Tag: Report

WWE Raw live results: Drew McIntyre kicks off the show

Posted on by Steve Khan

Air Date: December 23, 2024 (taped Dec 16)
Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

**********

Show Recap — 

(Reminder that this show was taped last week.) 

Drew McIntyre entered to kick off the show. As he entered, Joe Tessitore said that McIntyre is “continuously showing us a dark side like we’ve never seen before.” 

McIntyre said his back was almost broken from landing on the steel steps at HIAC. He went home to Scotland, but he hasn’t talked about it publicly because a close family member passed away. Some may feel sympathy right now, and maybe some guys in the back felt bad because they didn’t know. But if they cared, they would have asked. Only one person reached out to him while he was gone. (He didn’t say who it was.) 

After all these years, we were meant to think they were all one big happy family backstage because they spent more time together than their actual families. But that was all BS. His brother, John, wouldn’t stab him in the back to take his spot, but Sami Zayn, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso all would. The crowd chanted, “Yeet.” Jey claimed to be a changed man after all the terrible things he did, but the fans moved on because he had a fun hand gesture. 

McIntyre has given and given and given over 17 years, but the fans turned on him. He kept fighting for the fans because deep down, he believed they believed in him, but he bled out in the ring at HIAC, and they instantly forgot about him. (They added some terrible fake booing here that sounded like the early 2000s Smackdown days.) 

He would continue to tell the truth. The true villains in WWE were Roman Reigns and CM Punk. He issued a warning to anyone who kept propping them up (The Usos and Zayn). 

Zayn interrupted. He said he didn’t know what happened to McIntyre while he was in Scotland. Everyone thought he was recovering from HIAC, whether McIntyre wanted to believe it or not. Zayn said McIntyre might’ve had 17 years in the business, but Zayn had 22. All the sacrifices McIntyre had, Zayn had too. He put unnecessary stress on his wife and kid but that’s the life they chose. 

They did it because they were “WWE superstars.” They were lucky to be WWE superstars. It wasn’t just their story. Every single person in the crowd and watching from home had these stories. They still got up every day and did what they had to do to get through it without pointing the finger at everyone else. McIntyre had the gall to point his finger at the fans, but they didn’t forget about him—they made him. 

Once upon a time, “someone” told McIntyre he was the chosen one, and he thought the world revolved around him because of it. What Jey and Jimmy and Sami did had nothing to do with him. Zayn said McIntyre could continue to have a problem with the Bloodline, so Zayn could be his problem tonight. 

McIntyre said he didn’t doubt Zayn’s sentiment, but Zayn had a way of spinning things. Zayn could fly to his family every week, but McIntyre didn’t have that luxury. McIntyre wondered why Zayn would want to fight, considering he’s never beaten him. McIntyre saw Zayn’s family backstage and heard he wasn’t 100%, so he suggested leaving with his family. Out of everyone from the Bloodline, Zayn was the least of his worries. 

Zayn admitted that McIntyre had his number in the ring. It would be smart for him to go home and recover. Zayn then attacked McIntyre mid-sentence, but McIntyre headbutted him. Jey ran out to make the save and teamed with Zayn to knock McIntyre from the ring. 

*******

Pure Fusion Collective approached Adam Pearce to the sound of fake booing. Sonya Deville wanted Kairi Sane’s vacant spot in the tournament (after they laid her out). Pearce said no because it was obviously them who took her out. He made Iyo Sky the replacement already. (There was even more fake crowd throughout this.) 

Women’s IC title tournament first-round triple threat match: IYO SKY defeated Natalya and Alba Fyre (8:18) 

They went to break 40 seconds into this important tournament match even though the show was taped (the opening segment still went about 20 minutes). Natalya put both women in a Sharpshooter following the break. Tessitore acted befuddled by this even though she’s done it before. Sky wiped out everyone with a dive moments later and hit Natalya with a moonsault for the win. 

*******

There was a backstage Judgment Day segment. Finn Bálor and Liv Morgan argued like kids. Bálor was on one side with JD McDonagh and Carlito, while Morgan was with Raquel Rodriguez and Dominik Mysterio. Bálor and Morgan had their backs turned to each other and wouldn’t actually speak to each other. Instead, they tried to speak through McDonagh and Rodriguez. Dom had enough of this and offered to go get a match with Damian Priest. Bálor was offended, but Dom told him that he had a plan. 

********

Zayn thanked Jey for having his back. Jey wanted payback against McIntyre tonight, but Zayn wanted his own payback against him first. Jey conceded but said he would get McIntyre next. 

******** 

They aired clips from the Raw Netflix kickoff show.

******** 

Chad Gable (w/American Made) defeated Akira Tozawa (w/Alpha Academy) (2:09) 

Gable and Otis had an argument outside the ring, so Gable slapped him and quickly slipped into the ring. Tozawa tried to take advantage with a cradle for two. Tozawa tried a diving senton, but Gable got his knees up and hit repeated German suplexes, a powerbomb and an ankle lock for the submission win. 

— Gable wouldn’t let go of the hold, so Otis broke it up. Otis was ready for a fight, but the Creed Brothers stepped in with Gable. Otis still wasn’t backing down, but American Made left. 

********

Dom bumped into New Day backstage. Kofi Kingston was happy to see him, figuring he would know what they were going through. Dom said he didn’t like Big E, but what they did to him was crazy. Xavier Woods called him a broke-ass Tom Selleck. Dom responded, “Tom Selleck wishes.” Dom chuckled and left. What an odd reference. 

Damian Priest defeated Dominik Mysterio via disqualification (2:52) 

Priest was all over Dom and noticed a conspicuous man dressed as Santa Claus in the front row. It was McDonagh. Priest chucked him over the announce table and pulled an unsuspecting Carlito out from under the ring, but Bálor attacked Priest for the quick DQ. 

— Judgment Day put the boots to Priest until the Viking Raiders made the save. Priest, Ivar and Erik laid out Judgment Day, and this ended with Priest giving Bálor a chokeslam. 

******** 

Seth Rollins sit-down interview 

Jackie Redmond interviewed Seth Rollins to follow up on her interview with CM Punk. (The audio was really off here, as it has been in recent weeks on Sportsnet with some of these pre-taped segments for whatever reason.) 

Rollins called Punk a hypocrite. It was appropriate to call their match on January 6th a fight, not a match, and it was the biggest fight in their industry right now. Rollins needed this fight, especially after seeing Punk standing toe-to-toe with Reigns. Rollins wanted to throw his remote at the TV when he saw that. 

The Netflix debut was the perfect time to fight Punk because the world would be watching. It would be raw, visceral and violent. Rollins needed to extract this demon out of his soul and cut this cancer out of his brain. He couldn’t wait for January 6th. 

(If this interview showed anything, it’s that Rollins is certainly not the interview that CM Punk is.) 

******** 

Dexter Lumis defeated The Miz via disqualification (2:24) 

If you watch a lot of modern wrestling, it’s easy to conclude that there are few bad wrestlers and even fewer bad matches. But then there’s this. 

This was a nothing match, to be kind, and it ended quickly when AOP and Karrion Kross attacked Lumis for the DQ. Scarlett joined them, and they surrounded him in the ring. 

Lumis wasn’t worried. He raised his arms, and the lights went out, which brought out the Wyatt Sicks. They cleared the ring and powerbombed Nikki Cross out of the ring to wipe out Final Testament. 

(This was the second DQ in a row and the third match in a row under three minutes. According to the results they aired later, these two matches were considered no contests, even though they were obvious disqualifications.) 

********

Priest thanked the War Raiders for their help earlier. Ivar said they’ve known each other a long time. They haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but there’s always been “honour” among them (a nod to their time in ROH). Erik said they may not have been friends, but Priest had their back in a big way last week, and they appreciated it. Priest said they were at war with Judgment Day, and he was happy to go to war with them. He wished them luck with the tag titles. 

******** 

The “Ø” logo, presumably for Penta, aired again. 

********

The New Day segment 

Tessitore and Wade Barrett recapped what happened with New Day and Big E two weeks ago. Kingston and Woods interrupted. (They appeared ringside without music.) They wondered where the announcers’ unbiased journalism was. (They were completely drowned out by booing.) 

Woods said Barrett and Big E had something in common: neither was man enough to lace up their boots and step foot in the ring again. (Barrett said he was retired). 

New Day entered the ring. They said they could have laid out Big E, but they didn’t, so they wondered why the fans were so upset. Kingston said tonight was meant to be a homecoming for him. It was also meant to be a homecoming for his mom, who flew all the way from Ghana. Elizabeth was shown in the front row. 

Kingston said she flew for 20 hours in the middle seat to be there, and they were ruining her experience. (Barrett was appalled he got her a middle seat.) Kingston said she raised him to become the man he is today and didn’t deserve to see her son get booed. Woods said they gave the fans 10 years of their lives. 

Kingston approached his mom and said she didn’t deserve this. He offered a hug. She got to her feet but did not accept the hug. She asked what was wrong with him. She grabbed her stuff and left. The fans cheered and chanted, “Kofi sucks.” 

This was good. 

********

Next week on the final USA Network edition of Raw:  

  • Six-man tag: Damian Priest & War Raiders vs. Finn Bálor, McDonagh & Carlito 
  • Dakota Kai vs. Zoey Stark  
  • IYO SKY vs. Lyra Valkyria 
  • Chad Gable vs. Otis 
  • CM Punk and Seth Rollins “under one roof” 

********

New Day bumped into Rey Mysterio backstage. Rey thought about what Kingston said last week and apologized for his response. He wanted to help them as much as he could. What they did to Big E was foul, and they should start by apologizing. Kingston said they didn’t do anything wrong, and Woods said Rey was as bad as everyone else.  

Rey said they couldn’t accuse him of not trying to help, and now they were on their own. He told them to get used to hearing, “New Day sucks.” 

******** 

Drew McIntyre defeated Sami Zayn (16:35) 

Zayn lost clean, and it didn’t feel like he deserved any better. 

Zayn had McIntyre off-guard, leading to a first commercial break, but McIntyre took over and hit a side slam onto the apron, leading to a second break (less than 10 minutes into the match). 

Zayn countered a reverse Alabama Slam into a victory roll for two. Zayn dodged a charge, and McIntyre went shoulder-first into the ring post, but McIntyre came back with a White Noise off the middle rope for two. 

McIntyre went for a Claymore but Zayn fought back with a clothesline and an exploder into the corner. Zayn couldn’t hit a Helluva Kick because his back was hurt, so McIntyre nailed a Claymore Kick for the pinfall win. 

— McIntyre hammered away at Zayn after the match until Jey ran out to make the save. Jey speared McIntyre and set up for a splash but was attacked by Tama Tonga, flanked by Soloa Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. 

The new Bloodline entered the ring and had a brief staredown with McIntyre. He left the ring. 

The new Bloodline attacked Jey but he fought them all off until the numbers finally caught up to him. Zayn tried to make a save, but they beat him up too. Sikoa gave Zayn the Samoan Spike. Fatu placed the ula fala on Sikoa, and they all stood tall over the babyfaces.

NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome live results: Wrestle Kingdom go-home show

Posted on by Corey Michaels

NJPW hits the last stop on the Road to Tokyo Dome today in its final event of 2024 at Korakuen Hall.

In the main event, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. teams with Ryohei Oiwa against Shota Umino and Tomohiro Ishii in a final tag preview of the Wrestle Kingdom 19 main event set for January 4 where Sabre will defend his title against Umino.

In the semi-main, IWGP Global Champion David Finlay teams with SANADA and Gedo against Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, and BUSHI of Los Ingobernables de Japon in a carbon copy of a match from yesterday’s card. Finlay will defend his Global title against Tsuji at Wrestle Kingdom 19 in the Tokyo Dome.

A unique singles match kicks off the main card with United Empire’s Jeff Cobb against TMDK’s Hartley Jackson for the first time. A series of tag bouts fills out today’s undercard at Korakuen.

**********

Pre-show

Hiromu Takahashi defeated Katsuya Murashima

Takahashi commanded this match with unrelenting force; sinking in nicely for a half Boston Crab. Repeatedly going for pins, Takahashi’s attempts to end the match early resulted in Murashima’s recovery. Though Murashima fought back with a spirited comeback, Takahashi brought him back to reality with a Boston Crab that forced the Young Lion to submit. Murashima lost, and in less time than Shuma Kato the night before (12/22).

— Post-match: Takahashi had no time to celebrate, as Tetsuya Naito ambushed him after the match, providing a glimpse into their match at the Tokyo Dome on January 4.

Poetically starting and ending with Boston Crab holds, this sold the urgency Takahashi had as a serious competitor against Tetsuya Naito at Wrestle Kingdom while settling who is better among two separate Young Lions.

Main card

Jeff Cobb defeated Hartley Jackson

These two titans clashed, charging at each other like bulls. Their exchange broke out into the outside, where Cobb sent Jackson into the guardrail, to which the latter landed on his back courtesy Jackson’s lariat. The TMDK member maintained his dominance, even surviving Cobb’s Release Verticle Suplex.

Cobb fired back, fighting from underneath with some well-executed maneuvers. Quickly diminishing Jackson’s breadth of action, Cobb capitalized with a Tour of the Islands. One slam later, and Cobb gained the pinfall victory.

Jackson was so overwhelming for Cobb that it made for such an intriguing underdog situation for the normally intimidating Cobb. Forced to think through strategy than through raw power, Cobb proved to be more than just the muscle in this exhilarating hoss fight.

Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA) versus Ichiban Sweet Boys (Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles) ended in a NO-CONTEST

Knight and Fujita began the competition feeling each other out until they reached a standoff. Eagles, though prepared, had his limbs worked by the combination of Kushida and Knight through various holds. Karma bit Knight, as TMDK worked in tandem with fast, high-precision strikes.

The match ended in a No-Contest when Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors entered the fray, disrupting the proceedings. Francesco Akira & TJP also emerged, offsetting the interrupting War Dogs. Connors & Moloney stood tall after savagely attacking all other six men (plus some nearby Young Lions). That is, until those six men joined forces to set up for a devastating dive from a ladder to the War Dogs onto tables. Luckily for them, they escaped and fled.

— Post-match: The Intergalactic Jet Setters, joined by their temporary comrades, declared the for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match.

Deflating yet somehow at the same time exciting, this setup gives me what I love from NJPW and the rose-tinted vision I see the Attitude Era from. The action from TMDK and the Jet Setters complimented their distinct styles perfectly. With everyone’s unique flourishes, I’m looking forward to being seated on January 4 to see what these men have in store for one of NJPW’s biggest shows of the year.

El Desperado, Master Wato & Satoshi Kojima defeated Just 4 Guys (DOUKI, Taichi & TAKA Michinoku)

Desperado and DOUKI’s history drove much of this match, but Wato maintained a solid performance in the early goings. Kojima followed suit with his might until Taichi equalized the situation. Michinoku held Kojima on the ropes while Taichi grabbed a random person’s phone attached to a selfie stick to document his offense on the vulnerable Kojima.

A brawl among the teams unfurled, with many fast-moving parts. Kojima’s efforts to aid his team were stunted by Taichi holding him back, while Wato kept DOUKI sidelined. This resulted in Desperado dropping Michinoku with a Pinche Loco for a pinfall.

DOUKI and Desperado’s chemistry is evergreen, but I enjoyed the interactions between Kojima and Taichi. Especially the selfie stick spot. I did want to see more from Wato, however. Disappointed in that. However, I’m a sucker for the chaos sequences in tags and multi-men matches and this delivered.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, El Phantasmo, Oleg Boltin, Tomoaki Honma & Toru Yano defeated House Of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi)

House of Torture started this match in typical House of Torture fare, yet Tanahashi made a heroic comeback. However, EVIL dragged The Ace around Korakuen Hall, leaving SHO to pick at his remains in the ring. Kanemaru continued to work on Tanahashi’s knee alongside EVIL, while SHO exposed the turnbuckle for more damage.

Boltin took on the House of Torture next, clobbering SHO in particular with his force and girth. While not outright destroyed, Boltin sustained heavy damage by SHO and Kanemaru’s teamwork. Phantasmo endured House of Torture’s…well, torture, and after an assist from Tanahashi, won with a low blow to Takahashi, followed by a superkick and a final Thunderkiss ’86.

— Post-match: EVIL and Tanahashi brawled, with the former aided by Dick Togo. With The Ace incapacitated, EVIL cut a lock out of his hair.

Standard House of Torture affair, but with Tanahashi’s impending in-ring retirement and El Phantasmo’s return, their comebacks feel all the sweeter because of these circumstances. That said, I’m left unexcited for this setup to Tanahashi ringing in his final year with EVIL.

BULLET CLUB War Dogs (David Finlay, Gedo & SANADA) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji)

Finlay immediately thrust Tsuji across the arena while BUSHI attempted an epic dive onto Gedo but missed. With Takagi also dispatched thanks to SANADA, all three members of the involved War Dogs picked at Tsuji like vultures. The ever-formidable Takagi withstood the ranks of the opposing team, leaving a weakened Finlay for BUSHI to take advantage of.

Thanks to Gedo, BUSHI’s momentum stalled heavily. With heavy interference on the outside, Finlay’s underhanded tactics proved fruitful with every torment inflicted upon BUSHI. Seemingly finished toying with his food, Finlay ended the match with an Overkill for the pinfall.

Finlay’s changed my mind about him over the past few months, as I’m progressively more invested in him. SANADA’s involvement in the Bullet Club leaves me curious how he will fare. However, this somehow ranks on the matches I’m not as looking forward to come January. That said, I’m sure Tsuji will pull out something that will leave me pumped for the show’s IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship Match.

Main event

Shota Umino & Tomohiro Ishii defeated TMDK (Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.)

Fresh off his ankle injury the night preceding, Umino bravely locked up with Sabre, going so far as to frustrate the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion into striking. Oiwa, now the fresh man, toppled Umino before unwisely provoking Ishii. As if his ankle wasn’t bad enough, Oiwa targeted the arm of Umino with no mercy. Ishii, the legal man, went on a rampage. His chops to Oiwa’s chest echoed loudly through Korakuen Hall.

Umino and Sabre returned to war against one another, with the former seemingly getting better of the latter. Just when it appeared that Umino had the upper hand, Sabre’s possum-playing paid dividends as his limb-work wore on his upcoming Wrestle Kingdom opponent. Ishii came in for the assist for Umino, softening up Oiwa until Sabre wore him down. Bedlam ensued, with Oiwa landing an impressive Doctor Bomb as Sabre wrenched Ishii’s leg on the outside. Umino landed a snap comeback on an unsuspecting Oiwa; he executed a Death Rider for the pinfall victory.

I love how Ishii had no skin in this game. He just joined for the love of the game. Regarding my previous thoughts with Umino feeling like a formality, I feel there’s just enough in him and a lot in Sabre to pull off a compelling story in the Tokyo Dome main event. Lastly, I’m so, so satisfied with Oiwa getting main event moments like tonight. Aside from Gabe Kidd and the Reiwa Three Musketeers, I believe he’s one of many young talents that can be built to bring NJPW to glory once more.

AEW Christmas Collision live results: Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet

Posted on by Suit Williams

AEW will make their Hammerstein Ballroom debut tonight with a live Christmas Collision episode featuring the latest chapter in a rivalry that goes back years.

In the Continental Classic Gold league, Will Ospreay will take on Ricochet. Both men are in a five-way tie with six points as the tournament enters its final week. They went to a no contest in their first AEW clash back in October.

In another Gold league match, Darby Allin and Claudio Castagnoli (six points each) will meet in a rematch from November.

In two Classic Blue league bouts, TNT Champion Daniel Garcia will face Shelton Benjamin for the first time while Mark Briscoe takes on The Beast Mortos.

Adam Cole and MJF will have a face-to-face confrontation ahead of their Worlds End match while TBS Champion Mercedes Mone will also be on hand to share some thoughts.

The card is rounded out by former TBS Champion Kris Statlander vs. Penelope Ford.

**********

The final Collision of 2024 comes to us live from Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Ian Riccaboni, Big Boom AJ, and Big Justice started the show in the ring, running down tonight’s card before Will Ospreay made his entrance for the opening match. Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness were on the call.

The final Collision of 2024 comes to us live from Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Ian Riccaboni, Big Boom AJ, and Big Justice started the show in the ring, running down tonight’s card before Will Ospreay made his entrance for the opening match. Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness were on the call.

Continental Classic 2024 Gold League Match – Ricochet [9] def. Will Ospreay [6]

Ricochet is in the driver’s seat in the Gold League, getting to 9 points with some underhanded tactics. Ricochet has been getting real heat over the last few weeks with this try-hard character he’s been rolling out. Meanwhile, Ospreay is on the back foot, as with one match left, he’ll need a lot of help to advance to the Continental Classic playoffs.

Ospreay got streamers on his entrance, while Ricochet got toilet paper thrown at him to Ospreay’s delight. Ricochet bailed from the ring after the first exchange to big boos. Another exchange ended with Ricochet dumping Ospreay onto the top rope before following him to the floor with a Fosbury Flop.

After a commercial break, Ospreay got on offense, hitting a Phenomenal Forearm for a nearfall. Ricochet fought out of a Styles Clash, hitting an Angel’s Wings for a nearfall. Ricochet had an uncharacteristic stumble on a Best Moonsault Ever attempt, allowing Ospreay to move out of the way. Ospreay caught a cartwheeling Ricochet on his shoulders before transitioning into a Styles Clash for a nearfall.

Ricochet rolled to the apron when the Hidden Blade was teased, leading Ospreay to follow. Ricochet popped Ospreay onto his shoulders and hit a Death Valley Driver on the apron. Ricochet followed with a Shooting Star Press off the apron to the floor, followed by a springboard 450 in the ring for a nearfall. Ricochet hit a head kick and a lifting reverse DDT for another nearfall in this offensive flurry.

The crowd was firmly behind Ospreay as Ricochet loaded up the Spirit Gun. Ospreay ducked, and a series of counters ended with Ricochet catching Ospreay with a cutter on an Oscutter attempt. Ricochet hit another Death Valley Driver, but Ospreay countered the Spirit Gun with a Hidden Blade to put both men down. They both agreed to stand up and trade forearms, with Ospreay winning the exchange.

Ospreay went for the Stormbreaker, but Ricochet forced Ospreay into the referee. Ospreay hit the Stormbreaker, but the referee was out. Ospreay went to the top rope, but Ricochet booted the referee into the ropes and knocked Ospreay down. Ricochet drilled a recovering Ospreay with the Spirit Gun to score the win to big boos.

MJF & Adam Cole Summit

This is the closest this feud has felt to having any juice in a long time, so I’ll call it a success. I’m still not personally invested in it at all, but the crowd here did seem to at least play along with the promo.

Adam Cole & MJF came to the ring, with MJF coming out with security. MJF started by reminding Cole that he turned on MJF first. MJF took some pot shots, including saying that his dentist isn’t seeing him anymore. He said that Cole had several shots at the World Title before MJF won it but blew it like he blew out his ankle. MJF said that Cole used to be Adam Cole Bay Bay, but now he looks like a crack bay-bay.

Cole asked if MJF was done before starting on his own. He could talk about MJF’s hair replacement surgeries or his politicking to get his girlfriend a job, but he wouldn’t go in depth on it. He had some regrets, but he didn’t regret turning on MJF. MJF made friends and stabbed them in the back all the time, Cole just did it better than him and he knew it. Cole got in MJF’s face and said that he knew MJF would have turned on him anyway, and MJF admitted to it.

MJF said that last year at Worlds End, he was going to turn on Cole. He didn’t care about Cole when their team started, but he started to once they became friends. But then Cole got hurt and became a liability. Cole wasn’t the Devil, he just beat the Devil to it. He promised to end Cole’s world at Worlds End. Cole said that he would end this face-to-face and punched MJF in the face. MJF’s security got involved, and Cole bumped all of them before MJF kicked him low. He went to punch Adam Cole with the Diamond Ring before the Undisputed Kingdom ran him off.

We got a recap of Mercedes Mone defending both of her titles this past week.

Kris Statlander was backstage with Lexy Nair, who asked her about her attempted reconciliation with Willow Nightingale. Statlander said that the conversation between her and Nightingale was between them for now and promised to handle Penelope Ford tonight. Statlander turned her attention to Mercedes Mone, saying that her downward spiral this year began when Mone entered the company. She believed that getting the TBS Title back would lead her to getting back some of what she lost and challenged Mone to round two at Worlds End.

Orange Cassidy was backstage with Lexy Nair. He said that he couldn’t have a conversation with Hangman Page or Jay White, so he just asked them to listen. Jon Moxley couldn’t escape the three of them at Worlds End, and they all knew Moxley had to be removed as champion. He asked for a temporary alliance to take Moxley out of the picture, then the three of them could work out the title between themselves.

Kris Statlander defeated Penelope Ford

I’ll take another Statlander/Mone match. With Statlander getting back into Willow Nightingale’s orbit, I can see all of this leading to a big three-way for the title down the line no matter who wins at Worlds End.

Statlander went for a stalling vertical suplex, but Ford transitioned to a sleeper hold. Statlander maneuvered Ford back into the suplex before completing it for a nearfall. Statlander got Ford onto her shoulders and went to the second rope, but Ford knocked Statlander to the mat and hit a blockbuster for a nearfall. Ford hit double knees to Statlander on the apron as we went to a commercial.

After a commercial, Ford missed the double knees before Statlander dropkicked her off of the apron. Statlander hit a spinning Fisherman buster for a nearfall. Ford ducked a corner boot and hit a Perfect-Plex for a nearfall. Statlander caught Ford on a handspring elbow, and a series of counters ended with a Ford springboard poisonrana for a nearfall. Statlander came back with a pair of German suplexes before landing Staturday Night Fever for the win.

Mercedes Mone came out after the match. She was planning to take the PPV off but decided to grant Statlander another beating. She accepted Statlander’s challenge for Worlds End.

Big Boom AJ, Chris Jericho, Anthony Bowens Summit

Not sure why the Costco Guys are still here, unless it’s just because they’re local. It is interesting to see Bowens by himself cutting a promo with the ROH World Champion. He was fine on his own here, and maybe a short Jericho program could be a test-run for a singles run after the teased Acclaimed split goes down.

After a commercial break, Big Boom AJ & Big Justice were hyping the crowd up when The Learning Tree interrupted them. Chris Jericho asked if they had a permit to be there from Mayor De Blasio, and Big Justice called him a jackass. Jericho said that he spoke for all New Yorkers when he said that they didn’t want Big Boom AJ there. They didn’t even have Costcos in New York, they had bodegas. Jericho said that New York wasn’t about silly gimmicks like Boom, or guys in bandit masks – referring to Bandido after his run-in at Final Battle – or people who scissor.

This brought out Anthony Bowens by himself, who told Jericho to shut the hell up. Big Bill said that people who asked for silence were afraid of the truth, and his hometown crowd chanted his name. Bowens challenged Jericho to fight him now, but The Learning Tree bailed. AJ went to hit his line, but Bowens interrupted him and scissored with them instead.

Deonna Purrazzo & Taya Valkyrie were backstage with Lexy Nair when Technicolor Toni Storm stumbled into the frame to introduce herself to them. Purrazzo didn’t feel like dealing with Storm, so she challenged Storm to take on Valkyrie on Dynamite.

Continental Classic 2024 Blue League Match – Daniel Garcia [7] defeated Shelton Benjamin [6]

Garcia stays alive with a win over Benjamin. The finish played into Benjamin’s weakness of “playing with his food” as MVP often calls it, as Garcia survived Benjamin’s onslaught to get the win with his now-trademark jackknife flash pin. Both men are still alive for the playoffs going into Dynamite, with win-and-in scenarios against Kyle Fletcher and Kazuchika Okada respectively. The post-match was great, as it both worked as a Heyman Special for the next match and a reminder of the Swerve/Lashley feud.

With a loss or a draw, Garcia would be eliminated from playoff contention. Matt Menard joined commentary for Garcia’s match, as always.

Garcia jumped Benjamin at the bell after the Hurt Syndicate’s attack on Dynamite. Benjamin dumped Garcia over his head and pinballed him to the floor and around the ringside area. Benjamin controlled Garcia as the crowd chanted We Hurt People. Garcia tried to come back with chops before Benjamin chopped him down and hit a back body drop as we went to commercial.

After the break, Garcia took Benjamin down with a dropkick, but Benjamin came back with a pair of German suplexes. Garcia blocked a German suplex off of the apron, but Benjamin caught Garcia on the floor and dumped him with a belly-to-belly suplex. Garcia dropped Benjamin with a drop toe hold onto a chair and laid in the ten punches, but Benjamin dropped him with a lariat. The crowd helped Garcia back to his feet, and Garcia hit a Dragon Screw Leg Whip on Benjamin.

Benjamin came back with another German Suplex, but Garcia dodged the knee lift in the corner and locked on the Dragon Tamer. Benjamin transitioned into an STF variant and forced Garcia to the ropes. Garcia caught Benjamin in a small package for a nearfall, but Benjamin kicked out and hit a superkick for a long nearfall. Justified This Is Awesome chants rang out as Garcia caught Benjamin with the jackknife pin to steal the win and stay alive in the tournament.

With this result, Mark Briscoe is officially eliminated. That didn’t stop Briscoe from coming out to make the save as the Hurt Syndicate went to attack Garcia after the match. Swerve Strickland joined the fray, jumping off of the top rope and Swerve Stomping all of the security. Strickland took the mic and reminded everyone of his promise to get his hands on Bobby Lashley by the end of the year.

Continental Classic 2024 Blue League Match – Mark Briscoe [9] defeated The Beast Mortos [0]

Another energetic, fun match on this Collision. Briscoe technically leads the block right now, but he needs some help on Dynamite to advance to the final. Briscoe needs Benjamin/Okada to go to a time-limit draw. In that case, he will advance to the playoff in second place behind either Daniel Garcia or Kyle Fletcher. It’s unlikely, but it’s not impossible.

This is the final match of the tournament for both Briscoe and Mortos. A win would keep Briscoe ever-so-slightly alive, as he would need some help on Dynamite to advance to the playoffs.

The two traded strikes to start before transitioning to flash pin attempts. Mortos dropped Briscoe with a shoulder block before Briscoe vaulted Mortos to the floor. Mortos cut off a Briscoe dive attempt with a spear as we went to a commercial. Mortos was in control after the break before Briscoe ducked a rising knee in the corner and sent Mortos to the floor. Briscoe hit a baseball slide, then followed it with a tope con hilo.

Mortos cut off the tope chair hilo, but Briscoe dumped Mortos on the apron with a German suplex. Briscoe hit a skytwister press from the top rope to the floor before hitting the tope chair hilo. Justified This Is Awesome chants rang out as Briscoe went for the Froggy Bow, but Mortos got his knees up and hit the Banebreaker and a powerbomb over the knees. Mortos hit a pop-up Samoan Drop for a big nearfall.

Mortos fought out of the Jay Driller, but a Death Valley Driver and a Froggy Bow scored Briscoe a nearfall. A second Froggy Bow landed, and a Jay Driller scored the win for Briscoe to keep his faint tournament hopes alive.

Continental Classic 2024 Gold League Match – Claudio Castagnoli [9] defeated Darby Allin [6]

A solid main event featuring Castagnoli pinballing Allin around some more. Castagnoli’s frustration at not being able to put Allin down was the key point of the finish, resorting to brass knuckles to beat him. I expect Allin to get his win back over Castagnoli at some point in the new year as the Death Rider feud continues. As far as the tournament goes, Ricochet and Castagnoli control their own destiny as the outright block leaders and will clinch playoff spots if they win their matches. An upset will open the door for the winner of the Brody King/Will Ospreay to sneak in.

Allin dove onto Castagnoli to start the match. Allin fought Castagnoli to the top of the ramp before climbing to the top of the entrance structure and diving onto him. The two crawled to the ring so the bell could ring, and Castagnoli immediately caught Allin with the Swiss Death uppercut for a nearfall. Castagnoli got Allin in the Giant Swing for nearly a minute before tossing him to the floor.

After the commercial, Allin sent Castagnoli to the floor before diving into him. Allin hit another suicida before hitting a Coffin Drop to the floor. Castagnoli dove onto Allin’s back in a sleeper hold, but Castagnoli dumped Allin through the ringside table to escape the hold. Allin beat the count and ducked the big lariat, scoring with several flash pins before Castagnoli double stomped his chest to shut him down.

Castagnoli deadlifted Allin up and bodyslammed him from the ring to the apron. He then drove Allin into the ringpost back first before swinging him into the ring stairs. Castagnoli hit a big lariat for a nearfall. Allin countered the Ricola Bomb into a Sunset Bomb for a nearfall. Castagnoli set Allin on the top rope and went for a superplex, but Allin reversed it into an Avalanche Scorpion Death Drop. A Coffin Drop met Castagnoli’s knees, but a Ricola Bomb only scored a two-count.

Another Ricola Bomb got another nearfall. Castagnoli went outside and got a chair. The referee took the chair away, but that allowed Castagnoli to pull out brass knuckles and knock out Allin. Castagnoli scored the pin and went to do more damage after the match but Will Ospreay returned the favor to Allin from last week’s Dynamite and ran Castagnoli off.

Collision will return on January 4th, 2025, so I will take this time to wish you all a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, a Krazy Kwanzaa, a Festivus for the rest of us, and a Happy New Year!

AEW Rampage Holiday Bash live results: Brody King vs. Komander

Posted on by Joseph Collins

AEW Rampage airs tonight from Washington, DC, for its penultimate episode which will include a Continental Classic battle.

The match will see Brody King (three points) taking on Komander (no points) in the Gold league. Komander is the injury replacement for Juice Robinson who went down with a broken leg his first tournament match. Both men have one final Classic match after tonight.

Former TBS Champion Willow Nightingale will be in action against Harley Cameron.

Don Callis and Kyle Fletcher will air their latest grievances before their Don Callis Family stablemates Konosuke Takeshita and Brian Cage face Powerhouse Hobbs and Mark Davis. This will be a ‘Timecop’ situation for Cage as he will also be in action on tonight’s head-to-head Ring of Honor Final Battle streaming special.

Lio Rush & Action Andretti will take on two enhancement talents. Rush and Andretti are first in line for a shot at AEW Tag Team Champions Private Party.

**********

Taped in Washington, DC. 

We’re closing in on the end of the show’s run with Holiday Bash! 

Excalibur, Matt Menard & Ian Riccaboni on commentary. 

– Don Callis & the Don Callis family came out for an interview with Tony Schiavone, including ROH TV Champion Brian Cage who is also up the road defending his ROH TV Title in New York. Fletcher made excuses for his loss last week to Mark Briscoe and blamed bad officiating. I haven’t seen the match but I totally agree. Callis was trying to get over “top 1%” or something for his group, and he called out Mark Davis & Powerhouse Hobbs, which lead to… 

Konosuke Takeshita & Brian Cage (w/ Don Callis) defeated Mark Davis & Powerhouse Hobbs (12:29)

The crowd started chanting “Meat!” when Cage and Hobbs started exchanging heavy blows. Davis and Hobbs leveled Cage with a double shoulderblock. Takeshita saved Cage from a double suplex and that lead to a double team legsweep/knee strike on Hobbs. Cage & Takeshita double-suplexed Hobbs for a near fall. Hobbs came back with an exploder on Cage. Davis got the tag and tossed Cage around. Davis went for a senton, but Cage got his knees up. Takeshita came in an hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. 

Davis dropped Cage with a back suplex and tags were made on both sides. Hobbs floored Takeshita with a series of clotheslines, the floored Cage with one as well. Hobbs hit a pair of Oklahoma Stampedes (one on each opponent). Takeshita countered a spinebuster and hit a rolling forearm. Hobbs hit a spinebuster, but the pin was broken up by Cage. 

Cage hit a German suplex and some kind of crazy pumphandle slam variant on Hobbs for a near fall. Soon, all four guys were slugging it out. Davis hit a way too high angle suplex on Takeshita while Hobbs and Cage tumbled over the top rope. Davis caught Takeshita with a pop-up enziguri. Takeshita escaped a piledriver attempt and floored Davis with a running knee. Takeshita finished off Davis with the Burning Fire and got the pinfall. This was a meat party match.

– Renee Paquette interviewed WIllow Nightingale about her match in the Tokyo Dome next month. Kris Statlander showed up to wish Nightingale good luck.

Lio Rush & Action Andretti vs. Goldy & Miles Hawkins (1:07)

Neither team got an entrance, as it was back from break with both teams in the ring and the bell ringing. A stunner from Rush into a neckbreaker from Andretti ended it for one of the enhancement guys. 

After the match, Private Party came out to… party… in public? They know when you party in front of everyone it isn’t private, right? Top Flight’s music played and this actually distracted Private Party and gave Andretti and Rush the opportunity to jump the champs. 

– Rene Paquette interviewed Harley Cameron about her upcoming match, when Penelope Ford came by to compare assets. By which, she meant win/loss records. Ford offered to watch Cameron’s back. “What’s on my back? Feel the wrath of Harley Cameron!” Rene: “But she was nice to you.” “Then… don’t feel the wrath of Harley Cameron!”

I hope a series finale is just a “Best of Harley” show from the last six months. 

Willow Nightingale defeated Harley Cameron (5:38 aired) 

Most of this match happened in a split-screen break. Nightingale missed a cannonball in the corner, and Cameron hit a Shining Wizard for a near fall. Cameron countered a fireman’s carry with a victory roll. Nightingale dropped Cameron with a Death Valley Driver for a near fall, then hit a Doctorbomb for the pinfall. 

After the match, Penelope Ford jumped Nightingale, and Kris Statlander ran in for the save. The crowd chanted for Willow and Kris to hug it out, but Kris (who was struggling with her top) left the ring instead.

– Rene Paquette ran down a very good promo package for the Thunder Rosa/Mariah May “Tijuana Street Fight” next weekend at World’s End.

Brody King (2-2, 6 points) v Komander (0-3*, 0 points) in a Gold League Continental Classic Match (14:49)

Komander is mathematically eliminated and King can create a four-way tie on the top of the Blue League with everyone having six points. 

King overpowered Komander at every turn. Komander’s legs were rubber after a clothesline to the side of the head. King mauled Komander with chops and forearms against the ropes. Komander caught King with a crucifix bomb, but King rolled to the floor. Komander tried a springboard crossbody to the floor, but King caught him and whipped him about the ring barricades. King charged at Komander for a bodyblock, but he got out of the way and King hit the ring barricade. King got to his feet, and Komander came off the top with a springboard moonsault. 

Back in the ring, Komader tried to go to the top, but King caught him. Komander managed a sunset flip powerbomb off the top on King, then hit a 450 splash for a near fall. Komander dodged a shoulder tackle in the corner and dropkicked King to the floor. Komander hit another springboard moonsault to the crowd. The crowd chanted for Komander, as they were really into the match. Komander again went to the top and caught King with a ropewalk shooting star press just as King was sliding into the ring to break the count. Komander dove and King again, but this time King caught him and stuffed him with a piledriver to get the pinfall and the three points.

Tremendous match.

WWE SmackDown live results: Women’s Tag Team title match

Posted on by Colin McGuire

The WWE Women’s Tag Team titles will be on the line on WWE SmackDown tonight, taped last week in Hartford, Connecticut.

With Jade Cargill out due to an injury, Bianca Belair will now team with Naomi to defend the titles against reigning WWE Women’s Champion Nia Jax and Candice LeRae. Naomi filling in for Cargill was approved last week by general manager Nick Aldis.

Johnny Gargano, one half of WWE Tag Team Champions #DIY, will go one-on-one with Alex Shelley, part of former champs the Motor City Machine Guns. It will be their first singles match since 2016.

The show is expected to feature the fallout from last weekend’s Saturday Night’s Main Event when undisputed WWE World Champion Cody Rhodes defeated Kevin Owens and then was taken out with a package piledriver after the broadcast ended.

The new Bloodline are also expected to make their presence felt tonight in addition to a surprise rematch from a recent SmackDown bout.

**********

– A video recap of Saturday Night’s Main Event opened the show.

– Bianca Belair and Naomi were shown walking backstage. Ditto for Nia Jax, Candice LeRae, Motor City Machine Guns and #DIY. Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline then made their entrance.

The Bloodline segment

I really like the Drew McIntyre wrinkle here. Between him and Kevin Owens, the modern day Paul Levesque heel is one that actually appears to be smarter than everyone around them and is simply sick and tired of being sick and tired. Who can’t relate to that? As such, it’s hard not to at least empathize with people like McIntyre and Owens, which isn’t historically what a heel should be … but hell: Welcome to the Triple H Era. Anyway, a strong verbal exchange to open the show. Sikoa has improved so much on the mic between when he started leading his version of the Bloodline and the current day.

Sikoa stood in the ring and told SmackDown to acknowledge him. Everyone booed and chanted “OTC!” Sikoa said Roman Reigns sat on his boat and challenged Sikoa to a Tribal Combat match and the crowd gave Sikoa the “What?” treatment. Sikoa stopped and said instead of saying “What?” they need to acknowledge him. The crowd went back to booing and chanting “OTC!” Sikoa proceeded to accept Reigns’s challenge for the Jan. 6 Raw on Netflix. Sikoa said he will walk out as the Tribal Chief and the Head Of The Table. Sikoa looked into the camera and told Reigns that after Jan. 6, Roman could hop back on his boat and head back to the island of irrelevancy.

Drew McIntyre’s music hit and McIntyre slowly walked out of the entranceway. McIntyre took his time getting into the ring. McIntyre grabbed a microphone and stared at Sikoa. Sikoa said he was really happy when McIntyre kicked Jimmy in the face last week. Sikoa then said Drew better have a damn good reason for why he’s interrupting him. McIntyre said he wanted to beat Sikoa within an inch of his life. McIntyre wondered if Sikoa ever wondered when Drew would come for him. McIntyre noted how Sikoa cost McIntyre the world title at Clash At The Castle and caused his family pain and misery.

However, McIntyre said that Sikoa was the only one in his family who had the balls to stand up to Roman Reigns. McIntyre wondered what he should do. McIntyre told Sikoa needs to take Roman Reigns out for good. After Sikoa does that, McIntyre said he and Sikoa could finish their business. Jimmy Uso appeared with a crutch and attacked McIntyre out of nowhere. Those two fought into the crowd and LA Knight’s music hit. Apollo Crews, Andrade and Knight ran to the ring and attacked Sikoa, Fatu and Tonga. The show then went to a commercial break.

The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga & Jacob Fatu) defeated LA Knight, Andrade & Apollo Crews [16:39 of TV time]

Goodness, gracious. A SNME video package and all Bloodline business took up the first 35 minutes of the episode. And I don’t even think we saw the full match as there was some questionable editing that popped up here. I wonder how this played with the (presumably) tired live crowd last week. Now for the real question: Is it time to wonder who LA Knight pissed off yet? The guy somehow gets over, stays over for at least a couple years, finally gets a title run, loses that title a few months later, and is now … teaming with Andrade and Apollo Crews to lose to Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline? That a bit suspect. Anyway, the match here kind of dragged (even with the editing), but it got the job done in terms of getting Sikoa a win before heading into his showdown with Reigns in a couple weeks on Raw. Fatu felt less dominant here, which was a tiny bit disappointing. Maybe an off night? Maybe a conscious booking decision? Here’s hoping for a bounce back soon.

The match was joined in progress and Crews was working over Tonga, complete with a press slam. Knight tagged in and hit a swinging beck-breaker on Tonga. Andrade tagged in and chopped Tonga. Crews then tagged back in and the two hit back elbows on Tonga for a two-count. Andrade tagged back in and kicked Tonga, but Tonga fought back a little until Andrade took Tonga down and Fatu ended up on the outside with Tonga. Crews tagged in and the two landed dual splashes on Fatu and Tonga. Knight went to the top rope and taunted Sikoa, who stayed away from the scene.

Back inside the ring, Crews attempted to keep the upper hand, but Tonga tagged in Fatu and Tafu took Crews out with a leaping elbow. The show then went to a commercial break. The show returned and Sikoa had control over Crews. Fatu tagged in and bodyslammed Crews. Fatu went for a running splash, but Crews got his knees up and and tagged in Andrade, who came in and took out Fatu. Andrade hit a Meteora on Fatu for a two-count. Andrade went to the top and landed the miss-then-not-miss a moonsault spot for a two-count.

Sikoa tagged in and Fatu fired up, lifting Andrade for a scary-looking spot as Sikoa helped Andrade over the top rope. At some point, Fatu tagged back in, but the program showed a replay of the scary spot, so nobody saw it. In any case, Fatu hit a pop-up Samoan Drop on Andrade inside the ring as the show went to another commercial break. The program returned and Fatu kept his dominance up over Andrade until Fatu went for a hip attack in a corner and Andrade moved. Ultimately, Andrade got the hot tag to Knight, who ran in and stomped on Tonga.

Knight clotheslined Fatu and hit a running knee on Tonga. Sikoa got involved, but Knight hit a neck-breaker on him. Crews tagged in and landed a splash from the top rope for a two-count on Tonga. Out of nowhere, Nakamura showed up and took Knight out while Crews worked a Crossface on Tonga. Sikoa broke that up and things broke down. Sikoa officially tagged in after dragging Tonga to their corner. Sikoa hit a hip attack, Spinning Solo and a Samoan Spike on Crews to get the win.

**********

– MCMG were interviewed backstage by Byron Saxton. Alex Shelley said he had one thought – payback. Chris Sabin chimed in and noted how Gargano showed them who he truly is. Shelley said he was going to make sure Gargano knows he made the biggest mistake of his life. Sabin looked like he was going to accompany Shelley to the ring, but Shelley told Sabin to hang back for the match.

– A video package chronicling Chelsea Green’s win on SNME aired. After that, Green was interviewed by Saxton after SNME on Saturday night. Green said she always knew she’d win and she’s worked her entire life to be an overnight success. Green said it was “red, white and green.” Saxton talked about the historical significance of the win. Green said she is in the history books, where she belongs. Green brought up being released be WWE and being passed up by WWE in the past. Green said she was going to go to Disney World to celebrate.

– Graves threw to a video package chronicling the Kevin Owens/Cody Rhodes developments from SNME.

– Owens was shown in a dark place somewhere in a building. He said what happened after SNME was not his fault. Owens said there were a lot of people to blame for it and he was screwed out of winning the championship. Owens said what happened to him was a tragedy and travesty. Owens said he should be standing there the Undisputed WWE Champion, but he’s not. Instead, he took Cody’s belt and he’s not going to give it back until he gets what he wants. Owens said he hasn’t snapped yet and it can all get a lot worse. Owens said nobody wants him to snap. Owens said what happens next is on WWE officials including Nick Aldis and Triple H.

– Gargano and Ciampa were talking backstage. Ciampa said it surprised him that Shelley is dumb because MCMG can’t win the tag titles back in a singles match. Gargano said Shelley wants his revenge and Ciampa needs to stay in the back for his match against Shelley. Ciampa told Gargano to “go get him” and said he wouldn’t move a muscle.

The Grayson Waller Effect with Braun Strowman

Close your eyes. Picture this segment. Whatever you see or whatever you think you’d see – that’s exactly what it was.

Waller welcomed everyone in and Theory made his presence known as well. Waller said his guest is the first transfer to Friday nights on SmackDown: Braun Strowman, who walked out dressed as Santa Claus. Stowman threw gifts into the crowd on his way to the ring. Once in the ring, Strowman faked going to give Waller a gift, but instead, he didn’t. Waller said Strowman helped “all the poor people in Hartford,” and Strowman responded in anger before sitting down.

Waller talked about how he invested a lot of money into his new talkshow set. Waller said he was surprised Strowman would come on the show, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense because he realized how much he’d want to be around A-Town Down Under. Strowman appeared agitated. Waller offered up the ultimate alliance – Strowman and A-Town Down. Strowman slammed his hand on the GWE desk and Carmelo Hayes’s music hit. Melo walked out with a microphone.

Melo said everyone knows his match against Strowman last week wasn’t fair. Melo said nobody can humble greatness and told Strowman he wanted to run it back “right here, right now.” Strowman said he’s show Melo what The Braun Effect is. Strowman threw some fake palm trees at Melo and a referee walked to the ring for a presumed match between Strowman and Melo – after a commercial break.

**********

Carmelo Hayes defeated Braun Strowman via count out [3:32]

Eh. I can’t say I’m a fan. Melo just can’t help but find himself in series of matches against people. At the very least, this will be a best of three with Strowman, but who knows – maybe they’ll get to best of seven and LA Knight will be the special guest referee for that seventh match. Back to this match. Strowman just came back. He was obviously protected here because a fluke count out loss is almost meaningless, but the whole thing just felt unnecessary and boring (in terms of booking, at least). Bah humbug.

Hayes started the match by kicking Strowman’s leg. Braun no-sold it. Hayes punched Strowman, but that just seemed to make Strowman angry. Hayes slid to the outside and Strowman chased Hayes around the ring. When the two got back into the ring, Melo cut Strowman off, but Strowman shoved Hayes off. Strowman threw Melo back into the ring, but Melo kicked Strowman’s leg again. Melo then jumped into an attempted chokeslam, but Melo countered by planting Strowman. Strowman got up and ran at Hayes, but Hayes pulled the top rope down and Strowman went to the outside.

Hayes ran around the ring, but Strowman took Melo down once Melo ran into Strowman. Melo leapt at Strowman, but Strowman caught Melo. Strowman threw Melo back into the ring, but nobody noticed the count was at nine. So, with Melo back in the ring, Strowman was on the outside as the referee counted to 10. So, Hayes got the win via count out. Hayes then ran through the crowd and Strowman chased Hayes.

**********

– Nia Jax and Candice LeRae were talking backstage and Tiffany Stratton walked into the frame. LeRae told Stratton to stay away from ringside during their tag match later. Stratton walked away looking dejected.

– Melo was shown walking backstage and ran into Legado Del Fantasma. Strowman showed up and asked Santos Escobar where Melo was. Angel pointed Strowman in a direction and Strowman ran into Pretty Deadly. Hayes then attacked Strowman with a chair and took Strowman out, but Strowman got up and kept walking with his mad face on.

Johnny Gargano defeated Alex Shelley [10:03 of TV time]

As I write this, we are about 20 minutes from this episode of SmackDown concluding and this has to be the most uninspired WWE television show of 2024, tape delay or not. My goodness. This match was weirdly uninteresting. Two very good wrestlers combining for a cold-as-ice bout that never clicked into any gear – not just the often-referenced “next gear,” but any gear at all. The whole thing was disappointing at best. The #DIY/MCMG thing just isn’t working and someone somewhere needs to figure out how to get both teams in a different direction.

Shelley backed Gargano into a corner and pounded on him until Gargano worked his way out and chopped Shelley. Gargano ran towards Shelley, but Shelley moved and gained control. It didn’t last for long because Gargano came right back and stomped on Shelley. The pace, early on at least, was slower than expected. With Gargano on the apron, Shelley hit a neck-breaker and then kicked Gargano in the head. Shelley followed that up with a running knee outside the ring. The show then went to a commercial break.

Back from the break, Gargano had control back inside the ring. Gargano went for a slingshot spear, but Shelley got his leg up and kicked Gargano. The two then traded chops. Shelley went for an arm bar, but Gargano countered into a roll-up for a two-count. Shelley planted Gargano and went back to work on Gargano’s arm. Shelley then chopped Gargano repeatedly. Gargano came back and kicked Shelley twice before running Shelley’s head into the second turnbuckle for a two-count.

Gargano went for a Gargano Escape, but Shelley got to his feet and before long, planted Gargano face-first into the second turnbuckle. Shelley went to the top, but Ciampa showed up and distracted Shelley. Sabin walked out and chased Ciampa away. In the meantime, Shelley hit a cross-body from the top, but Gargano rolled through and held Shelley’s tights to get the win.

**********

– Saxton interviewed Belair and Naomi guerrilla position. Naomi said she has Belair’s back forever and she said she knows how important the tag belts are to Belair and Cargill and she’d do everything in her power to make sure they win. Naomi then made her entrance for the main event.

Naomi & Bianca Belair defeated Nia Jax & Candice LeRae to retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship [11:05]

I don’t know what was up with Jax appearing to be busted all types of open near the end of the match because right before the show ended, we saw Jax again and there was barely any blood to be found, but that looked nasty for a second. Either way, this was a pedestrian main event on a less-than-pedestrian SmackDown. I don’t mind taped shows, but this felt so much like everyone was mailing it in on the basis of the holidays that these two hours were a hard watch. I guess this means Naomi is officially a world tag team champion now, so it should be interesting to see what happens when Cargill rejoins the conversation. For now, this was a completely missable episode of SmackDown. Driving around to look at Christmas lights never felt more appealing.

Belair and LeRae began the match and Belair threw LeRae across the ring. Belair then lifted LeRae, but LeRae got out of it and tagged in Jax. Belair worked a headlock and then kicked Jax. Naomi tagged in and Naomi landed the split splash on Jax while Belair hit her moonsault on Jax. That was good enough for a two-count. Jax almost instantly got up and took Naomi out. From there, the show went to a commercial break.

The show returned and Belair had control until Jax tagged in and hit a Samoan Drop on Belair for a two-count. Jax went to work on Belair’s back. Belair ran at Jax, but Jax moved and Belair hit the ring post. Jax worked on Belair’s neck, but Belair fought out of it, but Jax kept Belair cut off from Naomi. LeRae tagged in and hit a missile dropkick on Belair before following that up with a Senton off Jax’s back. All of that earned LeRae a two-count.

Jax tagged back in and grabbed Belair’s braid. Belair somehow wiggled away from Jax and LeRae after there was some miscommunication amongst the heels and Naomi received the hot tag. Naomi hit an X-Factor on Jax for a two-count. Jax ran at Naomi, but Naomi moved and Jax hit the ring post. Naomi tried a split-legged moonsault, but Jax moved and set up for her finisher, but Naomi got up and hit a powerbomb on Jax, whose head was super busted open. Belair landed a 360 splash on Jax, but only got a two-count.

Stratton appeared and walked down to ringside. LeRae hit a Tornado DDT on Belair, but Naomi saved a pin attempt. Jax jawed at the referee, so the ref didn’t see the tag between Naomi and Belair. Jax grabbed the MITB briefcase from Stratton, but the ref stopped Jax from using it. Back in the ring, Naomi hit the split-legged moonsault on LeRae to get the win. After the match, Belair officially handed Naomi her tag title and the babyfaces posed in the middle of the ring. They then posed on the second rope with their belts as the show went off the air.

Ring of Honor Final Battle live results: Athena vs. Billie Starkz

Posted on by Jeff Moss

Ring of Honor returns for its final streaming special of the year with tonight’s Final Battle from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.

ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against former Women’s TV Champion Billie Starkz while ROH World Champion Chris Jericho defends against Matt Cardona.

Men’s TV Champion Brian Cage will defend his title in a six-way Survival of the Fittest match while Women’s TV Champion Red Velvet defends against Leyla Hirsch.

Pure Champion Lee Moriarty defends in an open challenge while ROH Tag Team Champions Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara defend against The Righteous in a bullrope match.

The main card is rounded out by Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tommy Billington; Mansoor vs. Atlantis Jr.; and Jay Lethal vs. QT Marshall.

The Zero Hour pre-show will feature the Undisputed Kingdom vs. The Infantry; Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Dark Order; Lee Johnson & EJ Nduka vs. Gates of Agony; and Harley Cameron vs. Hanako.

**********

It is the final battle of the year, live from the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC as we kick off the appropriately named FINAL BATTLE 2024! Starting with ZERO HOUR! 

The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson and James Drake) defeated The Dark Order (John Silver and Alex Reynolds w/Evil Uno)

Kicking off Zero Hour is a match with a little bit of a story to it. A couple of weeks ago, Gibson and Drake noticed that some extras were eating catering before they got a chance to. That resulted in them beating up said extras. John Siver of the Dark Order saw this and didn’t like it, so he stole the Vet’s trademark scarves in retaliation. Then there was an 8-man tag match and now we’re here (Hey, I said it was a “little bit” of a story).

Reynolds and Drake started things off with a standard tie up, but it wasn’t long before Gibson asked for a tag and was granted it. He took the fight to Reynolds, but it Silver quickly tagged in. What Silver lacks in speed he makes up for in strength. Both he and Gibson were able to go toe to toe, because what they both lack in hair, they make up for in talent!

Silver’s strategy seemed to be working for a submission, which was and interesting tactic against two very good technical wrestlers. Drake dragged him to the top rope but Silver flipped things and executed a hurricanrana, opening up hot tags for both Reynolds and Gibson. They flew at each other until Reynolds stacked Gibson up with a powerbomb.

The Dark Order took over with a Reynolds and Silver hitting a spiked spear/suplex on Drake the outside. The Vets followed that a few minutes later with a standing Doomsday device on Reynolds. At this point, Uno got involved (waving papers like the late Brodie Lee). Gibson grabbed the papers and tore them up, distracting everyone enough to allow Silver and Reynolds to land a fully of suplexes, stunners and double kicks on Drake, who was pulled outside at 2 by Gibson.

Silver then seemed to have pulled a hamstring which the Vets took and vantage of to hit a High/Low to get a pin and take the win. No scarves were hurt in this match.

Hanako defeated Harley Cameron

Cameron, a former Outcast, has been hanging around ROH sporadically over the last few months, usually to passive-aggressively take shots at Rachel Ellering for some reason. Hanako is a joshi star in the Stardom promotion and she and her tag partner Maika were runners up in the Goddesses of Stardom Tag League 2024 Final tournament this year.  

Cameron started the match by doing some warmup pushups. The very-tall-for-a-Joshi-star Hanako didn’t let it go for long though, using her strength and size to whip Cameron into the ropes for a big shoulder block. Cameron tried to lift Hanako up, but did not have the power. Switching tactics, Cameron punched her in the back instead.

Hanako landed a big stalling suplex to keep momentum in her favour. Cameron was clearly outmatched here and ate strike after strike for her efforts. Cameron lured Hanako to the outside and duped her into running into the steel ring steps. That gave Cameron an opening to finally get some offence in.

Hanako battled back, hanging Cameron up in a Tree of Woe. Cameron countered it though and hit a Backstabber and a shining wizard. Cameron tried a splash from the top rope but Hanako caught her mid air and Torture Rack Slammed her to get the pin.

The Undisputed Kingdom (Mike Bennett and Matt Taven) defeated The Infantry (Shawn Dean and Carlie Bravo w/Trish Adora & Shane Taylor)

Since joining up with Shane Taylor Promotions a few weeks ago, the Infantry have shown a newfound aggressive streak and certain, shall we say, morally casual attitude. The Undisputed Kingdom started the year as ROH Tag Team Champions and since then have made impacts elsewhere, most notably Matt Taven’s quest to become the ROH Pure Champion. 

Bravo and Dean jumped Taven and Bennett as they approached the ring, getting the upper hand before the bell. They put Bennett into the barricade and then Taven dove over the top rope to nail both Bravo and Dean. Then the match started, for reals, with Bennett and Bravo as legal.

The Infantry were agressive in this match, with Dean hitting a brutal cutter on Taven on the ring apron (the hardest part of the ring!). Taven and Bennett were separated early and Taven found himself in the middle of a bunch of double teams in the Infantry’s corner. Bravo caused a distraction and Taylor punched Taven square in the face behind the ref’s back.

The Kingdom for their part were trying to find something, anything, to throw at their (seemingly four) opponents. In the end though it was good ol’ kicks to the face that got a hot tag to Bennett who cleaned house and unloaded a series of chops on Dean, and then Bravo. Bennett then used Dean as a weapon, Spiccoli Driver-ing him onto his partner Bravo.

A hot tag to Taven brought him in fresh to clear the Infantry out of the ring with kicks. Bravo was left in the ring to take a Spiccoli Driver and Just the Tip from the Kingdom, but it was only worth a two count. Taylor jumped up on the ring apron to cause a distraction so Adora could hit Taven and set up Bennett for a Boot Camp. But this too was only, uh, two.

Taven wrapped Dean around the ring post, leaving Bravo open for a Rockstar Supernova and a pin from Bennett to get the Undisupted Kingdom the win.

Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona) defeated LEEJ (Lee Johnson and EJ Nduka)

The horribly named LEEJ (Lee Johnson and EJ Nduka) take on the Gates of Agony here in what is kind of a grudge match? Johnson has had singles matches against Liona (lost) and Kaun (won) with Nduka as his backup in case things got out of hand. Liona in particular has it out for Johnson and stopped Kaun from showing respect to him on the last episode of ROH On Honorclub.

Johnson and Liona kicked things off with Johnson having Liona a little more scouted this time and fed him all the speed. Liona was taken aback, allowing Nduka to tag in and assault, I mean, isolate him in the corner. Johnson tagged in and Liona got him with a massive backbreaker on the top turnbuckle, followed up by a devastating dropkick and suplex on the outside.

It was then the Gates’ turn to isolate, dragging Johnson to their corner for repeated cannonballs, chops and stomps. Johnson finally got a tag to Nduka and he faced off against Liona, tow big men swinging big arms in a violent manner until Nduka got Liona off his feet with a big Lariat, followed by a Spear.

Liona got Nduka off his feet and they stomped him in the corner. All four men entered the ring and started hitting finishers. Finally Nduka climbed to the top of the ringpost and hit a massive moonsault on Kaun for a two count. Kaun dragged Nduka outside and Liona drove his head into the steel steps with his knee. Kaun caught Johnson and Slammed him on the same steps.

Kaun dragged Johnson back into the ring and hit two huge double powerbombs on him to get the victory.

After the match, The Gates tried to show respect, but LEEJ beat them down!

And now…. Final Battle! Kicking things off is what’s sure to be a banger:

Atlantis Jr defeated Mansoor (w/ Mason Madden)

The Story So Far:  There isn’t one! Mansoor is one half of the crowd-favourite MxM Collection and Atlantis Jr is a CMLL star and former ROH TV Champion. These guys are both excellent in the ring though and have some history.

Tips were touched and the match started with the two similarly sized men wrestling until Mansoor took Atlantis down with a quick rollup. From there, Mansoor controlled the match and the posing. He had a takedown and pose for everything Atlantis threw at him. This earned his respect and the two men shook hands. Really.

Then it was Atlantis’ turn for some offence getting a few quick two counts before putting Mansoor in a Figure-4-like knee hold. Madden got involved, grabbing Atlantis and pulling him to the floor to pose on the ring apron (the sexiest part of the ring!). Mansoor dragged Atlantis back in for a series of suplexes.

Mansoor went for Atlantis’ mask but couldn’t get it off. Atlantis tried to fight out of it, but a big kick put him back down. Atlantis got his second wind and hit a series of backbreakers on Mansoor. Atlantis hit a really impressive trap slam for a two count and then went to the top rope. Madden distracted him, yelling “booga booga booga.” Really.

Mansoor hit a really hard looking slam in the corner that dropped Atlantis square on the head. From there, the two battled back and forth until Atlantis went for a splash, but Mansoor got his knee up. Mansoor played hurt, giving Madden a chance to get involved, slamming Atlantis in the ring. Madden then posed, but who should appear from under the ring?

DANHAUSEN!

He punched Madden in the junk while Atlantis tossed Mansoor out of the ring. He dove over the top rope onto Madden and Mansoor. Then, he dragged Mansoor back in the ring and hit a big splash to get the pin and the win.

After the match, Madden head butted Atlantis in the ring, beating him up until interrupted by Danhausen. He cursed Madden and poured teeth in his mouth. Danhausen then raised Atlantis’ hand as Madden slunk away.

-Backstage the Nueve, Chris Jericho was interviewed, but the first part was cut off due to technical audio issues. When it was resolved though, Jericho declared New York as his home town and listed a bunch of purposely wrong facts about New York and it’s local sports teams. It was delightfully insulting. He promised to leave the “Grand Apple” as still ROH Champion.

Katsuyori Shibata defeated Tommy Billington

The Story So Far: Tommy Billington is the nephew of the legendary Dynamite Kid. Dynamite was one of the best wrestlers to ever lace them up, so it makes sense that his son is fighting Shibata, a guy who calls himself “The Wrestler.” Yeah, I know that’s a stretch to connect, but it’s really all the reasoning I’ve got for this one. All I know is that this is going to be a very, very good match.

A tie up off the top led to some spectacular technical chain wrestling. Applause broke out. Billington got a solid headlock on Shibata and ground him down to the mat. Shibata literally did a headstand to break a hold and slap an ankle lock on Billington. Billington reversed it and sent Shibata through the ropes, following it up with a dive onto Shibata on the outside.

Back in the ring, Shibata locked in a figure four on Billington in the center of the ring. Billington turned it over, putting the pressure back on Shibata. The two rolled back and forth a few times until a rope break. They then traded suplexes, ending with Shibata planting Billington with a leg sweep.

Shibata got Billington in a triangle choke while Ian Riccaboni shouted Canadian city names. Billington managed to get to the ropes, breaking the hold and sending Shibata to the mat with a clothesline. Billington went to the top rope and hit a huge DDT from the top rope! Shibata bounced back though and locked in a sleeper hold until Billington was forced to tap.

An excellent, excellent match though!

Jay Lethal (w/Karen Jarrett and Sanjay Dutt) defeated QT Marshall (w/Aaron Solo)

The Story So Far: QT Marshall and Jay Lethal were both big deals in ROH at one time or another. Lethal returned to ROH a few weeks ago looking to enter the title picture. For some reason, Marshall took great offense to this, thinking that Lethal should be wrestling him if he wants fame and glory. So… now they’re going to fight. But first, duelling awesome Macho Man entrances for both.

The match exploded to a start with Lethal going high early and knocking Marshall out of the ring. Marshall lured Lethal out and drove him into the barricade before tossing him back in. Lethal seemed to bounce back out with a suicide dive though.

Back in the ring, Marshal landed a tornado DDT but Lethal fought back and the two had a flurry of chain wrestling. Marshall bounced Lethal’s head off the top rope and that slowed things down considerably. Marshall tried to get the upper hand, but Lethal was ready for it and the two exchanged blows until Lethal hit a neckbreaker. He followed that up with a figure four leglock.

Marshall tried a quick rollup but no dice as Lethal resonded with a big bang. Lethal climbed to the top rope but was knocked off by Solo. Solo started harassing the Karen Jarrett and suddenly, music hit. Jeff Jarrett stomped down to the ring and hit him with a guitar.

Back in the ring, Marshall hit Lethal with the CrossRhodes of all things, but it only got a two count. He went for a super diamong cutter, but Lethal dodged it and led him into a cutter off the ropes. Lethal missed a Lethal Injection, and Marshall tried one of his own in response.

The two traded forearms and near falls until Lethal managed to land a picture perfect pair of Lethal Injections to get the win.

For a long time, I’ve been wondering about the point of this match and now it is clear: it was to allow a thousand Macho Man impressions to ring out in one glorious Hammerstein Ballroom chorus!

ROH Women’s World TV Championship: Red Velvet (c ) defeated Leyla Hirsch

The Story So Far: These are two women who are very good at very violent wrestling and they do not like each other. Velvet has been the ROH Women’s TV Champion since Death Before Dishonor when she won it from Billie Starkz. Velvet has successfully defended it against Diamante twice, once in a brutal street fight. Now she takes on Hirsch who got hurt in a Texas Death Match against the aforementioned Diamante, and was out for the latter half of the year, returning a few weeks ago. 

Velvet was rapped to the ring by excellent MC, Red, and then she and Hirsch locked up. Velvet had a height advantage on Hirsch, but Hirsch hit hard and hit a lot. Her strength more than evened the odds as she sent Velvet to the mat and attempt an armbar. Velvet squirmed away though, taking a second to reset.

Velvet came out swinging though, sending Hirsch to the corner for some big stomps. Hirsch fought back though, suplexing Velvet. This managed to make Velvet mad though and she shot up and knocked Hirsch to the mat. Hirsch stomped Velvet’s arm in retaliation and flipped her into the turnbuckles.

Hirsch landed a swingout german suplex from the top rope on Velvet, but it only got a two count. Velvet grabbed at her shoulder and she and Hirsch rose, trading open handed slaps. Hirsch caught Velvet though and got her up for a power bomb followed by a springboard moonsault and then good ol’ kick in the arm.

Hirsch worked the arm while Velvet screamed in pain. Hirsch landed a shining wizard but got cocky on the pin and only got a two. Hirsch then locked an armbar on Velvet’s injured arm. Velvet rose and turned it into a powerbomb to get Hirsch off her. Velvet landed a solid right hand on Hirsch, seemingly knocking her cold. Velvet went for Mama’s Kitchen, but Hirsch was playing possum and fought out of it.

Velvet then dove under the ring and grabbed a spare turnbuckle. The ref rook it away from her, and went to put it to the side. Velvet produced a hidden wrench while his back was turned and hit Hirsch with it, knocking her out and allowing Velvet to get the pin and retain the ROH Women’s TV Title.

ROH Pure Championship Open Challenge: Lee Moriarty (c ) vs ????

The Story So Far: Lee Moriarty has been ROH Pure Champion since July, taking the title from Wheeler Yuta at Death Before Dishonor. He’s successfully defended it three times against the likes of Angelico, Preston Vance and most recently, Matt Taven. Now he wants to take on the “best of the best” and has issued an open challenge. 

If this is your first rodeo, a Pure Rules match has a 30-minute time limit. Each competitor gets three rope breaks and one closed fist warning. After that they can be disqualified. Any outside interference is a DQ and can cause a title change. If there is no clear winner by pinfall or submission by the time limit the match will be awarded based on points by a panel of judges. Fun Fact: this has never happened to my knowledge (I didn’t look very hard though). Tonight the judges are: Jerry Lynn, Christopher Daniels and Rocky Romero.

Shane Taylor accompanied Moriarty to the ring and who is the brave soul answering the Open Challenge? Why none other than legendary former ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness!

Moriarty was shocked but pleased to see one of the greatest Pure Champions in ROH history. In fact it was McGuinness that retired the original version of the title before it was revived a few years ago. McGuinness and Moriarty have a long history too as training partners and opponents. This is honestly way better than anyone that had been speculated about!

McGuinness pulled out a Mic and suggested they do this under the “old” Pure title rules. Taylor got a mic and ran down McGuiness as old news. McGuiness goaded Taylor and Moriarty in a very non PG way. Moriarty asked Taylor to let him do this the old way and Taylor reluctantly agreed. So, what are the “old” rules?

No Judges (See? Told you), wins are gotten by pinfall or submission. Three rope breaks are allowed and zero closed fists. Simple, no?

The match started with back and forth wristlocks, which in any other match would be boring, but in a Pure Match they are impossible to look away from. At 2:03, Moriarty accidentally used a rope break when McGuiness got him too close to it. This is a vintage McGuinness strategy.

At 2:54, McGuinness took a shot from Moriarty that the ref deemed a closed fist and docked Moriarty a rope break. That incensed Taylor who demanded a second official to keep the other one honest. A ref came to the ring and the match resumed with duelling waistlocks and open handed palm strikes.

McGuinness began working Moriarty’s elbow and shoulder, pushing him closer and closer to using that third rope break. Moriarty reversed it into a Border City Stretch at 5:40, causing McGuinness to use a rope break. Taylor lured McGuinness to the outside and Moriarty tried to jump him, but McGuinness moved, leading to Moriarty hitting Taylor. The ref counted and Moriarty beat the count by one second, diving back into the ring.

Moriarty delivered a huge Eurpoean uppercut to McGuinness and went up to the turnbuckle. McGuinness popped up and hit a London Bridge to get a two count. The two traded pinning attempts until Moriarty locked in a second Border City Stretch, forcing rope break #2 for McGuinness at 9:56.

Moriarty locked in a third Border City Stretch and McGuinness needed to use his final rope break at 10:44. From here on out, there would be no saving McGuinness on the ropes. Speaking of, Moriarty used the rope as leverage in a pinning attempt, but the second ref caught him. McGuinness hit Moriarty with a big lariat, but he couldn’t get a three count on the champion.

McGuinness hit another London Bridge and the Ref counted to three, but the second official saw Moriarty’s foot on the rope and since he had one rope break left, the pin didn’t count. That meant that all rope breaks had been exhausted as the two men traded blows in the center of the ring.

The time hit 15:09 as Moriarty tried a quick pin attempt that McGuinness kicked out of. Yet another Border City Stretch was applied, but McGuinness had no more rope breaks. He struggled until he could flip the hold. Moriarty hit a massive DDT, but again only got a two count. Back to the Border City Stretch and Moriarty used the ropes (which was now legal) as leverage and McGuinness was forced to tap out.

The crowd and Moriarty gave McGuinness his flowers, the champion raising the challenger’s hand.

ROH Tag Team Championship Texas Bull Rope Match: The Sons of Texas (Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara) (c ) defeated The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) 

The Story So Far:  Ok, I’ll try to tell this story as succinctly as possible. Sammy Guevara and Dustin Rhodes won the ROH Tag titles from the Undisputed Kingdom back in August. Since then they’ve defeated the Dark Order, a couple of low-tier teams and the Undisputed Kindom in a Bunkhouse Brawl Match. The Righteous, Dutch and Vincent, decided they were done just hurting people and want some gold to go with said hurting. They turned their attention to Rhodes and Guevara (now going by the name Sons of Texas). Dutch was trained in part by Rhodes’ father, the incomparable Dusty Rhodes and has a special bullrope and cowbell that the American Dream gifted him.

Dutch has used that to get under Rhodes’ skin, saying the Dusty wished he was his sin instead of Dustin! The two teams have jumped each other in the back, played mind games and on the last episode of ROH on Honorclub, The Righteous jumped Rhodes at his training facility and left him in a pool of his own blood. This is a bitter, bitter feud that will be settled in a double Bull Rope match which means, essentially there are no rules and they will be linked to each other by the wrist by a bullrope.

Before the ropes could be applied though, Rhodes and Guevara attacked Dutch and Vincent, battling in, out and around the ring with the Righteous getting the better result. They thew Rhodes and Guevara back in the ring as the ref tried to attach the ropes. Vincent and Dutch kicked those ropes away and the brawl continued.

Guevara and Rhodes got the advantage and beat down Dutch and Vincent. They grabbed the ropes and Rhodes attached himself to Dutch, and Guevara tied himself to Vincent. The bell rang and the “match” “officially” “began.”

Rhodes and Guevara set the Righteous up on opposite corners and hit tandem Shattered Dreams. The Righteous used the bells on the ropes to re-arrange Rhodes and Guevara’s faces. The ropes at this point were becoming a bit of an issue as well. The pairs kept getting tangled with each other in the ring. So Rhodes, brought Dutch to the outside and hit him with a chair. Meanwhile, in the ring, Vincent used his rope to wrench Guevara’s arm.

Rhodes and Dutch fought up the ramp with Rhodes using the bell to punish Dutch. Dutch responded with a Bossman slam, knocking the wind out of him. Dutch then produced a table covered in barbed wire. He dragged the table and Rhodes to ringside and dragged him to the top of the ringpost. Rhodes blocked it though and sent Ditch flying backwards through his own barbed wire table!

The two pairs were close to each other on the outside, so Vincent knocked Rhodes silly. That fired up Guevara, but Vincent used the rope to send him into the ring post and hit an Orange Sunshine. Vincent then pulled a pair of scissors from under the ring and cut himself out of the bullrope. Now loose, and with Guevara out, Vincent used the rope to choke Rhodes against the ring post.

Rhodes held on until his arms went limp and just before the ref called the match, Guevara jumped in and took out Vincent. Guevara hit a cutter off the barricade on Vincent and went under the ring. He brought out a table (no barbed wire on this one) and set it up. He then went back for a ladder and set it up next to the table. Guevara placed Vincent on the table via kick to the face and climbed the ladder.

Guevara paused at the top of the ladder and then launched himself down onto Vincent, but Guevara took too much time and Vincent rolled off the table, sending Guevara plummeting through it. Vincent then faced off against Rhodes in the middle of the ring. Rhodes had him on his heels, but was still tied to Dutch, hampering his movements. Dustin went to remedy this and Dutch smashed the cowbell over his head.

Vincent and Dutch wailed on Rhodes in the ring while the crowd booed. Rhodes wouldn’t quit though and took shots from both until Vincent hit Orange Sunshine. The ref began to count and Guevera popped up and broke up the pin. Guevara hit a cutter on Dutch and sent Vincent to the outside.

Rhodes and Dutch faced off in the ring with Rhodes hitting the biggest Texas Destroyer in the Lone Star State. Guevara slipped him the Rhodes Family Cowbell and an emotional Rhodes pointed to the sky in a touching gesture. Then he smashed Dutch in the face with the bell and got the pin to retain the titles for his team.

ROH World TV Championship Survival of The Fittest Match: Komander defeated Brian Cage (c ), AR Fox, Blake Christian, Willie Mack and Mark Davis

The Story So Far: Brian Cage is the ROH World TV Champion. That’s it. He won the belt from Atlantis Jr on the Zero Hour of AEW Wrestledream 2024 and don’t think about why ROH titles change hands on non-ROH shosw too hard, it will hurt. Speaking of hurt, Cage has successfully defended the title against AR Fox while working a double as part of the Callis Family in AEW and ROH. Now he must defend against five other worthy competitors in Fox, Komander, Mack, Davis and for some reason Blake Christian. Christian is totally worthy as well, but I don’t really understand how he got here.

Cage entered last as the Champion is known to do and did so in his Callis Family black gear. A shame as Cage’s ring attire has been awesome in the past, but this new subdued Cage is equally scary. The bell rang and immediately, Christian dragged Komander out of the ring and someone shoved Mack. they didn’t show who, but he flew through the ropes none the less.

After the opening brawl, Cage and Davis faced off. Davis seems to be a cross between JBL and what Cage would look like if he didn’t work out. He tossed Cage out of the ring, just in time for Mack to jump back in. The always underestimated-ly fast Mack sent Davis out of the ring with a high knee. Fox jumped in then and immediately jumped back out onto Christian, then inand out again onto Cage and Mack. Then just a plain ol’ kick to Komander as he pulled him back in the ring.

Komander did his superhero thing which confused the heck out of Fox. Komander threw him out of the ring with in what was rapidly becoming a reverse-battle-royal of a match. Komander went high and tried a 450, but Fox was gone and Christian was in the ring to catch him. As was becoming a theme, Christian then dove back out of the ring.

In the ring, Cage fought off Davis, Fox and Komander. He then suplexed Komander and Fox AT THE SAME TIME. Grabbing Komander, Cage lifted him above his head with only one hand! In case it isn’t obvious, Cage is very strong. Mack got into the ring and stacked Fox and Komander on his shoulders for a fall away slam x2. He then delivered a standing moonsault to Davis and Cage came back in to get a stunner. Fox, Davis and Christian thought that looked fun, so they both took a stunner each from Mack. Komander got a special Super Stunner, and then Cage jumped back in and pinned Mack.

It was here that we discovered that this was an Elimination match.

Fox took advantage and DDT’d both Cage and Davis. He then hit a stunner on Christian followed by a sit-down Powerbomb. Fox DDT’d Komander on the ring apron and then did a cannonball flip onto the crowd gathering outside the ring. Fox hit a spanish fly and a 450 on Komander but it was only a 2-count. Cage then got involved and powerbombed Fox from the top rope to pin him for elimination.

Davis and Cage faced off next, with big fists being thrown at big heads. Unfortunately, Christian got too close and caught a punch in the face for his trouble. Davis and Cage traded about a dozen German suplexes and Komander hit a high flying move on Davis, sending him to the outside. Komander almost eliminated Cage, but Cage caught him midair and slammed him. Christian tried to use the distraction to roll up the champion and Cage threw him from the ring.

Davis took control with a big lariat to Cage followed by a piledriver. Davis then pinned Cage, eliminating him and guaranteeing a new ROH TV Champion! Christian took advantage of the shock and eliminated Davis with a rollup, leaving Komander and Christian as the final two!

Komander went high with a big crossbody and Christian returned a kick for it. The two battled in the ring, trading suplexes and high flying move attempts. Christian dropkicked Komander from the top rope, and locked in a half-surfboard to jam Komander’s knees into the mat. Komander slithered around Christian and locked in an abdominal stretch, but Christian backed him into the turnbuckle.

Komander went to the top rope and Christian shoved him off of it, diving through the ropes and driving Komander into the barricade. Christian put him back in the ring and went up for a splash. Komander moved though and the two traded super- and dropkicks.

Komadner hit a super-poisonrana and Christian staggerd from the ring. Komander hit a massive flipping splash on him outside the ring and dragged him back in. Komander walked the ropes, but Christian knocked the ref into the ropes, sending him off. Christian then hit a curb stomp, but it only got a two-count.

Christan hit a side slam from the second rope on Komander, but Komander responded with a Mexican Destroyer. He then hit Christian with a 619 and a Shooting Star press to get the pin, eliminate Christian and become the new ROH Television Champion!

-Kanemaru and Sho were announced as the opponents for the Sons of Texas in a match for the ROH Tag Team Titles at Wrestledream. Neat.

ROH World Championship: Chris Jericho (c ) defeated Matt Cardona

The Story So Far: Mark Briscoe was a wildly popular ROH World Champion, but met his match when he ran up against “The Nueve” Chris Jericho in a Ladder War. Jericho walked away with the title and has successfully defended it against Tomohiro Ishii on (checks notes) AEW Dynamite. Aside from that, the Champion has cut a few promos but has barely been shown on ROH TV, except in pre-taped footage. Somehow, the challenger has had even less to do with ROH in the same period.

Matt Cardona has become one of the top Indie stars in the world in the last few years, winning titles and matches in just about every promotion with three ropes and some turnbuckles. He arrived in ROH a few weeks ago to take this shot at Jericho’s title. So, to recap: The ROH Champion who is never on ROH is taking on a worthy challenger who has also not been on ROH. Regardless of how little sense it makes though, these two haven’t met since 2016 where Cardona got a win over Jericho and should put on one hell of a match!

Cardona entered from outside the building on the frigid streets of New York. He walked through the front doors of the Hammerstein all the way to the ring. His Ghostbusters-themed gear was looking fantastic and he gave his parents at ringside a hug.

Jericho entered with the “Nuev-ettes” to the dulcet tones of Frank Sinatra singing “New York, New York.” He also had a foam Statue of Liberty hat that only a tourist would wear on his head.

Cardona had Jericho on his heels early in the match, coming at him aggressive and fast. He dragged Jericho over to where his father was sitting and Cardona Sr. pie-faced him. Cardona Jr. then threw Jericho into the steel ringsteps.

Cardona picked up the ROH Title belt and brought it into the ring as Jericho staggerd to his feet. Cardona whipped Jericho with with the belt. Bryan Keith tried to help on Jericho’s behalf, but Cardona dispatched him and leapt onto Keith and Jericho on the outside. Finally, Jericho managed to get a backdrop onto the ramp to stop Cardona’s rampage.

Jericho waited in the ring, urging the Ref to count Cardona out. Cardona made it back at 19 though to avoid ending the match and Jericho chopped him in the corner. Jericho battled back and sent Cardona to the outside where Keith stomped him while the count started again. Cardona made it back faster this time though and Jericho took control of the match, jeering at the crowd.

Jericho exited the ring and confronted Cordona’s Dad, returning the pie face. That brought out the rage in Cardona and he charged Jericho, who dodged and sent him into the ringsteps. Jericho then grabbed a camera, played with it for a second, then put it down and slammed Cardona into the steps again, followed by sending him face-first into the ringpost.

Jericho, cocky now, got Cardona back in the ring and began toying with him. Chops, light kicks, soft covers. It was enough to wake up Cordona who began trading chops with Jericho. Jericho came out on top and set Cardona up for a frankensteiner.

Cardona recovered and drop-kicked Jericho, looking for a surprise pin. It was only a two count through and Jericho executed a Lionsault to get his own two-count. He went for the Lion Tamer, but Cardona reversed it into a spine buster. The crowd began to “Woo” as Cardona went to the top rope. Jericho climbed the ladder though and and superplexed him. Cardona no-sold it though and hit a tiger driver. Jericho responded with a Codebreaker, but it only got a two.

Jericho finally got Cardona in the Liontamer, but Cardona wriggled out and Keith climbed up on the apron with the ROH Title belt. Cardona shoved Jericho into him, knocking him off. Jericho battled back and locked in a second Liontamer. Cardona was able to get to the rope this time, where Big Bill was waiting! He kicked Cardona in the face and Jericho went for a pin but Cardona wasn’t done yet!

Cardona hit a codebreaker of his own and came within a hair of winning the title before Jericho kicked out. Cardona hit a Ruff Ryder from the tope rope and went fort a pin, but Bill distracted the ref and Kieth jumped in to hit Cardona with the belt. Jericho rolled over him and got the pin to retain the ROH World Championship.

After the match, Big Bill and Kieth beat up Cardona in the ring. They choked him out until the one and only Bandito made his return and ran to the ring to clear it out and save Cardona.

ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena (c ) defeated Billie Starkz

The Story So Far: Athena and Starkz may be destined to do this forever. Last year at Final Battle 2023, these two had a violent barnburner of a match. Since then, Stakz and Athena grew close, with Athena making Starkz one of her Minions along with Lexy Nair. Starkz won the inaugural ROH Women’s TV Title Tournament, but lost the belt to Red Velvet, disappointing the Minion Overlord (Athena).

Since then, Athena has demoted Starkz to Minion-in-Training and generally treated her like an afterthought. That frustrated Starkz who got mopier and mopier until it all boiled over during a tag match on the most recent ROH on HonorClub. After Athena used her as a weapon to get a victory (like literally threw her at her opponents several times), Starkz snapped and destroyed Athena’s custom ROH Women’s World Title. That brought about a brutal brawl (wow, lotta “b’s” there) that left Starkz unconscious after Athena sent her face into the title belt. 

Starkz arrived with a big smile in Wonder-Woman gear in tribute to Sumie Sakai. Athena entered in full Two-Face cosplay! I think I read this comic…

After introductions, the bell rang and the rematch was on! Athena began laying in the shots, driving Starkz face into the turnbuckle. Starkz scrambled and started throwing her own ‘bows and chops to the champion. The frustration that had been boiling for months was on full display as Starkz rained down blows on Athena.

These two know each other so well, that it was a virtual seesaw of momentum. One always had the counter or response to whatever the other threw at them. Athena tried to keep the pace slow while Starkz leaned into speed to keep Athena guessing.

Athena knocked Stakz over with a back elbow and Starkz popped back up to lay in some lariats. Athena sent her to the corner and Starkz kicked her way out. Athena caught Starkz’ leg when she attempted a big kick and wrapped it into a standing submission lock. Starkz twisted her way into an armbar, but Athena reversed THAT into a big slam.

Athena went back to working Starkz’ leg, raining down the kicks and stomps and wrapping Starkz up in the ropes to hang from it. Athena dragged Starkz from the ring and walked her around it by the hair like a dog. She jawed at Starkz’ Mom in the audience and went to send Starkz into the steps, but she didged it and Athena hit the steel. Starkz then hit a flatliner onto the steps, bouncing Athena’s head off of them.

Starkz tried to get Athena up in an Electric Chair but her knee gave out. She charged Athena who grabbed her in a powerbomb on the floor at ringside. Dragging Starkz back into the ring, Athena wrapped her injured knee around the ringpost. But Starkz jerked back and knocked Athena’s head against the post. Athena staggered back into the ring and Starkz met her with a DDT.

Starkz hit a Smash Mouth on Athena, but only got a two-count. Starkz began kicking Athena in the face, trying to stun her into submission. Starkz drove her knee into Athena’s spine, pulling back on her arms and chin. Athena fought out of it, but Starkz was able to set her up for a brainbuster on her own knee. Starkz climbed to the top rope, but Athena kicked her and pulled her into a fallaway slam from the top rope.

Athena caught a blast of energy and sent Starkz to the corner for some kicking. She followed that up with a springboard on a dazed Starkz to get a two-count. Athena looked like she was running out of ideas as Starkz rose and hoisted Athena on her shoulders. Athena rolled through it though and hit a codebreaker.

Athena went up for the O-Face, but Starkz caught her mid air and slammed her. The two began exchanging kicks and punches back and forth. Athena caught Starkz in the face with a kick and went up for a pile driver. Starkz reversed it though and landed a pile driver of her own. Athena kicked out at two though.

The two battled on the outside until Starkz hit an Alabama Slam on the ring apron. Athena rolled off and Starkz climbed up and hit an amazing Swanton onto her on the floor. Starkz dragged Athena back into the ring, but she kicked out once again. Fighting back to standing.

Athena picked up Starkz and threw her over the top rope. The ref checked on Starkz and Athena hit a suicide dive that got both of them. Athena pulled Starkz back into the ring, but there was no one to count! Lexy Nair appeared from under the ring and handed Athena a mic. She tried to hit Starkz with it, but missed, letting Starkz get her into an Electric Chair and a two-count.

Athena exposed the turnbuckle as Starkz hit a poison rana. Starkz charged and hit her head on the exposed turnbuckle. Athena climbed up and hit a perfect O-Face from the top rope. She pinned Starkz and won the match, retaining her title and continuing her reign as “Forever Champion!”

What a great night of wrestling!

Ring of Honor TV live results: Final Battle go-home show

Posted on by Jeff Moss

Tonight’s ROH on HonorClub will be the final episode before Friday’s Final Battle.

ROH Women’s World Champion Athena will team with Billie Starkz ahead of their clash for Athena’s title on Friday.

Following Chris Jericho’s attack on Matt Cardona at last Saturday’s GCW show, there will be an update on Cardona ahead of his challenge for Jericho’s ROH World title Friday.

Lee Johnson will team with Bishop Kaun ahead of an expected Friday tag team match that will include EJ Nduka and Toa Liona which Tony Khan has heavily hinted at.

Sidney Akeem (the former Scrypts/Reggie in WWE/NXT) will return to ROH against Serpentico.

In eight-man tag team action, the Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) will team with Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & Evil Uno) against the Grizzled Young Veterans and Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty.

The card is rounded out by Queen Aminata vs. Lady Frost, and the Murder Machines (Lance Archer & Brian Cage) vs. the Iron Savages.

**********

ROH on Honorclub episode #95 arrives to send us straight into December 20th’s Final Battle event at the Hammerstein Ballroom in good ol’ NYC. The card has firmed up in the last couple of weeks, but there’s always room for more!

Lee Johnson (w/EJ Nduka) defeated Bishop Kaun (w/Toa Liona)

Last week, Johnson lost a fight to Toa Liona that resulted in a beatdown until Nduka came down for the save. Not satisfied with the level of punishment Linoa gave him, Johnson this week faces Kaun, but he’s skipping the waiting and just bringing Nduka to the ring with him right away. One can only assume that a tag match between all four men is on the horizon. 

The two men locked up with Kaun having the obvious size advantage. Johnson’s speed and agility though more than made up for it and he remained defiant of the bigger man, shoving him in the corner. That got Johnson a big shoulder to the chops though, with Kaun keeping the match slow and heavy, exactly in his wheelhouse.

Johnson caught Kaun with a big dropkick, sending him to the outside and following it up with a front flip over the top rope onto Kaun. Back in the ring, Kaun flipped things and tied Johnson up in the ropes, leaving him prone to multiple dropkicks. Kaun worked Johnson’s knee over and over again, trying to take away his speed and possibly ability to walk.

Kaun flipped Johnson over with a lariat and hit a big driver. Johnson looked like he was done, but fought back with a neckbreaker and a standing moonsault. Kaun resumed the beatdown, but Johnson was able to sneak in a quick rollup for the 1-2-3!

After the match, Kaun wanted to shake Johnson’s hand, but Liona stopped him and shoved Johnson. That brought in Nduka to stare down both of them. Liona and Kaun backed away out of the ring slowly.

-Lee Moriarty was interviewed backstage about his open challenge for the ROH Pure Title. Moriarty said he’s ready for Final Battle, and anyone who answers the challenge. Moriarty wants to face the best to show everyone that he’s the best!

– After a commercial for Final Battle, Leyla Hirsch and ROH Women’s TV Champion Red Velvet were interviewed back stage under the condition there be no violence. The two jawed at each other and got in each other’s faces, but that’s about it.

Queen Aminata defeated Lady Frost

Aminata and Frost were once top contenders for the ROH Women’s World Championship, but lately have been spending more and more time just being around. Aminata failed to win the Wrestle Dynasty International Women’s Cup Qualifier Tournament Semi Final (boy, that’s a lot of words) she was part of in November, and Frost  has taken losses from Billie Starkz, Reyna Isis and Athena in the last few months. Both women are looking to right the ship here. 

The two tied up with Aminata getting the upper hand. She blocked a Frost suplex attempt and followed up a gymnastic exchange with a huge kick. Frost was not that easy to get by though and Frost rained down elbows on Aminata, which she no-sold. Frost finally got Aminata off her feet and kicked her into the corner for some chops.

Frost hit a Fisherman’s Suplex on Aminata for a two count before putting her into a sleeper hold. Aminata does not sleep though (I can’t back that up) and battled out of it, driving Frost into the turnbuckle. Aminata followed that up with a backbreaker and snap suplex. She hit Frost with a huge knee that looked like it put her away, but only got a two.

Frost delivered a Snowball Fight to Aminata in the corner and climbed the turnbuckle for a tornado clothesline. At this point it was a really exciting match, with lots of near falls and big moves, but the crowd was sitting on their hands.

The perked up a bit when Aminata locked in a modified tarantula stretch, pulling Frost’s arm practically out of it’s socket and forcing her to tap out (with the other arm, of course).

-The camera switched to a shot of the parking lot of a training facility where Dustin Rhodes got out of his truck and entered the building. The camera turned around to reveal Dutch and Vincent, the Righteous, lying in wait for him. They snuck in and found Dustin… vacuuming the ring? Sure. Anyways, they jumped him from behind and beat him down, choking him with cables and smashing his head with the cowbell. Vincent stole Rhodes’ phone and Facetimed Sammy Guevara (Rhodes’ partner) to show him the devastation. The Righteous left laughing, leaving Rhodes in a pool of his own blood.

Murder Machines (Brian Cage & Lance Archer) (w/Don Callis) defeated Iron Savages (Beefcake Boulder & Bulk Bronson) (w/Jacked Jameson)

I haven’t made it a secret that I’m not a huge fan of the Iron Savages schtick. I find it pretty derivative and obnoxious (which as heels, maybe I’m supposed to?). Anyways, watching them get beat up by Cage and Archer, each taking a break from their usual teams, was a pretty great time. Cage is using this as a warmup for Final Battle where he’ll defend his ROH TV Title in a 6-Way Survival of The Fittest Match. 

With four gigantic men in the match, it was no surprise that it was a hard hitting affair. Big clubbing chops, huge strikes and lots and lots of posing. Cage and Bronson started things off and literally just punched each other back into the ropes over and over. Boulder tagged in and stomped over to Cage who was more than happy to do the same thing with this big man. Boulder managed to knock Cage off his feet, so Archer tagged in and the hitting resumed.

Boulder (who looked a little jaundiced for some reason) found himself in the corner taking big running elbows from Archer. Archer put Bronson and Boulder in a choke hold and tried to choke slam them both, but they are very big men and were able to fight out of it for a Beefcake bomb. The Savages were in control as they tried a double team on Archer, but he rolled out of the way causing Bronson’s face to meet the mat. Cage jumped in and suplexed Boulder out of the ring.

All four men battled in the ring until Boulder was sent to the outside with a clothesline and Bronson was the recipient of a Choke Bomb (Chokeslam and powerbomb at the same time) giving Murder Machines the victory. After the match Don Callis got a few stomps in on Bronson, much to the joy of Cage and Archer.

-QT Marshall and Jay Lethal are fighting at Final Battle for… reasons. They were interviewed in what appeared to be a hotel conference room, but Marshall was late. They started anyways, but before Lethal could say anything, Marshall arrived and interrupted. Lethal started talking about how it feels to return to Ring of Honor (it feels amazing), Marshall talked about he’s been disrespected. He asked for the match with Lethal, but Lethal doesn’t think it’s a big deal. Lethal retorted saying no offense to Marshall, but he wanted to be in the Title Picture, not wrestling a random match (I feel the same way). This conversation went on for way, way too long, with both men trying their hardest to make the match mean something, but it didn’t really work. In the end, Marshall sucker-punched Lethal and they’ll fight tomorrow. Moving on…

-It was then announced that on the Final Battle Zero Hour pre-show, the Infantry would take on the Undisputed Kingdom, Harley Cameron will be up against Hanako of Stardom and two big tag matches. First, LEEJ vs the Gates of Agony and then the Dark Order vs The Grizzled Young Veterans.

ROH Classic Match: ROH Women’s Champion Athena vs Billie Starkz at Final Battle 2023

A preview of the rematch happening tomorrow night, this was as good a match as one can get from two women who are very, very good at wrestling. Athena had a facemask on due to injury and Starkz’ bratting was top notch. The two fought in a hard hitting, near 30-minute violent battle and I’m pretty sure you know who won. If we get a match half as good tomorrow night, it’ll be an easy Match of The Year contender.

Serpentico defeated Sidney Akeem

Serpentico and his partner Angelico have spent 2024 as standouts in ROH. Their laid back but also exciting at the same time matches have always been a highlight. Serpentico goes at it solo here, taking on Akeem who is looking to avenge his loss in his ROH Debut in November to Johnny TV. 

Serpentico matches are always fun, so it was no surprise that this one was as entertaining as it was. Akeem has always been underrated as a worker and was able to keep up with all of the speed and high-flying of Serpentico. He even managed to get the drop on Serpentico with a big kick! Akeem then flew over the top rope, almost seeming to pause in midair before dropping onto Serpentico.

It was like watching two video game characters. The moves with crisp, the shots landed and the big showcase spots were just that. Akieem was very impressive hitting a Skywalker stomp and a moonsault in quick succession. Battling on the top rope though, Serpentico took over, sending Akeem to the mat and following it up with a big senton to get the win.

ROH Women’s Champion Athena & Billie Starkz defeated Blair Onyx & Missa Kate

In reference to Starkz and Athena, this match dares to ask the most burning question in all of wrestling: Can they coexist!? The answer is yes, their existence on this plane in the same place at the same time is not in any question. However, the tag team they are forming just a day away from their showdown at Final Battle is less clear. They will be taking out their frustrations with each other on Blair Onyx and Missa Kate. Starks beat Onyx back in October, but this will be Chicago-native Kate’s ROH Debut. 

Athena sent Starkz out to start things off against Kate. It didn’t last long though as Starkz got a blind tag as soon as Athena was near enough. She and Kate battled for a bit before Onyx tagged in. Starkz hit a flying headscissor and laid her out in the corner. Athena distracted Starkz, trying to “warn” her about a DQ allowing Kate and Onyx to get the drop on her with a double team.

Athena grabbed a bind tag and jumped in to pick up Starkz and use her as a weapon. She threw Starkz at Onyx, then grabbed her again to do the same to Kate. Athena then used Starkz in an unwilling Flapjack to take out Kate and locked a submisson on Onyx, getting a quick tapout.

Starkz, furious, grabbed Athena’s personalized belt and ran up the entrance ramp. Starkz ripped the photo of Athena off the title and smashed the belt. Athena tried to attack, but Starkz laid her out with a huge forearm. They two fought until security showed up, at which point Athena laid out Starkz with a massive dropkick. She thew Starkz into the barricade and then beat her up until more security came. Athena took out the guards and started ramming Starkz’ head into the steel ring steps. She then smashed Starkz’ face with the title belt and left her lying, screaming her way into the back. Great end to a great show!

Oh, wait, there’s more!

-It was announced that two more matches have been added to the Final Battle card: Mansoor vs Atlantis Jr and Katsuyori Shibata Vs Tommy Billington!

-Next, ROH World Champion “The Nueve” Chris Jericho crashed Game Changer Wrestling’s HIGHEST IN THE ROOM 3 event on Saturday to take out his Final Battle opponent, “The Complete” Matt Cardona.  They showed footage of the attack while Jericho ran down Cordona in a promo. At Final Battle, these two will fight it out for the first time since 2016, when Cardona pinned Jericho in March 2016. 

Eight Man Tag Team Match: Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) & Shane Taylor Promotions (Lee Moriarty & Shane Taylor) defeated The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & Evil Uno, w/John Silver) & The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett)

This team up makes perfect sense. The Grizzled Young Veterans and Shane Taylor Promotions have a similar bad attitude and the Dark Order and the Kingdom are both looking to elevate themselves back into ROH Tag Team Title contention. Also, last week Taven failed to win the ROH Pure Championship from Moriarty, so there’s already beef on both sides. As mentioned earlier, Moriarty has laid out an Open Challenge for his title at Final Battle so maybe this sets up a rematch? Let’s find out! 

In a great case of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” the Kingdom and Dark Order did a synchronized pose to kick things off, signalling that they are going to be working as a unit. GYV and STP were not so cordial.

Gibson and Reynolds started things off and as expected it was a fast, technical exchange. Lots of kicks and whips. Uno tagged in and Gibson begged off, choosing to tag in Moriarty instead. Uno ended up getting the better of the Pure Champion, chopping him into the ring. Bennett, Taven and Reynolds all put their boots up on the top turnbuckle and Uno rammed Moriarty’s face into them.

Bennett tagged in and Drake got a blind tag so that he and Moriarty could double team Bennett. Bennett responded with at Thez Press and tagged in Taven who knocked Drake into next week. Gibson tagged in and a double clothesline from him and Drake put Taven on his back. That brought in the big man, Shane Taylor.

Taylor isolated Taven in the corner so Moriarty could tag in and the GRV could stomp Taven into the ground. Taven fought back and hit a spinning heel kick on the legal Gibson, giving him the chance to get a hot tag to Bennett. Bennett stacked up Moriarty, Drake and Gibson in the corner for chops. Then he delivered spinebusters to them all and went for the pin on Moriarty, but Taylor broke it up.

Uno and Taylor ended up facing off in the ring with Uno getting the upper hand until Moriarty hit him from behind. Then Reynolds hit HIM from behind and a brawl with all 8 men broke out. The dust settled with Uno and Moriarty legal. Drake and Gibson took out Silver on the outside, drawing the dark order into a brawl at ringside. These two teams fought to the back while Taylor hit Bennett with a big elbow in the ring.

Taylor missed a running elbow and Bennett tried to take advantage, but Moriarty tagged in, rolled him up and used the ropes for leverage to get the pin!

Final Battle is tomorrow starting a 7pm with Zero Hour! Here’s the card as of now:

ROH World Championship: Chris Jericho (c ) vs Matt Cardona

ROH Women’s World Championship: Athena (c ) vs Billie Starkz

ROH Tag Team Championship Texas Bull Rope Match: The Sons of Texas (Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara) (c ) vs The Righteous (Vincent & Dutch) 

ROH World TV Championship Survival of The Fittest Match: Brian Cage (c ) vs AR Fox vs Blake Christian vs Willie Mack vs Mark Davis vs Komander

ROH Women’s World TV Championship: Red Velvet (c ) vs Leyla Hirsch

ROH Pure Championship Open Challenge: Lee Moriarty (c ) vs ????

QT Marshall vs Jay Lethal

Mansoor vs Atlantis Jr

Katsuyori Shibata vs Tommy Billington

AEW Dynamite Holiday Bash live results: Will Ospreay vs. Darby Allin

Posted on by Ryan Howard

AEW Dynamite Holiday Bash airs live tonight from Washington, DC, as the build to Worlds End continues as does the Continental Classic.

In Gold league action, Will Ospreay will face Darby Allin. Ospreay is tied with Ricochet atop the block with six points while Allin has three points.

In the Blue league, Shelton Benjamin takes on The Beast Mortos. Benjamin has three points while Mortos has been shut out to this point.

Jon Moxley’s Death Riders take on Team AEW as Moxley, PAC & Wheeler Yuta square off with Hangman Page, Orange Cassidy & Jay White.

TBS Champion Mercedes Mone puts her title on the line against Anna Jay.

Hook & Katsuyori Shibata will team up tonight against The Patriarchy’s Christian Cage & Nick Wayne.

The show will feature appearances from FTR following last weekend’s attack by the Death Riders, and MJF as he prepares to defend his Dynamite Diamond ring against Adam Cole at Worlds End.

**********

AEW Dynamite: Holiday Bash comes on the air with Excalibur welcoming us alongside Tony Schiavone & Matt Menard as we see Jon Moxley & The DeathRiders arrive, walking backstage. We then cut to Renee Paquette standing by with Orange Cassidy & Switchblade Jay White, asking about what they’re more focused on, tonight against DeathRiders or their match at World’s End? White said make no mistake, his focus is on the AEW World Title, but knows he first has to make it to World’s End, so he has to rely on people he typically wouldn’t, since he doesn’t have the Bang Bang Gang by his side. White will reluctantly rely on Cassidy, but won’t say the same for Hangman Adam Page and said they didn’t need him. Page walks in and tells White to shut his mouth, as tonight, Moxley is his. White & Page walks off bickering, as Cassidy puts on his sunglasses and walks out of frame.

Backstage comments ahead of their Continental Classic battle tonight, with Darby Allin saying tonight is showtime, as Will Ospreay said the fans are in for a treat with this dream match. Tonight is time for warfare and he’ll show Allin why he’s on another level.

Excalibur runs down the rest of the card before we head to the intros for our opening title match of the evening. We see footage of Mercedes Mone’s great NJPW Strong Women’s title defense this past weekend against Hazuki and mentions Mone defending against Mina Shirakawa at Wrestle Dynasty.

Mercedes Mone defeated Anna Jay to retain the TBS Title

(This was a good back and forth battle, but the crowd really wanted Jay to pull off the upset, myself included. Jay had lost her chance to face Mariah May for the AEW Women’s Title and now lost her TBS Title match, so I have literally no clue where she goes after this. I feel they missed a chance have one of, if not the biggest, upset in AEW with a Jay win here.)

I should point out Jay is wearing a white entrance jacket reminiscent of Mr. Brodie Lee’s Dark Order gear. Mone faked a handshake and instead slapped Jay in the face before cowering in the ropes. Jay bridges out of an early pin attempt, but missed a lariat, allowing Mone to hit the Three Amigos. Mone missed a Frog Slash, allowing Jay to hit a thrust kick and flipping neckbreaker for two. Another thrust kick in the corner, as Jay wanted the Iconoclasm, but Mone countered into a spinning backstabber for a near fall. Charging Meteroa from Mone, as dueling chants are loud from the crowd. Mone slammed Jay down by the hair and hit another Meteora off the second rope for two, as she stayed in control during break.

Mone missed a corner charge when things returned, allowing Jay to hit a Blockbuster for two. Jay connects on multiple boots in the corner and the Iconoclasm before planting Mone with a Gory Bomb, but Mone got the ropes to break the pin. Spin kick connects in the ropes, as a hanging neckbreaker follows. The crowd is on fire, as Jay locked on the Queen Slayer, as Mone bit at the arm to free herself. Jay tried to go back to it, but Mone locked in the Statement Maker. Jay used her legs to free herself, as Mone wanted the Mone Maker, but Jay repeatedly ran her into the corner. Mone recovered with a sunset bomb and double knees to the corner before hitting the Mone Maker for the win. Kris Statlander was seen watching backstage in the post-match.

-FTR are in their home in North Carolina, recovering from their attack last weekend by DeathRiders. Wheeler said they were attacked by DeathRiders over nothing, while they agree with their methods, they agree that some folks need to be open to change. However, they will refuse to stand by and watch a man possibly poisoned. They were left laying on the concrete last Saturday and Harwood said Doc Sampson won’t clear them for the rest of the year. January 1st, they will be cleared and be in Asheville at Fight for the Fallen to face DeathRiders and they won’t be alone.

MJF Addresses Adam Cole

The crowd booed MJF, who said he doesn’t care about opinions from disgusting from DC. If he cared about their opinions, he wouldn’t have joined AEW, instead joining the whack ass Washington Wizards. That even got a Wizards Suck chant from the DC crowd. MJF said if you don’t celebrate Hanukkah, the greatest holiday in the world coming up, then Santa isn’t real and he’s not sorry for that. This got a Santa chant, as MJF wants to bring up a fundraiser he started, as he used fake tears and had sad music play. MJF looks in the camera saying picture this, a small child next to you, it needs food, imagine it’s this BayBay, we get a shot of digitally super skinny and yellow Adam Cole photo on the screen and tells viewers to scan the QR Code on the screen to order World’s End. If you do that, he can put this malnourished yellow child out of his misery.

Adam Cole then is shown on the big screen and said he wants to give MJF a heads up, he had a meeting with Tony Khan. Cole said if he wants to grab the Dynamite Diamond Ring and use it before the end of the match, there will be 2 men to make sure that doesn’t happen. Matt Taven & Mike Bennett walks in and call MJF a dead man. Cole said there’s one more thing he forgot to say, is he kicking his ass yet? Cole was shown behind MJF, as it was a pre-recorded video, as he superkicked MJF, went for the Panama Sunrise, but MJF bailed.

-We go backstage to Jamie Hayter who said you can’t fight what you can’t see and calls Julia Hart a coward. Hart returned on Collision last week after Hayter was tired and said it was a sneaky move, message sent. Hayter challenged Hart to a match at Fight for the Fallen in 2 weeks.

-Commentary talks about Kenny Omega’s road to recovery and his upcoming match at Wrestle Dynasty, hoping to see him back in AEW very soon. A video package for Omega is shown with the Omega symbol appearing at the end. Excalibur said he can’t wait to see Omega’s return to AEW and came off like it was a tease for one of the Carolina shows before the Tokyo Dome.

**********

Christian Cage & Nick Wayne (w/Mother Wayne & Kip Sabian) defeated HOOK & Katsuyori Shibata

(Just your standard tag match with Wayne taking most of the match, as Cage was pretty much playing coward the whole time, dodging HOOK. I think this was a way to give The Patriarchy a win before HOOK starts running through them until finally getting his hands on Cage.)

Wayne & HOOK start things off, trading early takedowns until we get a stalemate. Shibata & Cage come in, as Cage repeatedly bailed to the ropes before nearly getting a Killswitch, but Shibata popped Cage with a shot. Multiple chops lit up Cage, who high tailed it once HOOK made the tag, as Wayne made the save, but was sent outside for his troubles. Cage was sent soon after, as HOOK & Shibata stood tall with The Patriarchy regrouping. Cage continued to play coward, as Wayne was fed to HOOK, who got REDRUM quickly. Wayne backed him in the ropes, as the refs back was turned, allowing Cage to wrench at HOOK’s injured hand in the cast, putting Wayne in control during break.

HOOK made his comeback with an overhead throw on Wayne, as he was able to make the hot tag to Shibata, who ran wild. I loved the visual of Mother Wayne losing her mind seeing her son chopped repeatedly by Shibata, who followed with his stalling dropkick. Shibata sank in the cross-arm breaker, but Wayne got the ropes. Both Wayne & Shibata trade big boots and shots until Shibata hit a STO. Cage tried to sneak in with a Killswitch, but Shibata hit a DDT. HOOK stalked Cage ringside, taking out Sabian in the process, as back in the ring, Wayne hit a high kick on Shibata, wanted Wayne’s World, but leapt right into the rear naked choke. Shibata let go to wipe out Sabian, who fell into REDRUM. Shibata hit the PK on Wayne, but Mother Wayne took the ref, allowing Cage to sneak in and hit a Killswitch on Shibata and Nick made the cover for the win. Post-match, Cage & Mother Wayne screamed at Nick to get out of the ring so they could escape before HOOK recovered.

-A video package on Chris Jericho, The King of New York, airs, with a ton of wrong facts from Jericho. He hits all the tourist spots in NYC, Times Square, seeing the folks dressed in costume, Radio City Music Hall, the ice rink and Christmas tree outside of Rockefeller Center, all while carrying his ROH World Title. He’ll be dammed if he’ll let anyone take his crown.

-Another video package on Bandido is shown, this time a highlight reel, but we’re not told when his return will officially be.

**********

-Mariah May asks why Thunder Rosa wanted to become a wrestler while she was a social worker? Was it to make her family proud? A hero is just a dreamer, who hasn’t realized they’re dreaming. May isn’t a hero, she’s spent her entire career looking after herself, which has worked out pretty well. If May was here 4 years ago, Rosa wouldn’t even be hired. May accepts the Tijuana Street Fight and tells Rosa to bring her father, she’d love to end two generations of Rosa’s in one night. May questions if failure runs in the family and she won’t bring her own father to World’s End, as she doesn’t want him to see what she’ll do to Rosa.

-Tony Schiavone welcomes Ricochet to the ring ahead of his match with Will Ospreay this Saturday on Collision. Schiavone brings up the change of demeanor recently in his last match and Ricochet said yes, but didn’t it look good on him? Before he can say anything else, The Hurt Syndicate make their way to the ring. Ricochet said they all look good and collectively look great. Ricochet asks MVP if they saw how he beat Komander & Brody King and said after tonight, maybe Shelton can have 6 points and maybe they can face each other in the Finals? Ricochet said Ospreay will show him another side of him on Collision and MVP asked to see the business card he gave him. Ricochet shows it, Lashley grabs him by the throat and MVP rips it up, saying no one likes a kiss ass. The offer is revoked, as Ricochet just slowly walks out saying he’ll talk to them later. MVP & Lashley tell Benjamin good luck, as his match is up next. I’m not going to lie, Ricochet looked like a complete goof in this segment, even though commentary said he did the right thing in backing away.

Shelton Benjamin [6] defeated The Beast Mortos [0] in the Continental Classic Blue League

(Crowd was really into this fun match, as Benjamin continues to get crowd support, regardless of being a heel. Mortos continues having strong showings, but unless he manages to play spoiler on Mark Briscoe this weekend, he’ll end with 0 points. Post-match, despite having two of the more popular babyfaces try to fight off The Hurt Syndicate, it didn’t matter, the crowd loved MVP, Lashley & Benjamin.)

MVP stuck around on commentary, which has been a loophole from managers to be able to stay close to ringside in this tournament. Benjamin hit a quick overhead throw, but Mortos responded with a head scissors. Mortos flipped out of a hip toss, wrenched at the ankle and snapped back, as he stayed in control in the corner. Mortos tried walking the ropes, but Benjamin crotched him and hit a pump knee, sending Mortos to the floor into commercial.

We return to a Mortos La Magistral for a near fall, as MVP talked about a procedure Benjamin had recently on his knee. Menard asks if that was an excuse and MVP told him to shut his mouth or he’ll shut it for him. Mortos hit a snap powerslam, as the fans do dueling chants for a two count. Mortos hit the top rope twisting senton for a close two, as Mortos wanted a spinning backbreaker, but Benjamin countered into a powerslam for the double down. Mortos sat up and we get an intense stare down until Mortos fired off multiple headbutts, but ran into a wild Benjamin thrust kick. Rolling German suplexes from Benjamin, as the crowd get more and more amped as it went on. Multiple step-up knees in the corner, as Benjamin hits the T-Bone Suplex for the win, as MVP called it The Hurt Fall.

Post-match, Lashley & MVP returned to the ring, as Lashley beat down Mortos in the corner until MVP told Benjamin to take him for a ride with more German suplexes. MVP said this is what Daniel Garcia has to look forward to on Saturday. Garcia’s music hits and the TNT Champ marches to the stage. He said he’s not stupid, he knows what will happen to him if he goes to the ring. MVP agreed, saying he’d be stupid, but Garcia doesn’t care. Mark Briscoe joins and The Hurt Syndicate still have the numbers, as MVP cracks Briscoe with his cane, as Lashley flattened Garcia with a spinebuster and Benjamin wiped out Briscoe with a thrust kick. MVP gave Benjamin the TNT Title and he held it up before draping it over the fallen Garcia. Crowd chanted We Hurt People, as despite being heels, the crowd loved The Hurt Syndicate.

**********

-Renee Paquette is backstage with Ricochet who said he doesn’t know what that all was about with The Hurt Syndicate, since they gave him a card in the first place. Ricochet it’s besides the point, as he has 6 points in the Continental Classic and this Saturday, he steps in the ring with one of the reasons he came to AEW, Will Ospreay. He didn’t come here just for Ospreay, he came to AEW to shut people up and said that’s why he’s going to have his eyes on the next match. Ricochet made a cocky sound before turning to Swerve Strickland & Prince Nana. Strickland called him turd and then Trevor, saying he hoped he would’ve changed when coming to AEW, but he’s still the same old Trevor, a follower. Ricochet said he wondered how long it would take to hear the Swerve’s House stuff and brought up Strickland failing to win the Continental Classic last year, when Ricochet will win it this year. Ricochet walks away cockily, as Nana said that’s fine, at least they aren’t bald.

-We see Toni Storm: Portrait of a Rockstar as RJ City is sitting in a hotel and Storm walks in, shaking his hand, saying it’s nice to meet him. Storm has always been about the grind on the indies, so she can’t believe she’s made it to AEW. RJ brings up Storm being a 3-time Women’s Champion and Storm said it’s a little early to be aiming that high, but maybe one day. Storm put over Saraya, Mercedes Mone & Mariah May before RJ grew frustrated and asked what about Timeless Toni Storm? Storm said it’s Toni Time and made RJ throw up the rock on devil horns before hugging him and leaving. I can’t wait to see where this continues to go, this was a hilarious segment.

Darby Allin [6] defeated Will Ospreay [6] in the Continental Classic Gold League

(This was a go out of your way match to check out, as this was arguably the match of the tournament. There’s been some great ones this Continental Classic, but this one is right up at the top. The crowd went nuts for both, as the bumps Allin take could only be done by him, they were flat out insane. I’m glad Allin got the win here, as it was the biggest singles win for Allin in a while and he’ll need more of those if he wants to build momentum to the World Title in the future.)

We immediately get Holy Sh*t chants before they even lock-up and dueling chants soon after. High springing arm-drag from Allin early, but Ospreay flipped out to his feet. Ospreay kicked out of a roll-up, but Allin sprung into a cross-body into a stalemate. Allin got a dropkick and corner charge, but as he scaled the ropes, Ospreay leveled him clear to the floor. The crowd are on their feet, as Ospreay missed a slingshot dive and Allin was there for a charging low dive. Ospreay rolled to the apron, as Allin went for a Coffin Drop, but Ospreay moved and Allin violently hit the edge of the ring as things went to break. The sound Allin’s spine made on the apron was insane.

Back from commercial, Allin has somehow recovered enough to hit a desperation springing Coffin Splash, as they trade a wild sequence of counters leading to an Allin float over stunner for the double down. Allin went up top, but again was cut off, as Ospreay hit the Cheeky Nandos kick. Ospreay up top now, rolled through the Leap of Faith, Allin tried Code Red, but Ospreay flipped him over into Hidden Blade. Ospreay wanted Storm Breaker, but Allin this time flipped into a picture-perfect Code Red for two in an unbelievable sequence.

Both slug it out with chops and forearms, as Allin wouldn’t go down, spun into La Magistral for a close two. Ospreay sprung up for an Oscutter, but Allin side stepped into a springboard Coffin Drop for two. They climb the ropes, as Allin wanted a superplex to the outside, but Ospreay held on, kicked out Allin’s legs and hit a Styles Clash from the apron onto the floor. Ospreay sold his knee and rolled in the ring, opting for the count-out, as the crowd chanted You Killed Darby. Allin broke the count at 9, but rolled right into an Oscutter for two. Ospreay wanted Storm Breaker, but Allin spun out into the Scorpion Death Drop. Allin limped to the corner up the ropes for a Coffin Drop, wanted another and hit it for the win in an amazing match.

DeathRiders make their entrance right after Allin was declared victor and they’re out for the main event, as Claudio Castagnoli stared down Allin, as they’ll face each other next in the Gold League.

**********

Jon Moxley, PAC & Wheeler Yuta (w/Marina Shafir & Claudio Castagnoli) defeated Orange Cassidy, Switchblade Jay White & Hangman Adam Page

(Big party match to close the show, as the story here was Page turned into Bad News Brown and bailed on his team when things didn’t go his way. Page was only about getting his hands on Moxley and it ultimately cost his team the match, with he & White bickering. This didn’t really make any of the challengers look like any bigger of a threat to win the title at the PPV before this show, but I liked how commentary put over how they need to get their act together if they want any shot at winning the World Title.)

Page demanded Moxley, but when he saw Yuta was starting, he opted out and it was Cassidy who slugged it out with Yuta at the start. Cassidy wiped out PAC & Yuta on a dive before Moxley met him with a thrust chop right to the throat. Moxley made the tag, wanted a Gotch Piledriver, but Cassidy escaped into Beach Break. White & Page both begged for tags, as White ultimately pulled the tag and Page made it, running wild. Page stalked Moxley, as Shafir stood in his way, allowing Yuta to attack from behind. Back inside, Page leveled Yuta with a discus lariat before sending him to the corner, demanding Moxley make the tag. White made the blind tag, which pissed Page off so much he went to the back. Moxley tried to attack from behind, White nearly got Blade Runner, but Moxley escaped and hit a piledriver into commercial, as it’s now become a 3-2 handicap match.

White managed to battle back on his own, as Cassidy is still down. PAC cut off the momentum with a spinning neckbreaker off the ropes, as he followed with sole butts before White side-stepped a dropkick and turned PAC inside out with a lariat and cutthroat suplex. Castagnoli ran brief distraction, allowing PAC to hit the bounce back German suplex. Moxley made the tag, as White flattened him with a cutthroat suplex before falling back into a Cassidy tag. Little kicks ramped up, as Moxley swung and missed lariat attempts with Cassidy spiking him with a spinning DDT. Yuta was in, blocked Stundog Millionaire into a German suplex. White back in with another cutthroat suplex on Yuta, as Cassidy hit PAC with a superplex.

Cassidy wanted the Orange Punch, but Moxley was there to dodge it into a Cutter. Hangman Adam Page sprinted back to the ring, wanted a Buckshot, but Cassidy instead hit a Orange Punch before. Yuta was in and ate a Stundog Millionaire, as it looked like Page wanted a Buckshot on Cassidy, who ducked and Yuta took the blow. PAC in, but White took him out with Blade Runner, as he & Page started arguing, as Cassidy went to join them, but Moxley stole the pin off a school boy. Commentary said they have no one to blame but themselves, as if they want any chance of winning the AEW Title at World’s End, they need to shape up.

Post-match, Page, White & Cassidy all kept arguing until DeathRiders surrounded them with chairs, so they put the arguing aside and started to fight with them all, except Moxley, who bailed with Shafir. Yuta, Castagnoli & PAC were left to get their asses kicked to end the show, as they all stared Moxley & Shafir down.

Continental Classic Gold League Standings

6 Points: Claudio Castagnoli, Will Ospreay, Ricochet, Darby Allin

3 Points: Brody King

0 Points: Komander

Continental Classic Blue League Standings

9 Points: Kyle Fletcher

7 Points: Kazuchika Okada

6 Points: Mark Briscoe, Shelton Benjamin

4 Points: Daniel Garcia

0 Points: The Beast Mortos

AEW Rampage 12/20/24

  • Brody King vs. Komander in the Continental Classic Gold League

AEW Christmas Collision 12/21/24

  • Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet in the Continental Classic Gold League
  • Daniel Garcia vs. Shelton Benjamin in the Continental Classic Blue League
  • Darby Allin vs. Claudio Castagnoli in the Continental Classic Gold League
  • Mark Briscoe vs. The Beast Mortos in the Continental Classic Blue League
  • Adam Cole & MJF Face-To-Face

AEW Dynamite 12/25/24

  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Shelton Benjamin in the Continental Classic Blue League
  • Kyle Fletcher vs. Daniel Garcia in the Continental Classic Blue League
  • Ricochet vs. Darby Allin in the Continental Classic Gold League
  • Claudio Castagnoli vs. Komander in the Continental Classic Gold League
  • Will Ospreay vs. Brody King in the Continental Classic Gold League

WWE NXT live results: Trick Williams vs. Eddy Thorpe title match

Posted on by Chris Aiken

The NXT Championship is on the line as the show heads to Lowell, Massachusetts tonight.

Trick Williams will defend his belt against Eddy Thorpe on tonight’s broadcast. Thorpe was originally scheduled to participate in the men’s Iron Survivor Challenge match at NXT Deadline, but he was replaced following an angle where he was attacked. Last week, it was revealed that Thorpe actually faked the attack so he could get a shot at Williams without having to go through the Iron Survivor match.

In Thorpe’s place, Oba Femi entered the Iron Survivor Challenge and has earned an NXT Championship at New Year’s Evil 2025. Tonight, Femi faces Axiom in singles action.

Axiom is pulling double duty on the episode. Due to a miscommunication between Axiom and Nathan Frazer, the two are defending their NXT Tag Team titles tonight against Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang).

Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson vs. Sol Ruca & Zaria is also set for the show, along with Jaida Parker vs. Wren Sinclair.

Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

The show begins with a video package retrospective looking back on past WWE shows from the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts. The past is intertwined with the present as the introductory video package shifts to the current NXT brand.

The lighting in the venue was far better in the ’90s. This was lit like an indie show, as the venue was too dark in places. But that is just my opinion, and there is some cool backlighting in the background. The ring itself seems slightly smaller than the usual 20×20.

In the opening match, a co-holder of the NXT Tag Team Championship faces one tough challenge in his first of two matches on the show. Axiom takes on Oba Femi, and later Axiom and Nathan Frazier defend the tag titles against Gallus.

Oba Femi defeated Axiom (with Nathan Frazier)

Femi pinned Axiom after a pop-up powerbomb. This was David vs. Goliath, except Goliath won this time. Plus in this version, David is pulling double duty and wrestling again later in the show.

Cat and mouse game at the start, as Axiom sticks and moves. Femi eventually snatches Axiom by his feet. Femi is manhandling Axiom, as the match goes through a commercial break.

Hope spot after the show returns from the break, as Axiom targets a leg. Femi clotheslines Axiom, and turns him inside out for a near fall. Axiom later goes for an armbar, but Femi dead lifts Axiom to easily break the hold. Femi keeps mowing down Axiom, but Axiom still fires up.

Axiom cuts down Femi with a dropkick to the knee. Femi rises again for a great sequence of exchanges. Axiom gets a near fall, and Femi powers out and goes for a powerbomb. Axiom counters with a hurricanrana for another near fall.

Axiom lands a missile dropkick, and he goes for his finisher. Femi catches Axiom like a damsel in distress, except Femi heaves Axiom aside. Femi then executes his pop-up powerbomb finisher, and Femi covers Axiom for a three count.

Sarah Schreiber interviews Eddy Thorpe in a backstage area. Thorpe boasts about fooling everyone in the angle last week that got him the title shot tonight. NXT General Manager Ava enters the scene and she scolds Thorpe for taking a shortcut, but the contract is signed so there is nothing she can do. Thorpe interjects that he just worked smarter instead of holder. After tonight, Thorpe says she can call him the champion.

In a pre-taped skit, more drama with Ashante “Thee”Adonis and Karmen Petrovic. This time it once again involves Dion Lennox. He tells Karmen to apologize to Adonis. Petrovic agrees and hugs Lennox. Adonis walks in to see them hugging, and he cuts a promo on them. Adonis storms off as the world turns, and so are the days of our lives.

Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson defeated Sol Ruca & Zaria

Legend pinned Ruca to win the match.

Before the show cuts to commercial, Zaria catches Jackson in a fireman’s carry. Ruca then uses Jackson’s body as a launching pad to jump out of the ring to the floor on Legend. Zaria then lifts Jackson with a military press and throws her outside on Jackson. With Ruca and Zarua standing tall, the show cuts to the break after a big pop from the live crowd.

After the break, heat on Ruca as Jackson & Legend work over Ruca. Hot tag Zaria, and Zaria is a house of fire. Legend distracts Zaria, and Jackson hits her with a chop block. Zaria and Legend battle to suplex each other. Near fall after Ruca springboards into a flying body press. Jackson breaks up the pinning attempt as they go home.

Ruca hits Jackson with the X-factor, only for Legend to strike down Ruca. Zaria almost collides with Ruca, but stops short. Ruca then takes a bullet for Zaria, as Ruca gets a pump kick from Legend. Jackson makes another save, and Zaria is thrown outside. Jackson follows up with a dive on Zaria. In the ring, Legend executes her Bougie Bully Drop, and Legend pins Ruca.

Jaida Parker (with OTM) defeated Wren Sinclair (with No Quarter Catch Crew)

Parker pinned Sinclair after a hip attack. OTM and the Catch Crew start brawling at ringside during the match, and they brawl their way down the aisle and through the curtain. In the match, Parker dominated at times, but Sinclair got some offense as well.

Sinclair fired up at one point, but Parker would ultimately cut her off. For the finish, Parker hits Sinclair with a back elbow, followed by a hip attack. Parker then covers Sinclair for a pinfall.

Tatum Paxley, Gigi Dolan and Shotzi all cut promos in a what is supposed to be an spooky dollhouse setting. Fatal Influence are watching on a backstage monitor. They are confronted by Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn. Fatal Influence leave as Fyre & Dawn chuckle over causing them to leave.

Every week on NXT is a video package sponsored by an insurance company. This week it highlights the history of NXT, and more specifically the rich women’s division. The package quickly chronicles the women’s title from the past to the present, concluding with a plug for Deadline.

NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazier & Axiom defeated Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang with Joe Coffey) to retain their titles

Frazier pinned Wolfgang after a Phoenix Splash and a plethora of other high spots. Axiom went into the match with his shoulder taped, which sells the match earlier tonight where Axiom lost to Oba Femi. Frazier is also wearing a face guard, after a recent injury. That seems legit and not part of the plot like Axiom selling his shoulder.

Gallus mauls Frazier & Axiom before the show cuts to a commercial break. Gallus is working over Axiom when the show returns from commercials. Hot tag to Frazier, and he is running wild at a frantic pace. Frog splash by Frazier on Coffey, and Wolfgang has to jump in to break up a pinning attempt. Soon thereafter, Axiom jumps in to break up a pinning attempt.

Later on, all four go down after a flurry of high spots. Axiom delivers a Golden Ratio to Coffey, and Frazier jumps on Wolfgang’s back. Frazier is inadvertently hit with a Golden Ratio from Axiom, in story line miscommunication. Soon thereafter, Coffey takes a Canadian Destroyer from Axiom. Wolfgang takes a poison-rana from Frazier. All four are down.

Frazier and Wolfganag are fighting with Wolfgang on the turnbuckles. Blind tag by Axiom, and he does a Spanish Fly. Axiom then dives outside on the Coffeys (Mark & Joe) at ringside. Meanwhile, Frazier leaps off the top rope into a Phoenix Splash, and Frazier covers Wolfgang for a the deciding pinfall. And still…

A wacky skit has Je’Von Evans talking with Hank Walker & Tank Ledger. Evans is hyping up Hank & Tank. A depressed Ethan Page pushing him way through them.

In a vignette, Charlie Dempsey has a training session with Lexis King. Dempsey is impressed that King kept up with him, so Dempsey agrees to grant King a title shot at the Heritage Cup.

Depressed Ethan Page sulks out and says the crowd should boo him. He deserves it, according to himself. Page goes to cut a promo where he says he brings up his daughter, son and wife. Page relates his recent failures with his desire to provide for his family. He was getting the “WHAT”chants.

The promo leads to Page spoofing a famous Shawn Michaels’ promo that was cut in the same venue. Page says he lost his smile, and he is soon interrupted by Je’Von Evans. He confronts Page in the ring, and Evans wants to see the real Ethan Page. Evans details the joy Page had for his wife and kids. Evans then talks about a smile from Page as he gives Evans a good pep talk. Evans tells him to drop the “Ego” and let the audience see the real Page.

Page is choking up as he responds to Evans. Page says he should not worry about losing his smile, but instead worry about taking Evans’s smile. Page assaults Evans, and he Pillmanizes Evans with a metal folding chair. Page puts it around Evans’ neck and jaw, and Page stomps on him. Evans sells big and spits up fake blood. This clearly sets up a grudge match.

Sarah Schreiber interview NXT Champiom Trick Williams, and Trick cuts a promo. Oba Femi comes in to say he hopes Williams does win, because Femi wants to take the title from Williams at New Year’s Evil.

Stephanie Vaquer is the focus of a video package that hypes her up.

NXT Champion Trick Williams vs. Eddy Thorpe ends with a finish, but no declared winner

Trick is over with this crowd as a babyface. In contrast, they chanted “Eddy sucks” at Thorpe.

In the match, Trick crotches himself when he missed a leg lariat. Thorpe shoves Trick off the apron as the shows cuts to a commercial break.

Back from the break and Thorpe is working over Williams. Slight botch just before a double down. Trick starts building momentum, and he uses a Rock Bottom for a two count. Thorpe fights back with kicks, and an elbow drop for a near fall.

Slugfest leads to them trading kicks. Thorpe then counters Trick to deliver a backbreaker. Trick fights back. Thorpe with another counter to set up a DDT by Thorpe, but the referee is knocked down. Trick takes the DDT, and he is down for the count. No ref to count. A second ref comes out just as Trick schoolboys Thorpe for a two count.

Thorpe with a couple of running kicks to the face. On the third attempt, Trick counters with a jumping knee strike. Trick falls on top of Page as both refs jump in to make a count. Thorpe’s foot is noticeably under the bottom rope as both refs (with one on either side) each count a pinfall. While Williams was clearly on top of Thorpe, Williams’ shoulders were also down. The foot under the rope must not have been part of he planned finish, as it did not factor in. However, the refs argue after the bell over who they declare the winner. Each counted three with a different perspective.

The refs are still bickering as Ava comes down to ringside. The cliffhanger is who won the match, as the show goes off the air without a declared winner.

WWE Raw live results: CM Punk responds to Seth Rollins

Posted on by Steve Khan

Date: December 16, 2024
Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA 

********** 

Show Recap — 

Judgment Day, Bron Breakker and Ludwig Kaiser arrived at the arena. 

There will be a medical update later on Cody Rhodes following Kevin Owens’ attack at the conclusion of Saturday Night’s Main Event. 

CM Punk and Seth Rollins segment 

CM Punk entered to kick off Raw and there was a nice wide shot to show the packed TD Garden. The crowd chanted for Punk. He told them to be careful because some people might be mad if they chant his name. He pointed out a guy wearing a New York sports jersey so the fans could boo him. 

Punk admitted he was in a bit of a bad mood. He told Seth Rollins two weeks ago that he didn’t think about him at all. Over the past two weeks, however, his mind wandered back to Rollins. It put him in a bad mood because Rollins was right. There was something going on between them and it was only a matter of time before they went at it in the ring. 

He knew that no matter what, at some point, Rollins’ stupid music would hit, and he would tip-toe out in clogs like the Purple Pieman of Porcupine Peak dressed like Liberace. And, for all the sensitive people, that wasn’t an insult because Punk thought Liberace was cool as hell. Just because Rollins wore Elton John’s shades didn’t make him Elton John. Just because Rollins grew up idolizing him, putting on a pair of wrestling boots didn’t make him CM Punk. 

Punk said it was true that he ghosted Rollins. But Punk wasn’t here to litigate the past. He looked forward to the future. Rollins painted Punk out to be the bad guy. Punk wasn’t denying he was a bad guy and had the fans give a show of hands if they were ever considered the bad guy. There weren’t bad students, only bad teachers, so Rollins was Punk’s failure. Punk wanted to try it again, so he offered to give Rollins a wrestling lesson for free. 

The last guy who went down this road was Drew McIntyre, and Rollins had to ask himself if he was tougher than McIntyre. There weren’t enough staples in the world to put Rollins back together when Punk was done with him. 

Rollins appeared in the crowd (not dressed like a clown). He wanted to see Punk from the perspective of the fans but concluded, “You’re still an asshole.” 

Punk was glad Rollins didn’t come out to his stupid song. Punk said Rollins was where he belonged, with the rest of the CM Punk fans. 

Rollins said he was not embarrassed to be with the fans. Rollins was a fan, and this was his place. Punk wanted it to die when he left, but Rollins put it on his back and made it stronger than ever. Rollins had more WrestleMania main events than Punk ever would, “And that’s a fact, Phil.” 

That was enough for Punk. They met in the crowd and exchanged fists as officials stepped in. Their pull-apart brawl continued for a while (and they exchanged a few swears) until officials were finally able to separate them. 

********

Judgment Day met backstage. Finn Bálor was miserable. Liv Morgan wondered why his mantra (“listen to Finn, and you win”) worked for her at SNME but not him. Bálor wondered where everyone was during his match. Morgan said they believed in him and didn’t think he needed help. 

Morgan suggested he focus on his tag title defence because they were all banned from ringside. Morgan said Raquel Rodriguez would win her match tonight. Rodriguez repeated his mantra and said she would win. Morgan sarcastically wished luck to Bálor and JD McDonagh. Morgan said she had something special planned, so she left with Rodriguez and Dominik. 

******** 

They aired a video of Triple H unveiling the new Raw on Netflix logo. 

Adam Pearce confronted Rollins backstage. Rollins wanted Pearce to make a match with Punk immediately. Pearce told them to stop trying to tear each other’s eyes out (perhaps a reference to Rollins’ eye-for-an-eye match against Rey Mysterio), and maybe he would be able to do his job. Pearce left. 

McIntyre approached Rollins. McIntyre reminded Rollins that he once told him to get over his issues with the Bloodline. After watching Smackdown, it was clear that Roman Reigns was still the same person and everyone involved—Sami Zayn, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso—needed to be taken out. 

Rollins laughed at him. He told McIntyre they did not have a common cause. Zayn and the Usos were his friends. He respected them, but the jury was out on McIntyre. Rollins planned on doing something McIntyre couldn’t and that was end Punk. 

******** 

Bron Breakker defeated Ludwig Kaiser to retain the Intercontinental Championship (18:12) 

They went to break 90 seconds in. Bron was in control after the break despite Kaiser’s efforts to target his shoulder. Kaiser poked Bron’s eyes and attacked his shoulder, but Bron hit a leaping clothesline over the announce table. That did further damage to Bron’s shoulder, and Kaiser targeted it again after poking him in the eye again. 

Kaiser continued on the shoulder following a second commercial break. Bron came back with a knee strike and strikes with his right arm (while still selling the left shoulder). Bron still managed to hit a leaping Frankensteiner for two. Kaiser avoided a spear and hit a Finlay Roll for two. Bron missed a tackle and went shoulder-first into the turnbuckle. 

With Bron leaning against the steel steps, Kaiser ran around the ring for a dropkick attempt, but Bron was gone. Bron ran up behind Kaiser and hit a shoulder tackle, followed by a gutbuster and super spear for the pinfall win. 

(This was fine except for all the time they spent clearly communicating spots with each other.)

********

New Day arrived backstage, and they bumped into Rey Mysterio. Rey blocked the locker room door. Xavier Woods wondered if he had a problem with them, too. Rey said it was everyone in the back. Kofi Kingston wondered if suddenly nobody had their backs after ten years of sharing the locker room. 

Kingston said Rey was supposed to be a locker room leader and suggested he do something. Rey said they crossed the line with Big E, and it was in their best interest to find somewhere else to change. Woods said they didn’t want to share a locker room with them anyway. They left. 

********

There was a Rhodes/Owens video package. This was followed with a “Did you know?” factoid stating: “All the post show videos of Saturday Night’s Main Event across all of WWE social platforms have combined for more than 45 million views!” 

It was funny seeing them celebrate this fake achievement over an image of Rhodes being stretched out with a potentially serious neck injury. 

Joe Tessitore said Rhodes’s x-rays were negative for a fracture, and he was resting at home. 

********

There was a War Raiders video package. That was good. They spoke of the severity of their injuries over videos of them recovering at the hospital. They said their injuries should have ended their careers—but it didn’t. 

Judgment Day tried to end their careers and cheated them out of the titles. The Raiders were stronger than ever. Every match could be their last, and their moment had to be now. Erik said his sons needed to know that all the pain was worth it. The only way to prove that was by bringing them the world tag team titles. 

******** 

Adam Pearce announced to Cathy Kelley that CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins will happen on Raw’s Netflix debut on January 6th, 2025.

******** 

Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley segment 

Morgan entered with Dom and Rodriguez. Dom was loudly booed before he handed things over to Morgan. She used a megaphone to announce she was the greatest Women’s World Champion ever. She said 2024 was the year of Monday Night Morgan, and they were just getting started. There were a lot of changes coming in 2025 and there was nobody better to lead this company into the future than her. 

Rhea Ripley interrupted. Morgan kept talking, so Ripley told her to shut the hell up. Ripley said this had gone on long enough, so it was time to settle it. Ripley informed Morgan that Pearce named her number one contender. 

Ripley said, “I will be the new Women’s World Champion, and all that you’ll be left with is your little chicken tender slut.” She dropped the mic and her music played. 

(They didn’t announce a date for the match.) 

********

Jackie Redmond tried interviewing Rollins. In the background, you could see McIntyre making a beeline toward Rollins, but he was suddenly attacked by Zayn. They brawled as officials tried breaking it up. (Rollins vanished.) 

******** 

Miz met with Final Testament backstage. He tried to get out of their arrangement now that they beat the Wyatt Sicks. Karrion Kross said things weren’t over between them. He was still pissed about what they did to Scarlett. Kross told Miz he would be facing Dexter Lumis next week. Miz wasn’t happy, but Paul Ellering said he owed them. Kross tried to encourage Miz by reminding him that he’s won 22 titles in his career. Miz left. 

Rezar asked if Kross thought Miz could take Lumis. Kross wasn’t sure, but he wanted to keep testing the Wyatts. He also wanted Miz to learn that you couldn’t back out of a deal with the devil. (He also gave Ellering a stern look when saying this, and Ellering looked a little concerned.) 

******** 

Tessitore congratulated Chelsea Green on winning the Women’s United States Champion. 

Women’s IC title tournament first-round triple threat match: Zoey Stark defeated Kayden Carter and  Raquel Rodriguez (9:21) 

Carter wiped out her opponents with a dive before a break, and Stark returned the favour after the break. Rodriguez set up Carter for a Tejana Bomb, but Stark dropped them with a missile dropkick. That knocked Rodriguez out of the ring, so Stark gave Carter the Z-360 for the pinfall win. 

Stark advances and will face Dakota Kai in the next round. 

This wasn’t much, and it came to a crashing end when Stark messed up her own finisher. 

*******

R-Truth met with Alpha Academy until he was confronted by Pete Dunne, who was still pissed about being called “Butch.” Truth responded, “Butch, please!” Dunne got in his face, but Otis stepped between them, so Dunne left. Truth left, too. 

Chad Gable and American Made approached Alpha Academy. Gable called them a clown show that ruined his Academy. He called them a joke, and their commercial was pathetic. He ran them all down until Otis told him to shut up. Gable said it was time to kill his darlings, and he would start with Tozawa. 

********

Redmond interviewed New Day backstage. They were still without somewhere to change, and the disrespect continued because the interview was quickly interrupted by yet another commotion. This time it was PCF taking out Kairi Sane. (They trapped her arm in a heavy equipment box.) 

******** 

A red logo flashed on the screen. It appeared to be a zero, perhaps teasing Penta. 

******** 

The War Raiders defeated Finn Bálor & JD McDonagh to win the World Tag Team Championships (16:11) 

The War Raiders were in control through an early break until McDonagh used Ivar’s beard to yank him down over the top rope as Bálor distracted the referee. Ivar responded by knocking down both men with a handspring double back elbow, which popped the crowd. Erik tagged in and was in control until Bálor tripped him from outside the ring. Bálor and McDonagh twice drove Erik into the steel steps, leading to another break. 

They worked over Erik until Ivar made the hot tag. Ivar gave Bálor a seated senton and McDonagh a cartwheel kick. Ivar gave McDonagh a world’s strongest slam off the middle rope for a nearfall. They gave McDonagh a pop-up powerslam combo, but Bálor broke up the cover. They went for War Machine, but Bálor dropped the top rope to knock Ivar out of the ring. 

Bálor gave Erik a slingblade and dropkick. McDonagh hit a moonsault, and Bálor followed with Coup de Grace, but Ivar broke up the cover. 

McDonagh distracted the referee as Bálor went for a chair, but Damian Priest suddenly appeared (in exactly the right position) to prevent him from grabbing it. Priest knocked Bálor into the barricade. 

Bálor rolled back in the ring, and Erik and Ivar gave him War Machine for the pinfall win. They got a nice pop and a big fireworks display as the show ended.

NJPW Strong Style Evolved live results: Mercedes Mone vs. Hazuki

Posted on by Corey Michaels

An NJPW Strong Women’s title defense by Mercedes Mone headlines tonight’s Strong Style Evolved.

Mone puts her title on the line against Hazuki in the main event after the challenger won a qualifying match on last month’s NJPW show in the United States. Mone has held the title since Forbidden Door this past June.

Two more title bouts are set for the show.

Gabe Kidd will defend the NJPW Strong title against Ryohei Oiwa on the show. Grizzled Young Veterans put their Strong Tag Team titles on the line against Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs of the West Coast Wrecking Crew.

AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita teams with Jack Perry against Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji of Los Ingobernables de Japon in another of tonight’s featured bouts.

Tonight’s show streams at no extra cost on NJPW World for subscribers to the company’s streaming service (monthly subscription fee applies), or as a pay-per-view on Triller. Our coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time with the pre-show.

**********

Pre-show

Zane Jay defeated Matt Vandagriff in a Strong Survivor Match

Vandagriff’s advantage in size put Jay through woe within the early goings of the match. Throughout the match, he confidently threw and slammed his opponent around as though there were nothing behind his eyes.

The tide turned when Jay slammed Vandagriff on his back with a spiteful spurt of energy. Attempts by Vandagriff would momentarily stun Jay, but it would have to take more than that to quell his spirit. After a Flying Crossbody on the outside and a Frog Splash on the inside, Vandagriff nearly got the win, with successive brutish throws meeting the same fate. Jay’s pride refused to keep him down, and he dragged Vandagriff with every iota of willpower to defeat his bully of a foe with a Boston Crab. Vandagriff tapped, marking a huge victory for Jay.

— Post-match: Vandagrifff apprehensively shook hands with Jay as he left the ring.

After witnessing the long-running story of Vandagriff’s dominance, each distanced neared by Jay grew increasingly compelling. Vandagriff would make for an interesting Bullet Club member, but I admit, I’d love to see Zane Jay as a regular in Japan.

Main Show

Mina Shirakawa defeated Johnnie Robbie

Though flashy and explosive, Shirakawa found her mettle tested by Robbie, who was determined to prove herself to her fellow Californians in Long Beach. A Figure-Four Leglock from Shirakawa entrenched Robbie through multiple layers of agony; though she reached for the rope, the sting was still there.

Attempting a Glamorous Driver, Shirakawa’s finisher was thwarted by successive Inside Cradles. However, Shirakawa squared her opponent away with a now successful Glamorous Driver onto the mat. Robbie only looked at the lights as Shirakawa gained the pinfall.

Robbie made a fan of me. That plucky babyface hoping to make a name for themselves in the midst of a more popular and flashy competitor just sucks me in.

West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs) defeated Grizzled Young Veterans (c) (James Drake & Zack Gibson) for the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship

Isaacs immediately found himself in the throes of pain by the GYV, fresh off his Bloodsport Match the previous night with Josh Barnett. Nelson fared better, but Gibson and Drake were equally as callous to him. WCWC found a stride in momentum, however, as they stayed close in proximity with each other to maintain stamina.

As GYV wrenched their opponents into gnarly holds, Isaacs found strength beyond strength to lift Drake and plummet him on top of Gibson, breaking his hold on Nelson. With Gibson restrained on the outside by Nelson, Drake hopelessly grabbed for his partners and the ropes, hoping either to be the savior. With a roll-up pinfall, Isaacs wins the gold for him and Nelson.

— Post-match: Rocky Romero came out to congratulate WCWC, and even challenged the pair at Battle in the Valley against him and YOH. WCWC replied in short by attacking Romero.

I love a hometown victory, but I expected Grizzled Young Veterans to take the win here. Perhaps that’s why this match kept me hooked. From their past wars with Dirty Work and epic matches against Motor City Machine Guns and Tanahashi & Ishii earlier in the year, their hard-fought journey paid off. Great match.

TJP defeated Clark Connors, Kosei Fujita, and Kushida

Fujita kept TJP in his paces after the bell while Connors and Kushida fought on the outside. Once finished with the Intergalactic Jet Setter, Connors contended with TJP and Fujita. Kushida and Fujita found their composures, felling their American foes while dealing with one another. An all out frenzy transpired, with each player employing their signature offense with utmost aesthetic and excitement.

Fujita wrenched back Connors, pulling as far as he could go, but almost as if to taunt him, TJP pinned Kushida just inches away. His eyes were firmly locked onto the soon disheartened Fujita as the referee counted to three. TJP stood victorious over his three competitors.

Four wrestlers of the same size but different styles morphed this match into an exciting bit of high-flying mayhem. This is one of those matches you turn your brain off for and let the players direct your attention the whole way through.

Hechicero defeated Lio Rush

Rush, more familiar with the wind soaring past his ears, met a formidable talent in Hechicero, he who controls the ground. Dodging Rush’s swift strikes as though he were the world’s quickest soothsayer, Hechicero’s strategy of letting the speedy wrestler tire himself out paid dividends. Rush, thinking outside of the box, changed his tempo and trajectory.

Stunting Rush after a flasy attempt on the ring apron, Hechicero tied, wrangled, and cranked his body on the ropes. Not to force a submission, but to leverage that pain later. Perhaps the thing that saved Rush the most in this match were his repeated bursts of adrenaline, one such that stunned Hechicero with a high-velocity flurry of strikes. Hechicero, tenacious as ever, trounced Rush with a sound El Camisa for the pinfall.

Rush is always an exciting wrestler who moves at unreal speeds, so seeing him clash with an artist like Hechicero was a treat. Hechicero’s offense clashed so well that the pair seemed as though they’ve been facing off against each other for decades. Spectacular stuff.

United Empire (Jakob Austin Young & Templario) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & Titán)

Takahashi’s frenetic energy saw Young and Temlario laid out on the floor, gaining his team the early advantage. Young, back in the ring, suffered at the hands of Titán, but managed to gain some momentum after a dropkick to a later-legal Takahashi. Outside, Templario and Titán’s acrobatic maneuvers left each other in a heap. In the ring, Templario dropped Titán with a Fireman’s Carry + Double-knee Gut Buster as Takahashi dispatched Young into the guardrails.

Takahashi, returning to the harassment of Young on the outside, failed to see Titán being folly for Templario’s comeback. After a really cool breakdancing move, Templario rose to plunge his fellow luchadore to the mat with a Powerbomb + Brainbuster combo. Takahashi could only helplessly grasp for his teammate as the referee counted to three.

LIJ are a cool group, but seeing the less prominent members of United Empire get a moment to shine put a smile on my face. Templario moves with the best of his lucha peers. To see him bring out his best while Young served as a sponge for pain made their comebacks progressivley gripping with each swing in momentum throughout the match.

Gabe Kidd (c) defeated Ryohei Oiwa for the Strong Openweight Championship

Two beefcakes collided in this title match. Kidd’s heelish tendencies contrasted with the unwavering spirit of Oiwa, as seen through the latter’s perseverence through ungodly chest slaps echoing throughout the venue. Following a series of stiff strikes, Kidd flung himself with a lariat to Oiwa, who countered with a suplex as his chest’s chop-splattered blotch glimmered pinkly under the lights.

A Schoolboy Roll-up from Oiwa teetered him close to a pinfall, but Kidd evaded it with a last-second kickout only to be rewarded by a Doctor Bomb. Before he could make any further progression, Clark Connors snuck his way to the ring, battering Oiwa with a chari. Kosei Fujita made the save for Oiwa, brawling with his opponent from earlier as they headed backstage. Despite a passionate lariat, Oiwa’s hopes were dashed by a Piledriver, punctuated by a Madman Bomb for the pinfall.

— Post-match: Kidd grabbed the microphone and besmirched the name of Kenny Omega, Daniel Bryan, and All Elite Wrestling in general before kindly departing.

Meaty men, slapping meat. Oiwa and Kidd remind me of the classic clips of Kenta Kobashi and Stan Hansen brawling it out in 90’s AJPW. For those that salivate over the signature brutal style of NJPW, I say go out of your way to watch. Kidd and Oiwa have fantastic chemistry that I hope continues in NJPW for years to come. But moreover, this match brings us closer to seeing if Kidd makes his name immortalized when competing with the impending Best Bout Machine come January.

TMDK (Bad Dude Tito, Shane Haste and Zack Sabre Jr.) defeated Dirty Work (Fred Rosser and Tom Lawlor) and Shota Umino

Tokyo Dome challengers Umino and Sabre fought to a standstill, opting to save more for later. Lawlor and Tito instead locked up, with urgent matwork ensuing. Rosser took it from there, giving Tito a run for his money. Haste’s grappling and agility served as a foil to such power. TMDK proceeded to isolate Rosser from his teammates, with Haste picking at him vulturously. One spiritual shot of adrenaline later, and he quieted the Australian’s advances with a Gut Check. Umino challenged Tito’s strength, only for Haste to once again return to sweet agony.

With Dirty Work cleaned up on the outside, each TMDK member in the match took turns hurling their bodies at Umino at the turnbuckle. Wringing the arms of Umino behind his back, victory was within Sabre’s grasp. He would’ve clutched it had Dirty Work not struggled their way to break the hold. A Tornado-DDT by Umino granted him a comeback, serving to reunite Lawlor and Tito once more. Recovering from a botched slip-and-fall on the top rope, Lawlor flew from the top onto Tito. While Rosser and Umino were concerned with Haste and Sabre on the outside, Tito plopped Lawlor soundly on the mat for a pinfall.

— Post-match: Sabre taunted Umino, goading him to strike him, as though not to play nice. Umino didn’t oblige this attempt, which seemed to be a mixture of disdain and tough love.

A fantastic preview to the Wrestle Kingdom match, this also complimented the efforts that Dirty Work has put in for the U.S. based events. To see them involved with the current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion in a match was rewarding as a fan. Tito and Rosser were fantastic together, and I want more. Admittedly, my hype died down a little after Lawlor’s scary botch, but he and Tito won me back over.

Jack Perry and Konosuke Takeshita defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji)

The dastardly pairing of Perry and Takeshita made them a menace for Tsuji and Takagi, the otherwise powerful members of Los Ingobernables de Japon. Their alliance proved contemptuous, however, as Takeshita tagged himself back into the match with a chop to Perry’s back.

Perry continued to be subject to torment inside the ring, but his partner Takeshita thrived under the powerhouse of Takagi, going so far as to land a Blue Thunderbomb. Tsuji chased Perry around inside the ring, nearly finishing him off, until the Scapegoat careened Tsuji nearly into the referee. Landing a low-blow to Tsuji, Perry ended the match with a Running Knee and a pinfall over LIJ.

— Post-match: Hiromu Takahashi made the save to Takagi and Tsuji, only for The Young Bucks to make a surprise appearance, making their claim to regain their place as the top tag team in NJPW at Wrestle Dynasty.

A fan of AEW, I’ll say that this was one of my least favorite matches on the card. Not that it was bad, but it didn’t have the oomph that earlier matches had. Perry being a target for punishment only to be a winning factor later on was humorous, and Takagi’s stand against Takeshita was incredible. Other than that, this is saved by Takagi, Tsuji, and Takeshita’s ringwork and the spectacle of what’s to come with AEW and NJPW’s eventual clash in Tokyo.

Main event

Mercedes Mone (c) defeated Hazuki for the Strong Women’s Championship

With all the glitz and bombast at her disposal combined with the love of the crowd, Hazuki’s initial momentum was stunted the more Mone found an opening. However, Hazuki’s determination brought her opening chances at victory, especially as she threw herself with multiple tope maneuvers. A desparate Mone clutched a Statement Maker onto Hazuki, who countered with one of her own.

Repeatedly throughout the match, Mone tried slapping and trading forearms with Hazuki, but each time. Mone tried to borrow from her hero Eddie Guerrero with a Frog Splash to no avail and to her hearbreak. Hazuki held onto a Statement Maker for a prolonged period, nearly causing Mone to tap (and I could’ve sworn she almost did). Mone flung Hazuki with a Sunset Flip, then blasted her with a Meteora, which bore no fruit. A Diving Codebreaker by Hazuki brought her a deep pin, broken miliseconds away from the third count.

A series of consecutive Backstabbers and a Mone Maker nearly eked out a victory for her, but at the last second, Hazuki rasied her leg to the bottom rope in just enough time to break the pin and the one after. Red-faced and distraught beyond human capacity, Mone readied another Money Maker only to be countered with a roll-up. Money tried it once more, and finally grabbed victory with a pinfall.

— Post-match: Mone beckoned anyone willing to step up to her to face her at Wrestle Dynasty. Mina Shirakawa answered that call, throwing her proverbial hat in the ring.

I honestly thought Hechicero vs Lio Rush would’ve been my match of the night, but this blew every other match out of the water, and most of the matches were already incredible. This match simultaneously reminded me of Hazuki’s battle with Hana Kimura at the 2019 5 Star GP and Mercedes Mone’s wars with Bayley at the early NXT Takeover events. I’m so glad to see Mercedes back in top-form after her Kris Statlander match at Full Gear and to have everyone see why Hazuki is as special as she is.

WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event live results: Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens

Posted on by Marc Quill

For the first time since 2008, WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event will return, back on its original home of NBC and emanating from Uniondale, New York — the site of the very first episode of the show.

The two-hour show will be full of nostalgia from the original theme song to Jesse Ventura returning to what Ventura described as a stripped-down stage and entrances reminiscent of the 1980s.

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes will defend his title against heated rival and former champion Kevin Owens while in a three-way for the WWE World Heavyweight title, Gunther will defend against two former champions in Damian Priest and Finn Balor.

WWE Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan defends against IYO Sky while the inaugural Women’s United States Champion will be crowned between Chelsea Green and Michin.

The main card is rounded out by Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre in the latter’s first match since October’s Hell in a Cell.

**********

– After the WWE signature open, an overhead shot of New York City and the voice of Raw’s Joe Tessitore welcomed us to tonight’s show. We then headed into the cold open, followed by the iconic intro set to Animotion’s “Obsession”.

– Jesse “The Body” Ventura joined Tessitore at the broadcast position to loud cheers from the Uniondale, NY crowd. Ventura and Tessitore talked about Cody Rhodes vs. Kevin Owens, with Ventura talking trash about Rhodes as only he could. They tossed things over to Michael Cole at ringside, as Pat McAfee joined the commentary team.

Drew McIntyre def. Sami Zayn

Zayn went after McIntyre right away as the bell rang, but got taken down with a chop. Zayn recovered and hit McIntyre with bunches of punches in the corner, followed by a clothesline. On the apron, Zayn hit a modified springboard moonsault on McIntyre.

On the other end of the ring, Zayn attempted for a vaulting press to the outside, but got caught by McIntyre, who splayed him on the announce table, which took us to the first break of the night at 8:13pm.

We returned to Saturday Night’s Main Event with McIntyre throwing Zayn for an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. That got a count of two. Zayn avoided calamity by dodging an attempted shoulder charge from McIntyre, which sent the Scot to the ringpost.

McIntyre tried for an Avalanche White Noise, but got flipped for a Sunset Flip Powerbomb by Zayn for another near fall. Zayn’s attempt at a Blue Thunder Bomb was blocked by McIntyre, who cracked him with the Glasgow Kiss headbutt.

McIntyre had Zayn in his sights for the Claymore, but he was intercepted for the Blue Thunder Bomb for yet another near-fall. As McIntyre rolled out to avoid a Helluva Kick, Zayn chased him to the outside, only to be met by a surprise Claymore Kick for the clean three.

A heck of a opener for tonight’s show. Zayn and McIntyre have fantastic chemistry and I enjoyed the intensity shown throughout the bout.

**********

– Tito Santana, Rich Hering, and Jimmy Hart were shown in the crowd enjoying the show.

Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan (c) def. IYO SKY

Fast and furious action between SKY and Morgan to start off as the action headed to the apron. Morgan attempted for a powerbomb to the outside, but was blocked by SKY. Apron-based moonsault from SKY to Morgan took us to the break.

We returned with SKY and Morgan at a standstill, with the challenger gaining momentum. SKY ran across the ring and landed a suicide dive to the outside on Morgan. Double-footed springboard dropkick by SKY got a near fall.

Morgan avoided SKY’s Bullet Train and hit her foe with a backstabber. SKY, however, regained the advantage with three consecutive roll-through German suplexes. Morgan managed to kick out at two.

Enzuigiri from Morgan is met by a crossface from SKY that is easily escaped out of. Morgan, however, failed to escape another Bullet Train from SKY.

Moonsault by SKY is blocked by double feet from Morgan. Ob-Liv-ion from Morgan put an end to this title defense.

Post-match, Morgan’s victory celebration was interrupted by Rhea Ripley, who stared down the Women’s World Champion at the top of the ramp.

A by the numbers match with a by the numbers result that still managed to be entertaining. Hopefully, 2025 means bigger things for IYO SKY, who’s a joy to watch in the ring.

**********

World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat Match: Gunther (c) def. Finn Balor & Damian Priest

We started off with Gunther and Priest teeing off on Balor for a bit before the latter took over with a dive to the outside that stunned Gunther and led to a break in the action.

The action picked up from the break with Priest and Balor duking it out in the ring before Gunther floored both men with dual big boots to the face. Priest felt the wrath of the Boston Crab from Gunther before Balor chopped the World Champion to break things up. Pele kick by Balor to Gunther is followed by a double clothesline to both men by Priest.

Priest fired away with hard chops of his own to Gunther as he then teed off on Balor afterwards. With Gunther and Balor on opposite corners, Priest laid into both his opponents easily. He ascended the top rope with Gunther in hand and hit his own twist on the Undertaker’s Old School maneuver. Priest had Balor in position for the Razor’s Edge, but Gunther stopped it and looked to hit the Powerbomb. Balor took down both Priest and Gunther with consecutive Slingblades as a sleeper hold attempt was inadvertently turned into a pin by a superkick from Priest to Balor.

Gunther locked in the sleeper on Priest and looked to have him out, but the challenger powered out of it and landed South of Heaven. Balor snuck in with a neckbreaker on Priest, followed by the shotgun dropkick. Up top, Balor’s attempt at a Coup De Grace is stopped by Gunther, who looked to hit a superplex. Priest caught Gunther with a Razor’s Edge, as Balor hit a Coup De Grace on the champion. Priest managed to break it up at the last second.

South of Heaven to Balor by Priest, but the pin is interrupted by Gunther. Powerbomb to the steel steps to Priest by Gunther is followed by the Powerbomb to Balor in the ring and that’s it, over. Gunther retains.

A hell of a triple threat match with high stakes, and Gunther scoring the clean victory over two competitors certainly helps with building his credibility as a champion moving forward. A highlight of the night so far.

**********

– We went back to Ventura and Tessitore for their thoughts on the matches that we’ve seen so far on tonight’s edition of SNME before they sent things back to ringside.

Women’s United States Championship Finals: Chelsea Green vs. Michin

Missed kicks from both Michin and Green to start off as both women traded arm drags before Green threw her opponent to the outside. On the apron, Michin applied a modified submission using the middle rope as leverage. With the referee distracted, Piper Niven slammed Michin outside the ring, as we headed for a break in the action.

As we returned, Michin countered Green’s attempt at a Rough Ryder with a powerbomb. She followed that up with a release German suplex and then a tornado DDT. Green kicked out at two following that barrage from Michin. Green managed to connect with the Rough Ryder on Michin, but that only got two. Attempt at a spear is avoided by Michin, which caused Green to crash into Piper Niven.

Outside the ring, Michin took Niven out of the equation with Eat Defeat. In the ring, Michin managed to hit Eat Defeat on Green, but a well-timed foot on the bottom rope saved the match for the precocious Canadian. Michin was momentarily distracted by Niven, who got a dropkick for her troubles. On the corner, Green hit an amazing counter on Michin that led to the Un-Pretty-Her and the one, two, three that secured her the Women’s United States Championship.

A memorable finish led to a memorable moment for Chelsea Green, whose 2024 ends on a high with this Women’s U.S. Title victory. It’s a heck of a moment and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer star. Props to both Green and Michin for that incredible finishing sequence, too. Just a great way to end this match.

**********

– Koko B. Ware & Greg “The Hammer Valentine” were shown in the crowd as we saw Jesse Ventura join Cole and McAfee for commentary on our upcoming main event. After a “Pat-a-strator” gimmick, we got a hype video for the Undisputed WWE Championship main event match.

Undisputed WWE World Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) def. Kevin Owens

Owens entered to the ring wearing a t-shirt with his face taped over Dusty Rhodes, while Cody made his entrance with the Winged Eagle WWE Championship around his waist, which was teased a few days earlier in a YouTube video.

As the bell rang, Owens rolled out the ring and took his time while taking a gander at the Winged Eagle championship at ringside. Rhodes headed outside and proceeded to go on the attack against Owens, as he slammed him into the commentary table. Dive to the outside by Rhodes to Owens led to an awkward landing on the injured ankle of the Undisputed WWE Champion.

Owens regained the advantage by throwing Rhodes into the ring post, then doing a Randy Orton-style backbreaker on the commentary table, which led to a picture-in-picture break, but not before Owens said a sarcastic “Hi, Randy” to the camera.

During picture-in-picture, Owens targeted Rhodes’ injured ankle in the ring to maintain control of the match. As the match returned to live action, Owens, landed the swanton bomb on Rhodes for the two. Owens decided to rub salt in the wound by mocking Dusty Rhodes’ signature punches, but he got met with Rhodes hitting his father’s punches instead.

Disaster Kick by Rhodes on Owens got him a near-fall. The WWE Champion looked for a Cody Cutter, but Owens rolled to the outside. A superkick from Owens was followed by the challenger clearing the announce table., Rhodes paid homage to Randy Orton iwth an RKO outta nowhere on Owens right on the table. Inside the ring, Rhodes had Owens in his sights for the Cody Cutter. One, two, no!

Rhodes placed Owens up top and had him set up for a high-risk superplex attempt. Owens fought out of it and landed an avalanche fisherman’s buster on Rhodes, but the champion kicked out at two. Stunner attempt by Rhodes is met with a Cross Rhodes, but Owens countered and pushed him right into the referee!

Stunner by Owens, but the referee was still down. A second referee ran in to make the count, but Rhodes kicked out at two. Pop-up Powerbomb was blocked by Rhodes, and the second referee found himself knocked out by an errant dive from Rhodes. Owens rolled to the outside and looked to grab a streel chair. He took a swing with the chair, but Rhodes dodged it and hit a Cody Cutter. Cross Rhodes onto the chair by the Undisputed WWE Champion as Rhodes hid the evidence. The cover, and that’s it, over. Cody Rhodes retains in the main event of Saturday Night’s Main Event.

A very fun way to cap off what has been a great evening of action on Saturday Night’s Main Event. The finish with the referee bumps and the chair should naturally lead to a third match down the line with Owens perhaps having a claim due to the murky way the match wrapped.

All in all, a solid night of wrestling for WWE’s return to NBC on Saturday Nights. While the results for four out of the five matches were never in doubt, the in-ring action was excellent and there was never a dull moment throughout. How things shape up for the next SNME in San Antonio next month should be quite interesting, but for now, I had a good time with this inaugural edition of the SNME revival.

AEW Collision Winter is Coming live results: Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe

Posted on by Suit Williams

Winter is Coming for AEW Collision.

This year’s edition will see the continuation of the Continental Classic. In Blue league matches, Kyle Fletcher will take on Mark Briscoe, and Kazuchika Okada will meet The Beast Mortos. They will look to change the trajectory of the league as Fletcher currently is far ahead with 9 points.

A Tag Team title eliminator is also set as Top Flight will face Action Andretti & Lio Rush with the winners earning a future shot against titleholders Private Party.

Willow Nightingale will take on Jamie Hayter to finalize the AEW representative in the Wrestle Dynasty International Women’s Cup.

A ten-man tag team match will see Orange Cassidy, The Outrunners, Komander and Daniel Garcia take on MxM Collection and Premier Athletes.

Other action includes Kris Statlander vs. Tootie Lynn, and Toni Storm vs. Shazza McKenzie. Storm made her return on Dynamite and wrestled on Friday’s Rampage where she defeated Harley Cameron in her first AEW match since August’s All In.

The show will begin after NBA coverage on TNT.

**********

This week’s Collision comes to us live (to tape) from the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, Missouri. I was in this building for the Dynasty PPV back in April. I was not in the building for this show. Anyway, Tony Schiovane & Nigel McGuinness are on the call as always.

Collision began with a recap of Will Ospreay’s defeat of Claudio Castagnoli, and Darby Allin making sure Castagnoli couldn’t continue his post-match attack. Backstage at Dynamite, Ospreay thanked Allin for his help. Allin had a bad feeling that the Death Riders were going to hurt someone else the same way they hurt Bryan Danielson and Chuck Taylor, and asked for Ospreay’s help. Ospreay said that he had to get his momentum back after losing at two straignt PPVs and was too busy to help. Allin warned that there may not be a Continental Classic when the Death Riders were done with AEW, so Ospreay promised to help Allin after the tournament if he needed someone in the foxhole with him.

We got promos from all four men in Continental Classic action tonight before the announcers ran down the card for tonight. Well, we got grunts from Mortos.

International Women’s Cup Qualifier Tournament Final Match – Willow Nightingale defeated Jamie Hayter

This was a very good match with two of AEW’s most popular women. Nightingale is a great representative for AEW at the Tokyo Dome, and her winning a big International tournament could get her back into the orbit of Mercedes Mone in the new year. Meanwhile, Hayter has a chance to bounce back quickly with Julia Hart returning. I enjoy Hayter attracting all of the long injured women on the AEW roster who seem to be upset that she got back before them.

The winner of this match will join ROH’s Athena, CMLL’s Persephone, and the yet-to-be-determined Stardom participant in the four-way International Women’s Cup final at New Japan’s Wrestle Dynasty event on January 5th.

The two traded shoulder block attempts before Nightingale won the exchange. The two traded flash pins before engaging in a chop battle. Hayter took Nightingale down with a DDT on the apron before the lights flashed off. They came back quickly, allowing Nightingale to come back with a cannonball off the apron.

After the commercial, Hayter came back with a superplex and a running knee for a nearfall. Hayter hit an ushigoroshi and a sliding lariat for a nearfall, channeling the spirit of NEVER Openweight Champions ahead of Wrestle Dynasty. The two hammered each other with lariats before taking each other down with big boots. Nightingale came back with Abyss’s old Shock Treatment move before hitting a Lionsault for a nearfall.

Nightingale went up for a moonsault, but Hayter snatched on a waistlock and hit a German suplex. Nightingale avoided a Hayterade and hit a Pounce, but Hayter slipped out of the Doctor Bomb to hit a big backbreaker. Nightingale ducked another Hayterade and hit the Babe With The Powerbomb to score the win and the Tokyo Dome spot.

The two women shook hands before Nightingale headed off. The lights went out again, and when they came up this time, Julia Hart dropped Hayter with a DDT. Tony Schiavone noted that this was the building where Hart had her last match before going away.

We got words from Brody King & Claudio Castagnoli after their Continental Classic losses on Wednesday’s Dynamite. King called Ricochet a coward for winning with the help of an exposed turnbuckle.

Continental Classic 2024 Blue League Match – Kazuchika Okada [7] defeated The Beast Mortos [0]

A very good match with two guys you wouldn’t have expected to be on the same roster page this time last year. Okada is currently in second place in the block with one match to go, so he’ll need some help to get through. Meanwhile, Beast Mortos is officially eliminated, as he cannot get to 7 points and reach second place.

Okada poked Mortos in the eyes and pulled his hair like a territory heel before Mortos came back with a shoulder block. Mortos went for a monkey flip, but Okada dumped Mortos over the top rope to the floor. Okada dumped Mortos back into the ring, but Mortos charged back with a spinning dive back to the floor. Mortos got greedy and went for a cannonball into the stairs, but Okada moved out of the way. Okada laid out Mortos with a DDT and blew a kiss to his Continental Title before we went to a commercial.

Mortos made his comeback when we came back from the break. Mortos hit a pair of tilt-a-whirl backbreakers before hitting the Bane-style backbreaker for a nearfall. Okada came back with a flapjack before locking on the MONEY CLIP~! It’s the damn Money Clip! Somehow, Mortos escaped the dreaded Money Clip before laying both Okada and himself out with a headbutt.

Okada came back with the big neckbreaker before landing the big elbow drop. After the middle finger pose, Okada and Mortos ducked each other’s lariats before Mortos caught Okada with one. Mortos hit a pop-up Samoan Drop for a nearfall. Okada hit his big dropkick, but Mortos immediately sat up. Okada hit a spinning lariat before landing the Rainmaker for the win and 3 points.

We got a video package highlighting Technicolor Toni Storm’s return to Dynamite before her match tonight.

Toni Storm defeated Shazza McKenzie

My hope was that Timeless Toni was a thing of the past, but Cactus Jack seems to be lost in Cleveland. (Google it, kids.)

Storm hit the hip attack and the Storm Zero for a quick win. After the match, Storm grabbed the mic. She never thought she would see the day, but she is officially All Elite. Alrighty then.

We got a recap of Mariah May beating Mina Shirakawa to retain her Women’s Title on Dynamite. Cameras caught up with May backstage after the match. May didn’t care that Toni Storm was back and promised to bury any woman who came after her title, including telling Thunder Rosa to name a time and place.

Thunder Rosa was backstage with Tony Schiavone. Rosa knew that she was a champion in her heart before Toni Storm entered the frame. She introduced herself to both of them before leaving. Rosa got back to business, naming the time and place to Mariah May. She challenged May to a Tijuana Street Fight for the Women’s Title at Worlds End.

#1 Contender Match for AEW World Tag Team Titles – Action Andretti & Lio Rush defeated Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) (w/Leila Grey)

A good match with four guys I’ve been wanting to see highlighted more in the tag division, and a solid conclusion to this TV angle. Andretti and Rush are a good team of jerks, and I believe Rush has the promo ability to get the team over.

Tag Champs Private Party told these two teams to fight it out, and the winner would get a future title shot.

Dante caught Rush in a pinning predicament to start the match. Darius and Andretti tagged in and fought to a stalemate. All four men ended up in the ring before Andretti and Rush hit dual handsprings to send Top Flight to the floor.

After the break, Dante fought to his corner to make the tag to Darius. Darius ran wild on both men, vaulting his brother over both himself and Rush to hit a tornado DDT off of Dante’s chest. Rush and Andretti came back with a flurry of strikes and a double Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. They played misdirection on Dante to take him down with a lariat.

We got a dive train that ended in Rush diving into Dante and Leila Grey on the floor. Both Martins went to check on Grey, allowing Rush and Andretti to jump them. Rush hit the Final Hour frog splash, and Andretti followed up with the springboard 450 splash to score the win and the future tag team title match.

We got a recap of the promo from last week’s Dynamite between Mercedes Mone & Anna Jay ahead of their TBS Title match on this week’s Dynamite.

Kris Statlander defeated Tootie Lynn

St. Louis chanted for the hometown woman Lynn, but Statlander got the crowd on her side with a loooooong delayed vertical suplex. Statlander hammered Lynn with a lariat and hit the Staturday Night Fever for the win in her return to television.

We got a snippet of a Dustin Rhodes promo hyping the Double Bullrope match at Final Battle, where he and Sammy Guevara will defend the ROH World Tag Team Titles against The Righteous. Rhodes warned the Righteous about what would happen for saying his father’s name.

FTR narrated a video package hyping the Fight For The Fallen event on January 1st, with proceeds from the show to be donated to charity efforts in the Carolinas after the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.

The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd), Daniel Garcia, Komander & Orange Cassidy (w/Alex Abrahantes) defeated The Varsity Athletes (Ari Daivari, Josh Woods & Tony Nese) & MxM Collection (Mansoor & Mason Madden) (w/Mark Sterling)

This was a ton of fun. We need more babyface armies running wild in big tag matches like this, as the crowd was red hot for the closing stretch.

Matt Menard joined commentary. Woods and Garcia, two former ROH Pure Champions, started the match. Cassidy hit a Stundog Millionaire on Nese before Komander vaulted off of his back to hit a rana on another Athlete. Madden distracted Komander on the top rope before MxM got the heat on him to take us to the commercial break.

We came back to the Athletes clearing the ring before they got dragged to the floor. Sterling cut off a Komander dive, allowing the rare quintuple-team manuever from the Athletes and MxM for a nearfall. A Pier Six brawl broke out before Cassidy and Garcia ran wild. Komander hit the rope walk dive, tagging in Cassidy on the way across. Cassidy laid out Sterling and Woods with Orange Punches for the win.

Don Callis was backstage, unhappy at the results from Rampage where Powerhouse Hobbs got the win in a tag team match and laid out Konosuke Takeshita after the match. Callis confirmed that Hobbs vs. Takeshita for the International Title was set for Worlds End and promised that Kyle Fletcher would punch his ticket to Worlds End tonight after he beat Mark Briscoe in the main event.

Continental Classic 2024 Blue League Match – Mark Briscoe [6] defeated Kyle Fletcher [9]

An excellent match, as Fletcher has separated himself from the pack as tournament MVP so far. The build to the finish was fantastic, as Briscoe survived all of the tactics Fletcher used to get his points thus far and got the win in the closing seconds of the time limit. My match of the tournament so far, and an excellent example of round-robin tournament wrestling.

This Saturday night’s main event is an important match in the Blue League, as a win here would guarantee Fletcher a spot in the playoffs at Worlds End.

Don Callis joined commentary to praise his charge Fletcher. Fletcher got in the faces of the people in the front row before dropping Briscoe with a shoulder block. Fletcher worked on Briscoe for a while until Briscoe fired up with some strikes. Briscoe pulled Fletcher to the floor before hitting a tumbleweed dive to the floor. Briscoe rolled Fletcher into the ring, where he came back with a leg lariat. They do-si-do’ed on the apron before Briscoe hit a blockbuster and a Cactus Jack elbow off the apron.

Briscoe pinballed Fletcher around ringside before Fletcher backdropped his way free of a Jay Driller attempt. Fletcher dropped Briscoe over the barricade, then cannonballed onto Briscoe over the barricade. Briscoe came back with a chop before superplexing Fletcher off the barricade to the floor.

After a commercial break, Fletcher kept Briscoe down before Briscoe came back with strikes. Briscoe hit an exploder suplex and a Fisherman Buster for a nearfall. Fletcher hit a half-and-half suplex, but Briscoe fired out with a lariat and a Death Valley Driver. Fletcher cut off the Froggy Bow, but Briscoe knocked him off the top rope. Fletcher got the knees up on the Froggy Bow, but Briscoe moved out of the way of an elbow drop.

Fletcher avoided a Jay Driller and hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Briscoe fought out of a Last Ride powerbomb but took two big boots in response. Briscoe hit a big chop and went for the Cut Throat Driver, but Fletcher clawed at Briscoe’s eyes and rolled up Briscoe with his feet on the ropes. The referee caught him, but Fletcher countered another Jay Driller attempt with a Brainbuster for a nearfall. The announcers noted that Fletcher used those methods to score two of his wins in this tournament.

Briscoe fought out of the top rope Brainbuster, and Briscoe hit the Cut Throat Driver. Briscoe couldn’t make the cover as Fletcher rolled away to the floor. Briscoe hit a Froggy Bow to the floor and followed with a Froggy Bow in the ring for a nearfall. The one-minute call was made, and both men went for flash pins. Fletcher shoved Briscoe into the referee and tried a low blow, but Briscoe caught the leg and hit the Jay Driller to score the win.

The announcers had noted that on Dynamite, FTR had challenged the Death Riders to face them tonight on Collision. Both teams had been in the building all night, and it was here where we cut to the Death Riders in the back with a camera. Wheeler Yuta manned the camera as Moxley, Castagnoli, and PAC jumped FTR as they were leaving the building. Well, they stuck bags over their heads and dragged them outside before we heard sounds of guys getting beat up.

(This felt completely divorced from the show, and the tone of it felt off for the World Championship act. I get that they’re building to the Death Riders vs. FTR in some form for the January 1st show, but these past few weeks have been an odd way to get there.)

UFC on ESPN 63 live results: Colby Covington vs. Joaquin Buckley

Posted on by Ryan Frederick

It’s the final UFC event of 2024 as the Octagon visits Tampa, Florid, for the first time in five years for UFC on ESPN 63 at the Amalie Arena.

The main event will be five rounds of welterweight action as Colby Covington returns on short notice after a year-long layoff against rising contender Joaquin Buckley. Covington hasn’t fought since a decision loss to Leon Edwards in a title fight last December, while Buckley is looking to score his sixth straight win.

The co-main event is an exciting featherweight matchup as Cub Swanson looks to keep his career going with another win as he battles Billy Quarantillo.

Also on the main card is a battle of ranked flyweights as Manel Kape takes on Bruno Silva; a light heavyweight fight putting Vitor Petrino against Dustin Jacoby; and a bantamweight bout between knockout artist Adrian Yanez and undefeated Daniel Marcos.

ESPN NEWS PRELIMS | 7 PM ET/4 PM PT

> Women’s Strawweights- Josefine Knutsson (8-0, 2-0 UFC) vs. Piera Rodriguez (9-2, 2-2 UFC)

Rodriguez connects with a pair of right hands that hurt Knutsson and she gets it down briefly before they stand and clinch against the fence. Knutsson now pressuring Rodriguez against the fence. Rodriguez gets a takedown but they get up and Knutsson lands a knee. They have a quick exchange and Rodriguez scores another takedown. They get up and Knutsson lands a combination as they separate. They trade and Rodriguez lands a head kick. Rodriguez with a knee and gets another takedown. Knutsson lands some elbows from the bottom that open a cut on Rodriguez. Rodriguez gets to side control. Rodriguez lands some big elbows from the top. 10-9 Rodriguez.

They have a quick exchange and Rodriguez lands a calf kick. Rodriguez lands and scores a takedown. They pop back up and trade, but Rodriguez scores another takedown and works inside the guard of Knutsson landing punches. Rodriguez gets the mount but Knutsson is able to force a scramble up and she pushes it to the fence. Rodriguez grabs the leg and works for a takedown. Knutsson lands an elbow. Rodriguez gets it back down to end the round. 10-9 Rodriguez, 20-18 Rodriguez.

Knutsson lands a right hand. Knutsson with a teet kick to the body. Rodriguez scores a takedown and Knutsson has the neck. Rodriguez landing to the body as Knutsson is holding the neck but doesn’t have a choke fully in. Rodriguez gets her neck out and is landing from the half-guard. Rodriguez lands an elbow then some right hands from the top. Rodriguez still working from the top as she is landing with Knutsson pinned down. Rodriguez gets the full mount and lands. Rodriguez lands from the top to end it. 10-9 Rodriguez, 30-27 Rodriguez.

Official Result- Piera Rodriguez def. Josefine Knutsson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Bantamweights- Davey Grant (13-7, 6-6 UFC) vs. Ramon Tavares (10-2, 1-0 UFC)

Grant with an inside leg kick then two more leg kicks. Grant lands some more leg kicks as Tavares lands a counter left hand. Grant lands a right hand then a high kick. Grant lands to the body. Grant with a pair of body kicks then a right hand. They trade inside the pocket. Grant lands a body kick. Grant lands a big right hand as they trade in close range, then a low blow is landed by Grant and we have a timeout. They get back going and trade punches. Grant with a high kick. Grant lands a leg kick. Tavares pressing forward. Grant with a stiff right hand. 10-9 Grant.

Grant lands a series of kicks then a right hand. They trade in close range. Tavares drops Grant with a right hand but lets Grant up. Tavares pressing forward. Grant lands several kicks all over. Grant lands a body kick and a body combo. Grant just misses a spin kick and it allows Tavares to land a couple of punches. Grant lands to the body. Grant lands a few right hands. Grant with a good combination. They trade punches and Grant with a combo. Tavares with a right hand. Grant landing more. Grant with a body kick. 10-9 Grant, 20-18 Grant.

They trade to start the third. Grant with a leg kick as Tavares lands to the body. Grant lands a big combination. Grant with a body kick then lands a punch combo. Grant lands a right hand. Grant lands to the body and follows with a jab. Grant with a combo against the fence and comes back with leg kicks. Grant wobbles Tavares with a right hand. Grant lands a leg kick. Grant with a right hand as he continues to pour on the volume. Grant with a big right hand then a leg kick. Tavares lands and they start trading in a quick wild exchange. They trade at the end. 10-9 Grant, 30-27 Grant.

Official Result- Davey Grant def. Ramon Tavares by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

> Women’s Flyweights- Miranda Maverick (14-5, 7-3 UFC) vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth (7-1, 2-1 UFC)

They trade kicks. They trade punches as Maverick lands a left hand. Maverick lands a left hand. Maverick with a leg kick. Maverick grabs a leg and pushes it to the fence. Maverick has the body lock. Maverick pressuring for the takedown. Horth defending with some punches. Maverick still working to get the takedown. Maverick gets it to the mat but they scramble up. Maverick lands a knee on the way up. Maverick pressuring against the fence. 10-9 Maverick.

Horth throws a kick and Maverick grabs the leg, pushing it to the fence. Horth defends with an elbow. Maverick with pressure against the fence. Horth is able to get the back of Maverick but there isn’t much action happening. Horth jumps on the back. Horth drops back and they go to the mat with Horth on the back. Horth lands some body shots. Horth looks for a choke but it’s more of a crank right now. Maverick gets out and scrambles up, then scores a takedown. Horth is able to get into the guard of Maverick. Horth landing as they get to their feet as she has body control. 10-9 Horth, 19-19.

They’re feeling each other out to start the third. Maverick lands a left hand. They trade leg kicks. Maverick lands a left hand. Horth lands and Maverick counters into a takedown. Maverick lands to the body as Horth lands a couple of elbows. Maverick lands from the top as Horth is looking to scramble out from the bottom. Horth looks for a leg and Maverick lands a hammerfist. Maverick with a few more hammerfists. They get to their feet and Maverick lands some clean left hands. 10-9 Maverick, 29-28 Maverick.

Official Result- Miranda Maverick def. Jamey-Lyn Horth by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

> Featherweights- Miles Johns (15-2 1 NC, 6-2 1 NC UFC) vs. Felipe Lima (13-1, 1-0 UFC)

Lima with a leg kick. Johns lands a right hand. Lima with a body kick. Lima lands a jumping knee after Johns stumbles. Johns looks for a takedown against the fence. They separate. Johns is hurt briefly after a clash of heads. Johns lands a combination. Lima with a leg kick. Lima with a spin kick. They trade jabs. Lima lands a right hand. They trade inside the pocket. 10-9 Lima.

Lima lands as he switches position. Johns with a leg kick and Lima lands a counter leg kick. They trade in close range. Lima lands a big right hand. Lima with a jab. Lima with the jab again as Johns nods his head. Lima scores a takedown. Lima looked for a choke but Johns is able to squirrel his way out. They separate and Lima lands an uppercut. Lima with a snapping jab. Lima with a right hand and jumping head kick. Johns stumbles Lima with a right hand. Lima lands a left hand and a body kick. Johns with a right hand. 10-9 Lima, 20-18 Lima.

Lima lands a body kick. Johns lands a jab. Johns with a leg kick. Johns lands a combo. Lima jumps on the back. Lima drags it down to the mat. Lima looking for a choke. Johns is able to escape and they get to their feet. Johns jumps on the back but Lima is able to shake him to the ground. They get up and Johns throws but Lima looks for the takedown. They go to the mat with Lima on the back but Johns spins to the top and lands. They get to their feet and separate. 10-9 Lima, 30-27 Lima.

Official Result- Felipe Lima def. Miles Johns by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Featherweights- Sean Woodson (12-1-1, 6-1-1 UFC) vs. Fernando Padilla (16-5, 2-1 UFC)

Padilla lands some punches and a knee but slips to the mat and it allows Woodson to get on top. They scramble and Padilla looked for a side triangle choke but they end up back on the feet. Padilla lands as Woodson is against the fence. Woodson lands a combo. Padilla lands a combination. Woodson lands a right hand and Padilla goes down, but he gets right up. Woodson lands and Padilla again, but gets right up. Padilla lands a knee against the fence. Woodson with a combination. Woodson with a left hand. Padilla lands a right hand. Woodson with a big right hand and he drops Padilla and ends it with a follow-up shot from the top. Big finish from Woodson!

Official Result- Sean Woodson def. Fernando Padilla by TKO (punches) at 4:58 of Round 1

> Lightweights- Joel Alvarez (21-3, 6-2 UFC) vs. Drakkar Klose (15-2-1, 9-2 UFC)

Klose with a leg kick and another. Klose with a series of kicks. Alvarez lands a solid right hand. Alvarez lands and Klose scores a big slam takedown. They get to their feet and Alvarez lands a right hand and then stumbles Klose with a right hand. Alvarez with a flying knee and Klose is out as Alvarez lands several punches and it is stopped. An incredible finish from Alvarez.

Official Result- Joel Alvarez def. Drakkar Klose by knockout (knee) at 2:48 of Round 1

> Lightweights- Michael Johnson (22-19, 14-15 UFC) vs. Ottman Azaitar (13-2, 2-2 UFC)

Azaitar with a body kick. They trade punches. Azaitar with a right hand. Johnson with a left to the body followed by a leg kick. Azaitar lands a combo. Johnson lands a left hand. They trade punches as both are circling. They trade inside the pocket. Johnson with a jab. Johnson lands a right hand as he looks for a takedown, but Azaitar breaks it with a knee. Johnson lands a solid right hand. Johnson stumbles Azaitar with a straight left hand. 10-9 Johnson.

Johnson with a left hand. He lands another before they have a wild exchange in close range. They have a quick exchange. They start throwing in close range and Johnson lands a big right hand and Azaitar goes down out cold. Johnson gets a few extra shots in before it’s stopped. Brutal finish from Johnson.

Official Result- Michael Johnson def. Ottman Azaitar by knockout (punch) at 2:03 of Round 2

ESPN2 MAIN CARD | 10 PM ET/7 PM PT

> Light Heavyweights- Navajo Stirling (5-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Tuco Tokkos (10-4, 0-1 UFC)

They trade kicks. Stirling with a teet kick to the body. Stirling with a heavy leg kick and Tokkos lands a leg kick. Stirling with a jab. They trade kicks. Stirling with a series of various kicks, then lands a right hand. Stirling with a left hook to the body. Stirling lands and Tokkos stumbles backwards. Stirling landing some punches and a big knee as Tokkos is hurt. Tokkos lands an uppercut in a brief clinch. Tokkos falls forward and Stirling has the neck but they stand and separate. Stirling lands to end it. 10-9 Stirling.

Tokkos lands a jab. Stirling lands and Tokkos goes for a takedown. He is able to briefly get it as they stand and Tokkos has the back. They stand and Stirling lands a flurry with a knee. Stirling lands some more as they separate. Stirling lands to the body but Tokkos is able to tie up and push it to the fence. Tokkos has the neck and drags it down to the mat. Tokkos moves to the back but isn’t landing. Stirling is able to roll it over and they stand and Tokkos connects. Stirling lands a right hand. 10-9 Stirling, 20-18 Stirling.

Stirling lands a big left hook. Tokkos lands a jab. Stirling with a jab. Tokkos looks for a takedown against the fence as he has the body. They break apart. Stirling lands and grabs the body lock against the fence. Tokkos reverses and looks to get it down but is mostly just holding on. They break apart and Stirling with an uppercut. Stirling lands a head kick. Stirling lands another head kick. Stirling lands to the body. Stirling landing more and Tokkos looks for a takedown late to no success. 10-9 Stirling, 30-27 Stirling.

Official Result- Navajo Stirling def. Tuco Tokkos by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

> Bantamweights- Adrian Yanez (17-5, 6-2 UFC) vs. Daniel Marcos (16-0 1 NC, 3-0 1 NC UFC)

They trade leg kicks as Yanez lands a pair of right hands. Marcos with a leg kick. Yanez with a double jab and a right hand. Marcos lands a big right hand and starts swinging as Yanez retreats. Marcos lands a leg kick. Marcos lands a groin strike and an eye poke at the same time so timeout is called. They get back to action. They trade right hands. Marcos with a leg kick. They trade leg kicks. Marcos connects with a right hand. Marcos with a leg kick. They both connect with hard right hands. Marcos with a leg kick. Yanez gets the body lock and pushes it to the fence. Marcos reverses and lands a knee. Marcos with an elbow. 10-9 Marcos.

They trade and Yanez lands a big left hook. They trade punches. Yanez with a heavy leg kick and lands to the body, but then Marcos connects with a combo. Marcos lands a right hand. Yanez with a calf kick. Yanez lands a big right hand. Marcos with a combo. Yanez with two calf kicks. Yanez with a right hand then another. Marcos lands a right hand. Marcos with a leg kick and they both land in close range. Marcos lands a right hand. Marcos looks for a leg but lets go. Yanez lands a right hand. Marcos lands a right hand. 10-9 Yanez, 19-19.

They trade inside the pocket to start the round as both land big punches. Yanez lands a big right hand and Marcos is able to score a takedown. Marcos is holding on from the top. They stand and are still tied up. Yanez is able to break away. Marcos lands a right hand and scores another takedown. Yanez looks for the neck but Marcos gets his head out. They get to their feet. Marcos walks away with his hands low and is tired. They trade. Marcos with short uppercuts. They swing late. Close fight. 10-9 Marcos, 29-28 Marcos.

Official Result- Daniel Marcos def. Adrian Yanez by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)

> Light Heavyweights- Vitor Petrino (11-1, 4-1 UFC) vs. Dustin Jacoby (19-9-1, 7-6-1 UFC)

Jacoby lands a leg kick. Petrino lands a leg kick. Petrino lands a right hand and Jacoby stumbles a little. Petrino lands a hard jab. Petrino with a high kick. Jacoby lands a leg kick. Jacoby connects with some punches. They trade as a takedown was attempted but they separate. Jacoby with a leg kick. Petrino lands a leg kick. Jacoby with a leg kick. Jacoby with a solid jab. 10-9 Jacoby.

Petrino lands a stiff jab as he’s pressuring. Petrino with a big flurry of quick shots. Jacoby lands a leg kick. Petrino lands a right hand. Jacoby with a leg kick. Petrino lands two high body kicks. Petrino lands a big right hand that has Jacoby retreating. Petrino lands a right hand as Jacoby lands a body kick. 10-9 Petrino, 19-19.

They trade leg kicks. Petrino lands a left hand. Jacoby lands a right hand. Jacoby with a jab. Petrino gets a brief takedown and has the back as they stand. They separate. Petrino lands a big jumping knee. Jacoby then lands a massive right hand that knocks Petrino out cold as he goes down. What a punch out of nowhere!

Official Result- Dustin Jacoby def. Vitor Petrino by knockout (punch) at 3:44 of Round 3

> Flyweights- #9 Manel Kape (19-7, 4-3 UFC) vs. #12 Bruno Silva (14-5-2 1 NC, 4-2 1 NC UFC)

Silva lands a combo. Kape lands a left hand. Kape with another left hand. Kape lands another. Silva quickly lands and Kape counters with a left hand. Silva lands a right hand. Kape lands a leg kick followed by a right hand and a left hand. Silva with a big punch. Timeout for a groin strike by Silva but they get back going. Silva lands to the body. Kape with a pair of left hands. Kape with a combo and a knee to the body. Another groin strike by Silva and we are back on timeout. They get back going and trade in close range. Kape lands a right hand. 10-9 Kape.

Kape with an inside leg kick then lands another. Silva looks for a takedown but Kape wiggles him off. Kape lands a big combo and starts showing off. Silva lands then Kape lands a big flurry. Another groin strike by Silva and another timeout is called. Silva gets a point taken away. They get back to action and trade. Kape with a big combination. Kape lands a right hand. He lands a leg kick. Kape with a combination. Silva lands a right hand. Kape with more quick big punches. Silva connects with some. 10-8 Kape, 20-17 Kape.

Silva connects to start the third and is trying to find a finish but Kape gets away. Kape now landing lots of combinations and mixing in body kicks. Kape with a big flurry to the body and lands a right hand. Silva with a left hook. Kape lands low and it isn’t called and Silva is hurt as Kape lands big punches and he finishes Silva off. What a finish from Kape!

Official Result- Manel Kape def. Bruno Silva by TKO (punches) at 1:57 of Round 3

> Featherweights- Cub Swanson (29-14, 13-10 UFC) vs. Billy Quarantillo (18-6, 6-4 UFC)

Quarantillo with a body kick and Swanson lands a leg kick. Swanson with a right hand. They trade kicks. Swanson lands a right hand. Swanson with a body kick then lands a right hand. Swanson lands a leg kick. Quarantillo with a leg kick and backs Swanson up with a left hand. Swanson returns fire and lands a combination. Swanson with a big right hand. Swanson stumbles Quarantillo with a right hand. Quarantillo lands a leg kick. Quarantillo lands a right hand. Swanson with a right hand. Swanson lands a big combination. Quarantillo with a leg kick. Swanson lands a leg kick. Quarantillo with a combo. They trade right hands and Quarantillo wobbles Swanson. Quarantillo gets a late takedown. 10-9 Swanson.

Quarantillo with a leg kick and they trade right hands. Quarantillo lands a right hand. Swanson with a combo and they both land. Swanson lands a right hand. Swanson lands a quick flurry. They trade inside the pocket and Quarantillo lands a big knee. Quarantillo follows it up with a combination before pushing it against the fence. Quarantillo with an uppercut and lands as they break. They tie up against the fence and Quarantillo gets a takedown. He has Swanson’s back as they stand. They separate and both land. Swanson lands a combo ending with a head kick. Quarantillo lands a big knee and goes for the takedown as they go to the mat. They stand and trade while tied up. 10-9 Quarantillo, 19-19.

Swanson lands a jab. He lands a right hand. Swanson with another right hand and lands to the body. Quarantillo with a right hand. Quarantillo shoots for a takedown against the fence. Swanson is able to escape. Swanson lands a massive right hand and Quarantillo goes down out cold! What a finish by Swanson!

Official Result- Cub Swanson def. Billy Quarantillo by knockout (punch) at 1:36 of Round 3

> Welterweights- #6 Colby Covington (17-4, 12-4 UFC) vs. #9 Joaquin Buckley (20-6, 10-4 UFC)

Covington lands a body kick. Buckley lands a jab. Buckley with a leg kick followed by a left hand. Covington shoots for a takedown but Buckley defends. Buckley with a pair of body kicks. Buckley lands a combination as Covington has a cut around his eye. Buckley with a head kick followed by a body kick. Buckley lands a left hand. Buckley lands a combo. Covington shoots for a takedown against the fence. Buckley defends and backs away. Buckley lands a big combination. Buckley drops Covington late with a right hand. 10-9 Buckley.

They trade to start the second. Covington shoots for a takedown but Buckley sprawls away and lands on Covington and to the body. Buckley with a right hook to the body. Buckley with a combination. Covington goes for a takedown against the fence and is able to get it down. Covington lands to the body from the half-guard. He gets to side control but they get to their feet and separate. Buckley with a high kick. Buckley with a combo. Buckley with a leg kick. Buckley with a double jab. Covington lands a left hand. Buckley with a jab. Buckley lands two left hands. 10-9 Buckley, 20-18 Buckley.

Covington goes right for the takedown but Buckley easily circles away. Buckley with a jab then a leg kick. Covington lands a spin kick. Buckley lands some big punches. Covington tries for the takedown but Buckley ends up on top in mount. Buckley lands as they stand and lands some more. Covington’s eye is a mess. Buckley with a combination. Covington tries to get it down but Buckley sprawls and lands from the top. Covington trying to scramble but Buckley looks for a triangle choke but Covington escapes. Covington is on top and lands some short punches. They get to their feet. Covington drops down to get it down but Buckley defends and they break. Timeout is called to check on Covington’s cut and the fight is stopped. Buckley picks up the win as he was dominant but in lackluster fashion.

Official Result- Joaquin Buckley def. Colby Covington by TKO (cut) at 4:42 of Round 3

AEW Rampage Winter is Coming live results: Toni Storm vs. Harley Cameron

Posted on by Marc Quill

Toni Storm returns to an AEW ring for the first time since August on tonight’s AEW Rampage Winter is Coming.

Storm, the former AEW Women’s World Champion, made her surprise return to the promotion on Wednesday’s Dynamite in the main event segment following Mariah May’s successful World title defense against Mina Shirakawa. Storm is in action on tonight’s episode against Harley Cameron.

A tag team bout featuring members of the Don Callis Family is also set for the show, with Callis charges Konosuke Takeshita and Lance Archer taking on Powerhouse Hobbs and Mark Davis, formerly of Aussie Open.

Callis will also speak on tonight’s show in a promo segment with Kyle Fletcher.

The top contender to the ROH World title Matt Cardona faces Bryan Keith on tonight’s show. Cardona challenges Chris Jericho for the ROH World title at Final Battle next Friday. Jericho will be on commentary for tonight’s contest.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Shazza McKenzie is also set for the show.

**********

Matt Cardona def. Bryan Keith

Chris Jericho joined Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Matt Menard on commentary for this match between “the Bad Apple” and his Final Battle opponent, Matt Cardona of GCW. Before the match, we saw a highlight of Cardona and Jericho’s contract signing on last night’s episode of Ring of Honor on HonorClub.

Cardona and Keith started off with a lockup in the ring as the fans chanted “Always Ready”. Keith backed away from Cardona after the test of strength, but found himself down on the mat with a shoulder block from Cardona.

Keith got flattened by a flapjack from Cardona, followed by a clothesline in the corner. Keith rolled out of the ring to avoid a corner attack from Cardona, but he couldn’t escape the dropkick afterwards. Outside the ring, Cardona threw Keith into the barricade with a Russian leg sweep. On the opposite apron, Keith attempted to regain the advantage with a bite to Cardona’s forehead before he sent him face-first into the steel steps from the apron.

In the ring, Keith had the advantage with a resthold, followed by a jumping knee to the head of Cardona for a two count. In the corner, we got an exchange of chops between Cardona and Keith, but the Bad Apple regained momentum with a boot to the head. Another kick to the face from Keith kept Cardona reeling, as it sent him out of the ring, which led to a picture-in-picture break.

We returned to Rampage with Keith still in firm control of the action as he bit into Cardona’s ear in the corner. Cardona created some separation with a leg sweep, which allowed him to set up his second wind. With Keith stunned in the corner, Cardona hit his running knee in the corner for a near fall. A missile dropkick from Cardona was answered with a uranage from Keith for the close two-count.

Keith had Cardona set up in the middle of the ring, but he was reversed into a straitjacket slam. Cardona blocked a German suplex attempt from Keith and finished things off with the Silence for the one, two, three.

A good match, all things considered meant to build Cardona up as a credible challenger for Chris Jericho and the ROH World Championship. Job accomplished on that regard.

**********

– A promo for ShopAEW with Harley Cameron singing a funny song about what fans can find on the official online store of All Elite Wrestling aired.

Toni Storm def. Harley Cameron

Like on Dynamite: Winter is Coming, Storm entered with her pre-Timeless entrance music and attire.

Storm offered a handshake to Cameron, but got caught in a side headlock. She responded with a shoulder block, dropkick, and a running boot. Storm worked over Cameron in the corner with the ten-punch combo until she got countered with a strike. Cameron hilariously cued up the picture-in-picture break by saying, “we’ll be right back when this idiot remembers who she is.”

We came back with Storm landing a backbreaker on Cameron, which led to her mounting a comeback. Fisherman Suplex from Storm only got a two count as Cameron regained the advantage with a shining wizard for a near-fall of her own. Storm roared back with a Sky-High powerbomb for a near-fall as she cued up the running hip attack in the corner by briefly going to her Timeless persona. Storm then put an end to this match with Storm Zero for the victory.

This was a great match and showcase for the returning Storm, and the subtle hints of her Timeless persona were quite interesting to see, so it’s clear that there is certainly more to Storm’s return than meets the eye. It’s something I’m wanting to see more of in the coming weeks and months. Meanwhile, Harley Cameron was a great opponent for Storm and she continues to be a highlight whenever she shows up.

**********

Deonna Purrazo def. Shazza McKenzie

Purrazo began by fiercely working over McKenzie in the corner with stomps and chops. A short burst of adrenaline from McKenzie got snuffed out early by a Purrazo clothesline as she found herself trapped in the tree of woe. Spear to the midsection, followed by the powerbomb, and the Fujiwara armbar spelled victory for Purrazo.

Short and sweet match to showcase Purrazo’s dominance, and it’s nice seeing Shazza McKenzie get a look in this one.

**********

– Alex Marvez interviewed Kris Statlander backstage, as he asked Statlander where she’ll go next. Statlander said that she gave credit to Mercedes Mone for being everything that she is, and that all she can do to move forward. She said that she’ll wrestle on Collision and that whoever wins on Dynamite: Holiday Bash this Wednesday between Mone and Anna Jay, that she’d be coming for the TBS Championship once again.

Don Callis Family Interview

Tony Schiavone was in the ring as he introduced the Callis Family: Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, and Lance Archer ahead of tonight’s main event match. Schiavone started by saying that the crowd’s reaction is a tell-tale sign of what everyone thinks of the Callis Family.

Callis took the microphone and said that his Family is in the “getting over and making money” business, as he praised Archer, Takeshita, and especially Fletcher. He said that there was once a man who thought he was the greatest in the ring, a man by the name of Will Ospreay. Callis said that was before he ran into Kyle Fletcher. He asked Ospreay, “How does it feel, bruv?” Callis then brought up how Fletcher defeated “the best tournament wrestler” in Kazuchika Okada and asked, “How does it feel, bitch?”

Fletcher took the microphone and took in the Kansas City fans’ boos as he said he’d be the winner of the Continental Classic. He then had words for his C2 opponent, Mark Briscoe, stating that nobody would get in the way of his destiny.

Callis declared that his Family were the “one percenters of AEW”, and that nobody was bad enough and big enough to get in the ring with them.

Powerhouse Hobbs & Mark Davis def. Konosuke Takeshita & Lance Archer

Hobbs and Takeshita seemed to start off in the ring, but Archer was tagged into the match as Hobbs wanted a piece of Takeshita. In the ring, Archer and Hobbs, big meaty men that they were, traded meat as Hobbs got the advantage in the corner. Davis entered the match and teed off on Archer with some strikes of his own.

Davis and Hobbs got the advantage with a double team shoulder block on Archer, followed by a double-team standing suplex. Archer managed to kick out at one following that move as he regained the advantage after a well-placed Takeshita kick to the back of Davis, which sent us to our final commercial break of the night.

Rampage returned with Archer working over Davis, who tried to create some separation between him and the Callis Family. Just as Davis was about to tag Hobbs, Archer knocked him off the apron to the loud boos of the crowd. Takeshita tagged himself in and showed an impressive display of power with a suplex on the 285-pound Davis.

Davis knocked Takeshita down and finally got the hot tag on Hobbs, who teed off on Takeshita momentarily. Standing clothesline from Hobbs wasn’t enough to keep Takeshita out, as he is met with a powerful knee strike from Takeshita.

Davis and Archer tagged into the match for their respective teams and began trading strikes until a boot from Archer took Davis down. On the top turnbuckle, Takeshita and Archer had Davis set up for a double superplex, but Hobbs ran in and hit a tower of doom powerbomb on everyone instead.

Hobbs was tagged in as he pulled down the straps as Takeshita hit him with an elbow, which led to an Archer chokeslam for the close two-count. In the corner, Davis pulled out Takeshita from the apron, which led to Hobbs hitting the powerslam on Archer, followed by the Powerhouse Spinebuster to pick up the win in the Rampage main event.

Post-match, Takeshita attempted a cheapshot on Hobbs, but got met with a Powerhouse Spinebuster. Hobbs took the AEW International Championship and raised it over Takeshita as we ended the night on him and Davis standing tall.

Fun little main event with lots of big meaty men slapping meat, and it’s quite clear we’re getting a Hobbs vs. Takeshita International Championship match down the line, and this match did a great job in setting that up for the future.

As the end draws near for Rampage, we’re getting a lot of packed cards, which makes for a fun hour of AEW action. Tonight was no exception. I really enjoyed tonight’s episode as the hour went by like a breeze. Rampage will be missed when its run ends in a couple of weeks.