Rampage
Date: April 5, 2024
Location: Budweiser Gardens, London, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Ian Riccaboni

We have another odd variety pack this week with Christopher Daniels vs. Malakai Black and a four way elimination match just for the heck of it. That almost makes things sound like Ring Of Honor more than Rampage but this show is almost lacking in its own identity a good chunk of the time. In a way that’s nice to have so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Malakai Black vs. Christopher Daniels

Buddy Matthews is here with Black. They start slowly until Black hits some running shoulders into a headlock takeover but Daniels is back with an armbar. That’s broken up and Daniels gets kicked into the corner where he seems to be a bit unconscious. Daniels is sent outside so Matthews sends him back inside for two.

An elbow to the face gives Black two and some kicks drop Daniels again as we take a break. Back with Daniels going on a run with a Downward Spiral into an STO, followed by a Death Valley Driver for two. Angel’s Wings is blocked and Black kicks him in the head for two more. Daniels grabs a rollup for two more but Black hits the End for the pin at 8:14.

Rating: C+. This was all it needed to be as Daniels put up a fight but got taken out by the monster threat. Daniels is still perfect for doing his thing out there and helping make someone look good in the process. That’s what happened with Black here, who snapped off a kick to the face when he got tired of dealing with Daniels. Perfectly fine match here.

Roderick Strong vs. London Lightning

Non-title and the Kingdom is here with Strong. Before the match, Strong has Lightning introduce himself but isn’t sure why he is named after such a nothing city. The bell rings and we hear about Lightning’s time teaming with Toronto Thunder (Ian: “I almost want to put that into Cagematch.”).

Lightning fights out of a headlock and hits a jumping knee to quite the reaction. The comeback is cut off with a backbreaker to give Strong two and we hit the reverse chinlock. Lightning gets up again and strikes away, setting up a suplex that has Nigel confused. Hold on though as Lightning has to go after Matt Taven but here is Wardlow to take Lightning out. The Cloverleaf finishes for Strong at 5:38.

Rating: C. This was fun and that’s the best word for it. Lightning was never going to be a serious threat but they played into the idea of the fans getting into what they were seeing here. Lightning has put in some good performances on Ring Of Honor and it wouldn’t stun me to see him used as a regular jobber going forward.

Leyla Hirsch has been doing her thing in Ring Of Honor and now she wants Julia Hart.

Serena Deeb vs. Trish Adora

Deeb goes after the leg to start before tying Adora up in a Paradise Lock. The running dropkick breaks it up and Adora isn’t pleased. Adora fights up and sends her hard into the corner as we take a break. Back with Deeb grabbing a neckbreaker over the top rope but Adora gets a boot up in the corner. A dragon screw legwhip across the rope cuts Adora down again but she counters another into a rollup for two. Adora gets two off a full nelson bomb and an exchange of clotheslines goes badly for Deeb. Not that it matters as she goes after the knee again and grabs the Serenity Lock for the tap at 9:56.

Rating: C+. Another perfectly nice match here that doesn’t feel like it means much for either of them. Deeb has felt like someone who could be pushed for a long time but it hasn’t happened in a good while. At the same time, Adora is someone who could be a bigger deal but is firmly in the jobber to the stars role at the moment. Good enough stuff, but it is on Rampage for a reason.

Julia Hart is down to face Leyla Hirsch.

Saraya and company are sick of Ruby Soho, with Zak Knight promising to hurt Angelo Parker. Is there an established reason for why exactly Saraya hates the relationship?

Daniel Garcia vs. Bryan Keith vs. Action Andretti vs. Komander

Elimination rules and Matt Menard is on commentary. As this is designed to tie into the NCAA Final Four. Andretti and Komander are left in the ring as we hear about Trish Adora (as in the loser of the match) getting a special match on Collision due to her amazing performance. Keith is back in to break up a cover on Andretti, which has commentary confused.

Garcia hammers on Keith in the corner until he has to punch Andretti out of the air. Keith elbows Garcia in the head for two before cutting Komander off on top to save Garcia. That’s enough for Komander to roll Keith up for the pin at 4:03. We take a break and come back with Andretti hitting a Death Valley Driver to drop Garcia on the apron. Komander hits a dive of his own to take them both out in a big crash. Andretti is fine enough to grab his torture neckbreaker to get rid of Komander at 9:03.

Garcia is back in to take out the knee but Andretti grabs a backbreaker into a neckbreaker. The running shooting star press is countered into an ankle lock but Andretti rolls him to the floor. A one legged dive to the floor hits Garcia again and a top rope clothesline takes him down again inside. The knee gives out on the torture rack attempt though and they slug it out. Andretti manages a Falcon Arrow for two but Garcia pulls him into a kneebar for the tap at 14:30.

Rating: B-. They got going a bit more near the end but it’s another match that could not feel less important. You had Garcia beating three lower card guys in a bunch of combinations that we have probably seen several times. The elimination rules helped a bit but Garcia is right where he was coming into this, much like every other winner on this show.

Overall Rating: C. This felt like a Ring Of Honor show and I do not mean that in a good way. It’s another case where the action itself is fine but my goodness they did not do themselves any favors with the show’s setup. It was more or less a bunch of matches to give midcard stars a win and that makes for a long hour. It’s a total nothing show and if this is all Rampage is going to be, just cancel it already or move it to YouTube where it belongs.

Results
Malakai Black b. Christopher Daniels – The End
Roderick Strong b. London Lightning – Cloverleaf
Serena Deeb b. Trish Adora – Serenity Lock
Daniel Garcia b. Komander, Action Andretti and Bryan Keith last eliminating Andretti

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: March 6, 2024
Location: Gas South Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the Dynamite after Revolution, which was quite the smashing success. Now though comes the hard part in following up on what they did. Samoa Joe is still the World Champion after the triple threat and now we are on the way towards both Big Business next week and Dynasty next month. Let’s get to it.

Here is Revolution if you need a recap.

Opening sequence. We have a new theme song and set/logo. The song works well enough and the set/logo….well they’re a set/logo.

Tony Schiavone brings out Swerve Strickland, with Prince Nana, for a chat. Swerve talks about how he came up short in his house on Sunday. That isn’t cool with him because he remembered signing with AEW about two years to the day at Revolution 2022 in Orlando, Florida. Strickland was going to give it his all but here he stands with no gold. Maybe he is paying for all of the bad things he has done around here and maybe he isn’t supposed to be a champion here.

Maybe instead he is supposed to be a role player, but then he hears the reactions he is receiving and people have even flown in from his home state of Washington to see him. Whether Samoa Joe is still World Champion or not, Swerve is coming for the title because Swerve’s house. Cue Samoa Joe, complete with using the towel to polish up the belt. Joe thinks Swerve is talking funny after that beating at Revolution, because here we are in Swerve’s house, but that house is in Joe’s world. Swerve is ready to go right now but here is the Undisputed Kingdom to interrupt.

Adam Cole talks about how great the team did at Revolution and in a few months, no one is going to remember Swerve’s name. The only person that matters is Wardlow, who is going to win the title and bring it back where it belongs. Swerve calls out Cole going to the back of the line over and over. If he needs extra clients, he has Britt Baker’s phone number in his pocket. Cole doesn’t like that so how about we do Swerve/Joe vs. The Kingdom next week. Swerve says let’s do it right now and Tony Khan agrees.

Kingdom vs. Samoa Joe/Swerve Strickland

Non-title and Joe hammers Bennett down into the corner to start. Taven’s running splash in the corner misses (with Joe just stepping aside as only he can) and his middle rope dropkick hits Bennett (again with the sidestep). The Kingdom finally manages to kick Joe in the face to put him down and we take a break. Back with Swerve getting the tag to clean house, with Joe not being pleased at anything happening. Swerve hits the Swerve Stomp to Bennett and glares over at Joe, who still looks unhappy. The House Call sets up the JML Driver to finish Bennett at 6:54, with Joe still being furious over the whole thing.

Rating: C. That might have been the most WWE opening I’ve ever seen from outside of WWE. We had people interrupting promos, an impromptu match and the champions losing clean. Odds are this won’t have any impact on the titles (and it certainly shouldn’t as those are WAY beneath Joe and Swerve), but it’s yet another unnecessary blow to Ring Of Honor, which does in fact want you to pay for its show in thirty days (no matches announced thus far either).

Post match Wardlow comes out to glare at Swerve, who gets choked out by Joe.

Chris Jericho interrupts Hook and talks about Taz dropping him on his head in his first ECW match. Jericho sees talent in Hook, who isn’t impressed and walks away.

We look at Hangman Page going nuts at Revolution.

The Young Bucks, in a parody of Tony Khan, have two huge announcements, which they’ll make later tonight.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Brian Cage

Hook is defending under FTR Rules. Cage starts fast by snapping off some suplexes before wedging a chair in the corner. Hook comes back with the fire extinguisher blast and some trashcan lid shots to the face. A dive off the steps is powerslammed out of the air though and Hook crashes down hard on the floor. Cage misses a charge through the barricade and crashes out into the crowd as we take a break.

Back with Cage chairing Hook down but Hook DDTs him onto the chair for a breather. A suplex into the barricade in the corner gives Hook two so Cage grabs an F5 onto the chair for two of his own. It’s time for thumbtacks but Hook suplexes him into said tacks, leaving…not that many in Cage’s back. Redrum goes on so Cage drops him back into the tacks, which doesn’t work and Cage is out at 10:06.

Rating: C-. That was a bit much for this kind of a match and that’s not a good thing in this case. I know they’ve had issues, but going from soe tag matches to this in their first singles match is a little bit much to take. They were also sloppy in some spots with a few big moves missing and the whole thing not exactly making Hook look good.

Post match the Gates Of Agony run in to beat Hook down but Chris Jericho makes the save. Oh joy: Jericho teaming with a young guy.

We’re having a tournament to crown new Tag Team Champions.

Orange Cassidy wans a new title and the Best Friends are ready to get the Tag Team Titles…but Chuck is still hurt. Instead, Cassidy and Trent Beretta should win the tournament, and they happen to have their first round match on Rampage.

Killswitch vs. Matt Menard

Menard is fighting for revenge after Revolution and Christian Cage is on commentary. A bunch of right hands in various corners rock Luchasaurs and some clotheslines put him on one knee. That doesn’t last long as Luchasaurus is up with a chokeslam, followd by the running clothesline to finish Menard at 1:56.

Post match Daniel Garcia runs in for the brawl but Nick Wayne runs in to take him out. The villains go to leave but Adam Copeland is back to jump the Patriarchy. Mother Wayne’s low blow is blocked and Copeland chases Cage into the crowd. We follow the chase through the tech area and into the back, with Cage running into the parking lot where he steals someone’s car to escape. Copeland issues the challenge for an I Quit match for the title in two weeks in Toronto. Since two seconds have passed, Tony Khan has made the match official.

Kyle O’Reilly is happy to be back and he is medically cleared.

We look at Sting’s final match at Revolution.

Here are the Young Bucks, who throw Tony Schiavone out for bringing up their loss. They aren’t happy with Sting’s sons, who are 6’8 and 305lbs because THEY CHEATED! The Bucks are going to get their Tag Team Titles back, but first they have to take care of some things. First of all, Hangman Page put his hands on some officials at Revolution and is suspended indefinitely. The other item is Kenny Omega, who has no showed various dates for no good reason (commentary brings up his health issues) so he’s fired from the Elite.

Cue Eddie Kingston, who says you might as well fine him now because he’s got something to say. They try to cool things down but the fight is on, with a low blow cutting Kingston off….and Kazuchika Okada is here. The staredown is on and Okada lays out Kingston with the Rainaker because Okada is Elite. That’s certainly a way to go for Okada, who does work better as a villain. I’m worried about putting him with the Bucks, but the debut could have been a lot worse.

We look at Will Ospreay winning his debut match over Konosuke Takeshita at Revolution.

Kris Statlander vs. Riho

Stokely Hathaway is here with Statlander. Riho gets slammed down to start and tries to pick up the pace, only to get knocked straight back down. Statlander powers her into the corner and slams her down as we take a break. Back with Riho striking away in the corner, despite needing to get ont he bottom rope to be close to Statlander’s size.

Statlander tries a powerbomb but gets hurricanranaed into the 619. Riho’s high crossbody doesn’t work so she grabs a dragon suplex for two. Statlander knocks her down again so Hathaway throws her a chain, which Statlander drops onto the floor. Some hard suplexes rock Riho but she grabs a victory roll for the pin at 9:21.

Rating: C+. It’s time for the Riho push again because…well for some reason AEW insists. Statlander was on fire as TBS Champion and now here she is instead, teaming with Willow Nightingale and having her main issue with a manager. The match itself was a good big vs. Small format and Riho’s offense looked nice as usual, but egads it’s hard to try and make myself care about anything she does.

Toni Storm is happy to retain her Women’s Title and presents Mariah May with her first shirt. Yes Storm is getting a cut.

Willow Nightingale is ready to face Riho next week because she wants to be a champion herself. She’s coming for the TBS Title.

Here is Daby Allin to talk about being happy with Sting’s retirement match. He has Jay White next week and then in three weeks, he’s off to climb Mount Everest. He might not come back alive so next week, he’s going to go out fighting for his life. Allin lays down the Tag Team Title belt and congratulates whoever holds them next but here is Bullet Club Gold to interrupt.

Jay White talks about how Allin has been doing some great things but warns him about what is going to hapen if they get in the ring. Instead of a match, how about Allin comes hang with the Bang Ban Scissor Gang. We can even call him Darby Scissorhands! Allin doesn’t want to hear it and says White should climb Everest too. He’ll see White next week. I’m really not sure why that one off match for next week needed this much hype.

Julia Hart issues an open challenge for Rampage.

The House Of Black is ready to burn Mark Briscoe. Do they need to dig one grave or three?

Mark Briscoe talks about walking through flames and dancing with the devil. He’s ready for a street fight, but Jay Lethal comes in to say it’s time he mans up to help Briscoe. Mark says don’t bring Jeff Jarrett, but Lethal says trust him. Commentary implies Jarrett will be there.

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher

Non-title and Don Callis is on commentary. They trade takedowns to start until a hsoulder doesn’t get Ospreay very far. Back up and Ospreay ducks some shots to the head before snapping off a headscissors. Fletcher hits a heck of a chop to drop Ospreay and we take a break. We come back with Ospreay hitting a dive to the floor but the Oscutter is countered into a hard suplex for two.

They grab hands and chop it out with Ospreay getting the better of things, only to have another Oscutter countered. The powerbomb countered is countered into a DDT to plant Fletcher but he ducks the Hidden Blade. A middle rope Snake Eyes hits Ospreay but he’s back with a cutter on the apron and we take a break (at 9:57). Back with Ospreay planting Fletcher and going up top, where Fletcher crotches him. Ospreay has to flip out of dragon superplex before grabbing a Liger Bomb for two.

Some kicks to the face set up a failed Stormbreaker attempt so Fletcher hits a double underhook slam of his own. Fletcher hits a heck of a sitout powerbomb for two before putting Ospreay on top. That’s broken up for Cheeky Nandos into a super poisonrana, followed by a running back elbow for two. Back up and a Spanish Fly is countered so Fletcher hits a superkick, only to get caught with the Spanish Fly for two. The Oscutter gets two and the Hidden Blade finishes for Ospreay at 19:23.

Rating: B. This was very similar to the Takeshita match from Revolution but there is quite the difference between Taekeshita and Fletcher. Some of the kickouts in here didn’t leave me wanting more like I did on Sunday, but rather wondering why in the world Fletcher was getting to survive this long. Ospreay is a lot of fun, but hopefully they don’t have him doing the same kind of match week in and week out, or the spark is going to be lost quickly.

Post match Bryan Danielson comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I’m not sure what to make of this show. It definitely moved things forward into the next pay per view cycle and the new look/set made things feel fresh, but some of the stuff wasn’t exactly great. Having Ring Of Honor be treated like the whipping boy around here a month before their big show is a choice and having more of Riho and the Young Bucks is not the most intriguing. What matters here is it feels like they know where they want to go and that is a very nice thing to see with a month and a half before their next pay per view.

Results
Samoa Joe/Swerve Strickland b. Kingdom – JML Driver to Bennett
Hook b. Brian Cage – Redrum
Killswitch b. Matt Menard – Running clothesline
Riho b. Kris Statlander – Victory roll
Will Ospreay b. Kyle Fletcher – Hidden Blade

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.

Revolution 2024
Date: March 3, 2024
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back on pay per view with one of the big four events, which should make for a good night. There are a few major matches on tap for the show, including Samoa Joe defending the World Title against Samoa Joe and Hangman Page. In what should be the real main event though, Sting and Darby Allin are defending the Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks in Sting’s retirement match. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Bang Bang Scissor Gang vs. Private Party/Willie Mack/Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh

Max Caster still can’t get the rap right as he seems to have the yips. Kassidy headlocks Austin to start but gets shoved away and dropkicked down. Colten comes in for a dropkick to Quen and Bowens adds Scissor Me Timbers. It’s back to Colten, who gets knocked into the corner by Mack but manages to knock Kassidy down. Bowens comes in to clean house but a distraction lets Jarrett grab a Russian legsweep.

Back up and is able to hit a Blockbuster and the big tag brings in Billy to clean house. Singh offers a distraction though and it’s a Mack Stunner into Lethal’s cutter. Quen hits a 450 and Mack gets two, with the fans being impressed by the kickout. The Blade Runner is broken up and it’s Singh coming in to wreck everyone. White and Billy manage to get him down for a Fameasser and White grabs the Blade Runner for the pin on Mack at 12:16.

Rating: C+. This was a match where there were so many people that it was hard to stand out. The Gang winning was the only way to go, but at the end of the day I can’t imagine the team lasting that much longer. There is little reason to have both of the six man champs together when neither of them defend their titles, so hopefully the unification is coming soon enough. Perfectly fine opener, even if it was really busy with so many people around.

Post match White puts over the team and brags about their success. After hyping up the card, he teases doing something of his own on March 13.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Willow Nightingale vs. Skye Blue/Julia Hart

Stokely Hathaway is on commentary. Blue kicks Nightingale into the corner to start but gets whipped away, allowing Statlander to elbow her in the jaw. Statlander’s slam is escaped though and it’s off to Hart, who gets crossbodied by Nightingale. Stereo suplexes put the villains down for two on Hart and Statlander’s belly to back suplex gets the same. Blue comes back in and kicks Nightingale into the corner, meaning the villains can take turns stomping away.

Three straight whips into the corner wake Nightingale up for some reason and she gets over for the tag back to Statlander. House is quickly cleaned with a shot to the face getting two on Blue. Hart’s sliding lariat to the back of the head gets two on Statlander so Blue goes up, only to have her high crossbody pulled out of the air. Nightingale Death Valley Drivers Hart for two as Blue superkicks Statlander on the floor.

Statlander and Hart slug it out back inside until Hart knocks her down. The moonsault gets two and it’s Blue coming back in to kick Statlander in the face a few times. Statlander gets in a shot of her own though and brings Nightingale back in to Pounce Blue. The Babe With The Powerbomb finishes Blue at 13:16.

Rating: C. This felt like an extended Collision or Rampage match and that’s not a bad choice for a Kickoff Show match. Nightingale very well could be in for a TBS Title shot and this could put her into contention. Now that Hart is healthy again, it would be nice to see her actually defend the belt. Nightingale has needed a big win and while this wasn’t that, it could set her up for something in the near future.

And now, the show proper.

TNT Title: Daniel Garcia vs. Christian Cage

Cage, with the Patriarchy, is defending. They fight over a lockup to start with Garcia being taken up against the ropes but getting a clean break. Cage takes him down into a front facelock but Garcia fights up and knocks him outside without much effort. Back in and Garcia takes him down again, with Cage suggesting a leg injury. Naturally that’s a fake for a thumb to the eye and Garcia is back in trouble.

We hit the chinlock with a knee in Garcia’s back but he fights up again, only to be sent out to the floor. The big dive to the floor drops Garcia again but he’s able to hit a chop block back inside. Garcia’s ankle lock doesn’t last long as Cage sends him outside and then does it again for a bonus. The back of the neck snap across the top rope but Garcia finally fights up and hits some forearms to the head.

Cage goes up and gets legdragged down, allowing Garcia go roll him up for some near falls. They go outside again, this time with Cage’s knees being sent into the steps. Back in and the reverse DDT onto the knee gives Cage two but Garcia snatches on the ankle lock again. Cage manages to send him into the corner, where Killswitch gets in a chokeslam (the referee seemingly thinking Garcia knocked himself down), setting up Cage’s top rope splash for two.

Cue Matt Menard to go after Killswitch but Mother Wayne offers a distraction. Menard brawls with Killswitch to the back, leaving Garcia to hit the piledriver for two. Garcia’s rollup gets two more as Cage grabs the rope this time. Cue Nick Wayne for a Stunner over the ropes, setting up the Killswitch to retain at 16:43.

Rating: B-. This was a bit longer than it needed to be but they had a good match. Garcia wasn’t ready to win the title here and thankfully he got in some near falls here. The interference got a bit annoying but I’ll take it for a way to keep the title on Cage. Garcia has come a long way in recent weeks but this was the right way to go, especially with Adam Copeland likely coming back soon.

Continental Classic: Eddie Kingston vs. Bryan Danielson

Kingston is defending and Danielson has to shake his hand if he doesn’t win the titles. Danielson takes him into the corner to start but Kingston fires off the chops to leave Danielson’s chest in trouble. A suplex puts Danielson down on the floor and Kingston hits a big dive before they head up to the apron. Kingston’s chop only hits post though and Danielson suplexes him off said apron to the floor before taking him back inside to stay on the bad hand.

A middle rope dropkick to the shoulder keeps Kingston in trouble and Danielson does it again for a bonus. Danielson goes up again but dives into an exploder suplex to give Kingston a breather. The Stretch Plumb has Danielson in trouble so he goes after the bad hand to break it up. Kingston uses the good arm to fire off his own elbows but Danielson sends him into the corner for a running dropkick.

Another running dropkick misses so Danielson settles for a dragon suplex instead. Danielson kicks away in the corner and puts Kingston on top for a running dropkick. Oddly Kingston doesn’t react so Danielson butterfly superplexes him into a failed LeBell Lock attempt. That’s escaped so Kingston hits a spinning backfist into the northern lights bomb for a near fall.

Danielson goes back to the hand though and hits a running kick, setting up the running knee for an even nearer fall. Danielson’s triangle choke has Kingston in trouble but the arm drop doesn’t work. Instead Kingston gets his feet into the ropes, sending us into dueling chants from the fans. Danielson starts kicking away and Kingston tells him to bring it before winning an exchange of suplexes. They strike it out until Danielson reverses the powerbomb attempt, only to have the running knee clotheslined away. Kingston’s powerbomb retains the title at 19:43, leaving McGuinness rather pleased.

Rating: B+. This was Kingston’s specialty: fighting from behind and coming back up to win in the end as the fans get behind him. There is something so easy to get behind with Kingston and that was the case here. Heck of a match, which shouldn’t even be that surprising with Danielson involved.

Post match Danielson teases not shaking the hand but goes through with it before leaving.

Hook vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Lance Archer vs. Brian Cage vs. Wardlow vs. Dante Martin vs. Chris Jericho vs. Magnus

Non-title and one fall to a finish for a World Title shot. The four power guys clear the ring to start and are left alone, giving us a MEAT chant. Said monsters have a pose down before slamming into each other. A bunch of clotheslines are no sold until it’s Wardlow and Archer slugging it out inside. Archer walks the rope to take Wardlow down and then goes after Hobbs, only to have Jericho come in to Codebreaker Wardlow for two.

The vegetarian options come in to slug it out, doing the same things the meat guys did. Martin hits a dive onto the floor and Hook hits a top rope ax handle onto Cage on the floor. Wardlow and Archer are back in as we miss some of the others doing something rather loud. Cage apron superplexes Hook and everyone but Martin is down, with Martin hitting a frog splash for two. Martin’s middle rope crossbody gets two on Jericho, with Magnus making the save.

Magnus goes after Martin in the corner but gets hiptossed down by Archer, who hits the chokeslam for two. Jericho is back in to take Archer down for stereo Lionsaults along with Magnus. Hobbs is back in to powerslam Archer, who rolls outside. Hook and Cage get to have their showdown until Wardlow is back in to throw some suplexes. Hook breaks up the powerbomb to Cage by grabbing Redrum but Jericho puts the Walls onto both of them. Cage breaks up the Walls and Hook lets go of Redrum for no logical reason before staring Jericho down.

Hobbs breaks that up and sends Hook outside, leaving Jericho to triangle dropkick him to the floor. Hobbs plants Jericho on the floor but he’s back up with a fog machine of all things to cut him off. Back in and Cage knees Hook into an F5 but Martin gets two on Magnus. Archer breaks that up so Martin kicks him in the head. Wardlow cleans more house and breaks up Redrum, setting up the powerbomb to finish Martin at 16:19.

Rating: C. The result helps a lot as Wardlow cutting those fired up promos and then being put out there to lose wouldn’t have made a ton of sense. At the same time, the match was long, had WAY too much going on and as is usually the case with these things, it felt like someone hit one move to win rather than someone being the best. Wardlow is the best option but this really didn’t work.

We recap the International Title match. Roderick Strong wants the title and Orange Cassidy is willing to give him a shot, which set up a feud between Cassidy and the Best Friends and the Undisputed Kingdom.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Roderick Strong

Strong, with the Kingdom, is challenging and Cassidy is here on his own by his request. Strong misses an early Sick Kick attempt and they go to the floor, where Cassidy’s banged up ribs are sent into the barricade. Back in and Cassidy manages a high crossbody but bangs up his ribs in the process. The backbreaker keeps Cassidy in trouble and Strong wisely hammers away on the ribs.

They go up top with Strong hitting a crazy gutwrench superplex to send Cassidy bouncing onto the top turnbuckle (GEEZ). Strong sends him into the corner and is already rather confident, even getting his his own lazy kicks. The threat of a chop makes Cassidy go face down and Strong is even happier.

Back up and End Of Heartache is countered into a Stundog Millionaire to give Cassidy a breather. The Stronghold goes on but Cassidy slips out and hits the tornado DDT. The middle rope DDT gives Cassidy two and he hits his own Panama Sunrise. Beach Break is broken up so they trade big shots to the face. The second Beach Break connects for two but Strong comes back with the End Of Heartache for the pin and the title at 12:45.

Rating: B-. Strong might not be the most interesting star in the world but he is someone who can have a good match with just about anyone. Working on the back/ribs over and over is a fine way to go and Cassidy really needed to get away from the title for a bit. They also didn’t go too long, which makes for a nice change of pace on the show.

Post match the Undisputed Kingdom celebrates, with Kyle O’Reilly returning. He’s in too for a nice return.

FTR vs. Blackpool Combat Club

Rematch of the teams going to a draw and the Club comes out in pretty bad looking Road Warriors style spikes. FTR on the other hand has the Midnight Express lighting, which hopefully goes better than the time the Express fought the Warriors. Harwood and Castagnoli trade rollups for two each to start but Castagnoli is back up to knock him into the corner.

They slap it out and then trade strikes with neither being able to get very far. Schiavone talks about Dean Martin as Moxley comes in to take over on Wheeler. That’s broken up and Moxley is knocked into the corner, only to kick Wheeler in the face. It’s back to Castagnoli, who gets Russian legsweeped to put him down in a hurry. Wheeler comes back in and gets sent outside in a heap, followed by a gutwrench suplex for two back inside.

The Club trade front facelocks as the fans trade supportive chants. Moxley takes Wheeler up top for a back rake into a superplex for two. We get the trash talk in the corner, which is enough for Wheeler to fight up and hand it back to Harwood. Striking abounds but Castagnoli slips out of a suplex. Harwood hits him in the face but the spike piledriver is broken up and Harwood is sent into the post. Castagnoli snaps off a powerslam for two as Harwood is busted open rather badly.

Moxley and Harwood have their slugout but Wheeler is back in with the spike piledriver for two more. The Club is back in with a Doomsday Device (European uppercut variation) for two on Harwood and everyone is down. Moxley grabs a cutter into the Swing with a dropkick for two more on Harwood and everyone is down again. Moxley takes Harwood up top for some elbows and biting to the cut, with Castagnoli adding a running big boot.

Wheeler is back in for the save and a powerbomb/top rope clothesline gets two, setting up the Shatter Machine for two with Castagnoli making the save. A Neutralizer hits Wheeler on the floor but Harwood plants Castagnoli as well. Back in and Moxley Death Riders Harwood for two, with Harwood rolling him up for the same. The choke finishes Harwood at 21:43.

Rating: A-. This was very good and they got the crowd into it, with all kinds of big near falls and quite the violent edge. I could have gone for FTR winning instead of more of the Club’s dominance but that’s just going to happen. Heck of a fight here and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Club going after the Tag Team Titles in the near future.

We recap Toni Storm defending the Women’s Title against Deonna Purrazzo. They used to be friends but now Purrazzo wants the old Storm back. Plus the title.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Storm is defending and has Mariah May, who dresses as old school Storm, plus Luther, with her. Feeling out process to start with Purrazzo going technical to take over. Storm is back up to fight over a hammerlock until Purrazzo takes her down into a headscissors. Purrazzo can’t get the Fujiwara armbar so she goes for it again, only to be taken into the corner for some shots to the face.

Storm kicks her low to take over and then stomps the chest, setting up a bit of dancing. Purrazzo gets up and slugs away, setting up the clothesline comeback. Storm rolls out of the armbar so Purrazzo kicks her in the face for another knockdown. A missed charge in the corner sets up Storm’s hip attack and a DDT gives Storm two.

Storm grabs an ankle lock but Purrazzo gets out and kicks her to the floor, where Luther makes a catch. Purrazzo hits a dive onto both of them and the Fujiwara armbar goes on back inside. Storm taps but Luther has the referee, allowing May to offer her own distraction. That’s enough for Storm to grab the piledriver to retain at 12:16.

Rating: C. This was ok, but they never hit that level that you might have expected on a pay per view title match. Neither of them have exactly hit a high point in the ring in recent matches, but this was miles better than Purrazzo’s disaster against Madison Rayne a few weeks ago. Storm still seems destined to face Mariah May, which is going to need to be built up a bit more before we get there.

We recap Konosuke Takeshita vs. Will Ospreay. This is Ospreay’s in-ring debut as a full time AEW star and they’re both in the Don Callis Family, though there is some tension.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Will Ospreay

Don Callis is on commentary. The fans are clearly amped for this and the OSPREAY chants are off to a fast start. The fight over a lockup goes to the ropes, where Ospreay slaps him in the face. Ospreay snaps off a running hurricanrana before it’s time to slug it out. A springboard clothesline drops Ospreay and a delayed superplex gives Takeshita two. Takeshita takes him down again but Ospreay comes back up with the hard chops.

Ospreay is back with a springboard elbow and then knocks Takeshita outside in a heap. Back in and Takeshita fires off his own strikes, setting up a running kick to the face to send Ospreay outside. There’s the big running flip dive to take Ospreay down again, followed by a NASTY bridging German suplex for two. A release version cuts Ospreay off but he’s back with a running Spanish Fly to put them both down. Ospreay knocks him down again and we need the referee to check on him for a second.

Back up and Takeshita hits a heck of a headbutt, which doesn’t knock Ospreay down. Another headbutt wakes Ospreay up and he’s back with the Kawada Kicks. Back up and neither can hit a powerbomb variation so Ospreay kicks him in the face a few times. The tiger driver gives Ospreay two but the Oscutter is knocked out of the air for two. Takeshita can’t get in Rolling Chaos Theory so Ospreay kicks him in the head again. There’s the Oscutter for two but the Hidden Blade is countered with a shot to the face for two of his own.

Takeshita puts him on top but Ospreay slips out and hits the Cheeky Nandos kick. The super hurricanrana is blocked and Takeshita hits an El Generico Brainbuster, with Ospreay’s back taking a terrifying landing. Takeshita takes down the knee pad but his running knee is blocked. The Stundog Millionaire and a poisonrana have Takeshita in trouble but he’s right back with a wheelbarrow piledriver.

Ospreay pops up with a Hidden Blade for one and they’re both down again. Back up and Takeshita’s running knee is countered into a Styles Clash for two and they’re both down again. Ospreay is back up with a tiger driver 91, setting up the Hidden Blade for the pin at 21:48.

Rating: A-. This is the definition of “if you like this style, you’ll love this” and there is nothing wrong with that. It was a great spectacle with one cool looking move after another and if you can ignore some no selling issues, it was a blast. I had a good time with it and it’s a great debut for Ospreay, though some of those spots had me cringing in a less than good way.

Post match Kyle Fletcher comes out to celebrate with Ospreay.

We recap the AEW World Title match. Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland are still in their blood feud but Samoa Joe, the reigning champion, is still involved in the whole thing and promises violence.

AEW World Title: Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page

Joe is defending. They circle each other to start until Page is knocked into the corner, with Joe getting to step away from Swerve’s middle rope elbow. Swerve is sent outside for the suicide elbow, with Joe kicking Page in the head for daring to try a dive. Joe gets knocked down on the floor though and Swerve is back in to stomp away on Page. Swerve goes outside to drop Joe again, setting up a springboard dropkick to Page for another near fall.

Page is back up with a belly to belly for two of his own with Joe making the save this time. Back in and Joe powerbombs Page into the STF into the crossface so Swerve makes a save of his own. Joe and Swerve go up top with the former hitting a headbutt out to the floor. Swerve is right back in though and a double powerbomb plants Joe for a triple breather. Page and Swerve slug it out until Page middle rope moonsaults into a tombstone for two on Swerve.

Joe gets dropped again and Swerve suplexes Page for two with Joe being right there for a save. Back up and Joe gets to strike away, setting up the MuscleBuster for Page. Swerve Stomps Joe though and everyone is down. There’s the House Call to Joe and another to Page but the delay lets Joe break up the cover. With Page on the floor, Swerve hits a 450 to Joe’s back for no cover. Swerve knocks Joe down again for two but Page pulls the referee. A belt shot hits Swerve in the head and Page yells at him a lot, followed by a pair of Buckshot Lariats.

Here’s another referee to count the two but another Buckshot is pulled into the Koquina Clutch. Swerve breaks that up with a Sky Twister Press and grabs a foreign object, only to throw it down instead. Joe grabs the Clutch on Swerve but Page takes out another referee. Back up and Joe runs Page over but he’s back up with a Buckshot Lariat. Swerve hits Page with a Buckshot of his own into the JML Driver but Joe suplexes Swerve down. The Clutch finishes Page to retain the title at 19:40.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but it got a lot better by the ending. They did have a setup where all three could have pulled it off, though Joe winning does make the most sense….I think. Swerve is going to be champion one day but winning in a three way doesn’t quite feel great. For now, it’s a good title match that was in a rough spot after Takeshita vs. Ospreay.

Post match commentary suggests that Page gave up to cost Swerve the chance of winning. That’s….certainly a way to go.

AEW Dynasty is in St. Louis on April 21.

We recap Sting and Darby Allin defending the Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks. It’s Sting’s retirement match and the Bucks have gotten violent. Oh and Ric Flair is here too because of course he is.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Darby Allin/Sting

Allin and Sting are defending, it’s a tornado match, Ric Flair is here and Ricky Steamboat is here as a guest time keeper. With everyone else here, we get an amazing entrance, with Sting sitting in a theater and watching a highlight reel of his career. Sting says it’s showtime for the last time. We get some old era Sting’s on the stage (apparently played by Sting’s kids) and Seek & Destroy is back for one last time.

Allin starts fast against the Bucks with all three Sting’s getting in a Stinger Splash. A double Scorpion Deathlock has the Bucks in trouble but they slip out and head to the floor. Some tables are set up at ringside and Nick is slammed off the barricade. There’s a backdrop to put Matt down as well, leaving Allin to Coffin Drop off the top onto both of them. Sting whips out a pane of glass (JR: “You think we might be taking things a bit too far?”) but Sting misses a baseball bat shot and shatters it.

They go up to the stage with Matt having to break up a Scorpion Death Drop. Instead Matt suplexes him through a pair of tables and Sting appears to be mostly done. The Bucks take Nick back to the ring and toss him into a ladder in the corner. Allin fights back and loads up some chairs with glass on top on the floor before climbing up the ladder and flip diving through the glass and chairs onto the floor. Sting is back in as the medics check on Allin’s very bloody back.

The comeback is on and Matt is put on the table, with Sting going up the ladder (oh geez), only to be sent through a table. Sting pops up but gets knocked down through the glass again for two. The Bucks go to grab more weapons but Steamboat makes an attempted save. That’s broken up so Flair gets in the ring to protect Sting. A superkick drops Flair and Steamboat is taken out as well, setting up a belt shot to Sting for two.

The Bucks superkick Sting again (“WE HATE YOU!”) but he pops up and hits the Death Drop for two on Matt. The EVP Trigger gets two more and another….gets one. Sting laughs at them and Allin is back up to break up the Meltzer Driver. The Scorpion Death Drop gets two on Matt and the still bleeding from the back Allin hits the Coffin Drop. Sting puts on the Deathlock to retain at 20:56.

Rating: B. I have no idea how to rate something like this as it’s barely a wrestling match and is all one big ridiculous sendoff for Sting. I could have gone for not having the glass nonsense or Allin attempting his latest dumb idea, but I’ve been a Sting fan for more than thirty years and my goodness did he get a respectful sendoff. That’s all this was supposed to be and they didn’t do anything ridiculous with the result so we’ll call it a positive.

Post match Allin says we have three minutes left so let’s show some love for Sting. After soaking in some cheers, Sting thanks the fans for being there with him since the 80s and that he hoped he gave them a night to remember. Sting thanks Allin as the greatest partner he ever had and wonders how many stitches Allin needs. Sting talks about being a risk taker but hang on because he’s getting cues….and we’re done because the show went long. As usual, AEW can never time anything right, but at least we got the gist of it.

Overall Rating: A-. This is a show where the good was excellent and the worst was still fine. There is a one-two punch of the Ospreay vs. Takeshita match and FTR vs. the Club, plus the big emotional moment for Sting (that video is top notch). I’m not sure if it’s the best thing AEW has ever done but it was back to form after some weaker entries at the end of last year. Great stuff here, and check out most of it (with the fast forward ready for that scramble).

Results
Bang Bang Scissor Gang b. Willie Mack/Private Party/Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh – Blade Runner to Mack
Kris Statlander/Willow Nightingale b. Skye Blue/Julia Hart – Babe With The Powerbomb to Blue
Christian Cage b. Daniel Garcia – Killswitch
Eddie Kingston b. Bryan Danielson – Powerbomb
Wardlow won the All Star Scramble – Powerbomb to Martin
Roderick Strong b. Orange Cassidy – End Of Heartache
Blackpool Combat Club b. FTR – Rear naked choke to Harwood
Toni Storm b. Deonna Purrazzo – Piledriver
Will Ospreay b. Konosuke Takeshita – Hidden Blade
Samoa Joe b. Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland – Koquina Clutch to Page
Sting/Darby Allin b. Young Bucks – Scorpion Deathlock to Matt

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Collision
Date: March 2, 2024
Location: Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the last show before Revolution and while the card is mostly set, there is always the chance that something more could be added at the last minute. The likely main event will see an eight man tag which will feature some of the matches at Revolution combined into one. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Buddy Matthews comes out for a match but Mark Briscoe jumps him from behind and the beating is on. Briscoe uses a chair for a step up flip dive through a table at ringside before grabbing a spike. The House Of Black comes in for the save and Buddy has to knee Briscoe in the head to knock the spike away. Briscoe fights back on the stage and sends Matthews down to the floor. Things get more serious as Briscoe grabs the controls for the pyro and tries to use it to burn Matthews before security cuts him off. Briscoe being violent fits him well.

After getting jumped on Dynamite, Swerve Strickland isn’t happy with what Hangman Page did. Swerve will never take his eyes off of him again and at Revolution, Swerve is taking the World Title.

All Star Scramble Qualifying Match: Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Bryan Keith vs. Dante Martin

They shove each other to start before an exchange of shots to the face put everyone down for a second. Back up and Martin knees Keith to the floor, leaving Penta to Sling Blade Martin a few times. Penta Backstabbers Martin outside but gets suplexed by Keith for two. Martin comes back in with a dive onto both of them, followed by another dive to the floor as we take a break.

Back with another three way exchange of strikes but Penta blocks Keith’s Diamond Dust. Everyone is knocked down again until Keith knocks Penta outside. Keith’s tiger driver gets two on Martin before Keith heads to the apron to chop it out with Penta. That leads to a Fear Factor to drop Keith on the apron but Martin knocks Penta off. A frog splash gives Martin the pin on Keith at 10:01.

Rating: B-. I was surprised by the result as Penta is a more established name and Keith is getting a lot of TV time in recent weeks. That being said, Martin is someone who has felt like he could move up to the next level more than once but it has never clicked. While I can’t imagine him winning the scramble, getting into it is a step forward for him. Fun match too, with all three working well.

At Dynamite, a rather mad Hangman Page says he did what he had to do and he won’t let Swerve Strickland get the World Title.

Mariah May vs. Angelica Risk

May chops her to start and chokes on the ropes, followed by a rather spinning side slam. Nigel McGuinness is so overcome when May blows him a kiss that he falls down on the floor (Schiavone: “A grown man.”) and May kneeing Risk in the face makes it worse. May Day finishes for May at 2:54. Total squash.

Post match here is Toni Storm, leaving May rather overwhelmed. Never mind though as Storm calls out Deonna Purrazzo, ignoring May entirely. Storm says this isn’t why she and Purrazzo got here and says she loves Purrazzo. She also loves that there is only room for one and it will never be Purrazzo. That makes Purrazzo laugh, because she says she is the best friend and the worst enemy. Purrazzo promises to break both of Storm’s arms so Storm puts on lipstick and kisses her on the cheek. The fight is on but May breaks it up, earning herself a piledriver from Purrazzo. This played into two stories at once and did so well.

Austin Gunn/Acclaimed vs. Dark Order

The rest of the Bang Bang Scissor Gang is here too. This time the rap is broken up by Jay White putting his arm around Max Caster’s shoulders. Gunn punches Reynolds down to start before handing it off to Caster, who is driven into the corner. That doesn’t last long as Caster fights back and cleans house without much trouble.

Scissor Me Timbers hits Uno but Silver breaks up the scissoring. Uno hits a DDT and we take a break, coming back with Gunn knocking Uno down. The tag brings in Bowens to clean house, including the running Fameasser to Uno. Everything breaks down and the Order’s triple slam hits Bowens for a rather near fall. Back up and the Arrival into the Mic Drop finishes Reynolds at 8:17.

Rating: C+. Fun match here as the Order got in just enough offense to be interesting but not enough to overstay their welcome. The rap being messed up gives me hope that the team is already about to implode, meaning we could be in for a unification match at Double Or Nothing or so. I’m not sure what else the endgame for the whole thing should be, and it would be nice to see it finally happen.

Stokely Hathaway apologizes to Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander, but Nightingale cuts him off and promises to beat up Skye Blue and Julia Hart at Revolution.

Tony Schiavone brings out Wardlow for a chat, though Wardlow tells him to get out. Wardlow says he’s ready to win the scramble match and become the new #1 contender. But which champion is he going to face? Maybe he can slap Hangman Page back into depression. Maybe he can kick in the front door of Swerve’s house. Or maybe it’s Wardlow vs. Samoa Joe, because Wardlow is sick of the JOE chants. Joe is in Wardlow’s spot and this is no longer wrestling, because this is WAR.

Cue Chris Jericho to interrupt to say Wardlow isn’t fighting for the World Title tomorrow. He’s fighting Jericho, one of the best to do this. Jericho has won eight World Titles but Wardlow hasn’t won anything and it’s been years since he has had the chance to win the title again. Jericho knows he’s good enough, but does Wardlow know it? Maybe the reason Wardlow never got here is because he’s just not good enough, Mike (Wardlow’s first name).

Wardlow says he was this close to the top of the mountain, but then he had to take one step down after another and yeah he was mad. Work took away his happiness and he sat at home for three months, but then he came back and remembered who he was. He is the baddest man ever in wrestling and he is done eating scraps, so come do something about it. Jericho goes towards the ring but here is Powerhouse Hobbs to jump him from behind. Dang that was a heck of an exchange and now I want to see Wardlow vs. Jericho on their own rather than in a scramble.

Serena Deeb wants competition and issues an open challenge. She is the final boss. Meiko Satomura does not approve.

Private Party vs. Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels

Sydal hurricanranas Kassidy to start and everything breaks down in a hurry, giving us a four way standoff. We settle down to Quen and Daniels having a bit of a dance off, including the Curry Man dance. Sydal comes in to take Quen down for two before it’s back to Daniels for a clothesline to the back of the head as we take a break.

Back with Daniels grabbing a quick Downward Spiral, meaning a double tag brings in Sydal and Quen. Sydal gets to clean house but gets caught in a Swanton/neckbreaker combination for two. Daniels comes back in for the save but Angel’s Wings is broken up. Sydal’s top rope Meteora hits Zay and Daniels hits Angel’s Wings on Quen. Cue Jeff Jarrett and company (teaming with Private Party at Revolution) for a distraction though, allowing Jay Lethal to drop Daniels with the Lethal Combination and give Quen the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C. The match itself was fine and the interference at least set something up for the pay per view match. Private Party is at least getting to do something now that they are back together, while Sydal and Daniels are more or less the jobbers to the stars in Ring Of Honor, which might be spreading here too. That’s not a bad use of them, but I’m not sure how long it will last.

Video on Eddie Kingston vs. Bryan Danielson.

Thunder Rosa vs. Cassandra Golden

Commentary talks about various wrestlers named Golden over the years as Rosa kicks her in the chest to start. Golden gets out of a fireman’s carry but gets sent into the corner for a running dropkick. A top rope double stomp to the back sets up a seated cobra clutch to make Golden tap at 2:18. That was efficient.

Video on Sting/Darby Allin vs. the Young Bucks.

Revolution rundown.

Hook/Daniel Garcia/Trent Beretta/Orange Cassidy vs. Christian Cage/Killswitch/Brian Cage/Roderick Strong

Brian shoves Trent into the corner to start and shrugs off a headlock attempt. Garcia comes in to face Strong with Garcia rolling around a lot. Strong’s wristlock doesn’t get him very far so Garcia and Hook clear the ring. We take a break and come back with Garcia being whipped hard into the corner but managing to send Brian into the buckle. That just earns Garcia a heck of a superplex and now Christian is more than willing to come in. The villains take turns beating on Garcia but he manages a shot of his own. The tag brings in Trent to clean house, only to have Killswitch chokeslam him onto the apron.

We take another break and come back again with Christian’s reverse layout DDT planting Trent. The top rope headbutt misses but Strong cuts off the tag attempt. Trent kicks him away though and it’s Cassidy coming in to clean house. The Stundog Millionaire drops Brian and the spinning DDT gives Cassidy two.

Everything breaks down and we hit the parade of strikes and throws. Brian F5’s Cassidy for two with Garcia and Hook making the saves. Cassidy dives onto Strong, who hits End of Heartache on the floor. The Stronghold keeps Cassidy in trouble outside as Trent rolls Killswitch up for two. Nick Wayne gets in a cheap shot though and Killswitch hits a clothesline to the back of Trent’s head for the pin at 19:14.

Rating: B-. This was the big fight to advance a bunch of matches at once and that is one of the best ways to go on a show like this one. The action was fine but it never hit that level that something like this tends to go. Trent taking the pin is the right way to go as he has nothing going on, so well done on doing the logical move.

Post match the big brawl is on to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Nice, efficient show here with little that didn’t advance a story (or two in some cases). This covered enough things on the way to Revolution, which is feeling like a pretty big show all things considered. They didn’t rock the boat here and that is what you want to do with the last show before the big event. Good enough here and that worked well.

Results
Dante Martin b. Bryan Keith and Penta El Zero Miedo – Frog splash to Keith
Mariah May b. Angelica Risk – May Day
Austin Gunn/Acclaimed b. Dark Order – Mic Drop to Reynolds
Private Party b. Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels – Quen pinned Daniels after a Lethal Combination from Jay Lethal
Thunder Rosa b. Cassandra Golden – Seated cobra clutch
Brian Cage/Christian Cage/Killswitch/Roderick Strong b. Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta/Hook/Daniel Garcia – Clothesline to the back of Trent’s head

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

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Dynamite
Date: February 21, 2024
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We have about a week and a half to go before Revolution and there are still some spots left to add to the match. Odds are we will see some of those matches added tonight, along with some of the other matches getting some extra attention. That should make for a nice show so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. FTR

Moxley knees away at Wheeler to start so it’s off to Castagnoli for an exchange of uppercuts. A slam puts Wheeler down but it’s off to Harwood to suplex Moxley. Wheeler comes back in for an uppercut off before a Harwood distraction lets Wheeler come off the top with a double clothesline. FTR clears the ring before taking over on Moxley, with Harwood grabbing an abdominal stretch.

The cheating is detected though and Castagnoli comes in with a big boot to Harwood. Not that it matters as it’s right back to Wheeler for a basement dropkick. Moxley clotheslines his way out of the corner and falls into the tag to Castagnoli to clean house. Harwood gets spike piledriven on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Harwood fighting out of a chinlock and handing it back to Wheeler to clean house. A brainbuster gets two on Moxley but the Shatter Machine is broken up. The powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination gets two on Moxley as we have four minutes left in the time limit. The Swing puts Wheeler down and it’s Moxley grabbing the bulldog choke on Harwood. Wheeler drives Castagnoli onto the hold to break it up and they’re all down with two minutes left.

Harwood gets the Sharpshooter on Moxley, with Castagnoli’s boots to the head not breaking it. Castagnoli grabs the same thing on Wheeler and slaps it out with Harwood until Harwood piledrives Castagnoli, with Moxley grabbing a crucifix for two. The Shatter Machine is loaded up but time expires at 20:00.

Rating: B. Good, hard hitting match here, with the draw being better than the Club winning again. This is a weird feud as they are just started fighting one week and then had a big serious brawl, though odds are we’ll be seeing them fight again. I’m not sure where it’s going, but at least they had a good match to start it off.

Post match the brawl is on until a bunch of people have to break it up.

Orange Cassidy is rather tired from wrestling both here and in England but he’s medically cleared to compete.

FTR wants the Blackpool Combat Club again at Revolution. The Club comes in to shout a lot and in theory the match is set.

Orange Cassidy vs. Mike Bennett

Non-title and Matt Taven is here with Bennett. Cassidy jumps Taven to start and hammers away at Bennett, including the Stundog Millionaire. Cue Roderick Strong for a distraction though and Bennett gets in a low blow and piledriver for two as we take a break. Back with Bennett grabbing a headset to yell about Cassidy, who takes him down with a suicide dive.

Bennett spinebusters him against the apron but Cassidy gets in a shot of his own for a breather. A fight over a Beach Break/piledriver ends with Bennett hitting a Gotch Style piledriver (fourth piledriver and we’re 45 minutes into the show) for two. Bennett loads up another piledriver but gets Beach Broken (Beach Breaked?) for the pin at 9:38.

Rating: C. Not exactly a great match here as it was more about Bennett hitting a bunch of piledrivers (or at least trying to) as the Cassidy vs. Strong feud continues to limp along. The title match can’t get here soon enough, as hopefully Strong wins to let something fresh take place in the title picture. This second reign has felt like Cassidy has come way back down to earth and it’s time for something different with the title.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jake Hager of all people makes the save.

Angelo Parker and Ruby Soho go on a date, with a car coming up….that isn’t for them. In said car: Ric Flair.

Post break Flair gives a rather serious interview about how he should have been more involved over the last few weeks. Now he’s going to explore some options. Flair goes into the Young Bucks’ locker room for a chat.

Here is Daniel Garcia for a chat and we get right to the point: since Adam Copeland is out of action, Garcia is getting the TNT Title shot at Revolution. Garcia talks about how he felt he should be something great in wrestling and he finally won a match at the end of the Continental Classic. He was ready to make Copeland tap last week and now he’s going to make Cage do the same.

Cue the Patriarchy, with Cage saying he doesn’t think much of the idea of a match with Garcia at Revolution. Instead, Cage would rather talk about Garcia’s family, including his mother and….his dead father. Cage is willing to be his daddy, but that’s enough for Garcia to want to fight. The brawl is teased but Matt Menard runs in for the save. Garcia’s stuff was good enough but as usual, this was the Cage show as he is absolutely feeling it with everything he does. He almost has to get at least a mention in the World Title picture after he loses the TNT Title.

Hangman Page gives Rob Van Dam and Hook, his partners tonight, a pep talk about hurting Shane Strickland.

Toni Storm vs. Syndi Winnell

Winnell, the hometown girl, takes too long to soak in the crowd and gets decked by Storm. A Thesz press and right hands have Winnell in trouble and there’s a running bulldog to make it worse. The running hip attack sets up Storm Zero and Break A Leg….but Storm lets go. Instead it’s Deonna Purrazzo’s Venus de Milo for the tap at 1:48.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Madison Rayne

Purrazzo’s entrance interrupts Storm’s exit and we get a staredown. They go to the mat to start with Purrazzo taking her down into an early chinlock. Purrazzo sends her outside and hits a sliding dropkick as we take a break. Back with Rayne getting two off a sunset flip, setting up a kick to the…arm. A double clothesline leaves both of them down but Purrazzo is up with some clotheslines. A running knee cuts Rayne off and they slowly exchange weak forearms. Purrazzo grabs a Downward Spiral, which Rayne tries to take like a suplex, landing HARD on her head (Taz: “Check her!”). An ankle lock makes Rayne tap at 7:16.

Rating: D-. This very well may be in the running for worst match in AEW history. It was awkward, it felt like they were in different books (let alone pages) and that botch looked horrible. I’m not sure if this was just a horribly off night for both of them or if there was some kind of miscommunication or what, but they’re both capable of doing much better than this. Absolutely awful match and I have no idea how it could have gone this bad.

Post match Toni Storm runs in and grabs Break A Leg on Purrazzo. Then Storm lets go and applies an obsessive amount of lipstick.

Darby Allin talks about how different you are when your end is year. He and Sting (off camera) have been looking at some old photos, including Sting with his young sons. Sting steps into camera and talks about how his father passed away and it made him realize he’s not immortal. Everything he has left, he is bringing to Revolution so the Bucks are going to have a fight on their hands. This was VERY serious Sting and it came off as someone who has nothing left and is willing to do anything on his way out.

Here is a ticked off Wardlow for a chat. Two years ago he had thousands of people chanting his name but the rocket attached to his back was put on upside down. He should have been the champion a long time ago, but he never got a World Title shot. We hear about some of the men to hold that title, because he beat the Best In The World and that man’s body is still falling apart.

Then you had the one who was better than us, who Wardlow squashed like an insect. As for Samoa Joe, Wardlow does the custom suits with a title look better. He is better than you and the best in the world, so this is now war. Ok, cool. Now do something with him. None of that matters if he’s back doing the same stuff he’s done for years.

The Ban Bang Scissor Gang will team up again on Collision, but this time they’re mixing up the lineup a bit.

Will Ospreay will be in action at All In.

Wardlow will be in Meat Madness at Revolution. No word on what that is but it better involve some Bulgarian trumpets.

Don Callis is ready to get Will Ospreay to AEW. Also, Powerhouse Hobbs is in Meat Madness and Callis hasn’t forgotten about Sammy Guevara.

Brian Cage/Swerve Strickland/Samoa Joe vs. Hangman Page/Hook/Rob Van Dam

Hook actually knocks Joe down to start but Joe unloads in the corner to take over. Van Dam comes in to hammer on Cage, setting up the legsweep rollup for two. Page and Strickland come in for the brawl and have to be pulled apart as we take a break. Back with Hook in trouble but he reverses an F5 into a spinning DDT. That’s enough for a tag to Van Dam so house can be cleaned, including a variety of kicks. The Five Star gets two on Cage but Joe breaks it up and drops Van Dam.

We take another break and come back with Page cleaning house as everything breaks down. Page loads up the Buckshot Lariat to Cage but stops to glare at Strickland. Cage catches Page on top but Hook turns it into a German superplex to Cage, bringing Page down in the process. Hook gets Redrum on Strickland but it’s broken up and Swerve hits the House Call.

Page Buckshots Cage and we get the Page vs. Swerve vs. Joe showdown. The three of them fight to the floor where Page powerbombs Swerve through the announcers’ table. Back in and Page slips out of the MuscleBuster to hand it back to Van Dam. Hook suplexes Joe but Cage breaks up the Five Star. Joe chokes out Van Dam for the win at 21:35.

Rating: B. Solid six man here with Joe getting the win over the only person who was going to take the fall on his team to remind you that Joe is still awesome. Hook was doing well here and Swerve/Page did their thing, but Van Dam continues to be pretty much perfectly cast in his role. He’s the veteran who still feels special and can still go in the ring but isn’t likely to win a major match. That’s a good spot for someone to fill and Van Dam has done it rather well.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a rather odd show as the opener and main event were good, Purrazzo vs. Rayne was terrible, and the rest of the action was in the middle. The talking was good enough but mainly set things up for later, which is the right thing with a pay per view so close. At the same time though, stuff with Flair, Cassidy vs. Strong (your mileage may vary), the Don Callis Family and the Undisputed Kingdom isn’t quite inspiring material. In other words, the good was good but the bad was really dull, and that makes for quite the strange show.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club vs. FTR went to a time limit draw
Orange Cassidy b. Mike Bennett – Beach Break
Toni Storm b. Syndi Winnell – Venus de Milo
Deonna Purrazzo b. Madison Rayne – Ankle lock
Samoa Joe/Brian Cage/Swerve Strickland b. Rob Van Dam/Hook/Hangman Page – Koquina Clutch to Van Dam

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

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Dynamite
Date: February 14, 2024
Location: H-E-B Center, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We have two and a half weeks to go before Revolution and after last week’s ending, what very well could be the main event got a lot more serious. Last week the Young Bucks brutally attacked the new Tag Team Champions, Sting and Darby Allin, before their title match at Revolution. Odds are we’ll hear something about that tonight so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Jon Moxley vs. Dax Harwood

There are no seconds here and Moxley takes him into the corner to start…for a kiss? Happy Valentine’s Day I guess. Moxley puts his hands behind his back so Harwood kisses him as well, followed by some right hands. Harwood slugs away but Moxley bites his face and kicks him down in the corner. A choke is broken up but Harwood can’t get the Sharpshooter.

They fight to the floor where Harwood is sent over the barricade, followed by the slingshot into the post to rock him hard. Back in and Moxley hammers away but a powerbomb out of the corner plants him down for two. They crash out to the floor again and we take a break. Back with the two of them striking it out until they both go down. Moxley goes up but Harwood catches him with a top rope superplex and they’re both down again.

Harwood grabs the Sharpshooter as we get the five minute call. Moxley breaks it up and goes for the cross armbreaker, which is broken up as well. Harwood’s piledriver gets two and they head outside again, with the fans dubbing this awesome. Back in and Moxley hits a Stomp into a piledriver of his own for a rather near fall. The Paradigm Shift is countered into a brainbuster to give Harwood two as we have two minutes left. Harwood goes up but dives into the rear naked choke for the tap at 18:39.

Rating: B+. This wasn’t exactly meant to be a big showdown but rather a way for Moxley to get a good win under his belt. Harwood continues to lose every singles match he has despite putting up a heck of a fight every time. It would be nice to see him win a match on his own once in awhile, though that certainly wasn’t going to be the case here. I did like the close call with the time limit, as they got close enough that Harwood could have pulled it off, only to fall short in the end.

Post match Moxley won’t let go so Cash Wheeler runs in for the save, only to have Claudio Castagnoli jump Wheeler.

Don Callis says his Family has all the talent so we’ll do Konosuke Takeshita vs. Will Ospreay at Revolution.

Wardlow vs. Barrett Brown

Knee to the face and powerbomb finish Brown at 1:24.

Earlier today, the Young Bucks, still in their bloody gear, landed at the airport.

Adam Copeland vs. Daniel Garcia

For a TNT Title shot and Matt Menard is on commentary. Copeland knocks him into the corner to start but it’s way too early for the Grindhouse. Garcia tries a drop down but gets splashed on the back for two, allowing Copeland to choke away in the ropes. Garcia fights out and stomps on the knees, only to dive into a shoulder breaker.

We take a break and come back with Garcia catching him on top but having the arm snapped down over the rope. Garcia is back up with a dragon screw legwhip and stomps away in the corner, allowing him to snap the leg back again. An STF has Copeland in more trouble but he’s right back out again. Garcia goes up so Copeland pulls him down with a single underhook superplex….and Nick Wayne runs in for the no contest at 12:18.

Rating: B-. This was a good back and forth match with the exchange of limb work (AEW really likes that style) until the screwy ending. Garcia was hanging with Copeland, though it would have been hard to imagine him doing anything but stealing a win. What matters here is the ending, which I would hope doesn’t lead to a three way at the pay per view.

Post match the Patriarchy beats them both down, with Killswitch taking out Menard for daring to try and help. Copeland gets a chair and saves Garcia from a Conchairto…until Shayna Wayne hits Copeland low. The Conchairto crushes Copeland’s head and Garcia finally gets up as the villains leave.

We look back at Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland going to a time limit draw last week, setting up a triple threat World Title match at Revolution.

Here is World Champion Samoa Joe for a chat. Joe talks about bringing back the ranking system to make sure he faces the best, but then Page and Swerve went to a draw. Therefore, AEW took a page out of the Texas playbook by making the title match bigger and dumber. Joe promises to hurt one if not both of them, but here is Strickland, with Prince Nana, to interrupt.

Swerve says this wasn’t supposed to be personal but it is getting that way. Joe has said hunger defines the greats, and no one is hotter than Swerve. He has been hoping for a break for years now and today is that day. When the people walk away, all they can say is “whose house” and they’ll do it again when he leaves Revolution with the title.

Cue Page to say Swerve couldn’t beat him last week so it should be Page vs. Joe at Revolution. Page says Swerve doesn’t deserve a second of his time because Swerve couldn’t get it done. Joe isn’t having this and says he’s winning at Revolution. As usual, Joe can talk with the best of them, but it still feels like Page vs. Swerve with Joe on the side.

We see Toni Storm’s new film, which looks at her history with Deonna Purrazzo. Storm let Purrazzo be her young girl but now Purrazzo has forgotten who she is so now she can have the old Toni Storm, if that’s what she wants.

Purrazzo says Storm talks too much and promises to break her arm. B****.

Young Bucks vs. Top Flight

Nick and Dante start things off with the latter working on the arm. Matt comes in and gets ping ponged between the Martins before everything breaks down early on. Top Flight’s dives don’t get to launch but the second attempts connect on the floor. Back in and Matt takes over with a clothesline and we take a break.

We come back with Darius clotheslining his way to freedom and hitting an enziguri, allowing the tag to Dante. Everything breaks down and Top Flight’s stereo sunset flips get stereo near falls. Dante drops both of them and Darius uses his brother to hit a tornado DDT for two on Matt. Nick sends Dante into the barricade though and it’s a low blow to drop Darius. The EVP Trigger is enough to finish Darius at 11:07.

Rating: B-. This was a good way for the Bucks to look good on the way to the title match. They are long since established but giving them some wins before Revolution is a good idea. At the very least, the Bucks got a long way off their attack last week and we should be in for a heck of a showdown at Revolution.

Post match the Bucks talk to Tony Schiavone, by praising Top Flight and talking about how they are the official #1 contenders. At the same time, they do no like what Tony has been saying about them, so that’s a $1000 fine. Tony gets shoved down and the EVP Trigger is loaded up, only to have Darby Allin make the save with the baseball bat. Allin talks about not being able to get a job while all of the Bucks’ friends got hired, but thankfully there was a sane EVP here, and he isn’t talking about Kenny Omega.

After the required CODY chant, Allin talks about how the Bucks re-signed here because it was easier. Allin brings up the first Dynamite, which didn’t feature him but did feature BRANDON CUTLER? Now it’s about the Tag Team Titles at Revolution in Sting’s final match and the champs have nothing to lose. Apparently that makes the title match official. It wasn’t before? Allin was bringing the fire here and leaned a lot into the inside stuff, but what mattered here was the emotion he was bringing with everything he said.

The Bang Bang Scissor Gang is ready for a 12 man tag on rampage, though Billy Gunn isn’t happy with his sons taking his lines.

Willow Nightingale vs. Skye Blue

Stokely Hathaway is on commentary. Blue takes her into the corner to start but Nightingale cartwheels her way out of trouble. One heck of a Pounce sends Blue outside and we take a break. Back with Blue getting the better of a strike off but Nightingale crushes her in the corner. A spinebuster connects but Blue kicks her in the face for two. Nightingale sends her to the apron and knocks her down, only to get caught on top back inside. Blue’s powerbomb out of the corner sets up Code Blue, only to have Hathaway offer the distraction. The Babe With The Powerbomb finishes for Nightingale at 8:52.

Rating: C. This was the weekly women’s match that got around nine minutes and went through a commercial break. In this case we have a slight step forward for the Nightingale/Hathaway/Kris Statlander story, which still only feels so important. At the same time, Blue has fallen quite a ways and that was obvious here, as she lost in one of the lower level feuds in the women’s division.

Orange Cassidy vs. Matt Taven

Non-title Texas Deathmatch, which means Last Man Standing. Cassidy slugs away to start but Taven hits a dropkick. A powerbomb gives Taven two and they head to the floor. Cassidy beats him over the barricade and we take a break. Back with Taven dropping an elbow off the stage to put Cassidy….not quite through a table.

A suplex puts Cassidy through another table for a near ten so Taven hits a running knee on the ramp. Taven pulls another table out from underneath the ring but a bleeding Cassidy is back up. Taven’s Flight Of The Conqueror only goes through the table for an insane crash. Cassidy pulls out a box of chocolates from Chuck Taylor (again, Valentine’s Day)….and yeah it’s thumbtacks instead.

Cassidy tornado DDT’s the rather bloody Taven onto the tacks but here is Mike Bennett to break something over Cassidy’s head. Cue Trent Beretta with a pipe (out of his own gift box) but Taven sends him into a chair. Cassidy hits the Beach Break onto a chair, with Taven popping up and ripping off the pockets. The Orange Punch connects to finish Taven, despite Roderick Strong running in, at 13:27.

Rating: B. The match had some insane bumps (that dive by Taven was nuts), though I have no idea why they had this knockdown bloody war to set up a singles match between Strong and Cassidy. This was all about avenging Chuck Taylor and while it seems to be a bit of an over the top reaction, they need something more interesting than Strong vs. Cassidy in a straight match for the title.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a pretty textbook example of AEW as of late: the action was good to very good (that opener was a blast) but I’m not sure how much difference it made as far as building things up. I was actually surprised when the Tag Team Titles match was made official and the only other thing set for the pay per view was done in a quick backstage segment. That being said, with two and a half weeks before Revolution, most of the card should be set. Right now there are five matches set so they’re doing well enough, at least with the top of the card. Really solid action this week and that’s a good way to go.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Dax Harwood – Rear naked choke
Wardlow b. Barrett Brown – Powerbomb
Daniel Garcia vs. Adam Copeland went to a no contest when Nick Wayne interfered
Young Bucks b. top Flight – EVP Trigger to Darius
Willow Nightingale b. Skye Blue – Babe With The Powerbomb
Orange Cassidy b. Matt Taven when Taven couldn’t answer the ten count

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: February 9, 2024
Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

We’re still in Arizona and there is a heck of a crowd for the show this week. That alone should make the energy that much better and everything else should be fine. Rampage has quite the success rate, if nothing else for the sake of the show having so little pressure involved. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Orange Cassidy/Rocky Romero/Trent Beretta vs. Kingdom/Roderick Strong

The fight starts in the aisle and Cassidy even throws the sunglasses at Strong to show how serious he is. Then he puts his hands in his pockets to take care of that. Cue Adam Cole and Wardlow to watch as Trent takes out Bennett’s legs to start. Taven comes in and gets draped over the top, setting up a top rope knee to the back.

It’s off to Strong, who gets German suplexed for his efforts. Trent finally gets pulled into the corner so the beating can be on, including a suplex from Bennett. Taven’s top rope splash misses though and it’s Cassidy coming in with a high crossbody. The tornado DDT plants Taven but Bennett is back with a spinebuster to put Cassidy down. Everything breaks down until Taven kicks Cassidy down to block the Orange Punch.

We take a break and come back with a low blow cutting Cassidy down and the Hail Mary getting two. The powerbomb/Zig Zag combination hits Trent but he rolls outside before a cover. Instead the Kingdom goes after Romero, who is right back in for a big dive. Back in and Romero hits the Forever Clotheslines but Strong cuts him off with the End of Heartache for the pin at 9:13.

Rating: C+. This was the match to help set up Cassidy vs. Strong for the International Title at Revolution, which brings up the bigger problem: the match is almost a month away. The match was set up really far in advance and that doesn’t make for the best setup. I’m not sure how the match is going to go, but I’m also worried about how the story is going to go on the way there.

Post match Romero is sent through a bunch of chairs to make it even worse.

We look at Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland going to a time limit draw on Dynamite, meaning they both get a shot at Samoa Joe for the World Title at Revolution.

Young Bucks vs. Mondo Rox/Robbie Lit

The Bucks are still in their bloodstained white suits from Dynamite. Matt runs over Lit to start and stomps away in the corner. Nick comes in with a Blockbuster into a backbreaker and doesn’t even lose his hat on the way down (that’s talent). A Matt distraction lets Nick get in a low blow and the EVP Trigger finishes at 2:11.

Post match the Bucks say they want more respect and congratulate Sting and Darby Allin for winning the Tag Team Titles. Sting and Allin are apparently banged up though and the Bucks are thinking of them. That being said, they still want the titles back and they are going to play by the rules to get there.

Video on Tomohiro Ishii.

Mistico vs. Matt Sydal

Sydal offers respect while Menard goes on a rant about how AEW has to fight to feed their families when other companies are invading. Mistico snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor and naturally follows with a dive. Another dive is cut off though and Sydal grabs a bow and arrow. A standing corkscrew backsplash gets two on Mistico and we take a break.

Back with Sydal hitting a jumping knee to the face and an Air Raid Crash gets two. They strike it out with Mistico getting the better of things but Sydal gets his boots up to block a moonsault. Mistico snaps off a powerslam though and they’re both down. They go up top and Mistico grabs a super Spanish Fly for the pin at 8:48.

Rating: C+. They had to give the CMLL guys a few more wins after they’ve lost their big matches to the Blackpool Combat Club. It’s not exactly a huge win but Mistico got to showcase himself a little bit and that’s a good thing to see. I’m still not sure how long this feud can go on, but you can almost guarantee that some AEW stars will wind up in Arena Mexico at some point out of all this.

Brian Cage issues a challenge for a handicap match on Collision to show he’s better than Hook.

Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander vs. Saraya/Ruby Soho

Stokely Hathaway is on commentary and Harley Cameron is at ringside. Soho looks at a note in her pocket on the way to the ring but doesn’t want the others to see it. Statlander headlocks Saraya over to start and nails her with a basement dropkick. Soho comes in and gets armdragged down as Excalibur rapid fires off things coming on Collision.

Nightingale’s fisherman’s suplex gets two on Soho and Statlander runs her over with a shoulder. Some running backsplashes in the corner connect but Saraya pulls Nightingale off the ropes as we take a break. Back with Nightingale hitting a big boot and the double tag bringing in Statlander and Soho.

Statlander’s powerslam gets two as everything breaks down. Saraya knees Statlander down for two but accidentally hits Soho. Statlander is back up to drop Saraya for two and a Blue Thunder Bomb gets the same. Saraya tries to get over to Soho….who drops to the floor and walks out (including decking Cameron on the way). The Babe With The Powerbomb gives Nightingale the pin on Saraya at 10:38 as Soho watches.

Rating: C. This was a match for the sake of an angle and there’s nothing wrong with that. Soho has been having issues with the team for weeks now and the whole note in her pocket should make things more interesting. It’s not like the Outcasts have been doing much in recent weeks anyway so having Soho walk away is the best choice.

Post match Skye Blue comes out to stare down Nightingale and Statlander. Then the lights go out and Julia Hart is next to Blue. The lights go out again and they vanish to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Yeah this was ok. That’s just slightly below average for Rampage as it’s a show that takes an hour, has about one or two things that feel like they might matter and then we move on to the important shows. While it might not be the most important show, it’s the kind of show that you can watch without needing some deep backstory and have a good time. It worked well and goes by quickly, which is a nice change after how intense Dynamite and Collision tend to be.

Results
Kingdom/Roderick Strong b. Orange Cassidy/Rocky Romero/Trent Beretta – End of Heartache to Romero
Young Bucks b. Mondo Rox/Robbie Lit – EVP Trigger to Lit
Mistico b. Matt Sydal – Super Spanish Fly
Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander b. Saraya/Ruby Soho – Babe With The Powerbomb to Saraya

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

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Dynamite
Date: January 31, 2024
Location: UNO Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

We’re about five and a half weeks away from Revolution and that means it is time to start putting together the rest of the card. That very well may begin tonight, at least partially due to the reintroduction of the championship rankings. Those could go in a few different directions so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Some CMLL stars are in the crowd.

Jon Moxley vs. Jeff Hardy

Matt Hardy is here with Jeff and this is a first time ever match. Moxley starts fast and they go out to the floor to start, with Moxley trying to rip out Jeff’s earring. Jeff chokes away a bit but Moxley gets back inside for a suicide dive. Back in and a hard clothesline drops Jeff again and Moxley ties up the legs with a headscissors at the same time (that’s a new one).

That’s broken up and Jeff is sent into the corner before they go back to the floor. Moxley almost gets into it with the CMLL guys so Hardy goes after him, only to get dropped again. We take a break and come back with Moxley tearing at the earlobe again but Jeff knocks him off the top.

The legdrop between the legs and basement dropkick give Jeff two but Moxley is back with the elbows to the neck. They head to the apron where Hardy hits the Twist of Fate but it’s too early for the Swanton. Instead Moxley superplexes him down and grabs the cutter. Jeff’s cradle gets two, only to have him miss the Swanton. Moxley chokes him out for the win at 15:04.

Rating: B-. This went longer than it needed to but this was the best way to use Hardy. He was clearly moving more slowly than he used to but he still has more than enough star power to feel somewhat important. Let him put on a nice enough match and make Moxley look good and that’s all you really need to do.

Post match Hardy won’t show respect before leaving. With the Hardys gone, the CMLL guys run in to beat down Moxley. An assortment of midcarders make the save.

Hangman Page vs. Toa Liona

Toa is Swerve Strickland’s handpicked opponent for Page. Some right hands don’t get Page far to start so Toa knocks him down. A sunset flip is blocked but Page hits a sliding basement lariat. Back up and Toa runs him over, only to get small packaged for two more. Toa gets low bridged out to the floor but some springboard lariats only seem to make him mat.

Page is tossed over the top to the floor for a crash and Toa crushes him with a crossbody off the apron. Toa knocks Page over the top again and we take a break. Back with Page tied in the Tree of Woe for a running headbutt. Page slugs away and hits a discus forearm so Toa gets two off a superkick.

Some running clotheslines stagger Toa until another turns him inside out. The Deadeye….just makes Toa pop up and hit a discus lariat. With Page down on the floor, Toa misses his moonsault but Page hits one of his own. Back in and Toa tries a Samoan drop but gets reversed into a crucifix for the pin at 12:38.

Rating: B-. Another good match here, but it could have been trimmed down a bit. It also would have helped to have this be someone other than half of the monster team. It doesn’t make for the more interesting match, as there are other wrestlers who could be used in this spot. While Swerve has Toa in his stable, that doesn’t make him the best choice to face Page. The result was right, but it wasn’t quite on that next level.

The Young Bucks arrived earlier today in a Hummer limo and got mad at being called Nick and Matt.

Wardlow vs. Komander

The Undisputed Kingdom is here with Wardlow. Komander gets thrown down to start and a pop up powerslam makes it worse. The toss F5 sends Komander flying but he reverses a powerbomb with a hurricanrana into the steps. Back in and a dropkick into a phoenix splash crushes Wardlow for two. Thankfully Wardlow is back up with a spinning powerslam and a knee to the face out of the corner. Wardlow’s leg seems to give out on the powerbomb but it’s good for the pin at 5:33 anyway.

Rating: C. It says a lot when this might have been the best performance from the Undisputed Kingdom, but my goodness if Wardlow is seriously hurt, just pull the plug already. You would have five members with two injured, two more who can barely beat thrown together teams and one more who has more than a month to go before his big title match.

Post match the Kingdom goes after Komander but Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends come in for the staredown.

We get a sitdown interview between Sting/Darby Allin and Ricky Starks/Big Bill. Starks isn’t happy that Sting got his first AEW win over him but Allin doesn’t buy it. Allin talks about how Starks is using Sting as a stepping stone and that’s not ok. Starks says he’s not letting Sting get to his retirement but Bill says this is a bunch of nonsense. Sting isn’t overly impressed and violence is teased but Sting is ready for action next week. They didn’t say much here, but it hyped up a title match that hasn’t had much build.

Chris Jericho vs. Kyle Fletcher

Non-title and the rest of the Don Callis Family are here with Fletcher. An early Michinoku Driver gives Fletcher two but Jericho sends him to the apron for the triangle dropkick. Back in and Fletcher hammers away until Jericho makes another comeback. Don Callis trips him down though and we take a break.

We come back with Fletcher kicking him in the chest and hitting a brainbuster for two. Jericho fights up with an ax handle to the head and the Walls go on, with Fletcher going straight to the ropes. Fletcher knocks him down but walks into a Codebreaker, meaning it’s time to slug it out. A brainbuster onto the buckle gives Fletcher two, with Jericho’s cradle getting the same. The Judas Effect finishes Fletcher at 13:12.

Rating: C+. The Callis vs. Jericho feud marches on, now with a reigning champion getting beaten. I’m not sure why that needed to happen, but the same thing could be said about the feud as a whole. Jericho getting a win to set up another match is fine, but did it need to come over a reigning champion?

Post match Konosuke Takeshita comes out for a staredown with Jericho.

Deonna Purrazzo talks about she and Toni Storm have matching tattoos. It means something to Purrazzo, but what does it mean to Storm?

Here is the Bang Bang Scissor Gang for a chat. They brag about being amazing, but don’t like that Cardblade is here. It’s all about the Juiceboard now but Billy and his kids argue over who gets to do the catchphrase. And that’s that. I have no idea what this segment was supposed to do.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taya Valkyrie

Toni Storm is on commentary and Johnny TV is here with Valkyrie. They fight over a lockup to start with Purrazzo grabbing a wristlock. With that broken up, Taya grabs a leglock and they fight to the floor, with Purrazzo having to glare at TV. Valkyrie sends her into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Purrazzo hitting some strikes as Storm says neither of them are Wendi Richter. A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Valkyrie two and they head outside. Storm is ready to fight but Purrazzo sends Valkyrie into her for a knockdown. Back in and a double arm crank makes Valkyrie tap at 8:51.

Rating: C. Purrazzo got a nice win on her way to the title match with Storm, but it still feels a bit early to have her as a serious title contender. Storm’s weird obsession with Wendi Richter continues as a nice running joke and she is still a hilarious addition to commentary. Other than that, Valkyrie is a great choice to put Purrazzo over, as she has some stature and gave Purrazzo trouble before the loss.

Storm seems impressed by Purrazzo’s win.

Darby Allin is asked about his admiration for the Young Bucks. That has him confused, but here are the Bucks to interrupt. They like him, but why is Allin letting Sting leech money off of him? The Bucks think they could be a goth trio but Allin wants the Tag Team Titles. That leaves the Bucks to think of a new plan.

Swerve Strickland vs. ???

Samoa Joe is on commentary and the mystery opponent is…Rob Van Dam, as was teased. Hold on though as Hangman Page pops up on screen to say this is also a hardcore match, so Van Dam sends a chair into Strickland’s face. Van Dam kicks him around ringside and even hits the spinning leg to the back as we take a break. Back with Swerve in control and putting a chair in the corner.

As per the rules of wrestling, Van Dam sends him into the chair instead, followed by a dropkick with the chair going into Swerve for two. The monkey flip is blocked though and Swerve knocks him down again. Van Dam fights up so here is Brian Cage, only for Hook to make the save.

Rolling Thunder is countered into a rolling Downward Spiral to plant Van Dam again. Swerve sends him hard into the steps but Van Dam is able to pelt a chair at Swerve’s head, sending him crashing through a table. The Five Star only hits chair though and the House Call with a chair gets two. Swerve sends him into the corner and finishes with the Swerve Stomp at 12:44.

Rating: C+. As usual, Van Dam is a good choice for a one off opponent like this, as he can still go in the ring and the fans are going to react to him no matter what. At the same time, I’m trying to figure out why Page had the wrestling world at his fingertips for this and picked Van Dam. It’s not a bad pick, but are the two of them friends in a way that I’m missing? Anyway, good enough match, but kind of a weird choice.

Post match Page comes out to yell at Swerve about the upcoming rankings. They’re both undefeated this year and that means they should be at the top of the rankings. They’ll fight one more time, making the rankings rather worthless. The #1 contenders match is made official to end the show. As in before the rankings come out. So, based on what was said, winning a bunch of matches gets you in line for a #1 contenders match. So why do these rankings need to exist?

Overall Rating: B-. It’s far from a bad show and you can see a lot of Revolution coming together, but that doesn’t mean the show made me want to watch. Almost nothing going on in AEW at the moment feels like it’s must see and adding rankings/CMLL stars into that isn’t likely to help. AEW is in a weird place right now and it might take them awhile to get out of it. Revolution needs a hot feud and I don’t know if I see that in the cards.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Jeff Hardy – Rear naked choke
Hangman Page b. Toa Liona – Crucifix
Wardlow b. Komander – Powerbomb
Chris Jericho b. Kyle Fletcher – Judas Effect
Deonna Purrazzo b. Taya Valkyrie – Double arm crank
Swerve Strickland b. Rob Van Dam – House Call with a chair

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Dynamite
Date: January 24, 2024
Location: Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

The road to Revolution continues and the big story coming out of last week is what could be a three way feud between World Champion Samoa Joe, Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland. We should be able to find the next step in that story this week, plus a good bit more. Like Adam Copeland vs. Minoru Suzuki. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Samoa Joe to get things going. Joe talks about how people have to earn title shots but just like Hook last week, they’ll take a beating. Here is Hook to interrupt, saying Joe won last week, but they’ll see each other again. Joe bets Hook will, but calls for security to get him out of here. Cue security…with Hook beating them up before leaving. Well that was fast.

Hangman Page vs. Penta El Zero Miedo

Samoa Joe is on commentary. Penta does the usual pose to start so Page backs him into the corner. That earns Page some running Sling Blades but Page sends him into the corner for a running boot to the face. They trade chops in the corner until Penta has to slip out of the Deadeye. An exchange of clotheslines and superkicks leave them both down and we take a break.

Back with Penta kicking him to the floor for a big running flip dive. They get back inside where Page hammers away in the corner, followed by Penta’s running Death Valley Driver. Page avoids having the arm snapped and comes back with a sitout powerbomb for two. Neither can hit anything big on the apron so the Buckshot Lariat is countered into Made In Japan for two. Page is sent to the apron again but he counters a Canadian Destroyer into the Deadeye. Now the Buckshot finishes Penta at 13:45.

Rating: B. It was the kind of back and forth match that you would expect in this spot as Page gets a win over someone with some credibility. They were trading big spots here and while at times it felt like they were checking moves off a list they had planned to cover, it was still more than exciting enough stuff. At the very least, this should put Page on the road to the title match, where he seems destined to go.

Orange Cassidy is down to defend the International Title against Roderick Strong at Revolution. For now though, he’s setting up a match for Rampage where the winner gets a title shot on Collision.

The Young Bucks like the show’s format and want to be called Nicholas and Matthew. Backstage morale is way up and they want a great show! Top Flight come in and get chastised for being late but respect is shown. Do you get the joke yet? I’m not sure they’re hammering it in hard enough.

Trent Beretta vs. Wardlow

The Best Friends and the Undisputed Kingdom are here too. Wardlow knocks him into the corner to start and fires off some shoulders to the ribs. Trent manages to knock him outside and hits a dive, only to be driven into the barricade. We take a break and come back with Trent slugging away. A clothesline sends Wardlow outside, where a distracted referee misses Trent getting in a chair shot. Back in and a tornado DDT sets up a piledriver for two on Wardlow so Trent goes up top. Wardlow pulls him down into a knee and the powerbomb finishes Trent off at 7:59.

Rating: C+. Between this match and the Kingdom’s first match after being revealed, I’m really not sure what the thinking is with this team. They’re struggling to beat midcarders and haven’t shown the slightest bit of dominance. If Wardlow is supposed to be the guy to go after the World Title, he’s going to need a lot more than this, as needing eight minutes to beat Trent is hardly impressive.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Best Friends make the save.

Adam Copeland is ready for Minoru Suzuki.

Here are Deonna Purrazzo and Toni Storm for a face to face interview on the stage. Storm says she’s going to speak first because she has a massage scheduled. Purrazzo was recently body shamed which is ridiculous when there is SO MUCH MORE to shame about her. Storm threatens to twist Purrazzo’s lips around but Purrazzo says she’s here to be champion.

She’ll win the title arm by arm because this delusional Storm isn’t the one she wants. She wants the Storm who worked on the dojo floors and lived in Purrazzo’s house. They even show off matching ankle tattoos, which is why Storm doesn’t have Purrazzo fooled. Shoe throwing ensues and Purrazzo pulls her into the Venus de Milo, with Mariah May making the save. That added a little personal touch to the story, though Purrazzo still doesn’t sound overly confident with her promos.

Jon Moxley says the Blackpool Combat Club has won a lot of titles but haven’t had any victory parties. He’s ready to hurt anyone who gets in the ring with him.

Taya Valkyrie and Johnny TV aren’t happy with people jumping to the front of the line. That’s why Taya wants to face Deonna Purrazzo next week.

Swerve Strickland vs. Jeff Hardy

Matt Hardy is here with Jeff. They start slowly, with Swerve knocking him into the corner so Jeff has to hold his neck. Jeff shoves him away to get a glare from Swerve, who takes him down and goes for the arm. Matt offers a distraction though and Jeff gets out, only to be sent to the apron. A superkick drops Jeff again and Swerve drops him hard on the floor. Back up and Jeff manages a Poetry In Motion of the steps to take Swerve over the barricade as we take a break.

We come back with Jeff knocking him off the top and hitting the Whisper In The Wind. Jeff kicks him in the face and hits a splash for two. Swerve gets in a knock off the top and they go outside, with Jeff hitting a Twist of Fate onto the steps. Back in and the Swanton hits raised knees, allowing Swerve to backslide him for two. The rolling Downward Spiral sets up a suplex into the Swerve Stomp to finish Jeff at 13:57.

Rating: C+. Well the right guy won, though he took his sweet time getting there. I get that they’re doing the Swerve/Hangman are matching each other, and that makes all the sense in the world assuming you ignore their two pay per view matches within the last ten weeks or so. Jeff wasn’t exactly his old self here, but he did seem like he was trying.

Post break Hangman Page is interrupted by Swerve Strickland, where they’re told they get to pick the other’s opponents for next week.

Red Velvet vs. Thunder Rosa

Velvet grabs the arm to start but Rosa drop toeholds her into the corner. They go outside with Velvet chopping away and we take a break. Back with Rosa hitting a running dropkick against the ropes but Velvet rolls her up or a double stomp. Rosa hits a dropkick and a Tijuana Bomb for the pin at 7:10.

Rating: C. Nothing much to see here, which tends to be the case with a good deal of the women’s matches. There is only so much you can do when about half of a match that doesn’t last eight minutes is in a break and that was the case here. Rosa is slowly getting back to her pre-injury status, but it is going to take a long time.

Here are Sting and Darby Allin for a chat. Allin talks about being asked what it means to be in the ring with Sting. He remembered hearing about Sting’s career being over and going down to Sting’s house in Texas. They got in a ring he had down there and within five minutes, Allin said “you still got it”. Now Sting is about to hang it up, but maybe they should go out as Tag Team Champions. Sting is in.

Big Bill and Ricky Starks accept Sting and Allin’s challenge.

Trios Titles: Mogul Embassy vs. Billy Gunn/Acclaimed

Gunn and the Acclaimed, with Bullet Club Gold, are defending. Cage drives Caster into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs to start. Caster grabs the arm and hands it off to Bowens to stay on said arm, only to have Cage pull him into the corner. Bowens fights up but Prince Nana offers a distraction, allowing Kaun to knock him off the apron.

We take a break and come back with Bowens hitting a Blockbuster but Toa cuts of the tag attempt. That doesn’t last long either, as Bowens gets over to Gunn for the house cleaning tag. Everything breaks down and Kaun faceplants Gunn for two. Kaun brings in a chair but Jay White takes it away, allowing Gunn to hit a cobra clutch slam. The Gunns powerbomb an interfering Nana through the timekeeper’s table, leaving Toa to take a not very good 3D. The Fameasser into the Arrival into the Mic Drop retains the titles at 8:52.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t boring, though there was a lot packed into this, with the interference and the chair and the match itself, all in less than nine minutes. Still though, the Club being involved gives me hope that we could be in for a title unification match. If nothing else, it would mean three less belts floating around and that sounds rather nice.

Serena Deeb returns on Collision.

Adam Copeland vs. Minoru Suzuki

They slug it out to start with Suzuki getting the better of things (shocking I know), including a hard forearm to put Copeland down. Copeland is back up and sends him to the apron for the big boot. The spear is countered into a guillotine though, with Copeland having to drive him through the barricade.

Back in and they slug it out again for another double knockdown. Back up and they slug it out again until Copeland grabs an Impaler. Copeland hits a quick spear for two but gets pulled into the rear naked choke. He reaches for the corner and the pad is pulled up, with Suzuki going face first into the buckle. A really not good Killswitch gives Copeland the pin at 8:52.

Rating: C+. I’m sure there was an audience for this and it definitely did feel like a major event, but I couldn’t get into the idea of Copeland and Suzuki trading forearms and then exchanging some finishers for Copeland to win in about nine minutes. It felt like a way to say “wait, those two had a match?”, which is ok, but doesn’t exactly guarantee the quality or interest.

Post match Copeland says he’s never been hit that hard and offers respect but Suzuki walks off instead. These two had the kind of match that Christian Cage has never had and Copeland is still coming for him.

Overall Rating: C+. There was some good wrestling in here but a grand total of nothing felt important. This show felt like AEW was saying “here’s two hours of stuff, see you next week”. While that’s not good, it’s something that every promotion has done before and it just happens on occasion. They have a stacked Collision and next week’s Dynamite could very well be back to full form, so hopefully we can call this a one off slip and move on.

Results
Hangman page b. Penta El Zero Miedo – Buckshot Lariat
Wardlow b. Trent Beretta – Powerbomb
Swerve Strickland b. Jeff Hardy – Swerve Stomp
Thunder Rosa b. Red Velvet – Package spinning slam
Acclaimed/Billy Gunn b. Mogul Embassy – Mic Drop to Toa
Adam Copeland b. Minoru Suzuki – Killswitch

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

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Dynamite
Date: January 17, 2024
Location: North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, South Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Ian Riccaboni, Taz

It’s time for a special main event with Hook challenging Samoa Joe for the World Title. That should make for an interesting learning experience for Hook but the question seems to be what happens next. We’re coming up on Revolution and the show needs a card to be set up so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

We open with a video on Hook vs. Samoa Joe.

TNT Title: Christian Cage vs. Dustin Rhodes

Cage, with Killswitch and Nick Wayne, is defending. They fight over a lockup to start and roll around the ropes with neither getting anywhere. Cage hammers away in the corner but Rhodes is right back with the rolling powerslam for two. The fight heads outside with Cage being sent into the steps and Rhodes hitting a clothesline off of those steps. Back in and Cage knocks him off the top and out to the floor, setting up a big dive.

We take a break and come back with Rhodes missing a crossbody to fall outside. Rhodes gets back in to slug it out from their knees until the bulldog gives Rhodes two. The Code Red gets two more so Cage goes outside, where he cuts off a dive. Back in and a frog splash gives Cage two so he grabs the belt, only to have it taken away.

Rhodes grabs a small package but Wayne turns it over to give Cage two more. Back up and Shattered Dreams connects and Cross Rhodes connects for a VERY near fall. Rhodes stops to go after Wayne so Cage hits a spear into the Killswitch….for two. Cage is stunned so he hits another Killswitch to retain at 15:26.

Rating: B. I wasn’t looking forward to this one coming in and they had a heck of a match with Rhodes trying everything he could but coming up short in the end. Rhodes as the guy who just does not age is rather impressive and Cage’s great run continues. Awesome match here and they were absolutely rolling by the end.

Swerve Strickland is going to be focused on the main event because he’s watching everything. Yes he wants the World Title but yes he’s also watching Hangman Page. The thing is, Page could beat everyone in AEW to the Lord himself…but he can’t beat Swerve.

Chris Jericho wants revenge on the Don Callis Family. Matt Sydal of all people comes in to say he wants a match tonight so they’re on (with Jericho making a Bourne reference).

Trent Beretta/Orange Cassidy vs. Komander/Penta El Zero Miedo

Cassidy and Penta go face to face to start with both of them taking the other to the mat for a string of misses. Trent comes in and reverses Komander’s springboard dive into a half and half suplex. We take a break and come back with Komander sending Trent to the floor, followed by the big running flip dive.

Back in and the spike Fear Factor is broken up, allowing Trent to come back inside to hammer on Komander. Penta kicks Trent in the head though and adds a Canadian Destroyer. Cassidy has to dive over the referee for the save so Komander goes up top. The Phoenix splash misses though and Trent adds the running knee. Cassidy hits Penta with the Beach Break, followed by the Orange Punch to Komander. The Crunchy finishes for Trent at 10:16.

Rating: B-. This was another fast paced match with Cassidy and Trent hanging in there with the faster team. I could go for more of Trent as he’s an underrated star, but at the same time, Cassidy seems all but destined for a big showdown with Roderick Strong. Penta and Komander were just opponents here, but their high flying stuff was as entertaining as ever.

Post match here is the Undisputed Kingdom, with Roderick Strong wanting Orange Cassidy to take off his glasses for the staredown. Strong wants an International Title shot because he is coming for the title. Fans: “SHUT THE F*** UP.” Cassidy is willing to put the title on the line right now….but let’s wait until Revolution because Strong wants Cassidy to think about it. Strong is a dumb villain.

Hangman Page (looking more like Magnum TA every week) wants the World Title back. Oh and it doesn’t matter if he can’t beat Swerve Strickland, because Swerve isn’t World Champion.

Here is Mark Briscoe, with his family in the crowd, for a chat on the anniversary of his brother’s death. Jay’s daughters were in the car with him and one was told she would never walk again. Well here she is, walking on her own (with presumably her sister and brother). That’s awesome.

Video on Jay Briscoe.

We get a sitdown interview with the Young Bucks, who want to be called by their full names because they are Executive Vice Presidents. You have heard some things about them, but what would you do to protect your family? Things were changing and they needed to stop leaning on yesterday’s self serving cancerous stars. Sting is the last of a dying breed so it’s time to get rid of him too. When asked if that’s a direct call out for Revolution, they leave for the sake of a meeting. I can’t believe it but somehow they’re more annoying than they were before.

Ring Of Honor Six Man Tag Team Titles: Bullet Club Gold vs. Mogul Embassy

The Club is challenging. Kaun strikes away at White to start so it’s off to the Gunns to take him down. Cage comes in with a superkick and it’s Kaun coming back in for an elbow as we take a break. Back with Colten cleaning house and getting two off a neckbreaker. The Embassy takes him back down though and a sitout powerbomb into an Air Raid Crash gets two.

Colten backdrops his way out of trouble and hands it back to White to strike away at Kaun. 3:10 To Yuma hits Cage but a Prince Nana distraction lets Kaun hit a fireman’s carry gutbuster. Cue Anthony Bowens for a distraction though and White hits the Blade Runner for the pin and the titles at 9:31.

Rating: C+. If there is any sanity around here, this will lad to a unification match to get rid of one set of the Six Man Titles. There has never been any need to have two sets of them around and now it’s time to get rid of one. Other than that, you had a good enough match with a title change that needed to happen due to Cage’s injury.

Post match the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn come out for the staredown.

Adam Cole hypes up Wardlow as the new wrecking ball on his way to the World Title.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Anna Jay

Toni Storm is on commentary. Purrazzo spins out of a wristlock to start and rolls Jay up for a fast one. Jay has to bail over to the ropes, where she grabs a neckbreaker over the ropes. We take a break and come back with Purrazzo getting two off a clothesline. Jay kicks her in the face for two more but the Queenslayer is countered into a quickly broken armbar. They forearm it out until Purrazzo pulls her into the Venus de Milo (double armbar) for the tap at 6:40.

Rating: C. There was barely enough to rate here with the commercial involved and that’s pretty normal for a lot of women’s matches around here. Purrazzo is off to a good start and I wouldn’t be surprised if she got the next title shot either on a big Dynamite or at Revolution. As usual, Anna loses after building up some momentum, which tends to be her case.

Post match Purrazzo says she doesn’t know what is up with Toni Storm, but Purrazzo has changed as well. Storm has never met the Virtuosa, but Storm calls her an artificially tanned hag. The shoe is thrown and Purrazzo chases her off.

Top Flight vs. Private Party

Kassidy takes Darius down to start but they nip up for the staredown. Everyone gets in for the staredown and it’s off to Dante vs. Quen. Dante takes him down by the arm but Kassidy is back in with a springboard crossbody. We take a break and come back with Darius working on Kassidy’s arm as commentary talks about almost anything else. Kassidy fights up and brings in Quen to clean house, including a 450 to Dante. Everything breaks down and Dante knees Quen in the face. Gin and Juice takes Dante down, leaving Quen to roll up Darius (while grabbing the rope) for the pin at 10:11.

Rating: B-. Take two high flying teams and let them go nuts for a bit. It’s a little strange to see Private Party come back and have a fairly high profile match like this one but at least they won. I can go for Private Party as villains, but AEW needs to actually go somewhere with them or it won’t matter.

Video on Sting and Darby Allin.

AEW World Title: Hook vs. Samoa Joe

Only Joe’s title is on the line. Hook goes right after him to start and they’re already on the floor, where Joe strikes away. Back in and Joe hits a jumping enziguri in the corner, followed by the hard kick to the chest. Hook gets in some shots of his own and knocks Joe outside, setting up the big forearm from the apron. Joe isn’t having that and release Rock Bottoms him through the announcers’ table.

That earns him a double middle finger so Joe powerbombs Hook onto the apron. Back in and Joe snaps off a powerslam for two, followed by a Death Valley Driver for the same. The MuscleBuster gets one but Hook is back up with some running clotheslines and the t-bone suplex. Redrum goes on but Joe reverses into the Koquina Clutch for the knockout win at 8:45.

Rating: B. This is a good example of a match that was pretty much exactly what you would have expected but better. Hook wasn’t going to win the title here but he brought the energy and Joe felt like he was in a fight. Granted I could have gone without the new World Champion’s finisher only getting a one count, but otherwise Joe looked like a killer as usual.

Post match Joe gives him another MuscleBuster but here is Hangman Page to chase Joe off. Swerve Strickland is watching from the crowd and stares at Page as Hook leaves to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a show that focused on the wrestling and that ranged from pretty good to very good. They also took some steps towards Revolution as you can see a lot of the card from here. If you take out the Young Bucks making me want to put my head through a wall, it’s that much better of a show. Rather strong show this week and I had a good time throughout.

Results
Christian Cage b. Dustin Rhodes – Killswitch
Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta b. Komander/Penta El Zero Miedo – Crunchy to Komander
Bullet Club Gold b. Mogul Embassy – Blade Runner to Kaun
Deonna Purrazzo b. Anna Jay – Venus de Milo
Private Party b. Top Flight – Rollup to Darius while grabbing the rope
Samoa Joe b. Hook – Koquina Clutch

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

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AND

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