AEW Rampage 2/24/2023

AEW Rampage 2/24/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/02/aew-rampage-2172023.html

The Young Bucks vs Aussie Open

Matt flipped out of stuff early then Nick crossbodied both opponents. He then walked up the buckles and armdragged + headscissored both. Mark slammed the Bucks one after the other then slammed both together. Matt then pushed Nick up into a dropkick and they lariated Mark over the top. The Bucks went for plancha's outside but were caught and banged into each other then dropped on the apron. The Bucks were then ran around the ring while being held and then had their backs rammed into each other.

We went to break and returned. One of the Bucks took a hard chest from Mark then did a springboard hurricanrana. Matt did a flying clothesline then flipped off of Mark for a sliced bread. Matt then did a dive off top onto Mark then returned for a top rope elbow on Kyle. Kyle took a bulldog + a dropkick then was bridged on the ropes for a top rope swanton.

Nick took a brainbuster on the floor then Matt took a lariat from Mark. Matt took a sliding D in the corner from Mark. Matt was thrown up in the air and caught Kyle with a cutter as he came off top then Nick was lariated by Mark. The Bucks hit superkicks on Kyle then knee'd each other on a failed BTE trigger attempt. We then got our 3rd and 4th flip sells on clotheslines. Matt and Nick then flip dived on their opponents. The House of Black took the lights out then Kyle hit a tombstone on Matt. Matt took a sandwich lariat then took a double team cradle suplex for 2.

Mark took a double superkick then the Bucks made Mark tombstone his partner before doing another double superkick. Kyle took a BTE trigger and the Bucks won it.

This sucked. There was little selling. There were tons of silly spots and endless moves. The match also went on so long that they had to repeat moves with 4 different flip sells off lariats. Aussie Open also lost again like they always do.

The lights went out again after and the House of Black appeared around the ring. They got on the apron, the lights went out and the HoB disappeared.

Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta were interviewed. They were asked a question then jumped by The Firm. Chuck took a steel pipe to the knee and Trent took it to the head. 

The Bucks were down in the back and Orange Cassidy walked in wanting to know who did it.

Willow Nightingale vs Toni Storm

Toni jumps her from behind and stomps on her. Willow hit short amr clotheslines and a senton for 2. Willow lariats her then takes a hip attack off the apron. Willo was then thrown int othe rails.

We went to break and returned. Saraya complained that Willow broke her nail. Toni hit mounted punches then hit a running hip attack and a tornado ddt. Willow hit a cannonball then a death valley driver for 2. Saraya got on the apron and Willow brought her in the ring then Toni clipped her and hit a storm zero to win.

It really wasn't anything special and I didn't see the need to protect Willow with a dirty finish. The heels went to spray paint Willow then Ruby Soho came down to make the save. Jamie Hayter then ran down and hit Toni and chased Saraya around before hitting her.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn were interviewed. Bowens said they aren't scared of anyone. Billy was talking smack then Jarrett and friends jumped all of them. Bowens was thrown into boxes, Billy got thrown into the door then Max got put in a figure four while Dutt stabbed him with a pencil.

Jade Cargill did a promo. She asked who is left? She said people are afraid and said people need to come see her. She said she welcomes all competition.

Lance Archer vs Bryce Saturn

Lance back body dropped his opponent on his way to the ring then threw him on a suplex. Lance hit chops in the corner and Bryce avoided a chokeslam. Bryce hit punches then was crossbodied. Lance hit a big lariat and won as expected in a short squash.

We got a promo for Swerve and Parker vs Keith Lee's grandfather and Dustin Rhodes. Keith was dressed in a robe like a priest for some reason.

Action Andretti and Sammy Guevara were interviewed with Daniel Garcia. Garcia complained about a lack of respect for Sammy and they hugged. Action said Sammy proved he was a punk coward for running away from him last week. Action said he isn't just an upset, he's the real deal and a site to see.

Stokeley Hathaway said Hook will face Matt Hardy next week. Matt was confused by this and Page reminded him that he's the boss. Matt said he's the legendary and iconic Matt Hardy then said if Hook beats him, he should have a match with Stokeley with none of The Firm at ringside and with no rules.

Action Andretti vs Sammy Guevara

AA goes for a quick roll up then flips out of a hurricanrana. Sammy gets lariated over the top and hits his face on the apron then is chopped outside. Sammy goes into the rails then AA jumps off the rails with a lariat on Sammy. Sammy hits a jumping knee then AA falcon arrows him. AA is thrown into the rails then is suplexed on the floor. AA gets pushed up to the apron then hits a 450 from the apron to the floor.

We go to PiP break and return. AA jumps up top and hits a superplex and Jericho complains that he is show on camera every time AA does a move. AA hits flying uppercuts and forearms then does a backbreaker into a neckbreaker. AA topes him then arabian moonsaults him. AA moves on a Sammy SSP attempt then dropkicks him. AA then does a springboard enzugiri for 2. AA and Sammy hold each other's hands and forearm each other then Sammy jumping knees and superkicks him. Sammy hits another jumping knee then AA standing spanish flies him for 2. Garcia tries to interfere and is hit then AA springboard swanton's Sammy. JR says "aerial finishes just aren't working tonight" then Sammy takes a John Woo dropkick in the corner. AA goes for a split legged moonsault and is hit by Garcia then Sammy hits the GTH to win it.

This was all flippy stuff with a dirty finish. They did way too much here and it was a real indy style match.

Overall thoughts: This wasn't a good one. Lots of dirty finishes and flippy matches.

AEW Dynamite 2/22/2023

AEW Dynamite 2/22/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/02/aew-dynamite-2152023.html

AEW All-Atlantic Title - Orange Cassidy (c) vs Wheeler Yuta

There was some good stuff here as they did get stiff with each other and showed some fight in them. However, OC was still doing his usual nonsense even though it was a title match and even though he was so angry with Yuta in this. Claudio came down during the match to slap Yuta and OC even hugged Yuta during the match. 

Claudio came out after again and stopped Yuta from hugging OC. 

Adam Page and Evil Uno were interviewed. Page cut off Uno as he talked and Uno said Page has done it so many times that it makes him feel like The Dark Order is not on his level. Uno asked him not to get involved and said it's time for Dark Order to stand up for itself.

Ricky Starks came out to talk, wearing sunglasses that were way too small for him. 

Starks said he was moving on from Chris Jericho said Jerciho never wanted to give him a rematch. Starks then said he had an open challenge available for the PPV. He said he knows someone is itching to et on the card and said let's do the thing. The JAS's music then hit and Jericho came out. Jericho said Starks isn't done with him until he says so. Jericho said he could beat him anywhere or anyplace, but says it won't happen as Starks is not on his level. Peter Avalon then came out, with short hair. Avalon hasn't been on this show in over a year. Jericho then laid him out with a judas effect.

Jericho said you can't have Revolution without him. Jericho said maybe he should take the contract and embarass him. Starks said Jericho would probably do it then cheat and get help. Starks then hinted that he didn't think Jericho could beat him by himself. Starks then confirmed it. Jericho said he could beat him but said he didn't have a pen to sign the contract with. Starks then gave him a pen. Jericho signed it and agreed to the match with the JAS being barred from ringside. Jericho then said nobody outsmarts the Ocho and Starks grinned as he got his match. This wasn't bad.

The various teams in the battle royale tonight talked about how they would win.

The Acclaimed vs Big Bill and Lee Moriarty

The Acclaimed botched a double team backbreaker early and during the break, Bowens got pushed off the middle rope to the floor, nearly getting stuck. We had multiple people thrusting here and the Gunns came out to watch during the break.

Bowens made his comeback as we returned then did an over the back leg drop. Bill got thrown into the rails then the Gunns beat up their dad. The Acclaimed chased the Gunns and put Bill into the post. Lee then did an odd suplex lift into flatliner. Bowens hit the arrival then Max hit the top rope elbow for the win.

This wasn't anything too special with lots of shenanigans and Big Bill being on the losing end like usual.

Christian Cage was interviewed on the stage by Tony before The Acclaimed had left. Jungle Boy dropped him and left him laying.  JB went to conchairto him but took a low blow then got hit in the head with a chair. JB got busted open then Christian stood on his head.

We saw clips of Wardlow talking to Joe last week. Joe then said he scalped him to send a message that he is not a man to be messed with. He said the biggest mistake he ever made was to step in the ring with him. 

Skye Blue vs Saraya

Toni got on the apron early to distract Skye. Skye came back after a little with a christo then she took a bad lightning spiral for 2. Skye hit a 2nd rope crossbody then a bad step up knee. Toni distracted the ref and got hit then Saraya hit a bad kick and put her in a queen angelito stretch variation to win.

This had multiple botches and was a mess with shenanigans.

They went to spray paint Skye after but Jamie Hayter came out to stop it with Britt Baker. Ruby Soho then came out and motioned that she wanted a title shot

Bryan Danielson came out to talk. He talked about MJF putting a bounty on him then injuring Regal and Daniels. MJF then came out. He said a girl broke his heart and said the only thing he has left is his title. He said it's the only thing that prevents him from overdosing on pills. MJF said Bryan has a family and wife that he wished he had, though he said on twitter he is married and we've seen him with girls, so I don't get that. MJF then talked about Bryan's concussions and said by risking his life, he takes everything he wants for granted. He said Bryan is no better than his drug addicted mentor Regal and is addicted to the spotlight. MJF then said he wanted to speak to Bryan's children and Bryan threatened to kick the crap out of him. MJF then told his kids that he would make Bryan pay for his selfishness and said he would make sure he can't play with him again. He then got in the ring and said he'd give him early onset CTE and Bryan attacked him. The fight was then broken up and Bryan ran at MJF outside hitting a stiff shot.

This promo was all over the place and didn't fit MJF's story at all. I liked the fight, but everything up to it didn't make much sense for MJF's character.

They went to recap the fight then they got cut off by Tony interviewing Hayter and Britt. The micing was bad on this and we didn't hear the first half of it. Hayter ended up challenging Saraya and Ruby Soho to a 3 way at the PPV.

Revolution Tag Team #1 Contenders Battle Royale

There were 20 people in the ring and no intros for this. It was super hard to follow and figure out what was going on and they went to PiP break during it to make it worse. Vance accidentally fell when he wasn't supposed to then Penta was thrown over right after to make up for it. Silver got gorilla press'd out by Butcher and Danhausen got in then was thrown out by 2.0. Danhausen then cursed 2.0 and they were thrown out by Best Friends from behind.

We then went to a 2nd break. Trent got saved by landing on OC's shoulders then Jay took a hard fall out to the floor. Danhausen chased Sonjay to the back and Santam Singh saved Jarrett from elimination. Jarrett then threw out Trent Beretta to win it.

This was long and was your typical battle royale that wasn't that good. There was too much going on to really follow things and they Vance accidentally eliminated himself when he wasn't supposed to be.

The House of Black did their usual promo where they talk without really saying anything. They said they want to discuss the status of the Elite being trios champs face to face on Rampage.

Tony Khan did an announcement. He allowed Adam Cole to make it. Cole said there would be a 1 hour show after Dynamite called AEW All Access in March. I have zero interest in this and it'll likely show the behind the scenes stuff that exposes the business. Cole also said he'd return that night to Dynamite.

Jarrett and friends did a promo. The Gunns walked in and said they should take care of their business before Revolution. Jeff wasn't interested and Lethal wasn't either. Dutt liked it though.

Jon Moxley vs Evil Uno

Oh boy, I'm just so stoked for this. Uno hasn't been on Dynamite for over a year and nobody expects him to win.

Uno rushed Mox to start and hit a bunch of forearms. Mox came back with shots then got whipped by Uno. Uno facekicked Mox off the apron to the outside then hit a tope con hilo off the top rope to the outside on him. Uno was then put into the steps. Mox hit crossfaces and busted him open, because every Mox match needs blood. Uno the hit piledrivers on Mox then Mox bulldog choked him. Mox then did a backpack sleeper and won it.

It went too long. It had blood for no real reason and Uno got too much in as expected.

Silver and Reynolds then jumped Mox after like true faces and the Blackpool Combat Club came down to help Mox. Adam Page then beat up Mox and Mox ran out on a buckshot lariat attempt. Mox of course also bladed somewhere during this because that's what he does.

Overall thoughts: It wasn't a great looking show on paper and a lot of it was what I expected - the battle royale wasn't too good, OC screwed around, the women's match wasn't good and Uno would be presented as a serious contender instead of just being squashed. I'll be very surprised if this does a good rating, but at least they did get some matches set-up for the PPV.

WWE NXT 2/21/2023

WWE NXT 2/21/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/02/wwe-nxt-2142023.html

Trick Williams vs Ilja Dragunov

Trick has new gear with black shorts. Trick got on the mic during his entrance and said he'd beat that big headed bum into oblivion. He said he's glad the pain makes him feel alive, because tonight he'll be on Cloud 9.

Trick cheapshots Drag during his entrance then Trick wrestled him down and kicked him. Drag hit a nice judo hip throw then did another into a side headlock. Drag hit chops and a flying knee and pounded on him more. Drag got booted to the outside and took a hard fall. JD McDonaugh then walked up to him. We then went to PiP break.

We returned and Trick had him in a cravate. Drag made his comeback and hit chops then enzugiri'd him. Drag did a 2nd rope knee drop and Trick did an upkick. Trick then hit a Mcgillicutter for 2. Trick went for a spinning kick and was caught with a powerbomb. Drag did a nice delayed german style suplex then hit the moscow torpedo for the win.

This was probably Trick's best match yet and definitely his longest. He was totally carried here, but did okay being along for the ride. Drag was fun as usual with the stiffness and the crowd being into him.

Jinder Mahal did a promo. He said timing is everything. He said the boos from the crowd for Bron are getting louder and his energy is getting weaker. Jinder says he's the one who messes up all the plans here and will shock the people in the crowd like he did in prior title wins. He said he'd be champ tonight.

Fallon was trying to reach Jensen on the phone but Jensen wasn't answering. Briggs says he's tired of getting in the middle of this and Fallon said she was going to try to fix this in person.

We saw Meiko Satomura training people in the Performance center in a ring. Roxanne Perez asked to join. They did a bunch of exercises and Roxanne was the only one to last with Meiko. Roxanne did 1,000 squats with her and wanted to leave then Meiko said it was just a warm up and now they really begin.

Tyler Bate came out to talk. Someone kept chanting in the crowd that they wanted Waller. Bate thanked people in the crowd for their support. He said we will be embarking on a mystical journey together then Schism came out. Gacy said they were kindred spirits then Ava Raine said they might be in some ways, but not all ways. Gacy's crew surrounded the ring. Gacy said they are a true family and told him he's all alone. They got in the ring to surround him then Chase U made the save.

Chase U vs The Dyad

We came back from break and this was already in progress. Rip shoulderbreakered Chase then Jagger grabbed his arm. Chase escaped and made the tag to Duke. Duke cleaned house and hit a senton. Jagger then was suplexed into Rip. Jagger's leg was held so he could take an enzugiri then Chase superkicked him for 2. Chase and Rip got lariated over the top rope then Jagger tope'd Duke.

We then went to break and returned. Chase got the hot tag in and hit a combo ddt + reverse ddt. Chase neckbreakered Jagger and moonsaulted onto Rip outside. Chase then hit a top rope crossbody on Jagger for 2. Chase hit a russian legsweep on Jagger then hit the C-H-A-S-E-U stomps. Ava Raine went after Thea then Duke did a slingshot into a german. Duke then took a double codebreaker and Dyad picked up the win. It was long and it wasn't anything too special, though not awful or anything.

Duke said Thea needs to grow up and asked if this was a university or charity?

Von was asked by Mr. Stone if he was ready. Von said he's ready to kick butt and take names and Stone mocked it. Tony D and Stacks then walked in. Mr. Stone declined a match for Von tonight. Tony and Stacks kept at it though and Von agreed. Stone asked what was that and Von told him to shut up.

Charlie Dempsey and Drew Gulak were interviewed. Gulak said he wasn't here for friends, but to find the best of the best and said that is not just Hank Walker. Drew said the problem is Hank is a nice guy and said you can't be afraid to get what you want here. Drew said you have to be willing to break limbs and said that's not Hank, that's Charlie Dempsey. 

 

We got a Sol Ruca video talking about the ocean. She said everyone is differnet like waves and said that made things fun. She said she tries something different everyday. She said she just keeps at it until she gets things right and said it may even lead to her beating Zoey Stark.

Jacy Jayne vs Indi Hartwell

Jacy and Indi each hit forearms early then Indi hit short arm clotheslines. Jacy came back with a neckbreaker then hit sentons. Jacy was knocked off the apron then hit kicks on Indi. Indi hit some shots then spinebustered her for 2. Jacy cannonballed her in the corner then kicked her in the head. Gigi Dolin then attacked Jacy from behind for the DQ.

Gig threw Jacy into the rails and they fought to the back.

We went back to Meiko and Roxanne training with Meiko getting the better of her. Meiko said she'd see her in two weeks.

Zoey Stark was interviewed. She said she was done with Sol Ruca and had beaten her. Zoey asked why Roxanne was getting a title match. She said if Meiko steps in the ring with her, she will show her the real final boss.

Gallus vs Malik Blade and Edris Enofe

Blade sidestepped with a cartwheel then was back body dropped. Blade got run over with a euro then was slammed. Two people with a cake came out then Enofe got the hot tag in. Enofe hit a nice dropkick then flipped off the top onto Wolf on the outside. Enofe hit a high top rope elbow for 2 and Mark Coffey took a botched double team move for 2. Enofe then took a double team Gallus slam and lariat move for the win.

It was short and decent.

The cake guys then came into the ring and gave them a cake. They said it was the anniversary of them losing the NXT UK tag titles to Pretty Deadly then they were thrown into the cake and thrown out.

Pretty Deadly then hit Gallus from behind with chairs. Wolf was then spinebustered onto the steps.

Dabba Kato said he could feel Apollo Crews' anger. He said he was there for Crews and said Crews can't stand on his own. He said Crews may be the one who brought him into this world, but he will be the one who takes him out of it. There was a cool "Apollo" yell by Kato, but not much else.

Stevie Turner did a promo. She did a "Stevie Randomizer" and it landed on Lyra Valkyria. She said she's a woman of mystery, but no match for her fast fingers. Stevie said she's associated with a goddess of war and said the feathers she wears represents a battle she won. Stevie said eventually Lyra will have to face her and she's no match for Stevie. 

 

Tony D'Angelo vs Von Wagner

Tony was pushed into the corner and took corner spears. Von hit a jumping knee. Tony took him down then took a running facekick. Von and Stone argued. Stone told Von to figure it out then Von lariated Tony. Tony belly to belly suplexed Von then spinebustered him. Tony then did a backdrop into a slam and won it.

I'm not a big fan of Von losing or getting thrown around like he was.

Stone and Von argued after.

Tony was then interviewed. Tony put Stacks over for choosing family over a title shot. Tony said Dijak doesn't get it though. Tony said it's time to put his feud with Dijak to an end and said they should meet in a jailhouse street fight at NXT Roadblock. He said he will put him in solitary confinement and said he has 7 days to answer.

Nikkita Lyons was interviewed. She said she will be back before a year and didn't know who injured her. Tiffany Stratton then interrupted and said the TV time should be spent on her. Lyons said it seemed like she maybe attacked her and Tiffany said it wasn't. Tiff said she'd be out forever if she injured her. Tiff then said what if you vanished from NXT for a year? She then left.

Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley talked. Tatum said she isn't coming with Ivy for her match and Ivy found out that Tatum was afraid. Ivy said they are a team and Tatum looked at the Diamond Mine logo.

Trick was in the back and Melo went up to him. Melo said he needed to see who wins the main tonight. Tyler Bate came in and put over Trick for a good job. He said good timber doesn't grow with ease. He said the stronger the storm, the stronger the breeze. Melo said he is him and said he's glad Bate's journey has nothing to do with the NXT title picture.

Ivy Nile vs Alba Fyre

Ivy is thrown down to start then pounds on her in the corner. Alba PK's her then Ivy hits a hurricanrana. Isla gets on the apron then Tatum gets on the apron and Tatum is knocked off. Alba superkicks Ivy then gori bombs her to win it.

This was short and it was more about the Tatum stuff than anything in the ring.

 

Fallon Henley came to see Kiana James at her office. Fallon said she knows she ruined her date and said she was wrong. Fallon said she wanted to get past this and focus on the tag titles. Kiana said jealousy is a human emotion and Fallon said she wasn't jealous. They then agreed to be partners.

Wes Lee was interviewed. He said he can't look too far ahead and said the fans like his open challenge concept as much as he does. Wes said he will have another open challenge next week. He was asked why he does this when it puts him at a disadvantage and he said because he loves it.

WWE NXT Title - Bron Breakker vs Jinder Mahal

Bron is taken down and shouldered over. Jinder then shoulders him out. Bron hits shoulders and catches him with a spinebuster. Jinder is then pulled out by Sanga on a camel clutch. Bron then tope con hilos Jinder and crew. Bron and Jinder lariat each other at the same time then Sanga and Veer get on the apron. The Creed Brothers attack them and the refs try to clear them all out.

We go to break and return. Bron belly to belly overhead suplexes him then Jinder knocks him outside with a shot. Bron has his head banged off the table then is thrown into the stairs. Bron hits a big suplex. They trade shots then hockey fight and Jinder is german suplexed. Bron hits a spinebuster and Jinder slides out. Jinder hits a jumping knee then suplexes him for 2.

Bron hits a top rope hurricanrana then suplexes him. Bron then hits a spear and wins it.

Bron won here as expected. It was okay but nothing too special.

 

Melo was on the riser after looking at Bron

 

Grayson Waller then took over the production. He said he is Mr. Stand and Deliver and says nobody will hold him back for it. He said in two weeks, there will be a special episode of the Grayson Waller Effect with Shawn Michaels.

Overall thoughts: Not the best episode of NXT ever. There wasn't anything too great here or exciting here. There's a lot of storylines happening that aren't awful, but just aren't super interesting.

AEW Rampage 2/17/2023

AEW Rampage 2/17/2023

AEW Trios Titles - The Elite vs Top Flight and AR Fox

This got stupid from the start as they passed around a basketball and had a jump ball. Then one of Top Flight had a ball thrown at them and the ref did not care. AR Fox then did flips with the ball and the Bucks called for "time out". They did more nonsense with the ball and that was enough for me. Kenny beat AR Fox with an OWA. I saw about 2 minutes of this and I regret every second of it. This is supposed to be a title match with belts, prestige and money on the line and they were treating it like a joke.

The House of Black darkened the lights and appeared, then left without doing anything.

The Gunns were interviewed. They said The Acclaimed never want to do any work and they said they weren't worried about who their challengers would be at Revolution since they are at the top of the division.

Mark Henry interviewed Orange Cassidy, who has won 18 matches in a row. Wheeler Yuta then walked in and said leaving him was the best thing he ever did. He said the BCC can teach him more than OC could. Yuta said OC replaced him with a literal clown and said it offended him that OC didn't even seem to care about his title. OC said he didn't teach him anything, he was there to be his best friend. OC then said clearly they aren't anymore and told him to come take it. I actually thought this wasn't too bad at all and they did a nice job of explaining their history.

 

Daniel Garcia vs Ricky Starks

They face shoved each other and Starks stomped on him. Starks back body dropped him and hit mounted punches. Starks walked the top rope and hit him on the landing then took a dragon screw through the ropes. Garcia then knocked him off the apron.

We went to PiP break and returned. Starks' legs gave out on a spear attempt, then he lariated Garcia. Garcia hit an overhead belly to belly then Starks did a blue thunder for 2. Garcia went for another dragon screw but Starks held on and stomped him, then took a rock bottom for 2.

Garcia put him in the figure four. Sammy Guevara tried to help out then Action Andretti came down and fought with him. They fought on the ramp then Starks speared him and hit a roshambo to win it.

It was short and there wasn't a lot to it aside from the interference before the finish.

Sammy Guevara got on the mic after calling for Tony Khan. He said he wanted a match with Action Andretti.  

Evil Uno talked about Jon Moxley and said he wants to bring back respect to Dark Order and it starts with Mox. He said Mox will respect him.

Jade Cargill vs Vertvixen

Jade hits shots in the corner then beal throws her. Jade starts doing pushups then pump kicks and Jade ends her to win and go 53-0. This was a short squash.

We had a split screen interview with Swerve, Parker and Dustin. Swerve said the Rhodes family aren't as innocent as they look and said this is about a lack of respect that Dustin has been showing. Swerve said men die for respect and said he may have to die for it tonight. Swerve then said Dustin had something to do with Trench's disappearance. Dustin said nobody cares about Trench and said hell is coming for him. Dustin said he is coming with it.

Dustin Rhodes vs Swerve Stickland

Parker attacked Dustin on the ramp during his entrance and Dustin hit him with a wrench. Dustin and Swerve traded shots then Swerve was lariated over the top. They fought outside then Dustin hit corner punches. Dustin hit a release german on him and Swerve bit his fingers. Swerve pump kicks him from the apron then dropkicked him against the rails. Dustin starts bleeding and Swerve pounds on the cut to go to break.

We return from break and Swerve rolls into a flatliner. Swever hits a flying kick for 1 then Dustin powerslams him. Dustin hits lariats then Swerve rolled into a kick. Dustin then hit a code red for 2. Both guys collide in mid-air with a crossbody then Dustin took a death valley driver on the apron for 2. Swerve got crotched on the top then took a superplex into a piledriver for 2. Dustin hit a stiff cross rhodes and a twisting suplex, but Parker pulled Dustin out of the ring. Parker then threw Dustin into the steps and Swerve was DQ'd.

Parker and Swerve beat up Dustin and security after. Dustin's head was put on a cinderblock then Keith Lee came out. Keith didn't bother dyeing his hair and he looked more like the grandfather of Keith Lee than Keith Lee. Keith was also fatter than ever here and fought off Swerve and Parker.

They did too much as usual during the match. Dustin didn't need to bleed and Keith looked terrible out there.

Overall thoughts: I hadn't been watching Rampage lately and I think I should have stuck with that. This was not good at all.

WWE NXT Level Up 2/17/2023

WWE NXT Level Up 2/17/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/02/wwe-nxt-level-up-2102023.html

The announcers are wearing identical outfits and mention it.

Dante Chen vs Eddy Thorpe

Eddy is Karl Fredericks from NJPW USA. I've never really seen him, but he doesn't seem like an obvious hire.

They trade headscissors and do a stand off. Chen gets a wrist lock, Eddy kips up iut of it and waistlocks him. Chen shoulders him over then Eddy crossbodies him. Eddy does a seated abdominal stretch. Chen hits a lariat and an atomic drop. Eddy then does a back enzugiri and running facekicks him. Dante criss-crosses him with a facekick then gets backdropped. Eddy then hits an impaler ddt and wins it.

I wasn't real impressed with Eddy. He doesn't have a good look and was not real crisp here. This wasn't anything special.

Valentina Feroz is interviewed. She said she doesn't know what Elektra Lopez wants to do with her. She said she has something to prove tonight. Feroz was hard to understand here.

Oba Femi vs Xyon Quinn

Oba backs him up. Xyon avoids his charge and does a silly slap to the back of the head. Oba shoulders him over then Xyon runs and makes him chase him. Oba picks him up and slams him down then swings his leg back and makes him do a header.

Oba corner splashes him then is dropkicked into the 2nd buckle. Xyon hits some elbows and punches then elbows him over the back of the head. Xyon puts him in a trapezius hold then jumps on his back for a sleeper. Oba hits some sledgehammer shots and spinebusters him. Oba running euros him and slams him.

Oba gets pulled into the 2nd buckle then Xyon hits a flying forearm and wins it.

Oba was good here for his experience level but Xyon didn't really protect himself enough here. He was bumping and stooging when he should have been standing tall and toe to toe with him.

Ivy Nile vs Valentina Feroz

Ivy does some nice rolls on the mat and hits a nice suplex. Feroz back rolls her into a guillotine then does a nice armbar. Feroz toe holds her then grabs both her arms and pulls them. Ivy catches her then does a nice fallaway slam. Feroz chinbreakers her then gets caught in a wheelbarrow german. Ivy chinlocks her and rolls with it.

Feroz does a nice rolling spear then some shoulder throws then Ivy does a waterwheel throw by Feroz slides out and turns it into a backslide. Ivy does a stiff flying kick in the corner then does a walking powerslam for 2. Feroz drops her on her knee then does a meteora for 2. Elektra Lopez comes out and Feroz yells at her then rolls her up. Ivy gets out of the pin attempt and puts her in the dragon sleeper variation to win it. The hold was really stiff and nasty at the end.

This was a good effort by both girls and I liked this more than I expected. Ivy's above this stuff right now and Feroz isn't, but she's a lot better than they used to be. Not a bad effort at all.

Overall thoughts: The main wasn't bad but Oba/Xyon was not the battle of the hosses that it should have been. Karl Fredericks didn't impress in his debut either.

WWE NXT 2/14/2023

WWE NXT 2/14/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/02/wwe-nxt-272023.html

Grayson Waller vs Tyler Bate

They showed Jacy Jayne arriving in PiP. I thought this was a fun match. It got a little indy at time with some of the cute movies, but they really meshed well together, far better than I had expected. Waller did his heeling, Bate was the face and Bate reversed Waller's cheating attempt on a pin to win.

Briggs and Jensen are in the back. Jensen is nervous about his date with Kiana James. Jensen said he never had been on a date or kissed a woman, which is wrong as Jensen had a date with Kayden Carter a year or two ago on the show. Briggs says he needs to learn the 90/10 rule where he goes 90% of the way on the kiss and Kiana goes the other 10% of the way. Briggs then got in his face like he was going to kiss him and told him to go the rest of the way. Fallon Henley came in and Briggs told her that Jensen never kissed a woman. Fallon tried to give him tips as well and Jensen said he was nervous but excited.

Grayson Waller was knocking stuff over and arguing with Shawn Michaels in the gorilla position. He called Shawn a stooge and Shawn said to cut to break.

Apollo Crews was outside under the street lights. He threw down his book and talked about the loss to Melo due to Dabba Kato. Crews asked why Kato did this. Crews said they shared the road and family time together. Crews said Kato had his reasons and now Crews said he has his. crews said he is focused on revenge.

Jacy Jayne came out with a shirt that showed her kicking Gigi through the door. She said last week was the end of the Toxic Attraction story but the beginning of the Jacy Jayne story. She said now it's all about her. She said she regretted not turning on her sooner and showed the video of her turning on her.

She said she had to kick her that hard. She called her Jannetty and said she was done protecting her. She then called her "Chucky" and said nobody cares about her anyway. She said the fans said she didn't belong and was called the third wheel and said she's the last one standing. This was a good promo.

We saw Meiko Satomura arrive and saw Roxanne Perez help her arrive.

 Chase U is in the back. They wanted to know what happened with Thea and Schism. She didn't say anything. she said she would not back out of her match tonight and said she would have to look fear in the face tonight.

We got a video on Sol Ruca. She said she goes to practice everyday and used to cut class in order to go to the beach. She said she's a free spirit. She plays guitar, does photography, snowboards and does gymnastics. She said her first attempt at the Sol snatcher was terrible. She said she wants another match with Zoey because she gets right back up and is ready to go.

Tiffany Stratton vs Thea Hail

Tiff takes her down by the arm to start then Thea armdrags her. Thea hits a Japanese armdrag and a dropkick. Schism are seen in the crowd and Thea is distracted. She tells Gacy to go away then gets nailed and goes off the apron. Tiff does a springboard swanton for 2 then gets tope'd outside. Thea rolls her up then takes a hip attack on the ropes. Tiff does a Finlay roll then does a triple jump moonsault for the win.

It was short, told a story with Thea being worried about Schism and it was decent.

We go to Diamond Mine. Javier Bernal offers Tatum Paxley the chance to be his Javi-tine and gives her chocolate with his face on the box. Tatum says he is taken. Javi then proposes to Ivy. Ivy interrupts him, says okay then puts him in a dragon sleeper. We then hear Isla Dawn talking through the speaker, but it was hard to figure out what she was saying.

Axiom vs Damon Kemp

Ax ran at Kemp with a dropkick to start then fired on him. He then tope'd him outside and Kemp hit a wheelbarrow suplex and a german when he got back in. Kemp hit more germans then forearmed him out. Kemp lariated him on the floor then pounded on him in the ring. Ax hit a dropkick then Kemp rolled back out of his crossbody. Ax then did a nice flip for a spinning clothesline and Kemp hit a cool electric chair into a german. Ax flipped out of a gemran and made his comeback then hit a flying kick to win.

They did a little too much here, but it was a short, explosive and fast paced match. Kemp looked really good here and Ax was good like usual. Kemp was writing love tweets to Kiana James on twitter.

We went to Briggs and Fallon in the locker room. Fallon said she has to tell him something and Briggs didn't know what.

Grayson Waller filmed himself getting kicked out of the building. He said he's the biggest star in NXT and said Shawn is a hypocrite. Waller said HBK doesn't exist and said Grayson Waller runs this.

Bron Breakker came out to talk. Jinder Mahal and Indus Sher came out to interrupt. Jinder said a great champion must always expect the unexpected. Jinder said he respects him and asks if he wanted to know if this is what he thought being a champ would be like. Jinder said some of the fans no longer liked him and Jinder said you either become the hero or live long enough and become the villain.

Bron called them 3MB and asked which one of them plays the guitar. Jinder said the fans don't like him and said fans still won't like him when he takes the title. He said the fans won't feel bad for him, but he will.

I didn't like this at all. Being a face like Bron is a tough act to pull off and you do not want to encourage people to start booing Bron, which is what he did. I could easily see a world where people start booing Bron and WWE should not want that with all the hopes they have for him.

Meiko Satomura, Roxanne Perez, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance were in the locker room. Kayden said they were a little aggressive due to losing the titles. She said it was their bad. Roxanne accepted the apology and asked if they still wanted the match. They said they did. Roxanne thanked Meiko for coming to help her and she said she had reasons.

Wes Lee was walking in the back and people appeared behind him as they asked who would answer the open challenge next.

Indi Hartwell said she liked seeing Gigi get her skull kicked in. Indi said Jacy Jayne thinks she will shoot up to the top of the card then said Jacy will end up behind her instead.

Wes Lee came out for the open challenge. He said he is ready for someone to step up. Tony D and Stacks came out then Dijak grabbed tony D. Stacks teased heading to the ring then he helped out Tony and all 3 were pulled out. Von Wagner then facekicked Wes.

NXT North American Title - Wes Lee vs Von Wagner

Von took a dropkick to the knee then beal threw him. We jumped at Von and was caught, then thrown over the top where he hit his face on the apron. Von banged Wes' head off the table as Mr. Stone complained, telling him he has to beat him in the ring. The lights went purple for a second and Von lariated him for 2.

Wes got offense in and was caught coming off the ropes. Wes was then pop up slammed and facekicked for 2. Wes gorilla pressed him then Wes got out. Wes hit superkicks, a pumping knee then backflips into a kick to win it.

It was short but they played their roles well here and it was a fun, action-packed match. I'd question Von losing, and maybe I still do, but we do know his losses are going somewhere.

Hank Walker walked up to Drew Gulak and had new gear on. Hank said his boots didn't come though and he has to wear cowboy boots. Drew then gave him wrestling boots and told him he is next.

Hank Walker vs Charlie Dempsey

Hank took shots early and they collided. They booted each other in the face at the same time. Hank did an armbar takedown then was tripped and put into an STF variation. Hank tapped and Charlie won in a quick one.

Dempsey put him back in it after the bell and Drew just watched on. Drew then walked off with Charlie as Hank was mad.

Von Wagner was flipping stuff over in the locker room. Mr. Stone said he didn't lose the match because of ability, but because he doesn't have a connection to anyone. He said he needs to break his walls down and help him help Von. Stone brought up the "cum Tuesday" meme and said he needs him to help Von help him.

Pretty Deadly went to the Gallus pub. They tried to hustle them into giving them a tag title shot through pool. They tried to get Gallus drunk to get a shot and Gallus then said all they had to do was ask.

Ilja Dragunov was interviewed. He said pain helps you feel alive while he was out. He said his retribution is coming and him costing JD the match is just the beginning. Trick Williams then got on the mic and said he wanted to meet him face to face in the ring. Trick said he wanted to find out if he was the baddest man period. Trick accused him of being scared.

Drag came out and said he was very entertaining. Trick went for a cheap shot and got nailed, then rolled out. JD Mcdonagh then came out with one of his eyes bandaged. JD said Drag tore his retina. JD said he would beat him so bad that he couldn't hold his son. Trick then hit Ilja from behind and kicked him in the ribs. Trick told him he said he would drop him then mocked his pose.

Trick and Melo talked in the back. Trick was hyped up and celebrating nailing Drag. Melo told him he waked up the mad dragon. Trick talked more trash and they did a handshake.

We went to Kiana and Brooks' date. They went to kiss and Fallon told Brooks that Kiana had someone else. That someone else turned out to be her brother. Kiana asked Fallon when she would start to trust him and Fallon was embarrassed. Brooks went off sad and Briggs was disappointed in her.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance vs Roxanne Perez and Meiko Satomura

Perez got the win over Carter pretty quickly here. The match was fast paced and short. They didn't blow anything and it was an okay effort, but definitely not a main event level match.

Meiko got on the mic after. She said she did something for her and now she wants Roxanne to do something for her and pointed at the title. Roxanne said it would be her honor. They then went face to face to close the show.

Overall thoughts: It was a good show overall with some short but fine matches in the ring and some other stuff going on. I didn't think they got anything out of the Jensen/Kiana date like they could have and NXT encouraging fans to boo Bron was weird. The Javier Bernal segment was fun as was the Gallus/PD segment. Jacy did a good promo here as well.

AEW Dynamite 2/15/2023

AEW Dynamite 2/15/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/02/aew-dynamite-282023.html 

They had a graphic for Jerry Jarrett, who died today. He was one of the best bookers ever and ran Memphis during its prime.

The Acclaimed, Billy Gunn and Orange Cassidy vs Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh, Jeff Jarrett and Sonjay Dutt

Max did a rap referencing Jerry Jarrett, who passed away today. I don't think that was right to do at all and thought it was low brow crap.

This was not good at all and had nonsense with Dutt and OC goofing around. Bowens ended up picking the win over Dutt with a legdrop to the nuts. The Gunn's came out after and talked trash at them from the ramp.

 

Bryan Danielson did a promo on MJF. He said he can't go 60 minutes like he can and said what he did was the end of a scared and desperate man who knows that the boogeyman is coming to take his AEW championship.

Texas Tornado Match - Rush and Preston Vance vs Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli

They started fighting in the crowd. We went to PiP break as soon as it started then returned. Mox had Rush in a figure four on the floor. They got in and Mox got beat up then Cesaro hit his 2nd rope corkscrew euro. Claudio hit the alphamare waterslide for 2 and Rush was catapulted into the rails. Vance was thrown into a chair in the corner then Rush took a double boot and a Mox tope. Mox was then speared off the apron by Vance onto Claudio and Rush. Claudio then had a chair chaired into him.

We returned from break and Mox was bleeding like usual. Vance hit him with a chain for 2. Claudio got the chain and hit Vance with it. Vance then got put in the giant swing.  Everyone got a move in with Vance hitting a spinning lariat on Mox for 2. All four men brawled at the same time then Rush and Claudio had a stare down. Jose hit Claudio with a chair then Wheeler Yuta came down and beat him up.

Claudio took a bad looking belly to belly into the buckles then did a flying spear to Rush for 2. Rush did a plancha and was hit by Claudio on his way down. Mox then did a chain choke + and armbar to tap out Vance.

I liked this one. It was all over the place with the brawling and was a pretty wild fight.

Adam Page was then beat up by Kip Sabian, The Butcher and The Blade after.

Wardlow was interviewed by JR. He put over his dad and said he wasn't in his life for all of his life. Wardlow then said his dad got cancer and was hospitalized. He said he promised to be a better man and then was told he died. Wardlow said this made him grow his hair and said Joe took it from him by cutting his hair. Wardlow then said Joe would not survive him. I wasn't a fan of this one at all. Sob stories are not things people like Wardlow should be doing. 

 

Josh Woods vs Mark Briscoe

Mark was beat up by Nese and Ari Daivari early then the lucha Bros made the save for some reason. Woods hit a twisting suplex off the apron and we went to break. We came back and neither guy was bothered anymore by the apron suplex. Mark facekicked him through the ropes then did a jump off a chair into a tope con hilo. Josh then took a razor's edge which of course didn't end the match either.

Woods hit a chaos theory german for 2. Mark hit an enzugiri then took a pump kick. Mark hit a rolling death valley driver then a top rope froggy bow to win.

I hated this one. They did way too much here and Josh Woods has never been treated as a serious guy, so Mark needing so much time to get rid of him didn't help things out much. I also don't think they did a real great job introducing Mark to people who don't watch indies. 

Renee interviewed Adam Cole. He said he was excited and is almost back. He said he is having small victories like not feeling like throwing up. He said he's happy and has some ideas for opponents, but he didn't want to name anyone.

MJF came out to talk. He called himself the devil and said Bryan was a worthless sack of trash. He said he knows Bryan will give him the match of a lifetime and do everything for the people. He said he would be victorious though and said he is the best wrestler in the world, not Bryan.

MJF brought out Christopher Daniels. Daniels said he was paid a bunch of money to rip Bryan. He then said he wasn't the person he used to be. He put over Bryan and talked about ROH. He said there wouldn't be an MJF without Bryan and ROH. He said Bryan is the best wrestler in the world and said MJF is just a fraud. MJF slapped the mic away then Daniels slapped him. Daniels then took a lowblow and was put in an armbar. Bryan then made the save.

This was long and not particularly interesting. Daniels is still wearing the black contact in his eye and it's still ugly to look at.

The Gunn Club did a promo talking about all the things that were said about them. They talked about how they didn't work the indies for $10 a pop and said Welcome to the Gunn Show at AEW Revolution.

Jungle Boy vs Brian Cage

Cage took a shotgun dropkick in the corner to start then JB dropkicked him out. JB tope'd him and had his tope con hilo caught. JB was then powerbombed on the apron. JB took a big boot to the face then dropkicked him. Cage hit a stiff sitout alabama slam, then a buckle bomb and an F-5. JB of course then kicked out at 2.

Cage was hung over the top rope and was double stomped then JB springboard splashed him for 2. JB then hit a crucifix bomb and a lariat to the back of the head to win.

I hated this. They did way too much here and Cage did the job as he always does.

Christian Cage then appeared on the ramp. JB ran up to him then got sprayed with something. CC then took his arm out of the sling and hit a killswitch on the ramp.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn interrupted Renee. Bowens said they were screwed and cheated out of the tag titles. They said they are invoking their rematch clause at Revolution and will make the match a 4 way. They said they would take home what is theirs.

The Elite were together goofing around with basketballs. They said it's NBA All-Star weekend then Top Flight and AR Fox walked in. They said they beat them and asked for a rematch. Don Callis said they lost and everyone saw it. Dante said they like to play with balls but don't have any of their own. Matt then hit Brandon Cutler in the nuts with a basketball for some reason as Kenny agreed to the match.

Kip Sabian vs Hangman Adam Page

Page took a suplex into a stunner then Kip hit a cannonball. Kip did cowboy dances and was kicked in the face. Page then hit a fallaway slam and took a baseball slide. Kip did an arabian moonsault to the outside on Page as we went to PiP break.

We returned and Page lariated him over the top. He then threw him into the rails. Page then did a sky high for 2. Page did a lariat and a deadeye for the win.

Not great or anything but it was simple and okay enough.

The Blackpool Combat Club came down after. Mox said he wasn't afraid of him and has his number. Mox said he would never get beat by him again. Page said he wasn't happy with their last match. Page said this ends at Revolution. Mox said Page had no friends then Evil Uno, silver and Reynolds came out. Uno shoved Mox and said he wasn't afraid of him. Mox challenged Page to a Texas Death Match at Revolution. AEW's Texas Death Matches are not real TDM's though as they have different rules.

The JAS were interviewed. Jericho said no more matches with Starks then Garcia said he would be fighting Starks. The JAS called him names and Garcia said he would expose him as an absolute fraud.

We saw Stokeley Hathaway get grabbed by Hook and Stoke said he was injured by Hook. The firm did a promo. Stoke said Hook broke his arm and he wants justice. He said Hook should be fired. Stoke said he was on conference calls with Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Tony then said Hook was suspended pending investigation. 

Britt Baker vs Toni Storm vs Ruby Soho

This was the usual three way and it wasn't good. They had a stupid spot where Saraya spray-painted Toni's butt and Toni rammed it in Ruby's face. There was lots of shenanigans with Saraya and Jamie Hayter at ringside and then both Saraya and Hayter pulled on Suby after to get her to go with them. Ruby picked up the win here.

Overall thoughts: Not a good one. AEW is in a real funk right now. None of the angles are clicking at all and it feels like Tony is running on auto pilot. But that's what happens when the norm is for shows to have debuts and big matches - the shows that don't have these things feel second rate.

WWE NXT Level Up 2/10/2023

WWE NXT Level Up 2/10/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/02/wwe-nxt-level-up-232023.html

There's an Axiom vs Scrypts match tonight that looks good.

We have a new commentator named Blake Howard who is from the indies.

Tank Ledger vs Kale Dixon

This is Kale's second televised match. Kale rolls out of a wristlock early then Tank rolls with Kale on his second attempt at the roll. Tank works the arm and lights him up by it then armdrags him.

Kale flips out of an armlock then is run over with a Tank lariat. Kale has his crossbody caught and he is slammed for 2. Tank goes headfirst into the post in the corner then Kale reverse curbstomps him. Kale grabs him by the hair and neckbreakers him for 2. Tank fights out of a chinlock and hits punches then does a double sledgehammer shot.

Tank hits a nice slam then does his cartwheel into a splash for 2. Tank hits an oklahoma stampede and grabs the win.

Nothing wrong with this at all. Just basic armwork until they picked things up and moved over to the finish.

Axiom is interviewed. He said it's always hard against masked wrestlers as he doesn't know what they are thinking or plotting. He says Damon Kemp attacking him as uncalled for. He said as you can see, he is seething with the joke being that he is wearing a mask. Ax said he will have the solution for Scrypts tonight.

Dani Palmer vs Lash Legend

Dani is taken to the corner. Lash tries to back drop her but Dani holds on and gets punched. Lash blocks a roll-up and Dani hits a headscissors off the up and over. Dani does a 2nd rope crossbody but gets caught and is wheelbarrow german suplexed out of it. Lash pulls her by the hair and slams her. Dani then has her chin banged off the apron. Lash then does a legdrop on her as she hangs off the apron.

Lash puts her knee in her lower back and chinlocks her. Lash misses a splash in the corner then is dropkicked and chinbreakered. Dani does flying clothesline and a step up enzugiri. Lash pushes her into the ropes and does a non-spinning buckingham drop (back to back drop) and wins it.

Lash hasn't won in a while so that was a little surprising. It wasn't a bad showing by Lash as her offense looked better and she didn't mess up anything. Dani did okay here but would have been better against someone better.

Axiom vs Scrypts

Scrypts headflips out of a snapmare and Ax bridges backwards out of a wristlock. Ax flips out of a wristlock. Scrypts rolls backwards between the legs then both kip up at the same time. Scrypts cartwheels out of a headsissors then Axe armdrags him and dropkicks him.

Scrypts takes an enzugiri when going for a springboard. Ax goes to dive outside by Scrypts flips in the ring and dropkicks him during the attempt. Scrypts hits a corkscrew crossbody for 2. Ax hits some chops and hits a great dropkick. Ac then hits a top rope crossbody for 2. They fight up top then Scrypts hits a beautiful top rope moonsault for 2. Scrypts hits mounted punches then Ax does a nice flipping northern lights suplex. Ax then PK's him for 2.

Scrypts hits kicks and gets punched on a corkscrew crossbody attempt. Ax goes to kip up and is superkicked. Scrypts goes for the moonsault and Ax tries to kick him on his way down but kind of misses. Ax then hits a big superkick and wins it.

It's a shame they missed some of the moonsault into the superkick spot. I think they overdid it a little here and had a real indy match with endless flips and many superkicks.

Overall thoughts: Not a must see show. Axiom vs Scrypts was kind of what I expected, but they got a little too indy with it and brought it down. The other two matches weren't that special either.

AEW Dynamite 2/8/2023

AEW Dynamite 2/8/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/01/aew-dynamite-1252023.html

MJF vs Konosuke Takeshita

I really didn't have any issues with this one. They didn't overdo it much and KT was fine as the face here.

MJF pushed the ref and hit KT with the Dynamite Diamond Ring after. KT was busted open with punches from the ring then Bryan Danielson made the save.

Samoa Joe did a promo talking about beating Darby last week. He said he was a worthy adversary but said Warlow was not. He said he took his title and scalp and asked what else does he want him to take? Joe said he will take everything from Wardlow if he tries to take his title. 

The Bunny vs Jamie Hayter

The commercial ate most of this up. Bunny took an exploder that was botched and landed on her head. Lots of stiff shots as usual from Jamie, but this wasn't anything special. There was a great Bunny camera shot here.

Toni Storm and Saraya were interviewed. They brought in Leva Bates, who hasn't appeared maybe ever on Dynamite and spray painted an L on her.

Lexi interviewed MJF in his locker room. MJF said he was good but not a generational talent like he is. He talked about being in high school and strongly implied that he was seeking an underage relationship. He then made sexual innuendo's. He then talked about getting into a car crash with his high school crush and said he switched seats with her to frame her for the car wreck once she was dead/knocked out it. He then said Danielson doesn't have what it takes to be a winner and said there would not be an iron man match. This was yet another horrible MJF promo where he tries way too hard and says all kinds of disgusting things to the point of them not even being believable.

Garcia-Guevara Gauntlet

Leg 1 - Angelo Parker vs Ricky Starks

Starks ended up winning this one in under 2 minutes.

Leg 2 - Matt Menard vs Ricky Starks

Starks immediately rolled him up to win.

Leg 3 - Ricky Starks vs Daniel Garcia

Garcia jumped him from the start and the match really slowed down. Starks speared Garcia on the apron then was hit by a fan in a mask. The masked man turned out be Jericho and Garcia picked up the win here.

This was a total waste of time and a joke.

Billy Gunn and The Acclaimed were interviewed. Billy said he will stay behind tonight and Max said he and Anthony got this. Bowens then said let's give the people what they want and they did the scissor pose.

Bryan Danielson was interviewed next to Konosuke Takeshita. The door was slammed shut then Bryan, the announcer and KT were stuck in there. In a clever twist, the idea here is that if Bryan loses by forfeit here, he doesn't get to fight MJF in the ironman.

Rush vs Bryan Danielson

MJF came out limping and said the match needed to start now. Danielson finally broke out of the door and ran to try and make it out. Aubrey the ref was counting slow and Bryan made it in time.

Rush jumped on him from the start and controlled the early part of this. They traded chops then Bryan took a rebound german and a shining wizard. Rush beat him up outside and Bryan was bleeding heavy. Bryan then took a sick belly to belly off the apron and blood flew on the camera. Rush walked away out of a tope, then stood in another spot and got tope'd. Bryan then dropkicked him against the rails and top rope dropkicked him.

They then just went back to fighting like usual and Bryan kicked out of a straghtjacket piledriver. They traded forearms, headbutts and slaps and Bryan ended up winning this.

I hated this one. They did way too much here and Bryan took a real beating yet you wouldn't know it at all by the way he fought here.

MJF then nailed Bryan with the Dynamite Diamond Ring after. MJF then armbarred him. 

Tony Schiavone interviewed people from a tv show called Practical Jokers. One of them had Jericho's baseball bat and said he was a diva when on the show. They said he wanted a "loofa scented candle". They invited him on the show tomorrow to see how he wants to deal with this.

AEW Trios Titles - The Elite vs Top Flight and AR Fox

This was the flippy nonsense you would expect with The Elite winning as expected.

We got some clips of Hook.

Stokeley Hathaway was interviewed. He said everything is good with The Firm and blamed all of its problems on Hook. Hook then walked up behind him and Stokeley pretended to be his friend. Hook grabbed arm and told him to be cautious with his words.

AEW Tag Titles - The Acclaimed vs The Gunn Club

The Gunns won here after a bunch of shenanigans with title shots to the head. It was a pretty short match with Billy Gunn getting involved and the ref taking a pretty crazy bump to the outside. It could and should have been longer with these two teams getting a chance to show they can hang in the main event. I'm not against the Gunn's winning it, but I don't know if the timing was right since the Acclaimed were so over. I've felt The Gunn's were ready for a while now and it's good to see them get rewarded for it though. I suppose there's more to come, so we will see what happens.

Overall thoughts: I wasn't a fan of this show and AEW in general is just in a down period right now. There's very few angles or stories going on and what we do have is predictable and not very good.

WWE NXT 2/7/2023

WWE NXT 2/7/2023

Bayley arrives with her arm in a sling.

Melo then came out with Trick. Trick says Vengeance Day was the day Melo turned Crews into Stevie Wonder. He said he beat everyone he said he would and then got interrupted by JD McDonagh. He said Melo is cool but not fit to hold his jockstrap. He said he is not ready for the big title or to be the face of the brand.

Melo said he was hatin' and told Trick to dial ahead on 911 as Melo is going there due to him. Melo challenged him for tonight and JD agreed.

Kiana and Fallon talked in the back. Fallon said she saw her cheat and KJ asked if she wanted to bring back the titles? Fallon said she wanted to give Carter/Chance a title rematch. Fallon wanted her to tell Brooks who she was on the phone with then they ran into a surprise party. 

We saw Grayson Waller confronting Shawn Michaels at the NXT Vengeance Day Media Call and we saw A-Train kick him out. They said he was suspended for the week.

Sol Ruca vs Zoey Stark

Sol did an up and over in the corner then hit an armdrag. Sol flipped out of a hiptoss then hit a facebuster and lariated Zoey over the top. Zoey hit a sliding lariat back in the ring for 2 thne Sol flipped out of a snapmare. She rolled up Zoey for 2 and took a lariat for 2.

Zoey missed a corner splash then took shoulderblocks and a dropkick. Sol then did her forward handspring into a splash. Zoey superkicked her onto the apron and Sol went for the springboard splash, but Zoey got her knees up. Sol was then flipped into Zoey's knee for the Zoey win.

It was short and wasn't anything too special though there weren't any issues with it.

Zoey attacked her after the bell. She put her on the 2nd rope but Sol hit the sol snatcher out of nowhere and left the ring.

We saw clips of Dabba Kato aka Commander Azeez attacking his former partner Apollo Crews at Vengeance Day.

KJ thanked Brooks for setting up the party and Pretty Deadly arrived looking a mess. They said they didn't sleep since Vengeance Day. They blamed Chase U for losing the tag titles and Chase said he was p!ssed off. He said Chase U is going to beat them up tonight.

Dabba Kato vs Dante Chen

Kato hit a big chop early then hit corner spears. Chen was then lifted up above Kato's head and dropped down. Kato hit a headbutt and threw in Chen by the neck. Chen came back with a running kick and then ran into a big chop. Chen then took a sitout chokebomb for the Kato win.

This was just a quick squash as it probably should have been.

Kato was interviewed after. He said Crews knew what he did and he's going to drop his @ss.

Diamond Mine talked in the back. They said they needed to get Indus Sher back. Isla Dawn then walked in with Alba Fyre. Isla said Tatum isn't part of Diamond Mine and accused her of attacking Nikkita Lyons. Isla didn't believe her story and Brutus even questioned her.

Roxanne Perez was interviewed. She talked about her win at Vengeance Day. She said she is excited for what is next. Chance and Carter then came in and said they got screwed. Perez said they are good enough to get the belts back and Chance/Carter said they were mad nobody cared about them getting cheated. Chance/Carter said she didn't have friends and Perez said she would make a phone call and prove she did. They've been teasing a Chance/Carter heel turn for some reason and this was more proof of it.

Isla Dawn vs Tatum Paxley

Tatum rolled and cartwheeled out of a wristlock then running back elbowed her. Isla kicked her then dropped a leg over the back of her neck. Isla dropped her throat first on the ropes then Tatum hit a chinbreaker. Tatum hit some shots and a step up enzugiri. Tatum gutwrench suplexed her for 2 then missed a 2nd rope crossbody. Isla then did a slice out of a dragon sleeper and won it.

Tatum was a very generic and basic face here before her demise.

Ivy Nile then made the save for Tatum after as Fyre/Dawn wanted to attack her.

We got a package for JD/Melo tonight.

We see an unknown person arrive in a limo.

Carmelo Hayes vs JD McDonagh

Melo rolls out of a wristlock early and JD flips out of a wristlock throw. Melo flipped out of a northern lights suplex. Melo did a ball dribbling motion and JD kicked it. JD was backdropped over the top and brought down then Melo plancha'd him outside.

JD hit elbow drops and hit mounted punches. JC then backdropped him and dropped him on the top rope gut first from the suplex position. We then went to PiP break and returned. JD was whipped into the ropes chest first then back bodydropped. They tradded roll-ups then JD hit a standing spanish fly. JD hit a double stomp then Melo hit hs blind springboard legdrop.

Melo hit a christo for 2 into a crossface then JD hit a ligerbomb. Melo then hit a codebreaker and took a headbutt.

Ilja Dragunov then came out and speared Trick and Melo picked up the win out of nowhere.

I wasn't a fan of the match as they did way too much here and the ending wasn't too good.

Ilja then attacked JD after.

Thea Hail talked to Tiffany Stratton. Thea said she had an assignment due for tomorrow and Tiff ripped Chase U. She said it was cringy and annoying and said no one wants to go there.  Thea said Tiff only cares about herself and Thea told her to suck it. Ava Raine then kidnapped Thea from behind.

We went back to the party and Brooks said Kiana is his valentine's date.

 

Lyra Valkyria vs Valentina Feroz

Lyra takes her down then Feroz hits a nice northern lights. Lyra hiptosses her and hits hip throws. Lyra hits some nice kicks and a stiff axe kick then Lyra hit a nice northern lights suplex. Feroz hit a nice headscissors. Feroz was nearly given brass knucks by Elektra Lopez, but she didn't want them. Lyra then beat her right after.

This was a fun little match and the two matched up well.

We see some clips of Wes Lee meeting up with his girlfriend and talking about Vengeance Day in a video diary.

Wes is interviewed after then Tony D and Stacks walk in. They say they want credit for helping Wes win. They say they want compensated. Wes says he has an open challenge for the N-A title next week and asks if they will have the canolli's to answer it.

Tyler Bate took offense to Waller disrespecting Shawn Michaels and challenged him next week.

Odyssey Jones vs Stacks

Stacks is thrown off early and tries shoulders. He gets nowhere then OJ drops him with a big lariat. OJ throws him then beats up on him in the corner as he lays on the top rope. Stacks puts his throat over the ropes and the does a slingshot legdrop on the back of his neck. Stacks cranks the neck then OJ hits body blocks. OJ then side slams him and rolls on him.

OJ lariats him on the floor. OJ throws him back in and gets ddt'd then Stacks running punches him. Stacks then does a running curbstomp with the knee and wins it.

I was shocked Stacks won this one, but I guess it makes sense given the angle he has. Stacks probably shouldn't have won so easily though.

Jinder Mahal and Indus Sher do a promo. Jinder says they earned the respect they desired. They said thye earned the respect they desired and said they hsould be treated as larger than life superstars here like they are at home. Veer says the Creed's have little value to them now and said there's no tag team that can beat them. Jinder says Phase 1 is complete but Phase 2 ends when the three of them are draped in gold.

Chase and Duke wonder where Thea is and head out to ringside.

Roxanne Perez is interviewed in the parking lot and asked who her tag team partner will be. She says Meiko Satomura will be her partner.

Andre Chase and Duke Hudson vs Pretty Deadly

PD is all dirty and messy looking and has zero energy for this. Don't get me wrong, their act is perfect, but this is a fun little temporary change.

Chase U has new college sounding music. No idea why there are so many music changes lately, or why they are all downgrades.

Duke shoulders Elton over early and chops him in the corner. Elton gets weakly put into the top buckle and takes a goofy bump off of it. Elton then again takes another bad bump, basically just launching himself over the top. Kit is tripped by Chase into a Duke elbow for 2.

Kit says "what's the point" then see-saw's over the middle rope as Chase hits him. Elton is banged off of Kit's boots. PD does a combo leg drop + splash for 2. Duke hits slams on Kit and side slams him. Elton holds the top rope and Duke goes over it then is flying elbow'd over the steps outside. 

We go to break and return with Elton hitting Duke in the back of the neck with a running forearm. Chase gets the hot tag in and hits atomic drops on PD. Chase then does a back body drop + figure four combo which Elton breaks. Chase then hits a flatliner + DDT combo for 2. Chase is thrown into a gutbuster for 2 then Duke hits the punch combo on Kit. Kit is lariated over the top then Duke is thrown out with him. Chase russian legsweeps Elton then hits the C-H-A-S-E-U stomps. Thea runs out to Duke, saying they are coming for him and looking scared. Chase then takes a spilled milk and PD picks up the win.

It was a fun match Chase U being spirited and likeable as usual. They got tons of time for this one.

Gallus appear on the riser after and gesture at PD.

Hank Walker and Drew Gulak talk. Hank sent him sketches for ring gear and says he wants in Wes Lee's open challenge next week. Charlie Dempsey comes in and says it doesn't matter what you wear, it's what you do. Charlie asks if Hank is ready for Wes Lee and Drew says he thinks he's ready for him. Charlie tells him not to take any shortcuts like Drew did.

Ding Dong Hello with Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne

Jacy blames Gigi for the loss at Vengeance Day and says she was not being a team player. They both say they want to get to the top. Gigi says T-A has been her life and everyone hates her. Jacy then says everyone hates her too. Jacy says there's strength in numbers like Bayley's Damage Control. Jacy said they could split up or have one more run. Gigi asks if she means the NXT Tag Titles then they suggest taking a run at Damage Control and the WWE Women's Tag Titles. Bayley tells them not to get excited and tells them to hug it out. They hug and Bayley celebrates. Jacy then superkicks Gigi. She says it has never been about us, it has been about me, then throws her into the Ding Dong Hello door. She then kicks her and leaves Gigi crying. 

They've been teasing the turn and at least they did explain it and give a good reason for it. The problem was that they had faked this turn a few weeks ago and that ended up hurting the actual turn some. It will be interested to see T-A split up but they were fine together and I don't really get the reasoning for breaking them up. It feels like a waste of the last 2-3 years building to a main roster run that never happened.

Overall thoughts: Not the greatest ep ever. A lot of the people who were on the PPV weren't really here like Bron, Waller and The Creed's. The women were featured heavily as usual and the roster is still too big for the little amount of time they have. There were some dirty finishes here and nothing too memorable wrestling wise. The T-A split was also hurt by the fake T-A split a few weeks ago.

NXT Level Up 1/27/2023

NXT Level Up 1/27/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/01/wwe-nxt-level-up-1202023.html

Dante Chen vs Kale Dixon

This is Kale Dixon's debut. They say he played college baseball and he kind of has a Stevie Richards look to him.

He slaps Chen early and backs off. The ref breaks it up then Chen does it back to him. Chen hits half a dozen armdrags early. Kale pulls his hair and drops him over his knee with it. Kale backdrops him twice and Chen reverses his third attempt with a pin attempt.

Kale bodyscissors him and Chen picks him up and drops him backwards. Chen hits punches and a backdrop. Chen hits an atomic drop and pump kicks him from the side. Chen then hits a double chop and wins it.

Not a bad debut at all for Kale. He has some personality to him and did fine here. Not a classic or anything and not the greatest debut ever, but he didn't mess anything up and did fine as the heel.

Lola Vice is interviewed. She says she is from Miami and MMA. She said she is the first Cuban to become a WWE star and says she will show Dani Palmer what latinas are made of. She then says whatever in Spanish and leaves. Lola seems comfortable on the mic which is good.

Dani Palmer vs Lola Vice

Lola has some music that is silent early and generally just kind of quiet. I don't expect that theme song to stick around.

Dani headscissors her early and there's a bunch of unintentional Lola booty shots.. Dani hits a nice armdrag into a fast headscissors. Lola spin kicks her in the gut then hits a nice axe kick. Dani botches a suplex but then Lola gets it the 2nd time. Lola stretches Dani's arms back and Dani forward flips out. Dani hits a strong dropkick and splashes her. Dani then backflips into a forearm shot and hits a nice slam.

Dani standing moonsaults her for 2. Dani goes for a corkscrew moonsault and lands on her feet in a very impressive feat. Lola then corkscrew kicks her and gets a nearfall that had me fooled. Lola hits a knee to the gut and Dani rolls forward on her to pin her and win. This may be Dani's first NXT win.

This was a good match and a great debut for Lola. These two matched up real well. Lola brought some good strikes and just a general nice snap to every move and Dani did a good job rolling around. You really couldn't ask for much of a better debut than what Lola had here and Dani really showed up as well. Dani's quickly creeping up right behind Sol and Tiffany as the girl with the most potential and I'd really like to see this one again down the line.

Oro Mensah vs Scrypts

This should be good and anything else will be a disappointment. These two should work well together.

Scrypts does a roll from behind Oro between his legs. Oro flips out of a snap mare and hits an upkick from the mat. Oro side headlock takedowns him then does a nice headscissors. Oro lariats him over the top then slingshot plancha's him.

Scrypts pulls down Oro by the hair then hits a flipping la silla. Scrypts flips out of a lariat then does a corkscrew crossbody for 2.  Scrypts pulls him down by the hair then does a dropsault. Scrypts does a limbo out of a punch. Oro goes up to the 2nd rope and is pushed over to the floor. Oro gets stomped on his way in then hits flying forearms.

Scrypts matrix's out of a forearm then takes a hard lariat. Oro does a flipping koppo kick then chickenwings him through the ropes. Oro the springboard dropkicks him. Scrypts rolls out  and drops his throat over the ropes. Scrypts kind of hits a 450 la silla, but Oro doesn't really sell it then Scrypts rolls him up and wins it in a botched finish.

The finish was botched, but the two matched up very well together as expected and it was fun. Scrypts/Reggie is really being wasted with this gimmick and I don't see much potential for it unless they change the name and look. 

Overall thoughts: This was a good show. All 3 matches were fine. Lola/Dani was as good as it gets for inexperienced wrestlers and is really worth a watch and the main was all flippy fun that you would expect it to be.

WWE NXT Level Up 2/3/2023

WWE NXT Level Up 2/3/2023

I got a new computer and it's by far the best PC I've ever had spec wise. My last pc fit my needs for the most part and this one is quite powerful.

Sol Ruca vs Lash Legend

Lash has new gear and a new look period with dyed streaks.

They lock up and Sol is shouldered down. They criss-cross and Sol shoulders her over. Lash kips up and they push each other. Sol does a 2nd rope twisting crossbody and they botch something. Sol STF's her and does a slingshot sunset flip for 2. Sol goes for a leap frog and is pump kicked straight in the crotch while she's in the air.  

Lash stands on her arm with help from the ropes then Last lights her up with one arm and drops her. Lash splashes her for 2. Sol electric chair drops her then hits flying shoulders. Sol crossbodies her then does a forward handspring corner splash. Lash takes a superkick off a missed axe kick then then Sol hits the sol snatcher to win.

It was longer for these two and wasn't good. Lash dropped some of her offense that looked bad but she still has a very long way to go.

Kiana James, Fallon, Briggs and Jense are interviewed. Jensen is ignoring Briggs as he is on the phone and Briggs asks him if he's good with the plan tonight. Briggs tells the girls to stay in the back and said they need to make a team name. He suggests they call themselves, "Business Casual". Jensen leaves with the girls and Briggs calls him back.

Oba Femi vs Javier Bernal

This could be decent.

Oba pushes him over and JB tries to shoulerblock him but fails. JB steps on his foot then is shouldered over. JB is lifted up by one arm and eye pokes Femi then is gorilla pressed and thrown. Oba has his throat brought down over the ropes. JB makes a comeback with a bulldog and a sliding lariat.

JB puts him in a cobra clutch and is rolled out of it. JB goes for a bulldog but then takes a backbreaker out of it. Oba spinebusters him and hits a running euro. JB rakes his eyes and rolls him up with a pull of the tights and wins it.

Javi was a very good heel here, having one of his best performances yet. He cheated at every turn and was a good heel en route to victory. Oba did well just being a long for the ride. Good stuff. 

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen vs Xyon Quinn and Bronco Nima

No idea where Lucian Price is here. Nima and Xyon both have leather jackets and kind of do a team pose.

Nima muscles off Jensen to start then shoulders him over. Jensen hits a nice leapfrog and trips him into some shots from Briggs. Xyon misses a splash on Briggs then takes a double shoulder. B&J then slide out and punch Xyon. Jensen gets distracted and is nailed by Xyon then takes shots in the corner. Jensen then takes a backbreaker and a splash.

Nima knees Jensen in the gut then drops a leg over his neck against the middle rope. Jensen escapes a 2v1 and Briggs hits punches on both opponents. Briggs hits a nice yakuza kick on Xyon then splashes Nima. Xyon is held for a Briggs facekick and Jensen gets the win on Xyon.

I'm shocked Xyon did the job here. No idea why they'd have him do that instead of Nima. The match was short and it was fine for what it was. Nima fit right in there and Briggs looked good.

Overall thoughts: Oba/Bernal was good and the main was fine. It's Level Up though and it's not must see TV.