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

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

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

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

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

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

Buy-In: Lance Archer vs. Nick Comoroto

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The opening video looks at the companies colliding.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dudes With Attitude vs. Bullet Club

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now JR comes out to join commentary.

IWGP United States Title: Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. ???

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Interim AEW World Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jon Moxley

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Dynamite
Date: June 22, 2022
Location: UW Milwaukee Panther Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

We’re at the final Dynamite step before Forbidden Door on Sunday, which could be quite the rough night. Bryan Danielson is making an announcement about his future and it might not be the best news. Odds are we get some more matches announced for Sunday as well so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Bryan Danielson for the announcement. Tony Schiavone asks about his future but Danielson takes the mic and says he isn’t giving it back. Danielson says this is a great week to be an AEW fan or a professional wrestling fan. This Sunday we have Forbidden Door and then a week later we have Blood and Guts with all of the violence you could want. As for Forbidden Door, Zack Sabre Jr., he wanted to prove he was the best technical wrestler in the world, while Danielson wanted to crush Sabre Jr.’s trachea.

Unfortunately, he isn’t cleared to wrestle at Forbidden Door or Blood and Guts due to what happened at him in Anarchy In The Arena. However, don’t worry about him because he is going to be back. He feels great, he can read 500 words a minute, he can run two miles and not break a sweat and his mind is working at full speed.

As for the near future, he has found the one person to take his place at Forbidden Door and Blood and Guts who can be technical and violent and he will astound you. Who you ask? Well he came out of the bad guy tunnel so he isn’t going to tell you. Tune in on Sunday and you’ll see the greatest technical match of your lives. Sabre Jr. comes out to stare at Danielson but doesn’t say anything.

Jon Moxley is ready for the biggest match of his life on Sunday but he is also ready for the violence next week.

Aussie Open/Will Ospreay vs. Roppongi Vice/Orange Cassidy

Romero can’t get far with Fletcher to start and but he does manage to take him down. Cassidy comes in as everything breaks down, with Romero hitting the forever lariats. Vice and Cassidy do their biceps pose but the triple suicide dives are cut off. Stereo apron bombs have the good guys in trouble as we take a break.

Back with Cassidy hitting the lazy kicks before snapping off a double hurricanrana. A springboard hurricanrana takes Aussie Open down, setting up the triple dives onto Open and Ospreay. Back in Ospreay takes over on Cassidy, who cuts him off with a Stundog Millionaire. Everything breaks down again and it’s the parade of knockdowns until Cassidy hits the Orange Punch to finish Davis at 11:34.

Rating: C+. Cassidy is a very fun guy to watch, but it’s a little hard to get my head around the idea that he is getting to face one of the people who main evented this year’s Wrestle Kingdom. As for Aussie Open, they’re a good example of guys who were added to the mix in recent weeks without much being known about them. They’re the tag team who works with Ospreay and that’s about all I can tell you about them based on how they have been presented, which isn’t a good thing.

Post match the rest of the United Empire comes out for the staredown but FTR (including a Loverboy Dennis Condrey shirt) evens things out to chase the villains off.

Jay Lethal and Satnam Singh want Samoa Joe to vacate the ROH TV Title if he can’t defend it.

Here is Christian Cage for the big explanation. Christian doesn’t think much of Jungle Boy costing him a chance to win the World Title, but then he checked social media and saw what people thought of Jungle Boy. That’s why Christian hitched his wagon to Jungle Boy to try to make a quick buck. He didn’t come here to mentor some new generation but rather to make big money.

Christian offers some free advice: try having a match that people talk about more than two weeks after the fact. Have the match that parents sit their kids down to watch or name a pay per view after. We look at the clip of Christian insulting Jungle Boy’s family last week, which has Christian saying he doesn’t want to be Jungle Boy’s father. Jungle Boy has a father….but he’s dead.

That’s a good thing too, as Jungle Boy’s dad would be sad to see what his son has become. Cue Luchasaurus to choke Christian, who says Luchasaurus is like a son to him. Luchasaurus buys it and they hug, though Luchasaurus might not be entirely convinced. Heck of a promo from Christian here, though I’m not sure on changing things up with Luchasaurus.

We look at Kyle O’Reilly being taken out by Sting and Darby Allin on Rampage.

O’Reilly and the Young Bucks are ready to team up with Hikuleo and El Phantasmo vs. Sting/Allin and cronies.

All Atlantic Title Tournament First Round: Malakai Black vs. Penta Obscuro

Obscuro starts fast and knocks Black outside for a shot tot he face. Back in and Black counters the armbar into a rollup, setting up the Sling Blade for two. Black bails outside where he sends Penta into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Black fighting out of a piledriver on the apron but getting kicked in the head.

They get back inside with Black hitting a jumping knee to the face to send Penta outside, setting up a moonsault. A top rope double stomp gives Black two back inside but Penta catches him with a super Fear Factor. That’s good for a (very) delayed two as Black gets a food on the rope. Penta loads up another Fear Factor but Black escapes and hits Black Mass for the pin at 11:32.

Rating: B-. What else were you expecting here? They hit each other really hard until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. That’s what you should get from a match like this, though I don’t need to see House of Black vs. Death Triangle again for the better part of ever. Good, hard hitting match though, with Black moving on as he should have. I think.

Post match Pac comes in to stare at Black but Miro pops up on screen to promise to redeem all of the pagans and others at Forbidden Door.

Hangman Page vs. Silas Young

Adam Cole is on commentary and this is Young’s AEW debut. Young starts by missing a legsweep but coming back with a few shots. Page knocks him outside and hits the big moonsault as we take a break. Back with both of them getting up until Page knocks him to the floor. A top rope clothesline gives Page two but Young knocks him down again. The springboard moonsault misses in the corner though and Page hits a clothesline. The Buckshot Lariat finishes for Page at 8:43.

Rating: C+. Young can bring it almost every time he’s out there so I’m not surprised to see him do well in his AEW debut. Fans are going to know enough about him to think something of the match but it isn’t like Page beat a hot new star. It was a perfectly fine TV match and I could go for Young getting to do a bit more around here as AEW has far worse options.

Post match Adam Cole says it’s Story Time but Jay White cuts him off. White is looking forward to Forbidden Door, but he won’t be defending against Cole, who lost to Page twice. As for Page….he isn’t getting a title shot either. The fight is on with White getting the better of things, but he turns around to see Cole holding the title. A double team on Page is teased but Kazuchika Okada comes in for the save.

Red Velvet is injured so Stokely Hathaway is looking for a new Baddie.

Kris Statlander and Athena don’t think much of the Baddies because they have Willow Nightingale.

Marina Shafir vs. Toni Storm

Nyla Rose is here with Shafir. They go to the mat to start with Shafir getting the better of things as Storm isn’t quite at that level. Storm gets sent outside where Rose hits a heck of a backsplash as we take a break (with Excalibur being cut off in mid-sentence for about the fourth time tonight). Back with Storm taking it to the floor and hitting a tornado DDT off the steps. Storm sends her into the corner for the running hip attack but Rose offers a distraction. The pumphandle is broken up though and Storm gets a rollup pin at 7:19.

Rating: C. That’s probably Shafir’s best AEW match to date, which isn’t clearing that high of a bar. The best thing that can be said about it is that it felt more natural with Shafir not coming off as so stiff (as in moving better, not hitting hard). Maybe she has shaken off some of the jitters or gotten some pointers, but either way, this was a step up for her and that’s good to see.

Post match Rose jumps Storm and the double teaming is on until Thunder Rosa makes the save.

Darby Allin and Sting are bringing Shingo Takagi and Hiromu Takahashi to even things up at Forbidden Door.

Fenix is ready for Andrade El Idolo on Rampage.

Forbidden Door rundown, with Excalibur tripping over his words.

Lance Archer/Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley/Hiroshi Tanahashi

William Regal is on commentary. It’s a brawl to start with Tanahashi taking over on Jericho’s arm. Moxley comes in to take over but a cheap shot takes Moxley down for a change. Jericho catapults Moxley throat first into the bottom rope and it’s back to Archer to keep up the beating.

We take a break and come back with Tanahashi getting the tag to clean house, including the middle rope flipping splash for two on Jericho. Back up and Jericho can’t grab the Walls but manages to knock Tanahashi down and gets the second attempt. Tanahashi breaks that up and hits the Sling Blade with Moxley coming back in to drop Archer. The High Fly Flow gives Tanahashi the pin at 12:00.

Rating: B-. Pretty nice main event style tag match here with the only possible option to take the fall getting pinned. Tanahashi gets some momentum heading into Sunday, though I could have gone without commentary talking about how Moxley needs to defend AEW from New Japan. That’s a very tacked on idea and it isn’t needed for a match like this one.

Post match Eddie Kingston, the Jericho Appreciation Society and a bunch of New Japan guys, including Minoru Suzuki, come out for the brawl. Tanahashi and Moxley stare each other down in the ring as the brawl goes on for more than a few minutes to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m honestly not sure what to say about this show. We’ll start with the good: there were surprises, most of the wrestling was strong and the ending brawl was really energetic. They added some matches to the Forbidden Door card and gave you more of a reason to watch the pay per view. That’s how a go home show is supposed to go and they did that part pretty well.

Now comes the problem: if you don’t like/know a decent amount about New Japan, this was an absolutely nutty show that probably left you a bit confused. The last month or so has been Tony Khan getting to put his fantasy booking show on national TV (“And then THIS GUY show up but THIS GUY is out as a surprise and it’s a new faction between the two companies and they’re fighting for THIS TITLE but wait here’s THIS GUY and it’s a big fight and there’s an INTENSE STAREDOWN and…..”) and if you’re not into it, you have no need to watch the show.

I get what AEW is going for here and it will sell like gangbusters for their core audience, but I’m not exactly sure how other fans are going to care. This has been one heck of a detour into the inner workings of Tony Khan’s mind and unless you’re completely on board with that, this isn’t going to be your time. Sunday is (probably) going to be a lot of fun but it’s quite a lot of time spent setting that show up.

Results
Orange Cassidy/Roppongi Vice b. Aussie Open/Will Ospreay – Orange Punch to Davis
Malakai Black b. Penta Obscuro – Black Mass
Hangman Page b. Silas Young – Buckshot Lariat
Toni Storm b. Marina Shafir – Rollup
Jon Moxley/Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Lance Archer/Chris Jericho – High Fly Flow to Archer

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: June 15, 2022
Location: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

The road to Forbidden Door continues and as has been the case with AEW in recent weeks, things have gotten a little bit screwy. This time around it is Jeff Hardy getting arrested for driving under the influence, meaning that he will not be around for this week’s Tag Team Title match. Hopefully this doesn’t throw the show into chaos so let’s get to it.

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

Chris Jericho vs. Ortiz

Hair vs. hair, the Jericho Appreciation Society and Eddie Kingston are here, and William Regal is on commentary. Ortiz charges in and knocks Jericho to the floor for some biting of the face. Jericho takes over outside and hammers away inside, only to have Ortiz get in some shots of his own. The suicide dive is broken up though and Jericho hits a suplex off the apron to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Ortiz clotheslining his way out of trouble and hitting a quick cutter. Jericho rolls him up and tries the Walls, which is reversed into a rollup for two. Ortiz misses a middle rope corkscrew….something, allowing Jericho to hit the Codebreaker for two more. The Walls go on so Ortiz makes the rope, meaning the fight is on outside. Cue Santana and Wheeler Yuta (JR: “WHERE THE **** HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN???”) to even things up a bit and Ortiz gets inside to knock Jericho silly for two. Ortiz is back up but Fuego del Sol of all people runs in to hit Ortiz in the face with a baseball bat to give Jericho the pin at 11:48.

Rating: C+. You knew the insanity was coming in the end and the Fuego stuff (which is totally not Sammy Guevara) was a surprise because of who did it but not a surprise overall. Jericho having someone to interfere on his behalf is right on point for him and you knew Jericho wasn’t going bald. The question was how we got here, and Ortiz shaving his head might make him stand out a bit more.

Post match Fuego unmasks as Sammy Guevara, because this really is Inner Circle 2.0. Ortiz cuts his own hair and shouts BLOOD AND GUTS.

We get a People’s Court style intro for Wardlow vs. the 20 security guards.

Wardlow vs. Security Guards

There are twenty guards and Wardlow has to beat all of them. The guards get on the apron and Wardlow knocks one apron off, which might count as eliminations. The dog pile doesn’t work and Wardlow powerbombs one guard onto the others. A bunch of powerbombs and chokes wreck more guards and Wardlow eliminates nine guards after about 2:15. More powerbombs leave more guards laying and another guard is pulled out of the air. A big group pin finishes for Wardlow at 4:08.

Rating: C. What do you say about this kind of a match? It was more of a training exercise for Wardlow, who ran through one guard after another like they weren’t even there. It made Wardlow look good and he wrecked everyone involved, so if this is the end of the story, or at least this part of it, we should be fine.

Post match Wardlow goes after Mark Sterling but Dan Lambert, with Scorpio Sky, pops up from a sky box. Lambert sends Matt Hughes and Tyron Woodley (former UFC Champions) into the ring, but Wardlow appeals to their midwestern roots. That’s enough for Hughes and Woodley to send Sterling to Wardlow for the big powerbomb. Posing ensues.

Dax Harwood vs. Will Ospreay

Feeling out process to start with Ospreay taking him into the corner and hitting a chop. Harwood takes him down into a headlock as the fans are split here. Ospreay is back up and kicks Harwood to the apron, with the leg getting caught in the ring skirt. A running dropkick against the steps rocks Harwood and we take a break.

Back with Harwood rolling some German suplexes to knock Ospreay silly. Harwood misses a top rope headbutt though and Ospreay is back with a springboard 450 for two. Ospreay goes up again but Harwood catches him, setting up a belly to back superplex, which is countered into a crossbody. Back up and Harwood counters a hurricanrana into a slingshot powerbomb but Ospreay flips out. A second attempt gives Harwood two, followed by Ospreay hitting a sitout powerbomb of his own. The Oscutter gives Ospreay two more, followed by the Hidden Blade for the pin at 13:45.

Rating: B+. Is there anything Harwood can’t do at this point? He has great tag matches and now gets to hang with a major international star like Ospreay in a heck of a singles match. Ospreay got to showcase himself a bit more this time and it was the kind of match you were expecting from him. A singles star beating a tag team champion is more than acceptable and this was a blast of a match.

Post match the rest of the United Empire comes in for the beatdown with the Best Friends and Cash Wheeler coming in for the save. That doesn’t go so well, but Orange Cassidy comes in for the real save, setting up the Will Ospreay showdown. Well of course that’s what we’re getting.

Video on Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, which has been built up for awhile in New Japan.

It’s time for a face to face showdown between Moxley and Tanahashi. Moxley says he has been chasing him for a long time, across Japan to America. They call Tanahashi the Ace, but that won’t be the case for long. Moxley is the best in the world and at Forbidden Door, Tanahashi will call him the Ace.

Cue Chris Jericho, flanked by Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti, to say Moxley is in his spot. Jericho talks about how he beat Tanahashi in the Tokyo Dome, but Tanahashi tells him to shut up. Cue the Jericho Appreciation Society, but El Desperado and Lance Archer jump Moxley and Tanahashi from behind.

Jericho announces Guevara and Conti as the newest members of the Jericho Appreciation Society. Desperado and Archer are here on loan from Suzuki-Gun so at Forbidden Door, it’s Minoru Suzuki/Guevara/Jericho vs. Wheeler Yuta/Shota Umino/Eddie Kingston. Cue Kingston, Ortiz (head shaved) and Yuta for the save. House is cleaned and the good guys stand tall.

Darby Allin wants Bobby Fish on Rampage.

Toni Storm isn’t impressed by Britt Baker and wants the Women’s Title.

All Atlantic Title Qualifying Match: Miro vs. Ethan Page

Page bails to the floor for a chat with Dan Lambert, who wants Page to focus. Back in and Page bails outside again, with the chase allowing Page to get in some shots. Page starts working on the arm but Miro isn’t having that and kicks Page down. Now it’s Miro slapping away at the arm, which sends Page outside and us to a break.

Back with Miro pounding away at the chest but getting sent into the steps to slow him down. A springboard cutter gives Page two but Miro is done with this getting beaten up. After knocking Lambert off the apron, it’s a superkick to Page and Game Over to send Miro to Forbidden Door at 9:31.

Rating: C+. Nicely done stuff here with Miro getting the win that he should have gotten but without beating the stuffing out of Page. The more I see of Page, the more I like him as there is definitely a lot of talent there, especially when he gets to be more serious. Miro winning here was the only way to go though and he did it in enough of a dominant fashion.

Dante Martin is ready for Jon Moxley on Rampage.

Britt Baker vs. Toni Storm

Rebel and Jamie Hayter are here too. Storm knocks her to the floor to start but Baker is back with a forearm of her own. A posting cuts Storm down and Hayter gets in a cheap shot but here is Thunder Rosa to chase Hayter off. We take a break and come back with Storm hitting a tornado DDT to send Baker outside, where another tornado DDT plants Baker on the floor.

The running hip attack crushes Baker in the corner and she seems a bit rocked. A forearm has Baker crumbled on the mat….but Baker is goldbricking and rolls Storm up for two. Lockjaw is loaded up but Storm German suplexes her down. Storm Zero finishes Baker at 7:31 to give Storm the big win.

Rating: C+. That was some pretty nice goldbricking from Baker and I liked seeing Storm FINALLY get a big win. I have no reason to believe this is going anywhere, but it is nice to see her get something. Baker losing still feels like a big deal and I’m happy with seeing her take a bit of a step back after dominating the division for so long.

Post match Thunder Rosa comes back for the staredown with Storm, making me wonder why Baker needed to win the Owen Hart tournament if this is where they’re going.

Stokely Hathaway announces that Jade Cargill is issuing an open challenge for Rampage. Willow Nightingale comes in to accept, though Hathaway isn’t sure who she is. I could go for more Nightingale.

Here is Hangman Page for a chat. Page challenged Kazuchika Okada for Forbidden Door, but then Okada lost the IWGP World Title over the weekend. He still wants the match though….but here is Adam Cole to interrupt. Cole says if anyone is challenging for the title at Forbidden Door it is him, so Cole brings out the new champion, Jay White.

This means White can come in from behind to Blade Runner Page and shout about how he has beaten Page twice before. That’s why Page isn’t getting a title shot at Forbidden Door….but it won’t be against Cole either. White has the title so he holds the power, meaning he can pick his challenge. Cole isn’t happy.

Tag Team Titles: Jurassic Express vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are challenging in a ladder match. It’s a brawl to start with Nick loading up a ladder but getting taken back down with a springboard hurricanrana. Matt catches Jungle Boy on the ladder but Luchasaurus is back with a double choke. That’s broken up with some kicks to the head so the ladder is loaded up in the corner. Jungle Boy is back to clean house but gets caught in the rolling northern lights suplexes, including one into the ladder.

A running hurricanrana off the apron sends Matt through a table but Nick powerbombs Jungle Boy through another table. Nick isn’t done and hits a springboard Canadian Destroyer on Luchasaurus, followed by the 450 to put Luchasaurus through another table. With the regular Nick Jackson Does A Bunch Of Stuff sequence done, we take a break and come back with Luchasaurus hitting a moonsault off the apron to take both Bucks down. Everyone winds up on a pair of (uneven) ladders with Luchasaurus being the last man standing.

That doesn’t last long as Matt makes a save and hits a top rope elbow to drive him through a table. Jungle Boy catches Matt with a German suplex and goes up with Nick for another slugout. The Bucks take him off the ladder and Nick is busted (might have broken his nose), leaving Luchasaurus to go up. That means one heck of a crash through four tables (ala Bubba Ray Dudley/Matt Hardy at Wrestlemania X7. The BTE Trigger drops Jungle Boy and the Bucks get the titles back at 14:55.

Rating: B. What is there to say here? It’s a ladder match with a bunch of flips and dives and broken stuff, which is about all you can expect from this kind of a match. That isn’t a bad thing, but it also isn’t the kind of match that is going to blow the door off the place most of the time. The Bucks getting the titles back is a bit surprising, as they are the first ever two time champions, but they are still one of the top teams in the company. Jurassic Express had a good reign, though I don’t know if they ever came close to feeling like the top team around and that held them back.

Post match Jungle Boy has to be helped up because of his knee….and Christian Cage turns on him with the Killswitch. The Conchairto leaves Jungle Boy laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. They covered a lot this week with all kinds of stuff being set up for Forbidden Door as well as having a pair of impressive matches this week. What matters is that they have started getting us ready for the pay per view, which they kind of need to do since it is in less than two weeks. Heck of a show here as it felt like a classic Dynamite, which has been lacking lately.

Results
Chris Jericho b. Ortiz – Baseball bat to the face
Wardlow b. Security Guards – Group pin
Will Ospreay b. Dax Harwood – Hidden Blade
Miro b. Ethan Page – Game Over
Toni Storm b. Britt Baker – Storm Zero
Young Bucks b. Jurassic Express – Bucks pulled down the titles

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: June 8, 2022
Location: Cable Dahmer Arena, Independence, Missouri
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s time for things to get all the more interesting again as this week will include the first half of the process to find a new Interim AEW World Champion. That alone should fill in a good bit of the show, as we get a battle royal and then a Jon Moxley match in the show’s main event. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Casino Battle Royal

This is the battle royal with four groups of wrestlers coming in at unspecified intervals before the Joker is the 21st entrant, with the winner facing Jon Moxley later tonight. We’ll start with the first group:

Clubs: Eddie Kingston, Darby Allin, Tony Nese, Daniel Garcia, Lance Archer

It’s a brawl to start with Archer and Allin being left alone early, though no one is eliminated. Archer shrugs off Allin’s skateboard shot and takes him into the corner so the Diamonds can come in:

Diamonds: Ricky Starks, Jake Hager, Rey Fenix, Swerve Strickland, Keith Lee

We settle into more of a battle royal style brawl as commentary bothers to explain why we’re doing this. Lee knocks Nese out and Strickland gives Lee a hug, leaving Lee to have a staredown with Archer. The clock runs out and we see a JOIN THE DARK ORDER graphic but no one comes out. Lee manages to send out Archer and NOW we get the third group:

Hearts: John Silver, Konosuke Takeshita, Max Caster, Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn

Caster does his rap about various Kansas City things, plus Daniel Garcia and breaking CM Punk’s foot. The ring is getting full and we take a break. Back with the Spades coming in:

Spades: Powerhouse Hobbs, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly, Dante Martin, Wheeler Yuta

Allin hits a Coffin Drop onto ReDRagon, which isn’t an elimination either. The Gunn Club and Caster stop for a three way scissoring session but Caster gets tossed, as does the Club at the hands of Lee. As Lee poses, Strickland dumps him out and Lee is stunned for a nice payoff. That means it’s time for the Joker to complete the field.

Joker: Andrade El Idolo

Silver and Kingston are both knocked out, followed by Takeshita. Fenix kicks Starks an it’s Strickland and Allin picking up the pace. Fish is tossed and Strickland kicks Allin out, only to get tossed by Andrade. We’re down to Andrade, Fenix, Hobbs, O’Reilly and Yuta with Andrade and Fenix striking each other a lot. Hobbs goes to toss Fenix but Yuta tosses Hobbs out instead and we’re down to four.

A mini tag match breaks out until Fenix kicks Andrade in the face again. Fenix tries a rolling something but gets low blowed by Andrade, setting up the elimination. O’Reilly tosses out Andrade and it’s time to strike it out with Yuta on the apron. Yuta knocks O’Reilly back inside and a dragon screw legwhip slows Yuta down. A running big boot sends Yuta out and O’Reilly wins at 24:53.

Rating: C. I really do not care for this group entrance thing and AEW would be better served by dropping the whole thing. It changes the match far too hard at the drop of a hat and fills the ring up too fast, which is rarely a good idea in a battle royal with staggered entrances. O’Reilly winning is a very smart move, but it came at the end of a somewhat boring match.

Jon Moxley has been going big game hunting in New Japan and Kyle O’Reilly is in there with the wrong man tonight. After tonight, Moxley is heading to Forbidden Door, where he will take over the wrestling world. Moxley: “Love you mom.”

CM Punk has undergone successful surgery.

AEW is introducing the All Atlantic Championship to represent the international stars. And yes, there will be a tournament, with a four way final at Forbidden Door. Here are the brackets:

Buddy Matthews
Pac

Ethan Page
Miro

Penta Obscuro
Malakai Black

New Japan Wrestler
New Japan Wrestler

For those of you keeping track, after Forbidden Door, and not counting other companies, there will be nine recognized titles. AEW does not need another title right now, and certainly not another singles title.

All Atlantic Title Tournament First Round: Buddy Matthews vs. Pac

Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far on the arm. With that not working, we head to an early standoff before they both go out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Matthews kicking away and uppercutting Pac to cut off a comeback attempt. Matthews misses a running kick so Pac superkicks the heck out of him. They kick each other down until Matthews drops him face first off the middle rope. A sunset flip is rolled through into a sitout powerbomb for two, leaving them both down again. Pac is back up with a poisonrana, setting up the Black Arrow for the pin at 10:42.

Rating: B. These guys beat each other up and I don’t think that is any surprise. If there is one thing Pac knows how to do well it is the hard hitting style, while Matthews is able to hang with just about anyone. Pac winning is the right move as he is a bigger star, but Matthews held up his own end. Just don’t have the teams fight any more and we should be fine.

Post match Death Triangle and the House of Black come out for a staredown, as Malakai Black and Penta are meeting in the tournament.

Eddie Kingston rants about the Jericho Appreciation Society and doesn’t want to be counted down. He wants Jake Hager on Rampage for a fight and NOW the producer can tell the truck to go to a break because he is done.

Here is Trent Beretta, who is sad that he is alone on National Best Friends Day. His friends aren’t here, but he wants to face FTR again because Roppongi Vice wasn’t beaten. Cue FTR, who likes the idea of the match, but they don’t like Will Ospreay’s b**** boys. Cue Will Ospreay himself and the distraction lets Aaron Henare and Aussie Open run in for the beatdown.

William Regal warns Kyle O’Reilly about what is coming for him tonight. Regal suggests O’Reilly think about his friends and family, which O’Reilly says is all he ever thinks about.

Hangman Page vs. David Finlay

Adam Cole is on commentary. Page shoves him into the corner to start and hits a running shoulder, followed by a big boot to take Finlay down. Finlay is sent to the apron and knocked outside, setting up a heck of a suicide dive. Back in and Finlay takes out the knee to send us to a break.

We come back with Page hitting a fall away slam and a delayed nip up (thanks to the bad knee). Page knocks him down again and takes off the knee pad, only to have Finlay counter the Deadeye. A backbreaker gives Finlay two but Page is right back with a lariat. The Buckshot lariat finishes for Page at 10:22.

Rating: B-. That’s the kind of win you need to give Page to let him bounce back a bit. He didn’t have a good night at Double Or Nothing but he had to work to get a win here. That is enough to show that he still has it and that is what you need to do in this spot. Finlay continues to grow on me and with some more seasoning, he could be quite the something.

Post match Page says he isn’t likely to be in the World Title scene for the time being, because he wasn’t in the battle royal and isn’t getting a title shot. However, there is another World Title, so he wants Kazuchika Okada. That’s enough to get Adam Cole off commentary to say that not only could Okada lose the title to Jay White, but Cole won the Owen Hart Tournament while Page lost. That’s why Cole should be getting the shot, and that isn’t cowboy s***. That’s a promise, boom.

Thunder Rosa issued an open challenge earlier today and Marina Shafir showed up to accept.

Here is Wardlow for a chat and he welcomes us to Wardlow’s World. He specifically asked to be left out of the battle royal tonight, because he only wants to beat CM Punk. When Punk comes back, Wardlow will be waiting for him. For now though, there is another title he wants, and that is the TNT Title. Cue Scorpio Sky, but Dan Lambert and Ethan Page run out to say don’t do that, citing Sky’s bad leg. Wardlow says he’s good with waiting for Sky to be 110% ready. Mark Sterling pops up on screen to say Wardlow can either pay up or face twenty security guards at once next week.

The Young Bucks want their Tag Team Title shot but the Hardys interrupt to remind them what happened at Double Or Nothing. Then Jurassic Express came in, with Christian Cage saying earn a title shot. That’s why next week: we need to have a triple threat……LADDER MATCH.

Women’s Title: Thunder Rosa vs. Marina Shafir

Rosa is defending and starts by working on the arm. With that not getting her very far, Shafir fights up and chops away, only to get clotheslined down. Some knees to the chest rock Shafir but she manages to suplex Rosa down as we take a break. Back with Wardlow hitting some running boots to the back, only to have Shafir grab a pumphandle suplex. A Death Valley Driver gives Rosa two more so Shafir lifts her up, only to get victory rolled to retain the title at 8:10.

Rating: B-. Another good match here and it’s nice to see Rosa getting in another match after missing last week. She needs some more attention and that could very well come in the next few weeks, though I don’t know what she is supposed to do for Forbidden Door. Shafir still isn’t great, but this was a heck of a lot better than the Jade Cargill match.

Post match Shafir jumps Rosa and ties up her leg but Toni Storm runs out for the save. Storm hands Rosa the title and stares a lot.

The Baddies are ready for Red Velvet vs. Kris Statlander on Rampage.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows.

Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly

The winner moves on to the Interim Title match at Forbidden Door and William Regal is on commentary. Feeling out process to start until Moxley takes him to the mat for some arm cranking. You don’t go limb grappling with O’Reilly though who pulls himself out, but Moxley stomps him down again. Some more kicks in the corner don’t do much for O’Reilly so he takes the leg out for a breather. O’Reilly ties the leg up in the ropes and hits a top rope knee as we take a break.

Back with Moxley winning a strike off and grabbing a crossface chickenwing. O’Reilly isn’t about to be out done and bites the rope for the break, only to have the rope kicked for a scary shot. Moxley stomps him down but O’Reilly manages a running kick to the chest for a double knockdown.

Back up and Moxley tries a Gotch style piledriver but gets countered into a triangle choke. That’s switched into a kneebar but Moxley elbows his way to freedom. Now the piledriver can plant O’Reilly for two and they’re both needing a breather. They strike it out and trade no sold suplexes until Moxley grabs a bulldog choke. Moxley lets it go and hits a running knee, setting up the Paradigm Shift for the pin at 14:10.

Rating: B+. Oh like this wasn’t going to be good. They beat the fire out of each other until Moxley was the last man standing. This was a fun fight and even though Moxley was all but guaranteed the win, it was a great effort from O’Reilly, who seems to have found his niche here. Maybe now elevate him a bit though? Just to see how it works out.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling was good (as usual), but there were things going on here that have me shaking my head a bit. While the All Atlantic tournament isn’t worth getting annoyed over, they really don’t need another title around here. Throw in the battle royal to earn a spot in the glorified semifinals for an Interim World Title (which might as well be the #1 contendership in its own right) and there were a lot of things here that had me sighing more than cheering. Also, no major mention of MJF all show, which is definitely interesting

Results
Kyle O’Reilly won a Casino Battle Royal last eliminating Wheeler Yuta
Pac b. Buddy Matthews – Black Arrow
Hangman Page b. David Finlay – Buckshot lariat
Thunder Rosa b. Marina Shafir – Victory roll
Jon Moxley b. Kyle O’Reilly – Paradigm Shift

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Rampage
Date: June 3, 2022
Location: Toyota Arena, Ontario, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Chris Jericho

We’re done with Double Or Nothing and a pretty solid Dynamite so things are looking up. The main event tonight is for the TNT Title as Scorpio Sky defends against Dante Martin, but there is also an announcement from CM Punk about the future of the World Title. That sounds a bit ominous so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Young Bucks vs. Lucha Bros

Adam Cole is on commentary. Penta and Matt trade hand gestures to start so Matt has to escape the Fear Factor. Matt also has to escape getting his arm broken so it’s a standoff into double tags to Fenix and Nick. An exchange of flips let us have a handshake but Matt gets in a cheap shot from behind. A Cannonball/running kick to the head combination in the corner have Fenix in more trouble, with Nick following up with the running flip dive.

Penta hits the big dive onto both Bucks though and Fenix adds one of his own. Back in and Matt Sharpshooters Fenix in the ropes so Penta adds a choke on Matt right next to them. With that broken up it’s more flips on the floor until Fenix cutters Matt. The Bucks take Fenix down though and we take a break.

Back with Matt hitting the rolling northern lights suplexes on the Bros, setting up Nick’s hanging Swanton on Fenix. Penta breaks that up and it’s a top rope double stomp/hanging DDT combination for two on Matt. The frog splash (with Eddie Dance) gives Fenix two more but a doomsday superplex is broken up.

Matt drops a top rope elbow for two on Fenix, who is right back up with a kick to the head. A middle rope splash off of Penta’s shoulders hits Nick and Penta Canadian Destroyers Matt, say it with me, for two. Nick is right back up with a poisonrana and the Meltzer Driver gets two with Penta making a save. The Bucks go back to the well by taking off Penta’s mask, setting up the BTE Trigger to finish Fenix at 14:48.

Rating: B+. That was a heck of a longer form sprint with both teams going nuts with their stuff. It’s something that we’ve seen a bunch of times before but it’s still a lot of fun. There are going to be issues with not selling and there are going to be issues with doing the mask finish, but they’re going for the video game style match here and if you accept that, you’ll likely be less annoyed by the issues that come with it.

Team Taz vs. ???/???

Team Taz jumps them before the bell and Powerhouse Hobbs hits a spinebuster for the pin at 46 seconds. About half of the match was in split screen on a Team Taz promo.

Kiera Hogan vs. Athena

The rest of the Baddies and Jade Cargill are here too. Athena starts fast and knocks her to the floor, setting up a head fake and a diving elbow to drop Hogan again. Red Velvet gets in a cheap shot though and Hogan drops a leg for two. We take a break and come back with Athena firing off some kicks but not being able to hit the Eclipse. Velvet offers a distraction from the floor but Athena knocks Hogan away. After knocking Hogan down again, the Fall From Grace (Eclipse) finishes for Athena at 8:18.

Rating: C. Athena is pretty clearly the next name in the women’s division, though odds are she is going to put over Jade Cargill. What matters is that she has some name value and the finisher is still one of the coolest looking around. That’s the kind of thing that can be sold as the way to take Cargill out and that’s more than AEW has had for most of her matches.

The House Of Black is happy to have Julia Hart aboard.

Here is CM Punk for a chat and he looks sad. The fans cheer for him before he says anything and you can see the tears in his eyes. When he got here today, every bone in his body, even the broken ones, said that he should go home and hug his wife and Larry. Once he got here, he said that he was going to give it everything he had until the wheels fell off, and now he has good news and bad news.

The last thing he ever wanted to do was leave you disappointed and he feels like he is letting us down. Every time he has been in this ring, he feels like he is receiving a gift he would never experience again. The bad news is that he is injured and needs surgery. There are some things broken, with the biggest being his heart.

The good news is that he is going to go until the wheels fall off, even if one wheel is broken. He has been better and he has been worse but he wants to wrestle for us. Tony Khan told him that he could keep going and this title isn’t going anywhere. Punk is coming back bigger, stronger and faster than ever before and prove why he is the best in the world. I’m really not sure if the title is vacated or not, but it doesn’t seem to be.

Scorpio Sky and Dante Martin are ready for the main event.

TNT Title: Scorpio Sky vs. Dante Martin

Sky is defending, the Men of the Year and Matt Sydal are here and it’s a feeling out process to start. Martin flips around a bit before taking Sky down into an armbar as we take an early break. Back with Martin hitting a huge dive to the floor as we clarify the World Title situation for good:

There will be a battle royal on Dynamite with the winner facing Jon Moxley (#1 contender) later in the night, with the winner of THAT going on to Forbidden Door to fight for the INTERIM AEW World Title because Punk DID NOT vacate the title. Anyway, Martin has to fight off the Men of the Year and Sydal cuts off Ethan Page. Martin hits a TKO for two and a Cave In for the same, only to have Sky grab a TKO to retain at 8:08.

Rating: C+. This was a fun match that was completely overshadowed by commentary explaining the World Title situation. That’s a case of bad timing (and communication) though, as the TNT Title is important, but it’s not as important as the World Title. The match itself was good, with Martin doing his flips before being reeled in by the more well rounded Sky. As commentary said, Martin’s time is coming, but Sky’s time is now.

Overall Rating: B. This is going to be one of the weirder shows in Rampage’s history as they were rolling along and then had this huge story change everything, only to then spend the rest of the show explaining what they were doing. The roll out of the concept was pretty horribly bungled and the explanation took away from the good main event. There was a lot of good/entertaining action on the show, but the whole thing ran into a big ditch that was the Punk situation. Understandable of course, but it turned the show on its head.

Results
Young Bucks b. Lucha Bros – Meltzer Driver to Fenix
Team Taz b. ???/??? – Spinebuster to ???
Athena b. Kiera Hogan – Fall From Grace
Scorpio Sky b. Dante Martin – TKO

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Dynamite
Date: June 1, 2022
Location: Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re done with Double Or Nothing and for once that means that we are going to be building towards another show. This time it’s Forbidden Door, which is going to includes a bunch of special matches between AEW and New Japan. Odds are that includes new World Champion CM Punk so let’s get to it.

Here is Double Or Nothing if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

CM Punk/FTR vs. Gunn Club/Max Caster

Caster’s rap promises to make FTR pay like Amber Heard and that FTR is only here because of Punk’s coattails. Then the Club gets the city wrong twice before Bowens gets to do it right. Harwood takes Austin into the corner to start and hands it off to Wheeler. Austin powers him into another corner so Colton can come in, only to get backdropped. Punk comes in and drops a top rope ax handle onto the arm, much to the fans’ delight.

Caster manages to send him into the corner but Harwood is right back with a powerslam. A double elbow gives Austin two on Harwood though and Billy Gunn adds a right hand for the same. Harwood fights over for the tag but Punk and Wheeler get pulled off the apron in a good heel move.

The double flapjack gets two on Harwood and we take a break. Back with Austin trying a Sharpshooter (giving us a hilarious closeup of Punk’s eyes bugging out) but Harwood fights out and brings in Punk to clean house (after slipping on the springboard clothesline). Wheeler gets dropped over the top onto Caster and Colten, leaving Punk to top a top rope elbow on Austin. Billy’s distraction doesn’t work as Punk powerbombs Austin into him. The GTS into the Big Rig finishes Austin at 11:45.

Rating: B-. I don’t remember Punk and FTR teaming together before but I’m not at all surprised that they work well together. They seem to have a similar philosophy about wrestling and that is going to make for some good matches. At the same time, very nice work from the Gunn Club and Caster, who were put in a pretty high level spot and held their own throughout.

Post match Punk says he doesn’t do drugs but this must be what it feels like. After all of those miles, he still has a lot to learn. He has made mistakes but those are learning moments. Now all you can do is call him the champ. Dax Harwood talks about what all of this means to him, because being Ring Of Honor Tag Team Champion is very important. You don’t come out here and attack his best friend, even if you’re from another company. Punk talks about New Japan Pro Wrestling and wants to know who he has at Forbidden Door. Cue Hiroshi Tanahashi and I think we have a main event.

Here is MJF for a chat. Actually make that Max Friedman, who says there are some executives here and the boss wouldn’t want anything bad to happen. The boss has been wanting to sit down with MJF for a long time now but it’s too little too late. When this company started, it was all friends wrestling but he is out there expected to hit grand slam after grand slam. He has to be perfect though, because he is the 26 year old prodigy.

MJF hears clapping and booing, which he finds interesting because they were the same people calling him unprofessional over the weekend. There are people in the back who want his spot and they can have it because he doesn’t want to be here anymore. The fans are the problem because they are a bunch of internet marks.

MJF isn’t going to pretend to watch New Japan or chase star ratings and drop people on their head. He is that great because he makes you feel but people take him for granted. It isn’t just them, but the big man in the back too. Do you know who the second biggest minute for minute draw is?

It’s him, and you can ask Stat Boy Tony about it. Just don’t ask Tony to reach into his pockets to pay him, because he needs to give all his money to every ex-WWE guy he can find. MJF: “Hey boss? Would you treat me better if I was an ex-WWE guy?” The only position Khan should have is behind the guardrail so MJF wants Khan to fire him. After yelling at a director to not count him down, MJF swears a lot and throws the mic down. So there’s your worked shoot, and only MJF could have pulled it off this well.

Johnny Elite vs. ???

It’s an open challenge as answered by….Miro, who says he is healed and ready to destroy everyone on earth and in Heaven. Miro stomps him down into the corner and the beating is on, including a Saito suplex. We take a break and come back with Miro hitting a release Rock Bottom but Elite manages a kick to the head. The standing shooting star press gives Johnny two but Miro is back up with a jumping kick to the face. Game Over finishes Elite at 6:04. Not enough shown due to the break, but this was just a step above a squash.

Video on Anarchy In The Arena.

Here is the Jericho Appreciation Society for a chat. The team brags about everything they did and Chris Jericho lists off the things that happened to him. This includes Eddie Kingston trying to LIGHT HIM ON FIRE and Bryan Danielson wanted to kick his expletive head in. Cue Eddie Kingston to say he wants to fight all of them, but he has William Regal here to say how the match should go. Regal: “BLOOD AND GUTS!” Not quite the same ring to it.

Kingston comes to the ring but gets beaten down, allowing Ortiz to come in from behind and hit Jericho with the Madball. Ortiz cranks it up even more by CUTTING JERICHO’S HAIR, sending Jericho into a rant. Jericho agrees to Blood and Guts, but first Jericho wants a match with Ortiz, hair vs. hair. Ortiz is in, meaning we now have a hair vs. hair match to set up Blood and Guts, which is a rematch from Anarchy in the Arena, which is the spiritual successor to Stadium Stampede.

In the back, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh jump Samoa Joe and injure his arm. This is different than when Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh jumped Samoa Joe and injured his arm in the ring.

Matt Hardy/Darby Allin/Jurassic Express/Christian Cage vs. Young Bucks/ReDRagon/Hikuleo

Adam Cole is on commentary and Jeff Hardy is here too. Fish gets beaten down to start as everyone gets to take a few shots at him. This includes Matt’s middle rope elbow to the head but Fish kicks Matt away. Everything breaks down and the dives are aplenty, but the Bucks superkick Christian and we take a break.

Back with Luchasaurus getting the hot tag and cleaning house, including the standing moonsault for two. Hikuleo comes in for the exchange of throat grabs with Luchasaurus. A double clothesline puts both of them down and it’s a double tag to O’Reilly and Allin. Everything breaks down again and Allin’s dive is pulled out of the air by Hikuleo, setting up Chasing the Dragon on the floor. Matt cleans house and sends people into the buckle ten times each, leaving Christian to spear Hikuleo off the apron. The Bucks clean house with superkicks and the Meltzer Driver finishes Jungle Boy at 11:50.

Rating: C. Another wild ten man tag here, which is similar enough to something we get on almost any AEW show. The ending would suggest that the Bucks are getting back into the title picture, which might not be a thrilling prospect, but it would be nice to get the titles on one of the biggest teams in AEW. The Express is good, but they’re overshadowed by a lot of other teams around here.

Swerve Strickland introduces some people, who have something to do with music and Black Panther. A fashion icon gives him a jacket and Keith Lee wants titles.

Here is Athena for a chat. She wants to break Jade Cargill’s winning streak so here are Cargill and Stokely Hathaway. The staredown and shouting is on, with the Baddies, Anna Jay and Chris Statlander coming out to join in.

JD Drake vs. Wardlow

Wardlow, now with music, hits some shoulders and a two movement Powerbomb Symphony for the pin at 1:04.

Post match Tony Schiavone comes to the ring to talk to Wardlow….but here is Mark Sterling, who sends a lone security guard to the ring (Wardlow: “This guy doesn’t watch the product.”). It’s a lawsuit over Wardlow attacking various security guards and Sterling will see him in court. Wardlow powerbombs the guard and stuffs the papers in his mouth. At least that’s a bit more original.

The Men of the Year are ready to take out Dante Martin on Rampage. Martin comes in to say he’s better than Scorpio Sky and he’ll prove it on Rampage.

Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter vs. Ruby Soho/Toni Storm

Storm has to be held back from Baker to start so Baker heads outside to kiss her Owen Hart belt. Back in and Baker gets beaten down, allowing the tag off to Soho. That doesn’t go well for Soho, who is taken outside as we take a break. Back with Soho managing a Saito suplex on Baker, allowing the hot tag to Storm.

Everything breaks down but it’s Hayter hitting a hanging DDT to drop Storm on the floor. Soho hits a high crossbody to take Hayter down on the floor but Hayter hits an Irish Curse to drop Soho back inside. No Future connects for Soho but Baker tries to pull her into Lockjaw. That’s broken up but Hayter reverses the reversal, meaning Soho has to fight out of it again. A fisherman’s neckbreaker drops Soho but she is back with a knee to the face. Destination Unknown gives Soho the pin on Baker at 9:37.

Rating: C+. Soho gets a bit of her momentum back by beating Baker but it isn’t going to matter until she does it in a big one on one match. I still like Soho, but she has fallen pretty far since her debut. We could be heading for a showdown between the two of them, even though we just did that three days ago. Storm continues to just kind of be there, and I don’t know where she is supposed to go.

Post match Hayter hits Soho with the belt so Baker can stand tall.

Jon Moxley vs. Daniel Garcia

William Regal and Chris Jericho are on commentary. Moxley knocks him into the corner to start but Garcia is back with some chops. Those just annoy Moxley, who takes him down for some kicks to the back. Moxley was busted open somewhere in there and Garcia sends him outside to block the Paradigm Shift. A whip into the steps lets Garcia crush the ankle against the post and we take a break.

Back with Moxley hitting a toss suplex onto the steps for a SCARY landing, as Garcia landed back first on the edge of the steps. Thankfully he can get back in so Moxley can hit a butterfly superplex. The hammer and anvil elbows are countered into the same thing from Garcia, who hits a heck of a piledriver for two. Garcia’s Sharpshooter is countered into a bulldog choke but they head outside, with Moxley dropping him onto the table. Cue Chris Jericho to run to the ring but Eddie Kingston (who stumbles down there) pulls him down. The bulldog choke finishes Garcia at 11:28.

Rating: B+. Scary landing on the steps aside, this turned into a heck of a match after the break as they turned up the energy by about a thousand. Moxley looked like he was in trouble more than once but was able to hang on and win. Awesome stuff here as there were a few minutes that had me completely hooked.

Post match Moxley says Blood and Guts is on.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a heck of a show as they had things happening throughout. The biggest part is the energy that it had throughout, which isn’t something that has been around as much lately. AEW needed a Dynamite like this one and this certainly delivered with one of their best in awhile. Check out the second half of the main event, plus the MJF promo that is going to have people talking for a bit.

Results
CM Punk/FTR b. Max Caster/Gunn Club – Big Rig to Austin
Miro b. Johnny Elite – Game Over
Young Bucks/ReDRagon/Hikuleo b. Matt Hardy/Jurassic Express/Darby Allin/Christian Cage – Meltzer Driver to Jungle Boy
Wardlow b. JD Drake – Powerbomb Symphony
Ruby Soho/Toni Storm b. Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter – Destination Unknown to Baker
Jon Moxley b. Daniel Garcia – Bulldog choke

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

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Double Or Nothing 2022
Date: May 29, 2022
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

AEW is back on pay per view and that should mean good things. The main event will feature CM Punk challenging Hangman Page for the World Title, but the question is around MJF. While he is scheduled to face Wardlow in a match a long time in the making, he has had some issues with AEW and there is a chance he won’t show up. That wouldn’t exactly be great to see so let’s get to it.

Buy In Show: Tony Nese/Mark Sterling vs. Hookhausen

Hook and Nese start things off with Hook taking him down without much trouble. Danhausen comes in and is allowed to grab a headlock before Nese runs him over. The curse is loaded up but Danhausen goes with the middle rope hurricanrana instead. Nese drops Danhausen again and it’s Sterling coming in to stomp away in the corner. Sterling misses a legdrop though and Danhausen suplexes his way to freedom, allowing the tag off to Hook. Suplexes abound and Danhausen gets to come in for the posing pin on Sterling at 5:22.

Rating: C. This is all you needed it to be and I had fun with the thing. Let Danhausen come in and pick up the scraps left by Hook, who gets to dominate over a manager and someone who is somehow in the top five. They didn’t bother trying to do anything out of the ordinary and the fans got to cheer for Danhausen’s wacky antics. It was exactly what you expected and that’s what it should have been.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Wardlow

If Wardlow wins, he is free of MJF but if he loses, he is pretty much done. MJF is indeed here so hopefully things are ok, at least for tonight. Wardlow is led out of a cell in the back where rowdy fans are kept to give this a Goldberg style vibe. The handcuffs (two pairs) are taken off so MJF bails to the floor before the bell. The bell rings and we get a HE SHOWED UP chant.

Wardlow wastes no time in trying the powerbomb so MJF bails to the floor again. Back in and MJF has to bite his way out of a powerbomb attempt before a cradle gets two. Hold on though as MJF is holding his leg and even the commentators are calling him out for making it up. The delay lets MJF load up the ring but the referee catches it this time, leaving MJF to beg off into the corner.

MJF: “I’LL DOUBLE YOUR PAY!” He ups it to quadruple and Wardlow shakes his hand….but doesn’t let go. MJF knows he’s done and the powerbomb connects. That’s part one of a ten movement Powerbomb Symphony, including at least one to each side of the ring and a tease of a cover in the middle, which finishes MJF at 7:25. Of note, during the Symphony was Excalibur: “I think I’ve figured out MJF’s strategy: he’s trying to take it to a time limit draw.”

Rating: B. This is a case where the match wasn’t the point but rather the complete and total destruction of MJF and it worked very well. Wardlow was never in trouble and absolutely demolished MJF, who couldn’t even get the chance to cheat. The fans had been wanting to see this and they got what they wanted, so well done on giving them that catharsis.

Post match MJF gets stretchered out and Wardlow is officially All Elite.

We recap the Hardys vs. the Young Bucks, which is presented as a dream match. The Bucks have gone after the Hardys, who have been accused of being Hardy cosplayers. The best you can hope for here is that the Hardys make it through the match without some kind of terrible injury.

Hardys vs. Young Bucks

Caprice Coleman is on commentary. The Matts start things off but Matt Jackson hands it off to Nick, who gets shouldered down by Jeff. That lets Nick get taken into the corner so Matt Hardy can come back in, meaning Nick bails to the floor. Matt Jackson comes back in and gets caught in a Razor’s Edge out of the corner but Nick breaks it up with a superkick. It’s Jeff coming back in and getting beaten down, with Nick getting to pose a lot.

Jeff finally gets over for the hot tag to Matt Hardy, who sends Nick into the buckle over and over. Brandon Cutler gets knocked off the apron and the hot tag brings in Matt as everything breaks down. They all wind up on the floor, where superkicks and dives drop the Hardys. Back in and Nick pounds on Matt Hardy before a running knee sets up Risky Business for two.

Nick accidentally kicks his brother and then does it to Cutler as well, allowing Jeff to hit a running clothesline off the apron. A Side Effect on the apron drops Matt Jackson and they’re all down on the floor again. Back in and Poetry In Motion hits Matt Jackson but he breaks up the Twist of Fate/Swanton combination. Jeff has to jawbreak his way to freedom on top, even if it means crotching himself.

The Swanton misses though and the Bucks hit their own Twist of Fate into a Swanton for two. A bunch of superkicks drop the Hardys but they’re back up and demanding more kicks. The Bucks oblige for a double two so it’s time to load up the steps. That takes long enough that Matt Hardy can Razor’s Edge bomb Nick, leaving Matt Jackson to be loaded up on the steps, which have been turned on their side. The Swanton connects to Matt Jackson and it’s a Twist of Fate for two on Nick back inside. Another Twist of Fate plants Nick and the Swanton finishes for Jeff at 19:16.

Rating: B-. The Hardys winning here is certainly a choice, as that would suggest the feud is continuing because of reasons. They didn’t have a disaster or even a bad match, but I don’t think this quite lived up to a dream match level. What matters most is that the Hardys didn’t get seriously injured, which might as well be a win for them these days.

Post match, Jeff teases going through the crowd but then comes back to the ring.

The Acclaimed and the Gunn Club promise to tear Las Vegas up. The next day, Billy Gunn finds them all out cold, calls his sons disappointments, and tucks in the Acclaimed.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill vs. Anna Jay

Jay is challenging and comes up through an elevator in the stage, while Cargill has a bunch of showgirls with her. An early Queenslayer attempt doesn’t work for Jay and Cargill throws her down without much effort. A snap suplex and a clothesline lets Cargill go up top but Jay superplexes her back down. Back up and a running forearm staggers Cargill and a running Blockbuster sends her outside. Cargill is sent back inside but Jay has to take out the Baddies with a double DDT. Back in and Cargill kicks her in the face but Jaded is reversed into a cradle for two.

Cue Smart Mark Sterling to throw in the crutch, which Jay grabs for a Russian legsweep and a near fall. Cue John Silver to brainbuster Sterling on the floor, leaving Cargill to hit the Eye of the Storm for two. Jaded is countered into the Queenslayer but Cargill gets up and sends her into the corner. They both go up and here is Stokely Hathaway (fifth person to come out during the match) for a distraction so a super Jaded can finish Jay at 7:23.

Rating: B-. This was a good bit better than I was expecting as Cargill’s matches continue to be structured to fit her strengths rather well. I didn’t buy Jay having a chance whatsoever, but that is the case with just about every Cargill challenger. Hathaway would be an upgrade over Sterling if that is where they are going, and he certainly has the skills to make Cargill feel that much more important. Good stuff here, even if it could have been done on Dynamite.

Post match the beatdown is loaded up but Kris Statlander comes in to go after Red Velvet. The staredown is on but Athena comes in for the debut and the big six way staredown. The Baddies bail and the fans seem rather happy to see Athena.

Forbidden Door is coming on June 26.

House Of Black vs. Death Triangle

Death Triangle has a young boy, who I’m assuming is one of their sons, with them during the entrance. Fenix flips out of Black’s suplex to start but they both miss spinning kicks to the head, meaning it’s time for the cross legged sitdown staredown. Matthews comes in and gets superkicked by Penta so it’s off to the floor, only to have Penta waiting on him with an evil glare.

King comes in and kicks down Fenix’s springboard, setting up the six way staredown. The brawl is on with everyone getting to knock someone else down until Pac poisonranas Matthews to leave everyone down. King is back up with a Boss Man Slam to Pac and Matthews adds a slingshot hilo for two. Matthews misses a charge in the corner though and the hot tag brings in Fenix to clean house. Stereo superkicks clear the ring and there are the double dives from the Bros.

Back in and Fenix hits a step up kick to the head on King but Matthews suplexes him on the floor. That sets up the series of dives until King hits a dive, albeit with a crash onto the apron on the way down. Fenix gets triple teamed inside, including Dante’s Inferno for two, with Pac driving Black into the cover for the save. Triple brainbusters are broken up and Death Triangle gets to kick them in the face in the corner.

A springboard Canadian Destroyer plants Matthews on the floor and a top rope double stomp/hanging DDT combination drops King next to him. That leaves Black to get kicked in the face a lot but he kicks his way out of trouble. Pac kicks Black down and throws Matthews onto King on the floor. An Alex Abrahantes distraction lets Pac kick Black low….and the lights go out again (JR is NOT happy). Cue Julia Hart to mist Pac, allowing Black to kick Pac in the head for the pin at 15:19.

Rating: A-. This was pure insanity for the most part, which also includes a rather nutty ending as Hart wasn’t evil a few weeks ago but she is now. Anyway, the match was the hard hitting, fast paced match that everyone had been hoping. I’m not sure it was worth all of the delays, but House of Black FINALLY getting a big win is good to see. Now just move on from this feud for all time.

We recap Samoa Joe vs. Adam Cole in the Owen Hart Foundation finals, which is more about Owen than either of them.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Final: Samoa Joe vs. Adam Cole

Non-title. Joe powers him into the corner to start but Cole slips out and wants a test of strength. That goes to Joe as well, who sends him into the corner for the jumping enziguri. An elbow sends Cole to the floor, where he manages to post Joe’s bad shoulder to take over. Back in and Cole chokes on the ropes before wrapping the arm around said rope. The Panama Sunrise is blocked though and Joe hits the Rock Bottom out of the corner.

Joe’s powerbomb is countered into a jumping enziguri and Cole grabs a Crossface. Joe cranks on both arms but Cole is in the ropes as well. Cue Bobby Fish to snap Joe’s arm across the top but the Boom misses. Joe grabs the Koquina Clutch, which has to be let go so Joe can take out Fish. Cole kicks him down and fires off more kicks, setting up the Boom for the pin at 13:15.

Rating: B-. Another good match here, though having even more interference had me rolling my eyes. Cole winning isn’t exactly a surprise and it is good to have him win something around here. It’s a fine enough way to go, even if it doesn’t have any kind of a connection to Owen whatsoever.

Forbidden Door is still coming on June 26. Nothing has changed in the last 40 minutes.

We recap the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, which is a rematch from Grand Slam, where Britt Baker beat Ruby Soho.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Finals: Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho

Baker gets played to the ring by Fozzy’s guitarist while Rancid plays Soho to the ring. We’ll call that advantage Soho. Baker takes her down by the arm to start but Soho is back up with a wristlock of her own. Some kicks don’t do much to Soho, who knees Baker out to the floor. Soho’s shotgun dropkick off the apron has Baker rocked but Soho is holding her ribs. Baker is smart enough to pull the ribs into the post before stretching her out back inside.

Some elbows to the ribs give Baker two but she takes too long going up top. A superplex brings her back down as JR talks about Soho owning a farm in Indiana. They forearm it out until it’s another double knockdown. No Future is blocked but Baker misses the Stomp. Soho is back up with a Saito suplex and a top rope backsplash gets two.

Baker is back with the Stomp and the Lockjaw is loaded up but Soho powers away. No Future connects and the Sharpshooter (with Soho dropping to a knee) goes on, with Baker finally making the rope for the save. With that Owen finisher not working, Soho loads up a victory roll, only to have Baker reverse into a cradle for the pin at 14:15.

Rating: C+. So Baker gets to win, meaning it’s a power couple winning both of them. The match itself was fine, as expected, though that Sharpshooter left a lot to be desired. I could have gone with Soho winning here but it would have been a bit weird to have Cole and Soho at the trophy presentation. Baker very well may be on her way to a face turn and that could be a good thing for her, as we have kind of covered everything she can do otherwise.

Respect is shown post match.

Post match Tony Schiavone has the trophy presentation (with Adam Cole coming out to glare at Tony for hugging Britt). Martha Hart gets an entrance, accompanied by Tony Khan, and gets to give a speech about how important this whole thing is. She thanks everyone from Khan to Chris Jericho to Dark Side of the Ring and her legal team. Cole and Baker are congratulated, with Martha even making fun of her own fairly ridiculous looking hat to wrap it up. Both are presented with a special belt and it’s a rather nice moment.

Sammy Guevara/Frankie Kazarian/Tay Conti vs. Men Of The Year/Paige VanZant

If the Men Of The Year/VanZant win, Guevara and Kazarian can never challenge for the TNT Title again. Kazarian and Sky start things off but Guevara tags himself in and gets to face Ethan. The slugout goes to Page so it’s back to Kazarian vs. Sky, with Kazarian taking him into the corner. Guevara comes back in and Conti gets in a rake to Sky’s back from the apron. VanZant is drawn in so Sammy and Conti can hit a double suplex. Kazarian grabs a front facelock on Sky, who fights out and hits a Downward Spiral.

Conti runs in to deck VanZant and then dives onto Sammy for some spinning around. That has Kazarian yelling at them before grabbing the chickenwing but Sammy tags himself in. Tony: “What kind of dumba** strategy is that?” The double tag brings in the women, with JR saying VanZant is going to be green. VanZant grabs a suplex on Conti and a handspring elbow hits Conti in the face.

A TKO is broken up by Sammy, who stops to kiss Conti and gets caught with a tornado DDT. Conti uses the distraction to strike away at VanZant and some pump kicks to the face get two. A spinning belly to back faceplant (JR: “What the h*** was that?”) plants VanZant but we pause for more kissing. The staredown is on but Kazarian is having none of this and walks out….before coming back in with a slingshot DDT to Sky. Kazarian clears the ring but Conti yells at him, only to have Sammy accidentally knock her down. Sky TKO’s Kazarian for the pin at 12:01.

Rating: C+. This was fun with Conti and Guevara totally embracing the hate, but what matters most is that this should mean the end of the feud. It has gone on far longer than it needed to and this really needs to be the blowoff. VanZant was fine enough in her pay per view debut but she clearly has a long way to go to feel natural in the ring. Good enough, but the show is running very long and this is something that could have been moved to another show.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Darby Allin

Allin goes straight for the legs and gets kneed in the face to cut him off. O’Reilly starts working on the arm and cranking away as Allin’s face is busted open from that knee. Back up and Allin gets in a few shots of his own to knock O’Reilly outside, setting up a suicide dive which nearly goes horribly wrong. Thankfully Allin is back up so he tries it again, only to get pulled into a guillotine choke.

Back in and the Last Supper gives Allin two and a small package is good for the same. A brainbuster plants Allin but he is able to fight off a cross armbreaker attempt. The ankle lock goes on but Allin ties up the legs and reverses into a Scorpion (again, not a great one). O’Reilly makes the rope so Allin goes up and hits a Coffin Drop onto O’Reilly in the ropes before crashing out to the floor.

Back in and O’Reilly goes for the arm again but gets stacked up for two more. They strike it out with O’Reilly getting the better of things and wrapping Allin’s chain around his mouth. Excalibur: “The unbreakable chain!” Then it breaks immediately. Some penalty kicks set up the top rope knee to finish Allin at 10:33.

Rating: B. Hard hitting fight here and that is a heck of a big win for O’Reilly as beating Allin clean on pay per view is an impressive feat. It doesn’t say much for Allin to lose in his match for his mentor’s honor, but I can go for O’Reilly getting this kind of a push. Good stuff here, though I hope it gets any kind of memory on a show with so much else.

We recap Thunder Rosa vs. Serena Deeb for the Women’s Title. Both want to be the best so they’re having a title match.

Women’s Title: Serena Deeb vs. Thunder Rosa

Rosa is defending. They fight over a lockup to start and go to the mat with neither being able to get anywhere. Back up and Deeb starts going for the limbs but that isn’t going to work for Rosa. They go back to the mat with Rosa grabbing the pendulum to rock Deeb around a bit. A backslide gives Rosa two but Deeb blocks a second one, allowing Rosa to hit an uppercut.

Rosa knocks her to the floor but misses a baseball slide, allowing Deeb to snap her across the top rope. A neckbreaker over the ropes puts Rosa back on the floor until Deeb takes it back inside. Deeb ties her up in the corner and cranks away, setting up an abdominal stretch to stay on the ribs. Rosa fights out and hits a running corner clothesline, followed by knees in the corner. A northern lights suplex gets two but Deeb catches her in the corner and hits Diamond Dust for two.

Deebtox is broken up though and Rosa slams Deeb’s knee into the mat for a change. Deeb gets in a shot to knock her away but Rosa is back with the Death Valley Driver for two. A chop block cuts Rosa down and we hit the Figure Four, with the two of them slapping each other in the face at the same time. They roll out to the floor but it’s Deeb grabbing a dragon screw legwhip in the ropes back inside.

Deebtox gets two and the Serenity Lock goes on, though Deeb lets it go to hit a powerbomb. The Texas Cloverleaf goes on but Rosa makes the rope, setting up a kick to the head. Deep knocks her down again and goes up, only to get superplexed down. Rosa isn’t done and rolls her up into the Fire Thunder Driver to retain at 16:43.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a fight with the technical master vs. the fighter, but they were in a near death spot this late in a show with a long match. I could go with another look at this in a vacuum as Rosa was bringing it and Deeb was her usual awesome self. It’s a good example of a match where they overcame a really bad build and had a heck of a match. Just in the wrong spot.

We recap Anarchy in the Arena, which is Sports Entertainers vs. Wrestlers.

Justin Roberts: “Ladies and gentlemen…..s***’s about to hit the fan.”

Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Blackpool Combat Club/Santana/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston

Anything goes and the Society is all in white, making them look like a painting crew. It’s a brawl to start with Wild Thing still playing, which seems like it is going to go throughout the match. Everyone brawls around the arena and we keep cutting from fight to fight, including Moxley stabbing someone in the head with a fork. Kingston is already busted open as Jericho and Moxley get on some kind of a cart.

Minard’s face is COVERED in blood as Jericho gets in a shot to Moxley with….something. We actually go to the ring where Santana and Ortiz suplex Hager. Jericho goes over to the sound board and hits Moxley to FINALLY kill the song. Some people fight to the back as Santana and Ortiz Street Sweep Hager through two tables at ringside. Moxley hits Jericho with a boom camera as Minard and Kingston fight over mustard at the concession stand. Garcia piledrives Ortiz on the steps and I think Minard takes Kingston down with a t-shirt stand.

Parker hits Danielson with a ring bell and Jericho suplexes Moxley onto a row of chairs. Back up and Moxley chucks a cooler at Jericho’s head as Tony dubs this as better than Stadium Stampede. Garcia chokes Kingston in the concourse and drags him around the floor as Jericho gets the Walls on Moxley on the announcers’ table….which breaks. Back up and Moxley hits a suicide dive to take Jericho down as a turnbuckle is unhooked.

Some unhooked turnbuckle shots slow Jericho down as I think Kingston and Garcia brawl in a freight elevator. Moxley hits a running knee to knock Jericho out of a chair as Santana and Ortiz set up a ladder over on the other side of the arena. They hit big splashes to drive Minard and Parker through tables as Jericho fire extinguishers Moxley. Jericho and Moxley pull themselves back into the ring, where Hager and Danielson are pulling themselves up. The four of them slug it out with Moxley and Danielson hitting the hammer and anvil elbows.

Stereo holds go on….and here is Kingston with a can of gasoline. Kingston pours gas onto Jericho (which breaks up the LeBell Lock) but Danielson goes after Kingston for general hatred. Moxley is sent onto a barbed wire board at ringside and a turnbuckle shot to the head gives Jericho two on Danielson. A bunch of kicks rock Hager and Jericho, including the YES Kicks to the latter. Danielson promises to kick his f****** head in but Hager makes the save with a baseball bat to the knee. A half crab to Danielson, with Hager choking with a rope (Tony: “HANG IN THERE!”) gives Jericho the win at 22:31.

Rating: B. I have no idea what to say about this and that’s about all you can get out of it. They were all over the place with one crazy spot after another and there was nothing close to a way to keep track of the whole thing. I’m not sure why the Society won, but maybe Jericho used some wizard magic to convince AEW it was a good idea.

We go to Andrade El Idolo, who brings in his new business partner: Rush.

Scorpio Sky/Ethan Page/Dan Lambert are really happy to be done with Sammy Guevara and company. Sky wants a new challenger and here is Dante Martin to issue the challenge. Game on.

Tag Team Titles: Jurassic Express vs. Team Taz vs. Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland

Jurassic Express, with Christian Cage, is defending. It’s a brawl to start and the fight heads to the floor before the Express hits a top rope elbow/side slam combination for two on Starks. We settle down to Hobbs blasting Strickland with a clothesline. Lee comes in and staggers Hobbs with a shoulder, setting up Strickland’s jumping knee. It’s off to Jungle Boy for some suicide dives but Lee pulls the big flip dive out of the air.

Back in and Hobbs hits a suplex slam on Jungle Boy and Starks grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Starks tries to run the corner and walk the ropes but stops to dance, allowing Jungle Boy to crotch him (JR’s disdain at the start followed by happiness in Starks getting hurt is hilarious). Everything breaks down and Starks gets tossed out to the floor for a nasty landing, setting up Strickland’s moonsault (off of Lee’s chest) onto the pile.

Back in and Strickland hits the running kick to the head for two on Hobbs and it’s Luchasaurus coming in to clean house. Hobbs gets kicked into the corner where Lee tags himself in, giving us Luchasaurus vs. Lee. A double chokeslam puts Luchasaurus down, leaving Lee to suplex Hobbs over the top. Lee hits the big no hands flip dive to show off a bit but Luchasaurus is back up with a fireman’s carry slam for two.

Starks is back in to take Jungle Boy down for two but Christian makes the save. The spear gets two more on Jungle Boy and a slingshot Roshambo gets the same. Luchasaurus comes back in but Hobbs cleans house, allowing Starks to grab the FTW Title. Christian breaks that up and it’s the Throwassic Express for the pin at 17:18.

Rating: B. Another good match here with a surprising ending as I would not have bet on the champs retaining here. What matters is that the tag division remains hot, but there is only so much that you can get when your champs are barely in the top five teams in the company. I was hoping for a title change here as Jurassic Express have held the belts for awhile, but it’s not like this is a horrible decision.

We recap Hangman Page vs. CM Punk for the AEW World Title. Punk sees it as a title shot and Page wants to stop Punk from destroying AEW….somehow.

AEW World Title: CM Punk vs. Hangman Page

Page is defending. They start fast with Punk taking him into the corner and giving him a break, albeit with a rake of the eyes. They strike it out with Punk getting the better of things but they go to the mat to exchange some near falls. Back up and Punk starts the string of slams, setting up the high crossbody. Page rolls through though and hits a fall away slam into a nip up. With Punk on the floor, Page hits a slingshot crossbody to take him down again.

Back in and Punk slugs away, only to get elbowed in the face to knock him silly. A running clothesline out of the corner looks to set up the Buckshot but it’s way too early for that, as Punk knocks him to the floor. That’s fine with Page, who gets in a powerbomb onto the apron to drop Punk again. Back in and a top rope clothesline gives Page two and Punk is tossed outside again.

What looks to be the moonsault is broken up and Punk superplexes him back down. They take their time getting back up for the slugout, setting up Punk’s leg lariat. There’s the running knee in the corner into the bulldog into the springboard clothesline and Punk is fired up. Page slips out of the GTS and Punk grabs a neckbreaker for two more. Punk goes up but gets knocked down, setting up the moonsault to the floor. Back in and the Buckshot Lariat is countered into a Sharpshooter, sending Page over to the ropes.

Both guys have to counter their own finisher until Punk is kicked to the apron. Punk kicks him in the head and hits a Buckshot Lariat but the knee gives out on the way. Both guys miss the GTS and Punk’s running knee in the corner is countered into the Last Ride. Page rolls him into the Deadeye for two more before calling for the GTS. Punk kicks him in the head and tries the GTS but Page escapes and hits one of his own.

They slug it out until Page kicks him in the face but they fall out to the floor. Page throws him over the announcers’ table and grabs the belt, which he emphasizes is HIS. Back in and the Buckshot Lariat is loaded up but gets countered into the GTS. Punk swings him around to kick the referee, meaning Page’s escape into the Buckshot Lariat gets no cover. Page looks at the belt and teases the shot but second guesses himself. Another Buckshot Lariat is countered into the GTS to give Punk the pin and the title at 25:58.

Rating: B+. There’s your controversial ending that is going to get people talking. Punk winning is the right call as you can only get so much out of Page as champion when there are so many bigger stars around him. The will he/won’t he was good and while it might lead to a heel turn down the line, it’s the right way to go here. Heck of a match too, which didn’t feel close to the length it went.

Punk celebrates for a good while to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. The action was very good to great, but egads I was done with this show with about an hour left. I’ll spare you the long, drawn out version and say a lot of this could have been left for Dynamite/Rampage and move on to the praise the show deserves. There was some awesome action here and I like a lot of the choices for the winners, though the tournaments still don’t feel important (save for Martha Hart looking so happy out there, which was great). Definitely check this out, but cut it off for a bit in the middle for the sake of a sandwich or something as you’re going to need to refuel.

Results
Wardlow b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Powerbomb Symphony
Hardys b. Young Bucks – Swanton to Nick
Jade Cargill b. Anna Jay – Super Jaded
House Of Black b. Death Triangle – Spinning kick to Fenix
Adam Cole b. Samoa Joe – Boom
Britt Baker b. Ruby Soho – Rollup
Men Of The Year/Paige VanZant b. Sammy Guevara/Frankie Kazarian/Tay Conti – TKO to Guevara
Kyle O’Reilly b. Darby Allin – Top rope knee to the back
Thunder Rosa b. Serena Deeb – Fire Thunder Driver
Jericho Appreciation Society b. Blackpool Combat Club/Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz – Half crab to Danielson
Jurassic Express b. Team Taz and Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee – Throwassic Express to Starks
CM Punk b. Hangman Page – GTS

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It’s time for another AEW pay per view and most of the time, that has been some very good news. AEW has a heck of a track record with pay per views, though things have been a bit weaker than usual in recent months. I don’t entirely know what that is going to mean for this show, but the card is absolutely huge with a staggering thirteen matches. Maybe they can make it work though so let’s get to it.

Buy-In Show: Hookhausen vs. Mark Sterling/Tony Nese

They aren’t starting with anything serious here as Hook and Danhausen are the latest comedy guys around here. There is a short form possibility to the two of them working together but I’d like to believe that Hook could mean a lot more than he is being given so far. Danhausen is one of the most unique guys around, and now he and Hook can do their thing here.

That thing here would be winning, as Hookhausen has no reason to lose whatsoever. Hook can be the muscle for Danhausen as he does his wacky deal. That is all you need in something like this as the fans are going to go nuts over anything Hookhausen does. Keep it short, let Danhausen pin the manager, and we get to move on to the important stuff. That’s a good opener and they have the right idea with this on the Buy-In.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals: Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho

This is a match that has some history to it and now the question becomes can Soho finally get a big win around here. Soho is someone with as unique of a look as you can find and the intangibles to back it up, but she hasn’t actually won anything just yet. Beating Baker would even their series up and that is a way they can go. At the same time though, it is hard to buy the idea of Baker losing her second big match in a row.

I’m in a total coin flip here but I’ll go with Baker winning here as Soho loses again for the sake of getting Baker back on track. This could be leading to a heck of a showdown between Baker and Jade Cargill, assuming they don’t do a rubber match with Thunder Rosa. Either way, I don’t see Soho winning here, and I’m really not sure where that leaves her going forward.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals: Adam Cole vs. Samoa Joe

I like this one more than the previous match and we could be in for a heck of a showdown here. Cole is someone who is still waiting for his own big win around here, while Joe has the Ring Of Honor TV Title, meaning that he too is waiting for his first big win in AEW. This is at least an interesting match and that puts it above a lot of what we have been seeing in the tournament so far.

I’ll go with Cole winning again here, as AEW not only likes pushing the heck out of him, but the idea of Cole and Baker as the winners of the tournaments is likely something AEW likes. The match should be a good, pay per view level fight as Joe knows how to make the big fight feel. Cole wins here though, possibly even with some help from Jay Lethal and pals to take out Joe.

Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Blackpool Combat Club/Santana/Ortiz/Eddie Kingston

This is the Anarchy In The Arena match, which seems to be the latest insane brawl that the company loves to run. The problem this time though is the lineups aren’t exactly even, as it’s hard to imagine the Combat Club and Kingston would have trouble against the entire Appreciation Society. Then again there is a good chance that the villains can take out a member to uneven things and make it a bit more even.

That being said, there isn’t much in the way of doubt here, as this should be a one sided victory for Kingston and company. Unfortunately I don’t think that is going to happen, as I could see AEW running with the Jericho Wizard/fireball stuff. Therefore, I’ll take the Appreciation Society winning here, even if that makes so little sense and will just mean more of the not so great act.

Hardys vs. Young Bucks

Now we have the Dream Match, which might have been the case about ten years ago but now, I’m not entirely convinced. To put it mildly, the Hardys are in their mid 40s and wrestle like they’re about ten years older than that each. Jeff looks close to terrible and you know what you’re going to get from Matt. I’m far from a Bucks fan, but they can run circles around the Hardys at the moment and this is going to be a mess as a result.

I’ll take the Bucks winning here, as there is no reason whatsoever to put the Hardys over anyone ever (unless you’re Darby Allin because reasons). I’m not exactly interested in seeing this one but maybe they can pull off something decent. All I know is I don’t need to see the Hardys trying to recreate their glory days again and odds are that is exactly what we are going to be getting here.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Wardlow

This now needs an asterisk as there have been a few issues involving MJF, but we’ll assume that the match is going to take place. This is a story that has been built up for years and is a more physical version of Ted DiBiase vs. Virgil from back in the day. The good thing is that Wardlow is almost on Virgil’s level and might even be able to get something out of this if they do it right.

Of course I’ll go with Wardlow here, as he should powerbomb MJF into oblivion here. Now that being said, MJF should not get squashed and will likely get in some offense off the back of Shawn Spears and some well timed cheating, but at the end of the day, this is Wardlow’s breaking out moment and I could go with seeing him wreck MJF as the fans get more and more into each powerbomb. Assuming the match takes place that is.

Women’s Title: Thunder Rosa(c) vs. Serena Deeb

The more I watch from Rosa, the less I think she is cut out to be champion. There are some people who are more interesting as the challenger rather than the champion and that is what we might have with her. The promo from this week was good, but I really can’t bring myself to get into this match. Granted it doesn’t help that Cargill feels like a much bigger star, but this is the next showdown.

I’ll take Rosa to retain here, as she deserves a longer title reign than a few months after FINALLY getting the belt. We might be up for a rematch with Baker, but at the moment the best thing that they can do is have Rosa keep going as champion to set up a showdown with someone. Rosa is still a star and I could go for seeing more of her with the title, but they need to find a better way to present her.

Tag Team Titles: Jurassic Express(c) vs. Team Taz vs. Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland

One thing that is interesting here is that AEW rarely runs triple threat. The company loves itself some gimmick matches but that isn’t the case with triple threat, which is certainly a nice bonus. Anyway, this has been set up as the two challenging teams have been set up as potential threats to take the titles. Granted it helps that Jurassic Express have been kind of there as champions for a lot of their reigns, so it is kind of somewhere in the middle.

As much as I’d like to see Lee and Strickland get somewhere, I have a feeling Team Taz wins here. At some point you have to give Taz and company some (official) titles and I think they do it here. Ricky Starks has been moving up higher and higher in recent weeks and Powerhouse Hobbs is one of the better potential stars around. They should have a good match here, but it’s time for the title change with the belts going to Team Taz.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Darby Allin

This is a grudge match which was added to the show on Rampage, even if it is one of the first matches that could be moved to Dynamite for the sake of cutting down the pay per view rundown. Allin is mad at O’Reilly for injuring Sting, meaning it is time to fight. Thankfully this seems to be a regular match, which is quite the change for Allin and his obsession with hardcore stuff.

I’ll go with Allin winning here, as he is still shaking off some of his funk, especially after that pretty ridiculous loss to Jeff Hardy a few weeks ago. O’Reilly could use a win too and it wouldn’t shock me if he won here, but Allin needs it more and is someone the fans are already behind. Seeing O’Reilly get a push of his own would be nice, but it’s Allin winning here in a match that should be pretty awesome.

House Of Black vs. Death Triangle

Yes, finally. After what feels like 37 years, this match is FINALLY going to take place, even though I can’t imagine it is going to live up to the hype that has been presented around it. Both teams are actually healthy for once and since it was on the books at some point back in the day, AEW had to get it in instead of cutting their losses and just moving on like anyone sane would do.

It’s one that could go either way, but I’ll take the House Of Black to win here. Death Triangle is a team that has a tendency to not be around very often for one reason or another so the House Of Black seems to be a better option at the moment. Odds are it will be a heck of a fight and Death Triangle will look great in defeat, but the House Of Black wins here to finally give them something.

Men Of The Year/Paige VanZant vs. Frankie Kazarian/Sammy Guevara/Tay Conti

Speaking of feuds that won’t go away, we have this mess that must continue no matter how many people are waiting in line for the TNT Title. This week seemed to show Guevara and company as the good ones, even if that involved invading the American Top Team facility and stealing stuff. I don’t think AEW knows what they are doing with this feud anymore, but even worse I don’t think many people care about it either. Granted, why let that get in the way of what AEW has decided to do?

Since the feud must continue and Guevara/Kazarian get no more shots if they lose, I’ll go with Guevara and company winning to keep their hopes alive. I’m not sure why that is something we need to continue, but this feud is probably heading for one big final blowoff to the whole thing. Maybe we could even get a ladder involved! For now, though Guevara and company win, because it must continue.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill(c) vs. Anna Jay

AEW has a bit of a weird situation on their hands with Cargill. While they have done a great job of building her up, there is no reason to believe that she is going to lose anytime soon. That makes this feel like nothing more than a requirement as she gets to add another win over someone who was thrown into a title match. I don’t particularly care about this match and it would have been fine on Dynamite, but maybe Cargill can get in her catchphrase for the 485th time.

Of course I’ll take Cargill, as Jay gets to be the latest sacrificial lamb. They REALLY need someone who is going to give Cargill a challenge and Jay, who hasn’t wrestled a singles match since March (or a TV match since January, when Cargill beat her) isn’t it. This is a match that probably doesn’t need to be on the pay per view but we are getting it for the sake of Cargill appearing, which does make sense.

AEW World Title: Hangman Page(c) vs. CM Punk

And then there’s this, which has been hit and miss so far. This has not been anywhere close to a disaster, but I’m not sure I buy Page as someone on Punk’s level. Punk had to get to the World Title shot at some point though, which comes after the end of the great Friedman feud. Hopefully they can go beyond the hype, which hasn’t quite hit the levels they seem to have been shooting for with the build.

I’ve been going back and forth on this for weeks now but I think I have Page retaining. If you want to elevate him, beating Punk and Danielson is about as perfect of a way as you can do so. Punk is going to be fine no matter what he does, but in this case it makes more sense to have him lose and give Page the next biggest rub of his career. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Punk win the title, but Page needs this a lot more than Punk. I think. Maybe. Perhaps.

Overall Thoughts

I’m expecting the show to be good, as almost every AEW pay per view tends to be, but my goodness there is way too much on here. There is no need for the show to have every one of these matches but for some reason that is what we’re getting. Hopefully they move something up to the Buy-In show, as having a twelve minute pay per view card is not going to leave them with much breathing room. The show has a lot of potential, but I’m worried about giving the matches the time that they need. Make something fast, or at least shuffle it up a bit, just to make it better. Either way, we should be fine, as is AEW’s custom.

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

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AND

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

Rampage
Date: May 27, 2022
Location: Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks

It’s the final show before Double Or Nothing and that means it is time for the last push towards the show. If nothing else, we get to find out who will be in the final of the women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament, because that is still going. Tonight is mostly about firming up what is already there though so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson vs. Matt Sydal

William Regal is on commentary as Danielson wins a test of strength and grabs a headlock. Back up and Sydal snaps off a flying mare, leaving us with a standoff. Danielson uppercuts him down and fires off the forearms to the head but Sydal is back with a leg lariat. We take a break and come back with Danielson dropping a knee for two of his own, only to have Sydal kick him in the face for a breather.

A hurricanrana gives Sydal two so he goes up for the Meteora, which is pulled into a nasty half crab. Sydal has to roll out so Danielson puts him on top. The belly to back superplex is reversed into a heck of a powerbomb to give Sydal two (that was great). A slugout goes to Sydal and he hits the jumping knee. Danielson isn’t having that and hits the running knee, setting up the hammer and anvil elbows. The guillotine choke finishes Sydal at 11:00.

Rating: B. Sydal was bringing it here and you knew that Danielson was going to be able to do some violent and painful things. The match was hard hitting and competitive, which is a good way to go as there wasn’t much doubt about the winner. Very good opener here, with that top rope powerbomb looking awesome.

Video on the rise of Hookhausen, though Danhausen still can’t train that well.

Young Bucks vs. Taylor Rust/Jon Cruz

The Bucks come out in full on Hardys cosplay, complete with the music, the dancing, the DELETING, the Gangrel (yes the real one) and the Brandon Cutler as Lita (including the underwear). Cruz gets taken down by Nick, with some spot on Jeff Hardy style offense. Matt (as Matt) goes up top for the elbow before coming down to the middle rope instead. The delay lets Cruz get over to Rust, who walks into a double superkick. Another double superkick knocks Cruz silly and sets up the Swanton for the pin at 2:40. This was hilarious and you can tell the Bucks are huge Hardys fans.

Post match the Bucks turn on Gangrel but the real Hardys….rather slowly come to the ring for the save. Cutler breaks up the double Twist of Fate but Gangrel Impales him. The Twist of Fate into the Swanton crushes Cutler and we get the New Brood reunion.

Darby Allin challenges Kyle O’Reilly for Double Or Nothing. If O’Reilly turns him down, Allin will interfere in both of the Undisputed Elite’s matches and ruin their night.

Max Caster vs. Dante Martin

Caster’s rap is about Martin’s lack of success with women. The Gunn Club is here with him and try to handle Anthony Bowens’ signature, causing Bowens (as pushed to the ring in a wheelchair by Billy Gunn) to protest until he gets to do it. Martin dives onto Caster and the Club so we’re ready to go. Everyone else is ejected as Caster goes after the knee and twists it down for an early two as we take a break. Back with Caster missing the Mic Drop and Martin backflipping over him. Some elbows put Caster down and the Nose Dive finishes for Martin at 6:14. Not enough shown to rate, which makes the commercial all the more annoying.

Video on Adam Cole vs. Samoa Joe in the Owen Hart Foundation men’s final.

We look at Sammy Guevara and Frankie Kazarian destroying the TNT Title last week.

Here are the Men of the Year, with Dan Lambert talking about how you can guarantee that there are very few things you can believe in. You can believe in them though, including the TNT Champion. We need a new title belt for him though, with Scorpio Sky receiving the newly designed version, which is basically the same belt with yellow and purple trim (ala the Los Angeles Lakers).

Hold on though as we cut to American Top Team headquarters, where Sammy Guevara/Tay Conti/Frankie Kazarian break in. They look at the title collection and, with a lead pipe, break into it and steal some titles. The challenge for the six person tag is thrown out for Double Or Nothing, with Sky accepting, on one condition: if Sky/Ethan Page/Paige VanZant win, Kazarian/Guevara can never challenge for the TNT Title again.

Kris Statlander is tired of being nice because it hasn’t gotten her anywhere.

Double Or Nothing rundown.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Semifinals: Kris Statlander vs. Ruby Soho

The winner gets Britt Baker on Sunday. Soho goes for the knee to start but Statlander flips her away with straight power. An armdrag sends Statlander into the corner but she blocks another one, again with the power. A kick to the knee just annoys Statlander, who blasts Soho with a clothesline as we take a break.

Back with Statlander powerbombing her out of the corner but her arm gives out on a gorilla press attempt. No Future connects for Soho but Statlander gets sent outside. Soho has to get her up and it’s a hurricanrana from the apron to stagger Statlander again. Statlander is fine enough to hit a quick Falcon Arrow for two but the shoulder gives out on the Spider Crab attempt. Soho kicks the knee out again and crabs an Oklahoma roll for the pin at 10:10.

Rating: B-. This was another match where there wasn’t a ton of drama about the result but Statlander did well in her spot. Soho vs. Baker was all but guaranteed for the final as there is enough of a history there to make it work. Good main event here though and it’s nice to see Soho getting a run for a change.

Post match here is Britt Baker, but Soho cuts her off. Soho is tired of hearing Baker talk so on Sunday, Soho is taking the tournament. Baker has a receipt coming on Sunday and the mic is dropped to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Now that is more like it, as we had good action, but more importantly they did a lot of the work on the way to the pay per view on Sunday. That is the point of a show like this and AEW made it work very well. Double Or Nothing is looking great, though adding in two more matches might have been a step too far. Anyway, pretty awesome Rampage this week.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Matt Sydal – Guillotine choke
Young Bucks b. Jon Cruz/Taylor Rust – Swanton Bomb to Cruz
Dante Martin b. Max Caster – Nose Dive
Ruby Soho b. Kris Statlander – Oklahoma roll

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: May 18, 2022
Location: Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s Wild Card Wednesday, meaning we find out the two Joker entrants in the Owen Hart Foundation tournaments. Other than that, we have two Dynamites left before Double Or Nothing and that means it is time to start hammering out a few more matches on the card. Most of the show is already set though and that can make things all the more interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Samoa Joe vs. ???

Non-title and the joker is….Johnny Elite (Nitro/Morrison/about eight other names). Feeling out process to start as Joe doesn’t seem overly impressed. Joe knocks him into the corner for some shots to the ribs, followed by an elbow to the face. Some shots to the face have Joe in a bit of trouble though and Elite knocks him to the floor, setting up the big twisting cannonball to take Joe down again.

We take a break and come back with Joe hitting a big boot and then chopping Elite down. The MuscleBuster is loaded up but Elite takes him down and goes up top. The 450 connects (with Elite’s knees hitting a good bit short) for two but Joe is right back with the MuscleBuster for the pin at 10:21.

Rating: C+. Yeah fine. Elite is about as perfect of a choice as you could get to have him come in, be a nice enough surprise, and be fed to Joe without ruining a debut. I don’t need Elite to stick around, but he had a pretty nice start to his time in AEW, even if this is it. Joe is likely making a deep run in this thing and him winning the whole tournament wouldn’t shock me.

Post match Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh come in to take Joe out with a pipe. The Best Friends make the save.

We look back at Jeff Hardy getting banged up last week against Darby Allin (egads).

The Young Bucks come up to see the Hardys, with Jeff being cleared to wrestle tonight. The Bucks have been praying for him all week but Jeff wants that “Christian AF BS” out of here. Jeff has a tournament to win and Matt threatens violence if the Bucks interfere. Matt calling the Bucks Hardys cosplayers was funny.

Hangman Page vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Non-title and CM Punk is on commentary. Page starts fast and knocks him to the floor but Takeshita is back in with some strikes of his own. They head to the apron with Page taking him down again as we take a break. Back with Takeshita hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb and a jumping knee for two each. They clothesline each other down but Page is back up with a release German suplex, setting up a Tombstone for two.

The buckshot lariat is countered into a jumping knee and a stalling German suplex plants Page again. They go up top with Takeshita hitting a heck of a forearm to knock Page to the mat. Page pops right up with a discus lariat and the Buckshot lariat….but doesn’t cover. Instead it’s the GTS (Punk: “I’ve got him right where I want him.”) for the pin at 12:12.

Rating: B-. I’ve liked Takeshita more than I would have expected as DDT Pro doesn’t have the best reputation for being serious. Takeshita has a good look and his work has gone well enough so I could go for more of him going forward. That being said, this was an extended workout for Page and that’s all it needed to be.

Fuego del Sol and the Dark Order are ready for the House of Black.

Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee vs. Workhorsemen

Lee gets the better of a chop off with Drake to start and hands it off to Strickland. A jumping kick to the face rocks Henry in the corner and it’s back to Lee to clean house. Lee loads up a sitout powerbomb and Strickland adds a top rope double stomp for the pin at 2:21. Nice use of the new power/speed team here.

Post match Lee says they are a top five team but here is Team Taz to interrupt. Ricky Starks calls Lee Rex from Toy Story but Strickland says Starks looks like a bar of soap with a pearl necklace on. Cue Jurassic Express with Christian Cage to interrupt. Christian says they are the best and the triple threat challenge is thrown out for Double Or Nothing. Deal. Oh and for a bonus: let’s do Jungle Boy vs. Ricky Starks vs. Swerve Strickland next week.

Red Velvet and Kris Statlander are ready to fight in the first round of the Owen Hart Tournament on Friday. Jade Cargill comes in for catchphrases/trash talk.

Here are MJF and Shawn Spears, with MJF nearly getting sick when saying he’s in Houston. He tells Wardlow to get out here right now so here is Wardlow, with his hands still cuffed. MJF spits in his face and slaps him but Wardlow maintains his composure. MJF gets in a few whips but Wardlow doesn’t flinch. Spears gets in a few whips of his own and those wake him up, but MJF gets in a low blow and unloads with the belt. The Dynamite Diamond ring knocks Wardlow cold and MJF is rather pleased with himself.

Roppongi Vice throws out the challenge to FTR for a Ring of Honor Tag Team Title shot.

Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix starts with the flips but loses a chop off to put him right back down. Back up and an armbar slows Fenix down but he knocks O’Reilly to the floor for a heck of a running flip dive. O’Reilly posts the arm though and we take a break. Back with Fenix kicking him down as O’Relly’s chest is very red. O’Reilly grabs the rolling butterfly suplexes but Fenix drives him into the corner for a springboard spinning kick to the head.

Another spinning kick rocks O’Reilly but he bounces off the ropes with a rebound lariat. O’Reilly is back with a choke, which is reversed for a jumping enziguri. Fenix isn’t done and knocks him to the floor for a rope walk flip dive. Back in and a rolling cutter is countered into a cross armbreaker for the tap at 11:16.

Rating: B. This was an interesting back and forth style, with O’Reilly being perfectly logical by going after the arm that was hurt not too long ago. O’Reilly is going to go after a limb no matter what and they gave him an extra target here. Joe vs. O’Reilly should be a good showdown next week and they have done a nice job getting us there, especially with Fenix getting in just enough flips etc. to not take it too far.

Here is the Blackpool Combat Club/Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz, as William Regal and Chris Jericho have their face to face chat (as Jericho tends to do). The Jericho Appreciation Society comes out, with the order to cut off the pyro and music. Jericho brings up the attack last week and says he thought Regal would be dead by now. Regal gets a chuckle out of that and talks about how Regal should have been one of the best of all time given all of his skills. Instead, he wound up being a world class addict.

Regal has been fired from every company he has ever worked for until he weaseled his way in here on the coattails of his proteges. Then you have Eddie Kingston, whose face was burned with a fireball. Then you have Bryan Danielson, and we pause for a YES chant. Danielson has never had a drink or taken a drug in his life, but stick with this gang long enough and Regal will have him needing the program just like Moxley. Jericho tells Regal to get out of the business or the Wizard will shoot a fireball in his face. Or relieve himself in Regal’s tea again.

The tea gets Regal talking, as the two of them have known each other since 1997. The only thing that are worse than Jericho’s voice are the screams from a burning orphanage so please be quiet. Jericho is right about Regal’s issues, but one thing has kept him going for the last 21 years. Whenever he has been on a show with Jericho, Regal would go to Jericho’s bag when Jericho was in the ring and….place Jericho’s toothbrush in a certain area. Daniel Garcia: “HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO SOMEONE???” Regal: “Actually flower, I did it to yours last week.”

Jericho loads up the Stadium Stampede challenge but Moxley says he “isn’t doing that s***.” Moxley isn’t doing that sports entertainment stuff so let’s make it anything goes with glorious violence until the Society is bleeding like stuck pigs. Call it whatever you want, including wrestling vs. sports entertainment.

Jericho seems down with that and brings up the other team’s history with each other, including Danielson calling Kingston “a judgmental prick.” Kingston to Danielson: “You are.” Kingston doesn’t care about buyrates or ratings though so let’s fight right now. Jericho and company leave instead, with Danielson and Kingston being ready to fight over giving chase. There were some great lines in there, but this wasn’t what I had in mind for Regal vs. Jericho: Face To Face, especially as Regal didn’t exactly get in any great lines in response to Jericho’s stuff.

Dante Martin and Matt Sydal want the Blackpool Combat Club on Friday.

Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Britt Baker vs. ???

The Joker is Maki Itoh, the singing wrestler who teamed with Baker last year at Revolution. Baker loads up the Fingerpoke of Doom but Itoh small packages her for two instead. Itoh steps on her foot and hits a headbutt, only to miss a falling headbutt. There’s a Sling Blade to Baker and we take a break.

Back with Baker sending Itoh face first into the buckle, but Itoh has a hard head so she does it to herself. A headbutt puts Baker down and Itoh adds a tornado DDT for two. Itoh finally hits her falling headbutt for two but Baker pulls her straight into the Lockjaw for the win at 6:45.

Rating: D+. The match itself was nothing and that isn’t the point here. Itoh is the definition of a gimmick and therefore having her pop up once every now and then is going to work. I don’t know how much anyone was wanting a payoff to Itoh and Baker teaming together at Revolution, but for something that lasted about eight minutes, there are far worse ways to go.

Post match Toni Storm comes out for the staredown with Baker, who doesn’t seem impressed.

Here is Tony Schiavone in the ring to hype up next week’s three year anniversary show but Serena Deeb cuts him off. She is sick of hearing Tony talk, especially last week when Tony said that she can’t beat Thunder Rosa. Dustin Rhodes has had a lot to say about Deeb having no chance against Rosa, so here is Dustin to interrupt.

Deeb calls him the poster boy of failure and says Jim Ross might be the only one with any brains around here. She says Dustin knows how hard it was to be a woman in her era and even got implants to satisfy old perverts. So why does Dustin think Deeb can’t beat Thunder Rosa? Dustin has nothing to say so she slaps him in the face, which draws out Rosa. Deeb takes the Women’s Title from her and gets in a good shot. I have no idea what they were going for here, but Deeb talking isn’t a good thing.

Owen Hart Tournament Semifinals: Adam Cole vs. Jeff Hardy

Cole jumps him in the aisle and the beating starts fast. Hardy is sent into the steps, setting up a Backstabber to drop Jeff again. We take a break and come back with the slugout in the middle (because of course) but Cole enziguris him down. The sitout gordbuster gives Jeff two but the Whisper in the Wind is…kind of superkicked out of the air (that didn’t look great). The Boom misses so Jeff hits the Twisting Stunner, only to miss the Swanton. Cole hits the Boom for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C. This felt like a rush job due to time constraints, especially with Cole jumping him in the aisle. I can kind of get the idea of not wanting Allin to lose to Cole here, but if that is the case, don’t set up the brackets that way in the first place. Hardy was still banged up here so he has an out, but it wasn’t like there was much to the match in the first place.

Post match Cole stares at Jeff but Matt Hardy gets in to cut him off. The Young Bucks come in for the cheap shot but the Hardys stare them down. Cole jumps the Hardys and here are Sting and Darby Allin for the save. Cue ReDRagon to go after Sting and Allin though, including Sting’s ankle being Pillmanized to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. AEW continues their weird streak of a good show with that one weird thing in there. This time it was Deeb’s segment, as I’m not sure I get what they were trying to do. Other than that (and the Baker vs. Itoh match, which was meant to be glorified comedy), there wasn’t much to complain about here. Double Or Nothing had matches either added or enhanced so I can’t complain all that much. Not a home run show here, but it did what it needed to do and didn’t go nuts with the surprises. I had fun, so call it at least mostly a success.

Results
Samoa Joe b. Johnny Elite – MuscleBuster
Hangman Page b. Konosuke Takeshita – GTS
Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee b. Workhorsemen – Sitout powerbomb/top rope double stomp to Henry
Kyle O’Reilly b. Rey Fenix – Cross armbreaker
Britt Baker b. Maki Itoh – Lockjaw
Adam Cole b. Jeff Hardy – Boom

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

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

AND

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