Category: WWE Results

Ring of Honor TV live results: The fallout from Death Before Dishonor

Posted on by Suit Williams

The fallout from last Friday’s Death Before Dishonor will be felt on tonight’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub.

After successfully defending the Six-Man titles last Friday, The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) will defend against the Iron Savages & Jacked Jameson.

Former champions Dalton Castle and The Boys (Brandon & Brent Tate) will face The Trustbusters (Sonny Kiss, Jeeves Kay & Slim J).

ROH Women’s Champion Athena will be in non-title action against Christina Marie, Trish Adora will battle Trish San Antonio, and Leyla Hirsch will take on B3CCA.

Ahead of their match on Rampage, The Kingdom will face Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams.

Josh Woods takes on Eli Isom in a Pure rules match as he pursues a future opportunity against Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata.

Big Bill will continue his recent tag team run as he will reunite with Lee Moriarty against opponents to be named.

**********

This week’s ROH was taped last Saturday in Newark, New Jersey as part of the AEW Collision taping. Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman were on the call.

We got a recap of Death Before Dishonor, highlighting every match.

Pure Rules Match – Josh Woods (w/The Varsity Athletes) defeated Eli Isom

The judges for this match were Jerry Lynn, Jimmy Jacobs, and Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata – who got his own entrance.

Woods tied up Isom in the ropes, forcing his first use of a rope break. They jockeyed for position until Woods booted Isom on an up-and-over in the corner. Woods focused his attack on Isom’s arm. Woods tried to Irish whip Isom, who hooked the ropes and thus used his second rope break.

Woods did more work on the arm until Isom began forearming Woods to fight back. Woods laid in the forearms to Isom’s arm, but Isom hit an offensive flurry that sent Woods into the corner. Woods walked into a Blue Thunder Bomb, but Isom only got a one count on it. Woods hit a Chaos Theory that transitioned into an armbar, forcing Isom to use his third rope break. Woods sent Isom onto the apron, caught him in a sleeper hold, then dragged him into the ring. Woods then hit a Penalty Kick, while looking at Shibata, before locking in the Gorilla Lock to win.

After the match, Smart Mark Sterling talked trash to Shibata before laying out the challenge for next week. Shibata got in the ring and stared down Woods, accepting the title challenge for next week.

Backstage, Lexy Nair spoke to Trish Adora and asked her what was next after her loss to Leyla Hirsch at the Death Before Dishonor Zero Hour. Adora said that she would have let this get her down a year ago, but now that she’s part of the Infantry, she’s focused on bouncing back.

Trish Adora defeated Vita Vonstarr

Vonstarr is a former member of the Righteous. Adora focused on the arm before locking in a submission that Vonstarr used her flexibility to get out of. Vonstarr hit a Northern Lights suplex for a nearfall before locking on an Octopus Stretch. Adora spun Vonstarr out with a backbreaker before firing up, hitting a big boot and a senton for a nearfall.

Vonstarr avoided the Lariat Tubman and hit the Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Adora followed up with a successful Lariat Tubman for the win.

ROH World Six Man Tag Team Title Match – The Mogul Embassy (Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) (c) defeated The Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson & Jacked Jameson)

This was fun and energetic, with the Embassy seeing a much different type of challenge than they are used to seeing.

Cage started with Bronson, dropping him with a back elbow. Bronson came back with a bodyslam before the Savages triple-teamed Cage in the corner. Cage hit a strike flurry on Jameson to take back control before tagging in Kaun. Jameson tagged out to Bronson, who hit a dive onto Cage and squished Liona on the apron. That left him open to a dropkick from Kaun into a powerbomb on the floor from Liona.

The champions clubbered on Bronson, hitting a strike train that ended with Cage’s apron superplex for a nearfall. Bronson sat down on a sunset flip by Cage before tagging out to Boulder, who ran wild on the Embassy. He dropped Cage and Kaun with a double flapjack. Boulder and Liona faced off, with Boulder taking Liona down with a jumping shoulder block. Boulder dropped Kaun with a powerslam for a nearfall.

Boulder went for a moonsault but missed. The match broke down into a Pier Six brawl, ending with Bronson hitting a Sky High for a nearfall. Liona cut Boulder down with a knee on a crossbody attempt, and Cage took down Bronson with a spinning lariat. The Embassy isolated Jameson, with Kaun hitting a Pedigree to score the win.

Leyla Hirsch defeated Becca

Ian Riccaboni mentioned that his four-year-old daughter’s favorite wrestler was Leyla Hirsch. I figure it’s because they’re the same height, but that’s beside the point. Hirsch took Becca down with a lariat and a gutwrench suplex. After fighting out of a waist lock, Becca fought back with the crowd behind her. Becca hit a shotgun dropkick but missed a missile dropkick off the top rope. Hirsch hit a German suplex and a running knee to score the win.

Backstage, Lexy Nair was with Athena. Athena wanted more competition, ragdolling Lexy around while doing so. She said if Lexy didn’t get her more competition, she would take it out on Lexy.

The Renegades (Charlette Renegade & Robyn Renegade) defeated JC & Tiara James

James looked good in her 30-second flurry here.

Charlette started with JC, who fought off both Renegades to start until she got tripped up by Robyn. The Renegades hit a double suplex on JC for a nearfall. The Renegades clubbered on JC until she slipped out of another double suplex attempt and made the tag to James. James ran wild on them until Charlette took her down by the hair. The Renegades hit a double superkick on JC before finishing off James with a Hart Attack.

Proving Ground Match: ROH Women’s Champion Athena defeated Christina Marie

Marie took the fight to Athena after the Code of Honor, sending her into the buckles and hitting a handspring splash. Marie hit a snapmare for a nearfall before Athena flung her across the ring. Athena laid in the strikes before hitting a baseball slide that sent Marie off the apron to the floor. Athena ragdolled Marie in the ropes before hitting a knockout forearm for the win.

Athena beat up Marie on the floor, flinging her into the barricades and booting her down before standing tall.

The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defeated Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams

A very good match between these four veterans.

Williams laid in forearms to Bennett, forcing him to tag out to Taven. Bennett then caught Williams with a knee in the back, leading to a strike combination from the Kingdom. Williams avoided a top rope attack from Taven, tagging in Titus. Titus hit a modified airplane spin for a nearfall, but got caught up by a Bennett lariat from the apron. Bennett hit a main event spinebuster, but Titus got his knees up on Taven’s lionsault attempt.

Williams tagged in and ran wild on the Kingdom, hitting the top-rope DDT on Taven before locking on a cloverleaf that Bennett broke up. Titus sent Bennett flying with a belly-to-belly suplex before Titus and Williams hit a series of heavy strikes on Taven for a nearfall. Taven forced Williams into the corner and made a tag to Bennett, who got into a strike exchange with Williams. They locked the other man’s partner in submission holds but kept wailing on each other. They hit tandem piledrivers on their partners before re-engaging, ending with Williams hitting a lariat for a nearfall.

Titus and Taven tagged in, with Titus drilling Taven with a dropkick. Taven held onto the ropes on a belly-to-belly suplex attempt, allowing the Kingdom to take control and hit the Proton Pack for the win.

Backstage, Lexy Nair was with ROH Board Member Stokely Hathaway & ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe. Hathaway announced an eliminator tournament to determine the next challenger for the TV Title. Joe took offense to Lexy’s claims of favoritism shown towards Joe, saying that Hathaway was his own man.

ROH TV Title Eliminator Tournament Match: Christopher Daniels defeated JD Drake

A solid TV match here, and one with some real stakes too. I would’ve preferred Drake moving on as the fresher name, but I’ve got no strong issue with Daniels moving on.

Ian Riccaboni noted that this was the first of four tournament matches. Daniels dropped Drake with a jumping back kick, but Drake dropped him with a barge attack and a bodyslam. Drake laid on Daniels, hitting a Bossman Slam for a nearfall before hitting a pair of sentons. Drake laid into Daniels with chops, but Daniels fired up and engaged in a chop battle before taking Drake down with a flatliner.

Daniels took Drake down with a rabbit lariat hitting a spinning flatliner off the ropes for a nearfall. Daniels went for the Angel’s Wings, but Drake hit a big boot and a cannonball for a nearfall. Drake set Daniels up for a moonsault, but Daniels moved out of the way. Daniels hit the uranage and the Best Moonsault Ever for the win.

Big Bill & Lee Moriarty defeated Adrian Soriano & Gabriel Hodder

Soriano and Hodder are a regular team known as Primal Fear, who have made appearances in the tail-end of the Sinclair-era of ROH. Moriarty snagged Soriano in the Border City Stretch immediately, but Soriano got to the ropes. Hodder and Soriano worked hard to keep Bill out of the ring, but they wasted time posing. That allowed Moriarty to tag in Big Bill, who ran wild. Bill hit a double rotation Bossman Slam and a chokeslam on Soriano to score the win.

ROH TV Title Eliminator Tournament Match: Tony Nese (w/ The Varsity Athletes) defeated Cheeseburger

Nese had the mic on his way to the ring, claiming that cheeseburgers were ruining this country. He wanted to start a group exercise before Cheeseburger’s music hit, bringing out Nese’s opponent. Cheeseburger used his technique to control Nese early, but Nese hung him up on the top rope and hit a gutbuster to take control. He tied Cheeseburger up in the Tree of Woe before hitting crunch kicks to Cheeseburger’s chest.

Cheeseburger fought out of a waistlock and hit a suplex. Cheeseburger hit a superkick before landing the Shotei palm strike – passed down to him by Jushin Thunder Liger himself – for a nearfall. Cheeseburger hit a DDT for a nearfall, then set up a second Shotei. Sterling got on the apron to distract him, allowing Nese to hit a pumphandle Greetings From Asbury Park for the win.

ROH TV Title Eliminator Tournament Match: Gravity defeated Anthony Henry

More of this please! Two newer faces getting time to work and shine, with legitimate question as to who could win. Henry looked great here, as I was biting on a few of his nearfalls.

Gravity tried to do multiple kip-ups to get out of an arm hold, but Henry simply released the arm to have Gravity fall down. Gravity worked his way out of another hold, but Henry booted him down. Gravity sent Henry to the floor, then hit a dive onto him. Henry caught Gravity mid-handstand with a superkick before cranking his neck on the apron.

Henry caught Gravity with a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall before cranking the neck again. Henry laid in a kick to Gravity’s back, but Gravity started to fire up. He caught Henry with a lucha armdrag and a handspring elbow before gorilla-pressing him into a dropkick. Gravity twisted Henry into a Ground Octopus, but Henry reversed it into a Stretch Muffler. Gravity pulled Henry into a roll-up, but Henry caught him with a Penalty Kick and a cross-legged Michinoku Driver for a nearfall.

Henry missed a double stomp but scored with an elevated DDT for a nearfall. Henry hit a pair of kicks, but Gravity caught him with a powerslam before hitting a top rope splash for the win.

ROH TV Title Eliminator Tournament Match: Shane Taylor defeated Serpentico

Serpentico caught Taylor with a few strikes and hit a rana that sent Taylor into the corner. Taylor burst out of the corner with a forearm, then beeled Serpentico across the ring twice. Taylor hit a back splash and a lariat for a nearfall. Serpentico escaped off of Taylor’s shoulders but ran into a body shot. Taylor hit the World’s Strongest Slam for a nearfall.

Serpentico begged off, then flipped Taylor off before firing off a few strikes. Taylor caught Serpentico on a crossbody before cracking him with a headbutt. Taylor then hit the uranage before hitting a splash for the win.

Dalton Castle & The Boys (Brandon & Brent) defeated The Trustbusters (Jeeves Kay, Slim J & Sonny Kiss)

I did not miss hearing the Trustbusters music. Castle and Kiss tried for lariats in the corner for about 30 seconds until Castle just flung Kiss with a suplex. The Trustbusters isolated Brandon after some multi-person shenanigans. Castle tagged back in and flung the Trustbusters around with suplexes before asking for a boy. Castle threw the Boys around before Castle got Kay isolated. Castle hit the Bangarang for the win.

NJPW G1 Climax 33 night nine live results: Okada vs. Ospreay

Posted on by Chick Fritts

Kazuchika Okada faces Will Ospreay today in G1 Climax 33 B Block action in a rematch of last year’s G1 finals. 

Okada holds a 7-1 career singles record against Ospreay, and a win would lock Okada into the eight-man playoffs round. 

In the semi-main, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA can also guarantee a spot in the playoffs round with a win over Ren Narita. 

Today’s full lineup: 

  • B Block: Kazuchika Okada (4-0, 8 points) vs. Will Ospreay (3-1, 6 points)
  • A Block: SANADA (4-0, 8 points) vs. Ren Narita (0-2-2, 2 points)
  • B Block: KENTA (2-2, 4 points) vs. El Phantasmo (1-3, 2 points)
  • A Block: Yota Tsuji (1-2-1, 3 points) vs. Hikuleo (1-3, 2 points)
  • B Block: Great-O-Khan (1-3, 2 points) vs. Tanga Loa (1-3, 2 points)
  • A Block: Kaito Kiyomiya (2-1-1, 5 points) vs. Gabe Kidd (2-2, 4 points)
  • B Block: Taichi (2-2, 4 points) vs. YOSHI-HASHI (2-2, 4 points)
  • A Block: Chase Owens (2-2, 4 points) vs. Shota Umino (1-1-2, 4 points)

Our live coverage begins at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time. 

**********

Recommended Matches

  • Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Gabe Kidd – Even if the War Dog run-in is a bit repetitive, it has worked wonders in this tournament. This match played perfectly into the structure of the G1 and both men’s strengths—my favorite match of the tournament.
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay – This match was exactly what you would expect from this pair in this format. In effect, this was a big-time main event with two of the most important wrestlers in New Japan condensed into the G1 package. There is no doubt in my mind that this match will have a lasting impact.

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Shota Umino defeated Chase Owens

This match featured a lot of outside scrambles and slow mat work. The highlight of the match was also the finish, when Shota escaped the package piledriver, beautifully reversing into the Death Rider to secure the win.

With this win, Shota stays competitive, moving up to 6 points.

Taichi defeated YOSHI-HASHI

This was a strike-heavy encounter, with almost all exchanges being strike based before the closing stretch. In the closing minutes, they graduated to throws, suplexes, and power moves. Taichi won out in the end, hitting Black Mephisto to secure the pin.

This win leaves Taichi with 6 points, keeping him in solid playoff contention.

Double Count Out: Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Gabe Kidd

This match was excellent. Kidd, in War Dog fashion, brutally attacked Kaito before the bout, setting Kaito up for a match full of sympathy building—something no one is better at. Kaito answered violence with violence, leading to passionate exchanges in and out of the ring. In the end, the fight wouldn’t end in the ring, as neither man was willing to back down from a brawl on the outside, leading to a double count out. Even after the bell, the pair brawled for minutes, forcing an army of ring crew to break them up and carry Kaito to the back.

This draw leaves both men in the upper-middle of A block—Kaito with 6 points, Kidd with 5.

Tanga Loa defeated Great-O-Khan

O-Khan controlled a lot of this match by working over Loa’s legs. Loa answered by getting on his feet, launching a comeback, and hitting a reverse piledriver to win.

Loa’s win keeps him alive theoretically with 4 points. This loss eliminates O-Khan from playoff contention. 

Hikuleo defeated Yota Tsuji

This match was fairly interesting on a structural level. This could’ve been a typical big man vs. big man match, but instead, Tsuji wrestled as much like a junior as possible while still utilizing his power. Hikuleo ultimately answered with a wicked boot, a scoop slam, and a chokeslam to win the match.

Hikuleo barely stays alive with this win, sitting in the lower end of viability with 4 points.

El Phantasmo defeated KENTA

KENTA tried icing out ELP before the match could begin, but ELP followed him to the floor, leading to extended fighting on the ground. In the bleachers, KENTA drew color from ELP. The pair used weapons, with KENTA gaining significant advantage. The match finally started once KENTA rolled ELP into the ring. KENTA tried for a GTS, but ELP reversed into a pin, stealing the win.

Although he’s out of contention, this win gets ELP on the board with his first 2 points.

SANADA defeated Ren Narita

This was a fairly stale back-and-forth match. There were a few exciting moments, especially during transitions, but in the end, they were sparse. Narita got a lot of control time in the match, but in the end, SANADA won with Deadfall.

This win makes SANADA the first man to qualify for the second phase, standing tall with 10 points.

Will Ospreay defeated Kazuchika Okada

Okada was stoic in his approach, especially early, while Ospreay threw everything at the wall from the open. The mid-to-late match came quickly, with both men hurling bombs as soon as it was viable. Okada focused heavily on wear-down moves, such as the money clip, while Ospreay tried for match-enders like the OsCutter. The closing five minutes were filled with false finishes and giant transitions of momentum. Ultimately, Ospreay was able to finish the job, hitting storm breaker to win the match.

This win leaves Ospreay tied in points with Okada on top of B block. Both men sit with 8 points.

**********

Standings

A Block

  • SANADA (4-0) – 8 points)
  • Shota Umino (2-1-2) – 6 points
  • Kaito Kiyomiya (2-1-2) – 6 points
  • Gabe Kidd (2-2-1) 5 points
  • Chase Owens (2-3) – 4 points
  • Hikuleo (2-3) – 4 points
  • Yota Tsuji (1-3-1) – 3 points
  • Ren Narita (0-2-2) – 2 points

B Block

  • Kazuchika Okada (4-1) – 8 points
  • Will Ospreay (4-1) 8 points
  • Taichi (3-2) – 6 points
  • YOSHI-HASHI (2-3) – 4 points
  • KENTA (2-3) 4 points
  • Tanga Loa (2-3) 4 points
  • Great-O-Khan (1-4) 2 points
  • El Phantasmo (1-3) 2 points

C Block

  • David Finlay (3-1) – 6 points
  • EVIL (3-1) – 6 points
  • Tama Tonga (3-1) – 6 points
  • Eddie Kingston (2-2) – 4 points
  • Shingo Takagi (2-2) – 4 points
  • HENARE (1-3) – 2 points
  • Mikey Nicholls (1-3) – 2 points
  • Tomohiro Ishii (1-3) – 2 points

D Block

  • Jeff Cobb (4-0) – 8 points
  • Zack Sabre Jr. (3-1) – 6 points
  • Hirooki Goto (2-2) – 4 points
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi (2-2) – 4 points
  • Tetsuya Naito (2-2) – 4 points
  • Shane Haste (2-2) – 4 points
  • Alex Coughlin (1-3) – 2 points
  • Toru Yano (0-4) – 0 points

AEW Rampage spoilers from Albany: Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose

Posted on by F4W Staff

The following are spoilers for this Friday’s AEW Rampage, taped Wednesday in Albany, New York. Results are courtesy of PWInsider.

Before Dynamite began, Skye Blue defeated Anna Jay in a dark match.

AEW Rampage:

  • Big Bill & Brian Cage won a tag team battle royale to earn a future AEW Tag Team title match. The Butcher was the final elimination. Other teams in the match included The Butcher & The Blade, Ethan Page & Brother Zay, The Hardys, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker, Serpentico & Luther, Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh, and Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal.
  • The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defeated Myung-Jae Lee & Hayden Backlund.
  • The advertised Scorpio Sky vs. Kip Sabian match did not take place as Tony Khan announced that Sky was injured. Komander replaced him and defeated Kip Sabian.
  • Hikaru Shida defeated Nyla Rose
  • Khan & -1 (Brodie Lee Jr.) made an appearance in front of the crowd to close the show.

Notes: 

  • PWInsider reports that Scotty 2 Hotty (aka Scott Garland) worked the taping in a tryout for a producer’s role. Garland worked for WWE as a trainer at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida from 2016 to 2021.

AEW Dynamite live results: Moxley & Castagnoli vs. Lucha Bros vs. Best Friends

Posted on by Ryan Howard

Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli will be in tag team action on this week’s AEW Dynamite. 

Coming off last week’s loss in Blood & Guts, Moxley & Castagnoli will look to rebound against Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix of The Lucha Bros, and Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor of Best Friends in a triple threat match. 

Orange Cassidy is set to defend the AEW International Championship against AR Fox. The bout will be Fox’s sixth title shot in 25 career AEW matches. Including tag bouts, Fox’s career AEW record stands at 10-14 coming into the bout.  

Darby Allin will go one-on-one with Swerve Strickland. Allin won last week’s Royal Rampage to earn a TNT title shot at next month’s All Out pay-per-view. 

After a win over Skye Blue on last week’s Collision, Taya Valkyrie will face Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. on Dynamite. 

PAC vs. Gravity, plus a promo from MJF & Adam Cole are also set for the show. 

Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time. 

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AEW Dynamite comes on the air with Excalibur welcoming us alongside Tony Schiavone and Taz, as they run down the card for the evening before going to a video package about the history between Darby Allin & AR Fox. The advice that Fox gave to Allin is documented, as Allin put over how Fox gave him a place to stay for free while training. Allin said if anyone deserves a shot, it’s AR Fox, as without him, there might not be a Darby Allin.

Orange Cassidy defeated AR Fox to retain the AEW International Title

(An action packed opener, with the crowd showing support for both guys throughout. The post match was very interesting, as the attack by Fox was very unexpected and led to Darby Allin questioning why his friend would do what he did after he vouched for Fox to get this title shot.)

This is Fox’s sixth title match in AEW, as he was previously unsuccessful in four Trios Title bouts and one TNT Title match against Samoa Joe last November. Meanwhile, this is Cassidy’s 27th title defense of the International Title as Excalibur runs down all the injuries Cassidy has suffered over the course of his reign. Fox tried keeping Cassidy grounded early, but Cassidy responded with the hands in pocket mind games and powdered, only to eat a quick moonsault to the floor by Fox. Back inside, Fox used his speed to hit a roll through suplex, which Cassidy countered into a Stundog Millionaire. Fox answered by kicking out of the corner with a leaping cutter and twisting brainbuster for a near fall. Fox stayed in control for a majority of the commercial break.

Cassidy fought out of a third neckbreaker by Fox before both traded big boots to the face. Each man blocked cutter attempts before hitting a double neckbreaker for the reset. Cassidy went up and over in the corner and repeatedly slammed Fox head first into the buckle. Fox sent Cassidy to the outside and hit a huge somersault dive and senton back inside for a close two. Cassidy countered Lo Mein Pain into a dive outside of his own and spinning DDT back in the ring that led to Beach Break, but Fox kicked out. Fox blocked the Orange Punch, set Cassidy up in the corner and hit Lo Mein Pain for a close near fall of his own. Cassidy rolled to the apron, but Fox was there to hit a Rolling Thunder and DDT back inside. Fox missed a top rope 450, seemed to tweak his ankle, allowing Cassidy to wrench at it and get the Mouse Trap for the victory. Post match, Cassidy put his sunglasses on Fox, who snapped them in half and attacked Cassidy as a furious Darby Allin screamed at Fox at the ramp asking him what that was about and Fox didn’t have an answer.

After all that, Cassidy was trying to recover when Jon Moxley ran through the crowd and laid out Cassidy with the Death Rider, as Excalibur talked about Cassidy getting involved at the end of Claudio Castagnoli’s match in ROH Death Before Dishonor.

-Renee Paquette is backstage with Chris Jericho & Don Callis, who talked about fans wanting Jericho to becoming part of Callis’ family. Callis said for Jericho to imagine a dream team with Konosuke Takeshita and Jericho said he’s willing to give it a try. Callis said their opponents will be Daniel Garcia & Sammy Guevara as Callis said that Jericho wanted them to spread their wings, as Jericho reluctantly accepted. Callis commissioned a work of art of their 1995 promo with Bad News Allen and there’s a painting shown of Bad News in the sky looking over Callis & Jericho.

**********

A brief video of HOOK walking and taking a seat at the subway is shown before the subway speeds past and HOOK was gone.

Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta cut a PSA backstage telling kids not to play with fire or mess with the Blackpool Combat Club. Castagnoli said the beating PAC suffered at Death Before Dishonor is nothing compared to what he’d get when they cross paths again. Jon Moxley walked in and gave a warning to Lucha Bros & Best Friends, who will pay tonight for PAC’s mistake.

Jack Perry addresses HOOK & the FTW Title

Tony Schiavone introduced the new FTW Champion, who walked out with his Beethoven’s 5th Symphony playing and new I Beat HOOK shirt. Schiavone got the crowd to start really booing Perry, who said after one loss, HOOK realized he can’t hang with the big boys, so he’s now on the train to nowhere. The FTW Title wasn’t what Perry was talking about when he said he wanted to win gold in 2023 in AEW and said as soon as he put his hands on the title, it became the real deal. Perry said he is the best wrestler ever to hold the title and ran down Taz and his friends.

This brought out Jerry Lynn, who said in ECW, they paved the way for the current generation. Without ECW, there never would have been a Jungle Boy and told Perry to keep running his mouth; it will get his ass kicked. Lynn squared up, but Perry said he’s not dressed to fight, instead challenging Lynn to show up next week. next week before leaving. So I guess we’re getting Jack Perry against Jerry Lynn? Who had that on their 2023 Wrestling Bingo card? I certainly wasn’t expecting that.

-Renee Paquette is backstage with Britt Baker, asking her reaction to Taya Valkyrie’s comments on Collision. Baker thanked Valkyrie and said she’s excited for their first time meeting, but will drag Valkyrie to the deep end and remind everyone that TBS is The Britt Show.

PAC submitted Gravity

(While most of this happened during commercial, the internet did get it’s reference to the irony of this match being booked in the first place. And as a bonus, we got Taz singing a little John Mayer. This was pretty much a dominating showing needed to put PAC back in the win column in AEW.)

During his entrance, Gravity actually acted like he was walking on the moon. PAC brilliantly tried to reintroduce himself to Gravity, as he was previously known as The Man That Gravity forgot. Taz meanwhile, shoe horned and briefly serenaded us with John Mayer’s ‘Gravity’. Gravity used his speed to send PAC to the floor early and tried to play mind games, only to eat a dropkick through the ropes by PAC, who stayed in control the entire picture in picture.

Back from commercial we saw the Blackpool Combat Club watching from their locker room. Gravity fought out of the corner with a leaping cross body, but PAC responded with a series of kicks. Both men went to the top and PAC connected with an avalanche brainbuster and quickly got the submission using the Brutalizer.

-We see post match comments from Renee Paquette with the Blind Eliminator Tournament winners MJF & Adam Cole. When Cole was about to start the promo, MJF cut him off and trash talked both members of FTR, mocking Dax Harwood constantly cutting the same promos and MJF will punch him so hard in the face he’ll spit out CM Punk’s jockstrap. The only initials that matter aren’t FTR, it’s MJF. Cole said never in a million years did he expect to be friends with MJF and said he has nothing to worry about with touching the AEW World Title post match. Cole said MJF is becoming one of his best friends and MJF said win, lose or draw, he wants Cole to know he’s getting a rematch for the World Title. Roderick Strong stormed in and shoved MJF, saying Cole shouldn’t trust him. Cole told MJF to leave as he said he loves Strong, but he’s pushing Cole away because he’s showing he doesn’t trust him.

**********

-Comments from FTR last week are shown with Renee Paquette as Wheeler said he’s excited about Collision on Saturday, but feels bad Adam Cole has been dragged into this. They respect Cole, but they hate MJF, calling him a generational ass kisser. Everyone who has been with MJF, including his fiancé, once they get to know him, they leave him. Harwood said he won’t get gimmicked up like MJF, since this is real to him. At Collision, MJF won’t make a mockery of professional wrestling and he’ll beat the sh*t out of Max on Saturday. Harwood apologizes to Cole, but says they are beating them at Collision.

Swerve Strickland (w/Prince Nana) defeated Darby Allin (w/Nick Wayne)

(These two continue to add to their great series of matches, as this was just as wild as you’d expect. The Death Valley Driver spot was unreal and I question how Allin’s spine wasn’t broken, which, that’s not the only time I’ve questioned that in his matches. The finish you could really see coming after the opener tonight and it’s a way to actually do something with AR Fox, who, up to this point, had been just another guy on the roster. Aligning with Strickland hopefully allows him to break out a little bit going forward.)

After an early back and forth, we nearly saw an identical ending to the Royal Rampage on Friday with Allin on the apron this time, with Strickland diving to the outside, only to eat a Code Red as a result. Allin chucked Strickland into the steps, repositioned them, but Strickland reversed a whip, Allin cleared the steps, as Strickland launched off the steps with a massive House Call kick. Strickland controlled the entire break, working over Allin’s wrist and taunting Wayne in the process.

Strickland connected on a roll through Flatliner and huge suplex before both men traded a series of roll ups ending with Strickland kicking out of the Last Supper. Strickland rolled to the apron and Allin speared him through the ropes and landed right on his head on the outside in the process. Back inside, Strickland rolled out to the floor again and this time caught a charging Allin with a knee lift in mid air. Back inside again, Strickland hit a Swerve Stomp, but Allin kicked out. Both men went up to the top and Allin managed an avalanche over the top stunner sending Strickland to the apron. Allin wanted a Coffin Drop, but Strickland pulled out the feet and hit an unreal and violent looking Death Valley Driver off the second rope onto the edge of the ring.

The referee was distracted by Nana & Wayne, as Allin was about to roll back into the ring, but a hooded ring attendant shoved him into the ring post and put back into the ring. Strickland connected with the JML Driver to get the win. The masked man was AR Fox, who attacked Allin & Nick Wayne post match, trying a move with Allin’s skateboard and failing miserably. Prince Nana presented a Mogul Embassy shirt to Fox, who proudly put it on.

-Renee Paquette is backstage with Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, Anna Jay & Tay Conti as Chris Jericho walked up and told them all to come into his dressing room. The painting Don Callis presented Jericho earlier is hung up and Jericho said forget about that, asking how the baby is to Tay Conti, who said the baby is fine, but asks what is going on with Jericho? Parker was about to give back his comb to Jericho, but said not quite yet. Anna Jay said Jericho is being selfish and said like Hager said; they can’t give Jericho their 100%. Everyone but Menard left, who told Jericho to figure things out, fast, before leaving himself.

**********

Britt Baker submitted Taya Valkyrie

(Sometimes things just don’t gel right and this was one of those times. Both ladies tried hard, but that messed up spot early turned the crowd. While they did get them back with the forearm exchange, it just seemed things were off. Regardless, this was a needed win for Baker, who continues to get back on the winning track following an early elimination in the Owen Hart Tournament.)

Baker worked an early headlock, but Valkyrie used her power to gain control with her running corner knees. With the wrist trapped, Valkyrie fired off stiff chops and short arm lariat, but Baker tried a misdirect, only to sort of fall to Road to Valhalla. The crowd booed, as the whole spot looked really clunky, so I’m not sure whether or not Valkyrie was supposed to hit a proper one. Regardless, Baker’s didn’t get up enough, so Valkyrie just mounted and dished out strikes heading into break.

When they returned, the crowd still was booing, as Valkyrie was trapped in a Baker cravat and ate knee strikes. Valkyrie was sent into the corner, stumbled out and Baker hit a rip cord strike, only for Valkyrie to kick out at one. A forearm battle commenced as both ladies traded kicks and Valkyrie just dove for a lariat. Baker wanted Panama Sunrise, Valkyrie countered into a Northern Lights, but Baker got back in control, tried again and got the Panama Sunrise for two. Baker took too long putting on her glove and Valkyrie hit a Spear, wanted Road to Valhalla, but Baker spun out into Lock Jaw for the win.

**********

The Lucha Bros (Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero Miedo w/Alex Abrahantes) defeated Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley and Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta)

(A pretty jam packed main event, with the story playing a lot into what happened after the ROH Title match at Death Before Dishonor. That is where the bad blood started, as Castagnoli & Moxley once again found themselves on the losing end to close Dynamite, an unfamiliar territory for them as commentary said. I wouldn’t have minded Best Friends getting a win here, but if the story plays eventually more into PAC bailing on the BCC, it makes sense his Death Triangle buddies got the win here.)

Lucha Bros & Best Friends started fighting before The BCC even got to the ring, as the brawl was on with everyone. Taylor & Moxley brawled up the ramp before everyone else joined on the floor and Taylor hit a somersault dive off the stage onto the pile. Back to the ring, Fenix & Castagnoli had a nice exchange with Fenix doing a massive springboard arm drag, only to eat a Sexy Chuckie Knee from Beretta. Moxley jumped in with a cutter and Castagnoli cleaned house on everyone else with uppercuts. Fenix fell back into a tag from Beretta, who tackled Fenix for revenge of getting whacked in the face with a chair at Death Before Dishonor last Friday. Beretta missed a knee on Castagnoli, but did hit a Saito Suplex before trying a dive, only to eat an uppercut before takeoff. Moxley tagged in and destroyed Beretta with a King Kong Lariat into commercial break.

Beretta fought out of the corner with a missile dropkick on Castagnoli, tagging Taylor, who dropped Moxley with Sole Food. Moxley tried turning the tables, but ate a jump knee and German suplex by Taylor. Penta made the blind tag on Moxley and fired off Sling Blade and back stabber on Taylor. All six men started slugging it out in the ring until Best Friends just decided to hug and give the people what they wanted. Moxley & Castagnoli were sent outside and Lucha Bros were planted with dueling piledrivers from Taylor & Beretta.

Lucha Bros gained control with superkicks and submission attempts, as Penta snapped back on the arm of Beretta before hitting Made in Penta. Castagnoli & Moxley broke things up, beating down Best Friends with anvil elbows, stomps and powerbomb by Castagnoli on Taylor. Castagnoli wanted a Ricola Bomb, but Orange Cassidy’s music hit and he laid out Wheeler Yuta on the ramp. Cassidy slugged it out with Moxley as Beretta dropped Castagnoli with a Crunchie, but was told Castagnoli wasn’t the legal man, how in the world with all this chaos did Paul Turner keep track of that? The Lucha Bros jumped in and laid out Beretta with Fear Factor and Penta got the win.

Post match, commentary talked about how The BCC are in unfamiliar territory losing multiple matches, as Best Friends & Cassidy kept brawling with The BCC before Lucha Bros kind of made Moxley back off, as he bailed all while everyone else brawled. Excalibur informed us Moxley vs. Beretta vs. Penta next week in an Anything Goes three way on the 200th episode of Dynamite.

AEW Rampage 7/28/23

· Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose

· Tag Team Battle Royale featuring Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh, Big Bill & Brian Cage, Ethan Page & Brother Zay, The Hardy Boys, Butcher & The Blade, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker, Luther & Serpentico and Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal with the winners receiving an AEW Tag Team Title match

· Scorpio Sky vs. Kip Sabian

· The Kingdom (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) Will Be In Action

AEW Collision 7/29/23

· FTR defend the AEW Tag Team Titles against AEW World Champion MJF & Adam Cole

· Andrade El Idolo vs. Buddy Matthews in a Ladder Match for Idolo’s Mask

· El Hijo del Vikingo, Action Andretti & Darius Martin vs. Juice Robinson & The Gunns

AEW Dynamite 8/2/23

· Jack Perry face to face with Jerry Lynn

· Chris Jericho & Konosuke Takeshita vs. Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia

· Jon Moxley vs. Trent Beretta vs. Penta el zero Miedo in an Anything Goes Match

NJPW G1 Climax 33 night eight live results: Sabre vs. Cobb

Posted on by Chick Fritts

NJPW’s G1 Climax 33 tournament continues today with C Block & D Block matches in Tokyo at Korakuen Hall.

In the main event, Zack Sabre Jr. faces Jeff Cobb in a battle of unbeatens. Both enter the match with 3-0 records in this year’s tournament.

In the semi-main, the undefeated David Finlay faces Tama Tonga.

The full lineup:

  • D Block: Zack Sabre Jr. (3-0, 6 points) vs. Jeff Cobb (3-0, 6 points)
  • C Block: David Finlay (3-0, 6 points) vs. Tama Tonga (2-1, 4 points)
  • D Block: Tetsuya Naito (2-1, 4 points) vs. Shane Haste (1-2, 2 points)
  • C Block: Eddie Kingston (2-1, 4 points) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (0-3, 0 points)
  • D Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi (1-2, 2 points) vs. Toru Yano (0-3, 0 points)
  • C Block: Shingo Takagi (1-2, 2 points) vs. Mikey Nicholls (1-2, 2 points)
  • D Block: Hirooki Goto (2-1, 4 points) vs. Alex Coughlin (0-3, 0 points)
  • C Block: EVIL (2-1, 4 points) vs. HENARE (1-2, 2 points)

Our live coverage begins at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.

**********

Recommended Matches

  • Shingo Takagi vs. Mikey Nicholls – An action-packed match with some color. Wonderful.
  • Eddie Kingston vs. Tomohiro Ishii – This match was nothing short of fantastic—easily amongst the best matches of the tournament and the best individual performances from both men—a must-watch.
  • Jeff Cobb vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Another match that is in the running for “best match of the tournament”. This was ridiculous bell-to-bell action packed full of ZSJ nuance and Cobb’s stunning acts of athleticism—a must-watch.

**********

EVIL defeated HENARE

From the pre-match chair attack to the outside fighting, this was a full-blown HOT match. In the end, a referee distraction left EVIL free to hit a low blow, followed by Everything is Evil for the win.

Evil sits strong in his block with 6 points.

Alex Coughlin defeated Hirooki Goto

This has been a breakout tournament for Coughlin, if I’ve ever seen one. It shouldn’t be a surprise at this point, but Coughlin worked a violent match here. After dominating Goto for the entire runtime, Coughlin dropped Goto with a jackhammer to win his first match in the G1.

With this win, Coughlin avoids mathematical elimination, earning his first 2 points.

Shingo Takagi defeated Mikey Nicholls

With lots of powerful exchanges that built to an explosive finishing stretch, this was a great Shingo outing. Shingo bested a bloody Nicholls with a body press that looked it was supposed to be a pumping bomber; either way, it was awesome.

Takagi sets in the middle of C block with 4 points following this win.

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Toru Yano

Even after a challenge from Tanahashi to get serious, this match was anything but. Only after minutes of Yano chicanery Tanahashi closed the match with High Fly Flow.

With this win, Tanahashi moves up to 4 points and eliminates Yano from playoff contention.

Tomohiro Ishii defeated Eddie Kingston

This match was all about Ishii working over Eddie’s injured back in the beginning. Eddie was forced to challenge Ishii with strikes, leading to some electric exchanges. Once the striking ended, the bout exploded into the most impressive back-and-forth in the G1 so far. The war ended once Ishii lifted Kingston for a picture-perfect brain buster.

This win puts Ishii on the board, earning his first 2 points.

Shane Haste defeated Tetsuya Naito

This match was a definite cooler compared to the last, but this was still good. Naito worked the neck during his periods of control, setting up Destino. After kicking out of one, Naito attempted another, but Haste reversed into Bomb Valley Death for an upset victory.

This win leaves Haste with the majority of D block with 4 points.

Tama Tonga defeated David Finlay

In a bit of a dynamic flip, Tama rushed Finlay in the opening moments, which Finlay was able to take advantage of. Finlay took the action to the ring, where the match played out with multiple momentum shifts. After hitting a spear, Finlay hoisted Tama up for a powerbomb, but Tama reversed into a pin, stealing the win.

This win ended Finlay’s undefeated streak and ties Tama with block leaders, sitting at 6 points.

Jeff Cobb defeated Zack Sabre Jr.

My God, this match was incredible. Cobb dominated the early portion of the match; his size played as a constant check to ZSJ throughout the open while remaining agile and grapple-hardy throughout the runtime. ZSJ eventually swung back, utilizing holds to keep himself in the match. In the end, this wasn’t enough, as Cobb connected with throw after throw before finishing the match with Tour of the Islands.

This win leaves Cobb as the only man undefeated in D block with 8 points.

**********

Standings

A Block

  • SANADA (4-0) – 8 points)
  • Kaito Kiyomiya (2-1-1) – 5 points
  • Gabe Kidd (2-2) 4 points
  • Chase Owens (2-2) – 4 points
  • Shota Umino (1-1-2) – 4 points
  • Yota Tsuji (1-2-1) – 3 points
  • Ren Narita (0-2-2) – 2 points
  • Hikuleo (1-3) – 2 points

B Block

  • Kazuchika Okada (4-0) – 8 points
  • Will Ospreay (3-1) 6 points
  • Taichi (2-2) – 4 points
  • YOSHI-HASHI (2-2) – 4 points
  • KENTA (2-2) 4 points
  • Tanga Loa (1-2) 2 points
  • Great-O-Khan (1-3) 2 points
  • El Phantasmo (0-3) 0 points

C Block

  • David Finlay (3-1) – 6 points
  • EVIL (3-1) – 6 points
  • Tama Tonga (3-1) – 6 points
  • Eddie Kingston (2-2) – 4 points
  • Shingo Takagi (2-2) – 4 points
  • HENARE (1-3) – 2 points
  • Mikey Nicholls (1-3) – 2 points
  • Tomohiro Ishii (1-3) – 2 points

D Block

  • Jeff Cobb (4-0) – 8 points
  • Zack Sabre Jr. (3-1) – 6 points
  • Hirooki Goto (2-2) – 4 points
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi (2-2) – 4 points
  • Tetsuya Naito (2-2) – 4 points
  • Shane Haste (2-2) – 4 points
  • Alex Coughlin (1-3) – 2 points
  • Toru Yano (0-4) – 0 points

WWE NXT live results: Great American Bash go-home show

Posted on by Chris Aiken

Tonight’s NXT is the final stop before Great American Bash.

One week after his North American title win, Dominik Mysterio will appear tonight. Dominik and Rhea Ripley are kicking off the episode. Ripley will also be in action against Lyra Valkyria.

With help from the rest of Judgment Day, Dominik defeated Wes Lee last Tuesday to win the NXT North American Championship. Lee was scheduled to defend the title against Mustafa Ali at Great American Bash this Sunday. Tonight should provide some clarity on WWE’s plans for Sunday’s title match.

Carmelo Hayes is putting his NXT Championship on the line against Ilja Dragunov at Great American Bash. Tonight, Dragunov will team up with Hayes & Trick Williams in a six-man tag against Joe Gacy & The Dyad.

Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson will provide an answer about his future as he appears tonight. A kendo stick match between Cora Jade and Dana Brooke has also been announced for the episode.

Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

The show opens with recaps of Dominik Mysterio matches from Raw and Smackdown. Out comes the new NXT North American Champion, alongside WWE World Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley, for an in-ring promo to kick off NXT tonight.

Ripley speaks first. She says Judgment Day runs all of WWE. They both brag on their faction. The live studio audience chants for Dom to cut his mullet. Ripley mentions the name of Lyra Valkyria before she was interrupted by former North American title holder Wes Lee. 

Lee hates seeing the title in Dom’s hands, because “for 269 days, that title represented hard work and opportunity.” Lee is rightfully upset at the way he lost a title, and he wants a rematch. 

Ripley says what NXT needed was a new champ. Wes agrees that they need a new champion tonight. Suddenly, Lee is interrupted by Mustafa Ali, as Ali barges into the conflict. 

Ali says he has respect and love for Lee. Keep that in mind for later on. Ali has no respect nor love for Dom. Ali accuses Dom of being a thief. Dom stole his catchphrases, his father’s finisher, his other daddy’s frog splash, and now Ali’s chance at a title shot.

Freudian slip by Ali as he calls Lee a dummy for putting his championship on the line last week. Ali goes on to say he tried to tell Lee not to take the match, but Lee was too stupid to listen. An angry Lee responds by getting in Ali’s face.

Dom interjects, and Dom says he does not mind who he faces at The Great American Bash. Mami even says he can defend the titles against both of them. Dom goes to leave, but he first punks Ali. Dom ducks when Ali charges towards him, and Ali inadvertently hits Lee with a lariat. 

The plot thickens in the North American title picture, as two challengers and former friends now seem at odds. Seems to set up a triple threat.

McKenzie Mitchell is backstage interviewing Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo. Tony D says he will not forget the reaction from the audience last week, and Stacks vows they will win the tag team titles. They are soon interrupted by Bronco Nima and Lucien Price. This sets up a tag match for later tonight.

A clip from last night, that was posted to social media, shows Lyra Valkyria challenging Rhea Ripley to a match tonight on NXT. Back at the Performance Center, McKenzie Mitchell is with Valkyria for a live interview. She wants to face Ripley tonight to show the world who she is, against what Valkyria called “the measuring stick” in WWE. 

Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams & Ilja Dragunov defeated The Schism (Joe Gacy, Jagger Reid & Rip Fowler with Ava)

Hayes pinned to win this six-man tag match. Good action, and a fun match. They wrestled through a commercial break. Just before cutting to the split-screen break, the babyface trio is standing tall. 

In the closing moments, Dragunov is holding his own against The Dyad until the double team is too much. Just as Gacy tags in and The Schism looks to be in control, masked guys at ringside tripped up Gacy. The masked figures at first seemed aligned with Schism, but are they really the Creeds? Meanwhile, Gacy leaps off the top rope for a splash, but no water in the pool.

Dragunov signals for a finisher when Hayes makes a blind tag, just when Dragunov was seemingly about to win. Hayes then climbs the turnbuckles, and leaps off to deliver Nothing But Net on Gacy. Hayes then covers Gacy for the deciding pinfall.

Unrest among the winning trio after the match. Williams is angry with Dragunov, and Williams is held back by Hayes. Later in the show, Williams and Dragunov are arguing backstage. They get in each other’s face, which sets up something for later on tonight. Hayes is unhappy with how Williams handled the situation, but Williams vows to call out Dragunov.

NXT Women’s Champion is the focus of a video package that hypes her title defense against Thea Hail at The Bash. 

Von Wagner (with Mr. Stone) defeated Javier Bernal

Wagner pinned Bernal in a glorified enhancement match. Booker T on commentary brags on Bernal, and then Bernal proceeds to get squashed by Wagner. Bernal is pummeled before Wagner executes a Rock Bottom into a spinebuster, and Wagner pins Bernal.

Wagner is not done yet, as he powerbombs Bernal through the announce desk after the match. Out of nowhere comes Bron Breakker with a spear that wipes out Wagner. Breakker grabs a metal folding chair. Referees pour out to stop Breakker from using the chair. This clearly sets up a singles grudge match with Wagner against Breakker.

Gable Steveson challenges Baron Corbin to a match at The Great American Bash, in what will be Steveson’s debut match in NXT

Gable Steveson is headed to the ring to announce his decision. He introduces himself to the audience for those that do not know him. He talks about being a Gold Medalist, and says he could go to Paris for the next Olympics to became the first American to win two gold medals in his sport. Or, Steveson says he can go back to college to win a national championship.

Steveson is just about to announce his decision when he is interrupted by Baron Corbin. He sarcastically tells Steveson to either go back to college or go to the Olympics, but do not come to NXT.

Corbin warns Steveson that his decision could determine his entire future. Corbin tells Steveson that he will make Steveson fail. Corbins warns this wrestling ring will humble him. It will make someone question their entire existence. Corbin cautions Steveson that in NXT he will be swimming with sharks. Corbin calls himself a Great White, and says he is “starving” while smelling blood in the water. 

Steveson responds by telling Corbin that he just made Steveson’s decision that much easier. Steveson challenges Corbin to a match at The Great American Bash in what is Steveson first match in NXT. A scuffle ensues. Steveson waistlocks Corbin, and he gives Corbin a German suplex. Steveson then does an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Referees pour out to break up the melee.  

Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio are seen talking in the locker room. 

Dana Brooke (with Kelani Jordan) defeated Cora Jade in a kendo stick match

Brooke pinned Jade to win a match that had more kendo sticks shots than a Sandman match in ’95. 

Jade dominated most of the match, as she pummeled Brooke with shots from a kendo stick. Jade retrieved even more kendo sticks, and continued to use them as weapons. Brooke took a lot of hard strikes, but Brooke fights back. Jade dashes a hope spot, but not for long.

Jade sets up a chair in the ring, and she sits Brooke down in the chair. That backfires as they do the Raven spot where Brooke does a drop toe hold, and Jade smashes into the chair. Jade then grabs a pink kendo stick, and it is time for receipts. Brooke repeatedly hits Jade with the kendo stick. 

As they go home, Brooke piles up a bunch of kendo sticks and suplexed Jade onto the pile. Brooke then does a senton atomico, and she covers Jade for a pinfall.

Dragunov and Hayes have words in the locker room. Tension build ahead of their title bout on Sunday. Something is also building for later tonight with Trick Williams planning to call out Dragunov, who seems not the slightest bit scared to answer the call. 

The Family (Tony D’Angelo & Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo) defeated Bronco Nima & Lucien Price

Scrypts is ringside to provide guest commentary. Not sure why, except it set up Axiom doing a run in where he jumps Scrypts. Then, Scrypts escapes after going through the ring. Axiom gives chase, and Axiom does a dive through the ropes.

Despite Nima & Price looking strong during the match itself, I think it was a terrible idea to beat them so early in their run. But whatever. Here they apparently got distracted by the Axiom run-in, which is a pretty lame excuse for a lose. But whatever. The Family is the team getting the title shot on Sunday, so they went over.

Hot tag to Tony D, and he cleans house on Nima & Price. Bada Bing finisher on Price, and Tony D covers him for a pinfall.  

After the match, Gallus appears on the Titantron to cut a promo on The Family. This hyped up the tag title match on Sunday. 

Dijak in a vignette cuts a promo on Eddy Thorpe. 

Zion Clark is seen sitting at ringside among the live studio audience.

“Exclusive footage” shows Roxanne Perez attacking Blair Davenport in a convenience store. Not exactly a classic like Booker T and Stone Cold brawling in a grocery store, this here was still an entertaining brawl in an unusual area. It similar to a brawl at a concession stand in Tupelo. 

Davenport and Perez brawl around the store, knocking over merchandise and other gimmicks. Perez stands tall as sirens wail in the distance. The sound of sirens get closer as Perez walks out of the store with Davenport still down on the floor.

The Meta-Four are in the ring for a Supernova Sessions talking segment. Noam Dar is still doing the Weekend at Bernie’s gimmick where he is unresponsive. Jakara Jackson, Lash Legend and Oro Mensah flank Dar in the ring. 

They present Dar with a replica of the Heritage Cup trophy, which snaps Dar out of his condition. Dar takes a phantom bump out of his wheelchair, and he jumps to his feet. Dar hugs the trophy and hold it like a baby. 

A now jubilant Dar is soon interrupted by reigning Heritage Cup Champion Nathan Frazier and Dragon Lee. This leads to a brawl where Dragon Lee and Frazier get the better of Dar and Mensah. Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon also run in to counteract Jackson and Legend. This all sets up a eight-person mixed tag match for pre-show before The Bash on Sunday.

 A vignette shows Thea Hail training for her title challenge at The Bash, as he trains alongside Andre Chase and Duke Hudson. The vignette itself is fun and quirky, but there is maybe too much comedy in this title program. But its Thea Hail, so the comedy works well with her character. 

Un-aired footage from last week showed the partnership further deteriorate between Los Lotharios, as Humberto Carillo storms off after an argument with Angel Garza.  

WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley (with NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio) defeated Lyra Valkyria in a non-title match

Ripley pinned Valkyria to win the main event match on tonight’s show. It would not actually close the show as the last segment, but it was indeed given plenty of television time.

The match goes through a commercial break. Ripley is looking strong as Valkyria is a babyface-in-peril fighting from underneath. Valkyria kicks out of a near fall, and she also counters a Riptide. Her comeback is seemingly thwarted by Ripley, as Ripley uncharacteristically climbs the turnbuckles. 

Ripley does the Eddy shimmy in honor of Dom, but that backfires as Ripley is tripped up and shoved off the top rope by Valkyria. Dom sacrifices himself for his “Mami” when he takes a wrecking ball dropkick from Valkyria. Ripley then takes a flying Frankentsteiner off the apron by Valkyria.

Back in the ring, Valkyria counters a vertical suplex to give Ripley a DDT. Valkyria off the top with a frog splash for a near fall. Valkyria with a series of kicks, and then she attempts a springboard off the middle rope. Ripley cuts her down in mid-air with forearm shiver. Ripley then plants Valkyria with The Riptide, and Ripley folds up Valkyria for a pinfall.

After the match, Ripley gets in Valkyria’s face to motivate her. Ripley tells Valkyria to prove her right and defeat Jacy Jayne. Valkyria tells her she will. 

Great American Bash go-home segment closes the show

Trick Williams is heading to the ring to call out Ilja Dragunov, and Williams does just that. He calls out Dragunov. Out comes Dragunov, and a brawl erupts. Brawling around ringside, Williams pummels Dragunov. Williams throws him into the barricade, smashed him into the steps, and bodyslams Dragunov on the floor.

Dragunov fights back as he cuts off Williams. Dragunov with a trifecta of suplexes on the floor. Dragunov rolls Williams in the ring, and Dragunov chops him like Wahoo McDaniel, and then Dragunov chops him some more. Dragunov measures and delivers a lying forearm on a prone Williams. 

Dragunov looks to deliver Torpedo Moskau. In runs Carmelo Hayes, and the NXT Champion sacrifices himself for his friend. Hayes takes a bullet for Williams, as Dragunov levels Hayes with Torpedo Moskau. 

Dragunov on the house mic vows to win the NXT title on Sunday. He poses with the title belt as the show goes off the air. 

NJPW G1 Climax 33 night seven live results: SANADA vs. Kiyomiya

Posted on by Chick Fritts

NJPW’s G1 Climax 33 tournament continues today with A Block & B Block matches in Tokyo at Korakuen Hall.

In the main event, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA takes on NOAH’s Kaito Kiyomiya in a battle of unbeatens.

In the semi-main, the undefeated Kazuchika Okada takes on fellow CHAOS member YOSHI-HASHI.

The full lineup:

  • A Block: SANADA (3-0, 6 points) vs. Kaito Kiyomiya (2-0-1, 5 points)
  • B Block: Kazuchika Okada (3-0, 6 points) vs. YOSHI-HASHI (2-1, 4 points)
  • A Block: Ren Narita (0-1-2, 2 points) vs. Hikuleo (0-3, 0 points)
  • B Block: Tanga Loa (1-2, 2 points) vs. El Phantasmo (0-3, 0 points)
  • A Block: Chase Owens (1-2, 2 points) vs. Yota Tsuji (0-2-1, 1 point)
  • B Block: Taichi (2-1, 4 points) vs. KENTA (1-2, 2 points)
  • A Block: Gabe Kidd (1-2, 2 points) vs. Shota Umino (0-1-2, 2 points)
  • B Block: Will Ospreay (2-1, 4 points) vs. Great-O-Khan (1-2, 2 points)

Our live coverage begins at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time. 

**********

Recommended Matches

  • Will Ospreay vs. Great-O-Khan – A great little inter-faction match that blew past my expectations.
  • Gabe Kidd vs. Shota Umino – An absolutely violent match with a fantastic set of rallies from Umino.
  • SANADA vs. Kaito Kiyomiya – This is my new favorite tournament match thus far. A masterfully executed bout, bell-to-bell.

**********

Will Ospreay defeated Great-O-Khan

Even though this United Empire showdown, neither man held their punches. This match featured focused strike exchanges and weapon-based fights on the floor. After multiple false finishes from both men, Ospreay hit a 540° Corkscrew Senton Bomb to win the match.

Ospreay caught block leaders with 6 points.

Shota Umino defeated Gabe Kidd

Kidd opened the match by rushing Umino in the Korakuen crowd, leading to a violent start. Kidd maintained this energy throughout the match’s runtime, dominating Umino for some time; this also opened the door for some of the best rallies in Umino’s career. Ultimately, Umino was able to hold on, hitting a Death Rider to win the match.

Umino earned his first win here, making his way to 4 points.

KENTA defeated Taichi

This match opened with a battle of the belts, with Taichi showing off the KOPW title and KENTA the Defy strap; KENTA used this opportunity to flatten Taichi with his belt before the opening bell. What followed was a silly back-and-forth, ending when KENTA blocked a knee strike with his belt and rolled up Taichi for a quick win.

With this win, KENTA sits at 4 points.

Yota Tsuji defeated Chase Owens

For whatever reason, this was a heavily Owens-controlled match. Only after surviving multiple C-triggers, a Jewel Heist, and an attempted package piledriver was Tsuji able to land a spear to win this match.

Tsuji earns his first win, working his way up to 3 points.

El Phantasmo defeated Tanga Loa

This match certainly happened. After minutes of escalation and moves trading, ELP secured Loa in a crucifix pin to score a sudden win.

With this win, ELP is on the board with 2 points.

Hikuleo defeated Ren Narita

While a little long, this was a decent big-man/little-man match. Hikuleo looked pretty good in this position, and Narita put in a firey performance, as always. In the end, Hikuleo withstood Narita’s rallies, winning with a choke slam.

Hikuleo’s first G1 win earns him 2 points.

Kazuchika Okada defeated YOSHI-HASHI

Okada worked an unserious opening match here, bordering on disrespect for YH. Okada’s lack of consideration for YH opened the door for a prolonged YH offensive sequence. An extended back-and-forth followed, with Okada eventually connecting with the rainmaker to maintain his undefeated streak.

Okada remains the last undefeated competitor in B block, standing tall with 8 points.

SANADA defeated Kaito Kiyomiya

This match was something special. In a rare sight, this was a truly emotional SANADA match, filled with dramatic sequences. The multiple false finishes in the closing moments were nothing short of exhilarating. Ultimately, Kaito’s inability to win the big one in New Japan continues, as SANADA won with a shining wizard with two seconds on the clock.

With this win, SANADA remains the only undefeated wrestler in his block with 8 points.

**********

Standings

A Block

  • SANADA (4-0) – 8 points)
  • Kaito Kiyomiya (2-1-1) – 5 points
  • Gabe Kidd (2-2) 4 points
  • Chase Owens (2-2) – 4 points
  • Shota Umino (1-1-2) – 4 points
  • Yota Tsuji (1-2-1) – 3 points
  • Ren Narita (0-2-2) – 2 points
  • Hikuleo (1-3) – 2 points

B Block

  • Kazuchika Okada (4-0) – 8 points
  • Will Ospreay (3-1) 6 points
  • Taichi (2-2) – 4 points
  • YOSHI-HASHI (2-2) – 4 points
  • KENTA (2-2) 4 points
  • Tanga Loa (1-2) 2 points
  • Great-O-Khan (1-3) 2 points
  • El Phantasmo (0-3) 0 points

C Block

  • David Finlay (3-0) – 6 points
  • EVIL (2-1) – 4 points
  • Eddie Kingston (2-1) – 4 points
  • Tama Tonga (2-1) – 4 points
  • HENARE (1-2) – 2 points
  • Mikey Nicholls (1-2) – 2 points
  • Shingo Takagi (1-2) – 2 points
  • Tomohiro Ishii (0-3) – 0 points

D Block

  • Zack Sabre Jr. (3-0) – 6 points
  • Jeff Cobb (3-0) – 6 points
  • Hirooki Goto (2-1) – 4 points
  • Tetsuya Naito (2-1) – 2 points
  • Shane Haste (1-2) – 2 points
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi (1-2) – 2 points
  • Alex Coughlin (0-3) – 0 points
  • Toru Yano (0-3) – 0 points

WWE Raw live results: Seth Rollins & Finn Balor contract signing

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: July 24, 2023
Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL 

********** 

Show Recap — 

Rhea Ripley, Finn Bálor and Damian Priest stood in the ring to start the show. Ripley said Judgment Day doesn’t just run Raw, they run all of WWE. Bálor said he was the next world champion, Ripley was the unbeatable Women’s champion, and Priest was Señor Money in the Bank. Bálor cut to a video package of Dominik Mysterio winning the NXT North American title last week.

Dom entered. Corey Graves said Dom was the first person in history to main event Raw, NXT and Smackdown in the same week. Dom put over his win while the Tampa crowd loudly booed. Dom cut to another video package and this one was all about him. The crowd chanted “You suck.”

Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn interrupted. Owens noted that this happened last week — Judgment Day entered and Dom spoke but nobody wanted to hear it. Owens hated people who couldn’t learn a lesson. Owens informed Dom that nobody wanted to hear him talk ever and the best thing for him was to stop talking for good.

Dom said he was a champion now and was being disrespected. Zayn said Dom was right — he was being disrespected because nobody respected him. Zayn challenged Dom to a singles match tonight. Dom had no problem with this until Zayn told him to put his title on the line. Before Dom could respond, Ripley accepted on his behalf.

******** 

Becky Lynch defeated Zoey Stark (w/Trish Stratus) (9:48)

Stark took control ahead of a break but Lynch was on offence after the break, chucking Stark repeatedly into the barricade (which is becoming a regular spot for her) and hitting a diving leg drop for two.

Stratus headbutted Lynch (using her face mask) as the referee checked on Stark. Stark followed with a roundhouse kick for a nearfall. Lynch blocked Stark’s finisher and hit an exploder suplex. Lynch hit a superplex and floated over into an armbar but Stark hoisted her up into a powerbomb for two. They traded counters and cradles until Lynch applied a Disarmer.

Stratus chucked her mask in the ring so the ref tossed it out as Lynch knocked her off the apron. Stark tried to use the distraction with a springboard move but Lynch caught her with a Man-handle Slam for the pinfall win. (Stark got to show off a bit here and the crowd was into Lynch.)

Lynch gets her match against Stratus.

******** 

Vo Williams, whose song “Greatness” is the Raw theme, was shown in the front row.

Cody Rhodes promo

This was a rare in-ring Rhodes segment that wasn’t at the top of the hour.

Rhodes said we’ve all seen the clip of Brock Lesnar beating him up with a chair and doing it in front of his mother. Rhodes wasn’t surprised. Lesnar won the UFC Heavyweight Championship before having five fights, wound up on an NFL roster without ever playing football, and has been called “Mr. SummerSlam.”

Rhodes wasn’t surprised by Lesnar and was even impressed. But his mother was not impressed. She was the same lady who saw Terry Funk throw fireballs in his dad’s face and the same lady who would drink with Gordon Solie at the Columbia in nearby Ybor City.

Rhodes’ mother knew what he would tell Lesnar and that was that Lesnar made a mistake. The mistake was that Lesnar left him breathing.

Rhodes wasn’t going to SummerSlam just to win the rubber match, he wanted to embarrass Lesnar. Rhodes knew people would freak out at him poking the bear but he wasn’t doing that — he was slapping it across the face and telling it to come get it.

Rhodes said beating Lesnar at SummerSlam wasn’t just about the positives it would mean to his career or getting revenge for his broken arm. It was what Lesnar deserved.

“At SummerSlam, Brock, I end this.”

******** 

Jackie Redmond interviewed Ricochet, who appeared to be awaiting Logan Paul’s arrival. Ricochet was thrilled that Paul accepted his invitation but was confused that Paul thought he could show up late just because he was a YouTube star. Ricochet did have a lot to say about Paul but would do so to his face.

Dominik Mysterio (w/Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley) defeated Tag Team Champion Sami Zayn (w/Tag Champion Kevin Owens) to retain the NXT North American Championship (12:00)

They went to break a minute in after Zayn hit a flip dive.

[SECOND HOUR]

Ripley gave Zayn a cheap shot during the break but it didn’t matter because Zayn was on offence after the break. Ripley distracted the ref as Priest shoved Zayn off the top so Owens went after Priest. The ref initially only tossed Owens from ringside but tossed Priest and Ripley moments later after he saw them bragging.

Zayn hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Dom set up for a 619 but Zayn dropped him with a clothesline for two. Zayn tried something off the top but Dom caught him with a dropkick for two. Dom countered a Blue Thunder Bomb into a hurricanrana but Zayn avoided the 619 again and hit the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. (Dom didn’t exactly go up easily for the move.)

Dom dropkicked Zayn and finally did hit the 619 for two. Dom followed with the three amigos suplexes but Zayn got his knees up on a frog splash. Zayn hit an exploder into the corner and set up for the Helluva Kick.

However, Zayn became distracted upon seeing Owens getting attacked by Priest and Ripley on the stage so Dom put him in a schoolboy for the pinfall win.

— Zayn sprinted up the ramp after Judgment Day but they bailed to the back. Zayn and officials checked on Owens as Dom left through the crowd.

******** 

They plugged Gable Steveson’s “The Decision” segment on tomorrow’s NXT. (LeBron James’ “The Decision” broadcast was 13 years ago this month.)

Medical staff checked on Owens backstage as he sold an injury. He thought something was broken.

There was a Roman Reigns/Jey Uso video package. (There was a commercial plugging this match earlier, too.)

******** 

Ricochet approached Shinsuke Nakamura in the back and asked if he’d seen Paul. Nakamura said no, so Ricochet asked him to keep an eye out.

Tommaso Ciampa approached Nakamura and said his loss last week was on him and he would let it slide that Nakamura kicked him in the face. Ciampa said he was about to settle things with Bronson Reed and didn’t expect to see Nakamura out there, but if he did, then they had a problem.

********

In the back, Dom bragged about putting a whooping on Zayn. Apollo Crews and Akira Tozawa were nearby so Dom told Crews to show him some respect. Ripley asked if they had a problem. Tozawa said, “Nope” and walked away. Crews was tired of Judgment Day and dared them to try something with him. Priest challenged him to a match tonight. Tozawa reappeared to wish Crews luck.

********

Bronson Reed defeated Tommaso Ciampa (12:46)

Ciampa held a sleeper hold but Reed fell backwards onto him. Reed followed with a running body block and elbow drop. Reed tried a charge off the apron but Ciampa caught him with a knee strike.

Reed was back in control after a break until Ciampa hit a reverse DDT. They traded offence for a bit until Ciampa no-sold a clothesline by popping to his feet and getting in Reed’s face. Ciampa got Reed on his shoulders and hit an air raid crash (which got the biggest reaction of the match) for two.

Nakamura sauntered out so Ciampa left the ring to… just stare at him. Reed flew off the apron to knock down Ciampa and he followed with a Tsunami back in the ring for the pinfall win.

As Graves noted on commentary, the loss was Ciampa’s own fault.

********  

Byron Saxton interviewed Liv Morgan. Morgan confirmed Raquel Rodriguez was hurt but she was tough and would be back to take care of Ripley. Tonight, however, Ripley was all Morgan’s. Morgan blamed their title loss on Ripley. She was tired of Ripley and reminded us that she was the last person to beat her. Morgan said, “Maybe I’ll get beat up but maybe I won’t.” Morgan said she wasn’t backing down and left after saying, “Watch me.”

Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green confronted Saxton about interviewing Morgan instead of them. They also started mocking Ripley until Ripley showed up and they started playing nice. They left.

Ripley told Saxton that she warned Rodriguez and Morgan to stay out of their way but they didn’t listen so she took out Rodriguez and Morgan would be next.

******** 

Non-title match: Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan

The match didn’t happen. Ripley attacked Morgan during her entrance, drove her shoulder-first onto the barricade, and Pilmanized her shoulder with a steel chair.

A medical staff member checked on Morgan as a ref backed off Ripley. Ripley told them to move out of the way and she Pilmanized Morgan’s shoulder again. (Ripley did the “suck it” thing before leaving the ring.) Ripley told Morgan to stay out of her business.

— After a break, Morgan was crying in the back as a medic checked on her shoulder.

********

[THIRD HOUR]

There was an Alpha Academy promo in the back. Chad Gable angrily congratulated Viking Raiders on their win last week but said nobody even knew what Viking Rules was. Gable wanted an Academy rules match and threatened to put their heads through a chalkboard.

Maxxine Dupri took over for Gable. She said she’s been getting the better of Valhalla every week and wasn’t going to drop off just because Valhalla got one over on her last week. Dupri challenged her to a singles match next week which would be the first of her career. Otis said, “Oh yeah!” (So Gable’s Academy Rules match is not happening.)

********

Ricochet / Logan Paul segment 

Ricochet entered. He spoke about how nobody thought Paul belonged there. He did credit Paul’s ability and training, but said Paul was a prick. Ricochet said “we” dedicate their lives to this and spend time away from their families and Paul couldn’t understand that. Ricochet challenged Paul to a match at SummerSlam.

Paul suddenly appeared and decked Ricochet from behind. Paul took a selfie video while accepting Ricochet’s challenge. Paul pointed out a fan and told him, “You need to get laid, you stupid virgin.”

Ricochet popped up and superkicked Paul before hitting a standing shooting star. Paul slowly got to his feet as Ricochet stared him down from the ramp.

******** 

Redmond interviewed Shayna Baszler. Baszler was sick of hearing Ronda Rousey’s name included in everything that she does. Talking hasn’t settled this and a match wouldn’t settle it, either. At SummerSlam, Baszler wanted a fight.

******** 

Saxton approached Paul in the back. Paul called Ricochet’s actions unprofessional as hell and said he felt victimized. Paul said he would be on Raw in Houston next week and would pop Ricochet’s stupid bald head (before telling Saxton, “No offence”).

********

Damian Priest defeated Apollo Crews (3:12)

Crews got some offence but Priest won fairly decisively with a South of Heaven chokeslam.

********

Redmond interviewed Lynch in the back. Lynch was pumped about getting her rematch against Stratus and said, “It ain’t over ‘til I win.”

******** 

There was a Viking Raiders promo. Valhalla accepted Dupri’s “foolish” challenge.

Gunther / Drew McIntyre segment 

Gunther entered with Imperium. McIntyre said he heard Gunther issuing challenges last week while he wasn’t there. McIntyre was here this week and was dressed so he challenged him to an Intercontinental title match tonight. Gunther asked him if that’s what he really wanted and McIntyre told him, “I dare you.”

Gunther said he brought prestige to the title and wasn’t about to defend it in front of these degenerates. He knew why McIntyre identified with the fans because they’ve accomplished nothing. McIntyre failed at Clash at the Castle and was humiliated by him at WrestleMania. Gunther would humiliate him again at SummerSlam.

McIntyre talked about WrestleMania. He joked about Sheamus always being 42 years old before saying they always wanted to fight each other and they did so at WrestleMania. But after they beat the hell out of each other, Gunther picked their bones and won as he should have. However, it would be one-on-one at SummerSlam and McIntyre would beat his ass to become IC champion.

Ludwig Kaiser interrupted and asked how McIntyre could dare speak to their champion like that. McIntyre said he actually liked Kaiser. Watching Gunther was like watching paint dry and he thought Kaiser should lead Imperium. Kaiser didn’t like that comment either so McIntyre challenged him to a match. Kaiser got in his face so McIntyre told them to get a referee.

******** 

Drew McIntyre defeated Ludwig Kaiser (w/Intercontinental Champion Gunther & Giovanni Vinci) (9:31)

There was a “We want tables” chant because they were in the general vicinity of the announce table early on. This actually paid off later. (Graves did a pretty good impression of Kaiser, acting as though Kaiser was on commentary, but it went on too long.)

Kaiser took control before a break after driving McIntyre a couple of times into the ring post. McIntyre chopped Kaiser while on the top rope and brought him down with a White Noise. McIntyre followed with overhead suplexes, a neckbreaker, and a headbutt. McIntyre went for the Claymore Kick but Ludwig countered with a leaping kick of his own for two.

Kaiser hit an enziguri but McIntyre came right back with a Claymore Kick for the pinfall win.

— Gunther immediately hit the ring after the match and gave McIntyre a German suplex. Imperium put the boots to McIntyre until Matt Riddle ran out to make the save. That didn’t last long because Gunther powerbombed him.

Gunther cleared the announce table and the crowd cheered. Gunther set up for a powerbomb but McIntyre reversed it into a back body drop and he powerbombed Gunther through the table to the delight of the crowd.

********

Redmond asked Rousey about Baszler’s challenge to a fight. Rousey said Baszler can’t challenge her to “a” fight because any fight she’s in is “the” fight. Rousey accepted.

******** 

Next week on Raw:

  • Brock Lesnar appears
  • Logan Paul appears

******** 

Seth Rollins and Finn Bálor contract signing 

Bálor entered first. There was no host. Bálor said Adam Pearce wasn’t here because he had his hands full with all the chaos caused by Judgment Day tonight (Pearce was with Owens and Morgan earlier when they each got hurt). Bálor said he and Rollins were professionals who could handle this like gentlemen and he invited Rollins to the ring.

Rollins entered. The crowd sang Rollins’ song as he signed the contract. Bálor hesitated before signing. Rollins said Bálor finally figured out what they’ve known for a long time — that Bálor had zero chance of walking out of SummerSlam as champion.

The most obvious scenario was that Rollins would beat Bálor’s ass and the crowd would sing his song. But if Bálor did win, his World title reign would be even shorter than his Universal title reign because Priest would cash in right then and there. They both knew it because Bálor would do the same thing to him.

Rollins told Bálor to keep chasing that ghost because SummerSlam wouldn’t be the coronation of Judgment Day, it would be the end.

Bálor smiled and signed the contract. Bálor was amused because Rollins thought he had it all figured out. Bálor told Rollins that he didn’t run Raw, Judgment Day did. Rollins thought that Bálor would lose in the end no matter what. The fans buzzed as Judgment Day entered through the crowd.

Bálor said he’s been losing for seven years and it’s been driving him insane. It was all Rollins’ fault and it was like an itch he couldn’t scratch. It was like a seven-year itch. But at SummerSlam, Rollins would be his seven-year bitch. (Judgment Day leaped on the apron like the Sheild.)

Rollins got up to preemptively attack but Priest knocked him down with his briefcase. Priest and Bálor looked at each other as Priest held his briefcase.

Zayn ran out, ducked a Ripley clothesline, and hit Priest with a steel chair. Ripley yanked the chair away before he could hit Dom with it and Bálor tackled him. Judgment Day laid out Zayn before putting the boots to Rollins.

Priest gave Rollins a Razor’s Edge, Dom hit a frog splash, and Bálor hit Coup de Grace. Raw ended with Judgment Day standing tall. 

WWE Main Event results: JD McDonagh vs. Apollo Crews

Posted on by James Cox

This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, before Monday’s Raw.

This was a perfectly watchable show but Apollo Crews vs. JD McDonagh III was a disappointment given how strong their first two exchanges were.

Riddick Moss defeated Akira Tozawa (5:20)

This match was all about Moss, although Tozawa appeared to have hope at times. Moss bullied his opponent and showed off his power in a fairly run-of-the-mill match.

This was Moss’ first win since dropping the Madcap name in May. Meanwhile, Tozawa, who doesn’t get many wins anyway, lost here for the 15th time in 2023. For a loser, he’s a pretty fantastic performer.

Moss worked Tozawa over pretty much from the get-go with Tozawa flipping all over for him. Tozawa sold a clothesline as if it had killed him and took a posting before having to work his way out of a rest hold.

The hope came as Tozawa played the plucky babyface, coming off the top rope with a back elbow and turning a power bomb into a hurricanrana. The crowd really liked Tozawa and was rooting for him as he was getting some shine.

In the end, Tozawa got caught coming off the top and Moss was able to put him in a delayed suplex before using a modified jackhammer for the win.

Apollo Crews defeated JD McDonagh (6:35)

This was the long-awaited rubber match between these two, but it didn’t deliver nearly as well as the previous two.

McDonagh took control in the early going. He was trash talking Crews and definitely looking more of a heel than he has in previous weeks. 

They went outside and McDonagh tried to get one over on Crews, but Crews had him scouted and rolled him back inside. McDonagh was sent over the top rope with a clothesline as we headed to the commercial break.

Crews worked out of a side headlock and came off the top rope with a beautiful crossbody for a near fall. The hang time alone here was impressive.

They started to trade near falls in what was easily the best segment of the match. There was much grace here amongst the big boots and kicks to the head. McDonagh loves the Spanish Fly and I think the one he did here was the best-looking of all of the ones he’s done with Crews.

Unfortunately, they went to the finish quite quickly after they had started to really get going. Crews caught McDonagh off the top rope, hoisted him up onto his shoulders, and delivered his Samoan Drop for the win.  

NJPW G1 Climax 33 night six live results: EVIL vs. Finlay

Posted on by Chick Fritts

NJPW’s G1 Climax 33 tournament continues today in Nagano with C Block & D Block matches. 

In the main event, EVIL takes on David Finlay in a C Block battle. Both men are 2-0 in the tournament. 

In the semi-main, the 1-1 Hiroshi Tanahashi faces United Empire’s Jeff Cobb and his 2-0 record. 

Today’s full lineup: 

  • C Block: EVIL (2-0, 4 points) vs. David Finlay (2-0, 4 points)
  • D Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi (1-1, 2 points) vs. Jeff Cobb (2-0, 4 points)
  • C Block: Tomohiro Ishii (0-2, 0 points) vs. Shingo Takagi (0-2, 0 points)
  • D Block: Tetsuya Naito (1-1, 2 points) vs. Toru Yano (0-2, 0 points)
  • C Block: Eddie Kingston (1-1, 2 points) vs. HENARE (1-1, 2 points)
  • D Block: Hirooki Goto (1-1, 2 points) vs. Shane Haste (1-1, 2 points)
  • C Block: Tama Tonga (1-1, 2 points) vs. Mikey Nicholls (1-1, 2 points)
  • D Block: Zack Sabre Jr. (2-0, 4 points) vs. Alex Coughlin (0-2, 0 points)

Our live coverage begins at 5 a.m. Eastern time.

**********

Recommended Matches

  • Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Alex Coughlin – This pair has had one of the most consistent tournaments independently, and it’s no surprise that they kept that up in this match.

  • Eddie Kingston vs. HENARE – This was a fantastic sell-heavy Eddie match.

  • Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shingo Takagi – Filled with bombs, this was exactly the match you would expect from this pair, so if that sounds enticing, check this out. 

**********

Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Alex Coughlin

This pair has had one of the most consistent tournaments independently, and it’s no surprise that they kept that up in this match.

This match, structurally, was about what you would expect from this pair. Coughlin used his strength in an attempt to wear down ZSJ, while ZSJ caught Coughlin in holds whenever an opportunity presented itself. ZSJ won this battle by utilizing an armbar.

With this win, ZSJ becomes the first man in D block with 6 points.

Tama Tonga defeated Mikey Nicholls

This match was fairly Nicholls-dominant for quite some time. In the end, that didn’t matter, as Tama was able to win with a pair of gun stuns.

Tama has tied C block leaders with 4 points.

Hirooki Goto defeated Shane Haste

This was a strange, brief match. Haste was very aggressive from the opening bell. Goto withstood the rush and turned a rear-naked choke into a pin to win the match in about two minutes. Throughout and after the short runtime, Goto held his midsection as if he was in horrible pain.

Goto advances to 4 points.

Eddie Kingston defeated HENARE

This was a great match built on Kingston’s selling. Even before the opening bell, HENARE put Kingston on the backfoot. Kingston’s rallies were fantastic, including the final one, which saw him rock HENARE with a spinning back fist before collapsing on him for the pinfall victory.

Kingston continues to keep up with the top of the heap, earning his 4th point in C block.

Tetsuya Naito defeated Toru Yano

The highlight of this match was Naito refusing to enter the ring until Yano behaved, resulting in Naito making multiple ring entrances. This game of chicken continued throughout a lot of the runtime. Naito was eventually able to roll up Yano to win the match.

Naito worked his way to 4 points with this win.

Shingo Takagi defeated Tomohiro Ishii

This match was exactly what you would expect from this pair, a lot of heavy striking sequences which turned into powerful move exchanges later in the match. Only after a string of false finishes with the time limit drawing near was Shingo able to close the match with a pumping bomber.

Shingo ended what was beginning to look like a losing streak to earn his first 2 points.

Jeff Cobb defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi

This match was built around Cobb overwhelming Tanahashi while Tanahashi tried to find openings in Cobb’s game. Ultimately, Cobb was able to keep up the pressure long enough to with a Tour of the Islands.

Cobb remains undefeated, making his way to 6 points.

David Finlay defeated EVIL

If you thought the Bullet Club melodrama was over, this match stepped in to ruin your day. Throughout the runtime, the HoT and War Dog Bullet Club sub-factions teased all-out war, which eventually came to pass after a ref bump. The match was filled with cheating and your typical Bullet Club goofiness. In the end, Finlay used the shillelagh before landing Oblivion to win the match.

Finlay remains the last undefeated man in C block, standing firm with 6 points.

**********

Standings

A Block

  • SANADA (3-0) – 6 points)
  • Kaito Kiyomiya (2-0-1) – 5 points
  • Gabe Kidd (2-1) 4 points
  • Chase Owens (2-1) – 4 points
  • Ren Narita (0-1-2) – 2 points
  • Shota Umino (0-1-2) – 2 points
  • Yota Tsuji (0-2-1) – 1 point
  • Hikuleo (0-3) – 0 points

B Block

  • Kazuchika Okada (3-0) – 6 points
  • Taichi (2-1) – 4 points
  • Will Ospreay (2-1) 4 points
  • YOSHI-HASHI (2-1) – 4 points
  • Tanga Loa (1-2) 2 points
  • KENTA (1-2) 2 points
  • Great-O-Khan (1-2) 2 points
  • El Phantasmo (0-3) 0 points

C Block

  • David Finlay (3-0) – 6 points
  • EVIL (2-1) – 4 points
  • Eddie Kingston (2-1) – 4 points
  • Tama Tonga (2-1) – 4 points
  • HENARE (1-2) – 2 points
  • Mikey Nicholls (1-2) – 2 points
  • Shingo Takagi (1-2) – 2 points
  • Tomohiro Ishii (0-3) – 0 points

D Block

  • Zack Sabre Jr. (3-0) – 6 points
  • Jeff Cobb (3-0) – 6 points
  • Hirooki Goto (2-1) – 4 points
  • Tetsuya Naito (2-1) – 2 points
  • Shane Haste (1-2) – 2 points
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi (1-2) – 2 points
  • Alex Coughlin (0-3) – 0 points
  • Toru Yano (0-3) – 0 points

AEW Collision live results: CM Punk & Ricky Starks appear, Trios title match

Posted on by Suit Williams

After last week’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament finals, Ricky Starks will celebrate his victory over CM Punk on tonight’s AEW Collision from Newark, New Jersey.

However, Punk will be on tonight’s show as well and is “looking for a fight.” Whether that is with Starks or someone else remains to be seen.

The AEW Trios titles will be on the line as the House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) defend against The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn from May’s Double or Nothing. They will be looking for the sixth defense of the titles.

Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Juice Robinson) will look to rebound from last week’s loss to AEW Tag Team Champions FTR as they take on Darius Martin & Action Andretti. 

FTR will also be on the program in a promo.

Taya Valkyrie is also looking to rebound from last week as she lost to AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm. Valkyrie faces Skye Blue tonight.

**********

Collision returned to the United States, in the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Ian Riccaboni and Nigel McGuinness were on the call.

In our pre-show hype videos, we got words from The Acclaimed, Andretti & Martin, Bullet Club Gold, and Ricky Starks.

After the introduction package, Tony Schiavone welcomed out Owen Hart Cup winner Ricky Starks. Starks got a comical amount of pyro, reminiscent of Kevin Nash on that one episode of Nitro. Schiavone asked Starks about his use of the ropes to win the tournament as the crowd told Starks that he deserved it. After showing off his Louis Vuitton bag, he says that it doesn’t matter how he did it, all that matter is that it was done and that he was the winner.

After blowing off a question about Jushin Thunder Liger, he says that while he appreciates the sentiment from the fans, he doesn’t want to be a pillar. The Pillars never won the Owen Hart Cup, he did. Out walked CM Punk to a mixed reaction that leaned negative. Punk says he’s not mad at Starks, he’s actually a bit proud of him. Punk won’t act like he’s never cheated. He can live with the loss but asks Starks if he can live with the fact that he couldn’t beat Punk without cheating.

Punk goes to leave, but Starks says that his Vuitton bag is as empty as the red bag Punk’s been carrying around. Punk comes back and gets in Starks’ face. He says that Starks is just like MJF in that they just don’t want Punk to have it. Punk calls himself the Real World Champion before TNT Champion Luchasaurus & Christian Cage enter the scene. Cage says that they don’t want to be in New Jersey longer than they have to be, so he’ll ask one question. What kind of man carries around a title that he didn’t win?

Cage goes to leave, but Darby Allin – Royal Rampage winner – comes out. He addresses Starks and Punk before telling Luchasaurus that he’s going to win the TNT Title at All Out in Chicago. Allin suggests a tag team match, with Allin and Punk teaming against Starks and Cage. Schiavone says that Khan has made it official.

Riccaboni and McGuinness threw to video of Andrade El Idolo being removed from the building to make sure he wouldn’t interfere with the Trios Title match tonight.

Jay White & Juice Robinson (w/ The Gunns) defeated Action Andretti & Darius Martin

White and Martin started, with the announcers putting over his cardio after wrestling in the hour-long match last week against FTR. Martin fought off a double-team and tagged in Andretti, who hit Robinson with a corkscrew moonsault. Andretti and Martin ran wild on Robinson until Robinson cut off Andretti with a side kick. White tagged in and clubbered on Andretti in the corner before Robinson dropped Andretti with a neckbreaker off the apron. As the crowd chanted Daddy Doesn’t Love You to the Gunns, Bullet Club posed as we went to a picture-in-picture commercial.

Andretti fought for the tag to Martin as we came back from break. Martin made the tag and ran wild, dropping White and Robinson with a combination DDT/Death Drop. Martin hit a top rope crossbody to White for a nearfall. Martin sent Robinson and White to the floor, setting up Andretti to hit an Arabian Press moonsault on both of them. Andretti booted White into a German suplex for a nearfall.

Andretti went for the split-legged moonsault, but Robinson cut him off, hanging him in the Tree of Woe. Robinson hit cannonballs on both men before hitting his pendulum DDT on Andretti. White hit the Blade Runner to score the win. The Gunns tossed Andretti and Martin out of the ring before celebrating with White and Robinson.

The announcers highlighted Willow Nightingale’s week, with her Owen Hart Cup win last week on Collision and her standout performance in the ROH Death Before Dishonor main event against Athena. I reviewed Death Before Dishonor for this site, and I cannot recommend that match enough. Go out of your way to see it.

Miro defeated Nick Comoroto

This crowd was into Miro. It’s time to do something with him that isn’t a squash.

Comoroto attacked Miro during his entrance. Comoroto controlled Miro early on, hitting corner splashes. Miro dodged one and hit a German suplex. Miro hit the big side kick and ripped his shirt off. He called for the Game Over and locked it on for the quick win.

We got a highlight package for FTR, highlighting their numerous title wins over the course of their AEW careers. We will hear from them later tonight.

AEW World Trios Title Match – The House Of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black) (w/Julia Hart) (c) defeated The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, & Billy Gunn)

This was a surprisingly quick win, but the story here is the post-match.

Caster’s rap included jabs at Matthews, who charged Caster on the ramp to start the match. A Pier Six brawl broke out at ringside as Matthews and Caster started in the ring. King crushed Gunn and Bowens into the barricade with splashes. The champions isolated Caster as his partners crawled to the corner. Caster fought his way to the corner as the crowd taunted Matthews with Dirty Dom chants, as Mysterio is paired up with Matthews’ girlfriend Rhea Ripley.

King tried taking out Bowens and Gunn again, but Gunn took him down with punches. Caster made the tag to Gunn, who ran wild on the House before taking a massive lariat from King. Black hit the Black Mass on Gunn to score the emphatic victory. As Gunn recovered, Black whispered something to Gunn before leaving.

Back in the ring, Gunn began unlacing his boots as the crowd begged him not to. They chanted You Still Got It at him, making Gunn tear up. But Gunn took his boots off and left them in the ring, pushing his way past the Acclaimed to leave.

We got a recap of the Royal Rampage, where Darby Allin won a TNT Title shot at All Out.

Tony Schiavone welcomed FTR to the ring. Wheeler talked about unfinished business with several teams – Aussie Open, The Acclaimed, the Young Bucks – but they must focus on MJF and Adam Cole first. He tells Adam Cole not to trust MJF, as they know from first-hand experience. Harwood tells a story about his dad making him get a job when he was a teenager. He was made fun of by well-off kids who had money handed to them. He thinks Cole and MJF see the tag team titles as a joke, with the comedy skits and the dance breaks. He’s sacrificed his body to make FTR the best tag team in the world, and next week, there will be no comedy. He’s going to do to Cole and MJF what he should have done to those kids when he was a teenager and kick their asses. Top guys out. Solid promo.

We got a highlight package of Blood and Guts from Wednesday.

Taya Valkyrie defeated Skye Blue

Valkyrie patted Blue on the head before shoving her down. She shrugged off a waist lock before chopping Blue in the corner. Blue fired up with chops before getting knocked down with a shoulder block. Blue avoided a charge and hit a rising knee but got knocked off the apron and speared on the floor by Valkyrie. Valkyrie hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall as we went to a picture-in-picture commercial.

Valkyrie knocked Blue down with a lariat as we returned to full-screen action. Blue won a strike exchange before firing up, hitting a rising knee and a low kick. Blue hit a high crossbody for a nearfall. She set up Skyfall, but Valkyrie tied Blue up in the ropes to hit a sliding German suplex. Blue hit a pair of kicks but ran right into a lariat. Valkyrie tied up Blue’s legs and hit a curb stomp to score the win.

Valkyrie grabbed the microphone and bragged about winning. She noted that Britt Baker won her match on Dynamite this week, albeit against an extra. She challenged Baker to a match this Wednesday on Dynamite.

We got a video package highlighting AR Fox’s win on the Death Before Dishonor Zero Hour over Shane Taylor, leading into his International Championship match this Wednesday on Dynamite.

We got a rundown of the Dynamite card, featuring:

– AR Fox vs. Orange Cassidy for the International Championship

– Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland

– Britt Baker vs. Taya Valkyrie

– PAC vs. Gravity

– Castagnoli & Moxley vs. The Lucha Brothers vs. Best Friends

– We hear from Adam Cole & MJF.

We got our Collision card for next Saturday:

– FTR vs. Adam Cole & MJF for the AEW World Tag Team Titles

– El Hijo del Vikingo, Action Andretti & Darius Martin vs. Juice Robinson & The Gunns

– Buddy Matthews vs. Andrade El Idolo in a rematch from the debut edition of Collision

Ricky Starks & Christian Cage defeated CM Punk & Darby Allin

A fine main event. Starks winning with the ropes for a second time is setting up a payoff, either with the referee catching him or his opponent kicking out anyway. Starks had a vocal fanbase here, a week after cheating to win a prestigious tournament. The situation with Punk being a divisive babyface makes everything energetic, but it muddies up a lot of the face/heel division surrounding him.

Cage came out wearing the TNT Title. Starks and Cage both got on the apron, assuming the other would start the match. The referee counted them up to nine before Starks got in the ring. Punk immediately rolled him up and teased a Go To Sleep before Starks tagged Cage, who got pinballed around by Punk. Punk and Allin controlled Cage’s arm as Punk mocked Starks. Starks avoided a tag until Christian got Punk in control. Punk and Allin hit dives to Starks and Cage as we went to commercial, with the announcers teasing big breaking news for next week’s Collision on the other side of the break.

Back from commercial, and the breaking news is that next week’s match between Buddy Matthews and Andrade El Idolo will be a ladder match, with Andrade’s mask as the prize above the ring and the House of Black banned from ringside. A bit wacky, but still a compelling match. Speaking of matches, Cage and Starks worked over Punk. Starks went Old School on Punk before tagging Cage back in. We got a glimpse of Scorpio Sky in a Scorpio Sky-Box watching this match. I will not apologize for the pun there.

Punk made the hot tag to Allin, who ran wild on Starks and Cage. Allin hit a dive into Starks but ran into Luchasaurus on a dive attempt to Cage. Cage threw Allin into the announce desk before tagging in Starks to beat down Allin. Starks hit Snake Eyes on Allin before flooring him with a lariat for a nearfall as we go to another picture-in-picture break.

Allin beat a countout as we came back to full screen. More clubbering on Allin before Allin moved out of the way of a diving headbutt. Starks ripped Punk off the apron, leaving Allin with no one to tag when he broke free from Cage. Allin fought his way free and made the tag to Punk, who ran wild with rising knees. Punk did a random cartwheel in the middle of his comeback, with Riccaboni calling it a tribute to New Jersey native Bam Bam Bigelow.

Punk hit the Pepsi Twist on Cage for a nearfall. Punk hit a high crossbody, but Christian rolled through for a sneaky nearfall. Punk knocked Christian off the top rope, then went up and hit an elbow drop for a nearfall. Cage tagged in Starks, who ran right into a GTS attempt. Starks turned it into a rollup for a nearfall. They traded strikes before Punk floored Starks with a high kick. Punk tagged in Allin, who avoided a spear upon entry. Starks then speared Allin out of the air before hitting a Rochambeau for a nearfall.

Starks took Allin up for a superplex, but Allin turned it into a Death Drop from the top rope for a nearfall that Cage broke up. Punk got involved, taking Cage to the floor and hitting a GTS. Allin set up a Coffin Drop, but Luchasaurus crotched him on the top rope. Starks set up a second Rochambeau, but Allin reversed it into a rollup. Starks reversed that rollup, grabbing the ropes to win again.

UFC on ESPN+ 82 live results: Tom Aspinall vs. Marcin Tybura

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

The Octagon is back in London for the second time this year with UFC on ESPN 82: Aspinall vs. Tybura in front of a sold-out crowd at the O2 Arena.

Rising heavyweight contender Tom Aspinall makes his return after a year out of action as he battles Marcin Tybura in the five-round main event. Aspinall tore his ACL in his last fight, a loss to Curtis Blaydes exactly one year ago, and looks to get back into the title picture. Tybura is on a stretch of winning seven of his last eight fights.

Also on the main card is a women’s flyweight bout between Molly McCann and Julija Stoliarenko, a featherweight bout pitting Nathaniel Wood against Andre Fili, Paul Craig dropping down to middleweight to fight Andre Muniz, and a featherweight fight between the undefeated Lerone Murphy and Josh Culibao.

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> Flyweights- Jafel Filho (14-3, 0-1 UFC) vs. Daniel Barez (16-5, 0-0 UFC)

They trade kicks. Barez lands a combo. Barez lands a few leg kicks. Barez lands a barrage of punches to the head and body and Filho falls to the mat, but Barez wants him back up. Barez lands a big body kick and Filho goes back down as he’s hurt, but Barez wants him on the feet. Filho lands a combo. Both are landing hard punches and Filho is pouring it on with volume as Barez is landing big punches. Filho gets a takedown. Filho is on top in the half-guard looking for a choke. He gets the mount. He has the arm-triangle choke locked in and Barez taps! Great comeback from Filho to get the win.

Official Result- Jafel Filho def. Daniel Barez by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:26 of Round 1

> Women’s Strawweights- Shauna Bannon (5-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Bruna Brasil (8-3-1, 0-1 UFC)

Bannon lands a leg kick. They trade leg kicks. Both land punches. Brasil landing with more volume early on and lands a big high kick. Bannon lands a combo. Bannon lands a side kick. Brasil lands a high kick. They trade late. 10-9 Brasil.

They trade kicks to start the second. They trade kicks. Bannon misses a right hand against the fence but it allows them to clinch. They trade knees against the fence. Brasil lands a few knees. Brasil has clinch advantage and both are landing knees. They are separated by the referee. Bannon lands a right hand. Bannon lands a side kick followed by a jab. Bannon landing the jab and has landed some follow-up right hands. Brasil lands a right hand. Brasil gets a takedown and lands some elbows to end the round. 10-9 Brasil, 20-18 Brasil.

Bannon lands a side kick to the body. Bannon lands a spin kick. Brasil lands a right hand. Brasil lands a leg kick and Bannon briefly fell down. They trade kicks. Bannon lands a jab. She lands another and also an inside leg kick. Bannon lands a combo then a leg kick. They clinch and Brasil pushes it against the fence. She isn’t doing much except trying to get Bannon down but Bannon defends. Brasil is able to get the takedown. She lands some from the top. Bannon goes for an armbar late. 10-9 Bannon, 29-28 Brasil.

Official Result- Bruna Brasil def. Shauna Bannon by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

> Lightweights- Chris Duncan (10-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Yanal Ashmouz (7-0, 1-0 UFC)

Ashmouz lands a spin kick. Duncan lands a right hand. They trade in close range. Ashmouz lands a high kick. Ashmouz lands to the body then a leg kick. Duncan lands a head kick but Ashmouz blocked it. Duncan lands a jab then a leg kick. Duncan scores with a combo and then lands some more punches. Ashmouz shoots for a takedown but Duncan defends. Duncan then lands a few punches against the fence. Ashmouz lands a right hand. Duncan lands a leg kick then another. Duncan gets Ashmouz down late. 10-9 Duncan.

Duncan lands to start the second. Duncan lands a body kick. Ashmouz is trying to rush forward but Duncan circles away. They trade kicks. Duncan lands a step-in knee. He then lands a big right hand. Ashmouz lands a right hand. Ashmouz lands a leg kick then Duncan lands a counter combo. Ashmouz lands a spin kick that connects high on Duncan. They trade punches and Ashmouz lands a couple of kicks. Duncan lands a body kick. Duncan lands a jumping knee. 10-9 Duncan, 20-18 Duncan.

Duncan lands a leg kick. Ashmouz lands a leg kick. Ashmouz lands a right hand but eats a big counter combination from Duncan. Duncan lands a step-in knee. Duncan lands some big punches. Duncan lands a right hand. Duncan with some more right hands that are connecting. Duncan scores with a knee. They trade body kicks. Duncan lands a knee then some punches. Duncan with some right hands and is pouring it on trying to get a late finish. Duncan gets a takedown. They get up and Duncan has the back against the fence. They separate and Duncan lands and scores with a body kick. 10-9 Duncan, 30-27 Duncan.

Official Result- Chris Duncan def. Yanal Ashmouz by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

> Women’s Bantamweights- #4 Ketlen Vieira (13-3, 7-3 UFC) vs. #7 Pannie Kianzad (16-6, 5-3 UFC)

Vieira lands a leg kick as Kianzad lands a couple of punches. They trade inside the pocket as both land. Vieira grabs a single leg and gets a takedown. She’s working from the top and landing as Kianzad is trying to separate. Vieira working from the half-guard and pressuring the head of Kianzad. Vieira lands more from the top. 10-9 Vieira.

Kianzad lands a right hand. Vieira scores with a right hand. Kianzad lands a leg kick as Vieira scores with a right hand. Vieira gets a takedown and lands from inside of Kianzad’s guard. Vieira landing from the top and keeping Kianzad pinned down. Kianzad has landed some from the bottom but it is all pressure from the top from Vieira. Vieira gets the mount and is now looking for the back. 10-9 Vieira, 20-18 Vieira.

Vieira immediately grabs the single leg and gets the takedown. Kianzad does land an elbow from the bottom. Vieira working from inside of Kianzad’s guard. Vieira gets the back of Kianzad. Vieira has the hooks in and is looking for a choke while landing from the back. Kianzad is defending by landing back punches before she spins into Vieira’s guard. Kianzad lands from the top. Kianzad is still landing from the top. Vieira lands some punches from the bottom and now some elbows. 10-9 Kianzad, 29-28 Kianzad.

Official Result- Ketlen Vieira def. Pannie Kianzad by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Middleweights- Makhmud Muradov (25-8, 3-2 UFC) vs. Bryan Barberena (18-10, 9-8 UFC)

They trade to start and Muradov goes for a takedown and gets it but they get right up. He gets Barberena back down and lands from the top as he has the back. They get to their feet and Barberena lands. Barberena lands a leg kick. Muradov lands an uppercut. Barberena lands a right hand but Muradov gets a takedown as he landed. They get to their feet and Muradov lands a high kick. 10-9 Muradov.

Muradov lands a big combo. Muradov lands another big right hand. Muradov lands a body kick. Muradov drops Barberena with a right hand and tried to land but Barberena got to his feet. Muradov lands a big combo. Barberena is talking to Muradov in there. Muradov lands a right hand. Barberena lands an Muradov is able to score a takedown. They get back to their feet and Muradov has the back, where he’s getting partial takedowns before they instantly pop up. Muradov gets it down and is now on top. They have a clash of heads on the ground and a timeout is called. They get back to action and trade. 10-9 Muradov, 20-18 Muradov.

Muradov lands a right hand as Barberena lands a leg kick. Muradov gets a takedown but they stand. Muradov still has the back but Barberena spins and lands. Muradov lands as he separates then lands a combo. Barberena lands a nice combo. Muradov drops Barberena again with a right hand but Barberena pops right up to his feet. They’re both landing in close range. Muradov lands a right hand. They clash heads standing and we have another timeout. They get back to action. They trade late with Muradov getting a brief late takedown. 10-9 Muradov, 30-27 Muradov.

Official Result- Makhmud Muradov def. Bryan Barberena by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Heavyweights- Mick Parkin (6-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Jamal Pogues (10-3, 1-0 UFC)

They’re trading heavy leg kicks to start. They’re trading jabs and Pogues is landing slightly more. Parkin lands to the body and is mixing body punches and leg kicks. Pogues looks for a takedown as he pushes it against the fence. They separate and Parkin lands some punches. Parkin lands a combo as Pogues is still working the jab. Parkin scores with an uppercut. 10-9 Parkin.

Parkin lands to start the second before they clinch and Pogues pushes it against the fence. Pogues is trying to get it down but Parkin defends. Parkin lands a couple of leg kicks. He lands another. Parkin lands more leg kicks. Pogues really isn’t landing with much volume in this round. Parkin lands late. 10-9 Parkin, 20-18 Parkin.

They trade leg kicks. Parkin landing some big combos early while mixing his leg kicks in. Parkin lands some right hands against the fence. Parkin lands another combo. Parkin with a right hand to the body. Parkin pressuring Pogues against the fence. Parkin lands a combination. Parkin lands a right hand and Pogues grabs ahold of him and pushes it against the fence, but they separate. Parkin lands some big punches and Pogues lands a few at the end. 10-9 Parkin, 30-27 Parkin.

Official Result- Mick Parkin def. Jamal Pogues by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Lightweights- Marc Diakiese (16-6, 7-6 UFC) vs. Joel Alvarez (19-3, 4-2 UFC)

Diakiese lands some leg kicks and punches. Alvarez lands a heavy leg kick. He lands another. They trade kicks before Diakiese lands big in close range. Diakiese with a leg kick. Alvarez with a heavy leg kick. Diakiese lands a right hand and Alvarez counters with a leg kick. Alvarez lands a jab then a leg kick. Diakiese lands a leg kick as Alvarez lands a right hand. They trade kicks. Alvarez lands a leg kick then a combo. Alvarez with a front kick to the body. Diakiese lands a big right hand. Alvarez grabs the back and is trying to get Diakiese down. Diakiese spins to the top as they go to the mat. 10-9 Alvarez.

Diakiese gets a takedown and lands from the top. Alvarez is trying hard to get up from the bottom. Diakiese still working from the top but gets the back as they get to their feet. Diakiese gets it back down but is standing as Alvarez is on his back. Alvarez reverses and has the back of Diakiese and is landing punches. Diakiese rolls to his back and Alvarez lands a punch from the top before they stood. They looked to clash heads and Diakiese was complaining but the ref told them to keep fighting and Alvarez landed some big punches before they go to the mat. Alvarez looks for the D’Arce choke and has it locked in and Diakiese taps! Diakiese did look like he got screwed due to the headbutt and Alvarez took advantage to get the win.

Official Result- Joel Alvarez def. Marc Diakiese by submission (D’Arce choke) at 4:26 of Round 2

> Welterweights- Danny Roberts (18-7, 7-6 UFC) vs. Jonny Parsons (8-3, 0-0 UFC)

Parsons lands a few leg kicks then a right hand to start. Roberts lands a leg kick. Parsons lands a body kick. Roberts lands a few body kicks. Roberts lands a left hand. Roberts lands a left hand and they almost clinch but separate. Roberts lands a combo. Roberts lands a knee and they both land flurries in close range with Parsons landing a knee. Roberts lands late. Close round. 10-9 Roberts.

They trade to start the second before clinching up and going to the fence. They quick separate to the center. Roberts lands to the body. Parsons lands a right hand and Roberts goes to the mat. Parsons gets on top and is in side control and lands from the top. They get to their feet and both are landing some big punches in close range. Roberts lands a leg kick. Parsons lands some knees in the clinch. Roberts lands a combo. Roberts lands a combo then a knee. Both are landing in close range and land big. Parsons lands and Roberts was stumbling and they went to the mat but stood. Parsons lands a right hand and Roberts is wobbly on his feet. Parsons drops Roberts at the end and it is stopped with one second to go in the round. What a finish from Parsons!

Official Result- Jonny Parsons def. Danny Roberts by TKO (strikes) at 4:57 of Round 2

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> Bantamweights- Davey Grant (13-6, 6-5 UFC) vs. Daniel Marcos (14-0, 1-0 UFC)

Grant lands a leg kick. He lands some more and they trade punches. Marcos lands some leg kicks that trip Grant up. Grant lands a leg kick. Marcos lands a leg kick. They trade leg kicks. Marcos lands a leg kick. Grant goes for a head kick but Marcos blocks. Grant lands a body kick. Marcos scores with a leg kick. They keep trading leg kicks. Marcos lands a right hand. 10-9 Grant.

Grant lands some side kicks. Grant lands some leg kicks. Grant lands a leg kick then a right hand and Marcos fires back with a leg kick. Grant stringing his combos together better as Marcos is being calculated and landing one at a time. Grant with a step-in knee to the body then a right hand. Marcos lands a low blow and we have a timeout. They get back to action. They trade jabs. Marcos landing the jab. Marcos lands a leg kick and Grant fires back with a right hand. Grant with some punches and a leg kick. 10-9 Grant, 20-18 Grant.

Marcos lands a quick jab. Grant just misses a spin kick. Grant lands a jumping knee after they trade punches. Grant lands some kicks. Grant lands a spinning fist then a head kick. Grant lands some kicks. Marcos with some short leg kicks. Grant continues to land punches and kicks and is mixing everywhere. Marcos gets a takedown but they get to their feet and separate. Grant lands a leg kick. They trade late as Grant is raising his arms in the air. 10-9 Grant, 30-27 Grant.

Official Result- Daniel Marcos def. Davey Grant by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

> Featherweights- Lerone Murphy (12-0-1, 4-0-1 UFC) vs. Josh Culibao (11-1-1, 3-1-1 UFC)

They trade calf kicks as Culibao lands a couple of punches. Culibao connects and they clinch against the fence. They separate and go back to exchanging leg kicks. Both looking to land but not much action before they clinch. Murphy pushes it against the fence and lands an elbow as they break. Murphy lands a high kick and follows it with a combo. Murphy tries for a takedown but Culibao is defending and lands to defend. Murphy has the back and lands a knee late. 10-9 Murphy.

Murphy landing more to start the second as Culibao is swinging and missing and they tie up against the fence. They go to the mat in the tie-up but stand and break. Murphy pressuring Culibao against the fence and Culibao shoots for a takedown but Murphy defends and lands an elbow and jab. Culibao lands some punches but Murphy grabs him and gets a takedown and has the back on the ground. Murphy has the hooks in from the back and is being patient. Murphy ends the round landing from the back. 10-9 Murphy, 20-18 Murphy.

Murphy lands a high kick. He lands a right hand. Culibao lands a leg kick. Murphy shoots for a takedown against the fence. Culibao reverses and looks for a takedown but Murphy defends. Murphy drops Culibao with a body kick and lands from the back as Culibao was covering up, but Culibao gets to his back and Murphy is inside his guard landing. Murphy is landing from the back on top. Murphy has a choke locked in but Culibao is able to escape. Murphy landing from the top. He lands an elbow. They stand and Murphy has the back as he drags it back down. They stand but Murphy gets it back down. Murphy lands big from the top. Murphy dominates the round. 10-8 Murphy, 30-26 Murphy.

Official Result- Lerone Murphy def. Josh Culibao by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)

> Lightweights- Jai Herbert (12-4-1, 2-3-1 UFC) vs. Fares Ziam (13-4, 3-2 UFC)

Ziam lands a leg kick. Herbert lands a leg kick and they trade punches. They trade leg kicks. Ziam lands a right hand. They clinch against the fence with Herbert having the advantage but they switch several times. Ziam lands a knee and elbow as they break. They trade jabs. Herbert lands a leg kick. Ziam with a big push kick. Close round. 10-9 Ziam.

They trade some jabs to start the second. Ziam lands a combo finishing with a leg kick. Herbert lands to the body. They continue to land in close range. Herbert lands some leg kicks and goes for a takedown but they push it against the fence. Ziam gets a takedown but Herbert is able to reverse to the top and they get to the feet but remain clinched against the fence. They break and Herbert has to chase Ziam around the Octagon. Ziam lands a combo. Herbert lands a jab then a high kick. They clinch at the end. 10-9 Herbert, 19-19.

They trade leg kicks. Ziam lands a combo. They trade leg kicks. Ziam lands a right hand. Herbert lands a leg kick. They trade and Herbert looks for a takedown and grabs the back near the fence. Ziam tries a trip attempt but they remain on their feet and tied up. Ziam lands some knees. Herbert tries a trip but they stay upright and tied up. Ziam lands a knee and they separate. Ziam lands a leg kick. They trade leg kicks. Herbert lands a leg kick. Ziam lands a leg kick. Ziam tries a takedown but Herbert defends. Ziam almost gets a late takedown. Close fight. 10-9 Ziam, 29-28 Ziam.

Official Result- Fares Ziam def. Jai Herbert by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

> Middleweights- #9 LHW Paul Craig (16-6-1, 8-6-1 UFC) vs. #14 Andre Muniz (23-5, 5-1 UFC)

Muniz lands a leg kick and Craig lands a body kick. Craig lands a high kick. Muniz with a body kick. They’re both landing kicks. Muniz lands a spin kick to the body. Muniz lands some punches. Craig lands a high kick. Craig lands a high kick followed by a jab. They trade kicks. Craig throws a body kick but Muniz grabs the leg and gets a takedown. Muniz ends the round landing from the top. 10-9 Muniz.

Craig gets an early takedown to start the second. He lands some left hands from the top before standing. Muniz landed an upkick as Craig was going back into his guard. Muniz looks for a triangle choke. Craig is landing right hands and hammerfists from the top as he’s defending. Craig escapes and they’re scrambling. Muniz gets it down. Muniz lands some elbows from the top then some punches. Muniz led with his head and landed a headbutt so we have a timeout. The fight is restarted on the feet. Craig gets a takedown. Craig gets to side control. He’s looking for a D’Arce choke. He didn’t quite tighten it and let go to land left hands. Craig gets the mount and lands some punches. Craig now landing elbows. He’s landing a lot and looking to finish. He keeps landing them and it is stopped! Big win for Craig in his middleweight debut.

Official Result- Paul Craig def. Andre Muniz by TKO (strikes) at 4:40 of Round 2

> Featherweights- Nathaniel Wood (19-5, 6-2 UFC) vs. Andre Fili (22-9 1 NC, 10-8 1 NC UFC)

Fili lands a left hand and Wood goes down for a moment. Wood has recovered and he’s landing a lot of leg kicks while trying to figure out the range of Fili. Wood lands some big shots and Fili goes down. Wood is landing from the top as Fili is covering up. Wood lands some elbows and now some punches. Wood continues to land but they get to the feet and Wood lands a big leg kick. Fili tries for a takedown but Wood defends. Fili lands a high kick. Wood lands a big combo. 10-9 Wood.

They trade punches. Fili lands a high kick. Wood lands a leg kick. Fili lands a leg kick. Fili rocks Wood with a left hand and follows up as Wood falls down. Fili jumps on the back and is looking for a choke. Fili attacking an arm from the back. Wood gets up and escapes and takes Fili’s back and takes him down. Wood has the back trying to get the hooks in. Fili is able to reverse as he spins into Wood’s guard. Fili ends the round on top. 10-9 Fili, 19-19.

Wood back to landing leg kicks early in the third. He’s landing more punches as well. Fili is firing some back and lands a jab as Wood lands a body kick. Fili is working the jab but he’s still landing leg kicks. Fili lands a teet kick. Wood lands a big left hand. Wood lands a jab. Fili lads a jab. Wood tries a takedown but Fili slips away and lands a body kick. Good fight. 10-9 Wood, 29-28 Wood.

Official Result- Nathaniel Wood def. Andre Fili by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Women’s Flyweights- Molly McCann (13-5, 6-4 UFC) vs. Julija Stoliarenko (10-7-1, 1-5 UFC)

McCann lands a left hand. They’re trading punches in close range. Both land right hands. Stoliarenko gets a takedown and moves to the mount before getting the back. Stoliarenko has the arm and locks in an armbar and McCann taps! Big finish for Stoliarenko and that deflates the crowd.

Official Result- Julija Stoliarenko def. Molly McCann by submission (armbar) at 1:55 of Round 1

> Heavyweights- #5 Tom Aspinall (12-3, 5-1 UFC) vs. #10 Marcin Tybura (24-7, 11-6 UFC)

Aspinall lands a body kick and was rushing in to land but Tybura landed a right hand to stop him in his tracks. Aspinall lands a combo but Tybura did land a right hand again. Aspinall lands an elbow then drops Tybura with a right hand and finishes it off quickly with more punches from the top. Big win for Aspinall in his return fight and he made it look easy.

Official Result- Tom Aspinall def. Marcin Tybura by TKO (punches) at 1:13 of Round 1

ROH Death Before Dishonor live results: Claudio Castagnoli vs. PAC

Posted on by Suit Williams

After nearly coming to blows while on the same AEW Blood & Guts team, Ring of Honor World Champion Claudio Castagnoli will defend the title against PAC at tonight’s ROH Death Before Dishonor in Trenton, New Jersey.

ROH Women’s Champion Athena will look to avenge her loss in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament semifinals when she defends against tournament winner Willow Nightingale.

ROH Tag Team Champions The Lucha Brothers will defend in a four-way against Aussie Open, The Kingdom and Best Friends.

ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata will defend the title against former champion Daniel Garcia while ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe defends against former champion Dalton Castle.

The Mogul Embassy will defend the ROH Six-Man Tag Team titles against Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato & Leon Ruffin.

Dark Order faces The Righteous in a six-man Fight Without Honor while Komander takes on Gravity to round out the main card. Four matches are set for the Zero Hour pre-show.

**********

*****ZERO HOUR*****

Pure Rules Match – Josh Woods (w/ the Varsity Athletes) defeated Tracy Williams

The judges for this match were Christopher Daniels, Jimmy Jacobs, & Jerry Lynn.

After an early exchange, Woods rolled Williams into a double wristlock to force Williams to use his first rope break. Williams accidentally grabbed the ropes while Woods had his arm, thus exhausting his second rope break. Woods hung Williams on the ropes and hit a gutwrench suplex off the ropes for a nearfall.

After catching Woods in a rollup, Williams hit a high-angle suplex. Williams fired up, hitting a half-hatch suplex into the turnbuckles for a nearfall. Woods won a forearm exchange, but Williams caught his wrist and hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Williams shrugged off a boot and hit a pump kick, following it with a piledriver. Woods used his first rope break to stop the pinfall.

Williams couldn’t hit a brainbuster due to the arm work Woods did earlier, allowing Woods to hit a gutwrench suplex and lock on the Gorilla Lock. Williams used his third rope break to escape, exhausting all of his rope breaks. They both ended up on the apron, where Woods hit a German suplex. Woods caught Williams in a guillotine submission in the ropes, forcing Williams to tap out with his foot.

Action Andretti & Darius Martin defeated The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)

An awesome match for the free hour. Both of these teams have been highlights of the weekly show, and they took advantage of their time here and really impressed.

Henry and Drake got a jump start on Andretti and Martin, but Martin and Andretti quickly cleared the ring. After more back-and-forth, Henry caught Martin with a double stomp to cut him off, while Drake forearmed Andretti out of the sky. The Workhorsemen worked over Martin in the corner, pummeling him with double-team moves.

Martin fought to make the tag to Andretti, who ran wild on both Workhorsemen. He backflipped off of Drake’s back before hitting a double bulldog. Andretti hit a shooting star on both men for a nearfall. Andretti couldn’t finish Drake on his own, so he tagged in Martin to assist on a DDT for a nearfall that Henry broke up. Henry hit a diving stomp on Martin, with Drake following up with a moonsault. But Andretti dropped Henry with a DVD onto the pile to break up the cover. Andretti got Drake up onto his shoulders, allowing Martin to help hit an assisted neckbreaker for the win.

It was announced after the match that Andretti and Martin would take on Bullet Club Gold on Collision tomorrow night.

Leyla Hirsch defeated Trish Adora

Both women went after their opponent’s arm to start. Adora went for a submission, forcing Hirsch to bail out of the ring. Hirsch tried to rope-a-dope Adora in the ring, but it didn’t work, with both women ending in a standoff. Hirsch stood on Adora’s foot in the corner and took her knee out to get control. Hirsch went back to the arm, booting it before going for a cross-armbreaker. Adora powerbombed her way free.

Adora fired up, hitting a big boot and a crossbody for a nearfall. Adora hit a kneeling German suplex for a nearfall. Adora hit a pump kick, but Hirsch avoided a corner charge and hit a hesitation dropkick. Adora hit a backbreaker for a nearfall. Adora went for the Lariat Tubman, but Hirscch avoided it. After a scramble on the mat, Hirsch got the cross armbreaker in and got the quick tapout.

After the match, Hirsch feigned going for the Code of Honor before pulling Adora back into the armbreaker. Skye Blue ran her off, as it was announced that Blue would be wrestling Taya Valkyrie on Collision.

AR Fox defeated Shane Taylor

Another quality match on the Zero Hour. Taylor has earned a higher profile role in ROH with his performances lately, while Fox goes into his AEW International Title match on Dynamite with a great showing here.

Taylor dropped Fox early on with heavy strikes, but Fox used his agility to spread out his shots and sent Taylor to the floor. Fox followed him to the floor, first with a spaceman dive, then a no-touch senton. Taylor pulled Fox off the ropes, dropping him with an End of Days style move for a nearfall.

Taylor clubbered on Fox in the corner, hammering him with loud strikes before beeling him across the ring. Fox and Taylor ended up on the floor, with Fox getting on the apron and hitting an inside-out springboard senton. Back in the ring, Fox rocked Taylor with a stunner before hitting a kip-up enzuigiri. Taylor cut him off with a headbutt, followed by a uranage and a big splash for a nearfall.

Taylor sat Fox on the apron, but Fox avoided a legdrop. Fox hit a codebreaker and a DDT while Taylor was tied up in the ropes, but it only got a two-count. Fox hit a flurry of offense, but Taylor cut off a stunner and hit Welcome to the Land, but Fox got the ropes. This Is Awesome chants from the crowd as Taylor brought Fox to the top rope for a Marcus Garvey Driver. Fox fought out, walking Taylor to the middle of the ring to hit a Death Valley Driver. Fox followed with the 450 to score the win.

*****MAIN CARD*****

Gravity defeated Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes)

This was a stellar opener to the card. Gravity impressed in the biggest spot of his career, and Komander continued to dazzle with his high-flying prowess. These two used to be a group in the Mexican independent scene alongside Bandido, and I would have no problem with AEW or ROH putting them back together.

Gravity is the younger brother of former ROH World Champion Bandido. The announcers noted that Komander looked up to Rey Fenix as a young wrestler, which is why Alex Abrahantes has joined him in recent weeks. Both men worked on the mat trying to score quick wins but ended in a stalemate. On commentary, Riccaboni let us know that these two used to be a regular team on the lucha scene, so they should know each other well.

Komander hit a dive to the floor, then followed it with a Shooting Star Press in the ring for a nearfall. Gravity sent Komander to the floor, then rolled to the top rope and hit a dive to the floor. Back in the ring, Gravity held onto an armdrag and rolled into a pin for a nearfall. Gravity ran right into a pair of boots from Komander, but Komander moonsaulted into a pair of boots himself. Gravity hit a powerbomb for a nearfall.

They traded strikes mid-ring before Gravity hit a one-armed powerbomb for a nearfall. Komander hit a misdirection kick to knock Gravity to the floor, then followed him with a multi-jump corkscrew dive to the floor. Gravity cut off another dive in the ring, hitting a falling wristlock takeover for a nearfall. Both men ended up on the apron, with Komander hanging Gravity over the turnbuckle and hitting a kick. Komander hit a rope walk moonsault for a nearfall, then followed it with a top rope rana. Gravity then caught Komander with a rollup to score the win.

After the match, it was announced that Gravity would wrestle PAC this Wednesday on Dynamite. If PAC wins tonight, it will be for the ROH World Title as well. Yes, Gravity will wrestle The Man That Gravity Forgot. I chuckled at that.

ROH World Television Title Match – Samoa Joe © defeated Dalton Castle

This was slow building, but the crowd got behind Castle late with his feats of strength. The finish has had some build to it, with Joe menacing Hathaway in backstage segments over the past few weeks. This pairing of Joe and Hathaway has some potential, and a rematch with Castle would be welcomed.

This is Samoa Joe’s 13th defense of the title.

ROH Board Member Stokely Hathaway joined the booth, sounding fearful of Joe. After some ringside shenanigans to start, Castle caught Joe with an elbow before hitting a pair of splashes to Joe’s back. Joe fought back with chops before hitting a big boot and a senton. Castle fought back, but Joe ran through him with a back elbow and resumed with the offense.

Joe sent Castle into the corner, hitting the back splash and the enzuigiri. Joe clubbered on Castle for a few minutes here, choking him on the ropes in front of the Boys. Joe sent Castle to the floor, but the Boys threw Castle back in the ring as Joe came to the floor. Castle got some shots in, but Joe shut him down again with a powerslam. Castle avoided a back splash, with Joe hooking Castle on the ropes. But the Boys pushed him back on the apron, allowing him to low bridge Joe to the floor.

The Boys caught Castle on a dive that Joe walked away from, allowing him to hit a rana to the floor. Castle hit another dive, after which the Boys helped bring Joe into the ring. Castle hit an overhead suplex to a big reaction. Castle fired up, hitting another German suplex to send Joe to the floor. Joe crawled to Hathaway on commentary, yelling at him to fix this. Hathaway forced the referee to eject the Boys from ringside. Joe hit a low blow while the referee was dealing with Hathaway. Joe locked in the Coquina Clutch to score the win. Joe shook hands with Hathaway and patted him on the head, which was very disrespectful.

ROH World Tag Team Title Four Way Match – Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defeated The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) ©, Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta), & The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) to win the titles

This was fun chaos in the tag team division. The Lucha Brothers and Best Friends got more aggressive as the match went on, teasing a rekindling of their feud. Aussie Open getting a spotlight as ROH Tag Team Champions is a great call, winning the titles in their first tag match as contracted members of the company.

This is the Lucha Brothers’ 3rd defense of the titles.

The Kingdom held control of the Best Friends early on before Beretta tagged out to Fenix. Taven tagged in Fletcher, who engaged in a forearm battle with Fenix before hitting a massive bodyslam and tagging in Davis. Fenix avoided the squisher clotheslines, using Davis as a stool to hit a cutter on Fletcher. Penta tagged in, with both teams trading strikes until the Kingdom knocked the Lucha Brothers out of the ring. Bennett and Beretta tagged in, with the Best Friends running wild until Aussie Open sent them to the floor.

Aussie Open ran around the ring with the Best Friends, crashing them into each other. That started a dive train that ended with Beretta superplexing Bennett from the top rope to the pile on the floor. Taven hit a frog splash on Beretta, giving Bennett a nearfall. The Kingdom isolated Beretta while the other teams were down, scoring several nearfalls. Beretta hit a tornado DDT on Bennett, with no choice but to tag in Penta. The Lucha Bros ran wild on Taven, with Penta hitting Made In Japan on Taven for a nearfall.

Taven avoided the Package Piledriver but walked into a tag from Fletcher. Aussie Open ran wild, taking all the other teams out. They hit the Whirly Bird on Penta for a nearfall broken up by Taven. The Kingdom hit Rockstar Supernova on Fletcher for a nearfall broken up by Taylor. Taylor cut off a Taven dive, allowing Fletcher to tag out to Beretta. Best Friends hit an assisted superplex for a nearfall, then ran wild on Bennett.

We got a train of piledrivers that ended when the Lucha Brothers hit a double superkick on Davis and their double stomp package piledriver for a nearfall. The Kingdom hit a Hail Mary on Penta, but Penta kicked out at one. The Kingdom set up the Proton Pack, but Penta escaped. Beretta tagged in, and the Best Friends hit their double-team move. The Lucha Brothers pulled the referee out of the ring, and Penta hit Beretta with a chair. In the mayhem, Fletcher tagged in and helped Davis hit Coreolis on Beretta to score the win and the titles.

ROH World Six Man Tag Team Title Match – The Mogul Embassy (Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage & Toa Liona) © (w/Prince Nana) defeated Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Leon Ruffin

This was a fun six-man. The result was never in doubt, but the challengers worked well together, and it’s always nice to see the Forbidden Door opened.

This is the Mogul Embassy’s 5th defense of the titles.

Wato and Taguchi have held the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Titles in the past, with Wato going on to win this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament in New Japan. Taguchi and Cage started, with Wato coming in and hitting some double-team offense on the Embassy. Cage dodged everyone and hit a double German suplex on Wato and Taguchi. Ruffin evaded everyone but ran into a Liona pounce. Liona suplexed Ruffin into the Embassy corner, allowing Prince Nana to get some shots in. The Embassy clubbered on Ruffin as Big Bill watched backstage.

After hitting a DDT to Kaun, Ruffin tagged out to Wato. Watomania ran wild, as Wato took down all three members of the Embassy. Wato locked both Kaun and Cage in submissions, but Liona broke it up. Taguchi tagged in and hit hip attacks on all three opponents. Taguchi avoided a charge from all three, then caught Kaun in an ankle lock. Liona broke it up, leading to an offensive flurry that included 619’s from both Cage and Taguchi. Nana distracted the referee, allowing Kaun to hit a low blow. But Taguchi caught Kaun low on the way down, getting a rollup for a nearfall.

Ruffin tagged in, taking down Cage with a cutter. He tried to hit the same cutter on Liona, but Liona cut it off and turned it into a backbreaker. The Embassy then won by throwing Ruffin in the air, letting gravity do the damage. No, gravity the concept, not the wrestler from earlier.

ROH Pure Title Match – Katsuyori Shibata © defeated Daniel Garcia

This was stellar. Garcia told the story of defiantly being an entertainer in the eyes of THE Wrestler so well. Garcia is reaching the level of pro wrestling prodigy at age 25 which makes you excited to watch his future.

This is Shibata’s 4th defense of the title. The judges for this match were Christopher Daniels, Jimmy Jacobs, & Jerry Lynn.

After a scramble for position, Shibata stopped Garcia from dancing and stomped on his hands. Shibata then locked on an inside Figure Four that forced Garcia to use his first rope break. Garcia went to the floor, baiting Shibata to the outside where he sent him into the barricade. Garcia mocked Shibata in the ring, sending Shibata after him. Shibata sent Garcia into the barricades repeatedly before booting him into the crowd.

Shibata went to bring Garcia over the barricade, but Garcia hooked Shibata’s arm over the barricade. Garcia sent Shibata into the post before slamming his arm into the apron. Garcia posed with the title before going to work on Shibata’s arm in the ring.

Shibata fired up, asking for more shots to the arm. Shibata rocked Garcia with a forearm, but Garcia sent Shibata into the mat shoulder-first. Garcia did his dance in Shibata’s face, but Shibata sat down. Garcia went to dance again, but Shibata slapped him and fired up. Shibata hit the shotgun dropkick and a suplex for a nearfall.

They traded submissions and suplexes before both falling down from exhaustion. They traded forearms and strikes until they collapsed again. Shibata booted Garcia, but Garcia caught a slap and locked on the Dragon Tamer. Garcia leaned too far back though, allowing Shibata to catch him in a choke. More slaps were traded before Shibata locked on a sleeper hold. Garcia defiantly danced until he faded out, with Shibata hitting the Penalty Kick to score the win.

– Backstage, Lexy Nair was with Aussie Open. They bragged about their victory and said that they would run the world.

Fight Without Honor – The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno & John Silver) defeated The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) & Stu Grayson

This exceeded my expectations, as these guys went all out here. This was vicious and violent, peaking with some wild high spots.

My feed froze during the Dark Order’s entrance. I came back in time to see Grayson spear Uno off the apron through a table. Dutch and Silver faced off with dueling 2×4’s, Dutch’s wrapped in barbed wire. Silver dropkicked the barbed wire board into Dutch’s face, lacerating him. After Vincent and Reynolds fought, Dutch dropped Reynolds face first into the 2×4. Vincent grinded the wire into Reynolds’ eyes.

Silver fought off Dutch and Vincent, introducing thumbtacks to proceedings. Grayson cut off Silver, walking him into a Bossman Slam from Dutch into the tacks. Uno laid into Grayson with a chair until Vincent shoved Grayson out of the way to take a shot. Uno set the chair up in the corner, but Vincent reversed Uno into the chair. Vincent tore Uno’s mask as Dutch and Grayson set up tables on the floor. Grayson punched a bloody Uno before Silver got involved. The Righteous set up Silver for a powerbomb through the tables, but Reynolds hit Dutch with a chair.

Reynolds and Silver hit their tag team combo on Dutch for a nearfall. Uno drilled Grayson and Dutch with the barbed wire board before dumping a bag of Legos into the ring. Dutch powerbombed Uno into the tacks and Lego, while Vincent and Grayson hit dives onto Silver that put him through a table. Dutch hit another powerbomb for a nearfall. Dutch and Grayson pulled out a table covered in barbed wire. Grayson got Reynolds on his shoulders, but Reynolds hit a DDT on the stage. Dutch came to help Grayson, but Reynolds sent Dutch through a table.

Silver came up with a tack-studded kickpad, landing Kawada kicks on Vincent who asked for more. Grayson took out Silver and laid Uno across the two tables. Grayson pulled out a massive ladder and set it up in the ring. Uno recovered, tipping the ladder and sending Grayson through the tables on the floor. The Dark Order isolated Grayson in the ring. They hit Grayson with the Ragnarok into the tacks to score the win.

ROH World Title Match – Claudio Castagnoli © defeated PAC

This was a fantastic battle for the World Title. Both men being shades of grey muddied the waters as far as the babyface/heel divide went, but the work overcame that. This was hard-hitting and smartly worked, as you would expect from these two high-level wrestlers. Go out of your way to see this one.

This is Castagnoli’s 9th defense of the title.

Castagnoli charged PAC to start, hitting an uppercut and Swiss Death for a nearfall. PAC bailed out before a Neutralizer attempt. Castagnoli caught a PAC moonsault off the apron, dropping PAC into the barricade. PAC tried to bail out, but Castagnoli caught him on the stage and hit the Giant Swing. At the crowd’s request, Castagnoli hit another Giant Swing before attempting a Neutralizer on the ramp. PAC backdropped Castagnoli onto the stage, jamming Castagnoli’s knee. PAC then hit his apron moonsault to Castagnoli on the floor.

PAC set up a table on the floor, but Castagnoli uppercut PAC up and over the table before sending him into the barricade. Castagnoli charged PAC, but PAC moved, and Castagnoli jammed his knee again. PAC hit a shotgun dropkick for a nearfall. PAC brought Castagnoli to the top and brought him down with an avalanche brainbuster for a nearfall.

PAC taunted Castagnoli, but Castagnoli gorilla pressed PAC out of the ring through the table on the floor. Castagnoli went to the top rope and hit an elbow drop for a nearfall. Castagnoli dropped the hammer and anvil elbows before setting up the Neutralizer, but PAC hit an enzuigiri. PAC went for a springboard, but Castagnoli caught him and hit an Alley Oop before finally hitting the Neutralizer. It only scored a nearfall.

Castagnoli taunted PAC before drilling him with forearms. PAC came back and engaged in a strike exchange that Castagnoli got the better of with a lariat. Both men got to their feet, where PAC dropped Castagnoli with a pair of superkicks. PAC hit a stalling German suplex for a nearfall. PAC went to the top rope, but Castagnoli knocked him down with an uppercut. Castagnoli went for the outside-in deadlift superplex, but PAC cut him off and went for a super hurricanrana. Castagnoli stuffed it and went for the Ricola Bomb, but PAC ripped off the rana.

PAC went to the top rope but missed the Black Arrow. Castagnoli hit a lariat and went for the Ricola Bomb, but PAC locked on the Brutalizer. Castagnoli tried to slam his way out of it, but PAC clutched it back on. Castagnoli lifted PAC up again, this time onto the ropes, and hit an Air Raid Crash to escape the hold. After both men recovered, PAC went to take the turnbuckle pad off when Wheeler Yuta stopped him. Castagnoli then hit an uppercut before hitting the Ricola Bomb for the win.

After the match, the Lucha Brothers came out to help their Death Triangle partner. They beat down Castagnoli and Yuta until Best Friends made the save. Orange Cassidy came out to help the Best Friends. He went to hit an Orange Punch on Yuta, but Yuta ducked, and Castagnoli took the shot. The Best Friends stood tall to end the scene here.

– The announcers ran down the Collision card, noting that we will hear from FTR, Ricky Starks, and CM Punk. They ran down the Dynamite card, which will feature a three-way tag team match between Best Friends, the Lucha Brothers, and the BCC team of Castagnoli and Jon Moxley.

ROH Women’s World Title Match – Athena © defeated Willow Nightingale

They billed the two World Title matches as a double main event. I went in believing this was just marketing, but this match lived up to the billing. These two put on one of the best World Title matches of the year, up there with Castagnoli and PAC, and rivaling Flair/Ripley from Wrestlemania as a Women’s Match of the Year. This was dramatic, had shoutouts to the women that built Women of Honor, and had the crowd rocking by the end. A fantastic main event to a show that out-delivered any reasonable expectations. I gave the ROH brass a lot of grief for their lack of build to this show. While I stand by my criticisms, I knew that the talent would still be put in positions to deliver. They delivered in spades, making this one of Ring of Honor’s best PPV events ever.

This is Athena’s 12th defense of the title.

Nightingale’s family is in the front row. Nightingale controlled early, hitting an enzuigiri. Athena went for quick pinfalls, but Nightingale kept kicking out. Both women ended up on the apron, with Athena dropping Nightingale on the apron with a back suplex. Athena clubbered on Nightingale in the corner and avoided a senton when Nightingale tried fighting back. Athena menaced the referee, which allowed Nightingale to surprise her with a Pounce.

Nightingale fired up, hitting a main event spinebuster – this time in the actual main event – for a nearfall. They traded strikes until Athena hit a strong forearm. Athena followed up with a side kick and her lungblower variant for a nearfall. Athena pulled Nightingale to the apron, but Nightingale elbowed her down. Nightingale hit a crossbody off the apron, then powerbombed her onto the apron. Athena fought off of Nightingale’s shoulders and dropkicked her.

Athena went for the double knees into the steps, but Nightingale moved. Nightingale then hit a cannonball into the stairs, getting Athena back into the ring for a nearfall. Athena hit a Shining Wizard and a standing moonsault, but Nightingale rolled up to her feet and hit Smash Mouth – ROH regular Sumie Sakai’s finisher – for a nearfall. Athena hit a rana, but Nightingale popped back up and hit the Royal Butterfly – Sara Del Ray’s old finisher – for a nearfall.

Nightingale went for the Babe With The Powerbomb, but Athena countered it with a Heart Punch and a Snapmare Driver – Daizee Haze’s old finisher – for a nearfall. Shoutouts to the women of ROH’s past in this first-time PPV main event. Nightingale hit a spinning DDT – Mickie James’ finisher she used in ROH – for a nearfall. Athena avoided a cannonball and hit an Obliterator – MsChif’s old finisher – and followed it up with a powerbomb for a nearfall.

Athena brought Nightingale to the top rope, but Nightingale hit a top rope DVD for a nearfall. My browser crashed for a moment but came back just in time to see Athena send Nightingale into the stairs. Athena hit the O-Face, but Nightingale kicked out to a massive reaction. Athena menaced the referee again, but that allowed Nightingale to roll Athena into the Babe With The Powerbomb. Athena kicked out at two. Nightingale brought Athena to the top rope, but Athena knocked her down and hit the O-Face again. Athena locked Nightingale in a crossface. Nightingale fought until she couldn’t fight anymore, passing out in the hold. Athena retained by referee stoppage.

AEW Rampage live results: Royal Rampage

Posted on by Joseph Collins

A shot at the TNT title will be on the line in the second-ever Royal Rampage match as part of tonight’s AEW Rampage from Boston, Massachussetts.

20 men will compete in a Royal Rumble-style match over two rings with the winner earning a TNT title shot at September’s All Out. Four men start the match.

Participants include Nick Wayne, Darby Allin, Swerve Strickland, Butcher & The Blade, Gates of Agony, Big Bill, Matt Hardy, Brian Cage, Jeff Jarrett, Komander, Jay Lethal, Ethan Page, Brother Zay, Jake Hager, Matt Sydal, Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, and a surprise entrant.

TBS Champion Kris Statlander will defend her title against Marina Shafir in search of her defense. This is Shafir’s third opportunity at the championship.

Ahead of their challenge of AEW Trios Champions The House of Black on Saturday’s AEW Collision, The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn will face QTV’s QT Marshall, Johnny TV & Aaron Solo.

**********

Taped in Boston, Massachusetts.

Tony Schiavone, Excalibur and Chris Jericho were on commentary.

Darby Allin won the 20 Man Royal Rampage to earn a shot at the TNT Championship at All Out (29:33 aired) 

Ten men will enter each ring at what are probably supposed to be one-minute intervals but wildly fluctuated based on entrances and commercial breaks.  The winner gets a shot at the TNT Title match at All Out. 

Darby Allin was the last man eliminated in last year’s Royal Rampage match and started out in the red ring with Jay Lethal.  Swerve Strickland and Nick Wayne started out in the Blue Ring.  Minoru Suzuki was #3 for the red ring and the crowd popped huge for his music. When Suzuki finally got to the ring, he partnered up with Lethal to beat on Darby Allin. Brian Cage was #3 for the blue ring, and he took it to Nick Wayne while Strickland caught a breather. The Suzuki/Lethal partnership started to fall apart and Ethan Page entered the red ring at #4. Page went after Jay Lethal like he promised he would last week. Suzuki and Page started exchanging forearms while Komander entered the blue ring at #4. He bounced off the top rope, onto Cage’s shoulders, and off of Cage’s shoulders into a DDT on Strickland.

The Butcher was #5 in the red ring and charged Page with a clothesline. Big Bill came into the blue ring at #5, having recovered from the Saskatoon Slam. Bill hit Komander with a black hole slam. In the red ring, Page tossed Lethal off of a Lethal Injection attempt. Lethal then pulled at Page from outside the ring elimated him with Suzuki’s help from inside the ring. Suzuki then got into it with The Butcher. He went for the Gotch-style piledriver, but Butcher backdropped Suzuki to eliminate him. The Blade came in at #6 in the Red Ring, and he and The Butcher combined to beat up Allin around the ringside area. 

During the split screen break, Brother Zay came in at #6 in the blue ring, where there had been no eliminations. Toa Liona entered the red ring at #7. The three heels worked over Darby Allin in the red ring. Matt Sydal entered the blue ring at #7. Sydal and Brother Zay hit the gin and juice double-team on Swerve Strickland. Bishop Kaun came in at #8 in the red ring. The Gates of Agony squared off with the Butcher and the Blade while Allin sold in the corner. Brother Zay was eliminated in the blue ring. The Gates of Agony tossed the Butcher and the Blade. Matt Hardy entered the blue ring at #8, and he went right after Strickland, then hit a hangman’s neckbreaker on Cage and a DDT on Big Bill.

Matt Menard entered the red ring at #9. Menard looked like he would challenge The Gates of Agony, but changed in mind and stomped on Darby Allin instead. Jeff Jarrett entered the blue ring at #9 and squared off with Hardy. Jarrett did the Fargo Strut to a huge pop. Angleo Parker joined the blue ring at #10, so again in the blue ring we have two heel tag teams squaring off and Allin selling in the corner. The last entrant in the blue ring (which was much more crowded) was Jake Hager.  

During the split-screen break, Hager, Cage, and Big Bill had a hoss fight in the center of the blue ring while Jarrett watched in the corner. Komader helped Bill eliminate Hager. Hager and BIll then double-teamed Komander and dumped him. Meanwhile, in the red ring, the four heels quadrupled teamed Allin.

After the break, all four of the heels had Allin above their heads, but he escaped. The Gates of Angoy and the JAS started to fight with each other, and the Gates eliminated Menard and Parker. Meanwhile in the Blue Ring, Hardy eliminated Jarrett. Hardy was triple-teamed by Bill, Cage and Strickland and eliminated by a clothesline from Big Bill. Bill tried to chokeslam Nick Wayne over the top, but Wayne countered with a guillotine and tried to pull Bill out from the apron. Strickland pushed Bill out of the ring, and Cage (Bill’s partner from The Blind Eliminator tag tournament) was not happy about it. Big Bill looked tremendously strong up to his elimination. Strickland and Cage started to argue, and Wayne jumped into the other ring to help Allin eliminate Kuan.

Wayne hopped back into the blue ring and eliminated Cage. This left Wayne and Strickland in the blue ring, but Strickland quickly dumped Wayne, and Allin dumped Linoa.

This left Swerve Strickland and Darby Allin as the final two to finish the match in the red ring. Swerve charged at Allin, who backdropped him over the top. Allin couldn’t knock him to the floor, and Prince Nana ran in and hit Allin with a skateboard. Swerve power bombed Allin onto the wheels of the skateboard, but Allin hung on when Strickland dumped him over the top. Allin was out on the apron. Swerve came off the top rope with a stomp, but Allin blocked it. Swerve tried for a suplex, but Allin escaped back into the ring, then ran the ropes and hit his high-speed tope through the middle ropes. Allin and Strickland both crashed to the floor, but since Allin went through the MIDDLE ROPE, he was victorious. Very good battle royal but I loved the clever finish. 

The Acclaimed & Bill Gunn defeated QT Marshall, Aaron Solo & Johnny TV (w/ Harley Cameron)

Max Caster took advantage of the lateness of the hour when he made his rap, with most of the insults directed at Cameron. Then Caster handed his chain to a kid at ringside, which is a great babyface move.

Marshall’s back was taped up from the Ambulance Match he had at TripleMania last weekend. The Acclaimed triple-teamed Marshall and Gunn clotheslined him to the floor. Then they scissored in the ring.

During the split-screen break, the heels got the heat on Caster, but after the commercial, he got the hot tag to Gunn. 59-year-old Billy Gunn cleaned house on QTV, and even though it’s just QTV I still don’t think a guy this old should get that much shine on them. Bowens came and wore out Marshall with forearms and elbows, and then hit a superkick on Solo. QTV triple-teamed Billy Gunn and got a near fall after a top rope stomp from Solo. The QTV crew tried to set up Scissor Me Timbers on Gunn, but the Acclaimed made the save. Gunn hit a corba clutch slam on Solo, and the Acclaimed finished Solo with the Arrival/Mic Drop combo. Billy Gunn then got the pin. 

New for Collision tomorrow: Ricky Starks celebrates his Owen Hart tournament win.  Skye Blue takes on Taya Valkyrie.  Action Andretti and Darius Martin will take on Juice Robinson and Jay White… does this show have a main event yet? Also, we’ll hear from CM Punk and FTR (in a separate segment), and CM Punk is looking for a fight. 

Kris Statlander defeated Markina Shafir (w/ Nyla Rose) to retain the TBS Championship (5:02 aired).

Announced for Dynamite during this match is PAC v. Gravity. But I thought PAC was the man that Gravity forgot? Also an Adam Cole & MJF segment, and Darby Allin v. Swerve Strickland.

Statlander is 7-0 since her return and on a 13-match winning streak overall (I guess going back before her injury). Excalibur did a read for the red cross blood drive during this match, which was way less ironic than when he did it during Blood & Guts on Wednesday.

Shafir got the advantage on the mat with Statlander and worked her over with kicks. Statlander got sick of this, caught one of the kicks, and pulled Shafir up into an electric chair before dropping her face first to the mat. A big vertical suplex got Statlander a near fall that the replay crew liked so much that they showed it three times.

Statlander went for her finish, the Friday Night Fever, but Shafir escaped and transitioned into a standing figure-four. Statlander escaped, hit a discus lariat, and hit the Friday Night Fever on the second try to get the pinfall. 

Final Thoughts: 

The two-ring battle royal made for one of the better Rampage shows of the year. Big Bill got a lot of shine, the finish was clever, and there was hardly any laying around during the match. The rest of the show wasn’t great, but the battle royal more than made up for it. 

WWE SmackDown live results: Roman Reigns & Jey Uso outline Rules of Engagement

Posted on by Colin McGuire

After an explosive Tribal Court two weeks ago, Roman Reigns returns to WWE SmackDown tonight from Orlando, Florida’s Amway Arena. 

This week’s program will air on FS1 in its normal time slot instead of Fox due to the women’s World Cup.

Reigns is set to discuss his Rules of Engagement with former Bloodline member Jey Uso whose brother Jimmy was injured by Reigns and Solo Sikoa two weeks ago. Reigns vs. Jey for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship should be made official for SummerSlam tonight.

The second of two United States Championship Invitational matches will take place with this one featuring Rey Mysterio vs. Sheamus vs. Cameron Grimes vs. LA Knight. Tonight’s winner will face Santos Escobar, winner of the first-such match last week, next week for a future shot at the United States title.

We now know that Asuka will defend her WWE Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair and Bianca Belair in a triple threat match at SummerSlam. Tonight, Charlotte is taking on Ms. Money in the Bank IYO SKY.

Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

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– The show opened with a video recapping the Jey Uso/Paul Heyman/Solo Sikoa developments from last week. After the video, footage of Roman Reigns entering the building backstage was shown. 

Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated LA Knight, Cameron Grimes & Sheamus [18:37]

This was a fun opening match. The guys worked hard and man, for the 492nd week in a row, it’s worth noting how over LA Knight is with these live crowds. But back to the match. The top rope spots felt predictable and formulaic after a while because the wrestlers seemed to go back to them every three minutes. That first one, whatever it was, looked like a mess going into that first commercial break, but everyone seemed to escape it unscathed. Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing how they play Escobar vs. Mysterio next week. It should be interesting.

LA Knight cut a promo on the way to the ring during his entrance. The four brawled to open the match. Knight stood tall quickly as the other three were sent to the outside. The show then cut to commercial. When the show returned, Sheamus had the upper hand and was working over Knight. Mysterio and Grimes worked on the outside. Cheamus chopped the hell out of Knight and lifted Knight and hit a rolling Senton. Sheamus sent Knight to the apron and Grimes rolled up Sheamus for a one count. 

Grimes and Knight wound up on the outside, but as they got onto the apron, Sheamus cut them off and Mysterio and Sheamus hit 10 Bells on Grimes and Knight respectively. Sheamus and Mysterio shook hands and Rey went for a 619, but Sheamus cut Mysterio off with an Irish Curse backbreaker. Sheamus lifted Mysterio, but Grimes came off the top to take both out. Grimes hit a series of kicks on both Sheamus and Mysterio. Grimes slammed Mysterio and went for a cover, but Sheamus broke it up. Sheamus clotheslined Grimes and hit an Irish Curse on Grimes. Knight was thrown outside and he fought with Sheamus, who was dropped on the apron. 

Mysterio went to the top, but Knight cut him off. There was an awkward spot between all four guys where they all came off the top and landed on Grimes. The show went to another break after that. Once the show returned, Mysterio and Grimes were in the ring and that changed when they two fought to the outside. Mysterio tried to throw Grimes into Austin Theory, who was at ringside, but Theory moved. Sheamus came off the top to take out Grimes and Mysterio. Back in the ring, Sheamus went to the top and landed a clothesline on Knight. Sheamus hit White Noise on Knight for a two-count. 

Sheamus played to the crowd and went to kick Knight, but Knight caught him, slammed him, and got a two-count out of it. Sheamus hit a running knee on Grimes and Knight followed that up with a slam, but Mysterio broke up a pin attempt. Mysterio went to the top, but Grimes cut him off. Sheamus joined the fun and lifted Grimes on his shoulders. Mysterio came off the top and set Sheamus and Grimes up for a 619. Mysterio covered Grimes, but Theory broke up the pin because of the no DQ clause. Santos Escobar ran to ringside and brawled with Theory into the crowd. Knight was left in the ring with Grimes. The Mysterio and Grimes returned to the ring and after everyone traded signature moves, Mysterio hit a hurricanrana on Grimes for the win. 

**********

– Austin Theory was shown walking backstage. Austin ran into Adam Pearce and demanded a match against Santos Escobar tonight. Pearce made the match, though it was set as a non-title match. 

– A video recapping the Cody/Brock stuff from Raw aired. 

Charlotte defeated IYO SKY [14:08]

Wow, this one was weird. A lot of clunky spots and frankly, I expected better from both women. They picked things up as the match worked its way into the next gear, but the crowd felt flat through all of it. The near-falls should have felt more intense and the false finishes toward the end never quite clicked. I’m happy to see WWE devote nearly 15 minutes to a women’s match on SmackDown – and these two were pretty much the right women to do it with – but this felt off from the jump, which ultimately left a disappointing taste in my mouth.

The two locked up to begin the match. The two did their own version of cartwheels and flips. SKY fired up, but Charlotte cut her off and came off the top for a cross-body. Charlotte lifted SKY, but SKY worked out of it and landed a dropkick to Charlotte’s leg. SKY hit a shotgun dropkick for a two-count. The action spilled outside as the show went to another commercial break. 

Back to break, Charlotte was jawing at Bayley, who was sitting in on commentary. Back in the ring, Charlotte went for a knee, but SKY moved and landed a running double-knees for a two-count. SKY worked a chin-lock. Charlotte worked out of it with a back-drop. Charlotte hit a fallaway slam and fired up. Charlotte landed a clothesline for a two-count. The two went to the top and Bayley got up from commentary to distract Charlotte. As a result, SKY landed a power-bomb for a two-count. A shotzi video showed up on the tron and Bayley looked concerned. Bayley walked away from ringside and in the meantime, SKY went to the top, but Charlotte pulled SKY off. SKY tried again, but missed a moonsault. 

Charlotte went to the top and tried a moonsault of her own, but SKY got her foot up. The two traded roll-up attempts to no avail. SKY went back to the top and missed a missile dropkick. Charlotte, as a result, worked a Boston Crab. SKY countered into a roll-up for a two-count. Sky pounded on Charlotte, but then Charlotte landed a spear for a good near-fall. Charlotte went for a German Suplex, but SKY rolled through and hit a double-stomp on Charlotte. The two made their way to the top rope. After trading roll-up attempts again, Charlotte hit Natural Selection for the win. Immediately after the bell rang, Asuka ran in and attacked Charlotte. 

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– Dominik Mysterio was interviewed backstage. While he was talking, Butch interrupted him and challenged Dom for the title tonight. Shawn Michaels showed up and made the match official. 

– Bayley and SKY were shown backstage and Bayley’s suitcase had a picture of Bayley stabbed through the front with scissors. Bayley told IYO they had to leave immediately.

Santos Escobar defeated Austin Theory [10:39]

From the second that Theory insisted this would be a non-title match, you had to know how this thing would end up. Good for Escobar, though, getting a high-profile win, which doesn’t happen often for him. Theory’s matches just aren’t ever that good. That isn’t meant with any mean intentions, but man. There’s just something about his work that feels like trying to start a fire with a piece of wet cardboard. So, as far as Theory matches go, this one was fine enough. Nothing memorable. But nothing offensively bad. 

Escobar had control early and landed a dropkick. Theory fought back and hit a suplex for a one-count. Theory landed a DDT for a two-count. Escobar fired up and hit a series of strikes on Theory. Escobar clotheslined Theory over the top rope. Theory called for a timeout on the outside as the show went to break. When the show returned, Theory hit a backbreaker for a two-count. Theory went to the apron and went for a suplex, but Escobar countered with an enziguri. Escobar hit a tope suicida onto Theory, who fell onto the commentary table. 

Back in the ring, Escobar hit a series of elbows. Escobar went to the top and landed a cross-body for a two-count. Escobar lifted Theory, but Theory got out of it by hitting Escobar’s knee. Theory landed a modified brainbuster on Escobar for a two-count. Theory went for A-Town Down, but Escobar fought back with a boot to the face. Theory went to the top and Escobar responded by hitting a hurricanrana from the top. Escobar then landed the Phantom Driver for the win.

**********

– Bobby Lashley was shown backstage, where Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams approached him … but the show cut away and back to the ring for Dominik Mysterio’s entrance. 

Dominik Mysterio defeated Butch [7:53]

This was just kind of there. It wouldn’t have made much sense to put the NXT North American title on Dom, just to have him lose it to a non-NXT wrestler three days later, so there’s that. Still, nobody can argue how much Dominik is over as a heel and the Dom/Ripley act sure does get people going. That says nothing of Dom’s in-ring ability which is far from notable, but this is sports entertainment, remember. The wrestling itself, in a lot of ways, is secondary. So, while it’s not like anyone should have expected a five-star match, the bout worked for what it was. 

The two locked up to start the match. Butch did the finger spot early in the match.  Butch stomped on Dominik’s shoulder and took Dominik to the ground again before sinking in an arm-bar. Dominik made it to the ropes for a break and Rhea Ripley gave Dominik a chain. Ridge Holland ran down to take the chain away from Dominik and the show went to a commercial. When the show returned, Dominik had the advantage and worked a chin-lock. Pretty Deadly made their way to the ring with Elton Prince in a wheelchair. 

Dominik toyed with Butch, which made Butch mad and Butch hit a series of kicks to Dominik’s head. Butch landed a right hand and a running kick. Dominik set up for a 619, but Butch countered. Kit Wilson hit Holland on the outside and Butch went to the outside of the ring to even the odds. Wilson ran to the back and left Holland and Butch alone with Prince, who also ran to the back. With Butch on the apron, Rhea hit a chop-block and Dominik ran Butch into the ring pole, which was enough to get him the win. 

**********

– For next week, Michael Cole announced that Karl Anderson will face off against Karrion Kross. Rey Mysterio will go up against Santos Escobar for a shot at the U.S. title. 

The Roman Reigns/Jey Uso segment

Roman asked Orlando to acknowledge him and the crowd obliged. Roman sat in a chair and smiled. Jey sat in another chair, looking away from him. Roman asked Jey if he still wanted to do it. Jey said he still wants to do it. Jey said Roman is making him do this. Jey said he has to get Roman because Jimmy is in the hospital. Roman said Jey doesn’t get it. Roman called Jey a soldier, a pawn in the game. Roman signed a contract. Jey ripped up the contract. 

Jey said they already have a contract that’s in blood. Jey said it’s tribal combat now. Roman asked Jey if the elders knew about it and Jey said it was their idea. Jey said he wants to use a bunch of weapons on Roman. Roman told Jey to shut his mouth. Roman said he has run the business for almost a decade and set his title on the table in the ring. Roman said “Let’s go.” Jey reiterated that it’s tribal combat. Roman stood up. Roman and Jey put their heads together and shook hands. Roman went to leave the ring and Solo went for the spike on Jey, but Roman stopped him. Jey super-kicked Solo. Roman stared at Jey and left the ring. Jey and Roman stared at each other from afar. Michael Cole announced that Jey and Roman will face off at SummerSlam for the Undisputed Universal Championship.