The first match is official for a special two-hour episode of AEW Rampage Grand Slam on Friday, September 22.
It was revealed during this week’s Rampage episode that Sting & Darby Allin will be in tag team action at Grand Slam against Christian Cage & Luchasaurus.
Luchasaurus defeated Allin to retain the TNT Championship at All Out earlier this month, while Sting & Allin defeated Christian & Swerve Strickland in a coffin match at last month’s All In pay-per-view as the rivalry between the two sides has continued to unfold.
A trios match was also heavily teased for Rampage Grand Slam, although not officially announced.
Strickland issued a challenge to The Young Bucks & Hangman Page on behalf of Brian Cage & The Gates of Agony for Rampage Grand Slam during a backstage promo segment on this week’s episode.
As has been the case with the prior two editions of Rampage Grand Slam, the episode will be taped on Wednesday following Dynamite Grand Slam, and will air for two hours on Friday night beginning at the normal time of 10 p.m. Eastern time on TNT.
The confirmed lineup so far:
AEW Rampage Grand Slam, Friday, September 22, 10 p.m. Eastern time on TNT —
Sting & Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage & Luchasaurus
After a spirited match between the two, AEW World Champion MJF is still the champion after defeating Adam Cole in the main event of Sunday’s All In at London’s Wembley Stadium.
While the match featured neither man turning on the other as some expected, there were moments between the two where that nearly came to be. Late in the match, Roderick Strong appeared to assist Cole, hitting a low blow to MJF that surprised the challenger. Cole instinctively hit a Panama Sunrise and his Boom strike to the back of MJF’s head that only got a slow two count as referee Bryce Remsburg was recovering from being hit with his own Panama Sunrise.
Strong tossed the title belt to Cole in hopes he would use it, but Cole refused after initially thinking about it. MJF got the pin with an inside cradle as Strong left in disgust. Afterward, Cole sat in the corner irate and MJF tried to make good with him, but Cole simply tossed the Ring of Honor Tag Team titles MJF handed him that they won earlier on the show. MJF turned his back as Cole had done weeks ago, saying if all Cole cared about was the title, he should do what he needs to do. Cole thought about it and then the two hugged it out, celebrating to end the show.
These friends & #ROH Tag Team Champions Adam Cole & MJF went to war for the #AEW World Championship!
The two had a physical match where Cole would take advantage of MJF’s reluctance to go to wherever he needed to in order to win. Cole hit a sheer drop brainbuster on MJF on the steel steps at one point, later dropping MJF with a tombstone on the announce table after MJF couldn’t do the same out of friendship.
The match was restarted after both men hit each other with a clothesline (“double clothesline!”) which led to a double pin. Cole asked MJF for another five minutes which MJF refused, saying they needed to go as long as it took to declare a winner.
MJF continues the title reign that started last November while Cole is now 0-1-1 against MJF. They also share the aforementioned ROH Tag Team titles.
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No new matches were announced for next Sunday’s AEW All Out, nor for this Wednesday’s Dynamite.
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In what can best be described as wild and violent bloodbath, Orange Cassidy, Eddie Kingston, Best Friends and Penta El Zero Miedo were successful in the Stadium Stampede match, picking up the win over the Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) and Santana & Ortiz.
The end came when Cassidy nailed Castagnoli with an Orange Punch via a sticky taped fist adorned with glass.
The bout was more of a hardcore match than the previous Stampedes as barbed wire boards, tables and ladders were used in addition to skewers to Moxley’s head by Penta El Zero Miedo.
At one point, Penta appeared to be injured following a Moxley piledriver spot on a chair as medical personnel brought him to the back. However, it was planned as he later emerged as his Penta Oscuro character, delivering a sunset bomb off a ladder to Santana even after several rungs of the ladder broke beforehand.
— šš«šššš§ (@WrestlingCovers) August 27, 2023
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In their trilogy match, AEW Tag Team Champions FTR retained the titles with a win over the Young Bucks, denying the Jackson brothers their company-record third title reign.
Both teams emptied out the tank, using several of their signature moves against each other including a Shatter Machine by the Bucks and the FTR Trigger by the champions.
In the end, Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler countered a Meltzer Driver with a mid-air Shatter Machine to get the pin and successful title defense. Afterward, FTR offered their hands in respect but the Bucks declined and walked away.
It’s FTR’s sixth title defense in their second reign with the titles.
Other Notes:
Sting & Darby Allin came out to Metallica’s “Seek & Destroy” which Sting used during part of his run in WCW from 1999-2001.
Flash Garments and DJ Whoo Kid came out with Swerve Strickland with Garments rapping Strickland’s entrance music.
Saraya came out to Queen’s “We Will Rock You” along with multiple members of her family as part of her entrance.
Grado made his AEW on-screen debut during the pre-show, joining Paul Wight and Anthony Ogogo to lay out Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh, Sonjay Dutt & Jay Lethal as the heels were running down UK wrestling. Stateside, Grado worked primarily for Impact Wrestling.
The final stop before Sunday’s AEW All In has arrived with Saturday’s AEW Collision from Duluth, Georgia.
The headliner will be an all star eight-man tag team match which will see “Real World’s Champion” CM Punk team with Sting, Darby Allin & a mystery partner against Jay White, Swerve Strickland, Brian Cage & Luchasaurus with Samoa Joe on commentary.
Ahead of their participation in a Stadium Stampede match Sunday, Orange Cassidy, Penta El Zero Miedo will face The Butcher, The Blade & Kip Sabian.
Jack Perry is claiming he will retire the FTW title on tonight’s show.
Dark Order’s John Silver & Alex Reynolds will return to AEW TV as they face Darius Martin & Action Andretti.
Owen Hart women’s tournament winner Willow Nightingale will take on Robyn Renegade.
Two big men will be in singles action as both Keith Lee and Big Bill will compete against opponents to be named.
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Kevin Kelly and Caprice Coleman ā filling in for Nigel McGuinness ā welcomed us to Collision, less than 12 hours before All In Wembley.
The Funeral of the FTW Championship
FTW Champion Jack Perry made his way to the ring, with pallbearers bringing out the FTW Title on a black stand. Oh, like Paul Bearer. I just got the pun. Perry has grown fond of the FTW Title, noting that in 100 years, he will be the legacy of FTW. He played a video of the fun times he has had with the championship, showing him showering and biking with the title belt.
Perry said that it was time to send the title to a better place, pulling out a sledgehammer. The lights went out, with a video of Hook playing on the screen. Hook said that the title was his bloodline, and he was coming to take it back. When the lights came up, Hook was behind Perry in the ring. Hook ducked a sledgehammer shot and threw Perry around the ring before hitting a T-Bone suplex through a table in the corner. Hook took the mic and simply said āWembley. Sunday.ā
The FTW Title match between Perry & Hook was shown to be signed for the All In Zero Hour.
We got a video package covering the history between MJF & Adam Cole and their All In main event.
Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy & Penta El Zero Miedo (w/Alex Abrahantes) defeated Kip Sabian, The Butcher, & The Blade (w/Penelope Ford)
After shenanigans with Penta, Sabian, Abrahantes, & Ford, the match quickly broke down into a Pier Six brawl. Penta was outnumbered by Butcher and Blade but was able to hit a running Death Valley Driver on Blade into Butcher in the corner. Sabian crotched Penta in the corner before Cassidy dived onto him.
After an exchange in the ring, Sabian feigned a dive before baiting Cassidy into a double team from Butcher and Blade. Butcher cut Cassidy off with a knee to the back, leading to a Sabian cannonball in the corner. The rudos clubbered Cassidy as we went to commercial.
Cassidy was still fighting to the corner as we came back from the break. Cassidy made the tag to Penta, who ran wild until Butcher cut him off with a boot. Butcher asked for Kingston to tag in, and Kingston obliged. They ran at each other until Butcher got knocked into the corner, with Sabian tagging in. The match broke down again, with Cassidy taking out Butcher and Blade. The match ended with Kingston hitting a sliding lariat on Sabian to score the win.
We came back with the Best Friends in the ring with their teammates for All In. Trent Beretta was upset at the disrespect the Blackpool Combat Club showed his mother, so theyāre going to Wembley to take them out. Orange Cassidy took the mic from Kingston, but before he spoke, the Blackpool Combat Club, Santana & Ortiz appeared on the screen. Santana said he spent a year on the shelf, which is when he found out who his real friends were. Castagnoli said that Kingston blamed everyone but himself for his issues. Ortiz said that everyone gets what they deserve.
Kingston walked to the back to find them, but they had already left. Kingston said that he understood what Santana and Ortiz did, but he would gut them all the same. He told Moxley to stay out of his way. He said that he would bury Yuta and that he would save Castagnoli for last. Kingston said that he would burn Claudio and scar him for life.
We got a video package with sitdown interviews between The Young Bucks & FTR. The Bucks talked about creating the FTR name, with a different meaning at first. Dax Harwood said that they came to AEW for the match against the Bucks and that FTR would prove that they were the better team at Wembley.
Alex Reynolds & John Silver defeated Action Andretti & Darius Martin
After some early work, Andretti and Martin double-teamed Reynolds to gain an advantage. Silver got a blind tag in before picking up Andretti on a jackknife pin and powerbombing him onto Reynoldsā knees. Dark Order hit a double-team dropkick on Andretti and posed as we went to commercial.
Andretti fought to make the tag to Martin as we came back from the break. Martin ran wild, dropping both Reynolds and Silver with a neckbreaker/DDT combination. Andretti tagged in and hit a shotgun dropkick that sent Reynolds into a German suplex from Martin for a nearfall. Andretti hit a springboard 450 for a nearfall that was broken up by Silver. Silver ran wild with kicks before an elevated uppercut took Andretti out. Reynolds and Silver hit their strike combination on Martin to score the win.
We cut to an interview from Wednesday with Darby Allin & Nick Wayne. They were quickly joined by AR Fox, who explained to Wayne that his actions were out of panic. He was afraid he had let everyone down, so he joined up with the Mogul Affiliates. Fox said that he lost his father too, and while he couldnāt give him his blood back, heād give him his word. Wayne walked away without a word, while Allin told Fox that he knew he was sorry. Iām glad they came back to that point, and Iām glad that Wayne stood up for himself here.
We got a music video with The Acclaimed dissing the House of Black. The song was about getting knocked down and getting back up again. My favorite bar was āblowinā up the House of Black like Oppenheimer.ā
We got a promo for the four-way Womenās Title match at Wembley, with words from Hikaru Shida, Britt Baker, Saraya, & Toni Storm.
Big Bill (w/Ricky Starks) defeated Vary Morales
Big Bill dropped Morales with a gorilla press slam before swinging him around with a hair mare. A big splash and a big boot followed before Big Bill scored the win with a massive chokeslam.
After the match, Ricky Starks grabbed the mic and praised Morales, saying that he reminded him of a young Steamboat. He reminded everyone what he did to Steamboat by whipping Morales. He said that he would be back next week with a bigger strap before whipping Morales until referees pulled him away.
Backstage, Lexy Nair was with Ruby Soho. Ruby officially challenged Kris Statlander for her TBS Title at All Out in Chicago, saying that while Statlander was more than a woman, she would always be less than an Outcast.
Nightingale was in firm control early, dropping Renegade with a back elbow and a low crossbody for a nearfall. Nightingale hit two of the three amigos, before hitting a fishermanās suplex for a nearfall. Renegade bailed out to confer with her sister before Nightingale booted Charlette. She went to boot Robyn, but Robyn caught the leg and swept her down on the apron as we went to commercial.
Nightingale fought out of a chinlock as we came back from the break. She hit the main event spinebuster for a nearfall. Nightingale sent Renegade into the corner, but Renegade bailed out of the way on a cannonball. Renegade hit a missile dropkick for a nearfall before booting Nightingale off of the apron. Nightingale came back by suplexing both of the Renegades on the floor before hitting Robyn with the Babe With The Powerbomb for the win.
We got a video package of the AEW stars taking over London. Saraya was on a talk show, and Chris Jericho brought Fozzy to Europe.
We got a video package hyping the Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Miro match for All Out in Chicago.
Backstage, Lexy Nair was with TBS Champion Kris Statlander. Statlander says that sheās tired of the Outcasts and their shenanigans before accepting Ruby Sohoās challenge for All Out in Chicago.
Keith Lee defeated Zicky Dice
Dice slapped Lee in the face and hit him with forearms before Lee pounced him across the ring. Lee popped Dice up and hit a massive powerbomb for the win.
We got an update on Preston Vance and Dralistico, who we last saw being kidnapped in Mexico at the behest of Rush & Jose The Assistant. Vance and Dralistico were being beaten bloody but fought back and fought off their assailants. Jose came in, pleased at the violence as we saw that this story would be continued.
Samoa Joe came out to the ring. He was told by AEW management that if he interfered in this main event, he would jeopardize his match against CM Punk at Wembley. Joe says that in order to help with that, heāll join the commentary desk so that everyone can see where he is and what he is doing. He said that while Punk hid under a mask like a coward to jump him last week, Joe would give him the ass-kicking he deserved at Wembley.
We got a rundown of the All In Wembley card, with Jack Perry vs. Hook being made under FTW Rules. They announced that Orange Cassidy would defend the AEW International Title next week on Dynamite in Chicago if he was physically able to do so.
CM Punk, Darby Allin, Hook & Sting defeated Brian Cage, Swerve Strickland, Jay White & Luchasaurus (w/Christian Cage & Prince Nana)
This was a fun mix of names in the Collision main event, making for a wild scene going into All In.
Punk started the match with Strickland. Punk caught Strickland on a leapfrog, teasing a Go To Sleep, before Strickland slipped away and tagged in White. White asked for Punk to tag in Sting, but dropped Punk as we went to tag out. Punk dropped White with a back suplex before tagging Hook, who fired up with body shots. Allin tagged in and went to work on Whiteās arm before Punk came in to continue the work.
White slipped away before Sting could get in on the arm party, tagging Luchasaurus. Allin tagged in Sting, who helped him hit splashes on Luchasaurus. Punk tagged in but got goozled on a splash attempt. Punk fought away, but the combination of Nana and Cage on the outside allowed Luchasaurus to get the advantage.
White was working on Punk as we came back from commercial break. A backbreaker on Punk scored a nearfall before White tagged in Strickland. Swerve clubbered on Punk before going for a Swerve Stomp attempt. Punk moved out of the way and tagged Hook, who ran wild on Strickland with judo throws and suplexes. White clawed at Hook from the apron, allowing Swerve to send him to the floor. There, White and Cage threw Hook into the barricades. Cage tagged in and beat on Hook as we went to break.
We came back from the commercial with Cage sending Hook up and over with a fallaway slam. Hook came back with a T-Bone suplex, then a vertical suplex when Cage tried to cut off a tag. White and Punk tagged in, with Punk running wild. Punk hit rising knees on both Strickland and White before dropping them with a bulldog/clothesline combination.
Punk hit an elbow drop on White before going for a GTS. Strickland got involved, with the match breaking down into a Pier Six brawl. Cage ended up the legal man and ended up getting caught with a Go To Sleep. Punk looked square at Samoa Joe at commentary before locking on the Coquina Clutch. Cage tapped out, with Joe noting that the match officially ended then. Joe attacked Punk, Darby attacked Luchasaurus, Jack Perry came out to attack Hook. All hell broke loose, with chairs and kendo sticks being used. Perry and Hook brawled in the crowd as Joe dropped Punk with his World Title as we faded to black.
The biggest wrestling show of the year has to be just that. Sunday’s All In (1 PM Eastern from London’s Wembley Stadium), the most important show since AEW became a proper company, needs to be canāt miss (sports) entertainment. This should be a card full of massive feuds, dream matches, and worthwhile conclusions to long-simmering stories.
Not having Kenny Omega in a singles match or CM Punk trying to regain the title he never lost are just some of the more egregious misses.
The lead-up to what should be AEW’s magnum opus has unfolded with a lamentable lack of finesse, leaving even their most ardent supporters with shrugged shoulders. This is a haphazardly constructed card, devoid of any narrative finesse that defines the truly historic shows.
But what am I even saying? When the bell rings, all of this will probably be forgotten, and the performers will deliver like they always do. Consistently relying on high-quality in-ring performances to make up for subpar builds is a dangerous rope to walk and itās become a rope AEW increasingly finds themselves crossing.
These misses wonāt be felt in this particular box office, but you only get one chance to run “the biggest wrestling show of all time.” You canāt just slap a “part 2ā or an āAgainā at the end of that moniker and expect folks to buy in. By running a second major show the following week, they put themselves in an unwinnable position. They have to try and book for two shows at the same time when the focus should be entirely on All In.
Fans will forgive a subpar All Out card and Chicago will get over it if they run a B-show. Book for the show that people could remember forever, not the one they will forget by the following Dynamite. The lineup for All Out somehow being better than All In will be my Joker origin story.
AEW is in desperate need of good news and solid momentum. This is the biggest two-week stretch in the short promotionās history. Sunday in sunny London town will, for better or worse, define the future of AEW.
Now, as always, letās preview the action.
AEW Trios Champions House of Black (Buddy Matthews, Brody King & Malakai Black) defend against The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) and Billy Gunn
I donāt even care that this got announced four days before the show. I was smiling like a goon when Gunn came out on Wednesday night. Getting The Acclaimed on the Wembley card is a great call. They arenāt as popular as they were at their peak, but the crowd still loves them and is really going to love Gunn being back. The number one thing a wrestling show should do is make the crowd happy and few things make a crowd happier than an Acclaimed live entrance.
I love The House of Black. They have been workhorses on Collision and the individual styles of King, Matthews and Black fit so well together. Their presentation is top-notch and they never disappoint in the ring. But this is really about giving the fans what they want and Daddy Ass/Bad Ass getting some gold will do exactly that.
Prediction: The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn win the titles
Darby Allin & Sting vs. Christian Cage & Swerve Strickland
I had a wonderful preview written about this match. The booking wasnāt complicated; it was straightforward and simple. Strickland and Allin are rivals from the same area, Fox and Allin have a long history, and Sting is Sting. Throw in some Nick Wayne-related assault, and folks, that was a story worth telling. No winks and nods to the internet, no meta commentary about the state of wrestling just paint-by-numbers storytelling. It was the best-booked match on the card.
For reasons that remain unclear, Fox was replaced with Christian Cage. (At least it wasnāt Brian Cage!) Even if this was done because Fox had visa issues, is injured, or whatever, this is such a confusing mess. At best, itās another example of sloppy decision-making with little foresight. If there was even a risk that he might not be able to make the trip, why have him there in the first place? Itās a shame, because Fox was a great fit with Swerve, and someone who grinded on the indies as long as he did deserved a spot on the card.
If nothing else, All In will do one thing that fans should remember forever: give Sting a massive, well-deserved platform. 80,000+ people going absolute nuts for the 64-year-old Stinger is going to be incredible. He spent much of the internet age of wrestling in TNA before his far too brief WWE run. His one WrestleMania moment was nowhere near good enough for a performer of his caliber. Few things are worse booking decisions than having HHH beat Sting at WrestleMania. On Saturday, The Icon will get to cap his career on the biggest stage, a stage he so deeply deserves.
Prediction: Sting & Allin
The Golden Elite (Hangman Page, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) vs. Bullet Club Gold (Juice Robinson & Jay White) and Konosuke Takeshita
Again, if this is truly the biggest wrestling show in history, having Omega in a multi-man match is a huge miss. No slight to anyone in the match, but there are levels to this. Omega is a man who broke and rebroke the star rating system that this site popularized. This is also a man held together by KT tape and positive thoughts. He doesnāt have a ton of big matches left in him. If this isnāt the place to use one of the bullets left in that chamber, what is? Maybe they are saving the big singles match with Takeshita for All Out, but that should happen in London, not Chicago.
Collision has become the best weekly wrestling show due in large part to Bullet Club Gold aka The Bang Bang Gang which is one of the silliest and best monikers in wrestling. They should lose the Bullet Club part completely and just go by that. Whiteās sense of humor and timing has been a revelation. Collision puts all of its talents in positions to succeed and gives them time do to so. It is consistently the best weekly wrestling show.
Prediction: The Golden Elite
Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) & Santana and Ortiz vs. Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero Miedo, Orange Cassidy & Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor) in a Stadium Stampede match
It broke my heart to delete “and Rey Fenix” rom the match listing. Fenix is one of the best wrestlers in the world, and there are very few people who can replace him and what he is capable of doing in the ring. Itās a huge bummer heās missing the show, but it is a delight seeing Santana and Ortiz back together in AEW. Santana, with his hair looking straight-up delicious, is the goods. Look for him to show out on Sunday. Hopefully he and Ortiz put any issues they had to bed because they are such a good team.
Iām never going to turn my nose up at a Stadium Stampede match, but this is not a feud that warrants a spectacle like this. More than most matches on the card, this seems like a way to clearly set up matches at All Out like Moxley vs. Cassidy and Kingston vs. Castagnoli. Both will be great, but using one of AEWās signature spectacles to get there is backward. This should be the blow-off to a program, not a transition into the next stage.
Prediction: Blackpool Combat Club & Santana and Ortiz
Will Ospreay vs. Chris Jericho
Another match that came out of nowhere and a match that would have been better served by more than one week of build. Can Jericho even work a Ospreay match now? Iām a bit worried that he will try to keep up with one of the more insane people in modern wrestling who wrestles such a physical, taxing style. Not only that, he has to wrestle Ospreay after a live performance of Judas. Brother is going to be gasping for air before the bell even rings.
Who are we supposed to root for here? Is Jericho supposed to be the sympathetic babyface after being so terrible to his friends that they all left him? How is the audience supposed to root for him when he just tried to link up with someone well-established as the most loathsome character on AEW programming? Not only that, but Ospreay is the hometown boy. There is a zero percent chance heās getting booed no matter how hard he tries.
Ospreay beat Omega in a match thatās on the shortlist for match of the year. He finally beat Okada. There is no chance he loses in a home game.
Prediction: Will Ospreay
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida defends against Toni Storm, Saraya and Britt Baker in a four-way
Each wrestler brings something unique to this match and AEW in general. Shida is a well-deserving, wholesome champion. Storm is the best overall talent in the division and is doing incredible work with her failed Hollywood glamour character who throws footwear at backstage interviewers. Saraya brings, by far, the most notoriety, name recognition, and Britishness. Baker is the homegrown talent conspicuously absent from the main stage and premier spotlight. Four great talents who should be able to create something lasting and meaningful on Saturday.
Rather than put together a cohesive story, AEW fell back on hastily spinning up a tournament to get the Womenās title match on the card: a crutch they too often lean on. The song remains the same, no matter how many times the record gets spun. There had been such little interaction between the four of them that I had to double-check this match was happening. Dynamite had an Adam Cole and MJF sit-down but this only got a 60 second pretape, a Ruby Soho singles match, and a tag team main event on Rampage.
Shida just won the title three weeks ago and AEW rarely hot potatoes their World championships. Iāve seen some talk of crowning Saraya because of where the show is, but I canāt see that happening
Prediction: Shida retains
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defend against the Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
As is federally mandated (attention FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, etc.), no major wrestling show can exist without someone, somewhere claiming to be the greatest of all time.
Exhausting in a vacuum, the claims and subsequent discussions are completely warranted here. I donāt write much about WWE on this site, nor do I have any real desire to, but itās these two teams along with The Usos that make up the conversation for the greatest tag team of the modern generation and perhaps all-time. The main difference between The Usos, who are legitimately great, and these two teams, is that both the brothers Jackson and FTR have had enough memorable, historic matches that I donāt even need to list them here. Naming a memorable Usos match? Thatās a much bigger challenge. They have had countless matches with The New Day, but how many stand out? How many compare to The Bucks Ladder Wars with The Briscoes or FTRās trilogy with those same Briscoes? The answer is they donāt. Thatās why these are the two best tag teams of the modern era and two of the best in history.
Both teams have proven themselves across multiple companies and wildly different match types. A complaint directed towards a lot of Young Bucks matches is they all follow the same formula with the same moves, and sure, Iāll somewhat allow for that. You canāt say that about FTR. They have proven (actually, beyond proven) that they can wrestle any style, against any opponent, in any match type. Thatās true greatness, and thatās why they are the best to ever do it. They had people in a full lather about a tag team match on a Saturday night in the middle of the summer. If thatās not greatness, I donāt know what is.
Bell-to-bell, this should be the best match on the card as no one does high-stakes tag team wrestling like AEW. Before Cash Wheelerās legal situation, I thought it was Top Guys, over. The last thing AEW needs right now is more uncertainty and putting the title on The Bucks is the safer, more stable move
Prediction: The Young Bucks win the titles
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe
Punkās gravitational pull is unlike anything else in this industry. Like him or not, he is the sun that everything in AEW orbits around. When heās on screen, he commands our eyes and ears. He demands we put down our phones and pay attention. When heās not on screen, weāre wondering where he is. In a world increasingly full of NPCs – non-playable characters if youāre nasty – he is the Main Character, the star attraction. Of course, drama and intrigue follow him wherever he goes; itās what makes him special. It made him special in WWE, it made him special in his unfortunate attempt at MMA, and keeps him special today in AEW. Historical greatness is frequently divisive, so why should he be any different?
At risk of being lost in this gravity, is Joe from Samoa. The only reason he hasnāt been swallowed by it completely is through his sheer force of will and talent. The true king of television is exactly that. He is appointment viewing no matter how long (or short) the match may be. Bar for bar, he is the most consistently excellent promo in the company (full apologies to Eddie Kingston, Jon Moxley, etc.) and remains their most believable mic artist. Like so many of our favorites, heās closer to the end than the beginning and his current run is as good as anything heās ever done. Long may he reign.
Even though Iād love to see Joe take this, there are so many other stories to be told and money to be made with Punk as the uncrowned champion. He keeps his belt.
Prediction: CM Punk
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Adam Cole
Even though this is not for me, Iāll still admit this pairing has been a shocking delight. Even though this is the most WWE thing AEW has ever done, the charisma and chemistry between the two carries the day. From the pre-taped vignettes to the live promos and everything in between, it all works far better than an enemy-turned-friend program should which is a testament to the singular talents of Cole and MJF.
The major issue with all of this is that it isnāt big enough for the main event of the biggest show in company history. It lacks the gravitas. Like everything else on the card, it needed more time — more time to establish them as a team and more time to make the inevitable turn that much more powerful.
The easy booking here is in the Cole turn, not MJF. MJF getting screwed over by Cole (and maybe big Rod Strong) sets MJF up for the chance to work as a true face for the first time. And itās not like the audience can hate him more than they usually do. His turning on Cole wonāt add to his character; it would just be more of the same. But Cole — fresh off a long absence and joyous return — turning on MJF would give this program legs and establish a new top-of-the-card heel for the babyfaces to feud with. Allowing MJF to have the crowd fully behind him would be something new and exciting. However, there is a huge Punk-related āBUTā here.
Regardless of who wins, it would be inexcusable for the show to end without Punk coming out to confront the winner. If thatās the case, it makes more sense for him to confront MJF than Cole. Closing the show with the two biggest stars in the company setting up the next big title program will give AEW some needed momentum heading into 2024.
The teams for the all star tag team match on the All In go-home edition of Saturday’s AEW Collision have been revealed.
CM Punk will team with Darby Allin, Sting & a mystery partner to take on Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White, Swerve Strickland, Brian Cage & TNT Champion Luchasaurus with Samoa Joe on commentary.
Punk will face Joe at Sunday’s All In while Allin & Sting will face Strickland & Christian Cage. White will be part of a trios match against The Elite.
In a trios bout, Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy & Penta El Zero Miedo will take on The Butcher, The Blade & Kip Sabian. Kingston, Cassidy and Penta will be in a Stadium Stampede match on Sunday.
In a segment originally announced for Dynamite, Jack Perry is claiming he will retire the FTW title.
There will also be plenty of promos from “the stars in London” as they prepare for All In.
Those matches will be taped following Wednesday’s Dynamite in Duluth, Georgia, as the crew is heading to London.
Here’s the current lineup:
CM Punk, Darby Allin, Sting & a mystery partner vs. Jay White, Swerve Strickland, Brian Cage & Luchasaurus
Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy & Penta El Zero Miedo will take on The Butcher, The Blade & Kip Sabian
Tony Khan says one of the greatest things AEW has ever done is bringing Sting out of retirement.
Sting’s career was thought to be over nearly eight years ago after suffering a neck injury at Night of Champions 2015 in a match with Seth Rollins. He later debuted for AEW at Winter is Coming 2020 and wrestled his first match for the company in March 2021. Since then, he’s gone 17-0 in AEW, all in tag team matches.
“When you talk about some of the biggest names in pro-wrestling, for me, it starts and ends with Sting,” Khan told Chase McCabe recently. “He’s one of the all-time legends, he’s one of my all-time favorites.”
“Sting is still a huge part of AEW. One of the greatest things we’ve accomplished is bringing Sting out of retirement. He is still wrestling to this day. He is undefeated in AEW, in fact, and is on the greatest run of his career right now here in AEW,” Khan continued.
Up next for Sting is All In on Sunday from London’s Wembley Stadium. He is scheduled to team with Darby Allin against AR Fox and Swerve Strickland in a coffin match on the show. As Sting did not participate in 1995’s Collision in Korea event with other WCW wrestlers, All In will be the largest crowd he has ever performed in front of, beating out even WrestleMania 31 in San Fransisco.
Sting & Darby Allin made a surprise appearance at an Atlanta indie show Thursday night, furthering their angle with AR Fox for AEW All In.
Sting & Allin attacked AR Fox at a WWA4 indie show in Atlanta Thursday night, with Sting holding Fox down with his baseball bat while Allin hit Fox with a Coffin Drop.
Fox is the head trainer at the WWA4 wrestling school and indie promotion based in Atlanta.
Swerve Strickland & Fox are set to face Sting & Allin in a coffin match at next Sunday’s All In pay-per-view at Wembley Stadium in London.
AEW All In, Sunday, August 27, 1 p.m. Eastern time on pay-per-view —
AEW World Championship: MJF defends against Adam Cole
AEW Women’s World Championship: Hikaru Shida defends against Toni Storm, Britt Baker & Saraya
AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
Stadium Stampede match: Eddie Kingston, The Lucha Bros (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix), Orange Cassidy & Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) & three TBA
Coffin match: Sting & Darby Allin vs. Mogul Embassy (Swerve Strickland & AR Fox)
Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay
The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi &Hangman Page) vs. Bullet Club Gold (Jay White & Juice Robinson) & Konosuke Takeshita
Zero Hour pre-show, 12 p.m. Eastern time on AEW’s YouTube channel —
ROH World Tag Team Championship: Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defend against Better Than You Bay Bay (MJF & Adam Cole)
An event featuring international talent in Israel that was set for this September is not moving forward as scheduled.
Haus of Wrestling obtained a statement from Global Pro Wrestling Summit, which had a show featuring international talent such as Sting and Rob Van Dam scheduled for September 14 at Pais Arena in Jerusalem. The promotion cited a falling out with their promoter, AllStars Israel/Stagetime, as the reason for the show not going forward. They are currently working on “aligning with a reputable, major promotional entity” in an attempt to save the show.
The statement from GPWS is as follows:
We regret to announce that the Global Pro Wrestling Summit event will not be going forward, as scheduled for the Pais Arena in Jerusalem on September 14, 2023.
The promoter, All-Stars Israel/Stagetime, is in breach of contract on numerous fronts, inclusive of not delivering deposits to talent as stipulated in the contracts, and has been duly notified that the contracted talent (which includes ALL non-Israeli talent being advertised for the event) will NOT be appearing. THIS promoter has been advised to pull advertisements/promotions containing talent from all platforms and to cease selling tickets immediately in connection with the advertisement/promotion of any of these talents.
In the interest of protecting consumers from fraud, weāve notified both the Pais Arena and the on-sale platform āTicket Tailorāthat the event, as currently being advertised/promoted by All-Stars Israel/Stagetime, is not going forward.
In the process of producing this event, first-class teams in both the US and Israel have been assembled. Talented professionals such as Rick Bassman. Scarlette Donovan, Todd Keneley, Alon Levin, Jeramie McPeek, Oren Treitman, Pete Trerice, Danny Ly Ziser, and others have put forth a consistently excellent and thoroughly conscientious effort to build and advance what we all hoped would be an unforgettable and wholly-positive experience, for talent and āofficeā alike, and especially, for the fans.
That said, with this large volume of good work behind us, including booking an unparallel card and having a solid commitment for pay-per-view, weāre all hard at work trying to āsaveā this event by aligning with a reputable, major promotional entity. Progress is being made, with REPUTABLE promoters, both in Israel and in other territories. In the event we are to move forward on the September 14 date, we will provide updates accordingly, and all ticket sales for Pais will be honored at the new venue. That said, fans who have purchased tickets thus far may wish to elect to request a refund through Ticket Tailor, the platform All-Stars Israel engaged. www.tickettailor.com
A couple of personal notes from our teamā¦ doing this show has gotten into our blood. It has been a true pleasure forming a relationship between the US and Israeli teams who have been working so hard on this together, as it has been getting to know the wonderful pro wrestling talent in Israel.
If September 14 does not come to fruition, we will regroup, and continue to put forth our best efforts to bring world-class professional wrestling to Israel in the very near future. Butā¦ weāre still fighting the good fight! In any case, we PLEDGEā¦ a ānewā event will be announced ONLY when ALL funding is in place.
Stay tunedā¦
Sincerely,
The Global Pro Wrestling Summit Team
The event was announced earlier this month, promoting international talent including Sting, Rob Van Dam, Ultimo Dragon, El Hijo Del Vikingo, Frankie Kazarian, Psycho Clown, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Paul London, Seleziya, and Oleg Prudius (Vladamir Kozlov).
Sting is among the talent announced for the Global Pro Wrestling Summit event set for Israel in September.
Haus of Wrestling was first to report that Sting will serve as a special ambassador for the Thursday, September 14 show announced for Jerusalem, Israel. Allstars Israel is the company promoting the Global Pro Wrestling Summit event.
Among other talent announced for the event are Rob Van Dam, Ultimo Dragon, El Hijo del Vikingo, Frankie Kazarian, Psycho Clown, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Paul London, Seleziya, and Oleg Prudius (formerly WWE’s Koslov). Rikishi will also serve in an ambassador role for the show alongside Sting.
Matches announced for the Global Pro Wrestling Summit include El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Paul London vs. Ultimo Dragon in a triple threat match to crown a junior heavyweight champion, Rob Van Dam vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Psycho Clown in a no holds barred triple threat, as well as a 15-man Holy Land Rumble showcasing Israeli talent in a battle royal for a future title shot.
Pais Arena in Jerusalem will host the event.
A press release from Allstars Israel, text courtesy of Haus of Wrestling:
Global Pro Wrestling Summit
September 14th, 2023 Pais Arena. Jerusalem, Israel
Top professional wrestling talent from around the world will converge in Jerusalem on September 14th for this one-of-a-kind spectacular live event. The Global Pro Wrestling Summit is sure to thrill the 11,000 fans expected to pack the state-of-the-art Pais Arena. This will be the first major professional wrestling event in Israel since World Wrestling Entertainment appeared in the holy land in front of rabid, packed houses in 1994. Professional wrestling is truly a worldwide phenomenon, and the Global Pro Wrestling Summit is set to become the ultimate celebration of the incredibly unique and dynamic styles from around the globe. The star power and entertainment of American Pro Wrestling, vibrant characters, costumes, and astonishing acrobatics of Mexican Lucha Libre, power and precision of British wrestling, powerful Polynesian style representing wrestlingās rich Samoan dynasty, no-nonsense striking and submission grappling of Japanese Strong style, incredible womenās division talent, overall expertise of the Jr, Heavyweight division and more will all be on display. The Global Pro Wrestling Summit will showcase the full spectrum of pro wrestling and illustrate why it is woven into the fabric of cultures around the world. The first wave of talent announcements for the event are as follows, with many more to be revealed leading up to the event:
A special appearance by Sting
The Icon Sting is one of the most beloved, respected, and enduring legends in the history of pro wrestling. The Stinger, a Hall of Famer himself, has had classic rivalries with wrestlingās greatest stars including Ric Flair, The Great Muta, Kurt Angle, Hulk Hogan, Mick Foley, Vader, and countless others. Sting will act as an Ambassador, helping to usher in the Worldās greatest pro wrestling talent to Jerusalem.
Rob Van Dam
Hall of Famer, The Whole Damn Show Rob Van Dam will be in action at the Global Pro Wrestling Summit. From taking it to the extreme during the height of ECW to becoming Mr. Money in the Bank, defeating John Cena to become WWE Champion, to multiple championships at Impact Wrestling and beyond, RVD is one of the most decorated performers in pro wrestling history. RVD is sure to bring his unique blend of athleticism, innovative extreme offense, and carefree attitude to Pais Arena.
Vikingo
It would be hard to argue that any single talent is setting the worldwide wrestling scene on fire more than Vikingo. From winning the AAA Mega Championship to being the flag bearer for the art of Lucha Libre in major promotions including AEW and Ring of Honor, nobody is more exciting and relevant around the wrestling world than this mind-blowing luchador. Vikingo pulls off astonishing aerial feats that special effects artists and video game creators could not dream up.
Seleziya
The womenās Division in pro wrestling is stronger than ever, and has truly gone global. The first female talent announced for The Global Pro Wrestling Sumit, Seleziya is no exception. Seleziya, who has had experience in major promotions including Impact Wrestling, is the first Iraqi-born female pro wrestler in history. This is a distinction that Seziya does not take lightly, and she is motivated to become a top star on the global scene.
Rikishi
Like Sting, Rikishi will be on hand as an ambassador, helping fans celebrate this incredible collection of wrestling talent from around the world. Rikishi truly is wrestling royalty as a key member of the Samoan Dynasty that includes the likes of The Wild Samoans, The Rock, Yokozuna, Umaga, Roman Reigns, his sons and current WWE Superstars the Usos and Solo Sikoa and many more. Rikishi is a Hall of Famer, and decorated former Intercontinental and multiple-time World Tag Team Champion. It is always a good time when Rikishi is involved, perhaps heāll pack a pair of his signature sunglasses and might have his dancing shoes on!
Shay Blanco & Idan Boulder
Blanco and Boulder are a popular Israeli tag team that intends to issue an open challenge to anyone in the world to face them on September 14th. They hope to show the world that Israel has some excellent pro wrestling talent that will finally have a chance to shine on the world stage.
More talent announcements and intriguing first-time matches will be announced soon. Championship history will take place at the event, as two inaugural Champions will be crowned (details to come). Ticket on-sale information will be announced shortly as well. See you at The Summit!
GPWS will crown its first-ever Jr. Heavyweight Champion in a three-way dance between Vikingo, the legendary Ultimo Dragon,and former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Paul London.
In a second 3-way dance, RVD will square off against Frankie Kazarian and Psycho Clown in a no-holds-barred fight to the finish.
Also announced today as competing at the Global Pro Wrestling Summitā¦
Oleg Prudius (formerly āKoslovā) returns to action to represent his true home country of Ukraine
āGreen Beretā Tom Howard, the top American ever in Japanās Zero-One promotion, famed for his legendary battles with Shinya Hashimoto, also returns to battle
Powerhouse Davey Boy Smith, Jr. heads to Israel to represent his home country of England
The matches for these three high-impact, strong-style competitors, are yet to be announced.
Itās expected that MANY more competitors from around the world are yet to be added to this once-in-a-lifetime spectacular. Check in with https://www.allstars-israel.com/ for updates on added talent, on matches as theyāre made, and on special ticket packages.
Sting did another dangerous spot on Dynamite just days after a six-man tag at Forbidden Door went wrong.
On Wednesdayās show, Sting set up Sammy Guevara on the floor on top of some tables. He then proceeded to climb up the ladder and leap off, barely hitting half of his target. And not only did he barely get to first table, his face connected with Guevaraās knee on impact. Sting said after the show ended that he had a loose tooth and heād likely need a lot of stitches.
Alvarez noted the idea was when Sting first came in, heād only do cinematic-style matches.
āWell now this guyās out there doing all this crazy stuff every single match,ā he said.
Meltzer thought that so many moves like Stingās are being done on such a frequent level, itās no longer that surprising.
āYears ago something like this weād talk about for a month. But the thing is itās so overdone, it hurts, it’s dangerous, you forget about it. The next day they donāt even care,ā he said.
Meltzer wondered why people like Sting and Jeff Hardy, both older wrestlers who are banged up, continue to do risky and dangerous moves despite them not really needing to do them at this stage of their career.
“I’m gonna have a bunch of stiches in my lip, and one of my teeth seems halfway knocked out,” said Sting after diving off a ladder on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite.
Addressing the live crowd in Hamilton, Ontario after his main event match on Dynamite, Sting acknowledged that he was injured when he dove off a ladder in the ring onto Sammy Guevara who laid prone on two tables on the floor.
“But it was worth it to do it right here,” Sting added.
Sting appeared to come up short on the dive, as the tables that were set up on the floor seemed too far away from the ring for the 64-year-old to execute the move as planned.
In spite of the injury to his mouth, Sting finished the match, forcing Chris Jericho to tap out to the Scorpion Deathlock as Sting and Darby Allin defeated Jericho and Guevara in the main event.
Video of Sting’s post-show speech to the crowd in Hamilton, plus video of the ladder dive can be seen below.
Sting & Darby Allin team against Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara in a tornado tag match on tonight’s AEW Dynamite.
Sting, Allin, and Tetsuya Naito defeated Jericho, Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki at Forbidden Door on Sunday, then Jericho crashed the post-show media scrum to continue the angle with Sting.
The Forbidden Door remains open, as NJPW’s Tomohiro Ishii takes on Jon Moxley on tonight’s program.
The Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament continues with a rematch of last year’s finals, with 2022 winner Britt Baker facing 2022 runner-up Ruby Soho.
Hangman Page and The Young Bucks will be in trios action on the show.
Jack Perry will speak on the show after turning on Hook at Forbidden Door.
World Champion MJF and Adam Cole will also speak tonight.
More names will be revealed for the upcoming blind eliminator tournament.
Orange Cassidy, Keith Lee, and El Hijo del Vikingo will face Angelo Parker, Matt Menard, and Daniel Garcia in trios action.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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AEW Dynamite comes on the air with Excalibur welcoming us alongside Tony Schiavone and Taz, as they throw it to the entrances for our opening contest.
Jon Moxley (w/Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) defeated Tomohiro Ishii
(Well, if you expected nothing more than a hard hitting battle between these two, they delivered. I loved how as all this carnage was going on, Claudio Castagnoli & Eddie Kingston didnāt take their eyes off each other as they continue to build that storyline with Moxley in the middle.)
These two had a similar intense stare down like they did from their 5 Star G1 Climax battle in 2019, exchanging nothing chops and forearms out the gate. Ishii fired out of the corner with a shoulder tackle, so Moxley responded by biting at the nose, with Ishii returning the favor. Moxley sent Ishii to the floor and wiped out with a tope before taking a victory lap in the crowd. Castagnoli & Yuta surrounded Ishii until Eddie Kingstonās music hits; he walks out, grabs a chair and argues with Moxley heading into commercial break. Moxley connected with a neckbreaker on the apron to remain in control.
Ishii started no selling and absorbing Moxley forearms that led to a huge superplex for two. Both men started trading forearms again, as the longer it went, the more the fans got into it. Ishii hit a combo, but Moxley spun around and dropped Ishii with one on the button followed by a Gotch Style Piledriver. Anvil elbows from Moxley led to Ishii flipping him off, so Moxley slapped on a Bulldog Choke. Moxley hit a King Kong Lariat, which Ishii kicked out at one, as both men traded knee strikes and Moxley kicked out at one in return with both men collapsing. After trading nasty headbutts, Moxley, now bleeding, connected on the Paradigm Shift, but Ishii kicked out. Ishii avoided Death Rider into a Paradigm Shift and hard lariat for two. Ishii no sold a Cutter and hit a Sliding Lariat, but Moxley spun out of a brainbuster into Death Rider for a close two. Ishii hit a desperation enzugiri, but Moxley answered with a Curb Stomp and one more Death Rider for the win. Post match, Kingston applauded Moxley for winning by himself, as Moxley brushed passed him.
-Renee Paquette is backstage and talked about Adam Cole & MJF being teammates in the Blind Eliminator Tournament as Adam Cole arrived with MJF soon after. MJF congratulates Cole on getting sick to get out of his Forbidden Door match and said he wishes he thought of it. Even though no one is on the level of The Devil, Cole was close, so suggests they bond this weekend. Cole reluctantly agrees as MJFās driver tosses him a shirt to give to Cole that said Better Than You BayBay.
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-Renee Paquette is furious backstage with Jon Moxley, who is with Castagnoli & Yuta. Eddie Kingston walks in and told him he’s always had Moxley’s back, but he’s paling around with a scumbag like Castagnoli. Moxley said he doesn’t care about bad blodd from CHIKARA, as he stormed off with Paquette demanding that Kingston fix this.
-A video package on the incredible Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay match from Forbidden Door is shown.
-Before the upcoming match, Excalibur informs us the planned Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho match in the Owen Hart Tournament has been scrapped due to Baker feeling ill. Soho will be in action tonight, but their match will take place next week.
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, AAA Mega Champion El Hijo Del Vikingo & Keith Lee defeated Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker
(A fun little party match, with the wheels coming off a bit at the end. I know what they were going for, but Lee & Vikingo fixed things, ultimately standing tall with Cassidy.)
Vikingo used his speed early to hit a double springboard arm drag on Garcia, who was sent flying with a head scissors and bailed leading to Parker & Cassidy jumping in. Parker combed his hair and Cassidy took it away, putting it in his pocket. Miscommunication by Parker & Menard led to Cassidy combing his hair, as Garcia tried to attack, but was trapped in a bow and arrow with Vikingo hitting a double stomp. Menard tripped up Vikingo to allow Garcia to take over and keep Vikingo isolated.
Parker & Menard hit their drop toe hold leaping elbow combo, but messed up when they decided to mock Lee on the apron. Vikingo made the hot tag to Lee, who steamrolled everyone until Garcia decided to do his little dance while standing on the back of Lee. Things didnāt fare well for Garcia, as Lee powered up, sent Menard & Parker to the floor. Vikingo was supposed to be caught by Lee on a dive in a powerbomb position, but both men collapsed and Lee just picked up Vikingo and swung him around like a wrecking ball. Vikingo hit a huge moonsault from the top to the floor to take out Parker & Menard, as back inside Garcia got a two count on Cassidy and sank in the Dragon Tamer. The match broke down as Parker ate an Orange Punch, with Lee no selling Menard chops, ultimately planting Daddy Magic with a Supernova for the win.
-The Young Bucks & Hangman Page are backstage talking about their open challenge six man when the Dark Order walk in the shot as John Silver accepts the challenge. Page said they could do a 12 man tag, but Reynolds says they accept the 6 man. Evil Uno said Page bailed on them, despite being there for his darkest moments, opting to side with The Elite. Page tried to explain himself, but Dark Order didnāt want to hear any of it.
-A quick video package showcasing the great main event of Forbidden Door is shown, with Bryan Danielson submitting Kazuchika Okada.
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-Renee Paquette is backstage with Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara, asking about Jericho tapping in to The Painmaker persona. Jericho said tonight is bigger than Forbidden Door, as Sting vs. Jericho should be on TBS, commentated by Tony Schiavone. Tonight, Sting gets his nightmare of having more time in the ring with Chris Jericho, the nightmare of The Painmaker.
Hangman Adam Page & The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) defeated Evil Uno, John Silver & Alex Reynolds (w/-1)
(This was a lot of fun, both from an action standpoint and storyline wise. Page couldnāt find it in himself to fight his former friends until The Bucks really had to convince him to do so. That got boos from the crowd, as post match, to the surprise of no one, the challenge has been issued for Blood & Guts next month.)
Nick & Reynolds had a nice back and forth opening sequence with the Nick hitting a rope walk arm drag. Silver tagged in and wanted Page, who reluctantly came in, tried to explain himself again before locking up. Silver no sold a shoulder block and popped Page with a back elbow to escape a waist lock. This woke Page up; as he tagged in Matt, as did Canadaās own Evil Uno, who got a nice pop. Uno wasted no time leveling Nick & Page on the apron, but The Bucks regained control double teaming Reynolds & Silver until Uno wiped them out with a double clothesline. Uno jaw jacked with Page on the apron, but turned into a double superkick, as The Bucks hit double dives onto all of Dark Order. The Bucks got more aggressive, telling Page to get in there and fight, which got boos, but he ultimately didnāt. The Bucks controlled the action during break.
Miscommunication from The Bucks allowed Uno to make the hot tag and run wild on The Elite. Uno hit his ref assisted neckbreaker and piledriver on Nick, but Page broke the count. Page refused to fight Uno yet again and Uno slapped him, leading to Page making the legal tag and slugged it out with Uno. Both Uno & Reynolds took out The Bucks with double DDTs from the apron, as Reynolds & Silver hit the Wombo Combo on Page for two. The Bucks saved Page from the Pendulum Bomb, as Reynolds & Uno were wiped out on the floor. Page turned Silver inside out with a lariat, but waited too long, as Silver hit a hurricanrana counter of the Buckshot. Page countered a home run kick from Silver into Dead Eye, as The Bucks followed with the BTE Trigger and Page hit the Buckshot Lariat for the win.
Post match, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta all hit the ring to attack The Elite, as Dark Order just watched on before bailing. Yuta hit a violent brainbuster onto a chair on Matt as Konosuke Takeshita & Don Callis are also there. Jon Moxley had a screwdriver and popped Page, busting him open, as Eddie Kingston ran to the ring but was brutally beaten down by Castagnoli & Yuta, trapping his arm in a chair. Moxley had his back turned to what is happening, with Castagnoli smacking the trapped arm of Kingston with another chair. Moxley said itās time to end this feud once and for all, July 19th, Boston, TD Garden, Blood & Guts.
-Video packages on the upcoming three Owen Hart Tournament matches this week on Collision is shown. Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe, Dustin Rhodes vs. Powerhouse Hobbs & Juice Robinson vs. Ricky Starks takes place Saturday.
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-Roderick Strong approaches Adam Cole backstage and told him he canāt trust MJF. We then have MJF walked up saying hi to Cole and generic white guy. MJF said he doesnāt want to stick around here longer than he has to, so he & Cole leave together for their āteam bondingā.
Jungle Boy Jack Perry Explains His Actions
Perry walked out rocking sunglasses, demanding they turn off Tarzan Boy, as the fans have ruined the song for him. Perry said he has a car waiting for him in the back, while everyone here in Canada are stuck in the wildfires. Perry said heās cashing fat checks and banging the hottest girl in AEW. Did Perry turn on HOOK or did everyone else turn on Perry? After everything Perry has given to AEW, people expect Perry to pal around with a second generation entitled fraud, when the FTW Title isnāt even recognized. Perry never needed HOOK and their team was only popular because of Perry. He realizes what the FTW Title means to HOOK and his family, so thatās why heās taking that title from HOOK. Before Perry can deliver his go home line, HOOKās music interrupts, he sprints to the ring and the chase is on, as Perry bails through the fans and to the back. Taz said he canāt wait for Perry to get his ass whooped. A camera backstage is shown of Perry diving into an awaiting car, peeling out, with HOOK watching him drive away.
-Sammy Guevara brought back his cue cards in picture in picture deal, mainly talking about the main event tonight.
**********
Ruby Soho (w/Saraya & Toni Storm) defeated Alexia Nicole
Soho got an early sweep and mocked Britt Baker before putting boots to Nicole. Soho chucked Nicole to the floor, where she was met with boots by Storm, as back inside; Soho hit a snap back suplex. Soho grabbed the rubber glove from referee Paul Turner and applied Lock Jaw for the easy submission. Post match, Saraya held Nicole as Soho spray painted an L on her for good measure.
Soho said Canadaās finest here wasnāt the original opponent, as due to the filthy germ ridden country, Britt Baker is sick. Soho said Baker & Adam Cole used to be a power couple, but hopes they never have kids, since theyāll be weak little bastards. A year ago Baker said Soho didnāt know who she was, but Soho loves who she is now, while Baker is a shell of herself. Last year, Baker barely beat Soho on her best day, but since then, The Outcasts have taken everything from Baker. This was a good promo from Soho.
-Highlights from Harley Cameron hitting on Anthony Bowens last week on Rampage is shown, with Bowens rejecting, informing her heās gay. Backstage we then see QT Marshall, Johnny TV & Cameron challenging Matt Hardy & Brother Zay to a match on Rampage. Cameron did the moan that Zay always does, which confused Johnny & QT, but audibly popped Taz on commentary.
-In Excaliburās rundown of upcoming matches for AEW TV, we find out Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee vs. Darby Allin & Orange Cassidy will take place next week in a Blind Eliminator Tournament match. I believe we were supposed to find out all the teams for that tournament tonight, but those were the only other two teams we learned, aside from MJF & Adam Cole.
**********
Sting & Darby Allin defeated āThe Painmakerā Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara in a Tornado Tag Match
(Iāll ask this as nicely as possible, can we please stop trying to kill Sting? My goodness, heās defying all the odds at his age, but Iām absolutely terrified whenever he takes big bumps and tonight was no different. This was a wild, chaotic and fun match, continuing the Jericho & Sting feud, but man was that table spot with Sting & Guevara hard to watch. Ultimately Sting finished the match, but wow, just wow, this was quite the main event.)
Allin hit a shotgun dropkick on Guevara immediately, as Jericho smacked Sting in the arm with Floyd the bat, as Sting & Jericho jousted with their bats until Allin came sprinting in. Sting hit a Stinger Splash, but Guevara laid out Allin with a top rope cutter. Guevara & Jericho put the boots to Sting, until Guevara throws a ladder into the ring. Allin was launched into the ring steps, but flipped up, cleared them and smacked his back on the barricade, landing in the front row. During commercial, all four men brawled in the crowd as Jericho ripped a Sting sign apart and shoved it in Stingās mouth.
Guevara hit a leaping cutter off the barricade to the ringside floor onto Allin, but as Guevara tended to Jericho & Sting, this allowed Allin to wipe out Guevara with a Coffin Drop. Sting & Allin set up multiple tables, as Allin got the ladder in position, despite the tables being quite a distance away. Allin climbed the ladder, but Sting climbed as well, telling Allin he wanted to do it. Sting leapt from the ladder and splashed Guevara through only one of the tables, really putting himself sternum first in a wild spot.
Allin wiped out Jericho on the opposite side with a dive and back inside dropped in with a skateboard off the top to the back. Jericho side stepped Allin, who crashed face first into the ladder, as Jericho followed by dropping the ladder onto Allinās spine. Allin reversed a corner whip and Jericho went face first into the ladder, busting Jericho open. Allin tried a Coffin Splash, but Jericho popped him in the back with the skateboard. A Judas Effect sent Allin to the floor, as Sting rose from the dead, tried a Scorpion Death Drop, but Jericho countered into the Walls of Jericho. Sting crawled to the bat and leveled Jericho in the head with it. Sting hit one Stinger Splash, but as he leapt for another, Jericho hit a Code Breaker for two. Sting ducked a Judas Effect into the Scorpion Death Drop for a near fall as well. Jericho leapt for a dropkick, but Sting caught him into the Scorpion Death Lock for the submission.
AEW Rampage 6/30/23
Ā· Matt Hardy & Brother Zay vs. Johnny TV & QT Marshall
Ā· Hikaru Shida vs. Taya Valkyrie
Ā· Shawn Spears vs. The Blade (w/The Butcher)
Ā· Claudio Castagnoli defends the ROH World Title against Komander
AEW Collision 7/1/23
Ā· MJF makes his Collision in ring debut
Ā· Kris Statlander defends the TBS Title against Lady Frost
Ā· Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe in an Owen Hart Tournament Match
Ā· Dustin Rhodes vs. Powerhouse Hobbs in an Owen Hart Tournament Match
Ā· Ricky Starks vs. Juice Robinson in an Owen Hart Tournament Match
AEW Dynamite 7/5/23
Ā· Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee take on Darby Allin & Orange Cassidy in a Blind Eliminator Tournament Match
Ā· Dr. Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho in an Owen Hart Tournament Match
Tetsuya Natio will team with Sting and Darby Allin at Forbidden Door.
The opening of Saturdayās Collision saw Jericho and Minoru Suzuki call out Sting and Allin, upset they were left hanging after agreeing to a six-man tag team on Saturday, where they will team with Sammy Guevara. Sting and Allin came out, with Allin telling Jericho it was someone that he lost to at the Tokyo Dome. Naito then came out and had a staredown with Jericho, who ultimately exited the ring.
Jericho and Naito had a no disqualification match back at Wrestle Kingdom 13 in January of 2019, where Naito defeated Jericho to win the IWGP Intercontinental title. The two had a second match later that year at Dominion, where Jericho regained the championship.
Here’s the current card for Sunday:
IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega defends against Will Ospreay
Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA defends against Jungle Boy
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Hiroshi Tanahashi
AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm defends against Willow Nightingale
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defends against Daniel Garcia, Zack Sabre Jr. and Katsuyori Shibata in a four-way
Eddie Kingston, Tomohiro Ishii and The Elite (The Young Bucks & Hangman Page) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta), Shota Umino and Konosuke Takeshita
Adam Cole vs. Tom Lawlor
Sting, Darby Allin & Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Jericho, Minoru Suzuki & Sammy Guevara
Owen Hart Foundation men’s quarterfinal: CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima
Zero Hour pre-show: Owen Hart Foundation women’s quarterfinal: Athena vs. Billie Starkz
AEW head Tony Khan addressed the media Thursday on a conference call to promote Double or Nothing, address questions about a potential brand split, future announcements for Collision, and more.
During the hour-long discussion, Khan was not asked about CM Punk, nor did he bring him up by name.
Here are notes from the call with the full audio linked below:
When asked about a potential brand split, Khan wouldn’t give a firm answer on what will happen when Collision debuts. He said he wants fans to wonder what is going to happen with the roster and is excited to eventually follow up on that question.
When asked about the television deal for Collision, Khan said the length of the deal for the new show is the same as they currently have for Dynamite and Rampage, but didn’t disclose any financials. He said Warner Bros Discovery reached out to them with the idea of adding another show.
Regarding running Collision on Saturdays, Khan said Saturday nights are the best event nights for live shows and selling tickets. He said they have to do something special and make it destination viewing and believes they have plans in place to do so.
When asked about Taya Valkyrie, Khan responded that she is very experienced, a great wrestler, and great in the locker room. He also said she is the biggest challenge Jade Cargill has faced yet.
When asked about possibly going up against the NFL’s Saturday games and with PPVs on Sundays, Khan said he generally doesn’t want to do it and it would be very tough competition. However, he sounded as though he understands it will happen. He also mentioned that AEW is on the radar of NFL executives, who have noticed the ratings they bring in.
Asked for an update on Jamie Hayter, Khan would not give a clear answer regarding if she will wrestle on the pay-per-view. He mentioned that she was not cleared for a match recently but otherwise avoided giving an answer.
Khan said that Sabu won’t be a regular on AEW programming but could make future guest appearances after Double or Nothing. He mentioned that he and his father saw Sabu in the ECW Arena when Tony was 13 years old and that his father texted him after seeing Sabu on Dynamite Wednesday.
Khan praised Jungle Boy, Sammy Guevara, MJF, and Darby Allin as well as the Four Pillars storyline they have been involved with.
Asked about possible future announcements regarding Collision, Khan said he is definitely being “intentionally secret” about where all of this is going. This was the closest anyone came to asking about Punk.
Khan commented on WWE NXT Battleground happening on the same night as Double or Nothing. He said he’s always eager to compete so long as it’s done with ethical standards. Khan also said he doesn’t consider them running a show on the same night as an unethical move but “the other side” has acted unethically in the past.
Khan said that with the addition of Collision, he wants more people helping out with creative. He mentioned QT Marshall, Pat Buck, Jerry Lynn, Dean Malenko, Madison Rayne, Sarah Stock, BJ Whitmer, and Will Washington as those who contribute from a creative perspective. He also said he’s been leaning on Bryan Danielson more lately.
Khan said he is confident they will get wrestlers from Stardom for Forbidden Door.
Khan was asked if Collision means AEW will be running more pay-per-views and responded that it’s something they could consider but only if it made sense regarding their deal with Warner Bros Discovery.
Regarding a potential Sting retirement match, Khan said Sting can wrestle as long as he wants to. Sting hasn’t given him a date on when he will retire. He praised what Sting brings to the company. Khan called Sting’s retirement match the biggest moment in wrestling that’s out there right now.
Asked about possible commentators for AEW Collision, Khan complimented Veda Scott and said he’s got some names in mind that people might find surprising.
He said he suggested Willow Nightingale for the NJPW Strong Women’s title tournament. Khan praised her performances in Ring of Honor and AEW.
In response to a question on Mercedes Mone’s injury possibly changing plans for Forbidden Door, Khan said that Mone was probably the odds-on favorite to win the tournament. He said only he and Mone know about any conversations for the June PPV.
Khan did not provide broadcast details for All In, nor information about All Out the following week.
He confirmed that AEW Dark and Dark: Elevation being canceled is due to the new agreement with Warner Bros Discovery.
Khan said he doesn’t consider ROH a feeder system, specifically mentioning the promotion’s champions as top stars. Fans can expect a bigger episode of ROH TV this week as well.
Bill Goldberg and Sting could potentially be involved in a huge show in Israel later this year.
Longtime promoter and agent, Rick Bassman, told Haus of Wrestling recently that he’s been in contact with Goldberg about a potential event in Jerusalem this September.
āFirst of all, Iām actively in touch with Bill, Iām working on a date right now,ā Bassman began. āI donāt promote much these days but every now and then, something fun comes up, and itās worth diving into. So working on a date in Jerusalem, Israel for September of this year. And that would involve, potentially, both Goldberg and Sting. And then on the whole ladder, you have the AEW clearance issues, of course. So thatās something that I really hope to put together.”
Goldberg told 97.3 The Ticket last month that he was looking into a self-promoted retirement tour. He noted that WWE promised him a retirement match after he agreed to face Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber 2022 but the company has not followed through on the deal.
As for Sting’s possible involvement, the 64-year-old noted in an interview with D Magazine in January that his AEW contract expires sometime in 2023. When his deal is up, Sting plans to retire.
Bassman also mentioned that he’s been in contact with Goldberg’s agent, Barry Bloom, regarding a potential event or tour. Still, Bassman would not be surprised if Goldberg ends up back in WWE.
Bassman continued:
āNow, only because Iāve been in touch actively with Bill, and then also with his agent, Barry Bloom, who is a longtime good friend. They are working on exactly what you described. But to my knowledge, it still needs to all be nailed down. That said, I would not be surprised to see Bill end up back in WWE for something massive.ā
