Random Matches

Brickhouse Brown & Bill Dundee vs. Jimmy Golden and Robert Fuller (09/18/1988, CWA): Golden and Fuller were part of The Stud Stable, managed by Downtown Bruno (Harvey Wippelman) and a blonde named Sylvia who I don't recognize. Brown controls early and has a ton of energy. He seems like a guy that the WWE would've wanted, though I guess their roster was already fairly stacked in 88'. They do a fun double atomic drop spot and then send the Studs into the corner. Brown whips Fuller right into Golden to a big pop from the Memphis crowd. Bill Dundee comes in and works on Golden's arm, but Golden manages to tag in Fuller...only to end up running into him. Golden and Fuller get the upperhand and Dundee is in trouble. Of course, Dundee tricks Fuller into grabbing hold of Golden's arm. Dundee gets thrown to the outside and Bruno puts the boots to him as Sylvia attacks him with a "Korean Kendo Stick." Back in the ring, Dundee hits a cross body and goes for a cover but rolls off just as Fuller comes in to drop an elbow. Brown comes in and takes out both men, the babyfaces rallying! A melee ensues and the referee disqualifies the heels for Sylvia blatantly using the kendo stick on Brown! In comes Cactus Jack! And then it's Jeff Jarrett who joins in the fray! Jimmy Valiant is here too! That wasn't much of a match, but the crowd certainly loved it and it was fun to see all the stars of Memphis show up to take out the heels. (2/5)

Jimmy "Bunkhouse Buck" Golden vs. Randy Savage (07/08/1995, WCW): This is the opening match on an episode of Saturday Night, so you kinda know you're going to get a glorified squash. Savage hits some punches and a back elbow right off the bat and then just mauls him, raking his face, choking him on the top rope, etc. Bunkhouse throws him to the ropes but Savage maintains control until he goes out of the ring to mess with Colonel Parker, allowing Buck to regroup in the ring. When Savage comes in, Buck gets a little bit of offense in but Savage clotheslines him over the top rope and to the floor. A loud "Macho" chant starts up as Fuller tries to help his client on the floor. Savage goes to the top and Buck brings him down with a punch to the gut. Buck tosses Savage through the ropes and onto the floor. Savage gets sent into the post and Buck then bodyslams him on the floor before applying a headlock in the ring. Savage punches his way back into the match - not much of a real transition there - and fights him into the corner. Press slam from the top rope by Savage and then he hits the elbow for the win. For a Saturday Night TV match, this was fine, though it ended just as it was getting good and the lack of a real transition into the closing stretch was noticeable. (2/5)

The Great Kabuki vs. Tiger Mask II (Mitsuharu Misawa) (01/28/1986, AJPW): Tradtional hold-trading to start before Kabuki controls with a wrist-lock, really working on Tiger Mask's left shoulder. Tiger Mask attempts a crossbody but gets caught and Kabuki drops him for a backbreaker before re-applying the arm bar. Once again Misawa escapes with an elbow to the face and tries to use his speed and agility to gain the upperhand but gets cut-off and put back onto the mat with an arm bar. Kabuki slaps at Misawa's shoulder and the back of the head with the hold applied, clearly losing his cool. Another escape, shoulder block, and cut-off (the third of the match) as we went minute 10. Kabuki almost gets himself pinned a couple times with the submission he's working, a wristlock applied via grapevine. Misawa escapes with some slaps but gets his eyes raked. Some rope running leads to a big dropkick by Misawa and then a swinging neckbreaker for 1. Kabuki takes a great bump to the outside from a back body drop and Misawa follows him out with a huge crossbody to the floor! Misawa waffles him with a chair, just bashing at his head three times! Dang. Kabuki is a bloody mess as he returns to the ring to meet some boots and fists. Misawa with a body slam and attempts a splash but Kabuki gets his knees up. Kabuki with a swinging neckbreaker of his own and then a series of big uppercut thrusts. Ref bump! Kabuki with a fist drop and gets the visual pin but there's no ref to make the count! Misawa with a back suplex and then a german suplex but it gets broken up by one of the ring boys/rookies (who I later learned was Hiromichi Fuyuki). It turns into a threeway fight inside and outside of the ring as the bell gets rung, signaling that the match has been thrown out. Some people might find the opening stretch boring, but I didn't mind it as much "in the moment," fully expecting the second half to become more of a fight. The match did start to cook once Tiger Mask made his initial comeback and we got to the good stuff on the floor. Unfortunately, the ref bump and interference finish was a total letdown and didn't pay-off anything from the first half of the match. (1.5/5)

Kazuchika Okada vs. Mark Briscoe (06/18/2025, AEW): From Arena Mexico for AEW's annual Grand Slam event (a special episode of Dynamite). A bit too slow for me, though I know that has become the most common and pedestrian of takes when it comes to Okada in AEW. Psychology-wise, it makes sense that Briscoe would want to accelerate things and go for bigger and bigger moves, quickening the pace, while Okada worked a more deliberate pace. It didn't make for a very engaging contest, though, as I found myself sorta waiting for when the "real" action would start. (1.5/5)

MJF vs. Mistico (06/18/2025, AEW): Mistico's entrance was the most special thing about this match, though I do enjoy watching MJF do his full-blown heel shtick in front of an audience that absolutely wanted to tear him apart. This match was really carried by the hot crowd, though the action itself wasn't bad either. Mistico is not as dazzling a performer as he once was, but he can still be counted on for a big crossbody off the top rope or a good-looking Spanish Fly. A good-not-great TV match with an upsetting finish seemingly designed to protect both guys by having neither one pin the other, though I think they could've had Mistico win with how much MJF was showboating and, at times, straight-up ignoring his opponent so he could jaw with the crowd. (3/5)

Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (12/09/1995, AJPW): This is the Real World Tag League Final match from the Budokan. Kobashi and Kawada start things off just by staring across the ring from each other. If this were modern WWE/AEW, you'd get a "This Is Awesome" chant before they even touch each other because that is definitely the vibe. Kawada strikes first with a huge back suplex and then takes out Misawa too with a kick! As Kawada goes to work, Taue boots Misawa off the apron and into the guardrail. Misawa comes back in to break up the 2-on-1 and we are off to the races with Misawa throwing forearms and the babyfaces cleaning house. Kobashi with a series of chops and a big boot and German Suplex of his own! I was expecting a slow start to this match and we're already seeing suplexes and a powerbomb by Kobashi! Kobashi applies a full nelson and then a headlock as Misawa and Taue go at it. Misawa gets dropped to the floor and Taue breaks up the submission and hits a chokeslam on Kobashi! Armbar by Kawada but he can't hold onto it because Misawa comes in. Kawada nails him with a jumping kick right to the face! Man, that looked like it caught him right in the eye. Taue with a big boot to Misawa on the apron. Kawada lifts up Misawa in an electric chair position and Taue comes off the apron with a chokeslam on the floor! Wow. That was great. Misawa looks dead and Kenta is all alone in the ring. Taue comes in and Kenta eats some boots on the aprons and then gets pulled down from the apron into the guardrail by Taue! The camera doesn't catch it, but the sound is enough to know it was a hard landing. Taue stalks Kobashi on the outside and runs him shoulder-first into the rail before rolling him back into the ring. Taue wrenches the arm before tagging Kawada back in as Misawa is still out on the floor. Knee drop on the arm by Kawada as Misawa slowly gets to his feet. Kawada with another arm wrench and then a series of kicks to the damaged arm of Kobashi before tagging in Taue. Taue applies a deep arm bar on the mat before booting Misawa again, keeping him from getting involved. Kawada comes in and applies a submission of his own but Kobashi powers out of it with an insane bit of strength, powerbombing him! Wow. Kawada is up first and once again Misawa gets kicked off the apron. Taue with an awesome release atomic drop! Taue goes back to work on the arm of Kobashi, who has yet to make a tag. Kobashi rallies with some kicks to the back of the thigh but Taue drops him with a heel kick. Kobashi reaches for the tag but Taue pulls him over and hits him with a DDT. Kawada comes in and drops some knees on Kobashi's shoulder before trying to re-apply the leg-assisted armbar (?). Kobashi fights it, though, and in comes Misawa to help his partner! Release German by Misawa onto Kawada! Misawa goes into the corner and desperately wants the tag and gets it. Misawa with a series of forearms and then a Tiger Driver! Misawa goes to the top rope and lands the frog splash for 2. Misawa applies a submission but Taue breaks it up. Forearms by Misawa put Taue down and Misawa applies his face lock, a move I'm not a huge fan of as it just looks so loose. Taue breaks it up and comes into the match, booting Misawa in the face and attempting a chokeslam. Taue rams him into the post with serious force and hoists him up to the top rope. Misawa fights back and hits him with a dropkick! Misawa goes back to the top and hits another! Misawa attempts a Tiger Driver but can't get Taue up. Taue attempts a lariat, Misawa evades it, but Taue lands a chokeslam for 2 instead. Kawada comes in and hits a running boot. Kawada goes for a powerbomb but Kobashi breaks it up. Kobashi gets sent to the outside and its 2-on-1. Back Suplex/Chokeslam combo by the heels for 2! Kawada attempts a powerbomb but Misawa counters it with a head scissors. Kawada off the ropes with another big boot and, after some struggle, lands the powerbomb for 2. The final 15 minutes see a flurry of action, including a Taue powerbomb, more work on Kobashi's arm, Kobashi landing two awesome moonsaults, and a devastating Tiger Driver on the floor by Misawa to Kawada that essentially seals the heels' fate. I was very surprised to see that this match was not highly-regarded at ProWrestlingOnly, though it does have a fairly high rating over at Cagematch. If you're super familiar with the Four Pillars of AJPW and their extensive work with each other, maybe this would be disappointing, but if you're anything like me and just seeing this stuff for the first time, this was terrific. I loved that the match began with huge "bombs," something you don't always get in these sorts of affairs. I thought the story of the heels cutting off Misawa for the first 10 minutes was great, simple storytelling executed very well. My only real complaints would be that Misawa's hot tag in the middle of the match is a bit underwhelming because he basically cleaned house right before making it and that, because of how much action they pack into the first half of the match, the second half almost seems repetitive. Aside from that, though, this was great stuff. (4/5)

Hulk Hogan vs. Nick Bockwinkel (04/24/1983, AWA): This is for Bockwinkel's AWA World Championship. "Mean" Gene is the announcer, Heenan is managing Bockwinkel, and Hogan's got his hand behind his ear so this feels every bit like a "Hulkamania" era match and its no wonder that McMahon would take so many of these people within the next couple years. Bockwinkel tries his best to avoid the Hulkster early on, ducking out of the ring to "regroup" a few times in the opening minutes. Hogan eventually pulls him in and drops him with a huge shoulder block that Bock sells like a gunshot! More stalling from Bockwinkel before he gets sent into the corner with great force and then we finally get a lock-up and a headlock by the champ that leads to another shoulderblock and Bock regrouping in the corner. They repeat the same thing, but why not? The crowd is loving it. Another lock-up and this time Bockwinkel delivers some knees, but Hogan is quick to take back over with a big kick and then a series of huge knees of his own that lead to Bockwinkel dropping face-first on the mat! Double stomp by the Hulkster! Backbreaker for 2! Running shoulderblock in the corner and then a stiff kick to a fallen man. Wow. I wouldn't consider this to be a master class of technical wizardy but its more movement, viciousness, and non-standard offense from Hogan than in 90% of his other matches. Bockwinkel manages to apply a front facelock and mixes it up with a some great-looking knees to the shoulder and chest. A piledriver attempt is countered into a back body drop by the challenger but Bockwinkel comes back with a headbutt to the midsection. Bockwinkel with a whip to the corner but Hogan meets him with a huge boot to the face. Another great Bockwinkel bump! And then another few off of some right hands by Hogan! Big clothesline by Hogan for 2. Shoulderbreaker by the Hulkster but Bockwinkel gets his foot on the rope. Bockwinkel fights back with some rights and lefts of his own once they're on their feet. Hogan slugs him back and lays in another knee. Falling body slam by the challenger for 2.5! Snap mare into a leg drop but Bockwinkel evades it! Bockwinkel with a clubbing blow to the back and then an axehandle in the corner. Bockwinkel with a series of headbutts to the gut and then another big axehandle to the back. Bockwinkel tries a bodyslam but falls back and Hogan gets another nearfall. Bockwinkel telegraphs an axehandle and Hogan boots him in the stomach. Hogan with a kick off the ropes and then a forearm off the ropes and an elbow drop and we get a really horrible bit of refereeing/miscommunication/camerawork as Hogan seems to get a full 3 count but the referee doesn't make the full count. Bockwinkel goes for a sleeper and ends up on Hogan's back! Hogan basically pulls him over by his hair and everyone collapses, including the ref. Sleeper by Bockwinkel again as the ref oversells in the corner. Hogan and Bockwinkel fall back into the corner, crushing the referee. Bockwinkel reapplies the sleeper but Hogan goes to the ropes and Bockwinkel falls over the top rope to the floor! Hogan tries to help the ref and then suplexes Bockwinkel back into the ring. Leg Drop! 1, 2, 3! He got it this time! Hogan hoists up the title as "Eye of the Tiger" blares! However, the victory gets reversed because Hogan "tossed" Bockwinkel over the top rope, which was a disqualification back in the day. Garbage is tossed into the ring, which wouldn't be the last time that happened at the end of a Hogan match. I thought this was pretty good and an interesting match to watch from a historical perspective, plus, Bockwinkel is just so fun to watch because of his ridiculous bumping and selling and how intense, focused, and physical he worked. (3.5/5)

Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue and Toshiaki Kawada (12/3/93, AJPW): Well, now I sorta get why the match from December 95' is considered "lesser" because this match is absolutely great. It starts out maybe a touch slower than the one I reviewed yesterday (see above), but not that much slower. Kawada delivers an all-time great selling performance, to the point that I actually felt a little sorry for the guy as Misawa and Kobashi did everything possible to destroy his neck and shoulders (let alone all the selling he did of his damaged foot/ankle that actually made up the bulk of the match). Some of the suplexes they delivered in the final minutes were just insane. I also really liked Akira Taue lawn-darting Misawa into the turnbuckle and Kobashi onto the top rope. Some of Misawa's forearms throughout the match were brutal too. Kobashi's moonsaults are a thing of beauty. Great attention to detail with the psychology and the escalation of violence. This had it all. An all-time classic, no doubt, but I think you have to be a super AJPW fan - aware of all the context and history between these four and even what was to come in the future with them - to consider this the Greatest Match of All Time, which at least a few critics have called it in the past. (4.5/5)

The Rockers vs. The Brainbusters (01/23/1989, WWE): This is a match from Madison Square Garden. Very classic tag team style match with the babyfaces get a lengthy shine. Some really cool spots here too - I particularly liked when the Brainbusters went for a double suplex on Marty, Shawn caught him, and they hit stereo superkicks. Nobody really jumps out as the MVP, though Arn Anderson's spinebuster (which the commentator calls a belly-to-belly suplex but is not that) is devastating and crisp enough to maybe give him the honor, but that's kinda the point. This was two teams, the crafty veterans vs. the young, spunky babyfaces, and the fun was seeing that the Rockers had some clever tricks of their own that they could get away with because Hebner was so focused on keeping the Brainbusters in line. I wouldn't consider this "must see" as it is just a really fun, well-executed match, but if you're a fan of either team, this one is worth checking out. (3.5/5)

The Steiner Brothers vs. Terry Gordy and Steve Williams (09/15/1992, WCW): Scott and Gordy start things off but it doesn't take long before all four men are in the ring with the Steiners getting the upperhand. This isn't a technical showcase, but its fun for what it is. Highlights include a cool moment when Williams goes for a shoulder block but eats a lariat by the Dog-Faced Gremlin, some awesome Dr. Death elbow drops to Scotty's lower back. There's a miscommunication around minute 9 before Williams applies a half-crab and then another bit of unfortunate poor timing after Steiner's hot tag, but we get a cool finish with Rick Steiner hitting a german suplex on Gordy and Williams hitting one on Scott (with the ref making the three count for the Steiners). Some of this match was lost to a commercial break so its hard to judge as a whole, but for a TV match, this was sloppy but fine. (2/5)

Ranger Ross vs. The Great Muta (05/28/1989, WCW): A squash match featuring one of my favorite jobbers of the era. There's an awkward moment when Ross goes for a crossbody and Muta counters it by taking a back bump before there's any impact. JR covers it up on commentary, but it looks bad. There's another miscommunication towards the end too when Muta grabs hold of Ross' leg and kicks his other foot out from under him. A "Muta" chant starts up at one point, which is odd considering that he's clearly the heel based on being managed by Gary Hart. Muta misses the front flip back elbow and takes a spill to the outside when he misses a chop on the ropes, but lands the moonsault to get the win. Too short to be considered good and too sloppy to be considered even a good squash match. (1.5/5)

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (04/20/1989, AJPW): A battle between two stubborn, hard-hitting bastards. Highlights inlude - Tenryu slapping the taste out of Jumbo's face after an intense staredown, the struggle and eventual snap of Tsuruta's belly-to-back suplex, Tenryu's chest chops looking like they could fell a tree, an awesome dive into the guardrail, Tsuruta's big boots connecting with Tenryu's jaw. Things drag a bit when they go to the mat, but mostly because, with these two, you want to see them stiffing the shit out of each other and not necessarily working a lengthy headlock segment, no matter snug Tsuruta makes it look. The final minutes are terrific - as one would expect - and the way Tsuruta gets tied up in the ropes looks particularly nasty. Tsuruta's finishing powerbomb looks like it could've legitimately paralyzed Tenryu and I'm not entirely sure if he's selling it or if he can't feel his legs afterwards. Absolutely brutal finish. Reading up on it, it seems like they ended the match early because Tenryu was knocked out by the powerbomb. I had their match from a few months later at 4-stars and this wasn't quite as great, but was still well-above average. (3.5/5)

HARASHIMA vs. Konosuke Takeshita (11/03/2019, DDT): I've really only seen Konosuke Takeshita in AEW, so I wanted to expand my viewing as he is a "lock" for my GWE 100 ballot (despite being among the least-watched on my list). This is the first time I've seen HARASHIMA in action, but he has a stellar reputation. This is Title vs. Title. Ground-based grappling to start before things start getting a bit more physical with a big shoulder tackle and boot from Takeshita before he launches himself over the top with a crossbody to the floor. HARASHIMA whips Takeshita into the post and he takes an awesome bump. Dishing it out as good as he can take it, Takeshita rams HARASHIMA into the table (causing him to let out an agonized groan) and then back body drops him into the ring apron. Back in the ring, Takeshita delivers a sick backbreaker for 2 and then continues to target the lower back for the next few minutes, including hitting a splash from the top rope onto it. Like the focus there. Takeshita attempts a crab but HARASHIMA hits him with a heel kick and then a bunch of double-knees in the corner. Cool move. HARASHIMA gets a superplex-into-a-falcon arrow (ala Seth Rollins), gets 2, and then hoists Takeshita up into a fireman's carry but Takeshita counters it into his spinning powerbomb for 2. Big forearm exchange and HARASHIMA just levels Takeshita with one that sends him to the mat. Takeshita hits a few of his own and then eats a pair of nasty kicks. Headbutt by Takeshita and then a release german! Lariat off the ropes! 2.5! Takeshita with a straight-jacket backbreaker! Haven't seen that one before. He applies a deep Boston Crab, but HARA won't quit and Takeshita gets distracted by some dudes on the outside and releases the hold. Another strike exchange on the apron and then we get a Boston Crab through the ropes, which looks extra brutal. The referee breaks it up. Takeshita pulls him up to his feet. Great-looking spin kick by Harashima and then a Meteora on the apron! They both spill out to the floor and Takeshita stumbles as he tries to get back into the ring. He beats the count but meets another stiff kick from HARA. HARA nails him with another one and then even more. These are Hashimoto-level in their accuracy and strength. HARA goes for a reverse-rana but Takeshita counters it. HARA with a roll-up and then a Meteora to the back of the head. HARA goes for another Meteora but Takeshita counters it into a Boston Crab! Maybe a touch too choreographed for my liking, but unquestionably inventive. Takeshita hoists him up and drops him with a huge powerbomb. The referee makes the count, but looks a bit flabbergasted and isn't really in position for it, allowing HARA to kickout only to get put back into the Boston Crab. HARA's cornermen are going crazy and he reaches the ropes. Takeshita hoists him up to the top rope and meets him up, possibly for a superplex of his own, but HARA fights back and we get a reverse-rana from the top rope that sends Takeshita flying! Great bump there. HARA hits a springboard Meteora but can't make the cover! He finally rolls over, but Takeshita kicks out at 2 and 7/8ths. HARA goes for a piledriver but doesn't have the strength and Takeshita reverses it into his jumping package piledriver! Damn! He only gets 2! Takeshita re-applies the straightjacket, HARA turns around, Meteora! But Takeshita somehow rolls through, bounces right up and hits a ridiculous running knee! Takeshita goes  off the ropes, HARA meets him with a kick, and then hits one final Meteora out of the corner to put this one to bed. I could see some people criticizing them for doing too much, but everything looked so good and hard-hitting and, if you're going to go for a "fireworks show," this had enough crazy spots and bumps to succeed at delivering that. Plus, because it was Title vs. Title, and, based on my reading, the culmination of a lengthy feud/rivalry, this level of action and subsequent false finishes makes sense. (4/5)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Nick Bockwinkel (02/04/1982, AJPW/AWA): This one is for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship held by Nick Bockwinkel, but is being fought in Tokyo, Japan. Scientific opening with Bock and Jumbo trading body slams to little effect but then chain wrestling to the mat and back up. Tsuruta works on the arm but its no mere resthold and Bockwinkel's explosive counters and bumping is terrific before they slow things back down. Jumbo applies a double wristlock that Bockwinkel struggles to reverse, nearly doing so but eventually escaping by backing Jumbo into the ropes. Another test of strength in the middle of the ring with Bockwinkel winning this one and bringing Jumbo to his knees until the challenger counters it into an abdominal stretch. Bockwinkel sells the hell out of the hold and I love Jumbo really wrenching him. Bockwinkel escapes but is in serious trouble, selling on the bottom rope and trying to buy time. Bockwinkel manages to get the upperhand and Jumbo goes to the outside. Bockwinkel suplexes him back in off the apron and applies a snug headlock after a 2 count. Bockwinkel with a whip to the corner and then another sleeper that brings Jumbo to the mat. Jumping knee by Tsuruta after he breaks free! Big underhook suplex by Tsuruta but he only gets a 1 count. Uppercut by Jumbo and then another and then the third drops Bockwinkel to the mat. Jumbo applies a Boston Crab but Bock won't quit. Bockwinkel eventually breaks the hold but Jumbo continues to attack his lower back with huge stomps, much to the delight of the crowd. Jumbo goes for a clutch but can only get one arm draped over a knee and Bockwinkel makes it to the rope rather quickly. After trading some blows, Jumbo delivers a backbreaker for another 1 count. Bock gets some punches in to the gut and continues to work the body between bashing Jumbo's into the turnbuckles. Bockwinkel goes for a body slam but his lower back gives out. Jumbo hits some boots in the corner and then whips him into the opposite one before applying another abdominal stretch. Jumbo with an airplane spin moments later and both men go tumbling to the floor. Jumbo hoists him up again and we're getting an airplane spin all around the ring! Jumbo dumps him on the floor and climbs back into the ring as Bockwinkel sells on the floor. The ref is calling it! What a lame finish. After the match, Bock and Jumbo trade blows again with Jumbo knocking Bockwinkel out to appease the Tokyo crowd. I really liked the first 3/4ths of this match, but then when it was about to escalate, they started repeating some of their offense and slowing things down. The finish was really anticlimactic too, enough to make this unrecommendable. Above-average because Bockwinkel is almost always above-average, but only just a little bit. (3/5)

AEW Revolution 2021

AEW Revolution 2021

Jacksonville, FL - March 2021

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the AEW World Heavyweight Champion was Kenny Omega (having defeated Moxley for the title on an episode of Dynamite in February), the TNT Champion was Darby Allin, the AEW World Tag Team Champions were The Young Bucks, the AEW Women's World Champion was Hikaru Shida, and Brian Cage was the FTW Champion (a title that I still don't really consider a part of the AEW brand officially).

AEW Revolution 2021 begins with MJF and Chris Jericho challenging The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championships. The Bucks controlled early, showing off their tag expertise. Jericho and MJF managed to cut off the babyfaces on the apron and then got some extra help from Wardlow behind the ref's back. Throughout the match, Jericho and MJF showed some strong chemistry and, though he certainly wasn't moving as fast as he once was, Jericho's timing and execution was very good, speeding things up and slowing things down when needed to build a heated match. Highlights included: a rare Canadian Destroyer that actually looked good and organic from Nick Jackson, the Bucks' busting out a Motor City Machine Guns-esque combo neckbreaker/powerbomb out of the corner, Jericho and MJF's stalled vertical suplex (with added middle fingers to the audience), MJF countering a hurricanrana attempt into a sit-out powerbomb, and a good false finish after Jericho inadvertently hit Wardlow with a Judas Effect. On the negative side, there was an iffy moment when Nick Jackson springboarded into the Liontamer and I'm not a fan of underselling getting struck by a baseball. As one would've and could've expected, the final minutes were overloaded with signature spots, including a BTE Trigger and a whole bunch of superkicks before the Bucks hit the Meltzer Driver to get the clean win. I liked the booking here as the Bucks, the experienced tag team, were able to use their expertise and experience to get the clean win against two singles guys. Not an all-time great match or anything, but a smartly-worked one that certainly helped some of Jericho's physical limitations at this point in his career. (3/5)

The Tag Team Casino Royale was next with The Dark Order's Number 10 (Preston Vance) and Alan "5" Angels and Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall starting things off. Next in were Santana and Ortiz, who immediately go to work on Dustin. Santana and Ortiz get a bunch of their shit in, but it makes little sense in this context as everyone else sorta stands around them and watches. Angels is the first man eliminated, but Vance stays in the match. Next in are Matt and Mike Sydal, followed by Stu Grayson and Evil Uno, a pairing that I've been impressed by. Mike Sydal is eliminated as the Dark Order guys go at it with Santana and Ortiz. Awesome Grayson and Uno spot where Grayson basically tossed Santana into Uno for a sit-out powerbomb. The Gunns come in next, making their AEW PPV debut if I'm not mistaken. Matt Sydal got eliminated by Santana and Ortiz, making them the first team fully out of the match. Peter Avalon and Cesar Bononi (who I'd never heard of) come in next. Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison came in next, the ring really loaded up at this point. Bononi hit a tremendous suplex on both Pillman and Garrison to show off his power. Avalon was eliminated soon after by the Gunns, who attempted to toss Bononi but the Gunns got pushed over the top by QT! Dustin got in his face about it, leading QT to eliminate himself (the Gunns were associates of the Nightmare Family). Next in: Bear Country, who came in and made a huge statement with their strength and power. They tossed Grayson as the clock ticked down and in came Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus. Double chokeslam on Pillman and Garrison by Luchasaurs! Jungle Boy eliminates Ortiz, but eats a big strike from Bononi! Bononi goes over! Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy - with Marko Stunt - go on a tear and eliminate a few guys as The Butcher and the Blade join the fray. Butcher and Blade eliminate Vance and Pillman and, as the commentators note, Jack Evans could be seen momentarily but was also eliminated from a match that he wasn't even a part of. Not sure what the purpose of that was. With help from The Bunny, Dustin Rhodes gets eliminated and we're down to Bear Country, Butcher and Blade, and the Jurassic Express. In comes Private Party, who take a whole bunch of time with counters and evasions just to hit a rather weak double heel kick on Jungle Boy. Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian come in and end up being the focus of Luchasaurus, allowing Bear Country to come from behind and eliminate him. Then Bear Country gets thrown over by The Butcher! PAC and Rey Fenix come in and out goes The Blade and Quen from Private Party. Fenix nearly gets eliminated by Daniels as in comes John Silver and Alex Reynolds, the third team from the Dark Order stable. Cool moment when Reynolds piledrove Jungle Boy into Daniels' stomach. Silver and Reynolds then got rid of Isiah Cassidy. The Butcher was the next out. The remaining 7 brawled it out with Rey Fenix eliminating Daniels and then Reynolds getting sent off the apron and over the post by Jungle Boy. PAC eliminates Kazarian next, leaving Death Triangle, Jungle Boy, and John Silver as the last men standing. The final minutes of this were really fun as we got some cool elimination teases, Silver and PAC squaring off (ending with PAC delivering an awesome German Suplex), Fenix going "Old School" on the top rope, a ridiculous Fenix tope to the floor, a brilliant superkick by Jungle Boy when Fenix came off the top rope, and a reverserana by Jungle Boy. One of the best finishes to a battle royale that I can recall, good enough to lift an otherwise rather pedestrian and not-so-special battle royale into above-average territory. (3/5)

Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami for Shida's AEW Women's World Championship was next. This one started out a bit odd as Mizunami would give Shida a super stiff chop in the corner and then go into "comedy mode" within an instant, lightly padding the champion and miming/doing the robot, before going on the attack again. Commentary didn't seem to know how to "sell" what they were seeing really, though Excalibur at least tried (Jim Ross seemed to disappear from commentary completely after a few minutes). This awkward start was followed by some incredible action, though, as Shida and Mizunami beat the hell out of each other and we saw some nasty suplexes and a cool spot where Shida got tossed over the guardrail into a group of "fans" (lower tier wrestlers that made up the first row due to Covid restrictions). Unfortunately, in the final stretch, we got a few too many nearfalls and false finishes and things got a bit sloppy with both Shida and Mizunami looking not only gassed, but possibly concussed. Some of the knees and lariats they threw at each other over the course of the content were absolutely brutal. By the time Shida put Mizunami out of her misery, it really looked like she couldn't get up to defend herself at all. (3/5)

Miro and Kip Sabian beat the hell out of Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor before their match, with Miro sending Taylor through some glass (which seemed to have opened up Taylor's) and then dragging him into the ring, all the while taunting him by calling him "Charles." It was awesome. Sabian and Miro proceeded to beat the holy hell out of Taylor, who also seemed to get cut underneath the eye at some point. Taylor's selling was excellent and Cassidy eventually making his way down the aisle told a good story, but this felt very much like something you'd see on Dynamite as opposed to a PPV. Miro was the all-star, but I can see why some might've thought, right from the start, that being put into a tag match with Kip Sabian and the Best Friends was underselling his talent, presence, and star power. This was fun - especially the Cassidy/Miro exchanges - but inessential. (2.5/5)

Matt Hardy took on "Hangman" Adam Page in the next match. This match had a bit of a goofy stipulation - if Page won, he'd receive all of Matt's Quarter 1 Earnings - but it exceeded my expectations and was really smartly worked with an emphasis on Hardy going after Page's right hand to limit his ability to hit the Buckshot Lariat and Page doing some good extended selling work. Coming off of the dreadful Ultimate Deletion match from the last show, I was not expecting to enjoy anything Matt Hardy was doing, but this was a hard-hitting, well-paced match with a feel-good ending thanks to some interference by the Dark Order. (3/5)

The "Face of the Revolution" Ladder Match was next with the winner receiving a shot at Darby Allin's TV Title. The participants were Penta, Lance Archer, Scorpio Sky, Max Caster, Cody Rhodes, and...the mystery entrant: "All Ego" Ethan Page. This was a sloppy mess with some surprisingly poor or, at best, generally unremarkable showings out of every single competitor except Lance Archer, whose inability to win in big PPV matches really hurt his credibility as anything more than a "JTTS" (Jobber To The Stars) heat-and-serve monster. Cody Rhodes tried to gain some sympathy by getting taking out of the match due to an aggravated shoulder injury and then making his return 10 minutes later, but I felt indifferent to his participation in the match entirely. This match desperately needed someone like Darby Allin, Jack Perry, or John Silver to come in and get that underdog crowd support or to build "hope spots" around. Without a core figure to build the match around - and Cody's booking had made him somewhat unlikeable by this point - the match needed to be filled with ridiculous, never-seen-before ladder spots to merit its 20+ minute runtime. Unfortunately, at times, Penta looked tepid. Ethan Page looked out of his element. Scorpio Sky was just sorta "there" for extended stretches and did nothing that "stole the show." On the positive side, Max Caster took some nasty bumps and Lance Archer had the best looking offense, but this was a real disappointment considering AEW's reputation for a roster that is willing to do higher risk stuff than what the WWE offers. (1.5/5)

Christian makes his debut in AEW by signing a contract in the middle of the ring. 

Next up - a streetfight with Darby Allin and Sting taking on Brian Cage and Ricky Starks. I was expecting an actual match and not a "cinematic" one. The match begins in an empty warehouse where there is an old ring and a referee standing because...On the plus side, I really liked Sting and Darby's "entrance." The commentary was weird because they were treating it like a "live" wrestling match despite it clearly being filmed. I liked the look of this match much more than the Ultimate Deletion from the previous show. Darby can be counted on to do cool shit and his "segments" during the early part of this match against Brian Cage were terrific. Hobbs and Hook showed up at one point to double-team Darby with Hobbs and Cage eventually swinging Darby through a window. The comeback came when Darby tossed Sting his trademark baseball bat. This led to Darby Allin hitting a huge elbow drop from the top floor of the warehouse onto Cage with both men falling through the floor. In the ring, Sting and Starks went at it with Starks hitting a spear for 2 and the streetfight turned into a basic wrestling match with Sting hitting the Death Drop to win. I'm not sure why this match needed to end with a decisive pinfall in the middle of the ring when the best and most interesting aspects of the "match" was the unique location and how the wrestlers interacted and utilized it. One of the better cinematic matches I've seen, especially compared to the Matt Hardy one and the Britt Baker one, both of which were pretty bad. (3/5)

Main event time - Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley in an Exploding Barb Wire Death Match. The rules were fairly simple: three sides of the ring would have ropes covered by barb wire, when a wrestler went into it, an explosion would occur, there were also three "triple hell" zones outside of the ring with wired explosives, and at the 30 minute mark, all the explosives around the ring would automatically detonate (guess how many minutes this match would go?). I'm not going to detail every ridiculous spot in this match because, from bell to bell, this is a tremendous, bloody, violent, and highly entertaining match. The psychology and "teases" in the beginning of the match are great, Moxley takes some nasty bumps into various barbwire boards, and I really liked Omega's selling throughout. This match, bell to bell, absolutely delivered. The actual finish - the one that led to a pinfall - looked awesome. Unfortunately, after that closing bell, things turn to shit. The Good Brothers and Omega beat down Moxley for what feels like an eternity before Eddie Kingston shows up to cover up his longtime "frien-emy" as the ring is about to be blown to bits. Of course, the ring does not blow up. Instead, some firecrackers go off along the ring posts and everyone is left with their pants down (actually, had Kingston, Moxley, and the entire commentary team simply stood up in the ring with their pants down, it might have actually been less cringe). As the commentators tried their best to sell the moment - which was so ridiculously underwhelming, there was simply nothing they could say to save it - Kingston laid on top of Moxley like they were trying to survive a nuclear bomb dropping. In that moment, TK should've just cut the cameras because every additional second of showing Kingston and Mox was embarrassing. And, for this reason, this unnecessary post-match moment, this match is rightfully shat on and remembered as being a joke. It is truly unfortunate that this is the match's legacy because the actual match itself is terrific. Terrific enough for me to still consider this whole presentation, warts and all, as "must see." (4/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.88-out-of-5, AEW Revolution 2021 was, by my scorecard, the best AEW PPV since the first All Out event. Unfortunately, its memory is marred by not only the embarrassing non-explosion at the end of the event, but also the kind of Cody Rhodes performance that helps explain why so many fans "turned" on him towards the end of his AEW run. Ignoring those glaring problems, though, the rest of the card is solid if not super memorable. Hangman, The Young Bucks, Darby Allin, and Brian Cage are all so impressive in their respective matches that they pick up the slack for their veteran opponents, and the Women's Championship match, while a bit odd at first, does end up offering some really hard-hitting action that'll please any fan of classic joshi.

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote In Hand

TNA Turning Point 2010

TNA Turning Point 2010

Orlando, FL - November 2010

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Jeff Hardy was the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, the X-Division Champion was Jay Lethal, the TNA World Tag Team Champions were the Motor City Machine Guns, Madison Rayne was the Knockouts Champion, and AJ Styles was the TNA Television Champion (which, if I'm not mistaken, was originally the Legends Championship). 

The previous show - Bound for Glory 2010 - wasn't available in-full on YouTube, so I had to skip ahead to this show. At Bound for Glory, the heel stable of Immortal was formed, made up of Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, and the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Jeff Hardy. It was a huge angle, but I wasn't a regular viewer of TNA back then so I don't really remember any of it.

The X-Division Championship is on the line in the opening contest as Robbie E. (managed by Cookie) challenges Jay Lethal. Robbie E.'s gimmick was an amalgamation of every Jersey Shore male cast member while "Cookie" is indie vet Becky Bayley doing an impression of Snooki. Good solid wrestling to start things off with Jay Lethal getting to shine. Robbie takes a good bump to the floor from a back body drop and then another from a chest chop on the outside. Lethal hits a pretty missile dropkick from the top rope and follows it up with a cartwheel-into-another-dropkick. Robbie counters the Lethal Combination, giving him his first bit of real offense, which is far less impressive and smooth than anything Lethal did. Lethal takes an awesome front bump into the corner from an Irish Whip and then takes a spear to the gut in the same corner. Robbie applies an Abdominal Stretch and, minutes later, a body lock on the mat. Lethal fights back with a series of strikes and then a flying forearm and a couple clotheslines. Lethal Injection! Lethal gets the visual pin from a sunset flip but Cookie distracts the ref. Lethal tosses Robbie out of the ring and dives through the middle rope! Lethal unloads a series of right hands and then a chest chop and Robbie looks out on his feet. Lethal rolls him back in the ring but then gets into it with Cookie on the apron. Lethal Combination! Lethal calls for the elbow drop but Cookie pulls on his leg. Robbie hits the top rope and he crotches himself. Reverse Neckbreaker by Robbie E and we have a new TNA X-Division Champion. This was a very straight-forward, "simple" match but Jay Lethal was so smooth and showed great fire here, enough to carry it beyond my expectations. (3/5)

Next up, Mickie James vs. Tara. I'm not going to try to figure out what the story was leading to this match as Tara's motivations and connections to The Beautiful People/Madison Rayne are probably not worth investigating too much. The real story here is that James and Tara were regarded as the best women's wrestlers in the WWE when they were there but didn't get an opportunity to really show what they could do. This is a bit of a mess of a match. There were parts of it I really liked - the fighting was intense, they took a nasty bump to the floor from the top rope, the crowd-brawling was great - but then it ended with a letdown DQ. The post-match pull-apart was well done, though there was some needless clothes-tearing that undercut things as Tazz and Tenay made lame sexualized comments about what they were seeing. This ended just as it was getting good. (2/5)

In the build to the next match, Team 3D had announced that they were retiring as a team (leaving the door open to go into singles) but wanted to go out having one last match against the best tag team in TNA, The Motor City Machine Guns, for the TNA World Tag Team Championships. A simple premise that these teams delivered on as this might be Team 3D's best TNA match that I've seen. The Guns brought the energy and the combo moves and Team 3D did a good job keeping up with them and, towards the end, getting a ton of sympathy from the crowd. Brother Ray got some color midway through the match, which allowed the Guns to look particularly vicious and dangerous. I loved Sabin's ridiculous counter to getting tossed into a table. I bit on the 3D false finish, fully thinking that the Dudleys might win the titles in their last match. (3.5/5)

Rob Van Dam vs. Tommy Dreamer in an "EV 2.0"-rules match followed (basically "Extreme Rules"). I wasn't super into this for the first half, but things got considerably better in the second half as they started to bust out the more hardcore spots, including a ridiculous moment when Dreamer got sent back off the top rope, got his foot caught in a rung of a ladder that had been positioned between the ropes, and got a chair dropkicked into his head. Dreamer suffers what looks to be a legit hand injury from hitting a splash on RVD at one point, but this whole match featured both men taking some ugly bumps. I think they went out there to give the crowd a really physical hardcore match - likely because what else were they really capable of? - and they accomplished that. If you're not into too guys, both years past their prime, trying to turn back the clock by punishing each other, this is not for you. (3/5)

Another EV2.0-related match followed as Fourtune (AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, James Storm, Doug Williams, and Frankie Kazarian, with Ric Flair as their manager) took on Sabu, Stevie Richards, Raven, Rhyno, and (briefly) Brian Kendrick. Kendrick got injured super early, though Tazz posited on commentary that he may have "quit" on his team, planting seeds that Kendrick may actually turn on EV2.0 and join Fourtune? Anyway...with Kendrick out, Stevie Richards is basically forced to work the majority of the match for his side as Raven and Sabu weren't exactly at their peak in-ring abilities and Rhyno needed to be saved for the eventual hot tag when he could destroy everyone with his power moves. The Fourtune guys are fine, but none of them stay in the ring or get enough spotlight individually to stand out any more than anyone else. I liked the sequence when everyone hit one of their signature moves. I would've dug more interaction between Sabu and AJ Styles just because they're clearly the biggest stars of their respective sides. I guess Sabu and AJ had a ladder match earlier that summer, but I've never seen it. May have to seek it out. Any which way, this wasn't anything special. (2/5)

"The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero vs. Abyss in a Lumberjack Match followed. Its a bit unfair to Pope and Abyss that I watched this match after watching a Misawa & Kobashi vs. Kawada & Taue match because, well, their work was never going to really measure up. This is the kind of match that suffers because of poor design and booking more than anything that Dinero or Abyss do in the ring (though, its not like either guy was a world-class worker). The match goes under 15 minutes but feels like at least 20 because so much time is spent waiting for some sort of "twist" or hardcore spot or actual utilization of the lumberjacks. I'll give them some credit - when Abyss does finally end up outside the ring in the final minute of the match, the fact that the lumberjacks don't attack him all at once and he barely fights them does make some sense considering the revelation that, surprise surprise, Eric Bischoff has paid "The Congregation" off to turn on The Pope. That being said, it is a long back-and-forth match before that revelation and the action isn't good enough to warrant its runtime. The more I watch Abyss, the more I'm convinced of AJ Styles' awesomeness because nobody else seems really capable of pulling anything good out of the guy unless there are loads and loads of tables, tacks, and chairs involved. And, even then, his matches can be pretty bad. (1/5)

I expected Abyss/Dinero to be not-so-hot, but I had higher hopes for the next match: Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett had turned heel on the previous show and so Joe was out to get revenge here. Their only previous 1-on-1 encounter was a 2006 PPV match that I don't believe I've ever seen. Anyway, Joe gets to beat down Jarrett for most of this, but its far from a squash and Jarrett does get some offense in. We get a big ref bump after about 10 minutes and then Gunner and Murphy (who were Hogan's "security") run out and attack Joe. Joe falls prey to the number game and then Jarrett chokes him out with a billy club. Sure, it took 3 men and a weapon to put Joe down, which, theoretically, makes him look strong, but he still gets choked out and nobody from backstage runs out to help him (which makes him look like he has no friends or allies despite Jarrett, Jeff Hardy, Bischoff, and Hogan all seemingly having lots of enemies, including The Pope, who just got screwed by Bischoff 10 minutes before this). Dreadful booking and mediocre, uninspired "action" before the lame finish. Nothing to enjoy here. (1.5/5)

Backstage, Eric Bischoff is celebrating with Pope's "Congregation," including Dinero's brother. I must admit, I liked Eric Bischoff as the evil heel "boss" during this time from the little bit I did see. 

Main event time - Matt Morgan vs. Jeff Hardy for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Mr. Anderson was supposed to be in this match, but got legitimately injured due to a chairshot to the head that caused a concussion. Anderson being the first challenger would've made a lot more sense than Morgan, who turned babyface in the build-up by leaving Fourtune and booting Bischoff in the face, but TNA's hand was forced. Anyway...for whatever reason, the crowd is 50/50 because, well, Jeff Hardy is Jeff Hardy and Matt Morgan was not popular. Hardy working as a heel - he was calling himself "The Antichrist of Wrestling" because why not - allows him to show a different side of himself and, to his credit, he does change his approach considerably, playing the overwhelmed, cowardly weasel in the opening minutes. Hardy spits in his face and slides into the ring, but Morgan isn't easily outsmarted and pulls him out and onto the floor. I liked it. Morgan makes a mistake by going for a leg drop and Hardy takes over, working on the big man's left knee. Hardy grabs hold of Morgan's leg and applies a half-crab, but Morgan reaches the bottom rope. Hardy refuses to release the hold at first and then shoves the ref, doing every trick he can to get sympathy for the challenger. Hardy does his signature dance in mocking fashion too. Hardy applies a headlock and Morgan wrestles out of it, hitting some strikes and clotheslines and then ripping off Hardy's shirt. Morgan hits the discuss lariat but only gets 2. Morgan sells some leg damage and pulls Hardy up. Hardy hits a DDT for 2. Hardy goes to the second rope, flips off the crowd, and goes for a flying nothing. Morgan catches him and hits him with a big chokeslam for 2! Hardy hits a low blow - right in front of the ref - and then delivers a Twist of Fate for 2. Taz calls it a "Twist of Hate," which seems like something Hardy might've fed him before the match. Hardy hits some blows but walks into a Carbon Footprint! 1...2...Hardy puts his foot on the referee's shoulder and, for whatever reason, the ref stops the count. Awful. That looked like shit. Morgan is pissed. Morgan brings him up and Hardy hits the Twist of...Hate...again! He only gets 2 this time. Hardy gets in the ref's face. Morgan is wobbly but he lands some uppercuts and puts Hardy on the top rope. Hardy elbows him and hits the Whisper in the Wind. Another Twist of Fate and this time he got him. Clean as a sheet. This match started out strong with Jeff Hardy doing some smart heel work, but then fell apart a bit as it went on. Morgan's offense lacked snap and the referee was made to look like a goober, especially with the awful non-kickout described above. (2/5)

Earning a pretty pitiful Kwang Score of 2.25-out-of-5, this show starts out decently enough with a better-than-I-expected X-Division Championship match, a heated Tara/Mickie James match, and one of the better Team 3D matches I've seen from their TNA run. The Van Dam/Dreamer match is also surprisingly strong due to the hard work and creativity that Dreamer brought to it. But, from there, the show dips considerably, with only brief moments - Jeff Hardy's heel work, maybe a moment or two of the EV2.0/Fourtune and Samoa Joe matches - that even approach the border of decent. 

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

AEW Full Gear 2020

AEW Full Gear 2020

Jacksonville, FL - November 2020

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the AEW World Champion was Jon Moxley, the TNT Champion was Cody Rhodes, the AEW World Tag Team Champions were FTR, and the AEW Women's World Champion was Hikaru Shida. Brian Cage was the recognized FTW Champion, but that title never seemed "official" to me and certainly not at this point. Can you believe AEW once only had 4 major championships?

Full Gear 2020 begins with Kenny Omega vs. "Hangman" Adam Page in a match to determine who will challenge next for the AEW World Championship. Omega's introduction and entrance is ridiculous and over-the-top and featured two dancing "sweepers." The story coming into this was that Omega had regained his focus and was "returning" to the level and character of his NJPW peak after spending the previous year in the tag scene. As expected, there's some terrific moments in this - Omega's bumping into the outside rail, Page clotheslining Omega with such force that Kenny did a backflip bump on the apron, Omega's trademark tope con hilo, a stiff pop-up powerbomb on the ramp from Hangman, Omega hitting a Tiger Driver 98' - but also some things that Kenny Omega's critics would undoubtedly point to as cringe-inducing, overdramatic, and overtly choreographed. There's not much of a story to the match apart from neither guy getting to hit their biggest finishers despite repeated attempts with Omega finally getting the win with a hard-earned One Winged Angel. I thought this was a very good match and, if you're not a fan of long-winded epics, one of the more "digestible" Omega matches that I've seen. They clearly left some things on the table, but I appreciate the relative restraint they showed as the opening match on a lengthy PPV. (3.5/5)

John Silver of the Dark Order took on Orange Cassidy in the next match. Its weird to watch John Silver and the rest of the Dark Order working as "serious" heels when I've always known them for their comedy. Its also a little weird to see Cassidy come out to a loud, rocking instrumental song and not either of his more well-known entrance themes. Anyway, Cassidy does a bunch of shtick to start things off and Silver plays the straight man, getting super irritated. Silver tears off the pockets from Cassidy's jeans in a fun moment, but then shows considerable power by launching Cassidy across the ring a few times. Cassidy rallies and attempts a tornado DDT but Silver counters it into a suplex in another impressive feat of strength. After some good whips into the corner by Silver, Cassidy rallies and ends up hitting his tornado DDT for 2. Cassidy goes to the top but gets cut off and Silver ends up bringing him to the mat with a single-hand guerrilla press. Silver doesn't capitalize on it, though, as Cassidy uses his quickness to spin out of a Torture Rack and hit a hurricanrana. Silver hits Cassidy with some big kicks to the chest, but ends up eating a Slum Dog Millionaire. Cassidy can't get the Orange Punch and Silver hits his Spin Doctor! Cassidy kicks out at 2, though. Silver looks to hit a big lariat but Cassidy avoids it and hits the Orange Punch and then a Beach Break to get the W. Watching this match makes me wonder why Silver isn't being utilized more these days as, unless he's gotten considerably worse over the past 5 years, he showed great timing and was a surprisingly great smarmy, arrogant heel (a role I'd never seen him in before). (3/5)

The TNT Championship was on the line next as Cody Rhodes defended the title against Darby Allin. I wasn't a week-to-week viewer of AEW when this show happened, though I was aware that Allin had come up short on his previous challenges and that this was the big story coming into the match. I'm also not aware of when Cody started getting "hate" from the IWC, but this seems like it could've been the origin of that because he works this 100% as a heel, oozing cockiness and arrogance from his elaborate entrance all the way through the match. He drops the heel act when the match ends by showing respect to Allin, but I can see the argument that the yo-yoing in his character is not only confusing, but shows how much Cody as a heel in AEW would've worked. His targeted focus on Allin's arm is particularly vicious at times, going beyond what a babyface might usually do against another babyface. Cody mocks Darby by flexing his muscles early on and doing push-ups later on, going way further into heel territory than even Bret Hart would go when he occasionally played "tweener" in the 90s. Of course, Rhodes' attack is sold brilliantly by Darby Allin, one of the best bumpers and sellers of the modern era. One of the biggest gripes with this match online is the somewhat weak finish. I found it a bit underwhelming but not egregious. (3/5)

The AEW Women's Championship was on the line in the next match as Nyla Rose challenged Shida. These two had a better match at Double or Nothing a few months before this and even that match was just "good" and benefitted from the amount of weapon spots they could do (as it was fought under No DQ/No CO rules). Nyla Rose isn't consider a great worker - and she isn't one - but she's far from the worst and is much smoother and quicker than some of the other "monster" women we've seen over the years. That being said, her offense doesn't look as devastating as Awesome Kong's or even, as unsafe as she may be, Nia Jax. Hikaru Shida is an excellent worker but not the flashiest or most awe-inspiring. This match felt a bit too long and showed in the final few minutes as both women looked spent and some of the moves just didn't "hit" and looked sloppy. I guess that can be explained as them selling the exhaustion of that match, but, as a viewer, I felt a bit exhausted too. (2/5)

A dream match followed as FTR defending their AEW World Tag Team Championships against The Young Bucks. This has a monster rating on Cagematch currently (9.08), but I wasn't quite as high on it. You knew this was going to be worked like an epic. I didn't like how much extra "gaga"  they added in the build-up, specifically FTR injuring Matt Jackson's ankle and the Bucks also adding an unnecessary (and, considering the Cody angle from less than a year prior) and repetitive stipulation that if they lost, they could never challenge for the titles again. This match didn't need that melodrama, though, to be fair, Matt Jackson did do a great job of selling the damaged ankle from beginning to end and FTR got to look like vicious heels by targeting their attack on it. I thought this match started a bit slow and even uncharacteristically sloppy with the ref being out of position at one point and Matt allowing his brother to get beaten up 2-on-1 for no reason (as the ref wasn't close enough to really stop him). Later on, JR noted that the ref also didn't break-up a submission despite Dax Harwood reaching the ropes and Schiavone had to explain that the rope break involved an "illegal assist" (something I don't think I've ever seen enforced or really heard of). Aside from those nitpicky things, the work throughout this match was excellent. I loved The Bucks working on Dax's hand, which looks like it was split open hardway and was bleeding heavily. I loved the callbacks to each team's idols - the Hart Foundation, the Hardys, the double headscissors-into-the-grounded-punches of the Rock n' Roll Express. I thought the finish would've been more effective had we not just seen a match built around a similar concept of the heels getting overly cocky and deciding to add insult to injury rather than go for a would-be successful pinfall. Overall, a really, really good match, but not on my all-timers list. Maybe with a live crowd? (3.5/5)

The "Elite Deletion" match was next - Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara. I really wanted to enjoy this match because I was a fan of Matt Hardy's "cinematic universe" matches. Unfortunately, this one goes way too long, isn't silly enough, and needlessly forces Private Party/Ortiz & Santana action into it. I liked the goofiness of the opening 2-3 minutes with the golf cart getting crushed by the monster truck. I liked the inclusion of Gangrel and Shane "Hurricane" Helms later on. Everything else was just meh. This show did not need a single minute more actual wrestling after the FTR/Bucks match and they really missed an opportunity to do something vastly different as a palate cleanser before the next contest. The finish was also a little hard to watch considering that, because it was clearly "staged" for the safety of the participants, it still harkened back to the very uncomfortable Hardy/Guevara match from some months prior (which featured Hardy clearly getting a nasty concussion by taking a ridiculous bump onto a concrete floor). I'll give it some half-points for the things I liked, but this was not "fun" the way these sorts of matches should be. (1.5/5)

MJF vs. Chris Jericho was next. The story leading up to this match was that MJF needed to defeat Jericho to earn his way into the Inner Circle. This made it somewhat of a heel/heel dynamic, though Jericho was a bit of a tweener just based on his name. Jericho sets the pace for this match and while I can understand wanting to do something different and more "deliberate" than the FTR/Bucks match or the opener, the match doesn't pick up when it should. The story they seemed to be going for was that Jericho, the veteran, had the upperhand and full control for most of the match but that MJF was hanging with him and, eventually, outsmarted him using the same sort of heel tactics that Jericho was the "master" of. On paper, it makes sense, but in practice, it resulted in a rather dull match that didn't highlight either guy's strengths at this point in their careers (MJF's heat-generating heel shtick and Jericho's craftiness despite physical limitations). The Jericho/Cassidy match from the previous PPV was much, much better. (2/5)

Main event time - Eddie Kingston challenging Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship in an "I Quit" Match. I found this a touch underwhelming and a bit "all over the place" with random hardcore spots being delivered but not a real escalation of violence or logical sequence. Even as Kingston used barbwire and thumbtacks, Moxley never really seemed like he was close to saying I Quit, partially because Kingston's attack was so strike-based and didn't lend itself to making someone actually voice their submission. The story of Kingston willing to go to extreme lengths to defeat Moxley and have his moment in the sun just didn't really come through as we'd seen much, much more hardcore spots in previous AEW main events, this match being a victim of the way hardcore wrestling is constantly upping the ante of brutality. Moxley's eventual win was also not built-up sufficiently on an emotional level. The post-match activity and Moxley's shouting before he applied the barbwire-assisted Bulldog Choke seemed to be pointing to him showing some guilt in having to apply such a violent hold to secure victory, but at no other point did Moxley show much restraint or hint to any self-doubt in terms of how far he was willing to go to win the match. They seemingly wanted to tell a story with the awesome subtle details of a classic AJPW match (hence Kingston's Misawa-inspired gear), but forgot that those subtle details were achieved through much more patient storytelling than a match like this needs to work. Forget Misawa, this needed to be a Terry Funk bloodbath and, while it delivered the gore, it didn't deliver the emotion to make it truly great. (3/5)

Full Gear 2020 is a bit of a mixed bag and it shows in its Kwang Score of 2.69-out-of-5. One could argue that the show peaks in its opening contest as Hangman and Omega put on an excellent match that leaves one craving a rematch. The Silver/Cassidy match is a somewhat unexpected treat considering that, on paper, it sounds more like a "TV match." Cody/Allin was too odd a story for me to recommend it, with Cody working as a heel but not going all the way with it. The FTR/Young Bucks match delivered and everything else after it was just so-so, ranging from pretty bad (the Women's Championship match and the Hardy/Guevara Cinematic match) to good-not-great (the main event).

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote In Hand

WWE Night of Champions 2025

WWE Night of Champions 2025

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - June 2025

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, John Cena was the Undisputed WWE Champion, GUNTHER was the World Heavyweight Champion, Tiffany Stratton was the Women's World Champion (on SmackDown), and IYO SKY was the Women's WWE Champion (on Raw). Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez were technically the Women's Tag Team Champions, but Morgan was injured. The World Tag Team Champions were The New Day, while The Street Profits held the WWE Tag Team Championships, but neither team was featured on the show. The Intercontinental Champion was Domnik Mysterio, the US Champion was Jacob Fatu, the Women's IC Title was held by Becky Lynch, while Guilia was the Women's US Champion. 

Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton to decide who the new King of the Ring would be - with the winner also going on to SummerSlam to challenge John Cena for the Undisputed World Championship - was the opening contest. Orton fought for the crown the previous year, if I'm not mistaken. Both guys got huge ovations. Lots of history between these two, as was noted on commentary. Cody targeted Orton's back after he had an awkward landing from a superplex, even wrapping him around the post at one point. After a brief comeback from Orton, Cody hit a pair of Codycutters but only got 2 from them. Orton hit the Hanging DDT but his RKO attempt got turned into a Cross Rhodes for another nearfall. Orton came back with an immediate RKO for a nearfall of his own. Orton had a conflicted moment deciding whether or not he wanted to hit the Punt Kick on his former protege, wasting time and telegraphing the move to the point that Rhodes countered his attempt into a Figure Four. I'm not sure I understood that moment as, yes, it showed Orton's hesitance, but ultimately, he did attempt to kick Rhodes square in the head. After a strike exchange, Cody went for another cutter but Orton caught him with another RKO for 2. Orton exposed the turnbuckle behind the ref's back but it ended up costing him as he get sent into it ribs-first and then ate a Cross Rhodes. That would've been a terrific finish if they had done more work on Orton's ribs and not his lower back during the first third of the match. After the match, Rhodes thanked Orton for the contest and Orton's reaction seems like a set-up for a potential heel turn. Orton's performance in this match - and after - were the highlights here, but I'm not sure what a heel turn would really mean at this point as Cena's heel run seems like it still has months to go and Rollins is also in the midst of a strong heel push. Anyway, good-not-great match. (3/5)

Raquel Rodriguez, one half of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions (with an injured Liv Morgan), took on Rhea Ripley in a Streetfight in the next match. Both were dressed a bit like Catwoman (as per the rules of working in Saudi Arabia). Some good stiff clotheslines and power moves on display early. Rodriguez tied Ripley up in the ropes and then grabbed a kendo stick, delivering a bunch of strikes to her stomach and ribs before picking up a chair that got kicked right back into her head. Ripley escaped and hit a low dropkick that sent Rodriguez to the outside, following it up by sending her into the steps. We got a really cool spot after Rodriguez placed the top "lid" of the announce table over the timekeepers area and got powerbombed through it. Not sure I've seen that before. Raquel slid a table into the ring but this allowed Rhea to recover. Rhea took off her belt and whipped Raquel around the ring before delivering a Razor's Edge out of the corner, a nod to former stablemate Damien Priest. Ripley applied her signature leglock but Rodriguez wouldn't quit and out came Roxanne Perez, dressed near identical to both the competitors, to break the hold. Ripley went after Perez, superplexing her on the floor. Ripley placed a garbage can over Perez and hit a running knee into it but then got sent into the post by Rodriguez. Back in control, Rodriguez set up the table in the corner, creating something of a platform out of it. Ripley climbed atop it and slammed Rodriguez' head into it before pulling her up as well. Ripley then delivered a massive Riptide to get the win. Not the most hardcore streetfight ever, but I'll give credit where its due and applaud Ripley (and Rodriguez) for delivering some new twists on a match type that doesn't always offer anything fresh or innovative. Solid outing. (3/5)

Karrion Kross got his first big spotlight in awhile, taking on Sami Zayn, who he had been essentially "stalking" on RAW over the past few weeks. Kross got some press around WrestleMania when he cut a "worked shoot" promo about not being featured on TV enough. Zayn got a huge response from the Saudi Arabia crowd, which was no surprise as he is seen as something of a "hometown hero" whenever the WWE is in the Middle East. Sami wowed the crowd with some his high-flying, but Kross cut him off with a nice high suplex. Kross' heat segment wasn't terrible - I liked his smirk as he worked Zayn over with big right hands on the mat - but Zayn was the clear star here and it was his energy and hope spots that kept the crowd alive. Kross hit another nasty high suplex (which he calls the Doomsday Saito) and called for the Kross Hammer (Bull Hammer) but Zayn countered it into a Blue Thunder Bomb. Zayn went for a Helluva Kick a few minutes later but got caught in Kross' sleeper-like Kross Jacket hold. We got the classic arm-raising moment with Zayn doing a terrific sales jobs. Zayn crawled his way to the bottom rope to break the hold, but had to eat some big clotheslines in the corner and a bunch of slaps to the head. Zayn sprung back with a surprise Helluva Kick to the back of the head and got the win! A bit of an abrupt, out-of-nowhere ending that pleased the crowd after a match that maybe went a bit long but was also Kross' best WWE outing (that I've seen). (3/5)

Solo Sikoa challenged Jacob Fatu for the United States Championship in the next match. Fatu turned on Sikoa at Money in the Bank, which set this match up. A bit dull at times and Solo's incessant talking was more annoying than interesting to me. Things picked up after they traded suplexes, but for a guy whose nickname is "All Gas - No Breaks," there was a lot of time spent between moves. JC Mateo (Jeff Cobb) and Tonga Lao came out to help Sikoa but Fatu managed to rally and took out both Mateo and Lao on the floor with a huge splash that didn't quite connect with Loa. Back in the ring, Fatu hit the pop-up Samoan Drop and his trademark moonsault and seemed to have the match won until...Hikuleo (now going by Tala Tonga?) made his debut and chokeslammed Fatu onto the announce table before sending him back into the ring. How this was not a DQ, I'm not sure. Solo hit a Samoan Spike and got the pin victory to become the new US Champion. Uneven match with a finish that I feel like we've seen way too many times. I was not a fan. (2/5)

Asuka vs. Jade Cargill in the finals of the Queen of the Ring Tournament followed. A real clash of styles and experience levels here and, as expected, Cargill looked a little robotic, slow, and awkward at times, especially against Asuka, who is still one of the best workers in the company. Cargill's power-based offense was impressive, but Asuka's striking was even moreso. This match was probably the least-heated of any on the show, though that's not particularly surprising considering most predicted that Cargill, whose not exactly a fan favorite, was going to win. Not a great finish (even aside from whether or not the right person won). For a sub-10 minute match, they packed in a lot of stuff and most of it wasn't too bad. (2.5/5)

Main event time - CM Punk vs. John Cena for Cena's Undisputed WWE World Championship. CM Punk got a warm response from the Saudi crowd (despite some not-so-nice things he once said about their government and the sports-washing partnership they made with the WWE). Cena got welcomed to a chant of "John Cena Sucks." Lengthy introductions help set the stage, though no one could confuse this with Money in the Bank 2011 in terms of "big fight feel" as there was little doubt about what the outcome would be. Nothing remarkable in the early going as Punk and Cena kept the pace deliberate, stretching it out with some submissions and Cena taking a powder and whatnot. Cena hit some trademark moves and landed a 5 Knuckle Shuffle but couldn't get the AA. Punk rallied with a neckbreaker and a running knee in the corner. Punk went to the top and landed a flying elbow but Cena countered his GTS attempt into an STF. Punk countered it into an Anaconda Vice but Cena got out and hit an AA for 2. Punk hit a DDT and then applied an STF of his own but Cena got to the bottom rope. Punk hit a running knee but ate a sidewalk slam. Cena went for another Shuffle (inexplicably), but got kicked in the face. Punk looked to be back in control but Cena countered another neckbreaker into an AA for 2. Good sequence there even if it did feel like they were recycling stuff from not just their previous matches but earlier in the same match. Cena went for an AA off the second rope but couldn't get it. Punk crossbodied him from the top but Cena caught him, rolled through, and hit a third AA! Another 2.9 count! Cena grabbed the belt and brought it into the ring but dropped it in the corner, seemingly deciding against using it and getting himself disqualified. Punk took the opportunity to hit a GTS but Cena kicked out at 2. A dueling chant began as they went into a strike exchange. Cena accidentally shoulder-blocked the referee out of the ring! CM Punk hits a GTS and gets the visual pin but there's no referee! Punk called for a referee...but out came Seth Rollins instead, briefcase in hand. Rollins' arrival and the Briefcase tease stretched for several minutes as the crowd sang his theme song. Rollins sent Breakker and Reed into the ring to take Punk out, but he was able to send them out to the floor and hit them a crossbody (or at least attempt one). Reed and Breaker hoisted Punk up and put him through a table with an ugly double-choke slam. The ref was dead on the outside for all this, I guess. Rollins called out Charles Robinson but Cena cut him off before he could get in the ring! Cena hit Rollins with an AA but then got attacked by Reed and Bronson. Out came Penta for the save, but Breakker ended up suplexing him on the ramp before Sami Zayn came out to help out the babyfaces! Zayn and Breakker brawled around the stage but then got hit by a Penta splash! Back in the ring, Reed went to Tsunami Cena but Punk shoved him off the top rope. Cena hit the AA on Reed but then dropped in a heap. At this point there was still no ref and Rollins had disappeared at ringside. Punk extended his hand in friendship to Cena, who pulled him in for a hug, but, in a repeat moment from Cena's heel turn segment, was all a trick. Punk saw it coming, though, and blocked Cena's kick, hoisting him up for a GTS, but Rollins interfered and blasted Cena with the Briefcase! Curb Stomp on Punk! Cena was back up and so was the referee to make the cover. Not anywhere close to the better matches Cena and Punk put on back in the day, but not bad. Cena's Comeback Tour has not yielded any matches I'd consider "great" and they've also now become a bit formulaic with slow starts building towards signature move trading and false finishes and then a bunch of fuckery to end things. (2.5/5)

With an overall Kwang Rating of 2.67-out-of-5, Night of Champions 2025 was the third straight "just okay" PLE from the WWE. Once again, Cena's main event match was in the "acceptable" range and none of the fresher faces that the WWE pushed on this card - Kross, Cargill, Solo, or even Jacob Fatu - put on performances warranting their spotlights. Sami Zayn, Ripley, Rhodes, and Orton are all such capable performers and so over with the live audiences that their matches had plenty of heat. While Orton and Rhodes didn't offer anything new in terms of actual wrestling, I did like that it hinted to a more long-term program in the months to come (though I'm not sure what one is supposed to do with a heel Orton in this landscape). Ripley and Raquel arguably stole the show, though their match was far from a classic or even "must see" the same way some of Ripley's other matches have been over the past few years. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand