Despite the fact that so many wrestlers who would be a big guest star here are already signed to AEW/ROH, we’re getting another one of these shows. There are some stars here from New Japan, Stardom and CMLL, which doesn’t exactly make for a unique experience. In addition we do have some title (shots) on the line and that’s other big focal point, which is only so thrilling. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Women’s Tag Team Titles: Megan Bayne/Lena Kross(c) vs. Olympia/Thunder Rosa

This is Rosa and Olympia being thrown together for a random title shot because that’s what the titles have already reached. Rather than building up a team to be regular challengers, we’re getting a makeshift, thrown together team instead. At least this is just on the pre-show and not the main card so maybe this won’t get as much time otherwise. It’s another title match that feels tacked on for the sake of playing to the show’s theme and that’s hardly a great way to go.

Naturally I’ll take the champions to retain here, as they’re being treated as the monsters who shouldn’t be losing their titles anytime soon. That’s especially true with a team comprised of Rosa, who hasn’t won anything important in a good while, and Olympia, who tapped out clean in her match this week on ROH to really make her feel important. It should be fine as a warmup but that’s about all.

Zero Hour: Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Skye Blue vs. Maika

Here we have another guest star getting a random spot on the card for the sake of filling out the card. At least in this case it’s just for a spot in a six way match for the TBS Title rather than filling out a bracket, but it still only means so much. Maika hasn’t actually wrestled in AEW before but at least that means she hasn’t lost over and over again, which puts her ahead of some wrestlers.

I’ll take Maika to win here, as it allows one of the outsiders to get a victory that only means so much. Blue is hardly a big name but she has been around long enough that beating her might have a bit of an impact for Maika. It’s not like Maika is going to win the title in the end so let her get some kind of a victory and build her up a bit, as it’s not like anyone would buy Blue as a threat to win the whole thing anyway. Maika wins here.

Continental Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Bandido

Let’s get this one out of the way early, as there is a grand total of no reason to think that Bandido has even the first chance to win the title. This is just what Bandido does, as he is put in matches against big AEW stars, none of whom give any indication that they care about the Ring Of Honor World Title, and then Bandido loses. That’s what we’ll be seeing here again, of course.

I’m not even bothering to suggest that this is up in the air whatsoever as there is just no point. Moxley is the most successful star AEW has ever had and he isn’t about to lose to Bandido, who might be talented but doesn’t win big matches. I’m sure the match will be good, but if Bandido is going to keep doing this kind of stuff, can he lose the title already to keep whatever value it might still cling to?

Women’s Title: Thekla(c) vs. Starlight Kid

I’m going to make this clear rather quickly: I do not care about Thekla’s issues with Stardom. I do not care about Stardom. I do not care about Kid’s quest to defend Stardom from Thekla. She’s already the AEW Women’s Champion and that title reign has basically been put on ice for the last month while we deal with whatever issue she has coming out of a promotion she doesn’t work for anymore. It feels like a Stardom story which is coming over here instead and that’s not exactly must see material.

Naturally I’ll take Thekla to retain so we can move back to the women of AEW getting their chance at the title. The problem here isn’t Kid, who is a rather talented star. The problem is that the whole thing has been about Stardom and Thekla’s issues with its owner. That’s not what I watch AEW to see and it’s basically seen a title locked down for weeks while we wait on this show to be over. Stop doing that.

Tag Team Titles: Adam Copeland/Christian Cage(c) vs. The Dogs

So Copeland and Cage won the titles for their big moment and now they need someone to come after those titles. This is as good as anyone else for a first major title defense, as the Dogs have come after them more than once to set up the match. It’s a fine enough idea and that’s all it needs to be. This is little more than a pit stop before the champions are likely going to be climbing a ladder against the Young Bucks and FTR in Wembley.

Of course the champs retain here, as the Dogs are hardly a big enough team to get the titles off of them at this point. It’s not a bad thing to go with a title defense that will make the champions sweat for a bit and that’s what we’ll get here. This should work out well enough, as the Canadians are more than talented enough to get something out of the Dogs, especially if this doesn’t go on too long.

Young Bucks vs. Sky Team vs. Unbound Co.

This is the AEW vs. CMLL vs. New Japan match and that’s not a bad idea. It’s one of the few matches here that feel like it should be on a Forbidden Door card and that’s nice to see after everything else. If nothing else, it should be nice to see the Bucks and Sky Team fly around and do all of their stuff. It’s worked before on their own and it should work out rather well here.

I’ll take Sky Team to win, as Mistico is a big enough star that you do not want him losing in a match like this. The whole point of this match is to do a bunch of high flying and big spots and that’s going to work out rather well. Sky Team going over is the right call and they might even beat the Bucks to do it. If nothing else, at least we’ve seen the Sky Team a few times so they won’t be out of nowhere, which is a good attribute to have here.

IWGP Global Title: Shota Umino(c) vs. Pac

This is a match that could wind up being a potential show stealer, with Pac being able to work well with anyone and Umino being good enough most of the time. Pac has become someone you can depend on to have a heck of a match most of the time and while I’m not sure on him winning the title, at least it should come with one of the better matches on the show.

While I think Pac at least has a chance to win the title, I’ll take Umino to retain here. The good thing is they should beat the living daylights out of each other on the way there, as tends to be the case in Pac’s matches. I’ve only seen a bit of Umino but his time with Moxley was good enough and it might even tie into the match here. Hopefully this one does as well as it could, as the show could use the boost.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kenny Omega

Here’s your dream match of the show and this should work out rather well. Sabre is one of the best technical wrestlers in the world today and Omega is AEW’s living legend. It’s not a match that needs much of a story and they haven’t given it one, which is how this should go. This is one of the matches where you just put the names up there and the match sells itself, which is how Forbidden Door worked back in its early days.

For this one, I’ll go with Omega as again, it makes sense for the star who is sticking around to get the big win. Sabre is an established name and beating him should get Omega ready for whatever his big deal is going to be this summer. Omega can put in the work to make this a success and Sabre can do various horrible things to Omega’s limbs in the process. At the end of the day though, Omega wins after a rather hard fought battle.

Team MJF vs. Team Briscoe

Here we have a twelve man tag inside a cage, because that’s an idea that is going to work. I’m assuming the idea here is that MJF’s knee is a bit too banged up and he can’t wrestle a singles match at the moment. That’s perfectly fine and understandable, though I’m not sure how that means we need to have twelve people in the same match. Then again if it wasn’t be stuffed to the gills, it wouldn’t belong in AEW.

There is no reason to think that Team MJF has much of a chance here so we’ll go with Briscoe and company winning. The win will give Briscoe the World Title shot at whatever the next pay per view (or maybe Beach Break) and that has to be set up somehow. The match is likely to be a big mess but at least it sets something up and can have other consequences in the Don Callis Family. Hopefully some of the people fight off here though, as the ring is going to need the extra space.

Women’s Owen Hart Cup Finals: Mercedes Mone vs. Maya World

I’m not sure what to think about this one. In theory, Mone wins the tournament again because she’s Mone and has to win everything because she’s the biggest star in the history of ever. On the other hand though, I’m not sure I get why World would be put into this spot if she was just going to lose in the end. It’s not like Mone gets much out of beating World, who is playing with the house’s money, but I also can’t picture World going on to All In.

Therefore, I’ll take Mone winning in an underwhelming result. Mone has been here before and I don’t quite get the appeal of seeing her in this spot again, but I guess she hasn’t won a title recently enough so it’s time to set her up to do it again. World winning would be an absolute shock and I’d prefer to see it happen, but I just can’t picture that being the case here.

Men’s Owen Hart Cup Finals: Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland

Finally we have the next step of one of the odder stories in a long time, as the Death Riders broke Ospreay’s neck but are now training him to get better from his neck injury. Therefore, he can have a rather physical match against Strickland with the winner moving on to the likely main event of the biggest AEW show of the year. That’s quite a way to go, but we have a few months between now and then to make it even stranger.

There is a grand total of no reason to believe that Strickland has a chance here and that has been obvious from the second Ospreay was announced for the field. This isn’t a subtle story and while that makes sense in theory, it could make for quite the lengthy wait before we finally get to the result. Ospreay wins here and while it should be a heck of a match, it really shouldn’t be in doubt.

Overall Thoughts

The biggest issue here is how little most of this show seems to matter. The three most important matches on the show are all about title shots which are going to happen later on, leaving this with a bunch of midcard titles matches and guest stars. It should be a good show as most AEW pay per views tend to be, but my goodness it does not feel overly important and that’s becoming a bigger issue with Forbidden Door year after year.

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

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Dynamite
Date: June 24, 2026
Location: Rio Rancho Events Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

It’s the last Dynamite before Forbidden Door and the finals are officially set for the Owen Hart Cups. That means we need to have the big hype segments for Sunday’s final showdowns. As for tonight, Zack Sabre Jr. is here again to face Jack Perry in his Forbidden Door warmup match. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Jon Moxley gives the Death Riders a pep talk. Will Ospreay gets in their bouncing circle and falls down. Well of course he did.

Death Riders vs. Brodido/Mistico

Yuta grabs Bandido’s arm to start and they trade takedowns. Back up and Bandido snaps off a running headscissors before headlocking Moxley. That earns Bandido a trip into the corner, meaning Castagnoli can stomp him down. Bandido shrugs that off and brings Mistico in to get a rather spinning headscissors to take Castagnoli down.

It’s off to King for the big man slugout and of course King can run the ropes to springboard into a double wristdrag to Castagnoli and Moxley. The Riders are sent outside for a triple dive and we take an early break. We come back with Bandido still in trouble and Moxley getting two off a suplex.

Bandido gets in a running kick to the chest and Mistico gets the much needed tag. That means house can quickly be cleaned, including a quick sunset flip for two on Castagnoli. Bandido muscles Castagnoli over for a suplex but Marina Shafir offers a distraction. That’s enough for Moxley to get in a belt shot and roll King up for the pin at 12:19.

Rating: B. This was a good, hard hitting opening match with King getting to showcase his impressive athleticism. At the same time, this doesn’t make Bandido look strong going into his title shot and Mistico has his upcoming tag match and this…really had nothing to do with that either. It’s a weird way to go, though Bandido getting a pin here would have made a bit more sense.

Post match Bandido has a quick staredown with the Riders.

The Conglomeration is ready to fight in the cage at Forbidden Door. Darby Allin is ready to fight and the team promises to load up their backpacks. The rest of the team leaves and Orange Cassidy looks a bit annoyed but insists he’s fine. Renee Paquette doesn’t seem convinced.

Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Marina Shafir vs. Harley Cameron

Cameron is in Supergirl inspired gear and gets kicked in the ribs to start fast. Shafir mounts her but Cameron is right out into a half crab. That’s broken up as well and Cameron knocks her outside for a crossbody off the steps. Back in and Shafir gives her an AA and we take an early break. We come back with Shafir snapping off some judo throws but Cameron manages a belly to back suplex. Cameron hammers away in the corner until Shafir knees her right back. The half crab is broken up again so Shafir flips her into a choke, only to have Cameron backflip into a cradle for the pin at 7:52.

Rating: C+. This was a nice surprise victory for Cameron but what matters the most here is that Cameron is going to be in next week’s match. I’m not sure if she’s going to win the title and she probably won’t, but at least she’s going to bring her rather amazing charisma to the whole thing. She’s a good bonus to the match and could even win the whole thing, which is kind of stunning considering where she was when she first came to AEW.

Video on Maya World vs. Mercedes Mone in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup finals.

Will Ospreay vs. ELP

ELP (El Phantasmo) works on the arm to start and runs Ospreay over with a shoulder, earning him a nip up. Ospreay sends him outside without much trouble and hits a slingshot dive but ELP is back up with a quick drop onto the apron. One heck of a moonsault takes Ospreay down again and we take an early break.

We come back with Ospreay hitting an enziguri, only for ELP to grab a tornado DDT. Ospreay’s forearms make ELP laugh and they trade kicks to the head until Ospreay grabs a standing Spanish Fly. ELP gets in a superkick for two of his own but Ospreay flips over into a Styles Clash. The Hidden Blade pins ELP at 10:42.

Rating: B-. It was another entertaining match with Ospreay getting to do all of his stuff, though again I’m not sure how well this did to make Ospreay look great. It did a good job of building up ELP, who hung with Ospreay for a good while before getting taken out. That’s something that happens quite a bit during this season and it’s kind of annoying as Ospreay is in the likely main event of Forbidden Door and ELP isn’t likely going to be here beyond tonight.

Post match Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana come out for a staredown, with Ospreay leaving through the crowd.

Swerve Strickland vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia walks in from outside and…how long has he been waiting out there? Strickland runs him over to start so Garcia pops up to get in Strickland’s face. That’s not a good idea as Strickland shoves him down and stomps away, setting up a running boot to the floor. This time Garcia pulls Strickland down for a hammering but takes too long yelling at a fan. Strickland kicks him in the face again and we take a break.

We come back with Strickland missing a Swerve Stomp to the apron and getting his leg dragon screw whipped. Strickland’s leg is fine enough to roll over and drop Garcia with a suplex. Garcia’s clothesline is shrugged off so he kicks out the leg instead. The ankle lock has Strickland in more trouble but he backbreakers his way out. A powerbomb is spun into a powerslam (cool) to plant Garcia, who pops up with a Styles Clash for two of his own. Strickland House Calls him for two, followed by a Hidden Blade to finish Garcia at 12:25.

Rating: B. Much like the previous match, this was a good way to build up someone who has nothing going on while the person set for a big match on Sunday is going 50/50 with Garcia. If protecting Garcia is that important (and I’m sure it is for whatever reason), don’t put him in the match. Strickland and Ospreay should have looked like killers in their matches and instead they’re just out there taking 10+ minutes to beat stars beneath them.

Post match Strickland goes after Garcia’s arm so Ospreay runs back in for the brawl. Nana offers a distraction though and Strickland gives Ospreay the House Call. A Vertebreaker drops Garcia and Ospreay chases Strickland off with a chair.

Video on Team Ospreay vs. Team MJF.

Don Callis and his Family are ready to win but MJF cuts them off to rant about Mark Briscoe. The reality is that Briscoe has never beaten MJF and that isn’t going to change. MJF thinks the two sides haven’t been on the same page but Callis whips out a shirt for TEAM DCMJF and yes the image is of them muscular and in limited clothing. MJF and Callis love it but the Family is less than impressed.

Jack Perry vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre takes him down with a cravate and shrugs off Sabre’s attempt to go after the leg. They fight over a double arm crank until Perry rolls him up for some near falls. A very near fall sends Sabre outside but he’s fine enough to start in on the arm, including snapping it over the top rope.

We take a break and come back with Perry hitting a Sliced Bread but getting sent outside. Sabre grabs a cross armbreaker on the floor but has to let it go, allowing Perry to hit another Sliced Bread on the apron. A moonsault to the floor takes Sabre out again, only for him to grab a triangle choke back inside. Perry reverses into a sitout powerbomb for two and the Snare Trap has Sabre in trouble for a change. Sabre twists the arm around to escape so Perry grabs a package powerbomb for two more. That earns him a double arm crank, with Sabre using his leg to pull Perry’s arm down for the submission at 13:12.

Rating: B-. This was a good example of Sabre getting to take Perry apart, which boosts him up on the way to facing Kenny Omega on Sunday. Granted we saw Sabre do something similar in his most recent match around here so it was only so necessary. It’s certainly fitting the theme for the night though and we’ll get the big match with Omega soon enough.

Young Bucks vs. TMDK

Tito jumps Matt from behind to start fast but the Bucks are right back with their stereo running bulldogs. A double clothesline puts TMDK on the floor for the stereo dives, followed by some back elbows to the face back inside. Matt gets crotched on top though and Nick gets pulled out of the air, with a spinebuster getting two on Matt in a big crash. Matt flips away from both of them though and grabs a DDT, allowing the tag off to Nick. House is cleaned and the Superkick Party is on, setting up the Meltzer Driver to pin Nicholls at 4:20.

Rating: C+. It was fun while it lasted and I’ll take this over the rest of the matches, as the Bucks get a pretty nice win over a team who doesn’t have anything going on. That’s a good way to go here as there was no reason to have the Bucks in any serious trouble. Nice enough job here and I’ll take that just about all the time.

Post match TMDK jumps the Bucks and Kenny Omega makes the save. Forearms are exchanged with Sabre and TMDK bails. Omega says may the best man win on Sunday and he certainly will.

We look at Thekla invading a Stardom show and attacking the owner.

Survivor Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Red Velvet vs. Queen Aminata

Velvet’s ROH Women’s TV Title isn’t on the line. Velvet rolls over her into a sunset flip for an early two and then wristdrags her down again. Aminata is right back with a snap suplex for one but the big headbutt misses. Aminata’s right hands in the corner are countered into a powerbomb and we take a break.

We come back with Velvet grabbing a sitout bulldog for two but Aminata gives her a slingshot reverse suplex to leave them both down. The running boot in the corner sets up a middle rope double stomp for two on Velvet. Back up and Velvet flips her off the top, setting up a frog splash to the back for two. Velvet kicks away and, after an apology, misses the big kick to the head. Aminata knocks her into the ropes and hits a PK for the pin at 10:17.

Rating: C+. And of course a reigning champion loses clean in a qualifying match. I’m sure there was absolutely no one else available to take this loss, but it’s just Ring Of Honor anyway, which has been treated like nothing since it was brought back from the dead to create a promotion of cannon fodder. This is the kind of stupid stuff that drives me crazy in wrestling and it doesn’t need to happen but here we are anyway.

The Young Bucks are ready to superkick their opponents at Forbidden Door but Adam Copeland and Christian Cage brawl through with the Dogs. They brawl into the makeup area and Connors blinds Copeland with some hairspray to take over. The Dogs choke them both out. And we get a five second pose, complete with Cage’s old over the top sunglasses.

International Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ricochet

Takeshita is defending and the Gates Of Agony are here with Ricochet. An early cheap shot knocks Takeshita outside and the big flip dive hits him as well. Back in and a springboard 450 gives Ricochet two as he’s certainly starting fast. Takeshita is back up but misses a charge in the corner, allowing Ricochet to hit a 619. The springboard clothesline and a running shooting star press give Ricochet two and we take a break.

We come back with Ricochet striking away in the corner and knocking him out to the floor. The shooting star off the apron is countered into a suplex though and they’re both down. Back in and a Blue Thunder Bomb gives Takeshita two before they trade kicks to the head. The wheelbarrow suplex drops Ricochet, who is right back up with Vertigo for two.

A shooting star press gives Ricochet two but he flips out of a German superplex. Takeshita’s Last Ride gets two but Ricochet uses the referee to cut off the running knee. A kick to the head sets up a Ricosault for two and Ricochet is stunned on the kickout. Takeshita drops him with a clothesline though and it’s the running knee and Raging Fire to retain at 13:48.

Rating: B. I don’t think anyone is going to be surprised that these two had a fast paced match together and they made it work here. Ricochet getting a somewhat random title match is hardly a stretch and it’s fine as a main event for a bit of an odd show. Takeshita gets a nice title defense as well and that’s a good thing as he looks for his next big challenger.

Here is Mark Briscoe with something to say about MJF. He and his friends are ready to fight in the cage on Sunday and he brings up their history in Blood & Guts. That was all about the thrill of the fight but this has some more consequential implications. Briscoe agrees that he and MJF are nothing alike (and he thanks God for that) but he knows he can beat MJF if they get a chance. On Sunday, he’ll be fighting with his friends while MJF has some hired stars who don’t care about him.

Cue Don Callis for a distraction so MJF can jump Briscoe from behind. Briscoe fights back and we get the parade of people running in one at a time to hit a single big move. Andrade has to save MJF from the Jay Driller but they go face to face. Callis cuts that off and MJF loads up the ring, only to accidentally hit Andrade. The Jay Driller lays MJF out to end the show. This was pretty much what you would have expected, though they do have some stories in the big cage match, which does help things.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a good example of a show where it’s perfectly fine from a quality standpoint, but it’s not something that interests me. A good chunk of this show was built around setting up Forbidden Door matches for wrestlers who aren’t likely to be regulars around here in a few days.

They aren’t regulars coming into this show either and it made for a less than thrilling show. Forbidden Door isn’t doing much to get my attention this year, though they’ve done an effective enough job with what they had. Not a bad show at all here (though another champion losing in a qualifying match makes my head hurt), but not my taste for the most part.

Results
Death Riders b. Brodido/Mistico – Rollup to King
Harley Cameron b. Marina Shafir – Cradle
Will Ospreay b. ELP – Hidden Blade
Swerve Strickland b. Daniel Garcia – Hidden Blade
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Jack Perry – Double arm crank
Young Bucks b. TMDK – Meltzer Driver to Nicholls
Queen Aminata b. Red Velvet – PK in the ropes
Konosuke Takeshita b. Ricochet – Raging Fire

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

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Collision
Date: June 20, 2026
Location: Smart Financial Center, Sugar Land, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Excalibur

We’re eight days away from Forbidden Door and this week we get another match officially set for the show. In this case it’s the semifinals of the Women’s Owen Hart Cup with Athena facing Maya World. Other than than we should have the usual big Collision attraction, meaning the announcements of stuff for Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Young Bucks/Jack Perry vs. Lethal Twists

Christian jumps Nick to start fast and everything breaks down in a hurry. Perry hits a suicide dive onto Johnson but misses a moonsault and gets superkicked by Christian. The Bucks make the save and it’s Christian getting kneed in the corner. Perry gets tied up in the Tree Of Woe though and Christian adds a moonsault as we take a break.

We come back with the Twists going after Perry’s knee but the leg is fine enough to snap off a hurricanrana to the floor. Matt gets the tag to clean house and the Bucks do their top rope double stomp on the rope into the sitout powerbomb. Stereo powerbombs out of the corner set up stereo Scorpion Deathlocks with Perry getting Lethal in the Snare Trap.

Everyone makes the ropes and it’s Perry slugging it out with Lethal. Johnson and Lethal are back with cutters as commentary points out that the referee is just watching and enjoying the match. The Death Valley Driver into Hail To The King gets two on Perry and we hit the parade of everyone kicking everyone. Perry gets in a double poisonrana and the Meltzer Driver finishes Johnson (McGuinness: “Five stars.”) at 14:20.

Rating: B. As usual, starting with the Bucks is a good way to get the crowd going as the AEW fans absolutely love these guys. It makes a lot of sense to go this way and the Lethal Twists are a good choice for their victims. Yes it feels like a match we’ve seen about a million times, but that’s kind of a feature with the Bucks.

Kris Statlander and Mina Shirakawa seem to respect each other but they’re ready to fight tonight. Harley Cameron will be on commentary and tells them to shake, though they shake hands while she shakes her….yeah you get the idea.

Hikaru Shida doesn’t care who she’s going to be facing in Survival Of The Fittest because TBS will stand for THE BEST IS SHIDA!

Survival Of The Fittest: Mina Shirakawa vs. Kris Statlander

Harley Cameron is on commentary. Shirakawa’s headlock has Statlander down early on until she sends Shirakawa hard into the corner. A Stunner over the top rope drops Statlander but she catches Shirakawa with something like a Big Ending onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Shirakawa hitting La Mistica before knocking Statlander outside. Back in and a missile dropkick gives Shirakawa two but Statlander is back with the Falcon Arrow for two of her own. Shirakawa comes back with another La Mistica but Statlander rolls her up for the fast pin at 9:09.

Rating: C+. Statlander winning clean is good to see as she’s kind of been all over the place lately. I’m not sure if she’s going to win the title, but at least she has something to do at the moment. On the other hand you have Shirakawa, who has felt like she’s in the middle of nowhere for months and that doesn’t seem to be changing.

Post match match respect is shown, with Harley Cameron joining in.

We get a commercial for the Bang Bang Gang’s spay and neuter center.

Jack Perry talks about Zack Sabre Jr. welcoming him to Japan in an act of kindness. He would love another act of kindness in the form of a match on Dynamite. After they can hit the bar again, with Perry picking up the tab, because the winner should always pay.

Hurt Syndicate vs. Warren Johnson/Zack Mason

Lashley gets annoyed at a chop and it’s off to Mason, with Lashley shoving both of them down. It’s off to Benjamin for a nasty German suplex, followed by a running knee. Lashley hits the spear on Johnson and Benjamin gets the pin at 1:52.

Post match MVP says that the Hurt Syndicate doesn’t want titles, but they are more than willing to hurt people for money. If anyone is interested, come find them.

Skyflight is ready for Dante Martin to face Mistico. In addition, Matt Sydal is back and Skyflight has his back. I’m really not sure if this team needs another warm body.

Nigel McGuinness introduces Tommaso Ciampa and Chris Jericho for a face to face chat. Jericho praises Ciampa and knows that he’s wanted to face him for a reason. The question is which version of Jericho Ciampa will face, but it won’t matter because all of them will take him out. Ciampa likes the sound of that and he wants to face Jericho on July 8 in Clearwater, Florida at Beach Break.

Jericho is in for some wrestling that night, but tonight they’re fighting. The brawl is on but Ciampa quickly cuts him down with a low blow. Ciampa beats him down and busts him open, with the running knee leaving Jericho laying. This was simple and to the point but I definitely like setting it up for a show other than Forbidden Door. That show is going to have enough and I want to see this match get some focus, which it wouldn’t receive at the pay per view.

Pac vs. Shota Umino for the latter’s IWGP Global Title is set for Forbidden Door.

Dante Martin vs. Mistico

Christopher Daniels is here with Martin. Mistico flips away from a headlock to start but gets elbowed in the chin. Martin sends him outside for a suicide dive but Mistico fights back and hits a suicide dive of his own. Back in and Martin runs the corner for a superplex and two, leaving Mistico’s knee banged up as we take a break.

We come back with Mistico’s knee being fine enough to hit a springboard high crossbody to send Martin outside. There’s the slingshot dive and they go back inside to trade groggy right hands. They kick each other down and we get a double breather. Mistico is up first and his moonsault hits a raised boot, allowing Martin to get two off a rollup. Mistico’s powerslam gets two, as does Martin’s package powerbomb. Martin heads up top, only for Mistico to plant him with a super Spanish Fly for the pin at 11:34.

Rating: B-. Yeah this was fine, as they weren’t pretending that this was anything more than “here’s Mistico in a match”. They weren’t hiding that or trying to make it anything else and that’s a fine way to go. Mistico has such a following and is such a big deal that getting him on the show makes sense, especially on a show so close to Mexico.

Ricochet wants Konosuke Takeshita and the International Title but first he wants to beat up the returning Matt Sydal.

The Dogs don’t think much of Adam Copeland and Christian Cage being around for thirty years. They want the Tag Team Titles at Forbidden Door and they’ll put those b****** down.

Pac vs. Jay Alexander

Jon Moxley is on commentary and doesn’t think this is going to take long. Pac backs the rather muscular Alexander into the corner and then drops him with a running clothesline. Marina Shafir gets in a cheap shot and Pac adds a missile dropkick. The Brutalizer finishes Alexander at 3:11.

Rating: C. This was quick and to the point as Pac gets to run through someone with quite the size and power. Pac has an intensity to him that could make him look good against anyone and that’s a nice asset to have. At the same time, Moxley put him over rather strong on commentary, saying Pac could win any title in the world on any given night, including Moxley’s. There are a lot of things to criticize about Moxley, but he knows how to make people sound strong on commentary.

Thunder Rosa wants to team with someone from CMLL and challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Adam Priest

Schiavone: “We haven’t seen Zack Sabre Jr. in an AEW ring since a year ago at Forbidden Door!” Forbidden Door was in late August last year, so no, it hasn’t been a year ago. Sabre works on the arm to start, including a nasty snap with his legs. Priest is right back with a snap suplex but Sabre is right back to the arm.

The arm is bent over the top rope and Priest is in trouble as we take a break. We come back with a double clothesline leaving both of them down before Priest knocks him down again. Priest starts in on Sabre’s leg but Sabre pulls the bad arm back in and twists it around. A double arm crank makes Priest give up at 10:36.

Rating: C+. This was the “here is Sabre’s warm-up match for his warm up match for Omega at the pay per view match”. As usual, it went on longer than it needed to and did more for Priest than Sabre. While Sabre was more or less toying with him the whole time, Priest looked tough in his comebacks, which doesn’t really do much for Sabre, as is often the case in matches like this.

Megan Bayne and Lena Kross are in for whatever Thunder Rosa wants to do.

A bloody Chris Jericho thanks Tommaso Ciampa, but Ciampa won’t thank him later. Serious Jericho is a nice thing to see.

Owen Hart Cup Semifinals: Maya World vs. Athena

Athena’s ROH Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Athena takes her down in the corner for a pat on the head to start but gets dropped with a running shoulder. A rather rolling crucifix gives World two as we’re told that Thunder Rosa will team with Olimpia to challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Titles. If that’s how they’re going to announce it, why bother with the mystery in the promos earlier? Just tell us then so that it’s not an afterthought in the main event.

Anyway they both try dropkicks at the same time and flip up for a staredown. World cartwheels into a basement dropkick and they go to the apron to slug it out. Athena catches a roll and flips her into a faceplant on the floor as we take a break. We come back with World hitting a superplex and stomping Athena in the ribs. World’s moonsault gets two, as does Athena’s sitout powerbomb. Athena stomps her down and gets two more off a rollup, which has Athena frustrated.

The O Face misses and World gets two off a tabletop suplex. They fight outside, with Athena hitting a Rock Bottom onto the barricade. World is mostly done but Athena breaks the count to bring her back in. Athena yells a lot, which just wakes World up. The big comeback doesn’t last long though as Athena hits the O Face for….two, giving us a well deserved stunned kickout face. Some superkicks put World down and Athena loads up the big right hand, only to get rolled up for the out of nowhere pin at 14:10.

Rating: B. Well World pretty much has to win the tournament now or this is a heck of a way to use Athena. As usual, Athena comes up to the AEW roster and loses but I’m sure she’ll get to continue her nearly four year reign as ROH Women’s Champion. As for World…well, it’s certainly a way to make someone look bigger, but it doesn’t mean nearly as much if she just loses to Mone. I like making a bigger star, though good grief just let Athena be a regular in AEW already.

Post match respect is shown but here is Mercedes Mone to interrupt and hug World, who is then jumped by Athena. The Statement Maker goes on and Athena mocks World to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was the “let’s get a lot of stuff together for Forbidden Door as fast as we can show” and….yeah it mostly worked. The action was good enough and the PPV card feels a lot more complete. At the same time, it was a show that felt rather packed and didn’t leave much time for anything to have an impact. That’s something AEW has had issues with for a long time and while it would be nice to see that change, it isn’t likely to happen. Either way, good show here, and it did a lot of the work that AEW needed.

Results
Young Bucks/Jack Perry b. Lethal Twists – Meltzer Driver to Johnson
Kris Statlander b. Mina Shirakawa – Rollup
Hurt Syndicate b. Warren Johnson/Zack Mason – Spear to Johnson
Mistico b. Dante Martin – Super Spanish Fly
Pac b. Jay Alexander – Brutalizer
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Adam Priest – Double arm crank
Maya World b. Athena – Rollup

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

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Collision
Date: June 13, 2026
Location: Andrew J. Brady Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re still on the Summer Blockbuster and in this case that means we have a big old street fight between Shane Taylor Promotions and the Death Riders. It’s also Forbidden Door season and that means we have Kenny Omega getting warmed up before he faces Zack Sabre Jr. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Happy Birthday Jacob. I love you buddy.

Kenny Omega vs. Bad Dude Tito

Tito has Mikey Nicholls in his corner and slams Omega down to start. A running hurricanrana works a bit better for Omega and they’re quickly on the floor. Tito gives him a suplex on the outside and an exploder version gets two back inside. Omega is right back with You Can’t Escape but the moonsault hits knees. As I try to figure out if the part that YOU CAN’T ESCAPE is the roll or the roll and moonsault, Tito strikes him up against the ropes but gets kneed down for two. Another V Trigger sets up the One Winged Angel to pin Tito at 4:52.

Rating: C+. That’s exactly what it should have been as Omega shouldn’t be having trouble with someone who doesn’t have much of a singles track record. Omega gets to look strong on the way to the pay per view and it’s not like this hurts Tito in any meaningful way. Do more stuff like this, as it accomplished what needed to be done.

Post match Omega says he wasn’t sure what to do as he wasn’t back in time for the Owen Hart Tournament but then he was given a gift from Zack Sabre Jr. Omega knows that Sabre is a great star and some Omega used to be, so let’s do this at Forbidden Door. Simple and to the point here, which is good.

Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis aren’t happy with Konosuke Takeshita and want the International Title back in the Don Callis Family. Kazuchika Okada comes in and likes the thinking.

Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Hikaru Shida vs. Zayda Steel

Christopher Daniels is here with Steel. They chop it out to start until Shida pulls her down by the hair and blocks an armdrag. Shida hammers away in the corner but Steel is back with a running headscissors. A running dropkick sends Shida outside but she’s fine enough to cut off a dive.

We take a break and come back with an enziguri sending Shida outside, allowing Steel to point at the title. Something like a standing Koji Clutch has Shida in more trouble, at least until she slips out for a running knee. Shida ties up the leg and arm at the same time…and actually gets the tap at 9:53.

Rating: C+. That was a very abrupt ending as it felt like Shida was just starting to work on the leg when Steel tapped. That being said, Shida is someone you want in a multi person match for a title as she has the resume to make it feel more important while also being a threat to win the thing. Steel continues to be the kind of spunky woman who loses a lot, which makes her a bit of a common idea in AEW.

Post match Shida gets in a few cheap shots so Daniels comes in to clear her off.

The Opps insist that they’re good without Samoa Joe around. They don’t like Anthony Bowens being after the applause though because this is about violence. How exactly are these guys supposed to be different than the Death Riders?

Rascalz vs. Austin Atlas/Aaron Atlas

Xavier headlocks Austin to start and it’s off to Wentz for a Bronco Buster. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Hot Fire Flame finishes Austin at 1:41.

Post match the Rascalz introduce Myron Reed for his match.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight vs. Myron Reed

Reed is challenging and Don Callis is on commentary. Reed knocks him into the corner to start and gets hammered down to the floor without much trouble. Back up and Reed nails a spinning kick to the head before sending Knight outside. They trade places and Reed cuts off a dive with a Stunner over the ropes. Back in and they trade chops in the corner until Knight hits a springboard forearm.

We take a break and come back with Reed putting him down before they trade kicks to the chest. The F5 onto the ropes into the hanging faceplant gives Reed two so Knight is back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for the same. It’s too early for the UFO Splash as Reed jumps up to the top for a Stundog Millionaire. The diving cutter drives Knight out to the floor and a 450 connects for two back inside as Knight has to get a foot on the rope. Back in and Reed gets dropkicked out of the air, allowing Knight to hit a swinging Rock Bottom to retain at 13:14.

Rating: B. Despite me still not quite getting how title shots are handed out around here, this was a rather energetic, fast paced match. Reed continues to be quite the fiery star in the ring (though I’m not sure how much sense it makes to throw yourself over the top rope and crash onto the floor with more momentum than your opponent, even if it looks awesome). This was fun enough, even if Reed was another challenger with no chance.

Megan Bayne and Lena Kross are ready for anyone.

Maya World talks about her brother passing away recently and she’s wrestling in his honor. Now she’s ready for Athena.

Athena is sorry for World’s brother but what about her? As cute as World’s Cinderella story might be, she’s still living in Athena’s world.

Athena vs. Tiara James

Non-title. Athena hammers away to start and hits a running clothesline in the corner. James actually gets some near falls so Athena dropkicks her out to the floor. Athena crushes her against the barricade and the Koji Clutch finishes at 2:18. This was more efficient than Athena’s ROH squashes.

Post match the beatdown stays on until Maya World chases Athena off. Athena runs back in to jump World and lay her out.

The Demand isn’t happy with their lack of respect but Ricochet wants more gold. Say with Konosuke Takeshita.

The Dogs vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks clear the ring to start and take over on Finlay in the corner. The running flipping neckbreaker into a backbreaker drops Finlay again and there’s the running double bulldog. Nick hits a big dive onto the ramp but Finlay takes both Bucks down. A double shoulder drops Nick and an Irish Curse hits Matt.

That’s shrugged off and Matt hits a big dive off the ramp to take Finlay down again. Finlay is right back up with the suplex into Connors’ spear from the ramp and the Bucks are in trouble. They beat the count at nine and we take a break. We come back with Matt getting faceplanted for two but fighting up for the tag off to Nick. A high crossbody gives Nick two and everything breaks down again.

The Bucks hit a stereo top rope double stomp/Swanton and the double Sharpshooter goes on. With that broken up, the superkicks abound until Connors rolls Matt up for two. A missile dropkick/Tombstone combination gets two on Connors, followed by the BTE Trigger for the same with Finlay making the save. The Meltzer driver is broken up and a shillelagh shot into the spear gets two with Nick making a save of his own. Back in and a suplex/spear combination finishes Matt at 16:06.

Rating: B. This was the usual wild match with a bit of regular wrestling in the middle. The Bucks know how to fly all over the place and it was entertaining while it lasted. At the same time the Dogs definitely needed the win and even with some cheating involved, beating the Bucks means quite a bit in AEW so that should be a nice boost for them.

Dynamite recap.

The Conglomeration is ready to help Mark Briscoe win the World Title.

Forbidden Door rundown.

Commentary apologizes to Stardom for Thekla’s comments but Thekla pops up to say no one in Stardom deserves her respect. Yes she got fired from Japan but look at her now. Everyone is talking about Stardom and it’s because of her. The whole Stardom locker room wants her so send their best girl for a title shot at Forbidden Door. And the president who fired her can have a front row seat! For a story about something that happened in another promotion last year, this is certainly a story.

The Bang Bang Gang have opened a spay a neuter center and are willing to treat the Dogs.

Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match: Julia Hart vs. Persephone

Persephone’s CMLL Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Hart slaps her in the face to start and mocks Persephone’s eyes, which were damaged by Hart’s mist a few months ago. Persephone strikes away and gets a quick rollup for two, followed by a bridging suplex for the same. They head outside with Hart looking at the title and getting dropped face first onto the apron as we take a break.

We come back with Persephone getting in a dropkick but Hart crucifixes her for a quick two. A basement dropkick puts Hart down again and we get a double breather. Some feet to the face stagger Persephone but she pops up with a heck of a spear. They fight up to the stage where Hart’s DDT is countered into a powerslam to leave both of them down again. Back in and Hart goes to the eye again and loads up the mist, which is slapped out of her mouth. Persephone is fine enough to hit the Razor’s Edge to advance at 9:09.

Rating: C+. They were trying something here with Hart going after the eye over and over but it never seemed to go anywhere. Persephone gets some revenge though and that’s the right idea, as she is someone who seems to be getting a bit of focus around here. Hart continues to do well in the ring and the match was another nice outing for her.

Starlight Kid will take up Thekla’s challenge.

Thekla knows Kid and hates her with a passion, just like she hates Stardom.

Jake Doyle vs. Mike Bailey

Bailey is wanting to beat the Family one by one to prove that Kevin Knight (on commentary) doesn’t need them. Doyle shrugs off some strikes to start and knocks him down but charges into a foot in the corner. Bailey sends him outside for the big moonsault, meaning it’s time for the staredown with Knight. The distraction lets Doyle run him over and we take a break.

We come back with Bailey having to fight out of some chokes and kicking Doyle in the head. Doyle clotheslines him from behind though and they’re both down. Back up and Doyle gets smart by standing on Bailey’s foot and hitting him in the face. Doyle gets caught going up though and Bailey powerbombs him down, setting up a shooting star press for two. The tornado kick connects in the corner but Bailey misses the Ultimate Weapon. A sitout powerbomb gives Doyle the pin at 10:06.

Rating: B-. I approve of anything that involved Bailey getting beaten up so this worked out well. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Doyle getting his feet wet again after his time off due to injury and this was a good way back for him. At the same time, Bailey’s quest for revenge is off to a rousing start and hopefully leads to him getting beaten up time after time.

Death Riders vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Ten person street fight. The Riders start outside as usual, where the Promotions jump out from behind some bushes to jump them. Castagnoli gets buried underneath some bike racks and almost everyone else goes inside. Moxley follows Taylor to ringside and throws a chair at him as this is total chaos thus far. Moriarty and Garcia go inside until Pac comes in to jump over Moriarty a few times.

A dropkick puts Pac down but Moxley is in to knock Moriarty into the corner. Taylor and company are back in and the brass knuckles punch knocks Moxley silly, naturally busting him open in the process. Castagnoli runs in for the save and even muscles Taylor up for a suplex. Adora comes in to chop Castagnoli, who responds by loading up a Swing on Taylor. That’s broken up by Adora, who is swung in Taylor’s place as we take a break.

We come back with the Promotions bragging to a camera, allowing Castagnoli to powerbomb Bravo through a table. Pac hits a moonsault onto a pile at ringside, leaving Garcia to strike away at Moriarty inside. The running shots in the corner have Moriarty in trouble, allowing the Riders to do a bouncing circle. Dean hits Pac with a helmet before Castagnoli Air Raid Crashes Moriarty off a barricade and through a table. Christyan XO comes out to hand Dean something to knock Garcia silly, setting up a double stomp onto a chair for two.

Moxley is back in with a turnbuckle but Taylor saves Bravo from a bit of maiming. The big beating has Moxley down on the floor, leaving Shafir alone in the ring. The Promotions jump her and get off her socks so the tacks and glass (oh here we go) can be poured out. Shafir’s bare feet are dropped onto them but she fights up anyway, allowing the Riders to come back in for the save. Garcia uses a piece of glass to break up the Border City Stretch and Moxley cutters Taylor and the string of clotheslines connect in the corner. The Paradigm Shift finishes Taylor at around 24:00 (I never heard an opening bell).

Rating: B. It was a good brawl, even if there was a grand total of no way Moxley and company were losing in Moxley’s hometown. The action was violent though and I liked the Promotions jumping them outside. This was a match designed for Moxley and company to get a feel good win, though it would have been nice to not see Taylor, who has by far the highest value on the team, not lose on back to back shows.

Overall Rating: B. This was a show that absolutely felt bigger than most Collisions and that helped quite a bit. The street fight was entertaining enough (stupid glass/tacks spot aside) and some of the other matches worked well. I liked the opener with Omega going over strong, as that’s how it should have gone and didn’t go way too long. I could have gone with the show being trimmed down a bit, but this was definitely an improvement over the normal Collision.

Results
Kenny Omega b. Bad Dude Tito – One Winged Angel
Hikaru Shida b. Zayda Steel – Leg and arm stretch
Rascalz b. Austin Atlas/Aaron Atlas – Hot Fire Flame to Austin
Kevin Knight b. Myron Reed – Swinging Rock Bottom
Athena b. Tiara James – Koji Clutch
The Dogs b. Young Bucks – Spear/suplex combination to Matt
Persephone b. Julia Hart – Razor’s Edge

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

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Dynamite
Date: May 20, 2026
Location: Cross Insurance Arena, Portland, Maine
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re getting another three hour block this week as Collision is taking place tonight in a one hour version due to this weekend’s Double Or Nothing event. As has been the case with recent shows, Darby Allin is defending the World Title again, this time against Mike Bailey. That could be quite the showdown so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Earlier today, Chris Jericho and the Young Bucks were outside near a lighthouse to talk about tonight’s six man tag match and the biggest Stadium Stampede of all time this weekend. They imply having a special team name too. It’s going to be Bucks Of Jericho isn’t it?

Chris Jericho/Young Bucks vs. Don Callis Family/Ricochet

Yeah it’s Bucks Of Jericho. On the other side you have Andrade El Idolo/Mark Davis for the Family. Ricochet tags out immediately (that has been done WAY too often lately and it could use a long break) so it’s Andrade vs. Jericho to start things off. Naturally Andrade bails out to the floor for a photo with some women, earning chops from Jericho. Back in and Andrade gets taken into the corner, setting up a Risky Business/fish drop combination.

Matt gets driven into the corner as well but fights out rather quickly, allowing Nick to come in and clean house. The Bucks hit stereo dives and Jericho hits a top rope version of his own and we take a break. We come back with Nick fighting out of trouble and bringing in Jericho, meaning Ricochet bails again. Everything breaks down and Jericho and the Bucks hit a bunch of right hands on top, setting up three straight super hurricanranas.

Ricochet runs in to make a save so the Bucks start firing off the superkicks. Andrade is back up but gets low blowed into a step up Canadian Destroyer. Jericho knocks Ricochet to the floor for a baseball slide and they crash through some tables. Back in and More Bang From Your Buck is broken up by Davis. The Bucks take out Andrade but here are the Dogs to take Nick out. A foreign object shot knocks Matt cold for the pin at 13:58.

Rating: B-. This was the usual “here’s everything going nuts and people doing all kinds of stuff”, meaning it was entertaining but little more than a preview for Stadium Stampede. That makes sense and thankfully they didn’t go too long or have too many people involved. I’m not wild on Stadium Stampede, but the preview version went well enough.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jack Perry makes the save with…a bag of onions. Yeah of course. Anyway the Hurt Syndicate comes in to help clear the bad guys out with some of the brawls going into the crowd. Jericho and company stand tall.

Video on Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada.

Darby Allin says he keeps taking these title matches because he feels it. He basically says he can’t wait to get to Double Or Nothing, more or less treating Mike Bailey as the nothing challenger that he really is.

Video on MJF vs. Darby Allin.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Mark Briscoe

Anything goes. Briscoe throws in a trashcan full of weapons to start but Ciampa gets in a shot to the back to put him down. Ciampa goes under the ring to find his own trashcan full of weapons…including a mousetrap, which catches his own hand. A chair is sat up at ringside, with Ciampa being sat down for a Blockbuster. The Froggy Bow through the table is broken up and Ciampa sends him through the table instead. The cheese grater slices open Briscoe’s head (ignore that his head seemed to be bleeding first) and we take a break

We come back with Ciampa covering a stuffed chicken but Briscoe pulls the referee out. Briscoe whips out a fire extinguisher to spray Ciampa (and the air around him) and then staples barbed wire to a table. Believe it or not, that takes WAY too long and Ciampa is back up to staple a piece of paper to Briscoe’s head. Loading up a kneepad covered in thumbtacks takes way too long as well as Briscoe sends him into the ladder in the corner.

Briscoe uses a screwdriver for some stabbing but Ciampa suplexes him through the ladder for two. Back up and they slug it out, with the rather bloody Ciampa getting the better of things again. The super Air Raid Crash through some open chairs is broken up so Briscoe puts them back to back for an Iconoclasm onto their edges. A Jay Driller through the barbed wire table and the Froggy Bow finish Ciampa at 14:16.

Rating: C+. Yeah ok. This was just carnage for the sake of carnage and they lost me a few minutes into it. Much like what I’m expecting from Stadium Stampede, you could pretty much picture the two of them mapping out the stunts. It was violent and intense, but it didn’t feel like they were really fighting, which isn’t a good sign.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring to talk about the Owen Hart Tournament but Prince Nana interrupts and says he has this. He brings out Swerve Strickland but here is Bandido to jump Strickland. Bandido goes after Nana though and Strickland gets in a shot to the knee. The Vertebreaker on the chair is broken up and Bandido gorilla presses him instead. Strickland bails from the threat of said chair.

Willow Nightingale talks about some of her great moments, including a recent title defense against Red Velvet. Unfortunately she injured her shoulder and is out of the Owen Hart Cup and has to vacate the TBS Title. GAH that’s a bad one as she was having the run of her career. She doesn’t know when she’ll be back but she’ll be back on top.

Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Non-title eliminator match. O’Reilly goes after the arm to start and gets reversed into a headlock takeover. This lets Taz talk about leverage and control, which is what he does best. They get up and grapple again, with Moxley getting him into the corner to take him down. Moxley starts stomping on the fingers but wins another strike off. O’Reilly kicks away in the corner, followed by a snap suplex.

They strike it out again with Moxley getting in a body shot to put O’Reilly down. Moxley puts him against the ropes and hammers away but gets backdropped out to the floor instead. O’Reilly’s ribs/body won’t let him dive though and Moxley knocks him down again as we take a break. We come back with Moxley holding a bodyscissors until O’Reilly goes for the eyes to break it up. O’Reilly kicks the leg out and they trade some running shots against the ropes.

Some knees to the face let O’Reilly flip him over and a running boot puts Moxley on the floor. They go outside and trade a bunch of kicks to the chest until O’Reilly goes up top. Moxley bites the head and rakes the back, setting up a superplex to leave them both down again. O’Reilly escapes a choke and grabs the ankle lock, which is reversed into the bulldog choke. The rope is reached for the break and O’Reilly gets to the apron to twist the arm down.

A running dropkick has Moxley in more trouble but Moxley is back with a cutter gets two. O’Reilly grabs a choke of his own, setting up a t-bone suplex. One heck of a PK drops Moxley again but he pops up and, say it with me, they trade forearms. We have less than a minute to go as Moxley misses a Stomp and gets ankle locked again. The grapevine goes on but Moxley manages to make it through the time for the draw at 20:00.

Rating: B. That’s our Moxley. He’s tapped to O’Reilly before but he won’t do it again because he’s this awesome tough guy who doesn’t tap anymore because now he’s just too tough. This is a rather basic way to set up a rematch at the pay per view and while I’m not sure why I’d want to see them do it again so soon after a twenty minute draw, it does make sense and I’ll take that. Just imagine how many times they can trade forearms in a rematch!

Hold on though as O’Reilly says Moxley survived him so he wants a no time limit title match.

Kris Statlander is upset over Willow Nightingale but Hikaru Shida interrupts, saying they’re here to watch and want the women to fight hard in their upcoming match.

Rush wants Darby Allin next week if he survives his next title defenses.

Athena/Triangle Of Madness vs. Thunder Rosa/Mina Shirakawa/Brawling Birds

Athena wins a wrestle off with Rosa to start and shakes a bit before handing it off to Blue. Windsor comes in and gets caught in a headlock but Hayter tags herself in and, after accidentally kicking Windsor, boots Blue down for one instead. Shirakawa comes in to take over on Thekla and hits a slingshot spinning splash.

We take a break and come back with Blue pulling Shirakawa down by the hair and a Tarantula in the corner. Hayter tries to make a save and gets caught in an Upside Down, leaving Shirakawa to get beaten up even more. Shirakawa fights out of the corner and brings in Rosa to clean house, including a running shot to Blue in the corner. Everything breaks down and Athena gets to clean house until she is the only one left standing. Shirakawa tornado DDTs Athena on the floor and Blue kicks Rosa down inside. Thekla’s belt shot is cut off but Hart mists Rosa, allowing Thekla to roll her up for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on here and there is only so much you can do with that many people and a somewhat limited amount of time. Athena got to showcase herself while she could but as usual, she feels like someone who AEW tolerates rather than wants to push. Hopefully she gets to do something in the tournament, but I wouldn’t bet on it. The match was pretty good as a preview for Sunday and the tournament, so at least it accomplished its goals.

Kevin Knight gives Mike Bailey a pep talk and wants a shot at the World Title. Works for Bailey.

The Death Riders do group pushups and he’s ready for Kyle O’Reilly in their no time limit match at Double Or Nothing. Moxley thanks O’Reilly for giving him a chance to practice what he preached. O’Reilly survived tonight and on Sunday he gets to try his odds and see if he can go double or nothing (thankfully Moxley does acknowledge that it’s kind of a lame line).

AEW World Title: Mike Bailey vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending and before the bell, here is MJF to join commentary. Bailey hits…I think a kick but the camera was on MJF as we start. The Tornado Kick connects less than fifteen seconds in and Allin has to go to the apron to avoid the Ultimate Weapon. The triangle moonsault hits Allin on the floor and Bailey slams him outside as well. That means a double knee drop off the steps but Allin crotches him on the barricade. The Scorpion Death Drop plants Bailey onto the barricade and we take a break.

We come back with the two of them still on the floor and Allin using the steps to crush Bailey’s foot. They get back inside with Bailey knocking him down again but missing the Ultimate Weapon. The Coffin Drop connects but MJF puts the foot on the rope. Cue Kevin Knight to yell at MJF, who backs off and sits back down. Bailey kicks Allin the head a few times for two before the moonsault knees connect as well. The Flamenco Driver is countered into a Scorpion Death Drop but the Scorpion Deathlock sends Bailey to the rope. A Coffin Drop sets up another Deathlock to retain the title at 11:00.

Rating: B. The best thing here is they didn’t go as insane with Allin surviving stuff. That has been an issue with some of his title defenses and thankfully it wasn’t quite so badly. Bailey never felt like he was a real threat to win the title and they didn’t spend nearly as much time on a match that didn’t need it. Allin got beaten up, made a comeback and retained. Simple, yet effective here.

MJF storms off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a good example of a show where my bigger issues were more around the style being presented. The main portion of this show felt like it was all about the insanity or violence and more the people just getting to do what they liked. That being said, the last two matches were better and Moxley vs. O’Reilly had some moments. I can accept that some of the things they did accomplished what they were trying but I’m just not a fan, as that’s not the same thing as being bad. I didn’t have a great time for a lot of this, but it did get better by the end.

Results
Don Callis Family/Ricochet b. Young Bucks/Chris Jericho – Foreign object shot to Matt
Mark Briscoe b. Tommaso Ciampa – Froggy Bow
Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly went to a time limit draw
Athena/Triangle Of Madness b. Brawling Birds/Thunder Rosa/Mina Shirakawa – Mist to Rosa
Darby Allin b. Mike Bailey – Scorpion Deathlock

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

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

Dynamite
Date: May 13, 2026
Location: Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, Asheville, North Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re on the way to Double Or Nothing and this week we find out if MJF is willing to put up his hair against Darby Allin and the World Title. Like doubling the stakes you might say. Other than that, we get to see the unveiling of this year’s Owen Hart Classic brackets. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Earlier today, MJF wouldn’t answer a question about whether he would put his hair on the line. Then he passed a rather surprising number of bald men until running into the Demand. Ricochet says MJF will look good bald, but not as good as him.

FTR/The Dogs/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Adam Copeland/Christian Cage/Orange Cassidy/Young Bucks

Believe it or not, it’s a brawl to start with everyone going out to the floor but we quickly settle down to Harwood and Cassidy in the ring. Harwood’s top rope superplex connects but Cassidy is right back up with a Stundog Millionaire. Ciampa comes in and can’t connect with a chop, instead getting kicked away. Nick gets the tag and picks up the pace until the Bucks take out the Dogs.

It works so well that they do it again before going after Stokely. FTR’s save earns them some superkicks and it’s off to Cage, who lets the Bucks hit another double superkick before getting two. We take a break and come back with Stokely on commentary and Cage fighting out of the corner.

The non-Harwood villains pull Cage’s partners off the apron though until Copeland gets back up. Cage knocks Harwood down and brings Copeland in to quite the positive reaction. The Edge-O-Matic gets two on Connors and everything breaks down. Copeland hits an Impaler on Connors and his partners all come off the top for the big visual.

The Bucks hit dives and Cassidy and Cage put their hands in their pockets but Cage throws Cassidy over the top onto a pile. Cage hits his own dive but Copeland walks into a Shatter Machine with Cassidy making a save. We hit the parade of knockdowns and Connors spears Harwood by mistake. Connors gets triple superkicked into a spear from Copeland for the pin at 15:52.

Rating: B. This was your wild tag match to start the show and the fans were definitely into the whole thing and brought it up even higher. Copeland getting the pin is good, though it might have made more sense for him to win with the Grindhouse on the way to the I Quit match. That’s a minor quibble though and it was an energetic way to start the show, which is a good idea.

We go to the Death Riders’ training area (seemingly on a rooftop) where Will Ospreay trains his neck and Jon Moxley talks about how Ospreay used to fly like a bird. Because that’s what birds do. Now he needs to be a bird of prey.

Video on Stadium Stampede.

The Demand and Mark Davis introduce Andrade El Idolo and the Dogs as their other team members. That might be a bit more effective if the Dogs hadn’t just lost a match.

Mike Bailey vs. Westbrook

Bailey misses a kick and the standing moonsault but manages to knock Westbrook out to the apron. The Tornado Kick and Ultimate Weapon finish at 1:10.

Kevin Knight gets in the ring with Bailey and it’s Open Challenge time.

TNT Title: Kevin Knight vs. ???

Knight is defending against…Brian Cage of all people and yes of course he’s still part of the Don Callis Family (who are here along with Mike Bailey). Knight’s chop has no effect to start and some running shoulders do about the same. Cage sends him into the corner and then does it again, only to charge into a raised boot. Knight’s dive to the floor bounces off of Cage though and he F5’s Knight onto the apron as we take a break.

We come back with Cage grabbing a DDT into a swinging neckbreaker (that was nice) but getting his neck dropped across the top rope. Knight scores with a springboard missile dropkick and they’re both down. Cage is sent outside and taken out with a big dive, followed by a hurricanrana into the steps. Back in and Cage grabs the apron superplex for two as Bailey and Lance Archer get in a fight on the floor. That leaves Knight to hit a springboard clothesline and a hurricanrana out of the corner. The UFO Splash retains the title at 10:45.

Rating: B-. Well Cage is back and he’s losing again. I’m not sure how much he’s going to help the Callis Family, but the point of the team seems to be to build up as many wrestlers as they can find. Either way, it’s a fine power vs. speed match and that’s something that is almost always going to work.

Post match Bailey congratulates Knight on his win and Knight welcomes Cage back. Bailey says Knight is a future World Champion and Bailey wants the next World Title shot.

Here are the Men’s Owen Hart Cup brackets:

Samoa Joe
Will Ospreay

Mark Davis
Jack Perry

Swerve Strickland
Bandido

Claudio Castagnoli
Brody King

Joe vs. Ospreay and Strickland vs. Bandido will both be at Double Or Nothing. The finals are at Forbidden Door.

Jack Perry, holding a knife, talks about how Mark Davis needed a golf club to beat him. They’ll fight at Double Or Nothing in Stadium Stampede and then it’s back to basics, with Perry moving on towards the World Title.

Will Ospreay vs. Ace Austin

We do get a handshake to start before they take turns flipping out of wristlocks. Austin’s standing armbar is countered into a seated armbar, which is broken rather quickly as well. Austin puts him down with a test of strength but can’t break the bridge. A running dropkick to the back of the head hits Ospreay and Austin pulls him into a Muta Lock, sending Ospreay over to the ropes.

Austin Death Valley Drivers him for two and we take a break. We come back with Ospreay hitting a Phenomenal Forearm, setting up a standing corkscrew moonsault for two. Ospreay’s handspring kick to the head sends Austin outside but he’s back up to dropkick Ospreay through the ropes. Back in and the Oscutter gets two more but the Hidden Blade misses.

Austin faceplants him and grabs an anklescissors to bring him off the top. Ospreay’s legs get tied up for a rollup and a spinning Downward Spiral gets two more. A Cheeky Nandos misses for Ospreay but he pulls Austin into a sitout powerbomb for another near fall. Austin hits a springboard spinning kick to the head for two but Ospreay kicks him in the arm and grabs a cross armbreaker for the tap at 15:41.

Rating: B+. Dang I could go for more of Austin, as there is something about him that is just fun to watch. Of course he didn’t have a chance here against the new and improved Ospreay but they had a very entertaining match together. Ospreay is the same high flier he was before but now with a submission game, which doesn’t fit him so well, but having him turn on Moxley and use that against him could work well.

Post match Ospreay shows some respect to Austin. This brings out Samoa Joe and the Opps, with Joe saying Ospreay could have had a first round bye but made his decision. Therefore, it’s time for pain at Double Or Nothing. Tonight though, the rest of the Opps head to the ring but here are the Death Riders before things get violent. Ospreay looks at Jon Moxley and seems to think there might be some benefits to this.

MJF interrupts Konosuke Takeshita and praises him for what he has been doing. Takeshita is going to win the title tonight and MJF thinks he would be a great first challenger. With Takeshita gone, MJF gives Don Callis the Dynamite Diamond Ring. Andrade El Idolo comes in to stare MJF off and say he wants the title.

Here are the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament brackets:

Persephone
Hazuki

Willow Nightingale
Alex Windsor

Mina Shirakawa
Athena

Skye Blue
Sareee

Nightingale vs. Windsor is at Double Or Nothing and the finals will also be at Forbidden Door. It’s also good that Persephone is back and it must be time for Athena to lose on the main roster again.

The Conglomeration isn’t sure which of them should get the Tag Team Title shot. Willow Nightingale is going to win the Women’s Owen Cup. Oh and Mark Briscoe is back and wants Tommaso Ciampa next week, which will be another three hour show.

Triangle Of Madness vs. Hikaru Shida/Brawling Birds

Everything breaks down to start with the fight heading outside. The Triangle gets beaten up on the floor, with Hayter taking over on Thekla in the corner. Thekla fights up and hits a big dive to the floor as we take a break. We come back with Hayter big booting her way out of trouble, allowing the tag back to Shida.

A suplex sends Hart into the corner and it’s back to Thekla to kick Shida down. The double gordbuster and double superkick put Shida down, with the other two coming in for the save. Blue breaks up Two Birds One Stone and it’s the Haytebreaker to Hart. Two Birds One Stone is loaded up again but Thekla comes in with a belt shot for the DQ at 10:03.

Rating: C+. I like the ending as Thekla would rather do damage than win the match, especially with her big title defense coming up. The Birds work very well together and got to showcase themselves a bit here, though the lack of Statlander was a bit odd. That being said, I’ll take a regular team getting some ring time over a makeshift group of three women.

Post match the beatdown is on until Mina Shirakawa and Willow Nightingale make the save.

Video on Rush.

AEW World Title: Darby Allin vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Allin is defending and his early suicide dive is rammed into the post. They head inside with Takeshita sending him flying into the corner, where Allin bites the face. A top rope shoulder doesn’t do anything to Takeshita, who knocks Allin outside instead. The steps are loaded up but Allin scratches his way out of a suplex and dropkicks Takeshita off of said steps. A suicide dive hits Takeshita again and they get up to the apron.

Takeshita Blue Thunder Bombs him to the floor and we come back with Allin pulling him into a guillotine choke. That’s reversed into a wheelbarrow suplex and a bridging German superplex (GEEZ) plants Allin hard for two. The running knee gives Takeshita two more and Don Callis gives him the ring. Takeshita doesn’t want it though and gets small packaged for two more.

Allin Code Reds him off the top and the Last Supper gets two. Takeshita is sent outside and the Coffin Drop connects to a standing Takeshita on the floor. Back up and Takeshita goes onto the steps but gets his suplex reversed into a Scorpion Death Drop. Back in and Takeshita gets the knees up to block a Coffin Drop, only for Allin to grab a Scorpion Death Lock. Takeshita makes the rope but the Coffin Drop connects to retain the title at 15:30.

Rating: B. Another good match from Allin, though having him space them out a bit more might work better for him. At the same time, it was another case where there was basically no drama about who was winning as their Double Or Nothing matches were both set, though I’ll take Takeshita over Okada. It’s nice to have the World Champion around, though we’ve pretty much covered the “Allin fights really hard to keep the belt” stuff for the time being.

Post match Allin grabs the mic and wants MJF’s decision right now, because starting a segment this far after the show was supposed to be over is fine. A table is set up and MJF comes out, with Allin wasting no time in signing the contract. MJF can’t bring himself to do it though, instead talking about how Allin always believes that making people happy matters. Deep down though, the people know that Allin is someone who got lucky.

At Double Or Nothing, MJF is going to become a three time World Champion at 30 years old. Allin promises to make MJF bald at Double Or Nothing and that’s enough to get the signature. The brawl is on and MJF leaves him laying but Kevin Knight runs in to break up a super Tombstone to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Dang that was long, with a seventeen minute overrun. Other than that though, this was a rather good show, with a pair of awesome matches. The MJF stuff was all but guaranteed so it was hardly a big change, but this was just about making it official. They added a bunch of stuff to Double Or Nothing here too and the card looks pretty good, so hopefully they don’t change it too much before the pay per view.

Results
Adam Copeland/Christian Cage/Orange Cassidy/Young Bucks b. FTR/The Dogs/Tommaso Ciampa – Spear to Connors
Mike Bailey b. Westbrook – Ultimate Weapon
Kevin Knight b. Brian Cage – UFO Splash
Will Ospreay b. Ace Austin – Cross armbreaker
Triangle Of Madness b. Brawling Birds/Hikaru Shida via DQ when Thekla used a belt
Darby Allin b. Konosuke Takeshita – Coffin Drop

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

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

Collision
Date: May 6, 2026
Location: North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, South Carolina
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Taz, Excalibur

This is one of those split shows as we’re getting the first half on Wednesday right after Dynamite and the second half on Saturday (with a golf theme, hopefully featuring Barry Darsow and Kerw….never mind). The main event is a ten man tag and yes it does indeed feature the Young Bucks. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We open with Sting helping Darby Allin up after Allin retained the World Title in the Dynamite main event. Sting gives Kevin Knight a nod of respect before leaving…and here is MJF to interrupt. Everyone is sick of seeing Allin with the title. It’s been cute and all but give him the rematch already. Allin wants something on the line, so MJF offers his scarf and the Dynamite Diamond Ring but that’s not enough.

MJF throws in a million bucks but Allin doesn’t care about money. Allin wants MJF’s hair on the line, even revealing that MJF flew to Turkey for a hair transplant. MJF has until next week to sign the contract or he never gets a rematch. MJF can’t bring himself to say anything and leaves, so here is Kazuchika Okada to interrupt. Okada requests and received a title shot next week. Oh sweet. I was hoping we’d only have one champion get beaten on Dynamite this month.

Will Ospreay is told his neck is improving and if his MRI this week looks good, he’ll be medically cleared. Ospreay won’t really say what he’s doing with the Death Riders but it seems to be a means to an end.

Mike Bailey vs. AR Fox

They go to the mat a few times to start for a standoff so Bailey gives him the bouncing kicks to the floor. Bailey avoids a charge to send Fox outside, setting up a springboard corkscrew moonsault. Back in and a missile dropkick connects for Bailey and we take a break. We come back with a battle over a suplex until Fox DDTs him out of the corner.

A spinning suplex gives Fox two and he hits a big dive out to the floor. Back in and a Swanton gives Fox two but he has to avoid a Tornado Kick in the corner. Bailey misses the Ultimate Weapon as well and blocks Lo Mein Pain, meaning the Ultimate Weapon can connect for the pin at 7:33.

Rating: B-. As usual, Fox was entertaining in the ring and can do some very impressive stuff. Unfortunately at the same time, we are long past the point of believing that he has a real chance to win anything important. There are far worse choices to make others look good though and they had a nice, fast paced match.

Willow Nightingale issues another open challenge. How original.

Pac wants a shot at Darby Allin as he’s beaten him before. If Allin is so good, prove Pac wrong and yes, you can consider that an invitation.

Jamie Hayter vs. Skye Blue

Hayter elbows her in the face to start and boots her out to the floor. Back in and Blue gets in a snapmare, followed by a basement superkick for an early two. That’s shrugged off and a fall away slam sends Blue flying and Hayter hits a basement lariat for two of her own. Blue is back up with a Downward Spiral onto the apron and then sends her into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Hayter suplexing her into the corner and then suplexing her right back out. They trade kicks to the head but Code Blue is blocked, meaning they get to trade headbutts for a double down. Hayter’s choke in the corner is cut off and they both go up for an exchange of slaps. With that not working, a super Hayterade knocks Blue silly for the pin at 9:21.

Rating: C+. It’s good to see Hayter getting a win, though I’m not sure what the endgame is supposed to be. She’s already lost the big title shot against Thekla and yet the feud seems to be continuing. Maybe they’ll run it back or do a triple threat or something, but for now it’s a weird way to go.

The rest of the Triangle Of Madness is in the crowd so Hayter beats Blue up some more.

Don Callis brags about his Family and all the gold they’re going to win. Konosuke Takeshita isn’t happy about Kazuchika Okada wanting the World Title and ignoring their upcoming match. On top of that, Andrade El Idolo wants the World Title as well and leaves. Calls seems to get annoyed but insists the team is going to win everything. Of note: Andrade has a new title on his shoulder which is never identified or even mentioned (yes I know what it is). While the last thing this company needs is more titles floating around, maybe tell us what we’re looking at?

Rush vs. Manny Lo

Bull’s Horns in 43 seconds. Rush’s post match catchphrase almost takes up a third of the match time.

Jack Perry is in his bus but gets out to climb a mountain. The hills are alive with the sounds of Baltimora.

The Dogs/Death Riders vs. Young Bucks/Bang Bang Gang

The brawl starts in the aisle and they get inside for an eight man suplex. The bad guys are almost whipped into each other but walk into a quadruple atomic drop. The Bucks clear the ring and Nick hits a big running dive. Austin’s dive is cut off though and Connors gives him a spear through the ropes.

The Riders stomp away on the floor and we take a break. We come back with Austin suplexing his way out of a chinlock but getting sent into the corner for a string of running clotheslines. Everything breaks down (I can’t believe it took that long) and Austin knocks Castagnoli away, allowing the tag back to Colten. House is cleaned but Colten gets caught in the Dragon Tamer/Stomp combination for two.

Matt comes back in to hit the rolling northern lights suplexes, even hitting two at once and getting a rollup for a near fall at the same time. The Bucks bulldog the Bucks down and it’s time to fire off the superkicks. The BTE Trigger hits Finlay for two and Castagnoli is back in with a double clothesline to the Bucks. A bunch of clotheslines leave everyone down until it’s Austin slugging it out with Yuta. Austin and the Bucks hit a triple superkick on Yuta and the Bucks nail stereo dives. The Fold gives Austin the pin on Yuta at 14:21.

Rating: B. This is pretty much all you would have expected and it felt very similar to all of the other versions of this kind of match AEW has done. It’s entertaining and had the dives and flips, but that’s kind of been done to death, especially with the Bucks. That’s a good enough main event for Collision though, especially one going on this late. I will however take Austin getting a win, as he’s starting to rack up some success around here. That’s rather promising.

The winners (and Juice Robinson) celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Yeah that’s Collision for you: basically a house show with people you do recognize showing up and having matches without much impact on anything. You had the MJF/Allin challenge (fair enough as that was important) Rush’s latest push continues, some matches were set up for Dynamite and…yeah that’s about it. The show was perfectly watchable as usual, but it’s very little that you really need to see.

Results
Mike Bailey b. AR Fox – Ultimate Weapon
Jamie Hayter b. Skye Blue – Super Hayterade
Rush b. Manny Lo – Bull’s Horns
Young Bucks/Bang Bang Gang b. The Dogs/Death Riders – Fold to Yuta

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

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

Dynamite
Date: May 6, 2026
Location: North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, South Carolina
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

It’s another double show this week as we have the usual two hours of Dynamite, plus the first half of Collision. As usual, the World Title is on the line as Darby Allin is defending against Kevin Knight in what could be a heck of a match. We’re also getting pretty close to Double Or Nothing and that should mean some new things being set up. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring for a dedication to Ted Turner, who started the network they’re on and had a big hand in bringing wrestling to national television. Schiavone brings out Sting, who talks about how great it was to have an all in billionaire who loved wrestling. Back in the day, a lot of people wanted to get rid of wrestling but Turner would tell the wrestlers to keep doing what he was doing because he had deep pockets.

He and Darby Allin burned this place up for three and a half years and he’s glad to see Allin defending the title tonight. Schiavone talks about how the TNT and TBS Titles have plates honoring where Turner started wrestling in Atlanta. And now, three hours of wrestling! It was nice to see this kind of thing and given that they air on the Turner networks, it kind of had to be there.

We get a ten bell salute to Turner.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Juice Robinson

Non-title Eliminator Match. They go head to head and yell a lot before trading the forearms. Robinson headbutts him in the corner and a catapult sends Moxley out to the floor. The big flip dive off the apron connects and they go back inside, where Moxley (already bleeding) stomps on the hand. The fingers are split apart but Robinson is able to send him outside again, this time with a toss into the timekeeper’s area. Back in and Robinson hammers away until we take a break.

We come back with Moxley working on the fingers again but Robinson gets up to slug away. That’s cut off rather quickly and now it’s Moxley getting to fire off the right hands in the corner. A super hurricanrana gets Robinson out of trouble and he reverses a piledriver attempt into a rollup for two.

The snap jabs just earn Robinson a bite to the face but he’s right back with a high crossbody. They trade headbutts and forearms until Moxley misses a charge into the post. A mere thirteen seconds later, he’s back with a bulldog choke and piledriver for two. The choke goes on again and Robinson is out at 14:34.

Rating: B-. This was Moxley in his Superman mode as he bounced up from charging into a post like it was nothing so he could do his big offense. That’s the kind of ridiculous stuff he does every so often and it makes for some less than great matches. Also, nice job of having the Bang Bang Gang get its momentum back on Collision and have their leader lose in the first match on the following Dynamite.

Will Ospreay trains with the Death Riders and Moxley says this is Death Ground (as in ground from which he can never escape) if his neck doesn’t get stronger. Yeah of course this is hard. And no more cameras.

Orange Cassidy vs. Dax Harwood

The winner gets a shot at the loser’s titles and Harwood has about seven people (including Tommaso Ciampa, RPG Vice, Cash Wheeler, the Dogs and Stokely dressed as Cassidy) with him. Cassidy brings out the rest of the Conglomeration, Adam Copeland, Christian Cage and the Young Bucks with him as there are probably fifteen people involved in this segment

Harwood armdrags him down to start but Cassidy kicks him off and grabs a headlock. Cassidy blocks the chops in the corner and hits an Orange Punch, sending Harwood outside. Another Orange Punch hits the post though and the hand gets wrapped around the post as we take a break. We come back with Cassidy being sent into the corner but blocking a superplex attempt. A top rope DDT gets two and Harwood goes outside, where he cuts off a suicide dive attempt.

Back in and a spinning DDT drops Harwood but Stokely offers a distraction and a cheap shot from the floor gets two. A big brawl on the floor looks to allow Harwood to bring in the ring bell, which is quickly taken away. Cassidy kicks him in the face but gets caught in a slingshot powerbomb for two more. Back up and the Orange Punch gets two so Harwood goes after the bad arm/hand again. That’s reversed into a cradle though and Cassidy gets the pin at 12:01.

Rating: B-. Well that was….busy. This felt like a match that could have had about, I don’t know, fifteen or so less people at ringside? I’m hardly thrilled with the idea of more people getting a chance to be a double champion again but it’s just another match before (I’m guessing) we get to Copeland and Cage getting their rematch at Double Or Nothing.

Post match everyone comes in and the good guys clean house.

Video on Rush.

Last week, the Demand jumped Chris Jericho.

This week, Jericho (not Chris Jericho but just Jericho) is in the back but wants to talk about the Demand in front of the people. He comes out to the ring and says he’s done with the three on one beatdowns. Instead, he’s going to DEMAND that Ricochet come out here and face him man to man right now.

Cue the Demand, with Ricochet mocking Jericho, who says that he can’t hear over all of the booing. Ricochet is tired of this stuff and listening to these people in Charleston, North Carolina (Jericho: “It’s South.”) and brings up a challenge for Stadium Stampede. He’s just not sure if Jericho can find four other partners because no one around here likes him. Jericho yells at him for getting the state wrong (Ricochet: “Same thing.”) and is sure he can find someone. Otherwise he’ll just do it himself.

The brawl is on and Jericho clears the ring…for a bit, only to get beaten back down. Cue the Hurt Syndicate to make the save. Schiavone: “I know they love Bobby Lashley and they love South Carolina native Benjamin Shelton.” That’s either a really odd reference to a Hulk Hogan interview from about a year ago, or Schiavone isn’t very good at his job.

Mina Shirakawa gives Harley Cameron a pep talk and rips Cameron’s shirt open. Shirakawa realizes Cameron is wearing her bra underneath rather than gear and has to apologize. Cameron doesn’t seem to mind and is fired up.

International Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Keith

Okada is defending in your random title match of the week. In case you’re wondering, Keith’s most recent singles win on AEW TV was in October. Of 2024. Excalibur says Keith has been racking up wins in Ring Of Honor though, and that is true. I mean he hasn’t actually won a singles match this year but the three he had in 2025 count right? Oh wait actually as Excalibur said that Keith has had success on the independent circuit. From what I can find, that success is a record of 1-1-2 this year. So I guess this is based on the ROH tag success? To get a singles title shot. Right.

Anyway, Keith kicks away to start and snapmares him into a knee drop for two. Keith goes up but gets dropkicked out to the floor, where Okada hits a DDT as we take a break. We come back with Keith not being able to get a Fujiwara armbar but he can knee Okada in the head. Keith hits a running DDT for two and they head outside again, where Keith gets in another DDT.

Naturally that doesn’t do much and Okada gives him a slam into the dropkick. Another dropkick misses but Okada backdrops his way out of a tiger driver attempt. The next attempt works a bit better but Diamond Dust is countered into something like a sitout Tombstone. The Rainmaker retains the title at 10:16.

Rating: B. Keith made the most of his chance here and the match wound up being good. While it would be nice to see the choice of title challengers have a bit more logic, it was nice to see Keith getting a shot. Okada is on the way to his biggest match in AEW (or at least close to it) so call this a rather early warmup.

Post match Okada says he’s coming for the World Title. Censored.

Video on Andrade El Idolo.

Mike Bailey gives Kevin Knight a pep talk before tonight’s World Title shot. Knight is ready to win another title.

Samoa Joe and the Opps, now with Anthony Bowens, wants Will Ospreay on his team. Either do that, or get his fist instead.

Mina Shirakawa/Harley Cameron vs. Hikaru Shida/Kris Statlander

Shirakawa and Statlander lock up to start, with Statlander giving her a slam and dancing a bit. A backslide gives Statlander two and it’s off to Shida vs. Cameron. That doesn’t last long as it’s back to Statlander, who gets headscissored into the corner. A backbreaker puts Shirakawa down though and Shida comes back in for a running knee on the apron.

We take a break and come back with Shirakawa and Shida trading forearms until Shirakawa knocks her silly. Cameron comes back in with a tornado DDT and Shirakawa adds a missile dropkick to Statlander as everything breaks down. Statlander is back up with a fisherman’s driver to Shirakawa but Shida’s running knee hits Statlander by mistake. Cameron rolls Shida up for two but Statlander is back in to boot Cameron in the face. Shida’s Falcon Arrow gets the pin at 12:43.

Rating: C+. At least Shirakawa didn’t lose again. I’m not sure why Shida and Statlander’s team is continuing as it isn’t like they have much to do at the moment after losing their title shot. It’s nice to have them actually doing something, but a team with issues despite having success is a bit played out.

Swerve Strickland wants power and that means going after the most wanted, Bandido.

Bandido, with Brody King, says he’s not hard to find and King threatens Strickland for coming after his friends. Didn’t we just see King vs. Strickland a month and a half ago? Also of note: neither Bandido, King, Strickland or commentary referenced Bandido being the Ring Of Honor World Champion whatsoever. Bandido had the belt, but no one mentioned it at all. That was the case when Andrade El Idolo came after the title as well. It’s not a good sign when the Defy World Title (as held by Bryan Keith) gets more discussion than the title held, and displayed, by an AEW star.

AEW World Title: Darby Allin vs. Kevin Knight

Only Allin is defending. They go with the grappling to start until Knight knocks him down and grabs a headlock. Allin reverses into one of his own and hits a springboard elbow to the face. Back up and they clothesline each other and Knight snaps off a heck of a super hurricanrana. A big dropkick sends Allin outside and we take a break.

We come back with Allin grabbing a Code Red for two and Knight goes outside. The suicide dive knocks Knight down again and Allin sits him in the chair. Knight pops back up and hurricanranas him off the top and out to the floor for the big crash. One heck of a springboard clothesline hits Allin on the announcers’ table and they’re both down for a bit. Back in and Knight dives into a Scorpion Deathlock, sending him over to the ropes.

Knight is able to catch him in the Tree Of Woe and hits a Coast To Coast, followed by the UFO Splash. The knee is too banged up though and it’s a delayed cover for two. Allin kicks the knee out and grabs a guillotine choke before hanging him on the top rope. The Coffin Drop in the ropes sets up the regular Coffin Drop to retain the title at 15:36.

Rating: B. This was good again, with Allin’s rather impressive string of title matches continuing. At the same time, it seems like they’re setting up the idea of Allin giving it everything he has in these title matches, which could result in him having some trouble rather soon. Knight losing is acceptable enough as it’s to the World Champion, but it shouldn’t be happening again anytime soon.

Sting comes out to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was another strong show, though it was missing something to take it all the way to that higher level. It was a show built more around setting things up for later and building to things that we’ve already gotten set up. That’s a fine way to go on occasion, though they really do need to add some more stuff to Double Or Nothing, as we only have three matches thus far. Anyway, this was more than good enough.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Juice Robinson – Bulldog choke
Orange Cassidy b. Dax Harwood – Rollup
Kazuchika Okada b. Bryan Keith – Rainmaker
Hikaru Shida/Kris Statlander b. Harley Cameron/Mina Shirakawa – Falcon Arrow to Cameron
Darby Allin b. Kevin Knight – Coffin Drop

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

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Collision
Date: April 25, 2026
Location: Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re back on Saturday nights and hopefully that doesn’t mean we’re back to the usual less than important shows. There are two title matches tonight and naturally the Don Callis Family is challenging in both of them. Other than that, we get to hear from FTR so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

The Conglomeration is ready to go but FTR and Stokely interrupt because they have something to say to Adam Copeland and Christian Cage.

Here are FTR and Stokely to do just that. They get right to the point by accepting Copeland and Cage’s challenge for Double Or Nothing but they want this to be definitive. It can be a street fight, but they want it to be an I Quit match (Harwood: “Five letters, two words.”) so the nostalgia run can end for good. Ball’s in your court.

Trios Titles: Conglomeration vs. Don Callis Family

Lance Archer/Hechicero/Andrade El Idolo are challenging for the Family. The Conglomeration run into FTR on their way to the ring and shove FTR down. That’s rather unpleasant. Hechicero and O’Reilly go technical to start with Hechicero going after the leg. Strong comes in and backbreakers Hechicero so Cassidy can…eventually…drop an elbow.

Archer comes in and Cassidy changes his mind by bringing Strong back in. That doesn’t last long either so it’s off to Andrade vs. Cassidy. The lazy kicks don’t do much to Andrade so Cassidy steals his belt and rips the pants down, leaving Andrade staggering. Strong comes back in to hammer away in the corner but Andrade clotheslines Cassidy and steals his shirt as we take a break.

We come back with Cassidy fighting out of the corner, including a double hurricanrana to Andrade and Hechicero. O’Reilly gets the big tag and everything breaks down, with Strong tossing Cassidy into various Family members. Andrade fights back and hits Two Amigos on O’Reilly, who breaks up the third. Archer is back in to clean house, with a spinning Boss Man Slam getting two on Cassidy. The chokeslam is countered with an Orange Punch and a high/low gives Cassidy the pin at 13:25.

Rating: B-. This was a good opener with the Family being fine as the designated losers to make the new champs look strong in their first defense. It helps that the titles have changed hands on this show before so the result wasn’t entirely a formality. At the same time, Archer taking the fall doesn’t seem to be a great idea, as that isn’t how a monster tends to be treated.

After Dynamite, the Death Riders sat down with Will Ospreay, with Marina Shafir apparently wrenching his neck to fix it. Jon Moxley asks what Ospreay is trying to do. They met seven years ago and at some point, Ospreay needs to realize that his body will break down. There is a door he can walk through and they can settle up, with Moxley sliding him a chair. Moxley says Ospreay can be anything he wants to be, or be like everyone else. With that, Moxley lays face down on the floor and Ospreay picks up the chair…and shoves the camera away.

Death Riders/The Dogs vs. Young Bucks/Rascalz

Moxley, apparently not dead, is on commentary. Xavier and Yuta start things off and everything breaks down, with Yuta getting caught in the wrong corner. Matt gets crushed in another corner but the Rascalz fight back to knock Castagnoli down. That doesn’t last long as Garcia and Castagnoli grab Sharpshooters, only for the Bucks to sunset flip in for Sharpshooters on the Dogs (rather than, you know, saving their partners).

Xavier DDTs Yuta in the middle and small packages him for two, which breaks the four holds. Yuta suplexes Xavier out of the corner and the bad guys are in control as we take a break. We come back with Reed cleaning house, including a rather bouncy cutter to Yuta. Moxley: “This is what we live for!” There is something to be said for seeing Yuta get beaten up. Matt comes back in to roll the northern lights suplexes and Connors is knocked down.

The good guys hit a string of dives and shots from the top, only for Castagnoli to cut off Xavier’s. The Swing sends Xavier into Yuta’s dropkick but the Bucks are back in for the save. Reed does his big running cutter to drop Castagnoli onto the pile at ringside, leaving Wentz to hit a top rope cutter on Finlay. A suplex is loaded up but reversed, with Wentz being lifted up so Connors’ top rope spear can finish him at 14:09.

Rating: B. The match was the usual insane collection of spots and dives…and my goodness I cannot bring myself to care. I feel like I’ve seen this match about 100 times this year alone and this one just happened to be a ten man version. It’s certainly not bad and the athleticism is great, but it came and went and I’m sure we’ll see something that is basically the same at least twice in the next week.

Mina Shirakawa and Harley Cameron want Hikaru Shida to apologize, but she stands by what she said: Cameron will never be on their level. Arguing ensues.

Kris Statlander vs. B3cca

B3cca jumps her to start and gets sent into the corner to start. Statlander actually gets tied up in the ropes for some stomps and a top rope dropkick. Back in and Staturday Night Fever is broken up, with B3cca grabbing Carmella’s Code Of Silence. That’s easily reversed into Staturday Night Fever to give Statlander the pin at 1:48. B3cca got in a lot here.

Post match Statlander walks past Hikaru Shida.

Megan Bayne and Lena Kross are ready for Statlander and Shida.

Rush vs. Adam Priest

Priest takes him down by the arm to start and mocks the horns pose, meaning it’s time to chop it out. Rush isn’t having that and knocks him into the corner to stomp away. The running slap in the corner connects for Rush and we take a break. We come back with Priest hitting an Alabama Jam for two but Rush sends him outside. Stomping against the barricade has Priest in more trouble and the Bull’s Horns finish for Rush at 8:12.

Rating: C. The match was just a step above a squash, with Rush running through Priest and shrugging off his offense, as he should have. On one hand that’s how this should have gone, but it would be nice to see Rush actually do something that matters. I haven’t seen it happen in a long time and it doesn’t feel like it’s changing anytime soon.

Konosuke Takeshita is ready to face Kazuchika Okada.

Kazuchika Okada is ready to face Konosuke Takeshita.

Skye Blue/Thekla vs. Persephone/Alex Windsor

Thekla quickly hands it off to Blue, who pulls Windsor down by the hair to start. They slug it out until Windsor hits a clothesline as everything breaks down. We settle down to Persephone taking over on Blue but Thekla trips Windsor from the floor. Thekla’s double stomp off the apron connects and we take a break.

We come back with Windsor still in trouble but managing a running clothesline. Persephone comes in to send Thekla flying off a fall away slam. Everything breaks down and Persephone hits a double high crossbody. Code Blue is broken up but Persephone misses a charge in the corner. Windsor and Thekla brawl out to the floor and Persephone loads up a Razor’s Edge. Cue Julia Hart to spit mist in Persephone’s eyes though, meaning Code Blue can finish for Blue at 10:29.

Rating: C+. This was another fine match, with Hart’s run in being timed well enough. The odds can even up when Jamie Hayter comes back from injury so there is at least a logical final step with the six woman tag. I’m a bit surprised that Persephone took the fall, but it’s better than Windsor getting pinned again.

We look at MJF and Kevin Knight on Dynamite.

National Title: Jack Perry vs. El Clon

Perry, who has shaved, is defending. They run the ropes to start and sends Clon to the floor, allowing Perry to untie his hair. A dive is cut off by a raised knee and Clon sends him into the steps. That earns Clon a posting into a 619 around the post, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two. Clon gets in a quick clothesline to take over again and we take a break.

We come back with Perry getting up to trade chops, followed by Sliced Bread for two. A spinning Canadian Destroyer gives Perry two more but Clon knees him in the face for the same. Clon’s step up Lionsault is blocked though and Perry’s running knee finishes at 9:51.

Rating: B-. It’s another “here’s a title match even though you probably don’t buy that the title is in jeopardy”. That’s a good way to use the rather large roster and something that has been done with the TV Title equivalent for the better part of ever in wrestling. This worked out well enough, with Perry getting a win while we wait for him to get a better challenger.

Willow Nightingale wants new competition.

Anthony Bowens asks the Opps if he’s on the team or not. Sure. Then the Opps leave him there.

Chris Jericho/Hurt Syndicate vs. The Demand

MVP is here with Jericho and the Syndicate and sits in on commentary. Jericho and Ricochet start things off with Ricochet tagging out before doing anything. Eh it was better when Thekla did it. Everything breaks down and the six way brawl is on. Ricochet is backdropped out to the floor and Kaun is sent outside as well, leaving Jericho to look at a fan’s shirt. Jericho’s big dive to the floor connects and we take a break.

We come back with Ricochet holding Jericho in a seated abdominal stretch. Jericho gives him a backdrop but Kaun is right there to cut off the tag, which is given up a few seconds later. Lashley comes in to clean house and it’s off to Benjamin to fire off the suplexes. It’s back to Jericho to hammer Ricochet on top, setting up the super hurricanrana.

Kaun drops Jericho with a right hand though and everything breaks down again. A Codebreaker gets two on Ricochet and it’s a spear to Kaun. Jericho gets the Walls on Ricochet, with Liona pulling them over to the rope. Ricochet gets in a low blow and the Ricosault finishes Jericho at 11:28.

Rating: B-. That’s a surprising result, as I would have expected Jericho to get his revenge here to set up a bigger match with Ricochet down the line. We will still likely get that, but there is a good chance that it happens at Double Or Nothing with Jericho putting something up. Like his AEW career. Or maybe something of value.

Overall Rating: B-. There were a lot of tag matches on this show and they started to get repetitive after a bit. The main event and a few other things felt like they advanced some stories, but this show combined to feel like quite a bit of filler. It’s not a bad show by any means and if you watch it, you’ll have a good enough time. It’s just not a show you really need to prioritize in the slightest. In other words, it’s what you get out of Collision a lot of the time.

Results
Conglomeration b. Don Callis Family – High/low to Archer
Death Riders/The Dogs b. Rascalz/Young Bucks – Suplex/top rope spear combination to Wentz
Kris Statlander b. B3cca – Staturday Night Fever
Rush b. Adam Priest – Bull’s Horns
Skye Blue/Thekla b. Persephone/Alex Windsor – Code Blue to Persephone
Jack Perry b. El Clon – Running knee
The Demand b. Chris Jericho/Hurt Syndicate – Ricosault to Jericho

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

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Collision
Date: April 16, 2026
Location: Angel Of The Winds Arena, Everett, Washington
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re on Thursday again this week due to Wrestlemania and this show has a lot to live up to after last night. Darby Allin is the new World Champion after beating MJF in about two minutes to win the title. Other than that we’re still dealing with the fallout from Dynasty, which was a good show in its own right. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence. They might want to edit out the THIS IS SATURDAY NIGHT audio.

Here is Adam Copeland to get things going and he’s got quite a black eye. Things didn’t go as he wanted at Dynasty as FTR did what they said they would do and did it. Christian Cage is finding out if his arm is broken after Dynasty. FTR piledrove Copeland’s wife and stole Cage’s watch, which is worse for Cage than hurting his wife. FTR said that Copeland and Cage wouldn’t get another title shot but Copeland has an idea on that. He and Cage have been gone for years each but they’re back again to go after FTR. Cue FTR and Roppongi Vice to go after Copeland, with the Young Bucks making the save.

Jack Perry wants Don Callis to pick another opponent to meet him next week.

Rascalz vs. Young Bucks

Myron Reed/Zachary Wentz for the Rascalz here. Wentz wristdrags Nick down to start but gets caught with a spinwheel kick. Reed comes in and gets sent into a German suplex, followed by a backbreaker to each Rascal. Reed manages a dropkick though and it’s back to Wentz to clean house.

The Rascalz hit stereo dives and Wentz uses Reed as a launchpad to hit both Bucks. Back in and a Stundog Millionaire into a superkick into a German suplex gets two on Nick and we take a break. We come back with Nick fighting out of trouble and bringing Matt back in for the rolling northern lights suplexes.

Double bulldogs and a top rope elbow/Swanton give the Bucks two each. The Bucks have a mishap though and the Rascalz are back with cutters. A 450 gives Wentz two but it’s a pair of superkicks to put him down. The BTE Trigger hits Reed but Wentz makes the save. The TK Driver is broken up as well, only for the second attempt to end Wentz at 13:40.

Rating: B+. Yeah this worked, as the Bucks can work this style rather well and the Rascalz were right there to hang with them. It was a rather exciting match and they got me a few times with the false finishes. As usual, the Bucks are far easier to watch when they’re not talking and AEW seems to understand that part.

Post match the Dogs run in and beat down both teams. David Finlay say they’re down a Dog but they still want bodies and gold.

Video on Megan Bayne and Leno Kross.

Conglomeration vs. Lethal Twist

Non-title. O’Reilly works on Lethal’s arm to start and it’s quickly off to Cassidy, who is still in his sunglasses. Strong comes in with a backbreaker and Cassidy goes to the top…the middle…uh bottom…or just the mat as he walks over for an elbow. Christian comes in and sticks the landing when Cassidy armdrags him down.

Lethal gets in a cheap shot though and everything breaks down, with the villains getting in a triple strut as we take a break. We come back with Cassidy in trouble and casually walking out of a sunset flip, allowing the tag off to Strong. Everything breaks down again and Strong tosses Cassidy for a tornado DDT. O’Reilly gets a tag and hits a running knee off the apron to drop Lethal.

Christian is back up with a kick into a suplex to O’Reilly and Hail To The King gives Lethal two. Cassidy and Christian trade lazy kicks until O’Reilly’s knee gets triple teamed down. That’s broken up as well and everyone is down again. O’Reilly picks Johnson’s ankle though and with his partners taken out, Johnson taps at 12:21.

Rating: B. This was another good one, as the Conglomeration knows how to work well together and the fans were into them. I can go with the Lethal Twist being served up to them here too, as the Twist have basically stopped going after Bandido’s Ring Of Honor World Title. I still like Christian, as odd as that might seem, but this might be his ceiling at the moment.

Anthony Bowens asks Hook if he’s in the Opps or not. We’ll find out next week.

Kris Statlander/Hikaru Shida vs. Big Anne/Danika Della Rouge

Statlander flapjacks Rouge to start and catapults her into the corner for the tag off to Anne. Shida comes in to strike away and hits a falcon arrow. The Katana is loaded up but she gives Statlander a tag instead. Staturday Night Fever finishes Anne at 2:31.

Jon Moxley vs. Nick Wayne

Non-title. Wayne bails to the floor to start and the local fans seem to like him a lot. Back in and Moxley takes him down by the arm but Wayne fights up again. Some kicks have Moxley’s eyes bugging up so he hammers away in the corner. A jumping back elbow cuts Moxley off and Wayne gets in a cocky kick to the face.

Moxley heads outside but comes back in, offers a handshake, and then grabs a piledriver. We take a break and come back with Moxley’s Crash Landing connecting for two. Wayne gets some boots up in the corner though and hits a middle rope dropkick. Moxley is back with a full nelson but Wayne hits a quick Code Red for two more.

That earns him a crossface but Wayne slips out and strikes away. A big dive to the floor drops Moxley again and he’s busted open near the eye. Back in and Wayne kicks him in the head for two, only for Moxley to shrug off some forearms. The Death Rider finishes for Moxley at 14:59.

Rating: B. It’s nice to see Wayne getting a chance to showcase himself, as it’s not like he does anything in Ring Of Honor despite coming close to a year as champion. This was a good way to give the hometown fans something to cheer about, which is always a great idea. Moxley is good at making someone else look better, though I have a hard time believing that it’s going to matter for him.

Don Callis says he can get Kazuchika Okada out of his title match with Konosuke Takeshita but Okada wants the match.

Pac vs. Lio Rush

Daniel Garcia is here too. Pac is freaked out by the new Rush as well and falls down when Rush stands up in the corner. Rush yells a lot and starts the dodging and running before bridging on his neck. The confusion lets Rush send him outside, where Rush beats up Garcia but the distraction lets Pac stomp away on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Rush freaking Pac out again. Pac is knocked outside for the suicide dive and the sleeper goes on back inside. A poisonrana gives Rush two and a Stunner knocks Pac silly…but Garcia offers a distraction. Pac gets in a big clothesline and grabs the Brutalizer, with Rush smiling as he passes out at 11:01.

Rating: C+. HEY! DID YOU KNOW THAT RUSH IS CRAZY??? I DIDN’T KNOW IF WE HAD MADE THAT CLEAR YET OR NOT! This was beating you over the head with the idea as much as they could and my goodness it gets dumber and dumber every second Rush is out there. Rush is talented enough to do something without this nonsense and no I don’t buy that Pac, who has been a near main eventer, having this much trouble with him.

Video on Bandido, who is a wanted man. He’s not wanted enough that anyone has gone after his title since December and there’s no match announced here, but maybe I’m missing the subtext.

Brody King/Mistico/Mascara Dorada vs. Ricky Gibson/KC Riff/Cole Rivera

For some reason Riff jumps King from behind before the bell. The pain, this time in the form of chops, is immediate and Mistico and Dorada hit some dives. The Ganso Bomb finishes Riff at 1:27.

Mina Shirakawa interrupts Hikaru Shida and Kris Statlander. She does not trust Shida after what she said about Harley Cameron. Statlander has to keep them apart but Shirakawa still doesn’t trust them.

We look at Darby Allin winning the World Title on Dynamite in a great moment.

Women’s Title: Alex Windsor vs. Thekla

Thekla is defending and bails out to the floor to start. Windsor is back in to hammer away and grabs a suplex back inside. Thekla bails outside and trips Windsor down, setting up a hard clothesline on the floor as we take a break. We come back with Thekla choking in the ropes and giving her a basement superkick for two.

Windsor fights back with a big running shoulder and a Blue Thunder Bomb gets another near fall. They yell at each other a lot and trade forearms, with Windsor knocking her down for a Sharpshooter. Thekla gets to the rope and comes back with a Black Widow. That’s broken up as well so they go up top, with Thekla pulling out the brass knuckles. The first shot misses but the second connects, setting up a Stomp to retain Thekla’s title at 12:12.

Rating: B. I like that they didn’t have this drawn out to be some big time title match again, as Thekla is fresh off beating Windsor’s partner. Thekla beating both halves of the team and moving on to someone fresh is a good way to go and I’m curious to see who is next for her. Hopefully Windsor and Hayter get back to winning, as I like them as a team thus far.

Overall Rating: B+. This show started off red hot, cooled off a bit, and then picked up again. It’s nice to see this kind of a show getting the Thursday spot, as in theory it should lead to a much bigger audience than usual. The show doesn’t mean much in the long term, but there is always a place for a night of rather good wrestling on free TV.

Results
Young Bucks b. Rascalz – TK Driver to Wentz
Conglomeration b. Lethal Twist – Ankle lock to Johnson
Kris Statlander/Hikaru Shida b. Big Anne/Danika Della Rouge – Staturday Night Fever to Anne
Jon Moxley b. Nick Wayne – Death Rider
Pac b. Lio Rush – Brutalizer
Brody King/Mistico/Mascara Dorada b. Ricky Gibson/KC Riff/Cole Rivera – Ganso Bomb to Riff
Thekla b. Alex Windsor – Stomp

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

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