Rampage
Date: December 29, 2023
Location: Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s the final show before Worlds End and the card should be mostly set. While AEW likes to add in a good bit more at the last minute, the Continental Classic and likely most of the title matches are ready to go. This show could include some hard pushes towards some of those matches, which AEW tends to do well. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Chris Jericho to get things going. Jericho welcomes us to the show and talks about Sammy Guevara quitting the Don Callis Family on Dynamite. He made the save and now we have an eight man tag at Worlds End. After their no holds barred tag match a few months ago, Sting called Jericho and now they’re cool. For now though, Jericho wants Guevara out here right now. Cue Guevara to a strong reaction and Jericho praises him for his abilities.

But why did Guevara turn on him for Don Callis? Guevara talks about how it’s hard to be in Jericho’s shadow and maybe he thought he needed more. It’s time to stop blaming everyone else though and now he knows he’s the man that he should have been the whole time. Guevara offers an apology, which Jericho accepts and offers one of his own. They have the eight man tag tomorrow, but after that, Jericho still needs a partner for the Tag Team Title shot. The big hug seems to seal the deal. This was a nice way to make it clear that everything was ok and explain the rushed turn for Guevara.

We recap the House of Black attacking Daniel Garcia after he beat Brody King on Collision.

Garcia, with Matt Menard, says he’s sick of people like the House of Black and promises vengeance.

Ruby Soho vs. Marina Shafir

Soho has Saraya and Harley Cameron with her while Shafir has Nyla Rose. They both miss clotheslines in the corner to start until Shafir kicks her down to take over. Cameron offers a distraction though and Soho knocks Shafir outside as we take an early break. Back with Shafir not quite being able to hit a backbreaker and grabbing a chinlock instead. With that keeping Soho down, Rose beats up Cameron and chases Saraya off, leaving Shafir to slam Soho for two. Cameron is back up for a distraction though and Soho’s rollup with tights gets the pin at 5:15.

Rating: C-. A match that is only running a little over five minutes probably shouldn’t have a break in the middle, but Shafir’s stuff can be a bit rough to watch. She doesn’t feel natural or smooth in the ring and that was the case again here. Rose chasing off Soho’s friends felt more important, as the match barely got enough time to do anything.

The Don Callis Family and Big Bill/Ricky Starks promise to take out Sting, Darby Allin, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara. Powerhouse Hobbs promises to show why he’s big, Black and jacked.

Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale make sure that they’re ok but they should fight at Worlds End anyway. Cue Stokely Hathaway to ask if Willow was busy watching Rugrats when she took so long to make the save on Dynamite. Statlander shrugs it off and the match is on.

Ring Of Honor Pure Rules Title: Wheeler Yuta vs. Matt Sydal

Yuta is defending. They fight over wrist control to start until Sydal rolls him up for a close two. Another exchange of rollups get two each until Sydal hits a flipping backsplash for two more. Yuta kicks him down and forearms away in the corner as we take an early break. Back with Yuta getting two off a dropkick but getting kicked in the face.

Sydal hits some running knees and an Air Raid Crash gets two. Some more strikes to the face don’t do much to Yuta, who grabs a bridging German suplex for another near fall. Something like a crossface sends Sydal to the rope for the first time so Yuta elbows him in the face. The seat belt retains the title at 9:34.

Rating: C+. As usual, there is only so much to be gotten out of the Pure Rules matches. Yuta isn’t overly interested in these things and that was the case again here, as he’s just a villain who does his thing and wins. It doesn’t help that this was a cold match with nothing to make it more intriguing, but that’s the case with a lot of the Pure Title stuff. It really is a title that doesn’t need to be around but that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

Post match Danhausen comes out to say he’s the fourth judge and since Yuta cheated with a clenched fist, Yuta is disqualified. Yuta beats him up but Hook makes the save.

We recap Samoa Joe taking an injury and taking out MJF on Dynamite.

Orange Cassidy/Rocky Romero/Trent Beretta vs. Action Andretti/Top Flight

Cassidy and Andretti start things off with Cassidy taking him down to start and getting in a quick thumbs up. Andretti gets to his feet and flips into a standoff, only to have Cassidy take him into the corner. Trent comes in and drops Andretti with a shot to the face so it’s off to Darius.

That’s enough for commentary to ignore the match and talk about Worlds End as Trent is dropkicked into the wrong corner. Top Flight comes in to clean house and the triple dive takes down Cassidy and company as we take a break. Back with Andretti enziguring Romero into the corner and the tag brings Dante back in. A springboard high crossbody gets two on Romero as everything breaks down.

Dante hits a half nelson Skull Crushing Finale on Romero, followed by a big save to leave everyone down. We get the double tag to Dante vs. Cassidy but they’re both sent to the floor, leaving Dante to hit an Arabian moonsault onto Romero. Back in and Romero’s release German superplex drops Darius on his face, followed by a rollup for two on Cassidy. The Orange Punch is countered with a superkick and the swinging half nelson slam finishes Romero at 12:55.

Rating: B-. Top Flight and Andretti are turning into a thing and they should probably be winning some of the Six Man Tag Team Titles sooner than later. It’s not like the Mogul Embassy needs the titles so give them to a team that might get something out of them. Good main event here, as the six man matches continue to be fun.

Overall Rating: C+. I’ve been saying this for a few weeks now but this was another very typical Rampage episode, with one segment that felt like it mattered with the bigger stories, an entertaining main event and not much more. That being said, this show at least felt more important with the lack of a Collision this week and now we get to see where everything heads on Saturday. Not a must see show, but there are worse things to watch.

Results
Ruby Soho b. Marina Shafir – Rollup with tights
Wheeler Yuta b. Matt Sydal – Seat belt
Action Andretti/Top Flight b. Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta/Rocky Romero – Spinning half nelson slam to Romero

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Worlds End 2023
Date: December 30, 2023
Location: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Long Island, New York
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the last pay per view of the year and that means we could be in for a rather big show. The main events will see MJF defending the AEW World Title against Samoa Joe with the Devil’s reveal lurking. We also have the finals of the Continental Classic, which means the crowning of the first Triple Crown Champion. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale

Stokely Hathaway, the source of the issues between these two, is at ringside and both of the women are from Long Island. An exchange of shoulders doesn’t go anywhere as Hathaway blames Tony Schiavone for the issues between these two. Nightingale takes her to the mat and grabs a headscissors but Statlander easily slips out. A legsweep and some spinning knees give Statlander two but Nightingale runs her over with a crossbody.

Back up and Statlander strikes away, setting up the pretty impressive slam. We hit the bodyscissors and then a chinlock to keep Nightingale down, followed by a belly to back suplex for two. Back up and they collide for a double knockdown, followed by Nightingale crushing her in the corner. A spinebuster gets two for Nightingale, who gets planted down to give Statlander the same. Statlander hits an electric chair faceplant but Nightingale is right back up with the Pounce.

The Cannonball into a Death Valley Driver gives Nightingale two more, followed by Statlander’s ax kick for the same. Nightingale powerbombs her onto the apron though and a missile dropkick gets two more. Saturday Night Fever is broken up so Statlander settles for a discus lariat, only to miss the 450. The Babe With The Powerbomb doesn’t work as Statlander lands on Nightingale (with Nigel pointing out that it was more of a legdrop for Statlander), so Nightingale grabs a better version for the pin at 13:21.

Rating: B-. This was a hoss fight and thankfully they went home after the not so great powerbomb slip. It’s very nice to see Nightingale get a win after being known for coming up short so often. At the same time, what in the world has happened to Statlander? She went from on ire to losing clean in a Zero Hour match, which is hardly the best way to go for her. She needs to get back on track, though I’m not sure I see that happening anytime soon.

Zero Hour: Battle Royal

Action Andretti, Darius Martin, Alex Reynolds, John Silver, Danhausen, Bryan Keith, Matt Menard, Rocky Romero, Trent Beretta, Angelo Parker, Kip Sabian, Christopher Daniels, Lance Archer, Killswitch, Dalton Castle, Johnny TV, Butcher, Blade, Serpentico, Lee Johnson

For a future TNT Title shot. Castle (with two suspiciously large Boys) and TV get in a fight at ringside while everyone else jump Archer and Killswitch to bury the under tables at ringside. Everyone else gets inside and Serpentico is quickly eliminated. Sabian knocks Castle out (less than two minutes in) before a launched Danhausen gets rid of TV and Johnson follows him out.

The Dark Order beats up and eliminates Parker before Reynolds is out as well. Butcher tosses Silver as the ring is rapidly clearing out. Keith kicks Sabian out before going after Butcher and the Blade, who put him out. Archer is back up so Menard chops away at him, earning the quick elimination. Archer’s running knee gets rid of Daniels before Andretti (following his water bottle trick) and Martin manage to take Archer down.

Killswitch is back in and starts clearing the ring until it’s down to Killswitch, Archer, Danhausen and Trent. Danhausen gets saved from the Blackout and Trent and Danhausen manage to get rid of Archer. Then Trent turns on Danhausen to throw him out (the fans DO NOT approve) but has to slip out of Killswitch’s chokeslam. A low bridge puts Killswitch on the apron and a jumping knee puts him down on said apron. Not that it matters as a headbutt knocks Trent down to give Killswitch the win at 13:47.

Rating: C. One of the worst things you can do in a battle royal is having a field where one or two people is a likely winner. That was certainly the case here, and as soon as you remembered who the TNT Champion is, the drama goes even lower. It made for a bunch of waiting around for Archer and Killswitch to get back up and then it was just a matter of time.

Zero Hour: FTW Title: Wheeler Yuta vs. Hook

Hook is defending (Yuta’s Ring Of Honor Pure Rules Title isn’t on the line) in an FTW Rules match, meaning anything goes. We start fast with Hook jumping him and grabbing a throw, only for Yuta to get in a cheap shot. It’s time to grab some weapons but Yuta takes too long, allowing Yuta to grab a suplex on the ramp. One heck of a trashcan lid shot puts Hook down but Yuta makes the mistake of yelling at Taz.

That’s enough for Hook to come back with a clothesline and they get back inside. Yuta knocks him down again and a running backsplash gets two. Hook manages another suplex and they slug it out for a double knockdown. A t-bone suplex sends Yuta into a trashcan in the corner for two but Redrum is broken up. Yuta DDTs him for two and Hook bails to the floor for a breather. With Yuta grabbing a 2×4, Hook pulls out a stick (hockey or lacrosse) and nails Yuta hard. Redrum, with the broken stick, retains at 10:15.

Rating: C+. They were smart to go with the weapons stuff here as Hook probably isn’t capable of a regular match yet and the Pure Rules still aren’t interesting. Odds are they’ll do this again under Pure Rules and then have a regular match later on, but this one had to go this way to start. Hook has cooled off a lot but at least he got some momentum here.

The PPV proper opens with a look at the big matches and a talk about how this is the end of everything.

Brody King/Jay Lethal/Rush/Jay White vs. Blackpool Combat Club/Mark Briscoe/Daniel Garcia

Matt Menard is on commentary. Rush and Castagnoli trade the heavy strikes to start with Castagnoli getting the better of things. Rush sends him outside but Castagnoli is back in and they stare each other down. Briscoe and Lethal come in with Lethal not being able to get the Figure Four. A chop off goes to Briscoe so Danielson comes in with the LeBell Lock to White. That means a quick rope break as Nigel is in rare form of insulting Danielson.

A running corner dropkick hits White and a middle rope hurricanrana drops him again. King comes in and shrugs off Garcia’s right hands, setting up a swinging Boss Man Slam to plant Garcia. King takes him outside and yells at Menard, who isn’t exactly interested in coming after the monster.

Back in and Lethal stomps away on Garcia (who might have a broken nose) before White adds a seated chop. Garcia manages to fight out of the corner though and it’s Briscoe coming back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and the fight heads outside. Briscoe hits the running Blockbuster and Bang Bang Elbow from the apron, followed by a fisherman’s buster for two on White. Back in and Briscoe knocks Lethal off the top, only to have Lethal pop back up for a top rope superplex.

Everything breaks down again and Castagnoli unloads with uppercuts to King. Castagnoli muscles King up for an impressive suplex but Rush is back in for the save. Danielson cuts Rush off and dropkicks King to cut off Castagnoli’s Swing. Garcia and Lethal slug it out until Lethal grabs his namesake Combination. The Figure Four goes on but Briscoe makes the save with the froggy bow. We hit the parade of finishes until Garcia rolls Lethal up for the pin at 17:12.

Rating: B. This was the insanity that you were expecting as this wasn’t about the teams but rather getting eight people in the ring for a pay per view match following the Continental Classic. In other words, it was a great choice for an opener and Garcia’s likely face push continues, as he gets a nice win in a match where someone had to pick one up.

We recap Andrade El Idolo vs. Miro. CJ Perry, Miro’s wife, is managing El Idolo so Miro promised to not end him until after the Continental Classic. Since El Idolo is out, he’s fair game for Miro.

Miro vs. Andrade El Idolo

CJ Perry is here with El Idolo, who gets jumped to start as the beating is on. El Idolo gets in a shot of his own but dives into a suplex to cut that right off. Perry yells at Miro about her infected finger so Miro chokes him on the ropes in front of her. Miro throws El Idolo to the floor, where El Idolo gets in a shove over the announcers’ table.

Back in and El Idolo blocks a superplex attempt so they slug it out instead. El Idolo gets the better of things so Miro drops him with a clothesline. Miro gets knocked into the corner but it’s too early for the running knees. Instead Miro bails to the floor, leaving El Idolo to hit the middle rope moonsault.

Back in and the double moonsault gives El Idolo two so we hit the Figure Four. That’s turned into the Figure Eight…but Perry cuts it off. Miro, now much happier…or at least whatever passes for happy with him, kicks El Idolo in the face, setting up Game Over for the tap at 15:03.

Rating: C. This was a rough one as it just kept going. It’s a good example of a match that should have been cut down by at least five minutes so there wasn’t as much slow offense and standing around. The Perry turn was the right way to go as she and Miro work really well together. I’m not sure what took so long to set them up, but at least now things are as they should be.

We recap Toni Storm defending the Women’s Title against Riho. Basically Riho returned, wanted a title shot, earned one, and is getting it.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Riho

Riho is challenging. Storm takes over to start so Riho starts spinning around. A running knee into and a running bulldog out of the corner gives Riho two and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up and they head outside where Storm gets in a slam to take over. Storm slowly hammers away and gets in a slam, setting up the double bicep pose. The half grab goes on to stay on Riho’s back, followed by a toss out to the floor.

Back in and Storm declares “she’s toast now” before grabbing a Texas Cloverleaf. Luther adds some cheating but gets caught, meaning the hold is broken and Luther is out of here. Riho hits the 619 and a high crossbody, followed by another dive to the floor. Back in and Riho misses a charge in the corner, allowing Storm Zero to connect for two. Riho tries to spin over her but gets caught in a hard DDT to retain the title at 11:47.

Rating: C+. This could have been a lot worse, but they weren’t given the chance to set up much of a feud. It was more or less Riho coming back, saying she wanted the title, getting a title shot and then losing with little in between. Storm is still great at what she’s doing and has Mariah May waiting on her, so this shouldn’t have been the most stunning result.

Post match Mariah May brings out rose petals to celebrate.

Dante Martin is upset about not being a champion so Orange Cassidy comes in to say he knows where this is going. Martin issues the challenge and they’re on for Dynamite.

Swerve Strickland vs. Dustin Rhodes

Rhodes is replacing an injured Keith Lee. Swerve jumps him before the bell and beats him up on the floor, with the cinder block being loaded up. The Swerve Stomp onto the ankle onto the block leaves Rhodes laying. Medics come down to check on Rhodes…who wants to go anyway.

The bell rings, with Swerve taking him down immediately and hammering away before shouting that it could have been you (meaning Lee). Swerve dropkicks the leg out again and gets in some dancing so Rhodes gets in a shot of his own. Rhodes manages a high crossbody for two, followed by the Canadian Destroyer and snap powerslam for two.

Nana offers a distraction and gets dropped with a right hand, followed by a piledriver and Cross Rhodes for two on Swerve. Back up and Swerve hits a Downward Spiral, setting up a half crab. Rhodes makes the ropes and fires up again before flipping Swerve off. The House Call cuts Rhodes off though and a second knocks him silly. Swerve snaps the arm and hits the Swerve Stomp to win at 9:24.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t about the action, but rather the fact that this match didn’t need to happen. Swerve took Rhodes apart before the match and left him laying, but instead of letting that be it, they had to have a nine minute match anyway. Throw in Rhodes doing high risk moves so he can get his stuff in and this made Swerve look weaker than need be. He won in the end, but the match didn’t need to happen.

Don Callis Family/Big Bill/Ricky Starks vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Sting/Darby Allin

Guevara gets knocked around by Takeshita to start so it’s quickly off to Jericho. The fans don’t seem to pleased with that, even as Hobbs comes in to run him over. Takeshita gets in a few shots until Jericho makes it over to Allin for the tag. That doesn’t last long as Allin is taken over for the tag to Hobbs so the beating can be on.

A suplex from Hobbs lets Bill come in for a huge toss across the ring. Allin manages to get over for the tag to Sting and house is quickly cleaned. Everything breaks down and Bill gets in a cheap shot, followed by a Boss Man Slam. Jericho comes back in with a Codebreaker and is soundly booed out of the building.

Allin manages to knock Jericho into Hobbs for a breather and a Scorpion Death Drop takes Hobbs down. Takeshita drops Allin HARD though and then does it to both Guevara and Allin with a single German suplex. Sting is back in and grabs the Scorpion on Takeshita, with Callis making the save. The Scorpion goes on but gets broken up again, allowing Guevara to come in and go all flippy. The shooting star press finishes Starks at 15:43.

Rating: C+. The match was the usual fun wild brawl, but this was ALL about Jericho. I’m not sure what AEW needs to do about him at the moment, but they are going to have to do something about it soon. Jericho can’t come out there and be this kind of a distraction so he needs to either go away until his name is cleared or AEW is going to need to come up with some kind of a long term solution. The match was kind of a mess because of him and that can’t happen again.

We recap Julia Hart vs. Abadon for the TBS Title. They’re both weird and want to be champion.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Abadon

Abadon is challenging and under house rules, biting is allowed. The fans declare THIS IS SPOOKY and Abadon grabs a quick cutter to take over fast. Hart isn’t quite sure what to do here so they grab each other by the throat until Hart can leg sweep Abadon down. Choking on the ropes has Abadon in more trouble until a running knee hits Hart in the corner.

A Codebreaker gets two but Hart manages to grab Hartless. The ropes don’t help so Abadon has to crawl out and knock Hart away. Cue Skye Blue for a cheap shot before she dives underneath the ring, leaving Abadon to go after her. The distraction lets Hart drop Abadon, setting up the moonsault (which seemed to be more Hart’s knees slamming into Abadon) to retain at 11:13.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure if it was the spooky vs. spooky stuff here, but they lost me and lost me hard during this one. They just kind of kept doing things until Blue showed up at the end and it couldn’t have been much less interesting. Maybe I just couldn’t get into it for some reason but this wasn’t working and felt a lot longer than it lasted.

We recap Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage. Copeland came back and wanted to reform the team, but Cage said no. The Waynes were brought into this, with Copeland attacking Nick and Shayna costing him the title as a result. Now it’s about violence, revenge and the title, with the latter being a good bit less important than the others.

TNT Title: Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage

Cage, with the Waynes, is defending and this is No DQ so Copeland jumps him on the floor to start. They brawl around ringside, with Nigel McGuinness insulting Copeland. That earns him a SHUT UP NIGEL, with Nigel obliging before waiting for Copeland to be out of earshot to call him a coward. Cage’s right hands don’t do much as he has to avoid his hand being stomped onto the steps.

Cage bails into the crowd with Copeland following, setting up a big dive to take Cage down again. They go back to ringside where Copeland drops him again, earning a YOU STILL GOT IT chant. Back in and Copeland’s spear hits post, followed by a drop onto the steps for two. With Copeland bleeding around the eye, Cage grabs some kendo sticks and chokes away before punching at the cut.

Cage grabs a chair and puts it over Copeland’s back for a Boston crab in a creative, and mostly painful, looking hold. With that broken up, Copeland gets in a stick shot of his own, followed by some more to the ribs. As usual, Copeland gets the bar from the chair for the Crossface but that’s not good enough. We get the obvious ladder brought in, with Cage being catapulted face first into it in the corner.

A low blow cuts Copeland off so Cage goes up, where a superplex is countered into a sunset bomb to leave them both down. It’s time for a table, with the distraction letting Copeland grab an Impaler onto the chair. The Conchairto is loaded up but cue Nick Wayne with a low blow for the save. Cage loads up a spear through the table but naturally gets speared through it himself. Shayna Wayne breaks up the cover and Nick hits Copeland with the title. Wayne’s World to the floor (next to the table rather than through it) drops Copeland again and Cage gets two.

That leaves the Waynes to cover the table with lighter fluid and set it on fire but Copeland spears Cage back inside. The fire goes out so Copeland puts on more fluid and it’s on fire again. Nick gets sent onto (not through) the table and goes writhing onto the floor. Cage’s belt shot is cut off and Copeland hits a Killswitch for the pin and the title at 24:40.

Rating: B. Now this felt like a fight and that is a good thing to see. It also helps that these two have a history, along with Cage being one of the best things in all of wrestling today. The ending isn’t great, but I guess Copeland needed his “you still got it” moment. They could have done without some of the weapons, but the point here was they wanted to hurt each other and then tried to do it. That made or a better match and I liked what we got here.

Post match Killswitch jumps Copeland and chokeslams him through a chair….and since the contract from earlier is for a title match anywhere any time….but hold on as Cage wants it instead. Killswitch hands it over and let’s do this.

TNT Title: Christian Cage vs. Adam Copeland

Cage is challenging and wins the title with a spear in ten seconds. That was A, great and B, even better because it gets rid of the Money In The Bank thing (with Edge getting some payback after being so well known for using the briefcase before).

Copeland gets looked at after the match.

We recap the Continental Classic, which has been going on for over a month now. Kingston wants to win to prove he belongs while Moxley wants to win because he likes winning.

Continental Classic Finals: Triple Crown Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Jon Moxley

For the vacant title and Bryan Danielson is on commentary. They go technical to start with Moxley taking it to the ground for some grappling. Moxley gets the better of things until a rope gives Kingston a breather. Back up and they go to the test of strength with neither getting the better of things. They stare each other down a bit more as Danielson is in full analysis mode, talking about each of them having strengths.

Kingston manages a jumping enziguri to put him on the floor but the dive goes over Moxley for a nasty crash. Back in and Moxley hits a quick suplex, followed by a Paradigm Shift on the floor. They get back in with Kingston’s chop hitting a raised forearm, leaving Kingston in a lot of pain. A piledriver gives Moxley two so we pause for some yelling at the referee (possibly due to Kingston’s bell being rung).

Kingston is back up and drops Moxley to his knees off a single chop. They chop it out and even Danielson is thinking this is a bad move. Kingston grabs a suplex so Moxley pops up, only to grab his banged up knee. The spinning backfist drops Moxley for no cover as Danielson is livid. The machine gun chops have Moxley in trouble in a variety of corners, setting up a DDT to plant Moxley again.

Moxley is back up with a cutter so Kingston hits the spinning backfist, only to get dropped with a hard lariat. The northern lights bomb gives Kingston two but Moxley is back with the bulldog choke. That’s broken up and another northern lights bomb gives Kingston another two. One heck of a lariat drops Kingston for two, sending commentary into stories of injuries from clotheslines. They headbutt it out from their knees until another spinning backfist gives Kingston the pin and the titles at 17:05.

Rating: B+. Much like the previous match, this felt like a fight but for a very different reason. While Copeland vs. Cage felt like a fight between two people who hated each other, this felt like two people wanting to survive to claim a prize. That worked very well and I dug what we got here. Danielson in particular made a feel more like a sporting contest and it made things that much better.

Post match Eddie is presented with the title. Respect is shown and Moxley lets Kingston have the ring.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

We recap Samoa Joe vs. MJF for the World Title. While Joe is challenging, the real story is MJF being chased by the Devil, who very well could be revealed here.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Samoa Joe

MJF is defending and we get a video of people talking about how he’s THEIR scumbag, including a video from his ex-girlfriend giving a VERY censored story about a night in the back of a car. Before the match, cue Adam Cole to support MJF, whose shoulder is completely wrapped up. Joe backs him into the corner but MJF goes to the eye in a smart move.

A shot to the arm cuts MJF down fast and Joe drops a leg on said arm to make it worse. It’s too early for the Muscle Buster though and Joe gets low bridged to the floor. Back in and a low superkick staggers Joe and the Kangaroo Kick connects. MJF is knocked outside for a heck of a suicide dive, followed by a suplex to rock the shoulder again.

They go to the apron where Joe drops him hard with a MuscleBuster for two. MJF manages a shot to the back of the head and rams Joe into the buckle over and over. Joe shrugs off some right hands in the corner and MJF collapses when trying a fireman’s carry. He’s fine enough to catch Joe with a Heatseeker for two before grabbing the Salt Of The Earth.

Joe reverses into an armbar of his own but MJF makes the rope. Back up and the ref gets bumped so MJF gets all smiley. A low blow cuts Joe off on the middle rope and an F5 of all things leaves both of them down. MJF’s cover gets a very delayed two and Joe pulls him into the Koquina Clutch….for the knockout and the title at 17:47.

Rating: B. This was interesting as Joe won (more or less) clean and that makes sense. MJF isn’t John Cena, meaning at some point the odds are so strongly against him that he has to lose. That’s what took place here, as Joe had been built up as this unstoppable force and MJF was coming in very banged up. While MJF fought, he ultimately couldn’t last against someone like Joe. It told a good story, as the hero goes out on his shield and loses in the end.

Post match Joe leaves and Cole tells MJF to listen to the fans cheering for him. Cue the Henchmen to take both of them down, with Cole saying hit him instead. MJF says hit him instead of Cole. Then the lights go out and the Henchmen have let Cole go. The Henchmen are Wardlow, the Kingdom and Roderick Strong, with MJF being in tears. The big beatdown is on with Cole dropping the Devil mask on MJF to end the show.

Now this is probably the biggest story of the show as it is the big reveal after a months long story. While we’ll have to wait and see what the actual story is, in theory it’s all of MJF’s past sins coming back to haunt him. MJF may be a changed man, but he’s hurt a lot of people on his way to the top. That seems to be what came back to bite him here, as Cole and company wanted to take down the villain who had hurt them all on his way to the top. Cole in particular should feel upset, as he turned into some kind of goof and then lost to MJF at All In because he wasn’t being himself. The real explanation will help, but the potential is there.

Overall Rating: B. This show might not have been great, but the last three matches did a lot to help boost it up. I know I say it a lot about Tony Khan produced shows, but there was too much here at first. The matches that came before the big stuff needed to be trimmed down, as only one non-cash-in match was less than ten minutes long. It’s ok to have something go 5-6 minutes instead of stretching it out way longer than it needs to go and it would have helped a lot.

Now on the good side, the matches that had the biggest builds did rather well, with Copeland vs. Cage, the tournament final and the World Title match all being big hits. It continues to show what AEW can do with some nice storytelling to back up the good action. There are still some corrections to be made and overall this is on the weaker end of the AEW pay per view offerings, but this started off weak and finished very strong and that is a great thing to see.

Results
Willow Nightingale b. Kris Statlander – Babe With The Powerbomb
Killswitch won a battle royal last eliminating Trent Beretta
Hook b. Wheeler Yuta – Redrum
Blackpool Combat Club/Daniel Garcia/Mark Briscoe b. Jay White/Rush/Brody King/Jay Lethal – Rollup to Lethal
Miro b. Andrade El Idolo – Game Over
Toni Storm b. Riho – DDT
Swerve Strickland b. Dustin Rhodes – Swerve Stomp
Sting/Darby Allin/Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara b. Big Bill/Ricky Starks/Don Callis Family – Shooting stark press to Starks
Julia Hart b. Abadon – Moonsault
Adam Copeland b. Christian Cage – Killswitch
Christian Cage b. Adam Copeland – Spear
Eddie Kingston b. Jon Moxley – Spinning backfist
Samoa Joe b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman via referee stoppage

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It’s the end of the year and that means there is time for one more pay per view. Since it’s AEW, the show is stacked with twelve matches announced so far. The two big draws are the finals of the Continental Classic for the Triple Crown Title, plus MJF defending the World Title against Samoa Joe. The question in the latter is whether or not the Devil will be revealed, which would probably help quite a bit. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale

This was added on Rampage and the big issue seems to be Stokely Hathaway trying to cause drama. That is where Hathaway excels and some of the things that he’s been saying have been more entertaining than the story itself. As for the actual match, both of them need a win and maybe a change of pace, which very well could come here, even if the options aren’t great.

I’ll go with Statlander winning here as she could use the win more, along with the principle that Nightingale doesn’t win anything. At the same time, having Nightingale be the evil one who sides with Hathaway might be the traditional way to go, but I can’t imagine anyone in AEW thinking evil Nightingale is a good idea. Statlander wins and then something probably happens after the match, but Nightingale going bad would be the worst possible outcome.

Zero Hour: FTW Title: Hook(c) vs. Wheeler Yuta

This is under FTW rules, meaning anything goes. I’ll take that over Pure Rules, but this hasn’t been the most eye catching feud so far. They seem to be going for a brawling vs. technical style, which could work well when Hook gets to show off all of his suplexes. That works in theory, but egads Yuta is not interesting a lot of the time and there isn’t much of a way around that. Having an opponent as young as Hook isn’t going to help that and I’m almost worried about how this is going to go.

I’ll go with Hook winning here, as it lets Yuta complain that they didn’t do things in the right style to set up a rematch. I appreciate the idea of Hook getting in the ring more often and he’s done well before, though he needs things set up very well for him. Keeping him on the pre-show is the right move at the moment, though he might be in for a bigger feud with Yuta should this continue. Hook needs to win to make that happen, so we’ll say Hook wins here.

Zero Hour: Battle Royal

So this is a tricky one, as we have a twenty man battle royal for a future TNT Title shot but we don’t know any of the participants. That doesn’t leave much in the way of a preview, but AEW sure does love itself a battle royal here and there. These things kind of have to happen if there are so many people who need to get on the show, but it is quite the cliché at this point.

We need a blind guess here, so I’ll play the safe guard here and go with Trent Beretta. You can almost guarantee that he’s going to be involved in the thing so let’s say he wants to set up his one off title shot. This is pretty easily the one with the least amount of confidence as I can’t even guess who all will be included, but hopefully they have the entertaining kind of battle royal that they know how to do.

Swerve Strickland vs. Keith Lee

We’ll go with this one before Tony Khan changes his mind and doesn’t do the match again. These two started having issues last November and then did a big angle in December, only to never actually wrestle. That leaves us with a weird match as the story has pretty much gone ice cold, but also because Strickland is in a very different place than he was when the whole thing started.

There is no reason for Strickland to lose here as he is rapidly rising up the ranks and could be on the way to the World Title picture in the near future. While Lee is incredibly athletic and fun to watch, he also has very little going on at the moment. I’m really not sure why this loose end needed to be fixed over a year after it got started, but Strickland wins here and moves on to something more important.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Riho

Riho returned after another hiatus and was immediately back in the title scene, as tends to be the case when she returns most of the time. She might even be acting a bit more serious this time around, but Storm is still feeling it with this rather bizarre Timeless deal. That has made for a pretty strange story but then again, it isn’t like they had time to really set anything up.

Storm wins here, as Riho is likely going to go away again after or shortly after the match. With Mariah May likely waiting on Storm in the near future, this should be Storm retaining and doing pretty well. Riho hasn’t been interesting in a good while now so it would be pretty insane to give her the title again. Storm retains and moves on to something more natural for her, while Riho just kind of fades away until she gets another title shot down the line.

TBS Title: Julia Hart(c) vs. Abadon

This is another surprise as Abadon is getting a push that isn’t close to Halloween. That’s a different way to go for her and it’s kind of working, as AEW has presented her as the creepy monster who could be a threat. At the same time, Hart is already the supernatural kind of star so this is a bit of a weird setup. The match hasn’t had a great build, but it deserves credit for adding someone new to the mix.

While Abadon has done well enough in her chance, there is no reason to expect her to win the title here so we’ll say Hart retains. Hart has been doing well with her new stuff and it would be kind of nuts for her to lose one of her first title defenses. Abadon has done well in a short amount of time, but she hasn’t shown herself ready for the level of being a champion. It should be a weird fight, but Hart wins in the end.

Ricky Starks/Big Bill/Don Callis Family vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Darby Allin/Sting

Here we have the result of a pretty wild segment on Dynamite which saw about three stories coming together to set up an eight man tag. In other words, Sting needed to be on the show and he works almost exclusively in big tag matches. That has served him well so far and now we get to see what he can do again with quite the group of talented people around him.

There is little reason to have the freshly reunited Guevara and Jericho, as well as Sting, lose here so we’ll go with the good guys winning. I’m not sure who you have them pin here, but Jericho or Guevara pinning Starks or Bill would do well to set up their Tag Team Title match. This should be a lot of fun as the teams should be able to have the kind of wild match that this needs to be.

Blackpool Combat Club/Mark Briscoe/Daniel Garcia vs. Brody King/Jay White/Jay Lethal/Rush

This is the second eight man tag as we have most of the people in the Continental Classic thrown onto the show. That could go in a variety of different ways as there are several combinations, even if we’ve seen a bunch of them in recent weeks. The good thing is they can put almost any of them together for a solid match and we’ll probably be seeing quite a bit of it here.

Hopefully this ends with either Garcia or Briscoe getting the pin as both of them had a bit of momentum after their last match in the tournament. Neither of them have anything going on at the moment but a win in a match like this could be a nice boost. This has the potential to be all over the place with quite a bit of time and it could be quite the show stealer if given the chance.

Miro vs. Andrade El Idolo

It’s the classic story: Miro is married to CJ Perry, who is managing El Idolo, but promised not to massacre El Idolo until after the Continental Classic was over. Since Miro almost never wrestles (one match per month since September), it’s hard to say where this is going to go but at least there is a story. Granted it isn’t much of one as Perry and El Idolo have barely been a thing long enough to matter, but it’s something.

Since Miro never really does anything these days, I’ll take El Idolo to win here as he has quite a bit more going on at the moment. I’m sure this will wind up involving Perry, but there is only so much that she can do given how things are set up. Miro is one of the more interesting people in AEW but he never really wrestles, so there is little reason for him to win. El Idolo did well in the tournament and a win over Miro could take him a long way.

TBS Title: Christian Cage(c) vs. Adam Copeland

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Cage is overshadowing Copeland, despite Copeland being treated as the bigger star. The good thing is that Cage has turned into a heck of a villain in AEW and he has done it by becoming one of the most unlikable people imaginable. They’re going to have a No DQ match, which should open up quite a few doors for some wild brawling involving Cage’s friends. In other words, exactly what this needs to be.

As much as I don’t want it to be the case, I’m thinking Copeland wins here. He hasn’t had the big moment in AEW yet and there is a good chance that he’ll get the title here for that moment. Cage winning would make more sense and I certainly hope he does, as he has become the best heel in AEW in a very long time. I’m expecting Copeland to win here but really hope I’m wrong.

Triple Crown Title: Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston

If not for the whole Devil thing, I would almost have this one be the main event of the show. The Continental Classic has dominated AEW TV for the last six weeks or so and this has the most potential of anything on the card. Kingston is getting to defend his Ring O Honor and Strong Openweight Title, which has me wondering how much the whole tournament was necessary to get us here. Anyway, the promo to set this up has me wanting to see these two go at it and now we’ll get to see just that.

For the life of me I have no idea why Moxley would win here as the big emotional moment would be Kingston winning another big one to give the fans something to cheer. I’ll go with that as the feel good option, while also remembering that Tony Khan really, really, really likes to snatch those moments away from the fans. Moxley absolutely does not need this win while Kingston certainly does, so hopefully sanity prevails and Kingston wins as he should.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman(c) vs. Samoa Joe

This is one of the weaker World Title matches in recent memory, as Joe has played a huge second fiddle to the Devil and everything going on with him. They tried to remedy that on Dynamite by having Joe fake the injury and cost MJF the ROH Tag Team Titles, even though that is one of the best things that could have happened. I’m far more interested in the Devil story finally going anywhere than the result of the title match though and that’s really not good.

There is zero reason for the Devil to not be revealed or MJF to retain the title here so I’ll take Joe to win. MJF already beat him once so get to where things should be, which is Joe winning the World Title on a grand stage. The Devil (I’ll take Adam Cole for the reveal, as it might not be the most interesting but it’s the person who makes the most sense) needs to be done here and cost MJF the title though, even if I have no idea what is next for everyone after.

Overall Thoughts

The biggest though, other than how many matches there are on here, is how weird the build to this has been. Dynamite, and a good chunk of Collision, has been dominated by the Continental Classic and the Devil stuff as of late and there is only so much that can be done for the rest of the show. I have hope for how this is going to go, but it’s going to be on the wrestlers to do the heavy lifting here.

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

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Dynamite
Date: December 27, 2023
Location: Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the last Dynamite of the year and the last one before Worlds End. That means we have the semifinals of the Continental Classic so we can find out who fights for the title on Saturday. On top of that, MJF and Samoa Joe are defending the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles against the Devil’s Henchmen so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Continental Classic Gold League Finals: Jon Moxley vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Jay White

Moxley and Swerve waste no time in fighting to the floor, with White being smart enough to let them fight. They go into the crowd with White following and staying behind for the most part, instead getting in some cheap shots. Moxley drops Swerve and takes it back to ringside, where White takes out Moxley’s knee. White takes them both down but Swerve kicks him off the apron. The flip dive misses for Swerve but he mostly sticks the landing and hits a knee from the apron to White’s jaw.

Moxley gets back in so Swerve bites his finger and hits a clothesline. Swerve knocks them both to the floor and hits a big high crossbody as we take a break. Back with Swerve being knocked off the apron, leaving White to blast Moxley in the knee with a chair. The distraction lets Swerve hit a powerslam on White into a 450 but Moxley makes the save with a Stomp.

We take another break and come back with Moxley grabbing the bulldog choke on White but Swerve breaks it up. A Blade Runner gets two on Moxley with Swerve breaking it up. Back in and White chairs them both down before wedging the chair in the corner. Swerve obeys the laws of wrestling by sending White into the chair before reversing Moxley’s choke into a rollup for two more. The Swerve Stomp is broken up by White, who gets taken down by the King Kong Lariat. The Death Rider gives Moxley the pin at 23:11.

Rating: B. Yeah it was really good and that’s not exactly shocking. What matters here is that Swerve, the hottest star in the match at the moment, didn’t take the pin, which leaves him strong coming out. Moxley winning is more of the safe pick than anything else, as he is able to either win the title or make someone look good in defeat. Heck of an opener here and the extra time helped, even if Moxley forgot about that knee injury pretty quickly.

We recap the Blue League finals being set up on Collision.

Swerve Strickland isn’t happy with being interviewed so soon after the match but if Keith Lee is looking for him, come see him at Worlds End. Tony Schiavone happens to have a contract for the match on him, so everything seems set.

Renee Paquette brings out Mariah May for a chat. May knows people have been waiting for her debut, which will be next week. Cue Riho to chase May off but Toni Storm comes in for the brawl, with Riho getting the better of things.

Top Flight and Action Andretti issue a challenge for…well we don’t know, because Orange Cassidy comes in to say he knows what’s going on here. Cassidy and the Rocky Romero/Trent Beretta will see them on Rampage. Cassidy and Trent leave, with Romero accusing Cassidy of being a bit out there lately. Then Andretti takes a bottle of water and crushes all of it into his mouth in one gulp.

Now that Andrade El Idolo is out of the Continental Classic, Miro is ready to hurt him.

Here is the Don Callis Family for a Boxing Week celebration. Callis gets to the point, by unveiling custom paintings of each member of the family (with Callis in each, including punching a kangaroo with Kyle Fletcher). He says the Family is complete but here is the returning Sammy Guevara, who hasn’t heard from Callis in a long time.

Callis is surprised that Sammy didn’t get the gift he sent for the new baby and blames the Canadian Postal Service. We get the final picture, with the Family surrounding Sammy as he holds his baby. Sammy DOES NOT like his baby being in the picture, but Callis suggests that Sammy isn’t smart enough to be a father. Sammy says Callis didn’t call when he was injured so Callis complains about Sammy being gone so often.

Callis wants him to pick a family and suggests Sammy will be a bad father, so Callis gets shoved down. The beating is on but Chris Jericho makes the save. Jericho breaks the first three pictures with the bat but lets Sammy break the last one. They do the big handshake but Big Bill and Ricky Starks run in for the beatdown. Then the lights go out and Sting/Darby Allin make the save. So that was….four or so segments packed into one? And likely setting up an eight man tag (or so) at the pay per view?

Roderick Strong and the Kingdom have a chart to prove that MJF is the Devil.

Worlds End rundown.

Continental Classic Blue League Final: Eddie Kingston vs. Bryan Danielson

Danielson tries to hide in the ropes a bit to start but Kingston sends him outside for a suicide dive. Kingston chops him around ringside but comes back in and gets chopped in the corner. They fight to the apron where Danielson gets in a DDT, followed by the running knee off the apron to send us to a break.

Back with Danielson striking away but Kingston suplexes him down. The rapid fire chops in the corner have Danielson spitting at Kingston, who unloads with even harder chops. Danielson pulls him into the LeBell Lock to send Kingston bailing to the ropes, meaning Danielson can go up top. Kingston chops away again but gets caught on top as well. A belly to back superplex attempt is countered int a crossbody onto Danielson and we take another break.

Back again with Kingston firing off more chops but Danielson suplexes his way out of trouble. A northern lights bomb gives Kingston two but the running knee gives Danielson two of his own. Danielson stomps away so Kingston flips him off, leaving Danielson to load up another knee. That’s cut off with a spinning backfist and a half and half, followed by two more spinning backfists. The powerbomb gives Kingston the pin at 22:33.

Rating: B+. I was getting into this one as it was Kingston fighting for everything he had because he wants to win the while thing. While Danielson can use it to put another line on an already complete resume, Kingston needs it to prove himself in the first place. The fact that it was a heck of a fight that had me wondering who was going to win made it even better. Awesome stuff here.

Post match Jon Moxley comes out to say that despite his faults, Kingston has a lot of fans who love him. Moxley is ready to take him apart but Kingston cuts him off, saying he’s not some young boy. Kingston promises to take him out on Saturday and wants his music played. That helped to give the match some spice.

Christian Cage is ready for a sitdown interview with Adam Copeland when Copeland jumps him for the big brawl. The locker room (seemingly a lot of ROH people) breaks it up.

Skye Blue vs. Kris Statlander

Stokely Hathaway is on commentary. Statlander powers her into the corner to start but gets taken down by the hair. Some stomping in the corner has Statlander down but she reverses a suplex. They go to the apron where Blue hits a reverse Sling Blade as we take a break. We come back with Statlander grabbing a rolling suplex out of the corner for two. Code Blue gives Blue two of her own but Statlander hits a powerbomb for the same. Statlander takes her to the top, only to have Blue slip out. Cue Julia Hart for a cheap shot though, allowing Blue to hit a heck of a super Code Blue for the pin at 9:11.

Rating: C. Another women’s match where a good chunk of it is cut out, meaning there is only so much that can be done. It also doesn’t help that it feels like the same group of women have been in the middle of a really long feud for months without it really going anywhere. That was the case here, and it’s kind of hard to get invested in it happening every week without much really changing.

Post match the beatdown is on but Willow Nightingale makes the save. Abadon comes out for the staredown with Hart.

Ruby Soho is ready for Marina Shafir on Rampage but Saraya offers her the help of….Harley Cameron, who whips out a butcher knife and laughs a lot.

Another Worlds End rundown.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Samoa Joe vs. Devil’s Henchmen

MJF and Joe are defending and the Henchmen come through the crowd for their entrance at 9:59. And Joe has been attacked in the back and is holding his knee. MJF says he’s doing this himself and the bell rings, with MJF throwing his jacket at the taller one to start. MJF sends him into the corner before taking the other one to the floor. It’s time to go for the mask but a third masked man comes out from under the ring with a pipe shot. The smaller masked man hits a Heatseeker for the pin (with feet on the ropes) at 1:43.

Post match more masked men come in to beat on MJF until Samoa Joe makes the save with a chair. The Devil appears on screen and text says “Pleasure doing business with you.” Then Joe chairs MJF down and says he did this to MJF. Commentary says Joe is in league with the Devil, as MJF is left laying and Joe poses with the title to end the show. This felt like Joe having a short term arrangement with the Devil rather than actually working with him full time.

Overall Rating: B. As has been the case in recent weeks, this was mainly about the tournament and the Devil stuff, though they did add a good bit of content to the pay per view card. Things are going to get interesting next week when there is no tournament to lean on, but above all else, AEW needs something fresh coming out of Worlds End. Things are still good because of the action, but the storylines are feeling rather stale in a lot of areas. That being said, the action tonight was more than enough to carry the show and they set things up for the future, so this was another good week for Dynamite.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Jay White and Swerve Strickland – Death Rider to White
Eddie Kingston b. Bryan Danielson – Powerbomb
Skye Blue b. Kris Statlander – Super Code Blue
Devil’s Henchmen b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Samoa Joe – Heatseeker to Friedman

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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Collision
Date: December 16, 2023
Location: Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

We’re two weeks away from Worlds End and that means we have more Continental Classic matches this week. The tournament field is starting to thin out and that should make things more interesting. Another thing they might want to work on is building up the pay per view card, as with Kenny Omega now stuck on the sidelines, the Tag Team Title match is off for now, leaving the card with two matches. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Eddie Kingston, Daniel Garcia, Claudio Castagnoli, Andrade El Idolo, Brody King, Bryan Danielson and Orange Cassidy (who is a bit confused) are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

Continental Classic Blue League: Andrade El Idolo vs. Claudio Castagnoli

They fight over a lockup to start before an exchange of shoulders doesn’t get either of them anywhere. Andrade knocks him outside but Castagnoli is back in with a hard clothesline. It’s too early for the Swing though as Andrade hurricanranas him to the floor. A dropkick through the ropes has Castagnoli in more trouble but he nails an uppercut. Back in and Castagnoli shrugs off a dragon screw legwhip and hits Swiss Death as we take a break.

We come back with Andrade hitting a running forearm but the Swing puts him down. The Sharpshooter goes on but Andrade reverses into a Figure our. That’s enough to send Castagnoli bailing to the ropes for the break so Andrade goes up, taking off the turnbuckle covering at the same time. A super sunset bomb gives Andrade two and the running knees in the corner get the same.

Castagnoli catches him on top though and it’s a superplex back down, only to have Andrade roll some Amigos. They trade kicks to the face until Andrade scores with a spinning elbow to the face. Andrade goes up again and tries a super hammerlock DDT, only to get crotched onto the turnbuckle. Hold on though as the referee notices the removed pad, allowing Castagnoli to get in a low blow. The Neutralizer finishes Andrade at 15:30.

Rating: B-. That adds a bit of drama to the tournament and it’s kind of nice to see Andrade get what was coming to him after cheating multiple times. Castagnoli gets to stay alive while Andrade’s spot in the semifinals isn’t entirely locked up yet. The match was the good stuff you would expect from these two, and it certainly didn’t feel like that long of a match.

Blue League Standings
Andrade El Idolo – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Bryan Danielson – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Brody King – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Eddie Kingston – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 0 points (2 matches remaining, eliminated)

We recap the Dynamite Continental Classic matches.

Abadon vs. Jazmin Allure

Abadon jumps her to start and hits a swinging Rock Bottom. A running knee and the Black Dahlia finish Allure at 1:07.

Post match here is Julia Hart for the brawl, with Abadon laying her out and posing with the title. Cue Skye Blue to jump Abadon and the double teaming is on. Cue the returning Thunder Rosa (who was on Spanish commentary earlier) for the save.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn are back and want revenge on the Devil and his henchmen. Action Andretti and Top Flight come in for a challenge to a title match next week. Game on.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Bryan Keith

Keith is challenging and the fans certainly seem to like him. A headlock takeover puts Cassidy down to start but he’s back up to put his hands in his pockets. Cassidy starts picking up the pace but gets kicked in the face as we take a break. Back with Cassidy hitting the tornado DDT and suicide dive to send Keith into the barricade.

Keith is able to catch him on top though and a running knee drops Cassidy. The tiger driver is countered into Beach Break for two and Cassidy needs a breather. Cassidy kicks away but Keith does the same, setting up Diamond Dust for two more. The tiger driver is loaded up again but this time Cassidy reverses into the mouse trap to retain at 9:12.

Rating: B-. As has been the case every time I’ve seen him, Keith put in a rather nice match with the intensity being on full display. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him around here a lot more often as there are far worse prospects. At the same time, Cassidy adds another win to his tally as we wait for another serious challenger to come up against him.

Miro wants to beat up Andrade El Idolo and it isn’t just because El Idolo is being managed by Miro’s wife.

Komander is interrupted by Roderick Strong and the Kingdom, with Strong mocking Komander for not winning the ROH TV Title. Strong wants a match and Komander seems interested.

Here is FTR for a chat about the House Of Black. Wheeler talks about the success they’ve had around here but the House is still unrealized potential. If the House wants a fight, come get one. Cue the House on the screen to say no one can save FTR, but Buddy Matthews has a question for Wheeler: who loves you? Everyone loves Harwood, but who loves Wheeler? Malakai Black holds up a photo of Harwood’s family and burns it, saying the House is their family now. FTR runs off.

Video on Keith Lee, who beat Shane Taylor at Ring Of Honor Final Battle. Taylor is not the “him” that Lee has been looking for.

Kris Statlander/Willow Nightingale vs. Mercedes Martinez/Diamante

Street fight, with weapons provided. Believe it or not the brawl is on to start and they’re quickly on the floor, where Nightingale gets hit in the head with a bottle. Martinez tears away at the cut but Nightingale and Statlander can cut off Diamante’s dive off the steps. A barbed wire bat to the head cuts Diamante open but Martinez is back in with a tire iron for the save. Martinez hits a release German superplex to drop Nightingale onto some chairs for two and we take a break.

Back with Statlander being sent through a piece of plywood but Nightingale sends the villains into each other. A Pounce sends Martinez into a board in the corner but Diamante gets in a shot to Nightingale. Statlander is back in to beat on Martinez, only to have Diamante come back in with a briefcase (that Statlander and Nightingale brought to the ring). Said briefcase is full of thumbtacks and glass and it’s time for people to be dropped onto the contents. Diamante dropkicks Nightingale into a powerbomb through a table at ringside but Statlander hits a discus lariat with a chain to pin Diamante at 10:31.

Rating: C+. I have no idea what to say about this, but it was certainly a violent sprint. At the same time, I’m not sure if this feud warrants this kind of a bloody match, as it doesn’t quite seem like the right fit. Statlander and Nightingale winning is good as they could go for moving up the ladder, though they need something to move towards. I’m not a fan of the glass and thumbtacks though, even if they might have been the logical call in this kind of a match.

Toni Storm is ready to face either Saraya or Riho at Worlds End. Mariah May is getting her American wrestling license and wants Storm to commentate her first match. Storm isn’t sure but wants Saraya and Riho to beat each other up.

Adam Copeland wants to face Christian Cage at Worlds End in a No DQ match.

Brian Cage vs. Karl Wright

Kick to the head, release German suplex, fall away slam, powerbomb, Drill Claw gives Cage the win at 1:28.

Post break the Mogul Embassy is proud of Cage’s win but Keith Lee comes in to say that Cage can tell “him” (suggesting Swerve Strickland) that his patience is running thin.

Continental Classic Blue League: Eddie Kingston vs. Daniel Garcia

Matt Menard is on commentary. Kingston wants him to bring it to start so Garcia loads up the dancing. Instead he chops away and actually gets the better of things, with Kingston favoring his throat. A dragon screw legwhip off the apron drops Kingston again and it’s time to crank away on that leg back inside. Kingston isn’t having that and fights up to drop Garcia as we take a break.

Back with Garcia fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught in the corner for the rapid fire chops. Garcia tries some weak dancing, earning himself even more chops. Even more dancing, this time with Garcia down in the corner, actually starts a comeback, setting up a running knee in the corner.

A kneebar sends Kingston bailing to the rope so Garcia pulls him back in with an ankle lock, complete with a grapevine. That’s broken up as well and Kingston suplexes him into the corner, setting up the spinning backfist for two. Back to back Saito suplexes give Garcia two but Kingston hits a half and half suplex. Another spinning backfist finishes Garcia at 12:10.

Rating: B-. They had a story here of Garcia turning into a hybrid of the dancing goof and the serious wrestler, which made for a good mix. That version had Kingston on the ropes but still came up short, which feels like it’s going to be the perfect way to set up Garcia stealing a win in his final match. Kingston surviving, and possibly even advancing to the finals, makes sense as you don’t want him to just lose his title without even making a run in the tournament. Good match here, with some of the stories being set up for later.

Blue League Standings
Andrade El Idolo – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Bryan Danielson – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Brody King – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Eddie Kingston – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 0 points (1 match remaining, eliminated)

Continental Classic Blue League: Bryan Danielson vs. Brody King

King backs him into the corner so Danielson starts kicking away at the leg to slow things down. That’s not working for King, who knocks him right back down and rakes away at the eyes in the corner. There’s the Cannonball in the corner to knock Danielson silly and they head outside, with King sending him face first into the announcers’ table. One heck of a crossbody up against the barricade crushes Danielson and we take a break.

Back with Danielson’s bad eye busted open and the fight heading outside again. This time King misses another crossbody into the barricade, allowing Danielson to hit a shotgun dropkick back inside. King crotches him on top for a clothesline and they both need a breather. Danielson manages a quick half crab before kicking away at the leg even more.

The hammer and anvil elbows rock King but he’s right back with the Death Valley Driver for two. Back up and Danielson’s running knee gets two so he fires off kicks at King’s head. A hard clothesline takes Danielson’s head off for two but he’s back up with the fabled small package for two. Three straight running knees, with the last one to the back of the head, finishes King at 14:48.

Rating: B+. This started a bit slow but once they got going, they were beating the fire out of each other. That’s about what you have to expect from Danielson in a tournament like this, as he can bring out the best in anyone. King’s run definitely seems to be fading, as Danielson seems to be almost a lock for the semifinals. For now though, awesome big man vs. little man match and they had the crowd going nuts on those kickouts at the end.

Blue League Standings
Andrade El Idolo – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Bryan Danielson – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Brody King – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Eddie Kingston – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 0 points (1 match remaining, eliminated)

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling here was quite good and they built up a few things other than the tournament. The whole league portion of the tournament is over in a week and that means we can move on to the bigger stuff. For now though, it means we’re still getting in some solid matches, including a pretty awesome main event. I’m a bit worried about what they’re going to do when the tournament is over, but things are still working well for the moment.

Results
Claudio Castagnoli b. Andrade El Idolo – Neutralizer
Abadon b. Jazmin Allure – Black Dahlia
Orange Cassidy b. Bryan Keith – Mouse trap
Kris Statlander/Willow Nightingale b. Mercedes Martinez/Diamante – Discus lariat with a chain to Diamante
Brian Cage b. Karl Wright – Drill Claw
Eddie Kingston b. Daniel Garcia – Spinning backfist
Bryan Danielson b. Brody King – Running knee to the back of the head

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

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Collision
Date: December 9, 2023
Location: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

The road to Worlds End continues as we have more Continental Classic matches to cover. That should be enough to carry things through the week but some other things need to be set up for the pay per view aside from just one title match. There is a chance we could see something like that covered this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite you need a recap.

Ethan Page, Kenny Omega, Bryan Danielson, Andrade El Idolo, Claudio Castagnoli and Eddie Kingston are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

Continental Classic Blue League: Eddie Kingston vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Kingston hits the spinning backfist and Saito suplex to send Castagnoli to the floor early. Back in and a northern lights bomb gives Kingston two but Castagnoli is right back with the Neutralizer for two of his own. A running double stomp hits Kingston and it’s the Swing into a Sharpshooter. With that broken up, Castagnoli unloads with some forearms in the corner for two before cutting off a comeback with a clothesline.

Boots to the face in the corner keep Kingston in trouble as the beating continues. A top rope superplex gives Castagnoli two as we take a break. Back with Castagnoli grabbing a suplex for two and telling Kingston to do more. Kingston does just that by nailing some suplexes for two. The rapid fire chops in the corner and a lariat give Kingston two more but he can’t get the stretch plum.

Something like a powerbomb gives Castagnoli two and we hit the crossface. Kingston makes the rope and escapes the Riccola Bomb as well, only to get blasted by an uppercut for two. Kingston gets in a hard shot of his own for a very close two with three minutes left in the time limit. The spinning backfist looks to set up a powerbomb but Castagnoli reverses into a hurricanrana, which is reversed into a sunset flip to give Kingston the upset pin at 18:03. Castagnoli’s stunned face is great.

Rating: B. These two work well together and that was on display again here, as they had a hard hitting match. The rollup finish makes sense as Castagnoli tried to use his better skills to escape, only to get caught by Kingston’s wrestling for once. That’s not something I would have expected and we wound up with a good ending to a very awesome match.

Blue League Standings
Bryan Danielson – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Brody King – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Andrade El Idolo – 3 points (5 matches remaining)
Eddie Kingston – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Jon Moxley says he wasn’t scared of Rush. It was a hard match but no, he wasn’t scared. Swerve Strickland is going to be a hard match too but Strickland is going to be in over his head. Pack a lunch.

Hook is interrupted by Wheeler Yuta, who brags about beating Hook last week. Yuta says he can beat Hook under either set of rules so we’ll do it under FTW rules. Works for Hook.

Willow Nightingale vs. Mercedes Martinez

Martinez has Diamante with her. They take turns powering the others into the corner until Martinez stomps her down. Nightingale is back up for some clotheslines against the ropes and a backsplash sends Martinez outside. Diamante offers a distraction though, allowing Martinez to send Nightingale into the barricade. A DDT off the barricade plants Nightingale and takes us to a break.

Back with Nightingale rolling some suplexes and getting two off a bulldog. The cannonball gives Nightingale two but another Diamante distraction lets Martinez grab a fisherman’s buster for her own near falls. Some Saito suplexes plant Nightingale again and Martinez hits something like a Razor’s Edge Dominator…and is quickly small packaged to give Nightingale the pin at 9:47.

Rating: C+. Slightly ridiculous ending aside, Nightingale winning here was the right call. She needs a win to get her back to some prominence and Martinez can help make anyone look good. It might not have been a classic, but it did what it needed to accomplish with some good action at the same time. What more could you need?

Post match Martinez and Diamante stomp Nightingale down and it’s time for a small ladder. Diamante grabs a lead pipe but Kris Statlander makes the save with a chain.

Jake Hager interrupts Matt Menard and Angelo Parker (hometown boys) to rant about Danhausen putting Hager’s hat down his pants. With Hager gone, Parker and Menard go off about how they have always wanted to be here. Saraya, Anna Jay and Ruby Soho come in to yell at the guys, though Soho seems pleased with Parker. The guys leave so Saraya yells at Soho, who faces Riho next week.

Swerve Strickland says he is the leader of this company no matter what and he’ll be World Champion. First up though it’s the Continental Classic so he hopes Jon Moxley is ready. The level of confidence is rising and it’s pretty awesome.

Wardlow vs. Willie Mack

Mack goes for a double leg to start and is easily powered away. A dropkick staggers Mack but a missed charge puts him on the floor. Mack’s dive only bounces off of him but Mack trips him down inside. The standing moonsault gets two but Mack’s hurricanrana is countered into a powerbomb. The wind up clothesline sets up the powerbomb for the referee stoppage at 3:14.

Rating: C+. This is how you bring Wardlow up to the top level again, as he is still smashing people but he’s moving up the ladder with better competition. That is a story that has worked for years, but at the end of the day, it isn’t going to matter if AEW cuts his legs out again. For now, things are working, but we’ll have to see where it goes.

Video on the House of Black wanting FTR to join the team.

We look at Ricky Starks and Big Bill hurting Chris Jericho’s arm.

Kenny Omega vs. Ethan Page

Page has a banged up arm coming in. They shake hands to start with Omega hitting a running shoulder, only to have Page come back with some right hands in the corner. Omega knocks him to the floor but the dive takes way too long, allowing Page to come back in with a springboard cutter. They go outside again with Omega being whipped into the barricade, only to moonsault off of some barricade to take Page down.

The Kitaro Crusher gets two on Page back inside but he’s fine enough for a suplex over the top and out to the floor in a nasty crash. We take a break and come back with Omega hitting a powerbomb into the V Trigger for two. Page manages an Iconoclasm into a DDT for two of his own and they both need a breather.

Omega can’t quite hit You Can’t Escape but he can hit a pair of snapdragons (Schiavone: “Man he snaps those off.”). They head up top, where Page grabs a super powerslam for two more as things slow down a bit. The One Winged Angel is broken up and an exchange of rolls ups gets two each. Some V Triggers rock Page and the One Winged Angel gives Omega the pin at 12:38.

Rating: B-. Here’s a good example of Tony Khan doing self-inflicted damage (no this isn’t some game changer). One of the biggest matches at Final Battle is Ethan Page vs. Tony Nese. Page faces Kenny Omega six days prior on Collision and loses clean. Why did that need to happen? Of course Page shouldn’t be beating Omega, but why book someone set for a big pay per view match in a meaningless match here? Is a battle of two Canadians in Montreal that important? The match was good, but it had almost no build and just came and went, with Page’s status taking a hit on the way to Final Battle.

Post match here is Big Bill to boot Omega in the face. Page chases him off.

CJ Perry hypes up Andrade El Idolo against Bryan Danielson tonight. Miro comes in to ask when Perry last said so many good things about him. He is the breadwinner and she stays at home. When his father caught the fish, his mother cleaned them! Once the tournament is over, El Idolo is done. So Miro is now a full on heel and rather misogynistic. Got it.

Julia Hart is ready for Abadon.

Komander/Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker

The fans go nuts for Menard and Parker in a nice moment. We get a DADDY MAGIC chant as he waits for Penta to take off his glove. Instead Penta takes him into the corner for a kick to the head and it’s off to Parker, who kicks Komander in the face. Komander fights up with the kicks to the face and it’s an assisted dropkick in the corner. The double dives are broken up though and we take a break.

Back with Penta cleaning house and sliding to the floor for stereo superkicks. Parker slugs away at Penta, who knocks him right back down. Menard is back in with a Boston crab but Penta makes the save. An assisted Codebreaker gets two on Komander but a shooting star spike Fear Factor finishes Parker at 10:01.

Rating: C+. The result doesn’t quite matter here as Menard and Parker just getting to show up at an event like this is a cool moment. Seeing them get that kind of a reaction was awesome and you could see how much it meant to them. I’m not quite sure how much Komander and Penta needed the win, but it’s hardly some terrible result.

Video on Keith Lee vs. Shane Taylor at Final Battle.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Video on the upcoming Continental Classic matches.

Continental Classic Blue League: Bryan Danielson vs. Andrade El Idolo

We get a handshake to start before they fight over a wristlock. A test of strength results in Danielson getting a monkey flip so Andrade grabs a headlock. Commentary points out that the forearm is going around the eye in a nice touch, even as Danielson fights up with some kicks. A few dragon screw legwhips take Danielson down but he sends Andrade to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Andrade hammering away at the eye but getting backdropped to the floor. Andrade is right back in with a Figure our. That’s broken up so Andrade puts Danielson (bleeding from the eye) on the top for a superplex. Danielson cuts it off with some headbutts (the man isn’t that bright) and a missile dropkick drops Andrade again. The YES Kicks rock Andrade but the LeBell Lock is broken up. Danielson blocks the Figure Four attempt and knocks Andrade down again for a needed breather.

They slug it out until Andrade gets him in an inverted Gory Stretch and drives Danielson into the corner. Danielson crotches him on top and grabs a belly to back superplex. The LeBell Lock sends Andrade to the ropes and the spinning back elbow gives Andrade two. They slug it out again with three minutes left and Andrade knocks him into the corner. The running knees to the back connect and Danielson is mostly out. The hammerlock DDT finishes clean for Andrade at 18:23.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the fire out of each other and the eye injury played into everything as well. Danielson is still the major star around here and the key player in the whole tournament but he had to lose at some point. Andrade continues his recent roll, which is likely going to come to a crashing end at the hands of Miro. For now though, heck of a match and the clean win is a big deal for Andrade.

Blue League Standings
Andrade El Idolo – 6 points (4 matches remaining)
Brody King – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Bryan Danielson – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Eddie Kingston – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Medics come out to check on Danielson, with the Blackpool Combat Club coming in to get rid of Andrade (who was concerned) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was one of the better AEW TV shows in a good while with a pair of rather awesome matches. You don’t get that kind of thing on free TV very often and the effort was clearly a bit higher tonight. The tournament matches are still holding strong and I want to see how they go, though having some other things get a bit more time would be nice. For now though, one of the best Collisions yet and a rather good night.

Results
Eddie Kingston b. Claudio Castagnoli – Sunset flip
Willow Nightingale b. Mercedes Martinez – Small package
Wardlow b. Willie Mack via referee stoppage
Kenny Omega b. Ethan Page – One Winged Angel
Komander/Penta El Zero Miedo b. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker – Spike Fear Factor to Parker
Andrade El Idolo b. Bryan Danielson – Hammerlock DDT

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

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AND

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Rampage
Date: November 25, 2023
Location: Petersen Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another back to back week this time around as Rampage is basically serving as the Collision Kickoff Show this week. That could make things a bit interesting, though AEW has not exactly announced much for this show. You never know what you’re going to get from Rampage so hopefully it works out. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Hook vs. Rocky Romero

Non-title and Hook takes him down for a front facelock to start. They fight over wrist control to no avail until Hook gutwrench suplexes him down. A German suplex drops Romero again and they head to the apron where Romero grabs a suplex of his own. We take a break and come back with the Forever Clotheslines until Hook suplexes him into the corner. A northern lights suplex gives Hook two but Romero drapes him over the rope for a middle rope dropkick. The running Sliced Bread gives Romero two but the version out of the corner is countered into Redrum for the clean win at 9:51.

Rating: C+. If AEW wants to make Hook look like a bigger deal, there are far worse ideas that putting him in the ring with Romero. While Romero might not be the next big thing in AEW, he is someone who can make almost anyone else look good. Hook is definitely a work in progress and putting him in there with Romero will make that progress go a good bit faster.

Video on Wheeler Yuta vs. Katsuyori Shibata over the latter’s Ring Of Honor Pure Rules Title.

Diamante vs. Kris Statlander

They fight over a test of strength to start with Diamante powering her down until Statlander manages to drive Diamante into the corner. Back up and Diamante snaps off a headscissors but Statlander’s powerslam gets two. Cue Diamante’s partner Mercedes Martinez for a distraction as we take a break. Back with Diamante having to roll out of Saturday Night Fever and grabbing a standing Sliced Bread for two. Statlander is back up with a heck of a discus lariat for the pin at 9:41.

Rating: C. This was Statlander’s rebound win after losing the TBS Title at Full Gear. The good thing is she had to work for this one as Diamante was game in defeat. Diamante is someone who has a good bit of charisma and fire in the ring but she’s never really won anything of note. At least she had a nice performance here, but if it doesn’t turn into something, it won’t matter much in the long run.

Post match Martinez jumps Statlander until Willow Nightingale makes the save.

Daniel Garcia is ready for his Continental Classic match. He’s on a losing streak and wishes his confidence was higher.

Here is the Kingdom to say Roderick Strong isn’t here but heroes wear neck braces. Action Andretti tried to KILL HIM last week and to make it clear, MJF is the Devil. They’re coming for the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles.

Kingdom vs. Duke Davis/Danny Jones

The Kingdom jumps them, hits a bunch of stuff, and the Climax into Aurora Borealis finishes Jones at 1:10. Impressive squash.

Ring Of Honor Pure Rules Title: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Wheeler Yuta

Yuta is challenging and of course this is under Pure Rules. They go with the grappling to start as we talk about Shibata’s injury from a few years ago and how amazing it is for him to be in the ring. Shibata grabs a headlock to grind him down and puts on the bow and arrow to take over. Some leg cranking keeps Yuta in trouble and a leglock sends him to the ropes for his first break. Yuta hits him in the face for his official warning, which has Nigel complaining about Bryan Danielson.

We take a break and come back with Shibata firing up out of the corner. Shibata chops him into the corner and snaps off a suplex for two. The ankle lock goes on until Shibata switches into an STF. That’s good for Yuta’s second rope break before Yuta sends him outside for the suicide dive. Shibata is back up with the running boot against the barricade but the referee gets bumped back inside. A low blow into a DDT into the seat belt gives Yuta the pin and the title at 12:29.

Rating: C+. They had the technically sound match that you would expect, but Yuta regaining what might be the lowest level title AEW/ROH presents isn’t exactly some big milestone. Shibata’s time with the title wasn’t exactly thrilling either so giving it to someone who will be around on a regular basis makes sense. At least Yuta can brag about beating Shibata, but it only means so much all things considered.

Post match Yuta gives him another DDT but Hook makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The wrestling was fine and the title match does mean a bit, but this couldn’t have felt more like a “we’re having this show because we have to” if they had set out to make it that way. It felt like the lowest stakes show imaginable and that makes for a very tedious hour. Almost nothing of consequence happened here as other than Hook vs. Yuta being furthered, I can’t imagine anything on here having much in the way of long term value. Perfectly fine match as far as wrestling goes, but this felt like a waste of time.

Results
Hook b. Rocky Romero – Redrum
Kris Statlander b. Diamante – Discus lariat
Kingdom b. Duke Davis/Danny Jones – Aurora Borealis to Jones
Wheeler Yuta b. Katsuyori Shibata – Seat belt

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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Collision
Date: November 11, 2023
Location: Oakland Arena, Oakland, California
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re taped for a rare situation this week with only seven days to go before Full Gear. In theory that should mean we get a few things built up towards the pay per view, which could make things interesting. You never know what you’re going to get around here but an in-ring focus tends to be the case. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Sting, Darby Allin, Adam Copeland, the Righteous, Lance Archer, Jake Roberts, La Faccion Ingobernable, Powerhouse Hobbs, Daniel Garcia and Andrade El Idolo are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Daniel Garcia

CJ Perry is here with Andrade. Feeling out process to start with Andrade getting the better of things. Garcia sends him into the ropes for the Tranquilo pose, meaning it’s time for the slugout. The frustrated Garcia is sat on top for a dropkick out to the floor as things get worse. Back in and Andrade strikes away until Garcia gets in a knee snap over the ropes.

Garcia knees him off the apron and out to the floor but it’s time to stare at Perry. That means some dancing from Garcia, though Perry actually dances back a bit. Garcia takes it back inside for a German suplex and we take a break. Back with Garcia putting on the ankle lock and Andrade pounding the mat.

With that broken up, Andrade hits some running clotheslines and nips up. The running knees in the corner give Andrade two, followed by Garcia hitting a brainbuster for the same. Andrade runs him over again and hits the double moonsault for two more. Another shot to the knee sets up the Figure Eight to give Andrade the win at 15:41.

Rating: C+. This was longer than it needed to be and there was only so much that you can get out of these two going for almost sixteen minutes. It was a good enough match, but it was feeling long and came off more like they were trying to fill in time. Andrade winning does at least boost him up though and now we should be in for a big Miro vs. Andrade match in the near future.

In the back, Miro is not pleased.

We look at the end of Dynamite, with the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn being taken out by masked men. MJF was upset but Samoa Joe seemed amused.

Nick Wayne vs. Dalton Castle

Christian Cage and Luchasaurus are here with Wayne while the Boys are here with Castle. Feeling out process to start with Wayne taking over and stopping for a pose. Castle wrestles him down without much trouble and grabs a gutwrench to send Wayne flying. Wayne gets in a shot of his own to set up more posing though and we hit the face ripping.

That’s broken up and Castle snaps off some suplexes but the Bang A Rang is blocked. Wayne’s World is blocked as well so Luchasaurus gets on the apron. The Boys make the save and get double chokeslammed, allowing Wayne to send Castle into the corner. Wayne’s World finishes Castle at 6:47.

Rating: C+. And there’s your next challenger to the Ring Of Honor World Title, as he loses to Christian Cage’s lackey two days after issuing the challenge. AEW has that big of a roster but apparently here was no one else to take this loss than Castle. Other than that, it was nice to see Castle on television again, as that star power and charisma are always worth a look.

Hangman Page is livid at Swerve Strickland for invading his home, so it’s time for a Texas Death Match at Full Gear. He’s ready to kill Strickland and then take his son to his grave every year for a visit. Heck of a promo from Page here, as he continues to do well when he’s serious.

La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Workhorsemen

Dralistico gets taken into the wrong corner to start and the alternating beatdown is on. A quick shot allows the tag to Rush though and Drake is quickly struck down. The fight heads outside and we take a break. Back with Rush slapping Drake in the face and posing before forearming Henry down. Back up and Drake runs Rush over, setting up a missed moonsault. Dralistico hits a top rope Codebreaker, setting up a running flip dive to Henry. The Bull’s Horns finishes Drake at 8:25.

Rating: C. This was another match that felt a bit longer than it needed to be, though at least La Faccion never really felt like they were in any serious trouble. The Workhorsemen have been around Ring Of Honor for a long time without much success and now they seem to be moving into the same jobbers to the stars roles around here. There are worse spots for them, but they’re not exactly must see TV.

Post match the House Of Black pops up to say they’re coming for the Tag Team Titles at Full Gear. As for Julia Hart, she’ll beat Willow Nightingale tonight and then gets a rematch for the TBS Title at Full Gear.

Kris Statlander thinks Willow Nightingale should get a title shot and has no comment on Red Velvet vs. Skye Blue next week. Apparently the winners of Hart vs. Nightingale and Velvet vs. Blue get into a triple threat title match at Full Gear. Velvet has wrestled twice since returning and is 1-1 but is a win away from a title shot?

Roderick Strong vs. Darius Martin

Strong, with the Kingdom, is wheeled to the ring. They start fast with Strong hammering away in the corner before hitting a half nelson backbreaker. One heck of a chop in the corner lets Strong drop him in the corner again. A dropkick cuts off Martin’s comeback and we hit the seated abdominal stretch. With that broken up, Martin flips out of the corner for a kick to the head, followed by a bulldog onto the middle rope. Back in and Strong hits the Sick Kick, setting up the End of Heartache for the pin at 5:50.

Rating: C+. Strong’s story continues, though I’m not sure where it is supposed to go. The ans are getting behind Strong and that might create some issues for everyone involved. For now though, at least Strong is getting back in the ring so there are some more options available. Maybe just tone down the comedy stuff if Strong is supposed to stay a heel?

Post match the beatdown is on until Action Andretti makes the save.

Tony Khan is with Bryan Danielson and announces that Danielson will be at next year’s All In. Also, we’ll be getting the Continental Classic, a 12 man round robin tournament over the next month and a half, with the finals taking place at World’s End. The first entrant: Bryan Danielson. Round robins haven’t gone so well in America and a month and a half is a lot, but the talent should be there.

Willow Nightingale vs. Julia Hart

They start slowly with Hart not knowing what to do with Willow’s power. Hart slugs away but gets slammed down without much trouble. With that not working, they head outside where Willow hits a suplex to plant Hart as we take a break. Back with Hart working on the arm, meaning Nightingale can’t pick her up for the gutwrench powerbomb. Hart hits some running shots in the corner and a running forearm to the back of the head.

Hartless is blocked so they head outside where Nightingale misses a charge into the steps. Back in and Willow pulls her off the top for a full nelson slam and another near fall. The Babe With The Powerbomb….doesn’t quite work as Hart lands sitting down. Another running forearm drops Willow and the moonsault gives Hart the pin at 12:01.

Rating: C+. And so, Nightingale loses again, as tends to be her custom. That being said, Hart seems all but destined to win the title at Full Gear, as Kris Statlander hasn’t had much of note or a bit now. Hart’s moonsault still looks great too as she has come a long way in a short amount of time. Just give her the title while not having Nightingale lose as much and they’ll get somewhere.

Big Bill and Ricky Starks won’t fight the House Of Black at Full Gear. That’s true, because they’ll be fighting the House of Black, La Faccion Ingobernable and FTR. Starks isn’t worried.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. ???

Paul Wight is on commentary. Spinebuster and World’s Strongest Slam finish for Hobbs at 53 seconds.

Post match, Don Callis mocks Chris Jericho and calls Wight Jericho’s last friend in wrestling. Callis praises Wight but says he’s scared of Hobbs. The fight is teased but nothing happens.

FTR wants the Tag Team Titles back.

Lance Archer/The Righteous vs. Sting/Darby Allin/Adam Copeland

Copeland strikes away at Dutch to start and finally clotheslines him down. Allin (with a taped up shoulder) comes in to headlock Vincent before it’s off to Archer vs. Sting. After a WOO off, Sting knocks him to the floor as we take a break. Back with Sting in trouble as Archer gets to stomp him down in the corner. Sting fights away and, after a clothesline to Archer, brings Allin back in.

What looks to be the Code Red is blocked and Dutch hits a running clothesline as we take another break. Back again with Allin fighting out of trouble and bringing Copeland back in to clean house. Allin dives onto Archer on the floor but Dutch takes Copeland down. Sting makes the save and it’s a Death Drop/middle rope elbow combination to drop Dutch. The spear finishes Dutch at 16:21.

Rating: B-. Copeland was looking like a star in here and was moving better than he did during some of his time in WWE. At the same time, Sting continues to look good on the way towards retirement and if he can keep it going for a few more months, we should be in for a nice run. I could have gone with the Righteous not losing so soon into their teaming up with Roberts, but at least it was to a team with much higher star power.

Christian Cage and company come out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. While it wasn’t a bad show, I couldn’t get into things this week. It felt like there wasn’t a ton of effort put into this show and very little involving the top stories took place. I can go with a show focused more on the midcard feuds, but nothing n here really stood out for the most part. It’s far from terrible, but I was bored more than once and that makes for a long show.

Results
Andrade El Idolo b. Daniel Garcia – Figure 8
Nick Wayne b. Dalton Castle – Wayne’s World
La Faccion Ingobernable b. Workhorsemen – Bull’s Horns to Drake
Roderick Strong b. Darius Martin – End Of Heartache
Julia Hart b. Willow Nightingale – Moonsault
Powerhouse Hobbs b. ??? – World’s Strongest Slam
Sting/Darby Allin/Adam Copeland b. Righteous/Lance Archer – Spear to Dutch

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Dynamite
Date: November 8, 2023
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We are a week and a half away from Full Gear and that means we should be getting the final push towards the show. This week that includes MJF defending the World Title against Daniel Garcia and an interesting main event of Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe. Other than that, we have a heck of a showdown between Keith Lee and Samoa Joe for the ROH TV Title. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone brings in MJF to talk about his lost last week but MJF says it will never happen again. Adam Cole calls him so MJF throws it to a video screen and says MJF should take Samoa Joe up on his offer. MJF isn’t sure why but here is Daniel Garcia (challenging MJF for the title tonight) to laugh a bit. Garcia says tonight, MJF is getting the professional wrestler. With Garcia gone, the Kingdom wheels in Roderick Strong, who offers MJF some tips. MJF walks off, which Strong says is what the devil would do. It’s time to remind people who Strong is.

Opening sequence.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia, with Matt Menard and Angelo Parker, is challenging. MJF hits him in the face to start so Garcia does the same, only to have his friends break up the dance (as tends to be their custom as of late). An armbar has Garcia down and a rollup gives MJF two. We take a break and come back with Garcia hitting a one armed German suplex and dancing a bit.

MJF is right back on the arm before a hammerlock DDT gets two. Garcia kicks the leg out and hits a one armed piledriver for two. They’re doing something there with the arm not working at full strength. The Dragontamer goes on but MJF escapes and grabs the Salt Of The Earth to retain the title at 10:38.

Rating: B-. Not too bad at all here, though Garcia continues to not exactly be the most interesting star in the world. He’s a strong technician, but that doesn’t do much to help his charisma. Thankfully they didn’t let this go on too long, as there was no way to make Garcia feel like a serious threat to the title.

Post match MJF wants to shake hands but Garcia’s friends won’t allow it.

Mark Briscoe is ready for Jay White.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. Outrunners

Allin headlocks Magnum to start but gets take into the corner for a stomping from Floyd. A suplex is broken up and String comes in to clean house. The Scorpion Deathlock finishes Floyd at 2:58. That’s how it should have gone.

We have a sitdown interview (in black and white) between Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm. Shida promises to beat her again as usual but Storm doesn’t seem to buy it. They sign the contract and go face to face.

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Swerve Strickland

Feeling out process to start until Swerve takes him into the corner for a kick to the leg. Swerve bites the fingers but Penta is back with some chops. A Backstabber sends Swerve outside, where he is able to drop Penta face first onto the steps. Penta strikes away and hits a big running flip dive as we take a break.

Back with Made In Japan and the JML Driver both being blocked, leaving us with a double knockdown. A Death Valley Driver gets Penta two and he drops Swerve hard onto the apron to leave Swerve on the floor. Back in and Swerve reverses a headscissors out of the corner by flipping Penta into the corner. A 450 is blocked and Made In Japan gives Penta two. Swerve is back with his own Death Valley Driver and snaps Penta’s arm. The Swerve Stomp gives Swerve the pin at 13:33.

Rating: B. One of AEW’s greatest strengths is being able to take any two wrestlers out of a huge number available and have them put on a good match. That’s what they did here as these two came pretty close to tearing the house down. If you can get Penta away from doing his CERO MIEDO line over and over again and let him do his thing, he can put in a heck of a performance and that was the case here. At the same time you have Swerve continuing to showcase just how good he really is as his roll continues.

Post match Swerve goes for the mast but Hangman Page runs in to lay Swerve out with a Deadeye off the stage and through some tables. It seems WAY too early for that as it could have come during their Full Gear match instead.

Jay White is ready to beat up Mark Briscoe tonight and hopes MJF is watching.

The Don Callis Family is ready for serious violence next week against Chris Jericho and pals.

Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega are ready to fight next week, but the Young Bucks come in to bring up an idea of the Elite. They think Jericho is just here to get a paycheck, but Jericho thinks he and Omega are a better team. They agree to fight at Full Gear, with Jericho wanting the Bucks’ Tag Team Title shot on the line. That works with the Bucks, but if they win, Jericho and Omega are done as a team and they get back to being the Elite. Omega says he’s beaten the Bucks before so he can do it again.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Keith Lee

Joe is defending and grabs a headlock to start. Lee isn’t having that and runs Joe over with a shoulder. Some choking on the rope keeps Joe down but he’s back up with the snap jabs in the corner. Back up and Lee leapfrogs over him and knocks Joe outside to send us to a break. We come back with Joe taking out the leg, including hitting a dragon screw legwhip. Lee manages a pop up powerbomb for a delayed two but Joe is right back up. Joe pulls him into the Koquina Clutch to retain the title at 11:26.

Rating: B-. This was the hoss match it was advertised as being and that made for a good fight. While I could go for more of Lee being a monster who runs people over, there is little shame in losing to someone as dominant as Joe. That being said, this felt like a match that could have been built up a lot better, but that is the case for a lot of things on AEW TV.

Post match Joe says he’s vacating the title to go after the AEW World Title. After a year and a half and Joe retaining the title when it seemed perfect for Joe to lose, he just walks away from it without putting anyone over? And not even on the ROH show. This has been your weekly reminder that RING OF HONOR MEANS NOTHING.

Orange Cassidy, with Hook, is rather serious and says he has to beat Jon Moxley.

Gunns b. Bollywood Boyz

3:10 To Yuma finishes Gurv at 42 seconds.

Post match the Gunns promise to beat up MJF and win the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles.

Jon Moxley says he’s in for the Full Gear title shot against Orange Cassidy, but he and Wheeler Yuta might crush Cassidy and Hook before they get there.

Wardlow is ready to end MJF.

Julia Hart vs. Red Velvet

This is Velvet’s return after nine months on the injured list. Velvet snaps off some armdrags to start and strikes away in the corner. Hart knocks her out of said corner though and we take a break. Back with Velvet making the clothesline comeback and hitting some running knees. An Iconoclasm out of the corner gives Velvet two but Hart kicks her down. The moonsault finishes for Hart at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Hart gets some momentum back after losing at WrestleDream and still looks like she’s keeping most of her momentum. She seems to have turned a corner in recent months and that moonsault looks good every time. It’s also nice to have Velvet back as you never want to see someone on the shelf, especially for that long.

Post match Hart goes after Velvet but Skye Blue comes out for the staredown. Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale come in to break it up before things get physical.

Mariah May is ready to debut in AEW and is excited about Toni Storm being here.

Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe

The rest of Bullet Club Gold is at ringside. Mark sends him outside to start and White needs an early breather. Back in and Mark chops away, setting up a suplex to put White down again. Redneck Kung Fu puts White on the floor and there’s the Bang Bang Elbow to make it worse. The Club knocks Mark off the top though and we take a break.

Back with White kicking the knee out but getting cut off with a middle rope dropkick. They strike it out with Mark getting the better of things and hitting a fisherman’s buster for two. A dragon screw legwhip over the ropes hits White again and there’s a Death Valley Driver. The Froggy Bow gets two but White snaps off the swinging Rock Bottom. White goes for the knee but the Blade Runner is countered into an exploder suplex. More chops have Mark down again and the sleeper suplex drops him hard. The Blade Runner finishes for White at 14:00.

Rating: B. Another good one here, though I’m not wild on having Briscoe lose so soon after his comeback. Granted it’s against a big name in White who has a major match coming up, but it’s still a bit of a weird choice. That being said, Mark getting to showcase himself is a good thing as he really is one of the better hands in the ring around here.

Post match MJF comes out with the diamond ring to chase White off but he still can’t get the belt back. For the first time ever, MJF has a reason to fight for everyone in the arena and wants to know if White can pull the trigger.

The lights go out and we cut to the back where the masked men are attacking Billy Gunn and the Acclaimed. Anthony Bowens is sent through some glass as we see the person in the devil mask watching. MJF runs to the back, where Samoa Joe pops up to say MJF is running out of friends.

Overall Rating: B. Better show than last week and it’s nice to see things getting a bit back to normal. They had more of a focus this week as they get ready for Full Gear and things got more interesting with the angle at the end. Throw in some good wrestling up and down the card and it made for a good Dynamite. Now just get to Full Gear with the same efficiency and everything should work very well.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Daniel Garcia – Salt Of The Earth
Sting/Darby Allin b. Outrunners – Scorpion Deathlock to Floyd
Swerve Strickland b. Penta El Zero Miedo – Swerve Strickland
Samoa Joe b. Keith Lee – Koquina Clutch
Gunns b. Bollywood Boyz – 3:10 To Yuma to Gurv
Julia Hart b. Red Velvet – Moonsault
Jay White b. Mark Briscoe – Blade Runner

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Collision
Date: November 4, 2023
Location: InTrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

We are two weeks away from Full Gear and a good chunk of the card is already set. This show is going to be in a big of a rough patch in the coming weeks though, as Bryan Danielson is going to be out of action. Someone is going to have to step up and I’m not sure who that will be. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

FTR, Big Bill, Ricky Starks Lance Archer and Darby Allin are ready to fight. Swerve Strickland is as well but AR Fox jumps him to start their match fast.

Opening sequence.

AR Fox vs. Swerve Strickland

They fight to the ring with Swerve in trouble and bailing to the floor, meaning Fox can be right there for the big running flip dive. Back in and a rolling cutter gives Fox two but Swerve sends him outside to take over. Cue the Gates of Agony (Prince Nana dances) as Swerve pulls Fox off the top as we take a break.

We come back with Swerve fighting back and hitting a hanging DDT. The 450 gives Fox two and Lo Mein Pain is good for the same. Swerve is back with the House Call for two of his own, followed by a knee first hard toss into the buckle. A powerbomb flipped into a powerslam (that was cool) sets up the Swerve Stomp to give Swerve the pin at 10:07.

Rating: B-. I don’t think there’s any surprise that these two had a good match as they’re both talented stars who have shown chemistry in the past. They made this work well and that flipping powerslam looked very good. Swerve is on the rise though and it should be interesting to see what he gets to do next.

Post match the Gates of Agony are ready to go after Fox but FTR runs in for the save. Ricky Starks and Big Bill run in to help the Gates with the beatdown but LFI makes the real save. FTR and LFI don’t seem to get along.

The House Of Black is watching.

Video on Daniel Garcia vs. MJF for the World Title at Dynamite. Geez what did we do to deserve that?

MJF rants about Jay White needing all of the Bullet Club Gold to catch him off guard and pin him. White has been in wrestling twice as long as MJF and White is twice as stupid!

Bullet Club Gold sings about beating MJF and say they’re taking a break from Collision. They’ll be back on Dynamite with another World Title eliminator though.

Kip Sabian is mad at Mark Briscoe for last week and brings in the Workhorsemen. Briscoe needs two partners tonight.

Kingdom vs. Brixton Nash/James McGregor

Roderick Strong interrupts Dasha’s entrance and complains about the lack of being neck strong. The Kingdom jumps them before the match and a spike piledriver finishes McGregor at 1:17.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Strong running in for a shot of his own.

We look at Christian Cage recruiting Nick Wayne.

Mark Briscoe is happy to be back when FTR comes in to offer to work twice tonight to team with him. Mark appreciates that but he has two people in mind, which is cool with FTR. When asked who his partners are, Mark shouts that he “CANNOT DIVULGE THAT INFORMATION!”

Darby Allin vs. Lance Archer

Jake Roberts is here with Archer. Allin strikes away a bit to start but is promptly Pounced out to the floor. Back in and Archer’s Old School is countered and they fight to the floor. That’s fine with Archer, who LAUNCHES Allin with a release suplex onto the ramp. Archer tosses him again as we take a break.

Back with Allin raking the eyes but getting caught with a running knee to the face in the corner. Allin slips out of the Black Out but gets chokeslammed over the top and onto the apron. Roberts loads up a skateboard shot, only to be ejected before he can swing. That leaves Archer to go up top but Allin catches him with a super sunset bomb for the pin at 9:51.

Rating: B-. Much like the opener, these two work well together and have every time I’ve seen them square off. It’s a natural idea to have Allin vs. the monster and these two work that style very well. Archer continues to feel like someone who could be in a bigger role but that is only going to last so long when he loses matches like this one.

Post match Roberts says that’s not how it’s going to be and introduces his new friends….the Righteous. Allin is distracted and gets chokeslammed by Archer. Again: only feels so impressive when Archer just got pinned.

Kris Statlander again attempts to calm things down with Skye Blue and Willow Nightingale. Blue says she helped Willow for Willow and wishes her luck tonight. Statlander does the same.

Alex Abrahantes is happy with Penta El Zero Miedo’s win on Rampage. Swerve Strickland comes in and gets a match with Penta on Dynamite. He even threatens to take Penta’s mask.

Here are the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn to celebrate 69 day (as in days as Trios Champions). Gunn loves all of the fans’ signs and we launch the confetti. Caster gets a special present: a video from MJF talking about how he respects Caster and says Caster is starting to grow on him. MJF: “Like a fungus, but it’s starting.” He wishes us a happy 69 day and says “uh, yay scissoring.”

Caster’s amazed face is great but he’s even happier because they have a trophy! They make a bunch of jokes about the holiday (Gunn seems to be having a blast) but as they’re about to wrap it up, here are Dalton Castle and the Boys to interrupt. The Boys grab the trophy (Kelly: “These two are idiots.”) and hand it to Castle, who throws it out to the floor. The brawl is on and let’s have a match.

Trios Titles: Acclaimed/Billy Gunn vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys

Castle and the Boys are challenging. The Boys hit a double dropkick to tart but a pinata is brought in. The Acclaimed take it away and beat the other three up with it, revealing….Acclaimed stuff inside! We take a break and come back with Castle knocking Gunn off the apron as apparently this is the result of an open contract which was only discovered during the break. The champs fight back and it’s Scissor Me Timbers into a Fameasser into the Arrival into the Mic Drop to retain at 6:24. Not enough shown to rate but maybe they could have waited to set this match up instead of doing it immediately?

Andrade El Idolo will have his answer for CJ Perry next week.

Kip Sabian/Workhorsemen vs. Mark Briscoe/???/???

Briscoe’s partners are Dustin Rhodes and Keith Lee. Sabian jumps Briscoe to start and it’s off to Henry, even as Briscoe fights up. Drake cuts him off as we hear about Drake being a professional bowler, which has the rest of commentary interested. The beating continues until Mark manages a suplex. Lee comes in and powerbombs Sabian onto Henry, allowing Briscoe to come back in with the Froggy Bow for the pin on Sabian at 4:28.

Rating: C. It’s very nice to have Briscoe back in the ring after such a long absence. He has so much charisma and it is a blast to watch him out there doing just about anything. At the same time, it should be interesting to see where things go for him, as I can’t imagine the Lee/Rhodes pairing is anything more than a one off.

Post break, Briscoe says he has been watching while he was injured and now he sees an impostor. Jay White is running around with a title that isn’t his, so he challenges White to put the title shot on the line next week on Dynamite.

Willow Nightingale vs. Emi Sakura

They run at each other to start until Nightingale slams her down. The fight heads outside with Nightingale being sent into the steps. A crossbody against said steps crushes her hard and Sakura drops her again inside. We take a break and come back with Nightingale hitting a Death Valley Driver on the floor. The Doctor Bomb is countered though and Sakura hits a reverse swinging neckbreaker. Nightingale fights up and hits a spinebuster, followed by the Doctor Bomb for the pin at 9:57.

Rating: B. That was a heck of a match as these two beat the fire out of each other. You don’t get to see that kin of a fight very often and it worked well here. Nightingale is still someone who feels like she should be a much bigger deal but for some reason this tends to be the highest level of win she is going to get. For now though, they had a rather good match and I’ll take what I can get for Nightingale.

Samoa Joe says he has beaten everyone….but Keith Lee pops in to say not EVERYONE. They’ll fight on Dynamite.

FTR/La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Big Bill/Ricky Starks/Gates of Agony

Vance strikes away at Bill in the corner and moves around to do it again. Kaun comes in and gets taken down by FTR. Toa slams Harwood and drops a headbutt for two. It’s off to Starks, but Rush takes him outside for some whips into various barricades. We take a break and come back with Harwood in the wrong corner, allowing Starks to walk the rope for an elbow to the head.

Harwood fights over to the corner and hands it back to Rush to clean house. The cocky kick to the face hits Starks in the corner and he charges into a powerslam for two. It’s back to Vance, who avoids a charge to send Toa into the post. Bill chokeslams Vance as everything breaks down. Harwood comes in o slug away at Kaun until Rush plays Wheeler in a Big Rig. Wheeler dives onto Toa and the Bull’s Horn finishes Kaun at 14:52.

Rating: B-. It was smart to not take this one to the near thirty minute lengths that some Collision main events get but or now I’ll settle for another solid enough match. LFI looked good in their return and they should be in for some kind of strong push in the future. FTR almost has to get another title shot at some point, though the House Of Black might be looming before they get there.

Post match LFI leaves without shaking FTR’s hands. The House Of Black pops up to threaten FTR….and then they’re in the ring to make good on the threats. Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli run in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Good show here, with solid wrestling up and down the card. The best thing to say about this show was nothing got boring, as it felt like there was at least someone interesting or an important match out there the whole night. That isn’t always the case with AEW and it is nice to see them fixing things up a bit. Dynamite is looking stacked and it would be nice to see AEW follow up this show with another good one.

Results
Swerve Strickland b. AR Fox – Swerve Stomp
The Kingdom b. Brixton Nash/James McGregor – Spike piledriver to McGregor
Darby Allin b. Lance Archer – Super sunset bomb
Acclaimed/Billy Gunn b. Dalton Castle/The Boys – Mic Drop to Brent
Mark Briscoe/Dustin Rhodes/Keith Lee b. Kip Sabian/Workhorsemen – Froggy Bow to Henry
Willow Nightingale b. Emi Sakura – Doctor Bomb
FTR/La Faccion Ingobernable b. Gates Of Agony/Big Bill/Ricky Starks – Bull’s Horns to Kaun

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

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AND

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