The Owen Hart Foundation tournament is set to kick off on this week’s AEW Dynamite.
Tony Khan has announced that Claudio Castagnoli vs. PAC in a quarterfinal match has been added to the lineup for Wednesday’s show. In a subsequent social media post, Khan revealed that Bryan Danielson will be on commentary for the contest.
Khan also announced that the tournament brackets will be revealed on Wednesday as well.
Don't miss the bracket reveals for the Owen Hart Foundation Cup Men's + Women's Tournaments TOMORROW, ahead of @owen_foundation Cup action kicking off with a huge bout to open The Owen in an amazing matchup@ClaudioCSRO vs @BASTARDPAC LIVE on Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite TOMORROW
Bryan Danielson and Shingo Takagi have also declared for the men’s tournament. That leaves four open spots in the men’s tournament. Mariah May, Hikaru Shida, Kris Statlander, and last year’s winner, Willow Nightingale, have all been confirmed for the women’s tournament.
AEW Dynamite announced lineup for Wednesday, June 19, 2024 —
MJF vs. Rush kicks off the show commercial-free
AEW Tag Team title eliminator: The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) vs. The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens)
Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, Orange Cassidy, and Dante Martin vs. Roderick Strong, Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, and Zack Sabre Jr.
Toni Storm & Mina Shirakawa contract signing
Swerve Strickland, Will Ospreay face-to-face
Owen Hart Foundation tournament quarterfinal: Claudio Castagnoli vs. PAC w/Bryan Danielson on commentary
Just one day before AEW Dynasty, the Blackpool Combat Club will compete in a Bunkhouse Brawl match on tonight’s AEW Collision as Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli face Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher.
Both Danielson and Castagnoli have been targeted by the Don Callis Family with Takeshita giving Danielson a brain buster on the stage earlier this month.
The Elite (Kazuchika Okada & Young Bucks) will team up to take on PAC & FTR. On Sunday, Okada will defend his AEW Continental title against PAC while the Bucks and FTR will compete for the vacant AEW Tag Team titles.
In a clash of former AEW Tag Team Champions, The Acclaimed take on The Gunns.
TNT Champion Adam Copeland, Eddie Kingston & Mark Briscoe go up against Top Flight & Action Andretti, Skye Blue will take on Leyla Hirsch, and Powerhouse Hobbs will be in action.
This week’s show will be immediately followed by a live Rampage on TNT.
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Sir Elton John played us into tonight’s Collision, one day before the Dynasty PPV tomorrow night. Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness were on the call as the TNT Champion kicked off tonight’s show.
Adam Copeland, Mark Briscoe, & Eddie Kingston defeated Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) & Action Andretti
A high-octane opener to kick off this three-hour block. It was fun seeing Copeland fit into the multi-man mix.
Andretti used his speed to beat Briscoe to start, but Briscoe dropped him with an elbow out of the corner. Copeland helped Briscoe drop Andretti with double shoulder blocks, but Top Flight teamed up to keep Copeland off balance. Kingston held control of Dante through the commercial, but Darius got the hot tag after the commercial and ran wild.
Andretti and Dante hit dives to the floor, but Briscoe hit a pair of suplexes to cut them off. Andretti hit a standing shooting star press to Kingston for a nearfall that Copeland broke up. All six men dropped each other with clotheslines as the crowd chanted This Is Awesome. Kingston dropped Andretti with a lariat, kicking off a move train that ended with a series of finishers on Andretti. Briscoe hit the Froggy Bow on Andretti to cap off this match, with Kingston scoring the fall.
After the match, the House of Black appeared on the screen. They menaced their opponents for tomorrow night, with Malakai Black saying that they would drag Copeland to the edge of hell.
We got a video package hyping the AEW World Title match between Swerve Strickland & Samoa Joe at Dynasty.
Powerhouse Hobbs defeated CJ Esparza
Esparza was the unfortunate ham-and-egger in Hobbs’s way ahead of his showdown with IWGP World Champion Jon Moxley this Wednesday. Hobbs crushed Esparza with multiple slams on the apron before winning with the Human Torture Rack.
After the match, Don Callis took to the mic and said that his Family was the talk of the wrestling world. He hyped the Bunkhouse match later on, saying he wouldn’t be ringside for his own safety. He took credit for Kenny Omega’s IWGP World Title reign, saying that he had a favor to cash in with New Japan officials. He cashed in his favor, announcing that the Hobbs/Moxley match on Dynamite would now be for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
We got a video package hyping the dream match between Will Ospreay and Bryan Danielson for Dynasty.
We got a recap of the Hook, Chris Jericho, & Taz angle from Dynamite before we heard from Chris Jericho in the back. He said that “the learning tree” would teach him the mistake he made by not accepting his advice, but it would make Hook a better person in the end. It would hurt him more than it hurt Hook to take the FTW Title from him.
The Gunns (Austin & Colten) (w/ Jay White) defeated The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) (w/ Billy Gunn)
This was a fine TV match, but I’m beyond ready to get the trios titles onto other things.
For the first time in months, Caster got his rap off with no issue. Tony Schiavone got on the mic and said that if the Gunns bailed on this match, the title match tomorrow night would be canceled. We got a Pier Six brawl that took us to the break. After the break, the Gunns traded single-leg crabs to keep control of Caster.
Bowens got the hot tag and ran wild. The Gunns sent the Acclaimed into each other, only for the referee to catch Colten’s trying to leverage his pin with the ropes. Bowens hit a big knee for a nearfall, then hit a Fameasser for another two count. Bowens avoided the 3:10 To Yuma, allowing Caster to get a blind tag. Caster scored with the Death Valley Driver, but Austin cut off the Mic Drop. The Gunns hit the 3:10 To Yuma on Bowens, but Caster came down with the Mic Drop. Colten and Caster were left in the ring, with White helping Colten score the win with the bat.
Bryan Danielson was backstage with Lexy Nair. He said that Don Callis didn’t have confidence in Will Ospreay, which is why Callis sent the Family after him. Danielson felt alive and was excited for the Bunkhouse match tonight and the match against Ospreay tomorrow night. Ospreay entered the frame, noting that he saw Danielson slated for interview time, and told Danielson that he had nothing to do with the attacks. Ospreay didn’t want Danielson to have any excuses for Dynasty. Danielson left unconvinced.
We got video from Toni Storm from after Dynamite. She wanted the video in full color so people could see how Thunder Rosa smeared lipstick all over her face. Storm said that Rosa didn’t want the title back because she never lost it, she wanted the title back because of how important Storm made it. Rosa couldn’t drag her to hell because Storm made love to her demons every night.
Bunkhouse Brawl – Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli) defeated The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher)
A great piece of business here. The Callis Family becoming a more frequent part of AEW shows this year has been a great addition to these shows. Danielson gets his revenge on the Family before cutting a hell of a promo to sell the Ospreay match afterward.
The Callis Family got the jump on the BCC during the introductions, leading to a Pier Six brawl through the crowd. The fight came to ringside, where Danielson choked Fletcher with a cable while Takeshita hammered Castagnoli with the ring bell hammer. Castagnoli and Takeshita brawled into the ring, where Castagnoli hit the Giant Swing. Danielson dropkicked Takeshita out of the swing, but Fletcher flung a chair into Danielson’s head to cut off a dive. Fletcher threw powder in Castagnoli’s face before hitting a Last Ride powerbomb for a nearfall.
Danielson avoided another brainbuster on the apron, but Fletcher laid him out again. Castagnoli took Fletcher into the stairs and repeatedly threw his head into them. Danielson was bleeding from the chair shot but laid the middle kicks into Takeshita as the crowd fired up. Danielson set up the Busaiku Knee, but a now bloody Fletcher cut him off. Fletcher and Takeshita booted the BCC before hitting stereo brainbusters for a nearfall.
Takeshita went for a chain-assisted forearm but Danielson cut him off. The BCC caught them both with the hammer-and-anvil elbows before locking on submissions. Powerhouse Hobbs laid out the BCC with main event spinebusters, but Jon Moxley made the save and brawled with him to the back. The Family set up Danielson for a super powerbomb into a chair, but Danielson sent Takeshita into the chair instead. Castagnoli drilled both men with chain-assisted uppercuts before Danielson laid out Fletcher with the Busaiku Knee. Danielson took the chain and wrapped it around Fletcher’s face before locking on the LeBell Lock for the quick win.
Danielson took the mic and said that he knew people wondered why he took this match. Being in a pro wrestling ring was Danielson’s version of heaven, and having guys try to break his neck before one of the biggest matches of his career made him feel alive. He told Will Ospreay that he was going to beat his ass at Dynasty.
We got a recap of the attack on Willow Nightingale from Dynamite. Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale, & Stokely Hathaway were backstage afterward, and they were fired up. Nightingale said that confident champions don’t attack their challengers with chains before title matches. She said she would beat Julia Hart for the TBS Title tomorrow night.
Skye Blue defeated Leyla Hirsch
Blue got a jump start, dropping Hirsch with a boot before dropping Hirsch with a neckbreaker off the apron. Hirsch came back with a wheelbarrow German suplex, but Blue cut her off on the top rope. Hirsch took Blue off the top rope with a German suplex for a nearfall. Hirsch couldn’t complete a springboard move, leading to Blue winning with a Dragon Sleeper.
PAC & FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defeated The Elite (Kazuchika Okada, Nicholas & Matthew Jackson)
This felt like a New Japan Road To match, where you got a substantial preview of the bigger matches coming up. Awesome stuff, and a nice win for PAC leading into his PPV title match.
The Elite tried the same start to the match that they used on Dynamite, but PAC saw it coming and was able to lay in some shots to Okada. The Bucks pulled Okada to the floor, but a trio of baseball slides kicked off a brawl on the floor. Matthew was able to tag in, but FTR and PAC used quick tags to hold him up. We got a tease of triple submissions on the Elite before the Bucks broke them all up. The Elite went for baseball slides of their own, but they were avoided and the tecnicos took control as we went to picture-in-picture.
After the break, The Elite worked over Harwood after crotching him on the ringpost during the break. PAC got the tag in and ran wild on all three of the Elite, hitting a stuff piledriver on Okada with Harwood for a nearfall. Okada took the referee’s attention as the Bucks took PAC into the ring steps. After another break, PAC fought to make the hot tag to Harwood. Things broke down until it came down to Okada and Harwood in the ring, where Harwood countered the Rainmaker into a Sharpshooter.
The Bucks broke up the Sharpshooter with dual superkicks, then ran trios offense on Harwood, ending with a Matthew top-rope elbow for a nearfall. FTR got Matthew isolated, hitting a Powerplex before setting up PAC for a 450 splash for a nearfall. Things broke down, leading to The Bucks hitting PAC with a Shatter Machine for a nearfall. The Bucks hit the EVP Trigger, but Wheeler broke up the pin. FTR hit Matthew with a Shatter Machine, then cleared the ring for PAC to hit the Black Arrow for the win.
After the match, the Elite jumped them before Daniel Garcia came in to make the save. PAC caught Okada in the Brutalizer, but the Bucks dragged Okada to safety.
On AEW Dynamite this week, Will Ospreay and Claudio Castagnoli squared off for the first time ever.
It ended with Ospreay picking up the victory in advance of his match against Bryan Danielson at AEW Dynasty this Sunday. While Ospreay vs. Danielson is being promoted as a dream match, facing Castagnoli was also a significant moment for Ospreay.
Ospreay wrote on social media that, for the longest time, he wondered what it would be like to compete against Castagnoli. He thanked Castagnoli for the challenge and said Castagnoli was “without any doubt” the strongest person he’s ever faced:
For the longest time I’ve wondered what it would be like to challenge @ClaudioCSRO
He is without any doubt the strongest guy I’ve faced in wrestling. And it was an absolute pleasure testing myself against him before my bout with Bryan.
Thank you for the challenge & thank you Indianapolis for housing me!
Following last night’s match, there was an angle where the Don Callis Family beat down Castagnoli until Jon Moxley made the save. Ospreay was not happy about his stablemates attacking Castagnoli.
Sunday’s Dynasty pay-per-view is being held in St. Louis. The night before the event, Blackpool Combat Club (Danielson & Castagnoli) vs. Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher) in a Bunkhouse Brawl will take place on Collision.
The final AEW Dynamite before Sunday’s Dynasty pay-per-view airs live tonight from Indianapolis.
Will Ospreay will go one-on-one with Claudio Castagnoli on tonight’s show in Ospreay’s final tune-up before his Dynasty match against Claudio’s Blackpool Combat Club stablemate Bryan Danielson.
In a mixed tag team bout, Adam Copeland will team with Willow Nightingale against Brody King and Julia Hart of House of Black.
The Elite will be in six-man tag team action as The Young Bucks & Kazuchika Okada face PAC, Penta El Zero Miedo & Daniel Garcia.
Deonna Purrazzo will take on Mariah May in a women’s division contest.
We will hear from AEW World Champion Samoa Joe, and his Dynasty challenger Swerve Strickland in a pair of promo segments on the show.
Taz will moderate a face-to-face meeting between Chris Jericho & Hook.
Mercedes Mone will speak in another promo segment advertised for the show.
New IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley will also make an appearance on tonight’s episode.
AEW Dynamite comes on the air with Excalibur welcoming us alongside Tony Schiavone & Taz as we go to the entrance of the new IWGP World Champion. Fresh off his victory over Tetsuya Naito, Jon Moxley made his way through the crowd to a massive ovation, even signing a quick autograph for a fan.
Moxley said one of the first titles he ever won was at a Salvation Army here in Indiana 20 years ago. Always swimming upstream, many people told Moxley what he could and couldn’t do, but his reaction to those is the same then as it is now, kiss his ass. Being great isn’t about what other people say, it’s about what’s in your heart. Moxley shows off his new title to You Deserve It chants, as he puts over the history of the championship and his journey to get it. He never thought that the IWGP Title would be brought to Dynamite and it all comes down to how deep are you willing to go to show that’s what AEW is about?
Moxley brings up the Don Callis Family, including Callis himself, who he called a creep. Moxley talked about them putting a target on Bryan Danielson’s back, meaning they put a target on his as well. Moxley said for them to come and find him, as he’ll be here all night. Moxley could run them over in the parking lot or bash them with a tire iron from behind, but they wouldn’t learn anything. Therefore, Moxley wants the biggest and baddest and calls out Powerhouse Hobbs for next week on Dynamite in the main event. Hobbs will accept, but he’ll learn just how out of depth he is, as he will drag Hobbs to the deepest waters and he’ll not see a shoreline. Hobbs will know the difference between Moxley & himself and realize Don Callis has been feeding him lies. Hobbs will realize there will only ever be one, Jon Moxley.
-Mercedes Mone is backstage and brings up how someone attacked her in the dark because they’re afraid to face her in the lights. Mone always gets back up and can’t wait to payback the bitch who attacked her last week. Lights off sounds a little too familiar, Julia Hart, it sounds like someone who doesn’t want to face her at Double or Nothing. Mone said she is putting the entire women’s division on notice and said she’ll be watching Hart & Willow Nightingale’s match at Dynasty. There’s a price to pay when you mess with Mercedes Mone.
TBS Champion Julia Hart & Brody King defeated TNT Champion Adam Copeland & Willow Nightingale
(This was more of a singles match than a mix tag, as the women’s interaction just happened at the very end. I feel like King & Copeland had a good little match, but it was just there and could’ve been a lot more. Perhaps we get a singles match for the TNT Title down the line and they can go all out? This certainly didn’t make Nightingale look strong heading into the PPV, but maybe it’s a way for us to count her out before she becomes the new TBS champion? It makes more sense storyline wise for her to be the one to face Mone at Double or Nothing, as I don’t believe Hart was the one who ultimately attacked Mone last week.)
Copeland made his entrance, when we see Willow Nightingale is down backstage being checked on by Stokely Hathaway, Kris Statlander and a doctor. Nightingale said she’s fine and tried to get up, as the camera cuts back to Copeland and the lights went out. Brody King appeared from behind and attacked Copeland, as Julia Hart made her way down to the ring. King delivered a running cross body, sandwiching Copeland against the barricade. Copeland told referee Aubrey he was ok, so the match officially began, but things went right to commercial.
When things returned, Copeland fought out of the corner and hit a top rope clothesline for the reset. Both got up at the same time for a slug fest, as Copeland staggered King to the corner with a series of clotheslines and big boots. The Impaler DDT connected, but King kicked out. Copeland followed with a Blockbuster out of the corner, as he signaled for the Spear, but King turned him inside out with a lariat. King missed a cannonball, as Willow Nightingale stormed to the ring with the cheering off Hathaway & Statlander, as Nightingale made the tag and cross body off the second onto King. Hart bailed, as King was flattened by a Copeland Spear and cannonball in the corner by Nightingale. Hart appeared and decked Nightingale with a chain wrapped punch, which the ref didn’t see. Copeland tackled King to the floor, as Hart applied Hartless on the unconscious Nightingale for the win.
Mercedes Mone stormed the ring post-match with a chair in hand, as Hart quickly scurried away with King. Mone looked at the chair and back to Nightingale, before looking at Copeland and tossing the chair away. Mone & Copeland shook hands before she stared down Nightingale once again. Commentary talked about how Mone wasn’t over how she broke her ankle against Nightingale last year.
-Renee Paquette is backstage with AEW World Champion Samoa Joe, who said Swerve Strickland is more of nuisance than a worthy adversary. No matter how many times he puts Strickland in the dirt, he keeps rising up, which reminds him more of a punching bag than a future World Champion. Paquette talked about Strickland & Prince Nana holding up the AEW Title last week and Joe said he was worried about how his title needed to be disinfected after last week, as they know where Nana has been. Joe called Strickland a choke artist, who comes close to winning the big one, but comes up short. History will repeat itself at Dynasty and Joe cements his legacy as the greatest AEW Champion of all time. Strickland is a choke artist, but at Dynasty, Joe will be the one to choke him out.
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-A video package is shown briefly for the FTR & Young Bucks match at Dynasty when Matthew & Nicholas Jackson call for Tony Khan (who is sitting right there backstage) to cut the package short, as it’s not up to their liking. Matthew said they’ll put it up on social media and cut FTR’s video package. Nicholas said tonight they beat up FTR’s buddy Daniel Garcia, while Kazuchika Okada called PAC a dead man. The Elite walk off and call for their elevator entrance.
Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada & The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicolas Jackson) defeated PAC, Penta el Zero Miedo & Daniel Garcia (w/Alex Abrahantes)
(An action packed six man this was, as they didn’t give you much between Okada & PAC, which is smart to save it for Sunday. Instead, Penta & Garcia got a lot of in ring action here and I really would like both to face Okada in a singles match at some point. This was a very fun party match.)
It looked like we were getting PAC & Okada to start, but The Bucks attacked PAC from behind, while Okada took out Penta & Garcia on the apron. PAC quickly fired back on Matthew, as Penta made the tag and suffered a double team from the Death Triangle members. Nicholas & Okada both got cheap shots to allow Matthew to take over. Penta avoided The Bucks double team, sent Nicholas packing and delivered a thrust kick to Matthew, as Garcia made the tag and ran wild, hip thrusting at Nicholas’ face after delivering ten corner punches. Garcia was sent to the floor after Matthew & Okada, but ate a running kick from Nicholas, as The Elite were in control throughout commercial.
Matthew took over on commentary during break with the house mic, as Garcia mounted a comeback, but Matthew tagged in, saying he has this. Matthew trash talked Garcia, who said to show why they hired him. Garcia hit a stalling back suplex, with Matthew saying they’re good before impact. PAC made the tag and hit a series of snap German suplexes and top rope missile dropkick on The Bucks. PAC followed up with a massive moonsault off the top to the outside onto The Bucks before staring down Okada in the middle of the ring. Okada waited for Nicholas to attack from behind before tagging in and hit a triple team corner attack. Okada delivered the Air Raid Crash, but Penta broke the count.
Penta tagged in legally, flying off the top with a cross body on Okada, Sling Blades on The Bucks and Made in Japan on Okada for two. Penta tried a wheelbarrow assist from Okada into a double DDT on The Bucks, who countered into a Northern Lights. The match broke down, as PAC flew in with a slingshot cutter on Matthew, made the legal tag and finally went face to face with Okada before a slugfest ensued. Thrust kick dropped Okada, as PAC went up top, but Nicholas swept out the legs, as Paul Turner just turned around and looked at Garcia for some reason. Garcia made the tag and ran right into an Okada dropkick, but avoided the Tombstone into a Jackknife pin for two. Garcia ran into a corner kick from The Bucks and stumbled into a Tombstone from Okada, as Penta suffered one as well. Superkick Party followed by The Rainmaker connected on Garcia to give Okada the pin.
Post match, Garcia suffered an EVP Trigger for good measure, as The Bucks brought a ladder into the ring, slamming Garcia onto it. With Garcia sandwiched in the ladder, Matthew was going to dive off the top when PAC ran in with the ring bell hammer, a nice callback to the Best of 7 series last year with Death Triangle & The Elite. Okada & The Bucks bailed, as PAC stared down Okada. FTR was nowhere to be found here tonight.
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Taz Brokers a Meeting Between Chris Jericho & HOOK
Taz was already in the ring, as Jericho made his entrance to boos, while HOOK received loud cheers from the crowd. Taz said he’s just there to make sure things go nice and easy and gives the floor to Jericho, who again, gets booed. Jericho said last week, Shibata was just collateral damage, as he felt HOOK wasn’t listening to Jericho as much as he should’ve. Jericho kept bringing up the Learning Tree and everyone who has listened to his pearls of wisdom like MJF, Orange Cassidy, Eddie Kingston, Jon Moxley & Ospreay, everyone who has entered the Jericho Vortex has left better on the other side. Jericho brought up Wizard Mountain, which kind of got crickets, as he brought up the Learning Tree once again.
HOOK simply said no, he doesn’t need Jericho’s help, as Jericho told him not to be stupid. Taz tried to intervene, but Jericho cut him off and said he’s doing something Taz should’ve done 30 years ago and give this kid some guidance. Taz kept trying to interject, but Jericho said HOOK has had people telling him he’s a future World Champion, but he’s not as good as he thinks he is. Taz tried to step in once more, but Jericho shoved him down, as Excalibur told us Taz has been dealing with knee issues. The crowd chanted You F’d Up chants at Jericho.
HOOK grabbed Jericho by the shirt and pushed him to the corner, saying he’ll show Jericho how good he is, anytime, anywhere and told Jericho to get out of his ring. Jericho slowly stepped out of the ring and up the ramp.
-Renee Paquette is backstage with Swerve Strickland, who wanted his reaction to Samoa Joe calling him a choke artist. Strickland questioned if Paquette thinks he’s a choke artist, which Paquette denies and Strickland agrees, saying he’s always fallen forward to success. Over the past year, he’s fallen into a coffin, stapled and his body thrown into barbed wire, knocked in the face with a chain and he always gets back up, it’s his military upbringing. Joe can call Strickland anything he wants, but this Sunday, Joe will be calling him new AEW World Champion. Strickland took his jacket off, looked into the camera and said he’ll tell Joe why he’s so confident to his face, tonight.
Deonna Purrazzo defeated Mariah May (w/Timeless Toni Storm & Luther)
Purrazzo thwarted an early attack and delivered a knee lift into an arm bar attempt, but May bailed to the floor. Storm saved May from a baseball slide, allowing May to gain control, slamming Purrazzo into the barricade and back inside. May tried a shoulder block through the ropes, but Purrazzo caught her and hit a draping arm breaker. May quickly regained control, tried her corner head scissors, was blocked, so she just sent Purrazzo crashing to the outside as things went to commercial.
Back from break, Purrazzo was back in control, but May fought back as a forearm exchange started. May hit a home run forearm, but tried to charge again, this time Purrazzo hit an overhead throw into a submission, but May got the ropes. Purrazzo connected on a pump kick for a near fall, as May floated over a powerbomb attempt, sending Purrazzo in the corner, delivering Sweet Cheek Music. A spinning DDT got May two, as she wanted May Day, but Purrazzo countered into a roll up for the flash pin.
Post match, Storm immediately hit the ring to attack Purrazzo, when Thunder Rosa sprinted out, flooring Luther before clearing Storm & May. Purrazzo got into Rosa’s face, saying she didn’t need her help, when May pulled Purrazzo to the floor. Storm tried to hit Storm Zero, but Rosa escaped, trapped Storm in a Camel Clutch and smeared lipstick over the Women’s Champions face. Tony Schiavone said that wasn’t even Storm’s color, which Excalibur hilariously pointed out was a great observation.
-Renee Paquette is backstage with Switchblade Jay White & The Gunns and told her to sound more excited to be around The Bang Bang Gang. White said they’d been having a blast the past few months and said they’ll fulfill their destiny at Dynasty, as The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass have what they want. So, it’ll be AEW Trios Titles vs. the ROH Six Man Titles at Dynasty, winners take all and I can only hope finally put an end to this storyline for everyone involved.
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-The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass are backstage and said it’s nice to know The Bang Bang Gang’s intentions are now clear. They accept their challenge, Bowens talks about his own gold bat to choke on, Caster calls him Twink Blade and made a tag team challenge for Collision, The Acclaimed vs. The Gunns.
Orange Cassidy defeated Shane Taylor (w/Anthony Ogogo & Lee Moriarty)
(I enjoyed the story these two told, as Cassidy always has had someone to watch his back, until now. Despite that, he managed to squeak out a win here, but suffered the consequences post match. Just when we thought he had backup, Beretta appeared to put an end to that, continuing to build this story. I’m hopeful they don’t rush a PPV match between the two and continue to build the Beretta turn and his explanations before the actual showdown happens.)
Excalibur brought up how Shibata is in Japan, Rocky Romero is in Mexico, Chuck Taylor is off the road due to injury, so with Trent Beretta turning his back on him, Cassidy is left all alone, with no friends. Ogogo & Moriarty get up on the apron, but Taylor told them to back off, as Cassidy has no one. Cassidy puts the hands in the pockets and delivers a few dropkicks and kip ups before trying a spinning DDT, only to get caught into a Tower of London stunner. Taylor took the ref, allowing Moriarty to attack, as back inside, Taylor trapped Cassidy in the corner and delivered a violent overhand chop.
Taylor controlled during commercial, but when things returned, Cassidy fired up out of the corner. Taylor took the ref, allowing the numbers game to catch up to Cassidy, as he was distracted enough to allow Taylor to press choke him to the middle of the ring. Cassidy blocked a DDT, but suffered Stundog Millionaire, as Cassidy hit two dives onto Ogogo & Moriarty. Taylor ducked Orange Punch and leveled Cassidy with a comeback lariat for two. Taylor avoided a Beach Break, but Cassidy hit one Orange Punch. Taylor answered with a shot of own, until Cassidy threw a home run Orange Punch to get the win.
Post match, Moriarty attacked and Ogogo hit a big-time left hand to the gut, crumbling Cassidy. Taylor was going to lay out Cassidy when Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal ran out from the back, but were laid out by chair shots from Trent Beretta, who watched as Taylor flattened Cassidy before Moriarty applied the Border City Stretch. Shane Taylor Promotions stood tall and raised their flag over the fallen Cassidy.
-Highlights from last week on Battle of the Belts and Roderick Strong turning on Kyle O’Reilly is shown. Strong said when they step in the ring at Dynasty, he’ll end O’Reilly forever.
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Will Ospreay defeated Claudio Castagnoli
(For never having met in the ring before, these two absolutely crushed it, which should surprise no one. The power game of Castagnoli allowed some really cool counters to the high flying of Ospreay and the speed and athleticism from Ospreay led to some great escapes on his side as well. It resulted in a very fun main event that the fans were heavily into.)
Don Callis joined commentary, as Castagnoli charged right at the bell, but Ospreay avoided a Ricola Bomb. Ospreay tried a head scissors, only to be planted with a back breaker from Castagnoli. Ospreay fought back with a quick hurricanrana, sending Castagnoli to the floor, but Ospreay was quick after him. Castagnoli tried sending Ospreay to the barricade, but Ospreay cleared it and hit Pip Pip Cheerio off the barricade. Back inside, Castagnoli cut off a springboard and zoned in on the ribs. Ospreay answered with a multiple revolution head scissors, as Castagnoli was sent outside, only to catch a flying Ospreay in mid air and planted on the edge of the apron.
It was all Castagnoli during break, who kept Ospreay grounded throughout. Ospreay battled back with a wall walk enzugiri and handspring corkscrew kick for the reset. A Helluva Kick connected, followed by another Pip Pip Cheerio forearm for two. Castagnoli ate a few Kawada Kicks, as Ospreay briefly applied a Sharpshooter, but Castagnoli pulled out the leg and countered into one of his own, which was transitioned into a Crossface. Both men to their feet, this time Castagnoli dodged a corkscrew kick, tried a springboard uppercut, but Ospreay hit a thrust kick in mid air into a Tiger Driver for a near fall. Ospreay wanted Storm Breaker, but Castagnoli rushed him to the corner and got an eye poke, which led to uppercuts. A ripcord lariat got a near fall, leaving Castagnoli frustrated.
Ospreay ate uppercuts until kipping up into an enzugiri. Both men floated over attacks, as Ospreay snapped through a Ricola Bomb into a hurricanrana pin for a close two. Castagnoli caught Ospreay’s Oscutter attempt in mid air into almost a Burning Hammer for two of his own. Castagnoli went for a home run shot, but Ospreay met him with a Spanish Fly. Ospreay signaled for Hidden Blade, but ran into a beautiful pop-up uppercut. Castagnoli tried a Giant Swing, but Ospreay pulled himself up into a Tornado DDT and hit the Leap of Faith for a two. Ospreay connected on Hidden Blade and got the victory.
Post match, Powerhouse Hobbs, Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher hit the ring and attacked Castagnoli, throwing him from the ring, where Takeshita was going to deliver a brainbuster on the ramp when Jon Moxley ran in from the crowd, but the numbers were against him. Moxley & Hobbs slugged it out, as Castagnoli & Takeshita went at it. Moxley & Castagnoli held their own in the ring, as Hobbs told Moxley next week. Ospreay, who didn’t participate in the post-match attack, backed the Don Callis Family up the ramp before storming to the back. No Bryan Danielson here tonight, so Castagnoli & Moxley were left staring down Hobbs, Takeshita & Fletcher.
-Swerve Strickland & Prince Nana made their way to the ring and Strickland said he was asked early how he believes he can beat Samoa Joe at Dynasty? Last week, Strickland left Joe with a fear, as he ran off like a little bitch, as Strickland raised the AEW World Title in the air. Strickland is waiting for Joe to come to the ring and tell him to his face. Joe made his way out with security trying to hold him back. With all their backs turned, Strickland hit a wild Swerve Stomp off the top onto all the security before coming face to face with Joe. Wasting no time, Joe struck first and sent Strickland into the ring before Joe stalked down Nana in the corner. This allowed Strickland to fly in with a boot and deliver the House Call. Strickland took too long to follow up, as Joe cut Strickland off in the corner and delivered a Muscle Buster. Joe stood tall over Strickland, raising the AEW Title in the air to close the show.
AEW Collision & Rampage 4/20/24
· Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita in a Bunkhouse Brawl
· The Elite (Kazuchika Okada & The Young Bucks) vs. FTR & PAC
· The Acclaimed vs. The Gunns
AEW Dynasty 4/21/24
· Samoa Joe defends the AEW World Title against Swerve Strickland
· Bryan Danielson takes on Will Ospreay
· TNT Champion Adam Copeland, Mark Briscoe & Eddie Kingston vs. House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews)
· Timeless Toni Storm vs. Thunder Rosa for the AEW Women’s Title
· Julia Hart defends the TBS Title against Willow Nightingale
· The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) vs. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) for the vacant AEW Tag Team Titles in a Ladder Match
· Kazuchuka Okada vs. PAC for the Continental Title
· Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the International Title
· HOOK vs. Chris Jericho for the FTW Title
· The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass vs. Switchblade Jay White & The Gunns in an AEW Trios/ROH Six Man Tag Title Winner Take All Match
With Bryan stranded somewhere in the California skies, it’s Vinny and Craig reviewing gobs and gobs of AEW television.
First it’s Rampage from Friday night, with Orange Cassidy vs. Alex Reynolds and the next chapter in the Best Friends divorce. Then it’s Collision from Saturday, with Kyle Fletcher & Powerhouse Hobbs facing Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli with major ramifications for the Dynasty PPV main event.
Finally we close with Battle of the Belt (singular) where the only official title match sees Athena defend the ROH women’s title against Red Velvet. That’s a lot of TV to cover, so there’s no time to waste—start listening right away!
The Blackpool Combat Club and the Don Callis Family will clash on tonight’s AEW Collision from Highland Heights, Kentucky, as Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli will take on Powerhouse Hobbs & ROH TV Champion Kyle Fletcher.
The match comes before next weekend’s AEW Dynasty where Danielson is set to face another Callis Family member, Will Ospreay.
Katsuyori Shibata will take on Lee Moriarty. Shibata teamed with Chris Jericho & Hook on Wednesday’s Dynamite in a losing effort against Shane Taylor, Moriarty & Anthony Ogogo. Moriarty got the pin on Shibata to put this into motion.
An AEW Women’s title eliminator match will take place as champion Toni Storm will take on Stardom’s AZM while The House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) will face Top Flight (Darius & Dante Martin) and Action Andretti in a trios match.
Tonight’s Collision will be immediately followed by AEW Battle of the Belts X.
Sir Elton John played us into this week’s Collision, live from Highland Heights, Kentucky. Tony Schiavone and Matt Menard were on the call and threw to footage from last night’s NJPW Windy City Riot event in Chicago, where Jon Moxley defeated Tetsuya Naito to become the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. They announced that Moxley would return to AEW on Wednesday’s edition of Dynamite from Indianapolis.
Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli were backstage. Danielson talked about Moxley’s win before talking about the BCC’s upcoming schedule. They mocked Don Callis’s instructions to his team, saying that it would be much easier to beat them than it would be to hurt them. Castagnoli said that the hard work they put in when the cameras were off made them tougher and better. Danielson said that they couldn’t be hurt, and they wouldn’t be beat tonight.
House Of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black) defeated Action Andretti, Dante Martin & Matt Sydal
Fun trios action to start the show. Not to gripe about it, but these are the type of matches that the Trios Titles should be centered around.
The commentary noted that Darius Martin of Top Flight was getting his pilot’s license today. Living the gimmick, it would seem. Andretti and Matthews started off as Daniel Garcia vs. Angelico was announced for later tonight. Matthews sent Andretti to the floor as Sydal tagged in. Black tagged in and fought off a double team before King tagged in and ran through all three of their opponents.
After some time on the back foot, Andretti got a tag out to Sydal, who ran wild on the House for a short period before Matthews dropped him across Black’s knees with a powerbomb. After a commercial, Sydal made his way to the corner and tagged Martin. Martin ran wild on Black, ducking a kick from Black and hitting a Pele Kick for a nearfall. Black sent Martin flying with a rising knee, where Andretti tagged in.
Andretti took Matthews out with a dive, but Black landed a moonsault to the floor. Black hammered Andretti with a kick. The House set up Dante’s Inferno, but the flyers hit triple superkicks. All aboard the Move Train, the last stop being Martin breaking up a King pin with a frog splash. Andretti hit a springboard 450 splash, but King kicked out at one. King caught Sydal on a Meteora attempt and crushed him in the corner. The House hit a triple-team corner attack to win, with King scoring the pin over Sydal.
We got a recap of Wednesday’s issues in the women’s division, with Toni Storm’s attack on Thunder Rosa, and Mina Shirakawa’s debut at the aid of her protégé Mariah May. Storm and May were with Lexi Nair in the back. Storm said that she would give her opponent tonight AZM a beating that would be seen in fetish magazines all over the world. I couldn’t make that up if I tried.
We got a recap of the issues between Chris Jericho, Hook, & Katsuyori Shibata that cost them a match against Shane Taylor Promotions on Dynamite. Jericho brought a camera with him after Dynamite to talk to Taz. Jericho asked Taz to put a good word to Hook and tell him that Jericho meant well. Taz said that he would try, and we found out that Taz would facilitate a meeting between the two on Dynamite.
Katsuyori Shibata defeated Lee Moriarty (w/ Shane Taylor & Anthony Ogogo)
Anthony Ogogo joined the commentary team as Shibata and Moriarty grappled on the mat. Moriarty escaped a Figure Four and rolled to the floor, where Ogogo laid a body shot into Shibata as Taylor had the referee’s attention. Shibata rolled into the ring and kicked out of a quick cover but got worked on by Moriarty as we went to a commercial.
After the break, Shibata walked into Moriarty’s chops before drilling him with a forearm. Shibata chopped Moriarty to the mat before hitting a hesitation dropkick in the corner. Ogogo was back on commentary and corrected Schiavone when he brought up his interference – it was a left hook he hit Shibata with, not a jab. The two men traded boots until Shibata countered the Fang with a ripcord slap. Shibata then hit the Penalty Kick for the pin and the win.
Shane Taylor attacked Shibata after the match, bringing out his opponent for Battle of the Belts tonight, Hook. Hook dropped Moriarty with a suplex before Taylor left the ring.
We got a recap of Athena’s most recent ROH Women’s Title defense against Hikaru Shida at Supercard of Honor, as well as a recap of Athena’s protégé Billie Starkz becoming the inaugural ROH Women’s Television Champion. Athena and Starkz were in the back with their friend Lexy Nair. Athena promised to make an example out of Red Velvet tonight and show the world what they had been missing.
Roderick Strong & The Kingdom were backstage with Lexy Nair. Strong took offense to Nair giving credit to Wardlow for their recent success. Strong said he would give Rocky Romero the beating of a lifetime on Battle of the Belts.
Daniel Garcia defeated Angelico (w/ Serpentico)
I’m enjoying seeing Garcia work solid matches like this every week. It’s reminiscent of Bret Hart having solid, quality TV matches as he rose up the card.
Angelico caught an early advantage with a high kick and a La Magistral cradle for a nearfall. Garcia countered an Angelico submission attempt with a Figure Four, which turns into a Boo/Yay sequence as both men reversed the pressure on the hold. They rolled into the ropes before Angelico popped Garcia with a right hand. Garcia hit a neckbreaker as he favored his knee.
Garcia fired up with the ten punches in the corner before hitting a back suplex. Garcia locked on a leg lace submission to score the tap out win.
PAC was backstage, thanking Kazuchika Okada for hitting him with a chair on Wednesday. He now has a perpetual headache that reminds him of Okada. PAC said that while he wasn’t tall, handsome, or the flavor of the month, he was better than Okada and couldn’t wait to prove it at Dynasty.
AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator Match – Toni Storm (w/ Mariah May & Luther) defeated AZM (w/ Anna Jay)
The best Timeless Toni match to date and a fantastic debut for AZM.
The announcers noted AZM’s stats, noting her 450+ day reign as STARDOM High Speed Champion and that she started wrestling at age 11. AZM and Jay came together on Rampage, as they both agreed that Storm and May were stupid. As good of a reason to team as any other. AZM got some chants after a speedy opening exchange that saw her lay out Storm with running kicks. Storm cut AZM off on the apron and sent her flying with a hip attack. May and Jay got into a brawl on the floor that took them to the back. AZM booted Storm from the apron as we went to a commercial.
Storm taunted AZM as we came back from break, with AZM fighting back with forearms. Storm landed a headbutt, but AZM came back with La Mistica and a head kick. AZM hit a leg-trap German suplex as the crowd chanted for both women. AZM drilled Storm with a top rope double stomp for a nearfall. Storm snatched AZM up with a Tree Slam with a nearfall.
AZM caught Storm with a flash pin for a nearfall before Storm dumped her on her head with a German suplex. Storm hit the hip attack and the Storm Zero for the win. After the match, May celebrated with Storm with champagne and cuddling.
Red Velvet was backstage with Lexy Nair. Velvet said she wasn’t scared of Athena and that she would lay Athena out in the Battle of the Belts main event.
Mark Briscoe was backstage. He understood what the House of Black was all about: intimidation. The violent take it by force, and Briscoe, Eddie Kingston, & Adam Copeland were violent people. He told the House of Black to be very afraid.
Tony Schiavone welcomed Thunder Rosa to the stage. Rosa thanked the fans for making her comeback so special and for making AEW what it is today. Rosa told Deonna Purrazzo that she didn’t need her help to win the Women’s Title. She didn’t need help to get her degree, earn her citizenship, or win the title the first time. She thought that Toni Storm was like her, but she’s lost her mind. A part of her died when she had to vacate the title, but she would break every bone in her body to get it back for her people. She told Storm to kiss her clone goodbye because she was going to drag her soul to hell.
(One of the better promos I’ve ever heard Thunder Rosa cut. It really got you on her side and built some much-needed heat for their title match.)
Deonna Purrazzo was backstage. She wouldn’t help Rosa, but she staked her claim for the title because she felt that Toni Storm didn’t embody what it meant to be a World Champion. Purrazzo said that if she couldn’t get one Toni Storm, she might as well get the other. She challenged Mariah May to a match next week and threatened to break her arm.
From the desk, Tony Schiavone announced that the AEW World Tag Team Title match at Dynasty between FTR & The Young Bucks would now be a ladder match.
Kyle Fletcher & Powerhouse Hobbs were backstage. Fletcher said that Will Ospreay would make easy work of Claudio Castagnoli & Bryan Danielson over the next week, while Hobbs made clear that they were ready to pay the fines for what they were going to do to them tonight.
Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli) defeated The Don Callis Family (Kyle Fletcher & Powerhouse Hobbs)
What a main event. These four guys went hell-for-leather for the better part of twenty minutes, making for an exciting and fantastic main event for Collision. This is everything I want wrestling to be, just four dudes going out and beating the hell out of each other. Fletcher & Hobbs may not have won the match, but with the help of Takeshita, their mission of hurting Danielson ahead of Dynasty was accomplished. A must-watch match.
Fletcher & Hobbs got a jump start on Danielson & Castagnoli, leading to a Pier Six brawl around the ring. Hobbs and Castagnoli made their way into the ring and traded shots as commentary announced The Elite vs. PAC, Penta El Zero Miedo, & Daniel Garcia and Mariah May vs. Deonna Purrazzo for Dynamite. Danielson tagged in and worked over Hobbs’s legs, but Hobbs scored on a suplex on Castagnoli before tagging out to Fletcher. Fletcher sent Castagnoli to the floor with a leg lariat, where Hobbs dropped him with a body block.
After a commercial, Castagnoli was fighting for a tag as Fletcher had a rear naked choke on. Castagnoli muscled Fletcher around into a gutwrench suplex before getting the tag to Danielson. Danielson ran wild until he tried to dive on Hobbs, who caught him and slammed him into the apron repeatedly. Danielson countered a powerslam by sending Hobbs into the post. Danielson hit a running knee off the apron before Fletcher leveled him with a flying kick. Castagnoli then flew in with a running uppercut to Fletcher as the crowd went wild. The four men went brawling into the crowd as we went to another commercial.
After the commercial, Fletcher teased a powerbomb on the concrete but Danielson countered with a back body drop. Back in the ring, Danielson countered a superplex attempt by crotching Fletcher on the top buckle. Hobbs took Danielson on his shoulders, but Castagnoli fought Hobbs to the floor. Back on the top rope, Danielson hit the avalanche belly-to-back suplex for a nearfall. Danielson locked on the LeBell Lock, but Hobbs broke it up and tagged in.
They set Danielson up for Ragnarock, but Danielson shoved Hobbs into Fletcher and tagged in Castagnoli. Castagnoli fired off European uppercuts to both men before snatching Hobbs in the Giant Swing. Castagnoli locked on the Sharpshooter and held onto it after some kicks from Fletcher. Fletcher superkicked an interfering Danielson but took a Swiss Death uppercut from Castagnoli. Hobbs caught Castagnoli with a main event spinebuster – in the main event, no less – for a nearfall.
The four men brawled to their feet before Danielson dumped Fletcher to the floor and followed him with a dive. Castagnoli hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Hobbs shrugged off a clothesline, but a big lariat scored a nearfall for Castagnoli. Fletcher tripped up a running Castagnoli, leading to Hobbs hitting a World’s Strongest Slam, but Danielson broke up the pin.
Hobbs went to hit Danielson with a chair, but the referee took it away. Fletcher dove onto Danielson and cleared the announce table, but Castagnoli took both men out on the floor. Castagnoli hit Fletcher with a Neutralizer in the ring to score the win. After the match, Konosuke Takeshita jumped both men and helped his Callis Family members lay out the BCC. Takeshita laid out Danielson with a brainbuster on the ramp before Castagnoli backed them off with a chair.
“This match could steal any show,” Khan wrote. “2 of the best wrestlers alive fight 1-on-1 for the first time ever in Indy live on TBS! Claudio vs Ospreay Next Wednesday!”
Castagnoli is a member of Blackpool Combat Club, which also includes Bryan Danielson. A dream match between Ospreay and Danielson is set to go down at the Dynasty PPV on Sunday, April 21.
On last night’s Dynamite episode, Ospreay did an interview building up his Dynasty match against Danielson. He also responded to an apparent shot that WWE executive Paul “Triple H” Levesque had taken at him. Ospreay refuted that he’s afraid of the grind.
Danielson & Castagnoli are teaming up against Ospreay’s Don Callis Family stablemates Powerhouse Hobbs & Kyle Fletcher on Collision this Saturday.
Next Wednesday’s Dynamite is being held at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana.
AEW Dynamite (Wednesday, April 17) —
Will Ospreay vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Mixed tag team match: Adam Copeland & Willow Nightingale vs. Brody King & Julia Hart
A tag team match has been made official for Revolution.
On AEW Collision, Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli accepted the challenge FTR made on Dynamite, confirming their match for March 3 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Moxley told FTR that a time limit draw was unacceptable to them, while Castagnoli said that the team would have to swim in deep water in order to survive the BCC.
The final segment on Collision saw FTR run in for the save as Castagnoli, Moxley, and Bryan Danielson attacked Eddie Kingston. A match was then made for this coming Wednesday’s Dynamite pitting the BCC against Kingston & FTR.
Participants in the Meat Madness match were also confirmed on Saturday. Wardlow will now face Powerhouse Hobbs and Lance Archer in the match. Hobbs expressed interest in participating after hearing the announcement on Dynamite.
Here is the updated card for Revolution:
Sting’s retirement match for the AEW World Tag Team titles: Sting & Darby Allin defend against The Young Bucks
AEW World Championship: Samoa Joe defends against Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland
AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy defends against Roderick Strong
AEW Women’s Championship: Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo
AEW Continental Crown Championship: Eddie Kingston defends against Bryan Danielson
TNT Championship: Christian Cage defends against Daniel Garcia
Meat Madness: Wardlow vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Lance Archer
Blackpool Combat Club’s Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli will take on FTR in a tag team match on next week’s AEW Dynamite.
The match was announced in the aftermath of a singles contest on this week’s Dynamite where Moxley defeated FTR’s Dax Harwood in singles competition.
A six-man tag team bout with Revolution implications is also set for next week’s show.
AEW World Champion Samoa Joe will team with one of his Revolution challengers in Swerve Strickland & Brian Cage in facing his other Revolution challenger Hangman Page, who teams with Hook and Rob Van Dam. Joe vs. Strickland vs. Page for the AEW World title is set for next month’s Revolution pay-per-view.
The BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma will host next week’s Dynamite. Here is the announced card for the show:
Blackpool Combat Club’s Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli vs. FTR’s Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler
AEW World Champion Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland & Brian Cage vs. Hangman Page, Hook & Rob Van Dam
A new match and a new stipulation have been announced for Wednesday’s Dynamite.
Hangman Page will face Claudio Castagnoli. Page returned on last week’s Dynamite and made it clear he was going after Adam Cole and the Undisputed Kingdom after they attacked him backstage, putting him through a car windshield. He also ended last week’s show going face to face with longtime rival Swerve Strickland, who defeated Daniel Garcia in the main event of Dynamite. On Saturday’s Collision, Castagnoli defeated Andrew Everett.
During Collision, it was also announced that the Sting & Darby Allin vs. Konosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs match will now be a Texas Tornado bout. Don Callis made the match after Takeshita defeated Allin on Wednesday.
Saturday’s Collision had Sting, Allin, and Ric Flair cut a promo, with Sting telling Callis that he wasn’t going to go out easily.
Here is the updated lineup for Wednesday’s show:
Samoa Joe will be at Daily’s Place
Texas Tornado: Sting & Darby Allin vs. Konosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs
A new eight-man tag team match featuring competitors from the Continental Classic has been announced for Saturday’s AEW Worlds End pay-per-view.
Bryan Danielson will team with Blackpool Combat Club member Claudio Castagnoli, Mark Briscoe and Daniel Garcia against Jay White, Rush, Jay Lethal and Brody King on the main card.
Danielson lost to Eddie Kingston and White lost to Jon Moxley as part of a three-way Wednesday, eliminating them both from the tournament. Moxley will face Kingston Saturday to determine the Classic winner and first “modern” AEW Triple Crown Champion.
Here’s the current card for Saturday (8 PM Eastern) from Long Island, New York’s Nassau Coliseum:
AEW World Championship: MJF defends against Samoa Joe
AEW Women’s Championship: Toni Storm defends against Riho
TNT Championship, no DQ: Christian Cage defends against Adam Copeland
AEW Continental Classic finals: Eddie Kingston vs. Jon Moxley
TBS Championship: Julia Hart defends against Abadon
Swerve Strickland vs. Keith Lee
Andrade El Idolo vs. Miro
Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Mark Briscoe & Daniel Garcia vs. Jay White, Rush, Jay Lethal & Brody King
Sting, Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara & Chris Jericho vs. Big Bill, Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs & Kyle Fletcher
Zero Hour: FTW rules for FTW Championship: Hook defends against Wheeler Yuta
Zero Hour: 20 man battle royale for a TNT title match anywhere, anytime
ROH has announced the lineup for tonight’s show on HonorClub.
Eddie Kingston will defend his ROH World Championship against Angelico on the show. The title match was set up last month after Angelico confronted the champion following Kingston’s victory over Serpentico in a Proving Ground match.
Other matches scheduled to air on Thursday include Athena vs. Heidi Howitzer, Billie Starkz vs. Rachael Ellering, and the Iron Savages vs. Cole Karter & Griff Garrison.
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.
Ring of Honor TV November 9 lineup:
ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston defends against Angelico
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena vs. Heidi Howitzer in a Proving Ground match
Billie Starkz w/Athena vs. Rachael Ellering
Tony Nese w/Mark Sterling vs. Serpentico
Leyla Hirsch vs. Charlette Renegade
Kyle Fletcher vs. Lee Johnson
The Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) w/Jacked Jameson vs. Cole Karter & Griff Garrison w/Maria Kanellis-Bennett
At the start of Battle of the Belts on Saturday, Jon Moxley was exiting the ring with the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club when Cassidy came out, shoulder-checking Moxley as he made his way to the ring. Moxley had to be restrained as Cassidy entered the ring. Later in the show, Cassidy mentioned the incident and said that Danielson and Castagnoli have also been in his face. He challenged the two to a match at Dynamite, then revealed NJPW star Okada as his tag team partner.
In addition, Hikaru Shida will defend the AEW Women’s title against Ruby Soho, who defeated Skye Blue on AEW Rampage. Soho cut a promo on Saturday’s Collision, saying she needed to become a champion.
Renee Paquette will also have a sit-down interview with Chris Jericho. Two weeks ago on AEW Dynamite Title Tuesday, Powerhouse Hobbs quickly defeated Jericho, pinning him with his knee.
Here is the updated lineup for Wednesday’s Dynamite:
Dynamite Diamond Ring: MJF defends the ring against Juice Robinson
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Hangman Page & The Young Bucks defend against The Hardys & Brother Zay
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida defends against Ruby Soho
Kazuchika Okada & Orange Cassidy vs. Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli
Tony Khan will have a gift for Sting
Chris Jericho sit-down interview with Renee Paquette
Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta will be in action on next Friday’s Rampage.
The Gates of Agony attacked Bryan Danielson on Collision Saturday after he defeated Aussie Open’s Kyle Fletcher. Fellow Blackpool Combat Club members Castagnoli and Yuta then ran in to make the save. Later on Collision, it was announced that the two teams will face off on Friday.
Danielson is set to face Swerve Strickland on Tuesday’s Dynamite to determine the next contender for Christian Cage’s TNT title. Both are coming off of major wins: Danielson defeated Zack Sabre Jr. in what was billed as a dream match at WrestleDream, while Strickland defeated Hangman Page, also at WrestleDream in Strickland’s hometown of Seattle.
The Gates of Agony, along with Brian Cage, most recently lost the ROH Six-Man Tag team titles at AEW Rampage Grand Slam to The Young Bucks and Page.
Here is the updated lineup for AEW Rampage:
Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta vs. The Gates of Agony
Two titles will be on the line as part of Saturday’s AEW Collision from State College, Pennsylvania.
FTR will look for the sixth defense of their AEW Tag Team titles as they face the Iron Savages, formerly Bear Country, who answered their open challenge last week.
After defeating former champion Jade Cargill on Friday’s Rampage, TBS Champion Kris Statlander will face another tough test in former AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker who is looking for her first TBS title run.
For the first time since 2009, Bryan Danielson will team with Claudio Castagnoli as they face current BCC antagonists Ricky Starks & Big Bill.
Andrade El Idolo will return to AEW action for the first time since his ladder match win over Buddy Matthews in a bout with former TNT & AEW Tag Team Champion Scorpio Sky.
Other matches include Anthony Bowens vs. Evil Uno and The Hardyz vs. The Righteous. Additionally, Jay White and Aussie Open will make appearances.
**********
Our cold open videos saw comments from Danielson & Castagnoli, Big Bill & Ricky Starks, the competitors in the TBS Title match, John Silver, & Anthony Bowens. Elton John played us in before Kevin Kelly & Nigel McGuinness introduced the opening match.
Big Bill & Ricky Starks defeated Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli
This was a hot opener. Big Bill fits right in with these top names as a formidable big man. Starks and Danielson have incredible chemistry in the ring together, and the finish of this match signals more from these two down the line.
The camera focused on Big Bill’s boots, which were still stained with Jon Moxley’s blood from Dynamite. Bill started the match with Danielson, overpowering him to start. Danielson hammered Bill’s leg with kicks before Bill shoved Danielson into the corner, where Castagnoli tagged in. Castagnoli matched Bill in power, hammering him with uppercuts. Bill took both Danielson & Castagnoli down with a double clothesline – no crowd call – before tagging in Starks.
Starks clubbered on Danielson in the corner before getting cocky. That allowed Danielson to fire up with heavy strikes in the corner before taking Starks down with a hurricanrana. Starks took Danielson down with a shoulder block before tagging Bill, who crushed Danielson with a splash in the corner. Danielson blocked a second splash, but after a Starks distraction, Bill booted Danielson to the floor as we went to a commercial.
Danielson dropped Starks with a running lariat as we came back from break. Dual tags led to Castagnoli clubbering Bill with eighteen lariats in the corner. After two earlier attempts, Castagnoli finally got Bill off of his feet and hit a TKO. Castagnoli teased the Giant Swing, but Bill fought out and hit a chokeslam for a nearfall. Starks tagged in, but Castagnoli caught him in the Giant Swing.
Castagnoli transitioned into a Sharpshooter, but Bill booted him off. Danielson sent Bill to the floor, leading Castagnoli to get a nearfall on Starks with an uppercut. Danielson tagged in and hit the body kicks, but Starks avoided the LeBell Lock. Bill got a cheap shot in, leading to Starks hitting a spear for a nearfall.
Castagnoli and Bill brawled over the barricade, leaving Danielson and Starks in the ring. Starks countered a back superplex for a nearfall. Starks pushed the referee and hit a low blow on Danielson before hitting the Rochambeau for the tainted win.
We got a recap of the recent history between The Elite & the Mogul Embassy before we cut to The Young Bucks & Hangman Page backstage. They accepted the challenge of the Mogul Embassy for a match at Grand Slam but raised the stakes by challenging for the ROH World Six-Man Titles. The title match was confirmed for the two-hour Rampage: Grand Slam next Friday.
Powerhouse Hobbs said the next chapter of the Book of Hobbs was titled Destruction. He wasn’t talking about armbars, he was talking about ripping arms off. No one was safe. I still don’t like the Book of Hobbs being a physical book, but this was a good promo.
Meanwhile, Miro said that he didn’t humble Powerhouse Hobbs, so their paths must cross again. He yelled at God for trying to tempt him with his hot and flexible wife – the yet-to-be-named CJ Perry – and said that anyone who got in his way would be destroyed.
AEW World Tag Team Title Match – FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (c) defeated Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) (w/ Jacked Jameson)
Jacked Jameson talked trash to Harwood, leading to him getting hit with the Shatter Machine. The Savages quickly isolated Wheeler, hitting two splashes for a nearfall. They hit another combination that ended with a Bronson tree slam for a nearfall. Wheeler dodged a corner attack and tagged in Harwood, but Harwood got knocked down by Boulder.
Harwood got overwhelmed by Boulder’s strength. Boulder went for a step-up moonsault, but Harwood moved out of the way. FTR hit the Shatter Machine on Bronson before hitting the Powerplex on Boulder to score the win.
After the match, The Work Horsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry) made their way to the ring. They shook hands with FTR, signaling a future title challenge. Aussie Open was seen backstage watching on.
In a pre-tape that wasn’t cut at the beginning, Lexy Nair was backstage with Keith Lee. He was immediately interrupted by Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty. Taylor introduced Moriarty as the newest member of Shane Taylor Promotions before making it clear that he wasn’t scared of Lee.
John Silver defeated Anthony Bowens
Silver grabbed the microphone before the match started. He noted that The Acclaimed were scissoring wrong according to his research. He also noted according to the match contract, Caster and Gunn were banned from ringside. Bowens handled the match just fine on his own, forcing Silver to bail early on. Silver sent Bowens to the floor with a high kick before we went to the commercial.
Bowens took Silver down with a strike combination as we came back from the break. Bowens hit the jumping fameasser for a nearfall. The two men traded strikes before Bowens leveled Silver with a lariat. Silver avoided a corner charge and hit a strike combination that ended with a delayed fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall.
Bowens hit an Ushigoroshi and a rolling forearm that sent Silver to the floor. Bowens sent Silver back into the ring, but Evil Uno came out from under the ring to send Bowens into the post. Silver then hit a punt kick to score the win.
Eddie Kingston was backstage, talking about the history between himself and Claudio Castagnoli. Kingston said that Castagnoli left potholes in the road to the top, which is why he holds a grudge against him. He also said that he’s tried fixing the issues between him and Jon Moxley, but no matter those issues, he’ll finish the issues with Castagnoli in New York. New York has always had Eddie’s back, and they will have his back at Grand Slam. This was a great promo for Wednesday’s double-title match.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Hook & Orange Cassidy. They agreed to have a tag team match at Grand Slam while sharing a bag of chips.
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defeated PB Smooth & Wes Barkley
If you’ve never seen the Aussie Open/FTR match from last October, I cannot recommend it enough as it was one of the best tag team matches of 2022. It’s currently free on New Japan’s YouTube channel. AEW running the rematch in Seattle for WrestleDream should be fantastic. They got lucky with it landing on the exact one-year anniversary.
The two men weren’t named, but I’ve seen their work on the independent scene. Aussie Open scored a quick win, hitting Barkley with a pendulum spinebuster.
After the match, they called out FTR. They noted their quick wins as of late, winning on Rampage and tonight in less than a minute. Fletcher noted that they have won the same titles that FTR has won, both the ROH and IWGP Tag Team Titles. Fletcher made the challenge to FTR – titles or not – for WrestleDream on October 1st, one year to the day after their acclaimed match at NJPW Royal Quest II.
RJ City sat with Toni Storm in a sit-down interview. Storm complained about the lighting before noting that the business had changed. She thought wrestling was about being stars and making money, not signing every little girl with a sob story. Storm has been very funny in this role. The interview will be continued.
We got a short video from Scorpio Sky, who noted that returning from back-to-back injuries would be tough. Having been a three-time champion in AEW though, Sky wasn’t afraid to do the tough work.
Andrade El Idolo defeated Scorpio Sky
The crowd was audibly ignoring this match at the start, doing a Penn State chant as these two locked up. But these two got the crowd into things after the break. Andrade vs. Jay White is an intriguing matchup, and depending on Andrade’s affiliation with La Faccion Ingobernable, could lead to a big-time unit rivalry.
Sky got very little reaction on his entrance. The two went back and forth before Andrade tied Sky up in the ropes and hit a dragon screw leg whip. Andrade went to the top rope, but Sky shoved him down back-first on the apron as we went to the commercial.
Andrade fought out of a hold as we came back from the break. Sky booted Andrade down, but Andrade fired up and went after the knee with more dragon screws. Andrade went for the double knees, but Sky cut him off and hit a sunset flip for a nearfall. Sky hit a dive to the floor, but back in the ring, Andrade drilled Sky with a back elbow. Sky countered a hammerlock DDT with a small package for a nearfall, but Andrade went back to the knee. Andrade locked on the Figure Eight and scored the submission win.
After the match, Bullet Club Gold made their way to the stage. Jay White noted how Andrade had his eyes on Bullet Club Gold last week. White believed that Andrade wanted the Switchblade spotlight, so he challenged Andrade to a match to show that this was still the Switchblade Era. White feigned wanting a fight right now, but security quickly broke things up.
We got a video package on the history between Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega, and Konosuke Takeshita’s goal of taking out Ibushi to stick it to Omega.
Tony Schiavone was backstage with ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata. Imagine telling someone that five years ago. Schiavone noted that Shibata would be defending the Pure Title this Thursday on Honor Club against Nick Wayne. Shibata noted – through a translation app – that he would be competing at WrestleDream.
The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) defeated The Hardys (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy)
The Righteous got some impressive heat in what was essentially their AEW television debut.
Vincent started with Matt. Matt drove Vincent into the turnbuckles before tagging Jeff. The Hardys low-bridged Dutch to the floor before hitting a tag team combination for a nearfall. They hit Poetry In Motion, but Vincent cut off a Twist of Fate attempt. Dutch made a blind tag before surprising Matt with a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall.
After the commercial, Jeff tagged in and ran wild on both men. Vincent cut off a Whisper in the Wind attempt, but Jeff hit a Twist of Fate. The Hardys sent Dutch to the floor before Matt hit another Twist of Fate. Dutch cut off a Swanton Bomb and sent Matt into the stairs. Vincent hit Autumn Sunshine on Jeff to score the win.
After the match, Dutch grabbed the microphone and introduced themselves to the booing crowd. Vincent said that the world was fooled by false idols and conmen. He said that they don’t believe in the Devil, and they don’t believe in the friendship between MJF & Adam Cole.
We got a rundown of the Dynamite: Grand Slam card, with Claudio Castagnoli talking about his issues with Eddie Kingston. He said that he was tired of being slandered by Kingston, and that Grand Slam will be their final chapter.
We then got a rundown of the Rampage: Grand Slam, with The Acclaimedvs. The Dark Order for the AEW Trios Titles added to the card.
Next week on Collision, Jay White vs. Andrade El Idolo was made official, as well as the AEW Tag Team Title match, FTR vs. The Work Horsemen. Rob Van Dam was also announced to return to the ring in his home state of Michigan.
For the WrestleDream PPV on October 1st, FTR vs. Aussie Open was made official before we got a video package for Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Tony Schiavone was backstage with Ricky Starks & Big Bill. He was upset at the video package between Danielson & Sabre and his lack of a match at WrestleDream. He challenged Bryan Danielson to a Texas Death Match for next week’s Collision.
AEW TBS Title Match – Kris Statlander (c) defeated Dr. Britt Baker DMD
This was a great main event, as the Penn State crowd was loudly behind Baker. The match itself was very good, with Baker scoring some close nearfalls before Statlander found a way to survive and retain. A quality episode of Collision.
Baker came out to a big reaction, as this show was on the campus of Penn State, her alma mater. Statlander overpowered Baker, forcing her to the floor. Baker came back and traded forearms before Statlander looked to jam her knee on an up-and-over out of the corner. Statlander was able to push off a Slingblade and hit a powerslam of her own for a nearfall as we went to a commercial.
Statlander fought Baker off of the top rope as we came back from the commercial. Baker moved out of the way of a moonsault and rung up Statlander’s neck on the top rope. Baker slammed both of Statlander’s knees against the ring post before hitting a pair of Slingblades. Statlander countered a neckbreaker with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Statlander hit a twisting fisherman’s buster for a nearfall.
Baker avoided a scissor kick and hit a curb stomp for a nearfall. Baker pulled out the glove, but received no love as Statlander rolled her up for a nearfall. Baker hit La Mistica and went for the Lockjaw, but Statlander grabbed the hand and fought to her feet. They traded forearms and kicks before Statlander took Baker down with a lariat.
Statlander forced Baker into the corner, but Baker avoided the running knee. Statlander countered a Panama Sunrise, but Baker hit a traditional Canadian Destroyer. She followed with the Angel’s Wings and another curb stomp for a nearfall. Baker went for another Panama Sunrise, but Statlander caught her in position for Saturday Night Fever. Baker transitioned into the Rings of Saturn before locking in the Lockjaw. Statlander rocked Baker back onto her shoulders to score the flash pin and retain the title. As Statlander was celebrating, Julia Hart was seen watching from the crowd. Statlander and Baker shook hands as we went off the air.
