This was a loaded show that included a bunch of stuff I didn’t have room to dive into like another Sammy/Tay/Kaz v. Men of the Year exchange, Britt Baker and Toni Storm exchanging words, Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole teasing a “Finger Poke of Doom” spot and FTR accepting Roppongi Vice’s challenge and mentioning wanting the IWGP tag belts (I can only assume that’s a match for Forbidden Door) so let’s get into the rest of the show and rank it all!
Honorable Mention: Chris Jericho and Billy Gunn. Jericho gets it for some gems on commentary tonight. He kept continuity with Soho when he reminded her that she came to Kingston’s aid after the fireball and she told him she can’t wait for Kingston to “beat (his) ass” and he had a solid exchange with Regal on commentary in the main event. He also said the J.A.S. isn’t about “Peace, Love and Pro Wrestling” like Sydal but “Money, Merch and Sports Entertainment” and I already need that shirt before it’s even made! Gunn makes it because I laughed harder than I should have when he put his arm around Max Caster and ignored his actual kids when the trio each asked “father”, “pa-pah” and “daddy!” (the latter coming from Caster) what they’re going to do with Bowens out and said “Well son, all factions have to deal with adversity but what makes them great is how they come out on the other side.” and when Bowens comes back they’re going to have a “Big scissor party!” Give me more of Caster replacing Austin and Colten Gunn as Billy’s favorite son.
5. Hookhausen. We got a training montage for the tag team match on the Double or Nothing Buy-In that showed Tony Nese running stairs as Mark Sterling couldn’t, then doing push-ups with his feet on a chair as Sterling did them from his knees like me and every other fat kid in Junior High gym class, Nese squatting Sterling on his back and finally Neze giving Sterling a suplex in the ring. On the other side though we saw Danhausen watching Hook on a treadmill, clearly thinking “Aren’t you somethin’ to admire? ‘Cause your shine is somethin’ like a mirror” He was also lifting incredibly light dumbbells and sitting eating chips as “The Cold Hearted Handsome Devil” worked out. This tag match has the potential to be my personal match of the year because it should give us both comedy gold with Sterling and Danhausen and some actually good wrestling with Hook and Nese.
4. The House of Black. Black, King and Matthews opened the night with a back and forth match against Kenny Williams’ nightmare; 3 masked men, Fuego Del Sol, 10 & Evil Uno. 10 and Uno had a creative sequence where 10 stopped Black mid-cazadora attempt, swung him into the ropes where Uno hit a wheelbarrow neckbreaker to Black and 10 without dropping him turned it into a German Suplex for 2 as Uno cannonballed off the apron on to King and Matthews. Uno and 10 should keep teaming up but rather than The Dark Order go by The Countdown. Then, when BCC eventually splits they add Danielson and become The Final Countdown. House of Black eventually won though when King sent Fuego into the ropes and Matthews caught him with a DDT on to the ramp, Black moonsaulted on to 10 on the floor and King hit a Gonzo Bomb on Evil Uno for the 3. After the match Death Triangle came out on the ramp and revealed a tombstone that said House of Black and the Double or Nothing logo.
3. Shawn Spears. I’m petitioning for the M in MJF to be changed from Maxwell to Midas because everything this man touches turns to gold. Somehow, now including Shawn Spears. I know this recent Spears push is just to make the Wardlow meeting feel a little more even but it’s working. This week he took on the debuting Big Damo (the former Killian Dain in NXT) and I wish they made a bigger deal of Damo because I think that man is awesome and could easily be entered into my dream AEW hoss tournament. Damo hit a running crossbody on the floor then a cannonball senton inside the ring but Spears dodged a Vader Bomb, pulled down the knee pad, hit a knee strike to Damo and then a C4 for the win. Spears giving C4s to big guys continues to look awesome and if I have my way he’ll give Wardlow a super C4 off the top rop this Wednesday and Wardlow will immediately pop up and no sell it. It’ll be great!
2. Kris Statlander. “The Galaxy’s Greatest Alien” has turned down some of the over the top cartoony elements of her character and started showing just how good she is and why she instantly became my favorite women’s wrestler when I first saw her against Joey Janela in Beyond a few years back. This match was a great showcase of her skills as she hit a 1 handed Gorilla Press Slam on her opponent Red Velvet, caught Velvet on the floor trying for a crossbody off the apron and suplexing her on said apron, kicked out of a Final Slice and nailed a sick looking Blue Thunder Bomb. The end came when Velvet hit a cazadora for 2 and then Statlander tried to hit a Big Bang Theory (which Excalibur now calls The Friday Night Fever) but Velvet rolled through only for Statlander to roll back through for the pin to advance to meet Ruby Soho in the semi-finals of The Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. After the match Jade and Kiera Hogan jumped Statlander but Soho came down off commentary only to get beaten down too before Anna Jay grabbed Mark Sterling’s crutch and came down to clear the ring and set up a TBS title match between her and Jade at Double or Nothing. I really enjoy the idea of Statlander v. Soho because not only should it be a good match, the face v. face element makes it less predictable and that’s especially good in a tournament. Not to leave Velvet out, this might have been the cleanest match I’ve seen from her. She continues to improve with time and has come a long way in a not so long time.
1. The Blackpool Combat Club. Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson took down Dante Martin and Matt Sydal tonight. This had all the fun you’d expect from a match involving these 4. Sydal hit a beautiful standing corkscrew on to Moxley early for 2. Mox sent Sydal to the floor and Danielson hit a flying knee off the apron. Dante Martin then hit a fantastic-looking no handed leap over the top rope on to Moxley and Danielson on the floor followed by a diving crossbody on to Danielson inside that may have been a 3 if not for Mox breaking up the pin attempt. Mox avoided Sydal trying to crossbody him on the floor and got him in a choke. Danielson then crotched Martin on the top rope and hit a butterfly suplex to the mat that he immediately turned into a LeBell lock. Martin got within inches of the ropes before Bryan pulled his hand back but Martin got a foot on the ropes to break the hold. Sydal hit a Meteroa to Bryan on the apron and Dante hit Moxley with a Nose Dive but only got a 2! Mox got Martin in a choke but Dante kicked off the corner and rolled back into a cover causing Mox to break the hold to kick out. Martin climbed to the top but Mox countered a dropkick and hit a piledriver for 2. He started going to town on Martin with a hammer and elbow combination as Bryan triangled and elbowed Sydal. Finally Moxley hit the younger half of Top Flight with a Paradigm Shift for the 3. After the match the J.A.S. came down to brawl with B.C.C. and Kingston’s Kids came out to even the odds as Excalibur gave us the old Tony Schiavone line of “The tape machines are rolling but we are desperately out of time!” At one point Jericho mentioned Martin being a good fit in the J.A.S. and I’d really like to see him in either that or the B.C.C. because he has so much talent and needs to be able to showcase it more often. When Danielson initially mentioned the young guys I don’t recall Martin being included but maybe he should be. Him and Yuta could have a fun tag dynamic with the ground and air attack and eventual feud against each other and as a tag team with Mox & Bryan could all be phenomenal!
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