Jack Evans will not be wrestling at Slammiversary.
Impact Wrestling announced on Sunday that Evans has been pulled from the show due to injury. He will be replaced by Andrew Everett in the Ultimate X match.
Evans wrestled Ninja Mack at GCW You Wouldn’t Understand on Saturday. He missed a 630 splash during the match and appeared to land on the back of his neck.
“BREAKING: Out of an abundance of caution following an injury this weekend, @JackEvans711 has been pulled from today’s Ultimate-X match. He will be replaced in the X- Division Title showdown by @_AndrewEverett!” Impact tweeted.
Impact Slammiversary will air live on FITE TV Sunday, June 19 from the Nashville Fairgrounds. The updated lineup for the show is as follows:
Impact World Champion Josh Alexander defends against Eric Young
Queen of the Mountain match: Knockouts World Champion Tasha Steelz defends against Deonna Purrazzo, Chelsea Green, Mia Yim, and Jordynne Grace
Ultimate X match: X-Division Champion Ace Austin defends against “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Kenny King, Trey Miguel, Andrew Everett and Alex Zayne
Impact Tag Team Champions The Briscoes defend against The Good Brothers
Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Influence defend against Taya Valkyrie & Rosemary
Monster’s Ball match: Moose vs. Sami Callihan
Honor No More (Mike Bennett, Matt Taven, Eddie Edwards, PCO & Vincent) vs. Impact Originals (Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Frankie Kazarian & two wrestlers to be announced
Pre-Show: Impact Digital Media Champion Rich Swann defends against Brian Myers
The promotion announced on Thursday that he’s booked to face Ninja Mack at GCW You Wouldn’t Understand. The event takes place Saturday, June 18 from the Melrose Ballroom in New York. It will air live on FITE TV.
Only one other match has been announced for the show thus far. The SAT (Joel Maximo, Jose Maximo & Will Maximo) will face ASF, Gringo Loco, & Drago Kid in trios action. Blake Christian, Joey Janela, Marko Stunt, AJ Gray, and the Second Gear Crew have all been advertised for the show as well.
The last time Evans was in GCW he lost a world title match to Nick Gage on November 24, 2018. He is coming off a three year run in AEW. Evans debuted at Double or Nothing 2019 and did not have his contract renewed when it expired at the end of last month.
The announced matches for GCW You Wouldn’t Understand are as follows:
ASF, Drago Kid, & Gringo Loco vs. The Sat (Joel Maximo, Jose Maximo & Will Maximo)
Jack Evans says he got “lazy outside of the ring” during his time in AEW.
The 40-year-old’s contract with the promotion was not renewed after it expired at the end of April. During a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Evans said that he feels the salary he was given by the company made him “a little soft.”
“I feel like that salary contract made me a little soft. There was a little while where I got a bit plump and I fell off after that layoff. I only feel like I started to come back after that layoff, but I think at that point the company had already made up its mind or whatever. I did just kind of get, not lazy in the ring, but lazy outside of the ring.”
Evans also said he feels the first year in AEW went well but he never regained his full momentum after having to miss four months at the start of the global pandemic.
“I feel like for the first year the run actually started out good. We kind of had the place as the semi comedic tag team. Then me and Angelico were at the Mexican border, which got closed because of the COVID restrictions, we had this 4 month layoff. I had this practice match when I came back, and I actually got my face broken again, so there was another 2 month layoff. I feel like after that, I never came back full force, I really feel like I deteriorated.”
“During those 4 months I maybe would have been used more and maybe I would have stayed on the ball more. But I didn’t have that right mentality when I was on a salary, I thought that this will go on forever.”
As for what is next for Evans, he says he’s currently looking for a promotion in Mexico to work for.
“I am not a man with the plan. For right now it is the same old same old with the indies. I am looking for a promotion in Mexico, so I am starting to send out resumes. But at my age, it might be time to start thinking about at least semi-retirement. I am at least hoping to get on TV in Mexico.”
Evans and Angelico signed with AEW in May of 2019 and would make their debut later that month at Double or Nothing. They would eventually be managed by Matt Hardy as part of the Hardy Family Office, which later became the Andrade Family Office. Angelico continues to be employed by AEW and teamed with the Butcher and the Blade on the May 4 edition of Dynamite in a losing effort to the Blackpool Combat Club.
Update on Shinjiro Otani, what happened, a review of his career and a look at Zero-1’s biggest show in years.
WWE officially announces its Principality Stadium show in Cardiff, Wales, a look back at the biggest UK events for WWE and the ticket demand.
Coverage of UFC 273 featuring a potential Hall of Fame fight with Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns, plus the judging in Sterling-Yan, the dominance of Alexander Volkanovski, business notes on the show and match-by-match coverage.
Full coverage of NJPW Hyper Battle and the angles leading to the return of New Japan to the Fukuoka Dome, a look back at the first show in that building, plus G1 and Best of the Super Juniors updates
Update on WrestleMania Backlash, ticket demand, matches being built, false advertising of Brock Lesnar and more
Ratings including rankings, oldest and youngest audience, affect of NBA playoffs, segment-by-segment numbers and comparisons with last year.
CMLL Champion of Champions tournament continuing
AEW star announces return from major injury
Hall of Famer announces the relaunch of his former promotion
All Japan Champion Carnival update
NOAH Sumo Hall lineups
NJPW star finishes up this week and background
Scott Hall funeral
New wrestling books
Biggest indie crowds of the year
The Strangler Lewis headlock machine
Discovery/Warner merger and AEW
NJPW & AEW deal
Story behind the debut of Satnam Singh
Ticket sales for upcoming AEW & WWE shows
International TV ratings
Streaming numbers for the major stuff of the past week
Cain Velasquez case update
UFC adds 2016 Fight of the Year to Hall of Fame
How much the top executives at WWE earn
Update on Vince McMahon vs. Oliver Luck
Update on all the name changes of WWE talent and why
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Tuesday News Update
WWE
Kushida’s WWE.com profile has been moved to the alumni section. It was reported yesterday that his WWE contract has expired and has left the company.
Main Event matches taped for this week’s show include Apollo Crews vs. T-Bar and Tommaso Ciampa vs. Cedric Alexander.
The dark match following last night’s Raw had The New Day defeat Sheamus and Ridge Holland.
Corey Graves on Twitter thanked Jerry Lawler for replacing him on Raw while he is on his honeymoon with Carmella: “Trust me, it’s not lost on me that while I’m away, it takes one of the GOATs to hold it down on my behalf. I’m grateful. Thank you, @JerryLawler for avoiding the iceberg!”
Cody Rhodes is the guest on the Out of Character podcast this week with Ryan Satin.
Jack Evans commented to a fan on Twitter after announcing that his contract with AEW won’t be renewed after April: “Nah it is part of the business. Not to diss myself but I wasn’t giving any added value to the company truthfully and with a big roster you do gotta make cuts.”
Andrew Thompson talked to Nick Wayne about his status with AEW. He says he won’t officially start with the company until after he graduates from high school. “Just for now until I’m 18 years old, we got about a year and a half left. I’m just working the hardest I can so the day I turn 18 I’m ready to go. My talent in the ring is crisp. Just working to be the best version of myself. I do have to graduate high school.”
There will be a meet and greet tomorrow with Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh, Red Velvet, and Hangman Page tomorrow at 5:30 pm ET prior to Dynamite at the Petersen Events Center. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 12 pm ET at aewlivemerch.com.
AEW Community also has an offer at the Petersen Events Center where bringing a pack of new & unopened diapers can get a picture with Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti. It stars from 6 – 7 pm ET. First come, first served.
Jack Evans is departing AEW when his contract with the promotion expires at the end of this month.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Evans announced that he won’t be re-signed when his AEW contract expires at the end of April. Evans thanked everyone in AEW for the opportunity he was given.
“My time with #AEW has been a fun and enjoyable but it has come to an end as I will not be re-signed when my contract ends at the end of April,” Evans wrote. “I’d like to thank everyone at AEW and the AEW fans for the opportunity.”
Evans signed with AEW following the launch of the promotion in 2019. He was part of the card for the promotion’s inaugural event, Double or Nothing 2019.
During his time with AEW, Evans was in a tag team with Angelico and was a member of the Hardy/Andrade Family Office factions.
Evans last wrestled for AEW on an episode of Dark that aired last month. He lost to Dante Martin.
Joey Janela and Marko Stunt are also departing AEW when their contracts expire in the coming weeks.
It’s Tuesday and you know what that means: an eleven-match AEW Dark taped in The All Elite Zone at Universal Studios. As usual, Taz and Excalibur were on the call.
Lee Johnson defeated Darian Bengston
Bengston and Johnson were pretty much equal in terms of speed and things were pretty much a tie between both wrestlers. Bengston tried to go for a moonsault but failed to hit his target. Johnson then connected with theFisherman’s Buster for the win. Johnson was able to pick up his first win of 2022 in AEW and his record is now 1-1.
Sonny Kiss defeated Ashton Starr
Sonny started the match with a very impressive hurracarrana and Starr, not wanting to be outclassed, pulled off a great tilt a whirl backbreaker. Sonny Kiss with a Gamengiri was able to pick the win. His record is 2-1 in 2022 following this match.
The Acclaimed defeated B. Jack & Donovan Izzolena
This match was the AEW debut of Jack and Izzolena. Squash match, Max Caster with a Mic Drop to Izzolena and Bowens covered to improve their overall tag team record to 34-8.
Marina Shafir defeated Danielle Kamela
This match was the AEW debut of Kamela. Kamela worked Shafir’s left arm and shoulder for a good portion of the match. Shafir followed it up with a brutal bow and arrow to Kamela’s lower back. Shafir with a modified gogoplata won this match by submission and improved her 2022 record to 3-0, remaining undefeated.
Dante Martin defeated Jack Evans (w/ Jora Johl & Angelico)
This match had a very hot start. Martin tried to go for his usual high-flying stuff, but Evan’s experience helped him anticipate and counter any move from Martin. Evans used some llaveo (grappling) on this match to try to ground Martin, all while Johl and Angelico helped him from ringside. Evans worked most of the match on Martin’s chest with kicks and chops. Evans during the match pulled off a Suicidal Rider kick, a staple from The Great Sasuke. Dante Martin connected with an outside tornillo and the nosedive, and he was able to win this match and improve his overall record to 42-20.
Abadon defeated Sahara Seven
Sahara Seven dropped the biggest scream someone has never done during a match with Abadon, and it was pretty funny. This was basically a squash match. Abadon was able to win this match with a leg hook stomp and Abadon’s record is now 28-3.
Diamante defeated Vipress
Short match, Diamante with Code Red won this match, and her overall record is 35-19.
Kiera Hogan defeated Kelsey Raegan
This was the AEW debut of Kelsey Raegan. Hogan with several dropkicks during the match was able to keep Raegan at bay. A superkick by Hogan was able to end the match and improve her record to 5-1.
Daniel Garcia (w/ 2point0) defeated Josh Woods
Two technical wrestlers going at it. Woods worked Garcia’s left arm, all while using his size to take control of the match. Garica slowly took Woods down and took control of the match with his grappling. Garcia got a near fall with a stacked Saito suplex. Garcia tried to go for a Scorpion Deathlock, but Woods was able to counter into a small package. Garcia with a Gotch-style piledriver was able to win the match and his record is now 18-15.
Shawn Dean defeated Will Austin
Dean before this match talked about the upcoming Who We Are album and his track. Dean tried to go for a suicide dive but Austin connected with a kick and was able to stop Dean. However, Dean came back with a combination of a frog splash and The Deal was able to score the win. His record is now 3-0 in 2022.
Orange Cassidy & Wheeler Yuta defeated Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto (w/ QT Marshall)
Wheeler Yuta made the mistake of trying to overpower Nick Comoroto and paid big time for that mistake. Comoroto took Cassidy’s sunglasses off him with a kick, Cassidy was able to get them back and put them back on. Marshall intervened in favor of Solo and Comoroto during this match and was later sent to the back by referee Bryce Remsburg. This match had all the comedy bits we are used to in Orange Cassidy’s matches. An Orange Punch and a German Suplex from Yuta on Solo was all Cassidy and Yuta needed to win.
Final Thoughts:
Taz and Excalibur were fun to listen to as usual, especially anything regarding Taz and his hatred of Bryce Remsburg. The Wingmen had a fun backstage promo segment talking about fashion and spring. Dante Martin vs. Jack Evans the highlight of the show, but I would also recommend watching Garcia vs. Woods and the main event.
A hair vs. hair match has been announced for AEW Rampage next Friday.
Orange Cassidy will take on Jack Evans in Rochester, New York at the Blue Cross Arena.. In a promo that aired during Rampage, Hardy challenged Cassidy. He ended up volunteering Evans, who was caught off guard.
During Friday’s AEW Rampage eight-man tag team match that included the HFO, Hardy was threatening to cut Ortiz’s ponytail when Cassidy came out on the ramp. He then delivered an Orange Punch to Evans to distract an incensed Hardy.
Cassidy and the rest of the Best Friends have been feuding with the Hardy Family Office for the last couple of months. Cassidy defeated Hardy on the August 25 edition of Dynamite. That was followed by the All Out Buy-In where Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, Jungle Boy, Luchasarus, and Wheeler Yuta defeated HFO members Angelico, Isaiah Kassidy, Marq Quen, Evans, and Hardy. Since then, Hardy has threatened to cut off Cassidy’s hair.
This Tuesday’s edition of AEW Dark will feature the return of both Brian Pillman Jr. and Jack Evans.
Pillman Jr. will team with Griff Garrison to face FTR in the week’s featured bout. The MLW roster member was given clearance to work with AEW where he’s 0-2 with losses to Shawn Spears and Brian Cage.
Jack Evans (flanked by the also returning Angelico) will return to in-ring action for the first time since March 11th when he faces QT Marshall, accompanied by Allie. This will be Evans’ first AEW singles match since losing to AAA Mega Champion Kenny Omega on the November 20th Dark.
Here’s the rest of the seven match lineup:
The Butcher & The Blade vs. Private Party for the first time ever. Butcher and Blade are coming off their falls count anywhere loss to the Young Bucks on the July 16th Dynamite while Private Party lost in a three-way tag match on the same show.
Scorpio Sky will look to extend a six-match winning streak when he faces Will Hobbs.
The Initiative (w/Leva Bates) vs. Sonny Kiss and Joey Janela
The Big News: Christopher Daniels got back on the winning side of things, with SCU defeating Kip Sabian & The Hybrid 2 in the main event.
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After spending the weekend watching shows that started at midnight, 2 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., it’s almost weird to watch a show that starts at a normal time.
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The episode started abruptly with a recap of the Jon Moxley-Chris Jericho angle from last week’s Dynamite.
We got a brand new opening video package for Dark after, showing highlights of the first dozen episodes and featuring the wrestlers and acts you are most likely to see on Dark.
Chuck Taylor joined Excalibur at the broadcast table this week.
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The show only went 32 minutes and they only aired two matches. For some reason they did not air the Billy & Austin Gunn vs. Shawn Spears & Preston Vance match. Not sure why it didn’t air, but due to that the show was much shorter than usual.
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Awesome Kong (w/ Brandi Rhodes & Mel) destroyed Skyler Moore
Two matches this week and one of them featured the debuting Skyler Moore and the former TNA Knockouts Champion Awesome Kong. In case you aren’t sure, Mel is the fan who begged to have her head shaved on Dynamite a month ago.
The bell rang and it may as well have rang again immediately. Moore was overwhelmed from the beginning and never stood a chance. Kong hit a spinning back fist while Moore was on the top rope and then locked on a Torture Rack, which she turned into a slam.
Moore attempted to counter the Awesome Bomb, so Kong sat down on her. Kong mercifully got the pin with an Implant Buster.
It went three minutes, purely due to Kong and Brandi toying with Moore. Brandi ordered Mel into the ring and she dropped a leg on Moore.
No haircut this time.
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Alex Marvez interviewed Christopher Daniels ahead of SCU’s six-man tag. Marvez said this is the first time we’ve seen Daniels since his botch from a few weeks ago. His words, not mine. Daniels said Kip Sabian and TH2 are going to find out tonight that he still has plenty in his tank.
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Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzalez ran down all the cities AEW will be at soon.
Excalibur accidentally called the heels “electri-flying,” which I think makes a better description of them than anything else. Anyway, it was main event time. SCU are 3-0 as a trios team in AEW, while TH2 and Sabian are 0-2 going into this bout.
Kazarian got the best of Sabian early. That did not please TH2, so they ran in and briefly overwhelmed their foes, but SCU soon backdropped those two out of the ring and then took turns laying a beating on Sabian.
Daniels tagged in and ran wild on Angelico until he set up for the Arabian moonsault. Remembering how he messed it up against Pentagon, Daniels paused and wasn’t sure what to do. Finally he decided to not go for it, but by that time Angelico had recovered enough to stage a comeback.
Ford got involved behind the referee’s back and gave Daniels a tornado DDT off the apron. Evans hit a really nice Sky Twister Press while standing on the mat, which is not something everyone can do. Some of us can’t do a leap frog, just ask my brother.
Kazarian got the hot tag and ran wild on all three heels by himself. He went for an Unprettier on Evans, but Angelico distracted him long enough to break it up. Evans went for a Phoenix Splash and Kazarian got his knees up. Unfortunately, Evans landed face-first on Kazarian’s knees.
The match broke down into a six-way at this point. Everyone hit a big move and Kazarian pinned Evans with the S-C-U-Later.
So, that will do it for this week. Hope everyone had a great holiday and New Year and I’ll talk to you again next week!
Dr. Britt Baker and Kris Statlander retained their top two contender spots going into their match on Dynamite tomorrow night.
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The show started with a recap video from the AEW press conference back in February, which segued into a video of The Young Bucks stating they want to prove they are the best tag team in the business. However, because they’ve lost multiple big matches, they feel disappointed because it proves they haven’t been. They’ve spent months building themselves up and have now earned a title shot tomorrow night after winning last week’s Texas Street Fight.
Nick Jackson called SCU some of their best friends in the world. Matt Jackson said despite that they will show through their actions that they are the best. They just hope that it’s not awkward when they have Christmas dinner next week.
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Joining Excalibur at the booth this week is Vickie Guerrero, who got super heat, but also a nice pop when she came out and bellowed “EXCUSE ME!” Vickie is a very nice person, but I thought she was almost completely useless on this show.
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AEW Tag Team Champions SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) defeated Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) in a non-title match
Private Party have fallen off the tag team rankings after getting a title shot back at Full Gear. Vickie is really into them, as they have cougar stripes on their gear.
Kazarian and Kassidy traded near falls early on until slapping hands and tagging out. Kazarian later on hit a springboard leg drop on Quen and he nearly landed butt-first on Quen’s head. Speaking of Quen’s head, he then took a German suplex right on it. Excalibur said it was due to Kazarian not expecting Quen to be so light.
Kassidy got the hot tag and ran wild, including hitting a beautiful double team where he picked Sky up and Quen came off the middle rope with a bulldog for a two count. They went to the well with the double teams too many times. They sent Sly into Kazarian in the corner, but Sky gave his partner a monkey flip and Kazarian landed on his feet and took his foes out with a double clothesline.
Quen barely kicked out of a double team foot stomp/Unprettier. Finally, Quen missed a Shooting Star Press and SCU broke up the Silly String before Sky pinned Quen after the S-C-U-later.
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We got recaps of Big Swole’s win and Brandi Rhodes’ interview from last Wednesday. It was also announced that Britt Baker will face Kris Statlander in a number one contender’s match tomorrow night.
Updated Women’s Rankings:
5.) Emi Sakura
4.) Nyla Rose
3.) Hikaru Shida
2.) Kris Statlander
1.) Dr. Britt Baker
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Dr. Britt Baker submitted Machiko
Joey Janela joined Excalibur and Vickie. Machiko is from Dallas and has been wrestling for eight years. They announced her from Tulsa, so the crowd in Garland didn’t know she was a hometown/area girl.
Machiko got a little bit of offense, but it was The Doctor from the opening bell. Baker hit a superkick and slapped on the Lock Jaw for the win.
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Kris Statlander defeated Bea Priestley
The top two AEW women’s division contenders were both in action tonight. First Baker won and now Statlander is defending her number two ranking. If Statlander loses, she will lose her number one contender’s match tomorrow night.
Statlander looked good until they ended up outside the ring, where Priestley dropped her with a back suplex on the ring apron, which is the hardest part of the ring. Vickie said Priestley was “good at concussions” and this led to a joke about Janela having quite a few concussions and not to alert Nowinski.
Priestley tried to put Statlander in the “head stuck in the turnbuckles” spot, which always looks stupid, and Statlander apparently agreed as she just did a headstand on the buckle and then kicked Priestley in the face.
Statlander got out the proverbial hammer and nails as she was building momentum, but The Nightmare Collective walked to their front row seats and held up signs, encouraging Statlander to join them. Coincidence or not, Priestley took over here, so she must have ripped the nails out.
Statlander kicked out of a capture suplex, nearly got the win with an Oklahoma roll and a scissors kick, but did win with The Big Bang Theory.
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We got a post-match promo with Statlander. She informed us puny humans that she is going to be our leader. She has to beat Baker tomorrow and says the gravitational pull we feel is the AEW Women’s title coming home to her.
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PAC & The Hybrid 2 (Jack Evans & Angelico) defeated Orange Cassidy & Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor)
Main event time. After I complained last time about there being a 20-minute non-wrestling segment in the show, they drastically cut down this week to almost nothing. In case anyone from AEW actually reads this, I should say I enjoyed those post match promos you guys did one week.
Janela made a Jim Cornette reference by talking about “outlaw mudshows.” Someone let him know Cornette only watches Dynamite. Anyway, Cassidy was super over, as expected, and the heels got the heat when PAC put a knee square in the lower back of Chucky T.
PAC also showed what a bastard he was by not allowing Best Friends to hug when Trent made a brief comeback. This led to PAC putting the boots to his fellow former WWE’er.
This might as well have been a handicap match, as PAC did a much better job by himself than either of The Hybrid 2. Both Evans and Angelico lost the team’s momentum as soon as they tagged in.
Trent hit the half-and-half suplex and managed to make the hot tag to Cassidy. The fans nearly wet themselves. Babies were thrown in the air as Cassidy tagged in. Cassidy put his hands in his pockets to run spots with Evans and then threw a series of vicious leg kicks to PAC. That is an excellent strategy, since Pac relies on his Black Arrow to win matches and can he do it with bad legs?
In all seriousness, Cassidy used a tornado DDT on PAC and then a tope on all three heels. We got a three-way hug by the babyfaces and a top rope splash from Cassidy to Angelico for a two count. Cassidy left a legend as he tagged out. Taylor immediately got cut off and almost pinned after a 450 splash.
PAC booted Cassidy off the apron and the distraction nearly led to Taylor pinning him with a schoolboy, but PAC locked on The Brutalizer for the tap out.
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The show ended with Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzalez plugging AEWShop.com and AEW Revolution on February 29.
Final Thoughts —
The show went 65 minutes, but flowed quickly and better than last week. While the main event won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, it was a fun match that the crowd really got into.
Kenny Omega retained the AAA Mega title in the main event of a show with one production issue after another.
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This week’s episode of Dark kicked off with Tony Schiavone in the arena, as opposed to the Control Center. Dasha Gonzales was not with him this week.
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Trent (w/ Orange Cassidy) defeated Pentagon Jr
Shawn Spears was the special guest color commentator this week. He did a much better job than Dustin Rhodes did last week.
Pentagon was looking to last longer than the epic 10 seconds he lasted in the Dynamite Dozen battle royal last week. It helped that it wasn’t Christopher Daniels wearing a Trent mask.
Trent did not allow Pentagon to say “Cero Miedo,” which not only gave him the heads-up in this battle, but also got him on the bad side of the fans, who really wanted to sing along. Pentagon lit up the arena and the chest of Trent with a series of kicks. Trent hit a lariat at one point and followed up later with a tope con hilo. Trent blocked a package piledriver and hit a really nice tornado DDT for a two count.
We had technical difficulties throughout this match. On three different occasions, Excalibur called several mid-match replays and we would hear the prior bump, but they never showed the replay on the screen as this was happening. Tuesdays are meant for things that should have been caught in post-production I guess.
Trent got a believable near fall with a small package, but couldn’t capitalize on the Sexy Chucky Knee. They ended up on the ring apron, which is the hardest part of the ring, and Pentagon laid out Trent with a package piledriver. Trent blocked a package piledriver in the ring and pulled off the surprising win with a Crunchie.
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We got a video package for Shanna, who was born in Lisbon, Portugal and has since moved to France. She has wrestled for 13 years and was the first-ever Portuguese professional wrestler to win a title in Japan. She was on the verge of retirement when WWE kept rejecting her over and over again and someone in TNA told her she looked fat compared to the other women, which were the moments she was her most down.
Shanna was going to retire in October, but that ended up being the start of the next phase in her career. She nearly broke down in tears as she explained the phone call from Kenny Omega saying she was signed. She said nothing will ever bring her down now.
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Alex Marvez interviewed Big Swole about her match with Shanna. Swole mocked Shanna’s story, saying that she bled and sweat to be here. She told Shanna she wasn’t ready for all this.
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Shanna defeated Big Swole
Excalibur and Spears said this should be more competitive than the Awesome Kong-Leva Bates match we just saw. The problem with that, of course, would be that regardless of when it was taped, this aired before that match. This is becoming the Worst of WCW Production Episode of Dark.
There is not a whole lot to say about this match. Most of the match was solid, but there were some rough spots, especially at the start, that seemed to have the crowd ready to turn on it. Swole hit a nice boot to the face that Spears had to put over. She used the hanging guillotine in the ropes until breaking after a four count.
Shanna hit a kick to the throat, which, to quote Spears, could affect the way you breathe. She hit a reverse double foot stomp off the top rope, which looked more horribly contrived than everyone who ever attempted the normal version. Shanna finally won with a dragon suplex, even though Swole’s shoulders weren’t completely down.
This match did nothing for Shanna. As excited for her as I was during the video package, I lost that excitement during the match.
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We were magically whisked away to the AEW Control Center, which revolved around building the Chris Jericho vs. Scorpio Sky AEW World Championship match for this week’s Dynamite.
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Alex Marvez did a By The Numbers segment promoting Dynamite.
88: The days since All Out when Kenny Omega lost to PAC.
0: The number of losses Chris Jericho had until he was pinned by Scorpio Sky.
8: The number of stitches Cody received after Full Gear.
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Awesome Kong (w/ Brandi Rhodes) defeated Leva Bates (w/ Peter Avalon)
While Avalon did his typical anti-home sports team promo, I thought about that time WWE taped SmackDown the night before Raw and talked about how Brock Lesnar beat up Mark Henry on Raw and then Mark Henry not fleeing during Raw the next night when Brock came out.
Leva was reading Justin Roberts’ autobiography. Kong didn’t care and hit a spinning back fist and a Soul Collector (Implant Buster) for the win. Avalon thought about interfering, but quickly thought better of it.
Avalon DID try to stop Kong from cutting Bates’ hair, but he got his head knocked off and Bates lost some hair.
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AAA Mega Champion Kenny Omega defeated Jack Evans to retain his title
Aubrey Edwards as referee got a bigger reaction than Evans, though Evans did get a pop after break dancing instead of bumping for a move. Evans did start selling for Omega, and he used his size advantage to throw Evans here and there all over the ring. Omega hit an over-the-shoulder backbreaker and a back drop where Evans almost didn’t rotate and, instead, nearly landed on his face.
Evans essentially used a Coffin Drop, but Omega caught him and dropped him with a backbreaker. Evans did the You Don’t Power Bomb Kidman and hit a rolling koppu kick before taking to the air and hitting an Asai moonsault. Once again, Excalibur called the replay that was never seen. Omega began his comeback and Evans spat in his face. Omega, irate about such a thing, booted him into the corner, which was sold like grim death. Omega did a pair of snap dragon suplexes in the ring and one on the outside.
Omega hit the ushigoroshi for a two count and hit a Buckle Bomb where Evans managed to bump out of the ring and fall in over the bottom rope. Omega got the knees up on a 450 splash and hit a knee strike and a Tiger Driver 98, but Evans kicked out. Omega finally hit the V-Trigger and a One Winged Angel for the pin.
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Final Thoughts —
The show went 75 minutes this week, which is at least 15 too much. They should have saved Shanna’s match for another night.
Anyway, thank you for reading, have a happy American Thanksgiving and, while you’re at it, check out my new podcast The History of Wrestling in 60 Seconds, which debuts on YouTube Wednesday night!
Kenny Omega’s first AAA Mega Championship defense headlines tonight’s episode of AEW Dark:
After winning the title from Fenix at AAA Heroes Inmortales last month, Omega puts the title on the line against Jack Evans. The match was taped at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum last Wednesday.
This is Omega’s first match since losing to Jon Moxley in the main event of Full Gear. After he defeated Joey Janela on episode two of the show, this is the second match Omega has had on AEW Dark. The Moxley and Janela matches were both unsanctioned.
Three other matches were also taped for tonight’s AEW Dark. Big Swole faces Shanna, Awesome Kong takes on Leva Bates, and Pentagon Jr. faces off with Trent Barreta.
Shawn Spears will be the guest commentator for tonight’s show.
Tomorrow’s live episode of Dynamite and AEW Dark tapings are taking place at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Last night’s AEW Dark tapings were headlined by Kenny Omega’s first AAA Mega Championship defense.
Four matches were taped at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum surrounding last night’s Dynamite. Shawn Spears was the guest commentator for the show.
– Trent Barreta defeated Pentagon Jr.
This matched was taped before Dynamite, with the other three matches being taped after.
– Awesome Kong defeated Leva Bates
Awesome Kong won quickly.
– Shanna defeated Big Swole
This was Shanna’s third match for AEW and her first win. She’s signed with the promotion and made her debut against Hikaru Shida on the October 30 episode of Dynamite.
– AAA Mega Champion Kenny Omega defeated Jack Evans to retain his title
Omega won the title by defeating Fenix at AAA Heroes Inmortales last month.
These matches will air on YouTube at 7 p.m. Eastern time next Tuesday (November 26). Next Wednesday’s Dynamite is taking place at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on the night before Thanksgiving.
Kenny Omega’s first defense of the AAA Mega Championship will take place on AEW Dark.
AEW has announced that Omega will defend the AAA Mega title against Jack Evans on the episode of Dark that’s being taped in Indianapolis, Indiana tomorrow. It will air on YouTube at 7 p.m. Eastern time next Tuesday (November 26).
This will be the second time Omega has wrestled on AEW Dark. He defeated Joey Janela in an unsanctioned lights out match in the second week of the show.
Omega became the Mega Champion by defeating Fenix at AAA Heroes Inmortales last month. That match was set up by a challenge issued by Omega after Pentagon Jr., Fenix & Laredo Kid faced Omega & The Young Bucks at Triplemania XXVII.
Omega defending the Mega title against Dragon Lee is scheduled for AAA Triplemania Regia in Monterrey, Mexico on December 1.
Tomorrow’s live episode of Dynamite and AEW Dark tapings are taking place at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Dynamite will feature Nick Jackson vs. Fenix, Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin, Santana & Ortiz vs. Private Party, a Dynamite Dozen battle royal, and an announcement by AEW World Champion Chris Jericho.
Kip Sabian & The Hybrid2 may want to find new trios partners, as they fell to 0-2 as a three-man team after a loss to SCU & CIMA in the main event.
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Welcome to a special Friday edition of AEW Dark, a show so sudden and surprising that AEW’s own Twitter page had nothing about it five minutes before the show. Their first tweet about it was literally just as the show began.
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Justin Roberts introduced Arn Anderson as a special member of the announce team tonight, joining Excalibur and Goldenboy. Unfortunately, Arn only announced the first match.
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Hikaru Shida defeated Big Swole
Goldenboy broke out the “Rolodex of words” when talking about Arn Anderson’s “prowess” in the ring. Anyway, Swole tried using her size to bully Shida early, but Shida got the early advantage. It was highlighted by her jumping off of a chair outside the ring and landing a knee strike to Swole’s chin.
Swole missed a series of strikes and leg sweeps and hit a headbutt, followed by a flatliner for a two count.
Shida missed one knee strike, but hit on a second attempt after ducking a Rainmaker. Swole kicked out of that, but she didn’t kick out of the second running knee, as Shida picked up the win.
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Starting this week we are getting quick 30-second post-match backstage promos with the winners.
Shida cut a promo and said she came here to show Japanese style and is really happy to be able to do so. She was asked about the Riho-Emi Sakura Women’s Championship match at Full Gear tomorrow night and she picked Sakura to win after stating that it was a hard choice.
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Nyla Rose & Leva Bates defeated Shazza McKenzie & Shalandra Royal in what was essentially a two-on-one handicap match
Whatever you think of the man, it was a huge step down when Arn Anderson was replaced by Chuck Taylor. Bates was really happy to have Rose as a partner and we didn’t have Peter Avalon in their corner. Excalibur said Rose wanted this to be a two-on-one handicap match. AEW management wouldn’t allow it, so she was assigned a partner.
McKenzie threw a leg kick that Rose no sold and then got run over. Royal tried and fared no better, as she ran into Rose’s foot. Bate reached for a tag, but Rose ignored her.
The babyfaces teamed up for a double suplex, but it didn’t work. Bates went for a blind tag, but Rose glared her down, so Bates channeled The Nutty Professor and chanted “Hercules.” It did lead to 10 seconds of babyface offense, but they got cut off again.
Taylor asked if you could be disqualified for not leaving the ring on a 10 count if you’re getting your butt kicked. Actually on WWF Raw for the Sega Genesis, back in 1994, you could be counted out if you were being beaten up outside the ring, even if there was nothing you could do. It did lead to many arguments at the Witner house over “not allowing the other one to get back in the ring.”
Back to the match, this was an extended squash. Rose even threw Royal into Bates when Bates tried again for a tag. Rose laid Royal and McKenzie out with a double Death Valley Driver, stacked them up on top of each other, and pinned them both after a Swanton Bomb. Bates had given up by this point and was reading her book.
So, Bates gets her first win in a match she did nothing in.
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Alex Marvez asked Rose why she didn’t tag out. Rose told him she didn’t have to. She eliminated 10 people in the Casino Battle Royale and gets no respect from the company because none of that was included in her record. Why didn’t she tag out? “Because I’m Nyla Rose, the Native Beast,” Rose said.
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We were magically whisked away to the AEW Control Center, where Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzalez previewed Full Gear. Gonzalez was magically wearing the clothes she wore for last week’s Dark, which seems to indicate this is last week’s Control Center, just with a quick voiceover including the Tag Team title match.
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We got a video package for the Chris Jericho-Cody AEW World Championship match at Full Gear.
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We didn’t get a new edition of From Undesirable to Undeniable, which made me sad.
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AEW Tag Team Champions SoCal Uncensored (Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian) & CIMA defeated TH2 (Angelico & Jack Evans) & Kip Sabian
AEW has a reputation of having a bunch of new young wrestlers, but the person with the least experience in this main event was Sabian, who just passed nine years in the ring.
Speaking of Sabian, him thumbing Sky in the eye (followed by an Evans pump kick) is how the heels got the heat. CIMA got the hot tag and ran wild on all three, hitting dropkicks on everyone. He countered a springboard move with a dropkick as well. CIMA slammed all three of his opponents on top of each other and hit a springboard knee to Evans, who was on top.
This match did a better job than most in enforcing the rules of tag team wrestling. There were a couple blips on the radar, but nothing as blatantly awful as usual. SCU hit the S-C-U-later on Sabian and CIMA finished him off with the meteora. They briefly turned up the lights in the building, which was definitely a weird look.
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The show abruptly went off the air after a commercial for Full Gear tomorrow night.
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Final Thoughts —
This definitely had the vibe of a last-minute show. With that said, it was still better than both the Pittsburgh and Charleston episodes. Enjoy Full Gear tomorrow night!
