Tag: Kazuchika Okada

AEW Collision live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kyle Fletcher Continental Classic match

Posted on by Suit Williams

Reigning AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada will face Kyle Fletcher as part of the Continental Classic on tonight’s AEW Collision from the GalaxyCon convention in Columbus, Ohio.

Okada comes into the Blue league match with four points while Fletcher is leading the pack with six. This will be their first match since Okada bested Fletcher in September.

In another Blue league match, reigning TNT Champion Daniel Garcia will take on Mark Briscoe for the first time ever. Garcia has four points while Briscoe has yet to score a single point.

The show will also feature Gold league action as Darby Allin and Komander meet for the first time ever with both in search of their first point.

In a semifinal of the AEW qualifier portion of the Wrestle Dynasty International Women’s Cup, Willow Nightingale will face Serena Deeb.

Mina Shirakawa will prepare for her challenge of AEW Women’s World Champion Mariah May this Wednesday as she takes on Emi Sakura.

**********

This week’s Collision comes from Columbus, Ohio as part of the GalaxyCon convention. The show started with announcers Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness running down the card before throwing to a video package of the past week’s Continental Classic action.

Continental Classic Gold League Match – Darby Allin [3 points, 1-1 record] defeated Komander [0, 0-3]

This match intrigued me on paper and was a stellar match in execution. Allin using mat work to both allow Komander to shine in the air and catch him with a flash pin to win was a smart format for the match. More matches should end with flash pins to keep the fans on their toes, so I have no issue with the finish. Komander is essentially done as far as advancement, but I hope he gets a win to prove his worth to the fans.

This is essentially an elimination match for Komander, as it will be hard to finish in the top two of the Gold League with a maximum of six or seven points. The two started out fast, with Allin working to keep the match on the mat. Allin hooked on a Scorpion Death Lock to force Komander into the ropes. Komander had a ropewalk armdrag countered into a flash pin but came back with a springboard moonsault to the floor. Back in the ring, Komander hit a step-up Phoenix Splash for a nearfall.

Komander took Allin to the floor and hit a step-up forearm off of the turnbuckle. Allin dumped Komander into the ring steps and sat him on a chair, but Komander ducked the ensuing suicide dive and sent Allin into the chair with a disgusting crunch. After the commercial, Komander evaded a Coffin Splash into the barricade and hit Allin with a side kick for a nearfall. After a meeting of the minds, Allin came back with strikes and a Code Red for a nearfall.

Allin went to the top rope, but Komander followed him up and caught him with a little Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Allin cut off a Komander springboard and hung him over the ropes for a Coffin Drop. Allin hit a suicide dive, but Komander came back in the ring with a poisonrana. Komander hit a monkey flip on the apron before following with a dive of his own. Komander dumped Allin back in the ring and went for the ropewalk Shooting Star Press, but Allin moved and caught Komander with a version of the Last Supper flash pin to score the win.

International Champion Konosuke Takeshita & Don Callis were backstage with Renee Paquette. He began to brag about the Callis Family’s recent success when Powerhouse Hobbs entered the scene. Hobbs was angry that Callis never talked to him after he got hurt in the summer and challenged Takeshita for the International Championship. Callis noted that Hobbs did deserve better, but that Takeshita had multiple international bookings as champion and hurried him away.

International Women’s Cup Qualifier Tournament Semi Final Match – Willow Nightingale defeated Serena Deeb

This was a solid match. Hayter vs. Willow is a pretty big match in the women’s division, and it’s got some stakes with the spot at the Tokyo Dome on the line.

That prefix is a mouthful, so to put it simply: the winner of this match wrestles Jamie Hayter next week on Collision. The winner of that match will be AEW’s representative in the International Women’s Cup on January 5th at New Japan’s Wrestle Dynasty event.

Deeb came out with a shirt that said “Nobody Cares,” playing off of Britt Baker’s recent comments about her. I’m not sure how many of those will sell. The two went back and forth to start, countering each other’s finishers before Nightingale hit a Perfect Plex for a nearfall. Deeb came back with a neckbreaker in the ropes before dumping Nightingale to the floor.

After a commercial break, Nightingale made her comeback, scoring a nearfall with a Main Event Spinebuster. Deeb held onto Nightingale’s leg to counter the powerbomb before hammering Nightingale with multiple lariats. Deeb hit a hammerlock lariat for a nearfall. Nightingale countered the Detox into an Oklahoma Stampede for a nearfall. Deeb evaded a cannonball and hit the Detox for a nearfall. Nightingale came back with a Pounce before hitting the Babe With The Powerbomb for the win.

Next week on Collision, Nightingale will wrestle Jamie Hayter, with the winner going to Wrestle Dynasty on January 5th as AEW’s representative in the International Women’s Cup.

Thunder Rosa was backstage with Renee Paquette. Rosa noted that she had beaten both Mariah May and Mina Shirakawa the last time she faced both women and made her intentions on challenging the winner of Wednesday’s Women’s Title match clear.

We got a recap of Wednesday’s angle involving the Death Riders, Jay White, Hangman Page, & PAC.

Death Riders Town Hall

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, Marina Shafir, PAC, & Wheeler Yuta came to the ring. Moxley said that nobody in the building wanted to be the AEW World Champion, even if they thought otherwise. They weren’t ready to make the sacrifices necessary to be champion, and they weren’t worthy of even looking at the title. Moxley ran down all three of the men that fought him off on Wednesday, calling Jay White a child and calling Hangman Page self-destructive. He said that Cassidy proved that he wasn’t the man his peers believed him to be, which drew “bullsh*t” chants from the crowd. He regretted allowing Cassidy to leave Full Gear with his skull intact, and told Cassidy that he would eliminate him if he kept getting in his business.

Orange Cassidy promptly came out and rolled into the ring unafraid of the Death Riders. Cassidy said that while he could live with never being AEW World Champion, he couldn’t live with Moxley as AEW World Champion. He promised not to stop until Moxley wasn’t the champion anymore, with the only way to stop him being to kill him. Cassidy threw his gear at the Death Riders and dared them to fight him.

Shafir hit Cassidy from behind with the briefcase containing the World Title before the Death Riders laid the boots to him. PAC and Yuta carried Cassidy to the back before the commercial break.

FTR was backstage. Cash Wheeler talked about the devastation to the Carolinas and the upcoming Fight For The Fallen event when they were interrupted by the Death Riders continuing their beatdown on Orange Cassidy. They were about to pour another bottle of chemical cleaner down his throat when FTR stepped up to break things up. They stared down the Death Riders as they backed out of the building.

Continental Classic Blue League Match – Kyle Fletcher [9, 3-0] defeated Kazuchika Okada [4, 1-1-1]

A stunning result here, and a real message that Fletcher is to be taken as seriously as possible as a threat now that he’s bought into the Callis Family. This result all but assures that Fletcher will be one of the two top point-getters in the Blue League. I didn’t like how quickly they went to a commercial for All In after the match, not giving the result a longer chance to set in.

The winner of this match will have the outright lead in the Blue League with two matches to go.

The two men started slowly, backing each other into the ropes before Okada hammered Fletcher with a forearm. Fletcher responded with a big scoop slam before posing to big boos. Okada came back with a low dropkick that sent Fletcher to the floor before dropping him with a DDT on the floor. Okada hammered Fletcher with uppercuts on the floor before Fletcher caught him with a draping DDT in the ring.

After a commercial break, Fletcher cut off an attempted Okada comeback with a leg lariat. Okada came back with a flurry, ending with a DDT for a nearfall. Okada locked on the Money Clip, but Fletcher fought out with a half-and-half suplex. Okada came back with a flapjack before setting up his big moves. Fletcher ducked the Rainmaker but ran right into the dropkick before rolling to the floor.

Okada followed Fletcher to the floor and went for his signature Tombstone on the outside, but Fletcher caught him with a half-and-half suplex on the floor. Okada beat the ten count, then kicked out of the Everest Powerbomb for a nearfall to AEW chants. Okada caught Fletcher with the spinning lariat, but Fletcher ducked the Rainmaker again. The two traded strikes before Okada incidentally sent Fletcher into the referee. Fletcher hit Okada with a low blow, then hit the Brainbuster to score the win. The announcers sold this result as a very big deal, as they should have. The only other person to pin Okada since he’s come into AEW was Bryan Danielson.

We got a video package hyping the big matches on the Winter Is Coming Dynamite this Wednesday.

The Beast Mortos defeated Aaron Solo

Mortos is in the Continental Classic, but he’s wrestling a non-tournament match here. Mortos killed this poor guy with the Bane-style backbreaker and the powerbomb over the knee before putting him away with the spinning lariat.

After the match, it was announced that Mortos would be wrestling Kazuchika Okada on next week’s Collision in Continental Classic action.

Top Flight, Lio Rush, & Action Andretti were backstage with Renee Paquette, who asked what happened between the four men in the Dynamite Dozen Royale with Cheese when Rush and Andretti dumped the Martins. Rush and Andretti were tired of the Martins losing every opportunity they had gotten, and wanted to go for the tag team titles themselves. The four agreed to a match somewhere down the line.

Mina Shirakawa defeated Emi Sakura

I’ve said it several times, but Sakura is a quality enhancement talent that I hope gets used more often. A solid enhancement match to set Shirakawa up for her title match at Winter Is Coming.

Thunder Rosa was in the crowd watching this match. Sakura whipped Shirakawa with her entrance jacket to get a jump start, but Shirakawa came back with kicks. Sakura clawed at Shirakawa’s arm to counter an Irish whip, something I’ve never seen before, then chopped Shirakawa repeatedly. Shirakawa laid in more kicks before Sakura caught her leg and bit it to cut her off.

After a commercial, Shirakawa came back with a pair of rebound kicks, with Sakura pulling Shirakawa’s hair to break the pin. Sakura hit a spinning neckbreaker before hitting a stalling butterfly backbreaker for a nearfall. The two traded strikes before Shirakawa hit a second-rope Slingblade for a nearfall. Sakura tried to pull the referee in the way, but Shirakawa vaulted over the referee to hit a spinning splash. Shirakawa hit another second-rope Slingblade for the win.

We got a Renee Paquette-narrated video package hyping the Mariah May vs. Mina Shirakawa title match at Winter Is Coming.

We got footage from Daniel Garcia & Mark Briscoe with Renee Paquette last night ahead of their Continental Classic match next. Briscoe noted that he had a terrible track record in the Continental Classic but would always pick himself back up. Garcia said that he was the same kind of guy and promised to bring the fight to Briscoe. They shook hands to end the interview.

Continental Classic Blue League Match – Mark Briscoe [3, 1-2] defeated Daniel Garcia [4, 1-1-1]

A good main event with two babyfaces looking to redeem themselves after last year’s Continental Classic. This result leaves Kyle Fletcher five points clear of everyone else in the Blue League, all but assuredly putting him in the playoffs at Worlds End.

A loss here would essentially eliminate Briscoe from contention.

Corbin Bernson of Major League and Psych was in the front row. Garcia went for a few flash pins to start, then got aggressive by piefacing Briscoe in the corner. Briscoe came back with loud chops before sending Garcia to the floor. Briscoe followed Garcia to the floor with a cannonball dive before planting Garcia on the apron with a backbreaker. Briscoe teased the Cactus Jack elbow to the floor, but Garcia slid in the ring and knocked Briscoe to the floor with a running knee. The two traded strikes on the floor, with Garcia hitting Briscoe with a shotgun dropkick on the floor.

After a commercial, Briscoe was in control, setting up a superplex. The two swung on each other before falling to the apron and the floor. They both got back in the ring and traded strikes before Garcia laid out Briscoe with a lariat. Briscoe came back before dragging Garcia to the floor and hitting the Cactus Jack elbow.

Briscoe hit a big lariat in the ring and strung some offense together, scoring a nearfall with a fisherman’s buster. Briscoe hit a Death Valley Driver to set up the Froggy Bow, but Garcia cut him off. Garcia hit a superplex and a piledriver for a nearfall. Garcia set Briscoe up for the top-rope piledriver, but Briscoe knocked him down and hit the Froggy Bow for a nearfall.

Garcia countered the Jay Driller with the jackknife pin for a nearfall. Briscoe fired up after a Saito Suplex. He cut off another suplex and pulled out the old Cut Throat Driver, an early finisher of his, to score the win and his first three points in the tournament.

Updated AEW Continental Classic results & standings

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Nine points were handed out during Friday’s Continental Classic matches on Rampage.

The opening bout saw Kazuchika Okada defeating Mark Briscoe with the rainmaker. Following his draw against Daniel Garcia, Okada has earned three more points and now has four altogether.

Daniel Garcia defeat The Beast Mortos meanwhile to score three points of his own, winning with a jacknife cradle. The win puts both Okada and Garcia tied for second in the Blue League, only behind Kyle Fletcher who leads with six points.

In the main event, Ricochet defeated Komander to earn his first three points. That puts him in a three-way tie for second in the Gold League along with Brody King and Will Ospreay. Claudio Castagnoli currently leads with six points.

Upcoming matches:

Collision (Saturday)

  • Continental Classic Blue league: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kyle Fletcher
  • Continental Classic Gold league: Komander vs. Darby Allin
  • Continental Classic Blue league: Daniel Garcia vs. Mark Briscoe

Dynamite (Wednesday, December 11)

  • Continental Classic Gold league: Will Ospreay vs. Claudio Castagnoli
  • Continental Classic Gold league: Brody King vs. Ricochet

Dynamite (Wednesday, December 18)

  • Continental Classic Gold league: Will Ospreay vs. Darby Allin

Wrestling Weekly: Drew McIntyre returns to WWE, AEW Continental Classic update

Posted on by Victor Sosa

Image: WWE

On a new Wrestling Weekly, we talk about where WWE is headed after a newsworthy Survivor Series and the return of Drew McIntyre. We also look at AEW’s Continental Classic and some good matches happening on Rampage and Collision.

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

Click here to listen (sub needed)

Third Continental Classic match announced for AEW Collision

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: AEW

The onslaught of AEW Continental Classic tournament matches this weekend will continue on Saturday’s AEW Collision as Kazuchika Okada will take on Kyle Fletcher in Blue league action.

Thus far in the tournament, Okada (seen above) went to a draw with Daniel Garcia and will face former Ring of Honor World Champion Mark Briscoe on Friday’s Rampage (being taped Wednesday). Conversely, Fletcher is coming off last Saturday’s win over The Beast Mortos and Wednesday’s victory over Shelton Benjamin.

It will be their second-ever singles meeting following their first: a September 2024 Dynamite bout where Okada successfully defended the Continental title.

The new addition joins the previously announced Classic bouts that include Garcia vs. Briscoe in the Blue league, and Darby Allin vs. Komander in Gold league action.

Here’s the current lineup for Saturday in Columbus, Ohio:

  • Continental Classic Blue league: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kyle Fletcher
  • Continental Classic Gold league: Komander vs. Darby Allin
  • Continental Classic Blue league: Daniel Garcia vs. Mark Briscoe
  • International Women’s Cup qualifier: Willow Nightingale vs. Serena Deeb
  • Mina Shirakawa vs. Emi Sakura

Three Continental Classic matches announced for AEW Rampage

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Three Continental Classic matches are set for Rampage.

Friday’s show will see two Blue League and one Gold League match take place. In the Blue League, Daniel Garcia will meet The Beast Mortos. Garcia drew against Kazuchika Okada in his first match, but The Beast Mortos failed to take out Kyle Fletcher in his. Okada will also be in action taking on Mark Briscoe, who was unsuccessful in his first tournament match against Shelton Benjamin.

In the Gold League, Komander will make his debut by taking on Ricochet. Komander is replacing Juice Robinson, who is unable to continue in the tournament due to injury. Ricochet is coming off a loss in his first tournament match against Claudio Castagnoli.

Tournament action kicked off last week on Dynamite, and will wrap up at Worlds End on December 28.

Here is the updated card for Rampage:

  • Continental Classic Blue League: Daniel Garcia vs. The Beast Mortos
  • Continental Classic Blue League: Kazuchika Okada vs. Mark Briscoe
  • Continental Classic Gold League: Ricochet vs. Komander

JNPO wrestling year in review series: Out with the Sting & in with the Mone

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: JJ Williams

My 2024 pro wrestling year in review series rolls on with a stop in March which was a big one for AEW which saw the retirement of Sting and the welcome mat rolled out for free agent signings Mercedes Mone and Kazuchika Okada.

Joining me is returning guest Jesse Collings of Voices of Wrestling and the Gentlemen’s Wrestling Podcast.

Some of the other topics we hit on:

  • Thoughts on the final run of Sting and how successful Revolution did
  • Whether Mone and Okada have worked for AEW or not
  • The final build toward WWE WrestleMania 40 and how The Rock was part of seemingly everything
  • All the big happenings in WWE, AEW, TNA, NJPW and the rest of the non-organizational news (deaths, marriages, kids, etc).

Click here to listen

Kazuchika Okada vs. Daniel Garcia set for AEW Collision

Posted on by Josh Nason

Saturday’s AEW Collision will be headlined by Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. new TNT Champion Daniel Garcia in their first match of this year’s Continental Classic tournament.

Garcia, who struggled in last year’s tournament, is coming off the biggest win of his career at Saturday’s Full Gear with his title win over Jack Perry. This will be Okada’s first Continental Classic tournament — one where he has to put his title on the line.

This will be their first-ever singles match and will be part of the Blue league.

Collision, which will be taped Wednesday after Dynamite, will air at 4 PM Eastern on Saturday to avoid going directly head-to-head with WWE Survivor Series.

Three tournament matches are also on tap for Wednesday’s Dynamite as Shelton Benjamin will face Mark Briscoe in Blue league action while Claudio Castagnoli vs. Ricochet, and Darby Allin vs. Brody King headline Gold league action.

Here’s the current card for Saturday’s show from Chicago:

  • AEW Continental Classic Blue League: Kazuchika Okada vs. Daniel Garcia

AEW reveals full list of participants for Continental Classic tournament

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The full list of participants for this year’s Continental Classic tournament have been revealed.

AEW gave details of the tournament on a Selection Special stream that aired on Sunday. It will kick off this Wednesday on Dynamite and will conclude at AEW’s next pay-per-view, Worlds End, on December 28 in Orlando. Similar to last year, the twelve wrestlers will be divided into two groups, the Blue League and the Gold League. The winners of both leagues will meet at Worlds End.

This year’s entrants include:

Blue League

  • AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada
  • Kyle Fletcher
  • TNT Champion Daniel Garcia
  • The Beast Mortos
  • Mark Briscoe
  • Shelton Benjamin

Gold League

  • Will Ospreay
  • Juice Robinson
  • Brody King
  • Ricochet
  • AEW Trios Champion Claudio Castagnoli
  • Darby Allin

Each match in the Continental Classic will be held under a 20-minute time limit, with everyone banned from ringside. A win is three points, a draw will earn both wrestlers one point, and a loss is zero points.

Eddie Kingston won the inaugural Continental Classic last year, defeating Bryan Danielson in the finals. His win briefly unified the AEW Continental, ROH World, and New Japan Strong titles.

JNPO wrestling year in review series: A Rocky road to WrestleMania

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: WWE

In the second installment of my 12-part pro wrestling year in review series, Josh Nason’s Punch-Out takes a stop in, you guessed it, February 2024.

Joining me this month is Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net.

As the headline indicates, this month was dominated by the formation of the WWE WrestleMania 40 main event from The Rock vs. Roman Reigns to Cody Rhodes vs. Reigns instead, made official during a press event during Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas. We hit on all the key points and happenings including the #WeWantCody movement.

Of course, there was the continued fallout from Janel Grant’s lawsuit against Vince McMahon and his latest fall from grace. Many wrestlers went on the record about Vince. What did they say and why were they so conflicted?

We talk about the surprising firing of Scott D’Amore from TNA Wrestling, the announcement of AEW Big Business, Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay both wrapping up in NJPW, Giulia preparing for her immediate future, and lots more from all your favorite groups.

Click here to listen and be sure to check out all the episodes as listed below:

Kazuchika Okada and wife welcome birth of second child

Posted on by Ian Carey

The Okada family has grown by one member.

Kazuchika Okada and his wife, voice actress/singer Suzuko Mimori, recently welcomed the birth of their second child. The couple, who were married in April 2019, now have two sons. Their first was born in August 2022.

Mimori announced the news via Instagram stories, noting that she’s now been able to experience childbirth in both Japan and the United States. The couple moved to the United States this summer after it was officially announced that Okada signed with AEW in March.

“We gave birth to our second son!” A translation of her Mimori’s post reads.

“Since we were in an unfamiliar foreign country for pregnancy and childbirth, we decided to announce after he was born safely! The labor was short and went smoothly.”

“A Japanese nurse was luckily on duty at that moment and was assigned to us! We were super lucky. We were able to experience the childbirth care of both Japan and America, which was fun! Just like with our first child, we are so grateful for the high-quality medical care here.”

“They give me this ginger ale with every meal. LOL #RecordOfGivingBirthInAmerica”

It’s been close to a month since Okada has wrestled. His last match was a successful defense of his AEW Continental Championship against Kyle O’Reilly at Battle of the Belts XII on October 17. His teammates in The Elite, Matthew & Nicholas Jackson, have also taken a sabbatical from the company. Shortly after losing the AEW World Tag Team Championships to Private Party at Fright Night Dynamite, they were seen exiting the building in a hurry and stating that they were “going to work from home.”

AEW Battle of the Belts XII results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kyle O’Reilly Continental title match

Posted on by Suit Williams

The Continental title is on the line in the twelfth edition of Battle of the Belts.

Kyle O’Reilly will get his shot at Kazuchika Okada for the title immediately following this week’s Collision. At WrestleDream, O’Reilly asked Okada for a title match. After Okada rejected O’Reilly, the two ended up brawling. After O’Reilly won his match on Rampage, he issued the challenge again to Okada, with AEW making it official later in the show.

Another match will see Mariah May take on Anna Jay in a title eliminator match for the AEW Women’s Championship. Jay has been wanting to prove herself after spending the summer in Japan in Stardom and confronted May on Dynamite. The two ended up getting into a pull-apart. Christopher Daniels attempted to break up the altercation but ended up getting a slap from Jay that was meant for May.

A match with the new team of Brian Cage and Lance Archer will also take place. Both are new acquisitions of Don Callis.

Join us for live coverage of Battle of the Belts at 10 pm ET.

Battle of the Belts began with the Blackpool Combat Club beat down of Top Flight that ended Collision. Castagnoli dragged one of the Martins up the ramp, but John Silver drilled Castagnoli with a chair. The Dark Order came out to fight, but the BCC got the upper hand as well.

Moxley took the microphone and told the Dark Order that he would give them a chance to fight for their lives. He offered the Dark Order a Trios Title match right now and ordered the referee to ring the bell. Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness were on the call.

AEW World Trios Title Match – Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli, PAC & Wheeler Yuta) (c) (w/ Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir) defeated The Dark Order (John Silver, Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno)

This was a unique and interesting way to hook the Collision viewers on for Battle of the Belts, and to make sure the BCC story is an overarching one across any and all shows. The BCC look dominant and unrepentant in their cause, and the babyface army is beginning to build against them. The story is that the man most equipped to be their leader, Orange Cassidy, isn’t interested in being a leader as he said on Collision.

It was a three-on-one beatdown on Silver to start, as his partners were destroyed on the floor. Yuta hit the rocket launcher on Silver, but Uno broke up the pin. Uno got dragged out of the ring by Castagnoli as the beat down continued on Silver until he caught PAC with a lariat. A taped-up Reynolds tagged in and fought hard, but Castagnoli caught him with a Gorilla Press into a gutbuster. Castagnoli snatched him into a Sharpshooter.

Yuta brought in a chair, and as the referee was distracted, PAC landed a double stomp to the back of the head. Reynolds tapped out, giving the champions their second successful defense in a half hour. The BCC laid out the Dark Order after the match, with Shafir drilling Silver in the arm with the briefcase that contained the AEW World Title. The babyface locker room came out to clear house, with Orange Cassidy looking on before walking away.

AEW Continental Title Match – Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Kyle O’Reilly

One of Okada’s better title defenses here, as O’Reilly worked hard and got the crowd to buy into his efforts to win the title. I’d recommend checking this one out.

Okada started slowly before O’Reilly came out of a rope break swinging. O’Reilly had an armbar blocked but transitioned into an ankle lock that forced Okada into the ropes. After a commercial break, Okada cut off a rallying O’Reilly with an uppercut to boos. Okada did a lot of crowd work as he worked over O’Reilly before O’Reilly dodged an apron tope and laid Okada out with his kick combination.

O’Reilly landed a hammerlock driver as the crowd did dueling chants. O’Reilly caught Okada with a dragon screw leg whip in the ropes, then hit a diving knee to Okada as he hung in the ropes. O’Reilly hit a diving knee to Okada’s thigh before locking on a kneebar. O’Reilly transitioned into a Figure Four style hold before Okada clawed at O’Reilly’s eyes to escape. Okada didn’t have the strength in the leg to pull O’Reilly up for a Tombstone, allowing O’Reilly to lay in kicks to the leg.

Okada caught O’Reilly on a corner charge, hitting a neckbreaker over the knee as we went to another commercial. Okada hit a shotgun dropkick to O’Reilly as we came back. As the 15-minute call came from the ring announcer, O’Reilly countered a Tombstone with a guillotine choke and a knee to the sternum. O’Reilly countered another Tombstone attempt with an ankle lock that forced Okada to the ropes.

Okada teased playing keepaway to run out the clock but caught O’Reilly on a jumping knee attempt and hit a DDT on the floor. Okada hit the elbow drop, but O’Reilly fought out of the Rainmaker. Okada caught O’Reilly with a short-arm lariat and a dropkick, but another Rainmaker attempt got fought off and countered into a guillotine choke. Okada pulled O’Reilly up into a Landslide, then hit the Rainmaker to retain the title.

Anna Jay had a pretaped promo. Mariah May had beaten her twice before, but she still felt that May had a receipt coming from all of her shady actions. She said that the Women’s Title had eluded her for four years, but she would earn her shot tonight in the eliminator match.

Rush & Dralistico were in the back. They said that they would destroy every single faction in this company. The camera panned down to see The Beast Mortos clawing at Hologram.

The Don Callis Family (Brian Cage & Lance Archer) defeated Jack Cartwheel & Jon Cruz

Cage murdered both guys, then tagged Archer in to murder them more. They had two awesome double-team moves, with Archer chokeslamming Cartwheel off of Cage’s shoulders and Archer hitting a Blackout into a Cage powerbomb.

The Undisputed Kingdom was backstage with The Beast Mortos & Lexy Nair. After offering the Beast some meat, they made it clear that they were disappointed with him joining La Faccion Ingobernable.

AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator Match – Anna Jay defeated Mariah May

Anna Jay came back from her Stardom tour, she hasn’t lost since coming back, and she beat the champion to set up a nice little TV defense for Mariah May. A solid match, and a nice bit of lower card booking.

Jay worked on May’s arm until May fought her off and hit a John Woo dropkick for a nearfall. Jay sent May into the corner and hit a spin kick but May came back by raining down fists on Jay. This isn’t as hard to follow as the time Orange Cassidy wrestled Isiah Kassidy, but it’s close. May hit the Mariah-Go-Round sidewalk slam for a nearfall.

After a commercial, Jay evaded a corner charge before getting into a strike battle with May. Jay fired up, hitting a Dangerous Jay kick and a John Woo dropkick of her own for a nearfall. Jay took May down with a side suplex for a nearfall. Jay locked on the Queen Slayer choke, but May bit her arm and hit a pair of suplexes for a nearfall.

May hit a hanging DDT for a nearfall. May took Jay off the top rope with a headscissors and hit a running knee, but Jay evaded the Storm Zero and got into a pinning predicament. Jay caught May in a flash pin to score the upset win and a future World Title match. The title match was quickly made official for the November 2nd Collision in Philadelphia.

Danielson vs. Okada double title match set for AEW Dynamite fifth anniversary

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Bryan Danielson wants to face Kazuchika Okada one more time as his Final Countdown continues.

Danielson issued a challenge to Okada for a World title match at this Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite fifth anniversary show. Danielson posted the promo with the challenge to his social media accounts Monday night.

AEW later confirmed the bout, with the added twist that Okada’s Continental Championship will also be on the line, but only for the first 20 minutes of the bout, as Continental title bouts have 20-minute time limits, while World title bouts have 60-minute time limits.

Danielson defending the AEW World title against Jon Moxley has already been announced for WrestleDream on Saturday, October 12, and Danielson must retire after his next loss, seemingly telegraphing the finish to the Okada match.

Danielson commented:

“Once and for all, we’ll see who’s the best”

Danielson’s promo:

https://twitter.com/bryandanielson/status/1840961130447192140

The current card for the Wednesday, October 2 AEW Dynamite 5th anniversary episode from Pittsburgh:

  • AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson defends against Kazuchika Okada (Okada’s Continental Championship is on the line for the first 20 minutes)
  • AEW International Champion Will Ospreay defends against Ricochet
  • Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. vs. Serena Deeb
  • Hangman Page vs. Juice Robinson

AEW Collision Grand Slam live results: Continental title eliminator match

Posted on by Suit Williams

AEW will air the Collision portion of their Grand Slam event this Saturday.

Kazchika Okada will face Sammy Guevara in an AEW Continental title eliminator match. Guevara last week on Collision said he hopes to win the match so he could challenge Okada for the title at AEW Dynamite’s fifth anniversary, which takes place this coming Wednesday.

Two title matches will also take place. Jack Perry will defend the TNT title in an open challenge match. Meanwhile, the Trios titles will be defended as Claudio Castagnoli, PAC, and Wheeler Yuta will defend against Komander & Private Party.

Other highlights will have Chris Jericho, Big Bill, and Bryan Keith square off against Orange Kassidy, Kyle O’Reilly, and Mark Briscoe in a trios tornado match. Hologram, The Beast Mortos, and Dralistico will meet in a three-way, and Action Andretti will take on Brody King. Jamie Hayter will also face Saraya in a Saraya’s rules match.

Join us for live coverage starting at 8 pm ET.

AEW Collision is coming to us live – to tape – from Arthur Ashe Stadium as part of the week-long Grand Slam event. Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard, & Ian Riccaboni were on the call.

Saraya’s Rules Match – Jamie Hayter defeated Saraya (w/ Harley Cameron)

A strong win for Hayter to get her back in the mix after her lengthy injury layoff. Saraya and Harley did well in their role here as stooges to be pinballed around.

Unsurprisingly, Saraya’s Rules stand to benefit Saraya. Essentially, she can use weapons and have ringside help from Cameron, while Hayter cannot. Before the bell rang, Cameron announced the addition of one more rule: the match only starts when Saraya slaps Hayter in the face.

Saraya got her shot in, but Hayter brought her to the corner and laid the boots in to her and Cameron. Cameron grabbed Hayter’s boot, allowing Saraya to drill Hayter with a VCR. Yes folks, a Video Cassette Recorder. Someone had to have brought that from home. Saraya choked Hayter out with the cord from a keyboard, then sent her to the floor where Cameron laid in her shots. Cameron held Hayter up for several cookie sheet shots straight to the head, but Hayter ducked one and took Saraya down with a German suplex.

Hayter ran Cameron into the barricade, but Saraya popped her in the back with a baseball bat. Saraya dumped a bunch of toy cars onto tables set up at ringside before Hayter made her comeback. Cameron tried for another distraction, but Hayter caught a diving Saraya off the apron with a powerslam. Hayter lifted Saraya to the top rope, but Cameron cut Hayter off. Saraya sent both of them off the top rope through the tables with a chair shot.

Hayter kicked out of a cover on the floor, then beat the ten count back into the ring before kicking out of a cradle DDT. It used to be the Rampaige, but she’s not Paige anymore. Saraya went for a piledriver, but Hayter picked her up and sent her through a table with a DVD. Saraya tried to send Hayter into a chair, but Hayter threw her into the chair and hit a Tombstone. Hayter hit the Hayterade lariat for the win.

We got footage of a Renee Paquette-led sit-down interview with Ricochet & Will Ospreay ahead of their International Championship match on Dynamite. Ricochet said that he felt no pressure ahead of their match and was annoyed that he had challengers lined up to take him on before he could even get a look at the landscape of AEW. Ospreay said that Ricochet had forgotten who he was and that the pressure was on him to prove that his “lil’ bro” hadn’t surpassed him.

(The full interview is on AEW’s YouTube, and I highly recommend watching it. This got a good bit of the point across, but the full interview built great tension between the two of them. Every time I see Will Ospreay build a big match like this one, I think that AEW made a mistake in not having him win the World Championship at All In: Wembley. Then I see Bryan Danielson, and I think they made the right decision. This company really has an embarrassment of riches when you think about it.)

Tornado Trios Match – The Learning Tree (Big Bill, Bryan Keith & Chris Jericho) defeated The Conglomeration (Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy)

As always, a fun trios match with the Conglomeration. Big Bill has gotten some spotlight in these matches since the big reaction he got in Cardiff, and he was the pivotal part of this match for his team. Jericho signaling for an ROH World Title match afterward is a point of interest, especially with the conversation surrounding the AEW/WBD television negotiations.

This entire match is going to be a Pier Six brawl. Cassidy blocked a loaded punch with his backpack, then knocked Jericho down with it for a nearfall. The backpack contained a brick, as Cassidy helpfully revealed. Keith cut off Cassidy before taking a Stundog Millionaire and an Ax & Smash combination for his troubles. The Conglomeration cleared the ring and hit a dive train before Jericho cut off Briscoe with an Attitude Adjustment on a chair.

After a commercial, Big Bill ran wild with a big boot to Cassidy and a Bossman Slam to O’Reilly. Briscoe fought at a disadvantage but evaded the offense of the Learning Tree to stay ahead. O’Reilly passed Briscoe a chair for his steel-assisted dive, but Jericho hit a Codebreaker to cut him off. O’Reilly and Cassidy sat Jericho & Keith down in a chair before laying in heavy kicks. Cassidy and O’Reilly teamed up to send Big Bill off the apron into Keith on the floor.

The Conglomeration triple-teamed Jericho, leading to Briscoe finally hitting his steel-assisted dive onto Jericho on the floor. Briscoe pulled out a table and hit a Jay Driller on Jericho. Briscoe laid Jericho on the table and went to the top rope, but Big Bill took Briscoe by the throat and chokeslammed him through the table. Jericho crawled on top of Briscoe for the pin and the win. Former ROH World Champion Jericho made the international sign for “I want a title match” after pinning the current ROH World Champion before Rocky Romero came out to make sure there were no post-match shenanigans.

Brody King defeated Action Andretti

I’m digging this little undercard story of Andretti not being content with his lot in life. Fine fare for the weekend shows.

This match came about after last night’s Rampage when Andretti threw a water bottle at King out of frustration after a loss to the House of Black. Andretti charged King to start and hit a pair of chop blocks to cut King down. Andretti hit the standing shooting star press, but only got a one count. King cut him down, but Andretti squirmed away and kept moving until a forearm knocked him out of the air. King hit a splash and a cannonball for the win.

After the match, Lance Archer & The Righteous attacked Top Flight & Lio Rush, who came out to help their friend Andretti. Andretti hit a dive onto Vincent to help even the score, and officials broke the teams up.

Jack Perry drove his Scapegoat bus through the city of New York ahead of his TNT Title Open Challenge tonight. Perry got to Arthur Ashe Stadium and made his way to the ring for his title defense.

AEW TNT Title Match – Jack Perry (c) defeated Minoru Suzuki by countout to retain

This was as strong of a countout finish as you’ll see. Perry essentially hit his finishing sequence before sliding back into the ring for the win. The match was nothing special, as Suzuki is what he is at age 56.

It’s a Suzuki match in America, I could probably call these at this point. Suzuki no-sold some forearms before he laid Perry out with one, then stretched him with some arm holds as we went to a commercial. After the commercial, Perry hit a neckbreaker for a nearfall after taking advantage during the break.

Suzuki caught a knee before hitting the ropes and snatching on a sleeper hold. Perry fought out of the Gotch-Style Piledriver, but Suzuki caught him with an armbar over the ropes. Suzuki fought with the referee over a chair and snuck a shot in, but Perry knocked Suzuki off the apron with a knee. As the referee counted, Perry hit a DDT off the apron and the Glass Jaw knee into the steel stairs before rolling into the ring and scoring the win via count out.

Perry went to do more damage before Katsuyori Shibata ran him off. Shibata and Suzuki shook hands to end the segment.

AEW World Trios Title Match – Claudio Castagnoli, PAC, & Wheeler Yuta (c) defeated Komander & Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) (w/Alex Abrahantes)

Wheeler Yuta’s interest in being a part of this revamped Blackpool Combat Club was the focus here, and it feels like it will be leading to an elevation down the line. I liked the story over the past few weeks with Private Party & Komander having some guts and stepping to these guys. Didn’t work out for them, but I like their gumption.

Quen clubbered on PAC to start before Castagnoli knocked him down from the apron. Yuta refused to tag as PAC and Castagnoli stomped on Quen. Quen eventually fought his way to the corner and tagged in Kassidy, who ran wild and caught PAC with a pop-up DDT. Castagnoli broke the pin by stomping on Kassidy’s hand. Castagnoli tagged Yuta and put on the Giant Swing, but Yuta refused to hit the dropkick.

Komander came in and ran past Yuta to hit a double jump dive to Castagnoli. Kassidy caught Yuta with a roll-up, but Yuta kicked out and hit a Right Angle Slam. Yuta wrenched at Kassidy’s bad hand before laying in the hammer & anvil shots. Yuta locked on the Cattle Mutilation to win and retain the titles. PAC held the referee back as Yuta held onto the hold after the bell before refusing to allow his partners to raise his hands.

The Outrunners were on Coney Island, cheating to win a carnival game and riding bumper cars.

Three Way Lucha Libre – Hologram defeated The Beast Mortos & Dralistico

This was a fine, if sloppier than usual, lucha showcase. Rush getting together with Mortos and his brother Dralistico can make a good heel unit to challenge the still-undefeated Hologram.

We got a fast-paced start, with several moves getting countered with kip-ups and armdrags before we got a dive train to send us to the break. After the commercial, Dralistico ran wild with a throw into the corner on Hologram before hitting a rana to Mortos, who was stood on the ropes. Hologram took Mortos down with an armdrag and a headscissors before Dralistico took Mortos down with a headscissors from the top rope to the floor. Hologram followed with a rope-walk dive onto Mortos.

Dralistico hit a springboard codebreaker onto Mortos. Mortos hit a pop-up Samoan Drop, with the pin broken up by a Hologram double stomp. Hologram hit a poisonrana on Mortos, with Dralistico following with a springboard crucifix bomb. Mortos came back with a discus lariat, but Dralistico tried to steal the pin, causing problems between them. Mortos hit a powerbomb into the knee on Hologram, with Dralistico following with a springboard move.

There’s a ton happening, but Dralistico caught a lariat meant for Hologram. Hologram dumped Mortos to the floor, then caught Dralistico in a crucifix for the win. After the match, Dralistico and Mortos were shoving each other when Rush came out to cool things out between them. They teamed up to beat on Hologram, then put their fists together to signal the return of La Faccion Ingobernable.

Kris Statlander was backstage with Lexy Nair. She’s frustrated that everyone is talking about the loser of the street fight at All Out. Statlander said that she wouldn’t feel sorry for herself and would call her shot when she saw it.

MxM Collection’s Fashion Show

This is a total WWE/NXT segment that used to make fans wish for an alternative. MxM was a cute act, but this was them jumping the shark for ten minutes. This was taped on Wednesday, so someone had to come up with this awful idea, do it on the show, and watch it again for the edit before considering it fit to air. A failure on multiple fronts, one of the dirt-worst segments in the history of this company, and a genuinely fireable offense. I’ll take a dozen Dark Order beatdowns or Tooth and Nail matches before seeing another one of these.

MxM Collection came out. They mocked Max Caster for calling himself the Best Wrestler Alive – a fair criticism – before kicking off the Grand Slam Fashion Walk. They had several extras come out with wacky clothes and masks with their own faces over them. This is death.

They eventually had someone named Hans under a curtain model Caster’s jacket, which they cut a heart into and re-wrote to say Best Dressed Alive. They had Hans take off the jacket and show off his muscular physique. Hans unmasked to reveal himself to be Billy Gunn, who laid out MxM. The extras helped to lay him out before The Acclaimed made the save and ran them off.

Lumberjack Strap Match – Hangman Page defeated Jeff Jarrett

I was in a sour mood after that MxM garbage, but this match got me back. It took a while to get going, but everyone getting tired of Hangman and relentlessly whipping him was a great peak to the match.

Back to the wrestling. This is a regular match between Page & Jarrett, with lumberjacks armed with leather straps. The lumberjacks are The Dark Order, The Bang Bang Gang, Jay Lethal, & Satnam Singh. They teased going to the floor a couple of times before fighting out of each other’s finishers. Page sent Jarrett to the floor, but it was on the side of his friends Lethal and Singh. Page sent Jarrett to the other side, where the Dark Order and the Bang Bang Gang laid into him with the straps.

Jarrett went for the ten punches, but Page dumped him to the floor where the Gunns whipped him. Page hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. We had a technical difficulty where a commercial wasn’t inserted until they were supposed to come back from the break. Jarrett sent Page to the floor, where he got whipped by the Gunns. Page laid out the lumberjacks then went for the Buckshot on Jarrett before Juice Robinson whipped him.

Page and the lumberjacks got into it until Jarrett hit a dive onto the pile. Page swiped a strap from one of the lumberjacks and whipped Jarrett with it to escape a Stroke attempt. Karen Jarrett had seen enough and went in the ring to save her husband before Page almost whipped her in a rage. The other lumberjacks had seen enough and went to stop Page before he whipped all of them.

Jarrett got his hands on a strap and whipped Page before sending him to the floor to get whipped by everyone, including Satnam Singh and his extra-large whip. It looked like he was hitting Page with a bungee cord. Jarrett held Page in place for Karen to get her shots in, and in the melee, Page snuck in a low blow. Page hit the Deadeye to score the win. After the match, Page singled out Robinson and choked him with the strap before the Gunns ran him off.

AEW Continental Title Eliminator Match – Kazuchika Okada defeated Sammy Guevara

I was very interested in seeing how this match would play out on paper, and it worked out nicely. AEW fans are tired of Guevara, and this particular crowd was tired in general, but Guevara’s work was never the issue with him. A fine main event for this show.

Okada took control early, laying out Guevara with a running dropkick to a seated Guevara. Hangman Page vs. Juice Robinson was announced for Wednesday’s Anniversary edition of Dynamite. Guevara sent Okada to the floor, and after a fake out, hit a Fosbury Flop to Okada on the floor. Okada rolled away from another springboard, leading to Guevara launching himself off of the stairs into a cutter on the floor.

Okada dodged a moonsault before catching Guevara with a DDT on the floor. After a commercial, Guevara countered a Tombstone attempt with a headscissor driver. Okada sat Guevara down with an uppercut, but Guevara came back with a flying forearm. Guevara hit a suicide dive to Okada before following with a moonsault from the top rope to the floor.

Okada came back and laid Guevara out with a back body drop on the ring steps. Okada brought Guevara back in the ring and went on the offensive with the dropkick and the elbow drop. Okada hit the middle finger pose before going for the Rainmaker, but Guevara caught him with a Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Okada tried to throw the referee into Guevara’s way, but Guevara hit a superkick and a Go To Hell. Okada stumbled into the corner, so Guevara hit a kick in the corner. He went for another springboard cutter, but Okada caught him with the Rainmaker to score the win and turn back Guevara’s challenge.

Field of opponents confirmed for Continental title match at AEW All Out

Posted on by Josh Nason

AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada now knows his three opponents for a four-way title match set for this Saturday’s All Out pay-per-view.

In three qualifying matches that took place during Friday’s edition of Collision, Orange Cassidy, Ring of Honor Champion Mark Briscoe and Konosuke Takeshita (seen above) all qualified by virtue of their victories.

Cassidy upended Bryan Keith, Briscoe defeated Lance Archer, and Takeshita survived a hard-hitting bout with The Beast Mortos to punch their tickets. Of note, Briscoe and Cassidy are teammates within The Conglomeration.

The three men will challenge Okada for the title he won back in March and has defended four times since then. None of them have ever held the Continental title.

Here’s the current card for Chicago:

  • AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson defends against Jack Perry
  • Unsanctioned lights out steel cage match: Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page
  • Chicago street fight: Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander
  • AEW International Champion Will Ospreay defends against PAC
  • AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) defend against Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta)
  • MJF vs. Daniel Garcia
  • TBS Champion Mercedes Mone defends against Hikaru Shida with Kamille banned from ringside
  • AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada defends against Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy and The Beast Mortos
  • Zero Hour pre-show: Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) and Action Andretti vs. Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty & The Beast Mortos vs. Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven, Mike Bennett & Roderick Strong)

AEW Collision & Rampage live results: All star eight-man tag match

Posted on by Suit Williams

For the first time in company history, all of AEW’s male champions will be part of an eight-man all star tag team match to headline tonight’s AEW Collision — the go-home show for Saturday’s All Out.

Collision will be followed by a live Rampage, completing a three-hour block on AEW action in Chicago.

The main event will feature AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson teaming with the AEW Trios Champions (Claudio Castagnoli, PAC & Wheeler Yuta) against AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks, AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada & TNT Champion Jack Perry.

Collision will feature three qualifying bouts for Saturday’s four-way title defense by the aforementioned Okada with Orange Cassidy vs. Bryan Keith, Konosuke Takeshita vs. The Beast Mortos, and Mark Briscoe vs. Lance Archer.

Former AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida will face Deonna Purrazzo ahead of Shida’s Saturday challenge of TBS Champion Mercedes Mone.

Our live coverage begins at 8 PM EST and continues with Rampage at 10 PM EST in this same post.

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Collision began with Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness replaying the angle from the end of this past week’s Dynamite, with Hangman Page lighting Swerve Strickland’s childhood home on fire. Schiavone noted that AEW has refused to sanction the Steel Cage match, making it a Lights Out Steel Cage match. The announcers then threw to footage of Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir entering the building earlier in the day.

Continental Contenders Challenge Match – Mark Briscoe defeated Lance Archer

This was a bloody start to the show, with Briscoe eventually chopping Archer down to get into tomorrow’s Continental Title match. I’ve been hoping for a Briscoe/Okada singles match down the line, but I’ll take some interactions in a four-way.

The winners of the three Continental Contenders Challenge matches tonight will challenge Kazuchika Okada for the Continental Championship tomorrow night at All Out.

Archer jumped Briscoe during his entrance, pinballing him around the floor. A bloodied Briscoe threw some strikes before Archer sent him back to the floor. Briscoe dodged a cannonball against the barricade, then hit his chair-assisted dive to Archer on the floor. Archer came back with a spinebuster as we went to a commercial break.

Archer was still in control after the commercial break, hitting Briscoe with a chokeslam on the apron. Briscoe chopped his way free of another chokeslam before kicking Archer into the post. Briscoe hit a blockbuster off the apron and fired up, hitting a Death Valley Driver and a Froggy Bow for a nearfall. Archer powered out of the Jay Driller and had a flurry of offense, ending with a Bossman Slam for a nearfall.

Archer took Briscoe up for a superplex, but Briscoe knocked him down and hit a Froggy Bow. Archer kicked out at one, so Briscoe followed up with a sliding lariat and another Froggy Bow for the win and the second spot in tomorrow’s Continental Championship match.

The Learning Tree was backstage. Chris Jericho spoke on how the Conglomeration worked together as a well-oiled unit, but Tomohiro Ishii had to go back to Japan. They talked about how time was a valuable commodity, and that time ran out for everyone. The camera panned down to show a beaten Ishii laying at Jericho’s feet, with a chair around his neck. Jericho said sayonara to Ishii.

Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) defeated Iron Savages (Bronson & Boulder) (w/ Jacked Jameson)

The Veterans started by chopping down Boulder at the knee. Boulder took both men over with a double suplex, but Drake cut down the Transformer Slam with a chop block. They both sent Boulder to the floor and after surviving a Bronson flurry, they dropped Bronson across the ropes with a double Hotshot. The Vets hit a High-Low for the win.

After the match, FTR came out. They brawled with the Vets, forcing them to bail out. Jacked Jameson raised FTR’s hands and ate a Shatter Machine for his troubles.

We got a video package hyping the International Championship match between PAC & Will Ospreay tomorrow night at All Out.

Orange Cassidy was backstage with Lexy Nair. He said that Kyle O’Reilly was taking care of Ishii, and that he would punch Bryan Keith for what the Learning Tree did to Ishii. Then, he would win the Continental Championship tomorrow night and put it in his backpack next to his $7,000 in cash. A bit of advice, don’t leave that bag around Logan Square.

Continental Contenders Challenge Match with $7,000 of Cassidy’s Money On The Line – Orange Cassidy defeated Bryan Keith

Another good match, with Cassidy joining Briscoe in the Continental Title match. This would have been a good spot to have Bryan Keith get an upset win to build up the budding feud between the Conglomeration and the Learning Tree. I didn’t think either man was winning the title tomorrow night, but a win for Keith in a spot like this would have been a marquee win for him at this point of his career.

If Keith wins this match, Cassidy will reimburse Chris Jericho for his $7,000 suit jacket that he ruined on a 2020 episode of Dynamite, on top of earning a shot at the Continental Championship tomorrow night at All Out.

Cassidy shot out of his corner, sending Keith to the floor with a dropkick and following with a trio of dives. Cassidy ran Keith into the barricades, but Keith was able to throw Cassidy’s right hand – his Orange Punch hand – into the stairs. After a commercial, Cassidy made his hands-free comeback. The two jockeyed for position before Cassidy hit a Penalty Kick. Keith rolled through and hit an Exploder Suplex.

Keith hit a rising headbutt to Cassidy on the top rope. Cassidy fought Keith off, but Keith hit an Exploder into the turnbuckle and followed with a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Keith hit a pair of arm wringers, but Cassidy turned it into an inside cradle for a nearfall. Cassidy hit the Stundog Millionaire and a Beach Break for a nearfall.

Cassidy went for an Orange Punch, but Keith blocked it and hit a knee for a nearfall. Keith went for a running knee, but Cassidy caught him with an Orange Punch and a tornado DDT. Cassidy hit a Deep Impact DDT off the top rope for the win.

Chris Jericho was backstage, outside of Orange Cassidy’s locker room. Jericho has absconded – that means stolen – Cassidy’s backpack, and said he’ll keep it until Cassidy pays his debts. The backpack was empty, so I guess Orange was going to hit up the ATM after the show.

Mercedes Mone & Kamille were backstage with Lexy Nair. She wondered why Vice Principal Christopher Daniels was getting in her business and warned that Kamille wasn’t banned from the building tonight.

The Outrunners (w/ Erica Leigh) defeated Davey Bang & August Matthews

AEW may not have as many world-class tag teams as they used to have, but they have a solid division of teams. Getting teams like the Outrunners, Top Flight, and Private Party somewhat credible can generate some more energy in the currently stagnant tag team division.

The announcers noted that the Outrunners, who got a big pop on their entrance, had never won on television. That changed tonight, as they quickly hit a double-team powerslam called the Total Recall for the win.

Continental Contenders Challenge Match – Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) defeated The Beast Mortos

An absolute slugfest, and one I would suggest you go out of your way to watch. Both of these men are fantastic talents on this roster that I would push harder as AEW homegrowns, for lack of a better term. Takeshita in particular is truly unbelievable, and he needs to start circling the top of these cards sooner than later.

The two rammed into each other with shoulder blocks to start. You would think Mortos would have the advantage when it came to ramming people. Takeshita sent Mortos to the floor and hit a tope. Takeshita clubbered on Mortos on the floor before throwing him back in the ring, where Mortos popped Takeshita before hitting his tornado tornillo. Back in the ring, Takeshita and Mortos battled on the top rope before Takeshita hit a superplex as we went to a commercial.

Mortos hit a reverse Slingblade and a headbutt as we came back from the break. Mortos hit a Bane-style backbreaker, then followed with a pop-up Samoan Drop for a nearfall. Takeshita dumped Mortos on his head with a German suplex, then followed with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. They battled for positioning on the top rope again before Mortos dumped Takeshita off the top rope with a Gorilla Press for a nearfall.

Takeshita sidestepped a spear, but a second attempt scored. Takeshita fired out at a one count and hit a World Class elbow, but Mortos came back with a spinning lariat. Both men headbutted each other down. Takeshita countered another pop-up Samoan Drop with a crucifix bomb, then hit the jumping knee and the Raging Fire falcon arrow for the win.

AEW Women’s Champion Mariah May was backstage. She said that she hasn’t shaken any hands in the locker room, because she knows the best way to get to know a woman is by making them scream at her feet. Her words, not mine. She still hasn’t held her title celebration and intimated holding it at All Out. She said that the shame about being Mariah May is that she would never be able to meet Mariah May.

Hikaru Shida defeated Deonna Purrazzo

The two got in an early pinning predicament before Purrazzo sent Shida shoulder-first into the turnbuckle as we went to a commercial. After the break, Shida came back with a second rope dropkick. Shida got the counter punches in the corner before hitting a running knee for a nearfall. Purrazzo moved out of the way of a double stomp and hit a La Mistica, then got a nearfall off of a powerbomb.

Purrazzo went for a running boot, but Shida caught her in a Stretch Muffler. The two traded boots before Shida hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. Shida hit the Katana for the win. The announcers noted that Shida could be the first woman to win both the World and TBS Titles.

After the match, Mercedes Mone came out. She ran distraction as Kamille jumped Shida from behind. Mone went to attack Shida with the kendo stick, but Shida ducked and caused Kamille to get hit with the stick. It was the one thing they didn’t want to happen. Shida fought them both off and hit Mone with the Katana to stand tall before the PPV.

FTR was backstage with Alicia Atout. They made the challenge to the Grizzled Young Veterans for next week’s Collision in Dayton, Ohio.

The Acclaimed were backstage with Lexy Nair. Max Caster noted that none of the top teams in the division have beaten them and that the road to the tag team titles still runs through them. MxM Collection interrupted them to hype their match on Rampage, then told the Acclaimed to get some fashion tips from them. Billy Gunn interrupted their touching of tips as Anthony Bowens said that only one team did finger stuff in AEW.

All Star Match of Champions – AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson & AEW World Trios Champions Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, & PAC defeated The Elite (TNT Champion Jack Perry, Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada, & AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks)

I hope you packed a lunch folks, because this was a long one. I don’t have an official time, but I would be stunned if this match went less than thirty minutes. They missed the peak by a few minutes, but as an all-star champions showcase, it was a fun use of the time.

They teased Okada starting with Danielson, but Okada tagged Perry in. Perry baited Danielson into the Elite corner and laid in the stomps, but once Matthew tagged in, Danielson took him into the BCC corner. Both teams cycled through tags before we got a Pier Six brawl in the ring and quadruple counter punches. The Elite saved Perry from getting his head kicked in as we went to the final commercial break of Collision.

Back from the break, the Elite had PAC under control in their corner. After another melee, The Elite held up the Trios Champions for a Nick Jackson senton onto all three for a nearfall on PAC. PAC was your Geordie-in-peril, getting worked on for several minutes before getting to his corner to tag Castagnoli. Castagnoli ran wild alongside Yuta, but Nicholas cut them off with superkicks before an assisted Sliced Bread got a nearfall.

Okada tagged in and toyed with Castagnoli before they traded uppercuts. Castagnoli countered a Tombstone attempt by deadlifting Okada up for a suplex. Danielson and Perry tagged in, with Perry fighting off a flurry of kicks with a claw to the eyes. We got a move train ending with a Danielson missile dropkick to Perry off the top rope. Danielson laid in Yes Kicks as the Collision show ended.

We missed nothing in the one second of transition, as another move train ended with Yuta taking two superkicks and a Tombstone for a nearfall broken up by the BCC. We got a dive train ending with Okada flipping off Chicago. PAC sent Okada to the outside and hit a Fosbury Flop. PAC came back into the ring with a springboard 450 to Okada for a nearfall.

The BCC team controlled Okada in their corner as we went to our first Rampage commercial of the third hour. Okada went for a Tombstone, but Castagnoli reversed it, leading to a triple Tombstone from the Trios Champions. Okada back-dropped out of the Neutralizer, but Castagnoli caught a Nicholas crossbody leading into an assisted crossbody of his own.

Perry broke up a Rocket Launcher attempt, then ran away from Danielson as he chased him to the back. The Bucks hit the EVP Trigger on Yuta for a nearfall. The Bucks went for the TK Driver, but Castagnoli caught a launching Nicholas and took him on the Giant Swing. Yuta hit a dropkick for the sudden stop and got the pin on Jackson ahead of the BCC’s tag team title challenge.

The Outrunners were backstage with Lexy Nair. They were excited about their win before Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir came down the stairs behind them and killed them dead.

Queen Aminata defeated Missa Kate

Matt Menard joined the commentary team for Rampage duties. Serena Deeb watched from the back at a relatively normal angle as Aminata won this one quickly with the Brain Drain headbutt.

We got a video package of the history between Daniel Garcia & MJF ahead of their match tomorrow night.

Hologram & ROH World Tag Team Champions Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara defeated The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, John Silver)

Hologram and Evil Uno started, with Hologram evading him to start. Guevara allowed Hologram to use him as a base to launch into a tornado DDT. After a commercial, Rhodes got a hot tag and ran wild before the Dark Order shut them down. The Premier Athletes were watching backstage. They triple-teamed Hologram, but Hologram evaded the Ragnarok. Guevara and Hologram hit stereo dives off of the ring posts, and the tecnicos got the win after a Hologram 450 splash.

The Bang Bang Gang were backstage. Juice Robinson noted that they needed momentum before Austin Gunn wanted them to give him a nickname. Cage of Agony entered the frame, and after the Bang Bang Gang brought up beating them for the ROH Six Man Titles way back when, Cage said that was only because they were teaming with the Acclaimed and had six people in their trio. They’ll be having a match.

Lexy Nair was backstage, where she announced that there would be a three-way trios match on the All Out Zero Hour with big money implications. Two of the teams were Top Flight & Shane Taylor Promotions…with The Beast Mortos. The Undisputed Kingdom entered the frame, wondering why their buddy Mortos was with STP, with Taylor saying that he followed the money. The Kingdom said that they were the third team and insulted Top Flight’s nifty pilot outfits. Top Flight said that they would win.

House Of Black (Brody King & Buddy Matthews) defeated MxM Collection (Mansoor & Mason Madden)

I was ready to bury MxM Collection under the earth with the goofy judges, but King killing them quickly spared my wrath. After that, this was a good tag match. Like I said earlier, AEW has a lot of talented pairings and can make as many as they need to with the roster that they have. It’s a matter of consistently showcasing them in higher-profile spots. Why can’t King and Matthews get a tag title eliminator on a Dynamite, or MxM get one on a Collision?  

MxM came out with three judges to rate their poses. I thought they only had ten cards to rate MxM, but they gave Matthews a three when he did a move. The big men tagged in, only for Mansoor to tag back in and give a chop to King. King responded with a chop that got a good score, and as Mansoor was yelling at the judges, King killed all of these goofs with a crossbody.

MxM had the advantage on Matthews after the commercial until Matthews drilled Mansoor with a jumping knee. The crowd erupted with MEAT chants as the big men tagged in and traded shots. King sent Madden into the corner with a throw, then hit a cannonball for a nearfall. King tried to choke Mansoor on the apron, but Mansoor dropped King with a jawbreaker before hitting him with a leftover chair from the judges. Madden hit a chokeslam for a nearfall.

Matthews tagged in and ran wild. After maneuvering around the top rope, Matthews sent Madden to the floor, where King followed him out with a dive. Matthews took Mansoor off the top rope with a superplex before sending him into Dante’s Inferno from King for the win.

Will Ospreay was backstage. Ospreay said that he was feeling as good as he could feel after getting a poisonrana on a stage and a brainbuster on a packing crate. Ospreay had been getting compared to PAC all throughout his career, through the backyards, the British independents, and Japan. Ospreay referenced the thirty-minute time-limit draw the two had at Revolution Pro Wrestling five years ago, and said that he hadn’t forgotten about PAC. No one forgot about PAC, he had just been in this position so many times that maybe the people had lost faith in him. PAC had 24 hours on the clock to change that.