Robbie Eagles vs. Master Wato headlined the show. Four-time BOSJ winner Hiromu Takahashi vs. two-time BOSJ winner KUSHIDA was the semi-main event.
BOSJ 30 night six 5/18 full results:
– B Block: Master Wato defeated Robbie Eagles
– A Block: Hiromu Takahashi defeated KUSHIDA via count out
– B Block: YOH defeated Francesco Akira
– A Block: Titan defeated Lio Rush
– B Block: El Desperado defeated Clark Connors
– A Block: SHO defeated Taiji Ishimori
– B Block: Kevin Knight defeated Dan Moloney
– A Block: TJP defeated Ryusuke Taguchi
– B Block: BUSHI defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru
– A Block: Mike Bailey defeated DOUKI
Kevin Kelly spent some time speaking about “Superstar” Billy Graham and the influence he had on wrestling during the show.
BUSHI finally got in the win column when he picked up a victory over Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a quick match. Ryusuke Taguchi, however, dropped to 0-6 after a loss to TJP.
The finish of Taiji Ishimori vs. SHO was interesting. EVIL, who was seconding SHO, tried throwing in the towel when SHO had Ishimori in a choke. It wasn’t clear if EVIL was trying to throw in the towel on behalf of Ishimori but in the confusion, SHO rolled up Ishimori for the win. EVIL and Ishimori then exchanged words after the match but all three eventually gave each other the Bullet Club Too Sweet hand signal.
After dropping his match to El Desperado, Clark Connors attacked several young lions at ringside. He then turned his attention back to Desperado but Desperado countered his attack and ended up hitting Connors with a chair.
YOH defeated Francesco Akira with a pinning combination in a match that only went about a minute and a half.
Hiromu Takahashi defeated KUSHIDA via count out. Both Takahashi and KUSHIDA were on the outside and had to rush back into the ring as the count got to 19. Takahashi made it and KUSHIDA didn’t.
Master Wato defeated Robbie Eagles in the main event with a German suplex. As a results, there is now a four way tie atop B Block with Eagles, Wato, YOH, and El Desperado are all at eight points.
Chris Jericho vs. Roderick Strong in a Falls Count Anywhere match headlines this week’s AEW Dynamite as the build to the Double or Nothing pay-per-view continues.
Jericho’s Jericho Appreciation Society and Strong’s ally Adam Cole are banned from the building during Strong vs. Jericho.
Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and Hikaru Shida will team against Ruby Soho and Toni Storm of The Outcasts. This was originally a six-woman tag also involving Saraya and Jamie Hayter, but it was announced earlier today that Hayter is not cleared to compete.
A week after turning on Kenny Omega, Don Callis will speak on Dynamite tonight.
Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin will tag against Big Bill and Lee Moriarty.
“Jungle Boy” Jack Perry faces Rush in singles competition.
Ricky Starks will take on “Switchblade” Jay White in another singles bout.
Sammy Guevara will be in action on the program.
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 the TNT Champion makes his entrance to loud Wardlow chants from the crowd.
Wardlow Confronts Christian Cage
Wardlow immediately called out Cage after his comments last week, daring Cage to spit in his face. Right on cue, Cage came to the ring with Luchasaurus as backup. After a face off, Cage said Wardlow’s time as TNT Champion is just about over and was about to spit in his face when the brawl began. The numbers were too much, as Cage hit a low blow while Luchasaurus pulled a ladder out from under the ring and chokeslammed Wardlow through it. Cage followed with a Killswitch onto the bent up ladder, making that look even more brutal, as Cage stood tall with the TNT Title over the body of Wardlow.
-Excalibur briefly recaps the actions of Don Callis last week against Kenny Omega and plugs how tonight we will hear from Callis.
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin defeated Lee Moriarty & Big Bill
(This turned into quite the fun opener, as Allin & Cassidy showed fun chemistry together, especially after teaming together on the house show loop. I enjoyed the finish and callback from Allin and the side headlock, since that has played part of his story with MJF.)
After each title defense Cassidy has made, it seems like more of his body is being taped up, as this week not only the taped right hand, but kinesio tape on the back as well. A fast back and forth of pin attempts from Cassidy & Moriarty led to both men tagging and Bill tossing Allin around like a rag doll. Bill wanted a test of strength, so Allin slapped him in the face as he & Cassidy connected on double dives on the floor. Cassidy tried a float over in the corner, but as he landed on the apron, Bill connected with a big boot to take control into commercial break.
Cassidy seemingly kneed his way out of a suplex and tagged Allin, but Moriarty had taken the ref and the tag was called off. Both Moriarty & Bill missed corner charges, as Allin made the hot tag and ran wild by throwing his body at both opponents. Allin tried a Code Red on Moriarty, which Bill nearly countered into a chokeslam, but Allin fought free to the ropes. Fending off Moriarty, Allin leapt right into the Boss Man Slam by Bill. Allin took out the legs of Bill, which allowed Cassidy to his a Satellite DDT. Moriarty jumped in and applied the Border City Stretch, but Cassidy escaped. Moriarty was set up in the corner, as Allin & Cassidy hit a double superplex, but as they got to their feet, were clocked by a Bill clothesline. An amazing Stundog Millionaire into a Code Red on Bill, as Moriarty was planted with Beach Break and a Coffin Drop. To send a message to MJF, Allin applied a side headlock on Moriarty and got the pin that way to play off their history.
-Alex Marvez tried to interview The Young Bucks back in the parking lot, giving a quick update on Kenny Omega, saying he’s hurt but he’ll be ok, when the Blackpool Combat Club surrounded them. Nick was slammed on the hood of a truck, while Matt’s bad arm was targeted. Jon Moxley said the BCC are the only Elite group around here, as they walked off with The Bucks left lying.
-Renee Paquette is trying to get a medical update on Wardlow from doctors when Arn Anderson walked up, furious, slapping an ice pack away from Wardlow, asking what he’s prepared to do? Wardlow said he’s willing to beat Christian Cage at his own game and challenges Cage to a TNT Title Ladder Match at Double or Nothing.
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-Renee Paquette is backstage with Orange Cassidy, asking him about Kyle Fletcher attacking him last week. Cassidy said whoever wants a shot at the International Title at Double or Nothing, go find Tony Khan, he’ll fight everyone.
Sammy Guevara defeated Exodus Prime
(Justin Roberts really emphasized Guevara being from Texas, as these past few weeks it’s been coming across like Guevara is a babyface, which is strange after all this time him being hated.)
Guevara hit a jumping knee and the GTH for the quick win. Guevara took the mic and talked about the old days in Texas saying everything he went through made him what he is today. Guevara talked about a few wrong turns taking him to the right place, which is Double or Nothing. Guevara listens to his heart, which tells him he’s going to be the new AEW World Champion.
-A history of the Four Pillars in AEW is shown as Excalibur goes over how MJF, Darby Allin, Jack Perry & Sammy Guevara are the present and future of AEW. This was a good, albeit quick video package showcasing the main event of Double or Nothing.
FTR Attempt To Get Their Revenge
Tony Schiavone is in the ring and introduces Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh & Sonjay Dutt to the ring. As they were making their entrance, Dutt showed off two guitars with FTR’s names on them. Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler ran out from the back and sent Singh off the stage through a table and attacked Jarrett, Dutt & Lethal. Wheeler got in chair shots on Jarrett, while Harwood stripped Lethal out of his suit. As FTR were about to hit a Shatter Machine on Jarrett, Karen Jarrett jumped in from behind, hit a low blow on Wheeler, as Jeff hit a Stroke on Harwood. Singh recovered, came to the ring and planted FTR with a double chokeslam. Lethal & Jeff hit simultaneous guitar shots on FTR who crumbled, while Dutt played a broken guitar, as Lethal & Jarrett held the Tag Team titles in the air.
-Renee Paquette is backstage with Darby Allin and references the headlock finish of his match earlier. Allin said it was a message to MJF when Sammy Guevara walked in and said he respects Allin. Guevara said he knows Allin doesn’t trust him, but says he won’t lay down for MJF, as all that matters at Double or Nothing is that MJF doesn’t walk away as AEW Champion. Allin said may the best man win and fist bumped Guevara.
Toni Storm & Ruby Soho (w/Saraya) defeated Dr. Britt Baker & Hikaru Shida
(The crowd was really behind Shida & Baker tonight, as this was Shida’s first match back since December on Elevation. I’m assuming they are saving the six woman tag originally scheduled for tonight for Double or Nothing, as this was yet again a case of the numbers game playing into The Outcasts favor with Jamie Hayter not there.)
Storm & Soho tried a fast start on Shida, who immediately turned the tables and suplexed both ladies onto each other in the corner. Storm was sent outside, as Shida connected with a missile dropkick on Soho. An enzugiri on Storm led to a tag to Baker, who clocked Storm with a ripcord elbow. Saraya tripped up Baker, which allowed Storm to hit a charging hip attack to the floor, as Saraya got in some more cheap shots.
Baker was isolated the entire picture in picture until she hit a charging neckbreaker into the double down. Shida & Soho made tags and slugged it out, which Shida won with right hands to everyone, even Saraya. Shida followed with a cross body to the floor on all The Outcasts. A question mark kick sent Storm to the floor, as Soho was planted with a Falcon Arrow. Shida hit a Meteora off the top on Soho, but Storm broke it up. Baker stacked Storm & Soho and hit a neckbreaker and DDT combo for a nice near fall. Soho was able to avoid Lockjaw into No Future, but as Storm made the tag, Baker connected with an Air Raid Crash. Saraya ran distraction yet again, this time allowing Storm to spray Baker in the eyes and hit Storm Zero to steal the win. Excalibur talked about Storm gaining her fourth win in five days in AEW.
-Renee Paquette is backstage yet again with Orange Cassidy, who informs Cassidy since they last talked earlier, 20 men went to Tony Khan’s office and answered the challenge. Cassidy said that’s a lot, so he makes it a 21 man Blackjack Battle Royal for the International Title at Double or Nothing. Cassidy offered Paquette a spot in the match, which she politely turned down.
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-Tony Khan is backstage and talked about today being one of the greatest days in the history of AEW. It was announced at the TNT Upfronts that the 2 hour AEW Collision will premiere Saturday June 17th. Collision will be a hot ticket with the premiere location being announced next week. However, June 24th will be in Toronto, June 29th in Hamilton, July 8th in Regina, July 15th in Calgary and finally July 22nd in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center.
Roderick Strong defeated Chris Jericho in a Falls Count Anywhere Match
(Well this definitely lived up to the Falls Count Anywhere stipulation, as Jericho & Strong fought all over the building and had some fun moments. It was really played off like Cole & Strong pulled one over on Jericho, outsmarting him and luring him outside the building. Credit to Excalibur, who had to deliver the unfortunate news of Superstar Billy Graham’s passing during this, I probably would’ve waited until after the match, but safe to say that wasn’t Excalibur’s call.)
Strong attacked with chops and charging forearms before Jericho could even get his jacket off, nearly mowing down referee Aubrey in the process. Jericho started up a chop battle, which wasn’t smart, as Strong hit a takedown slam. More chops by both men, as Strong was sent to the apron, as Strong avoided a springing Jericho into a slam on the apron. Back in the ring, Strong nearly got End of Heartache, but Jericho countered into the Walls of Jericho. Strong got a rope break, as both men fought into the crowd during commercial. Strong was able to slam Jericho ribs first on the railing, even getting a two count on the steps in the crowd.
Excalibur delivers the very unfortunate news of Superstar Billy Graham passing away during this match, which is a tough task to do, as Taz & Schiavone share condolences.
Strong & Jericho continue their brawl into the crowd, as Jericho slammed Strong through a table and both men fought into a stairwell fighting onto a ledge with Jericho charging and tackling Strong for two. Both spilled back into the sea of the crowd as Jericho had a chair, but Strong threw plastic cutlery and ice cream at Jericho’s face. Schiavone’s reaction to Mr. Softee was absolutely hysterical. Jericho dug into the trashcan to clean his face, which is very questionable if you ask me.
Strong is bleeding from the shoulder, as they went out of the arena where Adam Cole appeared behind Jericho right as they stepped foot out of the building. Cole lowered The Boom on Jericho while in a dirt pile, as Strong followed with a jumping knee for the victory. Excalibur talked about how this is just a measure of revenge for Cole, as this is far from over between Jericho & himself.
Jungle Boy Jack Perry defeated Rush (w/Jose the Assistant)
(This match was super hard hitting, as Rush beat the crap out of Perry for a majority of this one. There were some questionable moments however, with the random cup check and the referee just watching Jose get involved constantly. Regardless, the post match was a fun visual with three of the four pillars having a face off ahead of Double or Nothing.)
Rush wasted no time attacking Perry at the bell on the outside. Jose pulled a cable chord from under the ring, as Rush continuously slammed Perry head first against the barricade. This attack led to Perry being busted open, as Perry never even got out of the gate before they went to picture in picture. Perry tried to fight back with his comeback lariat, but Rush had it scouted. Perry fired off a chop, as Rush literally just grabbed the crotch of Perry, which Excalibur said was a cup check. I have zero clue what the heck that was, as the ref just stood there. Perry & Rush fought up on the second rope and continued their chop battle until Perry threw headbutts and a hurricanrana.
Jose grabbed the leg of Perry, again in front of the referee, as Perry ducked a charging Rush and sank in the Snare Trap. Rush managed to make it to the ropes, as both men went to the apron, where Rush wiped Perry’s face from the blood and licked it, which was just gross. Perry charged, but Rush hit an overhead belly to belly to the floor with Perry came within inches of landing on his head. Perry tried fighting back in the ring, but was starched with another forearm. Rush shoved the ref away in the corner and Perry got a school boy flash pin with a handful of trunks.
Post match Preston Vance, Jose & Rush all attacked Perry until Darby Allin hit the ring, but he found himself choked out by the cable chord Jose brought out earlier. Sammy Guevara made the save, taking out Rush on the ramp, as Allin took out Jose with a Scorpion Death Drop. Vance was wiped out by Guevara and Allin, as all three challengers for the AEW Title are left in the ring staring each other down.
-Renee Paquette approaches MJF backstage after seeing what just happened, asking him how he’s feeling ahead of the AEW Title match at Double or Nothing. MJF slapped the microphone out of her hands and walked away.
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-We saw footage of Jamie Hayter being injured last month by Toni Storm, who was standing by with Renee Paquette backstage. Storm said she’s setting records in AEW with four wins in five days and says she’s an entirely different animal in AEW, challenging Jamie Hayter for a Women’s Title match at Double or Nothing.
Switchblade Jay White (w/Juice Robinson) defeated Ricky Starks via disqualification
(I was surprised this match was taking place on Dynamite instead of the PPV, but the finish certainly allows them to have a rematch on that show. This was a very good match while it lasted, as the crowd was into it from the start.)
White suckered Starks into a chase early on, driving him into the edge of the ring, but Starks fought back by sending White into the barricade. Back inside, White caught Starks with a Hot Shot and some violent chops to follow. To the floor again, Starks was able to battle back until White drove Starks face first onto the apron. There’s dueling chants from the crowd as White controlled during the break with Starks turning the tide when they returned.
Starks fired out of the corner with a lariat, Manhattan Drop, charging knee and back elbow. White charged right into a belly to belly suplex and Tornado DDT for two. It took Starks too long to follow up, as White leapt with a shoulder to the midsection and snap DDT. White draped Starks over the top rope and followed with a huge uranage for a nearfall of his own. White signaled for Blade Runner, but Starks elbowed free until White suplexed Starks over the top to the floor.
Back inside, Starks almost got a flash roll up for two, as he followed with a snap neck breaker. Starks hit a misdirect slam that nearly got three, as White floated over Roshambo. Another misdirect, as Robinson tripped up Starks long enough for White to try Blade Runner, but Starks got a roll up for two. White gouged the eyes of Starks, as the ref reprimanded him in the corner. Robinson jumped in with a chair, but Starks got control, sent Robinson to the floor, popped White in the midsection and the back, getting himself disqualified.
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Don Callis Addresses His Actions
Tony Schiavone is in the ring and introduces Don Callis, who makes his way to the ring with security lined up down the stage. The footage of Callis turning on Kenny Omega last week is shown on the video screen, as the crowd is booing Callis out of the building. Schiavone asks why, as Callis said instead of why he did what he did to Omega, he wants to talk of what Omega did to him. Callis is the victim in this scenario, as he ran down everything he has done for Omega. Without Don Callis, there is no Kenny Omega, as that line brought out Omega from the back, laying out all the security guards until the Blackpool Combat Club attacked from behind including a Paradigm Shift by Moxley on the stage.
The BCC jumped in the ring and said this was The Elite’s final warning to stay down. Omega struggled to his feet as The Young Bucks limped out with weapons in hand. The numbers evened up as Hangman Adam Page walked out to a massive ovation, as Omega handed him a barbed wire broom. The brawl was on, as The Elite took turns beating up Wheeler Yuta, as The Bucks hit a BTE Trigger and Page with a Buckshot Lariat. Page stood next to The Bucks & Omega and said they are the heart of AEW, they are The Elite. Page said at Double or Nothing, it’ll be The Blackpool Combat Club vs. The Elite in Anarchy in the Arena. This was an incredible ending to Dynamite, as the crowd was on fire from even the moment Callis walked out.
AEW Rampage 5/19/23
· Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta take on Best Friends & Bandido
· We hear from The Hardys
· The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass takes on The Varsity Athletes & Ari Daivari
· Jade Cargill Open Challenge for the TBS Title
· Bishop Kaun battles Dustin Rhodes
AEW Dynamite 5/24/23
· The Lucha Bros defend the ROH Tag Team Titles against Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta
The first round of the NXT Women’s Championship tournament concludes with tonight with the last two quarterfinals matches.
Roxanne Perez vs. Jacy Jayne and Cora Jade vs. Fallon Henley are tournament bout on the card tonight. The winners will earn their spots in the semifinals of the tournament.
The winner of Perez vs. Jayne will take on Tiffany Stratton in the next round of the tournament. Lyra Valkyria will be waiting to face either Jade or Henley in the semifinals. The tournament will culminate with a new Women’s Champion being crowned at NXT Battleground on Sunday, May 28.
Noam Dar’s Supernova Sessions talk show comes stateside as Dragon Lee appears as tonight’s guest. The segment should continue the build to a Dar vs. Lee match for the Heritage Cup Championship.
A tag team match between The Creed Brothers and The Dyad has been announced for tonight as well. Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
Opening the show is a match in the ongoing women’s tournament. Kicking off the show is the first of two quarterfinal matches in the tournament.
Cora Jade defeated Fallon Henley to advance in the NXT Women’s Championship tournament
Jade pinned Henley, and Jade now advances to a semifinal match next week against Lyra Valkyria. There were inset promos before the match like an old episode of Superstars.
Things started fairly even, but Jade soon targets a knee. Jade works the leg, and Jade works over Henley. Jade also applies a leglock, but Henley escapes as she fights back.
Henley makes a comeback and has a rally. She continues to sell her leg, but she is still able to counter Jade’s DDT finisher. Henley delivers a shining wizard, but she unable to make a cover. Jade rolls outside, and Henley is unable to stop her due to her wounded leg.
Jade is then able to orchestrate one of the oldest heel tricks in the leg. Rolling outside was part of the ploy. She easily beats Henley back into the ring, and Jade waylays Henley with a chop block as she is coming through the ropes. Jade executes a Cactus Jack DDT, and she covers Henley for a pinfall.
Lyra Valkyria appears at ringside after the match, and she has a staredown with Jade. They meet next week in the semifinals of the women’s tournament.
Much of the NXT women’s roster and others are watching the show on a monitor, and a skit unfolds that sets up a match later tonight between Kiana James and Thea Hail. James insults Hail, and Hail vows to kick her “prissy ass” in a match tonight.
Tyler Bate and NXT North American Champion Wes Lee are meditating in smog-filled locker room. They are ambushed by Joe Gacy and Ava. Bate and Lee are laid out as part of a message directed at Lee.
NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are heading to the ring for a promo, only to find themselves in a quick skirmish that sets up a tag match for later on. Hayes is sporting Kinesio tape on his ribs, selling a spear last week from Bron Breakker.
Hayes calls out Breakker, but instead out comes Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey. For some reason they have beef with Hayes and Williams. Gulak and Dempsey attempt to ambush Hayes and Williams. They were ready, as Hayes and Williams clear the ring of the smarmy heels. This all sets up a tag match for later tonight.
The Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus Creed with Ivy Nile) defeated The Dyad (Jagger Reid & Rip Fowler with Ava)
Julius Creed pinned Rip Fowler to win an greatly exciting tag match. Ivy Nile and Ava got involved just before the finish.
The Creeds added a new feat of strength spot to their repertoire where they traded Fowler several times while holding him upside down in a delayed vertical suplex.
The Dyad will not be outdone, as they use teamwork and some underhanded tactics to gain an advantage on Julius. He powers out to fight back as the show cuts to a split-screen commercial break.
Heat on Juius as the show returns from the break, as The Dyad work him over. Hot tag to Brutus, and he wrecks shop. Brutus is a brute, and he pulls down the straps as he lets out a primal yell. He gets a near fall, but Brutus is soon cut off. He saves himself with a great spot where Brutus has Reid rolled up, while Brutus simultaneously giving Fowler a Northern Lights suplex.
Double down when Brutus and Reid hit each other with lariats, and the live studio audience chants “NXT.” Julius and Reid try to top the other as both at the same time execute stereo 2 Cold Scorpio 450s. Quite a sight.
The match really heats up down the home stretch. Fowler is outside the ring selling on the floor when grabs Ivy Nile’s leg. Fowler apologizes and backpedals. He begs off, but it was a ploy for Ava and her sneak attack on Nile. Nile counters Ava, and Nile traps her in Nile’s version of a Dragon sleeper. Meanwhile, Brutus leaps off the apron into a cannonball on Fowler. In the ring is Julius and Reid. Julius hits a sliding lariat, and he then covers Reid for a three count.
After a commercial break, the Creeds come to the announce desk. They issue a challenge to Gallus for a tag team title match at NXT Battleground.
A skit from “yesterday” shows Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo eating an an Italian restaurant. Stacks leaves the table to take a phone call. In walks two member of law enforcement, and they Tony D to the police station for questioning. Stacks returns from his phone call, and he acts perplexed over Tony D being taken away by the police.
Supernova Sessions sets up two matches
Noam Dar, along as always by his Heritage Cup trophy, is the host for a Supernova Sessions talk show. Dragon Lee is the guest, and Dar insults Dragon Lee right from the start. Dar gets out a Spanish book looking to communicate Dar, assuming Dragon Lee cannot speak English. Dragon Lee is quick to correct Dar, showing him that Lee speaks English just fine.
They banter back-and-forth. Dragon Lee wants a match against Dar for the trophy. Out comes Nathan Frazier, and wants to call out Dar as a fraud. Frazier also wants Dragon Lee to get a shot at the trophy. Dar is finally goaded into two matches. Dar puts the trophy on the line in a match against Dragon Lee at Battleground. Dar faces Frazier in a match next week in a match where the trophy is not on the line.
Dijak has kidnapped Ilja Dragunov, and Dijak is torturing him.
NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams defeated Charlie Dempsey & Drew Gulak
Hayes pinned Dempsey to win the match. At the finish, Williams delivers a pump kick on Dempsey, and Hayes tags in. Hayes leaps off the top rope to deliver a guillotine legdrop. Good match.
After the match, Hayes again calls out Bron Breakker. He is apparently not in the building, as Breakker interrupts with a message that plays on the Titantron. Breakker is at the barber shop that Hayes is known to frequent. Breakker leaves after making everyone nervous.
Thea Hail is pumped up for her match tonight, and she exictedly tells Duke Hudson they are ready to go to the ring. Hudson had forgotten he gave Hail permission to be in a match tonight. A distracted Hudson has been grading papers, but he heads to the ring anyway.
Kiana James defeated Thea Hail (with Duke Hudson)
James pinned Hail, no thanks to a distracted Hudson. Hudson is grading paper at ringside in Hail’s corner, and he barely pays attention to Hail’s match. She fights from underneath to rally. Hail makes a comeback, but Hudson is too busy to watch.
Hail with a high cross for a near fall. James counters Hail and cuts her off. James then executes her 401k finisher, and James covers Hail for a three count.
A backstage skit sets up Tank Ledger vs. Hank Walker for next week. They encounter Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen, and that inspires Tank to convince Hank they need to face each other in a “hoss fight.”
McKenzie Mitchell is a roving reporter in the training room. Tyler Bate is having his arm wrapped in the aftermath of suffering a sneak attack earlier tonight. Wes Lee is at his side, and Lee tells Mitchell he normally enjoys interviews with her. However, tonight is different. Lee storms off, headed to the ring to call out Joe Gacy.
Dabbo-Kato is the focus of a vignette.
An angry North American Champion Wes Lee storms to the ring, and he calls out Joe Gacy. Bate is seen watching on from the trainer’s room. He gives a wink and nod to the trainer as he brings him some ice. Foreshadowing, perhaps?
Gacy, flanked by Ava, appear on a perch overlooking the ring. They cuts promos on Lee, which leads to Gacy challenging Lee to a title match at Battleground. Gacy and Ava also warn that Bate is deceiving Lee.
Out comes Bate with his arm bandaged, and he cuts a promo on Gacy. Bate says he has a receipt waiting for Gacy. Lee takes that to mean Bate also wants a match against Gacy at Battleground. Bate corrects Lee, before saying that he and Lee are friends. But, Bate admits he wants a title shot as well. Bate insists he would never let the title come between their friendship, as Ava and Gacy chirp at them from above.
This all sets up a triple threat match at Battleground, which was Lee’s idea. Lee looks at Bate before leaving and says, “Thought I could trust you, brother.”
Roxanne Perez in a vignette is admiring her journey board, and she looks forward to what filling her next journey board.
Roxanne Perez defeated Jacy Jayne to advance in the NXT Women’s Championship tournament
Perez pinned Jayne after Pop Rocks. In winning the match, Perez now advances to the semifinals against Tiffany Stratton.
The quarterfinal match goes through a commercial break. Jayne works over Perez, but Perez eventually counters Jayne to execute Pop Rocks. Good enough match.
Gigi Dolan runs in after the match to attack Jayne. Dolan and Jayne brawl at ringside before being separated.
Dijak still has Ilja Dragunov kidnapped, but Dragunov is defiant despite being bloody and beaten.
Out comes Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams to again call out Bron Breakker. The show cuts to commercial as Hayes and Williams are waiting in the ring.
After a commercial break, Breakker comes out with a security detail. Breakker says the security is there to protect Hayes and Williams from Breakker himself. There is some banter back-and-forth. Breakker insults Hayes’s hometown sports teams.
Hayes cannot stand to hear any more, so Hayes does a flip dive onto the security detail. Breakker and Hayes brawl their way into the ring. Security tries to separate them to no avail. Breakker hits Hayes with a cheap shot, but Hayes counters by hitting Breakker with a low blow. Hayes then lays out Breakker with a belt shot, as Hayes hits Breakker with the championship belt. They are both down in the ring selling as the show goes off the air.
Date: May 15, 2023 Location: Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC
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Show Recap —
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn entered to a big reaction. Zayn spoke about their upcoming tag team title defence against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa at Night of Champions. Zayn said this match was actually a gift because it gives them a chance at revenge against Reigns. Zayn said Owens should have beaten Reigns at the Royal Rumble and Zayn should have been him in Montreal.
Zayn said Reigns has cheated his way to the top, has gone unchecked for too long and he was now pushing things too far. Reigns has pushed the Usos too far and even his title reign. Being champion for as long as he has wasn’t enough and now he wanted to tag the tag titles. Zayn got fired up, called Reigns a psycho and said Reigns can never have the tag titles.
Judgment Day interrupted. Owens was actually glad to see them because he was sick of talking about the Bloodline. Owens invited them in to fight before they could even say anything. Zayn got him to calm down and said they didn’t have an issue with Judgment Day. Zayn wanted to hear them out and asked the gentlemen — and Dominik Mysterio — to speak.
Damian Priest said he would love to fight and Owens responded, “I told you!” Finn Bálor and Priest said Owens and Zayn were back where they started — getting beat up by Reigns. Bálor said the line started with them and Rhea Ripley, who was cheered, said they run Raw.
Zayn wanted to hear from Dom but the crowd was booing too loudly. Owens said this was pointless and asked if he could finally punch Dom. Zayn said yes but Ripley got in Owens’ way. Priest and Bálor decked Owens so Zayn chased them off with a chair.
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Owens and Zayn will have a non-title match against Bálor and Priest tonight.
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated The Miz (10:00)
Miz took control before a break but Nakamura was back on offence when they returned. Miz fought out of an armbar and hit a DDT for a nearfall. Miz used It Kicks but Nakamura ducked the last one and hit an enziguri for two. Nakamura blocked a Skull Crushing Finale for a second time and hit a sliding German suplex.
Miz held on to the ring skirt and as the referee went to fix it, Miz poked Nakamura in the eye. Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale but Nakamura’s leg fell on the rope to break up the cover.
Nakamura followed with a Kinshasa for the pinfall win. The crowd liked Nakamura.
********
Adam Pearce informed Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green that their tag title match wasn’t happening tonight because Liv Morgan was injured. Deville and Green whined until Raquel Rodriguez challenged Green to a match which Pearce made official. Green screamed at Rodriguez as Deville pulled her out of the room. Rodriguez told “Karen” she’d see her in the ring.
Imperium were shown walking through the back and Akira Tozawa did a 180 and walked the opposite direction upon seeing them.
********
Seth Rollins sit-down interview part 1
Corey Graves sat down with Rollins for an interview and they went all the way back to Rollins being crowned the first NXT Champion in 2012 (which included a clip of Dusty Rhodes raising his hand in victory). Rollins said change was needed in the business back then and he had the vision. Becoming the first NXT champ allowed him to pave the way.
Graves moved on to Rollins’ debut with the Shield and asked why he turned on them. Rollins said they beat everyone there was to beat and if he wanted to reach his ultimate success, he had to take a risk.
More to come.
*******
Gunther entered with Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci. Kaiser introduced Gunther to the crowd as Gunther stood on the announce table. Gunther said he dominated Smackdown as the undefeated and longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of the modern era. He planned on continuing his mission on Raw but a challenger has yet to be determined — or earn his respect. He announced the upcoming battle royal winner would be his next challenger at Night of Champions.
Ricochet and Bronson Reed entered ahead of a break.
Almost everyone else was in the ring after the break except Apollo Crews and Matt Riddle who got TV entrances. Riddle chucked his flip-flops at Gunther during his entrance and Imperium had to stop Gunther from going after him.
Mustafa Ali won a Battle Royal to become #1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship (12:35)
Baron Corbin immediately eliminated Tozawa, Dexter Lumis eliminated Corbin, Mace and Mansoor eliminated Lumis, and Chad Gable and Otis eliminated Mace. Johnny Gargano superkicked Mansoor out of the ring and Mace caught him but dropped him upon seeing Lumis. Lumis stalked Mace to the back. Maxxine Dupri seemed happy with Gable and Otis.
JD McDonagh eliminated Humberto Carrillo, Dolph Ziggler eliminated McDonagh with a superkick and Von Wagner eliminated Ziggler. McDonagh attacked Ziggler outside the ring and chucked him into the steps and officials had to stop him from doing worse. (Graves said McDonagh was tugging on Superman’s cape… in reference to Ziggler.)
This all happened in less than 4 minutes.
[SECOND HOUR]
After a break, the Viking Raiders eliminated Cedric Alexander, Xyon Quinn and Shelton Benjamin. Otis and Ivar collided mid-ring which led to an exchange between Gable and Erik. They fought on the apron until Otis drove Erik off for the elimination.
Ivar eliminated Gable so Otis went after him. As they battled by the ropes, Bronson Reed eliminated them both by himself, which looked impressive. Everyone else in the ring teamed up on Reed. Everyone traded moves moments later which included Crews bringing Reed down with a blockbuster. Crews eliminated Elias but Reed eliminated Crews.
Riddle brought down Reed with a floating bro before eliminating Riddick Moss and Gargano. Gunther ordered Imperium to go after Riddle so they tripped him on the apron which allowed Reed to eliminate him.
Ricochet and Ali teamed up but they couldn’t eliminate Reed. Ricochet tried eliminating Reed with dropkicks but Reed caught him as he stood on the apron. With Ricochet on Reed’s shoulders, Ali flew in with a missile dropkick and eliminated them both.
Ali wins and will face Gunther for the IC title at Night of Champions. Ali celebrated as fireworks went off. Gunther didn’t seem impressed. There was a decent pop for the surprise win.
********
Becky Lynch promo
Lynch said part of being ‘The Man’ was being able to admit you’ve been going through some stuff. We all go through struggles but we put a brave face on so we can try to be the people we want to be. Sometimes when we can’t do it on our own anymore, we ask for help so that’s what she did. She asked for help from Lita and Trish Stratus.
Lita was great and they won gold together. Stratus came back and hadn’t missed a beat but Lynch missed the snake in the grass. Lynch missed what everyone else saw coming a mile away. Stratus only came back to help herself like the backstabbing ego maniac that she was.
Lynch wanted to say, “Thank you, Trish” because she turned a light on in her that’s been missing for many, many months. When Stratus called her daughter stupid, she reminded her that the only thing that mattered in life was standing up for the people to matter and now Stratus gave her a target.
At one point, Stratus was number one but now Lynch was “it” in this business and doesn’t need a title to prove it. Lynch said she was “it” until she said otherwise. Lynch would show Stratus how thankful she was when she kicked Stratus’ head in at Night of Champions.
Lynch was really good here.
********
Ripley was shown watching Lynch’s promo in the back. Cathy Kelley approached and asked about Natalya saving Dana Brooke last week. Ripley warned Natalya to stay in her lane. Natalya interrupted and said she was trying to help Dana Brooke and basically tried reasoning with her.
Ripley didn’t buy it and thought Natalya was just trying to make herself relevant by getting involved with her. Ripley warned her that if she stuck her nose in her business, Natalya’s career wouldn’t be relevant, it would be over.
********
Ali bumped into Otis, Gable and Dupri backstage and he encouraged them to be positive like him. Ali continued on his way but bumped into Imperium.
Gunther congratulated Ali but felt regret for him because he was going to travel halfway around the world to suffer the biggest loss of his career and the beating that goes with it. Ali shook his hand before saying he would embarrass Gunther and take the IC title. This made Gunther smirk and Ali was happy that he was being positive.
*******
Dom mocked Xavier Woods on his way to the ring as the crowd loudly booed. Xavier Woods cut him off and said he was at least capable of fighting his own battles, unlike Dom who had to ask for Mami’s permission.
Woods tried to go after Dom outside the ring but Ripley got in his face which led to a break. Woods was all over Dom following the break and hit a rolling clothesline for two. Dom responded with the three amigos suplexes but Woods got his knees up on a frog splash attempt. Woods followed that was a gutbuster for two.
Woods set up for his springboard elbow drop but, like last week, Ripley pulled Dom from the ring. Woods hit Dom with a dive and got into a face-off with Ripley again. As Dom distracted the ref, Ripley hit Woods and rolled him back in the ring. Dom followed with a cradle for the win.
Dom was getting a ton of heat but this finish fell completely flat.
********
There was a JD McDonagh video package.
Kelley approached McDonagh as he was leaving the arena and asked why he attacked Ziggler. McDonagh explained that Ziggler has done it all in this business and he was about to learn what everyone else on the roster would learn soon — never bet against an ace.
Veer and Sanga beat two guys and it was exactly what you’d expect.
Mahal grabbed a headset and said their story would be written in gold.
********
Imperium approached Owens and Zayn in the back. Gunther didn’t appreciate the disrespect they showed his men last week. Owens didn’t care and challenged them to a match next week. Zayn made sure to add that they’d find a partner. Gunther was pleased with this.
[THIRD HOUR]
Cody Rhodes promo
Rhodes entered to a very strong reaction. Rhodes said he was familiar with this arena because it was the first home of Starrcade. He said Brock Lesnar wouldn’t know that because he wasn’t here tonight.
Rhodes told the story of the scorpion and the frog. The scorpion stung the frog because it was in its nature and it was in Lesnar’s nature to hunt. Rhodes knew that was his nature but also asked the hunter: “How’s your face?”
Rhodes said Lesnar sees a black eye and staples when he looks in the mirror. When Rhodes looks in the mirror, he sees the guy who put them there and the guy who beat the biggest bully on the roster.
Rhodes said Lesnar was on top for so long because he was better than 99.99% of people on the roster but at Backlash, he was not better than Rhodes. Lesnar thought Rhodes’ win was cheap but Rhodes beat him with a wrestling hold in a wrestling ring.
Rhodes said this was about who was the next big thing on Raw. Everyone was right when they called Lesnar the “next big thing” but now it was simply time for what was “next.” Lesnar should take his busted face and step aside because he was simply in Rhodes’ way.
(Rhodes signed a couple of autographs in the front row as the segment ended.)
********
Zoey Stark tried bragging to Nikki Cross (who she beat last week) but Cross didn’t appear to be listening. Stark called Cross a freak when Candice LeRae jumped in to confront her. LeRae challenged Stark to a match and she accepted (for next week).
Tag Team Champion Raquel Rodriguez defeated Chelsea Green (w/Sonya Deville) (3:44)
Green got some offence thanks to a distraction by Deville but Rodriguez came back with clotheslines, three fallaway slams, a twisting senton, and Tejana Bomb for the pinfall win.
— As Rodriguez posed on the stage, Ronda Rousey flew in out of nowhere with a kick. (This was a funny visual.) Rousey told Rodriguez she must defend her title with or without Liv Morgan or else she’ll receive this same beating every single week. Rousey held Rodriguez as Shayna Baszler laid her out with a boot.
********
Paul Heyman shook hands with Gunther backstage before making a call to Roman Reigns. (Heyman had a “visitor” sticker on his phone to explain why he’s allowed on Raw, I guess.)
Seth Rollins sit-down interview part 2
Graves ran down Rollins’ many accomplishments and asked why the current version of Rollins was the best one. Rollins said his hands were off the wheel and that was the fun part. There was a synergy between him and the fans and we were now getting the most authentic version of himself.
There was an organic relationship with the fans and for the first time in his career, he wasn’t the one forcing the change, the WWE universe has been the catalyst in the change in him.
Rollins said he should be the new champion because it was time for a change again. The person at the top didn’t want to take a risk with the title and they were all about protecting themselves rather than pushing the industry forward. It was time for a new champion.
Graves specifically about Reigns but part 3 comes next week.
*******
Next week on Raw:
Lesnar and Rhodes in the same building
Contract signing with Lynch and Stratus
Six-man tag: Gunter, Kaiser & Vinci vs. Owens, Zayn and a partner
There was a video package for Apollo Crews.
********
Finn Bálor & Damian Priest defeated Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn in a non-title match (20:58)
Owens and Zayn were in control so Bálor called for Dom and Ripley to join them at ringside.
Judgment Day were suddenly in control after a break but Zayn came back with a clothesline on Bálor. Both men tagged out and Owens stomped away at Priest. Owens hit Priest with a senton outside the ring and dropped both Bálor and Dom with clotheslines. Owens hit Priest with a cannonball for two.
Dom tripped Owens so the ref tossed both Dom and Ripley from ringside. As they were leaving, Xavier Woods ran out and attacked Dom (they went to the back).
Heyman showed up on stage and Priest was happy. Commercial break.
Judgment Day worked over Owens until Owens knocked Priest off the ropes and hit a senton bomb. Zayn tagged in and hit Bálor with clotheslines and a Michnoku Driver for two. Bálor came back with a slingblade but Zayn followed with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two.
Imperium appeared at ringside and the distraction allowed Bálor to use a rollup for two. Bálor hit a reverse DDT but Owens broke up the cover. Owens gave Priest a stunner and Bálor tossed Owens from the ring.
Zayn gave Bálor an exploder into the corner and hit Helluva Kick. Zayn had it won but Imperium distracted the ref. Owens shoved Gunther before Priest laid out Owens with a chokeslam. Zayn wiped out Priest with a dive.
Zayn set up for another Helluva Kick but Gunther held him by the leg as Kaiser and Vinci distracted the referee.
Bálor dropkicked Zayn into the corner and hit Coup de Grace for the pinfall win.
Heyman was pleased.
(As the show ended, Bálor intimated that they’d challenge Owens and Zayn following Night of Champions.)
Last week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, before Raw.
Emma defeated Roxanne Perez (6:10)
This was a good match that allowed Perez to show what she could do while giving Emma her first appearance on the show in over six years.
As she made her way to the ring, they gave the debutante Perez an inset promo. At just 21, she is really quite impressive. She referred to the fact that she is a former NXT Women’s Champion and that she would show everyone tonight why they call her “the prodigy.”
For Emma, this was her first outing on Main Event since 2017. Back then, she was facing the likes of Mickie James and was probably still doing her wacky dance on her way to the ring. She looked far more assured as she entered here in 2023.
After looking like it was going to be a friendly contest in the early going, Emma turned on Perez and shoved her to the floor. Perez was athletic and agile here, showing that she is a natural gymnast and does way more than just the fundamentals.
Emma took most of the match, working over Perez’s lower back. Eventually, Perez got some hope and fired up with a series of strikes and running European uppercuts. She went up to top, but Emma had it scouted and toppled her to the mat.
Emma used a new finisher here to get the win — the Widow’s Peak — previously used by Victoria. It looks a little ungainly to get her opponent locked in, but there’s no doubt it’s a dangerous looking move that could really get over.
Akira Tozawa defeated Nathan Frazer (8:52)
This was yet another good match on Main Event involving Tozawa who gave the impressive Frazer a platform to show what he can do.
They also gave Frazer an inset promo as he made his entrance. In previous weeks, this has only been used for the opener. He said we had to obey three words (Never. Slow. Down.”) and warned us that we shouldn’t blink or we might just miss it.
This was Frazer’s second Main Event appearance as last time out, he lost to Bronson Reed. That was more of an extended squash and thus, this was a much better way for him to showcase his in-ring style.
Tozawa practically feels like a trainer these days. Every week he puts over a different fresh face, bumping all over for them, never putting in a bad performance. If he’s happy in this spot, it’s ideal. But, he does deserve a run on the main roster at some point.
Before the break, they put on lots of intricate mat work and got the crowd’s appreciation for the technical skill on display. They built to a point where Frazer nailed Tozawa with a springboard dropkick off the apron before the ad break.
Frazer then locked in a cravat for a long period as Tozawa tried everything to work his way out of it. He then fired up with a German suplex, running leg lariat, and a top rope back elbow for a two count.
Tozawa kicked out of a Cross Rhodes before they went to the finish with Tozawa coming off the top rope for the senton to grab only his third win in 2023.
Final Thoughts:
Two really good matches made this episode very strong indeed. It goes without saying that Perez has a huge future ahead of her, but so does Frazer who could become a really accomplished in-ring performer. Credit yet again goes to Tozawa, who is such a safe pair of hands and never gives anything other than his best.
Tonight’s special Saturday edition of AEW Rampage will feature four matches and a promo by The Gunns.
After winning a recent trios battle royal, former AEW Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn will head into six-man action against The Butcher & The Blade and Kip Sabian.
Former AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm will face Allysin Kay who is making her return to an AEW ring for the first time since 2020’s Full Gear when she challenged then-NWA Women’s Champion Serena Deeb.
Ahead of his challenge of AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy Wednesday, Kyle Fletcher of Aussie Open will take on Action Andretti.
Swerve Strickland & Brian Cage of the Mogul Embassy will team up against John Silver & Alex Reynolds of Dark Order.
For the first time since they lost the AEW Tag Team titles to FTR, The Gunns (Austin & Colten) will be on hand to share some thoughts.
**********
Taped in Detroit, Michigan.
Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone & Excalibur were on commentary.
The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn defeated The Butcher & The Blade and Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford) (8:08)
In his rap, Max Caster compared his opponents to the crew that tried to kidnap the Michigan governor, and said the Butcher had the worst mustache since Vince McMahon.
Anthony Bowens started out with Sabian. The Blade got the tag and fell victim to the “Scissor Me Timbers” double-team. The Butcher got the tag, and dumped Bowens to the floor after Sabian caught him with a knee. On the floor, Blade threw Bowens into the barricade and Sabian hit an Arabian press.
Back in the ring, The Butcher worked over Bowens while the crowd chanted for Daddy Ass. The Butcher and Blade double-teamed Bowners into the split-screen break.
Sabian hit Bowens with a cannonball in the corner, and Butcher hit an inverted uranage/backbreaker for a near fall. The Blade dove into a back elbow from Bowens, who followed up with a superkick. Billy Gunn finally got the hot tag and the 59 year old Gunn took out all three of his opponents. Gunn hit the Butcher with a powerslam. Caster came in and hit a springboard dropkick on Blade. Gunn hit the Fameasser on Sabian for a near fall, but Blade broke up the pin.
Caster took out Blade with a superkick. Bowens hit the Arrival on Sabian, and Caster followed up with the Mic Drop to get a pinfall.
– The QTV crew’s new goal is to dig up dirt on the British people who will attend All In. Apparently if you live in England but weren’t born there, you’re “Brit-ish.” Harley Cameron interviewed Powerhouse Hobbs. Hobbs read from the Book of Hobbs and plans to add more to that story.
Toni Storm (w/ the Outcasts) defeated Allysin Kay (4:58)
Kay is from Detroit, and got the hometown pop. Kay started out strong, but Saraya tripped Kay up and Storm took her down by the hair to take advantage. Ruby Soho snuck in a cheap shot for good measure. Kay wound up on the floor and was double-teamed by Saraya and Soho. Storm dropped down to the floor and whipped Kay into the ring barricades and the ringpost.
Back in the ring, Kay came back with a neckbreaker and a clothesline for a near fall. Storm came back with a tornado DDT and went for a piledriver. Kay countered the piledriver attempt with a pinning combination, but Soho distracted the ref. Storm took down Kay with a german suplex, hit the running hip attack and the Storm Zero for a pinfall.
The Outcasts will take on Hikaru Shida, Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter on Dynamite Wednesday. Jack Perry vs. Rush and a Sammy Guevara match also announced.
The Gunns cut a promo backstage, but Ethan Page interrupted with an offer to talk.
Kyle Fletcher defeated Action Andretti (w/ Darius Martin) (8:18)
Crowd was solidly behind Fletcher, chanting “Oi! Oi! Oi!” After some solid back and forth action, Andretti caught Fletcher with a rana and a dropkick. Andretti hit a springboard tornio off the bottom rope for a near fall. Fletcher caught Andretti with a leg lariat to send him to the floor. Fletcher slammed Andretti on the floor during the split-screen break.
After the commercial, Andretti clotheslined Fletcher to the floor and followed him out with a plancha. Andretti missed a split-legged moonsault but landed on his feet. Fletcher caught him with a superkick, and running kick in the corner and a brainbuster for a nearfall. Andretti came back with a superplex off the top rope. Andretti hit a springboard 450 for a near fall. Andretti caught Fletcher with an enziguri, but Fletcher caught him with a leg lariat. Fletcher finished off Andretti with a spinning tombstone piledriver and got the pinfall.
– Tony Schiavone interviewed The Hardy Boys and Brother Zay (the former Isiah Kassidy). Jeff Hardy promised to win the AEW World Tag Team Titles in the Hardy Boys final run, and this brought out the Gunns. The Gunns asked for a six man against the Hardys and Brother Zay, with Ethan Page as their partner. Matt Hardy agreed, with the stipulation that if his team wins, he gets Ethan Page’s contract. “You gotta cut it out with this contract stuff, Matt.” “Last time, I promise.” The Gunns agree on behalf of Page.
Swerve Strickland & Brian Cage (w/ Prince Nana) defeated John Silver & Alex Reynolds (w/ Evil Uno) (10:49)
John Silver offered the new Mogul Affiliates membership in the Dark Order during a pre-match interview. They can even bring their hats! I don’t think they’ll be taking them up on that offer.
Reynolds and Strickland started the match, but soon tags were made to Cage and Silver. They engaged in a posedown, and Silver had the support of the crowd. Cage surprised Silver by matching his agility, catching his smaller oppoent offguard with a tijeras. Sivler surprised Cage by matching his power, dropping Cage with a powerslam.
During the split-screen break, Strickland and Cage worked over Silver. Silver reversed a suplex attempt from Cage and got the tag to Silver. Silver sent Cage to the floor with a boot and took Strickland down with a cravat. Silver hit a tiger driver and stuff piledriver on Strickland for a near fall. Reynolds set up a superplex, but Prince Nana broke it up. Silver and Reynolds hit their rapid double team on Strickland, but Cage broke up the pin. Cage went for the Drill Claw, but Silver countered with a small package. Cage dropped Reynolds with a pop-up powerbomb. Strickland and Cage hit a double-cutter for two.
Silver caught Cage with a kick to break up another Drill Claw attempt. Nana grabbed Silver’s foot again, allowing Strickland to nail Silver from behind. Cage hit Reynolds with the Drill Claw while at the same time, Strickland took Silver out with the JML Driver. Cage got the pinfall on Reynolds.
After the match, the Gates of Agony came from the back and double-teamed Evil Uno. The Mogul Affiliates overwhelmed the Dark Order until Keith Lee and Dustin Rhodes came out with a ton of plunder to chase them off.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC On ABC 4: Rozenstruik vs. Almeida, emanating from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Octagon is back in Charlotte and back on network television for an afternoon event, featuring a heavyweight main event and a solid card overall.
Heavyweights Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Jailton Almeida square off in the five-round headline bout. Rozenstruik, one of the big knockout artists in the division, is looking for his second straight win. Almeida, one of the biggest prospects in the sport, is looking to climb the rankings as he sports a 13-fight win streak.
In the co-main event, former light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith returns to action for the first time since July, looking to get back into the win column, as he battles Johnny Walker, winner of two straight fights.
Also on the main card: welterweights Daniel Rodriguez and Ian Garry battle, a light heavyweight bout between Carlos Ulberg and Ihor Potieria, and a welterweight clash of veterans pitting Tim Means against Alex Morono.
ESPN PRELIMS | 12 PM ET/9 AM PT
> Women’s Bantamweights- Jessica-Rose Clark (11-8 1 NC, 4-4 UFC) vs. Tainara Lisboa (5-2, 0-0 UFC)
They throw inside the pocket and Clark lands a leg kick. Lisboa lands a right hand. They trade combos in close range. Clark lands a solid combo with a big left hand. Clark lands a leg kick and Lisboa counters with a combo. They clinch after Lisboa lands and Clark pushes it against the fence as they trade knees. Clark working hard for the takedown against the fence. They’re battling against the fence. Lisboa is landing some knees as Clark is trying for the takedown, but Lisboa ends up getting the takedown. She’s working inside the half-guard of Clark. Lisboa with some left hands. 10-9 Lisboa.
Clark lands a big right hand. Lisboa lands a big combo and Clark is rocked. Clark drops for the takedown and pushes it against the fence. Lisboa lands to the body to defend. Lisboa lands a knee and left hand as they separate. Lisboa lands a left hand. Clark lands another big right hand. Lisboa lands a combo and Clark backs up. Lisboa with another big combo. She lands some more big punches. They’re clinched and both land but the referee separates them. Clark tries a late takedown. 10-9 Lisboa, 20-18 Lisboa.
Lisboa lands a body kick and Clark lands an elbow. They tie up and Clark gets a takedown. Lisboa lands an elbow and Clark is cut open. Lisboa with another elbow from the bottom. Clark lands an elbow from the top. Lisboa looking for an armbar. Clark escapes the position. Lisboa is also cut open. They scramble to their feet and Clark has the leg and looks for the takedown as they scramble down. Lisboa gets the back and has a rear-naked choke locked in and Clark taps! Big late finish from Lisboa to get the win.
Official Result- Tainara Lisboa def. Jessica-Rose Clark by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:20 of Round 3
> Welterweights*- Bryan Battle (8-2, 3-1 UFC) vs. Gabe Green (11-4, 2-2 UFC)
*Battle missed weight by two pounds
Green throwing punches and landing kicks right away. Battle then lands a right hand against the fence that drops Green and he was out cold as it is stopped. What a crazy sequence and what a finish from Battle!
Official Result- Bryan Battle def. Gabe Green by knockout (punch) at :14 of Round 1
> Women’s Flyweights- Ji Yeon Kim (9-6-2, 3-6 UFC) vs. Mandy Bohm (7-2 1 NC, 0-2 UFC)
Kim rocks Bohm right away with a right hand and looks to capitalize but didn’t see it and Bohm got a takedown. Bohm gets the back and looks for a rear-naked choke. It’s at a bad angle right now. Kim escapes and is now inside the guard of Bohm. Bohm was looking for a triangle choke but Kim escapes and lands. Kim now gets the back of Bohm. Kim is looking to lock in a rear-naked choke but doesn’t quite have the correct position. Bohm is able to circle and escape and is now on top. Bohm is in side control and lands a couple of elbows. Close round. 10-9 Kim.
They trade to start the second before clinching against the fence. Kim gets a takedown and is working inside the guard of Bohm but not a whole lot is happening. They get to their feet. Bohm lands a right hand but Kim counters with a right hand. Both are landing at a distance. Bohm scores a takedown. Kim is looking for a guillotine choke. Bohm makes it to the end of the round. 10-9 Kim, 20-18 Kim.
Kim gets a point taken away from her as she kicked Bohm in the chest several seconds after the horn ended for the second round. They clinch right away and pushes it against the fence. Kim grabs the back and Bohm is posting with her hand. Kim with some knees to the legs of Bohm. Kim lands a knee to the head as Bohm was a grounded opponent and we have a timeout. Bohm is saying she can’t continue. The fight is stopped as Bohm can’t continue and now we wait on the official word. Kim had another point taken away after the fight was stopped, so it looks like this goes to the scorecards. 9-8 Bohm, 28-27 Kim.
Official Result- Mandy Bohm def. Ji Yeon Kim by technical split decision at 1:55 of Round 3 (27-28, 28-27, 28-27)
> 140-pound Catchweights- Cody Stamann (21-5-1, 7-4-1 UFC) vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade (28-5 1 NC, 6-5 UFC)
Andrade lands a leg kick. He throws a body kick but Stamann blocks it. Andrade lands a body shot. Stamann looks for a takedown but Andrade easily avoids. Stamann is pressing forward but missing his punches and Andrade is continuing to land leg kicks. Stamann is able to score a takedown and Andrade lands an illegal upkick and we have a timeout. They get back to action and were supposed to be put back on the ground but are standing. They trade and Stamann lands a jab. Stamann lands a body kick. They trade big punches. Andrade lands a spinning back fist. Andrade lands to the body. 10-9 Andrade.
Stamann lands a combo to start the second. Andrade lands a body kick and Stamann lands a leg kick. Andrade lands a left hook. They’re trading and Stamann is looking for the takedown but Andrade is defending. Stamann lands a left hand. Silva lands a leg kick. Andrade lands a leg kick then a high kick. Stamann lands a right hand that stuns Andrade. Silva with a left hook to the body. Andrade lands a combo and a body kick. Stamann lands a combo. Stamann looks for a late takedown. 10-9 Andrade, 20-18 Andrade.
Andrade lands a jab then a body kick. Stamann lands a knee to the body. Stamann with a combo ending with a head kick. Stamann lands a jab. Andrade lands a left hook. Stamann lands a left hook and follows with a combo. Stamann rocks Andrade with a left hook and it looked like the fence kept Andrade from falling down. Stamann then drops him with another left hand and gets on top and starts landing. Stamann working in the half-guard. He moves back to Andrade’s full guard and lands a big elbow. They stand. Andrade looks gassed. Stamann lands a left hand. Andrade lands a combo and Stamann counters with a big right hand. They trade late. 10-9 Stamann, 29-28 Andrade.
Official Result- Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Cody Stamann by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
> Heavyweights- Karl Williams (8-1, 1-0 UFC) vs. Chase Sherman (16-11, 4-10 UFC)
They trade and Williams goes for a takedown but Sherman is able to defend. Sherman lands a left hook that Williams didn’t like. Williams gets a brief takedown. They stand and Sherman is able to cause a separation. They trade leg kicks. Sherman lands a combo then a leg kick. Williams lands a combo. Williams scores with a right hand. Williams lands a combo. Williams gets a big takedown. Sherman has a cut open and Williams was looking for a kimura. Williams landing punches from the top. Williams lands big punches as they get to their feet at the end. 10-9 Williams.
They trade in close range to start the second. Williams lands a big right hand that Sherman eats. They clinch against the fence. Williams lands a combo. Sherman lands a couple of jabs. Sherman lands a leg kick. Williams with a leg kick and a left hand. Sherman with a nice leg kick. Williams looks for a takedown and pushes it against the fence. They’re trading and Williams lands a knee to the groin and we have a timeout. They get back to action and trade. 10-9 Williams, 20-18 Williams.
They trade and Sherman lands a leg kick. They’re trading and Williams pushes it against the fence looking for the takedown. They separate. Williams looks tired. Williams lands a left hand. They trade left hands. Sherman scores with a leg kick. Sherman lands a left hook. Williams with a jab. Williams with a left hand as Sherman lands a leg kick. Williams is scoring with the jab. Sherman is pressing forward. Sherman lands a jab then a couple of leg kicks. They clinch at the end. 10-9 Sherman, 29-28 Williams.
Official Result- Karl Williams def. Chase Sherman by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
> Welterweights- Matt Brown (23-19, 16-13 UFC) vs. Court McGee (21-11, 10-10 UFC)
McGee with some leg kicks. They trade leg kicks. Brown lands a jab. Brown scores with a leg kick and lands another. McGee grabs the back and gets Brown to the mat. They get to their feet and McGee pushes it against the fence. They are separated. Brown lands a push kick. Brown drops McGee with a right hand and starts walking off and it is stopped! What a knockout by Brown!
Official Result- Matt Brown def. Court McGee by knockout (punch) at 4:09 of Round 1
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> Welterweights- Tim Means (32-14-1 1 NC, 14-11 1 NC UFC) vs. Alex Morono (22-8 1 NC, 11-5 1 NC UFC)
Morono rushes forward right away. Means lands a couple of body kicks. Morono lands a right hand. Means lands a let hand. Morono with a big right hand. Means lands a couple of kicks as Morono scores with a right hand. They clinch against the fence. They separate and Means lands some body kicks. They trade in close range as Means lands to the body. Means lands a left hand. Morono scores a combo. They trade inside the pocket. They both throw wild punches against the fence to end the round. Close round. 10-9 Means.
They’re both throwing and landing inside the pocket to start the second. Morono misses a head kick. They are trading equally. Morono misses a spinning back fist and Means gets a takedown. Morono locks in a guillotine choke and has it in tight and Means taps. Great finish from Morono.
Official Result- Alex Morono def. Tim Means by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:09 of Round 2
> Light Heavyweights- Carlos Ulberg (7-1, 3-1 UFC) vs. Ihor Potieria (21-3, 1-1 UFC)
Potieria tries for a takedown right away but Ulberg gets away. Ulberg lands a head kick. Ulberg with a high body kick. Potieria lands a left hand. Ulberg drops Potieria with a left hook and is landing lots of punches from the top as Potieria is trying to grab the leg. Ulberg keeps landing and walks away before it’s stopped, but it is stopped by Keith Peterson. Big finish from Ulberg!
Official Result- Carlos Ulberg def. Ihor Potieria by TKO (punches) at 2:09 of Round 1
> Welterweights- #15 Daniel Rodriguez (17-3, 7-2 UFC) vs. Ian Garry (11-0, 4-0 UFC)
Rodriguez lands a left hand to the body. Garry with a body kick. Garry lands a left hand. Garry with a leg kick. Garry scores with a right hand. Garry lands a body kick and ducks under Rodriguez throwing punches. Garry lands a right hand. Garry lands a head kick and Rodriguez goes down. Garry gets on top and is landing a lot of punches and Rodriguez covers up and it is stopped.
Official Result- Ian Garry def. Daniel Rodriguez by TKO (punches) at 2:57 of Round 1
> Light Heavyweights- #5 Anthony Smith (35-17, 11-7 UFC) vs. #7 Johnny Walker (20-7, 6-4 UFC)
Walker with a leg kick. Smith lands a right hand. Walker with a front kick. Walker lands a leg kick. Smith gets inside with a right hand. They trade and Walker hurts Smith with a punch and Smith lands a right hand. Walker pushing with the front kick. We have a timeout for a groin strike. They get back to action and Walker rocks Smith as he was rushing in. Smith is trying for the leg and Walker is landing big punches but Smith is able to get Walker down. Smith is on top but not doing much though he lands an elbow. They get to their feet and Walker gets a takedown late. 10-9 Walker.
Smith lands a right hand as Walker was landing leg kicks. Walker lands another leg kick just as Smith misses a right hand. Walker throwing the jab. They trade leg kicks and Walker doubles up on it. Smith lands a right hand. Smith scores with a left hook as Walker was landing a jab. Walker lands a leg kick. Walker doubles up on a body kick. Walker lands some leg kicks as Smith was talking to him and they trade late. Close round. 10-9 Walker, 20-18 Walker.
Walker lands a leg kick and Smith lands a right hand. Smith rushes in and Walker lands a left hand. Walker with two leg kicks but Smith lands a right hand. We have a timeout for an eye poke. They get back to action and Walker is landing kicks and circling away. Smith lands a right hand. Smith lands a big right hand and Walker retreats. Walker with two leg kicks. Smith’s lead leg is swelling up. Walker keeps landing leg kicks and Smith is hurting. Smith tried a takedown and falls to the mat. Walker is landing left hands as Smith is trying to get Walker down. Smith is ordered to his feet as Walker backs away. Walker with a high kick. Walker continues to attack with kicks. Walker with a flying knee and Smith was hurt. 10-9 Walker, 30-27 Walker.
Official Result- Johnny Walker def. Anthony Smith by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Almeida goes for the takedown right away but Rozenstruik defends. Almeida gets Rozenstruik to the mat. Almeida in the half-guard of Rozenstruik. Almeida in control and landing from the top. Almeida is trying to work to the back but gets the mount and lands some punches. Almeida gets the back and locks in a rear-naked choke and gets Rozenstruik to tap! What a thrashing from Almeida as he gets the big win.
Official Result- Jailton Almeida def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:43 of Round 1
The match to determine the first World Heavyweight Champion has been set for Night of Champions.
AJ Styles defeated Bobby Lashley in the semifinals of the World Heavyweight Championship tournament that took place on Friday’s SmackDown. The finish saw Lashley posting himself into the turnbuckle, allowing Styles to connect with the phenomenal forearm to secure the victory. With the win, Styles will now face Seth Rollins in the finals of the tournament, which will take place in at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia on May 27.
Styles defeated Edge and Rey Mysterio in the opening match of SmackDown to advance, while Lashley defeated Sheamus and Austin Theory to make it to the semifinals. On Monday’s Raw, Seth Rollins defeated Finn Balor to become the first to reach the finals.
Introduced last month, the World Heavyweight title will be exclusive to the Raw brand following the 2023 WWE Draft.
Here is the updated lineup for WWE Night of Champions:
World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles
Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn defend against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will make his return to SmackDown in Knoxville, Tennessee, in his first appearance since the night after WrestleMania edition of Raw.
Tonight’s show will feature two triple threat matches in the WWE World Heavyweight title tournament.
In one, it will be Edge vs. AJ Styles vs. Rey Mysterio. This will be Styles’ first match since breaking his ankle at a late-December house show. In the other, WWE United States Champion Austin Theory will face Sheamus and Bobby Lashley.
The winners of each match will square off later in the night to determine who faces Seth Rollins at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia later this month to crown the new champion.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez will defend their gold against Bayley & Dakota Kai of Damage CTRL following the challengers’ non-title win over the champions last week.
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– Michael Cole welcomed everyone in, saying we are on the road to crowning the World Heavyweight Champion. Cole and Wade Barrett mentioned that Roman Reigns was going to appear later and Edge’s music hit. We went right into the first match because the Styles and Mysterio entrances were not televised.
AJ Styles defeated Edge and Rey Mysterio Jr. [16:13]
Styles got the win in one of the better opening matches on WWE television in recent memory. I was surprised to see how long this went, but the guys worked really hard despite a few clunky moments. With Edge cutting that social media promo earlier in the week, they had me wondering who might come out on top, which is a rarity in WWE. The match held its own in that it followed up said promo with a worthy pay-off. Add in a few interesting, creative double-team moves and you had a very good first half-hour of wrestling TV.
Mysterio and Styles tried to team up on Edge to begin the match, but Edge came right back with some stiff shots to both opponents. There were a series of three-person team moves that didn’t work great before Edge landed a reverse DDT on Styles for a two-count. Styles eventually regained control with a forearm to Edge and a tilt-a-whirl back-breaker to Mysterio.
Mysterio got his turn to take control and went for a splash on Edge, who caught Mysterio for a fallaway slam. Edge went for a spear, but Styles and Mysterio caught Edge with a double boot. Mysterio landed a Canadian Destroyer on Edge for a nice early match near-fall. With Edge and Mysterio on the outside, Styles took both out and we went to our first break.
When we returned, Styles had Mysterio lifted on the apron, but Mysterio fought out of it. Edge came through the middle rope and speared them both to the floor, inspiring the crowd to chant “Holy s—.” Mysterio and Edge rolled into the ring and Mysterio got a two-count. Edge got up and stomped on Mysterio before Styles threw Edge to the outside. Inside, Styles worked a calf-crusher on Mysterio, but Edge added a cross-face on Mysterio as well. The spot ended with a series of headbutts between Styles and Edge.
Styles and Edge traded blows until Mysterio set both guys up for a 619, but Mysterio ran into a double-dropkick from Styles and Edge, who then double-clotheslined each other. Edge ran Styles into the middle turnbuckle and went to the top, but Mysterio cut Edge off. Styles broke it up via a powerbomb on Mysterio for a two-count. Styles went for Edge and Styles was joined by Mysterio, who landed a sunset flip on Styles, who super-plexed Edge, for a good two-count.
Mysterio set up Edge for a 619, but Styles cut Mysterio off. From there, Mysterio went for another 619, but Edge countered into Edge-ucator on Mysterio. Edge did the same to Styles, but Styles made it to the ropes for a break. Mysterio then came back for another 619 attempt on Edge. Mysterio went for something on Edge, but something was miscommunicated and nothing quite happened. From there, Styles hit the Phenomenal Forearm on Edge and got the pin.
**********
– Michael Cole recapped The Usos/Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens storyline and Sheamus made his entrance for the second WWE World Heavyweight title tournament match.
Bobby Lashley defeated Austin Theory and Sheamus [13:00]
It felt like a surprising win for Lashley because Theory was the only traditional heel in the match and a babyface won the other tournament match of the night, but so it goes. Lashley was bleeding pretty heavily, and it made me wonder if they went home early because of it, but kudos to Lashley for working through it. That’s two matches in the first 45 minutes of SmackDown, which is/was always welcome. All three involved worked hard here as well, but the first match packed more of a punch for reasons I can’t quite articulate. It was nice to see a couple surprise winners for these matches, though.
Austin Theory went to the outside after the bell rang, but Lashley and Sheamus chased him, pounded on him and threw him back inside the ring. Lashley clotheslined Theory to the outside and worked over Sheamus until Sheamus landed a slam on Lashley for a one-count. Sheamus set up Lashley for 10 Beats, but Theory broke it up, only to then be the victim himself of 10 Beats. From there, we went to break.
Back from commercial, Lashley was beating up Theory on the outside. Lashley ran Theory into a ring post and returned to the ring to stare down Sheamus. Lashley and Sheamus brawled. With Sheamus went to the top and went for an elbow, but Lashley caught him and threw him before going for the Hurt Lock until Theory broke up the attempt with a dropkick. Theory hit a Blockbuster on Lashley for a two-count.
Theory stomped a mud hole in Sheamus and clotheslined Lashley over the top rope. Theory ran Lashley into the ring steps. Theory went for a rolling DDT, but Sheamus countered with the Irish Curse. Sheamus hit a series of clotheslines on Theory and hit a middle-rope White Noise for a two-count on Theory. Sheamus lifted Theory, but Theory rolled through for a two-count. Sheamus came right back with a knee to Theory’s head.
Sheamus riled up the crowd, but ran into a spear from Lashley. Theory threw Lashley into the ring post and tried a cover on Sheamus for a two-count. Theory went for A-Town Down, but Lashley, who was bleeding heavily from his head, went for the hurt lock. Sheamus broke up with with a Brogue Kick and Lashley threw Sheamus out of the ring and covered Theory himself for the win.
**********
– Adam Pearce was shown on the phone backstage, but he was interrupted by Grayson Waller, who said the winner of Styles/Lashley should appear on the Grayson Waller Effect next week. Pearce obliged. We went back to the ring and Baron Corbin was already in the ring as Cameron Grimes made his entrance.
Cameron Grimes defeated Baron Corbin [0:06]
There wasn’t much to this, but I’m happy to see Grimes not get buried right away. We didn’t see too much from him during his last months on NXT, so here’s hoping he gets some love on the main roster. Poor Corbin. At least he still has Paris.
Before the bell rang, Corbin introduced Grimes as the last pick in the draft. Corbin said Grimes had guts and in two minutes, Grimes would be on his way back to NXT. Grimes hit the Cave-In as soon as the bell rang for the win.
**********
– We received a video package recapping the Cody Rhodes/Brock Lesnar feud.
– Roman Reigns’s music hit and Knoxville loved them some Roman Reigns. Reigns was accompanied by the entire Bloodline. Reigns stood in the ring and soaked in a crowd that didn’t not like him. When Reigns asked Knoxville to acknowledge him, the crowd so. Reigns said greatness garners respect. Reigns said there’s only one royal family in the wrestling business and it’s the family in the ring. The crowd gave Reigns the “What?” treatment.
Reigns said Solo Sikoa stepped up at Backlash. Reigns said there was initial concern with taking Sikoa on the road because it was sink or swim for Sikoa, but Sikoa proved he swims like a shark. The crowd broke into a “Sami!” chant. Reigns said Sami and Kevin Owens aren’t the problem, but there is a problem. Roman said the problem was Sikoa’s brothers. Sikoa nodded.
Reigns confronted the Usos, asking them if they thought they weren’t going to talk about them losing at WrestleMania. Reigns called the Usos out for dedicating a tag-team match to Reigns and then losing. Reigns said they disrespected the family bloodline. Reigns said the Usos embarrassed him. Reigns demanded an apology from the Usos. The crowd chanted “No!” Daniel Bryan style. Reigns palm-faced Jimmy Uso. Jey got in the way of a confrontation and apologized. He said if they get one more shot, they’ll bring the titles back to the Bloodline.
Reigns called on Paul Heyman to make an announcement. Heyman said there will be a tag title match at Night Of Champions when Owens and Zayn face Solo Sikoa and Roman Reigns. Reigns said he will dedicated the match to Afa and Sika, the greatest tag-team of all time. Reigns and Sikoa left the ring as the Usos stood in the ring, looking concerned.
**********
– Kayla Braxton welcomed in Damage CTRL for an interview backstage. Bayley said she and Roman have so much in common, being Grand Slam champions and exceptional leaders. Bayley told Iyo not to worry about her loss at Backlash because maybe Iyo wasn’t ready yet. Bayley told Kayla to tell Roman that SmackDown belongs to Damage CTRL. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez’s music hit and we went back to the ring for the women’s tag title match. Before the match began, we got a Backlash recap video. From there, the Usos confronted the LWO backstage. The Usos mean-mugged them and walked away.
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez defeated Bayley and Dakota Kai [8:09]
Liv and Raquel won in a match longer than expected, but a fine match nonetheless. The miscommunication between Damage CTRL continues, but for me, it’s veering on the verge of overstaying its welcome. Maybe I’m wrong, but Bayley felt like a top-tier star in WWE not all that long ago, but since she came back, this faction hasn’t worked as well as anyone thought it would. It’s nobody’s fault. It’s just time for all three to move on. As for Liv and Raquel … it’s hard to buy into them being long-term champs, but perhaps that’s part of the charm. Let’s hope they’re in line for a meaningful program.
Rodriguez worked over Dakota Kai to begin the match. Morgan tagged in and threw Rodriguez into Kai. Morgan covered Kai for a two-count. Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn were shown watching the match on a TV backstage. Kai came back with a punch to Morgan and tagged in Bayley. Morgan rolled up Bayley for a two-count. Bayley eventually pinned Morgan for a two-count after her and Kai worked Morgan over. Then, we got a break.
We returned to action and Rodriguez received the hot tag from Morgan. Rodriguez hit a fallaway slam on Kai. Rodriguez took out both Kai and Bayley. Morgan tagged in and was promptly thrown into the challengers multiple times. The ring cleared out for Bayley and Morgan. Kai got a blind tag in and kicked Morgan in the head. Bayley held Morgan and Kai landed a double-knees to Morgan. Kai went for the pin, but Rodriguez broke it up at the last second. Bayley tagged in and told Sky to give Bayley one of the titles. Rodriguez stopped the exchange and as a result, Morgan rolled up Bayley for the win.
**********
– Backstage, the Brawling Brutes were talking and then interrupted by Pretty Deadly. The Brutes didn’t take kindly to it. Sheamus then went out for a pint. The crew was shown setting up the ring for Bianca Belair’s championship celebration.
**********
– Bianca Belair made her entrance to a nice hometown pop. Her family was in the front row. Before the celebration could really kick off, Asuka’s music hit and Asuka hurriedly got to the ring. Asuka extended a hand and the two shook hands until Asuka spit mist into Belair’s face. Belair sold the hell out of it. We went backstage to see AJ Styles warming up for the main event.
**********
– Belair was flipping out backstage in the trainer’s room as the show returned from commercial.
– Next week, Owens and Zayn will meet Reigns and Sikoa face to face. Mysterio and Santos Escobar will go up against the Usos. Also up for next week is the Brawling Brutes vs. Pretty Deadly. This is on top of the Grayson Waller Effect, which will feature the winner of Lashley vs. Styles.
AJ Styles defeated Bobby Lashley [12:03]
Styles won in a match where both guys slowed down considerably from their first match of the night. That’s not shade. That’s just that. You have to feel for Lashley, who had his head busted open twice in one night to ultimately not even get to the finals of this tournament. Styles vs. Rollins should be very good-to-great when it comes to in-ring work. Here’s hoping they get the time to do it. This match, meanwhile, wasn’t ever in doubt much because Styles vs. Rollins was always going to be the best match WWE could get out of the finals of this tournament. Maybe? Hopefully?
The two locked up to begin the best match TNA never saw in 2009 (or maybe it did?). They felt each other out as Barrett played up the fact that Lashley lost a bunch of blood in his first match of the night. Styles went for a chop, but Lashley stopped him with some elbows and a boot to the face. Lashley threw Styles over the top rope as the action spilled outside. Lashley ran Styles into the apron before running Styles into a ring post. We got a commercial break after that.
Returning from break, Lashley had control, but Styles quickly came back with a handful of kicks to Lashley’s legs. Lashley immediately got back the upper hand until Styles rolled Lashley into a calf crusher. Lashley worked out of it, but Styles kept control with some right hands and a DDT for a two-count. Lashley’s head was busted open again. Styles responded with punches to Lashley’s head. Styles lifted Lashley, but Lashley countered into a suplex for a two-count.
Styles came back with a sliding punch, but Lashley went for the Hurt Lock and locked it in (pun intended) until Styles got to the ropes for a break. The action spilled outside, where Lashley went to run Styles into a ring post, but Styles countered and ran Lashley into a ring post before rolling Lashley back into the ring. Styles teased the Phenomenal Forearm, but Lashley cut him off and lifted Styles for a suplex, but Styles fought out of it. It worked until Lashley caught Styles for a running powerslam and a two-count.
Lashley went for a spear, but instead hit the ring post as Styles moved. Styles then landed a knee to Lashley’s head. Styles hit the Phenomenal Forearm for the win. The broadcast team ran down the Night of Champions card. Styles and The OC celebrated by the World Heavyweight title to close the show.
Tonight’s Impact on AXS TV will be headlined by World and Knockouts Tag Team title matches.
Impact World titleholder Steve Maclin will defend his gold for the first time against Rhino following the events of last Thursday’s trios match. The winner will defend against PCO at this month’s Under Siege.
Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven (KiLynn King & Taylor Wilde) will defend against the star studded team of Jordynne Grace & Deonna Purrazzo. Grace and Purrazzo will square off at Under Siege for Purrazzo’s Knockouts Championship.
In a clash of would-be title contenders, Masha Slamovich will go one-on-one with Killer Kelly.
Nick Aldis will have his first singles match in the company in six years when he faces Sheldon Jean.
The Good Hands (John Skyler & Jason Hotch) will face Decay (Crazzy Steve & Black Taurus) with both in search of a desperately needed win.
The show will also feature the third installment of an interview series with Frankie Kazarian.
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BTI pre-show: Ace Austin defeated Zicky Dice
In a good match, Austin got the win after The Fold. Gia Miller was hilarious on commentary during this match.
Main Show:
Impact opened with a recap of the much-hyped debut of Trinity, and a recap of Rhino’s career leading into his title match tonight. This was fantastic as a reminder of why Rhino was a main event guy outside of WWE for so long.
Masha Slamovich defeated Killer Kelly
Great opening match between Slamovich and Kelly. Despite the clean finish, there is more story to tell here with Kelly holding the submission on. This was a clever way to keep the feud going, and will hopefully lead to more great matches.
Kelly and Slamovich went to the floor quickly before returning to the ring so Kelly could hit a delayed fisherman’s buster for a two count. Slamovich slipped outside the ring and caught Kelly in an electric chair drop that drove Kelly into the apron. Slamovich hit a boot scrape kick to the face of Kelly as she was against the bottom turnbuckle.
Slamovich put a camel clutch on and then bit Kelly’s forehead instead. Slamovich hit a spinning backfist and a high kick. She went for a sleeper, but Kelly drove Slamovich backward and then hit a tiger suplex into the corner. Kelly hit a German suplex for a nearfall.
Kelly tried for a Killer Clutch, but Slamovich countered. Slamovich picked up Kelly and hit a sunset driver for a nearfall. Kelly countered a snow plow and hit a death valley driver for a 2-count. Kelly then locked on the Clutch, but Slamovich ran up the ropes and jumped backward into the Bret Hart/Roddy Piper pin finish. Kelly held the submission on despite being pinned while Slamovich passed out.
– Sheldon Jean was preparing for his match with Nick Aldis. Kenny King walked up and told him that he had to do what it took to win tonight, encouraging him to choose himself instead of doing the right thing.
– Trinity was with Gia Miller backstage, and talked about her debut last week. Jai Vidal walked up and marked out, asking for a selfie with her. Trinity obliged and then asked Miller, “Who was that?” Miller said, “That’s Jai. He works here.” I laughed.
Nick Aldis defeated Sheldon Jean
Aldis got the right match to show he was back to make an impact in Impact.
King joined the announce table for this match.
Aldis hit a series of shoulder tackles at the start, but as it went to the floor, Jean raked the eyes of Aldis and drove him into the ring post. It seems Jean took King’s advice to heart. Once they got back into the ring, Aldis was able to hit two hard clotheslines and a Michinoku driver for a 2-count. Jean tried to cut Aldis off as he went to the top rope, but Aldis shoved him off and hit a flying elbow before locking on the Kingsland Cloverleaf for the submission.
– Dango & Joe Hendry were backstage investigating who attacked Santino Marella recently and Hendry called for Zicky Dice & Johnny Swinger. Hendry said that they were here to answer for their crimes, and Swinger announced, “Hey! It wasn’t me doing gimmicks with Sheiky!” and I nearly died laughing.
Hendry accused Swinger and Dice of taking out Santino. Swinger was greatly offended. Dango called Santino and got him to book a match against Swinger tonight. Dango then invited Hendry to his birthday party and Hendry kindly said yes despite being the only guest and looking like he didn’t want to go.
– In the third part of Frankie Kazarian’s interview with Gia Miller, he talked about how the World title is his ultimate goal because his loss against Josh Alexander was eating away at him. But, if he saw a fight worth fighting, he was going to stand shoulder to shoulder with anyone that needed help.
The Good Hands (Jason Hotch & John Skylar) defeated The Decay (Crazzy Steve & Black Taurus)
The Good Hands got the heat on Steve almost immediately in this match. Steve bit the Good Hands’ good hands and hit a flatliner on Skylar before making a tag to Taurus. As Taurus was tagged in, Hotch tagged in and Brian Myers made his way down to ringside. Taurus hit an awesome pop-up Samoan drop on Hotch, but Skylar made the save.
Steve hit a plancha on Skylar and then started to argue with Myers. Myers attacked Steve on the floor, and Taurus went after him. This led Myers to hitting a stunner across the top rope and then a combo fireman’s carry blockbuster from The Good Hands for the three. Myers then posed with the Good Hands, apparently adopting them after Bully Ray’s defeat at the last PPV.
– Impact World Champion Steve Maclin was backstage with Shera and Champagne Singh, and Maclin said because they failed him last week, their business relationship is over. Singh said that he couldn’t let this slip through his fingers, so he had an idea to salvage the relationship. After they came back from break, Singh and Shera attacked Heath backstage and left him lying just before Rhino’s match with Maclin.
Impact World Champion Steve Maclin defeated Rhino to retain the title
There was nothing to this match, but it was actually went pretty much exactly as it should have with where both guys are on the roster right now. Maclin looked like a killer in this match, and this helped establish him as a serious threat to anyone he faces, along with showing how violent he can be with the post match angle.
Rhino and Maclin brawled all over the ringside area until Maclin started to focus on the left knee of Rhino. Rhino managed to cut Maclin off as he was on the ropes and hit a superplex for a nearfall. Maclin went for the KIA, but Rhino countered into a spinebuster for another nearfall. Rhino went for the gore, but was unable to run due to the attack on the knee. Maclin hit a chop block and a gore of his own for the win.
Maclin continued to attack the knee of Rhino, wrapping it in a chair and slamming a shovel into the knee repeatedly. Rhino was carried out on stretcher.
Later, Impact president Scott D’Amore went to see Rhino off, and Maclin walked up and said it was his fault. D’Amore then made his title defense against PCO at Under Siege a no DQ match. PCO then emerged from the ambulance and chased off Maclin as he went to do more damage to Rhino.
– Joe Hendry cut a promo about his broken nose (from his match with Sheldon Jean) and how Dango was going to win tonight as they got to the bottom of what happened to Santino.
Dirty Dango defeated Johnny Swinger (w/ Zicky Dice)
Dango caught a stomp from Swinger before standing up and hitting a falcon arrow for the pinfall.
– Deaner and The Design were backstage, and Deaner accused Sami Callihan of having no one to back him, not even Rich Swann, while his Army of Violence were there to defend him. Suddenly two people in the army started attacking everyone else and Deaner, Kon and Angels stepped aside. It was Swann and Callihan. For some reason, this promo had a soundtrack and turned from scary music to happy rock as the babyfaces attacked. This broke into an all out brawl with security trying break them up.
– Moose asked Brian Myers why he was taking on the Good Hands because he and Myers should be focusing on the tag titles. Myers said that Moose was focusing on both the World title and tag titles, so he could focus on the tag titles and mentoring the Good Hands before promising the Good Hands that he’d take them to the tag titles.
Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven (Taylor Wilde & KiLynn King) defeated Deonna Purrazzo & Jordynne Grace to retain
This was fine, but not a great match. Wilde and King haven’t quite gelled as a team yet, but they are clearly trying to make it work in the ring. I think given time, they could become a good tag team. The gimmick isn’t great at all, but at least they’re trying to make the tag team work.
Purrazzo and Grace had the advantage early on, but The Coven were able to get some heat on Grace after a kick from King and an elbow drop from Wilde. Even with Purrazzo tagging in, the champs were able to continue to double team, maintaining their advantage. The announcers asked if Purrazzo and Grace could compete with the well oiled teamwork of King and Wilde, who have teamed together around 4 or 5 times.
I’m fairly certain that is not well oiled. Grace and Purrazzo may have actually teamed more already in Impact! The Coven continued to cheat, choking Purrazzo on the ropes, distracting the referee, and maintaining the offence. Purrazzo managed to twist the arms of Wilde and King and slammed them into each other face first, leading to tagging out to Grace. Grace hit a spinebuster on King and a jackhammer on Wilde for a 2-count.
Grace dumped Wilde to the floor, and Wilde crashed tailbone first to the floor. That had to suck. Wilde and King then hit caught Grace on a dropkick attempt and powerbombed Grace on the apron. Wilde went for a suplex, but Grace fought out and hit a muscle buster on Wilde for a 2-count that King broke up. King pulled Purrazzo to the floor and as Grace tried to hit the ropes, Purrazzo got knocked off the apron after just getting onto it. Grace then tried to hit the Grace driver, but King broke it up and Wilde and King hit a combo spinebuster and pump kick for the win.
The Coven continued to attack Grace and Purrazzo after the match, leading to Trinity running down to make the save. Trinity cleared the ring, hitting a rear view on King before eyeing both Grace and Purrazzo as the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts:
I thought this was a very good episode of Impact this week. The angles were good, the matches were good, and Under Siege was built quite well. I can’t ask for more than that.
Next Week:
X-Division Champion Trey Miguel vs. Laredo Kid in a non-title match
Moose, Eddie Edwards & Frankie Kazarian vs. Jonathan Gresham, Yuya Uemura & Alex Shelley
New Under Siege additions:
Nick Aldis vs. Kenny King
No DQ stipulation added to Impact World Champion Steve Maclin vs. PCO
Two title defenses will be featured on tonight’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub.
In one, ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe will defend against Blake Christian while in the other, ROH Women’s Champion Athena defends against Skye Blue.
Ahead of what could be a future ROH Tag Team title challenge, ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta will face Tracy Williams & Rhett Titus.
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun, Toa Liona) will face Adam Priest, Lucky Ali & Victor Benjamin.
Ahead of his challenge of AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy Wednesday, Kyle Fletcher of Aussie Open will face former ROH TV Champion Tony Deppen.
Mark Briscoe, who was laid out by an accidental Dax Harwood piledriver Wednesday on Dynamite, will take on Shane Taylor.
The show will also feature Ninja Mack vs. Willie Mack, The Righteous in tag team action, Dark Order vs. The Trustbusters, and more.
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Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, & Nigel McGuinness were on the call for this week’s ROH television. This week saw Ring of Honor return to Universal Studios in Orlando, FL.
Mark Briscoe defeated Shane Taylor
Taylor threatened to beat on Briscoe like he used to do to Mark’s brother, which fired Briscoe up. Taylor cut him off before hooking Briscoe on the ropes and hitting a hanging stunner. Briscoe sent Taylor to the floor and hit a running blockbuster. Briscoe went for the chair-assisted dive, but Taylor slid into the ring and cut him off with a comebacker lariat.
Taylor kept control, using his heavy elbows to cut off Briscoe’s comeback attempts. Briscoe finally got a useful offensive combination in, laying Taylor out with a running boot. Briscoe clubbered on Taylor in the corner before hitting a Pele kick that sent Taylor to the floor. Briscoe got the chair-assisted dive the second time around.
Briscoe hit a missile dropkick off the middle rope in the ring. Taylor cut off Briscoe and went to the second rope, but Briscoe picked him up and hit a Spicolli Driver. Briscoe followed it up with a Froggy Bow attempt, but Taylor moved out of the way and hit Welcome To The Land for a close nearfall. Taylor went to the second rope, but Briscoe moved out of the way of a splash. Briscoe came back with big strikes before landing a big uranage for a nearfall.
Taylor answered with a uranage of his own for a nearfall. Briscoe escaped a package piledriver before starting a strike battle, ending with a Briscoe lariat that took Taylor down. Briscoe muscled Taylor up for the Jay Driller to get the win.
Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta defeated Rhett Titus & Tracy Williams
The announcers made it clear that due to winning the Double Jeopardy match against Rey Fenix on Dynamite, Castagnoli could challenge for the titles with any partner of his choosing. The way they talked about it made it seem possible that Castagnoli could choose someone outside of the Blackpool Combat Club.
Williams and Yuta started off, with Williams catching Yuta in a Shoelace Roll submission that Castagnoli broke up. Castagnoli tagged in and took Williams down, but Williams caught Castagnoli in a quick rollup before tagging in Titus. Castagnoli stuffed an armdrag attempt and tagged out to Yuta, but Titus and Williams got a tag team combination in to isolate Yuta. Williams got Yuta in another submission. He cut Castagnoli off when he tried to break up the submission, but Yuta chop blocked his knee to take control.
The BCC worked over Williams, with Castagnoli scoring a nearfall with an uppercut and a leg drop. Williams dodged a charging Castagnoli, but Yuta tagged in and cut off an attempted tag. Yuta brought Williams to the ropes, but Williams hit the DDT onto the top turnbuckle before tagging out to Titus. Titus ran wild on Yuta, hitting the Belly-to-Belly suplex for a nearfall. Castagnoli came in to run interference, but Titus hit the big dropkick to send him out of the ring. Titus and Williams hit a dropkick/lariat combination for a nearfall.
Castagnoli sent Titus to the floor and ran through him with a running Uppercut. Back in the ring, Yuta sent Williams into the referee before poking him in the eyes. Castagnoli dropped Williams with a running European Uppercut before sending Yuta off the top rope with a Rocket Launcher to score the win.
ROH World Television Title Match: Samoa Joe defeated Blake Christian to retain
A competitive, smartly-wrestled squash match. Christian had a plan, Joe fought it off, and at the first sign of real danger, Joe shut Christian down with the Muscle Buster. I enjoyed this for what it was.
Christian evaded Joe early, catching him with a handspring kick. Christian tied up Joe’s leg and hit a 619 to the knee to take Joe down. Christian hit a Knee-DT before locking on a Figure Four that Joe quickly reached the ropes to break. Joe avoided a low dropkick before hitting a senton to cut Christian off. Joe stomped on Christian before hitting a big elbow for a nearfall.
Christian escaped a powerbomb and dropkicked Joe’s knee, but he ran right into the powerslam for a nearfall. Joe tried to lock on the Coquina Clutch, but Christian dropped down into a stunner. Christian rolled through a corner uranage attempt, but Joe cut Christian off on the top rope and hit a Muscle Buster to score the win. This was Joe’s 11th successful defense of the title, and Riccaboni said that this defense would almost assuredly put him over the 400-day mark as ROH TV Champion.
– Dasha was backstage with the Varsity Athletes and the Trustbusters. Yes, those are two different groups, with Ari Daivari as the connective member. Mark Sterling said that the in-fighting of the Dark Order was disruptive to his group, with Ari Daivari adding that the Dark Order could fight them instead of each other.
The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) defeated The Infantry (Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean)
Vincent and Dean started off, with the Infantry hitting an offensive combination on Vincent. Stu Grayson came to the stage, presumably to watch the Righteous. Maybe he has issues with Captain Shawn Dean, though.
Dutch cut off Dean with a clothesline from the apron. Dutch & Vincent worked Dean over until Dean avoided the Autumn Sunshine and tagged out to Bravo. Bravo fired up but got shoved into a Bossman Slam from Dutch. Vincent hit the Autumn Sunshine on the legal man Dean for the win. Dutch and Vincent walked up to Grayson on the stage and told him that he was one of them.
– We got a video package for next week’s The Kingdom vs. Action Andretti & Darius Martin match, which will be a Fight Without Honor.
Vertvixen started off quickly, taking Renegade down with a facebuster for a quick nearfall. Charlette Renegade got involved while the referee was distracted, allowing Robyn Renegade to hit a shotgun dropkick. Vertvixen came back, hitting a rolling stunner and a big boot. Vertvixen hit a flatliner for a nearfall. Renegade fought out of a Fireman’s Carry before locking Vertvixen in a Ground Cobra for the submission win.
– Dasha was backstage with Prince Nana and the Gates of Agony, who have a match with The Boys tonight. Dalton Castle entered frame, accusing them of attacking one of the Boys. Prince Nana claimed innocence until Castle left, then pulled out the mask of the fallen Boy.
Willie Mack defeated Ninja Mack
The crowd chanted “Let’s Go Mack,” making fun of the name clash. Willie used his power to take down Ninja before taking Ninja down with an armdrag. Ninja tried using his speed to his advantage, but Willie took down Ninja with a headscissors before hitting a dive to the floor. Ninja threw some strikes before Willie hit a big palm strike to take Ninja down.
Ninja moved out of the way of a Willie moonsault before hitting some heavy kicks. Ninja avoided a corner charge before hitting a twisting uppercut. Ninja hit a twisting tornado splash for a nearfall. Ninja and Willie traded superkicks before Ninja walked into a Samoan Drop from Willie. Willie kipped up and hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall.
Ninja and Willie got into a pinning predicament, trading multiple flash pin attempts before Willie caught Ninja with a powerbomb for the win. This was a lot harder to review than I thought it would be because of the name thing, but I got through it.
The Embassy (Brian Cage, Kaun & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) defeated Adam Priest, Lucky Ali & Victor Benjamin
The Embassy ran through each of these guys. Kaun rocked Priest with a lariat. Cage sent Ali flying with a German suplex. Benjamin got a few impressive strikes in on Liona before getting drilled with a lariat. All three Embassy members came in, laying out all three of their opponents. Kaun and Liona finished this one off by sending Priest into Benjamin with a reverse bodyslam, with Kaun getting the pin.
Kyle Fletcher (w/Mark Davis) defeated Tony Deppen
Fletcher is usually a tag team guy, but he stood out on his own here. He’s got a real physical presence, which was highlighted working against the smaller Deppen. Solid match here.
The announcers talked about Fletcher’s heavy recent schedule and his injured ribs. Fletcher overpowered Deppen to start, dropping him with a shoulder block. Deppen came back, eventually getting Fletcher down to a knee. Deppen called for the best suplex ever seen on TV, but Fletcher reversed it into a suplex of his own.
Fletcher hit a half-and-half suplex and a mafia kick for a nearfall. Deppen caught Fletcher with a stunner over the ropes before following with a dive to the floor. Deppen hit the Bayonet elbow for a nearfall. Deppen laid in the elbows before catching Fletcher in a flash pin for a nearfall. Deppen hit a jumping knee and followed it with running knees into the corner. Deppen hit a double stomp off the top rope for a nearfall.
Deppen caught Fletcher with another knee but ran right into a Michinoku Driver for the three count and the win.
AR Fox defeated Anthony Henry (w/JD Drake)
It was a bit comical the amount of damage Fox fought through to win, but Henry looked impressive and aggressive on offense.
Henry took Fox’s back, but Fox sent him to the floor and hit a pair of no-touch planchas. Henry rolled to the other side of the ring to confer with Drake, but Fox hit a dive onto both of them. Fox evaded a clothesline before hitting an Anarchist suplex for a nearfall. Henry sent Fox into the post and hit a piledriver on the apron that sent Fox to the floor.
Fox barely beat the 20 count into the ring, where Henry immediately cranked his neck. Henry hit another piledriver in the ring for a nearfall. Fox got a few weak strikes in, but Henry kicked Fox in the head and hit a brainbuster. Henry hit another brainbuster, but Fox powered Henry up for a brainbuster of his own. Fox hit a corner boot before hitting a springboard stunner for a nearfall. Fox hit a squisher before following it with a senton for a nearfall.
Henry came back with a neckbreaker and a top rope neckbreaker for another nearfall. Fox vaulted over on a Dragon Sleeper attempt and hit a running boot into the corner. Fox brought Henry up for the Lo Mein Pain, but Henry caught him in a choke. Fox fought out and pulled Henry into a cutter. Drake caught a boot from Fox when he tried to interfere. Fox ducked a Henry charge and dived onto Drake on the floor but ran back into a DDT in the ring for a nearfall. Fox caught Henry with a Lo Mein Pain before hitting the 450 Splash for the win.
After the match, the Workhorsemen jumped Fox. Shane Taylor joined the fray, beating up on Fox before FTR made the save. FTR and Fox fought off the Workhorsemen and set Henry up for a Shatter Machine before he bailed. Eddie Kingston came out and ran him back into the ring, leading to FTR hitting the Shatter Machine anyway.
The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno, John Silver & Stu Grayson) defeated Josh Woods & The Trustbusters (Jeeves Kay, Slim J & Sonny Kiss) (w/Ari Daivari & Mark Sterling)
Woods started out with Evil Uno, although Uno quickly tagged out to Reynolds and Grayson. Sterling took the referee, allowing Woods to take down Silver and isolate him. Silver hit a suplex on Jeeves Kay and fought to make a tag to Grayson. Grayson ran wild with suplexes before hitting a dive to Kiss and Woods on the floor. Grayson hit a reverse F-5 on Slim J and a springboard moonsault for a nearfall.
Miscommunication between Uno and Grayson led to a Trustbusters run of offense, but the Dark Order got back involved and ran wild on them. Grayson took a kick meant for Reynolds, leading to the Dark Order hitting their big offense. Grayson and Uno hit the Fatality before Reynolds, the legal man, pushed Grayson out of the way to score the pin. Grayson looked annoyed on the outside.
ROH Women’s World Title Match: Athena defeated Skye Blue to retain
This was the most competitive match of Skye Blue’s TV wrestling career, and probably the best match of her career as well. The crowd didn’t really buy Blue as a challenger despite ROH’s best attempts to heat her up over the past few months.
Athena feigned a lockup before drilling Blue with a forearm. Blue came back with strikes before cartwheeling out of a headscissors. Athena drilled Blue with a boot before sending her into the corner. Athena menaced the referee, leading to Blue scoring a rollup for a nearfall. Athena dropkicked Blue into the corner before chucking her to the floor. Athena set the ring steps up on their side, but Blue reversed Athena’s throw and sent her into the stairs.
Athena yanked Blue off of the apron to the floor before drilling her with a forearm. Athena dragged Blue up the ramp, but Blue caught Athena with an armdrag. They fought near the edge of the stage before Athena hit Blue with a superkick that sent her off the stage. Athena dragged Blue back to the ring and tied her up in a bow and arrow hold. Blue fought out before going for flash pins, leading to a pinning predicament that almost scored the win for Blue.
Blue hit a rising knee and an upkick from the apron. She followed with a high crossbody for a nearfall. Athena vaulted back to her feet and hit a heavy forearm for a nearfall. Athena went to the top rope, but Blue cut her off. Blue hit a flurry of forearms before hitting a hurricanrana off the top rope. Blue hit a superkick and a standing sliced bread for a nearfall. Blue locked Athena up for Skyfall, but Athena pushed her off and got Blue up for the Wasteland slam. Athena hit another Wasteland over the knee.
Athena talked trash to Blue, slapping her in the face before Blue slapped her back. They traded forearms before Athena hit Blue with the Skyfall – Blue’s own move – for a nearfall. Blue caught Athena with a boot before hitting the O-Face for a nearfall. Blue hit the Skyfall, but Athena kicked out. They rolled to the apron before Blue dropped Athena face-first onto the apron. Blue laid Athena on the steps and went to the ropes, but Athena caught her and powerbombed her onto the steps.
Athena hit the facebuster on the knees, but Blue kicked out at one. Blue caught Athena with a small package, but Athena kicked out and locked on the crossface. Blue rolled towards the ropes, but Athena rolled her back to the middle and transitioned into the Camel Clutch for the tapout and the win. Athena succeeded in her 9th defense of the title. After the match, Athena adhered to the Code of Honor before clotheslining Blue down and throwing her face-first into the title belt.
Jon Moxley battles Kenny Omega in a steel cage on tonight’s AEW Dynamite.
The feud between Moxley’s Blackpool Combat Club and Omega’s The Elite reaches a new apex with tonight’s steel cage bout.
The International Championship is on the line tonight as well, with Orange Cassidy set to defend against Daniel Garcia of the Jericho Appreciation Society.
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli faces ROH World Tag Team Champion Rey Fenix in a “double jeopardy” match, where the winner receives a shot at the loser’s title.
The World Trios Championship will be defended in a House Rules match, with House of Black facing Bandido & Best Friends. House Rules include no rope breaks, 20-count countouts, DQs enforced, and Best Friends & Bandido may choose the last rule.
Anna Jay will face Julia Hart in a no holds barred contest.
Promos from FTR, as well as Christian Cage 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 we immediately go to our opening contest with both men already in the ring.
Claudio Castagnoli defeated Rey Fenix (w/Alex Abrahantes) in a Double Jeopardy Match
(With this win, Castagnoli will get a ROH Tag Team Title match with a partner of his choosing against the Lucha Bros. This was a spectacular opening contest, one of the strongest in Dynamite’s history in my opinion. These two worked incredibly well together and that should surprise no one.)
Fenix used his speed in the early going but was ultimately caught with a Castagnoli tilt a whirl back breaker. Fenix fought out of the corner with a triple jump hurricanrana that sent Castagnoli to the floor where he was met with two Topes, but was caught on the third, as Castagnoli pressed Fenix down onto the barricade. While in a suplex position, Castagnoli tried walking up the steps, but fell back and Fenix walked the barricade railing into a spectacular hurricanrana. Back in the ring, Castagnoli dropping a charging Fenix with a DVD for two, as Bryan Danielson & Wheeler Yuta were shown watching backstage. In a fireman’s carry position, Castagnoli tried to press Fenix over his head on the second rope, but Fenix countered into another hurricanrana. Castagnoli avoided a Code Red and turned Fenix inside out with a lariat for two. Fenix was pressed over Castagnoli’s head and launched into the crowd as we went to picture in picture.
Fenix tried going to the ropes, but Castagnoli gut wrenched him out of the corner to the mat. Castagnoli ducked a bounce back kick, but ate the follow through thrust kick and roll through stunner. Fenix hit a double jump moonsault out of the corner to the floor, as back inside, Castagnoli caught a flying Fenix with an uppercut. Fenix answered by countering a Ricola Bomb into a Code Red. Another thrust kick flattened Castagnoli, who responded with a Alpamare Waterslide and Ricola Bomb for the victory
-Backstage we see a returning Miro walking and stopped by Renee Paquette, who asked why he is here. Miro just stared at her before walking into Tony Khan’s office.
-A video package on the Four Pillars AEW Title match at Double or Nothing is shown with MJF talking about how he’ll have the most longevity out of all of the pillars, as his reign of terror has just begun.
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-A video package highlighting the history of the Jon Moxley & Kenny Omega feud is briefly recapped ahead of their Cage Match main event tonight.
FTR came to the ring and immediately invited out their best friend Mark Briscoe, but instead got Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt & Satnam Singh. Dutt demand an answer to their Double or Nothing challenge from last week. Harwood accepts the challenge if they admit to using Mark Briscoe to get to them. Dutt denied things, as Mark Briscoe walked out from the back to a huge reaction, telling everyone to relax. Briscoe said Tony Khan gave him some news and that’s Briscoe is the special guest referee for the Tag Title match at Double or Nothing. Briscoe passed out cups to have a toast, but Dutt misted tequila into the eyes of Harwood. Briscoe tried to keep the peace when a blinded Harwood grabbed Briscoe and hit a piledriver. Lethal & company bailed as FTR attended to Briscoe.
-Renee Paquette is backstage with Chris Jericho, as she asks how he’s doing after Adam Cole got the best of him last week. Jericho said Cole created an unsafe work environment and has a court order saying if Jericho is in the arena, Cole is banned. Roderick Strong walked in and called Jericho delusional. Strong challenges Jericho to a Falls Count Anywhere fight, which Jericho accepts for next week. Jericho tells him to be careful what he wishes for, since he has an army. Strong handed Jericho a document saying the J.A.S. are also banned from the arena next week.
-Excalibur talks about Miro showing up earlier and going into Tony Khan’s office, as they throw it right back to Renee Paquette waiting for answers outside his office when Thunder Rosa shows up. Rosa says tonight’s the night to get answers and goes into Khan’s office as well.
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-A video package on Sammy Guevara is shown saying he’s one of the pillars that shouldn’t have been. Chris Jericho said he brought in Guevara not to be a sidekick, but to be a star. Tay Conti mentioned the main event is where he belongs, being born to do this. Guevara said to any kid out there who has a dream, it could come true. This absolutely came off as if Guevara was a babyface.
-Tony Khan is backstage saying how tonight is one of the strongest Dynamite cards they’ve had, but even with that, there are still so many talented wrestlers backstage that can provide content. Khan said next week there will be a huge announcement and I think it’s safe to assume that’s most likely the talk of AEW Collision on Saturday’s.
Orange Cassidy defeated Daniel Garcia to retain the International Title
(Another excellent title defense for Orange Cassidy, who continues surviving, as this week Garcia picked apart the hand, back and leg. It wasn’t enough, as Cassidy was able to get another win under his belt. You could tell that eventually Cassidy’s luck will run out, just a matter of when and against whom.)
Cassidy caught Garcia off guard to begin with mat wrestling, as Garcia countered and did a little dance for the crowd. After a back and forth, Garcia tried a drop toe hold, but Cassidy blocked and strutted away before delivering his signature pocket offense. Garcia gained control by targeting the documented injured hand of Cassidy. Garcia launched Cassidy to the corner and to the floor with a back suplex on the edge of the ring as well as the barricade. Garcia zoned in on the back during picture in picture, even mocking the pocket pose and flipping the crowd off.
Cassidy blocked a superplex initially, but Garcia hit at the bad hand, connected with the move, rolled through, only for Cassidy to deliver a Stundog Millionaire. Garcia responded with a dragon screw, but Cassidy avoided a Sharpshooter and we got a slugfest, with Cassidy resorting to forearms. Garcia trapped Cassidy’s hands in his pockets and tried a piledriver, only for Cassidy to get a Beach Break variation for two. Garcia avoided Orange Punch with a low dropkick, as little kicks from Garcia mocked Cassidy, who followed with a snap piledriver. Cassidy fired off a strike and another Beach Break, but Garcia kicked out and locked in the Dragon Tamer. Cassidy almost got a fish hook to escape, but Garcia transitioned into a Crossface, stomping on the bad hand repeatedly. Garcia went to reposition, but ended up trading pin attempts with Cassidy, who got the crucifix for the flash pin.
-A video package of the returning Hikaru Shida is shown from last week. The Outcasts mock how Shida is back in Japan this week, as they issue the 6 woman tag for next week, which Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter accept.
Christian Cage addresses Wardlow and the TNT Title
Christian Cage came to the ring with Luchasaurus, as Tony Schiavone talks to him about challenging Wardlow last week. Cage quickly insults the crowd and that got him booed mercilessly as he calls himself the number one contender for the TNT Title. Cage asks why there are so many daddy issues in AEW? Cage talked about Wardlow’s father, but said he wasn’t famous, so he’s not wasting his breath. Cage said Wardlow found a father figure in Arn Anderson, who was looking for a son himself. That line didn’t get nearly the amount of heat as it should’ve since Cage was already being booed loudly. Cage said he was talking about Brock Anderson, who Arn threw to the side for Wardlow and take all the credit. Cage called him the sidekick to Ric Flair and said Tully Blanchard did all the work in their team. The crowd is so loud that you can barely hear Cage run down Wardlow and how he’s going to take the TNT Title next week.
-We go to a video package on Darby Allin, who is at his house training by skateboarding and riding an ATV, since he said his wrestling style is reckless. Allin said to be World Champion in AEW means he could give back to what wrestling has given him. We hear from Sting saying Allin got into wrestling similar to why he did. Allin said he’s going to Double or Nothing to become AEW World Champion.
Julia Hart defeated Anna Jay in a No Holds Barred Match
(I have to give huge credit to both of these ladies, who beat the absolute crap out of each other during this entire match. This was a fun weapons filled battle, as Julia Hart gets easily the biggest win in her career up to this point.)
During Hart’s entrance, Jay ran out and clocked her in the back with a chair. Hart quickly turned the tables on the floor and sent Jay into the barricade repeatedly. After a few kendo stick shots by Hart, Jay was able to battle back with a snap suplex on the floor. Hart posted Jay before she was able to use the kendo stick herself. Hart smacked Jay’s face repeatedly on the ring attendant table, controlling most of the action during commercial.
Each woman tried setting up weapons, but had it backfire, as Jay was rammed into a corner chair, while Hart slammed face first into a stack of chairs outside. Jay placed a trash can over Hart in the corner and sandwiched her. Hart was down for a while as Jay piled up a bunch of chairs in the ring. Hart spun out of a brainbuster, fought to the corner and hit a superplex, which luckily Jay missed almost entirely. Hart sank in Hartless while in the chairs and got Jay to submit.
-Renee Paquette is backstage with Best Friends, Bandido and an injured Orange Cassidy who said he thinks there’s room for three more titles in his backpack. Paquette asked what their stipulation is for this House Rules match, which caught Best Friends off guard, so Trent just said no spooky witches ringside, referring to Julia Hart, who I assume after that weapons match, wasn’t going to be out there anyway. Best Friends & Bandido walked out to the ring, as Cassidy said he’s exhausted, as Paquette agreed she was as well. I don’t blame her; it feels like she’s done about 14 different backstage segments so far tonight.
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The House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) defeated Best Amigos (Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta & Bandido) in an Open House Match to defend the AEW Trios Titles
(I liked the little things that went into making this match feel different. The rules might need a little work, as I’m not sure “No Spooky Witches” is a very good stipulation for your first Open House Match, but it’s Best Friends, so I get it. Over time they’ll work that out, as I enjoyed how this was shot and it was action packed for the time it went.)
There are lights flickering on the entrance tron, as the crowd is dimly lit, with a spotlight in the ring at the request of the House of Black. Bandido & Black had a nice back and forth strike exchange to start until Black sank in a leg lock. Bandido tried a rope break, but there are no rope breaks in House Rules matches. Bandido rolled to the floor, as Beretta & Taylor momentarily took control of Black, who tagged King, as he steamrolled everyone into commercial.
Beretta was able to battle back with a nice Tornado DDT and thrust kick on Matthews for two. Orange Cassidy is shown watching backstage, as Beretta avoided a Curb Stomp and hit a double stomp counter. Bandido made the hot tag with a Tornillo onto Matthews and Crucifix Bomber on King. Bandido wiped out both Matthews & King on the floor with a dive, as back inside, Bandido tried another springboard on Matthews, who flattened him in mid air with a V-Trigger. Taylor made the tag, dropped Matthews with Sole Food, but King made the tag as both he & Matthews flattened Taylor with Dante’s Inferno to retain the titles.
Backstage we see Orange Cassidy laid out at the feet of someone, who is revealed to be Aussie Open’s Kyle Fletcher, who is safe to assume is next in line for the International Title.
-The fourth Pillar highlight video is shown tonight showcasing Jungle Boy Jack Perry who said he’s living out the dream he’s had as a kid. Christian Cage said if Perry can get his head out of his own ass, he can win the AEW Title, as there was a reason he aligned himself with that Pillar of AEW. Perry said MJF wrestles four times a year, while Perry is devoted to becoming the best wrestler in the world by putting time in the ring. Perry said Double or Nothing will be spectacular. These video packages on the competitors of the Pillars Four Way were very well done tonight.
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Jon Moxley defeated Kenny Omega (w/Don Callis) in a Steel Cage Match
(This was another incredibly violent chapter in one of AEW’s longest rivalries, with the finish being a huge turn. When Omega said last week in his promo with Callis that everything would come to an end, I think Callis knew that to be true, just not how Omega would’ve liked.)
Omega & Moxley brawled on the stage to start as Bryan Danielson has joined commentary for this main event. Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta attacked Omega ringside, but The Young Bucks ran out and fought off both BCC members with Nick Jackson doing a sprinting dive off the stage onto Yuta & Castagnoli. Omega & Moxley entered the cage and it officially began with a slugfest. Omega won that battle and hit You Can’t Escape for two. Omega dug under the ring and pulled out a barbed wire wrapped steel chair, chucking it at Moxley. Omega draped the chair on the back and connected with a gnarly double stomp. Jon Moxley is bleeding for those keeping score, as he drove Omega into the camera man and gave a kiss to the camera.
Moxley launched Omega spine first into the cage and got his revenge with a barbed wire chair shot to the back, as Danielson smiled from the broadcast table. Omega responded with a Kotaro Crusher and bodyslam onto the chair. Moxley delivered an answer of his own, with a superplex to Omega on the chair. Moxley unscrewed a corner turnbuckle and used the steel to wrench at the mouth of Omega. You can safely assume what the crowd chanted at Moxley for that one. Moxley choked away with the turnbuckle rope.
Moxley grabbed a bag of broken glass and took too much time to spread it out, as Omega hit a neckbreaker. Omega tried One Winged Angel on the glass, but Moxley locked in a rear naked choke. Omega took a few steps forward and fell back, driving Moxley onto the glass. Moxley rose from the dead and sank the choke in again, even with glass in his back. Omega rolled through a Gotch Style Piledriver attempt into a charging knee for the double down as the crowd is on fire. Both men rose to their feet with another striking battle until Omega hit multiple pumping knees into a Snap Dragon. Omega charged and hit a V-Trigger on Moxley so hard that both men went through the cage, as Moxley landed outside with Omega’s leg trapped between the ring & cage in an insane looking moment.
Moxley recovered first and grabbed a screwdriver ringside, as he stalked down Omega with it, but Don Callis made the save, grabbing the screwdriver from Moxley. Omega hit a One Winged Angel, but as the three was about to be counted, Callis attacked Omega with the screwdriver to the shock of the crowd. Moxley draped an arm over Omega and won the match. Callis had a smile on his face, with Excalibur saying Callis treated Omega like a son. Danielson said he had no idea this was going to happen, as Omega slowly got to his knees, Callis was going to give one final shot with the screwdriver, but thought otherwise, whispered something to Omega, kissed him on the cheek and threw him down. The show ended with Callis walking off, Moxley standing tall and Omega left bleeding.
AEW Rampage 5/13/23
· The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass takes on The Butcher, The Blade & Kip Sabian
· Kyle Fletcher battles Action Andretti
· Toni Storm takes on Allysin Kay
· We hear from The Gunns
· Swerve Strickland & Brian Cage battle John Silver & Alex Reynolds
AEW Dynamite 5/17/23
· The Outcasts (Saraya, Ruby Soho & Toni Storm) take on Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker & Hikaru Shida
· Ricky Starks battles Switchblade Jay White
· Chris Jericho takes on Roderick Strong in a Falls Count Anywhere Match
The road to crowning a new NXT Women’s Champion begins tonight.
With Indi Hartwell vacating the title and being called up to Raw, NXT is holding a tournament to decide its new Women’s Champion. The tournament begins tonight with two first-round matches: Gigi Dolin vs. Tiffany Stratton and Lyra Valkyria vs. Kiana James.
Roxanne Perez, Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Cora Jade are the other tournament participants. The finals will be held at NXT Battleground on Sunday, May 28.
Gold will be on the line tonight as Gallus defend their NXT Tag Team titles against The Dyad. In addition to that, the show will feature a grudge match between Trick Williams and Bron Breakker.
Ilja Dragunov vs. Dijak, Tyler Bate vs. Charlie Dempsey, Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen vs. Hank Walker & Tank Ledger, Eddy Thorpe vs. Damon Kemp, and Duke Hudson vs. Javier Bernal are scheduled for tonight as well. Plus, we’ll hear from Nathan Frazer as he presents a new edition of Hard Hitting Home Truths.
Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
The show opens with a recap of Indi Hartwell vacating the NXT Women’s Championship. The tournament to determine a new champion starts tonight.
The eight wrestlers in the tournament are lining the aisle ahead of the first match in the tourney. Tiffany Stratton is out to kick off the show, and she also cuts a promo on a pre-taped cutaway. Gigi Dolan also cuts a promo in a pre-tape.
Tiffany Stratton defeated Gigi Dolan to advance in NXT Women’s Championship Tournament
Stratton pinned Dolan to win a quarterfinal match. Stratton advances into the semifinals, where she faces the winner of Jacy Jayne vs. Roxanne Perez.
Stratton works an arm during much of the match, but Dolan fights back. Stratton goes right back to targeting the arm. Stratton then goes for a rolling fireman’s carry slam, but it goes terribly wrong. Dolan takes a ugly bump on the mat. Stratton then executes the “Prettiest Moonsault Ever,” and Stratton covers Dolan for a pinfall.
Gallus is heading to the ring to defend their NXT Tag Team Championship. Meanwhile, The Schism is gathered to send The Dyad into battle. The Dyad head for the ring. Joe Gacy stays behind, taking Ava’s advice to focus more on himself. Gacy tells Ava to guide The Dyad as he would in his place.
Trick Williams is at the barber shop with NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes. Those gathered in the barber shop give Williams a send-off as he leaves for his match tonight, when Williams will face Bron Breakker in the main event. Williams calls it his biggest test.
NXT Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang with Joe Coffey) defeated The Dyad (Rip Fowler & Jagger Reid with Ava) to retain their titles
Gallus is strong out of the gates as the fighting breaks out before the bell sounds to start the match. They wrestle through a split-screen commercial break. The Dyad were running wild when the show cut to commercials, and they were getting a near fall when the show returns from the break.
Suddenly, there is a wacky backstage skit with Diamond Mine. They are watching the match on monitors, and The Creed Brothers are joking around by wearing blue masks that mock the ones worn by The Schism. Ivy Nile is having none of that, and she snaps the masks on the Creeds’ face. She yells at them to quit messing around. Then, back to the tag match inside the soundstage.
Ava causes a distraction, which causes Nile to run in and jump Ava at ringside. The Creeds run out and try to pry Nile off Ava. The two women brawl on the floor, while Gallus is in the ring executing their tandem finisher. Wolfgang then covers Reid for a pinfall.
A mysterious teaser on the show gives me Black Scorpion vibes. It is more likely a character makeover of sorts for Wendy Choo.
Duke Hudson (with Thea Hail) defeated Javier Bernal
Hudson pinned Bernal in a glorified enhancement match. It was set up with a skit before the match where Bernal disrespects Chase U. Thea Hail steals the scene in that skit. Andre Chase is not there as he was written off the show, but his character is still mentioned in the skit.
Bernal is getting heat on Hudson, and Hudson hulks up like The Hulkster in ’86, brother. Hudson also does a Dusty Rhodes flip, flop and fly. Hudson also does a German suplex where he jumps into the ring from the apron to execute the suplex. For the finish, Hudson gives Bernal a Razor’s Edge, and Hudson covers him for a three count.
Mr. Stone is bonding with Von Wagner when Stone again brings up a childhood picture of Wagner in the hospital. A geek nearby cracks a joke about Wagner related to the photo. Wagner snaps and guzzles the unnamed geek.
A backstage confrontation between The Creeds and Gallus seems to set up a tag title match in the near future.
Eddy Thorpe defeated Damon Kemp
Thorpe pinned Kemp in what Vic Joseph on commentary called a “hard fought win.” That was the story of the match, but it was not exactly an exciting match. Thorpe made a comeback as they went home, and he gives Kemp a German suplex. Thorpe follows up with a leaping elbow drop, and Thorpe covers Kemp for a pin.
McKenzie Mitchell interviews Kiana James ahead of her tournament match later tonight. James has her sights set on the women’s title.
After a commercial break, McKenzie Mitchell interviews Bron Breakker in his locker room. Breakker heels on Mitchell. Breakker then threatens to put Trick Williams in the hospital just like he did with Carmelo Hayes.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Dijak via disqualification
Dijak hit Dragunov with a metal folding chair for the DQ.
The match starts as a slobberknocker as they exchange vicious chops like this was Wahoo McDaniel vs. Ric Flair, but maybe even more stiff. The battle on from there. Dijak gets a nearfall on a high kick, and a frustrated Dijak then takes a folding chair from the timekeeper.
An angry Dijak brings the chair in to the ring. The referee pleads with Dijak to ditch the chair, but Dijak instead gives Dragunov a chair shots. Dragunov feeds him his back for more shots from the chair, but the carnage is not over.
At ringside, Dijak traps Dragunov underneath the ring steps. Dijak then stands on the steps as Dragunov sells like his being choked by the steps. Usually, the steps are in two pieces, but here they were attached as one piece to facilitate the angle.
Charlie Dempsey (with Drew Gulak) defeated Tyler Bate (with NXT North American Champion Wes Lee)
Dempsey pinned Bate after interference by both Joe Gacy and Gulak. Gacy comes to ringside during the match, and he gets into argument with Lee and Gulak. Bate does a dives over the ropes to the floor that wipes out Gulak and Gacy. A moment later, Gulak causes a distraction, which allows Gacy to clobber Bate. Dempsey then uses a Dragon suplex and a bridge to pin Bate for a three count.
McKenzie Mitchell interviews Dragon Lee, who begins to talk about Noam Dar. Dragon Lee interrupts Dar with a video message. Dar invites Dragon Lee to be a guest on Dar’s Supernova Sessions talk show. Dragon Lee says he will be there.
Briggs pinned Tank in a hard-hitting slobberknocker.
Hank & Tank brings the fight to the Briggs & Jensen, but Briggs & Jensen soon fight back with tandem offense. They are all smacking leather and throwing haymakers. Tank apparently lost a tooth, but not to fret, he spat it out and put it in his singlet for safe keeping.
Tank then takes a Hart Attack finisher from Briggs & Jensen. Briggs then covers Tank for the deciding pinfall. The two teams exchange fist bumps after the match in show of sportsmanship.
Hard Hitting Home Truths with Nathan Frazier talks about the international talent on the NXT roster in a wacky news magazine segment. This reminded me of the defunct Talk Soup show on E! decades ago, mixed with a Sean Mooney Event Center segment from the old episode of Superstars.
Lyra Valkyria defeated Kiana James to advance in the NXT Women’s Championship Tournament
Valkyria pinned James in a quarterfinal match. Valkyria now advances to face Tiffany Stratton in the semifinals.
The match goes through a split-screen commercial break. James works over Valkyria throughout the bout, until Valkyria begins a comeback. James cuts off Valkyria, and James gets a near fall with a Last Ride powerbomb. Valkyria comes back with a counter and a roundhouse kick. Valkyria then scores a pinfall.
In a skit at a pub, Tony D’Angelo and Stacks want a tag title shot against Gallus. Joe Coffey takes exception to Tony D and Stacks wanting the next title shot. Coffey basically threatens The Family with a club. Tony D warns him about such things, but Stacks points out they are outnumbered. The Family leave, but something tells me this story is far from done.
Bron Breakker defeated Trick Williams
Breakker submitted Williams with a Steiner Recliner. Carmelo Hayes runs in after the match to make a save Williams from a post-match beating, but Hayes himself catches a beating instead.
Breakker is a heel, so gone are the colorful singlets. He now rocks a solid black singlet with lettering outlined in white. His name on the front and “MEANER THAN EVIL” written on the back.
In the match itself, Williams was on a roll at the start. Williams boots Breakker out of the ring. They fight on the floor, and Williams looks to send Breakker flying into the timekeeper’s area. Breakker counters, and he backdrops Williams on the announce desk.
Breakker has cut off William’s momentum, and Breakker begins to maul him. Breakker goes for a pin at on point, but he breaks the count to do push-ups as a taunt.
Williams gets a hope spot, but Breakker dashes the hope with a Steiner powerslam. Breakker toys with Williams and taunt him some more. Willaims fires back and catches Breakker with a neckbreaker.
Double down leads to them trading strikes. Williams with a rally and he does a short-arm uranage slam for a near fall. Breakker then blocks a wind-up kick, and Breakker does his military press/powerslam combo.
Wiliams has more fight left in him. He again goes for a wind-up kick, but Breakker mows down Williams with a spear. Breakker pulls down the straps on his singlet, and Breakker applies the Steiner Recliner. Williams taps out, and Breakker wins via submission.
Breakker again applies the Recliner after the match is over. Out comes NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes, who in an earlier skit left the barber shop to be in Williams’ corner. Hayes rushes into the ring to make a save. However, Breakker cuts down Hayes out of mid-air with a spear. Hayes went for a springboard off the middle rope, and Breakker speared him.
Breakker stands over Hayes and talks trash while holding the title belt overhead. Breakker throws the belt down on Hayes, and Breakker poses in a defiant stance as the show goes off the air.
Date: May 8, 2023 Location: VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL
The Big Takeaway —
Seth Rollins won the Raw side of the World Title tournament, beating Finn Bálor in the main event, and will face the winner of the SmackDown side at Night of Champions.
Brock Lesnar cost Cody Rhodes his first-round match and F5’d him through the announce table. Lesnar was pissed, claiming Rhodes lucked into his win at Backlash. Lesnar challenged him to “a fight” at Night of Champions and Rhodes accepted.
Becky Lynch returned to attack Trish Stratus.
**********
Show Recap —
The Raw intro highlighted each participant in the World Heavyweight Championship tournament.
Cody Rhodes promo
Cody Rhodes entered to a really big reaction. They aired clips of his win over Brock Lesnar and most of it was black and white due to Lesnar’s blood.
Rhodes said Jacksonville was his home during the pandemic and they made a lot of great memories together and he wanted to make another one tonight.
Rhodes talked about the magnitude of Backlash in Puerto Rico but he didn’t get to experience it the way the fans did because he was busy with Lesnar. Rhodes discovered what Lesnar was made of because it was all over his fist. He discovered that Lesnar can be defended because he beat him.
Lesnar took away his clarity because he was in a fight for survival but now it was clear what was next for him on Raw — the World Heavyweight Championship.
Rhodes had the bracket shown for the tournament as he made his way over to the new title belt. He couldn’t wait to hear ring announcer Samantha Irvin announce him as the new World Champion. The crowd chanted “You deserve it” and Rhodes responded, “Let the tournament begin.”
Seth Rollins interrupted. He was jovial for a moment before getting serious upon facing off with Rhodes on the stage. Rollins returned to his jovial self as he made his way to the ring for the first triple-threat match. (Rhodes returned to the back.)
********
Rollins remained in the ring after a break and his music was still playing (it would have stopped for a few minutes during the break). They recapped his win over Omos at Backlash before showing a video package of Bad Bunny beating Damian Priest with Rollins still in the ring.
Cathy Kelley interviewed Priest in Gorilla. She asked if the loss to Bad Bunny was weighing on him. Priest said the name that would live forever after their brutal street fight would be his because it took an entire island to beat him. Priest planned on putting down Rollins and Nakamura by himself tonight. It would be Priest or Finn Bálor bringing the title to Judgment Day. (Priest sold his leg on the way to the ring.)
Rollins stood in the ring for 11 minutes and 30 seconds by the time the match started.
World Championship Tournament Round 1 Triple Threat: Seth Rollins defeated Shinsuke Nakamura and Damian Priest (13:20)
They went to break two minutes in with Nakamura in control. When they returned, Rollins wiped out both opponents with a flying crossbody and handed out suicide dives. Priest cut him off before Nakamura hit Priest with strikes and a flying knee for two. Priest decked Nakamura with a forearm and planted Rollins with an elevated flatliner for two.
The three men exchanged strikes until strikes by Nakamura and Rollins got rid of Priest. Rollins dropped Nakamura with a clothesline but Priest dropped Rollins on the top rope. Priest tried a Razor’s Edge but his knee gave out so Rollins hit a curb stomp and Nakamura broke up the cover.
Nakamura got the better of a strike exchange with Rollins and hit a reverse exploder. He set up for Kinshasa but Priest decked him and tossed Rollins from the ring. Nakamura fought back and put Priest’s injured leg in a leg lock.
Rollins flew in and hit Nakamura with a frog splash (rotating mid-air) and a Pedigree for the pinfall win. Rollins advanced to the next round.
Fun match and cool finish.
********
Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci walked through the back while proclaiming to everyone that the ring general Gunther would appear next week. They bumped into Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Zayn said they were in the middle of something and asked to give them five minutes.
Kaiser said they were Imperium and were not to be disrespected. Zayn said they’d still be Imperium in five minutes. Zayn tried to talk to Owens but Owens said he couldn’t concentrate with Imperium still standing there and Vinci’s finger in his face.
Owens wondered if Kaiser and Vinci were just henchmen for Gunther like the Usos were for Roman Reigns and wondered why there are so many henchmen in WWE. Zayn said they dealt with the Bloodline for months but they would take care of Imperium tonight. The four men agreed to match.
********
Mustafa Ali defeated Otis (w/Chad Gable & Maxxine Dupri) (2:18)
Ali dropped after an Otis clothesline which meant it was time for Otis to do the caterpillar. Gable encouraged him to do it as the crowd (lightly) cheered and Dupri tried talking him out of it as the crowd (lightly) booed. Ali started to move so Otis charged but Ali dodged it and hit a 450 splash for the pinfall win.
********
The Miz cut a backstage promo putting himself over. He said he would win the tournament and we would have to put respect on his name. (Miz has not won a match this year.)
They showed pictures of Miz and Maryse in attendance at the Kentucky Derby a few days ago.
World Championship Tournament Round 1 Triple Threat: Finn Bálor defeated The Miz and Cody Rhodes (9:33)
Rhodes hit both men with a suicide dive which led to a break a minute into the match.
[SECOND HOUR]
Rhodes remained in control after the break and handed out powerslams before dropping both opponents with a double Cody Cutter. Bálor blocked a Cross Rhodes but Rhodes hit a Disaster Kick for two. Miz hit Rhodes with a DDT for two. Bálor gave Rhodes a headlock elbow drop for two and followed with a shotgun dropkick.
Rhodes avoided a Coup de Grace and Miz gave Bálor a Skull Crushing Finale but Rhodes broke up the cover. Rhodes gave Bálor a Cross Rhodes and Miz tried to steal the pin by chucking Rhodes out of the ring but Rhodes popped right back in to break up the cover.
Rhodes gave Miz three consecutive Cross Rhodes but Brock Lesnar suddenly appeared and yanked Rhodes out of the ring to break up the cover. Lesnar gave Rhodes an F5 outside the ring. (Kevin Patrick shrieked, which was funny.) The crowd booed Lesnar.
As Lesnar stared at a fallen Rhodes, Bálor hit Miz with a Coup de Grace for the pinfall win. Bálor advances to the semi-final against Rollins tonight.
— Lesnar F5’d Rhodes through the announce table post-match. The crowd booed as Lesnar asked Cody what he wanted to talk about. He pointed the camera at the stitches on his face and said, “Look at this face!” Lesnar grabbed Rhodes by the head and told him to look at his face. Lesnar angrily said that Rhodes lucked into those stitches and lucked into the win.
Lesnar wanted a fight. Lesnar challenged Rhodes to “a fight” at Night of Champions. Lesnar added, “Who is the coward now?” before dropping the mic.
Lesnar left as officials checked on Rhodes.
Lesnar was awesome here.
(The crowd was booing but they also jacked up the volume.)
After a break, Rhodes limped through the back on his own as a single medical staff member led him to the trainer’s room.
********
As Ripley Ripley entered, the announcers put over Zelina Vega’s effort at Backlash.
Dana Brooke cut a pre-taped promo saying we would see her untapped potential.
Smackdown Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley (w/Dominik Mysterio) defeated Dana Brooke in a non-title match (1:41)
Brooke got some offence but Ripley hit a Rip-tide and won quickly by submission with the Prism Trap.
— Ripley gave Brooke a second Rip-tide after the match and put her in the Prism Trap again until Natalya marched out (slowly) to her music. Natalya stared down Ripley until Ripley and Dom left the ring.
********
There was a video package highlighting the NXT call-ups.
Byron Saxton interviewed Zoey Stark. Stark said she was amazing at what she did and had complete confidence in herself. Stark walked over to a nearby Nikki Cross and called her a weirdo who was an example of why Stark would succeed. Stark challenged her to a match tonight and Cross said she’d love to play.
********
Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn defeated Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci in a non-title match (9:52)
Imperium took control over Zayn using nefarious means ahead of a break but Zayn fought back and made the hot tag to Owens who hammered away at Kaiser. Owens used a back body drop, inverted atomic drop, clothesline, pumphandle neckbreaker, and a senton bomb but Vinci broke up the cover.
Imperium double-teamed Owens to take over but Owens eventually gave Kaiser a stunner and superkicked Vinci. Zayn tagged in and gave Vinci a Helluva Kick for the pinfall win.
********
Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green — both wearing red — walked around getting signatures backstage. They convinced Xia Li to sign their petition despite not knowing what it was for. (They made it seem like it was for the betterment of the environment.)
They handed the petition to Indi Hartwell who was backstage with Candice LeRae and Johnny Gargano. Hartwell didn’t want to sign. Deville and Green explained it was to give them a tag title match. Dexter Lumis showed up and gave them the thumbs down so Hartwell turned them down. They left.
Gargano was happy the whole family was back together. Gargano said “he” was coming back soon and was excited. LeRae was skeptical.
********
The announcers congratulated Batista on the success of Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
There was a Bloodline video package showing what happened at Backlash. Roman Reigns returns on this Friday’s Smackdown.
Zoey Stark defeated Nikki Cross (2:28)
Cross got some offence but Stark won somewhat easily with Z-360 (belly-to-back GTS).
********
Saxton interviewed Ripley and Dominik. He asked if Ripley was feeling extra pressure after being the number one pick. Ripley said she welcomed the pressure.
Xavier Woods and Akira Tozawa were laughing about something nearby and Dom told them to show some respect. Woods told Dom that his clothes looked like they came from the lost and found. Dom threatened to punch him in the face so Woods challenged him to a match. Ripley accepted on “Dom-Dom’s” behalf. Woods was amused by the nickname.
********
[THIRD HOUR]
Patrick ran down some stats to highlight the success of Backlash in Puerto Rico.
Trish Stratus promo
Stratus tried to cheer up Kevin Patrick because she assumed he was extra upset that his countrymate Becky Lynch was gone and said, “Go Ireland!” Stratus said Lynch was still missing and was probably hanging out with her dumb daughter. Stratus called Raw her show and said no one would steal her spotlight — not even Becky “freakin’” Lynch.
Lynch’s music hit but you could tell it was a fake-out the way Stratus overreacted. Lynch didn’t show up and Stratus laughed at the fans. Stratus claimed Lynch was never coming back. The crowd chanted for Lynch as Stratus told a story about her own daughter wanting to name her doll after Becky.
Before Stratus could continue her story, Lynch’s music hit again. Stratus told them to cut the music because the joke was over but Lynch showed up behind her.
Lynch decked Stratus with a right hand and hit an exploder. Stratus bailed up the ramp. Lynch said she was right there if Stratus wanted her.
The crowd was happy to see Lynch.
(Perhaps we will one day find out where the hell this Stratus promo was going.)
********
Zayn, Owens and Adam Pearce checked on Rhodes as he was being tended to by the trainer.
Woods was on offence but Dom back body dropped him out of the ring and he collided with the ring steps. Dom cut off Woods’ comeback attempt after a break and hit the three amigos suplexes for two.
Woods fought back with a forearm, corner clothesline, rolling clothesline and tornado DDT for two. Dom came right back with a spinning back elbow for two. Dom took too much time to brag so Woods tripped him, draped him over the top rope and hit a missile dropkick for two.
Woods went for his flying springboard elbow drop but Ripley yanked Dom out of the way. Dom then rolled up Woods while holding the tights for the pinfall win.
********
There was a quick video hyping Jinder Mahal and Indus Sher. (They were already included in the earlier NXT call-up video but they got their own video here.)
Miz complained to Nakamura in the back and reiterated his suggestion that they should team up. Nakamura suggested a match next week and said, “It’s gonna be awesome!” as he backed away. Miz wasn’t happy.
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez approached Green and Deville in the back. They said Green and Deville should have just stepped up and asked for a title shot. Morgan signed their petition. Green and Deville laughed and said they were banking on Damage CTRL beating them for the titles first (on Smackdown). Morgan and Rodriguez shrugged them off.
********
Kelley interviewed Rhodes and asked about Lesnar. Rhodes said he lost the opportunity to become the first-ever World Heavyweight Champion in a tournament that, respectfully, was his to win. Rhodes was almost speechless but found something to say.
Rhodes said this was the second time Lesnar has attacked him from behind for no reason. The only reason he could think of was that Lesnar was losing his long-running grip over the main event scene because by every measurable metric, Rhodes was now the man and he proved it at Backlash. Rhodes accepted Lesnar’s challenge for a fight.
********
Next week on Raw:
IC Champion Gunther in action
Nakamura vs. Miz
The winner of Morgan & Rodriguez vs. Damage CTRL will face Deville & Green
********
(They’ve altered Rollins’ entrance so his music cuts off when he hits the ring so he can bask in a spotlight as the crowd sings his song. Except, they cut it off at an odd moment and it’s almost like the crowd has to start again. Basically, they’ve made it worse.)
World Championship Tournament Semi-Final: Seth Rollins defeated Finn Bálor (13:32)
Bálor powerbombed Rollins into the barricade — the spot that injured Bálor in their Universal Championship match years ago — which led to a break two minutes into the match.
Rollins sold his arm as he made a comeback after the break. Rollins tried something off the top but Bálor reversed into a cradle for two and transitioned into an arm bar. Rollins slipped out but Bálor hit a slingblade. Bálor went for a dropkick but Rollins hit a superkick for two.
They took turns slamming each others’ heads into the apron until Rollins took over and repeatedly bounced Bálor’s head off of it. Rollins hit an enziguri in the ring but Bálor came back with a Pelé kick. They each sat up and smiled at each other before going at it again and Bálor hit a double foot stomp. Rollins hit a superplex but Bálor countered a falcon arrow into a reverse DDT for two.
Bálor stomped at Rollins in the corner, dropkicked the back of his head, and dropkicked him in the corner. Rollins dodged a Coup de Grace and hit a one-armed Pedigree for a nearfall.
Bálor avoided a stomp but with Bálor sitting face-up, Rollins stomped his face before hitting his usual curb stomp for the pinfall win. Really good match.
Rollins advances to the finals of the tournament against the Smackdown finalist to be determined on Friday.
Last week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, before Monday’s Raw. It was a fun episode that showcased some strong wrestling.
While we didn’t get the weekly fresh face from WWE NXT, the quality was strong with both matches really well put together. If they did this all over again next week, there would be no complaints from me.
Piper Niven defeated Dana Brooke (5:57)
This was a good, solid match. Brooke is always good value these days and she and Niven worked really well together here.
This was Niven’s first appearance on Main Event since she changed her moniker from Doudrop. Last time out back in August 2022, she teamed up with Nikki ASH in a winning effort against Brooke and Tamina.
After the early exchanges, Brooke was shaking her left arm that she hurt when Niven used a splash to the corner. Niven nailed Brooke with a modified tombstone, dropping her onto her shoulder. Niven then used a cobra clutch.
Brooke fired up with a cartwheel into a back elbow and bulldog for a two count. Brooke couldn’t hit a suplex and Niven countered into a small package for another nearfall.
After Brooke kicked out of a Michinoku Driver, she caught Niven on the top rope and managed to hit a power bomb for her own near fall. The crowd really popped for both the move and the kick out.
In the end, Niven caught Brooke as she charged and used a swinging side slam to get the job done. Credit where it’s due: this was a good opener.
Mustafa Ali defeated Akira Tozawa (7:07)
This was also a good match between two performers who are usually never bad in the ring. Ali worked really effectively as a heel and created lots of sympathy for Tozawa in the process.
This was the third time these two have faced off on Main Event and over the years, it has always been Ali that has come out on top. This was no different.
Tozawa is such an underrated performer — always giving his best and always playing whatever role they need him to portray with aplomb.
They went back and forth in the early going with the crowd quite invested. We went quite early to the commercial break after Tozawa nailed Ali with a rolling cannonball off the apron to the floor.
After the break, Ali started to really work on Tozawa’s left leg. He dodged a charge into the corner and Ali took a really great looking bump into the second turnbuckle to give Tozawa the hope.
Tozawa grabbed a near fall from a German suplex and then Ali tried a roll-up, using the ropes to get leverage. The ref was about to count to three but spotted the infringement at the last second.
The finish was really clever as the way it played into how Ali had worked over Tozawa’s leg throughout was creative. Ali used the 450 splash and landed it on Tozawa’s legs followed by a half Boston Crab to get the win.
