WWE Royal Rumble 2026

WWE Royal Rumble 2026

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 2026

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the WWE Champion was Drew McIntyre, the World Heavyweight Champion was CM Punk, the Intercontinental Champion was Dominik Mysterio, the United States Champion was Carmelo Hayes (who I don't think even appeared on the show), Jade Cargill was the Women's WWE Champion, Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga were the WWE Tag Team Champions, Stephanie Vaquer was the Women's World Heavyweight Champion, Becky Lynch was the Women's Intercontinental Champion, and Giulia was the Women's United States Champion...and the Women's Tag Team Champions were Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY and the WWE World Tag Team Champions were The Usos.

I took a relatively lengthy break from watching any WWE content in 2025, not bothering to download the ESPN app despite having access to it via my Hulu account. Even knowing that the WWE's PLEs were just a click or two and an authentication away, I've just been so turned off by the company, its MAGA affiliation, its ever-increasing role in Saudi Arabia's sportswashing program, the domestic and international live event price gouging, and the overall ick factor that the Netflix Era gives (that first episode starting with The Rock and a bunch of Netflix execs congratulating themselves left a bad taste in my mouth I still can't rinse away). Say what one may about AEW - which is far from a perfect company and has its own problematic elements - it's easier to root for the underdog in most situations and AEW is still that despite Tony Khan's bottomless bag of money. With WWE dominating every major platform and most of the cable landscape, and because they've basically turned TNA into another one of their feeders, it feels like the WWE's monopoly is stronger now than it even was 10-20 years ago. 

But the pull of the Rumble is hard to resist and the WWE very, very wisely had it featured prominently on the launch page of Hulu (or at least mine). This was something new compared to other recent PLEs, which I believe required subscribers to access the ESPN app. My sample size is small, but based on my buddy in NY texting me to ask if I was watching it, I'm going to guess that there were likely many casual fans who tuned in simply because access to the show was much easier than the past few ESPN events. 

Anyway...the Women's Royal Rumble kicked off the show with Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss coming in as the number 1 and 2 entrants. Their shtick in the beginning was an early highlight as they teased eliminating each other but mostly worked as partners until Flair inadvertently eliminated Alexa later on (a recurring theme that probably would've been more effective had it happened just once in the match but also happened with the Kabuki Warriors and The Judgment Day). I thought most of this was pretty good aside from the usual moments when everyone else in the match plays dead so that the focus can go on just one or two women, like it did when Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair found themselves face-to-face. Sol Luca looked very good in this match and we got to see her hit the Sol Snatcher a couple times, which is always a good thing. Lash Legend got to look like an absolute beast, lasting a very long time and doing a bunch of eliminations. Rhea Ripley got a huge pop for her entrance and also had a very good showing. Asuka is still great. The Saudi crowd chanting for John Cena during Nikki Bella's showcase was especially hard to stomach coming from a crowd of men who live in a country where women having something resembling equal rights is only a recent phenomenon. Brie Bella got a huge ovation for her return and I liked Michael Cole's verbal gymnastics has he tried to express the homage she paid with her Yes/It Kicks without mentioning her husband. The final three was a fun stretch but I really feel like Triple H missed the boat with Liv Morgan's return and even this Rumble victory was only half-successful because of it. Morgan may not be the best in-ring performer, but her career has followed something of a classic modern WWE pattern that has gotten her over huge with the audience. She started out green in forgettable stables and teams, had her fair share of hot garbage storylines (Wikipedia reminded me she once professed her love for Lana), was booked as something of a joke during her first run with the Women's Championship after cashing in her briefcase against Ronda Rousey, and had some ups-and-downs due to injury in 2023 but had already begun to show chemistry with Raquel Rodriguez and, more importantly, Rhea Ripley. In 2024, that chemistry with Ripley led to probably the best love triangle storylines the WWE has produced this century with Dom Mysterio and, from there, Morgan and Dom were basically the top heels on RAW week-to-week. And, of course, as has been a pattern since at least the rise of Steve Austin 30 years ago, if someone gets hot enough as a heel but consistently is among the most entertaining acts on a show, part of the audience is going to embrace them and that part tends to grow until they're essentially a babyface. With Morgan, the time to make that turn was when she returned and the WWE squandered it by having her immediately re-align with Dom and the Judgment Day. Had she come into this Rumble as a babyface, the stories they could've told with her and Raquel, Roxanne Perez, Rhea, and even Bayley, Becky, and Charlotte (as the locker room veterans one generation "ahead" of Liv) would've given this match much more cohesion. Instead, Liv got the win, but it didn't feel like the next step of a character trajectory as much as just a way to put her in the title mix after time away. She's still the same Liv Morgan she was when she got injured in June 2025 and that's a real shame because she deserved a more meaningful return story than what we got and it was so incredibly easy to do (she was literally replaced in Judgment Day by Perez and they could've also played up Dom Mysterio not being by her side as she rehabbed). Overall, not a terrible Rumble, but it could've been better in front of a crowd that was more engaged beginning-to-end and a throughline that gave us someone to root for. (2.5/5)

AJ Styles took on GUNTHER in the next match with the added stipulation that if AJ lost, he would retire from the WWE (leaving the door open for one last run in TNA, which is where I think this is all going). The crowd was not as into this as I wish they would've been, but according to some reports, it may have been because a portion of the Saudi Arabian audience purposefully arrived late to skip the women's match. I'm not sure of the validity of that claim, but regardless, the audience just didn't seem as emotionally invested in this as they could've/should've been (or would've been had this match happened almost anywhere in the US). This match also suffered a bit from the outcome being a very poorly-kept secret as AJ had all but announced his retirement in various interviews in the weeks and months leading to this match and he's never been known as a guy who purposefully tries to "work" fans the way, say, Chris Jericho would. But, move-for-move, sequence-for-sequence, this was a well-constructed match with a touch of unexpected blood and an awesome bump to the ringside area from a GUNTHER stomp among other cool moments. I liked the psychology and storytelling throughout the contest and, while I understand how much of the final third of the match needed to be built around the referee trying to "protect" AJ before he fought valiantly to inevitable defeat, I think they laid it on a bit thick. AJ keeping his gloves on during the post-match was an interesting twist, but I highly, highly doubt it is a hint that he will be appearing anywhere other than TNA in the future. AJ is a consummate professional and a straight shooter in interviews so when he's said spoken about how much he appreciates the professionalism and opportunities given to him by the WWE, I've always believed him. His friendships with the Bucks aside, I don't see AJ making the jump to the WWE's only true rival promotion but do think he'll get to go on a WWE-approved final run in TNA. Unfortunately, I just don't see who is even left at TNA to give him that great final match. (3/5)

The crowd was much more alive for the next match - Sami Zayn challenging Drew McIntye for the WWE Championship. Sami gave a great performance and there was a bit more of a question mark around who might walk out with the Championship as Zayn was treated like a "hometown hero" despite Saudi Arabia and Syria not being the best of friends until relatively recently. I would've like a bit more heeling out of Drew who has become a bit of a generic heel after a very good feud with CM Punk last year. That's not to say this wasn't a good outing from both guys more that they're both so polished, so routinely good that this didn't feel like it was offering anything especially memorable or special. (3/5) 

The Men's Royal Rumble was the evening's main event and while the match got a fairly negative response online - largely due to its uninspired, "nothing burger" finish - I thought it was fairly strong and much better than its pretty woeful Cagematch rating (a 4.71 as of this writing). Unlike the women's match, which had some quiet stretches, the men's edition had the crowd's interest from beginning to end and did a better job of building up some potential Mania matches (if the writing team bothers to explore some of their own set-ups). The match started with an unoriginal-but-effective angle, for example, as Bron Breakker got taken out before he could even step foot in the ring by yet another masked man. Was it Rollins? Was it one of his own Vision comrades like Theory or Logan Paul? They left themselves some options and protected Breakker while also giving Oba Femi an impressive early run in the match. The other big star-on-the-rise moment came from Je'Von Evans, whose movements and rope-running were unlike anyone else I've seen. He has definite "It" factor but the question will be whether he gets a legitimate push or the kind of half-starts that plagued the careers of the guys he's been compared to (Kofi Kingston, Montez Ford). I didn't mind Mr. Iguana and the two El Grande Americanos squaring off as Rumble matches are long enough to warrant a little bit of comic relief. Less enjoyable was Jey Uso's played-out and annoying entrance and "Yeet" reprise, probably the worst 2-3 minutes of the entire show and maybe of all wrestling I've watched in 2026 so far. Uso's gimmick has "go away" heat from me at this point after at least being willing to stomach seeing his young fanbase having fun in the stands. But this was a stadium of grown Saudi Arabian men losing their minds. So lame. The "losers" of this match, to me, looked to be Damien Priest and Logan Paul, both of whom have really sunken in stature. Paul being associated with the Vision makes little sense as he doesn't benefit from the partnership with Heyman and he shines much brighter as a solo act (even if I do think he has good chemistry with Breakker). Priest hasn't felt like a true main event act in at least a year now and I don't see him being a major factor at Mania this year. Lesnar got to do some of his usual shtick and I'll give credit to the bookers for "underplaying" his exit from the match as he got taken out by Cody and Knight (I think?) before his rumored Mania opponent, GUNTHER, even joined the match. Orton got a huge pop for his entrance and it will be interesting to see how he gets slated into the Mania card, though it does seem like they're building a match with Trick Williams, who also got a solid reaction from the Saudi crowd (much more knowledgeable of the NXT talent this year than in years past). As noted before, Reigns' victory didn't feel super special and I don't think he "needed" the match as much as, say, LA Knight could've benefitted from a big victory like this, but taking big swings hasn't been a "thing" in the WWE for what? A couple decades? (3/5)

With an overall Kwang Score of 2.88-out-of-5, Royal Rumble 2026 wasn't a bad show but will probably be remembered for all the wrong reasons. The WWE played it safe with every booking decision and the show lacked any true surprises aside from the return of Brie Bella. This was not the type of show that has me particularly excited for the "Road to WrestleMania" aside from making me a little curious how they will develop something interesting for the bigger stars on the roster - Orton, Rhea, Becky, Logan Paul, Lesnar - as well as the characters that we were theoretically still supposed to be care about after their "breakout" appearances at last year's WrestleMania (Tiffany Stratton, Jade Cargill, GUNTHER) but don't seem to have clear directions right now. If you're like me and you're general disposition towards the WWE and its product is at an almost all time low, this show will not convince you to tune back in.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver

Random Matches

 

Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama (05/23/1996, AJPW): This was a great match, borderline "must see," and maybe the best Jun Akiyama performance I've seen. There are so many great moments and spots in this and the 30 minutes go by quickly as there are no slow moments. Kawada's quicks are nasty. Misawa's suplexes are great. Akiyama does an excellent as the face-in-peril. I loved the spot where Taue is about to hit him with a would-be match-ender (a chokeslam off the apron to the floor) and the entire hot tag sequence is built around him resisting, Kawada running interference, and Misawa fighting through to prevent from happening and pull his partner to their corner. This isn't as epic as some of the other encounters involving these wrestlers but it is arguably more enjoyable because of it. (3.5/5)

Yumiko Hotta vs. Bull Nakano (07/20/1987, AJW): Nakano didn't have the huge hairdo yet, but she still looked crazy AF, the influence of her mentor Dump Matsumoto undeniable in her appearance. I haven't seen a ton of Yumiko Hotta matches but she has an incredible reputation among joshi aficionados. Nakano controls early, driving her shin into Hotta's neck repeatedly. Hotta bridges out of a pin attempt but Nakano strikes her in the throat. Hotta takes over a bit with a wristlock and then a body scissors, but Nakano turns it into a pin attempt and then goes for another choke. Nakano lifts Hotta up with a double choke and then drops her to the mat before raking her eyes over the top rope. Nakano uses some cloth to try to choke Hotta out and then delivers a snap mare, but again Hotta bridges out. Nakano misses a dropkick and gets back body dropped and dropkicked herself but grabs the rope to prevent the pin. Hotta lifts her up in a Torture Rack and then flips her face-down to the mat and applies a rear choke and then body scissors again. Nakano escapes by grabbing Hotta's throat and then hits her with a jump kick and then another and then a third and a fourth and a fifth! Scoop slam by Bull and then her patented leg drop! Suplex by Nakano for 1.5 but Hotta rolls over. Nakano bashes her into the posts repeatedly and then breaks out the nunchuks. This is typical for AJW (and Nakano's matches) but comes off as especially unnecessary here. What I like much more is Nakano using part of the turnbuckle/post rope to try to choke Hotta out again. Nakano misses a leg drop soon after and Hotta takes over with some boots and then a back body drop and two more stiff kicks to the chest. Hotta looks to hit a piledriver but Nakano powers her over in a back body drop and goes for one of her own. The camera angle isn't great as Nakano doesn't so much as hit the piledriver as she just sorta drops her onto her lower neck/upper shoulders. Dang. Nakano maintains control and tortures her in the ropes before grabbing the post coverpad and beating her down with it. I haven't seen that before. Nakano goes for a pin but, again, Hotta rolls over to prevent it. Nakano's frustration is evident as she continuously goes for covers, can't get them, and opts to just continue to beat Hotta down with various offensive maneuvers. Hotta rallies, though, landing a suplex and then a fireman's carry. She goes for a pin, but Nakano goes to her stomach - a recurring theme in this match as neither woman wants to leave themselves vulnerable for long. Hotta with a snap mare, a back body drop, and then another pin attempt - but, again, Bull rolls over! Hotta applies a body scissors but Nakano turns it into another pin attempt before escaping and bringing her to the outside. Hotta gets whipped into the barricade and then its Nakano's turn to hit the steel. More kicks from Hotta but they don't have much gusto. Nakano takes a long sip of water before Hotta meets her back in the ring. Stiff kicks from Nakano and another snap mare into a failed pin attempt. Nakano brings her up for a back body drop and then splashes her. Hotta manages to make a pin attempt with a double-leg takedown but Nakano kicks out. Hotta hits a series of running shoulder tackles and then some more stiff kicks, but Nakano turns her body when she attempts a pin. Hotta attempts a snap mare but Hotta escapes and goes to the bottom rope. Both women are completely spent at this point with Hotta's seconds coming in to help her off the mat. I'm guessing this was some sort of time limit draw because Nakano retains the title without pinning or submitting her opponent. In terms of realism, this match was very good, but the repetitiveness of the offense and exchanges hurt it a bit for me. Nakano was clearly still putting it all together, but it is interesting to see how much of her act was already "there" in 1987. I disliked the inorganic use of the nunchuks and found it especially unnecessary in this match. Too good in terms of physicality and psychology to be considered average, but not something I'd necessarily recommend. I could see some people absolutely loving this match, though, for how simple a story it tells and how committed it is to the idea of both women absolutely refusing to open themselves up for pin attempts. (3/5)

Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles (05/17/2014, ROH): This was a match for Style's IWGP Championship that earned 4 stars in The Observer. To me, a 4-star match is a "must see" and I didn't find this to be anywhere close to that. I'm not sure if it was a lack of chemistry, a poorly mic'd crowd (or maybe it just wasn't super interested or the finish was too obvious), or that I'm just not a huge fan of Elgin, but this match didn't click for me. Styles is usually dependable to give you things you've never seen before, but this felt kinda unremarkable, like they were working through a handful of pre-planned sequences that were fine but more like a pieced-together "greatest hits" than a match that had anything especially fresh in it. With the talents involved, it was a disappointment, though its hard to not at least consider it "average" because there were some undeniable cool moments (AJ's targeted focus on Elgin's leg to prep him for the Calf Crusher, Okada's trademark piledriver spot, for two examples). (2.5/5)

Roddy Piper vs. "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig (01/25/1991, WWE): I was "today years old" when I learned that Roddy Piper and Curt Hennig had a lengthy feud over the Intercontinental Championship from late 1990 through 1991 while Hennig was also having a much more heavily televised and emphasized feud with the Big Bossman (leading to their match at WrestleMania VII). Piper and Hennig were clearly having a ton of fun working together, though this is obviously not a great representation of Hennig's technique or even Piper's brawling. This is a "sports entertainment" match - a mix of hard-hitting action with a good amount of crowd-pleasing shtick in the form of Hennig getting stripped down to his underwear at one point. The finish - a count-out moral victory for Hot Rod - is a disappointment but, watching this 30+ years after the fact and knowing that Piper wouldn't become Intercontinental Champion until a year or so later, I wasn't able to "get lost" in this match the way the crowd - who is hot for this - were able to in the moment. This is the kind of match that you could show someone as proof that some of the best wrestling that's happened in this era of the WWE probably happened on the house show loops where they could wrestle a bit looser, go a bit longer, and play to the live crowd rather than the cameras. (3/5)

Roddy Piper vs. Buddy Rose (05/12/1979, PNW): This is from the Portland Wrestling territory and is a 2-out-of-3 falls match. Innovative match with Piper and Rose brawling with such immense disregard for the rules and decorum that they take apart the ring to try to hurt each other. I'm not sure of all the details of the storyline, but the commentator notes that 2-3 weeks earlier, it would've been unheard of for the crowd to be rooting for Piper, but he was very over here and the promo he delivered post-match was definitely a fired-up babyface one. For a particular type of wrestling fan who loves old school brawling with lots of character work and blood, I could see this being an all-timer. This match is all about the charisma of its performers rather than any single hold or maneuver or sequence and, because we're talking about Piper and Rose, their charisma and storytelling is enough to make this feel "real" the way a great Terry Funk match can feel real. That being said, I don't think this quite touches the level of Funk's greatest hits as I disliked the screwy, inconclusive finish. (3.5/5)

Yumiko Hotta and Akira Hokuto vs. Toshiyo Yamada and Etsuko Mita (01/04/1990, AJW): I was seriously super surprised to see that this match was the basis of a 21-post thread on ProWrestlingOnly because, while I thought it was good, I did not see the "greatness" here. This is a very mat-based/submission-based match and, at this point, Hokuto was clearly still developing (though I did love her no-selling bit as it made her seem like the biggest badass of the bunch). I really liked Hotta's headlock application towards the end as it looked incredibly painful and like she was swinging her with her arms wrapped around on her opponent's throat. Yamada and Mita didn't really stand out to me as particularly special comparatively. Very physical, competitive match, but this might be better enjoyed by people who are super familiar with all four women and the stars they would become rather than someone like myself who is only really familiar with Hokuto. (3/5)

Pentagon Jr. vs. Eddie Kingston (02/03/2018, AAW): AAW is a Chicago-based promotion and the crowd was into this, but...I found it to be sloppy at times and un-fun. Kingston is a serious wrestler/brawler/striker and presents himself as such, but I kinda wish he had shown a little bit of a more silly/over-the-top side to balance the character that Penta brings to the table. While there were some good spots here and there, as a whole story it didn't maintain my attention and felt longer than its 15-minute run time (not a good thing in this case). The multiple Canadian Destroyers and Package Piledriver finish were definitely not excellently-executed. A disappointment. (2/5)

Nick Jackson vs. El Generico (Sami Zayn) vs. Jigsaw vs. Kota Ibushi (03/28/2009, CHIKARA): How great can a match be without any logic/psychology? This match seems like it was designed to answer that question with all four men hitting some insane moves to a crowd that went bonkers for every one of them but, from the amount of times they broke up pinfalls against their own best interest (this is an elimination match), not understanding the stipulation of the match they're wrestling. For most of this relatively short match - it goes under 15 minutes - the action is simply incredible and light years beyond the kind of stuff that was being presented in the US on TV from WWE and TNA. Even now, 16+ years later, this is an ultra-impressive spotfest (with some good technical wrestling from Ibushi and Jigsaw early), but the rapid finishing sequence and the lack of psychology - which is even noted on commentary - prevent this from being the classic that it is sometimes hyped up to be. How did Kota Ibushi not get immediately signed by WWE after this match started making the rounds among fans? (3.5/5)

Akira Hokuto & Suzuka Minami vs. Yumiko Hotta & Mitsuko Nishiwaki (05/13/1990, AJW): The crowd was huge into Hokuto and Minami (aka The Marine Wolves), chanting their names at the start of the match. This was very physical with some real highlights in Hokuto's awesome bridging suplexes, Hokuto and Minami's cool splashes from the top rope to the floor during the 3rd fall, and Yumiko Hotta's super-snug choke and devastating kicks. Nishiwaki didn't leave much of an impression on me, but I'd say the same about this match in general; it's good, but not great. (2.5/5)

Ricochet vs. Pentagon Jr. (08/24/2017, WCPW/Defiant): The Wrestling World Cup was a tournament put on by WhatCulture Pro Wrestling/Defiant Wrestling featuring some of the best talents on the planet and this was the opening match of the 2nd Night. Ricochet comes out of the gate with some big offense, including a backflip splash over the top rope to the floor. He maintains control with a senton and then some forearms to the back of Penta's neck. Penta came back with a sling blade off the ropes, backed Rico into the corner, and gave him a heck of a big chop. Rico headed to the outside as Penta played to the crowd but then got whipped hard into the guardrail. Back in the ring, Penta got a nearfall but, then, again, spent most of his time doing shtick rather than actually hitting any offense aside from the occasional kick or chops. Ricochet cut him off with a back elbow, a double kick, and then a shotgun dropkick but couldn't capitalize. Ricochet hit a springboard back forearm and attempted a fireman's carry but Pentagon escaped and hit an awesome powerbomb onto his knee for 2. Cool move. Penta went for the package piledriver but Ricochet got out and hit him with a huge knee lift to the face. Ricochet hit a cutter and then a running shooting star press for 2. He went for a Rock Bottom but Penta blocked it and hit him with a backstabber out of the corner. Penta went for the piledriver again but Ricochet blocked it and then escaped another attempt, leading to a trading of superkicks. Penta went to the corner but Rico hit him with a huge leaping uppercut and then a palm strike. Avalanche hurricanrana and then a springboard 450...but Penta kicked out! Back to the top rope they go, with Ricochet attempting a Spanish Fly but getting shoved off the top and hit with a Canadian Destroyer for his trouble. Both men rolled to the apron and traded strikes with Penta eventually landing a superkick and then an insane package piledriver onto the ring apron! Wow. That should've been the death move but because Penta couldn't get the pin quickly enough, Ricochet kicked out. Pentagon with another crazy driver - maybe best described as a stalling pumphandle-into-a-Michinoku Driver - but Ricochet kicked out again. Surfboard time but Ricochet won't quit. Penta turns it into a back slide pin and the ref counts to three...but its Penta's shoulders that were down when Ricochet bridged on his neck. There was some noticeable cooperation going on at various points of the match and, as much as I enjoy Pentagon's ability to play to the crowd and natural charisma, I also find his lack of urgency to be a bit frustrating as the match goes on and it seems like he should be more "serious" about trying to get a pin. A good, solid match, but nothing super memorable. (3/5)

Tully Blanchard vs. The Ultimate Warrior (11/12/1989, WWE): This match was actually taped on November 1st but aired a week or so before the 1989 Survivor Series. The Ultimate Warrior was over huge and was the reigning Intercontinental Champion. Tully gives him a shove but then gets shoved down himself repeatedly when he tries to lock up with the Warrior. Blanchard begs off a bit and attempts a handshake but Warrior squeezes it with all his might! Blanchard escapes with an eye poke and then goes to work in the corner with right hands, but Warrior no sells em' and backs Tully into the corner. He whips Tully to the opposite post and Blanchard takes a Flair-esque bump over the top. Back in the ring and back out Tully goes! Tully wants to walk but Warrior brings him back ringside by the neck and then lifts him up in a guerilla press and sends him back into the ring through the middle rope. Warrior misses a big splash in the corner, though, finally giving Tully a chance to hit a little real offense. Tully delivers some kicks to the ribs and applies a choke with his boot but Warrior rallies again with a clothesline. Warrior goes for a splash but Tully blocks it with his knees. Tully attempts a suplex but Warrior counters it with one of his own. Warrior misses an elbow drop and then runs into another Tully knee. Blanchard goes to the top rope and attempts a splash but Warrior catches him in a powerslam. Heenan calls for help as Warrior hoists Tully up in another guerilla press slam. In comes Double A and its 2-on-1, but Warrior hits a flying double clothesline. In comes Haku to help out his Heenan Family stablemates but then Neidhart and the Rockers show up to even the sides! Out marches Andre the Giant for a staredown from outside the ring. Hot angle to build to their Survivors match. This was a fun watch due to how much spirit and energy Tully brought into it, bumping and selling and feeding Warrior for the 6-or-so minutes that this match runs, and how hot the crowd was. (2.5/5)

Aja Kong vs. Madusa (07/21/1990, AJW): About as physical and violent as one would expect with some of the coolest entrances I've seen recently. I loved Aja Kong coming out to KISS's "I Love It Loud" almost as much as I enjoy Kong's later personalized theme song. Madusa coming out with a bit of Terry Funk's look and swagger was killer too. This was a "Mixed Martial Arts" match, which meant both Kong and Madusa were sporting MMA gloves. Some of the strikes in this match seem like they were a legit shoot while, at other times, it was clear they were working. I think this would've worked better with a bit more of a "plan" as I think these two just went to the ring with the intention of hitting each other as hard as they could, throwing in a few suplexes, slams, and submissions, and then ending things by trading even more big blows. Filling up 20+ minutes without a real story meant that this one ebbed-and-flowed in terms of suspense and action and probably would've been better if they had shaved 3-5 minutes off of it. I can see some people really loving this match because of how good Madusa's performance is in particular, but this had me and lost me a couple times before it got to its finish. I dug the post-match moment too with these absolute warriors showing mutual respect to each other after a very violent match. (2.5/5)

Toshiaki Kawada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (04/08/2008, AJPW): A great match with great performances out of both guys. I came into this as mostly a Kawada fan having seen very few Tanahashi matches, but I really liked the juxtaposition of one of the most legendary badasses in wrestling history going up against New Japan's "Ace," a much more colorful and charismatic performer than the ones Kawada used to tangle with in his prime. I really liked Kawada's reactions to Tanahashi throughout the match. Highlights included Tanahashi's incredible elbow strikes to the hamstring (never seen those before and they're very cool), Kawada hitting a powerbomb on the floor, and a thrilling final few minutes with some excellent nearfalls. But, really, its the character work throughout the match that leaves the strongest impression. The finish is an absolute disappointment, though, as it is declared a draw due to the time limit expiring (5 minutes early by my count and the YouTube video only being 24 or so minutes). I can understand why they went with a non-finish here, but considering Kawada was on his way out of the business and Tanahashi was on the rise, a definitive ending would've probably made this a modern classic. Instead, its a very good match that, due to its lack of a real ending, leaves you thinking you kinda wasted your time watching it. (2.5/5)

Riki Choshu and Koki Kitihara vs. Genichiro Tenryu and Tatsumi Fujinami (06/30/1996): This was the main event of the Rikidozan Memorial show, which featured a whole bunch of talent from multiple promotions. This was hard-hitting, but unremarkable, though, like many of the Tenryu matches I've now seen, I think that viewers with more knowledge of the history between the competitors would enjoy this much more. Choshu and Tenryu's interactions were really heated, playing off their lengthy rivalry. Kitihari didn't leave much of an impression on me. The finish felt a bit "out of nowhere" but because they were leveling eachother with powerbombs and stiff strikes, it wasn't hard to buy that any move could be the deathblow. This was alright but nothing I'd recommend or have particular interest in seeing again. (2.5/5)

Monster Ripper vs. Aja Kong (04/21/1991, AJW): The "match" only goes 9 minutes officially, but this is a 20+ minute angle built around Kong and Ripper trying to maim each other with trash cans and chairs and refusing to be separated. A week or so later, Kong would team with Bison Kimura and wrestle Manami Toyota and Esther Moreno in a match that I watched just a few months ago and absolutely loved. There's not enough of an actual "match" here for me to rate it nearly as high, but as an angle, this has the intensity and realism that makes you really feel like you're watching two absolute monsters on a collision course that could lead to the whole building getting demolished. (2/5)

Shinya Hashimoto vs. Naoki Sano (09/11/1996, UWFi): I love Hashimoto's offense in this and Sano's strategy, but this wasn't as memorable or remarkable as some of Hash's more notable matches. Some of Hashimoto's overhand chops are devastating which lends credibility to the rather sudden finish. A very straight-forward match that balanced Hashimoto's dominance with Sano's courage in the face of an opponent who overpowered him and had a huge size advantage. I was hoping for better. (2/5)

Akira Hokuto vs. Yumiko Hotta (09/07/1991, AJW): It is a testament to the awesomeness of Akira Hokuto - and maybe Yumiko Hotta? I haven't seen a ton of her work yet - that a match this good doesn't have a thread on PWO and has barely been reviewed on Cagematch either. This isn't an epic, but there are some ridiculous bumps towards the end, including one off the top rope by Hokuto that looks insane. I loved the layout of this match too with Hokuto controlling the first half but Hotta showing tremendous fighting spirit and getting in some nasty kicks to make this competitive. Cool emotional post-match scene too from Hokuto. (3/5)

Eddie Kingston vs. Necro Butcher (12/30/2005, IWA-Mid South): There's not much variety in this match, but who needs variety when you have Kingston being a full-on psycho and basically agreeing to be punched full-force in the body and head to sell Necro Butcher as the most violent wrestler on the indies? This is the kind of match that Bret Hart would probably say is an absolute insult to the profession and he wouldn't necessarily be wrong as this is two guys hitting each other seemingly full-force just to pop a gym full of fans. That being said, it's an intriguing thing to watch for what it is and does tell its simple story effectively without needlessly adding weapons and "high spots." I'm not surprised this doesn't have a thread on PWO because Butcher is hardly everyone's cup of tea, but this is a really gutsy and crazy "performance" out of Kingston that his supporters would probably enjoy checking out. (2.5/5)

Vampiro vs. Pentagon Jr. (04/19/2015, Lucha Underground): I must admit to never getting into Lucha Underground despite it being beloved by so many wrestling fans. Looking back, it also featured a bunch of my current favorites so maybe I should give it another shot (I watched a few episodes when they were on Netflix but don't know if they're still up on there anymore). Lucha Underground was a highly-produced version of pro-wrestling unlike any other major promotion that I've ever seen so it can be a bit jarring to watch this match out-of-context, but it's still a very fun 20-minute watch even knowing that some of it is clearly edited and patched together. They go all out with the hardcore spots - fluorescent light tubes, a flaming table, thumbtacks - but this is no mere stunt show as they tell a story of Vampiro refusing to "die" and then cap it off with a brilliant reveal that this match wasn't a true grudge match after all, but rather a final test that Vampiro was putting Pentagon. Worth checking out for sure. (4/5)

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis (09/22/1995, AAA): This was a 2-out-of-3 falls match for Psicosis's WWA Championship. This was given 5 stars by Meltzer in The Observer and has a staggering Cagematch score of 8.69 (as of this writing), but I thought the first two falls were a bit dull and even sloppy at times with Mysterio having a rare noticeable botch. The third fall is very good, enough to move this squarely into average/above-average territory but, even for its time, I don't think this was Mysterio and Psicosis' best outing against eachother and was a bigger fan of their ECW match from around this time. (2.5/5)

Will Ospreay vs. Zach Sabre Jr. (09/20/2014, IPW:UK): This was the finals of a one-night tournament (I think?) based on looking at the show's card. Ospreay was 21 years old and had only been in the business for a couple of years while Sabre was close to a 10-year veteran (which is crazy to think of as he wasn't even 30 yet). Ospreay was not yet the phenom he would become in the years after but he clearly already had a very big vision and an eagerness to "steal the show" with over-the-top performances heavy on theatrics, high spots, and feats of agility. Sabre Jr. wasn't fully-formed either but was already a master of joint manipulation and technical wrestling, punishing Ospreay's arm and hand to maintain control. There was some "positioning" issues with Sabre clearly bracing himself for some of Ospreay's splashes, but this was still a very, very good and ambitious 10-minute match that is worth checking out if you're a fan of either of these guys and want to see how good they already were way back in 2014. (3/5)

Bull Nakano and Kyoko Inoue vs. Manami Toyota and Aja Kong (03/03/1994, AJW): I thought this was excellent and about as good a tag match as I've seen in years. Everything looked so good. I know some people tire of Manami's anguished screams, but I thought they were warranted here as Kyoko and Nakano put her through the ringer. There were too many highlights for me to count - the Uraken to Bull, Toyota's running springboard splash to the outside, the airplane spin, Nakano missing the would-be game-ending legdrop, the dropkick-into-a-backstabber spot that I love, Toyota's rolling pin on Inoue, some excellent false finishes towards the end...it's all just great. This is the kind of match you can show any non-wrestling fan curious about joshi and they'll likely "get it" pretty quickly and also see how much different this type of storytelling is compared what we see in the US (with its unclear face/heel dynamics and dizzying level of action). I really loved this match and was surprised it didn't get praised more on ProWrestlingOnly and only had a single review on Cagematch. That would probably qualify this for "hidden gem" stature. (4.5/5)

Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. (11/15/1996, CMLL): This match was hurt most by being fought under somewhat standard lucha rules with it being a 2-out-of-3 falls match. To be fair, the fact that it is 3 falls did allow them to "protect" Liger a little bit as he got the first pin rather definitively. Neither guy busted out anything super flashy, but both are so smooth with their high-flying and counters and agility that the match had no dull moments. I think fans more familiar with Wagner Jr. than I am (lucha libre continues to be something of a "blind spot" for me) would probably dig this even more as I primarily watched this as part of my "GWE research" for Liger. (3/5)

TNA Turning Point 2011

TNA Turning Point 2011

Orlando, FL - September 2011

CHAMPIONS RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Bobby Roode was the TNA World Champion, the X-Division Champion was Austin Aries, Velvet Sky was the Knockouts Champion, the Television Champion was Eric Young, Mexican America were the TNA World Tag Team Champions, and the Knockouts Tag Team Champions were Gail Kim and Madison Rayne. 

TNA Turning Point 2011 starts with a video package that doesn't do a very good job of explaining how we got to tonight's main event - at least for anyone who is following the storylines solely through the PPV results. The Bound for Glory show had ended with Kurt Angle retaining the TNA World Championship through heel tactics against Bobby Roode but, a month or so later, Roode has the title and has turned heel on the former champion and his ex-tag partner James Storm (which means there were two televised TNA World Championship title switches in the span of a month and both could've been seen as rather huge coronations had they been treated as such). Also, if you're thinking the night's main event would be Roode/Storm or Roode/Storm/Angle to settle who is the rightful TNA World Champion, you'd be thinking wrong...

The opening contest sees Robbie E (backed up by "Robbie T," aka former British Invasion wrestler Rob Terry) challenge Eric Young for the TNA Television Championship. Young puts his heart into his performance, but his character was too dopey for me at this point. Maybe if I was a regular TNA viewer at this time I could've/would've understood why Young was wearing such a garish ensemble and why he stripped down twice - once to tights that read "FTW" and then to even smaller purple tiger-print ones - as he started to fire-up for the finishing stretch, but the commentary team didn't help matters at all. The crowd didn't totally turn on this, which shows just how much innate charisma Young had and that, over time, he had built a connection with the crowd. Interference from Rob Terry leads to a title change. (1.5/5)

The next bout was for the TNA World Tag Team Championships as Mexican America (with Sarita, aka Sarah Stock [who has been all over wrestling news websites recently with her criticisms of AEW]) took on Ink Inc. and Toxxin (journeywoman Christina Von Eerie). I'm not sure why the TNA Tag Team Championships would be on the line in a six-man tag, but whatever. The story here is that Hernandez had put Jesse Neal on the shelf and now the ex-Marine was back seeking revenge. When the commentary team noted that these two teams faced each other at Bound for Glory, I wondered if I had maybe fallen into a coma during it and that was why I didn't remember it, but some research reveals that it was on the pre-show (which probably explains why Bound for Glory felt like one of the best TNA PPVs I've ever seen). It's not that either time is particularly terrible, but they're not interesting or exciting workers beyond a single spot or two in the cases of Shannon Moore and Hernandez. Anarquie and Jesse Neal are just dull. Sarita and Toxxin were there but not over enough to make a difference when they got their segment in the match. It was 8 minutes that felt like 12-13. (1.5/5)

Austin Aries defended the TNA X-Division Championship against Jesse Sorensen and Kid Kash in the next match. They got considerably more time than the six-man and told a more interesting story, but this still wasn't close to "must see." Coming into the match, Kash and Aries had formed an alliance to punish Sorensen for...well...that's not super clear based on the pre-match promo or the commentary work, but Kash sure does hate him. Aries plays the weasel who only cares about retaining the championship, which makes Kash look like an absolute fool for trusting him for so long. Sorensen showed fire at times, but his offense didn't feel special or unique. Kash's finisher was nasty, though. (2.5/5)

Rob Van Dam vs. Christopher Daniels was next. Daniels was insufferable, which is the point of being a heel, but he wasn't insufferable in an entertaining, clever, or original way. Before the match, which was supposed to be No DQ, Daniels has Rob Van Dam to agree to making it just a straight-up wrestling match, which should've paid off with Daniels using all sorts of dirty tricks and weapons, going back on his word and exposing himself as not being able to beat RVD straight-up. Unfortunately, they took till the end of the match to get to that part of the match and, in the 10 minutes it took to get there, we didn't see much of any chemistry between these two guys. Maybe in 2011 this would've been considered good, but I found it pedestrian and boring at times, two guys basically moving through the paces for 10 minutes before we get to Daniels grabbing a screwdriver, getting stopped from using it, eating a frog splash and losing relatively cleanly. (2/5)

Somehow the next match - Crimson vs. Matt Morgan - was the best Crimson matches I think I've ever seen despite him being in there with another guy that I rarely have much praise for. Now, that's not to say this match is particularly great or innovative or even that the crowd is super into, but it is physical, tells a basic story, and offers sufficient "big men slapping meat" vibes to work. Even the finish, an inconclusive draw caused by both guys roughing up the referee, worked for me just because it was unexpected and not a finish you see every day. This still isn't good enough to warrant seeking out, but it exceeded my admittedly low expectations. (2.5/5)

After a funny promo backstage, Scott Steiner and Bully Ray teamed up to take on Abyss and Mr. Anderson. Like the last match, I did not go into this expecting anything good. Anderson and Billy started things off with Billy doing lots of shtick, bumping and feeding for Anderson before tagging out after a back suplex. Steiner hits some chops but then eats a clothesline off the second rope. Bully Ray pulls Anderson down and pulls him crotch-first into the post, giving Steiner the advantage. For some reason, the crowd goes wild at this point for Steiner, chanting “We Love Steiner” as he continues to berate them. It’s clearly the opposite of what the guys from Immortal were hoping for as this whole segment was about building to Abyss’s hot tag. Steiner comes in to a huge pop and hits an avalanche fireman’s slam that looked great. Another “Steiner” chant breaks out but they cut it off by having Bully come in. Anderson makes the tag and Abyss takes out both heels. Abyss hits a huge splash onto Steiner but only gets 2. He calls for the chokeslam and hits it but Bully breaks the count. Abyss hits a double clothesline but gets clotheslined out of the ring. Anderson had tagged in and he hits a crossbody on Steiner for 2. Steiner hits a sweet reverse Rock Bottom (Flatliner?) and then positions Anderson for the Frankensteiner as the crowd chant for it. He hits it! The ref doesn’t make the count because Hebner says Abyss was the legal man…which I don’t think he was. Black Hole Slam by Abyss and that’s the finish. Maybe I missed the tag? After the match, Bully brings out a table and slides it into the ring. He sets it up and they hit a double chokeslam to put the Monster through it! Abyss no sells it! Steiner goes running and Bully hightails it too. They kept this short and action-packed and it exceeded my expectations. Nothing super special, but a solid outing in front of a crowd that was having a great time - even if it probably wasn’t the type of reactions they were hoping for. (3/5)

Backstage, Karen Angle talks up the Knockout Tag Team Champions, Gail Kim and Madison Rayne, as Kim will be challenging Velvet Sky for her TNA Knockouts Championship. Not much to this match (which goes a measly 6 minutes) and ends with Kim winning after interference by Madison Rayne and additional offense by Kim. (1.5/5)

Jeff Hardy took on Jeff Jarrett in the next...match? Matches? Some backstory first: Jeff Hardy had been pulled off of TV after showing up wasted at the Victory Road 2011 show in March but had returned to TV seeking forgiveness and "one more chance" (spoiler alert: Hardy would get "one more chance" a whole bunch of times after this in multiple promotions), which enraged Jarrett. They had a brawl at the previous PPV and Hardy had been shown on-screen in the weeks prior apologizing to various TNA regulars. Hardy wins with a Twist of Fate in less than 8 seconds to end the match - which would've warranted a 0 rating - but then agrees to a second fall. This one goes longer - about 5 minutes - and Jarrett gets some offense in, but then Hardy pins him again for a second consecutive fall. I'll give them a point for at least giving us some semblance of a competitive contest, but it was far from great. After the match, Jarrett attacks Hardy on the ramp, rolls him into the ring, and hits him with his finish. Hebner refuses to count at first, but eventually obliges...only for Hardy to roll up Jarrett for a third visual pin. This was less of a "match" and more of an angle, but the story was really all about Jarrett and not Hardy, which runs counter to any and all of the intrigue around this match to begin with. It didn't put over Hardy "strong," it didn't further Hardy's quest for forgiveness, and it didn't provide good wrestling. Why not just go out and attempt to have a good match without all this overbooked nonsense? (1/5)

Main event time - Bobby Roode defending the TNA World Championship against AJ Styles. I wanted to like this match as a big fan of Styles, but this was two guys working really, really hard but still coming up short in terms of delivering a good match. It was just a dull, one-gear match until Styles took a nasty fall to the outside towards the end, further evidence that even in his worst matches Styles will often give you at least one spot that is excellent. I read on Cagematch that Styles was suffering an ankle injury going into this match and wish that had been part of the story of the match instead of them just going back-and-forth for 20 minutes until Roode got the cheap handful-of-tights roll-up finish. An underwhelming contest. (2/5)

With a Kwang Score of 1.94-out-of-5, Turning Point 2011 saw a noticeable dip in average match quality from the previous few shows I've reviewed. The best match of the night was, surprisingly, the Immortal/Abyss & Anderson tag match due in large part to the charisma and efforts of Bully Ray and Anderson, who were clearly among the most motivated workers on the roster at this time. Roode/Styles was a disappointment but watchable, the X-Division Championship match was decent at best, and nothing else on the card left a positive impression. Without a single match worth watching, this one falls into the category of...

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville

AEW All Out 2023

All Out 2023

Chicago, IL - September 2023

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: The AEW World Champion was MJF, the TNT Champion was Killswitch (Luchasaurus), the AEW World Tag Team Champions were FTR, Orange Cassidy was the AEW International Champion, the TBS Champion was Kris Statlander, and the AEW Women's World Champion was Saraya. Finally, the AEW World Trios Titles were held by Billy Gunn and The Acclaimed.

Adam Cole and MJF vs. Alex Reynolds and John Silver was the opening contest of the show (which was bizarrely held just a week after All In: Wembley) and was for "Better Than You Bay Bay"'s Ring of Honor Tag Team Championships. This match has a weird dynamic because the Dark Order were working as serious heels but (a) had not been firmly established as such and (b) had been mostly used as enhancement talent anyway, making this title shot feel "out of nowhere" and like Tony Khan had booked it out of desperation. MJF suffers damage to the neck early, turning the match into essentially a 2-on-1 and making Reynolds and Silver look even worse for not being able to put Cole away despite both men being considerably bigger and stronger than him. The fact that Meltzer gave this over 3 stars could be used as evidence of him being an "AEW homer," though, to be fair, the action isn't bad and the crowd was very into the Cole/MJF pairing. MJF eventually comes back to help Cole retain the championship as anyone could've predicted. I liked the post-match angle with MJF and Samoa Joe more than anything that happened between the bells. (2/5)

Speaking of Samoa Joe, he was the reigning Ring of Honor TV Champion at this time and defended the title against Shane Taylor (Cleveland native) in the next bout. Unremarkable match but at least it was physical as Joe and Taylor laid into each other for a little bit under 10 minutes. Like the opener, it seems like the decision to put Better Than You Bay Bay and Samoa Joe on the show early was done to appease a Chicago crowd that may have been hostile (local hero and top star CM Punk had been fired from AEW in the short amount of time between All Out and this show), which was probably a good idea despite it feeling a little awkward to have two back-to-back Ring of Honor title matches on an AEW show. Not bad, but not PPV worthy. (2/5)

Darby Allin took on Killswitch (aka Luchasaurus) with Christian Cage in tow for his TNT Championship in the next match. A solid match marred a tiny bit by what looked to be a late kickout by Luchasaurus towards the end. As usual for his matches, there was a moment where Darby nearly paralyzed himself, landing on his neck from a Killswitch release german suplex. I liked the spot where Killswitch put Allin underneath the steel steps and then walked on top of them. Nasty stuff there. Nick Wayne was in Allin's corner and I thought this would be when Nick Wayne would've joined what became known as "The Patriarchy," but I was wrong. I liked that Luchasaurus, who had been booked as something of just a bodyguard for Christian, got to stand on his own for most of the match and that Cage was really just on the outside and not super involved until the end, when, by bashing Wayne with the chair and teasing a Con-Chair-To, he distracted Allin and allowed Killswitch to put him down with two not-so-great-looking tombstones, a nifty face-buster onto the top turnbuckle, and then a brutal lariat to the back of the skull. Maybe not "PPV worthy," but this was solid enough. (2.5/5)

Miro vs. "Powerhouse" Will Hobbs was next, a match/rivalry I don't remember at all. This was very much built around the concept of "Big Meaty Men Slapping Meat" but Miro got to show some agility with a spinning heel kick off the ropes and a dropkick. Hobbs came back with an overhead belly-to-belly and then a nice-looking T-Bone suplex too. A missed splash in the corner led to Hobbs hitting the floor and Miro hit him with a front-flip cannonball splash, another unexpected showing of agility. Miro drove Hobbs' lower back into the apron and the barricade before rolling him into the ring as the crowd erupted into a "Slap That Meat" chant. Hobbs slowed things down with a headlock but Miro powered out and a punch-out ensued with both guys then trading body blocks on the ropes and stiff clotheslines (much to the delight of the crowd). After some business on the apron, Hobbs ended up on the top rope and Miro brought him down with a superplex and then nailed him with a thrust kick but missed the second, allowing Hobbs to hit a powerslam for 2. Hobbs hit a series of clotheslines, but got caught with a lariat off the ropes and Miro hit another thrust kick for 2.5. Miro signaled for his camel clutch finisher but Hobbs managed to get up to his feet and back him into the corner as the crowd began to chant "Holy Meat." Hobbs hit a spinebuster when Miro came out of the corner and got 2.8 in another great false finish. Hobbs, noticeably bleeding from his lip, went for a camel clutch but Miro escaped and hit him with a spinebuster before re-applying his Game Over submission, this time wrenching it in even deeper and forcing Hobbs to tap. This was a very good heavyweight fight and easily the best match on the show up to this point. The post match saw Hobbs attack Miro, only for Miro's then-wife, CJ Perry, to come down and make the save in her debut appearance for the company. (3.5/5)

Kris Statlander defended the TBS Championship against Ruby Soho in the next bout. Having now seen a fair amount of Statlander matches, I give her a ton of credit for the effort and big spots she puts into her matches, even if not everything looks 100% "clean" and that things can veer into overkill territory with the kickouts and power move "spamming." They loaded up their 12 minutes to the point that this felt longer just because of how many momentum shifts they did. Some really stiff strikes and nifty counters out of Soho with Statlander delivering the drivers and slams. I'm surprised this has a low score on Cagematch because the action was good and, more than anything, this match was hurt by a "cold" crowd and neither Soho or Statlander having particularly great characters that the fans were invested in. (3/5)

"The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson took on "Absolute" Ricky Starks in a Strap match next with Ricky Steamboat joining in on commentary (he had been challenged by Starks to a strap match on the previous night's Collision episode). This was one of the best strap matches I've ever seen with Danielson bleeding a gusher early - a clear bladejob after Starks "punctured" him with the prong of his weight belt - and then Starks also getting color later on. Both guys took some hellacious lashes from the strap, including multiple ones to the face and the side of the neck by Danielson. Lots of very good brawling before we got some of both guys' signature offense and a cameo from Big Bill, who tried to interfere but got pulled down from the apron by Steamboat before Danielson sent Starks out on top of him and took him out of the match for good with a huge splash from the top. Excellent finish with Danielson firing up and brutalizing Starks with kicks to the chest and whips from the strap, then hitting a Baisaku Knee minutes later before locking Starks in a strap-assisted LeBell Lock and putting him to sleep. This was all-killer, no-filler and another brilliant performance out of Danielson. (4/5)

Eddie Kingston and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castignoli was the next match. This is a good example where Meltzer's scale - or maybe his taste - and my own don't always match. Move-for-move, sequence-for-sequence this is probably more "action packed" than Danielson/Starks in some regards because that match was a brawl built around a strap and this is a tag match offering four very different workers with different arsenals and skills. But this match, despite the best efforts of Kingston and Castignoli (whose rivalry was and remains one of the best long-running feuds in AEW history), did not have the emotional pull that Danielson/Starks did. Kingston's obsession with pulling so much of his offense from the legends of AJPW is something that I found to be kinda neat at first and, in the right contexts, it can work...but as a poster on Cagematch noted, it doesn't look so great when he's busting it out while Shibata - whose strikes pack much more wallop - and Claudio are executing similar moves so much better. Wheeler was not yet the heat machine he would be later on during the Death Riders run that would come a couple years later and his chemistry with Claudio wasn't as good as it would become either. This was fine, but felt more like a TV match than a PPV worthy one. (2.5/5)

Next up - Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kenny Omega. This was very good, but maybe just a hair short of "must watch" for me. It's not that Omega and Takeshita didn't break out some insane suplexes or tell a good story, but with these two, my expectations were high for something transcendent and I don't think we got it (fair or not). Omega worked hard to make Takeshita look like a star, but I'm not sure he was quite at the confidence level he is now, not really imbuing much of the bastard, arrogant character work that does today. Highlights included Takeshita hitting a rolling senton from in the ring to the floor as Omega desperately trying to uncover himself from a bunch of chairs that Don Callis had placed on top of him, an awesome Blue Thunder Bomb from the top rope, Omega hitting the Terminator Dive, a whole bunch of nasty suplexes by both guys, and a believable, credible finish after some very close nearfalls. Like their Revolution 2025 match, which I found leaned a bit too heavy into the "bomb throwing" department, this one didn't quite land with me as the all-time classic that some fans regard it as, but it came close. (3.5/5)

FTR teamed up with The Young Bucks to take on the Bang Bang Gang - Jay White, Juice Robinson, and The Gunn Club. Context is important for a match like this as the Bucks, who were technically babyfaces at the time, came into Chicago with some serious baggage due to the firing of CM Punk and their own history with the man. FTR, meanwhile, were cheered by the Chicago crowd because of their documented friendship with him. The Bang Bang Gang were heels but would soon become pseudo-babyfaces as their catchphrases and antics got more and more over (and their chemistry began to emerge in backstage and in-ring segments). And so the participants had to weather some initial "fan hijacking" as chants for CM Punk and the singing of "Oh Cry Me A River" distracted from the story they were trying to tell in the ring, which was all about whether or not FTR and the Bucks could co-exist. I can understand the complaints that the amount of clearly pre-planned/choreographed spots worked against that story, especially towards the end as FTR and the Bucks began to perform signature moves in odd pairings - a BTE Trigger there, a Shatter Machine here, but FTR and the Bucks being super-knowledgeable of eachother's timing and techniques has also been a key feature of all of their matches together. There were also at least two "cutesy" spots - all four of the babyfaces applying Sharpshooters at the same time, a spot where they hit double Power and Glory finishes and then capped it off with a Matt Jackson 450 Splash (that one of the Gunns had to blatantly roll himself into position for) - that are not going to be everyone's cup of tea. My biggest criticism would be the match's duration, going over 20 minutes after the previous match had already gone 20+. We know these 8 guys can put on lengthy epics, but not every match calls for one and I'm not sure this one did. (3/5)

Main event time - Orange Cassidy defending the AEW International Championship against Jon Moxley. A spirited and bloody match-up all about Cassidy trying to prove he could hang with AEW's most decorated and arguably biggest star. Unlike the previous two matches, with their more intricate sequences, this was all about Cassidy having to constantly fight back as Moxley put him through the wringer, clawing at his wound, attempting to put him to sleep with a Bulldog Choke, turning him inside out with lariats. Cassidy got in some good shots, but as Tazz and Excalibur noted on commentary, months of defending the championship had led to countless minor injuries - including one to his right hand - that prevented his Orange Punch and some of his other offense from being as powerful as it could've/should've been when he did land it (though he did manage to pull off a sweet Beach Break on the concrete at one point). Moxley eventually put him down with two high angle Death Rider DDTs to capture the International Championship after close to 20 minutes (which, unlike the last match, didn't feel at all like they were stretching things). A very good and worthy main event and one of Moxley's rare major matches where he didn't blade (as Cassidy did enough bleeding for the both of them). (3.5/5)

With a Kwang Score of 2.95-out-of-5, All Out 2023 was - statistically - a slight step down from the All In: London event, but still a mostly great show with some fine matches in the main event, the strap match, Hobbs/Miro, and the somewhat-surprisingly strong TBS Championship bout. Unfortunately, some of the matches on the card, including the opening tag match, Darby/Killswitch, and the BCC/Shibata & Kingston matches felt like "TV" bouts rather than matches one would theoretically be paying $50 to see. 

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