After getting into an impromptu fight with Ring of Honor TV Champion Samoa Joe at Sunday’s AEW All Out, AEW World Champion MJF will appear live on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
After MJF & Adam Cole successfully defended the Ring of Honor Tag Team titles to open the show, the two were walking up the ramp when Joe’s music hit and the ROH TV Champion came down to the ring early for his eventual successful title defense against Shane Taylor.
As Joe was walking down, he purposely bumped MJF walking by. Despite Cole trying to get him to calm down, MJF ran down to the ring and went after Joe, getting guillotine choked on his injured neck until security broke them up.
It’s the third match or segment announced for the show in addition to a Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs. Aussie Open match and a Hangman Page promo segment.
Here’s the current card for Indianapolis:
Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs. Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher)
Samoa Joe and MJF had a confrontation at AEW All Out.
MJF and Adam Cole had won their ROH Tag Team title match in the opener on Sunday. As they were making their way to the back, Samoa Joe’s music hit as he came down to the ring for his match against Shane Taylor. Joe shoved MJF as he made his way to the ring. Not happy about the encounter, MJF ran back to the ring and attacked Joe as security ran in to separate the two.
On X, MJF made reference to a similar situation where, playing a security guard, he was shoved by Samoa Joe in a backstage NXT segment from years ago.
“I’m not the kid you shoved in Brooklyn, mother******,” he wrote. “Game on.”
At All Out, MJF and Cole retained the titles, defeating the Dark Order. The finish had MJF, who was taken out of the match early after being attacked by a chair, come in and make the hot tag, scoring the win for his team.
Samoa Joe went on to defeat Taylor to retain the ROH Television championship.
Last Sunday, it was the highest of highs for AEW as they packed in 81,000+ into London’s Wembley Stadium for All In which was, by all accounts, a major win for the company and for the business in general for those willing to move past their AEW hatred.
But the focus on that mega-event has resulted in Sunday’s All Out — AEW’s 21st-ever domestic PPV — feeling like the most skippable one. Considering the prestige this show has had in past years, it’s a major turn for the company.
On this week’s Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, myself and AEW preview specialist Mike DellaCamera look at this eight-day stretch between shows and try to parse out how this happened and what to make of the lineup for All Out (prior to anything new revealed on Collision.)
Was All In just too much of a focus? Why is CM Punk not to fully blame? Is Tony Khan fine with taking a mulligan on Sunday considering the success of All In? All that and more is discussed.
AEW descends upon London’s Wembley Stadium Sunday for All In — both the largest event in the company’s history and one of the largest in pro wrestling history.
In front of more than 80,000 fans, AEW World Champion MJF will defend against rival turned friend Adam Cole hours after they challenge Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions Aussie Open on the pre-show.
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR defend against The Young Bucks in their trilogy match.
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida will defend her title in a four-way that includes former champions Toni Storm and Britt Baker in addition to hometown favorite Saraya.
“Real World’s Champion” CM Punk will defend his ceremonial title against Samoa Joe while Will Ospreay will take on Chris Jericho in their first-ever clash.
The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, Hangman Page & Kota Ibushi) will face Jay White, Juice Robinson & Konosuke Takeshita.
The rest of the card features Sting & Darby Allin in a coffin match, Jack Perry vs. Hook, and more.
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Zero Hour
Machinehead by Bush plays as Renee Paquette, Paul Wight, Anthony Ogogo & Kip Sabian welcome us to Zero Hour by quoting the late Windham Rotunda saying “wrestling is not a love story, it’s a fairytale for masochists, a comedy for people who criticize the punch lines, a fantasy most people can’t understand and a spectacle no one can deny.”
They run down the matches and have video packages before we see Powerhouse Hobbs waiting in the ring with security and a contract waiting to be signed for All In for his match with Miro. Hobbs said the people of London don’t deserve to see him, as Miro interrupted, had a faceoff with Hobbs, who tried a cheap shot, but Miro sent him to the outside. Security restrained Miro, who quickly broke free and laid them all out to stand tall, as he told Hobbs next week he will break his spine and humble him.
After some more video packages, Tony Schiavone introduced Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, Satnam Singh, Jeff & Karen Jarrett to the ring, as Jeff proceeded to run down the London crowd about how American wrestling paved the way and trash talked UK wrestling. Paul Wight, Anthony Ogogo and Grado made their way out to a huge ovation. Excalibur referenced Jarrett smacking a guitar over Grado’s head during a media appearance a few weeks back. Wight & Singh had a face off and Wight KO’d Singh with a punch, while Lethal ate a choke slam. Jarrett ate a right from Ogogo before Grado got his revenge with a guitar shot.
MJF & Adam Cole defeated Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) to win the ROH Tag Team Titles
(A very fun sprint of an opener, with the crowd on fire for a majority, going crazy for the highly anticipated Kangaroo Kick and Double Clothesline by Better Than You Bay-Bay. Cole officially completes his quest on winning ROH gold he never held.)
Before Cole & MJF could do their double pose, Davis & Fletcher attacked from behind and hit the collider outside. Bell officially rang and MJF was isolated in the early going with Cole being kept from making a tag. MJF got a throat shot and wanted the Kangaroo Kick, but Fletcher put a stop to that. Finally MJF did a roll and made the hot tag to Cole, who ran wild with pump kicks and clotheslines. Fletcher avoided the Boom, but not the backstabber, which got Cole a two. Cole wanted Panama Sunrise, but opted to demolish Fletcher with a super kick instead. Cole & MJF called for the double clothesline, but Davis saved his partner. Cole got the crowd to chant for an MJF dive and he hit the ropes too long with Cole being dragged outside.
Davis & Fletcher hit double thrust kicks on MJF and connected with the Aussie Arrow for a near fall. Friendly fire from Aussie Open, as MJF hit a Kangaroo Kick that made the crowd go crazy. MJF & Cole hit the double clothesline on Fletcher that folded him up and got the three count and the titles.
-While Paquette, Wight, Sabian & Ogogo were recapping what we just saw, we cut to Mercedes Mone sitting in the crowd to a huge ovation.
-Lexy Nair is backstage with Britt Baker and said she never thought they’d be at Wembley, but also never thought she’d be complacent, which is what she’s been. Baker allowed herself to take a backseat, assuming someone would take the driver’s seat, but no one has. Tonight she walks out a bonafide star and the face of the women’s division. Baker will walk out women’s champion and re-start the era of D.M.D. Paul Wight said all the women in the title match are determined to win, but there’s a shark circling in the stands, bringing up Mercedes Mone.
HOOK defeated Jack Perry to win the FTW Title
(This didn’t go as long as I’d thought it would, but it was a solid brawl and win for HOOK. Perry is really settling into the heel role and I wonder if this is it for their feud or if there will be another chapter? Regardless, I’m looking forward to seeing what both men do next.)
Jim Ross joined commentary, as Perry rode to the stage in a limousine and was promptly met by HOOK, as Perry was whipped into the open door. As both fought to the top of the limo, Perry hit a suplex before hit a RVD Rolling Thunder on the hood. Perry told the camera “real glass, cry me a river” (a reference between the report of CM Punk’s take on Perry wanting to use real glass in a previous match), but wasted too much time and HOOK hit a fisherman’s suplex onto the windshield, shattering it. Both finally went to ringside and Perry hit a draping DDT off the barricade to regain control. Placing a trash can in front of HOOK; Perry went up top and mocked like he was going to do a RVD Coast to Coast, opting to flip off the crowd.
HOOK tried fighting back, but Perry hit rolling bridging suplexes for a few near falls and capped it with a thrust kick flush. Perry tried a moonsault on top of a trash can, but HOOK moved and leveled Perry with a lariat and trash can shot. Cross face punches led to REDRUM and despite Perry trying to fight his best, tapped out.
-Nigel McGuinness joined Excalibur & Jim Ross as we’re told CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe will kick off the main card.
AEW All In London
-Excalibur said “It’s Wembley, you know what that means” before welcoming us to the biggest night in AEW history.
CM Punk defeated Samoa Joe to retain the “AEW Real World’s Title”
(I thought this was an excellent opener, with the finish somewhat coming out of nowhere, despite it being Punk’s old finisher. The crowd was loudly behind Joe, but Punk, who played it up heel a bit, still had his share of chants. This was exactly the hard hitting opener you’d expect between these two.)
Nigel McGuinness cleverly said Joe has a Sweet Tooth for revenge. Punk smirked that he got in the first chop and used his speed early to avoid Joe’s strikes. While in a headlock, Joe slid to the floor and lit up Punk with chops. Back inside, Punk was teetering on the ropes like Terry Funk, getting chopped relentlessly. Joe tried his side step of a cross body, but Punk had it scouted and hit a hurricanrana dropping Joe on his head. Joe regained control and hit his old school ROH Ole, Ole kick outside, but Punk tried another hurricanrana off the apron, only to be caught by Joe and swung through the lower part of the announce table, busting Punk open. Joe picked Punk apart in the ring, hitting a corner charge and enzugiri with blood dripping from Punk. Signature Joe combo with the atomic drop, big boot, running senton got two, but Punk avoided a Muscle Buster into a high kick for the double down.
Punk hit the John Cena combo of shoulder tackles, spinning back suplex, then opted to get even more heat by channeling Hulk Hogan for a leg drop. Joe wasn’t having that, as he hulked up and fired off strikes and snap powerslam. Joe locked in the STF, transitioned into a crossface, but Punk escaped into a stiff high kick. The crowd is loudly booing Punk, who does the Terry Funk spinning toe hold, which Joe escaped with an inside cradle. STO connected, but again Punk avoided the Muscle Buster, this time hitting his old ROH finisher, the Pepsi Plunge and got the victory.
Konosuke Takeshita, Jay White & Juice Robinson (w/The Gunns & Don Callis) defeated The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Hangman Adam Page)
(What an action packed six man, with everyone getting in their offense and looking very good. You have a lot of singles matches you could do next week at All Out stemming from this result. The result certainly came out of nowhere, but it made sense to give Takeshita and especially Callis bragging rights over Omega.)
After a six man face off, it was Robinson who was isolated early by Page & Omega, who fired off chop after chop. Ibushi tagged in and Robinson bailed to tag White to reignite their rivalry from NJPW. Ibushi no sold everything White threw at him and punted White in the chest with a kick before firing off some Golden Lovers double teaming. They went to do the same on Takeshita, who had it scouted, but was sent to the floor where Omega hit his Terminator Dive. Robinson took the ref, as The Gunns held up Omega long enough for White to dodge a diving Omega and gain control. With Omega down, now Takeshita wants to pick him apart, as Callis on commentary was shown on the big screen and the crowd booed him mercilessly.
Ibushi tried to save Omega and briefly had a slugfest with Takeshita, but the numbers of White & Robinson were took much and they took out Page as well. Omega & Takeshita traded forearms until a Takeshita-line connected and White grounded Omega, even playing air guitar like Hiroshi Tanahashi before doing a dragon screw. Robinson connected on the Left Hand of God and standing senton, but Omega kicked out. Omega fought out of the corner and nearly dove for a tag, but The Gunns pulled Page & Ibushi away. That worked the first time, but after dispatching of The Gunns, Page made the hot tag and ran wild with multiple tope’s and diving lariat on White for two.
White avoided Dead Eye, as Ibushi got the blind tag and lit up White with a combo and standing moonsault. Omega & Ibushi tried their double moonsault to the floor, as Omega hit flush, but Ibushi slipped briefly on his, still getting enough. With White all alone, locomotion corner splashes led to a pop up German suplex into a half and half by Ibushi for two. Kamigoye was countered into a Uranage with the reset leading to Takeshita & Omega slugging it out. Robinson & White suffered snap dragons, as Takeshita was there to hit a Blue Thunder Bomb. Omega answered with a V-Trigger to the back and Poison Rana, Omega & Page hit You Can’t Escape on Robinson, while Page hit a Blockbuster on Takeshita. Page wanted the Buckshot, but The Gunns interfered, only to be both wiped out with a moonsault.
Buckshot was countered into a half and half by White, as Omega charged with a slam dunk, but Takeshita countered Kamigoye into a massive jumping knee. Page blindsided Takeshita with a Buckshot to the neck, as Omega caught White with a V-Trigger and one for Robinson as well. As Omega was going to go for a home run shot, Takeshita flew in and rolled up Omega for the flash pin. Page, Ibushi & Omega were shocked as Takeshita & Callis celebrated.
FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defeated The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) to retain the AEW Tag Team Titles
(Post match, McGuinness called this yet another classic in this title reign for FTR and I completely agree, this match was phenomenal and added to this saga between the two best tag teams in wrestling. It’s not a matter of if, but when will this happen again, as post match, the denial of a handshake means there’s still a story left to be told.)
The Bucks are rocking Freddie Mercury inspired gear for this one as an early back and forth between both teams, we got an all out slugfest leading to a double down. The Bucks kipped up and sent FTR to the outside to regroup. Nick hit a running punt kick on the apron on Harwood, while Wheeler was flattened by a Spear. Nick hit his corkscrew tornillo on both, as the crowd is split 50/50 with their chants so far. Wheeler ate a superkick, hung up in the ropes and Nick hit a Swanton for two. Wheeler remained isolated, nearly diving for a tag, but Matt hit a superkick on Harwood in mid air to prevent it. 15% miscalculation by The Bucks allowed Wheeler to make the hot tag to Harwood, running with jabs, lariats and suplexes. Three Germans from Harwood led to two Northern Lights by Matt, as each traded one more of each before a crazy amount of switches led to a number of near falls and again trading suplexes in a fun sequence.
Harwood countered a springing Nick into hit slingshot powerbomb, but he wasn’t the legal man, as Matt made the save, only to be trapped in a Sharpshooter. While on the apron, Wheeler somehow got a Sharpshooter on Nick as well until Nick powered out and launched Wheeler into the ring steps. Nick saved his brother and took out Wheeler with a moonsault leading to everyone down. The Bucks wanted a Power-Plex, but Matt & Wheeler tried double splashes, with Nick & Harwood getting their knees up. FTR hit the Spike Piledriver on Nick for a close two and the fans cheered loud. Matt saved his brother from Shatter Machine, as Nick & Harwood nearly replicated the Bulldog/Bret finish to Summerslam 92, but Nick kicked out.
Harwood collided with his partner and The Bucks answered with a Superkick Party until hitting a Spike Piledriver of their own for a near fall. Wheeler prevented a Meltzer Driver, so Nick took him out with a tope. The Bucks wanted BTE Trigger, but Harwood ducked and their knees collided. Wheeler sprinted in with a dive through the ropes on Nick, as the FTR Trigger connected into Shatter Machine, with Matt kicking out last second. Wheeler missed a 450 Splash, as The Bucks hit BTE Trigger, with Harwood breaking it up barely. Harwood knew what was in store, as he turned into Shatter Machine, while Wheeler ate another BTE Trigger, only to kick out. With every near fall, the crowd gets more and more loud. The Bucks tried Meltzer Driver, but FTR somehow countered into Shatter Machine in mid air and got the pin. Post match, FTR wanted a handshake, but The Bucks denied them.
Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta & Penta El Zero Miedo defeated Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Mike Santana & Ortiz in a Stadium Stampede Match
(First off, I know it looks like I wrote a novel about this match, but I tried my best to keep up with everything that took place. Did this maybe go too long, sure, but you can’t say this match didn’t deliver the blood and wild moments. This match was crazy and lived up to the Stadium Stampede billing.)
Kingston sprinted down the aisle to meet Castagnoli. Best Friends & Proud and Powerful had a face off in the ring and reignited their rivalry from their classic Parking Lot Fight. Taylor hit a somersault suicida onto Ortiz & Santana, but trash can shots put them back in control. Meanwhile, Kingston & Castagnoli brawled into the crowd with Moxley using what I think was a branding iron on the side of the head of Beretta. Penta saved Beretta from a Street Sweeper by using chair shots and Sling Blades, but a backstabber barely connected. Moxley hit a springing Penta with a Paradigm Shift, as Moxley, in fact, is bleeding first. We get a split screen now with Kingston & Castagnoli and Yuta & Taylor paired off.
Moxley goes to the bag that Yuta brought to the ring and wanted to use skewers, but the tables were quickly turned and it was Penta who used the skewers, which the crowd couldn’t believe. With some of the skewers still in the head of Moxley, Penta hit Made in Penta for two as we see Kingston & Castagnoli battling into the royal box level of Wembley. Santana connected with a piledriver onto a chair onto Penta, as the doctors had to come out and check him as a result, with Penta ultimately being helped to the back. As this was happening, Cassidy tried his little kicks on Moxley, who brought out a fork and stabbed Cassidy relentlessly, busting Cassidy open. A violent brainbuster onto a set up chair led to Moxley raking a barbed wire board onto Beretta. We then saw back in the parking lot Yuta suplexing Taylor onto a set up guard rail.
Taylor & Kingston fought with Castagnoli & Yuta up in the box seats and used umbrellas as weapons, Kingston jamming the umbrella into the mouth of Yuta. McGuinness did make a Mary Poppins reference while this was going on. Kingston had a bottle smashed over his head by Castagnoli, while back in the ring, Beretta had his legs swept out of the corner and smashed onto a ladder before Santana & Ortiz followed with a powerbomb onto the steel, Beretta is bleeding now as well, as Moxley hit a suplex onto a barbed wire board. Beretta was dropped with a piledriver on the steps, as Ortiz stabbed away at Cassidy more with the fork.
Taylor & Beretta were thrown up the ramp and surrounded by everyone except Ortiz, who was setting up tables ringside. We then see a van drive up to the stage and it was indeed Beretta’s mother, Sue, who Moxley walked up to and kissed, which caused Beretta to explode and fight back. Sue handed her son & Taylor some trays of cookies, which they waffled The BCC with. The music for Penta Oscuro hit, as Penta appeared to no longer be injured and in different gear, as Penta & Santana fought onto a ladder, which broke initially, but they still hit a Destroyer off it through set up tables. A barely conscious Yuta was in the ring and Best Friends group hugged him to give the people what they wanted before beating him down.
Yuta tried to use the screwdriver on Taylor, who dodged and hit the Awful Waffle, but Moxley quickly answered with a dive outside. Castagnoli blocked Orange Punch into the Giant Swing. As the swing was still going on, Beretta superplexed Ortiz to the floor through tables, while Moxley slammed Taylor onto I believe Legos on the floor. Cassidy taped his hand with the sticky part on the outside, broke a bottle and dipped his hand in the glass, but Moxley cut Cassidy off before it could do damage. Cassidy did manage a Tornado DDT onto the broken glass, but Castagnoli hit a pop up uppercut to follow.
A bleeding Kingston walked out from backstage, holding a barbed wire chair and hit everyone that moved until Moxley tried to stop him. Kingston started firing off spinning backfists on Castagnoli & Moxley, who he ultimately tackled through a set up corner table. Cassidy popped up and hit an Orange Punch wrapped in glass on Castagnoli got the win in this chaotic war.
Saraya defeated Hikaru Shida, Toni Storm & Dr. Britt Baker to win the AEW Women’s Title
(A great moment and celebration for The Knight Family, as the hometown girl, who at one point of her career, never thought she’d wrestle again, now wins the title in front of 80,000 plus fans. I think it’s safe to say The Outcasts have officially imploded, as Shida & Baker not involved in the pin certainly gives them some gripe to get a title shot. Commentary also mentioned Mercedes Mone being in attendance and brought up how she might have something to say as well.)
Queen’s “We Will Rock You” played as Saraya made her entrance with her family. “God Save the Queen” played for Storm’s entrance, as McGuinness on commentary compared her to Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, among others. He also talked about how Baker must’ve handed out business cards around London, as she could be a millionaire with the possible business, which I got a kick out of.
Storm & Saraya dispatched of Shida early with a double powerbomb, as Baker was able to fight off both Outcasts initially, but the numbers were too much. Storm hit Sweet Cheek Music, but Saraya & Storm couldn’t figure out who would make the cover. Shida hit a double noggin knocker before suplexing Saraya into Storm. Ten corner punches on Storm was broke up with Saraya slamming Shida on the apron, as Storm had Saraya’s mother hold onto Baker, as Storm charged and accidentally wiped out Saraya’s mother. This infuriated Saraya, as Storm tried to plead her innocence, but led to a brawl. Storm got the upper hand, exposed the bottom turnbuckle and Ruby Soho ran to the ring to play peacemaker, but Storm popped her with a forearm and that was it for Soho.
Shida flew in with a missile dropkick, but Baker was there with a spinning neckbreaker. A Baker thrust kick caused Storm to fall onto Saraya for a cover, as Saraya was furious it happened, so she locked on the former PTO submission, which Baker hit a Curb Stomp for two. Shida, Baker & Saraya traded strikes until Shida hit a Falcon Arrow on Baker onto Saraya. Shida hit a Meteora and Katana kick, but Baker was there to apply the Lockjaw. With the submission applied, Baker didn’t realize Saraya sprayed Storm in the eyes with the spray paint and hit the Knight Cap to get the pin and win the title. Post match, The Knight Family jumped in the ring to celebrate the victory.
Darby Allin & Sting defeated Swerve Strickland (w/Prince Nana) & Christian Cage in a Coffin Match
(Sting is 64 ladies and gentlemen, 64; I just want us all to remember that. We can question how Allin’s body is holding up, but the same can be said for Sting, as he’s defying the odds. This was such a fun match and a lot more fun than I thought it’d be. These four men absolutely crushed it. The usage of Metallica at the start was icing on the cake for me.)
Flash Garments & DJ Whoo Kid rapped Strickland & Nana to the ring. Meanwhile, Sting & Allin had a really great video walking the streets of London, with Sting wearing a top hat, half of his face as Joker and the other the Crow. When making their official entrance, Sting’s old theme, Seek & Destroy by Metallica played in an incredible moment. Sting & Cage had an early face off, as Allin pulled out two coats covered in thumbtacks from the coffin. Sting lit up Nana & Strickland with a cricket bat before tandem Coffin & Stinger splashes connected while wearing the jackets. Cage came in and chop blocked the leg of Sting, as he & Allin ate Spears before they ripped the jackets off. Cage taped the wrists of Allin behind his back, while Strickland used the cricket bat on Sting outside.
Cage missed a corner charge and Allin hit a no handed springing moonsault before hitting a running dive on Strickland. Allin broke free as Sting almost slammed Strickland into the coffin, but Cage kicked the lid shut at the last moment. Back inside, Cage wanted a Con-Chair-To, missed, as he laid out Strickland with a float over stunner on the apron. With Strickland draped over a table, Sting leapt off the apron once and it didn’t break, so Sting tried again and hit a massive legdrop to successfully shatter it. Excalibur with the line of the night saying Sting letting 80,000 plus know he is the table. Allin set up Cage on a chair and hit a shotgun dropkick off the top rope to the floor.
Cage was about to have the coffin door shut, but Luchasaurus appeared from behind to make the save and Snake Eyes Allin into the closed coffin door. Nick Wayne showed up and cracked Luchasaurus with a skateboard, but it was no sold and Luchasaurus hit a head butt and chokeslam onto the skateboard and took him backstage. Sting set up Strickland on top of the coffin and Allin tried a Coffin Drop off the top, but missed and Allin crashed insanely hard. The sound of the thud made was pretty gross, as Sting was left to go at it 2 on 1 in the ring. With the Scorpion Death Lock on Cage, Strickland hit a chair shot from behind, which Sting no sold. Cage hit a low blow with the bat, as Strickland hit the Swerve Stomp.
Cage laid out Allin ringside, as Strickland had Sting in the coffin, which had been brought in the ring. Strickland threw the bat in the coffin, as this allowed Sting to keep it from closing. Sting escaped, ate a Kill Shot kick, but took way too long on the top and missed a 450 onto the coffin. Allin outside fought back with a TNT Title shot to the face of Cage, as Sting laid out Strickland with a Death Drop on top of the coffin. With Strickland half stuck in the coffin, Allin did a Coffin Drop on top of it and slammed the door shut to win a wild spectacle.
Will Ospreay (w/Don Callis) defeated Chris Jericho (w/Sammy Guevara)
(This was another really good match, with Ospreay taking advantage of the home turf and the crowd being behind him. There was one spot with Jericho trying an OsCutter and both men clonked heads pretty good, but aside from that, these two certainly delivered in my book. I also really enjoyed this being a one on one match, with no outside interference. The post match is another chapter in Jericho not having many allies left, as Guevara was left on his own watching Jericho walk off.)
Jericho channeled his best Freddie Mercury Ay-Oh impression before Fozzy played Judas live for the Wembley crowd. Ospreay got his wish and had Elevated for his entrance, as the crowd was loudly behind him, with amazing pyro going off during it. We saw footage of Jericho attacking Ospreay last night at the RevPro show after Ospreay’s match with Shingo Takagi. Osperay shook off Jericho’s early and hit a Sky Twister Press outside that clipped Jericho on the head. Back inside, Osperay hit Pip Pip Cheerio, as both traded chops and big boots into a double down.
Ospreay was sent to the apron and Jericho hit his springing dropkick and baseball slide outside. Back on the apron, Jericho folded up Ospreay with a German, as Ospreay was shaking out his right arm as a result. Jericho targeted the upper back of Ospreay until a standing shooting star put Ospreay back in control. It was short lived, as Jericho fought back with a top rope hurricanrana. Osperay got his knees up to avoid a Lionsault, draped Jericho on the top and hit his Shooting Star splash. After countering their finishers, Jericho hit a Code Breaker to the back of Ospreay, who was looking for an OsCutter. A proper Code Breaker got a near fall, as Ospreay answered with a hook kick and OsCutter for two. Jericho incredibly countered Storm Breaker into a flipping hurricanrana into the Walls of Jericho.
Ospreay got free, as Jericho charged right into a Spanish Fly, as Ospreay wanted Hidden Blade, but ran into another Code Breaker and OsCutter from Jericho, who nearly landed on his own head in the process. It was very awkward, as Ospreay kicked out and hulked up into a forearm exchange. Jericho hit a mule kick with referee Aubrey being unaware, as a Judas Effect connected for two. Ospreay floated up and hit a massive powerbomb, as both went for home run shots, Ospreay hitting Hidden Blade first and then Storm Breaker, only for Jericho to kick out. The elbow pad was removed, as Jericho flipped Ospreay off and dared him to hit him, as Ospreay charged for Hidden Blade and another Storm Breaker to win it. Post match, Sammy Guevara tried to console Jericho, but he was shoved away multiple times, with Jericho leaving on his own.
-Nigel McGuinness went to the ring to thank the 81,035 paid attendance record for tonight’s event.
The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) & Billy Gunn defeated The House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews w/Julia Hart) to win the AEW Trios Titles
(I think they tried to cram too much stuff into this. Also the House Rules just popping up whenever they choose is kind of strange, as No Holds Barred was fine, but I think it resulted in a clunky match. That said, this result was the only way to go, with The Acclaimed & Gunn losing their first two shots at the Trios Titles. This also gives House of Black something to do outside of Trios tags in the future.)
House of Black paid tribute to the late Windham Rotunda by having a lantern during their entrance, as the fireflies in the crowd lit up. Commentary paid respects to Rotunda as well. We’re told this was House Rules, which happens just randomly I guess, as The Acclaimed & Gunn have selected No Holds Barred. Black hit an early moonsault outside on Caster, while Gunn & King fought ringside. Matthews flipped over the top to take out The Acclaimed, as Gunn teased a dive, put on the brakes and it was King who did a dive instead. Gunn again teased a dive, but Julia Hart stepped in and slapped him. Gunn told her to suck it and The Acclaimed hit Scissor Me Timbers on Hart. Yes, Taz made a yambag reference, which he realized didn’t apply in this situation, which was hysterical.
We once again see Mercedes Mone watching from the stands, as the House of Black took over, but King missed a charging senton on Gunn against the railing. Gunn drove a chair onto King’s head, but was surrounded by Black & Matthews, who both ate a double clothesline by Gunn. Locomotion splashes led to Gunn missing a Fame-Asser, but hit the One and Only for two. Bowens hit The Arrival on Black, as the match broke down with Bowens dropping Matthews with a right hand, but the House of Black hit triple corner charges for a near fall. King is bleeding from earlier in the match, as he wrapped a chain around his fist, but accidentally cracked Black.
Caster low bridged King, while Gunn & Caster took turns hitting Fame-Assers on Matthews. Hart again intervened, which allowed Black to hit The End kick on Gunn, who kicked out. House of Black went for Dante’s Inferno, but wiggled free, as Bowens hit The Arrival on King, Caster connected on The Mic Drop, but King kicked out at one. Gunn hit another Fame-Asser, an Arrival by Bowens and second Mic Drop by Caster got the win and the titles. Post match, the House of Black didn’t want to initially give up their belts, but showed respect and awarded them to Gunn, Caster & Bowens, who said Gunn deserves this moment. Despite being Bad Ass tonight, they scissored with Daddy Ass in celebration.
MJF defeated Adam Cole to retain the AEW World Title
(What a story these two told, from the opening few minutes of friendship, to things getting more intense throughout, each man couldn’t pull the trigger for the home run shot. They couldn’t find it in themselves to cheat to win. An excellent performance by champion and challenger, with the crowd being there every step of the way. Friendship won out tonight, but there’s no telling when the wheels of this team will fall off, I’m thinking sooner rather than later.)
Cole had a standard entrance, while MJF came to the ring on a gold throne and wore his devil mask, ladies kneeling and bowing in masks down the aisle. From the opening match of the 2018 All In to the main event in 2023, it’s been quite the journey for the AEW World Champion.
Being brochachos, MJF & Cole put their tag team shirts on at the bell and wanted a right down the middle match with drop downs and leap frogs with headlocks into a stalemate. A Fargo Strut and Rude hip swivel from MJF nearly led to him eating a superkick, which he dodged and Cole did his pose. MJF started a sportsmanship chant, but poked Cole in the eyes to He’s A Scumbag chants. Cole slapped MJF and the match picked up with Cole hitting the fireman’s carry neckbreaker on the knee. Both men took turns pulling the others hairs into a slam, as MJF faked a dive, turned his back and ate a superkick for two. Cole said they might be friends, but he’s better than MJF, as he ripped the shirt off MJF, who hulked up, but Cole raked the eyes. MJF blocked a superkick and ran wild with corner punches in bunches, whipping Cole violently to follow.
MJF was again tempted by a dive and successfully did it this time, as he was stunned like everyone else. A double stomp to the arm off the second back inside led to a wild series of near falls until MJF bridged out of a jackknife cover and caught a Cole leap frog into a powerbomb on his knee. Cole responded by hitting MJF’s own Heatseeker, but MJF got his foot on the ropes. MJF was sent into the steps outside, as Cole followed with a violent sheer drop brainbuster onto the steps and Taz said it was right in front of MJF’s parents, who are sitting ringside. MJF didn’t move until 9 and broke the count, as I wonder why Cole even wanted to win by countout there.
Cole wanted the Panama Sunrise, but MJF rolled outside, so he could sweep the legs of Cole on the apron. MJF cleared the announce table, but couldn’t bring himself to Tombstone his best friend. Cole meanwhile, pulled the trigger just fine, as once MJF came back, Cole dropped him with the Tombstone on the table and got a two count back inside. Cole was able to hit a Destroyer back inside, but the momentum allowed MJF to hit a kick before collapsing together. Both men rose to their feet and yelled for Double Clotheslines, as they collided at the same time, both men’s arms draped over the other and referee Bryce counted the double pin. Justin Roberts called the match a Draw and Cole demanded 5 more minutes just like their last match. MJF declined and said they’re going until they have a winner in f*cking Wembley.
Both men got quick roll ups and Cole charged, but collided with referee Bryce, as MJF is smirking and grabbed a chair. Both men tried channeling Eddie Guerrero and played hot potato with the chair until Cole bumped, so MJF wrapped the chair around his head and played dead. Cole couldn’t believe it as Bryce recovered and saw the chair, but MJF got a school boy for two; hit a thrust kick and Heatseeker for a near fall. To the apron they went, as Cole hit a Florida Key on the edge of the ring and Panama Sunrise onto the floor, but MJF kicked out back inside. Cole wanted a proper one in the ring, but MJF pulled Bryce in and Cole laid out the ref with a Panama Sunrise.
MJF reached in his trunks for the Dynamite Diamond Ring, but like the Tombstone, couldn’t pull the trigger and put the ring away. Roderick Strong appeared from behind and punted MJF low, as Cole turned and didn’t realize what happened. Strong told Cole to finish it, as Cole hit a Panama Sunrise and lowered The Boom, but no referee, as he got a visible three. Bryce recovered and MJF kicked out officially at two. Strong threw the AEW Title at Cole and told him to use it, as Cole took his shirt off, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Strong stormed to the back, as MJF surprised Cole with an inside cradle and got the flash pin. Cole was left in shock.
Post match, MJF said the crowd still loves Cole and MJF got lucky, as Cole is in tears. MJF grabbed the ROH Tag Titles and said Cole still has them, as he slapped them away. MJF broke down and called Cole a fake piece of s*it and threw the AEW Title at Cole, saying he was never his friend, turning his back and telling Cole to hit him. Roderick Strong appeared again on the apron yelling for Cole to do it, but Cole threw down the belt again and hugged MJF. Cole & MJF stood tall with their hands raised as pyro went off and confetti poured down with The Kingdom consoling Roderick Strong on the aisle.
Excalibur informs us AEW is returning to London and Wembley for All In next year on August 25.
The biggest wrestling show of the year has to be just that. Sunday’s All In (1 PM Eastern from London’s Wembley Stadium), the most important show since AEW became a proper company, needs to be can’t miss (sports) entertainment. This should be a card full of massive feuds, dream matches, and worthwhile conclusions to long-simmering stories.
Not having Kenny Omega in a singles match or CM Punk trying to regain the title he never lost are just some of the more egregious misses.
The lead-up to what should be AEW’s magnum opus has unfolded with a lamentable lack of finesse, leaving even their most ardent supporters with shrugged shoulders. This is a haphazardly constructed card, devoid of any narrative finesse that defines the truly historic shows.
But what am I even saying? When the bell rings, all of this will probably be forgotten, and the performers will deliver like they always do. Consistently relying on high-quality in-ring performances to make up for subpar builds is a dangerous rope to walk and it’s become a rope AEW increasingly finds themselves crossing.
These misses won’t be felt in this particular box office, but you only get one chance to run “the biggest wrestling show of all time.” You can’t just slap a “part 2’ or an ‘Again’ at the end of that moniker and expect folks to buy in. By running a second major show the following week, they put themselves in an unwinnable position. They have to try and book for two shows at the same time when the focus should be entirely on All In.
Fans will forgive a subpar All Out card and Chicago will get over it if they run a B-show. Book for the show that people could remember forever, not the one they will forget by the following Dynamite. The lineup for All Out somehow being better than All In will be my Joker origin story.
AEW is in desperate need of good news and solid momentum. This is the biggest two-week stretch in the short promotion’s history. Sunday in sunny London town will, for better or worse, define the future of AEW.
Now, as always, let’s preview the action.
AEW Trios Champions House of Black (Buddy Matthews, Brody King & Malakai Black) defend against The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) and Billy Gunn
I don’t even care that this got announced four days before the show. I was smiling like a goon when Gunn came out on Wednesday night. Getting The Acclaimed on the Wembley card is a great call. They aren’t as popular as they were at their peak, but the crowd still loves them and is really going to love Gunn being back. The number one thing a wrestling show should do is make the crowd happy and few things make a crowd happier than an Acclaimed live entrance.
I love The House of Black. They have been workhorses on Collision and the individual styles of King, Matthews and Black fit so well together. Their presentation is top-notch and they never disappoint in the ring. But this is really about giving the fans what they want and Daddy Ass/Bad Ass getting some gold will do exactly that.
Prediction: The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn win the titles
Darby Allin & Sting vs. Christian Cage & Swerve Strickland
I had a wonderful preview written about this match. The booking wasn’t complicated; it was straightforward and simple. Strickland and Allin are rivals from the same area, Fox and Allin have a long history, and Sting is Sting. Throw in some Nick Wayne-related assault, and folks, that was a story worth telling. No winks and nods to the internet, no meta commentary about the state of wrestling just paint-by-numbers storytelling. It was the best-booked match on the card.
For reasons that remain unclear, Fox was replaced with Christian Cage. (At least it wasn’t Brian Cage!) Even if this was done because Fox had visa issues, is injured, or whatever, this is such a confusing mess. At best, it’s another example of sloppy decision-making with little foresight. If there was even a risk that he might not be able to make the trip, why have him there in the first place? It’s a shame, because Fox was a great fit with Swerve, and someone who grinded on the indies as long as he did deserved a spot on the card.
If nothing else, All In will do one thing that fans should remember forever: give Sting a massive, well-deserved platform. 80,000+ people going absolute nuts for the 64-year-old Stinger is going to be incredible. He spent much of the internet age of wrestling in TNA before his far too brief WWE run. His one WrestleMania moment was nowhere near good enough for a performer of his caliber. Few things are worse booking decisions than having HHH beat Sting at WrestleMania. On Saturday, The Icon will get to cap his career on the biggest stage, a stage he so deeply deserves.
Prediction: Sting & Allin
The Golden Elite (Hangman Page, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) vs. Bullet Club Gold (Juice Robinson & Jay White) and Konosuke Takeshita
Again, if this is truly the biggest wrestling show in history, having Omega in a multi-man match is a huge miss. No slight to anyone in the match, but there are levels to this. Omega is a man who broke and rebroke the star rating system that this site popularized. This is also a man held together by KT tape and positive thoughts. He doesn’t have a ton of big matches left in him. If this isn’t the place to use one of the bullets left in that chamber, what is? Maybe they are saving the big singles match with Takeshita for All Out, but that should happen in London, not Chicago.
Collision has become the best weekly wrestling show due in large part to Bullet Club Gold aka The Bang Bang Gang which is one of the silliest and best monikers in wrestling. They should lose the Bullet Club part completely and just go by that. White’s sense of humor and timing has been a revelation. Collision puts all of its talents in positions to succeed and gives them time do to so. It is consistently the best weekly wrestling show.
Prediction: The Golden Elite
Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) & Santana and Ortiz vs. Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero Miedo, Orange Cassidy & Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor) in a Stadium Stampede match
It broke my heart to delete “and Rey Fenix” rom the match listing. Fenix is one of the best wrestlers in the world, and there are very few people who can replace him and what he is capable of doing in the ring. It’s a huge bummer he’s missing the show, but it is a delight seeing Santana and Ortiz back together in AEW. Santana, with his hair looking straight-up delicious, is the goods. Look for him to show out on Sunday. Hopefully he and Ortiz put any issues they had to bed because they are such a good team.
I’m never going to turn my nose up at a Stadium Stampede match, but this is not a feud that warrants a spectacle like this. More than most matches on the card, this seems like a way to clearly set up matches at All Out like Moxley vs. Cassidy and Kingston vs. Castagnoli. Both will be great, but using one of AEW’s signature spectacles to get there is backward. This should be the blow-off to a program, not a transition into the next stage.
Prediction: Blackpool Combat Club & Santana and Ortiz
Will Ospreay vs. Chris Jericho
Another match that came out of nowhere and a match that would have been better served by more than one week of build. Can Jericho even work a Ospreay match now? I’m a bit worried that he will try to keep up with one of the more insane people in modern wrestling who wrestles such a physical, taxing style. Not only that, he has to wrestle Ospreay after a live performance of Judas. Brother is going to be gasping for air before the bell even rings.
Who are we supposed to root for here? Is Jericho supposed to be the sympathetic babyface after being so terrible to his friends that they all left him? How is the audience supposed to root for him when he just tried to link up with someone well-established as the most loathsome character on AEW programming? Not only that, but Ospreay is the hometown boy. There is a zero percent chance he’s getting booed no matter how hard he tries.
Ospreay beat Omega in a match that’s on the shortlist for match of the year. He finally beat Okada. There is no chance he loses in a home game.
Prediction: Will Ospreay
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida defends against Toni Storm, Saraya and Britt Baker in a four-way
Each wrestler brings something unique to this match and AEW in general. Shida is a well-deserving, wholesome champion. Storm is the best overall talent in the division and is doing incredible work with her failed Hollywood glamour character who throws footwear at backstage interviewers. Saraya brings, by far, the most notoriety, name recognition, and Britishness. Baker is the homegrown talent conspicuously absent from the main stage and premier spotlight. Four great talents who should be able to create something lasting and meaningful on Saturday.
Rather than put together a cohesive story, AEW fell back on hastily spinning up a tournament to get the Women’s title match on the card: a crutch they too often lean on. The song remains the same, no matter how many times the record gets spun. There had been such little interaction between the four of them that I had to double-check this match was happening. Dynamite had an Adam Cole and MJF sit-down but this only got a 60 second pretape, a Ruby Soho singles match, and a tag team main event on Rampage.
Shida just won the title three weeks ago and AEW rarely hot potatoes their World championships. I’ve seen some talk of crowning Saraya because of where the show is, but I can’t see that happening
Prediction: Shida retains
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defend against the Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
As is federally mandated (attention FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, etc.), no major wrestling show can exist without someone, somewhere claiming to be the greatest of all time.
Exhausting in a vacuum, the claims and subsequent discussions are completely warranted here. I don’t write much about WWE on this site, nor do I have any real desire to, but it’s these two teams along with The Usos that make up the conversation for the greatest tag team of the modern generation and perhaps all-time. The main difference between The Usos, who are legitimately great, and these two teams, is that both the brothers Jackson and FTR have had enough memorable, historic matches that I don’t even need to list them here. Naming a memorable Usos match? That’s a much bigger challenge. They have had countless matches with The New Day, but how many stand out? How many compare to The Bucks Ladder Wars with The Briscoes or FTR’s trilogy with those same Briscoes? The answer is they don’t. That’s why these are the two best tag teams of the modern era and two of the best in history.
Both teams have proven themselves across multiple companies and wildly different match types. A complaint directed towards a lot of Young Bucks matches is they all follow the same formula with the same moves, and sure, I’ll somewhat allow for that. You can’t say that about FTR. They have proven (actually, beyond proven) that they can wrestle any style, against any opponent, in any match type. That’s true greatness, and that’s why they are the best to ever do it. They had people in a full lather about a tag team match on a Saturday night in the middle of the summer. If that’s not greatness, I don’t know what is.
Bell-to-bell, this should be the best match on the card as no one does high-stakes tag team wrestling like AEW. Before Cash Wheeler’s legal situation, I thought it was Top Guys, over. The last thing AEW needs right now is more uncertainty and putting the title on The Bucks is the safer, more stable move
Prediction: The Young Bucks win the titles
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe
Punk’s gravitational pull is unlike anything else in this industry. Like him or not, he is the sun that everything in AEW orbits around. When he’s on screen, he commands our eyes and ears. He demands we put down our phones and pay attention. When he’s not on screen, we’re wondering where he is. In a world increasingly full of NPCs – non-playable characters if you’re nasty – he is the Main Character, the star attraction. Of course, drama and intrigue follow him wherever he goes; it’s what makes him special. It made him special in WWE, it made him special in his unfortunate attempt at MMA, and keeps him special today in AEW. Historical greatness is frequently divisive, so why should he be any different?
At risk of being lost in this gravity, is Joe from Samoa. The only reason he hasn’t been swallowed by it completely is through his sheer force of will and talent. The true king of television is exactly that. He is appointment viewing no matter how long (or short) the match may be. Bar for bar, he is the most consistently excellent promo in the company (full apologies to Eddie Kingston, Jon Moxley, etc.) and remains their most believable mic artist. Like so many of our favorites, he’s closer to the end than the beginning and his current run is as good as anything he’s ever done. Long may he reign.
Even though I’d love to see Joe take this, there are so many other stories to be told and money to be made with Punk as the uncrowned champion. He keeps his belt.
Prediction: CM Punk
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Adam Cole
Even though this is not for me, I’ll still admit this pairing has been a shocking delight. Even though this is the most WWE thing AEW has ever done, the charisma and chemistry between the two carries the day. From the pre-taped vignettes to the live promos and everything in between, it all works far better than an enemy-turned-friend program should which is a testament to the singular talents of Cole and MJF.
The major issue with all of this is that it isn’t big enough for the main event of the biggest show in company history. It lacks the gravitas. Like everything else on the card, it needed more time — more time to establish them as a team and more time to make the inevitable turn that much more powerful.
The easy booking here is in the Cole turn, not MJF. MJF getting screwed over by Cole (and maybe big Rod Strong) sets MJF up for the chance to work as a true face for the first time. And it’s not like the audience can hate him more than they usually do. His turning on Cole won’t add to his character; it would just be more of the same. But Cole — fresh off a long absence and joyous return — turning on MJF would give this program legs and establish a new top-of-the-card heel for the babyfaces to feud with. Allowing MJF to have the crowd fully behind him would be something new and exciting. However, there is a huge Punk-related ‘BUT’ here.
Regardless of who wins, it would be inexcusable for the show to end without Punk coming out to confront the winner. If that’s the case, it makes more sense for him to confront MJF than Cole. Closing the show with the two biggest stars in the company setting up the next big title program will give AEW some needed momentum heading into 2024.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio going over all the latest news in pro wrestling and MMA.
Ryan Frederick joined the show to talk about UFC 292 which featured Sean O’Malley winning the UFC bantamweight championship. You can check out Ryan’s weekly MMA podcast, In The Clinch.
Dave and I then discussed the following:
FTR being advertised for AEW Collision, but not being there live
CM Punk and Samoa Joe will officially meet at Wembley Stadium.
On Saturday’s Collision, Samoa Joe entered the ring to face a masked opponent called The Golden Vampire. However, it quickly became clear that The Golden Vampire was CM Punk under a mask, laying out Joe with the go to sleep. Punk then announced he accepted Samoa Joe’s challenge for All In before walking off.
It was then announced that Tony Khan had confirmed the match for Wembley Stadium. It will be for CM Punk’s Real World Championship.
Two weeks ago, Samoa Joe issued the challenge to Punk, saying he didn’t want their feud to end with a roll-up. The following week, after Punk ignored Joe’s request for a match, he choked out Punk during his and FTR’s match against The House of Black, ultimately leading to CMFTR’s loss.
Here is the updated lineup for All In:
AEW All In, Sunday, August 27, 1 p.m. Eastern time on pay-per-view —
AEW World Championship: MJF defends against Adam Cole
AEW Women’s World Championship: Hikaru Shida defends against Toni Storm, Britt Baker & Saraya
AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
Real World Championship: CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe
Stadium Stampede match: Eddie Kingston, The Lucha Bros (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix), Orange Cassidy & Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) & three TBA
Coffin match: Sting & Darby Allin vs. Mogul Embassy (Swerve Strickland & AR Fox)
Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay
The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Hangman Page) vs. Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Juice Robinson) & Konosuke Takeshita
Zero Hour pre-show, 12 p.m. Eastern time on AEW’s YouTube channel —
ROH World Tag Team Championship: Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defend against Better Than You Bay Bay (MJF & Adam Cole)
Stokely Hathaway will be in tag team action on Thursday’s Ring of Honor on HonorClub as he teams with ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe to face The Boys (Brent & Brandon Tate).
The match was made during a recent promo. Dalton Castle confronted Hathaway about the TV Title eliminator tournament. Joe walked into the segment and declared the match would happen, much to the dismay of Hathaway.
Former ROH Pure Champion Josh Woods will take on former partner Silas Young in a Pure rules match. Last week, Woods decided to part ways with the Varsity Athletes and go out on his own.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena will return to non-title action on a long ROH winning streak as she faces Brittany J in a Proving Ground match.
After defeating Robyn Renegade last week, Billie Starkz will take on Robyn’s sister Charlette Renegade who jumped Starkz after the victory.
Lady Frost will go head-to-head with Trish Adora.
**********
Gravity defeated Gringo Loco
Poor Gravity got crushed twice in this match with the full weight of Loco on him, but somehow survived to win the match. This was a spot fest all the way, but a fun one.
Gravity decided to use his name to his advantage, hitting a splash early on for a two count. Loco used his size to his advantage, pressing Gravity into the air and then catching him in a fallaway slam for a two count. Loco hit a chop and played to the crowd before hitting another chop in the corner and Irish whipping Gravity to the corner. Gravity ran up the ropes and back flipped off before turning around and powerslaming a charging Gringo Loco. That was cool.
Loco shoved Gravity to the floor and hit a double jump springboard moonsault to the floor on Gravity. What a loco spot, pardon the pun. Loco then absolutely crushed Gravity with a brutal springboard twisting senton, causing Gravity to become victim to his own name. Gravity, somehow not a pancake, shoved Loco to the outside and then rolled up the to the top rope, launched himself over the post, and hit a hurricanrana on Loco on the floor.
Gravity missed a 450 splash and Loco countered into a standing Spanish fly as Gravity got back up. Gravity tried to float over into a sunset flip bomb, but he lost his grip and was crushed again by Loco falling backwards and landing right on his face. Gravity and Loco went to the top rope and Loco hit some sort of a torture rack suplex off the top rope for a 2-count. Gravity and Loco went to the ropes again and Gravity hit a Samoan drop off the middle rope before hitting a splash for the pin.
Josh Woods defeated Silas Young in a Pure Rules match
Good technical match from Woods and Young with an awesome finish.
Woods refused a handshake from Young, who applauded because he was in favour of Woods having an attitude now. Young and Woods locked up and Young hit a drop toe hold causing Woods to grab the ropes as he went down, which counted as a rope break. Young and Woods locked up again, and Woods was able to take him down, but Young did counter out of a Chaos Theory for a 2-count.
Woods sent Young crashing into the ropes and then drove him shoulder first into the turnbuckle. The announcers noted that Woods was way more focused without Mark Sterling in his corner, and while using the rough tactics that Young and Sterling had taught him over the years, he was looking far stronger here. Young, trying to avoid further damage to the arm, kept going for pinfall attempts to keep Woods at bay.
Woods stood up and punched Young right in the face to break up the pinfall attempts, getting his one warning, and then hit a running twisting vertical suplex into the corner dropping Young right on his head for the win. That was a brutal finish, and the crowd reacted strongly to it. They got something with Woods here, I think.
–Maria Kanellis Bennett was backstage, saying she was scouting for an army to protect her kingdom. Leyla Hirsch walked in and said that there was nothing Maria could do for her, but Maria said that she could provide some real competition for her, and said Hirsch would face Rachel Ellering later.
Athena defeated Brittany J in a Proving Ground match
This was an awesome squash match, as Athena continues to be awesome in ROH.
Athena got rolled up early as she played to the crowd, but Athena made her pay soon thereafter pulling Brittany J from the apron to the floor and then brutally throwing her into the guardrail with a crash. Athena screamed at Ian Riccaboni before returning to the ring and countering a headscissors with a cartwheel and hitting a pop-up powerbomb and a brutal forearm for the win.
–Robyn & Charlette Renegade ran down after the match and started beating on Athena. Billie Starkz ran down to the ring to make the save and drive the twins out of the ring.
Samoa Joe & Stokley Hathaway defeated The Boys (Brandon & Brent)
Stokely wanted to get involved in the match, so Joe let him a few times between the easy beating Joe was giving The Boys. Stokley claimed he wanted to get the win when Joe went for the muscle buster, so Joe held one of the Boys and then walked away with said boy as Stokely flew off the ropes and crashed and burned before choking out said Boy. Joe wins. So does Stokely. Sort of.
–Billie Starkz was with Lexy Nair and it was announced she would be facing Charlette Renegade. The Renegade Twins walked up and trash talked Starkz before the end of the interview.
The Gates of Agony (Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun) (w/ Prince Nana) defeated Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal
The Gates of Agony briefly got the heat on Daniels, but he was able to hit a drop toe hold and tag out to Sydal, who hit a standing twisting senton on Kaun for a 2-count. Daniels and Sydal then hit a drop toe hold. Daniels was ready to go for the Best Moonsault Ever, but Kaun was able to shove Daniels away, and Liona hit a clothesline on Daniels to get the advantage.
Liona crushed Daniels as Kaun hit a backstabber and Liona hit a splash, but Sydal broke up the pinfall. Kaun locked on a sleeper before hitting a uranage into a backbreaker on Daniels. Daniels was able to tag out Sydal, but it didn’t go very well over the next few minutes, as Daniels came back in and ate a fireman’s carry into a gutbuster for the pin.
Madison Rayne defeated Dani Mo
This was not very good. Rayne looked a bit rough. Rayne went for a neckbreaker on Mo, but Mo fell a bit early and may have actually whiplashed her neck on the way down. Mo faked Rayne out with a kick to the head only to hit the stomach. Rayne then just grabbed Mo and hit a Cross Rayne for the win. This was not good.
The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Jon Silver, & Alex Renyolds) defeated Corey Calhoun, Isaiah Broner, & Lord Crewe
Evil Uno started the match with Broner. As The Dark Order was beating on Broner, Stu Grayson came out to the ramp and distracted them, leading to Calhoun being able to roll Renyolds up for a 2-count. This did not last long as Dark Order took Calhoun to the dark realm for the pinfall.
–Claudio Castagnoli was backstage, saying that while he was not in the arena tonight, he was very much there, and that no one he has faced has given him a run for his money. Castagnoli talked about when he lost the ROH World Championship to Chris Jericho, and how he took the title back from Jericho, learning that the only thing that mattered was that he had a simple job – to keep the ROH World Championship from people who were not worthy of it, like Eddie Kingston, PAC, and Mark Briscoe, and he was really good at his job. This was a great promo.
Cole Karter defeated Griff Garrison
Garrison had some fire in this one, going right after Karter, hitting a series of hard chops, strikes, and then a falcon arrow for a 2-count. Karter looked rough in this one, but showed some good heel instincts despite the rough offence. As Karter hit a weird dominator type slam for the win, Maria Kanellis walked down to the ring and whispered something in Karter’s ear before leaving.
Billie Starkz defeated Charlette Renegade
Charlette did not abide by the Code of Honor, hitting a hard forearm in the handshake, before beating on Starkz for a bit. Starkz tried to escape to the floor but got distracted by Robyn, and Renegade jumped off the apron to continue the attack. Charlette grabbed Starkz by the nose and pulled back with a camel clutch.
Starkz hit a kick to Charlette, but was cut off on the ropes by Robyn, who did so right in front of the referee. Oops. Charlette hit a superplex, but Starkz rolled through into a Last Shot for a 2-count. Renegade managed to hit a landslide for a 2-count, but Starkz was able to hit a neutralizer type move for the win.
–Robyn Renegade ran in and the Renegade Twins started beating on Starkz, but Athena ran down and made the save. As they faced off, Athena told Starkz to duck, and then both women hit a dive on the twins. Athena challenged Starkz to a fight in a joking way, and Starkz offered a handshake, but Athena refused. Athena then said, “Come on, minion! Let’s go!” Starkz followed with hesitation, as the announcers noted she might not be able to trust Athena.
–Ari Davari & Tony Nese were backstage, and Nese talked about why he was trying to get the fans to do work outs with him, and how frustrating it is that he gets interrupted by someone as he tries to make the lives of the fans better. Nese said Mark Sterling promised he would have the floor tonight, and they were going to have a full group training session as the fans needed it badly with how out of shape they were.
Lee Johnson, Action Andretti, & Darius Martin defeated Lee Moriarty & The Workhorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry)
This was a really good match with a finish that the crowd didn’t seem to expect.
Johnson & Moriarty started the match with a really nice exchange. Moriarty tried to escape the grasp of Martin and Andretti but fell victim to several double team moves that also took out Drake and Henry. Moriarty and Johnson resumed their exchange, but Henry hit a knee to the back of Johnson letting Moriarty tag out to Drake, who leveled Johnson with a Bossman slam. Henry tagged in and hit some very hard kicks to Johnson. Johnson ducked an attack and tagged out to Andretti, who ran wild hitting a dive on Henry on the floor but missing a 450 splash on Moriarty.
Andretti hit a standing Spanish fly instead, but was soon falling victim to Drake and Henry hitting a pop-up powerbomb for a 2-count thata was broken up by Martin. Martin ate a massive twisting butterfly suplex from Drake but Andretti broke it up. Andretti countered an O’Connor roll with a bridge and got the pinfall on Henry.
–Athena was with Lexy Nair and she brought in Billie Starkz. Athena assigned a minion number to Starkz, but Starkz said it wasn’t what was important as they had to deal with the Renegade Twins, challenging them to a tag match next week. Athena said that Starkz shouldn’t think, since that was not her roll, and she intimidated Nair into agreeing with her before demanding that Starkz drive them to the mall.
Lady Frost defeated Trish Adora
Frost looked good in this match, especially at the finish with the corkscrew moonsault for the win.
Frost slipped slightly on a handspring, but they played it right, letting Adora take it as an opportunity to kick Frost in the head and get the advantage. Adora then did a stretch behind Frost before putting her foot on the back of Frost’s head and driving it to the mat. Adora then did the splits on the shoulder of Frost, driving her head down to the mat while she was seated. That looked brutal.
Adora hit a standing crossbody for a 2-count before hitting a German suplex. Adora hit a sternum breaker in the corner for a 2-count. Frost ducked a clothesline and hit a spinning kick for a 2-count before hitting a Frostbite for the pin.
–Kiera Hogan was with Lexy Nair and talked about how she has been keeping her eyes on Lady Frost. She said she was going to put her fire against Frost, melting the ice.
Leyla Hirsch defeated Rachel Ellering
This was a short match, but I liked it.
Ellering was given a lot in this match, hitting a nice brainbuster while selling her arm that Hirsch worked over with an armbar earlier in the match. Hirsch, I think, was a heel, but the crowd seemed to wanting to root for her. Hirsch floated over onto the back of Ellering after a corner charge, locking on a sleeper and then transitioning to an octopus stretch. Ellering fought out, but Hirsch was able to counter a pinfall attempt after a Bossman slam into a crucifix pin before transitioning into an armbar for the submission.
Dalton Castle defeated Peter Avalon
Dalton Castle is the best, and he should be on TV every single week on every show.
Avalon looked very shocked at the charisma of Dalton Castle. Castle yelled at Avalon as he tried to escape Castle’s grasp, saying, “You wiggle away from me again and I’ll rip your face off!” I laughed. Castle proceeded to suplex Avalon around the ring. Castle got the win soon thereafter and yelled to the camera that he was going to take the ROH Television championship before long.
–Shane Taylor was with Lexy Nair, and talking about how in the past with ROH, he was established as the greatest TV champion, greatest six-man champion, and greatest stable of all time in ROH, but people only wanted to talk about the old guard, and he was going to finally put that to rest when he got to fight them, and specifically Samoa Joe because he wanted his ROH Television championship back. Awesome promo.
–Tony Nese came out and claimed that his match was cancelled, so he was going to lead the crowd in the workout. The crowd actually started to participate before Metalik made Jerry Lynn came out and informed Nese that his lawyer was wrong, and that Tony Khan was a bit tired of Nese trying to avoid wrestling, so he was facing someone who he was familiar with tonight.
Metalik defeated Tony Nese
Metalik is such a fantastic wrestler, and I really hope he is given a chance to get over in ROH and AEW.
Metalik and Tony Nese reunite as 205 Live lives on in ROH. After some early heat from Nese, Metalik hit a Asai Moonsault to the floor on Nese, kicking Nese right in the back off the head hard as they went down. Both guys seemed fine, but both landed hard there. Nese fought out of a fireman’s carry and hit a powerbomb on Metalik for a 2-count. Metalik hit a superkick on a running Nese before hitting a landslide on Nese for the win.
Final Thoughts
Good episode of ROH on HonorClub tonight. I’m not sure if the show really needed to be 2 hours and 14 minutes long, but the angles they advanced were good, and the matches were largely good too. I think they are trying to find a balance with the shows after Dark and Elevation were cancelled, providing chances for younger stars to get reps while also trying to advance angles for the bigger stars. They definitely achieved that tonight.
Samoa Joe has issued a challenge to CM Punk for Wembley Stadium.
On Saturday’s Collision, Samoa Joe cut a promo after quickly defeating Serpentico. He said that he didn’t have a dance partner for AEW All In on August 27, and called out CM Punk. He referenced their last match in the finals of the Owen Hart Foundation tournament last month, saying that a roll-up wasn’t good enough for their legacy.
Joe and Punk, who had a famous trilogy of matches in the early 2000s in Ring of Honor, met for a fourth time in the semifinals of the Owen Hart Foundation tournament last month. Punk managed to roll-up Joe for the surprise win to advance to the finals. Joe acted like he was going to shake hands after the match, but instead attacked Punk. Punk would go on to lose in the finals of the tournament to Ricky Starks, who grabbed the ropes to pick up the win.
There was a second call-out earlier in the show, with FTR challenging The Young Bucks to a rubber match for the AEW Tag Team titles at All In.
Samoa Joe & Stokely Hathaway will team up on the August 17 episode of Ring of Honor TV.
As announced during this week’s show, TV Champion Samoa Joe & board of directors member Stokely Hathaway will tag against The Boys on the Thursday, August 17 Ring of Honor TV.
The bout was set up with a backstage interview segment where Dalton Castle & The Boys confronted Hathaway for interfering in his TV title match against Joe at Death Before Dishonor last month. Joe then entered and asserted that he and Hathaway will team up against The Boys in tag action in two weeks. Video of the segment can be seen below.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) August 3, 2023
While no date has been set for his next TV title defense, Joe will also be awaiting the winner of next week’s ROH TV Title Eliminator Tournament, where Shane Taylor will take on Gravity.
Taylor and Gravity won their semifinal bouts on Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV episode to advance to the Title Eliminator Tournament finals which are set for the Thursday, August 10 edition of the show.
ROH announced a Television Championship Eliminator Tournament on Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV episode, then held the tournament quarterfinals.
Board of Directors member Stokely Hathaway revealed the title Eliminator Tournament in a backstage interview segment with Lexi Nair and World TV Champion Samoa Joe, and the quarterfinals round commenced on Thursday’s show.
#ROH Board of Directors member @StokelyHathaway says an Eliminator Tournament starts tonight to crown a number one contender for the #ROH World TV Title.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) July 28, 2023
Christopher Daniels defeated JD Drake, Tony Nese defeated Cheeseburger, Gravity defeated Anthony Henry, and Shane Taylor defeated Serpentico in quarterfinals bout on Thursday’s show.
The tournament semifinalists are now Daniels, Nese, Gravity, and Taylor. No bracket was revealed for the tournament, so the exact semifinals matches have yet to be announced. The tournament winner will earn a shot at Joe’s ROH World Television Championship.
Joe has held the TV title for over 15 months after defeating Minoru Suzuki to win the belt on the April 13, 2022 AEW Dynamite episode. Joe defeated Dalton Castle in his most recent title defense at last week’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view.
ROH is holding a tournament to determine the next challenger for Samoa Joe’s TV title.
The four-person tournament began on Thursday’s episode of ROH television. Dalton Castle and Shane Taylor booked their spots in the finals with respective wins over Tony Nese and Shawn Dean. Castle vs. Taylor in the tournament finals will take place on ROH TV next week.
The winner of Castle vs. Taylor advances to challenge Joe for the ROH TV title at Death Before Dishonor.
Death Before Dishonor is being held at CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, New Jersey on Friday, July 21. It’s ROH’s first pay-per-view since March’s Supercard of Honor.
Joe has held the ROH TV Championship since April 2022. His most recent defense of the title was against Matt Sydal on ROH TV last month.
On the most recent episode of AEW Collision, Joe lost to CM Punk in the semifinals of the men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.
Castle and Taylor are both former TV champions in ROH. Their reigns happened while ROH was owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Next Thursday’s ROH TV is airing the night before Death Before Dishonor. Also on the episode, ROH will address who is going to be Claudio Castagnoli’s Death Before Dishonor challenger. Castagnoli was supposed to face Mark Briscoe at the PPV, but Briscoe had to be pulled from the match due to injury.
With Bryan Alvarez away on his 1,234rd vacation of the year, former WWE, ECW & WCW star Lance Storm steps in for a special Lance, Vinny & Craig Show!
The guys recap this past Saturday’s AEW Collision which saw CM Punk defeat Samoa Joe to advance to the finals of the Owen Hart Foundation tournament plus a great tag team match.
They also chat about, well, anything else that comes up.
It’s time for a new Wrestling Observer Live, talking about the biggest stories from the week which included everything from Friday’s WWE SmackDown and Saturday’s AEW Collision.
Subscribers can listen by clicking below while YouTube upgraded subscribers can watch here.
This week’s SmackDown took place at New York City’s Madison Square Garden where I was in attendance. I give my firsthand account of the trial of Roman Reigns and the rest of the show.
I also break down Saturday’s Collision and the big Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk match in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament, but it turns out that was not the best match on the show. I talk about what was.
With the passing of Darren Drozdov last week, I also give my firsthand account of being in attendance for his career-ending accident in the ring.
Plus, I give an early preview of the planned SummerSlam matches, New Japan Strong’s Independence Day shows, and more.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio going over all the news in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Before that, Ryan Frederick joined the show to talk about UFC 290 which featured a match of the year candidate and a new champion, as well as Robbie Lawler’s retirement fight. We also talked about Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for UFC 295 and the rumored Francis Ngannou exhibition boxing match with Tyson Fury.
Dave and I then discussed the following:
CM Punk Vs. Samoa Joe from AEW Collision
The rest of the Collision show including a great tag team match
The Trial of Roman Reigns
Jey Uso’s challenge for Roman at the end of the show as well as a quick recap of SmackDown
Dave’s bio on Darren Drozdov
Dave’s household study when it comes to 18-49 and people with cable
