AEW Dark Episode 193 4/25/2023

AEW Dark Episode 193 4/25/2023 

Harley Cameron vs Mafiosa

Harley snapmares her then Maf trips her. Harley shoulders her over then takes a back elbow. Mafiosa sunset flips her in the corner and lariats her. Harley hits knees to the gut then a russian leg sweep. Harley grabs her phone and takes a selfie, then bangs Maf's head off the canvas. Maf makes a comeback and corner splashes her. She then lifts her leg up and kicks her while she's behind her. Harley neckbreakers her then hits a backcracker for the win.

Mafiosa kind of got over here and her backwards kick was cool. Harley's the attractive QTV girl and she has only been wrestling a few months. This wasn't that great or anything, but Mafiosa may be worth bringing back again.

Arn Anderson's son, Brock Anderson, did a promo with Brian Pillman Jr. He said they wrestle because it's in their blood and it's all they know. Brian says they don't have a choice with the last names they have and says its the one thing they do best. Brian said they have looks that kill and a lineage that will.

Lee Johnson vs Blake Christian

They armdrag each other then Blake shotgun dropkicks him. Lee goes out and back in. Blake goes up top and is pushed down to the floor. Lee hits punches then throws Blake hard into the buckles. Lee suplexes him for 2. Blake slaps him then hits a backbreaker and an enzugiri. Blake 619's him under the middle rope then does a handspring enzugiri.

Blake hits an alabama slam and catapults Lee into the buckles. Blake backdrops him for 2. Lee blue thunders him for 2. Blake standing spanish flies him for 2 and misses a 450. Blake spears Lee on the apron then fosbury flops him outside. Blake springboard 450's but Lee gets his knees up. Lee superkicks him then Blake gets on his back and does some kind of curbstomp to win it.

It was fast paced but not particularly memorable. Blake did his usual bit here.

The Wingmen (Cezar Bononi and Ryan Nemeth) vs Brock Anderson and Brian Pillman Jr.

Bononi grabs Brian early then Ryan hits him from behind. Peter Avalon chokes and punches Brian outside. Bononi slams Brian then Ryan gyrates and the camera zooms in on him. Avalon chokes Brian then is clotheslines by Arn.

Brock gets in and slams Ryan. Brock gutwrench slams Ryan for 2 then Bononi decks him. Brock clips Bononi and lariats him over the top. Brian goes over the top then Brock hits punches on Ryan. Brock then picks up the win out of nowhere on Ryan.

It was a short one. The heels were heels and the faces weren't that great, but it was fine for what it was.

Mei Suruga and Emi Sakura vs Reka Tehaka and Ashley D'Amboise

Reka's team gets jumped by the Japanese team then Reka is tripped into a botched springboard double stomp. Mei indian deathlocks Reka and Ash breaks it up. Mei stomps on Reka then Reka catches her headscissors and backbreakers her. Ash gets in and hits a nice suplex on Mei.

Emi takes a double kick then double eye pokes them and chops them. Emi corner crossbodies both. Mei gets on EMi's shoulders and they roll onto the two. Emi delay butterfly backbreakers Ash then Reka hits a headbutt on Emi. Mei comes off the top rope and double stomps Reka as she leans on the apron. Emi then crossbodies Reka against the steps. Emi top rope moonsaults Ash to win it.

It was a short one and was a near total squash. I didn't have any issues with it, though I would have liked to have seen this be a non-squash.  

Ryan Nemeth does a promo. He says we have more in common than we think. He talks about going to a private school and a private, expensive college. He said he was on the dean's list all four years and was on the rugby team. Ryan said he had a dark time after that and had to get a real job, with a manager, co-workers and customers. Ryan said we may have dealt with it, but if we put it all together, it was not worse than his 3 months as a part-time job. Ryan says not to give up and then asks if it was good and tells people to put it on social media.

Zack Clayton vs Jake Logan

Jake is nailed from the side and dropped. Jake hits forearms then is lariated over the top. Jake is thrown into the steps then Zack 2nd rope superplexes him. Zack hits a jumping knee drop. Jake leg lariats him then misses a 2nd rope moonsault. Zack hits a nasty lariat and does a fisherman's buster variation to win it.

It was short and Zack looked good here. Jake needs to lose weight. He bumped a lot for Zack here.

The Varsity Athletes vs The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds and John Silver)

Nese poses to start and is dropkicked. Alex does a fast crossbody for 2. Alex and Woods trade forearms then Alex 2nd rope dropkicks him. Woods grabs Alex by the arm and yanks his head into the top rope. Nese gets in and hits stomps Alex 1v2's his aopponents then is tripped and knee'd in the face. Woods double underhook suplexes him.

Sterling gets on the apron and Silver grabs him.  Nese grabs Alex by the hair and tries to go over the top to brings his head over the rope but is pushed and plancha's Silver off of it. Woods then germans Alex for 2. Alex fends off a double team move and pushes Nese into Woods. Silver running euros Woods then running euros Nese. Silver hits kicks and a brainbuster on Nese for 2.

Silver armdrags Woods then Alex topes Woods outside. Alex and Silver try some bridging ddt on Nese but Ari Daivari comes out and pushes Silver off the top. Nese pumphandle fire thunders Alex for 2. Ari gets on the apron again and Evil Uno pulls him down and puts him into the steps. Woods is popped up into a euro then Nese takes the Dark Order's usual sequence finisher that ends in a german and a pin. The Dark Order win it.

It was on the shorter end and kind of rushed towards the end. It had shenanigans with Ari and Uno interfering and was just kind of average.

Overall thoughts: It's Dark and you will rarely get anything special here. A couple of the matches were okay though and it wasn't that bad.

New Japan Pro Wrestling 4/27/2023 Road to Wrestling Dontaku 2023 Day 6

New Japan Pro Wrestling 4/27/2023 Road to Wrestling Dontaku 2023 Day 6

I saw 4 matches here:

United Empire (Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan) vs. Oleg Boltin & Oskar Leube

Oleg and Khan try to take each other down. Khan snapmares him  then Oleg hits an armdrag. Oleg slams him then Khan rolling kneebars him. Henare knocks Oskar off the apron as this happens. Henare gets in and hits leg kicks on Oleg then leg locks him. Khan kicks Oleg in the knee then Oleg picks him up and does a nice takedown.

Oskar gets in and trades shoulders and forearms with Henare. Henare hits a big forearm then Oskar hits hard chops and chest slaps. Oskar does a nice running facekick then legdrops Henare for 2. Oskar goes for a crab but Khan breaks it up. Oleg belly to belly suplexes Khan.

Henare nails Oskar in the gut then chest headbutts him. Henare full nelsons Oskar and wins via submission.

It was short but a good rookies vs vets match. Oskar and Oleg are being allowed to do more than young lions usually are and they looked very good here.

Tetsuya Naito vs DOUKI

Douki somehow knocks Naito out before it starts then he topes him into the rail. Douki double stomps him for 2 then double armbars him, but Naito hits the ropes. Naito neckbreakers him and then Naito finally gets out of his entrance attire. Douki is thrown into the rails.

Douki nearly is counted out then he gets in and takes a hiptoss over the knee. Douki gets his eye raked then does his slingshot swinging dropkick in the corner. Naito puts him a submission and Douki ropebreaks. They trade forearms then Douki flying headbutts him then hurricanrana's him. Douki then does a reverse tope and a ddt. Douki top rope double stomps him for 2.

Naito pop-up spinebusters him then diamond dusts him off the 2nd rope. Douki armdrags and dropkicks him. they go outside, Douki handspring headstands off the apron and ddt's Naito on the floor. Naito botches a tornado ddt attempt then enzugiri's him. Douki double armbars him again then they try pin attempts. Douki slingshot ddt's him for 2. 

Douki enzugiri's him and puts him on his shoulders and Naito swinging reverse ddt's him out of it. Douki takes a nasty brainbuster on his head then Naito hits destino and wins it.

It started off well, but slowed down and went too long and it brought it down. They just didn't sell me on Douki putting Naito into a triangle to win well enough. They also had some sloppy moments here.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match - Catch 22 (Francesco Akira & TJP) (c) (w/Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan) vs. Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA)

TJP and Kushida start us off. TJP hits a headstand headscissors then handstands out of a headscissors. Kevin and Akira get in. Akira armdrags him then Kevin does it back. Akira headscissors him but Kevin cartwheels out. Kevin goes for a leapfrog but ends up taking a flying dropkick to the nuts.

Kevin and TJP trade forearms then Kevin is sandwich dropkicked over the middle rope. Kevin is thrown into the rails but jumps over them. Kevin then jumps off the rails and crossbodies Akira and TJP. Kushida hits chops on TJP then Kushida and Kevin take turns putting arm wringers on TJP. TJP then has knees dropped onto his arms.

Kevin takes a double team hiptoss into a powerbomb and cutter. Akira walks the buckles with TJP's help then tope con hilos on his opponents outside. Kushida takes a double atomic drop then a flying cross chop into a russian legsweep. Akira puts the spider on Kushida on the ropes. Akira gets on TJP's shoulders and is tossed into a senton on Kushida. TJP yanks Kushida's leg back then facewashes him in the corner. Kushida hiptosses TJP into a dropkick. TJP sunset flips Kushida then takes a flatliner into the buckles.

Kevin gets the hot tag in and superkicks TJP. He slams Akira then standing leapfrogs him. Kevin springboard crossbodies Akira then hits a nice dropkick on TJP. Kevin plancha's TJP then dropkicks Akira while he is on Kushida's shoulders for 2. Kevin takes a 3D variation for 2 then takes a slice + double stomp combo for 2. TJP superkicks Kevin then Kevin tilt-a-whirl backbreakers Akira. Kushida top rope chopes TJP then hits kicks and a crossbody. Kushida pele kicks him.

TJP ankle locks Kushida then Kushida rolls him up and hammerlocks him. Kushida and TJP lariat each other. TJP is on the top rope and Kevin tries to hurricanrana him, but TJP holds on him. TJP top rope frogsplashes him then Kevin takes sandwich meteoras for 2. Kevin powers back up and hits a hurricanrana to Akira on the top then Kevin rolls off Kushida's shoulders into a ddt on Akira for the win.

It was okay for the first half but it just kept going and lost me.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title - Hiromu Takahashi vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Hiromu got the win here. I didn't like this one. Both guys did leg work early, forgot about it for half the match then went back to the leg work during the end, then it didn't play a role in the finish. It also went too long at 31 minutes.

MLW Underground 4/26/2023 - Battle Riot V

MLW Underground 4/26/2023 - Battle Riot V

This is a one match show:

Battle Riot V

Alex Kane and Willie Mack start us off. Mack leg lariats him then flying kicks him. Kane takes a hiptoss and Jesus Rodriguez comes in, who used to be Alberto Del Rio's manager. He's wrestling in a tuxedo and holds Mack for a Kane splash. Lince Dorado is next in and he top rope crossbodies RR. He then hits a springboard amrdrag, headscissors and a dropkick.  Lince is thrown over the top but skins the cat.

Kane germans Mack then Calvin Tankman is next in. Tank hits shots on Kane and backdrops him. Tank suplexes RR then Lance Anoa'i comes in. Lance is not skinny anymore and he superkicks everyone. Microman gets in and crawls under everyone's legs to headbutt RR in the crotch. Los Azteca 33 comes in and stomps on Micro. Tank pounds on Lince then Juicy Finau is next in. He has a shopping cart full of plunder. Kane germans Lance then lariats him over the top.

Tank and Juicy stare down. Tank hits a cookie sheet off of him and it does nothing then Juicy breaks a whiteboard over his head. Juicy headbutts Tank and The Beastman is next in. He corner lariats RR and botches a butt drop on RR. Beast crossbodies Tank then Little Guido comes in. Guido goes face to face with Micro who is on the top. Guide tries to superplex him but is caught on Tank's shoulders. Lince picks up Micro and hits Guido with his feet. Beast stares down Micro and Lince has to protect Micro.

Sam Adonis gets in. He talks the top rope and hits a double blockbuster on RR and Kane. Beast hits a big lariat on Sam. Beast, Tank and Juicy all stare down then Micro comes in. He stares them all down and bites Beast in the leg. He hits Beast in the crotch with a kendo stick and Beast is thrown on the apron. Micro then baseball slides him and knocks him off.

Mance Warner is next in with a 2x4 and he starts nailing people. He pins Ricardo with a 2x4 shot. We go to break and Sam Adonis and Mance Warner have eliminated each other. Kane also submitted Microman. Mr. Thomas, TJ Crawford, Jimmy Lloyd and Ken Broadway entered during the break. Ken hits superkicks then Lloyd superkicks him.

A whole bunch of people from Raven's group come in at once. Akira sits on TJ Crawford's back and yanks his arms to eliminate him. Lloyd takes a ddt then Raven picks lloyd. Lince is thrown over the top and Delirious eliminates Mr. Thomas, who I think was one of the Devastation Corporation.

We go to break again and Los Azteca 39, gets in and is eliminated in the quickest elimination they have had. Jacob Fatu comes out and cleans house. Dr. Cornwallis and Delirious are eliminated by him, then he throws out a bunch of masked guys. Akira and Juicy are eliminated.

Ricky Shane Page suplexes Fatu over the top and goes with him, eliminating both. Kim Chee, yes that Kim Chee, comes out and is suplexed by Kane. Kane then grounded chokes him and eliminates him. Midas Black comes in off the top rope and is caught, suplexed and eliminated. Taya Valkyrie comes in for some reason. She hits shots on Kane then Kane fisherman suplexes her and eliminates her.

Jay Lyon, Midas Black's partner comes in. He hits forearms and chops on Kane then takes a sitff suplex on his neck. Kane then puts him in the tazzmission and eliminates him. Ray Jaz of the FBI comes in and hits a great dropkick on Kane. Ray rolls him and backdrops him then comes off top and takes a belly to belly. Kane then grounded dragon sleepers him and eliminates him.

Lio Rush comes in and cutters Kane by bouncing off the bottom rope. Kane release suplexes Lio then Tracy Williams comes in. Tracy is making his debut here and double arm ddt's Lio on the top rope. Tracy spinning forearms Kane then Rush spears Tracy. O'Shay Edwards comes in and he and Kane pound on Tracy. Shay spinebusters Tracy  and Duke "The Dumpster" Droese of WWF fame comes in. Duke has a trash can with him, of course, and stares down Shay. Duke hits punches then hits him with a trash can. Shay goes down then Kane trips Duke and ankle locks him. The feed goes out and Rickey Shane Page is in again somehow. Kane keeps ankle locking Duke and we see that Duke has a fake leg.

Fatu intercepts Page and they fight to the back. Matthew Justice missed his entrance and was eliminated and 1 Called Manders came in. John Hennigan then enters. John hits a springboard kick then spinesbuters Tracy. Davey Boy Smith Jr. comes out.  John running knees Manders as he hangs from the ropes then John double stomps him from the apron and eliminates him - John went through the middle rope, so he is still in it.

Tracy Williams gets eliminated then Shigehiro Irie comes in. Gene Snisky of WWE fame comes in with a braided beard. Gene hits a big lariat on Kane then chokeslams Lio. Lio does a great sell for it by doing a headstand. Gene corner lariats John. We go to break and return to seeing O'Shay, Gene and Lio being eliminated.

We are down to Irie, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Alex Kane and John Hennigan. John enzugiri's Kane then Kane chokes him as he's on the apron. John is choked out and eliminated. Irie cannonballs Davey on the ropes then Davey lariats him. Davey then throws Irie over the top. The final two are Alex Kane and Davey Boy Smith Jr. They trade forearms. Davey hits a knee to the gut and a german, then Kane germans him.

Kane germans him again then grounded chokes him. Kane turns it into a tazzmission and Kane taps out Davey Boy Smith Jr. to win Battle Riot V.

I liked this one. They had a bunch of heavyweights here. They kept the action moving and had some fun surprises which also kept things interesting. The gang warfare part was different and it ended up being a very good battle royal. This was easily one of the better ones I had seen and that's impressive since this went over 40 minutes.

Overall thoughts: They only had one match here, but it was a lot of fun and a great example of how to do a battle royale correctly. I definitely recommend this one.

AEW Dynamite 4/26/2023

AEW Dynamite 4/26/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/04/aew-dynamite-4192023.html 

Next week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/aew-dynamite-532023.html 

AEW International Title - Orange Cassidy (c) vs Bandido

OC goofs around early. They leg sweep each other and then do a stand off. OC puts Bandido's hands in his pockets then satelittle headscissors him and puts his hands in his pockets. OC hurricanrana's Bandido with his hands in his pockets. Bandido drops him on the rails then Bandido does a stretch muffler with the arm locked as well.

Bandido dropkicks OC then tope con hilos him. We go to PiP break and return. Bandido goes for a delayed suplex but OC gets out. Bandido suplexes him then OC goofs off. Bandido pump kicks him then has his head banged off the buckles. OC michinoku drivers Bandido for 2. OC topes Bandido into the rails then Bandido enzugiri's OC. Bandido one arm superplexes OC then pops him up into a cutter for 2.

OC comes off the top and is caught and one arm gorilla press slammed. Bandido then top rope frog splashes OC for 2. They roll each other up then Bandindo pops him up and gets punched. OC then hits a beach break and wins it.

As usual, I hated this. This is a big title match with big stakes and OC is goofing off. To make things worse, Bandido lost in his return here. They also did too much here and it went too long.

OC gives Bandido sunglasses after and hugs him. 

Renee interviews Adam Cole. The audio is messed up and we can't hear anything for a second. Cole said he's going to call out Jericho and says he will show him the mistake he made. He said he's going to find Jericho if he doesn't come out.

OC and Bandido then walks in and Renee said she doesn't want to interview them. They both just "oh" and leave.

Jeff Jarrett vs Dax Harwood

JJ armdrags him and poses. Dax headlock takeovers him and gets headscissored. JJ walks over his back then armdrags and hiptosses him. JJ hits a slam then Dax hits chops and bangs JJ's head off the buckles. Dax snap suplexes him and legdrops him for 2. We go to PIP break and return. They trade punches and Dax hits a top rope headbutt for 2. Dax fakes a punch and hits a piledriver for 2. They go outside and JJ is put into the barricades. Dax misses a top rope dropkick then is catapulted into the post. JJ rolls him up for 2. Dax lariats him and Sonjay Dutt comes out to cheat. He grabs Dax's legs then runs from him then JJ hits a stroke on Dax for the win.

JJ getting the win here was a surprise. This went on too long for me.

Tony Khan's big announcement was about the return of the Owen Hart tournament, which was disappointing. They said we'll have some matches at Forbidden Door for it and matches will take place in Canada. I was hoping for AEW Collision to be announced and/or an explanation for Elevation being cancelled.

Wardlow vs Jobber

Wardlow headbutts him in the chest then hitts a big windup lariat then hit powerbombs to win in a very quick squash.

Arn Anderson got on the mic after.

Arn talked about the NFL draft tomorrow and said you pick a player and form a dynasty in it. Arn said Warlow is AEW's dynasty and said he can take AEW into the next millenium. Arn said Wardlow will sometimes have to pull an eye out, bite a thumb off or hit someone with a chair. Christian's music then hit and he came down with Luchasaurus but didn't enter the ring.

Sammy Guevara was interviewed hten MJF came in and kissed him on the forehead. Sammy did the same thing then they had a gay segment where he said people were wrong about them and they deserved this. They argue about who is paying who and said they don't care in regards to what people say. Sammy said he got a fat check and said he will kick Darby's butt. Sammy said he has got MJF a present and gives him a Sammy Guevara style vest. MJF then gives Sammy his own scarf. MJF said friends don't shake hands then they hugged and kissed each other in a very gay segment.

RJ City was talking then thankfully Jon Moxley ambushed him. He, CC and Yuta said they have scars to leave tonight.

Pillars Tournament 2nd Round - Darby Allin vs Sammy Guevara

Sammy backflips out of an armlock then Darby springboard armdrags him. Sammy hits a dropkick off a backflip. MJF is eating pickles at the commentary booth, with a custom jar that he says will go on sale soon. Sammy hits the ropes on a submission then knees him in the back and sends him out. Sammy low blows him from the apron then asai moonsaults him.

We go to PiP break and return. Darby tries to tope Sammy but takes a cutter on the floor. Darby is pushed into the rails then Sammy is laid on a table. Darby goes up top and Tay Melo interrupts Darby. Sammy hits a top rope spanish fly then does a 630 off the top through a table.

Darby immediately recovers and hits a shotgun dropkick. Tay gets on the apron and MJF throws Darby a skateboard. Sammy sells it like he got hit and the ref dq's Darby. MJF then nails Darby and Darby is beaten up by both. Jungle Boy comes out to make the save. JB tries to help him up and Darby slaps his hand away. MJF gets on the mic and tells them to beat each other up. MJf tells JB to grab a banana and shove it where the sun doesn't shine and tells Darby to cut himself to My Chemical Romance. He said both of them suck, as do the fans. Tony Schiavone then gets on the mic and calls MJF a prick. Tony said Darby and JB will fight MJF and Sammy in a tag match, but if Darby and JB win, the title match at the PPV will be a Pillars Four Way match.

I hated this match. Sammy's 630 was a huge spot and it meant diddly here. They also did a top rope spanish fly and a cutter on the floor that meant nothing.

I liked how they set up the possible Pillars match, but it would have been better if they just threw JB and Darby in it since both got cheated.

MJF and Sammy are yelling in the back. MJF said Tony Khan has been playing games since MJF won the belt. MJF said where he goes, the belt follows. MJF tries to leave with MJF and MJF tells him the car is full. MJF then jets off.

Adam Cole comes out and says he will hurt Chris Jericho bad. He tells him to come to the ring so he can beat him within an inch of his life. Jericho gets on the tron and says he doesn't want to get anywhere near him and said he is a coward for letting his wife get beat up. He said his JAS crew would love to get in the ring with him tonight and they jump him 1v4. Orange Cassidy and Bandido make the save. Roderick Strong then comes out and helps, fresh out of NXT. Strong hits backbreakers. Cole and Strong then hug.

We go to QTV. QTV says it has been a rough week after being attacked. Hobbs comes up to QTV and shoves him against the wall. Hobbs said it was going well before QT got involved. QT said he will make him a champ again and said his word is his bond. QT then says let's go to Plan B.

Taya Valkyrie vs Jade Cargill

Taya hits a slap and they hit each other at the same time. Taya lariats her then hits mounted punches. Jade goes over the top and tries to skin the cat but is superkicked. Taya has her legs swept and lands in a split. Jade then pulls her down and she lands on the floor.

We go to break and return. Jade misses a pump kick then takes a kick and a knee. Taya hits a blue thunder then takes a superplex. Jade hits a canadian destoryer for 2. Taya goes for a jade end but Jade gets out, pins her and holds the tights for the win. Taya pushes Jade's friends after and then picks up the ref but is stopped.

As usual with AEW wrestlers, Taya lost her first big match here. It wasn't that great or anything and where this Jade streak ends remains to be seen.

Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter do a promo. Britt has a black eye and Jamie's arm is in a sling. Jamie rips Toni, saying she couldn't injure them with their hands, but with weapons. She said this is far from over and they declared war.

Bullet Club and Starks/Spears talk about each other. They set up a match and Juice says they will kick their opponents in the balls. 

Konosuke Takeshita and Kenny Omega vs The Butcher and The Blade

Why is this in the main? Blade hits chops on KT then takes a forearm. KT leg lariats him. Kenny hits a forward Finlay roll into a 2nd rope moonsault then KT 2nd rope sentons Blade for 2. Omega hurricanrana's Blade and Kip trips Omega. Butcher then crossbodies Kenny and Kip seated moonsaults Kenny on the floor.

We go to PiP break and return. Kenny hits an over the back legdrop in the neck then KT hits a top rope crossbody on Butcher. KT hits a flying clothesline then brainbusters Butcher for 2. KT takes offense from B&B that ends in a lariat. KT hurricanrana's Butcher off a powerbomb attempt then Butcher takes a blue thunder for 2. Omega snap dragon suplexes Blade then tope con hilos him and Kip. KT pumping knees B&B and wins it.

The result was never really in doubt here. It was fine for what it was, but certainly was not main event material.

Bryan Danielson gets on the mic after and said he sees one pro wrestler and one amateur whose best days are behind him. The BCC jumps Omega and KT. Bryan gets a screwdriver  and The Young Bucks come out to make a save. Kenny dragon suplexes Mox then the Bucks superkick Mox. The BCC comes back and Mox ddt's Kenny. The BCC holds up KT's arms and tries to invite him into the BCC. Yuta then low blows KT and Mox starts stabbing KT with the screw driver. KT bleeds and that ends the show.

Overall thoughts: We had a very weak card here and I didn't think it was a good one. The main was really the only thing I liked, and that had Kenny in it, so you know it must have been bad.

AEW Dark: Elevation may have been cancelled

April 26, 2023

AEW Dark: Elevation may have been cancelled 

According to Fite TV, this week's episode of AEW Dark:Elevation was the final episode. There has been no confirmation as of 4PM on 4/26/2023 as to whether this is true or not, but there also has been no denying it. There was no warning about this or even any rumors about it. I actually predicted this a week or two after talk about an AEW Saturday show called, "Collision". I figured that with a new two hour show being added and with AEW's taping schedule, it would be very hard for AEW to have Elevation, Dark, Dynamite, ROH, Rampage and Collision all at once.

I talked about Elevation when it debuted here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2021/02/aew-announces-new-show-called-aew-dark.html. As I said at the time, I wasn't interested in a third hour of Dark and that's sadly what Elevation became. It sucked because AEW has so many people on their roster that needed time to develop characters, do promos, get better in the ring and so forth and Elevation would have been perfect for that. If people like Darby, Sammy and Jungle Boy had cut a promo for instance on every episode of Elevation, they would have done over 100 promos and likely would have been much better at it than they had started. Instead, we just mostly had squash matches which didn't really help anyone, weren't interesting and didn't draw fans. And the lesson still hasn't been learned, as ROH has been created and while it is doing more than Dark and Elevation did, still isn't doing enough.

While I do think AEW Dark and AEW Elevation are two of the worst wrestling shows currently, more wrestling shows are a good thing and I hate to see any wrestling show go. I'd like to see wrestling be on 24/7, 365 days a year if it were possible. If Collision does indeed come to fruition, we will get the hour back we are losing with Elevation and get another hour of new content as well, which would be nice. I would have liked Elevation to stay though, but I would have also liked it to have changed and become a better show.  

Tony Khan has promised an announcement on tonight's episode of Dynamite. Perhaps we will find out more about the fate of Elevation and possible news about AEW Collision? We will have to wait and see.

IWA Puerto Rico Impacto Total 4/22/2023

IWA Puerto Rico Impacto Total 4/22/2023

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/04/iwa-puerto-rico-impacto-total-4152023.html

IWA Tag Titles - The Faces of Destiny (Nick Mercer and Jay Blaze) vs Harry William and El Niche

All four men fight to start. Harry dives out on Nick and Blaze dives on Niche. Blaze superlexes Harry  Niche is double teamed but turns it into a headscissors and ddt. Nick then brainbusters him. Harry and Nick trade forearms then Harry samoan drops Nick. Blaze backbreakers Harry then Blaze 2nd rope belly to belly suplexes Niche. Niche hurricanrana's Nick then throws out Blaze.  Niche tornillos both opponents outside.

Niche is backdropped ober the top by Nick to the floor. Wizard laughs on commentary as the announcers say how dangerous that was. Niche is totally out of it and the FoD's come for Harry. Harry takes a 1v2 then is backdropped into a knee in the back. Blaze neckbreakers Harry then Nick kneedrops Harry for 2. Harry pushes Nick into Blaze then exploders him. Harry then legdrops Blaze in the nuts and we get an "ay ay ay" off of that from the announcers.

Harry puts Blaze into Nick and the neckbreakers Nick, which causes Blaze to take a ddt from Nick. Niche is still completely out of it and Harry takes a superkick into a falcon arrow. Blaze goes up top and Niche wakes up to catch him coming down with double knees. Niche hulks up and hits big punches on Nick then lariats. Nick begs off then Niche hits an F-5 into a gutbuster. Niche then top rope skytwister presses Nick but Blaze breaks the pin up.

Niche hits a panama sunrise on Nick, but then Blaze hits a canadian destroyer on him then Harry canadian destroyers him. Blaze is lariated over the top and Harry nails Nick with brass knucks. Niche then hits another skytwister press and wins it.

Fans come in to celebrate with Niche and Harry but a ref comes down and says Harry used brass knucks. The refs want the title belts back and Niche is confused over what happened. Niche looks for the knucks on Harry and finds them. The refs then overturn the decision and the FoD's remain champions. Niche and Harry argue some after as Harry tries to plead his case. Wizard gets a kick out of this on commentary then Niche and Harry hug. Harry belly to belly suplexes him and pulls off his shoulder brace. Harry then beats up Niche and the refs pull him off.

Good match here. Niche's comeback was very good and Harry cheating leading to the post-match angle was good storytelling.

We see clips of the masked man's promo on Manny Ferno from last week.

The Faces of Destiny do a promo. Blaze said they are victorious again and said fate took care of them. Nick said they have carried the division for 2 years and will keep doing so. Nick said life without them is death.

IWA Puerto Rican Title - Khriz Diaz vs Miguel Perez

Perez is thrown a kendo stick from someone during his entrance. Perez hits punches then takes some and Diaz is hiptossed. Wizard questions why Perez would let his daughter try to hit Diaz. Diaz lariats him then hits some stomps and mounted punches. Diaz rakes his eyes on the ropes then suplexes him.

Diaz chokes Perez with tape then knees him in the gut and chokes him more. Diaz misses a corner splash then takes a spinning heel kick. Perez hits lariats then rolls on him. Perez misses a senton, barely gets over on a leapfrog and is speared for 2. Diaz grabs the title belt and fights Jordi the ref for it. Diaz pushes and grabs him then slaps him down. Jordi slaps him back and 2nd rope forearms him. Perez then hits Diaz with a kendo stick and cutters him for the win!

This was a fun little match. The heel cheated, the face got his comeback then the heel messed with the ref and paid for it. It wouldn't be believable for Perez to really beat Diaz, but it is in this manner. 

Niche is interviewed. He's frustrated and doesn't get why Harry cheated. He said that is not how champs are made. He then said Harry betrayed him and asked why he is always betrayed. Niche tells him on 4/29 that he is challenging him. He says Harry isn't the first to betray him but he will go after him. 

 

Miguel Perez is interviewed. Perez is told that Diaz was a rematch as the way Perez won was not fair. Perez said he has the title and sais Diaz was not a good champ. He said Diaz did not try to beat him clean, just with cheating. He said Diaz thought he couldn't beat him fairly. Perez said he did what he had to do and Diaz caused what happened. Perez said he needs to make merits to get a title shot He said he is the champion Miguel Perez and says his trademark line of, "Me importa un carajo" which means, "I don't give a f***k".

Special Referee - Invader #1: Romeo vs TNT

Invader #1 throws out Romeo's buddies to start. Romeo hits TNT from behind and low blows him. Romeo pounds on TNT outside and bangs his head off the steps. TNT is busted open as Romeo hits him with a kendo stick. Romeo chokes him with the stick then bangs his head off the steps. Romeo hits him with part of a bat then TNT hits punches. TNT hits him with a piece of wood then chokes him with it.  

Romeo hits punches then chokes him over the middle rope. TNT spinning heel kicks Romeo and they go back out. TNT kicks him in the head then hits him with a spanish stop sign that says, "Pare". The announcer said that it said stop, but it didn't stop him. Romeo's bleeding and TNT whacks him with the sign. TNT hits some punches to the cut and grabs a photo of Victor the Bodyguard, as the show is dedicated to him. TNT then hits Romeo with the photo and breaks it.

TNT flying crossbodies him for 2 . Romeo is handed skewer sticks and sticks them in TNT's head. Wizard said this is impressive and says it must be extremely painful. The face announcer says it's a wound that is marked forever. Romeo pounds on TNT's head then TNT sidekicks him. Someone comes out in Savio's old Kwang mask and gives him skewer sticks. TNT puts the sticks in Romeo's head. Romeo takes some shots and grabs his cobra cane. Invader fights for the stick with Romeo then TNT hits Romeo in the back. TNT puts Romeo in the cobra clutch.

Romeo low blows TNT and pushes him into Invader, who falls out of the ring. TNT puts Romeo in the cobra clutch then Romeo's buddy comes to help him. He gets nailed then Romeo lariats TNT. Romeo gets a fork. Invader tries to take it off of him and gets hit. Invader heart punches Romeo then TNT superkicks Romeo. TNT tells Invader to count the pin and TNT grabs the win.

This was a little slow and it went longer than it needed to, but it worked and made sense. The finish was fun.

TNT tells Invader to raise his hand after and he does. Invader then heart punches TNT and leaves him laying.

Wizard Analiza

Wizard said he is annoyed at what Invader did. He said Invader and TNT stole the match from Romeo. Wizard said he doesn't understand what happened but liked seeing TNT and Savio fight. He said he will be on the lookout.

Manny Ferno vs La Gran Amenaza

They fight during Ferno's entrance and trade punches. Manny hits him with a bat and tries to blow a noise maker at him. Manny hits him with the noise maker, a bat and a mask. Gran is thrown over a rail and is hit with something, but then he throws a drink at Manny. Gran then hits him with a tube of some sort. Manny chairs Gran and they finally get in the ring.

Gran pushes Manny into the 2nd buckle then chokes him over the 2nd rope. Manny gets his head banged off the post. Gran lariats Manny and hits some punches. Manny tries to hulk up then takes a knee to the gut. Manny takes a belly to belly into the buckles then Gran double axe handles his back and clubs it. Manny's back is drive into the apron's edge.

Manny is thrown into the buckles, he hits a foot then takes a high flatliner for 2. Gran suplexes Manny then Gran bearhugs him. Gran misses a corner charge then Manny hits punches. Manny flying forearms him then back body drops him. Gran euro uppercuts him, misses a corner move thne takes a running facekick. Gran low blows Manny then enzuguri's him. Gran superkicks him then sentons him against the bottom rope. Gran goes to hit Manny with something but the ref intercepts then Manny kicks Gran into the ref. Manny then hits Gran with something and the ref can't count the pin. Another ref comes out to count the pin, but it's only for 2.

Gran tries to use a weapon on Manny, but the ref intercepts and is hit. Manny then rolls up Gran and the other ref counts the pin.

The feed starts to cut out and we go to Gran, who is somehow also in the back. He claps his hand. Gran said that he wanted to know if he could pass the test and wanted to torment him. He said the man under the mask was not him and said this man is quite extreme. The Gran in the ring then unmasks (and it's El Cuervo) and nails Manny. The man busts Manny open and Gran takes off his mask to reveal another mask with III on it, hinting that its Pedro Portillo III. Gran says you may know his name, but on April 29, he goes face to face with the best of Puerto Rico. The fake Gran then nails Manny with something. Fake Gran then chairs Manny and hits another stiff chair shot on him.

The match was slow and a little boring. It also didn't help that we had ref bumps, cheating and weapons usage since we just saw that in the other matches. I actually thought that was a fake Gran out there since the person in the ring seemed much smaller than the other one did. I don't like El Cuervo losing in his return here.

The fake Gran, El Cuervo does a promo. He said Gran called him and told him he had a problem with a luchador. He said Manny tried to ruin his life a year ago and says he will do what is necessary on the 29th. He said to never forget about him again and told him to get ready for the 29th.

We then cut to the next week. Manny Ferno is watching Cuervo's promo on a pc and says this is a twist to the story. He then calls Savio Vega. Manny insisted the masked guy is Pedro Portillo III. He said he wants a match with Cuervo and said he will end their problems on the 29th. Manny said it doesn't matter if its Cuervo or Cuervo and Pedro. Savio says he will keep an eye on this and Manny said he has everything under control.

They then announce matches for 4/29/2023, Jucio Final: La Revancha, which is a week away. We have:

Manny Ferno vs El Cuervo with Gran Amenaza

Savio Vega vs Romeo vs Mr. Big

Khriz Diaz vs Miguel Perez in a title match

El Niche vs Harry William

Gran does a promo. He said Manny is protected and will be taken out in an ambulance on 4/29. Gran may have said he will take his mask off, but I'm not sure.

Overall thoughts: It was nice of them to show the matches in full from the show and I thought they did a good job of hyping up what they could with only one television show between the matches. The tag match was good and Perez/Diaz worked. TNT/Romeo wasn't the greatest thing ever, but made sense and continued the Savio/TNT issues. I'm sure some of the fans who found out that they weren't seeing the real El Cuervo felt like they took a bait and switch, but at least it wasn't for nothing. I did like the show overall.

Pro Wrestling NOAH 8/5/2018 Departure 2018

Pro Wrestling NOAH 8/5/2018 Departure 2018

I really just watched this one to see the Chinese guys. I missed two matches.

RATEL'S (Daisuke Harada & Tadasuke) & Sun Yi Lin vs Junta Miyawaki & Seiya Morohashi & Yoshinari Ogawa

The one lone highlight I could pull together on Sun Yi Lin

Ogawa takes down Lin and drops some knees on him. Lin is beaten up in the corner then he shoulders over Seiya. Tadasuke gets in and takes a german into a top rope dropkick for 2. Junta takes a hiptoss into a knee then Lin suplexes Junta. Tada cradle shocks and lariats Junta for the win.

We only got a few minutes of this 8:29 minute match. I really only watched this to see Lin and we only got to see him do a few moves. There was nothing to this.

Cody Hall, Maybach Taniguchi & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Chang Jian Feng, Lin Dong Xuan & Masao Inoue

Everyone fights and goes outside to start. Nagai throws someone into chairs outside and we cut ahead. Cody paintbrush slaps Feng then Nagai hits forearms on Feng. He misses one then takes an STO.

Inoue gets in and hits corner lariats on Nagai then cobra clutch russian legsweeps him. Inoue winds up for a big lariat on Nagai. Nagai knees Inoue in the gut then Maybach backdrops Inoue. Feng hits a corner dropkick on Maybach then top rope splashes him. Inoue goes to steal the pin on Maybach, but its only for 2. Maybach top rope splashes Inoue for 2 then Cody takes a double dropkick from the Chinese. Cody double chokeslams both.

Maybach chokeslams Inoue for 2 then grabs him by the chest and drops him backwards to win it.

We maybe got half of this 11:18 affair. It was really too short to say much of anything here. The Chinese guys didn't get to show much at all except some basic offense.

Hi69, Minoru Tanaka & Ricky Marvin vs. El Hijo del Pantera, Ikuto Hidaka & Takuya Sugawara

Pantera walks the middle rope then does a flip. Pantera hurricanrana's Marvin then walks up the buckles with his arms and flips into an armdrag. Hidaka and 69 go at it. 69 hits mongolian chops. Tanka gets in and headflips then does a nice dropkick on Hidaka. Sugawara and Tanaka trade forearms then Suga enzugiri's him. Tanaka hits a 2nd rope dropkick. 69 spinebusters Suga then asai moonsaults him for 2. 69 knees him in the face for 2

Suga and 69 trade forearms. Suga low blows him then ddt's him. Hidaka handspring cartwheel kicks 69 in the corner then dragon screws him in the corner. Hidaka takes corner moves and a double knee drop and a running knee for 2. Tanaka 2nd rope double stomps Hidaka then 69 ligerbombs Hidaka for 2. 69 goes up top and Pantera headstands off the 2nd rope to hurricanrana him. Hidaka and 69 trade spin kicks then both go down.

Marvin goes up top and walks th top rope into a dropkick on Pantera. Marvin then springboard crossbodies Hidaka. Suga and Marvin trade forearms then Marvin takes a sandwich kick from Hidaka and Suga. Pantera criss-crosses Marvin into a knee dropkick then springboard swantons him. Suga sliding kicks Marvin while Hidaka hits Marvin with a reverse ddt. Marvin hits la magistral on Hidaka, Hidaka reverses it then takes a buzzsaw kick from Tanaka. Marvin running ligerbombs Hidaka for 2. Everyone comes in to get some offense then Pantera walks up the buckles and springboard swantons opponents outside. Marvin lariats Hidaka then Hidaka rolls him up and wins it.

It was a fast paced 6 man with everyone getting a little time to show off here. Nothing wrong with this one and it was what you would want - some flips and stuff without people overdoing it.

Akitoshi Saito, Masato Tanaka, Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura vs. Go Shiozaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenou & Masa Kitamiya

Sugi and Go lock up. Go hits the first chop then Sugi kicks him in the back. Go then chops him in the back and they repeat the sequence. Sugi hits more shots and Tanaka/Ken get in. The two trade forearms at a fast pace and end up doing a standoff after a headlock takeover.

They trade more forearms. Marufuji and KN get in. Maru hook kicks him after some reversals then Masa hiptosses Maru over the top rope. Go throws Sugi into the post then KN hits a stiff superkick on Maru to drop him. KN kicks Maru in the back then Masa gets in. Go gets in and trades chops with Maru  then ridge chops him for 2. Most of the wrestlers fight on the floor then we cut ahead and everyone is back up on the apron and in the ring.

Maru makes a comeback on Masa then Masa spears the post when Maru moves. Tanaka running lariats Masa then Tanaka ddt's Masa. Tanaka hits a stiff lariat on Masa then Masa samoan drops him. KN gets in and footslaps Tanaka. He enzugiri's him then kicks him in the chest. KN hits a bunch of stiff kicks on Tanaka in the corner then the two trade forearms. KN ducks a sliding D then Tanaka ducks a huge kick. Tanaka lariats him for 2.

They trade shots, KN germans him then Tanaka no sells it just to hit a sliding D. Go and Sugi get in and Go hits machine gun chops. Sugi then forearm flurries him. Sugi running knees him in the corner then Sugi 2nd rope superplexes him. Go hits a nice dropkick on Sugi then hits a go flasher for 2. Sugi and Go trade shots then Go lariats him. Go hits chops then Sugi olympic slams him.

We finally see Saito and he chokeslams Ken. He then lariats him for 2. Ken spin kicks him in the head then Saito takes a double bulldog. Ken does a nice jackhammer on Saito then running PK's him for 2. Saito does a sweet spinning heel kick on Ken then powerbombs him hard for 2. Ken high kicks Saito hard then running PK's him. Ken hits a top rope double stomp on Saito and pins him by standing on his chest.

Go and Sugi continue fighting after.

This was a good 8-man. They kept the action moving and there were lots of stiff shots. The Go/Sugi stuff was good and Tanaka/Nakajima had good exchanges too.

Global Junior Heavyweight Tag League 2018 Final Match - Back Breakers (Hajime Ohara & Hitoshi Kumano) vs. RATEL'S (HAYATA & YO-HEY)

Not much happens early. Kumano armlocks Hayata then they do a headlock and a headscissors before doing a stand off. Kumano shoulders over Hayata. Yo and Ohara go at it. Ohara does a cattle mutilation variation and rolls him up. Yo headscissors Ohara out then Ohara is stomped on. Yo crossfaces Ohara then Ohara takes a double spinebuster and a double gamengiri. Ohara has his head banged off the apron outside by Yo.

Hayata ddt's Ohara then tornado ddt's him for 2. Ohara tilt-a-whirl backbreakers Hayata then Kumano hits a stiff uranage on Yo. Kumano hits a stiff lariat on Hayata for 2 then Hayata handspring back elbws Kumano. Hayata does a neat 2nd turnbuckle corkscrew moonsault on Kumano. Hayata goes for a tornado ddt but is caught and deadlift suplexed. Kumano backbreakers him. Kumano throws Hayata onto Yo then double lariats both opponents. Kumano backbreakers Hayata for 2 then Yo top rope dropkicks Kumano.

Yo hits a jumping back high kick on Kumano. Kumano racks Yo and turns it into a german in a cool move. Ohara John Woo's Yo in the corner then dropkicks him. Ohara spins Yo into a backbreaker then pumphandle backbreakers him for 2. Yo meteora's Ohara. Ohara backbreakers Yo for 2 Ohara is whipped into the corner and runs into Hayata's boot.  Yo takes corner moves then takes a couple of backbreakers. Ohara running elbow drops Yo's back for 2.

Yo tries pin attempts on Ohara then takes a spinning torture rack back breaker for 2. Ohara twisting backbreakers Yo then puts him in a tequila sunrise buy Hayata breaks it up. Ohara does a gori special backbreaker on Yo for 2. Yo hits slaps and superkicks on Ohara then Ohara does a nasty tilt-a-whirl driver for 2. Ohara takes a double powerbomb for 2 then Hayata tope con hilos Kumano outside and Yo top rope meteora's Ohara. Yo does a nice top rope tornillo on Ohara and wins it.

It was longer than it needed to be and the backbreakers got a little silly after a while, but it was a decent main. The crowd was into it, they busted out the big moves and Kumano looked real good here.

Overall thoughts: The top three matches delivered so this ended up being a good show. I really liked the semi-main more than I expected.