Tag: Young Bucks

AEW Dynamite Grand Slam live results: Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness

Posted on by Ryan Howard

AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness will renew their storied rivalry one more time at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam from Queens, New York’s Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Just shy of 15 years since their last meeting at ROH Glory by Honor on September 26, 2009, Danielson and McGuinness will once again lock horns during the final countdown of Danielson’s full-time career.

Darby Allin will put his guaranteed AEW World title shot on the line in a match against Jon Moxley.

AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks will defend their titles against Will Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher while AEW Women’s World Champion Mariah May puts her title on the line against Yuka Sakazaki.

FTW Champion Hook defends his title against Roderick Strong.

Prince Nana is also scheduled to provide an update on Swerve Strickland who has been out of action since losing an unsanctioned steel cage match to Hangman Page at this month’s All Out.

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AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam comes on the air with Oasis “F’n In The Bushes” hitting and out walks Nigel McGuinness for potentially the opening contest, as commentary still questions Bryan Danielson appearing. Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone & Jim Ross are on the call, as Ross said he searched catering three times for Danielson.

The standard theme music for Danielson played and he didn’t show up the first go around, so McGuinness took the mic and said The American Coward dropped the ball, demanded a ten count and Danielson stripped of the AEW World Title. The count was put on but at six The Final Countdown kicked in and out walked Danielson to a huge reaction.

AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson defeated Nigel McGuinness

(I thought this was an excellent back and forth opener with McGuinness looking great for being out of the ring for such a long time. The Casino Gauntlet is one thing, but to go about 20 minutes in a singles match with the World Champ is a different story. It was almost like he got the closure he wanted, even in defeat. It’ll be interesting if he continues to wrestle or if this was it. I certainly hope we see more of McGuinness in the ring, he’s been sorely missed, as has his entrance music.)

Almost 15 years ago to the day these two last battled in the ring at Glory By Honor VIII, as both men trade uppercuts early with McGuinness standing tall, yelling to Schiavone that it’s too easy. Danielson responded with a snap mare and punt to the back before a series of wrist lock counters, with Excalibur saying it’s a time machine to the 70s and catch as catch can. Overhand chops from McGuinness only woke Danielson up, putting a smile on McGuinness’ face. Uppercut exchange led to a kick to the thigh by Danielson, but McGuinness sold it low, but it was a ploy to gain the advantage. Both traded mounts and LeBell Lock attempts, with Danielson sinking it in, but the height of McGuinness got the ropes. McGuinness pulled Danielson to the outside and targeted the right arm, trying to drop the steps onto it, but Danielson escaped. They channel back to their ROH days and tease the spot pulling each other into the ring post, but thankfully we didn’t get either going head first into it.

Back inside, McGuinness applied the London Dungeon top wrist lock, as Danielson got the rope break and met McGuinness in the corner with a charging dropkick. Underhook suplex led to McGuinness cutting off Danielson in the ropes, tried a Tower of London, but Danielson escaped into the Busiaku Knee, landing on the bad arm. Yes Kicks fired off, as McGuinees answered with his handstand in the corner, but was chopped down, allowing Danielson to wrench the neck. McGuinness flipped back to his feet and fired off a combo for a near fall. McGuinness fought off a LeBell Lock by slamming the injured arm down, leading to the reset. Danielson tried an uppercut with the injured arm and collapsed, but did his moonsault out of the corner, only for McGuinness to hit his bounce back lariat, but Danielson kicked out at one to a huge pop.

Thumb to the eye led to the ripcord lariat for a McGuinness near fall before continuously going for London Dungeon once more. Anvil elbows by McGuinness, who hits the Tower of London for a close two. McGuinness almost applied a London Dungeon surfboard combo, but Danielson rolled through into anvil elbows. McGuinness hit a Busaiku Knee of his own, sending Danielson into a Nigel lariat attempt, but McGuinness was the one who hit the lariat for two. The way McGuinness fell allowed Danielson to work a LeBell Lock and despite fighting, McGuinness appeared to say thank you (it was bleeped, but it didn’t look like F you) before tapping out.

Christian Cage’s music hit after the bell and he slowly walked out with the Casino Gauntlet contract. Cage teased signing it, but Kip Sabian snuck up from behind and stole the pen from Cage’s hands. The chase was on until Cage ran into Claudio Castagnoli & PAC standing right behind the entrance tunnel. Cage scurried away after Sabian before things went to break.

**********

HOOK defeated Roderick Strong (w/The Kingdom) to retain the FTW Title

(Relatively quick defense for HOOK, but what we saw was good, as HOOK got the respect from Strong & The Kingdom post-match. The bigger story here was the retiring of the FTW Title, as it’s a smart move to allow HOOK to finally break off into something else. He’s done a great job with the title, but it’s time to compete for other gold.)

Excalibur tried to tell us back when Strong tapped to REDRUM a few weeks ago, the ref missed the foot on the rope due to being so in the zone, which is a new one for me. HOOK tried an arm triangle early, but Taven & Bennett pulled Strong to the outside. HOOK just broke through and took the fight to Strong, who answered by throwing HOOK into the barricade. Bennett handed Strong a kendo stick, but he missed a swing, HOOK got possession and took everyone out, including a Russian leg sweep with it into the barricade. Numbers finally became too much, as Strong launched HOOK into the ring post, taking things to commercial.

Strong controlled the whole break until HOOK fought back right as things returned with a series of takedowns. Taven threw in a chair, as Strong wedged it in the corner, as that allowed Strong to escape REDRUM and drive HOOK into it. Big charging slam got a near fall, as Strong followed placing two chairs together, but HOOK hit a Judo throw through them for two. Strong exploded up and hit a fireman’s carry gutbuster onto the chair and Sick Kick for a close two of his own. HOOK floated over End of Heartache into REDRUM and Strong ultimately tapped.

Post match, Strong offered a handshake and HOOK accepted, as The Kingdom gave a nod of respect before leaving. Tony Schiavone interviewed HOOK ringside and brought up this being the 11th title defense for HOOK and how the FTW Title was created a short drive from there by his father. HOOK thanked Schiavone, but all good things come to an end. HOOK thanked everyone who has competed for this title and the fans who supported the title. From this moment on, the FTW Title is officially retired, as HOOK presented it to Taz, hugging him to a huge pop.

**********

The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) defeated AEW International Champion Will Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher to retain the AEW Tag Team Titles

(Action packed match and exactly what you’d expect from everyone involved. The storyline was Callis was the reason Fletcher & Ospreay lost, despite Ospreay being the one who wouldn’t allow Fletcher to pull the trigger with the screwdriver. I liked this chapter of the Ospreay/Callis Family story, as they can go a variety of ways out of this result.)

Don Callis joined commentary and said tonight will be the biggest night of his career. Sneak attack early by The Bucks, who hit a pop-up hurricanrana on Ospreay before Fletcher ate a double flying back elbow into a pose for the crowd. Ospreay & Fletcher respond with double team of their own, as The Bucks landed awkwardly onto one another until Ospreay hit a moonsault off the back of Fletcher. The Bucks went to the floor, as Ospreay & Fletcher hit dueling moonsaults off the top as things went to break.

The Bucks regained control during commercial and when things returned, Fletcher fought free with a Flatliner/DDT combo to roll to the Ospreay hot tag. Pip, Pip, Cheerio on Matthew before taking both Bucks out with a handspring Pele Kick. Standing Sky Twister Press on Nicholas for two, as Ospreay signaled for Hidden Blade, but Nicholas dodged into a corkscrew kick. Sliced Bread into the running knee for a near fall, as Ospreay was draped over the top and The Bucks hit the Swanton bounce back powerbomb for two. Fletcher was dispatched to the floor, as Ospreay kipped out of an EVP Trigger into a double Oscutter. Referee Rick Knox took a delayed time to check who was the legal man before making the count for two. Coriolis reversed, but Fletcher turned The Bucks inside out with a double clothesline. Nicholas countered a Liger Bomb into a facebuster, as Ospreay flew in with a 450 Splash, Nicholas hit a Destroyer, but the impact popped up Ospreay to hit a flying Hidden Blade for the reset. Fletcher tripped to the floor by Matthew, as Nicholas hit the punt kick and Ospreay hit with a hurricanrana off the apron by Nicholas. Fletcher set up and hit with a spike Tombstone on the apron, as they wanted a countout win, but Fletcher broke the count at 9, rolling into a charging knee from Nicholas into another commercial.

The Bucks tried a TK Driver, but Ospreay & Fletcher both countered into a double Styles Clash for two. Ospreay connected with Hidden Blade and Storm Breaker, but Nicholas broke up the count. Ospreay signaled for the Tiger Driver, but Nicholas saved his brother with a superkick. Fletcher in with multiple Snap Dragons and charging corner strikes, but Matthew met him with a running bulldog. Ospreay cut off More Bang For Your Buck initially, as Nicholas looked to spring for at TK Driver, but Ospreay flew in with a Cutter in mid-air. TK Driver for two by Fletcher, as Coriolis connected to follow, but Matthew kicked out. Ospreay yelled as Fletcher to end it, as he hit the corner brainbuster, but Nicholas barely broke it up.

Nicholas sent outside with Ospreay, as Fletcher flew out with a dive. Rick Knox checked on Nicholas, as Callis handed the screwdriver to Fletcher, scurrying away. Callis took the ref, as Fletcher looked to use the weapon, but Ospreay cut him off. He showed Knox the weapon and told Callis to get away, resulting in Ospreay getting clobbered with the Tag Title belt. Fletcher tried a roll-up, but got shoved into a belt shot by Nicholas. BTE Trigger connected for the victory.

Post-match, commentary brought up that if Callis didn’t intervene, Ospreay & Fletcher could’ve won the match. Callis checked on Fletcher, as a dejected Ospreay looked on.

-Renee Paquette is backstage with The Conglomeration, who officially welcomed Rocky Romero to conglomerate with The Conglomeration. Romero accepts, as Mark Briscoe said he’s wearing a Dem Boys shirt to remember how the Briscoes wrestled their last match together not too far from Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Learning Tree will suffer a Dem Boys ass whoopin on Collision. Kyle O’Reilly asked for the word of the day and Briscoe said it’s vociferous.

-Tony Schiavone is on stage and welcomes Prince Nana, who said it’s good to be in New York, Swerve’s House. Nana said he’s known Schiavone a long time, mentally, there’s nothing that can stop the most dangerous man in AEW. Physically, Swerve Strickland is not cleared to comeback, but fighting every day to return.

MVP then walks out from the heel tunnel and apologizes for the intrusion. He introduced himself and said he agreed, Strickland is the most dangerous man in AEW. It’s MVP’s opinion that Strickland is the most phenomenal talent to set foot in an AEW ring, his title run will be studied by future generations. MVP put over Strickland’s accomplishments, but also said he saw him lose his title and his house burned down. MVP says he views Strickland allowing Bryan Danielson walking around smiling as a failure on Strickland’s management, who would rather shill his coffee. MVP handed Nana his business card to give to Strickland, saying he’ll be ready to talk “business”. The crowd popped big for that line, as Nana looked very conflicted.

**********

-The Scapegoat Bus drives the streets of New York, heading to Arthur Ashe Stadium this Saturday, as Jack Perry’s Open Challenge for the TNT Title is brought up.

Mariah May defeated Yuka Sakazaki to retain the AEW Women’s Title

(The crowd was quite quiet for this after the entrances and this had a series of sloppy moments that didn’t help things. May ultimately retained, but the crowd really never thought Sakazaki had a chance. Post match, Mina Shirakawa has returned, but it was for only about 30 seconds, so more on that to come.)

Sakazaki flew off the top with a dive during May’s entrance and followed up with a Tiger Feint Kick on the apron. The match officially begins in the ring, as both ladies slapped it out until a rolling elbow popped May, who dodged another Tiger Feint Kick, dragging Sakazaki to the floor. Shotgun dropkick sent Sakazaki flying, as back inside, May hit a spinning side slam for two. Another dropkick with Sakazaki trapped in the ropes, but Sakazaki counters the handstand head scissors into a choke in the ropes.

May brought Sakazaki in for May Day, but Sakazaki rolled through into a backslide for what looked like a three, as May didn’t get her shoulder up, but referee Aubrey didn’t make the count. Instead, we got a rolling pin attempt for a series of twos, as Sakazaki followed with a Merry Go Round, but May wiggled out into a headbutt and high stack German suplex for two. May didn’t get much of a spinning sit-out slam, as Sakazaki fired a thrust kick into a Northern Lights Bomb. Sakazaki wanted the Magical Girl Splash, but May got her knees up and followed with a charging knee into Storm Zero for the win.

Right as May was about to level Sakazaki with the title post-match, Willow Nightingale made the save. After a stare down with May, the music for Mina Shirakawa hit, distracting Nightingale enough for May to waffle her with the title. May ran into a confused Shirakawa’s arms and spun her around. Shirakawa was disappointed in May’s actions, as Sakazaki chased May off before staring down Shirakawa.

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Jon Moxley (w/Marina Shafir) defeated Darby Allin to earn an AEW World Title Shot

(If you bet that Allin was going to take some gnarly bumps in this one, then you’d be correct, as Moxley beat the crap out of him for a long portion of this one. Allin had his moments, but Moxley wasn’t going to lose this one. They didn’t do an injury angle or anything to Allin, so I wonder what he’ll be doing come WrestleDream now that he’s lost his World Title match? The only confusing part of this whole thing was the post-match and Private Party & Komander attempting to make the save for Danielson, only to get beat up super quick, again. I have no idea why they’re getting a Trios Title match as a result, I would’ve given them at least a little bit of revenge following last week’s slaughter.)

Allin exploded out of the corner to start, but Moxley flattened him with a big boot and corner strikes. Moxley placed Allin’s mouth over the ring rope and kicked at it violently, busting open Allin’s mouth in the process. Moxley started zoning in on the left leg, as an Irish whip to the corner was so intense that Allin flew through the ropes to the floor. Moxley found himself trapped in the ring apron, allowing Allin to rake the back and piggy back Moxley, who shrugged Allin off. Allin exposed the top of the corner post and trapped Moxley’s arm in there, wrenching away, as Shafir got Moxley free. Allin hit a Coffin Drop to the floor before following with a low dive from the ring to the outside. Allin went to set up Moxley on a chair, but Shafir stood in his way and the delay allowed Moxley to hit a bodyslam on the apron. Moxley took the ref, as Shafir got in cheap shots before Moxley smushed Allin’s head between his boot and ring post with things going to commercial.

Back from break, Moxley continued the onslaught until Allin avoided Snake Eyes into a float over stunner. Moxley fell to the outside to the set-up chair, as Allin flew from the top with a missile dropkick, as back inside, the Code Red got a near fall. Allin exposed the corner buckle, but Moxley put on the brakes, hitting a John Woo dropkick. O’Connor Roll into a Coffin Splash from Allin, who applied a Fujiwara Armbar, but Moxley rolled out with Allin transitioning to a guillotine. Moxley placed Allin in the corner and paint-brushed the hell out of him to the outside. Shafir helped Moxley remove the mat around the ring, as Moxley screamed that Allin asked for this. Moxley wanted a Death Rider, but Allin floated over and Moxley ran into the steps. Allin tried another dive, but Moxley side-stepped and Allin went splat.

Flipping suplex onto the steps from Moxley, as Allin just barely beat the count. Allin tried throwing shots, but Moxley no sold, charged, only to run into the exposed buckle, letting Allin get a school-boy for two. Allin tried a Coffin Drop, but leapt into the waiting arms of Moxley, who sank in the Rear Naked Choke. Transition to the Bulldog Choke, as Allin visibly starts to fade, but almost a smile on the face had Allin get the ropes. Both fight to the corner, Allin wanted a superplex, but Shafir jumped on the apron for distraction. The delay was enough for Moxley to counter into an Avalanche Death Rider for the victory.

Post match, doctors ran to ringside to check on Allin as Bryan Danielson hit the ring with a tie and choked out Moxley. Shafir tried to stop him, as PAC & Claudio Castagnoli ran down and pulled him off. Private Party & Komander ran out to make the save, but were easily dispatched by the BCC. Danielson was about to hit a Busiaku Knee on Moxley, but Castagnoli & PAC pulled him to safety. The BCC bailed as Danielson took the mic and said if Moxley wanted war, then Danielson declares war. Danielson said come WrestleDream, he’s going to kick Moxley’s F’n head in. The Final Countdown played, as Danielson stared down a laughing Moxley in the crowd before thanking Private Party & Komander for trying to help him.

AEW Rampage: Grand Slam 9/27/24

  • Willow Nightingale vs. Taya Valkyrie

AEW Collision: Grand Slam 9/28/24

  • Jamie Hayter vs. Saraya in a Saraya’s Rules Match
  • Chris Jericho, Big Bill & Bryan Keith vs. Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe & Kyle O’Reilly in a Tornado Tag
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Sammy Guevara in a Continental Title Eliminator
  • Hangman Adam Page vs. Jeff Jarrett in a Lumberjack Strap Match
  • Jack Perry defends the TNT Title in an Open Challenge
  • Beast Mortos vs. Dralistico vs. Hologram
  • Claudio Castagnoli, PAC & Wheeler Yuta defend the Trios Titles against Private Party & Komander

AEW Dynamite: 5 Year Anniversary 10/2/24

  • Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet for the AEW International Title
  • Dr. Britt Baker vs. Serena Deeb

Will Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher to challenge for Tag Team titles at AEW Grand Slam

Posted on by Ethan Renner

AEW International Champion Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher are the new top contenders for the AEW Tag Team Championship after winning a Casino gauntlet match on Wednesday’s Dynamite.

They now move on to challenge for The Young Bucks’ World Tag Team titles at Grand Slam on Wednesday, September 25th from Queens, New York.

Ospreay and Fletcher outlasted FTR, The Outrunners, The Righteous, Top Flight, The Undisputed Kingdom, The Acclaimed, MxM Collection, and Grizzled Young Veterans in the gauntlet.

Fletcher pinned Dante Martin of Top Flight after an Ospreay Hidden Blade to win after Grizzled Young Veterans and FTR brawled to the back to clear the deck for the eventual new number one contenders. FTR vs. GYV in tag team action is set for this week’s AEW Collision episode.

The Bucks are coming off a successful title defense at All Out when they defeated Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta.

Here’s the current lineup for Arthur Ashe Stadium:

  • AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness in a non-title match
  • Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin for Allin’s AEW World title shot
  • AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) defend against Will Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher

AEW Dynamite live results: Tag Team Casino gauntlet match

Posted on by Ryan Howard

A Tag Team Casino gauntlet match is on tap for tonight’s AEW Dynamite from Lexington, Kentucky — the fallout edition from last Saturday’s All Out.

The winner will challenge the Young Bucks for the AEW Tag Team titles at this month’s Grand Slam in Queens, New York. As of now, no teams have been announced for the bout.

An appearance by Jon Moxley is also set following Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and PAC turning on AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson following his title defense over Jack Perry this past Saturday.

Perry will look to rebound from that loss as he puts his TNT title on the line against Lio Rush.

Ricochet will look to go 2-0 in his early AEW run as he faces current Ring of Honor Tag Team Champion Sammy Guevara for the first time since 2017.

Queen Aminata will face AEW Women’s World Champion Mariah May in a title eliminator bout.

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AEW Dynamite comes on the air with footage of Jon Moxley leaving All Out saying he hopes people don’t think he enjoyed what he did to Bryan Danielson, he didn’t. Danielson doesn’t have the stomach for this any longer, as two years ago, they made a commitment for something real, something that would last years after they’re gone. An idea that couldn’t be destroyed, not for money or recognition. Mr. Patience, Mr. Empathy, the greatest man he’s ever known, all he sees backstage is egos and jealousy when he looks around. Our mentor called Danielson the perfect wrestler, but saw himself in Moxley. His mentor told him guys like us, we are who we are, we can’t pretend to be anything else. He’s no villain or hero, he is however the one true king of these lands. We tried Danielson’s way, but diplomacy has failed and now, he chooses war. Footage of Danielson being rushed from the ring to through the backstage area was shown during the words of Moxley.

We then see Darby Allin skateboarding into the arena backstage tonight.

Christian Cage Addresses the AEW World Title Contract

Tony Schiavone introduces Christian Cage & The Patriarchy to the ring to loud boos before bringing up his Casino Gauntlet contract guaranteeing him an AEW World Title shot any time he wants. Cage said his son Nick Wayne told him the word on the streets is Cage has infinite aura. Now that Cage has this contract, it’s undeniable. All In, their Trios Titles were stolen from them, but when Killswitch grabbed him by the throat, he saw a look in his eyes, the lightbulb went off and he realized what he needed to be a monster, wrecking machine, a killer, who belongs to Cage. Schiavone brings up Cage teasing cashing in at All Out, as the fans chanted for Luchasaurus. Cage said he was prepared to sign the contract and make it official, but it wasn’t the time or place. Bryan Danielson’s days are numbered and if he thinks being suffocated was bad, it’s nothing compared to what Cage will do. He’ll make Brie wish she was the one with CTE. Not only is Cage the face of TBS now and forever, he’s the next AEW World Champion. As Cage held his contract in the air, we saw Kip Sabian at ringside before he walked away.

Renee Paquette is backstage with the Don Callis Family as well as International Champion Will Ospreay. Callis thanked Ospreay for being there and brings up Ospreay winning every Casino Gauntlet prior and that maybe tonight he teams with Kyle Fletcher tonight and bring in the AEW Tag Team Titles? Ospreay said he has his hands full with Ricochet, but Callis brings up the favor that Ospreay owe him, as Fletcher said he’s tired of being so close and not getting the job done. There’s not a single person he’d rather win the Tag Titles with than Ospreay. He accepts, but Takeshita is less than thrilled as Ospreay & Fletcher walks off.

The Scapegoat bus pulls up backstage and Jack Perry storms to the ring for the opening contest of the evening.

Jack Perry defeated Lio Rush (w/Action Andretti) to retain the TNT Title

(A relatively quick title defense of Perry here, as he needed a strong showing following his loss at All Out. It’ll be interesting if they continue to have an Open Challenge for Perry’s TNT Title or will a new challenger emerge for Grand Slam?)

Perry attacks right at the bell, as Excalibur informs us Bryan Danielson is at home recovering following Moxley’s All Out attack and Wheeler Yuta is by his side. Rush sent Perry to the floor, as he shoved Andretti, but was distracted enough for Rush to his a springboard boot. Perry fired off a chop, tried a DDT off the edge of the ring, Rush fought free, tried a moonsault of his own, but was caught with Snake Eyes onto the apron taking things to break.

Perry suckered Andretti into grabbing his foot, as he got caught by referee Aubrey, who ejected him from the match, in what has to be the lamest ejection arguably ever. This delay allowed Rush to battle back with his speed, connecting on multiple Tope Suicidas. Back inside, Perry ran right into a Spanish Fly for a near fall. Perry fought back with another Snake Eyes, this time into the middle buckle, as a Snap Dragon put Perry back in control. Commentary brought up Kenny Omega and wished him a speedy recovery, as Perry went for it again, but Rush countered into a Poison rana. Rush tried a springboard stunner, but Perry met him with a running knee strike and then a proper running knee to win it. Perry just walked to the back quickly with his title post-match.

-Alex Marvez catches up with Jack Perry backstage, asking his thoughts about All Out. Perry said people like him are crucified in this life so they can be worshipped in the next. Perry threw in the TNT Title back into the Scapegoat bus and drove off.

-Footage of the Lights Out Steel Cage match was shown from All Out between Hangman Page & Swerve Strickland. Renee Paquette then welcomed Page backstage, asking where his head is at now? Page said if he found 1,000 houses that Strickland called home, he would’ve burned them all to ash just to make him pay for what he did to Page and his family. He meant everything he did to Strickland. If anyone got in his way and tried to protect Strickland from him, he will find you and hurt you.

We heard a ruckus, as Paquette asked Hangman what the hell, as Page dropped some backstage workers before glaring at Top Flight & Leila Gray. He approached the Dark Order boys, who say they don’t even know who Page is anymore. Jeff Jarrett was next and said he’s seen a lot of guys take that demented path. He might be going the extra mile, but it all ends up in shame and regret. Jarrett said Page will regret the day he laid hands on Jarrett’s wife. He’ll learn the worst person he’ll ever look at is the one staring at him in the mirror. Page waffled Jarrett and tossed him into a bunch of chairs, as he stormed off with Karen Jarrett, Jay Lethal and a host of others tending to Jeff.

Komander & Private Party’s Trios Match Never Happened

The match was about to begin when Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Marina Shafir & PAC cleaned the ring. PAC said they’ve been very patient, but enough is enough. This company is broken, as what happened at All Out was inevitable, they are inevitable. As for PAC, he’s been very lost for very long, but not anymore, now he has something to believe in, a purpose. Diplomacy has failed, this company is theirs. Castagnoli & PAC stormed off, as Moxley & Shafir stood over the fallen Komander before walking off as well.

**********

The Learning Tree arrives backstage in a Convertible, as Chris Jericho said he’s wearing the $7,000 jacket Orange Cassidy ruined 4 years ago. Jericho said that’s why he stole Cassidy’s backpack last week for not paying him back and will show everyone what’s in it later tonight. Big Bill said Cassidy must suffer the consequences.

Ricochet defeated ROH Tag Team Champion Sammy Guevara

(Exactly the kind of athleticism and flips that you’d expect from these two, as this was a good second match for Ricochet. I’m glad they’ve already set up his next opponent, as it’s smart to get him wins before entering any title program with Will Ospreay.)

Quick series of takedowns by both in the early going, as both flipped the other out of missed kicks to the midsection before trying thrust kicks, pulling up into a stalemate. This Is Flippy chants by the crowd as Ricochet flipped out of a trip, as a dropkick sent Guevara outside, as Ricochet cleared the top with a twisting press, landing on his feet. Both brawl up the ramp, as Guevara sent Ricochet face first into the entrance tunnel before climbing the stage and hit a big moonsault off of it. Guevara clutched his ankle as things went to commercial.

Back from break, Guevara was in control and he sent Ricochet into the barricade before connecting on a somersault twisting dive of his own, giving a shoutout to Tay & Luna. Guevara wanted a powerbomb on the stage, but Ricochet backdropped out. Double jump senton off the barricade by Ricochet, who followed with a springboard clothesline and running Shooting Star Press back inside for two. Sole butt from Ricochet, as Guevara tried a leap frog, but was caught in mid-air. Ricochet wanted a DVD, but Guevara countered into a Destroyer and top rope Cutter for a clue two. Guevara went up top, rolled through a Shooting Star Press, Ricochet tried a rolling Cutter, but Guevara caught him with a pump knee. GTH was dodged into a Ricochet Roundhouse Kick that led to a brutal Axe Kick. Ricochet hit the Vertigo sit-out reverse DDT for the victory.

Right as the match ended, Beast Mortos hit the ring and flattened Ricochet with a Spear. A frustrated Guevara grabbed a chair and made the save, offering a hand to Ricochet, who he helped up and showed respect as Mortos retreated.

-Highlights from the fantastic Chicago Street Fight between Willow Nightingale & Kris Statlander at All Out was shown.

**********

-Renee Paquette is backstage with Kazuchika Okada, who said defending his title at All Out was the hardest night of his life, as he fought off tears, it was so, easy. Don Callis walked in with Konosuke Takeshita, who Callis said Okada didn’t pin. Okada said Takeshita will be a champion, just not the Continental Champion, bitch. Takeshita got into Okada’s face and Okada walked off.

Darby Allin Face to Face with Jon Moxley

Allin walked to the ring with his skateboard to a loud ovation, as he said someone’s been looking for him, he’s right here. Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir walk out from the crowd as Shafir got right into Allin’s face and Moxley had her back off. Moxley said he doesn’t know what Allin has seen or heard, but nothing has changed between them. Allin cut him off and said that was enough, they don’t act like superstars, they don’t live in a fantasy world. Allin doesn’t take any of this for granted, AEW gave him everything and wants to tell Moxley a story. His first year in wrestling, he wanted to look for a hero, but after everyone he thought was that hero turned into a scam, it was Moxley who he saw and became his hero. When he lost to Moxley on the independents, he realized that maybe he could be just like Moxley. Allin would never do what Moxley did to Bryan Danielson to someone he loved, he would never do that to someone like Sting. Allin asked what Moxley wants from him?

Moxley said Allin has a guaranteed World Title shot, but that isn’t happening, as the World Champion is indisposed. That’s a blessing in disguise, as Allin isn’t ready to be a World Champion, so he’s going to need Allin to hand over his World Title shot to him. Allin asked if Moxley is stupid or has been drinking again? Allin said if he wants it so bad, do something about it. Moxley said he’ll earn it, Grand Slam, Allin’s World Title shot on the line. Allin is so far below Moxley that he’ll never be World Champion, but he’s the only one who has Allin’s back. Trust Moxley when he says Allin has no idea what’s going on, but that title shot will be his. He will teach Allin the hard way. Allin accepts and said if Moxley wants to burn AEW to the ground, don’t be surprised when he pulls Moxley into the fire. Moxley bowed to Allin and retreated with Shafir.

-Alex Marvez is backstage with Christopher Daniels and asks him how this effects Grand Slam? Nigel McGuinness approaches Daniels and wants to talk to Tony Khan, telling Daniels to trust him, Khan will want to hear what he has to say.

-Commentary took time to pay tribute to the lives lost 23 years ago on September 11th.

Mariah May defeated Queen Aminata in a Women’s Title Eliminator

(This match picked up after commercial, as the crowd was behind Aminata, who looked really good even in defeat. Post match set the stage for a Mina Shirakawa return, which is all May wants.)

Both ladies took turns with counters early, as that turned to stiff forearm exchanges. May switched to slaps and Aminata hit one of her own before a PK landed. Aminata missed the hip attack in the ropes, allowing May to choke away, kissing Aminata on the cheek, before hitting a dropkick to the back. May hit a knee lift on the apron as things went to break.

May hit a missile dropkick when things returned, but Aminata fought out of the corner and followed with a snap suplex and release German that folded up May. Aminata hit a charging punt kick right to the face for two. May wiggled free from a powerbomb, connected on a draping DDT for a near fall. Aminata again battled back, went up top, but rolled through a double stomp. May met her with a running dropkick and Storm Zero for the victory.

May took the mic and rolled around the ring, saying she still haven’t had her Women’s Championship Celebration. Something is missing, someone’s missing, Mina Shirakawa, please come back.

-The Young Bucks are backstage and brought up how they wanted to have the greatest tag team division of all time when starting AEW, but 5 years later, they’re still here doing all the heavy lifting. They hear the whispers of the fans wanting a new team to take over the tag team division. Be upset the teams who aren’t good enough to beat them. Nicholas said this is the reason they booked this Casino Gauntlet and wishes good luck to the challengers; they’ll need it and they’ll be out there watching live.

**********

-Video package of Saraya and her family taking over Zero Hour at All In was shown and the return of Jamie Hayter.

Chris Jericho, Big Bill & Bryan Keith defeated The Iron Savages (Bronson, Boulder & Jacked Jameson)

Jericho is wrestling in his ruined $7,000 jacket and slapped Boulder to start, which didn’t bode well, as Boulder planted him with a punch. Jericho immediately tagged in Bill, who had a face-off with Boulder to Meat chants. Boulder hit a corner splash, but took too long to follow, missing the second, allowing Bill to hit one of his own and big boot. Keith made the blind tag, as Bronson was decked outside, as Jameson tagged in. Uppercut headbutt from Keith, who connected with Diamond Dust. Jericho made the tag, boot on Jameson to get the win.

Post match, Jericho welcomes the crowd and talks about his ruined $7,000 Sergio Georgini jacket (shout-out to David Brent), which is why he stole Orange Cassidy’s backpack. Inside it was a picture of Best Friends & Kris Statlander. Jericho said Cassidy is still obsessed with friendship and Jericho said there are no friends in wrestling and if he thinks he has friends, he’s being used. Pull your hands out of your pockets and head out of his ass and pay Jericho his money.

Cassidy was shown on the big screen and said he doesn’t have all of Jericho’s cash, but his boys do. Mark Briscoe & Kyle O’Reilly are shown in a backhoe and poured just about $7,000 worth of pennies into Jericho’s Bentley Convertible, as Cassidy tossed in one buck to make it exact. Jericho was furious, but it didn’t even look like the car was damaged.

**********

Nigel McGuinness Lays Out a Huge Challenge

Nigel McGuinness is in the ring when things return from break. McGuinness said there’s something he needed to get off his chest. With Darby Allin putting his title opportunity on the line at Grand Slam against Jon Moxley, there won’t be an AEW World Title match. That’s good news for the champion, who is probably strapped to an Iron Lung, gasping for air like Justin Roberts when he was choked out by his own tie. It’s not so good for AEW, as a former World Champion himself, he believes Grand Slam should have the AEW Champion compete. McGuinness pulls out a piece of paper asking how many years he’s had to watch Bryan Danielson’s career, having success that should’ve been his.

Bryan Danielson is afraid of Nigel McGuiness, he’s afraid of the one match that everyone wants to see. Tony Khan isn’t afraid; he knows a money match when he sees one. So at Grand Slam, it will be Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness, who guarantees at Authur Ashe Stadium that Oasis will play him to the ring, but will Danielson join him with the Final Countdown or will it be the final match of The American Coward. Balls in Danielson’s court.

-HOOK is shown talking about how he respects Roderick Strong, but once his buddies attacked him after he choked Strong out, things changed. That’s not the Strong he respects, but he’s challenging Strong anytime and anyplace.

The Young Bucks take a seat out on stage ahead of the main event.

Will Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher Won the Tag Team Casino Gauntlet to Earn a Tag Title Shot at Dynamite Grand Slam

(Like the other Casino Gauntlets, this was as chaotic as it gets, with the most notable moment being how wildly over The Outrunners are with the crowd. They teased a near fall, but ultimately the earlier promo tonight setting up Ospreay & Fletcher was what led to the winners. It was a fun main event, as Grand Slam should be a great Tag Team title match.)

FTR and Kyle Fletcher & Will Ospreay were the starting two teams, as a fast-opening sequence from Ospreay & Wheeler. Ospreay tried a hurricanrana, but was launched in the air by Wheeler before Harwood caught him with a bounce back powerbomb that stacked Ospreay pretty bad. Fletcher hit a Michinoku Driver on Harwood before Ospreay moonsaulted off his teammates back for two. Flying lariat from Wheeler sent Fletcher crashing outside, as Harwood cut off Ospreay in the corner before hitting the Power-Plex for two. The Righteous are in third, as Vincent & Dutch ran wild on everyone before Wheeler cut them off, only to be planted with a Boss Man Slam by Dutch and top rope senton by Vincent for two. Ospreay nearly caught Vincent with a Styles Clash off a Sliced Bread, but Dutch cut him off. Half & half from Fletcher, who hit a diving Cutter on Dutch for two. The Kingdom are fourth, with Matt Taven & Mike Bennett immediately hitting a pop-up right hand, running DVD and knee strike on Ospreay for two as things went to commercial.

Back from break, The Acclaimed are fifth and stare down The Bucks before hitting the ring, taking the fight to The Righteous & Kingdom. Meanwhile, FTR, Fletcher & Ospreay brawl on the outside as Stokely Hathaway was shown applauding in the front row as it happened. Bowens & Caster cleaned house with two Fame-Assers on Harwood until MxM Collection are sixth, as they ran wild on The Kingdom, about to touch tips when The Acclaimed cut them off. A quadruple suplex spot ended up with big Dutch landing right on the legs of Bennett as we go to another break.

Top Flight are seventh and quickly fly around the ring with Taven taking a majority of the punishment. Dutch was spiked with a pop-up DDT by Darius, as Dante & Ospreay squared off. Both turned on the boosters as Ospreay hit a wall walk enzugiri, but Dante backflipped into a head scissors. Taven flew in with a springboard boot, until Fletcher turned him inside out with a lariat. Bowens with a combo until he turned right into Shatter Machine. Literally everyone dog piled to break things up as The Outrunners run out at eight and take the fight to everyone in sight to a massive ovation. Aside from FTR & Ospreay, Floyd & Magnum are the most over guys in the match as they hit a double team elbow drop and slingshot dive on The Righteous.

Grizzled Young Veterans are ninth, but FTR sprinted up the ramp and brawl with them to the back ahead of their tag match on Collision this week. Everyone piles up on the floor, leaving Floyd & Mansoor to do the superplex spot onto the stack. Back inside, the running double team slam nearly won the match, but Vincent barely broke the count to huge boos. Darius cleared the top with a dive onto the pile and shotgun dropkick back inside. Bennett with a piledriver, Fletcher with a brainbuster, Dante with a snap hurricanrana pin as he floated over Fletcher in the corner, tried a top rope cross over splash, but Fletcher got the knees up. Ospreay flew in with Hidden Blade and pinned Dante to win it.

AEW Collision 9/14/24

  • FTR vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

AEW Dynamite 9/18/24

  • Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy

AEW All Out live results: Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland unsanctioned cage match

Posted on by Ryan Howard

Former AEW World Champions and blood rivals Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page will square off in an unsanctioned lights out steel cage match at tonight’s AEW All Out from Chicago’s NOW Arena.

The AEW World title is also on the line tonight with new champion Bryan Danielson defending against TBS Champion Jack Perry.

Heated rivals MJF and Daniel Garcia will go one-on-one while Will Ospreay will put the International Championship on the line against PAC.

TBS Champion Mercedes Mone will defend against Hikaru Shida with Kamille is banned from ringside.

Kazuchika Okada will defend the Continental Championship in a four-way against Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe and Konosuke Takeshita.

CMLL Women’s Champion Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander will face off in a non-title Chicago street fight.

The Young Bucks will defend the AEW Tag Team titles against Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta.

The Zero Hour pre-show kicks off at 6:30 PM EST on AEW’s digital media channels with the PPV set to kick off at 8 PM EST.

**********

Zero Hour

The WrestleAunts (Renee Paquette & RJ City) along with Jeff Jarrett welcome us to the show and run down tonight’s card. Being in Chicago, RJ has already made a Perfect Strangers reference. Madison Rayne joined the crew to talk about Mercedes Mone vs. Hikaru Shida and Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale.

Earlier today, Prince Nana & Swerve Strickland arrived, as RJ questioned why Hangman Page wasn’t in jail after committing arson on Wednesday. Page was shown entering the building with security by his side. The Cage Match will be the main event of the evening, as Nigel McGuinness joined the crew and said his gas tank is still at full, despite losing the Casino Gauntlet at All In.

The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster w/Daddy Ass) defeated The Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson w/Jacked Jameson)

(The crowd reacted more to the power moves from The Savages instead of their motorboating comedy antics. Although, this did lead to Excalibur asking Tony Schiavone if he’d ever been to Titty City, which Schiavone quickly denied and plugged how to watch the PPV tonight.)

Excalibur, Tony Schiavone & Matt Menard are on commentary for the opening matches. Ironically enough, Max Caster didn’t get a microphone for their entrance, but Jacked Jameson did, plugging Savage Sauce. The Costco Guys from YouTube were ringside and helped with their entrance, which was even more odd, since after, Jameson welcomed everyone to Titty City. Early float over DDT from Bowens, who executed fast double teams, as Caster hit a hurricanrana on Boulder to the outside. MxM Collection were shown watching from backstage, as Caster took an awkward Shawn Michaels looking corner flip bump, as The Savages kept him isolated, including a great Boss Man Slam and dive outside by Bronson. Boulder hit a big moonsault for a near fall, but Bronson dove for a top rope headbutt, crashed and burned.

Bowens with the hot tag, as he ran wild with combos aplenty until a float over Fame Asser led to The Arrival. Caster leapt for a Mic Drop, but Boulder cut him off. With Caster up in a powerbomb position, Boulder caught Bowens in a cross body and slammed them both. Boulder placed his partner on his shoulders and collapsed onto Bowens for a two. Boulder backpacked his partner for a running corner cannonball, but missed both guys. Jameson was dropped by a Daddy Ass right hand, as Caster finally hit a DVD on Boulder. The Arrival & Mic Drop followed to give Bowens the pin. Mason Madden was carrying Mansoor in his arms backstage, as Excalibur corrected Schiavone that it wasn’t arm in arm, but more like bum in arm.

ROH Tag Team Champions Dustin Rhodes, Sammy Guevara & Hologram defeated The Premier Athletes (Ari Daivari, Tony Nese & Josh Woods w/Mark Sterling)

(One of many party matches on this Zero Hour, as the crowd were really into Rhodes, Guevara & Hologram. Excalibur asks if potentially Rhodes could go after the AEW Trios Titles, adding to his ROH Tag & Six Man titles.)

Guevara delivered his trademark leap frogs into the dropkick, but posed too long, thus finding himself beaten down in the Athletes corner. Guevara flipped out of a back suplex by Daivari and hit a pump knee, allowing Hologram to tag in. Wild athleticism from Hologram, who fired off offense quickly hitting Daivari with almost a wrist clutch End of Days before a standing Spanish Fly to Nese. Trying a springboard, Woods shoved Nese out of the way and hit a pump knee in mid-air to take control. Backbreaker into a lariat combo got a near fall, as We Want Dustin chants were loud from the fans. At one point Woods & Hologram were on different pages and Woods slipped in the corner, as Hologram eventually hit a head scissors for the double down.

Rhodes made the hot tag to a huge pop, as he hit an uppercut and snap powerslam on Woods & Daivari while spiking Nese with a Canadian Destroyer. Hologram & Guevara hit double moonsaults on Nese & Daivari. Despite this, The Athletes regained control with a suplex from the outside into the ring on Hologram, as Woods hit an Angle Slam into a Nese neckbreaker on Rhodes for two. Sterling ran distraction on Rhodes, as the match broke down, leaving Rhodes alone with Woods, hitting a Cross Rhodes. Sterling again took the ref, but was brought in by Hologram & Guevara. He also suffered a Cross Rhodes for his troubles, as Guevara hit a cutter, Hologram with a wheel kick and Rhodes with the Final Reckoning on Woods for the win.

Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson, Austin & Colten Gunn) defeated The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds & John Silver)

(Another party match that the crowd were loudly behind Robinson & the Gunns, who seem back on track after losing at All In a few weeks ago.)

Fast double team work from The Gunns early, as Robinson tagged in to clean up on Silver before flattening Uno with a big scissors kick. Dark Order all tried going up top, but were triple crotched, as Reynolds took two corner splashes, but Uno moved him as Robinson missed his cannonball. Locomotion strikes by Uno, Silver & Reynolds, who did a Kaientai tribute, as they all posed on top of Robinson, who found himself isolated. Robinson dodged three corner splashes, as Uno ate a Left Hand of God, leading to a stacked cannonball.

Hot tag to Austin, who was a house of fire until Uno side stepped a Fame Asser into Something Evil, as Reynolds hit a double stomp off the top. Colten came in, dropping Uno with a One and Only, as everyone ultimately collided with clotheslines, leaving all six men down. Colten & Reynolds launched off their partners backs at the same time and collided, as Silver tried a combo on Austin, who turned it into the Quickdraw. Jabs from Robinson on Uno, who hit a sike out punch into Juice in Loose for the win.

-The Costco Guys were interviewed by Renee Paquette & RJ City. If you follow them on TikTok, you probably would’ve probably thought this was fun.

-Tony Schiavone welcomed Skye Blue to the stage, as she came out on crutches, having broken her ankle a few months ago on Collision. Blue said this building holds a lot of sentimental meaning to her, as three years ago Tony Khan offered her a spot in the Casino Battle Royal. Blue said it’s just a waiting game before she can return. Mariah May interrupted and said she’s out here to have her AEW Women’s Championship Celebration, but she’s not doing it in Chicago. May asks why it’s called the Windy City, when no one here has ever been blown before? Blue said May knows a thing or two about that. May said it makes sense Blue is from Chicago, as she’s broke, filthy and lower her standards to make it enjoyable. Blue said thanks, skank, as May said she needs Glamour, look now and never forget. May kicked the crutches out from Blue and pounced on her with punches, about to hit her with a crutch when Queen Aminata made the save and chased May off.

Undisputed Kingdom (Roderick Strong, Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) defeated Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty & Beast Mortos and Action Andretti & Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin w/Leila Gray)

(The best party match of Zero Hour tonight, as this was the most action packed of them all so far. They set this match up last night and said a big winner’s purse would be given to the winning team, but that was not mentioned once during the entire match. Hopefully The Undisputed Kingdom get their big money.)

Top Flight & Andretti are rocking Top Gun inspired entrance gear instead of their pilot outfits they’ve had in recent weeks. Taylor absolutely smoked Benett with a right hand before the bell even started and when it did ring, Taylor launched Andretti clear across the ring. Andretti used his speed to break free, but Moriarty jumped in for a fast sequence of reversals. Darius & Dante with quick tags, as Moriarty was grounded. Strong tagged in and turned a Moriarty arm drag into a nice backbreaker. Moriarty dove for a Mortos tag and the beast ran wild, launching Strong onto Bennett & Taven to a loud crowd reaction.

Dante sprung in with a somersault senton, as an Airplane Spin left both men on spaghetti legs. Dante flipped to avoid a Mortos charge, as Taven made the blind tag, only to be hit with a monkey flip. Bennett ran distraction long enough for Taven to blindside Dante with a high angle slam. Bennett tagged in and kept Dante grounded before almost doing a Fargo Strut on the apron, which popped Daddy Magic on commentary. Blind tag by Taylor, who argued with Taven, so he headbutt him in the jaw for his troubles.

Dante finally broke free with a diving bulldog out the corner, as Daruis tagged in and ran wild. Top Flight was able to send everyone to the floor, except Moriarty, who ate a John Woo dropkick into a snap German suplex. Strong & Andretti brawled on the floor, as Taven cleared the top rope onto a pile. Mortos was soon to follow, connecting on a twisting Tornillo. Leila Gray waved her gimmicks, as Menard pointed out, which ran distraction enough for Top Flight & Andretti to hit a triple dive. Back inside, a Tornado DDT into a running Shooting Star got Andretti two, as everyone took turns with high impact shots before Mortos was spiked from an Andretti DDT. Big chokeslam from Taylor, as Mortos flew in with a Spear, posing, thus missing a Strong blind tag. As Mortos went for a powerbomb, Strong hit a pump knee and stole the pin on Andretti. The Kingdom took a victory lap, as Bennett & Taven raised Strong on their shoulders. Strong screamed that HOOK is next.

**********

AEW All Out

MJF defeated Daniel Garcia

(One hell of an opener, as the crowd were really upset not just that Garcia lost, but how MJF won, which was the usual way he steals wins. Credit Matt Menard on commentary, as he played a big role in the emotions of this match. While MJF won the match, Garcia was left standing tall and won the battle.)

Before MJF’s entrance, a video package of him beating and bloodying up Daniel Garcia a few months ago is shown. MJF posed with a giant Thank Me Later flag falling down, but Garcia ran in and attacked from behind. Bell sounded, as Garcia, with a bandage over his head, tried a piledriver, but MJF launched him hard into the corner. MJF really zoned in on the neck, as the fans duel chanted “He’s Our Scumbag” and “No He’s Not”, as MJF hit a stun gun and raked at the eyes. MJF spiked Garcia with the wrist clutch DDT, but as he went for a suplex, Garcia held on and both men fell to the floor, with MJF snapping down hard. Garcia just barely broke the count and finally started slugging his way back into things. Series of Twist & Shouts delivered from Garcia, as he tried a leapfrog, but MJF caught him mid-air with a powerbomb on the knee, dropping Garcia on his head in the process.

MJF ripped the bandage off the head and bit at it, as Garcia is now busted opened. MJF screamed in the bloody face of Garcia, similar to how he did it 9 weeks ago before pointing to the corner, wanting another avalanche Tombstone. This time, Garcia clapped the boots together to get free, as he bit MJF and hit an avalanche Implant DDT for the two count. Garcia tried a piledriver, but his neck gave out, as MJF hit a Mule Kick and the Panama Sunrise, but Garcia kicked out. Garcia slowly started hulking up, so MJF spat in his face, which only pissed off Garcia, so MJF got an eye poke. MJF called for a brainbuster, but Garcia countered into a small package and both traded near falls. MJF fired off a hard right hand into the double down. Snap German from MJF, but Garcia no sold, rolled through with one of his own and threw his whole body behind a lariat for another reset.

MJF countered a piledriver into a Boston Crab, but Garcia countered into the LeBell Lock. MJF then countered into a Crossface, but again Garcia was out and into the Dragon Tamer. The neck hampered Garcia from really applying pressure, as MJF turned it into the Salt of the Earth, transitioning into a butterfly arm bar. In a great sequence, as Garcia went to grab the ropes, MJF snapped the arm back, but Garcia’s one free leg just managed the ropes. MJF wanted another Panama Sunrise, but Garcia collapsed. It was a ruse, as Garcia caught a jackknife pin for a close two. Overhand strikes leave sweat bursting off MJF, as a guillotine was applied, but Garcia wouldn’t let MJF’s arm drop. Garcia spiked MJF with a jumping piledriver, but MJF kicked out. Garcia brought MJF to the corner and wanted an avalanche piledriver, but MJF bit at the head. MJF pulled referee Bryce in front of him and hit a low blow before getting a roll-up for the win.

MJF wanted a handshake post-match, as Garcia accepted, but blocked MJF’s low blow with a low kick of his own. Garcia dragged MJF to the corner, spat in his face and finally hit the Avalanche Piledriver to a loud ovation. Garcia shook MJF and kissed him on the head before storming into the crowd to celebrate.

The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) defeated Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta to retain the AEW Tag Team Titles

(An excellent, action-packed tag title match, as the crowd really bit at the finish of potential new champions. I’d say this was the best The Bucks have looked since winning the tag titles months ago.)

Nicholas & Yuta start things off, as it was Nicholas who showed his athleticism off early with a double arm-drag. The posing allowed Yuta & Castagnoli to wishbone the legs repeatedly of Matthew & Nicholas, who was furious outside, kicking the barricade, hurting his foot in the process. Matthew finally dodged a corner charge, allowing The Bucks to hit their signature slingshot high kick and double stomp combo. Somersault neckbreaker/backbreaker combo followed up, as Yuta stayed isolated with a slingshot legdrop by Nicholas, who spat at Castagnoli, which is probably not the smartest move.

Yuta dodged a charging Matthew, who ran into his brother, allowing Castagnoli to make the hot tag with uppercuts aplenty before a double clothesline turned The Bucks inside out. The uppercut parade went outside, before back inside, a cross body off the top got a near fall. Blind tag from Yuta, as Castagnoli tried a springboard, but had his leg superkicked out. Castagnoli turned the tide, though and hung-up Matthew, as Yuta gorilla pressed Nicholas onto him. Matthew kicked out of the Seatbelt pin attempt, but Nicholas was in with a superkick. Yuta did the low bounce back high kick, applied Cattle Mutilation, but was left open for a Nicholas senton off the top. Castagnoli was hit with a hurricanrana off the apron by Nicholas, leaving everyone down.

Nicholas pulled the legs out from Yuta and hit a slingshot face buster before flying back out with a moonsault onto Castagnoli. More Bang for Your Buck cut off, as Castagnoli made the tag and hit his springboard spinning uppercut on Matthew. The Bucks avoided the Giant Swing and hit Castagnoli with the EVP Trigger, only for Yuta to break the count. The Bucks pumped up their shoes for a Superkick Party, tried another EVP Trigger, but Castganoli blocked both with a double suplex. Yuta with a dive on Nicholas, as Castagnoli hit a near 20 revolution Giant Swing on Matthew. They went for the Fastball Special, but Nicholas flew in with a series of superkicks. Matthew went to the top with Yuta, but Castagnoli sprung up with an uppercut and huge superplex. Fastball Special attempt, but Matthew got the knees up, cradle and pin on Yuta, as Castagnoli was held off by Nicholas.

Will Ospreay defeated PAC to retain the AEW International Title

(Match of the Year candidate, as Nigel McGuinness called it the epitome of the sport. This was unreal from start to finish, as this was an absolute classic. I feel terrible for everyone else having to follow this, as this was really special stuff.)

The crowd is electric from the opening bell, so PAC, being a bastard, took a powder. Excalibur name drops Jody Fleisch and said that both he & PAC walked in British wrestling, so guys like Ospreay could run. PAC tried a snap hurricanrana, but Ospreay cartwheeled to his feet and went to the outside, but PAC was right there with a Sky Twister Press. Back inside, they repeat the same sequence, this time with Ospreay dropping in with the Press, as Ricochet is shown watching backstage. Both trade slaps on the mat before rising to their feet, where PAC took charge. PAC repeatedly slammed Ospreay violently into the barricade before bringing Ospreay back in with a brutal Avalanche Brainbuster. Ospreay pointed to his neck to referee Aubrey, but PAC didn’t care and made the cover for two.

PAC dodged a flying forearm, rolling to the outside, where he sprung off the barricade with Pip, Pip, Cheerio. Sasuke Special followed up perfectly, as back inside, Ospreay hit his handspring corkscrew kick for two. Nigel McGuinness said he fell like a sack of spuds, as both men went to the corner, where Ospreay wanted Cheeky Nandos, but PAC kicked out and hit a wild moonsault into a DDT that spiked Ospreay, leading to a Liger Bomb for two. PAC charged, but ran into a Spanish Fly that put Ospreay back in control. PAC dodged an Oscutter, but Ospreay flattened him out with a Tombstone. PAC avoided Hidden Blade, but Ospreay managed an Oscutter on the second try for the reset and Fight Forever chants.

Both rose to their feet, where Ospreay welcomed forearms before staggering PAC with a hook kick. Another connected on the apron, as Ospreay wanted an Oscutter, but PAC folded him up with a brutal release German on his neck. Relentless, PAC followed it up with an even crazier Poisonrana on the apron before sinking in the Brutalizer back inside, but a toe on the rope broke the hold. McGuinness brilliantly called Ospreay setting himself in position for the Black Arrow as a ploy, as he got the knees up. Wall walk enzugiri from Ospreay was answered by a bounce back German from PAC, who wanted another Liger Bomb, but this time, Ospreay snapped through with a hurricanrana pin attempt for two that had the crowd going nuts. Another Poisonrana spiked Ospreay and PAC once more went to the Brutalizer. Ospreay powered to his feet, PAC tried a third Poisonrana, but Ospreay avoided, hit one of his own and flew in with a Hidden Blade for the closest two of the match.

PAC crotched Ospreay, who wanted a corner Oscutter, as he looked for an Avalanche Poisonrana, but Ospreay landed on his feet. Ospreay charged with another Hidden Blade, but again, PAC kicked out. Springboard Oscutter connected, but PAC countered Storm Breaker into a snap hurricanrana. Ospreay though, rolled through into a Styles Clash and another Hidden Blade flush to get the win.

Kris Statlander (w/Stokely Hathaway) defeated Willow Nightingale in a Chicago Street Fight

(These ladies had a damn near impossible task in getting the crowd into it following the Ospreay/PAC classic. They did just that and got This Is Awesome chants with the crowd being there the entire match. These ladies beat the hell out of each other and this was arguably the best women’s weapons match AEW has had.)

Bell sounds and Hathaway immediately threw in a chair that said New Jack RIP on it. Nightingale ducked a shot and gave Statlander a buckle bomb that was followed by a corner cannonball for two. Both fought on the apron, where Statlander wanted a German suplex to the floor, instead cracked Nightingale in the back with the chair before powerbombing her through the Spanish announce table. Hathaway & Statlander set a table up, placing Nightingale on it before Statlander took time to expose the metal part of the turnbuckle. That delay allowed Nightingale to move, Statlander crashed through the table, but her legs clipped Nightingale’s head on the impact. Nightingale hit a Pounce through the barricade and hit a discus lariat on the stage. As they went up the ramp, Nightingale scolded Statlander, slapping her in the face, but Statlander hit a snap suplex, screaming at Hathaway to “get the stuff.”

Hathaway showed up with a trash can full of weapons allowing Statlander to have a field day. Statlander had a barbed wire baseball bat, but Nightingale ducked and waffled Statlander with a light tube bat, busting Statlander open. Nightingale stalked Hathaway down the tunnel, as both ladies slugged it out until Statlander tackled Nightingale off the stage through tables. Both ladies brawled back to the ring, where they started no selling moves until colliding, leading to the double down on opposite sides of the ring. Nightingale grabbed a chain, while Statlander had a bag of something. Statlander slapped Nightingale, resulting in Nightingale biting the head and punching away with the chain. Statlander managed a snap German, grabbing the bag to dump out tacks.

Statlander wanted a scissors kick on the tacks, but Nightingale moved and Statlander did the splits on the tacks in a crazy spot. Nightingale followed with a running DVD on the tacks for two before going up top in the corner. Statlander fought free and hit a massive Spanish Fly before grabbing the chain and hitting a discus lariat with it, only for Nightingale to kick out. Statlander pulled a dog collar from under the ring, tied both Nightingale and her wrist up and this is now an impromptu chain match. Taking too long, Nightingale hit a spinebuster into the tacks, as both women collapsed into each other’s arms until Statlander spiked Nightingale with a Tombstone before wrapping the chain around Nightingale’s mouth and she submitted.

-Renee Paquette is backstage with Will Ospreay, who said PAC will go down as one of the best high flyers of all time and said any time he wants a replay, he can have it. Ospreay said he hopes Ricochet was watching and said he’s sick of him collecting a paycheck and start racking up some wins. Ricochet marches in and asks why Ospreay is talking shit? Ospreay said for him to go to Tony Khan’s office and get some wins under his belt before coming for the champ.

Kazuchika Okada defeated Konosuke Takeshita (w/Don Callis), ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy to retain the Continental Title

(This was a fun four way, as even though there were times where guys were on the floor, the singles matches we got throughout featured some great action. They really teased Okada & Takeshita during the match and we didn’t get a lot of interaction between the two, leading me to believe that’s a match that’ll happen sooner than later. The crowd were all for the face-off when it occurred. I think Takeshita should be the one to ultimately win the title from Okada.)

Cassidy back to having The Pixies entrance theme music for this one, as Taz replaces Nigel McGuinness on commentary. Briscoe & Cassidy were dispatched early as Okada & Takeshita had the crowd amped for a potential showdown, but Cassidy came back in with a double hurricanrana. Takeshita was hit with a low Tope, as Okada ate a DDT back inside for two. Redneck Kung-Fu from Briscoe to Okada, as he flew in with a flying forearm before having a forearm and chop battle with Takeshita. Standing switches led to a Briscoe enzugiri as The Conglomeration members sent Okada & Takeshita to the floor, as they hit double dives and Cactus elbows. Callis is baffled on commentary that he’s getting F Don Callis chants for not doing anything. Taz said it’s because he’s breathing, that’s enough for a chant.

Everyone took turns delivering vertical suplexes until finally Cassidy broke the streak with a Stundog Millionaire on Takeshita before getting in another suplex. Okada dropkicked Cassidy out of the corner to the floor, as Briscoe met Okada with Redneck Kung-Fu, but Takeshita cut his dive attempt off with one of his own onto Okada & Cassidy. Takeshita posed too long, allowing Briscoe to launch off a chair with a dive. Briscoe is bleeding from the eye, as he & Cassidy lit each other up as gingerly as possible. It led to a high five before each started throwing haymakers. Okada & Takeshita both with release German suplexes and we finally get a face-off that led to forearm exchanges. Okada hit his dropkick and wanted a Rainmaker, but Takeshita countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Takeshita placed Cassidy in the corner and hit a massive superplex, but Briscoe was there with a Froggy Bow for two.

Okada up top for an elbow, as he did the middle finger pose, as Briscoe tried a Jay Driller, instead opting for a lariat. Takeshita charged with a running boot on Okada and Cassidy hit the Orange Punch. Takeshita countered Stundog Millionaire with the Crunchy into the overhead German. Briscoe avoided the Power Driver Knee and hit a brutal Jay Driller, but Okada pulld him to the floor, only to eat a Briscoe Exploder. Froggy Bow missed on Takeshita, who got the knees up and hit the Power Drive Knee, but Cassidy broke it up. Beach Break connected on Takeshita, as Cassidy wanted Orange Punch, but Takeshita starched him with one of his own and hit a wild lariat. Raging Fire cut off by Okada, who threw Takeshita to the floor. Rainmaker to Briscoe, but Cassidy ran in and got a roll-up for two. Okada held onto the wrist and flattened Cassidy with a Rainmaker for the victory.

Mercedes Mone defeated Hikaru Shida to retain the TBS Title

(I thought the match was going pretty well until that finish, that felt super clunky and really odd. Shida hit her finisher a few times and Mone seemingly kicked out at one just to scramble for the kendo stick spot that only made Shida look foolish in the process. Aside from the final minute or so, I enjoyed this match, as did the fans.)

Mone attacked at the bell, as crowd had dueling chants from the start. Shida with a series of misdirect dropkicks for a quick near fall. Stretch Muffler applied, before Shida released the hold, hit another dropkick before draping Mone on the apron and hit a charging knee lift. Mone battled back with a diving double knee, as Tony Schiavone & Taz are getting heated on commentary with Taz saying it’s ridiculous Mone has to go into this match without her heater, Kamille. Mone mockingly bowed at Shida, keeping her grounded until Mone hit a wild leaping double knees to the midsection in the corner for two. After a series of whip reversals, Shida won the exchange and followed with a missile dropkick to regain control. Corner punches in bunches from Shida, who went for a wild shot, but Mone countered beautifully into a Crossface. Shida managed to spin to her feet and clock Mone into the double down.

Mone opted to trash talk, which only pissed Shida off, so a stiff slap and forearms followed. Pump knee hit flush, as Shida went up top, but Mone charged and hit a lungblower. Sunset flip powerbomb into the corner, followed up with a charging double knees for two. Mone kept toying with Shida before hitting the Three Amigos. Going up top, Mone wanted a Frog Splash, but Shida got the knees up and hit rolling Falcon Arrows, she did the deal, but got a near fall. Mone blocked the Katana, hit a knee breaker and violent Dragon Screw before a backstabber connected. Shida no sold, delivered a German suplex and charging knee for two. Despite missing the first one, Shida waffled Mone with a Katana flush, then sort of hit a third, but Mone kicked out actually at one and bailed to the floor for a tug of war over Shida’s kendo stick in a very odd sequence.

Shida brought the kendo stick in the ring, but wisely thought otherwise from using it, tossing it aside. Question mark kick connected, but Mone side stepped a Meteora and chop blocked out the knee, leading to the Mone Maker for the win. Kamille came out to celebrate with Mone, who briefly enjoyed her win before just storming to the back.

Bryan Danielson defeated TNT Champion Jack Perry to retain the AEW World Title

(Even though I think it was safe to assume no one thought Bryan Danielson’s in ring career would come to an end on a co-main event of a PPV, you have to tip your cap to the effort Perry put in here. This was one of his best singles matches of his career and played the heel role extremely well. Now, the post-match was absolutely insane and something I didn’t see coming, at least not tonight. We have a completely new storyline all set up for Danielson, as a new Blackpool Combat Club has apparently formed, with Wheeler Yuta caught in the middle.)

Video package of Perry putting gasoline in the Scapegoat bus, while driving the streets of Chicago is shown before it pulled up to the arena. The Young Bucks were waiting for Perry with his TNT Title and Scapegoat mask, as SWAT Team members escorted Perry to the stage. Jim Ross joins commentary for this World Title match. The Final Countdown plays for Danielson, as the crowd are really amped up for the AEW World Champion.

Perry had early takedowns and soaked it in, before going to the floor and getting booed mercilessly. Test of strength back inside, as Danielson answered with takedowns of his own. Perry tried a leapfrog, but Danielson caught him in mid-air, following with the Romero Special. Perry escaped to the outside, but Danielson was there with a baseball slide and springboard somersault dive. Shotgun dropkick back inside sent Perry right back out to the floor, where he met a charging Danielson off the apron with a thrust kick and draping DDT spiked Danielson. Perry mocked the crowd before dropkicking Danielson into the barricade. Back inside, Perry remained in control, but his chops only woke up Danielson, who chopped right back, crotching Perry in the corner. Anvil elbows led to a back superplex, with Danielson clutching his neck.

Yes kicks delivered, but Perry ducked the home run shot, jackknife cover, Danielson bridges out into a LeBell Lock. After releasing the hold, Danielson hit ten corner punches, backflipped out of the corner, but Perry hit a drop toe hold into the Snare Trap, transitioned into Cattle Mutilation. Danielson powered out, but Perry folded him up with a snap German and another that brought things to the apron. They trade kicks and chops before Danielson connected on a brutal butterfly suplex to the floor. Back inside, Danielson punted the left arm out before kicking it repeatedly. Danielson went for a home run kick, but Perry sank in the Snare Trap once more, but Danielson go the ropes. Cry Me a River chants from the Chicago crowd, as Perry hit a comeback lariat, but Danielson got an inside cradle for two. Following a high kick, Danielson went for a corner charge, but Perry pulled referee Bryce into the way for the bump.

Danielson said it’s time for Perry to get his f’n head kicked in, as The Young Bucks sprinted out to attack. TK Driver hit, but as they went for the EVP Trigger, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta chased them off through the crowd. Perry scurried to the ref to wake him up, as he hit the charging knee, but Danielson kicked out. Perry stomped down onto Danielson before flipping the crowd off, but the delay allowed Danielson to turn him inside out with a Busiaku Knee. Both men slugged it out to their feet before a slaps woke Danielson up and he lit up Perry with a rolling elbow. Perry no sold a German suplex, but was turned inside out with a Busiaku Knee for the closest near fall of the match. Danielson stomped down repeatedly, as he signaled for the end, as Perry held his arms out, defiant to the end, as a final Busiaku Knee put him down for good to give Danielson the win.

Post match, Killswitch appeared from behind Danielson and laid him out before he stared at Perry. The former Jurassic Express stared each other down as Christian Cage’s music hit and he came out with his Casino Gauntlet contract alongside Nick & Mother Wayne. Jon Moxley then appeared to stand between them, as PAC, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta appeared as well. The Patriarchy retreated, as Danielson got the crowd to do Yes chants. Moxley got in the ring first and hugged Danielson before everyone raised their hands to celebrated.

Then Claudio Castagnoli blindsided Danielson with an uppercut, as Moxley put a plastic bag over his head and choked him out. PAC held off Yuta, who was almost in tears, as Marina Shafir showed up and tossed out referee Bryce. “This is Murder” chants from the crowd, as Moxley, Castagnoli, PAC & Shafir walked out through the crowd with Yuta running to tend to Danielson. Doctors appeared with oxygen, as the crowd is now pretty silent for them helping Danielson out.

Hangman Page defeated Swerve Strickland (w/Prince Nana) in a Lights Out Steel Cage Match

(These two had hands down the most violent match in AEW history. I absolutely think this feud should be done, at least for a while, but with this not counting towards the record books, Strickland is still 2-0 in this feud. This had everything you could think of to the point where commentary was almost speechless at certain points. If you love violent matches, this was the main event for you.)

Page brought a case of something into the ring with him, as Strickland’s jacket and gear has the image of Page burning his home on the back of it and he charged before the cage even lowered. Nana quickly threw a table into the ring, as both Strickland & Page tried to hold each other in place to be decapitated by the lowering cage. Nana quickly saved Strickland, as the cage is down and the match officially began with a slugfest. Both blocked being thrown into the cage, as Strickland hit a rolling Flatliner and House Call. Nana is literally yelling at Strickland to kill Page, who hit a release German and went to the bucket to bring out a staple gun. Strickland no sells staple shots to the chest before getting the gun and stapling Page repeatedly in the back. Strickland slowly pulled out the staples on his chest before pulling pics of his family out, stapling them to Page’s chest and cheek before ripping them out.

Strickland slowly continued his attack by slamming Page into the cage while standing on the ropes, but Page swept the leg, crotching Strickland. Page wrapped barbed wire around his arm and hit a springboard clothesline, as both men are bleeding, with Page screaming at the crowd, asking if this is their man? Page continued to throw Strickland into the cage before going back to the barbed wire, wrapping it in the cage, driving Strickland into it. Page raked Strickland face first into the wire, but realized he couldn’t do the Buckshot with the cage restricting him. That delay allowed Strickland to briefly fight back, but was ultimately flapjacked into the cage. For some reason, despite being Lights Out, referee Paul Turner stopped Page from using the steel chair. This allowed Strickland to hit a House Call and tried a Buckshot using Turner’s back, but really didn’t get much of it. Chair shots echoed throughout the arena, as Strickland was relentless on the attack, hitting a lawn dart brutally into the corner using the chair for the first two count of the match.

Cinder block brought out by Strickland as Taz & Jim Ross reminisce about the days of being hit in the crotch and face respectively with one. Strickland somehow managed a Vertebreaker on the cinder block leaving a gnarly mark on Page’s back. Strickland set up a table, but Page cut him off in the corner, Strickland battled back and hit a picture-perfect Swerve Stomp through the table for two. Strickland took too long to capitalize, as Page hit a desperation Dead Eye for two of his own. Page pulled out a piece of burnt wood from Strickland’s home and tried to impale Strickland, who countered into an arm breaker to get the spike and turn the tables. Strickland started stabbing Page in the head with the spike and almost had tears in his eyes as he went for one final shot, but Page hit a low blow and a powerbomb right on the cinder block for two in an absolute brutal spot.

Page delivered punches against the cage, but Strickland fought back with a powerbomb into the cage followed by a House Call flush to the head against the cage. Another House Call hit, but Page kicked out again. Strickland went to the top, but gave a look to the top of the cage and went to climb, but Page cut him off with an Awesome Bomb. Dead Eye followed and Strickland just kicked out. Page demanded Strickland to beg for mercy as he decked him in the head repeatedly. Nana pleaded with Strickland to think about himself, as Strickland started laughing, holding up two fingers that he’s up 2-0 in the series, but collapsed at the feet of Page. Strickland’s grill was ripped from his mouth, as Page grabbed a syringe and stuck the needle through the mouth of Strickland. A brutal chair shot to the head broke a chair over Strickland’s head and referee Paul Turner called the match off via knockout, giving Page the win. Commentary said they hope Page feels that they’re even, as he looked down at Strickland from the top of the ramp, teasing coming back to the ring, but stopping himself as the show went off the air with Page screaming in victory.

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

Posted on by Suit Williams

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

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

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

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

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

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

**********

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

Continental Contenders Challenge Match – Mark Briscoe defeated Lance Archer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hikaru Shida defeated Deonna Purrazzo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Queen Aminata defeated Missa Kate

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AEW All Out preview & predictions: Burning down the house

Posted on by Mike DellaCamera

The following is an opinion-based preview and reflects that of the author, not of the website.

Over the last six months, I have become a martini guy. Partially out of an unrealistic and romanticized idea of what the cocktail is, and partially because I can only have two drinks at a time, so I better make them count.

A good martini is alert. It makes you sit up a little straighter and open your eyes a bit wider. It is a polite nudge asking for your attention. The first sip reminds you that you are, in fact, alive. Now I ask you, my beautiful readers, if Saturday’s AEW All Out (8 PM EST on various PPV providers) asks for your attention.

More importantly, does it make you feel alive? We watch wrestling to feel something, to be moved by the indomitable physical spirit of the performers. There are a couple of matches that make me feel something and give me a real tingle in my plums. The rest? Color me intrigued. That’s all I ever ask for.

I was down on last year’s All Out and it wound up blowing me away. If All In brings the pageantry, maybe this is the show Tony Khan books for the sickos. Let’s run through some previews & predictions for Saturday’s show from the NOW Arena in Chicago.

MJF vs. Daniel Garcia

After doing a career-threatening neck injury spot, Garcia returned to a huge pop at All In. The dancing is gone and Red Death is back. Garcia is an example of someone AEW seems to have waffled on. Much like Konosuke Takeshita, he has been handed a number of frustrating starts and stops. Maybe some of that is contract-related, maybe it’s a lack of foresight. It’s likely a bit of both. Regardless, the fans remain invested in his success and now is the time to prove their faith founded. If not now, when? 

All I could do was shake my head when MJF popped up on the Dynamite after All In and was no worse for wear. While others have sold the impact of the Tiger Driver for weeks, everyone’s favorite overbearing superhero had other ideas. Armed with only kinesiology tape on his neck and conviction in his heart, MJF showed up to rip off yet another promo rather than at least pretending to sell the move. Alas, we soldier on in the hopes he does the right thing on Saturday.

I would have liked a longer build, but the All In/All Out schedule does not allow for that. Garcia goes over nonetheless

Prediction: Garcia

AEW International Champion Will Ospreay defends against PAC

I love PAC; he will go down as a big ‘what could have been.’ What if AEW existed a few years earlier? What if WWE cared more about wrestling talent than how a person looked? What if he could dodge the injury bug just a teensy bit more? In my best Bill Simmons impression, ‘You know, Russillo, there’s a real sliding doors situation with this guy PAC! People forget he beat Kenny Omega! If a few things broke right, I really think we’re talking about a pantheon level wrestler.’

Terrible impressions aside, there’s an alternate future where he’s had far more acclaim, far more time on television, and far, far more gold.

While PAC brings love out of me, Ospreay still brings some hesitation. I remain astonished at what he is physically capable of in the ring. Often, it veers too much into caricature, but, my lord, there is nothing he can’t do. He is a physical marvel. The Ospreay matches I enjoy have a grounding element or him working against something. His matches against Bryan Danielson and Lance Archer immediately come to mind. They tempered his worst instincts as a performer and gave the matches structure. Ospreay’s worst instincts are brought out when he’s in the ring with someone who can match his athletic gifts. He can lean too far into self-indulgence in an attempt to make a moment. What gives me hope, though, is that PAC does not suffer for melodrama. He does not allow for a lightness of being. Something special is in the realistic range of outcomes for this, and consider me interested.

Prediction: Ospreay retains

TBS Champion Mercedes Mone defends against Hikaru Shida

The Star vs The Ace. A match where, hopefully, Mone can show everyone in AEW what she’s truly capable of in the ring. Her match with Britt Baker at All In was disappointing. I’m loathe to use this term after just deriding Ospreay for seeking this out, but she lacks that “signature moment” in AEW. I’m not worried, I’m not shook, I’m just saying that it’s time to do something that stays in our brains for more than an hour. So far, her biggest moment has been her debut and while that is a high bar to clear, nothing in the ring has been special. These two wrestled back in August and it was perfectly fine. This weekend, I’m hoping for something that sings.

If Mercedes is looking for someone to shine with, few are better to do that with than Shida. She’s proven she can have a good match with anyone and in any type of match. Mercedes is someone who is tempted to overact: exaggerating her movements, stretching the moments like taffy. Shida is someone who can both play into that and punish it. She’ll let her wrestle the match she wants and be the perfect foil. It’s been too long since she had a big spot on a major show. It’s great to see her back, albeit certainly in a losing effort.

Prediction: Mone retains

Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander (w/ Stokely Hathaway) in a Chicago street fight

This originally was set to be for Nightingale’s CMLL Women’s title, but that was changed this week.

There has been tremendous content from these three over the past few months which is unsurprising considering the individual talents involved. I’ve been waiting for years for Hathaway to get a chance to be his special brand of funny on TV. Equal parts irreverent and bitingly smart, he is such a unique performer. His previous failings were not through any fault of his own, merely the wrong circumstances. The stars are aligned now, and seeing him flourish is wonderful.

He is matched in performance by both Nightingale and Statlander. Not much more needs to be said about Willow. She’s well on her way toward being the biggest babyface on the female side of the roster. Her opportunities to grow and develop her character in meaningful programs outside of the main event will pay off in spades. Statlander is a delight in the antagonist role. Like Big Stoke, she has a brand of humor that is entirely her own and entirely weird. The pairing has allowed her to lean into that, and has brought the best out of both of them. This should continue for a long, long time.

Plunder matches are always fun and Willow especially shines in them.

Prediction: Willow wins

AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks defend against Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta

Here are five quick observations about this match since it was announced late on Wednesday and I am tired:

  • The BCC has run its course.
  • The Young Bucks are still wrestling scarecrows – empty suits masquerading as something real.
  • Yuta needs a haircut.
  • Castagnoli remains a freakish force of nature even at 43 years old. His hot tag in this match could bring the house down.
  • There is little chance a title change is happening.

Prediction: Bucks retain

AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada defends against three TBD competitors

All roads are pointing towards a Konosuke Takeshita and Okada program in the (hopefully) near future. I am trying to manage my expectations around Takeshita; I refuse to have the rug pulled out from underneath me again. If that’s the direction they go and he does the deal, he would have beaten both Okada and Kenny Omega, two of the best wrestlers of this century. The list of who has done that in marquee matchups is minuscule. It’s not like they’re fighting against the crowd to get him over either. Whenever he’s been given a sustained chance, the crowd is extremely into it. 

Regardless of who winds up in the match, an Okada victory is all but assured. 

Prediction: Okada retains

AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson defends against Jack Perry

It’s sink or swim for the former Jungle Jack. If he can’t have something approaching a memorable performance with Danielson this weekend, I’m afraid it might be Joever for the “Scapegoat.” His match at All In was encouraging, though. Beating Darby Allin in his signature coffin match certainly raised my eyebrows. An easy and apt comparison for Perry is Sammy Guevara. Both have had a ton of TV time and endless opportunities, but neither of them are anywhere near the top of the card. Neither do anything at a top level. They each cap out at “pretty good.” In 20 years they’ll just be some guys we remember on occasion, not wrestlers whose work we seek out. And pretty good isn’t nearly good enough to retire the Greatest Of All Time. 

His opponent, Danielson, is someone whose work will be sought out forever. He capped off his remarkable career with an incredible main event performance at All Out. The perfect modern wrestler got to feel the confetti fall and celebrate in the middle of the ring with his family. AEW’s treatment of legends in the twilight of their career could not be better. Giving them special moments on their terms harbors more goodwill than any match booked for the sickos ever will. Unfortunately, the sickos are going to be disappointed. With so few matches left in his full-time career, this certainly is one of them.

Prediction: Danielson retains

Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland in an unsanctioned steel cage match

When Swerve’s pre-tape about buying his childhood home aired early in Dynamite, I was the physical embodiment of the Jack Nicholson nodding gif. When Hangman showed up sloshing gasoline around, I was kicking my feet in the air and giggling. Then he lit the whole thing on fire and poured himself a drink.

This is why we watch this silly, perfect sport. 

Clearly, this is a main event that requires no championship stakes. AEW has done an incredible job keeping this feud top of mind even when Swerve was preoccupied with something else. It never felt overbearing, but the constant reminders — delivered through the best work of Adam Page’s career — kept this feeling fresh. Page’s level of work can’t be understated. This is a performer unrecognizable from his time as the fresh-faced AEW World champion. Imbued with new dad strength and fueled by vengeance, Page has transformed everything about his character. It’s all different from the wrestling, the manner of speaking, and even how he walks.

And it should be different! He was traumatized by Swerve Strickland. Swerve broke into his house and threatened his infant son. If a man isn’t transformed by that, of what use is he as a man? If going through that didn’t bring about change, why would we ever care about him? Up until Wednesday, he was seen as the aggressor in this feud, rather than the aggrieved. That speaks more to Swerve’s likability and Q-rating more than flaws in Page’s performance. This is a layered, deeply interesting character whose future is a source of endless fascination. There are so many ways this can go, and I can’t wait to see where.

Swerve might not be the champion, but my gosh, was he strong in defeat. There’s certainly no shame in losing to Bryan Danielson in the way that he did. He put on a main event that would not have been out of place at any All In or WrestleMania, for that matter. It may be easy to assign much of the credit to Danielson, but Swerve raised his game to its apex. He wrestled that match as much for the people in the front row as the ones in the nose bleeds. He has become a no doubt main eventer — one who elevates the quality of the programs in which he is involved just by showing up.

It seems like AEW wants this to be their forever feud. For that to happen, Page needs to get some type of a win. Swerve is bulletproof and can take the loss but if Page loses, how much further into madness can he fall?

Prediction: Page 

AEW All In preview & predictions: Eyes of the Dragon

Posted on by Mike DellaCamera

Image: AEW

The following is an opinion-based review that reflects the views of the author and not the website.

What a difference a year makes.

A year ago at All In, Will Ospreay slummed it with Chris Jericho, Swerve Strickland was taking the pin as the least important person in a tag team match, and CM Punk was the “real” AEW World Champion. It’s safe to say things have changed for the better in many ways.

Last year’s card, while a historic achievement, was disappointing bell-to-bell with very few memorable moments other than, well, you know. This year, we have significantly less backstage turmoil, Bryan Danielson’s career on the line, and the culmination of the best story AEW has told with Toni Storm and Mariah May. I’m excited, you’re excited, let’s preview All In from London’s Wembley Stadium.

Casino gauntlet match for a future AEW World title shot

There’s much more to say about Hangman Page’s current character, but that is better served for when he gets a showcase match. For now, I’ll say this is the most interesting he’s been in AEW. The transformation from an unsure, anxious, millennial cowboy to an obsessed, spiraling, vengeance-seeking monster has been wonderful. He’s consumed with taking everything from a person whose name he can’t even bring himself to say. I don’t know much, but I do know he shouldn’t win this match so he can continue his slow descent into total madness. My preferred method of him losing would involve Jeff Jarrett, leading a match at All Out.

Prediction: Not Hangman Page

FTW Champion Chris Jericho defends against Hook

No, thank you.

Prediction: Absolutely not

AEW Trios Champions The Patriarchy (Christian Cage, Killswitch & Nick Wayne) defends against House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) vs. Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson, Austin & Colten Gunn) and Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli & PAC in a ladder match

Christian Cage, who made his name wrestling in historic ladder matches in WWE, gets another chance to shine on the biggest stage. And what a deserved spot it is. He remains the most bankable performer in AEW. Whether it’s on interviews, pre-tapes, matches, or even refereeing, everything he does is worth seeing. He is remarkably sure and so certain about what his character is saying or doing at all times. I continue to be astonished that the man is 50 and performing at this high a level. 

Is this the match that breaks up the Patriarchy? They’ve been planting seeds for a Killswitch, nee Luchasaurus, departure for some time now. Count me as someone who does not give one single hoot about that, but it’s probably time to move that story forward. His turning on Christian will never get a better reaction than it will at Wembley, so maybe it’s time to pull the trigger.

If not the Patriarchy, then who? These titles were never better than with the spooky boys in the House of Black. They’ll win them back Sunday.

Prediction: House of Black

TNT Champion Jack Perry defends against Darby Allin in a coffin match

Some overdue appreciation for the lunatic Darby Allin is in order. I’ve watched him for almost as long as he’s been wrestling, nearly perishing in community theaters in suburbs north of Boston, dingy social clubs, you name it. For a while, I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand why people loved the guy whose job seemed like it was to perish every weekend in front of 87 people. He was young and I was young, and we both changed. The insane daredevil feats began to take on meaning. He wasn’t doing this because it was all he could do to get over, he was doing it because this is who he is. Someone willing to put his body through almost unimaginable circumstances for the love of the game. Well, that and a generous serving of masochism. He has become one of the most reliable performers in wrestling, showing out equally on Rampage and the biggest shows. 

All that flowery prose is a long-winded way of saying that there are leagues between Darby and Perry as performers. No matter how hard he tries, Perry isn’t it. He’s missing that extra 5% that makes someone special. Even the residual CM Punk-related heat has dissipated. He’s a generic, replaceable heel on the roster. The easy solution is to put the belt back on Darby, and get it back on TV…except I don’t think that’s going to happen. Young Jack has only defended the title once, against Marko Stunt of all people, and just fashioned himself a new belt. If he’s ever going to be taken seriously, he has to win.

Prediction: Perry retains

TBS Champion Mercedes Mone defends against Britt Baker

A technical masterpiece this will not be, and an attempt at one would serve neither of these two. The appeal of Mone is not so much her tight, clean ring work. It’s her overwhelming desire to bump like a freak for whoever she’s in the ring with. There is no spot she won’t take. She sees the bumps Darby Allin takes and her mind kicks into overdrive trying to think about how she can rag doll herself around the ring. Do you know how insane you must be to do multiple meteoras every match? My body screams and cries getting out of bed half the time and she’s willingly ravaging her knees.

For the record, all of this is meant as a tremendous compliment — she’s one of the best big-match performers in modern wrestling. Her dedication to giving all of her body in every match is part of what people connect with. We don’t connect with a larger-than-life CEO character. The contrary is true; we reject people like that. But what we do connect with is someone willing to push the flexibility of their spine to its absolute limit. The finisher still has to go, though. 

This is the match Baker has always wanted and is as big of a women’s match as there is in AEW: the foundation of the women’s division against its biggest star and Baker’s first big match after an extended absence. The crowd is ready to see her again next to the first few notes of Will Ospreay’s theme song and “The Final Countdown” playing for Bryan Danielson.

“The Doctor will see you now” blasting from the Wembley speakers will be the pop of the night. Unfortunately for everyone’s favorite wrestling dentist, she won’t be adding any gold on Sunday. 

Prediction: Mercedes retains

AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) defend against FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) and The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) in a three-way

The Young Bucks have always been divisive, but regardless of which side of the fence your opinion falls, one thing remained true: they always showed up and delivered. Now? I’m not so sure. They’ve never felt colder and have never felt less like the historical tag team they very much are. Their matches, though often criticized as hollow spot fests, were rarely the empty-calorie kind especially if they were working heel. Few teams were better at being hated and making their opponents look like stars.

Lately, it’s as if they’re going through the motions, something that started at the last All In. Their match with FTR was a serious disappointment and with the exception of Sting’s retirement match, they haven’t been the Bucks of old in a while. Maybe it’s years of working such a high work rate and physical style catching up to them, maybe they’re just bored, or maybe (hopefully) it’s just a down period. Whatever it is, they’ve never been less compelling.

I don’t think the audience is clamoring for this match. In fact, I don’t think there’s much clamoring at all for tag team wrestling in AEW right now. Considering some of the best matches in company history are in this division, this is a shocking fall-off. No one represents that fall-off like The Acclaimed, who remain in frigid limbo desperate to reclaim the organic love they earned years ago.

This gimmick always had a definitive shelf life and is now collapsing on itself. It carried Max Caster as long as it could, but he’s just not good enough in the ring to thrive without it. Without it, he’s been exposed as someone not compelling enough to move the needle. Anthony Bowens can move it, though. He’s crisp in the ring, excellent on promos, and he continues to shine even as their reactions get quieter and quieter. Maybe through the force of his will, he can return The Acclaimed to prior heights, but a full reset is likely needed here.

It might be strange to say that a match between the two best tag teams of the modern era doesn’t matter, but this really doesn’t. I’m guessing the status quo holds.

Prediction: The Young Bucks

AEW American/International Champion MJF defends against Will Ospreay

It’s a hell of a choice to run a nearly 60-minute match that ends in horsesh*t. Pulling the rug out from your audience with a silly finish in an impromptu Iron Man match is, by any objective measure, bad. Getting them to think they’re seeing something special only for it to end the same way every MJF match ends? Bad! This felt hollow and something that happened purely to be talked about, not because it meant anything.

It was the ultimate representation of the maximalist pro wrestling style that is too often present and far too lovingly praised (derogatory). Breathlessly promoting something as the best thing ever betrays its impact. We, the audience, should not need to be told something is “all-time.” We should feel it deeply. We should just know. 

Look, this MJF gimmick is terrible for a many number of reasons. The jingoism, the not-so-veiled racism, and of course, the trademark terrible MJF insults. It stinks and it’s just lazy, and lowest common denominator-type junk. From a wrestling perspective, it also doesn’t work. It doesn’t work when the heel is doing elbow drops through tables and top rope destroyers. MJF should be grounding the match so the face can get their shine. For it to click, he needs to tone the moves down and turn up the chicanery. No big spots, no “moments,” just smarmy tactics and some standard cheating. It’s quite simple. Max cutting out the largess would go a long way toward making this match good.

There is almost no chance that Ospreay will take another loss to MJF, especially in his backyard.

Prediction: Ospreay wins the title

AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm defends against Mariah May 

This is the best story AEW has told by a wide margin: a nearly year-long program layered with obsession, devotion, love, greed, and selfishness. It’s made the “Timeless” character go from insufferable to an undeniable (sorry, Cody) high point. It was all worth it to get to this moment. This feels like a literal blood feud, and I hope we get some more color during the show. The only issue is the crowd loves Toni way more than they hate Mariah. Surprisingly, the boos aren’t louder considering how much they’ve come to love Toni. Mariah certainly deserves all of their scorn. Hopefully, the London crowd shows out for this one and provides it.

This doesn’t seem like the end of something, more like just the beginning. A story this long isn’t going to end after one match. I’d love to see them run it back in the near future with a nasty stipulation (AEW’s first-ever First Blood match, anyone?). For that to happen, Mariah needs to win. They didn’t spend all this time building her up just to cut her momentum off at the knees. 

Prediction: May wins the title

AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland defends against Bryan Danielson in a title vs. career match

The best to ever do it gets to do it on the biggest stage one more time in the ultimate culmination of a legendary career. How perfect that ten years ago, Danielson reached the top of WWE at WrestleMania 30 and now is in a position to do the same thing in AEW at All In. All that’s left to cap it off is to win the AEW World title. Even at the height of his powers in WWE, he was still never pushed like a true, long-term top guy. Sure, he was getting the biggest reactions, but it took an unprecedented groundswell of support for him to get that spot. Even then, it felt fleeting. Ever since he came to AEW, they have thrown all of their support behind him, making him the biggest deal possible. Even through all the losses, he remains the ultimate measuring stick. If you wrestle Danielson on a major show, you’re someone worth paying attention to. 

Swerve keeps leveling up. With each program and with each promo, he shows more and more. Every match gets a little crisper and his moves a little tighter. Danielson frequently brings the best out of everyone he dances with, and this should be no different. Swerve is approaching his frightening peak as a performer. He’s someone who checks every box, including and especially ‘other’. This will be big and emotional. I cannot wait.

I’m conflicted about what to predict here. Danielson has shown an almost freakish delight in losing just about every big match he’s been in since he started in AEW. But you know if Tony Khan has his way, he will send him out on top like he did with Sting earlier this year. There’s a world where Bryan wins at All In and wrestles his last match as a full-timer at WrestleDream in Washington later this fall. There’s also a world where August 25th is the end of his career.

That’s a world I’m not ready for. When the curtain goes down and the confetti falls at All In, the American Dragon will stand alone at the top where he’s always belonged. Yes, yes, yes. 

Prediction: Danielson wins the title

Young Bucks vs. Acclaimed, Mercedes Mone vs. Hikaru Shida announced for AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Josh Nason

After earning their title shot two months ago, The Acclaimed will finally get their opportunity to challenge current AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks on this Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite.

The match was announced on Saturday’s Collision after FTR, a team that has also been pursuing the Bucks, picked up a win. Max Caster and Anthony Bowens held the titles for nearly five months from 2022 through 2023 while the Bucks have yet to defend the titles they won in April.

The Acclaimed earned their shot by defeating the Bucks in a title eliminator.

**********

A first time ever match between TBS Champion Mercedes Mone and former AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida is officially on tap for Wednesday.

The match was announced by Tony Khan on X on Saturday following Shida’s victory over Aleah James which was then followed by Shida issuing a challenge to Mone.

The winner will then move on to defend the title against Britt Baker at this month’s All In. Shida has never challenged for the TBS title before.

Shida is 5-2 in limited AEW singles action in 2024 while Mone is undefeated in her brief AEW run with four title defenses to her credit.

**********

Another new match will see a three-way between Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly for the no. 1 spot in the Casino gauntlet match at All In. The winner of the gauntlet earns a future AEW World title match.

On social media, it was announced that a film by Mariah May will also air this coming Wednesday.

Here’s the current lineup for Norfolk, Virginia:

  • AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland vs. Wheeler Yuta in a non-title match
  • AEW Tag Team Champions Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) defend against The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens)
  • TBS Champion Mercedes Mone defends against Hikaru Shida
  • Hangman Page vs. Jay Lethal
  • Britt Baker appearance
  • Claudio Castagnoli and Kazuchika Okada face-to-face
  • Orange Cassidy vs. Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O’Reilly with the winner earning the no. 1 spot in the All In Casino gauntlet match
  • A film by Mariah May

Wrestling Observer Radio: The storied pro wrestling career of Kevin Sullivan

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio going over the big stories in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

We talked about the passing of Kevin Sullivan, which was reported right after Dave finished this week’s issue.

Then, we got into the following:

  • TKO Q2 results
  • What to take away from AEW’s Dynamite rating
  • Low ticket sales for the Grand Slam show
  • Young Bucks
  • Lucha Bros’ interest in WWE
  • Ricky Starks
  • G1 Climax 34
  • Olympic wrestling update

Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube (video sub needed)

The Elite defeat Team AEW at Double or Nothing Anarchy in the Arena match

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: JJ Williams

In a wild brawl, The Elite defeated Team AEW in the Anarchy in the Arena headliner of Sunday’s AEW Double or Nothing.

The end came when Jack Perry hit a running knee strike on a bloodied Bryan Danielson, who had already been hit with a Kazuchika Okada Rainmaker and a Young Bucks’ EVP trigger, to get the pin and win.

Perry’s legs had been lit on fire earlier in the match by Allin’s flamethrower after Perry grabbed Tony Khan from the gorilla position and brought him out to the ramp.

The match started at just after midnight Eastern which is traditionally when AEW pay-per-views wrap up, lasting until 12:32 AM Eastern. The match featured a little bit of everything on a card that had already featured a barbed wire steel cage match in addition to an FTW rules match earlier on the show.

Some of the notable highlights and spots included:

  • Darby Allin, wearing a protective mask that also had tacks sticking out of it, hoisted up by a winch legs first, leaving him prone to a Bucks’ superkick to the face courtesy of their new Reebok Pumps with thumbtacks on the bottom. Allin remained upside down for minutes on end, leading to fans chanting “Please help Darby.”
  • Matthew Jackson hitting Dax Harwood with an exploding chair, followed by a superkick to Cash Wheeler. That led to a thumbtack-adorned sleeve put on by Okada who used it on Wheeler. Okada then pulled out a shoebox with the aforementioned Pumps with tacks on the bottom.
  • Danielson using one of the Pumps against both Bucks with Nicholas getting superkicked by Matthew accidentally, busting him open.
  • Allin and Perry brawling into the loading dock area earlier in the match where Allin dunked Perry in a tank full of water. As a play on Allin recently being hit by a bus, Perry later drove a small bus painted black with ‘Scapegoat’ on it through pallets and other junk with the announce team speculating he ran over Allin. The camera focused on the driver’s seat and that Perry had knocked himself out on the steering wheel.
  • After powerbombing Allin through a collection of chairs, the Bucks brought him up to their entrance and sent him down through the elevator-style hole they come up through.
  • Nicholas Jackson jumped off one of the entrances with a senton atomico through Wheeler who was on a table while Okada elbow-dropped Dax Harwood through a table off the stage.

Team AEW came out early during Perry’s intro to get things started. When Allin’s music began, the majority of the song played when Matthew Jackson requested they play their music instead. Danielson then requested they play the greatest song in the history of wrestling and Europe’s “The Final Countdown” began playing for several minutes until Jackson asked for it stop because it cost $200,000 every time it played. That led to fans to chant “we want music.”

This was the third Anarchy in the Arena match, dating back to 2022.

Young Bucks win Tag Team titles at AEW Dynasty after Jack Perry interferes

Posted on by Josh Nason

For the third time, The Young Bucks are AEW Tag Team Champions thanks to interference from old friend Jack Perry at AEW Dynasty.

Matthew & Nicholas Jackson defeated FTR at Sunday’s pay-per-view in a ladder match for the vacant titles, aided by Perry’s surprise return. As Dax Harwood was up on the ladder and about to grab the belts, a man in a white mask and hood ran into the ring and pushed Harwood off the ladder.

Security swarmed him and commentary played it up like he was a fan, but they removed his mask to reveal Perry. Nicholas then was up on the ladder to grab the belts and win the titles. Perry was taken out by security afterward as the Bucks pretended to be surprised by everything.

The titles were vacated by Darby Allin & Sting following Sting’s retirement at March’s Revolution and put up in a tournament. FTR advanced with wins over The Infantry and Top Flight while the Bucks defeated Private Party and Best Friends (Orange Cassidy & Trent Beretta) to get to the finals.

It’s the third reign for the Bucks and their first since a 28-day reign in 2022. This was the fourth-ever meeting between both teams with each winning two of them.

Perry has been out of AEW since last August’s All In when he got into a backstage skirmish with CM Punk that AEW aired footage of several weeks ago. He just wrapped up a short run in NJPW where he adopted the “Scapegoat” moniker to help play off the Punk controversy.

Both teams did their best to follow the spectacular Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay match that preceded them, pulling out all the stops and eventually getting the crowd back into things.

Some highlights:

Wheeler hit a running spear to Matthew on the ring apron who then slid on the table and broke it before his body then nailed the barricade, followed by Nicholas hurricanrana counter onto Harwood through a table at ringside.

Harwood and Wheeler hit a massive powerplex onto Nicholas off the ladders.

In a nasty looking bump, Nicholas hit a 450 splash onto Wheeler through a table while Harwood hit a piledriver onto Matt on top of a ladder, but the ladder broke making for an awkward fall.

AEW Dynasty preview & predictions: Swerve’s house

Posted on by Mike DellaCamera

The following is an opinion-based preview and reflects the views of the author and not our website.

Yet again, friends, AEW finds itself wrapped up in yet another unnecessary, self-created mess of a media cycle. Forget The Masters: this is fast becoming a tradition unlike any other.

The focus, yet again, is not on the excellent card for Sunday’s Dynasty (8 PM Eastern on PPV from St. Louis), but on more exhausting behind-the-scenes intrigue.

Showing the CM Punk/Jack Perry footage from All In nearly two weeks ago on Dynamite was a mistake, full stop. As much as I respect pettiness, and God knows I do, this was a low floor, low ceiling decision and exactly the type of decision they would be wise to avoid.

How exactly did seeing this footage change anything for the better? All it did was put Punk’s name on the tip of the wrestling world’s tongue (though to be fair, it is frequently there). There were no Punk chants at AEW shows, but there are now. It was a short-sighted play with negative long-term fallout.

Even though the Young Bucks and FTR did their best by spinning it into the storyline, the damage was done. It’s a wrestling truism that there’s no such thing as bad heat, but I’d argue that a returning Perry getting showered with chants for a wrestler from a rival promotion is exactly that. It makes everyone involved look small.

If this article ran on The Ringer, it would be titles “Winners and Losers of the Jungle Boy/CM Punk footage.” The only winner? Punk, of course. Brandon Thurston said it best: he really is a top guy in two companies. The sooner the obsession with the past ends, the better for everyone in AEW.

With my soapbox put away, let’s run through another promising AEW pay-per-view card with some main card predictions:

FTW Champion Hook defends against Chris Jericho

No matter the question, the answer is never “more Chris Jericho.” That is not a panacea for what ails AEW or anyone, really. He is a vampire getting undeserved regular TV and PPV time at the expense of both a talented roster and the audience’s respect. Look at what the other wrestling legends in AEW are doing. Christian Cage is doing the best work of his career and helping elevate younger wrestlers. Adam Copeland is doing the same. Jericho does what he does for one person, himself. Not being on TV is a fate worse than death to him.

Even though this isn’t the best opponent for Hook, matches on big shows like this are necessary for his growth and should have been happening far sooner. The chaos agent inside me wants Jericho to win but I simply will not have it.

Prediction: Hook retains

Adam Copeland, Mark Briscoe, & Eddie Kingston vs. House of Black (Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews & Brody King)

Copeland, Briscoe, and Kingston are just three guys being dudes. Copeland and Briscoe are brimming with some of the most powerful dad energy on television. Pair that with Kingston bringing his trademark level of chaos makes for a wonderful juxtaposition.

Most of their backstage interviews go something like this:

  • Copeland: Standard wrestling promo with a corny joke
  • Briscoe: “God is good.”
  • Kingston: “Malakai Black, you looked at me with both eyes and where I come from, that means one of us has to die and it’s not going to be me.”

House of Black works so well as a trio because they each bring something completely different that plays to their strengths. Matthews is a muscle hamster that moves with incredible power and suddenness (him vs. PAC again soon, please), Black brings striking and aura, and then, there is King.

The king is saved for last because he’s, well, he’s the best. People yearn for Matthews and Black singles runs, but I want nothing more than Big Bad Brody King to get some solo shine. Equal parts powerful and agile, he is a throwback to a territory-style hoss; one tailor-made for either a TNT or International title reign. He had the mixed tag against Copeland on Wednesday, and I’d love to see this match lead to something there.

Prediction: Copeland, Briscoe & Kingston

AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada defends against PAC

AEW is better when PAC is around. Hell, wrestling is better when PAC is around. Still one of the most enthusiastic sellers and explosive performers in modern wrestling, his return makes us realize how much he was missed. There’s always a place in wrestling for someone this angry.

His anger is different than Eddie Kingston’s. Where Kingston is generally perturbed, PAC seems angry that others dare even inhabit his world. Their existence is a source of disgust to him. Other than when the bell rings, my favorite part about the PAC experience is that he always looks the same with black trunks and bicep bands. That’s it and that’s all. I can’t even picture him wearing anything other than his ring gear, let alone something with a collar. Regardless, I’m thrilled he’s back if you couldn’t tell.

The arrival of Okada in AEW is one of the better presentations for a debut in recent memory. There was no time wasted when he formally showed up as he immediately rocked Kingston, aligned with The Elite, and won a championship. There was no pandering to the crowd, no happy to be here promos; just a whole bunch of being a smug jerk, which is Okada’s perfect character alignment. It allows him to work to his strengths: lengthy, control-focused matches with memorable finishing stretches. He is far more charismatic and interesting playing this role compared to being a generic babyface.

This suits him well, and so does having a championship. He’ll keep it this weekend.

Prediction: Okada retains

AEW International Champion Roderick Strong defends against Kyle O’Reilly

O’Reilly is another wonderful return. I have, depressingly, been consuming wrestling long enough to have seen the entirety of O’Reilly’s career. We are similar in age and seeing him grow from a young boy to a full-grown man with a family resonates.

There are moments when we observe someone navigating life’s challenges in a spotlight that amplifies their experiences, mirroring our own. It fosters a unique sense of connection and empathy, knowing that we travel parallel paths through life’s hurdles, both public and private. His triumphant return to the ring is inspiring and a testament to the indomitable will to pursue one’s dreams.

At 40 years old, Strong is still a certifiable monster. A cardio king with an unlimited gas tank, he should be wrestling regularly on TV and having killer matches. Orange Cassidy made this the International title a workhorse title, and there are few better than Strong to carry that mantle forward. He is made for TV matches, ones that are crazy sprints full of non-stop moves. That’s kind of his bag, bay.

This is his first real match since he won the title in early March, odd since this was the title that used to be defended weekly on the non-Rampage shows. That needs to continue. There are too many belts in AEW, but this one deserves far more attention than it’s currently getting.

As much as I love O’Reilly and am thrilled to see him back doing what he loves, big Rod Strong needs to keep the title

Prediction: Strong retains

TBS Champion Julia Hart defends against Willow Nightingale

This is Willow’s moment. She is as good as babyfaces get and is ready for a title. In some ways, she is the nice version of Kingston as fans relate to her similarly to how they relate to him. She is genuine and vulnerable on the microphone (her Dynamite promo a few weeks ago was the best she’s had), but a killer between the ropes. The approaches couldn’t be more different, but they connect with the audience at similar levels.

Hart’s TBS title reign has been fine as are most first-time title reigns. But, Hart has stayed dripping with superstar potential. Not many 22-year-olds can say they had a months-long title reign on TV. Even if it was just a fine run, those reps are invaluable towards her getting to her ceiling as a performer. The presentation and presence are already realized, the rest should come in time.

These are two people who the women’s division in AEW should be built around in the years to come. Julia had her run and it’s time for Willow to have hers.

Prediction: Nightingale wins the title

Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay

The Ospreay haters must have been fuming when Danielson, the Lisan al Gaib of wrestling, lavished him with the highest of praise:

“He has such a great grasp of what the modern professional wrestling fan wants. When I see him, I think he’s the best wrestler in the world for modern wrestling fans as far as what they enjoy.”

As always, our king speaks the truth. Often, you can distill the best Ospreay match down to five minutes and get 95% of the experience. We have attention spans shorter than a goldfish, so of course a dude that has between seven and ten jaw-dropping moments of athleticism per match resonates. The dopamine-addled brains of modern society, mine included, can’t handle much more than that. Many of you probably picked up your phone while reading this paragraph. I don’t take it personally, I did the same thing writing it. We can’t focus, we can’t just be.

In a word full of inattention, Ospreay might just be the best wrestler for it.

But he’s not because he is wrestling the best wrestler in the world and the best wrestler of all time in Danielson. It will be interesting to compare this match to the Ospreay/Kenny Omega matches that received so much attention last year. In many ways, Ospreay is the Pokemon evolution of Omega in that both are explosive, athletic marvels with unlimited stamina and adamantium necks. Both are top 1% athletes, pushing the limits of what a human body can do in the ring without exploding.

Danielson is none of those things. He approaches wrestling with far more subtlety. An artist of the highest form, he grinds, stretches, and strikes his opponents until he breaks their will and spirit. In other words, he is the stylistic opposite of Ospreay who just hits his opponents with bomb after bomb.

The best wrestler of all time vs. perhaps the best modern wrestler happens Sunday. This is as big of a match as AEW can put on, and I can’t wait.

Prediction: Ospreay

Young Bucks vs. FTR in a ladder match for the vacant AEW Tag Team titles

I already went long about the All In footage earlier so I won’t belabor that point. It’s too bad that it’s overshadowing another match between two of the best tag teams ever.

Since I was critical up front, let me play my own devil’s advocate and offer a more…generous reading of the decision to air the footage. The previous match at All In for whatever reason didn’t click. It didn’t feel like anything we hadn’t seen before. It felt like an empty exhibition rather than an emphatic third match in a trilogy. It was certainly good. but it wasn’t at the level we all know it could be. Weaving in the excuse, no matter how thin, that what happened backstage at All In had an impact on the quality of the match works if you really squint. It does lean into what the Young Bucks do better than almost anyone else: making the audience want to see them get beat up.

No one takes a beating like Matt and Nick Jackson. They’ve been doing it around the world for years and it always works. Sting’s retirement match was nearly perfect, and a ton of credit for that goes to the Bucks who did everything humanly possible to make Sting look like a hero going out. They are weasly, they are slimy, and they are just begging to be punched in the face. More so than any other great tag team of the modern era (Hardys, FTR, Motor City Machine Guns, etc.), they have the unique ability to be hated. It speaks to their skills as heels that two guys who wrestle in such an aesthetically pleasing style can get a crowd to loathe them. History will have a complicated relationship with them, as it does with any level of greatness, but we should all appreciate them while we can.

Logic would dictate that the Bucks win here. The whole Elite thing works best when all the slime puppies have gold. Jack Perry probably gets involved, something I definitely don’t care about, and helps them win.

Prediction: Young Bucks win the titles

AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm defends against Thunder Rosa

Nothing about this is compelling as Storm’s gimmick prevents her feuds from getting any serious juice. Her last program with Deonna Purrazzo should have been filled with emotional weight as these women effectively grew up with each other in wrestling. But the program ultimately fell flat. If one character barely takes anything seriously, how is the audience supposed to? At its core, that is the issue with the “Timeless” gimmick. It’s been the same thing for months. Even if her opponent tries to introduce some gravitas, her character is so unserious that it just doesn’t matter.

This program with Rosa is more of the same. She’s become just another character sacrificed at the “Timeless” altar and that’s a shame. Storm is an incredible in-ring talent, much like many women in AEW. Until the gimmick goes away, or the character gets changed, the song will remain the same.

Prediction: Storm retains

AEW World Champion Samoa Joe defends against Swerve Strickland

Joe, the champion, reminds us that God is in his heaven and all is right with the world.

Joe can do anything and make it big with gravitas. He is a pillar of stability in a company that too frequently depends on it. He and Jon Moxley allow AEW to weather all storms. Joe is reliably excellent in the ring and transcendent on the microphone; a true legend of modern wrestling that will only be remembered even more fondly when his time in the ring ends.

As wonderful as Joe is, and as much as I would love him to stay champion forever, this is Strickland’s time. This is the moment where he cements himself as one of the top guys in all of wrestling. It doesn’t feel as emotionally charged as when Hangman Page won the title back in 2021, but the builds that led to coronations are similar. It’s appropriate, too, considering his matches with Page pushed him into that upper echelon of main event-level performers.

The criticisms I have with Swerve are nits that don’t even need to be picked (he can be a little loosey-goosey in the ring with too many unnecessary rolls and somersaults.) But he’s got it all figured out and has for some time now. He seethes, he broods, and he delivers in every area. Last year was the beginning of his rise to the top of AEW. On Sunday, he claims his rightful place there. Who’s house?

Prediction: Strickland wins the title

AEW Collision live results: BCC vs. Don Callis Family Bunkhouse Brawl

Posted on by Suit Williams

Just one day before AEW Dynasty, the Blackpool Combat Club will compete in a Bunkhouse Brawl match on tonight’s AEW Collision as Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli face Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher.

Both Danielson and Castagnoli have been targeted by the Don Callis Family with Takeshita giving Danielson a brain buster on the stage earlier this month. 

The Elite (Kazuchika Okada & Young Bucks) will team up to take on PAC & FTR. On Sunday, Okada will defend his AEW Continental title against PAC while the Bucks and FTR will compete for the vacant AEW Tag Team titles.

In a clash of former AEW Tag Team Champions, The Acclaimed take on The Gunns.

TNT Champion Adam Copeland, Eddie Kingston & Mark Briscoe go up against Top Flight & Action Andretti, Skye Blue will take on Leyla Hirsch, and Powerhouse Hobbs will be in action.

This week’s show will be immediately followed by a live Rampage on TNT.

**********

Sir Elton John played us into tonight’s Collision, one day before the Dynasty PPV tomorrow night. Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness were on the call as the TNT Champion kicked off tonight’s show.

Adam Copeland, Mark Briscoe, & Eddie Kingston defeated Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) & Action Andretti

A high-octane opener to kick off this three-hour block. It was fun seeing Copeland fit into the multi-man mix.

Andretti used his speed to beat Briscoe to start, but Briscoe dropped him with an elbow out of the corner. Copeland helped Briscoe drop Andretti with double shoulder blocks, but Top Flight teamed up to keep Copeland off balance. Kingston held control of Dante through the commercial, but Darius got the hot tag after the commercial and ran wild.

Andretti and Dante hit dives to the floor, but Briscoe hit a pair of suplexes to cut them off. Andretti hit a standing shooting star press to Kingston for a nearfall that Copeland broke up. All six men dropped each other with clotheslines as the crowd chanted This Is Awesome. Kingston dropped Andretti with a lariat, kicking off a move train that ended with a series of finishers on Andretti. Briscoe hit the Froggy Bow on Andretti to cap off this match, with Kingston scoring the fall.

After the match, the House of Black appeared on the screen. They menaced their opponents for tomorrow night, with Malakai Black saying that they would drag Copeland to the edge of hell.

We got a video package hyping the AEW World Title match between Swerve Strickland & Samoa Joe at Dynasty.

Powerhouse Hobbs defeated CJ Esparza

Esparza was the unfortunate ham-and-egger in Hobbs’s way ahead of his showdown with IWGP World Champion Jon Moxley this Wednesday. Hobbs crushed Esparza with multiple slams on the apron before winning with the Human Torture Rack.

After the match, Don Callis took to the mic and said that his Family was the talk of the wrestling world. He hyped the Bunkhouse match later on, saying he wouldn’t be ringside for his own safety. He took credit for Kenny Omega’s IWGP World Title reign, saying that he had a favor to cash in with New Japan officials. He cashed in his favor, announcing that the Hobbs/Moxley match on Dynamite would now be for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

We got a video package hyping the dream match between Will Ospreay and Bryan Danielson for Dynasty.

We got a recap of the Hook, Chris Jericho, & Taz angle from Dynamite before we heard from Chris Jericho in the back. He said that “the learning tree” would teach him the mistake he made by not accepting his advice, but it would make Hook a better person in the end. It would hurt him more than it hurt Hook to take the FTW Title from him.

The Gunns (Austin & Colten) (w/ Jay White) defeated The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) (w/ Billy Gunn)

This was a fine TV match, but I’m beyond ready to get the trios titles onto other things.

For the first time in months, Caster got his rap off with no issue. Tony Schiavone got on the mic and said that if the Gunns bailed on this match, the title match tomorrow night would be canceled. We got a Pier Six brawl that took us to the break. After the break, the Gunns traded single-leg crabs to keep control of Caster.

Bowens got the hot tag and ran wild. The Gunns sent the Acclaimed into each other, only for the referee to catch Colten’s trying to leverage his pin with the ropes. Bowens hit a big knee for a nearfall, then hit a Fameasser for another two count. Bowens avoided the 3:10 To Yuma, allowing Caster to get a blind tag. Caster scored with the Death Valley Driver, but Austin cut off the Mic Drop. The Gunns hit the 3:10 To Yuma on Bowens, but Caster came down with the Mic Drop. Colten and Caster were left in the ring, with White helping Colten score the win with the bat.

Bryan Danielson was backstage with Lexy Nair. He said that Don Callis didn’t have confidence in Will Ospreay, which is why Callis sent the Family after him. Danielson felt alive and was excited for the Bunkhouse match tonight and the match against Ospreay tomorrow night. Ospreay entered the frame, noting that he saw Danielson slated for interview time, and told Danielson that he had nothing to do with the attacks. Ospreay didn’t want Danielson to have any excuses for Dynasty. Danielson left unconvinced.

We got video from Toni Storm from after Dynamite. She wanted the video in full color so people could see how Thunder Rosa smeared lipstick all over her face. Storm said that Rosa didn’t want the title back because she never lost it, she wanted the title back because of how important Storm made it. Rosa couldn’t drag her to hell because Storm made love to her demons every night.

Bunkhouse Brawl – Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli) defeated The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher)

A great piece of business here. The Callis Family becoming a more frequent part of AEW shows this year has been a great addition to these shows. Danielson gets his revenge on the Family before cutting a hell of a promo to sell the Ospreay match afterward.

The Callis Family got the jump on the BCC during the introductions, leading to a Pier Six brawl through the crowd. The fight came to ringside, where Danielson choked Fletcher with a cable while Takeshita hammered Castagnoli with the ring bell hammer. Castagnoli and Takeshita brawled into the ring, where Castagnoli hit the Giant Swing. Danielson dropkicked Takeshita out of the swing, but Fletcher flung a chair into Danielson’s head to cut off a dive. Fletcher threw powder in Castagnoli’s face before hitting a Last Ride powerbomb for a nearfall.

Danielson avoided another brainbuster on the apron, but Fletcher laid him out again. Castagnoli took Fletcher into the stairs and repeatedly threw his head into them. Danielson was bleeding from the chair shot but laid the middle kicks into Takeshita as the crowd fired up. Danielson set up the Busaiku Knee, but a now bloody Fletcher cut him off. Fletcher and Takeshita booted the BCC before hitting stereo brainbusters for a nearfall.

Takeshita went for a chain-assisted forearm but Danielson cut him off. The BCC caught them both with the hammer-and-anvil elbows before locking on submissions. Powerhouse Hobbs laid out the BCC with main event spinebusters, but Jon Moxley made the save and brawled with him to the back. The Family set up Danielson for a super powerbomb into a chair, but Danielson sent Takeshita into the chair instead. Castagnoli drilled both men with chain-assisted uppercuts before Danielson laid out Fletcher with the Busaiku Knee. Danielson took the chain and wrapped it around Fletcher’s face before locking on the LeBell Lock for the quick win.

Danielson took the mic and said that he knew people wondered why he took this match. Being in a pro wrestling ring was Danielson’s version of heaven, and having guys try to break his neck before one of the biggest matches of his career made him feel alive. He told Will Ospreay that he was going to beat his ass at Dynasty.

We got a recap of the attack on Willow Nightingale from Dynamite. Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale, & Stokely Hathaway were backstage afterward, and they were fired up. Nightingale said that confident champions don’t attack their challengers with chains before title matches. She said she would beat Julia Hart for the TBS Title tomorrow night.

Skye Blue defeated Leyla Hirsch

Blue got a jump start, dropping Hirsch with a boot before dropping Hirsch with a neckbreaker off the apron. Hirsch came back with a wheelbarrow German suplex, but Blue cut her off on the top rope. Hirsch took Blue off the top rope with a German suplex for a nearfall. Hirsch couldn’t complete a springboard move, leading to Blue winning with a Dragon Sleeper.

PAC & FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defeated The Elite (Kazuchika Okada, Nicholas & Matthew Jackson)

This felt like a New Japan Road To match, where you got a substantial preview of the bigger matches coming up. Awesome stuff, and a nice win for PAC leading into his PPV title match.

The Elite tried the same start to the match that they used on Dynamite, but PAC saw it coming and was able to lay in some shots to Okada. The Bucks pulled Okada to the floor, but a trio of baseball slides kicked off a brawl on the floor. Matthew was able to tag in, but FTR and PAC used quick tags to hold him up. We got a tease of triple submissions on the Elite before the Bucks broke them all up. The Elite went for baseball slides of their own, but they were avoided and the tecnicos took control as we went to picture-in-picture.

After the break, The Elite worked over Harwood after crotching him on the ringpost during the break. PAC got the tag in and ran wild on all three of the Elite, hitting a stuff piledriver on Okada with Harwood for a nearfall. Okada took the referee’s attention as the Bucks took PAC into the ring steps. After another break, PAC fought to make the hot tag to Harwood. Things broke down until it came down to Okada and Harwood in the ring, where Harwood countered the Rainmaker into a Sharpshooter.

The Bucks broke up the Sharpshooter with dual superkicks, then ran trios offense on Harwood, ending with a Matthew top-rope elbow for a nearfall. FTR got Matthew isolated, hitting a Powerplex before setting up PAC for a 450 splash for a nearfall. Things broke down, leading to The Bucks hitting PAC with a Shatter Machine for a nearfall. The Bucks hit the EVP Trigger, but Wheeler broke up the pin. FTR hit Matthew with a Shatter Machine, then cleared the ring for PAC to hit the Black Arrow for the win.

After the match, the Elite jumped them before Daniel Garcia came in to make the save. PAC caught Okada in the Brutalizer, but the Bucks dragged Okada to safety.

Ladder stipulation added to Young Bucks vs. FTR at AEW Dynasty

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A new stipulation has been added to the Tag Team title match at AEW Dynasty next week.

During AEW Collision, it was announced that The Young Bucks and FTR will now square off in a ladder match on April 21. The match serves as the finals of a tournament to crown new champions after Sting and Darby Allin vacated the titles following Sting’s retirement in March.

On Dynamite, The Young Bucks aired real-life footage of a brawl between Jack Perry and CM Punk at All In last August. They used the altercation to push their Dynasty match, saying that because of what happened, they weren’t able to focus on their match against FTR at All In. They even went as far as accusing FTR of being the masterminds behind the altercation, but later took it back as they said the accusation was too “unprofessional”.

Roderick Strong will also defend the International title against Kyle O’Reilly. After weeks of Strong supporting O’Reilly as he went on his own path, he turned on O’Reilly at AEW Battle of the Belts X. As O’Reilly was checking on Rocky Romero following his loss, Strong used the distraction to lay out O’Reilly, telling him that he had made the wrong choice.

The updated lineup for Dynasty:

  • AEW World Champion Samoa Joe defends against Swerve Strickland
  • AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm defends against Thunder Rosa
  • TBS Champion Julia Hart defends against Willow Nightingale
  • Ladder match for AEW Tag Team titles: The Young Bucks vs. FTR
  • AEW International title: Roderick Strong defends against Kyle O’Reilly
  • AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada defends against PAC
  • Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay
  • Adam Copeland, Eddie Kingston & Mark Briscoe vs. House of Black (Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews & Brody King)

Fight Game: Did anyone look good from AEW showing the All In footage?

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

John LaRocca and I are back with another episode of The Fight Game Podcast.

We kicked off the show talking about another show we did this week featuring a review of the movie The Wrestler. We didn’t talk about WWE WrestleMania 40 from last weekend because we covered it on this website on Sunday night after night two. 

We then got to our topics which included:

  • Who looked good coming out of AEW showing the backstage CM Punk vs. Jack Perry footage from All In?
  • Will Ospreay’s promo
  • A really solid Samoa Joe vs. Dustin Rhodes match
  • What did The Rock give Cody Rhodes on WWE Raw?
  • The Dark Side of the Ring episode on Chris Colt
  • Preview of New Japan’s Windy City Riot

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)