Coverage
Mitchell’s NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver Results & Report! (4/8/21)
TakeOver is far from over!
TakeOver: Stand & Deliver fires its second round!
TakeOver: Stand & Deliver finishes as Finn Balor defends his NXT Championship against a man who never lost it in Karrion Kross!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Preshow – NXT Tag Team Championships #1 Contender’s Match: Breezango VS Killian Dain & Drake Maverick; Dain & Maverick win and will challenge MSK for the titles.
- NXT Cruiserweight Championship Unification Ladder Match: Santos Escobar VS Jordan Devlin; Escobar wins and is THE NXT Cruiserweight Champion.
- NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships: Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon VS Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell; Blackheart & Moon win and retain the titles.
- NXT North American Championship: Johnny Gargano VS Bronson Reed; Gargano wins and retains the title.
- NXT Championship: Finn Balor VS Karrion Kross w/ Scarlett Bordeaux; Kross wins and becomes the new NXT Champion.
- Unsanctioned Match: Adam Cole VS Kyle O’Reilly; O’Reilly wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
It’s the TakeOver Preshow!
Join Sam Roberts, Mickie James & ESPN’s Jimmy Smith in analyzing, discussing and predicting all of night two’s action!
Samoa Joe interviews Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux.
Joe thanks them for being here, and wants to take them back: TakeOver 30, Kross wins the title. But then he goes backstage, his injury is found, and he has to give the title up. What was that like Well it’s no surprise that he was pissed. Everyone sees it as a blink of an eye, Kross showing up, competing for the title. But that’s not how it is. Kross won’t give his whole career story, but it all led to that night at TakeOver. But for that injury to ruin it, it felt like it was all for nothing. Now some would say Finn Balor is the greatest ever. What will he do to take that title from Balor? Kross will light him up. To drag someone to deep waters, you need power. Balor doesn’t have power, Kross does, so this idea that Balor will control the pace is absurd.
Then let’s imagine to the end of tonight. Kross wins and is holding the title. Kross came here not to sit back but to become a champion. He will go after more titles even after this. Does Kross see what Balor says about him relying on emotions? Kross doesn’t give a damn what Balor has to say. Balor will say what he has to in order to play the mind games, but none of it will work. Joe appreciates having these two here, and wishes them best of luck. Kross heads right off stage, is he going to head right back to the top of NXT?
Joe now interviews Finn Balor.
These old rivals meet again, and when it comes to TakeOver, Joe knows personally that Balor is nearly spotless. He has a long streak of consecutive wins at TakeOver, with just one little blemish. But moving on to tonight, is this the type of man that Balor feels could add another blemish? Balor has proven time and time again that he can stand and deliver. If anyone has to deliver at TakeOver, it’s Kross. Last week, Balor and Kross found they shared similar paths. Ascending the ranks, grabbing the titles, but then letting them go because of injuries. Does Balor know how long it took for him to get back feeling like himself? Well, that was months, maybe even years. Going into this, Kross only just a few months back, that’s impressive.
Joe wants to touch on that. Kross has rushed back a bit, is this going to be a mistake on his part? Balor says underestimating Balor is a mistake. Kross should want to be 100% confident in his physical form if he’s going to take on the Prince at his peak. Now obviously, Kross is big and strong and ferocious. How does Balor defeat that? This isn’t that new to him. But what Balor does is drag them into territories they don’t want to be in, he takes them into the deep waters, and drowns them slowly but surely. JOe sees Balor speaking of Kross, this isn’t even how Balor was back when Joe faced him.
Balor says that he has proven himself over and over again for 20 YEARS but has to worry about someone unproven just pisses him off. How many times does he have to prove he is the best in the world? But now he’s an underdog at TakeOver? that’s a joke! That is what drives Balor! Balor promises us that tonight, he will do what he has done for those 20 years, and that is deliver on a promise to win. Will the Prince’s determination be what defeats Kross? Or will it be what defeats himself?
Backstage interview with Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon.
Candice is already tweeting she and Indi will win tonight, what are their thoughts? Shotzi laughs! Ember says The Way has lost their minds. But these two will not sweat this, because that’s not their way. They will #TCB, and steal the whole damn show! But time to get painted up for TakeOver! Candice, Indi, welcome to the FIRE PIT~! Shotzi howls to the moon, and she’s fired up enough for both of them! But will they burn down The Way or just crash ‘n’ burn at Stand & Deliver?
William Regal collects the Cruiserweight Championship belts.
Devlin gives his over easily, but Escobar is too busy getting taped up to even pick his belt up. These belts will be suspended high overhead in the Ladder match, who will be getting theirs back to start TakeOver?
NXT Tag Team Championships #1 Contender’s Match: Breezango VS Killian Dain & Drake Maverick!
With MSK as NEW tag team champions, that means we need new contenders! Tyler Breeze & Fandango have been on the outside looking in lately, will they get another chance to get back to the top? Or will the Belfast Beast and his little buddy finally be firing on all cylinders to get their first taste?
Breezango are fashionable pirates upon entering to go along with this year’s WrestleMania theme. The teams sort out, Dain starts with Prince Pretty, and the two circle. They approach, Breeze dodges to strike a pose. Dain takes the pirate hat and throws it away! Breeze runs but into a scoop! Breeze slips out, wrenches, tags Fandango but Dain throws them both around! Dain drags Dango over, tags Maverick and he climbs up to drop ax handles! Maverick headlocks, grinds Dango down, but Fandango powers out to run him over. Dango swivels hips, runs, but Maverick drops and hurdles. Dango sunset flips, Maverick stays up and swivels HIS hips!
Dango gets free as Maverick goes into overdrive. They push each other, Dain gets in and backs Maverick down but Maverick’s out for blood! Dain gets Maverick over to the corner and tags in rather sharply. Maverick has Dain wear the pirate hat! Dain isn’t amused but Dango uppercuts him! Dango fires off but Dain knees low and EuroUppers back! Tag to Maverick, and he’s a human weapon, snapmare body block! Maverick throws JABS on Dango, kicks low but Dango shoves him down! Maverick comes back but into a tilt-o-whirl SLAM! Cover, TWO! Dango looms over Maverick, drags him up and CHOPS him to the corner!
Dango brings Maverick around, bumps him off buckles, and then throws hands! Fans rally and duel, Breeze tags in, and Breezango mugs Maverick in their corner. Breeze brings Maverick around to DECK him, then brings him back up to whip corner to corner hard! Maverick writhes and Breeze drags him back over to kick him down. Breeze stomps Maverick and drops a leg! Cover, TWO! Breeze clamps on with a chinlock and he grinds Maverick down. Fans rally as Maverick endures, but Dango keeps swiveling at Dain and that annoys him. Maverick fights up, Breeze CLUBS him then puts him in the corner to tag Dango.
Dango fires off, whips corner to corner hard and Maverick hits the mat. Cover, TWO! Dango drags Maverick up to ROCK him with an uppercut but fans rally up for Maverick. Dango suplexes and hangs Maverick out on the ropes, then tags Breeze. They make it rain, and then DOUBLE BOOT Maverick down! Cover, TWO! Breeze drags Maverick up, back suplexes, but Maverick lands on his feet! Maverick hits Dango, BOOTS Breeze, goes around but Breeze keeps him cornered. Maverick scrambles and gets past, hot tags to Dango and Dain! Dain rallies on Breezango, and DIVIDES Dango with the body block! Dain goes up and out and CLOBBERS Breeze! Dango runs into an URENAGE!
Dain slingshots to SENTON ATOMICO! Fans fire up with Dain, he fireman’s carries Dango but Breeze runs in! Dain catches Breeze, FALL AWAY SAMOAN DROP combo! Cover, Breeze breaks it! Maverick gets Breeze out and Dain whips Dango to a corner. Dain back elbows. Maverick runs in and is put out to tag in. They coordinate, BOOT ENZIGURI COMBO! Tag to Dain, Maverick climbs but has to leap at Breeze, into a SUPER MODEL KICK! Breeze saves Dang, mule kicks then they DOUBLE SUPERKICK! Cover, Maverick breaks it! Fans fire up as Breeze drags Maverick up to throw him out! Dango goes to a corner, Breeze gets Dain up but Dain throws Breeze into Dango!
Dain tags Maverick, and Maverick hurries up after Dango! SUPER STEINER!! Maverick dropkicks Breeze for good measure! Maverick and Dain look to high five, but instead it’s Human Weapon, ROCKSTAR SPUD BOMB! Cover, Dain & Maverick win!!
Winners: Killian Dain & Drake Maverick, by pinfall (NEW #1 contenders to the NXT Tag Team Championships)
Well that was a unique way to win. Will the Beast of Belfast and Rockstar Spud show that Carter & Lee might be must-see, but they aren’t unstoppable?
Backstage interview with William Regal.
What are the thoughts of the NXT General Manager about TakeOver’s first night? Night one was incredible! Every match, every competitor, they gave it all they could. And now a new set are stepping up to do the same, and he couldn’t be more excited. Speaking of, we know Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly each arrived with their own security details. Does he care to comment as to why? Regal says he is taking every step to keep the peace because of how combustible this situation is. Has Cole been fined for that shot he got in on Regal? No, he hasn’t and will not. Is that because Regal thinks tonight will be punishment enough?
Samoa Joe interviews Kyle O’Reilly.
Very soon, it will be Kyle and Cole in an Unsanctioned match. So much has changed the last year, and now we’re in a world without the Undisputed Era. What does that change mean for Kyle? Well it’s hard to say. it’s been a rough time for the entire world. But Kyle has this internal struggle. He admits that it felt good to be in the UE. From their first moment arriving here to NXT, they were getting titles, wins, merchandise checks, it was euphoric. But something had to give. He lost a part of himself. If Kyle was to save his soul, he had to get away form that ‘gang mentality.”
But Kyle speaks of that, yet he and Cole have gone after each other anywhere they can. HIs words and his actions aren’t really matching. Kyle admits Joe is right. But when it comes to Cole, you fight fire with fire. If Kyle has to sink down to Cole’s level, then Kyle will do that. There’s obviously history, and a brotherhood that was betrayed. When does it stop? Kyle says he’s been struggling with that for the better part of a year. Ironically, it was Cole who made decisions for him. Cole would set Kyle free. Kyle found himself in interesting positions and opportunities that way. He lost his NXT Championship matches, but still felt like himself, because he fought with honor and intengirty, and on his own.
So having that ability, to fight with honor, but now in an Unsanctioned match, that quality doesn’t really coincide with it. Does Kyle have what it takes to beat Cole? Yes, he does. And the follow-up is of course, what are we in store for? Kyle isn’t here to set expectations. “This will be as one-sided as it gets.” Kyle wants to finish him as quickly and efficiently as possible. So does Kyle have what it takes? We’ll see after the match.
Now Joe interviews Adam Cole.
Joe has followed Cole’s career for a long time, and one thing he’s always seen is that Cole is calm, cool and poised. But lately, when it comes to Kyle, some of that poise falls away. This is very personal now. Joe is correct. Cole and Kyle have known each other for 12 years. Cole is offended because without Cole, Kyle doesn’t make it to WWE. And this is how Kyle repays him? SO that is why this is personal. An unfortunately casualty is the loss of the UE. Is Cole trying to prove he was the backbone of that group? That was already known, Cole has proven that, so of course it’s come to this.
Then what does victory look like tonight? When will Cole be satisfied? It’ll be when Kyle realizes after the match, after the beating he’s taken like no other, he’ll think to himself, “I really shouldn’t have messed with Adam Cole.” Win or lose, does Cole see a world where he and Kyle coexist again? Right now, that seems impossible, It’ll depend on how Cole feels. It depends on if Cole every feels like he can be around someone like Kyle. If Kyle apologizes and realizes how foolish he’s bene, then maybe. “As long as he knows he has an ass beating coming first.”
Poppy performs live!
NXT Cruiserweight Championship Unification Ladder Match: Santos Escobar VS Jordan Devlin!
Worlds collide and a mistake will be corrected! But there can only be one! Will the Leader of Leaders or the Irish Ace walk in the footsteps of the Heartbreak Kid and be the UNDISPUTED champion?
The introductions are made, the belts are already hanging overhead, and we see who rises above to stand atop the entire division!
The two fire off with fists at the bell! Devlin even gets a headbutt in there! He ROCKS Escobar, counter punches then whips, to then CLOBBER Escobar with an elbow! Devlin is fired up but Escobar headlocks. Devlin powers out, drops and hurdles, and arm-drags Escobar down! Escobar headscissors, Devlin pops free to jackknife but covers don’t matter. Escobar wrenches to underhooks but Devlin wrenches free to kick a leg. Escobar turns ripcord into headlock takeover! Escobar goes after legs but Devlin kicks him away. Escobar blocks the clinch with an elbow, whips but Devlin slips out of the tilt-o-whirl. Escobar kicks low, CLUBS Devlin, and fans duel as Escobar whips corner to corner.
Devlin goes up and over and dodges a boot to get the URENAGE! STANDING MOONSAULT! Fans are divided as Devlin fires up. Escobar bails out, Devlin aims and slingshots but Escobar moves. Devlin mule kicks him away to ASAI MOONSAULT! Direct hit and they bump into the announce desk! Devlin sits up and checks his head but he’s alright. Devlin drags Escobar up and puts him in the ring, then looks under the ring. Devlin brings out the first ladder, gets it on the apron, but Escobar runs over! Devlin lifts the ladder to avoid the baseball slide, and then yanks the ladder back to SMACK Escobar down!
Devlin puts the ladder in the ring, leaves Escobar behind, and stands the ladder up. Devlin climbs but Escobar hurries! Escobar yanks Devlin off the ladder then SMACKS him off it! Escobar gets the ladder and stands it up in a corner. Escobar stomps Devlin, whips him but Devlin stops short! Devlin turns around into a kick, Escobar gets Devlin up but Devlin fights free! Devlin kicks and whips Escobar, but Escobar reverses to send Devlin hard into the ladder! Devlin tumbles over and out to the floor and fans are fired up! Escobar goes out and goes around the way, talking trash that this is HIS bingo! Escobar runs in at Devlin, and CLOBBERS him against the Plexiglas!
Escobar’s fans are thunderous, and they cheer as Escobar brings out another ladder! Escobar leans the ladder against the boards but Devlin EuroUppers! Escobar bumps Devlin off the apron, stomps him down, then goes into the ring to fetch the second ladder. Escobar stands this one up under the belts already, but Devlin gets in. Escobar dropkicks the ladder into Devlin! And he lets the ladder fall on Devlin’s legs! Devlin staggers up, Escobar has the ladder and he RAMS Devlin in the gut! Devlin ends up in a corner, Escobar RAMS him again and again! And even as Devlin sits down! Escobar runs to DROPKICK the ladder into Devlin’s gut!
Escobar goes out and looks under the ring again. Escobar brings out a third ladder, puts it in, and then stomps Devlin down. Escobar stands the first ladder up, fans duel as he climbs, but Devlin anchors a foot. Escobar STOMPS him down for it! Escobar drags Devlin up to SLAP him down, then fetches the other ladder. Escobar sets that ladder up on the top of a corner, KICKS Devlin down, then grins as he taunts him. Escobar SLAPS Devlin again, whips him, but Devlin reverses and Escobar runs into the ladder!! Devlin scowls and drags himself up on ropes. Devlin sees the ladder standing up and heads that way, but Escobar DROPKICKS him down!
Fans rally and duel, Escobar rains down fists on Devlin and then catapults him! But Devlin uses that to get up! Devlin paws at titles but Escobar grabs at him! Devlin leaps for a FLYING DDT!! Fans chant, “This is Awesome!” as Escobar and Devlin writhe. Devlin pushes the ladder over to get at Escobar, but Escobar hip tosses him out! Devlin is by that second ladder, Escobar builds speed and DIVES! The Tope sends Devlin into that ladder! Fans shout, “That was Awesome!” as both men are down! Escobar says he’ll finish this now as he gets up and goes to the ring. Escobar stands the first ladder up again but Devlin hurries into the ring!
Escobar is frustrated and he pushes the ladder over. Escobar talks trash and KICKS Devlin while he’s down! He even calls him a cockroach! Escobar kicks Devlin around, chuckles and brings him up to reel him in. Escobar underhooks but Devlin fights the driver to back drop Escobar onto a ladder! Escobar clutches his back as he writhes, and Devlin flounders around after him. Fans rally and duel, the two head for each other, and they start throwing hands while on the mat! Fans fire up and duel as the two go back and forth! Devlin ROCKS Escobar, stands him up and throws more forearms, but Escobar comes back with his own!
Devlin fires off body shots and ROCKS Escobar, to then reel him in, only to get a KNEE! Escobar runs, but into a SPANISH FLY!! Devlin goes to a corner, dodges Escobar and lets him bounce off buckles to then hit a slingshot CUTTER! Fans rally and duel while both men are down. Devlin gets a ladder and brings it over to Escobar. Devlin stands the ladder up, but Escobar pushes it to a corner. Devlin HEADBUTTS Escobar down! Devlin climbs the ladder but Escobar hurries up the other side. They brawl at the very top, Devlin gets the edge and knocks Escobar down! Devlin adjusts as fans duel, Devlin is on the very top, as he SUPER MOONSAULTS!! Direct hit and fans fire up for “NXT! NXT!” while both men writhe on the mat!
Devlin drags the ladder to be under the belts, starts to climb it, and Escobar is somewhere on the outside! But here comes LEGADO! They tip the ladder over and Devlin falls right out of the ring! Escobar’s rabid dogs are after Devlin! If they couldn’t be tag team champions, they aren’t going to let their leader lose his title! They RAM Devlin into steel steps! Escobar drags himself over and thanks his men. They head back, Escobar gets in and stands the ladder back up. But Devlin is up again! Devlin hobbles around, and he TOSSES the other ladder at Escobar!! Devlin then stands that very ladder up beside Escobar’s, but Escobar tries to stop him.
Devlin CHOPS Escobar but Escobar clubs him back! They brawl and Escobar reels Devlin into a facelock. Devlin fights free to reel Escobar in for a SUPER SPANISH FLY!! Fans lose their minds while both men are down on the mat! “This is Awesome!” and far from over! Devlin drags himself back to the pair of ladders, sets one right under the belts, and begins to climb! Devlin is almost at the top but Escobar is back! Escobar climbs the other side, hits Devlin low, CLUBS him over and over and over, and reaches for the belt! Devlin headbutts Escobar then bumps him off the ladder! Devlin reaches, but Escobar HEADBUTTS Devlin off, and Devlin falls through the third ladder!!
Fans lose their minds and Escobar finally has the belts to himself! Escobar reaches up, grabs them, and brings them off the hook! Escobar wins!!
Winner: Santos Escobar (UNDISPUTED NXT Cruiserweight Champion)
The Leader of Leaders, the Champion of Champions, and now THE champion of the Cruiserweight Division! Granted, he had help again, but that in itself is proof of his legacy’s power! Will Legado del Fantasma reign over Cruiserweight and Lucha Libre wrestling forever?
Backstage with MSK.
The NEW NXT Tag Team Champions are feeling really good. It was hard to sleep last night because of how excited they are. They have side plates even! But they now have new contenders in Dain & Maverick. They’re ready to see what those two will be bringing. They faced them in the Dusty Cup, and now MSK are the champs. They’re not losing these belts. Not now, not ever! So any predictions on Balor VS Kross and Cole VS O’Reilly? Well okay. They say it together. One, two three… Coreilly. Wait, they disagree? Well uh… Okay, Balor VS Kross. One, two three… BROSS. Well one way or another, someone’s losing. Just not MSK!
NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships: Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon VS Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell!
TakeOver, welcome to the FIRE PIT! The Wild Child and Evolved Shenom are only the second-ever team to hold these belts, but they don’t want their run to end so soon. Will they not only Stand & Deliver but #TCB? Or will Candice & Indi Wrestling find a way to take those titles?
The introductions are made, the belts are raised, and one way or another, history is again being made on TakeOver!
The Way attacks the champs right away! Indi bumps Ember off buckles then scrapes her out while Shotzi and Candice brawl! Shotzi hasn’t forgiven Candice for what happened to Tank Mk I! Indi waistlocks and SLAMS Shotzi, Candice hits the step-up senton! Cover, TWO! Candice RAMS into Shotzi in the corner, digs her shoulder in, and lets off as the ref counts. Tag to Indi, Indi brings Shotzi around to fireman’s carry and Snake Eyes off Candice’s knees! Indi then adds a SIDEWALK SLAM! Cover, TWO! Shotzi gets up but Indi kicks and whips her to CLOBBER her! Cover, TWO! Fans rally for Shotzi but Indi is after her at ropes. Indi bumps Shotzi off buckles and tags Candice.
Candice runs in to back body block Shotzi, then snapmares her for the NECK SNAPPER! Cover, TWO! Shotzi gets to the apron, Candice digs her boots in! The ref counts, Candice lets off, and Shotzi grits her teeth as she gets up. Candice grabs Shotzi but Shotzi headbutts low! Shotzi fires forearms, but Candice CLOBBERS her down! Another cover, TWO! Candice drags Shotzi into a top wristlock and thrashes her around. Shotzi endures, fans rally up and Shotzi fights up. Candice throws Shotzi by her hair! Candice drags Shotzi over, tags Indi in, and Indi stomps Shotzi down. Cover, TWO! Indi is annoyed, she kicks Shotzi at the ropes then drags her up.
Indi throws Shotzi through ropes and EuroUppers! Tag to Candice, Indi BOOTS Shotzi to the apron and Candice is there to stand on Shotzi! Candice lets off at the ref’s count to cover, TWO! Another cover, but Candice’s feet are on the ropes! The ref sees that so she doesn’t bother counting. Candice drags Shotzi up, bumps her off buckles, and The Way mugs Shotzi in the corner! Fans rally, Shotzi fights back, but Candice keeps her from Ember! Shotzi kicks Candice away, Indi tags in, and Indi drags Shotzi away from Ember! Another tag and Candice drags Shotzi up by her hair. Shotzi breaks free to ENZIGURI! Fans rally as both women are down and Shotzi goes to her corner. Hot tag to Ember!
Ember rallies on Candice, DECKS Indi for good measure, then wrenches Candice to kick, kick and fire off JABS! Ember pops, locks, and says, “SUCK IT!” Ember spins and DECKS Candice! Oh you didn’t know?! Fans are all fired up with Ember as she drags Candice up to throw her into a corner. Ember runs corner to corner to splash! Candice is down, Ember rises up top, but Indi is there to distract! Candice hits ropes to trip Ember up! Tag to Indi, the Way goes after Ember together but Shotzi rushes in to yank Indi down! Shotzi clubs Candice, climbs up behind her, but Indi gets back in! TOWER OF DOOM!! That was some kind of Super German Powerbomb Plex! Cover, TWO!!
Indi is shocked that Ember still lives! Indi stalks Ember to a corner, stomps her in, then drags her out. Cover, TWO! Indi stalks Ember, brings her up and whips her to ropes, for an IMPRESSIVE SPINEBUSTER! High stack cover, TWO!! Ember still lives, but Indi drags her over to tag in Candice. The Way coordinates, but Ember shoves Candice into Indi! Hot tag to Shotzi! Shotzi climbs, and CROSSBODIES The Way down! Indi bails out, Shotzi ROLLING ELBOWS Candice! Shotzi double chicken wings Candice for a TIGER PLEX! Candice flops out to join Indi, Shotzi tags Ember! Ember holds the ropes open, Shotzi builds speed and DIVES! Direct hit sends them all into barriers!!
Ember watches as Shotzi and The Way get back up. Ember hurries to a corner, climbs up, SUPER CANNONBALL to The Way! Ember puts Candice in, tags Shotzi, they coordinate, DOMINATOR CUTTER!! Cover, TWO!! Candice survives but Shotzi fires up! Shotzi drags Candice over but Candice rolls her up! TWO, SUPERKICK! Candice DECKS Ember for good measure! Candice tags Indi in, The Way drags Shotzi up and whips her, for a flapjack to the 3D!! Cover, Ember breaks it!! Fans are thunderous as Ember saves this, but Candice throws Ember to the apron. Candice kicks Ember down, Ember KNEES her back! Indi drags Shotzi up but Shotzi breaks free to ENZIGURI!
Hot tag to Ember! Ember climbs up, aims at The Way, Shotzi tags back in. DOUBLE ECLIPSE!! Shotzi climbs and aims at Indi! STAGE DIVE SENTON!! Cover, Shotzi & Ember win!!
Winners: Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart, by pinfall (still NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions)
No fear, no quit, and no losing just yet! Will the second-ever be the best ever as they continue on with these young titles?
NXT North American Championship: Johnny Gargano w/ Austin Theory VS Bronson Reed!
The Gauntlet Eliminator sifted through the potential to find the Colossal worthy of this opportunity! Will Reed bulldoze through Johnny TakeOver? Or will we all see that he is still Johnny Freakin’ Wrestling?
The introductions are made, and Gargano gets a little too into his. The title is raised, and one of Gargano’s biggest challenges in a long time begins!
Gargano circles around Reed, Reed corners him, and waistlocks to slam Gargano, then run him over! Reed whips, Gargano goes up and over, speeds up, ducks and dodges and RANAS, but Reed cartwheels through!? Things speed up again and Gargano leaps, only for Reed to SWAT him out of the air! Reed hauls Gargano up and military presses into the FALL AWAY SLAM! Reed stalks Gargano to a corner, clubs him then rams into him, then throws hands! Reed elbows Gargano down, then drags Gargano right up to the fireman’s carry! Gargano fights to get to the apron, he ROCKS Reed, snaps the ropes at him, then slingshots and SPEARS! Reed stays up!?
Gargano runs at him to fire off haymakers, but Reed CHOPS him down! Fans want that “One More Time!” so Reed CHOPS Gargano off his feet again! Reed sees Gargano get to a corner and he runs in, but misses! Gargano LARIATS but Reed stays up! Gargano runs to LARIAT again but still Reed stays up! Gargano kicks, but Reed scoops, only for Gargano to slip off and chop block! Gargano runs and leaps to LARIAT Reed down! Gargano drives elbows and knees into Reed, backs up and KICKS him to apron! Reed stands, Gargano WRECKS him with a dropkick! Gargano is targeting the stomach as he slingshots and PLANCHAS, but is caught!
Reed pops Gargano back up, but Gargano rakes eyes to get free! Gargano RAMS Reed into the corner of the announce desk, stomach first! Reed shoves Gargano away and hobbles around the way. Reed gets in the ring and he hobbles to a corner. Gargano runs in to RAM him in the corner! Fans say it’s still “Big Boy Season!” but Gargano fires off fists in the corner! Theory counts along but Reed stops it at 5. Gargano tries to sunset flip, but Reed stays up. Reed drops but Gargano avoids the sit-down! Gargano CLUBS Reed on the back, hops up and leaps to SPLASH! Cover, ONE!! Gargano CLUBS Reed on the back, and again, and then straddle attacks him.
Gargano gets a cobra clutch and he grinds Reed down. Fans rally, Reed fights up, but Gargano throws in knees! Gargano wrangles Reed to the mat, he pulls on the hold, and drives more knees in! Reed fights up, Gargano leans on the cobra clutch, then becomes a backpack! Reed RAMS Gargano into buckles! Reed gaps for air, runs but Gargano boots him! Gargano hops up, leaps, but into a POWERSLAM! Theory coaches Gargano up as he and Reed slowly rise. Reed DECKS Gargano, and again! Reed whips and CLOBBERS Gargano with a body block! Gargano staggers to a corner, Reed SPLASHES him! Reed choke grips and CHOKE SLAMS him down!
Gargano flounders, Reed grits his teeth and storms over. The ref checks on Gargano and has Reed stay back. Gargano is alright, so Reed drags Gargano up. Reed suplexes, Gargano fights with knees but can’t get free! Reed gets Gargano back up to a fireman’s carry and DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! Cover, TWO!! Gargano survives the #JaggedEdge, but Reed keeps his cool. Gargano gets up, but stumbles and flops. Gargano rolls to the apron, Reed drags Gargano up and to a corner. Reed climbs, tries a deadlift suplex but Gargano resists and trips Reed up! Then Gargano GAMANGIRIS Reed, to hit a DRAPING BACKSTABBER! Cover, TWO!!
Reed crawls while Gargano slaps himself to fire up. Gargano throws more forearms at Reed but Reed choke grips! Gargano fights the two-hand choke slam, fakes the superkick to mule kick! Gargano goes for Standing Sliced Bread, but Reed turns that into a suplex SLAM! Fans fire up as both men are down! A standing count begins, Reed stands first and drags Gargano to a drop zone. Reed goes to the corner but Gargano rolls away. Reed hurries after, drops a senton, but misses! Gargano ghost pins, TWO!! Reed narrowly escapes but Gargano BUZZSAWS! Gargano runs, into a tilt-o-whirl and snapmare. Reed ducks the Buzzsaw to Electric Chair, but Gargano POISON RANAS!!
Gargano runs, tilt-o-whirl for the takedown! Reed resists the crossface but Gargano KNEES him in the ribs! Gargano puts on the GargaNO Escape!! Reed endures, fights his way over, drags Gargano with him, and gets the ROPEBREAK! Gargano holds on but lets off at 4 in frustration. Gargano sees Reed on the apron, aims from the ropes, and slingshots, but Reed ROCKS him! Reed hauls Gargano to the crucifix, for a COLOSSAL RAZOR’S EDGE! Gargano crash lands in the ring! Reed climbs back up, TSUNAMI FLOPS!! Gargano avoids guaranteed destruction, to SUPERKICK! Cover, TWO!! Reed survives and Theory is frustrated for Gargano, who is exhausted!
Gargano goes to a corner, and calls upon the powers of DIY! But Reed blocks the superkick! And HEADBUTTS, to short-arm LARIAT! Reed climbs up but Theory goes after him! Gargano grabs at the ref, Reed CLOBBERS Theory, but Gargano trips Reed up! Gargano throws haymakers, climbs up top, and SUPER STEIN- NO! Reed slips through it to haul Gargano up for a POWERBOMB!! Gargano flounders to ropes as Reed covers, Theory gives Gargano the ropebreak!! Reed knows Theory had something to do with that, and he goes out to storm after him. Theory plays dumb, which isn’t that hard, and Reed grabs him with both hands!
Gargano DIVES, but Reed catches him and uses him to BOOT Theory! Then he TOSSES Gargano at Theory! Reed goes into the ring, the ref starts a ring count, but Reed builds speed?! Reed DIVES!! Theory gets BLASTED into barriers! Gargano RAMS Reed into the barriers, puts him in and slingshots, but not One Final Beat! Reed catches Gargano to hit a CRUNCHY!! Cover, TWO!! Gargano is proving he is superhuman like he has in the past, but Reed drags Gargano up and reels him in. Reed gets Gargano up but Gargano fights and RANAS! Reed hits ropes in the stomach, Gargano SUPERKICKS! Fakes and SUPERKICKS again! Reed SUPERKICKS back?!
Reed goes up the corner, fans are thunderous as he MOONSAULTS but FLOPS! Gargano is on the apron, he slingshots in, ONE FINAL BEAT!! But Reed still sits up!? Gargano ONE FINAL BEATS again!!! Cover, Gargano wins!!
Winner: Johnny Gargano, by pinfall (still NXT North American Champion)
The Colossal did so much in just two days, from winning a gauntlet eliminator to taking NXT’s Iron-Man to his limit! But in the end, Reed hit his limit, and Gargano took over once again! Will The Way’s father figure continue on to again define NXT’s new era?
NXT Championship: Finn Balor VS Karrion Kross w/ Scarlett Bordeaux!
The Prince, one of the greatest champions in this brand’s history. Mr. Doomsday, one of the fastest to reach the top title. Stamina, experience, strength, confidence, aggression, determination. This match has it all, and will determine the future of this brand! But will Balor keep his crown and cross Kross off his list? Or will he fail to Stand & Deliver, and instead #FallAndPrey?
The introductions are made as these two stare down face to face the entire time. The belt is raised, and we see if 20 years is enough to cancel the apocalypse!
Kross and Balor only back off for the bell, but get right in each other’s faces again. Fans rally and duel, Balor looks Kross up and down one more time before they tie up! Kross throws Balor down, Balor gets right back up, and gets right back in Kross’ face. They tie up again, Balor gets an arm but Kross shoves him away. Kross wags his finger, it won’t be that easy to get after the repaired arm. The two circle, Kross waistlocks but Balor goes after the arm. Balor wrenches, grinds the shoulder, but Kross grits his teeth. Kross fights up, scoops, but Balor slips off. Kross knees low and hard, but Balor just grins?! Scarlett asks what’s so funny, but Balor and Kross go again.
Balor headlocks, Kross powers up but can’t power out as Balor grinds. Kross pulls at hair but the ref reprimands. Balor grinds more, Kross powers up and finally powers out to run Balor over! Balor gets up and still grins! Fans rally behind Balor as he and Kross circle. Balor kicks but now Kross laughs at Balor. Balor’s power and strikes don’t scare Kross, even as he kicks and CHOPS! Kross TOSSES Balor for thinking he could match up! Balor grins all the same. Kross is getting annoyed as Balor just stretches and resets. Then Balor SLAPS Kross! Fans are fired up as Kross seethes. Kross roars, and RAMS Balor into the corner!
Kross RAMS into him again and again, then ROCKS him with a right! “Is this what you want?! Now you’re gonna get it!” Kross whips corner to corner then RAMS into Balor! Kross whips back the other way but Balor moves and Kross POSTS himself! Balor pulls the bad arm against the ropes! The ref counts, Balor lets off but just a moment before he pulls the arm into the ropes again! The ref counts, Balor lets off to then fire uppercuts on the arm! Balor wrenches, steps over and grinds the arm down. Scarlett coaches Kross as he endures and fans rally up. Kross fights to move around but Balor shifts to a chinlock. Balor even traps an arm for a modified half straitjacket!
Kross endures as Balor pulls back, and he powers up to make Balor a backpack! Kross RAMS Balor into buckles, then clotheslines, elbows and clotheslines again! Balor staggers and stumbles away, Kross gets the bad arm moving. Kross brings Balor around and snap suplexes him! Balor almost gets thrown more than anything! Kross stalks up behind Balor, drags him back up and puts him in the Tree of Woe! The ref reprimands, Kross stomps Balor then backs off, to run corner to corner and KNEE Balor! That was dangerously low! Kross looms over Balor, fans rally up but Scarlett says it won’t help. Kross hauls Balor up but Balor goes for a takedown! Balor gets an ARMBAR!
The bad arm is caught and Balor pulls on it as hard as he can! Balor’s sideways rather than on his back, but that helps with leverage! Kross fights up to bridge and rolls! Kross dead lifts Balor, but Balor shifts to get an ARMBAR DDT! Kross writhes, Balor is after the arm with a double wristlock! Balor hammerlocks the arm on the mat, and SNAP locks it! Balor grinds the arm, SNAP LOCKS again, and Kross is clutching the elbow. Balor CHOPS Kross in the corner, wraps the arm around the ropes, then stomps Kross down! Balor again has the arm on ropes, the ref counts, but Balor again lets off with a stomp! Kross walks along ropes, Balor stalking behind him.
Balor pushes Kross, CHOPS him, but Kross resists the whip. Balor mule kicks, Kross gets mad but then he crumbles to the mat! Is this another liver shot like with Kyle O’Reilly? Balor stomps away on Kross at the ropes, and fans fire up! Scarlett checks on Kross as Balor backs off. Balor gets Kross up, bends him back against the ropes, and crossface forearms to the GUT! The ref backs Balor off but he runs, into a KICK from Kross! Whatever pain Kross is feeling, he fights through it to get Balor up. Kross scoops, and RAMS Balor into buckles, then all the way to the other! But Balor slips out to ELBOW DROP DDT! Both men are down and fans fire up!
A standing count begins, Kross clamps onto Balor’s foot with his good arm! Balor kicks Kross but Kross holds on! Kross gets Balor up and clinches for a NORTHERN LIGHTS! Roll through to CLOBBER Balor! Kross drags Balor up, reels him in, Canadian rack to the BOMB! Cover, TWO! Balor survives but barely, and Kross grimaces as he clutches his stomach. Kross mocks the finger guns and then shouts, “DOOMSDAY!” Kross hauls Balor up but Balor GUILLOTINES! Balor throws knee after knee, then trips for the DOUBLE STOMPS! Balor runs to PENALTY KICK! Fans fire up, Balor gets Kross’ arm for a grounded cobra twist!
Balor punches away on Kross’ side, then gets a standing cobra twist! Kross endures, fans rally and Scarlett is furious! But Kross powers out to hip toss Balor away! Kross seethes, fires up and runs, but into a SLINGBLADE! Balor aims, runs in but into a LARIAT! Kross drags Balor right back up, and hits the DOOMSDAY SAIDO!! But Kross isn’t satisfied with that! He wants to end Balor! Time’s up, and Kross winds up. Kross runs, into a PELE! Balor runs to SHOTGUN DROPKICK! Kross staggers, Balor runs and SHOTGUNS Kross into buckles face-first! Kross is in a drop zone, Balor climbs up top, COUP DE GRACE!! Cover, TWO!?!? And into the SLEEPER HOLD!!
Balor is caught but gets up, reaches for ropes, but Kross pulls him back! Balor rolls through to DOUBLE STOMP! Balor fires up and the fans are there with him! Kross groans in pain as Balor aims, and PUNTS him in the side! Balor fires off kicks and knees and elbows! Balor gets the cobra twist again, and drags him down to the mat! Kross sits up, Balor keeps his shoulders up and Scarlett coaches Kross. Kross endures, powers right out of the hold, and hammers away on Balor’s head!! Is Balor out?! Kross lets off before the ref can check, and dead lifts to GERMAN SUPLEX! Balor sputters but he’s awake. Kross storms over, drags Balor up, reels him in and DOOMSDAY SAIDOS!!
Kross still won’t finish it here, he wants to clean Balor’s clock! Balor staggers, Kross runs, BLINDSIDE FOREARM!! But that’s not enough, yet! Balor staggers up, into the DOOMSDAY FOREARM!!! Cover, Kross wins!!
Winner: Karrion Kross, by pinfall (NEW NXT Champion)
The Prince has been dethroned!! The apocalypse has returned!! Kross wins back the title that he never truly lost! But will he now get to finish what he started so long ago? Will ALL of NXT have no choice but to #FallAndPray?!
Backstage interview with Santos Escobar.
What a match for the title to become UNDISPUTED Cruiserweight Champion. That Devlin guy just kept coming back. It didn’t matter what he did, but Devlin kept coming back. Well he did have some help. Hey, Legado es familia. And Escobar will say this again so no one forgets: Escobar is the UNDISPUTED Cruiserweight Campeon, the Emperor of Lucha! Is it as simple as that? Or will Devlin still come back for more?
Unsanctioned Match: Adam Cole VS Kyle O’Reilly!
Who could have imagined it’d come to this? The Undisputed Era wasn’t the start of the friendship between these two, but it turned out to be the end. But with nothing holding these two back from leaving it all in the ring, just how does this end between the former Team Future Shock?
Extra security enters to keep these two from fighting before the bell. O’Reilly enters first to show off his new gear and rock out to his new theme song, now that he is purely Mr. Axe ‘n’ Smash! Cole also has new gear and a remix of the UE theme to go with it! The introductions are made, the bell rings, and TakeOver ends with the end of an Undisputed Era!
Cole and Kyle stare down, and then they just fire off! Kyle rocks Cole and back shim down, but Cole turns it around to fire off! Kyle ROCKS Cole, and again, and again! Kyle whips to BOOT Cole in the corner! Kyle whips the other way to BOOT him again! Cole flops against ropes but Kyle runs, into a BOOT from Cole! Cole runs but Kyle dumps him out hard! Kyle slingshots to PLANCHA! Direct hit and Kyle is right into an ARMBAR! Cole stomps Kyle to get free, then backs off as Kyle gets up. Cole then RAMS Kyle into Plexiglas! Cole brings Kyle up, brings him around and whips him into more Plexiglas! Fans fire up and duel as Kyle tackles Cole!
Kyle rains down rights, gets the legs and catapults Cole into the boards! Cole flounders away, Kyle stalks after him and whips him into more boards! Cole flops down and Kyle goes to fetch a chair! Kyle sits the chair up, knees Cole into having a seat, and then KICKS Cole as he sits up! And KICKS, and KICK- But Cole blocks to kick back! Cole brings Kyle over, but Kyle resists the lift to back drop! Kyle pushes Cole into the ring, hurries in but Cole RAMS him into a corner! Kyle gets a guillotine! No need for ropebreaks in this, either! Kyle climbs up, Cole pops free and shoves Kyle down to the floor!! The ref checks on Kyle because his neck isn’t even 100%!
Cole goes out, drags Kyle up and throws him into the barriers! Cole gets more chairs out and puts them in the ring. Fans rally and duel, Cole aims and JAMS a chair into him! Cole SMACKS Kyle on the back! “Is this what you want?!” Cole puts the chair in the ring, and then drags Kyle up to throw him into the girder! Cole puts Kyle in the ring, CLUBS him down, then digs a chair edge into the back of Kyle’s neck! Cole lets off and stalks Kyle around the ring. Cole brings Kyle up, whips him corner to corner hard, and Kyle bounces off buckles to hit the mat! Cole says Kyle ruined it, and he gets a chair that has the Undisputed Era’s CFOS logo on it!
Cole brings Kyle over to NECKBREAKER onto the chair!! “This is what YOU wanted!” Cole drags Kyle up again and whips him to a corner hard! Kyle falls, Cole drags him up and wrenches the neck! Cole throws crossface forearms, then drags Kyle up to waistlock. Kyle resists the lift, pries free and double wristlocks for a takedown! Kyle wants a Kimura but Cole throws knees! Cole fireman’s carries, USHIGOROSHI! Cover, TWO! Kyle survives but Cole seethes even more. Cole tells Kyle, “I made you who you are! You would be nothing without me!” Cole pushes Kyle around, kicks him, but Kyle just grits his teeth! Kyle throws a forearm, Cole gives it back!
It’s a brawl, Cole knees low then runs but into a KNEE! Kyle runs but into a BOOT! Cole runs but into a kitchen sink knee! Fans fire up, Cole staggers up and Kyle clamps on to throw more knees! Kyle KICKS a leg, ROCKS Cole with palm strikes, then kicks to sweep the leg! Fans chant, “We Want Tables!” but Kyle glares at Cole as he gets a chair. Kyle sits the chair up, runs at Cole to forearm smash, then he hits an elbow breaker to a back suplex ON the chair! HEEL HOOK! Cole rolls and gets ropes but the ropebreak won’t work! Cole BOOTS Kyle off the ashigarami and gets away. Kyle stands on the apron, aims and LEAPS to DROPKICK Cole into the chair!
Cole is down but so is Kyle, and the fans fire up again! Kyle gets up first, drags Cole up and puts him in the ring. Cole gets a chair and aims, but Kyle KNEES low! Ax hits but Smash gets a chair!! Cole defended himself but still gets hit by the chair itself! Cover, TWO!! Kyle seethes as he looks at what’s available. Kyle goes outside, and brings out a CHAIN! Kyle brings it into the ring, but Cole gets Kyle in the ropes, DRAPING NECKBREAKER on the chain!! Cover, TWO!! Kyle survives that hangman’s steel, but Cole gets the chain for his own now. Cole laces the chain around a rope, gathers up the rest and goes after Kyle’s head! Kyle defends, ROCKS Cole, but Cole hits back!
They brawl while also fighting over the chain! Kyle rebounds to DECK Cole! Kyle gets the chain back and ties it… around his own foot?! Kyle sits Cole up for STEEL KOWATA KICKS! Kyle has to reset the chain while Cole staggers, but Cole trips Kyle up! Cole steps through, the chain is part of the FIGURE FOUR! The Nature Boy never thought to do that! Kyle endures, Cole cranks and thrashes, but Kyle rocks the boat to reverse the pressure! Cole endures now, powers Kyle back over, but Kyle throws hands! They brawl while in the Figure Four and DOUBLE HAYMAKERS knock them both down! The hold is undone, fans rally up and Kyle sits up.
Cole follows, and he throws another forearm! Kyle knees, forearms, palm strikes and kicks! Kyle runs but Cole uses the chain to literally CLOTHESLINE Kyle! Cole then wraps Kyle up in chain for a BACKSTABBER! Cover, TWO!! Kyle survives and Cole can’t believe it! Cole gets a chair, sits it up near a corner, and grins as he sets up another chair with it, back to back! Cole hobbles over to Kyle, drags him up and brings him to the chairs with a fireman’s carry. Kyle slips out, waistlocks, but the neck won’t allow the German Suplex! Kyle ROCKS Cole, Cole elbows Kyle away! Cole GERMAN SUPLEXES Kyle, Kyle ends up in the chair, SHINING WIZARD!! Cover, TWO!!!
Kyle survives that tumble through steel but Cole keeps focus. Cole goes outside, pulls the steel steps apart, and drags Kyle over to the base! Cole’s used steps to devastate Kyle once before, is he going to do it again?! Cole drags Kyle up and around, suplexes, but Kyle slips out! Kyle GUILLOTINES Cole while he’s on top! The elevation makes for strong leverage! Cole is fading out, but Kyle lets off to KNEE Cole down! Kyle decides to use the steps now and he drags Cole back up! Kyle has Cole up but shoves him away? Perhaps Kyle doesn’t want ot sink to Cole’s lever. But then Kyle drags Cole back up, only for Cole to RAM him into barriers! Cole gets away but Kyle chases him down to BOOT him!
Kyle clears off the announce desk, and fans are happy to see this! After all, a desk is a table! Kyle puts Cole on the desk, climbs up to join him, but Cole ROCKS Kyle first! Kyle ROCKS Cole back, and they brawl up top! Cole throws forearm after forearm after forearm! Cole then brings Kyle up, assesses the area, but Kyle suplexes first for a BRAINBUSTER on the desk!! Cole flops to the floor while Kyle stays on the desk, but fans are thunderous! Cole manages to get up, and manages to crawl away past the timekeeper. “This is Awesome!” as Kyle gets up, paper notes stuck to him. Kyle stalks Cole, but Cole SMACKS him with a spare monitor!!
Cole drags Kyle up, puts him back in the ring, and Kyle flounders and flops. Cole brings out a TOOLBOX from under the ring! Cole opens it up, and dumps out everything inside it! Another chain, a tire iron, a monkey wrench and… A pair of pliers! Cole likes those, and he brings them to Kyle! Cole goes after Kyle’s face! Kyle blocks, Cole kicks low and stomps him down! Cole goes back for the tire iron! Cole aims, Kyle KICKS a leg out first! Kyle gets the tire iron but Cole PELES! Kyle yoyos to LARIAT! Fans fire up with Kyle and he brings Cole up to BRAIN BUSTER again! Cover, TWO!! Cole lives and the fans are thunderous for “NXT! NXT!” again!
Cole flounders, Kyle gets that chain he tied to the ropes! Kyle wraps the chain around one of Cole’s arms, and gets a FULL METAL ARMBAR!! Cole endures this steel cross armbreaker! Cole fights up, but now he’s in a steel TRIANGLE! Cole endures, but he can’t dead lift! He’s fading fast, but he gets his second wind! And the TIRE IRON! Cole CLOBBERS Kyle’s ribs with it!! Kyle writhes and Cole grins as he’s free. Fans hope these two “FIGHT FOREVER!” but this has to end somehow! Cole and Kyle each get a chair, “Both These Guys!” use them to sit up, and “This is Awesome!” Cole and Kyle take seats in front of each other, and Cole talks trash to Kyle.
Kyle BOOTS Cole in the face! Cole throws a haymaker, Kyle throws a forearm! Cole returns the forearm, so Kyle gives him another! Cole and Kyle get out of their seats and start throwing more shots! Kyle gets the edge, but Cole LOW BLOWS!! Not illegal but not fair, either! Cole aims as Kyle sputters and crawls. Kyle gets up, Cole SUPERKICKS! Cover, TWO!!! Kyle survives and Cole is furious! The fans are thunderous again while Cole tries to figure out what he has to do to end Kyle. Cole gets a chair again, and he puts it around Kyle’s head! Cole gets another chair, the ref says he shouldn’t do this but Cole tells him to shut up!
The ref keeps insisting, but Cole DECKS him! “When I say, ‘Shut up,’ you shut up!!” The fans even tell the ref, “You Deserve It!” Cole goes back to Kyle, to a corner, and he climbs up. Kyle flounders up, Cole leaps, PANAMA SUNRISE!! Cover, but the ref is out so there’s no count! Cole would’ve won, as the fans point out by counting to 10! Cole tells the ref to get up now! “Are you stupid?! Get up!” Cole shoves the ref but he’s out cold. Cole looks back at Kyle, and figures if this has to continue, he’ll just do more damage. Cole stalks Kyle to the ramp, carrying a chair with him. Cole THROWS the chair at Kyle’s head!
Cole hobbles after Kyle as he flops off the ramp, and he RAMS him into the boards! And again! And again! But Kyle YANKS Cole into the boards now! Cole and Kyle get up, Kyle gets a GUILLOTINE! Cole stays standing to RAM Kyle back into the boards! Cole is free, fans rally up and Cole drags Kyle up. Cole gets Kyle back on the ramp, but Kyle gets the GUILLOTINE again!! Cole stays up, LEAPS, and both men CRASH THROUGH THE STAGE!! They fall through the steel grate and to the floor below!! Cole emerges first! Cole kicks THROUGH the side of the ramp, just to get at Kyle?! Cole drags Kyle through the hole and puts him back onto the top of the ramp.
Kyle crawls back towards the ring, and the ref has finally recovered. Cole hobbles after Kyle, one of his hands cut and bloody. Kyle stumbles and falls again, and Cole thinks he has easy pickings, until Kyle falls all the way out of the ring. Cole pursues, drags him up, and brings him back to the base steps! Cole suplexes, to BRAIN BUSTER Kyle onto the steel!!! Kyle even flops onto the toolbox on the other side! Cole drags Kyle, limp as he is, and puts him back into the ring. Cover, TWO!?!? Kyle BARELY gets a shoulder up but that’s enough to stay in this! Fans are electric while Cole is shocked! Cole gets to his feet, brings Kyle back up, and fans rally and duel as hard as ever.
Cole brings the knee pad down, takes aim and runs, but Kyle flops over! Cole sits Kyle up, again tells him he’s nothing, and again runs, but Kyle ducks the Last Shot! Kyle gets the leg and gets the HEEL HOOK!! Cole boots Kyle again and again, but that leg gets caught! DOUBLE HEEL HOOK!! Cole writhes and flails, but he gets the chain! STEEL KNUCKLE!! Cole is free, and he sputters over to a corner. Cole hops up and aims at Kyle. Kyle gets up, Cole leaps, PAN- NO! Kyle fireman’s carries to USHIGOROSHI Cole! PENALTY KICK! Kyle gets up, brings HIS knee pad down, and wants to show Cole his own LAST SHOT!! Cover, TWO!?!? Cole survives but Kyle can’t even register frustration!
Kyle grits his teeth, gets a chair, turns it upside-down, and gathers up the chain. What is Kyle creating in his mind? Kyle brings the chain to the corner, piles it on, and then gets the chair. Kyle puts that chair around Cole’s leg, and then heads for the corner. Kyle flounders his way up the corner, but Cole gets up and uses that chair to SMACK Kyle off the top! Kyle falls to the mat, Cole gets sits the chair upside-down, and drags Kyle up. Cole puts Kyle in the ropes in the corner, gets around the corner and climbs up. Cole says he is always going to be better than Kyle! But Kyle LOW BLOWS Cole!! Payback for a moment ago, and Kyle gathers the chains again!
Kyle wraps his leg up in the steel, locks it in, and aims at Cole! Cole is on the chair, STEEL GUILLOTINE KNEE!!! Cover, KYLE WINS!!
Winner: Kyle O’Reilly, by pinfall
Incredible! Kyle brought out every ounce of aggression he could muster, and he crushes Cole one and for all! And for that, Stand & Deliver’s Unsanctioned main event gets a standing ovation! But will either man be able to stand after what they’ve put themselves through? Kyle gets to his feet, but a neck brace, back board and stretcher are needed for Cole. Will Cole ever be the same again? Kyle leaves, having settled the score, but where does this win take him next?
My Thoughts:
Night one was already awesome, night two was pretty epic! We got another surprise kickoff show match in Breezango VS Dain & Maverick, but it was a really fun match. Dain & Maverick win to face MSK, but I feel like this is to continue the story with Imperium. Alexander Wolfe specifically will show up, maybe get in Dain’s head, and that costs him and Maverick so that Dain & Maverick can then shift over to face Imperium while MSK get their first defense in the books. We did get good interview promos conducted by Samoa Joe, but just for Balor and Kross. Those were still very good promos, and I hope Joe keeps coming back to do these for other big TakeOvers.
Opening with Escobar VS Devlin was a great choice, it was definitely a good ladder match and made great use of the Capitol Wrestling Center’s space. I again groan at Legado having to help Escobar, but it is as I sadly knew would happen: the majority of the Cruiserweight Division is in the US, and the world is still rather wary because of COVID, so it’s just easier for the wrestler who lives in the US to get the title. No offense to him or his literal legacy as El Hijo del Fantasma, but as far as I can tell, that is the reason he won tonight. I have no idea who steps up next, but hopefully they finally get to be the one that dethrones Escobar.
The NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship match was very good, but it was natural for Shotzi & Ember to win. However anyone feels about them snatching those titles right off of Raquel & Dakota, Shotzi & Ember need to keep their reign going a bit to really build these titles. The North American Championship was great, Theory was involved at just the right amount, and Reed still looked like a monster given he still had such a great showing after having a gauntlet eliminator last night. Reed not getting the title might hurt a little if he’s to ever move up to the top title, but who knows. With Lumis and Knight starting a feud, no idea who is next for Gargano, but that might be set up as soon as NXTuesday.
Balor VS Kross was awesome, probably Kross’ best match since coming to NXT. I am a little surprised Kross won but it does make sense. It is almost cliché for wrestlers to say they never lost whatever title they gave up while injured, but that’s only because it’s true, and so for Kross, it is great for him to get this belt back to give us what we would’ve gotten almost a year ago. Balor is still great so he can do whatever he wants next. Challenge Gargano? Finally face Walter? Either one, but especially the latter so that we also get what we would’ve gotten almost a year ago. Hell, Balor becoming the first man to hold prime NXT and NXT UK titles would be fitting of the greatest star in NXT history.
Then Cole VS Kyle in their Unsanctioned match, HOT DAMN that was awesome! They were very creative with everything used, and I figured Kyle would win this. Cole can be written off, maybe return to action on Raw or SmackDown, start relatively fresh and add to his great resumé. I’m pretty sure it’s rarified air as one of the only NXT Triple Crowns to then add any other WWE belt. Kyle has finally broken free, he can easily go after Gargano or Kross with this momentum. Hell, why stop there? Kyle is billed at 200 pounds, that’s a Cruiserweight, let Kyle the first and only THREE-TIME tag champ check off ALL three belts to be NXT’s first GRAND SLAM winner! Then one day, Kyle and Balor can circle back and we will have a battle to see who is truly the best in the NXT history books!
My Score: 9.7/10
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The Road to the Tokyo Dome goes through KOPW!
As 2024 nears an end, Great-O-Khan defends the KOPW Championship one more time, against a former KOPW Champion in Taichi! Who will be THE 2024 King of Pro-Wrestling?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Kickoff – Chase Your Dream Match: Shoma Kato VS Hiromu Takahashi; Hiromu wins.
- Boltin Oleg VS Satoshi Kojima; Boltin wins.
- Triple Threat Tag: Jeff Cobb & Jakob Austin Young VS Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson VS Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi; Narita & Yujiro win.
- DOUKI & Taka Michinoku VS El Desperado & Master Wato; Desperado & Wato win.
- Fatal 4 Way: Kevin Knight VS Robbie Eagles VS Francesco Akira VS “Drilla” Dan Moloney; Eagles wins.
- Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS Bullet Club War Dogs; LIJ wins.
- Shota Umino & Hiroshi Tanahashi VS Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita; ZSJ & Fujita win.
- KOPW Championship Three Stages of Hell: Great-O-Khan VS Taichi; Khan wins and is the definitive 2024 KOPW Champion.
PLAY BY PLAY
After the Triple Threat Tag…
The House of Torture of course cheated to win, but they wouldn’t leave it at that! They waited until the United Empire and TMDK argued with each other to then attack them all! Yujiro Takahashi CLUBS Oiwa down while Narita shoves Cobb into big Hartley Jackson! And then Narita JAMS Cobb with the pushup bar! The fans boo but Narita JAMS Oiwa up, too! The Souled Out Son of Strong Style is so proud of himself as he holds up his NJPW World TV Championship, but wait. Christmas music starts playing? The fans clap along as surprise! Santa and his reindeer are here! Well, one reindeer. But shouldn’t the House of Torture be on the naughty list?
Santa Claus walks over, and he gets the mic. He sounds familiar as he tells, “Narita-san… You have a Christmas present waiting. Would you like it now?” Narita asks what the heck is going on. Santa steps into the ring and offers Narita the little tiny bag. Narita snatches the bag, then he and Yujiro look at it. The fans asks, “Nani nani? <What is it?>” Narita tells them to shut up. Narita gets the bag open and pulls out… Blue sunglasses! With LED lights! The fans cheer as the lights go down! “E! L! P!” EL PHANTASMO IS HERE! The Headbanga has been battling cancer, but he’s here in Korakuen Hall!
Narita is furious but ELP slides right into the ring! Narita & Yujiro run away, but the fans cheer ELP on as he stands side-by-side with Jado Claus. ELP gets the mic now, and the fans cheer him on. ELP takes a moment before saying, in Japanese, “Cancer. Cancer… I’ve beaten cancer! And I love Korakuen!” But ELP asks Jado-san how to say a certain something in Japanese. He whispers it, but then Narita & Yujiro attack! The fans boo these cowards, but then Narita says Merry Christmas! But ELP BOOTS him, ELBOWS Yujiro, then dodges Narita to SUDDEN DEATH! Jado Claus DECKS the Tokyo Pimp!
ELP again asks Jado, and Jado says on behalf of ELP, that ELP is going to wrestle tomorrow night! And… Then he’ll be at the Tokyo Dome! ELP grabs the NJPW World TV Championship! ELP looks it over, and looks to the crowd, and then to Jado, but then Jeff Cobb and Ryohei Oiwa get in the ring. Cobb asks if ELP’s good. ELP is good. Are they good? Then let’s turn it up a notch! FATAL 4 WAY for the TV Championship! Narita snatches his belt, gets out of the ring, and tells everyone to shut up! The odds just got stacked against the House of Torture, will the New Year have a NEW NJPW World TV Champion one way or another?
Shota Umino & Hiroshi Tanahashi VS Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita!
Ahead of battling for THE IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, The Roughneck and The Front Man bring some back up! The Ace is also preparing to fight Evil, will he and Shota bring a Once in a Century Paradigm Shift? Or will ZSJ and the Japanese Young Punk prove The Mighty Don’t Kneel?
The teams sort out and Shota starts against ZSJ. The fans cheer this WrestleKingdom preview, and Korakuen duels between “SHOTA! SHOTA!” and “ZAKU! ZAKU!” ZSJ and Shota feel things out, then knuckle lock. ZSJ clinches but Shota fights back with his own clinch. ZSJ slips around to chinbar but Shota wrenches to a wristlock. ZSJ rolls, tries another chinbar but Shota cranks the wristlock. ZSJ bridges, spins, slips around and wrangles Shota! Shota kips up to WRING the arm, but ZSJ UP KICKS! The fans cheer as the two reset. Shota and ZSJ circle, feel things out, and knuckle lock. ZSJ then stands on Shota’s hand!
ZSJ has another hand and twists the wrist! Then he has both arms for a motorcycle stretch but Shota fights up. Shota turns things around, and he fights ZSJ as ZSJ tries to turn them back. ZSJ keeps trying, and he pushes through, but Shota spins things right back around! The fans cheer while Shota digs a foot into ZSJ’s back. ZSJ flips, kips up, spins things around, but Shota spins them back! The fans cheer, and Shota spins ZSJ. ZSJ dodges the lariat, Shota blocks a kick, but ZSJ ducks the enzigiri! Shota avoids the Penalty Kick and arm-drags ZSJ, but ZSJ headscissors! Shota kips free, avoids a leg pick, and the fans cheer!
Shota dares ZSJ to go for the leg but the two reset again. They feel things out, knuckle lock, and each man breaks free of one. They back off, and Shota tags in Tanahashi. The fans cheer, ZSJ tags in Fujita, and Korakuen strongly supports President Ace. Tanahashi and Fujita circle, tie up, and Tanahashi powers Fujita back. The ref counts, Tanahashi lets off slowly, but then Fujita turns things around! Tanahashi turns things around, and repeat! The ref counts, Fujita lets off slowly, but then both men block a kick! They argue over who lets go first, and eventually agree for a mutual break. They set the feet down, but then Fujita holds on!
Fujita CHOPS Tanahashi, then whips. Tanahashi reverses but Fujita ducks ‘n’ dodges to GAMANGIRI! The fans fire up and Fujita aims from a corner. Fujita runs corner to corner but Tanahashi BOOTS him! Shota CLOBBERS Fujita, then eggs ZSJ on! ZSJ runs up, Shota blocks a kick and he sends ZSJ into Tanahashi’s ELBOW! Shota CLOBBERS ZSJ and the fans fire up. Shota pursues ZSJ to the outside and CLUBS him down! Shota clamps onto ZSJ with a chinlock but the ref reprimands. Tanahashi CHOPS Fujita, but Fujita CHOPS Tanahashi! The fans fire up as Fujita storms back up, but he blocks a boot!
Fujita DRAGON SCREWS Tanahashi’s leg! Fujita kips up, ZSJ sends Shota into railing, and Fujita stomps Tanahashi. The fans rally and Fujita brings Tanahashi up to CHOP! Fujita eggs Tanahashi on, CHOPS him again, then CHOPS again! Tanahashi flounders and ZSJ tags in. ZSJ drags Tanahashi up to UPPERCUT! Tanahashi ends up in the TMDK corner, ZSJ UPPERCUTS him again! ZSJ says, “Mada mada!” and he UPPERCUTS again! Tanahashi falls, ZSJ tags in Fujita, and Fujita brings Tanahashi up. Fujita CHOPS again, and then CHOPS again! Tanahashi is stinging and using the ropes for defense while the fans rally up.
Tanahashi storms up but Fujita CHOPS! Tanahashi CHOPS, Fujita CHOPS! Tanahashi falls and Fujita BLASTS Shota! Tag to ZSJ and he grabs a leg. Fujita also grabs one, they drag Tanahashi to center, and then they both go after arms. Then they shift, ZSJ has an arm while Fujita has a leg! Then they both have legs again! Then ZSJ has a leg and Fujita has an arm! Then back to the arms! They both isolate the arms for DOUBLE STOMPS! The fans cheer, the ref reprimands and ZSJ “apologizes” with a bow. ZSJ stands on one of Tanahashi’s legs to then twist the other! Tanahashi endures, even as ZSJ TWEAKS the ankle!
ZSJ twists the foot the other way, flips Tanahashi over, and shifts around to have a headscissor and armlock! Shota stomps ZSJ but Fujita goes after Shota! Fujita TOSSES Shota, ZSJ tags Fujita back in. Fujita stomps Tanahashi, KICKS him in the back, but Tanahashi gets mad! Fujita KICKS Tanahashi but Tanahashi fires up! Fujita KICKS and CHOPS, but Tanahashi fires forearm after forearm! Fujita CHOPS again! Tanahashi grits his teeth but Fujita CHOPS again! And CHOPS again! SHOTEI! Fujita falls but so does Tanahashi! The fans rally up while both men crawl, hot tag to Shota! Shota rallies on Fujita with big forearms and elbows!
Shota whips, Fujita reverses, but Shota dropkicks the legs out! ZSJ runs up and RAMS Shota! Then ZSJ runs, but into Shota’s DROPKICK! The fans fire up and Shota goes to Fujita. Shota whips corner to corner, runs up, and UPPERCUTS! Shota reels Fujita in, FISHERMAN SUPLEX! Bridging cover, TWO! Not quite perfect but Shota doesn’t mind. Shota clinches but Fujita fights the suplex with elbows. Shota runs up, but Fujita wrenches, waistlocks, but Shota ELBOWS free! Shota whips, Fujita reverses and DROPKICKS! Both men are down and the fans fire up again! Fujita crawls, hot tag to ZSJ!
ZSJ runs up to BOOT Shota! Shota stays up so ZSJ runs to BOOT him again! And BOOT him again! Shota roars and ROCKS ZSJ! Shota runs to ROCK ZSJ again! ZSJ UPPERCUTS, Shota eggs him on, repeat! Shota UPPERCUTS and ZSJ roars! ZSJ UPPER- NO, Shota hooks the arm, but ZSJ wrenches out of the backslide to PELE the arm! Then ZSJ basement DROPKICKS Shota! The fans fire up while Shota clutches a leg and an arm. ZSJ kicks him around, scuffs him and taunts him. The fans rally, the ref checks Shota, but Shota is okay to continue. ZSJ stands Shota up to UPPERCUT! And UPPERCUT!
Shota clinches to EXPLODER! Both men are down and the fans rally again! Shota crawls, hot tag to Tanahashi! Fujita runs up, but Tanahashi blocks a kick to DRAGON SCREW! Payback for earlier! Tanahashi runs up at ZSJ in a corner, blocks a boot, and DRAGON SCREWS! Tanahashi put some stank on that one! Then he goes up the corner for a SUNSET SENTON! Cover, TWO! ZSJ stays in this but the fans continue to rally! “GO ACE! GO ACE!” echoes out as Tanahashi runs, but ZSJ catches him into a COBRA TWIST! Tanahashi endures, then throws elbows into ZSJ’s leg. Tanahashi gets free to DRAGON SCREW again!
ZSJ writhes, Tanahashi ties the legs up, but ZSJ kicks at him! Tanahashi blocks a kick to GROUND DRAGON SCREW! And now, TEXAS CLOVER- NO, ZSJ fights the turnover and reels Tanahashi into a TRIANGLE HOLD! Tanahashi endures and the fans rally up, but Shota gets in! Shota stomps away on ZSJ, but then Fujita MISSILE DROPKICKS Shota! Fujita brings Tanahashi up but Tanahashi SHOTEIS him down! ZSJ is after Tanahashi but he avoids the shotei! ZSJ SLAPS Tanahashi, then PENALTY KICKS! Cover, TWO!! Tanahashi survives but ZSJ gives him a NECK TWIST! The fans fire up as ZSJ stand Tanahashi up.
ZSJ scoops but Tanahashi fights that, to a TWIST ‘N’ SHOUT! The fans fire up but Tanahashi isn’t done! TWIST ‘N’ SHOUT! Tanahashi stands ZSJ up again, but ZSJ scoops to ZACK DRIVER!! Cover, ZSJ & Fujita win!
Winners: Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita, by pinfall
Shota can’t believe The Ace fell, but this is why ZSJ is the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion! Will ZSJ do this all to Shota when they’re 1v1 in the Tokyo Dome? Or will Shota prove he’s mightier than The Mighty?
KOPW Championship Three Stages of Hell: Great-O-Khan VS Taichi!
The Dominator has, well, dominated as KOPW Champion for a long stretch of 2024, but the Holy Emperor did close out 2023 with this title. Granted, Taichi says that win, lose or draw, this is his final KOPW Championship match. As such, tonight’s stipulation is a sort of “Best Of” compilation as we go Best 2 Out of 3. Part one: a no ropes Sumo Rules match! Part two: Yoshinobu Kanemaru as special guest referee? Well, he would be a neutral party… And part three, if needed, will be a LAST MAN STANDING MATCH! Will Taichi “retire” from this truly freestyle division standing tall? Or will Khan truly conquer KOPW for the United Empire?
The introductions are made, the belt is raised, but Taichi also brings back the trophy for the occasion, and it’s time to end the year in style!
Sumo Rules!
Both men finish preparations with weight belts and some stretching. They square up, the ref says go and they RAM into each other! The fans rally as both men go for those weight belts to use as leverage. They go around, get very close to the ring edge, but then Khan moves things away. Khan THROWS Taichi, but Taichi stays on the ring so the sumo match continues. They reset and go again! Taichi pushes Khan back with both hands, but Khan digs in his heels! They clinch, go around, and Taichi goes for the edge! Khan pulls on Taichi’s leg to get around, but Taichi uses that to steer Khan to another edge! But Khan hits a fireman’s carry takeover!
Khan drags Taichi up but Taichi fights off the throw! They clinch and fight for control again. They each try to lift with the belt! Khan has Taichi near the edge, but then Taichi has Khan near the edge! Khan is teetering and the fans fire up! Taichi THROWS Khan to the floor, Taichi wins the fall!
Khan: 0; Taichi: 1
Special Guest Referee!
The fans are thunderous as Taichi takes the Sumo Rules fall, but now we go to a much more complicated situation. The ropes have to be put back up, sure, but now the Heel Master of all people is going to be the referee! The time it takes to set up the ropes is a reprieve for both sides, especially Khan as he has to catch his breath and refocus. Once the ropes are up, both men wait in the ring. All that is left is the buckle pads, and of course, Kanemaru himself. Kanemaru gets a proper introduction and entrance before he goes to the ring, and wow, he’s even wearing an official NJPW referee shirt with the lion mark on it.
Referee Kanemaru does his check and he even tells Taka Michinoku to watch himself. Kanemaru does a far less thorough check of Khan than Taichi! Did the Empire pay Kanemaru off?! Kanemaru has Taichi cool off, then whispers something to Khan! The bell rings, the fans rally for Khan, and Khan circles with Taichi. They tie up, Taichi powers Khan to ropes, and Kanemaru calls for a ropebreak. Then he has a fast count! Taichi lets off before 4 and argues with Kanemaru! Kanemaru says that’s his count, deal with it. Khan and Taichi reset, tie up, and Khan puts Taichi on ropes. Kanemaru pays more attention to Taka than Taichi!
The fans can’t help but laugh as Kanemaru finally does count, and now it’s really slow! Taichi protests, but Khan pulls Taichi’s arms. Then he CHOPS Taichi and stops at “3!” Khan then goes after Taichi, wrenches and wristlocks, and Kanemaru is asking if Taichi gives up!? Taichi tells him to shut up, but Khan kicks and CLUBS Taichi. Khan whips, Taichi BOOTS Khan down, then covers! Kanemaru strolls over to count! And it’s so slow! “TWO” and the fans cheer. Taichi is upset, but Khan rolls Taichi up! SO FAST!! TWO!! Taichi is getting pissed but Kanemaru backs away. Taichi stomps Khan, and Kanemaru’s untying a buckle pad?!
Taichi stomps Khan around, Khan leaves the pad there loosely, and Taichi whips. Khan reverses, and SURPRISE! bare buckles! Taka protests but Kanemaru SMACKS him with the pad! Khan plays dumb, and then he stands on Taichi’s lower back. Taichi has the ropes, but Kanemaru kicks the arm away! Khan has Taichi’s other arm, Taichi keeps grabbing for ropes but Kanemaru keeps kicking the hand away! Khan drags Taichi up, brings him around, and ROCKS him in the back! Taichi goes to a corner, Khan Mongolian Chops him on the back! And Mongolian Chops again! And Mongolian Chops again! Kanemaru doesn’t bother counting at all!
Taka protests, Kanemaru warns him, but then Khan hops up to sit on his throne! The fans cheer while Taichi endures, and only now does Kanemaru count! Khan asks hold on, hold on, so Kanemaru stops counting! Khan hops down, and then he puts Kanemaru up on the throne! Khan gets the fans to join in on the “Ohh…! HMPH!” Kanemaru isn’t into it so he hops down. Khan apologizes to Kanemaru, then he kicks Taichi around. Taichi gets up to fire hands! Khan kicks low, whips, but Taichi reverses to wrench and HOOK KICK! The fans fire up while both men are down. Taichi stands, and he drags Khan up into SEITEI JUJIHOU!
Kanemaru might be stuck, he can’t ignore Khan tapping. But then Kanemaru drags Khan over to the ropes! Taichi is frustrated with Kanemaru but Kanemaru says that’s a ropebreak. Taichi storms up on Kanemaru, but then Khan waistlocks! Ripcord and SAYANAGI! Both men are down again and the fans rally up! Taichi goes to a corner, Khan runs in, but Taichi dodges! GAMANGIRI! The fans fire up and Taichi snarls. Taichi TAKES OFF THE PANTS! The pants were a bit stubborn, but still. But then Kanemaru “checks” Khan just to stay between him and Taichi! Taichi says move or else! Kanemaru says he’s the ref!
Kanemaru kicks Taichi, CLAWS Taichi’s eyes, then traps his arms! Khan gets up to IRON RIGHT!! Kanemaru “scolds” Khan, then “checks” Taichi. Khan rests in a corner and Kanemaru drags Taichi up for him. Taichi CHOKES Kanemaru! Kanemaru kicks low! Kanemaru whips Taichi into a corner, ELBOWS him, then Khan LARIATS! Khan snapmares and covers, Kanemaru wants more first! Khan sits Taichi up for a BASEMENT DROPKICK! Now cover, TWO!! Taichi survives so Kanemaru hurries to get his whiskey! Khan takes a swig, and Kanemaru sets Taichi up! WHISKEY MIST into Kanemaru! Taichi hits the GEDO CLUTCH, but Kanemaru really can’t count now!
Taichi lets off of Khan since there was no count to be had. Taichi drags Kanemaru up, but Khan WHISKEY BOTTLE SHOTS Taichi! IRON CLAW!! Kanemaru calls for the bell? He just hands the win to Khan without counting, so now we’re all tied up!
Khan: 1; Taichi: 1
Kanemaru has fulfilled the contract, Khan gives him the envelope of money. Khan even makes sure we all see how many thousands that is! Kanemaru heads out, is he going to party hard for the holidays? But that aside, it is time for the final fall!
Last Man Standing!
Taichi gets the mic first, and tells Khan that if that’s how Khan wants to do it, then Taichi will get down and dirty with Khan! No lumberjacks, no special guests, just the straight up ten count, and it can happen anywhere in Korakuen Hall! Khan says bet! The announcement is made for the official rule change, and now we have the final fall! Khan rushes Taichi on the outside, then whips him into railing! And we’re already going into the crowd! Khan throws Taicihi at English commentary, but big Hartley is a solid wall for Chris. Khan then drags Taichi up into the bleachers, and the fans clear out of the way!
Khan CHOKES Taichi with a chair, then lets off to clear chairs out of the way. The Young Lions try to help but Khan gets mad at them and pushes them aside. Khan drags Taichi up, knees him low, and then reels him in! But Taichi fights the sayanagi! Taichi SHOVES Khan, Khan falls to the floor but gets up, only for Taichi to CROSSBODY! Down goes Khan and Red Shoes hurries over. Both men are down but Taichi sits up. The count starts and Khan is still down at 5 of 10! Khan hurries to get up, and Taichi stomps him down! Taichi drags Khan back up into the bleachers, but we go the other way.
Taicih KICKS Khan down, Young Lions keep the fans back again, and Taichi drags Khan along. They keep moving through the crowd, and Taichi shoves Khan into chairs! Khan sputters but Taichi drags him up again. Taichi KNEES Khan, then drags him up. They go back down to floor level, and then Taichi aims at chairs! Taichi whips but Khan reverses and he BOWLS Taichi into chairs! Not quite a strike but he got a good number of those chairs! Khan pops the railing loose from the special corner piece, and he brings that corner piece over! Khan SMACKS Taichi with the steel! Taichi staggers away but he sits in a chair.
Khan starts folding chairs to stack them on the floor. Khan then uses one chair as a leash to drag Taichi over! Khan CLUBS Taichi, adds that one chair to the pile, and then snap suplexes Taichi onto the chairs! Taichi writhes but Khan rises up. Khan roars and the fans fire up! The count begins again but Taichi slowly sits up at 4. Taichi rises up, and he stands at 8! Khan brings Taichi around in a headlock, and they go to the orange bleachers! Khan uses the gate to smother Taichi, then they go up to the higher level! The fans fire up but then fans have to move! Khan KNEES and CLUBS Taichi, then whips Taichi at the exit door!
Taichi tumbles into the hallway! Khan drags Taichi back into the arena and uses the HITSUJIGOROSHI against the chairs! Taichi endures as Khan chokes him, then Khan lets him go! Red Shoes checks on Taichi, Taka coaches him, but the count begins. Khan sits in a chair to relax while he waits. Taichi sits up at 7, and stands at 9! Khan storms up on Taichi to CLUB him on the back! Khan headlocks Taichi, brings him to the other section, and he gets up close to the fans for photo ops. Khan then whips, but Taichi reverses, and Khan is sent into the wall! Taichi leaves Khan behind while the count begins again.
Khan sits up so Taichi KICKS him back down! Taichi drags Khan up, KICKS him again, and Khan falls to his knees. Taichi drags Khan up by his ponytail, and he goes close to the stairs that lead to the back! Khan fights the suplex, and for his life, but then he turns things around! Taichi fights the suplex, throws hands, and then DDTS Khan to the floor! Red Shoes checks both men, then starts the count. Taichi shakes out his arms and sits up at 4. Taichi stands at 6 but Khan is still down at 8! Khan drags himself up at 9! Taichi CLUBS Khan down, then brings him back up. Taichi brings Khan back to ground level, then snapmares him hard for a KICK!
Khan is in agony but Taichi drags him back up. But Khan RAMS Taichi into the railing! Taichi sputters while also sitting in a chair. Khan staggers away to ringside, and he goes looking under the ring. Khan brings out a trolly cart? Khan JAMS Taichi up using his own mic stand, then leaves him behind. Khan brings out a TABLE! Fans rally up as Khan puts the table on the trolly, then he staggers over to Taichi. Khan CLUBS Taichi down, then SHOVES him onto the table trolly combo. Khan has fans clear out, and then he SNOW PLOWS the chairs with Taichi on the cart!! The fans fire up as Khan stands over Taichi.
Khan drags Taichi up, and he brings the table along, too. Khan kicks chairs out of the way as he returns to the upper deck! Khan SMACKS Taichi off the edge, then he clears out space. Khan sets the table up, then he goes up to fetch Taichi. Khan JAMS Taichi up with a chair, then SMACKS him! Taichi writhes, fans rally, and Khan drags Taichi up. Khan vows to end this! IRON CLAW, and ELIMI- NO! Taichi fights Khan off! Taichi stumbles away through the crowd, but then grabs himself a chair. Taichi runs up to JAM Khan right in the face! Taichi then steals Khan’s idea to choke grip and CHOKE SLAM down through the table!!!
Khan writhes and the fans go nuts! Taichi hobbles around while Red Shoes counts Khan. Khan is still down at 5! Still down at 7! 9! KHAN GRABS RED SHOES’S HAND!! Khan survives, and though he has a couple bloody cuts on his back, he crawls his way to the ring. Taichi eggs Khan on and the fans are thunderous! Khan drags himself into the ring, Taichi runs, AX BOMBER!! The fans fire up and the count returns! Khan is still down at 5, stirs at 6, sits up at 7, and he rises at 8! So Taichi just runs up to AX BOMBER!! Khan drops to his knees, flops over, but he’s already pushing himself back up! Taichi runs again, AX BOMBER!!
Khan staggers around but he stays on his feet! Taichi says fine, AX- SAYANAGI!! Khan turns things around, and he AX BOMBERS in return!! Both men are down and the fans rally as hard as they can! The count is on both men, and Khan crawls for ropes at 5! Taichi slowly sits up at 6, and both men go to corners at 7! Red Shoes waits on them to rise up, and then Taichi fires up! Taichi runs up, DOUBLE LARIATS collide! Neither man falls, so Taichi BOOTS! Khan BOOTS back! Taichi URAKENS! Khan MONGOLIAN CHOPS! Taichi SOBATS! Khan BODY BLOWS! Both men drop to knees, but they also grab at each other.
The fans rally as Khan and Taichi slowly rise. They are forehead to forehead, and then Taichi AX BOMBERS! Khan drops to his knees, Taichi BUZZSAWS, but Khan blocks it! Khan ROCKS Taichi with a right! And then Khan reels Taichi in, but Taichi Alabama Lifts! BLACK- NO, Khan fights into a GUILLOTINE! Taichi is stuck in the body scissors!! Taichi flails, even taps out, but that’s not how Last Man Standing works! Khan squeezes tighter and tighter, Taichi fades, and Red Shoes checks! Khan lets Taichi go and the count begins! Khan rises at 6, and Taichi is somehow up at 9!! So Khan clamps on an IRON CLAW!
Khan lifts Taichi, but Taichi slips free! Taichi shoves Khan and ROCKS him! DANGEROUS SAIDO!! But Khan is staggering to his feet?! Khan goes to a corner, flounders along ropes, but he isn’t down yet! The fans rally hard while both men fight to their feet! SUPERMAN PUNCH from Khan! PELE from Taichi! Both men are down again! Red Shoes starts the count on them both, and the fans rally even harder! Taichi is up at 7! Khan grabs Red Shoes at 9 again!! Taichi roars, Korakuen is with him, and he powers up! TENSHI JUJI- NO!! Khan blocks, and he hooks Taichi! Taichi CLUBS away on Khan, but Khan still lifts! ULTIMATE ELIMINATOR!!
Both men are down again and the fans rally as hard as they can! The count is on both men, and they’re both down at 5! At 7! 9! Khan pushes up, but he FLOPS back down!! DOUBLE TEN! IT’S A DRAW!! What does that mean for the belt!? Red Shoes goes out to talk with Abe-san, and then the announcement is made. In the end, with it being 1-1-1, a true draw, it all goes to KHAN!
Winner: Great-O-Khan, by pinfall (DEFINITIVE 2024 KOPW Champion)
Khan flips Taichi off, one last insult added on top. Khan is given the belt back, but Taichi grabs his trophy. Taichi steps up to Khan, and gives him the trophy, saying it is rightfully his now. Taichi shows Khan that respect, and Khan returns it with a handshake. Khan “retires” Taichi from KOPW, what will the Holy Emperor look to do in 2025?
As for Khan, he grabs the mic, and he asks Taichi to wait a moment. “You served this title for three years. We will honor your glory!” The fans applaud that, and Khan asks the previous champion to come closer. No, closer. The fans cheer Taichi on as he steps closer to ringside. Khan says Taichi served this title well, so here is his reward. Khan is giving the trophy back? Taichi says no, he gave that to Khan out of respect. Khan says to Taichi and to everyone to listen well. “We are the last KOPW Champion!” Everyone is a bit surprised to hear that.
Khan says, “As an alternative, on January 4th in the Tokyo Dome… as THE last KOPW Champion, We demand that the January 4th match determine the next IWGP World Heavyweight Championship challenger!” The fans are really intrigued by that idea! Khan throws down the belt, and Chris makes sure English speakers understand what Khan is suggesting. The New Japan Ranbo determining a #1 contender? Khan says that these are the words of the final KOPW Champion, The Great-O-Khan! “HAIL US, PEASANTS!” A New Year, a new era? Will Khan’s revolution bring glory to the United Empire?
My Thoughts:
A very good night for Road to Tokyo Dome, though I did skip a lot just because I didn’t have a lot of time today. But luckily I was skimming through, or I would’ve missed ELP’s great return. Congratulations on him beating cancer, and I like that they’re adding him to the NJPW World Television Championship match. It makes sense given ELP’s beef with the House of Torture, and honestly, why not just have ELP win? Not even so much for getting over cancer (though kind of that, too) but because fans love ELP and it’d help him solidify his singles run with Hikuleo long gone for WWE.
Really good stuff in the other tune-up matches, such as #DespeWado winning and the chaotic end to the Fatal 4 Way. Eagles won to help him and Fujita have momentum, but there is still more to the Road to Tokyo Dome first. Honestly that tag Fatal 4 could really go any which way they want so I’m not sure how the go-home math would even work. And Gedo of course took the loss against LIJ. Yota Tsuji is aiming for David Finlay and the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship, but who knows how things go before we get to WrestleKingdom.
Very good tag match from Shota & Tanahashi VS ZSJ & Fujita, and it was technically a surprise for Tanahashi to take the loss. This works on many levels, as Tanahashi should be figuratively on the ropes going into his match with Evil, and this gives Fujita equal momentum alongside Eagles. And then great main event, Khan and Taichi really went the distance with this one. And it all makes sense after Khan reveals this is the end of the KOPW Division. Khan wants to make the New Japan Ranbo to basically be the Royal Rumble and that is pretty cool. I think they could keep the belt to represent that contender’s status the same as the G1 Climax having a briefcase, because that KOPW belt actually looks pretty nice.
My Score: 8.8/10
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Rockin’ around the Christmas Collision!
The Continental Classic continues on Christmas Collision, with crucial points on the line this close to AEW Worlds End! Who will finally take the lead in Gold League?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- AEW Continental Classic, Gold League: Will Ospreay VS Ricochet; Ricochet wins.
- Kris Statlander VS Penelope Ford; Kris wins.
- AEW Continental Classic, Blue League: Shelton Benjamin VS Daniel Garcia; Garcia wins.
- AEW Continental Classic, Blue League: Mark Briscoe VS The Beast Mortos; Briscoe wins.
- AEW Continental Classic, Gold League: Darby Allin VS Claudio Castagnoli; Claudio wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
Here are the current Continental Classic Gold League standings!
Claudio Castagnoli: 2-1, 6 points
Will Ospreay: 2-1, 6 points
Ricochet: 2-1, 6 points
Darby Allin: 2-1, 6 points
Brody King: 2-2, 6 points
Komander: 0-4, 0 points [ELIMINATED]
Here are the current Continental Classic Blue League standings!
Kyle Fletcher: 3-1, 9 points
Kazuchika Okada: 2-1-1, 7 points
Mark Briscoe: 2-2, 6 points
Shelton Benjamin: 2-1, 6 points
Daniel Garcia: 1-1-1, 4 points
The Beast Mortos: 0-4, 0 points [ELIMINATED]
Ian Riccaboni is in the ring.
He has Big Boom AJ & Big Justice with him in the Hammerstein Ballroom, and yes, they’re ready to bring the BOOM~! They’re ready to watch the action tonight, and even the final face-to-face of MJF and Adam Cole. AJ says if MJF is gonna bring the doom, then you know he and Big Justice will bring the BOOM~! But tonight, their guy, Adam Cole will bring the BOOM~ too! And of course we have big Continental Classic action! Daniel Garcia VS Shelton Benjamin in a critical showdown, and while Shelton is tough, Garcia is going to bring the BOOM~! Plus, Mark Briscoe battles The Beast Mortos! The Chicken is their guy, time to bring the BOOM~!
In Gold League, we have Darby Allin VS Claudio Castagnoli, and the Swiss Superman is a DOOM~! Let’s go, Darby, bring that BOOM~! And then a match everyone wants to see, the fireworks rematch of Will Ospreay VS Ricochet! If you’re a fan of high-flying wrestling, this is the right night to be right here in AEW! Ricochet and their guy, Ospreay, will bring the BOOM~! But speaking of, that match is up first! The Aerial Assassin joins AJ & Big Justice in giving a BOOM~, but will Ricochet make sure tonight is #OuttaThisWorld?
AEW Continental Classic, Gold League: Will Ospreay VS Ricochet!
Wait, are the fans throwing white streamers or is that… No, yeah, it’s toilet paper! Ospreay laughs at the fans basically calling Ricochet crap. Ricochet throws the toilet paper back! The bell rings and we’re on the clock. The fans fire up for Ospreay as he and Ricochet circle. The fans also sing, “F HIM UP, OSPREAY, F HIM UP!” Ricochet shrugs that off, he and Ospreay tie up, and then Ricochet rolls. Ospreay shoots in, waistlocks, but Ricochet switches. They go around, Ricochet gator rolls with Ospreay, then floats to a headlock. Ricochet wrenches, hammerlocks then headlocks again. Ospreay powers up and out, Ricochet runs him over, but Ospreay kips up!
The fans cheer and Ospreay smiles as he and Ricochet reset. They tie up, go around, and Ricochet wrenches to a wristlock. Ospreay rolls, wrenches and wristlocks, but Ricochet spins and wrenches to hammerlock. Ospreay reaches back, headlocks and hits a takeover. Ricochet rolls to a cover, TWO! Ospreay holds onto the headlock but Ricochet powers up and out. Ospreay runs Ricochet over, Ricochet bails out, and then Ospreay handsprings to fake Ricochet out! The fans cheer as Ospreay superhero lands out, and Ricochet is annoyed. Ospreay holds ropes open for Ricochet, but Ricochet goes around the way to step in on his own.
The fans boo Ricochet being a bad sport but Ricochet ignores that. Ospreay and Ricochet knuckle lock, then Ricochet kicks low! And CHOPS! Ricochet whips, Ospreay reverses, but Ricochet rolls off Ospreay’s back! Things keep moving, Ospreay avoids the handspring to then duck ‘n’ dodges and RANA! But Ricochet handsprings through! The fans fire up, and Ospreay arm-drags Ricochet down! The fans cheer while Ricochet endures the grind. Ricochet fights up and puts Ospreay on ropes. The ref counts, Ricochet and Ospreay slowly let g o, and Ricochet SLAPS Ospreay! Ospreay CHOPS Ricochet!
Ospreay takes a swing, Ricochet ducks under to roll back and RANA! But now Ospreay handsprings through! Ricochet dodges to waistlock but Ospreay bucks the O’Conner. Ricochet arm-drags Ospreay down, but Ospreay headscissors back! Ricochet pops free but Ospreay arm-drags! Ricochet headscissors, Ospreay pops free, and Ospreay handsprings, but Ricochet catches him! Ricochet then THROWS Ospreay into the Tree of Woe, and Ospreay falls down! The fans boo while Ospreay bails out, but Ricochet FOSBURY FLOPS! The fans boo but Ricochet takes the toilet paper to wipe himself, then he SMOTHERS Ospreay with it!
The fans boo that literally disgusting act of disrespect, but Collision goes picture in picture.
Ricochet taunts the fans, then drags Ospreay up. Ricochet puts Ospreay in, soaks up more heat, then KNEE-BOARD SENTONS! Ricochet swaggers to taunt the fans more, then he goes back to Ospreay. Cover, ONE!! Another cover, TWO! Ricochet taunts the fans more, then goes back for Ospreay. Ricochet stands Ospreay up to CHOP, and Ospreay goes to a corner. Ricochet RAMS into Ospreay, RAMS him again, then snapmares to UPPERCUT in the back! Cover, TWO! Ospreay stays in this but Ricochet drags him into a motorcycle stretch. Ospreay endures while Ricochet digs a knee into the back. Ospreay fights up, fights with elbows, then runs, but into a DROPKICK!
Ospreay is down in a daze but Ricochet has to shake out the stars in his own head. Ricochet covers, ONE! Ospreay then uses that one to flip off Ricochet. Ricochet RAMS Ospreay in the back! Ricochet then clamps on with a chinlock, and he digs his knee into Ospreay’s back. Ospreay endures, even as Ricochet JAMS Ospreay. Collision returns to single picture as the fans rally for Ospreay again. Ospreay fires up, fires hands, but Ricochet RAMS him into a corner. Ricochet runs up, RAMS into Ospreay, then goes to the apron. Ospreay takes a swing but Ricochet dodges and gets around him to GERMAN SUPLEX! Ospreay lands out!
Ospreay runs, handsprings, NEURALIZER KICK! The fans fire up while both men are down! Ospreay goes to the apron, takes aim, and he springboards to PIP PIP CHEERIO! Down goes Ricochet, Ospreay covers, TWO! Ospreay stays focused and the fans rally up. Ospreay drags Ricochet up, CHOPS him, then CHOPS him again! Ricochet staggers, Ospreay runs, but Ricochet TIGER WALL KICKS! Forearm, SOBAT, and Ricochet runs, but into a POP-UP, and STYLES- NO, Ricochet sits up, slips free, and he underhooks Ospreay for a FACEBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Ospreay survives but Ricochet goes up.
Ricochet has to double clutch, the fans let him hear it, but Ricochet still MOONSAULTS! Ricochet lands out as Ospreay moves, and Ospreay runs up, but into an ELBOW! Ricochet handsprings, but into a pop-up, Electric Chair, spin around, STYLES CLASH!! Cover, TWO!! Ricochet survives and Ospreay is surprised. Ospreay pulls on the elbow pad and the fans fire up! “This is Awesome!” as Ospreay aims, but Ricochet bails out! The fans boo but Ospreay storms after Ricochet. They’re both on the apron and Ospreay goes up a corner. Ricochet anchors Ospreay first! Then Ricochet has the Electric Chair Lift!
Ospreay fights free, fights off a nelson, then he KICKS Ricochet! Ospreay runs, but into a pop-up APRON DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! The fans chant “You Still Suck!” but Ricochet adds a SHOOTING STAR PRESS! Ricochet puts Ospreay in, then springboards to 450 SPLASH! Cover, TWO!! Ospreay survives, but then Ricochet AX KICKS! Dragon sleeper, inverted suplex, VERTIGO! Cover, TWO!? Ospreay survives and Ricochet is shocked! Ricochet snarls and he aims from a corner. The fans rally for Ospreay but Ricochet loads up. SPIRIT- NO, Ospreay ducks under! Ospreay gets up, Ricochet blocks a kick!
Ricochet V-TRIGGERS, then he reels Ospreay in! But Ospreay fights out of the bomb, but then Ricochet returns the favor! Ricochet suplexes, into STUN DOG MILLIONAIRE! Ospreay springboards for the OSC- CUTTER FROM RICOCHET!! Ricochet hurries to get Ospreay up, powerbomb into fireman’s carry, DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! SPIRIT- HIDDEN BLADE!! Both men are down and the fans are thunderous! Ospreay and Ricochet both slowly sit up and the fans rally as hard as ever. Ricochet and Ospreay stare down, talk a bit of trash, then stand up. Ospreay draws a line in the sand and dares Ricochet to step up.
Ricochet steps right up, they stand toe to toe, literally! They start firing forearms! The fans cheer Ospreay, boo Ricochet, and Ricochet wobbles! But then Ricochet comes back with forearm after forearm! Ospreay wobbles, but he grins as he rises and roars! Ospreay fires a flurry on Ricochet, then ROCKS him! Ricochet flops over, Ospreay hauls him up! But Ricochet grabs at the ref! Ospreay kicks Ricochet’s arm away, but then Ricochet RAMS Ospreay into the ref! The fans boo but then Ricochet hurries to HOOK KICK! And VERTI- NO, Ospreay slips free to underhook! STORM BREAKER! Cover, but the ref is down!
The fans count, Ospreay would’ve won twice over! Ospreay calls to the ref, the ref sputters around, and Ospreay goes up. But then Ricochet kicks the ref into ropes! Ospreay gets tripped up and the fans boo more! Ospreay is confused as to what happened, but SPIRIT GUN hits the mark!! Cover, RICOCHET WINS!
Winner: Ricochet, by pinfall (gains 3 points; Ospreay earns 0)
The One & Only got away with murder, but there’s nothing that can be done now! Ricochet has NINE points, will he be headed to Worlds End?
Adam Cole heads to the ring!
The fans cheer as the Panama City Playboy returns to the Hammerstein Ballroom, and yes, they join in for the “BOOM~!” and the “ADAM COLE, BAYBAY~!” Cole grabs a mic, but he keeps his eyes on the ramp. That’s because we all know who’s next. MJF makes his entrance, but with a handful of security guards in front of him first. And not even AEW security, that’s his own personal security. MJF grabs a mic and has them cut his music. The fans boo but MJF tells them, “If I wanted your help, I’d ask for it. Sit down and shut up.” The fans tell MJF to STFU, but MJF shrugs that off.
MJF tells Cole that MJF is frustrated. It’s because for the past few months, MJF has had to listen to Cole say MJF is Cole’s biggest enemy! If memory serves, and MJF’s memory always does because unlike the fans here, he isn’t a complete moron… Didn’t Cole turn on MJF? But then does Cole realize he has bigger enemies out there? Like spray tan, cracks in the floor, gusts of win, and maybe… a cavity. Because last MJF heard, Cole’s dentist isn’t seeing him anymore. Cole was already staring daggers into MJF, but now he’s pissed. MJF has Cole calm down, and he tells the fans to shut up so he can shoot straight.
When MJF was the longest-reigning and greatest AEW World Champion of all time, Cole was nothing more than MJF’s cute little sidekick. That ate Cole up inside. Cole wanted to be MJF. Cole wanted #TripleB. But the sad truth is, Cole had many opportunities to win the title before MJF got anywhere near it. It’s almost like when it comes to Cole being elite enough to become world champion, just like his “s*itty little ankle,” Cole blows it. MJF laughs at his own joke, and then tells the fans he is talking, it is not that complicated. But this is why MJF doesn’t buy the hogwash that Cole turned on MJF because MJF would turn on Cole first.
Cole turned because he, like all these shmucks, is jealous of MJF. And who can blame Cole? MJF is rich, handsome, funny, entertaining, and then look at Cole. For crying out loud, Cole used to be ADAM COLE BAYBAY. Now, he’s just a crack baby! Cole asks if MJF is done. Was that the last line? Because it felt like MJF practiced that for two weeks in front of a mirror. But MJF killed it, really. Cole could come back with childish comments to hurt MJF’s feelings, but he won’t. Cole could mention MJF has had two surgeries on that fake head of hair of his while only in his 20s, which is hilarious, but he won’t.
Cole could talk about how MJF pulled some strings to get his girlfriend hired, like the real politician he is, but Cole won’t go there. Cole could talk about how every single time MJF enters a room, everyone waits for him to leave because he is loud, obnoxious and annoying as hell. But Cole won’t go there. Because Cole is not like MJF. They are nothing alike. That is why the friendship was ruined. Because, MJF, the truth is you say Cole is a failure, but in virtually every wrestling company Cole has worked for, he is the longest-reigning champion in so many!
In this very building, Cole bled BUCKETS against Kyle O’Reilly, wanting to prove he was one of the best in the world, and that is exactly what he did! Does Cole have regrets? Sure. Are there things Cole wishes he could take back? Absolutely. But Cole does NOT regret turning on MJF. The only reason it drives MJF insane is because Cole beat MJF to it. That’s MJF 101: Get close to someone, then turn on them. It’s what MJF does. Cole just did it better than MJF, and MJF knows it.
But Cole has been thinking, trying to understand what’s going on in MJF’s head, and he finally figured it out. MJF is terrified of having anyone close to him, because he feels it is a weakness. That hit a chord? Because not only does MJF act like a child, he thinks like a child! MJF knows in his heart that he was going to be the one to turn on Cole first! DAMN RIGHT HE WAS!!! MJF realizes he let the cat out of the bag. MJF says congrats, Cole, he solved the mystery! A regular Scooby-Doo! Great job, Adam.
But you want the truth? Here it is. The fact of the matter is, last year at Worlds End, MJF had every intention on stabbing Cole in the back that night. Cole just got lucky. When #BetterThanYouBaybay started, MJF didn’t give a damn about Cole. Cole was nothing more than a pawn. But MJF will admit, he did eventually start to care. For the first time in MJF’s life, he cared about someone else. Fans mockingly go, “Aww…” But MJF says that is just when Cole became a liability. And since Cole’s “a fragile little freak,” him jumping off that ramp and exploding his ankle made him a distraction!
Distractions, liabilities, emotions, there are no room for those when all you should be concerned with is maintaining the world championship! But Cole doesn’t get it, does he? Last year was a fluke. Cole ain’t the Devil, he just beat the Devil to it. But this year, Worlds End, December 28th, the same show where Cole tried to end MJF’s world, MJF ENDS Cole!! MJF throws down the mic and the fans are torn. Cole smirks and says MJF ends things then? Well, how about Cole ends this? COLE DECKS MJF! The guards rush in, but Cole fights them off! MJF sends more but Cole SUPERKICSK! And SUPERKICKS! And SUPERKICKS!
But then MJF LOW BLOWS Cole! MJF tells the fans to shut up! MJF takes out the Dynamite Diamond Ring! But then The Kingdom rushes out here! MJF runs away from Matt Taven & Mike Bennett, but he vows this ends at Worlds End. We have one week left, is that the last week Cole has in AEW? Or will MJF finally lose the one thing he has left in that diamond ring?
Backstage interview with Kris Statlander.
Lexy Nair is with the #BornAgainKristen and brings up her trying to make amends with Willow Nightingale last night, as well as making the save when Harley Cameron & Penelope Ford were beating Willow up. Kris says what she and Willow have to discuss is between them. But as far as her and Penelope go, they’ve got a lot of history, and if Ford wants a fight, Kris will give her a fight. Then speaking of history, Kris still has her eyes set on the TBS Championship, can she tells us more on that?
Kris says she looked back on 2024 and she had a downward spiral that started with losing that title. Maybe if she wins it back, Kris will right her wrongs. On that note, Mercedes Mone, you don’t have an opponent for Worlds End so here Kris is. Let her know when you’re ready for round two. Kris heads out, will she prove to everyone that she is still the Galaxy’s Greatest?
Backstage interview with Orange Cassidy.
AEW returns and Lexy is now with Freshly Squeezed. In exactly one week, he will compete against three other men for the AEW World Championship. There are a lot of combustible elements at play, and Cassidy says yeah, we saw that on Dynamite. Jay White, Hangman Page and Cassidy can’t exactly have a conversation. So really, Cassidy wants them to listen. “Between now and Worlds End, Jon Moxley can run and hide. He can hide behind his goons, he can run away in a pickup truck. But when that bell rings in seven days, he has nowhere to go. He will be in the ring with us. Us three. And you both know that we need to remove Jon Moxley from the equation.
“We can. We’ve done it. And after that, us three, we can fight for the AEW World Championship and one of us will become the AEW World Champion. Just something to think about. See you guys on Dynamite.” Cassidy is ready to remove the Maniac from the throne, but will the Switchblade and Cowboy listen to reason?
Kris Statlander VS Penelope Ford!
As Kris just said, she’s calling out The CEO in hopes of one more TBS Championship match. But will the Superbad Girl be more like the Grinch for Kris this Christmas?
The bell rings and the fans rally as Kris circles with Ford. They tie up, Kris powers Ford to a corner, then throws Ford back into the corner! The ref counts, Kris lets off, but Ford shoves her! Kris ROCKS Ford, TOSSES her, then runs up on her. Kris whips, drops down, then hurdles over. Kris CLOBBERS Ford and the fans fire up as she flexes. Kris drags Ford up, reels her in, and suplexes, and she holds Ford up! The fans cheer and Kris goes all the way to TEN, but Ford slips into a SLEEPER! Kris pries the hold open and she brings Ford around for another suplex! The fans fire up as Kris holds Ford up for five before the SLAM! Cover, TWO!
Kris drags Ford up, whips her to the corner, but Ford goes up, only for Kris to Electric Chair Lift! Kris climbs, Ford fights with fists, and she shoves Kris down! Ford steadies herself, then hits a FLYING BLOCKBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Ford is frustrated but she storms up on Kris. Ford bumps Kris off buckles but the fans rally behind Kris. Ford stomps a mudhole, but she lets off as the ref counts. Kris goes to the apron, but Ford jumps up to drop KNEES on her! The fans boo but Ford soaks up the heat, and Collision goes picture in picture.
Ford brings Kris around to THROW her into railing! Ford soaks up more heat, then drags Kris up and RAMS her into the apron! Ford refreshes the count, then stalks Kris around the way. Ford whips Kris into the steel steps! Kris falls over in a heap but Ford drags her up into the ring. Ford covers, TWO! Kris stays in this but Ford kicks her around. Ford CHOKES Kris on the ropes, thrashes around, but lets off as the ref counts. Ford drags Kris up and whips her to ropes, then LARIATS as Collision goes to break.
Christmas Collision returns and Ford CHOKES Kris on the ropes again! The ref counts, Ford lets off and Kris sputters to the apron. Ford runs and goes up, up, and KNEE DROPS on only apron! Kris then SHOTGUNS Ford off the apron! The fans fire up and Kris brings Ford up, to THROW into railing! Kris puts Ford in the ring, the fans fire up, but Ford kicks low. Ford reels Kris in, but Kris suplexes, FISHERMAN BUSTER! Cover, TWO! Ford flounders to a corner but Kris has the fans rallying behind her. Kris runs up to UPPERCUT! Kris goes side to side but Ford dodges the knee! Ford hits a FISHERMAN SUPLEX! Bridging cover, TWO!
Ford wasn’t quite perfect there but she watches Kris go to a corner. Ford runs corner to corner, handsprings, but Kris catches her! The fans fire up as Kris GERMAN SUPELXES, but Ford lands out! but Kris goes Matrix to dodge! So does Ford! STUNNER! Ford runs, Kris does her best to follow, but Ford hops up for a POISON-RANA! Cover, TWO!! Kris survives and the fans fire up! Ford is beside herself, but she drags Kris to a drop zone. Ford goes up top, and MOONSAULTS BUT FLOPS as Kris moves! Kris hurries to deadlift GERMAN SUPLEX! And then GERMAN SUPLEX again! The fans fire up as Kris scoops to tuck Ford in! STATURDAY NIGHT FEVER! Cover, Kris wins!
Winner: Kris Statlander, by pinfall
Ford gave Kris quite the fight, but Kris came out on top! Wait, here comes Mone! Kris did call the CEO out, so Santa Mone says, “Ho, ho, ho ho ho! New York Citaaaay~! Please say hello to your C E O! Kris, after the year I’ve been having, I was planning on taking Worlds End off. I was planning on going to the Ritz in Boston.” The fans boo Boston, but Mone says since it’s the holidays, Mone feels like being nice. She already beat Kris once anyway, so she’ll just beat her twice! At Worlds End, you see that money changes everything, because Mone is the greatest TBS Champion of all time!
The challenge has been accepted, and Mone is looking to be busy before the New Year. Will Kris make her regret it?
Big Boom AJ & Big Justice return to the ring.
They’re getting Christmas Collision ready to bring the BOOM, but out comes Chris Jericho, who is still ROH World Champion after overcoming Matt Cardona last night at Final Battle. And he has Bryan Keith & “Big Bill” Morrissey with him as he asks if AJ has a permit for being here tonight. Did they talk with Mayor DeBlasio? Because they certainly didn’t run this past Jericho. Do they know who he is? Big Justice says yeah, he knows! “You’re a JACKASS!” Jericho is taken aback, but the fans agree with Justice. The Bad Apple says this is why dumbass kids should be sitting and not heard. Jericho says yeah!
And if being a jackass means he’s the King of New York, then Jericho’s the biggest jackass! And besides, Jericho talks for everyone here saying we do not want AJ & Justice here! The fans boo, they disagree with Jericho. But Jericho says they don’t even have Costcos in New York! New Yorkers shop at bodegas. Fans are torn, because they kind of agree. Jericho says his favorite is the Walgreens a few blocks over in Flushing. And speaking of Flushing, that’s where AJ & Justice belong: in the toilet! This is the Hammerstein Ballroom, the House that Jericho built! The fans boo that, it’s the House that Hardcore built.
But Jericho says there’s no time for goofy gimmicks like BOOM~, or bandit masks, or scissoring! Scissor me, Bad Apple~! But then wait! The Acclaimed is here! Well, Anthony Bowens is, at least. Bowens pushes past The Learning Tree and he joins AJ & Justice in the ring. Bowens has the music cut, and he tells Jericho that he doesn’t get why Scissor King is catching strays, but you caught his attention. Jericho is trying to intimidate a man in a walking boot and an 11 year old child while spouting nonsense about being the King of New York. Why doesn’t Jericho do what he has asked so many others in the past: SHUT THE HELL UP!
The fans cheer but Big Bill says, “As the Learning Tree always says, when a man tries to silence another man, he’s probably afraid of the truth.” The fans do cheer Big Bill because he is from New York. Bowens says he has no idea what that means, Bill. But he does know we’re live on TNT, Christmas Collision, Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City! So Chris, why not walk your ass to this ring and get it whipped by the Scissor King?! Jericho says if Bowens wants him to do that, then not tonight. Jericho waves bye, but AJ says hold on, listen up. We know Jericho is running scared, but we know at some point, Bowens will get to bring the-
Bowens stops the Boom? Because he wants to scissor! AJ says okay, and they SCISSOR BOOM~! But is that true? Will Anthony Bowens be the one to tear down the Learning Tree and be a champion?
Backstage interview with The Vendetta.
Lexy is now with Deonna Purrazzo & Taya Valkyrie, and they’ve got a hot streak going. Deonna’s message last week was ominous, but who was it for? Taya says there are so many options. Everyone deserves a slice of The Vendetta. There’s Mercedes, Mariah, Toni Storm, even Lexy could get some, so watch your back. Speaking of Toni, she stumbles in and apologizes for interrupting. She just wants to say hi to everyone, hello. Oh, Deonna, a pleasure. Deonna says she knows who Toni is. R-Really? So cool! Taya says she’ll make a guess: Toni has a tattoo on her leg, a little duck with a knife through it.
Wow, how’d Taya know? Deonna says no no no, she is not doing this again. She does not get what sick crap Toni’s up to, but she is already done with it. So for Dynamite’s Miracle on 34th Street, Toni VS Taya! Taya says she’ll make Toni forget everything! Toni nervously thanks The Vendetta, and says this is a big opportunity to face someone like Taya. Toni leaves, Deonna and Taya sigh, and Lexy has no idea what to say. Is Toni’s mind unraveling before our eyes? Or is there still a bit of Timeless inside Toni Time?
AEW Continental Classic, Blue League: Shelton Benjamin VS Daniel Garcia!
This showdown was inevitable, but it’s even more fitting after The Standard of Excellence beat up the TNT Champion just because he stood up to the Hurt Syndicate. Will Shelton continue to bring the pain? Or will he not survive Red Death?
The bell rings and Garcia goes right at Shelton! Garcia fires hands but Shelton RAMS him into the corner! Shelton fires hands but Garcia turns things around to fire more shots! The ref counts, Shelton shoves Garcia back, but Garcia runs up to fire hands! Shelton shoves Garcia again, but Garcia gets under the lariat to waistlock. Shelton fights the lift but Garcia shoves him to SLAP! And CHOP! Shelton just grins and he picks Garcia up again! Shelton TOSSES Garcia away and Garcia goes to ropes. Shelton brings Garcia back up, scoops and SLAMS him, then brings him up again. Scoop SLAM! Shelton drags Garcia up and puts him in a corner.
Shelton whips corner to corner hard and Garcia falls! The fans sing, “We Hurt People!” Shelton drags Garcia around, stomps him around, then TOSSES Garcia out hard! Garcia sputters but Shelton storms outside. Shelton brings Garcia up but Garcia fires hands! Shelton RAMS Garcia into the apron, then railing, then back to the apron! And repeat! Garcia falls in a heap and the fans fire up. Shelton grins as he drags Garcia up, to then THROW into steel steps! Shelton leaves Garcia behind and the ring count climbs on Garcia. Garcia drags himself up at 7 but Shelton goes out after him again.
Shelton puts Garcia in the ring, then grabs at him. Garcia grabs ropes but Shelton stomps him. Shelton stands Garcia up to DECK him! The fans cheer but Shelton brings Garcia up again. Garcia fires a forearm, then he CHOPS! Shelton eggs Garcia on, so Garcia CHOPS! Shelton grins, Garcia CHOPS, but Shelton DECKS him again! The fans duel but Shelton whips Garcia to ropes, for a BIG backdrop! Garcia flounders and Collision goes picture in picture.
Shelton stalks Garcia to the ropes, brings him up and around, then puts him on other ropes so he can CHOKE him! The ref counts, Shelton steps off, and Garcia coughs and sputters to a corner. Shelton stalks behind Garcia, stands him up, and winds up to ROCK Garcia! Garcia flounders against ropes then falls to the mat! Shelton stands over Garcia, drags him up and puts him in the corner. Shelton throws hands and Garcia stumbles. Garcia falls, but Shelton stands on him. Shelton stomps Garcia, drags him up, but Garcia fires up! Garcia breaks free to fire CHOPS and forearms on repeat!
Garcia whips, Shelton reverses and Shelton BOOTS Garcia down! Cover, TWO! Shelton is still amused, and he clamps onto Garcia with a chinlock. Garcia endures as Shelton grinds him down, and Garcia fights up, only for Shelton to wrangle him back down! Shelton leans all his weight on the hold and he squeezes tight. Garcia fades but the fans rally, and Garcia gets a second wind! Garcia fights up, Christmas Colilsion returns to siongle cipture, and the fans duel as Garcia fires hands! Garcia runs, ducks ‘n’ dodges, then SHOTGUNS SHelton down! The fans fire up and Garcia aims from a corner. Garcia runs up, Shelton gets around, GERMAN SUPLEX!
The fans are torn while Shelton storms around. Shelton waits on Garcia, waistlocks, GERMAN SUPLEX! Garcia flops around but Shelton stalks him to the ropes. Shelton goes to the apron, runs up, but Garcia BOOTS him! Garcia takes a swing, but Shelton waistlocks! Garcia holds ropes to fight off the suplex to the floor! Garcia stands up and elbows Shelton away! Then Garcia LEAPS, but into Shelton’s clinch! OVERHEAD BELLY2BELLY to the floor! Garcia flounders, fans sing, “We Hurt People!” Shelton runs up but Garcia drop toeholds him into a chair! Shelton sputters and the fans rally up. Garcia makes Shelton take a seat, then rains down fists!
The fans count along and Garcia goes to nine, puts up the dukes, then hits TEN! Garcia gets space, runs back in, and he SHOTGUNS Shelton outta the chair! The fans are thunderous as Garcia goes back for Shelton. Garcia drags Shelton up but Shelton pushes him away. Shelton LARIATS Garcia, then rolls into the ring. The ring count starts, the fans help Garcia stand, and the fans fire up! Garcia hurries to the ring, but Shelton BOOTS, only for Garcia to block! DRAGON SCREW! Garcia runs, Shelton gets around, GERMAN SUPLEX! Even with a bad leg, Shelton has so much strength! Shelton storms up in the corner, but Garcia dodges!
Shelton’s knee hits buckles, and Garcia leg scissor rolls him! Garcia steps through for the DRAGON TAMER!! Shelton endures and the fans fire up! Garcia sits on the hold, but Shelton powers up! Shelton powers out of the hold, has Garcia’s legs, and he turns Garcia over into a QUEEN ANGELITO STRETCH! Garcia endures, reaches out, and he army crawls his way forward! But Shelton drags Garcia back! Garcia cradles Shelton! TWO!! Shelton escapes, but Garcia BOOTS him! Shelton SUPERKICKS Garcia! Both men are down and the fans are thunderous! Shelton covers, TWO!! Garcia barely gets out of that and Shelton is furious!
“This is Awesome!” as Shelton looms over Garcia. Shelton drags Garcia up, but Garcia trips Shelton! Jackknife bridge, GARCIA WINS!!
Winner: Daniel Garcia, by pinfall (gains 3 points; Shelton earns 0)
A Christmas Collision miracle? Who knows! But Garcia is still alive in the C2, but Lashley snatches Garcia into a SLEEPER! The fans boo but MVP hands the pimp cane to Shelton! But here comes Mark Briscoe, and he has a chair! Security wants this to stop before it gets out of hand, and even producers get out here! But wait! Is that Swerve Strickland rushing in from the crowd?! It is! He goes right up top to SUPER SWERVE STOMP the Syndicate and security guards! Garcia gets free of the pile, Mark Briscoe is with him, and now the locker room hurries out here to stop this from getting worse!
The fans chant, “Whose House?” “SWERVE’S HOUSE!” and Nana eventually hands the mic to Swerve. “Bobby FREAKIN’ Lashley! Didn’t I say I was gonna get my hands on you by the end of ’24? By the end of 2024, I said I was gonna get my hands on you, and that’s what I did, courtesy of the most dangerous man in AEW. Whose house?!” “SWERVE’S HOUSE!” Swerve is still aiming for Lashley’s head, will he and Lashley have it out at Worlds End?
AEW Continental Classic, Blue League: Mark Briscoe VS The Beast Mortos!
After getting a couple shockers, The Sussex County Chicken could easily jump up to the front of the block with one more! But will he #ManUp and bring down the menacing minotaur? Or will The Beast be a massive spoiler for Briscoe?
The bell rings and we’re on the clock again. The fans rally and duel while both men fire up. They RAM shoulders, and then fire forearms! The fans fire up as Mark gets the edge, but Mortos swings! Mark dodges to CHOP, then fire forearms! Mark ROCKS Mortos, whips, but Mortos reverses and SPLASHES Mark! Mortos runs but Mark follows to LARIAT! Mark runs, Mortos follows, but Mark dodges to CHOP! And CHOP! And forearm! And Mongolian Chop! Mark fires forearms against the ropes, then roars. Mark runs but Mortos follows to UPPERCUT! The fans fire up, Mortos runs but Mark follows to FOREARM!
Mark runs, Mortos follows, and he slingshots to hook and backslide, TWO! Mark trips Mortos to jackknife, TWO! Mortos gets around, hammerlock and cradle, TWO! Mark slips around to roll Mortos, TWO! Both men stand, both men dodge, and the fans cheer the standoff. The fans cheer “BOTH THESE GUYS! BOTH THESE GUYS!” as they reset. Mark and Mortos run up to RAM shoulders again! And again! Mortos is getting the better of this, and he CLOBBERS Mark! The fans cheer Mortos while Mark goes to ropes. Mortos runs in but Mark TOSSES him up and out! Mortos clutches a leg, stands up, but Mark runs!
Mortos slides in, dodges, and he SPEARS Mark! The fans fire up and Mortos roars while Collision goes picture in picture.
Mark rolls to a corner while Mortos headbutts buckles. Mortos then runs corner to corner to DROPKICK Mark! Mark sputters, Mortos drags him to a cover, TWO! Mark stays in this but Mortos drags him into a chinlock. Mark endures, even as Mortos leans on the hold. Mark fights up as the fans rally, and Mark fires body shots. Mortos THROWS Mark down! Mortos then CRANKS Mark’s neck, then KICKS him in the chest! Cover, TWO! Mark is still in this and he goes to ropes. Mortos storms up but Mark CHOPS! Mortos SMACKS Mark and Mark falls into a corner. Mortos stomps Mark, then digs his boots in!
The ref reprimands and counts, Mortos steps off, then Mortos snapmares Mark so he can step on Mark’s face! Then NECK TWIST! Cover, TWO! Mark stays in this and he goes back to ropes. Mortos waits on Mark to stand, then SMACKS him down! Mark dangles out of the ring in the ropes, but Mortos goes after a leg while Collision goes to break.
Christmas Collision returns and Mortos has Mark in a corner. Mortos whips corner to corner, then runs up to UPPERCUT, CHOP, and HEADBUTT! Mark staggers and the fans rally up for Mortos. Mortos brings down his kneepads, runs corner to corner, but Mark dodge! Mortos hits buckles then falls to the outside! The fans fire up as Mark then WRECKS Mortos with a dropkick! Mark builds speed and he DIVES, direct hit on Mortos! The fans fire up and Mark even hugs a few! Mark tosses a chair into the ring, and fans rally for #DEMBOYS. Mark sets the chair up, but Mortos anchors Mark’s legs! Mortos then SMACKS Mark!
Mortos drags Mark to the apron, Mark fires forearms. Mortos shoves Mark, but Mark fireman’s carries! Mortos fires elbows to get free! Mark REDNECK KUNG-FU UPPERCUTS! Then APRON GERMAN SUPLEXES! Mortos falls to the floor while the fans lose their minds! Mark rises up, takes aim, and he fires the fans up more. Mark goes up a corner, for a SUPER SKY TWISTER! The fans are thunderous and Mark high-fives the front row. Mark then goes back to the ring and builds speed! Mark uses the chair to FLY! Direct hit and Mark even lands on his feet! The fans fire up and Mark hurries to get Mortos back up.
Mark puts Mortos in the ring, “This is Awesome!” as Mark takes aim. FROGGY-BOW onto knees! Mortos saves himself there, and then roars! Mortos whips Mark, scoops him, and has the torture rack! BEAST BACKBREAKER! Then Mortos hauls Mark up for a POWER BREAKER!! The fans fire up for Mortos and he DISCUS- NO, Mark dodges, runs, but into a POP-UP SAMOAN DROP! Cover, TWO!! Mark survives and the fans fire up again! Mortos snarls, hauls Mark up, and then scoops! But Mark slips free! Mark crane kicks, then underhooks! But Mortos backdrops free! Mark rises, Mortos runs, but into a fireman’s carry!
Mark hits a ROLLING DEATH VALLEY! Then Mark goes up the corner, and the fans fire up for the FROGGY-BOW!! Cover, TWO?!? Mortos survives but Mark shakes his head. Mark just goes back up top! Mortos sits up and roars! But Mark still FROGGY-BOWS!! And then he underhooks, lifts, JAY DRILLER!! Cover, Mark wins!
Winner: Mark Briscoe, by pinfall (gains 3 points; Mortos earns 0)
And with that, Mark is now even with Kyle Fletcher, who Mark already beat earlier on! That is all the difference between the one seed and the two seed, how will this final round shake out?
Julia Hart speaks.
“Jamie, Jamie, Jamie. I’m no coward. What you call tricks, I call advantages. I suggested that you watch your back. I gave you all the warnings. So I’m not understanding why you feel the need to call me classless and sneaky. I thought I was being more than reasonable. I know you’re strong, but are you smart? Are my ‘tricks’ too much for you? I guess we’ll find out January 1st, Fight for the Fallen. But remember: The House Always Wins.” The Princess of the Black Throne is ready, but will she learn Hayter Hits Hard?
Backstage interview with Mariah May.
Alex Marvez is with the AEW Women’s World Champion and says in one week’s time, it will be Mariah VS Thunder Rosa for the title, in a Tijuana Street Fight! Marvez notes that Mariah not only had some harsh words for Rosa, but for her father, as well. Mariah says, “Aw~, Papa Rosa is gonna be in the front row. Is that to watch the match? Or does Thunder need a new mami?” But speaking of Rosa, she RAMS Mariah right into the door! And dribbles her off it, too! Mariah pulls hair, Rosa tries to choke Mariah, and then Mariah shoves Rosa away. Mariah calls Rosa crazy, but Rosa says she’s not done with Mariah!
Rosa storms after Mariah into the hall, and then to the stage area! Mariah has made it to ringside, Nigel tries to warn her, but Rosa CLOBBERS Mariah! Rosa rains down fists, then stomps away! Rosa SMACKS Mariah off steel steps, then grabs a chair! Mariah sputters, but gets away before Rosa swings the chair! Security rushes out here for the third time tonight, and Rosa LEAPS! The cluster keeps her away from Mariah but fans want to “LET THEM FIGHT!” Rosa holds up the AEW Women’s World Championship, will she send the “Woman From Hell” back where she came from in order to have the gold again?
AEW Continental Classic, Gold League: Darby Allin VS Claudio Castagnoli!
While The Relentless One has been after each and every Death Rider, he gets one served up to him on a silver platter. But will Darby bring down the Swiss Superman before the final round? Or will Claudio crush Darby’s hopes and dreams this close to Christmas?
But before Claudio even gets in the ring, Darby DIVES out onto him! The fans fire up as Darby fires fast hands! Claudio gets away but Darby pursues, jumps on, and throws more hands! Claudio carries Darby up the ramp to then THROW him down! Darby writhes, Claudio drags him up, and Claudio gorilla presses! Darby slips free, goes to the entry, and then dodges Claudio to send him into the light truss! And then he shoves Claudio into it again! Claudio falls, and now Darby climbs up!? The fans fire up as Darby is up on the camera balcony! Darby SUPER CROSSBODIES Claudio down!
Claudio tumbles down the ramp and Darby sputters while fans lose their minds. The ref checks Darby, his fall was still really wicked. Claudio sits up in a daze as he’s now ringside, and somehow Darby pursues! They both get in the ring, the bell rings, and Darby runs up! But into a POP-UP UPPERCUT!! Cover, TWO!! Darby survives and Claudio is already frustrated. Claudio drags Darby by his legs, to GIANT SWING~! The fans count as Darby goes around and around, and Claudio goes past TEN, past FIFTEEN, past TWENTY, and all the way to THIRTY!! Darby flounders out of the ring while Collision goes picture in picture.
The ref goes out to check on Darby, and somehow he’s okay to continue. Claudio steps out to fetch Darby, and lift shim up with one hand! Claudio then gut wrenches and carries Darby, to SLAM him onto railing! And DUMP him down! Claudio drags Darby up again, gut wrenches again, and he TOSSES Darby onto the railing! Darby flops back down and clutches his lower back, but Claudio leaves him behind. The ring count begins but Darby sits up. Claudio goes out after him again, and brings him up to CHOP! Darby staggers away to a corner, Claudio storms up and CHOPS again! Darby flops down but Claudio looms over him.
Claudio gets space, runs up, and he UPPERCUTS Darby against railing! Darby stumbles away, Claudio goes to the ring, but Darby rolls in, just to roll back out. Darby earns himself some time, but then Claudio storms out after him. Darby hurries int he ring to get away, but Claudio is after him there, too. Claudio stands on Darby’s hands, then stomps them! Darby writhes, but Claudio stomps his hands more! Darby goes to a corner. Claudio stands him up and CHOPS! Claudio UPPERCUTS, CHOPS, and Christmas Collision returns to single picture. The fans duel, Darby fires hands, but Claudio UPPERCUTS!
Claudio whips, Darby springboards, COFFIN- NO, Claudio catches Darby! Darby fights free, runs, but Claudio runs up! Darby DUMPS Claudio, then runs to DIVE! Direct hit at the ramp! The fans fire up again and Darby puts Claudio in. Claudio rolls out the far side but Darby DIVES again! Claudio is sent into railing but Darby goes up a corner! The fans fire up for the SUPER COFFIN SPLASH! Direct hit and both men are down again. The ref starts the ring count, the fans rally up, and Darby refreshes the count. Darby LEAPS onto Claudio for a SLEEPER! Claudio goes to steel steps and he steps up, but Darby squeezes tight!
Claudio steps back down, and he runs into the timekeeper’s area! BACKPACK SENTON through the table! The fans lose their minds again while Claudio leaves Darby behind in the wreckage. Darby stirs, the ref starts another ring count, and Darby crawls. “This is Awesome!” as Darby leaps in at 7! Claudio runs but Darby slips around! O’Conner Roll, TWO, springboard and SPALSH! Cover, TWO! Ghost pin, TWO! Claudio is up, but Darby sunset flips! Claudio stays up, and DOUBLE STOMPS! Claudio deadlifts Darby to then TOSS him out of the ring! Darby hits apron on the way out and fans tell Claudio he’s sick!
Claudio goes out after Darby and drags him up again. Claudio scoops and then POSTS Darby! And POSTS him again! Claudio TOSSES Darby aside, rolls into the ring, but only to refresh the count. Claudio then drags Darby by a leg and brings him over. Claudio SWINGS Darby into steel steps!! Claudio puts Darby in the ring, stands him up, and runs to LARIAT! Darby flips through the air! Claudio covers, TWO!! Darby survives and Claudio is frustrated. The fans rally for Darby but Claudio rains down HAMMER ‘N’ ANVIL ELBOWS! Then Claudio tucks the arms, RICOLA- CODE RED!! Cover, TWO!! Claudio escapes in time!
The fans rally while both men are down again. Darby and Claudio slowly rise, and Ricochet watches, very amused as Darby is his next opponent in the round robin. Darby crawls to a corner, climbs up, but Claudio UPPERCUTS! Claudio HEADBUTTS Darby, then climbs up again. Claudio brings Darby up and suplexes, but Darby fights around! SUPER SCORPION DEATH DROP!! The fans are thunderous for “A E DUB! A E DUB!” as Darby rises up. Darby climbs to the very top, COFFION DROP onto knees! Claudio saves himself, then he hauls Darby up. Straitjacket and RICOLA~ BOMB!! Cover, TWO!?!?
Darby survives and shocks Claudio! Claudio argues with the ref but the count was fair! Darby’s just that tough! Claudio goes back to Darby and ripcords him into the RICOLA~ BOMB!! Cover, TWO!?!?! HOW?!? Claudio goes outside, and he brings out something from under the ring. He also has a chair! The ref takes the chair from Claudio, but Claudio has BRASS KNUCKLES! BRASS KNUCKLE PUNCH!!! Cover, CLAUDIO WINS!
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli, by pinfall (gains 3 points; Darby earns 0)
The Swiss Superman screws over Darby, but then he gets that chair back. But wait, Ospreay slides into the ring! And HE has the brass knuckles that Claudio tossed aside! Ospreay dares Claudio to do something, but Claudio simply leaves. Does this mean Ospreay’s ready to ride against the Death Riders with Darby? Or will we see a Miracle on 34th Street send Ospreay and Darby to Worlds End?
My Thoughts:
A great Collision here as the last one before Worlds End, and therefore a bit of a go-home in itself. While the continued feud of MJF and Cole has still been a bit clunky since they did the double turn, their faceoff did a good job addressing some of that. They got good digs at each other as always, and MJF snapping and revealing “the truth” was their big move to recover this story. We of course got a brawl, and good save by The Kingdom. It feels like MJF still finds a way to hold onto the diamond ring, but c’mon, how fitting is it for Cole to get a diamond.
Good bit with Toni Storm and The Vendetta, and Deonna’s reaction to Toni was great. Deonna is justified in thinking this is still an act from Toni, not a legitimate psychological problem, and Toni VS Taya will be good stuff. Good promo from Kris Statlander, good match from her and Penelope Ford, and of course a good win for Kris. Good promo from Mone to make Worlds End official, but as I’ve been saying, Mone is more likely to lose the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship as part of the big NJPW Tokyo Dome weekend. The irony is, Mina Shirakawa is her challenger and Mina shows up plenty in AEW, so I don’t know how that math is supposed to work.
Good promo from Mariah May as it also turned into a brawl with Thunder Rosa. As it stands, Rosa standing tall holding up the belt means she is NOT winning at Worlds End, but they could still give us a little more from Rosa and Mariah on Dynamite’s Christmas episode to turn the tables. Good promo from Julia Hart to respond to Jamie Hayter, they’ll have a good match. Good promo from Orange Cassidy to try and reason with Jay White and Hangman Page, but that’s all the more reason Moxley likely uses the challengers all against each other like he did on Wednesday. Though, it would be fun if they at least started the match all annihilating Moxley with their finishers, making us think it’ll work out in favor of “Team AEW.”
Good stuff with Big Boom AJ & Big Justice here tonight, both hyping up the show but also interacting with Jericho’s group and even Anthony Bowens. They’re adding some more foreshadowing to The Acclaimed breaking up, and I guess we’re supposed to see this as a positive move, Bowens feuding with Jericho. Unless Bowens is going to be the guy that dethrones Jericho for whatever ROH cable TV debut/return is planned, the Jericho Vortex strikes again. Bowens should be going for an AEW midcard title, but right now, those are all tied up what with the C2 going on and the International Championship being tied up in Worlds End and NJPW plans.
Speaking of the C2, great stuff with all the matches tonight. Shelton VS Garcia was great stuff, and while Garcia gets the win, they’re still giving us some set-up for a TNT Championship match of Garcia VS Shelton. Mark Briscoe of course made the save, but great surprise for Swerve to show up. Lashley VS Swerve for Worlds End just needs to be said, it already feels a given. All that brawling was also a good segue into Mark VS Mortos, and another great showing for Mortos, even in losing. But as Mark has already had all his matches and is at 9 points, Kyle doesn’t even need to win against Garcia, he just needs to draw so that Mark will be out, and Garcia with him.
While Ospreay VS Darby on Wednesday raised the bar, Ospreay VS Ricochet still had great stuff of its own. Plus, Ricochet is bringing out more of his Heel side what with using the ref, and Ricochet’s win puts the pressure on Ospreay for Christmas Dynamite. Now, no offense to Brody King, but I’m thinking Ospreay wins that to take one of the semifinal spots. Darby VS Claudio tonight was also great, but Darby doing his best Sting off the truss was not the best when he gets that whiplash on the floor. I really thought that match was going to be called for concussion protocol, but Darby’s weirdly indestructible.
Claudio still cheats this win so there’s more heat on the Death Riders and Darby is also behind the 8 ball. Ospreay making the save was good, we can definitely have another “Team AEW” VS Death Riders with Ospreay joining Darby and a couple others, but the way they did the order of matches, Claudio’s got a seemingly easy ride against Komander for Christmas. Though, how awesome would it be if Komander pulled off the spoiler? Or if they were really going to add some drama, they should create a situation where the Death Riders end up ringside, violating the Continental Rules of no cornermen and that disqualifies Claudio. Claudio misses out on the semifinals because of a technicality, sending Ospreay and maybe Ricochet to the semifinals.
My Score: 8.8/10
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