Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE Raw Results & Report! (4/17/23)
Why, Trish, Why?!
Will we get a Stratusfactory answer from Trish?
In a shocking moment last Monday Night Raw, Trish Stratus turned on Becky Lynch! And tonight, she explains why! How will The Man respond?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Rey Mysterio VS Solo Sikoa; Solo wins.
- Bianca Belair VS Dakota Kai w/ Damage CTRL; Bianca wins.
- Seth Rollins VS The Miz; Rollins wins.
- Austin Theory VS Bobby Lashley; No Contest.
- Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville VS Candice LeRae & Mia Yim; Chelsea & Sonya win.
- Six Man Tag: Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens & Matt Riddle VS The Judgment Day; Sami, Kevin & Riddle win.
PLAY BY PLAY
The Bloodline is here!
Jimmy & Jey Usos, Solo Sikoa, and Paul Heyman walk down the ramp and to the ring. Fans are torn between boos and the fingers to the sky. The Bloodline get the mics and Jey says, “Little Rock, Arkansas! The Bloodline is now in your city!” Jey hands it off to OG Heyman and Heyman thanks him. Fans boo some more, but Heyman says, “Ladies- Heh, ladies in Little Rock. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Paul Heyman. And I serve as Special Counsel to your Tribal Chief, the reigning! Defending! Undisputed! WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion, Roman…! Reigns!” Fans boo as the fingers go to the sky.
Heyman says he is also honored to be the Wise Man to the entire Bloodline, and he has information that tonight, “history is about to unfold.” Wait! The Judgment Day shows up!? Finn Balor, Damian Priest, Dominik Mysterio and the SmackDown Women’s Champion, Rhea Ripley, all go right to the ring. Priest has a mic to say, “PAUL!” Priest and Solo stare down but Heyman has everyone step back. Fans chant “YOU SUCK!” at Judgment Day but Heyman shakes Priest’s hand. Heyman says it is an honor. “Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s a very good day to be a very bad guy. If there’s a Heaven, none of us are getting into it.
“A short-term deal engineered, conceived of and approved of by Your Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns.” Jey takes the mic back to say that the Usos weren’t told about this. Heyman apologizes for that, but Roman didn’t want anyone else, outside of Solo, there’s no raised voices or sudden movements towards Solo. But Roman wanted his Usos to be caught off-guard by the enormity of this short-term deal. See, even Mr. Balor, from what Heyman understands, isn’t that happy about this. Mr. Balor has deep rooted anger issues towards Roman. Heyman doesn’t blame Balor for that, but Balor is willing to put those feelings aside in the name of “good, short-term villainy.”
Speaking of! The Judgment Day has a concern. There’s a Bad Bunny concern. Solo Sikoa is an expert at addressing concerns. Solo and Rhea are staring down…? Heyman asks Jey to switch places. Jey and Solo move around, but then so do Rhea and Finn…?! Mami wants after the Enforcer?! Fans like the sound of that! Heyman asks Rhea if everything’s okay here. Rhea says, “For now.” Heyman sighs, and wants to get to the point before things go the wrong way. The Judgment Day needs something taken care of in Bad Bunny. Solo will handle that before concerns become problems, because The Bloodline already has problems!
They have a Kevin Owens problem! They have a Sami Zayn problem! They have a Matt Riddle to solve! At Backlash, for the first time ever, it’ll be a Six Man Tag of The Usos & Solo VS Kevin, Sami & Riddle! If those three make it. Because tonight, also for the first time, Sami, Kevin & Riddle are in a Six Man Tag against the Judgment Day! Finn grins and fans cheer. Heyman says that FYI, “The Bloodline doesn’t mind extending a little credit, so we’re gonna take care of your concerns.”
Because right here, right now, in the “godforsaken city” of Little Rock, Solo will go 1v1 with, and in the name of the Tribal Chief, SMASH his opponent tonight! Heyman apologizes to Dominik, because he has to see this person in person. Solo is taking on the “deplorable” yet Hall of Fame worthy Rey Mysterio! The Enforcer of the Island is ready, but will he be able to “handle” the King of Lucha Libre?
Rey Mysterio VS Solo Sikoa!
Raw returns and the bell rings. Solo circles with Rey and fans rally up. Rey KICKS Solo in the leg but Solo keeps stalking him. Rey dodges, KICKS and CLUBS Solo, but Solo keeps pursuing. They go around, Solo captures Rey but Rey BOOTS back! Rey runs, slides under and comes back, but into an ELBOW! Solo storms up, scoops and SLAMS Rey, and then stomps away. Solo CLUBS Rey, HEADBUTTS him to a corner, but fans rally behind Rey. Solo rains down fists but the ref counts. Solo lets off to roar but fans boo. Rey drags himself up but Solo is on him with a whip corner to corner.
Rey goes up and over, ducks ‘n’ dodges, then springboards to CROSSBODY! Cover, ONE! Solo CLOBBERS Rey! Solo puts Rey on ropes to CHOKE him! The ref counts, Solo lets off, and he stalks Rey to a corner. Solo whips corner to corner hard and Rey bounces off buckles! Solo talks trash on Rey, sits him up, and clamps a claw into Rey’s shoulder! Fans rally up as Rey endures, and Rey fights up to his feet. Rey throws elbows, runs, but into a LARIAT! Solo snarls and he talks more trash. Solo stomps Rey around, stalks him to another corner, and he throws more hands. Solo whips corner to corner hard!
Rey falls back again and Solo soaks up the heat. Solo storms up, stands Rey up, and he whips corner to corner again. Rey stops himself, and he drop toeholds Solo into buckles! Rey climbs up top but Solo CLUBS him first! Solo Electric Chair Lifts but Rey throws hands! Rey headscissors Solo out of the ring! Both men hit the floor and Little Rock fires up as Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Solo has Rey down with another claw in the shoulder. Rey fights back up, throws body shots, but Solo throws Rey down by his mask! The ref reprimands but the damage is done. Solo sits Rey up to karate CHOP him in the shoulder! And again! And again! Then Solo clamps the claw back on! Rey endures again, fans rally up and Rey fights. Rey stomps away on Solo’s toes! Solo UPPERCUTS Rey! Rey staggers to a corner, and Solo rains down fists! The ref counts, Solo lets off, but fans continue to rally for Rey. Solo goes corner to corner, but Rey avoids the hip attack! Solo hits buckles!
Rey is on the apron, he GAMANGIRIS Solo! Then shoulders in! Then slingshots up and over to sunset flip! Solo stays up with flailing arms, but Rey avoids the hip drop! Rey runs to SEATED SENTON! And then basement dropkick! Cover, ONE?!? Solo is still in this but Rey fires off forearms! Solo shoves Rey, but Rey kicks back! Rey springboards, Quebradas, but Solo catches him for a SAMOAN DROP! Cover, TWO! Rey is still in this and Solo looks stunned! Solo snarls as he looms over Rey. Solo stands Rey up, fireman’s carries, but Rey fights! Rey slips free, runs, tilt-o-whirls and RANAS Solo to ropes!
Rey dials it up, 619! Fans fire up as Solo falls! SLINGSHOT SPLASH! Cover, TWO!! Solo survives and Rey is the one stunned now! Rey brings Solo up, but Solo blocks the whip! Solo whips, Rey stops himself and dropkicks the legs out! Solo is on ropes again, Rey redials! But wait, the USOS return to ringside! Fans boo as Jimmy & Jey keep Rey from making the call. But the LWO jumps in outta nowhere! Escobar, Cruz & Wilde beat down Jimmy & Jey! DOUBLE ENZIGURIS take them down! Rey redials, but Solo blocks the call! For a pop-up, only for Rey to fight! DROPKICK and Solo’s back on ropes! Redial, 619!!
Rey hurries up top, aims, FROG SPLASH FLOPS! Solo stands Rey up, SAMOAN SPIKE!! Cover, Solo wins!
Winner: Solo Sikoa, by pinfall
The LWO hurry into the ring to keep Solo from going any further. But the Usos jump in to get them back for earlier! Fans boo as the Bloodline POSTS Escobar, CLOBBERS Wilde, and then gives Cruz the SAMOAN SPIKE! Escobar is then fed to the SAMOAN SPIKE! Fans boo as Solo drags Rey up again. Solo feeds Rey to the ONE AND DONE!! So far, the Bloodline has come through on their end of the deal. Will the Judgment Day be able to do the same later tonight?
Adam Pearce meets with The Alpha Academy & Maxxine Dupri.
Chad Gable says it shouldn’t even be up for debate. If Otis or Gable get drafted somewhere, the other should go with. It’s a package deal. Now bundle it up, a thank yew! But Maxxine says this is about branding. Who is to be the face of a brand? Does Pearce really want it to be Otis & Chaz? Uh, it’s CHAD! CHA-DUH! Maxxine ignores Chad to say, “Or do you want it to be Maxxine & Otíse?” Gable says SHOOSH! Maxxine shushes him back! They shush fight, and Gable says she isn’t doing it right. It’s SHOOOOSH! No, the O’s should be SILENT!
Pearce tells them both to stop! He will gladly take all of this into consideration, but The Judgment Day and Bloodline are making deals, Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar are in the same building, there’s a lot going on. So please, excuse yourselves. A thank yew. Just what will be the fate of the tree trunk?
Bianca Belair VS Dakota Kai w/ Damage CTRL!
The RawEST Women’s Champion is in Little Rock and she’s ready to rock! She may be facing the Evil Genius for the title down the line, but will she tune-up using #CobraKai? Or will this be where DMG CTRL finally takes control?
Raw returns and Kai makes her entrance, Iyo Sky and the Role Model behind her. The bell rings, Kai and Bianca tie up, and Bianca powers Kai to the corner. The ref counts, Bianca lets off and eggs Kai on. They tie up again, but Bianca powers Kai right back into the corner. The fans rally for the EST as she lets off again. Kai storms up, Bianca gets an arm and wrenches. Kai stomps a foot, wrenches the arm and wristlocks, but Bianca scoops! Kai slips free and throws Bianca down by her braid! Kai smirks but Bianca kips up! Bianca grab Kai’s hair buns and TOSSES her by them! Fans fire up and Bianca runs in, but Kai goes up and over!
Bianca blocks the roll-up, handsprings through, and she dropkicks Kai down! Bianca kips up and fans fire up again! Bianca brings Kai up, whips her to a corner, but Kai reverses. Bianca goes up and over, tells Kai to kiss this, and things keep moving., Bianca handsprings over again, sidesteps and hip tosses Kai down, to then STANDING MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO! Sky and Bayley coach Kai up but Bianca has her in a corner. Kai dodges, runs back in, but into an elbow! Kai comes back but Bianca puts her on the apron. Kai grabs the braid gain! Bianca elbows Kai, runs in, but into a BOOT that sends her into the POST!
Kai goes after Bianca on the outside, and BOOTS her into the steel steps! Bianca is down and Kai taunts her while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Kai has Bianca in a chinlock. Bianca fights up and JAWBREAKERS free, then rolls Kai up! TWO, and Kai hurries up. Kai swings, but into a wrench and suplex! Fans fire up but Kai fights to a cradle! TWO, and Bianca goes to a corner. Kai runs in, Bianca slips out and ROCKS Kai! Bianca then slingshots, runs and BLOCKBUSTERS! Fans fire up while both women are down! Sky & Bayley are worried for Kai as she stands up. Bianca runs Kai over with shoulder after shoulder, then DROPKICK! Bianca wrenches Kai, spins her around, suplexes and rolls through to suplex again!
Bianca holds Kai up and marches before the SLAM! Bayley is annoyed as Bianca runs, handsprings and MOONSAULTS! Cover, TWO! Kai survives and Bayley is relieved. Kai goes to the ropes, Bianca eggs her on and the fans fire up. Bianca grabs a leg, Kai holds the ropes, and the ref counts. Bianca lets go at 4, Kai rushes in, but Bianca blocks the Scorpion Kick! Kai adjusts, wheelbarrow and victory FACEBUSTER! Cover, TWO!! DMG CTRL is frustrated, Kai runs in and she blocks Bianca’s boot. Kai ROCKS Bianca, runs side to side and BOOT WASHES! Kai pushes Bianca to a drop zone and goes up top!
Kai aims, DIVING- NO, Bianca avoids the stomps! Bianca scoops Kai, to a GUTBUSTER! Bianca fires up, brings Kai back up and CLUBS her. Torture rack and- NO, Kai holds the braid! Kai lands on her feet, reels Bianca in, but Bianca dodges the kick to chicken wing! But Kai victory rolls Bianca into buckles! Kai runs Around the World but Bianca avoids the kick! Bianca torture racks, for the KISS OF DEATH! Cover, Bianca wins!
Winner: Bianca Belair, by pinfall
Bayley and Sky both sigh and shake their heads. The EST continues to be the strongest, the fastest, the roughest and the toughest, but will the Evil Genius still have a way around all that?
Bronson Reed speaks.
“People ask me what my problem is. Well, I have lots of ’em. Actually, I’m a really nice guy. That’s what my mum used to call me: Mr. Nice Guy. That’s me. Mr. Nice Guy, Bronson Reed.” But as the highlights show, this nice guy is rather brutal in the ring. Will this nice guy be the one to finish first?
The Judgment Day talks backstage.
Damian Priest says, “Isn’t that nice, guys? Bad Bunny’s returning to Raw next week. As long as he returns with a different attitude. For one, he knows what could happen. And, I’ll just stop being his friend.” Dom says Priest doesn’t need to be Bunny’s friend, just like Dom doesn’t need Rey as his father. “But watching Solo break piece by piece until there isn’t anymore Rey Mysterio…” Paul Heyman walks in and looks at the Judgment Day. Are they satisfied? What’s Finn think? Finn says, “Eh.” Eh?! Yeah. Eh. Well, alright. Then their turn to do “eh,” but do “eh” to Sami, Kevin & Riddle tonight so they don’t fall into debt with The Tribal Chief.
In debt? That sounds like an issue between Roman and the Usos. As far as the Judgment Day goes, they handle their business. Rhea then stands up and tells Heyman, “Bye, Paul.” Heyman gets his phone to call Roman Reigns, and inform him. Will things be a bit more than “eh” at the end of tonight?
Cody Rhodes heads to the ring!
Little Rock fires up for the American Nightmare as he’s ready to confront the Beast! Furthermore, he’s dressed in his ring gear! Is Cody expecting this to be more than just a verbal encounter? Cody gets the mic while the fans sing the song. Cody asks Little Rock, “Whaddya wanna talk about? I know exactly what I wanna talk about, and I know exactly who I wanna talk to, so go ahead! Bring yourself out here, please come to the ring, BROCK LESNAR!” But instead, Adam Pearce walks out, and he wants Cody to calm down and listen. Pearce appreciates the spirit of what Cody’s up to, but Pearce can’t let this happen.
Fans boo as Pearce reasons with Cody. No one is discounting what Cody wants to do, everyone respects what Cody wants to do, but he just can’t. Cody is NOT medically cleared to even be in the ring. Man to man, Pearce respects the spirit of Cody Rhodes. But fans chant, “We Want Brock!” Pearce tells everyone they can’t do this, Cody isn’t medically cleared. Pearce asks Cody to leave the ring and fans boo more. Cody says okay, and thank you for the respect shown. Cody will leave. Cody shakes Pearce’s hand, steps out of the ring, and fans boo again. Cody goes to the ramp, but then goes right back to the ring!
Cody grabs a chair from under the ring, and he gets in the ring! Pearce wants Cody to listen to him, to calm down and think about this! They don’t need this, or that chair! If Cody isn’t going to leave on his own, security will have to escort him out. Fans boo more but Pearce says this is for Cody’s own good. The security want Cody to put the chair down. Pearce wants Cody to think about this. It doesn’t have to go down like this. But here comes BROCK! Pearce wants Cody to get out of here, but here comes “Black Hat” Lesnar! Pearce says the match with Brock is happening at Backlash, so please just get out of here!
Lesnar smirks as he dares Cody to do something tonight. Cody has what he wants with a match at Backlash, but will he still get him some? He does! He beats down the security guards, SMACKS them around with the chair, and then fires off hands! Cody stomps away on the one with the man bun, and Lesnar grins. Cody rushes out of the ring, fights off more guards, sends a few into the steel steps, and he has a clear path to the Beast! Cody runs in, but even MORE security rushes in! They swarm Cody and push him back, all while Lesnar chuckles. Cody has a match, will he just have to wait for that night in Puerto Rico?
Lesnar leaves, Cody fights the guards off with all his pent up rage! Cody gets back in the ring, he TOSSES a guard out, then TOSSES another! And he fires haymakers on yet another, before he TOSSES him out! And then yet another one! Pearce wants Cody to calm down but Cody gets the mic again. Fans are thunderous for “CODY! CODY!” and Cody shouts, “I spent the entirety of last week throwing out positive platitudes about Brock Lesnar, and I left one out. Brock Lesnar can wear his silly cowboy hat all day long, but Brock Lesnar, I grew up around cowboys. You are NOT a cowboy! You are a COWARD!”
Fans fire up as the American Nightmare proves being less than 100% means nothing to him! Will Cody bulldoze Suplex City to get his revenge?
Seth Rollins VS The Miz!
The Architect won big over Logan Paul at WrestleMania while The Hollywood A-Lister lost on both nights! Will The Miz make a must-see comeback? Or will Rollins continue to #BurnItDown and head for bigger and better things?
The Miz attacks Rollins at the ramp! Miz sends Rollins into barriers, stomps away on him, then sends him into the steel steps! Fans boo as Miz RAMS Rollins into the apron, brings him around and SMACKS him off the announce desk! And again! Fans still sing “OH~ OHH~ OHHH~!” but Miz puts Rollins in the ring. Miz fires off hands, the ref has him back off, and Miz waits on Rollins to get back up. The bell rings, Miz runs in and fires off forearms! Miz throws knees, brings Rollins around, throws the jacket away, but Rollins tackles Miz! Rollins claws at Miz’s face, but Miz RAMS him into the corner!
Miz digs his shoulder in, lets off as the ref counts, and then he grinds his forearms into Rollins’ face. The ref reprimands and backs Miz off. The fans still sing for Rollins but Miz runs in, into a LARIAT! Fans fire up and Rollins clotheslines Miz up and out! Rollins builds speed and he DIVES! Direct hit into the barriers but Rollins keeps going! Another DIVE and back into barriers! Rollins goes again, for a DIVE! The hattrick hits and fans are thunderous! Rollins revels in the fans singing his song, and he watches Miz crawl. Rollins runs in, but Miz tosses him up and over! Rollins lands on his feet in the timekeeper’s area!
Rollins ROCKS Miz, goes up, but Miz shoves Rollins away! Rollins hits the ring bell on the way down! The Visionary is down while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns, Miz climbs up, and he leaps, into a kick! Rollins reels Miz in, underhooks, but Miz back drops free! Rollins sunset flips it, TWO! Miz swings, misses, and Rollins PELES! Miz and Rollins are both down and fans rally back up! Fans sing again, “OH~ OHH~ OHHH~!” Rollins and Miz stand, Rollins runs in and rallies with clothesline after clothesline! Rollins then dodges Miz to kick, kick and DISCUS LARIAT! Fans fire up with Rollins while Miz goes to a corner. Rollins runs corner to corner, FOREARM SMASH! Rollins whips, Miz reverses but Rollins reverses back to SLINGBLADE! Cover, TWO!
Miz is still in this but Rollins keeps his cool. Rollins goes to a corner, climbs up, but Miz throws hands first! “This is Awesome!” as Miz climbs up after Rollins. Rollins slips under to bring Miz out! But Miz fights free of the bomb! Miz runs in, into a BOOT! Rollins goes up but Miz trips him up! DRAPING CODE BREAKER! Cover, TWO! Rollins survives and both men are down again! Miz snarls as fans chant ‘TINY BALLS!” Miz KICKS Rollins, KICKS him again, then powers up. Miz kicks but Rollins blocks! Rollins picks Miz up for a BUCKLE BOMB! Miz flops down, Rollins goes up! FROG SPLASH onto knees! Miz covers, TWO!!
Miz fumes as he watches Rollins stir. Miz powers up, shouts, “MASSIVE! BALLS!” and then he full nelsons. Rollins victory rolls it! TWO! Miz sits with tights pulled! TWO, Miz rebounds and BOOTS! Rollins rebounds and SUPERKICKS! Rollins aims again, but Miz blocks! Miz puts the leg on the ropes to drop a knee on the knee! Rollins writhes and Miz hurries to get the leg! Miz steps through, FIGURE FOUR!! Rollins shakes his head as he endures! Miz puts as much pressure as he can on the hold, but Rollins hears the fans singing. Rollins powers his way over, reaches out, and he gets the ROPEBREAK!
Fans fire up while Miz lets go at 4 in frustration. Miz drags Rollins back out, steps through, but Rollins cradles! TWO!! Miz escapes, but Rollins ROLLING ELBOWS! Rollins turns Miz to DREAM SMASHER ELBOW! Rollins runs in, but Miz avoids the stomp! Miz kicks the legs out, BASEMENT DDT! Miz rolls through, BIG DDT!! Cover, TWO!! Rollins survives and Miz can’t believe it! Fans again say “This is Awesome!” and Miz drags Rollins up with a fishhook. The ref reprimands, but Miz puts Rollins in a corner to dig in forearms. Miz puts Rollins up top, climbs up from the outside, and he full nelsons!
Rollins fights and he throws elbows! Fans fire up as Rollins turns around, brings Miz up, and SUPERPLEXES! Roll through! FALCON ARROW! Fans are thunderous as Rollins takes aim! CURB STOMP!! Cover, Rollins wins!
Winner: Seth Rollins, by pinfall
A barn burner in Little Rock, but the one to burn it down was the Visionary! Will Rollins make his way back towards a title soon enough?
Matt Riddle, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn talk backstage.
They all know there’s a lot on their plates. The big match against the Judgment Day tonight, the big WrestleMania rematch with The Usos next week, and now even a Six Man Tag at Backlash. But as far as tonight goes, Sami thinks they should get on the same page. Riddle had some ideas, and Sami wants to hear him out. Riddle says he has a pretty sweet idea, but Kevin says here’s a sweet idea: Why not leave the thinking to Kevin & Sami? Riddle rolls his eyes but Sami does his best to keep the peace. Kevin, we talked about this. If Riddle is helping fight the Bloodline, he deserves to have his voice heard.
Kevin isn’t sure what Sami is getting at, but Sami says Riddle can have his time. Riddle thanks Sami, and brings up how Solo has that Samoan Spike. But Riddle has some sweet kicks, so he thinks he could wrap up his big toe, kick Solo in the throat, BAM! Knockout! They can even call it the Toe Bro. What do they think? Sami looks at Kevin and Kevin says, “Toe Bro?” Yeah. Sami says that is… an idea. Kevin gets upset that Sami is encouraging this, but Riddle has them stop arguing. He wasn’t serious! He isn’t an idiot, either! Does no one remember what the Bloodline put him through? They took his best bud and tag partner, they took his tag titles, and then tried to end his career!
While Riddle was home for four months, he watched something awesome: two best friends went after the Usos and took their tag titles at WrestleMania! Riddle isn’t here to waste time, joke around and be some idiot. Riddle’s here to kick some ass! That’s what he’s gonna do at Backlash, and here tonight! Riddle heads out, and now Sami smiles. Kevin says they should’ve listened to Riddle. Sami says that’s what he said! But either way, Sami’s proud in himself that he brought this group together. Will they be the ones to bring down the Judgment Day on top of The Bloodline?
Austin Theory VS Bobby Lashley!
The Now is still high on himself after beating John Cena at WrestleMania, but the All Mighty is looking to humble him! Will Lashley earn himself another shot at the United States Championship with this win? Or will Theory keep Lashley in his past?
Raw returns as Theory makes his entrance. The bell rings and the two approach. Theory dodges Lashley and flexes, but fans boo. Lashley keeps cool as he and Theory reset. They tie up, Lashley puts Theory in a corner, and the ref counts the break. Lashley lets off, Theory headlocks, but Lashley powers out to run Theory over. Theory huffs and puffs, runs back in but into a waistlock and SLAM! Lashley then facelocks to gator roll Theory around! Fans fire up, but Theory gets the ROPEBREAK. Lashley lets off, but Theory kicks low! Theory CLUBS away on Lashley, says he’s the man, but it’s Lashley who suplexes!
Lashley holds Theory up, with one hand! Then the SLAM! Fans fire up as Lashley bumps Theory off buckles. Theory staggers and Lashley clotheslines Theory out of the ring! Theory staggers up to the apron, Lashley grabs him, but Theory HOTSHOTS! Theory slides in, things speed up, Lashley hurdles and clinches for the COMPLETE SHOT! Fans fire up as Lashley stalks Theory, but Theory drops to KICK Lashley away! Theory runs in to clothesline Lashley! Theory throws elbow after elbow, then some knees! The ref counts, Theory lets off, to SUPERKICK! But Lashley just CLOBBERS Theory in return!
Lashley bumps Theory off buckles, RAMS into him again and again, then CLUBS Theory! Theory flounders away but Lashley keeps cool. Lashley pursues Theory, but Theory ROCKS him at the ramp! Theory brings Lashley around, whips, but Lashley reverses to send Theory into the apron! Theory drops but Lashley picks him up. Lashley fireman’s carries and POSTS Theory! Little Rock fire up with the Rocky Mountain Machine as Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Theory crawls. Fans fire up behind Lashley as he stalks Theory, and clamps on the full nelson! Theory grabs a hand to BITE it! The ref can’t see it with Theory’s body in the way! Theory POSTS Lashley! Theory POSTS Lashley again! And then roll-up, TWO! Theory grows frustrated, and he rains down fists on Lashley! The fans boo Theory but he just huffs and puffs again. Lashley drags himself up with the ropes while Theory soaks up the heat. Theory then CHOKES Lashley on the ropes! “I’m the champ! ME!” Theory lets off as the ref counts, and he brings Lashley around to snapmare and stomp! Cover, TWO!
Theory keeps on Lashley with a chinlock. Lashley endures, even as Theory grinds him down. The fans rally up, Lashley fights to his feet, but Theory wrangles Lashley back down! Theory squeezes tight with the chinlock, but Lashley still fights his way up. Fans rally, Lashley pries the chinlock open, but Theory CHOP BLOCKS! Fans boo but Theory DECKS Lashley! Cover, TWO! Lashley is still in this but Theory keep son him. Theory stomps away on Lashley, then eggs him on. Theory soaks up more heat from the fans, then goes back to Lashley. Theory ROCKS Lashley with hands, has him in the corner, and throws more shots.
Fans boo and chant “THEORY SUCKS!” but Theory runs in to RAM into Lashley! Theory goes corner to corner again, but Lashley dodges! Theory POSTS himself! Theory staggers out and Lashley CLOBBERS him! Theory gets up again, and runs into the MILE HIGH SPINEBUSTER! Fans fire up and Lashley clotheslines in a corner! Lashley RAMS his shoulder in again and again, then goes side to side to RAM again! And LARIAT! Fans fire up as Theory flounders away. Lashley aims from a corner, he runs in, but Theory hurdles over! Lashley hits buckles. Theory fireman’s carries, but Lashley slips free!
Lashley kicks low, gets Theory up, DOMINATOR! Cover, TWO!! Theory survives but Lashley isn’t deterred! Lashley aims from the corner again, watches Theory go to the other end, but then Theory bails out. Fans boo but Lashley storms over. Theory shoulders in, slingshots, but into the HURT LOCK!! Theory RAMS Lashley back into a corner, and then BRONSON REED appears!? And he SPLASHES them both!!
No Contest
Fans boo but Bronson SPLASHES Lashley again! Bronson kicks Lashley to the floor, aims from the apron, and FLYING SHOULDERS Lashley down! Fans boo but Auszilla wants another go. And he SQUASHES Lashley against the post!! Fans boo but Bronson soaks it all up. “Mr. Nice Guy” puts Lashley in the ring, looms over him, and then picks him up for a fireman’s carry. But Lashley fights free! Lashley wants the full nelson but again, Bronson’s so big! Theory slingshot somersaults and SHOTGUNS Lashley from behind! Theory runs away, but Bronson doesn’t mind. He gets Lashley for the SAMOAN DROP!
Fans boo more but Bronson isn’t done! Bronson goes up the corner, TSUNAMI!! The Colossal Aussie tells Lashley they’re not done. Will Bronson not stop until he’s the top dog in the WWE?
Trish Stratus heads to the ring!
Fans boo The Chick, the Hall of Famer, and the one who turned on Becky Lynch even though she lost the tag titles! We hear what she has to say about last week, after the break.
Raw returns and Trish has the mic. Fans still boo, but Trish says, “We’re going to start with a little history lesson here, kids. When I first came to the WWE, women’s wrestling was a joke. And I proceeded to single-handedly change everything. I brought credibility to a non-existent Women’s Division. And I know some are gonna say, ‘But it was Trish and Lita.’ No, no, there was no ‘we,’ it was me. I was the Women’s Division, I was THE trailblazer, I was the first woman to main-event Raw, and I was the first woman to make you people give a crap about the Women’s Division.”
Trish says without her, there would be NO Women’s Revolution, and certainly no women main-eventing WrestleMania. “When Becky, Charlotte and Ronda were wrestling in the main event of WrestleMania, you guys were chanting, ‘This is Awesome~!’ But what you should’ve been chanting was, ‘Thank You, Trish.’ Because I changed everything, it’s true. You know it. But you wouldn’t believe that if you listened to Becky Lynch. Becky Lynch would have you believe that the Women’s Revolution started with the Four Horse Ladies. That they broke boundaries! That they made people care about the Women’s Division again!
“Well, that statement, like you, Becky, is a joke! And I sat back for a long while and I let it slide. I get selling yourself, calling yourself ‘The Man,’ bragging about your accomplishments, and go on with your bad self. But after awhile, I was like, ‘Wait. Does she actually believe her own hype?'” Trish needed to find out, she buddied up to ol’ Becks, and y’know what? Not once did Becky say, “Thank you for opening the door for me.” Not once did Becky tell Trish thanks for everything and that she would be nothing without Trish. And not once did Becky say, “Thank you, Trish.”
But Trish has to give it to Becky, she’s very convincing. Becky even convinced Lita! Lita was eating out of the palm of Becky’s hand, when only one year earlier, Becky was calling Lita out. But there they were, dancing down the aisle, Lita happy to be Becky’s sidekick. “Trish Stratus is nobody’s sidekick. This…” She poses. “Not a sidekick.” Trish said it was getting sad, so she had to take Lita out of the picture. Yes, Trish attacked Lita. Did you just put that together? She’ll speak slower since they’re all slower: Trish. Did. That. And the reason Trish needed Lita out of the way so that Trish could make it crystal clear that the person who screwed Becky out of her titles was Trish.
Fans boo but Trish says, “And Becky, do you remember that moment when you put your arm around me and you said in your stupid little accent, ‘Good try, Trish. We’ll get ’em next time, friend.'” Trish is NOT Becky’s friend, there will be NO next time, and Trish made very clear in that moment that she was going to make everything right. Trish took out The Man just like that! Oh, do the fans not like that? Aw. Well, she doesn’t care! Trish wasn’t gonna let Becky or anyone else rewrite history. Trish is not some nostalgia act, childhood fantasy, and she sure as hell isn’t a nobody sidekick!
She is the greatest of all time! The single most important figure in the history of the WWE! And she will make sure no one forgets it! Trish drops the mic and takes her leave, but will Becky and Lita have a response?
Backstage interview with Cody Rhodes.
Cathy Kelley says last week, Cody challenged Lesnar to a match at Backlash. Is he satisfied that the match was made official tonight? Cody says yes. Of course! He’s ecstatic to wrestle Lesnar at Backlash in Puerto Rico in three weeks. But Cody is also a bit confused by tonight’s events. In what world, in what mirror universe, is he in that he’s actually still standing here? He lost out on the Universal Championship at WrestleMania, and furthermore, he was the one being held back by 20 security guards, and not Lesnar! Lesnar is the one who walks away on Cody. Cody has to apologize to Adam Pearce for losing his temper.
But what is going on? The only thing to get through this was to smash through everyone, because that is what this is. Cody has backed the Beast into a corner, and the only way out of this is for Lesnar to win. Everything Cody knows, everything he has been through, Cody cannot allow that. Cody heads out, but will he be victorious against Lesnar in three weeks?
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez are here!
The WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions are here, ready to watch from commentary as their challengers are looking to tune-up. Will the Hot Mess & Pride Fighter have something to complain about after facing #CandiceWrestling and #Michin?
Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville VS Candice LeRae & Mia Yim!
Raw returns as Candice & Mia make their entrances first, followed by Chelsea & Sonya. The teams sort out and Chelsea starts against Mia. Mia blocks the slap, and she HEADBUTTS! Mia bumps Chelsea off buckles, tags Candice, and then Mia whips Candice in for a back body block! Candice snapmares and NECK SNAPPERS, then jackknife bridge! TWO, but Candice step-up SENTONS! Cover, ONE! Candice brings Chelsea up but Chelsea knees low. Tag to Sonya and the #ComplaintDepartment double suplex! They hold Candice up, but Candice shifts to hit DOUBLE DDTS! And then a step-up SENTON for Sonya!
Candice hurries to a corner and fans rally up, but wait. Nikki Cross is in the crowd? She smiles and waves at Candice and that distracts her. Chelsea storms up, Candice shoves her down, but Sonya YANKS Candice off the corner! Sonya runs to KNEE Candice down! Cover, TWO! Sonya drags Candice up, tags Chelsea, and they DOUBLE SUPLEX this time! Chelsea taunts Liv & Raquel, “You like that?” Chelsea jumps but Candice avoids the elbow drop! Tag to Mia! Chelsea tags Sonya, but Mia dodges Sonya to BOOT Chelsea! And BOOT Sonya! Mia goes up and RANAS Sonya away! Sonya returns, but into a flurry of forearms and CHOPS!
Chelsea storms in, Mia dodges, and the Complaint Dept. almost crash into each other! Mia then waits, DROPKICKS Sonya down, and Candice DROPKICKS Chelsea! Sonya returns, but into a strike fest! Mia SOBATS, hops on, CODE BLUE! Cover, Chelsea breaks it! Candice hurries in, chases Chelsea out of the ring, but Chelsea trips her on the apron! Mia runs in at Sonya but Sonya TACKLES her! High stack, but the ref sees the feet on the ropes! Sonya argues with the ref but Chelsea sneaks a tag. Mia wrenches Sonya, but Chelsea has the arms! Chicken wings for the UNPRETTIER! Cover, the complainers win!
Winners: Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville, by pinfall
Liv & Raquel stare down their challengers, but then Chelsea splashes water at Liv!! Liv is furious but Raquel keeps her back. Will the Complaint Dept. take those titles and finally have something nice to say? Or will the champs still be #LivingLarge?
The Street Profits, Elias and Rick Boogs talk backstage.
Boogs is so confused. Why? Well, he can’t be eligible for the WWE Draft! He just go there! C’mon, what’s going on? What? The Boogs Cruise, not eligible? C’mon, man, that’s not how it works. Every WWE superstar is eligible in the Draft. You can go to Raw or SmackDown. Champions could switch brands. Rivalries can be rekindled. Baron Corbin walks in and says, “And don’t forget: tag teams can get split up.” He pats the Profits on the shoulders, but they say, “Naaaah.” Corbin says, “Yeeeah.” Well, the Profits better talk with Pearce then. They head out and Corbin follows to keep trolling them.
Elias tells Boogs that Elias will probably go first in the Draft, and that probably gives Boogs some anxiety. But listen, don’t sweat it. No matter where Elias goes, he’ll put in a good word for Boogs so that Boogs can join him. Boogs thanks Elias for that. But then they turn around to see Akira Tozawa. “Boogs. Yeah, big star! Yeah, baby!” Thanks, man! But Elias… Last pick. Tozawa laughs at the Drifter, and then Corbin returns, saying that was a good burn. Corbin offers a handshake, but Tozawa says, “Nobody wants you. You SUCK!” Tozawa leaves and Corbin is beside himself. Will Elias really be Mr. Irrelevant? Will Corbin be a complete snub?
The Bloodline speaks.
Jimmy makes fun of the LWO, and Jey says he actually likes that teams are stepping up. But the problem is, they stepped up to the U-S-O! And what happened? They stepped up, but the Usos sat ’em right back down. YESSIR! And the same thing gonna happen at Backlash in San Juan, Puerto Rrrricooooo MY GOSH! Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Matt Riddle VS Solo & The Usos! YESSIR! This Bloodline run deep! ALL DAY! This Bloodline is forever! ALL THE WAY! You the twos, and #WeTheOnes!
Six Man Tag: Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens & Matt Riddle VS The Judgment Day!
Speaking of the all-star team of the Great Liberator, the Prizefighter and the Original Bro, they’re going to have their first test as a trio! Will they be able to survive all the way to Backlash? Or will the Prince, the Punisher and the Prodigal Son put them down on the Bloodline’s behalf?
Raw returns and Riddle makes his entrance, followed by Kevin, and then Sami. The trios sort out and Sami starts against Finn. They circle, feel things out, and Finn headlocks. Sami endures the grind, fights up, and powers out. Things speed up, Sami arm-drags Finn around, but Finn avoids the hattrick. Finn goes to his corner and “Ex-Con” Dom tags in. Fans boo as Dom flexes and circles with Sami. But then Dom tags out to Priest. Fans boo but Dom soaks up the heat. Kevin offers and Sami tags him in! Fans fire up as KO and Priest approach. Kevin kicks low, headlocks, but Priest powers out.
The two RAM shoulders, but neither falls. Kevin goes again, they RAM shoulders, but Priest just smirks. So Kevin DROPKICKS! And SENTONS! And tells Dom to “SUCK IT!” Kevin stands Priest up but Priest ROCKS him with a right! Tag to Finn and Finn throws hands. Kevin throws hem back! Kevin whips, Finn ducks ‘n’ dodges, but leaps into Kevin’s arms! Kevin swings Finn for an AIR RAID CRASH! Cover, TWO! Finn flounders but Kevin brings him up again. Kevin scoops, Finn slips off and he CHOP BLOCKS! Kevin falls to ropes and Finn storms over. Finn stomps the bad leg, and Kevin bails out.
Fans boo, Finn distracts the ref, and RHEA CLOBBERS Kevin! The Judgment Day soaks up the heat while fans boo, and Finn puts Kevin back in the ring. Finn keeps Kevin from Sami and Riddle, and he drives an elbow into Kevin’s head! Finn wraps on a facelock and Rhea says, “I know, I’m the best.” Kevin fights up as fans rally but Finn knees him low. Finn DECKS Sami with a sucker punch, but Kevin SUPERKICKS! Hot tag to Riddle! Riddle rallies on Finn with kicks, then Dom run sin, Dom gets a PELE for his troubles! Riddle kips up to forearm smash Finn! And forearm smash Priest! And one more for Finn!
BROSPLODER! BROTON! Deadlift FISHERMAN SUPLEX! Bridging cover, TWO!! Riddle scoops but Finn rakes eyes! Hot tag to Priest but Riddle KNEES Priest down! Riddle goes up and out and PENALTY KICKS Finn! Dom runs in, but Riddle clinches to drag him out! Finn helps Dom up, but Riddle goes up! Only for Priest to choke grip, and APRON CHOKE SLAM!! The Bro is down and Rhea says, “Sucker~!” The Judgment Day soaks up the heat while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns once again as Riddle and Priest trade forearm shots! They go back and forth, then Riddle KICKS! So Priest KICKS! Priest gets the edge, kicks and kicks and ROLLING ELBOWS Riddle into the corner! Priest taunts Sami and Kevin, runs in and back elbows Riddle! Tag to Finn, he slingshot STOMPS Riddle down! Tag to Dom, he slingshot SENTONS! Tag to Finn, tag to Priest, and the Judgment Day stands Riddle up for the BACKBREAKER LEG DROP COMBO! Priest covers, TWO! Priest tags back to Dom while Rhea complains about the count. Dom stands Riddle up, gives some Latino Heat, but Riddle gets around to GERMAN SUPLEX!
Fans fire up while Riddle and Dom are down! Riddle and Dom crawl, hot tag to Sami! Fans are thunderous as Sami rallies on Dom! Sami whips, back drops Dom, but Finn runs in! Sami tosses Finn out! Priest runs in, Sami dumps him out! Sami then goes up the corner, but Dom hurries after him! Sami CLUBS away on Dom, then SUPER SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMBS!! Cover, TWO!! Dom survives that hard landing, but Sami drags him to a drop zone. Finn gets back in as Sami climbs, but the ref intercepts Finn. That allows Rhea to SHOVE Sami off the top! Sami crotches on the ropes and Dom drags him down!
Kevin can’t hit Rhea so he just throws Riddle’s jacket at her! Dom is up top, for the FROG SPLASH!! Cover, Kevin breaks it!! Fans fire up but Rhea is furious! Finn SHOTGUNS Kevin! Riddle FINAL FLASH KNEES Finn! Priest clinches to FLATLINER Riddle! Sami clotheslines Priest up and out! Fans fire up for Sami as he builds speed! But Rhea trips him up! The ref reprimands, and then EJECTS her!! Mami is furious that she got caught! But Dom rolls Sami up! TWO!! Dom swings, into a BLUE THUNDER BOMB!! Cover, TWO!! Dom stays in this, but Kevin is back! Sami hot tags Kevin!
Kevin goes up top, to SWANTON onto knees!! Dom saves himself and hot tags Finn! The Prince aims, to SHOTGUN Kevin into a corner! Kevin falls to the drop zone and Finn climbs up top! COUP DE- NO! Kevin dodges, to tag Sami! STUNNER for Finn! Finn ends up in a corner, Sami goes to the other! Priest runs in but into a STUNNER!! Sami runs and HELLUVA KICKS Finn! Riddle wants in, so Sami tags him! Riddle goes up, for the FLOATING BRO!! Cover, Kevin, Sami & Riddle win!
Winners: Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens & Matt Riddle, by pinfall
The Judgment Day fail their part of the mission, but here comes the Bloodline! Solo & The Usos attack Sami, Kevin & Riddle! Fans boo as each brother has someone in the corner! They mug Riddle, they mug Sami, but then here comes the LWO!! Rey, Escobar, Cruz & Wilde tip the scales as they go after the Bloodline! But then the Judgment Day get involved! It’s a chaotic 7v6 brawl! Referees rush out but they can’t stop the madness! Fans are losing their minds as they watch the melee! Fans chant, “We Want Tables!” but there’s nothing but fists and feet! Rey and Dom find each other, Rey puts Dom on the ropes! The LWO play defense, Rey dials it up, 619 for Dom!!
Kevin BACK SUPLEXES Priest on the announce desk! The LWO and the “problems” stand tall, will they be the ones to win out this faction warfare?
My Thoughts:
A great Raw to really build towards Backlash. But there’s something I do need to say: WWE seems to have no idea what the color aesthetic for the logo is. The replay graphics used the golden one (for what I suppose was going to be WrestleMania Backlash), the match card graphics give a combination of red and blue, but the ones I’m seeing on their Twitter are just plain red. Now, the gold for the replay stuff makes some sense, they can’t have red on red. But in that case, it could’ve just been a plain white logo. But whatever, I’m sure they’ll settle on it within the next three weeks, and I’ll make the thumbnail accordingly.
Anyway, great opening promo involving the Bloodline and Judgment Day. For a moment, I thought this was the Judgment Day defending their territory, but nice twist of it being a quid pro quo deal. Solo and Rhea staring down got everyone fired up. Rhea has already been used to tease intergender combat in WWE, and Solo sure ain’t gonna back down from a fight. Solo VS Rey was great stuff, even with the overbooking of the Usos showing up and brawling with the LWO. Though, the LWO sure gets booked poorly in these situations. Maybe that’s just because they’re up against some really strong factions.
Good backstage promo with Heyman and the Judgment Day, and it teased that the Judgment Day can and should step to the Bloodline. After all, Rhea’s the SmackDown Women’s Champion, the Draft is coming, we could end up with both factions on Fridays. But also, great stuff from Kevin, Sami and Riddle. That was definitely the promo we’ve needed from Riddle. Great main event Six Man match, and Kevin had great interactions with Rhea. For one, he sold that clothesline from her so well. Great win for the Faces, but of course the Bloodline goes after them after. That brawl was awesome stuff, and as much as I’d love like a 10 Man or 12 Man Tag, I don’t see it happening.
Good promos to show the superstars are kayfabe worried about the WWE Draft, namely the tag teams. Gable wants The Alpha Academy to stay a thing, Maxxine wants Otis to end up Otise by default, and Otis is just stuck in the middle. This is actually the one time a tag team split up by the Draft would work for good story. Corbin trying to troll the Profits with that was good, but Tozawa (which it was great to see him back, for one) had the best part of the whole thing with how he got Elias AND Corbin. I hope Tozawa gets to do something, he has had great stretches in his WWE career but I would love if he got something consistent.
Pretty good promo from Trish. Everything she said was standard Heel stuff of being underappreciated, disrespected, etc. I just wish she had more energy in saying it. She should’ve been almost yelling, but she came off too calm. I’m pretty sure Becky and Lita will each get heated in their response promos, and I would think this leads to Becky VS Trish for Backlash, which is big for Backlash. And really good women’s tag match, though I cannot explain why fans do not get more excited for Candice LeRae matches. Chelsea & Sonya of course win to build momentum, and Nikki showing up, something needs to happen between her and Candice by Backlash.
Great match out of Bianca VS Dakota, but of course Bianca wins. She is building momentum towards her match with Sky, and I hope we get a promo next week for Bayley to be more passive aggressive about Sky having the title shot. Theory VS Lashley was a great match, for being a bit random and redundant, but that was awesome framing of Bronson’s surprise attack. Corey Graves said it himself on commentary, how does such a big man sneak up period? But this of course is leading towards Lashley VS Bronson in a rematch from last week, and I would hope that whoever wins gets a shot at a title. If Bronson stays on the same brand as Theory, I would love Bronson to get a US Championship match and humble “The Now.”
Rollins VS Miz was of course awesome, as the fans acknowledged. Miz reminded everyone that he has the wrestling skills, but this was a good win for Rollins to keep climbing up towards a title. And then great promos from Cody Rhodes, both in the ring and backstage. The latter was an odd move after he already did and said everything he really needed to tonight. But he does have a point, it is quite the role reversal where Brock is the cerebral one with his taunting and not fighting. I also liked that Lesnar added a long coat to the look, like he’s the villain in a Western. Too bad this isn’t a bull rope match, that’d be very AEW Cody of Cody.
My Score: 8.8/10
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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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TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends
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