Coverage

Andrew’s Wrestle Kingdom 15 Day 1 Results & Match Ratings

Wrestle Kingdom tries to kick off the NJPW year right, by tying up all the 2020 shenanigans in a bow! Has Naito bitten off more than he can chew? Does Ospreay cement his new Empire? Will G.o.D. break the tag title reign mark? Let’s find out!

Published

4 years ago

January 4, 2021

Andrew Balaz

The first day of an event, where I hope it goes back to being one day moving forward. 2020 was an awkward year for New Japan, and since Wrestle Kingdom is the culmination of the previous year’s stories; it makes complete sense that it looks awkward itself.

A roster and card that is exposed from quarantine limitations really should take a step back and reassess how they do their biggest event next year. But with all that said, there are some things to look forward to.

Ospreay and Okada have a lot of history and a known ability to put on quality matches, so that should be entertaining from an in-ring perspective. Ibushi and Naito might kill each other, so that has its own entertainment value. Satoshi Kojima gets one more chance at a decent sized match and the tag title match will either be a mess or pretty damn entertaining with all the heel shenanigans.

Is it a blockbuster card? No. Does it set your imagination ablaze? Not even close. But it has potential to still be entertaining.

Let’s check it out!

Ratings:

KOPW 2021 New Japan Ranbo: BUSHI, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Toru Yano move on to the four way tomorrow! @34:40 – ***
#1 Contender for IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Phantasmo (Super J Cup Winner) vs Hiromu Takahashi (BOSJ winner): Hiromu wins via Huricanrana @17:46 – *** ¼
IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Dangerous Tekkers (ZSJ & Taichi) (c) vs Guerillas of Destiny w/Jado: Loa wins via Ape Shit @19:18 – *** ½ – TITLE CHANGE!!!
IWGP US Title Briefcase Rights Match: KENTA (c) vs Satoshi Kojima: KENTA retains via Go 2 Sleep @14:12 – ** ¾
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Great O-Khan: Tanahashi wins via High Fly Flow @17:13 – *** ¼
Kazuchika Okada vs Will Ospreay w/Bea Priestley: Okada wins via RAINMAKER @35:41 – **** ½
IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Kota Ibushi: Ibushi wins via Kamigoye @31:18 – **** ¼ – TITLE CHANGE!!!!

Results:

KOPW 2021 New Japan Ranbo

Chase Owens was giddy to be number one, until he saw number 2 was Tomohiro Ishii. Owens is actually holding his own against Ishii and then Minoru Suzuki’s music plays for number 3. Suzuki’s entrance takes so long, that it feels like he barely starts and then we get some Blue Justice music! Coming in at six is…Toa Henare. Okay, this is the first name that doesn’t really match up to what we already have.

Speaking of wrestlers most likely not going to win, here comes Hirooki Goto at 7! Suzuki and Nagata tunnel vision super hard on their personal rivalry nearly eliminate themselves, but Toa Henare comes in with Double Lariats to knock off the two legends and pick up the first 2 eliminations! Yujiro Takahashi, the best thing about him without Pieter is his entrance music, so…he peaked. Henare tries to reignite his attempted feud with Ishii, but after a quick combination, Ishii catches him and dumps him out onto the floor. The YOSHI-HASHI is 9.

Togi Makabe enters to try and break up this weird teammate heavy lineup in the ring. Makabe comes in angry, clears out Goto and YOSHI-HASHI together, as Ishii and Makabe go full 2016 on each other! Oh one of the few times you hear Tomoaki Honma’s music for 11^th! Makabe gets his GBH partner. Honma saves Makabe two different times, and then they start trading strikes as Hiroyoshi Tenzan’s music plays! Tenzan and Honma gang up a little on Makabe, dump him out and we got a little taste of allegiances of GBH past. Now it’s Rocky Romero at lucky number 13! DOUKI comes out next as not a lot is going on in the ring. Rocky cuts off DOUKI, hits a few Forever Lariats, but the pipe gets used and DOUKI is eliminated. SHO comes out while DOUKI tries to get his heat back, and SHO saves Rocky from the beatdown. 16 is BUSHI! Yujiro gets caught charging at BUSHI, so he eliminates himself in a way. You hear the classic Tiger Mask music as Tiger Mask IV comes out! Fale hits the ring, they were saying he politic’d to be last, so maybe this is the final entrant!

Fale eliminated Ishii while Ishii was trying to get Owens. But now Gabriel Kid comes out as Honma gets eliminated. Tenzan is next to fall after a lot of teamwork with Honma. Yuya Uemura comes out next for the 20^th name. Rocky, SHO and Tiger Mask get eliminated by Fale as they try and chop down the tree…and fail. Yota Tsuji is the 21^st entrant. All of the Young Lions try to gang up on Fale, but it’s not expected. Toru Yano comes out seemingly last! Kid, Tsuji and Uemura get eliminated fairly quickly. So Toru Yano makes it to the final four as he’s walking to the ring. BUSHI vs Chase Owens vs Bad Luck Fale vs Toru Yano for the trophy tomorrow.

For a Rumble this was fine, if not bloated. But surprisingly it was a little more serious than most Japanese Rumbles.

Riki Choshu comes out to kick off the official main card, with his little grandson in his arms! He hypes up the crowd just to kick off the show, nothing crazy announced.

#1 Contender for IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Phantasmo (Super J Cup Winner) vs Hiromu Takahashi (BOSJ winner)

Phantasmo continuing with his elite douchebag antics, where he walks around demanding to see Liger to put his jacket on him, to which Hiromu hits a Diving Dropkick to start off the action fast. Sadly for Hiromu, he attempts his Sunset Bomb, but ELP blocks it and manages to flip out of it. Lights up Hiromu a little and then hits him with a Sunset Bomb on the outside.

ELP starts to really dominate most of the action for a few minutes. An interesting move where he lays Hiromu on the top rope then uses Hiromu’s body as the rope for the Arabian Moonsault style of move. ELP does his rope walk, and finally Hiromu mounts some offense. Hiromu pulls off a Dynamite Plunger, ELP fights back with a Peach Sunrise style of reverse Piledriver, but the back and forth is definitely interesting. ELP uses a ton of former BC mannerisms, with the Kenny Omega rise of the Terminator, a Styles Clash, but the first big near fall is after ELP bumped the referee “accidentally”. A succession of closed fists, with a low blow followed by a Super Frankensteiner and Frog Splash, gave a bit of a hold your breath moment before Hiromu kicked out at 2.

Tons of counter moves roll throughs, a really nice sequence for the last few minutes of the match. Hiromu winning with a legitimate Huricanrana is a nice change that the finishers aren’t always needed. Immediately icing his hand though, Hiromu will be nursing a small injury tomorrow against Ishimori.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Dangerous Tekkers (ZSJ & Taichi) (c) vs Guerillas of Destiny w/Jado

Well this started off “interestingly” as was discussed on Outsider’s Edge. Taichi was utilizing a lot of chokes on Tama, ZSJ joined in for a few double team chokes, before Jado trips up Taichi to allow G.o.D. to cheat a bit, get in solid offense and then return the chokes in kind.

It takes this match a hot minute to get over the cheating in stereo, but once we see Tama and Loa pull off the old Faces of Fear Aided Powerbomb, the energy picks up and we get some fun. As ZSJ said during the match, “It’s the fucking Tokyo Dome”. Some nice transitions towards attempted tandem moves, pulling off signature moves, but it of course ends in heel fashion. Taichi looks to set up for the Super Kick, Jado hits the ring, Taichi and DOUKI take out Jado, but Tama has the Iron Fingers. Tama hits the upper cut, Loa hits Ape Shit and G.o.D. are the seven time champions while Taichi sells dead so much so that DOUKI literally carries him out on his back.

Prior to the rights holder match, we get a video package. Moxley is standing in a NJPW USA/NJPW Strong ring, with the US Title and basically saying he’s coming after the winner, instead of the usual other way around.

IWGP US Title Briefcase Rights Match: KENTA (c) vs Satoshi Kojima

This was definitely a hybrid of major puro styles. It started off like a typical Bullet Club match with a lot of stalling and misdirection from KENTA. Going after Tenzan to try and bait out Kojima and giving things an interesting pace. Once Kojima started landing some offense, that’s when we saw a little bit of the King’s Road pacing of storytelling in the ring.

Kojima’s machine gun chops definitely rang a certain way to KENTA, but he fought back pretty matter of factly. KENTA was almost screwed over by his personal desire to use the briefcase again, since Kojima knocked it out of KENTA’s hands with a lariat and threw some literal haymakers as he started head hunting.

KENTA was able to get distance with a few well place Busaiku Knees, and then eventually hit Go 2 Sleep to end the 3^rd generation wrestler’s bid at one more return to glory.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Great O-Khan

The match started off uniquely since O-Khan went to the ground and showed off a lot of his amateur ability with a lot of movements reminiscent of Antonio Inoki, even doing the Cobra Twist later on in the match.

Early on Tanahashi was trying to find a rhythm and wasn’t even able to Skin the Cat, which allowed for O-Khan to look pretty dominant for a good portion of the match. O-Khan showed a few variations of the claw hold and had his moments, but as soon as we saw Tanahashi pull off some old classics, like Skin the Cat, a Dragon Suplex and the Twist and Shout, things seemed to be heading a certain way.

Two High Fly Flows gave Tanahashi a hard fought victory, but a victory none the less.

Kazuchika Okada vs Will Ospreay w/Bea Priestley

We see an Okada we haven’t seen in a while from the start of the match. Okada pulls off a Tope con Hilo, Heavy Rain, and there’s a ton of references to previous matches. Ospreay did a great job keeping up early on and accelerating the aggression when he tried to pull up the mats to expose the wood.

Ospreay did show a more calculated attack, but so did Okada. Okada focused the back to try and take away the Stormbreaker, while Ospreay attacked different from different angles, but trying to stay ahead in the mind games. There was a beauty in what Ospreay did, since he took a few moments from the Kenny Omega saga, which seemed to spark a different Okada.

Respectably, Ospreay also wanted to beat Okada in the ring, so after a Brainbuster through ringside tables, Ospreay threw Okada back in the ring to try and win without any doubt. Oscutters, Spanish Fly, Money Clips and Tombstones, there was a lot of fun moments. We got to see Okada tap into who he used to be. The goading kicks to a downed Ospreay are a side of Okada that we haven’t seen in a long time.

Ospreay nearly pulled off a big upset when he got out of the Money Clip, hitting a Tombstone and Rainmaker of his own, but that wasn’t enough, but it did evoke something else. Almost as if Okada realized the Money Clip gimmick isn’t worth trying to continue to make work, he fought back, hit the Fire Thunder Driver that we haven’t seen in a while, and then kills Ospreay with a RRRAAIINNMMMAAAKKKERR! God I missed that move.

Odd booking that The Empire is 0-2 on January 4^th. Would’ve been big for the new stable to get a win over a standard bearer of New Japan, but I guess now is not their time.

IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Kota Ibushi

This had all the trappings of their previous encounters, from dangerous looking spots, slightly mistimed spots, but a lot of flashy and impressive violence. Early on we saw a few spots on the outside, where Ibushi slipped, it threw off the timing of the sequence and that marked the first time Ibushi’s head skipped off of something.

Naito tried to slow things down like his G1 matches, usage of the leglock Full Nelson, the back elbows and generally just trying to weaken the neck for Destino. Ibushi pulled out a lot of attempts, the Outside In German Suplex, Apron attempts at murder and even busted out the Phoenix Splash again, but missed that one.

Rough match, hard fought, both had a lot to prove, and it was evident from the fact that it took Ibushi 3 Kamigoyes to win this match. The last one coming off an exposed V Trigger to stun Naito and open him for the last necessary shot. A damn good match that suffered if for no other reason than it followed a 30 minute match which took risks that were executed a bit more cleanly.

Overall Score: 7/10

Well hot damn that was an odd show. The Ranbo was a bit more serious in execution but really threw in no one that most people care about beyond Yano for the 4 Way. Hiromu and ELP definitely fell a little flat as an opener, maybe if the crowd could’ve been more vocal it would’ve seemed better, but wasn’t as good as it should’ve been.

G.o.D. and Tekkers executed a fairly solid match, it’s always just weird when you have two heel teams try to out heel each other. Kojima put on a damn good showing for having little more than a week really to prepare for the fight with KENTA. The Moxley message at least allows us to get the damn belt off of him and stop with part time champions.

The Empire has fallen flat to begin with, but it did achieve one thing; reminding Kazuchika Okada who the hell he is. Ospreay brought us The Rainmaker back, so I guess that’s an accomplishment at least. As for the show in general, it was alright. Our last two matches were very good, but the fact that they were so damn long made for some odd perspective.

My biggest question is: Does Kota Ibushi go down as a 1 day champion?

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NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.116 ~ 3RD JANUARY 2021

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Mitchell’s WWE 205 Live Results & Report! (1/1/21)

Coverage

Andrew’s TNA iMPACT! Results & Match Ratings: 11.14.2024

The first episode after fresh tapings! How does TNA try to pivot and make a sensible card after the cobbled together last two weeks?

Published

11 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Andrew Balaz

Well now we’re starting with a new set of tapings, and I don’t think I heard about any crazy injury issues. So let’s see what is supposed to make sense going into Turning Point, because let’s be honest, since Scott left the stories have been inane, the booking has been questionable at best and even though the hype of the TNA name being back is probably driving attendance for major events…let’s not act like this has been “good” in the last 8 months.

Here’s to hoping Genesis kicks off some semblance of logic in the storytelling, because if these shows are mostly bad and only carried by a handful of decent matches or entertaining vignettes every couple of weeks…that ain’t enough.

But hey, I guess we’ll see…right? Why do I have a feeling this week will suck?

Ratings:

KC Navarro w/AJ Francis vs Mike Santana: Santana wins via Spin the Block – ** 1/2
Alan Angels & Jake Crist vs The Rascalz: Rascalz win via Feed Em to the Lions – *
The Northern Armoury (Josh Alexander, Judas Icarus & Travis Williams) vs Eric Young, Steve Maclin & Jonathan Gresham: Josh wins via C4 Spike – **
Ryan Nemeth vs Joe Hendry: Hendry wins via Standing Ovation – **
Rosemary vs Jada Stone: Rosemary wins via As Above So Below – Squash
Nic Nemeth vs Brian Myers: Nic wins via Danger Zone – ** 1/4

Results:

KC Navarro w/AJ Francis vs Mike Santana

Navarro is a punching bag early on, he thinks he outsmarts Santana a few times but pays for the arrogance, but it is very entertaining. From not being able to Roll-Up Santana cause Navarro is too small or getting kicked into AJ’s arms like a small child. But finally AJ being out there pays some dividends for Navarro…or not, never mind, one Suicida and then Santana no sells a few chops and ragdolls Navarro. Navarro tries to use some of his speed to catch Santana off guard a few times, but Santana catches him, blocks the Rana, turns it into the Wheelbarrow Overhead Facebuster, transitions into a Sitout Powerbomb for 2, and the Spin the Block puts Navarro away.

No one should be surprised, but KC is a gem, he’s money money…yeah…yea.

Alan Angels & Jake Crist vs The Rascalz

Jake being back is always nice, but Angels is more like an Albatross. Rascalz pull off the ACS Rush as an ode to the MCMG and The ABC combination flurry. So nice feel good babyface stuff. Half Nelson Suplex from Angels on Miguel after some cheating and suddenly Rascalz are on the receiving end. After some slow and arrogant heel offense, we finally see Trey snap off a Suplex and get Wentz in for the hot tag. Simultaneous time, Jake and Wentz are in, and Wentz is beating the hell out of the Golden Draw. Wentz tags Trey, they go for some tandem stuff but Angels rips Wentz out of the ring, Jake pulls off the Marufuji Kick Corner Combination to get space, Trey looks for the Meteora, Angels picks the foot and tags in, combination Kick into Splash from Angels…and…Wentz makes the diving save.

Wentz starts flying around with Trey, stereo corner attacks, assisted Dropkicks, a flurry of offense, FEED EM TO THE LIONS! Wentz dives out on Jake and Trey gets the pinfall.

The right team went over, but I can’t care when Angels is involved.

Spitefire has a terrible and cringe promo, that I refuse to embed. The fact I’m even mentioning it is enough to question my sanity.

The Northern Armoury (Josh Alexander, Judas Icarus & Travis Williams) vs Eric Young, Steve Maclin & Jonathan Gresham

The dorks of the Armoury are getting manhandled by the babyface or tweener team. I don’t know which jabroni is which, and I refuse to learn because they suck. We go to picture in picture once they heels take a few shortcuts and get the upperhand, so nothing of great impact happens. The bald jaborni is in the ring with Maclin when we finally come back, Bell Clap, Backfist but Maclin hits the Busaiku Knee to stop the attacks. Simultaneous tags EY and Josh are in! EY comes out hot, a few right hands, Neckbreaker, Tombstone Piledriver reversal into the Youngblood Neckbreaker for two! EY tries to knock down the jabronis on the apron and Josh takes the chance to hit a few German Suplexes and simultaneous tags again.

Gresham and hair jabroni do a Fighting Spirit spot that Gresham gets the best of for a while, but the standing switches go against Gresham, hair jabroni trips him, PK into a Elbow Drop Variant. Looks for the tag team tandem move with his imbecile buddy, Up in the Clouds gets countered, but numbers game works in the heels favor. The jabronis feed Josh, try to set up the C4 Spike but they get grabbed out of the ring, Gresham counters the C4 with a Double Legged Cradle, Gresham gets a few moves in and goes to the top, jabronis attack Gresham, Sudden Silence nearly wins the match until Maclin bull rushes one into the Pinfall.

Lots of just schmoz spots, eventually EY hits the Spicolli Driver, Caught in the Crosshairs from Maclin on Josh, EY looks for the Macho Elbow but Maclin won’t stop pummeling Josh. EY and Maclin have a moment, but this becomes a comedy of errors with all the babyfaces trying to cover the other’s back and Josh drives Maclin into EY, hits the C4 Spike and I can’t find myself caring enough about this match or about 1/3rd of the participants names.

Is frustration getting the best of @SteveMaclin? @TheEricYoung

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— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) November 15, 2024

Ryan Nemeth vs Joe Hendry

Hendry starts off by saying he has a directors cut, and it’s the same, so solid joke. The crowd chants “One More Time” so he plays it again and then Ryan attacks. Ryan gets like 30 seconds of offense and doesn’t really do much, Hendry starts firing a few Uppercuts that seem to rock Ryan more than anything he’s done. Ryan manages to ground Hendry and go for a Sleeper Hold that Hendry of course charges up back to his feet, fights out of, but Ryan drives the Shoulder into Hendry’s gut in the corner and goes back to the Sleeper spot for Hendry to fight back up from, but Ryan pulls the hair to pull him down.

Very basic match so far, Rude Awakening from Ryan as he goes to the top rope…jaws at the crowd who’s chiding him, and Hendry gets up and throws him from the top. Hendry fires a few punches, two Lariats, Sack of Shit into the Kip Up and spin around to start the Standing Ovation stomp…gets him up and down! Hendry wins to no one’s surprise.

Rosemary vs Jada Stone

So we get a Rosemary enhancement match instead of something moving Lei Ying Lee and Savanna Evans’ story further? What are we gonna get a dumb vignette or something instead of actually building up lesser established talent? And yes, I’m just going with stream of consciousness because no one cares about this. Rosemary will win, it’s an enhancement match, Rosemary will play with her food until she decides she’s bored. Spear into As Above So Below, the crowd goes…to get snacks.

Nic Nemeth vs Brian Myers

Nic looks for the Superkick immediately to reference their last WWE match, but Myers powders, Nic gives chase and then Myers cuts him off and lands a few early shots. Two big sternum first Irish Whips, rope choke, and okay Nic slips the Press, connects with a Dropkick and then returns the Irish Whips in kind. Nic smashes Myer’s face into a turnbuckle, turns it into a Head and Leg Cradle for 2. Body Slam from Nic, he sets up for the Superkick but Eddie gets involved to stop it and the ref sees, so kicks him out. Nic is too busy waving and teasing Eddie, Myers tries a Roster Cut from the blind side but Nic ducks it and Myers spills to the outside. Alisha gets in the way to stop Nic’s momentum and Myers rams him into the apron and then throws him into the steps before hitting his Raven pose and we go to picture in picture, so nothing worth talking about will happen. Just plodding offense, rest holds and we’ll probably come back in time for the babyface to make a comeback.

Oh look we come back from PiP, Nic with a cut off comeback, but Manhattan Drop gets countered and Nic connects with a Dropkick to start his comeback. Two Lariats, Shot to the Heart Elbows, tunes up the band…but Myers ducks and cowers so Nic has to adjust. Myers hits a big Gamengiri into an Implant DDT for 2! Myers looks for the Roster Cut, but Nic catches him in a Jumping DDT into the FameASSer for another two count! The referee checks on Myers, Nic looks to tune up the band again and Lish uses Kendra to wack Nic a few times! Spear from Myers! Only a two count. Hendry leaves the announce desk and just picks up Lish and walks out with her kicking and screaming. Myers is distracted, so he eats a Superkick into Danger Zone, aaaannnddd Eddie attacks Nic after the win.

Hendry comes back out with Kendra, beats on Myers and Eddie, nearly hits Nic but stops himself and they have a tense moment. But Hendry made the save with only stares and tension being shared between him and Nic, nothing more.

The show also goes off the air with a weird vignette of Maclin getting into his vehicle and this weird Country Christian “I Will Rise” somber song playing. They’re really trying to make it seem like he’s chewing on that stuff EY said? Do it in the ring, not through a dumb vignette with an obscure song.

Overall Score: 0/10

Give me my 2 hours back! I was lenient last two weeks because they were working around injuries that probably affected some bigger stories, but this was a fresh set of tapings and we get this car crash soaked in diarrhea? Shoehorning in attempts at logic and random matches because of dumb reasons, whoever is booking, be it Delirious, Dreamer, NOSAWA, Tua Tagovailoa’s CTE…I don’t know, but fire them, not once, but twice. Send Dahyun or Nayeon to soften the blow and make sure the Twice joke lands, but just fire the booker.

I don’t even have anything positive or reflective to say about this episode. It was bad, whatever it set up for next week is stupid, so many matches that shouldn’t be booked because there’s no tension. Like there’s been plenty of bad episodes and strings of terrible television, but this was offensively stupid and a time waste.

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Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

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Coverage

Mitchell’s ROH Results & Report! (11/14/24)

Velvet VS Diamond for the gold!

Published

15 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Steven Mitchell

Time to take this one to the streets!

To settle their score, Red Velvet and Diamante fight over the ROH Women’s Television Championship in a STREET FIGHT! Who survives to hold the gold?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Fatal 4 Way Tag: Grizzled Young Veterans VS The Gates of Agony VS The Kingdom VS The Dark Order; The Kingdom wins.
Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara VS Love Doug & TJ Crawford; Dustin & Sammy win.
Griff Garrison & Preston Vance VS Jaylen Brandyn & Traevon Jordan; Garrison & Vance win.
Katsuyori Shibata VS Aaron Solo; Shibata wins.
Komander w/ Alex Abrahantes VS Josh Woods w/ Mark Sterling; Komander wins.
Abadon VS Viva Van; Abadon wins.
ROH Rewind – ROH Women’s World Championship Proving Grounds Match: Athena VS Hyan; Athena wins and denies Hyan a title opportunity.
The Righteous VS Sammy Diaz & Matt Raymond; The Righteous win.
ROH Women’s World Television Championship Street Fight: Red Velvet VS Diamante; Velvet wins and retains the title.

PLAY BY PLAY

Fatal 4 Way Tag: Grizzled Young Veterans VS The Gates of Agony VS The Kingdom VS The Dark Order!

After NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed last Friday, Zack Gibson & James Drake are now the NEW NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions! But does that mean they have to watch themselves against these three hungry teams? Or can they make it through like the grizzled veterans they are?

This Fatal 4 has only two teams legal at once, so Matt Taven steps up to Bishop Kaun. The fans rally, the two circle, and then Kaun trips up Taven! Kaun rains down fists but Taven guards. Kaun lets off, goes after Taven in the corner and CHOPS! Kaun whips, Taven goes up and over, then runs to slide under. Taven DROPKICKS Kaun down, then says, “IIIIII’M Matt Taven!” The fans cheer while Taven drags Kaun to his feet. Tag to Bennett, and the fans rally as Taven hits a SIT-OUT GOURD BUSTER! BOSTON BAYONET from Bennett! Cover, TWO! Kaun is tough but Bennett brings him up. Kaun CHOPS back!

Kaun tags Toa Liona, The Gates double whip but Bennett KICKS Liona away! Liona SUPERKICKS in return and Bennett staggers back into Kaun’s GERMAN SUPLEX! The fans are torn but Liona covers. Drake stomps Liona to break the cover, but it also makes Liona mad! Liona chases Drake, Drake slides out, and Gibson tags in! Liona seethes as GYV trick him. Liona reluctantly leaves while Gibson goes after Bennett. Bennett fights the suplex, then RAMS Gibson into the corner! Reynolds tags off Bennett, then he tags in Silver. The Dark Order double whip Gibson to then double drop toehold!

Gibson’s down, Dark Order rolls to BASEMENT DROPKICK SANDWICH! The fans fire up and Silver says, “I’m freakin’ jacked, baby!” The fans cheer as Silver whips Gibson to a corner. Gibson BOOTS in return, ELBOWS Reynolds, but then Silver dodges to KICK, KICK and KICK! Gibson headlocks, Drake tags in as Silver powers out. GYV drop, then trip Silver up to basement dropkick! And MAYHEM IN MOTION sends Reynolds flying! The fans are torn but Gibson goes out to scoop Reynolds. Drake adds the PLANCHA into the BACKBREAKER! Drake taunts Evil Uno but Uno tells him to just focus on the match.

Drake slides into the ring, fires hands on Silver, and he reels Silver in. Silver suplexes first! The fans fire up while Silver and Drake crawl. Tag to Gibson but Silver hot tags Taven! Taven rallies on GYV! SPLASH for Drake, HEEL KICK for Gibson, GAMANGIRI for Drake! Taven dodges Gibson, then reels him in, MOONLIGHT DRIVE! The fans fire up with Taven and he tags in Bennett. Taven whips Bennett to ROCK Gibson! Taven adds a SPLASH, then feeds Gibson to the DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! JUST THE TIP o’ the knee! Cover, The Gates break it! The Kingdom is mad with The Gates, and the brawl is on!

The fans fire up, but the Gates get the edge! The Kingdom dodges the lariats to DOUBLE SUPERKICK! But the Gates stay standing! They take another swing, and DOUBLE LARIATS connect! The fans fire up and the Gates pop Bennett up, OPEN THE GATES! The fans rally as Bennett ends up in a corner. Taven and Drake drag the Gates out to THROW them into steel steps! Gibson rolls Bennett! TWO! Silver tags in and he DUMPS Gibson out of the ring! Taven runs to a corner, triangle jump, but Silver ROCKS him first! Silver CANNONBALLS onto Gibson, UPPERCUTS Kaun, BOOTS Liona, then dodges Drake!

Reynolds BOOTS Drake down and the fans fire up! Silver climbs a corner, leaps at Taven, but Taven dodges! Bennett is there to reel Silver in! Taven goes up, HAIL MARY PILEDRIVER!! Cover, Kingdom wins!!

Winners: The Kingdom, by pinfall

It was fast ‘n’ furious, but it was also undisputed! Taven & Bennett get this big win, but the chase for tag team gold is never ending. Taven & Bennett do show respect to The Gates with a Code of Honor handshake, will these two teams be fighting for that number one spot?

Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara VS Love Doug & TJ Crawford!

The Natural & The Spanish God are still itching for that fight with The Righteous, but for now, they’re tuning up and sharpening their edge. Will the Sons of Texas be ready for ol’ Dutch & Vincent? Or will they be shot through the heart by The Real-Life Cupid & Windy City Kid?

The teams sort out and Dustin starts against Doug. They uphold the Code of Honor, and the bell rings. The fans rally for Dustin as he and Doug tie up. Dustin headlocks, Doug powers out but Dustin runs Doug over. Cover, ONE, but Dustin clamps onto Doug’s arm. Dustin wrenches, but Doug fires hands! Doug puts Dustin in the corner, fires off hands, then stomps! Tag to TJ, he throws hands, then whips. Dustin CLOBBERS TJ! The fans fire up, Dustin whips TJ to the corner, and he adds a SPLASH! Tag to Sammy and Sammy CROSSBODIES! Cover, ONE! Sammy feeds TJP to Dustin’s kick! “Not today, baby!” UPPERCUT! Sammy adds an ENZIGIRI!

TJ bails out, the fans fire up, and Doug runs in. Sammy dodges, hurdles, then backflips over to DROPKICK Doug! Sammy kips up so smooth and the fans fire up again. Doug & TJ regroup, Sammy builds speed, and Sammy FLIES! Down goes Doug & TJ and Sammy blows a kiss to his wife and daughter. The fans fire up and Sammy brings TJ back into the ring. Sammy step sin but TJ ROCKS him! TJ stomps a mudhole, then he whips corner to corner. Sammy stops himself, ELBOWS TJ back, then goes up to FLYING CUTTER! TJ sputters, Dustin adds a SHINING WIZARD! Sammy fires the fans up for the STANDING MOONSAULT!

The fans fire up but here comes Doug! Dustin gets Doug for a SNAP POWERSLAM! Dustin brings Doug up, Sammy has TJ, and in stereo, we GO TO HOSPITAL and FINAL RECKONING! Cover, the Sons of Texas win!

Winners: Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara, by pinfall

The fans cheer, but THE RIGHTEOUS attack! Dutch beats down Dustin while Vincent is after Sammy! The fans boo but Sammy gives hands back. Dutch CLOBBERS Sammy! The fans boo more, but Vinnie fireman’s carries Sammy. Dutch fireman’s carries Vinnie for the DOUBLE DUTCH DEATH VALLEY! The fans are booing as hard as they can but Dutch whips Dustin to bring him into the BLACKHOLE SLAM! The Righteous still aren’t done, as Dutch brings out the cowbell! An American Dream signature is now going to be Dustin’s demise! COWBELL TO THE HEAD!! The Righteous stand tall over the ROH World Tag Team Champions, will this be how it is when the gold is on the line?

AEW shares last night’s interview with The Learning Tree.

Renee Paquette was with Chris Jericho, Bryan Keith & “Big Bill” Morrissey as she brings up Tomohiro Ishii officially challenging Jericho for the ROH World Championship. It will be in two weeks, Dynamite in Chicago, will Jericho accept? Bill says, “Challenge? As the Learning Tree always says, a person’s true self is not seen in moments of glory, but in moments of hardship and challenge.” Jericho says, “Well said, Redwood. And thanks, Renee. Ishii, I’ve got a soft spot for you because we’ve known each other for almost 30 years, ever since we were both working for Genshiro Tenryu in WAR in Japan.

“Albeit, I was a huge main event star, and you were nothing more than a rookie, a Young Boy. You used to get me coffee, carry my bags, and even wash my back in the shower. Hahaha! But Ishii, you’ve gone on to become one of the toughest and best pro-wrestlers in the world. I should know, because it was only two years ago that we had a classic match, one of my favorite in AEW, and one of the toughest I’ve ever had, also in Chicago. So it’s only apropos that in two weeks on Dynamite, we’re gonna face each other. I do accept your challenge, Ishii, for the ROH World Championship, Jericho VS Ishii.

“But I’ve gone on to bigger and better things, as well. Because now, I’ve become the Nueve.” Jericho, Keith & Bill all hold up nine fingers. Jericho reminds us he is a NINE-TIME world champion, and a TWO-TIME ROH World Champion. So now, Jericho will invoke the glory and courage of great ROH champions of the past, like Jay Briscoe. And he’ll do that while teaching Ishii a lesson that he won’t forget, ever again. Keith says in the Windy City, Jericho blows Ishii’s dumb ass away! Jericho says truer words have never been spoken. Thanks, guys! But will Jericho have very little to be thankful after the Stone Pitbull takes a bite out of him?

Backstage interview with Billie Starkz.

Lexy Nair says this is another Emergency Minion Empowerment Meeting, aka MEM. They need to see if one Billie Starkz is ready to apologizes to their Minion Overlord, the ROH Women’s World Champion, Athena. Lexy cues Billie, and Billie says just wants to tell Athena… Oh, look at that, Athena steps in, ready to hear this. Athena looks Billie up and down, and can’t believe that is what Billie wore to a MEM. It looks like grandma’s nursing home crafts project. Billie rolls her eyes and Athena says to not worry about Minion 400,237 & 3/4ths, if that is who Billie decides to be. What about London? China? India?

Lexy tries to explain but in steps Leila Grey. She brushes Billie aside to say she heard Athena is looking for the most top tier talent from around the world. Well look no further, because there is no one above Top Flight. Athena and Lexy l augh right at Leila. Wow, Top Flight’s flight attendant? Oh, Bestie, this is actually perfect. They can showcase Athena before her world tour begins. So uh, what was her name again? Lei… Leilani? Leila says Athena knows her name. Oh, yes, of course, Miss Baddie.

But hey, next week, Athena challenges Leila on the Proving Grounds, where Athena will prove she is the best ROH champion, as well as the most violent and most dominant champion in ALL of pro-wrestling! And she’ll make an example out of Leila. What’s she say to that? Leila says you’re on. Athena says good~! Let’s go, Bestie. Athena & Lexy go one way, Billie scoffs and goes the other. Will Leila last the ten minute time limit to earn her golden ticket? Or is this “Athena World Tour” taking off without her?

ROH Rewind – ROH Women’s World Championship Proving Grounds Match: Athena VS Hyan!

The Fallen Goddess is now the longest reigning champion in ALL of ROH history, but let us look back in time to the Forever Champion’s first Proving Ground match!

The Code of Honor is upheld, though maybe mockingly. The bell rings and we’re on the clock. Hyan and Athena step up, and then Athena DECKS Hyan! Athena celebrates, then she fires off on Hyan in the corner! Fans boo but Athena lets off as the ref counts. Athena snapmares and KICKS Hyan, then asks if the fans want one more. Fans do, but Athena just covers. TWO, but Athena drags Hyan up. Athena hooks Hyan up and clamps on a neck wrench. Hyan endures, fans rally, and Hyan throws elbows. Hyan rolls Athena up, TWO! Oklahoma Roll, TWO! Hyan UPPERCUTS Athena down and fans fire up!

Hyan runs to PENALTY KICK! And PENALTY KICK! Hyan fires up, HAT TRICK!! Athena is down and fans fire up, Hyan covers, ONE!! Athena toughs it out, but Hyan CLUBS away. Hyan runs, but into a BLACK HOLE SLAM! Athena then dribbles Hyan off the mat! Athena CHOKES Hyan, but she lets off as the ref counts. Athena and the ref argue, but Athena calms down. Hyan sits up, Athena drags her up, but Hyan shoves her away. Athena BOOTS Hyan down! Fans rally and duel, Athena clamps on a chinlock. Athena claws at the eyes, but the ref reprimands. Athena shifts to a chinbar, but Hyan arm-drags free!

Athena is furious, she runs in, but into a BOOT! Hyan runs to CROSSBODY! Hyan fires up, rallies with clotheslines, then she fireman’s carries. WASTELAND! Fans fire up with Hyan, and she drops a leg, brother! Cover, ONE!! Athena is still in this but Hyan hurries to a corner. Hyan climbs, but Athena ROCKS her! Athena bumps Hyan off buckles, goes out to the apron, and then SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMBS her to the floor!! Fans are shocked but Athena grins. The ref wants Athena to get this back in the ring, so Athena drags Hyan up, to RAM her into steel steps! Athena puts Hyan back in the ring, covers, TWO!?!

Hyan is still in this, but Athena clamps on the CROSSFACE! Hyan taps, Athena wins!

Winner: Athena, by submission (denies Hyan a title match)

But Athena just makes Hyan suffer more! The ref counts, Athena lets off, and she gets in the ref’s face. The Fallen Goddess shows no mercy, and she sets the belt down. She drags Hyan up, fans boo, but Athena SMASHES Hyan off the belt!! Athena laughs at Hyan but fans chant, “YOU SUCK!” Athena just gets more upset! She shoves Hyan out of the ring and shouts at the fans that she’s the champ! It’s been historic every since, will anyone ever stop Athena’s reign of terror?

The Righteous VS Sammy Diaz & Matt Raymond!

We saw earlier tonight how ol’ Dutch & Vincent ruined the good times for Dustin & Sammy, but now they’re the ones in the ring. Will they simply add momentum to what they did earlier? Or can Sammy & Matt take advantage of being overlooked?

The teams sort out and Vinnie starts against Matt. Matt waits on the Code of Honor, but Vinnie kicks low! The fans boo but Vinnie whips Matt, only for Matt to KICK then fire hands! Matt ROCKS Vinnie, whips him, but Vinnie reverses. Vinnie then sidesteps Matt to ELBOW him down! The fans are torn, and Vinnie shouts, “Dig what I’m sayin’?!” Vinnie grabs legs but Matt kicks him away. Vinnie runs up, Matt puts him in the corner, and then Matt runs up. Vinnie ELBOWS Matt, goes up and HEEL KICKS! Vinnie runs, tilt-o-whirl, RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP! Vinnie snaps his fingers to the rhythm in his head, then stands Matt up.

Vinnie bumps Matt off buckles, tags in Dutch, and Dutch runs up to SPLASH! Matt staggers into Vinnie’s SIDE EFFECT! Then SENTON LEG DROP COMBO! The fans are torn but Dutch grins. Dutch brings Matt up, reels him in, short arm LARIAT! Dutch paces around Matt, drags him back up, and short arm- NO, Matt boots back! But Dutch catches Matt for an EXPLODER! Sammy tags in, LARIATS, but Dutch doesn’t budge! Sammy tries again, and again, but then dodges a lariat to ENZIGIRI! Dutch wobbles, Sammy shouts “TOP FIVE!” But he runs into a BLACKHOLE SLAM! Tag to Vinnie and The Righteous targets Matt.

Matt grabs at Vinnie, but Vinnie cravats! AUTUMN SUNHINE! And then Sammy gets the DOUBLE DUTCH DEATH VALLEY!! Cover, The Righteous win!

Winners: The Righteous, by pinfall

It wasn’t the Sammy they want but it was the Sammy they had that suffers. Then Vinnie grabs a mic to say, “Something I’ve noticed around here… is you really gotta force the hand in this place to get what you want. So that’s exactly what we’re gonna do! And when I move on something, it gets done! And if it doesn’t get done, ol’ Dutch moves on it, and that’s the last thing you want to happen. We should’ve been the ROH World Tag Team Champions a long time ago, and everybody here knows it. Sammy, Dustin, if you stab the body, it’s a wound that can heal. But if you injure the heart, that is a wound that’ll last a lifetime.

“You’re looking at the ROH World Tag Team Champions. Dig what I’m sayin’?” Vinnie hands the mic to Dutch, and Dutch holds up the cowbell. “Dustin~! HAHAHAHA! I know that you know what this is. And I know how much this means to you. And I know that every day, during your childhood, you looked up at this, hoping and praying that one day, it would be handed down to you. HAHAHAHAHA! But lemme tell you something that you don’t know, Dustin. 14 years ago, I spent a lot of time with your father.” The fans start to boo but Dutch says Dusty saw a lot of potential in him and took him under his wing.

Dusty treated Dutch like family, because he saw in Dutch what he NEVER saw in Dustin! And because of that, this cowbell was handed down to Dutch because Dusty treated him like his own son. “And now, Dustin, we all know that you are the weakest link in our family!” The fans boo but The Righteous are willing to warp reality to change the future. Will they take more than just the gold away from Dustin & Sammy?

ROH Women’s World Television Championship Street Fight: Red Velvet VS Diamante!

The last time these two went around, The Chef was burned by the fire inside this Cuban Diamond. But that fire also burned Diamante, which is why Diamante isn’t champion, yet. Will taking off the limitations allow Diamante to finally shine with gold? Or will Velvet serve up a proper L this time?

As Diamante makes her way to the ring, she’s wearing a chain and dragging a trash can full of goodies. Velvet simply has the belt, but it looks like she’s fixing to use it! Velvet rushes down to the ring, no time for proper introductions! She avoids Diamante’s kendo stick attack, then trips Diamante up! The bell rings as Velvet drags Diamante out of the ring! The fans fire up while the hands fire off, but then Velvet RAMS Diamante into the apron! And RAMS her in again! The fans fire up and Velvet CLUBS Diamante before putting her in the ring. The headband comes off as Velvet storms in, but Diamante has the kendo stick!

Velvet blocks the shot! Velvet stares Diamante down, then takes the kendo stick to swing on Diamante! Diamante ducks then waistlocks Velvet for a GERMAN SUPLEX! Velvet flounders while the fans rally up. Diamante has the kendo stick back, and she SMACKS Velvet on the back! And SMACKS her again! Diamante talks smack, puts Velvet on ropes, and CHOKES her! Velvet suffers, but then Diamante stops to pick up the belt. Diamante taunts Velvet with it, “Is this yours? Not for long.” Velvet throws hands but Diamante stomps her down! Diamante stomps away at the ropes, then sits Velvet up.

Diamante straps the belt to the ropes to place it right in Velvet’s face. Diamante tells the fans to shut up, then she runs side to side. But Velvet drop toeholds Diamante into the belt! The fans cheer and Velvet grabs Diamante’s trash can. Velvet raises the can, but Diamante DROPKICKS it into her! The fans fire up while Diamante goes after Velvet. Diamante hoists Velvet up top, CLUBS her on the back, then pulls her into the Tree of Woe. Velvet tries to sit up, but Diamante pushes her into the trash can! Velvet is caught and Diamante runs, DROPKICK into the can! Velvet is rattled, and Diamante dumps her out of the Tree. Cover, TWO!

Velvet stays in this but Diamante keeps planning. Diamante wedges the trash can into a corner. The fans duel as Velvet crawls and grabs a chair! Diamante sees that, and she stands on the chair. Diamante SMACKS Velvet off the steel! Diamante dribbles Velvet off it now, then soaks up the cheers and jeers from Providence. Diamante fetches her chain, and she brings it over. Velvet crawls but Diamante wraps the chain around her neck! Velvet flails and claws at the chain but Diamante is squeezing the life out of her! The fans rally and duel while Velvet sputters and coughs! Diamante says just go to sleep, but Velvet fights up! STUNNER!

Diamante staggers and Velvet breathes again. Diamante is after Velvet, whips her at the trash can, but Velvet stops herself! Velvet BOOTS Diamante back! Velvet then headlocks to BULLDOG Diamante onto a chair! The fans fire up while Diamante writhes. Velvet stalks Diamante, drags her up, and whips her into the trash can! Diamante falls in a heap and the fans fire up again! Velvet goes out and is enjoying this now. The fans chant for tables, but Velvet does us one better with a ladder! Velvet puts that ladder into the ring, then storms up on Diamante to stomp away! Velvet beats Diamante down, then she stands the ladder up.

The fans rally as the ladder is set against ropes like a ramp. Velvet storms over to Diamante, brings her up, but Diamante PALM STRIKES! Velvet grins, and she knees Diamante low! Velvet whips Diamante, to then hip toss her onto the ladder! Diamante writhes as she slides down the rungs! Velvet puts Diamante on the ladder, CHOPS her, then climbs up the corner! The fans fire up and Velvet leaps, but Diamante moves! Leg drop hits ladder and Velvet writhes, clutching her thigh and hip! Diamante storms up on Velvet, ducks a haymaker, and then BACK SUPLEXES Velvet onto the ladder! Diamante CLUBS Velvet and SMACKS her off the rungs.

Diamante puts Velvet on the ladder, CHOPS her, and she goes up the corner now. Diamante PLANKING SPLASHES! The ladder cracks from the impact! Cover, TWO! Diamante grits her teeth, pounds the mat in frustration, and she goes outside now. Diamante gives the fans what they want, because here’s a TABLE! This Street Fight has now become a TLC as Diamante completes the trifecta. Diamante puts the table in the ring while the fans duel, and Diamante sets that table up near a corner. She makes sure it’s just right before fetching Velvet. Velvet JAMS Diamante with a chair! But Diamante avoids the swing!

Velvet stalks Diamante, even as Diamante crawls under the ladder. Velvet uses chair to SMACK ladder and it jams Diamante up! Velvet SMACKS the ladder again! The fans fire up while Velvet throws the chair away. Velvet moves the ladder aside, puts Diamante on the table, and CLUBS her down. The fans fire up as Velvet makes her way to the corner and climbs up. But Diamante rises up! Diamante trips Velvet and Velvet lands on her bakery. Diamante goes up to bring Velvet up, for a SUPERPLEX down through the table!! The fans go nuts for that crash landing, but Diamante’s the one stuck in the wood wreckage!

Diamante crawls free, finds Velvet to cover, TWO!! Velvet survives, if only on instinct. Diamante is further frustrated but she hurries to grab the belt. Diamante flashbacks to when she struck Velvet down before, she wants to do it again! But Velvet dodges the belt shot! Velvet mule kicks Diamante down, then brings the belt around. Velvet dragon sleepers, into MAMA’S KITCHEN on the belt!! Cover, Velvet wins!

Winner: Red Velvet, by pinfall (still ROH Women’s World Television Champion)

These two turned up the heat and really cooked up a winner! But the winner is Red Velvet, and she moves on to bigger and better. Who will be served up as The Chef’s next meal?

My Thoughts:

A very good ROH, especially with it only coming in at about an hour and 20. Well, even less when you consider they’re keeping up the ROH Rewind. Lucky for me, it was a match I already covered. And being Athena based was smart, given she’s kinda the top story here. Very good promo in the Emergency MEM, and while Athena VS Leila will be good, the best Leila can do is last the ten minutes. Again, Billie is definitely going to be Athena’s opponent for Final Battle, and we’re just waiting for the moment she snaps on Athena.

Great opening tag team Fatal 4, and great win for The Kingdom to stay strong in the tag rankings. Good stuff in the ROH World Tag Team title story, with Dustin & Sammy having a good match with Shot Through The Heart, but then Righteous attacking them. Again, makes The Righteous having their own match and promo redundant, but this is probably all to accelerate the story so we can have the match in time for Final Battle. I had a feeling the Von Erichs wouldn’t be around for a Six Man title story but maybe they focus on that as we move into 2025 and All In Texas. Not to be mean to the Von Erichs, but it feels like they’re getting a long title reign just on name value because, well, why aren’t they traveling more?

Good stuff in the other matches. As I skimmed, it was clear Solo got a good showing against Shibata, and Waves & Curls got a great showing against this new team of Griff Garrison & Preston Vance. They didn’t have Vance strike out on his own for very long, though. I was hoping he could explore who it is to be Preston Vance on his own, but maybe he can do that while creating a bond with Griff and making that a successful team. And then a great main event from Velvet and Diamante, especially for a Street Fight. A little surprised Velvet won, but not by much. As I said before, that custom red strap is going to be the thing for a good stretch, Velvet probably makes it into 2025 as champ.