According to a report from Fightful Select, Robinson sustained a back injury recently that will require surgery to fix. No timetable was given for his recovery but the report noted that it is not expected to be an “extremely drawn-out absence.” However, Robinson is expected to be out for at least the rest of the year.
An injury angle took place in the closing moments of Friday’s Rampage broadcast which will likely be used to explain his absence. Robinson was shown bloodied up backstage and it was implied that MJF had hit him with a large TV monitor.
Robinson hasn’t wrestled since the November 1 episode of AEW Dynamite. He teamed with the rest of Bullet Club Gold and defeated the team of MJF, the Acclaimed, and Billy Gunn on the show. His last singles match took place on the October 25 episode of Dynamite when he was defeated by MJF in the 2023 Dynamite Diamond Ring finals.
MJF puts the Dynamite Diamond Ring up for grabs against Juice Robinson tonight in Philadelphia.
Robinson won the Dynamite Dozen battle royale last week to earn a shot at MJF’s ring. MJF will look to keep the ring for a fifth consecutive year in this week’s AEW Dynamite main event.
Hikaru Shida will defend the Women’s World Championship against Ruby Soho. Shida defeated Soho’s Outcasts cohort Saraya to win the title.
The Elite will defend their ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championship as The Young Bucks & Hangman Page defend against The Hardys & Brother Zay.
Swerve Strickland will have a message to deliver to Page on the show as the feud between the two continues.
NJPW’s Kazuchika Okada will team with Orange Cassidy against Blackpool Combat Club’s Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli.
Rob Van Dam will return to action as he teams with Hook against Dark Order’s Alex Reynolds & John Silver.
A week after Sting announced his impending retirement, Tony Khan will give the icon a gift on tonight’s show.
A sit-down interview with Renee Paquette & Chris Jericho is also scheduled.
The show begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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AEW Dynamite comes on the air with Renee Paquette, who is backstage with MJF calling Adam Cole on the phone, who answers this time. MJF got about two words out before we hear “ADAM!” and Roderick Strong is wheeled in with Mike Bennett & Matt Taven. After MJF hangs up on the phone, Strong said despite knowing MJF is behind the Devil mask, they’ll help him in his 8 Man Tag with Bullet Club Gold. MJF shoved Strong in the wheelchair out of the shot and said tonight after everything Juice Robinson has said about him, he has a bullet with Robinson’s name on it and tonight in Philadelphia; he’s not going to miss. We then see the camera cut to the Devil, who stares at the screen before shoving it away.
Excalibur welcomes us alongside Tony Schiavone and Taz as we head to our opening contest of the evening.
AEW World Champion MJF defeated Juice Robinson (w/The Gunns) for the Dynamite Diamond Ring
(The match itself I thought was very good, with MJF being able to out scumbag Robinson when it was all said and done, retaining his Diamond Ring for the fifth year. Now, the post match felt longer than this match as so much was crammed into it and I think we could’ve cut some of it. There will be an 8 man tag next week, a ROH Tag Title match at Full Gear and most notably a World Title match on Collision this Saturday.)
MJF shot a quick double leg and unloaded offense in the corner with the Philly crowd going nuts. To the floor they went, as MJF repeatedly launched Robinson into the barricade and over the timekeeper’s table. After spitting water into Robinson’s face, he set him up on a chair, broke the count, flipped the ref off and hit a charging boot sending Robinson into the front row. A slingshot into the post busted Robinson open and MJF was about to stomp Robinson face first onto the steps when The Gunns distraction was enough for Robinson to pull MJF into the steps and hit a DDT on the apron. With Robinson in firm control, Switchblade Jay White came to the stage and joined commentary as MJF was worked over the entire commercial break.
MJF was about to be choked with his scarf, but MJF turned the tables, only to be caught by referee Bryce. MJF started firing up with corner punches and biting the noggin of Robinson before signaling for a Kangaroo Kick and connecting. MJF’s mouth is covered in Robinson’s blood and it’s pretty gross, as The Gunns trip up MJF allowing Robinson to hit an axe kick for two. Both men took turns with eye pokes until Robinson spat in MJF’s face, hit a right hand and powerbomb for two. A double stomp to the left arm connected for MJF, but Robinson escaped the Heat Seeker, allowing MJF to hit a dive to take out both Gunns. Robinson got a low blow and the Juice is Loose DDT for a close near fall.
The Gunns repeatedly tried to get in the ring, distracting Bryce, as both MJF & Robinson put on their rings, with MJF connecting with his punch first. MJF decked both Gunns before dropping Robinson with the Heat Seeker for the victory. Post match, The Gunns attacked MJF but The Kingdom made the save to fight them off briefly, but were easily dispatched. White joined the beat down and Robinson was about to hit a home run shot when The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass ran to the ring to make the save.
On top of the ramp, White said despite everything that just happened he’ll pummel his face in the ground and MJF will breathe with the Switchblade. Colten Gunn then issued a challenge for the ROH Tag Titles at Full Gear. MJF told The Ass Boys to shut up and accepted the handicap match, but said next week it’ll be an 8 man tag and White will be forced to give back the Triple B. Roderick Strong screamed that Max was going to pick them, but MJF told them all to roll off a cliff. Max Caster said that means MJF is picking them, but MJF said even if he was on fire, he wouldn’t team with Caster. Despite all that, Caster still wanted to scissor, but MJF rejected it.
As MJF was walking up the ramp, Kenny Omega’s music hit and he had a faceoff with the AEW Champion. Omega said MJF has something he wants, but Omega has something MJF wants as well. MJF said how about Collision this Saturday for the AEW World Championship? Both men shook hands as MJF hit his go home line, but Omega said his as well before whispering “3 days, bitch.”
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-A vignette for Wardlow is shown talking about how he was sent into a dark place at home all while MJF was becoming the face of AEW and everyone supporting him. Wardlow sat at home watching MJF main event the biggest show in wrestling as World Champion and said there is nothing left for MJF to take from him, but now Wardlow will take everything from MJF.
FTW Champion HOOK & Rob Van Dam defeated John Silver & Alex Reynolds (w/Evil Uno)
(This was the match of the night that a lot of the action took place during commercial, so the offense we did see was primarily from HOOK & RVD.)
Reynolds tried trash talking HOOK to start and was immediately taken down as a result. RVD made the tag along with Silver, as RVD hit his monkey flip and a double clothesline sending Reynolds & Silver to the outside into commercial. HOOK was briefly isolated during break, but hit an Exploder on Silver before RVD made the hot tag. RVD dished out a series of kicks and a Rolling Thunder, but Reynolds saved his partner. Referee Aubrey just let Reynolds & Silver double team, but RVD fought them off to allow HOOK to hit cross face shots. The match broke down, as Evil Uno jumped in with a chair, but RVD clocked him with a Van Daminator. Reynolds was planted with a Five Star Frog Splash, as HOOK slapped on REDRUM to force Silver to tap.
-RJ City let us know he was not Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz when Toni Storm appeared and sent it to picture in picture and her third movie, “Hold The Butler!” We were informed by Excalibur that Storm will be getting a Women’s World Title shot at Full Gear against the winner of Hikaru Shida & Ruby Soho later tonight.
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Tony Khan’s Big Surprise for Sting
Tony Schiavone welcomes Darby Allin & Sting to the ring, as Allin has his right arm in a sling. Sting thanked the Philadelphia fans for all the memories and also thanked Allin for being the best tag team partner he’s ever had. Sting also thanked Tony Khan for making a phone call 4 years ago to give him a chance to go out on his own terms. Sting gave the mic to Tony, Schiavone that is, which popped Excalibur & Taz like crazy. Schiavone said it was 35 years ago; Sting put pro wrestling on the map on TBS, so Schiavone introduced the surprise on behalf of Tony Khan.
Ric Flair’s music hit and The Nature Boy walked out to a massive ovation. Schiavone welcomes Flair to AEW and Flair said in life there are moments that are magical. 35 years ago, Sting & himself made history at Clash of Champions against Wrestlemania. Flair put over Sting huge, calling him one of the greatest wrestlers in the business and the nicest guy he’s ever known. Flair said when he got an invitation by Mr. Khan to be part of this, if Sting would have him, he wants to ride wagon with him. Sting accepted and wanted a Flair chop for old time’s sake.
Christian Cage’s music hit and the TNT Champion walked out with Luchasaurus & Nick Wayne. Cage said Tony Khan is a billionaire, but his present was a suit, gold chains and black liver. Cage said Flair is moving pretty well and doesn’t feel like he’s watching Weekend at Bernie’s at all, which was a great line. Cage knows Ric Flair isn’t dead and knows there isn’t a God, because if there was, Flair would’ve been dead 20 years ago, which got loud “F You Christian” chants. Cage said Allin still has sour grapes losing to him, took a shot at the Philadelphia Phillies and said he doesn’t want to wait until Revolution for Sting to be gone. Cage issued a six man tag challenge for Full Gear with Sting & Allin finding a partner, even though Flair was there, he’s a superkick away from turning to dust. Sting sneezed, said he was allergic to jackasses and accepted the challenge.
-Renee Paquette is backstage with Chris Jericho earlier today for a medical update following the destruction by Powerhouse Hobbs a few weeks ago. Jericho can’t remember ever being beaten down that badly in his career and what hurts the most is his ego. Jericho asked if it was time to hang it up potentially or is it time to get even stronger and gain revenge? Don Callis has a large family, but Chris Jericho has friends as well, bigger than even Will Hobbs, so maybe it’s time to give them a call.
The Elite (Hangman Adam Page and Matt & Nick Jackson) defeated The Hardys (Matt & Jeff) and Brother Zay to retain the ROH Six Man Tag Team Titles
After a fast opening sequence, Zay found himself double teamed by The Bucks before Page made the tag, as did Matt Hardy, who slapped Page, clearly remembering their feud a few years ago. After a scuffle, both sets of Matt’s slugged it out before Jeff blindsided Matt Jackson with a knee to allow Matt Hardy to hit a Side Effect. Zay took out Nick & Page outside, as Matt & Zay mocked The Bucks pose and stayed in control during picture in picture.
Matt & Zay posed too long, allowing Matt Jackson to hit stereo Northern Lights suplexes. Page made the hot tag, ran wild with a fall away slam on Zay and slingshot cross body on Matt outside. Zay kicked out of a nasty Death Valley Driver and was about to hit Dead Eye when Jeff made the save and did the Silly String move Private Party used to break out. Nick fired off a series of superkicks before some 15% miscommunication from The Bucks allowed the Hardys & Zay one final attempt to take control, but ultimately backfired, as The Bucks connected with a BTE on Zay to retain the titles.
Swerve Strickland & Prince Nana were shown on the big screen inside a home we learn is Hangman Page’s, as Page sprinted out of the ring. Strickland said they owe him something, as he tore up Page’s children’s paintings on the fridge and Nana ate some chocolate berries. They heard a noise before Strickland said it wasn’t just Page who will pay for his actions, it’s his loved ones. Strickland stood over Page’s child’s crib and said he’s forever indebted to Strickland and it’s his father’s fault. Strickland put one of his shirts in the crib as Nana told him they needed to go. This was super intense and I can only imagine how violent this feud is about to get.
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-Renee Paquette is backstage with Adam Copeland when Darby Allin & Sting approached and told him he knows Copeland wants to end his career, riding off into the sunset with Christian, but that’s not the world they’re living in. Copeland stopped Allin when Sting interrupted and said for Copeland to stop having blinders on. Sting said he learned from Ric Flair, the dirtiest player in the game, to see through guys like Christian Cage and demands that Copeland is hearing him before its too late. They go way back, don’t mess it all up now, get with it.
Hikaru Shida defeated Ruby Soho to retain the AEW Women’s Title
(I thought their match on Rampage last month blew this one out of the water, as it felt like both ladies were on different pages multiple times. It resulted in a pretty clunky match, so if I were to recommend a match between these two, I’d say go watch that Rampage match, which I thought was excellent.)
After some early strikes, both ladies blocked back slides and Shida got just enough of a cross body out of the corner. Soho avoided the corner punches, sweeping out the leg with a back heel trip until we got a crucifix roll from Shida for two. This time, Shida managed to get the ten corner punches and missile dropkick before Soho bailed outside. Soho pulled Shida off the apron into a No Future kick to take control during break.
We return to a slugfest before Shida applies a Torture Rack and sliding elbow for two. Soho rolled through a cross body into a cradle, but couldn’t hold on, as she stripped away the middle turnbuckle pad. With ref Aubrey distracted, Soho grabbed a spray paint can, tossed it to Shida and acted like she was sprayed. Soho grabbed the women’s title, charged, but Shida sprayed it. For some reason, this upset Shida, allowing Soho to choke Shida and hit Destination Unknown for a close two. Ref Aubrey just watched Soho try to slam Shida into the exposed buckle, as Soho hit No Future, but Shida fell back into the Kitana knee for two. Shida avoided No Future, clobbered Soho with a knee, but they traded near falls and Soho ran into the exposed buckle and Shida hit another knee for the win.
Post match, Timeless Toni Storm walked out to the stage and posed for the crowed with her new butler, who is Luther from Chaos Project, as this all just made Taz giggle. I would’ve preferred RJ City as the butler, but I digress.
-Renee Paquette is with MJF backstage and asked him about everything he has on his plate when Samoa Joe walks in applauding. Joe said he will be MJF’s friend since he doesn’t seem to have any. MJF gladly accepts, but Joe said under one condition, he gives him an AEW World Title shot in return. Joe said don’t worry, he’s sure he’ll have his answer soon enough. The challengers for MJF’s World Title are coming from every direction.
(I really enjoyed how this match was mapped out, as we got our interaction with Okada & Danielson for just a little bit without giving away everything for a rematch. I was pleasantly surprised Castagnoli picked up the win for his team, as it gives us our next challenger for Cassidy’s International Title next week. The post match, as I said in the write up, felt very awkward, as I know what they were trying to do, but the crowd was nearly silent. It’ll be interesting to see where they go from here, especially with the injury angle for Danielson.)
Danielson zoned in on the left arm of Cassidy immediately to start the match, as Cassidy briefly played dead, but Danielson tagged Castagnoli, who showed his power off and also mocked Cassidy with the little kicks. Cassidy just stood up and tagged Okada to a loud ovation as Okada hit a drop toe hold and elbow to the back of Castagnoli before sprinting at Danielson, who retreated. A forearm and uppercut exchange with Castagnoli & Okada occurred before a bodyslam by Okada hit and Cassidy hit the most nonchalant top rope splash. Castagnoli wasted no time peppering Cassidy with forearms and hung him up on the top rope to allow Danielson to hit a diving knee drop into picture in picture.
After being isolated the entire commercial, Cassidy used his quickness to send Castagnoli outside, but the race to make a hot tag took too long and Castagnoli cut Cassidy off. Castagnoli tried to pull Cassidy up by the neck, but it was countered into a DDT for the double down. Finally, Danielson & Okada slowly stepped in the ring to “Holy Sh*t” chants before chops and forearms were dished out in bunches. Okada ducked a series of strike attempts and hit a charging back elbow and DDT that spiked Danielson for two.
Okada signaled for a top rope elbow, the move that broke Danielson’s arm, but rolled through and hit a flapjack. Danielson countered a Tombstone, stomped the arm and yelled he’s going to break Okada’s arm and delivered a series of kicks. Okada ducked the home run shot, but Danielson countered a school boy into a LeBell Lock. Okada got a roll up for two, as both men rose, Danielson missing a Busaiku Knee and Okada missing a Rainmaker. A violent back and forth of chops and forearms before both men collided in the center.
Cassidy & Castagnoli made the tags and Cassidy hit a cross body off the top for two before dishing out stiff kicks. Castagnoli powered out of the tilt a whirl DDT and tried a Giant Swing, but Cassidy countered into Stundog Millionaire and Tornado DDT for two. Danielson made the save as he & Okada spilled outside. Cassidy went for Orange Punch, but Castagnoli countered into a Giant Swing in mid air, which was unreal. Sharpshooter was applied, but Okada broke it up and hit the Air Raid Crash on the knee. Okada connected on his top rope elbow drop, did the Rainmaker pose, which was joined by a Cassidy hug. Danielson broke it up with a top rope dropkick, but Okada got the ripcord applied, Cassidy hit an Orange Punch into a Rainmaker, but Castagnoli made the save. Okada was planted with a springboard uppercut by Castagnoli, who followed that up with a massive pop up uppercut on Cassidy to get the win.
Post match, Danielson clutched his face in pain after suffering the Orange Punch & Rainmaker, as doctors, Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta attended to him, while Best Friends, Kris Statlander, Rocky Romero & HOOK were all out to check on Cassidy. Everyone had an intense staredown, including Yuta & HOOK, as we’re told Cassidy & Castagnoli will face off next week for the International Title. The show ended pretty awkwardly and quiet, as the fans I think believed Danielson was seriously hurt.
AEW Rampage 10/27/23
· Mike Santana vs. Ortiz
· We hear from MJF & Kenny Omega ahead of their World Title match on Collision
· Skye Blue vs. Willow Nightingale vs. Anna Jay vs. Abadon with the winner receiving a Women’s World Title match on Collision
AEW Collision 10/28/23
· MJF defends the AEW World Title against Kenny Omega
· Hikaru Shida defends the AEW Women’s Title against the winner of Blue/Nightingale/Jay/Abadon
AEW Dynamite 11/1/23
· Orange Cassidy defends the AEW International Title against Claudio Castagnoli
The opening match on this week’s AEW Dynamite will be for the Dynamite Diamond ring.
MJF revealed on social media that he requested his match against Juice Robinson open Wednesday’s show in Philadelphia.
He wrote:
I’ve spoken to my “boss” and made it clear I don’t want to wait any longer to get my hands on this honey comb mascot looking Bitch. This match will be opening #AEWDynamite 8pm on @TBSNetwork
I’ve spoken to my “boss” and made it clear I don’t want to wait any longer to get my hands on this honey comb mascot looking Bitch.
AEW has also revealed Hook and Rob Van Dam’s opponents for Dynamite on Wednesday. They will wrestle The Dark Order’s John Silver & Alex Reynolds on the show.
Dynamite this week will be the fifth show AEW has run from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia dating back to the third-ever episode in 2019. According to WrestleTix, 3,811 tickets had been distributed to Wednesday’s show as of last week. They drew over 7000 in 2021, over 6000 in April 2022, and just over 5000 in September 2022.
AEW Presents Dynamite/Rampage Wed • Oct 25 • 7:30 PM The Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA
Available Tickets => 1,226 Current Setup => 5,037 Tickets Distributed => 3,811 (+498 since last update)
John LaRocca and I are back with a brand new Fight Game Podcast.
Also back is our top five pro wrestling stories of the week.
Our first story was about the pivot from where the MJF/Juice Robinson storyline seemed to be going last week before Saturday’s Collision and Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite. We also looked at the main event for AEW Full Gear and how it’s looking right now.
Some of the other things we talked about on this episode include:
Roman Reigns vs. LA Knight and where to do that match
John Cena’s role in bringing Knight to the main event
The guiding of young Nick Wayne so far
Sting’s retirement
How Jade Cargill is being presented so far
We also had a short Wrestling Prospectus segment on a tag team wrestler who had to go the singles route of late.
With Bound for Glory less than two weeks away, a Tag Team title match will air on tonight’s edition of Impact Wrestling
The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz) are defending their Impact Tag Team titles against Rich Swann & Sami Callihan tonight. The winning team will confirm their place on the Bound for Glory card. Ace Austin & Chris Bey are waiting to challenge for the titles at Bound for Glory.
The long-standing rivalry between Frankie Kazarian and Eddie Edwards will come to an end in a two-out-of-three falls match tonight. The first fall must be won by pinfall, the second fall must be won by submission, and the third fall will be a Last Man Standing match.
Jake Something, Dirty Dango, Jordynne Grace, Champagne Singh, and Eric Young will clash in a five-way match. The winner earns the right to enter last in the Call Your Shot gauntlet at Bound for Glory. The loser must enter first.
Tasha Steelz vs. Courtney Rush is also set for Impact. On BTI, Alan Angels faces off against Laredo Kid.
BTI Preshow
Josh Matthews compared Iceman’s Intel to the scoops Mean Gene would have on his old phone lies, but Matthews then assured the fans that Iceman’s Intel was free though. Iceman reported that Eddie Edwards was upset on a phone call, and we didn’t know who it was.
Alan Angels defeated Laredo Kid
This was a decent match between Angels and Kid, and like most luchadores in Impact, Kid lost here.
Impact Wrestling
The departed Sami Callihan is finishing up his tapings with this world tag team title match, teaming with Rich Swann.
Impact World Tag Team Champions The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachery Wentz) defeated Rich Swann & Sami Callihan to retain
As expected, Callihan ate the pin here as he is on the way out. Good tag team title match, and a good way to protect Swann, who is sticking around.
Despite the ending of this match being predictable given Callihan’s contract status, this was still an excellent tag match, as the Rascalz continue to be the most hateable heels in the company, while Swann and Callihan are very good babyfaces. Swann and Miguel exchanged strikes in the ring, but Wentz cut off Swann.
Wentz held the arms of Swann behind his back and Miguel tried to spray paint into the eyes of Swann, but Swann ducked, and he hit Wentz by accident. Callihan hit a Cactus Driver 97 on Wentz, and I actually bought the nearfall here, but Wentz hit a low blow on a second attempt, and Miguel and Wentz hit the Hot Fire Flame on Callihan for the win.
–Kenny King and Sheldon Jean were backstage and King claimed that Scott D’Amore was ducking him and trying to avoid giving him his contractual rematch with Tommy Dreamer. He also talked about their Heath problem, and he wanted to take Heath out, while threatening to make Heath’s kids pay for their dad’s sins.
–KiLynn King was with Gia Miller and talked about she believed that Jody Threat had no integrity, because Threat was the one who attacked Taylor Wilde with a tire iron. Santino then said it was interesting to him that King knew that Wilde was attacked with a tire iron, as the doctor only told him about it and no one else. King then admitted that she was the one who took out Wilde, because Wilde was dead weight once they lost the tag titles. I guess that plot point has been resolved.
This match was weirdly laid out. Young and Something were absent for most of it, and the ending was baffling.
The winner of this match gets the #20 spot in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet at Bound for Glory, while the person pinned has to enter first. Champgagne Singh celebrated clotheslining Jordynne Grace. Dirty Dango and him danced, but soon broke down into trying to pin Grace themselves. Dango and Singh got some endless heat on Grace here, but Singh cut Dango off when he went to the top rope for a guillotine legdrop. Young and Something disappeared for about 5 minutes at this point, but Something came back into start fighting Dango and Singh with Grace.
Eric Young hit a flying elbow on Dango, but Alpha Bravo pulled Young from the ring to make the save. Young punched out Alpha Bravo, and as this happened Vladimir Kozlov, aka Oleg Prudius, walked down to the ring and took out Singh and Young, then headbutt Jake Something, allowing Dango to get the pin. Prudius, Dango, and Bravo celebrated after the match. I’m not sure the signing of the 54 year old Prudius will help Impact, and it is quite weird, but at least it’s only an angle with Dango, so it’s lower card.
–Crazzy Steve talked about finally putting Black Taurus behind him once he faces him next week.
–Mike Bailey announced he was asking for a open challenge next week to anyone on the level of Will Ospreay so he could have a warm up for his match at Bound for Glory.
Tasha Steelz (w/ Deonna Purrazzo) defeated Courtney Rush (w/ Jessicka)
This was a nothing match, but that doesn’t mean it was bad. It was just a match, and there is nothing wrong with this. Steelz should have won, and that is exactly what happened.
Steelz and Rush started the match focusing mostly on the mat, but both went down with a double clothesline after a few minutes. Rush eventually locked a sharpshooter on Steelz, and Purrazzo tried to push the ropes closer to Steelz, but the referee kept a close eye on Purrazzo. Steelz made it to the ropes and then hit a code breaker when Rush tried to pull Steelz from the ropes. Rush missed a spear, and Steelz hit a cutter for the win.
–A video aired of Alex Shelley getting pinned by Hiroshi Tanahashi in NJPW after Josh Alexander accidentally hit Shelley in their six-man tag against Kazuchika Okada, Tanahashi, and Tomohiro Ishii.
–Bully Ray walked up to Steve Maclin and said that Maclin called him soft last week in the locker room, and asked if he really did it again in front of the fans. Maclin confirmed he did. Ray said “Cool” and walked away. I sense violence in Maclin’s future.
Frankie Kazarian defeated Eddie Edwards in a 2/3 Falls Killer Impact Match
Kazarian and Eddie Edwards continue their long history of each producing great matches individually, and do so again together here. This was a great feud ending match, and they made the right call with Kazarian winning in the end. This was the easily the best part of this episode, and I encourage everyone to check it out.
The rules of this match were actually quite simple (queue Scott Hudson) as the first fall was won by pinfall, the second by submission, and the third as a last man standing match. The opening fall of the match was a brawl between both men, with Edwards hitting hard chops, as he does, and Kazarian using his speed to hit legdrops and go for pinfall attempts. Kazarian hit a chop, but Edwards made him pay with several hard chops in the corner that sent Kazarian to the mat.
The fans chanted “You still suck!” after a particularly hard chop. Edwards dodged a springboard legdrop and hit the Boston knee party to win the first fall.
Edwards continued his assault as they went to the ad break, and when they came back both men were exchanging strikes in the middle of the ring, with Edwards hitting hard chops. Edwards slapped Kazarian, which fired him up and he hit several strikes, but Edwards cut him off again with another hard chop. Edwards blocked a chicken wing and hit another hard chop before dumping Kazarian to the floor with a back suplex throw.
Kazarian came up with blood covering his chest from how hard the chops were, but he decided to keep fighting and flipped backwards out of a back suplex. He then hit a sole but and went for a leg submission, but Edwards fought out and got the advantage again. Edwards hit a backpack stunner, but Kazarian sat up and got the crossface chicken wing on Edwards, forcing a tap out.
Kazarian quickly shoved Edwards from the top rope and hit a hurricanrana to the floor. Kazarian began an assault with weapons in the match, busting Edwards open. Edwards got nailed with a garbage can, and the fans popped for it, but not as much as I expected, given the nature of the match. The crowd was not as loud as I would have hoped. Kazarian charged Edwards but Edwards hit a belly-to-belly overhead suplex that sent Kazarian flying into the timekeeper at ringside.
Kazarian and Edwards continued to brawl, but Edwards kept going back to the overhead belly-to-belly on the floor, winding him and causing damage. Edwards threw Kazarian into the ring, but this proved to be a mistake that allowed Kazarian to hit a slingshot cutter. Kazarian set up a table on the floor and had the finish in mind. Edwards managed to hit a hip toss into the steps on Kazarian.
Edwards tried to hit a tiger driver onto the stairs, but Kazarian fought out and hit an unprettier on the steps on Edwards. Kazarian went to put Edwards through a table, but Alisha Edwards nailed Edwards with a kendo stick. Kazarian still fought Edwards off and then hit a Styles Clash on the stage.
Alisha Edwards tried to hit a tornado DDT off the apron on Kazarian, but he caught her and ran around the ring and put her through a table with a spear. In actuality, Kazarian went pretty much back first through the table, protecting Alisha Edwards well, but it got a great reaction from the audience. Kazarian then grabbed Eddie Edwards and hit a fade to black off the apron through a table to the floor. I am worried about how Edwards landed, but he appeared to be fine as Kazarian got up at the count of 9 and Edwards was left in a heap on the floor.
Final Thoughts
This was mostly just a fine episode until the main event. The main event was awesome.The rest of the show was fine, but this was a truly excellent main event. Next week is the go home show for Bound for Glory, so they need to really bring it to sell the PPV.
Impact Wrestling – October 19, 2023
Trinity & Mickie James vs. Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans
Rhino & PCO vs. Moose & Myers
Kenny King vs. Heath
Mike Bailey vs. Samuray Del Sol
No DQ: Crazzy Steve vs. Black Taurus
Impact Wrestling Bound for Glory – October 21, 2023
Impact Knockouts World Championship: Trinity (c) vs. Mickie James
Monster’s Ball: Moose vs. PCO vs. Rhino vs. Steve Maclin
For the fifth time, AEW will hold a Dynamite Dozen battle royal as part of next Wednesday’s edition of Dynamite from Rosenberg, Texas.
The winner of the 12-man over the top battle royal will face current Dynamite Diamond Ring holder and reigning AEW World Champion MJF for the ring on the Wednesday, October 25th edition of Dynamite from Philadelphia, PA.
Juice Robinson was the only participant announced.
MJF has been the only owner of the ring since its inception, dating back to November 2019. That year, MJF and Hangman Page were co-winners of the battle royal and a singles match determined the winner.
In December 2020, MJF and Orange Cassidy were co-winners with MJF defeating Cassidy the following week to keep the ring. In December 2021, MJF and Dante Martin co-won the battle royal with MJF retaining the ring yet again the following week.
AEW then changed the rules for the December 2022 version, having the battle royal winner face MJF (who was given a bye) the following week. MJF defeated winner Ricky Starks in a match that also was for MJF’s World title as Starks had additionally won a tournament.
The match was the only thing announced for next Wednesday’s show.
A match between Andrade El Idolo and Juice Robinson is set for next week’s Collision.
The go-home show for WrestleDream will see Andrade El Idolo face Juice Robinson. after Idolo attempted to defeat Jay White in a singles match on Saturday. However, constant interference from other members of Bullet Club Gold prevented that from happening. White managed to score the win after Robinson blasted Idolo with a plaque.
Best Friends will also face The Kingdom. Both members of The Kingdom on Collision Saturday night blamed Best Friends for costing them a chance at the ROH Tag Team titles at Rampage Grand Slam on Friday. They said and said they would prove they really aren’t best friends in honor of neck health awareness month.
The Kingdom in recent weeks have aligned themselves with Roderick Strong, who has felt betrayed by Adam Cole’s newfound association with MJF.
Here is the updated lineup for next Saturday’s Collision:
This past week was expected by many to have more great matches than any so far this year, and largely delivered with multiple great and completely different style matches.
Among the great matches of the week were Kento Miyahara vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima on the 7/15 Pro Wrestling NOAH show at Korakuen Hall, FTR vs. Jay White & Juice Robinson on 7/15 in Calgary on Collision in a two out of three fall title match, El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Kenny Omega at TripleMania in Tijuana for the AAA Mega title on 7/15, Tomohiro Ishii vs. David Finlay from the G-1 Climax tournament on 7/16 in Sapporo, Will Ospreay vs. Yoshi-Hashi in the 7/18 G-1 from Yamagata and the Blood & Guts match on 7/19 on Dynamite from Boston.
Every one of these matches was different, including both matches with Omega that couldn’t be more different. Omega noted that one of the reasons he did the stuff he did in the Blood & Guts match, which included taking bumps into glass, thumbtacks, and a bed of nails, is that it’s important to him to show he can excel at any style of wrestling.
AEW will make their debut tonight in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, as Collision will feature the finals of the second-ever Owen Hart Foundation tournaments.
On the men’s side, CM Punk will face Ricky Starks for the first time ever. Punk advanced with wins over Satoshi Kojima and Samoa Joe to get here while Starks defeated Juice Robinson and Powerhouse Hobbs.
On the women’s side, Willow Nightingale will face former partner-turned-rival Ruby Soho. Soho got wins over Britt Baker and Skye Blue while Nightingale beat Nyla Rose and Athena to punch her ticket. Soho was unsuccessful in last year’s final that Baker won.
Nightingale and Soho have faced off once before in singles action with Soho picking up the victory in March.
After losing in a title eliminator last Saturday, AEW Tag Team Champions FTR will defend against Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White & Juice Robinson in a two-out-of-three falls match.
**********
We got our pre-roll videos, featuring comments from everyone in our key matches tonight. After a few weeks, I can do without these videos. Instead of the good kind of old-school, they feel antiquated and lame.
This week’s Collision takes place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada as part of the Calgary Stampede. Joining Nigel McGuinness on commentary this week is Ian Riccaboni, as Kevin Kelly is in Japan doing commentary for New Japan’s G1 Climax tournament.
AEW World Tag Team Title Two Out Of Three Falls Match – FTR defeated Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Juice Robinson) 2 falls to 1 to retain the titles
I’ll get my small criticisms out of the way first. There was a lot of dead time in this one. The first fall was a lot of stalling, which tipped me off that this one was going long. Despite that, this was an incredible effort from these teams as they came together to have an excellent match. They peaked all three falls well, bringing the crowd to a fever pitch by the end of the third fall. This one will be talked about for a long time as the first Collision classic.
A good bit of stalling to start, which makes me think this one will be going long. Once they got started, White got the better of Harwood with armdrags. Both men made tags, with Wheeler sending Robinson out of the ring with a shoulder block as we went to our first picture-in-picture break.
As we came back from the commercial, Harwood tripped White up on a dropdown before hitting a side Russian leg sweep for a nearfall. Harwood caught White in a Cobra Twist, taunting Robinson as he grabbed the rope for leverage. Tags made on both sides led to Robinson dropping Wheeler with the Left Hand of God. The two traded pinfalls before Wheeler press slammed Robinson and tagged in Harwood. Harwood laid out Robinson with a chop before chopping him more in the corner.
As Harwood and Robinson traded headlocks, the announcers told us that Malakai Black & Brody King would be in tag team action tonight. After some headlock exchanges, Robinson sent Harwood shoulder-first into the ringpost before tagging in White. White leathered Harwood with chops. Harwood fought back but missed a corner splash and hit the ringpost head-first. White laid both Harwood and Wheeler out with DDTs before hitting a DVD for a nearfall. White dropped Harwood down with a facebuster before pulling him up and over with a bridging German suplex for a nearfall. Harwood fought back with chops before knocking White down with a lariat.
Things quickly broke down into a four-way scramble that ended with Robinson cutting off a Shatter Machine attempt and punching Wheeler with the Left Hand of God. That led to White hitting the Blade Runner to score the first fall as we went to a full screen break.
Robinson worked over Harwood’s arm as we came back from the break. Wheeler tagged in and laid into White, dropping him with a lariat for a nearfall. White came back with a back suplex before tagging out to Robinson, who laid into Wheeler with a pair of sentons. Robinson and White isolated Wheeler, with White clawing at Wheeler’s eyes to stop him from going for the tag. White hit Wheeler with a slingshot into the bottom rope before Robinson dropped Wheeler with a DDT on the floor.
More clubbering on Wheeler before Wheeler got his knees up on a Robinson senton to cut him off. Wheeler went for a sunset flip on Robinson, but White tagged in and went after the eyes again. Wheeler caught White with a headscissors before making the tag to Harwood, who ran wild on the challengers. Harwood got a pair of nearfalls on Robinson before sending him flying with two German suplexes. Harwood hit a brainbuster for a nearfall.
The Saddledome came alive with This Is Awesome chants as Harwood went for the Sharpshooter, but Robinson kicked him off and tagged in White. White hit a suplex into the turnbuckles that Robinson followed with a cannonball for a nearfall. White sent Harwood to the floor before teasing a stuff piledriver on Wheeler with Robinson. But FTR came back as Harwood hit a sunset flip off the ropes for a nearfall. FTR hit the Redneck Boogie on White, shouting out the Briscoes, for a close nearfall. FTR went for the Powerplex on White, but White got the knees up on Wheeler’s splash. Robinson came off the ropes with a Frog Splash on Harwood for another nearfall. This crowd is at a fever pitch as the match resets. FTR quickly got the second fall with some misdirection leading to the Shatter Machine on Robinson.
Back from commercial, and a Pier Six brawl broke out during the break. White backdropped his way out of a piledriver on the apron. Harwood got White in powerbomb position on the floor, but White took Harwood over the barricade. The doctors came to check on both men, but the match continued as White and Harwood brawled with each other in the crowd. Harwood dropped White with a suplex on the concrete, before FTR brought White back to ringside with a double suplex. Robinson came in, but FTR dropped him with a double suplex as well. White beat the countout before leading to the West Side Story staredown. They brawled with each other, with Wheeler suplexing Robinson over the ropes to the floor as we went to a picture-in-picture commercial.
Harwood got to the ropes to get out of a White submission as we came back. White tuned up the band but put Harwood in the Sharpshooter instead to big boos. Harwood reached the ropes and fought off a double-team attempt. Harwood brought White to the top rope before bringing him down hard with a back superplex. We got a 55-minute call as Robinson cut off a Harwood tag. White hit a bridging back suplex for a nearfall. White teased the Bladerunner, but Harwood pulled him into a Sharpshooter. Wheeler cut off Robinson and put him in a Sharpshooter. FTR couldn’t hold the position on the Sharpshooter and collapsed. Robinson tagged in, but Harwood snatched him into the Sharpshooter again. Robinson tapped out, giving FTR the deciding second fall and the win to a big pop.
After the match, FTR offered a handshake. Instead, White and Robinson spat on their hands and left. I’ve heard that might be a fine nowadays.
– We got a hype package for Blood and Guts this Wednesday, hyping it as the bloodiest match in AEW.
Owen Hart Foundation 2023 Women’s Tournament Final Match – Willow Nightingale defeated Ruby Soho
Soho came out solo, with the announcers noting that she made it to the finals last year. Nightingale started the match in control, countering Soho’s offense before hitting a trio of suplexes for a nearfall. Soho avoided a charge in the corner and tied Nightingale in the ropes, hitting her with knees to the chest. Soho got a nearfall as we went to picture-in-picture break.
Back from the break as Nightingale hit an enzuigiri. Nightingale fired up on Soho, clubbering on her in the corner. Soho hit a back elbow, but Nightingale pulled her into an Oklahoma Stampede for a nearfall. A pinning predicament led to a forearm exchange, which led to Soho getting a rollup for a nearfall. Nightingale hit a main event spinebuster and locked on a single leg crab. Soho got to the ropes, where she grabbed her spraypaint can. She put it in Nightingale’s hands and feigned innocence before clawing the eyes and hitting the No Future for a nearfall. Soho went for the paint again, but Nightingale hit a pounce that sent the can out of the ring. Nightingale hit the Babe With The Powerbomb to win the tournament. Tony Khan raised Nightingale’s hand as the announcers noted that Martha Hart would have an official ceremony for both tournament winners during Battle of the Belts.
– We cut to a video from last week, where Tony Schiavane was looking to talk to Powerhouse Hobbs after QTV accidentally cost him his tournament match against Ricky Starks. QT Marshall and Harley Cameron went into his locker room, with Marshall pleading his case to Hobbs. Hobbs seemed to buy it.
Kings of the Black Throne (Brody King & Malachi Black) defeated Artemis Spencer & Randy Myers
King powered one of the men into the corner, forcing a tag. Black tagged in, kicking the legs out of his opponent. Black locked on a knee bar as King hit a senton. This was a destruction that brought out Andrade El Idolo. Black hit the Black Mass for the win as referees held Andrade back. The House of Black taunted Andrade with his stolen mask.
– The announcers ran down the Battle of the Belts card before running down the Blood and Guts Dynamite card, featuring the Blood and Guts match, the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament Finals with Adam Cole & MJF taking on Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia, and an FTW Title match with Hook defending against Jack Perry. They then announce that next Friday’s Rampage will feature the return of the Royal Rampage match.
Owen Hart Foundation 2023 Men’s Tournament Final Match – Ricky Starks defeated CM Punk
This was fine. The work was nothing special, but the crowd was electric for and against Punk.
Punk had a mixed reaction coming out here. Dueling chants for both men as they traded arm wringers to start. Starks knocked Punk down with a shoulder block before taunting him with the Go To Sleep pose. Punk hip-tossed Starks to the floor as we went to commercial.
Starks avoided a corner charge as we came back from the break. Starks went Old School on Punk as the announcers noted that the legendary Jushin Thunder Liger would be helping to present the trophy to the winner of this match. Punk heated up on Starks, hitting a big kick to the back. Punk bodyslammed Starks before hitting the Bret Hart second rope elbow. Wrong brother, Punk. A Russian leg sweep scored a nearfall for Punk. Punk laid out Starks with a leg lariat as the crowd continued to be mixed for Punk. Another bodyslam set up the elbow, but Starks cut him off as we went to break again.
Punk hit the rising knee as we came back from commercial. Starks booted Punk on a corner charge, but Punk cut off a satellite DDT and hit a La Magistral cradle for a nearfall. Another rising knee scored for Punk, but Starks got the DDT for a nearfall. Starks went to the top rope, but Punk sat up out of the way of an elbow drop. Punk hit the Pepsi Twist for a nearfall. Both men met in the middle with crossbodies, crashing into each other for a double down.
They had a strike exchange that fired up Starks, but Punk caught Starks with a Piledriver for a nearfall. Punk called for the Go To Sleep, but Starks elbowed out and hit a spear that sent Punk to the floor. Starks dragged Punk back into the ring and went for another spear, but Punk caught him in a front guillotine that forced Starks to the ropes. Punk brought Starks to the top rope and hit a hurricanrana. They rolled through each other’s pins until Starks got the pin with second rope in hand. Starks celebrated as Punk sat in shock as we cut to Battle of the Belts.
Toni Storm made an appearance at Sunday’s NJPW Resurgence pay-per-view, helping Juice Robinson defeat Fred Rosser in a Street Fight.
Robinson defeated Rosser in a Street Fight following interference from Storm, including Storm attempting a low blow on Rosser, and hitting Rosser with Storm Zero.
The Robinson vs. Rosser feud had been built around Rosser taunting Storm, including setting up a ringside seat for her at Capital Collision. Robinson was given a storyline suspension for attacking Rosser in their Capital Collision match and was removed from the IWGP United States Championship number one contender’s tournament the following night. Rosser was then put in Robinson’s spot. Robinson then cost Rosser that match against Lance Archer, and the feud continued, with Rosser cutting promos on Storm, seemingly coming on to her.
Storm and Robinson got their revenge at Resurgence, but not before a spot where Rosser forcibly kissed Storm in the ring.
Earlier in the bout, Storm attempted a low blow, but Rosser revealed that he was wearing a protective cup to negate the effects of the blow.
Storm later hit Rosser with her Storm Zero finisher in what had effectively turned into a 2-on-1 match with Robinson & Storm vs. Rosser.
Storm challenged for the AEW Women’s Championship last June at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, losing to Thunder Rosa in what could technically be deemed her NJPW debut.
Several matches and a new promo were announced for this Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite.
One of them is a Tres de Mayo trios battle royal that will see six teams and a combined 18 men.
Participants are The Butcher, The Blade, & Kip Sabian; Lucha Brothers & El Hijo del Vikingo; Varsity Athletes (Ari Daivari, Josh Woods & Tony Nese); Dark Order (John Silver, Evil Uno & Alex Reynolds); The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn; and QTV (QT Marshall, Powerhouse Hobbs & Aaron Solo).
No future AEW Trios title match was announced for the winner.
The Elite (Kenny Omega & the Young Bucks) will be on hand to share some thoughts about their recent run-ins with the Blackpool Combat Club. Omega vs. Jon Moxley in a steel cage match was also announced Friday for the May 10th Dynamite.
After an effort at their first encounter was thwarted by Jay White’s AEW return, Ricky Starks will once again attempt to take on Juice Robinson.
Saraya of The Outcasts will wrestle Willow Nightingale for the first time ever.
The new additions join the previously announced MJF & Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin & “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry tag team match where if Allin and Perry win, a four-way AEW World title match between all men will be made for Double or Nothing.
The other match previously announced is an eight-man tag featuring the AEW in-ring debut of Roderick Strong alongside Adam Cole, Orange Cassidy & Bandido against Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker of the Jericho Appreciation Society.
Here’s the current card:
The Elite promo
Ricky Starks vs. Juice Robinson
Saraya vs. Willow Nightingale
MJF & Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin & Jack Perry with Double or Nothing AEW World title match stipulations on the line
Roderick Strong, Adam Cole, Orange Cassidy & Bandido vs. Jericho Appreciation Society (Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker)
This week’s AEW Dark action was taped at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
Juice Robinson defeated Pat Buck
This was the second AEW match for Buck, who is their vice president of talent development, and the first one that has been televised.
Buck and Robinson exchanged headlocks in the early stages. Buck got the upper hand after an armdrag, but Robinson then broke the hold and shoved Buck into the corner.
Robinson continued to work him down while playing to the crowd as the match went along. Buck then caught Robinson with a big powerslam out of nowhere for a near fall.
After a few more reversals, Robinson caught Buck with his signature Juice Is Loose DDT for the win.
The Renegades defeated Kiah Dream & Brittany J
Charlette Renegade and Brittany J started out and Charlette took her down with a clothesline before tagging out to Robyn Renegade. Robyn did minimal damage before tagging back out to Charlette who nailed J with a pump kick.
Dream entered off a hot tag, but immediately ran into a shotgun dropkick from Robyn. Moments later, the sisters hit Dream with a running assisted clothesline to pick up the victory.
Cole Karter defeated Hunter James
Karter took down James with both a shoulder tackle and clothesline early on. Karter continued to dominate, eventually hitting James with a swinging DDT to pick up the victory.
Iron Savages (w/ Jameson Ryan) defeated The TrustBusters (Jeeves Kay & Sonny Kiss)
Kay took out Bronson with a dive to the outside in the early going. After tossing him back in the ring, he then hit Bronson with a frog splash for a near fall.
Kay continued his momentum, hitting Bronson with a DDT after Sonny Kiss provided a distraction. Kiss and Boulder then entered the fray.
Boulder delivering a double flatliner to both Kay and Kiss. Kiss tried to get back on track with a backspring slap, but Boulder blocked it at the last second. Boulder then power bombed and powerslammed Kiss and Kay at the same time before tagging in Bronson.
Moments later, Boulder lifted up Bronson for an assisted splash onto Kiss to score the win.
Marina Shafir defeated Dream Girl Ellie
Ellie tried to apply a headlock, but Shafir backed herself in the corner and escaped. Ellie then applied a wrist lock and nailed Shafir with a few stiff kicks to the face before Shafir drove her into the mat with a hammerlock suplex. Moments later, Shafir submitted her with a combination arm/leg lock.
Levy tried to showboat early on, but Johl delivered a suplex to take him out of the match. Diaz later showed some flashy moves before being taken out by a Raju flatliner. Moments later, Levy re-entered and was hit with a combination pump kick/knee from both Raju and Johl, giving them the win.
Christopher Daniels defeated Angelico
Daniels tied up his opponent with an arm submission. The hold quickly transitioned to the mat where Daniels remained in control of Angelico’s arm.
Angelico turned the tables on Daniels and started to focus on his ankle which Daniels evaded with a rope break. Angelico proceeded to drop Daniels on the mat with a suplex for a near fall. Daniels responded with a modified suplex from the second rope for a near fall of his own.
Angelico played possum after the pin and was able to bait Daniels into a STF type submission, but Daniels was once again able to break the hold with a rope break. Moments later, Daniels hit Angelico with his signature Angel’s Wings move out of nowhere to pick up the win.
The Bullet Club member attacked Fred Rosser before the start of their scheduled match on Saturday’s Capital Collision, hitting him with a chair and a roll of quarters. Robinson also struck an official and has now been issued a storyline suspension for his actions. The match against Rosser was officially ruled a no-contest.
NJPW announced on Sunday that Robinson has been pulled from tonight’s Collision in Philadelphia event from the 2300 Arena. He was supposed to face Lance Archer on the show in the first round of a four-person tournament to determine the next challenger for Kenny Omega’s IWGP United States Championship. Rosser will now replace Robinson in the match against Archer.
On April 15 at Capital Collision, a scheduled match between Juice Robinson and Fred Rosser ended in a no contest when Robinson attacked Rosser before the bell, and also assaulted an official.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling holds the safety of its competitors and staff at the highest priority, and after careful consideration, has determined that Juice Robinson be suspended effective immediately and until further notice.
As a result, Robinson will not compete at Collision in Philadelphia. NJPW apologises for the sudden card change and any inconvenience and disappointment caused.
Rosser had mentioned Robinson’s wife, Toni Storm, in the lead-up to Saturday’s show. He then had a seat marked as reserved for her in the front row. Following Robinson’s attack, he told Rosser to “keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth.”
NJPW Collision in Philadelphia, Sunday, April 16, 5 p.m. Eastern time on FITE TV PPV —
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Lio Rush & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) & TJP
IWGP US title number one contender’s tournament: Lance Archer vs. Fred Rosser
Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi vs. KENTA & Chase Owens
Orange Cassidy vs. Gabriel Kidd
Homicide & Rocky Romero vs. SANADA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Zack Sabre Jr., Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs
ROH Pure Rules match: Alex Coughlin vs. Tracy Williams
El Desperado & Volador Jr. vs. Delirious & Kevin Knight
Ricky Starks and Juice Robinson will meet on April 5.
A match between the two was made official on Saturday’s AEW Dynamite. That show will be held at the UBS Arena in Long Island, New York.
Saturday’s Rampage had Starks calling out Robinson. Robinson appeared, but balked at the idea of facing Starks in Independence or St. Louis, the home of this coming Wednesday’s Dynamite. Robinson instead said he would meet him in New York in two weeks.
Starks and Robinson have been feuding since the Dynamite following Revolution. Starks had come to the ring to talk about what was next when the Bullet Club logo appeared on the video screen. That was a distraction as Robinson laid him out from behind.
Robinson signed with AEW back in December. His first high profile match took place back at ROH Final Battle, where he unsuccessfully challenged Samoa Joe for the ROH Television Championship.
Tonight saw the first round of tapings from NJPW’s recent Detonation tapings in Hollywood, California.
Lucha Libre Rules Match: Rocky Romero & Adrian Quest defeated Atlantis Jr. & Virus
The “Lucha Libre Rules” stipulation meant wrestlers would not be required to tag as long as each team kept with the “one in, one out” rule.
CMLL’s Atlantis Jr. & Virus made their NJPW Strong debuts here. Romero and Virus were in together first. On commentary, Ian Riccaboni talked up Romero and Virus’ past singles bouts. They had a great mat exchange at the top of the match. The crowd was excited to see both Virus and Atlantis Jr., and chanted for both throughout the first few minutes.
After a few minutes of trading holds, Romero stuck his hand out at Virus in a show of respect, but Virus wasn’t interested, waving Romero off and tagging out to Atlantis Jr. The crowd “ooh’d” at that.
Adrian Quest and Atlantis Jr. were in together next. Quest landed a springboard corkscrew press before Atlantis Jr. took him down with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.
Later, Atlantis Jr. took out Romero & Quest with a tope suicida. Virus and Atlantis double-teamed both Quest and then Romero in the ring for a while. The five-minute call sounded when Romero made a comeback and tried laying in his Forever Clotheslines on Virus, who cut him off after just two clotheslines.
Quest made the save for Romero and earned a two after landing a standing shooting star press. Virus answered with hard chops and a short jab to lay Quest out. Romero hit Sliced Bread for two. Atlantis Jr. and Quest got into it next. Atlantis Jr. landed a nice dropkick before Quest answered back with a spinning back suplex. Atlantis rolled to the floor and Quest followed him out with a somersault senton, crashing onto Atlantis.
Virus scored a close two with a snap powerslam. Romero responded with a rewind kick. The two went back and forth teasing finishes before Romero cradled Virus for a sudden three-count. Romero & Quest score the win in just over ten minutes. Virus was very good, and Atlantis Jr. showed tons of charisma and maturity despite being just 24 years old. The in-house crowd enjoyed this one.
Homicide defeated Danny Limelight
This was sold as a grudge match because Team Filthy’s Danny Limelight used to be a member of LAX with Homicide before turning his back on the group.
Just before the match got underway, Limelight got into Homicide’s face and called him a hater. When Homicide beat “Filthy” Tom Lawlor on Strong a few weeks ago, Limelight helped Lawlor out and in a promo after the match, Limelight said Homicide is just jealous.
Homicide went right after Limelight, repeatedly shoulderbutting him in the corner and hitting him with a cutter before taking Limelight onto the floor for a ringside beating. Homicide threw Limelight over the guardrail into the first row. He rolled back into the ring to break the ref’s ring-out count, but when he came back out, Limelight caught him off guard with a blockbuster from off the guardrail.
Back in the ring, Limelight shared words with fans before landing a nice diving crossbody press. Homicide answered with a front suplex. Limelight landed a short double-stomp to the back of Homicide’s head.
The crowd enjoyed giving Limelight a hard time. They booed when he went for the Eddy Guerrero-style three vertical suplexes in a row. When Limelight went to the top rope for another attack, the “Radioactive Papi ” paused to showboat for the crowd, which allowed Homicide to recover, follow Limelight to the top, and superplex him off the ropes.
Limelight would later flip Homicide the bird, and Homicide’s response was to bite Limelight’s finger before spitting out a chunk of something. The announcers thought it was a fingernail. Homicide would then shove Limelight against the ropes and stick a fish hook in his mouth while biting his forehead. The crowd loved it and would later start chanting “Danny P*to!”
When the ten-minute call sounded, Limelight landed a Pelé kick before catching Homicide with a springboard tornado DDT. Limelight would go for another one moments later, but Homicide landed the Cop Killer and picked up the win in just over ten minutes.
Afterwards, Homicide looked like he was ready to enact some punishment on Limelight as he circled the ring looking for weapons. He found a bucket, a suitcase, a plastic bin and other pro wrestling booty under the ring and tossed it all inside. Just as Homicide was about to lay into Limelight, Bobby Fish appeared from out of nowhere and attacked Homicide. He threw a few knees before launching him with an exploder suplex into the ropes. The former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion grabbed the mic and said the enemy of his friends (like Tom Lawlor) are his enemy. He said that he and Team Filthy “have some work to do,” and that the NJPW Strong locker room should be worried about that.
*****
Backstage, Emily Mae interviewed the NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns about their upcoming title defense against Stray Dog Army. Both Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley explained that they’d been all over the world and spent their time making their names on “the blue mat” (NJPW) and in CMLL, IMPACT and elsewhere. Sabin said the only way Stray Dog Army would take the titles would be when they pried them from MCMG’s cold dead fingers.
“Rock Hard” Juice Robinson defeated Blake Christian
Christian darted at Robinson when the bell rang, but Robinson immediately rolled out of the ring to avoid any contact. Christian would chase Robinson to the other side of the ring and again Robinson scurried away. It was on the third try that Christian was able to catch Robinson with a tope suicida on the floor before throwing him back into the ring.
When Christian went for a moonsault off the apron, Robinson caught him in mid-air, then dropped him throat-first across the guardrail with Snake Eyes. Robinson then charged at Christian, but Christian moved and Robinson crashed shoulder-first into the ring post. Christian would immediately capitalize, targeting Robinson’s shoulder. He used an armbreaker over the guardrail before simply wrenching on Robinson’s shoulder as it was stuck in between the rails. Referee Jeremy Marcus had to step down onto the floor and yell at Christian to force him back into the ring.
Back in the ring, Christian came off the ropes but Robinson caught him with a tilt-a-whirl slam before putting him down with a spinebuster for two. He crushed Christian with a heavy senton next, then stomped away at Christian in the corner before connecting with a running cannonball. Five minutes had passed by this point. The crowd chanted “Let’s go, Juicy!”
Christian came back and took Robinson out with a springboard forearm. The energy in the crowd would die down when Christian would return offense, who slowly became more pro-Juice as this match went on.
Christian landed a Rob Van Dam-style Rolling Thunder splash on the apron before doing a Sabu-style Arabian Press onto the floor. The crowd started chanting “f*ck you, Blake!”
Back in the ring, Christian landed a rolling single-arm DDT before locking in a Fujiwara armbar on Robinson’s injured shoulder. Robinson sold like his arm was about to be ripped out of its socket.
Robinson was able to catch Christian with his Left Hand of God, but when he ran at Christian in the corner for a lariat, Christian deflected and kicked Robinson in the injured arm. The crowd was fully behind Robinson. Christian then went for a victory roll, but Robinson reversed the pinfall and held onto the ropes for extra leverage, which he used for the win. Robinson quickly escaped the ring and ran to the back whilst flipping the double bird to the crowd. The crowd kept chanting “Juice!” as the show finally wrapped.
Final thoughts:
I enjoy the more eclectic episodes of NJPW Strong, like tonight’s episode. The opener was a solid, fast-paced bout with new faces for the show. Hopefully NJPW Strong shows in Los Angeles will become a regular destination for more CMLL stars.
Homicide vs. Danny Limelight was good as well, and the Bobby Fish appearance was a total surprise. He’s someone who’d fit in perfectly with the current crop on Strong.
The main event between Juice Robinson and Blake Christian was good as well, but the most interesting part of the match was how positive the crowd reacted to Robinson, who was doing his best to play heel to Christian’s white-bread babyface role. The Hollywood crowd reacts similarly to Jay White also; no matter how bad or nasty they act in the ring, Bullet Club’s Robinson & White seem to always get the hero treatment.
