Coverage
Mitchell’s NXT TakeOver: WarGames Results & Report! (12/6/20)
Prepare for war!
TakeOver goes back inside the sinister steel!
NXT is going to see 2020 off with a bang! Pat McAfee and his boys challenge the Undisputed Era, in a WARGAMES match! Who will be on top of the brand after tonight?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Women’s WarGames: Team Shotzi VS Team Candice; Team Candice wins.
- Tommaso Ciampa VS Timothy Thatcher; Ciampa wins.
- Strap Match: Dexter Lumis VS Cameron Grimes; Lumis wins.
- NXT North American Championship Triple Threat: Leon Ruff VS Damian Priest VS Johnny Gargano; Gargano wins and becomes the new NXT North American Champion.
- Men’s WarGames: The Kings of NXT VS The Undisputed Era; The Undisputed Era wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
It’s the TakeOver Kickoff Show!
Join Wade Barrett, Sam Roberts and ESPN’s Ariel Helwani as they analyze, discuss and predict all the action for WarGames 2020!
McKenzie Mitchell reports on the WarGames teams.
She says that she managed to get comments from both men’s teams as they arrived. She certainly heard from Pat McAfee, who is so confident that he guaranteed his team would win. As for the Undisputed Era, they were all rather reserved as they went to ringside to survey the Capitol Wrestling Center’s take on the double-ring, double-cage structure. Perhaps they are already strategizing. Adam Cole said McAfee is a great talker, but the time for talk is over as it is time for war.
And on the Women’s WarGames end, McKenzie managed to get a word from William Regal, and he confirms that TakeOver starts WITH the Women’s WarGames match! A battle that started brewing at Halloween Havoc finally comes to blows tonight! Will Team Poison Pixie or Team Wild Child take ultimate revenge and take over the women’s division?
NXT shares Triple H’s comments on the North American Championship Triple Threat.
HHH knows that while Johnny Gargano and Damian Priest are “used to that big dance, used to that big game, used to that moment,” this is Leon Ruff’s first. How bad does that affect him? How nervous is he? How emotional is he? If Ruff can’t breathe, can’t catch his breath, and pressures himself into trying to beat both opponents, “he’s doomed.” Will Ruff listen to The Game and change tactics?
NXT throws it to The Bump’s Matt Camp and Ryan Pappolla.
They give us some quick analysis of the TakeOver card. Strap Match, Grimes VS Lumis, no running away from this one! Grimes can’t go to the moon strapped to Lumis, it’s Lumis’ to win. Then Thatcher VS Ciampa in a battle with fists, kicks and brains! Ryan says Thatcher is a bad man, but Ciampa’s song is “NO ONE WILL SURVIVE,” this is Ciampa’s win. Matt thinks that if Thatcher choked Ciampa out once he can do it again, they’re split. North American Championship Triple Threat, Ruff is on cloud nine but he’s got the biggest test of his life here in Gargano and Priest at the same time. Ryan may sound crazy, but in this season of miracles, Ruff can find a way! Matt says the Ghost Face(s) will help Gargano get this, it’s another split.
Then there’s TWO WarGames matches again. For the women, Team Shotzi VS Team Candice, a match only possible in NXT. Ryan agrees because both teams are stacked! It’s an even call, so you gotta go with X-factors, and for Shotzi Blackheart, Ryan says that’s Io Shirai. Matt says Candice’s team has the real X-factor, in Raquel Gonzalez. He says team Candice wins, another split. And of course, the men’s match, Undisputed Era VS McAfee and crew. Ryan says UE needs to keep it cool and not focus too hard on McAfee, and they’ll win. Matt says Team McAfee has Pete Dunne on their team, that’s why they win.
McKenzie interviews Cameron Grimes.
What is his strategy for facing Dexter Lumis in the Strap Match? Wait, what is he looking at? He’s looking at that stupid video Lumis made! Grimes ain’t scared of anybody! Grimes ain’t ever ran from anybody! “To tell you the truth, Dexter Lumis, you’re the one that’s scared! You ain’t said nothing and I’ve said everything I could ever say!” But after tonight, when Lumis is strapped to “the man,” Cameron Grimes, Lumis will be screaming! And he’ll be screaming that Grimes is GOING TOOOOO THEEEEE MOOOOON!
The sirens sound, and it is time… for WARGAMES!!
The double cage is lowering already, because it begins! “The match that the Undisputed Era made famous in NXT,” teams are going to drag each other into hell! Armies of four open fire inside the steel, who will win, and who will even survive?
Women’s WarGames: Team Shotzi VS Team Candice!
Though the Wild Child and her team has the advantage, being the first to add a fighter to the match at every interval, it’s all about how this match ends! The Poison Pixie started this war all because Shotzi kept things fair and square at Halloween Havoc. Will Candice’s team pay the price for her short fuse?
Speaking of, Team Candice makes their entrance first. They sort out, and #CobraKai wants to start this! Dakota goes to the double-ring while the others enter their shark cage. Then Team Shotzi makes their entrance, and Shotzi rides in on TCB MK II!! Bigger and badder than ever, it can fit all four rockstars on it! And it even shoots a (Nerf) missile at the cage as a warning shot! As such, the one to join Dakota in the cage is Ember Moon! Will Ember’s Law kick in and kick Team Kick’s captain to the curb?
The cages are locked and the five minute countdown begins! Dakota is in the second ring and Ember hurries over, but Dakota attacks with kicks and clubbing forearms! Ember tackles Dakota down and gives back those clubbing hands! Dakota hits back, wraps on a sleeper, but Ember pries at the hold. Dakota hops on as a backpack but Ember rolls for a senton! Fans fire up as Ember is free, but Dakota jumps the sweep. Ember ducks the kick then blocks a kick, but Dakota blocks, too! Dakota lifts but Ember headscissors Dakota to a corner! Ember runs in to KNEE Dakota, then goes side to side, but Dakota follows and BOOTS!
Dakota goes corner to corner but Ember follows to handspring ELBOW! Ember snapmares Dakota, and dropkicks her down! Then the leg sweep hits and Ember STOMPS Dakota down! And drops a senton! There’s still three minutes to go and Dakota crawls for the first ring. Ember grabs a leg, Dakota kicks her away and then SCORPION KICKS her down! Dakota rains down angry fists then digs Ember’s face into steel! Fans rally as Dakota talks some trash. Dakota grinds boots into Ember’s head, then stomps her down. Dakota drags Ember up, puts her on ropes and clubs her. Dakota runs but Ember dodges! Ember springs up to headscissor Dakota back to a corner!
Dakota comes back but swings into a wrench and Ember DECKS Dakota! Fans rally as we hit a two minute warning. Ember suplexes Dakota into the steel! Dakota scrapes down the side and then Ember runs, to TACKLE Dakota into the wall! Fans fire up for Ember as she drags Dakota out from the ropes. Ember then climbs, but Dakota KICKS her first! Dakota drags Ember out along the top rope, for a DRAPING- NO! Ember catches the GTK and rolls Ember for a SUPERKICK! Dakota flounders and crawls to the gap, and Ember runs in, only for Ember to BOOT her! Dakota gives Kowata kicks to Ember as she’s trapped, then BOOTS her back down!
Dakota climbs a corner, reels Ember in, SUPER KAI-ROPRACTOR! The clock is finally at 15 seconds and Dakota digs her knee into Ember’s back while pushing Ember’s face into the mat! The countdown hits zero and SHOTZI heads out! But before getting in, Shotzi brings some friends out from under the ring! It’s a toolbox, and a crowbar! Shotzi used those to build her tank back up and is going to use them to tear Dakota down! Dakota hurries to intercept but Shotzi gets her first with a shotgun dropkick! Dakota ends up in a corner, Shotzi splashes! Shotzi snapmares, runs and SLING DOGS! Then a BIG knee, and a ROLLING ELBOW!
Dakota wobbles into the QUESTION MARK KICK! Dakota ends up on ropes, Shotzi runs to CANNOBALL in! Shotzi drags Dakota up, shouts for Ember, but Dakota hits back! Dakota whips but Shotzi reverses to put Dakota in the gap. Shotzi ROUNDHOUSES then runs to WRECK Dakota with a dropkick! Shotzi joins Dakota in the gap, runs in and boots, but Dakota dodges! Dakota bumps Shotzi off steel, Ember comes over but Dakota BOUNCES her off the cage! Dakota focuses on Ember with a stomp and hammering hands! Shotzi enters the second ring to enziguri Dakota down! Shotzi clubs Dakota, and then digs her into the steel in return for Ember!
Shotzi brings Ember up for a suplex into buckles! Dakota is in a drop zone, Shotzi climbs, but Dakota gets up to enziguri! Dakota climbs to join Shotzi now, clubs her on the back but Ember clubs Dakota! Ember Electric Chair lifts Dakota, Shotzi joins in, SHOTGUN DOOMSDAY! Fans are fired up and the countdown hits zero again! Team Candice sends in RAQUEL GONZALEZ! Big Mami Cool has Shotzi and Ember right on her, but she shoves them away. Shotzi and Ember flank Raquel, throws some kicks and just keep out of range! They hammer Raquel down but she explodes out!
Raquel waits for someone to get up, and she CLOBBERS Ember! And BOOTS Shotzi! And elbows Ember! Raquel scoops Ember and swings her for a POWERSLAM! Shotzi kicks back then uses the ropes for a springboard into the huricanrana, but Raquel BOMBS Shotzi into steel! Dakota regroups with Raquel now and Raquel fireman’s carries Dakota to weaponize her! Dakota’s feet SMACK Ember, then SMACK Shotzi! Raquel sets Dakota down to stomp away on Shotzi! Raquel goes after Ember and TOSSES her! Dakota puts Shotzi in the second ring, Raquel clubs Ember that way. Raquel goes after Shotzi and whips her hard into a corner! Dakota BOOT WASHES Shotzi!
Raquel drags Ember up, scoops her, and Dakota runs, BOOT O’ DOOM! Dakota and Raquel grind their boots into Shotzi and Ember, respectively, then trade as Raquel throws forearms on Shotzi. Raquel whips Shotzi back in, Dakota goes to the gap and Raquel follows. Dakota climbs up and Raquel helps her steady herself, for a HUGE LEAPING LARIAT! Dakota wipes out Shotzi and Ember, and Raquel checks on Dakota. The countdown is zero, here comes RHEA RIPLEY! Raquel wants this showdown most of all! Nightmare and Desperado face off again, but Dakota returns! Rhea ROCKS Dakota, fights Raquel’s waistlock and BOOTS Dakota!
Rhea elbows free, Ember and Shotzi anchor Raquel and Rhea BOOTS Raquel down! Dakota hops onto Rhea but Rhea throws her off! Rhea cravats and knees away on Dakota, but Dakota kicks Rhea’s leg. Rhea reels Dakota in to clobber her over and over again! Ripcord and dropkick! Rhea whips Dakota corner to corner, reels her back in and HOOK KICKS! Then atomic FACEBUSTER! Raquel blocks Ember’s whip but Ember goes up and leaps to CODE BREAKER! Shotzi takes Raquel around for a springboard SUNSET BOMB! Rhea borrows Shotzi’s toolbox, opens it up and brings out… a short handle sledgehammer!
HHH would be proud as Rhea HAMMERS Dakota in the stomach! And then HAMMER her on the back! Ember and Shotzi keep Raquel in the second ring as Rhea takes off her belt. Rhea uses her belt to trap Dakota while Shotzi and Ember whip Raquel to a corner! Rhea fires off point blank shoulders into Dakota, and then SLINGS her into steel! Raquel comes back to CLOBBER Shotzi and Ember, and again the female titans stare down! Fans fire up as they talk some trash from opposite sides of the gap. They both get IN the gap and fire off hands! Raquel blocks a boot, scoops Rhea but Rhea fights up to TACKLE Raquel back to the first ring!
The countdown reaches zero as the two scrap on the mat, and Toni Storm joins in! Toni decides to bring in reinforcements, KENDO STICKS! Toni GERMAN SUPLEXES Rhea, then strips a crossbar? She removes a buckle pad while Raquel drags Rhea up. Toni and Raquel mug Rhea with kendo stick SMACKS! Shotzi and Ember get in but Toni ROCKS Shotzi! Toni strips another buckle but has to fight Ember and Shotzi off! Toni BOOTS Ember, drags Rhea up and whips her into a BARE BUCKLE! Rhea writhes while Raquel stomps Shotzi. Toni drags Ember up to whip Ember, but Ember blocks! Toni reels Ember in for a snap suplex!
Toni stomps Ember down, Raquel stomps Shotzi in a corner, and Dakota is watching Rhea in the second ring. Toni stands on Ember, and Raquel uses the crowbar on Shotzi’s side! Toni SMACKS Ember with a kendo stick! Raquel SMACKS Shotzi with a kendo stick! Rhea whips Dakota but Dakota reverses and Rhea hits steel! Toni chokes Ember with a kendo stick then intercepts Shotzi up top! Rhea intercepts Dakota up top on the other side, and then Raquel and Ember join in respectively! On one end, Shotzi has Toni AND Raquel while Ember and Rhea have Dakota caught! Team Shotzi coordinates, and in stereo, Shotzi hits DOUBLE SLICED BREAD while Ember and Rhea hit an ELECTRIC CHAIR BULLDOG!!
And the countdown hits zero again! The CWC is thunderous as IO SHIRAI is finally in! The Evil Genius has an idea of her own, and she brings in a LADDER!! Shirai gets that ladder in the ring, but isn’t done yet! Raquel closes the door on her?! Shirai smacks at Raquel’s fingers with a kendo stick of her own! Raquel BOOTS the door into Shirai and she goes flying! Raquel clears some space but Shotzi SMACKS her with a kendo stick! Raquel CLOBBERS Shotzi back, but Shirai brings in a second ladder!! Raquel stops that and RAMS Shirai off the steps! Raquel again slams the door shut and tells refs to shut up! Toni grabs at Ember as Ember grabs at Raquel.
Raquel stomps Ember, Toni adds stomps, and Raquel keeps the door shut. Raquel then grabs a kendo stick to SMACK Shotzi! But this allows Shirai to finally get in! And with a chair, no less! Ember CLUBS Toni, Toni SLAMS Ember on the gap’s steel! Raquel notices Shirai’s work and throws the chairs aside. Shirai is ready with her own, tosses it at Raquel and DROPKICKS it into her! Raquel still boots Shirai out?! And slams the door shut! Toni uses one of her own belts to lock the door!! Raquel drags Shotzi up but Shirai just climbs the cage itself! Shotzi is used to KNOCK Shirai down!
The final countdown hits and Captain Candice finally joins in! But the flaw in their perfect plan is that Shirai is now in Candice’s way! But Candice’s insurance policy, Indi Hartwell, attacks from behind! Indi throws Shirai into barriers! Candice then brings in more props, such as a trash can and it’s lid! Indi tosses chairs in for the team, too! Candice’s team brawls with Shotzi’s but it’s clear who has the edge. Candice closes the door, and Indi has a CHAIN to lock it up! Indi keeps the key in a special place so that the ref’s can’t do anything about this. Candice grins as she and her team SMACK away with kendo sticks! Candice BREAKS the stick on Shotzi’s back!
Raquel is after Rhea while Toni and Dakota keep on Ember. Shotzi hits back but that’s 4v1 and she gets SMACKED from all sides! Raquel stomps Rhea, Candice gives Shotzi a WICKED STEP SISTER! Cover, but the ref says this WarGames is NOT complete because Shirai isn’t in the ring! This is the OTHER flaw in their perfect plan! And Team Shotzi saves their captain! But that’s a 4v2 brawl! Wait, Shirai is up top, with the trash can?! Shirai makes the can her armor, for a FULL METAL CROSSBODY!! Down goes EVERYONE! And WarGames finally begins!! Also, Shirai is the only one excited about that landing. Shirai is also the first to get up.
Shirai grabs the hammer and HAMMERS Raquel! And HAMMERS Toni! And HAMMERS Candice! And then HAMMERS Dakota! Shirai runs, dodges Raquel, and gets help from Rhea to tilt-o-whirl TORNADO DDT Raquel! SHINKANSEN for Dakota! 619 for Toni! FLAPJACK for Candice! Team Candice ends up in one corner! Shotzi runs in to splash sandwich them, then SAIDO Candice! Rhea runs in to SPLASH and then TOSS Toni into steel! Ember runs in to back body press and then SIDE EFFECT Dakota! And then with a chair wedged against Raquel, Shirai gets a boost from Ember and Rhea to DROPKICK the chair into Raquel!
The team holds Raquel down for the OVER THE MOONSAULT! Cover, but ALL of Team Candice breaks it! Team Shotzi clubs Team Candice back down, and then Rhea stomps Dakota. Rhea drags Dakota up but Dakota whips her into the steel! Dakota hits Shirai and throws her into steel, too! Toni and Ember are in the first ring and Ember has a wrench. Toni begs for forgiveness since she betrayed Ember, but Candice gets in to tilt-o-whirl takedown! And then the GargaNO Escape! Shotzi trips Toni to put her into CATTLE MUTILATION! Dueling submissions, but Candice lets Ember go to CLUB Shotzi!
Candice has the trash can lid and she aims at Shotzi. Candice swings, Shotzi dodges and Shotzi has a chair! Candice runs away and wants help! She gets a kendo stick, but steel beats bamboo! Then bamboo SMACKS Candice! And SMACKS Toni! And SMACKS Candice! Dakota CHAIR SHOTS Shotzi, but Shirai FULL METAL MISSILE DROPKICKS Dakota! Shirai clears some space to run corner to corner at Dakota, but Dakota sends her into buckles! Dakota goes side to side to BOOT Shirai into steel! Toni puts Shirai back inside the trash can but for a very different reason! Dakota goes up, FULL METAL DOUBLE STOMPS!
But the can is shut tight, Dakota struggles to drag Dakota out of the can! Cover, but Ember breaks it! Ember CROWBARS Toni!! And then whips Toni into steel! Dakota CHAIR SHOTS Ember! And again! Dakota sits the chair up, then gets another. Ember KICKS Dakota first, then CHAIR SHOTS Dakota! Ember sits the chairs together, dribbles Dakota off each of them, then sets her up against the backs of the chairs. Ember goes up to the top rope, aims, and ECLIPSES Dakota ONTO THE CHAIRS!! Fans are thunderous as Ember covers, but Toni uses the TRASH CAN to break it! Toni whips Ember into the bare buckle from earlier! Then underhooks, STORM ZERO ONTO THE CAN! Cover, Shirai breaks it!
Rhea joins in, and she stomps Toni. Rhea hooks Toni up in PRISM TRAP! Shirai DROPKICKS Toni out of it! Cover, TWO!?! Toni survives but the ladders come into play now! Shirai and Rhea put one ladder through the gap but Candice suplexes Shirai for a BRAIN BUSTER! Rhea runs at Candice but gets a trash can, and then FULL METAL SUPERKICK! Candice spots Shotzi getting a ladder and so she hurries over! Candice stops Shotzi from standing the ladder up, then shoves the ladder into her! Shotzi slumps down, Candice stands the ladder for herself and then gathers chairs. Shotzi goes after Candice with forearms!
Shotzi headbutts Candice and Candice falls on her own chair pile. Shotzi climbs but Candice hurries up after her! They brawl on the ladder, Candice falls back onto the chairs! Shotzi climbs all the way up, SUPER SENTON, ONTO CANDICE AND CHAIRS! But Candice used a chair on her stomach to deal as much damage as she could back to Shotzi! Their teams kick at each other in the other ring, and Rhea hoists Dakota up to FLAPJACK her! Shirai goes up again, for another OVER THE MOONSAULT! Cover, Rhea plays defense, but Toni barrels Rhea over to break the pin! Rhea CLUBS Toni, Electric Chair lifts and HOTSHOTS her!
Shirai goes up again, but Raquel back drops Rhea into the steel! Shirai is knocked off balance, Raquel bounces her off steel! Raquel goes up, Shirai fights her off and hops up, but Raquel holds off the huricanrana! Raquel brings Shirai back up, DESPERADO BOMB THROUGH THE LADDER!!! Cover in the gap, TEAM CANDICE WINS!!
Winners: Team Candice, by pinfall
They didn’t have the advantage, but they had Indi the #Impressive insurance policy, and the ace in Raquel Gonzalez! Speaking of Indi, she joins Candice and the team to celebrate! They wrecked the NXT Women’s Champion to win, but does that mean one of Candice’s team is up next to challenge for that title?
NXT hears from Finn Balor!
“To everyone watching tonight; everyone on the Network, everyone following online, and everyone in the locker room, enjoy your WarGames tonight. Enjoy the craziness, enjoy the big risks, enjoy the spectacle. But when those sirens stop, and the cage raises, we get back to what matters most. The time for team sports is over. This Wednesday, all eyes go back on the Prince.” What does Balor have planned for NXT after the smoke clears?
Tommaso Ciampa VS Timothy Thatcher!
For the Psycho Killer, true toughness isn’t about your bark but your bite. And right now, he wants to sink his teeth into the Professor of Pain. Will Thatcher learn a thing or two from the former NXT Champion tonight?
The bell rings and the two tie up. They go around in the elbow and collar, then Ciampa headlocks to hit a takeover. Thatcher rolls to get back to his feet and pries out of the headlock. Thatcher has the arm but Ciampa gets up before a wristlock can be put on. The two separate and fans continue to rally. Ciampa and Thatcher tie up again, they clinch, Ciampa facelocks but Thatcher waistlocks. Thatcher drags Ciampa to the mat, Ciampa headlocks in return, but Thatcher digs a forearm into Ciampa’s face. Thatcher wants the arm again, but Ciampa clasps hands. Thatcher KNEES Ciampa in the side, then mounts for a hammering palm strike!
Thatcher still wants the arm but they end up in ropes! The ref calls for the break, the two separate, but Ciampa comes back to CHOP and CHOP! Thatcher gets a leg, trips Ciampa up and cranks on the foot! Ciampa grabs at Thatcher’s face but the ref reprimands. Ciampa clubs Thatcher, chinbars and pries him off the foot. Thatcher endures but Ciampa CLUBS him. Thatcher slips out the back to give back clubbing forearms. Thatcher goes for a chinlock but Ciampa fights that off. Thatcher gets a cover, ONE, but Thatcher is after the arm again. Ciampa resists but Thatcher KICKS him! Ciampa snapmares and digs his knee in! Then clubs away on Thatcher’s chest!
Ciampa stomps Thatcher, blocks the kick and drops a knee on the foot! Ciampa SLAPS Thatcher, drops a knee on the leg, then SMASHES the knee into the mat! And again! Ciampa stands on the foot to then STOMP it! Thatcher kicks back, throws forearms but Ciampa kicks low. Ciampa throws Thatcher out hard, then follows, only for Thatcher to get in the ring. Ciampa gets in but Thatcher EuroUppers Ciampa off his feet! The ref checks on Ciampa after that shot, because Ciampa’s neck is still a concern. Thatcher paces impatiently but Ciampa still gets to his feet. Ciampa wants to continue so Thatcher ROCKS him with forearms and EuroUppers!
Thatcher drags Ciampa up for a half hatch suplex! Cover, TWO! Thatcher has the chinlock and he grinds Ciampa down. Fans rally for Ciampa and Ciampa fights his way over and gets the ropebreak. Thatcher lets off and KNEES Ciampa in the back! And KNEES him again! Ciampa ends up on the apron, Thatcher drags him out and SLAMS him onto the edge! Ciampa slumps down and Thatcher smirks as he stalks Ciampa. Thatcher puts Ciampa back in, back on the apron, and CLUBS Ciampa in the chest with the elbow! Thatcher gets in, covers, TWO! Ciampa sits up but Thatcher is on him with another chinbar. Ciampa endures, fights up and BITES Thatcher’s hand!
Thatcher clinches and BELLY2BELLY SUPLEXES Ciampa down! Cover, but Thatcher’s in the ropes. Thatcher nods, he respects rules. Thatcher jams his knee into Ciampa’s back then drops an elbow! Cover, TWO! Ciampa CHOPS back but Thatcher brings him up for forearms. Ciampa throws forearms back, but Thatcher EuroUppers him off his feet! The ref shows more concern for the neck but Ciampa says he’s fine. Thatcher drags Ciampa up by his ears and then has a standing chinlock. Fans rally as Ciampa endures. Ciampa fights up, and jawbreakers free! Thatcher staggers, Ciampa rises but Thatcher clinches again. Ciampa shoves him away to CHOP and BOOT and CHOP!
Thatcher grabs Ciampa by his jaw to SLAP him down! Thatcher underhooks Ciampa and drags him up, but Ciampa manages to shove Thatcher up and DROP onto him! Both men are down now that Thatcher is gasping for air. Fans rally up for Ciampa as he and Thatcher slowly rise. Ciampa grabs Thatcher’s wrist but Thatcher throws a forearm! Ciampa forearms back, and the two brawl! The wrist control is still on and the forearms keep flying. Thatcher whips Ciampa away, Ciampa comes back, they collide head to head! Both men sit up and shake out the stars, but Thatcher shoves Ciampa. Ciampa boots back then rallies with clotheslines!
Ciampa clotheslines again and again and again, then LEAPING LARIATS! Fans fire up with Ciampa and he runs corner to corner to clothesline Thatcher again! Ciampa hoists Thatcher up top, climbs to join him, then goes way up, for a SUPERPLEX!! Both men are down but Ciampa crawls to the cover, TWO! Thatcher survives but he’s clutching his stomach again. Ciampa stands first and kicks Thatcher while he’s down! Ciampa drags Thatcher up, underhooks him now, but Thatcher fights free to THROAT CHOP! The ref reprimands but Thatcher facelocks! Ciampa resists the grovit but Thatcher clamps on tight! Ciampa fades fast!
The ref checks on Ciampa, but Ciampa gets a second wind and tackles Thatcher out of the ring! Both men hit the floor and fans fire up! A ring count starts and Thatcher sits up at 4. Thatcher drags himself up and in at 7. Ciampa flounders at 8 but is in at 9! Thatcher and Ciampa glare at each other as they stand up. Ciampa avoids the throat chop to GIVE the throat chop! KNEE TRIGGER! Ciampa runs to KNEE Thatcher down! And he puts on a BULLY CHOKE!! Thatcher endures but he’s fading! Thatcher has a bloody ear but he fights up! Ciampa keeps Thatcher from ropes and drags him back down! Ciampa hammers away on that bad ear!
Thatcher fights up, and gets into the ropes! The ref counts, Ciampa lets go but Thatcher GERMAN SUPLEXES! Thatcher grits his teeth and CLUBS Ciampa down! Now Thatcher has a wild-eyed grin, ear blood all over his own arm as he CLUBS Ciampa down! Fans still rally for Ciampa as Thatcher drags Ciampa up for a SNAP GERMAN! Ciampa sits up in a daze but flops over. Thatcher has another sinister grin as he stalks Ciampa. They both go to the apron but the ref tells them to get back in. Thatcher drags Ciampa up, “Bye, Ciampa!” But Ciampa holds ropes and fires off elbows! Ciampa is free but Thatcher DECKS him with a right!
Thatcher takes his time going back in, and Ciampa kicks him in the ropes! Ciampa drags Thatcher out but Thatcher HOTSHOTS first! Ciampa flails and sputters, Thatcher gets back in and he throws a HARD EuroUpper! Thatcher snarls as Ciampa gets back up, another EuroUpper floors Ciampa! Fans still rally behind Ciampa but Thatcher drags Ciampa back up. Thatcher throws another uppercut but Ciampa catches them! BACKLSIDE, ROPEBREAK! But Ciampa has Thatcher in the ropes and CHOPS him! And CHOPS him! And CHOPS him! CHOP, CHOP, CHOP! The ref counts, Ciampa stops and then BOOTS Thatcher! Ciampa has the GROVIT! To WILLOW’S BELL! Cover, Ciampa wins!
Winner: Tommaso Ciampa, by pinfall
Just as Ciampa said, the truly tough prove it, and Ciampa proved who was the tougher man here! Did Ciampa also prove he is deserving of something even bigger, better and tougher in NXT?
Strap Match: Dexter Lumis VS Cameron Grimes!
The Tortured Artist has become rather fixated on the Carolina Caveman, but to be fair, Grimes is rather… unique. Grimes claims he has never been afraid of anyone, has never ran away or tried to hide from anyone, but the video evidence is in their Halloween Havoc Haunted House of Terror match. With the leather keeping these two bound together, will Grimes prove he can face his fears and defeat them? Or will his body bear the marks of Lumis’ sadistic masterpiece?
Grimes brings a strap to the ring but the ref says the approved strap is in this bag. Grimes says it’s his strap or no strap. Lumis accepts the terms so the ref takes the other end of the strap. Grimes goes to a corner and “accidentally” yanks the strap away from the ref. The ref reprimands, Grimes “apologizes,” then Grimes CLOBBERS Lumis! The ref reprimands but Grimes stomps away on Lumis in the corner! Fans boo and Lumis bails out as Grimes gets fired up! Grimes goes out and CLOBBERS Lumis again! And then throws Lumis into boards! And kicks him! And posts him! And whips him into more boards!
Lumis tries to get in the ring but Grimes uses the strap to drag Lumis back out. And then Grimes body checks Lumis, leather first! Grimes smothers Lumis with the strap! Grimes KICKS Lumis again and puts him on the apron, to smother Lumis again! The ref reprimands and fans boo but Grimes gets in to stalk Lumis. Grimes KNEES Lumis down, stomps him, then grins as he takes a length of the strap, to LASH! Lumis dodges and ROCKS Grimes with the uppercut! They brawl back and forth, Lumis gets the edge and he whips Grimes, to THESZ PRESS! Lumis rains down rights but this match still isn’t officially on record! Lumis takes his end of the strap, puts it on, and the bell finally rings!
Lumis reels Grimes in as Grimes tries to run away, and there’s no more slack! Lumis blocks a boot, throws Grimes to a corner, and Grimes bounces off buckles to stumble into a leather LARIAT! Lumis LASHES but Grimes narrowly avoids it! Lumis follows Grimes, but Grimes SUPER FOREARMS! Grimes wraps Lumis’ face with the strap! Then KICKS Lumis, and whips him. Lumis reverses, Grimes goes up the fencing, but Lumis drags him back down! Grimes leaps into an UPPERCUT! Lumis reels Grimes back in, stomps him down, and follows him around the ring. Lumis brings Grimes to the announce desk for some punches, then throws him into boards!
Grimes hits hard and slumps down, but Lumis drags him back up. Lumis reels Grimes in to whip him into even more boards! Lumis drags Grimes up, and throws clubbing crossface forearms. Lumis drags Grimes up, uses the strap again to bring Grimes around, but Grimes RAMS Lumis into barriers! Grimes back suplexes Lumis up and over! Lumis hits hard and Grimes grins as he catches his breath. But there’s a tug at the strap, and Lumis rises! Grimes is scared of those eyes and he ROUNDHOUSES Lumis! Grimes pulls on the strap and Lumis flies back up and over the barriers! Lumis is down at ringside and Grimes brings him back up.
Grimes throws forearms, and keeps the slack short as he brings Lumis around. Grimes throws more forearms, Lumis staggers around and Grimes BOOTS him down! Fans rally and Grimes looms over Lumis. Grimes smears the leather in Lumis’ face, then whips him into the timekeeper’s area! Grimes again goes after Lumis’ eyes with the strap! Grimes throws things around, and uses the ref’s strap to SMACK Lumis on the back! Grimes grins as he empties the bag, and puts the bag over Lumis’ face as a blindfold! Grimes mugs Lumis, then LASHES him! And LASHES him again! Lumis flounders into fists and then Grimes puts Lumis back in.
Grimes uses the spare strap to choke Lumis, then winds up to LASH Lumis again! And again! Lumis flounders around blindly as Grimes soaks up the heat. Grimes drags Lumis up, but Lumis hits a SPINEBUSTER! Lumis takes the bag off his head and fans fire up! Lumis stalks Grimes to a corner, goes out to the apron, and wraps the strap around the post! Grimes is caught but he manages to JAB Lumis! Grimes uses the strap to YANK Lumis into the post! Fans rally up as Lumis staggers, and Grimes goes out to the apron. Grimes reels Lumis in for a PENALTY KICK! Lumis staggers back and leans against another post.
Grimes pulls on the strap to reel Lumis back in, for another PENALTY KICK! Grimes goes for another, but Lumis catches the kick! Grimes scrapes Lumis off but Lumis pulls Grimes off the apron to send him flying! Fans fire up for Lumis as he again LASHES Grimes! Grimes hurries into the ring but Lumis follows. Lumis LASHES Grimes again! Grimes flounders and spasms about but Lumis just LASHES him yet again! And again! And again! And again! Lumis corner clotheslines but Grimes slips out of the bulldog to CORNER GERMAN! Lumis flops down and Grimes goes out to the apron. Grimes puts a chair in the ring, and he aims at Lumis to SMACK him on the back! And SMACK him again!
Grimes soaks up the heat from the fans and gives his chair a kiss, before another SMACK to Lumis! Grimes sits the chair up, takes a seat and catches is breath while Lumis flounders around. Grimes reels Lumis in with the strap, but Lumis catches Grimes for a FALL AWAY SLAM! And a kip up! Fans fire up and Lumis snarls as he brawls with Grimes! Haymaker for haymaker, body shot and more! Lumis has the edge, but Grimes throws Lumis up and over! Lumis ROCKS Grimes with a right, climbs up top, but Grimes YANKS Lumis down! Payback for earlier! And then COLLISON COURSE! Cover, TWO!! Lumis survives and Grimes is beside himself!
Grimes sits his chair back up, has Lumis rest on the chair, and he gives back those LASHES! Lumis sits up in the chair, Grimes points to the moon, but the Cave-In is caught! Grimes arm-drags out of Silence and throws elbows. Lumis catches Grimes again but Grimes elbows free. Grimes spins Lumis, scoops him, but Lumis slips out and uses the strap to trip Grimes up! Grimes hits the chair on the way down! The strap wraps the legs, and then SILENCE! Grimes flails, fades, but the strap wraps around his head! Grimes taps, Lumis wins!
Winner: Dexter Lumis, by submission
And Lumis shuts up Grimes’ big mouth! But if Silence is golden, will Lumis be golden soon enough?
A clock is ticking.
A vulture perches. It watches NXT. The apocalypse is not cancelled. “Tick. Tock.” Can it be?! Will we see Karrion Kross return before the clock strikes midnight on 2020?!
NXT North American Championship Triple Threat: Leon Ruff VS Damian Priest VS Johnny Gargano!
In the unlikeliest twist in 2020, an arrogant Johnny Gargano thought he could break his curse by cheating the system. The Archer of Infamy made sure to even things out against the rig wheel of challengers, and in the end, the underdog became the unlikeliest of champions! But now, to prove he isn’t a joke, he’s taking on the most serious challenge he’s ever faced! Will the Cinderella story continue to live happily ever after? Or will one of the former champions reclaim the throne and wake Ruff up from his dream come true?
The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and Ruff’s first-ever TakeOver match, with the highest stakes possible, begins!
Ruff is wary of his challengers, but Gargano waistlocks him first! Gargano shoves Ruff at Priest, Priest shoves Ruff aside and Gargano SUPERKICKS Priest down! Gargano rolls Ruff up, TWO! Gargano cradles, ONE! Gargano scoops and slams Ruff to cover, TWO! Ruff survives this opening salvo but Gargano CHOPS him to the corner! Priest is up on the apron but Gargano dropkicks him out! Gargano corner clotheslines Ruff, but then Ruff slips out to forearm back! Ruff goes up and around and under and dropkicks Gargano back! Ruff knuckle locks, CHOPS and goes around the ropes to springboard RANA! Ruff dropkicks Gargano down and fans fire up!
Ruff stomps Gargano in a corner but Priest returns. Priest again pushes Ruff aside to fire off big hands on Gargano! Ruff squeezes in to throw hands on Gargano. Priest tells Ruff to stay out of his way and throws him out! Gargano boots Priest but Priest shoves him. Gargano dodges dodges Priest, Ruff missile dropkicks them both! Only Gargano goes down, so Ruff is ready to throw hands with Priest. Priest tells Ruff to go home, but Ruff throws a kick! And then body shots! Priest shoves Ruff, Ruff slides under and CHOPS! Priest doesn’t even flinch! Priest choke grips and lifts Ruff, then grabs Gargano! But Ruff kicks free and Gargano throws hands!
Gargano wants Ruff to help him and Ruff does, and they hammer Priest down. DOUBLE ENZIGURI! Gargano and Ruff DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE Priest out! Gargano runs and DIVES! Direct hit and Priest hits barriers! Gargano tells Ruff to go, and Ruff runs, but Gargano is tricking him! Gargano shoves Priest away to slingshot SPEAR Ruff down! Cover, TWO!! Ruff survives the betrayal and Gargano seethes. Gargano tells Ruff he’s a joke, and then tells his fans that they’re jokes! But Gargano says the joke is over. But Priest drags Gargano out and ROCKS him with a right! Priest SMACKS Gargano off boards, then stalks him around the way. Priest drags Gargano up to ROCK him again!
Ruff LEAPS from the ramp! But Priest catches him, BOOTS Gargano, and then puts Ruff down. Priest says this is his last warning, but Ruff says he’s not a joke! Ruff SLAPS Priest, Priest ROCKS Ruff! Priest’s rage boils up and he drags Ruff into the crucifix lift, for a RAZOR’S EDGE, into the barriers! And the barriers fall over like dominos!! Priest realizes just how hard he tossed Ruff and feels awful for it, and the ref checks on Ruff’s condition. Other refs come out to check, and Priest asks how he’s doing. The refs tell Priest to just stay back and give Ruff some room. Priest apologizes, but now this championship match continues without the champion!
Gargano CLOBBERS Priest from behind! Gargano clubs Priest, Priest knees low but Gargano RAMS Priest into the ramp! Gargano tries to use the ramp, needs to go again, and he TORNADO DDT’S Priest to the floor! Priest gets up and Gargano says “I told you! He can’t hang!” Gargano leaves Ruff in the past and puts Priest on the ramp. Gargano aims from the ring, but Priest blocks One Final Beat! Priest puts Gargano through the ropes but Gargano escapes the Reckoning, only for Priest to ROCK Gargano with a right! Priest then steps up and leaps, but Gargano dodges, only to run into a windmill kick! Cover, TWO!
Priest drags Gargano up, but Gargano slips under, only for his chop to be blocked! Gargano avoids the bell clap to hit a STANDING SLICED BREAD! Cover, TWO! Priest flounders to a corner, Gargano runs in, but Priest boots him away! Priest boots again but Gargano dodges, the BELL CLAP hits! Gargano ducks a roundhouse to throw forearms, then he fakes Priest out to mule kick the leg and BUZZSAW! Gargano runs into a LEAPING ROUNDHOUSE! And then staggers into a LARIAT! Both men are down, Priest rolls to the ramp and the fans fire up. Priest rises, but Ruff returns?! Ruff uses Priest as a step for a FLYING LARIAT on Gargano!
Ruff dropkicks Priest away, tackles Gargano and rains down furious fists! Gargano gets away, Ruff builds speed and goes up, to FLY out onto both opponents! Fans are thunderous for Ruff as he puts Gargano in! Ruff stalks Gargano, reels him in, and headlocks, but Gargano denies the buckle bulldog! Ruff just goes up and leaps for a CORKSCREW CUTTER!! Cover, TWO!! Gargano survives and Ruff shakes his head. Ruff figures the first-ever Triple Crown winner in NXT would survive that. Ruff climbs up the corner but Gargano throws haymakers first! Gargano dumps Ruff down off the top and grimaces as he drags Ruff up. Gargano DECKS Ruff with a left!
Gargano drags Ruff up and whips, but Ruff rebounds to LARIAT! Cover, TWO! Priest is floundering back up into the ring as Ruff climbs the corner again. Ruff sees Priest, and Priest says no more chances. Priest gets under Ruff’s leap, Ruff ducks and dodges but Priest BOOTS him down! Gargano swings into Priest’s clutches! Priest adds Ruff on, DOUBLE COMPLETE SHOT! Priest grits his teeth as he sees Gargano and Ruff go to opposite corners. Priest stomps around, and leaps to elbow Ruff! Then runs to elbow Gargano! Back to Ruff! Then Priest suplex TOSSES Ruff at Gargano with the Broken Arrow!
Priest gets Gargano up, but Gargano slips out to POST Priest! Gargano gets Ruff up and scoops him, to LAWN DART Ruff into Priest! Priest ends up in the double-ring gap and Ruff flounders. Gargano goes after Priest in the gap with haymakers. Gargano tries Priest up in the ropes of the second ring! Gargano waves by to Priest, then goes back to Ruff. Gargano scoops Ruff but Ruff slips out to O’Conner roll but Gargano bucks him off! Ruff CRUCIFIX DRIVERS! Cover, TWO!! Gargano escapes and fans are thunderous! Ruff goes to a corner, Priest works to free himself, but Ruff aims at Gargano for the FROG SPLASH but it flops!
Gargano gets Ruff in the GargaNO Escape, right in front of Priest! Priest shouts at Ruff not to quit, and then Priest frees himself! Priest helps Ruff get to ropes and then KICKS Gargano away! Gargano runs back in but into another ROUNDHOUSE! Priest climbs up and leaps for the FLYING WINDMILL! Priest sees Gargano bail out and Ruff stay in. Ruff avoids the back elbow and LARIATS, but Priest stays up! Ruff tries again, but Priest is too big! Priest whips Ruff, Ruff goes for the rebound but Gargano SUPERKICKS Ruff down! Again Priest feels remorse for what happened to Ruff, but Gargano enziguris!
Priest denies One Final Beat to the SOUTH OF HEAVEN CHOKE SLAM! But wait, it’s GHOST FACE again!! The ref tells him to stay away, but there are TWO OTHER Ghost Faces?! They’re attacking Priest on behalf of Gargano! Priest fights them off with elbows and BOOTS and a kick! Priest throws two out then CLOBBERS the third! The Ghost Faces regroup and retreat, but there are more on the outside side?! Priest BOOTS one down and then FLIES out onto them all! And then he goes back in to FLY out onto the others! All six Ghost Faces are down, but Gargano DIVES! Priest caches him for an APRON CHOKE SLAM! For Ruff’s FROG SPLASH!! Cover, Priest breaks it just in time!!
Priest finally catches his breath and he stands over Ruff. Priest drags Ruff up by his ear but Ruff fires off furious fists from all sides! Priest shoves, Ruff kicks! Ruff runs but Priest CYCLONE KICKS! Priest runs at Gargano, Gargano tilt-o-whirls but the takedown is blocked to- NO! No Reckoning, SUPERKICK! ROUNDHOUSE from Priest! CYCLONE KICK for Gargano! Priest sees he’s got an opening, and he roars as he drags Gargano back up! But another Ghost Face uses a PIPE on Priest!! Lucky number seven saves Gargano! But then Ruff rolls Gargano up! Gargano slips out to SUPERKICK! Gargano goes to the apron, aims and ONE FINAL BEAT for Ruff!! Cover, Gargano wins!!
Winner: Johnny Gargano, by pinfall (NEW NXT North American Champion)
History is made again for Johnny TakeOver, as he is a three-time North American Champion! But he had a seemingly endless supply of Ghost Face aces in the hole. Will Gargano finally break his curse and hold onto this title a little longer this time? And wait! Lucky Ghost Face number seven turns out to be AUSTIN! It was Austin all along! Does this mean it’ll be #TheJohnnyGarganoWay #AllDay?
2020’s been a real bummer.
But NXT has something very special planned for 2021. The first Wednesday of the New Year, will be New Year’s EVIL! What will the black ‘n’ gold have in store as we wipe the slate clean?
Men’s WarGames: The Kings of NXT VS The Undisputed Era!
Pat McAfee and his pack of mercenaries have done whatever they’ve wanted since TakeOver: 31, but that could all change now that Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong are back! And though the UE has been in each and every single Men’s WarGames match since it debuted in NXT, they’re only 1-2! Will the UE break even as they break McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch down to the last piece?
First, the Undisputed Era make their entrance. For the first time, they do not have the advantage, but Kyle doesn’t let that bother him as he steps up first. Then McAfee’s team enters, and the Bruiserweight says he’s up first. McAfee is totally okay with that, especially when you consider Dunne is the only man on his team with WarGames experience, and was part of a team that beat the Undisputed Era. Kyle’s also happy to see Dunne, because Kyle wants revenge for both the betrayal and the advantage match screwjob! Dunne steps inside and the five-minute countdown begins!
Kyle and Dunne stare down and slowly circle. They approach and feel things out, Kyle tries testing kicks. Dunne stays clear, knuckle locks with Kyle, and then have a test of strength as they go shoulder to shoulder. They go around, Dunne gets a leg but Kyle counters to get a leg. Dunne gets around, facelocks, Kyle slips out but Dunne hooks the leg again. Kyle gets away and the two stand off. Fans fire up as the two circle again. They tie up. Kyle slips around but Dunne puts him on the ropes. Dunne dumps Kyle down then goes to ground ‘n’ pound, but Kyle has his leg guard. Kyle goes for a triangle but Dunne slips out! Dunne kicks but Kyle blocks, only for Dunn to spin through the dragon screw!
Dunne wants fingers but Kyle avoids the snap! Kyle rolls out of the omoplata to get the arm! Dunne avoids the armbar but Kyle avoids a stomp to the arm, and then Dunne backs off before the kick comes in! Dunne goes to the gap and baits Kyle into a triangle hold of his own! Kyle ends up in the gap, but he goes to the second ring. Dunne lets him go but Kyle gets Dunne’s arm for a takedown! Kyle wants a kimura but Dunne fights up. Kyle wrenches, waistlocks and GERMANS, but Dunne lands on his feet to BUZZSAW! McAfee is happy to see that! Dunne then hammerlocks Kyle’s arm and grabs the other to torture the fingers!
Dunne bends the wrist, twists the elbow and pulls on the shoulder, to then STOMP! Kyle gets up, puts Dunne in a corner but Dunne turns things around to CHOP! Kyle turns things back around to fire off body shots! Dunne has the fingers again and puts them throw fencing! Dunne uses steel for leverage as he bends the joints! Kyle body shots but Dunne lets off to whip. Kyle reverses, Dunne goes up and over, Dunne picks a leg and rolls Kyle to STOMP the hands! BUZZSAW! But Kyle counters the bomb to a GUILLOTINE! Dunne fades already! Kyle KNEES Dunne down! Dunne sits up, Kyle drags him back up but Dunne X-PLEXES, to the ARMBAR!
Kyle flails and moves around to get a leg! HEEL HOOK! Dunne endures now but the first countdown is ending! Dunne heel hooks Kyle back and they end up in a corner. The clock hits zero and Oney wants in! McAfee is again fine with that, and the #STARDESTROYER rushes Kyle! They brawl with forearms and CHOPS and CHOPS and CHOPS! Kyle blocks a chop to knee, kick and palm strikes! Dunne CLOBBERS Kyle! Oney and Dunne have Kyle in a corner, Oney back elbows in again and again! Kyle kicks but Oney ducks to HALF ‘N’ HALF! Dunne PENALTY KICKS an arm out! Dunne and Oney just loom over Kyle as they still have two minutes to go!
Dunne has the arms and the legs, for a Surfboard! And Oney CHOPS Kyle, then basement DDT’s him down! Kyle rolls back to the gap but Oney goes over, only for Kyle to DRAGON SCREW a leg! Dunne gives chase, Kyle gets him for a DRAGON SCREW! Kyle has them both stuck in ropes as he climbs up, and Kyle stomps Dunne away, to then GUILLOTINE KNEE DROP Oney! But Dunne missile dropkicks the leg out! Kyle clutches his knee and he still has to wait for reinforcements. Dunne drags Kyle around, wrenches an arm while Oney gets a leg, it’s an armlock Half Crab fusion! Kyle endures because there’s nothing else he can do! But the time is almost up!
The clock hits zero again and for the UE, it’s BOBBY FISH! Dunne and Oney hurry to intercept but Fish hits them first! Fish spins Dunne around to fire off strikes! Dunne ducks a roundhouse but not the mule kick! Fish knees Oney then EXPLODERS Dunne into Oney! Fish shouts for Kyle and he goes after Oney! Fish whips Oney for a SPINEBUSTER! Fans fire up but Dunne kicks Fish from below! Fish staggers over, but he throws Dunne into the gap! Kyle BOOTS Dunne down, and now reDRagon has Oney! Oney throws uppercuts, runs, but into a pop-up ROUNDHOUSE! Kyle brings Oney up, he and Fish combo for a DRAPING BUTTERFLY DDT, and then a BOOSTED Wheelbarrow German!
Dunne goes after Kyle and gets a HOVERBOARD KIMURA! Fish sleeper holds Dunne and drags him off! Kyle mule kicks Dunne, then reDRagon DOUBLE BUZZSAW! Fans fire up and reDRagon stomps Oney down. Fish drags Dunne up and throws knees in the corner while Kyle digs boots into Oney. Oney kicks Kyle away but Fish goes over to bring Oney up. Fish has a leg for a DRAGON SCREW! Oney clutches his leg, Kyle regroups with Fish but Dunne throws hands! Fish ROCKS Dunne, Kyle and Oney grapple with leg locks. Dunne knees Fish and has the wristlock! Kyle wants to get Oney for an armbar, and Dunne uses the cage to torture fingers!
The countdown returns as Fish clubs Dunne away! Burch gets in for McAfee’s team, and he goes under the ring! Burch brings in something in a bag and then DECKS Fish! And ROCKS Kyle! And spins Kyle for a EuroUpper! Burch opens that mystery bag, and he has a CRICKET BAT! Burch swings on Kyle but Kyle dodges! Burch runs to corner clothesline, enzigujri and then GERMAN! Kyle flounders to the gap and Dunne grabs the cricket bad the dig into Fish’s fingers! Burch brings out another cricket bat and he JAMS it into Kyle’s ribs! Kyle flops to the gap, Dunne keeps hitting Fish’s arm with his bat, and we’re at a two minute warning.
Oney helps Dunne go after Fish, and Burch talks trash on Kyle. Kyle picks a leg for a HEEL HOOK! Burch is tapping, if only this match was complete! Dunne goes after Kyle with a FLYING STOP to Kyle’s arm!! Kyle clutches what could be a broken elbow! And then Burch SMACKS Kyle with the back! That’s for six, aka a cricket home run. Oney and Burch give a “cheers” with the bats, then Oney hands his to Dunne. Dunne wedges the bat into Kyle’s leg for a cricket calf killer! Burch taunts Kyle then helps Oney with Fish. Dunne stomps Kyle’s leg as Burch and Oney club Fish. The countdown reaches 10 seconds as Fish tries to fight back in a 3v1 situation!
Dunne twist a foot, Fish falls, but here comes RODERICK STRONG! But Oney BLASTS him with a EuroUpper right away! Burch and Oney fire off on Strong, then whip him, but he DOUBLE LARIATS them both down! Strong fires off on Burch, then on Oney, then he whips Oney for a dropkick! Dunne hurries over but Strong gets him for a half nelson BACKBREAKER! And then Burch swings on Strong, but gets a knee and a BIG back suplex! Strong fires up and fans fire up with him, but Oney puts Strong in the gap. Strong BOOTS Dunne, forearms Oney and enziguris Burch! Strong runs side to side in the gap, giving everyone forearms as he goes! And then again the other way! And again to KNEE Dunne!
Strong TOSSES Dunne into the second ring! Strong goes after Oney, but Oney throws him into steels! Kyle goes after Dunne but Dunne grabs Kyle’s nose! Dunne and Oney throw Kyle and Strong into the steel! Burch and Fish brawl, Dunne is after Fish in the gap and throws him at the steel! McAfee’s team dig boots into Fish and Strong, then they club and EuroUpper Kyle! Oney and Burch double whip and double elbow Kyle, then they mug Fish and Strong! Oney CHOPS Strong, Dunne STOMPS Fish’s arm on steel! Burch stomps Kyle but Kyle hooks the leg to a heel hook! The countdown is back, and finally Captain McAfee enters!
McAfee has an idea, and he brings out a TABLE from under the ring! The table even has Fish’s name on it! McAfee gives that table to his team and they know what to do with it. McAfee brings out another table, and this one has Kyle’s name on it. Clearly he made sure these were here for reDRagon. Those tables are put in the gaps, then McAfee just tosses chair after chair in, before bringing out a table for Strong! McAfee’s team continues to mug the UE as the furniture is moved in. McAfee brings out one more table, and yes, this is for Cole, baybay. With his team firmly in control, McAfee finally joins in.
Burch and Oney set up a table for McAfee in a corner, and then Dunne RAMS Strong into buckles. Dunne brings Fish towards the table labeled for him while Oney and Burch have Strong. Dunne gives Kyle an elbow breaker to keep him down, then Burch and Oney mug Strong. They put Strong on his table, and then McAfee climbs up, to MOONSAULT Strong through the table! McAfee’s team all high-five over that one! Fans boo and the final countdown finally arrives! And that means this match finally has ADAM COLE BAYBAY!! Cole hurries over, but he had something planned, too! Cole brings out a fire extinguisher, and hoses off McAfee’s team!
Cole then grabs a chair, gets inside and he JAMS Oney! SMACKS Burch! SMACKS Oney! THROWS the chair at Dunne but Dunne dodges! So Cole BACKSTABBERS! And PELES Oney! And fireman’s carries to USHIGOROSHI Burch! Fans fire up with Cole as he stares at McAfee in the second ring. McAfee dares Cole to bring it on, so Cole storms over, only for Dunne to stand in his way. “Screw you!” Dunne and Cole brawl, Cole rocks Dunne but Dunne DECKS Cole! Dunne gives Cole some Danielson Stomps! And then pump handles for a BITTER- DDT!! Cole counters and then runs, but McAfee catches him! Dunne enziguris Cole down!
McAfee brags about his big brain and Dunne grabs Cole’s fingers. Kyle SMACKS Dunne from behind! Payback for weeks ago! Kyle says if McAfee wants to be a wrestler, he’s in WarGames, time to put that money where his mouth is! Kyle dares McAfee to take a free shot, and McAfee gets in. Cole SMACKS McAfee! And then rains down right hands! Dunne clobbers Cole and it’s a huge brawl! Fish throws Oney, Dunne throws Cole, Bruch rams Strong and McAfee fires off with Kyle! Fish stomps Oney, Strong hammers Burch, Cole has Dunne down and Kyle throws knees on McAfee! Kyle KICKS McAfee but Dunne has Cole’s hands in the table leg! Dunne STOMPS the leg to crush Cole’s hand!
Dunne goes after Fish and kicks him down! Dunne gives Fish a suplex but Fish slips out to sleeper! Strong fires off on Burch but Oney BLOCKBUSTERS Fish! Kyle staggers over and AX ‘n’ DOUBLE SMASH with Strong on Dunne! Cover, but Oney breaks it! Oney whips Strong into the gap hard! Burch and Oney drag Kyle up, LONDON BRIDGE!! Cover, Fish breaks it! Oney RAMS Fish into steel, Cole BOOTS Oney and then BOOTS Burch! McAfee chop blocks Cole!! Fans boo as Dunne and McAfee stomp Cole together. Oney and Burch regroup, McAfee lets out a “WOO~!” and steps through for a FIGURE FOUR!
McAfee’s team plays defense as Cole endures the leg lock! Fish, Strong and O’Reilly fight fist to fist, but Cole turns things around! McAfee endures the pressure now, Dunne is in an Ankle Lock! Fish has Oney in a sleeper, Strong has Burch’s leg! Dunne breaks free to KICK Cole! The hold is undone but the damage was done. Burch and Oney go back after the UE to throw down fists. Oney brings a table up as Burch DECKS Fish. The table is put in the second ring, but Strong HOTSHOTS Dunne! Burch and Oney set up the table marked for Cole, but Strong ROCKS McAfee! Fish joins in, they brawl with Oney and Burch!
McAfee is in the gap as Oney CHOPS! Fish BOOTS, Strong and Oney DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE! Burch ROCKS Fish but Fish ROUNDHOUSES Burch! Those four are all down in the second ring, leaving Dunne, McAfee, Cole and Kyle in the first ring. Cole superkicks but Dunne blocks to throw Cole down! ARMBAR, but Cole makes it a cover, TWO! Dunne enziguris, then goes to suplex, but he gets a LAST SHOT BRAINBUSTER! Cover, TWO!! Dunne survives but Cole finally throws his shirt away. Cole brings up one of the other tables, and stands it up. This is the Kyle table, and then he brings Dunne over to a corner. Cole drags Dunne up top, but Dunne pulls on fingers!
Strong and Fish save Cole but Burch goes after them. Kyle goes after Burch and throws hands. Burch ends up on the Cole table, and Fish and Strong have Dunne up! They DOUBLE BOMB Dunne onto Burch, but the table doesn’t give! Strong climbs up, and he FROG SPLASHES through them both!! Fans are thunderous as the Cole table is used up! Cole adjusts but McAfee springs up! Cole resists, and shoves McAfee down, he crashes through the Kyle table!! Cole hops down, wreckage is cleared, and Cole regroups with the UE. They bring Burch up to throw him into Dunne and steel! Cole wants to end this, and Oney is thrown into Burch and Dunne!
Kyle runs in and back body blocks Dunne into steel! Fish runs in and body blocks Dunne into steel! Strong KNEES Dunne, Cole SUPERKICKS Dunne, and Dunne is done! Now they start on Oney! Kyle, Fish, Strong and Cole hit him in turn! Then Burch gets the same! McAfee’s mercenaries are down and fans are fired up! McAfee somehow stands back up, and sees he’s all alone. McAfee asks they spare him, his back is hurting from the table. But the four UE go after McAfee, and drags him off the steel! They won’t let him forfeit by escaping! And they mug him 4v1!!
Cole throws McAfee into steel! Then Kyle throws McAfee into steel! Fish and Strong throw McAfee together! “Ain’t so tough now, are you, Pat?!” They dare him to talk trash now! They put McAfee in the gap and slap him around. They take his shirt off and then Cole lines it up. But Dunne, Burch and Oney make the save! They throw hands, Dunne stomps away on Strong, then Oney and Burch do the same to reDRagon. McAfee gets up and his guys help him around. Oney and Burch have Fish in an Electric Chair but Kyle makes the save! Strong has Dunne in a corner, Burch throws Fish away and goes after Kyle! Kyle is in the Electric Chair, EUROUPPER DOOMSDAY!!
Fish CLOBBERS Burch! Dunne and Cole fight on the top rope! Dunne wobbles and Cole hits a SUPER LEAPING NECKBREAKER! Strong has McAfee, for a SUPERPLEX!! ALL EIGHT MEN ARE DOWN!! The fans are thunderous as everyone crawls around. The teams regroup, stand together, and stare down the other side. It’s a brawl like the one from when it was UE VS Dunne-Ricochet-War-Raiders! But wait, where’s McAfee? He’s up on the VERY TOP of the cage!! And he SWANTON BOMBS #ForTheBrand!!! All eight men are down again!!
Dunne and Kyle crawl to the second ring and glare at each other as they slowly rise. The first two in are still standing, and now they’re throwing forearms back and forth! Fans rally up and Kyle ROCKS Dunne! Dunne ROCKS Kyle back, and then they pick up the pace! There’s no slowing down! Kyle ROCKS Dunne again and Dunne flops down! Kyle drags Dunne up by his hair but Dunne gets the fingers! Kyle wrenches to ELBOW BREAKER! And AX to- DUNNE’S SMASH! Dunne blocks the yo-yo lariat to get the fingers! SNAP!! Then pump handle, to BITTER END!! Cover, TWO?!?! Dunne can’t believe Kyle survives!!
Kyle sits up in a daze but Dunne drags him around. Dunne brings Kyle to the gap, and though the table says “Fish,” Dunne wants to use it on Kyle! But Kyle slips out of the bomb to suplex Dunne for a FULL METAL BRAIN BUSTER!! Cover, TWO!??! Dunne survives and now Kyle is shocked! Kyle gets up and sees the chair. Kyle sits that chair up, drags Dunne over to it, and puts him through it! Kyle goes to a corner, Dunne barely moves, but McAfee CHAIR SHOTS Kyle down! Kyle falls through the ropes, McAfee aims at Cole. Cole dares him, McAfee swings but misses! Cole fires off with fury, and has the chair for his own! But McAfee LOW BLOWS! It’s not illegal in WarGames!!
McAfee mocks Cole but he misses the punt, Cole BOOTS McAfee down! Cole goes to a corner and wants to take us back to TakeOver: 31! But Burch yanks Cole down! Cole SUPERKICKS Burch! Fish SPEARS Burch through the FISH table!! McAfee SUPERKICKS Cole!! And then he hops up, PANAMA SUN- SUPERKICK! Cole goes back to the corner, and hits the TRUE PANAMA SUNRISE!! Cover, TWO!?!?! McAfee survives a move that put him away before! Cole says that’s fine, he’ll gladly put McAfee away with something more! Cole brings the knee pad down, says BANG, but Oney takes the LAST SHOT WIZARD for McAfee!
Dunne KICKS Cole, brings the chair over, and hits a BITTER END to the chair back!! Cole sputters and gasps, Dunne covers but Strong STOMPS it apart! END OF HEARTACHE! Oney swings his chair but Strong dodges, Fish helps out for a FULL METAL STRONG ANNIHILATION! Kyle walks the tightrope to FLYING KNEE DROP onto Oney’s head! Cover, the Undisputed Era wins!!
Winners: The Undisputed Era, by pinfall
And the war is over! Cole, Fish, O’Reilly and Strong may be 2-2 in the overall record, but this win means so much more than numbers can speak to! Have they finally shut McAfee up? Is NXT now, then and forever Undisputed?
My Thoughts:
This was a really great TakeOver! The kickoff show had good promos and sports show talk from the special guests, sorry I missed Helwani’s. Bookending the night with WarGames matches made sense, and the women starting was fine. In retrospect, it perhaps gave away that Shotzi’s team was going to lose, so I feel like it would’ve worked just fine as the main event. But given the Undisputed Era, as Faces, won theirs, this is also fine. NXT wasn’t going to have both Face teams win, but I would’ve still done it that way. Though then maybe Shotzi and her team look way too strong.
Indi getting involved does help with the power balance, she’s a good reason as to why Team Candice won. I do like the strategy of trying to keep out the other team’s fourth for as long as possible. Shirai with the trash can dive was a great way around it, too. And with Shirai essentially Face, it makes sense that Heels win so that Heels move up to challenge her. I have a feeling this will end up pitting Raquel and Dakota in opposition to Candice and Toni, with Indi of course being Candice’s back-up. And I bet the build is quick enough so that someone can challenge Shirai for “New Year’s Evil.” The Evil Genius needs to be on a show with the word “Evil” in it, it’s only logical.
Ciampa VS Thatcher was a very good match, and the (more than likely accidental) bloody ear definitely adds to the concept of it being about toughness. Ciampa wins to build up his momentum, and with Balor calling everyone in the men’s division out, I have a feeling Ciampa is a frontrunner for facing him for the title. Lumis VS Grimes was a really good strap match, and Lumis wins again, meaning he has to be poised for a title shot. And given how Gargano won that great Triple Threat to be champion again, Gargano VS Lumis is an excellent next feud for both. Gargano is about as mouthy as Grimes so that makes for a good foil to Lumis being eerily silent.
Priest had good character work in that Triple Threat given he doesn’t dislike Ruff but still has to beat him up. And of course Ruff became an even bigger star with how he kept up with two big names. And while having seven Ghost Faces in one segment was a bit much, I love that Austin Theory turned out to be THE Ghost Face, as I’d hoped. Austin and Indi are now the “kids” in the #TJGW sitcom parody that they’ve created, and that will make for a great overall story as Austin and Indi help Gargano and Candice in trying to keep/gain gold.
And UE winning in the main event was to give us fans a “happy ending,” but that itself surprised me. I suppose that means UE is staying in NXT, no jumping to SmackDown or Raw, which will surely be best for UE overall. But I can’t be sure what they do next then, as they’ve checked everything off the list. I suppose they could at least attempt to take all the titles back, only to fail, but wouldn’t that mean they leave for RawDown at that point? I’m not sure what’s planned, but I’m sure NXT will execute a near perfect plan.
My Score: 9.4/10
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Is Orange Cassidy coldblooded? Or just in control?
Before their AEW World Championship match at Full Gear, Jon Moxley puts Wheeler Yuta in Orange Cassidy’s way! Will Cassidy destroy The Decoder before going for The Maniac?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- 8 Man Tag: Will Ospreay, Mark Davis, Ricochet & “Powerhouse” Will Hobbs VS The Don Callis Family; The Don Callis Family wins.
- Kris Statlander VS Hikaru Shida; Kris wins.
- 2v1 Handicap: Bobby Lashley w/ The Hurt Syndicate VS Joe Keys & Cheeseburger; Lashley wins.
- Darby Allin VS Claudio Castagnoli; Claudio wins.
- Orange Cassidy VS Wheeler Yuta w/ The Death Riders; Cassidy wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
8 Man Tag: Will Ospreay, Mark Davis, Ricochet & “Powerhouse” Will Hobbs VS The Don Callis Family!
This All-Star 8 Man is going to make for a massive match! The Aerial Assassin, Dunk Zilla, The One & Only and the man the family foolishly forgot are now teamed together against Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Brian Cage & Lance Archer! Will Ospreay lead this team to victory ahead of the grudge matches at Full Gear? Or will Callis’ Alpha, Aussie Arrow, Machine & Murderhawk Monster make sure #EverybodyDies?
Well forget sorting out, Ospreay leads his team in attacking the Callis Family right on the ramp! The fans fire up as Hobbs is after Archer, Davis is after Cage, and of course Ricochet is after Konosuke while Ospreay is after Kyle! Hobbs smacks Archer off railing, Kyle CLUBS Ospreay on the back, but Ospreay kicks low. Ospreay sends Kyle into railing, rips the tearaway pants right off him, and then LASHES him with them! Davis sends Cage into railing while Ospreay uses those pants to SLING Kyle into more railing! Davis CLUBS away on Cage, Ospreay blows snot on Kyle’s pants, and Davis sends Cage into more railing.
Kyle turns things around to send Ospreay into railing! Konosuke helps Cage against Davis but Hobbs still throws hands on Archer. Kyle CLUBS Ospreay, CLUBS Ricochet, but Konosuke puts Davis in the ring. The bell rings and this is finally a match. Konosuke headlocks Davis but Davis fires body shots. Davis powers up and out, but Konosuke RAMS him! The fans fire up as Davis stays up. Davis runs to RAM Konosuke! Konosuke stays up and the fans rally. Konosuke runs to RAM Davis, but Davis runs. Konosuke bypasses, leaps, but Davis catches him for a TOSS! And a SENTON! The fans fire up with Davis, and Ricochet reaches out.
Davis tags Ricochet in , then holds the way open, for Ricochet to FOSBURY FLOP onto Konosuke! But Cage CLOBBERS Davis! Cage then RAMS Ricochet into the apron, POSTS him, but Ospreay PENALTY KICKS Cage! The fans fire up as Ospreay goes up, but Kyle UPPERCUTS him! The fans boo as Kyle goes up, CLUBS away on Ospreay, and Ospreay falls to the floor. But now Hobbs is up! Kyle says wait! Then he fires hands! Hobbs just CHOPS Kyle! Hobbs climbs up to get Kyle, but Archer CLUBS Hobbs! Archer drags Hobbs down, throws hands, then puts Hobbs in between steps and post! Hobbs fights back, but Cage sends Ospreay into the steps!
The fans boo as Hobbs’ leg is crushed between steps and post! Archer puts Ricochet in the ring while a medic checks Hobbs. Archer brings Ricochet up but Ricochet slips free to fire off fast strikes! Hobbs is being helped to the back and Ospreay is concerned that this is now 4v3. Ricochet still fires strikes on Archer, but Archer grabs Ricochet by the neck! CHOKE- NO, Ricochet RANAS Archer first! Archer tumbles, stands up, and Ricochet springboards, but Archer CLOBBERS Him out of the sky! Archer BLASTS Davis, then catches Ospreay out of the air! Archer TOSSES Ospreay away and fans boo. But Ricochet springboards back in!
Archer catches Ricochet, and he CHOKE SLAMS Ricochet out onto Ospreay and Davis! The fans boo as the Don Callis Family is in control, and Dynamite goes picture in picture.
Cage & Kyle flex to soak up the heat, then Archer goes out after Ospreay and the rest. Konosuke fetches Ricochet into the ring, waistlocks, and then brings him away from the corner. Archer beats up on Ospreay while Konosuke fires knees into Ricochet. Ricochet tumbles to ropes but Konosuke is on him. Davis fires hands on Archer, then sends him into railing! Davis fires more hands, but Konosuke CHOKES Ricochet at the ropes! The ref counts, Konosuke steps off and tags Kyle. Kyle stays between Ricochet and his corner. Kyle taunts Ricochet, stomps him around, then whips him to ropes. Kyle ELBOWS Ricochet down, then stalks him to a corner.
Kyle stomps away on Ricochet while Archer intimidates commentary. Kyle shouts at the camera while the ref counts, and Kyle steps off of Ricochet’s neck. Kyle bumps Ricochet off buckles, tags Cage, and Cage stands Ricochet up. Cage CHOPS Ricochet, then whips him to ropes for an ELBOW! Cage flexes while he taunts Ospreay & Davis. Cage drags Ricochet up but Ricochet RAMS him! And RAMS him! And fires forearms! Cage ROCKS Ricochet, then runs, but into a tiger wall kick and ENZIGIRI! Konosuke tags in and storms after Ricochet. Konosuke stomps Ricochet, then rains down fists! The ref reprimands while Dynamite returns to single picture.
Konosuke argues with the ref while Ospreay rallies the fans. Konosuke stays between Ricochet and his team, but Ricochet SLAPS Konosuke! Konosuke ROCKS Ricochet for it! Ricochet fires forearms and an UPPERCUT! Konosuke keeps Ricochet from his corner, reels Ricochet in, but Ricochet victory rolls! TWO, and Ricochet ducks a chop to handspring BACK ELBOW! The fans fire up while both men are down! Ricochet and Konosuke crawl, hot tags to Kyle and Ospreay! The fans fire up as these two fire fists and forearms! Kyle kicks and whips but Ospreay ducks ‘n’ dodges to CLOBBER Kyle!
Ospreay whips, Kyle reverses, Ospreay handsprings to NEURALIZER KICK! Kyle staggers, Konosuke tags back in! Ospreay dodges Konosuke to BLAST Cage & Archer! Ospreay fires fists on Konosuke, but Konosuke CLAWS Ospreay’s face! Konosuke runs, but Davis intercepts with a fireman’s carry! AUSSIE DENTAL PLAN! Or maybe in this case, just a United Empire Dental Plan! But in any case, Davis scoops Konosuke, for the LAWN DART CUTTER! Cover, TWO!! Konosuke survives but the fans fire up. Ospreay & Davis bring Konosuke up, double pump handle, but the #MurderMachines make the save!
Archer puts Davis in a corner, Cage ducks Ospreay’s haymaker to waistlock. Archer runs up, BOOT GERMAN SUPLEX COMBO! Davis fires hands on Archer but Cage waistlocks, ripcords, and ROCKS Davis! Then fireman’s carry into the ASSISTED NECKBREAKER! The fans boo but the Murder Machines DOUBLE RIPCORD Ospreay up for Konosuke’s BLUE THUNDER BOMB!! Cover, TWO!! Ospreay survives and shocks everyone! Archer argues with the ref but the count was fair. Konosuke tags Kyle while fans rally up behind Ospreay. Kyle smirks as he stalks Ospreay. Kyle BOOTS Ricochet off the apron for good measure!
Kyle tells Ospreay that this is how he wants it, right? All about Ospreay! Kyle stomps away on Ospreay in the corner, then digs his boots in! The ref counts but wait! Here comes Hobbs! Hobbs hobbles but Kyle hurries to send Ospreay to the Callis corner. Tag to Konosuke and then Kyle slides out. Kyle runs up on Hobbs, but Hobbs CLOBBERS him! The fans fire up as Hobbs makes his way to the corner. Ospreay fights free of the corner but Konosuke holds him back! Ospreay fires forearms, reaches out, repeat! The fans rally as hard as they can, but Konosuke reels Ospreay in! Konosuke hits a back suplex, but Ospreay lands out!
Ospreay dodges Konosuke, hot tag to Hobbs! The Powerhouse powers up to rally on Konosuke! The fans fire up as Hobbs TOSSES Kyle, but the Murder Machines attack! They reel Hobbs in, but Hobbs fights the double suplex! The fans fire up but the Murder Machines double whip. Hobbs DOUBLE LARIATS! The fans fire up as Hobbs has targets in all corners! SPLASH for Konosuke! SPLASH for Cage! SPLASH for Kyle! SPLASH for Archer! The fans are thunderous and Hobbs brings the straps down. Archer kicks low, then runs, but Hobbs dodges, to SNAP POWERSLAM! The fans fire up again, and Hobbs tags Davis!
Davis runs up to BOOT Konosuke, BOOT him again, but Konosuke just fires up! Ospreay CANNONBALLS onto Kyle while Konosuke fires hands! Konosuke spins, but Davis DECKS him! Davis roars, stands Konosuke up, but Konosuke backdrops back! POWER- NO, Davis stops the knee to ENZIGIRI! Davis gut wrenches Konosuke, for a PILEDRIVER!! Cover, KYLE BREAKS IT! The fans boo but now Aussie Open is face to face! Kyle pie faces Davis, talks trash, but Davis glares at him. Kyle SLAPS Davis, so Davis TACKLES Kyle! Davis throws hands, Kyle gets up, and Davis runs up! Kyle dodges and Konosuke DECKS Davis!
Ricochet springboards, FLYING LARIAT on Konosuke! But Cage POP-UP POWERBOMBS Ricochet! Hobbs SPINEBUSTERS Cage! Archer CHOKE SLAMS Hobbs! Ospreay hits the PIP PIP CHEERIO FOREARM on Archer! Ospreay dares Kyle to man up and fight him! Kyle snarls, gets in, and they fire forearms again! Kyle swings, Ospreay catches him, but Kyle breaks the full nelson with an elbow! Ospreay HOOK KICKS Kyle! Ospreay runs, Kyle dodges, but then Ospreay slips through the lariat! Kyle slips through the bomb, hoists Ospreay up, but Ospreay slips free! Kyle ducks the hook kick to SUPERKICK! Kyle runs, into the SPANISH FLY!!
The fans are thunderous as Ospreay takes aim from a corner! Kyle rises, so does Davis, and Ospreay runs up, Kyle uses Davis as a shield from the HIDDEN BLADE!! Ospreay freaks out, Kyle SUPERKICKS Ospreay out of the ring! Then Kyle DIVES onto Ospreay! Konosuke brings down his kneepad, aims at Davis, POWER DRIVE KNEE!!! Cover, Don Callis Family wins!!
Winners: The Don Callis Family, by pinfall
The Alpha stands tall over Davis as friendly fire takes out Ospreay’s team. But what happens when things divide into 1v1 matches? Will Konosuke still be International Champion after he and Ricochet go #OuttaThisWorld? Will Kyle prove that he IS The Protostar after tearing down Will Ospreay?
Jon Moxley & The Death Riders speak.
“Despite recent discoveries that Orange Cassidy is a snake, coldblooded, uncaring, unmoving, a serpent lurking in the darkest corners of the battlefield, my objective remains the same, my job on Saturday night remains the same. You may be this borderline sociopath, you may be a great guy just like everybody thinks. I don’t care if you’re a great guy. I don’t care what kind of person you are. When the bell rings on Saturday night, and the AEW World Championship hangs in the balance, you are a threat to my people. And I will destroy you.
“There’s so much more going on behind Orange Cassidy’s eyes than any of us could’ve imagined. You may make it to Full Gear with your mind in tact, but your body… For that matter, Darby Allin’s body… Still up for grabs.” Claudio jumps in, speaking in German about what he’ll do to Darby. Then in English, he says, “Tonight, I’m gonna end you.” Moxley pats Claudio on the shoulder. Will The Maniac’s top henchmen do his dirty work for him when they dismantle Cassidy & Darby? Or will it just be fuel on the fire for Freshly Squeezed & The Relentless One? Speaking of…
Darby Allin speaks.
“Claudio, I’m gonna keep this really short. Let’s not forget you’re the one who put the chair around Bryan’s neck and pulled the trigger on his career. Every single one of you Death Riders will have your day. And Claudio, today’s your day.” Will Moxley’s men be dealt with in brutal fashion before he suffers the same?
The Hurt Syndicate arrive.
Renee Paquette waits in the parking lot as an SUV pulls up, and she welcomes Montel Vontavious Porter, Shelton Benjamin & Bobby Lashley to the show. She heard MVP has a surprise in store, what’s he got planned? MVP says yes, there is a special treat for the AEW audience, and that is this announcement: The All Mighty Bobby Lashley will be in action here tonight on Dynamite in Reading, Pennsylvania, prior to his PPV debut on Saturday! Renee asks if MVP is at all concerned to put Lashley in a match- OH NO, Swerve attacks!! Swerve knocks Lashley over, then laughs as he gets away!
Shelton helps Lashley up but that ambush might’ve been with Swerve’s own silver chain. Will Lashley elect not to compete tonight after all? Or is he about to make an example out of whatever poor soul is put in front of him?
Adam Cole is here!
Reading fires up as the Panama City Playboy makes his way to the ring. They join in with the “BOOM!” and “ADAM COLE, BAYBAY!” Cole grabs a mic to ask, “Who’s ready for Storytime with Adam Cole, Baybay?” Reading sure is ready! Cole wishes so so badly that he could get his hands on MJF this Saturday, but he’s not. MJF did everything in his power to make sure he and Cole didn’t fight on Saturday, and he succeeded. But do you know who else succeeded last week? Roderick Strong did! The fans cheer as Cole says he and Roddy have the exact same goal: Give MJF the ass whooping of a lifetime! And that is exactly what happens at Full Gear!
The fans cheer, and wait, Kyle O’Reilly makes his way out here. The longtime friend of Cole & Roddy makes his way out here, and already has a mic. Kyle isn’t sure if Cole remembers, but 14 years ago, right here in Reading, PA, Cole and Kyle had their second match ever against each other. They’ve come a long way. Being associated with Cole has given Kyle some incredible highs, and some serious lows. And through those lows, Kyle knows Cole better than anyone. Which makes Kyle the only one willing to tell Cole the truth. The truth is, this crusade against MJF has got to end before someone gets hurt.
This obsession, Cole needs to wash his hands of it. His ankle has already been reconstructed, what’s next? Cole has friends willing to take a bullet for him, Kyle included, but Cole has got to stop having his friends fight his battles. Roddy barely makes it out alive last week, and now he wants to fight MJF! He wants to END MJF, all because of Cole. Kyle just doesn’t have a good feeling about any of this. Cole asks Kyle what he’s trying to say here. Kyle doesn’t think Roddy can handle MJF? Kyle asks Cole if he really thinks MJF isn’t already three steps ahead. MJF hasn’t been here for weeks but he’s pulling all the strings.
Cole should know that dealing with MJF is like playing with fire, and Kyle doesn’t wanna see his friends get burned. Cole needs to realize why so many of his friends are willing to go to war for him, and it’s because he is a great leader, an elite pro-wrestler, and a great friend, who doesn’t wanna see his friends get hurt. At least, so Kyle thinks. But Cole has to face facts: MJF is more of an evil bastard than Cole will ever be, and that is a good thing. Kyle drops his mic and walks away. Cole drops his mic, and has a lot to think about. Does Kyle have a point? Can Cole just let Roddy handle MJF and then move on?
Orange Cassidy speaks.
“A little later tonight, I’m gonna make an example out of you, Wheeler Yuta. And I’m gonna show everybody exactly what I’m gonna do this Saturday to you, Jon Moxley. And that’s walk down to that ring and beat you, alone.” But The Conglomeration steps in. Mark Briscoe has Rocky Romero & Tomohiro Ishii with him as he asks Cassidy, “What sense does that make, man?” Moxley said himself, there’s five Death Riders, one Cassidy. Conglomeration has his back, they are here for him. Cassidy says no, no one else needs to get hurt. Get hurt? What’s Cassidy talking about? The Conglomeration are ready to scrap!
PLEASE!! Cassidy is asking them… They don’t have to believe him or even understand him. But just promises him they’ll stay back here. If Cassidy insists, then so be it. Cassidy says there you have it, Jon. Five of you, one of him. Do what you’re gonna do. Because at Full Gear, Moxley’s gonna need all the help he can get. Cassidy is himself wanting the best for his friends, but will that work out for the betterment of AEW? Or is he just playing into Moxley’s hands?
Kris Statlander VS Hikaru Shida!
The #BornAgainKristen bodied the bullies that are Mercedes Mone & Kamille the last time she saw them, but she still needs to tune up for Full Gear. However, taking on the THREE-TIME AEW Women’s World Champion might be more than just a workout. Win, lose or draw, will the Shining Samurai get Kris ready for The CEO?
The bell rings, Kris and Shida shake hands and the fans applaud. The two circle, tie up, and Kris wrenches to a wristlock. Shida handsprings and wrenches back, then hammerlocks. Kris reaches back, hits a headlock takeover, but Shida headscissors. Kris kips free and the fans cheer while the two reset. Shida and Kris circle again while the fans fire up. The two tie up, Shida wrenches and hammerlocks, then CLUBS Kris on the back. Shida CLUBS Kris again, then waistlocks. Kris fights the lift with elbows, then switches. Kris SLAMS Shida, then flips her over. Shida kips up to arm-drag Kris! Kris ends up in a corner, and Shida runs up to KNEE her!
Shida climbs up and the fans cheer as she rains down fists! But Kris stops Shida at 5 and carries her out of the corner! Shida slips free, Kris blocks a lariat to SWEEP the leg! STANDING MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO! Shida is tough and she goes to ropes, but Kris whips her to a corner. Kris runs up but into a RANA! Kris cartwheels through! Then she CLOBBERS Shida! The fans fire up while Kris flexes. Kris drags Shida into a motorcycle stretch but Shida endures. The fans rally up and Shida fights to her feet. Shida arm-drags Kris down, and wraps her in a straitjacket stretch! Kris fights up with a bridge, but Shida hops on!
The fans rally while Kris RAMS Shida into a corner! Shida holds onto the straitjacket and pulls! The ref counts, Shida lets go at 4, and then MISSILE DROPKICKS! Kris tumbles and the fans duel as Shida fires up! Shida goes outside, drags Kris to the apron, and CLUBS her! Shida runs to KNEE LIFT! Kris flops to the floor and fans cheer while Dynamite goes picture in picture.
Shida brings Kris up again, and whips her into railing hard! Kris writhes, Shida drags her up, and then Shida whips Kris into more railing! Kris writhes again and Shida refreshes the ring count. Shida sits Kris in a corner to rain down fists! The fans fire up but the ref reprimands, so Shida stops. Shida brings Kris around, pushes her into the ring, and then stalks her. Shida stomps Kris around, brings her up, and snap suplexes! Kris writhes but Shida brings her up again. Shida then snap suplexes Kris into a corner! Shida drags Kris to a cover, TWO! Kris stays in this but Shida stays on her with a chinlock stretch!
Kris endures being bent back, and she reaches out with her free arm. Shida pulls back more but Kris rises up! Shida is again a backpack, but then she slips down. Kris fires body shots, slips around and lifts for a BIG back suplex! Kris huffs ‘n’ puffs as she rises up, but then Shida dodges the sliding forearm! Ghost pin! TWO, and Kris has a cradle! TWO! Shida ROCKS Kris, but Kris PELES! Shida staggers, but she comes back to ENZIGIRI! Both women are down and the fans fire up! The ref checks both women and they’re okay to continue, so a standing count begins. Shida and Kris stir at about 4 of 10, then rise up at 6.
Kris grabs Shida, but Shida fires a forearm! Dynamite returns to single picture as the shots go back and forth. Shida fires a flurry, then whips Kris to ropes. Kris ducks ‘n’ dodges, then dodges a knee! SNAP POWERSLAM! The fans fire up with Kris as she whips Shida to a corner. Kris runs up to UPPERCUT, then she goes side to side for a KNEE LIFT! Shida ends up in ropes but Kris reels her in. Fisherman BUSTER! Cover, TWO! Shida survives and the fans fire up again! Kris hoists Shida up, gut wrenches, but Shida slips free! DOUBLE LARIATS collide! Shida eggs Kris on, then dodges her to fire forearms! Kris just shakes her head!
Shida fires more shots, but Kris fireman’s carries! But Shida slips free, straitjacket roll-up! TWO!! KNEE STRIKE! And then short arm LARIAT! Shida takes aim, but she starts to doubt the Katana! Shida runs up but Kris dodges the boot to then scoop and INVERTED SLAM! Then Kris aims, DISCUS- NO, Shida backslides her! TWO!! Shida reels Kris in, suplexes, FALCON ARROW! Cover, TWO?!? Kris survives and Shida is shocked! Shida brings Kris up but Kris fires body shots and forearms! Shida ROCKS Kris, but Kris wrenches to kick! Kris runs, but into the JUMP KNEE! Shida hurries to suplex, but Kris turns it around!
Shida slips out of Kris’ suplex to slip around, GERMAN SUPLEX! Shida roars, aims, KATA- NO, Kris gut wrenches! Tuck and STATURDAY NIGHT FEVER!! Cover, Kris wins!!
Winner: Kris Statlander, by pinfall
Shida gave Kris a powerful match, but clearly Shida has to iron out her own crisis of confidence. Kris still shows Shida respect by helping her up. But wait, here comes Mercedes Mone & Kamille! The fans boo The CEO & Brickhouse but Mone has a mic. “Readiiiiing~! Say hello to your C E O!” The fans boo instead. Mone asks Kamille if she wants to hear a fun fact about Pennsylvania. The 76ers have had yet another terrible season! Embarrassing~! But shoutouts to Mone’s Celtics for another incredible victory. The fans boo Boston but Mone says another person with an incredible win was Kris Statlander. Mone is rarely impressed by her competition.
Does anyone else want to hear another fun fact? “NO!!” Well, Mone has held the TBS Championship longer than Kris! So at Full Gear, Mone will NOT lose, because she is The CEO, the greatest TBS Champion of all time! And she will NEVER lose this title! Fans tell The CEO to STFU, but Mone tells Kamille go get the job done! She is so pissed off! GO! NOW! Kamille walks up the steps past Mone, but with only one good arm! Mone says hurry up, but Kamille looks at both Shida and Kris. Kamille takes as swing, but Kris blocks to ROCK her! Shida QUESTION MARK KICKS Kamille! Then Kris & Shida TOSS The Brickhouse!
Shida goes out after Kamille, but then Mone goes after Kris! Mone goes for the backstabber, but Kris holds onto ropes! Mone is almost stuck up there, but Kris pops her around! STATURDAY NIGHT FEVER!! The fans fire up as Kris stands tall over The CEO! Will Kris once again become the Face of TBS? Or will Mone find a way to win even without her insurance policy?
The Hurt Syndicate has a cameraman with them.
MVP says hold on, he and Shelton have found Swerve. They go after the man in the big fur jacket, but that’s not Swerve! Swerve gave his jacket to the guy, but MVP & Shelton still beat this guy up for helping Swerve. MVP says they’ll find Swerve later, Lashley has his match up next. And it’ll be a 2-on-1 Handicap?! The All Mighty really IS mad, what poor duo is about to be destroyed?
AEW hears from Jay White and Hangman Adam Page.
“Hangman. You and I are on that same path to that same destination, trying to grasp at that same prize. 2024 still has some time left for The Switchblade to share the spotlight with Hangman once more!” But the Blackhat Cowboy asks White if he knows “Who the hell I am?! I am the Hangman! I am THE man! They named this whole godforsaken PPV after ME!” White says when he makes Hangman TAP, it will be a public declaration! But Hangman says White can’t make him tap, even if his life depended on it! These two vicious gunslingers will write one more chapter in their storied rivalry, but who comes out riding off into the sunset?
2v1 Handicap: Bobby Lashley w/ The Hurt Syndicate VS Joe Keys & Cheeseburger!
The All Mighty thought he’d have an easy night getting in a little warm-up, but The Realest quickly reminded him why he’s the most dangerous man in AEW! Lashley’s now doubling down to make a point, will there be nothing left of Keys & Cheese after tonight?
The bell rings and while the fans rally for Cheeseburger, he and Keys each argue the other should start. Lashley runs up and TOSSES Burger across the ring! Keys runs away, Lashley runs to RAM into Burger! Lashley brings Burger up, Keys runs in, but Lashley catches him for a COMPLETE SHOT DDT COMBO! Lashley drags Keys up and TOSSES him out! Lashley then turns to look at Burger in the corner. The fans rally for Burger, but Lashley CLOBBERS him! The fans boo but MVP & Shelton high-five Lashley. Lashley drags Burger up to gut wrench, Canadian Rack, and DOMINATOR! Keys runs in to break the cover!
The fans cheer Keys as he fires hands, but Lashley just gets angrier! Keys short arm LARIATS, but Lashley stays up! Keys runs, into a MILE HIGH SPINEBUSTER! Lashley storms around, then aims at Keys. Keys staggers into the SPEAR! Lashley isn’t done there, and he clamps on the HURT LOCK! Keys can’t open that lock, he is OUT! Lashley wins!
Winner: Bobby Lashley, by submission
MVP & Shelton join Lashley in the ring to celebrate, but then “Whose House?” “SWERVE’S HOUSE!” The fans fire up, and here comes Prince Nana with a chair! Nana eggs the Hurt Syndicate on so Shelton storms out after Nana. MVP watches the rest of ringside for Swerve, but Swerve slides out from under the ring! The fans fire up as Swerve slips in to CHAIN PUNCH Lashley!! MVP gets on the apron but Swerve DECKS MVP with a chain punch! And then Shelton eats a chain punch! The fans are thunderous as Swerve aims, and hits a HOUSE CALL on Lashley! Swerve hurries to the top rope, and he gives Lashley a KILL STOMP!!
The fans are thunderous as Swerve stands over Lashley! MVP & Shelton get up and get in, but Swerve escapes, chain draped on his neck! Will AEW then, now and forever be whose house? “SWERVE’S HOUSE!”
Backstage interview with Mariah May & Mina Shirakawa.
Renee is now with the AEW Women’s World Champion and her best friend, the Rev-Pro Undisputed British Women’s Champion. They are planning their Championship Champagne Celebration for Full Gear, BUT Friday Night Rampage will feature the two of them teaming up for the first time in just over a year. Mariah says no champion deserves a celebration more than her. Her rise to the top was meteoric, and her reign will be historic. She takes ish and makes it shine, any time and any show, against anyone. In Mariah’s division, you hold this title, or you die.
Mina says yes, Mariah has been working so hard. She came back to tell her she is so very proud. And Mina will give Mariah a celebration she’ll never forget! Mariah says the “H Cup Angel” (Mina) and the “Woman from Hell” (Mariah herself) are going to make Rampage into Glampage. Everyone wants Mina, but Mina wants Mariah. And then… They’ll dance! These two shimmy and shake their way out, will they finally be toasting their victories at Full Gear?
Darby Allin VS Claudio Castagnoli w/ The Death Riders!
The Relentless One told The Swiss Superman that revenge was coming, and here is Darby’s chance! Will Darby avenge Bryan Danielson? Or will he just be the next to fall?
The bell rings and Darby stares Claudio down. Darby takes some deep breaths then circles with Claudio. Darby slips around to waistlock but Claudio flings him off, only for Darby to roll to his feet. They circle again, and the fans rally behind Darby. Darby and Claudio feel things out, tie up, and Darby headlocks. Claudio lifts Darby but Darby thrashes the hold. Claudio throws Darby off, runs up, but Darby uses that to get around and springboard arm-drag! The fans fire up while Claudio bails out, and Darby taunts Claudio with some drop steps. Claudio snarls, but then Darby fakes him out with a slingshot!
Claudio is annoyed and takes a swing but Darby slingshots up and over! Darby taunts Claudio again while the fans rally up. Claudio cools off before he storms up the steel steps. Claudio pops Darby up but Darby keeps from hitting buckles! Darby ELBOWS Claudio away, goes up, then leaps, but Claudio catches him! Claudio SLAMS Darby down, flips him back to his feet, but Darby slips around to waistlock. O’Conner Roll, TWO! Darby springboards to SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Claudio bails out but the fans fire up. Darby goes up a corner, and he SUPER COFFIN SPLASHES into a waistlock! Claudio swings and THROWS Darby away!
Darby staggers to his feet but Claudio runs up, to POUNCE Darby into railing! Darby writhes against the railing, but Claudio runs up to UPPERCUT Darby up and over! Fans freak out as Darby hits the floor! Claudio leaves Darby behind while the ring count climbs, but Darby drags himself up at 7. Claudio goes back out after Darby to suplex! Claudio holds Darby up while he marches up the steps! The fans fire up for this feat of strength and balance, and then Claudio TOSSES Darby back into the ring! Darby writhes again while Claudio steps back in. Claudio stalks Darby, talks some trash, and Dynamite goes picture in picture.
Claudio looms over Darby, then deadlift gut wrenches for a GUTBUSTER! And then another GUTBUSTER! And then another GUTBUSTER! Darby writhes while Claudio stands over him again. Claudio watches Darby crawl towards a corner and stalks him. Claudio drags Darby up, brings him around, and ROCKS Darby with a forearm! Darby pushes Claudio, then CHOPS! Claudio DECKS Darby! Darby tumbles out of the ring! The ref wants Claudio to stay back while Darby drags himself up. Darby is back in before the count starts, but then Claudio DOUBLE STOMPS him! Claudio kicks Darby around, then clamps on with a neck wrench!
Darby endures, fights up, but Claudio powers him down. Darby BITES Claudio’s hand! The ref reprimands but Darby fires off forearms on Claudio. Claudio HIP TOSSES Darby up and out of the ring! Darby hits the floor and flounders around while the ref reprimands Claudio. Claudio again waits on Darby, and then he DOUBLE STOMPS Darby the moment he’s in! The ref counts as Claudio stands on Darby at the ropes. Claudio steps off at 4, brings him around, and clamps on an armlock and chinbar. Darby endures, fights around, and manages to fireman’s carry Claudio! But Claudio rains down elbows! HAMMER ‘N’ ANVIL even!
Claudio clamps on with a double wristlock and he grinds Darby down. Darby still endures and the fans rally up again. Darby fights around and Dynamite returns to single picture. Darby fires body shots but Claudio knees low! Claudio then HIP TOSSES Darby into a corner! Darby tumbles out of the ring but Claudio pursues! Claudio SWINGS Darby into railing! Then Claudio fireman’s carries, to TOSS Darby back in the ring! Claudio storms in while Darby flounders away. Darby flops back out of the ring but Claudio pursues him again. Darby trips Claudio up and traps him in the apron skirt! Darby then fires forearms, and BITES Claudio’s ear!
The fans fire up but Claudio shoves Darby away. Darby slides into the ring then DIVES onto Claudio! And then runs to DIVE again! Down goes Claudio and the fans fire up! Darby crawls over to bring Claudio up and into the ring. The fans fire up as Darby climbs up a corner, though slowly given all the damage to his back. That lets Claudio trip Darby up! Darby is stuck up top, and Claudio climbs up after him. Claudio gut wrenches for a SUPER GUT WRENCH PLEX!! Cover, TWO!! Darby survives and Claudio can’t believe it! The fans fire up but Claudio calls for the swing! Claudio grabs the legs, but Darby twists to a victory roll! TWO!!
Claudio escapes and runs up, but Darby ducks ‘n’ dodges, roll and- WHOA, Claudio has to fight to stay up, and then he deadlifts Darby! Darby pops through to CODE RED!! Cover, TWO!! Claudio survives and the fans fire up again! “This is Awesome!” as Darby and Claudio crawl for ropes. Claudio runs up to UPPERCUT! And UPPERCUT again and again and again! The ref backs Claudio off, but then Claudio fires off body shots! Darby flops over but Claudio has the legs. Claudio FLIPS Darby up and over the ropes, but Darby lands on the apron! Claudio BOOTS Darby down! The ref wants Claudio to hold on but Claudio goes out after Darby.
Claudio drags Darby by his legs, then SWINGS him around! Into steel steps!! The fans lose their minds, the ref reprimands Claudio, but Claudio doesn’t care. The fans tell Claudio he is sick, but Claudio TOSSES Darby over the announce desk!! Schiavone, Excalibur & Matt Menard narrowly avoid becoming collateral damage! But Claudio clears the desk and brings Darby up. Claudio puts Darby on the desk, then stands over him. The ref reprimands but Claudio just ignores him. Claudio drags Darby up, and gorilla presses him! SUPER DUPER TOSS onto the timekeeper’s table!! The fans lose their minds as Darby is down but that table’s somehow still standing!
The ref checks on Darby but Claudio storms right over! The ref tells Claudio to stop so they go to the ring. Claudio lets the ring count start, and yet Darby somehow stirs at 4 of 10! The fans rally as hard as they can and Darby crawls his way over! Darby is still far away at 7! But then he powers up and LEAPS in at 9!! But Claudio LARIATS Darby inside-out!! Cover, Claudio wins!
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli, by pinfall
Darby truly is relentless, with durability like no other, but it just wasn’t enough against the strength and brutality of Claudio! Will no one stop The Death Riders from running roughshod over AEW?
Backstage interview with Private Party.
Renee is with Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy and brings up that at Full Gear, the AEW World Tag Team Championships are on the line in a Fatal 4 Way. Private Party takes on The Acclaimed, The Outrunners and The Kings of the Black Throne. In such a match, the champs do NOT have to be pinned or submitted to lose their titles, so what is their strategy? Brother Zay says they obviously can’t tell her that, the other teams are watching. But it seems like the odds are against them. Fortunately, the odds have been against them their whole lives, their whole careers, just like against The Young Bucks.
But look what happened: Private Party defied the odds, beat The Bucks, and are your AEW World Tag Team Champions. That is the same thing that happens on Saturday. They leave Newark, New Jersey still your tag team champions. Because there ain’t no party like a Private Party, that’s a flex. Oh, speaking of! It’s AJ & Big Justice! They’re fired up to be here, but Justice wants to know what that face Zay made was last week. Oh, right, this one, with the chin scratching. And AJ says they’ve got a BIG announcement coming up after this! Maybe some double chunk chocolate cookies? BOOM!!
A green Porsche Taycan pulls up to the middle of nowhere.
And out steps MJF. The Wolf of Wrestling tells the hobo to “go get it” as he throws spare change off to the side like birdseed. MVP then sits back and tells Roderick Strong, “You’ve been through so much. The kid who grew up trailer park trash with two abusive alcoholic parents. For crying out loud! Your own mother shot your father right in front of you. That’s traumatizing. And as you know, Roddy, trauma is the result of an overwhelming sense of danger, powerlessness and fear. However, healing is a result of feeling safe, empowered and supported. That’s why you’d do anything for Cole. He makes you feel all those positive things that you lacked.
“It’s why I was no different than you. It’s why I trusted him. Unfortunately, the difference between you and I: Cole for me was a mirage of what I wanted him to be. A fraud, a liar. And whilst Cole is a fraud, I do actually believe deep down, in his narcissistic, sociopathic, frail, feeble frame, is a man who cares about Roderick Strong. This is precisely why upon further contemplation, I am happy you won, Roddy. Because I want Adam Cole to watch a person he cares about suffer! And because of your White trash upbringing, you aren’t intelligent enough to realize that you don’t have a prayer. And I’m sending you back to where you belong. To your grimy little trailer park.
“And after the match, you’ll be in so much physical anguish, you’ll wish your mother hadn’t shot your father, but instead shot you.” As if this scumbag couldn’t stoop any lower, he brings up Roddy’s past to hurt him. But will Roddy make sure MJF’s future is the one full of pain and suffering?
Backstage interview with AJ & Big Justice.
Renee is with the Costco Tiktok sensations and says that in the Full Gear Zero Hour, we will see #BigBoomAJ take on QT Marshall in a match 20 YEARS in the making. AJ says it may have been 20 years in the making for QT, this all started for AJ when QT threw the double chunk chocolate cookies down! Renee says AJ has not been in the ring in those 20 years, is he concerned about how his body will hold up? AJ isn’t worried about that, because he just has one strategy, and that’s the strategy they use each and every day. That strategy is to bring the BOOM~! But hey, there’s another special announcement.
Because when AJ rings QT’s bell, and he Power-Booms QT right in the middle of that ring, there is only one guy they want ringing the bell: Big Justice’s best friend, THE RIZZLER! Time to bring the BOOM~! Will QT be sleeping on the mat for The Rizzler? Will he be skibidi? Fanum Tax? Why are those even words?
Tony Schiavone is on stage.
And he welcomes out The Undisputed Kingdom! The fans cheer as Roderick Strong makes his way out, accompanied by Matt Taven & Mike Bennett. Schiavone brings up Roddy VS MJF at Full Gear, and we just heard all that disgusting stuff MJF had to say. Roddy’s response is that to be honest, he has not slept a wink since last week. IT is finally happening! Roddy feels like a kid on Christmas morning. He finally gets his hands on “MAAAAAX~!” The fans echo that, and Roddy says if MJF was here tonight, and not hiding out there, Roddy would ask him: Is Roddy supposed to be ashamed of his childhood?
Is Roddy supposed to be ashamed of his parents? You don’t think Roddy’s heard that stuff before? His whole LIFE, that is what people brought up! His mom’s an addict, his dad’s an addict, mom shot dad. Good job, Max, you made Roddy feel like he was in elementary school again. And people may look at Roddy’s past and feel sorry for him, but Roddy asks us not to. Because looking at MJF, Roddy feels sorry for him. Understand this, Max. With Roddy’s life, he learned that to get the most out of life, you have to earn it. If you wanna break the cycle, you have to earn it. And that is what Roddy’s done ever since he was a kid!
And now looking at MJF, he’s been spoon-fed everything. And when something doesn’t go his way or something happens and he doesn’t like it, MJF throws a temper tantrum like a baby until that changes. So Roddy wants MJF to do something for him: Look in the mirror and think about all the things that MJF has done to people. The manipulating, the backstabbing, the using. MJF needs to realize, when the bell rings at Full Gear, MJF will pay for all those sins. With every chop, with every punch, with every elbow, with every backbreaker! And when it is all over, Roddy walks to his hotel room for the best night of sleep in his life because he earned it.
Especially because Roddy will know he has broken MJF’s back, and left him humbled! Roddy is all fired up, and the fans are with him! Will MJF finally get what’s coming to him? Or will he give Roddy nightmares for the rest of his life?
AEW shares footage taken from last Saturday night.
First, a recap video of Daniel Garcia thwarting Jack Perry’s attempts to abduct and torture Matthew Menard, as well as the joyride they took in the Scapegoat bus, with Perry as the hood ornament. And now, they have Perry strapped into a chair, the bus headlights as the only source of light. Menard is behind the camera as he asks Perry how he’s feeling. How’d that work out for him, huh? Garcia splashes Perry with water to wake him up, and says “Let’s have a conversation. I’m all ears.” Perry chuckles and says Garcia thinks he’s so much better than him. Look at where they are! Garcia shouts back that he doesn’t wanna be here!
Garcia just wants to wrestle, but AEW is full of savages! Perry tried to take Daddy Magic’s life! And those in power just sit back and watch, pretending that nothing’s going on. So what do they do? Gotta take the power back, right? Perry counters with, “Everybody’s got a code. Everybody cares about right and wrong until it costs them something. Until they have to SACRIFICE!” Garcia gets in Perry’s face, grabs him by the mouth, and says Perry’s always going on about sacrifice but Perry has no idea what Garcia’s had to go through! Perry has NO idea what Garcia’s had to sacrifice to be here!
Garcia knows where Perry wants him to go, but Garcia promises that he’s never gonna go there. Perry smirks, then SPITS in Garcia’s face. Garcia wipes that off his face and says bet. Garcia’s got something for Perry, so just wait right there. Garcia goes to the bus while Perry mockingly asks what he’s gonna do. Menard tells shut up, Jack! Life must be so hard for him! What’s Jack got to be sad about?! Garcia comes back and he has a crowbar! Perry dares him to go ahead. Garcia raises the bar, but he SMASHES up the bus! Garcia throws the crowbar away and Perry laughs. Is that it? Garcia tells Menard they’ll get out of here. What? Where’s Garcia going?
Perry says yeah, walk away. Menard tells Perry that Garcia’s gonna whoop his ass! Just wait! Menard leaves, Perry shouts into the night, but will The Face of TNT soon be the one sacrificed for the greater good?
Renee Paquette presides over the ROH World Championship contract signing.
She welcomes us backstage to the signing for this match, which will happen next week, Dynamite: Thanksgiving Eve, in Chicago. The challenger, Tomohiro Ishii, is on her left, and the champion, Chris Jericho, is on her right. Jericho, as champion, you have the honors to sign first. Jericho smiles and waves as he says, “Hi, guys.” But Renee, you should know better. A champion of Jericho’s caliber does not just sign a contract thrust at his face randomly. He has a whole legal team that needs to approve this contract. Renee says it was sent to said legal team last week. Oh, really? What about today? The now! Jericho lives in the now!
Jericho says he’ll get this checked by his legal eagles one more time. But for now, wait here. Choto matte kudesai. Jericho steps around the corner and then down the hall. He smiles at his own picture on the wall. What a good looking guy. But wait, Ishii has followed Jericho to the hall. Jericho is a bit worried as he keeps moving. Jericho tries to block Ishii’s path but a trash can isn’t enough. Jericho tells staffers that Ishii wants to talk to them. They step in the way but Ishii pushes them aside. Jericho moves faster, pushes more people in the way, but Ishii pushes them aside. Was that RJ City?
Jericho goes up some stairs but Ishii follows. Ishii’s even gaining ground! Jericho goes through a doorway and ends up in the concourse! Fans cheer as Jericho and Ishii keep up their cat ‘n’ mouse game. Jericho decides to go into the stands! Ishii follows, and they head down the bleachers towards ringside! Jericho hurries over railing but so does Ishii. They go into the ring, and now Jericho tells Ishii to stop following him! Jericho wants a mic, a mic is brought, and Jericho says hey, listen, Ishii. Jericho would sign this contract, but he doesn’t have a pen. Ishii has a pen! Oh. Ishii clicks it for Jericho, and pushes it into him.
Jericho takes the pen, looks at the contract again, and still hesitates. Jericho signs his part, and then hands things over to Ishii. But then BRYAN KEITH & BIG BILL ATTACK! It was all a massive set-up! Bad Apple & Redwood beat down Stone Pitbull, and then sit him up! Jericho has the pen ready, but here comes The Conglomeration! Mark Briscoe & Rocky Romero rush in, and Mark TACKLES Jericho! Rocky fires off on Bill while Mark CHOKES Jericho! Keith saves Jericho from Mark but Mark fires hands on Keith! The fans fire up, but then Bill SKYSCRAPER- NO, Mark UPPERCUTS Bill first! Rocky adds on!
The fans fire up as The Conglomeration pinballs Bill, and then Ishii CLOBBERS him! Bill tumbles out, but Rocky DIVES! Bill is sent into railing! Keith stands up, into a kick and underhooks! JAY DRILLER! Jericho stands up, Ishii has him, and hits a BRAINBUSTER!! Conglomeration stands tall over The Learning Tree and his Branches, and now Ishii signs his part! The match is now official, and Ishii is looking to take a bite out of Jericho! Will The Conglomeration have the ROH World Championship to be thankful for this year?
Backstage interview with Jamie Hayter.
Renee is with the former AEW Women’s World Champion and notes that last time, we were going to hear from her, only for her to be interrupted by Julia Hart. What is Hayter’s reaction to that? Well, yeah, she isn’t angry, but she is baffled why Julia chose to interrupt Hayter. They’ve never really spoken or interacted, or even wrestled each other. Hayter is just curious as to why Julia felt it was okay to do that. Granted, Julia can do whatever she wants, Hayter moves to the beat of her own drum just as much as Julia. But… if Julia wants to have a chat-
Uh oh, something is happening to the video! Brody King’s message echoes, “It’s time to come home.” Julia Hart walks through the woods. Brody says The House is her foundation. She has seen her rebirth. Now it is time to rebuild. She has woken up stronger, more determined, and more dangerous than ever. Julia aims her arrow to shoot down a target: her past self. Her obstacles are just bull’s eyes. She is the Princess of the Black Throne, and the Keeper of Secrets. She is Julia Hart, and her heart grows harder. She hits her mark, but will she find Hayter Hits Hard?
Orange Cassidy VS Wheeler Yuta!
Freshly Squeezed has been accused of being coldblooded and uncaring, but he got pretty heated as he told The Conglomeration to keep themselves safe tonight. He goes 1v1 with The Decoder, a young man who was once Cassidy’s student, and who left him behind to join the then Blackpool Combat Club. If anyone is uncaring, it is Yuta with how he would then follow Jon Moxley’s lead in the destruction of Bryan Danielson and Chuck Taylor. Who will be the more ferocious fighter tonight, this close to Full Gear?
The bell rings and Yuta SHOTGUNS Cassidy! Yuta follows Cassidy to a corner to CHOP, then ROCK, then CHOP again! Yuta whips corner to corner but Cassidy goes up and out. Cassidy bumps Yuta off buckles, climbs up top, but has to leap over. Yuta comes back but Cassidy catches him to a backslide! TWO, but Cassidy reels Yuta in for a cradle! TWO! Yuta pulls on an ear! But Cassidy arm-drags and wrangles Yuta into the SEATBELT! TWO!! Yuta escapes and the fans fire up as these two stand off. Yuta huffs ‘n’ puffs, but Cassidy shows he wants a grapple. They feel things out, knuckle lock, but Cassidy blocks a kick!
Cassidy reels Yuta in for a headlock, but Yuta powers up and out. Cassidy ducks ‘n’ rolls, tilt-o-whirls, but Yuta suplexes! Into STUN DOG MILLIONAIRE! Yuta tumbles out and fans fire up! Cassidy builds speed to DIVE! Down goes Yuta and the fans fire up again! Cassidy brings Yuta up, whips, but Yuta reverses to reel Cassidy in! Cassidy fights the suplex, but then Yuta fights a suplex. Yuta suplexes, to RAILING BRAINBUSTER!! Cassidy writhes and fans are stunned! Yuta stomps Cassidy, then leaves him behind for the ring count. Cassidy crawls into the ring, Yuta exposes a crossbar, and then he GRINDS Cassidy’s face into the steel!
The fans boo, the ref reprimands, but Yuta steps off at 4. Cassidy seethes as he rises up, but Yuta has him at the corner. Cassidy kicks Yuta’s legs out and Yuta falls onto a turnbuckle! Yuta falls back, Cassidy climbs, but Yuta grabs Cassidy first! Yuta drags Cassidy down but Cassidy fires hands. Yuta squeezes the facelock tight, then hits an APRON DDT! The fans boo Yuta while Cassidy writhes, and Dynamite goes picture in picture.
Cassidy clutches his neck while Yuta waits in the ring. A ring count starts and Yuta eggs Cassidy on. Cassidy reaches up as the count reaches 5 of 10, but he doesn’t sit up until 6. Cassidy hobbles up, stumbles and falls, but springs back to life! He slides in at 9! Only for Yuta to be right on him! Yuta reels Cassidy in, but Cassidy turns that into BEACH BREAK! Cover, TWO!! Yuta survives but Cassidy is too sore to be frustrated. They both sit up, and Yuta crawls his way over to a corner. Cassidy rises, checks his neck, then runs up, but into an ELBOW! Yuta goes up, but Cassidy JUMP FOREARMS! Cassidy positions Yuta just right before he climbs the corner.
Yuta resists but Cassidy still brings Yuta up. Yuta continues to fight the suplex, throws body shots, then shoves Cassidy down. Cassidy rolls back to his feet, runs back up the corner, but Yuta again fights the suplex! Cassidy fires hands, but Yuta fires back! They brawl up top, Cassidy HEADBUTTS Yuta! But Yuta HEADBUTTS back! They both wobble, but then Cassidy BITES Yuta! The ref reprimands, but Cassidy CLAWS Yuta’s back! This is very Moxley of him to do! And then Cassidy hits the SUPERPLEX! Both men are down and the ref checks. They’re both okay to continue, so a standing count begins!
Cassidy sits up, spots Yuta, and heads that way. Yuta sits up, they fire forearms as they stand! Dynamite returns to single picture as these shots go back and forth. The fans fire up for Cassidy but boo Yuta as the shots go faster and faster! Yuta BITES Cassidy’s forehead! Yuta spits then runs, but Cassidy dodges! BODY BLOW! SUPERKICK! Yuta sits down, Cassidy runs, PENALTY KICK! Cassidy slashes his throat, hauls Yuta up, BRAINBUSTER! Cover, TWO!! Yuta survives but Cassidy seethes. Cassidy rains down fists on Yuta! The ref reprimands about closed fists and hair pulling, but Cassidy doesn’t stop until the ref counts 4.
Cassidy stands, and he throws off the elbow pad! Cassidy aims at Yuta, runs up, but Yuta ducks the punch! GERMAN SUPLEX! Yuta runs to CHOP in the corner! And then a wrench and PAIN THRILLER! The fans boo while Yuta seethes and stands over Cassidy. Yuta sits Cassidy up, for HAMMER ‘N’ ANVIL ELBOWS! But Cassidy blocks one! And bends fingers, to then SNAP them! The fans fire up as Cassidy SNAPS finger after finger! Yuta swings, Cassidy BOOTS him, then serves up SOLE FOOD! Scoop and MICHINOKU DRIVER! Cover, TWO!! Cassidy is busting out all his best friends’ best moves, but he hasn’t gotten it done!
Cassidy aims, loads up, and ORANGE- NO, Yuta ducks! Orange fights the suplex, switches to O’Conner Roll! TWO, Yuta dodges Cassidy, scoops him, and CROSS LEG TOMBSTONE!! Cover, TWO?!? Cassidy survives and Yuta is furious! The fans are thunderous, but Yuta rains down HAMMER ‘N’ ANVIL ELBOWS! Cassidy grits his teeth but he’s almost a ragdoll! Yuta lets off to then hook the arms, CATTLE MUTILATION!! Cassidy endures as Yuta thrashes him around! Cassidy powers up as the fans rally, and he kicks around to the ROPEBREAK!! Yuta holds on, the ref counts, and Yuta finally lets go at 4!
The ref reprimands Yuta, but Yuta pushes past the ref to go outside the ring. Yuta grabs a chair! Yuta storms into the ring while the fans boo, and the ref says don’t do it! Cassidy dodges the chair shot! Victory roll, CASSIDY WINS!!
Winner: Orange Cassidy, by pinfall
Yuta is in disbelief! Cassidy beat him with a technical move! Yuta snarls but the ref keeps him back. Cassidy did what he promised in beating Yuta, but then he stares his former student down. Is Cassidy going to offer a handshake? WAIT, PAC ATTACKS! The Bastard BOOTS Cassidy down so we’ll never know what Cassidy was going to do! The fans boo more but Pac & Yuta stand on Cassidy. The rest of the Death Riders appear, and Marina Shafir has duct tape! The AEW World Trios Champions stomp away on Cassidy, like vultures picking the bones. Moxley steps into the ring while Marina hands the tape over to Pac.
Claudio puts Cassidy’s hands in his pockets, and then Pac tapes them in! Cassidy is physically bound, and Moxley paces around. Cassidy is pushed around by all the Death Riders, then Moxley DECKS him! Claudio hauls Cassidy back up, the Death Riders keep bullying him, and then Moxley SLAPS Cassidy down! But the bullying continues as they stand Cassidy up. Cassidy “kicks” Moxley! Defiant to the end! But Moxley DECKS him again! Moxley paces around more, then stomps Cassidy right on the face! Moxley leads The Death Riders away, and The Conglomeration finally comes out here.
Mark has scissors to cut Cassidy loose, and the fans boo as The Death Riders still retreat. Cassidy tries to stand up, but he has to use ropes to do it. Even so, Cassidy stands on his own two feet. Moxley eggs on the fans while Cassidy puts his sunglasses on. And then hands up, and then into the pockets! Try as they might, The Death Riders could not break the Freshly Squeezed fighting spirit! Will Cassidy finally become AEW World Champion? Or will Moxley find a way to break Cassidy at Full Gear?
My Thoughts:
A great go-home Dynamite here, though it felt like it contracted Go Home Syndrome. A lot of recap and other promos, but good promos all the same. Good follow-up from last week with Hayter and Hart, that will probably really get going after Full Gear. Good promo from Mariah & Mina to hype up their celebration segment for Full Gear, and with Toni Storm’s announcement of her retirement, you can bet Toni is anything but retired! Toni Storm most assuredly will return very soon, maybe even to ruin the celebration and spark another feud. I still want us to get to Mariah VS Mina but maybe Storm moves things back so that Mariah VS Mina happens in 2025.
Good promo from Private Party to also have AJ & Big Justice show up. The promos didn’t really add much to any of the matches, though. I’m very sure AJ does hit the BOOM on QT to win, and then Private Party finds a way to survive the Fatal 4. Great stuff with Perry, Garcia and Menard, that was another very action movie kind of promo, maybe even like that grittier Batman movie. But with Garcia not sinking to the same lows as Perry, that will be why Garcia loses. Honestly, why not just have Perry blatantly get himself disqualified? What great heat for Perry while keeping Garcia strong in not becoming TNT Champion.
Great promos in this MJF story. I appreciate Cole throwing his support behind Roddy was good, as well as Kyle O’Reilly wanting Cole to just leave it at this. MJF of course insults Roddy over his past while also trashing Cole at the same time, but great response from Roddy. Also I’m not a car guy so it took me a little too long to Google out what car MJF was driving. Anyway, given all these promos, I am very confident MJF wins at Full Gear and then Cole still wants after MJF, only for Kyle to have to fight Cole to make him stop. Then we’ll maybe get Cole VS MJF at Worlds End, or even some time in 2025.
Very good stuff with The Hurt Syndicate, even with them getting jumped by Swerve. Poor Cheeseburger, that’s one fan favorite that got fed to Bobby Lashley. But Swerve getting the better of the Hurt Syndicate again and again tonight, all the more reason Lashley wins at Full Gear. Very good promo vignette from White and Hangman to hype up their grudge match, which still feels it could go either way since they’re tied on the year. And Jericho and Ishii had perhaps simultaneously the most clever and most ridiculous contract signing segment ever. And of course Jericho worked out some sort of trap, only for it to go badly for him and his team. But with that, that means Ishii is losing next week, as I figured he would.
Awesome opening match with the 8 Man, and I liked that they had Hobbs do the “fighting through the pain” angle in the match. Also, great bit with Kyle Fletcher sending Davis into harm’s way so that the Callis Family can get the better of Ospreay’s team. I thought the Faces were going to win here, but the math now says Ospreay finds a way to beat Kyle, and maybe Ricochet takes the International Championship from Konosuke Takeshita. The Continental Classic is coming, and they could easily use that round robin to get Konosuke back to a feud with Kazuchika Okada and they battle for the Continental Championship at Worlds End like we should’ve gotten at WrestleDream.
Awesome match from Kris VS Shida, and I appreciate the crisis of confidence for Shida. Kris gets a great win to go into Full Gear, and then Kris and Shida get the better of Mone & Kamille, so all the more reason Mone finds a way to survive. As for Kamille, I feel like she should ditch Mone for being treated like crap by Mone, and maybe we can get a feud of Mone VS Kamille going into 2025. And of course, plenty of promos from Death Riders and “Team AEW” members. Moxley just kinda went on and on about stuff he’s already said in reference to Cassidy, but I did like Claudio going bilingual in talking trash on Darby.
Awesome matches from those stories, of course. Darby really got thrown around but he continues to show that toughness. Claudio getting the win mostly keeps Darby back so that Darby can build towards a world title match at Worlds End. Cassidy VS Yuta was great stuff, too, with great back and forth of Cassidy wanting to end it quick, having to grit it out with Yuta, and then Cassidy still finding a way to end it with a quick pin. And they did a good job muddying the math. Cassidy wins the match, but the Death Riders beat him down, only for Cassidy to literally stand tall at the end of the show. I still don’t see him taking the world title from Moxley, though, with Darby still in the wings, but this could end up Cassidy’s best match yet.
My Score: 8.9/10
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Will this be the mightiest Tag League yet?
It’s time for NJPW World Tag League 2024, and this year already looks mighty good as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Zack Sabre Jr, is in the A Block! Will he and Ryohei Oiwa make everyone #JustTapOut?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Kickoff – Shoma Kato VS Masatora Yasuda; Kato wins.
- Six Man Tag: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jado & Katsuya Murashima VS Taiji Ishimori & The Filip Brothers; Taiji & The Filip Brothers win.
- Six Man Tag: Toru Yano, Boltin Oleg & Tiger Mask VS The House of Torture; The House of Torture wins.
- Six Man Tag: Taichi, Douki & Taka Michinoku VS The United Empire; Taichi, Douki & Taka win.
- Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS TMDK; TMDK wins.
- World Tag League 2024 A Block: Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma VS Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman; Cobb & Callum win.
- World Tag League 2024 A Block: Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji VS Alex Zayne & Ryusuke Taguchi; Takagi & Tsuji win.
- World Tag League 2024 A Block: Bishamon VS KENTA & Chase Owens; Bishamon wins.
- World Tag League 2024 A Block: Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa VS Gabe Kidd & SANADA; ZSJ & Oiwa win.
PLAY BY PLAY
World Tag League 2024 A Block: Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma VS Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman!
The Roughneck is bringing Everyone’s Kokeshi along for the ride, but this league might already be too much to handle. Can Honma help Shota bring about his Paradigm Shift? Or will they just get conquered by the United Empire?
The teams sort out and Shota starts against The Imperial Unit. The bell rings and Shota runs up to RAM Cobb! And RAM! And RAM! Cobb stays up so Shota kicks low. Shota runs to RAM Cobb, but Cobb rebounds to CLOBBER Shota! The fans cheer while Cobb stalks Shota. Cobb brings Shota up to whip him to a corner. Shota comes back to RAM Cobb! Cobb stays up, so Shota clinches! Cobb fights free with elbows, but Shota dodges a lariat to RAM Cobb! Cobb falls over! The fans fire up with Shota, and he brings Cobb up again. Callum runs in so Shota shoves Cobb aside to catch Callum. Shota shoves Callum at Honma for a shoulder tackle!
The fans fire up as Shota keeps moving and he SOMERSAULT SENTONS Callum! Shota then sets up so he and Honma can tabletop Cobb! Cobb sits up into Shota’s SHOTGUN! The fans fire up and Shota tags Honma. The fans rally behind Honma as he CLUBS Cobb. Honma reels Cobb in, but Cobb suplexes first! Cobb SLAMS Honma down, then calls for Callum. Callum rises but Cobb says hold on. The “Cobby Cat” mocks Honma by bopping himself on the head. Cobb then runs to FALLING KOKESHIÂ FLOP! Honma winds up and runs, but Callum is in the way! Cobb runs up, Honma dodges the lariat but Callum tags in.
Cobb dodges Honma, then shoves him at Callum. They pinball Honma around, and Callum BOOTS Honma while Cobb BLASTS Shota! Then Callum & Cobb coordinate to HIGH LOW with a shoulder tackle and leg sweep! The fans cheer and Cobb says You Can’t See Him! Callum stomps Honma, then KICKS him in the back. Honma gets mad but Callum scuffs him again and again. Honma rises, CHOPS, and CHOPS again! Callum CHOPS and pretends that hurt his hand. Callum CLUBS Honma down but the fans rally up. Honma rises to CHOP! And CHOP! And CHOP! Callum kicks low, reels him in, but Honma fights the suplex!
Honma catches Callum’s lariat to spin and DDT! The fans fire up while both men are down! Callum and Honma crawl, but Honma hot tags Shota! Shota rallies on Callum with big elbows! Shota whips, Callum reverses, but SHota ducks ‘n’ dodges to CLOBBER Callum! Cobb runs up, but Shota arm-drags him, then dropkicks the legs out! Cobb bails, Shota fires up, and the fans rally again. Shota whips Callum corner to corner, runs up on him, and UPPERCUTS! Shota reels Callum in for a FISHERMAN SUPLEX! Bridging cover, TWO! Not quite perfect but Shota doesn’t let that slow him down!
Shota waits on Callum, then runs, but Callum avoids Ignition to hook Shota! Shota fights the backslide so Callum whips him to a corner. Callum runs up but Shota dodges! Shota runs up but Callum goes up and over! Callum keeps moving, but Shota ROCKS him, UPPERCUTS him, and runs! Callum follows to ROCK Shota at the ropes! Callum runs, but then stops to fake out Shota’s dropkick! Shota sits up, but he ducks the Penalty Kick! Shota rolls Callum but Callum rolls through. Shota ROCKS Callum, then spins, but Callum dodges the rolling elbow! DREAMCAST KICK! Shota drops to his knees and the fans fire up!
Callum and Shota crawl, hot tag to Cobb! Cobb runs up to waistlock Shota for a deadlift! Shota fights with elbows, goes to run, but Cobb reels him in for a forearm to the back! Cobb runs, but Shota DROPKICKS him! The fans fire up again and Shota heads for his corner. Hot tag to Honma! The fans rally as Honma CHOPS Cobb, and CHOPS, and CHOPS! Honma puts Cobb in a corner, whips him corner to corner, then runs up. Honma ELBOWS Cobb and hits a BULLDOG! The fans fire up as Honma shows Cobb how it’s done! FALLING KOKESHI- NO! Now Honma FLOPS as Cobb moves! Callum runs up to SHOTGUN Shota off the apron!
The fans fire up as Cobb RAMS Honma into the corner! Callum runs up to forearm SMASH! Callum drops down and Cobb LEAPS over to ELBOW Honma! Callum comes back and Cobb pops him up to the apron! ENZIGIRI, then fireman’s carry! Callum climbs, DOUBLE STOMP ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT! PENALTY KICK and GACHIMUCHI MOONSAULT! Cover, Shota breaks it! The fans fire up and Shota TOSSES Callum! Cobb kicks Shota, whips, but Shota reverses to TORNADO DDT! Shota shouts to Honma and the fans fire up again. Honma rises and he storms up on Cobb. Honma & Shota double whip corner to corner!
Honma runs up to LARIAT! Honma feeds Cobb to Shota’s UPPERCUT! Honma LARIATS, Shota clinches, EXPLODER!! The fans cheer and Honma runs, SLIDING KOKESHI! Shota keeps moving, IGNITION! Honma covers, Callum breaks it! Shota stomps Callum out of the ring and leaves the rest to Honma. Honma drags Cobb up, but Cobb fights the suplex! Cobb ROCKS Honma, whips him, but Honma grabs ropes! Honma BOOTS Cobb, and Shota joins in! DOUBLE RUNNING KOKESHI! And then they DOUBLE FALLING KOKESHI! Cover, TWO!! Cobb survives but Shota goes after Callum! CANNONBALL to the floor!
The fans fire up again as Honma climbs! FLYING- NO, Cobb catches Honma! SPINEBUSTER, and FALLING HAMMER! Cover, TWO!! Honma survives and the fans fire up again! But then Cobb reels Honma in, for a TOUR OF THE ISLAND!! Cover, United Empire wins!
Winners: Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman, by pinfall (gain 2 points; Shota & Honma earn 0)
A powerful showing from “The Kokeshi Brothers,” but they could not bring down Callum & Cobb. With the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships already on Great-O-Khan & Henare, will The United Empire completely dominate the NJPW Heavyweight Tag Division?
World Tag League 2024 A Block: Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji VS Alex Zayne & ???
Los Ingobernables de Japon’s heavy formation is in this block, ready to rampage like twin dragons. If only The Sauce could’ve brought his own monster back. Who will be the substitute for Lance Archer? And can he help heat things up?
Zayne makes his entrance before anyone else, and asks to speak on the mic. A mic is given, and Zayne says, “Kon’nichiwa.” The fans applaud, and Zayne explains that when he was contacted this year for WTL, he was also informed that Lance Archer could not make it. Zayne knew he had to do one thing: find the most “delicious” tag partner he could find. And that man is… RYUSUKE TAGUCHI!? The fans can’t believe the Funky Weapon is joining Zayne in this tournament! And he wears a green version of Zayne’s gear! Are things about to get really spicy now?
The teams sort out, and Takagi is in disbelief. LIJ fist bumps and the fans applaud. Taguchi and Zayne bow, “Itadakimasu,” and Zayne starts against Yota. They circle, tie up, and Yota powers Zayne back. But Zayne powers Yota back! Yota powers up to power Zayne onto the ropes, but Zayne turns things around. The ref counts, Zayne lets off slowly with a pat on the shoulders, but Yota plays with Zayne’s hair. Zayne smirks and Yota grins as the two reset. They circle, tie up, and are in a deadlock. Yota headlocks, but Zayne powers up and out. Yota RAMS Zayne but neither man falls. Fans cheer as Yota grins and Zayne plays with his own hair.
Things speed up suddenly, and Zayne sidesteps. Yota bucks the O’Conner Roll, then gets around Zayne. Zayne ELBOWS Yota away to a corner. Zayne runs up to BACK ELBOW and go to the apron in one go! Then he slingshots to RANA! Yota has a rough tumble, but he stands back up. Zayne runs up again, dodges the lariat and waistlocks, only to bring Yota back and run. Yota sidesteps Zayne then drops down, only for Zayne to IMPLODER KNEE DROP! The fans fire up but Zayne keeps moving, STANDING MARIPOSA! The fans cheer more while Zayne grins at Takagi. Zayne brings Yota up, tags Taguchi, and they double whip.
“Funky Sauce” misdirects Yota to hit a BULLDOG then basement dropkick! Cover, TWO! The fans cheer and Taguchi stomps Yota. Taguchi brings Yota up, kicks low, then whips. Yota reverses but Taguchi RANAS! A little slippery, but then Zayne BLASTS Takagi off the apron! Funky Sauce takes aim, Taguchi PLANCHASÂ but flops as Yota moves! Zayne is on the apron but Takagi YANKS Zayne down! The fans rally but Takagi hauls Zayne up to whip him into railing! Yota drags Taguchi up and puts him in the ring. Takagi gets the fans fired up, then he stands Taguchi up. LIJ double whip Taguchi to then DOUBLE SHOULDER TACKLE!
The fans cheer and then Takagi SENTONS! Yota SPLASHES down! Cover, TWO! Taguchi stays in this but Yota tags Takagi. The fans rally and duel while Takagi stands Taguchi up. Takagi bumps Taguchi off buckles, RAMS into him again and again, then digs his shoulder in. The ref counts, Takagi steps back, and he snapmares Taguchi down. Tag to Yota and Yota drags Taguchi up. Yota snapmares Taguchi to ROCK him in the back! Taguchi falls back, Yota tags Takagi, and LIJ drags Taguchi up. They DOUBLE ATOMIC DROP! Taguchi hobbles in pain, falls to his knees, and Takagi BLASTS Zayne off the apron!
Takagi gets annoyed with this Funky Sauce, but Taguchi fires off CHOPS! Taguchi runs, but Takagi easily dodges the hip attack! Takagi then suplexes Taguchi high and hard! Cover, TWO! Taguchi survives and the fans fire up. Takagi hears the fans dueling as he stomps Taguchi. Takagi KNEES Taguchi against the ropes again and again, then whips, for another KNEE! Takagi runs, but into a SOMERSAULT HIP ATTACK! The fans fire up while both men are down! Taguchi and Takagi crawl, hot tag to Zayne! Zayne jumps in and DECKS Takagi, then he BLASTS Yota! Zayne swats a lariat to fire elbow after ELBOW!
Takagi blocks the superkick to CLUB the leg! Yota joins in, LIJ whips Zayne, but Zayne KICKS Takagi, mule kicks Yota, and runs, DOUBLE SOMERSAULT KICKS! The fans fire up and Zayne runs at Takagi. Takagi ELBOWS Zayne, BOOTS him, then goes up. Zayne returns to JUMPING STEINERS! The fans fire up while Zayne covers, TWO! Takagi stays in this but Zayne brings him right up. Zayne goes to scoop but Takagi fights it! Zayne CHOPS, scoops, and BAJA- NO, Takagi slips free! SLIDING- NO, Zayne dodges! Zayne mule kicks, runs, but into the ELBOW! JAB! YUKONÂ feint and DDT! Both men are down again and the fans fire back up!
Takagi pounds the mat, the fans rally behind him, and he crawls, hot tag to Yota! Yota fires up and the fans are with him. Yota brings Zayne around to whip, but Zayne stops himself. Zayne dodges Yota, Yota dodges Zayne, and both men kick low! Yota comes back to BOOT! The fans cheer and Yota brings Zayne up again. Yota fireman’s carries but Zayne fights free. Yota ROCKS Zayne first! Yota tries another fireman’s carry but Zayne sunset flips it! TWO, and both men stand! Zayne rolls Yota, BASEMENT ENZIGIRI! Zayne hurries to hot tag Taguchi! Taguchi HIP ATTACKS in a corner! Taguchi goes corner to corner, for another HIP ATTACK!
Taguchi keeps moving, but Yota runs up! Taguchi dropkicks Yota’s legs out! The fans fire up and Taguchi keeps going! Another dropkick to legs, then a LEG SWEEP! Taguchi rolls Yota into the OH MY GAH ANKLE!! Zayne BOOTS Takagi off the apron! Yota scrambles to the ROPEBREAK! Taguchi lets go but he brings Yota back up. Taguchi traps Yota and Zayne runs in to ELBOW! Zayne then sets up and Taguchi runs, SHOTGUN IN MOTION! Taguchi then brings Yota out to GOURD BUSTER! The fans fire up as Zayne climbs! But Yota KICKS Taguchi away, then GAMANGIRIS Zayne off the corner!
Taguchi kicks Yota, runs, but into a scoop and BACKBREAKER! Takagi slides in, and he finds the camera, “TOKI GA KITA!” The fans fire up as the time has come, and they join in on a chant of “OI! OI! OI!” LIJ whips Taguchi to a corner, then Yota runs in to ELBOW! Takagi whips Yota back in to SPLASH! Takagi adds a LARIAT, then feeds Taguchi to a BOOT! BLINDSIDE LARIAT! SUPERKICK! Taguchi is down, Yota covers, TWO! Taguchi stays in this and the fans fire up. Takagi stands Taguchi up and throws him to Yota for a POWERBOMB! Cover, Zayne breaks it! Takagi drags Zayne up, LIJ mugs him, but he fights back with CHOPS!
The fans fire up but Yota spins Zayne around to facelock, and Takagi wheelbarrows. Yota helps Takagi swing Taguchi down, then up for a BOOSTED WHEELBARROW GERMAN!! The fans fire up and Takagi leaves it to Yota. Yota takes aim and the fans rally. Taguchi rises, Yota runs in, GENE- LEG DROP!? And then La Magistrol! TWO!! Yota escapes in time, but Taguchi spins him to a backslide! TWO!! Yota escapes again! But Taguchi ENZIGIRIS! Taguchi fires up and the fans are with him! But Takagi LARIATS! GENE TRIGGER! PUMPING BOMBER!! And now Yota loads up, for the GENE BLASTER!! Cover, LIJ wins!
Winners: Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji, by pinfall (gain 2 points; Zayne & Taguchi earn 0)
The Funky Sauce was hot, but they’re the ones that got burned! Will they be able to spice things up in the second round? Will Takagi & Tsuji keep the tag league tranquilo?
World Tag League 2024 A Block: Bishamon VS KENTA & Chase Owens!
Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi once again clash with The Fang & The Jewel, both sides hungry for gold. Will it be Lights Out in the opening round? Or will someone just #Go2Sleep?
The teams sort out but then Bullet Club just attacks! Chase is after Goto and Kenta is after Hashi, and they put each man in corners. The bell rings to get this on record as Kenta TOSSES Hashi. Chase CHOKES Goto in the corner, then stands on him! The ref reprimands and Chase lets off to bring Goto up. Chase ROCKS Goto, whips him, and Kenta POSTS Hashi! Chase hits a big hip toss then covers, TWO! The fans rally up while Chase stomps Goto’s leg. Chase scrapes his sole off Goto’s face, and Kenta whips Hashi again. Hashi reverses and Kenta hits railing in front of English commentary! Chase ROCKS Goto, CHOPS him, then whips.
Goto grabs ropes to stop, then he BOOTS Chase! Hashi returns and Bishamon DOUBLE SHOULDER TACKLE! Then ZENMAI! Kenta returns but Bishamon kicks him first. “Se no!” Bishamon BEATS Kenta like a drum! The fans cheer and Bishamon flexes. Goto then goes back to Chase to stomp and CLUB him down. Goto kicks Chase, Chase shoves Goto and ROCKS him with a forearm! Goto knees Chase low, runs, but Chase TOSSES Goto out! Goto hurries back up, he counter punches Chase, and then counter punches Kenta! Chase slips out to YANK Goto down and THROW him into railing! Kenta intercepts Hashi with a kick!
Kenta whips Hashi away into railing while Chase sends Goto into other railing! The ref reprimands but Chase brings Goto through the gate. Chase has fans move out of the way, but then brings Goto back to ringside. Chase grins as he trolls the fans and pushes Goto into the ring. Kenta CLUBS away on Hashi before leaving him behind. Chase pulls on Goto’s arms then TWEAKS Goto’s neck! Not a twist, but equally painful. Chase tags Kenta while the fans rally for “GO-TO-O! GO-TO-O!” Kenta pushes Goto into the corner, Goto hits Chase, but Kenta RAMS Goto! The ref reprimands and counts as Kenta RAMS Goto more!
Kenta sits Goto down, and digs his boot in! The ref counts, Kenta stops at 4, and he tags Chase back in. They stomp Goto more, then Chase headlocks for a sucker punch! Cover, TWO! Chase drags Goto up and he bumps Goto off Kenta’s boot. Tag to Kenta and Bullet Club double whips. They DOUBLE ELBOW Goto down then Kenta covers, TWO! Kenta covers again, TWO! Kenta argues with the ref but the count was fair. Kenta drops an elbow, drops another elbow, then covers, TWO! Kenta gets mad at Hashi for no reason, but the fans rally up for Goto. Kenta CLUBS Goto, but Goto fires CHOPS in return!
Kenta knees low, whips Goto to a corner, but Goto reverses. Goto runs up but into a BOOT! Kenta runs but Goto follows! Goto avoids Chase’s cheap shot to LARIAT Kenta! The fans fire up while Goto and Kenta are down! Goto crawls, hot tag to Hashi! The fans fire up as Hahsi BLASTS Chase! Kenta kicks Hashi low then whips him to a corner. Kenta runs up but Hashi CHOPS in return! And mule kicks! And turns Kenta for a NECKBREAKER! The fans fire up and Hashi watches Kenta. Hashi waits on Kenta to rise, then runs up to CHOP! Hashi hoists Kenta up to hang him out to dry! The fans fire up as Hashi runs, and he DROPKCISK Kenta down! Cover, TWO!
The fans cheer Hashi on as he brings Kenta up. Hashi reels Kenta in, lifts, but Kenta fights with fists! Kenta slips free of the bomb, then slips around Hashi to spin and- NO, Hashi suplexes first! But Kenta slips free again, and he spins Hashi around, to SPIKE DDT! Hashi is stood up on his head before falling over, and Kenta tags in Chase. Chase brings Hashi up and fireman’s carries. Hashi fights free of that, but Chase slips around to half nelson, lift, and SWINGING FACEBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Hashi survives but Chase says time to end this! Chase takes aim, C- NO, Hashi dodges the trigger! Chase knees low, runs, but Hashi dropkicks the legs!
The fans fire up whiel both men are down! Chase clutches his leg while Hashi crawls. Hot tag to Goto! Goto runs at Chase to LARIAT in the corner! Goto whips corner to corner, runs up again, but Chase BOOTS him! But Goto comes back! Only for Chase to BUCKLE SHOT and STO, then SENTON! Kenta steps in and Bullet Club drags Goto up. But Goto fires forearms and CHOPS! Kenta SOBATS! Chase KICKS! Kenta ROUNDHOUSES! Goto sits up into the “I HATE YOU!” PENALTY KICK! Cover, but Hashi breaks it! Kenta TOSSES Hashi then goes out after him. Chase drags Goto up and reels him in.
Chase tucks the arms but Goto fights the lift! Goto wrenches out but Chase ROCKS him first! Chase runs, Goto follows, but Chase ENZIGIRIS! Goto stays up, but the C-TRIGGER hits! Cover, TWO!! Goto survives but Chase hurries up! C-TRIGGER POINT BLANK!! And then the tuck for the PACKAGE PILE- NO, Hashi hits a BLOCKBUSTER! The fans fire up, Kenta BOOTS Hashi! Goto fireman’s carries Kenta but Kenta slips free! Kenta shoves Goto into Hashi, then waistlocks Goto. Goto fights the lift, and then ducks, HIDDEN GAP SUPERKICK for Kenta! The fans fire up as Bishamon regroups.
Hashi drags Chase up, whips him to Goto, but Chase BOOTS Goto! Chase swings on Hashi but Hashi ducks the lariat. Hashi powers Chase to ropes, Goto BLINDSIDE LARIATS, and then Hashi rolls Chase. Goto drags Chase up, Hashi has the legs! Chase BOOTS Hashi away! Chase then slips around to dragon sleeper, to steal G T- NO, Goto drops down to victory roll! Chase stands up, into a SUPERKICK! Goto drags Chase around while Hashi BLASTS Kenta! Dragon sleeper and SHOTO!! Cover, Bishamon wins!!
Winners: Bishamon, by pinfall (gain 2 points; Kenta & Chase earn 0)
Another classic in this storied rivalry, worthy of the titles themselves! Will this first win be the win that leads the Fierce Warrior & Headhunter back to the titles? Can Kenta & Chase borrow a page from Bishamon and #GetBackUp in the next round?
World Tag League 2024 A Block: Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa VS Gabe Kidd & SANADA!
TMDK has a team in each block, doubling their chances of taking this league. But perhaps burying the lead is the fact that THE IWGP World Heavyweight Champion is joining in the fun! Will The Front Man & The Mullet rock this league right from the start? Or will the Mad Man and the turncoat Cold Skull get this tournament #WarReady?
The teams sort out but Oiwa gets in Gabe’s face. Gabe pushes Oiwa, they start, and they tie up at the bell. The fans rally as Oiwa and Gabe are in a deadlock. They go around at center, then Oiwa digs his heels in to push Gabe back. Gabe turns things around to put Oiwa on ropes, but Red Shoes calls the break. Gable lets off, to then CHOP! Gabe scoops and SLAMS Oiwa, then he goes for legs. Oiwa UPKICKS Gabe, then stands up to scoop and SLAM Gabe! Gabe UPKICKS back, both men get up and go face to face. Then they go forearm for forearm! The fans rally as Oiwa gets the edge, but Gabe CHOPS!
Gabe headlocks. Oiwa powers up and out, and they RAM shoulders! Gabe eggs OIwa on and he runs to RAM Gabe! They both run now, and they RAM shoulders again, and again, and again! Gabe CHOPS then runs, but Oiwa CLOBBERS Gabe! The fans fire up while Gabe bails out. Oiwa eggs Gabe on and Gabe snarls. Gabe shakes the railing in frustration, then he paces around the outside. Gabe cools off, slides in, but then tags Sanada. Sanada steps in slowly, so Oiwa tags in ZSJ. The two rivals circle and the afns rally behind “ZAKKU! ZAKKU!” ZSJ and Sanada feel things out, knuclke lock, and ZSJ rolls to wrench.
Sanada is already frustrated so he kicks ZSJ low! Sanada TOSSES ZSJ out and then Gabe goes after Oiwa! Gabe CHOPS away on Oiwa while Sanada sends ZSJ into railing! And then more railing! Gabe does the same to Oiwa, and Sanada storms up on ZSJ. Sanada CLAWS ZSJ’s back, a definite attitude change showing. Gabe Too Sweets with Taiji Ishimori on commentary while Sanada pushes ZSJ into the ring. Sanada whips ZSJ to a corner, but ZSJ goes up, under, around, and RAMS into Sanada! ZSJ snapmares, Sanada handsprings through, but ZSJ UPPERCUTS him down! Tag to Oiwa and he BLASTS Gabe!
Oiwa goes back to Sanada and stands him up. Oiwa wrenches an arm, YANKS it, then wrenches to YANK it again. Oiwa tags ZSJ and ZSJ brings Sanada around to wrench, step over, and wrangle into a mounted armbar! Sanada endures as ZSJ bends the fingers and isolates the arm, to STOMP it! The fans cheer, ZSJ tags Oiwa, and Oiwa CLUBS Sanada’s arm. Oiwa headlocks for a takeover, then isolates the arm in an short arm scissor! The fans rally while Sanada endures and kicks around. Sanada reaches out, ROPEBREAK! Red Shoes calls it, Oiwa lets Sanada go, but then Oiwa brings Sanada up.
Oiwa whips, Sanada reverses, and Gabe trips Oiwa up! Sanda BLASTS ZSJ while Oiwa drags Oiwa out of the ring! Now things spill out into the crowd! Gabe CHOPS Oiwa, then SMACKS him off empty chairs! Sanada BOWLS ZSJ into chairs! Not quite a strike, so Sanada JAMS ZSJ up with a chair! That picks up the spare, and we can hear Gabe’s CHOPS on Oiwa echo out. Gabe stomps Oiwa while Sanada CHOKES ZSJ with a chair! Red Shoes reprimands the War Dogs, but Gabe POSTS Oiwa! Gabe says War Dogs run this, but Red Shoes starts a ring count. Gabe flexes on Oiwa, then drags him up at 7 of 20.
Gabe puts Oiwa in at 10 and Sanada covers, TWO! Oiwa stays in this and the fans rally behind him. Sanada is annoyed but he brings Oiwa up. Sanada CLUBS Oiwa, then bumps him off Gabe’s boot. Oiwa sputters while Sanada tags Gabe in. Gabe drags Oiwa up, mockingly asks where Zack-senpai went, then he UPPERCUTS Oiwa down. Gabe TOSSES Oiwa out, and he BLASTS ZSJ off the apron! Sanada whips Oiwa into railing! Gabe lifts ZSJ bu tZSJ wrenches free to KIMURA! Gabe powers through, to BITE ZSJ on the forehead! Sanada sends Oiwa into more railing, Gabe sends ZSJ through railing and into chairs!
Sanada BOWLS Oiwa into chairs now, there is the strike! Sanada continues to show his new edge as he JAMS Oiwa up with a chair. Red Shoes reprimands so Sanada brings Oiwa back to ringside. Sanada puts Oiwa in for Gabe and Gabe pushes Oiwa to a cover. Red Shoes says no, all the shenanigans were not right. Gabe gets in Red Shoes’ face about that, but Red Shoes stands his ground. Gabe storms around while the fans rally behind Oiwa. Gabe drags Oiwa up, to CHOP! Oiwa wobbles but he rises up. Oiwa CHOPS, and CHOPS, and fires forearms! Gabe DECKS Oiwa with just one! The fans still rally for Oiwa but Gabe stands on Oiwa’s face!
Gabe soaks up the heat, scuffs Oiwa and stomps him around. Oiwa sits up, Gabe runs, but Oiwa reels him in! Gabe fights the waistlock, runs, but into a SNAP GERMAN! The fans fire up while both men are down! Oiwa and Gabe crawl, hot tags to ZSJ and Sanada! The fans fire up as ZSJ dodges Sanada, full nelsons, then spins him to a headlock. Sanada powers out but ZSJ catches him to a COBRA TWIST! Sanada powers out to HIP TOSS, but ZJS UP KICKS! Sanada avoids the Penalty Kick, blocks the boot, but ZSJ steps through the dragon screw to NECK TWIST! And basment DROPKICK! The fans fire up and we’ve only hit 10 minutes!
ZSJ drags Sanada up, UPPERCUTS him, then UPPERCUTS again! Sanada blocks the next to spin and suplex, but ZSJ says no to the Magic Screw! NORTHERN LIGHTS! Bridging cover, TWO! Sanada escapes but ZSJ stays focused. ZSJ stands Sanada up to scoop, but Sanada slips free. ZSJ fights the waistlock, runs, but into a dropkick to the legs! Sanada then DROPKICKS ZSJ down! Sanada fireman’s carries but ZSJ slips free, to have the IRON OCTOPUS! The fans rally while Sanada endures, and Sanada powers out to have a leg! DROPPING DRAGON SCREW! ZSJ clutches the leg and Sanada takes aim! SHINING-
NO, ZSJ ducks, but Sanada catches him to a backslide! ZSJ rolls through to NECK TWIST! Tag to Oiwa and Oiwa BLASTS Gabe off the apron! Oiwa goes back to Sanada and brings him up. Oiwa whips Sanada to ropes, ELBOWS Him down, then ZSJ PENALTY KICKS Sanada! Oiwa deadlift GUT RWENCH PLEXES! Cover, Gabe breaks it! Gabe CHOPS away on ZSJ and Oiwa, but ZSJ blocks! Oiwa DOUBLE CHOPS! ZSJ UPPERCUTS! ZSJ & Oiwa DOUBLE DROPKICK Gabe down! The fans fire up with Oiwa and he clamps onto Sanada with a SLEEPER! Sanada endures and fights up, but Oiwa thrashes him around!
Sanada still fights to his feet, slips around the back, and shoves Oiwa to ropes. Gabe trips Oiwa up! Oiwa kicks at Gabe but Sanada kicks ropes to jam Oiwa up! Sanada suplexes Oiwa into the MAGIC SCREW! Both men are down but the fans rally up again. Sanada crawls over, tag to Gabe, and Gabe storms right up on Oiwa. Gabe UPPERCUTS Oiwa right down! Gabe then puts Oiwa in a corner to fire off forearm after forearm! Red Shoes reprimands and counts, but Gabe digs his boots in while talking trash. Gabe shoves Red Shoes aside so he can keep stomping away on Oiwa! The fans rally and Red Shoes backs Gabe off.
Gabe seethes but the fans continue to rally for Oiwa. Oiwa grits his teeth as he sits up, but Gabe ROCKS him with another shot! Oiwa still looks up defiantly at Gabe, so Gabe fires shots! Gabe says Oiwa’s not worthy of being his NJPW Strong Openweight Challenger. Gabe says Oiwa’s just some “weak ass kohai!” Gabe SPITS on Oiwa, but Oiwa gets in Gabe’s face! Gabe fires slapping strikes, blocks a shot, then SLAPS Oiwa again! Oiwa spins to DOUBLE CHOP Gsbe down! Sanada runs up and kicks low! Sanada whips, Oiwa reverses, but Sanada reverses back, RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP! ZSJ PENALTY KICKS Sanada!
Gabe runs up, ZSJ BOOTS him first! Gabe runs back in, slips out of the scoop, and he scoops ZSJ for EMERALD FLOWSON!! But Oiwa spins Gabe! Gabe avoids The Grip, runs, but into a LARIAT!! Cover, TWO!! Oiwa is frustrated but the fans rally behind him. Oiwa hauls Gabe up, ANACONDA PLEX!! Cover, TWO!! Gabe survives again but Oiwa roars! Oiwa drags Gabe up, reels him in, but Gabe fights the gut wrench! Gabe CLUBS Oiwa on the back, then he gut wrenches! Oiwa fights back, wrenches out, and he blocks a lariat to spin. Gabe HAYMAKERS, and SAIDOS!! Gabe crawls his way to the cover, TWO!!
The fans are thunderous as Oiwa survives! Gabe snarls and he drags Oiwa up. Gabe says this is the end. But Oiwa fights the suplex! Oiwa suplexes, but Gabe fights it! Oiwa still tries, but Gabe slips out to waistlock. Sanada DROPKCIKS Oiwa, Gabe UPPERCUTS! Gabe & Sanada work together to DOUBLE SUPLEX! Gabe suplexes again, BRAINBUSTER!! Cover, ZSJ BREAKS IT! Sanada TOSSES ZSJ out and tells Gabe to finish this! ZSJ RAMS Sanada, they brawl outside, and Gabe slashes his throat. Gabe drags Oiwa up, reels him in, but Oia slips through the gut wrench to backslide! TWO, and Gabe UPPERCUTS!
Gabe runs, but ZSJ is back! He BOOTS Gabe but Gabe SLAPS ZSJ! ZSJ KICKS the haymaker away to then ROUNDHOUSE Gabe! Sanada’s in to dragon sleeper! ZSJ arm-drags free, but Sanada comes back to SHINING WIZARD! Sanada then drags ZSJ up, but ZSJ scoops first! ZACK DRIVER!! ZSJ and Sanada flop out of the ring, leaving Oiwa and Gabe to rise up. They run at each other, to DOUBLE LARIAT! neither man falls, they DOUBLE LARIAT again! Gabe UPPERCUTS! Oiwa PALM STRIKES! Gabe PALM STRIKES, CHOPS, JABS, rebounds, into a roll-up! Hig stack, TMDK WINS!!
Winners: Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa, by pinfall
Gabe is in shock! He gets right in Red Shoes’ face but Red Shoes says it was a fair count! Gabe then goes after Oiwa to CLOBBER him! The fans boo and Young Lions rush in, but Gabe eggs Oiwa on! So Oiwa obliges and they brawl among the fans! The Young Lions rush in to separate the two, but Gabe gets loose to CLOBBER Oiwa! They scrap, ZSJ joins in, and he pulls the two apart. Gabe kicks a chair in frustration, then goes into retreat. Wait, Oiwa chases Gabe to the ramp and beats him down! Young Lions again scramble in to stop this, but it just heads to the back! Sanada shrugs it off, will the #ColdWarDogs just have to try harder in the next round?
As for the winners, well, they’re no longer ringside so there won’t be any in-ring closing words. Backstage interviews begin, Gabe promises Oiwa will be put in the ground! Will the Mad Man show The Mullet what it takes to be NJPW Strong? As for ZSJ, he gathers himself, and tells NJPW Media that he doesn’t know where The Mullet went. Actually, no, he has an idea: The Mullet must be smashing the s*it outta Gabe. “Roy The Mullet” is the next NJPW Strong Openweight Champion! Oiwa will hit Gabe so hard, his legs will turn into trombones! As for ZSJ, there is something rare happening in this year’s WTL, isn’t it?
Yes, it’s that the IWGP World EFFIN’ Heavyweight Champion is involved, as this should be! The first time the world champion’s been in this tournament in roughly a decade! ZSJ said he was gonna be a different kind of world champion for NJPW, and that he promises to take NJPW back to the top! Now obviously, a conflict of interests, as this tournament is Shane Haste’s & Mikey Nicholls’ to win, but ZSJ won’t give the boys an easy ride. ZSJ is dreaming~ of an all TMDK World Tag League finals! Then who knows, maybe Zack & Roy get the job done.
But ZSJ knows the Tokyo Dome is coming soon. And Shota Umino wants to be ZSJ’s challenger. ZSJ says he will be keeping his eyes wide open for Shota. ZSJ says he’ll have a DOUBLE main event in the Tokyo Dome, it’s in the bag. What about you, Shota? The Front Man heads out, having put the pressure on his challenger, but will all of NJPW soon belong to TMDK?
Here are the A Block standings!
Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa: 1-0, 2 points
Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman: 1-0, 2 points
Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji: 1-0, 2 points
Bishamon: 1-0, 2 points
Gabe Kidd & Sanada: 0-1, 0 points
Kenta & Chase Owens: 0-1, 0 points
Alex Zayne & Ryusuke Taguchi: 0-1, 0 points
Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma: 0-1, 0 points
My Thoughts:
A great start to World Tag League 2024, with just A Block opening things tonight. I will say those tune-up matches were interesting. Even though David Finlay is the Global Champion, it’s Taiji Ishimori that has apparently become Bullet Club’s international ambassador. Taiji brought Robbie X into the group, now he teamed with The Filip Brothers, Tome & Stevie, who knows who else Bone Soldier will recruit. Taiji’s team beating Tanahashi’s team, House of Torture cheating and beating Tanahashi’s friends, this is all putting the pressure on The Ace, meaning The Ace will win out at WrestleKingdom 19.
Shota Umino teaming with Tomoaki Honma, I wonder if this is to hold Shota back somehow. He is apparently still heading for WrestleKingdom and a world title match with ZSJ, so it’s not like Shota needs to win WTL, but I guess NJPW just wants Shota to give the fans a good time alongside a fan favorite like Honma. Also, Callum & Cobb have a fun new shirt for their team-up. I figured Zayne would need to improvise now that #MonsterSauce is no longer happening, and Taguchi was a great surprise choice. But #FunkySauce making its debut against a team as strong as Takagi & Tsuji was a shame because of course LIJ was winning that. Maybe Zayne & Taguchi can pull off a spoiler victory later on, but I don’t see Funky Sauce going that strong.
Bishamon VS Kenta & Chase really was an awesome match, and it is so surprising how Chase has grown in just the past couple years. Great win for Goto & Hashi, though, as they’re clearly the solid utility choices in the tag division. And what an awesome main event, with Sanada bringing out the most Heel stuff he’s done perhaps ever. A bit jarring really, but that’s just kinda old fashioned Heel turns for ya. Great win for TMDK, though, and definitely an unorthodox way of closing by having Oiwa and Gabe brawl all over ringside and into the back.
While ZSJ says it is big for the world champ to be in this tournament, which I do agree with on some level, it also makes some of the A Block action seem secondary. Gabe and Oiwa having their grudge was kinda the main motivator behind this match, and then it’ll be similar when Shota & Honma VS ZSJ & Oiwa happens. There is the added drama of, “What if someone pins ZSJ? Will they get a world title match before WK19?” Maybe Shota solidifies his WK title match by being the one that pins ZSJ in their match, but it all just feels like more flash than substance. No one else is going to pin ZSJ, Oiwa probably takes whatever losses their team will take, so A Block’s story suffers for it.
My Score: 8.9/10
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