Dark: Elevation
Date: January 30, 2023
Location: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Matt Menard, Paul Wight

It’s the 100th edition of the show and I happened to be in the house for it so let’s take a look at this show. Thankfully this is now just the series of dark matches before Dynamite and not the insane marathon sessions this/Dark had back in the day. If nothing else we should get a nice main event so let’s get to it.

I was sitting in the middle deck for this show with the big screen on my right. Traffic did cause me to miss the first ten or so minutes though.

Red Velvet vs. Billie Starkz

Velvet takes her down without much effort but Starkz is back with a German suplex. It wasn’t quite as good as the commentators made it seem, as Velvet Iconoclasms her off the top for two. A kick to the face out of the corner rocks Velvet again but Velvet hits a running knee to the back. Starkz tiger suplexes her for two and a Swanton is good for the same. Velvet is right back with a poisonrana into the Final Slice for the pin at 3:18.

Rating: C. Starkz impressed while she had the chance and that German suplex was pretty good. I can see why she has the hype that she has been receiving at this point in her career, though she needs something to set her apart. Velvet seems likely to be fed to Jade Cargill soon, because that is a feud the world has been waiting to see wrapped up.

Athena takes over her own interview as she looks for a tag partner for tonight. Diamante (with Athena being reminded of her name) will do, with Athena offering a future title shot in exchange for a win. That’s enough for Diamante.

Workhorsemen vs. Dark Order

John Silver and Alex Reynolds, with Evil Uno, for the Order here. Silver and Henry start things off with Silver running him over without much trouble. Drake comes in with a slingshot hilo on Silver and a falling headbutt gets two. Silver manages to roll away from Henry though and it’s off to Reynolds to clean house. A tiger driver gets two on Henry but he’s back up with a flipping faceplant. Drake kicks Reynolds in the face but accidentally gets dropkicked by Henry. That’s enough for a series of strikes to Henry, setting up the cutter into the German suplex into the flipping rollup to give Reynolds the pin at 4:23.

Rating: C. The Dark Order have settled into a nice role: the team who is there to do nothing more than fire up the crowd in a pretty nothing match. That is a valuable piece to have and what is left of the team plays it well. Just don’t try to make them too serious and everything should work out well for them.

Rush vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

I had forgotten Pillman Jr. was still here. Rush chops away to start and rakes the eyes over the top for a bonus. A hard right hand sends Pillman outside, with commentary getting to talk about the new barricades. Preston Vance gets in a few cheap shots and Rush is able to kick away at Pillman’s head back inside. Pillman actually wins a strike off and hits a dropkick, only to get knocked into the corner. The Bull’s Horns finishes Pillman at 4:06.

Rating: C. This show is already getting into a funk of having matches on a similar level over and over. This one at least had some more star power to it, as Rush certainly feels like a big deal, even if he hasn’t really done much around here. Pillman Jr…..dang I just don’t know what happened. He felt like he had the potential and it just never took off. It still could, but he might need to go somewhere else and build himself up first.

Post match Rush whips him with an electrical cord and bends Pillman’s arm.

Diamante/Athena vs. Yuka Sakazaki/Skye Blue

Madison Rayne is here with Blue/Sakazaki. Diamante runs Sakazaki over to start but Sakazaki pops up with a sliding lariat for two. The camera goes a bit nuts for a second as Blue comes in and headscissors Athena into the corner. A Diamante distraction lets Athena knock Blue off the top though and Athena pats Diamante on the head.

The villains take turns suplexing Blue until she kicks Athena away for the hot tag. Sakazaki gets to clean house, including a missile dropkick to Athena. Everything breaks down and Athena powerbombs Sakazaki. Back up and Sakazaki hits Diamante in the face, setting up a spinning armtrap faceplant for the pin at 7:08.

Rating: C+. They had some more time with this one and it helped let them flesh things out a bit. Sakazaki is a ball of energy and Blue has come a long way in her time around here. At the same time, Athena is growing into her heel role rather well and I’m curious to see how far she can take it after her previous pushes have stalled so often.

Top Flight vs. Ari Daivari/Tony Nese

Mark Sterling is here with Daivari and Nese and offers free soap to everyone here. There is allegedly a bar of soap under their seat, but everyone who checks is declared guilty of breaking Kentucky’s showering laws. Darius dropkicks Nese down to start as we hear about Sterling’s toy podcast. Dante comes in with a slingshot hilo but Nese gets in a cheap shot from behind.

The springboard moonsault gives Nese two on Darius and the villains double team him down in the corner. A double hurricanrana is enough to get Darius over for the tag though and everything breaks down. Dante and Darius both hit big flip dives but the Nose Dive is countered back inside. Instead it’s a Dominator/sliding cutter for two on Dante but he is right back up with the Nose Dive for the pin at 5:03.

Rating: C+. This was another fun one as Top Flight continues to rack up wins. I could see the team getting somewhere in AEW and a title reign is not out of the question. The fact that they went from little more than an ok team to one of the most entertaining acts around. Go with that and have them do their thing here and there.

Yuka Sakazaki is asked about Athena but the Dark Order comes in to offer her a spot on the team. She says “hai” (yes in Japanese) but they don’t quite get it and leave.

Kings Of The Black Throne vs. Turbo Floyd/Truth Magnum

Floyd and Magnum have rather toothpaste colored gear. Black spins Magnum around to start and has a seat to wait on him, much to Magnum’s shock. Turbo and King come in, with King chopping away at Floyd and Magnum. Everything breaks down and the toss over the shoulder piledriver finishes for King at 2:52. The House Of Black is getting a bigger and bigger reaction every week. They’re going to be turned face sooner than later at this rate.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Blake Christian.

Castagnoli is defending and runs Christian over to start. A shot to the face drops Christian again but he manages to knock Castagnoli outside. That’s fine with the champ, who drops Christian chest first onto the apron. Back in and Castagnoli is not looking worried but an attempt at a Samoan drop changes things.

Christian gets a boot up in the corner though and Castagnoli gets kicked down. With Castagnoli on the apron, Christian cuts him down with a spear and adds a top rope double stomp for two back inside. Back in and Castagnoli tries the Swing but gets rolled up for two. Christian hits a springboard 450 for two but gets pulled into a powerbomb. The Swing makes Christian tap at 7:17.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t a classic but Castagnoli let Christian get in some nice stuff near the end. Castagnoli is one of the better things that AEW has been doing as of late, especially with the Ring Of Honor World Title not being the focus so often. Christian is someone who has looked good during his appearances so we should be in for something good when he gets to stick around.

Overall Rating: C+. This is another one of those shows that is almost entirely wrestling rather than advancing any stories. That makes a lot of sense as ultimately, it is the second internet show that AEW produces every week and it doesn’t mean much. For about an hour of action a week though, it is about as harmless as it could go, which is at least one way to go. This show was far from great and it’s still too long, but getting the stars out there to do something is better than having them sit at home. Pretty good show here.

Results
Red Velvet b. Billie Starkz – Final Slice
Dark Order b. Workhorsemen – Rollup to Henry
Rush b. Brian Pillman Jr. – Bull’s Horns
Yuka Sakazaki/Skye Blue b. Diamante/Athena – Spinning armtrap faceplant to Diamante
Top Flight b. Ari Daivari/Tony Nese – Nose Dive to Nese
Kings Of The Black Throne b. Turbo Floyd/Truth Magnum – Toss over the shoulder piledriver to Floyd
Claudio Castagnoli b. Blake Christian – Swing

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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Jay Briscoe: A Celebration Of Life
Date: January 26, 2023
Location: Save Mart Center, Fresno, California
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Carpice Coleman

As you might have guessed, this is a special show honoring the life of Jay Briscoe, who passed away last week. The show was filmed after last week’s AEW taping and features special matches, plus presumably tributes and maybe classic matches from Briscoe’s career. That should be more than enough so let’s get to it.

We get the tribute video from this week’s Dynamite. Still works.

Ring Of Honor Pure Rules Title: Hagane Shinno vs. Wheeler Yuta

Yuta is defending under Pure Rules (of course) and Shinno is from Big Japan. They go with the grappling to start with Yuta working on a head/wristlock. Shinno shrugs that off and strikes away but gets caught with an Angle Slam for two. Yuta starts in on the leg and the cranking sends Shinno to the ropes for the first break. That’s fine with Yuta, who grabs a Gory Stretch to work on…well quite a bit really.

Something like the Octopus sends Shinno to the ropes for the second time but he’s able to knock Yuta to the floor. Back up and Yuta hits a springboard moonsault, followed by a German suplex back inside. Shinno is back with an enziguri into a Michinoku Driver for two. Yuta kicks him in the head and hits a top rope splash, setting up a crossface armbar to retain at 9:28.

Rating: C+. Shinno was more or less a designated victim here as Yuta took him apart and was only in trouble for a short stretch. The Pure Rules Title is a unique enough title that almost anyone can challenge for it, but Yuta wrestles a style that fits it so well that it takes someone special to beat him for it. Good opener here and it didn’t go too long.

Samoa Joe, fighting back tears, talks about how rare it is to meet authentic people who love unconditionally. That is what Jay Briscoe was and the people who knew the Briscoes knew them as brothers. He watched them grow up and he still loves his brother.

Adam Cole talks about meeting the Briscoes in 2010 when he started with Ring Of Honor. That was the company he wanted to work for and then he got to share a locker room with the Briscoes. Jay believed in him and taught him a lot, but he also vouched for him and helped get Cole’s World Title reign extended. Jay never complained or talked trash about anyone because he wanted to boost people up. Cole would be at the Briscoes’ house every year on the opening day of football season and he knows Jay is telling everyone to man up.

We recap Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Cole in the main event of Final Battle 2014 for Jay’s Ring Of Honor World Title. This is the culmination of their feud in a Fight Without Honor.

From Final Battle 2014.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Adam Cole vs. Jay Briscoe

Jay is defending in a Fight Without Honor (anything goes) and Cole has reserved two seats for Jay’s parents (after attacking Papa Briscoe). They slug it out to start and Jay grabs the Jay Driller for two less than a minute in. The fight heads to the floor with Briscoe hammering away and putting Cole on a table. A double stomp from the apron puts Cole through that table and it’s staple gun time.

Cole comes back with the Papa Briscoe chair to Jay’s head and then staples the labels to the same head. Back in and Cole sits in the chair and rips at Jay’s face, only to have Jay slip out and kick him in the face. The chair is wedged in the corner so Cole can go face first into it and it’s time for another table. The table is put up in the corner but Cole grabs the brainbuster onto the knee to take over. Cole sets up the two chairs, only to have Jay Falcon Arrow him onto those chairs.

Back up and Cole kendo sticks him in the face for two. The Figure Four around the post is broken up with a pull into the post and Cole is busted open bad. Cue the athletic commission (great) but Jay breaks that up and beats on Cole some more. Jay pulls out another table and sets it up on the floor before going up top. That takes too long as well, allowing Cole to superkick him down and through the table in a big crash.

A belt shot gives Cole two more and the Florida Key (arm cross German suplex) gets the same. The Panama Sunrise takes too long though and it’s a Death Valley Driver through the table in the corner. It’s thumbtacks time (of course), with Cole putting some in Briscoe’s mouth for a superkick and another near fall. Jay is back with one heck of a backdrop onto the tacks, setting up the Jay Driller for two. Another Jay Driller onto the belt retains the title at 21:24.

Rating: B. This was the kind of brawl that felt like one of the biggest fights of the year. You could feel the hatred between the two of them and it came off like the big culmination of a feud. Jay getting his big win over Cole makes him look like the undisputed star of the company and he got his revenge as well, though I was kind of expecting Papa Briscoe to make a cameo.

Here is Adam Cole in the arena for a chat. Cole talks about his rivalry with Jay and everything that he learned from the Briscoes. Over the years, he learned all kinds of things from the two of them and has all kinds of memories from knowing them. Jay’s entire heart and soul was his family and everyone is here for that family. If Jay was here, he would slap Cole in the head and say MAN UP because they have a show to put on. Cole: “Jay, I love you, I miss you and you made the world a better place.”

Matt Hardy calls what happened a tragedy as 38 is way too young (amen). A lot of people misunderstand the Briscoes because they see the character but don’t know the man behind the scenes. Once he came through the curtain, he would turn that off and be a bashful soul. Matt was going through the texts they had sent each other over the years and they always talked about being fathers. It is devastating to Matt that Jay won’t get to see his kinds grow up. Matt thinks of the Briscoes when he thinks of Ring Of Honor and he is sad that they can’t text each other anymore.

Marina Shafir vs. Mighty Mayra

Mayra doesn’t get an entrance but does get judo thrown down to start. A chop in the corner has Mayra in more trouble and Shafir kicks her in the chest. An armbar makes Mayra tap at 2:11.

Christopher Daniels talks about how many times he came and went from Ring Of Honor and the Briscoes were the constants in the company. The Briscoes knew they were never leaving and Jay deserves to be at the top of the list of great Ring Of Honor stars. They wrestled a lot over the years and Daniels would come out bruised, but he was always in there with someone who had passion for what he did. Everything about Jay was real and the only thing he did better than wrestle was be a father. Daniels is glad he could consider himself a friend and thanks the Briscoe family for sharing Jay with them.

From Survival Of The Fittest 2016.

Jay Briscoe vs. Christopher Daniels

Frankie Kazarian is here with Daniels. They go with the grappling to start as Jay reverses a headlock into a headscissors on the mat. Back up and Jay drives him into the corner but Daniels’ second headlock goes a bit better. Briscoe breaks that up as well and slams him down before snapping off a hurricanrana for two.

A Kazarian distraction lets Daniels backdrop him to the floor though, setting up the Arabian moonsault. Daniels pulls him against the post and adds a slingshot elbow for two back inside. The waistlock goes on to keep Briscoe down and a knee to the ribs makes it worse. Another Arabian moonsault gives Daniels two and he walks over Briscoe’s chest to mess with the mind a bit.

Briscoe fights out of another waistlock with some elbows to the head and a superkick gets two. A middle rope crossbody misses though and Briscoe bangs up the ribs again. Daniels is right back on the ribs but Jay shrugs it off and hits the Jay Driller out of nowhere for the pin at 14:58.

Rating: B-. Pretty good stuff here but the ending kind of came out of nowhere. Daniels working over the ribs worked well enough and Briscoe looked good fighting out of it. They were just kind of done all of a sudden though and it didn’t help the rest of the match. Briscoe getting a nice win is a good thing though and it made sense to have him go over.

Respect is shown after the match.

Eddie Kingston doesn’t have any inspirational words to say because this doesn’t seem real. He is going to miss the good times with Jay and this isn’t fair. Jay is going to be missed by a lot of people because he was a good family man. Kingston thought he had more to say and the only thing he can think of is that he misses Jay. Kingston: “Tell Brodie I said hello.”

Eddie Kingston vs. QT Marshall

Marshall offers the handshake and misses the cheap shot, allowing Kingston to chop away. A backdrop sends Marshall rolling to the floor and Kingston chops him against the barricade, with two fans holding Marshall’s arms. Back in and Marshall manages a cheap shot to take over, allowing him to send Kingston’s throat into the bottom rope. Marshall keeps striking away and Kingston tells him to keep bringing it before hitting the machine gun chops in the corner. The Spinning Backfist To The Future sets up the Stretch Plum to finish Marshall at 5:11.

Rating: C. This wasn’t quite a squash but Marshall isn’t going to beat someone of Kingston’s caliber. Kingston’s tribute to Jay felt emotional and it would have been weird to have him not be on this show. Marshall is a good hand to have around as he is enough of a jerk to make you want to see him get beaten up, which is what we got here. Perfectly fine match.

Post match Eddie holds up a Jay sign.

Austin Gunn talks about getting to Ring Of Honor in 2018 and seeing Jay get injured. The paramedics wouldn’t help Jay because they were off the clock so Austin gets a care package to clean him up. Jay said no because he had a flight in two hours but Austin butterfly stitched a huge cut on his back. That was the first time he met Jay and they talked about family for two hours.

Ryan Nemeth talks about wanting to be in a tag team with his brother. Then he met the Briscoes, who welcomed him to the locker room. He wasn’t close to the team but he knew they were what he wanted to be.

Stokely Hathaway talks about how great the Briscoes are and how it is our job to make sure his legacy lives on.

Madison Rayne vs. Athena

Ring Of Honor Women’s Title Eliminator match and Skye Blue is here with Rayne. Rayne hammers away to start and snaps off a headscissors. Athena is sent outside but what looks to be a diving DDT is countered into something like a gordbuster on the floor. Back in and we hit the surfboard on Rayne, followed by a backbreaker to keep her in trouble.

We hit the cross arm choke into a Backstabber but Rayne manages to send her outside. The whip into the barricade rocks Athena again and a high crossbody hits Athena for two back inside. Athena is fine enough to hit a belly to back suplex onto the apron but Rayne’s crucifix bomb gets two more. Rayne gets sent into the buckle but still manages to cutter a diving Athena out of the air. Back up and Athena grabs a Big Ending onto the knees, setting up a Crossface to make Rayne tap at 8:27.

Rating: C. This show certainly loves its arm submission finishes. Rayne continues to be a good enough hand in the ring and she was able to make Athena look dominant enough by the end. The match was just competitive enough to stay interesting but it was hard to believe that Rayne was going to beat the champ in a spot like this.

Post match Athena drops Blue with a belt shot.

BJ Whitmer talks about his history with the Briscoes and sounds like he is fighting back tears. He thanks Jay for being a friend and a brother.

Zane Decker, a former Ring Of Honor producer, talks about how Jay always listened to him and never brushed him off. Jay understood how much Decker was putting in and treated him nicely. Decker can’t wait to be with him again in Heaven.

Brandon Cutler vs. Juice Robinson

Robinson armdrags him down a few times but Cutler snaps off some slams to take over. A running clothesline sends Robinson outside but Robinson steals the cold spray to blind Cutler. Caprice: “That’s cold.” We hit the chinlock for a bit before Cutler fights up and slugs away, setting up a ripcord lariat for two. An airplane spin leaves them both dizzy until Cutler right hands him down for two more. Robinson fights up but gets cold sprayed down for another near fall. Robinson finally sends him into the corner and hits the running Cannonball. A forward DDT finishes Cutler at 7:34.

Rating: C. This felt like it should have been on something like Dark as Cutler’s comeback came off as little more than comedy. Robinson has been around AEW for a bit now and has yet to take off in any real way. Beating Cutler isn’t likely to change that, but at least he got to do something positive for a change.

Prince Nana talks about Jay being a realist and all of the years they have spent together.

Yuka Sakazaki vs. Sandra Moone

Sakazaki takes her down without much trouble to start but Moone hits a running elbow to the back of the head. Some forearms to the face give Moone two more but Sakazaki grabs a twisting brainbuster. A spinning hammerlock faceplant sets up the Magical Girl Splash for the pin on Moone at 2:59.

From Final Battle 2006.

Briscoes vs. Kings Of Wrestling

This is the Kings Of Wrestling’s (Chris Hero/Claudio Castagnoli, with Larry Sweeney) final ROH appearance. It’s a huge brawl to start and the Briscoes take over on the floor. Back inside and a springboard crossbody hits Hero for two and Mark moonsaults onto Castagnoli on the floor. Castagnoli comes in and gets northern lights suplexed for two before Jay’s snap suplex gets the same.

The fans are split as Hero comes back in and rolling into a moonsault for two on Jay. A double big boot drops Jay for two and a delayed suplex gets the same. Castagnoli stomps away in the corner and then Hero comes in to crank on the arms. Jay manages a double DDT though and it’s back to Mark to clean house.

A Rock Bottom suplex gets two on Hero but a springboard splash only hits raised knees. Mark hits a gordbuster for two on Castagnoli and Hero kicks him in the face for two. The Kings use a PowerPlex for two but Jay catches Castagnoli on top with a super hurricanrana. The frog splash gives Mark two and the yet to be named Redneck Boogie gets the same.

Everything breaks down and Castagnoli spins both Briscoes (with their legs around his neck) because he can do something like that. An exchange of strikes leaves Hero as the only one standing but Jay is up with the Jay Driller, leaving everyone down. With Castagnoli sent outside thanks to a botched Sweeney interference, a shooting star press/guillotine legdrop combination finishes Hero at 17:15.

Rating: B. This is another case where the talent involved is going to guarantee that it worked, though you could tell that the Briscoes were still trying to find themselves as a team. The talent was there and they were starting to put it together, but they weren’t to the point where they felt like THE team just yet. Beating the Kings was good as they felt like huge deals, which is a nice way for them to go out.

Claudio Castagnoli doesn’t know what to say and the locker room found out on their way to the show. You always say “see you next time” but that wasn’t the case here. Castagnoli hadn’t seen Jay in over ten years until recently but he was the same Jay he had seen the last time. He remembers Final Battle 2010 and will miss Jay’s voice and laugh.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Christopher Daniels

Castagnoli is defending and grabs a headlock to start. Daniels fights up but gets pulled into an armbar to slow him right back down. Back up again and Castagnoli knocks him to the floor before sitting on the ropes to let Daniels back in. Daniels uses another way and drops Castagnoli throat first across the top and we hit the chinlock.

Back up and Castagnoli hits a clothesline, only to get pulled into the Koji Clutch. With that broken up, Daniels chokes on the rope before slapping on a guillotine choke to keep Castagnoli in trouble. Castagnoli reverses into a suplex for a breather and fires off the uppercuts to take over.

Daniels manages to pull him out of the air for a spinning Downward Spiral and a Best Moonsault Ever press gets two. The Angel’s Wings is countered though and there’s the pop up uppercut for two on Daniels. The Swing sets up the Jay Driller (after loading up the Neutralizer but changing his mind) to retain the title at 13:35.

Rating: B-. Unless Mark Briscoe was available, there wasn’t much of a better way to close the show. Jay was a two time champion and having that title defended in the main event worked well. They had a good match too, even if it was much more about honoring someone than teasing a title change. This worked well and you could feel the emotion from both of them.

A handshake and REACH FOR THE SKY BOY wraps up the show.

Overall Rating: A-. I never know how to rate these things but this was a heck of a nice show with a balance of classic matches, new material and people talking about Jay. It felt like a lot of the people were still numb (as they probably should have been) but they put on an entertaining show in his honor anyway. The wrestling isn’t the point here, though opening up the vault is always a fun idea. Excellent show here and Jay deserved it.

Results
Wheeler Yuta b. Hagane Shinno – Crossface armbar
Marina Shafir b. Mighty Mayra – Armbar
Eddie Kingston b. QT Marshall – Stretch Plum
Athena b. Madison Rayne – Crossface
Juice Robinson b. Brandon Cutler – Forward DDT
Yuka Sakazaki b. Sandra Moonse – Magical Girl Splash
Claudio Castagnoli b. Christopher Daniels – Angel’s Wings

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.

Rampage
Date: May 6, 2022
Location: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Chris Jericho, Excalibur, Ricky Starks, Taz

We are on the way to Double Or Nothing and that means it is time to start hammering things down. Therefore, it means we are still wrapping up the qualifying matches for the Owen Hart Foundation tournaments, as they have now entered their third month. Maybe this show can be better than Dynamite though so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

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

Rebel is here too. Storm runs Hayter over to start and drives her into the corner to take over. Baker comes in and gets taken down by Soho, who ducks a superkick and rolls her up for two. The villains take over though and we take an early break. Back with Storm fighting her way out of the corner and the double tag brings in Ruby to elbow Baker down.

Everything breaks down and Baker’s Pittsburgh Sunrise is broken up but Baker counters Storm Zero into an Air Raid Crash. Back up and Rebel offers a distraction so Baker can suplex Storm down into a Stomp for two as Soho makes the save. Baker superkicks Soho but Storm grabs a rollup for the pin on Baker at 8:28.

Rating: C. It says something about the tournament qualifying matches have been going on for so long that a feud has been put together between the qualifiers and a match has taken place while the qualifying matches still aren’t done yet. Storm gaining some momentum is a good thing, though I’m not sure I would bet on her in the tournament. Then again, it is the kind of place that could help build her up.

Eddie Kingston calls in to talk to Chris Jericho on commentary. Kingston talks about how he has been with his wife for twenty years and she has seen him banged up but always puts him back together. Then she saw how he looked after the fireball from Jericho and she couldn’t stop crying. This is no longer about pro wrestling because Jericho has made Kingston’s wife cry. Kingston is going to hurt him and then hangs up. As usual, Kingston was bringing the serious fire here. Now HAVE THE MATCH ALREADY.

Tony Nese and Mark Sterling want a match with Danhausen next week in Nese’s hometown of Long Island.

Hook vs. JD Drake

Drake hits a chop so Hook tells him to do it again, only to have Hook duck his head and headbutt the chop (even Jericho has never seen that before). Hook grabs a suplex bit a second attempt is countered into a front facelock. That’s fine with Hook, who flips over and grabs Redrum for the tap at 1:22.

Post match Danhausen comes out and asks Hook to be in his corner for his match against Tony Nese next week. Hook shoves him down and Danhausen leaves, though he drops a present for Hook (as it’s his birthday): a BAG OF CHIPS! Hook stops to think about it before leaving (without the chips). So yes, Danhausen is all that and a bag of chips.

Dax Harwood is ready for Adam Cole in the Owen Hart tournament.

Owen Hart Foundation Qualifying Match: Yuka Sakazaki vs. Riho

Sakazaki is making her return and Justin Roberts says her name three times in a row. They start fast by rolling around for an exchange of grappling before Riho kicks her in the face. A running kick in the corner drops Sakazaki again, setting up a high crossbody for two. Back up and Sakazaki sends her outside for a dive off the apron and we take a break.

We come back with Sakazaki hitting a northern lights bomb for two but Riho misses a running knee in the corner. An exchange of rollups get two each and they head up top, where Sakazaki hits a super Downward Spiral for two. Back up and they forearm it out until Riho rolls her forward into a cradle for the pin at 9:20.

Rating: B-. It’s nice to have Riho back and it makes sense to put her into the tournament as she is going to be seen as at least a good opponent for someone in the first round, if not a threat to win the whole thing. She and Sakazaki worked well together here and had a good match, though Sakazaki wasn’t going to win after being away for so long. Sometimes it’s ok to have a good match with an obvious winner and that is what they did here.

Here are the women’s tournament brackets:

Toni Storm
Jamie Hayter

Britt Baker
JOKER

Riho
Ruby Soho

Red Velvet
Hikaru Shida

Shawn Spears talks about how Wardlow is a giant who has taken out giants put in front of him. Spears is ready for him though and has a GIANT KILLER chair.

Here are Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year, with the hometown boy Lambert talking about how this city has been destroyed. From now on, he tells people that he is from Miami. Ethan Page goes on a rant about the upcoming mixed tag and doesn’t think much of Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti’s public displays of affection. Since Guevara doesn’t keep his word, neither will he, because the mixed tag is OFF!

Cue Kazarian to say Lambert and Page are annoying but he has always believed in Scorpio Sky. He has always been Sky’s biggest supporter but now he’s the biggest threat. Kazarian wants his TNT Title shot, though it’s Page yelling at Kazarian instead. Sky promises to be a fight champion and the days of this title getting passed around like Conti backstage are over. That means the Interim TNT Title needs to go back into the American Top Team trophy case where it belongs. As for the real title, it’s on the line against Kazarian next week. Works for Kazarian.

Jungle Boy comes out and gets in a fight with Ricky Starks before their FTW Title match on Dynamite.

Konosuke Takeshita is ready for Jay Lethal and company. Lethal and company yell at him but they’re also ready for Samoa Joe.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Jay Lethal

Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh are here with Lethal. Takeshita takes Lethal down to start but Lethal gets in his own shot and teases the strut. That’s fine with Takeshita who hits his own shot and gets in the strut (with WOO). Lethal is sent outside and it’s a slingshot dive to drop Lethal again. A Singh staredown cuts Takeshita off though and we take a break.

Back with both of them on top and Takeshita hitting a big clothesline to bring both of them back down (that looked cool). Lethal is fine enough to pull him into a Figure Four but Takeshita is right next to the rope. Takeshita hits his jumping knee but Dutt offers a distraction to prevent the cover. A kick to the knee slows Takeshita down though and the Lethal Injection gives Lethal the pin at 9:35.

Rating: B-. I haven’t seen much of Takeshita before but he has a good look and enough charisma to make me want to see more of him. The match itself worked out as you had someone like Lethal, who is virtually impervious to a bad match. The distraction finish protects Takeshita a bit as well so it was pretty well put together.

Post match the big beatdown is on but the Best Friends come out for the save. Samoa Joe with his pipe comes out for the staredown but security keeps him from the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Now that’s more like it, as this felt like an AEW quality show. That’s what AEW needed after a pretty lame Dynamite so well done on righting the ship after Wednesday. The tournaments are still dominating the shows but at least we’re rounding the final turn with them. Now get some other stuff going for Double Or Nothing and we should be fine.

Results
Toni Storm/Ruby Soho b. Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter – Rollup to Baker
Hook b. JD Drake – Redrum
Riho b. Yuka Sakazaki – Rollup
Jay Lethal b. Konosuke Takeshita – Lethal Injection

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Dynamite
Date: July 14, 2021
Location: H-E-B Center, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s another special show this week with Fyter Fest Night 1 as they’re out of Florida for the first time in over a year. The big story this week is the return of Jon Moxley to defend the IWGP United States Title against Karl Anderson, as we have an AEW wrestler defending a New Japan Title against an Impact wrestler. I for one can’t wait on the recreation of Taz vs. Mike Awesome so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

IWGP United States Title: Jon Moxley vs. Karl Anderson

Moxley is defending and here’s Eddie Kingston with a pipe to jump Doc Gallows before the bell. They slug it out to start and then proceed to slug it out some more, this time with Moxley winning a battle of the forearms. Back up and Anderson knocks him to the floor for a ram into the barricade. Moxley comes back with some microphone choking but Anderson kicks him off the apron for a crash. Anderson grabs a spinebuster for two and goes up, with Moxley biting his head to cut that off.

The superplex plants Anderson but Moxley can’t cover. Instead he has to block the Gun Stun and it’s a double clothesline for a double knockdown. Anderson is back up and tries an Owen Hart piledriver but stumbles and nearly drops Moxley on his head for two. A middle rope neckbreaker gives Anderson two and a quick Gun Stun is good for the same. Anderson’s TKO gets two more but Moxley grabs a short arm clothesline. The Paradigm Shift retains the title at 9:40.

Rating: C+. It was hard hitting and back and forth, with Kingston getting rid of Gallows being a nice plus. Moxley is a great choice to open the show as he is one of the most popular wrestlers around here tonight. If nothing else, maybe the Good Brothers will be gone from the rest of the show, or at least we can only hope.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Lance Archer wants the IWGP US Title back. Jon Moxley took the title from him in a Texas Death Match in Japan, so let’s have another one next week in Dallas.

Andrade El Idolo asks where the Death Triangle has gone because he is looking for them.

FTW World Title: Brian Cage vs. Ricky Starks

Starks is challenging in his first match back from a broken neck and the rest of Team Taz is in a neutral corner. Taz is on commentary and offers some insight of how these two were backstage today (Starks was more serious, Cage was more outgoing). Cage can’t quite get some kind of slam to start so he goes with a gorilla press instead. Some whips into the corner put Starks on the top rope and the kicks to the ribs crotch Starks on the top.

Cage misses a charge into the corner though and Starks kicks away at the arm. Said arm is snapped across the middle rope and a middle rope dropkick gives Starks two. We take a break and come back with Starks getting two off a crucifix bomb as Excalibur calls the FTW Title an outlaw championship. Cage heads outside so Starks slides to the floor for a clothesline. Back in and Starks grabs a choke, only to get driven into the corner.

Cage kicks him in the head and nails a pumphandle faceplant for two. Starks’ springboard tornado DDT is blocked and Cage hits a superkick for two more. Starks slips out of the apron superplex and hits a sitout powerbomb for his own near fall. With nothing else working, Starks goes for the title belt but Powerhouse Hobbs won’t let him. That allows Cage to hit the F5 for two so Hook distracts the referee. Hobbs blasts Cage with the title and Starks’ spear connects for the pin and the title at 9:23.

Rating: C. Starks looked a bit rusty here but that’s quite understandable given the injury and time off. Cage losing the title is fine and he can probably go off on his own after the loss. It could be interesting to see Starks as the star of the team for once as he has all of the skills you could need to go somewhere.

We look at Malakai Black debuting last week and kicking Cody Rhodes’ head off.

Here is an annoyed Cody (in a white suit) to the announcers’ table to call out Tommy End/Malakai Black. All Black needed to do was make a phone call and he could have been here. We don’t kick a 62 year old man in the face around here though so please bring him a mic so he can head to the ring. Cody doesn’t win every fight he’s in but he has a better chance when he knows it’s coming. This is Fyter Fest and he feels like fighting.

Black appears on screen to ask if Cody heard the fans cheer when Black kicked him in the face last week. Black talks about a man having a horse who took him everywhere but one day that horse was done. The man took him to a nice field, put a bag over the horse’s head and finished him. Cody calls Black out again so the lights go out and here he is in the ring. Referees break it up in a hurry.

Tully Blanchard talks about attacking Konnan last week when he runs into Santana and Ortiz, who bust out a tire iron. The shot to the head is teased, but they say next time won’t be so nice. Tully promises to get his boys.

Here is Hangman Page, who is feeling weird, for a chat. Page talks about how he wanted to be World Champion from day one, but he failed. He tried to hide from his failure but he still needs that championship. That’s why he is here to challenge….and here are Don Callis and the Elite to cut him off. They insist that Page is not that guy, with Matt Jackson going to the ring to say something to Page’s face.

Matt knows there is only one person to blame for Page’s issues and he is one step away from being the next great wrestling tragedy. The fight is on with the Elite coming in but the Dark Order runs in for the save. Page issues the challenge to Omega but we’ll make that a ten man elimination tag instead. That’s fine with Page, who says if they win, he gets the World Title and the Dark Order gets a Tag Team Title shot against the Bucks. Omega: “YOU DIDN’T EARN IT!!! NONE OF YOU EARNED IT!!!”

Omega thinks Page is making a lot of demands so he’ll make one of his own: if Page’s team loses, there are no title shots and Page is done. He can’t wait for the COWBOY S*** chant to turn into BELT COLLEC-TOR. Page gets in Omega’s face and says yes, which freaks Omega out a bit. They had a lot of people here, but it got the job done.

Chris Jericho recaps the Five Labors of Jericho that MJF has set up for him, but points out that Hercules won in the end. MJF can send Superman or the Black Panther out after him because Jericho will walk across broken glass to get MJF again. Jericho is the god of thunder and the god of war….and here is Shawn Spears to hit him in the throat with a chair. MJF pops in to make the match against Spears next week, where Spears can use a chair but Jericho can’t. Spears gets in a bonus chair shot to the arm.

Matt Hardy vs. Christian Cage

They grab a lockup to start and fall out to the floor with the lockup continuing. Christian slides back in and tells Matt to bring it, only to slide outside and send Hardy face first into the apron. A big dive takes Hardy down again and a reverse DDT gives Christian two back inside. The right hands in the corner keep Matt in trouble until he sends Christian shoulder first into the post to take over for the first time. Choking on the ropes sets up the catapult to send Christian throat first into the rope and we take a break.

Back with Christian countering the Twist of Fate and hitting a spear for two. The frog splash gets the same but the tornado DDT is countered. Instead Matt takes him up top for a superplex into the near fall and extra breathing is required. Back up and Matt grabs the referee to block a Killswitch. The low blow into the Twist of Fate gets two and it’s back to the floor for the Leech (double underhook neck crank) but Christian makes it back in at nine. The Killswitch finishes Hardy out of nowhere at 12:59.

Rating: C. This was your nostalgia match of the week and that is about all it was going to be good for here. Neither of them are what they were in the ring before but at least they did their thing without getting bad. The ending was out of nowhere but the whole thing worked out well enough.

Post match the Hardy Family Office comes in but Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus run in for the save.

Miro talks about a man who had to figure out what he was and then went on to destroy everyone. He holds up the TNT Title (which appeared to have been redesigned) and says this is his reward, which he will defend anywhere.

Tony Schiavone brings in Britt Baker to talk about facing Nyla Rose next week. Baker has been through tables, ladders and chairs and nothing has scared here, just like Rose won’t next week. Rose might be at the top of the food chain but Baker is off the menu. Baker knocks Vickie Guerrero is listening and she has the name to keep her relevant in wrestling. Rose doesn’t have that and needs the title to be mean something. She isn’t getting it back next week, because with the title, Baker is the hottest thing in wrestling. Without it though, she is still Britt Baker DMD. Baker continues to be feeling it on the mic.

Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero promise to take the title next week.

Sammy Guevara vs. Wheeler Yuta

Sammy gets the big hometown pop as Bunny and Blade are watching from ringside. Yuta runs the ropes to start so Sammy flips over him and loads up a dive, only to flip back inside. The posing brings Yuta back in and charges into a powerslam, setting up the running shooting star press to give Sammy two. The shooting star press hits knees and Yuta walks the ropes for a middle rope dropkick. A German suplex drops Guevara and a huge top rope splash gets one. Guevara is back up with a backdrop into an enziguri out of the corner. The double springboard cutter into the GTH finishes Yuta at 3:43.

Rating: C+. This was just a step beneath a squash and it gave Guevara the nice hometown win. That’s all it was supposed to be and Yuta looking good in defeat was a nice bonus. You don’t need much more than that and they had a pretty good spectacle here. Guevara still seems ready to explode and getting a win here was the right call.

Earlier today, QT Marshall poured coffee onto Tony Schiavone’s head.

Penelope Ford vs. Yuka Sakazaki

This is Sakazaki’s first match in AEW in 16 months. They start fast with Ford being sent outside for a middle rope flip dive. Back in and Ford chokes on the ropes as we take a break. We come back with Sakazaki muscling her up for a suplex, setting up a rolling kick to the face. A middle rope elbow to the face gets two but Ford is back with some pump kicks for two. Sakazaki throws Ford on her shoulder for a spinning faceplant, setting up a spinning splash for the pin at 7:30.

Rating: C-. Just a match here as Sakazaki is back. I’m not sure if she was exactly a big deal around here in the first place but the division could use some extra blood at this point. The match itself wasn’t anything of note, but Ford is hardly the one that you bring in for a great in-ring performance.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Darby Allin vs. Ethan Page

Coffin (casket) match with Allin jumping him to start. Allin pulls off his jacket to reveal a metal plate attached to his back. A springboard body block drops Page and it’s time to go to the casket….with Scorpio Sky inside. Cue Sting to take care of Sky and the two of them fight into the crowd, with Sky getting crotched on a barricade. Back to the actual match, with Page being thrown over the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Page throwing he steps in, along with the unhooked bottom turnbuckle. Page uses the actual hook to pull Allin down by the neck….so Allin hooks his Page’s mouth. Point to Allin. They fight outside into the coffin to slug it out until Allin gets launched out. Back inside and Allin hits his flipping Stunner off the steps but the bleeding Page catches him on top. The super Ego’s Edge onto the steps leaves Allin down but he busts out the skateboard for a shot to the back, sending Page into the coffin for the win at 11:40.

Rating: B. Much like Kingston taking out Doc Gallows, it was nice to have Sting get rid of Sky here. This was a big grudge match and in theory it should wrap everything up between the two of them. There isn’t much left for them to do as it wasn’t exactly a huge feud in the first place. Allin is ready to move on to something else, though I’m not sure what that is going to be.

Post match, Allin hits the Coffin Drop through the coffin and….well pretty close to Page. That man’s poor spine.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty good show here with a bunch of mostly fine matches. It wasn’t quite last week, but they set up enough going forward and the main event was fun. I’m curious to see where AEW is going with some of these things and that is one of the best things that you can say about a wrestling show. Not their best stuff tonight, but it was more than enough to get by. Also, thankfully they dropped the Fyre Fest deals this time as the idea was played out when it first aired.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Karl Anderson – Paradigm Shift
Ricky Starks b. Brian Cage – Spear
Christian Cage b. Matt Hardy – Killswitch
Sammy Guevara b. Wheeler Yuta – GTH
Yuka Sakazaki b. Penelope Ford – Spinning splash
Darby Allin b. Ethan Page – Allin put Page in the coffin

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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IMG Credit: AEW Wrestling

Dark
Date: March 3, 2020
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

So there was an episode of Dark on Friday but where would we be without getting to see the other match that took place before Revolution? Ignoring the big question of why we needed another one aside from having this one match for this show, there are a lot of interviews to go with the single match. Let’s get to it.

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

We look at Colt Cabana saving SCU from the Dark Order on the pre-show.

Colt Cabana has been friends with the people who run this company and he’s glad to be here, even though he hasn’t signed a contract. If the Dark Order wants to do this, let’s go. He’s got SCU’s backs and the Elite’s backs if they want him.

A fired up Christopher Daniels doesn’t think there is an Exalted One behind the Dark Order. SCU and Cabana are ready to fight the Dark Order. Perhaps in WarGames with the Exalted One as the big final entrant?

Quick look at Nyla Rose retaining the Women’s Title.

Kris Stadtlander is disappointed but she’ll come back a little more down to earth.

We look at the end of Orange Cassidy vs. Pac.

Pac won’t say what his relationship is with the Lucha Bros and AEW is responsible for what happened to Cassidy.

Riho/Yuka Sakazaki vs. Britt Baker/Penelope Ford

Kip Sabian is here with Baker and Ford. Sakazaki and Riho jump them to start, including a jumping knee to put Sabian on the floor. We officially start Baker getting double teamed in the corner until we settle down to Riho vs. Baker. That works a bit better for Baker, who takes Riho into the corner for the tag to Ford. Sakazaki comes in as well for a double elbow to the back and some rolling suplexes to Ford for a bonus.

A Sabian distraction lets Baker stomp Sakazaki and hit her with a suplex for two. Ford hits the handspring elbow and another Sabian distraction lets Baker crush Sakazaki’s head in the corner. A missile dropkick gets Sakazaki out of trouble and it’s back to Riho for the crucifix bomb on Ford. Everything breaks down and Sakazaki dives onto the two of them, setting up Riho’s top rope double stomp for two on Baker. Lockjaw is broken up as Riho counters into a rollup, only to have Sabian turn it back over so Riho has to tap at 7:48.

Rating: C-. Standard tag formula here with Sabian adding the wild card, but the big story here is Baker getting a win over Riho. You don’t see that very often so maybe this is her way of moving up the ladder a little bit. It wasn’t a clean win, but maybe Baker can tie that into cleaning teeth or something like that. Good enough storytelling though and that at least gives this some kind of a reason to exist.

Overall Rating: C-. Yeah this really should have just been added to the pre-show as it was barely a show, running less than twenty minutes. It’s like they had some kind of requirement to put something on tonight instead of just waiting for Dynamite. That makes for a rather pointless show, but the Riho loss might mean something so that helps a little bit.

Results

Penelope Ford/Britt Baker b. Riho/Yuka Sakazaki – Lockjaw to Riho

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

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IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: February 26, 2020
Location: Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

It’s another big week as we have the go home show for Revolution, but at the same time we also have an Iron Man match between Kenny Omega and Pac. This show has been on a roll lately with one good week after another so hopefully they can keep it going on the way to the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

The announcers preview the show.

Kenny Omega vs. Pac

Thirty minute Iron Man match. The Young Bucks are here with Omega but Hangman Page is nowhere to be seen. Feeling out process to start as it’s Omega grabbing a wristlock a minute in. Pac flips out of a wristdrag attempt and that means a standoff, with Omega’s look saying “so that’s how it’s going to be”. They chop it out until Omega kicks the leg out, only to charge into a hard superkick.

The early One Winged Angel attempt is countered into a Brutalizer but Omega falls into the corner for the break. Pac heads outside and that means a big flip dive, much to the fans’ delight. The running jumping bulldog (it was nowhere near a Fameasser this time) plants Pac for two and Omega strikes away against the ropes. There’s the Snapdragon as we’re five minutes in with both of them down.

They head outside with Pac managing a quick tornado DDT to plant Omega and give them another chance to breathe. Back in and Omega headbutts him off the top, only to have Pac run the ropes for the super brainbuster. Pac scores with a missile dropkick for two and we hit the chinlock. A hard faceplant gives Pac two as we hit ten minutes. The fans call Pac a b****** as he kicks Omega in the back of the head to keep him down.

Back up and they go into the slow motion slugout with Pac hitting a pump kick to the face. Omega doesn’t go down though so it’s a snap German suplex to drop him instead. That doesn’t seem to matter very much as Omega hits some knees to the head, followed by a Tiger Driver 98 for two.

After JR makes fun of the Tiger Driver 98 name, Pac breaks out of the One Winged Angle, only to get German suplexed HARD for two. Omega hits running knees to the back in the corner before loading up….a super One Winged Angel? That’s reversed into a sunset bomb as we hit the halfway point. Pac’s super hurricanrana is countered as well and there’s a Snapdragon into a V Trigger for two more. Pac staggers to the floor and BLASTS Omega in the head for the DQ with 14:06 to go.

Omega – 1

Pac – 0

We take a thirty second rest period but Pac gets in another shot to the head to keep Omega in trouble. A running kick to the head sets up the Black Arrow to tie it up with 13:21 to go.

Omega – 1

Pac – 1

Back from a break with 10:46 to go and the slugout on the apron going to Pac. A Falcon Arrow off the apron drops Omega again and the audio is muted for the sake of swearing fans. They’re both down again and we have less than ten minutes to go. Pac knocks him off the apron and the ref is bumped.

With no one seeing it, Pac pulls out a table and hits a shooting star off the top to send Omega through the table (which pretty much explodes). They both beat the count (I’m not sure on Omega but they give it to him anyway) and Pac can’t believe it. Another Black Arrow hits raised knees with five minutes left and Omega has an opener. A heck of a V Trigger sets up a spinning Rock Bottom for two on Pac, followed by another V Trigger.

Pac is back up with a tornado DDT and the Brutalizer (on the mat this time) has Omega in real trouble. We have two minutes left as Omega finally gets his foot on the rope. Pac is smart enough to go right back to the hold as we hit a minute left. The hold stays on with Omega looking at the clock as time expires at 30:00. Pac blasts the referee but hang on as we’re getting sudden death. Omega hits another V Trigger and then another knee to the head for two. The One Winged Angel finishes Pac at 33:14, counting the breaks between falls.

Omega – 2

Pac – 1

Rating: B+. They beat the heck out of each other here and while they could do another match, this felt like the definitive end of the feud. Omega gets a big singles win for the first time in a good while and Pac hardly looks bad in defeat. What does look bad is the Brutalizer, which was on for the better part of three minutes but then Omega just popped up and dominated overtime to win. I didn’t like it when Shawn Michaels survived that long in the Sharpshooter and I don’t like this either. That being said, heck of a fight and that’s what it needed to be.

Post break Pac doesn’t want to hear about getting what he deserves so here’s Orange Cassidy for a chat. Cassidy takes his glasses off so Pac drops him with a single forearm. Good for him.

Jake Hager isn’t allowing any interviews with Chris Jericho before tonight’s weigh-in.

Inner Circle vs. Jurassic Express

It’s Santana/Ortiz/Sammy Guevara this time around. The Express starts fast with Boy knocking Guevara off the apron and Stunt dropkicking Santana and Ortiz to the floor. Boy hits some suicide dives but Stunt gets pulled out of the air and thrown into Boy, driving him into the barricade. Back in and Luchasaurus gets taken down with a double flapjack, followed by a big toss to Stunt.

We take a break and come back with Santana hitting a big Poetry In Cannonball to crush Stunt in the corner. Stunt is fine enough to escape a German suplex attempt and bring in Luchasaurus to clean house. A chokeslam into a standing moonsault have Ortiz down but Sammy hits Luchasaurus in the back for reasons of overconfidence. Triple kicks in the corner rock Sammy and it’s a kick to the chest/Vertebreaker combination for two with Santana making the save.

A double enziguri puts Boy down and Sammy’s running shooting star press gets two with Stunt making the save. Luchasaurus moonsaults onto Stunt, Santana and Ortiz but Sammy grabs the loaded sock. Cue Darby Allin to steal it away though and Boy hurricanranas Sammy for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B-. It was action packed and aside from my general issues with Stunt, there wasn’t much to complain about here, save for one thing. If you’re going to bust out a big move like a Vertebreaker in a match like this, it should be the finish. I know they had more to do, but if that’s the case, don’t do the move. Save a move that big for a more important spot instead of another near fall in a six man that isn’t going to mean much in the long run.

Video on Cody vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman. They’ve done an awesome job of making me want to see Cody destroy him.

Best Friends vs. Butcher And Blade

Cassidy and Bunny are at ringside. Butcher runs Trent over to start and Blade walks around the ring a lot. Trent gets dropped ribs first across the top rope but he manages a running knee to set up the hot tag to Chuck. House is cleaned and we take a break. Back with Trent’s dive over the top being sent into the barricade but he’s fine enough to spear Blade down.

Hold on though, as it’s time for ORANGE CASSIDY TO DO THE SAME THING HE DOES EVERY WEEK, BUT THIS TIME IT’S SOMEONE DIFFERENT SO HE’S AWESOME! This time Bunny steals his sunglasses so he steals her bunny ears and then dives onto Blade. Strong Zero finishes Butcher at 8:06.

Rating: C-. It was the usual match with the usual Cassidy spot and that isn’t enough to overcome my lack of caring about either team. Butcher and Blade don’t win matches and don’t really hurt anyone so I’m not sure why they’re continuing their roles as enforcers/bounty hunters/whatever they’re called at the moment. It wasn’t a bad match, but after the first two matches, this wasn’t up to the same level.

Post match Tony Schiavone is in the ring with Best Friends and Cassidy to announce Cassidy vs. Pac for Revolution. Chuck: “Pac, the joke’s on you buddy, because this time he’s going to TRY!”

Big Swole vs. Shanna vs. Yuka Sakazaki vs. Hikaru Shida

Everyone gets in a shot or two to start with Shanna hurricanranaing Swole and Shida at the same time. Sakazaki stands on the apron while the other three do a triple test of strength. She comes back in to break it up but Swole kicks her down, setting up the parade of rollups for two each. Back with Shida cleaning house and suplexing Shanna into Sakazaki in the corner.

Swole is back in to clean house and kicks Shanna on the head, setting up a springboard cutter for two. Now it’s Sakazaki getting back up, only to get taken down with a lifting Pedigree to give Shanna two of her own. Dirty Dancing drops Shanna but Shida gives Swole a backbreaker. Sakazaki hits a springboard splash for two but Shida makes the save. A running knee hits Swole to give Shida the pin at 9:12.

Rating: C-. This was just another four way with the wrestlers doing their spots until one of them won. I’m rarely a fan of matches like this one as there is next to no story or psychology to the whole thing and it’s just moves after moves. It feels like there’s a multi person match every week or two and I don’t need to see another one for a good while.

The Dark Order says the Exalted One is coming and they’re beating up SCU at Revolution.

Jim Ross moderates a sitdown interview between the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega/Hangman Page (with a drink in hand). The Bucks couldn’t believe this being the case a year ago because Omega and Page were singles wrestlers. Omega says the Bucks are the best but he and Page were in the right place at the right time. Page looks rather anxious and the Bucks call him out for needing a drink.

They’re worried about him because they’re friends in and out of the ring. Page says he tried to leave the Elite, with the Bucks saying he’s walking away from everything they did for him. He was a jobber in ROH and they made him a star on Being The Elite. Page walks out, despite the Bucks saying they have a match to promote. Not titles to win mind you, but a match to promote.

Revolution rundown.

Lance Archer debuts next week.

It’s time for the official weigh-in between Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho, with Gary Michael Cappetta of all people as master of ceremonies. After hyping up the pay per view, Cappetta brings out the two of them but Jericho calls him a weird little man instead of getting on the scale. Jericho: “It’s no wonder WCW went out of business.” Moxley goes first and weighs 234lbs.

Jericho takes his time getting on the scale because he needs to insult the fans and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He goes after Moxley, who headbutts Jericho down to bust him open. The Inner Circle is on Moxley in a hurry but here’s Dustin Rhodes to go after Jake Hager. They fight to the back (JR: “For the love of God stay away from the Dippin’ Dots!!!”) and yes, Dustin is sent into the Dippin’ Dots cart.

Back in the arena, Darby Allin runs in (as in he doesn’t wait around on the stage for thirty seconds this week) for the save but Sammy takes the skateboard away and breaks it over Darby’s head. Moxley fights up and it’s time for the big slugout with Jericho. Guevara breaks up the Paradigm Shift with a low blow and the Judas Effect hits Moxley. Jericho gives him a Paradigm Shift onto the scale. That was a hot ending and covered three matches at once so well done all around.

Overall Rating: B. The opening hour was rather good and while things slowed down a lot from there, it was still a heck of a show with the ending picking up a lot of the slack. The last two weeks were better but this got me ready for Revolution and they’re still in a groove at the right time. Rather good show this week and if they can fix some of their issues, they’re as good as anything going at the moment, if not a fair bit better.

Results

Kenny Omega b. Pac two falls to one

Jurassic Express b. Inner Circle – Hurricanrana to Sammy Guevara

Best Friends b. Butcher and Blade – Strong Zero to Butcher

Hikaru Shida b. Big Swole, Yuka Sakazaki and Shanna – Running knee to Swole

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: February 5, 2020
Location: Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re less than a month away from Revolution and you can see a lot of the card from here. The big story continues to be Jon Moxley challenging Chris Jericho for the World Title and that means he has to go through the Inner Circle. He’ll start with that tonight against Ortiz, but other than that we have Cody dealing with MJF. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Jon Moxley vs. Ortiz

Santana is here and Chris Jericho, flanked by Jake Hager and Sammy Guevara, goes to commentary. A shoulder puts Ortiz on the floor to start so Moxley chases both of them around with a chair. They go outside again with Ortiz getting in some biting and a whip into the steps. Jericho: “He might have knocked his patch right off of his stupid face!” Back in and we hit a camel clutch with Ortiz raking a forearm over Moxley’s eye patch.

Moxley is out in a hurry and takes out the knee to set up a Figure Four. Ortiz is smart enough to poke him in the eye for the break, only to have Moxley send him outside. A suicide dive hits Santana and Ortiz gets sent over the barricade. Back in and a Boss Man Slam gives oxley two but Ortiz sends him right back to the floor. That means a suicide flip dive to put Moxley down as well but he’s back up again. This time he sends Ortiz into Santana and hits a quick Paradigm Shift for the pin at 7:55.

Rating: C. That’s what I was hoping for here as there was no need for this to be an extended match. Moxley is the #1 contender and he’s facing someone who isn’t used to wrestling singles matches. There was no need for this to be a back and forth fifteen minute match. What they did here was the right setup and it’s not like losing to Moxley hurts Ortiz. Well done on the setup, not a bad match.

Post match Moxley gets jumped by Santana but takes him out with another Paradigm Shift. Moxley pulls out the Ford GT key and says “an eye for an eye” before stabbing the key into Santana’s eye. The Inner Circle chases Moxley off.

Best Friends vs. SCU

Orange Cassidy is here but there’s no Christopher Daniels. Kazarian headlocks Trent down to start and JR thinks 2 Cold Scorpio is on the apron. Trent is right back up with the double running knees and a double elbow keeps Kazarian down. Sky spins out of a wristlock but Chuck grabs a headlock. With Sky down, Chuck hits the double bicep but misses a middle rope moonsault. Sky hits a good looking dropkick and everything breaks down for a bit, with Kazarian hitting a slingshot Fameasser to send Trent onto the apron.

Chuck’s standing Sliced Bread connects as Sky is sent into the barricade. A release German suplex drops Trent on the floor but Chuck adds a Blockbuster off the steps to put everyone down. Cassidy gets in his designated comedy spot on the floor by laying down with them as we take a break. Back with things having settled down a bit and the Best Friends taking over. We pause for the Big Hug until Chuck kicks Kazarian into a Code Red from Trent for the fast pin at 9:08.

Rating: C+. The post break part was really short but I’m glad they didn’t make this one go too long either. I still don’t care for the Best Friends and having to pause for Cassidy’s shtick still feels forced every single time. SCU continues to be steady but very good and that’s a valuable asset to have on the show.

Post match the Dark Order runs in for the beatdown so Orange Cassidy gets in to confront them. He’s offered a mask but puts his hands in his pockets, earning himself a beatdown of his own. Christopher Daniels runs in for the save and the Dark Order bails.

Yuka Sakazaki vs. Britt Baker

Sakazaki (the Magical Girl) was at Fyter Fest back in June and has some Arabian Nights style gear. Baker forearms the much smaller Sakazaki and chokes in the corner, setting up a running kick to the face for two. Sakazaki is back up with a top rope flip dive and a springboard plancha to the floor. JR: “Not just a regular splash ladies and gentlemen. The by God Magical Girl splash.” Back in and they slug it out until Baker hits a swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker for two. Lockjaw is broken up though and Sakazaki grabs a crucifix rollup for the pin at 3:12.

Rating: C. Spend two weeks building Baker up, then have her lose to someone else making her debut on the show. The division continues its spiral into nothing as we sit around with the champion barely ever around (save for a mixed tag with Kenny Omega, the only person who seems to get what he’s going for in the whole thing) and a bunch of people trading wins and losses.

Post match Baker hits her in the back with the bell and drives her mouth into the ropes. Sakazaki loses some teeth so Baker puts on Lockjaw to the bloody mouth. Good post match segment, but it might go somewhere if Baker hadn’t just lost clean in about three minutes.

Butcher and Blade/Lucha Bros vs. Young Bucks/Kenny Omega/Hangman Page

JR: “Not even I could misidentify the Bunny.” Graphic for the week: “Hangman is not happy with this music.” Makes sense as to why he power walks to the ring in front of ht eother three. Page chps away at Blade to start and it’s quickly off to Omega for some kicks to the chest and the running jumping Fameasser (more of a bulldog here) gets two. The Bucks come in for a bunch of dropkicks, including a triple dropkick to Butcher with Omega joining in.

Kenny and the Bucks hit stereo dives to the floor as Page doesn’t look impressed. Everything breaks down and Page comes in to help with that, only to be thrown outside. Fenix hits the crazy springboard flip dive and we take a break. Back with Nick taking care of both Lucha Bros on the floor, including a moonsault from the apron to Fenix. The hot tag brings in Matt for the rolling northern lights suplexes to Fenix, plus a bonus one to both Bros at once.

We settle down to Butcher working over Omega in the corner and shoving him back first onto Blade’s knee. The slugout goes to Butcher but Omega comes back with a hurricanrana. The hot tag brings in Page to clean house, including a springboard clothesline and a slingshot dive. An overhead belly to belly suplex puts Pentagon down and there’s a big moonsault to the floor. Everything breaks down and it’s Matt getting caught in the corner for Fenix’s running kick to the head.

The rolling cutter sets up a powerbomb/top rope shoulder combination but Omega is back in for the save. The Bucks clean house but Page misses the Buckshot lariat. Superkicks abound from the Bucks and Bros. Another Buckshot hits Blade and a fall away slam sends Blade flying but Page’s knee is banged up. Page won’t tag either of the Bucks so it’s a Sling Blade from Pentagon. The spike Fear Factor finishes Page at 13:13.

Rating: B. Who in the world watches the Lucha Bros wrestle that way and then thinks that they should be heels? They’re the best high flying team in the world and that rarely makes you heels. Anyway, the good storytelling continues and they have a ton of options available for what should be a heck of a Tag Team Title match against the Young Bucks at Revolution.

The losers argue post match.

Post break, Omega is in the ring for an interview but we cut to Pac, who stalks threatens Riho. Why Riho doesn’t RUN AWAY when Pac has his back turned to her isn’t clear but Omega agrees to the match so Pac will leave her alone. Pac says he wasn’t going to attack Riho, but she will. Cue Nyla Rose to powerbomb Riho onto (not through) a table and issue a challenge for next week. Well at least the champ is here for once.

Darby Allin can’t breathe after last week’s attack….so he shoots a flamethrower at a cardboard cutout of Jericho and Guevara.

Kip Sabian vs. Joey Janela

We wouldn’t want to miss this blowoff. Janela takes him into the corner and hammers away to start but Sabian is right back with some right hands of his own. A suplex gives Janela two and he kicks Sabian in the back. That’s enough for Janela, who tells Sabian to kick him in the back to keep things even. Sabian goes with a chinlock instead, with Janela fighting up in a hurry. Janela sends him to the apron and then face first into the steps, with Ford ramming the back of his head into the steps again.

Back from a break with Sabian hitting a hanging suplex for two but Janela sends him outside. That means a suicide dive but Janela needs to threaten to punch Ford, allowing Sabian to kick him in the face. Janela blocks a flip dive though and hits a German suplex to drop Sabian on the floor. Back in and Janela hits a superkick, followed by his hard Death Valley Driver for two. Ford gets on the apron to kiss Sabian but Janela knocks her to the floor by mistake, allowing Sabian to roll him up with tights for the pin at 11:21.

Rating: D+. This is up there on the list of least interesting things AEW has done so far as Janela is not worth watching and Sabian, while better, isn’t that much better. The whole feud being about Ford isn’t worth this much time as the feud feels like it has been going on for several months. I’d love for this to be it but the ending suggests another rematch down the line.

The Inner Circle isn’t happy with what happened and Santana swears vengeance. He’ll take Moxley on a walk through the park next week and it’s eye for an eye.

The Bucks ask Page what was up with that but Nick thinks it was the booze talking.

Next week: Riho vs. Nyla Rose for the Women’s Title, SCU vs. Page/Omega for the Tag Team Titles and Moxley vs. Santana.

In two weeks: a tag team battle royal for the Revolution title shot, plus Cody vs. Wardlow in a cage.

In three weeks: Omega vs. Pac in a thirty minute Iron Man match.

Dustin Rhodes knows Cody has this because he’s tougher than MJF thinks.

Here are MJF and Wardlow so Cody can take his ten lashes. Hold on though as MJF wants to use Cody’s belt. MJF snaps it behind his head to play some mind games and Cody is rather jumpy. The first lash hits and MJF takes off his coat as a bunch of heels come to the stage to watch. There’s the second lash so Cody gets in his face and MJF demands Cody hit him. The third lash puts Cody onto the ropes and here’s Arn Anderson to the ring. Arn tells him to give up now but Cody takes another lash, putting him on the mat.

The fifth drops Cody to his face so Dustin Rhodes comes out to say he’ll take the other five lashes. That doesn’t work for MJF so Dustin can go watch with everyone else. MJF gives Cody two in a row and he looks near tears. Now it’s the Bucks coming down to beg Cody to stop and he rolls to the floor for a bit while MJF chills on the ropes. Cody gets back in and tells MJF to do it, meaning there’s the eighth. MJF: “STAY DOWN B****!” Cody fights up and says two more but it’s going to be Wardlow with the last pair.

Wardlow drops him with one shot and Cody can’t pull himself up. MJF says that means no match so here’s Brandi Rhodes (sane this week) to encourage him to get up. MJF hits him in the chest for the tenth but he’s furious that Cody didn’t give up. Cody’s back looks terrible as everyone comes in to check on him….and MJF gets in a low blow before running off with Wardlow (with a fan jumping them but being subdued in a hurry) to end the show.

This was GREAT and maybe the best thing that AEW has done to date. Something like this is all about building the drama and that’s what they did here, with Cody selling the heck out of each one and getting MJF angrier and angrier as he couldn’t keep Cody down. Having people come in to try and convince Cody to stay down was a great piece of storytelling and while you knew how it was going to end, they took you on a good journey to get there and I was into it rather soon. Really great way to end the show and an outstanding segment.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling wasn’t the strongest here but they did a good job with the storytelling and laying the show out. That’s what matters more and I would much rather they focus on that rather than trying to get in the long matches every single week. You can do those on occasion, but it’s a lot better to give us some meat rather than just sizzle. Not a great show this week, but check out the ending segment for sure.

Results

Jon Moxley b. Ortiz – Paradigm Shift

Best Friends b. SCU – Code Red to Trent

Yuka Sakazaki b. Britt Baker – Crucifix rollup

Butcher and Blade/Lucha Bros b. Young Bucks/Kenny Omega/Hangman Page – Spike Fear Factor to Page

Kip Sabian b. Joey Janela – Rollup with a handful of tights

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

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

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

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