Wrestle Kingdom XVIII
Date: January 4, 2024
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Commentators: Walker Stewart, Chris Charlton, Rocky Romero

It’s the biggest non-American show of the year and the show tends to be rather awesome. New Japan hasn’t seemed as prominent in recent months but this show is always worth at least a look. The main event will see IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Sanada defending against Tetsuya Naito, plus a secondary big match between Kazuchika Okada and Bryan Danielson. Let’s get to it.

Note that I barely keep up with New Japan so I will not know a good deal of backstories, alliances or anything in that area. I’ll be primarily going off what commentary tells me.

New Japan Ranbo

90 second (ish) intervals and the final four are qualifiers for the King Of Pro Wrestling competition (which is a whole thing in its own right). Chase Owens is in at #1 and Great O Khan is in at #2. They go with the expected striking and grappling to start but neither can get anywhere. Gabriel Kidd is in at #3 and gets to beat on both of them, as tends to be the case. Alex Coughlin (Kidd’s stable mate) is in at #4 as O Khan chops away at Kidd in the corner.

The double teaming is on until Jeff Cobb is in at #5 and house is quickly cleaned. Coughlin gets in some shots of his own and it’s Henare in at #6. O Khan, Henare and Cobb (stable mates in the United Empire) get rid of Coughlin and Kidd so here is Tomohiro Ishii in at #7. The trio goes after Ishii but can’t really do much to slow him down. Mikey Nicholls is in at #8 and slugs it out with Henare to little effect. Cobb can’t get rid of Ishii so we keep up with the brawling on the ropes until Shane Haste (Nicholls’ partner in the Mighty Don’t Kneel) is in at #9.

Haste dropkicks Ishii to start and Nicholls suplexes O Khan as Yujiro Takahashi is in at #10. For some reason he brings in a cane, which goes horribly wrong. The Mighty manage to get rid of Cobb and Henare (off camera) but Master Wato is in at #11 to keep the ring a bit more full. That gives us Owens, O Khan, Ishii, Nicholls, Haste, Takahashi and Wato. Yoshinobu Kanemaru is in at #12 and gets to stomp on pretty much everyone else.

A triple submission has O Khan in a lot of trouble but more brawling ensues instead of an elimination. Yoh is in at #13 and is wearing a track suit instead of regular gear so the Mighty beat him up out of principle. Ishii blocks a double suplex and DDTs the Mighty instead as Sho (the Murder Machine) is in at #14. Yoh, his former partner, comes up to brawl with him on the ramp, meaning it’s a fight over Sho’s….wrench. Uh yeah wrench.

Sho gets the better of things and it’s Fujita Hayato in at #15. That seems to be a big surprise and he jumps both Sho and Yoh on the ramp. The three of them get inside with Hayato cleaning house. Taiji Ishimori is in at #16 as Ishii puts Haste on the apron and sends Nicholls into him for the elimination. Ishii and Nicholls go to the apron, where the latter is eliminated as well. Some interference gets rid of Ishii and Hayato is kicked out as Douki is in at #17.

Douki and Ishimori are dumped out by some double teaming and Toru Yano is in at #18. His entrance takes so long that it’s Takashi Iizuka (apparently retired but still rather scary) is in at #19. House is quickly cleaned and Iizuka, after rejecting a House Of Torture shirt, grabs a choke. Taichi is in at #20 (singing his way to the ring) but Iizuka is up with some kind of iron claw (must be a movie fan) to beat up various people.

Sho and Kanemaru are tossed, leaving us with Taichi vs. Iizuka, which apparently has a history. They shake hands but Iizuka bites him in the head, allowing a bunch of people to toss them both out. We’re down to Owens, O Khan, Ishimori, Yoh and Yano (apparently there were some off screen eliminations), with everyone going after O Khan. Owens takes him to the apron but gets knocked out instead, leaving O Khan, Ishimori, Yoh and Yano as the winners at 32:43.

Rating: C+. This is the “get a lot of people on the show” match but this edition worked a bit better than previous years. It felt like they were trying to put some stories in there rather than random people coming out and getting in fights. I liked this well enough and it was a fun start to the show, with the fans certainly seeming to be stunned by Iizuka, who did look cool.

A brawl ensues post match and an announcer loses his clothes for some reason.

As usual, the opening video runs down the card in order (still not sure if I like that or not) with the bigger matches getting the attention.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Catch 22 vs. Bullet Club War Dogs

Catch 22 (Francesco Akira/TJP) are challenging Clark Connors/Drilla Moloney. TJP was locked in a coffin in an earlier match so here he has to claw out and seems a bit more monstrous. We get the intros and TJP reveals one heck of a scary mask (to go with the claws, because he has claws). TJP starts for the champs but gets sent outside for a quick double teaming, including a double dive. Connors is rather pleased and chains TJP to the barricade.

Akira gets beaten down inside and the bleeding Moloney gets in some shots of his own to keep Akira down. Connors powers him into the corner but Akira manages to ram them into each other, setting up a Canadian Destroyer. TJP is back in (commentary isn’t sure how he got free either) and it’s time to clean house.

A running knee in the corner rocks Moloney as everything breaks down. The Drilla Killa (over the shoulder running piledriver) hits TJP but he pops up, only to be taken down by Connors. A spear knocks Akira off the apron as Drilla gets two on TJP. Everyone gets back in and TJP mists Moloney, setting up stereo running knees to give Catch 22 the titles back at 9:26.

Rating: B-. Well they weren’t going to have Catch 22 loses after that kind of an entrance and this made for a good opener to the show proper. Catch 22 has been a good team every time I’ve seen them and the War Dogs got to show off here as well, which is often the case in an opener like this. Good stuff here as the show is starting well.

TV Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Tanahashi (now the company’s president) is challenging and the match has a fifteen minute time limit. Sabre goes after the arms to start and spins around to grab a hammerlock. A quick Twist and Shout gets Tanahashi out of trouble and then does it a few more times to set up a Sling Blade for two. Tanahashi hits a high crossbody but the High Fly Flow (frog splash) hits raised knees. Sabre’s PK is cut off so Tanahashi goes for the Texas Cloverleaf.

That’s reversed into a triangle choke, which is reversed into another Cloverleaf. With that broken up, Sabre grabs a cross armbreaker, only to have them fight over an abdominal stretch. Tanahashi rolls him up for two and they get up for a chop off. Sabre pulls him into a choke so Tanahashi flips backwards for two and the…well not escape actually as Sabre hangs on. Sabre twists his boots around Tanahashi’s head and they trade rollups….with Tanahashi actually getting the pin and the title at 8:51.

Rating: B. This didn’t have a ton of time to get things going but there’s the point of the time limit. I do like the idea of seeing the ending coming out of nowhere as it was a nice surprise and played up the idea of Tanahashi getting what might be one last moment. I’m sure there ill be jokes about Tanahashi getting the title after he takes over the company but Tanahashi winning a title feels right.

Post match Tanahashi wishes the fans a happy new year.

Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura

These two seem to have quite the rivalry with Tsuji looking rather evil. Feeling out process to start with Tsuji powering him out to the floor, setting up a heck of a suicide dive. Back in and Tsuji keeps up the slow beating but gets pulled into a quickly broken cross armbreaker. Tsuji kicks him down again but Uemura comes back up with some slaps to the face. The always nice dropkick puts Tsuji down and they both get a breather.

A belly to back suplex plants Tsuji but the high crossbody misses. They go up top, where Tsuji backflips down and superkicks a diving Uemura out of the air. A suplex into a powerbomb (cool) gets two on Uemura but he avoids a Curb Stomp. Instead Uemura snaps off a German suplex and a dragon suplex gets two on Tsuji. The Deadbolt (a double arm trap suplex) finishes for Uemura at 10:59.

Rating: B-. This was a match where it felt like they were telling a story, with the evil Tsuji facing the more wholesome Uemura. You could see Uemura doing the technical stuff and ultimately winning with a catchy suplex. Good stuff here, and it seems to be part of a rivalry that is going to be continuing.

House Of Torture vs. Shota Umino/Kaito Kiyomiya

Kaito is from Pro Wrestling Noah and Umino comes down on a motorcycle. The House is Ren Narita/Evil, flanked by all kinds of people. It’s a brawl to start and Umino and Kiyomiya grab stereo submissions. Fellow House member Yoshinobu Kanemaru rings the bell for the save and the ref if bumped in there somewhere. Dick Togo comes in for an assisted low blow for a delayed two on Kiyomiya.

Somehow Kiyomiya gets over for the tag but he has to beat up more of the House on the floor. Back in and a Trident (reverse inverted DDT) and a series of strikes get two on Narita. Evil makes the save with…something that looked like a jacket and Everything Is Evil plants Kiyomiya. Umino German suplexes Narita but he’s back with some kind of a bar to Umino’s face for the pin at 7:04.

Rating: C. I’ve seen the House more than once over the years and nothing they’ve done has made me want to see more. It’s like cheating is the only thing they do rather than something that they do and that gets old in a hurry. Umino vs. Narita feels like part of a big feud (tends to be the case with former Young Lions) so odds are they have a long way to go.

Never Openweight Title: Tama Tonga vs. Shingo Takagi

Takagi is defending and this is more or less the tough man title. As such they slug it out to start and trade shoulders to limited avail. Takagi gets caught with a dropkick to cut him down, followed by a suplex to do it again. Back up and Takagi manages a running elbow to the face and Tonga is knocked outside. That means the big running flip dive, followed by some seemingly meaningful yelling into the camera back inside.

Tonga manages to neckbreaker his way to freedom, followed by a top rope superplex for a heck of a bounce. Takagi is back up but can’t hit Last Off The Dragon. Instead it’s a Tonga Twist into a frog splash for two. One heck of a powerbomb gives Takagi two of his own and they both need a breather.

Tonga is right back with a Gun Stun, followed by Bloody Sunday for one. Takagi gets up so Tonga BLASTS HIM with a clothesline to put him back down. Tonga’s running forearm doesn’t work so Takagi hits his own Gun Stun. Made In Japan is good for a rather near fall but a second is escaped. Tonga hits a Styles Clash into another Gun Stun into the DSD (or something like that) for the pin and the title at 13:47.

Rating: B. These matches tend to be about who can hit the other the hardest and keep getting up and that’s what we had here. I’ll take this kind of a match over the “you chop me, I’ll chop you” fests as they were both laying it in throughout this one. Tonga wins the title back, which seems to be a recurring theme, but it’s also a nice fit for him. Good fight here, though I’m not sure if there was much of a story built in.

Nick Nemeth (Dolph Ziggler) and his brother Ryan Nemeth are here in a surprise.

IWGP Tag Team Titles/Strong Openweight Tag Team Titles: Bishamon vs. Guerrillas Of Destiny

For both sets of titles (not unification), with Bishamon (Hirooki Goto/Yoshi Hashi) holding the IWGP and the Guerrillas (Hikuleo/El Phantasmo) holding the Strong. Hashi chops away at Phantasmo to start but Goto comes in to run him over. Hikuleo comes in for a double suplex to take over and the fans seem impressed. A side slam into a middle rope elbow gets two on Goto as the Guerrillas clear the ring.

Sudden Death (superkick) is broken up though and Hashi suplexes his way out of trouble. The bigger Hikuleo is sent outside and a running Blockbuster/Russian legsweep combination drops Phantasmo. Back up and Phantasmo manages a running hurricanrana to bring Goto off the top and into Hashi for a big crash. Phantasmo superkicks Hikuleo by mistake though and it’s Goto getting to make the comeback.

An assisted knee to the chest gives Goto two on Phantasmo and an assisted Nightmare On Helm Street gets the same, with Hikuleo making the save this time. Goto manages a fireman’s carry backbreaker for two on Hikuleo but Phantasmo is back in with a superkick to put Goto down. With Phantasmo moonsaulting onto Hashi, setting up Super Thunder Kiss 86 (that’s a great name) for a rather near fall and what is apparently a first time kickout. A piledriver into a frog splash from Hikuleo finishes Goto for the titles at 9:46.

Rating: B. The match was good but it never hit that next level. I’ve heard little but praise for Bishamon and while they were doing good stuff here, it felt like the first half of what should have been a bigger match. The results also felt like a bit of an upset, even with the other champions having a rather rough night so far.

Celebrating ensues post match.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi

Takahashi is defending and these two feel like they’ve been feuding on and off forever. Desperado doesn’t feel like waiting around so he drops Takahashi with a running flip dive to the floor. Back in and Desperado has to bail out of a top rope splash, allowing Takahashi to hit a running corner dropkick. They head back to the floor with Takahashi sending him over the barricade, followed by a Falcon Arrow for one back inside.

Desperado pulls him into a Brock Lock to work on the leg, with Takahashi bailing straight to the rope. The leg is banged up though and a shinbreaker makes it worse. Takahashi manages a quick knockdown for a breather and then backdrops his way out of a double underhook. They both need a breather before Takahashi grabs a rebound German suplex. Desperado gets the Block Lock again but Takahashi fights out, this time grabbing the Time Bomb for two.

Time Bomb II doesn’t quite work due to the knee so Desperado winds up on top. A super sitout bulldog is countered though, with Desperado hitting a swinging belly to back superplex instead. Desperado misses the big right hand and gets superkicked down to rock him rather well. Time Bomb II is countered again, this time with Desperado hitting something like an Angle Slam. Pinche Loco gets two on Takahashi and they both need another breather. Desperado is back up with a Jay Driller into another Pinche Loco for the pin and the title at 13:51.

Rating: B+.Yeah this worked and you can tell that the two of them have worked together a bunch of times. They had the chemistry flowing and it felt like they were building all the way throughout. Desperado winning the title feels like a huge moment and that’s how something like this is supposed to feel. Probably the best match on the show thus far and I worked rather well.

IWGP Global Heavyweight Title: Jon Moxley vs. David Finlay vs. Will Ospreay

For the inaugural Title, which is replacing the United States Title, which was held by Ospreay. Moxley and Ospreay, who have a pre-match agreement (which only lasts five minutes), jump Finlay to start so he bails out to the floor. The fans don’t approve, but they do like Ospreay kicking Finlay in the face. Moxley crotches Finlay on the barricade for a running clothesline and the double beating goes into the aisle. Finlay manages to send Moxley over some crates and goes after Ospreay, only to get dropped by Moxley again.

A table is loaded up and Finlay is sent through it but the five minute time limit is (mostly) up so Ospreay and Moxley can fight each other. They forearm it out until Moxley grabs a nasty German suplex. Ospreay is able to catch him in the corner with the Cheeky Nandos kick but Moxley snaps off a sleeper suplex. Ospreay’s Spanish Fly is countered into a cross armbreaker but Moxley can’t hang on.

The Death Rider and Stormbreaker are both broken up but Finlay is back on his feet. A neckbreaker (with shillelagh) puts Ospreay down on the apron but Moxley (yes he’s bleeding) is back up. That’s fine with Ospreay, who hits a handspring double kick to the head. Ospreay sends them both outside for a heck of a moonsault. Back in and Moxley is fine enough to hit the Death Rider for two on Ospreay, followed by the bulldog choke. Ospreay is back up but the Stormbreaker is countered into a sunset flip.

With Moxley blocking said flip, he piledrives the invading Finlay onto Ospreay for two in a clever counter. Moxley grabs some chairs to throw inside, one of which hits Ospreay square in the head, and two of which are set up back to back. That takes too long of course, allowing Finlay to put Moxley down and plant Ospreay onto him. Moxley is back up to Death Ride Ospreay, who pops back up with the Hidden Blade, only to have Finlay steal the cover for two. Finlay gets sent outside but comes right back, where he is promptly beaten back down.

Ospreay and Moxley load up something but cue the Bullet Club War Dogs to jump both of them. Some tables are loaded up outside, allowing Moxley and Ospreay to fight back. The Dogs are put on the tables for a huge Swanton from Ospreay, with Coughlin being left in a hole in the table. Back in and Moxley hits Finlay with a Death Rider, only to get caught with the Hidden Blade for….one. Stormbreaker drops Moxley but Finlay is back with the brainbuster onto the knee for two. A knee to the back and another to the face finish Ospreay to give Finlay the title at 22:21.

Rating: B+. This was a heck of a match with Finlay not quite stealing the title as much as he survived to get the win. Moxley and Ospreay beat him up for a good while until everything went nuts, with the interference being the biggest downside. Finlay seems to be a big deal here and with Ospreay going to AEW and Moxley going back to AEW, it was the best choice of the three.

Post match Finlay yells at Nick Nemeth, who gets in his face and is slapped back down. The fight is on until everything is broken up. It’s split up but starts again, as tends to be the case in wrestling. Good debut for Nemeth, who showed some fire here.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson

Rematch from Forbidden Door, where Danielson beat him. Okada steps into a glass case and his ring gear changes for a rather unique entrance. Danielson on the other hand has an eye patch thanks to Okada, so it’s time for revenge. Feeling out process to start with Danielson winning a grapple off, sending Okada over to the ropes. They forearm it out until Okada gets two off a DDT.

Okada goes vicious with the running kick to the eye and things head outside. Danielson is back up with a jumping knee and then slams the barricade onto Okada for a nasty crash. Back in and a wrist clutch northern lights suplex gives Danielson two, meaning it’s time to break an arm. Significant cranking ensues but Okada slips out and kicks him in the eye. An Air Raid Crash onto the knee puts Danielson back down and Okada goes up.

That takes a good while though and Danielson catches him with an uppercut into a butterfly superplex. The LeBell Lock goes on but Okada is right next to the rope. They head to the apron, where Okada grabs a Tombstone to plant Danielson again. Danielson manages to get back in so the eye patch comes off, with Okada getting in some boot scrapes in the corner. Okada misses his top rope elbow so Danielson kicks him square in the arm, followed by another to the head.

The hammer and anvil elbows have Okada…actually more angry than anything else so Danielson hits the running knee for two. Danielson is livid and grabs something like the Rings of Saturn with his leg instead of an arm. Somehow Okada makes the bottom rope so Danielson grabs the arms again and stomps away at the head.

The LeBell Lock is broken up though and Okada uses the good arm for the Rainmaker. Okada hits him in the face again but has to fight off another LeBell Lock attempt. Another Rainmaker is loaded up but Danielson kicks him in the good arm. A kick to the head and the running knee rock Okada, who avoids another running knee. The Rainmaker finishes Danielson at 23:24.

Rating: A. They surprised me a bit with that finish as I was expecting it to go on even longer. The arm vs. the eye stuff went very well and it wouldn’t shock me to see them face off one more time in some neutral territory. This was every bit as good as it felt like it should have been and I liked it more than the Forbidden Door match. It helped that I could feel the hatred from Danielson, while Okada was more about refusing to lose. Awesome match and well worth a look, as I was left wanting more for a rare feeling.

We recap Tetsuya Naito challenging Sanada for the World Title. Naito won the G1 Climax tournament to earn the shot, then played baseball. Sanada stood on a cliff and held up the title, while looking rather spiffy in a blue suit. This is also more or less Naito’s last chance, while Sanada wanted to show that he can beat his former stable leader.

IWGP World Heavyweight Title: Sanada vs. Tetsuya Naito

Sanada is defending and they go technical to start, with Sanada working on the leg on the mat. Naito reverses into a headscissors but Sanada is up without much effort. Sanada sends him outside and flips back in, where he holds the ropes open for Naito in a rather disrespectful move. Back in and Naito drops him down hard onto the knee to bang up the neck, followed by a cravate.

A backbreaker onto the knee sets up a double arm/neck crank with the legs as Sanada can’t get much going so far. With that one broken up, Sanada avoids a clothesline and dropkicks the knee, setting up a backdrop suplex. A double leapfrog into a dropkick sends Naito outside, with the required dive following. Back in and a TKO gives Sanada two, followed by the dragon sleeper. Naito gets over to the ropes and out to the apron, where a legsweep drops Sanada hard.

Another drop onto the head has Sanada’s neck in more trouble but he beats the count at 18. A super hurricanrana plants Sanada, with commentary calling the move a good luck charm for Naito. The springboard tornado DDT is countered though and Sanada grabs a hanging swinging neckbreaker for the double knockdown. Sanada nips up and hits a Shining Wizard, only to have the moonsault hit knees as he can’t go full Muta.

Naito is back up first and strikes away at the neck, followed by something like a flipping middle rope cutter. Destino connects for no cover but Sanada reverses into a TKO. Sanada’s moonsault gets two and frustration is setting in, but Naito suplexes him onto his head, setting up a spinebuster. More elbows to the neck set up Destino or no cover (that seems like a bad idea).

Another Destino doesn’t go through clean and Sanada is up at two. A Dead Fall plants Naito again and they’re both down for a bit. They strike it out again and Sanada hits something like a Destino of his own. Naito kick shim in the head and hits the tornado DDT but Sanada is back with a bridging rollup for two. Sanada blasts him with another Shining Wizard but Dead Fall is countered into the same thing from Naito. A brainbuster plants Sanada and one heck of a Destino makes Naito champion at 25:35.

Rating: B+. This took some time to get going but the last few minutes were were really good, with the ans going nuts on everything. Sanada put in a heck of a performance of his own and had some very good moments in there, but this was about Naito and the ending was a big rush of emotion from the fans. That’s what you want from a main event like this and Naito gets his big moment. Pretty great main event, especially when it was coming after Danielson vs. Okada.

Post match Naito is busted open but gets the title. He loads up the Los Ingobernables Roll Call (a big thing that was interrupted in his previous chance) but cue the House of Torture to break it up again. Sanada comes in for the save and the fans approve. With the villains cleared out, Sanada shows respect and then leaves. Naito puts his hat on and says he’s holding his microphone because of Sanada, who appreciates that. He thanks the fans and promises a big year before getting to do the roll call that he didn’t get to do years ago. Naito gets the big walk off as commentary wraps everything up.

Overall Rating: A-. This show went the better part of six hours (Kickoff Show included) and it never felt that long, which is one heck of a trick. There was a lot of good stuff here, with the Danielson vs. Okada match being the best on the show. Some of the other matches were getting up there but didn’t quite get over the hump, but when you add them all up, it was a Wrestle Kingdom worthy show. At the very least, they kept it to one night to really make things better. Check this out if you have the chance, though skip the House Of Torture…well everything from them really.

Results
Great O Khan, Taiji Ishimori, Yoh and Toru Yano won the New Japan Ranbo
Catch 22 b. Bullet Club War Dogs – Stereo running knees to Moloney
Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Zack Sabre Jr. – Rollup
Yuya Uemura b. Yota Tsuji – Deadbolt
House Of Torture b. Shota Umino/Kaito Kiyomiya – Bar to Umino’s face
Tama Tonga b. Shingo Takagi – DSD
Guerrillas Of Destiny b. Bishamon – Frog splash to Goto
El Desperado b. Hiromu Takahashi – Pinche Loco
David Finlay b. Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley – Knee to Ospreay
Kazuchika Okada b. Bryan Danielson – Rainmaker
Tetsuya Naito b. Sanada – Destino

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WrestleDream 2023
Date: October 1, 2023
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness, Jim Ross

We’re back with the third pay per view in six weeks and this has a bit of a theme to it. The idea of this show is paying tribute to Japanese legend Antonio Inoki, who passed away a year ago to the day. As a result, there are some New Japan stars involved in the show, which does have a strong card. Let’s get to it.

We open with a long video tribute to Antonio Inoki, with wrestlers talking about what he meant to wrestling.

Tony Khan is in the ring with some other people, all with the Inoki scarves around their necks. Khan introduces the men as Rocky Romero, Katsuyori Shibata and Hiroto/Naroto Inoki, Antonio’s grandsons. We get Inoki’s signature phrase to wrap it up.

Zero Hour: Shane Taylor/Lee Moriarty/Diamante/Mercedes Martinez vs. Keith Lee/Satoshi Kojima/Athena/Billie Starkz

Fans: “WE WANT BREAD!” Excalibur: “Of course Satoshi Kojima the leader of Bread Club.” JR: “You might want to explain that.” Diamante and Starkz start but it’s quickly off to Athena for a suplex. JR wants Athena to go on a tear, apparently not realizing that she’s been on one for the better part of the last year. Taylor comes in to punch Keith in the face and manages to knock him down.

It’s off to Moriarty, who gets dropped rather quickly so Kojima can come in to run Moriarty over. A DDT gets two with Diamante making the save, earning her a beating from Starkz. Everything breaks down and Athena hits an O Face on Moriarty, with JR calling it illegal. The ring is cleared, leaving Kojima to lariat Moriarty for the pin at 5:38.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do much here as they had eight people with less than six minutes. Kojima is a star from New Japan and still does well despite having been around forever, while Keith is rarely in the ring anymore for whatever reasons. It wasn’t a great match or anything close to one, but it was a way to get a lot of people in the ring.

Zero Hour: Josh Barnett vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Jon Moxley is on commentary and talks about training with Barnett. They grapple to start with Barnett powering him down but Castagnoli manages to take over on the mat. Castagnoli gets in some elbows (Moxley: “ELBOW HIS D*** HEAD OFF CLAUDIO!”) but Barnett reverses into a dragon screw legwhip.

That’s broken up as well but Castagnoli can’t get the Swing. Back up and they slug it out until Barnett gets a quickly broken abdominal stretch. Castagnoli gets in the swing, setting up some kind of leglock. Barnett makes the rope and grabs a suplex before they strike it out. The Neutralizer is blocked so Castagnoli pulls him into an Octopus Hold on the mat. That and a rollup is enough to pin Barnett at 8:20.

Rating: B-. This was a different kind of match as it was more of a grappling exchange between two guys who know what they’re doing in that style. Barnett is someone who is a lot better known in mixed martial arts than in wrestling but he’s good enough to hang with someone like Castagnoli. Good stuff here and probably something different than anything else you’ll see on the show.

Post match Barnett shows respect and says Inoki would be a fan of Castagnoli. Barnett says Castagnoli owes him more time though so keep training. Sounds good to Castagnoli.

Zero Hour: Nick Wayne vs. Luchasaurus

Nigel says this is going to be like Luke Skywalker being dropped into the pin with the Rancor. Wayne fires off a dropkick to start but gets tossed with a nasty release German suplex. Luchasaurus pounds away but Wayne is back up with some kicks. A chokeslam sends Wayne to the floor….where he crawls to his mom in the front row. That earns him a face first swing into the barricade but Wayne scores with some kicks back inside. Wayne’s World is easily blocked and the forearm to the back of the head finishes for Luchasaurs at 4:51.

Rating: C. That went about as it should have, as Luchasaurus is a total monster and Wayne is someone who hasn’t proven himself to be on Luchasaurus’ level. There is something to be said about a smaller guy striking away with everything he has but not being able to overcome. The part with his mom was a nice bonus, making this go according to the logical plan.

Zero Hour: Trios Titles: TMDK vs. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn

TMDK (Shane Haste/Mikey Nichols/Bad Dude Tito) is challenging. Tito powers Caster down to start and hands it off to Haste. Caster punches his way out of the corner though and it’s Gunn coming in to quite the reaction. A running shoulder drops Haste and Gunn loads up Scissor Me Timbers, which connects for quite the reaction.

We settle down with Bowens getting caught in the wrong corner and Tito adding a slingshot hilo. Bowens fights out of a chinlock but gets knocked back again to keep up the beating. An attempt to get over to the corner is cut off as Gunn and Caster are knocked to the floor in a smart move. Bowens manages to duck around and get over to Gunn though and house is cleaned. Tito plants Gunn rather quickly and Caster has to make a save. A step up Cannonball hits Caster in the corner but Gunn is back in with the Fameasser. The Arrival into the Mic Drop retains the titles at 9:18.

Rating: C. That was your Rampage opener of the show and not much more. They had some time to do a bit more here than usual and that helped, but it’s another group of guest stars getting a title shot. That is only going to get you so far and they hit most of that limit here. Not a bad match by any means, but there wasn’t much in the way of drama.

And now, the show proper.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Righteous

MJF is defending on his own, but before the match, he accuses someone of stealing his devil mask and attacking Jay White. As for the Righteous, MJF promises a BODY SLAM. Dutch starts for the team and MJF asks who wants to see that body slam. Instead we get the handshake of sportsmanship before MJF pokes Dutch in the eye. MJF gets in a hip swivel and pulls Vincent in, only to get clotheslined by Dutch.

The chinlock doesn’t last long as MJF fights up….but realizes he doesn’t have a partner. Dutch powerbombs him down so Vincent can hit a Swanton for two. The Boss Man Slam gets two more and Autumn Sunshine gets the same, leaving the Righteous stunned. Vincent goes for a chair but MJF grabs him low to cut it off.

Back up and Vincent kicks him in the face but misses a second Swanton. Everything breaks down and Dutch is rammed into the corner over and over. The body slam connects and the fans are thrilled. With Dutch sent into the corner, MJF sends Vincent face first into the back of Dutch’s tights. The Kangaroo Kick sends the Righteous outside and the Heatseeker finishes Dutch (with feet on the ropes) at 9:35.

Rating: C+. Watching MJF do his goofy, almost parody of wrestling is hilarious and it’s great to see him having fun like this. At the same time, the Righteous being out of the title picture for the time being is nice to see. It still feels like the Kingdom will be the ones to win the titles, but at least we’re having a good time on the way there.

We recap Katsuyori Shibata vs. Eddie Kingston, with Kingston defending his two titles but Shibata not defending his.

Ring Of Honor World Title/New Japan Strong Openweight Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Only Shibata is challenging and he goes to the mat to start. With that not working, they trade strikes until Shibata pulls him down into an ankle lock. The rope is reached so Shibata grabs a Figure Four to stay on the leg. That’s broken up as well so Shibata puts on a bow and arrow. Kingston fights up and fires off the chops in the corner but Shibata kicks him in the face. The running basement dropkick in the corner and the fans are behind Shibata.

Kingston is back with a t-bone suplex but Shibata grabs an STO, with Taz being at his best by explaining the leverage and science. The Octopus Hold on the mat has Kingston in trouble but he makes it over to the rope. Kingston knocks him away again but Shibata comes back with the running kick to the chest. They strike it out until Kingston’s spinning backfist gets one. The northern lights bomb gets the same, followed by another backfist and the powerbomb to retain the titles at 10:58.

Rating: B-. This was Kingston striking away and gritting through someone more polished and skilled. It made for a nice story to the match and served as Kingston’s latest fantasy match come to life. Kingston needs some wins to establish himself as a star and wins like this one are going to get him a long way.

Post match Shibata gets the big show of respect.

We recap Julia Hart challenging Kris Statlander for the TBS Title. Hart is on a roll but Statlander was the last person to beat her. Now the title is on the line.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander vs. Julia Hart

Hart, with Brody King, is challenging. Statlander powers her into the corner to start and hits some shoulders to the ribs. The running knee misses but she runs Hart over again without much trouble. Hart manages a hurricanrana but Statlander muscles her over with a suplex for two. They go outside, where Statlander grabs her in a fireman’s carry and carries her back up the steps. It’s right back to the floor, with Hart sending her into the barricade this time.

A backsplash gives Hart two back inside and we hit the quickly broken abdominal stretch. Now Statlander’s running knee in the corner sets up the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Statlander trips so King yells at her, allowing Hart to load up the mist. That takes too long though and Statlander grabs a fisherman’s driver for two more. Hart pulls her off the top and goes up, meaning it’s the moonsault for a rather close two. Hartless goes on but Statlander muscles her up into a Tombstone, followed by Sunday Night Fever to retain at 8:54.

Rating: B-. I was a bit surprised by the result as it stops Hart’s run cold, but Statlander has been on a roll since getting the title. Having her get another pay per view win is not a bad thing whatsoever, but she needs to start fighting some of the bigger names. The division has the depth to have some stronger challengers come after her, though Hart did rather well here in her biggest match ever.

We recap the four way tag match for the #1 contendership to the Tag Team Titles. There are four teams and they’re fighting for a title shot, end of story.

The Gunns vs. Hook/Orange Cassidy vs. Lucha Bros vs. Young Bucks

One fall to a finish for a future AEW Tag Team Title shot. Fenix and Nick strike away at each other before popping up for a staredown. Cassidy tags himself in but the Gunns pull Fenix outside for a ram into the barricade. Back in and Austin dropkicks Cassidy into the corner before trying to cover Colten. The referee isn’t having that and it’s the Bucks’ turn to clean house.

Hook comes in and gets to clear the ring as well, leaving Cassidy to hit a dive onto both Bucks. Apparently Fenix is down so Penta comes in to kick at the Bucks. We settle down to Colten punching Hook down for two but Penta is back in. Made In Japan gets two on Austin as everything breaks down again. Matt hits a superkick and Nick adds the slingshot X Factor to Austin.

Penta’s big running flip dive connects though Hook tags himself in. Redrum is blocked so Cassidy Orange Punches Austin into Redrum to put him in trouble. Nick tags himself in though and hits a 450 for two with Cassidy making a save. The Bucks double superkick Hook but Penta superkicks the Bucks. Not that it matters as the BTE Trigger finishes Penta at 12:10 to give the Bucks the title shot.

Rating: B-. The Bucks are 2/3 of the Six Man Tag Team Champions, #1 contender to the Tag Team Titles and Nick is getting an International Title shot this week. I know it’s All ELITE Wrestling but this might be taking things a bit too literally. Anyway, this was your usual insane display of people jumping and flipping all over the place, though Fenix being down isn’t a good sign. I’m not sure if they’re going to run FTR vs. the Bucks again, but it would certainly be a big deal if they did. I’m just not sure how big.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland. Page can’t break through to be a star and Swerve wants to prove what he really is. Then Page stabbed him in the hand with a pen.

Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland

The Mogul Embassy, complete with dancing Prince Nana, is here with Strickland (the home area boy). Feeling out process to start until Page knocks him into the corner for a loud chop. The fans are WAY behind Swerve here, even as Page knocks him down into the corner. Swerve is right back with a kick to the face and the middle rope elbow to the back lets him dance a bit.

Page manages a quick suplex and they’re both down again. With Swerve on the floor, Page hits a big moonsault to take him down on the floor. The dive drops Swerve again but they go back inside where he grabs a rolling Downward Spiral. The Brainbuster gives Swerve two but Page catches him on top. That’s fine with Swerve, who knocks him backwards for the Swerve Stomp (the fans approve again).

Swerve’s House Call gets two more and they head to the apron. The Deadeye on the apron is blocked so Page hits it on the steps instead. Page doesn’t cover, instead sending him inside and kicking away, only to get caught in the ropes. They slap it out until the Buckshot Lariat is countered into a rather nasty arm crank. We pause for the doctor to check on Page but Swerve hits a Swerve Stomp onto the apron.

A 450 onto the arm gives Swerve two and he grabs the armbar. Page makes the rope and scores with a left arm lariat. Swerve’s armbar is broken up and Page hammers on the bad hand. Swerve gets in a suplex but misses another Stomp. The Buckshot Lariat connects for a rather delayed two, as Prince Nana puts the foot on the rope. Page chases Nana off, allowing Swerve to hit him in the face with Nana’s crown for two. Back to back House Calls set up the JML Driver for the pin on Page at 20:06.

Rating: B+. That’s the Swerve match that the fans have been waiting to see and it worked very well throughout. These guys beat the fire out of each other and it felt like a big slugout. If Swerve becomes a breakout star around here, there is a good chance that this is what starts it off for him. Awesome match here and the best thing on the card so far.

We recap Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta. Starks wasn’t happy with losing to Bryan Danielson back to back so he’ll fight Danielson’s teammate instead.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Ricky Starks

Jon Moxley is back on commentary. They go with the grappling to start before opting to punch each other in the face instead. Starks gets the better of things and knocks Yuta up against the ropes, allowing him to stare at the crowd a bit. Yuta slips out of a fireman’s carry and rolls him up for two, only to have Starks get in another shot. Moxley thinks Starks is talented but runs his mouth too much, meaning he isn’t sure if he should fight Starks or take him on a date. Yuta is back with something like a Samoan drop and an armbar goes on.

Cue Big Bill as Starks makes the rope and spikes Yuta for two. Starks hits his own hammer and anvil elbows, which just make Yuta mad. That’s fine with Starks, who takes Yuta’s head off but gets shoved off the rope for a crash onto Bill. Yuta posts Bill to get rid of him and fires off the real hammer and anvil elbows. The Seatbelt gives Yuta two but Starks is back up with the spear. The Roshambo finishes Yuta at 9:54.

Rating: C+. The match wasn’t bad, but I’m not sure if it needed to be on the pay per view. This felt like a Rampage main event or a big match on Collision rather than needing to be on here. What matters here though is that Starks got his big win and regains some momentum so things should be getting a bit better for him going forward. Odds are it sets up Moxley vs. Starks as well and that’s not a bad thing.

We recap Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. and….yeah I think that’s all you need to know here.

Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre’s New Japan TV Title isn’t on the line. Feeling out process to start as they both seem nervous about going too far. Danielson suplexes him down and Sabre pauses for a standoff. Sabre pulls him into the abdominal stretch but Danielson pulls him into a leglock. That’s broken up and they stay on the mat with neither being able to get control. Instead Danielson pulls him into the surfboard but Sabre slips out again.

Sabre starts going after the arm and gives it a shoulder before adding a nasty stomp. The arm gets twisted around and Sabre is starting to get cocky. Sabre stays on the arm but he takes too long going up, allowing Danielson to cut him off. The arm is snapped over Sabre’s shoulder though and the armbar goes on up top. Danielson headbutts his way out of trouble and a top rope butterfly superplex lets him…not get the LeBell Lock.

Instead Danielson goes with a half crab but Sabre is right over to the ropes. The YES Kicks rock Sabre and Danielson stomps him in the head. The running knee is countered and Sabre pulls him into the European Clutch for two. Moxley (on commentary) is on his feet as they both need a breather. Cattle Mutilation goes on but Sabre rolls out, only to get caught with the elbows to the face.

Danielson gets a leglock but Sabre reverses into one of his own. That earns him a spit in the face and they strike it out, with Danielson getting the better of things. Back up and Sabre goes for the arm while Danielson kicks at the leg. Sabre gets the better of things this time and pulls Danielson into the double arm crank. Nigel: “THINK ABOUT YOUR KIDS! THINK ABOUT YOUR WIFE! RETIRE NOW!”

Danielson makes the rope (Nigel: “You coward!”) so they trade kicks, with Danielson nailing a big one to the head. The stomp to the head misses so Sabre pulls him into the cross armbreaker. That’s reverses into a leg trap belly to back suplex into the running knee for the very near fall. Another running knee finishes Sabre at 23:13.

Rating: A-. Like I said before the match, this was going to work because of the talent involved and then they were allowed to have all the time they needed to tear the house down. You could see two masters in there trying to take the other apart and it worked about as well as expected. Awesome stuff here and as usual, it felt like a clinic from two of the best ever with this style.

Post match respect is offered but Sabre turns it down. Naturally Nigel says that wasn’t technical wrestling so Danielson is NOT the best in the world.

We recap Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi vs. the Don Callis Family. All three hate Callis so they’re fighting his team.

Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi vs. Don Callis Family

Omega and Will Ospreay start things off but it’s quickly off to Sammy Guevara, who lounges on the top rope. They start running the ropes until Sammy flips over him and scores with a dropkick. Ospreay comes back in to get suplexed by Jericho as Sammy shouts at commentary. Jericho punches Ospreay and we get the big standoff. The good guys clear the house, pay tribute to Inoki (oh yeah that’s a thing with this show) and hit stereo dives.

Back in and Omega slugs away at Takeshita, who rakes the eyes to cut him off. Takeshita hits a clothesline but Ibushi comes in for a save. Ospreay puts on an abdominal stretch, with the rest of the Family adding leverage like villains should. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Omega but he gets over for the tag back to Omega. That means an abdominal stretch to Sammy, with the rest of Omega’s partners pulling as well.

Ibushi comes in with a double back elbow and we get an Ibushi/Jericho Sex Gods pose. Omega and Jericho hit stereo moonsaults to the floor, leaving Jericho to hit the Lionsault for two on Sammy. Takeshita breaks up the Walls and drops Omega on his head with a release German suplex. Jericho has to fight Ospreay and Takeshita at the same time but Takeshita knees Ospreay by mistake.

Omega is back up with the big running flip dive to take out Takeshita and Ospreay. Back in and Sammy Spanish Flies Jericho for two, followed by the shooting star to the floor. Omega and Ospreay slug it out back inside but Takeshita is back in with a running knee to put Omega down.

Sammy Codebreakers Jericho for one so Jericho fights up, only to get beaten down again. Ibushi is back up to strike away but Ospreay saves Takeshita from the big boot. The Golden Trigger is cut off by Sammy’s high crossbody. Jericho is back up with the Judas Effect to Ospreay but Sammy superkicks Jericho in the face. Jericho tries to pull him into the Walls but Callis comes in with a baseball bat shot to give Sammy the pin at 22:17.

Rating: B+. This was the match I was expecting to be the best on the card and it came pretty close. The match started with the regular wrestling but then broke down into the wild fight that it was destined to be. The Callis Family stuff isn’t exactly thrilling but the matches have worked so well and that’s what matters most.

We recap Aussie Open challenging FTR for the Tag Team Titles. FTR beat them for the New Japan Tag Team Titles a year ago and now the Aussies want to even things up.

AEW Tag Team Titles: Aussie Open vs. FTR

FTR is defending. Harwood and Fletcher lock up to start with neither being able to get very far. Wheeler comes in and this time Fletcher bails to the floor. Harwood sends him back in, where Wheeler hits a backdrop to take over. It’s off to Davis for a chop off with Harwood, who gets slammed down. Davis hits a backsplash so it’s back to Fletcher, who gets caught with a snap suplex.

Everything breaks down and FTR is rammed into each other on the floor. Back in and Fletcher forearms away at Wheeler before Davis grabs a chinlock. Wheeler fights up and catches Fletcher on top, meaning it’s a belly to back superplex for a big crash. Fletcher is able to grab a brainbuster but Wheeler is up again, this time getting over to Harwood. Rolling German suplexes drop Fletcher as Wheeler and Davis fight on the floor.

Harwood gets two off a Liger Bomb but Davis is back in to break up the PowerPlex. A Doomsday kick to the face gets two on Wheeler but Harwood is back in for the save. Now the PowerPlex can connect, leaving Fletcher to high crossbody Harwood into the cover to break it up.

Wheeler rolls Davis (who appears to have hurt his wrist) up for two, only to walk into a Shatter Machine from the Aussies. The Coriolis gets two with Harwood making the save this time. They head outside again and it’s a spike piledriver on the floor to drop Davis. Back in and a super Shatter Machine finishes Fletcher to retain the titles at 20:23.

Rating: B. It was a good match but this might have been better if they had cut out about four minutes. The problem here came down to the fact that this went long in the semi-main event spot on a show that is going to run over four and a half hours. The Aussies winning felt like a long shot in the first place and while the match was good, it wasn’t able to completely overcome those circumstances.

We recap Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage for the latter’s TBS Title. Allin wants to prove he belongs in the main event in his hometown and the title is on the line.

TBS Title: Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage

Allin is challenging (and bleeding before the match for some reason) and this is 2/3 falls. Feeling out process to start with Cage bailing into the corner and spitting into Allin’s face. Allin is calm enough to pull him into an armbar, followed by a headlock to keep him down. Back up and Christian chops him against the ropes, meaning we get the double bicep pose. It’s too early for the Unprettier though as Allin pulls the turtleneck over Christian’s face and rolls him up for the first fall at 4:55.

We pause for a bit as Cage stops to look at Nick Wayne’s mom in the front row before taking Allin down again. Cage pounds away at the back and cranks on his neck to keep things slow. Allin gets back up for some rapid fire rollups but gets sent outside in a crash. Cage whips him into the barricade but goes after Wayne’s mom again, allowing Allin to hit a suicide dive. Back in and the Coffin Drop hits raised knees, allowing Cage to send him into the announcers’ table. Something like a powerslam off the apron hits sends Allin back first into the steps. That’s enough for a countout to tie it up at 15:18 total.

A stretcher is brought out as Cage is doing something with the ring skirt. He peels the entire mat back and exposes the wood….before hitting a frog splash onto Allin on the stretcher. That’s good for two back inside and Cage grabs a Scorpion Deathlock. Allin makes the rope (the fans approve) and it’s a Scorpion Death Drop for two, followed by the Coffin Drop for the same.

Cage loads up a superplex onto the steps on the floor but gets reversed into a sunset bomb. The spear hits the referee though, leaving Cage to hit Allin low. The title is brought in but Nick Wayne runs in to take it away. Then Wayne hits Allin with the title (his mom is NOT happy) and Cage retains at 25:13.

Rating: B+. This was a smartly worked match as Christian didn’t have to go insane but rather set things up for Allin to go nuts instead. It made for some very good drama and action, with Allin getting the first fall to save some face. I liked the match rather well, though having it as the main event (yes they had to with the ring deal) might have been a stretch.

Post match Cage hugs Wayne, who destroys Allin while yelling about family. Sting comes in for the save but Luchasaurus is here to beat him down as well. The Conchairto is loaded up….and the lights go out. A video of someone driving a car to the arena plays and the lights come up. And yeah EDGE debuts (complete with Metalingus theme), with the villains handing him the chair. He cracks Wayne with it instead and spears Luchasaurus to clear out the villains. Edge and Sting shake hands to end the show. That’s the big deal of the show and while we’ll have to see where it goes, the moment was there.

Overall Rating: B+. As tends to be the case with AEW shows, they wind up being good in the end through the hard work and effort put in from the wrestlers. That was the case again here, with a few awesome matches being more than enough to keep me interested. The show got better as it went on and thankfully they didn’t have some of the lesser matches eat up too much time.

That being said, this was they could be that much more enjoyable with some time trimmed off. There is just SO MUCH STUFF on here and some of it could easily be dropped (like the bonus Rampage described as Zero Hour) and probably Starks vs. Yuta. At some point the energy is going to go away and that isn’t good for the main event matches. That being said, the show was still quite the blast to watch and if they can keep it up, they’re not going to change anything.

Results
Satoshi Kojima/Keith Lee/Athena/Billie Starkz b. Shane Taylor/Diamante/Lee Moriarty/Mercedes Martinez – Lariat to Moriarty
Claudio Castagnoli b. Josh Barnett – Rollup
Luchasaurus b. Nick Wayne – Forearm to the back of the head
Billy Gunn/Acclaimed b. TMDK – Mic Drop to Haste
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. The Righteous – Rollup with feet on the ropes to Dutch
Eddie Kingston b. Katsuyori Shibata – Powerbomb
Kris Statlander b. Julia Hart – Sunday Night Fever
Young Bucks b. Lucha Bros, Gunns and Orange Cassidy/Hook – BTE Trigger to Penta
Swerve Strickland b. Hangman Page – JML Driver
Ricky Starkz b. Wheeler Yuta – Roshambo
Bryan Danielson b. Zack Sabre Jr. – Running knee
Don Callis Family b. Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi – Baseball bat shot to Jericho
FTR b. Aussie Open – Super Shatter Machine to Fletcher
Christian Cage b. Darby Allin 2-1

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So here we have WrestleDream, which is a show designed to honor the passing of Antonio Inoki one year ago. Therefore it’s another AEW show with New Japan guest stars, though New Japan is running a big show of its own on the same day so the visiting stars are limited. There is some good stuff on the card though and hopefully that’s enough to carry it. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Nick Wayne vs. Luchasaurus

This is a side story from Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage as both have interfered in the other feud. It’s a speed vs. power match and that is something that can work under almost any circumstances. AEW really seems interested in pushing Wayne every chance they can these days but at some point he is going to need to win something. I’m just not sure he gets to do it here.

I’ll go with Luchasaurus to win here as he’s coming off the TNT Title reign and isn’t likely to lose to someone with so little experience on this level. I’m sure Wayne will get a bunch of stuff in and get to showcase himself again but that doesn’t mean he’s going to win. Hopefully Wayne gets to throw everything he has at Luchasaurus, but he’ll fall short in the end.

Zero Hour: Trios Titles: Acclaimed/Billy Gunn(c) vs. TMDK

This is the first New Japan match on the show and in this case it was built up as “whoever wins the title match on Rampage defends against TMDK tomorrow night”. That’s not exactly a thrilling story but it’s a way to get the titles on the show. Thankfully in this case it’s just on Zero Hour, meaning it won’t extend the show with a match that has very little in the way of drama.

Of course the champions retain here, as a group of guest stars aren’t going to be the ones to end the reign that is bringing the Acclaimed and the Gunns back to prominence. The (arguably) good thing about these titles is you can throw any three challenges out there and have a title match. That’s more or less what they’ve done here, though at least it’s a regular team from New Japan.

Zero Hour: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Josh Barnett

So this was added the night before the show as the result of a Castagnoli open challenge. Barnett has never wrestled for AEW before but does have experience in Japan so here we are. That makes for a tricky preview because there isn’t any kind of a story going into the match, and Barnett being a complete stranger around here makes it even more complicated.

Since Barnett is not likely to stick around, I’ll go with Castagnoli to win as there isn’t much of a reason to do anything else. Castagnoli needs a big win coming off his loss to Eddie Kingston and while this won’t be some kind of a game changer for him, it should be enough to give him a boost. I’m not sure why this match needed to be added, though more Castagnoli is often a good thing.

Zero Hour: Shane Taylor/Lee Moriarty/Diamante/Mercedes Martinez vs. Satoshi Kojima/Keith Lee/Athena/Billie Starkz

This is another match added during the Collision because MORE MEANS GOOD. There are a few people with some history here but a good chunk of it has been in Ring Of Honor. Taylor seems to be one of the new flavors of the month for AEW and it makes sense that they would want to get him out there in front of people as often as possible. Throw in Lee and this could be a lot worse.

Give me Lee and company to win, as Moriarty being thrown half a mile by Lee would be a good way to get the show going. Other than that, there is always the chance of Athena beating Martinez or Diamante. Either way, there are going to be a bunch of people in this match and there is a good chance that a lot of them are not going to be able to get in that much ring time.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander(c) vs. Julia Hart

Statlander has been a mostly dominant champion in her still relatively short title reign, but Hart has caught fire in recent weeks and suddenly feels like she could be a major threat to the title. The good thing here is that you are seeing two mostly fresh women in the title scene, which is what AEW has been needing for a very long time now. In other words, there isn’t a bad option for a winner here.

I think I’ll actually take hart to win the title, as it would be very deflating for her to lose after the big push that she has gotten in the last few weeks. Granted that might have been just to make her feel like a threat, but the House of Black needs to get something back after losing the Trios Titles, so this would be a nice fit to help get them on track. I’m not sure what is next for Statlander, but I’m thinking she should lose here.

Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta

This was thrown onto the card earlier in the week as Yuta doesn’t like how Starks has been going after Bryan Danielson. Starks has been on a roll as of late without winning much of anything, which leaves him in a weird place. Granted that is kind of why you put someone like Yuta in this spot as he could go a long way with making Starks look like a bigger deal after his losses.

I’ll go with Starks to win here, as there is little reason for Yuta to win. His role in the Blackpool Combat Club is to put up a good fight in defeat and that is what he’ll be doing here. Starks is red hot and for someone who keeps losing so giving him a win here would be the right way to go. They’ll have a good match, but at the end of the day, Starks needs this way more than Yuta.

Young Bucks vs. The Gunns vs. Lucha Bros vs. Orange Cassidy/Hook

For a future AEW Tag Team Title shot, which sounds a bit like a Money In The Bank deal. We’ll start with getting rid of Cassidy and Hook, who are a fun team, but I can’t imagine they actually get put into the title picture so soon. That leaves a few options, and I could picture any of the three getting the shot. It’s nice to have options here, and unfortunately none of them really stand out.

While the Bucks would be the interesting way to go, I’ll take the Gunns getting the win here. FTR vs. the Lucha Bros doesn’t sound like it would be the most engaging match and the Bucks vs. FTR has been done so many times now. Go with FTR vs. the Gunns, which does have a history but hasn’t been hammered into the ground. This is going to be the “everyone flies all over the place” match and it should be entertaining enough. Just don’t do the Money In The Bank deal, please.

AEW Tag Team Titles: FTR(c) vs. Aussie Open

This one is a little more interesting as I could see the titles changing hands. Aussie Open has come a long way and established themselves as one of the better teams in AEW at the moment. That means they can be put into this spot for a shot at the best team around without much trouble. The teams have even traded some promos to hype things up even more and so far, they’ve done their jobs.

With that being said, for the life of me I can’t imagine FTR losing the belts They can have good to great matches with just about any team and it would feel like a waste to take away that option, especially with them frequenting Collision. The Aussies will give them one heck of a run for their money, but FTR comes out on top of this by retaining the titles, and that’s the right choice.

Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi vs. Konosuke Takeshita/Sammy Guevara/Will Ospreay

This is the Don Callis Family match, which has seen two feuds combined into one for the sake of taking away some of Callis’ television time. Ignoring that aspect though, we should be in for a heck of a match here, especially if Ibushi is able to wrestle more like his old self than the version we have seen in AEW so far. Everything else should work well and I’m wanting to see how this goes.

After dominating for a good while, this should be the match where Callis and company can drop a match to the conquering heroes. Guevara taking a fall from Omega or even Jericho won’t ruin him as they can get set up for another singles showdown in the future. Either way, this has the potential to steal the show and if they can get to that higher level, it very well may be the best thing on the show.

Ring Of Honor World Title/New Japan Strong Openweight Title: Eddie Kingston(c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata

It’s a double title match with Shibata’s ROH Pure Title not on the line, meaning commentary has said that Shibata can become a triple crown champion. At least Shibata is someone who has wrestled in Ring Of Honor more than once, as there is far too much of a tendency for random people to get title shots (like earlier in the show or example). Shibata is also someone Kingston is going to respect so there is a real chance he’ll bring the work here.

As for a winner, much like the Trios Titles, there isn’t much of a reason to believe the title is going to change hands, especially so soon after Kingston won the ROH title in the first place. Kingston needs to rack up some wins to make him feel like a bigger deal and this would be a nice addition. It should be a hard hitting match as well and that should take them far enough, but yeah Kingston retains.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Maxwell Jacob Friedman(c) vs. Righteous

So this was supposed to be a tag match with Adam Cole included but he’s basically destroyed his ankle, leaving us with a handicap match instead. That puts them in a tough spot and again I’m not sure where this is going to go. On one hand, MJF doesn’t need to have the titles anymore if Cole is injured, but the titles changing hands would involve the Righteous beating the AEW World Champion.

As little sense as it might make, I’ll go with MJF retaining, as I can’t imagine either Vincent or Dutch pinning him or making him give up. There is always the chance of some kind of screwy finish and that is probably coming later, but it is still hard to fathom that anyone but the Kingdom is taking the titles from Cole and MJF. Or is it just MJF these days? Either way, the Righteous don’t win here.

Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland

This is the match that has felt the most interesting throughout the build to the show and the contract signing this week kept that interest high. Both guys need a big win and they have me wanting to see them fight, which is a great sign for one of them. Hopefully the loser isn’t going to be hurt that badly but there is a good chance that this is going to continue beyond this match.

Give me Swerve here, as a Page win would seem to wrap things up between them with a tighter bow. As much as Page could use a win, he’s had success before and is a much more accomplished star in AEW. Let Swerve get his win and move up the card a bit, as a win over a former World Champion is going to do a lot of good no matter what. Page should be fine, but either way, this match should rock.

Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

What we have here is the kind of match that sells itself on name value alone. The idea of Danielson vs. Sabre Jr. is going to get hardcore fans interested and there is a very real chance that they could live up to or even exceed their expectations. That might be a very hard task to pull off, but these are the kind of stars who might be able to pull that kind of a miracle off.

As has been a trend here, there isn’t much of a reason for the star who is going to be going away after this show winning, so I’ll take Danielson to win here. Yes he did it in a pay per view main event against a guest star this year and that should cover him for well over a year, but I can’t imagine Sabre winning here. Danielson has things to do in AEW and downgrading him (as much as that can be done) with a loss to a one off guest star doesn’t make sense.

TNT Title: Christian Cage(c) vs. Darby Allin

This is the rumored main event for the show and with Allin as the hometown boy in a 2/3 falls match, that is not the worst idea. These two had a rather nice match a month or so ago on Collision and if they do that again with more time and on a bigger stage, we should be in for a pretty solid main event. That leaves a pair of questions though and I think I have the answer to at least one.

Of course I’ll take Allin winning here, as otherwise it would run a real threat of killing Seattle for AEW. Allin winning is the perfect way to go and it would be a great moment to end things on. Then again, there is also the chance that we get an Edge debut here to do something with Cage, though hopefully that doesn’t include giving him an assist to keep the title. Allin wins here, as he should.

Overall Thoughts

That’s a lot of matches. Once I get to the end of the card, I’ve already forgot a good few of the matches involved as there are too many for the show’s own good. Then again that is the case with almost every AEW show, which makes it all the more frustrating. The action will be rather good as it almost always is, but the way the show is presented is such a self imposed roadblock. It still feels like a B show, but now it feels like a rather bloated B show.

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Rampage
Date: September 29, 2023
Location: 1stBank Center, Broomfield, Colorado
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

It’s the last Rampage before WrestleDream and I’m not sure how much of a difference that is going to make. Rampage can be all over the place when it comes to importance, but there is a good chance that the wrestling itself will be pretty high quality. That should make for an easy show so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Trios Titles: Billy Gunn/Acclaimed vs. Hardys/Brother Zay

Gunn and the Acclaimed are defending in ANOTHER open challenge. Zay and Bowens stars things off with an exchange of armdrags until Zay grabs a headscissors (and thrusts his hips into the mat). Bowens is right back with a kick to the ribs into the running Fameasser for quite the crash. Zay manages to send Bowens to the floor so it’s off to Jeff to beat up Caster. Matt and Billy come in for a SUCK IT vs. DELETE off until Gunn is sent into the corner over and over.

It’s back to Jeff for the step up splash in the corner but everything breaks down. The champs clear out the Hardys and Scissor Me Timbers gets two on Zay. We take a break and come back with Caster hitting a dropkick on Zay, followed by a bit of a dance. Gunn comes back in to miss a Stinger Splash, leaving both he and Zay down. The double tag brings in Jeff and Bowens, with the former grabbing a rollup.

The Whisper In The Wind hits the Acclaimed and it’s the Twist of Fate into the Swanton to Gunn. A save is made and a bunch of charging shots in the corner put Matt down. The double tag brings in Bowens and Zay with Zay getting to kick people in the face. Zay hits a middle rope spinning Downward Spiral, followed by an Asai moonsault to Gunn. Back in and the assisted Iconoclasm finishes Zay to retain the titles at 10:36.

Rating: B-. These guys got going in the end and it turned into a rather high energy match. Gunn and the Acclaimed can move on to their title defense against a team from New Japan at WrestleDream while the Hardys can find another team to lose against in another title match. Zay stood out here a bit as well, as he got to show off some of his pretty impressive high flying. Good opener, even if it was another thrown out there title match.

Eddie Kingston is ready to defend the New Japan Strong Openweight Title against Rocky Romero tonight but Jeff Jarrett and company come in. Jay Lethal talks about how he can respect a double champ, but not when it means Kingston is the Ring Of Honor World Champion. That title means something and Kingston is unfit to hold the title. Kingston laughs and walks away.

On Saturday, Andrade El Idolo wants to know why Juice Robinson has a problems with him. See you Saturday at Collision.

New Japan Strong Openweight Title: Rocky Romero vs. Eddie Kingston

Kingston is defending. Feeling out process to start with Romero’s headlock not getting him very far. Romero’s shoulder doesn’t get him anywhere either but he manages to knock Kingston outside. That’s fine with Kingston, who hits a suplex on the floor as we take a break. Back with Kingston getting caught in the ropes so Romero can hit a middle rope dropkick for two. Kingston is right back with the rapid fire chops in the corner but Romero slugs his way out. That’s fine with Kingston, who hits a pair of spinning backfists into the Stretch Plum to retain at 8:58.

Rating: C+. As usual the match was fine, but it’s another instance of a random wrestler getting a title shot. Between this and the open challenges, there are so many out of nowhere title matches and it takes away some of the impact. As for the match itself, there’s only so much you can do with about nine minutes and a good chunk of it cut out of the middle. Completely fine action though and that’s better than some options they had.

Post match respect is shown but Katsuyori Shibata comes out for the staredown.

Aussie Open is sick of hearing about how great FTR is. They’ve spent the last year working to get here for one more match with them, because it’s time for FTR to feel pain.

Righteous vs. Gunnar/Caleb Crush

Dutch runs them over with a double clothesline to start and adds a swinging Boss Man Slam on Crush. Gunnar gets one of his own and Autumn Sunshine finishes Crush at 1:25.

Video on the history of Santana and Ortiz, who were a great team and then fell apart due to personal issues.

Video on Christian Cage vs. Darby Allin.

Nick Wayne won’t be at ringside for Allin vs. Cage but he wants to face Luchasaurus at Zero Hour. He even has a skateboard for the sake of a receipt.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Zack Sabre Jr. is ready to hurt Bryan Danielson and end his retirement tour a lot earlier than expected. He throws in a little Final Countdown (humming version) for a bonus.

Ruby Soho vs. Hikaru Shida

For a Women’s Title shot. Feeling out process to start with Shida taking her down. The right hands in the corner set up a spinning crossbody, followed by more right hands. There’s a middle rope dropkick to knock Soho down again and we take a break. Back with the exchange of forearms going to Shida before they go outside. The fight goes up the ramp before they both have to run back to the ring to beat the count.

Soho gets two off a Saito suplex and it’s time for the kendo stick. With that taken away, Soho tries the spray paint but the referee gets bumped while taking it away. Destination Unknown connects for no count so Shida sticks her in the head. The Katana connects and another referee runs down for two. Shida misses a top rope Meteora but blocks a top rope backsplash with raised knees. The Falcon Arrow gets two, followed by another Katana to give Shida the pin at 12:01.

Rating: B-. Shida vs. Soho is something that is going to work no matter what they’re doing and thankfully they didn’t do a bunch of nonsense with the referee down. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Shida get the title back as Saraya got her England win last month. At the same time, it would completely surprise me to see Soho win a match that matters, as it certainly hasn’t been her thing yet.

Saraya comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show’s problem continues to be that it is sandwiched between Dynamite and Collision, which doesn’t leave it with much purpose. You had two thrown out there title defenses, both of which will be followed by those same titles being on the line again two days later. That doesn’t make for a thrilling show, which leaves the wrestling to carry everything. As usual, that worked well, as long as you don’t expect a good bit of this show to be anything more than advertisements for later events.

Results
Billy Gunn/Acclaimed b. Hardys/Brother Zay – Assisted Iconoclasm to Zay
Eddie Kingston b. Rocky Romero – Stretch Plum
Righteous b. Gunnar/Caleb Crush – Autumn Sunshine to Crush
Hikaru Shida b. Ruby Soho – Katana

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Ring Of Honor
Date: August 31, 2023
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee/Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re still doing the split shows here, which should mean that things are a bit shorter again this week. It’s probably going to be the last time that is the case for the time being but I’ll take it while I can. The best story continues to be Athena/Billie Starkz and that should be fun again this week. Let’s get to it.

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

I was in the arena for the Lexington portions of the show, about ten rows back in the first section off the floor with the stage on my right.

Opening sequence.

New Japan Pro Wrestling TV Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Metalik

Metalik is challenging. They go to the mat to start with Sabre easily flipping out of a wristlock and taking him to the mat for the arm cranking. A surfboard doesn’t work for Sabre as Metalik flips over and we get a standoff. Metalik pops up for a springboard spinning crossbody into a rope walk hurricanrana. Sabre isn’t having that and stays on the arm, including a stomp ala Shayna Baszler.

With that broken up, Metalik hits the reverse Sling Blade to send Sabre outside, meaning the big running flip dive can connect. A rope walk high crossbody gives Metalik two back inside but Sabre quickly pulls him into the octopus. Metalik makes the rope and snaps off a tornado DDT before they trade rollups for two each. Back up and the rope walk elbow is pulled into a double arm crank to retain Sabre’s title at 8:28.

Rating: B-. Sometimes you need to have two talented people out there doing their thing and that is what we got here. Metalik was doing his high flying stuff while Sabre was getting to pull people into his holds, which are always going to work. When Sabre is on his game, he is still one of the most entertaining people you will see in wrestling and he was feeling it well enough here.

Cole Karter isn’t overly pleased with Griff Garrison getting a match but gets Maria Kanellis-Bennett to come to the ring with him.

Josh Woods vs. John Walters

Woods has Mark Sterling with him and he takes Walters down to the mat without much effort. Walters reverses into an armdrag but Woods pulls him out of the air and starts forearming away at the chest. Some rollups give Walters three combined but Woods pulls him into the Gorilla Lock for the win at 2:32.

Workhorsemen/Lee Moriarty vs. Invictus Khash/Lord Crewe/Beef

Yes Beef and yes the fans are rather into him. Invictus gets kneed in the back to start so it’s off to Crewe. A rollup doesn’t work for Crewe as Drake comes in to run him over. Moriarty suplexes him for two but Crewe kicks his way to freedom. Beef comes in but misses a top rope splash, allowing Drake to hit a moonsault for the pin at 4:21.

Rating: C. Nothing much to see here, other than the incredibly strange visual of the Workhorsemen actually winning a match for a change. I’m not sure how far the team is going to go around here, but they have to get a win somewhere to start. If that has to involve pounding Beef and having him for dinner (I had to) so be it.

Cole Karter vs. Dustin Jackson

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here with Karter. Jackson hits a charge into the corner to start but Karter hits a dropkick to easily take over. A clothesline out of the corner drops Jackson again and Eye Of The Beholder finishes Jackson at 1:24.

Emi Sakura vs. Alice Crowley

Sakura avoids a right hand to start but gets caught with a running dropkick. Crowley gets knocked down but she avoids a Vader Bomb. A fisherman’s suplex gives Crowley two, only to get pulled down with a faceplant. Sakura hits a running crossbody in the corner and a rather delayed butterfly backbreaker finishes Crowley off at 3:13.

Rating: C. Sakura is someone who has been around AEW for a long time now but she has never really broken through to the top of the division. I’m not sure if this is going to be a step in that direction but she is talented enough to be worth a look at whatever she is doing. Just a squash here, though Crowley got in some offense.

Josh Woods is happy with the challengers that Mark Sterling has been getting him and they are going to prove he is the face of the Pure division.

Outrunners vs. Spanish Announce Project

Magnum takes Serpentico into the corner for a slap but Serpentico cranks on the arm to take over. The Project starts taking over on said arm and Serpentico hits a basement superkick. Floyd comes in for a running knee, complete with a bit of a spin first. Serpentico headscissors his way out of the corner and the hot tag brings in Angelico to clean house. Everything breaks down and Serpentico dives onto Floyd. That leaves Angelico to tie up Magnum in an arm trap half crab for the tap at 4:50.

Rating: C+. As weird as it is to see the Project actually getting a win, there is something to the Outrunners that is so entertaining. The team embraces the goofiness and that makes them stand off. They know exactly what they’re doing and while they’re just a joke team, it works well enough and that’s all it needs to do.

Marina Shafir vs. Angelica Risk

Risk tries some grappling to start and is quickly planted down. A choke keeps Risk in trouble and Shafir kicks her down. Some judo throws keep Risk in trouble but she’s back up with some rights and lefts. Shafir plants her with a slam and grabs a triangle choke for the win at 2:34.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Mogul Embassy vs. Action Andretti/Lee Johnson/Darius Martin

The Embassy, with Prince Nana, is defending and jump the challengers to start fast. Martin hurricanranas his way out of Cage’s powerbomb though and a tornado DDT is enough for the tag off to Johnson. Kaun offers a distraction though and Cage grabs a neckbreaker out of the corner. The Gates unload on Johnson in the corner and some whips into various other corners make it even worse. The nerve hold goes on for a bit until Johnson gets smart with a stomp to the foot.

Toa misses a charge into the corner though and the hot tag brings in Andretti to pick up the pace. The Spanish Fly gets two on Kaun, followed by Andretti and Martin hitting stereo dives. A split legged moonsault gives Andretti two but Toa runs Johnson over with a crossbody. Everything breaks down and Johnson hits a frog splash for two before a triple superkick drops Nana. Not that it matters as Johnson is tossed into a sitout powerbomb to give Cage the pin to retain at 9:34.

Rating: B-. Power vs. speed is something that has worked forever in wrestling and it worked again here, with the two teams working together well enough for a good main event. That being said, the Embassy is so far beyond the point where they need to drop the titles that the already limited value the titles had is almost long gone.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was under an hour and oh how much better than made things. It didn’t feel like anything was there to pad out the show and while there wasn’t much in the way of storyline advancement, I also wasn’t an hour in and wondering how much more there could possibly be. Not a great show, but it’s what Ring Of Honor should be, which is why it’s likely going to be completely different next week.

Results
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Metalik – Double arm crank
Josh Woods b. John Walters – Gorilla Lock
Workhorsemen/Lee Moriarty b. Invictus Khash/Lord Crewe/Bee – Moonsault to Beef
Cole Karter b. Dustin Jackson – Eye Of The Beholder
Emi Sakura b. Alice Crowley – Butterfly backbreaker
Spanish Announce Project b. Outrunners – Arm trap half crab to Magnum
Marina Shafir b. Angelic Risk – Triangle choke
Mogul Embassy b. Lee Johnson/Action Andretti/Darius Martin – Sitout powerbomb to Johnson

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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Ring Of Honor
Date: August 24, 2023
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville Tennessee/Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Last week’s show was another long edition and that didn’t exactly make for the most thrilling edition. The biggest story seems to be Athena and Billie Starkz teaming up, or at least Starkz becoming Athena’s new minion. That likely ends in a Women’s Title match and we are probably well on the way there. Let’s get to it.

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

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. Dark Order

Silver (with his back covered with those weird suction spots) and Castle start things off, meaning Castle gets to pose a bit. Hold on though as Silver wants a Boy so he gets to wrestle Brent down. A hot shot drops Brent again and it’s Reynolds coming in to take Brent into the corner. Uno chops away and Silver snaps off a German suplex to cut off a comeback bid.

A hard clothesline gives Reynolds two and we hit the chinlock. Brent fights up and elbows his way out of the corner, allowing the hot tag off to Castle. House is quickly cleaned, with Castle firing the Boys outside onto the villains. The falling splash gets two on Uno but Reynolds and Silver double team Castle down on the floor. The triple flipping slam finishes Brandon at 10:11.

Rating: C+. So Castle, who seems to be on the way to a TV Title shot, loses a match (not by getting pinned, but on the losing team) to the Dark Order. I’m not sure why Castle needed to be involved here, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Dark Order getting pushed towards a Six Man Tag Team Title shot. Then again I’m not sure why they’re regularly featured or why those titles continue to exist in the first place.

Athena thinks there is tension between Lexy Nair and Billie Starkz so she makes them shirts! Nair’s says Athena’s Bestie while Starkz’s says Minion 400,237 ¾. As for tonight, they’re fighting the Renegades.

Lady Frost vs. Kiera Hogan

They both miss kicks to the head to start until Frost knocks her out to the floor. Back in and Hogan hits a running elbow in the corner but gets kicked in the face for her efforts. Hogan shrugs it off and hits a fisherman’s neckbreaker for the pin at 2:51 (Coleman: “That was fast!”). Kind of a weird one here as Hogan just beat her out of nowhere.

Matt Sydal vs. Serpentico

Serpentico gets tripped down to start and a standing moonsault gives Sydal two. A hurricanrana out of the corner into a jumping Downward Spiral drops Sydal for two more Serpentico misses a top rope double stomp though and Sydal kicks him in the face. A fisherman’s buster gives Sydal two of his own, followed by the Lightning Spiral finishes Serpentico at 4:33.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do much here and Sydal is only so interesting most of the time in the first place. At the same time, Serpentico seems to be getting a bit better, but after so many losses, it’s a little hard to get invested in anything he’s doing. This was another match between two people without much going on and that’s not exactly interesting.

Stokely Hathaway wants an apology from Lexy Nair after he and Samoa Joe won last week. Nair doesn’t think anyone around here respects him and walks off. Hathaway: “D***. I was going to ask you to go to TGI Fridays. TK left his card on the table.” As usual, his one liners are great.

Video on CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe. After one of the matches they had and how much they put ROH on the map, they get about thirty seconds here.

Leila Grey vs. Leyla Hirsch

Hirsch kicks away the offer of a handshake before the bell and wrestles her down into a waistlock without much effort. Grey is back up with a shotgun dropkick but Hirsch takes her right back down. Cue Maria Kanellis-Bennett to watch as Hirsch grabs a waistlock. Grey fights up with some clotheslines and a Death Valley Driver, only to have Hirsch cross armbreaker her for the tap at 3:50.

Rating: C. The Maria stuff continues for Hirsch and as tends to be the case, that is taking its sweet time to get anywhere. I approve of Hirsch getting to do some more though, as it would make sense for her to go after the Women’s Title at some point. Other than that, it’s nice to see Grey getting to do something other than being Jade Cargill’s lackey, as she’s a bit better than that.

The Mogul Affiliates are ready to beat up Action Andretti/Darius Martin/Lee Moriarty because they’ve beaten them up so many times already. That’s not the best way to hype up a feud. Why Lexy Nair changed clothes in between interviews isn’t clear.

Blake Christian vs. Brandon Cutler

Colt Cabana is here with Cutler. A headlock doesn’t get Cutler very far as Christian snaps off a running hurricanrana to send him into the ropes. They head to the apron where Cutler can’t hit a piledriver. Instead Christian knocks him outside for the big flip dive. Back in and Cutler hits a Falcon Arrow, setting up a dancing elbow for two.

An airplane spin leaves them both dizzy (Ian thinks Bob Backlund did it better) so Christian hits a Death Valley Driver. Some kicks to the chest are countered into a pumphandle slam, followed by the Superman Pin for two (so not a pin). Christian is right back with a 619 into the springboard 450 for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C+. Well at least Cutler didn’t win here. Christian is someone who has done well elsewhere and it wouldn’t be the worst idea to see him getting to do more around here. Then you have Cutler, and as usual with the non-Omega Elite members, they’re not exactly the most thrilling people, though at least he isn’t around very often.

Tony Nese and Mark Sterling still want to do group training, with Nese yelling at a production worker for drinking a soda.

Athena/Billie Starkz vs. Renegades

Apparently it’s Charlette rather than Charlotte. Since when? Anyway, the Renegades are sent outside to start and get taken down with dives. Athena tells Billie to throw Robin “into something” and like a good minion, Billie does just that. Back in and a double suplex sets up a swinging Boss Man Slam for two. Billie kicks Charlette away and brings in Athena for a kick to the head.

Everything breaks down and Athena Alabama Slams Billie onto Charlette. Athena’s rollup (with tights) gets two but Robin tosses her outside. Billie gets dropped on her head for two and a double chokeslam gets two on Athena. Back up and Athena drops Robin again, setting up the O Face. Billie tags herself in though and hits a Swanton for the pin at 8:40.

Rating: C+. It’s nice to have this match get some time as Athena and Billie are probably the best thing going on the show right now. They’re one of those wacky teams that are good for a chuckle while pretty clearly setting up for something bigger down the line. That’s all you can ask for here, save for maybe the Renegades losing a bit less often.

Post match Athena isn’t done and grabs Charlette, but Billie won’t get a cheap shot. Athena yells at Billie for disobeying.

Video on Adam Cole. Again, thirty seconds.

Here is Ryan Nemeth to say it’s his appreciation night so get him someone out here to fight. Even a World Champion!

Ryan Nemeth vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Nemeth wins or lasts the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Nemeth didn’t realize Castagnoli was here and tries to back out of it, earning himself the Swing. The uppercut finishes for Castagnoli at 1:05.

NJPW TV Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Christopher Daniels

Daniels is challenging and the winner defends against Metalik next week. An early grapple exchange doesn’t last long and doesn’t go anywhere so Daniels grabs a headlock takeover. Sabre slips out and starts twisting the wrist to damage the grip. Daniels comes back with a cravate and a neck twist, as Sabre apparently has a bad neck (as commentary does its job by telling us about that).

Sabre is right back with a nasty arm crank before pulling him into a hammerlock. It’s quickly off to Daniels’ leg (as explained by commentary, who said Sabre will switch body parts if a wrestler doesn’t give up in 3-5 seconds of a hold) but he fights up with a Death Valley Driver.

Sabre takes him right back down by the arm and gets in a stomp before they slug it out. A quick Downward Spiral into the Koji Clutch has Sabre in more trouble. With that broken up, Sabre twists the arm again but Daniels slips out as well. The Angel’s Wings doesn’t work as the arm gives out, allowing Sabre to pull him into a double arm crank to retain at 9:35.

Rating: B-. This was a technical display with the neck vs. the arm working just fine, as Daniels got in a lot of damage but couldn’t hang with Sabre as a submission master. Daniels is still someone who is perfect as a challenger like this as he can still go and offers just enough of a threat to win something, but ultimately comes up short. Best match of the show here.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. As is usually the case when they go in this direction, the show being that much shorter (less than 90 minutes this week) makes all the difference in the world. They only had eight matches and a few of them were rather short. It makes the show so much easier to watch and I can absolutely appreciate the change. I know it’s not likely to last once the London trip is over and they can get back to the usual hour and forty minute tapings because quantity equals quality around here, but I’ll take what I can get for now.

As for the show itself, Athena and Billie Starkz are by far the most entertaining thing on the show, as Athena being a little goofy for a change is rather entertaining. Other than that, there isn’t much in the way of stories on this show, save for Maria Kanellis-Bennett coming out to stare at various wrestlers. The rest of the stories are often rather quickly put together and ended, but at least there is one nice thing going on and as usual, the wrestling was completely fine at worst. Much easier show to watch this week.

Results
Dark Order b. Dalton Castle/The Boys – Triple flipping slam to Brandon
Kiera Hogan b. Lady Frost – Fisherman’s neckbreaker
Matt Sydal b. Serpentico – Lightning Spiral
Leyla Hirsch b. Leila Grey – Cross armbreaker
Blake Christian b. Brandon Cutler – Springboard 450
Athena/Billie Starks b. Renegades – Swanton to Robin
Claudio Castagnoli b. Ryan Nemeth – Uppercut
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Christopher Daniels – Double arm crank

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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Forbidden Door 2023
Date: June 25, 2023
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, Taz

It’s time for the annual crossover show as we have a bunch of AEW vs. New Japan matches. The entire build to the show as well as the show itself are a total side trip away from what AEW normally does but it is one heck of a side trip, with an absolutely stacked card that has some serious potential. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Mogul Embassy vs. Best Friends/Rocky Romero/El Desperado

Kaun takes Romero into the corner to start but gets dropped with a hurricanrana. The Best Friends come in for a double elbow so it’s off to Toa, who gets high crossbodied. Everything breaks down and the villains are sent to the floor for the big series of dives. Trent caps it off with a moonsault onto Toa as the fans are rather pleased.

Back in and Toa hits a pop up Samoan drop to cut Trent off, followed by a whip over the corner to the floor. Kaun hits the slingshot hilo and Cage hits the Death Valley Driver on the apron. Trent suplexes his way out of trouble but the Embassy does the pull his partners to the floor thing.

Strickland takes over on Trent but a quick shot allows the tag to Desperado. A shot to Cage on the apron causes everything to break down and Strickland plants Desperado for two. We hit the parade of everyone hitting something until Cage accidentally discus clotheslines Swerve. Strong Zero gets two on Swerve but Cage is back in for the F5 into Swerve’s cutter. The Swerve Stomp finishes for Swerve at 12:24.

Rating: C. It’s always nice to see Swerve getting a pin, even if it is one of the less important matches of the show. What mattered here was starting the fans off with something fun and the Best Friends will always get that kind of a reaction. I’m still not sure why Swerve has to be stuck with these guys, as the Gates continue to feel worthless and Cage isn’t going anywhere, but at least he got a little something here.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Billie Starkz vs. Athena

Athena’s ROH Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Starkz fires off the kicks to start and a suplex brainbuster gets two. A headscissors into the corner gets Athena out of trouble and we slow it down as Athena prefers. Athena stays on the ribs with some more kicks but the O Face is countered into a Death Valley Bomb for two.

Starkz gets caught on top though and it’s a pop up powerbomb into a kick to the face for two, leaving Athena annoyed. Back up and they trade dropkicks until Athena misses a standing moonsault. Starkz misses a Swanton onto the apron and crashes hard, setting up a spinning gutbuster to give Athena the pin at 7:48.

Rating: C. That’s all it should have been, as Athena is on a roll and Starkz isn’t in here league yet. Athena didn’t quite run her over but it was hard to believe that there was any danger in this one. Not exactly a classic match, but Athena is on fire right now and any excuse to get her out of ROH and into AEW is a good thing.

Zero Hour: El Phantasmo vs. Stu Grayson

They shake hands to start before Grayson takes him into the corner to hammer away. Grayson pounds away and they stand there for the exchange of chops. Then Phantasmo grabs the nipples to take over, setting up a springboard spinning crossbody. Grayson is sent outside for the suicide dive into the barricade, followed by the springboard Swanton for two back inside.

Phantasmo catches him with a kick to the head on top and snaps off a super hurricanrana. The top rope splash (and a good one at that) gives Phantasmo two but Grayson kicks him back down. A 450 gives Grayson two but Phantasmo is back with a springboard tornado DDT. Something like Diamond Dallas Page’s old Pancake (with the arms held back) finishes Grayson at 7:17.

Rating: C. Of all the matches on the card, this one felt the most like “here’s a way to get more people on the card”. Grayson has been in the middle of an ordeal with the Dark Order on Ring Of Honor for weeks now and isn’t exactly a big star. Phantasmo is a bigger name, but I don’t know how many people were going to sit home if he wasn’t on the show. Fine match, but something that could have been dropped with no consequence.

Zero Hour: United Empire vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

United Empire: Jeff Cobb/TJP/Kyle Fletcher
Los Ingobernables: Bushi/Hiromu Takahashi/Shingo Takagi

Bushi gets double teamed to start and his comeback is quickly cut off by the numbers game. Cobb comes in to power Bushi around but a dropkick to the knee puts Cobb down. Takahashi comes in to clean house until Cobb pulls him into an overhead belly to belly. It’s off to Takagi, who gets kicked in the face by Fletcher so TJP can come in with a high crossbody. Everything breaks down and Takagi hits TJP with a pop up Death Valley Driver. Cobb has to make a save so Bushi dives onto Fletcher. Takagi’s Last Of The Dragon is blocked so TJP kicks him in the face, earning a discus lariat. Made In Japan finishes TJP at 7:22.

Rating: C+. Best thing on the Kickoff Show and a lot of that probably has to do with the people involved. There were some talented names in this match and I could have gone for a bit more of it. The Empire losing is a bit weird as they’re around AEW more often, but it isn’t like the result truly matters in the grand scheme of things.

The opening video gives a quick look at the major matches.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

MJF, who still believes New Japan is an indy company, is defending. Tanahashi takes him down to start so MJF bails to the floor, saying he’s already done. A COWARD chant is enough to bring him back in and a knee to the ribs cuts Tanahashi off. MJF grabs a bearhug into the abdominal stretch with a grab of the ropes keeps Tanahashi in trouble. Tanahashi fights out and knocks MJF down for the middle rope Swanton and a near fall.

MJF catches him on top for a good looking superplex and a near fall. The Heatseeker is blocked though and MJF bangs up his knees. MJF is right back up with a double underhook shoulder breaker, which only hurts the knee even more. Tanahashi is down so MJF calls him a joke (and a fan calls MJF a coward), which is enough to start the comeback.

The bad knee is taken out and the Texas Cloverleaf sends MJF bailing to the ropes. Twist and Shout into the Sling Blade sets up the High Fly Flow, which only hits the raised knees. They’re both down for a bit until MJF rolls outside and grabs the title. The referee takes it away and Tanahashi grabs a rollup for a VERY delayed two. Another referee distraction lets MJF hit Tanahashi with the diamond ring to retain at 16:20.

Rating: B-. Good opener here but the ending didn’t do it any favors. The ribs vs. the knees worked well for a story here as Tanahashi isn’t as fast as he was before so it gave him a reason to slow down. MJF gets over for his talking abilities but it is nice to see him being able to easily hang in a match like this. Nice choice for the first match on the main card here, as the fans still buy into MJF’s antics.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima

The fans are NOT pleased with Punk and commentary acknowledges the not so positive reaction. They start rather slowly with Kojima’s headlock not doing anything. Kojima goes after the back to take over and stops to pop his pectoral muscles. Punk sends him outside and pops his own pecs before going outside or some chops. A leg sweep knocks Punk down on the apron but he’s right back with a knockdown of his own.

The legdrop connects and we get the required Hogan references. They strike it out in the corner until Punk whips him hard into said corner. Punk hits his own Kojima style lariats in the corner (while shouting “KOJIMA” over and over), setting up a belly to back suplex for two (with quite the evil grin during the cover). A missed splash in the corner lets Kojima fire off his rapid fire chops and then he does it again in another corner. Kojima’s top rope elbow gets two and a DDT plants Punk again.

Punk knocks him down again though and drops a top rope elbow for two of his own. The Anaconda Vice goes on until Kojima hits him in the back of the head to break it up. The GTS is broken up and Kojima fires off his double chops into the Koji Cutter to drop Punk. Kojima’s lariat is countered into a neckbreaker for two more but the GTS is blocked again. A brainbuster gives Kojima two but Punk kicks him in the head, setting up the GTS to finish Kojima at 13:33.

Rating: B. They beat each other up rather well here and Kojima gave him more of a run for his money than I was expecting. If nothing else, it was a lot of fun to see Punk laying into the heel stuff, as he can shift from one side or the other like few in wrestling today. This got physical at the end and it wound up being a rather entertaining match.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia

Cassidy is defending (Shibata’s ROH Pure Title/Sabre’s NJPW TV Title aren’t on the line) and it’s one fall to a finish. They all block kicks to start until Sabre and Shibata are both sent outside. The Dragontamer has Cassidy in trouble until Shibata makes the save. Shibata Figure Fours Cassidy until Garcia makes a save and grabs a hold of his own. That’s broken up as well and everyone but Cassidy strike it out. Cassidy comes back in and everyone is knocked down for a bit.

Back up and Cassidy and Garcia grab holds, only to have Shibata and Sabre slug it out with said holds still on. With that broken up, Cassidy hits a Stundog Millionaire but Sabre twists the arm around to hit Cassidy in his own ribs. Garcia grabs a belt to knock Shibata silly for two but Cassidy clears Garcia out. That lets Cassidy and Shibata sit down to slap each other until an Orange Punch drops Shibata.

Cassidy’s hand is too banged up to cover so it’s the Beach Break for two. The Mousetrap to Sabre is countered into a double arm trap with a save being made. Sabre pulls Cassidy back into the hold until Shibata makes a save of his own. Everything breaks down again and Garcia pildrives Sabre. Shibata hits the PK on Garcia but Cassidy steals the pin to retain at 11:32.

Rating: B. The match was almost all action and Cassidy continues to show that he can hang with just about anyone. That being said, I’m not sure how many times the story has been “Cassidy is banged up and facing overwhelming odds” but he retains anyway. The point has long since been made and it’s time for someone to beat him for the title. He isn’t really gaining much more by doing it over and over again, yet here we are (after another rather entertaining match).

IWGP World Title: Sanada vs. Jungle Boy

Jungle Boy, with Hook, is challenging and gets run over by the champ. The threat of a Snare Trap sends Sanada straight to the ropes and Jungle Boy is already looking frustrated. Jungle Boy’s attempt at a Paradise Lock is broken up and Sanada gets one of his own, setting up the running dropkick for two. Back up and Jungle Boy fights back before a double knockdown gives them both a breather.

They chop it out until Jungle Boy gets Sanada’s own Skull End, slowly sending him over to the ropes. Sanada is right back up with a TKO for two but a moonsault doesn’t work as well. Jungle Boy snaps off a poisonrana but Sanada is right back with the swinging Skull End. Sanada’s poisonrana sets up a Shining Wizard for two, followed by a moonsault to retain at 10:37. There seemed to be a bit of confusion on the ending there, as the referee checked the shoulders and the bell didn’t immediately ring.

Rating: C+. This was a step down from the rest of the show, but there was only so much that could be done with the idea of Jungle Boy getting a World Title shot. He wasn’t going to win here and it fits in with his recent struggles. Commentary referred to this as a learning experience for Jungle Boy and that’s rather accurate, as he wasn’t going to win but could still get something out of it.

Post match Jungle Boy seems banged up but is fine enough to turn on Hook (Taz is LIVID). The fans give a very loud YOU F***** UP chant as this team with three whole matches together is done.

Blackpool Combat Club/Konosuke Takeshita/Shota Umino vs. Elite/Tomohiro Ishii/Eddie Kingston

Umino takes Page into the corner for some pats on the chest, plus a forearm to annoy Page a bit. Takeshita comes in instead and takes over, only for the Bucks to come in and pick up the pace. A neckbreaker/backbreaker combination hits Yuta (One of the Bucks: “See you in h***!”) and it’s off to Kingston vs. Moxley for one heck of an audience reaction. They stare each other down and then go to the big chop off as the other eight just watch from the floor.

Realizing that doesn’t make a ton of sense, the others come in for a big slugout of their own until the Bucks hit stereo dives to the floor. Page adds the moonsault as Kingston and Moxley are still chopping away. Castagnoli comes in to drop Kingston as Moxley goes outside to pour water on his chest. Takeshita comes in and BLASTS Ishii (on the apron) with an elbow before Kingston is caught in the wrong corner for some elbows from Castagnoli.

Kingston lariats his way out of trouble but Moxley is right there to cut him off. Stereo lariats connect and Moxley’s banged up chest keeps him down even longer. Ishii comes in to run Yuta over and slips out of a Hart Attack attempt. A back suplex drops Umino and a diving tag brings in Page for the big comeback. The Bucks hold Takeshita over the floor so Page can hit a running shooting star press from the apron.

Takeshita is back up but the Bucks start firing off the superkicks. The Blue Thunder Bomb Takeshita two on Matt and a wheelbarrow suplex drops him again. Castagnoli’s swing into Yuta’s dropkick gets two with a bunch of people making the save. Nick breaks up…something from Yuta and a rather cold tag brings Ishii back in as everything breaks down. Moxley cutters Ishii but the Bucks superkick their problems away again. Yuta ducks the Buckshot lariat and Ishii takes his head off with a lariat of his own. The brainbuster finishes for Ishii at 21:22.

Rating: B+. This was the all action match of the night and that’s all it needed to be, as the score (unofficially) is evened up between the Elite and the Club. You can book Blood & Guts from here and it should be rather epic. It was also rather nice to not have the match turn into a wild brawl, as they already covered that at Double Or Nothing. Heck of a fight here, and the storytelling with Kingston/Moxley/Castagnoli worked well. Throw in Takeshita looking like a main eventer and it was even better.

Post match Kingston isn’t having anything to do with his partners and leaves, as he didn’t want to hurt Moxley.

Video on Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale. Storm is so mean that even Nightingale doesn’t like her!

AEW Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale

Storm, with the Outcasts, is defending and Nightingale’s NJPW Women’s Strong Title isn’t on the line. They run the ropes to start until Nightingale counters a hiptoss into a cradle for two. Nightingale drops her to the floor but stops to yell at the Outcasts, allowing Storm to hit a hip attack on the way back in. The seated full nelson keeps Nightingale in trouble and Storm forearms her in the back to cut off a comeback.

Back up and they head to the apron with Nightingale hitting a Death Valley Driver to plant her hard. Nightingale goes up but the Outcasts throw in the spray paint. That’s enough for a double ejection but the delay causes Nightingale to miss the moonsault. The hip attack into a DDT gives Storm two, only to have Nightingale pull her into an Indian Deathlock. With that broken up, the Pounce sends Storm outside but she’s right back with a poke to the eye. Storm Zero retains the title at 11:03.

Rating: C+. This was more of the same from the Outcasts, but at least Storm was able to cheat on her own to retain here. Nightingale losing isn’t a surprise but it’s certainly annoying, as it seems to happen far too often. Odds are we’re coming up on Storm vs. Jamie Hayter for the title at All In, but at least Nightingale didn’t get squashed.

We recap Will Ospreay challenging Kenny Omega for the IWGP US Title. Omega escaped with the title at Wrestle Kingdom but now Ospreay is back and more dangerous for the rematch.

IWGP US Title: Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay is challenging and seems to be the big favorite. Omega takes him down into an early chinlock but Ospreay reverses into an arm crank. They chop it out but it’s way too early for the One Winged Angle. The Oscutter is countered as well and Omega has to duck a kick, leaving us with a standoff. Omega takes him down and hits a moonsault but here is Don Callis with his “military grade security” for the distraction.

That’s enough for an ejection but said distraction lets Ospreay send him into the barricade and take over back inside. Some shots to the back have Omega in trouble and Ospreay stays on said back for two. Omega manages to hit a quick Kitaro Crusher but Ospreay drapes him over the top rope. That sets up a shooting star press to the back and the Oscutter on the apron keeps Omega rocked. They head outside with Ospreay ramming him hard into the announcers’ table to knock Omega even sillier.

Omega is sent through the table’s covering and is busted rather open, allowing Ospreay to lick the blood off of his own arm. Ospreay V Triggers him to the floor and grabs the Canadian flag to clean himself, ala Shawn Michaels in 1997. That’s enough for Omega to knock him hard to the floor, where Ospreay is sent hard into the steps to bust him open as well. A DDT onto the steps knocks Ospreay silly again and Omega elbows away at the cut to make the blood flow even more freely. Ospreay powerbombs his way out of a choke and they’re both down.

Back up and Omega hits a V Trigger, only for Ospreay to grab the standing Spanish Fly for two. A rather terrible Sharpshooter sends Omega to the ropes but Ospreay pulls him back in and switches to a Crossface. With the rope break getting Omega out of trouble, Ospreay kicks him in the head a few times. The Oscutter is blocked (perhaps shouting OSCUTTER in advance was a bad idea) and Omega hits some Snapdragons. A piledriver gives Omega two and there’s the V Trigger to the back.

Omega tries a super One Winged Angel but Ospreay counters the chance of death into a Cheeky Nandos kick. Ospreay hits a skytwister to the floor, followed by a Liger Bomb for two back inside. Omega knocks him down again but here is Don Callis (the fans are NOT pleased) at ringside. A knee to the face hits Ospreay as Callis hides behind security. Callis’ distraction doesn’t stop the V Trigger but he manages to slip Ospreay a screwdriver.

The One Winged Angel is broken up with the screwdriver to the head and the Hidden Blade into the Stormbreaker gives Ospreay….two. Well that was ridiculous. Ospreay’s One Winged Angel gets one so Omega loads up his own version, only to switch into a German suplex for two. Ospreay Tiger Driver 91’s him for two and it’s a Hidden Blade into Stormbreaker to finally finish Omega at 39:07.

Rating: A. What else do you want here? They sold the idea of two people leaving it all in the ring until one of them couldn’t stand any longer and it felt like a violent war. That’s exactly what this should have been and on almost all accounts, it would have been a bit better without the (awesome) false finish off back to back finishers. That was a bit much and should have been the finish, but that’s a rather nothing complaint all things considered.

Omega has to be helped out due to obvious reasons.

Sting/Darby Allin/Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Jericho/Minoru Suzuki/Sammy Guevara

Guevara flips over Naito to start before hitting a dropkick to take over. Naito sends him outside though and that’s enough for the Tranquilo pose. Allin comes in to yell at Guevara but gets Suzuki instead. That doesn’t go well for Allin so it’s off to Jericho vs. Sting for the big staredown. Sting takes over without much trouble and hits the Stinger Splash into the Scorpion Deathlock.

Guevara makes the save with a cutter and we get a triple Le Suzuki Gods pose. Naito is back in to clean things out and we settle down to Naito’s Gloria being broken up. Everything breaks down and the villains grab triple chokes, which are quickly escaped. Allin hits a dive onto Suzuki but Jericho hits the Judas Effect to cut off Allin’s sequel dive.

Jericho brings out a table (of course) and puts Sting on it before ordering Sammy to hit the 630 off the top to drive him through it. Naito rolls Jericho up for two but Destino is countered into the Walls. Sting is back up for the save so Jericho gives Naito the Codebreaker for to instead. Naito and Sting beat on Suzuki and it’s an atomic drop into a rollup to finish Suzuki at 15:02.

Rating: C. This one didn’t do much for me and it felt like they were just kind of going through the motions in some places. I’m also guessing that Sting was supposed to get up before that 630 but just didn’t in time, which would explain (not excuse, but explain) his quick save. The match wasn’t bad, but nothing you need to see.

Post match Jericho grabs the bat but Sting clears everyone out.

We recap Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada. In summation, it’s Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada.

Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada

Danielson comes out to Final Countdown for a special moment. Okada goes for the arm to start but Danielson reverses into a surfboard with a double knee stomp to leave Okada a bit annoyed. An elbow to the face drops Danielson and they go to the floor, where Danielson starts working on the arms. Some shots to said arms have Okada in trouble and Danielson cranks away at both back inside. Okada fights up and lets Danielson kick him, which just wakes Okada up even more.

The forearms don’t work because of the arm but it’s fine enough to catch a charging Danielson in a flapjack. They fight to the floor again and this time Danielson is sent into the crowd. Okada is right after him with a big running clothesline, setting up a neckbreaker onto the knee for two back inside. Danielson pops back up and hits a missile dropkick before it’s time to strike it out again.

Okada shotgun dropkicks him into the corner, followed by another dropkick for two. Back up and Danielson goes for the arm again, this time getting in a Disarm-Her. With that broken up, Danielson sends him outside but misses the dive. The Rainmaker is blocked and Okada gets dropkicked up the ramp. The YES Kicks rock Okada but he’s right back with a Tombstone onto the ramp.

Danielson is mostly out of it and the Rainmaker is loaded up. Hold on though as we pause for the doctor, who says Danielson can go, despite convulsing. Danielson is cleared and immediately hits a knee to drop Okada. Danielson declares it time to kick his f****** head in and stomps away but Danielson’s arm seems to have given out.

The YES chant is loaded up but Okada cuts off the running knee with the dropkick. The Landslide sets up the Rainmaker for two but two more attempts miss. Danielson tries the LeBell Lock, only to opt for some weird double arm lock. Okada can’t reach the rope so Danielson lets go and hammers him in the face. The double arm crank goes back on and Okada taps at 27:33.

Rating: A-. This was great in a different way than the Omega vs. Ospreay bloodbath in that this felt more like a traditional classic wrestling match. You had Danielson tearing the arm apart all match while Okada worked on the neck, only to have Danielson get the better of things and tie him up for the win. I had a great time with it, but the lack of a story other than “hey let’s have a classic” slowed it down a bit.

Danielson is banged up to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. The two big matches and the ten man tag are more than enough to carry this, but it doesn’t quite get to that all time level. There are some matches on here that don’t exactly feel epic, but the good stuff is so, so good that it carries the rest. Definitely check out Okada vs. Danielson and Ospreay vs. Omega, but the rest you might want to pick and choose (save for the Zero Hour stuff, which added pretty much nothing). Another awesome show here, as we now veer back into the normal AEW material.

Results
Mogul Embassy b. Best Friends/Rocky Romero/El Desperado – Swerve Stomp to Romero
Athena b. Billie Starkz – Gutbuster
El Phantasmo b. Stu Grayson – Arm trap faceplant
Los Ingobernables de Japon b. United Empire – Made In Japan to TJP
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Hiroshi Tanahashi – Diamond ring to the head
CM Punk b. Satoshi Kojima – GTS
Orange Cassidy b. Daniel Garcia, Zack Sabre Jr. and Katsuyorhi Shibata – Crucifix to Garcia
Sanada b. Jungle Boy – Moonsault
Elite/Tomohiro Ishii/Eddie Kingston b. Blackpool Combat Club/Konosuke Takeshita/Shota Umino – Brainbuster to Yuta
Toni Storm b. Willow Nightingale – Storm Zero
Will Ospreay b. Kenny Omega – Stormbreaker
Sting/Tetsuya Naito/Darby Allin b. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Minoru Suzuki – Rollup to Suzuki
Bryan Danielson b. Kazuchika Okada – Double arm crank

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It’s time for one of the more unique shows of the year, as AEW and New Japan get together for another Forbidden Door (which does not seem to actually be forbidden in any way). This one has been built up a bit better than last year and the top of the card looks rather strong. If it is anywhere close to as good as the original show, we should be in for a nice night. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Mogul Embassy vs. Roppongi Vice/El Desperado

This is one of three matches that were added to Zero Hour this week on Collision. The Embassy has been treated as something of value on Ring Of Honor and it would be nice to see Swerve Strickland getting a bit more of a high profile win. Vice is a team who has been around in a variety of forms so having them around makes some sense. Desperado is a wild card, but that seems to be the point.

I’ll take the Embassy to win, even though the Gates of Agony notoriously never win anything of note. Maybe it’s different if they are in a six man match, but it is one of those random matches that could go either way. Hopefully Strickland gets a dominant pin over a member of Vice as it would be the most beneficial long term, even if the Gates continue to be rather dull.

Zero Hour: El Phantasmo vs. Stu Grayson

Grayson hasn’t been around AEW much lately but when he is given the chance, especially away from the Dark Order, he can put on quite the show. Phantasmo is a bigger star of course and in a better place, making this kind of a strange choice to put on the card. Hopefully they can make something work out of this, despite what is likely to be a limited amount of time.

Phantasmo wins here, as Grayson isn’t going to win here when he can barely get on AEW TV most of the time. This feels like a way to get Phantasmo in front of the audience and Grayson is the one who was selected to be out there too. The match should be fairly good if Grayson is trying to get some focus on himself and if that is the case, we should be in for something fun.

Zero Hour: United Empire vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

So this seems to be a showcase match for New Japan stars and that should be fine. Kyle Fletcher and Jeff Cobb are regular enough in AEW so at least commentary will have something to talk about. At the same time, Los Ingobernables haven’t been around lately but the talent will be more than enough to carry things forward, as the story isn’t the point to this one.

I’ll go with the Empire to win here as they have been around more frequently, but if there is one match on here where either would win with either making that much of a difference, it would be this one. If these guys get ten minutes or so, everything should be fine, as there is more than enough talent in there to fill in pretty much whatever amount of time that they are given. But yeah, the Empire wins here.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Athena vs. Billie Starkz

This is one of the matches that has some importance going forward and it is probably the one that has the least interest as far as who wins. It is almost hard to fathom this going any other way, but I’m hoping that we get the Athena who has been tearing up Ring Of Honor in recent weeks. If nothing else, the tournament works if we can see more of Athena on a bigger show.

Of course Athena wins here, as she is already a champion coming in and is up against a 18 year old rookie who hasn’t done much around here so far. This should be all about Athena running over Starkz until she gets to advance. Hopefully the match is there to get Athena over, as she is more than ready to move up into the big leagues of the women’s titles, assuming they can find someone who can take the title from her. For now though, Athena wins here and does so handily.

IWGP World Title: Sanada(c) vs. Jungle Boy

This feels like a match that is there to further a bigger story. Jungle Boy may have been in the World Title match last month but in no way does he feel like a serious threat to beat Sanada here. Instead, it feels like another place where he can come up short and further what seems to be a much needed heel turn. AEW hasn’t exactly been trying to hide his long at best shot and that is the right way to go.

So yeah, naturally this is Sanada winning, though Jungle Boy should be able to get in some stuff of his own. There is nothing to suggest that Jungle Boy is going to come close to winning so it is more about letting the two of them have a nice match before getting to the only possible option. That is the right way to go in this place and having the title on the show is a big deal on its own.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima

We’ll keep going with the obvious results here, as this is little more than a way for Punk to get back in the ring and get the first singles win of his comeback against a legend. Punk has only been back for two shows so far and while he has been in some multi-man tag matches, he has to have some singles matches at some point to really make it feel like he is back.

In case you didn’t get the idea, Punk wins here, albeit after Kojima gives him a heck of a match. Kojima is certainly a name and a very accomplished one at that, but Punk is one of the biggest stars in AEW at the moment and giving him the win is not only the right way to go, but pretty much the only logical choice. Being in the ring with Kojima will likely be a cool moment for Punk, and having him win will be a nice bonus.

Adam Cole vs. Tom Lawlor

This is another match that was added at almost the last minute but at least Lawlor attacked him on Rampage. That at least puts it ahead of the matches that had no build whatsoever other than an announcement so things are a step up. In this case, Cole is gearing up for his World Title shot against Maxwell Jacob Friedman and gets to face someone who should be in a higher profile company than he already is.

In what could be a hidden gem on the show, Cole wins here, and hopefully Lawlor does well enough to get a job, or at least one down the line, as a result. Lawlor is someone who has done well pretty much everywhere I’ve seen him go and it would be nice to see him in AEW more often. For now though, he can be a nice win for Cole, who is on his way to bigger and better things.

Le Suzuki Gods vs. Sting/Darby Allin/Tetsuya Naito

Naito was the mystery partner for Sting and Allin and definitely adds some New Japan star power to the match. This is much more about Sting vs. Jericho and Allin vs. Guevara, with Suzuki and Naito there as well. The good thing about a six man tag is that you can get some different combinations in there, which could even include the bizarre option of Sting vs. Suzuki.

Much like the IWGP World Title match, this feels like a means to an end but we could be in for some interesting things here as the good guys win. The Jericho vs. Sting showdown is bound to happen and it would not shock me to see them go one on one (or two on two) at All In in London in about two months. For now though, we should be in for one of those zany tag matches that AEW knows how to make work very well.

AEW Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Willow Nightingale

This is where what happens to Nightingale is one of the most frustrating things in AEW, as she has to actually win something at some point. While she has already advanced in the Owen Hart tournament and is the NJPW Strong Women’s Champion, she needs to win one of the two women’s titles in AEW. While that is a possibility here, I’m not sure I can imagine it actually happening.

As much as I want it to go the other way, I can’t imagine taking the title off of Storm so soon. Jamie Hayter returning to get the title from Storm (say, in London) would make the most sense and the Outcasts can interfere to give Nightingale an out. Nightingale still needs that big win and she can get it one day, but for now, it’s Storm defeating another champion to retain her own title.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Now stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but I’m not sure how much question there is here about who is leaving with the title. It’s the biggest issue with this show, but that shouldn’t stop them from having a solid match on the way. Friedman has shown that he can do very well in the ring under the right circumstances and Tanahashi is Tanahashi, so this this should work.

But yeah, Friedman wins here, likely with Cole getting involved in some way so he can take the title from Friedman down the line (or something similar). Tanahashi is one of those legends who can be put out there for one loss after another without any kind of a problem and that is what he is going to do here. At the same time, Friedman can brag about beating one of the best ever (and you know he will) so this is a rather logical idea.

International Title: Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia

We’re at a weird point for Cassidy’s title reign, as he has held the title for eight months and a good chunk of that has been spent on “he’s so tired and banged up that he can’t possibly retain the title much longer”. Then he just does it, beating one challenger after another. In theory he is being built up for someone to look like a huge deal when they finally take the title from him, but that has to actually happen at some point.

As ready as I am for Cassidy to lose the title already, odds are he retains here, as Shibata and Sabre Jr. already have titles and Cassidy already beat Garcia last month. If nothing else, Cassidy losing the title feels a lot better in a one on one showdown, and odds are he gets to retain again here. Sabre getting to torture some people will make it worth a look, but it’s Cassidy keeping the title.

Blackpool Combat Club/Konosuke Takeshita/Shota Umino vs. Elite/Eddie Kingston/Tomohiro Ishii

This is the big showdown match as the blood feud between the two sides continues. While Takeshita isn’t part of the Club, he certainly has the same enemies and that is enough to keep him in this kind of a feud. This one is going to be about violence and carnage as we get closer to what is likely Kingston challenging Claudio Castagnoli for the Ring Of Honor World Title next month. And some guest stars to keep up the theme of the show.

After Anarchy in the Arena, this needs to go to the Elite and company, likely with Umino or Wheeler Yuta taking the fall. Or they can just go for the obvious ending with Ishii pinning Castagnoli to set up the Death Before Dishonor match. Either way, there are going to be a lot of people involved and it will probably fall into chaos about halfway through, which is about all you can expect.

IWGP United States Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Will Ospreay

This is a rematch from a huge Wrestle Kingdom match which went very well (though I didn’t grade it as highly as some did). There is a real chance that it headlines the show and if it is similar to what we got on Dynamite with these two, I wouldn’t be opposed. Omega is capable of looking like an absolute star and Ospreay can hang with anyone in the world. Let these two go nuts and it should be a lot of fun.

As for a winner….it’s hard to imagine Omega going up 2-0, especially with Don Callis anywhere nearby. This should go to Ospreay to even the series and then they can do their big rubber match in Japan (or England). These two are going to beat the fire out of each other and it should be an awesome showdown, but Ospreay wins here to even the score and take away one of the main things Omega has at the moment.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson

As big as some of the other matches are, come on. This is the definition of a dream match as perhaps the best in Japan is facing perhaps the best in the United States (and on neutral ground). It’s a match where the names alone make the show feel that awesome and it is almost impossible for this to not be good. Just let them do whatever they want and it should be a main event caliber match.

Then we get to the hard part, as this is pretty much a coin flip. I’ll go with Danielson winning as he is the closer to a home country star, but it really could go either way. Either way, despite Danielson being a heel coming in, there is a good chance that he is going to be cheered out of the building by the end. This is the kind of match that should headline a show and there is a very good chance that it will, with Danielson winning (I guess).

Overall Thoughts

Forbidden Door really is one of the weirdest shows that you see all year and that makes it all the more interesting. New Japan isn’t being treated as a bunch of invaders and only a few of the matches really have personal issues. Instead, this is about proving who is better and we could have some outstanding matches on the way there. It will be nice to get back to the focus being only on AEW, but for a one night event, we could be in for a classic here.

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Dynamite
Date: June 21, 2023
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

It’s the go home Dynamite for Forbidden Door and you can likely expect some matches to be added to the card as there are only four at the moment. Other than that, we should probably bet on some New Japan stars showing up to build the matches that are already there. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Hardys vs. Gunns

Matt takes over on Colten to start and Jeff comes in to take over in the corner. Austin gets in a cheap shot from the apron to take over and the alternating villainous beatdown is on. Jeff avoids a charge in the corner though and it’s Matt coming in to clean house. The Twist of Fate (which was sold like a Stunner) gets two on Austin and a neck snap across the top gets the same on Matt.

Another Twist of Fate is countered via a grab of the rope and a twisting butterfly suplex gets two, with Jeff having to make the save. Jeff hits a double DDT and a double legdrop between the legs to keep the Gunns down. Cue Bullet Club Gold to break up the Swanton though and 3:10 To Yuma finishes Jeff at 6:58.

Rating: C. I know they’re legends and I know they have some nostalgia value, but it’s really hard to get through a Hardys match these days. Ignoring everything that has happened to them outside of the ring, they’re looking old and slow, with Jeff always feeling like he’s a step away from a disaster. The match wasn’t awful, but rather something that made me a bit sad.

Post match the beatdown is on, including a Robinson left hand with a roll of quarters to Jeff. Ricky Starks and FTR make the save but the villains beat them down as well. CM Punk runs in for the real save, with the Club escaping the GTS. Punk, in a Danhausen shirt, issues the challenge for Collision and we’re on. Punk: “I’m a Collision guy! I’m not even supposed to be here!”

Video on Jeff Jarrett vs. Mark Briscoe.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Mark Briscoe

This is a Concession Stand Brawl, which is exactly what it sounds like. They immediately fight over to the merch area and Jarrett is sent through a table. Back to the concession area and Mark is sent through a plastic shield. Cue Karen Jarrett with ketchup to Mark’s eyes but he fights back and loads up a ladder. Cue Sonjay Dutt to shove him off that ladder and we take a break.

Back with Briscoe getting beaten down in the ring with Jay Lethal joining in. Papa Briscoe pops up for the save but Karen comes in again for a cheap shot. Cue Satnam Singh to chokeslam Mark but Christopher Daniels, the Best Friends and the Lucha Bros come in to take him out. In the melee, Mark rolls Jarrett up for the pin at 8:28.

Rating: B-. I have no idea what to think of this. The concession stand stuff lasted for about a minute and a half and then it was more of the same brawls you’ve seen for years around here. That being said, everything after the Papa Briscoe interference was great and one of the more entertaining things you’ll see around here. It started of very slow and got better as it went along so I’ll call that a win.

The Blackpool Combat Club, with Konosuke Takeshita and Don Callis, are in the back with Jon Moxley saying that the only letters that matter in wrestling are BCC. The challenge is on for a five on five match at Forbidden Door, with the Elite needing two more members to accept. Bryan Danielson wants Kazuchika Okada out there for a staredown tonight or he’s a coward.

Video on the Collision debut.

Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Minoru Suzuki vs. Dante Martin/AR Fox/Action Andretti

Andretti and Sammy flip around to start before it’s off to Martin to lose a forearm exchange with Suzuki. Jericho comes in and does the Le Sex Gods pose, with Suzuki posing with him for a bonus. A cheap shot from the apron drops Fox and Jericho hits a belly to back suplex as we take a break. Back with Andretti hitting a springboard clothesline to drop Jericho, setting up a shotgun dropkick into the corner.

Suzuki chokes Andretti and Martin breaks it up, earning that insane smile from Suzuki in a funny bit. Guevara comes in with a double cutter from the top, leaving Jericho to send Fox to the apron. An imploding flip dive takes out Guevara (and Martin by mistake), leaving Andretti to hit the running shooting star press for two on Jericho (how he beat him in their singles match). The sleeper is broken up and Martin kicks Jericho down, only to get pulled out of the air into the Liontamer for the tap at 10:25.

Rating: B-. This got fun in a hurry as they didn’t bother doing much in the way of keeping things together. Instead it was more about flying around as much as possible and that is what you expect from a six man in AEW. It was another fun one and Jericho and company get some momentum built up for what is likely going to be a showdown with Sting and Darby Allin in some form.

Post match Jericho calls out Sting, saying Sting will show up for the highest bidder. The challenge is on for a six man at Forbidden Door so here are Sting and Darby Allin. Sting puts his arm around Jericho’s neck and accepts, with Jericho wanting to know the partner. Sting whispers something to Jericho and Allin says Jericho will find out at Collision. So what did Sting whisper?

Tony Schiavone and RJ City draw names for the blind eliminator tag team tournament. We don’t hear who they are, but names have been drawn.

The Elite are in for the ten man match and Eddie Kingston says he’ll be there too. He gets to pick the fifth member though.

Here is Adam Cole for a chat. He did everything he could to win last week but couldn’t do it. What he does know is that MJF did the right thing by not accepting the challenge for five more minutes, but Cole invites him to come out here right now. Cue MJF to say he’s better than these people. Fans: “SHUT THE F*** UP!” MJF: “No.”

MJF was glad to see the old Cole back last week but what matters is he had Cole beat last week. As for Cole’s rematch request, that’s a no. Hold on though as Tony Schiavone has an announcement. Cole and MJF: “SHUT UP SCHIAVONE!” The announcement is that the two of them will be teaming up in the blind eliminator tournament (shocking I know). The fans want a hug but get Hiroshi Tanahashi on screen to threaten MJF. Cole thinks MJF is scared that someone might better than him, which is enough for MJF to accept for Forbidden Door. Cole: “Good luck partner.”

Here are the brackets for the men’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament:

CM Punk
Satoshi Kojima

Roderick Strong
Samoa Joe

Dustin Rhodes
Powerhouse Hobbs

Juice Robinson
Ricky Starks

And the women’s brackets:

Britt Baker
Ruby Soho

Anna Jay
Skye Blue

Nyla Rose
Willow Nightingale

Athena
Billie Starkz

Katsuyori Shibata/Orange Cassidy vs. Daniel Garcia/Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre and Shibata go to the mat to start and the grapple off is a stalemate. The other two come in and we take a break during the four way staredown. Back with Shibata and Sabre trading holds again and going to a standoff. Cassidy and Garcia come in for a mini dance off of all things until Cassidy rolls him up for two. Sabre comes in to take Cassidy down and crank on the neck, including a figure our necklock. The arm crank goes on and Garcia adds a leglock to put Cassidy in even more trouble.

We take another break and come back again with Cassidy fighting his way out of trouble and bringing it back to Shibata to kick at Sabre. Garcia kicks away at Shibata but Cassidy and Shibata give him the lazy kicks. The pace picks way up with Cassidy and Sabre fighting to the floor. Shibata grabs Garcia’s leg but Sabre makes the save with a neck crank. Garcia and Shibata trade kicks to the face but Cassidy accidentally Orange Punches Shibata. Sabre cuts Cassidy off and Garcia gets the rollup pin on Shibata at 16:34.

Rating: B. They’ll be in some kind of combination at Forbidden Door I’m sure so we’ll call this a big preview for Sunday. Other than that, this felt more like a Sabre vs. Shibata match with the other two involved than anything else. They got some time and the ending was a bit of a twist with good action to back it up though, making it the best match of the night.

Official for Forbidden Door: these four in a four way for Cassidy’s International Title.

Will Ospreay talks about how much he hates Canada and Don Callis comes in to blame it on Kenny Omega. Callis knows what it’s like to have heat in Canada and offers his private security to Ospreay. All he wants is a fair fight, which Ospreay may not buy.

Toni Storm says Willow Nightingale represents the people and Storm can’t stand them. On Sunday, Nightingale gets a title shot.

TBS Title: Taya Valkyrie vs. Kris Statlander

Statlander is defending and dodges a charge to start. Taya chops away but gets low bridged to the floor, setting up Statlander’s moonsault (her arm hit Taya) to put her down again. Back up and Taya dropkicks her off the apron and we take a break. We come back with Taya hitting a double underhook drop for two and a spear cuts Statlander down again. The sliding German suplex drops Statlander again but she’s fine enough to hit a top rope superplex. Wednesday Night Fever retains the title at 8:52.

Rating: C. This was another match where Statlander was able to get a win over an established name to make her feel more like a champion. She still needs the clean win over Jade Cargill, but for now it works as a way to present her as a bigger deal. Statlander feels like someone who could be the next big thing in the women’s division and AEW might be capitalizing on that early.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Here is Eddie Kingston to announce the final member of his team but cue Jon Moxley to interrupt. They get in each others’ face and argue about Kingston’s hatred for Claudio Castagnoli. Kingston doesn’t have time for this though and announces Tomohiro Ishii as the fifth member. Cue the Blackpool Combat Club to beat Ishii down, with Bryan Danielson calling out Kazuchika Okada. Cue Okada for the staredown with Danielson but Wheeler Yuta jumps Okada from behind. The fight is on and Danielson has to bail from the threat of the Rainmaker. Yuta gets hit with it instead to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was much more of the rapid fire “here’s a bunch of stuff for Forbidden Door” in one night show and thankfully they kept it to one week instead of show after show. There was enough good wrestling to make the show feel fun, but the majority was about getting ready for Saturday. The show should be good, as the card looks rather awesome for now. Just stick the landing on Sunday and that’s all that matters.

Results
Gunns b. Hardys – 3:10 To Yuma to Jeff
Mark Briscoe b. Jeff Jarrett – Rollup
Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Minoru Suzuki b. Action Andretti/Dante Martin/AR Fox – Liontamer to Martin
Daniel Garcia/Zack Sabre Jr. b. Katsuyori Shibata/Orange Cassidy – Rollup to Shibata
Kris Statlander b. Taya Valkyrie – Wednesday Night Fever

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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Rampage
Date: June 2, 2023
Location: Viejas Arena, San Diego, California
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

This is an interesting one as it’s more or less Battle Of The Belts but none of the titles are AEW championships. Instead we’re seeing Ring Of Honor, AAA, New Japan and New Japan Strong, which should certainly make for a big mixture of stuff. Other than that, we could use something being announced for Forbidden Door, which is about three weeks away. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

AAA Mega Title: Dralistico vs. Komander vs. El Hijo del Vikingo

Vikingo is defending and they all miss crossbodies, making it look more like a tackling drill than anything else. Dralistico sends them both outside for the big running flip dive and adds a springboard Swanton to Komander back inside. Komander is sent to the apron for a forearm and a top rope double stomp puts him on the floor. Vikingo is back up with the big springboard flip dive and the fans are rather pleased.

Back in and a springboard Phoenix splash gives Vikingo two on Dralistico. The two of them slug it out as Komander is on the floor until Vikingo hits a spinning kick to the face for a near fall. We take a break and come back with a table set up at ringside as Komander hits a double springboard spinning hurricanrana to Vikingo. Dralistico is armdragged to the floor and there’s the big rope run flip dive to leave Komander as the only one standing.

Back in and a 450 gives Komander two on Dralistico with Vikingo making a save. A springboard spinning poisonrana plants Komander and Vikingo puts him on the table for the big step up springboard 630. Dralistico loads up a powerbomb on Vikingo, who reverses into a hurricanrana for the pin to retain at 10:06.

Rating: B. Take three high fliers and let them do their thing for a little while. It was mainly just a collection of spots but Vikingo’s stuff is always worth a look. That being said, as entertaining as it was, it still feels like something we’ve seen several times before. If nothing else, Komander hasn’t exactly held up well, though Dralistico looked better here than he ever has in AEW.

We recap Karen Jarrett hitting referee Aubrey Edwards with a chair.

Jeff Jarrett and company insist that there will be no suspensions over this whole thing. Mark Briscoe comes in to agree that there won’t be and tells Jay Lethal to shut up. Briscoe is talking to the Jarretts, with Aubrey coming in and the catfight starting.

New Japan Pro Wrestling TV Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Action Andretti

Sabre is defending. Feeling out process to start as the grappling goes to Sabre. Andretti climbs the ropes for a wristdrag into a dropkick to put the champ down, setting up a springboard corkscrew splash for two. Back up and Sabre grabs a cross armbreaker in the ropes, followed by twisting the arm around to increase the pain. Andretti tries to chop his way out of the armbar but gets pulled down into a Disarm-Her.

A suplex gets Andretti out of another armbar though and Andretti hits a springboard kick to the face for two. Andretti puts him on top for a super hurricanrana before loading up the torture rack neckbreaker. Sabre counters that with a choke (that’s rather clever) so Andretti plants him with a poisonrana instead. The split legged moonsault gets two on Sabre but he pulls Andretti into a Rings of Saturn (with the legs for a bigger than usual OUCH) for the tap at 10:15.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but wound up being a better match than I would have expected. I don’t think there was exactly much drama about a title change here but Andretti’s athleticism was enough to keep things from getting dull. I could still watch Sabre pull people into painful holds all day and that was on full display here.

NJPW Strong Women’s Championship: Willow Nightingale vs. Emi Sakura

Sakura is challenging and shrugs off Willow’s running shoulder. A suplex works better for Willow and she chops away in some corners. Willow is sent to the apron and a running crossbody to the ribs puts her on the floor. Sakura sends her into the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Willow hitting a middle rope dropkick for two but Sakura rolls her up for the same. Some exchanges of clotheslines goes nowhere but Willow misses one, allowing Sakura to hit a hard clothesline for the double knockdown. Sakura faceplants her but Nightingale is right back with a heck of a Pounce. The Cannonball in the corner gives Willow two, followed by the Babe With The Powerbomb to retain at 9:52.

Rating: B. They beat each other up rather well and Willow’s power game continues to work well. There’s something cool about having someone so adorable being such a monster when she gets serious. Sakura can hang with anyone and is known enough to be a serious threat, but this was about giving Willow a nice showcase, which she needed after finally winning something.

Video on Lee Moriarty vs. Katsuyori Shibata so Mark Henry can say his catchphrase.

Pure Rules Title: Lee Moriarty vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Moriarty, with Big Bill, is challenging. They go to the mat for some grappling to start with Shibata taking over, sending Moriarty over for his first rope break. Moriarty wins a battle of the clotheslines and we take a break. Back with Moriarty caught in a Figure Four and using the second rope break to escape.

Moriarty elbows in the back of the neck but Shibata sends him into the corner. The running dropkick sets up a suplex for two as Moriarty can’t keep any momentum. The chinlock goes on but Moriarty uses his third rope break (which might have been a mistake). Moriarty grabs a Border City Stretch but Shibata slips out. A shot to the face sets up a sleeper into the PK to retain the title at 9:11.

Rating: B-. Shibata didn’t quite squash him but it wasn’t much beyond that. Shibata ran Moriarty over here and shrugged off everything that Moriarty threw at him. The title continues to be little more than lining up a new target for the champion to beat until a new challenger is set up, which works well in small doses. It helps that Shibata is rather good at this style, so outside of some serious cheating, it’s hard to imagine him losing anytime soon.

Post match Daniel Garcia comes out for the staredown with Shibata to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. While I still don’t get the appeal of having everything BUT AEW titles defended, I can go with this as a one off idea. If nothing else, it was a completely different idea and felt like something worth seeing rather than Rampage’s regular offerings. If AEW isn’t going to use Rampage in any meaningful way, throw something like this out there and have some fun instead. The fact that there wasn’t a bad match in sight made it even better. I wouldn’t want to see this every week, but for a one off, I’ll absolutely take this.

Results
El Hijo del Vikingo b. Dralistico and Komander – Hurricanrana to Dralistico
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Action Andretti – Rings Of Saturn
Willow Nightingale b. Emi Sakura – Babe With The Powerbomb
Katsuyori Shibata b. Lee Moriarty – PK

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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