and powerbombs Takahashi at the same time (because that’s something someone can do) but Bushi mists him. Back in and Opening The Gates finishes Bushi at 7:42.

Rating: B-. They packed a ton into this match and it’s nice to see a match where the Embassy breaks a sweat. The six man division more or less doesn’t exist but Ring Of Honor insists on having one anyway, which makes things quite annoying. The Embassy still is only so interesting, but as shown here, they can rise up against better opponents.

The United Empire want better opponents around here.

El Desperado vs. Willie Mack

Feeling out process to start until Mack hits a heck of a dropkick to take over. Desperado can’t strike his way out of the corner and gets knocked down much harder. The fall away slam into the nip up into the standing moonsault gives Mack two but Desperado starts in on the leg to take him out.

A leglock, with what looks like a Tranquilo pose thrown in, has Mack in more trouble but Mack makes the rope. Mack knocks him silly with a right hand but he has to kick Desperado away again. The double underhook faceplant is broken up but the second attempt finishes Mack at 9:05.

Rating: B-. More good stuff here, even as Mack’s losing streak continues. The guy can’t catch a break around here but it still works well as he is able to put on a nice match against anyone. At some point he needs to win, but that wasn’t going to come at the expense of one of the New Japan guest stars. Granted commentary hyping up Desperado’s upcoming match with Jon Moxley didn’t help either.

Roppongi Vice vs. Sho/Yujiro Takahashi

Vice get jumped at the bell but come back with stereo dropkicks to send them into the corner. A kick to the chest and standing moonsault get two on Takahashi as we hear about all of Romero’s partners and students (including Sho but save for Trent) turning on him. Sho gets in a cheap shot on Trent on the floor though and a backdrop gets…well nothing back inside actually.

Some kicks rock Trent but he gets a boot up on Takahashi so the hot tag can bring Romero back in. The Forever Lariats crush Sho and Takahashi but Strong Zero is broken up. Takahashi brings in the cane but gets it taken away, only to have Sho hit a backstabber for two on Trent. Everything breaks down and Vice hits a double jumping knee on Sho. Strong Zero finishes Takahashi at 8:53.

Rating: B-. Another fast paced match here between teams that know how to do that style. Vice getting the win is nice to see as they might actually be around here for a little while. Takahashi and Sho are a good team but they’re going to be back in Japan sooner than later. Let the regular AEW/ROH team get the win instead, which is exactly what they did here.

Post match Sho is back up for the beatdown but Orange Cassidy makes the save.

United Empire vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin/Christopher Daniels

Andretti and TJP start things off and go to the mat with TJP headstanding his way out of a headscissors. A cartwheel gets TJP out of a hurricanrana but Andretti hits a dropkick (harder to block you see). Daniels comes in to take over on Fletcher but it’s Cobb coming in to muscle Daniels up.

Cobb and Fletcher do the passing suplex for two on Daniels, who manages to get over to Andretti anyway. TJP is right there to plant him with a Falcon Arrow and the Mamba Splash gets two. The Empire clears the ring as everything breaks down. Back in and Daniels sends TJP into a kind of double slam from Andretti and Martin for the pin at 8:15 (TJP kicked out at about 3.1 and things seemed a bit confused).

Rating: C+. I didn’t see that ending coming and based on how things looked, I’m not sure how many others did either. The match was what you would expect, but they did something new with having the normal powers lose. I can’t imagine Andretti and company win the titles out of this, but they are likely set up for a title shot if/when no one better comes along.

Jerry Lynn actually gets to talk! This time it’s to the Kingdom, who have been sucking up to him about what a legend he is. Mike Bennett brings up retiring Lynn and as a result, it’s the Kingdom vs. the Infantry/Trish Adora. Maria isn’t happy.

Athena vs. KC Spinelli

Non-title Proving Ground match, so if Spinelli can win or survive the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. Spinelli runs her over with a shoulder to start but Athena does the same and stops to dance. A backslide gives Spinelli two so Athena hammers her down. Athena hits a right hand for the pin at 2:41.

Post match Athena crushes her against the steps.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chuck Taylor

Another non-title Proving Ground match but with no time limit. Taylor wastes no time in hammering away in the corner and Soul Food sends Castagnoli outside. Castagnoli knocks him over the barricade and sends Taylor face first into various things. Cue Roppongi Vice to check on him and the revived Taylor grabs the Koji Clutch back inside. Castagnoli breaks that up so a piledriver gives Taylor two and the Neutralizer is countered into a rollup for the same. Back up and Castagnoli hits the Riccola Bomb for the pin at 5:30.

Rating: C+. They were trying here but Taylor is the weakest link in a lower level group so this wasn’t the biggest challenge. That’s the problem for Castagnoli: despite having an insane amount of opponents to pick from, he hasn’t felt like he has been in any real jeopardy in a long, long time outside of Eddie Kingston. That is going to have to change, but right now there is no one on the horizon, as even Kingston has only been wanting to fight him and not go after the title.

Overall Rating: B-. Maybe it was having some fresh blood around, but I did like this show a bit better than recent efforts. It’s also a hair shorter at just under two hours, which does take away some of that “how much longer is this thing” feeling. The one issue I’d have is the same thing that happens with a lot of Tony Khan produced wrestling: there are three episodes of this show left before Death Before Dishonor and a grand total of nothing has been announced.

There are a few matches ready, likely including Eddie Kingston vs. Claudio Castagnoli (taking place pretty much solely on AEW), but it would be nice to not have most of the card dumped on us with a week or two to go. I’m not sure why this is such a common thing around here/in AEW but you can almost guarantee that is how things are going. For now though, nice show with the New Japan stars adding in some nice flavor.

Results
Dralistico/Preston Vance b. Mark Wheeler/Vikram Prashar – Double pin
Righteous b. Dark Order – Small package to Reynolds
Diamante b. Leila Grey – Cross Rhodes
Lucha Bros/El Hijo del Vikingo/Kommander b. Gringo Loco/Shane Taylor/Workhorsemen – Spike Fear Factor to Henry
Big Bill/Lee Moriarty b. Tariq/Karou – Border City Stretch to Tariq
The Embassy b. Los Ingobernables de Japon – Opening The Gates to Bushi
El Desperado b. Willie Mack – Double underhook faceplant
Roppongi Vice b. Sho/Yujiro Takahashi – Strong Zero to Takahashi
Action Andretti/Christopher Daniels/Darius Martin b. United Empire – Double slam to TJP
Athena b. KC Spinelli – Right hand
Claudio Castagnoli b. Chuck Taylor – Riccola Bomb

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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Forbidden Door 2023
Date: June 25, 2023
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, Taz

It’s time for the annual crossover show as we have a bunch of AEW vs. New Japan matches. The entire build to the show as well as the show itself are a total side trip away from what AEW normally does but it is one heck of a side trip, with an absolutely stacked card that has some serious potential. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Mogul Embassy vs. Best Friends/Rocky Romero/El Desperado

Kaun takes Romero into the corner to start but gets dropped with a hurricanrana. The Best Friends come in for a double elbow so it’s off to Toa, who gets high crossbodied. Everything breaks down and the villains are sent to the floor for the big series of dives. Trent caps it off with a moonsault onto Toa as the fans are rather pleased.

Back in and Toa hits a pop up Samoan drop to cut Trent off, followed by a whip over the corner to the floor. Kaun hits the slingshot hilo and Cage hits the Death Valley Driver on the apron. Trent suplexes his way out of trouble but the Embassy does the pull his partners to the floor thing.

Strickland takes over on Trent but a quick shot allows the tag to Desperado. A shot to Cage on the apron causes everything to break down and Strickland plants Desperado for two. We hit the parade of everyone hitting something until Cage accidentally discus clotheslines Swerve. Strong Zero gets two on Swerve but Cage is back in for the F5 into Swerve’s cutter. The Swerve Stomp finishes for Swerve at 12:24.

Rating: C. It’s always nice to see Swerve getting a pin, even if it is one of the less important matches of the show. What mattered here was starting the fans off with something fun and the Best Friends will always get that kind of a reaction. I’m still not sure why Swerve has to be stuck with these guys, as the Gates continue to feel worthless and Cage isn’t going anywhere, but at least he got a little something here.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Billie Starkz vs. Athena

Athena’s ROH Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Starkz fires off the kicks to start and a suplex brainbuster gets two. A headscissors into the corner gets Athena out of trouble and we slow it down as Athena prefers. Athena stays on the ribs with some more kicks but the O Face is countered into a Death Valley Bomb for two.

Starkz gets caught on top though and it’s a pop up powerbomb into a kick to the face for two, leaving Athena annoyed. Back up and they trade dropkicks until Athena misses a standing moonsault. Starkz misses a Swanton onto the apron and crashes hard, setting up a spinning gutbuster to give Athena the pin at 7:48.

Rating: C. That’s all it should have been, as Athena is on a roll and Starkz isn’t in here league yet. Athena didn’t quite run her over but it was hard to believe that there was any danger in this one. Not exactly a classic match, but Athena is on fire right now and any excuse to get her out of ROH and into AEW is a good thing.

Zero Hour: El Phantasmo vs. Stu Grayson

They shake hands to start before Grayson takes him into the corner to hammer away. Grayson pounds away and they stand there for the exchange of chops. Then Phantasmo grabs the nipples to take over, setting up a springboard spinning crossbody. Grayson is sent outside for the suicide dive into the barricade, followed by the springboard Swanton for two back inside.

Phantasmo catches him with a kick to the head on top and snaps off a super hurricanrana. The top rope splash (and a good one at that) gives Phantasmo two but Grayson kicks him back down. A 450 gives Grayson two but Phantasmo is back with a springboard tornado DDT. Something like Diamond Dallas Page’s old Pancake (with the arms held back) finishes Grayson at 7:17.

Rating: C. Of all the matches on the card, this one felt the most like “here’s a way to get more people on the card”. Grayson has been in the middle of an ordeal with the Dark Order on Ring Of Honor for weeks now and isn’t exactly a big star. Phantasmo is a bigger name, but I don’t know how many people were going to sit home if he wasn’t on the show. Fine match, but something that could have been dropped with no consequence.

Zero Hour: United Empire vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

United Empire: Jeff Cobb/TJP/Kyle Fletcher
Los Ingobernables: Bushi/Hiromu Takahashi/Shingo Takagi

Bushi gets double teamed to start and his comeback is quickly cut off by the numbers game. Cobb comes in to power Bushi around but a dropkick to the knee puts Cobb down. Takahashi comes in to clean house until Cobb pulls him into an overhead belly to belly. It’s off to Takagi, who gets kicked in the face by Fletcher so TJP can come in with a high crossbody. Everything breaks down and Takagi hits TJP with a pop up Death Valley Driver. Cobb has to make a save so Bushi dives onto Fletcher. Takagi’s Last Of The Dragon is blocked so TJP kicks him in the face, earning a discus lariat. Made In Japan finishes TJP at 7:22.

Rating: C+. Best thing on the Kickoff Show and a lot of that probably has to do with the people involved. There were some talented names in this match and I could have gone for a bit more of it. The Empire losing is a bit weird as they’re around AEW more often, but it isn’t like the result truly matters in the grand scheme of things.

The opening video gives a quick look at the major matches.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

MJF, who still believes New Japan is an indy company, is defending. Tanahashi takes him down to start so MJF bails to the floor, saying he’s already done. A COWARD chant is enough to bring him back in and a knee to the ribs cuts Tanahashi off. MJF grabs a bearhug into the abdominal stretch with a grab of the ropes keeps Tanahashi in trouble. Tanahashi fights out and knocks MJF down for the middle rope Swanton and a near fall.

MJF catches him on top for a good looking superplex and a near fall. The Heatseeker is blocked though and MJF bangs up his knees. MJF is right back up with a double underhook shoulder breaker, which only hurts the knee even more. Tanahashi is down so MJF calls him a joke (and a fan calls MJF a coward), which is enough to start the comeback.

The bad knee is taken out and the Texas Cloverleaf sends MJF bailing to the ropes. Twist and Shout into the Sling Blade sets up the High Fly Flow, which only hits the raised knees. They’re both down for a bit until MJF rolls outside and grabs the title. The referee takes it away and Tanahashi grabs a rollup for a VERY delayed two. Another referee distraction lets MJF hit Tanahashi with the diamond ring to retain at 16:20.

Rating: B-. Good opener here but the ending didn’t do it any favors. The ribs vs. the knees worked well for a story here as Tanahashi isn’t as fast as he was before so it gave him a reason to slow down. MJF gets over for his talking abilities but it is nice to see him being able to easily hang in a match like this. Nice choice for the first match on the main card here, as the fans still buy into MJF’s antics.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima

The fans are NOT pleased with Punk and commentary acknowledges the not so positive reaction. They start rather slowly with Kojima’s headlock not doing anything. Kojima goes after the back to take over and stops to pop his pectoral muscles. Punk sends him outside and pops his own pecs before going outside or some chops. A leg sweep knocks Punk down on the apron but he’s right back with a knockdown of his own.

The legdrop connects and we get the required Hogan references. They strike it out in the corner until Punk whips him hard into said corner. Punk hits his own Kojima style lariats in the corner (while shouting “KOJIMA” over and over), setting up a belly to back suplex for two (with quite the evil grin during the cover). A missed splash in the corner lets Kojima fire off his rapid fire chops and then he does it again in another corner. Kojima’s top rope elbow gets two and a DDT plants Punk again.

Punk knocks him down again though and drops a top rope elbow for two of his own. The Anaconda Vice goes on until Kojima hits him in the back of the head to break it up. The GTS is broken up and Kojima fires off his double chops into the Koji Cutter to drop Punk. Kojima’s lariat is countered into a neckbreaker for two more but the GTS is blocked again. A brainbuster gives Kojima two but Punk kicks him in the head, setting up the GTS to finish Kojima at 13:33.

Rating: B. They beat each other up rather well here and Kojima gave him more of a run for his money than I was expecting. If nothing else, it was a lot of fun to see Punk laying into the heel stuff, as he can shift from one side or the other like few in wrestling today. This got physical at the end and it wound up being a rather entertaining match.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia

Cassidy is defending (Shibata’s ROH Pure Title/Sabre’s NJPW TV Title aren’t on the line) and it’s one fall to a finish. They all block kicks to start until Sabre and Shibata are both sent outside. The Dragontamer has Cassidy in trouble until Shibata makes the save. Shibata Figure Fours Cassidy until Garcia makes a save and grabs a hold of his own. That’s broken up as well and everyone but Cassidy strike it out. Cassidy comes back in and everyone is knocked down for a bit.

Back up and Cassidy and Garcia grab holds, only to have Shibata and Sabre slug it out with said holds still on. With that broken up, Cassidy hits a Stundog Millionaire but Sabre twists the arm around to hit Cassidy in his own ribs. Garcia grabs a belt to knock Shibata silly for two but Cassidy clears Garcia out. That lets Cassidy and Shibata sit down to slap each other until an Orange Punch drops Shibata.

Cassidy’s hand is too banged up to cover so it’s the Beach Break for two. The Mousetrap to Sabre is countered into a double arm trap with a save being made. Sabre pulls Cassidy back into the hold until Shibata makes a save of his own. Everything breaks down again and Garcia pildrives Sabre. Shibata hits the PK on Garcia but Cassidy steals the pin to retain at 11:32.

Rating: B. The match was almost all action and Cassidy continues to show that he can hang with just about anyone. That being said, I’m not sure how many times the story has been “Cassidy is banged up and facing overwhelming odds” but he retains anyway. The point has long since been made and it’s time for someone to beat him for the title. He isn’t really gaining much more by doing it over and over again, yet here we are (after another rather entertaining match).

IWGP World Title: Sanada vs. Jungle Boy

Jungle Boy, with Hook, is challenging and gets run over by the champ. The threat of a Snare Trap sends Sanada straight to the ropes and Jungle Boy is already looking frustrated. Jungle Boy’s attempt at a Paradise Lock is broken up and Sanada gets one of his own, setting up the running dropkick for two. Back up and Jungle Boy fights back before a double knockdown gives them both a breather.

They chop it out until Jungle Boy gets Sanada’s own Skull End, slowly sending him over to the ropes. Sanada is right back up with a TKO for two but a moonsault doesn’t work as well. Jungle Boy snaps off a poisonrana but Sanada is right back with the swinging Skull End. Sanada’s poisonrana sets up a Shining Wizard for two, followed by a moonsault to retain at 10:37. There seemed to be a bit of confusion on the ending there, as the referee checked the shoulders and the bell didn’t immediately ring.

Rating: C+. This was a step down from the rest of the show, but there was only so much that could be done with the idea of Jungle Boy getting a World Title shot. He wasn’t going to win here and it fits in with his recent struggles. Commentary referred to this as a learning experience for Jungle Boy and that’s rather accurate, as he wasn’t going to win but could still get something out of it.

Post match Jungle Boy seems banged up but is fine enough to turn on Hook (Taz is LIVID). The fans give a very loud YOU F***** UP chant as this team with three whole matches together is done.

Blackpool Combat Club/Konosuke Takeshita/Shota Umino vs. Elite/Tomohiro Ishii/Eddie Kingston

Umino takes Page into the corner for some pats on the chest, plus a forearm to annoy Page a bit. Takeshita comes in instead and takes over, only for the Bucks to come in and pick up the pace. A neckbreaker/backbreaker combination hits Yuta (One of the Bucks: “See you in h***!”) and it’s off to Kingston vs. Moxley for one heck of an audience reaction. They stare each other down and then go to the big chop off as the other eight just watch from the floor.

Realizing that doesn’t make a ton of sense, the others come in for a big slugout of their own until the Bucks hit stereo dives to the floor. Page adds the moonsault as Kingston and Moxley are still chopping away. Castagnoli comes in to drop Kingston as Moxley goes outside to pour water on his chest. Takeshita comes in and BLASTS Ishii (on the apron) with an elbow before Kingston is caught in the wrong corner for some elbows from Castagnoli.

Kingston lariats his way out of trouble but Moxley is right there to cut him off. Stereo lariats connect and Moxley’s banged up chest keeps him down even longer. Ishii comes in to run Yuta over and slips out of a Hart Attack attempt. A back suplex drops Umino and a diving tag brings in Page for the big comeback. The Bucks hold Takeshita over the floor so Page can hit a running shooting star press from the apron.

Takeshita is back up but the Bucks start firing off the superkicks. The Blue Thunder Bomb Takeshita two on Matt and a wheelbarrow suplex drops him again. Castagnoli’s swing into Yuta’s dropkick gets two with a bunch of people making the save. Nick breaks up…something from Yuta and a rather cold tag brings Ishii back in as everything breaks down. Moxley cutters Ishii but the Bucks superkick their problems away again. Yuta ducks the Buckshot lariat and Ishii takes his head off with a lariat of his own. The brainbuster finishes for Ishii at 21:22.

Rating: B+. This was the all action match of the night and that’s all it needed to be, as the score (unofficially) is evened up between the Elite and the Club. You can book Blood & Guts from here and it should be rather epic. It was also rather nice to not have the match turn into a wild brawl, as they already covered that at Double Or Nothing. Heck of a fight here, and the storytelling with Kingston/Moxley/Castagnoli worked well. Throw in Takeshita looking like a main eventer and it was even better.

Post match Kingston isn’t having anything to do with his partners and leaves, as he didn’t want to hurt Moxley.

Video on Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale. Storm is so mean that even Nightingale doesn’t like her!

AEW Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale

Storm, with the Outcasts, is defending and Nightingale’s NJPW Women’s Strong Title isn’t on the line. They run the ropes to start until Nightingale counters a hiptoss into a cradle for two. Nightingale drops her to the floor but stops to yell at the Outcasts, allowing Storm to hit a hip attack on the way back in. The seated full nelson keeps Nightingale in trouble and Storm forearms her in the back to cut off a comeback.

Back up and they head to the apron with Nightingale hitting a Death Valley Driver to plant her hard. Nightingale goes up but the Outcasts throw in the spray paint. That’s enough for a double ejection but the delay causes Nightingale to miss the moonsault. The hip attack into a DDT gives Storm two, only to have Nightingale pull her into an Indian Deathlock. With that broken up, the Pounce sends Storm outside but she’s right back with a poke to the eye. Storm Zero retains the title at 11:03.

Rating: C+. This was more of the same from the Outcasts, but at least Storm was able to cheat on her own to retain here. Nightingale losing isn’t a surprise but it’s certainly annoying, as it seems to happen far too often. Odds are we’re coming up on Storm vs. Jamie Hayter for the title at All In, but at least Nightingale didn’t get squashed.

We recap Will Ospreay challenging Kenny Omega for the IWGP US Title. Omega escaped with the title at Wrestle Kingdom but now Ospreay is back and more dangerous for the rematch.

IWGP US Title: Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay is challenging and seems to be the big favorite. Omega takes him down into an early chinlock but Ospreay reverses into an arm crank. They chop it out but it’s way too early for the One Winged Angle. The Oscutter is countered as well and Omega has to duck a kick, leaving us with a standoff. Omega takes him down and hits a moonsault but here is Don Callis with his “military grade security” for the distraction.

That’s enough for an ejection but said distraction lets Ospreay send him into the barricade and take over back inside. Some shots to the back have Omega in trouble and Ospreay stays on said back for two. Omega manages to hit a quick Kitaro Crusher but Ospreay drapes him over the top rope. That sets up a shooting star press to the back and the Oscutter on the apron keeps Omega rocked. They head outside with Ospreay ramming him hard into the announcers’ table to knock Omega even sillier.

Omega is sent through the table’s covering and is busted rather open, allowing Ospreay to lick the blood off of his own arm. Ospreay V Triggers him to the floor and grabs the Canadian flag to clean himself, ala Shawn Michaels in 1997. That’s enough for Omega to knock him hard to the floor, where Ospreay is sent hard into the steps to bust him open as well. A DDT onto the steps knocks Ospreay silly again and Omega elbows away at the cut to make the blood flow even more freely. Ospreay powerbombs his way out of a choke and they’re both down.

Back up and Omega hits a V Trigger, only for Ospreay to grab the standing Spanish Fly for two. A rather terrible Sharpshooter sends Omega to the ropes but Ospreay pulls him back in and switches to a Crossface. With the rope break getting Omega out of trouble, Ospreay kicks him in the head a few times. The Oscutter is blocked (perhaps shouting OSCUTTER in advance was a bad idea) and Omega hits some Snapdragons. A piledriver gives Omega two and there’s the V Trigger to the back.

Omega tries a super One Winged Angel but Ospreay counters the chance of death into a Cheeky Nandos kick. Ospreay hits a skytwister to the floor, followed by a Liger Bomb for two back inside. Omega knocks him down again but here is Don Callis (the fans are NOT pleased) at ringside. A knee to the face hits Ospreay as Callis hides behind security. Callis’ distraction doesn’t stop the V Trigger but he manages to slip Ospreay a screwdriver.

The One Winged Angel is broken up with the screwdriver to the head and the Hidden Blade into the Stormbreaker gives Ospreay….two. Well that was ridiculous. Ospreay’s One Winged Angel gets one so Omega loads up his own version, only to switch into a German suplex for two. Ospreay Tiger Driver 91’s him for two and it’s a Hidden Blade into Stormbreaker to finally finish Omega at 39:07.

Rating: A. What else do you want here? They sold the idea of two people leaving it all in the ring until one of them couldn’t stand any longer and it felt like a violent war. That’s exactly what this should have been and on almost all accounts, it would have been a bit better without the (awesome) false finish off back to back finishers. That was a bit much and should have been the finish, but that’s a rather nothing complaint all things considered.

Omega has to be helped out due to obvious reasons.

Sting/Darby Allin/Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Jericho/Minoru Suzuki/Sammy Guevara

Guevara flips over Naito to start before hitting a dropkick to take over. Naito sends him outside though and that’s enough for the Tranquilo pose. Allin comes in to yell at Guevara but gets Suzuki instead. That doesn’t go well for Allin so it’s off to Jericho vs. Sting for the big staredown. Sting takes over without much trouble and hits the Stinger Splash into the Scorpion Deathlock.

Guevara makes the save with a cutter and we get a triple Le Suzuki Gods pose. Naito is back in to clean things out and we settle down to Naito’s Gloria being broken up. Everything breaks down and the villains grab triple chokes, which are quickly escaped. Allin hits a dive onto Suzuki but Jericho hits the Judas Effect to cut off Allin’s sequel dive.

Jericho brings out a table (of course) and puts Sting on it before ordering Sammy to hit the 630 off the top to drive him through it. Naito rolls Jericho up for two but Destino is countered into the Walls. Sting is back up for the save so Jericho gives Naito the Codebreaker for to instead. Naito and Sting beat on Suzuki and it’s an atomic drop into a rollup to finish Suzuki at 15:02.

Rating: C. This one didn’t do much for me and it felt like they were just kind of going through the motions in some places. I’m also guessing that Sting was supposed to get up before that 630 but just didn’t in time, which would explain (not excuse, but explain) his quick save. The match wasn’t bad, but nothing you need to see.

Post match Jericho grabs the bat but Sting clears everyone out.

We recap Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada. In summation, it’s Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada.

Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada

Danielson comes out to Final Countdown for a special moment. Okada goes for the arm to start but Danielson reverses into a surfboard with a double knee stomp to leave Okada a bit annoyed. An elbow to the face drops Danielson and they go to the floor, where Danielson starts working on the arms. Some shots to said arms have Okada in trouble and Danielson cranks away at both back inside. Okada fights up and lets Danielson kick him, which just wakes Okada up even more.

The forearms don’t work because of the arm but it’s fine enough to catch a charging Danielson in a flapjack. They fight to the floor again and this time Danielson is sent into the crowd. Okada is right after him with a big running clothesline, setting up a neckbreaker onto the knee for two back inside. Danielson pops back up and hits a missile dropkick before it’s time to strike it out again.

Okada shotgun dropkicks him into the corner, followed by another dropkick for two. Back up and Danielson goes for the arm again, this time getting in a Disarm-Her. With that broken up, Danielson sends him outside but misses the dive. The Rainmaker is blocked and Okada gets dropkicked up the ramp. The YES Kicks rock Okada but he’s right back with a Tombstone onto the ramp.

Danielson is mostly out of it and the Rainmaker is loaded up. Hold on though as we pause for the doctor, who says Danielson can go, despite convulsing. Danielson is cleared and immediately hits a knee to drop Okada. Danielson declares it time to kick his f****** head in and stomps away but Danielson’s arm seems to have given out.

The YES chant is loaded up but Okada cuts off the running knee with the dropkick. The Landslide sets up the Rainmaker for two but two more attempts miss. Danielson tries the LeBell Lock, only to opt for some weird double arm lock. Okada can’t reach the rope so Danielson lets go and hammers him in the face. The double arm crank goes back on and Okada taps at 27:33.

Rating: A-. This was great in a different way than the Omega vs. Ospreay bloodbath in that this felt more like a traditional classic wrestling match. You had Danielson tearing the arm apart all match while Okada worked on the neck, only to have Danielson get the better of things and tie him up for the win. I had a great time with it, but the lack of a story other than “hey let’s have a classic” slowed it down a bit.

Danielson is banged up to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. The two big matches and the ten man tag are more than enough to carry this, but it doesn’t quite get to that all time level. There are some matches on here that don’t exactly feel epic, but the good stuff is so, so good that it carries the rest. Definitely check out Okada vs. Danielson and Ospreay vs. Omega, but the rest you might want to pick and choose (save for the Zero Hour stuff, which added pretty much nothing). Another awesome show here, as we now veer back into the normal AEW material.

Results
Mogul Embassy b. Best Friends/Rocky Romero/El Desperado – Swerve Stomp to Romero
Athena b. Billie Starkz – Gutbuster
El Phantasmo b. Stu Grayson – Arm trap faceplant
Los Ingobernables de Japon b. United Empire – Made In Japan to TJP
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Hiroshi Tanahashi – Diamond ring to the head
CM Punk b. Satoshi Kojima – GTS
Orange Cassidy b. Daniel Garcia, Zack Sabre Jr. and Katsuyorhi Shibata – Crucifix to Garcia
Sanada b. Jungle Boy – Moonsault
Elite/Tomohiro Ishii/Eddie Kingston b. Blackpool Combat Club/Konosuke Takeshita/Shota Umino – Brainbuster to Yuta
Toni Storm b. Willow Nightingale – Storm Zero
Will Ospreay b. Kenny Omega – Stormbreaker
Sting/Tetsuya Naito/Darby Allin b. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Minoru Suzuki – Rollup to Suzuki
Bryan Danielson b. Kazuchika Okada – Double arm crank

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.

It’s time for one of the more unique shows of the year, as AEW and New Japan get together for another Forbidden Door (which does not seem to actually be forbidden in any way). This one has been built up a bit better than last year and the top of the card looks rather strong. If it is anywhere close to as good as the original show, we should be in for a nice night. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Mogul Embassy vs. Roppongi Vice/El Desperado

This is one of three matches that were added to Zero Hour this week on Collision. The Embassy has been treated as something of value on Ring Of Honor and it would be nice to see Swerve Strickland getting a bit more of a high profile win. Vice is a team who has been around in a variety of forms so having them around makes some sense. Desperado is a wild card, but that seems to be the point.

I’ll take the Embassy to win, even though the Gates of Agony notoriously never win anything of note. Maybe it’s different if they are in a six man match, but it is one of those random matches that could go either way. Hopefully Strickland gets a dominant pin over a member of Vice as it would be the most beneficial long term, even if the Gates continue to be rather dull.

Zero Hour: El Phantasmo vs. Stu Grayson

Grayson hasn’t been around AEW much lately but when he is given the chance, especially away from the Dark Order, he can put on quite the show. Phantasmo is a bigger star of course and in a better place, making this kind of a strange choice to put on the card. Hopefully they can make something work out of this, despite what is likely to be a limited amount of time.

Phantasmo wins here, as Grayson isn’t going to win here when he can barely get on AEW TV most of the time. This feels like a way to get Phantasmo in front of the audience and Grayson is the one who was selected to be out there too. The match should be fairly good if Grayson is trying to get some focus on himself and if that is the case, we should be in for something fun.

Zero Hour: United Empire vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

So this seems to be a showcase match for New Japan stars and that should be fine. Kyle Fletcher and Jeff Cobb are regular enough in AEW so at least commentary will have something to talk about. At the same time, Los Ingobernables haven’t been around lately but the talent will be more than enough to carry things forward, as the story isn’t the point to this one.

I’ll go with the Empire to win here as they have been around more frequently, but if there is one match on here where either would win with either making that much of a difference, it would be this one. If these guys get ten minutes or so, everything should be fine, as there is more than enough talent in there to fill in pretty much whatever amount of time that they are given. But yeah, the Empire wins here.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Athena vs. Billie Starkz

This is one of the matches that has some importance going forward and it is probably the one that has the least interest as far as who wins. It is almost hard to fathom this going any other way, but I’m hoping that we get the Athena who has been tearing up Ring Of Honor in recent weeks. If nothing else, the tournament works if we can see more of Athena on a bigger show.

Of course Athena wins here, as she is already a champion coming in and is up against a 18 year old rookie who hasn’t done much around here so far. This should be all about Athena running over Starkz until she gets to advance. Hopefully the match is there to get Athena over, as she is more than ready to move up into the big leagues of the women’s titles, assuming they can find someone who can take the title from her. For now though, Athena wins here and does so handily.

IWGP World Title: Sanada(c) vs. Jungle Boy

This feels like a match that is there to further a bigger story. Jungle Boy may have been in the World Title match last month but in no way does he feel like a serious threat to beat Sanada here. Instead, it feels like another place where he can come up short and further what seems to be a much needed heel turn. AEW hasn’t exactly been trying to hide his long at best shot and that is the right way to go.

So yeah, naturally this is Sanada winning, though Jungle Boy should be able to get in some stuff of his own. There is nothing to suggest that Jungle Boy is going to come close to winning so it is more about letting the two of them have a nice match before getting to the only possible option. That is the right way to go in this place and having the title on the show is a big deal on its own.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima

We’ll keep going with the obvious results here, as this is little more than a way for Punk to get back in the ring and get the first singles win of his comeback against a legend. Punk has only been back for two shows so far and while he has been in some multi-man tag matches, he has to have some singles matches at some point to really make it feel like he is back.

In case you didn’t get the idea, Punk wins here, albeit after Kojima gives him a heck of a match. Kojima is certainly a name and a very accomplished one at that, but Punk is one of the biggest stars in AEW at the moment and giving him the win is not only the right way to go, but pretty much the only logical choice. Being in the ring with Kojima will likely be a cool moment for Punk, and having him win will be a nice bonus.

Adam Cole vs. Tom Lawlor

This is another match that was added at almost the last minute but at least Lawlor attacked him on Rampage. That at least puts it ahead of the matches that had no build whatsoever other than an announcement so things are a step up. In this case, Cole is gearing up for his World Title shot against Maxwell Jacob Friedman and gets to face someone who should be in a higher profile company than he already is.

In what could be a hidden gem on the show, Cole wins here, and hopefully Lawlor does well enough to get a job, or at least one down the line, as a result. Lawlor is someone who has done well pretty much everywhere I’ve seen him go and it would be nice to see him in AEW more often. For now though, he can be a nice win for Cole, who is on his way to bigger and better things.

Le Suzuki Gods vs. Sting/Darby Allin/Tetsuya Naito

Naito was the mystery partner for Sting and Allin and definitely adds some New Japan star power to the match. This is much more about Sting vs. Jericho and Allin vs. Guevara, with Suzuki and Naito there as well. The good thing about a six man tag is that you can get some different combinations in there, which could even include the bizarre option of Sting vs. Suzuki.

Much like the IWGP World Title match, this feels like a means to an end but we could be in for some interesting things here as the good guys win. The Jericho vs. Sting showdown is bound to happen and it would not shock me to see them go one on one (or two on two) at All In in London in about two months. For now though, we should be in for one of those zany tag matches that AEW knows how to make work very well.

AEW Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Willow Nightingale

This is where what happens to Nightingale is one of the most frustrating things in AEW, as she has to actually win something at some point. While she has already advanced in the Owen Hart tournament and is the NJPW Strong Women’s Champion, she needs to win one of the two women’s titles in AEW. While that is a possibility here, I’m not sure I can imagine it actually happening.

As much as I want it to go the other way, I can’t imagine taking the title off of Storm so soon. Jamie Hayter returning to get the title from Storm (say, in London) would make the most sense and the Outcasts can interfere to give Nightingale an out. Nightingale still needs that big win and she can get it one day, but for now, it’s Storm defeating another champion to retain her own title.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Now stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but I’m not sure how much question there is here about who is leaving with the title. It’s the biggest issue with this show, but that shouldn’t stop them from having a solid match on the way. Friedman has shown that he can do very well in the ring under the right circumstances and Tanahashi is Tanahashi, so this this should work.

But yeah, Friedman wins here, likely with Cole getting involved in some way so he can take the title from Friedman down the line (or something similar). Tanahashi is one of those legends who can be put out there for one loss after another without any kind of a problem and that is what he is going to do here. At the same time, Friedman can brag about beating one of the best ever (and you know he will) so this is a rather logical idea.

International Title: Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia

We’re at a weird point for Cassidy’s title reign, as he has held the title for eight months and a good chunk of that has been spent on “he’s so tired and banged up that he can’t possibly retain the title much longer”. Then he just does it, beating one challenger after another. In theory he is being built up for someone to look like a huge deal when they finally take the title from him, but that has to actually happen at some point.

As ready as I am for Cassidy to lose the title already, odds are he retains here, as Shibata and Sabre Jr. already have titles and Cassidy already beat Garcia last month. If nothing else, Cassidy losing the title feels a lot better in a one on one showdown, and odds are he gets to retain again here. Sabre getting to torture some people will make it worth a look, but it’s Cassidy keeping the title.

Blackpool Combat Club/Konosuke Takeshita/Shota Umino vs. Elite/Eddie Kingston/Tomohiro Ishii

This is the big showdown match as the blood feud between the two sides continues. While Takeshita isn’t part of the Club, he certainly has the same enemies and that is enough to keep him in this kind of a feud. This one is going to be about violence and carnage as we get closer to what is likely Kingston challenging Claudio Castagnoli for the Ring Of Honor World Title next month. And some guest stars to keep up the theme of the show.

After Anarchy in the Arena, this needs to go to the Elite and company, likely with Umino or Wheeler Yuta taking the fall. Or they can just go for the obvious ending with Ishii pinning Castagnoli to set up the Death Before Dishonor match. Either way, there are going to be a lot of people involved and it will probably fall into chaos about halfway through, which is about all you can expect.

IWGP United States Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Will Ospreay

This is a rematch from a huge Wrestle Kingdom match which went very well (though I didn’t grade it as highly as some did). There is a real chance that it headlines the show and if it is similar to what we got on Dynamite with these two, I wouldn’t be opposed. Omega is capable of looking like an absolute star and Ospreay can hang with anyone in the world. Let these two go nuts and it should be a lot of fun.

As for a winner….it’s hard to imagine Omega going up 2-0, especially with Don Callis anywhere nearby. This should go to Ospreay to even the series and then they can do their big rubber match in Japan (or England). These two are going to beat the fire out of each other and it should be an awesome showdown, but Ospreay wins here to even the score and take away one of the main things Omega has at the moment.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson

As big as some of the other matches are, come on. This is the definition of a dream match as perhaps the best in Japan is facing perhaps the best in the United States (and on neutral ground). It’s a match where the names alone make the show feel that awesome and it is almost impossible for this to not be good. Just let them do whatever they want and it should be a main event caliber match.

Then we get to the hard part, as this is pretty much a coin flip. I’ll go with Danielson winning as he is the closer to a home country star, but it really could go either way. Either way, despite Danielson being a heel coming in, there is a good chance that he is going to be cheered out of the building by the end. This is the kind of match that should headline a show and there is a very good chance that it will, with Danielson winning (I guess).

Overall Thoughts

Forbidden Door really is one of the weirdest shows that you see all year and that makes it all the more interesting. New Japan isn’t being treated as a bunch of invaders and only a few of the matches really have personal issues. Instead, this is about proving who is better and we could have some outstanding matches on the way there. It will be nice to get back to the focus being only on AEW, but for a one night event, we could be in for a classic here.

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

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Rampage
Date: June 23, 2023
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

It’s the last Rampage before Forbidden Door and the first show after Collision has debuted. That means we could be in for something very different, though I could go for seeing more of what the show has been doing as of late. If nothing else, we should be in for a quick and efficient show, as has been the case around here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

United Empire/Swerve Strickland vs. Chaos

United Empire: Will Ospreay/Jeff Cobb/Kyle Fletcher/Swerve Strickland
Chaos: Best Friends/Yoh/Rocky Romero

It’s a brawl to start with Ospreay hammering on Yoh in the corner and throwing in some hip gyrations. Yoh is back with gyrations of his own so it’s off to Swerve vs. Chuck. A rollup gives Chuck two and he kicks Strickland in the face. Trent comes in and gets to chop away at Fletcher, who backdrops him down to cut that off fast.

Fletcher slams him hard but Romero sneaks in for a double jumping knee to the face. The Roppongi Vice reunion lets them hit their big Shawn Michaels/Diesel jumping high five. The Empire pulls the good guys outside though and Strickland hits the rolling Downward Spiral to drop Romero to take over. One heck of a spinning backbreaker drops Romero for two but Cobb’s bearhug is broken up rather quickly.

We take a break and come back with Romero fighting out of a chinlock. Swerve hits the middle rope elbow to the back but Romero is fine enough to bring in Yoh. The forearms don’t do much to Ospreay, who rips the skin off with a chop. A running forearm works better for Yoh, even as the fans are chanting for Ospreay. Everything breaks down and Romero lariats Ospreay, setting up the four way hug. Swerve is back in to backdrop Romero to the floor, leaving Cobb to hit the swinging belly to back for two. The Hidden Blade finishes Yoh at 10:31.

Rating: B-. It was a fast paced start and that is how an opening match is supposed to go. Ospreay absolutely feels like one of the bigger stars around here and it is nice to see him getting to showcase himself on a big American stage. Other than that, Swerve gets to rub elbows with a fairly high profile match, though this was more about making Ospreay look strong for his big Forbidden Door match.

Video on Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale, with only Storm’s title on the line.

Here is Adam Cole for a chat but MJF, making his Rampage debut, interrupts. MJF is happy that his new partner got him in action at Forbidden Door so he has evened things up a bit: MJF has gotten Cole a Forbidden Door match with Filthy Tom Lawlor! Cue Lawler (with cohort Royce Isaacs) to jump Cole from behind, with MJF taking his very sweet time walking to the ring. The other villains run off, with MJF being annoyed but then walking off as Cole cringes in pain. This was short but made perfectly logical sense.

Acclaimed/Billy Gunn vs. ???/???/???

The Acclaimed and Gunn waste no time and it’s Scissor Me Timbers into the Arrival into the Mic Drop to finish at 51 seconds.

Post match Harley Cameron and two masked me interrupt, with Cameron bragging about her musical skills (she did the music video for the IInspiration in Impact). Cameron offers a partnership with the Acclaimed but Gunn shuts that down, saying they already have the best rapper in the world. She gets to rap anyway and Caster is already covering his ears (and Gunn hugs him).

Then she hits on Bowens (Jericho: “I don’t think so.”), who cuts it off and points out that he’s gay (which gets a very positive reaction). Cue QT Marshall and Aaron Solo, with the former calling Caster a John Cena impersonator. The Acclaimed go after them but one of the masked guys unmasks as…..Johnny TV (Morrison/Elite/you get the joke). The beatdown is on and QTV seems to have a new big name.

Swerve Strickland is ready for Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament: Skye Blue vs. Anna Jay

Matt Menard/Angelo Parker are here too. Skye chases her to the floor but a Menard distraction lets Jay get in a cheap shot. Back in and they trade hip attacks until Anna kicks her out to the floor. A not great looking DDT on the floor plants Skye and we take a break. Back with Anna hitting another DDT but Skye fights up with forearms.

A kick to the head staggers Anna again and a high crossbody gets two. Anna’s Backstabber gets two and a Gory Bomb connects for the same. The Queenslayer goes on but Skye sends her into the corner to break it up. Skye superkicks her into Code Blue for the pin to advance at 9:15.

Rating: C. This got some more time and it helped things out a bit. Blue is on a bit of a roll right now and it wouldn’t shock me to see her winning the whole tournament. If she isn’t going to win one of the titles, giving her this is certainly better than nothing. Skye has gotten better, so giving her something like this wouldn’t be the worst idea. Anna has more or less stopped cold though, as she isn’t even doing the over the top insane stuff about choking people out anymore.

Video on the Collision eight man tag.

Video on Jungle Boy vs. Sanada.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Jungle Boy vs. Douki

Yoshinobu Kanemaru is here with Douki. Jungle Boy runs him over with a shoulder to start and runs the corner for the bouncing armdrag. Douki sends him outside though and there’s the suicide dive to cut him down again. A hard whip into the barricade drops Douki though and we take a break.

Back with Douki hitting a running double stomp and getting quite the positive reaction. Something like a Widow’s Peak gets two on Jungle Boy, who grabs a tiger driver for the same. Commentary points out that Jungle Boy is being more aggressive lately (ahuh) as he loads up a table at ringside.

Douki gets in a cheap shot though and a top rope backsplash drives Jungle Boy through said table. We get a LOUD DOUKI chant as he hits a brainbuster for two. A slingshot DDT gets the same on Jungle Boy, who comes back with a superkick and poisonrana. The running forearm to the back of the head draws all kinds of booing as he grabs Sanada’s Skull End to make Douki tap at 10:15.

Rating: B-. This was more about the crowd reactions than anything else, as the crowd seems to be ready to turn Jungle Boy than AEW is, or maybe they just really like Douki. For now, it felt like a big enough main event and the action worked. The turn almost has to be coming soon though, with commentary bringing it up to really hammer in the point.

Post match Sanada (rocking a blue suit) comes out for the staredown to end the show (with Jericho getting in a shout about Sting in the last thing you hear, which is a rather smart thing that he does every time he’s on commentary for a go home show).

Overall Rating: B. This was a rare instance where the show felt like another hour of Dynamite. Normally that is rather annoying, but when there is so much going on at the moment, AEW needs that much extra time to let things breathe a bit. I had a good time with this show and it absolutely flew by, as Rampage continues its recent roll. Good show and Forbidden Door feels that much bigger so well done.

Results
United Empire/Swerve Strickland b. Chaos – Hidden Blade to Yoh
Acclaimed/Billy Gunn b. ???/???/??? – Mic Drop
Skye Blue b. Anna Jay – Code Blue
Jungle Boy b. Douki – Skull End

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

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Rampage
Date: June 16, 2023
Location: Capitol One Arena, Washington DC
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Chris Jericho

Rampage has gotten rather interesting in the last few weeks as it feels like there is more effort being put into it. I’m not sure how long that is going to last with Collision coming in less than twenty four hours but I’ll take what I can get at the moment. The card looks rather stacked this week so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

United Empire vs. Chaos

This is the Will Ospreay (with Jeff Cobb/Kyle Fletcher vs. Rocky Romero/Best Friends) match that was advertised on Dynamite. Fletcher runs Trent over to start but Trent is back up with some chops. Ospreay comes in for a showdown with Romero, who grabs a pop up hurricanrana. Everything breaks down and Romero hits a big dive onto Ospreay, followed by Chuck hitting a big flip dive onto the other two. Trent hits a moonsault onto the two of them as well and rips at Ospreay’s face back inside. Cobb comes in and fires off the shoulders in the corner as we take a break.

Back with Chuck hitting Soul Food to get out of trouble, allowing Chuck to come in or some rolling German suplexes on Trent. Fletcher is draped over the top for a top rope stomp to the back but Cobb makes a save. Cobb drags Fletcher to the corner (because he’s smart) and comes in, only to get triple teamed down.

Soul Food into the half and half suplex drops Cobb but he breaks up the triple hug with a double suplex. An overhead belly to belly sends Romero flying and it’s Ospreay coming back in for something like a top rope Phenomenal Forearm. A series of strikes to the face put people down until Romero drops Ospreay with a running clothesline. Sliced Bread is broken up though and it’s Fletcher’s spinning Tombstone into the Hidden Blade to finish Romero at 12:32.

Rating: B-. This was less of the goofy Chaos stuff and that made it a lot easier to get through. Ospreay is in for a main event level match next week at Forbidden Door so he was the logical choice to get the pin after looking like a killer. It’s nice to have Cobb around again too, but he only got to show off some of the power game that made him famous. Good opener though, as the Empire is a rather awesome collection of talent.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Trish Adora

Taya goes with the power to start and sends Adora into the corner for the running knees. Some kicks in the corner set up the sliding German suplex but Adora slugs away with the forearms. A big forearm knocks Taya down but she cuts off a charge with a boot in the corner. Taya cuts her down with a spear and hits the curb stomp for the pin at 3:25.

Rating: C. Taya got a bit of momentum back with the win here and it’s nice to see that she is sticking around. She has an impressive power offense and that is something that can carry for a long way. Adora is someone who feels like she could be something, but as she is doing nothing but jobbing on Ring of Honor and around here, she has a long way to go.

The Hardys are ready for the Gunns on Dynamite because they’ve been doing this in four decades. Ethan Page falling asleep in the background was funny. Also, dig Jeff’s Shad Gaspard shirt.

Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Karen Jarrett vs. Mark Briscoe/Papa Briscoe/Aubrey Edwards

Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh are here too. Mark headlocks Lethal to start and then shoulders him down for a bonus. Jeff comes in for a right hand and the strut but a kiss to Karen allows Mark to come back. The women get the tag and Karen brings Lethal back in before anything can happen. This time the Briscoes hit a double three point shoulder for two but Mark gets sent outside.

We take a break and come back with Mark hitting a double clothesline, allowing the hot tag to Papa. Jeff goes after him and gets dropped with some clotheslines before Lethal is choked in the corner. Dutt gets dropped as well and a clothesline puts Jeff down. Jericho: “PAPA BRISCOE IS MY FAVORITE WRESTLER!” Now we get the catfight between Karen and Aubrey, with the latter grabbing some hair mares. Karen rakes the eyes and grabs the guitar but Aubrey takes it away. Lethal breaks up the big swing so Singh offers a distraction, allowing Aubrey to guitar Lethal. A Figure Four makes Karen tap at 9:40.

Rating: C+. The match was entertaining enough as Papa Briscoe continues to steal the show anytime he’s around. As for Aubrey vs. Karen….I’m still not sure why I’m supposed to be excited about a referee beating up a manager who has been around for all of a month but at least it was a short segment. Now hopefully everyone can move on, as the story should be done.

Taya Valkyrie is happy with her win and is tired of hearing about Kris Statlander. Cue Statlander, who will put out a TBS Title challenge for next week. Taya says she’ll be shaking in her furry boots.

Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita interrupt Mark Henry, with Callis promising to take out Bandido tonight and hyping up Takeshita in Spanish.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Bandido

Don Callis is on commentary as Takeshita misses the running knee. The 21 Plex is blocked and Takeshita sends him outside for a slingshot dive. Back in and Bandido loads up the delayed suplex but Takeshita is a bit too tall, meaning it’s just a regular suplex instead. Bandido sends him hard to the floor, which is enough for Callis to come down to ringside. The distraction lets Takeshita take over and we go to a break.

Back with Bandido slugging away at Takeshita and hitting the corkscrew high crossbody. A tornado DDT plants Takeshita again and a big moonsault to the floor makes it worse. Takeshita is right back with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two but Bandido hits the one armed gorilla press. A frog splash gives Bandido two and they both go up top.

Takeshita blasts him with a lariat off the top (as in they were both standing on the top) for two but the running knee is blocked again. The 21 Plex is countered with a backflip though (that was impressive) but Bandido backflips out of a German suplex as well. Takeshita misses another running knee and a Code Red gives Bandido two. Back up and Takeshita hits the running knee, followed by another to the side of the head for the pin at 15:13.

Rating: B+. There are certain matches where you know they’re going to work as soon as they’re announced and that was the case here. How was Bandido vs. Takeshita, especially with a lot of time, not going to be awesome? They cranked it up even harder during the last few minutes and wound up having one of the better matches I’ve seen on Rampage. Takeshita gets a win over a proven star as he is on his way to a showdown with Kenny Omega, making this a match that was good on its own and served a longer term purpose.

Overall Rating: B. Again, where was this Rampage for months? They aren’t so much going with the important storylines but rather putting on good matches up and down the card. The worst match was a completely fine Taya vs. Adora match so things were certainly looking up here. Just do stuff that lets the audience have fun without making it feel like the most important thing in the world at the moment and it’s a very easy and entertaining hour long show.

Results
United Empire b. Chaos – Hidden Blade to Romero
Taya Valkyrie b. Trish Adora – Curb stomp
Mark Briscoe/Papa Briscoe/Aubrey Edwards b. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Aubrey Edwards – Figure Four to Karen
Konosuke Takeshita b. Bandido – Running knee

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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WrestleCon Supershow 2023
Date: March 30, 2023
Location: Globe Theater, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Veda Scott

With some independent shows from promotions I don’t know much about out of the way, we now have one of the bigger independent shows of the year. This is one of the best collections of independent talents you’ll see and that should be the case again here. The card is stacked as usual so let’s get to it.

We meet our announce team and here is Mick Foley to welcome us to the show. Foley was backstage earlier and Aja Kong asked for a picture with him so things are going well. He started off as a super fan just like the man this show is named after, Mark Hitchcock. We see a video on Hitchcock’s career (I believe the same one as last year) and Foley wishes us a nice day.

Blake Christian vs. Michael Oku

Christian offers a handshake to start and Oku reluctantly accepts it, with everything being fine. Oku wastes no time in taking him down and going for the leg but it’s too early for the half crab. They both try dropkicks and it’s an early standoff. Christian offers a left handed handshake and this time he tries a cheap shot, only to get dropkicked down.

Oku gets knocked hard to the floor but there isn’t enough room for a dive, meaning Christian has to ram him into the apron instead. A standing flip splash gives Christian two but Oku kicks his way to freedom. Oku’s frog splash crossbody hits Christian but the ribs are too banged up to cover. There’s the Penalty Kick to Christian, who kicks the leg out and hits a 619 between the bottom and middle rope.

A Saito suplex gives Christian two but Oku knocks him to the floor this time. Somehow Oku manages a Fosbury Flop, only to have Christian pop up and hit one of his own. They pull themselves to the apron and slug it out, with Christian grabbing a half and half suplex. For some reason they get back in even faster than after the dives so Christian hits another half and half on another apron. Back in and Christian misses a 450, allowing Oku to grab a half crab. The rope is quickly grabbed so Oku heads up, with Christian following with a belly to back superplex. Now the springboard 450 can connect for the pin at 14:08.

Rating: B. This was the kind of independent match that you would expect from a show like this with these people involved. Oku is someone who has grown on me over the years as he is rather smooth in the ring most of the time. Then you have Christian, who is one of the hotter names outside of the major promotions right now and is getting some shots in Ring Of Honor as well. Good opener, with a rather indy style.

Respect is shown post match.

Bryan Keith/Kenta vs. Tom Lawlor/Christopher Daniels

Daniels is a mystery partner and I think he’ll do. He even has his own Lawlor style cutoff jean shorts over his singlet. We also have a special guest enforcer for this match and it’s…..KEN SHAMROCK! That’s quite the surprise. Daniels shoulders Keith down to start and stomps away in the corner, only to get big booted down. Lawlor comes in and takes Keith into the corner to stomp away as well as Scott says yes, that is in fact Ken Shamrock.

It’s off to Kenta, who conducts the fans chanting his name. Daniels gets struck down and Keith is in for a double back elbow. Back up and Daniels manages to send him into the corner for the tag off to Lawlor. An Angle Slam looks to set up a cross armbreaker before Lawlor takes off his jean shorts to reveal….smaller ones! Daniels suplexes Keith into Lawlor’s Penalty Kick for two as commentary talks about the shorts.

Lawlor accidentally forearms Daniels though and Keith gets in a kick, allowing the tag off to Kenta. A top rope clothesline gives Kenta two but it’s back to Keith, who gets dropped with a double clothesline. Lawlor comes in to slug it out with Kenta until Lawlor gets caught with a hanging DDT.

The running basement dropkick in the corner rocks Lawlor again and there’s the double stomp for two. Daniels breaks up the GTS and Lawlor gets in a few shots for two. Lawlor stares down at Shamrock as he puts on the ankle lock, only to have it reversed into a crossface. Daniels decks the referee though, meaning Lawlor tapping means nothing.

A low blow cuts Keith down so Shamrock comes in….but won’t count. Daniels yells at Shamrock and gets dropped with a right hand, meaning it’s time for the showdown with Lawlor. The distraction lets Kenta roll Lawlor up for the pin (as counted by Shamrock) for the pin at 18:04.

Rating: C. The Shamrock/Lawlor stuff was good but this was more long than anything else. It never quite got to the next level and it followed a pattern: Kenta beat the other two up and then Keith would lose control. That was repeated multiple times and it doesn’t exactly make for the most exciting match. It wasn’t bad, but just kind of there until the end.

Post match Lawlor goes after Shamrock, who suplexes and ankle locks him. Kenta and Keith get to leave in peace.

Negro Casas vs. Ultimo Dragon

Commentary says these two have had 100+ documented matches against or with each other, which is probably closer to 250-300. Before the match, we get a video from Chris Jericho (ok then), who praises both guys and talks about the influence they had on his career. Jericho wants some cheering for these two because we’re in for a treat. Casas backs him into the corner to start and works on the arm until Dragon gets a rollup.

With that broken up, Casas goes back to the arm until a standoff gives them a breather. Dragon reverses an armbar into the surfboard, which is broken up fast because these two are 119 years old combined. We get another standoff and the fans are pleased again. Casas kicks him into the corner but Dragon kicks him out to the floor. The Asai moonsault is broken up so Dragon settles for a superplex instead. The Dragon Sleeper finishes Casas (perhaps by knockout) at 12:00.

Rating: C+. This is one of those “you mean we get to see this???” matches and that is not a bad thing. The idea of this show is giving you matches you won’t get to see elsewhere and at this point in their careers, how likely was it to get to see this match again? It wasn’t even bad as they were both working hard and had a completely watchable match. Nice job, and a special treat for longtime fans.

Respect is shown post match.

Arez/Latigo/Laredo Kid vs. Rey Horus/Galeno Del Mal/Aramis

Why yes, this will be under lucha rules. Latigo offers a handshake to start and promises it’s ok. The ensuing rollup gives Aramis two and they have a stand off, with a middle finger included. Arez (who takes off his mask to reveal the face paint that inspired Finn Balor’s Demon look) comes in to face Horus for an exchange of quick covers. Horus seems to be annoyed so it’s off to the rather large Galeno, with Arez panicking.

Arez hands it off to the Kid, who isn’t pleased at all. Some triple teaming manages to take Galeno down and out to the floor. Kid hits a dive onto Galeno as his partners grab half crabs back inside. Some very loud chops have Aramis in trouble and the crowd wincing, followed by the running strikes in the corner. Galeno has to make a save so he gets triple teamed fight back down. Arez and company manages a triple gorilla press on Galeno for two in an impressive crash.

Horus and Aramis get back up and fight back though, allowing Galeno to go up top for the HUGE high crossbody to wipe out everyone. Galeno LAUNCHES Horus over the top into a dive onto the other three, followed by Galeno’s flip dive over the top (and he sticks the landing). Arez is back in to kick Galeno down but Aramis grabs an Air Raid Crash for two. Horus is back in as well with that very spinning DDT of his, setting up double dives from Horus and Aramis. That leaves Galeno to grab a swinging butterfly superplex to finish Latigo at 11:14.

Rating: B. You know what you’re getting in a match like this and that’s all they delivered on. This was six people going nuts and doing whatever they could squeeze in, with Galeno looking awesome throughout. It’s a lot of fun and you can always count on seeing something like this around this show. Good stuff here and as usual, the flips and dives were a lot of fun.

Post match respect is shown and money is thrown into the ring, as is tradition.

The Tokyo Joshi Pro ring announcer (apparently popular) handles the intros for the next match.

Hyper Misao/Shoko Nakajima/Yuki Kamafuku/Mizuki/Yuki Aino vs. Raku/Nao Kakuta/Miu Watanabe/Riku Tatsumi/Hikari Noa

I apologize in advance for getting the names wrong as there are no name graphics and I’m trying to figure out who is who. Hyper Misao grabs the mic and says since she is a superhero, she can win this on her own in seconds (not even minutes). Misao’s partners are sent to the floor and everyone gets in a running charge on Misao in the corner. Raku runs the ropes, puts her hands next to her head to signal sleep, and then sits on Misao for two. Scott: “She loves trains and she loves naps!”

Misao gets over for the tag to Aino, who hammers away a bit. Raku brings in Tatsumi to pick up the pace. The rather strong Watanabe comes in for a double slam and a double swing (egads) and it’s off to Mizuki (the top champion). A double stomp rocks Yuki and it’s Mizuki coming back in (they’re changing in and out VERY fast), only to get her legs wrapped around the post. Watanabe comes in and reverse Alabama Slams Tatsumi onto Mizuki.

Raku grabs comes in but can’t get a Russian legsweep and everything breaks down for a bit. The second legsweep attempt connects but Mizuki reverses into a Crossface. That’s broken up and Misao comes in with a high crossbody as everything breaks down. Raku Sling Blades Mizuki, who is back with a quick suplex for two. A top rope double stomp gives Mizuki the pin on Raku at 14:20.

Rating: B. It was a lot of fun and it was all fast paced, but the lack of telling us who these people are (Veda Scott shouting names that she is familiar with as us for 15 minutes doesn’t count) made it kind of insane. Now that being said, the athleticism was great and some of the power stuff was hard to believe. I could absolutely see this being a lot more interesting with less going on at once and that means as a showcase, this was a success. Just let us settle in to something (literally) foreign to a lot of us a little better next time.

Mike Bailey vs. Shigehiro Irie

The stream slips up a bit so we go from the end of Bailey’s entrance to Irie hitting a cannonball for two. Bailey fights back with the kicks until Irie blasts him with a clothesline. A powerbomb is cut off though and Bailey hits the standing moonsault knee drop. The tornado kick hits Irie in the corner but the Ultimate Weapon misses. The Beast Bomber lariat gives Irie two and it’s another cannonball into another Beast Bomber to knock Bailey. Some hard strikes to the side of Bailey’s head knock Bailey out for the stoppage at about 10:15.

Rating: C+. From what I could see, this was another hard hitting slugfest, though it’s almost weird to see Bailey losing. Irie is a monster who impressed me before and it’s nice to see him getting a win over a prominent name. If he wants a contract somewhere, I’m sure multiple companies would be willing to sign him, though granted I said the same thing a few years back. Bailey can absorb a loss as I’m sure he’ll have 17 more matches this weekend to make up for things.

United Empire vs. Time Machine

That would be Jeff Cobb/Aussie Open vs. Kushida/Motor City Machine Guns. The fans are split between Aussie Open and the Machine Guns as Hiroshi Tanahashi joins commentary (allegedly, as he doesn’t say anything and isn’t seen, making me think I didn’t hear that right). Kushida takes Fletcher down with a headscissors to start before switching into a kind of surfboard. Shelley comes in to stay on the arm and it’s off to Davis, who gets kicked in the head.

It’s Sabin coming in to double kick Archer down, with Kushida coming in for the double submission and Dream Sequence. Cobb comes in and isn’t about to get sunset flipped. A backbreaker and World’s Strongest Slam have Sabin in trouble for a change but he fights out and brings Shelley back in. Everything breaks down and the Aussies pick the Guns up to ram them together.

Fletcher sends Shelley into the corner, allowing Cobb to come in and stand on the banged up back. Cobb holds the legs down so Davis can stand on Shelley’s hand for a change. A missed backsplash lets Shelley bring Kushida in to clean house as we’re having audio/visual issues. Kushida hits a running palm strike in the corner before rolling into a DDT on Davis. Time machine grabs triple submissions until Cobb escapes and makes some saves.

Shelley and Fletcher slug it out with the former getting the better of things to take over. The Aussies fight back up and clean house, with Kushida having to break up Coriolis. Time Machine takes over with a three man Dream Sequence to Fletcher and Sabin dives onto all three at once. Davis is back in to clean house until he gets Downward Spiraled into the buckle. Sabin tornado DDTs Cobb but the Aussies are back up with Coriolis to finish Sabin at 16:32.

Rating: B+. Yeah this worked again, as all six were rolling and you had an awesome match throughout. The Guns can still hang with anyone and the Aussies are getting better every time they’re in the ring. Kushida’s spot is long established and Cobb is the monster that can work anywhere. I had a really good time with this and it went just as a match like this would have been expected to go. It’s also nice to see the Aussies win a big match for a change as they don’t tend to do so.

AAA Mega Title: El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Komander vs. Black Taurus

Vikingo is defending and I think this might work. Komander and Vikingo shake hands but Taurus is having none of that. Taurus manages a running crucifix bomb to both of them at once before launching Komander over the top and out onto Vikingo. Naturally he follows with a big twisting dive onto both of them as the fans approve. Back in and Taurus hits some running corner clotheslines until the other two get together and pull him outside.

Now it’s a double dive to drop Taurus, followed by stereo rope walk moonsaults to drop him again (awesome indeed). Back in and Vikingo hits his springboard 450 stomp, followed by Komander’s rope walk shooting star for two. That’s enough for Vikingo to go after Komander for daring to try for his title. A top rope hurricanrana takes Komander down but Vikingo has to deal with Taurus in the form of a top rope shooting star hurricanrana (geez).

Vikingo goes right back up top, then to the post, for a rope walk front flip….where he bounces off the top and backflips into an armdrag. Komander springboards a lot (I stopped counting at six) into a hurricanrana to Taurus before flipping Vikingo from his shoulders into a backbreaker. With Taurus on the floor, Komander rope walks into a dragon rana to plant him again, only to have Vikingo jump to the top for a corkscrew dive. Scott: “Taurus, every time he gets back on his feet, a human being keeps falling from the heavens to take him down!”

Back in and Vikingo’s shooting star hits raised knees and Komander spins him into two knees to the chest. Taurus comes back in for a backbreaker on Komander and a pop up Samoan drop makes it worse. Komander hits a springboard poisonrana on Taurus but gets dropped by Vikingo.

A crucifix driver plants Taurus, who pops back up with a spear to put Vikingo down for a three way breather. Taurus and Komander fight on the apron with Komander being dropped hard onto the ropes. Vikingo 630s onto the waiting challengers, followed by some running knees to Taurus in the corner. The 630 finishes Taurus to retain the title at 12:42.

Rating: A-. Much like the six man lucha libre match earlier, you knew what you were getting with this match and that is what they delivered. This was about going insane with one flip after another, plus Taurus doing well with his power stuff as an addition. It was a heck of a fight and I had a blast having my jaw drop over and over. Vikingo and Komander can blow your mind time after time. Great stuff here and nothing was following this one, making it the only choice for a main event.

Respect is shown and money is collected after the match. The three of them pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This show started a bit slow but once it got going, it was the kind of WrestleCon Supershow that you would have expected. It was a bunch of random matches with one different style after another, allowing all kinds of stars to get the chance to shine. I look forward to this show every year because you get so much out of it and that was the case again, as the show ends with an awesome one two punch. Throw in everything else that worked and this was great, with only one match not being rather good (mainly due to time issues more than quality). Check this out if you get the chance and have a lot of fun.

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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

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Forbidden Door
Date: June 26, 2022
Location: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Kevin Kelly

It’s a special show as we have a host of international guest stars from New Japan coming in for a bunch of big time matches. The main event is for the Interim AEW World Title as CM Punk being stripped of the title was off the table. Other than that, we have a series of title matches which should make for a great show. Let’s get to it.

Buy-In: Hirooki Goto/Yoshi-Hashi vs. QT Marshall/Aaron Solo

Solo and Hashi start things off with Hashi working on a headlock. A running shoulder drops Solo again so it’s off to Marshall vs. Goto, with the latter knocking Marshall around without much trouble. Solo comes back in and cheap shots Hashi though, allowing Marshall to get in a cheap shot on Goto. That lasts all of a few seconds before the big beatdown is on to put Solo back in trouble. Everything breaks down and Marshall’s cartwheel tumbling dive drops Goto and Hashi.

Back in and Goto shrugs off the beating and hits a suplex, followed by a running clothesline to Marshall. The hot tag brings in Hashi to clean house, including a Blockbuster for two on Marshall. Everything breaks down and Marshall grabs a Diamond Cutter for two, with Goto having to make the save. A 450 misses for Marshall and Solo can’t hit his top rope double stomp, allowing the tag back to Goto. The superkick into the fireman’s carry backbreaker sets up a GTR/powerbomb combination to finish Solo at 8:53.

Rating: C+. It was energetic but this went a bit longer than it needed to. Marshall is a good pesky heel but it is a little hard to buy the Factory hanging in there this long. Goto is still a big enough star though and the right guys won in the end. For a warmup match, this did about all you could need it to pull off.

Buy-In: Lance Archer vs. Nick Comoroto

Archer rocks him to start but Comoroto picks him up for a gorilla press. That doesn’t work as Archer slips out and hits a big boot, only to be knocked outside and into the barricade. Comoroto’s collection of forearms just wake Archer up so Comoroto punches him back down. Back up and they slug it out until Archer takes over and hits the rope walk moonsault for two. Comoroto hits a powerslam for two of his own but Archer catches him on top. The Blackout finishes Comoroto at 6:05.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure I get the idea of commentary talking about Archer being in a big role at the G1 Climax tournament and then having him go 50/50 with a low level guy like Comoroto. This didn’t really make me think much of Archer and I’m not sure what the benefits was of adding this in. They didn’t pull an upset, but this didn’t do much for anyone.

Buy-In: Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee vs. El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemaru

The fans sing to Lee as he starts with Kanemaru, who doesn’t like said singing. Lee cranks on the arm and sends him into the corner, meaning it’s off to Desperado vs. Swerve. A drop down from Swerve is countered into a quickly broken Brock Lock and Desperado is sent outside. That’s fine with Desperado, who grabs the hold again on the floor.

Back in and Lee comes in again, with Swerve accidentally kicking him in the knee. The leg is cranked back and it’s a DDT for two on Lee. Desperado comes back in for more stomping but Lee kicks him away and brings Swerve back in. A brainbuster gets two on Desperado but he trades running elbows with Swerve. Lee tries to come back in, only to have Desperado kick the rope to keep him on the floor.

Swerve wins a strike off and hits a backbreaker, setting up the rolling Downward Spiral. Lee comes back in and, along with Swerve, gets taken down into stereo leglocks. With those broken up, Kanemaru loads up his whiskey and spits it in Lee’s face. The ensuing rollup gets two but Swerve is back up with a double stomp to Kanemaru. The Big Bang Catastrophe finishes for Lee at 12:03.

Rating: C+. Pretty nice match here, though I could go for Lee and Swerve either splitting up or being a team rather than teasing it for months on end. That is something AEW tends to do far too often and I hope they don’t try it again here. They work well together, but the will they/won’t they stuff is kind of played out.

Post match Team Taz pops up in a sky box to make basketball references and call Lee a broke Phillip Banks. The challenge seems to be thrown out.

Buy-In: DKC/Kevin Knight/Alex Coughlin/Yuya Uemura vs. Max Caster/Gunn Club

After the Acclaimed’s entrance, here is Danhausen with a customized entrance and theme song for the Gunn Club. That sends Austin and Colten chasing after him, leaving Billy and Caster to get beaten up. We settle down to Coughlin cleaning house and Caster getting double teamed to put him in trouble. Billy gets suckered in but Caster fights out of the corner anyway, only to get knocked back down. DKC drops a chop for two but Caster fights out of the corner (again) and hands it off to Billy to clean house. The Fameasser sets up the Mic Drop for the fast pin on DKC at 5:35. Austin and Colten were never even at ringside.

Rating: C. Kind of a weird match here as while the New Japan guys are mostly Young Lions, would it be that big of a stretch for them to give the Gunn Club some trouble? Turning it into a handicap match with Gunn and Caster winning doesn’t exactly make the New Japan guys look great, especially with it being so short. This is one of the matches that could have been dropped without missing much.

The opening video looks at the companies colliding.

No Jim Ross for the show, which might be for the best.

Eddie Kingston/Shota Umino/Wheeler Yuta vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Minoru Suzuki

The winning team gets an advantage in Blood & Guts on Wednesday (which has nothing to do with Suzuki and Umino). Yuta wastes no time in rolling Jericho with some German suplexes and the Crossface goes on. Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s Guevara getting in some shots to Umino to take over. That doesn’t last long as Kingston comes in to face Jericho, who hands it back to Suzuki.

Kingston takes the straps straight down and the fight is on, with Kingston’s chops having little effect. Suzuki drops him with a single forearm so it’s back to Jericho. That’s fine with Kingston, who chops away in the corner and gets in a shot on Guevara for a bonus. Suzuki armbars Kingston over the arm to put him back in trouble, setting up the penalty kick for two. Everything breaks down and the triple submissions have Kingston and company in trouble again.

With that out of the way, Kingston suplexes Sammy out of the air and sweeps the leg out, allowing the tag off to Umino to clean house. Umino sends Jericho outside for a flip dive but Sammy hits a top rope shooting star onto the floor. Kingston adds a dive but Suzuki loads up his own…and of course he isn’t doing that.

Back in and Yuta gets to come in and strike away, setting up a cradle for two on Guevara. Kingston’s backdrop driver sets up the Stretch Plum until Suzuki breaks it up. The spinning backfist drops Suzuki but Jericho German suplexes Kingston. We hit the parade of secondary finishers until everyone is down. The Codebreaker drops Umino but he catches Jericho on top with a super powerslam.

Suzuki makes the save and Guevara hits a GTH on Yuta on the floor. Jericho’s Lionsault is broken up by Kingston so Umino can get two but Tay Conti gets in a baseball bat shot to Umino. The Judas Effect misses though and a tornado DDT into a brainbuster gives Umino two. Jericho has to be saved from the Walls and Suzuki piledrives Kingston. The Judas Effect finishes Umino at 18:45.

Rating: B. This got going rather well and the action was very good, though it did run a few minutes longer than it needed to. Umino being in there all but guaranteed he was taking the fall but he did showcase himself here. Heck of an opener and it got the needed goal so there isn’t much to complain about with this one.

We recap the Tag Team Title match, with the United Empire’s IWGP Tag Team Titles and FTR’s Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles on the line. They all want to win for the gold and honor.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles/IWGP Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. United Empire vs. Roppongi Vice

That would be Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood vs. Great O’Khan/Jeff Cobb vs. Trent Barretta/Rocky Romero, Vice is the only challengers and it’s Harwood headlocking Trent to start. That’s reversed into a headscissors and we get an early standoff. Cobb comes in and shrugs off Harwood’s chop so Romero tags himself in, much to Cobb’s annoyance. Harwood fights back but seems to have hurt his shoulder and drops to the floor after handing it off to Wheeler.

The Forever Clotheslines have Wheeler in trouble and Harwood is taken to the back. O’Khan sits on Wheeler’s head in the corner and Cobb adds a swinging suplex to send him into the corner. Wheeler fights out and tries a tag but realizes Harwood isn’t there. Instead he goes with Trent to clean house, but Cobb blocks a tornado DDT. Everything breaks down and the fight heads to the floor, with Trent hitting a running knee off the apron to drop Cobb.

We settle back down to Wheeler chopping his way out of trouble against the Empire. That doesn’t last long as O’Khan chops him down….and Harwood is back, with his shoulder taped up. Harwood comes back in to clean house, including some rolling German suplexes to Cobb. Trent helps Harwood with a double superplex but Wheeler tags himself in to add a top rope splash for two. O’Khan gets to take over on Wheeler in the corner, only to have Romero help on a spike piledriver.

Cobb is back up with a powerbomb to Romero and we hit a parade of knockdowns. The claw slam into a German suplex from Cobb gets two on Trent, who kicks out without any help. FTR gets taken out on the floor and it’s a spike Strong Zero for two on Cobb, with Wheeler diving in for the save. Romero and Harwood trade rollups until an enziguri staggers Harwood. Not that it matters as the Big Rig gives FTR the pin and the IWGP Tag Team Titles at 16:16.

Rating: B. There was some serious relief when Harwood came back out, even if he still might be injured. FTR winning was the right call as it sets up the big winner take all match against the Young Bucks at All Out. The action was there throughout the match and it was a lot of fun, which shouldn’t be a surprise. I don’t know how any team can be better than FTR right now, because dang they are on the roll of a lifetime.

Juice Robinson and Jay White don’t think much of their competition and promise to win.

All-Atlantic Title: Pac vs. Miro vs. Malakai Black vs. Clark Connors

For the inaugural title. It’s a brawl to start (as you might have expected) with Connors knocking Miro to the floor (which you might not have expected), leaving Black to knock Miro into the corner. Miro comes back in to knock Black down, only to have Black come back with the springboard moonsault. Connors comes back in for a kneebar but Miro is back in to clean house. Miro runs Connors down and slams him for two before Black and Miro stomp Pac down.

Black doesn’t like anyone else getting to stomp Pac though and yells at Miro, setting up the required forearm off. With Black knocked to the floor, Pac superkicks Miro and tosses Connors outside as well. There’s the big flip dive to Black, followed by a shotgun dropkick to Miro. Connors comes back in with the German suplexes until Miro knocks him down. Black loads up a table against the barricade and gets in a fight with Miro on the floor.

Connors spears Miro through the table and powerbombs Pac for two back inside, as the fans get behind Connors for a change. Miro is back up though and Game Overs Pac until Black uses the mist to break it up. That means a Black Mass to Miro and a cross armbreaker on Connors, but Pac’s 450 makes the save. The Brutalizer to Connors gives Pac the tap and the title at 15:04.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but the ending worked well, with Pac coming in for the save and winning the title. It’s nice to see Pac winning a title for a change, as he hasn’t done much in the way of championships in his career. Connors showcased himself too and has a nice future, but he was in over his head here. Black and Miro need a win, but that mist could be the start of something between them.

Dudes With Attitude vs. Bullet Club

That would be Sting/Darby Allin/Shingo Takagi vs. the Young Bucks/El Phantasmo. And there’s no Sting, though Hikuleo is here with the Club. Hold on again though as we look at the catwalk above the arena….and then Sting dives off the set to take the Club down. We get inside with the bell ringing and Takagi taking over on Phantasmo as commentary dubs the Dudes Los Stingobernables.

Allin comes in and gets caught in the wrong corner, allowing Phantasmo to flip around a lot and hit his back rake. Then Matt flips around, dances, flips some more, and then rakes Allin’s back too. Phantasmo stands on Allin’s crotch in the corner and Hikuleo pulls Sting off the apron for a whip into the barricade. Allin manages to knock Phantasmo away though and the hot tag brings in Takagi.

A snap suplex gets two on Nick Jackson and a pop up Death Valley Driver drops him again. Now it’s back to Sting for the well received house cleaning but he has to no sell Phantasmo’s nipple twist. Hikuleo’s distraction lets Phantasmo punch Sting low though and it’s a Superkick Party. Sting shrugs off the superkicks, clotheslines them both down, and then goes down. The tag brings Allin back in but the Coffin Drop hits Matt’s raised knees.

Everything breaks down and it’s More Bang For Your Buck on Allin, setting up Phantasmo’s rope walk moonsault onto everyone on the floor. Back in and Sting teases a dive, which is cut off by a triple superkick. The BTE Trigger misses though and Sting hits a double Scorpion Death Drop. Now Sting gets to twist Phantasmo’s nipples (Tony: “This is so much fun! Unless someone is grabbing your nipples!”), allowing Takagi to blast Phantasmo with a clothesline for two. Last Of The Dragon finishes Phantasmo at 12:58.

Rating: B-. This was a lot of fun and the lighthearted match that the show needed after three more serious fights to open the show. Sting and Tony were both having fun here and it wound up being good stuff, with Phantasmo getting to be the showcase star. Takagi continues to be great at just about anything so another nice job with this one.

Chris Jericho and his goons jump Shot Umino, setting up the fireball.

AEW Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Thunder Rosa

Storm is challenging, making me wonder why she didn’t just win the Owen Hart tournament. Feeling out process to start with Rosa taking her to the mat for a quickly broken headscissors. Back up and Rosa cranks on the wrist before getting two off a crucifix. Storm takes her down for a double arm crank but gets small packaged for two more. It’s time for the slug out with screaming until Rosa knocks her against the ropes.

The running dropkick sets up the northern lights suplex for two more, followed by a double stomp to Storm. They head outside with Rosa snapping off another northern lights but the Death Valley Driver on the apron is blocked. Storm hits a DDT onto the floor, followed by the hip attack and another tornado DDT for two. Rosa is right back with a nasty Fire Thunder Driver for two, followed by the Final Reckoning to retain the title at 10:39.

Rating: C. This got better near the end, but it wasn’t exactly a great match at its best. The sudden ending didn’t help things, and it was another loss for Storm, who can’t take many more of them. They also felt rather rushed here and Rosa continues to not exactly blow anyone away with her defenses. Not a great match here, but they didn’t embarrass themselves or anything close to it.

We recap the IWGP United States Title, as champion Will Ospreay is a major star but might have trouble with Orange Cassidy.

Now JR comes out to join commentary.

IWGP United States Title: Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy

Ospreay, with Aussie Open, is defending but doesn’t have the title with him. Cassidy starts fast with the hands in pockets running shoulders so you know he’s serious. Ospreay is knocked outside for a breather so Cassidy can mock Ospreay’s pose (in slow motion of course). You know that’s too far for Ospreay, who runs around the ring and takes Cassidy down, followed by a hard whip into the corner back inside.

That lets Ospreay get in some situps before we hit the abdominal stretch. Ospreay makes sure to put his hand in Cassidy’s pocket so Cassidy hiptosses his way to freedom. There’s the high crossbody but the tornado DDT is blocked. A top rope forearm to the head drops Cassidy but he collapses before the Hidden Blade can launch. Some Kawada Kicks put Cassidy down again, until he powers up to his feet.

Cassidy, with his hand in his pocket, hits his own Kawada kicks but has to avoid the Oscutter. The Stundog Millionaire into the Michinoku Driver gets two and the tornado DDT sends Ospreay to the floor. A springboard flip dive takes out Aussie Open, setting up the top rope DDT for two. Cassidy catches him on top and sends Ospreay face first into the camera (for a wacky visual), allowing Cassidy to….drop down and avoid a double moonsault.

Ospreay is fine enough to try a standing shooting star press but Cassidy gets the knees up, setting up the Beach Break for a close two. The Orange Punch is countered into the Oscutter for two but the Hidden Blade misses. Stormbreaker is countered into a hurricanrana for two more so Ospreay blasts him with a clothesline. The Hidden Blade gets two more, setting up Stormbreaker to retain the title at 16:10.

Rating: B. They did what they should have done here with Cassidy by not having him do a bunch of stupid stuff. Instead, this was the serious match that they should have had and it worked well as a result. I didn’t quite buy the near falls, but I had a good time with the match and it was probably the best Cassidy has looked in a singles match to date.

Post match the big beatdown is on but Katsuyori Shibata comes in for the save and Ospreay has a new challenger. Shibata shows quite a bit of respect to Cassidy.

Zack Sabre Jr. wanted Bryan Danielson but gets a mystery opponent, which doesn’t matter to him.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. ???

It’s Claudio Castagnoli, better known as Cesaro, who is now part of the Blackpool Combat Club and will be in Blood & Guts on Dynamite. Claudio starts fast with the running European uppercut and the Neutralizer gets a very fast two. Sabre goes straight to the floor for a needed breather to cool things off a bit, earning himself a whip into the barricade. Back in and Claudio hits a suplex but Sabre gets in a Disarm-Her to slow things down.

That just ticks Claudio off though and he forearms the heck out of Sabre. A rake of the eyes breaks up the spinning torture rack and Sabre is back on the arm. That’s broken up with the deadlift but they crash over the top and out to the floor. Claudio doesn’t let go though and walks up the steps to powerbomb Sabre back inside (because that’s a thing a human can do).

Back in and Sabre grabs a guillotine but gets taken up top to break it up. That’s fine with Sabre, who pulls him into an octopus hold on top. Claudio reverses into a gutwrench superplex and they’re both down for a bit. The Giant Swing is loaded up but Claudio’s arm gives out. Claudio tries a Sharpshooter instead, which is reversed into a heel hook. That’s broken up but Claudio still can’t get the Sharpshooter. A Pele Kick to the arm sets up a sleeper on Claudio, followed by some hard kicks to the chest. Those just tick Claudio off though and it’s a pop up uppercut into the Riccola Bomb to pin Sabre at 18:23.

Rating: B+. This was the Claudio that fans have been wanting to see, as he got to show the fire and then hit a bunch of his signature/power stuff. Throw in Sabre Jr. being able to do just about anything imaginable to someone’s limbs and this was a fun chess match. Eventually though it was Claudio wrecking him for the win and that is how a debut should have gone.

IWGP World Title: Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White

White is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. After the Big Match Intros, we ring the bell and pause for the fans to cheer a lot. White bails straight to the floor so the other three can fight but Cole winds up out there with him. Cole pitches the alliance but Okada and Page join them on the floor to start the brawl. Page gets double suplexed on the ramp and a neckbreaker drops Okada inside.

Back up and Page whips White into the steps, only to be taken down by Cole. Page fights back again and gets to clean house but Cole superkicks the moonsault out of the air. That means Okada can come back, including the dropkick to knock Cole off the top and out to the floor. The running crossbody over the barricade drops everyone else before they head back inside. Cole’s brainbuster onto the knee gets two on White, who is right back up with the swinging Rock Bottom.

A sleeper suplex drops Cole and White hits another on Okada. Page gets one too but he pops back up with a lariat for the four way knockdown. We get the tag team double forearm off until Cole and White slug it out. Page goes after White but has to deal with Gedo, only to hit the Deadeye. The Buckshot Lariat gets two on White with Okada having to make a save. Page and Okada forearm it out until the Rainmaker misses. A discus lariat drops Okada but Cole breaks up the Buckshot.

The Panama Sunrise is countered into Okada’s White Noise onto the knee but White breaks up the Rainmaker (after the zoom). Cole superkicks Okada for two, earning himself that perfect dropkick. Some more superkicks drop Okada and Page but the Rainmaker misses Cole, as he collapses. Okada gets Sling Bladed, allowing White to pin Cole to retain at 21:04. Something looked wrong there and White was talking to the referee after the match. I don’t know if Cole got hurt or something but that didn’t look right.

Rating: B. That ending didn’t help things as they didn’t get the chance to go to the big climax. What we had instead was a very good match with White escaping again, which is the right call. The lack of a Rainmaker tells me that there was something bad with the ending, so this felt like it was lacking something. The fact that it worked as well as it did is quite the impressive result though, as the talent got to shine.

Interim AEW World Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jon Moxley

For the vacant title. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. A dragon screw legwhip puts Moxley down though and Tanahashi is starting to get the confidence going. That’s broken up as Moxley grabs a quick cutter, setting up the running corner clothesline. The piledriver drops Tanahashi again and Moxley stomps away, setting up a Texas Cloverleaf (a Tanahashi signature). Tanahashi fights out and hits his middle rope flip splash for two of his own.

The Sling Blade is countered into a whip outside though and Moxley puts him through a table. Tanahashi beats the count back in so Moxley kicks away at the chest. The Sling Blade cuts Moxley down for a change and somehow he’s busted open. A dive to the floor drops Moxley again, setting up Twist and Shout back inside. Moxley manages a suplex though and it’s time for the hammer and anvil elbows.

With those broken up, Tanahashi headbutts him down and hits the high crossbody. High Fly Flow connects but Moxley rolls him into the bulldog choke. That’s broken up so Moxley BLASTS HIM with the King Kong Lariat….for one. The Hammer and Anvil elbows set up a rear naked choke but Tanahashi fights up again. Moxley shifts into another bulldog choke, followed by the Death Rider for the pin and the title at 18:14.

Rating: A-. This was a good example of two guys beating the fire out of each other until Tanahashi couldn’t keep going. The blood was a bit too much and felt out of place, but Moxley winning the title makes the most sense. He is a good placeholder until Punk gets back and people will buy him in the role, so this is the right choice after a great match.

Post match respect is shown but Chris Jericho and Daniel Garcia run in for the beatdown. Eddie Kingston runs in, setting off a string of run ins until the Jericho Appreciation Society beats everyone down. Claudio Castagnoli runs in for the save and gets in a Swing. Kingston yells at Claudio (who he has never liked) and leaves so Moxley’s music can play us out.

Overall Rating: A. I don’t think there was any real surprise that this was an instant classic with one great match after another, though it was lacking THAT match that took it to the next level. It helps that it felt more like a New Japan show, as they cut out a bunch of the goofy stuff and focused on the in-ring action. The talent is there to make it work and this was a fantastic show. I didn’t care for the build but the show delivered on all levels, including time, as they shaved off about an hour from Double Or Nothing. Great stuff.

Results
Hirooki Goto/Yoshi-Hashi b. QT Marshall/Aaron Solo – GTR/powerbomb combination to Solo
Lance Archer b. Nick Comoroto – Blackout
Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland b. El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemaru – Big Bang Catastrophe to Kanemaru
Max Caster/Gunn Club b. Yuya Uemura/Alex Coughlin/DKC/Kevin Knight – Mic Drop to DKC
Minoru Suzuki/Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara b. Eddie Kingston/Shota Umino/Wheeler Yuta – Judas Effect to Umino
FTR b. United Empire and Roppongi Vice – Big Rig to Romero
Pac b. Clark Connors, Miro and Malakai Black – Brutalizer to Connors
Dudes With Attitude b. Bullet Club – Last of the Dragon to El Phantasmo
Thunder Rosa b. Toni Storm – Final Reckoning
Will Ospreay b. Orange Cassidy – Hidden Blade
Claudio Castagnoli b. Zack Sabre Jr. – Riccola Bomb
Jay White b. Adam Cole, Kazuchika Okada and Hangman Page – White pinned Cole after he collapsed
Jon Moxley b. Hiroshi Tanahashi – Death Rider

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

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Rampage
Date: June 10, 2022
Location: Cable Dahmer Arena, Independence, Missouri
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

We are just over two weeks away from Forbidden Door but things have been shaken up pretty hard around here lately. A string of injuries has changed some of the direction in AEW but bringing in some of the New Japan wrestlers should help. That includes this week, as Will Ospreay/Aussie Open are teaming up to face FTR/Trent Beretta. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Eddie Kingston vs. Jake Hager

Kingston strikes away to start but Hager knocks him down with a knee to the ribs. Hager sends him outside before it’s back inside to crank on both arms. They’re already back to the floor with Hager pounding away, followed by some forearms in the corner back inside. The armbar goes on back inside but Kingston fights up. That doesn’t go well for Kingston, who gets chopped so hard that he takes down the straps. Kingston kicks him in the head to take over, only to walk into an overhead belly to belly.

We take a break and come back with Kingston getting in a shot of his own for the double knockdown. Kingston knocks him into the corner for the rapid fire chops but Hager hits him in the face. The Hager Bomb gets two but Kingston grabs a suplex of his own. Kingston’s spinning backfist is countered into a suplex, only to have Hager come back with the ankle lock. Hager’s right hands in the corner rock Kingston, who comes right back with a pair of spinning backfists for the pin at 11:24.

Rating: C+. They had a good, hard hitting back and forth match here and what matters most is that Kingston got another big win. Kingston is starting to put together a streak where you can believe he could take down some bigger names and this should help. Hager might not be a top star, but he has been treated as someone hard to beat so there is some value for Kingston in the win.

Kingston has to be helped out.

Britt Baker is so mad at Toni Storm that she calls Tony Schiavone a dumb***. She doesn’t like Storm touching the Owen Hart Title but more than that, she misses the Women’s Title.

Video on Ortiz vs. Chris Jericho in their upcoming hair vs. hair match.

Satnam Singh/Jay Lethal vs. Besties In The World

Lethal and Vega start things off but it’s already off to Singh. That means the chopping and tossing can begin, with Vega not having many options. Fitchett tries to come in but both Besties get crossbodied at the same time. Singh holds both Besties for a double Lethal Injection to give Lethal the pin at 1:39. Total squash so not much to get out of Singh here, though he looked rather slow.

Danhausen was so proud of he and Hook winning at Double Or Nothing that they have bought matching golf carts. Hook arrives in his to give chase.

Red Velvet vs. Kris Statlander

The other Baddies and Stokely Hathaway are here too. Velvet charges at her outside but gets powerslammed HARD on the floor, allowing Statlander to throw her inside for the opening bell. That leaves Velvet asking the Baddies for advice, which seems to be “CHOKE HER”. Not that it works as Statlander walks up the steps and then the corner before throwing Velvet inside. A high crossbody misses though and Velvet starts in on the leg.

We take a break and come back with Statlander hitting some shoulders to the ribs in the corner. Statlander powers up and hits a very spinning Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Something like a Michinoku Driver gets two but Velvet is back with a running knee to the back of the head. A spinning middle rope corner drops Statlander and Just Dessert gets two. Velvet’s spinning kick to the head is blocked though and Friday Night Fever finishes for Statlander at 8:55.

Rating: C. Statlander is being built up well, even if it seems like she is there to be fed to Cargill. Letting her run through the Baddies is a good idea as that is why you have lackeys, though Athena might be the one getting the big title shot. Cargill has needed some actual challenges though and Statlander could be just that.

Post match Kiera Hogan and Jade Cargill lay Statlander out until Anna Jay comes in for the failed save attempt. Athena comes in for the real save attempt but gets held back.

Miro is ready to hurt Ethan Page and win the All Atlantic Title.

Ethan Page says he looks up to and prays to himself so he is ready to wave the Canadian flag as he beats Miro next week.

The United Empire and FTR/Trent Beretta are ready for the main event and don’t like each other very much.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows.

United Empire vs. FTR/Trent Beretta

That would be Will Ospreay/Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher/Mark Davis) with Aaron Henare for the Empire. Harwood takes Ospreay down to start but gets run over by a shoulder. Wheeler comes in and gets kind of hurricanranaed down, giving us a standoff. Wheeler gets taken into the corner and it’s off to Davis to toss Wheeler into the wrong corner. Trent comes in and hits a few chops as everything breaks down. The Empire is sent outside and Trent hits an Asai moonsault but comes up favoring his ankle.

We take a break and come back with Trent hitting an enziguri but getting knocked down again by Davis. Fletcher misses a running dropkick in the corner though and the hot tag brings in Harwood to clean house. Some clotheslines set up the rolling German suplexes to Fletcher and it’s off to Wheeler for a powerbomb.

Another German suplex into a jackknife rollup gets two but Aussie Open gets back up to beat Wheeler down. A toss into a cutter sets up Ospreay’s springboard 450 for two. The Oscutter gives Ospreay the same but Wheeler gets away and brings Trent back in. Everything breaks down and Ospreay hits a slingshot dive onto FTR. That leaves Davis to go after Trent, who catches Davis in Strong Zero for the pin at 13:57.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but the last few minutes were quite good. The Empire didn’t get to showcase itself very much here and that was more than surprising, but at least they did get to beat on Wheeler for a bit. Odds are all three of them will be around for Forbidden Door so there is something of a long term plan here. Good main event, with the guest stars working well before coming up short.

Overall Rating: B-. They went with the wrestling show here and as usual, it was good stuff. The main event took its time to get going but eventually found its gear and the opener was a hard hitting brawl. Statlander got a win and Singh….uh, Statlander got a win! This continues to be more of a supplemental show and thankfully that means cutting out some of the more illogical parts, which works out well as they seem to know what they want from Rampage.

Results
Eddie Kingston b. Jake Hager – Spinning backfist
Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh b. Besties In The World – Double Lethal Injection
Kris Statlander b. Red Velvet – Friday Night Fever
FTR/Trent Beretta b. United Empire – Strong Zero 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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