In a four-way match at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, PAC defeated Miro, Malakai Black, and NJPW’s Clark Connors to become the first All-Atlantic Champion, using his Brutalizer submission to tap out Connors and claim victory.
Miro seemed to have had the match won, but Black sprayed him with black mist, forcing him to give up the Game Over submission hold that Miro had applied on PAC. Black then tried a submission hold on Connors, but PAC broke it up with a Black Arrow. PAC then used the Brutalizer for the win.
PAC, Miro, and Black survived the qualifying series that began on the June 8 AEW Dynamite to advance to the finals at Forbidden Door. Tomohiro Ishii won a tournament in Japan to earn the spot as NJPW’s representative in the match, but was scratched in the days leading up to the show with a knee injury. Connors then took Ishii’s place in the match.
The victory is the first title win for PAC in AEW.
The four-way match to crown the first ever AEW All-Atlantic Champion is now set for Forbidden Door.
Malakai Black defeated Penta Oscuro to win the fourth spot in the Forbidden Door title match after hitting Penta with the black mass. After the match, PAC came out to face off against Black. A video then aired with Miro saying he would send everyone to meet their maker at Forbidden Door.
PAC was the first to qualify for the title match, defeating Buddy Matthews. Miro defeated Ethan Page to advance, while Tomohiro Ishii defeated Clark Connors at New Japan Road on June 21 to score the third spot.
Here is the current lineup for Forbidden Door, which takes place at the United Center in Chicago on June 26:
Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the interim AEW World Championship
PAC vs. Miro vs. Malakai Black vs. Tomohiro Ishii for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship
Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki vs. Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta, and Shota Umino
Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy for the IWGP United States Championship
Thunder Rosa vs. Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s World Championship
FTR vs. United Empire vs. Roppongi Vice for the ROH and IWGP Tag Team titles
There is tons to talk about on tonight’s AEW Dynamite review on Speak Now Pro Wrestling!
We had a Casino Battle Royale to determine Moxley’s opponent. In additon AEW announced a brand new championship belt, Will Ospreay appeared on the show, David Finlay wrestled Hangman Page, who then expressed interest in challenging for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, Wardlow wants the TNT Championship, matches for next week’s Road Rager, and more!
This podcast is sponsored by Wrestle Rumble.
Denise will return on Friday to chat WWE SmackDown and AEW Rampage!
The battle royal on AEW Dynamite to determine who faces Jon Moxley later in the show will be contested under Casino Battle Royale rules.
Tony Khan revealed the news on Wednesday during an appearance on Busted Open Radio. Typical Casino Battle Royale matches involve 21 participants entering in groups of five every three minutes with one “Joker” entering solo after everyone else.
Khan also revealed on Wednesday that PAC and Buddy Matthews will face off in singles competition on Dynamite. The two have been on opposing sides of the Death Triangle vs. House of Black rivalry in recent months.
AEW Dynamite on Wednesday will take place from the Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, Missouri. The updated lineup for the show is as follows:
Casino Battle Royale match to determine who will face Jon Moxley later in the show
Hangman Page vs. David Finlay
PAC vs. Buddy Matthews
Jon Moxley vs. the winner of the Casino Battle Royale
A new match has been announced for Friday’s AEW Rampage, and a change has been made to a previously announced match.
In the newly announced bout, Jade Cargill will take on Janai Kai. Cargill’s TBS Championship tournament semifinals opponent Thunder Rosa will be on commentary for the contest. Rosa stated on this week’s Dynamite that Tony Khan had allowed her to choose the match she would do commentary for in Chris Jericho’s absence, as Jericho was taken out by 2point0 and Daniel Garcia in a backstage segment.
In a change to the card, it was announced in a backstage promo on Dynamite that Rey Fenix was not able to make Rampage due to travel issues. As a result, the 2-out-of-3 falls AEW World Tag Team Championship match between Lucha Brothers and FTR had been switched to a non-title match with PAC and Penta El Zero Miedo facing FTR.
Already announced for the show, Sammy Guevara will defend the TNT Championship against Tony Nese. Rampage will be taped tonight at the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia.
It’s Tuesday and you know what that means. This week’s AEW Dark matches were taped in Orlando, Florida, at the Elite Zone with Excalibur and Taz on commentary.
But first, we got an FTR interview from the Harwood residence. They issued a challenge to any luchadors who think they can take the AAA World tag team titles from them….except the Lucha Bros. This was an exceptional promo and adds a match to a noticeably light Dynamite card.
Santana & Ortiz defeated Joe Coleman & Idris Abraham (2:48)
Outside of an enziguri form Coleman, this was all Santana and Ortiz. Oritz pinned Abraham with one foot to end the slaughter.
Nyla Rose (w/ Vickie Guerrero) defeated Viva Van (1:31)
Guerrero talked a lot before the match. This was another quick squash. Van got a little bit of offense in, but nothing notable. Rose hit the beast bomb for the pin and Guerrero draped a Rose t-shirt over Van’s body after the match.
Lee Johnson & Brock Anderson (w/ Arn Anderson) defeated Eli Knight & Malik Bosede (2:06)
Anderson hit a really nice looking spinebuster on Knight and Johnson followed up with a frog splash. Brock then got the pin.
Daniel Garcia (w/ 2point0) defeated RSP (3:55)
RSP went for a chokeslam, but Garcia countered into a guillotine. RSP turned that into a vertical suplex throw and followed up with an avalanche in the corner and a bodyslam for a near fall. Garcia went back to the guillotine, but this time when RSP tried the vertical suplex, Garcia slid behind him and locked in a rear naked choke for the tapout. Garcia is on fire.
Dark Order’s John Silver & Alex Reynolds (w/ -1) defeated Sean Carr & Marcus Kross (3:12)
Reynolds and Silver combined to hit the Dark Destroyer double DDT on Kross to get the win.
The Acclaimed defeated Ishmael Vaughn & Dontae Smiley (2:27)
Since it would take magic for Vaughn and Smiley to get the win, Max Caster advised them in his entrance rap to check out the Harry Potter ride.
Smiley looked pretty impressive for a brief spell, but it didn’t last long. Bowens backdropped Vaughn into Smiley and then dropped Smiley with the uranage. A Mic Drop from Caster finished off Vaughn.
The Bunny (w/ the Butcher) defeated Santana Garrett (2:33)
Garrett missed a handspring moonsault and Bunny finished her off with the Down the Rabbit Hole. Garrett hasn’t looked very good since her AEW debut and Bunny needed a win in advance of her Friday Rampage match in the TBS title tournament against Red Velvet.
— There was another commercial for Jon Moxley’s book. I read a few pages in the doctor’s office today and it feels like a fun read. Also I have to mention the great interview Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales did with Moxley this weekend. If you’re saving an hour by skimming this Dark recap and don’t know what to do with it, go listen to that right now.
2point0 (w/ Daniel Garcia) defeated Bison XL & Toa Liona (4:01)
Props to Bison XL for making the most dramatic, diving hot tag I have seen all week. Liona looked like a monster out there. 2point0 engineered a collision between the two and got the double hotshot on Liona for the victory.
Red Velvet defeated Sholance Royal (3:15)
Royal sang a note after her introduction and again after a failed lock-up. That got super annoying super quick. Velvet got a two after a standing moonsault and finished her off with the Final Slice. After the match, Bunny snuck in behind Velvet and hit her with the brass knuckles to knock her out.
Bobby Fish defeated Ryzin (2:27)
After swimming with sharks last week on Dynamite, Fish returned to calm waters on Dark and got a win. Fish hit a slingshot senton for a near fall. He followed that up with an exploder suplex into the ropes, later battered his opponent with kicks. After a rear naked choke, Fish finished off Ryzin with a hook kick for the pinfall.
Tony Nese defeated Fuego Del Sol (5:47)
The Long Island native Nese got a win in his AEW debut.
Fuego looked impressive in the early going, but Nese cut him off with a clothesline and a vertical suplex to take control. Nese hit an impressive springboard moonsault from outside the ring for a near fall and worked over Del Sol with a body scissors. Del Sol came back with an enziguri and caught Nese with a flying forearm. Del Sol hit a springboard moonsault from the middle rope to the floor and got a near fall with a double foot stomp to the back of the head.
Del Sol went for the tornado DDT, but Nese countered into a roll-up. From the roll-up, Nese deadlifted Del Sol into a power bomb position and then threw him into the turnbuckles. Nese then charged in with a running knee to get the pinfall to finish a solid match.
PAC defeated Tiger Ruas (8:44)
Ruas had a tougher go of it here than he did last week.
PAC controlled Ruas with a side headlock. Ruas came back with a snap suplex and a double leg takedown that sent PAC to the floor to regroup. Ruas followed and PAC easily won the brawl on the floor when he sent Ruas into the guardrails around the ring.
Back in the ring, PAC controlled Ruas with a chinlock, but Ruas came back with a series of strikes. He worked over PAC in the corner with body blows and then hit a teardrop suplex for a near fall. Ruas went for a cross armbreaker, but PAC was able to counter into a pinning combination. PAC then powered up Ruas and power bombed him to the mat.
PAC took control with a series of kicks and then a German suplex. From there, he locked in the Brutalizer and got Ruas to tap out.
Final Thoughts:
This was just a bunch of squashes this week. Check out the FTR interview and maybe the PAC match. Unless you like squash matches, skip the rest of this week’s Dark.
Friday’s AEW Rampage will see the rematch between rivals PAC and Andrade El Idolo in addition to the kickoff of the AEW World Championship eliminator tournament.
This will be their second meeting in as many months with Andrade picking up the win on the September 10th Rampage after it was originally slated for All Out. The two have been at odds since Andrade’s arrival in the company following Double Or Nothing.
The second edition of the World title eliminator tournament will kick off as Powerhouse Hobbs takes on Orange Cassidy. The two first met in a singles match on AEW Dark in July 2020. The winner will advance to face either Jon Moxley or Dark Order’s 10 in the next round.
Women’s Champion Dr. Britt Baker will face Anna Jay in a non-title singles encounter. This came about when Jay and Baker got into an argument backstage following a Jay interview with Tony Schiavone last week.
The bracket for the upcoming TBS title tournament is set to be revealed as well.
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Excalibur, Taz, Chris Jericho and Ricky Starks are on commentary.
Orange Cassidy (w/ Chuck Taylor) defeated Powerhouse Hobbs (w/ Hook) (8:04) to advance to the semi-finals of the World title eliminator tournament.
Pre-match recaps showed how last year on Dark, Cassidy defeated Hobbs in 12 seconds with the orange punch, as well as how beat up Cassidy was in the ladder match two weeks ago on Dynamite. Cassidy came out wearing the DDP tribute rib tape.
Hobbs hit a spinebuster very early on for a near fall, and took the fight to the floor, working over Cassidy’s injured ribs and back. Matt Hardy cheered on Hobbs from the crowd. Back in the ring, Hobbs methodically hit a variety of suplexes on Cassidy. Cassidy tried to counter a suplex attempt with a spinning DDT, but Hobbs blocked it and clotheslined Cassidy. Hobbs was in control as the show went to a picture-in-picture break.
Back from the break, Hobbs continued to dominate. Cassidy tried a crossbody off the top, but Hobbs caught him and put Cassidy in the torture rack. Cassidy broke free with elbows and got a near fall with a small package. Cassidy went for the orange punch but Hobbs bullied him into the corner, then followed up with a pair of avalanches. Hobbs worked over Cassidy in the corner and refused to adhere to the referees instructions, angering the ref. Hobbs manhandled the ref, and Hook got up on the apron to try and calm down Hobbs. In this confusion, Cassidy caught Hobbs in the mousetrap and got the pinfall to advance to the next round. Cassidy faces the winner of the Jon Moxley vs. 10 match in the semi-finals.
– In the World Title Eliminator Tournament, Bryand Danielson vs. Dustin Rhodes and Eddie Kingston vs. Lance Arrcher are set for Dynamite tomorrow, and Moxley/10 is set for Wednesday in Boston.
– Tony Schiavone called out Penta and Alex Abrahantes for an interview (Jericho on commentary explained Rey Fenix was injured in the finish of last Saturday’s match). They were distracted by two fans in green masks in the crowd. Penta (thinking they were FTR) confronted them and ripped off their hoods, but they were just some dudes. FTR and Tully Blanchard jumped Penta and Abrahantes from behind, taking them out. FTR celebrated their skulduggery by holding up their AAA title belts and the Lucha Bros’ AEW World title belts. Pac ran out to make the save. This definitely teased an FTR/Lucha Bros rematch at the pay-per-view.
Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D (w/ Rebel & Jamie Hayter) defeated Anna Jay (6:51 aired)
Anna Jay looked great in what was perhaps her most high-profile match in AEW. This match also helped set up Baker’s potential opponent for Full Gear.
After exchanging forearms, both women went for their submissions early, and saw their opponent quickly and easily escape. The crowd was solidly behind Baker, although Jay did have her fans. Baker worked over Jay’s arm, but Jay reversed and caught Baker with a thrust kick. Jay caught Baker with a flat liner and went for the Koji clutch, but Baker escaped. Baker used a hair pull to send Jay headfirst into the turnbuckles and winked to the camera.
After a long commercial break (nearly four minutes!), Baker hit Jay with a slingblade and a twisting neck breaker for a near fall. Baker got the glove from Rebel, but Jay caught Baker with a DDT and sliding dropkick for a near fall. Jay went for the Queenslayer sleeper, but Baker got the ropes. They exchanged crucifixes for near falls, and Jay got the sleeper on Baker. Hayter distracted Jay from the apron, and Baker almost got a pin off the distraction. Jay superkicked Baker to the floor and got the sleeper again. Baker tried the Bret Hart pin from WrestleMania 8, but that didn’t work and Jay kept her locked in the hold. Finally, Baker got to the ropes, and snapped Jay’s neck against the middle rope. Baker caught Jay with a superkick, then tied her up in the lockjaw. Jay had to tap. Britt gave Jay a lot and both women came out looking strong.
Post-match, Baker locked in the lock jaw on Jay again, and Tay Conti ran out and made the save. Conti chased off Baker, who left the Women’s world title belt in the ring. Conti held up the belt and taunted Baker, teasing a potential match at Full Gear.
– In a rundown of Dynamite for tomorrow night, the only new match announced is Jungle Boy vs. Brandon Cutler. On next week’s Ramage, the winner of Danielson/Rhodes will take on the winner of Archer/Kingston.
The TBS Tournament bracket.
Four women will get first round byes. The tournament will begin tomorrow night on AEW Saturday Dynamite.
Thunder Rosa gets a bye, and faces the winner of Anna Jay vs. Jamie Hayter.
Jade Cardill gets a bye, and faces the winner of The Bunny vs. Red Velvet.
Nyla Rose gets a bye, and faces the winner of Serena Deeb vs. Hikaru Shida (this match will happen Wednesday on Dynamite).
And Kris Statlander gets a bye and faces the winner of Penelope Ford and Ruby Soho (this match will happen tomorrow night).
Tony Schiavone moderates the face-to-face segment between Andrade and Pac before the main event. What happened to Mark Henry? Bryan Alvarez is going to be so disappointed! Tony delivers Henry’s line, but it wasn’t the same.
Pac defeated Andrade El Idolo (16:18)
This match was all kinds of awesome.
Everyone is barred from ringside. Well I mean, except for El Idolo and Pac and the referee. But everyone else stays in the back.
In the first 30 seconds Pac snapped off two superkicks, a German suplex and a tope con hilo. He went to the top for the Black Arrow but El Idolo crotched him on the ropes. El Idolo went for a double knee in the corner, but Pac dodged it and hit a superkick. El Idolo asked Pac to give him his best shot, so Pac took his head off with a boot.
El Idolo caught Pac with a boot that sent him to the floor, and El Idolo hit a spinning springboard plancha to the floor. With both guys selling on the floor, the show went to its last picture-in-picture break.
Back from break, El Idolo hit the three amigos for a near fall while the crowd chanted “Eddy!” Pac elbowed out of a waistlock, only to walk right into a boot. El Idolo went for a slingshot dropkick while Pac was slumped against the ropes, but Pac dropped out of the way and El Idolo crashed and burned to the floor, taking an ugly bump.
Pac came out to the floor with a rana which sent El Idolo backfirst into a chair. Referee Aubrey Edwards checked with El Idolo, who continued the match. Pac came off the top with fantastic moonsault onto El Idolo. “Fight forever!” chants from the crowd, and I’m on board with that. Pac teased a move from the top, and El Idolo popped up, and right inot a kick from Pac. A slingshot cutter from Pac got another near fall. Pac went for the brutalizer but El Idolo got to the ropes before Pac could lock it in.
Pac and El Idolo ended up on the ring apron exchanging strikes. El Idolo drove Pac back-first into the apron from an inverted DDT position. El Idolo then followed that up with a slingshot DDT out of the ring onto the ring apron, and this time both men crashed and burned to the floor.
El Idolo went to the top for a moonsault, but Pac crotched him. Pac then delivered a top rope avalanche brainbuster and covered El Idolo… for two. El Idolo recovered and began exchanging slaps and forearms with Pac. Pac caught El Idolo with a superkick and a poison rana. El Idolo countered with a back elbow and both went for pinning combinations. El Idolo went for a hammerlock DDT, but Pac countered with a cradle and got the pinfall, and the lights went out.
When the lights came back on, Malakai Black appeared and spat mist in Pac’s face. Black got a chair from under the ring, but Arn Anderson came down the entrance to distract Black and El Idolo. Cody Rhodes ran in through the crowd, taking out both El Idolo and Black. Rhodes hit his fantastic spinning powerslam on Black and grabbed the chair. He went for Black with the chair, but Black ducked out of the ring.
Nice angle to set up Black/Rhodes III. Rhodes was cheered by the fans for making the save.
Final Thoughts:
It’s a little depressing to think about how far along Anna Jay would be if she didn’t spend so many months on the shelf this year. She looked great against Baker. I have no doubt Jay will get to the next level in AEW, however. Her match did seem to set up Tay Conti vs. Britt Baker in what should be a fantastic world title match for the pay-per-view. As someone who’s watched Conti develop on Dark and Elevation all year, I’m very excited for that match.
But the main event was fantastic, a must see match. Although I think going to the Cody angle right away hurt the finish a bit. Nonetheless, fantastic and the best match I’ve seen… well in a week since Suzuki/Danielson. AEW continues to deliver stellar action on Friday night.
AEW taped Dark prior to tonight’s AEW Dynamite and taped next week’s Rampage following the show, which was held at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida.
AEW Dark:
Jamie Hayter defeated a local competitor
The Gunn Club defeated Alex Chamberlain, Dean Mercer, and Diamond Sheik
Thunder Rosa, Kris Statlander, and Red Velvet defeated Nyla Rose, Emi Sakura, and Diamante
Jade Cargill and Smart Mark Sterling came out. Sterling introduced Cargill as the TBS Champion. He says it is a travesty she is in the tournament, and should be handed the title.
Lance Archer defeated an unnamed opponent
Frankie Kazarian defeated Aaron Solo
Stu Grayson, Colt Cabana, Alan Angels, and 10 of the Dark Order defeated Daniel Garcia, Serpentico, and 2point0
AEW Rampage:
Orange Cassidy defeated Powerhouse Hobbs in a AEW World title Eliminator tournament match
Tony Shiavone interviewed Penta El 0 M in the ring. Before he could say anything, FTR came out and attacked him. PAC came out for the save.
Britt Baker defeated Anna Jay. Tay Conti came out after the match to make the save for Jay.
PAC defeated Andrade El Idolo. After the match, the lights went out and Malakai Black appeared, attacking PAC. Cody Rhodes came out to make the save. Cody said in the promo he will never turn heel because he loves the energy from the crowd too much.
AEW will return to Orlando, Florida at the Addition Financial Arena next Saturday for AEW Dynamite.
A second match between PAC and Andrade El Idolo has been announced for next week’s Rampage.
Their first match took place back on September 8, when Idolo defeated PAC due to interference from Idolo’s then-manager Chavo Guerrerro. After Idolo found out that Chavo had interfered, Idolo attacked him, ending the relationship.
Dynamite on Saturday will have PAC’s stablemates the Lucha Bros. (Rey Fenix and Pentagon El 0 M) vs. a mystery team that is good friends with Idolo for the AAA Tag Team titles.
The AEW World Title Eliminator tournament will also begin on Rampage next week. The bracket featuring the participants for the tournament will be revealed on Saturday’s Dynamite, with the finals taking place at Full Gear. The winner of the tournament will get a future title match for the AEW World Championship.
The bracket for the TBS Women’s title tournament will be revealed on next week’s Rampage. The title was announced last week on Dynamite as a new title in the women’s division, with stars such as Thunder Rosa, Ruby Soho, Jade Cargill, and Skye Blue all expressing interest. AEW Dynamite will move to TBS in January, with Rampage staying on TNT.
Friday’s AEW Rampage from Cincinnati, Ohio, will see PAC take on Andrade El Idolo in a highly anticipated match
The match was originally slated for last Sunday’s All Out, but was moved due to what AEW called “travel issues.” They attempted to explain it in storyline that El Idolo’s team messed with PAC’s travel. This will be El Idolo’s second AEW match as he defeated Matt Sydal in his early-July debut.
Friday’s taped show will also see hometown favorite Brian Pillman Jr. of the Varsity Blonds vs. Max Caster of The Acclaimed. The two teams were feuding on Dark and Dark: Elevation and building toward a tag team match before Caster disappeared without explanation following a controversial pre-match rap.
An six-woman tag team team match will see AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter and Reba against no. 1 contender Ruby Soho, former Women’s Champion Riho and Kris Statlander, set into motion following the events of Wednesday’s Dynamite.
Darby Allin and Sting will do a promo ahead of Allin’s Wednesday match against Shawn Spears. Sting will also address Tully Blanchard’s Wednesday comments about a future fight between the two.
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Andrade El Idolo (w/ Chavo) defeated PAC (15:45 w/ ad break)
Both guys were already in the ring at the start of the show for introductions from Justin Roberts. After a staredown, both men exchange forearms. El Idolo won the exchange and tried a side headlock, but PAC broke free. El Idolo caught PAC with a shotgun dropkick and did the “El Tranquilo” taunt.
The crowd got behind PAC with a “Let’s Go PAC!” chant, and PAC caught El Idolo with an arm drag and a rana. El Idolo dropped to the floor and PAC nailed a tope con hilo. PAC whipped El Idolo in the barricades a couple of times, then tossed him back into the ring. PAC worked over El Idolo with hard chops in the corner and a chinlock on the mat.
El Idolo worked his way out of the chinlock and caught PAC with a boot against the ropes. El Idolo then did a springboard over the ropes and grabbed PAC’s head into a DDT on the ring apron. PAC fell to the floor and El Idolo followed up with a springboard plancha. The crowd chanted “This is awesome!” and they were right.
Both guys battled up to the top rope, and PAC fell back, hanging from his knee on the top rope. El Idolo jumped off the top rope with a double stomp into PAC’s chest, and with both men on the floro the show went to a quick ad break.
Back from the break, El Idolo hit a springboard moonsault (almost like a RVD-style split leg moonsault, but way more sudden) for a two count. El Idolo positioned PAC on the middle rope to set up an electric chair drop, but PAC countered into a super rana. PAC then came in with a massive pump kick, but El Idolo responded with a clothesline. PAC returned with a superkick and both guys were down. El Idolo got outside to the ring apron, where he and PAC exchanged forearms.
PAC went for a sunset flip powerbomb to the floor, but El Idolo flipped out of it and landed on his feet. PAC hit him with a superkick. PAC wound up hung on the top rope again by his legs, and El Idolo went for the double stomp again. But this time, PAC avoided it and hit a top rope moonsault to the floor.
After both guys sold on the floor for a bit, PAC threw El Idolo back into the ring, then came off the top with a 450 splash. PAC went for the cover, but El Idolo got to the ropes to break the pin count. PAC drug El Idolo into the corner and went to the top to set up the Black Arrow, but El Idolo got away. PAC hit a Pele kick and went for his hammerlock DDT, but PAC countered and hit a german suplex. PAC went for a springboard, El Idolo caught him in a fireman’s carry, but PAC countered into the Brutalizer. Jose jumped on the apron with a taser, so the Lucha Bros ran in and pulled Jose down. But this distracted the ref, and Chavo ran in to hit PAC with his iPad. El Idolo rolled up PAC for the pin.
Excellent match.
After the match, Jose told El Idolo that Chavo interfered, so El Idolo decked Chavo and left him laying in the entrance. The Lucha Bros hit Chavo with a double superkick, then threw Chavo back in the ring for PAC to torture him with the Brutalizer.
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Sting and Darby Allin Interview w/ Tony Schiavone
Schiavone interviewed Sting and Allin in the ring. Allin called out Spears and said Spears would be nothing without Tully Blanchard. Sting then grabbed the mic and said Blanchard rode the coattails of Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. Sting called out Blanchard, and Blanchard responded from the stage. While Blanchard distracted Sting from the entrance, Shawn Spears snuck in from behind and pulled Allin out of the ring and hit him with a Death Valley Driver.
Adam Cole & Bryan Danielson segment.
In pre-taped comments from backstage, Adam Cole explained why he joined the Elite: he trusts the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, and they trust him. Cole seemed to have his sights set on Bryan Danielson.
Bryan Danielson responds in his own pre-taped comments, but he’s looking for his first match in AEW to be with Kenny Omega. But if Omega doesn’t respond to Danielson’s challenge, he’s sure some other hungry AEW wrestler will.
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Ruby Soho, Kris Statlander & Riho defeated Dr. Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter & Rebel (6:30 aired)
Baker and Riho started out, but Statlander quickly got the tag. Statlander got a near fall after a powerslam. Riho and Hayter tagged in. Rebel kneed Riho from the ring apron as Riho ran the ropes. While the heels worked over Riho, the show went to break.
Back from the break, Soho got the hot tag from Riho and worked over Hayter with forearms and a superkick. A takedown got Soho a near fall. Statlander and Soho tried to double-team Hayter, but she fought out of it and got a near fall on Statlander after a backbreaker. Rebel tagged in and she and Hayter tried to double-suplex Statlander, but Statlander countered and suplexed both of her opponents instead. Statlander tried to pin Rebel with a rollup, but Baker came in with a meteoria to break up the cover. Statlander caught Baker with a suplex. Riho climb onto Statlander’s shoulders, looking to hit a move on Baker, but Rebel threw herself onto Baker to save her! So, Riho came off of Statlander’s shoulders with a double stop on Rebel. Baker rolled to the floor, and Soho hit her finisher on Rebel to get the pin.
The crew ran down all the upcoming matches scheduled for the next two weeks on Dynamite.
Mark Henry conducted a face to face interview with Max Caster and Brian Pillman Jr. Caster will bring Anthony Bowens with him to ringside, but Pillman will go out there alone.
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Brian Pillman Jr. defeated Max Caster (w/ Anthony Bowens) (6:36)
Even though it’s nearly 11pm on cable, Caster still can’t say what he thinks Skyline chili looks like in his pre-match rap. “You’re on thin ice, Max!”
Pillman wore Bengals-themed trunks and ran in to attack Caster before the bell. After an initial flurry from Pillman, Caster took control. Caster got a near fall after a knee drop. He worked a cravat, but Pillman worked his way out of the hold. Bowens distracted Pillman and Caster caught him with a back suplex. Caster tossed Pillman to the floor and Bowens worked over Pillman while Caster distracted referee Aubrey Edwards.
Back in the ring, Caster charged Pillman in the corner, and Pillman caught him with a boot. Pillman followed up with a flying forearm and a clothesline. Caster tried to cover up in the corner, but Pillman whipped him into the other corner and followed him in with a clothesline. Pillman tried to go for a top rope move, but Bowens distracted him. Pillman hit Bowens with a top rope crossbody. As Pillman came back in, Caster caught him with a dropkick.
Caster tossed Pillman back into the ring and went for his Mic Drop top rope elbow, but Pillman got out of the way. Pillman then hit Caster with the Air Pillman springboard clothesline and got the pinfall. Babyfaces winning in their home town? What is this?
Pillman briefly celebrated with his family in the front row, but Bowens jumped Pillman again. Both members of the Acclaimed tried to attack Pillman with their boombox, but Jon Moxley ran in and made the save. The hometown boys celebrated to the cheers of the crowd as the show closed.
Final Thoughts:
Andrade and PAC was a fantastic match. Brian Pillman Jr. getting a win in front of his hometown fans was a great moment. Rampage is the best hour of wrestling every week.
After being pulled from the All Out card, a new date has been set for PAC vs. Andrade El Idolo.
It was announced tonight that PAC vs. Andrade will take place on next Friday’s episode of Rampage. When the match was removed from All Out, it was noted that it would be rescheduled for a future Rampage episode.
AEW president and CEO Tony Khan posted a tweet this Wednesday announcing that PAC vs. Andrade wouldn’t be taking place at All Out due to travel issues. “Thank you to you fans supporting #AEWDynamite LIVE next on TNT! The Women’s Casino Battle Royale, which was booked on the Buy In, will now be featured on the ALL OUT ppv card,” Khan tweeted. “Due to travel issues, the @BASTARDPAC vs. @AndradeElIdolo bout is postponed until a future #AEWRampage”
With the women’s Casino Battle Royale being moved to the All Out main card, a 10-man tag match with Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, Wheeler Yuta & Jurassic Express facing Matt Hardy, Private Party, Jack Evans & Angelico was made for The Buy-In.
This will be Andrade’s second match in AEW since joining the company. In his debut, Andrade defeated Matt Sydal.
Next Friday’s Rampage is being taped at the Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio in conjunction with Wednesday’s live episode of Dynamite.
One of the matches scheduled for Sunday’s All Out pay-per-view will no longer be taking place.
Ahead of tonight’s Dynamite, AEW president and CEO Tony Khan sent out a tweet announcing that PAC vs. Andrade El Idolo is off All Out due to travel issues. The women’s Casino Battle Royale has been moved up from Sunday’s pre-show to the All Out main card.
PAC vs. Andrade will take place on a future episode of Rampage.
“Thank you to you fans supporting #AEWDynamite LIVE next on TNT! The Women’s Casino Battle Royale, which was booked on the Buy In, will now be featured on the ALL OUT ppv card,” Khan wrote. “Due to travel issues, the @BASTARDPAC vs. @AndradeElIdolo bout is postponed until a future #AEWRampage”
Andrade tweeted: “I just wasted my time! It’s like in boxing, when they don’t make weight, the fighter has to be fined a sum of money Or is he just not ready to face me and he wants more time! @AEW #AEWAllOut” #TranquilaRaza
Jade Cargill, Hikaru Shida, Emi Sakura, Thunder Rosa, Tay Conti, Julia Hart, Big Swole, The Bunny, Red Velvet, Penelope Ford, Nyla Rose, Diamante, Kiera Hogan, Abadon, KiLynn King, Leyla Hirsch, Rebel, Jamie Hayter, and Anna Jay have been announced for the women’s Casino Battle Royale. It will feature 21 entrants in total, with the winner getting a future shot at the AEW Women’s Championship.
All Out is taking place at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on Sunday. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:
CM Punk vs. Darby Allin
AEW World Champion Kenny Omega defends against Christian Cage
AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks defend against The Lucha Brothers in a steel cage match
AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker defends against Kris Statlander
TNT Champion Miro defends against Eddie Kingston
Jon Moxley vs. Satoshi Kojima
Chris Jericho vs. MJF (if Jericho loses, he can never wrestle in AEW again)
Andrade El Idolo will face PAC at the AEW All Out PPV on Sunday, September 5.
The announcement was made on tonight’s Dynamite.
PAC addressed Andrade in a backstage promo. He stated that Andrade is obsessed with Death Triangle and that he is willing to face Andrade anytime, anywhere.
Later in the show, Andrade and Chavo Guerrero addressed PAC’s statements. Andrade called PAC ungrateful, then Chavo parroted him. Chavo said that Andrade can show PAC who’s boss at All Out.
Over the last several weeks, Andrade has made overtures to PAC’s Death Triangle teammates, Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix. On tonight’s show, Penta told PAC that he wanted a shot at Andrade first. PAC told Penta and Fenix to focus their efforts on the tag team division, then issued the challenge.
Andrade vs. PAC is the third match made official for All Out. Here is the announced lineup so far:
AEW World Championship: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Christian Cage
Andrade El Idolo vs. PAC
Casino Battle Royale for a future AEW Women’s World Championship shot
A number one contender’s match to determine AEW World Champion Kenny Omega’s next challenger will take place on next week’s AEW Dynamite.
Top-ranked PAC will face Orange Cassidy. The winner will take on Omega for the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing on Sunday, May 30.
Tony Schiavone made the match announcement on tonight’s Blood and Guts episode of Dynamite while interviewing Omega. Cassidy then came to the stage to confront Omega. Omega mocked Cassidy and said that perhaps he would be willing to face Cassidy when he becomes a fully grown adult. PAC was not on tonight’s episode.
PAC and Cassidy have one prior high-profile meeting in AEW, a singles match at the Revolution PPV in February 2020. PAC won that encounter, submitting Cassidy with the Brutalizer.
The card for Double or Nothing so far:
AEW Double or Nothing 2021, Sunday, May 30 —
AEW World Championship: Kenny Omega (c) vs. PAC or Orange Cassidy
AEW Women’s World Championship: Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Dr. Britt Baker
On this coming Tuesday’s Dark, PAC, who hasn’t been seen since he and Fenix lost against the Young Bucks last month, returns to singles action, facing Serpentico. Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix will be in PAC’s corner, and Luther will be in Serpentico’s corner.
Luther will also be in action on the card, as he will face Lance Archer. Serpentico will be in Luther’s corner, and Jake Roberts will be in Archer’s. Archer in recent weeks has been clearing the ring whenever Darby Allin and Sting are attacked. Archer has also confronted Sting in recent interviews.
The Bunny, part of Matt Hardy’s Hardy Office, will take on Leila Grey. Team Taz will also be in action, as Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks will team up to take on Brick Aldridge and Aaron Frye.
