SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
HOUSEKEEPING
• Mercedes Moné captured her 13th championship defeating Nor “Phoenix” Diana for the APAC Wrestling Women’s title at the House Of Glory show over the weekend.
• Rebel announced that she’s been diagnosed with a form of lung cancer
INTRO
Blood & Guts is behind us and Full Gear is just days away. As usual it should be a strong PPV by AEW even if the main event itself is a bit weak.
You Tapped Out
Latest Developments
Kyle O’Reilly finally forced Jon Moxley to tap out to an ankle lock to conclude a wild and bloody Blood & Guts match.
Analysis
The men’s Blood & Guts match started a little slow, but finished with gusto. The weird advantage the babyface team won was negated by an unseen attack on Mark Briscoe. Mox entered 4th for his team, immediately attacking Strong and O’Reilly with his trademark fork. O’Reilly wound up bleeding profusely which made for a striking visual. After the Death Riders enjoyed a brief 5 on 4 advantage, Briscoe finally his way to the ring. He and Yuta ended up atop the cage where Yuta wound up eating a Jay Driller. Meanwhile Darby was jumped and tased by Gabe Kidd who was last seen in a body bag being dragged behind Darby’s truck into the streets of Philadelphia. Kidd and PAC double-teamed Darby. Eventually PAC cornered Darby atop one of the entrance tunnels, pressed him over his head, and hurled him off onto two tables that Kidd had lit on fire. Inside the cage, Mox got O’Reilly in the bulldog choke but O’Reilly defiantly flipped him the bird. The babyfaces made a huge comeback. KOR got Mox in an ankle lock. Mox fought out and right into a cross arm breaker. In the end, Mox was trapped in a second ankle lock and left with no choice but to tap out into a pile of broken glass.
As predicted, Mox was the one who submitted to O’Reilly no less. It was a nice payoff to the story of Mox being scared of O’Reilly’s submission prowess. At one point it looked like the heels might win and I was legitimately concerned. That’s when O’Reilly in a full crimson mask flipped the bird and the babyfaces made their comeback. O’Reilly getting the win for his team was big step forward for a guy who’s been relegated to weird comedy bits with Strong for the last few months. KOR is a submission magician and it was nice to be reminded of that.
The fallout so far has been interesting. On Collision, PAC challenged Darby to a match at Full Gear. Though the DR haven’t actually deposed Mox yet Pac certainly feels like he’s trying to step up into a more prominent role. As such I expect him to beat Darby. Mox on the other hand hung out on commentary Saturday night until a video aired of a still bloody KOR after Blood & Guts talking about him getting Mox to tap. That incensed Mox and he challenged O’Reilly to match anytime, anywhere. KOR threw down his own gauntlet last night, challenging Mox to No Holds Barred match which was later made official. Personally, I think a submission match would’ve made more sense under the circumstances. That said, I would expect the losing streak to continue. I know I’ve said this before but that has to be where the turn happens. It’s past time for this story to take a big step forward.
Grade: B+
Titles and Tournaments
Latest Developments
Toni Storm was forced to surrender the Blood & Guts match to save Mina Shirakawa. With that in the rear view, the attention has returned to the tournament and the Women’s World Title.
Analysis
The women absolutely overdelivered in their Blood & Guts match. Skye Blue started bleeding in the first couple minutes of the match and seemingly never stopped. Harley Cameron had my favorite spot of the match, pulling out the Mercedes puppet to antagonize Mercedes. Mercedes promptly ripped it off Harley’s hand but underneath were a pair of brass knuckles which Harley used to clock Mercedes. It was nice payoff of sorts to months of her using the puppet to mess with Mercedes. Julia Hart and Thekla escaped the cage by using their small size and flexibility to slip through the holes in the support trusses of the cage. While this was a clever idea, I don’t think what the women did outside the cage was as impactful as what the men did so I would’ve kept this one inside the cage just to differentiate between the two matches.
The finish was cleverly executed. Marina Shafir put Mina in her Mother’s Milk submission. Megan Bayne picked up the Women’s World title and started viciously beating her with it. The Triangle of Madness held Toni Storm back and forced her to watch until she couldn’t take it anymore and surrendered.
The heels needed to win this one and they did. The finish dovetailed nicely into the tournament, putting a little extra juice behind the expected semifinal of the Timeless Love Bombs against Megan and Marina.
When it comes to the Women’s World Title match, the Renee Paquette narrated video package did more to forward the Stat-Mercedes story then their participation in the Blood & Guts match. Mercedes became the undisputed ROH Women’s TV champion when she defeated Red Velvet with an insane super lung blower. Stat sat in on commentary pointing out how all of Mercedes title hunting excursions had given her lots of tape to watch and prepare with. I always love when wrestlers talk about watching tape on their opponents so this was great. I expect Kris Statlander to finally get her win over Mercedes Moné this Saturday after falling short twice before.
Grade: B
Upping the Ante
Latest Developments
“Hangman” Adam Page’s title defense against Samoa Joe was turned into a steel cage match.
Analysis
Last week, Hangman fought Powerhouse Hobbs in a falls count anywhere match that ended when Hangman knocked Hobbs off a balcony and down into the “electrical” table. The impact sent sparks flying and the lights flickering. After the match Shibata and Joe came down and double teamed Hangman. They tossed him back into the ring and called for the Blood & Guts cage to be lowered which it was. Before Hangman could be trapped though, Eddie Kingston and Hook hit the ring and chased Joe and Shibata away. That’s when Hangman grabbed a mic and threw out the cage stip.
Last night he had match with Shibata which he won after they traded low blows. He then got on the mic and reminded Joe what he was capable of inside a steel cage.
This has been a very paint by numbers heel vs face feud. Virtually anybody could be inserted into Samoa Joe’s role and nothing would have to change to any real degree. That doesn’t make for the most compelling world title match. The steel cage stipulation is fine but it doesn’t rectify all the deficiencies of this program. Yeah, Hangman’s threat is believable given his history but things are nowhere near as personal between him and Joe as they were with him and Swerve. Hangman needs a feud with a heel who could conceivably beat him for the title, something he can really sink his teeth into.
Grade: C+
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Will the Family Expand Again?
Latest Developments
Don Callis is looking to add The Young Bucks, Mark Briscoe, and the CMLL World Trios titles to the ranks of the Family.
Analysis
Callis has been courting the Bucks for weeks. He’s given them cars, their pyro back, a personalized intro, and shot at a million dollars. He pushed them to join the Family officially last night but as they have all along, the Bucks were hesitant to do so. As they were slowly moving to oblige Callis and hit Kenny Omega with a BTE Trigger, The Jurassic Express made the save.
That was a clever way to get around Callis’ demand that the Bucks make their decision. It very much It very much seems like the Elite will be reuniting on Saturday night. I expect the Bucks and Josh Alexander to lose the match and the DCF to hit the ring for a post match assault at which point the Bucks will finally make their decision by superkicking Callis into tomorrow and coming to the aid of Kenny with the entire scene concluding with “Carry On Wayward Son” blaring over the loudspeaker.
The Elite getting back together makes the most sense. The Bucks have hit bottom. Kenny needs back up. This is the point where everyone realizes they’re better off together than apart. The Elite are the centerpiece faction of the company. They may break up but like a soap opera supercouple, they will always get back together. It doesn’t mean Kenny will permanently be relegated to trios matches, but it does mean more of the Kansas classic.
Elsewhere Kyle Fletcher and Mark Briscoe had backstage face to face that ended with Briscoe being sneak attacked by Okada. The Fletcher/Briscoe has outlived its sell by date but at least there’s something tangible to be gained from a Briscoe loss this time. Briscoe being a reluctant member of the Family will be interesting TV and sets up a huge match for his freedom down the line.
Okada had a very good match with Mascara Dorada on last night’s show. There were a couple spots where it looked like Dorada might’ve gotten knocked out but somehow, he got back up and kept dazzling. The match was fought under double jeopardy eliminator rules which means Okada’s victory after a Raging Fire followed by a Rainmaker earned the DCF a shot at the CMLL World Trios titles which Dorada holds one third of. Okada, Hechicero, and Takeshita vs Dorada, Místico, and Nèon should be one hell of a match that ought to be on the PPV not the Tailgate Brawl.
Grade: B+
RANDOM QUESTIONS
– Who wins $200K? Anthony Bowens & Max Caster, The Bang Bang Gang, Bryan Keith & Big Bill, and The Outrunners will vie for Tony Khan’s latest cash prize. This brings the total prize money awarded in the last six months up to $4.5 million. My vote would be for the Bang Bang Gang. It feels like they have actual momentum unlike Bowens & Caster who’s brewing reunion still feels very meh.
– New tag champs on the horizon? Brodido have had a Cinderella run the last few months ever since their unexpected takeoff in the tag team title tournament. They defeated FTR in the finals to win the title so this feels like a full circle moment which leads me to believe that the Top Guys walk away with the gold which they will eventually drop to Adam Copeland & Christian Cage down the road.
– Does it matter who becomes the first national champion? This title simply has no reason to exist. The nod to history can’t even save it. Bobby Lashley is probably walking out with it, but that’s not going to add any prestige to it especially with his reputation for not wanting to lose.
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