Dynamite
Date: October 27, 2021
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re closing out October and that means Full Gear is coming up next month. Most of the card is either already booked or pretty obvious (Tony Khan’s notebook is available if you need some pointers) but we still need to fill in some gaps. As for tonight, it’s CM Punk’s in-ring Dynamite debut against Bobby Fish. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

CM Punk vs. Bobby Fish

It’s Fish’s birthday and Punk’s birthday was yesterday for a bit of trivia. JR says Fish is an 18 year veteran so he won’t be blown out of the water. Always good for a Fish. Feeling out process to start with Fish going after the leg and pulling him down into a chinlock. Punk fights up and fires off knees in the corner, setting up the slow motion slams, which he has somehow turned into a thing.

Fish kicks the leg out again though and scores with a slingshot hilo for two. Punk fights up and sends him outside for the suicide dive. Back up and Fish takes the knee out again though and it’s a running elbow to the jaw back inside. The knee gets spun around a few times and Fish knocks him outside, where Punk fires off some forearms. Fish gets the better of the slugout though and they head back in but Fish’s superplex is broken up.

Punk is back with the (one legged) top rope elbow drop and they’re both down. A swinging neckbreaker rocks Fish and the running knee in the corner makes it even worse. The GTS is countered into a twist of the knee though and Fish hits a running basement clothesline. Fish goes for the leg again but Punk pulls him into a jackknife for two. They slowly bridge up and Punk grabs the GTS with the bad knee. That means a delayed cover for the pin at 13:14 (with Fish kicking out at about 3.01 seconds).

Rating: B. Is it a surprise that this was a good match? You have two people who can work the same style well enough and both guys seem like they want to prove themselves. Fish worked on the knee throughout and the just too late kickout showed how Punk barely won. Solid match with a good story, and that shouldn’t be a surprise.

Malakai Black says that his match with Cody Rhodes wasn’t about a pinfall, because he has divided the Nightmare Family.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Bryce Donovan

Wardlow and Shawn Spears are here with MJF. The beating is on in a hurry and the Heatseeker finishes Donovan at 34 seconds.

Post match MJF, who isn’t even sweating, says Boston is exactly as he remembers it, which isn’t a good thing. You just got to see him do what he does best: pin shoulders to the mats and bang rats, but he’ll skip the second half, because he’d rather deal with a blender than a Boston woman. The accents are disgusting, and speaking of disgusting, we have Darby Allin. After the Allin chants, MJF explains breaking Allin’s spirit, along with knocking out the creepy papi Sting.

It’s the same ring he used to knock out Hangman Page, so with Allin out of the picture, it’s time to fulfill his destiny. Cue the Sting entrance…..but MJF is just messing with us. Then the lights go out, but this one isn’t him. We see a black and white video of a man in an MJF mask and then Darby Allin beats up a man at what seems to be a concert. Cue Sting with a baseball bat to take out Wardlow and Spears, but MJF gets out. Allin is in the crowd as the Invisible Man, so it’s time for the big beatdown on Wardlow and Spears instead. Allin says cut the music and the challenge is on for Full Gear.

Tony Schiavone tells Britt Baker that since she walked out on a match with Abadon on the Chris Jericho Cruise, she has to face Abadon in a Trick Or Treat match on Rampage. The treat is that if Abadon wins, she gets a future title shot and the trick is that it’s No DQ. Baker isn’t happy, but she has some tricks of her own.

TNT Title: Sammy Guevara vs. Ethan Page

Guevara is defending and if he wins, he gets to pick the rest of American Top Team in the big tag match at Full Gear. If he loses though, he loses the title and is out of the Inner Circle. It’s a brawl before the bell and Sammy knees him to the floor, setting up the big flip dive. They head inside for the opening bell with Sammy busting out some more flips into a dropkick to Page. Sammy strikes away and throws Page in the corner for a kick to the back. Page crotches him on top though and Sammy is knocked outside for a crash.

We take a break and come back with Sammy striking away. A springboard cutter into the Spanish Fly gets two on Page, who falls out to the floor. Sammy isn’t about to let him stand out there and hits a shooting star clothesline from the top for the big crash. Back in and Page gets in a shot of his own and heads up top, where he slams Sammy back down (that’s a new one). The super Ego’s Edge is countered into a hurricanrana though and Guevara grabs a jackknife pin to retain at 10:58.

Rating: B-. Guevara is just fun to watch and that is often more than enough to get by. There is something about watching a good high flier flying around rather high and that’s what you get with Guevara. Page is a good opponent as well and they had a nice match with some time, making it a nice title defense.

Post match Page beats Guevara down and Scorpio Sky runs in to help. Cue the Inner Circle (with music and pyro) for the save. After the music plays again, Jericho mocks the Men of the Year and now the ten man tag is going to be a street fight. We’ll pick the American Top Team members next week, but for now, we get some Aerosmith lyrics so Jericho can promise a beating at Full Gear.

Eddie Kingston gets in Bryan Danielson’s face to threaten him for their #1 contenders tournament match. Kingston walks off before Danielson can reply, but Danielson says that’s the Kingston he wants to face. There are so many people who have made it through all of the garbage and keep working hard. Kingston and Jon Moxley are the toughest wrestlers in the world, but on Friday, Danielson is proving that he is the best.

The Lucha Bros accept FTR’s challenge for the Tag Team Title match at Full Gear. Yelling ensues.

TBS Title Tournament First Round: Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb

Rematch from a few weeks ago when Deeb upset Shida, which set up a brawl the next week. Deeb takes her down to start and wraps Shida’s knee around the post. Shida sends her head first into the post though and manages a superplex to bring Deeb back inside for two. We take a break and come back with Shida hammering away to take over. The missile dropkick sets up a delayed vertical suplex for two but Deeb counters a powerbomb. That’s fine with Shida, who snaps off a dragon suplex.

Something like a sitout Dominator gives Shida two and a running knee is good for the same. The Katana is blocked and Deeb is back with a twist of the knee. What looked to be a Figure Four is kicked away to send Deeb outside but she breaks up the springboard off the chair. Since Shida couldn’t possibly do something with a running start but no chair, she uses the steps as a springboard into the missile dropkick instead.

Shida tweaks her own knee though and Deeb puts on something like the Figure Four around the post. Back in and Shida’s knee is fine enough to hit a question mark kick but the running knee is countered into a half crab. An inverted Figure Four sends Shida over to the rope so Deeb grabs the trophy that Shida would have received for her 50th win. Shida kicks it away and picks the trophy up but can’t bring herself to swing. A rake to the eyes lets Deeb roll her up for two but Shida is back with a cradle and the pin at 11:00.

Rating: B. They had me with the drama here as I really wasn’t sure who was going to win. That’s a great sign as Deeb continues to be one of the best wrestlers going today and can work well with just about anyone. I’m not sure if I wouldn’t have gone with Deeb winning here to make her Shida’s Kryptonite, but it’s not like this was a bad call whatsoever.

Post match Deeb snaps and destroys Shida’s knee with the chair, setting up the Serenity Lock.

Since Mike Sydal is injured, Dante Martin will face Matt Sydal instead of the planned tag match. Lio Rush says it just wasn’t the right time so his in-ring debut will be postponed. Rush promises that Matt will learn again at Rampage. Martin continues to look bored.

World Title Eliminator Tournament First Round: Jon Moxley vs. 10

Moxley throws him down to start and hits a running forearm to knock him outside. That’s not enough so Moxley bites at his head and sends 10 into the post for a hard crash. Back in and the bloody 10 manages a pump kick, only to get run over again. The Paradigm Shift finishes 10 at 2:02. That’s what it should have been.

Tully Blanchard and FTR have hit the reset button and they are ready to take out the Lucha Bros again.

Here is Cody Rhodes, with Arn Anderson for a chat. Cody talks about how he has heard the booing and ready about it online (even from retired wrestling managers). Last week, he hit Malakai Black with the Cross Rhodes and then a Tiger Driver 98, but he almost did something else (meaning the piledriver). That would have been the easy way to go but he wasn’t going to take that road. Of course you can boo him because it’s easy to boo the guy who signs the checks.

Just remember that he helped build the bank. Cody takes his shoes off and throws them into the crowd so they can know what it’s like to be in them. He has a wife who is way too hot for him, a brother who is better in this ring than he is, and a father whose legacy he could never match, even if he lived to be 300 years old. Cody: “I will not turn.” Cody talks about how much he loves all of these people, everyone in the Nightmare Family, and Arn Anderson, who gets a handshake.

Cue Andrade El Idolo, who says he doesn’t care about the people. Andrade talks about Cody’s stupid choices, including that tattoo. Then Cody got in Andrade’s business and now he can make Cody his little b****. The showdown is on but the lights go out. Cue Malakai Black for the beatdown, including on Arn, but Pac runs in for the save. The villains bail from the threat of the big dive.

Dark Order vs. Super Elite

It’s Stu Grayson/John Silver/Evil Uno/Colt Cabana vs. Kenny Omega/Young Bucks/Adam Cole and yes, the Order is in Halloween costumes. Not to be outdone, the Super Elite are the Ghostbusters (with a personalized theme), complete with a goon as a walking baby and another as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Silver (Bambi) shoves Cole around to start and hits a headbutt. Cowboy Evil Uno comes in but it’s off to Omega, who is wearing a Proton Pack, to hammer on Uno in the corner.

Uno splashes the pack by mistake though and the baby hits a splash. Matt comes in and gets ridden like a horse, setting up a splash from Grayson (Kratos from God of War) and cold spray from Cabana (Brandon Cutler). A quadruple slam plants the Elite and the Order gets in a group pose as we take a break.

Back with Grayson cleaning house and managing to beat up all of the Elite at once. Cabana comes in and gets to clean house with elbows and Flying Apples but Nick finally superkicks him into the corner. That means the tag off to Silver to clean house again, until more superkicks take him down. A group superkick gets two with Uno making the save and getting to beat up the Elite this time.

We hit the parade of strikes to the face until Matt takes out the referee by mistake. Nightfall is broken up and Grayson gets hit low, setting up a triple low blow to take down the rest of the Order. The Proton Packs go on (JR is not having this) and crash into the Order, setting up the TripleBomb (Is that some weird shot at Roman Reigns?) onto the packs.

Cue a horse (who was in the Order’s entrance but left) and the big beatdown is on. The mask comes off and it’s Brandon Cutler, with his mouth taped up. That means Hangman Page is the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (JR: “Let’s have some cowboy shiznit here in Boston!”) and the Dead Eye plants Omega. The Spin Doctor gives Silver the pin on Matt at 13:00.

Rating: B-. I’m really not sure what to think of this. They did a nice job with the surprise from Page and the team did win, but I rolled my eyes fairly hard at another costume/parody deal (though it is the week of Halloween). Omega has not shown the slightest bit or worry coming up on his match with Page and that is taking me out of the whole thing a good bit. It’s nice to see the Dark Order FINALLY win something over these guys, but dang it would be nice to have something played straight for once.

Overall Rating: A-. This is the kind of show that makes Dynamite shine, as they had one awesome match after another. Two things stood out to me here and both of them had me thinking about the glory days of NXT. First of all, commentary does a good job of focusing on things. While they will talk about things coming up or on sale dates for tickets, the majority of their focus is on what is in front of them and that makes things feel so much more important.

Second, they have started having some shorter matches. There was no reason for Moxley vs. 10 to go on long and they didn’t even pretend it would be anything else. They went with logic instead of stretching things out, which was a problem they have had in the past. Both of those helped make the show that much better, and this was a pretty great week.

Results
CM Punk b. Bobby Fish – GTS
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Bryce Donovan – Heatseeker
Sammy Guevara b. Ethan Page – Jackknife cover
Hikaru Shida b. Serena Deeb – Rollup
Jon Moxley b. 10 – Paradigm Shift
Dark Order b. Super Elite – Spin Doctor to Matt Jackson

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

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Dynamite
Date: August 11, 2021
Location: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the Britt Baker Show this week and that is pretty long overdue. Baker has been the best thing about the women’s division, if not the entire company, for a long time now and deserves a big hometown night like this. Other than that, we are getting ready for both All Out and this week Rampage debut. Let’s get to it.

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

MJF, with Wardlow, talk about how Chris Jericho is trying to make his way through the Labors of Jericho, but tonight he is running into a monster. Jericho needs to defeat MJF because he never has before and he can’t handle that. Somehow though, let’s say that he makes it through Wardlow, what do you think is waiting on him? MJF brings up Wardlow losing to Cody Rhodes in the cage last year though and tells him not to mess up again. Wardlow destroys the apple MJF hands him.

Elite vs. Mike Sydal/Matt Sydal/Dante Martin

Don Callis is on commentary and during the entrances, we’re told that Kenny Omega will defend against Christian Cage at All Out. That’s going to get some people talking. Mike gets sent into the corner by Matt Jackson to start but comes back with a rollup for two. Nick comes in and rakes Martin’s eyes but a rather spinning headscissors takes Nick down. Omega comes in to take Martin down and is booed out of the building.

The Sydals come in for double enziguris to Omega, followed by the double baseball slides. Dante is launches out onto them, with Mike joining in but Matt Sydal hanging back. They head back inside with Martin hitting a high crossbody on Matt Jackson (who thankfully is fine after having his leg go underneath him on the landing). Omega comes in to shove Mike down and the Elite starts taking their turns.

The Kitaro Crusher gets two but Mike slips away and gets the hot tag to Matt Sydal. Everything breaks down and the Sydals grab a Muta Lock/Crossface combination on Matt Jackson. That’s broken up by Omega who snaps off some snapdragons. Martin comes in to clean house and then gets the hot tag to clean house again. A running springboard hurricanrana to the floor drops Omega and a moonsault gets two on Matt Jackson.

We hit the parade of shots to the face, capped off by Omega hitting a heck of a V Trigger to Martin. The One Winged Angel is countered though and Martin hits a Pele. Another V Trigger cuts that off but Martin counters a Tiger Driver 98 into a rollup. A third V Trigger and the One Winged Angel plant Martin as the Bucks superkick the Sydals. The BTE V Trigger finishes Martin at 12:18.

Rating: B. Now this was more like it, as the Elite shouldn’t have been sweating these guys and then had to turn it up to pull off the win. Martin’s comebacks against Omega at the win made for a good sequence and more than one of the counters surprised me. Good stuff here and the kind of Elite swagger I can go for on occasion. That being said, this was a breakout performance from Martin, whose high flying stuff looked great and had the fans going nuts.

Post match Callis gets in the ring for a chat but here is Christian Cage to cut them off. The Jurassic Express comes in to even things up a bit and we take a break. Back with Callis taking the mic from Christian, who does get a bit of praise. It’s true that Christian has a great finisher and Omega can’t wait to kick out of it. Christian calls Callis a piece of s*** and then uses….whatever Pittsburgh term he uses for a bad person. Callis says of course Christian isn’t getting his title shot in Pittsburgh, but Christian has heard something else.

See, Omega has a lot of titles, and according to Tony Khan, he’ll be defending the Impact Wrestling World Title on Friday, in the first match of Rampage. The music plays but Jungle Boy says hang on a second. It turns out that he has been talking to Khan as well, so next week on Dynamite, the Jurassic Express gets a shot at the Young Bucks. Omega is so annoyed that he has nothing to say after cutting the music.

We look back at Malakai Black laying out Cody Rhodes last week while talking about how he has one foot on Cody and one foot in the grave.

Cody and Brandi Rhodes have a new reality show starting September 29.

Miro is ready to destroy Fuego del Sol.

Daniel Garcia vs. Darby Allin

Garcia has 2.0 (formerly Ever-Rise) and Allin has Sting. Allin grabs a headlock to start but Garcia shoves him off and shoulders him into an armbar. Garcia takes him into the ropes as one of 2.0 offers a distraction, allowing Garcia to send Allin arm first into the buckle. We take a break and come back with Garcia pulling him off the ropes.

A double arm lock allows Garcia to kick Allin in the head until he can reach the rope with a boot. Garcia slaps him in the back, which just seems to bring Allin back to live. A rear naked choke out of nowhere has Allin in trouble but he flips backwards for two and the break. The flipping Stunner plants Garcia and the Coffin Drop is enough for the pin on Garcia at 10:39.

Rating: C+. I remember seeing a lot of Garcia over Wrestlemania weekend and being impressed. I’m glad to see him getting a chance here and that is a good thing. The same is true of 2.0, who are great at being the goofy lackeys. Allin continues to be built up for something big, and they are certainly teasing the huge showdown in Chicago.

Post match 2.0 goes after Allin but Sting takes them out. Allin gets back up and 2.0 is cleared out in a hurry.

Death Triangle doesn’t like what Andrade El Idolo has been doing to mess with them. Pac says the Lucha Bros are the best and deserve gold. As for Andrade, if he wants some of Pac, come find him.

Orange Cassidy/Chuck Taylor/Wheeler Yuta vs. Matt Hardy/Private Party

Kris Statlander and the rest of the Hardy Family Office are here too. Hardy and Cassidy have the DELETE vs. Pockets staredown to start, with Cassidy putting Hardy’s hand in his own pocket to start. That’s enough for two off a rollup but Hardy is back up with the Side Effect for two. Cassidy rolls away before Matt can launch the middle rope elbow and avoids a charge in the corner.

The falling middle rope splash gets two and it’s Marq Quen coming in to set up a missed Poetry In Motion. Cassidy slow motion kicks Quen in the knee and drops low to set up Yuta’s running charge. Taylor adds Soul Food and Yuta hits something like an Angle Slam for two. The Silly String plants Yuta though and the near fall sends us to a break. Back with everything breaking down and the women getting in an argument on the floor.

Cue Nyla Rose to run Statlander over and Jack Evans to take out Yuta. Everything breaks down and it’s a parade of secondary finishers until Yuta hits a top rope splash for two on Kassidy. Matt sends Taylor into the barricade (and nearly runs a referee over on the way). Gin and Juice hits Yuta but Cassidy makes the save and hits an Orange Punch on Kassidy. Hardy sends Quen into Kassidy and the Twist of Fate finishes Yuta at 9:53.

Rating: C. The action was certainly energized but there were WAY too many people involved in this match. You had all seven members of the Hardy Family Office, Cassidy, Taylor, Statlander, Rose and Yuta. That’s double the amount of people actually in the match and it was way too much going on to keep track of what was happening. Just keep some of them in the back or break it up a bit because a lot of the fun was lost due to the calamity.

Chavo Guerrero is offended by the Death Triangle’s comments but thinks Andrade El Idolo vs. Pac sounds good for All Out.

Santana and Ortiz want to hurt FTR even more because it isn’t over.

Nyla Rose vs. Kris Statlander

Great. Nyla Rose is here twice. Vickie Guerrero and Orange Cassidy are here too. Rose runs her over to start but Statlander gets in a shot of her own. Vickie screams at Cassidy to mess him up, allowing Rose to hit a chokeslam onto the apron for two. Statlander handstands her way to freedom but gets speared down, allowing Rose to load up a superplex. That’s countered into a powerbomb out of the corner and Area 451 finishes Rose at 2:59.

The Young Bucks are back at the basketball and say that beating the Jurassic Express will be like a layup. Cue Luchasaurus to block it and say not in his house. Nick calls it a foul but Brandon Cutler says it was all ball. When AEW gets a theme going, they run with it until the bitter end. That being said, it was a funny segment.

Video on Britt Baker vs. Red Velvet in the main event of the first Rampage. Velvet is on a roll and gets a title shot against Baker in Baker’s hometown.

Tony Schiavone brings out Britt Baker for a chat, meaning the fans get to wave the yellow towels (Pittsburgh Steelers tradition). Baker can’t really comment on Red Velvet’s rise because she is on the top of AEW. She wasn’t afraid to step up when this city needed a champion and holds up the title, because it means hope. Speaking of hope, Red Velvet might have a glimmer of it if the match wasn’t taking place in Pittsburgh. With that out of the way, Baker needs Tony to practice his DMD, which seems to go well. Cue Red Velvet for the brawl before the title match.

Ricky Starks says he is a man instead of a machine and is ready for Brian Cage.

Impact Tag Team Titles: Dark Order vs. Good Brothers

The Brothers are defending and Impact’s Scott D’Amore is on commentary. The Order jumps them to start and it’s Anderson in trouble in a hurry. Brandon Cutler offers a distraction so here is Frankie Kazarian to take care of him. We take a break and come back with Grayson getting the hot tag and cleaning house. A 450 gives Grayson two and the Fatality is loaded up. Cutler breaks that up and it’s a Gun Stun to Grayson, setting up the Magic Killer to retain at 7:39.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to get very far, but at the same time, that is a lot better than having the Good Brothers out there for a long match. I don’t know if there was any drama about the Dark Order actually winning here, but if they ever actually do, the pop is going to be other worldly.

NWA Women’s Champion Kamille is ready for Leylah Hirsch.

Here is QT Marshall and the Nightmare Factory to get the apology from Tony Schiavone. Therefore, they grab Tony’s son from the crowd and beat him up, despite Tony apologizing (and calling Marshall a son of a b****). Cue Paul Wight to wreck everyone.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Sting/Darby Allin vs. 2.0 in a Texas Tornado match.

Chris Jericho vs. Wardlow

This is the fourth Labor of Jericho and MJF is at ringside. Jericho starts fast and hits a Codebreaker for one, which just seems to annoy Wardlow. They head outside with Jericho being sent into the barricade and post as the dominance is on. Back in and Wardlow hits a pair of powerbombs to send us to a break.

We come back with Wardlow hitting another powerbomb but Jericho chops away. That just earns him the F10 but MJF says keep going instead of covering. Jericho grabs the legs and puts on the Walls but MJF rakes the eyes for the break. MJF tries to slip Wardlow the Dynamite Diamond but gets caught, meaning it’s an elimination. Jericho uses the distraction to get in a shot with Floyd, setting up the Judas Effect for the pin at 10:07.

Rating: C. First off: am I crazy or was MJF announced as guest referee coming into this? Anyway, the match was mostly a squash until the wacky finish and that’s how you get Wardlow to look like a monster. Jericho had to hit him in the face with a baseball bat to win so it isn’t like he beat him clean. This was little more than a means to an end though and there was little drama as a result. In this case, that’s how the match should go.

Post match Shawn Spears runs in to jump Jericho, which draws in Sammy Guevara for the save. Wardlow and MJF run back in to beat on Jericho, including the Salt of the Earth on the bad arm, but Jake Hager makes the real save. MJF grabs the mic and says the match is on for next week, but there will be no Judas Effect or Judas music. That’s a pretty lame way to go, especially since Jericho used his other two (and more famous) finishers in the match, with commentary bragging about how awesome the Codebreaker has been over the years.

Overall Rating: B. I’m not sure where to start here as this was a PACKED show with all kinds of things going on throughout the night. The first thing I would say is that I was entertained though, as they threw in so much stuff that it was never once boring. This was the kind of energized show that WWE has not had in years and only NXT has had in a long time. That part was very fun and is the kind of thing that AEW has focused on over its existence.

That being said, there are still quite a few issues here, with the biggest being the amount of people running around. There were multiple matches here with WAY too many people involved and it dragged things down almost every time. AEW’s roster is far, far too big for one show and having everyone running around all the time keeps things from leaving as much of an impact as they should. In the same vein, it felt like nothing had a chance to breathe because they were building up Rampage, Dynamite and All Out at the same time, while also focusing on titles from three different promotions (with AAA there as well).

Overall, I liked the show a lot but there were times where I was getting frustrated by how many things were going on. That has been an issue with AEW for a long time, as they try to pack in way too much stuff. I’m half hopeful that Rampage will help, but at the same time I’m worried that they will keep Dynamite the same and add even more in on Rampage. Maybe not, but they need to find a way to pace things a bit better. Still though, heck of a fun show.

Results
Elite b. Mike Sydal/Matt Sydal/Dante Martin – One Winged Angel to Martin
Darby Allin b. Daniel Garcia – Coffin Drop
Matt Hardy/Private Party b. Wheeler Yuta/Orange Cassidy/Chuck Taylor – Twist of Fate to Yuta
Kris Statlander b. Nyla Rose – Area 451
Good Brothers b. Dark Order – Magic Killer to Grayson
Chris Jericho b. Wardlow – Judas Effect

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: July 7, 2021
Location: James L. Knight Center, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re officially back on the road and that means there are fresh fans in attendance. That is certainly a good thing and something that did not feel possible over the last year plus. First up we have Road Rager, featuring the Tag Team Titles on the line, a strap match and the debut of Andrade El Idolo. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Cody Rhodes vs. QT Marshall

South Beach Strap Match with the four corner version. Cody dives on him before the bell and the fight is on with Cody pulling Marshall into the ropes. We look at various UFC fighters at ringside as Marshall gets in a shot to the ribs. A moonsault only designed to get knocked out of the air gets knocked out of the air and Cody hits a few buckles. Aaron Solow breaks it up but Dustin Rhodes fights him into the crowd to get rid of one goon.

Nick Comoroto follows and Cody gets three buckles, only to get German suplexed back down. They go outside with Cody posting him to draw some blood. Back in and the lights go out to reveal…..that the lights just happened to go out (though Cody’s surprised/confused face was amusing). Cody slaps a few more buckles but gets caught in a superbomb to put him in trouble for a change.

Marshall ties the strap around Cody and hits a hanging cutter out of the corner for three buckles. The fourth is cut off though and things are reset. Cody makes the comeback and strikes away, setting up the flying headscissors. There’s the Cody Cutter to drop Marshall again and a low blow makes it even worse. Cody goes for the fourth buckle but Marshall spits at him. That earns Marshall three straight Cross Rhodes and Cody hits all four buckles to win at 10:38.

Rating: C. Hey Cody wins a big match over an opponent who was never close to his level. It’s the right call but it doesn’t exactly come off as a great moment as you got what you would have expected. Cody beating Marshall is good and it should end the match, but Cody having some long term adversity could be a bit better. AEW is back to touring again and where they’re going, they might not need Rhodes (I watched Back To The Future earlier today).

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

We look back at Shawn Spears jumping Sammy Guevara with a chair last week.

Spears says he got Guevara….and gets chaired down by Sammy, who sits in a chair to say he got Spears, b****.

Tony Schiavone brings out Don Callis and Kenny Omega for a chat. Callis gets rid of Tony but the fans remind Callis that he got fired (from Impact). That doesn’t matter though as Callis goes over Omega’s recent successes and brings up that there are no challengers left. That’s a problem as Omega is supposed to defend the title at Fight For The Fallen….so the fans say they want Hangman.

Callis says he’ll tell them what they want but here is the Dark Order to interrupt. Evil Uno gets into the ring alone and wants to know why Omega is scared of Uno’s friend. Fans: “COWBOY S***!” Omega talks about how Uno is stupid and then kicks him low. Cue the rest of the Elite to take out the Dark Order but Hangman Page runs in to break up the belt shot. House is cleaned and the Buckshot Lariat is loaded up on Omega but Page stares at him instead. Another run-in is cut off but the distraction allows Omega to escape. I’d be surprised if they did this at Fight For The Fallen, but it’s coming sooner or later.

Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down with Ethan Page and Darby Allin. JR is disturbed by the idea that these two are going to fight to injure the other’s career and wants to know how we got here. Page takes his sunglasses off by Allin says hang on. Allin talks about how his success made Page jealous. Page never left his hometown and was content being the big fish in the small pond.

Page says that’s all true, but he plucked Allin from obscurity and taught him the lessons that brought him to AEW. Ever since he was a kid, people have told him that he would be a star and now he has to see Allin paint his face and get to be on Dynamite. That’s why Page is going to take him out in the Coffin Match. JR has a bad feeling about it, and Allin says he should.

Pinnacle vs. Inner Circle

FTR/Wardlow vs. Jake Hager/Santana/Ortiz here with Tully Blanchard and Konnan in the corners. Santana starts fast with a pair of Amigos into a German suplex to send Harwood into the corner. Ortiz comes in for a leg lariat but Wardlow comes in to plant him with a gutwrench powerbomb. It’s back to Harwood who gets planted with a powerbomb, allowing the hot tag to Hager for the house cleaning.

We take a break and come back with Ortiz coming in to clean house (again) but gets taken into the corner. The step up cannonball plants Wheeler but Wardlow makes a save of his own. We settle back down to Ortiz countering Harwood’s suplex into a brainbuster, allowing the hot tag back to Hager. The ankle lock makes Wheeler tap but Harwood was legal, meaning Hager has to kick him in the face. As usual, Hager wants Wardlow and the slugout is on. The rest of the Pinnacle comes in and a quick Big Rig plants Hager to give Wardlow the pin at 9:00.

Rating: C+. This felt like a big time Saturday Night main event with three members of one group against three members of the other, which is all it needed to be. It wasn’t supposed to be anything huge or beyond that and it did its job. I can go for a match that is only supposed to keep a feud going and they made it work just fine.

Post match Konnan goes after the Pinnacle but gets taken down for a beating of his own.

Video on Karl Anderson vs. Jon Moxley for the IWGP United States Title next week.

It’s time for a showdown/contract signing with MJF and Chris Jericho, with the latter soaking in a lengthy sing-a-long. A fan tries to run in and gets knocked down so we cut to a crowd shot for a bit. Jericho and MJF (after he challenges any other fan to come in and get beaten up) sit down at the long table with MJF talking about how everyone wants a rub from him. MJF makes the mistake of calling him Y2J, so Jericho says he should have let the fat guy come in here and beat MJF up, but now he’ll do whatever it takes to get a match with him. Jericho: “I’ll even have sex with your mother.”

That has MJF a little annoyed so he talks about following Jericho’s career. We hear about Jericho’s issues with Jon Moxley and what it took for Moxley to get a match. Jericho had Moxley face every member of the Inner Circle and karma is a b****. MJF wants to up the ante a bit and talks about how he loves mythology. The name Demo God comes from demagogue, even though Jericho isn’t in the key demo anymore. MJF loved the labors of Hercules and thinks that Jericho needs to win a few matches.

We’ll make that four matches, with MJF picking the opponents and stipulations. If Jericho wins those four matches, he’ll get his match with MJF. Jericho is ready for the challenge so he can ruin MJF’s life. Jericho signs but MJF isn’t done yet because he comes from the greatest place in the world: Long Island, New York. They have to shake hands or the deal is off. The shake ensues, but Jericho pulls him into the Judas Effect to leave MJF laying. I’m a mythology fan so the theme was cool here and it probably gets them to All Out.

Britt Baker rants about being around the dangerous Nyla Rose. Look what happened when the innocent Reba got in the unsafe ring. Baker blames Tony Khan and now Vickie Guerrero brought in Andrade El Idolo. They got all of their money so maybe next week Dynamite can run in Saudi Arabia! Baker is ready to take out Nyla in Dallas at Fyter Fest and the town is going to be renamed the Big DMD.

Matt Sydal vs. Andrade El Idolo

Vickie Guerrero is here with Andrade, who comes out in a mask and suit, both of which go away. Andrade takes him down to start and hits the double moonsault for an early two. Sydal is back up with a shot to the face but gets knocked off the top for a crash. We take a break and come back with Sydal scoring with some shots to the face and rolling him up for two.

The jumping knee misses though and Andrade blasts him with a clothesline. Sydal gets tied in the Tree of Woe but the Alberto double stomp misses. Instead Sydal comes off the top with a Meteora for two but Andrade sends him into the corner for the running knees. El Idolo (the hammerlock DDT) finishes Sydal at 7:37.

Rating: C. This was a fine enough debut for Andrade who just needed to come in with a win. He could be a pretty big player as time goes on around here and the match was competitive enough without going too far. I’m curious to see where things go for Andrade, though I’m really not sure how much good Vickie is going to do for him.

Video on Matt Hardy vs. Christian Cage, who face off next week. They have always been in the same place, with Hardy accusing Christian of following him.  The match is 20 years in the making and it ends next week.

Here is Arn Anderson in the ring and he is rather happy to be in Miami. The lights go out….and this time it’s the former Aleister Black in the ring to hit Black Mass on Anderson. Cody Rhodes runs in for the staredown, with Excalibur identifying Black as Tommy End. This is followed by the announcement of “THAT IS NOT TOMMY END!” Apparently his name is Malakai Black, and he hits Black Mass on Rhodes.

Earlier today, Ricky Starks came to the ring with security but Taz comes out to say this is nonsense. Starks says Brian Cage is the embarrassing one and if he has to do this to get ready for the FTW Title match next week. Where he comes from, the W stands for wife, and Starks means Cage’s wife. Cue Cage to chase Starks off and beat up security. That was a great line from Starks.

Orange Cassidy/Kris Statlander vs. Bunny/Blade

Blade is checked for weapons before the match and the referee actually finds some brass knuckles. Bunny yells at Cassidy, who puts his hands in his pockets and hits the lazy kicks before the bell. Blade comes in for the bell and gets taken down at the bell but it’s too early for the Beach Break. It’s also too early for the tornado DDT, meaning Cassidy can get planted with a powerslam.

Stundog Millionaire takes Blade down and it’s off to the women, with Bunny hitting a running knee. Statlander is back up for some chops in the corner, setting up a delayed vertical suplex. The flipping legdrop misses though and Bunny sends her throat first into the ropes. We take a break and come back with Statlander hitting a spinning fisherman’s driver for two. Bunny catches her with a German suplex off the ropes though and it’s off to Blade to face Statlander.

Cassidy comes in (as he has to) with a high crossbody and now the spinning DDT can connect for two. Bunny gets knocked off the apron and Statlander busts out a 450 (Area 451, and a good one at that) to give Cassidy two with Bunny making the save. Blade uses the distraction to pull out more knuckles and knock Cassidy silly….but Statlander tagged herself in, allowing her to hit the Big Bang Theory for the pin at 8:27.

Rating: C. That 450 alone made this work as Statlander nailed that thing. They played with the mixed tag stuff here and what we got worked well enough. I’m not exactly feeling the Hardy Family Office vs. Best Friends thing but it’s fine for a midcard feud, as that’s about where everyone involved should be.

Earlier today, Jungle Boy got a nice trophy for being the first AEW wrestler to fifty wins.

American Top Team’s (MMA) Dan Lambert (a huge wrestling fan with an awesome belt collection) was glad to come to the show but he didn’t agree to an interview, even with Jorge Masvidal and Amanda Nunes here with him. He wasn’t happy because AEW sucks and if he wanted to enjoy some wrestling, it would mean watching tapes from Championship Wrestling From Florida from the 70s and 80s.

The sad truth is that wrestling has gone downhill since the late 1990s and this product is unwatchable. Tony Khan said Lambert is wrong because AEW has something from every style and the fans make it even better. Well he was right, as this is awful. Cue Lance Archer to knock Lambert silly with the Black Out. This was good, as Lambert is a great heel who can make you want to punch him in the face.

Tag Team Titles: Penta El Zero Miedo/Eddie Kingston vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks, in jean shorts, are defending and this is a street fight. The streamers fly and Don Callis is on commentary as the fight is on fast. They head outside early on the stereo superkicks hit Michael Nakazawa by mistake, allowing Kingston and Penta to take over. Back in and Brandon Cutler threatens them with cold spray, allowing the Bucks to come in with some chair shots.

The Bucks are sent into the open chair though and some kicks take them down again. The modified What’s Up has Nick down and it’s time for a pair of tables. Matt goes after Penta and gets Canadian Destroyed through the table. We take a break and come back with Nick hitting a Swanton onto a trashcan onto Kingston for two. A running Cannonball into an enziguri rocks Kingston in the corner but he’s back up with a half and half suplex to Nick.

There’s a rear naked choke on Matt but Nick makes the save with a 450 to the ref. Matt taps with no one to see it so Nick breaks it up. Cue the Good Brothers (who could have come out at any time given that it was a street fight) and Cutler is back up on the apron with the cold spray. Penta keeps shaking his head so Cutler misses as Frankie Kazarian comes in to powerbomb Cutler through a table. The Fear Factor into the spinning backfist drops Matt and another referee runs in to count the two with Nick making the save.

Kazarian drops Nick but gets taken down by the Good Brothers. Kingston busts out some thumbtacks but Matt picks them up to throw in Kingston’s face. Penta breaks up a powerbomb onto the tacks with a trashcan to the head before going up top with Nick. A super hurricanrana sends Penta into the tacks but Eddie shoves Matt into the cover for the save. There’s a double superkick to Kingston and some tacks are thrown into Penta’s face. Matt shoves tacks into Kingston’s mouth and another superkick retains the titles at 14:18.

Rating: B. It was a good brawl with the weapons feeling (mostly) in place, though I’m not sure how much drama there was. That being said, this wasn’t exactly supposed to feel like some big, epic match where the titles could change hands. Kingston and Penta were given a bit of a build last week and they paid it off here. That’s all it needed to be and the match was certainly energetic, so I’ll take it for a solid main event.

Overall Rating: B. This was a big show and it felt like one, which is all you can ask for out of AEW. It felt special to have the fans back and they got a pretty stacked card, with things being set up for the future as well. For a free two hour weekly show, this was rather good and felt like one of the AEW shows of old. Nice job and welcome back to touring, which really does make a difference.

Results
Cody Rhodes b. QT Marshall – Rhodes touched all four turnbuckles
Pinnacle b. Inner Circle – Big Rig to Hager
Andrade El Idolo b. Matt Sydal – El Idolo
Kris Statlander/Eddie Kingston b. Blade/Bunny – Big Bang Theory to Bunny
Young Bucks b. Eddie Kingston/Penta El Zero Miedo – Superkick to Kingston

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: June 18, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Jim Ross, Taz

The Friday series continues with a special match inside an MMA cage. That may or may not be your taste, but it is certainly something different, which you have to do at some point. This time around it is Jake Hager vs. Wardlow, which is about as logical of a move as you can get. Let’s get to it.

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

Jake Hager vs. Wardlow

Chris Jericho and Shawn Spears are the seconds here and it is a full octagon, complete with cage. Justin Roberts does his best Bruce Buffer impression, which makes me scared to hear his worst. Wardlow makes sure to turn his back on Hager during the intros, just to show off a bit more. We have three five minute rounds here and you can only win by submission or knockout (no judges).

They circle each other for a bit to start until Hager starts going with the striking. Wardlow doesn’t seem to know what to do with him here as Hager hits a few shots and then walks off to let Wardlow think about it. Hager’s attempt at a double leg gets him tossed away with raw power so Hager tries it again, this time with more success.

Wardlow blocks a kick to the ribs and hits him in the face, followed by a double leg takedown. Some right hands on the mat have Hager a bit more woken up but Wardlow easily wins a slugout. A Superman punch off the cage has Hager rocked and Warlow unloads on him until the round ends.

We start the second round with Hager in big trouble so he tries the grappling. That earns him another trip to the mat with Wardlow hammering away. A cross armbreaker is broken up so Hager floats over into a cover for some right hands to the face. Now Hager’s cross armbreaker is blocked but he grabs a triangle to put Wardlow in more trouble. That’s broken up so Hager grabs an ankle lock, which is broken up with a kick to the chest.

Back up and Wardlow powerbombs him into the cage, followed by a running hurricanrana. A spear lets Wardlow hammer away but Hager pulls him into the head and arm choke. Wardlow powers up but it’s a Rock Bottom right back into the hold in the middle of the ring. Hager cranks away as Wardlow flips off Jericho and passes out at 4:00 into the second round (10:00 total).

Rating: B-. I’m really not sure what to call something like this as it was a wrestling/MMA hybrid. It helps that they had someone who knows how to do that style in the face place and didn’t bother going far too long with the thing. Keep something like this relatively short and go with more wrestling than MMA and it will work out, which is what they did here.

Post match respect is teased but Spears comes in to jump Hager. Jericho comes in but the beatdown is on, with MJF coming in to put Jericho in the Salt of the Earth. Cue Dean Malenko for the save so MJF hits him as well. Now it’s Sammy Guevara coming in for the real save to clear the cage.

Frankie Kazarian, Penta and Eddie Kingston are ready for the Elite tonight, with Kazarian quoting the Bible about letting God take care of vengeance. He doesn’t quite agree with that because it is time to take out the Elite tonight. Kingston says pray to your God to take your souls because your a**** belong to them. Penta: “Cero miedo!”.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Team Taz, minus Brian Cage, knows there are issues with the team but let’s focus on Hangman Page. He won a handicap match last week so let’s have Page vs. Powerhouse Hobbs next week.

Men Of The Year vs. Darby Allin

Allin has asked Sting to not be here. Ethan Page starts for the team and gets taken down with an early springboard armdrag. Allin takes him down again but a cheap shot puts him down. A hard toss sends Allin into the corner and it’s off to Sky as we take a break. Back with Sky hitting a backbreaker but Allin grabs a rollup for two. Page taunts Allin over having no one to tag but Allin manages a Scorpion Death Drop. It’s back to Sky as Allin tags himself and hits a Code Red for two.

The referee doesn’t like the double teaming so Allin whips out a zip tie to tie up Page’s legs. Some rollups get two on Sky and the flipping Stunner is good for the same, with Page making the save. Page finds a tool box to cut himself free and there’s a hard posting to knock Allin silly. Back in and Page takes him up top but Allin bites the hand to escape. That earns him a crotching from Sky, setting up the Ego’s Edge to finish Allin at 11:58.

Rating: C. The zip tie was clever but I can’t bring myself to get into Page and Sky. They’re the definition of just there for me and that makes for some pretty weak appearances. That being said, they needed the win here and are the kind of team who should be bragging about winning a handicap match. Allin looked stupid for taking the match, but he has never been presented as the brightest guy.

Cezar Bononi vs. Orange Cassidy

The Wingmen and the Best Friends are all at ringside. Bononi throws Cassidy into the corner to start and forces Cassidy’s hands into his pockets. Cassidy gets tossed outside so the Wingmen can spray tan him. Back in and Bononi throws him outside again, where they mess with Cassidy’s hair and put him in Ryan Nemeth’s HUNK jacket.

Bononi joins him for a change and this time Cassidy jumps onto him, only to get caught. The Best Friends finally get involved and put Cassidy’s glasses on him, setting up the huge toss dive (with the Wingmen standing there while it is being set up). Back in and the Orange Punch finishes Bononi at 5:14.

Rating: D-. Yeah I know I’m old and don’t know how to have fun but this was absolutely not for me. The idea of Peter Avalon having a stable is an even bigger stretch than QT Marshall and this was just a mess. Way too many people running around and the Wingmen standing there for ten seconds while the Best Friends set something up made it even worse. I know a lot of people love Cassidy and that’s all well and good, but this really did not work for me.

Kenny Omega and Don Callis run into Jungle Boy, with Omega saying that Boy tarnished his image last week. Omega doesn’t like being disrespected and is ready to fight right now. Boy gets ready but Michael Nakazawa gets in a cheap shot from behind. Boy fights back so the villains run to their golf cart, with Omega kicking Nakazawa off and shouting he’ll get Boy next week. Omega: “NEXT WEEK!!!” Eh points for a Dr. Claw moment.

The Hardy Family Office thinks there might have been some people working together in the Casino Battle Royal. Matt Hardy doesn’t like Christian Cage, who pops up to try and go after him. Cage gets locked in….well in a cage actually, with Hardy offering him a deal to stop this, but Cage doesn’t seem interested.

Brock Anderson/Cody Rhodes vs. Aaron Solow/QT Marshall

This is Brock (Arn’s son) debut and he does not exactly have the most impressive physique. He takes Solow down to start so Marshall comes in instead. Brock grabs Marshall by the arm so it’s right back to Solow, with Cody diving onto Marshall. Back in and Cody can’t grab an armdrag so Solow takes him into the corner. That doesn’t last long so Brock comes back in for some gutwrench suplexes, only to walk into Marshall’s spinebuster.

We take a break and come back with Brock getting out of the corner and diving over to Cody. Solow is smart enough to offer a distraction though, meaning the referee doesn’t see it. A belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination gets two on Brock but he avoids a charge and gets over to Cody for the hot tag. House is cleaned in a hurry as everything breaks down. Cody takes Marshall out to the ramp and Brock jacknife rolls Solow up for the pin at 10:01.

Rating: C-. This is a tricky one as it was Brock’s debut and it’s not quite fair to grade him like a seasoned veteran. That being said, if he wasn’t Arn’s son, he would be laughed out of most tryouts. He had no physique to speak of and was as generic of a guy in trunks as you could ask for. The match wasn’t bad due to how fast paced they kept things, but Brock needs to be a one off for the time being.

Jake Roberts says Lance Archer couldn’t be a doctor because he has no patience.

Earlier today, JR sat down with Andrade El Idolo and asked him why he’s here in AEW. Andrade says that he deserves an opportunity at the top titles around here. JR brings up Vickie Guerrero, with Andrade saying they’re perfect together because they both come from big wrestling families. But wait, because they have a surprise.

The Dark Order is happy because John Silver’s shoulder is healed. Hangman Page doesn’t want to talk about the World Title, but he would like to praise Evil Uno for his work last week.

Julia Hart vs. Penelope Ford

Haven’t seen Ford in a bit. Hart gets headlocked down to start and sent to the apron for a slingshot knee drop. We take an early break and come back with Hart hitting her clotheslines but she misses a running version in the corner. Ford tries a flipping clothesline but gets caught in a sunset flip for two. Ford’s next clothesline connects for two and she catches Hart’s kick to the ribs. A slap sets up a fireman’s carry gutbuster but Ford misses a moonsault. Hart misses a split legged moonsault though and it’s a Muta Lock to give Ford the win at 7:08.

Rating: D+. Not much to see here and that sequence in the corner was nearly brutal. Ford hasn’t been around for a bit but she is still a big enough deal to beat Hart, who has mainly been a manager. This wasn’t exactly good, but it was a fair enough way to bring Ford back onto the show.

Post match the hold stays on so the Varsity Blondes make the save. Miro runs in to go after Brian Pillman Jr. and they have to be held apart. I could go for this.

Vickie Guerrero interrupts Britt Baker and Reba to say they smell bad and like cheeseburgers. She has done them a favor and set up the two of them against Nyla Rose and herself next week. Britt certainly approves.

Video on FTR vs. Santana/Ortiz. They come from different parts of the country and both of them know how tough they are. FTR brags about having accomplished more in six months than Santana and Ortiz have in two years, so their next win will be another notch in their legacy. No date is given, but FTR not having a regular tag match on Dynamite since February needs to be fixed soon.

Mark Sterling and Jade Cargill have a deal with a hotel in Toronto so her opponents can have a place to recover. She is going to continue her winning streak because she is that b****.

Matt Jackson/Good Brothers vs. Frankie Kazarian/Eddie Kingston/Penta El Zero Miedo

Don Callis joins commentary as the Nick Jackson and Brandon Cutler are at ringside. Matt takes Kazarian down to start so it’s off to Penta to clean a bit of house. Kingston comes in to brawl to the floor with Gallows as everything breaks down. We take a break and come back with Kingston hitting a release belly to belly on Matt for a breather.

The hot tag brings in Penta to wreck things, including a kick to put Anderson on the floor and a big flip dive onto both Brothers. Everything breaks down with Matt getting hit with something from everyone, capped off by Angel’s Wings from Kazarian with Gallows making the save. The Magic Killer is broken up but Anderson kicks Penta in the face. The Backstabber out of the corner drops Anderson but Nick Jackson sprays the cold stuff into Penta’s eyes. A top rope neckbreaker gives Anderson the pin on Penta at 14:02.

Rating: C-. These Buck matches are getting rougher and rougher, as they continue to survive against everyone while getting the last laugh. It’s ok to give up something at some point, especially in a match where the team isn’t even together. The match was also all over the place and never stopped moving, which was a bit much here. It’s ok to slow things down a bit, but that was never going to be the case for these guys.

Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t one of their better shows but the energy remained high and there was enough good stuff in there to carry it. You still get the feeling that these shows are a little less important than others, but again, what are you expecting from a show ending at midnight on a Friday in the middle of June? AEW is just riding this time out and that makes sense given the situation they’re in at the moment.

With all that being said, this show really, really needs to cut down on the amount of people they include every week. There are just WAY too many people on this show, with most of them in factions. You had six groups (Inner Circle, Pinnacle, Best Friends, Wingmen, Nightmare Family, Nightmare Factory) featured in the first four matches. It’s overwhelming and having so many people out there distracts from the ones who are supposed to be featured. Just cool it down a bit and let the people with the star power shine instead of having an entourage for everyone.

Results
Jake Hager b. Wardlow – Head and arm choke
Men of the Year b. Darby Allin – Ego’s Edge
Orange Cassidy b. Cezar Bononi – Orange Punch
Brock Anderson/Cody Rhodes b. Aaron Solow/QT Marshall – Jackknife rollup to Solow
Penelope Ford b. Julia Hart – Muta Lock
Good Brothers/Matt Jackson b. Frankie Kazarian/Eddie Kingston/Penta El Zero Miedo – Top rope neckbreaker to Penta

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: January 6, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re back to something close to normal after last week’s incredible tribute show. Now it’s time for the first half of the New Year’s Smash event, featuring Kenny Omega defending the World Title against Rey Fenix. That alone should be worth everything else and hopefully it lives up to the hype. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

SCU/Young Bucks vs. Acclaimed/Hybrid 2

The Acclaimed rap their way to the ring again, saying they’re the John Cena guys and SCU are Jannetty. Daniels and Bowens start things off and everything breaks down in a few seconds. Triple dives take out the villains, leaving Kazarian to flip over Bowens’ back. The Bucks come back in for the pop up dropkick to Jack Evans and Nick Jackson hits the springboard armdrag/headscissors combination to the Hybrid 2.

There’s the big corkscrew dive for a bonus but Bowens breaks up the Arabian Moonsault onto the pile. The Acclaimed starts in with the double teaming on Daniels, including a basement dropkick for two. It’s off to Angelico to work on the arm, setting up a belly to back suplex/springboard double stomp for another near fall. Bowens hits a Blockbuster into Castor’s top rope elbow into Evans’ 450 into a double arm crank from Angelico.

The Blue Thunder Bomb plants Bowens and gets Daniels out of trouble though, allowing the hot tag to Kazarian. Everything breaks down again and Matt gets to clean house with the flips, followed by a spear to take down Angelico on the floor. There’s another dive to take out Angelico and Castor, setting up a top rope splash/standing moonsault combination for two on Bowens.

The Buckle Bomb into a double enziguri sets up a slingshot legdrop for two more as Jericho is losing it on the near falls. Kazarian and Nick combine for the BTE Trigger and another near fall, setting up Angelico’s swinging Downward Spiral. Evans’ 630 hits raised knees so the Bucks superkick everyone. The Meltzer Driver is broken up so Nick dives onto the pile on the floor. The Best Meltzer Ever finishes Castor at 10:00.

Rating: C+. The action was good and they were flying around well, but I really could go for a breather from these multi team tag matches. There are so many people at once and it gets a little more confusing than it needs to be. It was still good enough, but it’s not something that is going to stand out.

Post match Kazarian says he and Daniels have the Bucks’ back, at least until they’re challenging for the titles. Hands are shaken.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Here’s Jon Moxley for his first in-arena appearance since losing the World Title. A lot of people expect him to be out here ranting and raving but he is used to a hard time. That is what he is getting again, but this time he is gritting his teeth, battoning down and getting back into it. Moxley promises to go after Don Callis and Kenny Omega to leave them bloody with a crowbar. As for tonight though, Omega is defending against Rey Fenix, and Moxley isn’t going to interfere with Fenix’s destiny. That isn’t it for Moxley and Omega though, because Moxley has forever.

Chuck Taylor says Trent is going to be out 4-5 months with a torn pectoral muscle. Cue Miro, with Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford, to laugh at him. The time off means that Taylor is out of action for the same 4-5 months, with Miro saying he can be a young boy. Miro has an offer: they can face each other next week and if Miro loses, he’ll leave. If he wins though. Taylor has to be Miro’s young boy until the wedding. Taylor can’t accept fast enough.

Jake Hager vs. Wardlow

Earlier today, Wardlow promised to take care of his family and Hager at the same time. They go to the grappling with Wardlow managing to survive and get back to an armbar. Wardlow takes him down again and it’s time to get serious. Hager takes him into the corner for rights and lefts but Wardlow is out in a hurry. They crash into each other and fall to the floor, meaning we take a break.

Back with Hager being sent into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs. A spinebuster plants Hager again and a suplex slam gives Wardlow two. The F10 is broken up and Hager hits a bunch of clotheslines in the corner. Wardlow sends him out to the apron though and then into the barricade. Back in and Wardlow hits the Swanton but Hager rolls into the triangle. Hager choke some more and takes him all the way to the top. That lets Hager grab the head and arm on the top, only to get sent into the turnbuckle. The F10 finishes Hager 10:35.

Rating: B-. These guys beat the heck out of each other and that’s all they needed to do here. Wardlow is going to get a lot more out of the win than Hager would have gotten so they had the right result. I’m not sure if this is going to be it for these two, but Wardlow winning is the best thing possible.

Respect is begrudgingly shown post match.

Private Party can’t get the gin and juice right so here’s Snoop Dogg to give them the drink. Hugs ensue and Matt Hardy pops in to say that he has Private Party’s new contracts. Private Party has to give Matt 30% of everything but they get their Twitch and Cameo and all that good stuff. Works for them, so they sign.

It’s time for the weigh-in between Brian Cage and Darby Allin for next week’s TNT Title (with the new design debuting) match. Cage weighs 272lbs and Allin is 170, so Taz laughs at Allin’s gear weighing him down. Allin says he knows how this ends so let’s get rid of the garbage and get to the good part. Cue Sting for the save so Team Taz leaves, with Taz swearing a new champion next week. Sting and Allin stare at each other a lot.

MJF hears Hager freaking out and has to place peacemaker. Hager calms down and looks a good bit happier.

We look at Marko Stunt meeting -1 on Dark and getting insulted.

Jurassic Express are ready to get the Tag Team Titles back but here’s FTR to provoke Marko. He promises to win next week and has to be held back.

Cody Rhodes vs. Matt Sydal

Snoop Dogg is here with Cody. They run the ropes to start with Sydal kicking him in the leg and snapping off an armdrag. As Snoop does an Arm Anderson imitation (with the play card), the running dropkick in the corner gives Sydal two and Cody is sent out to the ramp. Sydal hits the top rope Meteora for two and they head back inside, where Cody’s skinning the cat is broken up. They’re outside again but this time Cody accidentally hits Serpentico with a right hand before being torn back inside. Sydal hits the high Crossbody but Cody rolls through into a Texas Cloverleaf.

The rope is grabbed though and we take a quick break. Back with Cody hitting a reverse superplex for two but Sydal is back with a jumping knee to the face. The shooting star press hits knees but Sydal spins around, looking to set up the camel clutch. With that broken up, Sydal kicks him in the head, only to have a Cactus Clothesline put them both on the floor. Back in and they try a standing switch until Sydal jumps on his shoulders for a hurricanrana. The Lightning Spiral gives Sydal two but Cody ducks the jumping knee. Back to back Cross Rhodes finish Sydal at 10:02.

Rating: C+. This was one of Sydal’s better matches in AEW and that shouldn’t be the biggest surprise. Cody has a habit of being able to make people look better and while Sydal doesn’t often look back, he isn’t the most interesting. Snoop Dogg was the point here and he got to show off the unique charisma on the floor, which is probably the best thing he could do.

Post match the Chaos Project comes in to jump Cody but Snoop makes the save and hits a top rope splash (or something far, far from one), with Sydal counting the pin.

Women’s Title: Abadon vs. Hikaru Shida

Shida is defending and gets jumped on the ramp. That’s fine with Shida, who cracks her in the head with the kendo stick, but Abadon pops back up. They get inside with Shida hammering away as we get the opening bell. Abadon gets knocked to the apron so Shida kicks at the head and hammers away.

They head outside with Abadon biting the thigh and then dragging Shida underneath the ring. Abadon comes back out first, followed by Shida….whose neck is rather bloody, ala a few weeks back. They head back in, with Abadon slamming her head into the mat. We take a break and come back with Shida pulling Abadon up top for a superplex. Abadon pops back up with a big clothesline but Shida grabs a rollup for two. Shida’s running knee retains the title at 8:27.

Rating: C. Abadon is certainly freaky enough to get your attention, but my goodness Shida is one of the least interesting people going today. She has a weird outfit and hits running knees. Is there anything else to her that I’m missing? I’m not sure where her reign leads but it would be nice to see her moving on to something else in a hurry.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Tay Conti challenging Serena Deeb for the NWA Women’s Title.

Conti promises to win because she’ll have the Dark Order with her.

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix is challenging and Omega has Don Callis in his corner. Omega goes to the hammerlock to start so Fenix snaps off flying mare. That earns him a spike hurricanrana so Fenix is back with a hurricanrana of his own for the escape. Omega is sent outside for another hurricanrana from the apron into the big crash. Back in and Omega counters a tornado DDT before chopping Fenix out of the air to break up a springboard.

They head outside with Omega sending him into the barricade a few times, only to have Fenix hit a kick to the head. The rolling cutter is blocked though and the Snapdragon knocks Metalik silly. Fenix gets planted again, followed by being thrown inside for the Kitaro Crusher. The chop off goes to Omega but Fenix starts kicking away, setting up a double springboard dropkick. Omega falls to the floor and Fenix hits the big running flip dive.

Back in and Fenix hits a moonsault into a German suplex for two, followed by a springboard double stomp to the back of Omega’s neck. We take a break and come back with an exchange of kicks to the head for a double knockdown. Omega hits the V Trigger but Fenix gets out to the ramp.

A Callis distraction lets Omega get in a shot of his own but Fenix is right back with the Fire Thunder Driver for two more. The frog splash hits Omega’s raised knees and Fenix is in trouble again. Fenix gets to the top and kicks Omega away, only to flip dive into a tiger driver. The V Trigger connects for two, followed by the One Winged Angel to retain the title at 17:50.

Rating: B. That catch off the ropes was worth the watch alone and these two had a great match to go with it. Fenix is such an amazing high flier and it’s always worth seeing whatever he is doing. There was no drama about a title change, but just seeing Omega in the ring feels like a big deal so it’s a fine choice for a main event.

Post match Omega and Callis get in the ring and say they have a bonus in mind. They beat Fenix, so now they can end his career. We cut to the back though where Butcher and Eddie Kingston have jumped Pac and Pentagon. Fenix goes after Fenix again but here’s Jon Moxley with the barbed wire baseball bat for the save.

Cue the Good Brothers (Karl Anderson/Doc Gallows), the Impact Wrestling Tag Team Champions, to take Moxley out. The Magic Killer plants Moxley so Omega unloads with the bat. Wrestlers start jumping the barricade for the failed save attempts and chaos reigns. Cue the Young Bucks to grab the bat….and then superkick Garrison and Pillman. Omega and the Good Brothers do the Too Sweet pose and the Bucks eventually join in to end the show. I know it’s going to get a great reaction but I’m not exactly thrilled in seeing the big heel stable again. It should wind up working though, as tends to be the case around here.

Overall Rating: B+. I’m digging where things are going around here for the most part as you can start seeing the pay per view card taking shape if you squint hard enough. The wrestling was rather good for the most part and they’re setting up the stuff when they need to. The ending is going to be a wait and see thing, but seeing a bunch of the bosses and their New Japan buddies on top isn’t quite thrilling. Anyway, pretty great show though, and I liked it a lot.

Results

Young Bucks/SCU b. Hybrid 2/Acclaimed – Best Meltzer Ever to Castor

Wardlow b. Jake Hager – F10

Cody Rhodes b. Matt Sydal – Cross Rhodes

Hikaru Shida b. Abadon – Running kneed

Kenny Omega b. Rey Fenix – One Winged Angel

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: November 4, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Chris Jericho, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s the go home show for Full Gear and that means it’s time to hammer things on in the way to the pay per view. I’m not sure what that is going to entail but AEW has done rather well with the build up towards their pay per views and hopefully that means we get something good here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The Inner Circle is in the back with Chris Jericho bragging about Jake Hager winning his MMA fight last week to remain undefeated. Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Wardlow come in with MJF saying he’s ready to say he’s ready to become the newest member of the Inner Circle. Jericho doesn’t buy it because he doesn’t think MJF has the toughness to be on the team. Where are his battle scars? MJF says he’s going to show Jericho how tough he really is.

Jericho joins commentary and, as always looks happy to see the fans singing Judas.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Wardlow vs. Sammy Guevara/Ortiz

Still a weird combination for the Inner Circle. Ortiz’s headlock doesn’t work on Wardlow so Ortiz jumps over him in the corner and hits a dropkick to the ribs. Wardlow plants him with a spinebuster though and it’s MJF stomping him down in the corner. Some biting ensues but Ortiz gets a boot up in the corner. Not that it matters as MJF sends him down into the corner for one and it’s time to start on the arm.

A jawbreaker gets Ortiz out of trouble though and it’s off to Sammy, who kicks Wardlow in the face. The jumping knee to MJF’s face connects and it’s a springboard crossbody onto both MJF and Wardlow. Sammy’s suicide flip dive into a running flip dive takes them out on the floor as Sammy can do the fired up face comeback. Back in and Sammy pops MJF up for a kick to the back (cool) but Wardlow’s distraction lets MJF get in a shot to Ortiz’s arm. Ortiz is whipped into the ropes for a Cactus Clothesline to Wardlow, leaving MJF and Sammy to have the showdown.

Sammy starts with the flips so MJF pokes him in the eye. That earns him a jumping knee to the face and it’s the GTH for two with Wardlow having to make a save. Sammy and Ortiz double team Wardlow and Jericho is VERY pleased. Everyone else heads up top so it’s a Tower of Doom to plant everyone. The F10 drops Ortiz but Sammy dives in for a save. MJF gets sent outside and Sammy hits a springboard flip dive (DANG) to take him out as well. Cue Serpentico to throw a chair at Sammy though and yeah it’s Matt Hardy under the mask. Back in and the Salt of the Earth makes Ortiz tap at 9:29.

Rating: B+. As good as he already is, this was a total star making/breakout performance for Sammy, who stole the show more than once. He was hitting one big spot after another and it was some great high flying on display. Everyone was feeling it here but this was all about Sammy, who seems primed for the face turn sooner than later. Just have him beat Matt on Saturday, as he should.

Post match MJF jumps Jericho until the Inner Circle breaks it up. Jericho is very pleased.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

We go to Kenny Omega’s house for a sitdown interview, complete with his dog. Actually never mind as it’s neither his house nor his dog (Chico). Either way, Omega is ready for the tournament final because that’s what he does. Now he could have gone in to see Tony Khan and gotten a title shot, but wins and losses matter around here. He has won every tournament he has ever been in, so why would you bet against him?

Trent vs. Miro

Hold on though as Miro interrupts the Big Match Intros to say that Trent is rude since his mom didn’t teach him any manners. You don’t mess with Trent’s mom so he hits a quick dropkick but Miro powers out of a tornado DDT attempt. The beatdown is on with Trent being tossed around and clotheslined down as Jericho gets on Excalibur for not having any merchandise. The referee yells at Miro as Chuck Taylor beats up Kip Sabian on the floor and takes him to the back.

Penelope Ford tries to go after them but Orange Cassidy cuts her off. Miro splashes Trent in the corner but Trent is back with a running clothesline. Another tornado DDT is countered into a throw and Miro sends him shoulder first into the post. We take a break and come back with Miro hitting a running kick to the chest as we hear about Miro chasing off the Dark Order during the break. Thankfully they show it again in case you stopped watching during the commercial as Miro slaps on a bearhug.

Trent fights back with some clotheslines but Miro just stares at him. Miro misses a splash in the corner though and Trent hits a hard clothesline for his own two. There’s a half nelson suplex to drop Miro again but the running knee is pulled out of the air. Miro hits the swinging release Rock Bottom for two but Trent grabs a rollup for the same. Trent low bridges him to the floor and hits the big running flip dive for a bonus. The tornado DDT finally connects and Trent’s running knee gets two. A springboard misses though and Miro kicks him in the face, setting up Game Over for the pin at 11:57.

Rating: C. The action was good, but for the life of me I don’t get why Miro hasn’t been more of a monster. He was going 50/50 with Trent here as Miro continues to look more like another guy on the roster than someone special. The match was good enough with the action and power vs. speed, but Miro’s allure is vanishing every single time he’s in the ring.

Post match Miro puts the hold on again, bringing in Sabian and Chuck for the save/attack. Chuck gets knocked down and Miro rants about his mom again, only to have Orange Cassidy hit a dive off the top to take him down.

Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down with Hangman Page (and his drink) to ask about the tournament. Page is pretty chill about the whole thing and is ready to take care of Omega, though first he’s enjoying his cocktail. As for his strategy, he knows holds and moves and knows how to reverse all of them. JR doesn’t buy it and thinks Page has had more than a few bourbons today because he’s nervous.

Page says he’s a bit nervous because everyone gets nervous. He came here as the guy destined to be the first World Champion and now he’s getting close to it again. If he loses, what else does he have except his whiskey? Now Page having issues because of not living up to the hype when AEW started and failing to win the title is an interesting way to go if that’s what they’re doing.

We get the big video on the Young Bucks vs. FTR, with various wrestlers and personalities making their picks. The Bucks insist that they’re never challenging for the titles again. This does help make things feel a little bigger, which is kind of hard to do.

Commentary talks about the match but here’s Team Taz to cut him off. Taz says he’s been at work lately and insists to get the cameraman inside. He sat outside Tony Khan’s office for three hours, trying to get two minutes of his time. Tony, or TK (second time he’s been called that tonight), was too busy talking to people who are going to be on pay per view. Taz brings up the ranking system, which has the 10-1 Brian Cage at #1 but he’s not on Full Gear. Ricky Starks has won ten of his last eleven matches and he’s not even in the top five.

Starks talks about how he has opened and closed Dynamite but he’s not even ranked. One plus one is two though, and that makes sense to them. So why don’t they have a match at Full Gear? Starks begs someone, like Taz, to make it make sense. Taz brings up Cody defending the TNT Title against Darby Allin on Saturday and thinks it’s going to be a great match. Cody walks around here with everything handed to him and Team Taz has done the work. There will be an FTW presence at Full Gear and you can believe that. Makes a lot of sense. Taz was great here and they brought up some very true points.

Private Party with Matt Hardy come out for a match but here’s Sammy Guevara to lay Hardy out with a Twist of Fate on the ramp.

Private Party vs. Young Bucks

Nick Jackson chops Marq Quen to start and hits the big running wristdrag out of the corner to start in on the arm. The limping Matt comes in and sends Kassidy into the corner, setting up the double chop from the Bucks. Quen gets double suplexed onto Kassidy and there’s the double dropkick to put Private Party on the floor. The double slingshot dives have them in trouble again but Matt grabs his ankle.

Back in and Private Party double teams Matt down, setting up a running basement dropkick. The Bucks are sent to opposite side on the floor, setting up double suicide dives. Back in and a bulldog/dropkick combination has Quen down again but the Meltzer Driver is countered into a DDT/Downward Spiral combination. We take a break and come back with Private Party making the comeback, including a slingshot cutter. A big running flip dive takes the bucks down on the floor and a springboard shooting star to the back gets two on Nick.

Matt can’t stand up on the apron so it’s Gin and Juice for two on Nick with Matt making the diving save. Quen has to bail out of the shooting star so Matt hits the spear into Nick’s running knee for two. Another Meltzer Driver is broken up and Quen gets two off a victory roll in a call back to their original match in the Tag Team Title tournament. The superkicks rock Quen though and it’s the BTE Trigger for the pin at 12:56.

Rating: B-. I know the Bucks are exciting but their matches run together as badly as anyone else in AEW. The athletics and high flying are both really good and entertaining but it feels like something I’ve seen a few dozen times now. Good match though, with Private Party looking great and the Bucks being slightly more slowed down than usual thanks to Matt’s injury.

Post match here’s FTR with the chair and they tease Pillmanizing Matt’s leg again until Hangman Page (with drink) makes the save. Kenny Omega runs in a few seconds later but won’t even look at Page. With FTR on the floor, Page picks up the chair but throws it down without even teasing a shot to Omega. Page and Omega have a fist bump as the Bucks yell at FTR. Hold on though as Omega turns his back on Page, who isn’t cool with that.

Tony Schiavone brings out Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley for the face to face showdown, though if things get physical, the match is off. Eddie literally goes nose to nose with Moxley, saying that the World Title means everything to him. The title is why he never gave his mother a grandchild or a daughter in law so he’s taking it on Saturday.

Moxley says he’d rather have four quarters than 100 pennies because he has been burned time and again. He never thought he would get burned by Kingston though because he was so happy when Kingston got signed. Eddie: “I DON’T CARE!” Moxley was happy for Kingston’s mother Ruthie, whose kitchen table he sat at to always have his back. Moxley broke his promise to keep an eye on Kingston because he believes the loudest person in the room is the weakest and Eddie has been loud. That isn’t Eddie, so what is going on?

After eighteen years, Kingston, who keeps his back to Moxley, is getting the shot he never thought he would get. What bothers Kingston is that he made a promise to his mother that he can’t keep because he’s going to lose. Kingston rants about how this is real and storms off. Moxley says Kingston is going to learn that he isn’t the man he thought he was.

This was GREAT and you could feel the intensity on every word. Also worthy of a note: during part of the silence, Jericho quickly said that Kingston couldn’t touch Moxley no matter what he said or the match is off. This was mentioned earlier in the night, but it helped as a reminder (I had forgotten about it too) and was said quickly, without going too emotional, and without distracting from what was going on. That’s how commentary is supposed to work in a situation like this and it worked.

We get a video from Pac, who is watching….himself watch Dynamite. The other Pacs leave so the real one says that the problem with isolation is that you have no one to play with. He has been alone for seven months and the casualty of this rotten world is that he has been here before. Pac has been lost and abandoned but he has gotten better, stronger and faster.

Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall are ready for Butcher and Blade next week but here’s the Bunny to say Marshall’s cards are all maxed out. Butcher and Blade jump them from behind for the big beatdown.

Nyla Rose vs. Red Velvet

Brandi Rhodes is in Velvet’s corner and Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose. Velvet goes right for her to start and hits a running kick to the face. Some stomping has Rose down in the corner and the elegant choking ensues. Rose is right back up with a heck of a clothesline but Velvet elbows her way out of a Samoan drop. A raised boot in the corner annoys Rose and she catches a top rope seated senton, setting up the Beast Bomb for the….two as Rose picks her up at two. A running knee, ala Hikaru Shida (at ringside), finishes Velvet at 2:54.

Post match Vickie Guerrero laughs at Velvet for losing even with Brandi in her corner. Maybe Brandi should be the Chief Bull S*** Officer. Anyway, Vickie goes over to Shida and promises to see her lose the title and cry on Saturday. Rose and Shida get in a brawl until wrestlers break it up.

We get the big Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page video ala the FTR vs. Bucks video from earlier. They do a nice job of showcasing the teamwork that made Page and Omega work, which turns into You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Til It’s Gone as they lose the titles and split up for good. That was so cheesy that it worked perfectly.

Full Gear rundown.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Darby Allin uses his skateboard to attack a car labeled THE FACE OF TNT. Then he runs over someone in a Cody mask.

Cody/Gunn Club vs. Dark Order

Cody and Jon Silver start things off but it’s quickly off to Austin for a Hennig faceplant for two. Billy comes in so Silver backs away, meaning Colt Cabana can rub his bald head. Cabana knocks Billy into the corner but misses the Flying Apple. Everything breaks down and Austin cleans house, only to get taken down by 10 as we take a break.

Back with Austin still in trouble in the corner, with Cabana even knocking Cody off the apron. Austin gets a knee in though and the hot tag brings in Billy to clean house. The Fameasser gets two on 10 with Silver making the save as everything breaks down. Cody hits a big dive to the floor to take Cabana down and it’s 10 with a cutter for two on Billy. Silver’s dive is cut off by Cody and tossed into the fans, leaving Austin to hit Cross Rhodes on Cabana. The Quick Draw finishes 10 at 8:43.

Rating: C+. Austin looked good here and I’ve liked that finisher for a good while now. Other than that you have a pretty action packed match, assuming you can get by Billy suddenly being AEW’s version of a legend. The match was better than I expected and it’s nice to see someone other than Cody getting the win here.

Post match the Dark Order comes in for the brawl but Orange Cassidy takes Silver out and the Order bails. Cody grabs the mic and says Darby Allin isn’t telling the truth when he talks about TNT not wanting him to be the face of the show. Why wouldn’t they? Darby is something different and under other circumstances, Cody would love to have him be champion. Cody is the one who got Darby here because the other EVP’s weren’t sure on him. It was Cody wrestling Darby to get him signed here and now Allin wants the ace belt but he isn’t the ace. A lot of staring ends the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This was one of the better shows that they have had in a good while and that is the kind of thing that they need on the way to Full Gear. I want to see the show more than I did before so that’s a nice feeling. The show should be a blast as it looks absolutely stacked, though they still have to execute on Saturday. The good thing is I believe AEW can make it work, which is a nice feeling to have. Really great show this week and it’s nice to be able to say that again.

Results

Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Wardlow b. Ortiz/Sammy Guevara – Salt of the Earth to Ortiz

Miro b. Trent – Game Over

Young Bucks b. Private Party – BTE Trigger to Quen

Nyla Rose b. Red Velvet – Running knee

Cody/Gunn Club b. Dark Order – Quick Draw to 10

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: October 28, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re getting closer and closer to Full Gear and tonight we will find out the finalists in the #1 contenders tournament, with the match taking place at the pay per view. Other than that we have a town hall meeting with the Inner Circle and Maxwell Jacob Friedman to see if he can join the team. Let’s get to it.

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

Wardlow and MJF are getting ready for Wardlow’s match when Wardlow is asked what it means to possibly win the title. MJF interrupts, saying that if Wardlow wins, the title goes to MJF because Wardlow works for him. Wardlow agrees, but here is Sammy Guevara to throw down the jacket that MJF gave him. Sammy says MJF isn’t joining the team no matter what, so MJF asks where all the hostility is coming from. After being accused of looking like someone who sells Adderall to middle school kids, Sammy promises to keep MJF off the team.

#1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Wardlow vs. Hangman Page

Page starts fast and hammers on Wardlow before getting up a boot to the face. They head outside with Wardlow spearing him through the barricade with ease and hammering away. Back in and Wardlow sends him flying, followed by a gutwrench powerbomb for two. Wardlow misses a top rope splash though and Page gets to start slugging away. A running clothesline sends Wardlow over the top and out to the floor.

Page hits a top rope moonsault to the floor but the Buckshot Lariat is cut off with a hard clothesline to give Wardlow two. The F10 connects but Page rolls out to the floor. Back in and the super F10 is countered into a superplex to put Wardlow down instead. A pair of Buckshot Lariats finish Wardlow at 9:50.

Rating: C+. This was hard hitting and rough in a good way, which is how something like this should have gone. Page survived a lot and slayed the giant, which is how you make him look like a top star. Good fight here and they got everything working well with Wardlow looking good in defeat.

Here’s everything else that is coming tonight.

Jon Moxley talks about how he has defended the World Title everywhere and now he is ready to do it again against Eddie Kingston. Eddie has a huge ego though and it’s time to give him a big wake up call.

Eddie Kingston vs. Matt Sydal

Before the match, Eddie talks about how he is ready for Full Gear and was never eliminated from the battle royal. Eddie: “Hi Lance.” Eddie works on a headlock to start but gets taken down into an armbar. The cobra stretch is blocked so Sydal kicks away, only to get caught in a powerbomb. Back with Sydal hitting a hard shot to the face for two and Kingston is a bit rocked. He’s fine enough to cut off a charge in the corner but Sydal snaps off a jumping hurricanrana. The top rope Meteora gets two but Eddie is back with a knee to the ribs. The spinning backfist drops Sydal and the bulldog choke makes Sydal give up at 8:12.

Rating: C. This was the kind of match that Kingston can use to get things ready for Full Gear and they did things well. Sydal is someone who means a little something, even though he has been almost nothing more than a jobber around AEW. You knew how it was going to end here but it went fine enough, so nice job.

Post match Kingston won’t let go until Sydal says he quits.

Earlier today we had a split screen sitdown interview with the Young Bucks and FTR. The ankle is fine after last week, as it is just a sprain. FTR laughs off the idea that they are trying to get out of the match. They say the interview doesn’t deserve them and walk out. Matt talks about how they’re a couple of young kids who worked hard and built their own ring to train.

That was their college education. Now they want the titles so badly that if they don’t win them at Full Gear, they will never challenge for them again. Another week of the Bucks suddenly being faces again after superkicking innocent people, which wasn’t a heel turn despite being a heel turn.

It’s time for the Town Hall as the political edition of Dynamite continues. Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzales are the moderators and our first question comes from Luchasaurus. Since MJF doesn’t have a Masters degree like he does, Luchasaurus would like to know the financial impact that MJF can have on the Inner Circle. MJF happens to have a chart, showing how much better the ratings are when he is around, which is just math.

The next question is from Britt Baker and Rebel, the latter of whom is VERY interested in Jericho’s smile. They would like to know about MJF’s track record of turning on people. Jericho: “I’m not a dip**** like Cody.” Jericho threatens to knock MJF’s teeth down his throat if he turns on them but MJF says if they join forces, it means a lot of green and a lot of gold. Next up is Peter Avalon, who asks if he can join the Inner Circle. Jericho laughs a lot before saying that’s never going to happen.

Then we have Eric B. from Cody, Wyoming, who quotes John F. Kennedy by asking what MJF can do for the Inner Circle. MJF says he can offer friendship, so Bischoff then asks what the Inner Circle can do for MJF as well. He thinks the team can make him better, so Bischoff has one more question. Bischoff and Jericho have worked together before and Bischoff knows Jericho is a primadonna. Jericho freaks out but Bischoff gets to continue, asking why we should believe the two of them won’t kill each other.

MJF talks about everything he has offered to Jericho and the Inner Circle, including gifts and the best segment ever in wrestling. Jericho says MJF hasn’t beaten him but he’ll have the chance at Full Gear. If MJF can beat him, he can be on the team. MJF takes it seriously and promises to do ANYTHING to win. Ortiz tells MJF to shut up because there is no conversation needed because no one wants him in the Inner Circle. Next week it’s going to be Santana/Guevara (strange) vs. MJF/Wardlow and MJF isn’t making it to Full Gear.

This was rather long and took longer than it needed to to get to the point. The parody of the election season wasn’t exactly funny or entertaining either, though once they got past that point, it did what it needed to do. Also, Bischoff isn’t exactly a big, exciting addition to anything at this point.

Video on Team Taz vs. Will Hobbs.

TNT Title: Cody vs. Orange Cassidy

Cody is defending in a lumberjack match. The Mouse Trap is broken up early and Cody wins a battle over a top wristlock. Cassidy gets two off a backslide but Cody hits him in the ribs to send him outside for the Big Hug from the Best Friends. Back in and Cody hits a dragon screw legwhip over the rope but the Best Friends catch him before he falls. Cassidy is right back with a shot to knock Cody off the apron, and this time the Best Friends just drop him.

Trent gets in a cheap shot from the floor and Cassidy hits a high crossbody but Cody counters the spinning DDT. Cody is sent outside again but the lumberjacks can’t do anything before he’s back in. Now the spinning DDT gets two and we take a break with Cassidy being sent outside.

Back with the lumberjacks getting in a fight (duh) until Cody superplexes Cassidy onto the pile. Cody throws him back in and gets two off the Cody Cutter, only to get caught with the Stundog Millionaire. Cassidy’s top rope diving DDT gets two but the lumberjacks get back in, with John Silver hitting a pump kick on Cassidy (which Cody didn’t see). Arn Anderson gets in a left hand as well, allowing Cody to hit Cross Rhodes to retain at 12:05.

Rating: C. The lumberjacks offered a little something here and Silver costing Cassidy the match should set up something in a week or two. You can always get something like this out of a lumberjack match so they did it well enough. Cassidy continues to look fine when he does his thing and when he’s a little more serious (on occasion), it makes the shtick feel more entertaining.

Post match the brawl is on as Darby Allin watches from the rafters like Sting. The Gunn Club of all people clear the ring.

Miro and Kip Sabian run into the Best Friends in the back and try to make peace after they broke Alan a few weeks ago. Their offer of a present: Penelope Ford dressed as Orange Cassidy. They jump the Friends anyway and the beating goes into the locker room with the Best Friends being laid out.

Serena Deeb talks about winning the NWA Women’s Title last night and promises to show why you should respect her.

NWA Women’s Title: Serena Deeb vs. Leyla Hirsch

Deeb is defending and gets taken into the corner to start. Back up and Deeb grabs a waistlock but Hirsch reverses into a front facelock. Hirsch runs her over a few times with a shoulder getting two. Deeb gets two off a neckbreaker over the ropes and JR calls Hirsch a female Ivan Putski. That’s a little harsh, especially when Hirsch pulls her into a cross armbreaker attempt. Deeb stacks her up to escape so Hirsch sends her shoulder first into the buckle for the break. We take a break and come back with Hirsch hitting a knee to the face but getting dropped with a neckbreaker. The Tequila Sunrise makes Hirsch tap at 8:39.

Rating: C. Hirsch was impressive here as she felt different. Above all else, she is rather small and the different build and look make her feel unique. Deeb is a veteran who can wrestle a good match with anyone and she did that here, which was made that much better when Hirsch was up to the challenge.

Hikaru Shida is willing to face Nyla Rose for the Women’s Title at Full Gear. How many title shots does Rose get around here???

Shawn Spears vs. VSK

C4 finishes for Spears at 31 seconds.

Post match, someone in a bull costume yells at Spears so Spears pulls him inside. Spears loads up the glove but it’s Scorpio Sky, who lays Spears out with a TKO.

Full Gear rundown.

Next week rundown.

#1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Kenny Omega vs. Penta El Zero M

Omega’s Mega Title isn’t on the line but his big intro is still on in full. Rey Fenix is here in Peta’s corner as Omega lays the title in front of Penta. The big chop off ensues and Omega knocks the glove away before stomping Penta down. Penta knocks him outside though and hits the dive, only to come up holding his knee as we take a break.

Back with Omega snapping off a hurricanrana to the floor and hitting the running flip dive for a bonus. Penta is back up with a dive to the floor though and they’re both down. They head back inside with Omega hitting the snapdragon and then does it again for a bonus. Omega knees him in the face and hits a powerbomb, followed by the V Trigger for two. A leg lariat to the back of the head sends Penta into the corner and there’s another V Trigger in the corner.

Omega takes him to the top but gets caught with a super Destroyer onto the ramp. The Fear Factor gets two more back inside but the Pentagon Driver is countered. Instead Penta hits a low running enziguri for two and they’re both staggered. Another V Trigger rocks Penta but he counters the One Winged Angel and snaps the arm. Omega slips out of the Pentagon Driver again and has to use the left hand to fight back. Penta springboards into a knee to the face though and the One Winged Angel finishes at 16:23.

Rating: B. Eh I’m not sure. Omega only did four or five V Triggers and they only went sixteen minutes. 37 stars? Maybe 109? They did a rather nice job of building up some drama, even though there was little reason to believe that Omega was in any serious danger. That worked out well, as Penta continues to look like a star every time he is in the ring. Main event level match here, and now we move on to what was expected at Full Gear.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a bit of a step down for the show but it was still rather good. The bigger problem here was most of the show didn’t feel all that big until the main event, which did deliver. The Town Hall hurt things a lot as it was long and didn’t really have any major moments, though they got to the necessary result. What mattered here was the rush build to Full Gear and that went well enough, mainly because it was about all they could do with only one more show before the pay per view. Not as good as their usual stuff, but a completely acceptable show.

Results

Hangman Page b. Wardlow – Buckshot Lariat

Eddie Kingston b. Matt Sydal – Bulldog choke

Cody b. Orange Cassidy – Cross Rhodes

Serena Deeb b. Leyla Hirsch – Tequila Sunrise

Shawn Spears b. VSK – C4

Kenny Omega b. Penta – One Winged Angel

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: October 21, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s time to start the second year as well as beginning the process of finding a new #1 contender. That means the first round of a tournament to crowd Jon Moxley’s next challenger, with the finals on November 7 at Full Gear. I’m not sure what to expect from this but it should be a wrestling heavy show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Wardlow vs. Jungle Boy

Boy starts kicking at the legs to start and even manages a head kick from the apron. Wardlow misses a charge and winds up on the floor, where he catches Boy’s dive. That’s broken up so Boy tries again, only to get powerbombed into the post instead. Back in and Wardlow pounds away before blasting Boy with a clothesline for two. The knee out of the corner is broken up as Boy hits his own knee to the face.

Wardlow gets knocked to the floor for a suicide dive to the back, followed by a slingshot DDT back inside. A low superkick lets Boy go up but Wardlow pops to his feet to cut that off. Wardlow loads up a super gorilla press but Boy reverses into a super hurricanrana instead. A backstabber out of the corner sets up Boy’s top rope double knees for two and the near fall leaves Boy down. Wardlow rolls out to the apron so Boy follows, only to get caught with the F10 back into the ring. One heck of an F10 gives Wardlow the pin at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Good stuff here with Boy playing a great underdog against the monster Wardlow. Boy is small enough to look like he’s in a lot of danger but is just big enough to make a comeback believable. I had a good time with this one and wanted to see Boy pull it off, even if the ending we got made the most sense.

We look at Eddie Kingston’s promo from last week, with Kingston promising to make Jon Moxley quit for the World Title.

Confirmed for Full Gear: Jon Moxley defends the World Title against Eddie Kingston in an I Quit match.

Moxley talks about his history with Kingston, who may not have said he quit. That’s because he was unconscious when he got choked out. Instead, Moxley is taking his friend back at Full Gear and ending this once and for all.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Kenny Omega vs. Sonny Kiss

Omega’s entrance now includes listing off his accomplishments (including the amount of times he has broken Meltzer’s five star scale) and dancing women in swimsuits with brooms. V Trigger and One Winged Angel finishes Kiss at 35 seconds. That’s the best way to go if Omega is being pushed as the ace again and was anyone buying Kiss as having a chance here anyway?

Orange Cassidy is asked about his match with Cody next week. Cassidy: “We’re off to Cincinnati.” After that few years old Bill Belichick reference, Cassidy says “whatever” with regards to his training. Then he plays with a monitor.

Cody and Arn Anderson arrived earlier and talked about gaining weight while he was away. He’s needing the weight for all of the giants he faces around here and needs to be a real heavyweight. Now it’s time to get ready for the title match.

Eddie Kingston talks about what his boys have been doing as of late and how successful they are going to be. Then it’s off to Moxley, and yeah what he said is true. Kingston had to go here though and look what it has gotten him. He has never quit on anything before and he won’t at Full Gear. Moxley is going to have to go to a dark place on November 7, but that’s where Kingston lives.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Fenix vs. Penta El Zero M

Eddie Kingston is on commentary. They go with the armdrags to start and Penta rolls him down into an ankle lock. That’s broken up and they go to the pinfall reversal sequence for two and then some zeroes each. They stand up and have the big chop off until Penta takes it to the apron. Fenix knocks him to the floor though and hits a big corkscrew dive for the crash. Back in and Fenix tries a rope walk but Penta avoids the kick for another crash as we take a break.

We come back with Penta chopping away and hitting a flipping DDT for two. Penta gets caught up top though and it’s a super Spanish Fly for a very near fall. Back up and Penta tosses him into the air, where Fenix flips forward, into a powerbomb for two more (good grief). Fenix comes up holding his arm but is fine enough to snap off a spin into a Canadian Destroyer for the pin at 14:12.

Rating: B. This was exactly what it was supposed to be with one crazy spot after another. I wasn’t expecting anything else and I wouldn’t have wanted it to be anything else, so well done on delivering what was expected. Good stuff here and for the life of me I don’t get why these two aren’t being featured more often. They might not be the most traditional wrestlers but dang they can have some exciting matches, just like this.

We look at the Best Friends accidentally destroying Kip Sabian and Miro’s arcade cabinet last week.

The Best Friends say that was an accident but Sabian and Miro don’t seem convinced.

The Dark Order is ready to continue their dominance by winning the Tag Team Titles and the World Title. Colt Cabana says he feels no pressure but John Silver snaps, shouting about how the entire Dark Order is under pressure. Next week, the entire Dark Order is going to beat up whoever leaves as the TNT Champion to help make Mr. Brodie Lee the next champion. Silver leaves while shouting his own BRODIE chant.

#1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Colt Cabana vs. Hangman Page

Evil Uno is here with Cabana. Feeling out process to start and they run the ropes until Cabana says STOP, allowing him to snap off an armdrag. Page is back up with some chops and the running shooting star press gets two. We take a break and come back with Page hitting a fall away slam to set up the slugout.

Cabana gets in a rollup for two but the Flying Apple is countered into a bridging German suplex for two more. Back up and Cabana sends him outside for the splash off the apron. Page catches him on the way back in but the Buckshot Lariat is broken up. The Chicago Skyline is broken up as well but the Buckshot misses. Cabana gets the Superman Pin for two and NOW the Buckshot Lariat can connect for the pin on Cabana at 10:43.

Rating: C+. This took some time to get going but it wound up working out rather well in the end. I know Cabana is known for his comedy and such but he can work a completely straight match when he needs to and that’s what he did here for the most part. That’s a good change of pace and makes Cabana more valuable, so this worked out well.

Video on Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Hardy.

Team Taz wants to know why Will Hobbs is taking his time in accepting their invitation. Is he some kind of a big guy now? As for Darby Allin, he’s getting a TNT Title shot at Full Gear and Taz isn’t happy. Earlier today he talked to Tony Khan, who said Ricky Starks could have had the title shot if he had beaten Allin. WELL OF COURSE HE WOULD HAVE because Starks only lost because of a cheap ending. What do Brian Cage and Ricky Starks get? Starks talks about how he has proven his worth time after time already and now someone has to pay. That is going to be Allin, some place and some time. He’s putting Allin in the grave.

It’s time for Le Dinner Debonair with Chris Jericho and Maxwell Jacob Friedman. After getting the waitress’ name wrong, MJF orders a 20 ounce porterhouse with a baked potato and he’ll take that well done. Jericho orders the same, but he’ll have it medium well. MJF changes it to medium, setting off a back and forth until Jericho wants his blue (extra bloody rare). With the waiter off to find a new eraser, Jericho talks about a town hall with the Inner Circle next week. He doesn’t like MJF’s Ratings Ruler, because it has as much of a chance of getting over as, and they say together, Orange Cassidy.

They agree that they’re never going to get rid of each other…..and we hit an old Vaudeville style musical number, complete with synchronized dancing and the curtain pulling back to reveal dancing girls. I’m not even going to try to do this justice but the lyrics involve them being each other’s shadow and beating up a Moxley. Yeah nothing topping this one for a good while. Anyway they sit back down and get their meals, which they realize is horrible because they need to send this back. They shout their own versions of the waitress’ name to wrap things up. This was glorious.

Britt Baker vs. KiLynn King

King starts with an attempt at a rollup but gets kicked in the face for her efforts. Some knees to the face have her in more trouble and Baker pulls the arm around the post. Back up and King hits a kick to the face, only to get caught in a Sling Blade. A DDT sets up a fisherman’s neckbreaker into the Stomp, meaning it’s time for the Lockjaw to finish King st 4:03.

Rating: C-. I could go for a lot less King losing but Baker needed a showcase win here. Baker getting the title should be a matter of time now and I can’t imagine AEW messing up what should be the easiest thing they have had handed to them in a very long time. King continues to impress in losses, but this was all about Baker, as it should have been.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Orange Cassidy vs. Cody for the TNT Title in a lumberjack match.

Young Bucks vs. Butcher and Blade vs. Dark Order vs. Private Party

The winners get a shot at FTR, on commentary, at Full Gear. Matt armdrags Silver into the corner to start and it’s Blade coming in to get taken down without much effort. A double dropkick has Blade in trouble and an elevated dropkick puts Butcher down as well. Isaiah Kassidy comes in to kick Nick away and it’s a double nip up but Matt comes in and it’s a Bucks vs. Party staredown. The double superkicks are blocked so Party hits their own as everything breaks down.

Quen dives onto Silver and then does it again to Reynolds, with Dax Harwood saying he could just punch him in the face instead. Butcher and Blade are sent into each other and the shooting star press gets two on Blade with Butcher making the save. We take a break and come back with Silver missing a top rope double stomp but feeding Quen into an enziguri into a Stunner into a German suplex for two with the Bucks diving in for another save.

The hot tag brings in Kassidy, because we’re doing tags again. The Silly String hits Reynolds and it’s a top rope splash/top rope legdrop combination with the Bucks diving in a second time. Butcher and Blade hit Full Death on Kassidy with the Bucks doing their thing again, meaning it’s time for Nick to clean house with kicks and strikes.

Nick dives onto Private Party on the floor and it’s a double superkick to drop Butcher. The Bucks call out to FTR and it’s a top rope backsplash/Tombstone combination for two on Butcher and Blade with Private Party making the save. The Meltzer Driver is broken up but Kassidy is cradled into a rollup to give the Bucks the pin and the title shot at 13:29.

Rating: B-. That’s about as by the book as you would have expected here and that’s not a bad thing. The Bucks were never going to lose when they had a chance against FTR on a pay per view and it’s not like any other other teams would have been worthy of the spot anyway. It’s ok to have a match where the ending is clear and that’s what they did here, albeit with a lot of the same dives and spots that the Bucks have done in almost every single match.

Post match the Bucks get in the ring but here’s a masked man with a chair to Matt. FTR jumps Nick and give him a spike piledriver, followed by Matt’s leg being Pillmanized. The masked man is Tully Blanchard, who is rather happy with FTR to end the show. I’m going to spare myself a lot of headaches by not asking about the face/heel dynamic here.

Overall Rating: B+. How can a show that had the song number be anything but great? I know it’s going to get on some people’s nerves and fair enough but those grins and the whole production were too much to not make me smile. The wrestling was rather good throughout and they made the tournament move rather fast, even though the finals should be pretty clear. Again: there’s nothing wrong with predictable if the path there is entertaining and that’s what we got here.

Results

Wardlow b. Jungle Boy – F10

Kenny Omega b. Sonny Kiss – One Winged Angel

Rey Fenix b. Penta El Zero M – Canadian Destroyer

Hangman Page b. Colt Cabana – Buckshot lariat

Britt Baker b. KiLynn King – Lockjaw

Young Bucks b. Private Party, Butcher and Blade and Dark Order – Victory roll to Kassidy

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: October 20, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

We’re back and somehow the show is even bigger, at a sixteen match card. That’s a record even for this show and up there with the biggest Wrestlemania lineups of all time. I’m not sure why that needs to be the case around here but it’s not like there is much else to talk about with this show. Let’s get to it.

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

Commentators welcome.

Shawn Spears vs. Christopher Daniels

Again with the idea of opening with what could be the headliner. Spears works on the wrist to start before switching off to a headlock. Daniels is right back up to flip him to the floor though and we get a breather. Back in and an exchange of leapfrogs goes badly for Spears as Daniels clotheslines him down. A Fargo Strut sets up a t-bone suplex to send Spears outside again, with Daniels hitting a slingshot dive this time.

This one doesn’t go as well as Daniels is whipped hard into the barricade, setting up a neckbreaker on the floor. Back in and Daniels whips him hard into the corner, followed by a DDT to stay on the neck. The C4 is countered though and Daniels grabs a Downward Spiral. The STO plants Spears and another C4 is countered again into a rollup for two. Daniels gets another two off a high crossbody but the Angel’s Wings is blocked. A slingshot is cut off though and now the C4 can finish Daniels at 7:16.

Rating: C. As expected, two people who have done this for a long time and have shown that they can do good things in the ring have a completely watchable match. It’s nothing that hasn’t been done before, but there wasn’t a bad thing about the match and it was well set up throughout. Spears is still totally uninteresting, but it could have been far worse.

Post match Spears hits a second C4, drawing out Scorpio Sky to chase him off. Spears beats up a production guy to blow off some steam.

Brandi Rhodes vs. KiLynn King

I don’t see King breaking her losing streak here. King spins her down into a hammerlock but gets reversed with a headscissors. Back up and Brandi snaps off a headlock takeover as the mat grappling continues. King’s rollup gets two and Brandi’s gets the same, setting up an early standoff.

An armdrag into an armbar has Brandi in trouble again but she sends King into the corner for the running elbow as commentary makes radio jokes. Cue John Silver to campaign to be on Brandi’s cooking show, but Brandi is fine enough to hit a Sling Blade for two. They slug it out from their knees and it’s the Shot Of Brandi (which looked like it needed a camera cut) for the pin on King at 3:22.

Rating: D+. This was all you could have expected as Brandi isn’t going to lose a match like this, even if it’s against someone who seems like they could be a breakout star in King. The wrestling wasn’t anything great, but they did well enough with the counters and reversals. That finish still doesn’t look great, but it’s better than Brandi using the spear.

David Ali vs. Ricky Starks

Ali hammers away to start but gets picked up and dropped hard. The chopping is on as Taz is rather pleased with all of this. Ali manages to get to the corner though and it’s a missile dropkick to stagger Starks. After being confused for a second, Starks goes up again and gets crotched back down. A running boot in the corner connects and the Roshambo finishes Ali at 2:57.

Starks joins commentary, as is his custom.

Scorpio Sky vs. Fuego del Sol

Fuego flips out of a wristlock to start so Sky slows him down with a headlock. A front chancery has Fuego in trouble and a Russian legsweep gives Sky two. Sky hits a backbreaker and bends Fuego over the knee as the announcers talk about Goosebumps. The abdominal stretch goes on but Fuego is out in a hurry for a dropkick. That’s enough to send Sky outside and Fuego adds a slingshot dive. Back in and Sol rolls him up out of the corner for two, followed by an enziguri for the same. Not that it matters as Fuego dives into a very quick Scorpion Deathlock for the tap at 5:41.

Rating: C. Sky continues to be one of the smoothest workers around here and it’s nice to see him doing this kind of thing every time he’s out there. Fuego got to showcase himself here and Sky is someone who can do something with anyone. I liked this well enough, with Sky working on the ribs throughout and then getting the win with a hold that works on the back. Makes enough sense.

Post match Shawn Spears’ music hits but he doesn’t show up.

Aaron Solow vs. Luchasaurus

Luchasaurus shoves him down without much effort and unloads on him in the corner as Starks talks about his time teaming with Solow. Back up and Solow hits a headscissors to the floor but the suicide dive is caught. A tornado DDT on the floor works a bit better but Luchasaurus is right back with a kick to the face inside. Solow knees him in the face, only to get blasted by a running clothesline. The Tail Whip into the chokeslam into the standing moonsault finishes Solow at 3:36.

Rating: C-. Solow got in a lot of offense here and it was probably too much. Luchasaurus is a monster and not the kind of person who should be giving up so much. At the same time, he probably shouldn’t be needing to do so many big moves at the end. The Tail Whip, the chokeslam and the standing moonsault could all be finishers. Use one or two at most, not three.

Griff Garrison/Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Butcher and Blade

Eddie Kingston is here with Butcher and Blade. It’s Garrison getting chopped in the corner to start but it’s off to Pillman to kick away at Blade. A superkick doesn’t work on Butcher though, as he crushes Pillman with a running crossbody. It’s back to Blade for some choking on the ropes and Butcher drives in some knees to the back.

Pillman gets in a dropkick but Butcher whips him hard into the corner to cut him off again. A quick spinning high crossbody gives Pillman enough space for the hot tag to Garrison though and everything breaks down. Pillman is sent to the floor though and it’s a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to finish Garrison at 6:03.

Rating: C. There is something to be said about Pillman taking a beating like that and then making a comeback. It worked out just fine here and that isn’t the most surprising. Garrison and Pillman as a small, plucky team is fine enough and I won’t be surprised when they’re both signed soon enough.

Penta El Cero M vs. QT Marshall

Dustin Rhodes is here too. Penta takes his time in removing the glove so Marshall hits him in the face. A running headscissors takes Penta down again but a dive is cut off with ease. Back in and Penta throws him right back to the floor for the strikes against the post. They head inside again with Penta charging into an elbow and then getting elbowed down again. Penta kicks him down and hits a double stomp for two but Marshall hits a handspring kick to the face.

A Sling Blade gives Penta two and here’s Eddie Kingston with a microphone to watch. The package piledriver is blocked and they kick each other down. Eddie waves at Marshall and says he has a surprise. Cue Allie in the Bunny gear again but she leaves with Eddie. Marshall is fine enough to get two off a backslide but Penta is back with a Pentagon Driver for two of his own. A Michinoku Driver gives Marshall two more so Penta goes up for a change. That means it’s the middle rope Canadian Destroyer into the Fear Factor to finish Marshall at 8:31.

Rating: C. They avoided the styles clash here and had a nice match, though the point is ending the rather unnecessary Allie/Marshall deal. I’m still not sure what the idea behind that was but maybe we get to find that out later. Either way, Penta winning is nice and it’s not like Marshall is hurt by a loss.

Jungle Boy vs. KTB

KTB charges but gets dropkicked to the corner. Boy snaps off a headscissors out of the corner but KTB sends him into the corner for the rolling shoulder to the ribs (that’s a new one). A dragon screw legwhip sets up a fireman’s carry slam for two and it’s an atomic drop into a quick splash for the same.

Boy pops off a clothesline and hits his own dragon screw legwhip to the floor. That means a suicide dive and a slingshot DDT gives Boy two more. Boy goes to the ropes again but gets caught in a Razor’s Edge flipped down into a knee to the face for two more. KTB misses a moonsault though and it’s a running elbow to the back of the head. Boy’s top rope double knee drop is good for the pin at 5:27.

Rating: C+. KTB got to showcase himself here and that was all you could hope for. Boy is not big enough to be someone to look dominant so having him fight from underneath is the right idea every time. The match worked a lot better than I would have bet on and that’s always a nice surprise.

And that’s the halfway point.

Ivelisse/Diamante vs. Skyler Moore/Kenzie Paige

It’s a brawl to start with Moore and Paige being cleared out in a hurry. Diamante muscles Moore up in a not great looking suplex and there’s an uppercut into the corner. A double suplex gets two on Moore and we hit the chinlock. Diamante charges into a boot though and it’s a double clothesline for the double knockdown. Paige and Ivelisse come in to pick up the pace and Paige’s Natural Selection gets two. Diamante is right back with a quick Stunner though and Ivelisse hits the rolling kick to the face for the pin at 4:09.

Rating: D+. Just a quick match here to remind you that Ivelisse and Diamante exist. You might have forgotten after they won that tournament, which wound up meaning a grand total of nothing. Moore and Paige are both find enough, but there is only so much that can be done in a situation like this.

Colt Cabana vs. Bshp King

There’s no Dark Order with Cabana and he seems to be confused. Commentary talks about Cabana’s jackets and make an Orange Cassidy/Pockets reference to make sure that we know they listen to Jim Cornette. Feeling out process to start with both taking turns going after the arm as John Silver and Alex Reynolds come out.

Actually never mind as Cabana sends them back before kicking at King’s legs. Something close to an old Stump Puller has King in more trouble and some elbows to the head make it worse. The Order is here again and the distraction means Cabana can’t hit the Chicago Skyline. The Flying Apple into the Superman Pin is enough to finish King at 4:07.

Rating: C-. Another match that came and went with little of interest. I guess Cabana is having issues with the Dark Order now and this needed to be on the show because…maybe having sixteen matches sounds better than having fifteen? Yeah this is the first candidate for the match being cut so far and that’s not a good place to be.

Adam Priest vs. Alan Angels

Most of the Dark Order is here with Angels. Priest gets knocked into the corner to start and Angels hits a middle rope springboard clothesline. A quick moonsault gives Angels two but Priest is back with a big boot and clothesline of his own. Angels grabs a twisting fisherman’s buster and the Wing Snapper finishes Priest at 3:16.

Rating: C-. Ironically enough this didn’t get enough time and it hurt things a lot. It wasn’t a bad match at all and Angels continues to get to showcase himself well. Priest is another guy in a long list of them around here and while I don’t think this was meant to be a showcase for him, he didn’t quite get to do much here.

Frankie Kazarian tells Jack Evans that respect is earned and now he wants to be at the top of the industry. He has always been the bridesmaid but never the bride so tonight is the start of his wedding march.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Jack Evans

Angelico is here with Evans. Kazarian takes him down by the arm to start but Evans gets a quickly broken chancery. Back up and a shoulder runs Evans over, setting up an armdrag into an armbar. A cartwheel into a headscissors takes Kazarian down but he’s right back with the armdrag into a second armbar. That’s broken up and Evans offers a distraction so Angelico can get in a cheap shot, setting up a northern lights suplex. Evans pops up onto Kazarian’s ribs into a standing moonsault for two more.

A hair takedown gets another two on Kazarian and there’s a hard whip into the corner. Kazarian gets a sunset flip out of the corner for his own two but he has to deal with Angelico. Evans gets clotheslined down for another near fall and there’s two more off a springboard spinning legdrop. Kazarian’s leg is kicked out and a standing sky twister press (geez) gives Evans another two. Kazarian reverses the moonsault into a reverse DDT into a reverse DDT of his own to finish Evans at 7:57.

Rating: C. Kazarian can go with anyone and Evans was doing all of his flips and dives, as he is known to do. It’s another case of having a steady hand like Kazarian in there and that’s the best way to use Evans. It wasn’t a classic or anything but it got a little time and they traded some nice spots so it went well enough.

Post match Angelico jumps Kazarian but Christopher Daniels runs in for the save.

Louie Valle/Baron Black/D3 vs. Dark Order

It’s 3/4/10 for the Order here and the fact that we have now had two different stables with three matches each and have four matches left might suggest that this show is TOO FREAKING LONG. Taz: “Maybe we should call this show AEW Dark Order.” See? Even he gets it. Valle is offered a spot in the Dark Order to start but turns it down, meaning Reynolds beats him up. That’s broken up with Valle getting in a few shots of his own but not being ready to follow up.

Black comes in but gets crotched, meaning it’s off to D3, who is shouldered down by Silver. An arm trap rollup gives D3 two so Silver knocks him down again. Vance comes in and blocks a hurricanrana, followed by a hard fall away slam into the corner. A double flipping faceplant drops D3 again and there’s a delayed suplex from Vance. Silver sends D3 flying across the ring but he slips out of a gorilla press. The hot tag brings in Valle for a running crossbody as Taz talks about how short both of them are. Everything breaks down and Vance spinebusters Black. The double flipping slam finishes Black at 5:48.

Rating: C. In case you didn’t get the idea the first 183 times we’ve seen it, the Dark Order can beat up jobbers in a match that doesn’t last very long and look good together as a trio. I don’t know how many times we need to see them do this or some combination of it to get the point already, but since this is the third Dark Order match on the show, it probably isn’t enough yet. The team has gotten better, but I’m sick of seeing them do the same stuff over and over like this.

Wardlow vs. Vinny Pacifico

Wardlow’s knee in the corner knocks Pacifico out at 40 seconds. This is just like last week when Wardlow’s knee in the corner knocked out another jobber in a short match, but you needed to see it twice to get the point or something.

Post match Wardlow gives him an F10.

Eddie Kingston and company welcome Allie to the fold to complete the team.

Matt Sydal vs. Shawn Dean

Sydal takes him down into a headscissors to start before cranking on the arm. A front facelock keeps Dean in trouble but he’s back up with some armdrags into a dropkick. That earns him a jumping spinwheel kick and a standing twisting Swanton gets two on Dean. Back up and Dean slugs away but gets pulled down into a reverse Rings of Saturn. That’s broken up as well because we’ve already had our short matches of the night. Dean grabs a tiger driver for two but Sydal hits a jumping knee. A kick to the head sets up the cobra stretch to finish Dean at 6:02.

Rating: C-. Another Sydal match as he gets to show what he can do outside of the high flying. It was fine enough and Dean can go better than most of the job squad. I just didn’t need to see another six minute match after fourteen matches throughout the card so far. That’s where this show gets in trouble: everything gets crushed by all of the other stuff and it defeats the purpose of making Sydal look good.

Sonny Kiss vs. Rey Fenix

Joey Janela is here too. Kiss shoves him away to start and they go to a test of strength to show off their counters. A step up hurricanrana takes Fenix down so Fenix rolls into a hurricanrana of his own. Fenix dropkicks him into the corner and then pulls him shoulder first into the corner.

We hit the armbar for a bit until Fenix goes with a sunset flip but cranks on the leg instead (that’s a new one). Something like a Tequila Sunrise has Kiss in more trouble and Fenix kicks the arm to make it worse. Kiss is back with a twisting elbow to the face and the front flip kick to the ribs in the corner. A victory roll gives Kiss two and he drops Fenix on top of his head. Fenix is fine enough to catch him on top though and the Black Fire Driver finishes Kiss at 7:44.

Rating: C. This was Kiss doing his gymnastics and Fenix doing his lucha stuff and it wound up being ok. The arm and leg stuff from Fenix was a nice twist and I’m glad to see him getting a chance in the big tournament. I could see him getting to the second round and after not being able to do much else around here, that’s a pretty good result all things considered.

Overall Rating: D+. What even is there to say? It’s a longer version of the same problems that this show always has. Last week’s show was fourteen matches and they even had four matches that were similar to last week, down to the same people. I honestly have no idea what this show is supposed to be or who it is supposed to appeal to, but if they keep this up, plus Dynamite and the third show, they are going to risk burning out their audience REALLY fast.

The point of Dynamite was the same as the glory days of NXT: the best show you get all week and it leaves you wanting more. This isn’t the same as Dynamite, but it has a lot of the same people and there is rarely anything worth going out of your way to see. It’s still AEW though, and if you keep pumping out this much content, fans are going to get burned out one day and there is no one to blame but yourselves.

Another problem with the show itself is in the matches. It would be one thing if these matches were all a minute or two, but when it’s one five to six minute match after another, that time adds up in a hurry and, again, nothing gets to stand out. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been done better elsewhere and I don’t get invested in anything they do. It has a nice idea and if you fix things up it would be a good supplement to Dynamite. At this rate though it’s WAY longer than Dynamite (with commercials factored out) and that’s killing whatever benefits it has. Cut it down by two thirds (geez) and it works, but this was insane.

Results

Shawn Spears b. Christopher Daniels – C4

Brandi Rhodes b. KiLynn King – Shot Of Brandi

Ricky Starks b. David Ali – Roshambo

Scorpio Sky b. Fuego del Sol – Scorpion Deathlock

Luchasaurus b. Aaron Solow – Standing moonsault

Butcher and Blade b. Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Garrison

Penta El Cero M b. QT Marshall – Fear Factor

Jungle Boy b. KTB – Top rope double knee drop

Ivelisse/Diamante b. Kenzie Paige/Skyler Moore – Rolling kick to Paige’s face

Colt Cabana b. Bshp King – Superman Pin

Alan Angels b. Adam Priest – Wing Snapper

Frankie Kazarian b. Jack Evans – Reverse DDT

Dark Order b. D3/Baron Black/Louie Valle – Double flipping slam to Black

Wardlow b. Vinny Pacifico – Knee to the face

Matt Sydal b. Shawn Dean – Cobra stretch

Fenix b. Sonny Kiss – Black Fire Driver

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: October 13, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

It’s the night before the big anniversary show and that means we have a lot to cover in the near future. I’m not sure what we we are going to be seeing tonight, but there are fourteen matches, which is likely going to make this one of the longer shows in its history so far. You know how much I’ll love that. Let’s get to it.

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

Commentary welcome.

Evil Uno vs. Blade vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Jungle Boy

One fall to a finish and there are no seconds. It’s a brawl to start with Uno and Blade being knocked outside in a hurry. Kazarian sweeps Boy’s leg out for two but Boy stacks him up for two more. Boy’s legsweep misses and it’s a standoff, allowing Uno to take Boy’s place. Kazarian clotheslines Uno down so here’s Blade, who gets taken down with a springboard wristdrag.

Kazarian’s bridging electric chair gets two on Boy but Uno is back in with a suplex for the same. A neckbreaker with the wrist tape drops Boy for two more, leaving Blade and Uno to chop it out. Everyone is back inside and Boy monkey flips Kazarian, who hits the other two with a double clothesline. Kazarian pulls Boy into the slingshot cutter before fisherman’s suplexing Blade for two.

Uno’s backbreaker gets two more on Boy but Blade powerbombs him out of the corner. Kazarian grabs the slingshot DDT on Blade but Boy is back in with stereo crossbodies to Kazarian to put everyone down. Boy gets caught on top so Kazarian and Blade fight over who gets to give him a superplex. Uno breaks that up, only to get caught in a rollup to give Boy the pin at 8:31.

Rating: C. They telegraphed the ending a bit by talking about Boy being in the #1 contenders tournament but at the same time, a four way is the kind of match which could go in a variety of ways without hurting the most important name. It was a good opener and felt more important, though that isn’t likely to be the case for everything tonight. Boy winning is a good thing though and it’s not like Uno loses anything significant by taking the fall.

Post match Uno jumps Boy and calls out the Dark Order but here are Christopher Daniels and SCU for the save, with Luchasaurus beating up various people.

Lucha Bros vs. Cezar Bononi/Lee Johnson

Penta yells at Bononi to start and gets run over by a shoulder. Fenix comes in for a handspring kick to Johnson’s face and it’s back to Penta, who takes too long yelling. Bononi gets the tag and starts cleaning house, including World’s Strongest Slamming Penta and powerbombing Fenix at the same time. Fenix is back up with a springboard wristdrag to set up a low top rope double stomp from Penta to put Bononi down. The double superkick look to set up the spike Fear Factor but Johnson makes the save. Penta is right back with a Sling Blade and Fenix kicks Bononi down. Now the spike Fear Factor can finish Johnson at 5:04.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t into this one as much as they didn’t get to the drama for the most part. It was fine enough as the Lucha Bros can do their thing, but they need someone better to work off of. Bononi and Johnson are just two guys facing them, and that’s not exactly the best use of the Lucha Bros. Then again that has been the case for months so maybe they need a new direction.

Brandon Cutler vs. Peter Avalon

They’re at it again and Avalon jumps him from behind during the entrances. A tiger bomb plants Cutler on the ramp and Avalon demands that he be declared the winner. The bell rings anyway so it’s a running dropkick to send Cutler outside again, meaning the count is on. Three straight belly to back suplexes set up a half crab but Cutler makes the rope. Back up and Avalon charges into a boot to the face, allowing Avalon to hit a kick to the head.

They head outside where Avalon yells at Leva Bates, allowing Cutler to hit a suicide dive. The springboard elbow gives Cutler two back inside but Avalon is back with the Rock Bottom for the same. Cutler grabs a reverse inverted DDT for his second two so he tries the big dice but Leva talks him out of it. Back in and Avalon hits a running clothesline before picking up a book. The referee gets decked as Cutler picks Avalon up, meaning there is no count off Cutler’s gutbuster. Cutler rips up the book so Avalon grabs the dice, meaning they hit each other at the same time for the double DQ at 7:32.

Rating: C. This worked, but it needs to be the last screwy finish. Throw some kind of a gimmick out there or something, but end it with the next one. Both guys wanting desperately to win their first match is a clever way to go and the double DQ was the most logical after the double countout. This worked out well, but you can probably guarantee a time limit draw in there somewhere.

Sonny Kiss is ready to show he’s a singles star as well.

Sonny Kiss vs. Matt Sydal

Sydal armdrags him down a few times into a front facelock but Sonny is right back with a running dropkick. Back up and Sydal hits a spinwheel kick and we hit the third eye jazz. Sydal takes him down into a stretch, with Taz and Excalibur arguing over what kind of a grip he is using. A fisherman’s buster gives Sydal two but Sonny is back with forearms into a running Downward Spiral. The running splits splash gives Sonny two but the middle rope version misses. Sydal ties the legs up and grabs a cobra clutch to make Sonny tap at 5:40.

Rating: C-. This was just a step above a squash for Sydal, who never quite felt like he was in jeopardy. Part of that is due to where Sonny is on the card, but the other problem is he is much more of a gymnast than anything else and it doesn’t exactly make him seem like a threat. Not a bad match, but not a dramatic one either.

Dark Order vs. Aaron Solow/M’Badu/Angel Fashion

It’s 3/4/10 for the Order here. Silver slams Solow down to start but Solow is back with a dropkick. M’Badu comes in and pounds away on Silver, who fails at a shoulder block. Fashion comes in to kick Reynolds’ leg out and adds a running knee to the face for two. It’s off to Vance for a running cutter, followed by a neckbreaker from Reynolds.

Fashion manages to back flip his way to freedom and makes the tag off to M’Badu to clean house. Solow comes back in but gets cut off by Vance’s slingshot spear. That means Solow is lifted into the air for a running charge from Silver, flipping Solow down for the crash and the pin at 5:47.

Rating: D+. M’Badu was the only thing of value here, as the Dark Order continues to be fine and not much else. Silver has grown on me a bit and is showing some personality though, making him the lone member of the lower half of the team to do so. Another match that could have been trimmed, but AEW LOVES the Dark Order so that wasn’t an option.

Red Velvet vs. Elayna Black

Brandi is on commentary because she’s Brandi and needs to be around a lot. Black on the other hand comes out with a mini coffin, containing an AEW face guard. Black’s waistlock is broken up in a hurry and Velvet armdrags her down. Velvet does it again and adds a dropkick for a bonus. Brandi thinks Velvet should be called Lil Cupcake but gets cut off by Black kicking out the leg. Black mocks the stirring deal but Velvet is back with some running clotheslines. A Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog sets up some running double knees to Black’s back. Just Desserts (a running kick to the side of the head) finishes Black at 3:32.

Rating: C-. Velvet is someone who could be a bit of a player if she is given the chance to grow and a win is the first step. It’s rather nice to see this show FINALLY starting to boost up some of these people who we have seen so many times already. It’s long overdue and helps a lot so if Velvet is someone they can build, good for them.

Ricky Starks vs. Fuego del Sol

Commentary makes fun of Sol, a luchador, being from Alabama. Starks unloads on him in the corner before sending Sol into various corners. There’s a big toss across the ring and Starks elbows him in the face, giving us a THIS IS MY HOUSE. Sol gets sent hard over the top and out onto the ramp, with Starks dragging him over near commentary. Starks jumps on commentary to say this is AEW Starks before taking it back to the ring. Sol’s comeback doesn’t work as it’s the spear into the Roshambo to give Starks the pin at 3:05.

Rating: C-. The match was completely one sided but you can feel the star power with Starks. He gets in there and commands attention, looks great and backs it up in the ring. What else could you ask for from someone who is 26 years old? Starks has been a complete steal and I could go for a lot more of him as he gains experience.

Scorpio Sky and Christopher Daniels are asked if Shawn Spears is in their heads so here’s Spears to ask the same. Sky is ready to fight so Tully Blanchard makes the match for next week.

Starks joins commentary.

Gunn Club vs. Ryzin/Maxx Stardom

They’re trolling us with the Gunn Club right? Ryzin stomps Austin down in the corner to start as Team Taz doesn’t like Ryzin wearing the orange and black. Austin is right back with a Hennig necksnap for two and Billy comes in for a running boot to the face. A spinning slam plants Stardom but it’s back to Ryzin for a backbreaker into a neckbreaker on Austin. Back up and a double clothesline allows the double tag to Billy and Stardom. The Fameasser misses though and Ryzin hits a superkick. Austin is right back in though and the Quick Draw finishes Stardom at 4:47.

Rating: D. This was every Gunn Club match you’ve seen so far and that isn’t likely to change. They’re probably about 9-0 at this point and have never so much as come close to going after the titles. It’s like running on a treadmill but there is nothing to see in the first place. The team just sticks around no matter what and never goes anywhere, only making them the most expendable thing that shows up on this show far too frequently.

Darby Allin vs. Nick Comoroto

Comoroto is a very hairy man in an untied straitjacket (good look to him). Allin gets shoved into the corner to start as Team Taz is now cheering for Comoroto. There’s another hard whip into the corner to put Allin down again and a slam gives Comoroto two. He whips Allin into the corner a third time for two and a backbreaker cuts Allin off for two more.

Allin flips his way to the apron and snaps the arm across the rope. There’s a dropkick to the knee and an armbar over the ropes has Comoroto in more trouble. A Fujiwara armbar sends Comoroto into the ropes so Allin goes to the middle rope to take him down by the arm. The Coffin Drop finishes Comoroto at 5:42.

Rating: C. Allin continues to impress and it makes sense to keep him around so much. The Coffin Drop looks good as a finisher too and I want to see more of him against Team Taz. At the same time, Comoroto looks like he could be a good monster around here, though that won’t be as effective if he loses seven or eight matches around here first. Nice debut showing here though, partially because he looks like a werewolf.

Post match Allin charges at Starks for the brawl.

KiLynn King wants to fight Nyla Rose again. This was an intense promo and I could go for more of King, either wrestling or talking.

Colt Cabana vs. Griff Garrison

Yes we are now at three Dark Order matches on one show. Cabana takes him down in a hurry and it’s time to fight over arm control. Garrison hits a kick to the face but misses a charge into the corner, allowing Cabana to stomp away. A spinebuster looks to set up the Billy Goat’s Curse but Garrison heads straight to the ropes. Back up and Garrison hits a rolling elbow, followed by a running splash in the corner. Cabana gets his boots up though and the Flying Apple connects. The middle rope splash gets two and Cabana is surprised. Cabana trips him down and it’s the Billy Goat’s Curse to make Garrison tap at 4:40.

Rating: D+. Another match which came and went, though Cabana is a lot more polished than most of the people on the roster. He’s been around forever and knows what works on him so it makes sense to have him out there fairly often. They have seemingly dropped the issues with Cabana and Lee, but I’m not sure how much further it could have gone anyway.

KiLynn King vs. Nyla Rose

Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose. King gets shoved down to start so she goes with the strikes to have Rose in a bit of trouble. Back up and Rose hits the fall away slam but misses a charge into the corner. Rose sends her flying with a release German suplex and the Beast Bomb finishes at 1:54. What a waste of a good promo.

Post match Vickie says she wants a better opponent. They are the Vicious Vixens and demand an answer. It’s either Hikaru Shida for the Women’s Title or Rose doesn’t wrestle.

Joey Janela vs. D3

Sonny Kiss is here with Joey. They go to the mat to start and D3 grabs a rollup for two. Janela is back up with a running shoulder but gets caught in the very spinning anklescissors. That’s broken up with a simple drop to send D3 face first into the mat, marking a rather smart counter.

A neckbreaker gives Janela two but D3 is back with his own neckbreaker. Commentary mostly ignores the match to talk about Italian ice until Janela gets their attention with a spinning Death Valley Driver on the floor. Back in and Joey hits a running clothesline before screaming a bit. Three brainbusters knock D3 silly and Janela finally pins him at 5:04.

Rating: D+. So now Janela gets aggressive to beat a jobber? That’s what we’re going with now? Janela continues to be someone who is just there and that isn’t exactly inspiring stuff. I know he’s a big deal on the indy scene, but it isn’t translating here and one match where he hits a bunch of brainbusters isn’t going to make it work.

Wardlow vs. Elijah Dean

Dean wears bright purple and pink and is from Intercourse, Pennsylvania. Wardlow shoves him down and takes the leg out to put Dean in more trouble. Dean’s shots to the chest earn him a big toss and a hard clothesline makes it even worse. Wardlow powers him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs before putting Dean on the top. Dean is dropped down onto a knee to the face for the knockout at 1:53. So we needed to add in this total Wardlow squash to build him up for a tournament he is already in because he has been built up in matches like this? And it just NEEDED to be tonight?

Eddie Kingston vs. Baron Black

Black has to go straight to the knee to escape an early grappling attempt so Kingston knocks him down. The big chops have Black in more trouble but he hits a discus clothesline in the corner. An exploder suplex drops Kingston again, only to have Eddie come back with the spinning backfist. A front chancery makes Black tap at 2:47.

Kingston shouts for Jon Moxley.

Preview for Dynamite FINALLY wraps this up.

Overall Rating: D. NOPE! This was one of the most infuriating shows I can remember in a long time and it made me long for a good old fashioned three hour Raw. After six matches, I looked at the clock and after my eyes bugged out, it dawned on me that we had another EIGHT to go. They crammed every single thing they could in here and a grand total of nothing stands out because there were fourteen matches, plus promos, with the big stories being a match set up for next week and Cutler vs. Avalon continuing.

This was so stupidly long and there is zero reason for it to be. How many matches could you just not do and have the same result? There were a few things on here which felt somewhat more important than usual but they all get forgotten because we need the Gunn Club and three Dark Order matches and Sonny Kiss/Joey Janela in singles matches and a squash from Nyla Rose, Wardlow and Eddie Kingston. This was so annoying and I don’t remember the last time a show got on my nerves so much. And of course they’ll do it again and the answer will be “just don’t watch it”, because that’s easier than making a show better.

Results

Jungle Boy b. Evil Uno, Frankie Kazarian and Blade – Rollup to Uno

Lucha Bros b. Cezar Bononi/Lee Johnson – Spike Fear Factor to Johnson

Brandon Cutler vs. Peter Avalon went to a double DQ when both used weapons

Matt Sydal b. Sonny Kiss – Cobra clutch

Dark Order b. M’Badu/Aaron Solow/Angel Fashion – Double flipping slam to Solow

Red Velvet b. Elayna Black – Just Desserts

Ricky Starks b. Fuego del Sol – Roshambo

Gunn Club. Ryzin/Maxx Stardom – Quick Draw to Stardom

Darby Allin b. Nick Comoroto – Coffin Drop

Colt Cabana b. Griff Garrison – Billy Goat’s Curse

Nyla Rose b. KiLynn King – Beast Bomb

Joey Janela b. D3 – Brainbuster

Wardlow b. Elijah Dean – Knee to the face

Eddie Kingston b. Baron Black – Front chancery

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

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

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

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