– Kenny Omega picked up the win over Joey Janela in the unsanctioned lights out main event.
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– The episode started with a pre-show interview where Kenny Omega approached The Young Bucks about why he doesn’t have a match on Dynamite. Matt Jackson recommended an enhancement match, so Omega demanded a lights out match with Joey Janela instead. Matt told him to take care of himself.
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Kip Sabian defeated Sonny Kiss and Peter Avalon (w/ Leva Bates) in a triple threat match
This was the only pre-show bout, while the other two took place after Dynamite ended. Avalon came out and got cheap heat by dissing the Red Sox and Bruins for their recent losses. The crowd loved Sonny Kiss. Sabian looked at Kiss as if he’s never seen anyone like him before.
This was a fun, athletic three-way that did a great job of getting the fans going for the rest of the show. Avalon, who had been flung out of the ring earlier, finally got in and hit a back kick to Kiss and a dropkick to Sabian. Avalon laid in the chops to the pectoral region of Kiss. Sabian hurt his finger as he hit Avalon with a cannonball senton splash.
Kiss hit a double STO and got a near fall on Avalon. Avalon got a near fall on Kiss when Bates hit him with a book, but Sabian pinned Avalon after Deathly Hollows.
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The Hybrid Two (Jack Evans & Angelico) & The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) defeated CIMA & SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky)
Evans grabbed an SCU sign out of the crowd, brought it into the ring, and then flung it into the crowd. Not seen was that a fan grabbed it out of the air with one hand, which, if you watch, is why the fans cheered a few seconds after he did it.
It was hard getting the crowd into it, as this was hour three of the show. Daniels worked well with Grayson and it quickly broke down into an eight-way, but like in all good matches, the eight-way free for all broke down into a tag team match.
The heels got the heat on Daniels. Daniels laid out Evans with a sit-out powerbomb and made the hot tag to Kazarian. He ran wild on the heels, which included jumping over the top rope with a hurricanrana to Grayson, who gave a spear to Evil Uno. Sky hit a pair of dives onto the foes.
Everyone hit everyone with a big move, including Daniels hitting Evil Uno with Angel’s Wings. The finish saw Uno distract the referee, with The Hybrid Two hitting a double low kick to Sky and Evans pinning him with a backslide.
This is SCU’s first loss.
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– We had a segment where Cody Rhodes interviewed referee Aubrey Edwards.
Edwards said she’s only been doing this for two years. She first thought this could be her career when she did the Mae Young Classic. WWE eventually told her she wasn’t needed, which made her feel undesirable. She realized what she could be doing different and the sky is the limit. She said if she had to stop refereeing tomorrow, she’d have left a happy person.
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– Next up was highlights of the Private Party-Young Bucks Tag Team title tournament match and then the post-main event angle from Dynamite.
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Kenny Omega defeated Joey Janela in an unsanctioned lights out match
Even though Omega won this bout, it does not go towards his win/loss record since it’s an unsanctioned match, so he technically still has only one singles win in AEW.
To the shock of the fans — despite the unsanctioned stipulation — this match was an epic catch-as-catch-can bout as both men pulled out technical skills unseen on American television since the ECW Guerrero-Malenko classics in 1995.
Of course, I am completely full of it.
Janela quickly threw a chair at Omega’s face ala Sabu and filled the ring with chairs. Omega did a dive out of the ring and smashed his legs on the guardrail. Both the referee and the doctor at ringside checked on him. With a ladder already pulled out as well, Omega pulled out a table and hit Janela with a missile dropkick to the back. Omega hit a dragon suplex on the ring apron, which is the hardest part of the ring. He teased a One Winged Angel off the ring steps, but Janela fell behind and hit a snap German suplex off the steps.
Janela propped a table upside down between the steps and the ring and a ladder propped up in the corner of the ring. Omega got thrown multiple times into the ladder, including taking a German suplex into it.
Janela countered a V-Trigger with a clothesline. Janela hit a superplex that did not look very pretty. Omega blocked a side Russian leg sweep off the apron, which caused Janela to fall flat on the ground, which would have happened even if he hit it.
Jim Ross randomly mentioned that after production moves in, usually tickets become available even for a sold out show, which, true story, is how I bought my ticket for this Dynamite episode.
Janela set Omega up on a table and he climbed to the top of the ladder. Unfortunately, he went for everything and got nothing, as Omega moved out of the way and Janela went crashing through a table with a frog splash. Omega hit a Lo-Down for a two count.
Omega finally hit a V-Trigger, turned Janela ass over teakettle with a clothesline, and used the Death Rider for a two count. The crowd didn’t pick up on Omega using Jon Moxley’s move, but JR and Excalibur did. Janela side stepped an Omega charge and sent the Best Bout Machine crashing through the table set up outside earlier.
Janela set up four chairs back-to-back in the ring and that was his bitter end, as Omega slammed him off the top rope on top of those chairs, then nailed the V-Trigger and a One Winged Angel on a chair for the win.
So, Omega is back to his winning ways and that will do it for this week. As for the YouTube audience, it grew throughout the show, starting at 11,227 viewers and reached a peak of 31,572 for the climax of the main event.
Thank you all for reading and I’ll see you again next week!
An unsanctioned lights out match will headline tonight’s episode of AEW Dark. The show debuts on AEW’s YouTube channel at 7 p.m. Eastern time:
Kenny Omega and Joey Janela will face off in the lights out match, which was taped after last week’s episode of Dynamite in Boston.
Two other matches for AEW Dark also went down in Boston. SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) & CIMA took on The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) & The Hybrid Two (Jack Evans & Angelico ) in an eight-man tag match, and Peter Avalon, Sonny Kiss, and Kip Sabian faced off in a triple threat match.
There will be an “Undesirable to Undeniable” segment with Cody Rhodes and referee Aubrey Edwards on tonight’s AEW Dark.
The Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is hosting Dynamite this Wednesday. AEW has announced that Taz will be a guest broadcaster for AEW Dark.
PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles traditionally is the highest quality weekend-long singles tournament of the year in pro wrestling, but the first night ended up being stolen by tag teams.
With fans from all over the world present, Thursday featured a lot of newcomers in an era where the type of talent that in another generation would be PWG fixtures now have contracts as WWE continues to stockpile talent.
BOLA Round 1: A-Kid defeated Lucky Kid
A-Kid from Spain beat Lucky Kid from Germany with an armbar in a hard hitting bout which saw Lucky Kid suffer some small cuts. Both guys had welts on their chests due to hard slaps that, at times, sounded like a shotgun going off.
BOLA Round 1: Brody King pinned Caveman Ugg
King defeated the Australian after a ganso bomb in a battle between two agile big guys. King has gotten much bigger since the last time I saw him live and looks to be close to 300 pounds. But, he still did a lot of acrobatic stuff.
BOLA Round 1: Dragon Lee pinned Rey Horus after a running knee. This was very good as expected.
Joey Janela & Alex Zayne beat Blake Christian & Tony Deppan
Zayne pinned Deppan after a somersault to end an insane match that tore the house down. Fans threw money in the ring when it was over, which happens often after a great Lucha match but this was the first time I’ve seen it for non-Lucha wrestlers. Zayne, in particular, showed a world of potential and has a good look, good physique, and great athletics. Fans were chanting “GCW” since they all came from there. You’ll be hearing a lot in the next year from Zayne, Christian and Deppan. All four of these guys have insane creativity.
BOLA Round 1: Darby Allin pinned Black Taurus
This was an excellent match. The finish, a leg cradle, came out of nowhere. To show how much of an impression Taurus made, Allin is very popular and worked like crazy, but the fans booed his win because they wanted Taurus to continue. Taurus came across like a great worker and a real star.
BOLA Round 1: Jonathan Gresham defeated Artemis Spencer
Gresham won after a lateral guillotine combined with ground and pound. Spencer did good moves, but the match never fully captured the crowd. Gresham is a great mat wrestler while Spencer is a guy who does a lot of big moves, so the styles didn’t mesh.
BOLA Round 1: Jeff Cobb pinned Daisuke Sekimoto
Cobb won after hitting Tour of the Islands in an excellent match. This was a very hard hitting battle between two powerhouses. Sekimoto’s selling is strong.
Pentagon Jr. & Fenix defeated Flamita & Bandido
The finish saw Flamita kick out of the package piledriver after a double foot stomp off the top rope by Fenix. So, Pentagon & Fenix did the combo move again on the apron, and Pentagon pinned Flamita while Fenix used a rope with the Mexican flag on Bandido.
The spot of the match saw Fenix standing upright while standing on Pentagon’s shoulders and Bandido was standing on Flamita’s shoulders. From that position, Fenix used a Spanish fly on Bandido.
The match featured incredible spots galore. At times, it felt unfocused at certain points but was still a highly spectacular match. Fenix is amazing and Bandido has the charisma.
The report states Cass appeared on a Northeast Wrestling event in Waterbury, Connecticut on Friday without incident. Also booked on the Northeast Wrestling show were Joey Janela and Morrissey’s WWE tag team partner, Enzo Amore (Eric Arndt).
Amore and Janela were recently involved in a separate altercation at a concert, but there were reportedly no problems between any of the three on Friday.
Cass and Janela were also booked on the WrestlePro show on Saturday in Rahway, New Jersey, which served as a farewell event for the show’s promoter, Pat Buck, who is joining WWE as a producer.
According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Cass showed up at WrestlePro in a “belligerent” state. He threatened (and may have also slapped) Janela. Cass also claimed that a sweater had been stolen from him and threatened people in the locker room if he didn’t find it.
Cass ended up getting in a confrontation with Buck, at which point Buck knocked him down with a punch. Alvarez noted that everyone was sympathetic to Buck. Alvarez said he didn’t hear anyone defending what Cass did.
After being taken out of the building, Cass then spoke to police outside. Police were reportedly concerned by things Cass said and his loud demeanor, and Cass was transported to a local hospital.
Current subscribers can listen to the full edition of Wrestling Observer Radio here.
Darby Allin, Joey Janela, and Jimmy Havoc’s triple threat match at All Out is now known as the “Cracker Barrel Clash.”
AEW issued a press release today announcing Cracker Barrel as the presenting match sponsor for Allin vs. Janela vs. Havoc. The partnership between AEW and Cracker Barrel also includes “cross-promotional activities with AEW talent, customized co-branded graphics, in-venue signage, and social media activation.”
A Cracker Barrel themed-barrel was also in the ring during the introductions for Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega at Double or Nothing, and the barrel was used as a prop in Janela vs. Hangman Page at All In last year.
Allin, Janela & Havoc teamed together at Fight for the Fallen last month and lost to Shawn Spears, MJF & Sammy Guevara. The triple threat match for All Out was announced following an angle where Allin, Janela, and Havoc argued and brawled after their loss.
The Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois is hosting All Out this Saturday. Here’s the card for the pay-per-view:
Chris Jericho vs. Hangman Page for the AEW World Championship
Kenny Omega vs. PAC
AAA Tag Team Champions The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) defending against The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) in a ladder match
Cody Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears
Hikaru Shida vs. Riho
Darby Allin vs. Joey Janela vs. Jimmy Havoc
Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) vs. The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) (winning team gets a first-round bye in AEW’s Tag Team title tournament)
Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy & Marko Stunt vs. SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky)
Women’s Casino Battle Royale (pre-show)
Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. Angelico & Jack Evans (pre-show)
We’re looking for reports from these shows. Reports can be sent to [email protected]:
WWE Raw Saturday night in Oklahoma City
WWE Smackdown Saturday night in Nashville (entire show, not just the Smackville portion)
NXT from Sunday in Concord, NC.
We’re also taking poll results from both New Japan shows this weekend in Nagoya as well as UFC 240 last night, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match from all three shows to [email protected]
Raw is Monday night in Little Rock with Brock Lesnar appearing, plus Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler, a gauntlet match for the U.S. title with Ricochet, Rey Mysterio, Cesaro, Sami
Zayn and Andrade, The Revival vs. Usos vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson for the tag titles, R-Truth & Carmella vs. Drake Maverick & Renee Michelle in a mosh pit match and a Samoa Joe/Roman Reigns confrontation.
NEW JAPAN G-1 CLIMAX TOURNAMENT TUESDAY MORNING AT 6 A.M. EASTERN FROM TAKAMATSU ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Toru Yano & Ren Narita vs. Jon Moxley & Shota Umino
Minoru Suzuki & Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Jay White & Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
Juice Robinson & Jeff Cobb & Toa Henare vs. Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi & Bushi
Kota Ibushi vs. Bad Luck Fale
Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer
KENTA vs. Sanada
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Evil
Smackdown and 205 Live are Tuesday in Memphis. Trish Stratus will be there for the angle to set up her SummerSlam match with Charlotte Flair, plus Dolph Ziggler vs. Finn Balor (maybe as Balor is ill right now), Xavier Woods & Big E vs. Elias & Drew McIntyre, and Billie Kay & Peyton Royce in a non-title match with Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville
Joseph Currier looks at two Network specials and what they could mean for the future of the service.
EVOLVE’s 10th Anniversary Celebration streamed on the Network opposite AEW Fight for the Fallen on July 13. Another in-ring special has also been added to the Network schedule for this month, with “Smackville” set to air this Saturday (July 27).
Smackville is similar to past specials like The Shield’s Final Chapter and WWE Starrcade. The WWE Network broadcast of Smackville will be an hour long. Kofi Kingston will defend the WWE Championship against Samoa Joe and Dolph Ziggler in a triple threat match, Finn Balor will face Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura in a rematch from Extreme Rules, and there will be a musical performance segment with Elias.
The Smackville name is playing off the show taking place in Nashville, Tennessee and the city’s Bridgestone Arena, which is the home of the Nashville Predators. The event was just a house show prior to the special being announced, and it will still feature some untelevised matches.
Televised house shows have been something WWE has surveyed subscribers about for a long time. Smackville feels very much like a by-the-numbers house show card. After already having defeated them in his most recent pay-per-view title defenses, Kingston is facing Joe and Ziggler again. Balor has already moved on to a storyline with Bray Wyatt and is set to take some time off from WWE after SummerSlam, so it seems unlikely that he’ll be regaining the Intercontinental title. The Smackville theme should play into the Elias segment, but it’s unlikely that it will have much meaning to the larger audience.
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has details on the first episode of AEW on TNT, the possible name of the show, why the host city was chosen, and potential TV competition in the first few weeks of airing.
We detail the latest G1 Climax 29 shows, and how it compares to last year’s tournament.
We have coverage of Jon Jones and his latest potential legal trouble.
We cover Summerslam, how the card is shaping up, and the possible return of a WWE Hall of Famer on the show.
We look back at Saturday’s UFC show, and the business notes on the show.
We have details on Dragon Gate’s biggest show of the year, and have business notes on that as well.
We also have coverage of a wrestling star being part of Hollywood box office history.
There’s also a run down the ratings of all the major TV shows, along with detailed demo info for the WWE shows and results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio, covering Raw, G-1 from yesterday and the rest of the latest news. You can also send questions to the show to [email protected]
We’ll see if this is for the better or the worst, but tonight’s Raw is the heaviest Paul Heyman influenced show to date. I had that feeling when I heard about the gauntlet match since he’s trying to make new stars and the gauntlet is really what created Kofi Kingston as a singles main eventer and another gauntlet helped Seth Rollins greatly. But it’s pretty much confirmed the idea that they will attempt to make one or more stars in that match.
Saturday is a big day again this coming week with G-1 shows in Osaka, TripleMania on Twitch and UFC on ESPN for an afternoon show.
Bryan and I will be doing a Q&A in Chicago on 8/31 at 11 a.m. with a 10 a.m. meet and greet. We have about 20 tickets left. This will be our only show of that weekend. It will be fun. For ticket info you can go to www.f4wonline.com/chicago
The band Blink 182 has a cameo in this short video done in Jacksonville at the last show. It’s a spoof on the Joey Janela vs. Enzo fight but with Jimmy Havoc, who faces Janela on the next show. Tony Khan put the video together on the fly. He was a Blink fan in high school and asked the band if they would do it for him. Video is at
WWE
Pat McAfee will be part of ESPN’s Thursday night College Football broadcast squad. McAfee does some WWE pregame shows as well.
Hobbs & Shaw, the new movie starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham will debut at the theaters on Friday night. Roman Reigns has a role in the movie playing Johnson’s brother.
Chad Gable has been added to the NEW show on Friday in Monroeville, PA. Gable won’t be wrestling but will be signing per agreement with WWE as part of a fund raiser for the Bruno and Carol Sammartino Foundation. Others announced for the show are Corey Graves, Mick Foley, Jerry Lawler, Darby Allin, Billy Gunn, Brian Pillman Jr., and Sam Adonis.
A number of people have noted that ICW from Scotland appears on the WWE Network when you search for it, as well as a weekly show “Fight Club” as a series. Both are locked at the moment. It appears this is getting ready for the new content that will appear on a more expensive tier when they start the three-tiered network. (thanks to Iain Oliver and many others.
MISCELLANEOUS
Impact runs Friday in Santa Ana,CA at the Esports Arena with Tessa Blanchard vs. Sami Callihan with the winner facing Brian Cage for the title. Saturday they will run a Twitch show from Los Angeles at Florentine Gardens working with Championship Wrestling from Hollywood. Saturday they will tape television with Championship Wrestling from Hollywood at the Oceanview Pavilion in Port Heuneme, CA.
Killer Kross has been added to the 9/1 Warrior Wrestling show in Chicago.
AWS from Saturday night in South Gate, CA: Mike Camden b Hunter Freeman, Funnybone b Human Tornado, Jenna Van Muscles & Notorious Nadi b Viva Van & Violet Payne, Deimos b Terex, Jesse James & Hoss Hogg b Hindu Jr. & Super Boy Jr., Race b Shotzi Blackheart to win women’s title,Vipress b Karissa Rivera-DQ, Andy Brown b Mr. Iguana, Gringo Loco won four-way over Legacy, Lil Cholo and Che Cabrera. Next show is 9/21 and 11/30 is the final show of the promotion. Human Tornado also took off his boots and left them in the ring after the match to signal retiring. He did retire in 2010, but came back two years later. He announced 14 months ago that due to back issues he would be retiring soon. (thanks to Shannon Walsh and wrestlingwithdemons.net)
Glory Pro Wrestling from yesterday in Collinsville, IL: Anton Alexiev & Karam & Nick King b Camaro Jackson & Kenny Alfonso & Reilly MaGuire, Steve Manders won six-way over Mike Outlaw, Mark Wheeler Billy Brash Kody Lane and Josh Bishop, Jake Something b Kobe Durst, Barackus b Tommy Vendetta, Halal Beefcake won three-way over Timmy Lou Retton & White Mike and Space Monkey & Shane Sabre, Stephen Wolf b Myron Reed, Ethan Page & Josh Alexander b JD Drake & Anthony Henry, Seishin b Layne Luck, Hakim Zane b Danny Adams, Curt Stallion DDQ Paco Gonzalez, A.J. Gray b Jake Lander, Chris Castro & Nick Brubaker b Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett to win the tag titles (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
A correction from yesterday in the Sendai Girls results from Manchester. It was Chihiro Hashimoto on the show not Chihiro Matsumoto.
Combate Americas has announced new main card fights of Maria Paula Buzaglo vs. Felisha Magallan, Erick Sanchez vs. Jose Luis Verdugo and Marilia Fanta vs.Chelsea Chandler for its 8/23 show in Lake Tahoe, CA,which will air live on Univision, Univision Deportes and DAZN. The main event is bantamweight champion Gustavo Lopez (10-4-1) vs. Jey Ruquet (7-1) and featherweight title match with Andres Quintana (18-2) vs. Bruno Cannetti (8-6)./
NFC MMA on 8/3 at Center Stage in Atlanta has less than 200 tickets left. Will Banks vs. Michael Fortner for the NFC lightweight title is the main event.
Rocky Mountain Pro will be airing television every Thursday night on Right Now TV and Twitch.
Stardom from Saturday night in Kanazawa: Saya Iida won three-way over Ruaka and Rina, Saki Kashima & Starlight Kid b Hina & Leo Onozaki, Kagetsu & Hazuki & Andras Miyagi & Natsu Sumire b Hana Kimura & Jungle Kyona & Death Yama-San & Bobbi Tyler, Bea Priestley & Momo Watanabe & Utami Hayashishita b Mayu Iwatani & Arisa Hoshiki & Tam Nakano (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
The update on the AAW Jim Lyman Memorial tournament on 8/29 and 8/30 in Chicago at the Logan Square Auditorium has Eddie Kingston, Jimmy Jacobs, Laredo Kid, Jake Atlas, Colt Cabana, Curt Stallion, MJF, Myron Reed, Jacob Fatu, Josh Alexander, Ace Romero,Ace Austin, Jake Something, Trey Miguel and two spots remain. Sami Callihan, LAX , Penta 0M & Rey Fenix are also on the weekend shows.
After teaming together at Fight for the Fallen, Darby Allin, Joey Janela, and Jimmy Havoc are set to face off at AEW’s next show.
Allin vs. Janela vs. Havoc has been added to the card for All Out. The match announcement was made on episode two of AEW’s Road to All Out video series.
Allin, Janela & Havoc lost a six-man tag match against Shawn Spears, Sammy Guevara & MJF at Fight for the Fallen. Spears pinned Allin to get the win. In a post-match angle that was shown on the Road to All Out, Allin was being interviewed backstage after the match and a brawl broke out between Havoc, Janela, and Allin.
All Out is taking place at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on Saturday, August 31. Here’s the updated card:
Chris Jericho vs. Hangman Page for the AEW World Championship
Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley
AAA Tag Team Champions The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) defending against The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) in a ladder match
Cody Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears (set up but not officially announced)
Darby Allin vs. Joey Janela vs. Jimmy Havoc
Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) vs. The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) (winning team gets a first-round bye in AEW’s Tag Team title tournament)
Episode two of the Road to All Out is available to watch below:
Joey Janela is set to take part in the 2019 Battle of Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, PWG announced Janela as the latest entrant for this year’s tournament. He’s the 13th participant to be confirmed, joining A-Kid, Jonathan Gresham, Artemis Spencer, Darby Allin, Mick Moretti, Orange Cassidy, Bandido, Caveman Ugg, Jake Atlas, Tony Deppen, Fenix, and Lucky Kid.
Janela made his PWG debut in BOLA 2017, losing to Sammy Guevara in the first round. He made it to the semifinals last year but lost to Bandido.
Janela, Allin & Jimmy Havoc teamed together and lost to Shawn Spears, MJF & Guevara in a six-man tag match at AEW Fight for the Fallen last weekend.
BOLA is taking place at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, California on Thursday, September 19, Friday, September 20, and Sunday, September 22. There will be 24 entrants in total. The winner receives a future shot at the PWG World Championship.
A six-man tag match has been added to the card for Fight for the Fallen.
On this week’s Road to Fight for the Fallen episode, it was announced that Jimmy Havoc, Darby Allin & Joey Janela will team against MJF, Sammy Guevara & Shawn Spears at the show. It’s taking place at Daily’s Place Amphitheater in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday, July 13.
Allin vs. Cody Rhodes at Fyter Fest last weekend ended in a 20-minute time-limit draw. After the match, Spears appeared and laid out Cody with a chair shot to the head. MJF came out to the ring to help Cody after.
Hangman Page defeated Havoc, MJF, and Jungle Boy in a four-way match at Fyter Fest. The finish was Page pinning Havoc after hitting a Buckshot Lariat and the Dead Eye. MJF moved out of the way of the Buckshot Lariat, with Page hitting Havoc instead. MJF tried to throw Page out of the ring after that, but Page countered and threw MJF out.
Jon Moxley defeated Joey Janela in a “non-sanctioned match” in the main event of Fyter Fest.
Guevara lost to Kip Sabian on the Double or Nothing pre-show in May.
Fight for the Fallen is benefiting Jacksonville’s Victim Assistance Advisory Council. The show will air for free on B/R Live in the United States and Canada and will be available to purchase via Fite TV elsewhere.
Here’s the updated card for the event:
The Young Bucks vs. Cody & Dustin Rhodes
Kenny Omega vs. CIMA
Brandi Rhodes vs. Allie
Hangman Page vs. Kip Sabian
Jimmy Havoc, Darby Allin & Joey Janela vs. MJF, Sammy Guevara & Shawn Spears
The second show in AEW history takes place tonight as the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida hosts Fyter Fest.
The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega will team against The Lucha Bros & Laredo Kid in a six-man tag match. The Young Bucks defeated Pentagon Jr. & Fenix at Double or Nothing, but The Lucha Bros then won the AAA Tag Team titles from The Young Bucks at AAA Verano de Escandalo.
After appearing at Double or Nothing, Jon Moxley will make his AEW debut against Joey Janela tonight. AEW has added a “non-sanctioned” stipulation to the match.
Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin, Hangman Page vs. MJF vs. Jungle Boy vs. Jimmy Havoc in a four-way match, Nyla Rose vs. Yuka Sakazaki vs. Riho in a triple threat match, and Christopher Daniels vs. CIMA are also set for the main card.
The pre-show will begin at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time and will feature Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) vs. SoCal Uncensored (Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian) vs. Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) in a match where the winning team will advance to All Out for a shot at a first-round bye in AEW’s Tag Team title tournament.
The event is in partnership with CEO Fighting Game Championships, and CEO organizer Alex Jebailey will face AEW’s Michael Nakazawa in a hardcore match on the pre-show.
Fyter Fest will stream for free on B/R Live in the United States and Canada and will be available to purchase via Fite TV elsewhere. The pre-show will also air on AEW’s YouTube channel.
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Best Friends defeated SoCal Uncensored and Private Party in a Triple Threat Match
The winners of this match get an opportunity in All Out to get a Bye in the AEW Tag Team Title Tournament.
Marq Quen of Private Party wore sunglasses throughout the match ala Mr. Hughes. The fans were into SCU the most, but they showed love for all three teams. After three or four minutes of well executed, but “dull” wrestling, Quen and Isaiah Kassidy got the crowd up and going with a series of dives and springboard moves in and out of the ring. The director completely missed what looked like an amazing dive out of the ring by Kassidy. The two more experienced teams teamed up on Private Party. Kassidy took a double suplex on the floor and Quen took a Tornado DDT on the floor, which finally caused his glasses to fall off.
Best Friends cut off Kassidy and got the heat on him. Even though they are babyfaces (I think), Chuck and Trent did a great job doing all those old school heel tag team tactics. Quen had been knocked off the apron, so Kassidy was forced to tag in Kazarian when he needed out. The match broke down into a wild 6-way series of moves. Quen hit the most beautiful Shooting Star Press you’ve ever seen on Trent, but it was only for a 2 count. Kazarian hit a Scorpio Sky-assisted Unprettier for a 2 count. Quen landed on his feet on an attempted Super German Suplex and then Private Party used a double team hurricarana/cutter on Kazarian, but that was broken up.
The finish was Trent pinning Kassidy.
After the match The Dark Order appeared on the video screen and vowed to make Best Friends their first victim. The lights went out and when they came back on there were 6 minions around the ring. The lights went out a second time and this time everyone disappeared.
The biggest pop was for Chuck and Trent hugging mid-match, but the fans were into it from bell to bell.
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The Elite have lost their gear and Kenny Omega told the Young Bucks that he has the seamstresses working on new gear. The problem is Kenny spent half the budget on gear, so they had to fire 2 of the models, who were on the stage and replaced by manequins.
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Leva Bates came out as The Librarian and told everyone to “Shhh”, but Peter Avalon was hiding in the tent on the stage also telling people to “Shhh”. Avalon got upset and threw the tent into a kiddie pool and then broke one of the mannequins.
They encouraged the fans to stop playing video games and start reading books. This led to a mild “We can’t read” chant. This brought Allie out for a bonus match.
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Allie pinned Leva Bates
Leva kept trying to “Shush” Allie, so Allie grabbed her finger and twisted it around before stomping on Leva’s hand. It was pointed out that that is the finger you use to turn the page of a book. Avalon was reading and accidentally-on-purpose tripped Allie as she was running the ropes. He swore innocence as Leva took over.
Leva stretched Allie backwards and put her finger to Allie’s lips as she was grimacing in pain, which was a nice touch. Allie made her comeback, using a series of strikes, including a Sliding Elbow to a seated Leva in the corner. Leva cut her off and hit a Pedigree, but Allie kicked out.
Avalon tried to get involved at the finish, but he accidentally-on-purpose threw his book at Allie, who tossed it back to Leva and laid her out with the Best Superkick Ever for the pin. The match was rough in points, but still good.
The fans chanted “Hooked on Phonics” and “Reading Rainbow” during this one.
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Kenny Omega was walking around with a drum and a bunch of cords, but was informed all the bands that got booked dropped out, including Blink-182. Not sure if Kenny was sadder than me.
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Michael Nakazawa pinned Alex Jebailey in a Hardcore Match
This match was supposed to happen at last year’s CEO show, but Alex injured his Achilles Tendon, and couldn’t wrestle. Before the match, Nakazawa took the mic, calling Alex “Mr. Cripple” and saying CEO sucks.
Nakazawa bumped really well for Jebailey, but Alex’s strikes looked awful. Nakazawa poured babyoil all over himself to get out of a go-behind. Both the referee and Jebailey slipped and fell. Jebailey used a clipboard on Nakazawa when I began having buffering issues, but it began working again in time to see them near the entrance ramp. Jebailey tried drowning Nakazawa in the pool, but Nakazawa fought back with a flamingo. Jebailey slammed Nakazawa in the pool before they got back to the ring.
Jebailey pulled out all kinds of foreign objects, but it came back to bite him in the butt, as Nakazawa choked him with the cord of a Nintendo Gamecube controller. My brother popped for that one. Nakazawa speared Jebailey through the ropes and through a table on the floor. Nakazawa somehow removed his thong and went to shove it down Jebailey’s throat, but Alex is rich and smart, so he ducked it. Next up they pulled out something that were described as buttons and were said to be worse than legos, so Nakazawa got backdropped into them. Nakazawa still had the thong in his hand and somehow wiped it into the referee’s face.
Jebailey used a La Magistral cradle, but Nakazawa shoved his thong in his face, reversed the roll up and got the win. All I’ll say about this match is that if you are someone who would enjoy this type of match, this is the match for you.
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Jim Ross joined the commentary team as the official show began. He joined Excalibur and Goldenboy at the desk.
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Cima pinned Christopher Daniels
Excalibur implied that Chris Daniels and Curry Man are the same person, which is obviously not true. I do think Daniels was Mr. America, though. Cima twisted Daniels up like a pretzel early on, but Daniels was able to just get his toe on the ropes for the break. Daniels used a crossface later on, which Cima just barely got to the ropes during. Cima sold the lower back for most of the match and kicked out of an Angel’s Wings early on. Cima used a step-up inzigri and a sunset flip into a Liger Bomb.
Unfortunately I got horrible buffering issues and didn’t see the finish, but Cima won with the Meteora and they showed respect for each other after the match.
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Riho defeated Nyla Rose and Yuka Sakazaki
Nyla used her size and power at the bell to toss around her tinier foes. Riho and Sakazaki had limited success, but any offense they got was immediately reversed. Rose used a Double Camel Clutch, but Riho was able to get the ropes, which broke the move. Nyla heaved Yuka onto Riho, which actually almost led to a pinfall. Yuka sent Nyla out of the ring with a headscissors and then did a Springboard Tope onto her on the floor.
Riho and Yuka had a rough spot in the ring where they fell to the mat during a spot. Nyla got back into it and the story was that she was being very lackadaisical and not taking her opponents seriously, as she made half hearted covers. Nyla leaped to the top rope and came off with a diving knee to Riho, which led to the first “Holy Shit” chant of the night. She didn’t make the cover and when she went back to the top rope she was momentarily cut off by Yuka. She went for a Swanton Bomb, but Riho rolled out of the way. Nyla did catch both of them, at the same time, after attempted top rope crossbody, but that led to both Riho and Yuka getting a simultaneous two count on Nyla.
The finish saw Nyla got for a Beast Bomb on Riho, but Riho rolled through and got a sudden, surprising three count on the monster. Nyla attempted to attack Riho after the match, but Yuka made the save. Riho shoved down Yuka and walked away.
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Kip Sabian joined the commentary table for the next match. He will face the winner of the next match at Fight For The Fallen.
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Hangman Page defeated MJF, Jungle Boy (w/Luchasaurus) and Jimmy Havoc
MJF cut a really good heel promo before the match, where he succeeded in getting the fans to turn on him. He then said he used to love video games…and then he lost his virginity.
This was a fast paced match with a lot of constant movement. MJF tried to take a walk and avoid fighting, so Page flew over the top rope and took him out. Jungle Boy went for a cannonball moonsault, but his foot got caught on the top rope, but he was somehow able to recover in mid-air and complete the move. Page and Havoc used a Stacked Up Superplex to Jungle Boy, but on the way down, Boy kicked MJF in the head.
Page and MJF squared off mid-ring and MJF got the better of it by chop blocking Page. MJF went for a Sharpshooter, but Page blocked it and put on one of his own. Luchasaurus stopped Jungle Boy from taking a bump on the floor, so Havoc gave him a Death Valley Driver onto Luchasaurus. Havoc tried multiple times to hit an Acid Rainmaker, but couldn’t connect.
Page hit a Buckshot Lariat and then pinned Havoc after a Deadeye.
Jungle Boy looked great and takes an amazing beating. MJF is a tremendous character.
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Cody vs Darby Allin finished in a 20-minute time limit draw
Allin dragged out a bodybag with Cody’s name on it.
Allin looked good here and it helped that he was in the ring with someone as good as Cody. The story was about how much punishment could Allin take and still fight back from. Allin took a tremendous looking bump where he flew out of the ring over the middle rope and crashed and burned on the ground in one fluent move. Cody used a Shock Treatment backbreaker in the ring, looking like he broke Allin in half. Darby’s best move early was when he threw Cody’s hand into the ring post. The rest of the match saw Cody fight through the pain every time he tried using a hold, while Cody withstood all the punishment and stayed in this.
Darby’s comeback started by blocking a vertical suplex by attacking the injured hand. Darby hammerfisted Cody’s hand and used a wristlock while continuing to torture the hand. Allin torpedoed out of the ring with a dive, but got tripped up on the steps. Back in the ring Darby hit a Code Red for a near fall. Cody used a reverse superplex, which hurt his hand almost as much as Allin. Allin went for a Coffin Drop (basically he did a trust fall dive), but Cody rolled out of the ring and Allin loudly crashed onto the ring apron, which is the hardest part of the ring.
With two minutes to go in the time limit, Cody zipped Darby up in the body bag and hit a Beautiful Disaster Kick for a 2 count. The last minute saw Cody take off his belt and whip Darby repeatedly with it. Darby hit an over the top Stunner and Cody hit a Cross Rhodes as the bell rang for the time limit.
Brandi and Cody demanded 5 more minutes. Before it could happen, Shawn Spears ran in and laid Cody out with an unprotected chair shot. Brandi started yelling at Shawn, who looked like he was going to hit Brandi, but Audrey Edwards, the referee, stepped between them. Cody was bleeding from the back of his head. MJF and SCU ran out for support after Shawn left. On replay Cody had just turned his head, which was how the back of his head took it. With that said, he should have put his hands up. (Post-Show Edit: It’s actually Aubrey Edwards with a B and not Audrey. Sorry about that)
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Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks defeated Laredo Kid & Lucha Brothers
It’s being pushed that this is the last “official” match, since the main event is non-sanctioned.
The Young Bucks came out dressed as Ryu and Ken while Omega was dressed as Akuma from Street Fighter. A “fan” ran out and started dancing like Batista, so Omega laid him out. Matt and Kenny both told Justin to announce “Round 1: Fight”. We really needed health bars above everyone’s head, along with a car for one of them to destroy with strikes.
It took…oh….30 seconds for it to go from traditional 6-man tag to a wild 6-way. If I had four hands and two computers I don’t think I could keep track of every spectacular moment. Matt did a series of rolling Northern Lights Suplexes on each man and did one at the same time to both Fenix and Pentagon. Laredo did a top rope crossbody, but Omega countered with a perfectly timed dropkick. Fenix tried doing a flat back bump off the apron, but realized he had to readjust before he slammed his head off the guardrail. Elite used an Asai Moonsault, top rope elbow and Swanton for a 2 count on Loredo Kid. Matt used a running Canadian Destroyer to Pentagon and it was possibly the most fluid version I’ve ever seen.
In case I don’t mention it elsewhere, both Pentagon and Fenix looked amazing here.
Pentagon was going for Something to Omega and threw Nick over the top rope and then backdropped a running Fenix over Omega and the post onto Nick outside the ring. A Superkick Party broke out after another Canadian Destroyer. The Elite used three simultaneous Hadouken’s on their foes. If you have no idea what that is, I don’t know if I could explain it, so YouTube that. Nick did a 450 Splash to Fenix and Laredo Kid, who were being held draping off the ropes. More dives and more cutters led to Fenix doing a Spanish Fly to Nick off the top rope to the floor where Pentagon caught them. Omega hit a Tiger Driver 98 to Laredo Kid for a 2 count. Omega with multiple V-Triggers and finally pinned Laredo Kid with a One Winged Angel.
This was an amazing, spectacular offensive exhibition. This was 20 minutes of pure nonstop athleticism and storytelling. For all the faults you may hear and read about the Young Bucks, this was a perfect match on the perfect night in front of the perfect crowd. I don’t know if this match would suddenly create a million new fans on TNT, but it was different than everything you’ll watch on basic cable and is well worth going out of your way to see it.
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Jon Moxley pinned Joey Janela in an unsanctioned, lights out match
Moxley neither came out with the IWGP United States title belt nor was he acknowledged as champion.
They didn’t even pretend to have a wrestling match, as it immediately became a hardcore weapons match. Janela used someone’s prosthetic leg as a weapon early on, but then took a bodyslam on a chair. Janela sat Moxley on a chair and went for a Swanton Bomb, but Mox moved and Janela dove onto a set up chair. Mox pulled out a Barbed Wire covered chair and stomped it down on Janela. He then took a bow when the fans called him a “Sick F***”. Janela blocked a DVD and Moxley blocked a suplex, both out of the ring, and Mox did what was essentially a Russian Leg Sweep off the apron and through a table. Moxley picked up Janela and ran across the ring with a Spear through a table, which was reminiscent of Rhino in ECW way back when.
Next up was a barbed wire board and Moxley took the brunt of this one as Janela did a running Death Valley Driver that sent him into and through it. After that we got a ladder set up in the ring, which saw Joey dive off the top of the ladder with an elbow through Moxley, who was splayed across a table at ringside. We got a second barbed wire board, this one propped up from ring apron to the guardrail. Because turnabout is fair play, Moxley gave Joey a Death Valley Driver over the top rope and essentially butt-first into and through the board. The thumbtacks were out next, complete with an ovation from the crowd. Moxley ripped the shoes and socks off Joey and sent him flying ass over teakettle into the tacks. A second move saw the tacks go right into Janela’s bare feet. This is getting hard to watch.
We got a second bag of thumbtacks along with an Ambrose Impaler DDT and this one, mercifully, is over.
Scroll up and re-read what I said about the Nakazawa-Jebailey match. This match definitely has its fans. For people who enjoy these types of matches in 2019 will probably love this match. The people who aren’t fans of this type of match will probably hate it.
After the match Kenny Omega ran down and hit Moxley with a running V-Trigger. Omega hit a diving double foot stomp to the floor and then dragged him to the band stand. Kenny grabbed the drumsticks and did a solo on Mox’s back before cracking an electric guitar over Mox.
The referees tried to help Moxley out, but Mox shoved them away. Kenny took a personal afront to this, so he returned with a trash can to continue the beating. Beatings will continue until morale improves! Omega dropped him with a DDT on the trashcan. The show ended with a close-up of Moxley smiling.
Overall Thoughts
This was truly 3 ½ hours of total nonstop action. The show didn’t slow down and built from one match to another. The show truly had a little bit of something for everyone, regardless of your taste.
At the end of the day I don’t believe, for better or worse, that it’s going to change anyone’s opinion about AEW. If you are an AEW fan who feels they can do little wrong, you will love this show and think it’s far superior to Stomping Grounds. If you are a WWE fan who feels WWE is the best no matter what, you probably won’t have your opinion changed and may argue that Stomping Grounds was a better full show.
The next show is Fight For The Fallen on July 13 with Cody & Dustin vs the Young Bucks.
Ahead of the show taking place this Saturday, AEW has announced a stipulation for one of the matches at Fyter Fest.
Jon Moxley vs. Joey Janela at Fyter Fest will now be a non-sanctioned match. The stipulation was revealed in a video that AEW posted today.
“Due to both competitors’ propensity for violence and the statements coming from both camps, AEW has decided to strip this match of all rules,” AEW announced. “This is a non-sanctioned match.”
Following his appearance at Double or Nothing, this will be Moxley’s AEW in-ring debut. Janela took part in the Casino Battle Royale on the Double or Nothing pre-show.
The Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida is hosting Double or Nothing on Saturday. It will air for free on B/R Live in the United States and Canada and will be available to purchase via Fite TV elsewhere. The pre-show will begin at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, with the main card starting at 8:30 p.m. Eastern.
The updated card for Fyter Fest is listed below:
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) & Kenny Omega vs. The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) & Laredo Kid
Jon Moxley vs. Joey Janela in a non-sanctioned match
Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin
Hangman Page vs. MJF vs. Jimmy Havoc vs. Jungle Boy
Nyla Rose vs. Riho vs. Yuka Sakazaki
Christopher Daniels vs. CIMA
Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) vs. SoCal Uncensored (Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) (winning team advances to All Out for a shot at a first-round bye in AEW’s Tag Team title tournament) (pre-show)
CEO Fighting Game Championships organizer Alex Jebailey vs. AEW’s Michael Nakazawa in a hardcore match (pre-show)
Moxley made a surprise appearance at Double or Nothing on Saturday night. AEW then announced that Moxley has signed a full-time, multi-year deal with them.
Being the Elite has released their first episode since Double or Nothing.
The episode covers Double or Nothing weekend in Las Vegas and the show itself, including the surprise appearance of Jon Moxley. Being the Elite begins with Moxley right before he appears in front of the crowd and ends with him teasing a future match against Joey Janela.
It was announced after Double or Nothing that Moxley has signed a full-time, multi-year deal with AEW. He’ll make his in-ring debut for the promotion at Fyter Fest in Daytona Beach, Florida on Saturday, June 29.
This week’s Being the Elite includes an appearance by Flip Gordon, who was a regular on the show before The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, and Hangman Page departed ROH. Gordon signed a two-year deal with ROH in 2018.
Today’s Being the Elite is available to watch below:
The showcase of the immortal drunkards and deathmatch kings is upon us: the second part of the third annual Joey Janela’s Spring Break. Masato Tanaka faces LA Park, while the modern incarnation of LAX faces the only incarnation of the Rock ‘N Roll Express. Also, the greatest spring break battle royal ever is set to happen.
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Our show late Saturday night in Jersey City, NJ, got a late start due to the ROH/NJPW show , but now we get Ron Funches on commentary. Tanaka’s theme plays, but Joey Janela comes out with Penelope Ford to face Jungle Boy. They’re in the same buildling they were in last night and the fans resume singing Jungle Boy’s theme. A giant “F ROH” chant breaks out due to the delay.
Jungle Boy submitted Joey Janela
They trade a million superkicks before Joey goes down to his knees and eats another one. He then gets up and lands another superkick, but Joey gets the edge off a lariat. Jungle Boy sends him out and hits a series of lopes and topes. Jungle goes up top for a moonsault, but Joey blocks it and lands a crazy high angle inverted brainbuster on the apron. That insanity only gets 1.
Jungle Boy lands a slingshot spear and a jungle cutter snaps him with a high angle landing for 2. Penelope comes in and hits a flying rana and then a a spike headscissor, but Jungle hits a pop-up backstabber to her. Joey lands a series of kneeling elbows and gets a dragon clutch.
Jungle Boy escapes and gets a rolling death valley driver on the ring. Joey gets 2 off a tombstone and then hits a super brainbuster for 1. They go back and forth on snap German suplexes. Joey jumps up for a choke, but Jungle Boy gets a standing twister choke and Joey taps out. For the second night in a row, Joey has lost on his signature event. They hug and raise hands.
LAX defeated The Rock ‘n Roll Express
LAX comes down while they are being put over as having a massive rise from relative obscurity in Beyond Wrestling to now being what they are.
Robert is taken to the corner by Santana, who then bowls him over. Ortiz comes in and gets knocked down quickly. Robert works an arm ringer, but it doesn’t last long. Ricky and Ortiz are in and Ricky (who still has a great armdrag) armdrags him down. Robert lands a noggin knocker and then a sleeper on Santana. A miscue leads to Ortiz eating a lariat from Santana. A Canadian Destroyer lands and Morton hits a tope on LAX on the floor. My god.
But, LAX recovers and hit a run-up cannonball in the corner that ends it.
Ortiz says that this was their ninth match of the week and their most anticipated one. Santana breaks down talking about how much they’ve influenced him and the two bow to the Rock’n’Rolls.
LA Park defeated Masato Tanaka
This was a battle of The Chairman vs. the receiver of some of the nastiest chairshots in wrestling history, so it should be interesting from beginning to end. A shoving match lead to a chop battle and then kicks and a nasty Park overhand chop. They go back and forth on running lariats with Park getting a shocking amount of speed for his age and weight. Park landed a chairshot and turned around a bit too late to logically make it, so he doesn’t see Tanaka get up, but he does and lands a rolling elbow to the chair that gets two.
Tanaka gets two off a tornado DDT and then hits a crossbody to the floor. Tanaka throws a beer at him and the announcers talk about how the mask can create a waterboarding effect with the liquid. Park slams him into a sea of chairs, gets a door and throws it in the ring, and then finds another one. The door is in the corner, but Tanaka takes him down and gets a frog splash for two. Then, LA Park spears him through the door to win it.
The Greatest Clusterf*ck Battle Royal
Necro Butcher comes out as number one and looks like his own grandfather. Then, Nick F’N Gage is here to battle him, apparently wearing the same shirt he’s been wearing all weekend because the white parts of his shirt are covered in blood. Schlak and Marcus Grain are here and Necro KOs Grain. Necro and Schlak then get into a hockey fight.
Georgie Boy is out, but no word on if the rubber chicken is also in the match. Nick beats him up with the chicken. A dueling door war leads to Swoggle coming down. He hits a shin music and some chin music on Shlak. Arik Cannon is out and stares down Gage right away. Swoggle runs wild on Necro and Georgie Boy is tossed out.
Joe Gacey runs in and hits a DVD on Grain before Brian Pillman Jr. comes down. Grain and Shlak use a plastic bag over the head to Pillman. Nate Webb and Marko Stunt are out, but not just in the match, but they’re also singing and playing guitar with the fans singing alongside them. Swoggle and Necro take out Nick Gage.
Shlak beats up Swoggle. MJF is out and beats up Marko and Nate with a chair while wearing an MDK shirt. Joey Ryan comes down which was surprising after he was running an opposition show to this one last night. Sexy Eddie comes down too and Joey oils him up and Brian as well. Joey and Eddie have an oil off before Jefe comes out. He wants oil, but doesn’t get it. Eddie’s towel is removed but he’s bare-assed and it finds its way into Joey’s face several times.
Sexy Eddie gets a moonsault and he’s gone to hopefully get clothing. Nick Morrettii is out and now Stunt formally joins the fray along with his brother Logan. Necro tries to lift them up and take them out which works for Logan. Team Whitewolf is in and take out Pillman immediately. Swoggle gets a dick claw on Joey and it causes Joey to be eliminated due to his center of gravity.
Egotistico Fantastico comes in and hits a moonsault on Durst for 2. G. Raver comes out with hypodermic needles and he spikes Swoggle, who then hits a German. Superkick takes out Swoggle. Kikutaru comes in to poke asses for a while and makes the ref pass out before another ref puts the fingers up to Kikutaru’s nose and he passes out and is taken out.
Homicide came down to the ring and squares off with Teddy Hart They slug it out before Teddy lands an uppercut. Cryme Tyme (!) returns to the ring with giant beards. Teddy and Homicide reunited for the good of JAPW and battled Shad and JTG. Teddy gets taken out. Shlak gets schoolboyed and taken out by Cannon. Grim Reefer is out and now Teddy Hart is out with a cat, who he hopefully won’t throw into the air again. The Ugly Ducklings are out to provide a modern-day Dupp act. Colby Corino is out gets a tornado DDT on Reefer. Slim J comes down with Funches summing him up as a white guy in a bandanna, so he must be tough. Facade comes down and he really should be gaining more momentum as he’s got a solid look.
A ropewalk doomsday kick hits one Duckling, leading to a reverse rana accidentally hitting another. MJF gets rid of Cryme Tyme, but he’s knocked out by Necro. Gringo Loco is down and looks like what you’d get if you combined a balding trucker with Fat Super Crazy from 2005. He lands a nice Spanish Fly and then AJ Grey comes down and tears through the Ducklings. A Steiner Screwdriver hits for Grey and then he hits a tornillo dive onto a pile on the floor.
Ophidian is out and works with Raver before the Ducklings tope guys on the floor. Gringo Loco hits a big flip dive before Rich Swann arrives. Swann hits a corkscrew dive to the floor and then Facade hits a springboard 450. Cannon teases a dive and flips them off. Dustin Thomas (aka No Legs from Friday night) is out and hits a big 610. He gets a win with a swanton and the fans sing “No Legs” to the tune of “Ole”, so he’s made.
Brendan Brown is out and MJF lowblows him, but MJF is taken out. Facade does a ropewalk 450 onto the floor onto no one. Pharoah and Odinson are out to toss the Ducklings around. Shane Mercer comes down and forms an alliance with Necro. No Legs gets tossed out to the floor. Shane hits a big suplex and a moonsault powerslam off the second rope.
Jake Atlas is out followed by Australian Suicide. Mercer slugs it out with KTB and then Caveman Ug comes down and barks…as you do. KTB and Ug chop and headbutt the daylights out of each other. Ug has great form on his butterfly suplex and snap uranage. Stunner takes out Australian Suicide. Crowbar comes down and other than a tattoo on his chest and redoing his facial hair, he looks very similar to how he did in WCW. Super Rana gets 2 for Crowbar.
Matt Treemont is down and brawls with Necro while Gacey takes out Crowbar with a chair. Grizzly Redwood returns to battle Shane Mercer. I don’t see that going well for him and Crowbar is taken out by a moonsault from the caveman. Chris Dickinson and Pinky Sanchez come down and Necro runs wild with forearms. Necro rakes the eyes of Pinky. Michael Blaze ccmes down and rains down superkicks. Kip Osbourne and Frankie Pickard arrive as partners and brawl with each other.
NWO Sting (Jeff Farmer) is out and is still jacked. Tracy Smothers is still in town and I’m sure he’s no more sane than he was last night, so tt’s time for UltraMegaMassHomicide. Mantaur comes down and is unbelievably slow. Mantaur needs to work with Orange Cassidy for a slow motion vs. regular motion spot. Matt Nix comes in is worked over by NWO Sting.
Jimmy Lloyd emerges from his ungodly violent deathmatch last night to start brawling and lands a rolling death valley driver. Takeda comes down to resume their war from last night. Then, Mantaur got an elimination. Jeff Cannonball brawls with Takeda and lands a tombstone in such a way that I’m astounded he didn’t tear both knees upon impact. Ethan Page is out to fight for his very soul. Essa Rios is out and looks about the same as he did 20 years ago, just a bit chunkier around the middle. Necro’s just gone before “Maneater” blares as Ashley Vox, Allie Kat, Maria Manic, Solo Darling, Su Yung, and Session Moth Martina are out. They run wild and beat the tar out of the men. Martina goes for a grind, but spits beer and lands a DDT. Stunt hits Ashley in the stomach, but she lands an air raid crash on him.
Shazza beats up Frank the Clown who comes out and in the process, Funches finds his headphones. Frank gets a variety of angry chants as he eats a variety of kicks to the lower groin region. Now we get light tubes and Jimmy Lloyd gets killed with death by them all. Dickinson eats a superplex through two tables by Manic. They tear the ring up and let up Aubrey Edwards because she’s a female ref. They drag Joey Janela out and beat him up before a Signal Lost message hits the screen.
Well, this was a night of insanity with a very unique and memorable ending.
Joey Janela’s third annual spring break show enters a new era with it being split into two parts. On Friday, legends did battle with modern day stars as TAKA Michinoku faced Orange Cassidy and Shinjiro Otani vied for GCW’s top prize against Nick Gage. Janela also returned to his signature event from injury to battle another man back from an injury in Marko Stunt. The Invisible Man, who made his name in the annual battle royal for Spring Break, battled his brother in what was a unique match.
Since 2017, “Spring Break” has been a showcase of some of the craziest and most fun wrestling action of the year. The first year saw Janela himself rise to prominence just by having his name attached to the event, and it didn’t hurt that a cameo-filled battle royal known as the Clusterf*ck became synonymous with it.
The Invisible Man rose to his greatest fame since the Universal horror days, and the second event gave rise to PCO as he battled WALTER in one of the stiffest matches on American soil in 2018. 2019 sees the event growing so big it’s like Wrestle Kingdom becoming spread out over two days…only with a lot more stoner humor and an even crazier battle royal.
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The show started off with Nick Gage’s daughter Joanna doing a video promo and swearing while “For Whom the Bell Tolls” played in the background. She welcomes us to Spring Break III and a GCW chant broke out.
Janela and Penelope Ford came out and got a hero’s welcome before a video package chronicled the knee injury to Marko Stunt and his return. Marko came down and Dave Prazak talked about Marko being in a position to upstage Janela on his own show.
Marko Stunt defeated Joey Janela
Joey ran the ropes and Marko almost threw him into the crowd before a second rope skin the cat saved him. Marko made lewd comments about Joey’s mother and “Now, you’re going to be on the ass end of an ass-kicking.” Joey opted for a German suplex and a Helluva kick. He hit a Brock-esque straight jacket hold German before landing two more with a bridge for 2.
Joey launched Marko into the crowd ala Spike Dudley and opted to crowd surf himself before Marko joined him, leading to a chopfest while both guys were held up by the fans.
Marko escaped and hit a somersault dive off the apron into the chairs before landing a second one. Prazak is usually very good, but he had some major audio problems and could barely be heard. Joey prevented a running knee and hit a flapjack. Penelope got on the apron so Joey could smack Marko into the boot, but it all backfired as Joey almost ate the boot. Marko kissed Penelope and hit Janela with a knee strike.
A sidewinder package piledriver hit for Joey, but it only got two. Janela went for a super package piledriver, but Stunt escaped and shoved him onto the apron, where Janela ate a spike rana on the apron. Stunt got split open and was glassy eyed, so Janela rabbit punched him. Stunt got sent into the ropes but came back with a satellite codebreaker for two.
Janela landed a super cradle shock off the top for 2.9. Penelope was in shock and Marko got a flash cradle for the win.
Janela gave him a kiss and raised his hand high before Marko hugged Penelope and kneeled in the middle of the ring to soak in the applause. This was a fantastic match and a perfect opener.
Ring announcer Rich Palladino lets us know that there are no fewer than three bars in the building, so everyone’s going to have fun tonight. Tony Deppen came out and grabbed the mic. He is bitter over not being showcased on the card in a more prominent position. He called out fans and insulted a few of them before picking on a guy in a wheelchair with no legs (Dustin Thomas) who wasn’t identified. Deppen grabbed him out of the wheelchair and threw him into the ring after Thomas called him a “f*ckin’ pussy”.
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Tony Deppen defeated No Legs (aka Dustin Thomas)
Thomas ate a slap, but got a sleeper, then a drop no-toe hold into the ropes and a 619 that the crowd went nuts for. Then, he hit a crossbody off the top for two and a somersault senton off the top to the floor! He’s put over on commentary as using his upper body strength from being in the wheelchair. He climbed up top before he ate a superplex for 2. Thomas hit a tornado DDT and a springboard 450 for 2.9. Deppen landed a shining wizard and knocked him out for the win.
In two matches, they made Stunt seem like a star, Janela out to be the man, and Deppen out to be a massive prick as the guy with no legs shone brightly.
Jungle Boy won a Spring Break Scramble featuring A-Kid vs. Jake Atlas, Australian Suicide, Slim J, and Shane Mercer
Jungle Boy was out to a huge chant for his first match back since his father’s passing
All the guys dove onto Mercer as he just caught them. Atlas and Kid had a flip and armdrag exchange while Slim J hit a giant leaping front kick off the top. Jungle Boy hit a running rana and a springboard legdrop. Mercer put Jungle Boy up in a military press before he started one-arm chokeslamming dudes and launched Jungle Boy to the floor.
Atlas set up a super Pentagon driver, but instead landed a super sidewinder Samoan drop. A-Kid landed a Northern Lights suplex into a standing moonsault for 2. Mercer launched A-Kid into the buckle with an overhead belly to belly. Mercer reminded me a lot of ECW Mike Awesome in that he stood out a ton being in there with smaller guys. Mercer did a ropewalk Death Valley Driver to Slim J while also doing an Old School on Atlas.
Jungle Boy locked on a submission and won it. Everyone raised one another’s hands while the fans sang Jungle Boy’s theme.
GCW World Champion Nick Gage def. Shinjiro Otani
Otami got a nice, respectul intro while Gage was treated like God coming down to Earth.
Things started off with a series of lockups and respectful breaks in the ropes. Otami outwrestled him which was a bit like seeing New Jack go to chain wrestling when fighting is a far better option. Otani wanted a shoulder charge and Gage obliged and won, so he attacked him in the corner and brought in a table. There we go: stick to strengths. They slapped the tar out of each other and Otani chopped him down hard, getting a half crab before Gage got to the ropes.
Otani raked the face with his boot and then stepped on his throat. Otani worked heel perfectly here as a complete prick to Gage whenever possible. Gage fought fire with fire and landed a face wash that Otani no sold, standing up and hitting a German through the table. Otani milked the face rake portion and then booted him so hard that he hit a supposed fan not once, but three times with the boot off each face wash.
A Helluva kick landed for Otani, who is still quite good. Gage landed a series of chops and elbows before getting a flash schoolboy with the trunks to win.
Gage put Otani over and says that he handpicked him because he loved watching him as a kid and he stole his moves because he loved him so much.
Brother vs. Brother Grudge Match: Invisible Man vs. Invisible Stan
Invisible Stan got a chorus of boos coming out. I hope the ref checks him for weapons next. The Invisible Man came out being treated like royalty. Man and Stan got into a standoff to start things off. The ref had his invisible man-seeing glasses on and a forearm exchange broke out before Stan went to the eyes and the fans had none of that. The ref set up chairs and a chair exchange broke out before the ref put some gloves on to check the wound.
The brothers waged war in the crowd before they fell from the balcony to the floor and knocked down the staff on the floor. This got a 2.9. Stan attacked the ref so Kikutaru came in and put the glasses on. He DDTd Stan and gave the glasses to the ref, but it was still just a 2.9. Stan attacked Kikutaru on the apron and a mystery move hit for 2. Then, a spear through the table got the win for the Invisible Man.
The fans threw money in the ring and the ref earned every penny and the singles that wound up there.
TAKA Michinoku defeated Orange Cassidy
Cassidy started things off with a big shoulder charge that didn’t do much. TAKA applied a full nelson, but a slow motion escape allowed him to put his hands in his pockets and land a big dropkick. TAKA destroyed the shades and ate a series of slaps around the body before TAKA landed a poke to the eye.
Cassidy landed a superkick for two. Cassidy went up top, but TAKA went to the other side. Orange tried to land a headbutt, but missed and TAKA got the crossface. Cassidy recovered and OJ’d up, but got hit with a Michinoku driver that ended it. TAKA gave him the juice and Orange gave him his shades.
Starman defeated Ethan Page
Page came out and buried the battle royal for having guys in shorts and shirts, and wanted the Body Guy Extravaganza instead. He got distracted by his own words and lost to Starman via a schoolboy. Starman then unmasked as Virgil. As a result, Virgil now owns Page’s soul and dignity. Page looked absolutely crestfallen and the commentary team put over how the Saturday battle royal will have 10 times more cluster than the 2018 version. Ethan says that he’ll make sure the battle royal is the craziest one of all-time.
Masashi Takeda defeated Jimmy Lloyd in a deathmatch
The canvas was swapped out for the deathmatch. Confetti flew into the ring as Lloyd entered.
Takeda took him down with a headlock and a tackle. Lloyd hit a run-up armdrag and then they just bonked each other with light tubes. Gusset plates were up next and Takeda hit a headbutt with his. Takeda stomped a light tube on the arm of Lloyd, and a light tube Russian legsweep to Lloyd got 2. Lloyd bodychecked tubes into Takeda’s chest three times before snapping them off on his head, sending debris into the crowd. A tube superkick go 2 for Lloyd, but he ate a tube shotgun dropkick.
Takeda brought up a scissor board and kneed it into the chest and one get stuck into his throat…which got two! Well, at least he’s okay. Lloyd hit a series of forearms and a Razor’s Edge into a light tube board and a Tiger driver got 2. Lloyd brought a weedwacker into the ring, but used on Takeda’s arm. Lloyd ate a German through a door filled with light tubes and forks. A swanton onto light tubes go 2.9 for Takeda.
Takeda landed a rising reverse DDT onto tubes to win an absolutely insane match. Lloyd then wanted tubes broken over his head, but Takeda did it on his own head instead.
Wow, what a show this was. There was something for a fan of pretty much any style. Night two will be on Saturday with the Clusterf*ck battle royal and more.
