Tonight saw the next set of matches from NJPW Strong’s Autumn Attack tapings in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ian Riccaboni and Alex Koslov were running down tonight’s card when Young Lion Kevin Knight appeared, albeit briefly. He wanted to let both STRONG Tag Team champions Aussie Open and Team Filthy know that he was going to be scouting their match tonight, because Knight and his tag team partner, The DKC, are looking to challenge for the tag titles in the near future.
Doc Gallows defeated Che Cabrera
“Wild Rhino” Clark Connors was on commentary for a few of tonight’s matches.
Cabrera’s nickname is “Latino Meat” and the crowd sounded to have had a good time chanting “Beat That Meat!” at Gallows, who pinned Cabrera in a little over five minutes with an Anarchy Suplex.
STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship match: Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) (c) defeated Team Filthy (JR Kratos & Danny Limelight)
This was really good.
When Kratos and Davis were in together early on, we had a mini-hoss battle on our hands. Davis is deceptively big and is about the same height as Kratos, actually. They crashed into each other with shoulder blocks. Team Filthy later stood over Davis and posed with “The Filthy Flex.”
Kratos later held Fletcher in a stalling suplex before slamming him into the mat. Limelight tagged in and worked Fletcher over for a bit, at one point connecting with a flying lariat into the corner.
Davis and Kratos went at it again later in the match. Both traded forearms and palm strikes. Kratos tossed Davis with a big release German suplex; Davis answered back with a flying harpoon elbow smash in the corner to a seated Kratos.
Aussie Open attempted to hoist Kratos up for Coriolis, their double-team finisher, but they weren’t able to get Kratos in the air. Limelight broke up the hold, and Kratos connected with a jumping back enzuigiri to Davis’ head. Limelight then bounced off the middle rope and caught Fletcher with a springboard Canadian Destroyer, or the Puerto Rican Destroyer, as Riccaboni called it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before, it looked wild. Kratos immediately dashed off the apron onto the floor, somersaulting onto Davis. We’ll call this spot the “Liger XXL.”
Limelight landed a frog splash back in the ring but only scored a count of two. The crowd ate this up and were chanting “This-is-awe-some!” by this point in the match.
Fletcher took Limelight out with a 360 tombstone piledriver. Aussie Open then used a creative double-team power offense to neutralize Kratos. Davis & Fletcher then locked the double-pumphandle clutch on Limelight and finally put him away with Coriolis; Aussie Open retains. Again, really good stuff from both teams.
STRONG Openweight Championship match: Fred Rosser (c) and Chris Dickinson wrestled to a count-out
Rosser was fired up before the match got underway. He even attacked Dickinson before the bell rang while he was still wearing his STRONG Openweight championship belt. Dickinson was able to throw Rosser with a release German suplex, which halted Rosser’s sudden onslaught. Dickinson was away from NJPW for a few months and is now a bitter, nasty heel, which turned out to be the perfect complement to Rosser’s no-BS-tough-guy approach. Dickinson paintbrushed Rosser’s head while he was down and smack-talked him as he tried getting up. Dickinson threw a hard kick into Rosser’s chest; Rosser ate it and went back for seconds. He threw elbows from the right and left side. He finally took Dickinson down with a running shoulder tackle.
Rosser tried backdropping Dickinson onto the apron, but Dickinson blocked the move, then caught Rosser with a running, diving lariat from the apron onto the floor.
Back in the ring, Rosser slapped on the cross-face chicken wing, but Dickinson countered it with a backdrop suplex. Dickinson connected with a big axe bomber for another two.
Rosser would answer back later with a running powerslam from out of the corner, reminiscent of the late, great Davey Boy Smith’s finish. He tried locking in the chicken wing STF next, the submission hold that won him the title from “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, but he couldn’t fully clamp down on it. Dickinson was able to inch his way to the bottom rope for a break.
Rosser returned to the ring apron and dropped Dickinson back-first onto it. Dickinson fought through the pain, flipped Rosser the double bird, kicked him in the chest, then took him over the guardrail with a big lariat. The two landed in the front row on the side of the commentator’s table.
Both collected themselves after a few moments, though it was Rosser who’d be back on the attack first; he put his arms through the guardrail and grabbed Dickinson by the face and began yanking on it. Bar room brawl stuff. He landed more shots with Dickinson still against the guard, proof that the champ is willing to “go there” regardless of his opponent. Both men prevented one another from re-entering the ring, eventually causing the referee to call for a twenty count and ending the match via double count out. The crowd let out a loud “Boooo!”
The two continued going at it at ringside, enough that the ring staff had to break the two up. Rosser tried strangling Dickinson with a green video cable. Dickinson attempted to grab Rosser’s title belt. Ring security would pull them apart, but they’d go right back at it a number of times. Rosser went back into the ring to pose for the crowd, but again Dickinson went after Rosser. He even looked to have bit Rosser’s leg or boot while the two were being pulled apart.
This was great. It was short, but that’s fine because these two are clearly building to a rematch. Both Rosser and Dickinson have distinct kinds of charisma and powerful presences. They could end up being perfect rivals down the road.
Final thoughts:
This was one of the better episodes of Strong in a few weeks. Both title matches are well worth going out of your way to see this week.
Next week sees Rocky Romero vs. Shingo Takagi in the main event.
Here are results from Saturday’s NJPW Royal Quest II night one event in London, England. The show was did not air live; instead, it will be available on NJPW World at a later date.
Gabriel Kidd defeated Dan Moloney
Michael Oku and Ricky Knight Jr. defeated The Great-O-Khan and Gideon Grey
Alex Windsor and Ava White defeated Kanji and Jazzy Gabert
Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, and Tetsuya Naito defeated DOUKI, El Desperado, and Zack Sabre Jr.
Tomohiro Ishii and Kazuchika Okada defeated Bad Dude Tito and Zak Knight
Jado, Hikuleo, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tama Tonga defeated Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Gedo, and Jay White
Will Ospreay defeated Shota Umino by referee stoppage
FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) defeated Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) to retain the IWGP Tag Team titles.
The second night of Royal Quest will take place on October 2. The show will be headlined by a match between Tetsuya Naito and Zack Sabre Jr.. The winner will become the number one contender for Ospreay’s IWGP United States Championship.
NJPW has revealed the full cards for their upcoming Royal Quest II shows in London next month.
The first night on October 1 will be headlined by FTR defending the IWGP Tag Team Championship against Aussie Open, with Will Ospreay facing off against Shota Umino in the co-main event. The second night on October 2 will see Tetsuya Naito facing off against Zack Sabre Jr., with the winner facing Will Ospreay for the IWGP United States Championship at a later date. In the co-main event, Hikuleo will team with his brother Tama Tonga and Hiroshi Tanahashi to take on Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, and Jay White.
Other highlights from the cards include Gabriel Kidd making his first appearances back in NJPW since earlier this year, facing Dan Maloney in a singles match in night one and competing in an eight-man tag on night two. The IWGP Women’s Championship tournament will officially begin on the second night, as Jazzy Gabert will face Ava White.
Several Rev Pro Wrestling stars will also appear on the cards, including the new British Heavyweight Champion Ricky Knight Jr..
Here are the full cards for both shows:
Night 1:
IWGP Tag Team Championship: FTR vs. Aussie Open
Will Ospreay vs. Shota Umino
Hikuleo, Jado, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tama Tonga vs. Gedo, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, and Jay White
Tomohiro Ishii and Kazuchika Okada vs. JONAH and Bad Dude Tito
Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, and Tetsuya Naito vs. DOUKI, El Desperado, and Zack Sabre Jr.
Gideon Grey and The Great-O-Khan vs. Ricky Knight Jr. and Michael Oku
Kanji and Jazzy Gabert vs. Alex Windsor and Ava White
Gabriel Kidd vs. Dan Moloney
Night 2:
Tetsuya Natio vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Hikuelo,Tama Tonga, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, and Jay White
Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Dude Tito
Tomohiro Ishii vs. JONAH
Gabriel Kidd, Shota Umino, Ricky Knight Jr., and FTR vs. Gideon Grey, Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay, and Aussie Open
IWGP Women’s Championship tournament: Jazzy Gabert vs. Ava White
Hiromu Takahashi and SANADA vs. Young Guns (Ethan Allen and Luke Jacobs)
DOUKI and El Desperado vs. Michael Oku and Robbie X
FTR are set to make their first defense of the IWGP Tag Team titles.
NJPW has announced that IWGP Tag Team Champions Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler will put their titles on the line against Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) at night one of Royal Quest II. The two-night event is being held at The Indoor Arena at Crystal Palace’s National Sports Center on Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2.
FTR won the IWGP Tag Team titles at AEW & NJPW’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view this June, defeating Jeff Cobb & The Great-O-Khan and Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta in a triple threat match where both the IWGP Tag Team titles and ROH Tag Team titles were on the line.
Aussie Open teamed with TJP to defeat FTR & Alex Zayne in a six-man tag match at NJPW Music City Mayhem this July. After the match, Aussie Open issued a challenge to FTR for an IWGP Tag Team title bout.
NJPW posted video of a promo from FTR to make that match official for Royal Quest night one:
BREAKING
After a challenge was issued in Nashville at Music City Mayhem, #FTR have delivered a response to #AussieOpen for #RoyalQuest II night 1!
Aussie Open are NJPW’s Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions. They recently teamed with Will Ospreay in AEW’s Trios title tournament, losing to Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks in the semifinals.
Royal Quest II will be the first NJPW event to take place in the United Kingdom since 2019.
Fresh off a pair of high-level performances in the AEW Trios title tournament, NJPW Strong Tag Team Champions Aussie Open will make their Impact debuts on next Thursday’s show.
Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis will take on Bullet Club’s Ace Austin & Chris Bey in tag team action, continuing a rivalry between the United Empire and Bullet Club from NJPW.
Joining Aussie Open in making a debut next week is fellow NJPW wrestler Yuya Uemura. Uemura has been seen in NJPW Strong for most of the year with occasional indie appearances thrown in. He has been in the U.S. since the fall of 2021.
Eddie Edwards will look to remove a thorn in the side of Honor No More as he faces Heath in singles action. Heath has targeted the group for taking out his friend and tag team partner Rhino while Edwards is looking ahead to his challenge of Impact World Champion Josh Alexander at October’s Bound For Glory.
Knockouts Tag Team Champion Chelsea Green will face former champion Taya Valkyrie in singles action as well.
Here’s the current lineup, recently taped in Dallas, Texas:
The United Empire laid out The Elite after Dynamite ended on Wednesday.
AEW showed post-Dynamite footage showing Will Ospreay and Aussie Open attacking The Elite as Kenny Omega was giving a post-match interview. You can watch the video below.
The footage has Omega speaking to the crowd after the match, putting over Chicago and promising to win the Trios titles at All Out. Ospreay and Aussie Open, who were recovering outside the ring, then jumped Omega and The Bucks from behind. Ospreay told Omega this wasn’t over by a long shot as Mark Davis introduced a chair into the ring. Ospreay used the chair in an attempt to pillmanize Omega’s neck, but The Young Bucks made the save, only to be laid out by Aussie Open. Ospreay then laid out Omega with the hidden blade.
The Elite defeated United Empire on tonight’s Dynamite to advance to the finals of the AEW World Trios Championship tournament. They will meet either Best Friends & Orange Cassidy or Hangman Page, John Silver, and Alex Reynolds at All Out this Sunday to determine the first champions.
AEW Dynamite airs live tonight from Chicago, the final edition of the show before Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view.
In the headliner, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks will face Will Ospreay and Aussie Open for a spot in Sunday’s World Trios Championship tournament finals.
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley will speak on tonight’s show, one week after defeating CM Punk to unify the interim and World titles.
Toni Storm and Hikaru Shida will team against Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter in a tag bout. All four will take part in an interim Women’s World title match at All Out.
Bryan Danielson will face Jake Hager tonight, with Chris Jericho on commentary. Danielson and Jericho will wrestle each other on Sunday.
In a late addition to tonight’s lineup, four of the competitors in Sunday’s Casino Ladder Match will square off in a four-way, as it will be Wheeler Yuta vs. Dante Martin vs. Rey Fenix vs. Rush.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
**********
AEW Dynamite opened with Jon Moxley making his entrance to the ring, making his first appearance since unifying the AEW World Championship.
Mox noticeably got booed by the Chicago audience a bit, and they chanted for CM Punk. A smaller contingent was chanting for Moxley, and popped when Moxley said that they were still mopping Punk off the mat in Cleveland. Moxley noted that Punk used to be known as the 60-minute man on the indies, but that wasn’t true last week.
Moxley said that Punk looked for a way out last week and gave up, and that real champions never fold. Mox said that Punk had a fragile ego, fragile mind, fragile body, and fragile spirit. He then put an open contract that he already signed in the middle of the ring for AEW All Out.
Moxley said that it didn’t matter who came for him, and that he was indomitable will personified, and that he was the heart and soul of pro wrestling and that it was bad for their health to step into the ring with him. This was a fantastic promo.
As the announcers were running down the show, Ace Steel, CM Punk’s trainer and friend, came down to the ring and grabbed the contract and took it backstage.
–Chris Jericho was backstage with Tony Schiavone, and Jericho claimed that the match with him against Danielson at All Out was a nightmare for him. Jericho said that Stu and Owen Hart would be impressed with how Jericho changed the game.
As he was talking, Daniel Garcia walked up to Jericho, and said that he was sorry for his immaturity and that he believed in Jericho. Jericho said that on Sunday it would be just him and Danielson, but until then, everything was fair game.
Bryan Danielson defeated Jake Hager w/ Chris Jericho
Danielson opened the match with a more MMA influenced style with kicks and Danielson trying to grapple. Danielson hit a top suicida to the floor on Hager and went for a dive, but Hager caught Danielson and slammed him through the timekeeper’s table. Hager began to work over the back of Danielson, slamming him into the ringpost and suplexing him on the floor. Hagar got the heat with some ground and pound and hard strikes for the next few minutes.
Danielson made a comeback by shoving Hager off the ropes and bitting a missile dropkick before using hard kicks on Hager to chop him down. Hager countered a triangle choke with a powerbomb. Danielson and Hager exchanged some submission attempts, but Hager made the ropes. After a quick exchange, Danielson won wit the busaiku knee. This was a fantastic match.
Daddy Magic and Angelo Parker made their way down to the ring, and Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli ran out to make the save, but Danielson was left alone in the ring and Jericho ran down with a chair. Daniel Garcia ran down and grabbed the chair from Jericho, and as Jericho argued with Garcia, Danielson hit the knee on Jericho, and Garcia knew he messed up.
**********
–The Wingman were in the ring with signs saying that they should be booked on TNT more. W. Morrisey’s music hit and he made his way down to the ring! It seems that Morrisey has signed with AEW, which is a good get, given how much he improved in Impact. Morrisey then laid out all the Wingmen., including an impressive chokeslam on JD Drake.
Stokley Hathaway came down to the ring and gave Morrisey his card after Morrissey laid out the rest of the Wingmen with chokeslams. Tony Schiavone tried to get an explanation from Hathaway, but he refused to answer and threatened Tony Schiavone.
–Don Callis greeted Will Ospreay in his locker room, and said that he was no longer the same guy he was when he lost to a One Winged Angel in a tag match in NJPW, which Ospreay did not take well.
Toni Storm got the advantage on Britt Baker in the early parts of the match, but was soon attacked by Jamie Hayter who simply entered the ring and dropped her when she got too close to the opposing corner. The announcers noted that Toni Storm had surgery for her wisdom teeth recently, and appropriately, Baker began to target the jaw and mouth of Storm.
Baker went for an avalanche air raid crash off the top rope, but Storm fought her off and hit a tornado DDT before tagging out to Shida. Shida hit a meteora on Hayter, but the pinfall was broken up by Baker.
Shida hit a flying kick on Baker before pulling Hayter off the apron. Toni Storm hit her hip attack on Baker and immediately floated through the ropes into a tornado DDT on Hayter on the floor. That was impressive. Shida then hit the Kanata, a buzzsaw kick to the head of Baker, for the pinfall. This was an excellent match, and the women’s division has been missing Shida on TV, as she was fairly over here.
**********
–A recap video of Kip Sabian attacking PAC aired. The voiceover was accompanied by highlights of PAC’s matches all over Europe with Sabian looking on in the crowd, before ending with Sabian promising to win the AEW All Atlantic title at All Out.
–Miro cut a cryptic promo about how he was going to destroy the House of Black. Darby Allin came in and said that Brody King & Buddy Matthews didn’t need Malakai Black, but he needed them. Sting then came into view and said that the enemy of his enemy was his friend. It appears we have a trio to fight the House of Black.
–CM Punk came down to the ring, saying that he got beat up in Cleveland last week, and it wasn’t the first time he got beat up there, referencing his UFC loss. Punk said that while his foot was 100%, he wasn’t sure it was ready, and he rushed back and that he let himself, the fans, and his family down.
Ace Steel made his way down to the ring and said this wasn’t the CM Punk he knew. Steel said Punk didn’t let the fans down. He said he wasn’t going to let Punk leave now, but Punk needed to get up and sign the open contract and fight Jon Moxley. Steel dropped an f-bomb on live TV, but cut one heck of a promo saying that Punk needed to fight.
Punk fired up and said that the day he was born, he was blue in the face with the cord around his neck, and they have been trying to kill him since, and that Moxley wasn’t man enough to kill him. Punk took the contract into the crowd, and promised that all of Chicago was coming for the AEW World Championship. This was an absolutely incredible promo segment.
**********
–Jungle Boy and Christian Cage say down with Jim Ross. This was the best Jungle Boy has looked in the promos in this feud. Jungle Boy said that he loved Christian, and that he wasn’t going to fight Jungle Boy on Sunday – he was going to fight Jack Perry.
Wardlow took out Jones with a lariat and then FTR hit a a series of moves after some quick tags. Jones managed to hit a punch on Harwood and tagged out to Capri, but Capri got hit with a Big Rig and then the powerbomb symphony for the win.
–Jon Moxley came down to the ring and took the mic again. Moxley promised to take CM Punk out in front of his hometown fans, and that CM Punk will need a miracle to beat him on Sunday. Moxley said he was going to make Punk experience more violence than he ever has in his career.
–Preston Vance & Evil Uno were backstage, talking about how Vance hurt his knee last week and Evil Uno was going to take his place in the trios tournament. Andrade el Idolo and Jose walked into the locker room and assaulted Uno when he refused to work for them, leaving his status for the tournament in question.
**********
Wheeler Yuta defeated Rey Fenix, Rush, & Dante Martin
Rush and Yuta started the match in the ring, but it didn’t take long to break down into a lucha style match, with bodies flying everywhere. Martin and Fenix exchanged incredible counters into pin attempts. Fenix hit a top con giro to the floor, then Yuta hit a tope suicida, and then Martin hit a corkscrew dive. Rush then hit a tope con giro on everyone.
Rush used the camera cables as a weapon on Fenix and Yuta on the floor. Rush managed to beat on Yuta in the ring for a bit, before trying for a suplerplex. Martin cut him off, but Rush German suplex him off the top rope into Fenix, before hitting a straight jacket piledriver on Martin for a 2-count.
Fenix powerbombed Martin for a pin attempt that Rush broke up. Martin hit a poison rana on Fenix. Martin went for the nosedive, but Yuta cut him off. Fenix hit a dive to the floor on Rush. Yuta did the seatbelt and managed to pin Dante Martin.
–Tony Schiavone was with John Silver & Alex Reynolds and they said that they were going to do what they could short a man, when Hangman Page walked in and offered to be their partner, as he wanted to make sure the Dark Order got the success they deserved for being his friend.
AEW Rampage 9/2/22:
· Hangman Page & Dark Order vs. The Best Friends
· QT Marshall vs. Ricky Starks
· Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo vs. Ortiz & Ruby Soho
AEW All Out Zero Hour 9/4/22:
· Eddie Kingston vs. Tomohiro Ishii
· AEW All Atlantic Championship: PAC vs. Kip Sabian
· HOOK vs. Angelo Parker
AEW All Out 9/4/22:
· Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho
· AEW World Women’s Championship: Toni Storm vs. Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Jamie Hayter
· Miro, Darby Allin, & Sting vs. The House of Black
· TBS Championship: Jade Cargill vs. Athena
· Jungle Boy vs. Christian Cage
· FTR & Wardlow vs. Jay Lethal & The Motor City Machine Guns
· Casino Ladder Match
· Ricky Starks vs. Powerhouse Hobbs
· Trios Championship Tournament Finals
· AEW World Championship: CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley
· Swerve in our Glory vs. The Acclaimed
AEW Dynamite 9/7/22:
· ROH Pure Championship: Wheeler Yuta vs. Daniel Garcia
**********
The Elite (Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks) defeated The United Empire (Will Ospreay & Aussie Open)
Don Callis noted that Omega’s shoulder brace was gone, and his rehab of the shoulder was going extremely well. Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega started the match at a rapid pace, hitting hard chops. Aussie Open and the Bucks brawled in the ring, but the Bucks managed to low bridge them and send them to the floor. Ospreay, meanwhile, sent Omega to the floor. Aussie Open sandwiched Omega between the Bucks after catching them on a dive, and then Ospreay hit a Sky Twister Press to Omega.
As the teams brawled back to the ramp, Matt Jackson hit a flip dive off the ramp onto everyone. The crowd was red hot for everything Ospreay and Omega did. Ospreay was kept trying to get at Omega, but it did not work in his favour as the Bucks kept him isolated for a bit. Mark Davis overpowered the Young Bucks by slamming them at the same time.
Omega came in used some fast-paced offence, hitting dragon suplexes on everyone. Ospreay came in and hit a hook kick before going for the Os Cutter, but Omega countered. Ospreay countered the tiger suplex and hit a rana to send Omega to the floor.
Ospreay went for the Sasuke Special, but Omega dodged and hit a dragon suplex on the floor. Aussie Open hit a delayed vertical superplex on Omega into the ring. Ospreay ripped the compression shirt of Omega, who was covered in tape on his shoulder and ribs. Omega took a beating for a few minutes.
Omega made the hot tag to Nick Jackson who ran wild, ending with a moonsault into a tornado DDT on Ospreay on the floor. Ospreay got the knees up on a 450 and Ospreay hit a snap dragon suplex on Nick Jackson. Omega and Ospreay started exchanging hard forearms. Ospreay hit a Liger Bomb on Omega. The Bucks double teamed Fletcher and hit a double superkick/V-Trigger combo with Omega for a 2-count.
Nick Jackson went for the Meltzer Driver, but Ospreay cut him off with an OsCutter and then hit Matt Jackson with a spike tombstone, but Jackson kicked out. The Elite hit a triple superkick on Fletcher. The Elite hit Ospreay with an Indy Taker and then Omega hit Fletcher with a V-Trigger and a One Winged Angel for the pinfall. What an incredible main event.
Final Thoughts
This was a phenomenal episode of AEW Dynamite, with all the matches being setup for AEW All Out. Every match on this show was good, and the angles all forwarded the stories that needed to be forwarded. The question of Moxley and CM Punk being able to main event All Out just 2 weeks after the squash match was answered quite well here, with Punk and Moxley giving some incredible promos to setup the match. On top of all of that, Aussie Open and the Elite had one of the best TV matches of the year. This was a can’t miss episode of AEW Dynamite.
NJPW’s United Empire advanced to the semifinals of the AEW Trios Tag Team title tournament on Dynamite Wednesday, setting the stage for a match next week against The Elite.
Will Ospreay and Aussie Open defeated PAC and The Lucha Brothers to advance to the next round, where they will face Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. The finish had Kip Sabian, who has spent most of the year in the crowd wearing a box over his head, attack PAC after PAC was distracted by what turned out to be a decoy watching him. Ospreay then hit Fenix with an Oscutter supported by Aussie Open to win the match.
Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks then came down and exchanged words with The United Empire. The show closed with Ospreay inviting Omega into the ring.
The winner between The Elite and United Empire will advance to AEW All Out on September 4. The other side of the bracket has Best Friends either facing The House of Black or The Dark Order on the Rampage prior to All Out. The winner of that match will move to the finals of the tournament.
Death Triangle will face Will Ospreay and Aussie Open on the august 24 AEW Dynamite.
In an AEW World Trios Championship tournament first round matchup, PAC, Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix of Death Triangle will take on Ospreay, and Aussie Open’s Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis on Wednesday, August 24. The bout was announced during Friday’s Rampage episode.
The Death Triangle vs. Ospreay and Aussie Open matchup had been announced previously, but the date is now official.
The first round tournament matches are as follows:
AEW Dynamite, Wednesday, August 17 —
Andrade El Idolo, Dragon Lee, and Rush vs. The Young Bucks and a mystery partner
AEW Rampage, Friday, August 19 —
Trustbusters (Ari Daivari, Slim J & Parker Boudreaux) vs. Best Friends (Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor)
AEW Dynamite, Wednesday, August 24 —
Death Triangle (PAC, Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) vs. Will Ospreay & Aussie Open
Date TBA —
House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) vs. Dark Order
The tournament finals to crown the first AEW World Trios Champions will be held at the All Out pay-per-view on Sunday, September 4.
Stray Dog Army (Barrett Brown & Misterioso) defeated Midnight Heat (Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson)
Pearl and Brown kept missing elbow drops on each other early on. Misterioso did a giant swing to Gibson later, and Brown caught Gibson in the face with a low dropkick mid-swing.
When Brown was running off the ropes, Eddie Pearl, who was on the ground outside the ring, pulled at Brown’s ankle, tripping him up. This allowed Ricky Gibson to spike Brown with a DDT for a count of two.
Midnight Heat worked Brown over in their corner for a while. When the crowd started stomping and clapping in support of Brown, Pearl spat at the crowd, which elicited lots of boos.
Brown was almost able to tag out to Misterioso, but Midnight Heat pulled him back towards the center of the ring, slamming him down with a combination side Russian leg sweep and backcracker.
Misterioso made the save for Brown. Gibson whipped Misterioso into the ropes, but Misterioso caught himself before flying out of the ring, setting himself up between the top and middle ropes, much like Andrade el Idolo often does. He then threw Gibson to the floor and crashed onto Gibson with an Asai moonsault, but Misterioso looked to have slammed his foot/ankle/knee into the guardrail on the way down. It looked brutal live, and even more so on video. The live crowd gasped. Thankfully Misterioso was OK, I think, because just moments later he helped Brown finish off Midnight Heat. The finish came when Misterioso hopped back into the ring to catch Pearl with a superkick and lung-blower before Barrett Brown sent him flying with a Claymore kick for the win. Kudos to Misterioso for finishing the match smoothly because that Asai moonsault landing looked rough. Stray Dog Army advances to the semi-finals.
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor defeated Bad Dude Tito
Both Lawlor and Tito are in Japan right now for NJPW’s G1 Climax 32 tour, with Lawlor a part of this year’s A Block competition.
So, this was really good. Bad Dude Tito’s style meshed perfectly with how “Filthy” Tom wrestles, and from the get-go you could sense an organic chemistry between the two.
Tito slammed Lawlor into the corner and lit him up with chops. Lawlor answered back with a few of his own. They traded leglocks and heel hooks next.
Tito used a waistlock takedown from behind before locking in a double wrist-lock. “Filthy” rolled out and used a drop toe-hold on Tito, causing him to fall forward. Lawlor then transitioned into a face lock before pivoting to Tito’s legs. Lawlor yanked Tito’s leg into a crab hold before falling backwards, pulling Tito’s leg away from his hip flexor.
Lawlor jumped Tito into his guard and locked on a guillotine choke but Tito muscled him off. Lawlor teased a tomoe nage throw, then flipped Tito around into a rear naked choke while grapevining the legs. Tito escaped and slapped on a standing ankle lock before Lawlor moved to a triangle choke, then armbar.
The fight moved from the ground to the feet after about five minutes in. Lawlor connected with an enzuigiri kick to the back of Tito’s head. Tito answered with one of his, then followed up with a rolling elbow. The crowd heated up.
Tito used an exploder suplex on Lawlor. Lawlor went for one of his own, but Tito countered and threw another exploder. Later, Tito caught Lawlor with a deadlift German suplex. Tito was on offense for much of this bout. He caught Lawlor with a blockbuster off the second rope and earned a close two-count. Lawlor moved to another rear naked choke, but Tito countered into a Blue Thunder bomb for another nearfall. Lawlor wouldn’t stay down.
“Filthy” Tom ripped Tito with a Penalty Kick in the chest for two. He next went for a kamigoye knee strike, but Tito spat in his face. Lawlor then plowed him with the knee, then turned around while keeping Tito locked in a straightjacket hold and threw a knee to the back of Tito’s head.
Lawlor went for another choke sleeper, but Tito rammed Lawlor into the corner before he could really cinch it in. The finish saw Lawlor spike Tito with a bulldog DDT, planting Tito head-first into the mat. Lawlor picks up the win in his last singles bout before the G1 Climax 32 tournament. Really good match.
STRONG Openweight Tag Team Tournament Round One:
Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) defeated Dark Order (Evil Uno & Alan Angels)
Dark Order got a loud reaction upon arrival. Lots of AEW fans, or non-regular NJPW fans, were in attendance at the Ignition tapings.
Angels and Fletcher had an excellent exchange at the top of the match. Aussie Open later hit some impressive double-team moves on Angels, at one point pulling off a double-team slingshot elbow that put Angels on the mat.
When Uno tagged in, the crowd popped before he could even do anything. The AEW rub. Uno at one point tossed Fletcher’s leg to the referee, then took Fletcher down with a running neckbreaker. Angels reappeared and took both of Aussie Open down with a diving bodypress.
When Uno laid Fletcher out with a deadlift German suplex, five minutes had passed. Angels did a moonsault to Davis on the floor.
Later, Fletcher was able to take the heavier Uno down with a vertical suplex. He then tagged out to Mark Davis, who’d ragdoll Alan Angels around the ring, launching him from corner to corner. When the fight spilled onto the floor, Angels dove onto Davis with a tope through the ropes. When he rolled Davis back into the ring, he went for another aerial attack from the top rope, but Davis caught Angels mid-air with a chop.
Aussie Open put Angels down with a double-team Emerald Flowsion move for two. When they went for their finisher, Angels countered with a hurricanrana that took Davis out onto the floor. Evil Uno connected with a somersault senton onto Davis.
Dark Order used a quick combo of strikes before Uno pinned Fletcher for two. Ten minutes had passed. Uno, now shirtless, and Davis got into a chop battle next. The crowd was as loud as ever behind Dark Order at this point.
Davis super-plexed Uno off the second rope. Angels landed on Fletcher with a frog splash. Finally, Aussie Open were able to elbow Angels into a dazed stupor before putting him away with the Coriolis for an emphatic win. Aussie Opens advances to the semi-finals of the STRONG Openweight tag team tournament.
Final thoughts:
I liked “Filthy” Tom vs. Bad Dude Tito’s match the best on tonight’s episode, but the final bout between Aussie Open and Dark Order was awesome action. If innovative, high-octane tag team wrestling is your thing, you should probably check this one out.
Lawlor and Tito had an abbreviated main event style match that told a good story. Bad Dude Tito is one of the most underrated and overlooked wrestlers on the market today, and I imagine he’ll make some noise this summer while on tour in Japan teaming with JONAH of TMDK.
The United Empire has two new members following today’s RevPro High Stakes event.
Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis of Aussie Open joined RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay’s NJPW stable after Ospreay defeated Ricky Knight Jr. to retain the title.
As Ospreay beat Knight down after the match, Shota Umino ran in for the save. Aussie Open and Young Guns then ran in. Ospreay and Aussie Open then beat down Young Guns and Umino to seal Aussie Open’s defection to the United Empire.
Fletcher and Davis join Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Aaron Henare as members of United Empire. Only Cobb and O-Khan are currently competing in NJPW’s main unit due to a variety of pandemic-related travel issues and restrictions. Cobb and O-Khan both won their first G1 Climax 31 tournament matches this weekend.
Bea Priestley, now NXT UK’s Blair Davenport, is a former member of the group. Ospreay turned on her and kicked her out of the group in her NJPW swan song.
ROH has announced appearances by “Speedball” Mike Bailey and Aussie Open for next month’s United Kingdom tour.
Bailey will make his ROH debut in a match against Bandido at ROH’s Honor United show in Bolton, England on Sunday, October 27. That event will also feature Jeff Cobb challenging either Matt Taven or Rush for the ROH World Championship. Taven is defending his World title against Rush at Death Before Dishonor on September 27.
Bailey, who is from Canada, hasn’t wrestled in the United States since 2016 due to visa trouble.
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) will face Villain Enterprises (PCO & Brody King) at ROH’s Honor United show in London, England on Friday, October 25. Fletcher & Davis won Revolution Pro Wrestling’s Road to Royal Quest tournament last month, which led to them unsuccessfully challenging for the IWGP Tag Team titles at NJPW Royal Quest in London.
ROH’s Honor United tour will be streamed on HonorClub. It also has a stop in Newport, Wales on Saturday, October 26. LifeBlood (Bandido & Tracy Williams) vs. Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll & Flip Gordon) has been announced for that show.
York Hall in London wasn’t quite sold out, but it was pretty full and had a great atmosphere for the night.
– Taichi defeated Chris Brookes (15:03)
Taichi kept leaving the ring and avoiding Brookes at the start, and when they eventually came to blows, a crazy brawl erupted all around the arena. The two had good chemistry when back in the ring and had a decent back-and-forth match.
Brookes had Taichi in a submission when El Desperado came out and distracted the official — who then didn’t see Taichi tap out. Will Ospreay came down to even the odds (despite not yet being cleared to wrestle) and went to hit Desperado with Taichi’s mic stand, but Taichi ducked and Ospreay hit Brookes, and then got a superkick from Taichi.
Taichi took advantage and submitted Brookes after a low blow. After the match, Ospreay apologized and raised Brookes’ hand, only for Brookes to turn on him and give the still-injured Ospreay a moderate beatdown. This was expertly booked and the crowd lapped it up.
– The Great-O-Kharn defeated Shane Taylor (7:14)
Lord Gideon Grey came out and said that RevPro had given in to his demands for The Dominator to have a match, but said it would be against a mystery opponent. Shane Taylor came down to little reaction and got an alright match out of the improving O-Kharn
There were a lot of strikes and suplexes, but O-Kharn won fairly quickly with a chokeslam after interference from Gideon Grey. Taylor got a good ovation at the end. This was a pleasant surprise on the card and O-Kharn remains undefeated.
– Josh Bodom defeated Chris Ridgeway (8:19)
This started off very hot with both wrestlers wanting to get at the other. They fit a lot into a short amount of time here, as the match hit top gear a few minutes in.
Ridgeway went crazy with kicks and nearly won with an ankle lock. Bodom was incredible. He did a picture-perfect moonsault to the outside, followed by a tombstone on the apron and a Bliss Buster for the win. Bodom was busted open halfway through and looked sadistic with blood all over his body — this was a really good showing from him, as per usual.
– El Phantasmo defeated El Desperado (15:58)
As is often the case, the first half main event was stellar. It started off pretty fast paced as both men ran the ropes and got the crowd involved. They slowed down a bit, with Desperado gaining control until Phantasmo started to get the upper hand, leaping all over the place with the crowd firmly in his corner.
The last few minutes were insanity, with all sorts of near falls as the crowd became very invested. Phantasmo won this with his swanton and moonsault combination and received a huge ovation. Phantasmo is a superstar and it is only a matter of time before he is signed up somewhere.
– Satoshi Kojima defeated WALTER (11:40)
Kojima is incredibly over in the United Kingdom and WALTER is a pretty effective heel, so this made for a good dynamic. WALTER chopped the life out of Kojima, who kept on attempting to fire up but being swatted down.
Eventually, Kojima quickly won with a lariat in what was barely a three count — a clearly improvised finish due to WALTER being apparently hurt. WALTER was taken to the back with the medics, but it didn’t seem to be too serious.
Kojima cut a promo and was about to challenge Tomohiro Ishii until Bodom came out announcing he was moving up to heavyweight. He said Kojima was the past and he was the future, while demolishing a loaf of bread, much to the distress of the leader of Bread Club.
The match could have gotten very good had it not ended abruptly — but regardless, you have to again question the booking of WALTER here. It genuinely baffles me why he isn’t treated as a bigger star in RevPro and there was no need for Kojima to win this.
– MK McKinnan defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey (14:37)
This was Bailey’s return to York Hall after an over two-year absence following his incredible run in 2016. It was awesome to finally see him back. McKinnan was clearly not that over at the start of the match and the crowd was pretty worn out too, however this incredible match brought them right back up.
Both men wrestled really well, starting off on the mat before going to the top rope and the ramp. Bailey hit his double-knee moonsault on the apron, there was a massive superplex, and several great near falls. McKinnan got Bailey in a choke and elbowed him till he passed out.
This was really good stuff, and a very strong win for McKinnan, who has looked fantastic since returning. Hopefully Bailey can stick around too as he’s such a valuable asset.
– Undisputed British Tag Team Champions Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) to retain their titles (21:50)
This had a really big-fight feel as both teams have been pretty invincible in RevPro this year. Suzuki dominated both opponents early on, scaring Fletcher, who was worked over for a lot of this. Davis tagged in and ran wild before being worn down by Suzuki’s submission-based offense.
Davis tagged Fletcher back in for an awesome staredown between Fletcher and Suzuki — Fletcher finally facing his fear. However, just as Fletcher was getting the upper hand, Sabre came in and they started applying double submissions. Davis eventually broke it up and Aussie Open hit their double-team finishers, each of them being kicked out of. Then while Sabre had Davis in a submission, Suzuki pinned Fletcher with the Gotch-style piledriver.
This was an odd result, — Aussie Open had been building to this since January and I’m not sure where they go from here.
– Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii defeated Undisputed British Cruiserweight Champion David Starr to retain his title (19:07)
The build to this match was great, with Starr claiming he is not just the best cruiserweight but the best wrestler. The match was designed to appeal to the fans who object to NJPW talent holding RevPro titles and would prefer full-time champions like Starr.
Starr mocked Ishii’s walk and stance, while Ishii just stared down his opponent. Starr outwrestled Ishii early on, being too technical, nimble, and agile for the heavyweight and wearing him down. As you’d expect, Ishii came firing back with heavy forearms, but Starr was able to match him and never gave up despite taking a beating.
They exchanged more strikes and chops, with Ishii often no selling Starr’s strikes and even hitting the best superplex I’ve ever seen. Starr hit a combination of lariats and followed with a Han Stansen — but Ishii kicked out at one. Ishii then hit his brainbuster for the win.
A really good main event and the crowd was very into Starr potentially being a double champion. After the match, Suzuki-gun attacked Ishii and Sabre announced that he never got his rematch from when Ishii beat him for the title back in April. Sabre will get his rematch at Wrestle Kingdom 13. The crowd loved this announcement — it almost made up for Starr not winning.
Final thoughts —
This was an excellent show from top to bottom, with every match ranging from good to incredible. RevPro is often criticized for being all in-ring and no story, but they did very well to combat that at this show. The three big angles were really well booked and will lead to other matches down the line, with the Ospreay/Taichi stuff and Sabre/Ishii stuff standing out in terms of story.
The in-ring side was as good as ever, with The McKinnan vs. Bailey match, Phantasmo vs. Desperado, and obviously the main event standing out. The only concern is in the booking decisions. The main criticism of RevPro right now is that the NJPW guys that come over always win, after at Global Wars UK when every New Japan guy won except from against El Phantasmo. This was again the case here.
The WALTER loss hurt, as well as both Starr and Aussie Open losing their title matches. I think most people assumed at least one of Ishii and Suzuki-gun would lose their titles and neither did, which came as a surprise. It does make the RevPro roster look weak if they always lose to NJPW guys and it’s certainly an issue that needs addressing before more of the fan base become angered.
Revolution Pro Wrestling was back at York Hall in London yesterday for their second of two straight nights of tapings for FreeSports.
– From the LED ring apron, it seems that the name of the show is “World of Pro Wrestling,” seemingly a dig/play on ITV’s “World of Sport.”
– Kip Sabian defeated Kurtis Chapman and A-Kid in a triple threat match to become the number one contender to David Starr’s Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship
Starr came out and was annoyed that there was a whole tournament to decide the Tag Team title number one contenders but a random triple threat to determine his challenger. He commentated the match.
All four worked face and it was a decent opener for the show. A-Kid continues to impress.
– The Great O-Kharn (w/ Lord Gideon Grey) defeated Darrell Allen
Lord Gideon Grey is excellent as O-Kharn’s manager and is now calling him the undefeated Great O-Kharn. Another simple squash.
– Jonny Storm & Jody Fleish defeated Chuck Mambo & Cassius in a tag team tournament quarterfinal match
This was the final quarterfinal in the tag team tournament to decide the number one contenders to Suzuki-gun (already in the semis are Aussie Open, Sho & Yoh, and the Hunter Bros). This was a strong match and both teams were fairly over. Mambo looked excellent, but the veterans won.
– Chris Brookes & Jonathan Gresham defeated Jushin Thunder Liger & El Phantasmo
This match was set up the night before. The heels bent the rules and injured Liger’s right leg early on, which he sold incredibly well and was unable to tag in Phantasmo. When he finally did, Phantasmo leapt around the ring and took CCK to their limits.
CCK cheated to win and were heavily booed.
– KUSHIDA defeated Josh Bodom
MK McKinnan was KUSHIDA’s original opponent but was legitimately injured. Bodom took a lot of the match, beating down KUSHIDA. After a few comebacks were thwarted, KUSHIDA tapped out Bodom.
KUSHIDA’s RevPro matches have been very repetitive as of late (see vs. Adam Brooks at Summer Sizzler).
– Dan Magee defeated Sha Samuels by DQ
Their heated rivalry continued as Samuels hit Magee with a chair during a suicide dive. Magee was taken away by medics.
– Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Rocky Romero
Great match that lasted around 20 minutes. Romero attempted to match Sabre’s technical ability but resorted to strikes and Sabre started bleeding from the nose before he inevitably tapped out Romero for the win.
– The Hunter Bros defeated Jonny Storm & Jody Fleish in a tag team tournament semifinal match
Another great match, with the Hunters really coming into their own as a team. Storm and Fleish have been excellent in making others look good as of late in RevPro. It was up in the air who would win and the crowd was into the near falls.
The Hunter Bros are now in the tournament final.
– The Great O-Kharn defeated Carlos Romo
Another simple squash.
– Colt Cabana defeated James Mason
This was really fun to watch and had the right balance of comedy and wrestling. Both tried roll-ups and cradles until Cabana won with a superman folding press.
Samuels came out and attacked Cabana but was stopped by Magee, who cut an impassioned promo.
– Kip Sabian defeated Undisputed British Cruiserweight Champion David Starr by countout
Sabian had earned his shot earlier in the night. Starr was annoyed that Sabian was getting the better of him so he left the match. Sabian got an ovation, but Starr kept the title with the countout finish.
– HxC (James Castle & Dan Head) defeated The Arrows of Hungary (Aaron Icarus & Dover)
This was a rematch from the Cockpit show from four days ago, but the crowd were worn out. Dover took a double suplex on the ramp and was out for much of the match. Castle and Head cheated to win.
– Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Chris Ridgeway via KO
Another rematch from the Cockpit show. They exchanged strikes early on with both of their chests being visibly scarred. Sabre grounded Ridgeway, who would fire back up with stiff kicks and would get the better of the striking battles.
Sabre eventually knocked out Ridgeway and cut a promo about how he’s not the best technical wrestler in the world — he’s the best wrestler.
– Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defeated Roppongi 3K (Sho & Yoh) in a tag team tournament semifinal match
This match determined who will face the Hunter Bros in the tournament final. Great stuff from both teams as you’d expect. When things were getting good, Aussie Open’s entrance video and music were accidentally played. That was a pretty bad mistake that can hopefully be edited out.
Aussie Open eventually got the expected win. They would be really good in NJPW’s World Tag League this year and have already had great matches in RevPro against EVIL & SANADA, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson, Jay White, Jeff Cobb, and now Roppongi 3K.
After the match, Brookes & Gresham attacked them and stood tall despite the Hunter Bros coming down to help Aussie Open.
