AEW has revealed the bracket for the World title eliminator tournament set to conclude at Full Gear on November 19.
Eight participants have been announced for the tournament, with one first round match set for the November 9 Dynamite, and three set for the November 11 Rampage.
The tournament semifinals will take place the following week, with the finals set for Full Gear. The winner will receive a title shot at Winter is Coming on December 14.
The first round matches:
Eddie Kingston vs. Ethan Page — November 9 Dynamite
Bandido vs. Rush — November 11 Rampage
Ricky Starks vs. Lance Archer — November 11 Rampage
Brian Cage vs. Dante Martin — November 11 Rampage
Bryan Danielson won the 2021 AEW World title eliminator tournament, defeating Miro in the finals at Full Gear. Danielson went on to face Hangman Page for the title at Winter is Coming in December in a match that went to a time limit draw.
Four matches have been announced for this week’s AEW Dark: Elevation.
Chuck Taylor will face Rey Fenix in one of the marquee bouts. Best Friends and The Lucha Brothers have been feuding in recent weeks, with Penta El Zero Miedo picking up a win over Trent this past Wednesday on Dynamite.
Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page, who have teamed together in recent weeks, will take on Alex Reynolds and Allan “Five” Angels of The Dark Order. Sky and Page were also involved in the show closing angle on Dynamite, where they attacked Darby Allin after he successfully defended the TNT title against Jungle Boy.
Additionally, Matt Sydal will face Joey Janela. Sydal will team with his brother Mike this Wednesday against The Young Bucks in a AEW World Tag Team title eliminator. Big Swole and Red Velvet, meanwhile, will team up to take on Nyla Rose and Madi Wrenkowski.
AEW Dark: Elevation is streamed every Monday starting at 7 pm Eastern.
In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Penta El Zero M is cleared to return to action in AEW, but needs to resolve a visa issue first.
Meltzer said that Penta was injured “for a while” in 2020, but didn’t go into details as to what the injury was. The character’s last appearance was on the January 20th Dynamite being injured backstage by Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers. However, Meltzer said it wasn’t the real Penta that was being attacked.
Meltzer said that Penta is sorting out a via issue and will be back once that is resolved.
Penta and Fenix’s last AEW outing was on the January 19th Dark in a win over Chaos Project. The team did defend their AAA Tag Team Titles at December 12th’s TripleMania in a three-way, but only had one in-ring appearance for AEW in December.
Fenix will team with Jon Moxley and PAC against AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers at this Wednesday’s Beach Break.
AEW Dynamite airs live tonight from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
After defeating Chris Jericho at Full Gear, MJF will be inducted into The Inner Circle tonight. MJF faked being hit by a baseball bat at Full Gear to create an issue between Jericho and referee Aubrey Edwards, allowing MJF to roll Jericho up and pin him while holding the tights.
Natural Nightmares vs. The Butcher and The Blade (w/The Bunny) has been announced. This feud began on AEW Dark where it was revealed that The Bunny had been seducing QT Marshall only to financially ruin him before she returned to her Bunny persona and her real-life husband, The Blade.
An appearance by new number one contender to Jon Moxley’s AEW World Championship Kenny Omega was announced earlier today.
A Cody Rhodes promo has also been advertised. Rhodes lost the TNT Championship to Darby Allin at Full Gear.
Penta El Zero M vs. Rey Fenix will take place. The tag partners faced off in the first round of the World title eliminator tournament. Fenix came away with the win, but Penta took his place in the second round against Kenny Omega after Fenix was injured.
Shawn Spears (w/Tully Blanchard) will take on Scorpio Sky. This bout was originally slated for last week, but Sky was pulled from the show due to COVID contact tracing.
Brian Cage vs. Matt Sydal and Tay Conti vs. Red Velvet have also been announced for the show.
Tony Khan has also promised that “the balance of power in wrestling will shift tonight.”
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Dynamite has a fresh presentation package, including a new intro and revised graphics.
Taz opened the show with a promo ahead of Brian Cage’s match against Matt Sydal. He addressed Darby Allin, who was sitting high up in the audience. Taz told Allin not to interfere in the match, and to tell Cody Rhodes the same thing. Taz put over Sydal, and notably said that Sydal has a win over Chris Jericho, which was either a mistake where Taz meant to say “Christopher Daniels” or a reference to their WWE days.
Brian Cage (w/ Taz & Ricky Starks) defeated Matt Sydal
Taz joined commentary. Sydal surprised Cage with a couple kicks. Cage popped up and beat him down with power moves and strikes. Sydal would occasionally hit some hopeful offense, but Cage’s power was too much. Cage taunted Sydal by curling him.
Cage got cocky and attempted a hurricanrana, which Sydal turned into a hurricanrana before hitting a brutal meteora on the ramp. Sydal hit kicks and a standing corkscrew moonsault for two. Cage went for the Drill Claw, but Sydal fought out. Sydal hit a roundhouse kick but was leveled with a lariat before countering out of the Drill Claw into a cradle for a close near fall.
Sydal attempted a top-rope blockbuster, but Cage caught him out of midair right into the Drill Claw for the win.
After the match, Starks cut a promo, emphasizing how he and Cage are both now on the men’s singles rankings. “The revolution will be televised.”
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Cody Rhodes made his full entrance and congratulated Darby Allin on his championship victory. Cody will not be seeking a rematch, and instead wants a match with MJF. Some tall bodybuilder woman entered the ring, took the microphone, and accused Cody of lying.
Her name is Jade Cargill, and she called herself the “total package”. She’s been sitting on the sidelines studying her competition. Cargill said that Cody wants to topple giants, but there’s nothing giant about Cody.
Cargill told Cody to keep his thoughts to himself, and told him to watch his back, before sarcastically congratulating him on his name. Cargill said that Cody was too scared to go by just one name, and said that the giant she’s representing was Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal).
Brandi Rhodes came out and tore into Cargill, but Cargill was unfazed. Cargill gave Brandi a lovetap on the way out before Jerry Lynn came out to prevent the fight.
With Cody distracted, Cage re-entered the ring and laid him out. He and Starks attacked Cody, but Allin’s music played, and he made the save. Cody’s music played as Will Hobbs made his way out to even the odds.
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Alex Marvez interviewed Jon Moxley. When Moxley came to AEW he wasn’t interested in championships, but now, the world title represents every single one of the fans. He has a big challenge ahead with Kenny Omega. He’s beaten Omega once, but beating him twice is another story.
They announced that Moxley will the AEW World Championship against Omega in three weeks, on the December 2 episode of Dynamite. It was billed as the “biggest match in Dynamite history.”
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Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall) defeated The Butcher & The Blade (w/ Allie) in a Bunkhouse Match
This was tons of fun.
There are no disqualifications or countouts in a Bunkhouse match. Everyone in the match was wearing jeans and there were props next to the stage.
Marshall attacked before the bell and the Natural Nightmares worked over their opponents on the floor. Dustin hit the Final Reckoning on Blade through a chair. Bunny distracted them, and Blade smashed a guitar over Marshall’s head as Dustin grabbed a bullrope. Dustin set up to use the rope but was leveled with a chair shot from Butcher.
The camera cut to Marshall, who was bloodied. Bunny handcuffed Dustin to the ropes. It was all Butcher and Blade during the commercial break as Dustin was helpless and Marshall was incapacitated.
A ladder and a kendo stick were introduced during the break. Dustin grabbed the kendo stick, so Blade tackled him, but in the process, Dustin was set free from the cuffs. He made a one-man comeback after flipping off his opponents.
Dustin and Butcher fought with weapons abnd brawled over to a staging area. Marshall blinded Butcher with a fire extinguisher, allowing Dustin to bulldog him through a plywood structure.
Back in the ring, Blade had been opened up badly. Marshall and Blade’s relationship with Allie/Bunny was the focus of this feud, so they brawled in the ring before Marshall cracked him with a trashcan. Marshall climbed a ladder and hit an elbow drop from the top, but Blade got his shoulder up at two.
Butcher and Dustin made their way back into the fight as the latter hit signature offense before they whiffed on a Code Red. Butcher and Blade hit the Full Death through chairs, but Marshall broke up the pin. Marshall hit a chain-assisted Diamond Cutter on Butcher and Blade into Bunny, which sent her through a table. Dustin nailed Blade with a cowbell and Marshall hit the cutter for the win.
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Matt Hardy cut a promo from his compound. He said that Sammy Guevara earned his respect through all the violence and that Guevara will be a big star.
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MJF’s Inner Circle Induction Ceremony
There was a podium set up in the ring. Chris Jericho came out, addressed the crowd, and invited out the original Inner Circle first. Hager, Santana, and Ortiz came out without Guevara, but Jericho brushed it off.
Next were MJF and Wardlow, both of whom are being inducted into the Inner Circle. MJF took the podium and acted all emotional, saying he overcame the adversity of a one million dollar loan and handled the burden of being the ratings champion. He then read a prepared poem, but he was just plagiarazing the rapper Drake’s song “All Me”.
Santana and Ortiz got heated, but Jericho calmed everyone down and said the Inner Circle would be stronger than ever, imploring everyone to make it work.
MJF said they weren’t just here to celebrate his induction, they were also celebrating Jericho’s birthday as confetti and balloons rained down. He announced that the Inner Circle was headed to Las Vegas next week, and the trip was on him, before singing “Happy Birthday” to close the segment.
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Alex Marvez interviewed the Young Bucks. In a funny moment, he flinched when their dressing room opened, expecting to be superkicked. The Bucks called the tag championships the biggest achievement of their career.
Matt mentioned that they received a message from Top Flight, the high-flying team of brothers that’s appeared on Dark, and then Matt granted them a tag team championship opportunity next week.
This was the culmination of a feud. They traded big moves early on. Ahead of the commercial, Sky went for a dive, but Spears sprung up and suplexed him.
Back from break, Sky fought out of C4 and hit a plancha and a slingshot cutter. Spears had set up stairs on the outside. Sky attempted a diving clothesline off of them, but Spears kicked him out of the air before dropping Sky with a sidewalk slam onto the stairs.
Spears went for the TKO, but Spears turned it into a sharpshooter. Tully dropped Spears’ Kevlar slug gimmick in the corner and distracted the referee and Sky. Spears crushed Sky with a steel slug inserted into his left glove, and that was enough to get the three count.
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During the previous match, Cody Rhodes & Darby Allin vs. Brian Cage & Ricky Starks of Team Taz was announced for next week’s Dynamite.
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Dasha Gonzalez had been sitting with Kenny Omega for an interview, but Omega left in a hurry. They cut to Alex Marvez, who had caught up to Omega outside. Marvez asked for Omega’s thoughts on being the next world championship challenger.
Omega said that he needs the championship to live up to the standards of the Kenny Omega we saw in New Japan. He’s ready to assume the responsibility of being world champion, and noted that despite their previous encounter, this is the first official match between him and Moxley. He closed the interview with an intriguing cliffanger: Omega has a flight to catch.
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Tay Conti (w/ Anna Jay) defeated Red Velvet (w/ Brandi Rhodes)
Conti took control with judo throws before a commercial break. Velvet came back with clotheslines and a cazadora bulldog before following it up with double knees and a stunner for two.
They downed each other with double roundhouse kicks. Jay slipped a chair to Conti, but Conti didn’t want to cheat, and she kicked it out of the ring. Velvet surprised her with a leg lariat for a near fall, but missed a dropkick. Conti followed with a pump kick and a Gory Special transitioned into a knee strike for the victory.
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Alex Marvez interviewed Jericho, MJF, and the rest of the Inner Circle. They celebrated with their tickets to Las Vegas. Sammy Guevara approached. Guevara missed the induction ceremony because he didn’t get a follow-up email about where it would take place, but MJF was adamant he sent it.
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They replayed the Best Friends/Sabian & Miro angle from Full Gear and announced Kip Sabian vs. Orange Cassidy for next week.
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Eddie Kingston cut a promo. Even though he said “I quit,” he will never stop wrestling and will become world champion. Penta vs. Fénix is next, and all Kingston can say to the fans is “you’re welcome.”
Penta El Zero Miedo defeated Rey Fénix
This was a very good match but it wasn’t quite as great as their previous encounter.
Kingston joined commentary and they teased dissension as Kingston clearly favors Penta. The Lucha Bros traded kicks right away. They traded cradles before Fénix sent Penta outside with a hurricanrana. Fénix set up for a dive, but Penta backdropped him to the floor. Penta tore at his brother’s mask and flattened him with a thrust kick.
A lot of Fénix’s face was exposed during and after Penta’s attack on his mask. Schiavone accused Kingston of breaking up a great tag team. They brawled outside during the break and Penta maintained control of the match.
Penta set up for the package piledriver but Fénix turned it into a cradle. Fénix hit a handspring cutter before returning the favor and ripping his brother’s mask. We just about saw Penta’s entire face. They traded headbutts and Penta hit a flipping DDT for two.
A tijeras sent Penta outside before Fénix laid him out with a tornillo dive. Fénix hit a senton atomico for two. They fought on the apron as Penta hit the package piledriver right on the ring frame. On the floor, Penta hit a destroyer.
Back in the ring, Penta hit a second package piledriver for the win.
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Kingston immediately grabbed a microphone and congratulated Penta before pushing Fénix out of the ring. He said that Penta doesn’t need that dead weight.
He was interrupted by the returning PAC, who said that the Bastard is back and that Kingston made a bad mistake. Officials came out to prevent the brawl.
It was announced that PAC will make his in-ring return on next week’s Dynamite, facing The Blade.
Three matches have been announced for this Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite.
Already announced on this week’s episode, Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall) vs. The Butcher and The Blade will now be a bunkhouse match. No further details as to what that stipulation represents were announced. In storyline, The Bunny, formerly Allie, pretended to be romantically interested in Marshall. After maxing out Marshall’s credit cards, Allie supposedly returned to her real-life husband, The Blade.
In women’s division action, Tay Conti will take on Red Velvet. Velvet, who is coming off a loss to Nyla Rose on this week’s Dynamite, will have Brandi Rhodes in her corner.
The Lucha Bros will also face off in a singles match as Rey Fenix faces Penta El Zero M. The two met in the first round of the AEW World title eliminator tournament on October 21. Fenix was victorious but was also injured in the match. As a result, Penta took his place in the tournament semifinals against Kenny Omega.
AEW Dynamite airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern time on TNT.
Kenny Omega and Hangman Page punched their tickets to the finals of the AEW World title eliminator tournament with wins on last night’s Dynamite.
In the show’s main event, Omega defeated Penta El Zero M with a One-Winged Angel to advance to the finals. In the opener, Hangman Page defeated Wardlow after hitting a pair of Buckshot Lariats.
Omega and Page are former tag partners who held the AEW Tag Team titles for 228 days earlier this year. The two lost the titles to FTR at All Out.
Chris Jericho and MJF held a town hall meeting to discuss MJF possibly joining the Inner Circle. After questions from Luchasaurus and Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff made a cameo appearance and posed his own questions to MJF. Jericho then challenged MJF to a match at Full Gear. If MJF wins, he joins the Inner Circle.
Cody successfully defended the TNT Championship against Orange Cassidy in a lumberjack match. John Silver interfered, hitting Cassidy with a pump kick. Cody unwittingly capitalized on the interference and hit Cross Rhodes to retain.
Eddie Kingston defeated Matt Sydal in a tune-up match ahead of his AEW World Championship I Quit match against champ Jon Moxley at Full Gear. Moxley appeared on last night’s show in the form of a video promo. A face-to-face between Moxley and Kingston is scheduled for next week’s Dynamite.
In a sit-down interview with Excalibur, The Young Bucks declared that if they lose to FTR in the AEW Tag Team title match at Full Gear, they will never challenge for those titles again.
For more of what you missed, including Serena Deeb defending the NWA World Women’s Championship, scroll down.
The show opened with a backstage interview segment.
Dasha Gonzalez asked MJF what it would mean to him if Wardlow were to win the AEW World title. MJF said that Wardlow is under contract to him and if Wardlow wins, MJF becomes AEW Champion. MJF asked Wardlow to confirm that. Wardlow looked annoyed, but agreed.
Sammy Guevara entered and MJF did his condescending fake friend bit with Sammy. Sammy told him to cut the sh*t. MJF said Sammy looks like he sells adderall to middle schoolers.
Sammy said he was going to keep MJF out of the Inner Circle. MJF dared him to step up and do something about it. Guevara took a step forward and MJF begged off.
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AEW World title eliminator semifinal: Hangman Page defeated Wardlow
Page was on fire here. An excellent performance.
Page fired off a shotgun dropkick at the opening bell. The action spilled to the floor.
Wardlow speared Page through the barricade and went on offense. Page came back with an armbar over the ropes. Wardlo suplexed Page back in. Wardlow missed a senton bomb.
Page clotheslined Wardlow to the floor and hit a moonsault off the post. Back inside, Page hit a standing shooting star. Wardlow kicked out at one.
Wardlow blocked the Buckshot Lariat and hit his own clothesline for a near fall. Wardlow hit the F-10 but Page rolled to the floor before Wardlow could make a cover.
Page hit a fall-away slam off the top rope. Two Buckshot Lariats later, Page covered for the pin.
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The announcers previewed the rest of the show.
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A Jon Moxley promo video aired. Moxley said there was no room for an excuse-making Eddie Kingston in this AEW. He said AEW is for the best athletes who put in the work. He said he’s made the AEW title the richest prize in sports and Kingston should protect his neck.
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Kingston, Butcher, Blade and Bunny came to the ring. They showed a highlight from Dark in an inset and explained that The Bunny had maxed out QT Marshall’s credit cards.
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After an ad break, Kingston cut a promo in the ring. He called Moxley a coward for not being there tonight.
Kingston reminded us that he was never eliminated from the Casino Battle Royale at All Out and that Matt Sydal was the Joker in that match. Sydal entered for the next match.
Eddie Kingston defeated Matt Sydal
They opened with some chain wrestling. Sydal hit a spin kick and a sliding dropkick in the corner. He tried another kick but Kingston caught it and slammed him. Kingston was in control before a commercial.
After the break, Sydal made his comeback. Sydal hit a flying headscissors with Kingston seated on the top rope.
Kingston hit a kitchen sink to cut Sydal off, then used Moxley’s bulldog choke to submit Sydal.
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Young Bucks/FTR interview
Excalibur and The Young Bucks were in one location, FTR and Tully Blanchard in another.
Excalibur asked Matt about his ankle injury, diagnosed as a severe sprain and a contusion. Matt said he’ll be at Full Gear.
Dax said he’s not afraid of internet backlash and FTR will do what they have to do.
Matt explained the heelish actions of The Bucks of late. He said sometimes good people do bad things. He said The Bucks have been missing an edge and when FTR started screwing with and manipulating their friends, it lit a spark under them.
Excalibur asked Nick to dive deeper on that. FTR got agitated and walked out on the interview.
Nick said that Matt had proposed a stipulation and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
Matt said that if they lose at Full Gear, they will never challenge for the AEW Tag titles again.
As a next step in the story, this was fine.
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The Inner Circle Town Hall
Dasha Gonzalez and Tony Schiavone were the moderators.
Inner Circle entered first. Jake Hager was absent and the announcers explained that he’s training for an MMA fight.
MJF then entered.
Luchasaurus asked the first question. He asked MJF how he would keep the earnings potential strong for The Inner Circle. MJF showed a chart that demonstrated how the earnings would go up with him in the group.
Reba and Britt Baker asked the next question. Reba fawned over Jericho. Baker asked Jericho about MJF’s poor track record when it comes to friendships. Jericho said he’s not a dipsh*t like Cody and he won’t let MJF into the true Inner Circle, and if he tries to turn on them, they’ll knock his teeth down his throat.
MJF said that they all got into this business for money and championships, and that together, he and Inner Circle would make a lot of green and win a lot of gold.
Eric Bischoff entered and asked what MJF could do for The Inner Circle, what The Inner Circle could do for him.
In phrasing the next part of his question, Bischoff said that he’s worked with Jericho and that he’s a prima donna. He said MJF has a lot of the same traits and how would they get along without destroying each other.
Jericho told MJF to answer the question. MJF said Jericho can’t be serious and what hasn’t MJF done?
Jericho said MJF hasn’t beaten him.
Jericho said he’s going to give MJF a shot to beat him at Full Gear. If MJF wins, he’s in.
Ortiz then grabbed the mic. He said he and Sammy are out on MJF and even if he wins, he’ll never be in with them. He said Santana is somewhere in the middle.
Ortiz then announced himself and Guevara vs. MJF and Wardlow for next week.
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A Team Taz video played. They’re still waiting for an answer from Will Hobbs as to whether he will join their group.
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Orange Cassidy entered with Best Friends for the TNT title match before a commercial.
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TNT Championship lumberjack match: Cody defeated Orange Cassidy to retain the title
The story here was that the babyface lumberjacks had their loyalties split, while the heels were just there to create chaos.
Cody got into it with Best Friends on the floor. Trent hit Cody with a right hand and allowed Cassidy to establish an early advantage. Cassidy hi t a delayed vertical suplex.
Cody cut Cassidy off and hit a biel. He used a single-leg crab in working Cassidy over during a break. After the commercial, Cody hit a superplex off the post onto a bunch of lumberjacks as the lumberjacks fought amongst themselves.
Cassidy hit a stundog millionaire and a tornado DDT for a near fall. He followed with Beach Break for another two count.
Some of the lumberjacks took the referee. John Silver jumped in and hit a pump kick on Cassidy. Cody didn’t see the kick but took advantage of it, as he hit Cross Rhodes and pinned Cassidy.
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Darby Allin watched all of this from the upper deck of the building.
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Kip Sabian and Miro approached Best Friends backstage. They offered them presents and said they were sorry for overreacting when Best Friends broke their arcade game.
Penelope Ford entered dressed as Orange Cassidy for Halloween.
All of this was a ruse. Miro and Sabian attacked Best Friends. Miro said he will never forgive Best Friends.
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Serena Deeb cut an inset promo before the match. She said the belt represents legacy, tradition and respect. She said she changed the game and she’ll show you why you should respect her.
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NWA World Women’s Championship match: Serena Deeb defeated Leyla Hirsch to retain the title
They kept this simple but it was very good. A great example of a veteran walking a talented rookie through a match.
Hirsch used a variety of holds in attacking Deeb’s left arm. There was a commercial break in the middle of the match.
After the break, Hirsch hit a pump knee and a German suplex. Hirsch missed a moonsault. Deeb pounced right away and hit two neckbreakers.
Deeb then used an arm capture single-leg crab and Hirsch tapped out.
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Alex Marvez asked Hikaru Shida about the number one contender to her title, Nyla Rose. He said Rose is refusing to wrestle until she gets a title match.
Shida said “Nyla, you want me? I want you at Full Gear.”
So that’s a new Full Gear match.
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Shawn Spears (w/Tully Blanchard) defeated VSK
The only move of the match was a C4 from Spears. Spears pinned VSK.
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After the match, Spears pulled a guy in a bull costume out of the crowd and into the ring. The bull unmasked and revealed Scorpio Sky. Sky hit a TKO on Spears to further their angle.
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John Silver vs. Orange Cassidy was announced for the Full Gear Buy In.
Miro vs. Trent, Spears vs. Sky, plus Cody & Gunn Club vs. Colt Cabana, Ten and Silver were announced for next week. Jericho will also be on commentary next week.
The main event is next.
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Omega had his dancing broom girls wearing Penta and Fenix masks for his grand entrance.
AEW World title eliminator semifinal: Kenny Omega defeated Penta El Zero M (w/Rey Fenix)
Super main event.
Omega took off his shirt to reveal the AAA Mega title he won from Rey Fenix. This pissed off Penta and Fenix.
Omega and Penta had a chop battle to start. Omega then began laying in heavier strikes. Penta fired back with a heavy palm strike to the chest and a chop. Penta hit a backstabber and a tope con giro. Penta sold his knee after landing the tope.
Penta posted Omega’s right arm. Omega kicked at Penta’s left leg. They brawled into the crowd during a commercial break.
Back inside, Omega hit a kotaro krusher. He followed with a terminator dive. Omega celebraed the dive too long and Penta recovered. Penta hit a kick and a crossbody off the post to the floor.
Penta missed a double stomp off the top but hit a slingblade for a two count. Penta hit a double stomp with Omega caught up in the corner.
Omega hit two snap dragon suplexes. Penta blocked a third. Omega hit a powerbomb and a v-trigger for a near fall. Penta avoided a One-winged Angel. Omega hit a leg lariat and a v-trigger.
Omega teased a top rope dragon suplex but Penta blocked. Omega teased a suplex to the ramp but Penta blocked. Penta hit a destroyer on the ramp. In the ring, Penta hit a package piledriver for a great near fall.
Omega blocked a pumphandle driver. Penta hit an enzuigiri. Omega blocked a slingblade attempt with a v-trigger. Penta fought off another attempt at the One-winged Angel and used a Fujiwara armbar to wrench back on Omega’s right arm.
They traded strikes. Penta hit a superkick. Penta tried a springboard attack but Omega hit a v-trigger.
Omega then connected with the One-winged Angel and pinned Penta to advance to the tournament final at Full Gear.
Due to injury, Rey Fenix is out of AEW’s World title eliminator tournament.
AEW posted a video today where Eddie Kingston announced that Fenix is forfeiting his first round win against Penta El Zero M in the tournament due to injury. Penta will face Kenny Omega in the semifinals on Dynamite next Wednesday (October 28).
Kingston told Fenix that he had to forfeit his spot because it’s not about Fenix — it’s about The Family.
Fenix defeated his brother Penta in the first round of the World title eliminator tournament on Dynamite this week but got hurt in the process. The entire first round of the tournament was held this Wednesday, with Fenix defeating Penta, Omega defeating Sonny Kiss, Hangman Page defeating Colt Cabana and Wardlow defeating Jungle Boy. Page and Wardlow’s semifinal match will also take place on Dynamite next Wednesday.
The finals of the World title eliminator tournament will be held at Full Gear on Saturday, November 7. The winner will get a future shot at the AEW World Championship.
Jon Moxley is the current AEW World Champion. He’s defending his title against Kingston in an I Quit match at Full Gear.
Night 1 of the wXw World Tag Team League is in the books and they started off strong with a show filled with great matches, amazing wrestling and craziness in the main event. Top to bottom, it was one of the finest shows I ever attended live with some great and otherwise very good matches.
There were roughly 500 people in attendance at Turbinenhalle 2.
Dark Match: RISE (Ivan Kiev & Pete Bouncer) defeated Coast 2 Coast (Leon St. Giovanni & Shaheem Ali) by pin (6:23) after Bouncer hit Self Justice on St. Giovanni
This was a fun opener with two good teams with a quick pace and a few good highspots to get the crowd going. Coast 2 Coast came over on Thursday and will stay through the end of November. Alexander James, who had extended stays here and is a part-time trainer at their school, recommended wXw to them.
Toni Storm pinned Meiko Satomura (7:40) after hitting Strong Zero
This was one hell of an opening match with two of the best female wrestlers in the world. Satomura is very smooth and they worked really well together. Storm won after a second Strong Zero.
World Tag Team League 2018 Block A Match: The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero M & Rey Fenix) [2] defeated Okami (Daichi Hashimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani) [0] at 7:08
This was insane and had the crowd going crazy with the contingent of British and Irish fans making noise. It featured lots of high flying, crazy double team moves and stiff shots by the two Japanese wrestlers.
World Tag Team League 2018 Block B Match: Monster Consulting (Avalanche & Julian Nero) [2] defeated Jay FK (Francis Kaspin & Jay Skillet) [0] at 10:10
Monster Consulting were over like nobody’s business, especially with the British crowd, who adored them. The overseas fans, headed by Sarah & Sarah of the podcast of the same name also organized a bowling tournament, the “Oberhausen Open”, which took place after the show and involved 22 teams consisting of wrestlers and fans to which Monster Consulting sponsored a trophy. Jay FK are such smarmy heels that people love to hate, including doing an interview in full character for a media panel earlier. Avalanche played the monster who, at times, no-sold everything including a cross body where Kaspin just bounced off his chest. He did play babyface in peril a bit and made the hot tag to Nero. Avalanche pinned Kaspin after hitting a Boulder Dash.
Julian Pace defeated Emil Sitoci and Fred Yehi and Lucky Kid in a wXw Shotgun Title #1 Contendership four way in 7:02
This was another fun match. Shotgun champ Marius Al-Ani came out before the match when everyone was in the ring, did some flipups, and told the wrestlers that nobody wanted to see them as they were not stars on TV and he was. This drew a big pop as Sitoci has been on numerous big reality shows in the Netherlands and now actually works as a television producer for Endemol, coming up with concepts for new shows.
He also said that nobody ever hit the gym like he does and has the body that he does, which again, was funny as Sitoci is pretty ripped with great abs. The match itself consisted of lots of quick spots and working together. Pace picked up the win afer hitting a Code Red on Lucky Kid to a good reaction. There’s also a neat little story here as he made his main roster debut exactly one year ago during Tag League 2017 and now earned his first ever title match.
World Tag Team League 2018 Block A Match: Calamari Catch Kings (Chris Brookes & Jonathan Gresham) [2] defeated Ringkampf (Timothy Thatcher & WALTER) [0] at 14:37
This was a tremendous match. Gresham and WALTER started to a big pop as Gresham wouldn’t back down. WALTER just picked him up, carried him to the corner with outstretched arms, put him on the turnbuckle, and patted his head. Gresham then did a flying body press on him but WALTER caught him and wanted to slam him, but Gresham held on, caught WALTER’s leg, held it up so WALTER couldn’t get at him, then tripped the other leg and patted WALTER on the head. They had an otherwise brilliant hard-hitting match, based on chops, strikes, and submissions. Ringkampf had CCK in a double sleeper, only for them to reverse out into a double octopus hold. WALTER accidentally clotheslined Thatcher at one point which lead into the finishing sequence of Gresham tapping him out with the Calimari Clutch.
World Tag Team League 2018 Block B Match: Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) [2] defeated Team SPLX (Angelico & Jeff Cobb) [0] at 16:35
This was another very good match as all four men are great. Angelico did some great flying and Cobb is just a beast. At one point, he had Fletcher up in a gutwrench and spun him from side to side about four or five times before slamming him. There was lots of stiff action, including some sick flying knees by Angelico. Angelico was pinned after the Sydney Spinner.
David Starr defeats Jurn Simmons in a hair vs. hair hardcore match
This was probably the greatest hardcore match I ever saw live. The feud between those two has been going on for a year now as they teamed during tag League last year, lost in the finals, developed some tensions, broke up, had a match, made up afterwards, and then Jurn turned on Starr and destroyed him with a cane. They were then supposed to meet in a last man standing match during 16 Carat this year but Simmons broke his ankle a few days earlier and was out until August. He returned at Shortcut to the Top, got into it with Starr, and they had a last man standing match where they dismantled the ring, went to a double down and ended up here with a series of great promos and segments.
During the pre-show when he was supposed to be interviewed, Simmons came out, attacked announcer Sebastian Hollmichl, and buzzed off some of his hair.
Simmons came out first with a black-painted Singapore cane and Starr, who usually has an elaborate entrance with all his nicknames being read, decided to forego that procedure and attacked Simmons right away. They brawled on the ramp. Simmons brought a wax patch, put it on Starr’s hairy chest and ripped it off, leading to a bloody patch on Starr’s chest. They brawled up the stairs to the balcony and fought up there, amidst the VIP section and the section where the crew, the journalists, and the announcers were. Simmons again attacked Hollmichl (the announcer) and tried to throw him off the balcony, until Starr hit him with a barstool. They brawled down the other side of the stairs when Starr got up on top of the first landing and jumped on Simmons and a few young boys from about 10-15 feet up (right in front of where I was standing which looked crazy).
After some time, they got up and brawled some more with Simmons putting a piece of barricade over two wall segments, eventually suplexing Starr through it. They used some more chairs and the cane and ended up back in the ring. After some more wild brawling, including a stapler, Starr introduced thumbtacks into the mix. He ended up getting slammed and powerbombed into it and had tacks oll over his back and was also bleeding from the stapler wounds. Simmons also put some tacks in his mouth and kicked him in the face. Simmons then hit the referee with the cane so he couldn’t count any pinfalls. Starr hit Simmons again for the pin but there was no ref, and when Tassilo Jung ran out, Simmons kicked out at 2.9. Simmons set up two chairs in the corner and put thumbtacks on top of the seating cushions. He went to the top rope with Starr and went for a piledriver, but Starr managed to escape. He then managed to do a piledriver from the second rope with Jurn on the top ripe through the chairs and tacks for the pin to an amazing pop at 24:34.
Simmons then wanted to escape the shaving, but Emil Sitoci and Dirty Dragan, two of his former friends who he also turned on came out to keep him in the ring. While he was distracted, Starr cut off some of his hair from behind. Sitoci superkicked him over the top rope and they put him in a chair. Starr allowed Dragan to cut of the first batch of hair. Then, Sitoci cut some off and eventually Starr brought a buzzer and buzzed off most of Simmons hair, only leaving some on the sides and a small lock at the front, which of course, looked even more ridiculous. This was a totally wild, crazy match which nontheless was very good for what it was.
wXw just announced that world champion Absolute Andy has a shoulder injury and is out of tonight’s three way main event against Bobby Gunns and ilja Dragunov. They’ll have a match for the interim world title and the winner will face Andy at a later date.
The promotion announced that world champion Absolute Andy has a shoulder injury and is out of Saturday’s three way main event against Bobby Gunns and ilja Dragunov. They’ll have a match for the interim world title and the winner will face Andy at a later date.
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Jim Smallman Standup comedy show
At midnight, there was a 90-minute Jim Smallman (one of the PROGRESS owners) stand-up show which was hilarious. He went through the history of wrestling from the days of Farmer Burns and Hackenschmidt all the way to Thesz, Rogers, Sammartino, Graham, Flair, Hogan, Warrior, Undertaker, Austin, the nWo, the Kliq, Sid Vicious, Scott Steiner, John Cena, and Daniel Bryan. He told some great stories from various PROGRESS shows and meeting some wrestlers such as New Jack and X-Pac. He explained that after the angle he did with Jimmy Havoc, his then 10-year-old daughter saw it on YouTube and was scared of Havoc until when she was over for Christmas and Havoc also was there. They sat her down and explained how it wasn’t real. Havoc spent the night and the daughter again and again asked if they would fight. They would say no and his daughter eventually came into his room in the middle of the night, told him Havoc was asleep in the guest room, gave him a plastic folding chair and told him “he’s asleep, go finish the job”. This was super entertaining and I’d recommend everyone to go see him if you get the chance.
He also answered a few questions and said that PROGRESS would not run WrestleMania weekend this year as the staying costs at the hotel would be too expensive and it didn’t make sense for them to go. But, they probably would do another U.S. tour down the line. He also said that the idea of a PROGRESS/wXw/EVOLVE triangle was thrown around a while back, but it never got out of the talking stages, but that he would love something like that.
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Before the show, some members of the European wrestling media had the chance to talk to Tassilo Jung, wXw’s head of talent relations and media for some insights on the current developments in wXw:
On the wXw/WWE relationship:
Tas said that he could only talk about things that only happened such as the Robbie Brookside training session at the wXw Academy. From what Avalanche (Robert Dreissker) stated, it was about three hours of drills and basics and he said that it was probably one of the most exhausting things he had done in quite some time. Jung indicated that there were ongoing talks, but that he would like not to comment on them right now. He said that they were in contact to get permission to air the Pete Dunne/WALTER match a few months ago and that he expects to be able to use other WWE UK performers in the future if they asked for that, stating that they regularly have Killer Kelly on their shows, who is a contracted WWE UK talent. What he did state though is that as of right now, there is no deal in place like WWE has with PROGRESS or ICW.
Bad Bones update
He went a bit more into detail with the Bad Bones John Klinger situation as they surprisingly suspended him in April while he was tag team champion and part of one of their main storylines. He said that Klinger and he remain friends, he talks to him regularly and that they would go hiking together in Switzerland (where Jung lives) next week. He said that Bones “made a grave mistake” and that’s why they decided to suspend him, but that the door to working together in the future is not closed forever and that, whatever happened, could be remedied at some point.
Though the show is still over five months away, the list of people who will be appearing at All In continues to grow.
Penta El Zero M and his brother Rey Fenix became the most recent names announced for the show last night. Whether they’ll be teaming together as the Lucha Brothers or not has yet to be revealed.
They join Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Marty Scurll, Hangman Page, “Arrow” star Stephen Amell, and Tessa Blanchard as people who have been confirmed for All In.
The show is being self-financed by Cody and Matt & Nick Jackson and will take place at the Sears Centre Arena in the Chicago area on September 1st. Cody tweeted earlier this week that he expects May is the earliest that tickets will go on sale.
MLW also announced Penta El Zero M vs. Fenix for their show in Orlando on April 12th today. It’s a rematch from when they first faced off for MLW in January.
The Battle of Los Angeles continued in Reseda, California on Saturday night. Here are the results:
– Based on post-show reaction, this was considered among the best shows in company history. It was among the best shows of the year, and who knows how good it would have been had the ring not broken a few minutes into the main event.
The finals are today, which will be a long 11 match show with a three-way finale, plus the usual ten-man tag team pure comedy match.
This was one of the hardest tickets to get in wrestling. It would have sold out instantly, but when it was announced that Kenny Omega was on the show, the demand was ridiculous. One fairly major celebrity friend that I know couldn’t get tickets (although they would have let him in) and I know Ronda Rousey was scrambling for tickets, and she was there on the stage and Matt Riddle and Michael Elgin played to her during their match.
– Donovan Dijak defeated Trevor Lee with Feast Your Eyes.
I’d consider this an upset since Dijak is WWE bound and Lee is a regular here and one of the company’s best wrestlers.
– Sammy Guevara defeated Joey Janela with a 630.
This match was insane. The consensus was it was the best match so far this weekend, although there are four or five bouts you could argue for that spot. It was two guys trying to make a mark who decided they were going to do a match that reminded me of the Kevin Steen vs. El Generico Final Battle match. Guevara after the match said he was the best ever.
– Travis Banks defeated Mark Haskins
The finish was messed up which hurt what was otherwise a great match, and they were handicapped having to follow Guevara and Janela. There was a spot that looked to be a normal near fall, and then the ref yelled to ring the bell. Haskins may have been hurt, although he seemed okay after the show.
– Zack Sabre Jr. & Marty Scurll defeated Ricochet & Matt Sydal in a non-tournament match when Sydal did a top rope hurricanrana and Sabre rolled through for a cradle.
Excellent match. If these two pairs teamed up regularly for the long haul they could be among the best face and heel teams in decades. The match was old school psychology mixed with new school athleticism and creativity.
– Jeff Cobb defeated Sami Callihan with the Tour of the Islands.
Good match. Callihan did no comedy and played to Cobb’s power spots.
– Matt Riddle defeated Michael Elgin
This was a high-end G1 Climax style match: hard hitting, tremendous heat, and tons of near falls. With the exception of The Young Bucks and Omega, Riddle was the most over guy on the show. They hugged after and Elgin told him to go out and win the thing.
– Keith Lee defeated WALTER with a twisting powerslam.
WALTER throws some of the hardest chops around. He’s about 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5, much taller than Lee and while not a pretty body, he’d have been an absolute monster as a Bruno Sammartino contender if he came around in that era. He got over great with the crowd to the point I think a lot of people figured he’d win.
– The Elite (The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega) defeated Penta 0M, Rey Fenix & Flamita in a non-tournament match
Omega pinned Flamita with the One Winged Angel. They went 27:00, with some early comedy and then got into all the creative spots. The ring broke only a few minutes into the match and the ropes sagged badly. They had to improvise and change on the spot and while a great match, it probably would have been a lot better without the ring problem.
One highlight was Flamita doing a top rope Asai moonsault where he got so high he kicked one of the overhead lights and actually knocked the power off. This had a lot of similarities to the Dublin Elite match except it got more serious and there was a lot more stuff. Marty Scurll did a cameo. They really tried to push Omega vs. Penta as the key face-off.
The wrestler formerly known as Pentagon Jr. is happy again.
Now wrestling under the moniker Penta El Zero M, the Lucha Underground star has pulled off a rare double play since announcing that he was leaving the AAA promotion and going out on his own. He’s looking firmly at the future while returning to his roots at the same time.
“I feel good, I feel calm,” he said through translator Javier Clorio. “I’m the owner of my own time and of my own decisions, and I’m doing what I love, which is lucha.”
For a long time, that wasn’t the case, and as his career became more successful, he was also becoming more disillusioned with the business. Last month, he made his move.
“It was just the right moment in my career,” he said of his departure from AAA, which he announced at a show in Tijuana last month. “There’s a lot of stuff I wanted to do but wasn’t able to do, and I felt like I was being held back by the company. It became work and I wasn’t very happy or very comfortable with any of the decisions that they were making. Now I’m going back to doing lucha and wrestling with whoever I want wherever I want.”
The move was a shocker to the lucha libre world, but Penta’s friends, family, and fans have been nothing but supportive to the man who made “Cero Miedo” a buzz phrase in rings around the world.
“I’m happy with the support I’m getting from the fans, the promoters, and my lucha family,” he said. “They know I wasn’t very happy and I wasn’t accomplishing what I wanted. Now, they see me and they know that I’m doing better with the decision I made.”
This Sunday, February 19th, he will be in Queens, New York, making his third appearance for Tier1 Lucha Libre. It’s an appearance that comes with some drama, given his departure from AAA. But general manager Clorio is making sure that the show goes on.
“This has been a show that has had a few bumps,” Clorio said, noting a broken leg that scrapped Matt Cross (“Son of Havoc”) from the card, as well as the ongoing dispute between Penta and his former promoter.
“It is a business, it’s about money, and we understand that. But we support him (Penta) because he has done right for us in the past events. We know we’re taking a risk and we’re going against AAA, but it’s not personal. We have a deal with them and we did everything possible to work with them. They simply did not want Penta in the show and they didn’t even notify us a week after he was gone. We had to get in touch with them. So we did everything to do things the right way and we have a contract with them. And he (Penta) took full responsibility. He said, ‘I’m going to come in and do the match.’ The person is very valuable. The guy behind the mask is valuable to us, and supporting the indie events is crucial.”
Penta’s first two bouts in the Big Apple were rousing successes as he wrestled his brother Rey Fenix in matches that resulted in fans throwing money into the ring at their conclusion. You can’t buy that kind of response.
“I love the New York fans,” Penta said. “Every time, they ask me when I’m coming and every time I’m gone, they always ask when I’m coming back. (Laughs) I’m happy about the fans’ reaction and they’re always really good to me here.”
He returns that respect to the fans, not just with meet and greets and matches featuring his usual punishing style, but with a brand of in-ring storytelling that isn’t easy to pull off without the benefit of TV spots and high production values.
“Thank God it’s something that comes natural to me,” he said. “I don’t study or over think what I’m doing in the ring — my movements, the way I react, the cheers of the crowd or how I look at my opponents. Fortunately, it comes natural for me. And when I come out for the match, the audience decides what I do in the ring. I always dreamed that I was gonna be a bad guy and was going to be liked as a heel, and now it’s just what I do.”
It’s paid off too, as Penta’s star has risen in the last couple years, largely in part to his stint on the El Rey Network’s Lucha Underground. But the Tijuana product insists that he’s remained true to himself as his profile gets bigger.
“Lucha Underground is something that pushed me and made me become more popular, but as a person, I haven’t changed,” he said. “I have grown, and I want to keep growing and accomplish more goals.”
The future looks bright. But for the moment, all that matters is hearing that crowd roar on Sunday.
“When that happens,” he said, “I feel my effort in the ring was worth it and it motivates me to push myself and to give them more so they keep cheering ‘Cero Miedo’ during and after the matches.”
