Tag: Angelico

Ring of Honor TV live results: Michael Oku vs. Jay Lethal

Posted on by Jeff Moss

After appearing at Supercard of Honor last Friday, UK standout Michael Oku returns for another Ring of Honor match on tonight’s HonorClub show.

Oku will take on former ROH World Champion Jay Lethal for the first time ever.

Former ROH TV Champion Atlantis Jr. will go one-on-one with Lee Johnson while another CMLL star — Hechicero — will battle Angelico.

Diamante will take on Maya World to round out the card from Garland, Texas.

**********

Without even a moment to breathe after Supercard of Honor, it’s time for the 125th episode of Ring of Honor on Honorclub! (ok, there were six days to breathe, but you get me.)

Atlantis Jr. vs Lee Johnson (w/Blake Christian)

Blake Christian debuted a stylish new haircut on the Supercard of Honor Zero Hour show, but it was Johnson who had a bad night, losing out on $50,000 in a four-way loss to AR Fox. Atlantis Jr. wasn’t on the Supercard, er, card, but he did pick up a win teaming with his Dad over SAP last week. Also, far superior coat to Johnson.

The two locked up and Johnson immediately started trying to shift the match of Atlantis, causing enough confusion to get a hammerlock on the luchadore. The speed picked up from there with Atlantis delivering a flying head scissor that sent Johnson out of the ring. Atlantis followed with a dive.

Back in the ring, Johnson couldn’t seem to get any momentum on his side until Christian interfered and laid out Atlantis with a very fast, very sneaky dropkick in the corner. That allowed Johnson to take control, trying multiple pinning attempts and settling on a head lock.

Atlantis battled back though, hitting Johnson with a high knee. Christian got up on the ring apron (the uppest part of the ring!) to try and cause a distraction but Atlantis saw it and dispatched he and Johnson, maintaining the upper hand.

Atlantis went up top for a frog splash, but Johnson dodged it and followed up with a Spiccoli driver. Johnson set up Atlantis for a powerbomb, but Atlantis reversed it into a German Suplex, which Johnson reversed into some clubbing strikes. Atlantis then hit a Mexican Destroyer followed by a Frog Splash to get the pin and the victory.

Match Result: Atlantis Jr. defeated Lee Johnson

Decent bout for the two, but I’m surprised by Johnson. He was once on fire in ROH, but las slowed down considerably. With such a thick tag division in ROH, I don’t know if sticking him with Christian is how to make either man stand out, but time will tell!

-Next, ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty cut a promo from backstage at Supercard. He promised that he would take the Pure title to the top and everyone better watch out.

Diamante vs Maya World

Diamante is on a bit of a roll in ROH, having returned from injury in March. She’s teamed with Athena in a winning tag match and beat Lady Frost on the Supercard Zero Hour preshow. Maya World’s last ROH match was almost exactly one full year ago, when she lost to Robyn Renegade. World is holding her own though as a QUADRUPLE champion, holding the DFW All-Pro Tag Team Championship (with Alejandra Quintanilla), the VIP Women’s Championship, the HOT Women’s Championship and the Inspire Pro Pure Prestige Championship. So no matter what happens here, she’s doing OK. 

World had a biut of a size advantage over Diamante, but anyone who’s ever seen Diamante in the ring knows that size means nothing to her. She started off bringing World to her knees with some hard clubbing strikes.

Diamante hit world with a flying head scissor and was in complete control early on. Diamante raked World’s face along the ropes and chopped her in the corner. World dodged the next one though and set Diamante up for a powerbomb. Diamante got out of it though and hit a Code Red. That was in for World and Diamante got the pin.

Match Result: Diamante defeated Maya World

Fun if not fast match. Diamante is a really mean wrestler and really fun to watch. I kinda wish she’d drop the gunshots from her music, but that’s just me.

-Next, the MxM Collection aired a commercial for their new scent, “Seed.” It was as gross as you can imagine.

-Then, Athena cut a promo about how she’s going to be AEW Women’s world champion. Cool. Following that, a retrospective of Dustin Rhodes’ time in AEW/ROH culminating with his TNT title win at All In. Rhodes was interviewed from All In and said that it meant everything to him and his family to win the TNT title in Texas.

Jay Lethal vs Michael Oku (w/Amira)

A delightful surprise of the Supercard of Honor Zero Hour pre show was Lethal taking on Blake Christian in a really fun bout. He lost that match, but he’s ready to take on someone else who lost at Supercard in Oku (who lost to Hechicero). 

The two locked up with Oku getting a headlock on first. From there, Oku’s speed was on full display as he flipped and wigged around Lethal. Lethal looked stunned as he stood up, clearly having underestimated Oku.

Lethal then offered Oku a free shot and Oku decked him. Lethal returned the shot, but clearly his punches were a little more devastating that Oku. Oku wasn’t done though and he laid another punch on Lethal that sparked a suplex from the bigger man.

Lethal set up a Lethal Injection, but Oku was able to get out of the way and planted a superkick on Lethal’s head that had him crumpling to the mat. Oku grabbed Lethal’s ankle, but took a little too long and Lethal got out of the way.

Lethal locked in a figure four and both men rolled all the way out of the ring, still in the hold. Both climbed up onto the ring apron and Oku back body dropped Lethal back to the floor. Oku in the ring got the crowd going and hit a big backflip onto Lethal on the outside.

Oku tossed Lethal back in and tried for a dropkick in the corner, but Lethal got out of it and leapt from the top ro[e with and elbow. Oku caught him and tried for a pin, but Lethal hit a series of cutters followed by a Lethal Injection to take the victory.

Match result: Jay Lethal defeated Michael Oku

I’ve grown to like this iteration of Jay Lethal a lot. The Lethal Injection is a great move and Lethal plays that veteran role really well, shaking hands with Oku after the match. Oku is a star waiting to break out and I’m hoping we see more of him in ROH.

-Next, footage was shown of The Frat House drinking. They lost to the Dark Order at Supercard and decided to find a bar in Texas (there are one or two apparently) because win or lose, they booze. (gross).

Hechicero (w/Rocky Romero) vs Angelico (w/Serpentico)

But enough about the bummer Frat House. You know who’s great? Hechicero. You know who else is great? Angelico. Only one of them beat Micheal Oku at Supercard of Honor though! You can find out which one here. No matter what, Angelico in a rare singles bout against a former CMLL World Champion is an excellent Main Event to kick off post-Supercard ROH. Also, Hechicero has called his shot against Bandido for the ROH World Title. I am very much looking forward to that.

Any way, Hechicero wanted no part of the code of honor and Angelico managed to avoid locking up with Hechicero off the top. Angelico did get a wrist lock on but Hechicero rolled through and into a hammer lock. Angelico got out of it via rope break.

The match progressed slowly, which was strange for Hechicero, but Angelico worked the timing, slithering in and out of holds and keeping up when the speed was taken up a notch. These guys both have similar styles, but were trained to use it in different ways.

Hechicero grabbed Angelico and hung him up on the ropes. That gave Romero a chance to get a shot in and Hechicero laid out Angelico in the corner. Hechicero ended up on the ring apron and Angelico charged, but Hechicero caught his foot and wracked the knee over the rope.

Serpentico began banging on the ring apron (the most serpentine part of the ring!) while Angelico staggerd to his feet. Hechicero was hit with a flurry of kicks and knees as Angelico wormed and dodged is way around Hechicero.

Angelico hit a jumping flatliner, but it only got a two count. He wrapped Hechiero’s legs up for a grapevine, but Romero caused a distraction and Hechicero used it to hit a spinning, spinning, spinning backbreaker, and get the 1-2-3 on Angelico.

Match Result: Hechicero defeated Angelico

After the match Romero and Hechicero started a beatdown of SAP, but before it could go on too long, Hologram appeared and cleared the ring to make the save.

Good match, Hechicero is a great heel. I was a little surprised at how loose Angelico was, but the introduction of Hologram was a great move. Hechicero is up next to face Bandido and seeing him heel it up against the champ will be awesome. Also, I am beginning to suspect that under that mask, Hechicero is actor Emilio Rivera. I could be wrong, but I hope I’m not.

Mistico vs. Angelico announced for AEW Collision

Posted on by Ian Carey

A new match has been announced for AEW Collision.

Tony Khan revealed on Thursday that Mistico vs. Angelico is now scheduled for the show,

Khan wrote:

Mistico vs Angelico

One of the greatest Luchadores ever @CMLL_OFICIAL megastar @caristicomx returns to TNT to collide vs one of the greatest international purveyors of Lucha Libre @Angelico_AEW SATURDAY

This will be Mistico’s fourth match in AEW. He defeated Rocky Romero on the October 10 episode of Rampage last year, was on the winning end of an eight-man tag on the January 31 Rampage, and then defeated Matt Sydal on the February 7 Rampage. 

This week’s AEW Collision will be taped tonight at the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia, the same venue that Dynamite took place in on Wednesday. 

AEW Collision announced lineup for March 7, 2024 —

  • Kazuchika Okada & The Young Bucks in trios action
  • Atlanta Street Fight: Mark Briscoe, Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal vs. House of Black’s Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews
  • Chris Jericho vs. CMLL’s Titan
  • Bryan Danielson vs. Shane Taylor
  • Mistico vs. Angelico
  • Toni Storm presents the first-ever Toni Award
  • Mariah May in action

Ring of Honor TV live results: Eddie Kingston vs. Angelico

Posted on by Suit Williams

The ROH World Championship will be defended on HonorClub tonight. 

Eddie Kingston will defend his title against Angelico on the show. It will be his fourth time defending the belt since winning it from Claudio Castagnoli at Grand Slam in September. His previous title defenses have been over Katsuyori Shibata, Komander, and Minoru Suzuki. 

The ROH Women’s World Champion Athena is also advertised for this week’s episode. She’ll wrestle Heidi Howitzer in a Proving Ground match in what will be Howitzer’s ROH debut. 

Billie Starkz vs. Rachael Ellering is also scheduled for tonight. Ellering comes in on a two-match winning streak after defeating Robyn Renegade and LMK on previous episodes. 

Other matches scheduled to air tonight include Leyla Hirsch vs. Charlette Renegade, The Iron Savages vs. Cole Karter & Griff Garrison, Kyle Fletcher vs. Lee Johnson, and Tony Nese vs. Serpentico. 

This week’s episode was taped on Saturday, November 4, 2023, at the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas. Spoilers for the show are available here. 

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This week’s ROH began with a recap of last week’s Women’s World Title match between Athena and Mercedes Martinez. We cut to video from after last week’s show, where Lexy Nair and Billie Starkz waited for Athena. Athena said that she would do whatever she needed to do to for Starkz to get more violent. Athena made it clear that Starkz was on her good side for now.

Serpentico defeated Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling)

Sterling came out bragging about his charges scoring two straight wins over “that fat slob” Ethan Page. Nese dumped on Wichita before Serpentico came out for the scheduled match. Nese used his power to keep Serpentico off of his feet. Nese put Serpentico in the Tree of Woe before dropping into the crunch kicks.

Serpentico came back with a hurricanrana and a flatliner for a nearfall. Nese came right back with a spinning heel kick and set up the pumphandle slam, but Ethan Page came out with a microphone. He was ready for group training, which distracted Nese long enough to get rolled up by Serpentico. Page said that instead of group training, he would celebrate with Serpentico.

Action Andretti & Darius Martin were backstage with Lexy Nair. They spoke on their issues with Shane Taylor Promotions before bringing in their partners for tonight’s eight-man tag match, The Infantry. They hyped themselves up for the match.

Athena (w/Billie Starkz) defeated Heidi Howitzer

Howitzer took Athena down with a shoulder block and a big boot, sending Athena out of the ring. Athena slid out of the way of a baseball slide before dropping Howitzer with a rolling slam on the floor. Athena clubbered on Howitzer in the ring before tossing her with a German Suplex.

Howitzer tried coming back with hard Irish whips, but Athena hopped to the second rope and hit a Codebreaker. Athena hit the knockout forearm to score the win. After the match, Athena drilled Howitzer with a superkick before throwing her into the belt.

Kyle Fletcher defeated Lee Johnson

Fletcher yanked Johnson off of the turnbuckles during his entrance. Shane Taylor Promotions was seen watching backstage. Fletcher played keep-away from Johnson until Johnson caught him with a dropkick that sent him to the floor. Johnson chased Fletcher around the ring until Fletcher caught him with a superkick and dropped him on the apron with a back suplex.

Fletcher clubbered on Johnson until Johnson caught him with a back elbow. Johnson picked up the pace with clotheslines and a neckbreaker. Johnson hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Johnson hit Fletcher with a pair of elbows in the corner, but Fletcher avoided a corner charge and hit a tight Michinoku Driver for a nearfall.

Fletcher talked trash before catching a kick to the face. Johnson got Fletcher onto the top rope before hitting a superplex. Johnson followed it with a frog splash for a nearfall. Fletcher popped Johnson with a dropkick before hitting the leg lariat to the back. Fletcher hit the Tombstone for the win.

Leyla Hirsch defeated Charlette Renegade (w/ Robyn Renegade)

Charlette sent Hirsch into the ropes, where Robyn popped her with a forearm for a nearfall. Charlette kept the advantage on offense, hitting a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. Hirsch hit a German suplex before hitting the pendulum dropkick in the corner for a nearfall. Hirsch hit a Saito suplex as Robyn sat a chair on the apron.

Robyn distracted the referee to allow Charlette to grab the chair, but Rachel Ellering took Robyn out with a forearm. The ref caught Charlette with the chair and took it away, allowing Hirsch to lock in a cross-arm breaker to score the submission win.

Athena and Billie Starkz were backstage with Lexy Nair. After scolding Nair for being friendly to Willow Nightingale, Athena told Starkz to show her violent streak against Rachel Ellering tonight. Athena noted that Final Battle was in her hometown and that she couldn’t wait to see which porcelain hussy she would beat.

Iron Savages (w/ Jacked Jameson) defeated Cole Karter & Griff Garrison (w/Maria Kanellis-Bennett)

Bronson caught Garrison with a bodyslam. Garrison avoided being sent into Boulder’s chest, but Karter wasn’t so lucky. Karter took Boulder down, but Boulder kept pressing his way out of the cover. Boulder hit them with a double flapjack before sending Bronson to the floor. Maria distracted Bronson before sending him into a Karter back body drop on the ramp.

Karter and Garrison worked over Bronson until he fought to make the tag to Boulder. Boulder ran wild, hitting both men with a powerbomb/World’s Strongest Slam combination for a nearfall. Karter rolled out of the way of a Boulder step-up moonsault, allowing Garrison to hit a rolling elbow to the back of the head. Karter hit a 450 splash for a nearfall that was broken up by Bronson.

Karter sent Bronson to the floor, but Boulder crashed into both Karter and Garrison with a crossbody. The Savages hit the Transformer Splash for the win.

We got a video package recapping Samoa Joe’s successful title defense and subsequent vacating of the ROH World Television Title. Tony Khan will make an announcement regarding the Television Title next week.

Billie Starkz (w/Athena) defeated Rachael Ellering

Starkz caught Ellering with a sunset flip, then kicked Ellering in the head for a nearfall. Starkz celebrated her small accomplishment, allowing Ellering to come back with a senton for a nearfall. Ellering hit a gutwrench suplex to take Starkz down before chopping Starkz in the corner. Ellering hit a running uppercut and a cross-leg Michinoku Driver for a nearfall.

Starkz avoided the Bosswoman Slam before Ellering clubbed Starkz with a clothesline and a forearm. Starkz ducked a clothesline and hit a spin kick, but Ellering followed up with a lariat. Starkz caught Ellering with a kick to the head before hitting a trio of German suplexes for a nearfall. Ellering cut off Starkz on the top rope, pulling her into a TKO for a nearfall.

Starkz eventually sent Ellering to the floor, following her out with a tope. Starkz sent Ellering into the barricade. Starks sent Ellering into the ring, where she hit a Swanton Bomb for the win.

Athena jumped Ellering after the bell, with Starkz joining in after a second. Leyla Hirsch ran them off, returning the favor for Ellering helping her out earlier.

Josh Woods defeated SK Bishop

Woods was dominant here. Bishop got a boot up on a corner charge, but Woods kneed him out of a high cross attempt. Woods hit Chaos Theory for the win.

Action Andretti, Darius Martin & The Infantry defeated Shane Taylor Promotions & The Wingmen

The match started with a Pier Six Brawl. The good guys sent the rudos to the floor before hitting planchas onto all of them. Unfortunately for Martin, Taylor caught him and flung him into the barricade. Bravo got caught by Taylor in the ring, who dropped him face-first on an up-and-over in the corner. Taylor sent Bravo into the corner buckle with a kick for a nearfall.

Bravo got worked on for a while before fighting his way to a tag out to Andretti. Andretti ran wild on the Wingmen, taking them down with a handspring elbow. Avalon accidentally punched Taylor, leading to Taylor and Moriarty knocking out Avalon and Nemeth and leaving. The Infantry hit Boot Camp on Avalon to score the win.

Rachel Ellering was backstage with Lexy Nair. Ellering felt like she was breaking through with Leyla Hirsch, but Hirsch came in to clarify. Hirsch said that she didn’t like owing anyone, so now she and Ellering are even. Maria Kanellis came in, mocking their teamwork to Hirsch’s chagrin. Kanellis told Hirsch to team with Ellering, and afterward, she would let Hirsch know about their future.

Dralistico (w/ Jose The Assistant) defeated Gravity

The announcers noted that these two are the brothers of former ROH World Champions. Gravity is Bandido’s younger brother, while Dralistico is the younger brother of Rush. Dralistico sent Gravity to the floor before following him with a big dive. Dralistico held control on Gravity until Gravity sent him to the floor. Gravity hit a step-up dive to the floor. Gravity fired up in the ring, hitting a headstand splash out of the corner for a nearfall.

Dralistico superkicked Gravity before hitting a powerbomb for a nearfall. They traded chops and running forearms before Gravity snatched Dralistico up in a powerslam. Gravity hung up Dralistico in the ropes before hitting a splash onto him for a nearfall. Dralistico tied up Gravity in the ropes before ripping off a springboard hurricanrana for a nearfall. Dralistico hit a corkscrew Destroyer to score the win.

ROH World Title Match – Eddie Kingston defeated Angelico to retain

A fine main event. There was never that close nearfall that made me think Angelico could win, but they had a solid back-and-forth here.

The two men started this match with technique, with Kingston breaking first and laying in a chop. Angelico caught a second chop and turned it into a cravat before kicking Kingston in the back of the head. The men traded strikes, with Angelico going after the knee. Kingston chopped Angelico into the corner before hitting the machine gun chops and a face wash.

Angelico countered a suplex attempt with a front facelock that he transitioned into a double wristlock that forced Kingston to the ropes. Kingston cut off Angelico with a kitchen sink knee and clubbered on him. Kingston dropped Angelico with more chops, but Angelico rolled through a uranage attempt and hit a kick that sent Kingston to the floor. Angelico followed with a dive onto Kingston.

Kingston tried to make some space, but Angelico hit a diving clothesline off of the apron. Angelico hit a high crossbody for a nearfall. Angelico got a nearfall with a jackknife pin, then tried a flash pin for a nearfall. Angelico kicked Kingston in the head before locking on La Casita for a nearfall. Kingston popped up with a Backfist, but Angelico kicked out. Kingston landed another Backfist before hitting the Northern Lights Driver to win and retain the title.

Backstage, Dalton Castle was frustrated that he couldn’t give people the show that they deserved. He didn’t want people like Eddie Kingston muddying the airwaves, saying that Kingston was throwing away his opportunities as champion. He said that Kingston was ordinary and that he wanted to give the people a World Champion that they could sink their teeth into. Eddie Kingston vs. Dalton Castle for the ROH World Title was made official for next week.

Angelico to face Eddie Kingston for ROH World Championship

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Eddie Kingston’s next Ring of Honor World Championship challenger is set following this week’s ROH TV. 

After a Proving Ground match on this week’s episode where Kingston defeated Serpentico, Angelico stepped forward to challenge Kingston to a future title match. Kingston accepted the challenge, and the match is set for a date yet to be announced. 

Kingston defeated Claudio Castagnoli in a double title match where Kingston’s NJPW Strong Openweight Championship was also on the line at Dynamite Grand Slam on September 20. He has since successfully defended the ROH title against Katsuyori Shibata, Komander, and Minoru Suzuki. 

Angelico has a 1-3 record in singles matches in AEW & ROH this year, with his first singles victory coming on Thursday’s ROH TV episode against Marty Casaus. As a part of the Spanish Announce Project tag team, Angelico has a 3-9 record in tag and trios bouts in ROH & AEW this year. 

Elsewhere in ROH, a singles match between Tony Nese and Ethan Page is official for the Thursday, October 19  episode after the events of this week’s show. Mark Sterling offered Page a spot in Nese’s Premier Athlete brand, but Page declined and challenged Nese to a match instead. 

Sterling’s client Josh Woods will also be in action on next week’s show in a Pure Rules match against Pat Buck. 

Next week’s announced card: 

Ring of Honor TV, Thursday, October 19 —

  • Ethan Page vs. Tony Nese
  • Pure Rules match: Josh Woods vs. Pat Buck

Six matches announced for AEW Dark: Elevation

Posted on by Ian Carey

AEW has announced the lineup for Dark: Elevation. 

Notable matches scheduled for the show include The Dark Order vs. Serpentico, Peter Avalon & Ryan Nemeth. Brooke Havok will also return to AEW for the first time in nearly two years when she faces Emi Sakura in singles action. 

Rush & Preston Vance, The Butcher & The Blade, Skye Blue, Ari Daivari, and Tony Nese will all be in action as well. 

This week’s episode was filmed Wednesday, January 18, 2023, from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. 

AEW Dark: Elevation airs at 7 p.m. Eastern time on YouTube. The advertised lineup for the show is as follows:

  • Dark Order’s Alex Reynolds, John Silver, & Evil Uno vs. Serpentico, Ryan Nemeth & Peter Avalon
  • The Butcher & The Blade w/ The Bunny vs. David McCallion & Richie Slade
  • Ari Daivari & Tony Nese w/ Mark Sterling vs. Big Fonz & Jordan Cruz
  • Skye Blue vs. Zoe Dubois
  • La Faccion Ingobernable’s Rush & Perro Peligroso Preston Vance vs. Papacito Negro & Papacito Blanco
  • Emi Sakura vs. Brooke Havok

Danhausen vs. Avalon, Matt Hardy vs. Angelico part of five-match AEW Dark lineup

Posted on by Ian Carey

AEW has announced five matches for Dark. 

Danhausen will be in singles action as he takes on Peter Avalon. Matt Hardy will also face former Hardy Family Office member, Angelico, on the show. Recently on episodes of BTE, Hardy has been trying to make amends for how he treated former members of his faction. 

Other matches scheduled to air include Dante Martin & Matt Sydal vs. Cezar Bononi & Ryan Nemeth and Penelope Ford vs. Alice Crowley. Emi Sakura, Diamante, Skye Blue, and Queen Aminata will also be in action on the show. 

This week’s episode was filmed on Friday, September 2 from the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. 

AEW Dark airs on Tuesday beginning at 7 p.m Eastern time on YouTube. The advertised lineup for the show is as follows:

  • Angelico vs. Matt Hardy
  • Danhausen vs. “Pretty” Peter Avalon
  • Dante Martin & Matt Sydal vs. Cezar Bononi & Ryan Nemeth
  • Penelope Ford vs. Alice Crowley
  • Emi Sakura & Diamante vs. Skye Blue & Queen Aminata

AEW’s Angelico tore ACL & meniscus, recovery ahead of schedule

Posted on by Ethan Renner

AEW’s Angelico announced today that he suffered a torn ACL and meniscus late last year, but is on the road to recovery. 

On Twitter, the TH2 star wrote: 

I can confirm the rumors. I suffered a torn ACL and meniscus at the end of 2021. The good news as you can see below, is that my recovery is well ahead of schedule and my return to the ring is just around the corner!

Along with the injury update, Angelico posted a video of his rehab: 

Angelico last wrestled at the December 3, 2021 AEW Dark taping at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. After an extensive international career, the South African star has wrestled exclusively for AEW since February 2020.

Both Angelico and The Hybrid 2 teammate Jack Evans have been with AEW since its inaugural event, the Double or Nothing pay-per-view in May 2019. Angelico and Evans lost to Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor) on that show. 

AEW Dynamite live results: Omega vs. Janela no DQ match

Posted on by Parker Klyn

World Champion Kenny Omega will be in action in a no DQ match against Joey Janela on tonight’s AEW Dynamite. 

Omega and Janela were originally scheduled to face off in the first round of the AEW World title eliminator tournament in October. Janela ended up being pulled from the tournament due to contact tracing. Omega went on to win the tournament, beating Hangman Page at Full Gear in the finals. 

Should Janela win, he will be granted a future title shot against Omega. 

A 12-man tag is also scheduled for tonight’s show. Last week’s battle between MJF and Orange Cassidy for the Dynamite Diamond Ring saw involvement in, or interference from, all fourteen competitors. The match will be Chris Jericho, MJF, Santana, Ortiz, Sammy Guevara & Jake Hager vs. Best Friends, Top Flight & Varsity Blondes. 

As The Dark Order continues to look to add to their ranks, Hangman Page agreed to team with Alex Reynolds and John Silver on tonight’s show. They will face Matt Hardy and Private Party in trios action. 

Cody Rhodes will face Angelico this evening. SCU will also take on The Acclaimed. An appearance by Sting and promos by Dustin Rhodes and Eddie Kingston have also been advertised. 

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

**********

Show Report —

Matt Hardy & Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) defeated “Hangman” Adam Page & Dark Order (John Silver & Alex Reynolds)

Page and Quen started off, but they wrestled to a stalemate, so Hardy tagged in. Hardy forced Page into his corner, but Page escaped a triple team and his team dispatched Hardy and Private Party. Silver celebrated by jumping on Page’s back, so Page dropped him onto Kassidy and covered for two.

Reynolds made a blind tag and he and Silver nailed Kassidy with a double team. Page followed it up with a running Shooting Star Press for two. Kassidy escaped and reached Quen for a hot tag. Quen downed all three opponents and Private Party hit a double team sequence on Silver for two.

Hardy and Private Party maintained control by isolating Silver, who eventually countered a dive and hit a brainbuster, allowing him to reach Page. Kassidy also tagged in, but Page went on a roll with clotheslines and a fallaway slam before landing a plancha on Hardy.

Back in the ring, Page flattened Kassidy with a lariat for a near fall. Hardy made a blind tag and hit the Side Effect for two. Page fought out of the Twist of Fate and reached Reynolds for yet another hot tag. Reynolds ran wild with forearms and a neckbreaker, then he, Silver, and Page hit a nice combination of power moves. Reynolds had it won, but Hardy pulled him out of the ring before the three, and hit Silver with the Twist of Fate on the floor.

Reynolds was isolated in the ring as Private Party hit him with Gin ‘n’ Juice. Before they could cover, Hardy tagged in, and he covered for three.

**********

The Inner Circle were interviewed about MJF’s New York Times Best Performance award for the Dinner Debonair. MJF began to speak, but Jericho emphasized that he created the Dinner Debonair and was the co-star. MJF said that the Times got one thing wrong: he couldn’t have done it without Jericho. MJF patronizingly said that he sees Jericho as a mentor, the GOAT, and his best friend. Through gritted teeth, all Jericho could say was “congratulations.”

**********

A video aired of Cody and Brandi Rhodes preparing for Christmas at home. A present arrived at their door, and inside the package was an ornament that read “We’re expecting a new baby, due 2021.”

**********

Cody was billed as a “future father” from Justin Roberts’ ring introduction.

Cody Rhodes (w/ Arn Anderson) defeated Angélico (w/ Jack Evans)

They performed technical wrestling early on, but neither man could establish any sort of advantage. Angélico was able to match Cody move for move and taunted as Cody sold frustration. Cody took control with a dropkick after a lengthy rope-running sequence as we went to a break. During the break, Evans hopped up on the ring apron, but Arn pulled him off and shoved him down. Angélico controlled the whole way.

Back from break, Cody escaped out of a suplex and downed Angélico with a kick. Cody hit clotheslines and a powerslam for two. Angélico caught the Rhodes drop-down right hand and turned it into a grounded octopus. With his arms trapped, Cody had to use his teeth to get a rope break.

Cody hit a pump kick and went for a backslide for two, but Angélico countered the Disaster Kick into a dragon screw. Angélico locked on the Navarro Death Roll, but Cody was able to reach the ropes. Cody hit the drop down right hand and went for Cross Rhodes, but Angélico fought out. Cody then hit a step-up Cody Cutter from the top rope for the pin.

After the match, Team Taz came out to “congratulate” Cody on he and Brandi’s pregnancy. Starks asked where this congratulations was when he and Cage made Cody and Darby Allin, who was watching from above, their sons. Taz said that Cage would whoop Allin’s ass. Team Taz walked to the ring to attack Cody, but the lights went out and Sting made his entrance, bat in hand. He stared down Team Taz and then the segment just ended.

They advertised Sting’s appearance tonight as “Sting Speaks,” so unless that happens later, that segment will come across as treading water from prior weeks.

**********

Miro was interviewed. It was revealed that Miro injured three AEW staff members and that he is being fined $75,000. Miro said that his problem with Orange Cassidy is that he doesn’t care about all the important things like subscribers and ratings. He said that he’d face Sonny Kiss on AEW Dark next week, and Kip and Penelope would announce their wedding date on next week’s Dynamite. 

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Eddie Kingston came out to the ring and said he doesn’t care about anyone in attendance. He’s here to address his enemies. Kingston’s first enemy is God, because he’s still living. His second enemy is PAC, who he said went back home to nurse his injuries and that his career is done. He was about to talk about Lance Archer, but Archer immediately ran out to beat him down.

Butcher, Blade, and Bunny ran out to stop Archer’s attack, but then the Lucha Bros arrived alongside PAC. They all beat down Kingston, Butcher, and Blade. Fenix took out Butcher and Blade with a tornillo. Archer was about to chokeslam Kingston, but PAC kicked Kingston out of his grip, and they exchanged words, but they and the Lucha Bros stood tall.

**********

Dustin Rhodes was inteviewed by Dasha. Regarding Evil Uno’s offer from last week, Dustin said that “7” is still a bad idea. He said that every single member of Dark Order will fall, and next week, he’ll face Uno.

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Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, MJF, Jake Hager, Sammy Guevara, Santana, & Ortiz) defeated Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent?), Top Flight (Darius Martin & Daunte Martin), & Varsity Blondes (Griff Garrison & Brian Pillman Jr.)

This was originally a 14-man tag with Wardlow and Brandon Cutler added, but Wardlow couldn’t make the show due to a family conflict. Orange Cassidy joined commentary for the match, but he didn’t say much.

Trent and Jericho started off, but Pillman wanted in. Pillman surprised Jericho after a strong lockup, so Jericho beat him down with strikes. Pillman fought back with chops and springboard moves. A springboard dropkick sent Jericho to the floor. Pillman dove with a rotating plancha, which nearly missed.

Garrison tagged in and landed a slingshot legdrop for two. Jericho was able to push Pillman into the Inner Circle’s corner and Guevara tagged in. Garrison tagged in Daunte as two of the best athletes in the company faced off. Guevara flipped him off and downed him with a dropkick. Daunte surprised Guevara with a leg lariat and Top Flight tried a double team which didn’t really land like they intended.

Guevara dropped Daunte with a right hand, leading to Trent and Santana tagging in. Taylor and Ortiz faced off as well as the Best Friends interacted with Santana and Ortiz for the first time since their parking lot brawl. Everyone entered the fray, but the face team sent the Inner Circle packing, and they all came together for a six-way hug.

Back in the ring, Santana hit the Three Amigos suplexes, with Ortiz joining for the third. MJF tagged in with a dive onto Trent’s arm. The Inner Circle beat Trent down on the floor as their team complained to the official, and maintained their advantage through a commercial break. 

Guevara cockily went for a Shooting Star Press, but Trent rolled out of the way and hit a bicycle knee, allowing him to tag in Darius. Darius sent the Inner Circle off the apron and hit a Spanish Fly on Ortiz. He went for a dive, but was cut off, so Daunte made a blind tag and immediately dove onto the pile after.

Best Friends hit their half-and-half Soul Food combination and Garrison tagged in. Garrison cleared the ring but was cut off by a bat strike from Jericho. Hager tagged in and hit an awkward-looking F10 in a reference to Wardlow, then MJF tagged in to get the pin.

The teams brawled after the match, but Top Flight were the only ones left standing in the ring when it was all said and done.

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Thunder Rosa was interviewed about Dr. Britt Baker. Rosa said that she’s wrestled all over the world, and that it was Baker’s fault that she lost her NWA Women’s Championship match with Serena Deeb. She laughed at the idea that Baker said Rosa “doesn’t belong.” Rebel arrived and said that Rosa’s laugh is terrible, and Baker attacked from behind. They poured water on Rosa’s face, smearing her face paint, and Baker called Rosa ugly.

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The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) defeated SCU (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian)

The Acclaimed made their Dynamite debuts in this match. Caster’s schtick is that he raps about his opponents before their matches in a very similar manner to Thuganomics-era John Cena, and he did the same to SCU. Kazarian grabbed a mic and returned the favor. I’ll just say he’s a better wrester than rapper.

Kazarian and Bowens started off. A Northern Lights suplex got Kazarian a quick two count. Daniels tagged in, and a double team got another two. Bowens powered out of a move and tagged in Caster, who was met with a diving dropkick from Daniels.

Bowens tagged in but was again met with an attack from Kazarian until Caster knocked Kazarian off the apron, allowing The Acclaimed to beat him down on the floor. The Acclaimed maintained their advantage for a long time, until Kazarian hit a slingshot DDT and tagged in Daniels. 

Daniels hit clotheslines and right hands on Bowens. He hit an STO on Caster and a Blue Thunder Bomb on Bowens for two. Daniels set up for the Best Moonsault Ever, but The Acclaimed cut him off. Bowens and Daniels fought on the top rope, but Daniels pushed Bowens down and landed a diving crossbody for two.

Bowens kicked out of an O’Connor roll, allowing Caster to hit Daniels with their boombox. Bowens followed it up with something similar to a Final Cut for the win, their eighth straight.

After the match, Caster took a mic and rapped about the Young Bucks, who were ringside, saying he and Bowens want the tag titles. Bowens grabbed the mic and laid down the challenge, saying that The Acclaimed have arrived.

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Top Flight were interviewed about why they made the save against MJF and Chris Jericho after the match. Darius said that MJF was the hottest young star until Top Flight arrived. They’re the coldest team in AEW, and they challenged MJF and Jericho to a match next week.

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Big Swole & Serena Deeb defeated Ivelisse & Diamante

Ivelisse & Deeb started off. Deeb downed Ivelisse with a clothesline. Swole and Diamante tagged in, and Diamante was able to hit a German suplex. Ivelisse and Diamante kept up their beatdown on Swole through the break.

Deeb got the hot tag and hit a rope-hang neckbreaker on Ivelisse. She applied a figure-four leglock, but Ivelisse rolled to tag in Diamante. Ivelisse and Diamante flattened Deeb with a combination sidewalk slam for two.

Swole tagged in and laid in chops on Diamante, but missed Dirty Dancing. Ivelisse grabbed Swole’s hair, but Swole was able to fight out of a Sliced Bread and hit a Tiger Driver. She followed it up with the Clearwater Cloverleaf, Deeb controlled Ivelisse, and Diamante tapped out.

Nyla Rose attacked after the match with Vickie Guerrero. They and Ivelisse and Diamante continued their beatdown, but Red Velvet ran out with a steel chair, sending the heels packing.

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After the commercial break that occurred during the previous match, a video aired promoting AEW’s new partnership with Rooster Teeth, headlined by Scorpio Sky.

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The Best Friends and Orange Cassidy addressed Miro outside. They said they’d make an appearance at Kip and Penelope’s wedding.

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A video aired highlighting Jurassic Express, who will face “5” and “10” of the Dark Order next week. FTR and Tully Blanchard came out to commentary to complain, calling Jurassic Express a sideshow. They’re offended that as the greatest tag team in the world, time is being sent on a gimmick like Jurassic Express.

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Lineup for next week’s Dynamite:

  • Young Bucks (c) vs. The Acclaimed for the AEW Tag Team Championships
  • Chris Jericho & MJF vs. Top Flight
  • Dustin Rhodes vs. Evil Uno
  • Jurassic Express vs. Colt Cabana, “5”, and “10
  • PAC vs. The Butcher
  • Hikaru Shida in action

Also, Chris Jericho will be on commentary. Dynamite will air either at its normal time or immediately following the end of NBA on TNT.

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No Disqualification match: Kenny Omega (w/ Don Callis) defeated Joey Janela (w/ Sonny Kiss)

Janela tossed a garbage can in Omega’s face during his entrance as Callis told Schiavone to get out of commentary so Callis could speak. Schiavone told Callis “kiss my ass.” 

Janela landed a tope suicida and set up a chair, but Omega turned it into a Kotaro Crusher onto the chair. Omega hit a baseball slide and his Terminator dive as Callis called the match with a house microphone, calling it “personal commentary.” Omega attacked Janela with a cookie sheet.

Callis handed Omega a microphone and Omega used it to amplify his attack as he and Callis bantered. Omega then landed a moonsault through a trash can. He continued his attack with chops and strikes with the cookie sheet before hitting a springboard stomp through the trash can. Omega set up for the One-Winged Angel, but Janela countered out with a reverse hurricanrana. 

Kiss set up a table on the outside as Janela looked for weapons. Janela set up Omega on the table and put him through it with a diving leg drop. Back in the ring, Omega rolled out of the way of a top-rope moonsault and landed two V-Triggers. The One-Winged Angel followed for the win in about six minutes.

After the match, Callis said that there are no more unanswered questions after the AEW Title eliminator tournament. The Death Triangle came out and PAC said that there was unfinished business, as Fenix never lost to Omega because he couldn’t compete due to injury.

Callis said that wrestlers don’t tell the world champion what to do, but PAC had already spoken to Tony Khan, and on December 30, Omega will defend the AEW Championship against Fenix. Callis and Omega berated them as the show closed.

AEW Dark results: SCU vs. Kip Sabian & The Hybrid 2

Posted on by Arya Witner

The Big News: Christopher Daniels got back on the winning side of things, with SCU defeating Kip Sabian & The Hybrid 2 in the main event.

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After spending the weekend watching shows that started at midnight, 2 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., it’s almost weird to watch a show that starts at a normal time.

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The episode started abruptly with a recap of the Jon Moxley-Chris Jericho angle from last week’s Dynamite.

We got a brand new opening video package for Dark after, showing highlights of the first dozen episodes and featuring the wrestlers and acts you are most likely to see on Dark.

Chuck Taylor joined Excalibur at the broadcast table this week.

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The show only went 32 minutes and they only aired two matches. For some reason they did not air the Billy & Austin Gunn vs. Shawn Spears & Preston Vance match. Not sure why it didn’t air, but due to that the show was much shorter than usual.

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Awesome Kong (w/ Brandi Rhodes & Mel) destroyed Skyler Moore

Two matches this week and one of them featured the debuting Skyler Moore and the former TNA Knockouts Champion Awesome Kong. In case you aren’t sure, Mel is the fan who begged to have her head shaved on Dynamite a month ago.

The bell rang and it may as well have rang again immediately. Moore was overwhelmed from the beginning and never stood a chance. Kong hit a spinning back fist while Moore was on the top rope and then locked on a Torture Rack, which she turned into a slam.

Moore attempted to counter the Awesome Bomb, so Kong sat down on her. Kong mercifully got the pin with an Implant Buster.

It went three minutes, purely due to Kong and Brandi toying with Moore. Brandi ordered Mel into the ring and she dropped a leg on Moore.

No haircut this time.

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Alex Marvez interviewed Christopher Daniels ahead of SCU’s six-man tag. Marvez said this is the first time we’ve seen Daniels since his botch from a few weeks ago. His words, not mine. Daniels said Kip Sabian and TH2 are going to find out tonight that he still has plenty in his tank.

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Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzalez ran down all the cities AEW will be at soon.

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SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) defeated Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford) & The Hybrid 2 (Jack Evans & Angelico)

Excalibur accidentally called the heels “electri-flying,” which I think makes a better description of them than anything else. Anyway, it was main event time. SCU are 3-0 as a trios team in AEW, while TH2 and Sabian are 0-2 going into this bout.

Kazarian got the best of Sabian early. That did not please TH2, so they ran in and briefly overwhelmed their foes, but SCU soon backdropped those two out of the ring and then took turns laying a beating on Sabian.

Daniels tagged in and ran wild on Angelico until he set up for the Arabian moonsault. Remembering how he messed it up against Pentagon, Daniels paused and wasn’t sure what to do. Finally he decided to not go for it, but by that time Angelico had recovered enough to stage a comeback.

Ford got involved behind the referee’s back and gave Daniels a tornado DDT off the apron. Evans hit a really nice Sky Twister Press while standing on the mat, which is not something everyone can do. Some of us can’t do a leap frog, just ask my brother.

Kazarian got the hot tag and ran wild on all three heels by himself. He went for an Unprettier on Evans, but Angelico distracted him long enough to break it up. Evans went for a Phoenix Splash and Kazarian got his knees up. Unfortunately, Evans landed face-first on Kazarian’s knees.

The match broke down into a six-way at this point. Everyone hit a big move and Kazarian pinned Evans with the S-C-U-Later.

So, that will do it for this week. Hope everyone had a great holiday and New Year and I’ll talk to you again next week!

AEW Dark results: Six-man tag main event

Posted on by Arya Witner

The Big News —

Dr. Britt Baker and Kris Statlander retained their top two contender spots going into their match on Dynamite tomorrow night.

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The show started with a recap video from the AEW press conference back in February, which segued into a video of The Young Bucks stating they want to prove they are the best tag team in the business. However, because they’ve lost multiple big matches, they feel disappointed because it proves they haven’t been. They’ve spent months building themselves up and have now earned a title shot tomorrow night after winning last week’s Texas Street Fight.

Nick Jackson called SCU some of their best friends in the world. Matt Jackson said despite that they will show through their actions that they are the best. They just hope that it’s not awkward when they have Christmas dinner next week.

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Joining Excalibur at the booth this week is Vickie Guerrero, who got super heat, but also a nice pop when she came out and bellowed “EXCUSE ME!” Vickie is a very nice person, but I thought she was almost completely useless on this show.

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AEW Tag Team Champions SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) defeated Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) in a non-title match

Private Party have fallen off the tag team rankings after getting a title shot back at Full Gear. Vickie is really into them, as they have cougar stripes on their gear.

Kazarian and Kassidy traded near falls early on until slapping hands and tagging out. Kazarian later on hit a springboard leg drop on Quen and he nearly landed butt-first on Quen’s head. Speaking of Quen’s head, he then took a German suplex right on it. Excalibur said it was due to Kazarian not expecting Quen to be so light.

Kassidy got the hot tag and ran wild, including hitting a beautiful double team where he picked Sky up and Quen came off the middle rope with a bulldog for a two count. They went to the well with the double teams too many times. They sent Sly into Kazarian in the corner, but Sky gave his partner a monkey flip and Kazarian landed on his feet and took his foes out with a double clothesline.

Quen barely kicked out of a double team foot stomp/Unprettier. Finally, Quen missed a Shooting Star Press and SCU broke up the Silly String before Sky pinned Quen after the S-C-U-later.

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We got recaps of Big Swole’s win and Brandi Rhodes’ interview from last Wednesday. It was also announced that Britt Baker will face Kris Statlander in a number one contender’s match tomorrow night.

Updated Women’s Rankings:

  • 5.) Emi Sakura
  • 4.) Nyla Rose
  • 3.) Hikaru Shida
  • 2.) Kris Statlander
  • 1.) Dr. Britt Baker

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Dr. Britt Baker submitted Machiko

Joey Janela joined Excalibur and Vickie. Machiko is from Dallas and has been wrestling for eight years. They announced her from Tulsa, so the crowd in Garland didn’t know she was a hometown/area girl.

Machiko got a little bit of offense, but it was The Doctor from the opening bell. Baker hit a superkick and slapped on the Lock Jaw for the win.

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Kris Statlander defeated Bea Priestley

The top two AEW women’s division contenders were both in action tonight. First Baker won and now Statlander is defending her number two ranking. If Statlander loses, she will lose her number one contender’s match tomorrow night.

Statlander looked good until they ended up outside the ring, where Priestley dropped her with a back suplex on the ring apron, which is the hardest part of the ring. Vickie said Priestley was “good at concussions” and this led to a joke about Janela having quite a few concussions and not to alert Nowinski.

Priestley tried to put Statlander in the “head stuck in the turnbuckles” spot, which always looks stupid, and Statlander apparently agreed as she just did a headstand on the buckle and then kicked Priestley in the face.

Statlander got out the proverbial hammer and nails as she was building momentum, but The Nightmare Collective walked to their front row seats and held up signs, encouraging Statlander to join them. Coincidence or not, Priestley took over here, so she must have ripped the nails out.

Statlander kicked out of a capture suplex, nearly got the win with an Oklahoma roll and a scissors kick, but did win with The Big Bang Theory.

**********

We got a post-match promo with Statlander. She informed us puny humans that she is going to be our leader. She has to beat Baker tomorrow and says the gravitational pull we feel is the AEW Women’s title coming home to her.

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PAC & The Hybrid 2 (Jack Evans & Angelico) defeated Orange Cassidy & Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor)

Main event time. After I complained last time about there being a 20-minute non-wrestling segment in the show, they drastically cut down this week to almost nothing. In case anyone from AEW actually reads this, I should say I enjoyed those post match promos you guys did one week.

Janela made a Jim Cornette reference by talking about “outlaw mudshows.” Someone let him know Cornette only watches Dynamite. Anyway, Cassidy was super over, as expected, and the heels got the heat when PAC put a knee square in the lower back of Chucky T.

PAC also showed what a bastard he was by not allowing Best Friends to hug when Trent made a brief comeback. This led to PAC putting the boots to his fellow former WWE’er.

This might as well have been a handicap match, as PAC did a much better job by himself than either of The Hybrid 2. Both Evans and Angelico lost the team’s momentum as soon as they tagged in.

Trent hit the half-and-half suplex and managed to make the hot tag to Cassidy. The fans nearly wet themselves. Babies were thrown in the air as Cassidy tagged in. Cassidy put his hands in his pockets to run spots with Evans and then threw a series of vicious leg kicks to PAC. That is an excellent strategy, since Pac relies on his Black Arrow to win matches and can he do it with bad legs?

In all seriousness, Cassidy used a tornado DDT on PAC and then a tope on all three heels. We got a three-way hug by the babyfaces and a top rope splash from Cassidy to Angelico for a two count. Cassidy left a legend as he tagged out. Taylor immediately got cut off and almost pinned after a 450 splash.

PAC booted Cassidy off the apron and the distraction nearly led to Taylor pinning him with a schoolboy, but PAC locked on The Brutalizer for the tap out.

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The show ended with Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzalez plugging AEWShop.com and AEW Revolution on February 29.

Final Thoughts —

The show went 65 minutes, but flowed quickly and better than last week. While the main event won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, it was a fun match that the crowd really got into.

AEW Dark results: SCU & CIMA vs. TH2 & Kip Sabian

Posted on by Arya Witner

The Big Takeaway —

Kip Sabian & The Hybrid2 may want to find new trios partners, as they fell to 0-2 as a three-man team after a loss to SCU & CIMA in the main event.

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Welcome to a special Friday edition of AEW Dark, a show so sudden and surprising that AEW’s own Twitter page had nothing about it five minutes before the show. Their first tweet about it was literally just as the show began.

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Justin Roberts introduced Arn Anderson as a special member of the announce team tonight, joining Excalibur and Goldenboy. Unfortunately, Arn only announced the first match.

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Hikaru Shida defeated Big Swole

Goldenboy broke out the “Rolodex of words” when talking about Arn Anderson’s “prowess” in the ring. Anyway, Swole tried using her size to bully Shida early, but Shida got the early advantage. It was highlighted by her jumping off of a chair outside the ring and landing a knee strike to Swole’s chin.

Swole missed a series of strikes and leg sweeps and hit a headbutt, followed by a flatliner for a two count.

Shida missed one knee strike, but hit on a second attempt after ducking a Rainmaker. Swole kicked out of that, but she didn’t kick out of the second running knee, as Shida picked up the win.

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Starting this week we are getting quick 30-second post-match backstage promos with the winners.

Shida cut a promo and said she came here to show Japanese style and is really happy to be able to do so. She was asked about the Riho-Emi Sakura Women’s Championship match at Full Gear tomorrow night and she picked Sakura to win after stating that it was a hard choice.

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Nyla Rose & Leva Bates defeated Shazza McKenzie & Shalandra Royal in what was essentially a two-on-one handicap match

Whatever you think of the man, it was a huge step down when Arn Anderson was replaced by Chuck Taylor. Bates was really happy to have Rose as a partner and we didn’t have Peter Avalon in their corner. Excalibur said Rose wanted this to be a two-on-one handicap match. AEW management wouldn’t allow it, so she was assigned a partner.

McKenzie threw a leg kick that Rose no sold and then got run over. Royal tried and fared no better, as she ran into Rose’s foot. Bate reached for a tag, but Rose ignored her.

The babyfaces teamed up for a double suplex, but it didn’t work. Bates went for a blind tag, but Rose glared her down, so Bates channeled The Nutty Professor and chanted “Hercules.” It did lead to 10 seconds of babyface offense, but they got cut off again.

Taylor asked if you could be disqualified for not leaving the ring on a 10 count if you’re getting your butt kicked. Actually on WWF Raw for the Sega Genesis, back in 1994, you could be counted out if you were being beaten up outside the ring, even if there was nothing you could do. It did lead to many arguments at the Witner house over “not allowing the other one to get back in the ring.”

Back to the match, this was an extended squash. Rose even threw Royal into Bates when Bates tried again for a tag. Rose laid Royal and McKenzie out with a double Death Valley Driver, stacked them up on top of each other, and pinned them both after a Swanton Bomb. Bates had given up by this point and was reading her book.

So, Bates gets her first win in a match she did nothing in.

***********

Alex Marvez asked Rose why she didn’t tag out. Rose told him she didn’t have to. She eliminated 10 people in the Casino Battle Royale and gets no respect from the company because none of that was included in her record. Why didn’t she tag out? “Because I’m Nyla Rose, the Native Beast,” Rose said.

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We were magically whisked away to the AEW Control Center, where Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzalez previewed Full Gear. Gonzalez was magically wearing the clothes she wore for last week’s Dark, which seems to indicate this is last week’s Control Center, just with a quick voiceover including the Tag Team title match.

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We got a video package for the Chris Jericho-Cody AEW World Championship match at Full Gear.

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We didn’t get a new edition of From Undesirable to Undeniable, which made me sad.

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AEW Tag Team Champions SoCal Uncensored (Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian) & CIMA defeated TH2 (Angelico & Jack Evans) & Kip Sabian

AEW has a reputation of having a bunch of new young wrestlers, but the person with the least experience in this main event was Sabian, who just passed nine years in the ring.

Speaking of Sabian, him thumbing Sky in the eye (followed by an Evans pump kick) is how the heels got the heat. CIMA got the hot tag and ran wild on all three, hitting dropkicks on everyone. He countered a springboard move with a dropkick as well. CIMA slammed all three of his opponents on top of each other and hit a springboard knee to Evans, who was on top.

This match did a better job than most in enforcing the rules of tag team wrestling. There were a couple blips on the radar, but nothing as blatantly awful as usual. SCU hit the S-C-U-later on Sabian and CIMA finished him off with the meteora. They briefly turned up the lights in the building, which was definitely a weird look.

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The show abruptly went off the air after a commercial for Full Gear tomorrow night.

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Final Thoughts —

This definitely had the vibe of a last-minute show. With that said, it was still better than both the Pittsburgh and Charleston episodes. Enjoy Full Gear tomorrow night!

AEW holding fan vote to decide final team for Tag title tournament

Posted on by Joseph Currier

AEW is holding a fan vote to determine the final team for their Tag title tournament.

On Twitter today, AEW opened voting to decide whether Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy or Angelico & Jack Evans will be the final team in the tournament. Both teams having winless records was the reason given for the fan vote.

As would be expected, Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy are solidly in the lead at press time. They have 85 percent of the vote to Angelico & Evans’ 15 percent. 

Voting ends tomorrow (Saturday, September 14) at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

Angelico & Evans lost to Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) on the All Out pre-show last month. After the match, there was an angle where Angelico & Evans turned heel by attacking Private Party.

The Dark Order got a first-round bye in the Tag Team title tournament by defeating Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) at All Out. A first-round match between The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) and Private Party has been announced for week two of AEW TV on Wednesday, October 9. The rest of the teams for the tournament have yet to be revealed.

The semifinals of the tournament are set for week four of AEW TV on Wednesday, October 23. The inaugural champions will then be crowned on week five of AEW TV.

Private Party vs. Angelico & Jack Evans set for AEW All Out pre-show

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A tag team match has been added to the All Out pre-show.

The latest episode of AEW’s Road to All Out series included the announcement that Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) vs. Angelico & Jack Evans will take place on the pre-show for the pay-per-view. The pre-show will also include AEW’s women’s Casino Battle Royale.

Private Party and Angelico & Evans have each had two matches for AEW thus far. Quen and Kassidy were entrants in the Casino Battle Royale at Double or Nothing. On the Fyter Fest pre-show, Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) defeated Private Party and SoCal Uncensored (Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian) in a three-way match.

Private Party are facing The Young Bucks in a Tag Team title tournament first-round match on week two of AEW television.

Angelico & Evans lost to Best Friends at Double or Nothing, with The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) attacking both teams after the match. The Dark Order then defeated Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy and Angelico & Evans in a three-way match at Fight for the Fallen.

All Out is taking place at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on Saturday, August 31.

Episode seven of the Road to All Out is available to watch below:

Three-way tag match announced for AEW Fight for the Fallen

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A three-way tag match has been made official for Fight for the Fallen.

The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) vs. Angelico & Jack Evans vs. Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy is set for Saturday’s show. The winning team will advance to All Out on August 31, where they’ll have a chance to earn a first-round bye in AEW’s Tag Team title tournament.

Uno & Grayson were formerly known as the Super Smash Bros. They appeared at Double or Nothing in May and attacked Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) and Angelico & Evans.

Best Friends defeated Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) and SoCal Uncensored (Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian) on the Fyter Fest pre-show. As a stipulation of winning, Best Friends advanced to All Out and will compete for a first-round bye in the Tag title tournament.

A video from the Dark Order aired after Best Friends’ win at Fyter Fest. Uno & Grayson said Barreta & Taylor are first on their list of targets.

Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy were both in the Casino Battle Royale on the Double or Nothing pre-show. Hangman Page defeated Jimmy Havoc, MJF, and Jungle Boy (w/ Luchasaurus) in a four-way match at Fyter Fest. 

During his appearance on the Steve Austin Show last month, AEW’s Tony Khan said the Tag Team title tournament will be “one of the main focuses” of AEW television when it debuts this fall.

Fight for the Fallen is being held at Daily’s Place Amphitheater in Jacksonville, Florida this Saturday. Here’s the updated card:

  • The Young Bucks vs. Cody & Dustin Rhodes
  • Kenny Omega vs. CIMA
  • Brandi Rhodes vs. Allie
  • Hangman Page vs. Kip Sabian
  • Chris Jericho will have a “live mic”
  • Pentagon Jr. & Fenix vs. Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian (w/ Christopher Daniels)
  • The Dark Order vs. Angelico & Jack Evans vs. Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy (winning team advances to All Out for a shot at a first-round bye in AEW’s Tag Team title tournament)
  • Jimmy Havoc, Darby Allin & Joey Janela vs. MJF, Sammy Guevara & Shawn Spears
  • Sonny Kiss vs. Peter Avalon (w/ Leva Bates)

Two tag matches added to AEW Double or Nothing

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With the show now under two weeks away, AEW has added a couple of matches to the card for Double or Nothing.

During this week’s episode of Being the Elite, two tag matches were announced for Double or Nothing. Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) will face Angelico & Jack Evans, while Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki & Emi Sakura will team against Hikaru Shida, Riho & Ryo Mizunami in a six-woman tag match.

Angelico & Evans joining AEW was revealed last week. Best Friends had been involved in a storyline where they were refusing to be in the battle royal at Double or Nothing and demanding to be in a different match.

Dave Meltzer reported in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Riho has signed a five-show deal with AEW and wants to see how she likes working in the United States before she commits to a longer deal. Aja Kong and Sakazaki were announced for Double or Nothing at February’s ticket announcement party, while Shida signing with AEW was confirmed in April.

Double or Nothing is taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 25. Here’s the updated card:

  • Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho
  • AAA Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks defending against The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix)
  • Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes
  • Hangman Page vs. PAC
  • Dr. Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose vs. Kylie Rae
  • SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) vs. Strong Hearts (CIMA, T-Hawk & El Lindaman)
  • Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki & Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida, Riho & Ryo Mizunami
  • Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) vs. Angelico & Jack Evans
  • Casino Battle Royale (pre-show, winner gets a title shot against the AEW World Champion)
  • Sammy Guevara vs. Kip Sabian (pre-show)